#if i just left and never came back nobody would've noticed

[c28hunter]

.

[mojifushiguro]

unforgettable ! e.yeager & a.arlert

"I want your mind and your body... dont mind nobody..." eren x black!fem x armin

warnings: fluff, emotional (maybe), lengthy, cheating, guilt, NOT PROOFREAD YET

part 4. this is part 3. next part here.

armin stared at you, shirtless, pants low, just enough to see the top of his boxers.

an arm up against the doorway his hair everywhere, getting worse as he scratched in it. somehow, he still looked good in your eyes.

you couldn't lie and say the messages you saw last night didn't hurt you just a little. maybe more than a little.

you spent the whole day away from the house, pretending to be busy and pretending you had things to do. it was only 9PM and you showed up and armins house with only a toothbrush, a phone, and extra clothes to accompany you.

you shivered a little from the cold, just like when you first came to his house, and he noticed that.

"im sorry I woke you up."

armin rubbed his eyes before taking a deep breath. "mhm. what's wrong?"

it seemed like he was still processing what was going on in the moment. but you just looked at the doormat and bit your lip.

you felt your eyes start to water. never in a million years would you have thought you'd cry over eren. eren yeager. the boy you'd been with for so long.

any other day, you would've said fuck him, and just left. but something about tonight just make you so much more sentimental.

you shook your head. "can I just come in?"

armin quickly frowned and grabbed your chin, moving your head up. "y/n, what's wrong?"

you moved his hand and shook your head. "remember what you told me at that party?"

armin nodded with a face full of worry.

you stayed quiet and looked off to the side.

armins brows furrowed and he stepped closer to you, pulling you into a warm hug with one hand on your back and the other on the back of your head.

you were also exhausted. you didn't even go to anyone house. you stayed in your car and walked around busy streets the next town over to satisfy your boredom and aching heart.

when your eyes watered, you didn't cry. thankfully. but you hugged armin back.

he grabbed your things and replaced the items with his hand as he pulled you in his house.

he shut he door behind him and led you to his bathroom.

you hopped on the counter as he leaned down by the tub to run you a warm bath.

armin sat on the edge of the tub with his hand under the faucet, making sure the water was the perfect temperature.

"you want bubbles?"

you nodded.

he didn't know exactly what happened, but he didn't want trigger something in you by asking. he could tell you went through a lot today, and he wished he'd been nicer the day before so that you would've came to him earlier on in the day.

the only sound that filled the bathroom was the sound of the water running.

"sorry for waking you up again. i know I did." you said, looking at him.

armin didn't look at you, he only looked at the running water and shrugged. "I been smoking all day. you good. I would've been up."

you scanned his body.

you never noticed how much muscle he really had. it was toned nicely, but he was still on the smaller side. his back was nice, some freckles across his shoulders and upper back.

he turned the water off and stood up. "if you need me you can call me. 'kay?" he was gonna leave the bathroom, but you grabbed his arm.

"stay with me. can you?"

you could tell your request surprised him, but he cleared his throat and nodded, leaning against the wall in front of you with his arms crossed.

as you got off the counter, you stood in front of the warm bubble bath and pulled your shirt over your head, dropping it on the floor.

you looked back to see armin, still leaning against the wall, looking outside the bathroom door.

you twitched a smile. "can you close the door?"

armin, avoiding looking towards you or the mirror, used his foot the close the door.

you continued taking off your clothes, and when you finished, you stepped slowly in the bath. you felt the tension leave your body and you closed your eyes as you sat down and submerged your body in the bubble filled water.

"god..." you whispered, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling.

your gaze moved to armin, who crossed one of his legs in front of the other one and looked at the floor, nibbling at his bottom lip.

you realized how different he was when you were alone from when you first had an actual conversation with him. he was much more quiet, not that he hasn't always been, because armin's not that talkative anyway.

but he was like the walking definition of peace right now.

"sit with me." you mumbled. he looked back at you and raised his eyebrows. "huh?"

"you just over there alone. come sit with me."

armin didn't move for a couple seconds, taking in what you said. but he didn't decline. he walked over and sat close beside the tub, propping his legs up and resting his arms on his knees.

he looked at you. "you okay now?"

you smiled and turned your body, the water moving in motion with you. you put your arms on the side of the tub and rested your chin against the back of your hands.

your hip and thigh were exposed now, and the bubbles slid off of it with the water. armin couldn't help but take a small glance before looking away, popping his fingers whilst looking at your clothes, not too far in front of him.

"you can look at me. its not like you aint seen nothing." you teased. armin laughed a little. "its darker in a car than this bathroom. more overwhelming."

you looked at armin sweetly and moved up a little to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

armin smiled softly, looking at you as you rested your chin back on your hands. "you kill me, you know that?"

you shook your head. "Ion know that."

he only looked back down at your lips and chuckled. "well you know now." he leaned his head against the wall. "I been thinkin bout you since yesterday. you ain't deserve to be pushed away like that."

your eyes trailed down to armins chest. you turned to grab bubbles from the surface of the water and sat up, rubbing them across his chest.

he didn't say anything about it, just watched as you grabbed more and put them on his chin.

he licked his lips and looked at you with those same eyes from the party.

suddenly, armin got up and stepped in the bath with you. you laughed and looked up at him as he sat down in front of you, pants on and everything.

you started to laugh as he grabbed bubbles, flicking them at you. "its not even enough space for you!" you smiled, blocking them from hitting you.

armin moved to be above you, giving you kisses all over your face. "'course it is." he muttered between kisses.

you softly moved his face with a giggle. "you messed my bath up."

armin looked down at you and tilted his head. "you can take another one tomorrow. but right now, its time to get out."

"okay, okay, hold on." you held armin as you moved past him to drain the tub. "I never seen nothing like this. it go to the jets?" you saw a weird button by the

as armin squeezed the bubbles through his hands, he slowly looked up from them and looked at what you were talking about.

"no no no, wait-"

all of a sudden, you felt water all over your face from the shower. you let out a loud laugh, along with armin. you quickly jumped out and grabbed a towel to cover yourself.

he knew it would be a long night.

"can you hear now?" you asked, holding armins head to the side.

you tried to contain your laugh, but you couldn't help it.

armin hit the side of his head with a towel to his ear. "hell naw I cant hear." he scrubbed his ear with the towel.

"my baddd, Ian know it would be that powerful." you snickered, letting his head go and standing in front of him as he sat on the bed.

"ion even know why I got in there with you" he shook his head, making you laugh even more.

armin tossed the towel on the floor and sighed, looking up at you with a fake annoyed look. "you gotta go."

you playfully rolled your eyes and got in the bed beside armin. "you cant get rid of a bad bitch." you smiled, grabbing him and pulling him towards you.

armin hummed, crawling over your body and laying his head on your chest. "I know." he closed his eyes.

you wrapped your legs and arms around him, rubbing in his head.

you didn't wanna think about eren at the moment, but your mind couldn't help but wander. what was he doing right now? was he doing the same thing you're doing just because of the sheer fact you're gone?

it did make your heart ache a little, but when you thought about the moment you were in right now, all those negative thoughts went away.

"you gon break up wit him?"

that question snapped you out of your thoughts, and you looked down at armin.

"huh?"

"eren, you gon break up wit em?" armin pulled himself up and rested on his elbows, both of them on each side of you.

you never actually thought about that. but you were too scared armin would react the way he did last time to say no.

"its okay with me if you dont. Ian sayin you need my permission or nothing, but we can still do what we do if you stay wit em." armin played with the earring in your ear.

you hummed, rubbing his arms.

he moved up, his chest on yours, and laid his head beside yours. his hair brushed against your face, making you smile a little as you wrapped your arms around him again.

you didn't have anything else to say, and he didn't either.

unsurprisingly, armin fell asleep before you, and you lazily watched the tv, yawning.

his body was warm against yours, so the covers that you laid on instead of under wasn't a problem. you softly scratched against his back, as his light snores came and went every couples minutes.

you gained the courage to check your phone. it laid a few inches away from you on silent.

you turned your brightness down and swiped to your notifications.

there he was.

you pressed the messages and read them.

Wya?

I hope you having fun

Babyyy

Why yo lo not showing?

Im tired, tried to wait but I gotta gts. The door unlocked. I love you

that was an hour ago, the same time you were in the bathroom. you bit your cheek and put your phone down.

you didn't even know if you wanted to reply.

you shouldn't, but something in you wanted to. you didn't give up to temptation though. so you just let that be what it was.

you tapped the back of armins head softly. he groaned a little as he lifted his head, eyes still closed wiping his mouth with his arm.

"you heavy."

armins eyes opened the slightest and he moved his body, sitting up so that you could move around.

you laid on your stomach and laid your head on your arms, closing your eyes.

armin laid on your back, wrapping his arms around you and nuzzling his face in your back, taking a deep breath of your scent and rubbing against you, almost like a cat.

it didn't bother you though. it was the most comfort you felt in hours.

the night went by fast, of course.

you woke up feeling light as ever, with armin beside you, leg hanging off the bed.

you sat up, rubbing your eyes with a yawn. you got off the bed and left the room to go to the bathroom. you grabbed your toothbrush from the counter.

your clothes were still on the floor, the sound of water dripping making you quietly laugh to yourself from the moment last night.

you started to brush your teeth, and in the middle of it, heard a sleepy armins footsteps getting closer to the bathroom.

he leaned in the doorway, eyes pink with slight bags. you looked over at him before he lazily walked over to you and slid his warm hands under your shirt, nuzzling his nose in your bun.

he looked at you through the mirror and grabbed his tooth brush, putting his arms in front of you to wet it and put toothpaste on it.

he started to brush his teeth along with you, using the hand the once held the toothpaste, to go back under your shirt, and softly grip at your waist.

when you bent over to spit, armin looked down at you, and when you got back up, starting to brush, you could see him trying to hide a smile. you only shook your head and started back brushing.

when you finished, armin put his toothbrush in the holder, and you were gonna take yours back home with you, but he stopped you.

"can you leave it?" he then looked over at your clothes. "and the clothes? ima get em."

you put your toothbrush beside his and left the bathroom with him, grabbing only your phone and keys, because that's the only thing you couldn't leave.

as armin watched from the bed, you putting your things together, you faced him.

"ima guess you goin back home." he tried to smile, but he went back to biting his lip.

"I am." you shifted your weight to one leg and jingled your keys in front of you.

"you gon come back?" he asked, looking at your keys. you looked at armin longingly before smiling and leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. "I had fun. ima be back sooner or later. when he piss me off again." you joked.

armin wrapped his arms around your waist and looked up at you. "I can get one more kiss?"

you grabbed his chin and kissed him one more time before making your way to his door.

"thanks for a good time."

[osmanthus-wine-addiction]

23 Voyeurism

Zhongli x Reader / NSFW / Modern AU / Reader is a camgirl / Consensual Voyeurism and Exhibitionism / Zhongli is reader's landlord and sort of her roommate / Power imbalance / Ambiguous age gap / Emotional avoidance and fear of attachment / Mentions of manipulation, blackmail, and parasocial dynamics / Don't worry, it's sweet at the end! / Word count 12K

You would've noticed someone standing at your door had you been less occupied with your chat. When you finally turned at the knock on your door, your eyes landed on the unexpected face of your landlord, whom you hadn't seen in almost half a year. Your heart might as well have stopped.

"Ahem… I did not mean to intrude." A deep voice pierced the silence.

Your chat went crazy. How could it not? The expression on your face changed three times in the span of a second. First was pleasant surprise, then panic, finally settling on a furious blush. Your chat was going a million miles an hour, demanding to know who had interrupted your stream. Wild guesses were thrown around. Some were close, others way off. Nobody got it right.

"Perhaps it would be best if you closed your door." The man at your doorway reminds you.

"Thanks. Can you please shut it for me?" You asked sheepishly.

The door clicked and you tried to resume the stream, but no matter what you tried, you were unable to get back into the right state of mind. Zhongli's sudden appearance had completely thrown you off your boat. All you could think about was him now.

You bit your lip in frustration as Zhongli's devastatingly handsome face resurfaced in your mind. When you first met your landlord in person, you instantly developed a crush on him. With the eloquent way he talked, you had expected someone well put together, but you didn't expect him to be this good-looking. It was just a pity he only graced your eyes once every few months, each stay limited to a fleeting week or so. He came and went, leaving you both thankful and disappointed. He would usually send you a short notice by text just before he lands, but you were streaming today and had been ignoring all your calls and messages.

You end the stream and drag your anxious self out of your room. To your horror, Zhongli steps out of his own room at the same time. His hair was still slightly wet, indicating he had just taken a shower. You awkwardly follow him into the living room, taking a seat as he fetches a pot of tea that had been brewing. He set down two cups and filled them, one for you and one for himself. Finally, he lowers himself into the adjacent seat, amber eyes falling on your flustered face while crossing his legs elegantly. He raised his cup to his lips, taking an unhurried sip. You felt like you had returned to your highschool days, sitting in the dean's office.

Zhongli was significantly older than you, so even if he doesn't intentionally intimidate you, you felt small in his presence. It didn't help that he had accidentally witnessed you doing such a scandalous act. The memory would probably scar him forever if you did not alleviate the tension right away.

"I'm sorry you had to see that!" You said all in one breath.

"Are you perhaps in need of money?"

"No!" You answered too quickly. "I mean yes, I originally started doing it for the money. This place isn't exactly cheap haha…" You laughed nervously. "I'm okay now."

Working a job like yours, you wouldn't normally be able to afford to rent a place like this alone, especially not with the rampant price hikes in the market right now. It was perfect, close to your workplace and located in a safe, guarded community. Best of all, your only roommate, who also happened to be the owner of the property, was never around. He only needed to keep one of the two rooms locked for when he happened to be in the city during business trips. To say you got used to his absence was an understatement. You often left doors wide open and walked around the house half-naked. Only during his brief stays did you behave yourself and keep up some semblance of decency.

"I apologize if I came off judgemental. That was not my intention. What you do to earn a living is not my concern, as long as you don't miss any of your monthly payments."

"So I'm not going to get evicted?"

Zhongli chuckled. "I do not believe you are breaching any of the terms stipulated in our lease, so why would you be?"

You let out a breath of relief.

"So how long have you been home?" You asked, not realizing how the question could imply other things.

He cleared his throat. "Half an hour."

Your eyes widened as a flush rose in your cheeks. He definitely heard more than he could stomach, or he wouldn't have come knocking.

If it weren't for your voice, he might've thought there was a stranger in his house. All those flirtatious interactions with your chat was a persona you put on for the camera. The person you presented yourself as was much bolder than how you were in real life, how Zhongli remembers you. You imagined how shocked he was, standing in front of your bedroom door, catching you shamelessly touching yourself while entertaining your audience. How long did he endure the sounds coming from your room before he got up to see what you were up to? Just how long had he been standing in front of your open door before he knocked?

Did he perhaps get a bit excited watching you entertain your thirsty viewers? Was that why he had to go get a shower? The poor gentleman. Maybe if it were anyone else, you'd take offense if they peeped, but him? If he gave you the chance to show him, you'd try to make all of his closeted fantasies come true too, no tips required.

You couldn't help but let your eyes wander. Zhongli had on a simple buttoned shirt and a pair of slacks. With that handsome face, tall frame, and lithe body, he was already blessed in looks, but now you wondered if he was well endowed down there too. How could you not?

"I…I don't mind that you saw me. It was my fault for forgetting to close the door. Tell me if there's anything I can do to make things more comfortable while you're here. I only stream three days a week and for about two hours a time, but I can always adjust that if you need me to be quiet while you work. If you want, I can give you my schedule." You rambled on, unaware of how your words seem to encourage him to be present for those times rather than avoid them.

