#i could do country but more in a 2 hour from city kind of way

[dontwanderoff]

talking to my dad about the reality of like, moving out and specifically ever buying a house as a single person on a teacher’s salary and he was like ‘well [coworker]’s stepdaughter moved out to orbost and got a place for 180,000.’

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Fake Love Part 2/8

Reader is a kindergarten teacher. Nothing more nothing less. But following an accident whistle vacation in Dubai she somehow makes her boyfriend believe that she does somthing else for a living, something that earns her way more money than she has. Her boyfriend, Ruben, is just happy to have found someone who understands him so well, someone who doesn't want him for his money since money isn't an issue for neither reader or himself. Or so thinks. Would finding out the truth ruin their newfound relationship? Readers thinks so, and does everything to keep up the lie, although it has some bad people from the middle east looking for her.

Enjoy!

Over all it was a pleasant flight, despite your burns. Mostly thanks to Ruben. As the flight attendants came around with drinks and snacks, Ruben struck up a conversation and the two of you quickly discovered that you had a lot in common - both were avid travelers, loved good food, and were passionate about exploring new cultures. Later when the dinner menu was brought out, Ruben enthusiastically recommended the traditional Portuguese dishes, extolling the virtues of the country's cuisine. You were amused by his enthusiasm and found yourself getting caught up in his infectious energy. Ruben even insisted on sharing his favorite dishes with you, and the two of you laughed and chatted as you ate.

"Does it help, the ice?" He asked, after seeing you requested the flight attendants to bring you a puch to put against your thigh.

"A little." You answersed shyly, a bit taken aback by how observant Ruben was. You dozed off now and then during the flight, but there was a always a fresh pack of ice next to you when you woke up. Apperently Ruben went out of his way asking the flight attendants to bring you a fresh pack every hour as not to disturb your sleep. As the night wore on and the plane hit turbulence, you found yourself feeling more and more at ease with Ruben by your side. You couldn't help but be charmed by his kindness and generosity.

When the flight finally landed in Lisbon, Ruben leaned in and whispered, "You have to let me show you around my city. Meet me at the famous Pão de Azeite bakery tomorrow morning at 9am, and I'll take you on a tour of the best spots in Lisbon."

Your heart skipped a beat as your mind raced with the possibilities of your adventures together. However, you knew that Ruben thought you were a frequent business class traveler. But it was all an act and reality would set in once you stepped off this plane. The reality being that you and Ruben were from two very different worlds.

"Thanks Ruben, really. But I'm only here for two nights and owe it to my friend as I've ruined her vacation."

"You said what?"

Arriving at your hotel in uptown Lisbon, you told Alicia about Ruben asking you out and you turning him down. Needless to say that she was very unhappy about it.

"Y/N, that guy was leng. Not to mention his friends. Why did you turn him down?"

"Because." You said , regret waying heavily in the pit of your stomach. "I want to enjoy my time here with you."

"Me?" She frowned. "Y/N, I don't know fuck all about Portugal, let alone Lisbon. This guy could have showed us where the party is at. Who knows, maybe he would have brought his friend?"

Apparently Alicia really hit it of with Ruben's friend Fabio after the two of you switched seats. Ruben and you could hear them giggle over bottles of champagne as the two of them had them coming like treadmills on the plane.

"Alicia, I don't really feel like hooking up with strangers right now. It's been a really hectic few days for me and all I want to do is spend my time here with you and go home.

"Alright." She nodded. "At least tell it like it is, because if I was you I would've let that guy take me wherever he wants."

You shook your head but smiled. "Let's just unpack so we can explore the city." Your hotel suite was simply out of this world. Alicia had not held back on the expenses, really taking advantage of the courtesy of the Siddiq family.

"Oh, I know what we should do today! We should go shopping." She said, smiling in that mischievous way that you hated.

The two of you freshened up and hit the streets. Alicia had ordered a rental car with a chauffeur to drive you around. All at the expense of the Siddiq family of course. She had learned to put the tab on them just as well as she had learned to use her father's credit card as a teenager. "Oh my god, this would look so good on you." She said, holding up a black cocktail dress for you to try on.

"Yes, but the price." You said, hooking the dress back on it's hanger. You let Alicia drag you to the most luxurious shopping streets in Portugal, without the intentions of buying anything. Alicia on the other hand.....

"Come on Y/N, just try it on, something tells me you might need this dress tonight?"

"Tonight? What's tonight?"

You had noticed Alicia texting someone back and forth as the two of you arrived at the hotel. The texting went on the whole day to a point where you were getting really annoyed. You were supposed to enjoy your time together in Portugal, to be in the moment. Alicia however, seemed distracted. By whom, you found out on your way to a massive football stadium whilst squeezed into a skimpy cocktail dress.

"Alicia, don't you think we're a bit overdressed for a football game?" You asked, as your friend wandered into the stadium ahead of you, her high heels tricking people into thinking that she was a head taller than you.

"Trust me Y/N, you're not." She reassured, guiding you past where people were lining up to take their seats. You however, were heading upstairs, to a private lounge of some sort.

"Eyy, linda, vocês conseguiram!" (Ey, beautifuls', you made it!)

You were shocked to see Ruben and his friends welcoming you to sit with them.

"You came." He smiled as well as eyeing your dress up and down. He looked good too, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.

"I am as suprised as you." You said, sitting down.

He frowned.

"But I'm sure our friends had something to do with it." You looked over to where Alicia and Fabio sat, now deep in conversation with each other, giggling mischievously.

"Well I'm glad you came." Ruben nodded, returning all of his attention back to you. His eyes were so captivating, deep brown and mysterious.

"Me too." You shirped, quick to switch your attention to what was happening on the football pitch. "Who's playing?" You asked, since you had no idea that Alicia planned for you to attend a football game whilst in Portugal.

"Benfica, of course." Ruben leaned towards you not to shout over the noise of yhe cheering crowd. "It's Benfica against Braga, a good game."

"If you say so." You shrugged, to which Ruben frowned.

"What?" You chuckled.

"You don't watch much football do you?"

"No, sorry. We play cricket where I'm from."

"Which is...?"

"England."

Ruben looked even more puzzled by your answer. "You know England has one of the top football leagues in the world, right?"

"We do?"

His eyes widened in suprise. "Manchester City is practically the best club in the world right now, at least tell me you've heard of them."

"Manchester...?" You hymned. "You mean United?"

Ruben opened his mouth to say something, but prevented himself as it might have been something impulsive.

You laughed. It was cute, the way it shocked him that you didn't follow football like the rest of the world. How could you, when growing up with brothers who only played cricket. It was all they could talk about around the dinner table.

"Am I too uneducated to be able to enjoy this game?" You asked. To which Ruben's expression faltered. "No."

"No?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll explain it to you."

You smiled. "How kind of you."

There was movment in the corner of your eye, Alicia, walking towards you in a hurry. "Bathroom, now!" She said, practically dragging you with her.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't notice." She said, closing the bathroom door behind you.

"Noticed what?" You frowned.

"That it was him." She said, walking over to one of the mirrors, taking the opportunity to reapply her lipstick.

"Who?"

"Ruben." She shrugged.

"What about him?"

Alicia turned to you, confused as to why you were confused. "You didn't know either, did you?"

"Know what, Alicia? Get to the point." It was getting annoying.

She tucked away her lipstick and walked over to you, grabbing you by the shoulders. "Ruben Dias." She said. "As in, THE Ruben Dias, the professional footballer."

"The what?"

She let go of your shoulders returning to the bathroom mirror, tampering with her hair. "He's like super famous...and rich." She said.

"He is?"

"Yes, but don't make it obvious that you're in it for the money."

"But I'm not."

"Perfect, just like that."

"Alicia." You sighed. The two of you left the bathroom with the game having already started. Ruben waved for you to join him, but you were too distracted by what Alicia had told you in the bathroom, to focus on Ruben's explanation of what was happening on the pitch.

"Are you ladies up for something to eat?" Ruben's friend Theo asked. The game was over, the team Ruben was rooting for, having won 1-0. "My uncle owns this great spot in town which we wouldn't have to make reservations for."

"Eh." Fabio snorted. "With Ruben here we won't have to wait in line anywhere. Ain't that right Ruby? Can't you try and get us in to some hot club, I bet the ladies would like that."

Ruben turned to, eyeing your legs where parts of the dressing was visible. "Nah, I think dinner at Theo's uncle is better."

You silent thanked him for being so considering of you.

"No worries." He winked and offered you a hand to descend the steps of your private booth. He did not let go as the two of you made your way out of the stadium. It's when you realized that what Alicia said must be true. People were coming up to Ruben asking him to take pictures with them and sign their belongings. He was really someone specially to these people.

"Do you guys need a ride back to your hotel?" The guys asked, following a lovely dinner at Theo's uncle's restaurant.

"No thanks, we have a car."

"You do?"

"And a chauffeur." Alicia said, slurring on her words as she and Fabio had a bit more to drink than the rest of you.

"A chauffeur, really?" Ruben looked at you, slightly impressed.

Your eyes fell on the ground, embarrassed.

"I guess I'll see you later." Ruben said, when  the two of you stood alone on the sidewalk, Fabio and Theo helping Alicia get into the car.

"Yeah, see you."

It was painful, saying goodbye.

"But you're staying in Portugal one more night, no?"

"Yes, Ruben but...."

He nodded. "No, I get it. You want to spend time with your friend, make up for ruining her vacation. But how about we meet up later, by the beach?"

"Beach?" You grimarced.

Ruben laughed. "I promise you I don't own a pair of speedos, neither does Theo. Fabio might, but I'll tell him not to...."

"It's not that." You mumbled.

"No?"

Ruben shuffled his feet, visibly conflicted in how he should approach this, approach you. "Y/N, if you have a boyfriend back home...."

You looked up, having avoided eye contact. "I don't." You said, terror in your eyes.

His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled. "Good. That's...good."

You couldn't help but to smile. Ruben did the same. You stepped forward, grabbing his arm for support as you tipped on your toes, kissing him and the cheek, Ruben's rough beard tickling your face.

"See you tomorrow...by the beach?"

"Yeah...." His voice trailed off as you let go of his arm, backing away towards the car.

"Tell your friend to text Alicia the details since he has her number.

"Well, can I have your number?" He smirked. "Maybe then I could text you the details."

"Maybe." You said, ignoring the butterflies that invaded your stomach. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He nodded.

"Yes, I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"I look forward to tomorrow then."

You rolled your eyes. "Goodnight Ruben."

He smiled, a cheeky smile. "Goodnight, Y/N."

[yelenasdiary]

Different Kind of Love - Part I

Pairing: CEO! MobBoss! Natasha Romanoff x Assistant! Reader (Platonic)

Summary: Working for Natasha was never easy and being a low-level assistant for the CEO wasn’t where you thought you’d be after working your hardest for 2 years. After catching you in tears on Christmas Eve, Natasha cold ways start to warm up.

Dark Themes | Angst | Comfort | Language Warning | Reader is a single mum | Sexual Assault Mentions | Spiking | Mentions of drinking | Mentions of Depression | 3.6K | 

Notes: Dylan’s dialog is meant to sound like how a 5-year-old would talk and his nickname is Dyl and not a misspell. Reader is 26 while Natasha is 38.  

Different Kind of Love Masterlist

"Good morning, Miss Romanova" you smiled softly after knocking on Natasha's office glass door. The redhead looked up and smiled in return for only you to see, "Good morning, did you have a lovely break?" She asked. After Christmas, Natasha gave you two weeks off, paid of course, to enjoy some much needed one on one time with your 5-year-old son, Dylan.

 "It was lovely, thank you so much for everything with Christmas and giving me some time off, it really means a lot to me and Dylan" 

Natasha nodded slightly, "You're very welcome, like I said, you have been working extremely hard and I'm sorry I didn't see that before. Dylan is a great kid and I hope this new position will give you both more time together" she smiled once again, "Now, I'm really sorry but we have a meeting in about 25 minutes about the Davis case. Can you please make sure meeting room 4 is set up and ready?" she asked while putting her reading glasses back on. 

"Of course, Miss Romanova"

Natasha is the CEO and Founder of Romanova Lawyers. Being a lawyer herself, she and her business are one of the most successful businesses in New York City. Natasha has won over 450 cases and is considered one of the highest paid lawyers in the country. Not only does she own a law firm, but she also has another side business that runs through Romanova Lawyers which offers clients to hire Natasha herself or another highly skilled detective to do private detective work. Safe to say, Natasha is a very busy woman with a lot of money. 

It didn't matter what job it was, if you could get a job at Romanova Lawyers, you basically had a golden ticket into the work force. Many other law firms will hire past employees with Romanova Lawyers on their resume simply because you worked there. Getting a past employee of Romanova Lawyers was almost like getting the best football player to play on your team. 

Now that you have a new role at the firm, your work is a lot more interesting than before. You'd follow Natasha from meeting to meeting, taking notes, and making sure the Russian had all the necessary paperwork she needed before court or a meeting. She still would ask you to do some pointless jobs like a coffee run or pick up her dry cleaning, but you didn't mind doing that as much. Her attitude towards you was very different to how she treated the other employees. Her cold ways were still just as strong, she still groaned and raised her voice at people for small mistakes and even though you thought it was very harsh of her, you couldn't help but see this was the way she was able to become the woman she is now. 

"This case is going to be a fucking pain in my arse" Natasha mumbled while walking beside you as she quickly refreshed her memory of the case details, "why are men so stupid?!" she added with a light shake of her head. "Would you like me to record this meeting or just take notes today?" you asked, ignoring her comments that she clearly was saying to herself. "Might have to record this one" she replied before handing you the case file and adjusting her dress before walking into the meeting room with a welcoming smile. "Gentlemen, shall we start?" 

----

After your shift, your new hours being 7 am to 3:30pm you made some last-minute emails and signed off for the day. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Romanova, don't forget you have a skype call appointment with a Miss Maximoff at 4:45" you smiled with your head peeking into her office, "oh yes! Thank you for that reminder. Have a lovely night, say hey to Dylan for me" Natasha quickly looked up at you and waved you off. 

"Mommy!" Dylan came running from the living room and wrapping his arms around your legs before you could even kick your shoes off, "Hi honey, how was your day?" you asked with a smile on your lips as you placed your handbag on the floor. "It was good, but my fire truck needs more batteries and Kate don't know where you put them" he looked up at you with his big blue eyes and curly dark hair, "Do you want to go and get your truck for me?" you ruffed his curls before he took off back into the living room. 

"Hey there Miss Moore" Kate smiled while wiping down your kitchen countertop, "Kate, we've been through this" you shook your head playfully, "call me Y/n" you added. "I forgot, I'm so sorry" she replied, "Dylan just had his afternoon snack, he had half a banana and a small bowl of yoghurt so he should be fine until dinner" Kate explained, "oh and his fire truck Santa got him for Christmas needs new batteries, but I wasn't sure where you kept them" 

"Thank you so much for today. I usually keep them in my room, so I'll get some for him. I'll just go and get your money" 

"Here's my truck mommy" Dylan returned with his fire truck in his hands, "Thank you honey, I'll go get some new batteries right now can you do me a favour and get mommy's purse from her handbag please?" you kindly took his toy from his small hands, "sure mommy" Dylan smiled and raced off to get your purse. "God he's adorable" you heard Kate speak to herself, "You're not here when the word No is used" you joked before walking down the hall to your room. 

After dinner and Dylan was in bed you were doing your nightly routine of catching up on emails for work, looking at school for Dylan to start in September and now with the extra money you're making, you were considering putting him into pre-school. Being 5 years-old and barely having any friends and not having the time to do pick up and drop off you were excited for your son to finally make some friends and start learning new things every day that would blow his mind. 

*Buzz Buzz*

A smile tugged at your lips when reading the message. Christmas was different but lovely to spend with Natasha, you learnt so much about her and saw a side of her that you wished the entire office was able to see. The way she kicked off her heels and got on her knees to play with Dylan and his trucks, the way she sat with him and helped him read one of the books 'Santa' had gotten him but mostly what stood out to you was the way she spoke to you, the way she opened up to you and shared things about her life that honestly took you by surprise. 

——

The next morning you walked into the office already hearing the raised voice of an annoyed Russian. "Candice, do you think I give a crap about your husbands broke foot?! I asked for these documents to be done before today!" She slammed the file onto her desk. "I'm sorry Miss Romanova, I was doing them last night, but I ran out of time, I'm really sorry" the lovely woman who couldn't even hurt a fly or even yell at one for that matter replied. "News flash Candice, we're going to be late because of this!" Natasha spat back grabbing a pen from her pen holder. "Candice, why don't you go back to your desk, I'll take care of this" you whispered standing behind the woman, giving her an apologetic smile when she saw you, "Thank you" she mouthed.

Natasha frustratingly scribbled down words onto the unfinished documents with a huff and puff, "Miss Romanova, I'll finish those, you have to get ready for the Davis case in court today" you offered as you walked into her office. "No! These should have been done yesterday! How are things supposed to ever get done when people don't listen?!" She snapped, nothing unusual for you. "I'll have them done within the hour; I promise"

"Fine" Natasha sighed, placing her pen on top of the small pile of documents and grabbed her coat from behind her chair and her brief case from the side of her desk. She wore her hair up and a black suit with a red shirt underneath. "I can't be dealing with people's mistakes today. Do you hear me?!" She looked up at you, "Yes, Miss Romanova" you nodded before she brushed by you, storming out of the office. 

Everybody was on edge today whenever Natasha was around, after yet another case won, you'd think she would be happy but the look on her face when she looked up at you spoke other words. "Cancel all my remaining appointments and meetings today. I have some things to take care of for the rest of the day" she huffed, unloading her briefcase, "But Miss Romanova, the Maximoff case is marked urgent" you reminded her. "Well, you fucking deal with it!" Her eyes shot up at you full of rage which worried you as you'd never seen her like this before, "Just cancel or move whatever the fuck I have left today and don't let anybody contact me!" she added as she grabbed her keys and handbag from the bottom drawer of her desk. 

"Yes ma'am" you replied watching her walk out of the office. 

It wasn't until Saturday that you'd see her again. The rest of the week you had to postpone and move her meetings to a time that you only hoped would work better for her. You wanted to message her and ask if she was okay and ask when she'd be back into the office but decided to give her space. 

A knock at your apartment door made little Dylan jump with excitement, "I'll get it!" He called from his room. "No, you won't honey, we spoke about this!" you hollaed back already having your hand on the door handle and pulling it open. "Miss Roma- I mean, Natasha, Hi" you smiled even though you were shocked to see her at your door. "Hey, are you guys ready? We don't want to be late" she asked with a small smile of her own. 

"Miss Romanova!!!" Dylan came running down the hall with a wide smile. "Hey there kiddo!" Nat kneeled down to his level, "Are you ready?" she asked him. Dylan nodded, "will there be other kids?" your son asked with a hint of hope to finally be able to play with other children. He's always been so good at making new friends no matter how old they were, walking down the mall Dylan would always say hello to strangers. As nice as it was, it worried you that he was so open to talking to people he didn't know. 

"There's going to be plenty of other children for you to meet and play with, are you excited?" 

"Yes! Mommy said I can start pre-school this year" Dylan boosted with excitement, "That sounds very exciting" Natasha smiled softly at the young boy, "we should get going" she looked up at you. "I'll just get my handbag" you replied. 

----

"Isn't he a bit late for pre-school?" Natasha asked while Dylan was busy playing on his tablet, the car ride would be an hour long and for an excited young boy, that was like years. "Only by a year, I wanted to put him in last year but uh," you paused and looked away from your boss, "it was just my work hours, I wouldn't have been free for pick up and drop off, so it was just easier to get a sitter", you didn't want to talk about Dylan's pre-school admission, you wanted to ask her where she'd been, is she was okay but did you even have a place to say anything?

"I had some family things to deal with. I'm sorry I didn't contact you; I was confident you were able to step up and take charge while I was gone" Natasha spoke, seeing the way you looked at her, screaming your questions to her without saying a word. "You don't have to explain anything, I was able to move things to next week and the Maximoff case we decided to wait until you came back. I'm not a lawyer and I never went to law school so I wasn't sure what to do" you explained, your palms starting to sweat hoping she wouldn't cuss at you in front of Dylan but instead she nodded, "thank you, I'm sorry it was sprung on you like that" 

"It's okay, family always has to come first" you gave her an assuring smile, "you're right, it does" Natasha replied with her eyes shifting to Dylan. 

Arriving at the party, you were introduced to Natasha's best friend, Clint Barton and his family, Laura his wife and their children, Copper, Lila and Nathaniel. It was Nathaniel's birthday party and just as Natasha mentioned, there were plenty of other children for Dylan to mix with. 

