#i don't keep track of who is and isn't following me. i don't mind whether or not you are

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hi I love your blog & seeing your thoughts on my dash is always soso fun so thank you for sharing them with us <3 (also srry i didn't just now follow, i hit the wrong button when i was tryna send this 😩)

Hi!! I recognized your pfp--I've seen you around from time to time. And thank you, this is incredibly kind of you! What an excellent unexpected message to open this hellsite to

I love running this blog and sharing my thoughts, so I'm thrilled you enjoy them! I'd do it even if it was just me, but it's always more fun to have people alongside you in matters like this :)

I fully intend to stick around and continue sharing my thoughts--both the thoughtful and the chaotic spur of the moment--for a while, so here's to several more years!

And again, thank you for this, I can't articulate how much I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to send something nice my way. I hope you have a peaceful day/night and that you take care of yourself <3

[catboyieejeno]

.・゜゜・・゜゜・．.・゜゜・★

cw: mark x reader x hyuck, threesome, very little plot, unprotected sex, a lot of mentions of cum, so much cum... this shit is filthy... npr

18+ minors do not interact !

[ 11:44pm ]

it's unclear whether the heat that radiates off of you is due to the alcohol that swims in your system or the pair of mouths that kiss and lick across your body fervently. you can't keep track of all the sensations you feel, mind blurry as you moan and pant, writhing restlessly between your two best friends. kneeling on the mattress in front of you is mark with one hand pumping his flushed pink cock, the other squeezing your boob—the one that isn't in his mouth. his eyes are half-lidded and staring into yours, watching the way your face contorts each and every time hyuck slips a finger into your impossibly tight cunt.

the younger of the two boys who sits behind you, presses his swollen erection to your ass. meanwhile, his fingers are lost in your panties, thick digits alternating between pumping into you and rubbing your pulsing clit. your grip on his wrist tethers you, nails digging into his arm whenever something feels a little too good.

the night had started much differently: a movie night had dwindled into banter after hyuck's complaints that the movie mark picked out was awful. defeated, and knowing it was practically impossible to argue with hyuck, mark proposed that you guys get some wine and just talk instead, which was fine... until each of you were about three glasses in.

mark's fingertips began brushing your thighs, higher and higher, following the hem of your skirt that at some point, you stopped pulling down. hyuck's lips were whispering teasing comments in your ear, his arms snaking around your waist—something he usually did sober, except this time, with much less restraint.

you weren't oblivious; slightly past the point of tipsy? yes, but never oblivious. you leaned into their touches, giggled and blushed at their flirty passes, batted your eyes as your thighs pressed together...

just as you noticed the bulge in mark's pants, hyuck's wine-stained lips were on yours.

"d'you like that, baby?"

"yes," you reply so quickly that it's almost pathetic, letting your head fall forward and onto mark's shoulder. your eyelids are squeezed shut as your hips roll, grinding down into hyuck's hand and back against his dick.

he lets out a grunt, sliding his free hand all the way up your spine until it wraps around the base of your neck. he pulls you back up to him then moves to hold your throat, pressing his chest against you and attaching his mouth to your shoulder.

you whine out when he withdraws his fingers from between your legs, using your slick to rub his tip in circles. as he teases himself, he breathes hot air onto your skin where his tongue swirled just seconds before.

thankfully, you don't feel empty for long because mark scoots closer, looping his index finger on the strip of your cotton panties that covers your pussy. he moves it aside and guides himself towards you, sliding his length between your lips and coating it with your arousal.

"so wet," he mutters to himself, rubbing into you a few times.

"mark.."

he doesn't reply; instead, he guides himself side to side between your folds in order to stimulate your clit. your jaw slightly drops as you relish in the feeling.

"i need you," you whine.

"i know, i know," his reply doesn't sound convincing in the slightest. you can tell he's distracted watching the way his cock glistens from your juices, and your cheeks flush red in embarrassment as you open your mouth to protest once more.

"'need you to fill me up, baby, please," you plead in a small voice, but he only smirks and raises a brow at you.

"yeah?" he asks, "want me to stretch you out, sweet girl?"

from behind you, hyuck growls, "if you don't stick your dick in her right now, i'm going to."

unwilling to push hyuck's withering patience, mark scoffs and disappears between your folds in one smooth motion, pushing the head of his dick into your walls with almost no resistance. both of you sigh out in relief. your hands claw at his shoulders, grip tightening when he bottoms out inside of you. a moan rumbles in mark's chest and he leans down to capture your lips in a kiss.

he's so close that he's pressing his hips completely to yours, pelvis flush against your clit, the pressure so delicious on the needy bud. he swallows every last moan you feed him, only pulling back from your kiss for air.

mark takes his time finding a pace, observing how you react to each thrust. he takes note of both your expression and your clenching cunt that flutters around him when he slows down or picks up speed.

every time he pulls out, his eyes look down to where your bodies meet, obsessed with the way you suck him back in.

"fuck," he breathes, "this pussy's so good. s'tight, so warm,” he’s babbling incoherently, unable to suppress his moans when you swivel your hips. he stills for a moment, letting you pleasure yourself on his cock. you feel unreal, better than he could’ve ever imagined (and boy, did he imagine this quite a few times in the years he’s known you).

"move, please,"

"always so polite," mark teases and snaps forward. you cry out, and he does it again, quickly finding a rhythm that has your head spinning. he’s long and you’re so wet that if it wasn’t for how tight you are, there would be no push back at all. the stretch is delectable, like nothing you’ve felt before.

"you're such a good girl, taking mark so well,” hyuck sticks his thumb between your parted lips and rests it on your tongue, “i bet you love being used like this. you do, don’t you, baby?”

mark sucks in a breath when you bring your hand down, spreading your folds with your fingers, “you’re doing so good for me,” he says, eyes locked on the sight.

their praises go straight to the bundle of nerves between your legs, your orgasm building in the pit of your tummy. you can only hum around your best friends finger, head bobbing up and down in agreement with his filthy, yet nonetheless true, accusation.

the tip of mark’s dick kisses your cervix repeatedly, slipping through your sopping folds at a pace so eager that you’ve started to melt. if it wasn’t for both boys holding you up, you’d have become putty in their arms.

all of your senses have started to blend together, starting with the salty taste of hyuck’s thumb that he finally withdraws and drags down your front, rubbing your saliva around your perked up nipples until they’re coated and gleaming. his dick couldn’t possibly be any harder, standing prominently up and constantly poking at your backside. you’re pretty sure he’s been leaking pre-cum, too, because there’s a wet spot on your lower back where the draft hits slightly different.

mark’s hands that grip and squeeze the flesh of your ass to pull you to meet his thrusts, suddenly lift up to land a slap on each cheek. your eyes are locked on his glossy ones, though you can’t see very clearly through the pooling tears that gather and blur your vision.

you’re close, so fucking close that you’ve started moaning out shamelessly, rambling nonsense, “i’m gonna—it feels so—ng, fuck! mark, please don’t stop, please, please–“

mark’s head falls into the crook of your neck, lips right by your ear as he chants encouragements in low whispers, just for you.

“come for me, baby. yes, just like that." his voice strains as your pussy squeezes him, "take my dick, take it.”

you wrap your arms around his neck, fingers tangling and tugging at his dark strands. your orgasm hurdles towards you, and it only takes a particularly deep thrust for your breath to hitch in your throat, the coil snapping in your tummy.

mark’s coming too, before he even realizes it. his lip is clamped between his teeth as he tries his absolute best to keep a steady pace, so desperately wanting to make you feel as good as he does.

he empties himself inside your walls with a raspy, dragged out groan, chest heaving in pleasure. his toes are digging into the bed, abdomen flexed and dick twitching. there are beads of sweat trickling down his chest and he swipes away at them, leaning back to watch your fucked out face as he finishes. this is one of the best orgasms he's ever had, he decides; still, his high ends before yours.

in fact, his tip is screaming with sensitivity by the time he peeks his eyes open and realizes, you’re still coming. god, it’s fucking hard to keep up, regardless of how bad he wants you help you ride it out. it's nearly impossible when your gummy walls are so warm around him and your release is gushing out, dripping down your thighs.

“shit, y/n,” hyuck moans your name out loud, fucking his fist shamelessly.

he watches as mark scrunches all his features and picks up his pace just enough to amplify the end of your climax, the sound of his skin slapping against yours a little louder. your cries are louder, too.

he finally slows down once your thighs start trying to clamp shut, and you've started shaking from overstimulation.

"holy shit, mark. i've never come like that before," you whimper, reaching between your legs as he pulls out to feel just how wet you are. mark leans back on one arm, cupping his balls in his palm.

he looks over at you and laughs softly at the way your pupils are blown wide, "me either," he agrees, cheeks and chest flushed red from effort.

"let me see," hyuck insists, huffing, "lay back,"

the moment your back hits the mattress you wince, the burning in your thighs suddenly very evident. hyuck hushes you sweetly, gently parting your legs and leaving a few open mouthed kisses on your stomach. when he pulls away, it’s to gawk at the silky white mess of cum between your legs.

“we should’ve done this long ago,” mark jokes, but there’s a glimmer of sincerity in his eyes.

you nod, propping up on your elbows to meet him halfway where he leans in giving you a slow, wet kiss. his tongue swipes at yours, the shared air growing warmer between you. there’s a few hushed noises coming from both of you, and the kiss lasts until you feel something fill you up again.

you pull away to find donghyuck, two fingers shoved into your hole, tucking away any of mark’s cum that tried to seep out.

when your eyes meet, there's a pout resting on his lips as he whines, "pay attention to me, baby… he had his turn,”

you laugh and nod, “you’re right, hyuckie. i’m sorry,”

situating himself between your thighs that rest on his own, hyuck takes a moment to steal a kiss for himself. it’s paced and sensual, and the pretty noises he makes when your fingers disappear into his hairline leave you winded.

“wanna make you feel really good,” he mumbles against your lips. there’s a warm weight that rests on your stomach as he says this, and it takes a moment for you to put two and two together.

when you look away from his soft, brown eyes, you realize his cock, thick and swollen, is resting on your tummy, sizing up how far it would be inside you.

he’s less lengthy than mark, but undoubtedly thicker, his prominent head staring back at you, dribbling pre-release on your skin. just when you didn’t think you could get any needier, he presses against you more, and his heavy balls brush right up against your clit.

“hyuck, baby,”

“tell me,” he whispers into your chest, “i’ll do anything you want, just say the word,”

you squirm against him, “wan' you to fuck me,”

swinging one of your legs up, hyuck picks up his cock from your tummy and directs it toward your entrance.

“m’gonna fuck mark’s cum deep into you, okay? then i’m gonna fill you up with mine,” then, he presses in, brow furrowing at the feeling of you enveloping him.

mark’s cum is practically serving as lube, but even then, you can fucking feel the difference in girth. he hisses, letting his head fall to the side to rest on your calf that sits on his shoulder. instinctively, your hands paw at his chest. he isn't even all the way in yet, and the stretch is already surreal. you take your lip between your teeth and hyuck cups your face, letting his thumb graze your cheek.

“i’ve got you, princess,” he soothes, flicking your clit with his other thumb, rubbing slow circles on it.

"keep doing that, please," he nods at your instruction, gazing at you through his eyebrows in search of your approval. your face says it all, eyes rolling back and puffy lips shaped into an 'o'. the back of your head digs into the pillow as he enters you fully, then he drags his dick all the way back out until only his tip is sheathed, before doing it all again.

beside him, mark's eyes are glued to your core, specifically to the white ring at the base of hyuck's cock. he identifies it as his own cum, and his balls tighten. it's a mess, but the lewdness is enough for him to get hard all over again.

hyuck maintains his slow pace, making you shudder impatiently. "hyuck," you start. he hums attentively, "faster.."

"you want me to go faster, baby? already?"

you nod yes quickly, "i want you to fuck me stupid."

in less than a second, his fingers are digging into your waist and he's rocking you up and down, drilling his cock into you just as you had asked.

you moan out and he slaps your thigh, swiping his tongue at the bit of drool that threatens to slip from his bottom lip. between his brutal pace and the attention he's paying to your bud (and how sensitive you were from having come once already), your climax starts approaching rather quickly.

hyuck can tell, too, because you've started to squirm and shake under him. your back is arching off the mattress, and the sheets are clenched between your fingers as if you'd float away by letting go.