Zhongli smiled appreciatively at your efforts to accommodate him. This was not the first time he had seen you frazzled. The more flustered you were, the more you talked. The thought conjured up another sinful image in his head. He imagined you trying to talk, blabbering incoherently in between moans as he fingered your dripping cunt. How adorable would you look, spread out underneath him as he teased you?

Your sweet moans and sighs were what had drawn him to your door, but the pretty flush of your skin and the tantalizing curves of your naked body was what had rooted him there, staring like some depraved creep. He was not proud of his lapse in self-control, but at that moment, he was no different from anyone in your audience.

You sounded so eager to please, working so hard to satisfy those needy viewers of yours, but at the same time so overcome with need yourself. He felt sorry for you, but he had to reign in his presumptions. If you didn't enjoy the attention, you wouldn't have been so engrossed that you failed to notice him at your door earlier. How lucky it must be to be one of your viewers, to be able to see you up front and center, to be addressed so affectionately while you pleasured yourself to their demands.

"I would love to know your schedule." Zhongli's voice was deep and velvety as always. There was a heavy tinge of suggestiveness though, his reply twisting your words into an invitation that he was simply responding to.

Your face burned as you blurted out your schedule. In your head, it certainly sounds like you were now making plans for him to join you next stream.

Zhongli made a mental note of the hours you mentioned. He had no business to attend to during those times, so he would undoubtedly be home. There was no need to deliberately leave his own house just to avoid your streaming schedule. He was not some unrestrained teenager who couldn't handle a bit of temptation. Perhaps with repeated exposure, the both of you would find some way of dealing with the blushing elephant in the room.

"How is work treating you lately?" He asked you, genuine care emanating from his voice.

"I'm surviving." You replied vaguely at first, but realized that he's probably asking because he thinks you're struggling to come up with rent. "They gave me a small raise when I got promoted so I don't need to rely on this side hustle as much."

"That's wonderful." He nodded, his guilt dissipating a bit at your words.

If he had known just how much financial strain you were in, he would've kept the rent the same as the previous year when you renewed the lease with him. He doubted your family and friends knew what you did to make ends meet. As your landlord, he was directly responsible for the additional sum that lead you to take on this extra work. Perhaps you learned to derive some form of joy from it, but if the demand for money were not there, would you have even considered it?

"I have a proposal for you, one that you may very well refuse if it toes your boundaries too much. This is simply something I'm offering as an addition to what you're already doing, a means to lessen your financial burdens if you will." Zhongli begins, stern eyes locking with your curious ones. He sounded so pragmatic, it was like he was ready to whip out a printed contract and have you sign it right then and there.

"Let's hear it."

Zhongli was not someone who relished in squeezing every last drop of interest out of others simply because he could. As high as prices were in this neighborhood, the room you rented from him was a steal for all the perks included. You smiled, trusting him to come up with something that made sense and benefited both parties simultaneously.

"Allow me to sit in while you stream and I will pay you a fixed sum which I can either issue to you as a bank deposit or deduct from your payment this month. I will not speak nor make demands of you. Neither will I touch you or interact with you in any physical capacity as that would disrupt your work. Merely treat me as if I am not there. I will refrain from making any inappropriate actions without your explicit consent, including touching myself. If it comes to that, I will leave the room so as to not affect you."

Your brow went up, mostly from shock but also from pleasant surprise. His proposal was almost too good to be true. Sure, it was a bit out of your comfort, having a living breathing spectator in the room while you cam, but something about that person being Zhongli specifically made your heart race. An image of him sitting in that armchair at the corner of your room that was just out of your camera's frame surfaced in your mind. If it were someone else proposing this, you'd shoot them down immediately.

Drawing in a deep breath to give the impression of hesitation, you held his gaze. Inside, you had already made up your mind. He was giving you a blatant chance to seduce him, clueless to the unholy thoughts he effortlessly plants into your head. It was your chance to show him what he had gotten himself into, reel him in with your well-practiced charm and charisma, or fail miserably and end up begging him to fuck you instead. Would it really be a loss? Dignity be damned, at least you'll have crossed one thing off your do-or-die-regretting list. He just didn't know it yet and you were determined to keep that mask on until it melts off your face from the heat.

"How much exactly and how long?"

"However much you usually charge for private sessions. Are they usually priced by bid?" He asked you, obviously unfamiliar with the unspoken rules of the trade. "As for the duration of this proposal, I will only be here for two weeks this time, so we can set it to that."

You nodded. "My price differs from stream to stream. Sometimes it's a few hundred and sometimes it's a few thousand depending on the length of the call. It's not really comparable since I'm not actively interacting with you."

"I see." He stroked his chin in thought. "How about this instead."

He quickly calculated the difference between your monthly rent before and after the lease renewal, rounded it up and presented it to you. Six sessions total, it would help you out immensely in the next few months he'd be gone and he receives a front row seat to an indulgent performance that all your viewers would probably kill for.

"That works…" You agreed, voice going soft like a whisper as you wrapped your head around the fact that he'd be watching you the next time you streamed. "The price is a bit higher than I expected. I can throw in another perk for you."

Zhongli chuckled, smiling at how considerate you were being with him. He wondered if this was how you treated all your viewers who tipped you. Seeing how hard you pushed yourself earlier, he hoped the earnings you made were at least proportional to the demands you received, or else he would be inclined to sponsor you himself and save you from all the trouble dealing with hordes of entitled men who didn't even bother to pay you well for bending over backwards. He could easily imagine what kinds of disrespect you must tolerate everytime you streamed, needy viewers ordering you around like they owned you just because they tipped, the thoughts tugged at his protective nature. It was silly, he knew. You weren't some damsel crying for his help, so it was unwarranted of him to feel the need to shield you from that imagined harm.

Perhaps it had been too long since he had last been in a relationship. Why he was feeling these sentiments towards you, his tenant of all people? He had always found you attractive, drawn in by your subtle charms rather than your physical looks, but now his mind could no longer hold off those more illicit forms of admiration. Was it simply just the sight of you streaming earlier? Things had changed in that instant, like the ringing strike of a hammer against a chisel, cracking the smooth surface of the rock. He could no longer go back. The wall that stood between the two of you had already crumbled.

"You're not going to ask what that perk is?"

"I'm sure it would be worthwhile." Zhongli smiled.

"How about I let you pick out what I'm going to wear on stream? Unless someone tips and overrides it, of course. I have to honor tip redemptions…" You thought aloud.

"I look forward to perusing your wardrobe when the time comes."

"It's settled then?" You asked.

He nodded, smiling fondly at you. "I'll leave you be now. There's still some unpacking to be done." He excused himself, dragging his suitcase into his room with him.

That suitcase had been sitting in the living room this whole time, as if reminding you that he would only be here for a while before disappearing from your life yet again. Perhaps that was why you should keep your distance from him, especially your heart. It was fine being attracted to Zhongli, but anything deeper would be emotional recklessness. You'd be no more than a fling if things got out of hand, even if he never struck you as a player. It was just the inevitability of his departure, like clockwork every time. You knew better, at least that's what you wanted to believe.

When the next stream day came around, you sat at your desk adjusting your mic and lighting. You even printed out a silly little sign to place on the armchair in the corner. It read 'VIP GUEST' in big bold letters. Soon enough, you heard a soft knock on your door. Your special viewer arrived. He had just gotten home from lunch with his client. You had to admit, Zhongli looked absolutely ravishable in formal wear. Your thoughts drained down a predictable gutter. How satisfying would it be to remove all those layers one by one? Would he start tugging them off if you managed to get him hot and bothered enough? Alas, you were the one stripping for the camera, not him.

Zhongli took a seat in the chair, an amused smile on his lips as he picked up the place card. You went off to gather your outfit candidates for the stream. As promised, this was his choice to make.

"This one, this one, or this one for the lingerie?" You asked, holding them up against your chest in succession. "I'll be honest, sometimes my choices are misses rather than hits. Maybe your taste aligns better with my chat's."

"Is that so?" His brow raised in surprise. "Let's go with this one today, but I can imagine you'd look lovely in all three."

"I want to try different styles, but I think the majority of my viewers prefer a consistent look. I can tell with the viewer count and tips."

"Hmm…" He leaned back and stroked his chin in contemplation. "Perhaps there's an element of successful branding working against you in this. Once consumers of a product come to expect a certain thing from you, it would be hard to branch out. Straying from what's already been established can certainly be met with repulsion."

"Well, if they don't appreciate your taste, I guess they're out of luck." You laughed, putting away the two sets that were passed up.

Even though Zhongli had technically seen you naked already, you didn't want to kill the suspense by stripping and changing into the lingerie right in front of him.

Every stream, you had to dangle yourself like a carrot in front of viewers, drag it out until the tips start pouring in. You had it down to an art, teasing and toying with their imagination, making them work just as hard for their own satisfaction as you did for their wallets. It was a twisted game you played with your admirers, because you were simultaneously the prey and the predator. You fed them exactly what they wanted, but they only wanted what they can't easily get. They wanted to toy with you, make you jump through hoops for them, roll over and beg for treats like a circus animal, but if you catered to their every whim, the magic is instantly lost. They enjoyed competing over you, having you fluster over their shows of dedication as they out-tip each other for your attention. Sometimes you felt like an inanimate bystander, as if you were a covetted painting at an auction. Other times, you were the knockoff purse laying on a dirty tarp at a flea market. It all depended on how much these disembodied usernames were willing to throw at you. Even as your numbers climbed and the algorithm pushed you in front of more and more viewers, you never forgot how awful it felt to be the latter. It reminded you every stream to not lose yourself to the illusion of being that painting. You could go from one to the other at the blink of a viewer's eye.

It was just for the money, you tell yourself. You had to do what you had to do to keep this roof over your own head. It worked out in your favor and you didn't have to pack your bags even after the market phased this place out of your budget.

For the longest time, you had nobody to rely on but yourself. You couldn't reach out and ask your parents for money. They were already struggling to make ends meet themselves and never once asked you for help. You couldn't ask your friends for money, because you hated to taint your relationships with such worldly troubles. They gave you all the emotional support you could ever ask for so you could have the strength to deal with these pesky problems.

When Zhongli asked you if you were in need of money, your knee-jerk response was to deny it, but the relationship between the two of you was transactional to begin with, so you accepted his proposal without much hesitation.

As you greeted your excited chat, you couldn't help but steal a glance at him. How did things evolve into this strange arrangement? It feels like an absurd fever dream. Blaring alarms and obnoxious carnival music went off in your head. Buried underneath all that commotion was your own heartbeat, racing with anticipation.

Were you a friend to Zhongli? You didn't know him well enough, at least you didn't think so. Was he just your landlord? Not quite, since he was also your roommate from time to time and he definitely cared more for you than the usual landlord does their tenant. Could you trust him? It probably wasn't wise to since you weren't in the sanest mindset. He could easily turn this situation into blackmail and demand things you didn't initially agree on from you. Wasn't that how it usually goes down?

Too much hinged on Zhongli's character and you weren't dumb enough to expect altruism from him. He was a businessman and money flows where there is plenty of shade. Opportunists would always try to turn a profit at every chance. Could you really expect him to be the sole exception?

What does he gain from this exactly? You get money from him, a very practical thing. He doesn't even get to talk to you during your live, something that you indulged your viewers in for the entire duration of the stream. If he were an exhibitionist, maybe whipping out his cock and having you react to it would stroke his ego, but he explicitly cut out all possibility of that.

Your chat was starting to get impatient. An entire hour had passed and that lingerie set that Zhongli picked had not yet made an appearance. The viewer count fluctuated, but it didn't faze you. Your tip bar was the true indicator of how thirsty your viewers were. Once they started trickling in, you knew it was time to start the actual stream. All of the friendly banter was just a lengthy intro.

"Truth or Bare? You guys are really nosy today, aren't you?" You read the redeem that had just popped up on the screen.

The questions started rolling in, each one attached to a tip. A timer went off and you read the highest tipper's question aloud.

"Am I a virgin?" You sighed. The amount of times you had gotten this question was exhausting. You had to fight the urge to roll your eyes and pull on a puppy dog face instead. "How many times do I have to tell you guys? That question will never be answered. Unless you already know that and just want me to take something off…"

Your hand reached up to tug at your hair tie. This was a popular strip game you played with your viewers. It doesn't end until you're completely naked, so you always prepared for it. Jewelry and hair accessories counted, but you tried not to be too overt with it. You would always get a flood of compliments when you let your hair down, so starting the stream with your hair up created a little something for your viewers to look forward to, an appetizer of sorts.

"Am I single?" You read the next highest bidder's question after the timer went off again.

It was one of your regulars, who obviously already knew the answer to that question.

"I know you're just trying to give me an easy pass, so thanks."

Someone brought up the voice that interrupted you last stream and consequently ended it. Apparently your chat were not goldfishes, to your detriment. Once one person bit, they were all biting, all wanting answers. You watched in horror as your chat became consumed with theories again.

"I'm not lying! He's not my sugar daddy either okay? I'm not into that."

You had to fight the urge to turn and look at Zhongli, who you knew could hear every word that comes out of your lips.

"No, for the last time, I don't have a boyfriend. If you're so curious, you can bid for the next question."

You quickly shut down the overflowing questions before they got out of hand. Your mods also began timing people out for being annoying. The game went on.

"Do I like being eaten out?" You scrunched your nose. "I want to say it depends on the person and if they're good at it, but would you really say no to a blowjob? Not everyone has a giant cock, but everyone can eat pussy well. They just need to be willing to learn. If they're willing to do it, I think I'll enjoy it. Now if they're confident about it…" You giggled at the thought. "That's hot."

Who were you kidding? Everyone apparently. You talked as if you've sampled peak oral before and had a wealth of experience to draw from. In reality, you probably had as much as the dude in your chat who asked that question. It was all about the bluff.

"Pain tolerance?" You read the next tip winner's question after the timer went off. "I'm a chicken. No pain, at all. I'll bite you if you make it hurt. I like the gentle ones."

You received a few questions here and there that you refused to answer, so after removing your necklace, earrings, and socks, you finally had to take off some actual clothes. Your chat was high as a kite and the viewer count shot up.

"What was my first guy like? As in boyfriend, or like the first guy that managed to get me naked?" You tapped your chin as if you were really going to answer the question.

It could just be another angle at the first question you started the game off with, but you wanted to get confirmation first since the asker tipped quite a lot to win the bid. A sigh left your chest when it turned out your suspicions were right.

"That's for me know and for you to keep wondering." You tried to be sweet about it, giving the camera a wink. "Since you were so generous with the tip, you can decide if you want me to take off my shirt or my shorts."

You got your answer, shorts. Getting up off the bed, you stood up to unbutton the denim shorts you had on, making sure everything was in frame. Slowly, you unzipped it, making a little twirl for the camera before taking it off. At the corner of your eyes, you caught Zhongli with a smile on his lips, jaw resting against his hand. His posture was relaxed, legs crossed elegantly as if he were admiring something much more demure. The way he was looking at you made you feel like a ballerina on stage as opposed to a streamer playing a stripping game with her chat.

The next question was an easy one, but the one after, you couldn't answer. You grabbed the bottom of your shirt and pulled it over your head, removing it in one fluid movement. Finally, you were in just your underwear.

Zhongli's eyes raked over your figure, smooth skin adorned in nothing but a few pieces of lacy fabric. The color suited you, contrasted nicely against your skin, just as he envisioned when you had him choose between the three sets. He could only see you from an angle, the best view reserved for your viewers. You couldn't even meet his eyes, but he enjoyed the discretion, being able to take you in as he pleased, watching you smile and laugh without sparing him a single glance.

