#i was a bit disappointed at the repeat winner at first

[c0smickat]

Twin Stars

[aerinfrankellove]

2024-25 Season Prediction Survey Results

Read below or read a better formatted version here

The second PWHL season looms heavy on the horizon, and with preseason camps underway, the prospect of change, a new season with new storylines and new team names and logos and new players, haunts us all. We may not all be sports experts, but after watching the first season for months and eagerly awaiting the second, we all have our own ideas of how season two might go. Whether they’re logical ideas or not will be seen upon the future, but I, lover of data and spreadsheets, decided to gather up all your opinions and predictions of how season two will go, from the biggest honor (The Walter Cup) to random questions regarding trades and penalty minutes

Team Predictions -

This was the easy part of the form. Minimal prior knowledge, you didn’t even need to know the team names because I put them all in as multiple choice questions. Hypothetically everyone could have just picked randomly and I wouldn’t be any the wiser. That being said, some interesting trends emerged from you folks, some predictable and some less so.

Walter Cup Winners: Boston Fleet or Montreal Victoire (35.3%)

This was probably one of the closest races beneath the team with only about a single vote difference between Boston winning it all and Montreal winning it all at any one time. As an entirely unbiased Boston fan and casual Montreal enjoyer, I think this prediction is definitely founded in something. Montreal and Boston project to be two of the stronger teams, but I also think I’m biased if only because of how many Montreal and Boston fans I see in comparison to other teams. With all that being said, I’d be disappointed but not surprised if some other less represented team (Seriously does no one believe New York can win? Even Ottawa got a single vote and y’all really hated Ottawa) wins it going away after a hot season. But as my father always says, that’s why we play the game and this game/series in particular is quite a far ways away.

Walter Cup Runner Ups: Montreal Victoire (35.3%)

Honestly, I was expecting pretty similar results for this question as the question above, after all if the general consensus is that one of those two teams will win the cup, then one of them would have to lose it, right? Well Montreal was right up there, but unexpectedly Toronto came in second with 24% of people having enough faith in Toronto getting to the finals and then very little faith in them actually winning it, girlfailures that they are. Montreal tied with them to get second in the cup, followed by Boston (please god don’t let it come to that I don’t think my heart could take two years in a row) and then the mish mash of the Sirens, Frost, and Charge. 

First in the standings: Toronto Sceptres (32.4%)

So Montreal was leading this right up until I was actually writing and then I had to completely change my paragraph mid writing which was so much fun and definitely not irritating at all, but Toronto overtook Montreal for first, aiming for that repeat first in the standings and dare I be speaking sacrilege against the Victoire (who I do like more than the Sceptres) I honestly think they have a better chance. Like a 45% chance vs. a 40% chance. Boston carried up third place in voting and as much as I love the Fleet I think lots of things would have to go right for that to happen (another stunning season by Frankel, more consistent offense, an actual power play, so on and so forth). 

Additionally, as much as I hate to say it, I think we’re seriously underselling Minnesota, just because they made some inadvisable choices during the off season doesn’t mean they still aren’t largely the team who won the Walter cup and has theoretically gotten better during the offseason. Then again, I’d be as happy as anyone to see them crash and burn a little bit so it’s all speculatory. New York got a grand total of two votes but I’m secretly rooting for them to surprise some people. Ottawa got none, but we can cover that in the next section.

Last in the standings: Ottawa Charge (52.9%)

Guys. Guys, really? Ottawa fans, I am begging you, come represent your team because this is embarrassing. Like I don’t know much about what Ottawa’s been up to other than rebuilding the Czech National Team (shout out to Carla Macleod I am manifesting you knowing what you are doing). Like they weren’t bad last year, they were second in goals for, and they did lose a bit but they had tons of overtime losses which means they were in the games. Hell, they were very nearly in the playoffs, they were in the same category as Minnesota and Boston, the two finalist teams! Apparently my unpopular opinion is that Ottawa isn’t going to suck (They hopefully have two solid goalies now so Masch won’t be overworked, they signed some good players, I feel like I’m going crazy.) Otherwise, there’s not much notable in this section other than some doubt about the Sirens and the Frost (lord let it be the Frost /j) but shoutout to the one person truly going against the grain and saying that Montreal is gonna get dead last, I applaud your bravery.

The Four Playoff Teams:

This question was a little less straightforward so we’re gonna split it into three sections. The (Predicted) Shoe-ins, The Contenders, and Ottawa.

The (Predicted) Shoe-ins - 

The Sceptres, the Victoire, and the Fleet all had about 30 votes with nearly 90% of respondents selecting them each as one of the potential playoff teams. This fits pretty well with the previous votes of the Walter Cup winners and runner ups, so I wasn’t too surprised at any of these. All of these teams should have a decent shot at the playoffs and my own mostly unfounded misgivings about the Sceptres aside, this is all pretty reasonable and I largely think there’s a good chance that this is how it goes..

The Contenders - 

The Frost and the Sirens were pretty evenly matched, about half of y’all voted that they’d be one of four playoff teams and I generally agree that they both have a pretty good shot at the playoffs so there isn’t much to talk about here. I’d personally be more excited for the Sirens to make a run at the playoffs, I think they have a chance to be good after last season and hopefully put some things together over the summer, but we shall see.

Ottawa - 

You know I already wrote a whole ramble about this and since then Ottawa beat Boston 6-1 in the preseason and I think they heard how little faith you guys had in them and decided to take it out on my team. That’s all I’m gonna say on that.

The Trade Predictions:

These answers were definitely a bit less clear cut due to the nature of the question, after all it’s a lot easier to say who you think will be good than try and get into the head of GMs and coaches, but a few trends emerged nonetheless. The Frost, the Sirens, and the Charge all got 19 or 20 apiece and I think it makes a bit of sense. After all the Sirens and the Charge seemingly stand the most to gain through trade having missed the playoffs, and from later responses those who voted Minnesota were manifesting a Britta Curl trade which I’ll refrain from judging at the moment. I will say I’m a bit surprised that less people voted for Boston, after all unless my memory is entirely wrong they had the most trades over the course of last season and seem to hold very few qualms about it.

0.500+ Winning Percentage: Montreal Victoire (84.8%)

Guys, I respect this take, I’m 90% sure this was one of my votes for an above .500 team as well, but may I speak a little bit of heresy against the Victoire? Like they’re gonna be good, I don’t have doubt in that, but I don’t know if they’re gonna be that decisively good. They’re a bit injured which could lead to a rocky start and do we all still remember how much they relied on those top few players especially in the playoffs? I’m pretty sure in the Boston series their fourth line may have gotten less than ten minutes overall which I’m not an expert on hockey but isn’t a whole thing about balancing ice time and having solid lines all the way through so your stars aren’t having absurdly long nights (shout out to Erin Ambrose you deserve a gun)?

Otherwise this follows the general trends of the playoffs with a bit more faith in the Frost than in the Sirens, a reasonable amount for the Fleet and Sceptres, and absolutely none in Ottawa which I think we’ll all come to regret but I’ve said my piece about that already so I won’t beat a dead horse into the ground.

Higher Goals For than Goals Against: Toronto Sceptres (68.8%)

This risks getting into actual smart people hockey stuff that I am by no means an expert in, so I won’t spend too long other than to just share the results. Toronto and Montreal are the only two teams with a confidence rate of over 50%, followed by Boston, Minnesota, New York, and Ottawa. I think it’s interesting to think about potential offensive numbers but really can’t speak much to how accurate these have the chance of being because my main reaction is “huh yeah that’s a statistic people can make predictions on”

Player Predictions -

This definitely was a lot less definitive on almost all fronts, and I joked while advertising this that you could just type in MPP for all the answers and get half of them right, which seems to be the approach that some of you took. It’s fair, but expect a lot of repetition looking at these charts due to that because she is just that pervasive. I’ll try to mention as many players you guys picked as possible but you might have to look at the charts because I am neither an expert in all players nor a good enough writer to say anything other than “Yeah that’s certainly a player”

Above 1.00 points per game played: Marie Philip-Poulin (13 votes)

And here is the start to our MPP sweep, starting strong off the bat, about half of the 26 answers to this question included her which makes sense. She was second only to Natalie Spooner last season, with 1.1 pt/g and unless something weird happens I see no reason to suspect otherwise from her. I honestly didn’t expect as many other players to be suggested, after all it was only Natalie Spooner and Marie Philip-Poulin which makes sense, it’s an impressive statistic, but everyone seemed to have their favorites. Sarah Nurse was one player who hasn’t really been on my radar but you guys seem to like her, for this question and a bunch of other ones. I personally am partial to a Hilary Knight comeback season from this list but would be interested to see anyone make that jump.

In the Top Ten Points Getters: Marie Philip-Poulin (15 votes)

Everyone raise their hands if they’re surprised MPP won this in a landslide, oh wait literally no one is surprised I could have told you this when it was literally only my vote on the board. You’ll learn very quickly that oftentime the runaway winner of these simple questions aren’t really the interesting ones, it’s everyone else that got nominated that you can really dig into. Everyone who got top 10 last year, 18-27 points was up here in this list except Brianne Jenner and Katerina Mrazova which I’m chalking up to you guy’s Ottawa hate. Shoutout to Tobi and the one other person who voted for Gabbie Hughes and also Ronja Savolainen, you are the real ones rooting for the Charge.

Also I don’t know if it’s because with Natalie Spooner just kind of ruled the world coming out of Toronto I was completely blindsided by Sarah Nurse on most of these questions sorry Nursey I forgot you existed a little bit hopefully the Toronto girlies don’t tear me apart for that one.

PIMPG Over 1.00 Minutes: Abby Roque (16 votes)

The certainty of the questions ticks up by one for the next few and as much as everyone believed in MPP being awesome overall, one more person believed in Abby Roque being a criminal on skates and/or overly penalized, I didn’t leave room for that distinction. Tereza Vanišová earned the dubious distinction of second place but only with 6 votes and Emma Maltais earned third with a measly 3. Not a ton of Rookie representation here but I’ll be interested to see if any of this draft class take up this mantle. Also shoutout to the two people who voted Kaleigh Fratkin despite her not playing that’s so real and valid of you.

Save Percentage Over 0.920: Aerin Frankel (17 votes)

With the most votes of any player for a single category, Aerin Frankel, The Green Monster, love of my life and the blockade of the Boston Fleet, absolutely swept this category. I might have been thinking this in my head, but it’s good to see my Frankel love reaffirmed for the upcoming season because she deserves it all. And maybe a gun if Boston decides to have a few repeat performances from last year (cough two fifty+ save games in a row cough). The goalie questions have an inherently smaller pool so there were fewer surprises because as a certified goalie lover I try to keep tabs on the situation in net across the league. I’m shocked ARD didn’t get as much of a nod here from Montreal fans but suppose the appeal of Montreal is dissimilar to Boston in that regard as you theoretically have a consistent offense.

20+ Games Started as a Goalie: Aerin Frankel (16 votes)

Honestly I’m surprised Maschmeyer didn’t run away with this question because if it’s who I’d like to see start 20 games and do wonderfully it’d definitely be Frankel but I think with the possible addition of Klara Peslarova Boston shouldn’t be overly reliant on her with Soderburg and potentially Peslarova to back her up. I suppose it might be overwhelming faith in Gwyneth Phillips to be a solid number 2 in Ottawa but she wasn’t that represented in other goalie questions so maybe it was just an oversight considering Masch had the most starts of any goalie in the league last year. More interestingly, I respect the one person who refrained from answering and basically said that there’s so much depth in the league that no goalie will get 20 out of 30 starts. I’m not sure if it’s accurate, but the depth is real so it’s possible.

Billie Jean King (MVP) Nominee: Marie-Philip Poulin (10 votes)

And now we’re officially back in MPP territory and I’m not gonna spend too much time breaking this down because yeah. If Poulin has a repeat performance from last season and Spooner’s out for a significant portion of the season on LTIR, it’s her award to lose. But let’s look at some of the people you think she has the chance to lose it to. Once again you guys are on the Sarah Nurse train and you know what I support. Seeing the team ratios, lots of Toronto, a smattering of everyone else, no Ottawa, is definitely interesting but I’m not nearly smart enough to make conclusions as to what that means so I’ll leave it up to you to decide. (Something something teams with depth might have less obvious candidates if they’re all kicking in?)

Forward of the Year Nominee: Marie-Philip Poulin (10 votes)

Wow. MPP for forward of the year, who possibly could have predicted this. Definitely not me. And yes, you all are probably right but that’s not interesting! That’s not fun and cool and interesting so let’s move on. More Sarah Nurse love in this house and I think I can confidently say there aren’t very many of you confident in a repeat performance from Spooner/think her injured status will prevent her from potentially making this list. It’s a bit more prominent but there’s definitely a big Daryl Watts faction of supporters and honestly I endorse this. I might not be a huge Toronto girlie but I always have a soft spot for players who move teams and she just seems like a very easy person to root for. I just hope she doesn’t do too well against Boston this Saturday <3

Defender of the Year Nominee: Ella Shelton and Erin Ambrose (7 votes)

See isn’t this fun, isn’t this interesting, a tie for first place and none of them are named Marie-Philip Poulin! (ignore the fact she isn’t eligible) Honestly, I think Ella Shelton and Erin Ambrose are the obvious but objectively correct candidates. They were both nominated and both deserving but I think Shelton was a little robbed, after all she was second in points for her team as a defender and fifth yes that’s right, fifth place for points overall. But alas Erin Ambrose is a titaness and also deserved the award so that’s not the point. The point is I think I’m slightly biased towards Shelton between our two winners. As our runners up, we’re really feeling that Sophie Jaques love and I might be anti-Minnesota but I can’t bring myself to be ant-Sophie Jaques. Of course I endorse Keller (Go Fleet!) and can’t say I know enough about the rest of these players defensively to speak definitively on their chances.

Goalie of the Year Nominee: Aerin Frankel (13 votes)

Peace and love on planet earth there’s not much to say that I didn’t already say in the save percentage or games started section so I won’t dawdle too much here other than to say that there was a little less variation of who you thought would be nominated versus who you thought would have a good season (starting 20+ times, high save percentage). You guys tend to stick with proven goalies, which makes sense and I can’t see any place I’d disagree other than to say I think that if Corinne Schroeder keeps up her save percentage (higher than Soupy last year) and New York lets her see less of a volume of shots (she saw about 31 per game as compared to Campbell’s 24) by actually playing defense, she could separate a bit from the other goalies in the league. I’m always rooting for Aerin Frankel and think she got robbed last year, so if she stays the Green Monster she was last season I think she has a really good chance.

Rookie of the Year Nominee: Sarah Fillier (12 votes)

This really reaffirmed for me that most of us have absolutely no clue anything about the depth of this rookie class. Of the nine players named, ⅔ of them were the first round of the draft, one of them isn’t even a rookie (Sorry Daryl Watts you won’t be getting this piece of hardware), and Curl and Daniel were second and third round picks respectively. Meanwhile over 20 rookie skaters got points in the preseason games alone and only Serdachny and Fillier from this list got more than 1 point. The rest of those seven players were all but forgotten. And I get it, preseason is preseason, but my prediction is we’ll have a few unexpected standouts who really break out in the league when no one really saw them coming. I don’t think Sarah Fillier will be snubbed with nominations, her preseason hatty proved that she’s coming out on all cylinders, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the other two are people not listed here. We shall see.

Significantly Better Year (Pt/G increased by at least 0.4): Hilary Knight (7 votes)

Listen, I might be biased as she is the Captain of the Fleet (which sounds so cool and I do need art of her in a pirate uniform immediately if not sooner) but I personally am rooting for a Hilary Knight revenge tour. I think we saw it at the rivalry series and in the single preseason game she graced the ice with her presence, but I think she’s the type of player who underperformed last season and is now prepared to rip the league a new one. This was definitely one of the more varied questions with most candidates getting 1 or 2 votes so I’ll let you make your own opinions though I will say a lot of you are on the Daryl Watts train and think she’ll find her footing in Toronto. My one note is I’m not sure if some of you got the question because there are some candidates here (Sarah Nurse most notably) who had great and/or good seasons (above 0.5 points per game) and going up by 0.4 or more would mean they’d become transcendent players on the same level as the Spooners and Poulins of last season. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying there’s only so high players can go reasonably.

Involved in a Trade: Britta Curl (2 votes)

If the last question was a wide field of answers, this was a complete crapshoot. Aside from what I assume are two Minnesota fans hoping to dump Britta Curl on some other team, everyone else seems to be selected at random, so I won’t bother with any conjecture, you can observe and draw conclusions for yourself.

[sigynpenniman]

Sigyn's top 5 albums of 2024 - #3: Glass Animals - I Love You So F***ing Much

I have to be honest, 2024 was kind of a weird year for me musically. Many of my favorite artists released new albums and singles, and I found myself feeling confused by many of them. A common theme of this year’s releases for me was acquired tastes - albums which I didn’t particularly like at first, or at least wasn’t sure about, but which grew on me like a fungus after repeated listenings. Nowhere is this truer than of Glass Animals’ I Love You So F***ing Much. Honestly, my feelings about this album are still incredibly complicated and confused, and even writing this review is somewhere difficult as no matter what I say about it I’m going to end up misrepresenting my feelings somehow. I Love You is somehow simultaneously one of the year’s best and one of my biggest disappointments, a genuinely lovely and successful album with a lot to offer that obviously made it into my top 5 for a reason, yet terribly unbalanced and really not quite what I hoped it would be. Glass Animals’ last album, Dreamland, was a heavy lockdown rotation for me, and is in my personal canon of masterpieces. Dreamland is a deeply sorrowful interrogation of nostalgia and the past, intercut with bits of home movie audio to really drive the stake home. Glass Animals are afflicted a bit with the inability to truly create music that sounds different or new, always tiptoeing down the same stylistic lines, a sort of negative foil to Two Door Cinema Club’s manic identity hopping.

In truth, my sense of disappointment in I Love You stems from two major mistakes in its release. Mistake number one was releasing the album’s two best songs as leading singles, which, while I understand is more or less standard practice, set one up for mild disappointment when the other tracks just didn’t quite touch Creatures In Heaven and A Tear In Space, the latter of which is one of the crispest, most satisfying tracks to drop in a long while. Mistake number two was significantly over-promising on the albums’s themes with its cover art and Creatures in Heaven’s lyrical content. With cover art depicting one human and one monster eye and a font and design clearly intended to imitate older horror movies, and Creatures in Heaven evoking images of makeup and fake blood, the reasonable conclusion to draw was that we were about to do a theme album about metaphorical monsterfucking. That was, of course, not what it turned out to be at all, so much so in fact that I would argue the album cover should be something else entirely as the spooky, monster imagery it invokes actually has nothing sonically or thematically to do with the album at all and seems a bit random and haphazard once you actually listen to the whole thing. I Love You sees Glass Animals treading their familiar line, though with a slightly updated sound. My first listen left me rather disappointed, and I was forced to accept that this was going to be an album where the lead singles were the only winners.

And then I kept listening. And listening. And listening. What I Love You missed in innovation and thematic consistency it gained in sheer addictiveness and listenability. This album has that particular quality that I can’t ever seem to put my finger on of simply wanting to be listened to over, and over, and over again, unceasingly. I have to give Glass Animals credit as this is common to pretty much all of their music, but this one is the most dramatic example. I Love You So F***ing Much grows on you like a fungus, like black coffee and dark chocolate. Whatever you think of it on your first listen, by your 12th, you will suddenly understand, and make no mistake - there WILL be a 12th. I think I just played this album on repeat continuously for a week or so, and by the time I emerged, I finally appreciated it. It may not be perfect, but it is intoxicatingly listenable, scratching some quiet itch in the brain that wants more, more, more. Like Glass Animals’ earlier effort How To Be a Human Being and my mainstays Two Door Cinema Club’s Millionaire and Gameshow, I Love You is as endlessly replayable as Europa Universalis IV, which deserves a tremendous amount of credit and compliment in and of itself. It’s not easy to create an album that invokes such dedicated desire, and that in fact may be harder than making a monsterfucker concept opera. And for its addiction alone, I Love You cleanly grabs my #3 spot. This is an album which requires endless repeats to shine - but polished by familiarity, it does eventually glitter, even if its luster is lab-grown.