"Hi, I'm Dylan" he smiled at Nathaniel, "Hey, do you want to join me and my friends in a nerf gun fight?" Nathaniel offered. "What's that?" Dylan asked picking at the hem of his shirt nervously, "it's just a toy gun fight, with these soft bullets they won't hurt and if you want you can wear my old armour vest" Nathaniel offered with a smile. Dylan looked up at you, his eyes full of excitement but he always made sure his mommy said yes before taking off with anybody, especially somebody he just met. "Go on, baby, go have some fun" you smiled and before you could blink, Dylan was running off with this new friend. 

"So, how long have you been working for Natasha?" Laura asked sipping her iced tea. "3 years in June actually. It's gone by pretty quickly, but I've enjoyed it for the most part" you replied forgetting any of the bad. "She's not tough on you, is she? I know she can be a little bossy" Laura chuckled, "oh no, never" you said sarcastically, chuckling with her. 

For the first time since Dylan was born, you found yourself enjoying the company of other mothers and fathers, people who knew exactly what you were talking about and even shared stories of how their children were when they were younger, funny stories, happy and the normal yuck stories of eating dog biscuits or having poop smeared up their backs. Natasha kept her eye on Dylan even though she knew he was more than safe, she loved watching him run around with her best friend's children with the wide smile that she felt was starting to light a fire in her cold heart. 

Every now and then she helped herself to a quick glance at you as you smiled and laughed with the other parents. The need to protect you came to mind as she sat back and thought about the past 2 years, she's known you. "Nat!" Dylan came running up to the redhead, breaking her thoughts. "What's up kid?" she smiled, "could you please tie my shoes?" he asked kindly, "I can't find mommy" he adds while looking around for you. Natasha nodded and kneeled to tie his light up shoes that Natasha got him for Christmas as a gift from Santa, "Your mommy is just over there" she pointed in your direction. "Thank you, Nat" Dylan smiles and gives her a quick hug, taking her by surprise as she slowly wraps her arms around the small boy and smiles softly at his kindness before he's rushing off to ask you for a drink. 

----

"Thank you so much for today, I had a lovely time and I think Dylan did too" you smiled at Natasha while running your fingers through Dylan's hair as he was snuggled into you fast asleep. "He really enjoyed himself" Natasha watched the scene in front of her, the limo giving plenty of room for you all to get comfortable. 

"He's really excited to start pre-school; I think today was really good for him"

"He told me all about it, you've done and still doing a great job raising him" Natasha complimented as she made eye contact with you. "It hasn't been easy but" you paused as your eyes dropped to your sleeping son, you smiled softly, "he deserves everything I can give him and more" your eyes traveled back to Natasha. There was a moment of silence between the two, you could see Natasha was wanting to ask the question everybody wants to ask, who's Dylan's father? 

"You can ask" you spoke. 

"Ask what?" Natasha frowned slightly.

 "You have that look in your eyes, the one everybody has when they want to know more about Dylan's father"

"You already told me, he couldn't afford to help" Natasha replied, you shook your head, "I lied" you admitted, licking your lips as your eyes fell to Natasha's feet. "What's the story?" she asked as if she didn't have a care for your emotions but looking back in her eyes, who was she to tell? You took a deep breath and made sure Dylan was still fast asleep before gently placing a kiss on the top of his head. 

"He was possessive. When I first met him, he was lovely and so kind you know…he never failed to make you smile or laugh, I considered him a good friend. One of his friends was throwing a party and my parents were fine with me going as long as I wasn't back too late, I was almost 21 and they trusted me. I got to the party and started having a few drinks with my friends. Then later on my friends were heading home but he convinced me to stay for an hour or two, so I did.

I knew better than to get drunk like he was, I had two drinks with him and I was out of my mind. I told him no and that I wanted to go home.." you paused as tears filled your eyes, "all I remember after he pushed me onto the bed was him saying I'd been asking for it all night…3 weeks later I find out I'm pregnant. It took me months to find out who assaulted me that night and when I told him I was pregnant he just laughed at me and said the baby could be his or one of his two friends and that I'd never know because I was too drunk and wasted to remember asking for it" 

Natasha's jaw clenched at the details you shared with her. "But if you were ever saw him, you can see that he's Dylan's father, there's no doubting it" you added, tears streaming down your cheeks. "He needs to help responsible for this" Natasha leaned forward and gently took your hand into hers, "I tried. I went to the police before I found out I was pregnant, and they turned me around and told me to come back when I had hard evidence" you explained.

"But you were pregnant, that's more than enough evidence. They could've done a DNA test"

"Natasha, by the time I processed everything and told my parents…I didn't want people to see me…I hid myself away for most of my pregnancy and after the police turning me away like they did, I didn't think they would believe me. 

"I'm so sorry, Y/n" she wiped your tears and looked deeply into your eyes, "That little boy is so lucky to have you as his mother. You got a fucking amazing job with him, you give him everything a mother could give a child and I have a hell of a lot of respect for you. Thank you for sharing all of that with me"

"Like I said, it hasn't been easy but every morning when I wake up and I get to see his beautiful smile and those big blue eyes he makes me forget all the horror and I only see the good. He saved my life, if I had apported him, I don't know what I would've done" you replied trying your best to keep from crying more. Natasha's soft hands gave yours a gently squeeze, "if you need anything and I mean anything, you come to me. Okay?" she kept strong eye contact with you, "I mean it, I don't care what time you need me, if you and Dylan need me, I will be there" she assured you as you nodded slowly, "thank you Natasha" you replied. 

----

Natasha carried Dylan up to his room for you as you grabbed his backpack full of toys, she gently placed him in his bed and pulled the covers over him before giving him a secret kiss on the forehead, "sleep well kid" she smiled before leaving his room. 

"Thank you so much again for today and tonight, I'm so sorry I was unprofessional and sharing my personal life like that" you looked at her as you placed your belongings on the countertop. "You're not the only one with secrets, maybe another time we can share a bottle of wine and I can share mine" she offered. "That sounds nice" you smiled softly, "Well, I guess I'll see you Wednesday morning" Natasha replied. 

"Wednesday?" 

"Yeah, take Monday and Tuesday as an extended weekend" she playfully winked before heading for the door, "thank you" you said once more. "Y/n, thank me one more time and I'll fire you" Natasha chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry, boss" you smirked, "goodnight" she shook her head before closing your apartment door.

Taglist:

[heartsbind]

❤️ + ✈️ + 🧶 !!

shannon yaps about themself time!

❤️ — what are some of your best qualities?

i see you making me be positive about myself -- DKJFSNKJSD 🥺 anyway okay so i would say... my sense of humor and i am good at making myself look physically calm under pressure and organized (at work) even though i never feel that way DKFDSFDSF like at my mother's wedding this weekend. like... ok story time DKJFNDSF so i have three sisters, all younger, the youngest two are twins and the one in the middle is the one who just had a baby. the older twin is engaged and the younger twin has a bf. so older twin's fiance was standing by my brother-in-law and the baby and when he saw us starting to file out for like the procession or whatever the walk to the altar is, he starts like gesticulating and pointing at the baby and giving a thumbs up, but my sister could not tell what he was doing and was like starting to get anxious and asking us like "what's he saying, what about the baby-" and i, who had just been in a 2 hour long car ride with him and just know what he's generally like, could calm her down bc i knew they were positive gestures like "hey i see your baby! she's all good!" and then at the exact same time my mom was getting nervous bc the youngest twin was singing and we'd rehearsed walking according to what verse she was on and like nobody in our lineup could hear her from the building we were coming from EXCEPT i guess another good quality is that i have good hearing (my husband also can't hear for shit so i'm always hearing shit for him me vc oh that car is playing seven nation army i can hear the bass / him vc WHAT are you talking about / ANYWAY--) bc i could be like "ok she's on first verse. ok she's on the chorus. ok second verse is coming up. ok time to go" so anyway i hadn't considered much about any of it until the hostess that was helping us run the event that night came up to me later and was like you did really great!!! and all that and i was like oh! i did nothing!

i am also very humble and yap a very normal amount ---

✈️ — ever traveled anywhere interesting?

ok i can keep this one short bc i haven't gone too many places! i cannot drive and am broke and rarely have the chance to take more than a few days off at once so i've never left the country nor traveled very far across the country. i've pretty much stayed on the east coast u.s. but!! i got lucky enough to go to savannah georgia for a couple days for my sister's bachelorette party a few years ago and that was really fun! they had this place where they did brunch and they would put rubber ducks in your drinks. i think i still have mine somewhere

🧶 — any non-writing hobbies/interests?

video gaming primarily! beyond the games that i have muses for i really like all kinds of different sims. all sorts of farming sims that i just keep collecting, i have like gas station sim and powerwashing sim, supermarket sim, house flipper, pool-cleaning, crime scene washing... i'm currently juggling two/three bg3 runs, early access fields of mistria, just completed the demo of metaphor re:fantazio last night (the gameplay was so fun and it looked so incredible oh my gosh!)

i am god awful at watching things, tv shows i'm the worst at and movies i'm hit or miss - i just have soooo many things i want to do that it's hard to pick what to do next haha! but i have a background in scriptwriting and media studies so i really enjoy watching movies when i have the time!

i used to play the alto saxophone for a symphonic band at a local college that was open to community members! i miss it, but the last place i moved to it was just too far of a drive to justify doing it, plus covid put them in limbo for a bit and i don't think i ever got an email when they started in-person up again, probably because i wasn't in a position to do online meetings with everyone and practice at the time. i'm hoping to move back into the city next year, and maybe i can try to go again!

anything else... i like doing puzzles with my husband, we love tabletop mystery games (we used to have a hunt a killer subscription), and i love collecting even though i am too broke to really do it DKFSDJFDSFS and have no space to put anything. oh and i did start to practice drawing but i haven't done that in a while DFJDSFDSF

[ybklix]

Salvatore | 01 & 02

♡ hwang hyunjin

⤷ intro

⋆cw: mention of suicide ⋆notes: narrated from fem character’s pov. the character narrates the circumstances that lead her to meet hyunjin, in later parts. updated masterlist here! •⩊•

a/n: i had this in my drafts i just decorated a little to post it (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

chapters one & two

ONE

word count: 986

The world seemed to move the same. But it wasn't, she was missing. The days are long and the nights are a living nightmare. I don't think I'll ever get over something like that. The huge emptiness, the deep sadness and the endless constant guilt that kept repeating in a loop and managed to slowly consume me as I lamented over and over again for not being able to avoid something as terrible as death. Suicide.

A supposed suicide.

But it happened. And there was nothing else to do. The important issue, is that I would never see her again, or hear her, in the presence of her.

I think every second of the day I found out and the heartbreaking memory it was to say goodbye to my sister forever. The desperate, heartbreaking screams of my mother, dressed in traditional clothes on the most horrible day of our lives.

I don't think anyone ever thought something like this would happen. Much less in the way it happened… it was totally bizarre, as if I suddenly didn't know the person I was bound to by blood, forever; until now. Suddenly everything got weird, she stopped calling home, but I tried to go on with my normal, carefree life; as I didn't want to intrude and I assumed she had a busy life now, plus the time difference could be annoying at times.

Even so, what kept me motivated was that soon I would go to see her, it was only two weeks away… I would go to visit her, I would see her apartment and we would walk around the city. But suddenly nothing. Just a great upheaval in my soul.

Even so, in my ignorance, I continued with my activities. I was visiting my friends, graduating from high school and getting ready for what was next in my life, a university life, in the career I had shown interest in for a couple of years; unlike my sister, for me it was in the city near our childhood home, only a little more than 2 hours away in Rome.

It had been a while… yes I was curious about what was going on in her life; but with Bethany you never knew what her next move was. She was like that, spontaneous. Quite the opposite of what I thought I was. At 16 she left home, with the help of my parents convincing them to study out of the country, to a place far away but not foreign to our family.

She loved to talk, to explore, but with my parents she was always serious and distant, almost as if they dulled her glow. So taking advantage of them to alienate herself was the best decision she could have made. She shone on her own, for a period. Until it managed to extinguish itself so suddenly. Without explanation, leaving a huge void in the people who truly appreciated her, in me.

I guess things like this just can't be explained.

I can't even process it, my empty stomach is spinning, the insomnia became real and the tears are hard and burning as they slide down my face.

Despite all the chaos formed; seeing my sister there, lying motionless and lifeless —an action I didn't have the courage to take until the last moment before she was taken away—… I thought and thought about certain things, like how we were somewhat alike, about the fact that when an idea gets stuck in our minds… it's impossible to get out of there. I was more rigid; I wanted answers and kindness was not my forte, as she was. Charming, pretty, brave.

This couldn't stay that way. Not just like that. There had to be an explanation and I wasn't referring to needing it for my loss and despair. I was thinking logically, I guess, I need her. This wasn't just happening for the sake of it.

I hadn't slept in days. I guess I was losing track more and more, if it was Wednesday, if it was the fourth; not since what happened. I guess when this kind of thing happens you really seem to tune out. During the dark nights of that hellish summer I manage to remember moments… of which keep me afloat and think how sad it is that I haven't spoken in days and no one seems to notice. Everyone was immersed in their own world dealing with something like this; just like now.

I remember being 6 years old and she was 11, playing that we were looking for a reward chest, mysteries to solve that after all I took a great liking to… as Bethany explained that if it something happened there would have to be a reason, even if it was pure spontaneity… there was the cause. So why… why leave without even a letter. Should I have been a better sister and noticed the signs of depression? If I had paid attention, so I could have avoided it, none of this would be happening?

Why would the person who since she was a little girl kept firm and mature ideas standing, determined to her philosophy suddenly decide to leave like this. Something strange was going on… or she was just going through a mourning that was hard to accept.

The whole world was going absolutely crazy. Or at least mine. Because that was all I have. All I know, unlike my sister, I wasn't as adventurous, or a born visionary as she was.

I just lived in the present and that was my problem. Bethany always seemed to have a bundle up her sleeve, just something new and fun so she would never get stuck and bored.

But my days in my comfort zone were coming to an end. From now on. I would finish whatever Bethany couldn't and find out the truth because something deep down inside doesn't seem right, my heart tells me so.

And when an idea like that happens… the universe knows I could become someone else.

TWO

word count: 1.7k

It all started a while ago, years ago. 7 years ago to be exact, during the spring. Bethany was enthusiastically showing me, with a big smile on her face and her school uniform on, pictures taken in the park near her high school, with 3 of her friends, Mia, Isabella and Chiara. She had told me how Mia was able to buy a digital camera and then take them pictures, she thought it was so much fun.

I know now, that that evening was more than just one of her types of goodbyes, as she was planning something that day that suddenly changed everything.

We had just left school. She was leaning on my bed holding the pictures she had taken with her friends gently passing them, one on top of the other. I don't remember the day but it was maybe, sometime in April.

Bethany asked me if no one else was home besides me, leaning against the edge of the doorway before making herself comfortable in my room. I replied that our mother had most likely gone out to buy something.

I asked her about the sudden interest, more as an automatic response than out of curiosity, “why?”, “I have to tell them something”.

I didn't make a big deal out of that sentence, I didn't want to intrude plus she quickly changed the subject. At the time I was eleven and Bethany was fifteen, a month shy of her sixteenth birthday.

She told me about her friend’s plans, Chiara's trip to Ibiza, Mia at her grandmother's vineyards and Isabella's summer job helping her mother at her store. When I asked her what she would do a grimace appeared on her face, unsure and doubtful of what could be the right answer; from which I assumed it was because of our parent’s sudden change in not spending the summer in Seoul, as every year, but to wait until the winter vacations, where it would now be with our aunt, for the island. It was usually on both occasions when we would visit South Korea, to be connected to that part of the family we shared with our mother.

I remember suggesting to her to go to the beach, both of us; which she complied with at the end of May, a week before she left home. We had our 3 days at the beach, under the Fregene sun, eating soft ice cream. Only 40 minutes from Rome by bus, and just over an hour by train. I remember everything so well. The sound of people talking, the sound of the sea, Bethany's noisy sandals slapping the sand and my mother's sudden cursing in her first language, sitting in that blue beach chair with her hat. I loved the beach, every aspect of it… My sister seemed to be darker, and tended to like to play hide and seek, being a big part of the crowd, under the city lights, I always thought the town we grew up in was never for her. So she found her place once she got away from us.

After the first day Bethany's friend had joined us, Isabella. At times I watched them primp and preen, in awe; ready to stroll through the noisy city, leaving me wondering what two teenagers were supposed to do when you feel the city belongs to you. Giggling, putting gloss on her lips and high heels, glittery eyeshadow, fixing her hair between the two of them, once again leaving me with ideas in mind, like whether I would ever do those simple little things with my older sister once the age difference is not so stark and when I'm no longer a child. Once I start getting interested in those things more and more; maybe when I'm 15 too. But Bethany wasn't around after I turned eleven. I did get interested in those things and I did it too but with friends. During those nights, I would just stay up late with my parents, watching TV; waiting for Bethany to come back. But that day in April, after dinner, with both parents gathered; after clearing the table and cleaning up, when I was finally supposed to go to my room, I stopped to listen to what Bethany had to say.

The sentence was as simple as: I want to go to study in Seoul. Finish my high school and start college there. And all of a sudden. Silence. I couldn't see them but I could perfectly picture the scene in my head; of which it was approximately like this, with the two of them sitting, slightly leaning on the table, Bethany standing in front of them, with her hands together, a gesture she used to make when announcing something. The bright light of the room reflecting on my sister's forehead and the confused face of my mother, who suddenly started speaking to her in Korean, in confusion, her confused expression permeating my mind even though I didn't see her, what, "what are you talking about", she would suddenly say in her strong korean southern accent.

I can't quite memorize what my exact thoughts were at the time… as I just wanted to hear everything and then generate an opinion. I guess it just took me by surprise too.

She went on to explain that, for some time now she has been in close contact with Joomi, a cousin a year older than Bethany whom she is very close to, and spends all her time wiith her, whenever we go to visit. She said that they talk a lot on the internet and that she somehow managed to convince her to study there and rebuild her life in that faraway place.

She argued with a tone that tried to persuade them, saying that she had all the support of my uncle's family, my mother's brother. That if they allowed her to have that opportunity there would be no reason to let them down and she would finally be fully connected to her roots that our mother instilled in us so much.

Her answer was no. No from my mother. A 'I don't know' from our father.

2 days later, Bethany received the final answer. She would finish the rest of the school year and leave for the summer to try to adjust and go to study at the same school as Joomin, living under that family's roof.

My mother just wanted her to suddenly connect with what she suddenly felt was lost and out of her hands, among her other two older siblings, she had been the only one to marry a foreigner, migrate and raise two of her daughters in a different culture than her own… and suddenly her first born had the idea to take a big step… it was hard for her; especially when her future was strictly planned, to graduate at the top of her class and continue her studies at the university in Rome. It was surprising the sudden change of plans, especially when my mother had everything in the palm of her hands and with how extremely stubborn her character was; but her older brother managed to interfere and persuade her; he promised to take care of her and love her like another daughter.

And I knew all this from Bethany's spontaneous change of mood, her smile was bigger, her eyes sparkled and she had her characteristic grimace of when she manages to win or something goes as planned, in victory. I was told in detail a week after confirming to her that yes, she would be leaving.

Honestly at the time I don't think I said any words; there was nothing clear to say… other than "wow, I really hope everything goes very well". And I meant it with my biggest will and heart.

I guess I stayed in shock for a while until I saw her leaving, boarding that plane; that's when I could finally come to my senses. I saw my mother and then my father, simply letting his first 16 year old daughter leave. It was all confusing, I thought everyone over there was trying to run away from the school system… I guessed Bethany really had a plan.

And she did. She even managed to get into college… but the career of her choice was not at all satisfactory to my parents. It was, to a certain extent, disappointing, causing Bethany great sadness, I could feel it in her eyes that summer when we went to visit her. Suddenly she would contact us less, making excuses that if we were to see her that summer, her stay would be short because she would be very busy… which, what was once an annual visit, became a very irregular tradition, every two years… separating us little by little.

The first three years were strictly adhering to the family rule of our annual visit to my mother's and Bethany's home country, who unlike me, I was born in Italy, like my father. During that period everything seemed fine; my talks with Bethany consisted of being amazed at how much I had grown up, apparently, what I had made of my life in Italy and simple things like that… until the year she entered college, during that summer, the pressure from my parents was very high; Bethany tried to remain calm, but nothing worked out for her. The following year, she announced the news of her career causing discontent. I tried to cheer her up and that somehow created a bond again in us that I thought was lost, since she left I felt she was not the same person I admired so much, suddenly her life was a mystery to me, who her best friends were, her life at school, her daily routine, even everyone knew her by her Korean name, she seemed like someone else.