You got up to grab something from your desk, finally rewarding his patience with a view that your entire chat had already been spoiled with. It was a fleeting glimpse, but it was enough to satiate that growing itch. You posessed an undeniably tantalizing figure, one that he never had the chance to properly admire until now. Watching that adorable, unassuming shell of yours stripped all the way down to lingerie like this was a delightful treat.

Last time, Zhongli had walked in on a stranger with your face and voice. This time, he saw your transformation. He could never have imagined you in this way before. Ever since two days ago, he could not get that racy image out of his mind. Those two conflicting versions of you overlapping in his mind did something to his body.

He was not the only one whose attention you commanded, cock straining against the fabric of his pants. Countless nameless, faceless strangers were also lusting after you, some he could imagine already desperately stroking themselves at the sight of your pretty tits encased in lace.

More questions came. You reached behind your back to unhook your bra. Zhongli drew in a breath. The lacy garment was discarded on your bed. Next went your panties, which you took your time removing. You climbed off the bed, getting up close to the camera so that it could capture what you needed it to. As requested by your chat, you did a spin, catching Zhongli's eyes as you turned your back to the screen. A flush rose in your cheeks as he drank in the view, caressing your luscious mounds from afar with nothing more than his smoldering gaze. His amber eyes seemed to melt you with their intensity as they glided down your body, settling on the remaining piece of fabric. No words were exchanged as agreed, but you didn't need them. Your fingers hooked underneath the waistband, sliding your panties over your hips.

You broke eye contact, turning to face the camera again, but then immediately bent over to pick up the lace garment dangling around your ankles. Zhongli shifted in his chair, fingers sinking into the plush armrest. His bulge was painfully visible now.

You had just presented your VIP guest with a gratuitous view of your unadorned ass, before all your other viewers. Were you feeling sorry for making him wait until last? He could tell it was intentional. His mind was instantly clouded by wanton thoughts of squeezing and groping those soft globes, perhaps adding a pink handprint or two to them even. Had you always been this cheeky?

At last, thoughts were only thoughts. He couldn't act on them. The tie around his neck was starting to feel tight, so he tugged it loose and unfastened the first two buttons. It helped, but only barely. This was all the relief he'd be getting while sitting in your room. Touching himself was strictly against the terms laid down.

You began playing with your tits, probably a request by your chat. Even from the side, he could see the way they almost spilled between your fingers as you kneaded them. Your lips parted to let out soft moans as you pinched and rolled your nipples between your fingers. The sweet sounds sent shivers down his spine. His cock twitched as you let out another moan, this time louder. One of your hands were now buried between your legs while the other continued massaging you breast. Zhongli couldn't see what you were doing, but he could imagine it. Your finger sunk between your pink folds, stroking your sensitive walls as your lips parted to let out those wispy moans. Your camera gave everyone in your stream an indulgent view of your pussy, getting wetter and messier everytime you pulled your slick-coated finger out. One finger was hardly enough, so you added another, fingertips curling and dragging along your sensitive walls. The moans drifting from your lips turned into soft whines, then whimpers. The expression on your face must be divine, if only he could see it. That was reserved for your stream.

He watched as you reached for the object you had grabbed from your desk earlier, a toy apparently. He couldn't tell what it was initially, because it didn't look like one at first glance. He had to admit, it was rather tastefully designed, discreet like you were. You pulled off the cap, holding the silicone tip flush against your dripping heat. You pressed the button and the vibrations started, immediately making you jolt with pleasure. Gently, you pushed it in.

Zhongli's clenched his fist, adverting his gaze. Your decadent moans still reached his ears, causing his breath to grow shallow. His jaw was taunt, muscles tensed. You sounded almost tortured, probably looked the part too. Your camera captured everything, but he could only imagine your pretty face, contorted with ecstasy as you chased your orgasm. His cock was so unbearably hard, the leaking tip dug into the seams of his dress pants.

You came undone, walls fluttering around the toy as your orgasm finally came and swept you away. Sweat coated your neck and your chest heaved, heart still racing as the ripples subsided. You laid there, back against your sheets and legs parted so that the camera could catch the mess you made of yourself. When your senses returned, you glanced over at the corner of the room where your armchair sat. It was now empty. You didn't even notice when Zhongli had gotten up and left the room.

After cleaning yourself up and winding down with your chat, you finally ended the stream. Everybody got what they showed up for, but at the same time nobody was satisfied. You managed to get yourself off, but what about Zhongli? If he was fine, he wouldn't have walked off before the stream ended. Did you really manage to make him lose his patience?

Zhongli had no doubt gone to take a shower. You could hear the water hitting the bathroom tiles from the hallway. You wondered what he thought about the arrangement now that he had a taste of it. What could be going through his mind right now? Would he still want to continue?

You didn't get to see the state he was in before he left. Did he leave because he got uncomfortable, or did he get that turned on? The possibility of it being the latter gave you an unexpected headache. This was technically his proposal. If he couldn't handle the very terms he came up with, he'd have to persuade you to loosen them up. While your rational side would shoot that thought down immediately, your impulsive side welcomed it too eagerly.

You liked this house a lot, but nobody could deny you had the hots for its owner too. If you sleep with him, chances were, you'd probably have to leave as soon as your lease ends. There's just no way you're getting into a relationship with your landlord, especially one that involves a lot of fucking around and not much of anything else. He'd be leaving in less than two weeks, leaving you scrambling to make sense of whatever loose ends he leaves in his wake. Repeat that every time he comes back and any sane person would become an emotional wreck. You wanted to fuck him badly, but it would literally ruin your life if you did. There's no way you'd let those intrusive thoughts be anything more than a self-indulgent joke.

When you joined Zhongli in the living room later that evening, the two of you pretended nothing ever happened. Nobody brought it up like the two of you had mutually decided to get amnesia about those two hours in your room today. You asked him if he was hungry. He offered to cook so you let him.

An amused smile crept into your lips as you rested your arms on the backrest of the couch, watching Zhongli chop and dice vegetables. This was pretty much your house, since he was only around a couple weeks in the year. The apron around his neck was yours, but you couldn't help but find it adorable on him too, in a mismatched way. This was not the first time he's cooked for you. You were already aware that he was a good cook when you first moved in. He had treated you to a homecooked meal, complete with soup and side dishes.

If your mom found out you know a handsome, single guy who cooks good food, she'd order you to seduce him and lock him down. If she knew he owned the house you lived in, she'd already be banging down your door. You couldn't possibly tell her.

Zhongli was the kind of gentleman old people always want to introduce their daughters and granddaughters to. Honestly, it could all just be a front. You can't exactly say you knew him well enough to vouch for him. All you really know about him was that he's unmarried, owns the house you live in, does business all over Liyue, is a good cook, loves reading, hates seafood, gets along with birds and little animals, and is very old-fashioned when it comes to certain things.

You only go into Zhongli's room once in a while to help him dust off his shelves when he's gone. As curious as you are about him, you respected him way too much to go snooping around. Likewise, he doesn't overstep boundaries and seemed to operate on a strict set of self-inflicted rules, on top of being away for most of the year, so you never really had to deal with the usual roommate drama that your coworkers always seem to be complaining about. Life was good, aside from the rising rent, but that wasn't really Zhongli's fault. Was it too much to wish for life to go on like this forever?

Once dinner was ready, you helped set the table and sat down opposite of him. It always felt more like a home when Zhongli was around. You ate alone most of the time, consuming mostly takeout on workdays whenever you didn't have the time nor energy to cook yourself a decent meal.

"This reminds me of my mom's bamboo shoot soup."

Zhongli chuckles. "Perhaps there's similarities in our recipes."

"It's not really the taste." You shook your head.

"I see. It must be nostalgia then."

"Yes! I swear, there's a taste to it." You beamed at him while enthusiastically helping yourself to the yummy stuff.

There's nothing quite like the satisfaction you feel when the person you're talking to puts what you're struggling to say into words.

"You should invite her to come visit you."

"She's too comfortable in Qingce Village. The big city isn't for her. She says all the honking cars give her a headache."

Besides, it wasn't like this was your house. You just rent a room in it. Where would she sleep and keep the mountain of stuff she'd most likely show up with? Better to pay her a visit when you get time off from work than have her visit you.

"A pity. It would be nice to meet her."

"Zhongli!" You almost spat out the mouthful of soup in your mouth. "You can't say things like that! I know you're good with the old ladies, but if my mom sees you, she'll think we're an item."

"Hmm…" He hummed, his expression unreadable. "You could just tell her the truth. Surely she can't be as unreasonable as you say."

"You don't know her like I do. I'm just protecting you." You said with a full chest.

He laughed heartily, his amusement infecting you and causing you to break out in laughter as well. Since you had just swallowed a spoonful of soup, it went down the wrong pipe. You coughed repeatedly while Zhongli got up to get you tissues and pat your back.

"There there. I should not have laughed." He said while patting your lips dry with a napkin. You tried to snatch it from him but failed.

"You know, I wouldn't get nostalgia from your cooking if you're just around more. It's been too long since I've had soup this good."

"Would you mind if I stayed?" Zhongli asked you.

Your brow went up as you glanced over at him.

"This is your house, Zhongli, not mines. Why are you asking me? You can stay for as long as you want." You said with a laugh, obviously not following his train of thought.

Zhongli's sighed, amber eyes studying your face. Were you really this oblivious or were you just pretending to not understand his intentions?

"Would you like for me to stay?"

You froze upon hearing Zhongli repeat the question. Something was off about the way he worded it this time. Why does it sound so… suggestive? Like something a one-night-stand would only ask if they were entertaining the possibility of becoming something more. You swallowed, face heating up all of a sudden. Were you overthinking? The last time you checked, you haven't slept with Zhongli yet. Why was he talking like the two of you have already crossed some invisible line?

"If I say yes, could you?" You asked cautiously.

"I can make it happen, if that's what you want." He replied, equally as carefully.

"Then stay."

As soon as you let those two words roll off your tongue, you held your breath. Your heart felt like it was going to burst with how hard and fast it was beating.

A glimmer of something faint in his eyes grew brighter the instant your words met his ear. It almost gave you the impression that he had been waiting to hear them.

"I will make arrangements to extend my stay here for another two weeks."

"Wait!" You quickly blurted before your head grew so big and light, it floats away. "You're really going to stay longer, just for me?"

You pinched yourself underneath the table. Nope, this wasn't you hallucinating or daydreaming. On the surface, you were all smiles, but inside, you were a nervous pile of knots.

He nodded, a reassuring smile on his lips. "My calendar is more flexible than you may think. Another two weeks will not disrupt my work."

Zhongli explained to you once that an operating partner was just a fancy title for a business consultant. He spends anywhere from weeks to a month in a single place, monitoring various companies he's contracted with. From what he just disclosed, apparently it was entirely up to him to decide how much time to allocate to each venture he oversees. Most of the correspondence, reports and whatnot, could be done without his physical presence. He did not even require an office, but a place to stay was still needed. The house you lived in served as one of his many footholds. You wondered if he had tenants renting his other properties. Did he treat them all to slow-cooked bamboo shoot soup, or were you the only one with that perk?

You were still reeling from the fact that Zhongli had just rearranged his entire schedule this month, all because you told him you wanted to see him around more often. Since when did you hold so much influence over him? Even if your viewers regularly shower you with attention, you never let their thirst get to your head. Likewise, you had always kept a conscious distance from your landlord, as irresistible as you found him.

Now that you think about it, Zhongli certainly seemed to be the one making any effort to bridge this deliberate gap you had put in place. He was always sharing interesting stories about the places he's been and bringing you little souvenirs. You've always found him to be odd in that regard. Most landlords wouldn't even bother to get to know their tenants, since the only thing that truly mattered was getting paid on time. Getting too acquainted opened up the possibility of exceptions to that, which Zhongli had already shown he did not mind when it comes to you. You had paid your rent late multiple times in the past. He never threatened to evict you nor did you receive any stern warnings from him. It's almost like it was an afterthought to him. Still, the transactional premise of your relationship always managed to hold a firm grip on you. Now, that grip was slipping and so was your rationality.

The next streaming day, Zhongli took his seat on your armchair while you set up your equipment. Like before, you let him pick your outfit. There was something so undeniably wrong with this whole situation, this debauched contract that you had somehow agreed to. So many alarms should be going off, but they were all muted.

This was something you would never have seen yourself agreeing to when you first signed that lease with him. It was bizarre beyond anything you had the audacity to imagine. This was someone whose belongings you wouldn't even dare peek into while he was away. This someone was now watching you shamelessly touch yourself in front of a camera.

You tried your best to ignore how Zhongli's mere presence in the room affected you. Even if he didn't say a word, you couldn't help the tingle that ghosts over your skin everytime you catch his gaze. Did he find the sight of you in the bra and panties he chose arousing? When your hands glide over your skin, carressing your body, does he wish they were his instead?

Like the last time, you see him get up and leave. He doesn't make eye contact and you try to act natural in front of the camera even though your mind was no longer in the room with your chat. Slick dripped down your thigh, mixing with the lubricant you had coated your toy with. You bit your lip, riding the pitiful thing, whimpers and sealed moans captured by your microphone.

This time, you managed to catch a glimpse of Zhongli as he stood up. You got an answer to that burning question that had been eating you up inside since the last stream. The tent in his pants ruined his facade. It told you everything you had been dying to know.

You ended the live shortly, mind filled to the brim with Zhongli. So this attraction you've always felt was not unique to you anymore. Do you pretend you don't know how hard you could make him, ignore how badly he wants to fuck you after seeing you touch yourself?

Unlike the last two streams, there was no sound of water coming from his room. You imagined Zhongli barely making it to the privacy of his own room without yanking his belt off. What if he couldn't hold himself back, instead giving into the impulse? You envisioned him palming himself desperately to the thought of you, thighs clenching at the self-indulgent images clouding your mind.

"Zhongli?" Your voice drifted through the gap, barely above a whisper.

Despite your better judgement, you pushed the door open some more. It was dimmed inside so you couldn't make out where Zhongli was.

Had he been in so much of a hurry, he forgot to close it, or did he leave his door open like this on purpose? Suddenly, the door flung open all the way. Your eyes shot upward, meeting Zhongli's as he came to the door.

"You ought to get some rest, dear. What are you doing here instead?" He asked you, amusement threading his voice.

"You left before I finished streaming, so I just…"

Like he asked, just what exactly are you doing here? Were you here to confront him about that raging hard-on you saw him leave your room with? Your gaze discreetly fell to his crouch. It seemed he had yet to resolve his dilemma.

The indecent thoughts running amok inside your head made for a very curious expression. His eyes swept over your face, then down your body. Upon ending the stream, you had put all your clothes back on, but under Zhongli's smoldering gaze, it was like he had you undressed again with a mere glance.

"My apologies for the sudden exit. Was there something you needed from me?" He smiled at you harmlessly, but the effects were anything but. Either he really didn't notice the blush on your face or he was pretending.

"That's what I came here to ask." You deflected, growing increasingly frustrated with his unyielding demeanor. Even with an obvious tent in his pants, this man wasn't making a single move on you. "Are you sure you want to keep playing the gentleman?"

"Ah, so you do see the affect you have on me." He chuckled.

"I'd be blind if I didn't."

"Ignorance can often be a blissful disposition. At least for you, I believe it to be so."

"Sit down." You ordered him in a tone far too intimate than what you ought to sound like with him. "I'll help you get it down."

"I assure you, there's no need to do any favors for me that are not included in our agreement." He immediately turned down your scandalous offer, a rare tremble in his voice.