"am i doing good? does that feel good, baby?"

"yes!" you all but sob, clasping a hand over your mouth.

you're still slightly dizzy from the wine, so when you come hard for the second time tonight, you become so light headed that dark spots burst all over your vision like some visual effect. you gasp and cry out when hyuck slaps your clit before continuing to rub it mercilessly, his fingers soaked through with juices that spill with every thrust.

the bed creaks beneath you as he refuses to let up, even when your moans have gone up in pitch to become broken whimpers.

he'd give you anything you ask for, he told you so.

as you come down, you open your eyes just in time to watch hyuck's face shift, hips bucking wildly after his own finish. it doesn't take much longer, and in seconds, he stills, burying himself deep inside of you as he pumps you full of his load.

at some point while bystanding, mark had started touching himself again, letting out a long sigh as he grips his head tight and paints your folds with his second round of seed. some of it slips onto hyuck's base, and some of it mixes with the bit hyuck's cum that had poured out the sides of you, even despite his thickness.

"what a fucking mess," mark laughs as he catches his breath, "sorry about your sheets-"

"s'fine," you grab his hand, grinning, "it was worth it,"

"remind me to buy us that bottle of wine again," hyuck mutters tiredly, making sure he brings your leg down gently as to not hurt you. he still hasn't pulled out of you, though, allowing himself to grow soft within the warmth of your pussy.

the two boys watch wide-eyed as you reach down, using your index finger dip into both of their releases (surely, yours too), and bring it up to your mouth for a taste.

"i don't think we'll need the wine next time."

⋆ ★

sidenote: this is the nastiest shit i have ever written … thank u to my babies @mingyuonthemoon and @m-arkmywords for giving me some inspo to write this

also ... hi... i am glad 2 be back

[almondx1ao]

Sanji hcs

___________

Words: 1248 (?) some changes have been made

Cw: nothing just hcs

Doing Sanji hcs as a person who just started one piece and just met Sanji.

____________

• The type to push your hair out of your face before cupping your cheek to kiss you.

• gets your attention by lifting your chin until you meet his gaze.

• He's the type to keep track of the things you don't like and do like. Whether that is food or anything else

• Sanji would keep an eye on your portions that you normally eat, and make sure you get that portion everytime. Since he wants you to be full, but not overeat, but also not waste food

• Would absolutely get up and make you more if you were still hungry

• Acts of service and pda/physical touch are his love languages

• Literally would panic because you're upset

• The type of you were to notice his gestures he would accept it but also the type to be in his room giggling and kicking his feet later when he thinks about it.

• Would like it if you played with his hair

• Jealous, and will have more pda because you're his and he wants your attention.

• He would gently pull your gaze to his when he's jealous and lean in and whisper into your ear things like "eyes on me." "Look at me my love."

• Soft spot for pets and kids

• Would be the type to teach you to cook, would internally cry if you got the steps wrong, but not let it show because it's you. Because he's a sous chef he's used to not only making sure the other chefs are doing things right, but doing things in a very quick yet flawless way. He would still be gentle with you, but he is internally crying every time you make a mistake.

• I feel like he would hug you from behind and take your hands to guide them through each step.

• He's making sure that every utensil, pot, pan, ECT is sparkling clean. Would keep the kitchen spotless and organized. Would have one of those knife sharpness testers and an expensive sharpening kit. His tools are always pristine.

• Will get upset if things in the kitchen are out of order

• Loves making food for you because he likes seeing your eyes light up when you taste each dish

• Would have a laid out schedule for everyone to eat, making sure everyone is kept fed during the day, is staring down Luffy if he grabs one snack when it isn't a snack time

• Would make a special plate for you if you didn't like a certain ingredient. People liking the meal is so important to him. Sanji would want to lessen the waste, if he knew that you would pick out something he would not put it in again or at all to begin with.

• If you didn't like him smoking, I don't think he would quit necessarily, unless you found another stress reliever to replace it, but he wouldn't smoke around you

• Very attentive to you, you're his priority.

• during cuddles he would lay his head on your chest.

• I feel like Sanji would like being the big spoon, but also wouldn't mind being the little spoon. Anything is fine as long as he's touching you

• His favorite places to kiss are in the most obvious places

• He's kissing everywhere, but out in public he's making it extra obvious, if there's exposed skin, it's getting kissed.

• Stands tall and is super proud to have you at his side

• Will not hesitate to show you off, absolutely is showing you off

• Bringing you up in every conversation, he literally will not shut up about you.

• A flirt, but once it's you, he's done for. You are the apple of his eye. You would be one of his treasures

• If he's not there when you wake up, he's leaving you a letter on the side table. Making you breakfast in bed everyday, you're the only one that gets special treatment.

• Head over heels for you in everyway possible. Would act like he got shot by cupids arrow.

• I would feel like he would follow you everywhere. Would be moody if he's not near you. He's like a lost puppy.

• Is the type to write love letters, he's sappy.

• Would like to do your hair for you, anything to be close to you he's doing it.

• Has an interest in fashion

• Knows how to do makeup

• Example: you would be getting ready for a date and you were getting frustrated because you weren't liking anything that you were wearing, your hair, your makeup, and your accessories. But he would absolutely notice immediately,

"Sweetheart? What's wrong?"

And you're hysterical as you tell him, he would gently guide your eyes to his and gently smile and look at you,

"You're beautiful no matter what you do."

He would then help you with everything and making sure you like it as well

• If you're acoustic(I promise I'm joking I mean autistic) would have a journal to keep track of what makes you meltdown/shutdown

Favorite stim toys if any

Favorite textures

Comfort foods

Ect.

Would spray something with his cologne to give to you to calm down

• If you were to infodump about something you already have, he would pretend that he knew nothing because he loves hearing you talk.

• Would play it off like it was normal, but seeing you hugging the thing and burying your nose into it Sanji is mentally kicking his feet and giggling that his scent and just him in general brings you comfort

• He would absolutely love that he brings you the most comfort

• Oh and if you asked him to lay on you for compression, do you think he's gonna say no?

• He would call you every name in the book, but I feel like his favorites are sweetheart, darling, and my love

• My love specifically because it has that possessive part to it. Not in a bad way, but a reminder "they're mine" to himself and others.

• Still starstruck that he has you because he flirts all the time obviously but no one has reciprocated. So he feels like he's in a dream and it's unreal.

• A romantic and is the best date planner

• Has expensive tastes, suits aren't cheap.

• If you were the type to not get anything expensive things for yourself and turn down expensive gifts, he's spoiling you and not taking no for an answer. Wouldn't tell you prices either, no matter how much you asked.

• If sanji notices that you have a favorite piece of clothing whether that be pants, shorts, shirt, ECT. He would make sure that it was clean for the next time you wore it. Would match with you as well. He would love it. He would put his cologne on it before you wore anything.

• You're always getting special treatment

• He would memorize your favorite songs, possibly would hum them while he was cooking

• Would be the type to get you a necklace that says I love you in different languages

• Flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and a giant stuffed animal any day, but especially Valentine's.

[fictoculus]

౨ৎ they find you crying...

send a request!┊masterlist┊taglist applications

FEAT... venti, cyno, itto, tighnari

A/N... i just wanted to put in a little message to say how greatful i am for all the love and support! it genuinely brings a smile to my face reading what you guys write when you repost one of my works. also, please don't be shy and send me some requests! i want to make sure i'm making content that people will enjoy and am struggling to think of interesting concepts ♡

WARNINGS... references to low mental health (venti)

✧ venti.

♪ you'd been feeling low for a while now, spending your days alone at stormbearer point, losing yourself in you thoughts as you gaze absentmindedly at the scenery below you

♪ venti would be more than just concerned, though he may be completely oblivious at first; it takes him a while to notice how you're truly feeling

♪ when he does, he feels an ache in his heart, he scolds himself for not noticing sooner

♪ he's sure to shower you in gifts, whether they be big or small, and always make sure to spend quality time with you, refusing to leave until he sees that beautiful smile of yours

stormbearer point was... somewhat comforting. the soft, gentle breeze brushing against you as you dangle your feet off the edge, though you weren't swinging you legs in joy as you usually would. instead, they dangled freely off the edge, swaying only when the wind willed them to. contrary to the environment around you, your life for the past few weeks had been anything but pretty. it felt as if the flowers of your mind had wilted, leaving you with the shrivelled stems as you desperately buried them over and over, praying to the gods that some miracle would make them sprout once more.

your beloved, venti, had been completely oblivious to your state of mind, thanks to your ability to mask your emotions; though you'd hoped that, even then, he would've been able to see past your facade. only now, 3 weeks later, does he finally notice the dullness in your eyes as he gazes into them, holding your cheeks in his hands to stop you from turning away.

while you had been completely lost in your thoughts, he had seen you perched upon the edge, slowly lowering himself down to sit beside you and snaking an arm around your waist. his eyebrows furrow as he feels your body tremble against him, followed by shallow sobs and quiet sniffles; his heart shattered. how hadn't he noticed that you, the love of his life, hadn't truly been feeling the joy he had falsely seen in your broken smile?

from that point onwards, the bard made sure to keep his eye on you, watching you from afar as you spent time alone, making sure to take you to your favourite cafe atleast once a week. he'd also shower you in gifts, whether it be a dandelion he had found on his adventures, or a hat he'd bought from a merchant that he thought would compliment you perfectly (though he thinks you look simply stunning in anything and everything).

✧ cyno.

♪ cyno being cyno, he'd most likely tell you the "best" jokes he can think of, knowing they always make you smile (mostly for the wrong reasons...)

♪ as soon as he finds you huddled up in the corner, sobbing into your knees as you cradle them into your chest, he instantly questions you; wondering who would dare hurt his beloved, he is the general mahamatra after all...

♪ naturally, his immediate thought is to track down the perpatrator and administer judgement just like he would with any other criminal, but it comes to his realisation that this isn't just any old criminal, it's someone that had hurt you

life can be... overwhelming sometimes, something cyno knows well. yes, administering judgement does bring a sense of pride, but being face-to-face with so many wrong-doers can really be damaging. that's why his level of understanding is so deep, he can really empathise with what your feeling, though sometimes he struggles to comfort others.

so, when he finds you curled up in the corner, trembling as you pull your knees closer to your chest, he finds himself frozen to the spot.

"did they hear me come in? i don't think they did... how am i suppossed to announce myself without scaring them?"

he ends up making a fool of himself.

his first idea is to clear his throat, but because he didn't want to frighten you (worried that you'd jump and hit your head on the wall you were propped up against), his coughs ended up being far too quiet to overpower your sobs. his "back-up plan" was to simply walk over and hug you, placing a hand behind your head and pulling you into his chest, shushing every so often and rocking the two of you from side to side.

you sat their for a good 5 minutes, not saying a word to each other but basking in the comfortable silence. being wrapped in his arms alone is more than enough comfort; his warmth lulling you to sleep as your eyes flutter shut.

crying can take a lot of energy, and so it's only natural for you to dose off once the stress that's been bothering you all day finally leaves you in peace.

the general feels your head fall limp on his shoulder, your sniffling eventually silencing as you relax against him. gently, he lifts you up from the floor, carrying you to the bed and carefully setting you down before climbing in beside you.

"goodnight, my love, we'll talk about it tomorrow, ok?"

✧ itto.

♪ itto is very energetic, and thrilled at the idea of adventure (and beetles). so, when he hears you sniffling behind the door of your shared bedroom, he assumes you've come down with a cold and bursts into the room with boxes upon boxes of tissues and cold medicine

♪ only when he sees your face wet with tears does he realise, you're crying

♪ call him overdramatic, but he literally drops everything and rushes over to you, tackling you backwards onto the bed and squeezing the sadness out of you

"3... 2... 1..."

with a loud thud, your shared bedroom door is flung open and an eager oni jumps through, arms full of sickness necessities (including a mountain of snacks to fulfill any and all possible cravings).

"[name]! i heard you sniffling soooo... i brought tissues and cold medicine and chocolate and- babe?"

your scans your face, staring at you longingly until he finally catches your eyes, red and puffy. you can see the way his heart shattered just by the way he looks at you; a small, almost unnoticeable, crease between his eyebrows expressing his concern.