The change in her was there. For good, while she could. And for bad when the poor thing felt she was the family failure. Despite the estrangement between our parents; Bethany always tried to keep in touch with me, calling constantly, leaving e-mails in my inbox, giving me little things that reminded her of me… the truth is that I found it tender and funny the way she didn't know me, since with her demonstrations of affection she reminded me how much she was stuck in my tastes when she was 10 or 11 years old. But that quickly and without warning turned into 15, 16… the age when she left.

Despite all the ups and downs… I never really knew the way her life was, her own life thousands of miles away from me, still, I tried to be close.

[anonymouschishiyaimaginesandmore]

[Scrubs_MD]

Minors, do not read! Contains mentions of smutty behavior!

MASTERLIST (up-to-date)

This is Part 1 !!HERE!! is Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Alice in Borderland/Imawa no Kuni no Alice characters or original stories, only the plot of this fanfic. Alice in Borderland/Imawa no Kuni no Alice characters and original storyline belong to Haro Aso, who made the Manga the Series is based on.

Trigger Warning: Explicit Smut Summery: Chishiya x female OC that I gave a Name for this Story

Asana was a good kid when she grew up. She came from a good family with a good background and good parents that just happen to be, you guessed it, good.

And all that stuff stayed that way until Asa, how she preferred to get called, was old enough to start Uni and it just happened to be in Japan’s most populated City, but hey it wasn’t her fault, like her siblings tend to treat it.

It was just that the stuff she wanted to study could be nowhere better archived than there, tho Asa didn’t mind not having to share her room and privacy with the younger ones, so of course she moved. Sadly, the country bumpkin soon had to find out that living in the big City, especially the fancy part of Shibuya was one hell of an expensive place.

Everywhere she looked, prices were bambooing into the sky and Asa didn’t even put the cost of each university year into account. She was constantly running low. Her wallet was dry and empty and the times she did got her twitching fingers on some coin, groceries and other necessities pulled them out again almost instantly. Damn life but meh.

While she did find a cheap place to stay, sharing an apartment with 5 other roommates, money still was tight and the chances to get a job outside of school and work, since all the time she wasn’t spending inside of a lecture hall, was taken by patients in the hospital, running around and demanding her attention while constantly dying, nonexistent.

But Asa didn’t mind it. She loved medicine, it has always been her dream of becoming a doctor so a parttime job had to fill the same gaps of her free time hours and what would be better than Camming right?

One of her Roommates, a girl that already left since she made a good amount of money on the side and didn’t need to share her space anymore, brought up the Idea, splitting the tea and telling poor naïve Asa about all the adventures she had online by showing off her body and moving in sultry ways that were meant to attract horny guys with too much paper in their pockets. And she did.

Since the girl showed Asa the numbers on her account, that just seemed way too unbelievable to be true but didn’t look horrendous enough to forget and asking her if she wanted to join her in a session, things kind of got out of hand fast.

So before Asa could really say what happened, the roommate has left the apartment and Asa picked up where the girl left with her own show, dancing and jumping and flirting on demand.

The roommate has shared some knowledge and Asa was already kind of introduced after a few accompanied sessions, so things did start off smoothy and after a few of her own shows, the young girl has gotten completely used to share her privacy anew. This time with strangers and showing off a lot of skin.

Thirsty Lorelay just started her newest session, come and join her!

Chishiya read the popped-up message at the right side of his screen, while scrolling thru pictures with links to boring Cam shows he already tried but didn’t thrill him in any way.

None of them attracted his lingering desire to get entertained for the night. Not since he dived into the erotic part of the darknet, watching woman undress and moan on his command.

It did have a lot of interesting advantages to tell someone exactly how to behave in front of him, instead of watching already filmed movies where he had no say in how things could possibly turn out and more importantly turn him on. Chishiya has found himself drawn more and more to the forbidden entertainment of online girls.

He was a man after all. The want to get off in a thrilling way came from time to time and it was also a good action to blow off pent up steam.

His dads credit card was the best way to get it and soon Chishiya found himself among other horny people, cheering and promising good money to see more and more of a person, tho he was rather of the silent lingering in a corner type, that overwatched the situation and the people’s reaction to every bit of falling clothing and exposed skin.

The VPN he created at the very beginning of his dive into adventurous streams, made sure to hide his location and that was a precautionary measure he just didn’t want to miss.

In case some hacker would try to trace back his location to frame or blackmail him for payment, Chishiya was safe at least with the newest and best software he could get for his money. No way he would let that happen. Chishiya was too smart of a guy to risk such measures, so he always made sure to hide his IP Adress as good as possible with the newest program and all his might.

However, this action also gave him the wonderful opportunity to watch and explore Cam shows that have been restricted for his location. He knew that some of the girls he watched weren’t dumb enough to pose half naked and then share their identity online, so they could be blamed and found out as the hot but dirty girl the husband or boyfriend or whatever man watched the show, blamed them to be.

People had things to lose. Reputations, their name and their face among family and friends, so, on some occasions, Chishiya turned all other locations off just to see the cam shows that were normally hidden from him.

It gave him the extra kick to know that the girls he enjoyed had no idea he could be their Neighbor or collage or maybe just the guy standing next to them in the underground train.

The show of Thirsty Lorelay asked for 3 000 yen as an entrance fee, but the first 5 minutes were free of charge, so Chishiya decided to take a look what this sinful siren could offer him for his money. His day has been boring. His supervisor didn’t like how much more Chishiya knew about certain aspects the man had to learn more then 10 years ago, so he let him run lap tests instead of joining in on examinations.

What a looser, Chishiya thought. Jealous of a guy half his age. It wasn’t the blond mans fault he was smarter than this old saggy balls neighbor whose wife was probably fucking the pool boy while he had to teach med students how to not kill people the first seconds they entered the ER.

Chishiya taped on his tablets screen that he carried with him everywhere, so he could work and study from the small bistro he liked to enjoy his coffee, all to the library he spends most of his free time in.

The chat took a while too load. Apparently, his newest addition to the list of possible strangers from the street, moaning for him on demand, had a good sum of visitors and Chishiya immediately knew why.

The way the girl, surely not older than him, swayed her hips while laying down on the bed in front of the camera to greet everyone and thanking them for joining her, spoke of someone who was used to this kind of behavior online.

Surely not an amateur and Chishiya smiled to himself, when she read his username, commenting on the nice choice of avatar. It was his upper body, aside from his face. Nude and almost completely hairless with light hints of muscles and a chiseled V-line pointing towards his groin like an arrow.

Chishiya was just not the type to work out constantly, he had to time for it, nor the ambition and his body was showing that, but he was lean, and his skin had a healthy and nice tone with a slightly raised chest and a flat abdomen.

The happy trail showed the dark trimmed hair of his and led down to the black hem of his confinements. That was all he was sharing of himself and with small delight, the blond med student watched the girl bite her lower lip, chewing on it for seconds before releasing it and blowing him a kiss.

One, just for him.

She then went on telling everyone how her day went, unbuttoning her plain boring floral shirt that she probably used to wear all day.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I was shopping” she retold the happening “And there was this guy an isle behind me, watching very obviously how I bend over to get something from the lowest part of the shelf. I felt his eyes on me and I swear I could hear him lick his dry fucking lips.”

She giggled amused while one button followed the next one revealing more and more skin too slow for his liking, but okay, she just started, so the blond man forgave her for teasing him.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Then I thought maybe he was one of you guys and you know what? That totally got me creaming my panties.”

Me too, Chishiya thought, imagining the good-looking patient his collage had today could have been thirsty Lorelay. His flaccid dick twitch under the stiff cover of his pants and the blond man took in a deep breath.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Just thinking one of you could be watching me right then and there, doing my every day and thinking nothing bad could happen”

The last button popped, and the girl slid open the fabric, offering a good view of red lace lingerie that was in no way on the same level of practical clothing like the ugly shirt.

Thirsty Lorelay: “That turned me on so much, I would have loved to know what he was thinking”

“Sure, you did” Chishiya said to himself, scoffing a little too sarcastic. He knew all the girl told him right now, was probably a lie. Maybe she did go grocery shopping this day, but her kind doesn’t tend to view creeps in the wild the same way they did online. After all, why else would she hide her identity if it would be different. The black cotton mask around her eyes wasn’t there to cover possible wrinkles she sure didn’t possess.

No matter, her sultry spoken words indicated something else and the way she turned from a boring no one to a hidden gem right in front of him, was enough to pull him into the fantasy.

Thirsty Lorelay: “The guy sadly did nothing, thought a small bump here and a nice grind there would have been very welcomed.”

The girl winked suggestive and Chishiya slid deeper into his chair. He was at home. The tablet on his lap, hold up by angled legs, watching Fullscreen how an everyday girl told him about fantasies while undressing in the slowest way possible.

Thirsty Lorelay: “What would you guys do if you would met me outside and you knew who I am but I have no idea who you are?”

The shirt slipped over her shoulders while the girl arched her back, titling her head to the side and giving everyone a nice view of just how charming she was.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Would you come over and speak to me?”

Fabric lowered more and more, until her arms were trapped behind her back, hold in place by the ugly shirt she wore moments ago. The round lines of her breasts ended where the fabric begun and even tho it hit so much of precious skin, its tight hugging features also revealed more and more of her wonderful appetizing curves, turning her into an erotic wanking remedy he just couldn’t reach.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Would you tell me how beautiful I am?”

Her chest rose while her voice lowered to an electrifying tone. Dark eyes fluttered shut while her back kept arching towards the camera and she sighed in a hopeless frustrated manner that instantly shot a sign from his brain to his defined dick, still caged between layers of fabric.

Thanks to her behavior, goosebumps raised all over Chishiyas body and he became painfully aware how stiff his neck has gotten over the day, as he leaned forward to get a closer view of the stream unfolding in front of him.

Thirsty Lorelay: “How much you want to drag me out of here and find the next place to ravish me?”

Chishiya watched how her set up posture, sitting back on legs and kept up by knees, parted shameless thighs, promising guilty pleasure but not showing anything besides small pieces of skin he already discovered. He wanted more. Needed it.

To see demanded it now. Growing more and more impatient with every oh so small move the girl far away from him did right now, Chishiya panted now so close against his tablet, fog was building up on the plastic screen, making him realize how much off a fool he was making of himself and sitting back, slightly annoyed at his own want.

She was obviously not willing to let the man in him see what he wanted. Yet. But Chishiya knew that all streams eventually went the same way, and he could wait. Just for now. While a tiny bit of hope raised in him that maybe, just maybe he would have a wonderful evening today after that terrible work he had to endure.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I would have loved that”

With those words, the girl bit her finger and fell on her back, giggling like crazy and wiggling her spine, while her ass slightly raised from the sheets under her, swinging left and right in a playful matter. Then, said finger started its own adventure down her upper body, making every watching person oh so aware of how fast her breath was going.

It begun at her chin and Chishiya gulped, as she drew the outlines of her lips before the small digit withed lower towards her chest and between soft hills of untouched land, to her navel where she drew some rounds, before parting and stopping at the hem of her plaid flat skirt that hid all too well what so many man craved right now.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Where would you have taken me?” she asked further “Your home? To your bed? Or would the situation make you so impatient, that the next ally would have to do?”

The Chat went nuts. Chishiya watched how man after man wrote down sentences of locations, offering way too much of their own information, while explaining what they would do to her if they could get her into their hands.

[SelflessLover69]: I would take my time with you and get you home.

[BigBratThatLovesItHard]: You deserve some nice cock

[HornyDudeNextDoor]: Damn Lory you look so hot

[Masturbator666]: Tie you up and give it to you hard

[Arouse_Me_Mommy]: I bet that sweet mouth knows how to suck good dick

[NaughtyBoy_123]: Shit I could come right over that belly

[AnnonymousGuest]: Be a good girl and you get what you want Lory

[FriskyMe78]: What a sweetheart you are

[RideMyFace]: Baby girl knows what she wants

Chishiya saw plenty of these comments appear. They all tried to outdo eachother and get the girls attention, while she did nothing but tracing her exposed upper body with lost fingers.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Tze tze tze you guys are so dirty” the performer said, shaking her index finger in front of the camera “So impatient” her tongue was pressed against the front of her lips while she moved her head from left to right, smiling all devilish “Your lewd comments alone could make me cum” hips raised to meet the oncoming touch.

Lorelay rose back to sit on her legs. Knees dig deep into the white sheets of her blanket while she sighed in played frustration again, before suddenly her face shifted into a devilish grin with mischievously glinting eyes.

Thirsty Lorelay: “But not today bad boys” she said, reaching for something behind the camera, retrieving it with a purple something in hand and giving the new toy a long, wet and tonguely lick “Today…I want you guys to ravish me with your looks. You think you can do that?” kissing the tip and winking at the lens and everyone behind it.

Again, the Chat went berserk, answering with so many yes’s and pleads, the smaller comments on her appearances got drowned in seconds.

Chishiya watched with raising impressment how the girl that barely undressed in any way already had her crowd cheering in madness, dropping money with wishes and asks for a private chat. But Lorelay ignored them mostly, turning on the vibrating function of her new purple toy and letting it explore her body.

Thirsty Lorelay: “I think” she said reaching her navel anew, the upper part plunging into the way too tiny hole, what made her abdomen flex and retract and forced small gasps out of her sinful throat “Today, there won’t be any penetration.”

[Masturbator666]: Oh no

[AnnonymousGuest]: Why?

Thirsty Lorelay: “I have been such a bad girl, you guys should have seen me at work”

[XXX_SmexyMe_XXX]: Work sucks

[NaughtyBoy_123]: What happened?

[BabyMaker53]: I would have fucked you on my desk if we met at work

[MilfPounder_XX]: You would look so pretty on my cock

[RideMyFace]: Baby girl can ride me all day

Thirsty Lorelay: “My supervisor told me to do something, and I was soouuu bratty” the vibrator moved lower “I didn’t move a finger” right over her hidden cunt “Not a single one” pressing hard against the flesh and eliciting a long desperate mewl “I have such terrible manners” she gasped and Chishiya parted his legs go give his growing bulge more space.

[BigBratThatLovesItHard]: Such a selfish baby

[Ass_on_Me]: So spoiled

Thirsty Lorelay: “He should have spanked me, maybe then I would have listened”

The vibrator went along her thighs and Chishiya saw the goosy flesh pimpling all over her otherwise so smooth skin. He was already addicted to count each one of them, probably hard before he reached even half.

[BabyMaker53]: I forgive you

[HornyDudeNextDoor]: I would ruin you instead

The girl giggled again, letting out a long mhmm as the toy disappeared under her skirt and Chishiya went back to huff and puff against the screen, fogging it all over again.

Thirsty Lorelay: “But we can still have so much fun”

[ProneBoner]: Take off the skirt!!

[RickSpanks]: Show me some skin

[BabyMaker]: Yeah take off the skirt

[Sir_ Cum_a_lot]: We wanna see some good pussy

[BiggusDickus]: Let the London bridge come down!

Thirsty Lorelay: “You guys want me to take off my skirt?”

The chat started cheering, chanting words repeatedly that told her to yes, take off the skirt. Pleads over pleads all begging for the same thing while all she did was snicker all giddily.

Chishiya, under the username Scrubs_MD couldn't help but chuckle at the desperate commands some man did. His eyes followed the toy as she set it aside carefully, then back to her fingers grabbing the zipper on her right hip, pulling it down agonizingly slowly.

Thirsty Lorelay: “You want me naked so fast?���

Again, many yes toppled the chat.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Greedy boys. So impatient”

But Lorelay did what the chat asked her to do and pulled the zipper down, revealing more lingerie in red scandalous lace. Until now, only her thin waist promised what could await a man if he got lucky enough to do meet her in real life, but now it peaked and giving the cheering mass hope for a glance all over. The skirt fell and Chishiya bit his lip, chewing on the sensitive skin as his cock jumped in joy.

What a tease this girl was. Other performer would have already taken off all their clothes, leaving maybe a bra on or just the panties, but Lorelay was still wearing too much for the blond mans liking. He couldn’t wait to see more and so Chishiya tapped the screen, typing a number that he knew only the girl could see.

And she saw it. The message of Scrubs_MD popped up on Asa’s screen, offering her 7 000 yen if she took of her underwear. It made her smile to herself, knowing how much this guy was thriving to see her most inner parts. To have her all on display and enjoy her looks, while telling her how beautiful she was. Back in her hometown, no one ever told her that.

She was nothing more than a Daisy among others. She was called cute and sweet and on some occasions lovely, but never has any man craved to see more of her, obsessed at the thought what she could hide under baggy hoodies and washed out jeans. This Chat was different. All those men wanted her. Begged for her attention and paid money for the tiniest bit sinful skin that only she could offer.

The blissful moments she gave herself were all situations that those man hoped to see more and more of and here she was, depriving Scrubs_MD of a way too soon end, knowing damn well that it would only make him want her more if she kept playing with him.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Nice try, scrubs, but you gotta have to wait like everyone else”

The skirt fell nonetheless and exposed more delicate slick skin, pristine and unspoiled.

No I don’t, Chishiya thought, typing another number and sending away the offer, sure this time he would get what he paid for.

Asa read the new number looking directly into the camera and cocking her head while flashing a seductive discreed smile only for him.

Thirsty Lorelay: “Nah ah, what a stubborn boy you are”

The blond doctor was sure he had her where she wanted. After all, the numbers had doubled and if he was honest, it was the highest he ever paid to have a girl undress in an open chat, but to his surprise, the girl refused again, what weirdy made him proudly puffing his chest up.

Now that he didn’t get what he wanted, Chishiya couldn’t wait to see what was worth more than 14 000 yen. His eyes scanned the girls body up and down. There was a scar on her waist right above her appendix that obviously has been taken out years ago when she was younger and one on her left side, right where her strongest muscle was beating steady, so Chishiya indicated that she also had a heart surgery long ago, since the scar tissue had paled to a nice ivory tint.

On her left thigh there was a collection of small reddish dots. 5 Moles so close to eachother forming the oddly close form of the constellation Cassiopeia. Chishiya narrowed his eyes, squinting while almost faceplanting on his tablet. It looked exactly like the constellation.

It can’t be, Chishiya thought, leaning back into his chair. No way this was a natural birthmark. The blond man was sure it had to be tattooed on her skin, but the fact that at least 3 of them looked a little frayed, told him differently.

He observed now with higher interest how the female camgirl grabbed her toy again and fell to her side, laying completely down and giving everyone a good look of how Leonardo Di ’Caprio would have drawn this not so french girl.

The Vibration made a comeback and disappeared immediately between her legs, hidden by her thighs side that had the 5 small dots playing with Chishiyas mind. Her back arched upwards as the tip likely traced the clothed part of her folds, maybe even dipping in? Who knows.

The crowd could only speculate on it and so could Chishiya. Looking for signs of her body that could indicate that the pleasure she displayed to have, was real or faked. His eyes took more and more of her every move in, making his own heart race with anticipation.

Then it happened. Her free hand reached for her chest, opening the front clip with skilled fingers and Chishiya catched himself holding his breath, while wait for the cups to pile away, but the fabric stayed where it was, not revealing anything and Chishiya groaned annoyed at cursing the stupid designers of this erotic piece of clothing that again deprived him of the least bit of fun he could have set his eyes on.

[theroseceleste]

Pilot Miguel - Part 9 - Don't Toy With Me

Miguel has a surprise for you but you can only see it when you next see him. What could it be? And where are you going next?

Word count : 5180

Minors DNI

Contains : Smut : use of vibrator, penetrative sex, oral

Enjoy! xx

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

If you enjoy this fic, please consider liking, commenting or re-blogging. Many thanks xx

“I bought you something…”

Your phone flashes up with a message from Miguel one afternoon while you’re cleaning the kitchen in your apartment. Putting the sponge down, you pick up your phone and reply after rolling your eyes. The keyboard clacks as you type.

“I thought we agreed you weren’t going to spend any more money on me…”

You hold the phone and wait. It isn’t long before you see him typing back.

“I think you’ll find we agreed I won’t spend money on you during our trips. You never said anything about when we’re not on our trips.”

Damn it! He’s such a smart ass…

“Trust you to find a loophole. Go on, what did you get me?” you ask in your message back.

“You shall have to wait until we next see each other.”

You groan out loud when you read his reply.

“And when will that be?”

“In a few days time. I'm flying to England and you will be too.”

The phone almost drops out of your hands. England?! That’s one of the top countries you want to visit and you get to do it with your boyfriend!

Paris joins Acapulco in your small but growing collection of distant dreams. However, since then, you have decided to make things official.

Ashley, your roommate, is over the moon for you. Your stories of him getting your phone back in Paris and taking you to Versailles swayed her more to thinking that Miguel is genuine.