"Was cooking for me and bringing me gifts part of our lease?" I asked as I took a step forward, forcing Zhongli to take a step back.

If he continued, you'd have him sitting at the edge of his bed anyways, so you just kept walking, unhurried and intentional. His body was not rejecting your offer the way his lips were. Dealing with a well-intentioned hypocrite like Zhongli, you just had to give him what he wanted and his front would crumble under the weight of his own contradicting desire.

"Ever since you saw me the first time, you've wanted me, haven't you?" You began your lewd accusations, raising your hand to his chest to prod him with a haughty finger. "You couldn't resist making that proposal, knowing exactly how inappropriate it'd be. Now look at yourself. You can barely keep it together. Sit before I change my mind and leave you high and dry."

"Hmm." He hummed, not sounding at all offended. "It seems you have me all figured out already."

Something glinted in Zhongli's eyes before he wrapped his hands around your wrist, gently tugging you into his lap as he sat down at the edge of his bed. This was what you demanded. Except why did it feel like the roles had suddenly reversed? The moment he admitted you were right and he was entirely at your mercy, Zhongli had successfully coaxed you into a false sense of control, an illusion of power.

You sucked in a sharp breath as his hardened length slotted between your legs. The fabric of his pants did little to mask the swollen girth of his cock and neither was it enough to keep the wetness clinging to your heat from seeping through.

"May I remove your clothes?" He asked, still hesitant to discard his manners. You appreciated this immensely, found it unbelievably hot. Or probably it was just him. Everything he did and said seemed to effortlessly turn you on.

His hands reached out to lift your shirt from your body as soon as you gave him permission. Then it was your skirt. You climbed off his lap to allow him to undress you. Soon, you were in nothing but the set of lingerie he had picked before your stream. His eyes raked over you form unabashed, silently marveling at how well the material and color complimented you.

"You like it, don't you? Dressing me up and stripping me down like your personal plaything…" You whispered into Zhongli's ear as you lowered yourself back into his lap. "They have no idea that you're in the room, sitting there just outside of the camera. Neither will they ever know what we're doing right now, after the stream. They can only see, but you…" You smirked at him. "I'll let you touch me if you promise to be good."

"How unfair of you. Though I'm not complaining since I do enjoy watching you pleasure yourself. What better than to inflict such sensations on you myself?" He mused, hands unapologetically gliding over your soft skin, which he had previously been unable to touch. It was as silky as the imagined it to be. He drew in a breath, taking note of your every minute reaction to his touch.

How long had he been yearning for this? He couldn't even recall anymore. Perhaps it was a good thing, being away so often. He would've been that much more tormented by your enticing presence had he been around as often as you would've liked. How he managed to keep his hands off you this entire time and his gentlemanly impression intact, he couldn't fathom, but he was glad you were finally ready to accept the possibility that he might want more from you than your monthly rent.

There was also so much more he wanted to give you, but he never found a suitable excuse, nor possessed the appropriate role to approach you in that manner. The last thing he would want was to scare you and have you scurrying off like a spooked mouse. Zhongli was your landlord afterall. By default, you had so little power. He wanted desperately to even out this imbalance, but as long as this dynamic existed, he was powerless to change anything. That was the reality of your relationship with him, until that day he came home to find you camming.

That catalytic moment had altered something within him, along with his perception of you. He suddenly found himself spiraling. The proposal, though not entirely thought out at the time he offered it to you, was a desperate attempt to ground himself again amidst the bizarre circumstances. Just when he thought he was regaining his bearings, you come into his room to offer an even more preposterous proposal, sending him on yet another unpredictable tangent. Perhaps that was what you've always been to him, an agent of chaos, but he could only welcome it, along with everything you came with.

"Zhongli…" You called out his name breathlessly. "I know you like seeing me in these, since you picked them out, but don't you—"

"Shh.. " He silenced you. "You're much too impatient, dear. If I can wait this long for you to come to me, I can spare a couple minutes to admire you in such tasteful lingerie."

You blushed at his words, failing to catch the veiled confession he slipped in due to the pink fog clouding your mind. He let out a sigh as his lips feathered along your shoulder, igniting goosebumps in his wake. Finally his fingers reached behind your back for the clasp of your bra, unhooking it. You drew in an anxious breath, knowing where his hands were going to venture next.

His fingers splayed over your breast, cupping it gently in his large hand. Soft moans drifted from your lips as he proceeded to knead it, squeezing the supple flesh between his fingers and playing with the sensitive peak.

"Can I kiss you?" You asked him, arms draping over his shoulders.

Zhongli chuckled. "I thought you didn't want to."

"You think too much." You scrunched your nose playfully, pulling him in to press your lips against his.

You couldn't blame him for assuming though. If you wanted to kiss, it would've happened before he ever asked to take off your clothes and it'd have to be initiated by you, according to his exasperating list of unspoken rules. A kiss was something he had not yet been given access to, so you'd have to lead him to it. This was something you'd gradually realize as the two of you become increasingly entangled with each other. It was not a subconscious habit, but a deliberate one. He was a patient man, you've always known this. It's just sometimes, that patience can get a little inconvenient for you.

"I don't get it." You pulled away from his lips to catch your breath.

"What is it, dear?" He asked you calmly.

It wasn't that you were unsatisfied with the kiss. You just couldn't understand why Zhongli was taking his time like this when you were mentally prepared to take all the shortcuts the moment you made the offer to get him off.

"How are you so hard, but kissing me like you can wait another hour? Don't you want to fuck me?"

He smiled, reaching up to stroke your cheek. "Well, you're already in my lap. There's no need for urgency since we both have no reservations this evening. I do in fact have an hour to spare."

"If you want to hold it in, then hold it in. As long as you don't burst before I get a chance to put it in, I won't punish you." You teased him.

He swallowed thickly. "That I can promise."

You went in for another kiss, tongue pressing against his lips for entry. Zhongli gave it, enthusiastically meeting your demand for more. He welcomed your pillage, your curiosity, and all your audacity. It was an immeasurable delight, experiencing just how much you wanted him. You weren't putting on a performance nor trying to appease an audience to earn a living.

"I can't take it anymore." You tore away from the kiss again, panting from how turned on you were.

Zhongli's smoldering gaze followed your hands as you frantically unbuckled his belt and unfastened his dress pants. He didn't seem fazed by how rough you were being with the expensive material. Anticipation brimmed in his eyes as well. You finally pulled down his pants, freeing his erection. It sprung upright, tall and rigid. The daunting size of it instantly sobered your lust-ridden mind.

You swallowed at the sight as you wrapped your mind around his girth, wondering how it was going to even fit. The sight made you involuntarily clench your legs. Now that the fabric was out of his way, every drop of slick seeping out of your eager cunt landed directly on his shaft.

Were you really going to fuck Zhongli? No matter how unreal it feels, you could never really help the way your body reacts to him. Even while streaming to hundreds of thirsty strangers, you didn't feel like half the slut the sight of Zhongli's cock had you reduced to. If he told you to get on your knees right now and suck him off, you'd do it without a second thought.

You heard Zhongli's shuttered intake as you wrapped your hands around him. A feverish tint was beginning to take hold on his face and a haze fell over his eyes as you began to stroke him, your movements slow and unsure. He let out a soft groan, hand enveloping yours in encouragement as he moved your hands at a faster pace. His hands also caused you to place more pressure in your grip. You bit your lip in concentration, focusing on making him feel good. His cock throbbed under your sweet torment and his breath grew heavy. Beads of precum slid down from his tip.

"Need me to touch you?" He breathed, voice gravelly with arousal.

"Please…" You answered breathlessly.

It must be obvious how needy you were getting, with your soaked pussy rubbing against his thigh. The moment Zhongli's hand cupped your drenched entrance, you shuttered. His fingertips traced your slit, barely sinking in between the soft folds. You whimpered softly, grinding yourself against his hand. As deep chuckle caressed your ear as he finally plunged a finger into your cunt. Your slippery walls immediately clenched around it as he pumped in and out of your eager hole. He added a second finger, scissoring them inside the narrow space, stretching you in preparation for his cock.

"I think I'm ready." You panted against his neck. "Can I put it inside?"

"Be my guest, sweetheart." He replied, withdrawing his slick-coated fingers.

You lifted yourself up on your knees. Zhongli’s hands rested on your waist to help you align yourself with his tip. The second your warmth enveloped the head of his cock, he let out shuttered gasp. It felt way too good, the way your tight heat immediately clenched around him, drawing him in like a fever dream. Indeed, having you in his lap like this, taking his cock inch by greedy inch, it certainly resembles a dream he was guilty of having from time to time. He wrapped his arms around you tightly, as if afraid you'd suddenly run off and end it all too soon.

Zhongli thrusted upwards, his patience finally crumbling as he buried himself to the hilt inside your fluttering walls. You had never felt so full, so satisfied. Those toys you played with during stream? How were you ever going to get off on them after having a taste of this? It was no longer just your imagination, but the memory. The pleasure Zhongli was giving you was something you could see yourself coming back time and time again for, like some depraved cock addict. He fucked you so well, your mind was turning into mush. You didn't even register when he had flipped you underneath him or when the rest of his clothes disappeared. He pressed your knees against your sides, pausing only momentarily to admire your blissed out expression and your hair splayed messily over his silk sheets.

Soft squelching filled the air, intermingling with your gasps and moans and Zhongli's occasional grunt. The way his thick girth dragged against your stretched and sensitive walls was downright unfair. His tip grazed your cervix as he bottomed out, hitting all those places that made your toes curl in one smooth stroke.

"Enjoying it so far?" He asked you as he drove into your slippery hole.

Over and over, he rammed himself into you, tearing a needy moan from your lips each time he pulled away. You could barely catch a breath, much less answer him in any degree of coherence.

"Zhongli… Zhongli…" Was all you could say.

At least you knew who was fucking you so good. Zhongli groaned as you neared your limit. The way you trembled in his grasp, your lips latching onto his in desperation as your nails dug into his skin, it was all too sweet. The feeling of being inside you like this, holding you so closely and hearing your unbroken moans of pleasure, it was worth all the wait in the world.

You couldn't tell who caved first. Maybe it'll happened at the same exact time. Zhongli barely managed to pull out last minute, his thick cum splattering all over your stomach and thighs. It was a filthy mess, but you were too lightheaded to care. Your body still tingled from the intensity of the sensations that had coursed through it moments ago. Zhongli panted, focus gradually returning to his eyes. The first thing he saw was your beautifully flushed face. He reached down to stroke your cheek, earning him a silly grin from you.

"That…" You drew in a breath. "That was insane…"

"Are you alright?" He asked you.

The concern in Zhongli's voice was like a drop of warm honey dissolving amidst a swirling mass of emotions. You were only now coming down from the high.

"Better than ever." You replied, still breathless. Your eyes dropped to his spent cock. A smug grin overtook the dazed expression on your face. "I did good, didn't I?"

"You were amazing, dear." He whispered after pressing a kiss to your forehead, a tender gesture that caught you off guard. Were you and Zhongli this close now?

"So what happens now?" You murmured against Zhongli's chest as he settled beside you. "You pretty much just ruined it for me."

"Have I?" He raised a brow. "You were the one who came to my door to solicit your help. How exactly have I made matters worse for you?"

You smiled, satisfied with his reaction. Zhongli was more amused than offended by your accusation, an indication that he was not someone who immediately withdraws at the first sign of complications.

"I still have to stream, you know." You reminded him.

"And I still have plenty of work to do, but now I have this utterly enticing distraction to fend off my mind. I'd say the ruin goes both ways." He chuckled as he twirled your hair between his fingers. "Wouldn't you agree?"

You nodded. "So how do you propose we go about this?"

"Well, for one…" Zhongli let go of the strand, tucking it behind your ear. "I am rather fond of you. Would you be adverse to being with me in a more exclusive capacity?"

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" You squinted at his oddly worded question.

Zhongli had always been a precise person. In certain instances however, he also becomes overbearingly formal. The more uneasy he feels, the longer his sentences. You couldn't hear it in his voice, but if he wanted to get a certain answer from you, he would ask it in a way that would make it unreasonable for you to answer in any other way.

"I was hoping to ask you that before I leave three and a half weeks from now." He chuckled, relieved that this discussion was happening much sooner than anticipated. "But if you have an answer now, I will take it."

"I think I need some time to think about it. You should too, Zhongli." You paused to draw a deep breath. "I don't want to be with someone that I'm only going to see once every few months. If this doesn't work out…"

"If things do not work out, nothing between us needs to change. I will not force you to be with me if you do not wish to be." He replied. "Matters of the heart cannot be dealt with by deliberation. If you do not like me, you can tell me. I will not hold it against you."

"I do like you though!" You corrected him, earning yourself an amused chuckle. "You're good-looking, polite, caring, plus you make really good soup. What's there not to like?"

"I suppose I have a fair chance then."

There was nothing fair about Zhongli. From the moment you met him, he already checked off all the boxes needed to sweep you off your feet. Everything afterwards only served to make sure you'd never be able to keep your eyes off him. Now, after you've had a bite of him, you wouldn't be able to keep your lips or hands off him either.

"Ngh…Zhongli!" You cried out his name in a pitiful sound between a whine and a sob.

Every evening after a stream, this would predictably happen. You'd find yourself at Zhongli's door or he'd be at yours. Usually you'd be the one impatiently throwing yourself at him simply due to his patience surpassing yours, but he'd understand your urgency nonetheless. It was impossible for him to not get riled up watching you cam. Something about your eyes not being on him while you pleasured yourself gets him really on edge, like a tiny piece of gravel grating against his sole. Only when you're wrapped seamlessly around his cock did this irritation go away.

You took him so well, your wet haven so warm and tight, he was slowly losing it, loathed to imagine leaving you all by yourself once he had to go. With the way you begged, driven delirious by your own toys, who would you go to once his door was locked? He hated to imagine you seeking relief in any other way that didn't involve his cock repeatedly pounding into your needy cunt. Who else could fill you so perfectly, make you unravel so completely?

This was Zhongli's last day in town before he leaves for his contract in another city. After mulling over it all night, you canceled your stream, something you rarely did. You sent out the notice without any hesitation. There would alway be a next stream, but everyday with Zhongli was precious. When he finally found out he had you all to himself, he insisted on taking you out to a nice restaurant and even got you a bouquet of qingxins, maybe as a reminder for you to not overthink. How could you not though? His question from two weeks ago still lingered in the back of your mind.

You had enjoyed every aspect of Zhongli's company, despite how short his stay was. You could tell he was not holding anything back from you. No matter how he conveyed it, whether through his meals or in bed, his care and attentiveness covered you like a thick blanket. Even if you knew he was about to board a plane and disappear from your sight for months on end, your heart was still grounded, as if it had taken root.

"I will miss you dearly." He sighed as you bid him goodbye that evening at the airport.

"Well, if you can't stand the loneliness, I don't mind taking a quick vacation." You joked. "I have a lot of PTO saved up so I might as well use it."

"You still haven't given me an answer." He brought up the question that had been eating at your brain ever since he asked it.

"Zhongli…"

He stood there quietly, waiting for your reply.

All the people around you faded into a blur. You could almost hear the beat of your heart quicken ever so slightly. Looking up into Zhongli's gorgeous amber eyes, you wondered how you ever managed to resist him for so long.

"Do you think I can still say no?" A faint but hopeful smile spread over your lips. "Just don't break my heart. I don't want to be wrong about you."

A relieved smile took hold on Zhongli's face as your words reached his ears. You've never seen him smile so unrestrained before and it melted you into a puddle of shared joy.

"I would never wish to. How could I bear to break something I've been waiting to cherish for so long?"