Best of 2024 #4: Lady Gaga - Disease Best of 2024 #5: Queen I - the Remaster

[anotherescsite]

Eurovision 2024. Hmmm

I usually take my time to contemplate the contest. This year, I'm took longer than usual. I wrote the below document months ago, but never had the will to send it into the Tumblr world.

Things have happened, people have said things, people aged and I got Covid for the first time. But the lingering thought of Eurovision 2024 is still there. While it feels very real and very raw now, that booing, Bambie, Joost and the Martin thing etc will most likely be forgotten by viewer and except for Eurovision tragic like myself. I'm not going to focus on that stuff.

Let's start from the beginning. The Eurovision of 2024 was held in Malmo Sweden for the second time following Loreen's win. Sweden have said that they have won the Eurovision seven times numerous times and while there was a shine and a sparkle, there were disappointments and corners cut which annoyed me.

Postcards recorded on mobile phones. How is that a good experience for a viewer? Some were fine, others were posing, others may have never seen a mobile telephone in their life. People spend too much time taking selfies and filming themselves being dumb and this encourages it (until they walk into the traffic and are placed in traction).

The stage. Clever and interesting stage which had great screens everywhere. Conspiracy theorists would have said that the stage design told us the winner would be Switzerland (a big cross) from the beginning and saved us 9 hours. Most of it was highly under-utilised and some acts went everywhere and made their stage look messy.

The interval acts. I feel a bit annoyed by the return of former artists singing the same songs. Kudos to Benjamin Ingrosso for singing new material. Otherwise, repeat performances from Eleni Foureira, Eric Saade, Chanel, Charlotte Nielson, Helena Paparizou, and Sertab Ererer. The performance from Loreen in a convoluted chair was the worst. I didn't even realise she had moved from her new song to Tattoo because she was mumbling so much. We got another humorous song from Petra, but how many versions of the same song can you have? Which brings us to...

The Hosts. They were an interesting choice and for me it was like watching newsreaders from Korea. Malin presenting the South Korean manner of calm and Petra somewhat aggressive, louder and shrieking of the North. Petra proved she can speak in an appropriate manner, but when the soft spoken Malin was there, Petra seemed a bit passive aggressive. The show went well with their guidance though.

Camerawork I'm not sure about this one. Either the artists/people in charge of songs were not taking advantage of the camerawork or the SVT people were all over the place. I want to put it down to inexperience of the participants, because others were very precise. I don't understand why they (the host broadcaster) do not make suggestions for a better television show.

Which brings us to the songs. A mix of diverse, buoyant, gritty, hard, soft, silly, fun, forgettable, strange, wicked and sensible which combined to create an interesting journey of music. I cannot say that all of them are to my taste. It is rare you will locate a person who would enjoy every entry in a year, and if you do, you deserve a prize.

It is officially award season on my site. Let the extensive crap shoot begin.

[hqcult]

EYELINER ## suna rintarou

trying to apply his eyeliner would've been easy if only rintarou can keep his hands to himself.

. tw smut, dom suna, established relationship, fingering, oral f receiving, edging, dirty talk, slight exhibitionism, mind break, unprotected sex, pwp . wc 4k

"ugh, he's gonna do it again." you mutter, eyeing suna's hand as it skims around your vanity desk for his favorite brand of eyeliner. for some reason everybody naturally finds themself drawn to suna rintarou, even if he was always so stoic and detached. 

you hate how girls would flock around him in parties as they stare at his kohl-lined eyes or at the painted black nail polish whenever you disappear to get a drink, knowing full well what kind of thoughts are running in their heads because you, for sure, thought of him the same way. alright. we get it. your boyfriend can be a hot mofo if he wants to be and his idgaf attitude just adds to the whole appeal.

we get it.

because you love him more than the stars in the galaxy combined, sometimes you can't help but feel jealous when people get too close to him. you really didn't want to be that type of girlfriend but sometimes you just like the assurance that he's all yours and nothing's wrong about that, right? plus, suna seems to exceptionally love when he gets you jealous and feral. he may always pretend otherwise but he loves staking his claim on you just as much as you liked being claimed by him. 

"are you done yet?" you say, staring at him from your bedroom door frame. 

atsumu was throwing a party tonight and you were all dressed up and ready to go, just patiently waiting for your boyfriend. 

suna replies a beat later, not bothering to meet your eyes. "just a minute."

you just want his attention all on you. you don't even want to go to this stupid party and see all these people shamelessly flirting with him even if you were right there by his side. you just want to have some alone time with suna rintarou. 

and you may or may not have just come up with an idea to make that happen.

"where's the eyeliner? the one i always use?"

"it's not there? i know i left it there. wait, let me look." 

you straighten up, walking towards him in your red leather mini skirt that can make any man's eyes sliver down to your ass. 

suna is sitting on your swivel chair, leaning back in a man spread as he clicks his tongue impatiently. he looks good even in a plain shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, his athletic and tall build enough to make any outfit look good.

"are you sure it's not in the drawers?"

"yes, i already checked."

you pout, making a show of muttering "i swore i threw it in here," under your breath as you maneuver around his spread legs to stand in between them, bending forward as you rummage around where he's already looked twice. 

you know he's staring at your ass. suna was never lowkey with how much he loves you in this leather mini-skirt. it's a miracle he hasn't landed a rough spank yet after getting a face full view of your ass. 

"wait a minute, maybe it rolled under my vanity."

so you get down on your knees, making sure your butt grazes the front of his jeans and just like you predicted, suna was half-hard already. 

it was truly such a stroke to your ego but you focus on the task at hand. 

you arched your ass up as you bend down to look for the little tube of eyeliner, slightly shaking it side to side as you "struggle" to get the eyeliner out from underneath the table. 

when your hands feel the cylindrical plastic, you retreat, sitting up straight again and proudly showing your boyfriend the eyeliner in your hands. 

you made sure your eyes were as huge and innocent as they look, kneeling in between his legs, shins tucked in and hands in your lap like a good girl. 

"i found it!"

you could've sworn you've seen his left eye twitch as he stared you down. you've been with him long enough to notice that look in his eyes. what are you playing at, huh?

you wait for him to speak but you can see all the gears turning in his head as he continues to stare at you. 

you wait anxiously for what he's going to do next. maybe he'll make you suck him off, or he'll throw you on the bed, or spank your ass because you were clearly teasing him—

"why don't you put my eyeliner on for me?"

you stand up, opening the tube in as he shuts his eyes. you try not to let your disappointment show too much. fine. maybe you can just have a quickie later while drunk in one of the rooms in the frat house. 

"why are you standing? come sit on my lap while you're doing it."

you were too busy removing the excess product off the brush to notice his eyes had taken a dark turn, contradicting the gentleness of his warm hands as it snakes around the back of your bare thighs pulling you closer. 

"no, i'll mess this—"

"i said sit."

delicious shivers create goosebumps on your skin. 

you know that tone. he only uses it when he's horny and he wants to bend you over. so maybe your game plan did work after all, yet you're staring at him dumbfounded with the eyeliner brush in midair. 

"come sit. i won't repeat myself." he leans back against the chair, manspreading as he waits for you. 

you scramble to straddle his strong thighs, muscles a manifestation of his hard work and dedication to volleyball. it was great to see him in action on the court but you'd rather he flexed those muscles when you ride his thighs. 

you cup his face, getting all up in his personal space to apply the eyeliner. 

you've long grown out of the honeymoon phase but why is your heart beating so damn fast right now?

your hands were shaking, perspiration was building up in your forehead, and you were holding your breath.

"are you nervous?"

"shut up, rin. 'm not."

when the brush first touches the lid of his eyes, a nimble finger traces the expanse of your whole slit over your panties. 

you pull the brush away, hissing in surprise. 

"rintarou—!"

"what?"

his sharp tone isn't what shut you up, it was the hand cupping your sex. the heel of his wrist slowly grazing against your sensitive clit. you drew a sharp breath. he smirks. 

"go on. continue, doll."

you want to hate the teasing lilt in his voice but you know deep down you love it.

you held your breath, diving in once again to the task at hand whilst trying to ready yourself from his ministrations. 

your hand slightly shakes as you start in the middle of his waterline, slowly tracing the bottom part of his eyes before making a small wing at the end. 

you've seen him apply his own eyeliner so much you have this down to an art form. everything would've been easy if only he kept his hands to himself. you try to ignore the digit still feathering over your slit or the hand wrapping around you to bunch your skirt up around the waist. 

for someone whose eyes are closed he's doing a damn good job navigating. but maybe that's how he shows you're his. he knows your body like the back of his hand, he knows what makes you tick, what makes you pant, what makes you moan in ecstasy. 

"i can never resist when you dress up all pretty for me. you know that, right, doll?"

applying the eyeliner to his waterline had been fairly easy. the lash line, on the other hand, proved difficult. especially when suna's upgraded from tracing your pussy lips to dangerously toying with the elastics of your panties, slipping his finger under before stretching it to slap your skin. 

as you try to connect the upper part of the eyeliner to the small wing you made from his waterline, you hissed. 

"why don’t you pull them down?"

he chuckles at your impatience and you slightly pull the brush away as he finally shoves the fabric down. you gasp when the cold hits your wet cunt. the scent of your essence unmistakable and you know suna's holding back from teasing. 

"as you wish, baby."

as suna grows bolder, the more your hands shook as you worked on his other eye. 

just as the tip of the brush touched his left eye's waterline, he pushed two fingers inside of you, dragging them against your walls in a lazy manner that was so distinctly him. he curls his fingers when he fucks it in before dragging them against your walls when he pulls it out, slightly scissoring you. he uses his other hand to draw figure 8’s against your clit. 

you swallow, trying your best to keep your hand still as a surgeon but you see the jagged little curves where your jolts of pleasure were too strong. 

you never should've provoked him to shove your underthings down, at least then you wouldn't have to suffer through his fingers. they were just so long, so thick, and so experienced when it comes to pleasuring you that you can never touch yourself anymore without craving suna's own fingers instead. 

you bit your lip, the hand that was cupping his jaw tightening as you try to fix the little mistakes here and there, hoping suna won't see them when he inspects your work in the mirror. it doesn't matter that he purposely set you up to fail. there'll be consequences if he isn't satisfied with what you did. may god have mercy on your horny little soul if rintarou thinks you were a bad girl. 

"you just hate losing, don't you?" you hiss, jolting when you feel him slap your cunt. your knees nearly buckled and you almost fell off the chair if not for his sturdy hand on the small of your back. 

"what are you talking about? i'm just fingering my girl like a winner."

just as you started outlining his left lash line, suna shoves a 3rd finger into your sopping cunt. loud squelching noises fill the room as your walls pulsate around his thick digits. the metal rings he wore brushing against your pussy lips as he fucks you knuckle-deep with three fingers. involuntarily, your own hips started moving to match his pace, shamelessly thrusting up everytime he shoves his fingers in.

he knows you so well. he doesn't even need to look at your face, he can feel you out by the noises you make. so good. so good. his fingers feel so good. fuck. fuck. fuck.

until he pulls them out of your sopping pussy. 

"rin," you whine, folding into his shoulder as you struggle to balance your kneeling self on the chair. you blindly reach down for his hand, urging him to put his fingers back in. "rin, please don't stop. please please please—”

"i told you to put my eyeliner, not fuck yourself on my fingers," he leans back on the chair, eyes still shut close while licking his digits clean. 

your lips press into a thin line, eyes dilated as a whine starts to threaten to pass your lips. you're sick of whatever game this is, you just want him to fuck you silly already! but as if sensing your thoughts, suna clicks his tongue and speaks. "hurry it up. we have a party to get to."

without his fingers to plug your cunny, your slick runs down the insides of your thighs. it's slow descent against your skin making goosebumps run up your arms, shivering as the cold hits your bare cunt. 

suna must've known your anguish, he could feel his jeans getting soaked but he didn't care and you wish to punch that smug smirk off his pretty face. 

your fingers stilled when you cupped his cheeks and leaned in to start applying a thin stroke of eyeliner to his water line. with a simple flick of the wrist you ended it with a little wing, just like how your boyfriend likes it. now, you just have to do his lash line and—

you let out an audible gasp when his fingers started feeling around your thighs, having an inkling idea of what he's tryna look for. true to what you expected, he traces the line of your dripping slick up your inner thighs until his fingers graze your nether lips, successfully collecting your essence. 

you stare entranced when suna brings them up to his lips, eyebrows furrowed and almost moaning aloud because of your taste. the fact that his eyes are closed made you want him even more. his fingers pop out of his mouth, but you get the feeling it wasn't enough. he wants more. suna wants you under his mercy. he wants to taste and ruin you until you're fucked out and lying in a pretty mess on the bed sheets. 

"so fucking sweet, my baby. you're this desperate for me? for my fingers?"

you snapped. you threw the makeup elsewhere in the room (though not before screwing it shut) before diving down to kiss him on the lips. all lust-filled and rough as you both channel the desires you have for each other. maybe suna was at his tipping point too, noting that he doesn't even bother to push you away. 

with his strong arms he picks you up and you wrap your legs around his torso, never breaking the kiss before literally throwing you down on the bed, knocking the air out your lungs. 

"rin!"

"whoops."

he's kneeling before the bed, the sheets ruffling when he pulls you to the edge by your calves, hot breath against your sex making you squirm. 

"my pretty thing," the kitten lick against your pussy drove you crazy, desperately bucking your hips up and suna chuckles condescendingly. "but such a bad fuckin' girl, aren't ya?"

you yelp when he slaps the side of your thigh. 

"who said you could kiss me?"

he pinches your clit hard as he enters your line of sight. suna has never seen you this pretty and desperate for him before. sweat making your skin glow, lips raw from your biting, eyes conveying your every lust-filled thought about him. the sight of you so riled up makes his dick ache and he wants so badly to fuck you already but bad girls don't get what they want just yet. you have to earn it. 

"i asked you a question. who the fuck told you that you could fucking kiss me?" the acid in his voice contrasts the gentle way he caresses the spot on your thigh where he had hit you. 

"no one."

you sob in pleasure when his hot tongue licks a stripe up your pussy before suckling on your clit. once. twice. sucking particularly hard on the third. before running his tongue swiftly over the bundle of nerves and kitten licking his way down your pussy lips. your thighs were shaking so hard he had to pin them down. he knows it's a sign that you're close, not that he's surprised, he's been stimulating your body for minutes now it was amazing you haven't cummed yet. 

but then he stops.

a thread of your slick dribbling down his chin as those cat eyes of his stare you down. he watches, enchanted by how your chest rises and falls. another sweet release he snatched away from you.

"i thought so. what does that make you?"

amazing how he manages to sound so normal, conversational even while he's literally edging you like there's no tomorrow. what do you expect? it's his favorite punishment. he gets to see you sob and beg for him like there's nothing in your mind but his cock and he loves it so much. loves seeing you bend and break for him to please. 

you sniffle, arm coming up to hide the frustrated tears in your eyes. "been… been a bad girl."

a hand slaps your thighs, brutal. eyes on rintarou when answering his questions. your eyes shoot up. 

"and who's bad girl have you been?"

"yours."

this time he reaches forward to tweak your pebbled nipples. the sudden cold of the pads of his fingers making you gasp and spasm. your boyfriend straddles you and you shiver at the head of his glistening cock leaving trails on top of your thighs. but he doesn't make another move. when you sneakily try wiggling your hips for your sex to graze his dick, he slapped your thigh without holding back. you doubt it won't start leaving a handprint. you wait with bated breath when he grabs hold of his cock, the head angry and dripping, the only proof of his also growing desire for you. 

when he directs the head for it to graze your nether lips, you almost cried another fresh batch of tears. his hand quickly brushes up to wipe it away, though not before feeling his dick twitch. you know how much he loves seeing you cry from the overwhelming pleasure he can give you. 

"last time i checked, my name isn't yours. didn't i tell you to answer in full sentences when i'm fucki—"

"suna! suna rintarou! i've been sun-suna rintarou's bad girl!"

suna ducks to mark your neck and torso. he feels the goosebumps forming on your body. the heat enveloping the two of you as you both quickly shed any remaining pieces of clothing. he kisses you. sloppy. nothing but teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance as he cradles your face with his big hands, feeling the mushroom head of his cock grazing your thighs.

usually he'd appreciate you not cutting him off mid-sentence but he too has reached his own limits and right now all he can think about is drilling you to the mattress. "rin, please!" you sob, arms wrapping around his neck as you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck.

"shh. yes, doll. i hear ya." 

you were dripping wet enough that all it took is one deep thrust for him to bottom-out. usually you're quite hesitant when rintarou's rawing you but at this point right now, you doubt fucking with a condom would've felt this good. no thin plastic whatsoever that's separating you from him. when he starts to move, you both moan in ecstasy. the bed creaking under the weight of you both as he pistons his dick inside. "you feel so good, doll. so fucking wet and tight. look how wet you are. dripping for my cock, huh? this all for me? answer me!"

you hardly register his voice, the pleasure you've been craving since minutes ago now being crashed down upon you. it's overwhelming and you don't want it any other way. 

"yes," you pant. the tears still leaking from your eyes as you claw at his biceps. "yes. all-all for you, r-rin! just for you!"

he stubbornly keeps hitting the spot that'll make you keen and whine, suna forcing your hips down and sitting up with his palms at the sides of your head. he wants to see you come undone, he'd love to grab his phone and make this memory permanent but he doubts his camera can capture the real deal. your moans and pleas reaching his ears, spurring him on, the beautiful way your back arches of the mattress, the way you physically shook in pleasure and you screamed and worshipped his name.

"rin! oh my god, rin! fuck. 'm close," your voice breaks, hiccuping from the onslaught of tears you can't hold back as blinding pleasure grips you in a tight vice.

suna comes down to snake his arms around you, pulling you infinitely closer as one of his hands supports your lower back, manually moving your hips to match his frantic thrusts. "why you crying? bad girls should be tough, right? aren't—shit—aren't you a bad girl? hmm? bad girls like you shouldn't be crying."

you shake your head, looking pretty and desperate as you meet his eyes. "no, i'm not a bad—"

"yes. you are," you groan, his thrusts particularly hard to shut you up and make a point. "you're a very, very bad girl. you don't listen to me at all. bad girls don't even deserve to cum."

"no! no! rin, please!" you say, a blubbering mess as you bury your forehead into his neck, licking and suckling at his skin to get in his good side. "i'll be good. i promise! please, let me cum. rin! please, i'll be good. i'll be good! only your good—ah."

"you fucking bet you're my good girl," he hissed, biting your shoulder before moaning, pitched and wanton as it threatens to snap the stretched cord inside of you. but not yet. you can't. not unless he says so. "it's me that's making you feel this good. this is my pussy. my plaything. repeat what i said—doll! repeat what i said."

you cried, screaming in frustration as his cock stills inside of you and you know he won't move until you oblige. "this is…" you hiccup. "rin-rintarou's pu-pussy. i'm rintarou's play-plaything."

"what was that?" he asks, hips starting to rut against you again in full force. the headboard violently hitting the walls. when your hands scramble to cling onto something, you accidentally shove something off the bed but you couldn't care less. "louder, doll. i want the whole fucking neighborhood to hear you."

"this is rintarou's pussy. i'm rintarou's plaything." you say in your normal speaking voice, albeit shaky and almost incomprehensible as he holds you firm against him, his cock embedding it's shape and size into your sopping walls.

"louder!"

he hoists you up into a sitting position, his hips fucking up towards you and you only realize he did it when you see the window situated meters behind you two. curtains-drawn, open for the night breeze to billow in. he wasn't kidding. suna rintarou wants the neighbors to hear how good you're getting rawed. he wasn't kidding. he was not kidding.

"go on," he whispers, breathy and teasing. "you'll do it. you're a good girl for me arentcha?"

fuck. "this is rintarou's pussy! i'm rintarou's plaything!"

he licks a stripe up your neck, hands coming around your neck as he whispers into your ear the words you've been dying to hear. "cum, baby."

and your orgasm surges through your whole body in violent jolts, thick ropes of cum squirting out your pussy as you distantly hear him groaning, your walls tightening and sucking him in with every aggressive thrust. rintarou quickly finishes after you, teeth embedding themselves into your shoulder as he groans. you knew bruises will form and you're going to be sore as a bitch but you don't fucking care.

