#i finally understand the hiatus blues.

[deadandphilgames]

okay jokes over. where are they

[tripleglitchwriting]

Kinesthesis 3

Jazz/Prowl/HumanReader first contact AU

Part 2

I am so sorry this took so long 😭 but I finally got something out! This was written over the course of multiple months so if it’s inconsistent that’s why. Over my impromptu hiatus I’ve grown as a writer and as a person so that will probably change the way this story goes, but not to worry! I still plan on carrying on with this fic.

Be aware that I may not remember things about that last two chapters before this because it’s been a while. If you find any mistakes, let me know!

Also, thank you to the anons that encouraged me to keep going! This one goes out to you.

So, now you have quite a few problems. Not only were the ‘robots’ alive, they were also obviously damaged and asking for your help. Your help. Of all people. You still didn’t know where they came from, if someone was piloting them, how they got here, what that blue liquid was, or why one of them only made weird metallic scratching sounds. That one in particular really freaked you out when it first started ‘speaking’. At the time, you immediately assumed there was a metal demon somewhere coming to eat you.

Instead of that, they were just giant robots asking for your help in the middle of asscrack nowhere. Very simple. Foolproof, even. Nothing wrong there.

“I’m… going to get to work.” You told the one apparently named ‘Prowl’. He didn’t make any sputtering noises at you this time, so you took that as your go-ahead.

He was huge. Well, you knew that, but it was still jarring. You had to literally climb him to get to his wounds. Delicately placing your rag to the injured spot on his neck, you could feel the pump of something akin to a heart under the metal. Now that was weird. Wait, maybe it was just a fuel pump of somesort. He couldn’t… it couldn't have an actual heartbeat, right? Robots don’t have heartbeats.

That isn’t possible.

After a bit of cleaning up blue liquid and trying not to cut yourself on shards of metal, a realization dawned on you. These guys were more complicated than you thought. Really, a robot shouldn’t have this much… everything. They shouldn’t have half of whatever parts are in them. What kind of coding was driving them anyway? What fuel did they even use? The blue stuff?

Oh, who are you kidding. They aren’t robots. They can’t be. They can’t just be robots. They fell from the sky, of course they can’t be robots! Your heart picked up its already erratic pace, yet even with shaky hands, your work took priority.

Soon after there wasn’t a hole in Prowl anymore. Not one on his neck, anyway. You counted that as a win. But seeing as there were way more lacerations, dents, and cuts all over both of them, you definitely had the rest of your work cut out for you.

Simple. Foolproof, even. Nothing wrong there.

—---------------------

Jazz, with his sight still mostly busted, anxiously awaited some sort of indicator that the person helping them was actually patching up Prowl. They seemed pretty stunned earlier. Scared. He had assumed they’d run away and get help. That would be a more reasonable reaction, right?

Obviously it was probably better that they didn’t, this was a completely new planet after all. They’d be scrap if it weren’t for this random person helping them out. This person that is native to this new planet. With… no knowledge of Cybertronian biology- oh scrap. This person had no idea what they were doing!

“W – it! Wa– a - i!” Staticy, barely understandable garble came out of his vocalizer. He heard a tiny peep out of the little guy and a kind of ‘hrmph’ from Prowl.

“What? What is it? Did I do something wrong?” They squeaked in a comically high-pitch tone. “I- I’m sorry, I- know mechanics but this is kind of different and I don’t want to hurt anybody I just-”

“Y- yo- u kno- me- c– nics?”

“Um, yeah, it’s what I do. For school.”

“S- – -ry f’r t--e frig–t, I’m j-st co– m– in’ to–my–sen s- s- ses, an’ rel-i’ed wher– we ar’... an’ I don’ kn- kn- kn- – -w… ca—n– ya- re- – -y fi- x us?”

“O- oh, n- now yo- -y questi- on it?” Prowl commented from the sidelines. Jazz deliberately ignored him.

“I mean, I can, I just need some time to figure everything out… i- it doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“W- Wha-t’s’t sayi- in- ing?”

“A- askin’ i- if it- it- it- hu- – -ts.”

“O- of co- rs’ it h-urts!”

“Wait, what’s he saying?”

Jazz cringed for a moment, realizing just how taxing it’s going to be on him to keep translating. Of course, he decided to use it to his advantage. Why not have some fun in the face of certain death?

“H- he s’ys h’s t—ckl’sh.”

“Oh, um, okay. Does that mean you guys can’t feel pain? Like, can I go harder with this? I have some power tools I can use back in—” Okay. Bad plan.

“N- N- N-O we C- – -N Fe’L It!”

“Oh, um, can or can’t?”

“C- C- C- C- CAAIIIEEEZZZZzzzt!” His vocalizer gave off a pointedly unpleasant sound just before shorting out.

“Is that… should I know what that means?” Jazz took a second to reset his vocalizer.

“N- n- n- o… b- b’t w– fe’l pa’n… i–t h- – -rts…”

“Can feel pain, got it. Um, is your voice okay? I can try fixing it… if that’s a thing I can fix…?” As much as he appreciated the gesture, Jazz wasn’t ready for that kind of operation.

“N- n - o thn’ks.”

“Alright… I’m gonna keep going here then.”

It was then, nearly offline, cut off from most forms of communication, on a completely alien planet, that Jazz realized this might be a little bit too much to handle.

“Y- y- you—re an ‘di—ot.”

“M- ay’e… bu— ‘least I c’n t- t- ta-k to ou- fr’nd ‘ere.”

“It’s Wh—lja’k, o- of c-cou’se I d- di—-nnooowoowOWW!” Jazz heard a loud crash followed by a tiny scream.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, what did I do? I- I didn’t know, oh my god…”

“Wh—t? —at ‘appe— d?!”

“I- I’m sorry, I think I hit something, I’m so sorry!”

“Pr—ler? P—owl!?”

He got a groan in response. A groan and a new, distinct, clear sound.

“—bbzzzt —- bzzzt ——tobots! This is Optim— —ime. If yo- can hear thi-, heed my call. The Arc is inoperable. Most of you are scattered across an alien world. While I do not know where the Decepticons have landed, I can confirm they are on the planet with us. Do not lose hope here, my friends. For the fate of Cybertron and the remaining Autobots rests in your capable servos. Attached to this message are the coordinates to the Arc, I will be waiting for you there. Good luck—- bzzzt —— bzzzt—-!”

The three sat in silence. While he couldn’t see the hologram that was most likely coming from Prowl’s projector, he heard what the message contained. They were safe. Optimus was safe. And he once again had a goal to achieve.

“Wh- what the hell was that!?”

“Th’nk Pri—us…” Prowl whispered.

“It -as… a- a- f- fri—nd.”

“Oh, okay. What did your friend say?”

“Th— w- we ha— so—me-here t- be.” Jazz attempted to move his body, but was once again denied. “W- we n- n- ne—d to g—-!”

“Hey, woah woah woah! You are not well enough to get up yet! I haven’t even started patching you up!”

“Aau—augh! I- I- kn— Ratc— uh, I- I- I kno—“

“Settle down. I- I’ll be as fast as I can, alright?”

Jazz huffed in halfhearted agreement. Prowl, on the other hand…

—---------------------

He thought this was an incredible waste of their time. Oh, sure, he needed to be fixed, but he was doing just fine now and he did not need help from a mysterious stranger he couldn’t understand. How could he, Prowl of Petrex, need the help of a tiny little creature like this one? There was no such need. The only need he had was to get himself and Jazz functional again, report back to Optimus, and win the war.

He tried to get up. After about half a second of metal creaking, unconscious groaning, and a little squeak from his benefactor, his body gave out. His spark burned with a searing mixture of frustration and stress as he tried to clench a servo. But of course he couldn’t. Of course he was stuck. Injured, vulnerable, and useless. But still, Optimus needed him. Needed them. So he needed to get up!

“C- cal- m d- do— n Pr—‘er… ye’ sca- a- rin’ ‘em…” He could hear panicked chittering from somewhere on top of him. He had half a mind to shoo the thing away, but even if he could raise his servo, he knew this was his only hope. He would never admit that, obviously, but deep in his spark he knew.

He didn’t respond to Jazz. He didn’t need to. He just focused on the little twinge of pain somewhere atop his chassis and a wound being sealed. A familiar feeling. Not too familiar, not like this, but enough to be comforting.

He imagined the medbay in the Arc. That time when they defeated the enemy and no one had to die. They won, and everyone cheered and celebrated and did whatever people do to express joy during a war.

He was unconscious for cycles. Just because nobody died doesn’t mean nobody was hurt. And he was really, really hurt. But it didn’t matter, not even to him. Moments like that are rare, after all. When one could rejoice without mourning the loss of a friend. He’d only expected Ratchet or First Aid to stay with him during that time. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate the spoils of victory? No one is willing to give up a moment of solace like that. No one is stupid enough to pass up the opportunity for happiness. Except Jazz.

Jazz stayed with him the whole time. He stayed by his bedside, refusing to leave once the required surgery was over. He brought glasses of energon for both of them. To share.

Prowl didn’t wake up then. He missed the party and the congratulations and the relief. He missed Jazz telling him stories and about his day. He missed when the rest of the crew stopped by to check on him. When he did finally come out of stasis, Jazz wasn’t there. Not of his own volition, but because he passed out on the floor due to exhaustion. They both got a long lecture about taking care of themself from Ratchet when it was over.

And Jazz is there, now, still with him. Bleeding out and broken, but still there. And Prowl was powerless to help him. His HUD sang one final message in his head before it went suddenly silent, and he fell helplessly into the deep abyss of stasis.

[beautifulfuckup99]

ok ok i just got this random idea bare with me

Chubby mid size cute reader, she is very confident but gets inscure from time time

Namjoon is her BF 😉😉and they are camping with their friends. ( some of them are not that nice to her abt her looks).

One girl then says a comment pitting her that she cant be carried or manhandled due to her wait.

Later Namjoon carries her with one arm out of the blue in front of everyone and then a nice spicy time in the woods

Very random 😂😂😂 only u can make it happen😂😂😂

I feel blessed to have so many Namjoon requests!!

Title: For Me...

Warning(s): Insecure!Y/N, Slight B0dy-Sham!ng, Hurt/Comfort, Smut! And of course Fluff!

Author's Note: Obviously set in an AU where Namjoon has his license and drives lol. Enjoy!

*****************************************

"Yes!" Namjoon cheers the second he throws the car in park. You look up from your book, blinking the sleep from your eyes.

"We're here?" You ask, feeling the surge of relief that you no longer have to sit in this car anymore.

"Uh-Huh." He says fast as he gets out of the car, pausing to breathe in deep through his nose. "Baby! You smell that? That's nature, baby!" He cheers excitedly and you close your book, giggling softly as you get out of the car while watching your boyfriend of just six months spin around giddily.

He was a giant dork, and it made your heart flutter in the best way possible.

"Ay! Namjoon! There you are, man. Took you long enough to show up!" Dae laughs as he walks over from where the tents were set up.

When Namjoon had told you about this camping trip with his friends, you were pouty, you had to admit, but you were understanding that he needed time to cut loose with his friends. Especially before he had to run off to the military. BTS being on hiatus meant he had more time to roam and explore and the one thing he's been looking forward to is getting back into nature. When he invited you to join the camp trip, you hesitated. You knew the members of BTS, yeah, but these were buddies of his from back home. Guys who knew him from way back when. School days.

You wanted them to like you, that's all. You slowly get out of the car as Namjoon starts hugging his buddies who run over to greet him. You fix your shirt and hold the sweater more around you. Your sweatpants now feel like a bad idea since all his friends look actually put together. You had done the bare minimum of getting ready, and now you couldn't help but fuss at your hair a bit.

"Oh! Guys, this is my girl. Y/N..." Namjoon smiles proudly, dimples on full display. The four guys surrounding him all eye you up and down.

"This is Y/N?" One guy says slowly as if you're not who they expected. You smile sheepishly as you walk over to grab Namjoon's hand that he's holding out for you.

"Hi, guys. Sorry to interrupt guys' camping weekend. I promise, you won't even know I'm here." You try joking as they continue to just look at you.

"Ay, it's all good. My girl came with too." Dae shrugs as he nods to the campsite where a girl still sat, flipping through a magazine. You nod, kind of relived that you wouldn't be stuck in these woods with just guys.

"I'll go get the bags." Namjoon says and squeezes your hand to assure you before he goes back to the car.

"So, what are you guys thinking for lunch?" You ask to try and start a conversation. The guys all share a look and one finally snickers.

"Too easy." He says before walking away while shaking his head as if humored by something. You feel your heart drop at that moment.

Fuck, this was a mistake...

***************************************

The next morning, you're woken up by Namjoon kissing all over your face as he wraps his leg around your waist. You grumble playfully and open your eyes to face him. Last night had been a nightmare for you. It was full of backhanded compliments and little glances from everyone in the group around you, as if everyone was in on a joke that you didn't know about.

But you DID know the joke. You knew your body, you knew the difference between you and Namjoon, you knew the irony. 'Ha-Ha, Namjoon is all about the gym and health and look at him dating a plus sized girl'. You weren't dumb or blind. You knew your body weight and type, but you also knew that you had one of the best leaders of K-pop wrapped around your finger and drooling over you at any given second. It didn't full stop the self-doubt, but it helped a bit.

You've been chubby since you were a kid. You've heard and dealt with it all. A weekend with jerks like your boyfriend's friends wasn't gonna hurt you too much. And you definitely didn't wanna bring this to his attention either. After this weekend, you'd never have to deal with these people again...

"Morning, baby. We were gonna head to the lake. You're coming, right?" Namjoon whispers finally after a moment of just rubbing his nose with yours. You hum softly at that and stretch a bit.

"That sounds nice." You nod tiredly. You hadn't slept much due to how hungry you were. You picked at your dinner the night before as to not be a cliché plus size person. You watched though as Namjoon had three bowls of the ramen and his buddies all drank and had about two to four each. It was a bit unfair. You wondered for a moment why you had to act carefully when slurping up noodles when your boyfriend sat proudly right next to you, eating and drinking away. Why you had to take small sips of water and after a few bites of food claim you were full when everyone around you shameless enjoyed themselves. Could it be because you had something to prove? Yup, exactly.

"Hey. You okay?" He asks softly as he eyes you closer, hand pushing your hair back to really look at you. You look up at him and the urge to vocalize your uncomfortability is strong, but you shake it off. It was Saturday and you'd be saying your goodbyes Sunday morning. You could do this.

"I'm all good. It was just so hot last night. I couldn't get comfy..." You lie softly and Namjoon nods, pecking your nose.