"c'mere..."

despite asking you to hug him, he charges right at you, the shock briefly stopping your tears as his tackles you backwards and onto the bed. as soon as he's comfortably ontop of you, he kisses your face all over, slightly rougher on your cheeks but feather-light on your eyelids, which were squeezed shut. satisfied, he gives you one final kiss on the lips before burying his face in the crook of your neck and hugging you tight; as if he was trying to squeeze the sadness out of you.

"what's got you all upset, hm? wanna talk about it?"

and so you talk, explaining how everything had gone wrong that day, impersonating the vendor you had "argued" with as itto listens carefully, refraining himself from interrupting you no matter how tempting it may be. only once you had finished does he share his input, reassuring you that you weren't in the wrong and practically yelling in frustration at how unprofessional and rude the vendor had been.

he even offered to cook for the two of you, though you ended up ordering becaue this man cannot cook to save his life. that's ok though, it's the thought that counts.

✧ tighnari.

♪ tighnari, being a forest ranger, is not often home during the day, meaning collei would be the one to find you crying

♪ she would rush off to find tighnari almost immediately, who, conventiantly, is only a minutes walk outside gandharva ville, observing the wellbeing of the flora and fauna of sumeru

♪ the two of them would come running within minutes, tighnari panting as he bursts into your shared home with look of pure worry plastered onto his face

♪ simply talking with eachother provided you with more than enough comfort, hence why the two of you spent hours just talking, snuggled up close under the cover and discussing whatever came to mind

you try your best to muffle your sobs, hands clasping over your mouth as you squeeze your eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears from falling. tighnari wasn't home, and the last thing you'd want is for collei to hear you (since you're a somewhat parental figure to her).

however, things don't always go to plan.

as if fate itself was against you, a rhythmic knock echoes throughout yours and tighnari's shared home, one you know far too well. you curse under your breath, rubbing your face down messily with your hands before scrambling to the door. you take a deep breath before pulling it open, greeting collei with a warm smile, like you always do. you do everything in your power to keep your composure, to stop your voice from wavering as you spoke, but your attempts were proven futile.

"[name]? a- are you doing ok? your eyes are all red..."

that was all it took for you to break down.

poor collei is strucken with pure panic; she has never seen you like this before and genuinely doesn't know how to help you. there's only one solution she can come up with: tighnari.

before you could even attempt to mutter an apology, the greenette is practically sprinting towards the forest, yelling over her shoulder:

"i'll be right back!"

tighnari, thankfully, was only a couple minute's walk outside of gandharva ville, studying the wellbeing of the sumeru's flora and fauna. attatched to his satchel is a small drawstring pouch, where he collects fallen petals or damaged flowers, later drying or pressing them and gifting them to you as a substitute for the traditional bouquet.

"collei?"

his ears perk up at the sound of collei barging past the dense bushes and shrubbery, only to immediately drop down as collei explains how you'd burst into tears, panting heavily from the long run.

without hesitation, the ranger messily packs his belongings before sprinting in the village's direction, wasting no time before bursting through the front door and throwing himself onto you, enveloping you in his comforting warmth. the two of you would just stand in the doorway for a few minutes, holding onto eachother tightly. you gripped onto the back of his shirt as if he was your lifeline. in a way, he was.

"i'm so sorry i wasn't here, sweetheart. next time this happens, you come find me, ok?"

he peppers you with kisses, mainly on your forehead and nose, eventually dragging you to the bedroom where the two of you cuddle until the sun sets, not wanting to fall asleep but instead just talk about anything and everything.

"we only need to talk about it if you want to, okay? i love you, [name], i will always be here"

thanks for reading ♡ want to read more? would you like a part II? let me know! my requests are OPEN, so please feel free to let me know what you'd like me to write next!

© FICTOCULUS 2023; please do not steal, translate, or repost my works as your own

[p-redux]

So, more info from Hyrox Glasgow 2024! Again, thanks Team for all the DMs, I really appreciate you! ❤️

Reminder of what I posted yesterday.

And

So, today, I get this video of Sarah Holden competing at Hyrox Glasgow, and you can CLEARLY hear Sam Heughan cheering her on. Sam's voice is at the very end. At the beginning, you hear a man with a thick Glasgow accent pronouncing Sarah's name Serah. That's NOT Sam. There's also a woman's voice. And at the END of the video, you can hear Sam's unmistakable "C'mon, Sarah!" This was shared by one of the Team and I saved it to my YouTube Channel. Enjoy!👇

I also received this DM with additional info. 👇 Posted with permission.

Here's the pic where Sam is tagged. 👇

And Sarah posting she got FOMO aka Fear Of Missing Out and spontaneously competed today in the women's open race. 👇 She definitely matches Sam's energy level! I'm tired just looking at her. 😊

Anyhoooo, I also got some conflicting info regarding whether Sam competed yesterday after all. I was alerted to this Tweet. 👇

And then I received this DM from someone I've never talked to. 👇

It's all very confusing. On the one hand, it is weird that if Sam competed, he never posted anything on his own IG. On the other hand, Hyrox DID post his results as if he DID compete yesterday. 👇

If Sam decided to not compete and wanted to give his slot to someone else, why wouldn't Hyrox be able to substitute the other man's name? Everything is computerized, so I don't see why they couldn't have made the change easily. Also, isn't it fraudulent to post results with Sam Heughan's name if he wasn't the one competing?

On the flip side, if Sam didn't actually compete, then he literally went to Hyrox to watch Sarah! Those saying "No, he went to watch his friend, Valbo. who also competed." Yeah, except Valbo didn't compete until 6:00 PM yesterday, and Sam was there at 12:00 PM, when the women's competitions started. Literally RIGHT THERE where Sarah was competing. 👇

No reason for Sam to be there 6 HOURS before Valbo was competing if he only went to support Valbo. 🤷‍♀️

I ran out of room to post pics since Tumblr limits to 10 pics, but I also got a DM saying Sam got a bunch of new Instagram follows who are Sarah Holden fans. That leads me to think they went to follow him because they saw him with Sarah at Hyrox.

So, that's it for now. I'm in the process of vetting someone from the Glasgowish area who approached me with some Sam and Sarah info. If she and the info check out, then I'll post it.

PS. I'm hearing from people that my usual haters and assorted newish haters are gnashing their teeth about my #samarah posts...same as it ever was. This has happened any time I've ever posted about Sam possibly dating someone. If you look at my track record for the last 10 years, my info has been at least 90% accurate. No one in the Outlander fandom would have known about Cait and Tony, and Sam and Cody, Abbie, Mackenzie, etc if not for my INSIDER source info, and me posting it FIRST. Facts, people. So, the hate makes no never mind to me. I keep doing me. I'm here for those who want the info. If that's not you, go somewhere else. Simple as that.

Oh, one more thing...the LIE that I have a restraining order against me from Sam resurfaced in my Inbox. Let's use our brains once in our lifetime, shall we? If I had a restraining order or a cease and desist, I wouldn't still be here, now would I? Doh. 🤦‍♀️ My blog is just like any celebrity news blog. It's called freedom of speech, peeps. And in the USA people have died to protect this right. That's all, folks.

[btnclmrttn]

I rewatched with my younger cousin Carmen sandiego and was thinking....

What if reader was an infamous theft criminal (cheeky little shit) and then there's saitama who is likely annoyed or just has pure excitement and determination because he keeps letting her slip from his grasp like bitchbsiwjke-

This is literally a Batman Catwoman and enemies to lovers sort of vibe

- ❤️

(omg the idea of Saitama letting shit like this slide is like him totally edging himself fr asdfghjkl I'm so into it. I hope the wait for this was worth it for you! Sorry I took so long. I really need to write more enemies to lovers fr 🤧)

Brief Encounter (Saitama/Criminal!Reader)

Saitama thought today was a good day to get his grocery shopping done to get it out of the way. Who knows how busy the week is going to be? There are always monsters, and crime, and ridiculous prices on fresh vegetables. It's sort of consistent...chaotic, but consistent.

It's nice having sunsets to look at on a walk, between the colors in the sky and what it makes everything else look like in its light. Sometimes that blue sky can be a bit of an eyesore. Just too bright sometimes. The buildings above cast large shadows that make everything less obnoxious and more calming.

Beside him, he notices a small moment in the shadow of a building that just catches his eye by instinct. He follows the shadow with his eyes up to where it's coming from. Is it a cat? He wouldn't mind seeing one right now.

"Oh, seriously?" Saitama groans, realizing it's a familiar figure creeping around subtly on top of the building.

There's you too. You mean trouble. Someone he thought was just a petty criminal at first that the police could manage has made a real name for herself. In such a short time as well. He can't deny that's rather impressive.

He really doesn't get you. All this skill and potential you have is just going to waste on dumb things. The way you act towards him, too. Well, it makes him feel weird, is the best he can describe. You're really weird...and persistent about it...

He sighs to himself as he makes his way to the building you're likely going to cross, scaling it with one jump and blocking your path.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing."

The sudden unexpected appearance of him surprises you, making you stop dead in your tracks. He isn't wearing his hero suit today, though, he's rather casual. A rare sight for you since your encounters are typically "professional" in nature. You straighten up with a smile as you take in his nice look.

"...Well if you must know, I haven't even done anything, yet! What, were you spying on me?" You tease.

"Yet? It's kinda early in the week for your nonsense, isn't it?" he replies, ignoring your question.

"And you're keeping tabs on my habits?" you laugh as you place a hand on your hip, "Saitama, am I really on your mind that much?"

It crosses Saitama's mind how casual he's gotten with this criminal. They even know each other's names now, along with, well, yeah, he's gotten pretty familiar with her habits.

"Don't get the wrong idea here. You might just be getting predictable."

"Oh, predictable? Is that it? Could you explain to me, then, why a hero goes out of his way to chase me down but not catch me? Really, if I'm so predictable I'd be easy to ignore and avoid. Or maybe...tattle and get me caught?"

Getting called out like that makes his face break its poker expression for a more irritated one. His eyes can't decide whether to stay on yours, or the sway of your hips as you make your way to him, but he remains grounded.

"I'm not gonna go out of my way to do the police's job. It's not worth wasting my time on, anyway. Like I said before, though, you should really sit and consider your potential to be a hero if you're this good at what you do."

He does flinch a bit when your face slowly leans in closer to his, with his cheeks dusting a shade of pink.

"Then why "waste" your time following me like this, hm?" you purr, "You just that nice of a guy? Trying to be everyone's hero?"

The corner of his mouth twitches slightly, with his brows setting a bit lower as his pupils dance from side to side, taking in the color of your eyes, and down to your lips.

"Seriously, ____? This is getting pretty cheesy," he dodges the question. His whole body now draws back a bit as you close in more, trying to keep space so your lips don't brush.

You reach up and grab his blushing cheeks to stop him from going any further, letting your eyes fall to his lips before looking back up. You can't feel the warmth of any breath from him. He's holding it.

"Mm, I like the way my name sounds when you say it~"

There's a darker shade that tints his cheeks hearing that. He lets a silence draw out before he shakes his head from your grasp then steps away, pushing you back with his hand to your shoulder and looking to his side.

"...Now you quit that," he mumbles.

"You know as much as I love to sit and chat with you, I really do have somewhere to be," you say as you side step around him, "I would hate to be late."

"You really get on my nerves...," He grumbles to himself, now trying to just avoid being close by letting you get around him.

"So I do have an effect on you?" You ask, turning your head back to him.

Saitama stares you down as he looks at the corners of your mouth tugging up. He points a finger at you, his face unchanging.

"You need to get your act cleaned up...and your attitude. It's gonna all come back to you one day. I don't think you can handle the taste of your own medicine."

"Well, if you ever have a day where you're more free, I can show you exactly what I can handle~"

The sultry sound of your voice sent with a wink makes the hand that pointed at you clench into a fist, redness sinking into Saitama's face deeper, "Will you- will you quit that!?"

"Enjoy your day off, Saitama!"

"Now wait a seco-"

A loud pop rings out before smoke fills his field of vision.

"Smoke Bomb?! THAT WAS REALLY CLICHE!" He shouts as his eyes navigate through the thick smoke. It wasn't hard to catch your location again, watching you run off. To him it's almost baffling. He could easily catch you. Hell, he could snatch you up and have you thrown in jail by lunchtime.