"rin, i love you." you say, grabbing a hold of his face as you stare deep into his eyes. and you don't understand why there's doubt clouding in your head when he takes a beat later to answer, when really, he just can't help the sudden wave of emotions festering in his stomach as he meets the gravity of your gaze. the love and devotion in your eyes as he can only hope that he could translate his emotions through his eyes, too.

he smiles, leaning in to give you a kiss. it's sweet and gentle, completely unlike the one he gave you a few minutes ago when in the throes of pleasure. no. you feel every bit of his love for you in this one kiss and you don't know why you ever doubted yourself, doubted him. you've been together for so long and you're it for him. 

"i love you, too."

but leave it to your darling rintarou to ruin the moment.

"but you'll never apply my eyeliner ever again."

. a/n » this was so self-indulgent im sorry lmao

[honeyabyss]

Phone calls after Mc returned to the human realm

Lucifer:

this man is stubborn, calling you would be like admitting he's gone soft and his pride does not allow that!

so he refuses to call for the first few weeks, keeping himself busy with work of which he has enough anyway

due to all his student council work, a few other tasks of Diavolo and on top of that the usual shenanigans of his brothers, he quickly becomes very stressed

he's at his breaking point and needs someone to talk to so he can release some of his stress before he takes it out on someone else

so he goes to your old room and starts talking as soon as he enters it, only to stop confused when he doesn't see you in the room, remembering only now you left for the human realm

disappointed he sits down onto the bed and curls the blanket around himself

"Their scent is almost gone...Soon it'll be as if they were never here"

he closes his eyes, sighs softly and makes his decision

"Mc? I hope I didn't wake you. I simply thought a conversation would be nice, it's been a while..."

Lucifer's call is pretty casual, he talks about his day, work and his troublemaker brothers, it almost feels like any other day before just this time it is over phone

he does not want to admit he misses you, a) because he'd seem weak and b) he fears what admitting it will do to him, he might just miss you even more

BUT while saying goodbye he accidentally lets a "I miss you" slip, his breathing stops shortly realizing his mistake, he is about to apologize when you say it back

he smiles softly, genuinely relieved about your shared sentiment and whispers "I'll call you again soon then" before hanging up

from then on he calls you every evening and you better jump right away and pick up at the first ringing, because this man is lonely without you

Mammon:

"Congratulations! You're one of our lucky winners of our monthly Devil-Lottery. We'll have to confirm your bank account number with the one given to us when you agreed to participating in the lottery. Would you be so kind to slowly repeat the number-"

this greedy demon will quite literally try to scam you, only to absolutely panic when you hang up on him

he will instantly call you back, constantly adjusting his glasses, a nervous habit he acquired over the years

"H-hey...Mc...uhm, it's me your favourite demon!"

he is relieved you picked up, as it means you didn't block him right away, he stumbles over his words trying to find an excuse why he just tried to scam you

"Ah you know I only did that to test you, you've passed nobody scams my human! You're my amazing human after all! That's why I love you...u-uh I-i mean...nothing...that was a static you must have misheard..."

when you tell him you knew it was him as you recognized his voice, he'll be outraged, screaming into his D.D.D (and probably later getting punched by Lucifer for being so loud)

"What do you mean you already knew?! You dared to hang up on The Great Mammon?

He gets a bit sulky by your reaction, so how about playing into his obvious lie of testing you to make him feel better again

besides trying to scam you Mammon also called to (not so sneakily) check on your wellbeing

now that you're gone he constantly worries about you and he can't do much to help, but if you were actually in need of help due to whatever, trust me he'd fight Lucifer himself for permission to go to you

he'll call you as often as he can, sometimes with a few days of a break in between, asking you about your life and also letting you in on his upcoming money making schemes...please don't tell Lucifer about them

Mammon has learned his lesson though, he'll never try to scam you again, he couldn't bare it if you were to block or ignore his calls

Leviathan:

phone calls? Why? You two can just talk about the in-game talk function of this new online game you play, but no real world talk while playing that ruins the immersion!

Levi will rarely call you as he just doesn't feel comfortable enough to talk with you about normie stuff for too long

he normally just spam writes you, ding, ding, ding, one message after another coming in without you being able to respond quick enough

so if gets too much and you decide to just call him so you can have an actual chance of responding, Levi just panics and almost drops his D.D.D

"Mc? D-did you accidentally hit the c-call button? N-no? I-i see no I love you too!!....AAAAAAAh I-i meant I l-l-love t-talking to you too...hehehe w-why would a yucky o-otaku like me say something like that"

poor boy is so nervous he'll say something stupid and will stutter a lot the first few times you call him, he is just not used to talking on the phone

he will laugh nervously over everything and sometimes there'll be a phase of awkward silence, but please don't point it out, Levi is already stressed enough as it is

once he gets used to calls, he'll surprisingly suggests to have a phone call while both of you are watching the new episode of an anime, so he'll be able to talk to you as if you're right next to him, which works out mediocre at first, you have to tell him to be a bit quieter a few times but besides that it's quiet nice

"Ooooooowhooooooah!!! Did you see that? That was amazing, I wish I had these superpowers, I'd save you of every danger like a real hero! W-what do you mean I'm already your hero?"

Yes, you saw and heard it, and your neighbours probably heard Levi...

on the rare occasions Levi calls you he'll often asks you for favours like to buy him this exclusively in the human realm sold limited edition game, of course he isn't like his scummy brother Mammon who'll constantly asks for things and he'll also make it up by sending you stuff you can only get on Akuzon

so calls don't happen very often, but neither if you really mind, you'll still be in contact through messages and games

Satan:

Satan will be very proper about calling you, he'll check through messages if you're fine with him calling you, so he can be sure you have time and he doesn't bother you

Satan never jumps into a conversation right away (unless he is angry), he makes sure to show interest in you and hold a bit small talk, asking about your day, how you're doing and so on

you talk about many different things with him mostly about your shared interests, but Satan is willing to listen to you ramble about hobbies he doesn't have as well

one thing you two quickly come to do was have book club sessions over phone

"I wish you were still here Mc. I miss my book discussion partner, nobody here has as interesting opinions and views as you..."

back in Devildom you two would both read a book and afterwards discuss your thoughts, and you found a way too keep doing just that

you both write about books, decide on one to read for the week and would than have a phone call where you just talk for hours about the piece of literature you've read

now that you're back in the human realm, the book choices are even bigger as you can read human books as well, you just have to send a copy to Satan, sometimes Barbatos will be nice and pick a book up and deliver it to Satan, or to you if it's the other way around with a demon book

"Oh? No, you're right. I haven't thought about it like that yet...your thoughts are so fascinating!"

Satan will shower you in praise for every little detail that you noticed yet he missed. he genuinely enjoys your phone calls, and though he wouldn't admit it, sometimes he anticipates your call more than the actual book

even though there now is a bigger distance between you two he still feels as close to you as before, not much has changed for him and he knows he'll be able to see you again soon, he'll just have to be patient

"Next week, same time? I'm looking forward to talking to you again. Take care until then!"

Asmodeus:

"Oh my Lord! You won't believe what just happened!!!"

no greeting or alike, just straight into the discussion

whenever something gossip worthy happens, Asmo is already dialling your number to spill the tea and keep you updated on any Devildom related gossip, even if it won't help you much, it's a nice thought of him keep you in the loop

those are only the spontaneous call though, obviously you can't take these all the time...you still have a life of your own...

you two actually call each other every day at the same time, plus/minus a couple minutes, the water in the tub has to be filled first...yeah Asmo likes to talk you while he is taking his afternoon bath

"Hahh it's so relaxing, warm water caressing my beautiful skin, and the bath bomb today smells so good! I wish you could smell it, or even better I wish we could bathe together!"

*water sloshing noises intensified*

Asmo...no....yes...maybe...just stop, you'll fluster Mc!

"No really! I miss having you here, I'll pamper you all day the next time I'll get to see you. You must already be starved of my beauty, but don't worry my dear, I'm just as starved of seeing your lovely face!"

what to talk about while he is bathing? Anything really if it's about your day, any complains or whatever, just expect a few innuendos of him...that's nothing new though

seriously though Asmo is the guy to talk to about any of your problems, he will listen and try to come up with a solution for you, even if he seems a bit narcissistic sometimes he really cares about you, so use your phone calls as therapy from time to time

"Oh darling, don't worry it'll be okay! I'm here to help...now tell me every detail so I can come up with a plan! I'll always be there for you, no matter what!"

Beelzebub:

"*munch munch* This one is really good! Mc you should try some...oh"

now that you're back in the human realm, Beels snack times are very lonely, he has just gotten so used to your presence, even sharing his food is normal by now

and let's be honest Beels snack time is 24/7 so he misses you a lot

he feels the urge to call you every five minutes and sometimes even forgets to eat while phone is ringing and he is waiting for you to pick up

but you can't constantly talk with him over phone so the calls often end up on your voicemail where Beel tells you about all the different kind of foods he ate that day

when Belphie catches wind of his twin constantly pestering you, he hides Beels D.D.D so he can't call you all the time

when you're actually able to pick up on his call, Beel will be so happy you can quite literally hear his huge grin while he's excitedly talking about his current snack

"Have you ever tried spicy bat-wings? There opened a new restaurant in town and it's really good!! Next time you're here I'll invite you there. Oh but what if it closes before you're back...ah you'll just have to visit soon!"

though Beel is often disappointed when you don't pick up, he would never hold it against you, he knows he calls quite a lot, but he just misses you and tipping a message while he eats is harder than putting his D.D.D on speaker and talking to you

of course he doesn't only talk about food, he also tells you about how his brothers are doing and how his workout was, or what things he has planned to do at the weekend, all in all Beel is just super happy to share everything of his life with you

on rare occasions he'll call you and be untypically quiet, that happens when he had a fight with his twin, it's not often but sometimes it happens and his first instinct is to call you, because he feels like he can tell you everything so he is very comfortable and trusting with you

"I miss you a lot, you know...but I also know that you think about me daily, every time your stomach rumbles you'll be reminded of me and that makes me happy, I also think about you every time I'm hungry! Hm? But I'm always hungry? That's right! You're always on my mind!"

Belphegor:

Listen, his sleeping schedule is very tight, you can't just expect him to call you!

he will call you so rarely and if you call him it might just happen that he is sleeping and has phone on silent...or he's just to lazy to walk to his phone, or he is just not in the mood to talk... he takes any excuse to not be on the phone

Belphie does like talking to you, but he is not the greatest at long conversations so he like messages more

sometimes when he can't seem to fall asleep, he will be the one to call you...in the middle of the night...and you better pick up or he gets annoyed

"What took you so long? I thought you wanted to talk more often and then you leave me hanging for a whole minute? Doesn't matter I would have waited longer with you...."

he is mostly silent through a phone call, his main reason to call you is because he like to listen to you talk, it's calming to him and if he calmer then he might be able to fall asleep again

so don't expect an amazingly deep conversation...

"Mhmmm...hm? Yeah I'm still there. I'm listening keep talking, I love your voice..."

he'll bring up a topic from time to time so you have an inspiration about what to talk about, but most of the times he just lazily hum or making acknowledging noises so you know he is still listening

"Zzz..."

he will to 100% fall asleep while being on the phone with you, that doesn't mean you're boring, but that he trusts you so much that he is comfortable enough to let his guard down

Diavolo:

"Good afternoon! How was the week of my favourite human?...ah don't tell Solomon I said that hahaha"

as the future king of hell, he is a busy man, but he still manages to give you a call once a week, to the same time you two would have normally had your weekly afternoon tea meeting in the castle

with the exchange year over there is not much about your classes to talk about left, but Dia is just as excited about any other topic you decide to talk about, be it the most mundane thing he loves it!

"Oh so you went grocery shopping? That must be fun! Barbatos does it all the time, though I suppose you buy less things...I'd like to see a human market at some point, I wonder if they're very different from ours...oh but I wouldn't really able to tell I suppose, Barbatos and you would need to point out the differences!"

this man can talk without taking a break for hours...you think Asmo is bad? Prepare for Diavolo...

but seriously it never gets boring with him, because he somehow finds good and fun stuff in every activity, I swear give him a vacuum and watch him clean you're whole flat with the enthusiasm of a child getting presents on Christmas

the work of a future king consists of so much paperwork, Dia will have only few events of his week to tell you about, if there is something to talk about there is a high chance it has to do with the brothers

so he'd much rather just sip his tea and listen to you, he'll ask you loads of questions though about anything he doesn't know

sometimes you two forget the time and Barb sadly has to remind you to come to a stop for now

"Mc? Did I wake you? If so I'm terribly sorry...would you be up to talk for a little bit more? I'm not feeling too tired yet"

surprise night time calls from Dia where you'll have to speak silently or Barbatos might reprimand Diavolo for staying up all night and being tired the next day, Dia doesn't regret it ever though, he likes to talk you a lot!

Barbatos:

Barbatos is always busy and his schedule can often suddenly change with a new whim of his master, so he can't exactly have a scheduled call with you

so you might not get to hear of him very often

BUT he made it a habit to call you when he is on duty to do the dishes, the chore is somewhat boring to him with no one to distract him

so he calls you and if you pick up, he'll put you on speaker and talk to you about whatever comes to mind while his hands wash one after another of the expensive porcelain of the royal household

"I've bought this new tea which is said to be really nice, it can even be enjoyed cold apparently. It seems to have to just the right amount of sweetness to not get bitter when drank cold...you can still add sugar for extra sweetness, though I believe you're already sweet enough as it is"

no matter what you decide to talk about Barbatos always has at least some knowledge about it, so it's beneficial for both of you, he can tell you the things he knows and you tell him your stuff

"I hope I'm not bothering you too much? There is quite a lot to do today... so it might take some more time..."

you will never get to know that Barb has actually already finished the dished a few minutes ago, but just isn't ready to say goodbye yet

the rest of the employees will be able handle the castle for a bit longer without him, meanwhile he can take a well deserved tea break and listen to you

he very much enjoys the fact he found a way to have some time with you while theoretically having to be at work, as long as he is able to finish all the tasks of his daily schedule, he doesn't feel too bad about his not so legal break

"I fear I'll have to get back to work now, but I loved talking to you today! I hope you enjoyed it as well. I'll talk to you again soon!"

Solomon:

Though Solomon returned to the human realm with you, you haven't heard much of him, being a wise old man sorcerer must be very time consuming

so calls of Solomon might be rare but that doesn't mean you don't write messages every now and then, when he calls you though it's always about something interesting or important to share, he talks about those things rather verbally, the best option for him would be in person, but that doesn't always work so a phone call is the second best option

"My lovely apprentice, how is your studying going? I've found the tome we were talking about last time you were interested in...it took some research to find which sorcerer had it but I brought it back for you. How about I'll drop by you next week? I can help you with your studying then, the tome is written in an older version of the language it might be easier if we do it together!"

Solomon can simply not sit still, so while you're on the phone, he is always tinkering at something and the background noises are sometimes quite peculiar...

Was that a pig squeaking? Are you sure you should be brewing a potion while being on the phone? Isn't it distracting?

Oh Lord was that an explosion?!

"Hmm? Oh yeah...I`m cooking dinner right now! It was just a small explosion though, you know the ones that are regularly happen in the kitchen. Why? Was my cute student worried about me?~ heheh alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you...for now!"

no matter how chaotic, teasing or busy Solomon is though, if you call him and are in need of help, he'll drop everything and run to you

he knows how hard it can be when studying magic, not to mention that the studies are difficult, the constant hiding of any magic in front of other humans is also very nerve wrecking, sometimes you feel like giving up and going back to your normal life, back to your non-magical very human friends that are blissfully unaware of everything happening around them, but you know you could never forget and act as if nothing happened, you'd also miss your new not so normal friends, so when times get hard Solomon will rush to you and comfort you in person or at least calm you down on phone until he is able to go to you

if that happens he is more likely to call you every two to three days just to check in on you

"Hey how is my strong and beautiful fellow human doing? Feeling better yet? Need a shoulder to lean on? I'm at your flat in 10 minutes..."

Simeon:

Simeon is a daily caller as well, he's gotten so used to seeing you every day that he feels quite restless if he doesn't get to hear your voice at least once a day

he asked you to recommend at what time he should call, he doesn't want to restrict you in your daily life, so you both came to the conclusion after dinner would be perfect, as both of you are free for the rest of the day then

He will often write a bit on his TSL scripts, just some notes and inspirations he comes up while talking to you

"How was your day my little lamb? You haven't overworked yourself right? Tell me if you ever need help!"

though Simeon would definitely have things to complain about with how Michael is working him to the bone, he'd rather not worry you so instead he tells you about how Luke is doing and evasively answers you questions about himself

"Oh me? Ah yes, I'm doing fine, just doing the usual archangel stuff you know...Ah please do not worry Mc, my dear! Nothing dangerous!"

over the time his TSL notes turn into random scribbles, rhymes and poems and every now and then something that looks suspiciously like your name

Sometimes Luke crashes the call and wants to speak with you as well so Simeon tries to put the phone on speaker only to end up ending the call and Luke getting frustrated with Simeon and doing it himself

then again Simeon also just accidentally hangs up on you mid conversation, because his fingers hit the button without him noticing, he'll get so confused when you cut off in the middle of your sentence and thinks something has happened to you, only to be relieved when you call back a few seconds later

Simeon is very interested in your day and how you doing, asking you many questions and encouraging you to keep talking

"Oh no please keep talking! You're not overwhelming me at all, in fact I like listening to your voice, it puts even the most melodic voice of an angel into the shadows...hahaha did I make you embarrassed? I apologize, I didn't mean to, I was only telling you my honest opinion!"

Simeon is quite the flatterer, but he often does not notice it, he simply tries to be nice, so a call with him leaves you flustered and stuttering ever now and then, but he is just as quick to blush at a honest and heartfelt compliment

Luke:

Luke might be an angel, but he is still low ranking and therefore has less assignments, besides studying to become a great angel and doing some minor tasks for Michael, he is relatively free

he often spends his free time in the kitchen constantly trying to improve his baking, now after the exchange year not only to impress Michael and Simeon but also Barbatos, maybe a bit Beel and definitely you!

but as Simeon is still working at these times, he gets somewhat lonely so he'll try calling you to keep him some company

Luke has this habit of speaking the recipes out loud to remember the steps better and be able to able to make them from memory, he got that tip from Barbatos, but he still has his moments where he gets stuck and forgets what to do next, you can notice that when he gets silent and concentrates on trying to remember

"Ah right that was it! I almost forgot about the eggs! Good thing you were here...or well on the phone hehe! You always remember this stuff, you're so amazing!"

when you tell him you simply looked it up in the internet for him, he'll get a bit sulky that he now basically cheated, but with your reassurance that he is already great and can remember so many other steps, he is quickly back to his happy little angel self

"Michael let me help with his conference today I was assistant record keeper today, one day I'll be able to do it alone, bit they're talking so much and so fast...I think I still need a couple centuries until I'm fully ready, but I'm working on improving! You should also try to improve your skills daily! Even a small bit of practice is good! Though I think you're perfect already!"

Luke most definitely learned his flattering from Simeon... he talks about many different things on the phone but repeating topic is Michael...just talking to you makes his day and later he'll tell everything Simeon and he smiles so brightly while he reports to him, please keep talking to him a lot!

[nanamis-aiko]

VALENTINE'S SMUT GIVEAWAY!

winner. @apfelrosedreams

pairing. Azumane Asahi x reader

trope/prompt. trapped together/ ❤️ [Onsen]

wc. 1.7+k

an. first hq smut 😳 wasn't expecting it to be Asahi. 😅 now, how do you get trapped in an onsen? I accidentally posted this it was unfinishied. Optimistically the good part wasn't there yet so hope this still works.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

It was raining hard. You were stranded since none of the available transport can operate in this weather. You opted to stay in the nearest place you can book a room in.

You hastily got in through the doors and saw someone you very much recognize.

"Asahi?"

"Oh, you're still here." He said in relief. "I went looking for you when the rain started pouring. You can't get home?"

"I tried but no one wanted to drive through the weather." You fumbled through your bag and took out your wallet. "One room, please."

"For two?" The receptionist asked.

"Oh- no!" Asahi stuttered. "We're- we're not together."

"Sorry, there's only one room available." The receptionist said, disappointed.

"Oh." The both of you said.

"I'll... I'll just look for a different place." Asahi hastily picked up his things and turned.

"Asahi, wait!" You grabbed his arm before turning back to the receptionist. "For two." You paid with your money.

