#i finally got around to making chapter art for chapter 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blacktabbygames]

Slay the Princess Concept Art

We shared a bunch of concept art on Twitter today. Sharing it here, too, where you can find it all in one post. Post contains spoilers, so proceed with caution (or just play the game already if you haven't 😉)

Going to start with the first piece of concept art Abby drew for the game.

In the earliest stages of development, we toyed around with the concept of there being multiple "end game" forms of the Princess.

The initial outline, rather than being tied together by an overarching metanarrative, structured a full playthrough as a 5-6 chapter long, self-contained journey down a single route, determined by your decisions in chapter 1. Here's an alternative late-game form:

The idea of deviating end-game forms didn't lost for very long, though. As we explored the game's themes more deeply, it made the most sense for there to be a singular "true" form.

If your reality is shaped by subjectivity and perception, then the "truth" has to be what's left when that subjectivity is swept away. the Shifting Mound's final design feels like that initial truth for the Princess, though there's also another truth if you push back against her and press on into the final cabin.

We really liked this "void" design, and I played around with the idea of it being an intermediary to the final form. The "void" Princess would be what you saw upon encountering the final Princess without understanding your own truth, but once you had that understanding, you would see her as the Shifting Mound, as depicted in the game.

That gave way to the intermediary design of the SM being a sea of disembodied limbs, and we also took parts of both designs and incorporated them into the protagonist (particularly the wings.) You can see the eyes and feathers for this void form in the ending card of the original trailer below:

You can see extremely early concept art for the spectre (top), nightmare (top-right), stranger (left), beast (bottom) and ??? (right) as well!

The eyes became a motif in the Nightmare route (Paranoid's manifestation of the fear of being watched), but I also like to think of them as a part of The Long Quiet's truth. You are space and emptiness, but you're also that which observes those things, and it's your perceptions that give the Shifting Mound shape.

Anyways, on the note of the original original concepts for the game, the Princess was initially going to remain human for several loops before taking on more monstrous forms. Some concepts of that are below. Had to get Abby to tone down some of the more horrifically cartoonish designs because they creeped me out and I didn't want to romance them in a video game.

We had to hold our cards close to our chest in the non-metanarrative early drafts, which is part of why, even in the first demo, the cabin doesn't really change much in chapter 2. More room to subtly play with the concept of transformation over time.

There were a lot of reasons we moved in a different direction for the full release. The branching was unmanageably large to write, and the game felt like a slog to write.

Using an overarching narrative as a framing mechanism in the final version gave us a lot more freedom to explore wildly divergent ideas within routes while still driving the player towards the originally planned finale.

Anyways, now we've got some concept art for individual princesses. There's a lot more than this lying around somewhere, but it's all in sketchbooks, and we'll probably wait until we make an art book to show it off.

First is the tower, who really didn't change much at all. (She got a little thicker, I guess. All of the Princesses did)

Not a lot to say about her, other than the fact that we knew we wanted a set piece where she gets so big that the trees and cabin orbit around her.

The stranger went through many many redesigns over the course of development. Here, she was a "princess skin" filled with a hive of sentient bugs. The script wasn't working for me, though, so instead she became a peak behind the curtains without the necessary context to know her.

A lot of people ask how these earlier drafts of the Stranger route would have played out, and the answer is I can't tell you, because I couldn't figure out something worth writing.

The writing process for individual routes didn't really start with outlines or plot beats. Rather, the routes started from a theme and a relationship dynamic, and I organically found their outcomes by exploring actions within those themes, and then seeing if those passed Abby's editor brain.

Neither of us found actions we wanted to explore with those versions of the Stranger, at least actions that weren't a beat-by-beat retelling of chapter 1, which contained way too much variation to put on a single chapter 2 route.

If each princess examines a relationship formed by perception and first impressions, the Stranger examines one that's fundamentally unknowable. One where you've seen too much, too quickly.

An insect hive-mind pretending to be a person seemed like a good starting point, but it was too difficult to write any interactions that didn't immediately feel knowable, if still strange. So the final version of the Stranger was designed in such a way where her unknowability makes interacting with her on a human level fundamentally impossible, and you don't get to have a real conversation with her unless you satisfy extremely specific criteria.

Anyways next up is the razor's final form. We decided she needed more swords.

Hearts became an accidental motif very quickly in the development process, too. (The fact that it is only strikes to the heart that fell her in the demo was accidental, but it felt poetic so we extended it to the rest of the game.)

So on top of adding more swords, we made her heart visible. This is something we did with the fury as well, as a way of showing their emotional (and physical) vulnerability.

Here's an early version of the Adversary and what would eventually become the Eye of the Needle, back when she was still called the Fury. Originally her hair was going to be fire (as seen on the right), but it didn't feel right in its execution.

She's hit the gym since this concept art. Good for her :)

And we're going to end with the Beast, who at this point was called the Adversary. I think this was before the Witch was added? The Beast was originally designed to be a Questing Beast who lurked in the shadows, where you'd only see glimpses of her, and where each glimpse would make her appear to be a different animal. This was too difficult to execute, though we gave her a more chimera-like appearance in the final game.

This design was from when we still has the Voice of the Obsessed, and the route was going to be a more feral mirror of what eventually became the Adversary, but it felt too thematically similar while being less interesting, so we moved in the direction of making the Beast about consumption as a form of love.

Anyways, that's all we've got for you right now. Hope this was fun!

[hyunj1nsbae]

take it | H.H

chapter 1

ミ★pairings : bully!hyunjin x afab!reader

ミ★warnings: !MDNI! ,mean Hyunjin , creampie,cum exchanging/tasting,marking(f. Receiving),unprotected p in v(wrap before you tap!),fingering(f.receiving),semi-public sex, mentions of alcohol,choking,dacryphilia, reader is called slut&whore,manhandling, degrading kink

ミ★Wc : 3.2k

Note :first time writing smut i hate this so much I’m trying get better this was just a quick lil thing i made + not proofread. Reposting would be very helpful��

Every day was the same. From the moment you stepped into the school building to the second the final bell rang, Hyunjin was there. He seemed to find an endless supply of joy in making your life difficult. It started with little things—snide comments, “accidentally” knocking your books off your desk, smirking as he walked by with his friends. But over time, it escalated.

Today was no different.

You walked into class, trying to keep your head down. You’d perfected the art of becoming invisible over the past few months, hoping it would spare you from Hyunjin’s attention. But as usual, it didn’t work.

“Hey, loser,” Hyunjin’s voice was smooth, but there was a sharpness to it that sent a chill down your spine. You hadn’t even sat down yet, and already he was on you. 

You sighed inwardly, not daring to look up. Maybe if you didn’t react, he’d get bored. But of course, that wasn’t how it worked.

“What’s the matter? Can’t hear me?” Hyunjin continued, his voice dripping with mock concern. He leaned down closer to you, his breath warm against your ear. “Or are you just too dumb to understand?”

You clenched your fists under the desk, trying to focus on the blackboard in front of you. He wouldn’t get to you. Not today.

But Hyunjin wasn’t finished. “I’m talking to you,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. He flicked your ear, making you flinch involuntarily.

That tiny reaction was enough to make him grin in triumph. “There you go,” he said, straightening up. “See, wasn’t that hard, was it?” You kept your eyes down, praying for the teacher to walk in ,anything to make him stop.

Hyunjin seemed satisfied, at least for now. He backed off, wandering over to his desk with a smug expression on his face. You could hear his friends laughing in the background, obviously in on the joke. They always were.

You let out a shaky breath, hating how much he got under your skin. It wasn’t just the teasing,it was the way he made you feel so small, so stupid. And the worst part? You had no idea why he’d singled you out in the first place.

As the day dragged on, you couldn’t shake the uneasy feelings that had settled in your stomach. Hyunjin’s taunts seemed to echo in your mind, making it hard to focus on anything else. By the time the final bell rang, you were more than ready to get out of there.

You were packing up your things when a sudden tap on your shoulder made you jump. You turned around, expecting to see Hyunjin again, but instead, it was one of his friends, Minho.

“Hey,” he said, his tone surprisingly neutral. “You’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

You blinked at him, caught off guard. “What party?”

“Hyunjin’s throwing a party at his place,” Minho explained, as if this were common knowledge. “Everyone’s gona be there.”

You hesitated, not sure what to make of this. Why would Minho invite you to Hyunjin’s party? It didn’t make any sense. But before you could respond, Minho gave you a grin. “It’s gonna be fun,you should come.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving you standing there, completely bewildered.

You stared after him, your mind racing. The last place you wanted to be was at a party hosted by Hyunjin. at the same time, a small part of you was curious. Why had Minho invited you? was this some kind of trick? or did Hyunjin actually want you there?

The more you thought about it, the more the idea gnawed at you.

By the time you got home, you’d made up your mind. You were going to that party.

You’re wearing a sleek black pleated skirt that flares out just above your knees, paired with a fitted, cropped top in a deep burgundy that shows just a hint of skin. The outfit is completed with a pair of ankle boots and a simple choker necklace, adding a touch of edge to the look. The soft fabric of the skirt sways with every movement, drawing attention to your legs, while the deep color of the top highlights your figure perfectly.

The sound of bass-heavy music thumped through the walls of Hyunjin’s house as you approached. You could feel it in your chest, a steady, rhythmic beat that seemed to echo your own nervousness. The house was packed, lights flashing through the windows, and the faint smell of alcohol hung in the air

You hesitated at the door, rethinking your decision. What if this was a mistake? What if they were just waiting to humiliate you in front of everyone? But before you could turn back, the door swung open, and you found yourself face-to-face with Minho.

“Hey, you made it!” he said with a grin, leading you inside before you could respond. “Come on in.”

You found yourself trapped into the crowd of people. The music was louder inside, almost deafening, and you could barely hear yourself. You scanned the crowd, expecting Hyunjin to jump out at you at any moment, but there was no sign of him.

Instead, you found yourself being handed a drink by Minho. “Here,” he said, pushing the cup into your hands. “Have some fun.”

You took the cup, but didn’t drink. You weren’t sure you wanted to let your guard down just yet.

“Don’t look so nervous,” Minho said, noticing your hesitation. “It’s just a party.” you forced a smile, nodding. But as Minho wandered off, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched.

You spent the next hour trying to blend in, sticking to the edges of the party and avoiding eye contact. Every time someone bumped into you, you jumped,expecting it to be Hyunjin but there was still no sign of him.

Eventually, you found yourself in the kitchen, away from the crowd. You leaned against the counter, trying to catch your breath. Part of you wanted to leave, to just run out the door and never look back but another part of you was determined to stay, to prove that you weren’t afraid.

You were lost in thought when a voice suddenly interrupted you.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up.”

You froze, recognizing the voice instantly. Hyunjin.

You turned around slowly, and there he was, leaning casually against the doorframe. His usual smirk was present, but there was something else in his eyes, something you couldn’t quite explain.

Hyunjin’s eyes linger on you the moment you turn around and he sees your outfit. The way the pleated skirt flares out just above your knees catches his attention, the subtle movement drawing his gaze. He notices how the deep burgundy top hugs your figure, showing off your curves in a way that makes his breath halt

A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips as he thinks what it would be like to pull you closer, to feel you under of your skirt with his fingers as he holds you tight. The thought sends a thrill through him,making him even more determined to keep your attention on him tonight.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone light .

“I was invited” you replied, trying to keep your voice steady. “really?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “And here I thought you’d be too scared to show your face.”you bit back an insult, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of getting under your skin. “I’m not scared of you,” you said instead, hoping it sounded more convincing than it felt.

Hyunjin’s smirk widened. “Is that so?”

Before you could respond, a loud shout came from the living room, followed by a chorus of laughter. Hyunjin’s eyes flicked toward the noise, and he pushed off the doorframe.

“Come on,” he snapped, grabbing your wrist with a rough grip. “Don’t be a coward. They’re about to start something fun.” His tone was commanding, his eyes cold as he dragged you towards the commotion.

You had no choice but to follow as he pulled you into the living room, where a group of people had gathered in a loose circle. A girl you recognized from your biology class, Jisoo, was in the middle, holding an empty bottle.

“we’re  playing 7 minutes in heaven,” she announced with a mischievous grin.”who’s in?”

The room erupted into cheers and laughter as people started volunteering. You froze, suddenly understanding why Hyunjin had dragged you in here. This was exactly the kind of thing he would love to torment you with.

But before you could back out, Jisoo’s eyes landed on you. “Oh, look who we have here! Perfect timing.”

You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach as she waved you over. Hyunjin’s grip on your wrist tightened slightly, and you glanced at him, but his expression was unreadable.

“Come on, don’t be shy,” Jisoo said, her grin widening. “It’s all in good fun.”

You wanted to refuse, to walk away and avoid whatever humiliation they had planned for you. But something in Hyunjin’s gaze stopped you. Maybe it was the challenge in his eyes, or maybe it was the fact that you were tired of running.

“Fine,” you said, stepping forward. “I’ll play.”

The group cheered, and Jisoo handed you the bottle. “You spin first.”

Your heart was pounding as you took the bottle, your hands trembling slightly. You glanced at Hyunjin, but he was watching you with an unreadable expression.

You took a deep breath and spun the bottle.

It felt like the whole room held its breath as the bottle whirled around, you could feel your heartbeat  in your ears, and all you could think was, ‘please don’t land on Hyunjin please.’

But of course, the bottle had other plans.

The bottle slowed down, the spinning becoming more deliberate, until finally, it stopped. Pointing directly at Hyunjin.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, followed by a burst of laughter and excited whispers.

Hyunjin pushed the closet door shut with a thud, the darkness enveloping both of you. The air was thick with tension. He leaned in close, his breath hot against your ear as he whispered, “Do you think you can handle being here with me?”

You shivered at the heat in his voice, trying to steady your breathing. “Why are you doing this?” you asked, your voice barely a whisper.

He chuckled, the sound low and taunting. “Because you need to learn your place,” he said, his hands finding your shoulders and pushing you harshly against the wall.

He started to trace his fingers along your collarbone, his touch possessive. “You’re always so quiet, so submissive,” he said, lips brushing against your neck. “But I know you have a fire inside you. Show me.”

His hand moved slowly, almost deliberately, exploring every inch of your skin. His words were harsh, but his touch was betraying his true intent, leaving you in a confusing mix of discomfort and longing. You could feel the heat between you growing as he leaned in closer, his lips just inches from yours, teasing and demanding.

“You think you can resist me?” he asked, his voice a mix of challenge and desire. His hands were now gripping your waist, pulling you closer. “Or are you just going to give in and let me have my way with you?”

You could barely respond, the intensity of the moment consuming you.

“I fucking knew it,such a slut” he places a quick peck on your lips before snaking his large palms around your neck choking you. His other hand sliding down your body and groping your breast roughly as you let out a muffled moan. 

“What was that?,” Silence fills the room as only your quiet moans could be heard in the room and Hyunjins degrading penetrates through your eardrums “i can’t hear you , louder.” His words sliced through you, and you immediately obeyed, lowering your hand from your mouth. A moan escaped your lips, and he let out a low, satisfied giggle. “Such a good girl” he says, with his voice low and husky.

He then hikes up your skirt that just barely covered your ass and yanks your pretty pink underwear down to you knees before landing a harsh slap to your ass cheek causing you to wince and whimper in pain. “such a pretty pussy,” he uttered as he inserts a finger into your dripping cunt “all this f’me?” He taunts as he continues to finger you before slowly slipping another one of his slender, skillful fingers inside you, the sensation intensifying as he stretches you further. “Yes... fuck …all for you, Jinnie. Just for you.” You moan out breathlessly from the intense sensation as Hyunjin just savours every moment of your response.

he then kicks your legs apart , flipping you onto your stomach with a vicious snarl and begins to unbuckle his pants. “gonna be good f’me yeah? Gonna be a good little slut? Say it.” he said before taunting your hole by just circling his long girthy cock around it and pushed away every time you tried to sink down onto him “y-yes Hyunjin I’m gonna be good for you.. put it in please” you breathlessly responded “aww you’re gonna have to beg a lot harder than that if you want everyone to know who you belong to..” he chuckles looking at your face , so desperate for him “ please jinnie … let everyone know I belong to you, I’m your little slut” you plead

He emits a low, satisfied giggle before finally pushing into you, both of you moan, the feeling causing a mixture of pleasure and strain.he pushed ball deep into you, stretching you out in way you never knew you could be stretched in “ngh.. so. Fucking. Tight.” He punctuated every word with a thrust , his hips bucking into you . Your wetness and the aggressiveness led to his cock slipping out letting a cute little whine to leave your lips before grabbing his shaft and lining his angry red tip at your entrance , you’re taking control this time .

You sink down onto him, still trying to adjust to the stretch before finally moving and bouncing up and down. All that could be heard was hyunjins grunts as you plopped down onto him and the sound of flesh slapping flesh. “Fuuuuuuuck” hyunjin prolonged his words drunken in the pleasure as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He comes back to his senses and latches onto your neck like a parasite sucking,licking and biting hard, his lips tracing down your neck and his breath as hot as his touch. Your fingers were tangled in his hair as you bit your lip and tears start running down your face at the overstimulating sensation

He then moves down to your boob latching onto it before biting the sensitive nub and moaning into it “such a slut for me hm?” He whispered as he continued licking and biting purple marks all over your skin. Meanwhile, you are a moaning, wet mess on top of him, your sticky arousal getting everywhere as you feel your orgasm about to wash over “jinnie .. im gonna fuck I’m gonna cum” you cry out “not yet princess” you whine on top of Hyunjin ,your cries like music to his ears ”please jinnie” he responds with a harsh slap to your ass “I said not yet” he whispers in your ear almost growling .

His moans and grunts become louder “hah uh ha ha”

your moans were now also growing louder not caring who heard you anymore “so fucking tight, ngh is this what you’re into?”he breathlessly moans out and you just nod in response as he smirks at you realising the effect he has on you, “ me being mean to you? Such a dirty whore “he then rips out a high pitched moan as he quickens the pace.“ngh- uh ha hah ha,” you moaned as tears started flowing down your cheeks “jinnie … I -I can’t take it anymore so big-“ he cuts your moaning of with a passionate sloppy kiss while his cock was pumping with desire inside of you. you become a moaning mess screaming and crying over his cock ”awe my poor baby is crying , how cute ,take it.” he mocks you, him degrading you just turned you on even more ,made you’re delayed orgasm closer.

He lost himself in a sense of domination and power over you, your whimpers and the slapping of flesh against flesh almost made him cum right then and there. “fuck.. so full,” you cried out “jinnie i can’t take it anymore im gonna-“ “cum for me baby, show me how good you are for me”with that you yelp out in pleasure cumming hopelessly on Hyunjin “that’s it baby cum all over my cock” his breathing laboured and harsh and he continues pounding into you even after your orgasm fucking your cum back into your tight little hole , his breathing soon changes to grunts as he slams into you 3 times before a pretty strained moan leaves his lips “ ah- ngh..fuck” his hot seed splurted into you and he let out a roar of his release. 

Satisfied, he pulls out with his softening member glistening with your fluids and his own as if you were a trophy. You were lying there , a whimpering mess and shaking after Hyunjin had just violently rammed himself into your hole nonstop. He gathers the blend of your arousal and his, savoring it with a deliberate, lingering taste. As he pulls away, his eyes lock onto yours with an intense, hungry gaze. He leans in slowly, his lips brushing against yours with softness. The kiss deepens, becoming an exchange where he melds the intimate flavors,the two of you savour the kiss, ”so sweet,”he moaned into your mouth before pulling away a smiling “Told you, you wouldn’t be able to resist me,” Hyunjin teased, a smug grin on his face.

“Whatever, Hwang,” you shot back, trying to sound annoyed.

“Aww, but you were just moaning ‘Jinnie’ a moment ago,” he chuckled before imitating your moans, the teasing tone in his voice making you glare at him. Despite yourself, you couldn’t help but crack a small smile.He smirked and helped you wear your clothes, his touch lingering just a bit too long as he’s about to place one single final mark on you before jisoo’s voice erupted from the other side of the door

“Hey guys, the 7 minutes are up! You can come out now!” Jisoo shouted.

Hyunjin smirked, his expression softening partially. “Sorry, baby,” he said, his voice low and almost tender as he wiped away your tears. He pressed quick, gentle kisses all over your face, each touch a contrast to his earlier harshness. “We’ll have to continue this another time, okay?”

You whimpered softly as he led you out of the closet, your hands entwined. The crowd’s murmurs grew louder, their eyes following you with a mix of curiosity and surprise. As you walked, you weren’t aware the evidence of your shared moment was clear, with a trail of wetness trailing down your thigh.

Shit.

ఌseries master list

[arcanefox207]

The Wolf You Feed (Part 1)

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Rating: Explicit, 18+ MDNI

Word Count: 8k

Part 1 / ? (Ongoing Series)

Summary: Set in fictional New England town, you fall for your handsome, intense and outdoorsy neighbor while renting out your parent's vacant summer home during a brutal winter.

Warnings: No Outbreak, AU but with TLoU characters, Large age gap (Reader is 29. Joel is 50). This chapter includes smut with fingering and cum eating. Dominant Joel. Eventual Angst. Drinking Alcohol. Pet names but no use of Y/N. Reader is smaller than Joel and has hair he can grab. 

Chapter Excerpt: He presses a gentle kiss behind your ear and another one drags to your jawline and to the soft meat of your neck. His coarse beard scrapes against your skin and makes you shudder. You press your ass into him and feel him hard against your lower back. He responds by pressing into you firmly and brings his mouth to your ear. 

“You feel what you do to me, beautiful girl?” He asks with his low, gravely voice and presses another kiss into you. His heat is searing into you.

A/N: Please hang in there. This chapter has a lot of setup and is a bit of a slow burn. Its also my first fic and I am pouring my heart and soul into it.

A O 3 | M A S T E R L I S T | N O T I F I C A T I O N

“Remember, if you need anything you can ask Joel. He knows his way around the house” your mother reminds you. 

“Thanks, I will be fine but I’ll keep that in mind.” You appease her but have no intention of bothering her neighbor.

“Love you, honey. Talk later!”

“Bye mom. Love you.” You end the call and slump back against the couch. This was going to be your home for the next few months. Your parents had gone south to avoid the brutal New England winter and had offered their summer vacation home in Kineo to you in the interim. No rent and plenty of free time to figure out what to do with your life next. All you had to do was pay the utilities and keep an eye on things.

The offer was genuine but also came from a place of concern. You had spent the last few years living a more-or-less nomadic life and poorly indulging your dreams of adventure. Your bachelors degree in Liberal Arts proving to be as useless as everyone told you it would be. It got you jobs easy enough but nothing that felt like a long term career. It all felt directionless but you also had been hell bent on proving everyone else wrong and keeping up the appearance that you were doing just fine. 

Your past relationships were nothing too exciting either. Months of casually dating someone and it not really going anywhere or random hookups that you regretted the next day. One or two guys you were getting serious with but ultimately scared you off when they started talking about a family in their big picture. You were starting to get cynical about any compatible prospects.

You are only 29 and wonder if a midlife crisis before your 30’s is normal. At least, that is what it felt like was happening. You had been treading water for too long and felt like you were too tired to keep swimming.

Your mother finally wore you down enough when your lease was up at your Boston apartment and you had no real obligations. You hated your current job, your roommates were little more than acquaintances and the busy city life scene was starting to lose its charm especially when it was astronomically expensive to live there. It was getting harder to say no so you agreed to her offer. 

You had to admit living in the country sounded like a nice change. You had a few months to figure stuff out and the thought of something new was exciting to you. Even if it meant continuing to endure the bitter winter, you had a chance to start fresh somewhere new. Something different. 

You didn’t grow up here and spent most of your life living in suburban homes with slightly warmer climates. Your parents had bought a small one bedroom vacation home in a sleepy New England town that they mostly only enjoyed in the prime summer months. The home sat mostly vacant otherwise. They would rent it out for weeks at a time but in the winter months no one from away wanted to go there. Too far from ski resorts and civilization to be of interest to a casual vacationer. It had a lake that drew much attention from outsiders only when it wasn’t frozen. The town was reduced to just the year-round locals in the coldest months.

Your new residence was outside the main populous of Kineo and nearby the lake. In fact, you could see the lake peeking through the thick pine trees out the front window if you looked hard enough. 

The closest and only neighbor in sight was the handyman your parents raved about across the street. He kept an eye on the place while they were away. You had never interacted with him on your occasional summer visits, but knew he had been kind to your folks and heard about him often enough. You occasionally saw him out in his yard from afar and he would give a lazy wave to your parents in passing. You never really got a good look at him up close but from what you could see he looked rugged and fit and always wore jeans and work boots. He had a modest waterfront cabin across the street and seemed to keep to himself.

You had arrived just a few days ago and already had a job lined up at the local coffee shop, Grind. You were getting your caffeine fix and saw a help wanted sign in their window and you had no trouble securing the job when you chatted with the owner. She hired you on the spot and seemed desperate but grateful that you actually had enthusiasm for coffee and knew your Americanos from your Lattes. Grind Coffee House was on the main drag along with some other quaint shops. It was charming enough and an easy 10 minute drive from your house. The pay was pitiful but would be enough to get by. Things seemed to be lining up perfectly.

You went to bed early that night and felt optimistic that this was going to be good for you. This was going to be the reset that you craved. A new adventure. It was like nothing you had experienced before and maybe that was exactly what you needed.

–

Shit. Your first day working at Grind and you can’t even get the car to start. 

It was freezing cold. The kind of cold that hurts when it touches your exposed skin. You turn the key in the ignition again and the engine makes a pathetic attempt to turn over. Nothing. Fuck. 

You turn the key again. Nothing. Fuck fuck fuck. You pull out your phone and realize you have no idea what to do other than call your new boss and make a horrible first impression. No, that wasn’t going to do. You look in the rearview mirror and see across the street that lights are on at your neighbors house, despite the early hour. As quickly as the thought crosses your mind you push it away. No. No way were you going to bother him at this hour. You hadn’t even officially met the guy yet.

You pull up Google on your phone and scan the first few results for “car won’t start” and narrow it down to engine troubles or dead battery. Either outcome is something you are not equipped to handle. 

A few moments pass and you reluctantly weigh the options. Would a garage even be open this early? How long would that take to get someone out there? You were wasting time and had to do something. You curse to yourself and go back inside the house.

You walk over to the fridge where a note is hanging front and center “Joel Miller” with a phone number neatly printed. Your mothers careful handwriting to contact the poor neighbor that she probably harasses all the time. You sigh and open your phone to dial the number.

It rings a few times, and then you hear a gravelly voice that catches you off guard. 

“Hello?” A deep and thick, unfamiliar accent answers. Not what you were expecting. 

“Hi, Mr. Miller.” a long pause and you stumble over your words. “I uh, I’m sorry to call you so early. I'm Rick and Linda’s daughter.” and mumble your name. Another pause. 

“Ah, right. Whatcha need, kid?” He asks with little expression in his tone. You can’t tell if he is annoyed or just sounded that way. 

“My car won’t start and I–” you pause, not too sure how to ask for help from a stranger. “I don’t know what to do...” Your voice trails off with uncertainty on how to ask for help or what you are even expecting. 

You hear a long exhale on the other end, like he is letting all the air out of his lungs while he is thinking on it. 

“Dead battery most likely… on a day like this. I’ll be right over.” He hangs up the phone before you can say another word and instead say thank you out loud to yourself and let your voice trail off. You instantly regret making the call.

You zip up your coat, pull your knit hat snug over your ears and head back outside when you see a black Ford pickup truck ease into your driveway. A tall man wearing a brown suede jacket approaches. The morning light is faint but you can make out that he is much older and has some silver streaking his hair and beard. He looks weathered and rugged but also has a warmness about him that is hard to reconcile with his rough exterior.     