"Maybe we can sneak away after swimming for a bit and take a nap." He offers softly as he rests his forehead against yours. It makes you blush as you nod along. You two get up soon enough and throw on your bathing suits.

You make sure your black one piece is on right since it was kind of strappy in a few places. You step out of the tent real soon and see all the guys and Dae's girl all look over at you, eyeing your body. Dae's girlfriend gently tugs at Dae's shirt and whispers something in his ear, making him laugh and nod his head in agreement.

The overwhelming feeling of regret swallows you whole and you grab one of Namjoon's shirts to put on over your shirt. You try and act none the wiser to all the snickering which only makes your self anger grow more.

"Okay! Bag is packed and ready to go!" Namjoon says as he steps out of your tent and pauses. "What's funny?" He asks his buddies and they all laugh before shaking it off.

"Nothing, man..." Dae says before walking off with his girlfriend. The other boys follow and Namjoon eyes you and smiles a bit as he tugs at the shirt you had on.

"What's with the cover up?" He asks and you shake your head.

"Just don't wanna get sunburned..." You say softly, not wanting to put a damper on Namjoon's vacation. Just one day. Just one day...

He nods and offers you his arm for the short walk to the lake...

When you get there, the water is cool and clear which is a great contrast to the sun that was beating down on you all today. You get in the water and focus on swimming with Namjoon when Dae grabs his girlfriend from her tanning spot on the dock. He lifts her with both arms as she screams for him to let her down and not to throw her. He doesn't listen and chucks her right into the water.

When she surfaces, she starts yelling at him for throwing her while all the guys laugh expect for Namjoon. He holds you a bit closer to his chest as you both bob in the calm lake. She finally sees you looking at her and glares at you.

"What?" She asks.

"Nothing. Just... Sucks that he ruined your hair." You say back gently. She eyes you a bit and then puts on a false smile.

"Well, at least my boyfriend can pick me up." She says in a joking tone and the boys laughing makes your heart feel heavy in your chest.

"What?" Namjoon asks, having heard her right but shocked that those words even left her mouth.

"Oh, Nam, calm down. It was a joke." One of his friends chuckles and Namjoon glares, obviously pissed at this moment.

"Yeah? I'm not laughing." He says shortly before swimming over to the dock and getting out.

"Namjoon, come on..." Dae tries as your boyfriend grabs his towel and then one for you too. You swim over silently, knowing better than to do anything else but just go with Namjoon to get him out of this situation before he blows up.

He helps you out of the lake and wraps the towel around you before you both leave back to the campsite, ignoring his friends as they try calling you for you guys.

****************************************

You sit between Namjoon's legs, pressed back against his hard chest as you hold the newest novel you have to share cause if not, one of you will read ahead. The walk back to the tent had been silent, the shower at the bath house had been quiet, and now the reading time you two share was full of this tense silence. You knew Namjoon was still pissed and you just hoped you could keep him calm till you left tomorrow morning.

"Done?" You ask, so you could know if you should flip the page or not. When you don't get an answer, you turn your head to face Namjoon and see him deep in thought, jaw clenched and face hard set. You frown softly and gently grab his face to make him look at you.

"Babe. It was a dumb joke..." You try quietly and he looks you in the eyes.

"You didn't sleep well last night because of them, didn't you." He says quietly, putting it all together in his head. It makes you frown, but you couldn't lie to him.

"I was... A little upset. Yeah." You admit quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me? I never want you in a place where you're that uncomfortable, Y/N. You know that." He says as he looks at you.

"They're you're friends, Joonie. I-I just... Wanted you to have fun." You try as he looks at you with a frown.

"Well I'm in hell when you're being hurt." He says quietly. You sigh softly and move to nuzzle into his neck.

"I'm used to this, babe. I grew up plus size." You point out quietly and Namjoon shakes his head.

"And? It wasn't right then, and it sure as hell isn't now." He says.

"I know your body. I love your body. Because your 'body' is just skin. Skin that protects everything in you that matters most." He states seriously. "It protects your heart... Which is full of love and care for the world. It protects your brain... Which is always more intriguing to me than any book out there. And it protects your spirit. Which is what I fell in love with. These amazing curves are a bonus." He says softly and you snort playfully while rolling your eyes.

"I know. I'm perfect to you." You mutter playfully, as if you're annoyed by hearing it.

"You're not just perfect to me. You're perfect for me, Y/N. I love you. And I'm not gonna let anyone talk about or to you in anyway." He says quietly as he holds your waist.

You hum. "Tomorrow morning, we can leave." You assure.

"First thing in the morning..." He agrees.

*************************************

Later that evening, everyone sits around the fire, silently eating and drinking. The tension is thick, and no one dares to make a joke or try and break the silence in anyway. You wanted Namjoon to let go of the grudge and have one last dinner with his friends, but he had insisted that anyone able to make you feel shitty was no friend of his. You were still trying to fight off the guilt, but you knew if you had anyone around you that made Namjoon feel a certain way, they'd be gone ASAP too. You just had to stand by your boyfriend's choice.

"I think..." Namjoon finally says, his deep voice demanding all eyes on him, and they are. Everyone is looking at the five-foot-eleven Korean man as he sets his plate down and rubs his hands together slowly. "Before we call it a night, a few things need to be done.

"One. I'd like to remind you all... That she," He nods to you as you sheepishly play with your bowl of beef stew cooked over the campfire. "Is my girlfriend. The woman I love. And I expect nothing but respect for her." He says, his voice calm but with this dark edge to it. Like he was not expecting any argument to his statement.

"Two." He continues. "At the end of the day, you don't have to find her attractive. She's mine for a reason. Because I find her attractive." He states. "And thirdly, if you don't find her attractive? You're just lying to yourself." He snorts and you bashfully roll your eyes at him.

"You all... Need to apologize for what the hell went on with this trip, and you'll be lucky if I ever want to see any of you again." He states honestly. You gaze along the faces of all his buddies, and you feel slightly guilty, maybe even a little childish due to this lecture. You felt like a kid who just tattled to the teacher. But... You hadn't 'tattled'. Namjoon had heard it. You weren't being overdramatic, you weren't play victim, and you didn't deserve this treatment. And you just had to keep telling yourself that...

With a deep sigh, Dae is the first to speak. "Y/N, we're... We're sorry. We were just joking, you know. Giving you a hard time? That's what we do in this friend group..." He says and you look away from him at that.

"Yeah, well that's not what you do with her." Namjoon speaks for you, and you set the bowl down and nod once at Dae. "Don't accept that half ass apology." Namjoon says to you, and you keep your mouth shut. He stands up finally and dusts his hands on his shorts.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning, early. Y/N." Namjoon says, and you quickly stand up only to feel his arm, wrap around your waist from behind. You feel him lift you up and squat down a bit to put you over his shoulder as you squeal in slight alarm.

"Y/N and I are going to bed. Don't bother us." He says shortly before looking a Dae's girl. "And maybe Dae could lift you, if he went to the gym more." He says simply before carrying you away towards your tent that you had moved away from the others for the night.

"Joonie! Put me down!" You hiss as he gets you two into your tent and sets you on the small foam mattress inside your tent.

"What were you thinking? You could've hurt yourse-" He cuts you off by kissing you deeply, you instantly get lost in the kiss.

"Don't disrespect my lifting abilities like that..." He teases quietly against your lips before kissing you more passionately. You can barely react in time as he pushes you back on the bed freely, climbing on top of you.

"What... What are you..." You pant against his lips before he quickly sits up to take off his shirt and then lays back on top of you, covering your jawline and neck with kisses that made you shiver.

You shut your eyes, melting into the cot as he lowers his lips down towards your cleavage. He's quick to pull your tank top up and bra cups down, freeing your nipples as he grips your breasts in both hands.

"I'm showing you that I love this body..." He whispers before tonguing your nipples one at a time, sucking each one hard to turn them into sensitive buds as you arch your back, head rolling back to moan before you cover your mouth.

"Don't cover up. I want them to hear it. Let them know that I know exactly how to handle you. That I thoroughly enjoy you whenever I can..." He whispers before moving down your body, biting all along your tummy as you look down at him, body feeling on fire at this very moment.

"I'm the luckiest man on earth to have you..." He whispers honestly as he settles between your legs, making you blush hard.

He makes quick work of your shorts and keeps your underwear on, blowing softly on the wet spot and making your clit twitch.

"Joonie... Oh fuck..." You gasp as you reach down to grab his hair, needing to feel something against your soaked core and fast.

"Such a goddess." He praises softly before he gets to work lapping at your clit slowly at first. Your head rolls back as you shut your eyes, always enjoying these sensual moments. Namjoon never teases, but he also loves when things slowly build up, especially since the closer you get the louder you get. He had a thing about you being... Verbal.

"Namjoon..." You pant, keeping this in mind. You loved making him feel good over his ability to make you feel good. It was an exchange of sorts. Sometimes you even found yourself twisting and arching your body in different directions as you screamed out because it just egged him on more. Thank god for porn. It was the best teacher...

He turns sloppier the louder you get, and you lose track of where you are at this point as your moans and hard tugs at his hair egg him on more.

At a certain point, feeling how drenched your underwear is from both your juices and his saliva, you pull him up to kiss him, your tongue exploring his to taste yourself on him. He grabs your neck to hold your head still and proceeds to suck on your tongue, and you all but lose all decency at that second, flipping you both over so you're on top.

"You want them to hear? The let's make sure they hear..." You pant with a giggle as he grips your hips hard and sits up to pull you harder against his bulge that is very much present through his shorts.

"Fuck yes, darling..." He whispers in awe before kissing you hard.

**********************************

The next morning, no one can look you both in the eyes and that's fine, because you're still too blissed out from last night to care what they can or can't do. Namjoon says nothing as he packs up the tent and you know you can't force him to drop the attitude long enough for a proper goodbye.

"Joonie..." You say quietly when you two are finally in the car and driving down the dirt road away from the camping grounds. He hums, eyes stuck on to the road with one hand on the wheel.

"Don't stop being friends with them because of me." You whisper and Namjoon smiles slightly at your concern before he grabs your hand.

"Damn your good heart." He says softly and you pout.

"I'm serious..." You try and he brings your hand up to his lips to kiss it tenderly.

"I know you are. And so am I." He says softly. "You're my best friend, Y/N. And I wouldn't have it any other way." He says honestly and it stops your pouting for a bit as you look down at your entwined hands sheepishly.

"I love you." You finally mutter and lean over to kiss his soft cheek, feeling his dimple form under your lips and it just makes you giggle ever so quietly.

"I love you too..." He whispers, looking at you for a moment to show he means it, and you couldn't be more confident of that in this moment...

***************************************

From one plus size girly to another: You are ENOUGH! You are attractive, and you are indeed that bitch lol. Love you all!

[anonymousewrites]

Apple of My Eye Chapter Eighteen

Harry Hook x Child of Snow White! Reader

Chapter Eighteen: Part of Your World

Summary: The Isle is open for people to come and go, but the story of the VKs joining Auradon isn't over.

Announcement: I am going on a brief hiatus until January 22nd since I'm going abroad, but I wanted to give you guys an update before I left. It also gets into more original content to remind everyone the story is not over, we have things to see still!

A few weeks later…

            (Y/N) spun and blocked a sword slash. They grinned, kicked, and dodged back.

            Harry laughed as his breath was knocked from him. “Fightin’ dirty. I’m a bad influence, Highness,” he teased, straightening.

            “I thought you called it, ‘fighting creatively,’ ” replied (Y/N), still crouched with their sword in hand.

            “Fair enough.” Harry lunged.

            (Y/N) dodged, but Harry pivoted and struck again. (Y/N) narrowly parried, pressing their sword against his. He pushed forward, and (Y/N) stumbled back into a tree. Harry leaned over them as he pressed the sword down.

            “I got ya, Highness,” said Harry.

            “Not yet,” replied (Y/N), arms shaking as they held back his sword.

            Harry changed his angle abruptly and took a step closer. His front was almost touching (Y/N)’s. Their breath stuttered, and their sword went sailing out of their hand as they tried to move out of the way. Tripping over his feet, (Y/N) went down.

            “Oh—!”

            Harry dropped his sword and caught them. Hands around their waist, Harry straightened (Y/N).

            “Ya fallin’ for me finally, Highness?” said Harry, hands still on their hips.

            (Y/N) rolled their eyes and laughed. “Hardly.” Still, they didn’t move.

            “Pity,” drawled Harry. “Would’ve given you an excuse for losin’.”

            “It’s still 3-2,” said (Y/N), patting his chest and stepping away.

            “No, it’s 2-2,” said Harry.

            (Y/N) picked up their sword. “The duel on the Isle still counts~”

            “Does it, now? Now that’s playin’ dirty,” said Harry.

            “Yet you’re smiling,” said (Y/N). They grinned over their shoulder and winked. “And it means I’m winning.”

            Harry chuckled and picked up his sword. “I’m winnin’ the next one, and then we’re tied.”

            “So another duel in a few days?” said (Y/N).

            “Wouldn’t miss it,” said Harry.

            (Y/N) smiled. Harry smiled in return.

            Ever since the VKs had all come to Auradon, life had been a blur. The Villains who were clear on wanting to reform—such as Lady Tremaine, Dr. Facilier, and, surprisingly, the Evil Queen—had been helped by the royals and government to find homes and settle in to life again. Their kids were given opportunities for schooling, spreading out to be near their parents if they wished to be or farther away if they preferred.

            Harry was one of the ones who was now in Auradon, studying and forming new connections. He still preferred Uma and Gil over other friendships, but it was clear something was emerging between him and (Y/N). The pair were seen together often, understanding one another. (Y/N) put effort into helping every adjusting VK, but they had a special friendship—connection—with Harry.

            The pair even had weekly duels that never ceased to entertain them. Harry emerged as a powerhouse on the Auradon fencing team, but he enjoyed the wildness, the lack of rules, the banter that his duels with (Y/N) had. (Y/N) liked getting to handle their sword more often. Plus, both adored the fact they could be closer to the other.

            “Ready to head to lunch?” said (Y/N), picking up their bag. “We can drop our swords off in the gym on our way there.”

            “I’m at your service, Highness,” teased Harry.

            (Y/N) rolled their eyes and adjusted their yellow bandana. Today, they wore a simple pair of blue pants and a red top, easy to move in but still put-together. “If you’re done with that, let’s go.”

            Harry just grinned. He loved their reactions to his teasing. They always had a small smile hiding their amusement, and his heart beat just that much faster when he saw it.

l

            “Hey, everyone,” said (Y/N), sitting down with their tray of food.