You and Ashley did some digging when you returned from Paris. The pair of you searched the hotel’s website for room prices. That man blasted nearly €10,000 for the two nights you spent together! No man who is after just screwing around until he gets bored would throw away that kind of money. This guy likes you. Like, he really likes you. €10,000… And you worried that the Chanel dress was too much… The fact that he spent that crazy amount of money so willingly, without a bat of an eyelid, makes you feel woozy.

Another way of making the relationship ‘official’ is mentioning you have a boyfriend to your parents. Yours and his picture in Paris has been sent to any member of the family who has a phone which is pretty much everyone. The whole freaking family knows about Miguel - thanks to your mother. She’s excited for you though. She can see the stars in your eyes and the blush in your cheeks when you talk about him. It’s only been a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things but the relationship is becoming more serious each time you meet.

The both of you are yet to visit each other’s homes still. But at least you now know he lives in the same city as you.

“Hello? Earth to (Y/N).”

Another text comes in. Your mind went down a rabbit hole for a moment.

“England? Wow! I’ve always wanted to go! Still want to know what you got me…”

“Patience, chiquita…”

Your mind runs wild with ideas about what he’s bought you. You wonder if it has anything to do with England… Well, whatever it is, it better not be nearly ten thousand in any currency!

Now feeling too excited about your upcoming travel, the kitchen suddenly feels even less appealing.

You know it’s the day you fly with Miguel because that’s when you wake up with butterflies fluttering in your stomach the moment you open your eyes.

It’s a blessing and a curse. The blessing; what other way is better than waking up feeling like this? You can’t wait to get the day started, get ready for work, get ready for flying, get ready for him. The curse; why does it have to be so damn early? Looking at the clock, it’s not even seven AM. What makes things worse is that it’s an evening flight, so now that you’re wide awake, you’ll have to wait even longer.

After the hours painfully pass by, you finally make it to the airport. As arranged, you meet up in the staff car park first for a quick, secret reunion kiss before you walk together into the terminal. Now begins the usual airport routine. Queue at check-in, stare daggers at the other girls who wave at your man, then head for security.

He lets you go ahead of him in the queue for security and you start to do the usual. Remove your shoes, placing them into a crate alongside your hand-luggage and cellphone.

As always, you step through the metal detector without triggering it and you begin to get your items packed back in your luggage again as Miguel goes through. By the time you’re done, he comes away from the hand-luggage check area with a bit of a smirk.

“Are you alright?” you ask as he approaches you.

“Fine,” he replies, “they just wanted to check something in my bag.”

After security, you walk through the Duty Free section and find out what gate the plane will be at. Before you approach the staff lounge, you’re surprised when Miguel pulls you aside into a quiet, slightly secluded area near a bathroom.

“Take my luggage into the ladies, open it and wear the thing you find in the clear plastic bag.”

He speaks to you in a hushed tone, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Please…”

“Miguel—“

He looks at you with an expression he hasn’t given you in a while. The novelty of calling him by his name wore off in Paris but you two have been apart since. It seems uttering his name once more does something to him.

“Just do it, chiquita. Por favor?”

You have to admit, you are intrigued.

“Fine.”

Taking his bag, which isn’t at all suspicious - it totally is… you roll it into the deserted ladies bathroom and into a cubicle. You sigh before opening it, your heart pounding slightly as you wonder what he wants you to wear. Probably a different pair of panties or something…

WRONG

Opening the lid, you’re greeted with the plastic bag he told you about. Only it doesn’t have sexy panties in there. Picking it up, you find a silicone vibrator complete with a cord, an absorbent pad and a small bottle of lube. Oh, shit.

You grab your phone and text him immediately.

“Are you fucking serious?!”

The text bubble indicating that he’s typing flashes up, only for a second before a one word reply appears.

“Absolutely.”

The keyboard clacks as you type back.

“You do know there’s supposed to be a remote with this?”

“In my pocket.”

Oh dear lord. This is what security wanted to check. That explains his smirk earlier.

You nearly gasp when you realise this is the thing he bought you.

Another text comes in.

“Better hurry. Your team will be starting the pre-flight brief soon.”

A groan reverberates in your cubicle. Is this really happening? You pinch yourself - ouch - yes, it’s really happening…

Another text flashes up.

“Tick tock…”

You jab back on the screen.

“Yes, alright!”

You finally pull your skirt and panties down. Opening the bottle of lube, you pour some of it onto your fingers and smother it over the curved vibrator, the smooth pink silicone glistening in the light.

Your phone buzzes again, making you flinch. What now?

“Don’t forget to turn it on. I’ll know if you don’t…”

Turning the now slippery item over in your hand you find the power button. You hold it down until a tiny LED light starts blinking.

Another soft groan fills the enclosed space as you position it at your entrance. A gentle push is all it takes as the lubricant does its job. Now nestled inside against your g-spot is the vibrator, primed and ready to make the next six hours an exhausting rollercoaster - starting from now.

BUZZ

“Ahhh!” you cry out as your core is rudely awakened by the intrusive buzzing.

Your legs give out immediately before you fall to the floor. That cheeky bastard of a boyfriend of yours has just activated it. Now you know why he left an absorbent pad in the bag too. At the end of this, you’re going to be wetter than the Atlantic Ocean. The vibrations are jamming everything, your muscles and your thoughts. It’s going to be a miracle if you survive this flight.

The buzzing deep within you stops, and your phone vibrates twice, shortly after.

“Just testing the range.” - Thanks for the warning…

“Also, I hope you’re alone in there. I heard you from here.”

You grumble as you stagger back to your feet, fit the pad into your underwear and get dressed again. He’s going to pay for this, and you have a whole night flight to cook up an evil plan.

Leaving the bathroom is easier than you expected. The toy is nestled nicely within you while cord pokes out, being bent against your clit as your panties are holding it there.

The sound of your heels striking the floor with every footstep makes Miguel look up from his phone.

“There you are,” he says softly as he takes his bag back from you.

He opens it to check the toy is definitively not in there.

“I’m definitely wearing it, O’Hara,” you say, sounding perhaps with a little more attitude than originally intended.

Miguel grabs your arm and pulls you close. His mouth grazes against your ear as he whispers darkly.

“I can hardly grab your pussy to che—“

“Migs!”

He lets go of you immediately and straightens up, eyes wide and twitching slightly.

Oh no…

A short woman with strawberry-blonde bob poking out under her pilot’s hat slides into view. She saw Miguel’s broad shoulder poking out from your little alcove further along the corridor and knew instantly it was him.

“It’s my favourite Captain! Yay!”

“Lyla…” you hear him un-enthusiastic reply.

Like with every flight, when surrounded by people he doesn’t know, he gets uncomfortable and his personality disappears in an instant. You find it strange, but sweet that you have been able to break his barrier, his defensive walls, and see the real him.

Lyla spots you as she approaches.

“Oh… I hope I’m not interrupting anything...”

She looks left and right with an animated expression as if to say ‘oops’.

You don’t feel the slightest bit threatened by Lyla’s presence, and come to think of it, Jess Drew too. They both seem totally unaware of Miguel’s handsomely good looks. Which is relieving for the both of you. However, Lyla makes up for the lack of infatuation by teasing him it seems.

“C’mon, we’ll be boarding soon!”

She pats Miguel on the shoulder as he reluctantly steps away from you. You follow closely behind, amused at how stiff Miguel is in comparison to Lyla. It seems like his comeuppance is starting earlier than you thought. But you have your own delicious plan brewing in your mind…

The pre-flight brief goes well. As always, you’re in first class, which is good news and bad news. First class is the smallest section of the plane so you have fewer people to serve. But this also means you’re likely to be in range from Miguel’s remote control. You squeeze your legs together, feeling the pink cord press against your clit as you do so.

You know for sure Miguel won’t play with the toy until after take off and flying at cruising altitude. He takes check-lists and safety measures far too seriously to get distracted by making you squirm, no matter how much he wants to. However, you just know the first time he does turn it on, it will render you useless.

“So, what’s the story with you and the first-class girl, Migs?” Lyla asks, interrupting the sweet silence as the plane cruises comfortably at forty-thousand feet.

Miguel growls slightly at her nickname for him.

“Who says there’s a story to tell?” he finally responds, sounding cryptic as he keeps a keen eye on the sky.

Quite a bit off to the right, he sees a plane flying in the same direction but at a different altitude. Its engines leave trails streaking behind it.

“C’mon Migs, it’s obvious there’s something going on between you two.”

He blinks momentarily in silence.

“Is that so?”

Lyla shrugs as she watches the sky too.

“The way you look at her for a start. Then, there’s the way she looks back at you. I’ve noticed those quick, not-so-subtle glances between the two of you. The reaffirming smiles before resuming your usual neutral expressions,” she pauses to clear her throat.

“Then, of course I overheard you say something about grabbing her puss—“

“Lyla!” he snaps, doing everything he can to stop her completing her sentence.

“What?! Just saying - there’s a story to tell…”

Miguel’s cheeks redden.

“Don’t forget the black boxes are listening to every word you say in the cockpit,” he growls.

“Yeah, I know. And that only gets listened to if something bad happens to the plane. Besides, we’re just having a conversation. Not my fault you can’t keep your cool.”

He notices a grin on her face. She’s so laid back and carefree it’s a wonder how she got into flying. Very much like Parker; good when it comes to the serious stuff, but the moment the plane’s on autopilot, they relax almost a little too much.

“I’d just appreciate it if we don’t discuss my personal life in the cockpit.”

Miguel glances at the apparatus, making sure everything is as it should be.

“Whatever you say, Migs,” Lyla replies as she gets up from her chair and leaves the cockpit to take a short bathroom break.

Now alone, a small smile creeps across his face as his hand leaves the yoke and goes into his pocket…

You have just finished serving dinner to the first-class passengers as the plane soars eastwards into the darkening sky. Standing in the galley, you’re aware that Lyla has exited the cockpit and locked the door behind her, to stop anyone unauthorised from getting in.

Just as you’re about to take a sip of your drink of water, it begins. A deep, buzzing sensation erupts in your core, pressing right up against your g-spot. You double over and clasp a hand over your mouth to stifle a yelp. Fuck!

As the strong vibrations stimulate your insides, the cord of the toy tickles your sensitive bud too. Your eyes almost roll backwards as you feel like your body has been jump started with an electric shock. Your muscles tensing as you sink to the floor of the galley as quietly as possible.

Then you feel a trickle of arousal begin to drip. You’re thankful that he considered the state you’d be in once he’s done toying with you.

The persistent buzzing changes into a pulsing rhythm, he’s changed it to a different mode and you curse him under your breath as it arouses you even further.

You take deep breaths to try and push through the hampering moment. Your body adjusting to the pleasurable disturbances within you.

Finally, it stops just before Lyla unlocks the bathroom door. You quickly rise to your feet, albeit a little wobbly and looking wildly flustered.

Lyla’s eyes land on you as she emerges from the bathroom and looks at you quizzically.

“You alright?” she asks, raising an amused eyebrow.

You nod as you’re not sure you’re able to speak.

“Ooookay…” Lyla says, strongly suspecting that something is definitely going on as she shuts the bathroom door and enters the security code to gain access to the cockpit.

Miguel stores the remote back in his pocket, his cock twitches slightly at the thought of you clenching around the vibrator. However he has to stop fantasising over how wet and needy you’re going to be for him later as Lyla steps back into the cockpit.

“Whatever you did to her just now, she’s all flustered in the galley…” Lyla reports as she takes her seat and straps herself in.

“And you say there’s no story to tell…”

The Captain stares blankly into the dark blue sky, transitioning into solid black. Eventually, a small smirk grows across his lips which his co-pilot notices.

“Naughty boy…”

“I didn’t go out there and do anything…”

“You don’t have to, I know what you’re doing.”

Miguel can tell that Lyla is avoiding saying exactly what he’s doing in fear of him snapping at her again, but he’s amazed that she worked it out so damn quickly. She definitely is smart and incredibly observant.

A few times within every hour the flight takes, your boyfriend activates that damn toy. Each time, you nearly drop, or accidentally throw something into the air; the vibrations are that powerful and distracting. You recover quickly from them though as your body becomes desensitised to the initial shock when it starts each time. There have been a few occasions where he left it on long enough to nearly trigger an orgasm, only to cruelly leave you gasping and panting heavily as he turns it off before you get your release.

When Miguel’s voice sounds throughout the cabin telling passengers and crew to prepare for landing, you feel great relief as you know he’ll be leaving that remote well alone for the rest of the flight.

You’re absolutely soaked. The pad Miguel gave you did a good job, but even that is starting to struggle. If you feel one more vibration you’re certain you’ll cum on the spot. And you swear, when you get your hands on that man when you’re alone, you’ll give him everything he deserves.

The plane lands safely and smoothly as always, despite the raging arousal coursing through you, you can’t help but feel proud of your man.

Going through customs is once again hell, but this time for different reasons. Most of the excitable cabin crew have given up trying to flirt with the Captain. They eventually get the idea that they’d have better chances with a brick wall. This time, the struggle is Miguel being a smug bastard.

At any given moment that he can touch you, he does, without it looking too obvious. He’s driving you crazy and he knows it as you queue to have your passport checked. With all the teasing during the flight, you’re extremely aroused and needy. You can’t wait to get your hands on him.

“Do you need to head to the bathroom to, um… sort yourself out?” he asks quietly once you’re both cleared from customs.

A smirk forms on your face.

“Oh no, I’m good, thanks.”

He raises a quizzical eyebrow.

“You’ve removed it already?” he asks as his brown eyes wander over your hand luggage.

“Nope, still in there.”

His gaze snaps back to you.

“Did you enjoy your new toy?”

“Oh yes. I can’t wait to use it again later too…”

You give him a Cheshire Cat grin, the plan you have in mind will be delicious. The both of you make your way out of the airport terminal and to the hotel you’re booked into.

The room you have is nothing special, but you don’t care. What’s more important is who’s with you and what you’re about to do with them.

As soon as your hotel room door is closed you pounce on him. Desperate hands seize his uniform as hungry lips meet his. There’s a loud thud as he falls against the wall while the pair of you make-out furiously.

Before you become aware, his hand slips into his pocket. You hear a click followed by the deep buzzing sound inside your overstimulated core.

“Fuck!” you almost yell into his mouth as you lean against him for support.

His arms wrap around you, leaving the vibrator going, pulsing against your g-spot.

“The whole flight I wondered how you looked when I turned this on.”

He kisses your neck as you shudder, mouth agape, struggling to hold yourself together. Your plan is slowly slipping out of your hands. Losing yourself to this rapidly building orgasm. Do you surrender?

“I wish I was there for the first time I did it.”

Your resolve strengthens, trying to ignore every intrusive pulse massaging your sensitive spot.

“The first time had me on the floor in the galley,” you manage to reply in a breathless manner.

Miguel groans in your ear. Clearly the image of you sinking to the floor where anyone could find you while your body conceals a vibrator turns him on. He imagines how flustered you’d look if you were discovered. Or how you’d feel if it brought you to orgasm in front of a passenger.

You have to have the last laugh today. He can’t win again.

Your fingers begin to undo his jacket as you look at his tie; giving you an idea. A desperate groan leaves your lips as you squeeze your thighs together. The vibrations are almost too much.

“Turn it off…” you whisper, your brows knitted together with need.

“I want you to cum on it…”

“I want to cum on your cock,” you retort, you aren’t simply stating what you want, it’s an order.

He looks down at you as he feels you peel the jacket off of his shoulders. This is a new tone from you and he thinks he likes it. So demanding. But then again, what else should he expect from someone who’s been teased over five to six hours?

Your fingers now undo his tie, slipping the regal purple material from under his collar.

Another desperate groan fills the room as you try to resist a climax, spurring him on to reach for his pocket and turn it off.

A heavy sigh of relief is released from your parted lips. Your eyes close as you relish in the peace and stillness within you. The muscles in your core relax once more, unclenching around the toy.

You step away and remove your uniform, keeping his tie wrapped around your hand.

“What do you intend to do with that?” Miguel asks, gesturing towards his tie before removing his crisp white shirt.

“Finish getting undressed and you’ll find out,” you reply slyly.

Before long, you’re both naked and lying on the bed, kissing one another hungrily. You decide to turn it up a notch.

“I’m so wet for you…”

He moans as he imagines what it’s going to feel like, sliding into your heat with ease.

Your hand glides down his front as you watch his muscles flex under your delicate touch, until they reach his urgent dick.

“Looks like you’re ready for me…”

Miguel nods in response. Now it’s him looking all needy. Perfect.

“Turn over, baby. Hands behind your back.”

His half-closed eyes widen as he puts two and two together.

“You’re using my tie to restrain me, chiquita?” he mumbles.

You bite your lip and nod your head, hoping he’ll go ahead with this.

To your surprise, he does as you say. His magnificent body turns over on the bed. The muscles in his arms and back flex as he places his hands behind him.

Slowly you wrap the long purple material around his wrists and tie them together, making it as complex as possible so he can’t wriggle out of it.

Then, just because it’s there, you bite his ass cheek, like you did in Paris, earning a grunt before a groan as you suck on his firm skin.

“Fuck, baby… You hungry?”

“Mhmmm… very…”

“Get up and sit on the couch,” you instruct him before spanking his peachy ass which elicits a yelp.

You like this power you have over him. It feels good to change things up a bit.

Now, without the use of his arms, he struggles to get off of the bed. You decided to help him up.

He flops back into the couch, positioning his backside further forward on the cushion so he can make room for his restrained arms. His gorgeous, narrow hips presented perfectly for you. Ready and waiting.

His gaze rests upon you as you finally pull the vibrator from your pussy. It almost feels strange now that it’s gone. He nearly moans as he notices how much it glistens in the light.

The cushion dips even lower as you straddle his hips. The two of you look at each other quietly as you rest your hands against his shoulders and lower your hips slightly until the tip of his length kisses your drenched entrance.

“Is this my punishment for teasing you? I’m not allowed to touch you?” he asks seductively, thinking it’s cute you want to punish him.

“Maybe…” you whisper against his lips as you slowly start to sit.

“Maybe not…”

The tight ring of your core crowns his cock before sinking lower, taking him in deeper and deeper. You’re that wet, no hands are required to keep him in place. He just slides in with complete ease.

Whether it is his punishment or not, it’s already working. Your torturous descent on his shaft spurs him on to wriggle his arms to try and break free. To pull you onto him fully, to get you to take him right up to the hilt.

He feels so deep inside you, far deeper than the toy ever reached. It’s so satisfying feeling the hot skin of his dick infiltrating you, only adding to the inferno generated inside of you from the vibrator.

“Mhmmm chiquita, if this isn’t my punishment, then what is?”

His breath is shaky, making it almost impossible to speak. He starts to wonder what he’s got himself into.

“You’ll see…” you reply with a smirk.

You start off slow. Rippling your body with every rise and fall. Each ripple generates a delicious grind of your clit against his perfectly defined ‘V’ above his hips. With all the teasing you endured, you don’t think it’ll take too long. The smooth, pre-cum dripping head of his shaft gently massages over your g-spot, making up for the persistent, sharp, buzzing it has received over the last few hours.

“Mhmm you’re so deep inside me baby…” you moan to him before speeding up a bit.

He lets out a pathetic moan as you compliment his size, commenting how far inside of you he can reach.

“Keep riding me, chiquita - more…”

“You want more?”

“Ssssí~” he hisses with pleasure, his eyes almost closed.

You increase your efforts, speeding up, grinding harder. But then you cool things down, slowing and doing lighter ripples. He simply whimpers for more. You grin, this still isn’t his punishment.

For what feels like the millionth time today, a tightening sensation builds within you. His noises of need working alongside physical and satisfying stimulation, inside and out, brings you closer to your release.

He senses this too. Your moans are increasing in pitch and your breathing quickens. The hot, moist walls of your core clench hard around him. Harder than ever. He’s certainly given you a workout.

“Faster, please baby, faster!” he begs you, his voice breaking as he tries to speak

That desperation in his voice as he begs you is your tipping point. Your release feels well and truly mind blowing. You kiss him between your moans as you slow down your efforts.

“No…” he pauses as you kiss him, “no, don’t stop…”

You smirk against his lips as you brush his hair from his face.

“I’m all tired out, baby… it’s been a long day.”

“No! Please! You can’t just stop right now…”

Despite his urgent protests, you dismount him and step away from the couch. He cries out for you, moaning, begging.

His voice dies down however when he sees you grab the toy and the remote from his trousers pocket.

“What- what are you…”

“Shhh…” you hush him as you kneel between his parted legs in front of the sofa.

“You must be quiet, people are still sleeping…” you whisper to him with a grin.

