#i was having some hair difficulty.. should work on that tomorrow when i have a little time methinks

[bitternace]

Me realizing another month is coming soon oh no: D:

Me remembering that means my dear mutual nano will post Organization 13 art again soon: :D !

my dear mutual elisey!!! i let out the LOUDEST snort.. hi<3

i've been so distracted, tysm for reminding me i still have to figure out some of the details for dear good old vex

april tho.. can't believe it's almost aprol.. i need to lie down orz

[blush-pedri]

fans are assholes | r. dias

summary: fans compare your pregnancy to fellow wags, leaving you to feel not so good.

notes: as requested! i don’t think i specified that it was twins but it still works. dad!ruben has to be my fav genre 🤪 i hope you all enjoy, some very cute at moments 💘 let me know what you all think! <3

IT WAS MATCH DAY, and although you were feeling rough like you had done the last 7 months, you had promised your fiancé you would make it to today’s knockout game rather than watching from home. he wanted you to support from the stadium, but he also wanted to get you out of the house too.

you were 32 weeks along and feeling very heavily pregnant.

yeah, it’s all fun and games when dating a tall man until you have to grow his unnecessarily large children.

all you wanted to do was lie down and moan this entire trimester, having nothing but a hard time with this one you were growing. you’d had every bad symptom imaginable, from the nonstop sickness and heartburn, to back and hip pain, difficulty sleeping and sore boobs, and now in the final stages you were experiencing braxton hicks, so yeah - all you did want was to lie down and whine. more than ever, you just wanted to stay in the comfort of your own home and nest.

“—you’re not even nesting though! you’re sitting here watching tv all day! get up and get ready!” rúben had said to you just yesterday morning after you’d told him you were too busy nesting to grab a coffee with him before training.

“mama, i think you should go tomorrrow . .” another sweet voice said from the sofa, glancing sympathetically in your direction.

your sweet boy, elias, didn’t want to offend you and make you feel like a slob, but he really wanted you both to go to his papa’s games. with school, you didn’t allow him to go to any late night matches which were always the majority, but tomorrow’s kickoff was 3:30pm and when he pitched the idea, you felt awful for feeling like you’d deprived him of some fun memories.

you really didn’t want to go, but your baby boy deserved it. he’d been working so hard in the last weeks of school and rúben would agree that you needed to take him - he wanted you both there just as much but he also knew not to tell a pregnant woman what to do - he wasn’t the one carrying an 8lb baby around in all summer.

“you nearly ready, baby?!” you called from your room, trying your best to look acceptable for today’s outing. you couldn’t remember the last time you’d done your makeup and styled your hair so neatly, baby dias was really kicking your butt that you hardly had any energy after a shower, let alone doing your makeup and hair.

you really needed them out so you could go back to your old self.

you didn’t remember pregnancy being this hard with eli. with him, you were able to get through the rest of school with him growing in your belly! taking notes and listening in class. sure, you had sickness and a sore back but that was really only at the start and at the end. given, you were younger and full of energy.

eli came along in the last of your teen years but you wouldn’t change anything for the world, same with rúben. he blamed that baby boy for being the reason he pushed himself so hard to get where he was today. he was such an easy pregnancy, and an easy kid.

being honest, you felt more unprepared for this new baby as a grown adult than you did as a teenager back in 2016.

with a few thuds across the landing and a solid jump at your bedroom door, you turned to see your 8-year-old all ready holding two thumbs up. with a man city kit on and trainers, he looked like rúben more than ever. seriously, if you got a photo of rúben back then, it was like looking at eli with a slightly different haircut. it scared you so much. “ready!”

traffic was always bad no matter what time you left, but you got there in one piece and already left eli with one of your closest friends and bernardo’s wife, ines, while you had to run to the bathroom even after such a short journey. jeans were longgg out of the equation so you’d gone with some loose, white trousers to go with the blue football shirt, hoping they didn’t wrinkle too much but still looked good with the outfit. “you are glowing!”

“no, it’s probably just my highlighter,” you pointed to your cheekbone as ines laughed cheerfully.

“no! you look amazing, what are you talking about?! i have missed you!” she couldn’t help but hug you again. “you’re ready to pop!”

she felt your bump and you huffed a sigh, pulling your sunglasses down, “i know, it feels like it.”

you didn’t really like being out this far along, not because you were afraid, but you were at that stage were you were starting to feel gross. like, you looked like a whale no matter what you wore or styled yourself to look like. realistically – you were one of the most beautiful pregnant women the internet had saw. truly, you may have felt like an elephant, but you were still posted on WAG accounts, getting shared by millions of women who begged they could only look as good as you when pregnant or better - envied you for still looking so hot while suffering the struggles of pregnancy.

how?! 😭❤️

life’s not fair!!!! 😫

what’s her secret?!!! 😍😭🙏🏼

but you could have gotten a thousand comments like that . . but all it took was the one bad one.

fucking hell, keep her inside 😂🫣

who is that??

🤣🤣🤣🤮🤮

a lot of the time you didn’t care because you knew how the internet worked, and you know the majority were sad-little-pathetic-football-fan men. they barely impacted you.

when it was women on the other hand . . .

“i just can’t believe one woman would say that to another woman,” you tilted your phone to show ines the replies. “what happened to the whole ‘girls help girls?’” you had to put your phone down before you ended up on a gossip page for arguing with people in your comment section.

“it’s always down to jealousy, babe. they hate you ‘cause they ain’t you,” she pointed, the same thing you had told her when she got her first negative comment, and you smiled at her attempt of making you feel better. she was such a good friend.

the internet was a weird place. your life was a weird place, you didn’t think there’d be a day people hated you for simply being with a person. you found it weird paparazzi followed you around when rúben was the famous one. you found it weird there were accounts dedicated to you when you didn’t do anything. it caught you off seeing people notice every little thing about you or knew things you forgot you’d explained. it did add a little bit of pressure knowing you were being watched and most likely compared to other beautiful WAGS. you’d be lying if you didn’t say you’d put on makeup in fear you’d be posted all over those news articles and WAG accounts.

you forgot how stressed matches made you until kickoff, two minutes in and already overthinking how this would go down. rúben had your heart fluttering nontheless with how he ran up and down the pitch, giving orders all sweaty and even repping the captain band for a bit. it made you feel real good about your baby daddy.

“come on, pa!” your son would shout when a bit of a ruffle would occur, his father speaking passionately to the ref with frustrating hand movements.

the halftime whistle blew and you let out a breath, fanning yourself as your body relaxed for a small moment. 0-0. “ma, i need to go to the bathroom.”

“me too, let’s go!”

perks of dating a footballer? renting out their own box for friends and family - including the private bathroom. no queues around hereee.

walking through the rows and steps, you couldn’t help but feel eyes pinned to you. ines would tell you because you’re a WAG of a player (you regret ever educating her on that term) but really you felt like it was because you looked like a whale making her way through the stands.

eli convinced you to do a lap of the stadium just once to ‘stretch your legs’ when really it was something he always liked to do as he believed it ‘made halftime pass quicker’. so hobbling around with few staff members recognising the kid (or rather seeing the clear evidence he was a mini rúben) , you strolled around the packed building, trying to squeeze past football fans, getting stopped once for a picture.

“thank you so much!”

“no worries at all,” you waved to the two girls, shooting them your kindest smile. they were so lovely, and even complimented you for ‘pulling off pregnancy so well’.

“you’re sLayiNg” eli mocked them, taking your hand.

“shut up,” you tutted. you appreciated being told you were still slaying.

“matt!”

the 8-year-old suddenly bolted to a familair security guard in a neon vest who was delighted to see the boy. “my man!”

you didn’t bother rushing over, you were out of breath as it was and decided to just lean on the wall while elias got his quick catch up, waving at matt instead. halftime was almost over. you should be heading back now.

“—not the best one though.”

“—no, sasha is definitely the best wag.”

i swear, the word ‘wag’ triggers you like nothing else.

you tried not to look around, but to your left, you could make out two bodies mingling with each other. both wearing light blue tops with stylish jeans and trainers, the two girls waiting outside the bathroom, trying to talk quietly between then in a mumbled manner.

you were a mum - you had mastered your hearing to hear the grass grow.

“–but sasha’s not pregnant?”

“–but if she was, she’d have a cute bump, not . . ”

their silence had you believe they’d glance in your direction, and it took every bone in your body not to stare dead on at them with a smile to let them know you heard every word - but you didn’t. you played oblivious and stayed watching eli, a forced sweet smile on your lips.

“–foden’s girl always has a cute little bump too!”

“–oh my god, yes. she’s stunning.”

“–he’s stunning too, to be fair.”

“eli, come on son!” you wanted to bang your head on the wall not wanting to endure the conversation anymore. now you’d tune in, you couldn’t tune out.

“–ok. bye matt! see you later,” he didn’t waste a second to return to you. “see you soon, buddy!”

you waved at matt and led him through the crowds, not meaning to hold his hand so tight until he pointed it out. “ow, ma, you’re hurting me.”

“sorry baby.” you didn’t sound sorry but you felt utterly hot and bothered. and not in the good way.

for some unreasonable reason, a small line of carts drove through the halls, and you stood against the wall as they passed by, holding your son by his shoulders. you could hear a small utter of whispers from your side but refused to turn your head. you really needed to fucking sit down.

“—dias’ girl! look at the size of her!”

“–rob that’s so mean! she’s pregnant!”

“WOW!” eli stole your attention as he almost stepped out in front of a last minute one zooming by. you smiled, and quickly manoeuvred him on your way.

“keep going, keep going,” you shuffled behind him in the stands, but stopped amidst a waiting line as someone caused hassle. your foot kicked something. “oh i’m so sorry!”

you accidentally tapped your foot to a lady’s handbag, but she smiled and waved you off. “you’re alright, don’t worry!” shortly adding, “i’m not surprised!” glancing to your belly.

it wasn’t malicious, but it was about to be the last straw of some floodgates. “ha! i know . . I’m like a whale.”

“how far along are you?” her friend asked.

“about 7-8 months,” you smiled sweetly, ignoring the fact they didn’t assure you that you didn’t look like a whale. thanks.

“oh wow!”

“i know,” you fake laughed. why wasn’t this line moving?

“is it twins or just the one?”

you tried to stop your eye twitching. who in the right kind said that?! was that . . a backhanded compliment?! what that even a compliment?! or was she genuinely asking in a stupid and nosey manner? “no, but it feels like it,” you fake laughed, and they did too. twats.

“oh my! you’re so big!”

“he or she will be a big boy or girl,” the other corrected with her pint in hand, knowing her friend’s words had just flown out of her mouth.

“yeah . .” you were done with this conversation but you didn’t dare be rude. thankfully, the line moved, and they waved goodbye. “congratulations!”

“thank you!” you replied, turning back around, mouthing absolute knobheads.

“mum, i don’t think you’re a whale,” eli’s hand patted your own that rested on his shoulder, bringing you back down to earth.

your heart thumped and although he didn’t look at you, your heart melted to a puddle as you squeezed his shoulders and ruffled his hair, knowing you’d embarrass him with a kiss. “thank you baby. you’re always to sweet to me.”

and he was. you actually . . wanted to cry. shock.

“hey!” ines greeted. “where’d you guys go?”

you only shook your head and nodded to you son who was standing again, ready and recharged for more yelling. you felt ines squeeze your hand and you looked at her, “are you ok? you look . .”

“yeah, i’m fine,” you dabbed your eyes and put your sunglasses back on. “just . . stupid stuff, and then e said something really sweet and i just,” you held your heart which made her laugh and reassure her for the time being. “ok, but . . you can tell me, y’know?”

“just being emotional,” you said the obvious, making her laugh as you leaned into her for support.

you would tell her later, but right now, you were going to use the rest of the game as your excuse to start screaming.

-

the game ended on a win. you saw rúben briefly when the players walked around and applauded, and eli mirrored his excitement and happiness, waving and calling to him as he spotted you guys. he was ecstatic you could make it.

it was after 6 by the time you got home and settled. you were about to order food when you second guess your options, today’s events replaying in your mind:

look at the size of her!

sasha would have a cute bump.

you’re so big!

you knew you were pregnant but there were far nicer things to say to a pregnant lady. what a bunch of assholes.

instead, you cooked some carbs up for eli and made yourself a seperate dinner, feeling the need to watch what you were eating now - you’d be giving birth soon and all those pregnancy cravings didn’t just leave when the baby came. you weren’t silly - you weren’t going to deprive yourself of food, but maybe they had a point - why wasn’t your bump considered cute? was it hard to tell you were pregnant? what were you doing differently?

you were on the verge of calling sasha and asking her what she put in her green smoothies when the door opened.

“meu amor?”

“in here champ,”

something rúben didn’t expect to see what you lying on the couch with a salad balanced on your bump, and you munching away like it was a 5-star dish. “what’s this about . . ?” he smiled sceptically, dropping his bag to the floor.

“what’s what?”

“that.” he nodded to your plate.

you shrugged. “took a notion for it.”

“for . . a salad?” he clarified, looking down at you, entertained in some sense.

your craving for the last 5 months had been anything with chocolate frosting on it. rúben had watched you talk yourself out of buying a tub of it on its own because you knew if was weird and would have to bake go use it.

“yeah.”

to be fair, the salad was tasty, and you were enjoying it but . . at 7 months pregnant? rúben tilted his head. “where’s eli?”

“is his room.”

“he had salad too?”

“he had pasta and garlic bread.”

now he knew something was up. you? not eating garlic bread? italian in general?

someone had said something to you.

he looked at you concerningly, but he was too afraid to ruin the peaceful moment. you seemed calm. he had won a game and you were in a good mood today. baby boy or girl mustn’t be giving you too much trouble so that was a win in itself. so he just leaned down and kissed you lovingly. “hi.”

“hi,” you smiled, pecking him three more times before he rose again. “well done today.”

“thank you,” his hand touched your belly for about two seconds before you swept it off smoothly with your own, squeezing it instead. you smiled up at him again, “love you.”

he kissed you again trying to hide his confusion – but something was up. you were being odd. “love you too.”

and he left and headed for eli’s room, leaving you to let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding before slouching again and continuing with your dinner.

-

the rest of that evening, rúben was correct. you weren’t yourself.

your mind was somewhere else, and your head wasn’t out of your phone. constantly scrolling, you had overanalysed every picture captured of you today and tried not to nitpick. reading comments. comparing yourself. he wondered what you were doing.

but everyone else did have small bumps. everyone’s looked so cute. they didn’t use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they wanted or slack with self-care. they still wore tight clothing. they still looked gorgeous. you began to compare yourself to all these other wives and girlfriends on the page, wondering how on earth they looked that good.

ummmm, ‘cause maybe they’re 12 weeks along and you’re triple that?

the next morning, rúben kissed you in the kitchen before leaving. “what’s that?”

“what?”

“that,” he nodded to the drink in your hand.

“a smoothie?”

“for breakfast?”

“well yeah,” you furrowed your brows, and he immediately shook his head, pulling that judgemental, disapproving look you sometimes wanted to punch. “no, no, come on, don’t be silly, now,” he almost laughed, “you need to eat something proper.”

“it’s a smoothie, it has everything i need in it?”

“y/n, make something to eat. you’re almost 8 months pregnant for crying out loud,” he looked at you seriously. he didn’t want to sound like he was scolding you or making you feel stupid but you knew he was worried about the lack.

overprotective rúben had always been a constant in your relationship but when you were pregnant — phew, “you got my baby in there.”

“–and he or she is looked after, it’s a healthy drink—”

he took it from your hand and kissed your cheek in the process, taking it with him to training with a smirk, “stop being lazy and cook.”

you were furious. you were actually annoyed that he had taken the drink himself and didn’t find it funny. he kissed eli’s head and the door closed, and you were left highly irritated.

you couldn’t see eli shrink, but he did, looking wide-eyed at the table as he considered his dad a brave brave man in that moment to do that to you - considering the look of your face.

and as a pregnant woman with her emotional struggling to stay in check - you lost it as they all blended together once eli was dropped off at school, sitting in a car park of a café you regretted going too now that you sat with your decaf latte and triple-choc muffin. the frustration quickly turned to tears as you had a moment, eyes in your hands, thinking over everything the last couple days.

yes you were pregnant, but was there a need to be that big? were you even that big compared to others? were you really that bad to look at? that unflattering? did it even looking like you were pregnant? the loose clothing probably didn’t help, but who wanted to wear tight clothing? pregnancy was hard - it was hard to glamourise it all the time!

you’d never cried over looking bad the first time you were pregnant, maybe once or twice when a pair of jeans didn’t fit or you couldn’t reach your shoelaces, but never over the way you felt about yourself. you actually were starting to feel disgusting, and it was embarrassing because you let randomers make you feel this way!

. . and then the pathetic-ness turned into anger because why were people such assholes?! how can they not keep an opinion to themselves?! making you feel bad about your baby!