Yet he watches you make your escape, his eyes following the movement of your legs, up to your behind, your back, until you're out of his line of sight completely.

Saitama let's out a long sigh while he pinches the bridge of his nose, "This lady...I swear...why do I keep letting this slide?"

He rubs the tingling parts of his cheeks where you touched him as he starts walking off, grumbling to himself.

[wool-f]

I'M QUITTING MY 9 - 5 TO FOLLOW MY DREAMS

Hello my beautiful internet friends,

Tagging onto my sentiment from last week regarding following your dreams with complete reckless abandon and vigour, I thought I would follow on with the obvious next step (for me anyway).

I am quitting my job without a real concrete plan or a backup option to follow my dreams.

If you enjoy your job and it's the dream career pathway for you, this blog post is not meant for you. By all means keep reading of course, but I'm reaching out to my fellow dreamers who have fallen into careers that are not their callings - the people who are dreaming of something else entirely.

If I'm being completely honest I don't hate my job. But I don't love it either. It's most certainly not what I thought I would be doing at 30, and truly not the career stepping stone I imaged it would be when I was first offered the role two and a half years ago.

I'm a local news reporter in Melbourne, working for one of (if not the most popular) newspaper in the city. Day to day is very mundane, there isn't all that much jazz with local news.

While I dreamt of being a writer and Melbourne's answer to Carrie Bradshaw or Andie Anderson, my current job couldn't be further from that (I do feel Andie's pain when she wants to write something that matters and her editor is so limiting!!!!)

So last week after writing my post about committing to yourself, I was journalling and came to a realisation. In order to commit to myself, I need to fully commit to my dreams and aspirations, and to do that, I really need to quit my job.

Now thinking pragmatically because let me be one hundred percent honest, we are in a cost of living crisis and I'm not going to cold quit my job without a little bit of savings and backing to myself - I won't be leaving immediately. I think we can all agree that kind of rash decision making is for rich people who have no stress factors in their lives apart from happiness.

What I plan to do is a little but more strategic than that.

I've given myself three months to build up as thick of a foundation as possible, to get all my figurative ducks in a row and to make myself a plan for the following time frame that will constitute me following my dreams and actually succeeding. I'm trying to put my best foot forward to achieve exactly what I want and not need to take a step back into something that I'm not passionate about.

Sometimes I think people really hesitate to do the things they really want to do, whether it be because of the stories we tell ourselves in our minds, the stories society tell us about success and what it means to be fulfilled, or just because we think our dreams are out of touch from reality.

I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to be held back by these invisible, non-existent barriers that only stop me from reaching my full potential in life and happiness.

I have been working very hard to change the stories I tell myself in my mind, and after an incident at my current workplace (not with me, but with my colleague and management), I understood that my time at the company is coming to a close and I need to move on to something bigger and better; on to something that just in general, is a better fit for me.

I know that being self-employed is not a lifestyle everyone can achieve or that everyone wants - but I think it is the lifestyle change I want for myself, at least for now.

I obviously will keep writing this blog as a way to track how I'm going and to continue the development of my own writing.

But for now - I'm going to quit my job and follow my dreams. I definitely think it's something everyone should consider doing at least once in their lives (obviously make sure you're not going to send yourself into homelessness please, this message is not for every single person in this moment of time, prepare yourself!!).

Let's be the generation of people who don't take no for an answer - the generation of people who make things happen for ourselves and find the joy that we desire from doing the things we love and turning them into a profitable way to live!

These are my thoughts for the week, I know I'll be back next week with something just as crazy I'm sure, but for now, all the love in the world to whoever has made it this far down.

Love always,

G xx

p.s please support my journey to self employment - follow me on my other platforms (they're all free) and engage with me <3

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kweenofthieves TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kweenofthieves?lang=en YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kweenofthieves

[gaelic-symphony]

hi!! :)

i hope this isn't weird, but i love reading your posts about judaism to learn more from it. i don't follow any religion but i love getting to know them from people who do

and if you don't mind me asking, what are your favourite things about it? <3

i hope i have expressed myself well and you don't mind this 🫶🏼

I actually love this ask, and I'm so glad you sent it! There are so many things I love about Judaism, it would take me forever to come up with a list of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

I love our everyday rituals. I love keeping kosher and going to the kosher supermarket. I love that every time I eat or go grocery shopping, I'm affirming my connection to my people and my ancestors. I love that we have blessings for the most mundane human activities like washing our hands. I love ending every week with Shabbat. I love how it gives us a day to rest and reflect and be thankful before we start a new week, and I love having the weekly marker of Shabbat to track the passage of time. I love that you don't have to subscribe to any particular version of Jewish theology or believe that we do these things because Hashem commanded us in order to participate fully in these rituals. You can do them just because you find meaning in them. You can do them just because you're proud to be Jewish and follow the traditions of your ancestors.

I love our holidays. So many of them commemorate our survival against those who tried to wipe us out: Purim, Chanukah, Passover. Every year, we tell the story of our peoples' perseverance. We reflect on the strength and courage of generations of Jews before us that allowed our continued survival into the present day. Other holidays are seasonal markers of time. Tu B'Shvat is a little over a week away, and it's our "new year for trees," the time of year when the earliest trees start to bloom in the Land of Israel. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the end of the old year and beginning of a new one, and give us the chance to leave our mistakes of the past year behind and learn from them moving forward as we start fresh with a brand new year. Sukkot is a traditional celebration of the annual harvest. And other holidays, we're just so happy to be Jewish that we need to throw a party about it! Shavuot celebrates the Israelites receiving the Torah from Hashem at Mount Sinai, and then we celebrate the Torah again on Simchat Torah, when we read the very last verses of the book of Dvarim and start all over again with Bereshit.

I love our music. Our daily prayers are set to music, with special nusach (melodies) for Shabbat and holidays. When we read from the Torah or the books of the prophets, we chant the words to the same melodies our ancestors have done for centuries. We sing as a way to connect with each other and with Hashem. We sing the psalms of King David, and we sing wordless melodies we call niggunim. We've developed our own styles of secular, non-liturgical music and dance: klezmer and canciones, the horah and the Yemenite step, and many, many more!

I love our scholarship. Our scholarly tradition is one of questioning and arguing, neither of which are viewed negatively in Jewish tradition! We love to ask ourselves "what if" and "why," and the point isn't so much finding a singular answer as it is the process of engaging with the text. Does it really matter as a real-world issue whether there are any Pokemon that would be kosher to eat? Of course not! But that's exactly the type of thing we love to argue over, and if the ancient rabbinic sages like Hillel and Akiva and Rashi and Maimonides were alive today, I guarantee you they would have opinions on the matter.

I love our joy. There is so much joy that comes with being Jewish, a joy we feel just for being alive against all odds. Most of our prayers are not asking Hashem for the things we want, but thanking Hashem for the things we have. We have a brachah we say specifically to thank Hashem for the opportunity to fix what is broken in this world. Our history has rarely been a happy one, but we have always found reasons to rejoice. We danced and sang and celebrated our holidays and life events even in the Warsaw Ghetto. This past December, during one of the saddest, heaviest, and scariest times for our people since the Shoah, Jews all over the world celebrated Chanukah like we always do. In the midst of our mourning, we found joy. Literally and figuratively, we came together as a tribe to create light in the darkness.

[sophieinwonderland]

Yet another thing about the "Sophie is dangerous" document I just wanted address... Hate Groups

The reason the SPLC doesn't keep track of online hate groups isn't because those groups don't meet their definition.

It's because they're often not real, overstating their influence, or isn't deemed relevant by the SPLC.

This list of 940 active hate groups is based on information gathered by the SPLC’s Intelligence Project from hate group publications, citizen reports, law enforcement agencies, field sources, web postings and news reports. Only organizations known to be active in 2019, whether that activity included marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, flyering, publishing literature or criminal acts, among other activities, were counted in this list. Entities that appear to exist only in cyberspace are not included because they are likely to be web publishers falsely portraying themselves as powerful, organized groups. This list also does not document activism that takes place only online by individuals or groups, whether on Facebook, VK or similar online forums. Major online web forums have in recent years seen their comment sections and registered users grow, but such activity does not occur in real life and thus is not reflected in this count. If the group has a known headquarters, the city appears first in the listing of the group’s chapters and, if there are multiple chapters of the group, is marked with an asterisk.

This does not mean they aren't considered hate groups by definition.

The bigger issue though is that a group that hates hate groups for being hate groups isn't a hate group.

While you try to parse that sentence, recall the paradox of tolerance. We cannot tolerate those who themselves spread hate and intolerance.

If we were to follow the logic of the author here that one could form a hate group directed at anti-endos, you could just as easily say that an anti-fascist group is a hate group because it hates fascists.

That's... a pretty profoundly ignorant thing to say, is it not?

Even if there was an extremely organized group radically opposed to anti-endos, that group could NEVER be a hate group for that reason. Just as a group opposed to homophobes, transphobes, or white supremacists could not be a hate group on those grounds.

You can hypothetically have a hate group against "traumagenic systems." (The Grey Faction and False Memory Foundation come to mind.) But not anti-endos, because that's a hateful ideology.

The rhetoric the author of this document is using against me has huge implications not just for syscourse, but politics on the whole, giving ammunition to right-wingers who would try to argue that they're the victims of hate by people who are opposing the hate the right-wingers spread.

I'm not saying the author is intentionally parroting or supporting this right-wing rhetoric either. I think they're just so desperate to have a gocha on me that they're incapable of thinking even remotely critically about what they say before it exits their mouth.

But the effect of their rhetoric is still the same, intentional or not.

Bottom line: there is no such thing as a hate group against anti-endos. And there can never be a such thing as a hate group against anti-endos.

[aheckinmess]

Wash Away the Storm [Shinsou] (Angst)

(One-shot to 1/? in a collection of My Hero Academia one-shots - posted regularly on Saturdays.)

Read on AO3.

Tags: Shinsou x OC, Hitoshi Shinsou, Shinsou Soothes the Mind and Soul, Tragedy Befalls the OC, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Our Favorite Purple-Haired Bean, Grief, Grieving OC

Word Count: 860 words

Summary: Following a devastating tragedy, Ichijiku is grateful when Shinsou inadvertently helps quiet her mind during her grief.

Author's Note: This one-shot isn't a part of a series, so if you're ever looking to see what character I'm writing for, I'll give a character name and whether it's angst, fluff, or smut in the title. Enjoy!

Ichijiku (Tigress)

"Hey, are you okay? I heard about what happened last week."

"Do you need a minute?"

"You must be so sad! Why don't you go see Hound Dog?"

All of their voices melt together as I try to make sense of everything happening around me. Getting the call that my grandpa died is crushing, and I haven't really wanted to do much except train and fight to get out all of my anger and sorrow.

My friends in 1-A, however, nudge me to seek out help as opposed to my avoidance coping mechanisms. I'd do the same thing, but I don't know if I feel ready to talk about it right now.

Still, I make an empty promise that I'll go see Hound Dog to get Ashido to stop talking to me and then go walk into the forest after school. I don't feel like going home yet to see Naomi. It'll only serve as a reminder of who's not there.

"Are you ever not out here now?" A tired voice pierces through my tumultuous mind.

"Are you ever not out here in general?" I sass back, turning to the purple-haired offender with a roll of my eyes.

His lips quirk into a smile as suddenly my mind is blank. It's blissfully, peacefully blank. I've learned how to combat Shinsou's brainwashing with an exhaustive bout of mental fighting, but this afternoon I don't want to. I just close my eyes to let the darkness aid the empty feeling in my mind.

That's when Shinsou seems to realize there's a problem. My thoughts flood back and I drop to my bottom, pulling my knees to my chest and tucking my forehead on them. Why'd you stop? I think. Why couldn't you just keep all of my memories away? To make the world go away for a little while longer...

"You didn't fight back, Sunshine." He comments softly, sitting down beside me in the grass. "That's not normal for you. Did something happen today?"

Right...Shinsou's still in General Studies. He hasn't shifted to the Hero Track yet. He wouldn't be close enough to anyone to know. I debate for a few moments if I should say anything, but ultimately decide we're close enough friends at this point to tell him.