The relentless buzz returns as you turn it on with the remote. This time, it’s louder as it’s no longer buried within you.

Miguel pants as he watches you inch the toy closer to his throbbing cock.

You press it against the sensitive tip, making his whole body tense up as he cries out again.

“Shhh… don’t make a sound remember? Just like how I couldn’t on the plane.”

He tips his head back as he tries to breathe deeply through the intense sensation. This is his punishment, like-for-like payback.

Slowly, you swirl the vibrating toy around the top, alternating in pressure with every revolution. His body jolts and tenses with each agonising moment that passes.

Then you drag the vibrator down the underside of his dick, running over every vein until you reach his balls.

He arches his back violently as his legs open wider in response to your teasing. You notice that he’s being quiet now, gritting his teeth.

Pre-cum beads at his slit after a large throb.

“Chi- chiquita…” he whispers, his big brown eyes looking at you pleadingly.

“Lo siento~” (I’m sorry)

His hips jolt again.

“Por favor, lo siento~” (Please, I’m sorry)

To change things up, you run the toy up and down his shaft, all around it.

You’re teasing him so much that pre-cum pools at the base of his length.

Another click on the remote changes the intensity and pattern. Rather than just constant buzzing, it pulses in a slow and steady rhythm. You watch, hypnotised as his hips thrust against the toy, desperately seeking more contact and stimulation.

Sweat beads on his skin, glinting in the light as he struggles to find his release.

Finally, you feel he’s been punished enough. The buzzing instantly stops at the press of the remote button and you put the toy aside.

Before he can say or do anything, your hands reach behind him to undo his restraints as you take him into your mouth. The taste of salt spreads across your tongue as you swirl it around the head.

“Fuck, chiquita!” he grunts as his arms break free.

Desperate fingers tug at your perfect bun, destroying the hair style and letting your locks tumble down around your face. With his hands in your hair, he pulls you down gently, careful not to make you choke.

Eventually, he pulls you up, making you release him with a wet pop. In one swift motion, he picks you up and carries you to the bed.

“I need to be inside you, properly…” he mumbles before placing you gently on the mattress.

Within seconds he’s on top of you, making love to you, grunting heavily into your ear.

He brings you to climax, one after another, until he finally gets his release. Loud groans fill the hotel room, erupting from his parted lips.

“Shhh! You’ll wake the other hotel guests…” you hush him before giggling quietly.

“I don’t care - fuck them…” he groans into your ear again.

“I’d rather you fuck me,” you retort.

“Your wish is my command…”

I hope you enjoyed Part 9! Part 10 and 11 are out on early access on Patreon.

Next Chapter >

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[itsoutrageouss]

Like a bellflower - chapter two

chapter two of like a bellflower, a Joel Miller x Fem!Oc fanfiction

warnings: blood, violence, clickers, typical tlou things

words: 2,4k

Story taglist // chapter one

2. No ammo, no sleep

✿✿✿

The soles of my feet were aching. We hadn’t spoken since he gave me his name. I tested it wordlessly on my tongue, joel, joel joel. Lot of tongue work in the name. As we walked, the sun baked over os, glaring peacefully at the destroyed land around us. The suburb houses with vines snaking over the woodwork, a firefly mark on one of them, I noted. 

Joel didn’t stop, or talk so I didn't either. I hadn’t felt this kind of peace in a while, I noted. Since that day, that damned day when Kade found me, nothing but terror had reigned in my body. It still did, creeping and simmering in the backbones of my body, under the waves it bubbled but I left it undisturbed for the time. 

As we moved, I thought it more and more ridiculous that the horse wasn’t used to carry at least one of us- I understood fully that it's a lovely companion to have just in itself but in today's world survival and practicality came first, and anything could be used as something it wasn’t. And I knew for a fact that horses were often used to carry people. 

I think Joel saw it in my face, when he from time to time looked over the horse to make sure I was still there, and saw my envious glare on the bag that was strapped over the horse. He too didn’t say anything. I felt like I was playing a game with him. Maybe if I lost and talked first he’d leave me on the roadside and ride off. Just the thought made a rush of anxiety shoot up my throat and into my mouth, my teeth clenching down hard on nothing. 

I think hours went by. I put a hand on the warm, moving body of the chestnut horse and closed my eyes, letting it lead me forward. I imagined I was back in Spain. Lovely, warm Spain with the orange trees and the stone courtyards. The sun was the same that had shone on my child-self in the rural part of the country, as well as in the city, when it would peak through church bells swinging back and forth. Sometimes I wondered, if we hadn’t gone back to the US for those couple of months -we pendled back and forth between America and Spain ever since i was born- life would’ve been different. My dad loved Spain more than anything- he would’ve gotten around better than we did here. But of course, doing a worldwide pandemic no flight would take us back. Now I knew I would never get to see the beauty of it again, and I didn't dare think of how it looked now; drowned in the dust of ruin and violence. I imagined the entire country had been enveloped by an impenetrable bubble. Everything there would be the same, spanish men with tan skin and loud laughs, nuns with kind smiles, dusty cats snaking around your ankles in the plazas. 

“Belle?” Joel's gruff voice shook me from my daydream, and I realized that my eyes had been closed the entire time. When i opened them again, joel was in front of me, blocking the bright sun that now shimmered around his shadow like he was an angel. 

“Hm?” 

“If you’re needing anything, now is the time to stock up,” he said, moving out of the way. We were at the foot of a bigger city. The kind with skyscrapers that had cracked halfway down like an old tree in a storm. The kind where plants had overgrown over every surface. Despite everything, the plants thrived and looked more beautiful than when us humans had control over the world. Now we felt like subjects to nature again. 

“Okay.” I needed ammo. I actually didn’t have any left. When I had pointed my gun at Joel, it was as empty a promise as it could be. All I could've done was throw it at him really hard. Maybe he knew. 

“You need ammo,” he said bluntly and started walking. Yes, he definitely knew. I sighed. An old convenience store snaked around the first corner we came to. The windows had been smashed and it looked dark and wet inside. This city might be infected by thousands, I thought. I pulled out a little knife from my belt. 

“Behind me,” Joel ordered, and his broad shoulder obstructed my view, his hands up and steady around his gun, back held tightly in suspense as we opened the door. Strangely enough, the little bell still worked and rang loudly as Joel opened the door. We were greeted, unluckily. A hoarse, broken sound of something once human screeched out as soon as we stepped inside. 

“Hide,'' Joel hissed, pushing me to the side behind an old rack of magazines. I nearly slipped on the dirty tile floor, wet with mud and blood and footprints. I snaked along the isles and pressed up against the corner. Joel was ahead, peering out behind the magazines. Clicking noises. They made shivers dance up my spine and I had to stop my body from crawling in on itself. On my left, between the back wall and an old produce aisle, I heard a low snarl and a click click click. Those noises were impossible for any human to make, ear piercing even when whispered. 

Joel moved swiftly and I whipped my head around to see him charge forward and out of my sight. If he didn’t know about the second clicker, it would come at him unprepared when the other would howl into its death. And I couldn’t tell him. I clutched the knife until the bones in my hand shook and left footsteps of mud as I ran the other way from Joel. I didn’t have time to strategise, or sneak because I heard the roar of the other clicker. It was like the sound activated something in me because I hurled onto the other clicker, stabbing with all my might into the stringy, meaty neck of the monster. The feel of the knife penetrating through flesh ripped through my hand, but I did it again. And again. Its arms flailed out trying to pry me off by scratching along my legs. Being clamored to such a nasty creature made me want to run; fast, hard and far. Instead I stabbed it over and over wherever the knife would hit, hoping it wouldn’t tear my own skin on accident. A pair of very human hands grabbed the creature's head and flung it to the ground, shaking me off simultaneously. I fell flat on my ass while Joel put one last stab in its back and the sounds died out with a painful wheeze. 

The palms of my hands burned where they had scraped the ground, blood mixing with mud. 

“Are you okay?” Joel asked, his gun pointed to the ground, though he still held it tight to his body, peering out the broken glass and into the backrooms of the kiosk. I reached up, and to my surprise tears were warm on my cheeks again. I really had to stop crying so much. I nodded and went to stand up. My bones had seemed to liquify and I might've fallen into a puddle, like spilled ice cream if I tried moving. 

I was so tired. My body had been on high alert ever since- ever since I killed all those people, and Kane found me on the ground. At that moment I hated that I didn’t have any bullets. He thought I was dead, but I scattered like a mouse when he tried to ransack me for stuff. I surrendered fully to him and his group- the only people around me that hadn’t died. 

“Hey! Are you hurt?” Joel asked, louder and seemingly annoyed at my lack of response. 

“No.” I didn’t have any wounds, at least. With a slipping grip I held onto the aisle shelves and dragged my skeleton up. A handprint of dark blood was left on the white, shiny metal. I didn’t want to look at it, and didn’t want to know how I looked, splattered in blood and tears. I bet my hair was all messed up. I liked to be clean in this unsanitary world but found it increasingly harder as time went by to uphold the same face and delicacy as before. My personal battle with the world; I was a restorer of softness in a place where everything was dirty and old. It was an art I felt everyone around me had left behind- the small joys and beauties of caring for yourself. Nice smells, blooming flowers, red cheeks. 

I started, realizing I was just standing, with no purpose or expression. Joel was growing impatient and I picked up my knife, sheathed it after cleaning it thoroughly. 

Joel had already moved along into the next room. 

“You needed ammo?” he asked, muffled behind walls. I puffed up my chest and willed my feet to move. The room was dark and humid. His back was turned to me, broad and bending over crates. 

I didn’t want more ammo, truth be told. “Yes. I don’t have any at all, actually.”

“What gun do you have?” he was rummaging still, pulling things out and placing them in a bag. I didn’t know.

“This one,” I muttered, fishing it out and holding it flat in my palm, balancing it carefully without touching it. The blood on my hands was staining and creasing in the lines of my palm. 

He only took a look at it before turning back around. I went to put the pack of ammo into my bag. The cardboard was wet and the bullets nearly fell from the absolving encasement. 

“You’re supposed to put them in the gun, you know?” Joel said with a brow raised. The scarce hint of amusement and sarcasm was the most emotion he’d expressed in the last 8 hours of knowing each other. It made me nervous, i felt ridiculous because obviously they were going in the gun but i'd rather put it off. I fumbled and the cardboard fell apart beneath my fingertips and bullets scattered onto the tiles, clanging loudly. Joel raised a hand to silence me, looking around. There was a pregnant pause. No clickers. 

I fell to the floor and picked the bullets up one by one, putting them into the holster with gritted teeth. Now it was done. No one said I had to use it just because it was loaded, though that was probably what was expected of me. Joel kept looking at me as if he was trying to figure something out. I didn’t want him to figure anything out so I headed back out into the sun. I felt his eyes following me, and once again I hid behind the horse. The trusty, big horse that divided us. I felt the muscles of its stomach contract under my palm as I smoothed along its side where the sun had hit. It felt the dust that clung to its coat, sweeping it off meticulously until the chestnut brown shone brightly. 

“What’s your name pretty?”  I asked sweetly, feeling the unmatched softness of a horse's mule. It breathed warm air onto the bare skin of my arm, bowing its head like a greeting to me. Whatever was on Joel's mind, he seemed to have dropped it when he came back.

“Doesn’t have one.” Instead of shying away on the other side of the animal, he stood in front of me, a hand held out waitingly. I screwed up my face in confusion. Did he want me to shake his hand? Give him something?

“You can barely walk straight.” he replied to my silent question. I felt grateful, but I didn’t want him to know that my feet were dying. I wasn’t going to be a bother to him already, especially not if he would start pulling me on the horse like a kid.

“That’s okay, I don’t mind walking,” I smiled, but I couldn't make it reach my eyes. I remember my dad would pull the horse along when we had wandered for nearly two days. I'd lay on its thick neck, watching the trees stroll past with half-lidded eyes. Someone stole our horse, though. 

“You follow my rules when you’re with me. We’re riding.” He unbound the horse and got up himself, scooting forward so I could sit behind him. With some awkward difficulty, grabbing Joel's jacket to pull myself up and almost pulling him down, I got up. The horse was big and spacious enough to leave some room between us. My legs tingled with exhaustion; felt light like when you took off a heavy backpack and I fought not to lean forward for something to rest on. I felt the strong body move underneath my legs, shifting us side to side as we rode slowly forward. The sun filtered in and out between the trees as we rode through the city. I peered up at the broken skyscrapers, plants blossoming out of its cracks like the kraken attacking a pirate ship. The horse rocked me like a crib, and with the steady rhythm of hooves, my spine curled more and more. Eventually my head knocked against Joel's back every few minutes. I only took in the world around me in abstract terms, like an art museum. Colors, shapes, sounds, fading in and out of reality. I didn’t even realize when the hooves stopped lulling me to sleep. 

“C’mon, scoot,” Joel suddenly wasn’t in front of me, and I nearly fell forward, catching myself on the broad horseback just in time with frail arms. I dragged myself forward drowsily by his command until my hands could reach the thick, warm neck. I felt Joel behind me, his arms encasing my sides as he grabbed the toils again. His legs squeezed the sides of mine to keep me falling. I tried to start myself awake somehow, tried grabbing the toils or lifting my neck that was impossibly heavy like lead. 

“Just go to sleep,” Joel's voice was soothing and low, and I'd barely registered his words before I fell backwards into him, head lolling against his shoulder. He didn’t move and I dozed off in a matter of seconds, but not before a little, warm tear rolled down my cheek. I hadn’t felt safe going to sleep for years before now.

✿✿✿

taglist:

@orcasoul @ashhlsstuff @rav3n-pascal22 @anyalc0h0lic @morgaussy @joelmillersblog @frecklefacelm @leqonsluv3r @jasminmariesworld @ilovemybrown-eyedbabygirl @dugiioh

[makima-s-most-smile]

Trigun Ultimate 2 (Part 4)

Will this volume ever end? Why do I have so much to say?

OOOOooOOooooh, it is woowootime. Nyehehehehehehe *continues to say even more about its favourite character!*

Trigun Ultimate: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 Trigun Maximum: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5

Chapter 6: A gathering of demons

Oh, I love how nightow portrays the vastness of the desert. How much is an ile? How big is this planet? Is it earthlike? With no oceans and all... are the cities splayed out? I am European and live in a big city conglomerate. In two hours, I can switch countries and visit like 20 different cities. This picture reminds me of the "Wild West". I remember American friends being shocked at how connected everything is and how we Europeans see distance. For them a 4-12 hour drive is totally normal and you are still in the same state. I can only imagine that No-Man's-Land is even worse than that.

But what does that entail? Is travel between cities something regular or something you only do if you try and get work or flee from something? There is the big trade between the cities, but those have to be the outliers. Sandstreamers being something like trains. I imagine that they are mostly used for commerce, then. Transporting people has to be a lesser side hustle.

But how long does the journey with a bus between the cities take? I'd say days with the thoughts I just had.

I leave the Wolfwood introduction panel out, because of the limitations for pictures, but damn, it is good. It also took me too long to realise that this was not fabricated, but that Wolfwood literally had a bike mishap. His whole interaction with Vash reads differently for me when I take this into consideration.

Three things. 1. what I like about Wolfwood’s design is that if you don’t take the tit window and the facial scruff into consideration, he is dressed like a typical Japanese salary man! A nobody, one of many. Black short hair with suit, he could be a 0815 background character/random casualty in nearly any anime/manga. But here, he falls out of the line. All in black in the desert heat, that is suicide! He is not dressed like the others in typical western clothes. He’s an outlier from the start but at the same time a very usual sight for us readers!

2. I love how silly and welcoming he is. He is just a very charming random dude. We next to never see him interact with random people after this, so we miss this side of him in the later volumes. But he easily fits in and connects, even as a weird outlier. He is an idiot, but an idiot with street smarts.

3. Maybe because I am not a native English speaker, but I stumbled more than once over the word “tradesman” as a colloquial term for assassin. Kinda a roundabout way to say, hey, if you’re interested in me, I may provide you with more information and maybe I have the kind of skill you’re looking for. Tradesman basically means person with a specific skill, so not elaborating on that, but letting people mock him always reads for me as Wolfwood playing with being caught/putting his “profession” down/offering work. That he has a good eye is shown on the next page with him immediately realising who Vash is (at least he know the bounty pics and knows how to look. Wolfwood is not faceblind!)

Without the context of Milly being especially perceptive, this always read for me as Vash being absolutely annoyed by Wolfwood and being distrusting, when in reality he seems to be already warming up to him. Like with us readers, Wolfwood has wormed himself into his heart already. Who could deny Wolfy?

“‘Bout time I left, anyway.” Rings differently when you know him more. Wolfwood is a person that has his foot already out of the door to be not a burden to anyone nice. And we learn that in his introduction.

Wolfwood looks so damn fucking young there. I always have big problems in discerning ages in Manga. But even with his scruff, Wolfwood looks barely out of his teens.

When I think about the different WooWoo-versions, I always deck '98 as the oldest in his mid to end thirties, Ultimate barely 20, Trimax 30 max and Stampede... Sorry, StampWolfwood, you are still in your teens for me. You are baby.

I always remembered Wolfwood as a liar by omission, but damn, he is doing everything but spelling stuff out.  “Not exactly just that…” Damn, and he looks so pained. Vash surely zoomed in on it. I now believe, the only reason why we know stuff so late about Wolfwood is because Vash never asked or tried to pin Wolfwood down.

The following pages is Wolfwood sharing his money with the orphans and I love it. We get to know Wolfwood as a very perceptive, benevolent and honest guy, who seems to be desperately begging for people to see him, to ask more about him. As much as he is funny, we also see someone who sees himself as a burden and who is burdened by a big responsibility and who still shares and gives as much as he can. No wonder Vash smiled with such earnesty. Wolfwood is the personification of what makes him still have hope in humanity.

Chapter 7: The demon’s eye

You know him just for this little bus drive and you already trust him with that info, Vash. Wolfwood is part of the team now, wether they realised it or not. Like I said in the chapter before, the journey must take longer, so they may have had a few days to bond.

He knows what happened. We learn in the next chapter why Wolfwood is there. It is easy to put two and two together for him.

Or regrets that they have to part ways and Wolfwood has to go back to being the Punisher. He had a short dance with Lady Death and then a little vacation where he could be human.

As much as we learn that Wolfwood hates his predicament, it is his duty. There is a reason why he does what he does.

It is kinda sad that Wolfwood left immediately. Nightow, most likely, had other stuff planned, but the cancellation of the magazine kinda threw a wrench into it. I kinda like how '98 did it with Vash and Wolfwood having their own little adventure on the journey.

Funny observation. People are there, because there is gunshots. Not children’s laughs or anything, it is gunshots that show that people are there. What a shitty world they live in.

08: The fifth moon

Did Legato control the corpses? Or did he “take in” the survivors and used experiments on them? Nicholas knows his bounties. Without him, I wouldn't peg them as the Slavers.

First of all, the hint/info that Vash and Knifes are both not human. A man between a rock and a hard place. A well-prepared dead man, but a dead man either way.

Since we as a reader already have a bond with Wolfwood, he is our point of reference for a "normal" human reaction to the shit that goes down. Nightow regularly flashes back to Wolfwood's reaction to it all. Either so we don't forget that he is part of the EVUL or to bring down that point how fucked up Knives is (especially with the SA-symbolism). People with uteri will agree either way that the scene with the sister being that pregnant and Knives bursting out is… massive body horror.

At least both legs and one arm are smashed, pelvis most likely, too, his head is squished into his torso, neck broken? and I have no idea how else he is crumbled up. Paper doll Legato

Vash didn’t only shoot himself to regain control. He shot Knives, too! He shot Knives to get free, but it was already too late.

While someone else (I am sorry, I am bad with names D; If I find you again, I will link your post) has put it brilliantly how Knives taking control over Vash can be read as assault, there is something else I’d like to point out.

Knives is the only person in the whole story who has been able to take control from Vash. We have seen him fight so many people, like Neon, Monev and others, but Vash never was not in control. He put rules upon himself that constricted him, e.g. the pacifism, but those constrictions were by his own decision. Vash takes into consideration that he may die, but it is by his own free will and as we have seen, he is a bit suicidal. Likewike, Vash gives people all the agency, all his agency. He mostly reacts to their decisions towards him. Knives is the only person in the whole world who is able to take away Vash’s agency and he uses that power over him. Not going into powerscaling or such a thing, but it shows what a powerful player Knives is.

Again, Wolfwood is our focus point for human reaction. Dude is scared out of his mind and mixing both brothers. Messengers of God coming to cast down judgement on us? That would be Knives, not Vash. But he demands an answer from Vash, with whom he already formed a connection. Wolfwood may feel even somewhat betrayed, as hypocritical as that is.