. . and then the anger turned to guilt because your sweet little baby was just trying to grow and be healthy and you were upset over it. tears again.

you didn’t know how to fix it. the damage was already done, you had a month left, there was no going back now with salads and smoothies, you yanked your paper bag with your muffin off the floor, eating your money’s worth. rúben subconsciously popped into your head as he was probably eating some fruit salad or nutritious sandwich at this time.

oh rúben. you wished he was here but you also knew you wouldn’t want him near you at the minute, not when you weren’t feeling yourself and you had people in your comments telling you he was on his way of replacing you.

he would call you stupid, but rúben just wouldn’t understand. he wouldn’t get being on the other side, the built in competition that automatically comes with being a woman, more than ever with this lifestyle he had given you. one where you’re compared left right and centre with a certain standard to achieve.

you bet every handbag you owned, he’d screw his face up and go ‘are you serious’ if you told him your issue. he knew you were above anyone commenting stupid things on your posts and found it immature of you in a way if you did take those things to heart - i mean they were nobodies! jealous nobodies! but that’s easy for him to say, his comments are flooded with never ending support, guys praising him for his talent, physique and hard work and most girls telling him to hurry up and leave you. spamming with flame and tongue emojis, thirsting over your man just the way you did, only boosting his ego more which rúben did not need.

so you just felt silly, and picked at your muffin, accepting your were going to be a whale wag.

you felt like a slob when you got back home, staying on the couch after cleaning, and then crying except you were watching a movie to blame it on that.

you still couldn’t get comments out of your head, i mean what was an ‘expired wag?!’ or a ‘busted oven?!’ what did that mean? and why always the skull emojis?!

scrolling once again through photos of comparison, you scrolled onto a beautiful pic of your beautiful bestie, ines, and straight away phoned her. “hey.”

“hey! what’s up! what’s going on? why do you sound you out of breath?”

“why do you think?” you laughed.

“girl are you crying again?!”

and you started talking. you had to get things off your chest and you needed ines to make you feel better, to assure you and let you rant, and she happily did, after all, you’d always been there when she was having a moment.

“–what did rúben say?”

“nothing, i haven’t told him anything. he’ll just tell me i’m being ridiculous.”

“he won’t!”

“ines, he would, he’s not like bernardo. rúben’s harsh!”

“so are you! which is why i can’t believe you’re still crying over this!”

he was harsh in the good way, in the same way you were. you were both practical. real. realistic. you picked each other up and told each off when you were being ridiculous. pulled each other out their asses. brought you back down to earth.

but you just needed comforted at this current moment by your girl.

as you continued to chat and laugh more than you thought, the front door opened without your acknowledgment and rubes stepped through. freshly showered after a long morning of training, he instantly heard your voice rambling over the phone. he took notice of the tissue also crumpled on the floor by the door (you’d been carelessly tossing them for dramatic effect) and paused after he thought he’d heard a sad sniffle. he closed the door quietly and crept near the living room.

“i can’t help it, i do just feel . . blegh,” you felt like you were being ridiculous but you couldn’t help it. “like, why does everyone keep making a big fuss about it? am i really that massively huge or am i just not liked?”

he heard another woman’s laughter on your phone and recognised her as soon as she began talking to you, “y/n, i promise no one is making a fuss of it, it probably just seems in your face all the time because you keep going back to check. i promise the world is not broadcasting you,” ines chuckled sweetly, which followed your sad laugh also.

“well the wag world does!”

“y/n!” she laughed, “you’re overthinking it. i promise you have nothing to worry about. the only person who’s opinion should matter to you is rúben’s and everybody knows he has you on a pedestal!” rúben found himself smiling. he’d always been a fan of ines. “he’s called you his wife since you came to manchester! he’s always been proud to show you off, you look good - you look amazing! people are just saying that stuff about you to make themselves feel better.”

“mm, i guess,” you sniffed, holding your forehead. “i don’t know, it’s just been getting to me . . and i’m not saying to rúben because he’ll tell me i’m being stupid. i wouldn’t be surprised if he was leaving an hour earlier in the mornings to get away from me. it’s not like my looks can make up for my psycho-ness anymore,” you joked.

“y/n!” she tried not to laugh. “though, pregnancy psycho-ness is definitely real.”

it is, rúben mentally agreed also, though his heart still sank further as he heard you talk about yourself in such ways. he didn’t want to call you ridiculous but come on, you were pregnant! didn’t they all count as compliments to a pregnant lady?!

“it is,” you let out a sigh, “i wouldn’t want to be around me either, just this big angry rhino walking around the house,” you laughed together, “he goes to a paris event on friday anyway, he’ll get a break and have plenty of french models to—”

a clear of a throat had you whipping your head to the door, seeing rúben’s hard stare. your mouth went dry. “uhhh, ines i’ll call you back.”

you felt bad hanging up as she was speaking back, too shocked you’d been heard rambling for the last couple minutes. or probably longer! how long had he been standing there?!

“listen—”

“french models?! french models, y/n.”

“rúben, it’s not in context—”

“oh i heard the context, i heard everything,” he came in the room, not one spot of happiness found on his face. he was fuming. you could tell, and disappointed too, you felt like eli getting told off by him, throwing yourself back into the couch as he stood with that gruff, intimidating look, hands shoved in his pockets.

“you don’t get it—” you could already feel the tears welling in your eyes, though a pit of frustration was brewing in your chest hot and fast. this was going one of two ways.

“what don’t i get? you don’t tell me what’s wrong when i ask you!”

“‘cause you wouldn’t understand!”

“ok but what i do understand is my wife accusing me of what? getting to pick which ‘french model’ i want to take home next week?”

now your face fell flat, realising how ridiculous and cruel that sounded. you shouldn’t accuse him of that kind of stuff.

“rubes, i just—” your mouth felt dry again. tears brimming again, you could feel how hot they were. the words were on the tip of your tongue but you didn’t know how they were gonna come out.

“what is it? tell me,” he pushed, eager for you to actually get out what you wanted to say so he could help sort it. “i’m here to listen.”

and you did, you unleashed it all. “people are assholes. your fans are assholes. i’m sorry but i cannot believe the stuff people have no issue saying to other people - pregnant people at that! as if the 9 months aren’t hard enough, i have this mob of men and women on my back, judging and critiquing my every outting. i can’t do it anymore, it’s actually ruining whatever self-confidence i have left!” the tears were streaming as you began your rant, choking down sobs as you moved your hands, a fury behind all the sadness.

rúben crouched down, wanting to be nearer as you let it all out. “every day, every hour, i have someone online, reminding me off how big i am, how unflattering my paparazzi pic is, how whale-like i am! how hard it’s gonna be to shift this baby weight! i’m getting put in competition with every other pregnant wife and girlfriend of your teammate and showed how much better they pull it off! how gorgeous they look all the time! how their bumps are ‘cute’ and small and ‘suits them.’ i heard it myself at your game the other day! it’s like they’ve never seen an un-photoshopped pregnant woman before!” you met his eyes, realising you were probably being silly and that there were bigger problems in the world. “i just feel disgusting, rúben. i never felt like this with eli, i was in this perfect little bubble but this time so different. i don’t want to leave the house when i know a monstrosity of photos are getting taken of me, pointing out every flaw. i don’t have a cute, small bump! i do look like a whale! i can’t dress sexy! and i get what people are saying when they say it’ll be a bit before you can look at me again ‘cause god knows—”

“shh,” he quickly silenced you, placing a finger to your lips. his brows were furrowed as yours did, fed up of hearing you ramble about all the bad things about yourself. he felt pain in a way. he just couldn’t believe you actually thought these things about yourself. “wha— . . . are you being serious?”

“OH MY GOD!” you threw your arms up. see!

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry, meu amor,” his big hands softly caressed your legs in front of him, along your smooth thighs to stop you from exploding again, “i’m sorry. it’s just . . i . . it annoys me that you let these things get to you, these random, strange people that you don’t even know. you take their opinion over mine. so mine doesn’t matter, it doesn’t count?” he looked you deeply in the eye, “how does that make sense? explain that to me.”

your head hit the cushion as you groaned but rúben held your hands comfortingly. he didn’t want to make you feel stupid, but he wanted to hear your thought process. “to me, it’s like . . you have the choice of walking into a room full of all these people who hate you, and you know the hate you, after being in one full of people you love . . and you go into the hateful one and are surprised that all these people are saying all these bad things about you when you could have just left it alone and focused on the lovely ones - from people who matter to you! who are actually in your life! do you understand?”

you nodded along, entranced by his eyes and how they were able to ground you alone. “you know that i think you’re the best thing in the world. you know i would love you if—” he thought off the top of his head, “you had 10 extra toes. a third eye. if you had a cow nose. elf ears!” your hair slipped silkily through his fingers, “you know i think you’re the most beautiful woman ever even dressed in a trash bag. i would still love you if you did wear trash bags. if you had a cow nose. if you weighed the same as a cow. if you weighed the same as a baby cow,” you broke a chuckle at that. “i’ve loved you through our ugly teen years, when i shaved my hair and your eyebrows were stick thin,” you laughed more as he let out a breath of relief, “i loved you when with vomit down your shirt and your hair dyed that weird colour—”

“rúbennn . .”

“what? and i loved you when you had eli in your stomach, and he was big baby,” his hand touched your belly, moving it in the same motion he always did because that’s when he got to feel the small kicks of this baby dias. “i loved you even more even when i saw how he came out,” he shot you a wildered look.

you facepalmed, dragging your hand down dreadfully at the thought of having to relive that moment all over again in over a months time.

his features turned as his thoughts turned sour, “why are you letting stupid fucking people affect you?”

“i don’t know . . i guess ‘cause so many people are saying it i . . it must be true to some extent—”

“y/n—”

“seriously, rúben. i don’t have a cute, small bump. ines and rebecca are always such sweet—”

“Y/N! have you SEEN the size of bernardo and phil next to me! is it any wonder they’re small! their child comes out the same size as them!” his hand shot out with passion.

now your head was in your hand with muffled laughter, caught off guard by his statement. “seriously! seriously, now you’re supposed to be the smart one,” he tried to look at you, that loving smile shining your way as his heart sang at the sound of you laughter. “you’re shocked that me, that we, have big babies . . that ines has a much smaller bump than you . . are you serious? that rebecca has a smaller bump than you? rebecca, phil and elway stacked on top of each other wouldn’t even reach the height of me!”

“rúben,” you laughed, feeling an actual blush of embarrassment coat your face at how stupid he’d made you feel, but in a good way.

he was so right. what were you thinking?

“i’m like, the biggest guy on the team! sorry i didn’t realise that was gonna be a problem for you,” you lightly hit his shoulder to wrap up the sarcasm, still giggling. he looked at you from the floor, his hands still on you, on your leg on bump — the bump that he did make look small next to his hand. “and please remember you’re a month away from giving birth, you’re supposed to be a healthy size. and i been going to training an hour earlier ‘cause i know when this one comes along, i’ll not want to go as much and i’ll want to stay with you both. i’ll start working on my dad bod . .” he felt the small, subtle movement happening inside, but he could feel them if he kept still enough.

“you’d look good with both.” you rolled your eyes.

“and you’d still look better. y/n, you’re not a whale. please stop saying that,” he finally crept to his feet, climbing on the couch on top of you, leaning his arm behind your head. “you are the most beautiful-est woman to me and no-one, NO-ONE can convince me otherwise. you’re my standard of perfect, of gorgeous and sexy and all the rest of it. i’ve found you sexy before this baby, during this baby, and after this baby — i still get comments of people telling me how ugly i look when you’re next to me! you bring my value down!”

his arm wrapped around your neck while the other threw itself over your bump, shifting and snuggling into the sofa more comfortingly, you relaxed alongside him, the tears no trickling down but with good reason behind them as you were shocked to find your love growing even more for rúben when you thought it was impossible. “i don’t know what comments you’re seeing because all i see are the ones calling you a milf, and it takes too much time to try and report them all.”

you held his hand at your shoulder, his lips kissing your cheek repeatedly, over and over again. you knew how much he loved you. “yeah, you’re right. fans are just . . assholes.”

“fans are assholes,” he agreed, stroking your cheekbone, “. . don’t listen to them. you think i listen to everything they say about me?” he perked a brow.

sometimes! you wanted to say but knew better. it was rhetorical question, and you knew his sweet intentions.

“alright? i don’t so why should you? you’re hot stuff babe,” he looked at the side of your face, inspecting every little freckle and faint scar, he just wanted to never stop kissing you. “i love you the way you are. eli loves you for the way you are, and this baby,” he rubbed circles on your belly, “he or she is going to be so unbelievably lucky when they see who they have as their mam. i know it’s not the smallest bump but i think it’s the cutest i’ve ever saw, with my baby girl or boy in there,” he kissed the size of your stomach. he grew more and more excited each day as he got a day closer to meeting who was inside. he couldn’t wait. “. . who they get their good looks from and skill and personality - well, i mean i would like to take some credit for the both of those ‘cause i mean their daddy is pretty c—”

you playfully jabbed his side, making him laugh. “yeah, he’s the hottest one on the field,” you glanced at him, kissing his cheek.

one thing about him, he’d always blessed you with beautiful children.

“yeah, and their mum is coolest one at the school pick up,” his lips trailed along your cheek to your jaw, the slight scruff of his beard tickling you. “you’re the biggest milf to walk the planet–”

“rúbennn,” you chuckled, blushing at his words whilst trying to push him away.

“i’m serious,” he proceeded, peppering kissed down your neck, “and she’s coming to paris with me for the weekend so she can outshine me like she does at every event she comes to.”

you laughed at that, smiling dreamily as he proceeding to love on you.

“and eli?”

“elias gets to stay with his favourite uncle who owes a favour,” he winked.

“hmm. ok.”

“and i’ll give her a reason to cry if she starts thinking like that again,” he whispered in your ear.

your heart slipped a beat. “oh yeah?”

“ohh yeahhh,” he nodded, standing to his feet, not before a loud ‘smack’ echoed the room as he mimicked what your poor backside would get if you kept up that kind of behaviour. “see you upstairs, mama.”

you blew your hair from your face, heart thumping, your hands slowly crept up to your adorable little bump where you caressed it gently as he headed for upstairs, whispering softly, “you are soo lucky he’s your papai.”

your heart raced as he peeled his hoodie off, back muscles staring right at you as he headed for your room, you felt your insides begin to sizzle.

— but you were even luckier he was your husband.

[lunaa007]

Astrology observations #3

These are my personal observations and should be taken in the context of the whole chart, never isolated 😊

Some of this is 18+, no minors allowed

♦️Mars-Uranus aspects can indicate a liking for risky activities and extreme sports, like motorcycling or base jumping. They can even like to put themselves in danger as they need the adrenaline. Routine is super boring for them, they need to try new things very often. They should be careful to release this nervous energy with sports, work they're passionate about or things like that or it can backfire. This aspect can be tempered down with Saturn aspects or a lot of earth energy in the chart.

♦️Venus square mars aspect: can often be mean to the person they like, classic "if he pulled your hair it's because he likes you" stuff. Can be very passionate, might have difficulty to separate feelings from lust. They might have talent for artistic sports like dancing or ice skating. For women, they might like a more sporty fashion style.

♦️Sun-saturn aspects: especially for harsh ones, this can really change the expression of the sun sign. I know someone with sun and several planets in Leo, but they are all square to Saturn and you could never tell she's a Leo; she is very reserved, shy and restrained in life. But as with all Saturn aspects this can change with age, the personality coming through more and more while keeping an amazing sense of discipline, wisdom and grounding.

♦️Moon-uranus aspects: with harsh aspects (conjunction, square, opposition), the mother might have been emotionally cold during the childhood, and she might have been a bit erratic and unpredictable. This could have showed up as frequently moving places, or having a mother considered weird or crazy by society. With soft aspects like trine or sextile this could show up as an untraditional family, maybe having two fathers or two mothers, or parents very into technology, but this was not hard on the person and it helped them develop their individuality and independence.

♦️Taurus mercury: these people can learn much slower than other people (this does not mean they are not as intelligent, their rhythm is just different). At school they might have felt behind their schoolmates or felt like they didn't have enough time to finish their exams/homework. It is important that they don't feel bad about this and take the time they need to do their work. This might be less strong with Uranus influence on mercury. ♦️ Aquarius moon natals and their need to always read and watch self-development content without ever actually feeling their feelings 🙃

♦️ Venus conjunct moon: these people are so kind, they have such a big heart and do not wish harm on anyone, please stay mindful of who has access to you as many people might want to be in contact with this energy but sometimes also energy vampires.

♦️ Mercury conjunct/square pluto and their dark humor! I have this in my chart and one of my colleagues actually said to me three days after she started: "your jokes can be really dark sometimes" 😂 it gets worse when I'm tired as I don't filter my jokes so much before saying them. These aspects might also think a lot about death and dark themes, they can be the type to think "what happens if I die tomorrow", or "I could die if I do this" but not in a worried way, just thinking rationally about what is possible.

♦️ Leo mars women and their secret backup plan of becoming a stripper or an exotic dancer 💃 these women often have a talent for dancing, and performing can make them feel desired and confident.

♦️ Aries moon/mars placements and their road rage! Both my parents have these placements and my god the number of stressful rides to school I had when I was a child 😂 this can also apply to the other fire mars.

♦️ Lilith conjunct ascendant: these people often provoke reactions everywhere they go, they rarely go unnoticed whether it is positive reactions or negative. The women with this aspect might get sexualised a lot, and the men with this aspect might attract animosity from other men. ♦️ Sun-jupiter and moon-jupiter aspects: they might always see the bright side of things, "it will get better", "this is temporary", seeing the glass half-full. A lot of optimism, faith in a higher meaning, maybe too optimistic sometimes and too trusting that things will unfold in the right way.

♦️Mars square pluto women often attract creepy men on the street, interactions with aggressive men might be unfortunately common. It is important to not repress their anger and channel their power in something like martial arts.

♦️Gemini moon/IC: they might love to talk with their loved ones at home, a lot of communication and learning in their private life. If they live alone they might be a lot on the phone or always have music or tv or radio on.