            “Out sword-fighting again?” said Evie, smiling knowingly.

            “Some of us like a little action,” said Harry.

            “Don’t make it sound like that,” groaned (Y/N) with a laugh.

            “As long as you don’t stab my best friend, we’re fine,” said Evie cheerfully.

            “Didn’t stab ‘em, but I did win,” said Harry.

            “That’s my first mate,” said Uma, grinning and lifting her hand. The pair high-fived.

            “I’m still beating him overall,” said (Y/N).

            “You should get on the fencing team,” said Mal, grinning.

            “Yeah, but then I would have to fight with Harry, and he’s so much more fun as an opponent,” said (Y/N), laughing.

            “You could tease him when he messes up,” said Jay.

            “Thank you, Jay,” said Harry, rolling his eyes. “I never mess up.”

            “Last week you knocked your own hook off your hand into a tree,” said (Y/N). “And it took us forever to pull it out.”

            “That’s my hook, not my sword-fightin’,” said Harry.

            “I thought you were an expert with both,” said (Y/N) innocently. Evie laughed, and Carlos smothered a laugh.

            “I am,” said Harry, grinning at them. He picked up his hook—that now hung from his belt most days since it wasn’t “polite” to be waving a hook at people 24/7—and spun it around. “Want to let me show ya?”

            “I remember when you first got your hook and couldn’t hold it up,” said Gil brightly.

            Harry groaned at the reminder, and the table burst out laughing.

            “Sorry I’m late, guys,” said Ben, sliding into his seat.

            “It’s alright,” said Mal, taking his hand and squeezing. “More meetings?”

            “I wish it was just that,” said Ben, sighing. “There was an incident today.”

            “Another one?” said Uma, narrowing her eyes.

            “Yeah,” said Ben. “Celia was doing a tarot reading for some of her friends, and someone got the ‘Death’ card, which represents change, apparently, but Ariel’s daughter noticed and freaked out. There was a bit of a shouting match, and I got called in to mediate.”

            Mal grimaced, (Y/N) sighed, and several of the VKs frowned. For the most part, VKs leaving the Isle as free people had gone smoothly, but amongst the newer generation, there was still some friction. Some of the people who had grown up in Auradon with the stories of their parents suffering at the hands of villains were scared of the VKs and made it known. Fortunately, no one had pulled an Audrey and gone off the deep end. In fact, Audrey had turned over a new leaf, and, despite not ever being super close to any of the VKs, she was endeavoring to help some of them settle into their new lives and teach her fellow royals that anyone could be good and anyone could be evil.

            Still, some incidents—like the one from today—still occurred. Such a big change in the world would never be smooth. All Ben and Mal could do was oversee the transition and make sure there were people in place to help mediate any issues before they blew out of proportion.

            “Did it get resolved?” said (Y/N).

            “Yeah,” said Ben. “But could you speak to your team about keeping an eye on Eris to make sure he doesn’t get spooked or lash out again?”

            “Yeah,” said (Y/N). “And I can ask her brother, Adrian, to speak to her.”

            “At least he has a good head on his shoulders,” said Uma. She had been on edge when first meeting her mother’s nemesis’s son, but Adrian was smart and friendly—an optimist if anyone was one. Eris was similar to her brother, but she was a little more skittish.

            “I know,” said (Y/N), agreed (Y/N).

            “He even handled your breakup really well,” said Ben, smiling.

            Harry’s fork froze in his food, and his gaze flicked up to (Y/N). “You dated him?”

            “I went on one date with him, I don’t know why everyone makes it seem like we really dated,” said (Y/N), quick to correct the situation.

            “Oh, good, I’d question your taste,” said Harry.

            “Would you?” said (Y/N), looking at him curiously.

            “He’s too rule-followin’ for ya,” said Harry. He grinned. “You need someone with flair.”

            “Let me know when you see someone like that,” said (Y/N) cheerfully, and Harry smirked.

            Evie and Uma exchanged looks. They were literally near begging for the pair to confess and get-together. The banter-flirting was unbearable.

            “Okay…” said Carlos, looking between (Y/N) and Harry. “I’ll let Jane know that you and the other VK mentors need to meet.”

            “Thanks,” said (Y/N), smiling at him. They looked at Ben. “And don’t worry, Ben. We knew this would happen. But it’s going to be alright.”

            “Yeah,” agreed Uma. “(Y/N) and I will make sure everyone checks in on their mentees to see if there’s been other issues.”

            “Thanks, guys,” said Ben.

            “I’m so glad we have you two,” said Mal, smiling. “And I have a meeting today, but I’ll be at the next check-in.” She was a Queen-to-be, but she wasn’t going to be uninvolved with her people—Isle and Auradon.

l

            “Okay, is everyone here?” said (Y/N), entering to clubroom.

            “Yeah,” said Jane, nodding.

            “Good,” said Uma. “We can get started.”

            (Y/N), Evie, and Uma stood in front of the group of Auradon kids involved in helping Isle kids adjust to life in Auradon and schooling at Auradon Prep. Audrey was there—part of her community service and her own change for the better. Lizzie Darling, (Y/N)’s roommate and Wendy Darling’s daughter, sat at a table. Adrian, Ariel and Prince Eric’s son, was leaning back in his chair. The last few people were Esme—Esmeralda and Phoebus’s daughter, Herod—Megara and Hercules’s son, and Fleur—Flora’s daughter.

            “Alright, so we had an incident today,” said Jane. “Celia got accused of wanting to kill someone because of a tarot reading.”

            Adrian sighed. “I heard from Eris. I’m sorry about her. I’ll talk to her.”

            “Good,” said Uma, nodding. “Eris just got scared, so she probably won’t be a repeat offender.”

            “Who do we have that’s still causing trouble?” said (Y/N).

            “Chad Charming is still…rude,” said Jane, sighing.

            “He’s too scared to do anything, so, hopefully, it’ll fade away,” said Audrey. She winced. “He’s still scared of me.”

            “Scare him into not doing anything,” said (Y/N) cheerfully.

            “(Y/N),” said Jane.

            “I like that idea,” said Uma.

            “Uma,” said Jane.

            Uma and (Y/N) shrugged.

            Jane chuckled and continued. “Thea, Tinkerbell’s daughter, has been sneering down her nose.”

            “Yeah, Harry has been getting a lot of scowls from her,” said Uma. “Honestly, I think he’s impressed by how she holds a grudge.”

            (Y/N) laughed. “Sounds like him.”

            “Farley, Fauna’s son, has been pretty upset about the lack of supervision of the VKs,” said Audrey. She could remember when she had thought that way. “He thinks they should be on probation instead of immediately accepted.”

            Jane looked at her notes. “Yeah, he’s in our notes.”

            “Has he or Thea tried to provoke anyone?” said Evie.

            “Not yet,” said Jane. “So far it’s just vague comments, nothing direct. The only one who’s tried to outright provoke the VKs to react is Marion, Merida’s daughter. She’s headstrong, so she’s not afraid to go right up to the VKs and accuse them of…acting evil.”

            “Alright,” said (Y/N). “So, Adrian, you talk to Eris.” He nodded. “Fleur, Jane, you two are fairy kids, can one of you talk to Farley?”

            “Sure,” said Fleur.

            “Esme, Harod, Lizzie, one of you talk to Thea,” said (Y/N).

            “I can do it,” said Lizzie, smiling.

“And Audrey, you can talk to Chad,” said (Y/N).

            “(Y/N), Evie, and I will talk to the VKs to make sure they’re doing well,” said Uma.

            Everyone nodded.

            “In general, has everyone’s mentees been doing well?” said Jane.

            “I think so,” said Esme. “Some of mine are a little closed-off, but I’m being patient.”

            “They’re a little nervous,” said Evie, smiling. “But they like you. They like all of you, actually.” The other mentors smiled.

            Uma nodded. “Just let them get used to being respected and being allowed to have questions or be unsure. On the Isle, you couldn’t afford that. It was a weakness. These kids are still getting used to being themselves.”

            “We’ll give them time,” said Harod. “I think finding clubs and sports is helping.”

            “Right,” said Evie. “That’s how Carlos and Jay started to fit in. I have my business that helped me connect to people.”

            “And we have the celebration ball coming up,” said Audrey. “Balls are great places to mingle.”

            “You like dressing up,” said Evie.

            “Guilty,” said Audrey.

            “Should we take our mentees shopping or let them go with friends?” said Fleur. “I don’t want to interfere or smother them.”

            “Uma, Evie? What do you think?” said (Y/N).

            “Give them advice of what people usually wear—the standards of dress,” said Uma. “But don’t push them towards a particular style.”

            “Right,” said Evie. “I was prepared when I came because my mom was a queen and taught me how to dress for events. Mal wasn’t sure, so I helped her. But after she became Ben’s girlfriend, she tried to fit with the ‘princess’ aesthetic too much, and it didn’t feel like her. Make sure your mentees don’t feel like they’re going to stand out because they’re underdressed, but make sure they also feel like they’re being true to themselves.”

            “And offer to come with them only if they ask,” said Uma. “That way they can go with people they feel comfortable with and branch out.”

            The mentors nodded, and (Y/N) smiled.

            “Alright. You heard them,” said (Y/N).

            “But, uh—” Evie grinned. “Send people my way. I know how to design, and I love balls.”

            “Are we advertisements for you?” laughed Uma.

            Evie shrugged. “Maybe.”

            The group laughed. (Y/N) smiled at them all. Between all the VKs eager to have a second change and all the people willing to help them, it wouldn’t take long for the reform program to really get off its feet. The scared people of Auradon would see just how good the VKs could be, and then, slowly, a new era of peace could begin.

            And it was all thanks to the hard work of two groups of people coming together and the leaders from both trying to make a better world.

            (Y/N) smiled.

Taglist:

@neenieweenie

@hampterfae

@american-idiot-jpg

@lunalixya

@roo024

@unholycheesesnack

@paastaboi

@lbee13

@rory-cakes

@theeghosted

@newttheglue250

@bridkesby

@yappydoo

@echoheartza

@pain-in-the-ashe

@sugarrush-blush

@sanaxo-o

@ara-theo

@zomb-1-egutzz

@simpy-simpin

[milllersfae]

‧₊ ⋅★ 彡 all yours I bodyguard!abby x fem!reader

word count: 2.3k I warnings: attempted sa* (*not by abby we don't play that!), intoxication, fem!reader, angst + fluff I summary: 'before you entered just a couple minutes before, her eyes grazed you well for a second before following behind you with a hand to your back, guiding you in. "you can call me abby. i'm yours for the entire night. if you need anything at all, lock eyes and I'm there."'

a/n: this takes me back to my wattpad days! this fic is a lot more intense than my other works, so i can understand if it doesn't sit well with some readers, my apologies. miiiight make a part two if my heart can handle it. thank you to @millersaurora for inspiring me to keep writing even if im struggling irl a bit. so many hugs ^^

im sending a limo for you. i sent a bodyguard to bring you here. you'll find us sitting in VIP, k? give me a call if ANYTHING happens, see u soon <3

the new blue bubble appeared, bright white screen against your face in the darkness of the car. your model-of-a-friend plus-oned you into a private party after your long hiatus from nightlife. there was an itch against the sequins of your slip dress, a sweat that built on the foot of your heel that fought between a knot in your throat. any distraction to keep your mind off her.

she sat straight, back stiff against the leather of the seat. her hair was neat in a blonde braid and fell over her shoulder, contrasted against her black button down. before you entered just a couple minutes before, her eyes grazed you well for a second before following behind you with a hand to your back, guiding you in. "you can call me abby. i'm yours for the entire night. If you need anything at all, lock eyes and i'm there."

your mind was a never-ending race that you didn't even notice the car came to a halt at the front of the venue. music loomed heavy outside the building, an echoing call that coaxed you in. you turned to abby for a sense of reassurance. she raised a curious brow, in an essence of a silent 'you ready'? and you nodded in reply. she headed out her side of the door, rushing over to open yours. she held an arm out to help you balance on your heels.

"after you."

your face flustered as you thanked the driver and stood up to hitch yourself around her, arm feeling the ridges against her bicep. you walk through the doors as the vibration of music hummed through your body. the room was full of people and personal chatter, only illuminated by the flicker of the overhead lights. the two of you searched for your vip seating, making way through cliques and crowds of people. abby caught sight of the group, pulling you in her direction. you followed with a wobble, walking up a slim set of stairs to meet at a large velvety booth.

"you made it!" your hostess exclaimed, wrapping you in a big hug as you sat next to her. "i hope abby was no issue to you. she's not a huge talker."

you sneak a look at her where she sat next to you, taking a slow sip of her drink. your stare held longer than you imagined, her eyes meeting yours as she swallowed. you turned back with a blink and nodded. "n-no, not an issue."

your friend smiled in response. "i'm so glad you could come out tonight. go order a drink, dance! get out there! i'll be here for most the night talking to my manager about my next runway show." she cocked her head towards the main floor. "abby will watch out for you if anything goes off."

you oblige, nervously getting up to make your way to the bartop. you scooted past guests with soft 'scuse me's and 'thank you''s as you finally found your way to the stools. you found an open seat and grabbed the bartender’s attention for a daiquiri.

you never against a night out, but such an atmosphere had grown unknown to you. you felt a little nervous at your presence, sitting amongst those in high-level industries—only to be a mere plus one. you try to settle your mind with the first sip of your drink, strawberry sweetness distracting you from the thought. it was long before one drink turned into three, the intoxicating feeling stirring itself into your bloodstream, slowing your anxiety into a gradual thought in the back of your head.

a broad-shouldered man found his way to the seat beside you, making notice of the glint of shimmer that coated your dress.

"you're surprisingly mellow—how'd you get into a high energy little thing like this?"

your head turned with a startle before taking the man in. he wasn't an eye sore, gaze filled with a similar drunkenness that made you open up more than you usually would.

"a friend wanted me to come. not big on the energy and unfamiliar faces here."

he nodded with an attentive assuredness that brought you an hours-long awaited peace you had been hoping for. even though the two of you didn't exchanges on names, you unfurled into conversation faster than you'd ever expected yourself to.

"how 'bout a drink or two, take it as my congratulations for getting the guts to come out tonight." the tuxed man joked, ushering over the barkeeper for a round of drinks. they soon arrived, liquor running brown over the crowd of ice in the glass. with a sequence of sips, the event felt bearable after all. you turn back to check on your friend, consequentially shooting you thumbs up of assentment on your new guest. you motion a nod of humorous disapproval before meeting his face again. it had changed now, where something more playfully arrived. he put his hand over yours, grazing the top of your knuckles slightly.