[punishabel]

But we weren't the kind of friends to lose contact despite all that. Akash went to Delhi to continue his Higher Secondary, he hated it over there. All kinds of new people, mostly racist towards him, but in any kind of place you went to, there was bound to be that initial discrimination, soon he had made some good friends and was starting to have some slight fun although the barely bearable heat and the recent heatwaves had him crying tears of blood at night.

The bastard really missed me and Bishu, of course we grew up in the same neighborhood but only became friends way later in 6th grade.

Summer really hit him bad this time.

He tried to find at least one good thing that Delhi had going for itself, but sadly the poor guy could not come up with even one thing, it was simultaneously both saddening and hilarious.

Myself being in Guwahati, proudly reputed as being one of Northeast India's most boiling cities, I could relate to him. We would often call and ask which city had it worse in terms of temperature. Guwahati lost a few times but was off with just one 3 or 4 degrees.

He really really missed Shillong and his old house, our childhood base of operations.

Bishu on the other hand had it easy since he went to Bangalore, the Tech City situated in the southern peninsula. Weather there was much like Shillong, "Very very pleasant and welcoming" in his own words, miles off from Delhi, though he got sick and caught a fever as soon as he reached the place he was going to stay at. Must've been the variety of new microbes entering his body.

We all had summer break for approximately 2 months and in the deepest and most unused corners of Akash's brain, rose an idea. And before we knew it, we were standing infront of our most cherished meeting spot, Akash's infamous house. The pungent smell that defined his home, though nostalgic, always remained a mystery to me.

Even after four years, I still can't seem to forget his house.

Me and Akash were just chilling inside his house, lounging on the worn-out bamboo couches and reminiscing about our old days. The air was thick with laughter and inside jokes, echoing through the familiar rooms that held so many memories. Bishu brought out a dusty old board game from his house, it was Ludo, and soon we were engrossed in a heated competition, teasing and cussing at each other mercilessly with every move. The hours slipped away unnoticed as we caught up on each other's lives, sharing tales of triumphs and setbacks since graduation. It was a moment frozen in time, where worries faded and bonds grew stronger amidst the oddly comforting scent of Akash's dilapidated wooden floor.

But suddenly, ours phones started to vibrate at the exact same time, almost in harmony. The sudden notification sound and intense vibration startled all of us. There appeared to be texts from the NDCAI

The messages read "Citizens are strictly prohibited from going outdoors and if you're outside head home immediately. this text is for your safety. Stay inside your houses and do not let any suspicious or strange individuals inside your houses.

National Disease Control Authority of India"

They were texts from the government. Normally messages that came from the government bodies were very detailed

with precise instructions but this text sounded very abrupt and seemed to be very much written in a hurry.

We get curious and turn on the news and we were blasted with reports of people panicking and screaming and right then...... a cameraman pointed to a scene where maddened people were eating and attacking others, it was a scene of blood and carnage everywhere and for some reason the channel operators didn't censor all the gore happening on the streets.

It was the doing of a zombie virus that was plaguing the streets of lower Shillong, it was called the Avita virus and there were more than 5800+ cases of infection, in one single day. It was insane.

Every major country had been the victim of Avita, there were infections everywhere. Scientists were also baffled as the RNA structure of this virus was impossibly unpredictable, they couldn't get a hold of Avita.

The three of us get dazed from watching the carnage unfold, I instantly reach for my phone to call my parents, but as I dialled the call, I was hit by a robotic voice saying communications are down for the network service provider.

It was to be expected, I couldn't imagine the number of people trying to call their loved ones to make sure they're okay.

I looked over Akash and Bishu and they had the same problem. It was incredibly frustrating, I wanted to know how my parents were doing and above all if they were safe.

All the screaming and panic from the news was starting to disconnect me from reality before Bishu turned it off.

I could see visible panic and uncertainty from Akash and Bishu, it was to be expected as they too must have wanted to know about the safety of their parents and siblings.

"Man we gotta figure something out guys" I said.

"No way this shit is real. A zombie virus seriously? What is the army doing?" Said Bishu.

He was visibly confused. He had every right though, seeing a zombie apocalypse unfold in front of our eyes was as unreal as the word unreal could define it.

"All our parents live in scarcely populated rural areas so they should be relatively safe." I said to reassure them.

Akash sighed.

"I guess you're right, my property in Manipur has very few people near us, but you know, still worried about my family man." said Akash.

I understood it all too well because that was case with me too.

Akash was trying to take it calmly but I could see a trickle of sweat on his forehead. Worry and panic are contagious things much like a virus.

"Fuck it man, we will survive. We ain't dying no dogs death. These undead fuckers can come to all they want, we'll send them back to hell as many times as they want. And don't you fuckers dare die on me now, I need y'all to think of yourselves as gods if you have to but make absolutely no fucking mistakes, make every decision with everyone's survival in mind. YOU WILL FUCKING SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN THIS WORLD!" I exclaimed.

I don't know where that speech came from, but at that moment I felt it, no we felt it together, something awakened in the three of us, a change that we all furiously wanted, but it had to be suppressed because of the peaceful good times.

This was what we always wanted, an apocalypse. A test of our wits and will, a challenge to push ourselves to the extremes of any moral, physical or psychological dilemmas. We dreamt of surviving an apocalypse. We will survive. We will protect each other until death, even after death.

"Guys now who wants to live and kick zombie ass?!" I cheered.

"We do!²"

They both forgot about their worries and cheered back

"Then now lets check what we have in stock in the house, check for any food and some weapons too, wait I saw a sack of potatoes Akash, how old are they?" I inquired while trying to distract myself from my thoughts.

"We just bought that sack 4 days ago, my parents wanted to take it along to Manipur but it was too much of a hassle" answered Akash.

The moment Bishu heard the word weapon he had a silly grin on his face. He was always into weapons, any kind, melee weapons such as aluminium bats, kukris, traditional swords from Meitei culture, he even crafted ranged weapons such as slingshots, bows and arrows. He was an incredibly crafty guy.

The houses of Akash and bishu were connected to each other, Akash's house being directly above Bishu's house. Though my house about 30 steps away. Very near.

There were a few knives in Akash's house but not the kind we could defend ourselves with but thankfully he had a few small shovels in his storage room. There were lots of useful things stored in the room, things like tarps, many buckets, hammers, axes, wood and planks and more.

"Aye Bishu, what happened to all those weapons you collected?" I asked.

"Shit man, I sent them all to Manipur, who'd know there would be a damned zombie apocalypse waiting for us man." He answered with remorse.

"Ah man, its alright, you still know how to make them right?" i said

"Yep its all in my brain. I can craft them again if i get the materials."

" We'll be counting on you for that then."

He flashes a confident smile.

I had two Kukris in my house as well as tons of firewood, I also had a 500 litre tank of water filled to half, for now we didn't have any worries for food, water or shelter.

While we were planning and looking at our inventory, there was a loud scream outside, probably of a middle aged woman, we ran to the front door and before we could pull the curtains to see what was happening, there was blood being splattered everywhere on the front porch and there it was, our first encounter with The Mad a.k.a. the zombies.

These 2 infected "people" if we could call them that were tearing this old lady's legs apart.

Akash was about to bolt outside because that woman was his neighbour who lived just beside him.

He was a brave guy, and I always admired that courage of his to shoot towards any kind of problem without a care for himself, a Hero if we could call him.

But just before his hand could reach for the doorknob, I stopped him. He gave me a questioning look, it was to be expected. I pointed to the woman's legs, Akash after catching a glimpse of the woman's legs was horrified. Her legs were practically none-existent from the Mad feeding on them, we could see her femur poking out of her right thigh. Akash appeared to be deeply saddened probably because he grew up seeing that woman as an older sister.

It was regrettable but any hope of her living was gone.

Akash composed himself and said "Although we cant save her life anymore, we can grant her life a peaceful end."

His determination exorcised any hesitation Bishu and I had. A brave lad he was and we had to honour his decision.

He opened the front door and ran towards the half alive woman.

we followed in suit to protect his back.

Akash was strong guy. He never boasted his strength and was always humble. He could give his literal all to have his people's back.

And with one swing of that blunt decade old shovel, he severed the head of the first zombie who appeared to be a middle aged man. His hands were trembling because even though whatever he put an end to could hardly be called a human anymore, whoever that zombie was, it still used to be someone's father and husband.

After finishing off the zombie, his eyes met the old woman's eyes. Her retinas were starting to dilate.

While he was staring at the motionless woman, the other zombie lunged at him, but was repelled by a straight kick from Bishu. The zombie appeared to be of the same age as the other zombie and made a strangely human shriek as it crashed onto the asphalt.

"YOU BRAINLESS FUCKER! What the hell are you just standing there for?" said an enraged Bishu.

"Give him some slack man." I said to Bishu as i finished off the fallen zombie.

"...akash.." muttered the old woman, she was barely holding onto consciousness.

His lips quivered.

The old woman didn't have any children, her husband too died in a housefire. She saw Akash as her own son and he saw her as another mother figure.

"....aunty why did you go outside?..." said Akash, while tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes.

"...Beverly..called in a hurry saying that her husband was acting.....very strange." said the woman as her voice got increasingly softer and quiet.

Mustering the last bit of her strength, the old woman moaned

"...than..k.....you kids." before her body went limp.

It was a grieve-stricken goodbye.

"God fucking damnit." sweared Bishu at the absurdity of this forsaken world.

Akash bit his lower lip as he looked away from the old woman.

I embraced him, not knowing what to say in a situation as dire as this.

"Let's bury her in a nice and quiet place, okay?" I told him.

"Yeah okay." he replied.

As Akash went inside, me and Bishu investigated the zombies for anything that could come in handy. The male zombie had a phone, a pack of Marlboro cigs, and 150rs.

The female zombie didn't have anything useful on her except for tattered rags.

We didn't notice it before but there was a thin trail of blood reaching from, the old woman's body to the what would be the old pair's house.

I made a mental note to go check it out later. For now we needed to head back inside but as we were heading back, I saw movement in my peripheral vision.

In the blink of a eye the old woman's body began showing erratic movement similar to a person experiencing a seizure. We were mortified, seeing a phenomenon like the dead coming back to life was so absurd to comprehend, yet, there she was, rising to what seemed to be an imitation of life.

I don't know how it was possible, she appeared to have died from blood loss, how could a body devoid of blood even move?

No use applying common sense to this situation.

Her body was moving in ways not quite human. In fact, I don't know in what way any part of her could be considered human.

I sure was glad Akash wasn't here to witness her try walking with just half a leg. In a flash, "it" realized how it's moving was inefficient, and quickly adapted to use both her hands as well.

This virus was adapting at an alarming rate.

Before we could see her become more and more inhumane, we put an end to an end to her now miserable life. It was getting late so we decided to head back home and check how Akash was doing. As we entered through the front door, we saw Akash peeling some potatoes and onions. We

[blindrapture]

it's time for jordan's little media review corner

I finally got around to watching season 3 of True Detective. it was surprisingly rough to get through. like, *emotionally*. something about watching a man, lost in his own head, detaching from his loved ones as he continues to obsess over a non-profitable project. real hard to stomach, and this show asked me to stomach that for about six or seven hours.

I note that this season made a conscious choice to feel more like season 1-- rural America, country accents, moody well-spoken men with conflicting views on the proper procedure for detective work. I get it, certainly. True Detective is, in every season, every episode, every scene, *drunk* off of a certain slow-paced self-reflexive vibe that lends itself well to this kind of plot. and, after having rewatched the black sheep season 2 recently, I.. yeah, I was glad to be back to a two-man protagonist group questioning the darkness at the heart of a community. but season 3 lost something of a.. uniqueness of place. seasons 1 and 3 are kinda going for similar vibes, with their differences of plot and theme (which, trust me, are delicious differences). season 2 *benefitted* from being a completely different thing, a dark city modern film noir, seedy and corrupt with a complex intertwining cast. where season 2 got weird was.. well, for me at least, it was only the very last episode. it lasted forever while giving too much plot too quick. (and it killed characters I didn't want to see killed. :c when I finished watching season 2, I just felt legitimately depressed.) season 2 needed more episodes. I would have liked to see how the plot would have felt if the showrunner was given more time.

season 3 might have overcorrected. and it might have been, in some ways, an inversion of season 2 for me. I would finish watching each damn episode feeling legitimately depressed, I mean fucking *bummed out*, genuinely questioning if I wanted to watch another, genuinely wondering if I ought to just give up, sell these DVDs, do I even like this show? I like a lot about this season, I think the plot is legitimately clever, but it felt like it was made by someone who just... likes this plot for the opposite reasons I do, or something. season 2.. *did not* make me feel that way. but I say 3 is an inversion of 2 because, pushing through it, treating this like it's just a literary challenge, a Hard Book to get through, I did get to the final episode, and it paid off. it was worth it. it felt *right*. I still think it, uh, lasted a long time (pretty sure these DVDs have extended finales), could have ended about 20 or 30 minutes early, but these were *sweet* scenes, this was *uplifting*, this ending made me cry. so season 2 was my kind of thing but then had a depressing last episode that was strangely slow-paced. season 3 was all depressing and slow-paced but then had a last episode that was my kind of thing.

just, man, True Detective is a weird show. I can recommend it to people who want a good detective story, a good murder mystery, but it's like. it's anthology, each season is completely separate, and. season 1 has always been the only season that I can *absolutely* recommend. they caught lightning there. maybe it was the cast. matthew freaking mcconaughey as a modern american redneck sherlock holmes. woody harrelson as the straight-man watson (and surprisingly good at it, the chemistry between the two makes me laugh out loud). a murder mystery across two decades that gets tied up with The King in Yellow and a profound ending. and it tells the whole story in only 8 episodes. like, holy fuck, okay, that's intoxicating, that is a *good* season. I can recommend that to *anyone* who likes the sound of that.

but then, can I recommend the rest of the show? I don't know. I don't even know if I really *like* the rest of the show. the actors are always good. the plots are always clever. the music is always good too! and the opening sequence for each season is.. always a vibe, has not failed me. and if you are just, like, primed to always like a slow-burn no matter what, if you are just addicted to slow-paced TV for its own sake, you will *never* go wrong with this show. but there's just. something to it, man. sometimes the cinematography gets all the budget and the beat-to-beat writing takes a backseat, y'know? this is a show that loves to gild the lily. and that's much more appropriate in season 1 (where this show is a novelty), or season 2 (where there's so much plot and so many characters that gilding the lily is just *polite form* to help you keep track of what's going on). season 3 only has a few damn characters at any one time, it has to go out of its way to make the plot confusing, so the fact it still goes slow and gilds the lily means I'm.. *so* impatient.

all that being said.

loved the characters. loved wayne hays. mahershala ali, I had never heard of you, but, well, I have now. what an actor.

all that being said.

there's still a season 4. and it stars jodie. freaking. foster. and it's only six episodes. and it sounds *creepy*. and, yeah, I want to watch that.

[away-ward]

I find it quite unrelasistic that Thunder Bay only has two high schools with a population of around 20K. I don’t know how things work in mainland USA, but where I live (US territory but not part of the country), schools of all levels can be seen in almost every corner of my town despite having a population of less than 2K. Many students are from neighboring towns, and I only began attending school here when I started high school. The majority are public schools, with only three to four being private schools out of the ten to twelve schools. They aren’t rich rich as TBP, as the schools that tend to have over 10K fees (or just as high as university tuition) are in the richest areas such as the capital, metropolitan area and coast area. Those types of schools aren’t seen anywhere else in the island, with the average private school annual tuition being under 5K. My country is pretty small (majority of the population lives in the US, not here) so I didn’t exactly understand how they were able to separate that many kids and teenagers (both from TB and surrounding areas) in super rich schools (I suppose the middle school the majority attended had to be just as expensive) and the middle class area that’s treated as a poor area. Just three school. Two high schools. I guess Meridian City has more social class diversity but PD’s world building is quite baffling from a realistic standpoint 😅

The great majority of the cities have a population of under 20K and together they sum over 200 schools. I may be misunderstanding it so I won’t take my perception as true, and ty for reading all of this 💌

ty for reading all of this

Of course! No worries. I love talking about these kinds of things.

Thunder Bay from the start is just something you have to suspend your belief about. I also think there are some plot holes with in the town setup, but I do have some explanations for your issues.

Corrupt puts the populations somewhere around 10,000. Maybe PD slipped up and said 20,000 elsewhere, but the 10,000 already seemed too high of a population for the way the town functions, so 20,000 is unrealistic. Meridian, just about 45mins – 1 hour down the road, has a population of 2 million (think Chicago), however, and Falcon Wells, which is also close by I believe is between 10 – 15,000, unless it was directly mentioned in Punk 57. I could be wrong on this.

As far as we know, Thunder Bay Prep not only the private school, but it’s the only school in Thunder Bay, period. In Nightfall, Emory mentions that the other kids in town take the bus to another nearby town (which is one of my biggest gripes with the Thunder Bay as a setting. I think legally, as Thunder Bay has a working government, it’s required to have a public school but whatever. I could be wrong.). Most likely, “Thunder Bay” is more of a suburb of a bigger city, but still its own separate township. We’re not let in on what’s going on with the lower grades, but I like to think they’re a K-8 program that moves directly into Thunder Bay Prep.

Realistically, Thunder Bay is probably set somewhere farther south in New England. Massachusetts is a popular pick, but I personally prefer to use Maine as a reference. Specifically, Bar Harbor. It’s a small coastal village that has a main street very similar to how I would picture Thunder Bay. It’s also a small island, which sort of goes along with how the map looks on PDs website. It does have a population of about 5,000 and that is more how I would understand Thunder Bay to be (I also really liked Old Orchard Beach, Maine because it has a theme park right on the coast and across from that, a town center with a gazebo, which is not how it’s pictured in the books, but the set up with just two perfect!)

However, just a little bit farther inland, is Orono, Maine, which had a population of just over 10,000 a few years ago. It also only has three schools in its district – elementary, middle, and high school. So, it’s not a huge deal that Thunder Bay only has one school to support it. It’s weird that it’s a private school, probably with a very small student body, considering the kids “middle class” families go to public schools in the surrounding area.

I recommend bopping around on goggle maps to get a sense of just how compact New England can be, how many townships there are, and the population sizes. There’s nothing to learn, it’s just a fun time. Thunder Bay doesn’t really match with any one city, but it’s nice to get an idea of what it might look like, to try and find places that kind of match, to pull from different towns to find the “right” thing that works with how you view the town. I also have a #thunder bay tag where I talk about some town stuff, if you’re interested.

There’s a lot about Thunder Bay that doesn’t make sense. And I feel probably all questions are valid. I hope maybe this offered some explanation for why it’s so weird. It could also just be PDs world building, too quick of an internet search, and the typical “I’m writing it, who cares if it’s accurate as long as we’re having fun” writer’s mentality.

Thanks for reading all of this!

-Ko

[whyme13wr]

Serendipity pt.1

― pairing: Park Jihoon x OC

― serendipity: to discover mothing beautiful by chance or accident

― summary: Yeonseo meets him by chance but she never wants to let him go.

idol!Jihoon | student!oc | LoveAtFirstSight!au | fluff | 2k

― playlist: Let's Go Picnic - George | Aespa - I'm Unhappy | Hello Stranger - Kai | Park Jihoon - Moon & Back

a/n: here it is my first fanfic, don't be too harsh on me ;) if people actually read this I'll write part 2

She hasn't even reached the top of the mountain yet, but she already feels like giving up. Her lungs are tight and her legs burn. She had read somewhere that walking improves both physical and mental health, and she definitely needs it now. 

With exams coming up, she has been under a lot of stress lately. She had moved to Seoul four years ago after being accepted into one of the country's top universities. It was fun to live in such a big city, a big change from the town she grew up in. However, things have been overwhelming lately and she misses her hometown, her family and her childhood friends more than ever.

She's been looking for hiking trails in Anyang. It's not too far from Seoul and will allow her to get some fresh air. At first, it was nice to be in the middle of nature, but it's been three hours since she's been on the trail and she still doesn't see the end of it. This idea seemed less ingenious. 

Eventually she reached a place where other walkers were taking a break. There were several benches to sit on. She decided to take the one furthest away. As she was making her way to it, she stumbled. Her knees hit the ground and her hands saved her from falling face first. Well, that was embarrassing. There are about ten other people here, she can't help feeling sorry for herself. She came here to make herself feel better, but she can't even do that. 

As she tries to get up, a young man approaches her, holding her water bottle. He reaches out with his other hand for her to grab it and help her to get to her feet. She's in no position to refuse him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concern written all over his face. That fall must have been quite a show for a random stranger to come help her. 