You furrowed your brows. "What do you mean for so long? Don't tell me you've been crushing on me this whole time."

He chuckled, gathering you into a tight parting hug. "I won't refute that."

"You're such a loser. Couldn't you tell I liked you?"

"It was not apparent to me. I would hate to assume incorrectly and make things uncomfortable between us."

"Fine. I should've made a move sooner." You replied with a heavy dash of sarcasm. "Or dropped more obvious hints."

"Indeed you should've." He had the galls to agree!

"Are we really going to debate this right now? Right here? If you don't get on that plane, you're going to be stuck here with me."

"Is that not what you'd want?"

"No, go away. I can only take so much of you."

"You take me just fine, if I dare say."

"Zhongli!" You fumed, blushing at the reminder.

The shameless man laughs heartily at your expense. Lord help you. Even when he's teasing you, your heart flutters.

Finally he rushes off to the gates. As soon as he turns his back, a sigh leaves your chest. This time was harder than all the previous times you've said goodbye to him. You were no longer the same person you were four weeks ago. Your crush on Zhongli was no longer just a crush.

A fond smile graced your lips at the thought of the man who had just departed. He left you with a warm and safe feeling, nothing at all like what you imagined you'd face everytime you convinced yourself to not let him into your heart. It was about time. Not like you could casually hand it to someone else with his name etched all over it. It was in good hands now, you assured yourself.

"Do take care of yourself and try not to eat too much take-out. Send me photos so I can see that you are eating well. Nevertheless, don't miss me too much, darling."

You scrunched your nose at the text message Zhongli sent just as you got into your car.

"Are you my dad or my boyfriend?" You texted back. A silly grin was plastered on your face the entire ride back.

Sure, he was a bit old-fashioned and treated you like a rebellious teenager despite your age, but you liked the thought of constantly being on Zhongli's mind. As long as the person was right, what bad could a bit of distance and time apart do? If anything, it'd make you yearn for each other a little more intensely.

Maybe you'd even consider sending him the link to your streams.

----

I swear these oneshots are getting longer and longer. I don't know how I keep typing up so much context for kink prompts. Anyways, this one was inspired by fanart of Zhongli sitting in an armchair. Mainly this and this. You have these two artists to thank for the brainworms that infected me and forced me to write this longass smut!

[soop-cans]

I was still up at like 4 am yesterday and was in an angsty mood and made this (link) lmao enjoy >:))) (warning for Killer + Dust talking abt dying)

“Do you ever wonder what happens when we die?”

Dust let out a puff of smoke, skull resting back onto the cold stone that made the castle's roofing.

Killer cocked his head to the side, circular soul showing the only lighting underneath the dull stars. “What do ya’ mean? We both know it'll just be dust leftover.”

“Not like that, just..” Dust let out a sigh, sitting up next to Killer, looking down at nothing. “Do you ever wonder if anyone would mourn?”

Killer almost laughed, “us? No. Not a single soul in sight would give us a second thought.”

Dust took another inhale, cigarette pressed to his mouth.

“Maybe Horror would be mourned, he still has his brother, but us?” Killer smiled, looking out, “nobody would miss us.”

Dust pulled the cigarette away, letting the smoke slowly release from between his sockets, nose, and teeth.

“I'd go to your funeral,” Dust shrugged, breaking the silence. Killer just looked to the other, an unexplainable expression showed for just a second.

“Who's to say I'd even have a funeral?” Killer smiled with tired sockets, looking back at the nothingness that surrounded the castle below. Dark trees and shadows revealing nothing to catch one's eye. Dust just watched him, eyelights dulled by smoke.

“What do you want to happen with your dust when you die?” Killer eventually prompted, not moving from whatever he wasn't looking at.

Dust just shrugged, “I used to have an idea of that but now.. it seems so pointless. After dying a certain amount I just stopped caring, I guess. What about you?”

“I've just assumed my dust would get mixed into wherever I die.” Killer responded, “never considered the possibility of someone saving it.”

Dust lifted the cigaretted hand into his hood again, letting the toxic air absorb into his bones.

“Maybe you can turn me into a tree,” his soul spun in the moonlight.

“Why a tree?”

“Then I'd never really be gone.” Killer shrugged, “still be useful.”

Dust looked to the mass of trees below, forests surrounding every direction. Killer seemed to do the same.

“Do you ever wonder that if things played out differently, if Nightmare didn't ‘take us in’, things would've turned out different? Better?”

“How so?”

“Like maybe, in some multiverse, someone would've cared enough to cry.”

Killer was silent for a moment, “or we'd just be stuck in our worlds all over again, nobody would care there either, nobody left to care.”

“He'll probably just replace us when we die anyway.” Killer sighed, “we are replaceable, it'd be like there was no change. Hell, Boss might not even tell ya’.”

“I'd notice.” Dust's voice came out flat.

“Yeah” Killer paused, "I would too.”

Killer by Rahafwabas Dust by Ask-Dusttale

[katxxgrace]

ArthurTv - I Wait For You

Warnings: Swearing/Adult Humor, Fluff.

Chapter One - Arthur Frederick POV

Birds Don't Sing

She was so beautiful, not only in the way that I found her physically attractive. She was attractive in every sense of the word. Angelic featured that fit her face perfectly - her warm, compassionate smile she rarely allowed to spread across her face, making it all the more wonderful when she did, her shaded, eyeliner-surrounded eyes that lit up when she heard a song she particularly liked, or when she received a compliment. Her soft, silky hair that flowed from her scalp like a beautiful brunette waterfall, the way she dressed how she wanted - nobody could sway her opinions of how she wanted to represent herself which I dearly admired and respected about her.

And of course, her wonderful [in every single way] personality, her humor - the jokes she told, the way she could make me laugh at her own annotations she would add to things she thought no one would notice or find funny. The level of raw emotion she felt and put into things she did - an unrivaled, unapologetic passion for things she loved.

She was perfect in every sense of the word - charming, and funny, and gorgeous, and smart in her own ways, and a million words more I wish I could say to her-

"Arthur! Jesus Christ..." Georges voice rang through my whole head, waking me from my thoughts and bringing me back to whatever planet I lived on.

"Did you actually watch any of that or were you daydreaming the whole time?" Chris joked next.

I spoke meekly, "No, I was just thinking about something that's all."

A light chuckle left George's lips, "What about, I wonder?" The sarcasm thay ran through his voice made it painstakingly obvious of what he meant.

"I wasn't- I'm not thinking about Y/N, okay?" I defended myself, knowing what was coming next.

"You so were," Chris teased, sighing out a low laugh.

I looked down at my lap, "I swear I wasnt."

"What were you thinking about then? Chess?" George grinned.

Chris let out a loud laugh at the statement.

I stood up, "Whatever," walking out of the room, hearing their continued teasing of me, I made my way towards Y/N's room.

Knocking on the door, I waited for her to come open it, smiling up at me as she always did. As the door opened, I heard faint music from her television, Spotify open to a song I didn't recognise.

"Arthur!" She wrapped her hands around my waist and I jumped my arms back slightly, suprised at the sudden show of affection.

I placed them around her shoulders, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair and the contrasting muskier scent of - my cologne?

"You... smell nice- is that my cologne?" My heart hurt a little. I wasn't sure why.

"Yeah, sorry," She smiled shyly, "My perfume ran out and any of the others would've killed me. I hope you don't mind?" she looked up at me, slightly concerned.

"Hey it's okay, I don't mind! You should've just asked."

Smiling again, she grabbed my hand and brought me into her room. It wasn't unusual as we often just sat in eachothers rooms and just talked for a while.

I closed the door behind me with my foot.

My heart fluttered from the contact between out hands, long, bony fingers wrapped around my palm. Her hands were soft but incredibly cold, which didn't suprise me.

I watched her skip the song, eyeliner around her eyes heavily smudged.

Leaning over, I warned: "Stay still," wiping the makeup with my thumb. Electricity ran from my fingertip, down my arm, and rested in between the butterflied in my stomach and the loud, erratic beating of my heavy heart.

She looked perfect as she beamed up at me, "Thank you."

A song came on and she immediately seemed excitable, turning it up by four.

I listened as the song started:

------------

She said, "How could you joke at a time like this?"

I know why, because this is what you wanted all along now, isn't it?

I think that all you ever really ever wanted was a reason to complain,

That never stopped you before, don't let it get in your way,

Those are her words, not mine,

As far as I'm concerned, we could've had a good time, so,

If you walk out that door in disgust,

I guess there's nothing more to discuss.

------------

Y/N stood up from the bed, walking around it before stopping in front of me and grabbing my hands, removing them from my lap and attempting to pull me from my position, clearly not strong enough.

I helped her by standing up, hands still entagled with her own.

She started to move on her heels slightly, dancing awkwardly.

I smiled, seeing her anxiousness to dance properly in front of me, letting go of one of her hands, holding it high above her head and twirling her around.

Giggling softly, she moved elegantly but somehow clumsy and disorganised at the same time, laughing and spinning and looking oh so stunning. I felt a warm spread across my chest and up my neck, forming a blush on my cheeks.

------------

Birds Don't Sing,

They just fall from the sky,

Girls don't call,

And they never tell you why,

That's just how they say goodbye,

Goodbye.

------------

The world slowed down as she whirled in front of me, a blur of uncoordinated, beautiful movement. The smell of her hair filled my nose and kissed all the way down to my lungs before fluttering and resting as peaceful, humming butterflies lower in my stomach.

"Your hands are so cold," I blurted out - of course that was the most romantic thing I could've said. 'Wow, temperature'. I mentally scolded myself after saying it.

She eased my nerves when she had laughed, "Sorry," she batted her eyelids at me as I widened my own.

"Why are you apologising?"

"I don't really know."

------------

Don't listen to my music, don't lie in my bed,

Don't listen to the references to things you might have actually said,

'Cause those are my words, not yours,

As far as I'm concerned, it could've been a lot worse,

I wasn't trying to avoid the confrontation,

She isn't crying, she's just making conversation.

------------

She collapsed onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling with a giddy grin plastered across her beautiful face. Patting the space next to her, she let out a sigh.

I took the spot gratefully, imitating her position. She bent her knees, bringing them up so her feek lay flat on the silky sheet beneath her.

------------

Birds don't sing,

They just fall from the sky,

Girls don't call,

And they never tell you why,

That's just how they say goodbye,

Goodbye.

------------

The end of the song had me drifting into a warm, inviting sleep. Looking over at her, I floated into a shallow nap, breathing deeply and eyes growing heavy.

My dreams welcomed me with open, loving arms. I saw her, Y/N, god she looked beautiful. She waved me over to where she was lay on her side in my hoodie and a pair of my boxers. Her other hand lay rest between her thighs.

Her warm presence enough for me to walk over to her, I looked down at her. She stood up, not much taller than chest level compared to my height.

Fluttering her eyes at me endearingly enough I leant down to kiss her, she wrapped her arms around my neck and tangled her fingers through my hair. She was stood on her tiptoes, smiling into the kiss.

Waking up cuddled into her pillow, seemingly tucked in, with Y/N lay next to me sleeping was almost beyond belief as my dream.

I imagined we were in this situation romantically, and we loved eachother and had a future together.

Next chapter: I Wait For You.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOVELIES <33

[moonlight-tmd]

IDEA-

So I wrote about Bumblebee being born on earth so to speak in different scenarios (not here, on discord, sorry)... but what about Blitzwing?

I say that instead of Blitz, it was Strika and Lugnut who came to Earth. Team Prime had a whole lot of trouble dealing with them, they're big and cause a lot of damage- them messing shit up on the military grounds happened more than Team Prime would've liked. And so- once the Allspark shards start sprouting up from the ground then there's a real issue.

One time the shard appeared on the aforementioned military grounds- the mess was unimaginable, vehicles and aircrafts smashed left and right. Missiles and bombs exploded due to the small earthquake Lugnut caused. Team Prime barely got the tiny crystal before booking it out of there to put away to safety.... but that wasn't the end.

One tiny spec of the shard broke off during the impact and landed in the smaller pile of broken machines. It was hours after everyone had left the scene that something happened; the tiny spec of a crystal pulled what it could from the broken pile, aircraft and vehicle parts alike and some other stuff and put together one giant war machine.

Nobody was allowed on the military grounds until it was cleaned up... but Bee, being the rule breaker, snuck into the closed off zone in hopes to scavenge something cool... and cool he did find.

He was roaming around the broken buildings when he noticed something big moving between the piles, he called out but nothing happened, feeling of being watched settled in and confirmed as he saw more movement in the piles as he traveled further. At some point he got startled and bumped into some stuff... which led to the whole wall collapsing on him- or so he thought. The impact never came and he was looking up at this giant mech holding up the rubble before throwing it off to the side effortlessly. Bee only caught a glimpse of the Decepticon emblem and it made him run, but not far off as he was caught very quickly. He tried to break free but the mech didn't seem to wanna hurt him, it was only curious.

They managed to talk calmly after the big con made sure the tiny one was not hurt- his name was Blitzwing. He didn't know where he was nor anything about the Cybertron n such. Bee was fascinated by this new mech- two vehicles put together to make one powerful beast of a mech, it was so interesting- especially when the mech's face spun and another came into view, completely switching his behavior.  (i would imagine that there were multiple computers and their pieces smashed and piled together so that would explain the multiple personalities, just different machinery computers put together into one processor)

And so Bee befriended Blitz very quickly. So from then on Bee would say he was gonna hang out with a new friend and sneak in to visit Blitz at the military grounds, he never told anything specific about his new friend, Team Prime assumed it was a human so they didn't bother checking.

I guess in between the meetings Blitz managed to cause quite a bit of trouble for the soldiers trying to tame the mess the bots made (they were not allowed back in the grounds for that one);

One time Blitz somehow managed to take a nap at the used part of the grounds and got himself into the soldier training with tanks. He woke up when the crew started riding around and he thought it was fun enough to blast off into the sky for a joy ride with them before going back down... surprisingly the suspicious tank disappeared before the mechanic could take a look at it. The other time he was trying to figure out his alt modes functions and accidentally blew up something in the ruins which caused an alarm.... that is when the bots are invited back in to deal with whatever happened.

Bee is suspiciously quiet and as the team searched for the reason of the explosion the same movement between the ruined piles caught their attention. Before they could take battle stances an oddly large tank rolled out from one of the makeshift trenches in front of them- it turned its double cannons towards them and they saw it- the same con insignia shining on the- glass? of the cabin.

"Wait... that's a-!" Ratchet couldn't get the sentence out before the machine started shifting and transformed into a giant mech. Bigger than any of them.

All of them except Bee whipped out their weapons- to which the mech just stood there silently curious but also startled by the sudden movement of the new friend group. It was Bee who stepped in between before any of them could strike.

"You know the new friend I've been tellin' you about?" Bee prompted.

"Yes- why is that important right now??" Optimus asked, too alarmed by the giant mech to think why this was important right now.

"Well, it's him, this is my new friend." Bee said, gesturing to the giant mech who said in a happy tone "Hallo!" and gave then a small but excited wave.

So Bee is being questioned about why the frag is he friends with a con and where this mech even came from- they're all angry at him for putting himself in such danger but at least the mech doesn't wanna hurt them... that much.

See, Team Prime being angry at Bee angers Blitzwing, and Bee is the only one who can talk Blitz into not hurting anyone so really, they're all on Bee's mercy here.

They're a little weirded out about the mech's behavior switches- they are very much surprised when they refer to him as a tank and Bee snickers and tells Blitz to "go show them" and they see what they thought was a tank mech turn into a jet and him laughing with Bee at their expressions.