♦️Mercury square saturn: they might doubt their intellectual abilities when young, their learning style might not fit the classic school system. It is important that they are encouraged by their family, and with time they will gain confidence and master the learning techniques that fit them best.

♦️Mars in virgo might care too much about pleasing their partner in bed and have a hard time receiving pleasure without giving anything. They might also feel self-conscious if they do not feel "clean" like not fresh out of the shower. It is important for them to practice letting go of their thoughts and doubts and be present in their body. They deserve pleasure as much as everybody else!

♦️ Jupiter in the 2nd house might have a very good self-esteem, if the moon and venus are not too afflicted. And if it is the case it helps the native deal with the harder aspects.

♦️ That's why it is so dangerous to interpret an  aspect in isolation of the rest of the chart, a challenging aspect might be very beneficial in a chart and less in another one. For instance moon conjunct saturn might be more challenging for a Capricorn moon which is already quite controled and closed off, but in the sign of Aries it might help the native tame their impulsivity and control better their emotions. 

♦️ Or moon square Uranus might be beneficial for a Capricorn moon or a Taurus moon as it might help them break out of their routine and become more adaptable and flexible to change.

Thank you for reading!

@lunaa007

[teagballs]

michael bluth x reader where reader also works in business and has a bad day or something and since michael is at work (they work in diff places) he goes drinking with gob once he is done. michael taking care of a drunk reader lol. i love ur writing

take them home | michael bluth x !drunk reader

authors note: did u miss me hiiiii definitely hasn't been three months or anything. SORRY YALL im in the middle of exams rn im struggling so hard 💔 motivation to write came back when i should be studying tho ??? wtf ???? idek. anyway heres some sweet michael for the SOUL he'd be the best bf ever!!!!!

cw: drunk reader, drinking too much, vomiting. other than that just fluff!! enjoy

----------------------------♡----------------------------

You swear you could have cried when the clock finally struck six. Today was terrible, putting it simply. From an early start to annoying co-workers to an abundance of paperwork, it seemed you couldn't catch a break. To make matters worse, you knew Michael wouldn't be home till late. The responsibility he had in his position left him working after hours. You needed to release some of your built-up stress, you needed a drink. But who would you go to? Who would be without responsibilities or cares and would be willing to get wasted with you?

"Hey Gob, do you wanna get a drink?"

He was more than happy to hit the bar with you and also a terrible influence. Drinks seemed to tally up within minutes when it had actually been hours and hours. He definitely could handle his drink better than you. Because while he was still able to form a coherent message, you were a blubbering mess.

"Another!" You slur out.

Gob discourages you finally, "Don't you have work tomorrow?"

"Who cares! All- all those pieces of shit can go- can- can go fuck... themselves" you stutter.

Gob wasn't having fun anymore. Now he was just taking care of a drunk person - he didn't want that weighing him down. So he called Michael to come pick you up.

Michael was not pleased to hear that after his 12 hours in the office, he had to pick up his absolutely shit faced partner up from his brother.

"You let them get that drunk, Gob? What's wrong with you?" Michael barked as you rest against his shoulder.

You lean against his form, looking up at his tousled locks. He definitely had them in his stressed grip a couple of times today. You play with the bottom of his tie as he speaks. Gob shrugs his lecturing off and leaves the pair of you.

With some difficulty, Michael gets you into the stair car and drives you to your apartment. He guides you up to your place and gently guides you to the sofa. He makes quick work of getting you a glass of water.

"Here, drink this," he hands you a glass. It's a chipped and old looking glass, just in case. You ignore the glass and instead try to get him to sit down with you.

"Michael, you looked tired, come lay down with me," you dragged, giving him the best puppy dog eyes you could. You were spread across the sofa ungracefully, limbs anywhere they would be comfortable.

"You need to go to bed," he tells you gently. You whine out like a toddler.

"Come on! I wanna stay up with you!" you say before shifting up into a sitting position and giggling.

"You have work tomorrow," he sighs at you. He, too, has work tomorrow and would love to stay up with you, but can't.

"So? I hate that job! Who cares if I'm off cause of a-" you cut yourself off by covering your mouth and dry heaving, "a hangover-" you bolt up right and stumble to your bathroom, stabilising yourself on the walls. Michael follows closely behind.

He runs hand up and down your back and holds your hair as you throw up. The vomiting must have sobered you up a little because you suddenly feel the not so fun effects of alcohol. You rub your face, feeling hot a clammy. Michael looks at you with only concern as he hunches on the floor with you. He cups your face, and you lean your face away.

"Don't..." you grumble. "I'm gross and drunk."

Michael smiles as he smoothes over your cheek, "That may be true, but I still love you," he chuckles. You're unsure how he's even facing you with how bad your breath probably is.

"I'm tired," you sigh deeply and sniffle a little.

"I'm sure you are." Michael agrees, doing that knee slap thing as he makes his way to his feet again. "C'mon," he holds out his hand for you to take. Supporting one hand on your bath, you use the other to take his.

He guides you to your bed where you flump down. With effort, he takes your shoes off, and you turn over and wrap the duvet tight around your frame.

"Alright, sweetheart, I'm off. I'll see you tomorrow," Michael murmurs and watches your exhausted form.

"No!" you exclaim. "No, don't go!" Suddenly frantic, you unwrap yourself from your duvet cocoon.

"What do you want me to do?" He forms a lips pressed together smirk, he finds your pure distraught at the idea of him going home and getting a good night's rest awful amusing.

"Stay here! Stay in my bed!" you beg your boyfriend. In the morning, you'll remember how drunk and pathetic you were last night and grimace.

"But I have work in the morning. I'll need to go home and get ready." He toys. He already knows he'll be staying the night. He'll just have to get up early and grab his stuff for the office. Or maybe he'll take the day off, he deserves it after all.

"No, please!" You whine out again and tug on his hand. He laughs heartily and drops onto the bed, making sure to squash none of your limps.

Finally satisfied, you wrap your legs around him. You're both still in your work clothes, but who cares? You're cosy.

Tucking your head into his neck, you slur out a, "love you,"

"Love you too," he smiles, exposing his little tooth gap.

----------------------------♡----------------------------

[ronaestrider]

Reflections

Ruthar returned to the Farstrider Retreat with Farstrider Kelnim, a promising ranger that has been working in Ruthar’s encampment outside of Valdrakken. The Ranger Captain racks his bow and removes his armour, stretching his fingers after removing his gauntlets as his thoughts swirl around his head.

“That Tannis boy really is something else,” Kelnim offers. “The Stafrosts seem like a great family, Ranger Captain.”

Ruthar smiles at that, his mind returning to his time with Syrielle and Gattius. “It was quite nice to catch up with them both. I appreciate your willingness to show the boy around while we spoke.”

Kelnim nodded. “Anytime, Ranger Captain. He reminds me of myself at his age.”

Ruthar chuckled. “Likewise. It really does warm the spirit knowing that such young minds are still ready and interested in the Farstrider ways. I would think the allure of magic and power would be able to capture most these days.”

Kelnim scoffed playfully at that. “Not for us, not for them. We will hardly be the last of us.”

“I hope you’re right,” Ruthar offered softly. “If and when the young Tannis does continue his studies, I’ll be sure to make sure he continues with yourself, at least at first. You seem to have a way with the young recruits.”

Kelnim smiled at that and bowed his head. “I would appreciate that, sir.”

Ruthar nodded, planting a hand on Kelnim’s shoulder. “We’ve all got our place in all of this. Perhaps recruitment and trainee assessment are your next steps. In any case, that will be all this evening, Kelnim. Thank you for your assistance with Tannis and with the potential intruder. Get some rest.”

Kelnim snapped a salute that Ruthar returned, watching the younger Farstrider depart. Ruthar walked outside near the fire where he conversed with Syrielle and Gattius not a few hours earlier. It had been an unexpectedly eventful day catching up with the Starfrosts and then coming upon Raynell A’laria in the woods beyond the Retreat. While it was great to see his comrades once again after so long, Ruthar felt the guilt set in once more as he thought more about them and their struggles. He leaned upon a post next to the fire, looking out into the twilight-touched Eversong as his mind wandered.

Raynell had been a part of the Dragonscale Expedition, a unit that he himself had worked for. Should he not have widened his eyes and fostered a relationship there? She mentioned difficulties in the Fourth War and even hinted at work beyond the veil. Could he have been present to assist with whatever difficulties she may have faced? And then there were the Starfrosts, Syrielle working her way into the upper reaches of the Magistry while Gattius had started a clinic of his own. As owners of a beautiful manor and parents of a fine and promising young boy, Ruthar couldn’t help but think of how he could have helped. Perhaps they didn’t need anything, truly, but who doesn’t need a friend every once in a while. These were more than just his comrades in the Phoenix Guard - these were his friends, the closest people he really had outside of his fellow soldiers. Certainly they deserved more from him than the nothingness he provided over the past six or seven years.

As Ruthar looks into the darkening woods, his vision is replaced with a memory. Gentle winds toss his silver-white hair as the golds and yellows of Quel’Danas radiate all around him as he stands before his comrades of the Phoenix Guard.

Ruthar smiles, tapping a small pouch upon his hip. "Quel'Thalas is proud, indeed. We all are - Commander Dawnblade, myself, Captain and Lieutenant Starfrost. Your extensive work has paved the way for a brighter tomorrow." He waves a hand around and looks to the warm foliage surrounding the spire. "Just as this Isle before us, Azeroth is once again defended at the hands of you all."

Syrielle reaches over to take Gattius' hand, smiling happily at everyone present. Ruthar looks to Aquilon "Will" Blackmarrow, one of the Phoenix Guard’s reservists. "Doctor," he says firmly. "Front and center, if you will."

Blackmarrow moves in front of Ruthar and snaps to attention. Ruthar looks the Death Knight up and down. "The kingdom of Quel'Thalas recognizes your service, Doctor," Ruthar begins, his felfire eyes dancing in the sunlight. "As a Reservist of the Phoenix Guard and a key component to our continued victories both home and abroad, I present you with this."

Ruthar reaches into the pouch at his side to produce a glinting golden piece affixed to a dazzling red and gold ribbon. "The Commendation of Quel'Thalas is not an adornment to be taken lightly. Wear it well, Doctor." He offers the commendation in both hands. The members of the Guard present cheer and celebrate the Doctor’s accolade as Blackmarrow quietly accepts the award, staring at it with an inscrutable look in his eyes. "Thank you, sir."

Ruthar places his hand upon his chest to bow a soft salute. "Congratulations, Reservist. You do us all proud." He turns to Syrielle. "Lieutenant," he says softly, gesturing before him. "If you will."

Gattius speaks lowly. "--Ooooh... you're in trooooouble!" Syrielle elbows Gattius in the side, mumbling the word 'Dork' under her breath before making her way to stand in front of Ruthar.

Ruthar looks proudly upon Syrielle. "Lieutenant Starfrost," he begins. "To say that your life has been eventful is a particularly striking understatement. From your promotion into Phoenix Guard's leadership all the way to the birth of your young one, you have taken every task and challenge thrown your way and met them with relentless vigor. For this marked perseverance, it is my honour to present you the Commendation of Quel'Thalas."

The Guard once again roars in celebration as the very winds of Quel’Danas seem to reply in kind. Syrielle smiles at Ruthar's words, nodding her head as she accepts the medal. "Thank you, Lieutenant Commander."

Ruthar bows his head respectfully. "Wear it well, Lieutenant." He glances around. "Doctor Sunfall, please." Kalithos Sunfall shifts forward. “Yes, sir?”

Ruthar smiles. "The task of healing this unit is a task I will never, ever envy. It is the work of sin'dorei such as yourself that ensures that there will be a tomorrow for so many." Ruthar looks around. "There is not a person in this room that has left the battlefield unscathed, and we all owe you a great debt. For that, Shield Sunfall, I present your Commendation."

Kalithos blushes and offers his thanks as his comrades of the Guard celebrate his achievement. “Thank you,sir!” Ruthar shakes his head. "Thank -you-, Sunfall. Wear it well." He smiles. "And speaking of Sunfall..." Ruthar gestures to Kalithos’s husband, Rethandral, and speads when he steps forward. "To say that things have been difficult for you recently would be, dare I say, an underestimation. But you owned up to your mistakes and made a concerted effort to move forward, learning from your experiences and crafting a new path forward." Ruthar smiles warmly as he looks upon Rethandral. "It is this quality of perseverance of personal growth that I truly admire, along with your tried and true abilities at the front lines of every engagement. Rethandral Sunfall, I am proud to offer you the Commendation of Quel'Thalas."

Ruthar salutes Rethandral as the Guard applauds once more. "Wear it well, Sunfall." He looks along the line again. "Doctor Dawncaster, please." Voka Dawncaster tries to walk as tall as he can, but he's strained, and it shows. He still hasn't fully acclimated to his robot leg. Ruthar looks at Voka for a long moment. "It lifts my spirit to see you standing before us, Spellweaver. You have given so much to your kingdom, to us all, and no amount of metallic adornment can truly repay you."

Voka rests his weight on the cane again, trying to be as respectful as he could manage. No standing at attention for this boy. "I would gladly give it again for our people."

Ruthar looks at Voka with pride. "In the coming weeks, I want you to work with the very best resources available to us on the Isle. I will make whatever arrangements that are necessary, but we will do everything we can to ensure your return to your former self." Ruthar stands straighter. "Spellweaver Dawncaster, for your amazing service to Quel'Thalas and a very promising future with the Phoenix Guard, I proudly present your Commendation." He offers the medal with both hands.

Voka accepts the commendation with one hand as the unit celebrates the achievement. "I shall strive to continue keeping everyone together."

Ruthar nods as Voka returns to the others. He searches the line for a familiar face, one who he served with for an extended period. "Ah, yes. Li-Mei, please step forward." Rositsa blinked but slowly stepped forward before halting in front of Ruthar.

Ruthar clears his throat, looking intently upon Rositsa. "One thousand, six hundred and seventy days." Ruthar counts upon his fingers as he speaks. "Four years, six months, and 27 days, if you include today as well." Ruthar looks around. "That, my friends, is how long Rositsa Li-Mei has been in service with the Phoenix Guard. Four and a half years is a true feat, Li-Mei, and it's truly hard to believe that it has been that long. You have truly become an integral part of this establishment and have learned so much from when we first met."

Rositsa flicked one ear forward and the other back, silently trying and failing to calucate Ruthar's math before offering a happy smile to Ina'thia, "I'm honored to serve under under all of you."

Ruthar clears his throat. "The pleasure is assuredly ours. For your outstanding service to both the Phoenix Guard and Azeroth herself, I present you the Commendation of Quel'Thalas." He offers the medal once more.

Rositsa gingerly took the medal before taking a small step back and dipping into a gracious bow, "Thank you, sir, I'm honored. I will do my best to make the Phoenix Guard and Quel'thalas proud."

Ruthar salutes Rosi proudly as the applause thunders once again. "You have already done that and more, Li-Mei. Wear it proudly." Rositsa smiled happily and quietly stepped back in line before pinning the medal to her tabard.

Ruthar taps the bag at his hip. "Not to worry - only a few more!" He looks to his left. "Captain, if you will.” Gattius falls in, front and center while Ruthar looks upon him. "The mantle of leadership is not one I ever truly wanted in my youth, to be quite honest. It takes a level head, firm ideals, and true selflessness, not to mention the tactical necessities." Ruthar clears his throat. "However, I am very, very glad to say that Captain Starfrost is all of those things and more. He has led our own to the gates of hell and back, time and time again, with poise and clarity every step of the way." Ruthar smiles. "For your continued efforts as an effective leader, an expert Blood Knight, and a master of fatherhood, I present you the Commendation of Quel'Thalas."

Gattius grins. "Well, I had a pair of excellent mentors... thank you, Lieutenant-Commander. Commander." He nods to them both as he accepts the Commendation.

Ruthar returns the salute fully. "Wear it well, Starfrost. You do us all proud." He glances to his right. "That only leaves one more," he says with a smile. "Commander Dawnblade, if you would please step forth." Ina’thia raises a brow at Ruthar, and steps around in front of him.

Ruthar looks proudly upon Ina'thia, felfire eyes aglow. "Commander Dawnblade. From the wilds of Pandaria, to the timeless shores of Draenor. Through the depths of the churning Maelstrom into the seat of the Legion itself. We have all gloriously followed in your very footsteps to every corner of our world and others, all in the name of Quel'Thalas. It is due to your expert guidance and keen leadership that the Phoenix Guard finds itself at the hands of victory."

Ruthar smiles. "Time and time again, we fight down terrors that rain upon our shores and beyond, defend all that we hold dear each and every day of our lives." His voice raises with pride and Ruthar stands tall. "Your years of service and dedication go far beyond that which can be said by the gift of this medal, and we are all humbly grateful for what you have done and accomplished. It is with the greatest amount of pride that I can muster that I present to you, Commander Dawnblade, the Commendation of Quel'Thalas." He holds the medal in two hands, offering it to Ina'thia.

The Phoenix Guard erupts in applause as the every-stalwart Ina’thia is pushed to the precipice of emotion. She fights back tears with her legendary resolve. She accepts the medal, pins it to her tabard, and offers Ruthar a crisp salute.