"is it too late to get out of here?"

your eyes darted nervously, unsure of your answer. before you could utter a response, abby had impatiently parted through the cluttered crowd of partygoers to meet you at your seat. her face was taunt and fixated on the new acquaintance.

"hey, let’s go talk real quick." abby muttered, grabbing the man by his collar, and rushing from the barstool to the back of the room. you worriedly followed, yelling her name haphazardly. the room had felt it grown temporarily quiet at your voice, your ears ringing and vision becoming blurrier than it had already became. you finally found the two with a turn of the corner, your hands hitting your mouth in shock.

abby laid another punch into his nose, already bloodied and stricken with fresh bruising. in your best attempt to not draw attention you struggle in separating the two with a pull, meeting absolute failure. the man had given up with a slump to the floor before abby finally turned to you, face reddened with anger.

"what the fuck is wrong with you!" you cry and try to shove her, only to find her solid as a wall. her breaths were heavy against your skin. you were dizzy and drunk, making weak punches into her stomach before she held you by the shoulders, pinning you place.

"honey, listen to me, you didn't fucking see what i saw—"

"see what? what are you, jealous?" you jokingly spat, inebriated thoughts coming to the surface. you wrestle at abby's grasp, her eyes growing pained and concerned.

"no!" she tried to hold you still, trying to hold your erratic attention. "he—he was trying to drug you."

you stopped, her words hitting you with a jarring halt. you focused on the sound of your own breathing, then the music, then eyes, cloudy and blue were pinned on you, brows wrinkled deep.

"when you turned around i saw him slip something in your drink. i had be watching him all night. i couldn't stand and watch it any longer."

her voice teetered back in forth in your head, trying to catch up with your own conscience while you tried your best to piece together the last half-hour. how easy he had gotten to you, how good it had felt.

how fake it had been.

you feel you eyes water, finally finding words to slur out.

"can we please leave. please."

abby assuredly nodded, holding her hand for you to grab as you head back towards your table.

"i'm gonna tell everyone we're leaving and explain the situation some more in the morning..."

it didn't register with you much, and abby had made notice. she looked over to you, eyes patient and empathetic.

"don't worry, i got you now."

you fluster a bit before making it to the table. you couldn't make out abby's words, only focusing on the reassuring shoulder she gave your host. the two nodded in agreement before she returned back to you. you walked back to the very entrance you came from, air hitting you in a waft after the smother that lingered in the stuffy club. abby let you into the awaiting limo.

"anywhere i can take you? home? we can go the police station if y—"

"...is ramen an option?"

abby laughs softly, relived at your reemerging composure.

"always an option."

-

the two of you made the safe choice of renting a room a classy hotel abby had picked herself. after the 20 minute back and forth on guilt that you had about the price, you let her pick the last room they had left, carefully escorting you to the elevator.

the silence was deafening, the incline up the floors feeling an inescapably slow pace. you looked at the floor, barely able to look her direction. your lips parted nervously to make the first statement.

"m'really sorry. i'm so naive."

she made a pensive nod, staring down at the bags of takeout she held in her hand.

it seemed like she couldn't look at you, too.

"never apologize for someone else's manipulation. that's all i ask of you."

with that, the doors parted allowing the both of you to step onto the floor you would home for the night. with a touch of the keycard, the door coaxed open. with a enter, you made a muffled gasp at the size.

it was spacious, king-sized bed sitting at the back of the wall, decorated between two sleek white nightstands. a white rug sat at-length on the ground, leading your eyes right towards the never-ending windowed sight of the cityscape-sky. you found yourself hypnotized by the sight, walking in beeline to the glass. never in your life was something like this possible, yet your mind still lingered on the cause of it all. you feel abbys' presence join you, giving you a light nudge on the arm.

"let's eat before it gets cold, right?"

you nod, making your way to the spacious bed that almost seem to await your arrival. abby hands your bowl, warmth still on your palms. she hands you your chopsticks already split and the two of you began to dig in, slurps and gulps filling the room. it was that same feeling you got before from him but unnerving. real.

abby raises her bowl to your chin, rope of noodles twirled around the wooden stick.

"you wanna try?" she prompts, raising it to your mouth.

you gave a hesitant nod before parting your lips. her eyes drift slightly to your lips before softly mumbling 'say ahhh' before you finish with a chew and swallow.

everything about her became an aphrodisiac in the moment. it was any part of her; the scent of her perfume was neutral and linen, the roll of her sleeves and the toned forearms beneath them, the slight unbutton of her shirt revealed a thin gold chain with her name written in script. you hid all the feelings in an elongated chew as she gave you a second bite. the taste of umami had a good way of derailing your sultry mind.

your buzz had begun to become endurable again as you tried to recount the moments of the night. how much had carelessly entered and left your mind, but her. she stayed. she looped and weaved and was consistent.

"i know you're not big on my apologies but i'm sorry i screamed at you. you were just doin' your job." you lazily swirled your chopsticks in your broth to avoid any stare at her upper body.

abby clicked her tongue against her teeth. "don't sweat it. wouldn't be the first time. you were scared," she started, slurping a mushroom into her mouth. she chuckled beneath her breath. "'was funny how you thought i was jealous though."

you unexpectedly yelped at her comment, eyes wide with embarrassment. you place your bowl on the bedside counter, hands gripping your dress with fervor. "i said that?"

she followed, placing hers next to yours. she shrugged her shoulders, comically shaking her head.

"yea, something like that. I wasn't offended."

"i hope not, that whole thing was far from cute." you reply, hands fiddling in your lap.

"god, never about that guy. guys like him make my job feel worth it. like i did my part." she fixes a hand in her hair, undoing the braids with a few movements of her finger. abby leaned in, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"i never said i wasn't jealous though."

your face fell hot at the tension, noses near touching. she scans your face for reaction, eyes unaware of your next move.

you battled between your intoxicated mind and inner conscience. something told you this was stupid. immature, even undiscerning.

but something stronger told you it felt just right.

you wrapped your arms around her, repositioning your body to lean in hers. you could feel the warm of her skin against yours, like a signal idling towards an impatient yes.

"thank you. so much. i wish i could find another way to say it." you hushed.

"you can."

she pressed against you, lips leaning deep into yours. the mix of whiskey and strawberry still left on your tongue only made your clamor deeper, head pressing against a tendril of hair that fell in front of her face. she pressed her hands against your hips, the indents of her rings felt cold against your skin. the felt of her touch ate you whole, made you feel blanketed in comfort, made a bliss long unfelt.

you parted, your lashes parting with a flutter, taking in the burdening desire that she had created and unfurled inside of you.

"see, that wasn't so hard." she teased, cupping a hand behind your ear as you fall into her chest to muffle your unexpected laugh.

⊹˚₊‧───────────────‧₊˚⊹

[cinamintyy]

Josuke x DIO's daughter reader:

A/N:This idea is so cool. This is really long but rushed in the end since I started this before the hiatus I took, but here it is finally. How you like it <33

CW: Reader is a stand user, parental death, I took a few creative liberties with the stand itself, fem reader, not proofread.

Dio was an okay father. He was mostly busy, though. Your mother died during your birth, and so he found out about you. Dio had sent one of his devotees to leave Egypt before the Crusaders arrived. You didn't understand why, but you listened to him since he was the only parent you knew, you never saw him again. You sorta just bounced around since after DIO died, the flesh bud he implanted into them killed them. So you bounced from foster home to foster home for about 2 years, some families were good and the others were... not so good. A few weeks before your sixth birthday, a sweet Japanese couple fostered you before deciding to permanently adopt you. And they moved you to Kanagawa. You were their only kid, so you had a good childhood. Except for the fact you had a figure that appeared when you turned ten, she was sweet and caused you no harm. And you could do so many cool things with her, yet no one would believe you when you would point at it. Eventually, people teased you about "being too old to have imaginary friends," or so they said, you stopped talking about her, and she was named Dancing Queen (courtesy of you). Later, you found out you could stop time. At first, you couldn't believe it since it was so short. But slowly, you could do it for about 3-4 seconds, as you used her to help you a lot in your everyday life. But outside of that, you resented the fact that only you could see her and did your best to live semi-normal. That's what happened to you in your last years of middle school. Your parents wanted you to have a peaceful high school life, so at the end of middle school, you moved to Morioh. The beginning of high school was on the rougher side, but what helped was the fact you were gorgeous (idgaf about what you say you are!). On the way to school, you witnessed a boy with a pompadour fight an older man, but were you the only one who could see the figures they used to fight? You know what? Never mind, you'd continue heading to school. But during school, you couldn't help but think about it, no matter how much you tried to take your mind off it. Yet later on that day, you saw a group of people gathered in front of a convenience store, as well as some policemen. You went over to watch what was going on, and you saw the boy again. There was a robbery turned hostage situation going on and the assailant had insulted his hair, and there it was again! A pink and blue figure and as though nothing happened the knife the assailant used was in his stomach. Afterward, you did your best to stay clear of the boy, whose name you later found out was Josuke. You mostly shunned your ability, to live normally, I mean even your time freezing became about 2-3 seconds from your neglect. You weren't going to let a person you haven't met ruin it.

That's how it went, at least for a week-. You saw Josuke at a new restaurant you had decided to try and before you left you both chatted and he was quite... charming. You both talked more and more as the weeks passed. He thought you weren't a stand user until for whatever reason he needed to use Crazy Diamond to fix something broken, you had walked into the room and made eye contact with his stand. He obviously questioned you and you genuinely liked him and wanted him to know so you told him, everything. There was something about him that seemed trustworthy. He told you about his nephew and that he knew who DIO was, you were shocked and told him you'd think about meeting him. A few days you had decided perhaps it would be best and told Josuke you wanted to meet him. After telling, Jotaro who you now knew him as, he got the SWF to do a DNA test on you to see if yours matched Dio's. (It did) You still decided that despite this you'd live your life as normally as possible until a little someone (Josuke) coaxed you into using your ability again. You knew about the situation with Kira and you decided to help.

You and Josuke got closer and closer until the day he finally confessed to you. You both started dating officially and god you two are lovebirds. Josuke and you love doing silly things with your stands, like using your time-stopping abilities to play small pranks. This isn't exactly the 'normal life' you were seeking, but God do you love it

[1dmonthlyficroundup]

— 1D Monthly Fic Roundup —

Hi, and welcome to the 1D Monthly Fic Roundup for February 2024! Below you’ll find 1D fics that were all published this month. We hope you’ll check out these new fics! If you would like to submit your own fic, please check this post on how to submit or visit our blog @1dmonthlyficroundup​. You can find all our other posts here.

Happy reading!

＊ Sipping Pink Lucozade by zmmf / @zaynmaliksmiddlefinger [E, 86k, Zayn/Liam]

If Zayn had to describe his life for the past few years, “struggling musician” would be a massive understatement. The last thing he needs right now is a distraction from his last shot at a successful career.

Enter the most tempting distraction he could imagine in the form of Liam Payne, the irresistible—and deeply closeted—playboy and son of the owner of Zayn's label.

Liam Payne is used to getting everything he wants with a tap of his black card—but he isn’t used to wanting something money can’t buy.

Let alone something he shouldn't desire to begin with.

Both men know they shouldn't risk everything by giving in to temptation, but it just might be too late.

＊ Clear Blue Water, High Tide Came And Brought You In by BoosBabycakes / @boosbabycakes28 [E, 79k, Harry/Louis]

A wonderful sweet, somewhat innocent and very hopeful Harry makes it to the big city to start a new life, away from the pain and risks his own home poses for him. A broken, somewhat lonely but very self-aware Louis tries to give his days meaning, purpose.

A journey through love, understanding and self-awareness in which acceptance of one's self and the capacity to focus on what's really important are the drivers.

A carefully constructed yet fragile web of lies, designed to keep them safe, might just be what also pulls them apart.

Or the one where Harry is a mermaid, Louis is a vampire, and they have to hide who they really are to the other. What could possibly go wrong?

＊ Stray by @haztobegood [E, 1k, Zayn/Harry, Louis/Harry]

Louis waits in the booth he’s occupied since they arrived. He checks his phone for the time, finishes his second drink, and waits. Harry had put on a good show for him. Picking a gorgeous man, dancing filthily, whispering in his ear, kissing him hard. It wasn’t a surprise when the man led Harry to the back. He imagines Harry in any number of positions, on his knees, in an alley, wrists pinned against a wall. Louis shifts in his seat, trying to discreetly adjust himself under the table.

Finally, Louis catches a glimpse of familiar curls weaving through the crowd. The man’s arm is firm around Harry’s waist until they stop in front of the booth. “I found this stray wandering around. I believe he’s yours.”

＊ and then, i wait there for you by punk_pillow_princess / @punkpillowprincess [M, 9k, Louis/Harry]

Harry has always dreamed of having his “happily ever after”, but hasn't found the right one yet. Suddenly, he meets Louis.

＊ All This Time (I was Waiting for You) by @ohharold [E, 4k, Harry/Louis]

Harry and Louis have always been destined for eachother. Some time apart has Harry reminiscent of their first meeting.

＊ spring in your eyes by @nouies [NR, 3k, Louis/Harry]

“Just Go with It” inspired AU where plastic surgeon Harry pretends to be married to his assistant Louis to avoid unwanted attention.

＊ Started Off With Some Birthday Sex by larry_hiatus / @larry-hiatus [E, 3k, Harry/Louis]

When Harry gets woken up at the exact moment he turns thirty, Louis makes sure to start off his birthday with a bang.

＊ Timing Is Everything by @littleroverlouis [E, 2k, Louis/Harry]

Harry's Valentine's Day marriage proposal does not go as planned. Part 7 of Putting the 'Ho' in Holiday

＊ From the Dining Table by @littleroverlouis [E, 3k, Harry/Louis]

Harry's thirtieth birthday hasn't gone as expected.

Things start looking up from the dining table.

＊ One Thing (for my birthday) by @berzerkshires [E, 5k, Louis/Harry]

Canon Compliant: Liam shares a link of an interview from twelve years ago to the One Direction Whatsapp promising a DJ a lads' night for Harry's birthday, they plan one night to hang out. And Harry makes sure to get that One Thing he wants every birthday.

＊ Bavarian Cream by @berzerkshires [E, 2k, Harry/Louis]

Lou has a big day planned for the birthday girl, but all Harry wants to do is thirty things with Lou.

＊ like a fire hydrant by @justanothershadeofblue [E, 3k, OT5]

Louis has a surprise planned for Harry after his final concert to help take his mind off the ending of his tour. A very messy surprise.