Ratchet knew about the Triple Changers existing and that they were extremely rare and difficult to make- never has he seen one pop out naturally. He never heard of them having fractured processors either but this one seemed to have that issue.

Nonetheless, Team Prime decides to leave Blitzwing there and just keep everyone out of the area he resides in. Bee of course insists on visiting him so he gets permission (forced out Op by Blitz's death glares)

I dunno where to take it from here but yeah, there you go.

[yc-idkwhy]

Rent a Room

(HII. First fic. This is basically a Solangelo/Heartstopper fic. Couldn't find one so had to do it myself smh. In this Will rents a room to stay at Charlie's house and ye they meet. Everyone meets and allat. This takes place after The Sun and The Star in the riordanverse timeline and as for osemanverse, I haven't read the books so this is all TV show. It takes place after S3.. excuse any grammar pls... Enjoy!)

Chapter 1:- Herb

-----• Will Solace •-----

Will had just had a crazy night. Not in the fun time sense tho. Well, he supposed it was all fun and light but that didn't stop the fact he always had endless injuries to fix after every capture the flag game. Not that he minded, like every other camper Will always enjoyed Capture the Flag and never had a problem with the aftermath. Despite all the blood it was always just fun and games, as wrong as that sounds, it's the demigod life and the only negative thing about it is how tired he feels. Will finally closes up the infirmary and starts walking back to his cabin. He sees Nico on the porch of Cabin 13 drinking something and kisses his forehead muttering goodnight before reaching his own bed five minutes later and collapsing. Asleep before he even hits the mattress.

-------------------

A white light conquers Wills vision and fades into what seems like a hospital waiting room. "A dream" Will thinks. It doesn't feel hostile. Not at all. Quite a peaceful one to be honest. Peaceful enough that Will feels completely safe knocking on the Doctors office. Atleast that's what he thinks it is. He didnt check for any signs. He might not feel like sleeping right there on the ground anymore but he's still groggy. "Hello?" he says.

Will is met with an adult man who looked like he was in his early 30s. Smile lines around his eyes. And a kind expression to go with it. He had a neatly trimmed beard and short grey and black curls on his head. Will almost noticed the mans eyes. Bright blue like the sky on a perfect sunny day. Identical to his own. Wills gaze settles on a staff that lied on the doctors desk. Black with a snake wrapped around it. Not Hermes' staff, that was a different colour and had two snakes on it. This one belonged to..... "Asclepius?"

"Hello Will Solace. Welcome to my office." Will had never ever met Asclepius before but he was definitely one of Will's favourite gods. Not only was Asclepius Will's brother but also always answered whenever Will prayed for him. Years ago he did it almost daily, back when he was new at camp and wanted to fill his head with all the medical information he could get. When he learned about Asclepius he made sure to go and pray to him whenever he had any questions and each night, without failure, Will would get a dream showing the exact answer of his question with a real life scenario playing in his head.

For some reason with a mix of Will's usual sunshiny-ness, Will jumped over and gave Asclepius a hug, pulling away a few short seconds, smiling as bright as sunlight.

"Hold your horses, Mini dad," Asclepius said laughing lightly. "Won't you like to know why you're here?"

Asclepius tapped his hand on a page of a book will just realized was lying on the desk alongside the staff.

The page was about some rare herb. Apparently found by Asclepius himself back in his demigod days. It had some medical properties, that was obvious. The book said Asclepius had left the herb there with the intention of returning to it in the morning. Leaving nothing to guard it as it was quite a barren land and nobody would've taken it. But before that could happen little demigod Asclepius passed away of natural causes. (ehm, Zeus.)

"Id always been curious about what it could do. I never found it again but I remember the area I came across it, You are a excellent demigod Will. Surely you could find it, I believe in you. And not only that but you are also one of the best healers I've seen, and the most curious.. you should go search for it, if U want to that is. this isn't a quest by the way, there is no need for any propheicies or three people rules. I was just informing you." Asclepius turned his gaze from the page to Will. "Will you do it?"

"Of course!" And just like that, Will woke up to the sunrise as usual.

In his hands was a map of the UK with a certain part circled. This must be where he will find the herb.

About an hour after the sunrise/waking up. The son of Apollo made his way out of Cabin 7. Breakfast was starting in 15 minutes but instead of going to the dining pavillion, he had another stop to make.

If there was one thing that scared every demigod at camp, it was waking up Nico di Angelo. It never scared Will though, probably because the son of Hades was also his boyfriend. Today Will was espically excited to wake up Nico. He had to tell him about the herb thingy! He invited himself to the Hades Cabin and knelt down beside Nico's Bed.

"Good morning Neeks" Will whispered softly.

No response.

Will shook him slightly.

"Nico!" He said still whispering.

"HsmmdmJsehjensdkoqwl"

"Wake up my love."

"No"

"Why not?"

"Too early"

Nico said already moving closer to Will's chest and hugging him.

"No it's not"

"Yes it is."

"It's time for breakfast! The horns almost about to sound."

"Too early"

"For me?"

That got Nico to atleast open his eyes and look up at Will.

"Will?"

"Hm?" Will says smiling.

"I hate you" Nico shoves Will and gets up to go get ready for the day. Will smiles wider.

While they walk to the Dining Pavillion, Will insists they walk slowly so he can break the news to his boyfriend.

"Guess what! Asclepius visited me in my dream today!" Without giving Nico any chance for commentary, Will excitedly explains the whole gist to him. About how he he's going to be going to the UK and everything. By the time they reach breakfast, Will is done with his news. He looks over at Nico who has a smile on his face as they sit down on the Apollo tables (gotta love those loopholes).

"Are U going to take any of Ur siblings with you?" Nico asks. "I don't think so, if I'm gone, Kayla and Austin will need to manage the cabin and all the younger ones who I definitely can't bring with me across the ocean" Will says with a laugh. "What about you? Are U gonna come with me?" Nico sighs at the question. "Diplomatic mission." He grumbles. Every so often Nico goes out for some of these missions for the underworld. He used to go without really informing anyone but ever since Nico decided to stay at camp for good, he always tells Will and Chiron first. "Well I guess I could go alone, Asclepius did say there were no people rules." Nico looks at him with a worried expression. "Alone? But-" "Relax, it's not like the UK is one of the Ancient Lands right? Nor is it the godly capital or something so if there are any monsters there it's probably only a few ones that I can handle. It's not like I'm going without any weapons" "So you'd go to Tarturuas without them but not the UK?" Will shoves at Nico who only starts laughing at the gesture. Now all Will has to do, is talk to Chiron.

After Breakfast, Will finds Chiron at the Big House, and once again Will starts his excited rambling session. When Will glances at Chiron who's wearing that "how do I say no?" Face, Will proudly shoot THOSE eyes at him. It works like a charm of course. Chiron can never say no to campers when they look at him like that. Especially if it's one the campers that have lived with him for so long.

Chiron told Will that he'd have to find a place to live. "Asclepius was right," Chiron says with a glint of pride, probably because the demigod turned god was one of his own pupils from all that time ago, "this isn't a quest, you'll have to find a room to stay. If this was a quest you wouldn't have had time for that, you'd always be on the move. Not a hotel. Too expensive for camp budget, who knows how long you'll be there. You have to get there then start all the research, it'd be impossible to find this herb without knowing the place well first. Maybe you could rent a room.... You should get started on that"

Once Chiron was done with his endless (but fair) talk about what to do and how to not be dead. Will went over to his infirmary and took out a dusty laptop from the bottom drawer of his desk that he barley used because of demigod reasons. And then started the "room in UK" hunt.

He tracked down where exactly in UK he needed to go and searched and searched until he narrowed it down into a few options. Some Old lady who had a spare room in her house. Some middle aged lady who's son went to college and said she could rent his room out. Another middle aged lady whose daughter had.... Ran away? Ok. Cancel that option. And finally, a teenager who needed some money for something and was renting out his room while sharing someone else's or something. He thought for two seconds before deciding that he would be more comfortable living with people his age rather than older folks. The teenager would also probably feel better if it wasn't an adult renting out the space. And so he contacted that one.

(I DONT KNOW HOW RENTING A ROOM WORKS OK ;-; good enough I think ALSO I PROMISE THIS HAS PROPER SOLANEGLO IN IT AND NOT JUST NICO HOVERING IN SOME RANDOM PLACE AWAY FROM THE PLOT THE WHOLE TIME)

[viciousvials]

🎲 you want me so bad

𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞; @tigerstriped

15. A kiss along the hips

The situations that he found himself in had always been questionable. Vicious was not the type of man to back away from the chance to assert himself, even when the motivations were hazy and illogical.

Maybe he was delusional. But Spike was just as guilty of finding himself in these taboo scenarios. Neither of them had a clue about self-preservation-- all they did was take and take and take when given the chance. Food. Money. Shelter. Drugs and power became the ruling vices for Vicious, the catalyst for a downward spiral that created the schism between himself and his two companions. He took and took those with ruthless intent and endless need.

It wasn't as if Spike were pious comparatively. He took plenty when he decided to become a ghost: in the typhoon of his absence, he took Julia's loyalty and Vicious's trust. It's his nature. It's their nature. No matter how much that dead man decried his previous life, it didn't erase the role that he played. It only left the spot vacant while Spike's ghost went out and haunted the solar system.

A vacant spot that Vicious despised, because it forced him to recognize the absence. It was a bitter reminder that his emotions-- despite muted-- were still in tact.

He had to be delusional. He needed both of them to be. One more time, and he could exorcise the ghost for good and put all of his focus on getting out of this city.

Head dizzy from the baijiu that they had drunken down, Vicious stares up at the ceiling of the cheap motel room, lit only by the dingy street lights filtered through the window. Smoke curls up from the cigarette hanging from his cigarette, one of several that he had sucked down like his life depended on it. The two of them lounged there on that ratty bed, with sheets that itched and pillows that should had been tossed out months ago. They'd been in a place like this countless times before, using the last of their woolongs to get off of the street.

Vicious leans his head back and lazily exhales smoke from his parted lips, and sits up, tilting his head to the side just enough to glance down at Spike in that dark room. His expression was neutral-- it always was. If Spike was a dead man, then Vicious was never alive to begin with. Very little ever showed in his eyes, but they were always trained on something with deep focus. He stares for a while behind messy silver bangs; his hair hadn't always been this wavy. The noticeable curl developed after the first few months of his hormones, something he stubbornly had to get used to.

He takes another drag from the cigarette. Without another word, Vicious adjusts himself, turning and sitting on his knees adjacent to that dead man, and lowers himself down, propped up by one elbow, opposite hand slipping down to connect a flat palm with Spike's thigh. The cigarette in his other hand is forgotten for the time being as his touch ghosts upwards at a painfully gradually crawl, settling near his waistband.

Sometimes, Vicious wishes that ghosts weren't real. It would make all of this less complicated.

" You're always easier to talk to when we're like this, " his mutters lowly, words ebbing with the most subtle of slurs.

Whatever like this might mean-- not sober, certainly. But vulnerable? Without a single pair of dragon eyes seeking them out, they didn't have anything else on the line. Nobody from this city knew who they were. Where they came from. They could disappear here, disappear forever.

It would've been easier if Spike had done that.

Vicious wouldn't have to contend with these messy thoughts, or hate himself for the way his body stirred and reminded him of how much he missed what Spike did to him in these lonely

Maybe Spike did try to disappear by coming to this strange place, and the desire to take had sent his rotten soul right after him.

" I really do hate you sometimes, Spike. . . "

His pinky finger hooks into Spike's belt loop, and he tugs down to expose skin. His other hand drops the cigarette and allows it to burn out on the motel floor, in favor of curling lithe fingers around the bounty hunter's jaw. He could feel the way the man's pulse jumped, and it only invigorates Vicious to push further, smirk subtle in the darkness. Vicious presses his lips against the hip bone (tempted to sink serpent teeth in) as he pulls the clothing further away, aware of the bad decision he was about to make. He leans up, straddling Spike's thigh, and grabs the man's wrist, guiding his hand to his own waist. He exhales, breathe shuttering.

" But how much do you still hate me? "

[clockworkcheetah]

not me coming here with an analysis on the 2x07 brotzly arguement that nobody wants. this kinda fell into me going and aNOTHER THING, but i'll try and keep it vaguely coherent

also these are just interpretations/theorising- they're just ideas to chew on. obviously i'm coming to todds defense a little bit here (lbr he gets the most flack for a scene where i dont think anyones to blame) and at the end of the day its just a bit of fun innit

firstly and the main take here:

dirk did not want to be comforted right then and there. sounds a little odd, right? when you're upset you expect someone to hug you and tell you everything's fine. well... not always. especially when you're angry. especially when you're someone who needs time to process everything. he didn't want to be touched- throughout s2 he flinches away from todd (2x03) and he often uses something to shield himself- a cushion/the filing cabinet (2x03 and 2x04). he also distances himself from everyone when obviously upset. aka he wants space. the point is, todd picked up on that. he isnt gonna try and give dirk a comfort hug because how well would that go down, really? also i will point out in that scene todd never does try and touch dirk- when he notices dirk's upset, he kneels down close and speaks softly, but doesn't go further. it's similar to other times- close, but doesn't touch- dirk actually puts the distance between them. compared to how beast is with dirk, how BW treats dirk too, and how miserable he is the entire time with unwanted touching.

what todd normally does- and what seems to have worked before, is words of encouragement- they inspire him! except... he didnt want todd's words of encouragement or pep talks this time. at that point they would be just empty words, completely meaningless. he very clearly wasn't in the state of mind where any of that would've helped to me, i think dirk just really needed to vent and rage and eventually cool off and be in a better enough mental state to actually talk it through. but it's entirely possible even then he wouldn't wanna talk to todd- he clearly has a lot of self-blame to what has happened to him, even if todd doesnt blame him for that. and thats not todd's fault for not knowing that (todd not knowing will come up alot). hes not a mind reader, he has other priorities, and todd's own mental state isn't exactly great in s2, either. (another reason that occured to me why dirk might not talk to todd even afer he had time to process is the simple fact that todd was there. he spoke to francis and beast about the events of either the spring or cardenas case. hell! he even unloaded onto hobbs within knowing him a few hours. yet with todd, he doesn't... he could've told todd about the timeloop, the spring case, ect, but he knew todd was going to be there. maybe i'm reaching but its interesting- and falls back onto dirk keeps todd at arm's length (this will also come up alot). might make another post on that specifically)

so lets talk about todd now. a lot of flack he gets is that he shouldn't have left dirk, his words were harsh and his frustration came out of nowhere

i've already dived into the leaving thing (although he didn't abandon dirk. i kind of hate that narrative- he didn't tie dirk to a tree in the middle of the woods and drive off) dirk didn't want to go, wasn't in the state of mind to go and todd had a motivation to go. todd didnt force dirk to come with- even though he very much wanted him to- and dirk didn't force todd to stay. (and amanda at this point was still his main priority- was this a good priority? no! his arc was learning to let her go. dirk wasn't todd's main focus throughout s2 and this isn't a revelation. dirk still mattered- todd didn't stop caring for dirk just because he went off on his own.) and yes maybe he should've indicated he was coming back more clearly, because like todd, dirk isn't a mind reader either (but i'll come back to the communication thing)

todd's words were harsh. they were, i'm not pretending they weren't and they're supposed to be, because the brotzmans tend to be harsh when angry. i'm not justifying, but i can think of reasons: 1. self-projection. pretty much all of todd's really angry moments (directed at patrick and dirk in 1x07 and also suzie in 2x10) you can tell he's talking about himself at the core of it. with 2x07, i'll admit this falls into fanon speculation, but this line: 'Friendship isn't just about someone being there for you. It about you being there for them too.' there's weight there. there's no way this was just said on a whim, imo. todd is friendless at the start of the show, and yeah his selfish choices fucked them all up- but i think people tried to be there for him, and he pushed them all away (and probably hates himself for that.) I don't think dirk's being selfish, but todd had a point in indicating people have been trying to help and dirk wasn't accepting it. from the audience's pov yeah, we know why. todd's pov? he's given speeches, coaxed dirk into talking to him, or to engage with the case (dirk's indicated plenty of times he's a detective and wants to do cases). he is trying in the friendship, but dirk keeps him at arms length. for todd this would eventually become frustrating. (once again, i'll come back to this) 2. the blackwing line. hoo boy. 'I'm sorry they didn't teach you that at Blackwing' like i said, i doubt this was suppose to be favourable to todd here. but, a thing to consider: he doesn't know how bad blackwing is. '"Blackwing," it's a defunct CIA program that's after Dirk.' (1x06) 'Well, they don't exactly let us just wander around the halls' (2x02) 'I was in a government prison for psychics.' (2x02) todd was def given a watered down version of BW. todd wouldn't have known dirk was small in there- he says he hasnt seen mona in 15 years, we dont know dirk's exact age, probably early-mid 30s, though. todd is likely imagining dirk to be late teens-early 20s- and no context to how long he was in there the first time. another thing is, dirk talks about BW in a particular way- with humour, he downplays the trauma, and plays up that ~he was in a psychic prison~ to impress people. so in todd's pov, BW almost sounds like a very strict school (like how teens describe school as a prison). of course dirk doesn't- and shouldn't- have to traumadump anything, but todd has a specific idea of BW that he's been holding to for two months with no corrections to it and no real context provided. to add to that, todd is woefully optimistic. all throughout s2 he was desperately holding onto hope for things to be what they were. at the end of s1 he seemed ok(ish) with letting amanda go, then he got her phonecall and he spiralled- to a near delusional degree, basically in denial with the idea things can never go back to what he wants- until amanda tells him that is reality. self-improvement isn't smooth and linear, so him reverting isn't too shocking nor is it ooc of him. he needed to be called out and he was.