Ruthar bows fully, the soft glint of prideful tears in his eyes. He returns her salute proudly and takes a step back to gift Ina'thia the floor.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander. It is an honor to serve Quel'Thalas with its finest soldiers. Blood Knights, Farstriders, Magisters, Medics... Phoenix Guard's greatness is not by my design, and I don't deserve all of the credit. We all deserve the credit. We give all that we can give; regularly putting ourselves in harm's way, for the good and the glory of our people. Thank you, everyone, for all that you have done and continue to do for the Phoenix Guard. For Quel'Thalas!” Inathia stands at attention and salutes.

Ruthar hoists a proud fist into the air. "For Quel'Thalas!" The salute is echoed by the present members at the ceremony, the sunlight of Quel’Danas fading, replaced by the current twilight in the Eversong Woods.

Ruthar finds his fist closed as he looks down to the fire, the memory feeling so very real as it came over him once more. The pride he felt in that moment on Quel’Danas was one of the highlights of his career. These were not just the best soldiers in Quel’Thalas - these were his best and closest friends, his family. He had the privilege to lead them, to walk with them in defense of all they held dear, to celebrate and mourn with them, to lift everyone up and celebrate them. When he was ripped through the Dark Portal to Draenor and left to die, it was the Phoenix Guard that rescued him. They risked everything for him time and time again, and how did he repay them for the last six years?

“I failed them.”

The reality of his failure had not felt as real as it did this evening. Ina’thia, his Commander, his closest confidant, had departed with no word. Relationships with Gattius and Bey’ron caused a great rift between his former Commander and his former Captain, instances that he knew nothing about. Would that rift have happened if he gave them the attention they deserved? Could he have helped to assuage the bitterness?

Then there was Rositsa Li-Mei. Ruthar sighed as he looked into the fire, thinking hard about the Farstrider. She had so dutifully served the Phoenix Guard for an extended period. Ruthar himself had offered her training and promoted her within the Farstriders for her excellent marksmanship and tracking abilities. Defected. That’s the word that continued to haunt him deeply, the word Magister Everblaze had used. He still couldn’t truly believe it, but then she confirmed it herself when Bey’ron brought Rositsa to the Starfrost manor. Would her fall from grace have taken place if Ruthar would have extended his hand? If he were the leader she needed, perhaps she would have never found herself needing to escape, needing to toss off the mantle of responsibility that Ruthar himself had blanketed her with.

He reached into a pouch at his waist to produce a glowing red gem, the arcane communicator that the Phoenix Guard used to use. He let it sit there in his palm, the firelight dancing upon the inactive deep red stone as his mind could still hear the voices that would come through it. He closed his palm around the stone, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

“You have a chance to make things right,” he said to himself. He slipped the stone back into his pouch before heading into the Retreat to put his recognizable Farstrider armour back on. He shifted outside where his white hawkstrider Arturian awaited, urging the beast toward the pavilion that the Phoenix Guard once used as its headquarters.

“Time to be the leader that you should have always been.”

@inathia @syrielle @gattius-starfrost @raynellalaria @arosesrambles

[astroyongie]

TXT - November Reading Edition

Note : please remember to take these readings lightly and with a grain of salt. next coming are: ITZY, NCT 127, Aespa, NCT Dream, IVE, WayV, Red Velvet, BTS, Gidle and Treasure 

Yeonjun

Love: it seems like Yeonjun and his partner went through some harsh time. It feels like they had broke up but at the same time their history isn’t finished yet. Like there’s still some things to talk about and make clear. It was not the most healthiest relationship compared to when they first started to date. Yeonjun might have been a little bit too authoritative with them

Career: He is having a little bit of trouble to focus on his work, a little bit lazy lately but he is still managing it well and he is balanced enough to know when to rest and when to work. He has been having a lot of money too, spending quite a lot. I feel like he writes a lot about his experiences.

Health:

Physical: X

Emotional: He sometimes feels like his mind is a prison he cannot escape of

Dates: 2, 7 and 17 (Days or December)

Soobin

Love: He is still single after his last breakup and it seems like despite his “male energy” and despite seeing people sometimes fo this needs he gets bored easily and he runs away from everyone when things get too attached. He also hasn’t”’t forgotten about his ex yet.

Career: He had been having some trouble when it comes to his career to know what he really wants. However he is surrounded by professionals that help him making the right decisions. He wants to try acting

Health:

Physical: Needs to be careful with hair loss, his skin and his face in general but also his bones and backs. Needs to eat more properly

Emotional: He is in a bad state mentally, depression episodes happen often, he doesn’t sleep or eat well, a lot going on in his mind and he feels extremely lonely

Dates: 21 November, 5 days or December and 6 months

Beomgyu

Love: Still in his realtionship with he same person however it feels like the realtionship became more “open”. He is happy with the situation he has now, free to be with that person and still see other people if he wants to. He knows he is “impossible to love and love”. It feels like he has been ignoring/havign conflicts with his family as well

Career:  Things rent going very well for him when it comes to his career. He has a lot of burdens and work that he doesn’t know how to manage, he feels stressed everything he has to do something idols related and there’s a lot of conflict and arguments within himself but also with his staff, company and members.

Health:

Physical: He should check for any heart disease and his digestive system, he needs to eat a little more and eat healthier

Emotional: Stuck in the past but overall okay

Dates: tomorrow, 1st of December, 26 of November, 13 days or December

Taehyun

Love: It seems that since my last reading, Taehyun had someone in his life however they have broke up like two weeks ago. He is currently moving on from that place and it was also due to cheating (don’t know who did it tho)

Career:  Things are equally complicated when it comes to projects that have been negative to him and poor money income as well. I feel like he has someone in the company that enjoys putting difficulties in his life however he knows about it

Health:

Physical: Stomach aches are recurrent

Emotional: Not in his best state of mind either, he has a lot of negative self talk and bad ideas? Despite knowing it’s not a good thing he can’t help it

Dates: 8 days or December, 15 days or December, 28 of November

Kai

Love: It seems like Kai had his eyes on someone but things didn’t go his way. He feels slightly betrayed and disappointed because he really thought that this could work out with this person. I also feel like he has no luck in life at the moment due to karmic blockages and energetic blockages

Career: He fought with someone (I don’t know if its a teammate or someone in the company) but this person also doesn’t want him any good (just like Taehyun’s situation) and are here to make his life more complicated. He comforted this person however but he is still very angry about his career situation

Health:

Physical: He should check for diabetes or insulin levels, bladder and kidney troubles  

Emotional: X

Dates: 18 and 14 (days or December) , 27 of November

[atztranspm]

San PM 7 : 07/27/23

Deueueureureuk

Drrrrrr *in english*

I couldn't sleep so I opened the door

Hello *in english*

I'm not sleeping, I'm rolling around

Right now it's 3:21 am!

I'm listening to music!

Dried flower- yuuri

This song is good!

I'm not tired!

I think I have good stamina

Movie recommendations um

I haven't really seen any movies lately

(He did a random live so uhhh let me summarize it for uuuu)

Many atiny were recommending movies for him and someone said that he should watch the barbie movie. He asked if it was good (it is btw, I cried) he said he wanted to watch elemental cuz there's a character that looks like yunho in it. He laughed and I just wanna say....his laugh is the best thing I've ever heard. He joked saying yunho wasn't in the movie but the character named wade resembled him a lot.

He started singing and humming some songs, one of them was limitless and the other was the song he recommended "dried flowers" he said since this was his mart, he's just give the customers what they wanted but then when everyone started requesting songs for him to sing he said that he was out of stock 💀💀.

Someone asked if he was having difficulty getting used to the time zones and he said that since korea and Japan are in the same timezone, it isn't that hard.

He said he needed to sleep since he had waterbomb tomorrow....he didn't go to sleep....

He saw that we like the cosmopolitan photoshoot a lot and he said that he would upload some behind the scenes pics he had (he uploaded them btw, they're beautiful)

He said he hadn't taken any selfies recently (he said he felt embarrassed with the red hair in an earlier PM) but he said he wanted to share these since theyre somewhat recent.

He read a comment about how handsome he was and he was like "but you can't even see my face" 💀💀 since this was a voice only live. He was like "do you mean my voice is handsome? You like my voice?"(yes sir we do) he teased us a little before saying he was going to end the live and go back to texting.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It's interesting

The function is nice right?

I should go to bed now

For tomorrow

Hurry and sleep tight

Have a nice day

There are probably some people working hard right now

Hwaiting ❤️

(He did this for me btw, he knows I really like his voice....jk I'm just delusional)

He said that it would be better to say goodnight so we can all hear his voice.

He said the chat was so fast but read out some comments that said goodnight, goodbye and sleep tight. He wished us back the same. He said he was really going to sleep now and said goodnight to those going to bed and for those where it's day, he said to have a good day and to spend it having fun.

He did his signature little goodbyes

"I love you 3000"

He saw some saying 3001 4000 5000 and he laughed saying he would always love us more.

"Goodnight"

"I love you 3000"

"Bbyong <3"

(San is so precious I wanna keep him in my pocket)

[foxys-fantasy-tales]

OC Kiss Week - Food (LyraXNoel)

This is late, but a surprise week long visit from mother-in-law and other factors have had me scrambling to do these. This one turned out really good though! Here's your first taste of some of the main characters in my book to be released in October, Made to Taste!

The hustle of working in her kitchen was nothing new, but Lyra was having difficulty keeping up tonight. Her hands flew over dish after dish as she added her usual special touches, yet she continued to disappear after about every fifth one. Her scarlet heels were kicked off in favor of a pair of folded up flats she kept in an otherwise unused drawer in the crowded room. As she wiped some sweat off her brow, Noel tapped on her shoulder and passed a glass of ice water into her hand when she turned. 

“Oh, thanks,” Lyra mumbled. The drink was sublime and soothed all the way down her parched throat. The glass was held to her forehead. Condensation fell and blended in with her own perspiration. 

“You should take a break. You’ve been in here all night long. You know I got this by now.” 

“I do.” She smiled warmly and took another sip before she could speak. “You’ve proven yourself well over the last year. That’s why.” 

The mischievous allusion flew right over his head as Rosie jumped up into the serving window from the other side. Her sing-songy tone had dropped as usual around the end of shift, but she was just as light on her feet as ever. Lavender buns were coming a tad undone over her pointed ears. Lyra stood to go warn her, but her legs wobbled and leaned her back against the counter by force. 

“I got this one,” Noel said. 

“No, really. It’s fine.”

“Stay,” he insisted. 

She watched his ice blue hair disappear from the slit of a view to the dining room. The door stopped its sway and banged back into place over the most annoying loose board in her restaurant. She had to get back to it, so with a groan of effort Lyra raised herself back to full height and returned to work. 

With the workday winding down and only that last order on her to-do list, Lyra called an early close and sent Noel to the front with Rosie to keep him preoccupied with her gossip. Sheryl had to head out for her father’s sake, so she was left plenty of space to finish up dishes. However, Noel eventually noticed how the place began to carry a sweeter scent. Her hands stopped when she heard him mention it to Rosie, but she played it off as well as Lyra could have asked for. Having a best friend with so many sugar hungry fae siblings had a perk or two. She’d get some actual cookies by the dozen for it tomorrow, if she still had feeling in her wrists at least. 

The last ring of the front doorbell signaled their patron had left. Rosie waved farewell not long after as Lyra peeked through the serving window and yelled for her to have a good rest. That only left the two, her and Noel. Her ears burned as she tried to hide a cloche  with her back, but she was far too thin for that with how Noel’s eyes trailed straight to the silver glint. 

“What’s this?” 

Well, she was going to tell him anyway. Even if it wasn’t optimal now, no way to go but forward.

“It’s, uh, a gift for you.” 

“A gift? Feel like you barely let me do a thing tonight. What would I need a gift for?” He huffed and slumped into the stool by the sink. All black clothing swallowed him up like a void while he flipped a bit of shadow between his fingers. That pout was enough to crush her.

“I thought you deserved a bit of a break. After all, you’ve taken over multiple times over the last year when I’ve been ill.” 

“Ill?” He scoffed. “You mean hurt.” His eyes closed as the shadow grew in his palm, but then it closed and the lump dissipated into wisps, then nothing. 

“Yes, hurt,” she whispered. The topic was sensitive. Not a great place to go when she meant to be romantic. No, she put too much effort into making this a surprise. 

The cloche was removed to let the salty, savory scent of nacho cheese out into the room first, but the sweet undertones followed and wrinkled up his nose with confusion. Surprise, confusion, she’d take it. 

The chair leaned back and careened back onto all four legs as he jumped up with a thump. He shrugged up his shoulders, as if stalking the plate like a hunter. 

“You don’t need to be so tight,” Lyra said. 

“You made me…cheese fries?” He swiped one to try. Once the soft crunch of the crinkle cut potato gnashed between his teeth and spread gooey cheese and mined peppers and onions along his tongue, he hummed. “Tastes just like the first you made me.” 

“Right on the money.” Lyra beamed and held another soaked fry close to his lips. He licked the cheese off slowly while making direct eye contact, causing her to drop the fry to the floor with a heavy flush of her cheeks. 

“Why’d you go and hide this then?” He chuckled. 

“W-Well,” she rasped, “It’s been a year. A year to the day has gone by since I hired that beat up guy at my restaurant who couldn’t even hardly pay for some regular fries.” 

“And yet you made a supreme platter with the works out of them along with a whiskey sour and gave them free of charge, like a madwoman.” Noel crunched into another, salivating over the delicate mix of textures and spice. There was a burger sat onto the tray as well that drew his eye. Even for her, the composition looked too perfect. 

“I gave them because you needed it. This place has always been meant to be a haven for our kind, and you aren’t the only free meal I’ve given out. But, the point here is…” Lyra paused and ran her hands over one another. They were dry and cracked from the winter cold. Even when she fed regularly, winters were hard for her kin. 

Noel paused his feast to grab both her hands and shake his head. His piercing powder blue eye and constant void of the other stared through her own until she had to duck away in shame. 

“I thought you said you were getting blood from Jasper lately.” 

“I um… I did. Once, at least, I did. I got distracted here lately. It’s been so nice to be back at work again.” 

“Lyra.” His eyes narrowed. That simple namecall was enough to make her heart race, but he added more heat with his fingers tugging gently through the red waves of her matted hair. “You should have just asked me. You know you can feed from me anytime.” 

“I know! But, since your incident… You’ve been a touch averse to seeing your own blood. I wanted to give you time to heal.” 

“You think seeing you starve is gonna help?” 

“I’ve lasted without before,” she argued. 

He held her hands up to her face. The bits of flaking skin and the off color of her skin were beginning to really show. Lyra frowned. 

“Seeing you hurt is worse for me.” Noel’s voice went low, almost husky as a bit of shadow skirted his lips and slipped back between into his mouth. He groaned and bit to vanish it like the rest. Her back arched over the counter as he leaned her back nose to nose. The beating of her heart and his were all she could hear, the call of his blood to her as her own cried out. 

She was weak to it where once she’d been so resilient. Noel was to blame. Decades of abstinence from blood, yet her fangs suck into his freely exposed neck as the butterscotch flavor suffused her with the same energy as the real thing. The rush of adrenaline and nutrients made her body sag in relief. A bit too fast, as Noel failed to catch her and they both sank to the floor together. He’d grabbed a handful of his gift, as she heard him feeding as she did. A chuckle caught too deep in her throat to hear aloud, but the sucking and soft growls were just theirs. Their little secret. 

Noel rubbed at her back with his clean hand until she finished. He was weaker, more pallid, but his smile was free and light. He reached for a dish towel to clean off the bit of blood still running before it reached his shirt, then the cheese from his fingers, or what wasn’t licked off at least. Lyra was still in a rosy haze as he stood with some support from the counter. That burger looked damn good now. He licked his lips and Lyra looked up just in time to watch him take a big bite, but he noticed too late her eyes were wide with horror. 

What was expected to be a needed boost of protein invaded his mouth with clay texture followed by the soft give of cake, then more clay that was so sweet his tongue became a sticky, terrible mess as he tried to chew and not spit. 

“It’s a cake! I thought it would be cute to make a cake to celebrate and go with the fries! Oh dear…” Lyra clasped her hands over her mouth. His face said it all, but he managed to swallow. Suddenly, pealing laughter erupted from him so hard he had to hold his stomach. 

“Don’t make it look that goddamn good then! Putting a cake next to actual food? Lyra! That’s villainous!” 

“It was supposed to be cute! You didn’t give me a chance to warn you!”

The laughter went on for a full three minutes before it began to subside. Lyra had been helped to her feet and set on the stool to give time so her feeding could kick in. Noel went back to snacking on the fries as the cake burger lay untouched.

“Was it that bad?” Lyra asked. 

“I wouldn’t say bad, but unexpected. We can share it with the others tomorrow.”

Lyra nodded. She’d bask in the shame until then. Her ears were still burning as he tucked back some of her hair. 

“Hey,” he whispered close and warmed her by a few more degrees. 

“Yes?” 

His answer was a swift kiss, so soft and sudden she’d nearly mistaken his intention before he leaned in to make it known. Shadows at his back were the last she saw as her eyes shut, then their heated grasp wrapped around her as an embrace. Her arms were entangled, but even they couldn’t tell which was the hunter now. Her fangs still glistened with blood and leaked iron into their kiss. His void threatened to pull her into a bliss she wouldn’t wish to leave. 

[vsnotresponding]

CHAPTER 8 - PROGRESS - KARMA II

masterpost

Finally. Information straight out of the origin, knowledge reserved for the creators for centuries, inaccessible to the rest of the world. Finally, in our hands.

Then why do I feel bad.