Another staff gave you a breif tour of your room and showed a small private onsen.

You changed out of your wet clothes and into the robes. The food was served at the dining table. You sat down and quietly and ate, avoiding each other's gazes.

"Uhm..." Asahi called for you. "Are you... Do you want to use the onsen?"

You got nervous because of his question. "Uh-uhm. I- uhm. But we- I mean! I'll just join you later." You blurted out then ran to the bedroom to get some privacy with your embarrassment. Your whole body heated up when you repeated your words in your head.

A few moments later you heard Asahi knock on the door. "The bathroom is free now."

You heard him linger for a bit more in front of the door before actually leaving.

You whined into one of the pillows. "Why did you say you'll join him later?! What's he going to think of you now?" You pouted. You sighed as you thought that your chance with your crush is ruined.

You picked yourself up and went to the bathroom to have a hot shower. You took your time in the shower. You looked over to the onsen and saw Asahi still in it.

"Asahi?" You cautiously called out to him.

He quickly fixed himself up and looked at you. "Yes?"

"Oh, nothing. I thought you were asleep." You quickly dismissed.

"Oh, I'm- I..." He chuckled and scratched his head. "I was just thinking."

There was an awkward silence between you two. You opened your mouth to say something but Asahi beat you to starting another conversation.

"The water feels really good by the way." He moved himself aside. "You should try it. It-it feels weird to b-be alone in something- something like this." He moved himself aside again to make sure that there would be a respectable distance between you two.

You carefully joined him in the onsen, clutching on to your towel tight. The warmth sent a calming sensation on your body but you dared not to make a sound that would make things awkward than it already is.

The both of you of you kept quiet still and avoided each other gazes.

"Uhmm..." You started. "When was the last time you went into an onsen?"

Asahi hummed to think then chuckled. "Now that I think about it, I think it was when I could still be with my friends back in highschool."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We wanted to treat everyone in our team before we graduated. It was the only thing we could think of." He laughed.

"Then your juniors must be so lucky." You couldn't help but smile. You remembered how he helped you when you first got in to Tokyo.

"Believe me it was the other way around. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be able to play in the court until the end." He reminisced.

"Uhm, you don't look comfortable in your position..." You commented.

"Oh, I don't?" Asahi chuckled nervously. "I don't want you to get uncomfortable."

"It's okay, I don't want you to be uncomfortable for my sake. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me."

Asahi shifted to get comfy in his spot. He sighed in relief when he was finally sitting properly.

"I never got to give you a proper thanks for everything. You were always so kind to me." You chuckled and braced for another awkward moment.

"Oh." Asahi chuckled. "Your welcome. I guess."

"I- I know it's a bit awkward to say it right now." You hung your head shyly. "But I've- I've been re-really wanting to say that I've- that I've liked you for a while now." You looked at Asahi to see him frozen in his place. "A-Asahi?!" You shook his shoulders.

He finally snapped back into reality. He covered his face.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." You said in a panic.

"No!" Asahi stopped you in your thought. "I wasn't expecting that you'll say that. I guess you're braver than me after all."

"Oh you mean..." You heart started beating fast. You turned away so he wouldn't see you blushing.

"No, no, no! I- I mean-- I didn't mean- what I wanted to say that I've liked you for a while too. Ever since we became friends I just wanted to be with you."

Your face burned and your heart started to beat even faster. You tried to calm yourself down but your impatience was getting in the way.

"Do you need to calm down?" Asahi gently asked.

You see Asahi's hand. You held on and he pulled you close and hugged you from behind. You've always held Asahi's hand so whenever you need to calm down but this was a first where he hugged you for it. You laid your head on his chest and breathed in. The water was warm but Asahi's body was warmer.

"Uh-uhm. Are we... Does this mean we're together?" You hopefully asked.

"Do you- do you want to be?"

You blushed then shyly nodded.

Asahi held you tight and rested his head on your shoulder. "I would like that too actually."

"Asahi?"

Asahi hummed and didn't lift his head.

You moved your hips but it only made Asahi's hold on you tighten and it made you whimper a bit. "Asahi..."

"P-please, do-don't move l-like that."

"S-sorry, I- I thought I-I was crushing your- your leg."

"It-it wasn't my leg."

"Oh, sorry." It took you a second to realize what he meant. "Oh! Oh, I am so so sorry!"

"It's okay. It's okay." He chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry that we're in this situation."

"I- uhm. Do you- do you need help?" You blushed.

"Hel-help?" Asahi stuttered. "I would- I do need help but I... I don't know how you could help me." He let you go so he could cover his erection. He had his head turned away so you wouldn't see his embarrassment.

You turned to face him and looked at him intently. You inched yourself closer to him and put your hand on his thigh. "I- If you- If I-" You bit your lip as you try to organize your words. "I- It feels embarrassing to say but... I'm starting to feel the same as you..."

You only realized how close you were to him when he turned and both of your faces were inches apart.

"Do you really want to?" Asahi asked me gently.

You leaned in for a kiss and Asahi reciprocated. Your hand slowly made it's way up to his crotch, making him moan. You stroked him over the towel. Asahi put his hand on your rear and squeezed it then pulled you closer to him.

A tug on his towel wrap was able to make it undone. You held his cock delicately and stroked it.

Asahi moaned and let out a breath. "Yeah. Just like that." He put his hand over yours and started to stroke himself with you as well. He cupped your jaw and kissed you deeply.

He made you straddle him then decorated your shoulders with his kisses. He put his hand on your back so you could lean back while he made you grind your hips on him. His lips sent chills all over your body as it touches your neck.

"Asahi?"

He chuckled and buried his face at the nook of your neck. "Sorry, I just couldn't control myself. I've always had to hold these thoughts back around you." He held your waist so he could set himself.

You felt his tip prod you so you had to cover your mouth to stop yourself from whimpering.

Asahi held you in place and calm you down. "It's okay. It's okay. We can take it slow. Very slowly if you have to. I just want you to love this more than I do."

You just nodded.

Asahi propped you properly so you could relax and gently planted kisses on your upper chest as he held your hand.

You took the lead and let him go deeper whimpering and wincing a bit as you go. Asahi would stop you when he thought that the pain was too much for you but you would only just push yourself to get him in deeper in you.

Asahi embraced you and rested his head on your shoulders. You both took your time to relax. You then cupped his cheeks and kissed him.

He held your waist.

You started moving slowly and both of you exchanged moans in between your breaths. You held on to his shoulders then started moving faster.

Asahi squeezed your thighs and moaned your name.

"Asahi..." You moaned.

Asahi held on to your hips and paced your movements himself.

You kept moaning his name and felt something building up. Asahi took it as a sign to play with your clit. You kept moving as much as you can until you reached you climax.

Asahi kissed you before you could properly catch your breath. He lifted you so he could change into a different position. "Just hold on to me."

You followed what he said and held on.

Asahi started moving his hips, gradually gaining pace. He kissed your neck then leaned closed to your ear. "Fuck. You feel better than I'd imagine."

"Asahi!"

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

Both of your moans filled the place until Asahi pulled out and cummed. You kissed him tenderly and he kissed back.

"I- We... We should probably dry off." Asahi kissed you again before leaving the tub to get your robes.

This work is made for Valentine's Smut Giveaway with @quirrrky

© Alfi. Revisions and republications are not allowed. Support the owner.

[cherienymphe]

Cruel Intentions (Steve Rogers x Reader)

WARNINGS: NON-CON, manipulation, mentions of abuse, therapist!Steve, silverfox!Steve, drugging

! DNI IF THIS OFFENDS YOU !

➥ Image by @angrybirdcr

      ➥ dividers by @firefly-graphics

This is for the “For the Fic” challenge whose winner for my fic was @darkficsyouneveraskedfor​

The entire plot was her request and I hope that you like it!

summary: after escaping an abusive ex, you find solace in a therapist recommended to you by a friend. 

~

“...I know I shouldn’t...but sometimes I blame myself. In Harry, I know that I was looking for what I never had in my family. I think it made me quick to rush into things...to ignore what I should have seen.”

Your eyes remained on the dark carpet, the man before you humming as the scribbling sound of his pen reached your ears. You fought hard not to fidget, a horrible habit you’d picked up in the last 3 years. You finally lifted your head again when the room was bathed in silence, eyes meeting familiar blue ones as he studied you.

You were used to these short moments of silence by now.

You’d been recommended to Dr. Steve Rogers by a friend, a friend who’d helped you escape your violent ex in the dead of night while he’d been away on business. She had grown worried when it became obvious that the effects of your tumultuous relationship would be lasting if you didn’t do something about it. Oddly enough, you’d been receptive. For 2 whole years, you’d wanted to tell someone, have anyone to turn to and talk to, but fear, a very valid fear, had stopped you.

Not only had you been worried for your life, something that was threatened on a constant basis, but you’d also been afraid of judgement. You worried what your friends would say, if they’d blame you for finding yourself in such a predicament, if they’d look down on you for no longer fighting back. It was only by a stroke of luck that Nakia had seen Harry slap you right across the face when he thought she’d left. You were grateful that she’d waited for him to leave before rushing towards your trembling frame, pulling you into her arms as she shushed you.

She had demanded to know how long this had been going on. She had been horrified and confused and angry. It didn’t take her long to come up with a plan, and within 2 weeks, after waiting for Harry to leave the city for 2 days, she’d gotten you out and into her place across town. You didn’t stay for long, maybe a few weeks, wanting nothing but to put it all behind you, and although she was sad to see you go, she understood.

It was how you found yourself in upstate New York, in a secluded tiny thing of a house. You hadn’t even realized that you’d become something of a recluse until Nakia had pointed it out during one of your weekly calls. It had never hit you that you went to work and to home and that was it. You barely ate anymore, so grocery shopping was never a frequent affair. That was when she’d told you about a well known therapist in the area, Steven G. Rogers. You had been shocked by how much you weren’t opposed to the idea as she went on listing all of his credentials. 

It was only moments after she hung up that you found yourself researching him yourself. You remembered noting how handsome the man was, even more so in person. His bright blue eyes and silver tresses complimented his strong features nicely, pink lips pulled up into a polite smile. You didn’t find yourself put off by the stranger, thinking to yourself that talking to someone you didn’t know, an objective listener who was paid not to judge you, might be for the best.

You soon found out that was easier said than done.

The first visit had been rocky, barely mumbling a thing and constantly fidgeting. You had hardly been able to meet his eye, and the session had abruptly ended when you’d left early, stumbling over your words as you gave some half assed excuse for your sudden departure. He was far more understanding than you deserved during your second visit. Wracked with guilt and anxiety, you’d written some things down that you wanted to talk about, and thankfully, the man hadn’t laughed at you. In fact, you remembered how fondly he looked at you as you unfolded it.

As it turned out, you didn’t need the slip of paper at all. Notes forgotten, you had rambled on for an hour. It was like once you started, you just couldn’t stop, and Steve simply listened the entire time. The next time he spoke to you was only to tell you that your time was up, and both embarrassment and disappointment had flooded through you. It must have been obvious, plain as day on your features, because Steve reassured you that it was normal to ramble. 

You had been reluctant to leave. After years of biting your tongue and living in fear of even making the wrong sound, you finally found someone to listen. Even if it was only a stranger getting paid for it, it was still something. There was someone to express your fears to, and although it had taken some time, terrified that you’d say the wrong thing and upset him, eventually, you started to express your anger too.

“...and then I get angry all over again,” you continued when he said nothing. “...because I’m smart, because red flags in others’ relationships have always been so obvious to me. I’ve always been the mom friend, the one who can spot trouble before it even starts. I’ve helped friends get out of situations before they even had the chance to turn sour…”

You shook your head.

“...and yet...it took a slap to the face to realize just how deep I was in? Not the jealousy, not the anger issues nor the way he’d isolated me from just about everyone in my life...but a slap? It should’ve never gotten to that.”

“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of others.”

It wasn’t the first time you’d heard that. Hell, it wasn’t even the first time he’d told you that, and yet here you were again.

“We can go in circles analyzing your own behavior and the things you did and the things you said, but the truth is that you could play it out in your head a million times. You could do every single thing differently, and it still wouldn’t change a thing.”

The corner of his lips lifted into a crooked smile, a familiar sight.

“Some people are simply cruel, and it has nothing at all to do with you.”

You sharply inhaled, unsure of why such a simple statement resonated with you so deeply. You stared at Steve, blinking a few times, opening your mouth to respond when he glanced at the clock. It was a tell tale sign, and your shoulders sagged. You would think that after seeing him for 7 months now, you’d be used to leaving after only an hour, but it never got easier.

“That’s all the time we have for today,” he said, standing. “You’re progressing nicely, Y/N.”

You rolled your eyes, and he chuckled, eyes crinkling. 

“You are. Progress and healing isn’t linear. Sometimes you’re going to take 2 steps back before you can take 10 more forward. It’s all part of the process,” he assured you.

You sighed.

“Well… I guess that does make me feel a bit better,” you replied.

He sent you a small smile as he guided you towards the door.

“I’ll see you next week?”

You returned his smile with a nod and didn’t let your face fall until the door was shut behind you. The good thing about therapy was that you could recognize your own toxic behaviors now, and it was clear that you were becoming reliant on your sessions with Steve. You had never liked being alone, but you had come all the way out here to learn to do just that. For your sake, you needed to learn to love being alone. It was how you had gotten into this mess to begin with.

Your phone vibrated with a call from an unknown number, and figuring it was a scam call, you silenced it.

Your house was practically in the middle of nowhere, so when the tv wasn’t blasting or you didn’t have Spotify playing some light tune, the house could get scarily quiet. But that was what you wanted...right? Harry had always been so explosive. The smallest of things could set him off and then the sound of yelling and shattering glass would rain down on you. Silence and solitude was what you wanted, needed.

Your phone buzzed again as you settled into your car, and you huffed when you noticed it was the same number. Again, you weren’t unfamiliar with scam callers so you ignored it. You noted that you needed to go grocery shopping, but you weren’t on the precipice of starvation just yet, so it could hold off for another day. By the time you got inside, your phone had started to buzz again, and with a frown, you decided to answer it.

“Hello?”

You were met with silence as you unlocked your door, and you repeated yourself, but there was no response. With a sigh, you hung up the phone. You both loved and hated coming home. It was quiet and safe and everything you had craved for years now, but the unfamiliarity of it all unnerved you. Sometimes you were just waiting for Harry to come flying through the door, screaming and breaking things. You had to remind yourself that this silence, this security, is how it’s supposed to be.

You went about making a quick meal, hopping into the shower while leaving the stove on low. When you got out, in the process of moisturizing your arms, you noticed your phone buzzing with another call. From that same number. Unease filled you as you neared it, and you hesitantly reached for it before answering.

Again, you were met with silence, and frustrated and annoyed, you simply blocked the number. A quick look through your phone revealed that you’d missed several calls from the same number while in the bathroom. Blinking with a deepening frown, you set your phone down and made your way to your kitchen. Dinner, like always these days, was quiet. You curled up on the couch with your plate while you watched some old sitcom.

The rest of the night passed as blandly as it always did. Sleep was much easier to find these days, so you had no trouble as soon as your head hit the pillow. However, just as you were on the verge, your phone buzzed with another call. This number didn’t match the previous one, but it was unknown nonetheless. With a groan, you put your phone on silent and rolled over, sleep claiming you.

“I know it’s you,” you sneered into the phone.

Unsurprisingly, you were met with the faint sound of breathing, and you clenched your jaw. You slammed the car door behind you before stomping across the parking lot.

“I know it’s you,” you quietly repeated. “Stay away from me.”

You hung up before blocking the number, the 10th number you had blocked in the past week. Every few hours or so a day, like clockwork, you got calls from an unknown number. You’d always end up blocking the number after the first few calls, but they always called again from a different one. At first, they’d say nothing, and you’d listen to silence for a few seconds before hanging up. Now, they’d taken to breathing in your ear like a creep. It wasn’t even until you blocked the 3rd number did it finally hit you.

Harry.

Harry freaking Osborn.

You felt like such an idiot for not putting it together sooner. Of course, it was Harry. Was this not the same man who threatened to hunt you down and drag you back like some animal if you ever left him? You had always equated woman beaters to cowards so you never thought he’d have the nerve to actually do it. Putting the pieces together didn’t bring you any comfort. Your filthy rich abusive ex had managed to track you down. What comfort was there to find in that?

Since that day, you hadn’t had a proper night of sleep. Your mind was constantly at war with itself on what to do. Having been down this road before, you knew the police would be no help. You’d gone to them once before, at the very beginning after the first time he’d hit you. It was your first harsh lesson that money ruled over everything. If you thought hard enough, you could still recall his hands around your throat, eyes alight with anger at what you’d tried to pull.

Still, you considered at least trying to get a restraining order but at the end of the day, that was a mere piece of paper. If Harry came to your door, it wasn’t going to stop him from hurting you, and that’s even if the whole process went through. They don’t just give restraining orders out willy nilly. You tried not to dwell on that hypothetical situation, but if he’d found your number, it would only be a matter of time before he found your address.

“Oh!”

You’d only just entered the grocery store, barely stepping into an aisle when you bumped into someone. The chips and bread in his hands went flying to the floor, and apologies tumbled from your lips. It was only after you helped him pick up what you made him drop did you realize who you’d run into.

“Dr. Rogers...hi,” you breathed.

The corner of his lips pulled into a crooked smile, head tilting to the side as his gaze fell onto you.

“We’ve discussed this before, Y/N. You’re more than welcome to call me Steve,” he told you.

You gave a nervous chuckle, nodding.

“Yeah...uh… I normally do, it just...it just slipped my mind,” you replied.

He blinked at you, eyes narrowing just a bit as he studied you. His brows furrowed in that concerned way you were used to, a silver strand of hair kissing his forehead.

“Everything okay…?”

You folded your arms over your chest, nodding with a strained smile.

“Everything’s fine,” you lied. “It’s just… It’s been a weird week. Our next session cannot come fast enough.”

You forced a light laugh, and he joined you. He placed a hand on his hip, eyes boring into your own.

“There’s a coffee shop just over there,” he gestured. “Did you want to sit and have a chat?”

You frantically shook your head.

“Oh, no. I couldn’t,” you told him. “I-.”

“I know I’m your therapist, but I want you to think of me as a confidant outside of the office too. You’re more than welcome to talk to me anytime. In fact, I encourage it,” he interrupted. 

You nervously eyed him with a frown.

“Are...are you sure?”

His smile was comforting.

“This may be my job, but it’s one I chose because it’s one I enjoy. I don’t want you to feel like you’re only allowed to talk to me during our sessions,” he quietly said.

You bit your lip, and Steve continued.

“I’d hate to think that you’re bottling things up for days on end, suffering in silence because you’re just waiting to talk to me,” he confessed.

Your shoulders sagged, and you hesitantly nodded.

“...okay. I just need to get a few things for the house.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “You know where to find me.”

You parted ways, and a sigh escaped you. You really didn’t want to become reliant on Steve. Wasn’t the whole point of therapy to learn how to process your feelings and cope with them better? Running to your therapist every time you have a problem just seemed counterproductive. And yet, once your car was loaded up with the few items you bought, you found yourself making your way to the coffee shop.

After ordering a small drink, you easily spotted Steve at a table in the back. You noted that even outside of your sessions, he still dressed nicely. The dark button down he wore contrasted with his light hair, dark slacks making him appear taller. You felt simultaneously nervous and comforted as you settled across from him. There was a brief silence, one in which you sipped on your drink while he eyed you before finally speaking.

“So what’s on your mind?”

What a loaded question. You struggled over whether or not to tell him the truth. Your abusive ex had found you somehow and was currently harassing you. That’s not something you could just casually drop into the conversation. Besides, Steve was your therapist, not your friend. You didn’t think it fair to rope him into the drama with your ex. That wasn’t part of his job description. Right?

“Just sleepless nights,” you said.

It wasn’t a complete lie. Steve eyed you like he was waiting for you to continue, blue eyes soft.

“I’m also worried that...my past might not remain in the past.”

Once again, this wasn’t a complete lie. 

“How so?” Steve hummed.

“I can’t help but wonder about what will happen if Harry finds me. He always threatened that he would if I ever left, and while I never believed him before, I just keep wondering… What if he does?”

Steve tilted his head at you, and you leaned back in your seat with a sigh.