“Joel Miller, I presume?” you nervously laugh and awkwardly introduce yourself for the second time. You attempt to be extra friendly and maybe penetrate his bristly wall. It seems to help when he notices you are a young woman and not some bratty teenager that your parents probably made you out to be. He takes a step forward and reaches a hand out towards you, nodding. He firmly shakes your hand and you are taken aback by how his grasp seems to engulf you.

“Pleasure to meet you, darling.” His voice is smooth and polite and has the tiniest hint of playfulness in his tone. You can’t place his accent, but you know it isn’t from around here and only someone from away would say ‘Darling’ so casually to a stranger. 

His dark brown eyes hold your gaze for a moment and he has the faintest smirk as he subtly scans your body. It sends goosebumps down your spine. You are grateful that you made an extra effort to look cute for your first day of work. You realize your hands are still embraced and nervously laugh as you pull away. He gets right down to business, but not before stealing another peek of your body when he thinks you aren’t looking.  

“Lets see what we got here.'' He climbs into the driver's seat and in no time confirms it's the battery when he hears your car's engine protest. He walks over to his tailgate and brings back some jumper cables. 

You stand there with your arms wrapped around your body trying to hold in as much warmth as possible. Your bare hands clenched in a fist and tucked in as far as they could in your jacket sleeve to shelter from the cold. Your teeth chattering as you try to stand out of the way but want to be nearby too. At least give the illusion you can be helpful if he needs something. You regret your first meeting being a clueless damsel in distress, but maybe he liked that sort of thing. His tune did seem to change once he saw you. 

Joel returns and leans over the edge of the seat leaving the door wide open, his large palm dragging up slowly from the floor to the steering column, searching for the hood release. His finger catches on the button and he pops the hood. It’s hard not to stare at him while he slides his expert hands with reckless abandon.

His eyes find yours and the corner of his mouth raises slightly. You question if you are mistaking his caught you watching me look for more than what it was. He seems to enjoy you watching him work. He steps away from the seat and pulls a pair of work gloves from his back pocket as he works to connect your car to his truck with the jumper cables. He starts his truck back up and approaches you. Your breath and his making little frozen clouds as you exhale. 

“You can sit in my truck if you want, it’s plenty warm in there.” He gestures with his thumb over his shoulder. “This will just be a minute.” You thank him and take him up on his offer and climb into his passenger seat. He has a classical rock station playing on the radio. A thermos sitting in the center console. You glance in the back seat and see some neatly organized tools and miscellaneous junk on the floor. It smells metallic and leathery. 

You outstretch your hands to the vents that are pouring warm air into the cabin and relish the heat.  

A few moments pass and you don’t see much of what’s going on with the hood of the truck blocking your view. You doom scroll on Instagram to keep yourself busy but your mind keeps thinking about Joel. You were in no way prepared for your neighbor to be so fucking handsome. It felt absurd to be so turned on by him.

He’s too old. You tell yourself. Don’t even think about it. 

Your thoughts are interrupted as the hood slams shut and Joel opens the driver's door. He reaches his arm out to grab his thermos while he climbs into the seat with a groan. The door shuts hard behind him and a blast of cold air invades your space briefly.  

“Damn cold one today” He says it with a huff as more of an observation than a complaint. He takes a sip of his coffee and looks over to you. You nod in agreement and find yourself caught up in what to say to him. He pulls off his gloves and tosses them in his backseat. He rests his arm along the back of the seat and it is nearly touching your shoulder. The way his body takes up the space makes you feel small and helpless. Then, you remember you are small and helpless compared to him. He doesn’t feel threatening towards you but you certainly does give off the aura that he could be intense in the right circumstance. You find that undeniably attractive.

“Your folks called me last week. Told me you were gonna be staying here a while.” His eyes are back focused on you. “Meant to come over this weekend and introduce myself.” he seems a little nervous and takes another sip of his coffee. “Didn’t wanna bother you, though.” 

You feel a small smile start to grow on your face. The thought that he shared the same reservations brought comfort. Joel rests his thermos between his legs while still holding it with one hand. He looks like he is hesitating to say something but does it anyway. He looks over at you with tender eyes, 

“Didn’t expect.. You know...” He makes an unreadable expression as he is searching for the words and scans your body up and down. “Someone like you.” You were not entirely sure what he meant by that, but his smoldered stare on your body made you feel hot inside and your cheeks flush. He looked at you with intrigue and it made you feel good. It made you feel wanted. It had been too long since you felt that way.  

In fact, it has been too long since you had any sort of relationship. Even a casual lay.  

“You really saved my ass this morning. Thank you.” You pause and feel yourself giving a sultry gaze back at him. “I owe you one.” Joel makes a no big deal gesture with his hand and a cocky smile as he chews the inside of his cheek. In that brief moment you feel something between the two of you. The desire to flirt; tempt a man with at least 20 years on you. An unexpected but undeniable magnetic pull. A curiosity to learn what lies beneath. A forbidden fruit that is ripe and beckoning for you to take a bite. Something different. Something exciting. Something you know you should stifle before it even begins.  

His eyes reflect the same sentiment but also harbor concern and restraint. It’s a bad idea. The brief silence between you looms loudly. The elephant in the room. 

“Where ya’ off to so early anyways?” he asks, eager to change the subject. He takes another sip of his coffee while you reply.

“Oh, first day working at Grind. You know it?” Joel's demeanor changes in a subtle way that you may not have seen if you weren’t so focused on trying to read him.  

“Oh. Yeah..” he chides and looks down, pensive in thought as he brings his hand to the back of his neck and rakes it through his hair. “I know the place.” He glances back up and avoids eye contact. The bite in his voice does not go unnoticed, but you don’t pry. 

An uncomfortable subject; noted.   

“Better coffee than this I reckon” he says as he places his thermos back in the center console. He attempts to lighten the tone and then glances at his watch.

“I gotta get to work, sweetheart. Keep your car runnin’ for a bit and you should be all set. Probably get that battery replaced.” His tone is more serious now, more business-like. You realize you had been waiting in his truck longer than necessary. You really have to get to work anyways. 

You thank him again and return to your car. He waits for you to get in and raises his fingers off his steering wheel in a lazy wave to signal he was leaving. He backs out of your driveway and heads down the road towards town.

You take a deep breath and adjust the knobs in your car. Joel had put everything on high heat and full blast for you and your car was now unbearably toasty. You tune your radio and ease into the road and on your way to work. 

All the while your mind can’t stop thinking about your charming, handyman neighbor. 

So that's Joel Miller. You smile to yourself and faintly feel butterflies in your stomach. Anxious thoughts that excite and frighten you.  

–

It took Marlene all of five minutes to become your new work bestie. She was efficient and smart and knew her way around the place. She was the only one working when you arrived and despite the line of customers she was friendly and teased you for arriving late on your first day. 

Marlene had great rapport with everyone. It was apparent that the customers were all regulars and she wasted no time introducing you to them. She had a somewhat forward style but it was well received because she knew exactly what she was doing and didn’t waste time being flowery and over the top. It reminded you of the brashness of Boston.

After the morning rush things were relatively calm. You had time to chat and get to know her a little more while she was showing you the ropes. It wasn’t complicated and you were a quick study.

By mid afternoon it was time to close up shop. The hours were a perk. You were scheduled to work weekdays from open till close and would have to occasionally help out on Saturdays. Marlene worked the same shift and the weekends were mostly covered by high schoolers. 

It was just after 2 o’clock when the owner, Tess, stopped by. 

“How did it go?” she asks you both as she takes a seat and rests her bag on the counter. Marlene had no intention of telling her you were late and talked you up, pleased with your presence. Tess had a few other properties she owned so her time at the coffee shop was only as needed and Marlene you learnt was more or less the one who ran things day to day. 

You recap the day and thank her again for the job. You did genuinely enjoy the work. It was easy. Simple and straightforward. You got to know lots of town folk and everyone was curious and interested in meeting the new girl in town.

Tess seemed pleased enough and was quick to head out. She was friendly but brief and gave the impression she had other responsibilities that demanded her attention. She joins you behind the counter briefly and pours herself a black hot coffee in a to-go cup. Another perk of the job was indulging in all the free coffee. 

“Let me know if you guys need anything!” She says energetically as she collects her bag and heads out the door. She flips the sign to “closed” as she leaves. 

“Tess is cool. She doesn’t interfere too much and we only see her a few times a week, if that.” You nod to acknowledge Marlene. “Lets finish cleaning up and get out of here.”

It was nice leaving with the sun bright and warm. Winter meant shorter days, so getting out of work with a few hours of daylight felt luxurious. The bitter cold from the morning had made its departure. 

You had been so focused with work it wasn’t until you got back to your car that you allowed yourself to think about Joel again. You know you shouldn’t but can’t help feeling turned on at the thought of him. He was handsome in that brooding, mysterious way and he emanated competence. It was refreshing and welcomed. 

You decided to send him a text message. You had his number in your recent contacts after all and you were curious if he would play along. You were certain that there was something sparked between the two of you, but unsure if he would act on it. Unsure if there were too many obstacles between you.

You keep it simple and friendly.   

You: Thanks again for your help! 

Your car starts up with no issue and you head home. When you arrive you glance down to your phone to see a simple reply. 

Joel: Anytime

It was brief but you couldn’t help but read it with that low, southern drawl. His voice was so distinct. Polite but stern. You add him as a contact in your phone and wonder if he did the same. 

You take a shower, make some dinner and get comfortable in your bed. It’s early and you watch some TV when you hear your phone chime. You glance at your phone and see Joel Miller has you on his mind as he revives the conversation with you. 

Joel: So how did it go? 

You smile and recount this feeling like you were a teenager talking to your crush. You want to gush about your first day but you play it cool and brief. 

You: Went good, I think I’ll like it there

A few minutes pass. Against your better judgment you start to go into details but delete it before you hit send. You recalled his strange reaction earlier when you brought up Grind. This man has you second guessing yourself and you don’t want to blow it before it even begins. He replies instead before you elaborate.

Joel: Glad to hear. Thought you would. 

You: I’m exhausted though, getting to bed

You decide to be playful and see how he reacts. 

You: Goodnight, Mr. Miller.  

Joel: Just Joel. 

Joel: Goodnight darling

Darling. Even if it was just a typical Southern phrase it made you wild. It was uncommon to hear in the north and felt so endearing and warm. The knots in your stomach return as you struggle to fall asleep. Your mind is too excited to see where things go from here. You knew he was interested in you enough to keep talking. It would have been easy for him to end the conversation there and keep things formal and neighborly. 

Your mind wanders thinking about how truly handsome he is. How badly you want his manly, rough hands on your body. How his voice makes you melt. How his domineering  presence makes you tingle in your core. You feel yourself starting to get wet just at the thought of his body and what you wanted to do to it. What you wanted him to do to you. Sinful thoughts.

You slide your hand between your legs and feel yourself already wet and wanting. Your delicate fingers tease circles over your clit and it doesn’t take long before you get off. You feel ashamed to be lusting over an old man you barely know, but nevertheless wish it was Joel’s rough hands on you.   

You wonder if he is doing the same thing and sharing the same thoughts about you.

–

A few uneventful days go by and now it’s Friday. You haven’t seen much of Joel other than his truck occasionally driving off, but he had been stuck on your mind all week. Lonely nights accompanied by dirty thoughts of Joel that only fueled your yearning to get closer to him. Your inhibitions regarding age and disapproval of your parents were blinded by your building desire. It still weighed on you though. Your parents would be appalled and probably disown you if they knew. It would just be another tick on the disappointment list.   

Work is busy and the day flies by. Just a few hours to go. You are taking a break, sitting at one of the tables by the front window and snacking on a blueberry scone. You reason with yourself that tonight is as good as any to try to make something happen. 

You: You doing anything tonight?

An agonizing hour passes and no reply. Your message is on read. Marlene takes notice of your change in demeanor. When things finally slow down and its just the two of you waiting around to close up she presses you.

“So.. whats going on? You look distant.” 

“Just trying to… make friends here.” You pause. “A friend in particular.” Your voice trails off. Marlene catches on quick and she had suspected you were starting to fall for someone. 

“Anyone I know?” Marlene knows everyone. You don’t want her judgment on the matter so you keep it vague.

“My neighbor. He doesn’t seem the type to come to a place like this though.” Your phone chimes and you try to play down your excitement as you look down and see it’s from Joel. You can barely contain a smile. 

Joel: Just got done a job. No plans

Marlene searches your face and rolls her eyes.  

“Just go over then. Easy enough.” she was right. 

“Yeah, I think I will.” 

The rest of the shift goes by quickly and you are both out the door by 3 o’clock.

You sit in your car and decide to just call him already. You were craving to hear his voice again and you wanted to put him on the spot. He answers quickly.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Joel. I still owe you, you know for helping me out earlier.” Joel sighs in defeat. 

“I see you aint lettin’ that go. What did ya have in mind?” 

“Can I come over tonight? I’ll bring over drinks.” Your offer was more forward than you intended, but you went with it.

“Yeah, ok. Sounds good.” He pauses and has a counter offer for you. “Come over for dinner first?” You melt at the thought and realize you haven’t responded and there is a silence while you are getting lost in your thoughts. “Grilling steaks. Nothin’ fancy.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.” You can feel your smile spilling into the phone. That sounds more than good. It sounds really fucking good.  

“Alright. Come over ‘round 7.” 

“Ok. See you tonight.” You end the call and take a deep breath. Your heart is beating out of your chest in excitement. 

–

Getting ready for the night you attempted a relaxed look. You wanted to look nice, but approachable. You had some worn jeans that tucked neatly into your Bean boots. A button down flannel that you left undone over an intentionally low cut, fitted shirt. It accented your chest just right. You wore your hair down and went light on the makeup. You threw on a light leather jacket and grabbed the six pack of beer as you head across the street. 

Joel opens the door and leans in the doorframe with a casual figure, taking you in while he bites his lip,

“Evening' sweetheart” He steps back and holds the door open for you and gestures to come in. He was definitely a gentleman. You normally are not a fan of the pet names, but he worked them into his vocabulary so smoothly it was welcomed. 

You step inside and turn around, holding up the six pack of beer.

“Sam Adams. That ok?” He shuts the door and nods in approval. “Figured I’d bring some Boston culture over.” You step further inside. His kitchen is just off the main entrance and has an island with some bar stools at it. You make your way over and take a seat and rest the case on the countertop. 

Your eyes scan the room. His kitchen is tidy, save the spot where he prepped the steaks. You see an empty whiskey glass. Evidence that he had at least one stiff drink before you came over. You panic a little and regret not doing the same.  

“That where you lived before this?” He interrupts your thought as he stands across you at the island. His crossed forearms holding him up as he leans towards you with intrigue. He is dressed plainly in a pair of worn jeans and a plain navy blue t-shirt that hugs his arms just right. His biceps bulge as he is leaning forward and your mind is now preoccupied with just how broad his shoulders are. You almost forgot he asked you a question.

“Yeah, for a few years anyways.” You briefly recount, distracted when Joel takes a beer bottle from the case and effortlessly pops the cap with his large, calloused hands. A satisfying hiss escapes the bottle followed by a clink as the cap falls to the countertop. He slides it over to you and repeats the motion again for himself.

“Oh, wow.” you say out loud, without realizing it. Joel has that cocky side smirk again, well aware of his impressive party trick. He holds the bottle up and towards you and you do the same, clanking bottle necks together and taking a sip. Your eyes are locked on each other for a moment; trying to read each other's intentions.  

“Make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna put the steaks on.” he gestures his head to the back door that leads onto the deck. He grabs his suede jacket off the back of a chair and walks towards the back entrance. You trail behind and this was the first time you really noticed just how beautiful his home was. 

His open living room and kitchen had a vaulted ceiling with massive windows lining the whole back side of the cabin. It faced the lake and you could imagine how serene it would be to watch the sunrise. The cedar walls and flooring made it feel cozy and inviting. There was a large wood stove in the center of the living room and an open loft above the back of the living room. The deck seemed to wrap along a good part of the home. 

“Your home is beautiful.” It had looked so much more discrete from the road; tucked behind some pines and a long driveway. The backyard was a short distance to the lake and sloped slightly down to a dock. Joel probably had a boat parked there in the summer. The cabin was perched perfectly with a breathtaking view; isolated and private from the world.

“Thank you. I built it myself. Me and my brother Tommy.” 

“Thats… impressive.” 

“Eh, just comes with being a contractor. Made more sense to build my own place the way I wanted.” There it was again, that feeling in your core that excites you. Joel likes to be in control, and he has the skill set to back it up making it all the more alluring. 

Its a cool night, but not uncomfortably cold to be outside for a few minutes with a jacket. In fact, you are grateful to have the crisp air to help ground you and calm you down. It was embarrassing how easily Joel could work you up. You lean over the railing and gaze out over the lake while he tends to the grill for a moment and then joins you at the railing.

“I spent a few years there myself. Boston.” This was news to you, but you were still curious about his Southern accent. 

“And… before?” 

“Texas.” He takes a sip of his beer. “Most my life.” You smile and give a slight laugh. 

“Well, that certainly explains things. You don’t exactly sound like a New Englander” you tease him. Joel laughs and looks a little distant. Something you have come to realize about Joel is that he has a lot on his mind he doesn’t say out loud. His mysterious demeanor was something you found as attractive as it was frustrating. 

“You like it here so far?” He asks.

“I do. Its simple and peaceful. Life is easy here.” you realize while saying this out loud that you mean it. You really are enjoying your time in Kineo more than you ever had expected. “And… my neighbor isn’t so bad.” You tease. Joel rolls his eyes and returns to the grill, pulling the steaks off.

“Mine is a pain in the ass.” He jokes as he closes the grill. He wasn’t wrong. You were persistent if anything. 

–

Dinner is laid back and enjoyable. He has a small dining room table but you choose to sit next to each other at the island drinking your Sam Adams and enjoying your ribeye steaks. Joel cooked them to perfection. You stay seated long after you are done eating, getting carried away with conversation. Your bodies are facing each other and knees knocking into his as you get animated with your storytelling. 

Joel mostly listens while you ramble on. The more you drink the lower your inhibitions get. You are a lightweight to begin with and it doesn’t take much. You don’t even notice that he isn’t really listening to you anymore. His focus has left your well intended words and shifted to your body. He’s looking at your low-cut shirt teasing him. The way you brush your hair out of your face when you laugh. How your neck looks so inviting when you tilt your head back to take a sip of beer, You don’t register that he is eyeing you crudely like you are a piece of meat. That he is fighting every urge inside him to just lose himself with you. 

He inches his hand along the countertop closer to yours until he is grazing your wrist with a light touch and dragging his fingers back across yours. It sends a shiver through your body as you become aware how he is looking at you and how painfully reserved his touch is. It is polite but intrusive. He watches how it makes you feel. How you start to come undone. 

Your pent up feelings are starting to overwhelm you and you excuse yourself reluctantly. Your heart starts to race and you wonder if he can hear it beating. 

You get up and bring your plate over to the sink to wash it. It is a distraction more than anything while you gather yourself. Joel watches you from behind for a moment. You can feel his gaze burning into you and brace yourself against the counter. You like the way it feels. The way he makes you feel wanted. 

That loud silence returns. The air in the room feels heavy. He joins you at the sink and you can feel his heat envelop you as he approaches you from behind. His broad body boxes you in and makes you feel small and vulnerable. 

Joel takes his hands and dances his fingers down your arms lightly. His touch starts a fire inside you and you crave a heavier hold. You need him like you need air in your lungs. He presses a gentle kiss behind your ear and another one drags to your jawline and to the soft meat of your neck. His coarse beard scrapes against your skin and makes you shudder. You press your ass into him and feel him hard against your lower back. He responds by pressing into you firmly and brings his mouth to your ear. 

“You feel what you do to me, beautiful girl?” He asks with his low, gravely voice and presses another kiss into you. His heat is searing into you. 

He agonizingly slides his hands down to your hips and turns you to face him. He pushes your body gently against the countertop and moves one of his hands up to caress your face. He presses his hips into you and holds your chin gently between his thumb and finger. He stares down at you with a thirst in his eyes. He narrows his focus to try to get a reading on you. Your mouths are just inches apart. There is a hunger he is resisting but the wolf inside is slowly starting to win over reason. 

“I want this, Joel.” You stare up at him and make sure he can see the desire in your eyes and that you are serious. You want to remove any hesitations he has on your account. You try to rock your hips into him but he has you pinned. He can feel your needy attempt.  

“We shouldn’t…” Joel pleads, but his words are empty and not speaking the same language as his body. 

Your age, your parents, your unfamiliarity with one another all should be reason enough to quelch this flame, but it just makes you want it that much more. He has wanted you since he first laid eyes on you that morning he came to your rescue. He wants to be respectful but fails, instead teasing you with how much he wants you. The hesitance is an illusion that he has kept up until that moment. Your body is trapped against his and he is looking at you like you are prey in his clutches. You had suspected and even hoped that Joel was a dominant lover with how confident he carried himself.   

You seize the opportunity to show him just what he is doing to you. 

You push your tongue into him and taste him; sweet and malty. His warm and wet mouth is inviting and intense. All reluctancy fades away as he gives in to you and takes control with his tongue. You can feel his cock is hard and straining against his jeans as he rocks into you. Your arms hang around his neck and tangle into his hair as you grind against each other. The friction of both your bodies sending each other into a frenzy.

He drags his mouth away, biting at your lower lip as he moves along your jawline to the soft skin at your neck. You stretch your head back giving him full access to your bare neck as he nips at you hungrily. His scruffy beard rubs roughly against your supple skin and feels so good. One hand roams up your shirt while his mouth traces lower and lower down to your collarbone. He thumbs and circles over your nipple. He can feel it harden through your bra and engulfs your breast with his large hand. His touch is brazen but you welcome it. You can feel just how badly he wants to devour you and it makes you moan.   

He slides his expert hand from your breast and drags it down to your jeans. He unbuttons them hastily with force and works his hand slowly inside. Your underwear is already wet from your arousal. He pulls his mouth away from you and has a devilish grin as he grabs at your pussy and narrows his eyes on you.

“You’re so wet for me.” He says breathlessly with anticipation while he has you in his grasp. 

He slides his hand inside your waistband and teases your clit as his hand slides against you. You want to reply to him but your words are trapped beneath the moans caught in your throat. He brings a finger to your opening and slowly pushes the tip inside you. The pressure from his large, calloused fingers makes you buck into him. He rubs his thumb over your clit as he slowly teases your entrance with his finger. He takes it slow and when he thinks you are ready he slips another one inside.

You can feel your walls clench around his obscenely thick fingers and he pushes deeper. Twisting and playing at your entrance and thrusting in. Your hips writhe in his grasp. While one hand is busy with your cunt the other has an iron grip on the back of your neck. His mouth messily returns to the soft skin above your collarbone and into the crook of your neck. You are completely at his mercy and can’t imagine any other place you’d want to be. 

You are so tight but he stretches you open artfully. Moans escape your lips as you gasp when his fingers dip further into you, reaching that perfect part deep inside. 

“Come for me.” He pants into you with a snarl as you convulse on him.  

He doesn’t let up and fucks you relentlessly with his fingers until you are coming and moaning his name. Incoherent expletives escape you while you soak him.   

You ride the wave of pleasure for as long as you can. It has been too long since you had fucked around with someone. However, no one had ever so masterfully gotten you off with just their fingers. The way he handled your body and worshiped you with his mouth was intoxicating. 

As you come down from your high he slides his wet fingers from inside you and pulls his mouth away with a final ravenous kiss on your swollen lips. He places a kiss on top of your head and pulls you in close for an embrace. The hard protrusion against your body makes itself painfully known.   

Joel presses his forehead against yours as he works to unzip his jeans and free himself. His fingers are wet with your slick. He smirks at you as his hand glides over his swollen cock and rubs your wetness all over his length. His breathing shallows as he strokes himself with one hand and braces his body on the countertop with the other. His swollen head grazes your belly with each thrust into his fist. 

You watch him wantonly as he palms himself with more vigor. Joel’s cock is thick and intimidating, but you crave it in the worst way. It is by far the largest you have ever seen. It glistens in your slick and the precum that was beading at the head. A desire builds inside you and you yearn for more of Joel. Want him in your hands, your mouth, your cunt.  

“Let me, please?” your voice comes out barely above a whisper. His hand slows and comes to a stop. He stretches out his arms to hold him up against the counter as he hovers above you and lets you take over. 

You reach out and grab on to him. You marvel at its size and how weighty it feels in your hands as you start to rub them up and down. His skin is hot and velvety smooth and pulled tightly. Your pace is much slower but more precise. You feel the veins bulge under your grasp as your fingers glide up and down his length.  

A moan hitches in his throat as you rub your thumb over his sensitive tip. You do it again and again. Teasing Joel Miller feels dangerous. You can feel how ragged he is and how close he is to coming. You want to make him come undone.  

“God, damn it.” Joel grunts under his breath. He peels back your hand and painfully pulls it off of him. His cock twitches at the loss of your touch. He stands up straight and towers over you as you shrink back.  

“Get on your knees.” He commands with his hand firmly on your wrist as he pulls your face closer to his. It sends a shiver through your body and you oblige. Any warmth in his eyes has been lost and he is staring at you; dark and menacing. He throws your wrist away and grips his hand along the side of your neck. His touch is rough and urgent. His fingers snake around to the back of your neck as he pulls you closer to him while you drop down. They twist into your hair and he has a hold on the back of your head. It doesn’t hurt, but his grasp is firm and might if you tried to fight it.  

He takes his cock back in his grasp with his other hand and pumps it. His movements are jerky and his breathing is labored. You can tell he is so close. He roughly pulls your head back by your hair to look up at him.

“You gonna’ finish what you started?” he asks with darkened eyes. “Then open up.” He commands you through clenched teeth. 

You respond with an uncontainable smirk. You part your mouth slowly and let your tongue hang out, never taking your eyes off his. You sit back onto your knees so that you are slightly under him and wait patiently. He widens his stance. His hand slides to the top of your head and tangles in your hair. You can feel him slowly starting to lose control and come undone before you while he strokes himself. You brace yourself, hooking your fingers into the back of his thighs and clawing at his jeans. You can smell his sex and feel his heat but he holds you just out of reach and makes you wait while your thirst grows. 

Finally he taps the head of his weighty cock against your tongue and you lick at his slit, sending him over the edge. He groans as his thick spend coats your tongue and drips messily onto your chin. You close your mouth around him as he begins to stall out and swallow, pulling the final drops of cum from him while you choke his cock with your mouth. 

“Good girl.” He rasps at you. “So fucking good.” His grip on you loosens and he tenderly drags his hand along your jawline. You relax your mouth and let him slide himself out. He groans when your tongue licks the underside of him as he pulls out. 

He thumbs over some of his mess that falls out of your mouth and curls his thumb over your bottom lip. You lick him clean and he moves to hold your face in his hands while you look up at him.

“My good girl.” His words shoot straight to your core and make you weak. He brushes your hair behind your ear and helps you up. He places another kiss on your head and wraps his arms around you. His hot and heavy body feels so good against yours. You tilt your head up and press your mouth into him one more time.

“Are we even now?” you joke. Joel smiles. Everything about him feels warmer. He peels himself away from you and steps back, leaning against the island. You adjust your clothes and zip yourself back up while he does the same.

“Actually… think I might owe you now.” Joel says with a playful tone. He crosses his arms in front of his chest and shakes his head at you like he can’t believe his predicament. You like the idea of Joel owing you. 