The new plan, nothing more than a modified version of the original one, it’s still risky and precarious. But we are taking the measures necessary to assure its success. After a sleepless night, Áine and I decided on the best course of action, with Garvan’s occasional suggestions.

We need more tests, to play with different variables and scenarios to assure we have enough data. And then we’ll reintroduce the alziwaq, possibly modified, to Ira. Little by little so her body gets used to it, without stopping the tests to make the necessary changes.

She was terrified about it, but it should work.

So we keep working without rest. We test her, analyze her blood before and after them, even if she’s not too kin on the idea at first. We change distances and difficulty, put obstacles or ease her way, giving her other imitations and my creation to use as a crutch.

The queasiness in my stomach doesn't leave me, thought. It stays, and it gets worse with each connection she makes, with each destroyed imitation. With each exhausted sigh she lets out after we are done.

It's after another endless afternoon of work that I approach Ira. Garvan's gone to fetch the rookies, and Áine's busy on the other side of the room getting it all ready for tomorrow.

She's leaning backwards on the floor, hair sweaty and sticking to her brows. Her chest still heaving from the effort she goes through every time she connects for us, a faint rumbling coming from her lungs at times. When I find her eyes, she's looking at me in a funny way.

“What?”

“I just—” I whisper as I look at Áine's back, my hand on my ear. I don't need to look at Ira to know that amused her. “I just wanted to say sorry.”

“For?” I look at her and she looks at me. Yeah, for what. Everything? Anything she wants me to be sorry for? I don't know, I just…

“Our conversation the other day got cut, and I… I didn't… I can't know what it must be like to go through all what you are going through right now. And, yeah. It's our fault, and…”

“Dude.” Her head moves back to better look at me, still standing next to her. “It's fine. Well, it's not fine. I give y'all shit about it, yeah, but don't take it to heart, mkay?”

I don't know how to tell her that that doesn't make much sense. Still, I had more to say to her, no matter a half-assed apology. Making sure Áine's far enough not to hear me whisper, I crouch next to her. She leans forwards.

“I wanted to tell you that I haven't told them about your friend.” I can't see her reaction because I'm looking at the floor next to her hand, but I feel her tense up. “And I won't. I'll keep the secret, no conditions, no nothing.”

She's silent for a whole minute before answering.

“I don't know how much your word is worth. You know that, right?” I look at her eyes. Yeah, I know. Still…

“I promise I won't. I… I know I haven't earned your trust.” That amuses her for some reason. “But I still… I still promise I won't.”

“I know the protest got way worse.” Her voice stops me from getting up, and I fall on my but. A flitting smile crosses her face before turning serious again. “I don't need to be a genius like you guys to figure that out. No, don't say anything,” she says when I open my mouth. Her eyes move to the sky beyond the window. “Just—I don't even know why am I telling you this—, just watch out for news of him. If, if that's even a thing you can do.”

I nod, but I don't know how I could do that. It's not like I can go and ask around if they've seen a creator with a scar across his cheek. She knows that too, I think. Her eyes are sad when she looks back at me.

“What we are doing… these tests… They'll help keep him safe. And your athir. If—” No. “When we succeed.”

I stay with her on the floor until Garvan comes back, in silence.

The days blend into one another, and I lose all sight of time. At some point, a new summer storm breaks out, the strong wind hitting the walls of the palace making it difficult to fall asleep even if we are exhausted. It doesn’t bother me much, the strange hours I’m forced to keep because of it helping us to progress even more, bringing me closer and closer to fulfilling the promise I made to my mom.

At last, when the storm passes and the thunder fades away, I can finally sleep after what feels like an eternity of constant work.

I exit my room refreshed, after midday, ready for another day of calculations and corrections, of progress. Sher surprises me outside, leaning on the opposite wall to my room. I tense up immediately.

“Do you know what day it is today, Oghan?” My body finds itself defensive at once. I look back at him, trying to guess his meaning.

I’m unsuccessful. He sees so, and walks towards me. Smirks. I wait for the hit to land.

“This morning…” he pauses on purpose to see me start to panic. What have I forgotten? “You missed the arrival of my fiancée. Sahare of Derya, a charming young woman. She longed to meet you too, she’s interested in your… little experiments.”

My stomach drops. It can’t be. Not today, that I’ve allowed myself to rest after days of working nonstop. I jump when Sher lets his hand fall on my shoulder and I look at him terrified. I can imagine what’s coming now.

“Our dear father wants to talk to you.” I nod, mute. I can’t feel my legs. I can’t feel my body. I stay paralyzed looking at the floor. He squeezes my shoulder as he slightly shakes me. “Now.”

He has to physically drag me to the shahin’s study, strangely gently. My mind chaos, every step and odyssey of its own to my body that fights back against every centimeter we move in that direction, to my body that wants to flee back to my study.

We arrive, the door guardless, even if we’ve passed a dozen on our way here. I force myself to rise my eyes from my beat up boots, to face the wooden carvings on the door, of ships and birds.

I swallow, the bile climbing my throat. Sher gives me a last slap on the back before he goes, which makes me stumble, to right myself with a hand on the door.

“Good luck, little Oghan.”

And then, I’m in.

tag list (ask to be added or removed): @my-cursed-prince @on-noon @aquil-writes

[tnc-n3cl]

Castlevania Fic snippet

Well, it might be more like a rough draft of a chapter but...

Anywho, I finally watched the Castlevania (2017) anime series (had been sitting on the DVD's for a year now) a couple weeks ago and the Castlevania brainrot set in.

So of course the fic ideas started brewing, based on some old hypothetical game ideas I had. Don't have a title for this particular project yet, but it's spooky season and I also wanted to post this before I explode with the force of a thousand suns.

So here you go! There's some German in here, mostly from Google Translate cause I didn't learn enough with my two semesters in collage. So if anyone happens to know German and has better suggestions to the dialog I'm open to it.

Content warnings: Graphic violence, blood and gore, monster beheading/dismemberment, harsh language (in German), mentions of historical wide scale destruction, brief mention of nudity

Inside of a modern building a man and woman are hanging a large painting, both of them are of European descent.  The woman has long black hair tied in a ponytail and green eyes and is wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans.  The man is similarly dressed, but his shirt is grey.  He has on a pair of black framed glasses and has short cut brown hair.

After a moment they finish their work and the man says, “Du weisst…”

She turns to him and he continues, “…We could have just had the workers do this in the morning.  The exhibition isn’t until 7 PM tomorrow.”

She nods, “Yes, however this is my big debut and I want everything to be perfect.”

Then she pulls the protective sheet off of the painting.  It depicts a scene of absolute carnage, monsters rampaging the streets of Graz, Austria circa 2057 AD attacking people left and right.  Buildings burning in the background, soldiers desperately holding the creatures back.  Her attention focuses on one of the city’s defenders, a pale skinned man with long blond hair wearing a black trench coat of sorts with gold trim and wielding a thin bladed long sword.

She based the painting on what she saw in an old book she found when she worked at the Volkskundemuseum, supposedly it belonged to someone who lived in the city at the time.  Whomever it was must have recently migrated to the country, the text was written in Arabic.  Most of the text was damaged due to the age of the book, and what survived must be from a dialect that has been lost to time due to the difficulties in translating it.

What was translated, along with the sketches in the book, conjured this scene of nightmarish horror.  Beasts from the depths of hell itself rampaging through the city…

“Jana,” the man says, pulling her attention away from her work, “Did you have to pick something so violent?”

She chuckles, “I didn’t know you were so squeamish Oskar.”

The man rolls his eyes in response and she smiles before continuing, “The Horrors of The Cataclysm have been an interest of mine since I was a little girl.”

He scoffs, “And you really believe a bunch of monsters rampaged through the city a thousand years ago?”

She shrugs, “Well something happened.  We’ve found overwhelming evidence that nearly half the city burned.  Not to mention all the ruins scattered across the rest of the world.  The old maps that clearly show the world looked quite different in those days.  Then there’s the horribly mangled skeletons…  And it was 1,071 years ago by the way.”

He rolls his eyes again, “And yet no monster remains have been found.”

She turns to face him, “True, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out there waiting to be discovered.  But I suppose that it could have been natural disasters and/or wars like everyone says.  Still, it makes for a captivating piece, don’t you think?”

“It does,” he turns to her and smiles, “Now then, it’s getting late and we should be going.”

She glances at her wristwatch, it’s 7:00 PM already!  “Damn, she says, we’d better hurry or we’ll lose our reservations!”

The pair hurry towards the exit and grab their coats and lock up as they leave.

Outside, the light of the full moon reflects off of the snow covered ground.  Text on the building reads, “Halle für Kunst Steiermark”

“It’s a beautiful night,” Jana remarks.

“That it is,” the man replies, “We should cut through the Stadtpark, it’ll be quicker.”

“Right,” she agrees and the two head southeast down the sidewalk. 

This part of Graz escaped The Cataclysm a millennium ago relatively unscathed, most of the destruction was contained to the west side of the Mur River.  At the crosswalk, they wait for the traffic light to change, their breath turning to steam in the cold night air.  Once its safe to cross they continue on through the park.

As they approach the Wetterhäuschen, a pre-Cataclysm weather station, a heavy thud attracts their attention.  The two turn to find a man sized, wolf like beast behind them.  A werewolf!  Before either of them can react, the creature charges and knocks Oskar down and rips his throat out.

“Oskar!”  Jana screams in horror on instinct and the beast turns its attention to her!

“Oh Scheiße!”  She manages as she runs away as fast as she can.  She doesn’t get very far before beast jumps on her and pins her to the ground.  It bites her right shoulder and she screams in agony before she passes out.

A figure lands hard on the ground and the beast turns towards it, a man wearing black clothes under a black trench coat with armored shoulder and elbow pads.  He is wielding a large sword with a thick, curved blade in his right hand.  The man’s skin is dark brown, his eyes are yellow, and his long, brown hair is tied in a ponytail.

The werewolf predictably charges him and he grips his blade in both hands, lifts it to shoulder height and points it towards the beast.  As it leaps towards him and prepares to swipe its claws at him, he flawlessly sidesteps its attack and effortlessly swings his sword down on the beast, cleanly severing both its outstretched arm, and its head, from its body.

The werewolf’s corpse hits the ground with a series of thuds and the man shakes the sizzling blood from his blade with a dramatic swing.  The thin layer of silver he coated on his blade has done its job and what’s left of the lycanthrope ignites and slowly reverts to human form as it burns to ash.

Beheading the creature would have been more than enough, but still, one can never be too careful when facing lycanthropes…

The male victim is dead, but what of the woman?  He walks towards her and looks her over, and his yellow eyes lock on the blood on her shoulder.  He leans down and examines it, and sure enough, there’s a bite mark.

“Damn, wasn’t fast enough,” he mutters to himself as he opens his trench coat and reaches for an inside pocket an pulls out a syringe containing a yellow liquid. 

It should prevent her transformation long enough to get her to a Bureau medical center.  Lycanthropy can be treated if one acts fast enough, but once the transformation occurs there’s no going back.  And with the full moon, there’s not much time… He prepares to inject her with the substance–

“Hören Sie sofort auf!”

“Lass das Schwert fallen!”

He looks back to find a pair of meddlesome police officers pointing their handguns at him.  Typical…

He sighs loudly before dropping his sword onto the ground with a loud clang.  Exasperated, he says, “Mein Name ist Alexander Cronqvist.” 

As he slowly stands with his hands above his head he continues, “I am a Senior Special Agent with the United Nations Special Investigations Bureau.  This woman is injured and requires the medical attention I am about to administer.”

The two cops look at each other for a moment before the one on the right responds, “Let’s see some identification.”

“We really don’t have time for this,” Alexander replies as he slowly turns to face them, “But since you insist.”

He slowly reaches into his jacket pocket to retrieve his badge and shows it to the two cops.  As they begin to lower their weapons, a sound from behind catches his attention.

“That was fast,” he quips as the woman, now fully transformed into a werewolf, rushes the officers.

Alexander quickly grabs the beast’s left wrist with his right hand and holds her back.  She quickly turns to swipe her other clawed hand at him and he drops the syringe and grabs her wrist.  The cops are lucky that Alexander is one quarter vampire!  No human could ever hope to hold back a raging, freshly turned lycanthrope!  Or any raging lycanthrope really…

She wildly snaps her jaws at his face while he holds her in place in spite of her thrashing about.  Her hot breath blows through his bangs as he quips, “You’re strong for a cub.”

Predictably, the cops begin wildly firing their pistols into the beast’s back and she howls in pain and rage.  Why couldn’t they just run away like last time?  It would have made things so much easier…

“Right then, let’s get this over with!”  Alexander shouts as he kicks the lycanthrope in the abdomen.

As she grunts in pain, he pushes her back, lets go of her wrists, rushes her, and finally lifts her up.  The cops struggle to reload their weapons and Alexander smirks as he tosses the beast at them.

The lycanthrope slams into the cops and knocks them down.  She quickly gets up and growls at him.  He holds out his right hand and summons his enchanted sword to him.  He catches it and grips its black leather wrapped handle tightly.  The beast narrows her eyes at him as he grips the blade in both hands like before and points its tip towards her.

As he prepares himself to end this poor woman’s misery, he muses on the irony of slaying lycanthropes with the Crissaegrim.  Its ornate hilt is happed like a wolf’s head, with the bade emerging from the wolf’s mouth.  Armando Gandolfi’s cheeky little nod to Alexander’s father’s ability to transform into a wolf.  Armando had made this sword nearly 900 years ago for him, but he already attached to his own sword and gifted it to Alexander.  Not to mention he felt a bit put off by wielding something a version of himself in another world used…

Suddenly the beast puts her arms over her head and shakes her head back and forth as if in pain.  Then she begins contorting violently.

He raises an eyebrow as the beast lets go of its head and howls in agony.  His eyes widen as the howls shift into human screams followed by a thud upon the ground.  He lowers his blade and mutters, “Well that’s new.”

It suddenly gets darker and Alexander looks up to see a cloud pass overhead and it begins to snow.  He faces forward and cautiously approaches the woman, now transformed back into a human and unconscious on the ground.  The two cops are also unconscious.  Good, they can’t get in his way now.  Unfortunately, though the gunshots from earlier will likely attract more…

Lycanthropes are unable to revert to human form until years after their initial transformation.  Until then they’re effectively just mindless beasts.  And given that it’s the full moon she should not have changed back.  Even if she hadn’t reverted back before the clouds obscured the moon.  And it takes decades for were-beasts to be able to control their transformations.

Unless one or both of her parents were werewolves of sufficient age to control their form…  But then she should have been able to fend of the beast that attacked her, and wouldn’t have been affected by the bite...

Alexander sheathes his blade into the scabbard at his left hip before reaching into his jacket pocket and taking an ornate pocket watch with a mobius strip design on the top.  He’d rather not use it but he needs more time.

He opens it and channels his magical powers into the relic.  The hands of the clock spin rapidly for a moment and then stop and an energy field envelops the surrounding area and beyond it the falling snow freezes in place.  The ancient stopwatch is one of several relics that can temporarily alter the flow of time.  They’re extremely rare and require great amounts of power to use, but it doesn’t take as long to activate as a time altering spell.  Not that Alexander has mastered any…

The watch begins counting down, he’s bought himself an extra 15 minutes.  He closes the stopwatch and places it in his trouser pocket and takes a blue oval shaped object and his badge out of his jacket pockets before placing the garment over the woman’s body.  He places his badge on his belt and opens the blue object, revealing several shards of magic mirror that coalesce into a transmission mirror.  He traces a circle across it and it opens a portal to the armory at HQ. 

Alexander unhooks his sheathed blade from his belt and sticks it the portal.  The male armorer takes the weapon and places it in the appropriate slot.  There will be fewer questions if he’s only armed with the two pistols holstered at the small of his back than if he’s carrying an enchanted sword almost as long as he is tall…

The portal closes and the transmission mirror returns to its case, which he places in his trouser pocket.  Then he examines the woman, there’s a strange, circular birthmark on her left shoulder.  Well, it’s rather unusual to have a birthmark that’s a perfect circle.  In the center, there appears to be the shape of a claw raised up slightly.  Then there’s the strange symbols on the circumference of the mark.  They appear to be some kind of language, but he’s unfamiliar with it.

Really it looks more like a tattoo…  He remembers seeing the remains of a similar circular birthmark on what remained of her right shoulder after the werewolf attack, but there were no marks like this on it.  He moves her slightly and notices a larger circular birthmark on her back, also with similar patterns.  And a wolf shaped section in the center… 

“Hm, I’ve never seen magic like this before,” he tells himself as he stands up.

He takes his flip phone out of the case on his belt and walks over to the two cops and disarms them.  Then he takes their handcuffs.  He quickly selects the SIB’s Austria Branch’s number and quick dials it and turns on speaker phone as he handcuffs the officers. 

As he finishes, the enchantment on the phone finally cuts through the interference of timeshift field and the call connects, “United Nations Special Investigations Bureau, Austria Branch,” the man on the line says.

“SSA Cronqvist, 7035DS, reporting in, with a code 35,” Alexander says as he takes the call off speaker phone.

“Oh, dear!  Where are you?”

“I’m at the Stadtpark in Graz, by the Wetterhäuschen between Burgring and Glacis.”

“Ah, good, the Styria branch is nearby, they should be with you shortly,” the sound of the operator clacking away at his keyboard can be heard, “How many bodies?”