“I’ve moved all the way out here to get away from him. I’ve isolated myself because I thought it was for the best, but it would have the opposite effect if he ever found me. I’ve never been particularly close with my family as you well know, and I’ve left all of my friends. I’m all alone here, and it’s the worst thing to be if he ever did track me down.”

Like always, you had started to ramble, and you snapped your mouth closed, embarrassment flooding through you.

“What brought all of this on?”

Steve’s eyes were sincere as he ran them over you, handsome face twisted in concern, and you glanced away.

“Just thinking,” you lamely replied, eyes on your drink now. “It’s something I’ve always thought about, sure, but it’s been more pressing as of late.”

“Well...that’s what I’m here for. You shouldn’t have to deal with these thoughts alone,” he eventually said.

“I know,” you sighed, rubbing your temples. “...but I shouldn’t become so reliant on you. The whole point of therapy is to learn to deal with these things on my own, is it not?”

Steve exhaled, leaning back in his seat as he gazed at you.

“Not necessarily. Not always,” he answered. “...but even then, until you can get to that point, it’s best to lean into your support. After all, you’ve gotta crawl before you can walk, right?”

You nodded, taking in his words.

“...and even when you’re walking, you usually need someone there in the beginning to hold your hand in case you fall. I encourage you to talk to your friends more, maybe even branch out and find some friends here, but I’m here as well. Don’t halt any of your progress because you feel like you need to be dealing with this alone. Outside help does more for your progress than you’d think.”

“I guess that does make sense. I don’t know… I just- I’d feel so bad about showing up at your office throughout all hours of the day or calling your receptionist-.”

You cut yourself off when he took out a pen and a slip of paper.

“Here,” he said, scribbling a number on it before handing it to you. “This is my personal number.”

Your eyes widened. 

“Oh, I can’t-.”

“It’s fine, trust me.”

You hesitantly returned his smile, taking the piece of paper.

“Don’t hesitate to call me anytime you want to,” he told you, standing.

You joined him, fingering the note before sliding it into your pocket.

“Thank you…Steve. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually call you, but just knowing that I have the option makes me feel so much better,” you whispered.

You heard his pager go off, and you watched as he glanced at it. He let out a sigh, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d say he sounded disappointed.

“I’ve got to go, but I hope you’ll use that number if you need to.”

Thanking him again, you said your goodbyes, and you watched as he exited the shop. The slip of paper felt heavy in your pocket, so you solved that by putting his number into your phone. Just as you were about to put it back into your purse, it buzzed with a call from an unknown number. Fear settled into your gut, and with a grimace, you silenced the call and blocked the number.

You were late. You were so late it was laughable to even show up at this point. Your shoes tapped against the tile as the numbers on the elevator lit up as it passed each floor. You slipped through the doors as soon as they parted, and with no mind to check in, the receptionist calling your name, you raced towards Steve’s office. You reached his door just as he opened it to step out, and the papers that he was holding scattered to the floor as you collided with him. You hadn’t even realized how fast you’d been running until you were knocked on your ass. 

You could hear the heels of the receptionist as she ran over, apologizing to Steve for letting you slip past her, but he waved her off. She reluctantly returned to her desk, and you scrambled to sit up, reaching for everything that had fallen.

“I was beginning to think you’d never show,” Steve joked.

You gave a shaky laugh.

“I uh...I got caught up,” you replied through trembling lips, fingers shaking as you struggled to stack all of his paperwork.

You could feel Steve’s eyes on you, but you avoided his gaze.

“I know I’m late. Our hour is practically over, but I- I just… Um, crap.”

You had dropped the papers all over again, and you both reached for them at the same time. At least, that was what you thought. Steve’s hands covered yours, and you only just realized how badly they were shaking.

“Y/N.”

His voice was soft, exactly what you needed right now, but you couldn’t look him in the eye.

“Y/N, is everything alright?”

Your chest was tight, and you wanted to will your lips to form a yes. You wanted to tell him that everything was fine, but you couldn’t even get the words out. He called your name again, and you suddenly stood, taking the papers with you. You handed them to him as he followed your lead, still avoiding his eye.

“I’m sorry for being late, and I know that you probably have another session-.”

“I don’t,” he interrupted. “Come in.”

You glanced up from beneath your lashes as he opened the door, ushering you inside. You wrapped your arms around yourself as he shut the door behind you.

“Is everything okay?”

You turned your face away from him, unable to keep it from crumbling as you held in a sob.

“Y/N.”

The way he called your name had you freezing in place, a shiver running through you at his firm tone, authority in the one simple word. In a way, it reminded you of Harry, and you looked to him with wide eyes. Seeming to understand what he’d done, Steve sighed before sitting down, making himself appear smaller to show that he wasn’t a threat to you.

“I’m sorry,” he genuinely apologized. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. Please...sit.”

You hesitantly did so and reached out to take the tissue he offered you. You hadn’t even realized that you’d started crying.

“Now… I’m going to ask you again, and I’m begging you to please be honest with me. I’m here to help you in any way I can,” he whispered.

You wiped your face, sinking your teeth into your lip.

“It’s...Harry.”

Steve’s face was pinched with concern.

“What is it? Are you having nightmares again-?”

“No, you don’t understand. He’s calling me,” you confessed.

Steve froze, blinking a few times before his eyes widened, your words finally registering. You sniffed, fighting to hold in a sob.

“It started weeks ago, before we ran into each other that night…”

You didn’t miss the disappointment that flitted over his features, lips pressed together.

“...and I know I should’ve said something then-.”

“You should’ve called me.”

“I know! I know, but… I don’t know. I just wanted to handle this on my own,” you quietly said.

He didn’t respond, and you turned your eyes towards the window.

“Last time...I wasn’t able to get away on my own. I wanted it to be different this time. At first, I simply blocked him but he kept calling and calling from different numbers. Then I got a new phone...and eventually another, but it’s still the same. He keeps finding me,” you tearfully told him. “...and today…”

Your eyes met his, and you were comforted by the concern you saw there.

“Today I was at the police station. That’s why I was late.”

Steve straightened up at this.

“I thought that maybe I could get a restraining order or maybe they could trace the calls to show that it’s him, but the whole visit was useless. They boiled it down to petty relationship drama, and since there’s no record of his violent behavior because I never reported anything…”

You shrugged, scoffing.

“There’s basically nothing they can do. The whole visit was a waste,” you spat.

Steve heaved a sigh, and he slowly reached out towards you, leaning forward.

“I didn’t ask before, but… Is it alright if I hold your hand?”

You nodded. That was what you liked about Steve. He was always asking for your consent with just about everything, even the simplest of things, and it was such a nice contrast to Harry who used to feel like he was entitled to your body. Steve took your hand, throwing you a comforting smile as he eyed you, worried.

“I wish that you had called me,” he said.

You looked down, guilt filling you.

“I could have helped you before it ever got to this point. I have friends on the force, friends in high places who could lock this creep up if you wanted.”

“I feel like an idiot.”

Of course Steve, Dr. Steven Rogers, knew people who could help you. Of course he did! Your stubbornness had gotten you far deeper into this than necessary. 

“What have I said about self deprecating language?”

“Sorry,” you murmured.

“You’re not an idiot. Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re just a woman trying to find her strength again.”

You hesitantly nodded, and he brushed his thumb over the back of your hand.

“I want you to get rid of your phone,” he suggested.

You frowned, and he continued before you could question him.

“I’ll work on getting a new one for you. A secure one under my name.”

You frowned, not liking the idea of being so indebted to him.

“Steve, I don’t know-.”

“It’ll only be temporary. You can use it until I talk to some people and have him properly dealt with.”

Even though you weren’t keen on the idea, you reluctantly agreed.

“...and you have to promise me one thing…”

You eyed him, holding his gaze as you waited for him to continue.

“Promise me that you’ll call me the second he bothers you again,” he proposed.

Accepting the fact that your stubbornness was doing you more harm than good, you nodded. Steve seemed pleased with that, and with one last pat on your hand, he let you go. As he guided you out of your office, your phone in his hand, you felt more hopeful than you had in over a month. You felt so silly for not seeking out his help sooner, and you couldn’t deny the weight that had been lifted from your shoulders as you settled into your car.

True to his word, at your next session, Steve presented you with a new phone. It had all of your important contacts with Steve being at the top of the list. Embarrassment had flooded you as you thanked him with tears in your eyes. The week without your phone had been the most peace you’d had in a while, and you finally got some much needed rest.

“You haven’t heard anything from him, have you?” he’d asked you.

“No,” you answered, shaking your head. “Not a peep.”

He threw you that same smile that always brought you comfort.

“Good. Even if you never do, you’re always free to call me,” he’d reminded you.

Finally deciding to let your stubbornness go, you did. Talking to Steve outside of your sessions was easier than you thought it’d be. It was like talking to a friend. Sometimes you’d meet up at that same coffee shop not too far from his office, and other times you’d be putting a quick meal together while he was on the other line, listening to you ramble. You soon realized that it wasn’t just his profession that made him that way, but Steve truly was an unbiased listener. He never judged you for any steps back in your progress nor for any of your more self deprecating thoughts.

Best of all, you hadn’t heard anything more from Harry.

Not until he knocked on your door one night.

It was late when you’d heard the pounding on the wood, and having been watching tv in your room, you wondered if you imagined it. It was only moments later that you’d heard it again. Your eyes had widened, sitting up in alarm. No one knew you lived here. Not even your mailman. All of your mail collected at a Post Office box before you eventually went to pick it up. You stood, standing in your room, trembling in fear before a knock on your bedroom window had you screaming.

You didn’t hesitate to call the police, and it took longer than you liked for them to arrive. All the while, you dealt with knocking and pounding on your window and door. Back and forth, it alternated with minutes in between before stopping altogether when the sound of sirens could be heard. Unsurprisingly, and frustratingly, the police didn’t find anyone.

“Look, we’ll get this report down to the station,” the brunette had told you, not looking concerned in the least.

Frustration filled you, and you shuffled on your feet.

“Can’t you...idk, have someone stay here? Not even the whole night but just a few hours in case they come back?”

The tall man sighed, and you glanced at his badge. Officer Barnes, you noted.

“With all due respect mam, we can’t just have one of our officers sitting in your yard because someone knocked on your door-.”

“I told you-!”

“I know, I know. The windows too,” he said, sounding exasperated, and your frown deepened. “The best we can do is get this down to the station. You’re more than welcome to call us again should anyone come back.”

You crossed your arms over your chest as they left, finding no relief. You swallowed as you thought about Steve. You didn’t want to, but Harry had found you, tormenting you by knocking on your house in the dead of night. This was exactly the reason Steve had given you his number. Swallowing down your stubbornness, and with a deep breath, you called him.

He didn’t sound like he was asleep, and for that you were grateful. You would’ve kicked yourself if you had woken him up. Finally getting out why you’d called him was an awkward affair, stumbling over your words, and you felt even worse as he agreed to come over. There was no hesitation, and you couldn’t help but feel as if you were taking advantage of Steve’s generosity. 

You mumbled out your address, surprised to realize how relieved you were. You couldn’t remember the last time you had trusted a man this much. Harry had made you so paranoid, but you supposed that was what therapy was for. This was why you had all those sessions with Steve. To learn to heal and to trust again.

You opened the door with a small smile when he finally pulled into your yard. He was dressed comfortably, and you felt much better about your own ratty t-shirt and leggings, but his casual attire made him no less striking. 

“Thank you,” you breathed as he stepped inside.

“I was up going over paperwork when you called. I’m glad you did,” he told you.

You leaned against the door as you closed it, rubbing your arms.

“I didn’t know if I should. It’s just… He was here, Steve. Knocking on my door and window like something out of a horror movie, and the police treated it like it was nothing,” you complained.

Steve tilted his head at you with a sad smile.

“First thing in the morning, I’m going to make some more calls. Since he’s in town, it should be easy to have him put away. At the very least, a restraining order.”

Relief and hope filled you as you brushed past him.

“I really can’t thank you enough for coming over. I promise I won’t keep you long, just until I feel I can be ok being alone,” you said over your shoulder.

He followed you into the kitchen.

“Can I get you anything to drink? Eat? It’s the least I can do.”

“Some wine might be nice. You might want to pour yourself a glass too,” he suggested.

You chuckled, and he joined you, but you agreed with him nonetheless. You poured a glass for both of you, and you leaned against the counter with a sigh.

“I just don’t understand why he can’t leave me alone. Hasn’t he put me through enough?”

Steve hummed.

“From what you’ve told me, he strikes me as a narcissist. I’d bet that he doesn’t want you to move on,” he mused.

“Maybe,” you distractedly replied as you heard your phone ring. “I’ll be right back. Let me grab that super quick, it might be Nakia.”

Your phone was in your room, but by the time you reached it, it had stopped ringing. Sure enough, it was a missed call from your best friend, and you brought your phone with you to the kitchen, determined to call her back. Steve’s eyes were fond when you returned, and you shrugged.

“I need to call her back. I’ll only be a moment,” you said, swiping your glass.

“Take all the time you need.”

You made your way to the living room, taking your place on the couch as you called her back. She answered almost immediately.

“Hey, what’s up?”

She greeted you with a soft exhale.

“Uh… Harry’s...dead.”

You froze at her words, pulling the glass away from your lips. You blinked a few times, trying to come to terms with what she’d said.

“...what?”

“I just found out. I honestly didn’t know how you’d take the news, but I thought you should know.”

She was right. You yourself didn’t even know how you felt about this news. You had loved this man at one point...but he was also your abuser. This was good news...right?

“How?” you finally asked her.

She sighed.

“Apparently, he’d been missing for months-.”

“Months?”

“Yeah,” she quietly replied. “They found and identified his body today. I just saw it on the news.”

Your stomach twisted as the truth, and the meaning behind it, sank in. Just because Harry had been missing for months, it didn’t mean that he’d been dead for months. It very well could have been him harassing you like you believed. But...if they’d found and identified his body today, then there was no way it was him at your house tonight.

“Thank you,” you eventually said. “Um… I’m glad you told me.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” you honestly replied. “I’m just a little unsure of how I feel about all of this, but I’ll call you tomorrow when I’ve slept on it.”

“Alright. Be safe.”

You said your goodbyes and returned to the kitchen with an empty glass.

“Everything okay?” Steve questioned.

Your face must have been an open book.

“Harry’s dead,” you scoffed, blinking as you still fought to process this.

Steve didn’t respond, and just like one of your sessions, he seemed to be waiting for you to continue.

“Apparently he’d been missing for months and they just identified his body today. There’s no way it could have been him knocking on my door tonight, and now...now I’m even more scared than I was before,” you confessed. “God, I can’t even fully come to terms with my feelings on this because I’m realizing that Harry might not have been the only thing I should’ve been afraid of.”

“Hey,” Steve soothingly said, nearing you. “Are you sure it wasn’t someone who got lost? Maybe they had the wrong house?”

You thought about it before shaking your head.

“No, it definitely didn’t seem like that. Oh my God,” you cried, letting your head fall into your hands.

Steve pulled you into his arms, startling you, but you eventually relaxed, the wine settling into your system nicely.

“It’s going to be alright-.”

“What if it isn’t? Because I’m the idiot who thought that Harry was the only possible danger out there, I’ve attracted another without even realizing it.”

“Hey, hey,” he soothed. “Maybe it was nothing, and maybe it was more. Either way, I’m only a phone call away. Say the word, and I’ll have an officer living in your yard if need be.”

You chuckled at that, and nodded.

“Thank you,” you said, looking at him. “I-.”

You swallowed your words when his lips met yours, soft and demanding as they moved against your own. You were stunned, and it took you a moment to realize just what was happening before you pulled away. You stared at Steve with wide eyes, hesitantly reaching up to touch your lips as you took a step back.

“Steve…”

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he breathed.

Your lips parted, a soft gasp escaping you at both his words and the fire in his gaze. It was so sudden and great that it froze you.

“Steve, I think… I think you should go,” you whispered, almost in disbelief.

He frowned at you, tilting his head just a tad as he folded his arms over his chest.

“Go? Why would I do that when you’re not feeling well?”

You opened your mouth to repeat yourself, even demand to know what he meant, but a sudden wave of nausea hit you, head feeling fuzzy. Steve caught you just as you stumbled, and you frowned, fighting to get out of his arms.

“What…?”

“You seemed really tense. I thought you could use something to take the edge off…”

You stared at him in disbelief, attempting to blink away the stars in your vision. Your legs felt like they were made of Jell-O as Steve guided you towards the living room. He deposited you on the couch, and you could hardly do anything as he laid you down, sitting beside you. His blue eyes, normally so soft and comforting, were dark with a longing you had never seen before.

“You were like a wounded little lamb when you first came to me,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over your lip. “So lost...broken… It’s because of me that you’re even halfway back together again.”

His hands moved to slowly undress you, taking his time, and your hands might as well had been air as you tried to stop him. You shuddered as the cool air in the house hit you, nipples pebbling, even more so when Steve brushed his fingers over them.

“I wanted to wrap you in my arms during that first session. Drag you back as you tried to leave, show you how a woman should be touched by a man.”

You were in a state of shock, disbelief coursing through you as you watched Steve undress. Even at his age, the man was a wall of muscle, thick bands making you swallow in fear as you hopelessly tried to tell yourself that this was a dream.

“Steve,” you whispered.

“I had to be patient. I didn’t want to scare you off, push you into the arms of another dangerous man. I had to help you heal before showing the kind of man I can be for you,” he told you, fingers on your face as he neared you again.

Your whole body felt weighed down, and you couldn’t stop your tears even if you wanted to. Your touch was light as you pressed your hands to his chest, feeling like you were going to be sick as he settled over you.

“Harry is gone. He can’t hurt you anymore, and I’m going to make sure no one ever hurts you again.”

The irony was not lost on you, but the way he said that struck something in you, and your mind traveled to the unthinkable. You didn’t get the chance to think about it some more before Steve was forcing himself inside of you. A choking noise escaped you as he filled you to the hilt, your legs spread wide to accommodate his frame. Steve released a shuddering breath, breathing through his nose, body trembling as he delighted in the feel of you wrapped around him.

It was amazing that while all of your senses felt dulled, you could feel his pulsing member inside of you so well. He surrounded you, bulky frame caging you in, and you felt like you would pass out from suffocation. Steve sighed just before his lips met yours, and your stomach clenched as he moved within you. A broken moan slipped out against your will, and Steve groaned at the sound.

“I’ll show you pleasure that you’ve never known, touch you in ways you never felt. I know how to make you happy,” he purred, his pace languid as he thrust in and out of you.

You turned your head away, the furniture of your living room blurring together from whatever he’d slipped into your drink.

“I know your deepest desires and your deepest fears. I know you better than anyone else out there…”

You hated that in a way, Steve was right. You’d bared yourself to him under the guise of trust and healing. He really did know all there was to know about you, and you hated yourself for it. You hated him for hiding his intentions so well, for taking advantage of your vulnerability and trauma. He tutted as you started to squirm beneath him.

“After all I’ve done for you...in all the ways I’ve helped you, the least you could do is give yourself to me. I deserve to reap the benefits of my efforts-.”

You gasped beneath him, legs kicking around him, but he only pressed himself more firmly against you.

“...I’ve gone out of my way to make sure you were safe, to protect you so that no more threats remained to you nor our relationship.”

“You’re crazy-.”

You cut yourself off with a yelp as he nipped at your neck, jerking in his hold as he continued to snap his hips into yours. His hands were gentle on you, a contrast to how he fucked you, his pace increasing with every passing minute. Despite the fact that you could hardly move, he wrapped his arms around you, holding you in place as the sound of your coupling filled the room, your core now wet and slick from his ministrations.

Steve seemed intoxicated, blissfully immersed in the feel of you and how you clung to him. His low groans and moans filled your ear, and you could do nothing as he covered your lips again, tongue tasting you, moaning at the taste of wine that still remained.

“My touch will never cause you harm, bringing you nothing but pleasure for the rest of our lives.”