–

You don’t spend the night. He offers to walk you home but you opt to go alone. It felt good to get some fresh air, to clear your head and recap the night. You also wanted to leave him wanting more.

You weren’t sure what would come from this situation with Joel, but you knew you barely scratched the surface with him. He was rough around the edges but you liked that about him. You liked that a lot. 

END CHAPTER

(Part 2!)

A/N: More to come! Undecided how many chapters but I have quite a bit mapped out. Please be kind. This is my first fic and it is nerve wrecking to post! If you loved it, PLEASE let me know. I'd love to know your thoughts so far! What did you like? What do you want more of? How much angst can your heart take? I aim to test it in future chapters. Comments/Reblogs are appreciated so much. Thank you all

Also special thanks to @magpiepills for the lovely cover photo (and her mood board inspirations she helped with along the way!) and to both her and @legendary-pink-dot for reading my first draft and giving their feedback AND courage to post this.

If you wish to know when I post the next chapter, please follow @ArcaneFoxFics and turn on notifications!

If you are here for my gifs only and are like WTF I dont want to see this mature content... you can follow me over at @ArcaneFoxGifs which will ONLY be reposts of my gif sets.

Love to my friends who give me the courage and support to do all the things @magpiepillsjunior @legendary-pink-dot @exquisiteserotonin @youandmeand5bucks @redhotkitchen @sparklefarts38 @pink-whiskey-woman @for-a-longlongtime @secretelephanttattoo

[jenchan-writingmultis]

Twst x obey me.... Where something happens that makes both worlds overlap or makes characters from both worlds meet each other،as a result, Mc and Yuu meet each other and it turns out that they were friends when they were still living in the human world.

Twisted Wonderland x Obey me Crossover

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Part Two

A/n: This was requested last June 7, why am I so slow (╥﹏╥) not gonna lie this is hard to write, I kept thinking about what to put the reader’s pov on, I might write You as Yuki, and vice versa, where Yuu goes to Devildom, but that plan is still in drafts, for now, please enjoy the part 1! A few reminders: - Yuki is the default name in Obey Me! - NO pairing yet, It will be implied, but not explicitly displayed. - this will be divided into chapters, It will be considered a one-shot/non-series since I'm not doing different Points of view like how I do series. - Updates will be a bit slow - Credits: The line breakers are from Kaomoji dividers and Official Obey Me and Twisted Wonderland art. - Just enjoy! Would love to hear your responses on this fic cause I'm having fun writing it ^^ Masterlist

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“What is that?” you asked, bewildered, as a strange portal suddenly opened in front of you. Grabbing Grim protectively, you jumped back, creating a considerable distance from the portal. Grim meowed in confusion, stirring awake.

“Mrgh...” Grim stirs slightly, rubbing his eyes with his paws, “Hench human did you really need to be that rough?” he huffed yawning, rubbing his eyes he blinked away his drowsiness and stared at where you were looking at.

The reddish portal loomed ominously before you, causing sweat to bead on your forehead. "Sorry, Grim, but just look at that! It opened so suddenly," Grim's tail wagged curiously. "What is that?" he asked, his eyes reflecting your own bewilderment. It was becoming clear that the two of you were starting to mirror each other’s reactions, the same responses and all.

Uncertain of what to do, but feeling compelled to investigate the strange portal, you decided to proceed. Maybe it would offer some clues about how to return home. Cautiously, you placed Grim at the door, advising him to stay put while you approached the portal. Grim grumbled in protest, but your serious tone made him comply, his ears drooping as he huffed. "Don't do anything stupid, Henchhuman. I'll be here to protect you!" he declared, trying to mask his concern with bravado.

The moment you touched the portal, a hand slid out, grabbing yours and making you screech in surprise.You tried to pull away, but instead, you ended up dragging out another person... or rather, a sheep?

“Wha—” you squeaked, falling down with a thud as the weight of the body you pulled out slammed into you.

“I am so sorry!” a familiar voice rang out. They quickly grabbed your hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze as you rubbed your head, trying to shake off the daze. As Grim hissed fiercely at the person who had just body-slammed you, you managed to groan out, "It's fine," while grabbing Grim firmly by the scuff. "Behave, Grim." When the person finally got off you, your eyes widened in surprise. "Yuki?"

"Hm?" they exclaimed, eyes widening as they pointed straight at you. "It's you!" With a squeal, they leaped at you once more, sandwiching poor Grim between you both.

“Ack! Get off me!” he squirmed managing to push himself off the crushing hug you both shared. “Where have you been?! You vanished in our world!” Yuki cried out, shaking you and making you dizzy as you grabbed their arms, trying to calm them down. “Wait! Wait!” you said, “You vanished too! You recall the time we were in a sleepover?!” You complained.

“So, both of us got taken away at the same time?” Yuki said, frowning, making them look around. “Is this where you live?” they said, eyes twinkling. “Wow this is a good place” they stood up, offering their hand to help you stand on your feet. Which you unconsciously take, a gesture you do with your long-time friend.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t even like this before- It was a mess” you admitted, scratching the back of your neck, you’re not sure if you should tell Yuki about how you’re basically broke, and you’re being exploited by a certain birdman headmaster.

“Are you not telling me something else?” Yuki’s eyes narrowed, crossing their arms. “Tell me the deets, now” " Their gaze shifted momentarily as Grim the cat perched on your shoulder steals their attention causing them to get distracted. “A flaming cat? Really?”  Yuki said, “Hey! His name is Grim, not a flaming cat,” you huffed, hugging Grim. “He’s my companion, first friend in this world.” Rubbing the base of Grim’s ear, he still glared at Yuki. Now that you think about it, Yuki looked incredibly different, sure their pink hair was normal but why do they have horns, and are those sheep legs?

“You know, forget about me, at least I look normal,” you commented, reaching out to touch Yuki’s horns. “What happened to you?” you asked, Yuki grins, grabbing your wrist and pulling it away from them as they cup both your hands. “I’m an exchange student in RAD.”

"RAD?" You interjected, acknowledging the interesting adventure both of you had after getting separated. "You know what," you continued, cutting off Yuki's babbling before it could start. "Let's discuss this in the living room. Will the portal you used close?" you asked, glancing towards the portal.

"Oh, that? Yeah, it'll probably close, but I should be able to bring the demon brothers out with me," Yuki replied casually.

“Jesus Christ Yuki!” you gasped out, what the hell do they mean by Demons. “ARE YOU IN HELL?”

“Devildom School!” Yuki corrected “But they’re nice, all I need to do is study, I don’t need to worry about expenses, unlike the time we were living in our apartment.” Yuki grins, causing you to get hit by that like a truck. “You don’t?”

Yuki nodded their head too enthusiastically, “I’m quite happy here, the demon brothers are incredibly attractive, and they keep me safe” they said which made Grim laugh, “Everyone here is ugly! Well except for Vil and me!” he huffed proudly, causing you to cover his mouth. “Maybe I can go there, Yuki.” You joked, causing Yuki to smile brightly, tugging your hand to their chest “You will!? I’ll ask Diavolo to make reservat- “

“On second thought nevermind, those names give me the shivers” You quickly retracted your hand away.

“Say,” Grim says as he looks at the portal, he floats on it, eyes blinking owlishly and you don’t like that look “This portal sends you to hell?” he questions, Yuki walks beside him “Well yes, but it’s much better if you don’t go in there, demons tend to eat tiny kitties like you” Yuki says, hands motioning to grab Grim’s chubby belly.

“Isn’t that rude to say?” a voice echoed in the portal, and before Grim could even move away a pair of hands grabbed him, causing him to squeak in surprise, you, on the other hand, got alerted as you tried to grab Grim back, but Yuki stopped you, pulling you away from the portal so that the mysterious man can come out.

A tall figure emerged, his blonde hair catching the light as he stepped outside, one hand cradling Grim the cat while he absentmindedly rubbed the feline's paws. "Aww, look at you, kitty kitty," he cooed in a tone that made Grim cringe, the cat trying to squirm free from the man's unyielding grip. "Get your filthy paws off me!" Grim spat, eyes narrowing with irritation.

But it seems like Grim’s threat fell on deaf ears as he started to eagerly pet Grim. “Such a cute kitty” he coos with a blissful smile on his face, “And, Yuki, you shouldn’t go in mysterious portals “He added, focusing suddenly on Yuki, who nervously scratched their cheek. "I'm safe now, though, and I get to see an old friend!" Yuki deftly redirected the intimidating man's attention towards you. "Who might this be?"

"Ah, a friend from the human world," Yuki introduced as you bowed politely. "Nice to meet you," you replied, perhaps a bit too formally, sensing something unsettling about the man. His demeanor rang warning bells, and you were cautious not to provoke him. "No need for formalities," he said casually, still petting Grim. "You're Yuki's friend, so you're good in my book." He glanced at Grim. "Is this your pet?"

“No! Get your-!” Grim bites his finger, causing the man to flinch, but instead of getting mad he nudges Grim gently off his bleeding finger. “You’re quite feisty, aren’t you?” the man’s demeanor suddenly shifts, Grim tears up sensing the sudden intensity of Satan's vibe as he looks at you for help, and you quickly went to them, grabbing Grim. 

"You're scaring the kitty, Satan," Yuki remarked, causing Satan to flinch when you immediately retreated behind your friend, arms around Grim. "Oh," he said, his demeanor sheepish. "I apologize." huh, you guessed he wasn’t that bad. "It's alright. So, your name is Satan?" You swiftly changed the subject, opening the door. "Let's continue this conversation somewhere else." Walking out, Yuki and Satan followed you.

"The living room isn't very tidy, and I hope you don't mind the ghosts," you murmured, noticing Yuki stiffen. "Ghosts?" they asked fearfully, making you snort.

“You literally have the Satan behind you,” you point out as Grim jumps off your arms, noticing that there was someone knocking at your door.

“Prefect! Open up!” Ace was starting to get impatient; he’s been banging at your door for 10 minutes already!

"Is that your friend?" Yuki asked while Satan stared narrowly at the door, aware of the two figures beyond. Both possessed magical abilities, though evidently not enough to subdue him if they were indeed attackers.

“Oh no,” You look at Yuki, who’s half sheep and this tall man, while he looks human enough, the outfit screams “I’m not from this world!” "Yeah, that's my friend, but Yuki, could you try to look more human right now?" you asked quietly, overhearing the two bickering outside.

"Hey, I swear, if that door breaks because of your banging, the prefect will ignore us for the rest of the week!" Deuce apprehended Ace, who glared at him, huffing. "They're not that mean."

“You guys are so noisy,” Grim said, swinging the door open.  "Grim! Where's Prefect?" Deuce hurriedly asked as he entered, coming to an abrupt halt upon spotting you and two unfamiliar guests. "Oh, uh... I didn't realize you had company," Deuce muttered, feeling embarrassed that he and Ace had barged in uninvited. Ace nudged him aside and approached where you were seated. "Who's this?" he asked bluntly, prompting a sigh of relief from you. Thankfully, Satan quickly thought to use illusion magic to make Yuki appear more human.

Deuce glared at Ace as he looks at you apologetically as well as your friends “We’re sorry for intruding,”

“It’s fine” Satan says, your two friends seemed to have taken interest in him, quite a looker Ace thought to himself, is this guy a model perhaps?

"So, uh" Ace drawls out, casually taking a seat beside you, "What’s your relationship with our prefect here? Friends? Acquaintances?" " Deuce settles in on your opposite side, while Grim comfortably finds a spot on your lap. Yuki and Satan occupy seats across from you, creating an intriguing tableau of friends gathered around.

"Yes," Satan says with a smile directed at them. "We're here visiting Yuki's friend." His gaze shifts back to Yuki, who has their arms crossed, communicating nonverbally for a moment, silently gauging whether it's alright to reveal to a group of high school kids that Satan is, well, Satan, and they came from that portal that ripped open in your room.

Before Yuki could agree to Satan's request, their eyes locked onto yours, silently seeking your approval to trust the two individuals. Feeling a pang of guilt for putting them on the spot, you nodded. "Listen, guys," you interjected, drawing the attention of the two boys, deciding to take responsibility instead.

“Yuki is my friend back in my world” you said, Ace’s eyes almost bulging out of his sockets. “What?”

"So, they're both your friends from your world?" Deuce inquired, crossing his arms and resting his hand on his cheek—a habit he fell into whenever he needed time to process new information.

“Oh no” Yuki denied, “This is Satan” she introduced him as Satan bowed his head momentarily. “I apologize for concealing our identities, we had to assess if you two were a threat, but it seems like you are friends of Yuki’s friend”

“Satan?” Ace scratches the back of his neck, “Sounds like a big shot guy, nice to meet you too” The moment Satan offered his hand, Ace hesitantly accepted it, still wary of the guy, Deuce on the other hand, shook the hand without much thought.

Satan assessed both their magic prowess, focusing on the magic he can see from them, they have potential. They were young, but promising; he hoped to see their abilities blossom soon.

"Does that mean Prefect has a way to get back home?" Ace asked, to which Satan closed his eyes in contemplation. "We're uncertain if it's safe for your Prefect to use the portal we opened,” Satan says, “My brothers have yet to come out yet, till I give the signal, since I saw Grim, I couldn’t help myself” he added with a twinkling gaze, focusing on Grim, who shivered and moved behind you. "He's trouble! I don't trust him, Henchhuman!" Grim whimpered, prompting a chuckle from you.

"Could you tell me more about your world? It seems like our timeline, yet there are many peculiarities I've noticed around this house," Satan explains. "For instance, the abundance of ghosts here; in our realm, we have ghouls for that." "Ghouls?" Deuce choked on the water he had been drinking just moments before. "What kind of world do you live in?" he said, visibly terrified. "Well, they're not aggressive; it's easy to dispatch them with a single blow." Ace and Deuce exchanged a side-eyed glance at you, clearly perplexed by your unusual circle of friends. “Ah,” Yuki says, as the two stared dumbfoundedly. “A beast person?” Ace says, eyes boring on Yuki making them flush in embarrassment. "You're not weirded out?" they asked, anxiously fiddling with their fingers.

Ace shook his head. "Nah, I was just more surprised by your friend over there," he gestured towards Satan, "he's got the qualities of a model." His attempt at a compliment seemed to backfire as Satan glared at him.  He tried to look at you for safety, but you were also glaring daggers at him.

"I mean!" Ace hurried to amend, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, "They look great! They seem to have more of those beast-like traits, you know? You're adorable! An adorable sheep!"

Deuce couldn't contain his amusement at the escalating tension, which prompted Ace to retaliate by tossing the bottle of soda he had just bought at Deuce's head. "Hey!" Deuce protested, rubbing his head indignantly. "That hurt!"

"You two, stop. You're embarrassing me," you sighed, casting a glance at both Yuki and Satan.  They both look pitifully at you, how could you handle such chaos like this daily?

What came next surprised you.  Satan calmly threatened the boys into obediently taking their seats.

"Wasn't so hard to contain your anger, huh?" Satan's smile was sly, causing Yuki to look at him incredulously. It was ironic coming from the Demon of Wrath himself, telling a group of boys to tone down their emotions.

“Speaking of, Satan?” you caught his attention, the light outside shining directly at the living room’s table. “You said that your brothers will come?” you asked, realizing you haven’t made any coffee or tea for them as you stood up bowing apologetically “Sorry! I’ll brew something up for you two,” you said hurriedly making Yuki giggle.

“Since when were you polite to me?” Yuki grabbed you, forcing you to sit down beside them instead “Seriously sit down we don’t need tea” They urged you, seeing the pang of disappointment on Satan’s face. He seemed eager to try whatever brew you were planning to create. After all this was a whole new world. He was only trying to elongate the time he had alone with Yuki.

You lean closer to Yuki, “I think Satan wants to try tea” in which they looked at Satan who seemed to look away. “Do you want to try their drinks?” Yuki asked, which Satan’s eyes softened, “Can I?”

You didn’t quite put a finger to it, but doesn’t these two seemed to be dating? Yuki who pets Satan, giving him permission like he was some kind of dog.

“Are you two dating?” you asked, making Yuki grin. “maybe” your friend had the tendency to hide stuff like this making you pinch their cheeks.

“You! Seriously!” You huffed, the trio on the opposite table watching you. Satan on the other hand stood up. “Can I brew myself some tea?” He asked you softly, making you nod and stand up “I can help, if you’d like?” “No, it’s fine” Satan waves his hand dismissing you. “The kitchen is on the left side” you told him as he walks to where you pointed the direction. The moment the most intimidating guy left the room, Deuce, Ace, and even Grim crowded you and Yuki.

“There is no way that guy isn’t crazy strong, what is he?” Ace asked first sitting beside Yuki who laughed “He may be crazy strong, but he means well” they explained.  While Satan was away, looking at the weird labels clearly not in their language, you along with your friends came to chat, telling each other’s stories and the differences of their timelines to one another.

Satan’s phone rings as new messages pop up, he opens the main group chat of him and his brothers along with Yuki.

“Where the hell are you?” The first one to chat was Mammon, who was obviously in distress.

“Is it safe to go to the portal? You didn’t die right Satan?” Levi next, who had the most outrageous ideas. “Satan answer us!”

Satan sighed, his fingers dancing across his phone's screen while the other hand toyed absentmindedly with a packet of sugar. “Yuki and I are fine, you guys are allowed to go to the portal” he sends, with his advanced hearing, he could hear the portal causing fluctuations in upstairs.

"Wait, don't go down just yet. You might scare Yuki's friends," he typed hurriedly, his brothers seening and giving him a thumbs up.

“Then come up here, isn’t it a little rude keeping us in this tiny bedroom?” Asmodeus chats, with a crying bird emoji.

Lucifer finally spoke up after minutes of just seening. "Satan, what's the situation downstairs? We hear Yuki's voice.” he really wanted to answer sarcastically but he mentally stopped himself.

“The human that Yuki has been trying to locate has been found, however our conversation was interrupted by two first years, they seem to have magic but it’s weak” he explained via text.

“Aren’t you taking too long there Satan?” a voice jolts him out of his focus, causing him to accidentally drop the sugar, instinctively he kicked it up bringing it back to his hand again. “Christ Yuki,” he glares at Yuki who laughed. “Stop with the sneak attacks” he ruffles their hair causing Yuki to apologize while smiling.

“So? What are you so focused on your D.D.D about? Are they here?” Yuki said, opening their D.D.D and rereading what happened. “Oh! They are” they chirp. “Should we have them go down now?” Satan says, not keen to having Lucifer in the same vicinity as him. He might end up dueling his brother and destroying this dormitory.

“We should inform them for it first, those two first years are really nice, I don’t want them to get incredibly scared by the brothers” Yuki suggested, which Satan nodded, agreeing.

You were idly chatting with the two till you heard some footsteps upstairs, wanting to investigate it, Satan and Yuki came back with a tray of multiple cup of tea and coffee, which was already excessive with only 5 people in there.

“What’s the occasion?” You asked while rubbing Grim’s cheek who was resting on your lap.

“My brothers are here” Satan said, as he places the tray down, giving the cup of tea and coffee to deuce, ace and you. “Oh!” you chirped, curiously, Ace raises his eyebrow. “There’s more of you?”

The hell does that mean. Satan stared at him blankly before sighing. “Was it not mentioned before?”

“Well, if they’re your brothers, we’d love to show them courtesy” Deuce says, taking the coffee and thanking Satan. "So, that's a yes? Just so you know, they're way taller than Satan here," Yuki added, prompting all three of them to look at her in disbelief as she continued chatting in the group chat.

After only a few seconds Asmodeus ran down, eyes sparkling as he scanned the first-year students. Spotting you, he pounced with exuberance, wrapping you in a tight hug. "You must be Yuki’s friend! Oh, you’re absolutely stunning!" he exclaimed, squeezing a bit too tightly, causing you to gasp for air. Weakly patting his arm, you managed to croak, "Can't... breathe..."

Lucifer grabbed Asmodeus by the collar pulling them away, saving you from the grip of hell. “They do have magical prowess,” he says amusedly distracted by the odd magic he's sensing, as Asmodeus scratches his cheek “Woops, my bad, you just looked so cute like Yuki,” he says, ready to hug you again if Grim didn’t hiss at him.

“Oh no wonder you went first in first” Leviathan murmured to Satan who went down after Asmodeus, looking down at Grim who was hissing at him as well “Hey! Why are you so close?!” he growled which Leviathan backed away, “Ah! sorry I didn’t realize I got too close, you kind of reminded me of Henry”

Grim had never looked so offended in his whole life, who the heck is Henry? He huffs, looking away from Leviathan.

“Nice to meet all of you” You said as you smiled, you didn’t take into account that this tall man who just saved you from the grips of lust looked a lot like Professor Crewel.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Lucifer” he places his hand on his chest, eyes observing you along with your friends. “I must say, I didn’t expect such a nice home to go into” he says looking around, for someone so young they seemed to have good taste when it comes to architectural design. The dormitory, while bland to others seemed to have gotten the interest of lucifer, this home reminded him of the house of lamentation, without the bizarre decorations.

“Sup” Ace says, the first guy he noticed was Mammon, who looked like he’s been staring down at him and Deuce. “Yo” he nods at Ace, and for some reason… he feels like he’d get along with this guy.

Unceremoniously the two grabbed each other’s hands as a form of friendship.

“You two are getting along” Deuce said as he looks at the others, they were all just letting the man with dark hair speak to you, is he the eldest?

“I apologize for the scare my brother gave you” he acknowledges Grim and you by bowing slightly, while you got embarrassed by it Grim seemed to huff proudly. “You should be! There ain’t that much space for big humans like you!” he jabs.

A man who seemed to yawn and fall asleep standing up was held by another who had ginger hair. “That guy seems sleepy, why don’t you let him rest on the bed?” you suggested, feeling a bit bad since he looked so tired.

“You’ll let him?” The ginger man said he looked like a big brother to Ace now that you take a closer look as you nod. “We can just wake him up once we finish talking” The man seemed to beam as he guided Belphegor back to your bedroom.

Lucifer went to sit down on the extra seat Deuce offered him while Asmodeus and Mammon sat with Ace.

“Can you tell us about this whole portal thing?” you started first, breaking the sudden dead air that happened.  “How did you find my location?”

“It’s a long story,” Lucifer’s attention goes back to Yuki who had one day, started to feel homesick and didn’t eat well. So, he had to do something about it to keep their mental well-being up. “Yuki was in a bad mental state so I went to try and find out why” Yuki who was beside you seemed to fiddle with their fingers anxiously, as if they were anticipating you to react badly, but you continued to keep a neutral expression while listening to him.

“It turns out, that they were missing you” Lucifer continued but got stopped by Yuki. “Okay! I’ll continue from here Jeez!” they sighed turning to you. “I didn’t know why I felt like I needed to come find you, despite not feeling that way for a few months” they admit, your brows knitted in confusion as the others listen to your exchange.

“I know that it’s uncalled for to come find you, so I’m sorry” Yuki frowns “What are you talking about?” you glare at them, pinching their fluffy cheek, “It’s been almost a year since I last saw you and you think that you’re bothering me for opening a portal?” you scold them, pulling them into a crushing hug “If I was mad I would have attacked you by now you idiot” you said burying your face into their shoulder as Yuki relaxes, pulling you into a deeper embrace.

While you two were in vastly different worlds, the bond you shared with your friend is nothing but solid. “I’m sorry” Yuki murmurs, feeling like they’re going to cry for this.

The brothers along with the three of your companions stared in awe, it was nice that you finally found your long-time friend.

“I’m sorry to burst your sweet reunion but” Ace interrupts, feeling terrible that he had to. “We should go,” he says, standing up as Deuce stares at him like he just committed an unforgivable sin. “Class’ going to start in 2 hours and Professor Crewel’s gonna kill us if we don’t finish this report soon”

The moment You and Yuki pulled away you checked the time, realizing that it was time for class, but you can’t leave them be! “Do you guys wanna roam around for a bit?” you blurt out, but you start to regret it as all the brothers along with Yuki seem to have gotten curious about this place. How are you going to let them roam around while looking like a bunch of models who suddenly decided to use Night Raven College’s school to promote it?

“If you’d let us sweetie!” Asmodeus chirps, he wants to check if there are other gorgeous beings around here, just so he can have a chance with them, exchange make-up routines, and recommend good products! That’s a sweet way to broaden his horizon of self-care.

Mammon on the other hand seemed to have twitched thinking about what items he could find, what he could do with them and if they’re valuable if he sells it back home, and that little faint smile he  has made Lucifer’s alert system tingle, he looks back at Mammon who jolted as he places both his hands on his head acting chill about it like he wasn’t planning to steal something from this Dormitory.

“Mammon…” Lucifer calls his name out with a warning. “Don’t even think about it”

“I wasn’t!” he whines, “Plus! Not like I can get anything from this Shabby dormitory” he crosses his arms which Grim glares at him “Shabby? I’ll have you know that this place could may as well be a hotel! Be grateful!”

“Hah? This?” he said and Grim floated off your lap almost getting into a verbal fight with Mammon himself, if Lucifer didn’t emit an ominous aura that is.

“Che!” he huffs causing Ace to stare at him dumbfoundedly “Dude… I was gonna praise you for looking like another model but never mind” he says, Mammon flinching at his words “Hey!  I AM a model!”

“Whatever you say, Prefect do you wanna go to class by now?” Ace asks as he grabs his bag. “We can’t miss the quiz too” Deuce adds. You were starting to feel the stress, thinking whether you should leave them be for now or call Crowley just to inform him that you got literal demon brothers at your house and your friend who meticulously became half sheep! You already know that in one way or another Crowley might not even like it or kick them out! You don’t want that yet! You want to get to know your friend’s friends! And it’s been so long since you last saw your friend!

[i-tripped-on-a-rock]

more low effort art of Alejandro and Noah!! I love them sm,,,, (I actually don’t like this drawing as much but it’s not horrible so I thought I would post it)

Some more of the fic out of context:

“The challenge begins in ten minutes! You kids have fun, I’ve got places to be!” Chris says into his large megaphone as the helicopter begins to take off. Noah rolls his eyes and hugs his arms closer to his chest. Cold and angry is never a good combination. Next to him, Alejandro scoffs quietly. Noah glances over at the taller teen, eyes still obscured by his sunglasses. Alejandro’s mask of “calm, kind, and flirtatious” is no where to be seen. The rest of the contestants are further away, and he hasn’t noticed Noah’s eyes on him yet.

“¿Qué ‘lugares’? ¿Una residencia de ancianos?” Alejandro mutters. He clearly didn’t mean for Noah to hear what he said given how quietly he spoke, and it took all of Noah’s self control to not burst out in startled laughter. He bites his bottom lip to suppress a laugh. His Spanish isn’t great-he’s barely conversational- but he understood enough. “What ‘places’? A retirement/nursing home?”

There was something about the way he said it that set Noah off. Alejandro had this air of irritation to him that Noah sees every morning when he looks in the mirror. He’d never seen the teen more unhappy to be here than in this exact moment, and it only made it more funny to him.

Every once in a while, Alejandro’s mask would slip up and Noah would get to see through his facade, even if it was just for a split second. He would make some sarcastic or mean comment, or just glare at a contestant. The mask was never down for more than a moment, but Noah noticed. Alejandro… he wasn’t that bad in those moments, if Noah was being completely honest with himself. The mask would slide right on the moment he remembers there’s people around, or when someone talks to him. It was like whiplash, despite how minor the changes were. It was almost impressive how much of a difference a few relaxed facial muscles and a charming smile could make.