“One human male and some werewolf ashes.  Two local law enforcement officers interrupted me and will need to get the usual debriefing and NDA.”

The operator chuckles slightly and clacks away at his keyboard.  Alexander grimaces, this is the fifth time this month alone he’s had to deal with meddlers.  He’s sick of Awande’s needling on his lack of stealth… 

He glances at the woman and adds, “Oh, and I’ll also need transport to the local safe house and an arcane specialist.  I subdued a lycanthrope.”

Perplexed, the operator responds, “Wait, so it’s a code 47 then?”

Alexander turns fully towards at the woman as the timeshift field fails and, utterly deadpan, replies, “I don’t think we have a code for this one…”

[bumbleklee]

when you’re sick

masterlist | 1k prompt masterlist | discord server | kofi

★ gonna work on the rest of the requests tomorrow but im sick as a dog </3

★ ft diluc, kaeya, childe and zhongli

★ cw: sickness, mentions of puking, sneezing, the whole ordeal + you're pregnant in kaeya's lol

diluc

when you're sick, diluc doesn't want to leave you alone

he's afraid you'll get a 106 degree fever and pass out or get up but be too weak and fall down somewhere

but he had a business to run and, really, you just had a cold

after convincing diluc that you would be fine for a few hours, he reluctantly left with promises to bring you home soup

After Diluc left for the day, you aimlessly wandered around the winery. You eventually curled up in the armchair that Diluc usually inhabited and pulled your legs into your chest. You had forgotten how annoying common colds were.

Your throat felt like it was on fire and anytime you sniffled, your chest heaved along with it. Not to mention the aching headache and constant back and forth between being too hot or too cold. You leaned your head against the couch and only came back to reality when you heard the front door open and close.

"I'm back," Diluc called out softly. You heard a bag rustling and alerted Diluc of your presence in the living room, your voice hoarse and raspy. He poked his head around the corner, "Feeling any better?"

"Not really," You groaned. Diluc walked over to you and leaned down for a kiss but you dodged his lips. "I don't want you getting sick!"

You swore Diluc pouted. "But we sleep in the same bed," He said quietly. You shook your head firmly. "Fine, fine. I brought you soup."

Diluc placed the soup on the coffee table and squeezed himself next to you on the armchair. You wanted to make another comment about keeping him healthy but decided against it, needing nothing more than the feeling of your husband right now.

kaeya

(reader is written as female but can be afab)

when you became pregnant, the elders in town said you were going to love pregnancy but right now, you hated it

your body was getting used to so many changes and it didn't know how to react

when you weren't overcome with fatigue, you were throwing up and when you weren't throwing up, you were in pain

It was early in the morning when you bolted up from bed to let out the contents from last night's dinner into the toilet. After throwing up, you sat back and wiped your mouth. You had read so many pregnancy books the last few weeks and many of them said sickness like this would stop once you entered your second trimester but you were already halfway through and you were still miserable.

After rinsing your mouth, you shakily stood up and climbed back into bed with your husband. He rolled onto his side and tucked a blanket back under your chin.

"We're never having another baby," You grumbled, curling into Kaeya's chest to try and alleviate the tension in your pelvis.

Kaeya laughed quietly but had a frown on his face, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," You sighed, "My body just doesn't like being pregnant, I guess."

Being five months along meant your baby was growing rapidly. Besides being constantly sick, your body was beginning to physically change and, Archons, it hurt. Your pelvis felt like it was being split in half sometimes and your back was already aching.

"I'm worried about you," Kaeya whispered, brushing a lock of sweaty hair off your forehead. You made a noise of acknowledgment and closed your eyes, hearing Kaeya's heart against your ear. "Do you want to see if Barbara can help tomorrow?"

"We'll see how I'm feeling," You said, exhaustion rolling over your body. Kaeya nodded and pressed a quick kiss to your temple. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kaeya said, "It'll all be over soon and we'll have a little baby to forget about the pain."

childe

you should have prepared yourself better for a month-long trip to snezhnaya

instead, you packed poorly and forgot half of the layers you were supposed to bring

so it really wasn't a surprise when you were bedridden with pneumonia a week into the trip

Childe knew something was wrong when you started complaining about difficulty breathing. You tried to stifle your coughs and blamed your shivers on the coldness but Childe knew better.

When you coughed up blood, he instantly knew something was very wrong and hired a healer to come by and check you out.

You were diagnosed with pneumonia and were immediately put on bedrest and given some medication. Childe stayed by your side the entire time and even though you tried to convince him to go and spend time with his siblings, he wouldn't.

When you slept at night, Childe stayed awake to hold your hand and when you were awake during the day, Childe napped next to you. When you had horrible coughing fits, throwing up mucus and blood onto your lap, Childe rubbed your back and cleaned you up.

Until you got better, Childe would be there.

zhongli

when you began to have stomach aches, you played it off as a little bug you caught

but zhongli knew you better than that, knew your body better, and when you collapsed on the kitchen floor into a fetal position, he had no doubts something was severely wrong

within minutes, you were in baizhu's infirmary with a kidney infection

"How are you feeling?" Zhongli asked quietly as he stepped behind the curtain and sat down on the edge of your bed. Your complexion was so pale, so lifeless, and it really scared him. 

“Like someone is twisting a knife around my gut,” You groaned. Baizhu had given you pain killers but they were hardly helping. You seriously thought that if you moved an inch, you would throw up everywhere. 

Zhongli rubbed your knee comfortingly and smiled sympathetically at you. “Let me know if you need anything,” He said. “Do you want me to stay or go?”

“Stay,” You muttered, “Please, stay.” 

“Of course, Darling.” Zhongli moved so he was beside you, his back against the headboard. You moved your head onto his lap, groaning for a moment, before closing your eyes. Zhongli’s hands tangled in your hair and soon a fevered slumber began to take over. “I love you...”

“I love you, too. You’re going to be just fine,” 

[buckyownsmylife]

Young and Beautiful - Steve Rogers smut

The one where you were supposed to be a one-night stand, but Steve won't let that happen

Warnings: smut, and a little bit of angst.

A/N: this was our first ever patreon-voted fic, chosen for the month of May! My patreons at the $3 tier get to send me their ideas once a month and two of them end up being voted so I can write one of them each month. June’s fic is the one where Ransom needs to get a sugar mommy, and if you want to suggest a story for our July’s fic, please consider becoming a patreon! Thank you to my darling @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ for reading this over for me.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

The first time wasn’t a mistake, I could admit to that. Steve had been coming to the same bar where I worked for almost a year now. I knew who he was, of course. Everyone knew - he was hard to miss. But I think what he liked about our run-down place is that no one seemed to care about Captain America and the things he did when he didn’t have a bottle of beer in his hand.

Over here, he was just Steve. And Steve tipped well and drank a lot - I was sure he couldn’t get drunk, no matter how many beers I served him, but he never stopped asking me for more.

So, needless to say, he was adored. Adored by my boss, who was always around to keep watch of his customers and keep them in line. Adored by Luke, who guarded the entrance, for all the nights Steve helped him get rid of men who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. And adored by all the waitresses, for precisely the same reason - and because I always shared my tips with all of them.

Even the kitchen staff adored Steve. Besides, it’s not like he was hard on the eye - all the girls (customers and staff) were constantly fawning over him, but he was nothing short of a gentleman, always.

Actually, he seemed to avoid the members of the opposite sex as best as he could, clearly not interested in whatever it was that they planned to possibly get to do with him. Well, except for me.

He never avoided me. I always figured it was because I was the guardian of the alcohol - we’d even joke about it sometimes, when he came to sit by the bar after politely declining someone’s advances.

“It’s just hard to understand how to date nowadays,” he commented one day after a pretty girl actually asked him out on a date right in front of me, but he refused. I shrugged as I wiped the counter, thinking if there was any advice I could give him.

“It really isn’t that hard. You go out to dinner, walk her home and when you step in front of her door, you ask her for some coffee. She’ll usually do it herself, but if you want to show your interest…” His frown was amusing, to say the least, but I held back my laughter so he wouldn’t be even more uncomfortable.

“A coffee?” Giggling, I nodded. “Before bed? But…”

“It’s a metaphor, Steve. A lady can’t very well invite you into her sheets, now can she?” He blushed three different shades of red when I winked, another giggle escaping. “I mean, she can, but we like to keep some things unsaid - innuendos can be very sexy.”

Two months had passed and if Steve made use of my lessons, I wouldn’t know. He never brought anyone to the bar and never left with any lady who approached him either.

“What can I get ya, Steve?” I’d always ask. I’d never once called him Cap or anything other than the name he used to introduce himself - even though I obviously knew who he was. He always took his time before answering my questions, even if they required a simple yes or no, which amused me to no end.

For a while, I actually believed a gun or one of the buildings the Hulk had undoubtedly thrown in his direction had left him with a difficulty of hearing. But then after my first question, he never seemed to have any problem understanding me at all.

“Just a beer,” he’d say, a small, soft smile as he tried not to stare too much at me, fingers tapping on the counter while I got his order. I appreciated his effort not to make me uncomfortable - I knew he’d seen how often men did that to me. I had no doubt that was why he only ever looked me in the eye from under those huge eyelashes of his.

“There you go.” Always the same routine, we never once deviated from it. Until one night when I was supposed to close the bar and he heard my boss instructing me to be careful.

“There’s been a lot of robberies this late at night. Make sure you lock everything up properly.” I saluted in jest, making the old man laugh and shake his head at me. “See you tomorrow, kid.”

There were only a handful of customers - Steve included, and he was the only one by the bar, so I threw him a quick smile as I wiped the glasses and started to clean the counter.

“Can I get you anything else?” I offered, but he only grimaced in response, leaving me confused. “Is there something wrong?” He stared directly at me without answering for a while before he was able to snap out of whatever it was that had frozen him.

“You’re supposed to leave by yourself at two in the morning?” I chuckled lightly at his concern, avoiding his gaze so he wouldn’t see how it warmed my heart that he’d be preoccupied over me, someone that was a little more than a stranger to him.

“It’s part of the job,” I reassured him. “Well, usually it’s part of Luke’s job. But whenever he has to leave early, it’s my duty to fill in for him.” He nodded, but didn’t make any movement towards leaving. Usually, he would be gone by now, but it wasn’t that extraordinary for him to stay until the hour I left.

This was the first time he stayed this long though, considering I wasn’t the one responsible for closing the bar and I only realized it when I looked around and noticed we were the last two people left in the room.

“Planning on drinking much more?” I joked, trying to gauge if he was going to be much longer, but he seemed startled by my question, looking around to verify the same thing I’d just noticed.

“Oh, no. Not at all.” I smiled, thankful that he was conscious and wouldn’t force me to stay even longer after my shift had finished. “I just figured I could walk you home. It is pretty late, after all.”

My heart warmed up at how sweet and thoughtful this man was. He had no reason to wait for me to finish my job just to walk me home, yet here he was. “Thank you, Steve,” I acknowledged, sending him a grateful grin. “Let me just check the bathrooms real quick. I’ll grab my purse and we can leave.”

He nodded, watching me do as I said and in no time at all we took off together in the direction of my apartment. I wasn’t worried about making small talk with him on the way there - I knew he was a good conversationalist from all the times he had stayed by the bar instead of taking his beer to a table, and I adored the stories he told of his missions just as much as I appreciated how he genuinely cared about what I had to say.

The walk to my place seemed shorter than ever before, and in a few minutes we were standing in front of my door as I searched for my keys in my bag.

“C-Can I…” He murmured as I looked for it, glancing up at him and smiling to signal he should continue even though I couldn’t give him my full attention at that moment. “Would you… Do you have some coffee?”

I was so shocked that my head whipped up to stare at him, eyes wide and unbelieving. Did Steve… Did he… Did he want to have sex with me? “I mean… in your apartment, do you have some coffee in your apartment?”

The thought was so extraordinary that the second I realized his intentions, a fire of desire warmed my lower belly, not because he was Captain America, but because he was an attractive and sweet guy that was way out of my league and I couldn’t believe he was into me.

He kept talking as I kept blinking at him, trying to process what was going on. “’Cause I’d really like to have some coffee… with you… If you want some too…”

His voice got smaller the longer it took for me to answer him, until it disappeared completely and he cleared his throat. “Nevermind.” He was about to turn around and make a run for it, I was sure, but I was able to grasp his wrist just in time, signalling him to stop because I had something to say.

“I would love to make you some coffee, Steve.”

So yeah, the first time wasn’t a mistake. He was way too fucking sweet and I got hot just by seeing how nervous he was to ask me for some “coffee”, incredulous that I was capable of affecting this giant man that much.

So as soon as we were in my apartment, I tied up my hair with the little hair tie I always kept on my wrist during work and got on my knees for him.

And I cherished every fucking second of it.

The way his mouth fell open in a gasp when I reached for his jeans, the little moans he let out as I licked his member… I couldn’t close my eyes, too transfixed by his expressions to miss anything.

The way he pulled me by my hair to devour my mouth, hands so eager to undress me that he ended up ripping my blouse, but it only made me giggle.

The way his groan sounded almost painful when he picked me up, shoved me against the door and penetrated me, filling me so beautifully I hit my head back against the wood and didn’t even notice it.

He got me to cum without almost no preparation, just from the thrill of it all, the stretch of his member inside of me. When I urged him to cum in my pussy, the look on his eyes was enough to get me to cum again, milking him dry as he emptied himself with a growl, forehead dropping against mine while he tried to catch his breath.

I was expecting him to leave immediately or maybe stay for an actual coffee. I wasn’t expecting him to pull out, drop to his knees and start lapping his cum from inside of me, eyes as focused on mine as I had been for him only minutes before.

Burying my fingers in his short locks, I tried to keep myself up despite the way my legs trembled, but Steve just adjusted them so they’d be over his shoulders and held me up with his face buried in me.

I had never cum so many times in a row. But then again, I had never had a man eat his own cum out of me.

I fully intended it to be a one time thing, and that was my plan. I thanked him for eating me out, made him some coffee, giggled at his stories about his friends and for a second it almost looked like we were back at the bar, only the counter was my kitchen table and I was allowed to sit on the other side.

He didn’t ask to stay the evening and I breathed a sigh of relief after I closed the door behind him, ignoring the slight empty feeling that momentarily hit me. This is what I wanted, I reminded myself, and by acting the way I expected him to, he had made it clear that he understood the rules of the dating world he claimed to know so little of.

This was a one time deal. Nothing more.

But then the first night we saw each other at the bar again, it was when he burst through the door to punch some guy who came in just as I was closing, trying to steal the money we had in the vault. I was so fucking relieved to see his face that all I could do was tremble in his arms after the police came to get the robber, and of course I couldn’t let him go after that.

He walked me home and I didn’t even ask anything, just stood on my tiptoes to kiss his lips, using my grip on his shirt to pull him in as he helped me with my clothes.

“You’re so fucking pretty…” He moaned, and perhaps that should have been my first sign, the one that alerted me to stop what I was doing and not make this into a mistake I couldn’t take back.

He hadn’t talked the last time. He had never complimented me before.

“God, your ass…” He groaned as he palmed it, helping me over his lap when he took a seat on my couch, until I could fuse the both of us and ride us to hysteria.

But I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind because it felt so fucking good to be desired by him, to have him inside of me, cumming deep into my pussy only to eat it all out of me again.

It didn’t take long for me to learn about the errors of my way, though. In fact, it started the very next day, when he walked into the bar grinning from ear to ear and made a beeline in my direction.

“Hey, baby,” he greeted, and my eyes went wide as two saucers, especially when I saw him lean over the counter like he intended to peck my lips.

“Hello, Captain.” I quickly turned my back to him, facing the shelves of liquor to pretend that I was looking for something. My heart sank to my stomach as I took in what was happening, what I had just done in my effort to put some distance between us as if last night had never happened. “Can I get you anything?”

The time it took for him to answer almost had me looking at him from over my shoulder, but I restrained myself. “Yeah, you,” he finally said, and I breathed out in surprise. “Why are you acting this way?”

I panicked for a few seconds, reaching up for an already clean glass to attack it with my rag. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tried to reassure the both of us, still incapable of looking him in the eye.

But I could see his massive body by the end of the counter from the corner of my eyes, where he always sat, and I saw him tap the old battered wood with his fingers - fingers he had used to spread me open for his tongue to reach - as he thought.

I hoped he would let it go. I hoped he would not.

“Fine,” he relented, and I froze, uncertain of what he meant. “I’ll come back tomorrow.” My head snapped up just in time to watch him leave, and he didn’t even look over his shoulder.

I tried to tell myself it was for the best. He needed some time to get over whatever the hell it was that he thought he was feeling and tomorrow things would go back to normal. But that wasn’t what happened.

He came back with flowers the next day, and I didn’t have any reasonable excuse not to accept it. He didn’t push for anything, just gave me the bouquet before asking for his usual drink. And then he proceeded to stay the entire evening right there, where he always sat, carefully watching my every move.

For the first time in a while, I broke two glasses in a single evening.

The day after that, he came with a box of chocolates. I couldn’t hide the smile because they were my favorite - I didn’t know how he knew it until he reminded me.

“You told me you liked them right when I started coming to this place.” His eyes were so heavy with a sad feeling that I couldn’t recognize that I had to avert my gaze. It messed with my heartbeat, it left my throat feeling dry.

“Thanks, Captain,” I softly acknowledged it, and I saw the way his grip on the box tightened. I saw it in the way it was slightly crumpled when I took it from his hands, but he didn’t say a word.