~

tags:  @xoxabs88xox​ @harryspet​ @readermia​ @opheliadawnwalker3​ @nickyl316h​ @captainchrisstan​ @sebabestianstan101​ @villanellevi​ @lokislastlove​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @coconutqueen21​ @hurricanerin​ @hyoyeoniie​ @sherrybaby14​ @cocoamoonmalfoy​ @mandiiblanche​ @gotnofucks​ @oneoftheprettynerds​ @doozywoozy​ @sapphirescrolls​ @threeminutesoflife​ @searchforanotherway​ @mcudarklibrary​ @buckybarnesplumwhore​ @widowsmaximoff​ @nerdygirl8203​  @supernaturalwintersoldier​ @charmed-asylum  @harrysthiccthighss​ @patzammit​

[stylesberries]

Daddy

Summary: Harry wins a Grammy. You weren’t able to be there. Or were you?

Word Count: 2.0k

Pairing: Harry Styles x fem!reader

Genre(s): filthy smut

Warning(s): sub!harry, a little degrading, daddy kink (a little different from the usual one)

“Harry, you’ve got it. You’ve got nothing to worry about, my love.” You spoke softly looking at Harry’s anxious expression through FaceTime.

“I know, baby. I just can’t help it, you know?” He let his eyes fall to the side of the room.

“Harry, you worked your ass off for this album, every song is so special. You don’t need an award to prove it, but please know that you deserve all of them.” You tried to soothe his worries and stress in the best way you could being so far away from him.

“Now go, honey. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Go get some rest, okay?”

Knowing Harry, he would never hang up first because of how much he wanted to keep talking to you. You took it upon yourself to be the one to do so as the responsible one in the relationship.

“You’re right, Y/N. I’ll call you tomorrow before we start, okay?” He smiled softly, looking at you as if you hung the moon.

You looked at him apologetically.

“Baby, I have an exam tomorrow at that time don't you remember?” You spoke to Harry, smiling at him gently.

Your words seemingly made Harry upset. However, he tries his best not to show his obvious disappointment.

“Oh. Yes, I remember.”

•

“Harry, right here,” Jeff spoke, leading Harry to their table after Harry’s performance.

“Ah, yes okay.”

Harry followed right behind Jeff, his mind far from the said table.

Anxiety and worry filled his thoughts and he felt little to no relief as he didn’t get to speak to one person who could soothe his overflowing brain activity.

You’ve got nothing to worry about, my love.

“I’m okay. I’ve got nothing to worry about. We will talk after she’s done with her exam.” Harry spoke under his breath.

He sat down at the table next to Jeff after greeting everyone and waited for the announcements of nominations and winners in each of them.

Throughout the nominations, Harry kept checking the time to see if he would be able to get a text from you at least. However, no matter how much time passed he saw no notification from the person he most wanted to see them from.

“And the Grammy goes to,” the announcer paused as Harry struggled to get his thoughts together.

“Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles!”

Snap out of it. Snap out of it. Snap out of it.

Harry kept looking at his lap, struggling to comprehend what’s happening around him.

He turned to Jeff with disbelief written across his face, the thought that kept swirling in his mind being:

“I wish I could hug her right now.”

•

“Aren’t you coming in?” Harry asked Jeff as he exited the car, his hand wrapped under his new Grammy.

“I’m not. Enjoy the night, man. You deserve it.” Jeff spoke weirdly as he closed the door behind Harry and waved at him with a suspicious smile on his face.

“Enjoy my night? Don’t you want to come in and drink with me a bit befo-” Harry spoke as he watched the car with Jeff in it drive off.

Harry stood dumbfounded by both Jeff’s words and his sudden departure.

“Well,” He thought as he shrugged and turned to walk towards his house. Keys kept jingling as he turned them to unlock his door.

Walking into the dark hall Harry turned back to lock the door behind himself and take his shoes off to walk through the house towards his room.

As he reached the door to open it he saw a small light in the dark of the room.

Completely confused now, he saw a lit candle on the floor in the middle of the room.

His first thought was to walk to it and blow it out, forgetting to turn the lights on, too busy thinking about the mysterious candle in the middle of the room.

Bowing down to the candle, Harry took it in his hand and blew it out.

The moment after he felt darkness overwhelm him as a wet tongue pressed itself against his neck.

Horror wrapped itself around the man’s frame before being replaced with comfort as he felt a familiar scent enter his nostrils.

“Y/N,” Harry called out for you in the dark, with a need to be enveloped in you.

“Mhm? How’s my Grammy winner doing?”

“I missed you so much,” Harry spoke to you as he tried to get up and turn to hug you.

“Ah-ah, Harry. I still have some business with you here.” You spoke as you wrapped a blindfold over Harry’s eyes and kissed him on the cheek.

“Fuck. You’ve got something for me?” Harry asked bowing back down with his back turned to you.

You wrapped your hand around the front of Harry’s neck squeezing a little to earn a light groan from him.

“Maybe I do.” You spoke, feeling him squirm as his body was now pressed against your chest.

“Oh, baby. Look at my good boy! Why are you squirming so much?” You kept teasing Harry as your hand tightened its hold around his neck, blocking the air from entering his lungs.

“Ah,” was the only sound Harry managed to push out of his chest as he felt his head lighten.

Your other hand wandered down to his chest. Harry was still fully dressed in his suit but you didn’t mind it. Your hand fell upon the growing bulge covered by the fabric of his trousers.

“Mhm!” Harry whined loudly as he felt your touch, not being able to see anything only made him more sensitive to every little touch of yours.

“What does my boy want?” You ask Harry, moving your hand up and down his boner.

Harry kept whining as he expected you to take action already. However, you had other plans.

“Come on, Harry. Be a good boy and tell me what you want me to do to you. It’s your day so I won’t be too strict. Just tell me what you want me to do.” You spoke right into his ear, hearing a faint moan leave their home between his lips.

“I-,” Harry tried to speak, only to have his dick squeezed to a point where he couldn’t say anything aside from gasping like a little bitch.

“Yes? What was it?” You asked him, releasing the tight hold you had around his dick.

Gasping for air, as he was still being choked by your other hand, he tried to speak again.

“Please,” Harry started, not feeling you squeeze him this time.

“Good start, baby. Continue.” You spoke sternly as you waited for the man in front of you to finally push out the words you’ve been waiting for.

“Please touch my dick, daddy,” Harry whispered the last part, almost to himself.

Your hand stopped moving, as the other one loosened around his neck.

“What did you say?” You asked, taken aback at the word he called you.

Harry froze, his eyes closing under his blindfold.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-” He spoke fast, wishing he didn’t say anything in the first place.

“What did you call me.”

At this point, it wasn’t really a question. You wanted him to repeat himself.

“Daddy.” Harry caught on pretty quickly, knowing exactly how your voice changed when you were getting more and more turned on.

“Hm. Daddy, huh? If only all the people who watched you perform today knew how much of a filthy slut you are.” You finally pulled his dick out of his pants and pushed your other hand’s fingers into his mouth.

“Ah- daddy please,” Harry muffled around your fingers, swirling his tongue as he spoke.

You stroked him fast right from the start, only stopping to pull your hand to your face and leaning over his shoulder to spit onto your open palm and go back to stroking him.

“Fast,” Harry whined as you didn’t slow down, making his head swirl.

“I’m not slowing down. Filthy whores don’t get to choose when they cum. You cum when I tell you to.” You spoke into Harry’s ear, your lips against his skin.

Whines kept getting louder and louder as you kept stroking faster and faster, watching as the man in front of you fell apart against your chest. His breathing became sharper and his hips started following your hand’s movements. Normally you would’ve punished him for not staying still, but today was a special day, so you would let it slide.

“Harry?” You asked, as your hand moved faster, if that was even possible at this point.

He didn’t have any strength in him to answer you as his moans were the only sounds he could make now.

“I will count till three and you will cum for me.” You spoke, your words full of domination.

“But-”

“Three.” You ignored his desperate want to postpone his orgasm, as he was still on the way to reach his high.

Harry whined, desperately trying to concentrate on the feeling of you stroking him to try to cum to your count down. The sensation was so overwhelming that he felt ringing in his ears and spit running down his chin around your fingers.

“Two.”

His writhing quickened as he was trying to catch up with you, who was obviously not giving him any time whatsoever. Your hand did not give him a single moment to rest and showed no mercy to his sensitive dick and its almost-red tip. Precum was being smeared all over his tip, mixing with your spit as his tears were mixing with his spit.

It was so much but almost not enough. He wanted more. He wanted to cum all over your hand as he was desperately trying to for twelve minutes already, his oversensitivity standing in the way.

“One. Now.” You spoke into his ear, your words wrapped in authority.

A forced orgasm flushed over Harry’s whole being as his eyes rolled back before closing and his breathing became heavier. It felt as if he was washed over by a big wave that showed no mercy to his weak body, pushing him under its waters, as if wrapping him in a warm duvet. His hearing only allowed faint noises to reach his brain, and even those were heavily muffled by the ringing in his ears.

“Harry?”

A faint voice finally reached him after the third try. Immediately after he felt the blindfold being tugged off of his eyes and light moonlight entering his vision.

“Is everything okay?”

She spoke with such gentleness and love, genuinely worried for him being in this state of stun. However, the authority was still present in her voice.

You had already pulled your fingers out of his mouth at this point, your other hand living his tortured cock as well. Pressing your lips against the crook of his neck, you kept looking over his shoulder to watch his eyes start to open, his breathing going back to normal.

“Are you feeling good, baby?” You spoke once again, knowing well he didn’t hear you last time.

“Mhmm. So nice, daddy.”

The little shit enjoyed riling you up just as much as you enjoyed taking the result of his riling up out on him. A knowing smirk fell upon Harry’s face as he waited for you to give his hair a painful tug he always enjoyed.

He wondered what other pleasures you would bestow upon him on this special day.

“I hope you understand that the only reason I’m taking it easy on you today is the fact that it’s an important day for you, okay?”

“That’s one more reason why you shouldn’t take it easy, daddy.”

Pushing your buttons was his favorite thing to do because he knew what followed right after.

“On all fours.”

© all right belong to stylesberries. do not repost or modify.

[bbiemochi]

Hey love, if I may request..

Since I feel like hell right now, may I request for Diluc comforting his Fem!S/O when she completely breaks down after months of shouldering everything by herself? She's the kind to hide everything to herself and she always says "I'm alright." She pushes Diluc away but this time, he's had it. He's firm, yet gentle. Since young, she has been taught that her problems don't matter and this has been ingrained in her, that's why she doesn't ask for help, but instead is incredibly selfless when it comes to other people needing help.

This is very personal I'm sorry.. I just need some angst/comfort/fluff(?) right now. Thank you bby, you're the best. ❤

𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚛𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚠 | diluc ragnvindr x reader

[an]: hi el, have u eaten yet? if you haven’t pls do and drink lots of water <3 sorry for posting this late and pls remember that ily

summary: everyone can’t hold in forever, even for someone like you, and diluc always knew that.

pairing: diluc ragnvindr x reader

genre: angst, fluff at the end

warning: slight tw for reader’s parents

music to listen while reading:

***

you hated it.

you hated how much you needed help, even though you refused everyone’s concern towards you to avoid any trouble for them.

you hated how when you wanted to cry, you couldn’t find a reason to. you were raised in a strict yet wealthy household. your clan was a definition of a life of a wealthy tiger. full of buck in their eyes but strict. everything you do, they often praise you for your hardwork, yet you didn’t even wanted to do it. it was only for the sake of your parents, who rarely even care about you at all. so what was their sake for?

a prize with no use.

it was like winning a race yet they said that everyone’s a winner. it made you feel…disappointed of yourself. the things that you’ve been doing for the sake of others however for yourself, they weren’t justified. it had always been like this since you were a child.

“sharing your problems to others won’t fix the situation you are in,” your mother once told you while she was finishing up her pile of workload on her desk. you frowned, hugging your stuffed bunny close. “if you want to truly fix it, then think about it and keep it to yourself. they don’t matter much anyways to anyone. it will only cause the person you are sharing with more trouble. don’t make me repeat myself, y/n l/n of the l/n clan.”

your eyes were droopy from sobbing so much in your household bathroom earlier. you still had few more private lessons left to do by your tutor to truly extinguish the true meaning of what it’s like being a l/n member. it sucked for real, but you had no choice but to oblige. “lady y/n..” a knock at the bathroom door arrived, “your tutor is waiting for you downstairs. they said to please hurry it up in the bathroom.”

‘speak of the devil…’

“uhhh, tell them yeah i’ll be right downstairs, real quick…!” you answered back, wiping the small bits of tears off your face. there was silence before the maid outside the door questions once more; “milady are you alright in there?”

‘well fuck, what do you think?’

“i-i’m fine! don’t worry, just tell them that i’ll be there…!” you chimed, nervousness almost cracking over your voice while shouting those words without handing hints that you indeed not ok. “understood, lady y/n. i’ll make sure to inform your tutor,” and for a few seconds, you heard the maid��s footstep head off, and you let out a sigh of relief.

this…was getting really tiring. despite your knowledge stacked up like a bookshelf waiting the books to be read, your parents think that your potential to become the next head of the l/n family wasn’t ready just yet, and you were already in your 20’s. make this tutoring nonsense stop already, you were tired. you wanted to run away forever. well—this was the last lesson after all. and then maybe later you could relax near the fireplace. not worrying about anything else.

wiping your face off with a towel, you gently opened the door to head off downstairs. the vague scent of fresh baked pastries headed through your nostrils when you walked out, and you were wondering if your tutor had brought some baked-goods on their way here. you stumbled a bit down the stairs while taking a small peak from the tiny bit of holes the stair railways had.

on the table near the kitchen, there was seated a basket full of the pastries you were smelling. the scent was strong, and your mouth was watering from the delicious sight. did a guest from outside send those to your home?

“ah, lady y/n—just in time. a young man from the dawn winery left these bake goods earlier while you were in the bathroom,” the maid that was washing the dishes from the kitchen says, her eyes spotting you right at the staircase. “he says it’s a thank you gift for helping him out at angel’s share yesterday.”

‘diluc?’

“ah, that’s great to here…” you murmured heading downstairs in a hurry to look what was inside the basket. “they’re from the nearby bakery, milady. we could always fetch some there if you’d like.” the maid insisted. you waved your hand as a decline, “oh no it’s alright, no need to trouble you i’ll…” a sudden pause came to your throat…

‘i’ll thank diluc later.’

“i’ll head off to my lesson then…” you said, before heading off to the living room.

***

how in the hell did balancing became a matter to your family? was it really that important to become perfect? idiotic…

after almost a whole day of those nonsense lessons just to be perfect for your family, you were making your way down through the rain towards the dawn winery—feeling nothing while the rain pours down on your shivering figure, yet you paid no mind to it. it was always like this. you wanted to at least take a break for once.

your eyes traveled over the huge house in front of a large grape orchard, it smelled nice, you liked it a lot. you’ve always wished to have free time to travel around in mondstadt like this however of course…you can’t.

once you had made it to the winery, you knocked on the door, a little loudly over the pouring thunder behind.

no answer.

you knocked again.

and this time someone opened the door.

“yes?—oh! dear me! miss y/n you’re dripping cold!” the one who answered the door was adelinde, one of diluc’s maids. “what happened? hold on come inside i’ll let master diluc know you’re here, b-but please do dry yourself up before you watch a cold…!” she adds, you smiled at her. “it’s alright, adelinde. i just came here to thank diluc—

“of course, but miss y/n please come inside even for a while. the rain is hard right now and you’re going to catch a cold,” adelinde cuts you right off, grabbing a hold of your arms gently whilst pulling you inside.

“hillie grab a dry towel for our guest! moco, inform to master diluc that miss y/n is here…!”

“yes, miss adelinde!”

adelinde guided you to a comfortable chair, slowly and gently. the maid also knew who you are and were, after all a close friend of diluc’s is well-known to adelinde’s perspective, and one of them is including you. the older woman grabbed the towel that hillie handed over to her and then gave it to you, assuring you to wipe yourself dry. “thank you, adelinde…”

“miss y/n would you like me to prepare a warm bath for you?”

“oh no need to its ok…! i’ll just have a small talk with diluc then i’ll be on my way..!” you replied, a sheepish smile over your face. adelinde frowned, yet bowed and leaved you be to go and fetch you some snacks and some hot tea. while waiting, your eyes scanned down over to the pictures hanging over the winery’s walls—they were…very fancy? almost reminding you of the paintings in your home. just almost a little…dry. you had no idea how to describe it, thinking about it…you don’t know how to describe your emotions right now as well.

“y/n??”

your head turned to where the voice came from, and expectedly, you saw diluc standing from the top of the stairs, his face a bit surprised from your ‘wet’ arrival. the young male hurriedly rushed down the stairs, moco following by while his steps puddled over your drying figure. “hey, diluc,” you greeted, nonchalantly.

“y/n what the heck are you doing here? did you get caught up under the rain?” he questions, and you shyly nodded your head—thanking adelinde for the small meal she had brought over. “sorry for being here without notice. but i’m only here to thank you for the pastries you delivered over earlier.” you had spoken. diluc sighs, a hand over his face, “ah, it was only about that. y-you didn’t had to walk all the way here, you know? now look at you…” he sighs again, before looking over at his maids. “prepare her a warm bath, and please try to look for some extra clothes that may fit her.”

“yes, master diluc.”

“what?? no diluc it’s ok..! i’ll be heading off soon anyways…!”

“nonsense. with a look that says dripping wet, there’s no doubt you’ll get a heavy cold because of that…” diluc declines, crossing his arms. “besides, i wanted to ask you something as well…”

“oh…” you gently gripped the teacup in your palm, a small red dusting over your cheeks. same goes for diluc. the maids seem to also notice this. “is master diluc blushing…?”

“i think he is…!”

“ehem, you two.” adelinde stares sternly at moco and hillie who were gossiping once again. “i believe master diluc asked the both of you to prepare a warm bath and some clothes for miss y/n now did he?” the two maids shrieked. “s-sorry, miss adelinde…!!”

***

“you’re done?”

the towel that was wrapped behind your neck started to slide off when you saw diluc out of his usual black jacket, yet instead was wearing a white sleeved shirt and his fluffy red hair still tied into a ponytail. what a view. bashfully, you looked away, covering half of your face with the towel and your eyes scanning down on the floor. “uhh…y-yeah i am…”

“do the clothes fit? apologies i don’t have much fitted attire for you here…” the red head says, his hands tidying up the pile of papers he was filing. you shook your head, “oh no it’s quite alright…! the clothes are a fit for me anyways.”

“oh archons that’s good to hear…” the man reassuringly sighs, and on forward with cleaning his desk. with small steps, you walked over to sit down on his (surprisingly) huge bed—your hands still rubbing your wet dripping hair from the bath. “i’m a bit busy today, i apologize…”

“what are you apologizing for, idiot?” you laughed. “anyways, you didn’t had to go walk over to a bakery and buy me some pastries as a ‘thank you’ reward. it’s too sweet of you, diluc. really rare to see. no need for such formalities,” you told the lad, showing him a sweet smile over your face. diluc rolls his eyes before shoving in the last file in his shelf. “of course i need to show it. you were a big help yesterday while charles was on break. i don’t know what kind of proper ‘thank you’ i should propose but i guess that’s enough now is it?”

he stops for a moment, walking closer to your side. “besides, how can i just say a simple ‘thank you’ while you were busy with your lessons? that would be very improper of me to just bulge in if i may say.” your fists curled a little when he mentioned the lessons your parents forced you to take. yeah, memories were popping right back up. and you didn’t liked it one bit. you were here for some peace and quiet with someone you adored. why did he have to mention it at this state youre in?

“the maid also mentioned…” diluc began, and your eyes glued to the ground. “that she noticed that you don’t frequently enjoy your practices or lessons one bit. she’s worried, you know? if it isn’t my business to intrude then—

you cut diluc’s sentence short with a lively laugh. “i-it’s nothing really…! i didn’t notice that one of my maids would become worried of me because of that ahaha…” avoiding eye contact with the man in front of you, you fiddled playfully with your fingers. “it isn’t that much of a big deal i’m honest. it’s just that sometimes the lessons payed for me can get a bit…” you choked a little on your sentence, “…harsh…i guess i can see why the maids tend to worry about me. h-however it’s fine…!”

“are your tutors hurting you or anything?” diluc interrogated. you shook your head again with the sheepish in grin. “no, no, no…! not like that, diluc…! i mean like you know, strict perhaps? the amount of things i needed to do to perfect a simple lesson like i’m sort of princess…” diluc spots you balling your fists in frustration, and the man understands. to peek with someone like you, diluc notices how much your lively attitude had been starting to change ever since your parents planned you to become their next heir of your clan. it’s normal for you to feel irritated like this when your parents were the one who brought you to continue your family’s legacy.

he understands that quite well…but when you’re breaking down like this, there’s something that didn’t fit well with him there. “y/n, are…” he began to whisper, looking over at you with wide eyes.