Noah realizes he failed to suppress a snort at Alejandro’s comment when the other teen turns to look at him. Noah freezes like a fever in headlights as Alejandro stares at him. What surprises him the most, however, is that despite Alejandro realizing someone heard him, he hadn’t tried to hide behind his facade again. That irritating smile that Noah hates so much isn’t anywhere to be seen. Alejandro looked like he was silently speedrunning the 5 stages of grief before finally landing on confusion. It wasn’t until Alejandro began to speak that Noah remembers that he’s not supposed to know Spanish.

“Do you-“

“Sorry! I, um-.” Noah blurts out, frantically searching for an excuse and praying to any god that’s listening that his sunglasses are obscuring enough of his face to hide his panic, “I. I sneeze weird. I have mild anemia and get cold easily, and it’s already cold as hell here.”

Not a complete lie- he does mild anemia- but he’s basically rambling. Before Alejandro has the time to doubt or question him, Heather yells out to them.

“You two losers better get your asses over here! I will not have my win be delayed!” She’s stood further away from them with the rest of the contestants a bit away, stood in front of the beginning of the next challenge. Noah gladly latches on to the chance to switch topics

“Careful with all the cursing on camera, Heather! We wouldn’t want Chris to chop off all your hair again!” Noah calls back has he begins his trudge though the snow towards the challenge. He avoids Alejandro’s stare as he walks past and hopes he won’t push the issue. It’s too early into the game to be making mistakes, especially when it involves his biggest threat.

[justheblueberry]

handbinding of A Study in Scarlette by kittebasu

There are people who want to live forever, and then there is Shinichi, who just wants to live a little longer than this.

this bind has been in my head since i first read the fic like, three years ago. i dreamed up so many ideas for it, for so long, and now it's finally done! the typeset was actually done in early 2022, back when i was still using google docs, but it went through a few iterations because i was just. so. fiddly. with every aspect of this book. it needed to be perfect (as close to perfect as i, an amateur bookbinder out of my depth, can get) and it had to be absolutely over the top, to reflect the insane amount of love and care that the author put into the fic itself.

the first time i read this fic, i barely knew what detective conan was, much less all of the intricate plot details; i was just along for the ride, but by the end i was completely invested. i went back and watched through the anime as well as a few movies (it took me six months) and then read the fic again. and then a few more times. kaishin and the world of dcmk has utterly gripped me. it's 100% this fic's fault and i love it so, so, much.

i went through a few iterations of visual designs and i'm really happy with the little details i managed to squeeze in.

the entire color scheme is based around red, because 1) it's a murder mystery, 2) for scarlette shinamoto (and the title of the fic as well as the original holmes novel it references), and 3) the irony of "lady red" actually being red. the secret fourth reason is that i think red/gold is a super sexy color combo.

i sewed the textblock with red thread to reference holmes' "scarlet thread of murder".

another detail i love is the five yen coin bookmark, it was one of my first ideas and it turned out even better than i thought.

i wanted the endpapers to evoke a sense of the white marbled floor of the ballroom, with the glow-in-the-dark kaitou kid caricature being the luminol on the floor, and the little pops of red looks like blood that's been mixed in. i lucked out in that the other side of the endpaper was like a lavender-purpley color, i like to think of it as a little wink wink nudge to the color of the actual Lady Red.

the chapter pages got a few reworkings, but i'm happy with the illustrations i ended up doing for each of them. the chapter titles are one of my favorite things about the fic, each one has so much meaning packed into it and flows so beautifully, and i wanted to put as much care into making them pop as possible.

the cover was a linocut carving i designed and carved, which i then printed onto the bookcloth, and ironed on htv on top.

i also threw in a couple of my drawings of my favorite scenes.

this is getting way too long, so i'll end it here. i'll have a separate post detailing the process every step of the way, if anyone wants to take a closer look. this fic is kind of directly responsible for getting me into fanbinding, so it's safe to say it altered the course of my life. i now spend way too much time (and money) looking at book stuff.

kittebasu, if, somehow, you see this and would like an author copy, i would be honored to make one and ship it to you; i would be overjoyed to gift you with any art i have the ability to make, because the fics you wrote have irreversibly altered my brain chemistry, and being able to give back in any capacity would be a dream. (thank you.)

a few postscripts:

i am not selling any copies of this fic. partially because i believe in the gift economy of fandom as well as firmly keeping fanbinding a hobby that will stay unmonetized, but also because it took me months (years, if we are counting when i first finished the typeset) to finish this and i do not have the strength.

however, if you are also a fan of this fic and would like a copy, i honestly, fervently, encourage you to give fanbinding a try! renegade publishing and its discord server are an absolutely wonderful and free resource. i knew nothing about bookbinding and had zero materials when i first started, but i've learned so much thanks to the lovely people there. if you're still apprehensive about getting started, i'd be willing to share my typeset of this fic as well as answer any questions about the making of this book if you DM me.

[undead-supernova]

Bummer! / Masterlist / 18+

part 1 / part 2

Playlist

pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

plot: you invite eddie out to a party with you and your best friend and it's all perfect...right?

contains: eddie lacking confidence, confident!reader, dirty dancing/making out, hints at past trauma, arguing, underlining slut shaming, lots of heavy petting and fluffy feelings

note: we're up to part 3 already?! with part 4 already in the works?! who even am I anymore!!! thank you to both @littlexdeaths and @jo-harrington for being my biggest supporters and encouraging me to keep going. this is for you both !!!!

song inspo: the song in this chapter is Tití Me Preguntó by Bad Bunny. It is an absolute bop (also he is so hot it’s not even funny)

wc: 5.6k

“Your life sounds like fan fiction.”

You let out a high-pitched scoff, taking Aron’s stuffed octopus by the tentacles and whacking her with it.

“Shut up!”

Aron chuckled, throwing her hands up. “Hey, I never said that was a bad thing!”

You and Aron, your best friend since freshman year, were perched on her bed, all cross-legged and giggly, recounting the last few weeks with Eddie. When you finally told Aron about him, she was livid. How could you not tell your best friend about a really hot guy you’d been seeing who wasn’t an asshole? 

“He’s just so good,” you said with a content smile, throwing your head back on the bed like a girl in a 2000s romantic comedy. “I can’t believe I got this lucky.”

“Yeah, I’d feel lucky too if I had a guy playing guitar for me and tasted like cinnamon and beauty and stuff.”

Your smile widened, the phantom touch of his lips already having imprinted itself on your mouth. “He’s just so nice. And I feel like he gets me, you know? He sees me for me, not for my body or whatever. Plus, we have the same taste in music and movies and…” A soft sigh left your lips as you shrugged. “He just makes me happy, I don’t know.”

Aron leaned over, smiling down at you. The beads at the end of her long braids clinked together as she shook her head at you. “Well, I’m very happy this Eddie is making my best friend all gooey and soft for once.”

You rolled your eyes but you both knew you really appreciated the affirmation. Sometimes you needed that extra assurance, Aron’s opinion being maybe the most important to you—besides your own. When you’d met her at that dreaded Halloween party, all tattered clothes and broken sobs, Aron was quick to help you. Without questions, without judgment. A stranger helping a stranger before becoming best friends within a week.

Before you could get lost in the cold memory, Aron clapped her hands and gasped.

“You should invite him to the party!”

You sat up, furiously nodding. “Oh my God, yes! I completely forgot.”

“It’ll be fun.” You nodded, watching as her nose began to crinkle. “Unless you sneak off to go make out or something.”

Your apologetic smile that turned a little too exaggerated made her groan.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” you said, feigning a sensual tone as you made kissy noises and reached out to tickle her.

She hit you with the octopus (that poor octopus), causing you both to laugh. “You tell me about every fucking kiss, bitch.”

Grabbing it from her, you smirked and said, “And you love hearing about it.”

Aron shrugged. “True. I’m too nosey for my own good.”

“And I’m too honest,” you added, giving her a high-five.

“So, the party?”

You hadn’t felt this way since you were fourteen, running around the football field late at night with Trent Summers, lost in the throes of an unrequited crush. Lost in an all-American fantasy of dating a boy on the football team when you hadn’t even made the cheer squad. Getting your heart broken after he told you he had a girlfriend. You ended your friendship right then and there—resulting in you throwing a football at his face.

Mary Winston had been next, all braces and crooked smiles. Sweet sixteens and discovered identities. You’d met in the art room during lunch, fawning over some TV show before realizing that there was something more there. It didn’t last long, but you swore you’d love her till the day you died. And if anyone had access to your tear-stained diary, they’d know it was very dramatic. Very dramatic.

(Come to think of it, you’d felt something bubbly inside you for Eliza Roseheart in preschool. Playing “husband and wife” and pecking each other on the lips shouldn’t have been as fun as it was.)

Now there was Eddie Munson, the guy who walked you to class and got you coffee just because. At night, you hopped in his van and went on drives. An hour and a half of scream-singing that always ended up with feverish make out sessions by the dock of a lake, the windows fogging up despite the humid heat just beyond those doors. Gnashing teeth as you both giggled your way through can we play 20 Questions? and can I tell you another secret? in between kisses. Helping him down from orgasms after some whispers and heavy, heavy petting, caressing his face in your hands as you told him how good of a job he did. Tracing the lines of his face as you teetered in and out of sleep. Feeling his lips on your forehead as he helped you back into your dorm.

You were never one to believe in good luck. After years of being thrown to the wolves and caged inside a dungeon you built yourself, this nerdy little goofball had coaxed you away from the bars. Led you from a state of hidden solitude, only to welcome you with warm sun and sweaty palms.

All you knew now was that you wanted him. Always.

“We’ll be there.”

Eddie felt naked without his jacket.

As a matter of fact, he felt a bit out of character. A dark, dark purple Black Sabbath tee was paired with his regular black jeans, combat boots, and wallet chain. The same rings and bracelets.

But his jacket. He knew he’d have to leave it with this weather. Smelling bad wasn’t an option tonight, especially meeting your best friend. The less he fucked up his appearance, the less he had to worry about fucking up in general.

So he hung up his favorite boy and left his dorm with bare arms. Followed his heart all the way to your dorm.

Had your roommate greet him, a giggle escaping her lips as soon as she saw him. Aron, as he learned, was quick to pull him into conversation as you finished up getting ready. Though you called down the hallway to them, he still couldn’t calm his anxiety.

Meeting new people didn’t bode well for him.

And yet he was proven wrong—their conversation was as easy as breathing, exchanging thoughts on their favorite video games and how legendary Black Sabbath was.

“Oh, I like you,” she said at one point and laughed at the blush rising to his cheeks. “I’m glad you already know that’s a compliment of the highest degree.”

He’d thought he got his groove back. He really did. But then he heard your heels echoing through the hallway and looked over at your figure coming closer. Eddie immediately shot up out of his seat at the sight of you.

Your dress was one he hadn’t seen before, a satin black spaghetti-strapped dress that hugged your curves just right. A patch at the bottom showed a red rose, circled by a silver snake. Black heels and an array of rings. No necklace, no earrings. Smokey-eyed and gloss-lipped.

“Fucking hell.”

Both girls broke out into laughter.

He wanted to hit himself. Could he once, just once, keep his mouth shut?

“Sorry,” he added.

You shook your head, stepping closer. “Don’t be. I think that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received, so thank you.”

Eddie nearly missed Aron skipping off to her room when you pulled him into a hug. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, letting his arms wrap around your back. Even after all these weeks, he found that he could never get used to your embrace. Your skin against his, the fizzle of something electric jumping between your bodies.

“You look amazing, by the way,” you whispered in his ear before pulling back. He was pretty sure your smile was just as goofy as his. “I love your shirt.”

“Thought you might,” he responded with a small laugh. He leaned in to kiss your cheek, but stopped himself. “Sorry.”

Your smile faltered as confusion flooded your face. “For what?”

Before he could apologize again, Aron was skipping back into the room and clapping her hands together.

“Alright, let’s boogey.”

You were quick to settle into the party, the three of you standing in one corner or another, laughing over really anything you could think of. Aron was sure to point out everyone who was cool and everyone who was not, giving Eddie a crash course in the party scene that always felt a little too high school for your taste. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to bother with that stuff which you liked. There was nothing worse than watching someone lose themselves in fair-weather friends.

Two drinks in, Aron left to go find some other friends of hers, reiterating that they were part of the Cool Crowd. It left you and Eddie to your own devices, with your exaggerated bantering and light shoves. Touches that felt like electric shocks, the voltage only increasing with each jab. At some point, you had to wonder if that’s why you both kept doing it.

Then, in the middle of threatening to tickle him, you heard the starting sounds of a Bad Bunny song you liked. Leaning your head back, you let out a satisfied “Yes!”, watching as people quickly gathered near the speakers.

Eddie looked at you, confused.

You merely chuckled, taking his hand and leading him over to the small crowd.

“Let’s dance!”

Your hand grasped his over your shoulder, just like that night you met. It was a feeling like no other, Eddie’s heart hammering in his chest. And, God, he really couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

He was happy. He was having fun.

“I don’t know how to dance to this kind of music!” he admitted loudly, a smile still plastered on his lips.

But you were far from deterred. “Just follow my lead, pretty boy.”

And just like that, you were turning around and tugging his hands forward until they met your waist. Let yourself lean back on him, grinding your hips as they swayed back and forth.

Effortless. That’s the best way he could describe the way you moved, the way you never missed a beat. The bass pumped and vibrated through Eddie’s limbs, but you seemed to be one with the music.

Dancing wasn’t something unheard of when it came to Eddie. If he was listening to music, chances were that he was shimmying his shoulders or head banging. In a mosh pit, he let himself get jostled around, bopping along to the sound. He may not have had hips like Jagger, but he knew how to move them at least.

However, this was new territory, having a girl, having you in front of him, waiting for him to move. And if he was supposed to move, then god dammit, he was going to move.

Eddie took a deep breath before the beat slowed down. Letting his wired thoughts fade into a soft buzz, doing what he felt was right. Like pulling you tight against his chest and moving his hips at the same time as yours. Pushing himself against your ass, a harsh breath leaving his nose at the friction.

Sighing, you let your head fall back on his shoulder, a content smile lifting onto your lips. Raised your hands, wrapping them around his neck the best you could, rhythm never lost on you.

And it would be just so easy to…

But would you be okay with…

Fuck it.

Shaking his head, he leaned down and began to kiss your neck. Your next sigh was what officially turned him on, pushing him further into your heat wave. Licked a stripe up your neck and tugged on your earlobe with his teeth.

Eddie couldn’t help the thought, the impulse creeping up in this crowded house party to move his fingers just a bit lower, to skirt the hem of your dress that was riding up with each swirl of your hips. He wanted you, cock straining against his jeans in near agony, continuing to litter your neck with love bites as if you were alone.

And just before he could get a little more bold, you were taking his trigger-finger hand and placing it on your thigh, so close to what he could call the inner thigh.

“Is that okay?” you asked, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

He nodded. “Was already headed there, sweetheart. You beat me to it.”

“I took an earlier flight,” you joked.

A breathy chuckle left his lips. “That’s okay. That’s not my last stop anyways.”

Your thigh was soft, full, easy enough to squeeze. So he did, eliciting a high-pitched sigh from you.

A proud smile met your face. So you liked when he took the upper hand.

And, God, if you kept looking at him like that, he was going to start fingering you in front of every fucking person here. Maybe he would. No one was looking at you both, right? He could do it. Just a little bit. Just…just a little bit.

His fingers twitched, raising higher and higher and—

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” a voice said, snapping you out of this moment. You both looked over to see Aron approaching, taking hold of one of your wrists. “But I gotta steal her for a second.”

“Aron!” you exclaimed, holding onto Eddie’s hand as long as you could before Aron dragged you away. Sorry, you mouthed at him before turning back.

You couldn’t help your face growing hot at the feeling of your wetness still sticking to your inner thighs as you parted them.

She didn’t pull you far, but you couldn’t help how pissed you felt. Granted, you weren’t really pissed at her but something was about to happen and you’d been more than happy to just let it.

Eddie was finally taking the upper hand, doing what he wanted. Not just going along with what you told him to do. There was no blind faith or overthought. No, he was showing—initiating. It was euphoric. It was nearly orgasmic…

“What’s going on?” you asked, smoothing out the hem of your dress. And as you stood there fixing yourself, you felt Aron step closer to you.

“Listen, Sam is walking around, drunk as fuck—”

“Big shock there,” you commented, crossing your arms over your chest.

Aron let out a snort. “Yeah, literally. Anyways, he’s talking about how easy you are in bed and keeps telling everyone you’re here with Eddie to make him jealous.”

Sam Covington had been a problem for…a while. Maybe since last summer, when you were…friendly with some of the frat guys’ girlfriends. Got invited out one night and Sam was there, always staring at you from any corner of the room or finding excuses to talk to you. It was fucking creepy.

It was one of those things that sent chills down your spine, the fear for your safety growing with each glance. That voice that made you want to run and hide. The touch that had you wondering if you’d remembered to grab your pepper spray and whistle.

Usually, you were able to stand your ground and hurl insults he couldn’t fathom hearing from a woman. Even the last party you’d seen him at, the one where you had met Eddie…

But it didn’t mean that you felt any more secure.

“Him? Ha!” You exaggerated your tone, trying to keep your voice from shaking. Waved your hand around, desperate to stay calm. “What a fucking joke. He wishes.”

Eddie’s blood ran cold at your mocking tone, taken aback by your blatant degradation. Like a mask had been removed, revealing a forked tongue and razor sharp teeth.

He’d seen your expression, your shoulders turning inward, like you were uncomfortable. He decided to walk over and, sure, it was probably rude. He knew that. However, he couldn’t stand to see you upset. He needed to know what was going on, pulled to you with some tether that he couldn’t explain.

But he regretted it immediately.

Aron chuckled. “If that ain’t the truth, girl.”

“He’s such a fucking loser, I swear. Can’t catch a fucking hint.”

Eddie once thought he’d let go of the anger he once held in high school. The defiant boy that was once riddled with so much frustration at the cruel hand he’d been dealt. The one that jumped up on lunch tables and screamed at whoever would listen. He thought he’d given up on holding onto the bitterness of verbal sucker punches and bruised ribs.

But it was creeping back up, that violent shaking that ran along his arms. The torment of those five brutal years of high school tingling in his fingertips as you continued to desaturate the vibrancy of a man he thought he was becoming.

“Like, why does he have to be so obsessed with you?”

You shrugged and his eyes caught the tail end of your eye roll. “Because he’s so fucking desperate for someone to fuck him. That’s why.”

And before he could stop his head from going there, he was back in that blistering July. The fear of being used goods clutching at his throat as he struggled to speak, struggled to find an escape. 

“Pathetic,” you stated, voice thick with disgust.

That scorching July. Fingers trembling on the doorknob, his sweaty palm slicking it in sweat. Slipping. 

No escape, no escape.

He needed to get out. There was no thought, just action. So, he turned and started stalking towards the front door. Voices in his head spoke over one another, flooding his brain.

Freak. Loser. Dirty. Good for nothing. Desperate. Trailer park trash.

Pathetic.

“Eddie?” he heard behind him, the sound of his name on your lips like a beckoning call, serenading him with its delicacy. 

If he didn’t have a shred of dignity left, he would’ve turned around and come running. But he didn't, instead making a run for the side of the house. Maybe if he hid, he didn’t have to face your humiliation.

And, like he said, he didn’t have to run back…because you were already catching up with him, stopping him in his tracks as you stepped in front of him. How you did that in six inch heels was fucking beyond him.

Placing a hand on his chest, you asked, “What’s wrong?” As your eyes scanned his face, you added, “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

But he knew better. 

He did, didn’t he?

“Are you using me?”

You paused, flinching away from his chest as if you’d been burned. “Excuse me?”

“Like…” Eddie started, trying to take a deep breath to keep himself level. But he was starting to falter, all shaky and desperate for you to get it the fuck over with. “Like, if we even fuck, is that it? Will the chase be over for you?”

Your face began to harden, something resembling fury clouding your features. “How fucking dare you think I’d do something like that.”

“It’s just a question!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, and I don’t appreciate you acting like I’m engaging in this relationship just to fuck you and leave.” 

His eyebrows furrowed as his nostrils flared with frustration, both of you holding mirrored expressions. But yours softened first, the edges of your snarl quivering. Shaking your head, you took another step back.

“I like you, Eddie. Okay? I’ve liked you since that first night. We’ve been on, like, three dates now? And I introduced you to my best friend, for Christ’s sake. You make me laugh but you make me so fucking soft, it drives me insane. And those late night drives make these stupid midterms worth it.”

“Oh.”

“Did I really have to spell it out?” Eddie didn’t say anything. “I mean, geez. I thought I’ve been an open book this whole time. I’ve spent practically every day with you. Every night, even. Like, why would I want to be with anyone else? And did you really need me to reiterate all of that?”

“But you told your friend that I’m—”

“What?!” you exclaimed before shaking your head. “No, that was about this frat guy, Sam. He’s been creeping on me again and is spreading fucking rumors and I am getting literally so sick and tired of it.”

The dissipated anger began to creep back up at the thought of some douchebag stalking you. Who the fuck was Sam to not take a fucking hint? And why was it becoming so increasingly hard not to run back into that party and beat the shit out of him?

“A guy’s been creeping on you? Since when?”

You sighed. “Yeah, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

Eddie held up a hand. “Now, hang on. I am going to worry about that, because that’s not nothing.”

“I agree, but that’s a later conversation,” you said, pushing his hand down and shaking your head. “Get to the part where you tell me why you think I’d ever say that about you.”

Eddie was the one to sigh now, pissed that you had to move on but ultimately needed to confess. “I just never thought you’d actually be into me.”

“Why?” you nearly yelled.

“I’m just a fr—”

“Ew! If you say ‘freak’, I’m legally obligated to rip your eyes straight out of your skull.”

A breath escaped his nose as he closed his eyes and tried again. “You just…you’ve dated more people than I have.”

“Based off of what?”

His eyes flew open. “What?” he asked, unsure what you meant.

“You haven’t even bothered to ask me how many people I’ve dated—or fucked, for that matter.” Eddie’s eyes widened. “I’ve had one relationship. One.”

“Really?” he whispered.

You let out a laugh that didn’t match your exhausted expression. “Yeah, for a week until she got nervous about her parents finding out and dumped me. I was sixteen.” Furrowed eyebrows returned to your face as you crossed your arms over your chest and leaned towards him dramatically. “What about that, huh? How many people have you dated, Eddie?”

Two. The number was thick in his throat, his verbalization swallowed by your question being, well, rhetorical.

You paused, turning your face away from the light. But he caught your pointer finger flying up to dab your lower lash line. “Like, I’ve had sex, sure. But it’s not like I ask all those guys to fucking harass me. I honestly don’t know how that became a thing here. Like, I’m just here. I’m just trying to have fun.”

The guilt was starting to settle in his chest. “I should’ve caught that.”

“I thought you understood me,” you said before letting out a high-pitched sound of disbelief, lifting your hands and letting them fall at your sides with a loud thwack. “Like, I’m not a slut or a whore or whatever they want to say despite it being the twenty-first fucking century! And I can’t even be with you without some guy trying to—”

He heard it before he saw it. A scoff that shifted into a sob as you crouched down to your knees, only hovering above the ground by your tall heels. 

Eddie had never seen you cry, had never seen the façade so easily broken. This girl he once thought untouchable, invincible, cracking before his eyes.

Looking back to all of those moments, those numerous instances of harassment, how quick you were to send them a message. How easily it came to you, to throw your verbal and physical punches like it was nothing. Like it was a normal thing.

He’d gotten so caught up in how badass you were that he didn’t stop to think about how you felt about it. Or why it came so easily to you.

He crouched down, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Hey, I’m really sorry. That was really shitty of me.”

He felt you lean into his hand, glad that you weren’t rejecting him. It was lame, but he didn’t think he could handle your rejection right now. Especially when you were in this state. Especially when he was the reason why.

Turning to glance at him through your tears, you said, “Eddie, that really hurt my feelings.”

“I shouldn’t have assumed,” he said truthfully. “If it means anything, I didn’t think you were a, um, slut or whatever. I just thought maybe you didn’t want me the same way.”

You nodded, sniffling while wiping the snot away from your nose. Never once did you pull away from his touch or grow cold. “Yeah, I get that.” You paused, your eye contact starting to burn him. “I’ve never done any of the shit we’ve done with other people. I’ve only felt that comfortable with you.”

“But you’re just…” he trailed before sighing and closing his eyes. “You’re just so good at it.”

When he heard a loud laugh leaving your lips, his eyes flew open, grateful to see a smile on your face. The laugh turned into a fit of snorts, leaving him to laugh at just how adorable you were.

“Yeah, thanks,” you teased, the familiar tone giving him the ability to breathe again. “It’s a litany of porn, smut, and—” You moved your hands up to mimic the shape of a rainbow. “Imaginaaation.”

The reference got Eddie laughing again, nodding along as he replied, “You could’ve told me you’re a dominatrix on the side and, like, I would’ve believed you. Scout’s honor.”

“Good to know,” you joked.

Eddie stood back up then, shaking his head as he reached a hand out to you. “I’m an asshole.”

You lifted an eyebrow, slowly shaking your head back at him before taking his hand. “You’re more special than you think you are.”

He lifted you up, grasping your palm in his as he brought you closer to him. Your joined hands rested against his heart, faces inches apart. 

There you were, your eyes fully in view now. Watery, with makeup creasing along your waterline and smudged mascara littering your cheeks. Despite the quiet pain it caused him, he was grateful to get a glimpse at your beauty again, your attention still gutting him over and over again.

If he didn’t know any better, he could’ve sworn he could feel his guts spilling onto the concrete. And when he drew closer, it was made even worse as he felt your heart rate increase in real time.

And, god dammit, he couldn’t help himself. Eddie closed the gap and kissed you. Gently, tentatively. Let himself linger just long enough to inhale your breath before pulling back.

“My god, you’re precious,” he whispered, heart clenching with every feature you softened—the mask slipping. His eyes fell upon your lips, slightly ajar in shock.  

“Yeah?” you whispered, breath hitching when he lightly pushed you against the wall. 

Eddie’s nose skimmed your cheek, desperate to breathe in your perfume. One last whiff. He swore it. Just one more.

Just one more.

“Mm-hm,” he hummed, inhaling your scent again.

It was the last time. Promise. 

“Tell me again,” you pleaded.

He pulled back, catching the clenching of your thighs in his peripheral. A dangerous smile grazed his lips as he gave you what you wanted. 

“You’re precious.”

You nodded repeatedly, doe-eyed as you begged, “Again.”

“You’re precious,” he said, hushed as his lips hovered above yours.

“Please,” you whimpered, legs squirming against his. But he pushed you further into the wall, your connected hands halting your movement. He could feel your heart racing furiously. “One more time.”

“You’re precious, baby.”

Before you could lunge at him, he was a step ahead of you, crushing your lips with his. Released your hand, quick to cup your face as you floundered to find somewhere to put your hands. Taking a page out of your book, he grabbed your wrists and placed them on his shoulders.

A sigh left your lips at the movement, nodding your head as you pushed your tongue into his mouth. What you were nodding about, he had no idea. He didn’t have the ability to have thoughts about anything anymore. 

All he could think was more, more, more.

All he could feel was you.

He couldn’t help himself when he slotted his thigh between yours, earning a deafening moan that made him harder than he already was. You’d moaned, sure. He’d heard you do it plenty of times when you made out. But he was suddenly struck with how different your positions were now. And how he was the reason for it. 

The thought drove him closer to the edge, roughly grabbing at your cheek with one hand while the other slid down your thigh, snaking around your knee and jerking your leg up to his hip. Your gasp made him even crazier, unable to help it when he pushed his thigh further against your core. Another wild whimper, this time with an edge of impatience.

“This okay?” he asked.

You nodded furiously. “Yes. Yes.”