＊ i would know you from touch alone by staybeautiful / @harruandlou [E, 72k, Louis/Harry]

They had never been face to face before now. They’d never touched, skin to skin, until Harry landed a punch to his face, high on his cheekbone.

Louis shoved him off and was pulling his fist back from Harry’s abdomen before he realized his face wasn’t tingling because of the pain.

It pooled out from his cheek, over his face, down his neck and spine. A shiver in the late September night. Heat, sparks - whatever you wanted to fucking call it.

or The Tomlinson and Cox gangs have hated each other for over forty years. Harry Styles, the grandson of Gritty Cox, was freshly back to the city after uni when, on his first night out, he punched the Tomlinson heir in the face. It shouldn’t have mattered, their gangs have done worse to each other. But all it took was one single touch to recognize your soulmate. Louis was adamant that being soulmates changed nothing, not who they were or which family they were loyal to. Or, at least, it shouldn’t have.

＊ Skin on My Skin by Layne Faire / @laynefaire [E, 2k, Zayn/Liam]

Damn, I could get lost in a heartbeat Damn, I can't get over your body Can't take my eyes off you, baby Let me love you, baby

Let me touch you where you like it Let me do it for ya Give you all of my attention Dive into that ocean of your love, oh Let me show you just how much I want ya

＊ Can You Feel Where the Wind Is by @fallinglikethis [M, 3k, Zayn/Liam}

It had been a normal day, just like any other. He’d been doing a PR tour for his father’s election campaign, making appearances in marginalized communities to let them know that his father saw them, would work for them if elected. He’d always maintained that his father would make a bigger impact by showing up himself, proving that he meant to keep his promises and was not just sending his son to give lip service. Liam’s advice had fallen on deaf ears, but then it’s not like Liam had listened to his father’s advice either.

Liam still remembers the argument, still remembers the feelings of stubborn exasperation and eventual grudging acceptance, when his father had insisted that Liam needed a security detail while out doing his father’s bidding. He remembers arguing that he had no real power over anything, so no one would care about him, let alone try to hurt him. But that assessment had proven to be untrue today.

＊ Dirty Diana by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright [E, 3k, Louis/Harry]

In the month leading up to his 30th birthday, Harry writes to his confidante Diana every day, sharing his fantasies about Louis.

It'll be a dirty thirtieth indeed if they all become reality.

＊ Bend Like a Hairpin by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 [M, 25k, Harry/Louis]

Who could have guessed that Harry’s entire FBI career could hinge on his ability to convincingly swing around a stripper pole without braining himself?

Harry stands in front of the pole, his back still to Louis, and takes a big breath. He just has to hope it’s not obvious from behind that he’s completely freaking out. He closes his eyes and tries to listen to the music, letting his heartbeat match the beat.

(Or the one where FBI agent Harry Styles screws up in a mission and he has one more chance to save his career. He’s going undercover as a stripper to investigate a strip club suspected of money laundering. There’s just 2 problems: 1) Harry can’t dance, and 2) he might be falling for the club’s owner Louis, who just happens to be the prime suspect).

＊ I Might Say Yes by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 [E, 6k, Louis/Harry]

“You and Zayn get up to any mischief then?” Louis’ smirk suggests that he knows how Harry and Zayn’s brunches usually turn out, but Harry would bet on everything he has that Louis would never be able to guess it this time.

It’s not very nice of him, but Harry can’t help but wait until Louis has taken another sip of tea before he answers.

“I bought a wedding dress.”

Just as predicted Louis does a spit take worthy of the cinema, but Harry is impressed with how quickly he’s able to pull himself back together.

Louis takes a moment to set his cup down and when he speaks again his tone is even, but with the mirth of a challenge hidden underneath. “I wasn’t aware that you were engaged?”

Harry just shrugs easily. “Reckon I’m not.” He pauses to flash a coy smile. “Someone ought to put a ring on it.”

(Or the one where Harry buys a wedding dress on a whim. And his very doting boyfriend, Louis, is more than happy to indulge him).

＊ What’s in a Name by @hellolovers13 [T, 2k, Harry/Louis]

Louis had always known Harry was his soulmate.

The name on his arm disagreed.

But what did his soulmark know about true love anyway.

＊ Crimson Clover by babyhoneyhslt / @babyhoneyheslt [T, 5k, Louis/Harry]

Harry and Louis are soulmates, but one is already promised to another. When their plan to flee is discovered and they are separated, Harry falls gravely ill.

Can his father's heart be persuaded to bring Louis back to him?

＊ I'll knock on your door, it will save me from calling by @hl-obsessed [NR, 5k, Harry/Louis]

Louis hears "Good Years" for the first time. Harry is there to pick up the pieces.

＊ pretty please? by @disgruntledkittenface [E, 3k, Louis/Harry]

Harry gets impatient for her Valentine’s Day present.

＊ Pussy Juice by @homosociallyyours [M, 3k, Harry/Louis]

When Harry visits her hometown gay bar, she expects it to be a little awkward. But if she's going to move back to town, she figures she better get used to that. While she manages to dodge the bar's "special" drink, the Pussy Juice shot, she can't avoid the feelings that come up when her former teacher (and teen crush), Louis joins her and her friends for the night.

＊ Room With a View by @littleroverlouis [E, 1k, Louis/Harry]

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Harry asks. “Absolutely stunning.”

Louis mumbles into her skin. “You’re the stunning one.” Her hands leave the railing and skim down Harry’s sides, from rib cage to the flare of her hips. A muted purr rumbles from her chest as she leans into Louis.

“No, that’s you,” Harry purrs, nuzzling further into Louis’ chest. They cuddle as they lazily watch the endless stretch of sea. Time does not exist when there is sunshine on your face, fresh salty air in your lungs, and the comfort of your most beloved in your arms.

“Doesn’t this fresh air feel so fucking good?”

“Wanna make you feel even better,” Louis murmurs into Harry’s tousled hair.

Or Louis and Harry go on an Alaskan cruise. Part 4 of Holigays

＊ baby you're the boss at home by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove [E, 3k, Harry/Louis]

Louis sets up a camera in the master bedroom, so she can watch over her wife while she's at work. But it doesn't take long for Harry to notice -- and to decide to have some fun with it, at the expense of Louis' sanity.

She watches Harry’s head tip back, twisting against the pillow, and she wishes so desperately that she could hear the whimpers she knows are spilling from Harry’s throat – that long, beautiful, marble throat that she wants to cover in kisses and bites. When Harry’s back arches, Louis almost moans – catching herself just in time to remember that she’s not muted, that she’s on a call with a dozen top execs, that anyone could hear. Fuck. She needs to get off. Get off the call and also get off she is dripping into her silk panties; at this rate there’s going to be a wet spot on her fancy ergonomic chair before long.

- Fic Fests -

＊ Blouie Valentine's Exchange 2024 / @blouiexchange / Masterpost

An exchange featuring bottom Louis fics

＊ 1D Soulmate Fest / @1dsoulmatefest / AO3 / Masterpost

One Direction fics featuring a soulmate concept

＊ Dirty Thirty Fest / @dirtythirtyfest / AO3 / Masterpost

Fics including Harry Styles in celebration of his 30th birthday

＊ Femslash Festuary / @girldirectionfest / AO3 / Masterpost

Girl Direction fics to celebrate Femslash February

[mimi-cee-genshin]

Just a kid - Alhaitham x f!reader

Summary: It was getting harder to deal with Alhaitham's crush on you.

Other info: fluff, childhood friends to lovers, pre-relationship, prequel to Friend-zoned? but this drabble spoils it a little, occurs after and spoils his story quest, 0.8k words

*****

"Hm?"

You were taken out of the world you were exploring when Alhaitham sat beside you. The patch of grass was worn underneath him and you were surprised the spot hadn't given way into the soil.

He pulled out a textbook from his bag and removed the bookmark you had made for him. It was a keepsake made from his grandmother's flowers. Periwinkle blue was her favorite color.

The scowl on his face remained even though he was seemingly engrossed in his book. From the years of experience of reading his face, you knew better than to think he was fine.

"What's wrong?" you asked. Many things had been bothering him with his new role as the Acting Grand Sage.

"It's been a long day," he said, eyes not leaving the page. "Apparently I made another enemy by pointing out the flaws in someone's project."

"Did you need my help again?" you said, laughing and rubbing his hair. He rarely got along with the other kids in your neighborhood.

"No," he said, shooing your hand away. "I had to deal with it right away. This hivemind case wouldn't have been resolved if I had simply ignored it. I was the target after all."

"Hivemind?" you asked. "You mean like in the book Giants of Heaven?"

He raised a brow. "Is that the light novel you kept trying to get me to read?"

A smile tugged on your lips. "Are you interested in it now?" Maybe he'd finally read the stack of books you wanted to share and enjoy with him.

"Not really," he said curtly, continuing to read his textbook.

"Fine…" you complained. He never looked down on you for taste in books. He just didn't enjoy light novels. "But who in their right mind would create a hivemind? It turned out horribly in the novel."

"Akademiya scholars aren't exactly the brightest bunch," he said. "You'd be much better for the position."

There he went again with the flattery. "Maybe if it were possible to get a degree in light novels," you laughed. He thought way too highly of you simply because you grew up together.

"You know I'm being serious." He closed his book and turned to you. "You'd teach them to get out of their own heads. Like you did with me."

He used to be a know-it-all as a kid, often arguing with you when what you said didn't match his book. At least now, he was more level-headed and thought through things rationally while keeping an open mind. Not to mention he learned how to discern information better.

Yet there were moments where he'd act like the child he was all those years ago. It was always so funny when he'd pretend he wasn't excited about the books you brought home from your travels. That didn't change one bit.

"Meh. I'm not that great," you told him. "I don't really want to give my life away to the Akademiya anyway."

"You've gotten better at rejecting my compliments," he stated, crossing his arms. "Did you get that from the female lead of your current book?"

"Actually, that book went on hiatus, but it's coming back later this year and–"

Alhaitham raised his brow. Cheeky kid.

"You think you're sooooo smart, don't you?"

"Apparently not smart enough," he replied. "You still haven't accepted my feelings for you yet."

He was so casual about bringing them up that it had almost caught you off guard. You lifted up your book and turned your face away from him. Water continued to trickle over rocks and down the stream.

The longing in his eyes was still the same as when you were young. Avoiding them with this book was a lost cause. You didn't understand why he was so infatuated with you, but the adorable and cute little Alhaitham you knew was now grown up and sitting inches away from you.

"I think I'm feeling hungry now. Did you want to head back?" you asked.

Alhaitham rubbed his temples. You knew he'd be annoyed since he just got here and had no intention of moving from his reading spot.

"No. But I'll be here again tomorrow."

Translation: Retreat for now and try again later. Just when was he going to give up on you?

You scaled up the small cliff using the rope he replaced last year. Maybe a drink at Puspa Café would be nice. Another trip away from Sumeru might be good too.

He was making it harder to keep on rejecting him.

*****

I hope you liked it.

This was a mini spin-off of Friend-zoned? lol. I wanted to explore Alhaitham and the reader's interactions more. I actually have another drabble idea for them but we'll see if I actually like it enough to post it. lol.

[ad0rechuu]

ᝰ MY OH MY. ━━ (020) don’t worry about me

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NOTES. [ last update before the hiatus thank you for being so understanding and supportive <3 ]finally some kim cousins moments! i listened to sunwoo’s solo stuff while writing this and when i say i LOVE this man im not playing

make sure to participate the ask them anything event, it’s very important to me : it’s okay if you already send an ask tho, feel free to ask as many questions as you desire whenever you think of one

TAGLIST. @tocupid @leo-seonghwa @seonghwaddict @starryunho @yuyusuyu @kodzumo @felixsramen @aapplepii @juhakutie @gyumibear @alixnsuperstxr @atinyinateezverse @nyukyujs @yunho-mp3 @blueresides @shakalakaboomboo @haechology @ahnneyong @atinycafe @i-luvsang @nasangel @asherthehimbo @marvelahsobx @blue-rainydays @the-swageyama-tobiyolo @evilsailorsenshi @allisonleannn @sunkitti @koizekomi @ms-no1kpopstan @marsvillee @tubatu-wari-wari @jazminethecreator @mitchko11 @daegale @wonwootakemyheart @ksywoo

[cemeteryspider]

Dearie~ Pt. 4

Alastor x Singer! Reader

Summary: A pot left to boil may simmer over at some point, and Vox is about to learn that lesson.

Trigger Warnings: Physical Violence (Against Reader), Abuse, Coercion, Kidnapping, Restraint, and Manipulation

Word Count: 1395

Previous | Next

"Satan! Why are you so difficult! I do e̵̙̕ṽ̶̘͝ė̸͉̼̍ṟ̷͋y̴̥͑t̷̥̝̿̄h̵̛̳ǐ̵͍͈̉n̶̢̋g̴͙͈̐͛ for you and t̵̝̔h̵̘̉ḯ̸͈s̴̫̓ is how you repay me, you b̷̟͝i̶͓͝ṫ̷͉c̸͎̐h̵̼̅" Every buffered word reverberated through the room, each syllable a heavy step that brought Vox closer. He loomed over you, a shadow casting its weight upon your curled-up form in the dimly lit corner. The air crackled with tension as the pungent scent of demon rage filled the confined space.

"If you would just listen," Vox's voice resonated, carrying a mix of frustration and desperation. His plea hung in the air, a haunting echo of a desire for understanding. “I wouldn’t have to do this”

His foot stomped against your temple, and your whole world went dark before you could even make a sound.

~~~

In the end Alastor ended up back at the hotel, right back where he started. His Darling, still trapped, and possibly worse off then she was before, with no way out.

As Alastor pondered the plan he toyed with, a heavy sigh escaped him. The weight of the decision settled in his chest. He hesitated, knowing the gravity of the steps he was about to take. Yet, for the sake of his dear, he knew he had no other choice.

~~~

Alastor asked his old friend Zestial to call a meeting. There stood all of the relevant overlords of the Pride Ring, minus the Vees. Luckily all of them just so happened to be friendly with him, and or loved his Darling. She was a charmer and that did not end with run of the mill demons on the street.

"Why have you called us here, Alastor" Carmilla was straight to the point, and obviously had better things to be doing.

"During my seven-year hiatus," Alastor began, his tone measured, "my Dearie struck a deal with Vox. She's in trouble, and I require your assistance to bring her back." The room fell silent as the overlords absorbed the weight of his words, their expressions shifting from curiosity to concern.

The Overlords scooted in closer and unanimously agreed that they would help, not just for Alastor’s sake but for the sake of their friend.