“…are you crying?”

you snapped back to reality when you felt small teardrops begin to fall out of your eyes. what the hell…? and here you thought you could be able to make it without anyone noticing. yeah, why are you crying? your parents are providing everything for you after all! a huge house, food, things you need, even tutors to help you become the professional they needed, so why are you upset…?

there was no need to drag diluc into this mess you’re in. this was yours and yours alone. no need for others to intervene because of your problem. you were supposed to be raised perfectly as the next head of your clan. there was no time for damages like this to happen. “ah i’m sorry..!” you popped, and diluc shakes his head—his hand reaching out to hold yours. but you quickly pulled away. “y/n, what’s wrong?”

“nothing’s wrong i’m sorry i-uhh…just a little sensitive over these types of matters,” you replied with a cherry chuckle. the red head frowns even more. “i’m not believing that, y/n. what’s bothering you? is it something y-

“i said nothing’s wrong,” you cut him off—sternly this time. the young man was astonished by your sudden change of place in your actions as he watched you stand up. “i’ll head home now, i just wanna say thank you for the pastries and uhhh…lending me extra clothes…i’ll be on my way…” says you—walking towards the door. the silence felt like a a heavy soul pounding in your chests while you reached for the door’s handle. “is it something you don’t feel like telling me?”

“my problems don’t matter. it’ll be best if you stay out of it so you won’t get involved.”

“i don’t care if i’m involved with this matter you’re in. i care about how you’re going through this matter, y/n. so please…” diluc begs, holding your wrists to stop you from exiting his room, “tell me what’s the matter…”

archons, how you hated how diluc was able to crawl through your heart and mind. your feelings for the rich tycoon of the dawn winery were a big package—it hurts you to the bone. as more tears fell from your e/c eyes, you can feel diluc pulling you close to him from behind, his head laying on your shoulder while he listens to your small sobs that you desperately tried to hide from him. “i-i’m…” you were stammering. more drops begin to fall more…

you hated it.

you hated everything.

but you can’t just bring yourself to hate him.

slowly sinking down on your knees, diluc follows along your shaking and weak figure, still hugging you tight behind you—making sure you weren’t feeling alone. “shh…shh…” he hushes, hands now intertwining with yours from the hug. “it’s alright…it’s going to be alright…”

“how is it going to be alright? when everything’s just becoming worse and worse…?!!” you sobbed, and you feel him nod his head. “maybe not now but…it’s still going to be ahead of you…and this time…you’re not alone.” diluc was reassuring you that he was there…he was always there. when you tears are slowly disappearing from your eyes, you took a moment to hold tight onto his arms as he never stopped himself from hugging you nor letting you go. “stay strong, y/n…i know it’s going to be a tough road and you’ve been on it since forever probably but…it’s not over yet—this time i will be with you, and that’s a promise.”

you looked at diluc from behind, “a promise…? to what?”

and this time, the answer was a response that was made by the archons and celestia themselves when diluc smiled softly, pressing his forehead against yours. “a promise to cherish you and love you forever. do not fear about what’s going to be ahead, i promise that i will be there for you.” he hugs you close, breath fanning over your cheeks stained with tears, “and i’ll be there forever.”

you hope so. fighting alone was hard. but this time he was standing by your side.

there was nothing to hide anymore.

nothing.

***

a/n: HOLY SHIT THIS WAS POSTED SO LATE IM SO SO SORRY PLS FORGIVE ME I HATE SCHOOL TOO I HOPE U LOVE IT BB ILY

request are currently: closed :(

[ithinkilikeit-reactions]

My top 15 Girl Group/Solo songs (2021)

Remember guys, this is just my personal list.  Let me know what yours are! Love sharing music with eachother etc so let’s all just have fun.

TOP 15

1. Next Level - Aespa May 17th 

Might be a bit unexpected, I don’t really talk about Aespa on this blog, HOWEVER. I would be lying if I said, I don’t know all the lyrics and the whole choreography. Pretty sure my mom knows the lyrics, I play it so much. So Aespa ate this up and I think it’s deserving of number 1 for me. Aespa have the power to take sounds that I never in a million years would enjoy and make me enjoy them. 

2. Zombie - Purple Kiss (Hide & Seek) September 8th

I needed this song so bad, you don’t understand. i love intense music but I really needed a break from heavy drops and seriousness. THen Purple Kiss decided to drop the most fun song. I love the colors, the campy music video, Swan’s voice and the choreography. It’s just so fun and it was on repeat for me for a while. Cast pearls before swine and ZzZz are great b-sides off the album. 

3. Unnatural - WJSN (Unnatural) March 31st

I really practice my vocals when listening to this song, trying to match Yeonjung’s range lmao. I love this song so much. The choreography where they point and pat the air next to them is so iconic to me. I adore it so much. Sadly I haven’t checked out the album (shame I know, i will eventually) but it says enough that this song is so high when i haven’t even listened to the album. Stan WJSN for clean skin. 

4. I’m Not Cool - HyunA (I’m Not Cool) January 28th 

HYUNAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Look Hyuna was the first woman in K-pop I ever listened too. I have such a special place in my heart for her. So when she dropped this banger I had it on repeat. The outfits, the drop, the choreo, it radiates Hyuna. She’s weird and fun and everything I wanna be so she dropped this and I was so incredibly happy. I recommend: Good Girl and Party, Feel, Love (Ft. Dawn) on the album. 

5. We Go - Fromis_9 (9 way ticket) May 17th

The most fun girlgroup summer song. The definition of a fun summer song. It reminds me of editing my vacation pictures, it reminds me of driving down to the beach with the windows rolled down. The girls all looked so cute too and the song is so good and upbeat. The concept photos were also amazing and managed to incorporate covid related things without depressing me. Airplane Mode is such a fun song too!

6. First - Everglow (Last Melody) May 25th

Girl groups who dress like they’re in Star Wars, they win. Everglow is the winner winner winner. First has so many things I like about it. THe outfits, the heavy drop, the futuristic vibe, the special effects, THE CHOREOGRAPHY. Everglow truly never disappoint. I listen to this song so much. Don’t ask don’t tell is also a great song. 

7. Alcohol Free - Twice (Taste of Love) June 11th

Fun fact: I didn’t like this song at first and now it’s probably my most listened to Twice song. I thought it sounded like a travel agency commercial and now I love it so much it’s hysterical. All the girls look so incredibly stunning, I love summer concepts on them the most. They always look like they’re glowing. Nayeon really stood out to me in this one though, she looked so beautiful. Aside from that the song is just really fun. Scandal and Conversation are my fav b-sides on the album. 

8. Love so Sweet - Cherry Bullet (Cherry Rush) January 20th 

FNC give these girls a comeback thank you very much. This is the first Cherry Bullet song that grabbed me and pulled me in. I get it stuck in my head soooo much and I think about Remi 24/7. The choreography is so fun, it’s such a lowkey song. I adore. Keep Your Head Up is my favorite b-side on the album and deserving of it’s own album. Stan Cherry Bullet!!!!

9. BEcause - Dreamcatcher (Summer Holiday) july 30th 

BEcause I like Dreamcatcher all of their songs are a hit. This one reminded me of Dreamcatcher debut era a little more than their more recent comebacks and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. Not to mention HANDONG, thank you that is all.... OH, Airplane is my favorite b-side, it’s cute and fresh. 

10. Savage - Aespa (Savage) October 5th 

Aespa, my girls. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Aespa as much as I do, really. I heard about their concept pred-debut and got really concerned but I ended up really, really, really liking them. Their album was phenomonal too. It showed really fun sides to their music. So it’s natural for this one to be on the list too. Aenergy and Yeppi Yeppi are my most listened to b-sides on the album. Yeppi Yeppi really being my favorite. 

11. Queendom - Red Velvet (Queendom) August 16th

Red Velvet finally came back. Alot of people didn’t think it was worth the wait, but I did.I love that they came back with the red concept. I love Queendom so much, it’s such an empowering song. Not to mention they all looked so cute and their outfits were so adorable and the whole little witchy concept was so great. Pose was the best song on the album to me.  

12. Chi Mat Ba Ram - Brave Girls (Summer Queens) June 17th 

We are gonna be summer queens! The title is up for grabs so I’m totally okay with them taking the title. I love songs like this so summery and fun. I’m so glad Brave Girls is getting the recognition they deserve, I really hope it lasts. Pool Party (ft. E-Chan) and Summer By Myself are my favorite songs on the album. Brave Girls man, just love that they’re doing the damn thing. 

13. Odd Eye - Dreamcatcher (Dystopia: Road to Utopia) Januray 26th 

DREAMCATCHER!!!!!!!! Okay Handong coming back was such a blessing. Odd Eye is such a bop and blonde Siyeon was such a serve. Dreamcatcher always serve though, the rock elements in their songs always hit so hard. Odd eye was a great addition to their Dystopia series. Poison Love  is my favorite b-side off the album. 

14. Hwaa - (G)i-dle (I burn) January 11th

One of the first (G)i-dle songs that instantly got me. I think the concept is just so stunning and they all looked beautiful. I think I loved the traditional vibes in this song the most, it just really got me. I adore how Minnie and Miyeon’s voices sounded in this song. I didn’t listen to the album so I can’t recommend b-sides, but check it out regardless.

15. Red Lipstick (ft. Yoonmirae) - Lee Hi (4 Only) September 9th 

Misses Lee Hi returned and dropped this banger. This is my dance in the shower song tbh. Her voice is just unmatched and disco suits her so well. Not to mention Yoonmirae’s great addition in the song, they should collaborate wayyyyy more often. Savior (ft. B.I) and Only  are great songs on the album.

Favorite Debuts

Purple Kiss ‘Ponzona’ March 15th 

They served creepy, vocals and a not intense in your face drop and I loved it. Swan I want your hand in marriage for your vocals in this song. It’s laced with crack. 

Pixy ‘Wings’ February 24th 

They served creepy, vocals and an intense drop with screams in it. Look I love creepy girls and they freak me out so it’s great. All of their releases have been sooooo amazing so far, so I’m curious to see how they’ll continue. 

Rosé ‘Gone’ March 12th 

Controversial but I love Gone soooooo much more than On the Ground. I love her voice and the feeling this song gives me. Not to mention the whole vibes of music video and how pretty she looked. There’s so much raw emotion in it that it qualifies for my favorite solo debut. 

[scuttle-buttle]

WC: 683

Rated: T

Tags: language, babies, pissed Niki, James being James, whoops, german insults

A/N: inspired by @themusingofagothicsoul

🍑

Niki was furious. Three laps left to go in the Grand Prix at Imola and he was forced to retire. As he was going around a tight curve in the circuit a first year driver came flying by too fast, causing a tailspin that hit his car and snapped his front axle. The drive for Ligier remained unscathed, naturally, and recovered himself to continue the race.

Niki stomped back to the pit absolutely seething. That gottverdammt rookie doesn’t know how to drive! In the time it took him to make it back to camp the race was over. At least the dummkopf for Ligier didn’t place, he grumbled to himself.

As he reached camp he saw you pacing, little Sara perched on your hip. The minute you see him approach you run up to wrap your free arm around him. “Oh thank god you’re alright. I was so worried, Niki.” He hardly has room to breathe with how close you hold him. Sara looks around, babbling at nothing in particular as she is too young to understand. He leans to drop a chaste kiss to her tiny ruffled sunhat.

“I’m fine, liebe. Can’t say the same for the car,” he huffs. He knows driving is so dangerous, but since his daughter was born last year he’s been a bit more cautious, doing whatever it takes to be able to come back to you both in one piece. You go to pull him towards the trailer so he can get out of his dirty coveralls; he suddenly jerks out of your grasp.

“Hey! Asshole!” Niki turns to face that idiot driver as he walks by. “You could have killed us! What the hell are you thinking pulling a fucking stupid move like that?!” He doesn’t hold back his attack; livid at the thought that he could’ve just died at the hands of this reckless hotshot. His pointer finger stabs at the man’s chest. The driver, clearly young, looks scared shitless. Good.

“Hey man I’m sorry, okay? This stuff happens!”

“Not if you don’t drive like a reckless ass-!”

“Ass.”

Niki’s tirade dies on his tongue at the sound. He whips his head towards you; you’re looking down at the baby. Your jaw is dropped in shock.

“Ass. Assss. Assss-asss-asss-ahhhssss!” Sara repeats the sound in her childish voice, her face bright with joy. Spittle sprays from her lips as she blows out the S sounds.

You and Niki had been trying for weeks to get her to say her first word - mama, papa; the two of you pushed to be the winner in your little competition. Every night you went to bed disappointed. Now here his daughter is, saying her first word.

And it’s ass.

Oh mein Gott - what have I done?

Your gaze moves to your husband, face full of horror as people around you begin to stare. “Niki I swear you did not just have our daughter’s first word be A-S-S?!” you hiss in embarrassment.

He at least has the sense to look sheepish. The other driver that looked about ready to piss himself now works to contain his laughter.

Elena and James walk up from behind, having been off doing something or another the last ten minutes. Seeing your horrified expressions, Elena asks “what’d we miss?”

Sara answers for you - “assssss ass asssss ahhh!”

You gesture to Niki, your face pinched and red as the baby yells. Elena covers her giggles with her hand; she knew about your efforts in getting the little one to speak finally.

James leans in close to Sara, just barely controlling his own amusement. “Arse, yeah? Is that right? Uh huh...really? I see.” he carries on a one-sided conversation with her as she happily babbles.

“James! Don’t encourage her!”

Standing to his full height, a smug smile on his face, he gives Niki a slap on the back. “Guess you really are an arse man, huh? Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. She’s gonna fit in just fine.”

Niki just sighs. He knows he’ll never hear the end of this as long as he lives.

Tag list: @ay0nha @apparrio @livvyshmiv @fictionlandslanddreams @vinylrosess @typical-bistander @ntlmundy @mymagicsuitcase @anteroom-of-death @somethingthatsaysbubbles @lieutenantn @multiversemarielle @trashbin2 @whatawildone @metalbreakfast @laura-naruto-fan1998 @greeneyedblondie44 @godidontevenknowwhat @marchingicenotes7

[sunshinekidz]

Impromptu

Chapter 4/17

Word Count: 1.6K

Genre: enemies to lovers, piano majors, series

Hyunjin x female reader ft. Stray Kids

You completed your analysis for the assignment and submitted it a few days before it was due, giving you the extra time to practice. You also decided that Appassionata will be the piece for your next evaluation. 

At your university, Piano Battles worked in an interesting manner. Students were to pick pieces on the provided list with a total performance time of ten minutes. The chosen piece could even be a single movement from a large scale work. As long as it fit in the span of ten minutes, it was approved. Students were also allowed to perform pieces that were previously evaluated. However, they were only allowed one option. In all, it was required that piano majors prepare five full works before their final competition.

Given the choices, music overlap occurred more often than expected because many preferred the popular works. It was easier to learn something that one has already heard of. 

Intensity levels skyrocketed when competitors played the same piece for evaluations. When the pieces were different, it required more work for the evaluator to determine the winner. Nonetheless, a few categories were still permanent: technique, clarity, whether the piece was memorized, and the overall performance. In other words, did the performance style match the appropriate era? Did the performer portray the sentiments of the composer? Was emotion given when needed?

Your eyes fell on the manuscript that rested neatly on your desk. It made you think of Seungmin and that you should return it to him.  

Soon, you were out the door and on your way towards the bookstore. In hand, you held onto a bag that carried the manuscript. You were going to thank Seungmin for delivering it to you, an excuse to see him again even after he saw you in a rather disturbed state. 

It did not matter to you anymore, because you had to first thank Hwang Hyunjin for making you appear like a fool. The incident had conveniently broken the awkwardness between you and Seungmin. You felt somewhat more comfortable with him than before. Back then, you would try to hide yourself when you saw him on campus, yet you would still look for him at his bookstore. And thanks to Hwang Hyunjin, you felt more confident to face Seungmin. Perhaps it was time to confess your feelings to him. 

The windchimes greeted you as you opened the door to the bookstore. An older version of Seungmin stood behind the counter. It was his father. 

“Good afternoon miss, what can I help you with?” 

“Good afternoon Mr. Kim, I’m Seungmin’s friend. Is he in today?”

The elder man gave you an apologetic smile. 

“I’m sorry miss, Seungmin’s been busy these days. He won’t be in for another few weeks.”

A part of you felt a tinge of slight disappointment. Another part of you was somewhat relieved that you did not have to face Seungmin so soon after that incident. 

“Oh, that’s alright. I might see him on campus. Thank you Mr. Kim.”

You left the bookstore and headed back to campus. Maybe Seungmin would be in one of the practice rooms. But he was not there. In fact, you did not see Kim Seungmin for two consecutive weeks. 

“Hey Bin, did you see Seungmin?” You asked your best friend the other day.

“No I haven’t. He must be busy preparing for finals. Why?”

“Oh, I just have something to return to him.”

Due to the upcoming evaluations, you became more occupied throughout the weeks, working on the third movement of Appassionata. It was the most intense and at the same time, the most difficult to execute. If you stretch it out a bit by playing parts of the repeat, you could hit ten minutes. That meant you only had to prepare one piece for the evaluation. With the extra time, you could focus on your other exams. Perfect. 

All was going well until you received an email from the department director, indicating changes to the December evaluations. 

To all final year piano majors,

I hope you are well during this time, where we are brought closer to the end of the semester. 

Due to the suggestions that we have received, it has been decided that starting this December, monthly evaluations will be altered. In this case, Piano Battles will no longer be held. Rather, you will be working with a colleague from the piano department, to assist one another in preparation for the April competition. In order to establish equality, names have been randomly drawn and selected. You will not be able to request for a change. Please find your name and the name of your colleague in the attached document of this email. 

Together with your colleague, you will evaluate one another’s practice and performance. This will be submitted once at the end of each month. In addition, each of you will independently complete a one page discussion of technique, clarity, memorization, and style for the performances. Include the areas that your colleague has done well, and areas of improvement. Constructive criticism is expected for the improvement section.

To accommodate the semester’s end, the December discussion due date will be extended to the second week of January in the new year. As for the remaining discussions, due dates are set for the last day of each month from January to April. 

For further inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours Sincerely, 

_____________, PhD

Director of the Piano Department

Faculty of Music

In all of your years of study, this was the first time changes were made towards the monthly evaluations. You did not know how to feel about the alteration. Indeed, it reduced the amount of stress near the end of the month, but it was the stress that encouraged you to practice. It was the stress that pushed you forward. 

You doubted that it was random sorting. Surely, the department staff must have discussed each students’ ability and assigned them with the best corresponding opponent. The word “random” was indicated just to promote the concept of fairness and equality. 

You went ahead to open the attached document to look for your name and the name of your colleague. As you scrolled down the file, you began to feel more and more agitated. Who would they pair you up with? 

Finally, a familiar name caught your eye. It was your own name. 

Your hands reached up quickly to block the name of your colleague next to yours. You were not yet ready for the reveal. Why were you so nervous? 

Slowly, you peeled your hand off the screen of your computer to reveal the name that had been covered. 

And just one look at the surname of your colleague immediately elevated your blood pressure. There was no one else in your department with the same surname. 

At the moment, you were more than certain that “random” was just formality. The department had purposely arranged for this ridiculous pairing. 

You pinched yourself to check if you were dreaming or hallucinating. You triple checked to see if you did not accidentally read the document incorrectly. Unfortunately, none of those were true. 

The name seemed to be permanently engraved onto the document, mocking you shamelessly. 

***

You headed straight towards the music building, furious at the fact that they decided to pair you with HIM. You were also furious at the fact that you were not able to make changes with what was already assigned. Still, you dared not to give up. At least without a fight. 

Thankfully, your department director was in his office when you arrived at the building. You knocked politely on his door.

“Y/N! What a pleasant surprise! Do come in.”

You stepped in and took a seat across from his desk. 

“It has been quite a while since I last saw you, Y/N. I heard a lot about you and your great academic achievements throughout the years. And goodness, you are already in your final year! Time really flies doesn't it?”

You nodded.

“How do you feel about it?”

“It has been rather challenging for me. However, it has been a great learning experience.”