If Eddie had the confidence, he’d take you against this house right now. He’d slide into you with ease, Fucking those little sounds out of you, the ones he dreamed about at night. The ones that would mirror the way you sounded right now, only intensified and louder. 

And yet it was enough to hear your now quiet desperation, to feel your thighs clench around his leg, your soaking pussy dripping through your panties and staining his jeans with ease.

“Jesus, you’re soaked.”

You nodded furiously, seemingly unable to speak as you gasped and chased his lips again. Ground your pussy against his leg. Impatient, hungry.

He couldn’t help but feel greedy, draping himself around you.

Let there be witnesses. Let the whole house hear him, he didn’t care. But those noises, your noises, belonged solely to him. Swallowed by his mouth, muffled by his body shielding yours. The vibrations pulsed through his cheeks and he couldn’t help but let out a low groan.

He noticed you continuing to chase the friction, rubbing yourself along the denim over and over, his jeans being ruined with every rut of your hips. If Eddie hadn’t been drunk off of you before, he was deliriously faded now. Because you were still going, no words leaving your mouth. Just whimpers and moans.

He wanted to say something, wanted to beg you to keep going. But he stayed quiet, knowing that you’d probably stop, keeping yourself from the pleasure he was witnessing. You looked like a goddess, eyes rolling back and, dear god, he needed to mark your neck again. He dipped his head down and began nipping at your skin again, frenzied at the reaction it pulled out of you.

The hitch in your breath caught his attention, moving his face from your neck to see your head thrown back. Your heaving chest was the indicator, the slow build of something beginning inside you. 

“Do it,” he whispered. “Come for me.”

Without any warning, he felt your legs tremble before your cum seeped into his jeans. A cry left your lips as your breath continued at a rapid pace, sweat dripping down your neck. Eddie was quick to lick it up, trying hard not to get on his knees and lap up what was left from the source.

(He was just glad he had enough restraint to resist begging for your underwear to keep for later.)

(The one time he’s able to keep his mouth shut.)

One last whimper left your lips as you came down, chasing the last of your high on his leg before he moved it out of the way. Left a gentle kiss on your forehead before he heard you sniffle.

“S-sorry,” you breathed, tightly squeezing your eyes shut. He came back to the present, leaning back as he watched your face crumble. “Sorry.”

Eddie took your chin between his fingers. “Hey, open your eyes. Look at me.”

At first, you only opened one, like you were testing the waters. He chuckled, earning access to your other eye. “There she is,” he murmured, pecking your nose. “Why’re you apologizing?”

“‘Cause I didn’t ask you if it was okay if I did that.” Tears brimmed in your eyes as you pushed his fingers away, covering your mouth with your hand. Shook your head as you added, “I didn’t ask. I’m so sorry, Eddie.”

“Baby, I would’ve stopped you.” He moved your hand away, lightly stroking your cheek as he continued. “I was honestly scared you would stop.”

Your head cocked towards his, glassy eyes turned clear again. “Why?”

“‘Cause then I wouldn’t have gotten to make you cum.”

A bashful expression immediately fell over your features, shoulders caving inwards as you bit your lip. You tapped your heels against the concrete, one by one, all jittery and shy. It was cute.

“Yeah, I didn’t plan on that, either,” you said. “But you just…”

“Hm?”

You shrugged, sighing. “You kinda fucked with my head.”

“Does that mean I get to finally fuck you?”

Tapping at your cheek, you looked away in feigned contemplation before shaking your head. “Nope. I think I’ll make you work harder to get to see it.”

“Nah, I could prove it right now,” he insisted, getting down on both knees.

You became flustered, looking at your surroundings before back down at him. “Eddie, no.”

He put his hands in a praying position and tried to puppy-dog eye you. “Trust me, I can make you do that, like, five more times right now.”

“Eddie—”

“And that’s just with my tongue.”

“Oh my God. Get up,” you said with a laugh, tugging him to stand back up. “We’re not doing this in public.”

Eddie snorted, a goofy smile meeting his lips. “Well, technically we already—”

“There you guys are!” 

Aron’s voice snapped you both out of your delirium, bringing you back to where you were.

“Oh, ew!” she nearly screeched, eyes wide as she stared at Eddie’s jeans. “We’re in public, guys. Come on.” 

When you both looked down, you saw your cum glistening across his jeans. 

“I’m sorry!” you said at the same time Eddie said, “I’m not sorry!”

You immediately gawked at him and he couldn’t have enjoyed any reaction more. His smirk said it all, earning a quick whack to his shoulder. 

“You’re both so horny on main. I’m never letting you out of my sight at a party ever again.”

thank yew for the divider @strangergraphics

[whocaresstillthelouvre]

See The Road You're On

Elks Chapter 1 Version 2.0

Pairing: Jackson Joel Miller x Female Reader Chapter Rating: T. (Nothing explicit for the first few chapters.) Chapter Summary: The man you've had a crush on since he showed up to Jackson just so happens to be your favorite student's caretaker.. and he just saw you do a brutal face plant in front of his home. Chapter Warnings: soft jackson joel, outbreak and quarantine zone memories, ellie has a smart mouth, anxious reader, mentions of blood and an injury from falling, everyone lives happily ever after, joel and ellie don’t leave jackson, early 2000’s indie rock Words: 5,500 Header courtesy of @saradika-graphics

Next Chapter

Masterlist Playlist “Caring Is Creepy” - The Shins

The world ended the day after you bought your homecoming dress. You begged your mom for it–a beautiful deep forest green sequined sweetheart a-line gown–the neckline perfectly showed off your prized gold daisy pendant. You felt like a princess, life couldn’t have been better. Your alarm buzzed on the morning of September 26, 2003, the only worry floating around your teenage head was the grade you’d receive on your essay about René Magritte for AP English. While walking home after a typical boring high school day with your guitar slung across your back and headphones on, little did you know you were hearing the final lyrics before everything changed:

“Hold your glass up, hold it in Never betray the way you’ve always known it is One day, I’ll be wondering how I got so old, just wondering how”

Twenty years later, hardened by life in the Denver Quarantine Zone and gently softened by your now comfortable life in Jackson, you’re still waiting for your first dance.

Art and music have always been at the forefront of your life; you’ve never allowed anything to take away your creativity. Continuing to create no matter how much pain the reality of losing everyone you’ve loved to the plague roaming the earth brought you. You create for yourself using art as a way to soothe your thoughts and anxieties, you create for the Settlement of Jackson to give back to the town that has given you a good life for the past five years, and most importantly you create for your students at the school you’ve taught at since your arrival. 

The fifteen years spent in the Denver QZ tried to steal your colors and mute your songs, joy became more difficult to find as each year behind the giant iron gates passed. The only sources of happiness were supplied by your small group of friends and your students in the desolate school you taught at. You never graduated high school, there was no pomp and circumstance, just a teaching job assigned to you because you were young and still remembered most of your high school education. That’s how your career was decided, funny how an apocalypse job search happens.

You tried to carve out as much of a life as you could under the overbearing and always watchful eyes of FEDRA soldiers, but it never felt whole. When the opportunity to leave Denver arrived thanks to your kind neighbor’s sister, you grabbed the few items you could and ran away from the only state you ever called home. Now, five years after your escape through the wasteland of the world to a better existence in Jackson, your life is now filled with art, music and purpose. Art supplied by the jars of paints you learned to make and what the patrollers bring you back. Music from the CD player in your house and the guitar you strum. Purpose from the weekdays spent teaching your impressionable students with actual well-rounded futures no longer doomed to become FEDRA fodder, along with the Saturdays spent working at the library you run out of your classroom. It's a good and comfortable life here, even if the nights are lonely and the only company you have in your small cottage are your cats Ripley and Penny. Some extra lonely nights, when the moon sits high atop the mountains, you can’t silence the thoughts that there’s nobody in your life who creates beautiful things for you. Too many nights you find yourself thinking about the man that lives down the street from you… Joel Miller. 

He’s so intimidating, handsome and caged off, akin to an art piece you’d pay admission to be able to stand near. Your own little museum piece you keep to yourself now that museums are obsolete. You’ve never seen anybody more gorgeous… not even in the faded celebrity magazines you cut up to make collages and art out of. Soft and full lips always hidden under a frowning mustache that rests below a large hooked nose. His dark brown eyes often focused forward, always looking in thought underneath furrowed brows. Wavy hair that matches his eye hue with soft silver streaks painted throughout. His body is strong and broad, often hidden underneath a tan flannel lined jacket. He’s tall and big–so big–somebody who has always been a protector. His hands are also large to match the rest of his features with thick fingers that sit capable and dexterous… you can tell they’re efficient for any task you ask of them. His skin is golden, born that way and bronzed by years spent outdoors. The precious pages of your notebook quickly deplete when you try to sketch and master the lines of his face. Maybe you could get the minute details if only you could stop being so afraid of the feelings he stirs inside of you.  

You’ve been enamored with him since he first showed up to Jackson– your life, and all of those feelings you’ve tried to avoid for years– upended by his presence. 

It was a normal day, like any other, when you walked into the Tipsy Bison to drop off some extra shoelaces and push pins for the community swap basket. Your eyes paused at the long communal table where your friends Maria and Tommy were seated with two strangers. A small teenage girl with a tight pony tail and a tattered sweatshirt was talking animatedly with her mouth full. You know kids well after all your years of teaching, you could already spot her tenacity across the room. Sitting next to her bent over a plate of food untamely clutching a fork was a man with a mess of graying hair and a permanent scowl plastered on his handsome face. You noted his strong jaw as he chewed his food, his eyes stared straight forward void of kindness, you wondered when the last time somebody created something beautiful for him. He was the most handsome man you’d ever seen– so intimidatingly sized even in his seated and hunched stature. You quickly flitted over to the corner where the communal basket sat and deposited your items before turning around to head back to your home when you noticed the handsome stranger looking right at you. His eyes darted away right as your eyes widened at his focus before you made your hasty retreat out of the tense room. That night you wrote a song about a once warm and inviting cabin sitting in the woods now cold and desolate with tattered floor boards and a cracked window.

The girl you saw at the Bison with the handsome stranger showed up in your class the next week. Ellie quickly became your favorite student thanks to her love of art and her smart mouth. She’s always so eager to learn in the mornings before heading out with the other older kids for patrol and community training. She doesn’t shut up about your handsome stranger, he’s Joel, Texas born and raised, he’s grumpy, and he loves coffee. He’s not her father, but he’s her protector, everything she tells you makes you think about him more. 

Sometimes you’ll see him walking down the road headed right towards you, a quick tuck of your head down or dash around the nearest corner helps alleviate the panic of being near him. One night you see him with Tommy at the Tipsy Bison in the corner drinking whiskey, your eyes stared unblinking before you realized how anyone could look over and see the way you’re ogling, you quickly created a reason to your friends why you needed to head home, to overwhelmed by his presence just a couple of rows down. Seeing him stirs up so many foreign emotions inside of you, but you like the rush. You like having your little crush, as long as you can keep your distance from him.

“Jeez, what were they thinking when they named these bands? The Shins? The Strokes? The Yeah Yeah Yeahs? Did every band just pick a random word and put The in front of it?” Ellie questions as she peruses your CD collection while you grade papers. With training for the older students canceled due to the winter snow outside, Ellie decided that you needed company in your classroom after school.

“Seems like it, doesn’t it?” you answer. “I’ll have to play them for you one day, those were some of my favorite bands when I was your age.”

“Really? Wicked! I’d love that!” she looks up from your CD book with an enthusiastic smile. You return her smile, happy for the bond the two of you share. “Joel loves music too, wonder if he’d like any of these.” Your pen pauses and your heart rate increases at the mention of his name, you feel foolish for the crush you have on your student’s “father.” 

“I’m sure there’s something in there for everyone,” you say, stacking your papers and capping your pen. “I think we should get going, before the sun sets, El. I’ll lock up.” 

“Aw man, there’s nothing to do at home,” she sighs. 

“Sorry kid,” you shrug. “I’m helping Helen at the Bison tonight and I need to eat dinner beforehand.” 

“Fiiiiiine, thanks for letting me hang with you, this was really fun,” she says as she grabs her backpack and jacket. “Bye Teach!”

Watching her leave, the thought plants in your head that she’s only a couple years younger than the age you were when the outbreak happened. 

The world thaws when winter turns to spring, the sun stays up longer allowing patrollers a better chance to scavenge and bring their finds back. The wish list posted above the communal basket in the Tipsy Bison is filled with requests. Residents ask for a broom, a TV input cable, a glue gun, crayons, and other utilitarian items to help make life easier. You think about writing down the one thing you wish for the most, a new CD player. Your prized possession finally spun its last song a couple days ago making your home fall silent without your constant companion of music. The irony isn’t lost on you that your just as ancient guitar now lays silent against the wall, the crack on the neck finally broke from overuse. You don’t write down your main wish, instead choosing to note that the school needs chalk and you need a new oven mitt. 

“Thought I told you not to touch my stereo kid,” the deep timbre of a Texas accented voice shocks you. Your heart begins to thud against your chest while goosebumps spread along your body; you’re frozen on the floor while you attempt to hide your internal panic. Joel is home. Of course he’s home, this is HIS home and you’re in it breaking HIS rules listening to your favorite mixed CD on HIS stereo system that’s much grander than your pitiful broken CD player. Why did you think letting YOUR STUDENT who’s half your age convince you this was a good idea?

“I know, relax! I’m being active in the community like you asked me to,” Ellie’s response drips with her unshakeable sarcasm. 

Your head turns to find his deep brown eyes boring right into you, he gives you a half smile as you stare back at him, mouth slightly agape. Joel Miller is in Joel Miller’s house with you. 

“This is the teacher I told you about, her stereo broke and I know how important music is to her–kinda like how it is to you. I invited her over so she could play me some of her stuff,” Ellie reasons. The kid is never not convincing. 

You quickly stuff your CD case into your backpack and stand, trying to escape the anxiety of being here in the cozy Miller household with the not-so-cozy-looking Mr. Miller. 

“Mm,” Joel grunts out before turning to you and reaching his hand out. “I‘m Joel.” His big hand envelops yours when you softly grab it to say hello. 

You nervously give him your name, trying to calm your panicked heart. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep any boundaries... I-I really appreciate her offering to help me. My stereo broke a couple days ago and she knew it upset me.” You nervously stammer feeling like a thirteen year old in trouble again as you begin to fiddle with the gold daisy chain around your neck.

“Don’t worry about it,” he urges before looking at Ellie, “I can look past this if it means means you’re getting out of that damn garage.” 

Ellie rolls her eyes, you wonder if every conversation they have is Joel putting a rule down and Ellie breaking it. “She has way better music taste than you have old man. None of that twangy sad music you try to get me to listen to.”

You start to feel antsy as Joel crowds the small space around you. 

“I-I have to head out, I promised Helen I’d help her at the Tipsy Bison.” You’re not due for another hour but you can’t fathom the idea of being unwelcome in Joel’s house.

“Oh, okay. Well, you’re welcome back whenever you want… right Joel?” Ellie looks at him, angling her eyebrow, knowing she’s going to get the answer she wants from him. 

“Uh— of course. S’pose any friend of Ellie’s is welcome here,” Joel hesitates with a smile, his deep brown eyes crinkle in the corners. He’s ridiculously handsome this close, it’s staggering. 

“Thank you again Ellie, I’ll see you tomorrow, make sure you bring your notebook,” you say, turning to walk out the door. 

You rush home, hoping the distinct woodsy smell of Joel’s house on your clothes will linger for a while. You almost trip when you realize you’ve left your favorite mixed CD in Joel’s stereo.

Weeks pass, and the weather gets warmer. Spring is in the air, the trees are covered in bright green leaves, flowers bloom along the vast gardens of fruits and vegetables, everyone’s days turn longer with more tasks to accomplish. There’s always a hopeful breeze in the air for everyone, no longer bunkered down and locked away by the snowy weather. 

Your mixed CD is now a victim of your inability to be anywhere near Joel. Either Ellie decided to keep it for herself, or Joel's decided for you that you don't want it back, especially since you obviously crossed a line. In an odd way, it’s actually a nice feeling, kind of like old times when you'd forget a CD in your friend's car or in your locker over winter break.  It's not like you have anything to play it on, your house is still silent, save for the purring of your cats or whatever song you can remember to hum to yourself. 

It's a warmer day than usual, the sun shines bright and hot in the clear blue sky; all you can think about is getting home and taking a long bath after helping out at the community garden. Your hurried footsteps pitter patter against the warm asphalt in front of Joel’s house. Your heart always begins to race as it comes into view, once in a while you'll get to steal a glance of him leaving for patrol at the same time you're heading to school– those are good mornings. This sweltering afternoon you’ve certainly lucked out, he’s in his yard working on repairing a broken fence post. Your steps begin to slow as you see him set the hammer down, wipe the back of his hand across his sweaty brow, and stretch his back. Panic sets in at the realization he could look right over and see you in the state you’re currently in. You’ve been up to your knees in soil since school ended, watering and deadheading plants while letting the dirt on your skin bake in the warm sun. Your anxious steps pick up pace, failing to hop over the divot in the road you always remember to avoid. A trip and a fall ends with you landing hard on your stomach knocking the wind out of you. You can just make out the fall of heavy boot steps on the ground over the sound of your lungs gasping for air as you turn over.

“Whoa whoa whoa, you okay darlin’?” Joel asks. His broad body eclipses the bright sun when he bends over your body splayed out on the pavement. “S’alright, s’alright, breathe.” 

You lose even more breath at the sight of him. The sheen of sweat against his skin makes it glow bright. This is the first time you’ve seen him without a jacket or flannel, there’s a constellation of freckles on his neck you’ve never noticed. His biceps strain the fabric of his short sleeves when he reaches to put a comforting hand on your shoulder. You can’t tell if you’re still panicking from your fall or the stress of Joel seeing you as pathetic as you think you look. He called you darling and you feel like a fool. 

“I’m okay–I-I’m sorry…. I’m okay,” gasps out between breaths. You whimper from pain as you attempt to stand but it hurts far too much. 

“Hold on, hold on, there’s no need to rush, you took a mighty fall. Ya’ got a big cut on your knee, let me help you,” Joel’s eyes roam you under brows wrinkled with concern. 

“No, no, I’m okay really, I-I’m really okay,” you try to calmly assert, losing terribly against your rising embarrassment. 

“S’alright now, I have some peroxide and bandages in my house, Ellie’d kill me if she knew I left you injured,” he implores reaching his hand out. "I want to help you, come here."

“I– okay,” you grab his hand, his strong fingers wrap around yours, oh god he’s so warm, “I-I don’t want to bother you.”

“Now, I’ll have none ‘a that, come on,” he helps you stand steadying you with an arm around your waist, the adrenaline of being this close to him makes a bit of the pain fade, though the humiliation remains. 

He slowly leads you up his walkway, his hand lays splayed against your hip holding you tight. Your head rests against him close enough to feel the dampness of his sweaty shirt against your cheek.

He leads you into his house, the realization isn’t lost on you that this is now the second time you’ve been inside his home. Both times you’ve felt like an idiot. What is your luck?

You slowly sit down on his couch, Joel gently helps you settle against the cushions before placing a pillow behind your back for support. "You alright?” he asks, his voice drags heavily with concern. You nod, keeping your eyes focused on your bare legs, marred by dirt and gravel mixed with blood. “Just relax for a second, I’ll go grab everything." He retreats, his loud boot steps get fainter allowing you to take a deep breath and attempt to center yourself. 

The last time you were in Joel’s home you were far too anxious to focus on anything besides Ellie and the music coming out of the stereo. Solitude now allows a chance to look closely at Joel’s living room; for somebody with so many stories swirling around town about his gruffness and irritability, his home sure is warm and inviting. Wood carvings sit on shelves, a couple of tattered sports magazines lay on the coffee table, a chipped owl mug sits atop a book on the side table next to a chair. All of it presents quite domestic and comfortable for a single man and an adopted daughter in the apocalypse. Your eyes roam along the beige walls and pause when you spot a familiar painting hung near the front window. An elk stands alone, amongst a field of flowers, large antlers reach into the light blue sky. You painted it just a few months ago, using your favorite water colors. You gave it to Tommy for Christmas, as a thank you for always making sure you have first dibs of paints that patrollers bring in. Why does Joel have it?

“Don’t have any large bandages but I got a gauze roll,” Joel startles as he takes a seat atop the coffee table across from you. 

“That’s my painting? I painted that… for Tommy,” your inner thoughts escape your mouth, surprising you.

He turns and follows your eyes to the small piece of paper pinned on his wall. “You painted that? S’good. Saw it on my brother’s wall and asked him if I could have it, he was kinda reluctant but I told him how it reminds me of the painting I used to have over my bed before… everything.” The last word comes out as a huff, like he still doesn't know what word to use for these last twenty years.

“I love elks, they remind me of where I’m from… I’ve always liked painting the wildlife I grew up around the most,” your eyes remain focused on your painting. “Herds of elk used to live near my Dad’s home in the mountains, I used to hear their calls during the mating season.” 

“S’nice to remember those small moments, I guess your painting helps me,” he gently muses. 

“I’m glad,” you whisper.

Joel delicately lifts your leg up and places it on his lap, resting it against the soft strength of his thighs. Your heart feels like it’s going to burst out of your chest when you look down at this intimate moment with your dream man. Your breaths escape your mouth in rapid succession, your only hope is Joel blames your panic on the threat of the peroxide and not his close proximity. 

“S’gonna sting,” he warns before pouring the clear liquid onto your knee. Your breath catches in your throat when it hits your sensitive skin and burns. You suppress a whimper and feel slightly dizzy at the sight of him bending forward and delicately blowing on your wound. His breath cools the heat of your burning skin but lights a fire inside of your body you haven’t felt in years.  He glances up, his dark brown eyes stay focused on your face. “Doin’ alright?” 

You nervously chew on your bottom lip and nod. “Y-yes, yeah,” you mumble, “I-I’m okay it just hurts a lot to move.” Heaven forbid you tell him the truth, that you’re acting this way because he’s the most gorgeous man you’ve ever seen, and now his hands are on you.

"I know, that gravel is a sucker," he gently reassures, picking up your other leg and placing it on top of his lap. “S’bouta sting again,” he warns. 

You try to focus on the burn of the peroxide and not on Joel’s fingertips resting against the back of your knee. He blows on the peroxide as it bubbles again, your heart skips a beat when his deep brown eyes meet yours again. You get the sense that he knows exactly why you’re responding the way you are. 

He lifts a faded gray wash cloth up and wipes both of your knees with the utmost tenderness. He picks up the fabric bandage, and lifts your knee higher to rest your foot against his broad chest. 

“Place a finger here so I can wrap you,” Joel directs just as gently as his touch, “let me know if it’s too stiff for you.” His hand tightens around your knee as he slowly unravels the gauze around your leg and bandages your wound. “How’s that?” 

You bend your leg back and forth and place it on the floor. “Feels good, thanks.”

“Course,” he says, lifting your other leg higher to start. He smirks when you place your finger on top of the bandage without him asking, and begins to wrap the gauze around your other leg. 

“I’d try to take it easy the next few days, give you a chance to heal,” Joel utters, tucking the bandage in and smoothing it down. 

“I will. Thanks for all your help… you really didn’t have to,” your voice cracks in embarrassment. 

“You don’t have to thank me, Ellie’d kill me if she found out I left you hurt in front of my home,” he cracks a smile at the mention of her name. “She talks about you a lot, I should be thanking you for giving her a reason to love goin’ to school.”

“She’s one of the best parts of my day,” your smile matches his when you think about her smart mouth, “I love having her around, she’s always so eager to learn and give her opinion."

“She's always showing me some new art way she learned from you or talking about a band she wants to hear that you told her about. You mean a lot to her.”

“She’s a special kid.”

“She is,” he says, his deep brown eyes look into yours. You’ve never noticed just how much his dark eyes glisten. Like the perfect color of black coffee. 

The sweet shared moment turns more awkward as you both maintain eye contact and nod over your shared adoration of Ellie. It feels like he’s looking at you under a microscope.

You cut the tension and softly clear your throat before slowly rising from the couch. “Well, I should get going, I’ve already taken up enough of your time. I really appreciate everything.”

“S’no problem at all,” he quickly stands and places a steadying hand on your back before leading you to the door and down his walkway.

You spy his tools laying abandoned and strewn across the lawn. “I hope I didn’t keep you from finishing your fence,” you apologize.

“I’ll manage… take care of yourself,” his hand retreats from your back when he opens the gate for you. 

“Thanks Joel, you too.” You really shouldn’t have looked back at him to get one last glimpse, he’s beautiful, especially now lit by the slowly setting sun. 

Walking away from him as confidently as you can, you feel his eyes follow you the whole way. You’ve never been so thankful to see your little cottage, escaping behind the protection of your front door before you grin and grab your paints and brushes. That night you paint another photo of an elk, this time with golden toned fur and deep brown eyes. 

Saturday mornings are always busy, running your library never allows you the luxury to eat pancakes at the hall like everyone else on the weekends. You’re always turning to the left rushing towards the schoolhouse while everyone takes a right heading to eggs, pancakes, and coffee. This particular Saturday you’re moving slower thanks to your injured knees and the large box of books patrol brought you from their runs. 

“Mornin’," Joel shouts, quickly striding towards you from the hall exit. “Lemme take those for you.” 

“Oh, hi,” you pause in your tracks when he stops in front of you and grabs the box out of your hands. “You really don’t have to take–"

“None ‘a that,” he shushes, effortlessly lifting the box of books higher. "Where are we going with these?"

"Just over to the school house for the library," you nod your head towards the little brick building.

“How are the knees doing?” he asks, slowing his gait to match your slower pace.

“A lot better, thanks.”

“Glad to hear.” 

You fish the key out of your pocket, unlock the door, and let Joel follow you down the hallway to your classroom. You flick the lights on, fluorescent bulbs buzz illuminating your second home. 

You sit in your chair to rest your already aching knees, you’d still be halfway to the schoolhouse if it wasn’t for Joel’s kind assistance. 

“You can put the box on my desk,” you direct, rubbing your sore knee. 

He places the box on your desk before his eyes focus on the bright mural on the wall behind your desk. “Wow, I haven’t seen something like this in a long time. S’beautiful,” he breathes out incredulously. 

A grin lifts your tired face before you swivel in your chair to look at the mural. “Goodness, thank you. I just finished it a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted to make sure the kids had something fun and colorful to focus on while in class. It was hard for me to work in this plain, white room for so long. It took a long time to save up enough paint.” 

He slowly walks over and places his hand on the cold cinder block wall. “Bluebells. The flower of Texas,” he faintly whispers.

His large fingers trace the outlines of your painted indigo petals, you feel like you shouldn’t be allowed to see this type of gentle tenderness coming out of such hard and strong hands. He delicately touched you like this when he bandaged your knees. There was once softness surrounding all of Joel, the permanent grimace and rough reputation for him brought on by the harshness of existing in this world. 

He turns to you, keeping his hand on your mural. “Where you from?” he asks, curiously gazing into your eyes.

“I was in the Denver QZ.”

“No, where were you from before everything?”

“Oh, sorry. Still Colorado, just more in the mountains,” you say, concentrating on the columbine flower next to the bluebell. “Florissant to be exact. It’s a little town famous for dinosaurs. My students, especially Ellie, love to hear all about dinosaurs. I was very lucky to be where I was when everything–happened–just far enough to escape.”

“Nice state, I went skiing there once as a teen, had plans to go again before… everything,” he turns to look back at the bluebells again.

“Big of a Texan to compliment Colorado,” you jest, standing up and grabbing the library supplies from your desk.

He chuckles with a shake of his head. “Good one. Did y’know you forgot your CD at my house?” 