Alastor supposed it was time to get down to business.

~~~

When you woke up you felt real restraints tying you to a chair. A pair of handcuffs linked each arm to their armrest, and your legs were duct taped together.

"Finally you're up!" Vox jumped from the box he was sitting on, looking up from scrolling on his phone, "Good, I thought I lost you there"

You tried to pull yourself free from the shackles but as you had assumed they were not budging.

You slumped back in your seat. You were well aware that seeing Alastor was a bad idea, and it wasn't going to end well. However, just in case you didn't make it you wanted to see him one last time, and hold him again even if for a moment.

"Now, I assume you're going to be a good girl and do as I say. You are going to hair and makeup to get all dolled up for a special performance on Vox-2-Nite, and you're going to perform the song I wrote for you exactly as written. You are going to show the world how grateful you are for us and then you're going to do it all over again tomorrow. Okay, doll, now you are going to be on your best behavior" He carefully unlocked one of your cuffs.

You circled your sore wrist, and once your other was free made a move to punch him right in his flat face. However, a blue chain wrapped around your wrist, and pulled you to the side.

"Ah, ah, ah, what did I say about being a good girl" He landed a swift kick to your stomach, "Pretty please will you cooperate, wouldn't want to make make-up's job harder than it already is"

He dragged you from the chain, up multiple flights of stairs, and around many hallways until you reached a dressing room.

"Fix her! She's on in an hour" He growled at the nearest make-up artist, who promptly got to work concealing your many bruises and cuts caused by Vox himself.

~~~

"Umm Alastor," Charlie tentatively called to him from the lobby, "I think you're going to want to see this"

He told the hotel about his plans right after his meeting with the other overlords. While Charlie didn't want her people to resort to violence, she knew that this was one of the rare exceptions to that idea. She knew that you were being hurt by Vox and his fellow Vees, and even though she had never met you, she knew you were special by the way Alastor cared about you.

So when Alastor appeared to question what Charlie wanted he was greeted by a horrible sight on the picture-box in front of him.

There you stood, your beautiful face obviously covered in make-up that you didn't usually wear. Your eyes sunken in, and your dress nothing like what you would normally wear. Worse of all were the handprints around your neck, and Alastor knew just who to blame for those.

As the haunting melody filled the room, each note carried the weight of the protagonist's suppressed emotions. With each word, the performance became a silent plea for freedom, the lyrics echoing the depths of a love distorted by Vox's malevolence. The protagonist's eyes, hidden behind layers of makeup, betrayed a profound sadness.

One day, I loved you, the next you were gone, Never looking back, to see if I was okay. Maybe it will be okay, but the shadows grow long, In the afterlife, a cannibal's wife, oh deer, darling, look what we've done. A pity, a shame, how the game was played, A pawn in the king's palm I shall stay. You'll see me on screen, forced to watch, As I spoil and rot, our love left to decay. Once the apple of your eye, now abandoned and cold, Never to see the light of day, your shining face I can't hold. In this twisted fate, a tragic tale unfolds, I'm tethered to the screen, where our story's been sold.

The lyrics echoed in your mind, a bittersweet reminder of the entwined fate that held you captive. The words became a mantra, a whispered promise that somewhere beyond the screen, a chance for a different ending awaited.

Oh deer, darling, the pain never subsides, In this afterlife, where love painfully hides. A cinematic nightmare, I'm forever confined, To the echoes of our past, lost in rewind. A pity, a shame, how the game was played, A pawn in the king's palm I shall stay. You'll see me on screen, forced to watch, As I spoil and rot, our love left to decay. But maybe in another life, our paths will align, Beyond the screens, where love's star will brightly shine. For now, I'll linger in this haunting reel, A cannibal's wife, trapped in a love surreal.

The melancholy tune continued and reverberated through. Everyone is listening.

Luckily you wouldn't be singing his song much longer.

~~~

As the weeks crawled by, a clandestine plan took shape in the shadows. The air crackled with anticipation, each passing day building toward an inevitable confrontation. Whispers of rebellion lingered in the halls of Vox Tower

 Vox Tower was quite literally shaking on its foundation. A radio crackle came from below your bed, and you rushed to check it.

"Alastor?"

"Get somewhere safe, mon cherie" The static cut off abruptly and the shaking became worse. All you could do was crouch in the corner and cover your neck with your hands.

~~~

"What the f̸̛̱̏̃͛̈́͋̌̍͑́͝͝ừ̴͖͍̯̥̦͔͓̿͛͌͌̽̍̂̅͝c̵̨̟̤̫̺͉̥̓̾͂̿̆̇̇̾̑͗̚k̶͈̼̑̄̋ͅ is going on!" Vox's enraged voice reverberated through Vox Tower. Val and Velvette scrambled to restore order, but Vox's control was slipping. His fortress, once an impenetrable bastion of power, now quivered under the rebellion of overlords.

"Well it seems, that the overlords are fighting back along with those cannibal bitches" Velvette tried to calmly explain the situation, but every word seemed to anger Vox more and more.

The Overlords were turning on them. Led by Alastor they were destroying televisions, VoxSecurity Stores, Billboards, anything they could get their dirty hands on. Their sights were set on Vox Tower, the epicenter of innovation in the Pride Ring. Soon they would descend upon them.

[local-enby]

The Eternal Dance of Push & Pull

Lin Beifong x Kya ii x Original NB Character (Rating: Explicit)

Chapter 21: Reconnecting, Part 1

Chapter 21 just posted on ao3!

Apologies to anyone still reading for my brief hiatus - I have returned! It's been a busy few weeks. I had a birthday and got married, thennnn after the election results here in the US, I got depressed and didn't have much motivation to write. This chapter was getting REAL long, so I broke it into two - the other half will likely be up next week and I should be back to regular updates. 🤍

The poly fluff you didn’t know you needed. Sneak peak below the break 👀

The delicious smells of bacon and coffee slowly pulled Ashe from sleep. The coziness of the bed tempted them back to sleep, until their stomach growled. Ashe and Shiro had lost track of time during their visit and ultimately, foregone dinner. Thinking back, Ashe realized they hadn’t had lunch either – nothing since breakfast with Kya. Deciding that food was a must, Ashe got up. They pulled on their set of black sweats from the night before.

After freshening up, they headed out into the living area, hearing voices in the kitchen. Ashe squinted; sunlight blazed through the tall windows, a sudden change from the darkness of Lin’s bedroom. Ashe pulled the hood of their sweatshirt up as a shield. 

With her seismic sense, Lin had felt the moment Ashe’s feet hit the floor. She alerted Kya and chuckled at Kya’s excitement to hear about their night.

Kya grinned when Ashe finally walked into the kitchen, opening her arms to them. Ashe leaned back against the counter in front of her, allowing Kya to wrap herself around them. Ashe reclined into her embrace, closing their eyes. 

Kya pulled the hood from their head to reveal their face and messy black hair. “Good morning, Blue,” Kya said in a playful voice, placing a chaste kiss on their cheek. 

“Mmmm…” Ashe grumbled, leaning back further into Kya. “... I see you two have already debriefed.”

Lin cut off the stove, moving everything off of the heat. She turned around, her heart warming at the sight of Kya wrapped around Ashe. She smiled warmly, “Morning. You hungry?”

Ashe reached out toward Lin, urging her nearer. Once within reach, they hooked two fingers into the waistband of her sweatpants, tugging her closer. Lin’s heart skipped a beat at the sudden proximity. Lounging against Kya, Ashe had to look up to meet Lin’s eyes. “Yes,” Ashe said with a smirk, as their eyes greedily roamed Lin’s body.

Kya’s mouth traced the shell of Ashe’s ear. “She’s insisting on breakfast,” Kya said, sounding sarcastically exasperated. 

“Did either of you even have dinner?” Lin demanded. Neither Kya nor Ashe met Lin’s eyes. “Lunch?” Lin tried again.

Ashe turned partially around to check Kya’s reaction. Immediately noticing her guilty look, they laughed softly and leaned into her neck.

Lin rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I rest my case.” Lin stepped away to go plate their food.

“You’re so good to us, Linny,” Kya praised, squeezing Ashe tighter. 

The three moved over to the couch with their breakfast. Ashe asked Kya about her night, which she quickly filled them in on. Ashe tried to ask questions to keep her talking, but Kya was starting to pick up on the intentional distraction. 

“So what about YOUR night? I don’t understand how Lin didn’t ask you about it,” Kya said pointedly.

Ashe looked at Lin, catching her jade eyes already staring back at them. “We were… busy,” Ashe mused with a smile.

Lin blushed and Kya lost herself for a moment. Thoughts of the two of them together appeared in her mind against her will, and she felt a pulse of heat through her body. Kya shook her head, attempting to clear the fog of arousal from her mind. “Let’s not get sidetracked, I need details!” 

Lin watched Ashe with curiosity as they took a sip of coffee. When Ashe showed up late last night, any concerns or insecurities she had about their exes faded away. Even more so, after their mutual confessions.

“When I got home Shiro was waiting at my house, he told Sun not to come. He apologized profusely for what she said at the station this morning. They didn’t come to the city to question my choices, they came because they were concerned about me. He genuinely wanted to make sure I was okay. It actually felt really good to talk to him,” Ashe admitted.

“How did you feel about Sun not coming with him?” Kya asked.

“Relieved, honestly. For me, the hardest part of our breakup was losing my two best friends. I knew it would take time for us to be able to build that back. With Shiro it was easy, but Sun made it impossible. I think… Maybe I was a bit blunt and abrasive towards them at the station. The last thing I expected walking into Lin’s office yesterday morning was to see the two of them… I can’t decide if I should give Sun another opportunity to talk at some point today. They’re leaving tomorrow,” Ashe explained further. 

Kya nodded, pondering what Ashe said.

“They really did come with good intentions, that much was clear. I’m not able to hide much from Shiro, he’s always been able to read me like an open book. He called me out on overworking within the first 10 minutes of our conversation,” Ashe said with a slight laugh.

Lin felt grateful someone had been able to tell them that, and it didn’t have to be her. 

“They also wanted to talk to me about closing the trust I left for my siblings, which is something I am now seriously considering. I know I’m making things worse on myself by working two jobs, and it wouldn’t be necessary if I had access to my savings,” Ashe frowned. 

“Wait, do Shiro and Sun manage your trust?” Kya asked.

Ashe nodded.

“I’m sure that’s not an easy decision for you to make,” Lin said, her hand coming to rest gently on Ashe’s thigh. 

Ashe took the opportunity to open up to Kya and Lin about the trust – what it meant to them and why they’d opened it in the first place. The two older benders listened intently, trying to refrain from making judgements or assumptions. Neither wanted to sway Ashe’s decision on closing the trust without prompting.

“It’s your decision, Ashe. But we’re here for you,” Lin finally said.

Kya nodded in agreement. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she chimed in, “I think I like Shiro.”

Ashe laughed. “He was really glad to hear how happy I am, being with you and Lin; it was nice having someone to tell.”

“You told him about us?” Kya asked quickly, her eyes widening. 

“Well… I wasn’t planning to at first… but he guessed about Lin on his own…” Ashe’s cheeks turned red as they took a sip of coffee to hide their face.

“How?” Lin asked, thoroughly confused.

“I don’t know exactly, he said you seemed fond of me. To which, I explained that we were partners… But, that just seemed to be further evidence to him – I told you, he can see right through me. It was no use lying to him when he called me on my thing for scars.” Ashe smiled looking down, then back over at Lin. “I’m sorry if you didn’t want him to know, Lin. He won’t tell anyone.”

“No, it’s fine. I was just surprised,” Lin replied.

“Thing for scars? Who has a scar?” Kya asked.

“Shiro has a scar starting above his left eyebrow and ending a few inches below his eye,” Ashe explained.

Kya absorbed the new information. “I’m glad you had a chance to catch up with someone who knows you so well, Ashe. I’m sure you’ve been missing that since you got to Republic City. I completely understand if you want to see them again today before they leave,” Kya said sincerely. 

Kya turned to face Lin, “Linny, for the future – sexy facial scars are an extremely important physical detail and I can’t believe you left it out of your descriptions this morning!!”

“I didn’t think it was important!” Lin defended.

Kya looked at Ashe in disbelief, her mouth hanging open. 

Ashe laughed, “Kya, are you jealous you didn’t get to meet them?”

“Obviously!” Kya replied, throwing her arms out. “Do you have a picture?” Ashe laughed harder. 

Lin smiled and rolled her eyes. She stood up and gathered the abandoned plates from their breakfast to take into the kitchen. 

“No, no. Lin, you cooked – let us clean up!” Ashe said, pulling her arm so she’d sit back down on the couch. Kya grabbed their plates and headed into the kitchen. 

Ashe’s arm slipped behind the couch cushion, searching. “Something to pass the time…” Ashe said with a devilish smirk as they produced Lin’s book from the night before, titled Lace & Scandal: A Forbidden Affair.

Lin tried to suppress the smile that forced its way onto her face as she reached out to snatch the book from Ashe’s hand. “I hate you,” Lin said with no real force behind it.

Ashe laughed and headed toward the kitchen. They stopped behind Lin to lean over the couch, planting a kiss beneath her jaw. “I love you,” Ashe whispered. Keep reading on ao3 😉

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Drop It Like It's Hot (21x08)

A funny time of year to be watching an episode about a heatwave! This episode had some real old-school Grey's vibes for me, in a way I really liked.

Cons:

If Owen cheats on Teddy with that random lady he was flirting with waiting for car repair, I am going to sue ABC lol. Please, enough already! Honestly I think Dr. Open Marriage should go ahead and seduce Teddy and Owen both, drag her husband into the mix, Maybe Teddy and Owen would calm the fuck down if they were having fun extramarital sex. Or even group sex, let's do this fucking thing. Instead we have this insufferable moment where Owen sees Dr. Beckman giving Teddy a comforting and innocent touch on the arm in the elevator, and he gets all weirded out. Yeesh, I'm so tired of them.

I feel like there's a weird disconnect with Yasuda leaving in this episode. Jules is devastated and acts like it's this big final thing, but like... is she moving away forever? When your co-worker and girlfriend stops being your co-worker, that doesn't mean she's going to vanish from your life in an instant. I wonder what we'll find out about Yasuda after the hiatus. Is she just quietly moving away in the gap between episodes, or will it be a slower phase-out, like maybe we hear about her still being around for a while and then she comes back to guest for one more episode when she does finally move away or something? I don't know. I just felt like the stakes of this being a goodbye episode for the character were a little murky.