“Challenges are always out there for us. Good to see that you are taking it in a positive way.” 

“Thank you sir. However, I do have a request and that is why I am here today.”

“And what would that request be?”

“I have received the email regarding the alteration of the monthly evaluations.”

The department director nodded. 

“And I have also checked my assigned colleague.”

“Are you asking to make changes?”

You nodded, relieved that the department director quickly caught on. It saved you from a lot of explanations.

His smile disappeared and his expression became stern. A feeling of uneasiness washed over you.

“Unfortunately, that cannot be done.” 

“It was an arbitrary sorting. Changes to the assigned colleagues can be done just as arbitrarily.”

“Y/N, you need to understand that a part of your education journey is to be able to work with all types of people in all types of situations. There are times that you cannot make changes to what was already assigned.”

“Sir, this will greatly affect my end results.”

“Success cannot occur without obstacles in the way. That is the purpose of this alteration, to work with your colleague, even if the person is your opponent.”

“Sir, I have special circumstances with my assigned colleague and we absolutely do not get along.”

A smile broke free, softening his stern face. 

“And that is exactly what the purpose is.”

“So no changes can be made?”

“Unfortunately. Take this as an opportunity Y/N, to better prepare yourself for the competition.” 

You nodded.

“Thank you sir. I will take that into consideration. Thank you for your time.”

As a student in the final year of studies, they were not letting you end your semesters easily. 

[ahundredtimesover]

Friday Nights and Take-Out Drabble (3)

It’s not how I wanted to tell you but doesn’t mean I don’t mean it any less. 

Pairing: Jungkook x (f.) Reader

Genre/Tags: strangers to friends to lovers, popstar/idol!jk, fluff, angst, future smut; this is a dialogue-heavy series so read if you’re into that!

Warnings: foul language 

Word count: 1,500 sorry

Series summary: You meet pop star/idol Jeon Jungkook at the cafe, you get close, and as Hyejin says, you’re like friends with benefits without the sex. But you’re bad at feelings and so is he.

series masterlist

A/N: Fast forward to several months later with these two idiots-turned-lovebirds!

#

“Rock-paper-scissors! Winner decides if they want to choose the movie or the dinner tonight,” Jungkook says, right hand ready, bunny smile flashing through your phone screen.

You roll your eyes as you sit up from your upside-down position on the couch. “What are you, a child? Your game doesn’t even make sense.”

“Yes, your man-child boyfriend. And yes, it does. Now come on!” He urges you.

“Fine, only because you recognize yourself as such.” 

He rolls his eyes this time. 

He was late on the first try, making it not count. You usually go scissors after rock, which Jungkook knows - hence, why you often lose - but he didn’t this time. 

“I win!” You say, surprised. “A bit rusty now, are we?” A smug look on your face. “We’re going with Winter Soldier tonight, babe,” you continue, his hopeful face turning into a disappointed one. 

“But we watched Iron Man 2 the last time, shouldn’t we watch Iron Man 3 tonight?” He tries, towel wiping his sweaty face, their Friday night rehearsal having just ended. Months after the end of the tour, they’re still plenty busy and the month of February isn’t any different than the others. 

Still, you’re happy with your arrangement. Regardless of how late they end on a Friday, Jungkook makes sure to come see you, with take-outs now a staple in your relationship. Until you both think you’re ready to go public, your little home is your little world for now.

“We’re not following any order, Kook. I win so I get to decide the movie. At least you get to choose dinner! I’m not particularly picky today. I just want me some Bucky,” you tease. He gives you a displeased look. 

Something you’ve come to learn is that your jealous and competitive boyfriend will always try to one-up any person who gets your attention, regardless if they’re a fictional character or a real-life individual, regardless of gender too. He thinks he’s being subtle about it, which is the funny part, but Jungkook is anything but subtle. You’d mentioned one time how you liked Evan Rachel Wood’s undercut and he showed up 2 days later with his own undercut, in a bun. Do you like it? He’d asked later that night, lips all pouty. Safe to say it took all of you not to pounce on him the moment you saw him enter the bar. 

“I just don’t like him because he did my man dirty,” he reasons. You respond with a laugh, “yeah, I hear you babe. It totally has nothing to do with me having a crush on him ”

“Baby, don’t tease me tonight, please. I’m tired and I miss you and I want to cuddle you in peace while we watch the definitely-not-best Marvel movie,” he pouts.

“Okay fine, we shall cuddle in peace, then if that’s what you want to do,” you give in, hearing the tiredness in his voice, and then bidding him goodbye. 

If you didn’t miss him, you probably would’ve continued teasing him, but you do and you want nothing more than to have him next to you. It’s been two weeks since you’ve spent time together, after all. 

Four months since you both got your head out of your asses and finally admitted your feelings to each other - and three since you told his agency, which was fortunately supportive - you and Jungkook have found your rhythm. 

He’s still as busy, but nothing that video calls can’t solve, and still falls asleep on you over the phone after a long day at work, but you both always make time. He insists on spoiling you, despite knowing that a Chanel bracelet has got nothing on a whole strawberry shortcake, especially after a long day at work. You spoil him too in your own ways - buying him novelty items that remind you of him, stocking your pantry with his favorites, and of course, through kisses.

You didn’t think you could be this affectionate but you’ve long surprised yourself when it came to Jungkook. It seems as if every time you see him, you just want to shower his pretty little face with all the kisses you can possibly give. He enjoys this, partly for the fact that he likes seeing you be the needy one for a change and partly because, well it’s you and anything you give is more than enough for him. Except for an ‘I love you,’ though; somehow that isn’t part of the rhythm yet.

A little over an hour later, you hear the incessant knocking on your door and you jump from the couch. You open the door and take in how your boyfriend looks enveloped in his oversized black hoodie - hair damp, tired smile, but eyes still sparkling like the night sky. A shower of kisses later, you find yourselves on the floor, take-out food all but unwrapped. 

He surprises you with your own favorites - ribeye steak and truffle pasta cooked by one of their chef friends who runs a restaurant that you definitely can’t afford, which also doesn’t do take-outs, to preserve food quality or something. But Jungkook, you’ve also learned, lives off of making you happy, and this is one of the ways that he, as he says, puts his stardom to “good use.”

You stare at him, eyes wide. “Babe, they gave us plates,” you say, confused and amused at the same time. “Food presentation or something, Chef Choi said,” he shrugs, but unable to help the smile on his face as your eyes scour the presentation on the table.

“We’ve been wanting to eat at his restaurant,” is all you say, still unable to process what he had done, not missing the extras included - cheese and artichoke dip and tomato soup. “These seem basic, are they even on the menu?” 

He laughs. “Too basic to be on their menu, definitely, which is why he was able to whip them up,” he says proudly. “I just wanted to surprise you with something special.”

The twinkle in your eyes and the smile reaching them let him know he succeeded. 

One bite into the steak and you feel like heaven. It has marbled well and tastes so scrumptious and tender, as if you’re having an orgasm in your mouth. It tastes expensive, too. You close your eyes and savor the flavor, juices spilling out with every movement of your mouth against the meat. You’ve never had steak this good, it actually makes you feel emotional.

“Fuck babe, this is so good I love you so much.”

Silence.

You open your eyes to see your boyfriend, mouth half parted, orbs even darker and rounder than you remember.

“Did you just tell me you love me… while eating steak?”

You cower on your side of the table, nervous at how he will take it. The words just slipped out of your mouth before you got to the next bite. It’s not that you don’t mean it; it’s because you do and want to at least tell him in a more romantic way than this. He’d survived practice until 10PM, made arrangements to get you a delectable dinner, and you tell him you love him like this - unfocused and unaware, prompted by food, of all things.

“Is that how much you love steak or how much you love me?” he asks, a smile slowly creeping up his face. “I was thinking maybe you’d say it while cuddling in bed or watching Crazy, Stupid, Love or even like, in the middle of sex or something but this… this is so unmistakbly you that I don’t think I can be more in love with you than I am this moment.” Now it’s his turn to look nervous.

You mirror his expression from earlier, senses suddenly heightened at what he’d just said.

“I…” he starts, unsure what to say next.

“I love you,” you repeat, unable to help the smile gracing your face. “It’s not how I wanted to tell you but doesn’t mean I mean it any less. But I do, for a while now,” you continue, hands playing with each other, teeth biting your lower lip. 

“I love you,” he responds, suddenly calming your nerves. “I feel like I say it in my head too much that I’m scared you might just hear it,” he chuckles, eyes finding yours.

“Well, I’d like to hear it, everyday if possible,” you shyly smile. You becoming such a sap like this is a side-effect of dating Jungkook that you definitely don’t mind.

He easily pulls you by your waist and sandwiches you in between his legs, wrapping them around you and peppering your cheeks with kisses. He hugs you tightly and lays his chin on your shoulder. Nothing is better than this. He’s starting to think this is what he wants to come home to everyday. He lets the thought sink in; that’s a talk for another time.

“Anything for you, Y/N.”    

##

part 4 || completed

series masterlist

[serenityseventeen]

DK (이석민):

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

“Perfect: What It Means To Be A Singer”

After years of competing with each other in high school singing competitions, of course, you and Seokmin would always be fighting for first place. However, one day, he approaches you and asks to sing for you, and little did you know, that day would change everything about you and him. <Link to part 2> | <link to part 3>

competitor/rival!classmate!student!seokmin x student!singer!reader

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

The auditorium was dim lighted and everyone waited in silence, only the whispers of the judges could be heard.

It was nothing new to you or Seokmin, who was standing beside you but a bit further. Both of you had your hands clasped together, in front of your bodies, anticipatingly.

It was always you and Seokmin in the end, at the finals of every competition. Sometimes you would win, and sometimes he would win. You barely knew him but from so many competitions together, he was more of an enemy than a friend.

He had always held himself up to a high standard, but you would hold your standards even higher if you could. Evey competition, he was there. It was disappointing for you whenever you lost, and it only made you want to win against him even more. You were sure that he felt the same. If he can't win, he'll try to win, and his efforts will lead him another victory. It was just repetitive at this point.

You saw him glance at you, so you turned to face him, but he turned away. Without a word, you turned back to the audience.

“Both of your voices are very beautiful, and it honestly pains me to see you two always competing,” one of the judges began, “because to me, your voices together, would create such amazing harmony. Seokmin's voice is powerful and Y/N's voice is soulful, both together would make such an unbelievably beautiful sound.”

Another judge picked up her microphone. “I agree completely, but since this is a competition, I just want to say that you two are equally good. It's always going to be hard to pick a winner considering song, voice, technique, everything.”

The other judges nodded.

“You two are very professional, I believe you guys have a great future ahead. Don't ALWAYS compete with each other!” A different judge said. He had been one of the judges since you two began competing.

“Through careful considerations, we will announce the winner.” A female judge said, holding a paper on one hand and the microphone in another. “Both of you are equally talented and bared no mistakes, but after careful considerations... how about a drumroll?”

You heart was beating nervously. You had to beat Seokmin. If you didn't, then it would be repeating again. Him win, you win, him win, you win.

“Lee Seokmin! Congratulations on getting 1st place!” You let out the breath you were holding and clasped your fingers, not glancing in Seokmin's direction. You bit your bottom lip, squeezing your eyes shut.

Seokmin was the winner, but he wasn't smiling. As the judges gave him a bouquet and the prize for winning first place, he had a rather sad look on his face. His eyes couldn't help but glance in your direction.

-

“So Seokmin won?” Your friend asked as you two walked out of the school after the competition ended.

“That's right.” You replied, looking down on the floor.

“Oh come on, it's not that bad, you won last time.”

“I know, but I want to win twice in a row, that's the only way to prove I'm better than him. That's the only way for me to confidently sing, knowing that I no longer have competition.”

Your friend widened her eyes as you two walked down to the school gate.“I just don't understand, both are you are amazing singers but why is victory so important?”

“You'll never understand anything if you don't understand this much.”

Suddenly, your friend tapped you on the shoulder, she had a lollipop in her mouth and looked ahead with a smile.

“What?”

You turned and looked ahead to see a tall man with a broad figure. He was leaning on the gate, wearing a grey hoodie and had his black backpack on his back. His hair blew a little as the wind passed by. He was staring right at you as he stood up straight.

“Isn't that Seokmin?”

You two continued to walk forward, but as you passed Seokmin, he grabbed your arm.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” He asked in a soft and shy voice.

Before you could even reply, your friend let go of your arm and walked forward, waving goodbye as she quickly ran away. She mouthed, ‘BYE BYE!’ as she left.

You sighed.

“Fine.”

-

“So what do you want to say?” You asked, staring down at your hands that were on your lap. You two were sitting together on a park bench.

Seokmin was fidgeting with his hands too.

“You- I want to... Can I sing for you?”

You glanced at him. “Why? Are you trying to brag that you won?”

He defensively shook his head and waved his hands, smiling slightly. “No no no, it's just, I want to sing a song for you.”

You were a bit confused and flustered at his sudden request. Why was he suddenly... Why did he want to sing for you?

“What song are you going to sing?” You finally replied.

“Blue Whale by YB.”

You smiled at the song choice. “I sang that one in the competition today. Are you sure you're not trying to brag that you're better?”

A small leaf fell on his forehead from the tree beside you. He took it off innocently.

“You can sing with me if you like.”

You gestured for him to start, and turned to face him, anticipating his performance.

Seokmin took a deep breath and began to sing. Instead of always having the thought of how to win in your mind while he sang, you paid full attention on his voice. It was indeed beautiful, like an angel was right in front of your eyes. The emotions in his voice made your heart drop.

He continued to sing, and then turned to you. You smiled and began to sing with him. For the first time, you heard both of your unique, different voices colliding so beautifully, it was indeed a different sound.

When the high note approached, you heard Seokmin lower his voice, and you sang powerfully, at the line, hitting the high note beautifully. Seokmin smiled, and after killing that high note, you smiled too. Your voices mixed together was a different kind of beauty, a beauty you didn't realize you could be apart of.

While finishing the song out in the daylight, you two sang beautifully, proudly, and confidently together. It made you forget that he ever was a competitor, because your voices together made something so gorgeous it couldn't be explained.

At that moment, you felt like a real singer. A person who sang, simply because they loved it, and it sounded so beautiful.

-

While walking to the bus stop, you and Seokmin couldn't stop giggling for some reason. Walking side by side, your shoulders would sometimes bump into each other.

“Good job.” He said in a small voice.

“You too.” You glanced at him, trying to keep in the smile on your face. In the end, you just laughed out of the blue, holding your stomach because it just seemed so funny.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked with confused eyes but also a smile.

“Its funny how great we sounded together but yet we hated each other for so long for simply being competitors against each other. It's really funny.” You straightened your back and then turned to Seokmin who was still gazing at you.

“It's also funny how you're nothing I thought you were and how I want to ask you to come to karoake with me right now.” Seokmin replied, smiling. You laughed again. He turned around the opposite way that you two were heading.

He faced you while walking backward. You just chuckled and walked after him. Seokmin smirked, his handsome face made your heart skip a beat.

-

You two sang together in the karoake room, hyping each other up. The flashing lights made you two dance around as you both sang. From time to time, Seokmin would make a few witty remarks that made you crack up.

You blushed every time he made one.

His smile was starting to completely blind your eyes as you both sang. He wasn't a man who only wanted to sing to win. You weren't a person who only wanted to be on top. You two sang and sang, sang so happily, with smiles on both of your faces.

You two sang all types of songs from emotional ballads to hard rock songs. He wasn't a man that always wanted to win and sing seriously, but instead he was a chaotic and childish boy that seemed to fit you perfectly.

While you two were singing a song, you couldn't help but stare at him, who was smiling so cutely while singing the song. Of course it was a love song. A song about loving someone. You felt your heart beat faster when he turned to you while singing. His messy hair, his hood, the way he was holding the microphone.

Suddenly, he stopped singing.

“Are you going to sing your part?” He asked innocently. You didn't reply with words but just continued to stare at him.

Seokmin slipped the microphone into the pocket of his hoodie and then cupped your face, giving you a kiss. You were a bit surprised by his sudden kiss, but it would be a lie if you said that you weren't thinking of doing the same thing.

With the evening that you two spent together, it was hard to believe that you had already fell so hard for this handsome man.

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

-serenityseventeen

This one is a bit longer than usual, around 1.5k words (and it was going to be longer) but I cut it short... What an amazing evening, I'm jealous. TuT

[partnersrelief]

Myanmar’s military coup and the uncertain future.

image: Reuters

On Monday morning Myanmar woke up to the news that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, regional lawmakers and human rights defenders throughout the country had been detained and that the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, had seized power. They declared a State of Emergency for one year, imposed a nightly curfew and intermittently cut telecommunications. (At time of publication, telecommunications have been restored).

The military coup follows November’s elections in which Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won in a landslide. Following the election, the military, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, denounced the results, claiming counts of voter fraud.

In the days leading up to February 1st when the first session of the NLD-led parliament was set to start, the nation’s Union Election Committee denied voter fraud claims, stating that the Tatmadaw’s claims were “exaggerated” and “absurd”.

The History

After achieving independence from British rule in 1948, Myanmar (then Burma) began the process of forming its own government. Since independence, attempts to unify a multi-ethnic state under one government have led to one of the longest-running ongoing civil wars between the Tatmadaw forces and various ethnic groups oppressed by the regime.

In 1962, general Ne Win and his military forces took Burma through a coup d’etat. The military’s direct rule would extend for decades but would be challenged in 1988 during the 8-8-8-8 pro-democracy uprising, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of protestors and a second coup which placed another Tatmadaw general, General Saw Maung, in power.

Aung San Suu Kyi was a driving force for the 8-8-8-8 Uprising and was placed under house arrest following Saw Maung’s declaration of martial law. During her time in house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD won a landslide election in 1990; however, power was never ceded to the winners, and the military junta continued their rule.

Democratic reforms slowly edged into Myanmar’s government, and a new constitution (drafted by the military) was passed in 2008.

Then in 2015, after decades of military rule, an openly-contested election resulted in an absolute majority for the NLD in both houses. Aung San Suu Kyi took the role of State Counsellor in 2016, and the country seemed to further inch towards a liberal democracy.

Key Characters

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, despite her domestic popularity, is a complicated leader. A year ago she was ushered to the International Court of Justice at the United Nations to respond to accusations of genocide against the Rohingya.

The Tatmadaw is responsible for the slaughter, rape, oppression, and genocide of ethnic groups across Myanmar, notably the Karen, Shan, Kachin, and Rohingya people.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a majority of parliament seats in 2015 and again in 2020. In spite of the party’s popularity, the military has retained indirect power through ministerial appointments and a guaranteed 25% of parliament seats for military appointees.

History Repeats Itself

And just like that, Myanmar takes a big leap backwards. Aung San Suu Kyi, government and student leaders were detained Monday morning and the election results from last November ignored. The military coup in Myanmar is a disappointing blow to a nation with a slow and tenuous bend towards democracy after decades of stifling military rule. The devastation of these events is exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis, which has ravaged a nation where many already struggle with food security and basic health issues.

Our friends and colleagues are safe and none have been detained but it’s sad to see the smallest bit of democratic progress lost. Our concern as always is with the impact on the communities we support and especially the children and their families who face the long-term impact of oppressive regimes.

Our staff from Myanmar have expressed their concerns:

“It reminds us of the past, when we saw and felt it very clearly that the military has the authority to lead the country and harm ethnic minorities. They force them to leave and kill them even now. So if they have full power again, it will not be good for ethnic minorities.”

“At the beginning I had a little hope that my country would get better... but with this coup, my hope is already gone.”

“With this coup situation it feels like back to the old days. It makes me feel worried about my relatives in Myanmar because they are facing COVID-19 and facing this coup, I don’t know how they can survive in this condition.”

Since 1994, Partners has responded to the immediate needs of civilians displaced in and from Myanmar as a result of conflict in the region with a particular emphasis on the well-being of innocent children caught in the crossfire. When the immediate conflict subsides, Partners comes in to work with local communities to support dignity-building sustainable development initiatives, including the delivery of lifesaving supplies, as well as providing long-term support for education and health care for families and children.

“The kind and hard-working people who should be celebrated for their worth and dignity are once again forced to submit to the machinery of war,” our founder Steve Gumaer said. “Providing critical aid to survive is essential, but inspiring hope through relationships and solidarity is a priority.”