“I did, sorry about that. I figured Ellie just decided to keep it for herself. I don't mind, not like I have anything to play it on right now,” your voice drops thinking about how long it’s been since you’ve heard your favorite songs.

You begin to place down your hand painted placards on the tables. 

He walks over and picks one of the cards up and admires it. “Can I help you?”

“If you want, just pick up a pile of books and put them on their respective tables. Children’s, Mystery, Romance, Non-Fiction, Sci-Fi, Miscellaneous.” 

He dutifully picks up a stack of books. “You do this by yourself?”

“Usually, I sometimes have help but I think everyone here works so hard during the week they like their slow Saturdays, I can’t ask them to give up sleeping in.” 

“Sleeping in, must be nice. Can’t do such a thing. Ellie would sleep all day if I allowed her.”

“You’re right,” you say, squeezing by him to grab a pile of books. “Must be nice.”

He holds up a thick paperback with yellow pages and a burgundy cover, a muscled, orange toned man with long blonde hair holds a wispy brunette damsel. “I take it with a title like ‘Burning Tenderness’ it goes in romance?” Joel winks. You’d never imagine you would ever see someone like him joke.  

“Well, I’d fire you on the spot if you placed it in non-fiction.”

His bellowing laugh echoes across your classroom. You like hearing him laugh. 

The library is set up a half hour before opening thanks to yours and Joel’s expeditious work.

You take a seat on the edge of your desk to rest your knees.  “I’ve never gotten done this early before. Between your help earlier this week and today I feel like I owe you something. Is there any way I could repay you for your kindness?” 

He sighs, glancing back at your mural. “Those bluebells you painted,” he inhales a large breath, “do you think you could paint some of those for me in my house?” 

“Oh my, I’d love to,” your face lights with a smile. You can’t believe he’s asking this of you. “I can start it anytime.”

“D’you want to come over Monday after you’re done at the school? I told Ellie I’d spend the day with her tomorrow.” 

“That sounds great,” you reply, not believing your luck that Joel Miller is inviting you over to his house.

“Great. Should probably head out and start my day. Taking this as payment for my work today,” he says holding up a book.

“‘As I Lay Dying?’ Didn’t pin you as a Faulkner fan,” you muse, opening your logbook to note the title down.

“Liked the horse on the cover.” 

“You’re so Texas. It’s a good book, enjoy it Joel.”

“See you Monday. Good luck today.” 

“Yes, Monday,” you respond, trying not to smile too hard. “Thanks again for all your help.”

“Course,” he nods before walking out the door. 

Today’s going to be a great day, it already started out better than you ever could have hoped.

Back home after a busy day you sit in your favorite chair with your cats on your lap and sketch bluebells until you fall asleep with your pencil in hand.

[comicaurora]

Hi! I finally got the chance to read Aurora a bit ago. It's a wonderful story--all I was expecting and better! I was particularly amazed and delighted by the artwork and visual mechanics used to tell the story, so I wrote a post to yell about how cool it is and break some of it down. (No criticism, just praise.) I'm mostly a hobbyist, so I'm hoping I've done it justice.

That said: zero pressure to read it or respond to this ask. Normally I wouldn't send it since I tagged, but I know Tumblr's notifs are a mess and things get lost very easily. I've been in both the "one (1) word of praise will feed me for a year" and the "oh gods don't talk about my writing/art because anything that seems Off will break my brain" modes before, and I absolutely don't want to push or make you uncomfortable!

If you are comfortable, however, I wanted to ask about your use of what I'm assuming are Screen and blending modes in sound effect words. (I'm only guessing that's the technique, though, so I could be totally wrong about how it's done! I'm mostly experienced in image manipulation in Photoshop.) Making them semi-transparent over the actions is genius :) What inspired you to do that, and are there specific techniques you use to make it work?

Same questions go for using specific colors to distinguish different characters' words and actions. I really noticed it in the cave sequence with Falst and Dainix, since their colors are so vivid in the dark (ex. Falst's little swats and Dainix's swooping kick at 1.20.9). It lends excellent clarity to busy scenes.

Thanks! Have a lovely day, enjoy your break, and happy holidays <3

You're correct about the technique! "Screen" is the blend mode I use most often for sound effects. I stumbled on it mostly through trial and error - I love how sound effects add depth to a comic panel, but it's very easy for them to obscure the art in a way I find counterproductive, so "Screen" lets me put the sound effect directly over the origin of the sound while still letting it be visible through the word. Early chapters didn't have it as much-

Most of the sound effects in early chapters are just solid colors with reduced opacity if I'm feeling fancy. But I started figuring it out around chapter 8 and 9, because Falst is kind of a sound-effect-heavy guy, especially in his fight scenes.

In order to make sure they don't impede the visibility of the action, I'll often soft-erase the top or bottom half of the SFX to reduce its opacity while still leaving it readable.

I'll usually double that up with an outline on the SFX so it's still readable. This is an especially important consideration if the SFX goes over an area of the background that's very bright or glowing.

Color-coding the speed lines and SFX to the character or force causing them isn't a hard and fast rule, but I like using it (in part because it's a habit from the OSP illustrations, where every character has a single pop of color in their lineart) mostly because it sort of codes every sound to make it clear where it's emanating from, or the general feeling of the sound. Since I normally do character-colors for SFX, something like this stands out more jarringly-

Which it's supposed to, but a big lightning strike doesn't register as anything too worrying because it's just Tess up to her usual shenanigans.

It's also very useful for magic effects, because each form of magic has its own associated palette.

And when I had a very complicated fight scene in a dark environment, I used the texture pattern I'd already made for the monster to color its SFX, so when I Screened them onto the panels they didn't obscure too much while still communicating "this is something else."

Changing the weight, lined-vs-not-lined, and opacity of the SFX words also helps to communicate that not every sound has the same feeling. A strong motion is solid and aggressive, but a crackling, unstable sound is more ephemeral and staticky.

It's definitely been a process of learning as I go - looking back at the earlier chapters I can actually see when I first tried various tricks I now use regularly, like doubling and distorting an SFX to produce the effect of a camera-shaking impact. I haven't really seen any other comics that do it like I do, probably because most other comics follow a more traditional production pipeline where text bubbles and sound effects get locked into the composition early, before the inking stage, because traditional physical comics don't have digital-art layers to play with. Adding sound effects to a page is almost the last thing I do before exporting them, and that only works because digital art and layers allow for a ton of flexibility.

[kingcrow01]

DC/Marvel Pool Noodle Party 2024

Week 5 | Mercs & Murder Husbands

Marc Spector & Harley Quinn, 0 fics!

@dc-marvel-crossovers

Here’s the outline of the event for those interested. TLDR, This event celebrates relationship tags that have less than 30 works on ao3, both platonic and romantic. The rarest of rarepairs!

Inspired by Harley harassing interacting with Marc and Damian in chapter 20 of in labyrinths of reflections by @blackkatmagic, specifically these lines:

“Fuck the hell off,” he growls, and gets a hand on her face as she tries to kiss his mask. She’s wearing a lot of lipstick, and he'd rather not run around the rest of the night with a black lip-print on his face. 

and

Harley blinks at him, big eyes and blond pigtails and smeared makeup that makes her look like a raccoon with a hangover, and then laughs. 

Ho-ly-shit, I cannot begin to express how happy I am with this piece! Initially I was having a hard time with MK’s suit, to the point that I was contemplating just dropping the whole project. (I hate drawing superhero suits, why do I keep on doing this to myself) Like always, all it came down to was retaking my ref and utilizing that handy-dandy line of action, and I finished it pretty easily after that.

Damian was a last minute add-on, and I wanted to draw him on Marc’s right side and a head taller (kids are bigger than you think!) but I ran out of room on the page. I ran into the same problem with Harley’s mallet; I wanted it to be bigger, but with the angle it had to sit at to rest against her thigh, I kept it on the smaller side. 

This piece has made it very clear how limiting my sketchbooks’ size is. For example, I have an idea for another week in this event, but it literally wouldn't fit in this sketchbook so I’m not going to make it. Digital art 1: traditional, 0.

I tried out a new lining style as well, and I’m never going back. Before, I was making every line the same width, but it’s SO much more impactful with alternating line thickness! I attached the lined final sketch below. Do you see how much of a difference it makes?? (Written early May, so I've been using this style since.)

Details:

I think it’s silly that Harley’s boots are covered in blood, but not her actual weapon lol

Harley is as tall as she is because she’s standing on her toes in platform boots

The tattoo on Harley’s midsection is of ivy leaves (though, it’s not poison ivy) as a sort of homage to Ivy. Not that she’s dead or anything. They’re just. Lovers. So, tattoo.

I got to put NO WORK into shading the black parts of MK’s suit, and that was FABULOUS

I wanted to give her colored shoe laces, because I love small details like that. I would love to give characters any color of laces, but some of them seem to have negative meanings, especially on Doc Martens, so I went the safe route and gave her purple laces, which represents gay pride. Yes, I know she’s bisexual, but I felt like I didn’t have many options.

[latinasforace]

Hidden feelings

A/N: update!!! ngl i hate being the reader & having to wait for an update haha so i’ll try to be quick with it. Also cuz i enjoy writing this. FORGOT TO MENTION. THIS AU & SOME OF ITS IDEAS ARE HEAVILY INSPIRED BY ARTIST @/_ceceru ON TWITTER. So definitely check your their school au one piece art to get a visual of the story :D it’s so cute. also ignore the shit editing i’m not use this tumblr stuff…

warnings: none as of yet..?

pairing: Luffy x Fem Reader

WC: 4.8k

part 1 here!!!!!

Chapter 2: Flow

The morning sun rays went through the curtains of your room, gently waking you from her sleep. You rubbed eyes and stretched, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. Today was Friday, and it was the day you planned to return Luffy’s hat.

You got out of bed and started with your usual morning routine. You brushed your teeth, washed your face, applied your usual makeup, and dressed in your school uniform. As you fixed up your hair for today, you glanced at Luffy’s yellow hat resting on your desk. You had spent a good part of the previous evening mending it, making sure it looked as good as new.

With a deep breath, you picked up the hat and placed it carefully in your bag. You went downstairs, had a quick breakfast, said goodbye to your family and headed out the door to catch the bus to school. The streets were bustling with students and commuters, and the atmosphere was lively, everyone excited for the weekend ahead.

At school, you went through your usual day. You attended her classes, took notes, and did your best to focus, but your mind kept drifting to the certain yellow hat in your bag. During lunch, the cafeteria was buzzing with activity. You spotted Luffy sitting with his friends, the Straw Hats club, their table lively and full of laughter.

You took a deep breath and started walking towards them, but as you got closer, your anxiety took over. The thought of approaching Luffy in front of all his friends felt overwhelming. You turned around and went to by your lunch mate’s table instead. They greeted you with kind gestures but didn’t bother you throughout the period, sensing your feelings of frustration and irritation.

Throughout the day, you tried to find the right moment to approach him, but he was always surrounded by people. Each time you gathered the courage to walk up to him, your nerves got the better of you.

Finally, the last bell of the day rang, signaling the end of school. Students started to disperse, eager to begin their weekend. You gathered you belongings and decided to make one last attempt. You walked through the emptying hallways, your heart pounding.

Near the bathrooms, you saw Luffy standing alone, adjusting his backpack. This was your chance. You took a deep breath and approached him, your hands nervously trembling slightly.

"Uh, Luffy?" you called out softly.

He turned around, his usual grin lighting up his face. "Oh, hey, Y/N! What’s up?"

You reached into your bag and pulled out his signature yellow hat. "I, um, found this yesterday. It was under a bench in the courtyard, so I took it home and fixed it up for you. It was really teared up from the cap part.”

Luffy’s eyes widened in surprise and delight. "No way! You found it? Thank you so much!" He took the hat from your hands, examining it closely. "Wow, it looks brand new!"

You smiled, feeling a sense of relief. "I’m glad you like it."

Luffy looked at you with genuine gratitude. "You’re really amazing, Y/N. Hey, how about I get you a drink from the vending machine as a thank you?"

Before you could respond, he continued, "Actually, you know what? Let’s go grab something to eat. There’s a small restaurant near the school, you know the pirate seafood themed one. My friends kinda busy right now, so it’ll be just us."

Your eyes widened in surprise. "Um, that sounds great, but—"

Luffy didn’t wait for you to even finish. "Awesome! Meet me there in about an hour, okay?" He gave you a quick wave and jogged off, leaving you standing there, stunned.

As you made her way home to drop off your bag, change out your uniform and freshen up, you couldn’t believe what had just happened. You are going to have dinner with Luffy, alone. A mix of excitement and nervousness filled you, but you knew this was a chance to get to know him better and maybe even become friends.

The sun was setting as you walked to the restaurant, a tiny spark of hope igniting in your heart.

~

You arrived at the small seafood restaurant near the school a little early. It was a cozy place with a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The soft hum of conversation and the scent of delicious food filled the air, making you feel slightly more at ease. You chose a table by the window and sat down, nervously fidgeting with your hands.

After a few minutes, the door swung open, and Luffy walked in, his usual bright smile on his face. He spotted you and made his way over, waving enthusiastically. "Hey, Y/N! Thanks for waiting."

You smiled shyly. "No problem, Luffy. I just got here myself."

Luffy plopped down in the seat across from you, looking around the restaurant with curiosity. "This place looks great! I’ve always wanted to try it."

You nodded. "Mhm, it’s really nice. I’ve heard their food is amazing."

A waiter came by to take their orders, and Luffy, with his usual enthusiasm, ordered a variety of dishes, making you chuckle. You opted for something simple, feeling a bit more relaxed as she watched Luffy’s excitement.

As you both waited for their food, Luffy leaned forward, his eyes shining with curiosity. "So, Y/N, tell me about yourself. I mean, I see you around school, but we’ve never talked at all.”

You felt a bit nervous but was glad for the opportunity to share. "Well, there’s not much to tell. I like reading and studying. I like to hang out with my friends after school, uh.” You slightly lied, not finding the correct answers that will please him so you made something up.

Luffy nodded, listening intently. "That’s cool. I like hanging out with my friends too. We have a LOT of fun together. Hmm do you have any hobbies?"

You thought about it for a moment. "I like drawing and painting. It’s a nice way to relax and express myself."

Luffy’s eyes lit up. "That’s awesome! You should show me your drawings sometime. I bet they’re really good."

Your face slightly warmed at the replied, feeling flattered. "Maybe I will."

Your conversation flowed naturally, with Luffy sharing funny stories about his friends and their adventures, making you laugh. You found yourself feeling more comfortable, enjoying his company and the way made you feel at ease.

When your food arrived, you both dug in with enthusiasm. Luffy’s excitement over the dishes was contagious, and you couldn’t help but smile at his reactions. You shared bites of your meals, laughing and talking about their favorite foods.

As you finished your meals, Luffy leaned back in his chair, looking content. "This was really fun, Y/N. I’m glad we did this. And we ate really really good.”

You nodded, feeling a warm sense of happiness. "Me too, Luffy. Thank you for inviting me."

Luffy grinned. "Hey, anytime! We should hang out more often. You’re really cool, Y/N.”

Your heart fluttered at his words. "I’d like that."

You both split and paid the bill and then left the restaurant, walking side by side under the evening sky. The streets were quiet, and the stars were just slightly starting to appear, creating a scenery.

As you walked, Luffy turned to you. “Thanks again for finding my hat and fixing it up. It really means a lot to me. Like a lot. It’s from a special someone, you know.”

You smiled. "It was my pleasure, Luffy. I’m glad I could help."

You reached the corner where you guys would part ways, and Luffy stopped, looking at you with a sincere expression. “You know, you’re kinda cute, Y/N.”

Luffy gave you a quick, friendly hug, catching you even more off guard and rushing to this way. Before you could even respond, he turned and sprinted towards the bus stop that was different from yours, waving as he went. “See you tomorrow, Y/N! Oh wait— Cya Monday!”

“And don’t forget to meet my friends soon!” He yelled out from the distance before slowing down and riding on his bus home.”

You watched him run off, feeling warmness in your chest. This evening had been more than you could have hoped for. You had spent time with Luffy, shared laughs and stories, and felt a connection growing between you both.

As you made your way home, you couldn’t stop smiling. This was probably just the beginning, and you looked forward to what the future held. For now, you cherished the memories of your first little dinner together.

~

The weekend flew by in a blur of activity. You spent Saturday shopping with your siblings, trying to find clothes that suited your style. You had experienced a small crisis last time, picking out an outfit when you went out with Luffy, and wanted to be more prepared in the future. As you browsed through racks of clothes, she visualized different outfits, hoping to make it easier to plan ahead. You also were in need of some makeup products to try out new looks and enhance it. Your siblings also offered their opinions, turning the shopping trip into a fun bonding experience.

Sunday was a mix of chores, homework, and relaxation. You tackled your assignments in the evening, making sure everything was ready for the upcoming week. Despite the busyness, you still felt a warm, happy glow from Friday’s dinner with Luffy. The memory of your time together lingered, making you smile every time you thought about it.

Monday morning arrived, and you went through your usual routine. You got dressed in your uniform, and applied your makeup, doing a little more than usual going out for a different makeup style. You felt more confident about your appearance. The school day began like any other, and you headed to your locker to gather your things for class.

As you were busy organizing your books, you heard commotion down the hall. It was Luffy was running around, fooling with his friends Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji. Their laughter echoed through the corridor, and you chuckled at their antics.

Suddenly, Luffy came barreling towards you. Before you could react, he ran into you, knocking you to the ground. Your books scattered across the floor, and you looked up in shock. He had clearly seen you in the hallways so you didn’t think you would get caught up in the commotion or be in the way, and left completely caught off guard.

Sanji immediately rushed over to you, scolding Luffy. “Oi, Luffy! Watch where you’re going! You can’t just run into a lady like that!”

He offered his hand to help you up, his expression full of concern. “Are you okay, Miss? That was quite a tumble.”

You nodded, accepting his hand and getting you to your feet. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Luffy scratched his head, looking sheepish. “Sorry about that, Y/N. I didn’t mean to knock you over.”

Sanji continued to fuss over her, making sure she wasn’t hurt. “You need to be more careful, Luffy. You could’ve seriously harmed such a beautiful girl.”

Luffy grinned, seemingly unfazed by the scolding. “Hey, guys, this is Y/N. She’s the girl I told you about from Friday.”

Usopp’s eyes widened, and he elbowed Luffy playfully. “Oh, so this is the girl you went on a date with?”

Luffy laughed, waving off the comment. “It wasn’t a date, Usopp. We just had dinner together.”

Usopp smirked. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Luffy.”

Luffy turned back to you, introducing you to his friends. “Y/N, this is Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji. Guys, this is Y/N.”

They all greeted you warmly. Usopp gave you a friendly wave, Chopper smiled shyly, and Sanji bowed slightly, his demeanor polite. “Nice to meet you, Y/N.”

Usopp grinned. “You should sit with us at lunch, Y/N. It’ll be fun.”

Chopper nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, you should! We’d love to get to know you better.”

Luffy didn’t wait for her to respond. “Yeah, come sit with us! Uh you usually sit with Vivi right?? She’ll be okay with it.”

You felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. You had always admired the close-knit group of friends from afar and now had the chance to join them. “Okay, I’d like that.”

Luffy’s grin widened. “Great! See you at lunch then.”

As they went their separate ways to class, you couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement. You had just been pulled into Luffy’s world, and the prospect of getting to know his friends better made your heart race. The morning had started with a bit of chaos, but it was turning out to be an unexpectedly wonderful day.

The day flew by and when lunchtime finally arrived you made your way to the cafeteria, your heart pounding with anticipation. You spotted the usual table where Luffy and his friends gathered, filled with laughter and lively conversation. Taking a deep breath, she approached the table.

Luffy waved over at you enthusiastically. “Y/N! Over here!”

You walked over, feeling a mix of shyness and excitement. The group made room for you, and you sat down next to Luffy. “Hi, everyone.”

Most of them greeting you with the kind smiles.

The table was full of energy and chaos. Luffy and Usopp were animatedly discussing their latest adventure, while Chopper listened with wide-eyed wonder. Sanji was busy serving the cafeteria line, his duty as a volunteered chief in the school.

Y/N also noticed Nami and Robin sitting together, engaged in conversation. Franky was tinkering with something, his mechanical hand making small adjustments, while Brook strummed a soft tune on his guitar. Zoro, as usual, was napping in his seat, his head resting on his folded arms.

Nami looked up and smiled warmly at Y/N. “Hi, Y/N. I’m Nami. I’ve heard from you before from Vivi.”

Robin nodded in agreement. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Robin. You seem like a very interesting person.”

You felt herself light up under their attention. “Nice to meet you both.”

Sanji, ever the gentleman, made his way to the table and placed an organized and appetizing plate in front of you. “Here you go, Y/N. Enjoy!” While motioning over

to Nami and Robin’s side and also placing their plates down with utensils.

“Hmph. No fair Sanji only bothers to serve the girls.” Usopp grumbled while getting up to line up for a plate.

Luffy and Chopper running behind him as well while chanting “food! food!”

As lunch continued, you felt herself becoming more comfortable. The infamous friend group included you in their conversations, making you feel like part of the group. You laughed at Usopp’s exaggerated stories, listened to Chopper’s excitement about his latest medical class studies, and even joined in when they talked about their favorite foods.

Luffy was his usual cheerful self, making sure you felt included and comfortable. He talked about his friends and the soccer team, explaining how much he loved the sport. “Soccer’s the best! You should come watch our game sometime.”

You smiled. “I might just do that then.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up. “Ahaha. You should meet the rest of the team too.”

The bell ring and as they all got up to head to their next classes, Luffy turned to you with a grin. “See? Told you it’d be fun. You should sit with us every day.”

You smiled back, feeling grateful for his kindness. “Yeah, it was. Thanks, Luffy.”

You headed to class and continued on with your day. Even if before you had noticed some of Luffy’s friends in your classes, you had never approached them. Since you didn’t know them and they didn’t know you, they were just any other classmate although you observed them more than others.

However, now that you were introduced to his gang, some of them now approached you in class. Starting with Nami, whom you have majority of classes with.

It was during AP Geography and Human Studies, that she approached you first. “Hey Y/N. Let’s sit together from now on. I don’t really like the people I sit with in this class.” She mentioned while taking a seat to the always empty chair next to you in class.

“Ah okay,” You replied softly. You didn’t mind her sitting with you at all, infact you hoped she would now that you both know each other. You always had a feeling you would get along with Nami, you were intrigued and inspired by her fashion and her beauty. Alongside her leadership skills and her intelligence. She’s the smartest student in this class, geography being her strongest subject probably.

“You know, you don’t have to be so tense with me. You’re always so quiet and keeping replies short. You can losen up around me. I promise I won’t judge. I want to be your good friend as well.” She motioned, with a gentle smile on her. Her pretty and expressive brown eyes gazing, seemingly analyzing you.

You shy away from her stare and replied, “Mhm okay. Thank you Nami. I want to be your good friend as well. I really admire you, especially your looks.” You hummed softly.

“Aw really? Thanks. I try you know. If you need any tips just let me know like…” She listed some out and you listened attentively. Afterwards, Mr. Cobra, Vivi’s father, made his way to his desk and settled down the class to begin the lesson. Nami and you stopped your conversation and quickly opened your notes to begin.

After the bell rung and the class period ended, you said your goodbyes to Nami for the day since you won’t be seeing her in your last few classes and rushed out to reach the PE locker room before the warning bell rings.

After changing out of your regular uniform and on top your PE one, you made your way to the gymnasium.

You usually just wandered off, never really grouping with other students and letting Mr Shanks just group you in with anybody.

You were standing there, distanced away from others as Mr Shanks explained the rules of the game you’ll be playing today.

You heard noise behind you and look back to see Zoro slowly walking to the circle formed of students in the middle of the gym. He nodded at your direction, his way of greeting and got back to listening to Shank’s instructions.

Zoro was in this class as well, however he was often very late, due to getting “lost” on the way here. You had no clue how he would get lost, sure, the school was fairly big but there was clear signs everywhere of where everything was and directions given out. It was almost halfway through the school year already. Either way. Mr Shanks always left him off the hook and consequence of getting a tardy since Zoro has a defense position on the soccer team, which Shanks coaches.

You hoped you both can get along later on so you won’t feel as alone as you feel in this class, having no companions to practice with and in general, talk while working out. You have observed Zore before and he isn’t really one to talk unless he feels comfortable around you like you seen when he walks with Luffy and Nami in the hallways, fooling around and bickering.

Shank’s whistle broke your train though and signified to get in positions for the game for today. You joined your classmates on the side of the gym, ready to give your best effort. Shanks had a way of making every activity feel like an adventure, his laughter echoing across the gym building as he encouraged everyone to push their limits and have fun.

~

The day flew by in a blur of lectures, assignments, and fleeting interactions. You navigated your classes with a focused determination.

As the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, you mentally reviewed your upcoming challenges. Tomorrow was going to be a kinda busy day, with a presentation for Biology with Mr. Jinbei and a chemistry quiz for Mr. Caesar Clown. You felt a familiar twinge of nervousness but also a sense of readiness. You had prepared thoroughly, and while the thought of presenting in front of the class made you stomach flutter, you knew she could handle it.Gathering your things, you made your way to her locker and then we’re ready to go home.

You exited the school building, your backpack feeling heavier than usual with the chem book in there needed for future later today. The day had been long and stressful, filled with classes and looming quizzes. You put on your headphones, scrolling through your playlist and settled for a soothing track to calm your mind. While you like to observe your surroundings and take in all visual and sound, you also often needed music playing in your ears to ease you up.

Lost in your own thoughts, you didn’t notice the group of your newly made friends gathered near the school entrance until you heard your name being called.

“Y/N!” Luffy’s voice was unmistakable, full of enthusiasm. You turned to see him jogging towards you, his friends following closely behind.

“Hey, Y/N!” Nami waved, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement. “We’re going to get boba drinks. Wanna join us?”

“It’s all last minute,” Luffy added, grinning widely. “Nami was craving it, and now we’re all going together.”

You hesitated for a moment, your initial instinct to retreat into your comfort zone fighting with the opportunity to spend more time with them. But the inviting smiles on their faces made the decision easier.

“Okay, I’d love to,” you replied, a small smile tugging at your plumped lips.

The group walked to the nearby boba shop, the lively chatter making you feel a part of something special, again. You noticed Zoro trailing behind, looking half-sleepy, while Sanji animatedly discussing some food recipes with Robin, who listened with her usual calm and attentive demeanor, with Franky’s hand in hers. Brook and him engaged in a playful debate about music, and Usopp was excitedly talking about a new gadget he was working on.

Your back also felt lighter than before. Before making the sightly distanced walk to the boba shop, Sanji had offered to carry your backpack, carrying his and Nami’s as well. You were about to declined until Luffy just snatched it off your back and carried it for you, grinning cutely at you.

Continuing, he walked alongside you, chatting about his upcoming soccer match this weekend. “Shouldn’t you be practicing today? I thought practices was required every day after school.” You asked curiously.

“Oh yeah, we did but Shanks had something after school. So practice was cancelled today.” Luffy replied.

“You should come watch us practice tomorrow tho! And come to our game this weekend. Shanks always takes us out to eat if we win, and i’m sure we will so i’ll sneak you in with us.” Luffy added on, with his signature mischievous grin on his face and a little twinkle in his eyes.

“Mhm, i’ll be there. I’ll have to ask my parents for permission if it’s during the weekend tho.” You replied back, with more confidence than usual that ignited from his invitation. Your heart felt light and bubbly.

At the boba shop, you all crowded around the counter, each of them choosing their favorite flavors. You, feeling a bit overwhelmed, let them decide for you.