I guess it's fine if Blue wants to make out with his amnesiac ex or whatever, but also if I'm being totally honest, I don't care and I'm already bored. If Lucas dies of a gunshot wound I vote for Simone and Kwan to grief bang about it, they have way better chemistry.

Pros:

I love a unifying disaster that the whole hospital is having to deal with: this week it's a heat wave, with the infrastructure here in the Pacific Northwest not equipped to deal with the unseasonably hot spring day. I do kind of wish someone had brought up that this is climate change's fault more directly, just because I think it's funny when the very basic political messaging of a show like this gets people riled up. But I liked how it was this constant struggle with the large number of people coming in and the resources being stretched too tight. There's never enough ice!

Teddy puts Ben in charge of handling the disaster preparedness aspect of things, but then shuts him down when he tries to keep the trauma bays open after Teddy thinks it's time to close them. I like thinking about what Ben's place is here in the hospital - he's diverted from helping with surgeries specifically because of his first responder training, but then overruled by Teddy for trying to do that aspect of the job, too. He's in a frustrating in-between which is his own doing for switching careers more than once, but it's interesting to see him try and navigate that.

While I had my complaints about this as Mika's final episode, I do think this was a great showcase performance from the actor. Her dead, blank face as she keeps telling Bailey "he's dying, it's not working, he's dying," transitioning to her begging and pleading and telling Bailey to take her instead... that was a masterful moment from the actress. And I thought her and Jules's love scene was so tender and beautiful. You know as you're watching it happen that this is a bad idea in the sense that Mika is in such a vulnerable place, but also you know how much these women care for each other, and it's a real comfort and moment of peace for them too. Jules really cares about her and really wants to be there for her no matter what she chooses. I also thought Bailey did such a lovely job of giving Mika the space to choose her own path. It was lovely how she affirmed that Mika knows herself best and didn't try and dig her heels in and convince her to stay. I understand that Jules is hurt by Bailey not fighting for Yasuda, but I think Bailey's in the right, here!

Winston slutting it up and having to deal with a patient whose mom he had a one night stand with is honestly very funny. Continually bitter about Winston and Maggie going up in flames the way they did, but I do kind of like this phase for his character. Like, get it, Winston. Honestly. But also I liked how he was able to be here for the mother whose daughter is in such a dangerous situation.

The classic-Grey's feeling is of course most clearly seen in Jo and Lucas getting caught up in a convenience store robbery. It's such ridiculous drama, with pregnant Jo bleeding and potentially losing the babies, and Lucas reflecting on the infamous story of his grandfather dying in an armed robbery... even Amelia mentions her dead family members in this episode before we get the dramatic irony of Lucas wrestling the robber for the gun in those final moments. A shot goes off, but the fates of the people involved are left unknowable until this show comes back in March! Place your bets now, is it Lucas or Jo? Is Jo going to miscarry those twins? Classic soap opera juiciness, I'm legitimately more invested in Lucas Adams than I've ever been, now that his life might be on the line. If he dies, then Amelia should get to sue ABC, too. Every man Amelia's related to has to be shot at some point, I suppose.

So yeah, this was a good episode! Sad to lose Mika, annoyed as always by Teddy and Owen, but... there was a lot of classic angst-y goodness here to chew on. I'll be glad to see the show come back in the spring, and until then I'll just have to wonder at Jo and Lucas's fates...

7.5/10

[piningintrovert]

2023: A Year in Review

Thank you for the tag @wanderlust-in-my-soul and @25shadesoffebruary; I'm always down for a trip down memory lane

Rules: Link your favorite and most popular post(s) of each month of the year and tag some CCs friends

January

Most popular: Payu and Rain make up, Love in the Air Special Episode (understandable lol just like with everything else, they were insane for this) Favorite: Yeo Jung becoming Dong Eun's executioner, The Glory (full black and white set, my beloved AND this monologue is just so *gestures wildly*) Honorable mention: Tinn asking Sound to help Chinzilla, My School President (had a lot fun playing the text and emoji animations; it took forever and a day but it was worth it)

February

Most popular: The Complete BL Sass™ Collection (finally gave the people what they wanted lol) Favorite: Masumi finding out the world is going to end, The End of the World With You (one word: ACTING)

March

Most popular: You're my man; don't call yourself a pebble, My Beautiful Man 2 Favorite: (same as above)

April

Most popular: Payu touching Rain's lips, Love in the Air (deleted scene) Favorite: Kiyoi just wanted Hira to feed him, My Beautiful Man 2 (shameless plug for my "don't mind me" collection)

May

Most popular: Why do you like me?, Be My Favorite Tralier Favorite: Deleted scene from Payu & Rain's first time, Love in the Air (I still maintain that it was a CRIME to cut that scene out)

June

Most popular: Bad Buddy meta; Ink and Wai are the only ones who know about Pat and Pran's relationship as shown with their outfits Favorite: Tongfah and Paper's first kiss, Second Chance (the blue in this scene speaks to me)

July

Most popular: Payu and Rain attending Sky and Prapai's wedding, Wedding Plan (I would like to know when we're getting the special episode of WP where Nuea plans Payu and Rain's wedding) Favorite: Domestic Kazuma and Ren, Tokyo in April is...

August

Most popular: Henry, the world-class insomniac, Red, White & Royal Blue Favorite: Prince Henry "You're in his DMs" tweet (this was the first time I made an edit like this and I love how it came out)

September, October & November

I went offline for a bit so nothing for these months

December

Most popular: Smol Rain next to Big Zaddy Payu, Love in the Air (first set after my three month hiatus; way to come back with a bang) Favorite: Welcome to Smirk City, Pit Babe (the first gif... need I say more?)

It's always nice to look back on the year like this because I sometimes feel like I don't contribute enough to the fandom (dw I'm actively trying to change that mindset ^-^), and something like this really helps puts things into perspective for me. Even with a three-month hiatus, I created quite a bit of content—content that I'm proud of :)

Tagging @raypakorn @musicdramalove @snimeat @forcebook @spicyvampire @aejeonghae @maxescheibechlinichacheli @dengswei; feel free to ignore~

[thenewfuture]

Soooo, what are your thoughts on the latest episode of Despair Time?

Okay, got my affairs in order to talk about this. Despair Time returns after an over 1 year hiatus. Let’s see what we got.

We finally figured out what Charles meant by fucked after all this time. The murder itself could have took place at 7:30 am, not pm. Meaning that why speculation or cloyed perceived previously goes out the window as none of that matters anymore. And that’s what this episode is, the crew realizing they’ve hit a wall and have to chip around it.

There are some good characters moments here and there as they get understand my frustrated at this, but overall, and I am not docking the DRDT Dev at all with this and mean this in the nicest way possible, this entire episode…….was a waste of time. A majority of his episode are spent characters arguing and nagging at each other for mistakes and but were still nowhere close to what actually happened. It makes matters worse when Charles has to chime in and go, “Hey! Can we get back on track, please?! We’re wasting time!” I feel like a lot of scenes could have been cut to make the trial flow better, but hey, I’m not going to backseat ^^;

Now onto the a certain a blue-haired fallen star. David. Now a week ago or so, you’ll recall that I spoke to Suicune saying that I thought David is indeed the bastard he says he is.

Turns out…..I was wrong…

I’ve also mentioned before how I personally think that Xander should have still been alive just so he could see his “beloved hero” turn out to be this giant piece of scum and dirt, and how he doesn’t care about anyone or anything.

….I was wrong…

From how David goes on about Xander, his motivations, his ideals, everything about him up until this point. He cares. David cares. Something pierced his whole edgy persona. David….isn’t the bastard I thought he was.

……Huh… Adding onto this…

Now I’m not saying that David is entirely right here, or some misunderstood soft boy like the canon fandom will make you believe with Nagito and Kokichi. But I was under the belief, I’m sure like many people…that David was empty and had nothing to care for. But look at him now. Talking about something more important to everyone than a bunch of strangers… Does he have that? What is it if that’s the case? How low is he willing to go for this, if at all?

…What goes on in your head, David? I don’t understand you….but it compels me… You intrigue me…I have to know more…

Anyways, after all that. Alibis are questioned and we’re getting nowhere until the cliffhanger of the episode which is….

I’ve had a feeling that Levi’s secret could have been something like that given from what’s left and this confirms it. Of course, this also crosses him off as a suspect because if he were the killer, there would be no way he’d just reveal this outright to everyone.

So who do I think the killer is….I have no idea :/

Like I said, there was nothing truly learned about the case this episode aside from only a few minor things, the Dev was right; we have a loooooong way to go for this trial. It’s just getting started. But, that’s what next week’s all about! Tune in next time when in the next episode, we’ll get-

….Professor Teruko…. Well alright then!

-Mod

[hoffstrap-yuri]

Cat for Tat

ao3 // masterlist

Summary: Peter was not sure how he would prove to his roommate that a cat could understand the innate human instinct to be a bother to, him, Peter Strahm.

Tags/Content: Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Crack, Animal Transformation, Smut, Fluff and Smut, Eventual Smut

Rating: +18 for explicit mature content

Status: Chapter 3 of ??. Chapter 1 can be found here. Chapter 2 can be found here.

Author's Note:

Wohoo boy, sorry this chapter took so long. Life got in the way with burnout from my job and looking for another job that I just didn't have the motivation to finish it. However, with Strahm's birthday yesterday let's just say I was inspired. I'm also putting a small warning out there that I might take another pretty long hiatus after October 31st since that's Dragon Age Veilguard release date, anddddd I will be playing that as soon as I possibly can. xD

Also remember how I mentioned that the rating could go up? Yeah, this chapter is why T is being changed to E so... be prepared for the smut, and as always I hope you enjoy!

After what felt like an hour of silence the man lying next to Strahm pursed his lips to say “meow” once more before Strahm’s hand covered his lips. He only pulled his hand away as Mark’s teeth grazed his palm, still used to being in his feline form. He seemingly forgot that a nip while he was a cat would translate to a hospital visit as a human.

“Bad.” Strahm scolded him, before realizing how ridiculous it must look to be scolding a middle-aged man like a pet. Still, even in his human form Mark’s blue eyes shone through the dark of the room and pierced the other man like knives thrown around his silhouette. Finally he mustered up the will to ask the other man, “What the fuck are you?”

“Well I’m a man that can turn into a cat.”

“Oh sure that explains everything.” Strahm rolled his eyes and ran his hand over his face, hoping that this all was just a dream. He rolled over and did his best to pull the blankets back over his shoulder despite the bulkier man weighing everything in Strahm’s bed down. Mark rolled over slightly to let Strahm steal the covers back only to roll off the bed with a thud. “What the hell are you doing?” Strahm eked out between gritted teeth. “You’re going to wake up, Linds…”

Lindsey.

How the fuck could Peter begin to explain what was happening in his bedroom? No way that fat ass could have slipped in from the window. Not that Strahm ever had hook-ups behind Perez’s back that he felt he needed to hide. Hell he didn’t have hook-ups, period. A thousand thoughts raced through his head before a groggy voice hit his ears.

“Pete? You okay?” He heard Lindsey’s feet hit the floor. He couldn’t answer too fast, or she’d know that he was awake. He tried his best to sound half-asleep as he replied to her,

“Huh?”

“I heard a thud.” She quietly shouted across their unit. Thank god they were on the end of the building.

“Yeah… Mark just dropped my water glass.” He lied through his teeth

“Do you need the broom?”

“No!” He shouted back way too quickly, “I’ll get it.”

“Okay.” He heard her bed creak, indicating he was safe. To maintain the ruse he tiptoed out to the living room and grabbed the broom from the closet. He brought it back to his room and waited for what felt like a safe amount of time before pacing back to the kitchen and putting the tool away. In the time it took him to “clean up”, Mark had turned back into a cat and buried his fat ass into Strahm’s pillow.

“Oh absolutely not. You think just because I saw you as a human, I’m just going to let you sleep on my pillow you stupid… Stupid thing.” Strahm struggled with the words to call the cat man. He pulled the shrieking feline off his pillow and plopped his fat little body down onto the mattress before crawling under his sheets. The cat transformed yet again, and peered at Strahm as the other man tried to fall back asleep.

“And here I thought I was growing on you.” Mark’s voice dripping in sarcasm. “You seemed like you even almost liked me when we went to the groomer.”

“Can you just fuck off? I have to be up in…” He glanced over at his analog clock, “Four hours.”

“You know, it’d really suck to wake up with a hair ball stuck to your head. Again.”

“Fine.” Strahm rolled back over to face the asshole, “What do you want?”

“I want to know what we are, Agent.”

“What do you mean ‘what we are’?” Strahm scoffed

“Well Lindsey… I get along with her well enough.”

“The fact she can’t stop shoving treats in your fat face helps probably.” The man grumbled and flipped back onto his other side. He kept his eyelids shut tight as he tried to ignore the curve of the other man’s stomach pressing against his back. He felt Mark’s eyes staring into the back of his head as the man waited for an answer to his question. “You’re not going to let me fall asleep until I tell you, are you?”

“Absolutely not.” Mark huffed, his breath skating along the back of Strahm’s neck. He wished he were the cat now and was able to dash from the room without a second thought.

“I like you. I tolerate your presence in my shared apartment.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all. It’s an answer, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so.” Mark laughed to himself, “Good night, Agent.”

“Night… Mark.” With that sorted, Peter was finally allowed sleep. He woke up the next morning to find that Mark had turned back into a cat. He was curled up around himself in a perfect oval, perched on top of Strahm’s sheets like a paperweight. “Morning fat-ass. Don’t ‘meow’ at me and act all cute. I know it’s all a lie.” The cat before him stretched out its little paws before transforming to the man he had seen last night. Now that he could actually see him, Strahm almost scoffed. The man had to be nearly three-hundred pounds and still leeched off Lindsey and his paycheck by acting like a helpless little animal.

“Like what you see?”

“No.” Strahm answered quickly. Too quickly. They both caught onto the fact that Strahm was flustered. “I’m getting breakfast.”

“Fine. I’ll come with you.” Mark finished his thought before transforming. He skittered onto the floor and threaded his body in the space between Strahm’s legs. Strahm walked out to the kitchen where Lindsey was already dressed for the day, taking a sip from her coffee mug.

“Morning.” She greeted her roommate.

“Morning.” He hummed back. He walked over to the coffee machine and grabbed his own mug, filling it higher than he normally would.

“How’d you sleep after all that commotion?” Lindsey asked him, an eyebrow arched as she drank from her cup. “Get all the glass cleaned up?”

“Yeah. Though this idiot wanted to play in the shards.” He titled his chin in Mark’s direction. Mark rolled over onto his back, showing off his belly as though he was trying to say he was innocent.