"I'm fine, I think..." she checked her appearance for injuries. Her leggings were torn and her knees were bloody. 

"Ouch! You're bleeding, that must hurt." He said, taking in her appearance. 

“I’m not feeling the pain yet but my pride definitely took a hit. That fall was so embarrassing.” She felt her face flush.

"Don't worry, it can happen to anyone. This is yours, by the way." He says, handling her water bottle, which must have flown earlier. 

"Thank you," she says, taking it from him, "not just for the bottle, but for helping me... What's your name?"

"Don't mention it! My name is Park Jihoon." He said, holding out his hand for her to shake. 

She took it and replied, "I'm Shin Yeonseo, nice to meet you".

"Likewise," he says with the most beautiful smile, "Do you have anything to disinfect your wounds?"

"Um... No, I didn't come prepared, you see."

"I've got a first aid kit, if you want it. It's with my friends over there." He says. He points to a group of three boys. Yeonseo thought about it and felt that it was an offer she couldn't really refuse. Besides, this guy was cute and friendly. Why not spend a little more time with him? With her studies taking up most of her time, it's rare for her to meet such nice guys.

She replied: "I'd like that".

They made their way there and he introduced her to his friends.

"Guys, this is Yeonseo. Yeonseo, these are my friends Woojin, Guanlin and Jisung." 

"Nice to meet you." 

She could feel a kind of tension in the air, but not directed at her. They all had their eyes on Jihoon as if it were their eyes that did the talking.

"As you can see," he said, "Yeonseo has been injured. I offered our first aid kit since she didn't have one." 

Jisung spoke first while looking at her knees, "Ouch, that must be painful!"

She replied, "Yes, it doesn't look too good, but I'm lucky that your friend came to help me. At least I won't go home with infected wounds." They shook their heads in agreement and she followed Jihoon as he opened one of the bags and took out the kit. She began to clean her wounds with some water. Jihoon took out the disinfectant spray and asked her if he could spray it on her knees. She nodded, a blush visible on her cheeks. She definitely needed this gentleman's number. Where would she find someone like him? She was lost in thoughts about how to ask him for his number when his friends came.

Jisung said “Whenever you’re ready, how about we set off? If you’re not in too much pain, you should join us Yeonseo!” Jihoon looked at her with an hopeful look.

“I would love that! I came here alone and wouldn’t mind the company as a matter of fact.”

“You came here alone? That’s quite brave!” Guanlin said.

“None of my friends are into hiking so didn't have much choice. I wouldn’t say it’s brave.” She responded.

“I think it’s pretty brave to challenge yourself to walk for that long by yourself.” Jihoon added shyly. “Will you truly be okay though?” He added, referring to your bruised knees.

“I’m fine, don't worry about me.” She said with a smile. And with that, the five of them started to get going.

"So how do you know each other?" Yeonseo asks. They all exchange looks. Jihoon finally replies, "We used to work together.

"Oh really?! What did you do? "

"We are dancers." Jihoon replies quickly with a bit of a nervous look on his face. She thought it was because he wasn't used to talking about himself.

"How cool! I don't know how to dance, but I admire anyone who can control their body like dancers do. Besides, you guys are young, but you're already at work, that's impressive!"

"I'm not that young myself, if I dare say so, but thank you," Jisung replied, making everyone laugh. Jihoon whispered to her that he was already over 30 and she reacted with a shocked face. 

Jisung noticed her reaction and said, "Do I look that much younger? She nodded with a broad smile. 

"And what do you do?" Jihoon says.

"I'm studying medicine at Yonsei University."

"You must be very smart, isn't Yonsei one of the best universities in Korea?" Guanlin asked.

"It is, I have always liked science and physics. It came naturally to me. But it's much harder at Yonsei. I'm no longer at the top of my class. Every student here is somehow gifted. It's weird, all my life I've been complimented on how smart I am, but in my class I'm just average.

"It must be a lot of pressure." Jihoon said.

"It's not easy, but I love it. There are no limits to what you can learn in this field. Every year there are new discoveries about the human body, so there is always something new to learn." She explained with passion in her eyes.

"So why did you come here alone?" Woojin asked.

"I'm from the country, I thought spending some time in nature would help me relax. I feel a bit homesick these days."

"I can relate to that. When I was living in Korea, I couldn't help but dream of going back to Taiwan, even though I loved my work here. But somehow I want my life back here now that I am back home. Guanlin said. Everyone nodded, understanding the nostalgia.

"Where are you from, Yeonseo?" Jihoon asked.

"I'm from Hadong." 

"Really?! A few years ago, Woojin and I actually took a trip there. It was beyond beautiful. The cherry trees looked so pretty." Jihoon said with stars in his eyes.

"No way! Not many people in Seoul know about Hadong, I'm surprised. Usually people would rather go to Busan."

"Well, we didn't regret our choice of destination. The food was delicious too!"

"If Jihoon says it's good, you have to believe him. He is not even the biggest seafood lover. Woojin added.

"It warms my heart to hear that the food from my hometown is loved."

"Do you know how to cook?" Woojin asked.

"I know my way around the kitchen, but I might be a bit rusty." She said jokingly. "It's been a long time since I cooked for anyone but myself. As a thank you for putting up with me, maybe I could cook for you."

"It's really no problem. You're fun to be around. Still, it's an offer we can't refuse. At least I can't refuse homemade food." Jihoon jokes.

"That trip was many years ago, I would love to taste Hadong's food again." Woojin added.

"Then I guess I have no choice." She smiled. "My place is pretty small though, I don't know if it will be comfortable for all of us."

"I haven't used it once since I bought my apartment, maybe you could use my kitchen." Jihoon offered.

"Really?"

"Yes, really!" He beamed. She couldn't help but smile back at him. "Guanlin is going back to China in a week, will you be available before he leaves?"

"Um... I don't know, I have exams at the end of the month..." Guanlin looked at her with puppy eyes, as if to say: "Please make an exception. 

"It would have been nice, but if you can't, it can't be helped." Jisung said. 

She really thought about it. She still had at least two weeks until the exams, one night of socializing wouldn't hurt, would it? Add to that the fact that she wanted to get to know Jihoon better, and she came to the conclusion that she could find the time.

"I think I can make time." 

"Great! How is Thursday? I don't have any plans that day." Guanlin suggested. Jihoon and Woojin agreed, only Jisung wouldn't be able to make it. 

"You guys enjoy yourselves without me. I have a schedule." Jisung said with a small smile.

"Send me the list of the groceries, Yeonseo, and I'll take care of it." Jihoon offered.

"Sure, send me your bank account number later so I can pay you back." 

"You find time to cook for us, that's your payment." He says warmly.

"We're about to reach the top of the mountain, guys!" Woojin tells them, some distance ahead of Jihoon and Yeonseo. Elated to have finally reached the summit, they take group selfies together. The view is definitely worth sweating and bleeding for, Yeonseo thinks to herself. The boys asked her to take pictures of them. They look like they're really close, almost like brothers. She takes a moment to look at the view while the boys goof around. Jihoon joins her a few minutes later.

"This is relaxing, right?" She nods as they enjoy the view together for a few more minutes before joining the rest of the boys.

“This picture is the best, I bet it will make the fa-” Woojin stops.

"The family is really happy, right Woojin?" Jisung saves the day for Jihoon. It's not that he wants to hide his job, but it's nice to have someone who doesn't recognise him for once. He wants to make a connection without worrying that the person only likes him because he is a celebrity. He wants to get to know Yeonseo before he tells her who he is. He doesn't have to explain this to the boys, because they understand. Unfortunately, they've all been in his position. Yeonseo doesn't seem to notice the boys' exchange of glances. Talking about all sorts of things, they begin their journey back. Eventually, Jihoon and Yeonseo stay a bit behind. Yeonseo's injuries prevented her from walking as fast as the others. The boys decided that this was a good opportunity to let Jihoon have some time alone with Yeonseo. They left, saying that they had to hurry. Yeonseo couldn't find it in her heart to complain about it at all. They talked about anything and everything all the way to the foot of the mountain where she had to wait for the bus back to Seoul. 

"We have a free seat in our car if you want, Jisung is a good driver, I promise. " Jihoon joked.

"Don't worry, my bus is almost here. Thank you though. I'll let you enjoy your time with the boys."

"Fine, I won't put any pressure on you. We should exchange numbers, by the way." He tries to say nonchalantly. She can see he's a bit nervous, but doesn't comment. She adds her number to his contact list and calls herself to save his number for later. Just then her bus arrives. She waves goodbye and says: "See you on Thursday! He waves back with a big smile and watches her bus drive away.

He meets the boys at their car, and as he gets in they look at him with expectant eyes. "What?" 

“What was that? Did you fall in love with her or what? I’ve never seen you like that with a girl dude!” Woojin adds.

"I don't know. At first I helped her out of kindness, but there's something about her I can't explain".

"Well, you've got her number and you know when you'll see her next, so well played!" Jisung said. Jihoon smiled at the thought of seeing her again.

Yeonseo sat on the bus with a huge grin on her face. Shit, what a good day, maybe her life won't be so miserable anymore. She couldn't wait to tell her roommate about Jihoon. 

As soon as she got back to her flat, she went straight up to Minhee's room. Minhee looked surprised. "Wow, why do you have such a happy look on your face? I didn't know that walking would do that, I guess I should come with you next time".

"I met the man of my dreams," Yeonseo said, sitting on the chair by the desk while Minhee lay in her bed. He's beautiful, caring, kind, a good listener. Honestly, I could go on for hours."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit," Minhee said in a joking way, "although I have to say I haven't seen you this excited in a very long time. So did you get his number?" At the same time Yeonseo gets a notification, she checks her phone and wriggles happily. Jihoon has just sent her a text message:

"Hey, this is Jihoon. I hope you got home safely. Don't forget to take care of those wounds of yours.

- I had a great time today, can't wait for Thursday. Have a good evening :)"

[gregorygerwitz]

#the ‘never’s make me wanna scream#what do you mean you NEVER tip your delivery driver?#you have to go out of your way to choose ‘no tip’ like it’s the default selection to leave one

I really think there's just a lot of non americans answering your poll, because in my country it's not a thing at all. Our apps don't have a section for a tip, and the driver isn't expecting one either. We sometimes have a place to put a tip in restaurants but even that, it's more in big, famous cities because they know that some tourists could have the reflex to tip.

Yeah, my opinions are definitely very American™️, and that’s something I’m trying to be more aware of. A few people have put explanations like that in the tags and I want to make this clear - my opinions don’t apply to those people.

I honestly frequently forget I have international followers, just because most of my closer friends and mutuals on here are either people I know IRL or people I know are States-based. So my very American/North American opinions really only apply to people who live here.

That being said, I kind of want to clarify a few things for international people - and I know some/most of them know these things, but as a blanket explanation for people who don’t.

As a driver for DoorDash, I make $13.50 “per hour.” And that doesn’t apply to every minute I’m “on the clock.” I can log in and say I want to Dash, but I don’t get paid at all until I accept an order/stack, and as soon as those are delivered, the pay stops until I accept something again. $13.50/h, of course, is already well below minimum wage in my area, and I’m not even getting paid for all of my time.

Usually, my paychecks from DoorDash are 1/2 or more just tips. Because I can’t work my full time job right now, I’m heavily relying on these payments, and therefore tips, just to… stay alive.

So, yesterday, when I did six (6) deliveries, and only one (1) person tipped? I was really frustrated and upset, and I rode that energy while making the poll.

On a happier note! I’m 2 deliveries into my morning (with 2 more stacked, that I’m waiting for in the cafe right now), and I’ve already made 6x the tips I did yesterday I just had a bad run of orders, and some of them took me WAY out of my regular “zone,” which I then had to drive back to in order for it to assign me new orders. So I quit early and went home and watched 911 s4 with my roommate.

[tumblasha]

on being a woman [1] in praia, cabo verde

(small warning: men being gross but nothing too too bad, dw)

i just think it's a little sad that my whole time i've lived in boston i have the urge to live in a society where people are kind, where people help each other when they can, and where people say "hello" and "goodnight" to each other. then i land in this lovely city and a handful of people kinda make me wanna stop participating in society

(a) the concert cab driver

i went to go see neyna w some friends! however bc of some logistical things i had to go alone via taxi. in this 15 min taxi at 1am [2], the driver asks me about where i'm from, i answer, and i talk the way i do to all cab drivers. while i was building up the courage to ask him for his number [3], he offered his number. i thanked him!

he asked me if i like to drink, if i like to smoke, and we laughed about how good the nightlife / beachlife is in praia. in the ten seconds before stopping the car outside the venue, he asks me if i want to go smoke with him after the concert. i nervously laugh no i'll be tired with my friends, pay him, and open the car door. i saw him stretch out his arms. i agreed to the hug (ppl are touchy, i wasn't really surprised at the gesture)

and then he kissed my cheek. not in the latam, descendant-of-the-iberian-peninsula, be-polite-to-your-aunt way. he let out a laugh and said "see you later"

my friends and i leave the concert a few hours later. thankfully a taxi that just dropped off some ppl (going to the venue as a 4am night club lol) picked us up! for whatever reason i sorta hide my phone when i'm in public / crowded places, so when i go into my apartment, i notice i have missed calls. i have unread messages. his name pops up on my screen and i tell him i got home safely, that my friends called a taxi before i could tell them about him

after a sunday morning text, i decided to mute his notifications, and forgot about it

(b) dinner tonight

some of the students are celebrating that it's someone's last night in praia (he and his boyfriend are island-hopping before they head back home). and stories pop up.

my nonbinary friend (that self-describes as being man-presenting and does the gender-binary-at-travel thing too) talked about a taxi driver asking them to sleep with him after the ride.

the white woman phd student talked about getting a cab driver's number, ghosting him, and accidentally getting into his cab a few weeks later (she didn't recognize him). how he was quiet until she realized it was him, how he asked why she didn't respond Halfway through this 10 min ride, and how she had to pretend not to understand him (when she perfectly knows kriolu, port, and eng).

(c) the walks to the beach

the beaver school cohort (all women-presenting) sharing stories about the ways that men approach us and ask for our numbers one day and walk down the street holding their girlfriend's hand the next day. how walking from the beach to our apartment at night became a "no-no" not because of common sense but because of common lived experience.

(d) a conclusion

this is prob common everywhere that has a more "friendly" society [4], but i feel like it's shocking me bc for the past four years i've been used to strangers not caring about each other (disease scares, less catcalling, less help when i drop something on the floor, etc), so idk how to be.

soz for the non-conclusive conclusion, but i wanted to share in case ppl have any tips on how to live as smn who's not a cishet man. tyty

(also pls go to cv! sometimes if ur a tourist ppl give u free things <33)

---

[1] much like oomf's vegetarianism, i'm nonbinary ("veg") in the usa and still nonbinary outside internationally but act as a woman ("meat-eater") there. i think it's easier not to correct ppl when in other countries bc language barriers, cultural barriers, and rare (perceived) availability of trans neutrality / acceptance (the "vegan food" of this simile) ... in which i turn invisibility into a privilege (joke) ??

[2] the concert starts at 2am lol

[3] the venue was far-ish from the main part of the city. it's common, even advised, to get a driver's number to make sure that u Have a way back home

[4] how i learned NOT to wear my high school uniform to the local mall once i turned 15

[whisker-biscuit]

The Lines We Cross: Chapter 2

Sunset Snake Eyes

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

I know you

I walked with you once upon a dream

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

There was something grim and urgent in the air when Carmelita stepped through the front doors of Interpol HQ the next day. Officers and office workers alike hurried back and forth without even glancing her way, and she felt a ball of unease settle in her stomach as she made her way up to the floor where her office was situated. Everyone was frantic around her like a hive of bees that had just lost their queen.

She turned a corner and nearly collided with Winthorp, who jumped a meter into the air with a squeak.

“Winthorp, what’s going on?” She asked. “Why is the entire department up in arms?”

“Ah - well - you see -” the otter stammered, and now that she was really looking at him, she could see the same lines of stress across his face as with everyone else. “I’m not - not really at liberty to say but - oh, yeah, about that! Inspector Barkley wants to s-see you right away!”

The inspector blinked, confused and concerned. “Again?”

“Yes! He wanted to see you as soon as you came into work!” Winthorp gave her an apologetic look. “I was - I was supposed to call to let you know but with - with everything going on I just -”

“It’s fine,” Carmelita cut him off before he could start rambling. She pivoted in place and started walking without looking back. “Thanks.”

“A-Anytime!”

The idea of returning to her boss’s office right on the heels of a major dressing-down had the woman’s stomach turning, but she kept her head high and tried not to let her nerves get the best of her. At the very least, he’d be able to tell her what the hell was going on around here without any sugarcoating.

Barkley didn’t even look up from his computer when Inspector Fox entered the room. He took a long puff of his cigar, baggy eyes illuminated by the small red glow, and smoke curled around his white mustache, giving the illusion of it being even bigger than it was. Smoking in the office meant he was beyond stressed- an even worse omen than everything else she’d seen this morning.

“You wanted to see me again, sir?” She asked as soon as the door was shut behind her.

“Fox,” he grunted, waving a hand towards the empty chair in front of his desk without looking up. Carmelita sat down immediately and resisted the urge to speak until he was done with his private train of thought.

Finally he pulled his eyes from his screen and set a thick manilla folder between them, flipping it open until it landed on a picture of a giant muscular bulldog sneering at the camera.

“What do you know about this man here?” The badger asked, steepling his fingers together as he squinted at her.

She glanced down at the photo. “Muggshot. Aliases “Two Gun Tony”, also known as “Meathead” Muggshot. Member of the Fiendish Five. Wanted in five countries with ten outstanding warrants for his arrest.”

Inspector Barkley didn’t move a muscle as she recited details from the criminal’s case file without having to read it. His brow drew even heavier down over his eyes.

“Sir, what’s this about? Why is everyone so frantic out there? Is it related to Muggshot? Did we finally pinpoint his location?”

“It’s less that we pinpointed it and more that he’s announced it,” her boss said, grim and gruff and angry. “Fourteen hours ago, Mesa City in Nevada, USA experienced a coordinated attack on its police force by a gang of canines. As of 2 AM our time, they’ve completely taken over the city and have driven out all its civilians. Muggshot has declared it as his territory.”

Inspector Fox’s mouth fell open.

“He - that’s - that’s ludicrous!” She exclaimed, unable to keep her total disbelief out of her tone. What kind of police force couldn’t keep a group of criminals from taking over an entire city?

The badger growled and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. It was clear he was fighting a headache. “I’m well aware. And instead of sending in state or even federal officers, the US government wants us to take care of it. I was contacted barely an hour ago and told that we ‘needed to handle the situation as quickly as possible’.”

Ah. That explained the frenzy throughout the entire building. Carmelita pursed her lips and squared her shoulders.

“What do you want me to do, sir?” She asked, knowing that he wouldn’t have called her into his office just to bring her up to speed on something that even Winthorp could have told her.

“Right now, we need information. We don’t know how many people Muggshot has hired to defend his claim, what kinds of weapons or other resistance we’d be facing, or even where he’s stationed his base of operations. It’s a large city and I do not want my officers walking into a slaughter. The last thing we need on top of a takeover is a damn turf war.”

Her fists clenched in righteous rage, even as her head was spinning. “You want me to be a covert operative.”

“I do.” Barkley gave her a harsh, critical stare. “I know most of the cases you’ve taken have been raids or following criminal trails. This is an entirely different ball game. Subtlety is crucial here, and we can’t afford to screw this up. People’s entire lives and livelihoods are on the line. Do you understand, Fox?”

The inspector’s tongue felt like sandpaper inside her mouth as she answered. “Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.”

“Good.” Even so, her boss did not look entirely convinced. “Now get out of this office and go pack. You’ve got a plane to catch.”

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

Mesa City was famous even outside of its own country. It was a thriving “boom town” that saw a lot of tourists, a lot of traffic, and a lot of wealth, and crime had always been remarkably low for such a large city. Now, there was absolutely nothing to suggest that it was anything other than a ghost town.

It turned Carmelita’s stomach as she killed the engine of her car and stepped cautiously out onto a deserted street. In fact, the entire city was devoid of anything that would normally classify it as a city; quiet and empty and completely dark. It left a chill in the air much deeper than the wind already whistling through the buttes and plateaus around it. There wasn’t a single other soul to be found here.

Except for one lone officer with something to prove.

The fox shivered and wrapped her beige jacket a little more securely around her, hiding her shock pistol at her hip and her Interpol badge at the base of her throat. Even so, she felt like a Christmas tree lit up in a dark void of light-sucking leeches, and every shadow and noise stood her fur on end as she took her first proper steps into Mesa City.