“Get her the taro milk tea,” Nami suggested. “It’s a safe choice.”

When their drinks arrived, they found a large table to accommodate everyone. The conversation flowed effortlessly, with Nami and Robin making sure you felt included. The group’s dynamic shone through. Luffy, being his usual playful self, grabbed a handful of boba balls and stuck them to his teeth, making silly faces. Nami and Usopp laughed, quickly snapping pictures with their phones.

“Hey, Y/N, you’re gonna love this,” Luffy said, his voice slightly muffled by the boba balls.

You chuckled softly, feeling a warm sense of belonging. Despite the chaos, there was a sense of harmony among them, and you felt yourself relax.

“So, Y/N, what do you think?” Nami asked, gesturing to the taro milk tea.

You took a sip, the creamy sweetness spreading across your tongue. “It’s really good,” you said, smiling.

As you continued to chat and enjoy the drinks, Luffy and Usopp started a mini food fight with the boba balls, much to Sanji’s chagrin. Zoro, who had snapped off his sleepy mode joined in, adding to the chaos. Franky laughed, encouraging their antics while Robin watched with an amused smile and Brook laughing with his silly ‘Yohoho’ echoing throughout the shop.

You found yourself laughing along, your earlier stress melting away. The group vibrant energy and camaraderie were infectious, and you felt grateful to be a part of it.

You noticed Chopper beside you had pulled out his chemistry notes, flipping through them with a determined look. You seeing this, decided to join him, grabbing some of your notes and reviewing for the quiz.

“You’re really serious about this,” You remarked, impressed.

“Of course! I want to do well,” Chopper said, his eyes shining with determination.

You nodded, feeling a kinship with the little brown haired guy. As you both studied, the others continued their lively conversations, occasionally glancing over and offering their good-lucks for tomorrow’s quiz.

After a while, Usopp pulled out his phone, scrolling through the pictures they had taken. “HA, send me that one. Luffy looks so stupid.”Nami laughed, while pulling out her phone, which you noticed had a clear case and a small polaroid of Vivi decorated with hearts.

“Hey, Y/N, wanna be in your group chat?” Usopp asked, turning to you.

“um yeah,” you softly replied, nodding your head.

“Give me your account info then ,” Usopp said, grinning. “I’ll add you to it. We use it a lot to keep in touch and plan stuff.”

Feeling a bit overwhelmed but touched by their inclusiveness, you gave Usopp her details. He quickly added you to the chat, and soon enough, her phone buzzed with new notifications.

“Welcome to the crew!” Usopp announced, giving you a thumbs up.

As the evening progressed, the boba drinks were finished amidst laughter and animated conversations. Nearly three hours had passed in the cozy boba shop, and outside, the sun had begun its descent, casting a warm glow over the autumn-colored trees.

With the daylight fading, the group started to gather their things, mindful of the time. Nami and Robin, ever the nurturing duo, insisted that you don’t take the bus home with the evening growing late.

“It’s not safe,” Nami stated firmly, her concern evident in her expression.

“I agree. Let us get you an Uber,” Sanji chimed in, offering his phone.

Luffy, who had offered to walk with you part of the way to the bus station, looked slightly disappointed at the plan changing.

“Aw, c’mon guys, she’ll be fine,” Luffy protested, though his concern was genuine.

“It’s better this way, Luffy,” Robin reassured him with a gentle smile. “We’ll make sure she gets home safely.”

Reluctantly, Luffy nodded, understanding their point. Sanji ordered an Uber for you, ensuring the destination was set correctly before you handled the phone back.

“Make sure you get home safe, okay?” Luffy said earnestly, his usual carefree demeanor momentarily replaced by a more serious tone.

You nodded, touched by his concern. “Thank you, Luffy. I had a great time today.”

“Me too!” Luffy grinned, his usual cheerfulness returning. “You better come next time we go out again.”

With a wave to the others and a final thank you, you stepped into the waiting Uber. The ride home was quiet, the events of the day replaying in your mind. You felt a warmth in your chest, a mix of happiness and gratitude for the new friendships that was forming.

~

Arriving home, you settled into her room, feeling content. changing to your pijamas and climbing to your bed. You just layed down, enjoying the silence that your home offered as late night approached. Until you felt vibrations coming from your phone, notifications from the LINE app popping up. It was the group chat Usopp had added you to.

You browsed through the messages, saving the silly pictures Usopp took of Luffy earlier. Giggling at some of their funny remarks and insults to one other. You sent Sanji a quick thank you text for the uber he ordered for you earlier, and receiving a corny reply, ‘Anytime Y/N gorgeous 😍!’ followed by a long lines full of hearts and more romantic emojis.

Then Nami complained to shut up because she needs to sleep. You turned off your phone and settled it down, while going to the washroom and starting your night routine of skin care and brushing your teeth. Afterwards, you tugged into your bed and attempted to close your eyes and fall into sleep.

Your mind drifting back to the whirlwind of events that had recently brought you closer to Luffy and his friends. Reflecting on the day, it had been filled with laughter, camaraderie, and unexpected moments—a day you will fondly recall as you drifted into dreams of your subconscious.

a/n: is this too corny or too slow? 😣 Feedback pls except don’t be too mean yall. Also will try to have more longer updates!!! just cuz. Thank you!

[amyispxnk]

My Kind of Woman

Chapter 1: Special.

Series Masterlist

Series summary - Your song captivates Joel the second he hears you that night in Jackson, but he struggles to work up the courage to confess his feelings. With some (very heavy) encouragement from Ellie and Tommy, you two get closer and closer until he finally thinks he’s ready.

Chapter summary - You and Joel finally sit down together after a year of stolen glances.

A/N: OH MY GOD IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I’VE WRITTEN A FIC I MISSED IT SM. Let’s all collectively pray that I actually finish this series, btw. It kind of just came to me earlier today and I barely have anything planned but.. you know me by now.

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: alcohol, light language, (kind of) fluff, nothing much really in this chapter

DO NOT COPY THIS FIC IN ANY WAY PLS AND TY.

“Come on man. We’ve been here for almost two years and you still haven’t made any friends. I see how you look at her- just say something! It is actual torture having to watch you dance around people like this.” Ellie groans dramatically, trying to kick some sense into the man who sits across from her. Joel just grunts, continuing to eat his stew as she looks blankly at him. “She’s nice enough.” She adds after a moment, trying to get him to say something.

After more silence, she speaks again with an exaggerated sigh, “I guess I’ll just go talk to her then, tell her that my old man has a big, fat crush on her. Maybe then you two can-” her smirk falters when Joel interrupts her.

“Don’t you dare go doin’ that,” he grumbles “Y’ gon’ make me look stupid-”

“So you talk to her then! Stop moping around all the time.” Ellie concludes, before standing up and saying goodbye, going to clear her tray and giving him a look before leaving the mess hall.

Joel watches her go before closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. First, Tommy was on his ass about making some friends - “You’re scarin’ people, y’know. Givin’ everyone death stares when you walk around, being so.. withdrawn all the time. It’d do ya some good,” he’d told Joel one evening at the Tipsy Bison - and now Ellie was too. And, knowing Ellie, that kid wouldn’t be as patient, probably already concocting some sort of plan to force you and Joel together.

As he leans his head back and mulls over his options, he looks out the window. Of course you’re out there, playing with the kids of Jackson. You’re one of the most popular people in Jackson, always being friendly and knowing just about everyone.

..Except him, of course. You’ve had some small chats with him, but you never really see him. He sees you though, having been.. observing you for the past year, keeping his distance - being respectful, in his eyes, being a wuss, in Ellie’s - and he knows enough about you to know that he probably has no chance with you.

You’re funny, sweet, fucking stunning, and he’s seen multiple guys try to approach you at the bar. Younger, more attractive guys. Mainly, you help teach kids things like art and music at the Jackson school, and you also do patrols a few times a week. On some nights you also sing at the Tipsy Bison when there are events and dances. The band will play, often with you as the lead singer. He always makes sure he’s there when you are.

The first time he saw you was on one of his very first nights in the Tipsy Bison. Tommy had dragged him along, Ellie going too, with promise of a fun night.

He came mainly to keep an eye on Ellie and to get some alcohol in his system, not expecting anything ‘fun’ to happen. Boy, was he wrong.

It had been around half an hour of him nursing his whiskey in the corner of the room when you came onto stage, million-dollar smile on your face as you spoke into the microphone.

“Good evening, Jackson!” You began, already getting a loud cheer from the crowd of people there that night. “It’s great to be singin’ for you again, you know I missed ya! Now, tonight, we got a few songs lined up, but this first one is a special request from Mister Tommy Miller over there!” You had said, pointing over to Tommy who was sitting with Joel, the younger brother grinning widely at you.

The band started and you began to sing one of Joel’s favourite songs from before the outbreak - somehow, it sounded even better in your voice. Joel glared at Tommy when he realised what he had done, and Tommy just shrugged before looking back at you. He couldn’t stay mad at him though, because by the end of it he was entranced by the sweet melody of your voice and how gorgeous you looked singing your heart out under the lights.

You were beaming at the audience after finishing as they showered you with applause, though it took Joel a second to actually start clapping and stop staring at you.

He tried denying it, but, as cheesy as it sounds, it was love at first sight for him.

It scared him, definitely. It had barely been a year since he lost Tess, and although he wouldn’t go as far as saying they were in love, it was the closest thing he’d had to it in decades. To think he even liked you from just hearing you sing one song.. that fucking terrified him.

Which is why he kept his distance for so long. He didn’t know what to do with himself when he realised he actually liked you. He hadn’t had any sort of connection other than Ellie and Tommy in so long, and they were his family. You, though.. you were so different.

He sighed deeply before opening his eyes again, finishing his meal as he watched you smile and laugh in the snow through the window.

A week later, Tommy manages to convince Joel to come to the Tipsy Bison again, promising ‘no funny business’ to go on. Joel isn’t sure he’d really mind.

Time goes by quietly, a simple Monday afternoon not having much going on for them, but then you turn up. He sees you as soon as you walk through the doors, an unfamiliar tiredness in your eyes. It looks like you’ve been on a long patrol.

You look around before noticing Tommy and Joel, walking over with a small smile.

Joel stares daggers at Tommy. “You said no funny business,” he grits, a strange panic flooding his system. Did he brush his hair this morning? Do his clothes look tidy? Did he have anything in his teeth?

“Ain’t no funny business here, brother.” Tommy grins at him, not giving him a chance to reply as you get to their table.

“Hi Tommy!” You smile, hugging him before turning to Joel. “And Joel! It’s so great to see you!”

Joel blinks at you. Fuck, you’re talking to him. He needs to say something back.

“Yeah, you too.” He mumbles, clearing his throat awkwardly.

If you pick up on his discomfort, you don’t mention it, looking around before continuing.

“Are y’all stayin’?” You ask, now leaning forward a little with your palms on the table.

“As far as I’m concerned.” Tommy replies, to which you nod. “Y’ wouldn’t mind if I sit with ya, then?” You ask.

“Not at all, darlin’.” He says, and you slide into the booth with them, starting up a conversation about what you did today, mentioning that draining patrol you just got back from.

“I’m tellin’ ya - morning patrols are like hell on earth, Tommy. ‘S not fair to be makin’ us go out at 6 am.” You groan, to which he smiles. “Nothin’ a little coffee can’t fix.” Tommy replies, which makes you perk up.

“You have coffee? Since when?” You gasp, wide-eyed at him.

“New trade opened, and since Joel here is such an addict, we got our hands on some.” He gestures to Joel, and you look over at him, a smile creeping onto your face.

“I see.. being Tommy’s brother has its perks then? Got you hoarding all the coffee for yourself?” You tease, to which Joel chuckles quietly at, sitting up a little taller.

“Not hoardin’. Nobody else has asked for any.” He tells you, looking into your eyes and trying not to get lost in them for too long.

“And if I wanted some?” You say, tilting your head sideways slightly as it rests on your palm.

“Y’ always welcome to come get some, sweetheart.” He isn’t sure what possessed him to use the pet name with you, but he’s very thankful for it as a soft crimson paints your cheeks and you bite your lip to stop yourself from grinning like an idiot. “Well, thank you.” You reply, before a man comes over to get you your drink. “Whiskey, neat please.” You tell him and he goes off to get it. Joel is pleasantly surprised by your choice. He never really thought about what you might order from the bar, but the fact that you shared the same drink of choice made you even more attractive in his eyes.

2 hours later, Tommy had gone off to handle an issue with the council and you and Joel had been talking and drinking and laughing. It’s around 3 now and he barely realises in time for his afternoon patrol, finishing off his whiskey before telling you, noticing the slight sadness that appears on your face at him having to go.

“Oh! Alright then. I’ll see you around. Have a good patrol, Joel.” You smile at him, and he offers you a small smile back.

“See ya ‘round.” He says before leaving and going back to the stables.

Later that evening, Ellie somehow figures out what went down earlier at the bar (Joel’s already planning on giving Tommy a talking to tomorrow) and makes fun of him endlessly for it, saying that he was apparently so shy when he was talking with you.

“I’d have never thought that someone could make the big, bad Joel all nervous and flustered, but she just continues to prove me wrong. She’s definitely special, huh.” Ellie grins, before bidding Joel goodnight and leaving him with his thoughts.

He hated to admit it, but Ellie was right in saying that. You were special.

Tysm for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! 💞

Next Chapter

[gejo333]

A Misunderstanding- Epilogue

Father Miguel O’Hara x Mother Spider Reader

Pt. 1

Art credit: I couldn’t find the artist. Please lmk if you know who it is.

Note: Not the full photo.

Summary: Little moments during your 9 months of pregnancy waiting for your little bundle of joy. And this time, with Miguel.

Hope you enjoy this chapter. I’m sorry I got it you you guys so late. But I hope it’s a sweet ending to this story.

I apologize for any grammatical mistakes I missed

Enjoy💕

Wc: 6.1k

____________________________________________

Month 3

The small cracks and imperfections on the ceiling have become memorized as you lay on your bed feeling miserable for the hundredth time this month. Ever since you found out you were pregnant about a month ago, you have had a serious case of morning sickness.

You've been critically bored since your OB/GYN recommended bed rest during your morning sickness. And knowing Miguel, he followed the doctor's recommendation exactly, making you stay in bed or couch most of the day.

"Here, mi amor." Miguel handed you a plate of chicken nuggets and green beans. Ever since you cooked Mateo chicken nuggets weeks ago and tried one, it's the only thing you haven't thrown up. Your nose scrunches up at the site of the green beans. One thing you hated, or the baby hated, was vegetables during your morning sickness.

"You need to eat something healthy. Just please eat some of them." Miguel pleaded with you as he sat down next to you on the bed and continued working. He's been staying home most of the time to handle household duties and Mateo.

"Well, it's your baby that's making me not like them. But thank you for the food." You pout as you eat your food. Miguel chuckled at your comment as he looked at a mission report.

After you forced yourself to eat the green beans, which from Miguel's perspective was a comical sight as you made a face every time you took a bite. But half an hour later, as you leaned against Miguel for comfort as he wrapped an arm around your waist, you felt a sudden surge of nausea. But instead of rushing to the bathroom, you sat there, not needing to vomit, as your eyes grew wide in shock.

"Oh my god, I think my morning sickness is improving." You cheer as you look at Miguel with a big smile. He turns to you with the same smile as he kisses your forehead. "I'm glad to hear that, cariño."

"Now I don't have to be on constant bed rest! Finally! Maybe I can even go back to work? Not for missions, of course, cause I know that would practically give you a heart attack if I did. But at least doing some desk work?" You are pleased with Miguel. One good thing about dating the leader of Spider Society was that you didn't have to worry about missing work. But the downside, too, is that he's the leader.

"Alright, fine. Of course, I miss you at HQ, but you know why I stress about you being pregnant in such a dangerous environment." Miguel looked at you as his eyebrows furrowed and a pout on his face. He was worried for you and the baby. And you understood where he was coming from.

You cup the side of his face as you gently brush your thumb across his cheek to ease his worries.

"I know I'll be safe since you will be there to protect me. And you built Spider Society from the ground up. You know it's safe."

"But what if an anomaly broke out and hurt you both. I'll never forgive myself." Miguel continued to worry.

"Miggy, I'll be fine. I'm Spiderwoman too. Plus, if Jess can be pregnant and still do her full job, I can do mine too." Your words finally reassured him as he smiled down at you and kissed your lips lovingly. You get up from the bed to Miguel's disappointment as he wants to continue holding you in his arms. But his disappointment was quickly replaced with joy as he saw your small baby bump as you walked into the bathroom to get ready.

Today was the day that you and Miguel would reveal that you were pregnant to your friends at Spider Society and later in the day with your family.

Miguel, in his own way, was excited about the reveal to your family. But he was slightly annoyed to tell the teenage spiders and the others. Like, tell Jess. But making a thing out of it. It was 100% your idea. But since he loves you and you were his world, he didn't mind the cheesy pregnancy reveal.

The two of you went through the portal after you both were ready as you walked to Miguel's office. As you entered, you saw Jessica watching the monitors with the rest of the gang, Peter B. MayDay, Hobie, Pavitr, Ben, and Gwen.

"Y/n! We missed you! Where have you been?" Said Pavitr as he jumped down from the platform. He was helping to look at the monitors before he came to you for a hug. You happily returned the hug, ensuring he didn't feel the baby bump.

"I've been busy with some things in my universe. So I wasn't able to come to HQ this past month." You say.

"Will you be coming back?" Asked Gwen as she also came up to give you a hug. Ever since you've been back to hq since being back with Miguel, you have become a big sister/mother figure to the teenage spiders.

"I am." A big smile appeared on your face; you couldn't fight the urge to hide the surprise. Miguel saw the look on your face and chuckled, a small smile appearing as he wrapped an arm around your waist and brought you to his side.

"Wow, something must be up if a boss man is smiling like that." Hobie chuckled, noticing the change of demeanor between the two of you. You look up at Miguel as you smile up at him. He smiled at you and gestured towards the group of curious spiders with a slight move of his head.

"Hey Peter, I'm so sorry we missed Mayday's 1st birthday, two weeks ago. Here's a gift for her." You say as you hold out a spider gift bag. Peter walked over with the adorable Mayday in his arms, who was babbling to herself.

"Aw, that was sweet of you. Thank you for the gift. Look, Mayday Auntie Y/n and Uncle Miguel got you a gift." Peter said the last sentence in his baby voice as he opened the bag for her. He grabbed an adorable spider kitty stuffed animal, which made Mayday squeal in excitement. Peter handed her the stuffed animal, and she hugged it.

"I'm glad she loves it. There is actually one more gift in there for her. It's a surprise." You smile as Peter searches through the bag to find the other gift. He drops the bag as he takes out a shirt for Mayday. He looks up at you and Miguel with a shocked and happy look.

"Oh my god! You guys!" Said Peter as he hugged the both of you.

"What's going on?" Asked Ben Reilly, who was speaking everyone else's mind. Peter turns around from hugging you and Miguel as he shows the shirt to the rest of the spider gang.

Printed in red and blue text with two iconic spider logos below the text.

Spider-Baby Duo!

"Omg! No way!" Gwen cheered as she jumped for joy and hugged you again. "Congratulations!"

"Another spider, baby! I can't wait to meet the little bundle!" Pavitr jumped for joy. Jess jumped down from the platform with a big smile on her face.

"Congrats, you two." Said Jess as she hugged you two.

"Thanks, everyone. We just wanted to tell you the reason for my recent absence. But I'm happy to return to work after my painful month of morning sickness." You smile from all the excitement as you glance up to see Miguel with a smile on his face enjoying it too.

You so badly wanted to tease him for showing he enjoyed telling your friends at Spider HQ. But you decided to tease him when you returned home to save him from the embarrassment of the other spiders teasing him. Though you would miss his ears and cheeks going red.

After talking and celebrating with everyone for a bit longer, you both had to return home to pick up Mateo. You wait with Miguel outside the school as you see the kindergarten class run out of the building. A familiar little curly-haired brunette with the most adorable face as he came running to you.

"Mama, you cane to pick me up!" Mateo hugged you as he jumped for joy to see you.

"Of course, sweetie. Mama feels well enough to drop you off and pick you up from school with Papa." You say as you hug your baby boy.

"Can you hold me, mama?" Mateo asked as he tried to jump into your arms. Miguel swooped in as he grabbed Mateo and lifted him into his arms.

"Wow there, papito. Remember, no roughhousing around Mama. She's caring your brother or sister in there. But I can carry you."

"Okay." Mateo pouted as he looked down at the ground, which hurt your heart. You look at Miguel as he looks back at you with a sigh knowing what you were asking of him.

"Come here, Mateo." You open your arms as Miguel hands him to you. It had been a while since you carried him, so you noticed the weight change.

"Yay!" Mateo smiled as he wrapped his arms around your neck and rested his head on your shoulder.

After getting to your new apartment, a penthouse in the same area as your old one, Miguel paid no expense to a lavish, not two, but six-bedroom and four-bath apartment. When Miguel originally told you about the listing, you thought it was too big for a family of four. But he said he wanted to buy a bigger place when you had more children. You lightly glared at him as you were already suffering from the current pregnancy. Of course, you didn't admit to him that you would want to have one or two more children. Two keep it an even number, of course.

When you found out you were pregnant, you both began to look at apartments. Of course, you had completely forgotten that Miguel's part-time job at Alchamex gave him very deep pockets. You insisted on paying as much as possible. Still, Miguel insisted on paying it himself, saying he wanted to give this to you and his children as a gift.

When you both finally agreed on a place, you moved in almost immediately, so you didn't have to worry about moving when the baby was born.

Two hours after you got home, you and Miguel made sure the house was ready for your family to come over, mainly your sister, her husband, kids, and your parents.

It was just your family as you and Miguel went to his universe to tell his brother Gabriel and mother Conchata the news. You had met them many times before, six years ago when you were dating Miguel. After Miguel moved in three months ago, you brought Mateo to visit his paternal grandmother and uncle, who adored him. Now you go at least twice a month to visit. Of course, the last time you went a week ago, you had revealed to them your pregnancy which they were both very happy about.

As you got your last earring on, you heard the doorbell ring. As you walked to the door, Mateo rushed by you. "Let me get it!" You chuckled as you saw him rush towards the door.

"Be careful, sweetie. Don't run." You smile as he opens the door revealing your sister, her family, and your parents.

"Hi!" Mateo half-yelled as he jumped up and down as his aunt and cousins walked in. Your niece and nephew run off with Mateo to his room to play, not before giving you a hug.

"Heyy! I've barely seen you this month! I've missed my little sister! Where's Miguel?" Nora walked in and gave you a hug.

"He's in the kitchen. He'll be-speak of the devil." You chuckle as he walks into the main family room as he walks to your side. "Hey, Nora, Luke." Miguel smiled.

"Do you guys want a drink? We have red, white, or something stronger." You offered.

"What are you having?" Asked Nora, which made you almost ruin the surprise, but you remembered the white grape soda juice that you bought from a winery a while back for Mateo. But you decided to use it tonight. Just to trick your sister and parents for a bit.

"Just a white wine. Hey, mom, dad. I've missed you." You hugged your parents. "Hi, sweetheart. It's good to see you." Said your father as he hugged you.

After settling down and catching up with everyone, you made sure the kids were in the living room with everyone else. Miguel grabbed two thin boxes and handed one to your mom and your sister.

"What is this?" Nora looked at the wrapped box with a confused smile on her face. You smiled wide. As you watch, your sister and mother open the tops of the boxes. Within a few seconds, you heard your mother gasp, and your sister scream in surprise.

"Omg! I'm going to be an aunt again! Congrats, you two!" Nora got up from her seat and hugged you.

"Congrats, sweetie." Your mother said as both she and your father also got up to congratulate you and Miguel. The kids all jumped excitedly to have another kid coming to the family to hang out and play with.

Month 4

You were in your fourth month of pregnancy, and despite it only being your fourth month, you felt like you were in your sixth for how big you felt. God, why did you have to have a baby daddy who could be characterized as a giant.

As you tried to put on one of your bras, you couldn't get the clasp to close. When you finally did get it clasped, your breasts were threatening to pop out, which, within seconds, they did. You groaned in frustration as you threw the bra on the ground.

Your damn breasts have gotten too big because of your pregnancy. You didn't think you would need to go to a maternity clothing store since when you were pregnant with Mateo, you didn't need to get maternity clothing. But guess every pregnancy is different.

You walked to Miguel's closet and grabbed one of his sweatshirts and a pair of your sweatpants. You glared at yourself in the mirror, not liking your lazy outfit choice.

Arms wrapped around your waist as large hands rested on your swollen belly. Your pout turned into a smile as you looked at your boyfriend through the mirror.

"What's wrong, Hermosa?" Miguel left kisses up

your neck to your cheek to help cheer you up.

"I don't fit into my clothes anymore because of this baby. My belly has gotten larger, my breasts too." You pout. You missed your curvy figure.

"I think you look beautiful, amor. And your breasts look like they were sculpted by god himself."

You turn to face him, and he keeps his arms around you and kisses you lovingly.

"How about I take you to buy some new outfits tomorrow?" You smiled at Miguel's kind gesture as you reached on your toes to kiss him. "That would be amazing. Thank you for offering."

Miguel fell on his knees, putting his hands on your belly as he smiled. You gently combed your fingers through his dark brown hair as you gazed at him lovingly and watched him whisper sweet things to your unborn child.

A tang of guilt etched into your heart as you didn't give Miguel the experience to do this when you were pregnant with Mateo. But you were happy to be able to give him the experience with both of your second children.

A gasp escaped your lips as you pressed your hand over Miguel's, as he looked up at you with concern. You look down at Miguel with a huge smile.

"It was the baby. I felt them move."

Month 5

It was a sunny day at the beach. You relaxed in your beach chair with a cup of lemonade in your hand as you enjoyed the sun's heat.

You take out your phone and choose a song from your playlist, resting it on your stomach for the baby to hear. The ocean view was gorgeous, but the site that caught your eye was Miguel with Mateo, who helped his son find shells and sea glass. It was a mission for you and the baby.

Mateo wanted to make something out of the shells and sea glass he would find on the beach. It made your heart glow as you saw Miguel bond with his son, holding the shells, rocks, and sea glass in his hands as he followed Mateo's lead.

After a few more minutes of watching them, you noticed them returning.

"Mamma, I collected so many pretty shells! Papa will show you! He was holding them for me while I collected them." Mateo ran over to you a few strides behind him, Miguel, who sat down in the chair next to you as he grabbed a container Mateo brought and put the shells and other pretty beach objects in there. He then passed it to Mateo to show you his favorite shells.

"Those look really pretty. I can't wait to see what you create with them!" You tell Mateo as you listen to story to each shell he shows you. You smile when you feel Miguel place a kiss on your cheek.

"How are you two doing?" He asked as he took your hand in his and kissed your knuckles.

"We're both doing good." You smile as you place the hand you held on your round belly. Suddenly both your eyes widened as you looked at each other with large smiles.

"Did they just?" Miguel smiled wide as he rested the palm of his hand on your belly.

"I know! They kicked! They only seem to do that when they can hear your voice. Guess we know who will be their favorite parent." You let out a chuckle as you watch Miguel move his hand on different places of your belly, where you would then find a light flutter in the area, which meant the baby was kicking.

"Come here, Mateo. Do you want to feel your younger sibling kick?" You ask your son as he gets up from his spot on the beach towel in excitement as he comes to you. You gently take his hand and place it on your stomach. As soon as you did, Mateo giggled as he felt the baby kick.

You were happy that your family was already getting love from your unborn baby. Still, you internally pouted as you felt left out. As if your youngest child read your mind, you felt them kick where your hand was placed as you whispered back to your round belly, "I love you too."