"I guess it makes sense you wouldn't know yet. Not many outside of my class do." I choke out a little laugh. It lacks my usual humor. "I got news several days ago that my grandpa died while in the Navy." I want to cry, but I don't feel like it. I don't know that I have the energy anymore.

He doesn't make a sound, but I feel the tension in his arms. There's a long pause, not that I blame him. After all, how does one respond to that?

"Did my quirk give you a little break?" He asks after a moment. His arm gently wraps around my shoulders.

"Yeah." I breathe, once again hit with serenity when he brainwashes me and my mind quiets.

"Go ahead and get out a good cry." Shinsou whispers to me. Normally, I would fight this order. Shoot, my body even takes a second's pause like it's deciding whether to comply. But all of my sorrow suddenly combines together and splashes out of me onto his shoulder. "I'll keep you safe." He says as his hand strokes the back of my head and his other arm wraps around me.

Blissful, brainwashed fog swirls in my head as my body slumps onto his shoulder to be held. With a blank mind, I'm able to find that release of grief and tears without holding on so tightly to the pain that accompanies it.

By the time all of my tears are spent, he lets my mind go but I stay tucked into his side. It's so warm. Don't leave me. It feels so good in his arms. I decide to give myself a brief reprieve from grief and imagine what a life would be like with him. More moments like this, whether sad or content, pulled close into his arms to soak in his comfort and offer my own in return.

"Do you think he'd be proud of me?" I whisper.

"Your grandpa? For sure. I'm proud of you, and I rarely admit that to anybody." Shinsou says, shocking me abruptly. His shoulders shake with a snicker. "I mean it. I don't think I've ever seen someone work as hard as you do at helping others feel better, making sure they're alright, and at the same time juggling all of your own responsibilities and emotions. I can barely throw my scarf properly. But you," He pauses and I turn to look up at him. "You learn so quickly. You have the uncanny ability to take your weaknesses and reflect on them to immediately turn them into a strength. It's...nearly inhuman. I love that about you."

His words flood me with warmth and I sigh, relaxing.

"I appreciate that." And I mean it. "Is it okay if I stay here for a little while...with you?"

"I would never leave you to deal with this alone."

Want More Shinsou? Try: Coffee Cures

[xaviermattthews]

something in the orange tells me you're never comin' home.

location: x and van's home, aurora bay drive.

when: july 13th 2024, early morning.

triggers warnings: death, parental death.

With sixteen track names scribbled across ever-shuffling flashcards, X pours over the running order he's settled on in his ninth attempt that morning to finalise Submergence's next album's tracklist. He plays a snippet of each song in his mind, listening to how he thinks it might flow before he actually puts them together in that order for a full listen.

By the time he gets to eight, he's already decided it's bloated, the sharpie in his hand drawing two large x's through what would have been nine and eleven so he could cull it down to a 14 track run.

The finish line was within reaching distance and he could feel the frustration and the apprehension that went with it right down to his bones which was why he found himself grateful for the solitude his girlfriend had granted him by taking their energetic border collie with her on her run. Nothing he decided on would be finalised without Van's input as well as their other bandmates, but if it was going to be an argument then he wanted to be certain he believed in what he wanted first.

There were few people who had been granted the digital permission to bypass his Do Not Disturb feature, one being Van herself and another being his drummer and friend. It's the third time in a fifteen minute that the name BOWIE SHORE flashes on his screen and the man knew him well enough to not ring more than twice unless it was vital because he ignored his phone for a good reason.

He picks up and answers on the fifth ring, greeting his friend in a clipped tone.

"You keep blowing up my fucking phone Bow and there won't be an album for this rollout, you get that, yeah? What?"

"Have you not been online at all?"

"No, whatever it is, I don't have the time." X informs him, assuming what must have been stressing him out was another old resurfaced interview or an article musing on whether or not they had lost their way after he had gotten sober. He's read it all in every font.

"X, can you just check your texts, please? I'm sending you a link. Look man, I don't know if it's real or not and I really hope it isn't but it's not the only place I'm seeing it."

There's a furrow in his eyebrows then as he switches the phone to loudspeaker, swiping up to his messages that were in the triple digits of unread -- nothing new there -- and clicked on the text thread under Bowie's name.

"Alright, hold on."

He can see his name in the preview, his eyes rolling instantly at the source being TMZ. He clicks it, a pop-up version of the article opening for him. The last face he had expected to see was that of his father's, someone he hasn't seen in person in over a decade now.

The sight alone causes a twist in his stomach that only worsens as he reads the headline and the words in print that follow it.

Panic creeps through him as his eyes scan over the syllables, all that he could manage to combat it with was a stronger sense of denial that leaves his mouth in an overly-sure scoff.

"This is bullshit, Bowie. You know TMZ ran a story saying I died. Twice. My dad's not fucking dead, he lives by too strict a daily itinerary for that. Doesn't fit into the schedule. You really need to not believe everything you read online."

In the back of his mind, he knows one of those misprints made sense given it had hit the press immediately after his near-fatal overdose, but the one that had proceeded it was false intel taken as fact.

That's what this was -- he's certain.

( It had to be. )

"X, I think you should call your m--"

The beep of another incoming call distracts him from his bandmates voice, his band manager Dalton the contact that flashed up. He always found Van more levelheaded than X to deal with and she was his first port of call for band related business.

He declines the call and cuts off Bowie's in process, ignoring the way he can hear his heartbeat in his ears. He clicks through his contacts and scrolls to his sister's, holding the phone back against his ear as he listens to the dial tone.

It rings and rings and rings, each one inching him closer to what feels like an anxiety attack. His free hand is balled into a fist, the side of it tapping lightly against his own chest as he paces around the room.

When it goes to voicemail, he reminds himself she's twenty-six.

No twenty-six year old answered the phone this early on a Saturday, that was all.

There's only one other Matthews in his contact list who had made it through every phone and number change of his, carrying over the digits to each device despite the fact that he hasn't used them in years.

( Darren Matthews was the kind of man who never changed his number -- ever reliable in the way his son wasn't. )

He hadn't called it no matter how dark things had gotten because he knew he would answer despite their harsh parting words and he's never been ready for that conversation.

He's not ready for it then either, but no matter what he has to say to him, he knows hearing his voice was the only thing that would quell the swirl of emotions within him that are starting to make him sick.

There's the same dial tone as before, ringing and ringing, the floor beneath him feeling shakier and shakier as it did. He thinks he's actually about to be sick when the call clicks to signal it had been picked up, the relief that flooded him felt like a tsunami -- just like his new album's title.

"Hey, it's me. X. M'sorry for calling, this is going to sound so fucking weird but there was this dumb article that--"

He's cut off by a voice on the other end interrupting him, softer than the one he expected, shakier than he had ever heard her.

"Xavier, Xavier, darlin'."

He would know his mother's voice anywhere, the warmth of it having an opposing effect on him in that moment, turning the blood in his veins to what felt like ice.

"Why do you have my dad's phone, mom?" X asks, sounding and feeling like the thirteen year-old he had been the last time he had seen them in a room together as a couple, before the foundation of his life had shattered with a divorce and splintered into two houses, two families and one X who didn't know where he was supposed to fit into it all.

What Addie says next he can only pick up in disjointed snippets, the ringing in his ears louder than her sob-wracked words.

He hears his name again and an it's your daddy, he's gone, I'm so sorry. There's an apology that follows but it's too frantic for him to catch all of it -- she was going to call, someone was meant to call, she thought someone called.

He's not aware that he's crying until his hand reaches up to his face and he finds a steady stream of tears streaking his cheeks. It stings when he blinks and he can't find anything to say to comfort his mother, the silence on his end nothing new to his immediate family, it was the only thing he did consistently for them.

He can still hear her wails as another voice speaks down the line, one that sounded so close to what he could remember of his father's that he's almost fooled again into thinking TMZ had been wrong.

It's only when he registers the words does he realise that it couldn't be Darren, it had to be Ernest, his uncle and his father's brother who spoke in the same cadence as the late man but used words X knew he would never have said to him if he was alive.

"Y'need to come home, Xavier. You need to come home."

[arwenlalaith]

Dating App Mishaps (Ch. 4)

Ship: Alex Blake/Reader

Summary: Alex didn't have Tinder by choice...but that doesn't mean it isn't going to come in handy.

Word Count: 1061

From somewhere in the back of your mind (seeing as you were currently unable to perceive anything that wasn't Alex) you were aware of James stomping off. Seconds later, you came crashing back to Earth as Alex abruptly stopped her ministrations.

Immediately, you felt your face flushing with embarrassment. You'd crossed a line, you were sure of it. The ass grab had pushed her too far. "I'm so sorry," you immediately apologized profusely, "That was extremely forward of me..."

You were surprised, then, by her next words... "I'm going to call us a cab and you're going to bring me home so I can have my wicked way with you."

Unable to form even a single sound, you simply nodded, perhaps too eagerly, causing Alex to chuckle wickedly.

"Good girl," Alex purred, causing your eyes to light up at the praise. She then instructed, "Why don't you go wait for me outside?" When you moved to obey, she smacked your ass, causing you to shoot her a wink and a grin over your shoulder.

As soon as the door shut behind you, Alex sighed, knowing she'd have to face her friends who had, no doubt, seen the entire thing play out...

"Here..." a voice spoke from beside her.

She turned to see JJ standing there, holding her coat and purse.

"Thought I'd save you the interrogation," JJ said with a knowing smirk. "Make no mistake, Garcia will eventually track you down. And I can't hold her off for long...so I'd get out of here while you still can."

With a sigh, Alex conceded that JJ was likely correct. "Thank you," she said, then made a hasty exit.

________

You struggled to open your apartment door with Alex's hands pulling your dress higher and higher on your thighs, getting ever closer to where you wanted her attention the most... "Alex..." you whined, unsure whether it was a plea to stop or to continue.

Either way, she simply chuckled. Beside your ear, she husked, "Open the door or I'll be forced to take you right here..."

With a little whimper, you finally managed to unlock the door and very nearly fell through the now open door.

Alex kicked the door shut behind her as she followed you into the apartment. She shucked off her jacket, then rounded on you with a predatory gaze, sending heat coursing to your core.

Her expression seemed to suggest she knew what the look did to you...and it seemed to please her greatly. She took a seat in your armchair, lounging back and eyeing you up and down. "Strip for me, won't you, Princess?"

You were all too eager to comply, sweeping your hair over your shoulder to expose the zipper of your dress, then settling on her lap in a silent request for her to unzip it.

Alex obliged, slowly drawing the zipper down your spine, then leaning forward to press a kiss to your now exposed shoulder blade.

Holding your dress to your chest, you stood, turned, then let the dress fall, wriggling out of the fabric until it pooled at your feet.

She let her gaze roam your now nearly naked body, her eyes hungry. "So fucking gorgeous..." she growled. Crooking a finger, she silently encouraged you to come closer until you were straddling her lap.

Ducking her head, she took one of your nipples in her mouth, tongue playing with your nipple piercing. You couldn't contain your little whine as you wrapped her hair around your fingers in a desperate bid to keep her attention where you wanted it.

It wasn't long before you were grinding down, desperate and eager for her to move her attention lower, which only made her smirk. "Poor Princess," she cooed. "Do you need something?"

"More..." you begged, pouting. "Please, Daddy?" The last part slipped out before you could stop it and, had you not been so focused on the way she was making you feel, you might've been embarrassed.

As it was, you merely batted your lashes at her, trying to get your way. Alex smirked upon learning this new piece of information about you, making sure to file that knowledge away for future use.

"First, Daddy wants to see that pretty pussy," she husked, punctuating the command with the barest of touches on your clit through your panties. When you stood to remove your now soaked thong, she unbuttoned her blouse, watching with amusement as your gaze seemed to now be glued to her breasts. "C'mere, Princess..."

You once again straddled her lap, seeking out her lips, just in time to muffle your moan as she found your clit, rubbing slow circles on it with her thumb. Her fingers slipped about in your wetness for a moment before she slid two fingers inside you. "Ride me, Princess," she ordered, "Be Daddy's good girl."