Covert ops. She’d run simulations in the academy and done a few simple cases here and there, but nothing on this scale, and she could already feel the oppressive hand of expectation weighing heavily on her shoulders.

Valedictorian, prodigy, expert marksman, youngest ever Interpol graduate - none of those pretty words of praise mattered when faced with ten to twenty years of hard experience dismissing her input on cases or cornering her in the break room to interrogate her about how she would respond to increasingly outlandish scenarios. Her most recent failure - the entire string of recent failures - was just the icing on the cake. If she messed this one up, none of the senior officers would ever take her seriously again.

Not even Barkley would be willing to back her up anymore.

No. No, she shook her head to clear the cloud threatening to dull her thoughts. You can do this. You will do this.

Second only to the Diva Diamond case, this was her biggest chance to show everyone just how capable she truly was. Muggshot was an infamous criminal, almost above her shiny new pay grade as a detective inspector. All Carmelita really needed to do was get the intel asked of her without getting caught, relay it back to HQ, and wait for backup to help in the raid proper.

All too easy. And if she was lucky enough, she might not even have to use her shock pistol.

Back straightening at the mental pep talk, Inspector Fox’s stride quickened into something a little more confident.

She could do this.

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

Tony Bull-Mastiff took a long drag of his cigarette as he picked up another card from the deck. It was a bunk card to go with the rest of his bunk hand, and he huffed an irritated smoky breath out between clenched teeth. The dalmatian across from him, Inkspot Jackson, gave the slightest smirk in response.

“You’re cheating.”

“Nah. You just suck.”

The mastiff growled, but it did nothing to faze his opponent, who only stared coolly back at him without so much as a blink. The same could not be said for the third player at the table - a jittery little terrier whose name he didn’t care enough to learn - because he startled so badly he bumped the table enough to make it rattle.

“Watch it,” Tony snapped at him. The terrier jolted again but didn’t make it a problem for the rest of them, and they all settled back into their playing.

After a few more minutes, he leaned back in his chair, thoughts more preoccupied with something other than the game he was losing.

“So…what’s the deal with the kid?”

“What kid?”

“The raccoon. Why’s the boss carting him around with the pack? It’s pretty obvious he ain’t one of us.”

The other two dogs stared at him like he had just asked why the sky was blue. He stared them down, daring them to tell him he was an idiot for asking a simple question.

“Oh, right. I forgot you’re new to Muggshot’s crew.” Inkspot passed his cards back and forth between his hands with the grace of a professional dealer. “That ringtail has been around on and off for years. He’s Muggshot’s livin’ lockpick.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up his forehead in interest. “Is he now? Where’d the guy find him?”

“No idea, and I’m not paid enough to care. You gonna play your turn or not?”

Instead of picking up another card he knew was going to lose him more money, the mastiff laid his hand down and leaned forward to pull the others into a conspiratorial huddle.

“Is he still here? You said he’s only around sometimes.”

Both dalmatian and terrier shared a look. It was the latter that piped up.

“Yeah, he’s still here. As soon as I finished setting up that special elevator to the penthouse, the boss carted him upstairs and hasn’t brought him down since. Why?”

“You helped with the elevator?” Inkspot asked, surprised.

“Forget all that,” Tony waved an irritated hand in the air to keep the conversation on topic. “That means he’s still up there, right?”

It took only a moment for his real question to register. The terrier shook his head adamantly.

“Don’t even think about it. He’s on the top floor.”

Nothing else needed to be said. No one, not even Mugshot’s favorite lackeys, stepped a foot higher than the ninth. Top floor was reserved for the bulldog and the bulldog alone.

That also meant, of course, that their boss’ special guest was off-limits, too. But off-limits had never stopped Tony “The Killer” B. before, and it wasn’t going to stop him now. He stood, picked up his cards, and offered it to the dalmatian with a scheming grin.

“Well. The boss is out on the town tonight and I got a job that could use a safecracker. How's about we stop playing for chump change and get our money��s worth for our fine work on this big job?”

The terrier started to protest, but Tony’s looming figure shut him up real quick. Inkspot eyed the offered cards with a greedy gleam in his eye that was only offset by a healthy dose of fear.

“What happens if Muggshot finds out about any of this? He’s shot men for much less than stealin’ from him, in case you didn’t know.”

“We’re not stealin’. We’re just borrowin’ without permission. We’ll get what we want and put the kid back in his cradle before you can finish a round of Texas Hold’em. Whaddya say?”

The dalmatian still hesitated, having been in Muggshot’s gang for far longer and well-aware of his infamous temper. But ultimately, the promise of money won over, and he took the cards with his own creeping grin.

“Spark,” he said to the terrier, who looked like he was going to have an aneurysm, “do you know how to get into that special elevator?”

Spark whined as they both turned to him. “If you think I’m goin’ along with a stupid scheme like this -”

“C’mon, ‘Spark’,” Tony gave a laugh that was more of a growl, wrapping one burly arm around the other dog’s much tinier frame. “Do you really wanna let this city’s pretty things go to waste? What’s the point in scarin’ everybody away if we can’t take advantage of their absence?”

“I wanna not be shot to pieces,” he replied, exasperated and stressed, but the slightest squeeze of the mastiff’s hand made him grimace. “Okay! Fine! Only if we’re in and out as fast as possible.”

“Look who you’re talkin’ to here, pal. Between the three of us, it’s gonna take twenty minutes tops. Now what was that about gettin’ into the special elevator?”

The terrier led them unwillingly to the hotel’s front lobby, where he pulled a shiny blue key out from one pocket.

“I’m one of the only guys who knows maintenance,” he explained when Inkspot’s mouth fell open at the sight of it. “The boss trusts me cause he has to.”

“Then it sure is a good thing we found ya first, huh?” Tony grunted, getting impatient. “Go on, then.”

Spark unlocked the cubby and pulled the lever to call the elevator down; all three dogs watched with different levels of respect as it appeared out of its genius secret hiding place and opened for them without any hassle or opposition.

They went straight up to the top floor and began searching rooms. Inkspot’s nose worked double-time to pick up the raccoon’s scent and it had him leading the others down one specific hallway.

It didn’t take long to find what they were looking for. A single suite door was barricaded from the outside with a thick wooden plank nailed horizontally across it, sticking out like a sore thumb among a dozen other untouched doors. Tony grinned and made short work of ripping the plank right off.

The door itself wasn’t locked, and they all barged in as one large, muscular group. Just as expected, there was a raccoon inside, who sat up quickly where he’d been lying on a fancy plush bed, staring at the three of them in surprise. When they advanced into the room, the kid got to his feet and tried to keep his distance.

“Who are you? What do you want?” He asked, prickly in every word.

Tony grinned. “We’re here to collect ya for a job. Boss’s orders.”

The raccoon looked each of them up and down and then took another step back. His eyes shifted to the red backpack at the foot of his bed, just out of his reach.

“What, don’t believe us?”

“No,” he said, curt, “because Muggshot always comes for me himself. What do you really want?”

The mastiff’s lip pulled back in an irritated snarl. “Fine, brat. We're enjoyin’ a night out on the town and we'd like you to join us.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” The raccoon spit back, inching away from the trio as Inkspot circled around towards his left side.

“Not whatever you think it is.” Already impatient, the dog crossed the room in two strides, forcing his target to flatten himself against the wall just to avoid touching him. “This city is officially ours, so I figured that includes anything shiny that catches my eye.”

He shot one arm out to catch the raccoon by the front of his hoodie before he could even think of trying to duck under him in retreat.

“And from what I hear, you got a special little talent for getting into things yer not s'pposed to.”

The kid's expression darkened and he looked away, tense as a bowstring. His next words came out in a mumble - a last ditch effort to dissuade the pack.

“Muggshot isn't going to like that you took me out of my room without permission, you know.”

“What the boss don't know won't make him mad. And besides, we won’t be gone long. No one’s gonna notice that you’re gone.”

The other two dogs shared an apprehensive glance, but they didn’t say their concerns out loud. Tony grinned and lifted the raccoon to his eye level.

“You ain’t gonna cause no trouble for us now, got it? Muggshot ain’t gotta know ‘bout your little late-night outing. We’re just takin’ ya for a walk. Seein’ the sights.”

The kid’s gaze flickered between the three of them. It was clear he was weighing the immediate danger of their presence against the potential danger of Muggshot. And while they all feared the bulldog’s wrath, it would only come to pass if he found out. These three could and would do very real damage, very fast. Their unwilling guest seemed to understand that, at least, because he eventually wilted in the bruiser’s hold.

“Good boy.” Tony dropped him, and he stumbled to catch himself. “Hurry up and get yer shoes on. The sooner we leave the sooner we get back.”

After shooting a nasty look at the dog, he crouched to slide on the shoes sitting at the end of his bed. His fingers closed around the handles of his red backpack as he stood up, but Inkspot pulled it out of his hold before he could sling it across his back.

“What's in here?” He asked, giving it a suspicious sniff.

“My lockpicking stuff. I'll need it if I'm going to help you get what you want.”

“Hmm…” The dalmatian unzipped the largest compartment and started rummaging through it. He pulled out a golden hook, which made the kid stiffen. “What’s this? Doesn’t look like a lockpick to me.”

“It’s - it’s like a crowbar. I use it to pry open heavy doors.” His hands twitched at his sides as the dog turned it over and over. “I don’t exactly have the strength that you guys do.”

Tony snorted. Inkspot smirked. Even Spark let out a strange little squeak that could have been a laugh. The hook was dumped back into the backpack and it was pushed into the raccoon's arms, who zipped it up and clutched it close before any of them changed their minds.

Tony grabbed him by the arm and steered him out of the room.

“Let’s go.”

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

Carmelita’s ears perked up at the sound of shattering glass and the excited holler of criminals. She peered around the corner of a building to see three muscled dogs sauntering out of a jewelry shop, draped in silver and gems and god knew what else.

“Not a bad haul, eh, boys?” The largest of them crowed, patting another hard at his back with diamond-encrusted bracelets wrapped around his fingers like brass knuckles. “Can’t argue with results, can ya?”

The inspector felt her hackles rise at the sight. How dare these men flaunt their violence and disrespect of the law while thousands of people had to flee their homes, their businesses, their livelihoods?

Before she got the chance to even take a step out from the shadow of the building, one of the dogs turned back and pulled a fourth member out through the shattered front door. A raccoon, looking no older than seventeen or eighteen, who stood uncomfortably between the three like he would rather be anywhere else.

He’s not wearing any jewelry, Carmelita noticed with narrowed eyes. The police reports had claimed that all of Muggshot’s followers were canine, and almost all with criminal records already. But this…kid, looked more like a civilian than a crook.

He murmured something that she was too far away to catch. Whatever it was, the biggest dog – the leader of this posse, she was guessing – didn’t like it at all. With a snarl, he lunged for the raccoon, who made a valiant attempt at avoidance but hit a brick wall of muscle as the other two dogs corralled him.

Large meaty hands grabbed the kid by his shirt collar, lifting him off his feet. He kicked the air uselessly with panicked eyes as the dog spit a nasty threat an inch from his face.

Inspector Fox decided she had seen enough.

“Halt!”

Everyone froze as she finally revealed herself, shock pistol loaded and raised.

“Put him down right now and put your hands in the air,” she commanded, turning her body so that the light of the nearest street lamp caught the badge at her throat. “The three of you are all under arrest.”

The dogs blinked at her in simultaneous shock. Then the biggest one threw his head back and began to laugh, letting his hostage slip between giant fingers and land on his feet with only a small stumble.

“Like any of us are scared ‘a you, doll,” the mastiff sneered. “Don’t know why you raided the local cop station for that gun and badge, but it won’t do ya any good here. You should’ve run with the rest of the city.”

Carmelita’s lip curled in disgust. Her raised arm remained steady and focused. “I’m giving you the count of three to surrender before I shoot.”

“Try us, bitch.”

“One.”

The inspector prepared herself for a fight as the pack all began squaring their shoulders and pounding their fists in a pathetic attempt to intimidate her.

“Two.”

The safety on her pistol was clicked back as she locked eyes with the raccoon. Saw him hesitate. Saw him calculate.

Saw him make a decision.

“Three!”

He rushed forward, ducking past the startled dogs as he booked for her. The dalmatian made a grab for him and met a direct hit from Carmelita’s pistol instead. The goon went down as the other two caught up to what was happening, just in time for the kid to reach his would-be rescuer.

Instead of stopping, however, he grabbed her wrist and kept running, forcing her to stumble after him when he gunned for the nearest alley. The criminals roared behind them, far too close for comfort, so the inspector whipped her pistol around and shot the smallest dog who fell like a rock. His larger companion tripped right over him, hitting the concrete just as hard as the other two had. Satisfied, she turned back just as the raccoon veered off the street and out of sight with her in tow.

The alley held a dumpster and an opposite exit and not much else. Just as Carmelita took a step towards the other street, her rescue-e surprised her once again by scrambling up onto the dumpster and pulling her with him with his still-iron grip on her wrist.

“What are you -”

“Sh-sh-sh!” He hissed, pointing up at a low-hanging ledge on the building’s roof above them. Her eyes lit in understanding.

With a single leap she sprung up and grabbed it, pulling herself up with a grunt of effort. When she turned over to offer her hand to the raccoon, she was startled to see him scaling a water pipe as if weightless. She hauled him up the rest of the way and he slammed into her with his tail barely clearing the wall in time. They flattened themselves against the rooftop just as the dogs came running into the alley barely a second later.

“Where the hell did they go?!” Growled a voice right below them. Carmelita stopped breathing.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Another voice, more panicked. “We gotta find ‘em fast! If the boss finds out we lost –”

“Shut up! I know!” The leader yelled. “Go check the alleys down south. You, go east. I’ll go west. They couldn’t‘a gone far.”

Three sets of footsteps trotted off in different directions, and it was only then that Carmelita felt safe enough to exhale. She could feel the kid shaking with his arm pressed tightly against her collarbone. Neither of them dared move, just in case.

They waited ten seconds. Thirty. A minute. No one came back.

Finally, the inspector removed herself from the ground and pushed the raccoon off of her. He gave no resistance, scrambling up and away a few feet as if she might keep pushing him if he didn’t, and watched while she wiped grime off her jacket with a grimace.

“That was close,” she muttered, more to herself than to him, then met his eyes. “Thank you. That was quick thinking to hide up here.”

He was staring at her. Studying her, she realized. Sizing her up.

“You’re welcome,” he said, very softly, just when she was starting to worry that he might jump her.

Now that they weren’t fleeing for their lives, she got a better look at him. He wore a dark blue hoodie, as if unbothered by the afternoon Utah heat. Scuffed sneakers, black gloves, a red backpack, and what looked to be some kind of black cloth barely peeking out behind the front of the hoodie’s collar filled out his ensemble of looking distinctly out of place.

"Are you looking for something?" He asked flatly, snapping her out of her analysis.

"No, no. Sorry." She looked away with an embarrassed blush, then realized he had been doing the exact same thing to her and wondered why she should feel bad for it.

Squaring her shoulders, she met his gaze again. The raccoon raised an eyebrow. Then he turned on his heel and began walking away.

“Bye.”

Carmelita blinked.

“Wha - wait!” She lurched after him as her brain caught up to what was happening. “Wait, you can’t just leave! Not with those criminals looking for us!”

“Watch me,” he retorted without turning around. Upon reaching the edge of the building, he peered down at the street below in an obvious gauge for a jump.

“Would you just - listen to me for a second!” The inspector growled, panicked and aggravated. “I can’t let you go on your own after all that! Not in a city full of gangsters! Do you even have a safe place to go?”

He paused. She took it as the opening it was and continued.

“Look, all of Mesa is deserted right now. Muggshot and his thugs have overrun it. Everyone else has fled, and there’s no police station or shelter around where you can hide. Even if those three don’t find you, someone else will.”

Carmelita stopped talking only to take a breath. The kid still hadn’t turned around, but his ears were swiveled towards her. He was listening.

“I have a safe house just outside of the city in the next town over,” she said just a little softer, a little less forceful. “I could take you there for the night, you can get in touch with whoever you need to get out of the area, and then I’ll let you go.”

He finally turned from the ledge, expression dubious as he looked her up and down. “You’ll…let me go.”

“That was just a - look, you know what I meant, okay?” The inspector grimaced, then held out her hands in an unarmed invitation. “So? What do you say?”

The raccoon stared at her with that careful, studying scrutiny again. Carmelita resisted the urge to shift her weight under its potency. After a long, tense moment, he slumped just the tiniest bit and stepped away from the edge of the roof, and she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. There had never been anything in training about having a rescued hostage leaving their rescuer halfway through the actual rescue.

That was the first thing she was going to make Barkley add as soon as she got back from this crazy case.

Scanning the buildings around them, the fox tried to pinpoint which direction her car would be in relation to the street they were on. Eventually, she figured out a rough estimate and gestured for the raccoon to follow her towards another side of the building to drop down from. He did so almost as easily as she had despite his rather svelte form, and near soundlessly at that.

She wondered what his story was, that he as a civilian could do so effortlessly what took Interpol rookies months to learn.

They walked in silence at first, both alert for the slightest whiff of canine. As streets went by without hide nor hair of any of the goons on their tails, Carmelita allowed herself to relax just a little bit. Her hand still stayed on the holster of her shock pistol.

“So…” She finally said, hushed but curious. “Are you a – a local? Some kind of hostage?”

The kid eyed her, then glanced north where Muggshot’s name glowed like a bright green warning beacon on a distant building. His mouth pressed into a thin line. “Something like that.”

His voice was so, so quiet, with a hint of an accent she had noticed before but couldn't place.

“Well, I’m glad I was able to get you out of there. I’m Inspector Carmelita Fox. What’s your name?”

There was a long pause.

“…Sly.”

“Sly? That isn’t really your name, is it?”

The raccoon shrugged and didn't look at her.

“Sly. Dios mío,” she huffed, wondering if perhaps she’d misread the situation she’d stumbled upon. What kind of law-abiding citizen had a name like that? “Okay, Sly. Do - did you live close by? Maybe we can come back for more of your stuff later, when it’s safer.”

“I don’t live in Mesa,” came the unexpectedly curt reply. His gloved hand curled tight around one strap of his backpack. “And I already have all I need.”

Carmelita frowned. “I was just asking.”

“You were being nosy.”

“I was not being - that’s a good question to ask in a situation like this!”

“Uh huh. Was your next one going to be ‘what’s your exact address so I can write it down in my police report later’?”

A muscle twitched in her jaw. She hated that he had guessed right. “Forget it. I was just trying to help.”

If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he had rolled his eyes, but his face betrayed nothing at her sharp glance. The inspector blew a frustrated breath between clenched teeth and tried another peace offering. It was more for her benefit than his.

"It's just a few more blocks to my car and then we're out of here."

"You brought a cop car into the city?" Sly seemed both shocked and impressed by the stupidity.

"It's not a police cruiser," she said, irritation rising again. "I'm not dumb enough to plaster my status all over a city overrun by criminals without back-up."

"Could've fooled me, the way you were waving your badge and gun around earlier."

"It got you rescued, didn't it?"

The raccoon had nothing to say to that.

Carmelita sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Silence fell thick between them all the way back to her car.

Sly whistled at the sight of the red convertible with its hood up. "Damn. You're lucky no one's looted this side of Mesa yet, or that thing would be long gone."

"Give me a little credit, kid." The inspector unlocked the doors and swung into the driver's seat. "I staked out the movement here all morning. I know what I'm doing."

"Not a kid."

"What?" She glanced over at the raccoon, who climbed into the passenger seat with a sullen expression.

"I said I'm not a kid."

"Oh yeah? How old are you?" The skepticism dripped off every word. He didn't look a day over seventeen to her.

"Nineteen."

"Really," Carmelita said in disbelief. "Even if that's true, nineteen is still a kid."

"It's really not."

"Yes, it is!"

"Then what about you?" He challenged. "You look like you haven't even finished cop boot camp yet."

"It’s called a police academy, I graduated from it with honors, and I'm twenty-two, for your information."

Sly snorted. "Congratulations, you can buy alcohol here in America. Is that your only requirement for being an adult?"

"Legally, it is. Why, what do you consider being one? Smartassery?"

The raccoon went quiet, staring at the desolate street ahead. A long moment passed without another word from either of them. Just when Carmelita thought that was the end of the conversation, she heard him speak again. It was so soft she almost didn't catch it.

"I'm not a kid. I haven't been a kid in a long time."

She glanced over. His face was blank and his eyes were distant. Something about it sent a shiver up the fox's spine, and she pursed her lips before starting the car.

It wasn't her business, anyway.

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A/N: And thus, our two polarizing forces meet. The journey truly begins.

Heaven help both of them.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3