his frustration came out of nowhere. no it didn't. won't lie i'm not entirely sure how to word this one without being really blunt, but it very much was building up, dirk wasn't making it easy. ultimately i think there was some compassion fatigue- he had been trying to motivate and encourage dirk throughout s2- this wasn't a one-off time, at some point it was going to wear thin. todd has finite patience- but he did try. not to mention, todd never got openly angry with dirk in that scene, he stays relatively calm. the only time the frustration really came out was at the end, when he realised dirk wasn't coming with. also the whole yet again, dirk keeping todd at a distance thing. eventually that distrust is also going to wear todd out.

next thing, priest. todd's not stupid i mean he is but sometimes he's smart he would've picked up that priest did something to dirk- nobody knows what specifically, but there's obviously something. the only info we get (from todd's pov) is:

'-that man, Mr. Priest, I've met him before, Todd. He kills people.'

couple things to take from this: - 'i've met him before' suggests they didn't interact all that often- it sounds like they met once and a lot can happen in one meeting, of course. could be dirk downplaying his trauma again, pretending priest wasn't his childhood monster, or that he's in denial that priest did something really bad to him. but we don't know! todd isn't going to know that either - the 'he kills people' line doesn't really hold much weight for todd. how many people does he know who kill people? quite a lot at this point. priest is just another guy on the long list of guys who kill people- he doesn't know much more than that.

something else i picked up on is this scene parallels quite well with 1x01. aka dirk givig a motivational speech and todd responds with: 'No. You know what, no, I don't want to hear all that from you right now.' whilst dirk never directly says he doesn't want to hear what todd had to say in 2x07, it certainly read like he didn't want to. maybe todd recognised that (the whole self-projection thing) and decided to back-off. yeah, he was bitchy about it, but giving breathing room isn't bad and honestly? seemed like the smartest move in the heat of the moment- the whole dirk wants space when upset. not too mention, todd 100% knew what dirk was doing- pushing people away, trying to make todd hate him- see him as a bad person who hurts people, because todd does the same thing. tbh that's probably why todd got bitchy with his response- he likely saw through it and the brotzmans when they sense shit aren't gonna be that soft in their replies

i think that's all the main things i noticed about that scene. but i have a few smaller ones that link back to previous points:

dirk is dismissive, keeping todd at arm's length- he is in s1 (brushing away todd's questions) and moreso in s2 (the wet circles, not wanting todd to be in the house within a house with him,ect). the constant dismissal is going to start becoming discouraging. how is todd supposed to help someone who wants help but also doesn't want help? plus todd wants to help dirk! finding amanda is his main priority, yes. but he is down to be his assistant

todd knows dirk cares for him- doesn't know just how much- but being told that to dirk 'he's just a guy whose life he ruined' we can 1. add a big old dose of guilt on todd's end, and 2. that probably feels like a slap to the face, even if todd likely knows dirk did that on purpose. (also a smaller detail, that admittedly might be reaching a bit, during dirk's rant he mentions that '-And then I end up alone!' despite the fact todd hadn't actually left yet, hadn't given any indication that he has given up on dirk. but it reads as dirk rejecting todd already)

they don't actually know eachother that well. one week, then a two month gap, then s2 was around a week long. they absolutely haven't worked their footing out yet.

to add to that- their communication sucks. especially dirk tbh. he probably was keeping todd at arm's length in a misguided way of protecting him. and tbh i don't think dirk was ready to let todd in yet. this is nobody's fault- todd wanting to be let in, and dirk shutting him out. this could be a sperate post but i think the 2x08 rescue, and the 'don't spin out' in 2x09 was dirk finally letting todd in.

self-recognition through the other. or todd seeing himself in dirk (but not in the sexy way) the way dirk was talking, even the words he was saying, his attitude, his anger... todd's been there. and who does todd hate most of all?

todd put all his faith in dirk. granted, this is todd's own undoing and nothing dirk could've done. but dirk quitting being a detective maybe have been a reason why todd got mean. at this point todd's got no money, no job, no home, no purpose. dirk gave him a purpose that he threw away right in front of him. however, to consider- todd didn't lose faith in dirk. despite the anger and the words said, todd had total faith dirk will work it out. and he did. (this comes back to my thoughts on 2x08/2x09, so i won't delve into them here)

that's all i got for now. it's very easy to fall down a rabbit hole with this scene and these characters. and i can easily do a follow-up on this because i've def missed things. but this is getting so long. ultimately, i don't think either was in the right headspace in that scene- they had differing motivations. and neither was the villain for that.

tldr: messy situation between two messy people is messy on both ends

[kairiscorner]

bc i have no life, i made (and will expand):

dialogue prompts list or something

REMINDERS! imma use these on fics if y'all want, though you guys can use these too for your own fics, just make sure to give me credit and tag me, attaching a link to this post is also appreciated if you use this ^^

(btw, i can also repeat some prompts, though please be patient, i might not be able to post so much this month ^^'')

1.) "you're a bad influence on me, y'know that?" (miles 1610)

2.) "yeah, i risked my skin saving you. i don't care if you wouldn't do the same for me, i'm not you."

3.) "mind using your eyes AND brain next time?"

4.) "my heart beats all the time, shouldn't be a big deal, but i can't help but notice how loud the beating is when you're around." (teen!gojo)

5.) "never really understood poetry, but when i read a few lines from this... you were the image that came out of the words." (noir)

6.) "if you really wanted to drive me insane... you'd hold my hand for more than 5 seconds, then you'll see me insane with love." (noir)

7.) "please, for the love of GOD, never shut up."

8.) "my hands are cold... wait, what are you doing, i thought you brought mitt--never mind, this is nice."

9.) "something tells me you aren't happy about it. and something tells me you'll be angrier if i keep asking. it's okay, take your time. just know i'll be right here for you."

10.) "if you can't believe me, then i'll have to show you that i'm serious about you."

11.) "sometimes, you don't have to worry about loving me enough--you do that too much already. what you should worry about... is giving me too much love that you forget who you're supposed to be loving first: you."

12.) "man, after 5 shots of whiskey and a good laugh, i think i've made up my mind--you're gonna be the one i'll marry." "we just met." "and i just fell for you."

13.) "they came to get their shit back without even getting their shit together, how nice."

14.) "i would've thrown a brick in your window if you didn't answer, and y'know, i was going to, but then i remembered you hated getting stuff on your carpet so i left and did it in my mind."

15.) "i want a platypus. and yes, i want you, too."

16.) "your place is filthy." "it's gonna be yours too, one day." "you mean ours."

17.) "why are my eyes gross right now?" "it's... you're crying." "nu-uh." "y'need a tissue?" "yes please"

18.) "you're so stupid, and reckless, and a literal danger to my very way of life--and yet i love you to bits!"

19.) "if i could just go back in time and see you again, maybe then i'd tell myself to love you for a long, long time. even if i never knew it at the time, i regret all the years we've lost together, i regret living my life without you in it."

20.) "now before you ask why i beat the shit out of him in the locker rooms, it was because he was gonna ask you out before i could, okay?" (soccer captain!miguel)

21.) "i am a fully grown adult. i am capable, i am independent, i am strong-willed." "and you lose your shit when you see me come home with a mcdonalds' kiddie meal."

22.) "nobody loves me..." "..." "ahem, i said, NOBODY LOVES ME" "and i'm nobody?" "yay"

23.) "i just wanna bash their head in, but... it's so distracting. their eyes get me lost and i'm, i'm out of it."

24.) "man, they're a lost cause. and yet i keep busting my ass trying to save them. i love being your spouse and curse being your spouse, dammit."

25.) "i wanna kiss... right now... but my spouse'll... hate me." "i am your spouse." "oh damn, then you'll... hate me if i... if i kiss your pretty face, love..."

26.) "go to bed right now." "no." "i guess i'll give your plushie all my kisses." "ok on my way."

27.) "again, would it be me or them? me who's been with you this whole time, me who's took you in when you're so used to being refused, me who's... who's loved you, all this time?"

28.) "where are my--" "keys? here, scatterbrain." "damn, i'm so glad i married you."

29.) "kids, go to your room." "as your co-parent, i say protect me from the dragon about to breathe fire on me."

30.) "i may be his wife, but i'm not his lover."

31.) "i think you have me confused for someone else."

32.) "it's because i care about you that i push myself away, don't you get that?"

33.) "we'll never be okay again, will we...?"

34.) "the noises in my head keep getting louder and louder and louder, but only you... only you help calm them down."

35.) "oh, i get it, fine. i'll fuck off."

36.) "i want that though." "it's a waste of money." "you got it for me anyway."

37.) "how could you say i don't love you when all my life, you're all i come home to and kiss a good morning and good night?"

38.) "what a stupid man i married."

39.) "don't... fucking move... not unless you want me to do it..."

40.) "you went in my ROOM?"

41.) "i accidentally broke the bed."

42.) "i love you." "what?" "ah fuck, i mean, i'll see you."

43.) "GOD, I HATE THEM SO FUCKING MUCH." "is that why you draw you and them kissing together all the time?"

44.) "i can make a mean burned down house and scorched lawn."

45.) "i'll admit it, fine, i can't win your heart. because your heart isn't any prize to be won, you're not an object. you're... you're you. and i LOVE you."

46.) "what, why're you staring? can't handle how hot i am?" "no, it's just that you've got a shit-eating grin on your face i'd love to punch off you."

47.) "i actually hate summer vacation... i won't be able to see you everyday for 3 whole months."

48.) "ooh, you drank from my cup, you know what this means, we had an indirect kiss."

49.) "just tell your crush you like them already and stop being a big baby about this." "okay, fine. i like you." "wait--"

50.) "i know it looks stupid, but... i tried."

51.) "it's funny, because i had you in mind while making it."

52.) "you think infinity is real, or... are we just living every day hoping tomorrow will come, despite all odds?"

53.) "you're so fucking stupid...! stupid, stupid, stupid... why did you... dammit, why?"

54.) "i don't even know who i share my bed with anymore."

55.) "bite me and get what you want, what we both want."

56.) "we'll never have to see each other again after this."

57.) "quit making promises you can't keep."

58.) "tell me to shut up one more time. go, i'm waiting."

59.) "ah, sorry, i... oh, your hand's really soft."

60.) "what are you doing?" "just capturing the moment in my mind when i'm with the most perfect person in the whole multiverse."

61.) "and you know what your problem is? you can't stand seeing me happy, that's your fucking problem."

[phantomlemon348]

Ok, I've only just watched Broadchurch and haven't even finished it yet but I said this from the first episode.

Ellie and Alec's relationship. It is very divided, a lot of people ship them, then again a lot of people don't.

But this is my theory: Since the first episode, when they started working together, you could see they don't stand eachother but at the same time get along great, but never would either think to admit it. A sassy duo, inseparable but can't stand eachother. Always fighting and throwing around pointed spiky comments. But you see how much they actually care for eachother.

Especially in the last episode of season 1, when he directed the phone signals to his mobile. Ellie just thought he was being a dick, like he always is, and I missed it at first too... But he directed the signals to his phone because he already had a suspicion who it was, he was quite certain and he wanted to be the one to tell her.

In season 2 as well, he tries to warm up for her.

When he offers her a hug, Alec is not a huggy person, we all know that, he will go out of his comfort zone for her.

But Ellie said no and it made him more cautious I find. In several scenes you can see the look he gives her. You can see it makes him unhappy to see her sad, but all he does is ask if she's ok and nothing more because she rejected him last time and doesn't want to make it awkward again.

Ok but I just want to say, I don't ship them too hard, romantically. They are best friends, Ellie's a person he trusts completely, someone who shows some fondness and affection for him. And she's grateful for him being there, especially during the trial in season 2, when Beth, who she would have usually talked to, turned on her, she had someone to talk to -(who wouldn't always listen and be a bit of an arsehole but generally, he was halfway understanding).

And aaaaaaarrrrrggh, the last episode of season 2. I think we can all agree here the "I'm not hugging you" hit hard. You could see he wanted a little bit more, maybe...? We all know our man Hardy is awkwardly affectionate, it's not exactly his strong point now, is it? But y'know, if he's leaving Broadchurch, maybe never to return (we know that he does, or at least they meet again. There wouldn't be a season 3 otherwise but we're thinking in-character here) he might want something more because she does mean more to him. She helped him find himself again, showed him some affection or fondness when he needed it most and nobody else would. She helped him back onto the path when he was alone aimlessly wandering through the foggy woods.

And when Ellie said: "Don't be kind to me, that's not how it works." That was cute how she didn't want to leave yet, wanted to wait for the taxi. Yes, that is what friends do. But my theory (could be just a hope cuz I ship them a bit and they need to be fucking fluffy or I will not survive) at the moment is: Ellie is used to him being an arse and she won't admit it, at least not to him but she will miss him. And I think she doesn't want him to be nice because she's trying not to show how much it means to her. Cuz that's I dunno, how them two are. Slightly confused, huh? Oh ye, can say that again. But he has been nice to her in subtle ways that she hasn't noticed and vice versa.

I'm sorry to all the non-shippers but I do think there have maybe been a few sparks between them. You can't deny it.

Alec is touchstarved. He loved Tess you could see that. They still care for eachother and he wanted to go back and tried to fix it. Stitch it up because he wanted someone to love and someone to love him. He fell for Tess and was happy falling. Would've loved to fall forever. But Sandbrook brought by some turbulence on the way. And it was like Tess smashed the ground into him. It came too soon. He wasn't looking. He wasn't expecting it. And it left a bloody mess on the floor and a broken man recovering from it.