Before you could get very far, though, your quickly approaching climax was thwarted by the sound of someone attempting to open your door. After a few moments of fumbling with the doorknob, there came a frenzied knocking. "Y/N!" Quinn's voice shouted, "Y/N, let me in! I brought Taco Bell!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," you muttered, reluctantly climbing off Alex's lap. Shooting her an apologetic smile, you explained, "That's my sister...and she's drunk."

Alex passed you her blouse. "You'd better let her in before she wakes up the whole building."

With an appreciative (and relieved) grin, you said, "You can hide in the bedroom 'til she falls asleep." Waiting until the bedroom door clicked shut behind her, you flung the front door open, sending Quinn toppling into your arms as you did so. "You're so lucky you're my sister," you growled, passing the Uber driver a twenty (after first fishing the bill from Quinn's purse) as she'd been kind enough to help Quinn make it to your apartment in her drunken stupor.

"Are you mad at me?" Quinn asked, following you into the kitchen where you were turning on the coffee pot.

"No," you said, but you said it grumpily, seeing as your thighs were still stick with arousal.

"Are you sure?" she asked. A beat. "Are you wearing someone else's shirt?"

[takuyakistall]

sweet spots

— Commission piece for @ai-kan1's OC, Juno, and Ace!

It was no wonder that Ace knew a handful of stuff—whether it was taken from someone else or maybe he even made it up himself. But, believing them was a different matter. He's caught a lot of tidbits here and there but it never meant that he was the type to blindly believe in such sayings or rumours.

However, there was one short saying that caught his eye. He managed to overhear it from a bunch of students while he was running an errand for Professor Divus. Slacking, while on the job, was something the professor loathed but that didn't seem to stop him anyway when Ace leaned against the wall just to listen in to their conversation after his interest was piqued.

"Hey, guess what I saw today online."

"I thought I just told you to not believe everything you see online."

"Ugh, I know. But, listen, it's not as if I believe it but it's really interesting. Look!"

"Huh…? 'Moles are in places where you were kissed the most in your past life'? What is this?"

"Eh? Exactly what it says. Moles are in places where you got kissed the most in your past life—I thought the title was pretty self-explanatory."

"No, I mean, why is this so interesting to you?"

"C'mon, even if it isn't true, doesn't it seem romantic? Look, you even have ones here on your—"

Ace promptly left the scene. He's heard enough, he didn't want to linger longer to hear them start flirting with each other. It was painfully obvious that even Ace felt a little bad. Soon enough, he finished what he was asked to do but the conversation prior still lingered in his mind.

"Moles…" He muttered under his breath, his brain trying to formulate a coherent thought to figure out why it's been haunting him. Then, as if fate would have it, a sudden face flashed inside his head, rendering him speechless and flustered—albeit slightly.

He wondered if Juno had any moles.

He stopped in his tracks and thought to himself: Oh, that's a dangerous thing to think about.

But, like any other good student, curiosity was a trait he had. Maybe he should ask, just for curiosity's sake. Though, frankly, he knew deep down that it wouldn't help his situation at all if Juno ended up revealing any moles he had on his body.

He paused and came to a conclusion.

Yeah, maybe I should ask.

Ramshackle felt cozy around this hour. Ace always liked hanging around during this time of day after classes ended and it's no one but him and Juno inside the building (usually Grim would be there but he had "important" matters to attend to).

Ace crashed into the couch, letting out a deep groan as he stretched his arms. He fell slump against the armrest, eyes closed, and started whining. "Argh… I'm tired."

"Tell me about it." Juno followed suit, crashing alongside him and leaning against the other armrest of the couch. He let out a sigh, his eyes distant, "I don't wanna think about going back to class tomorrow."

"Don't skip." Ace clicked his tongue, lightly flicking Juno's skin in a playful manner—a small smirk appearing on his face. "Class is boring without you."

"All you do is keep bothering me anyway," Juno recounted the times Ace sent paper airplanes or notes his way. Only for him to unfold it and read out the most nonsensical and ridiculous messages ever. Sometimes, Ace would even mess with his hair—twirling his hair around his finger while absentmindedly listening to whatever the teacher had to say. He sighed, continuing, "But I won't skip."

Ace let out a chuckle and then a breathy laugh. His expression smug when he reaches out to pinch Juno's cheek playfully while saying, "Of course you wouldn't. You'd miss me too much."

He loved how the rosy tint spread on Juno's cheeks in just a few seconds as he pinned his gaze somewhere else.

Huffing, he covered his mouth and retorted. "Who told you that?"

"Well, it's obvious now isn't it?" He pushed further, "You wouldn't have that kind of reaction if it was a lie, haha!"

Juno stared at him with a bewildered expression, eyebrows furrowed just slightly and the tips of his lips tugging up into a small, uncontrollable grin. "Haha, I guess I am obvious."

Juno set his arm down facing up and Ace caught sight of something.

A familiar question popped up inside his head again and his eyes widened ever so slightly, it was difficult to catch the way his eyes transitioned to full focus on something else.

"Hey, Juno."

"Yes?"

"You got a mole on your wrist?" An innocent and harmless question—he was glad that the question disguised itself as one. Otherwise, Juno would've known he was up to some sort of mischief.

Juno's eyes lit up a little at the random question as he held up his wrist, close enough for Ace to see it in its entirety. "I do. It's pretty noticeable, isn't it? Everyone keeps noticing it."

"Huh? Really?" He never noticed it before.

Ace wrapped his fingers around his wrist, thumb smoothing over the skin where his mole was. It was a strange gesture, it made Juno pause as the odd sense of embarrassment sunk into his head.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at it. Duh."

"You don't have to hold my wrist like this if you're just looking." Juno protested, trying to shake him away but Ace was oddly persistent. "I think you've looked enough."

Ace shook his head, sighing, "Listen to me for a second."

"What is it this time?" Juno groaned, tilting his head.

"I heard this really interesting thing just earlier—"

"I thought we told you to stop eavesdropping on others already?" Juno interjected and Ace couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

"—Not the point right now. Anyways, as I was saying, I heard this thing earlier." He paused, choosing his next words. "It was something about moles."

Now this caught Juno's attention. It might explain to him his sudden interest in his mole.

"What is it?"

"Haha… Something about them being places you were kissed the most in your past life, I think?"

"Oh?" Somehow, the next few events became predictable.

The next thing he knew, Ace raised Juno's wrist closer to his face—his lips hovering over his mole. His lips barely ghosted over his skin as Ace looked at Juno straight in the eyes, a mischievous grin on his face.

Everything clicked inside Juno's head. "Hey, what do you think you're doing—!?"

Promptly, Ace placed a chaste kiss over the mole. It was supposed to be a single, quick kiss but somehow it didn't end there. Once more, Juno tried shaking him off but he never let him.

"Stay still," Ace's voice was low. His breath was hot against his skin. "I just want to give justice to those rumours, y'know?"

He pulled away, finally, and looked at him with a cheeky expression—a smirk on his lips as he cocked his head to the side. "You got any more moles anywhere on your body?"

"Why would I tell you that now that I know what you're gonna do?" Juno puffed his cheeks in protest, still trying to pry Ace off as he tilted his head in frustration.

Oh—! Ace thought. His eye caught another one. Just below his jaw, close to his ear. Without missing another beat, Ace leaned in closer and placed his lips closer to his neck. Just barely, enough to taunt Juno with the ghost of his lips on his skin.

"What—? How'd you even find that from afar!?"

"I guess I just have good eyesight~?" Juno let out another groan when Ace finally pressed his lips against his neck. It felt embarrassing—insanely so. He felt like he could melt with the way Ace's lips refused to leave his neck.

"Hey, that's enough—" but soon, the words got caught up in his throat when Ace pulled away. It was far too early to breathe a sigh of relief when he came crashing down once more to steal his lips away this time as he robbed Juno of his words.

He was aggressive in his pursuit but never enough to hurt him—it was always intended to fluster him, to sweep him off his feet to the point that he couldn't retaliate; Ace was mean to him in this way.

When he pulled away, Juno silently hoped that it was the final one. His hair was a mess, his cheeks flushed with a familiar pink, and he couldn't help but pout a little at the gesture.

"There wasn't even a mole near my lips." He huffed.

Ace could only laugh in response, satisfied with how things played out for him. "It doesn't really matter to me. The whole mole thing was just an excuse to kiss you in the first place."

Juno narrowed his eyes but bit back a retort. Still, he felt a little lightheaded and thought that he could let himself get carried away while the mood called for it.

He paused, thinking to himself before opening his mouth.

"Hey, Ace, do you have any moles on you?"

From there, the following events were predictable—awfully so. Ramshackle was lively that very evening.

[orange-orchard-system]

hi i hope this isnt weird. saw a mut rb your 'creative folk having characters talk to them' post and now im like of like. Oh.

ive had some plural friends clock me as 'vaguely plural' / had people assume i'm a system so im like. im having a 'perhaps my experiences are in fact, not universal' moment.

ive just never felt like it fits the bill for plurality, because ive always had a pretty tight grip on 'me' being the pilot / dont have altars switch out/in to talk like i see so often. its complex definitely but i guess im asking if there's any good resources for someone like me :?

(you can answer this privately or publicly, i dont mind either way)

Hi! Not weird at all. I see this somewhat often when people come to me about questioning if they're plural, and I think it comes from a lack of information about just how varied plurality can be. So, let me go over what your situation reminds me of.

Firstly, yes, there are resources for what you're talking about – and communities, too. There are plenty of systems who rarely or never switch, and they're called specutien systems and/or systems with P-DID (Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder). These systems may not experience full switches – as in, a total loss of control followed by someone else having full control – but they may experience switches where someone else has partial control, or are otherwise "close enough" to be able to communicate/affect them in some way without taking any control. These are known as co-fronting and co-consciousness respectively, and it's specifically what "talking to your characters" reminds me of.

There's also, of course, the possibility that you are experiencing full switches and are just forgetting due to amnesia, but if you don't have noticeable memory issues (noticeable by yourself or others, I should note, since the fun part of forgetting is you forget that you forgot), this probably isn't something to be too concerned about. If it is and/or you want to cover all your bases, try keeping a regular journal and see if there's any large gaps you can't explain.

Honestly, I recommend the journal for general purpose, too. It's a very useful tool for communicating, especially if you can't or don't switch; you can write down what your alters say to keep track of conversations, making sure you don't forget or mix up what was said, and use it as a sort of "evidence book" to yourself, especially if you add in other little details that support the idea that you're plural (such as, in your case, others assuming you're plural, too). Even if you've talked to your alters before, learning to talk to them as alters can be a new challenge to get used to, so try what techniques catch your eye and don't be afraid to take your time figuring yourself/ves out.

Of course, there's always the possibility that you're not plural, in the end, but hey, you're looking to learn something, ain't ya? Whether you are or aren't plural, you'll learn more about that aspect of yourself, and probably learn more about systems along the way.

To recap: specutien, P-DID, co-fronting, co-consciousness. Those are the four things I recommend you most look into, but you may find other topics or terms that you think may also fit you, so don't be afraid to explore those. Just looking up those terms on Tumblr will get you some folks talking about their own experiences, but there's also Pluralpedia as a wiki for plural terms, and at least two, maybe three, of those terms have been mentioned in academic and clinical papers about plurality, if you want to read those.

Hope this helps! Good luck figuring out yourself/ves!

[mi-rae07]

Song Mingi : Burning Desire (Part 5/5)

Pairing : Song Mingi (Ateez) and named character (Moon Aeri)

_____________________

A/n : so guess what, there's going to be a second season to this fic. I'd thought of cramming it all into one season with five parts but that didn't happen. Since it's enemies to lovers it's taking more time than expected to put them together lmao. So I'll probably have a second season with more parts to this after some time.

That is, if all of you want it to happen. So please let me know whether you'd like a second season or just leave it at this. And if you have any suggestions on the story line you can tell me that too!

But thank you for reading (this part is also going to be a bit long lol) and I love you!

______________________

Mingi remebered everything that had happened even when he was in a hazy state of mind. The medicine didn't wipe away his memories, although it did make him more vulnerable. And now as mingi followed aeri to wherever she was leading him, mingi not only felt embarassed, but also angry at himself for having been so emotional.

His bestfriend had betrayed him, but mingi should've known, given han's actions and negligence towards him lately. And he had been the only one to know that aeri was stabbed on her leg, not the heart that day.