Month 6

Miguel was running errands all over the place for the gender reveal party. Though he thought it was a bit cheesy, you loved the idea of having one, so he ensured the party would be perfect.

He set the cake down on the dining room table. Half of it was blue, and the other half pink. Once the cake was cut, you would see if the cake was pink or blue.

You walked in with Mateo after picking him up from school. Miguel smiled when he saw you as he wrapped an arm around you and kissed your lips lovingly.

"Sorry I couldn't be there to pick up Mateo with you," Miguel said as he scanned his surroundings. The main living room was filled with pink and blue decorations. You gently touched his cheek and caressed his face, which he loved.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. You had errands to run for the party, which looks amazing. Thank you, Miggy." You lean up and kiss him again, which Miguel happily accepts.

"When do we find out?" Asked Mateo as he played with one of the balloons.

"When everyone arrives and is settled, we'll announce it." Says Miguel as you both chuckle at your son's excited attitude as he jumps around.

Another hour passed as you made sure all the snacks and drinks were out on the dining table when you heard the doorbell ring. Miguel kissed your cheek as he walked to the door and opened it revealing your spider friends in casual clothing holding baby gifts.

"Y/n! Oh my god, look at you. You're glowing!" Jess smiled as she hugged you. "Here you go. Something for the baby." She handed you a bag.

"Aww, thank you. Miguel and I can't wait to open it. If you are hungry or want a drink, there’s some snacks and champagne on the dining table. How's your baby boy?"

"He's doing good. Keeps me and hubby up late at night. But I still love him to bits despite the sleep deprivation." Jess chuckled as you walked over to the dining table to set down the gift with the others; you picked up a stork-shaped cookie. You picked up two cause your hunger this month has increased tenfold.

"These are cute." Said Gwen as she came up to you both and picked up one of the pinkish-blue cupcakes. "Thanks for inviting me, Pavitr, and Hobie. We can't wait to meet the baby! Oh here! This is a gift from all three of us. We hope you like it." She hands you the bag as you hug her in thanks before putting it on a table.

"I'm sure we'll love it." You smile lovingly at her. Those three teenage spiders were so adorable.

You let Gwen go back to mingle with Hobie, Pavitr, and Jess with your sister, who had arrived with your parents and her family not too long ago.

You were about to take a bite of one of the cookies when Miguel wrapped his arm around you from behind and pulled you against him as he grabbed your cookie and took a large bite out of it. Your jaw opened in shock before a pout was placed on your lips. "Hey, that was mine." You see him smirk as you take the rest of the cookie and take a bite out of it. Miguel chuckled as he kissed your cheek.

"I know. I just wanted to see that cute pout on your face, amor." You purse your lips into a smile as you playfully roll your eyes.

"Do you want to do the reveal?" Miguel smiled down at you. Your eyes brighten as you smile, starting to feel the excitement bubble up inside you; you nod.

"Hey, everyone! It's time!" You say in excitement as you try to stay calm but fail horribly. Miguel looks at your overjoyed attitude and smiles lovingly at you. You really were the light of his life.

Miguel grabs the plate and knife as you hold the knife with him. You both turn around and cut into the cake to make a slice. As soon as you lift it up, you smile brightly at Miguel as he looks down at you with the same happy expression. You both turned around and showed off the slice of cake to everyone.

It was pink.

Month 7

You took a deep breath as you sat down in a chair and placed a hand on your large belly. You tried to distract the feeling of your stomach tightening with the sounds of kids' laughter.

You opened your eyes to see your now six year old son running around with his friends at the arcade.

"Hey, are you okay?" Georgia touched your shoulder as she looked at you in concern.

"I-I'm fine. Just feeling some cramps." You give her a reassuring smile before you feel another stomach cramp. You grab your water bottle as you take a sip of water.

"Are you sure, y/n? Aren't you having contractions? I'm going to get Miguel." Georgia said as she was about to walk away before you grabbed her arm.

"It's Braxton hicks. I-I'm fine. I've had them before. If you tell M-Miguel, he'll take me to the hospital. It's Mateo's birthday. I don't want his special day ruined because the baby got in the way." Lauren approached you as you tried to convince Georgia not to get Miguel.

"The kids were asking when to cut the- y/n? Are you okay?" Lauren gazed at you with concern.

"Y-yep. It's Braxton hicks. No need to worry. They'll p-pass." You reassure Lauren as you try to stand up. It takes you a second, but you manage to stand up. "Let's cut the cake."

"Y/n, are you sure it's Braxton hicks? When I was pregnant with Simon, I went into early labor. But I thought it was only Braxton hicks. Maybe you should go to the hospital to be safe." Lauren gently guides you to Miguel despite your protests, but Lauren was more stubborn than her wife, Georgia.

She walks you over to Miguel, who is talking to a few other parents; his gaze turns to you when he notices you coming towards him. Miguel's smile was quickly replaced with a small frown as concern grew when he saw Lauren help you walk over.

"Is everything alright, cariño? Is it the baby?" Miguel brushed some of your hair behind your ear. You would explode if one more person asked you if you were alright.

"Y-yes. It's just Braxton hicks. I-I'm fine. Let's just cut the cake."

"How long have you been feeling this way?" You lightly glared at Miguel, knowing he would take you to the hospital no matter what you said. He sent you the same glare back.

"30 minutes." You tell him.

"How far apart are they?" You roll your eyes.

"Like 30 seconds. We're not-"

"I'm taking you to the hospital." Miguel gently placed his arm around your waist as he was about to lead you out.

"Miguel, no, we are not leaving our son's birthday. I'm fine. I can wait until after the party is over." You close your eyes, feeling another cramp. You sit down in a chair in protest.

"Amor, I'll carry you to the hospital if necessary," Miguel said as you both had a stare down. You take your phone as you call the doctor's office.

"To ease your worries, I'll call the doctor." Miguel nods, admitting defeat as you put the phone to your ear.

"Yep, Doctor says it's Braxton hicks." You say to Miguel. He holds out his hand, asking to talk to the doctor. You roll your eyes as you pass him the phone. After a few minutes, he hung up the phone as you arch your eyebrow.

"Yeah, alright. It's Braxton hicks. I wanted to see if you weren't lying just so I wouldn’t take you to the hospital." You smile at him in victory as he rolls his eyes playfully with a smile and kisses your cheek.

Miguel calls for the kids saying it's time for cake. Mateo sits with his friends at the table, jumping in his seat excitedly. You get your phone out and start a video as everyone sings happy birthday.

Tears brimmed the corners of your eyes as Mateo blew out the candles. You couldn't believe he was already six years old. You remember when he was just a baby sleeping in your arms.

"What did you wish for, Mateo?" Asked Simon, Mateo's best friend.

"I wished for my baby sister and me to get along. And I wish for a Nintendo Switch." Said Mateo, which made your heart glow. You felt as if an invisible weight was lifted off your shoulders. Mateo was excited to meet his baby sister.

You couldn't wait to meet her too.

Month 8

Your due date was in three weeks. In three weeks, there will be an infant in your home. It was a Friday night, and Mateo had a playdate/sleepover after school, so you didn't have to worry about picking him up until morning.

It was also a day when Miguel had to go into HQ to work, to his annoyance as he wanted to be home just in case the baby came early. You assured him you would be fine. Since he left, you have been in the nursery, ensuring everything was perfect before the baby came. You learned from one of your many pregnancy classes that what you were doing was called nesting. When you first learned about the term, you thought it was ridiculous. But now that it's happening to you, it wasn't so silly.

It was 1 am when Miguel got home. He expected you to be asleep in their bedroom, but when he noticed a light in the nursery, he went to check it out. And there you were, sorting through diapers, clothes, and other baby products. You were facing away from the door while folding baby clothes on the changing table.

You felt Miguel wrap his arms around you and place a kiss on your neck. But you barely noticed as your mind focused on ensuring you were ready for the baby's arrival.

"It's very late; you should head to bed." His words fell deaf to your ears. Miguel pouted as he turned your head and kissed your lips lovingly, which broke your trance.

"Oh, hi, Miggy. When did you get back?" You say as you go back to folding.

"A few minutes ago. Amor, how long have you been doing this?"

"When did you leave this morning?" You asked.

"Did you rest at all? Did you eat or drink anything?" Miguel asked, concerned for your well-being. You paused for a second, trying to remember what you did, but your mind went blank.

"I guess not." You say as you take the folded clothes and move to the set of drawers you put them away. Miguel follows you as he takes the clothes from your hands and puts them on top of the drawers.

"You need to rest."

"I will when I'm done." You gasp when Miguel picks you up bridal style and carries you to your shared bedroom. He then set you down gently on the bed.

" I love you, but sleep." He commanded as he kissed your cheek before getting ready for bed and getting into bed with you.

When the lights were off, and you thought Miguel was asleep, you carefully got up and out of bed and returned to the nursery. But of course, as soon as you walked into the nursery, Miguel was right behind you, giving you a small heart attack as he picked you up and returned you to bed.

This time when you both got into bed, he placed his arm around you so you wouldn't escape. You pouted up at Miguel as you both lay in bed. He kissed you on the lips before turning off the lights again.

"Buenas Noches, hermosa. Go to sleep."

Month 9

It was a week before your due date. And any day you could burst.

You woke up feeling fine this morning, and you and Miguel began your weekly morning routine with Mateo as you walked him to school. It happened after saying goodbye and walking a block from the school.

Your water broke. At first, you didn't 100% know what happened, but as soon as it did, you felt an unbearable pain in your stomach. It was a contraction. As your mind was finally coming to terms with what was happening. You registered that you were in labor. And your baby girl was coming today.

At your side, Miguel picked you up in his arms as he quickly returned to the apartment and grabbed your go back for the hospital. He then put you in the car and rushed over to the hospital.

Before you knew it, you were in a hospital gown with Miguel holding your hand, nurses all around you, and a doctor ready to deliver your child as they coached you through the contractions.

Even with the epidural, you still felt some of the pressure of the contractions, which were still painful. Time didn't feel real as you tried to push the baby out. It was your second time. Why did it feel like you had never given birth before? Your head rested on Miguel's shoulder as tears fell down your eyes.

"I-I c-can't. I'm too tired." You sob out loud. Miguel pressed his lips to your forehead. He hated seeing you in pain. It tore at his heart. He wishes he could remove the pain to make it easier for you.

"You got this cariño. You can do this. Five more minutes of pain for a lifetime of happiness." Miguel's words of affirmation brought some hidden strength inside you as you gave it one final push. And you were done.

You laid back against the hospital bed in tears of joy and relief when you heard the cries of your daughter.

"Mi amor, you did amazing. Thank you for bringing our baby girl into this world." Miguel kissed your head as a tear rolled down his cheek. He was overcome with joy as were you.

"Congratulations." Said the doctor as she passed you, your little bundle of joy in your arms. Tears began to pool in the corner of your eyes as you saw your daughter for the first time.

"Hi there." You say in a baby voice as you kiss your daughter's forehead. You see her move slightly in your arms. Even though she was only a few minutes old, you could see the strong O'Hara features she shared with her brother and father.

"What name have you chosen for her?" Asked one of the nurses.

"I was thinking of the name Mariana." You look at your baby girl before your gaze meets Miguel's. You could see his heart glow in his eyes as he looked at you in surprise as tears brimmed the corner of his eyes.

"Gabi's middle name?" Miguel said out loud to you.

"To honor her big sister." You say to Miguel as a tear falls down his cheek. The biggest smile spreads across his face as you gently give him your newborn daughter.

She was so tiny in his arms. Some of her features reminded him of Gabi, as he held his newborn daughter in his arms and gently kissed the top of her head. He smiled at you as another tear rolled down his cheek. "Mariana is perfect for her."

"Mariana Catalina L/n O'Hara."

Three Months Later

The sound of your daughter crying on the baby monitor instantly woke you up. Looking at the alarm, it was 2:15 am. She was hungry.

You were about to get up when Miguel touched your shoulder and kissed your neck. "Don't worry, amor. I'll get up. You go back to sleep."

Miguel stood up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom and towards the nursery. As he entered the room, he picked up his wailing daughter. "Shhhh, it's okay, Princesa. Papa's here." Miguel whispered as he cradled her in one of his arms as he walked to the kitchen to grab his daughter her bottle.

Within a few minutes of being in his arms, she calmed down as she cooed and giggled as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

He walked back to the nursery as he fed her. He rocked her in his arms after he finished feeding her. He could see her not falling asleep immediately, so he began singing her a lullaby.

You heard Miguel begin to sing to your daughter through the monitor. You got out of bed, unable to resist seeing the adorable sight in person. You quietly walk to the nursery, lean against the door, and watch Miguel lull your daughter back to sleep.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word; Papa's going to buy you a mockingbird..." You hear Miguel sing.

Your heart melted at the sight. A memory you will always keep forever close to you. Once Mariana returned to sleep, he gently kissed her forehead before settling her back in her crib. You gently walked up to him as you both watched your daughter sleep.

"I thought you were asleep?" Whispered Miguel to you as he wrapped an arm around your waist.

"I couldn't resist not seeing her adorable face." You whisper back as you gaze lovingly at your daughter. "I can't believe it's already been three months since we brought her back from the hospital." You add.

"I know, it's going by too fast," Miguel said as he led you out of the nursery and back towards your bedroom. “We could give Mariana and Mateo another brother or sister in a year or two." Miguel added.

"Funny joke." You look up at him wide-eyed as you lightly chuckle.

"No, cariño. I'm serious."

The End

____________________________________________

Tag List

@theprettyarachnid

@crowleysthings

@gryffinclawstuff

@toaffes

@miggyyyyohara

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.💕

Stay tuned for “ An Unexpected Match.”

[inkyvendingmachine]

T'was The Night Before Crisis... Season 4, Episode 1

💀 Call of Cthulhu: Haunted Hijinx Masterpost 💀 Call of Cthulhu Season Four Masterpost (Coming Soon)

Warning: This campaign is an edited version of  a Call of Cthulhu scenario from the Tales of the Crescent City book. While a lot has been changed, there IS spoilers for it throughout these posts.

WE'RE BACK. After over a whole heckin year of 10000 RP logs, we have returned with our final season of Cthulhu! It's been not just a year out of game, but a little over a year worth of in game time has passed too, and they boys are indulging in a chill, at home seasonal celebration... for now! Surely nothing weird will happen, nothing ever does around holidays for these boys obviously.

:)

Happy Holidays!

Art Credit: @inkdemonapologist : sketching + inking @inkyvendingmachine : concept + colouring

A week. Two weeks. A month. A season. A year.

A whole year and a couple of months go by without any crazy outside force trying to rid the boys of… anything really. The time isn't exactly calm or empty… but compared to recent events, for a while, things were… kinda normal?

Well, except for when Joey got Peter to help him meet with Y secretly to prevent the gang from continuing to mess with JDS, or when Sammy and Henry realized mid tennis match that a version of Henry had slashed him right through the center. Or how the Prophet can just pop out now without ink. And how Susie has been brought in on all this, and perhaps brought in on even more than just the supernatural content as her bonds with Sammy and Joey grow tighter. And how Peter is actually moving to New York City now and ends up visiting Jack just as Beans goes missing and now there’s many little Beans kittens. And the summoning spell to ask the spirit that helped them in Haiti what will become of Sammy and Prophet. And the other summoning spell for Prophet to get his instructions from the Masked Messenger. And Sammy still can't tell where he's going half the time after uncovering some of Prophet’s memories. And Joey is still a bit hesitant to leave the studio if not being actively distracted. But other than that! It's been normal!!

And the boys have made it all the way to Christmas. Joey's received some parcels in the mail, from the Fowlers and Nicole. The Fowlers actually sent each of the helpful boys uh… 1000$?? That's a thousand. EACH. IN THE 1930s. For helping out… which I guess if stuck eternally in soul lake hell, wouldn't have that money anyways. But still, that's quite a lot for the time.

Meanwhile, Nicole has had time to move on from her heartbreak, and is ready to start a new chapter in her life, and as thanks, leaves Joey both the keys to her old apartment (the lease being paid up for a few years already) and to her previous car, with a guarantee she's giving these things up for better, not to worry about her. And totally not because maybe all the occult scratches and bullet marks in the wall makes the apartment hard to rent, or the fact that her car is an extremely recognized Mercedes, or that both of these assets were hounded by gangs for a bit after her magical mistakes…

It probably is actually all out of good will and appreciation, and these things will come in useful, especially if they do need to deal with more mafia or what have you. Joey doesn't need them tracking Henry's car home to his family or back to Jack's house.

With those gifts out of the way, the actual holiday is spent in Jack's house, with a big potluck meal. This holiday celebration includes a small group of friends and their families, namely, all the people Jack has befriended and also would be okay with the Lurker partying with em. The event goes well, Sammy gets to play through the night, Henry’s children get to hang out with a real Bendy and also a buncha newly grown-up cats, Henry gets to eat as many cookies as he wants… 

That… slows down when Henry sees a yellow sign in a ribbon. But as soon as he tries to not lose his entire cool and freak out, it disappears… the ribbon was just a ribbon the entire time. Perhaps golden ribbons shouldn't be their normal holiday decor… 

Meanwhile, Peter feels eyes on him and decides to move away from the window maybe, especially because it feels like he suddenly knew exactly which star in the sky holds Carcosa at the same time… surely a fine coincidence to have happened at almost the same time. But nobody else is acting weirdly, sooooo.

The night wraps up, with Susie and Norman heading out first, followed by Henry and his family. Sammy also heads home after being socially exhausted and desperately needing his alone time, and Peter helps Jack clean up some before heading out too. Jack heads to bed, only to find an already asleep Joey with a Spark sprawled on top of him, probably after he “closed his eyes for a moment” a little earlier. 

The next day, there's technically work, but it's a short day because what's actually happening is a charity auction and party. A collection of “originals, signed by the creators” has been donated to help raise money for relief efforts in a few warring European countries, as well as the “entertainment” for the evening (Bendy cartoons, of course), courtesy of JDS, which means of course all the stars who signed the auctioned items were invited to the party as well.

Yes, even Sammy. 

(And also Jack, Henry, Susie, and Joey of course.)

The event is being held at a yacht club, advertised to the wealthies of the city midst the great depression, with live music playing and glittering evening wear, and uh. Denis.

Y'know, Denis?? That rich guy from NOLA who invited us to the masquerade?? That Joey casually name dropped his legal name to in order to keep him from tracing himself and Sammy back to JDS, when they didn't know who or how dangerous their initial information gathering was.

Anyways, a quick little talking him in circles by Joey corrects that past mistake, as well as gets him the information that Denis is actually related to one of the people who put the entire event together. Ha. Good to know.

Of course it's difficult to shake him afterwards, since Joey is one of the few people Denis knows all the way up in New York. At least Joey actually has a fancy car to talk about now.

Meanwhile, in the quietest, emptiest corner he could find, Sammy notices something odd about the song that's currently being played live. It sounds familiar, and while surely there's been some Bendy music played this evening…. This particular song is not that. But it WAS composed by Sammy.

In NOLA.

When he was improvising with some random music on the street while hanging out on the balcony of his and Joey's hotel room. Properly freaked out by having a song from a very scary time literally come back to haunt him, Sammy runs to find someone, (Joey is still busy with Denis), and comes across Jack first. But before he can fully explain, the entire party is interrupted.

Chatter turns into hushed confusion as some pale man up near the front starts speaking in tongues. It's hard to tell if he's trying to perform some ritual or just incoherently rambling, but it doesn't matter! Because very quickly there’s a gunshot!!

And the Prophet? He's awake. He knows what that gunshot was. He's been waiting for this.

It has begun.

Of course the entire party breaks out in panic once the gun goes off. Joey doesn't know what sort of Eldritch nonsense was happening up front, but upon scanning the crowd and noticing Jack and Sammy together, beelines for the snack table to grab Henry and search for Susie.

As everyone is being rushed out, some of the boys manage to notice that not all of the panic is simply from the mad ramblings and sudden bullet, but also we've got some people in the crowd bleeding from their eyes. How festive!

Upon getting outside, the Yacht club is of course already being surrounded by security and the police, as the sudden gun shots quickly alerted locals to the nonsense going on. Nobody is allowed to bolt until an investigation is conducted and people are questioned, but of course Joey managed to sweet talk his way over to a telephone to make a very important quick phone call.

To one Peter Sunstram! 

Turns out, between all their arguments, there are a few things they can agree on, which includes quietly spying on suspicious parties even though they should probably not be doing that if they actually wanna be safe but surely everyone will understand when they find out IT'S FINE.

Anyways Peter’s been keeping an eye on Y, and earlier in the day Y seemed to be performing some ritual before having some kind of … breakthrough? Revelation? Peter had told Joey of it, and in good faith Joey agreed to keep an eye out for WEIRDNESS, hoping that Y was upholding his promise to not be interfering with JDS anymore. But now this episode seems to have specifically happened, right at their exact event for the evening, so Joey does his best to pass along as much info as he can in that moment to Peter. As well as set up a backup plan in case anything else happens to them before they can escape the Yacht Club.

After some interviews with the police though, they’re allowed to go free. Listening to other partygoers' recollections they’re able to pick up a few more names here and there – the one who fired the gun up front by the bandstand is said to be another local gangster by the name of Johnny Nero, and the band playing on that bandstand one Red Leverett and the Jumps – but no evidence that really points the crew in any sort of serious lead. (including more commentary by Denis wHY ARE YOU STILL HERE UR NOT PART OF THE GROUP)

So having managed to collect everyone together, including Prophet returning Sammy to the front for the interview thank the lord (not that one)(not that one either)(maybe that one) the JDS crew head over to their very safe and secure hide away to talk about what just happened: that’s right, they’re going to Peter’s apartment.

And staying there through midnight! Listen, the last time weird shit started happening like this, everything popped off at midnight and there were panics all around. It’d be nice to know where people were this evening. And while they’re all sitting around waiting for that to pass, Henry and Peter can even talk about the really weird things that happened last night! Yknow, where Henry saw the yellow sign for a moment and Peter felt something watching him from space? Those very normal Christmas activities?

The group also gets informed about how Peter maybe has been keeping an eye on the Y that still hangs out in the city, and how Y was excited over some weird ritual. While he goes over that and also Joey and Peter guiltily kinda admit to their secret spying tendencies, Henry gets info from Linda when he calls to explain why he’s not home yet and how he won’t be home for a little while still. She’s remembered some research that crosses over with the prophecies they had gotten a month or so after the last big event like this. And Jack and Sammy bring up how they had been theorizing over who’s and what’s in the prophecies… for instance, that which the Phantom seeks, who bears already the scars of following the Mender’s lead….

Is it Peter? He followed Jack into the weird ghosty world. Is it Joey? He’s followed the Mender in other ways, and also literally bears scars caused from Jack’s healing. Or is it somehow Y?? Who seems… involved in this somehow, despite promising he wouldn’t be fucking around with stuff that might step on JDS’s toes again.

With no real conclusions, but midnight having come and past, people start to head home. Joey has someone drop him off at the studio, as after weirdness happened with any sort of occult stuff he’s interested in checking in on Bendy and the Stone. Since, those tend to be targets for this kinda creepy thing. Bendy is perfectly fine though, and hardly even noticed anything going on… So Joey picks up some of his notes and… finds himself unable to leave the studio. For some reason it just seems like the wrong idea… so he spends all night up researching, unsettled by how many non-leads he has into what will possibly happen next. It’s starting to feel like Haiti again, knowing that something bad is coming but really having no idea where to fortify with this information.

But he does have something new… 

He has plenty of things new now, including his dream spell. 

Peter’s not the only one who can spy, and while Joey is sure he’d hit some kind of barrier trying to peek in on Y’s dreams… just knowing whether the man was still alive, or possessed by some eldritch nonsense seemed like a good place to start. Maybe his excitement at the ritual earlier was coincidental…

The thing is, defying all reason, Joey’s able to step into Y’s dream just fine somehow.

This is probably not something he’ll regret doing later, surely.

[Next Episode] (not yet released)

[sketchy-scribs-n-doods]

"Because none of those sailors have ever described a siren with salt and pepper hair, wrinkles, and flinty eyes that can make a man balk at fifty paces with nothing but a glance. Beautiful faces and voices that can entrance the most stalwart of men, that’s what they talk about. It doesn’t matter if they’re half-right. Where they’re wrong is what matters."

———

My art for this year's OFMD Reverse Big Bang!

Siren!Izzy has always lived in my head rent free, even before s2 when we finally got Con's lovely singing voice on screen, so I just had to make something for it— with a Stizzy focused Steddyhands twist! I'm a sucker for a secret mermaid saving their reluctantly beloved sailor lol.

The lovely @acesaru was the best partner I could have asked for, a talented writer and lovely all around person to collab with! They perfectly capture Izzy's character voice and the banter between Stede and he is an absolute delight lol. The fic they wrote inspired by my art (and many many discord ramblings together lol) is amazing and the second chapter featuring my art drops today!

Please go check it out for yourself and drop a kudos/comment! <3

[tboybuck]

Batter up!

Chapters 1 & 2 coming to AO3 on November 12, 2023, featuring art by @thatnerdemryn and a playlist by @steves-strapcollection, written for @steddiebang

Summary: All Steve wants for the 2023 baseball season is for the media to leave him alone for once. His reputation is still suffering after he was caught last season in a very compromising position with one of his teammates, and he just wants to lay low and play a good season. A trip to the World Series wouldn't hurt either. A voice from his past has other plans, though.

Eddie hasn't been able to forget what the two of them had together when they were in high school, or his promise to Steve when they parted ways the summer after senior year: Someday I'll write a whole album for you. It's been a decade, and all the pieces are in place for Eddie to finally make good on that promise.

Steve is in for a roller coaster of a season.

Sneak peek under the cut

It’s around sunrise when he wakes with his alarm, properly this time, and he finds seven missed calls from Robin, and another text message from her. 

Call me. This is a PR call, not a bestie call. Get up.

So Steve calls his publicist, Robin Buckley, rather than his best friend Rob.

“Jesus, it’s about damn time,” she says by way of greeting.

“I just woke up, Rob. What do you want?”

“Eddie’s album came out today.”

Steve waits, but Robin doesn’t say anything else. “Okay? Why am I supposed to care? I haven’t spoken to Eddie Munson in almost ten years.”

“I need you to open Spotify and just. Look at the album art.”

“I don’t even remember what his fucking band is even called,” Steve lies, putting Robin on speaker, and then he thumbs his way through his apps to open Spotify. Pulling up the search feature, Steve taps in the name of Eddie’s band and right there, under recently released, is the new Corroded Coffin album.

Batter up!, it’s called. 

On the cover is Eddie Munson, looking just as wild as he did in high school and not a day older than he looked the last time Steve saw him. Eddie’s big, dark eyes are trained on the camera, and he’s got his body turned sideways. He is wearing a generic baseball uniform in blue and gray. He’s got a baseball bat positioned between strong thighs, sticking out from between his legs in an obscene suggestion of an erection. There are nails sticking out of the end of the bat and the album title is embossed on the barrel. Eddie’s hand, big and veiny, is gripped around the taper, a light gray sweatband on his wrist. He is either wearing an athletic cup underneath those fucking pants or he’s sporting some very real half chub action. What the hell.

“Jesus H. Christ. Is that… Robin, is that a number seven on his fucking wristband?” Steve asks flatly.

“That’s what you’re focusing on?”

Steve ignores her. He can’t focus on anything else. Not if he wants to keep his hard-won sanity. “We could always sue him.” “That would mean owning up to a lot,” Robin says carefully. “I listened to it, Steve. The lyrics aren’t subtle.”