There was only so much that he could take, though. And I knew that. It didn’t help that my boss had caught onto his intentions and started to push me to go out on a date with him.

“Why don’t you give the poor guy a chance?” He’d incite, much to Steve’s utter glee.

“Yeah, Y/N. Why don’t you go out with me?” Steve urged, and although he never asked when my boss wasn’t around to initiate the teasing, I knew he wondered.

And the truth was that I wondered about it too. Because everything was screwed up now. When I gave him his beer and our fingers brushed, mine were left tingling. When I looked his way to find his gaze already on me, I shivered.

So yes, the second time was undeniably a mistake, but there wouldn’t be a third time. I’d make sure of it.

Steve’s P.O.V.

I was tired of waiting. I knew I had wanted her since the first time I laid my eyes on her, when I decided to stop at this rundown bar in the hopes of one night of crappy beer without being bothered by anyone asking for autographs or pictures.

I’d come here almost every night when I could escape the tower to watch her work, slowly getting her to warm up to me, and I fell for her personality in the process.

The way she clearly saw me as Steve, and not my title.

The way she always laughed at my stories and shared what had happened in the previous nights with the raucous customers.

The way she seemed to care about everyone and everything that came into contact with her.

So what started as desire became something deeper and for the first time since I was unfrozen, I found myself eager to understand what dating in this new century was like. I asked Sam for advice, and even Tony for any tips he could give me, but their general ideas didn’t matter to me when all I wanted was one single person.

Her.

So I asked her for her thoughts on the matter and was surprised with myself when I put them into practice. I was even more surprised when she accepted my advances and welcomed me into her embrace.

I was sure I’d never been happier than that evening.

But to have her pretend nothing had happened and even worse - treat me like a stranger after I had learned the taste of her skin? Nothing hurt deeper than that.

And still, I understood. I realized then that she hadn’t seen the situation the way that I had. She had thought all I wanted was a one-night deal - well, two-night deal - because I had never shown her anything to make her think differently.

So I set out to do just that. My way this time. And I was just about ready to ask her on a proper date when I was forced away for a whole damn month, having to resort to my hand and my memories of her body to get through the cold nights on the field.

The second I was back in the city, I only had one thing in mind. To get what I wanted, in whatever way she would let me.

“Can we talk?” My voice sounded clipped to my own ears, and maybe that’s why her mouth opened in surprise - or maybe it was seeing me at the bar so early, when there was barely anyone around, after being absent for so long.

“Sure,” she finally accepted, shrugging like it was no big deal, but I knew better than that. She might not know it, but I could read her perfectly, and I knew she was hiding her true feelings even to herself. I knew those feelings were deeper than she had ever felt. I knew they made her scared.

“Not here.” She stopped cleaning glasses then, frozen for a second before she looked around, taking in the fact that no one else was going to need her for a while. There was nowhere to run and maybe I was a jerk for doing this during her work hours, but I was a desperate jerk and I couldn’t wait a second longer.

“Okay.” She sounded small, and I knew what she was expecting to get out of this conversation. Closure, in one way or another. For me to finally let go of her. But I wouldn’t.

I wanted her too damn bad to let her escape like that.

“Go out with me.” I asked the second that the office door was closed behind us, and she immediately started shaking her head. “Yes, please,” I insisted. “Let me show you that I want more from you. I want so much more.”

“I can’t give you more,” was her answer, and she still avoided my eyes as she spoke. “One night, you even had two. That’s all I can give you. Please don’t ask me for anything more.”

“Why?” I asked, and the frustration in my voice was enough to get her to meet my eyes for the first time that evening. “Why are you trying to avoid this? I know you want me, Y/N. You wouldn’t have slept with me if you didn’t. So just tell me why.”

“I can’t,” she insisted, moving towards the door, but I grasped her hand to stop her before she could slip through it - much like she had done that first night, when I thought I’d screwed up any chance I had to ever be with her.

“Tell me why you’re holding yourself back from me,” I ordered, anger and desire creating an explosive cocktail inside of me, making my voice hoarse. I saw her shiver. I watched her break.

“Because it was too fucking good and I swear to God, if you get your mouth on me again, I’m gonna marry you.” Our expressions mirrored one another, eyes wide, mouths hanging open. She couldn’t believe she had let out her feelings like this. I couldn’t believe there was all there was to it.

I dropped to my knees before her.

“Come here.” I shoved her jeans all the way down to her ankles, sending the button flying somewhere. I couldn’t tell where and I didn’t care. All I wanted was to show her that there was nothing wrong with wanting this, with wanting me because as long as she allowed me to, I’d give anything to be with her.

My tongue was so hungry to taste her sweetness again. I licked a stripe between her lower lips before I could even get my hand there, spreading her with my fingers for easier access.

God, she was heavenly. I watched her let her head fall back against the door, much like the first time I was able to be in this position, and my heartbeat fluttered at the realization that this time, I was much closer to getting what I really wanted from her.

“I’ve been terrified of my own feelings for long enough,” I decided to confess, parting from her clit to be able to speak but slipping two digits inside her hole, filling her up, preparing her to welcome me. “I can wait for you to come to terms with yours. But I can’t keep myself away,” I warned, quickening my movements as I chased away the taste of her in my tongue. “So don’t ask that of me.”

Her moan had my eyes sparkling with excitement. I lowered my head to suck her button, see the way it made her thighs tremble on each side of my face.

“So fucking sexy,” I moaned against her cunt. “Come for me, sweetheart. Drench my face.” Her little cry of ecstasy denounced she was about to do just that, so I twirled my tongue around her clit, rubbing my digits against her sweet spot as her body tensed under my ministrations.

“There you go…” I whispered, fascinated with the way she looked after her release. It was like she glowed from the inside, muscles relaxing to accept my caresses when I finished cleaning her with my tongue and rose to my full height.

“Next time you try to pretend something between us didn’t happen, I’m gonna bend you over the counter and spank your ass in front of all of the other patrons,” I warned her before nibbling her earlobe. “Go out with me,” I tried again, and she took a deep breath before answering, looking up at me from under her eyelashes.

“Okay.”

[raayllum]

can my eyes rest

Summary: Everyone experiences periods of burnout but Ezran, being king, has them younger than most.

Ezran is a good tempered kid, Opeli knows. He’s sweet, possibly too much so sometimes, deeply empathetic, and endlessly patient. She never knew him well before his father’s death, although she knew he was kind and mischievous, never far from his glow toad or another jelly tart. 

She knows he’s not himself, one March morning, when he snaps at his brother. Of the two, Callum is far more hot headed, but this morning, he’d been asking Ezran when the king was going to oversee some documents he’d drafted for Ez, and—

“I’ll get to it when I get to it, alright?”

Callum just blinks, seventeen and suddenly unsure for the first time in a while, and then quietly clears his throat. “Alright,” he says softly, and focuses on pouring himself a cup of apple cider.

Opeli thinks Callum would’ve said something, if it hadn’t been at breakfast surrounded by everyone, and if Ezran’s shoulders weren’t still haunched, his expression regretful and resigned as he sulked back in his chair, his brow furrowing even under his crown. And moreover, Callum is busy too, with his own schedule. Being his brother’s high mage is no easy task. They likely won’t see each other again until lunch.

Opeli’s schedule, strangely enough, has far more freedom, given that she’s by Ezran’s side nearly all day every day. He’s quiet during the morning, a bit more distracted. He doesn’t even try to lighten his tone. 

Opeli still remembers when Harrow had described Ezran’s difficulties in his lessons as a little boy, his hardship in making friends, and they’d gotten him prescribed a diagnosis. Burnout happens to everyone, of course, but as a young boy—as a young autistic child—Ezran would be particularly susceptible. Opeli has always known this.

He’s a good king, perhaps surprisingly good considering his age, but he’s still a child. It’s both easy and impossible to forget sometimes.

“Your Majesty,” she says, halfway through the morning when crowlord has left to wheel out one barrel of answered letters in order to bring in a new bunch. Ezran’s eyes are glazed over. He’s holding it together, but only just. “Perhaps you and I could go over some things with a walk in the garden?”

Ezran perks up and eyes her suspiciously. “Like... a break?”

She tilts her head. “Would that be so bad?”

That’s how she gets him away from the stone walls and into the sunshine, walking along the hedges. Ezran trails his hand over the trimmed leaves and branches, stops to watch a ladybug crawl up a stem. Opeli waits until he speaks first.

“Is this because I snapped at Callum this morning?”

“No,” Opeli says, looking over. Ezran’s face is downturned. “It’s because even kings need a break. And children especially do.”

He snorts, smiling a little. It’s the first smile she’s seen all day. “I’m thirteen, Opeli.”

“Still a child. But... I will ask that when you feel the need to get away, you will work on recognizing it and expressing it?”

Ezran looks at her then. “I’ll try,” he promises.

She reaches over and squeezes his shoulder. “Good. Now—” She shoos him further down the path. “Barius has the bakery open the rest of the day. You should enjoy it.”

He catches himself mid-grin. “But—”

“I will handle the work and we can start again fresh, tomorrow, Your Majesty.”

She expects Ezran to peel down the pathway with a grin after he turns to her, and she only stumbles a bit when he throws his arms around her in a hug. He’s still short enough that his top of his hair just brushes her chin. “Thank you, Opeli,” he choruses.

She softens further as he pulls away, her hands on his shoulders. “Of course,” she says. “Ezran. Now go on.”

He doesn’t have to be told twice.

Later, Barius carries him in from the bakery in time for dinner, after he’d eaten his full of jelly tarts and fallen asleep, and Soren makes sure he gets tucked in. Ezran murmurs an apology to his brother, and Callum and Rayla play cards with him until he falls asleep again. Bait, ever the loyal guardian, curls up in his arms.

And if Opeli lets him sleep in later the following morning, too, then who really has to know?

A king—a kid—needs his rest.

[yutahoes]

Yuta-Flavored Ice Cream

pairing: neighbor! Yuta x female! reader

genre: smut

word count: 1.4k words

warnings: slight age difference (Yuta is older), lots of kissing, grinding, foodplay (ice cream), oral (male receiving), mentioned sexual activities but not graphic, mention of cigarette

summary : (Title is very self-explanatory) A taste of your specially flavored ice cream. 

disclaimer : This is for fiction purposes only. I love ice cream. Please don’t kill me. 

Let's just say that this is a second part of Girl Next Door

Another project for Sunny Side event of @neosmutcollective

June 26 : Ice Cream

"What are you doing here?" Yuta asked, opening the door for the girl next door. 

She raised an eyebrow at him before giving her ice cream cone a bite. "Are you hiding another girl? And do you always open your door shirtless?" He chuckled, opening the door widely for her. "I'm bored at home. Mom keeps nagging." She complained, walking to the living room where his laptop is opened, papers scattered on the table. "Busy?" 

He nodded then sat beside her, rubbing the middle of his forehead. "I have to finish these tomorrow." He slid an arm behind her then held her hair while staring at the girl. "But I have time for you." He said in a soft voice and in no time, she was grinding on his thigh. 

Ever since the carwash incident, they started having this push and pull sexual attraction towards each other. She can enter his home freely and they found a way to enter her room without her parents knowing. Sometimes, when her folks are on call at night, he would spend time in her place. Or if they're at home, they will make a reason to go out and fool around in his car. 

He should have told her parents, knowing how much they trusted him with their daughter, but she was the one who didn't want to. "I came here for ice cream though." She whispered then licked his earlobe that earned a chuckle from Yuta. "Do you have some ice cream?" 

He gave her a kiss on the lips then tapped her to stand up and follow him to the kitchen. She sat on the counter island as he took the ice cream tub from the freezer, vanilla. "Here." He also handed her a spoon and she quickly threw the ice cream cone on the floor. 

She was staring at him while she licked the spoon. Yuta stood between her legs, hands on both sides of her. "Give me some." She scooped some ice cream and gave it to him, purposely letting some on his lips. The girl licked it clean for him, even humming in delight. "Enjoy your ice cream and I'll be…" 

He felt the cold dairy in his skin and he watched as it slid down his torso then stared at her. "Oops." She said before getting another spoonful and smearing it on his naked body. "You said you have time for me." She mumbled while putting more ice cream on his body. "Can I enjoy my Yuta-flavored ice cream?" 

The guy had to chuckle at that. "Just make sure to lick it clean." 

"Yes, daddy." 

He moaned when her tongue started licking the dairy on his collarbones, lightly sucking on the skin that made him hold the edge of the countertop. Her warm breath, in contrast with the cold ice cream, made him groan in pleasure. All his blood rushing to the organ muscle between his thighs. 

She made sure that his torso was spotlessly clean, giving more attention to his nipples and the line of his abdomen. Just when he thought she's done while kissing his neck, he felt yet another cold sensation by his lower torso. More ice cream. The girl smirked before sucking the freshly smeared ice cream on his body, repeating the lips and kisses that turned him on more. 

Yuta kissed her mouth, tasting the ice cream in her tongue, after licking him clean. "Daddy," she called, her hand heading south to where the bulge in his pants was forming. "Can I have my popsicle now?" She traced the outline of his cock, staring at him in such an erotic gaze that made him smile. 

He stepped backward as she slid down the countertop to stand in front of him, opening his pants and pulling it down with his underwear. His cock sprang up and she giggled. The cold air was replaced by her warm hand and the cold sensation of the sugary treat, making sure that all parts of his cock is covered with the vanilla ice cream. 

A groan escaped his lips as she pumped her hands on his cock, ice cream spilling on his kitchen floor. He held her chin, forcing a kiss on her lips. "I think that's enough. Now, be a good girl and take your popsicle." 

She kneeled down on the floor and the visual looks satisfying enough. Her eyes staring at him as she darted her tongue out to lick the tip of his cock. "Fuck!" Yuta cursed, gaze not breaking away from hers. She licked the underside from the base to the tip before licking his shaft clean with ice cream. Her hand fondled on his balls before her tongue replaced it to remove the creamy delight she smeared. 

Yuta's hand held on the edge of the countertop in pleasure. She's so good with her mouth, evidence was when she would suck him while they go on the drive. She knew how to please, with her tongue, with her lips, and that erotic face that made him crazy. Her eyes kept on his as she slowly devoured his cock, savoring inch by inch and humming in satisfaction. He could feel her tongue playing with the side of his cock while his tip reached the back of her throat. 

Fuck, she is so good.

He kept on sucking him, hollowing her cheeks, and even humming to have vibrations on her throat. His hand held her hair in a ponytail, pulling his cock out of her mouth but she stared at him in need. God, she's so pretty. And she's all for him. 

The girl licked the base of his cock, heading to the tip before wrapping her lips on the bulbous head. Her tongue swiped on the slit, tasting his precum. Yuta groaned in pleasure. She took him back in her mouth, taking his whole length even if she lightly gagged at his size. Such a good girl.

There were tears in her eyes when she looked up at him and she looked so prettier in his eyes. The girl let go of his cock then breathed hard. "Are you giving up, baby girl?" She shook her head, opening her pretty mouth once again to take him. 

This time Yuta held the back of her head, jerking his cock into her mouth. Her throat is so tight and hot for him, her tongue giving him additional pleasure. He could feel her nails digging on the skin of his thighs as he fuck her face. "I'm close, baby." He closed his eyes as he kept thrusting erratically into her. When she fondled his balls, that kept on hitting her chin, a curse escaped his lips as cum shot in her mouth. 

The girl only blinked at him while he pulled his flaccid cock out of her mouth to give her a chance to breathe. He watched as she gulped, swallowing his load as if it was just ice cream.

"Such a good girl." He whispered while helping her up to stand. She leaned in to kiss him, an open mouth kiss that involved a lot of tongue. He can even taste himself in her. 

Kissing her was like smoking a cigarette, addicting. Her soft lips, her sweet taste, and her scent filling his nose makes him addicted to her. And this is bad. Hastily, he pushed her body that startled her. "Times up." The look on her face made him want her more. "I have to get my work done." She pouted that made him chuckle, kissing her lips in a quick smack. "I have something for you." 

He put on his pants before disappearing to a room, her following him to the living room. "A cruise tour? For a week?" She asked when he handed her two tickets. "My parents would suspect us if we go…" 

Yuta held her by the waist, pulling her close to him. "Who said we're going?" She gave him a confused look before staring at the tickets, the name of her parents written in bold letters. "Do you think they'll decline the gift?" 

"A week without them?" 

Yuta kissed her lips. "A week with just you and me." 

The younger girl smirked, wrapping her arms around the older's nape. "And will you have the time for me?" 

"Why do you think I'm rushing these works?" He raised an eyebrow that made her giggle. “I’ll have to make sure that you have difficulty walking after the week.”

She leaned in for a last kiss before removing her hold from his. "Stock up some more ice cream. I want a taste of my Yuta ice cream." 

He only nodded. A week with her. 

Then maybe he can have his very own ice cream sundae. 

[daddyjackfrost]

Just a ✨suggestion✨ you know how Kuroo is like the master of provocation and he motivates people by getting under his skin? (The way he did with Tsukki)

I feel like he’d do that with his s/o too! However, not everyone responds well to that (I know I wouldn’t💀) so like I can see him going about his normal way and his s/o bottling it up until one day they couldn’t take it, and when he finds out Kuroo is DEVESTATED like wow he pushed his own s/o to their limits :(

jansjs yes. just yes.