But now, looking at aeri entering mingi's office room, he'd realized he'd fallen into aeri's trap. She had taken pure advantage of the situation. He had forgotten how cunning she was, how manipulative she could be.

Aeri : what is your mother's name?

Mingi paused on his tracks as aeri shut the door behind them, sitting down on mingi's chair as she said nonchalantly

Aeri : are you not going to answer?

Did she just sit on his chair, leaving him to stand? Mingi let out a breath in part annoyance as he looked away before saying

Mingi : jung mi-seo.

Aeri : is she alive right now?

Mingi : what does that matter to you?

Aeri : are you really going to show me that attitude given our situation, love?

Mingi rolled his eyes as he whispered

Mingi : she's long dead.

Aeri : how did she die? Did you kill her?

Mingi : she killed her herself, now can we just stop?

Aeri sighed, leaning back against the chair as she said

Aeri : it's han, isn't it? The traitor? That's why you let yourself get stabbed.

Mingi hated his answer.

Mingi : yes.

Aeri : you have to find him, and kill him.

As if he wasn't already going to do that.

Mingi : is that an order, your majesty?

Aeri : yes it is.

Mingi : consider it done.

Aeri : there's more. After you have brought me his head on a spike, you need to leave.

Mingi : pardon?

Aeri : leave, mingi, you're going renounce being China's emperor and you're going to go back to Korea.

Unbelievable. Mingi scoffed as he said

Mingi : you think I'll do that?

Aeri : you think I can't kill you, then? Either you do this your way or I make you leave my way. But if it goes my way you will not only lose China and Korea, but also your own head. So do it the easy way, mingi, just leave.

Mingi : is that why you did all that when I was sick, your majesty?

Aeri looked at mingi as he walked closer, her realizing he was doing that thing that he always does, intimidate her through her own past actions. She wouldn't fall for it this time.

Aeri : did what?

Mingi : oh don't act clueless now. If I know of it, you definitely do.

Aeri : mingi-

Mingi : you called me that when I awoke from a nightmare, didn't you? It was what put me back to sleep. I responded well to the call once, you think I want you to keep calling me by my name?

Aeri chuckled, shaking her head as she said

Aeri : what are you going to do about it? Kill me? You aren't powerful enough to do that anymore, mingi. Because if you do that the soldiers will know who did it and then the people. They would burn you to death, humiliate you. And I know of your greatest fear now, mingi. It is to not live a life of glory, to not die with dignity. Being humiliated is your biggest fear.

Mingi clenched his jaw, closing his eyes as he realized aeri had done her research while he was away, and she was smart enough to have taken something away from it. Mingi should've killed her much sooner.

Aeri : we have a ball tonight.

Mingi : what?

Aeri : to celebrate you getting better, of course. So dress in blue, royal blue.

Mingi stared at aeri in part shock as she stood up, walking towards the door before saying

Aeri : that was your mother's favorite color, was it not? It is mine too.

______________________________

Aeri looked at the mirror as the maids rushed around her, getting her ready for the ball. It was a beautiful royal blue gown with gold linings and pearls on it, perfect for an evening ball celebrating the health of her husband. Mingi hadn't directly told her about his mother's favorite color, she had figured it out through research. While aeri was plotting the taking over of the nation's powers she had figured it would be a good idea to know how mingi had ruled for the past 5 years in Korea as it's sole king.

The Korean crown was known for it's diamonds on it, but mingi had had it all removed and replaced with the finest sapphires that could be found. And his royal photo, he was wearing a royal blue suit in it. Moreover, as aeri looked at her wedding ring she came to the realization that the sapphire was more emphasized than any other jewels on it, even the main diamond.

It was obvious the obsession he had with the color, and she figured it would be because of his mother. Now she confirmed it.

Aeri didn't trust anyone anymore, not even Mina. Which was why she hadn't told mina of her plan to take over the nation while mingi was unconscious. No one wanted a woman on the throne, so aeri was going to put her there herself. And the people would not be able to do anything.

Right now aeri would play the role of a dutiful and good wife who was happy her emperor has surpassed death. And then when mingi leaves after han, she is going to appear to be weak, she's going to blame mingi for leaving the kingdom and condemn him for being an unfaithful husband. That will gain the people's sympathy, and then, soon aeri will be on the throne. She will not marry again, and neither will anyone be able to force her.

She will be China's sole empress, as she was always meant to be.

Aeri let out a small smile as she looked at the mirror in front of her, knowing that her time had come.

______________________________

Mingi had never seen so much extravagance for a ball, and as he walked down the stairs with aeri's arm wrapped around his, the ministers below clapped for him, bowing at the sight of their emperor. Aeri smiled as she looked at mingi, her eyes indirectly telling him to not look so blanked out.

Mingi sighed as he nodded at the people around them, aeri almost dragging him to the home minister as he started conversing with them. Mingi stared at aeri as she started talking about something, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

He still remembered how nice he felt when aeri had held him in her hands, how warm she felt and how soothing her words were. No one had ever held mingi like that, no one had ever told him such kind words. Now mingi knew those words were nothing but a trap aeri had skillfully set to get rid of him. But even then, mingi's body still longed for hers, he wished she could run her hands along his hair again, put him to sleep.

Aeri : my love?

Mingi quickly looked at aeri as she gave him a knowing smile, mingi looking back at the minister as aeri said

Aeri : mr kim was just asking you whether you would return to court tomorrow.

Mingi : oh, yes. I shall be returning to my duties tomorrow, if god wills it.

Minister : that is good to hear, your majesty. We have missed you very much. The court has been empty all this while long as well, since, you know, the empress refused to leave your bedside and took care of state matters from your chambers itself.

Mingi looked at aeri with raised eyebrows as she smiled at the minister before saying

Aeri : I am a wife before I am an empress, minister. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll need to talk with the other ministers.

The minister bowed with a smile as aeri led mingi away from the home minister to the defense minister that was standing a few meters away from them. Mingi leaned down as he whispered

Mingi : so you did not even leave my side, my good wife?

Aeri : in their eyes, I did not. My plan had to be foolproof, husband, being a woman is not easy.

Mingi looked at aeri as the defense minister quickly bowed down at their presence, smiling as he started talking about something. Except mingi couldn't focus, aeri looked too beautiful in blue.

It was now his favorite color too.

______________________________

Mingi sat back against his chair as he took another sip of his wine, staring soullessly into the carpeted floor of the palace ballroom.

"You are too weak, my son, you will love anyone no matter how bad they treat you, like a street dog. They can hit you, bleed you, kill you, but you will still love them as if they've been an angel to you. Your heart is too fragile for this world, you will never be able to control it"

Those had been the very words that had caused mingi to lock his heart away, caging it in stone and never letting it control him. But then the world had called him cruel, they had called him a monster for it. So mingi had realized that the people were going to hate you no matter what you did so he'd learned to stop caring about that too.

And then he'd met aeri, the cold cruel empress of China who ruled only with her head, seeming to have no heart. And yet the people accepted her. Mingi had kept his heart away from her and her feigning actions, but then…then what was this feeling? Why-

Aeri : it is time to dance.

Mingi looked up at aeri, her gloved hand held out for him to hold. Mingi knew he had no choice so he kept the wine glass away before taking her hand, leading her to the dance floor as the band began playing a fast romantic tune. Aeri put her hand on his shoulder as mingi led the waltz, wanting to finish this as soon as possible.

Aeri : do you know something, mingi? While you were unconscious, I'd thought of killing you then and there.

Mingi looked at aeri as she smiled and continued

Aeri : I thought of taking a blade and stabbing it into the same wound I'd helped heal, watching you thrash around helplessly as you tried holding onto whatever was possible. Watching you bleed dry as the sun rose and your eyes turned soulless and your body cold as ice.

Mingi suddenly felt breathless as aeri twirled herself around him before holding his hand once again. For the others around they would seem as a happy couple, the lady hopelessly in love with all her heart eyes and beautiful smiles. Only the both of them knew the words the lady was saying with those same eyes.

Aeri : but then I thought, oh, but if I do that then the people will surely know that I killed my husband and they will burn me to death before throwing the ashes into the river. So I decided to wait.

Mingi tightened his grip on aeri's waist as he lifted her up, twirling her around before putting her back on her feet again.

Aeri : I could kill you even now, my love, and oh how much I wish I could. If only there weren't so many rules and protocols.

Mingi felt his head spin, the suit suddenly feeling too tight on his body as sweat dribbled down his forehead. Before aeri could say anything more mingi whispered

Mingi : let go of me.

Aeri : you cannot leave in between a dance, that is impolite.

Mingi : let me go, aeri! I do not want to continue this.

Aeri : you don't have a choice-

Aeri cut herself off as mingi forced himself out of her hold, turning around as he rushed out of the ballroom. The band suddenly stopped playing at that, the couples and people around looking at aeri in part confusion as she smiled

Aeri : the emperor felt too giddy from the wine, and the dance was getting too much for him physically all of a sudden. I shall take my leave too now, noblemen. I will see you all in court tomorrow, thank you for coming.

The people around bowed at her as aeri gave them all a last smile before walking out of the ballroom as well. She looked around the place for mingi as she saw him rushing towards the garden area, her quickly following him.

She soon paused in front of the fountain area as she saw mingi sitting at the edge of it, his pant cuff drenched in water as sprinkles of it decorated his face and body. Aeri lifted her skirts up as she walked towards him, the cold water now falling on her as well as she said to mingi

Aeri : do you not understand my words, mingi? I told you not to leave-

Mingi : go away.

Aeri scoffed, walking further to the edge of the fountain where mingi's back faced her as she said

Aeri : you think I'll listen? You-

Mingi : LET ME BE MOON AERI!

Aeri looked at mingi as he stared up at her, her realizing that his eyes were red, his shirt now drenched from the fountain water. Was he…aeri stepped back as mingi stood up from his place, walking past her. Aeri let out a breath as she ran to him, holding his arm as she said

Aeri : what is wrong with you? Did the medicine cause something-

Mingi : the medicine caused nothing, I just need time away from you. So please, just let me fucking go.

Aeri : time away from me? Mingi you need to catch han soon and we need to attend to the court tomorrow-

Mingi groaned as he pushed aeri away from him with all his force, causing her to stumble back as she tripped over her skirts and fell down. Aeri gasped, looking up as she glared at mingi.

Aeri : did you just-

Mingi : I TOLD YOU, I DO NOT WISH TO SEE YOU RIGHT NOW! PLEASE!

Aeri stared at mingi in part confusion as he let out a breath and walked away, disappearing into the palace. Aeri let out a breath as she looked at her palm that had cut through a sharp piece of stone during the fall, blood oozing out of it as she muttered under her breath

Aeri : what the bloody hell is wrong with that man.

__________________________

Mingi stared blankly at the floors of the palace as he walked towards his chambers three hours later, the half asleep guards bowing at him. Mingi had no idea what had happened to him, why the hell had he reacted like that? He'd sat and thought about it for a whole three hours and he still had no answers. Fuck this, why was he so triggered by what aeri had told him? It wasn't the first time. What changed?

Mingi opened the door to his chambers as he saw aeri fast asleep on the bed, one of her hand dangling down the bed. Mingi frowned as he shut the door behind him, walking closer to aeri as he realized the skin on her palm had split open, probably from him pushing her in the garden.

Mingi sighed, bringing the first aid kit as he kneeled down the floor. He began taking care of the wound gently, not wanting to wake aeri up. He had no idea why he was doing this, but seeing her blood did something to him.

As mingi bandaged up the hand that had once buried itself in his hair, running along his back bringing him comfort no one else had ever offered, he realized how much he'd wanted to go back. Yes, he was not in the right state of mind and yes, he had recurring nightmares and the pain had been terrible. But if that meant having aeri take care of him, if that meant feeling her touch on his skin and her voice that held no sharpness, he'd go through all of it over again.

Mingi kept the first aid kit away as he laid his forehead against the edge of the bed, closing his eyes as a tired sigh fell from his lips. And just like that he'd fallen asleep.

______________________________

Han : he definitely loves her.

??? : what?

Han : I'm telling you, san, song mingi loves the empress.

San scoffed, taking a sip of his gin as he said

San : he, song mingi, the great emperor of China and Korea, has fallen in love?

Han realized how hard that was to believe, given mingi's stance in the political realm and his ways with people. But he saw the way he looked at her.