“You could’ve thrown him in my room for a second.” Lindsey put the coffee down before scooping her cat up into her arms and cuddling with him

“It’s fine.”

“Sounded… kind of like there was a guy in your room.”

“Huh?” Strahm spat his coffee out in pretend shock. The lukewarm beverage covered the cat in Lindsey’s arms before he squirmed his way back onto the floor, frustrated at his step-owner. Strahm smirked at the cat as it padded back down the hallway and towards his room. He cleared his throat before continuing, “So you… thought you heard a guy?”

“Yeah. That or you were just talking to yourself. In a voice lower than your normal voice.” She shrugged.

“Yeah. I was just… Erickson.”

“Erickson?” She her raised eyebrow reaching new heights Strahm had never seen before. She thought this was a load of bullshit too.

“Yeah he’s been asking me for updates on this case, so I was spit balling how that conversation would play out…”

“And mimicking his voice?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” The tone at the end of her word curled up. He knew she didn’t believe the story he’d spun, but how much weirder was it than if he had told the truth? “Anyway, you driving in?”

“You want a ride?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay, give me a second and we can go.” Strahm walked over to the closet to grab a suit jacket. Lindsey walked to Strahm’s room and dragged Mark out of his room for the day. She gave him a quick boop on his nose as she explained that he’d get a treat if he was a good boy during the day to which he flopped over. “C’mon Linds.”

“Okay, okay. One last kiss.” She pressed her lips onto Mark’s head and left her kitty for the work day. She kicked her feet up onto the dash while Strahm drove the two into the city. Strahm slowly pushed her feet back off the dash before hearing a scoff.

“Worried about the leather?”

“No, crash.” He said, matter-of-fact

“When’s the last time you got in an accident here?”

“You never know with the way some of these embassy vehicles drive around.”

“Thanks, mom.” Lindsey rolled her eyes at her partner and laughed before crossing her legs in her seat. She was careful to be sure her feet weren’t up on the dash this time. After a small head-bob of gratitude, Strahm drove the two into the city.

Strahm sat at his desk and wondered what the man in disguise was doing in his apartment. Was he just lying, basking in the sunlight from their patio door? Had he broken into Lindsey’s ‘secret stash’ of cat treats for him? It was hard for him to keep his focus on work when he was filled with worry about a man he hardly knew. He must’ve zoned out too hard at his desk because he glanced over at the clock and it was well past five. Weird that Lindsey didn’t stop by his cubicle and tell him to log off for the day but he chocked it up to her being distracted once again at the water cooler. He did a quick loop around the department to find Lindsey before realizing a missing weight in his pocket. His car keys. Where the hell did she take his car? He dragged himself out of the office and hauled himself over to the crowded Metro station. Seemed like everyone had done a bit of overtime in the capital as the station was filled with overly caffeinated interns speaking in hushed whispers about their congress person they tend to. He ran a hand across his face as he tried to avoid listening to the gossip. If only he had had his car. One stop then a transfer. One stop and he’d be away from all these kids who wouldn’t be in the city this time next. He didn’t necessarily hate them, just their optimism. He skipped the first train that came and waited until a second one arrived almost twenty minutes later. He got off at the next stop before transferring onto the red line back to his apartment.

“Pick me up from the station?” He sent in a text to Lindsey before doubling down on it, “I know you have my car keys.”

“Sorry, had to run errands. Let me know +2 ahead.”

“I know the drill.” He shut his phone and shoved it into his pocket. Despite the inconvenience, his mind still had time to wander back to Lindsey’s cat, and his pest. He would have to wait until Lindsey was nearly unconscious and see if he could coax the man into transforming before him again. He had some questions he had to get off of his mind. He sent Lindsey a quick message when he hit the minimum stops notice and waited at the exit for a couple of minutes until she pulled the car into the pick-up line. He collapsed into the passenger’s seat and gave her a mildly disgruntled look. “What errands did you have to run?”

“Oh you know, had to haul ass to Baltimore. Stopped at Magnolia Bakery in Midtown.” She laughed. “Don’t worry, I refilled your tank for you and didn’t add anymore miles than you were going to put on driving home anyway.”

“So you stopped somewhere along the way home.”

“Don’t try to analyze me, Pete.”

“I smell flowers. Trader Joe’s?”

“Maybe.”

“Date night?”

“Oh yeah, me and my Hitachi are going real hot and heavy…” She spoke in a slow, seductive tone

“Stop stop stop.” He shut his eyes tight as he begged his friend to shut up. She smirked as she drove the two of them home. She ran past Strahm to get to the apartment first before closing the door behind her. “Linds! Lindsey I don’t have my key.”

“Wait!” She yelled back out into the hallway. He slumped the against the wall until Lindsey opened the door and said, “Okay, you can come in now.”

“Five seconds more and I would’ve called a lawyer. You know I have equal rights to an apartment with my name on the lease.”

“Quit kvetching and get in here.” He rolled his eyes and followed his partner into the apartment. She guided him into the kitchen like he was blindfolded before stopping him and turning to face him with a small chocolate cake. He tucked his arms one under the other as it dawned on him that he had almost forgotten his own birthday. Perez sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him with a smile before handing him the cake to blow out his candles. He blew them out quickly and she clapped for him before taking the cake away and handing him a present. “From Mark and I.”

“Uh huh.” He had to laugh a little bit as he carefully slid the ribbon off the box and opened his present. It was a nice bottle of whiskey, something Strahm would never allow himself to buy for himself. “Linds…”

“I know, I know, spare me the lecture. You only turn 50 once.” She threw her hands up and smiled at him

“I… I don’t know when I’ll have the time to drink this.”

“Shut up.” She pulled out two rocks glasses for the two of them and threw an ice cube into hers. “I’ll even open it for you.”

“Thanks…” His voice trailed off as he handed the bottle back to Perez and watched her open it for the two of them. Mark pounced onto the counter and rubbed against Strahm’s glass. Lindsey quickly took the glassware away from the cat and put the bottle down. She picked up the chubby creature and threw him into her room for a moment so they could enjoy their drink in peace. His sad meows for attention were ignored by Lindsey as she made it back to the kitchen and poured the drinks for the two of them.

“Cheers. To another year stuck with you.” She smiled at him

“Cheers. To hoping you don’t spike my blood pressure through the roof during a walk-through. Again.” He returned her cheer with a smile of his own as he took a sip from the glass. His pulled the glass away from his lips so his short sip didn’t turn into a frat boy chug, but it was good. He brought the glass back up after a minute of waiting and took another quick drink.

“I’ll be honest, this doesn’t taste much different than Jack Daniel’s to me.” Lindsey scooted the glass across the counter towards him before going and grabbing a bottle of her preferred alcohol. Strahm poured what little reminded into his glass into Lindsey’s old one and carefully fished out the ever dissolving ice cube. After he worked through that first glass, he poured himself one more before decidedly going to bed. He went back into the kitchen to grab the glass of water that Lindsey had prepped for him at the end of the counter along with an aspirin just in case his two drinks were too much for him at his old age. He pulled the lonely cat out from Lindsey’s room, tucking him under an arm like he was carrying a football, and brought him into his room. The man transformed as soon as his paws hit the floor of Peter’s room.

“You forgot your own birthday, Agent?” Strahm couldn’t read his tone. Was he worried about Peter?

“Yeah, it’s fine though.” He ran a hand across his eyes as they adjusted to focus without his contact lenses.

“That’s sad. Even for a man like you.” And there was the aggravating behavior that he did to get under Strahm’s skin.

“I’m sorry, a man like me?” He looked at Mark

“Well your only friends are a cat and a woman twenty years younger than you. Pretty sad if you ask me.” His smirk was making Strahm’s blood boil

“But I’m happy. I’m happy with Lindsey anyway.” He added on after he saw Mark’s eyebrow raise after saying he was just ‘happy’. “You can’t fucking stand. I don’t know anything about you and yet… you annoy me. Every fucking chance you get.”

“It’s not my fault you make it so easy. You’re so up-tight all the time.”

“And don’t get me started on how you mooch off… well a woman twenty years younger than you by pretending to be this cute, helpless thing.” He threw Mark’s words back at him, “It’d be one thing if you were honest with her but here you are. Hiding in my room and talking to me because I’m the only person that knows about your double identity.” Strahm’s words were practically spit into Mark’s face. When had Mark gotten so close to him? Why were Strahm’s hands resting so firmly along Mark’s arms?

“Be honest with me, Agent. You’d also put up a front and pretend to be a house-pet if you were in my situation, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know your situation, do I?”

“I suppose you don’t.” Mark titled his head to the side. His bang fell onto his forehead and before Strahm had a rational response or the chance to ask one of the questions he had for the other man, he kissed him. Oh god, he was kissing Mark. Mark’s hands moved from his side to cup Strahm’s face, running a thumb over the stubble Strahm had meant to shave that morning before he found out that his cat wasn’t really a cat. His own hands moved as he used his body weight to shove Mark into the closet door. He paused for a minute just to make sure he didn’t hear the sound of Lindsey making a run for his room. When he was sure he was in the clear, his lips wandered from Mark’s lips to his jawline. Slowly his mouth moved across Mark’s neck and down along his shoulder blade. Mark’s nose rested along the side of his head as Strahm kissed him, his own lips pressing at the start of Peter’s side burns.

“Consider this my birthday gift to you…” Mark laughed against Strahm. His arms slid around the other man’s back and held him closer to his body. Strahm peeled the man off the door and threw him down into his bed before getting on top of him and working the first button of the other man’s shirt open. It was slow and agonizing as he felt more than just the whiskey burning in his stomach. He was so soft underneath his clothes. Strahm stopped when he had unbuttoned about half the shirt just to work one hand under the still tight fabric pulling across his chest and grabbed Hoffman’s pec. He slowly started massaging it, watching as Hoffman’s lips shaped into a perfect ‘oh’ while he moaned. Strahm slowly dipped his head lower and pressed his lips onto the muscle, keeping it taut in his hand. He licked the sweat that started to collect in the divot of Mark’s chest before moving to his other side where he lavished the doughy tit with as much attention as he gave the other. He pulled himself up only to work on freeing the man from the rest of his shirt. He did his best to undo the buttons while his lips crawled back up to Mark’s lips in a desperate attempt for something while they undressed. Mark’s hand ran through Strahm’s hair before pushing the other man back down his body.

“What do you want?” Strahm asked, almost growling

“It’s your birthday, Agent. Take me how you want me.” Mark growled back at him. One more kiss, digging his teeth into the inside of Mark’s lips and Strahm worked his pants off slowly. Mark’s hand took hold of the elastic waistband of Strahm’s pajama pants and slid it down for his partner. Strahm lifted himself off of Mark’s chest and started shuffling through his nightstand for lube. He quickly covered himself before thrusting into Mark. “Fuck…”

“Good?”

“Yeah. Just keep moving.” Mark’s nails dug into the back of Strahm’s shoulders. Strahm began to slowly thrust into Mark, doing his best to not lose it right away. He made a small grunt from the back of his throat as Mark’s moans went from barely audible to deep noises from his chest. Strahm moved one of his hands and placed it over Mark’s mouth. As much as he wanted to hear the pleasure he was inflicting onto his partner, he couldn’t afford Lindsey’s suspicion again. Mark seemingly rolled his eyes at being forced to be silent, but didn’t fight against the weight that Strahm’s palm offered against his mouth. In fact, his teeth sunk into the inside of Strahm’s hand just below his thumb. Strahm let out a little moan of his own as he felt the heat in his body overtake him complete and he came into Mark. He practically fell on top of the other man as he finished off. He rested his hands against the love handles on Mark’s hips as Mark reached under the man and jerked himself off. “Happy with yourself, Agent?”

“Uh huh.” Strahm muttered, his lips slowly moving against the skin of Mark’s collar bone. His eyelashes brushing across the other man as he held onto him tightly. He needed to clean himself up, but he could hardly move. He didn’t want to move… it felt right to be next to Mark like this.

“Sleep.”

“Don’t have to fucking tell me twice.”

“And that’s the Peter I know.” Mark pressed a kiss onto Strahm’s head as Strahm faded out of consciousness for the night. All and all it wasn’t such a bad birthday. Even if Mark was still a mystery to him.

[alarrytale]

Happy Sunday Marte! It’s the anon who wrote you my fear that H might dump Louis because he’s too ambitious. Thank you very much for your response not only to my ask/opinion but others who reacted on my ask! You described my “problem” very exactly, it’s the mixture of constant gaslighting, the blurred lines between who he really is and what’s his image, his image which most of the fandom (het harries) fully eats without any deeper thinking or skeptical view and his global success (that I think it’s bit overhyped because everyone’s in his a** right now) that makes me fear that H at one point will dump Louis. It’s really hard sometimes to believe who H is for you because I joined the fandom long after the hiatus and so I have no idea who H was before, how he interacted on sm because all I see is someone who barely says anything, he constantly looks like the whole world annoys him and he hates everybody - I even was shocked when saw him fully smiling on Friday because I got so used to his grumpy face for the last year I forgot he can smile. So thank you for giving us - fans who have doubts about him - a platform to share it and getting the reassurance from you and other anons. Being his fan and larrie in general is much easier when there are fans like you who very patiently answer others.

I love when once again they proved us that they are in fact one person because the way they both had to squeeze “it’s coming home” before they left the stage, it was hilarious. I mean, noone’s suprised that Louis done it as he attended one match, did the tv thing at Glasto and is very likely about to attend the final match today in Berlin, but no way I would expect it from H that he would use the only opportunity he has to say this.

And as I’m writing you again, I would like to ask, what is your opinion about the bird pin he has on Friday? Sure, it was a honour to Christine but as others said, he could have made it in so many different colour combination and yet he picked bluegreen once again. Plausible deniability 101 I guess. But since I knew the bird is bluegreen, my mind started larrying quite automatically and then I found out about the probably primar meaning of wearing that pin.

Happy Sunday to you too, anon 🌞

Not a problem, happy to be of help! I understand it can be difficult to see through the fog, but Harry and Louis are really two peas in a pod when you come to understand who they really are.

I share your opinion on the bird pin. I think it was for Christine, but there is no doubt in my mind that H asked for it to be mainly blue and green in colour. I find it very strange that some larries so easily dismiss it as nothing to do with larry. It absolutely was, and that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was to honour Christine either. It doesn’t diminish the honour. Harry knows how we'll take it when he's sporting the blue and green colour combo, and if he was concerned the bluegreen bird would overshadow the primary meaning of the bird, then he'd simply ask for it to be any other colour combination than blue and green. He didn’t. He wanted it to be blue and green. It was no coincidence.