Kuroo would definitely 100% to this, but not with the intentions to hurt you. it’s just his nature yk? he’s always been able to pick people apart until he can press their buttons just the way he wants.

i think it would start slowly. you wouldn’t actually realize Kuroo was provoking you until you stared thinking about his words late at night. Until you started watching yourself around him a bit more, afraid he’d say something that had you silently fuming in anger or self hatred.

—————

it was thursday night, and you were so angry you had put off all your work till the last minute. You had a giant writing assignment due tomorrow morning, and you hadn’t even begun.

Kuroo was out with Bokuto and as much as you wanted your boyfriend to cuddle you and pester you with love, a small part of you was glad he was away.

Last night, you had asked Kuroo for some help with chemistry, and usually, he would be ecstatic to be able to help you, but not last night.

“Kuroo, can you help me with this?”

Kuroo pushed himself off the sofa, walking up behind you to lean over your shoulder. His hazel eyes skimmed the questions you we’re having difficulty with and he let out a small teasing laugh.

“Oh come on, y/n. You study so hard and want to do all these big things and yet you can’t solve these problems?”

You wiped your sweaty hands on your leggings. You were already struggling and having Kuroo demeaning you was not helping.

You sighed and threw him a small smile. “You’re right. I’ll do it on my own.”

Kuroo just nodded and patted your head. “See? You can do anything you put your mind too.”

You just let out a small laugh, not believing him for a second.

You hear the door open and you grip your glass of water tighter. You wanted to talk to Kuroo. You needed to tell him you didn’t appreciate his provoking ways, and that if he wanted to motivate you, he should find better ways. It wasn’t healthy for you to actually be anxious when he was around, but recently, Kuroo had been a bit more demeaning and a bit more scheming.

“Y/n~” came Kuroo’s voice. “I’m home.”

“In here!”

After a couple seconds, Kuroo walked into your living room. His eyes landed on figure, sitting on the sofa with your laptops on your thighs.

“What’re you doing, babe?”

You groaned and tilted your head back to rest of the sofa. “I’ve been trying to write for the past two hours.”

Kuroo frowned and moved closer to you. “Why did you put this off till last minute, y/n?”

You closed your eyes and muttered a few profanities under your breath. “I don’t know, tetso.”

You prayed Kuroo would just smile at you, maybe tell you that it would be okay. That you would finish it and that he believed in you.

But no, that’s not Kuroo.

Because Kuroo’s never been one to gently motivate, or to praise. Unless it was in bed, but even then, it was rare.

Kuroo tsked, and your eyes shot open. You knew a jab from Kuroo was coming, and you hated it.

“You always do this, y/n. You always procrastinate and then complain. Don’t you want to be better? Do you really want y/f/n to exceed you?”

Tears sprung to your eyes. You knew he was right, he was always right, but you didn’t want to hear that. You didn’t want to hear about how terrible you are with time management, and how you always procrastinate.

You wanted to be angry at Kuroo, hell, you were angry at Kuroo, but the logical part of you always made it difficult. You had been friends with Kuroo since you were younger. You knew of his nature, of her personality, but it’s like the small wall Kuroo had made to not hurt you had broken. You knew it wasn’t intentional, but that didn’t hurt any less.

You abruptly stood up, slamming your laptop closed.

Kuroo’s eyes widened and he took a small step back.

“Kitten?”

You shook your head. “I’m gonna go finish this upstairs. There’s some leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.” And with that, you walked away.

Hours later, when Kuroo made his way to your shared bedroom, he hoped you were done and awake. He had barely seen you today and he wanted to sleep with you in his arms.

Kuroo was smug. He was glad he was able to motivate you and get you working on your assignment.

Pushing the door open, Kuroo’s eyes landed on your slouched figure against the bed. Your laptop was shut and your eyes were tightly closed.

Kuroo felt his eyes soften. He loved seeing you asleep, it was the only time you were truly ever at peace. Except, when Kuroo walked closer to you, ready to lay you down properly, he noticed the tightness of your eyes, and the small frown on your lips.

Kuroo just brushed it away.

It’s just stress, he thought.

When you woke up, you were greeted with Kuroo’s sleeping figure. His black hair was swept across the pillow and his eyes were shut. You could feel his arm wrapped around you and you smiled.

You let yourself enjoy a few more moments, but then you slipped out of bed and started your morning routine. You were going to talk to Kuroo today. You didn’t know how much longer you could withstand his harsh words.

Kuroo found you in the kitchen. Your back to him as you flipped some pancakes.

You slightly jumped when you felt strong arms wrap around your waist.

“Morning, love.” Kuroo’s husky morning voice greeted you.

You squeezed his hand. “Morning.”

“You finish your paper last night?”

You nodded, flipping the pancake. “Yeah.”

Kuroo kissed the back of your head. “See? I knew you could do it.”

You mumbled a small yeah, and pushed Kuroo away from you. “Set the table, Tetso.”

Kuroo nodded and picked up two plates from the cupboard. He grabbed two knifes and forks and put them on the table. You brought the plate of pancakes and sat down.

You both began to quietly eat. Kuroo didn’t think much of the silence. He knew you weren’t really a morning person and didn’t appreciate a lot of talking so early in the morning.

You, however, were a nervous mess. Throughout your shower and up until Kuroo had hugged you, you were thinking of ways to bring up the issue.

You put down your fork and knife, clearing your throat.

Kuroo looked up at you, his mouth full of pancake.

A small smile made its way to your face. He looked so cute like this, with his cheeks all puffed out.

“I-uh,” your palms began to sweat and you wiped them on your sweatpants.

“Y/n?”

You slightly shook your head, trying to shake off the nervousness. This was Kuroo, you thought. Your boyfriend of four years. You shouldn’t be nervous.

“I wanted to—uh— talk to you about something.”

Kuroo nodded, and put down his fork and knife. All of his attention was on you.

When you didn’t speak right away, Kuroo’s lips lifted into a teasing smirk. “Cat got your tongue?”

Turns out this was the one time you were glad he had provoked you.

You slammed your hands on the table, causing Kuroo to instantly drop his smirk.

“That!” You yelled, pointing at him. “That needs to stop!”

Kuroo’s eyes widened in confusion. “...what?”

All the dismissal and all the logic had left your brain. You were angry at Kuroo, and the fact that he chose to poke fun at you while you wanted to talk to him made you all the more angerier.

“You always do this Tetsoru! I’m sick of you constantly trying to provoke me! It hurts! I know you mean well, but your words hurt me, and i’m sick of it!”

Kuroo’s eyes widen in surprise. When he fully processes your words, his lips tug into a frown and a whirlpool of emotions start rising in him.

Kuroo noticed your flushed cheeks, the few tears that had gathered in your eyes, and his heart broke.

He did that.

He hurt you.

He’s been hurting you.

“I know you do this to everyone, but I’m not everyone! You’re not on the court anymore! You don’t need to be sly or calculating with me.”

Every word of yours pierced his heart.

Kuroo knew he had a tendency to just try and get under everyone’s skin. It became a habit. However, Kuroo didn’t know he was hurting you.

“I love you Kuroo, but please, please take my feelings into consideration. Times when I need your reassurance or praise, you just end up hurting me.”

A couple angry tears had escaped your eyes, falling down your cheek. You felt so relieved to get all of this off your chest.

When your eyes met Kuroo’s, your eyes widened. There were tears in his eyes. His eyes were wide, and his hands were shaking.

You quickly slid off your chair and walked to Kuroo’s side, sitting on the edge of the table.

Kuroo’s heart hurt. He couldn’t believe he had hurt you like this. You were the one person he never wanted to hurt. You were the one person who Kuroo loved more than anything, and the realization that he had hurt you, killed him.

Kuroo lifted his head and his teary eyes met yours.

“I am so sorry, y/n.”

Your lips slightly parted in surprise. Kuroo had never been this open and vulnerable with you.

“I—” Kuroo let out a small breath.

“I never wanted to hurt you. I am so sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think about your feelings. Please, y/n, please forgive me.”

Kuroo’s lips trembled.

You felt your heart squeeze in your chest. You were glad that Kuroo realized his words had hurt you, but you didn’t want to see him hurt.

“I promise I’ll be better. I promise I’ll work on it.”

You nodded softly at him. “I know, Tetso.”

You pried Kuroo’s arms apart and slid onto his lap. Your legs were on either side of him. Kuroo didn’t dare touch you. His arms were limp beside him.

You brought your hands to his cheeks, slowly brushing his cheekbones.

“Please don’t leave me,” Kuroo mumbled.

You tilted your head closer to his face, softly kissing his lips.

“I’m not leaving you, not over this.”

————————-

PLS WHAT IS THIS

anyways, i hope you like it! I wrote this during accounting so 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

daddyjackfrost © 2021 | all content belongs to me, do not modify

[passingnotions]

Catharsis | Dahyun

smut, some hints of fluff

A/N: Thanks to @worldsover​ for helping out with editing. Overall, the sentences should read a little better and are more consistent. Make sure to check out their work!

The group’s speech is met with applause and cheer. After such a long night, the energy they give off passes on to the rest of the crowd. The party of executives, assistants, coordinators, and other staff goes on with nothing to note, the celebration only extending the night a few hours longer. After yet another award show, all you want is to go home and relax, to enjoy the next few days of vacation before it all picks up again. For the moment, though, you have to endure the night surrounded by powerful individuals and beautiful idols. It isn’t all bad, you could say.  

After some time, you walk over to the refreshments to keep your hands and mind occupied, exchanging pleasantries with coworkers along the way. Breaking off from the main crowd, you find yourself looking over the city below, the bright lights from the high-rise's meeting room contrasting with the dark and neon hues outside.  Minutes pass, your mind drifting on what the plan was for when you got home, but a reflection on the glass pane catches your eye. It approached, and as you turn, Dahyun greets you with a smile.

“Hey!” she says as she embraces you with a hug. “What’s with the mood? You know I can tell from a mile away.”

“Oh, I’m alright, it’s just been a long day.” Gesturing towards the crowd, you add, “I had to coordinate this one too, you know.”

“During award night? Do I have to pull some strings to get you some deserved time off again?” she teases, tilting her head as she worded the question.  

Out of all the members, you have connected with Dahyun the most during the handful of times working with the group directly. You both seem to have a similar sense of humor, understand each other’s workflow, and just get along well.

Last time was different, however. Some months back, you went from acquaintance to developing what seemed to be a friendship. From emailing her representatives you moved on to texting her personal number. After on-site practice, you would be the one she walked over to while winding down and to have a chat before being driven off. The subtleties of these interactions were not lost on either of you, and that feeling of “something more” lured with every moment that passed. Although apparent, none made a move that pushed the boundaries. A hurried glance, a good-bye hug, or a mid-conversation touch all kept the unspoken at bay and maintained the link professional.

“We are getting some time off before the next project, but I’ll remember the offer.” You tease back with a raised eyebrow.

A brief pause, and Dahyun’s demeanor changes. She takes a look at the crowd before stepping closer to you, turning her back to them. You match her stance, now with the city once again in front of you both.

“The next promo shoot is abroad...” She speaks in a guarded tone.

“Yeah, I was notified last week. All of you fly out tomorrow, right?” You reply, puzzled and with equal tone. “What’s the matter, Dahyun?”

“It’ll be weeks before we- tsk.” she cut herself off, the glass pane revealing her gaze aimed at the ground.  

Looking over, her gaze was more of a frown, and before you could restate your question:

“I missed you; I’m tired of missing this. You-”

The rest of the words barely register as your mind races through thought after thought.  This acknowledgement is the first time you address the subject face-to-face. She confessed.

Knowing who you are and where you stand are the first things on your mind. Your position within the company isn’t one of power nor authority, and this is enough reason to keep your feelings and desires in check. When you warmed up to each other, however, you toyed with ideas that would never see the light of day otherwise. Her status as an idol comes second. Her image and the control she has of it (or lack thereof) is too important. Dahyun is hardworking, and everyone knows how much all of it means to her.

Although there are no explicit prohibitions on staff and talent relationships — they were quite common, in fact — the difficulties encountered due to the nature of the work proved to be undoing of many. Finally, her own feelings stop you from speaking. What are her expectations? Acting without knowing the full picture flusters you. You want to respect her wishes, and making a move before she did seems unwise.

You snap back to the moment, realizing the initiative she just took. Dahyun waits for your response with anxious demeanor, and you speak with full confidence and excitement.

“How do you want to go about this?” A slight smile forming with the words.

A hint of determination sparks in her eye. “About us... we can talk once I fly back. For tonight, I just want you.”

“You’ll be going to the dorms after this, do we meet up by then?” you ask.

“There won’t be enough time, it has to be now.”

~~

The conference room at the end of the hall blesses you with an unlocked door and a secluded space to finally satisfy your pent-up desire. Dahyun barely steps into the room as she turns to let herself be taken when you walk into her, lips locking and her tongue swirling around yours. Her taste adds to the rush of euphoria as your hands run around her waist and back, clawing at the thin fabric. Now inside, you close the door behind you with your foot, both still enveloped in the kiss. Before you could push any further with the momentum from before, Dahyun pushed back towards the door, lightly slamming you into it as she ran her hands through your hair and grasped at the back of your neck.  

Both pairs of hands now move downwards. While Dahyun’s moves down your shirt, reaching your belt, yours moves past her hips and onto her ass. Your lips find themselves buried in her neck, her breaths melting into your ears as you grope and feel her skin through the dress.

Before long, she unbuttons your pants and slips inside, her hand running down the length of your shaft, making you throb. Freeing you from the constraining fabric, she strokes softly while holding her lips close to yours. Dahyun smiles as your breath quivered with each stroke, the eye contact established now fueling you with a desire to return the favor.  

“Come on” You manage to whisper between breaths, signaling with your head to move to the side.

Reaching some waist-high office cabinets, you help Dahyun lean back while kneeling down and raising one of her legs over your shoulder. Her heels certainly help with the endeavor, and the short dress makes it easy to access her now-soaked lace panties. You gulp at the sight of her milky thighs at each side, feeling the softness of the one resting over your shoulder. You caress her other leg bottom to top, reaching towards her underwear and pulling it to the side.  

Her glistening lips make your cock throb harder than before, almost painfully so. Dahyun places her hand on the back of your head, guiding and urging you towards her. Her nails rake through your hair as you finally delve into her wetness, soft moans being let out as you pleasure her and flick your tongue hungrily.  

You pull away for a second to position a finger near her entrance, teasing movements as you watch Dahyun bite her lower lip with anticipation. She throws her head back as you slip in effortlessly, her warmth now driving your mouth back towards her pussy. You curl your finger as you penetrate her and lap at her clit, picking up speed with each moan she let out. Her heavy breaths and moans intensify as she now pulls at your hair and presses your head deeper into her.  

“Y-yes. Keep going, just like that” she pleads, her words cutting off as she gasped for air irregularly.  

A long, breathy moan escapes her. She inhales deeply, only to follow it with quivering breaths and quick, sudden twitches. You feel her walls contract around your finger, sensing the same movement around her clitoris as you maintain your tongue pressing against it. Truthfully, you were unable to move if you wanted to; Dahyun presses your head against her so hard that her nails were now lightly driving into your skull.  

Your lustful determination reaches a new high as Dahyun melts and her grip gives out. You rise, and she crashes her lips against yours. The passionate kiss is unlike the one before — similar drive and desire, yes, but the feeling differs. A sense of gratitude? Some form of connection, an emotion? You could not tell, but a certain comfort arose from the sensual warmth.  

“That was so damn good” she lets out, the words weaving around the ongoing kiss.  

You only manage to smile, raising Dahyun by her ass and placing her on the countertop of the cabinets she rests on.  

She leans back once more, this time against the wall, holding her legs by the thighs as you line up your cock for entry. Your eyes could not meet hers; the pair too focused on your tip, softly brushing against her folds. Parting them as you glide in without issue, you moan in unison. Waves of pleasure threaten your legs to give out as you push in to the hilt, one of your hands now helping Dahyun with her leg. The other roams towards her chest, hooking the dress and pulling down. Playing with her soft white breasts intensify the feeling as your senses overload. Her moans encourage you to thrust, the speed of each rising as you feel climax approach.  

Dahyun huffs, your cock pumping deep into her with consistent tempo. Coy moans escape through her teeth as she uses her free hand to pull at your shirt, beckoning for a faster, deeper pace. Now past the point of no return, your breaths become shallow, inconsistent, and you search for eye contact once more to tell her of your impending orgasm.  

Before you manage to blurt out the words, she locks eyes with yours, and breathes out,

���Inside.”

The answer to your question, almost like a command, pushes you over the edge. Moans and grunts fill the room as you release inside of Dahyun. The intensity pulses through your entire body as you grip her leg and breast with stronger force, each pump more euphoric than the last. By this time, you are barely able to maintain your stance as you let go of her body and collapse forward, your arms to her sides as you lean on the countertop for support.  

You slip out of her, out of breath, wincing at the overstimulation when you glide out of her walls one last time. A string follows your tip, a combination of Dahyun’s juices and your cum, and you brush it off on her folds as she wraps her arms around your neck.  

Straightening back up with Dahyun, you kiss softly before bursting into short laughter, the disbelief of the moment still settling in.

~~

The party and subsequent drive home did little to distract your brain from the occurrence, not that you wanted them to. You struggle with exhaustion, your hands attempting to relive some of the sensation. To no avail, your mind turns to the emotions. No dice either.  

Well, not quite. Whatever next, certainty was at the forefront (ironically enough).

        You’ll be the first to know          we’re back.                      ✔

Chuckling to yourself,

         I’ll make sure I’m on          scheduling... again         ✔