Han : believe it or not, it has happened. We can't defeat mingi face-to-face, he's too strong for that. We need something, someone, else as leverage.

San : so you're saying we should just kidnap the empress instead and lure him to us?

Han : yes, and he'll fall for it, 100 percent.

San supposed kidnapping a woman would be much, much easier than a man, she was too weak to fight back.

San : if this fails-

Han : it won't, san. Love can win battles, but it can also cause great wars, remember? When in love mingi is weak, he will do anything for her life, I am sure of it.

San : well then, I suppose moon aeri it is. By the way, do you think I could have her after all this? She's a pretty thing, I'm sure.

Han : I have nothing to do with that lady, san, I only need her crown. The rest of it is all yours.

_________________________

Aeri opened her eyes as she felt a weight on her hand, something smooth tickling against her skin as she looked to her side and realized with a start that mingi was fast asleep beside her, only his head rested against her wounded hand. Why the hell was he on the floor? And why was her hand bandaged?

Aeri let out a breath as she sat up straight, that waking up mingi as well as he woke up with a small groan.

Aeri : did you do this?

Mingi's sleepy eyes looked at the bandage that was wrapped around aeri's hand as he said

Mingi : yes, is it not from yesterday night? At the garden-

Aeri : where you started acting out like a teenage boy? Yes.

Mingi : I-

Aeri : I would appreciate it if you don't do that again, mingi. Now get up, we have to attend to court.

Mingi stared after aeri as she walked towards the bathroom, that same stone cold expression on her face. He wished he could see her smile at least once before she sent him away.

____________________________

3 weeks later :

Mingi was now walking towards a secluded area in the city, his fingers wrapped around the royal sword's hilt as he looked around him. He had ignored aeri for weeks now, hoping to get rid of these stupid feelings he had for her. He didn't want to decipher them, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to return from it. And so he'd lost himself in trying to find han, and yesterday he had gotten his first intel saying that han was living in a small place close to the old city market that had been abandoned years ago.

As mingi reached closer to the only small three storied building around, he saw lights lit up in some of the rooms, mingi looking around as he noticed that there was no one around here, it had gotten dark as well. This was seeming more to be a trap than it was now.

And just as mingi was about to step forward the door to the building opened, revealing han who already seemed to have expected him with that smug look on his face.

Shit, shit.

Han : so you're here, your majesty! I see you're healthy again?

Mingi : where did you get the men from?

Han chuckled as he said

Han : you're too smart for your own good, song mingi. But too bad I'm smarter than you.

Mingi let out a breath as han walked into the inside of the building, a bunch of men rushing out of the house after him with weapons in their hands. Mingi quickly pulled out his royal sword as he whispered under his breath

Mingi : god save me.

__________________________

Aeri had been sitting on that dining table for half an hour now, picking at her food. She felt no appetite for some reason, as she hadn't felt for the past week. Mingi had been ignoring her for everything other than work purposes, and aeri supposed that was what she ideally wanted, right? He had been focusing on finding han, and that means the sooner mingi would just leave this nation for good.

Except aeri had seen mingi with that puppy the other day, she had seen him smile and laugh for the first time, feeding the stray puppy food and water. The dog hadn't left mingi's side since then, and he had taken it in and was raising it in another room entirely. He hadn't told her about it, but she'd seen him take it for walks, and how happy he had looked with it.

Aeri had tried to ignore it, but then she hadn't seen mingi for a few hours now, and she had little idea where he'd gone. Aeri sighed as she said to the guard behind her

Aeri : did his majesty take the carriage with him?

??? : no your majesty, he went on a single horse.

Aeri : no guards?

??? : none, your majesty.

Aeri let out a breath as she stood up, saying to the maids as she walked towards the door

Aeri : dinner's done.

Aeri quickly walked towards the stables, picking up her bow and arrows along the way as she muttered under her breath

Aeri : damn this man.

_________________________

Mingi groaned as he pushed another man away from him, stabbing his already bloodied sword into the man's heart as he pushed him back. There were too many men, and mingi didn't have enough weapons. He had already killed dozens without getting wounded, but mingi felt like he would fall soon. Mingi felt sounds behind him and turned around to see a man running up to him with an axe. Mingi was just about to raise his sword when an arrow was shot straight into the man's heart from behind, causing him to fall down.

Mingi looked up with widened eyes as he saw aeri riding up to him on a horse, a bow and arrow aimed at the men behind him. Mingi stared as aeri shot arrow after arrow past him, her tilting the bow slightly as one of the arrows went right past his ear, causing his earring to jingle as aeri quickly rode up to him and said

Aeri : CLIMB UP!

Mingi looked behind him one last time before climbing aeri's horse, his chest pressing against her back as aeri handed the bow and arrows to mingi

Aeri : shoot.

Mingi held onto the saddle as aeri quickly turned the horse around, mingi raising the bow as he started shooting at the men close to them one by one.

Aeri : are you stupid?

Mingi : what?

Aeri : ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID!

Mingi : han, he has an army now, your majesty.

Aeri : I don't fucking care, mingi!

Mingi : you're the one who wanted me to find out-

Aeri : NOT BY KILLING YOURSELF!

Mingi did not understand why aeri was suddenly being like this. He shot his final arrow as the men finally stopped running after them, aeri leading her horse into a nearby forest as mingi looked around before asking

Mingi : are we going to get lost?

Aeri : no.

Mingi let out a breath as he kept the bow away, letting out a small hiss as he looked at the side of his right arm to realize that there was a deep cut on it. It was probably the only serious wound he'd gotten today.

Aeri : are you hurt?

Mingi : no.

Mingi paused as aeri slowly stopped the horse in between a small clearing, getting off of it as mingi looked at her in confusion

Aeri : get down.

Mingi let out a breath as he got off of the horse, aeri quickly holding his arm as she started inspecting him with worried eyes. Mingi stared at her blankly as he asked

Mingi : what are you doing?

Aeri : checking for any injuries.

Mingi : what does that matter to you?

Aeri : mingi! You just escaped death and now you're putting yourself into it again?

Mingi : you asked me to find han, your majesty. It was an order.

Aeri : you don't have to do it like this! If you die so soon who's going to kill han for me?

Oh, so that was why she'd come to save him. Because she still had uses for him, why did mingi even bother to think otherwise?

Mingi : han tried hurting you, and I'm sure he would do it again your majesty. I need to kill him before that happens.

Aeri : why would he do it to me? Why not you?

Mingi : because…look it doesn't matter. We-

Aeri : mingi, tell me.

Mingi stared at aeri as she looked up at him with those same eyes that mingi felt shone brighter than the stars above him.

Mingi : is that a command?

Aeri : yes.

Mingi : because you are my only weakness, because getting to you would be the best way to get to me, my heart. If they can't defeat me through physical force, they will do it this way.

Aeri : what…what is that supposed to mean?

Mingi : you've already researched about me, your majesty, you know how it gets when I…fall in love.

Aeri : what? Fall in love with who?

Why the hell was this lady so bloody clueless, mingi thought.

Mingi : we need to go back to the palace.

Aeri : I did not get my answer-

Mingi : it doesn't matter.

Aeri : it does to me!

Mingi : GOD DAMN IT, IT'S YOU! YOU…I've fallen in love with you.

Aeri stepped back in shock, her eyes widening as she scoffed and whispered

Aeri : this is a trap. You're trying to use my own moves against me-

Mingi : I am not so cruel, your majesty, and I am not as good as a liar as you are.

Aeri felt her heart beat faster as she muttered under her breath

Aeri : this cannot be true.

Mingi : I wish it wasn't.

Aeri : why…no, why would you fall in love with me? I have-

Mingi : I do not know, okay. Now can we go back to the palace, please.

Aeri watched as mingi got on top of the horse, holding out a hand for her to hold as aeri sighed and took it, using it to lift herself up onto the horse back as mingi started riding the horse through the forest.

For a few minutes neither of them said anything, mingi was too embarassed and aeri was too shocked. That was until she realized.

Aeri : do you know the way around this forest?

Mingi : how else do you think I came here, your majesty?

Aeri sighed as she looked around, the place getting darker as time passed. If they didn't reach mainland soon they'd be doomed.

Mingi : we need to prepare for war.

Aeri : war?

Mingi : han has an army now, your majesty, I told you. And there is only one way he could've attained it. Choi san.

Aeri : the king of our neighboring kingdom?

Mingi : yes, do you know him?

She didn't know him but she knew his body.

Aeri : he used to be my muse once, when my old husband got quite boring.

Mingi : what?

Aeri rolled her eyes as she started

Aeri : we used to have sex-

Mingi : no. no no I get it.

The last thing mingi wanted to hear right now was her past sexual relations and how it went. Aeri smirked as she moved her hair away from her face. Once again there was a pause for few minutes before mingi suddenly asked

Mingi : do you still love him?

Aeri : love? I've never loved him, mingi, or anyone for that matter. I have only ever used him for my own pleasure, as I have for everyone else in my life.

Mingi sighed, riding the horse faster as he whispered

Mingi : this is going to be such a mess.

_____________________________

[foxesandtarot]

Been feeling stuck?

A while back, I did this spread for myself. It stayed in my mind for a bit, so I decided to pull some cards for you guys too! Simply pick a pile you feel drawn to, and hit 'keep reading' for the reveal and interpretations.

As always, take what resonates and leave the rest. If this spread has helped you, feel free to share it with your friends. :) I am also open to doing personalised readings! (If you’re looking for a specific spread that’s not listed, you can drop me a message and we can work something out!)

Pile 1

You're currently stuck at a crossroad, unsure of whether to follow your mind or heart — you've worked out all the logical steps but it may infringe on some of the emotional parts of you. On one hand, you may be ready to sacrifice some things; on the other, you want to find a compromise or a different way to tackle it. Despite your efforts to find a balance in which neither sides lose anything, it's been to no avail. And because you've been at this for so long, you might feel like you have to make a decision soon.

Unless it's a time-sensitive issue, you shouldn't continue putting more stress on yourself regarding this decision. Set aside time to ruminate on this, where you have time to breathe, relax and consider everything again with a clear and unconditioned mind. Let everything flow, even the seemingly "dumb" ones. Tune in to your intuition and dreams, pay attention to what's between the lines and outside the box. With a much more open mind (much alike a blank sheet of paper), you may come across certain ideas that could be worth exploring.

Pile 2

You've been trying hard, hoping to see some change, but it kind of feels like you're on a hamster wheel lately, right? The sights are the same and you're still in the same spot. Well, have you been neglecting the inner parts of you while working hard on the grind? Toiling away at the expense of your emotional and mental health won't take you far. Or maybe you're being too hard on yourself, and letting all the "what-if"s and negative thoughts run a little too free. It could also be that you're being too indulgent in certain things.

What you need to do is write down your goals clearly, and break them down into actionable, bite-sized steps. It doesn't matter how bite-sized it's broken down into: the objective is to ensure you can make it from here to the next step. Don't just write "I want to write a book -> I will write 1 hour a day." That can be broken down further into "I will write 1 paragraph a day" or "I will write X sentences a day". The distance you make with the small steps a day will become one or two big steps at the end of 30 days. When you are able to take action on your small steps, you are regaining control and steering back on track.

Pile 3

You've really been going through it and you're worn out to the bone, be it physically, mentally or emotionally. You don't know who you can reach out to, probably because you're still in the eye of the storm, or processing the aftermath of the fallout. No matter which position you’re in, I would advise against resisting the changes that are unfolding, as well as embracing them (gradually over time). There's a reason why this upheaval is happening, even if you don’t see it yet.

It's time to rethink why these old ways just aren't working out for you anymore (they could even be the cause of the upheaval), and find new strategies to tackle problems moving forward. This storm shall pass too, and it will only do you good if you can see and extract the lessons, so that you won't be in a situation like this again. This isn't to say you'll never face such storms anymore, rather, the next time something similar happens, you'll have the experience, knowledge and skills to navigate better through it, or even before it (developing foresight to avoid such situations).

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Which pile did you pick, and did it resonate with you? Let me know!

Don’t forget to leave me a like on this post if you found this helpful, or even share it with your friends. If you wish to leave a tip, you may do so on my Ko-fi page（っ＾▿＾）

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