But this accident leaves him scarred and he's scared of falling again. He is literally dying of a broken heart.

But I see him wandering towards the edge for Ellie. He's close, I think. But not wanting to, not letting himself make the same mistake again.

I see them as being fluffily awkward and sassy to eachother. But maybe - just maybe - in one scene where Alec says: Oh, Miller, I could kiss you. Yes. I admit, I was hoping for something.

They would kiss like once or twice but find it fucking awkward and never do it again.

As in besties but a slight bit more? But not too romantic?

I don't know if that makes sense but that's how I would describe their relationship.

My sister and I have come up with a simple way to put it: platonic romantic.

[the-artistic-animal]

The more that you say, the less I know - Steddie

Prologue

“And if it was an open-shut case, I never would've known from that look on your face”

Warnings: none

Steve knew it was coming, the calm and steady life wasn’t one for him, and just like the cursed town, he could never know peace. So it didn’t surprise him when Will said it was back, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had never left, he was always on ease, never relaxed, couldn’t quite tell why. PTSD, maybe? Now it was very much clear.

Eddie laid beside him, fast asleep, soft shirtless chest slowly rising and falling against his sweating hands. He felt jealous, caught himself wishing he could just close his eyes and fucking sleep peacefully beside his boyfriend.

They had gotten together after Starcourt, falling in love so quickly that the lines between being friends and actually calling each other boyfriends had gotten quite blurry. Steve got closer to the kids and Dustin adored this Eddie guy. Steve was not informed when Eddie was invited to movie night, and he felt a soft wave of betrayal and quite pissed the little shits had the nerve to bring a stranger to ‘their thing’. He was also quite flustered by the beauty and the easy going of this total nerd. But Steve was friend of a bunch of fourteen years old, so who was he to judge? By the end of the night, kids were asleep and the two of them had the chance to talk. They also had the chance to share a cigarette. And a couple of movie nights later, they had the chance to fall into awkward first kisses.

They gotten along pretty well. Too well if you ask, given that said nerd was, at this very moment, sleeping in his bed. Which brings Steve to the fact that he could not close his eyes, for the love of god. Eddie came over most nights, they rarely slept at the trailer, since Steve’s house was always more private because his parents were never home. But this afternoon Steve confirmed what he already knew, Vecna never left and nobody was fucking safe.

Steve wanted to call Eddie and tell him not to come. He also wanted to tell Eddie to rush home and never leave him again. But he chose not to say anything, and Eddie noticed something was off, and Steve had to lie and say he was just tired.

You see, he wanted to protect Eddie, he could not be the reason the love of his life was brought into the freaking apocalypse. He talked to the kids about this, the less he knew the better. In fact, he wouldn’t know anything if Steve could help it. As much as he wanted to share the shit the whole town was going through, Steve could never bury his lover’s future when there were already enough people he loved into this mess.

The less Eddie knew, the better.

Right?

Hello, everyone! After over a year I am back into writing. Steddie is been my obsession for the past few months and it’s what’s gotten me back, I had forgotten how much fun this is! Anyway, hope you liked this, and if you did let me know! I’m planning on this being a series, I just have to stick to it! Thank you, love you, bye!

I also have some Daryl Dixon works on my page, so take a look there if you want!

[salamanderinspace]

mother's day / ren faire

My mom let me know a couple days ago that she was planning to come up for the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. She asked me if there was a hotel near my building, so I directed her to one, since husband still doesn't like to expose himself to COVID risk at home. I was very excited. It was so exciting. I hadn't seen her in person in 7 years. I keep thinking I'll go out to see her--it's five hours by car, but a couple of days by various connecting buses and ubers--but she's never properly invited me? That is to say, she's never asked me to come. I think she thinks being in her house would be upsetting for me, that it would bring back bad memories.

I sort of low grade miss her all the time. I was so excited. I went to her hotel and waited for her to get in last night. I ended up waiting about two hours out front, because she got lost and didn't call to say she'd be late, but I didn't mind at all. It was just so exciting to see her, to be with her. And also I'm sort of in awe that she'd come all this way.

Anyway. She brought her dog. And I didn't really look at the Sheep and Wool festival website until today, but it said no pets--though I remembered people bringing pets last time I went. I'm noticing all this in the morning today, while we're basically getting ready to head out to the festival, so--very little time to process. It's a sweet dog that's very needy, very demanding of attention, and I was surprised by this because I don't think I would've brought such a dog on such a long drive. Isn't it a bit cruel? Dogs like routine. But I know there are those trucker dogs, dogs that go on long haul trips, so maybe it was fine? I don't know. I figured: not my circus, not my monkeys.

There's lots of negligent choices my mom makes that are not choices I would make but I also don't really challenge her on them. Maybe I should… but I often feel like I have to challenge every single thing she says. She has a weird communication style, constantly asking me questions I have no earthly way to know the answer to. Should I be in this lane? What's the speed limit? She doesn't know how to use a GPS.

Anyway, as we met at the hotel this morning, we saw two girls in lovely dresses and corsets, and I was like, "oh yeah, the Ren Faire is today." She said she'd rather go to that than the Sheep and Wool festival, and I agreed (I love petting a sheep or two but there isn't too much else to see.)

I've never been to a Ren Faire before. It's something I would've liked a lot as a kid, but now it seems sort of tedious and not-my-scene. It was big. There were vendors and performers, though nobody who really impressed me. I bought some fantasy themed jerky I saw a TikTok ad for once. And some baked goods. I wished I'd brought a jacket. It was muddy.

We had some trouble getting in because, of course, they didn't want her to bring her dog. Apparently events have to have special insurance if there are going to be pets. She tried to say it was a service animal but she wasn't quick enough to say what it's service task was, and just mumbled something about needing to have it with her, so they turned her away. So she took it back to the car (a long walk) and left it with windows open and plenty of water. About 30 minutes later she left me watching some singing pirate wenches and went to go check on the dog. So at some point, I checked my phone, and saw a text along the lines of, "THE COPS TOOK MY DOG, COME RIGHT AWAY."

I guess someone saw the dog in the car and called the cops. And they came and took it away. Within 30 minutes. Insanely fast. She called them and they informed her that leaving the dog in the car was a misdemeanor and she'd have to pay a fine and come pick up the dog. I had many conflicting feelings. Like, my God, how do I react to this. Do I get mad at the person who called it in, for not minding their own business? Do I get mad at the cops? Am I mad at myself for not telling her not to leave the dog in the car? I eventually expressed solidarity with her against the police state and said something like "cops are assholes" but I also told her I wouldn't have brought the dog on the trip, myself. If it was me.

And I just kept thinking: where were the cops when I was being neglected for 17 years. They show up now? For a dog? I survived with only some long lasting psychological effects and that's exactly what the dog is going to do.

After it was all over she said something like. "I was wrong, and I'll never do that again." Well. Ok. There you have it. But was she really wrong? Maybe everyone involved was wrong. That's kind of where I've landed. I should've spoke up, the person who called the cops should've left it alone, the cops should've left it alone, my mom shouldn't have left the dog, everyone involved was wrong and humans are predictably unilaterally likely to do the worst thing of any available option.

[itsonlybaby]

𐙚ᣟ݂﹒𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐭﹒

◜♡﹒﹒𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭﹒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭﹒𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

levitt needs more love, here's the playlist I listen to while writing fics

Levitt - Bardo

꒰ ୨୧ ꒱ ⸝⸝ You got captured in Bardo, and while Levitt was sifting through your memories he came across a more private one, and ever since then, you've been on his mind 24/7. italics are the memory. ﹒ 　 ⊹ 　⤷ cw: smut, fingering, nsfw, slight spoilers, jealousy

It was my second day entering M-cap, the first day I arrived I struggled and fought. They had decided to give me a day to settle in and catch up with myself.

Real sweet.

I got to Bardo through the anomaly, being pushed in by the Children of Gabriel. Luckily the prisoner on Skyring only had a year left. Had I gone peacefully I probably wouldn't have been in this mess. I wasn't even sure why they wanted my memories, I had no clue what 'key' they were talking about.

I was born a nightblood on Sanctum, never really believing in their so-called 'Ascension' and immortal gods, so I ran past the barriers before my naming day. That's when the COG found me, they had chased me all the way to the anomaly, dragging me and shoving me in, they didn't believe me when I said I wasn't a prime. So much for 'saving' humanity.

Levitt, the M-cap guy, says I'm lucky I wasn't split in half when entering Skyring.

Death would've been better than having every memory I've made sifted through.

Not that I cared what he saw, I had nothing to hide.

Once I got comfortable in the white chair Levitt buckled my hands and feet down. It all seemed a bit much really.

"Don't trust me?" I say, my eyes following his figure as he steps into the big empty space, waving his fingers around rapidly.

"Safety measure, you did kill five of our men after all." I didn't need to see him to tell the face he was making. I rolled my eyes, not that he could see anyway.

"I saw that,"

Nevermind.

After a few more minutes of his hands waving in the air, he walked back up to me, 'clicking' on me and raising the lever, "It'll only hurt if you fight it," Levitt's eyes were still averting my gaze.

"Alright, easy question. Imagine you're in a sandy desert with a vast purple sky, and a hand suddenly reaches out to you, who is it?"

I really had to think long and hard on this one, and he said it was easy. After a few minutes of nobody showing up in his lenses, he sighed, suddenly feeling pity for me. Everyone had an answer to that question.

Nobody had ever wanted to get to know me for me, it was always about my blood and naming day.

"That's fine, slideshow it is." He assured, walking back to the large space at the end of my chair.

"Turning my memories into a movie, who would've thought," I let out a tired snicker, the beams from the machine wearing me down.

"Just searching for the key, I won't invade too much," His hands began a left-swiping motion, sifting through important and non important memories.

I watched him closely as his motions came to a halt, and he seemed to freeze. Had he found what he wanted?

In fact, he found more.

Unbeknownst to me, Levitt was watching me naked in his glasses, The system can usually filter stuff like this out, there must've been a malfunction, but he couldn't stop watching.

I was in front of a mirror, legs spread and fully naked. Staring down at myself I glided my hands all over my body, taking hold of my tits and then slowly skimming down to my thighs, caressing them gently.

Even with the bad lighting, you could see how soaked I was. My fingers lightly trailed down, and down, until they reached my soaked cunt. Rubbing it in circles I released the sweetest moan.

Levitt got snapped out of the memory when he heard the door open, revealing Anders, the leader of the disciples. He quickly exited out of the memory and took off the glasses with a bright smile, using his hands to discreetly cover his bulge. Praying that nobody would notice he tried to calmly collect himself.

"Levitt! Found anything useful?" Anders asked, looking towards my exhausted state.

Levitt cleared his throat, not daring to move from where he was, "Not quite yet, my leader, but we're close. I feel I could find it after a good night's rest," He tried to come up with an excuse to get out of there and run to his room to replay my memory over and over again.

Anders stared at him, his eyes squinting while evaluating his entire being.

"Since you did great last prisoner, I'll get someone to swap with you."

Levitt felt his heart drop, he didn't want anyone else to see me vulnerable, to invade my being like he had.

Lucky for Levitt, I began thrashing around at Ander's sentence, using the last of my energy to poke my head with the sharp probes. Disciples immediately rushed to sedate me.

Levitt let go of a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

Anders looked back towards Levitt and nodded, a signal he was relieved of his duties.

"You'll do her M-cap tomorrow, then," Arden said.

Levitt took one last glance towards me, watching as the disciples picked up my body carefully before nodding and taking his leave.

It was the next day, Levitt having spent the whole night replaying the scene over and over in his head. So when he finally saw me again, all he could do was imagine what was under my clothes.

"So, how do those glasses work?" I chirped up, my voice more rested than yesterday.

Levitt strapped my limbs down, examining my attire. Though it was only sweatpants and a clean white shirt, he thought I never looked sexier.

"They go through the memory part of your brain, whatever memory you think of I can see, and if needed, I can forcefully bring them up," He explained as simply as he could.

Though you still had questions a bright idea came to your head. if I couldn't torture him physically, I'd torture him mentally.

Levitt asked his base question to get you started, "Just like last time, you're in a desert with a vast purple sky," He adjusted the bar, "There's a hand reaching out, who is it?"

I immediately thought of my ex, Jace.

Ex was a stretch. He was more like a guy I had a one-night stand with.

"Jace..." Levitt repeated his name, waving his hands around more, "And who is Jace to you?" Part of him asked because of standard protocol, and another asked to find out who the fuck this guy was to me.

I smiled before answering, my voice laced with amusement, "A one-night stand, though I still think about that night," I began thinking of the night with Jace, me on all fours in front of the familiar mirror with Jace behind me.

Levitt felt a pang of anger towards this, he took off the glasses and set them on the small table.

I let out a small laugh.

"You think this is funny?" He asked, walking slowly towards me.

"Why? You jealous?"

Levitt scoffed, "Definitely not,"

"You're not acting like it," I teased.

"You're the one tied to the chair, you should be careful what you say to me," He threatened, now inches away from my tied-down body.

If I said this wasn't turning me on, I'd be lying.

"Jealous he's a better fuck?" I giggled, "What are you gonna do, Levitt?"

My words lit a fire in him, his eyes glazed over with a ball of lust.

"I could make you feel better with just my fingers,"

"What's stopping you?"

I flushed as his fingers roamed my clothed body, only settling when he hit my clothed pussy, rubbing my cunt in circles, eliciting a sultry-soaked moan at the sensation.

"Already moaning like that?" It was his turn to tease.

"Stop teasing,"

He smirked, snaking his hands into the waistband of my sweatpants and panties. The feeling of his fingers finally on my pussy sent a shiver down my body, making me exhale shakily.

His fingers slid up and down my slit a few times, before he entered one finger, making me gasp and the sudden entry. His thumb made quick work with my clit, rubbing antagonizingly slow circles around it.

My moans only grew louder, I had worried people were going to hear but my worry was quickly absolved when he entered a second finger.

His fingers curled upwards, reaching places I couldn't with my own fingers.

I wanted to grab ahold of him. My arms began shaking, trying to free myself. Levitt noticed and quickly unbuckled my hands with his free one. As soon as I did I grabbed ahold of his shirt dragging him down to my level, moaning into his ear from the pleasure. My face was cradled into his neck, and he began kissing and sucking on mine.

"Who's gonna make you cum, baby?" He whispered into my ear, a newfound wave of confidence washing over him.

I couldn't respond, too focused on his fingers pumping in and out of me.

I began whining once he took his fingers out, "Why?" I whined out.

"I want you to say it," He demanded.

"You, you're gonna make me cum," I muttered, grabbing his arm and practically shoving him back inside me, filling the place I needed him most.

I felt his smirk form on my neck, my legs began shaking, my orgasm sneaking up on me. He felt it too as I clenched around him. His thumb began circling my clit faster as I bucked up into his fingers, needing to cum on them.

My grip on his arm tightened, and my moans grew in volume as my high washed over me, making me arch into him.

"Levitt," I moaned out while he finger fucked me through my climax.

He pulled out his fingers which were now coated with my slick and pushed them into my mouth which I graciously sucked on.

"We've got to do that more," I said, earning a laugh from Levitt as he put his gloves and glasses back on.

"Ill find you tonight, now, who is Clarke?"

Clarke? What did they want with Clarke?

◜♡﹒﹒𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭﹒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭﹒𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

[puddlexdeep]

He would almost swear he could see the music as it echoed throughout the large room. It filled the seats and the rafters, completely enveloping the area. And Clover could sense it in all ways. He tasted, he saw, he felt. It wasn't just hearing it, the music was everywhere. Not that he would have ever tried to explain it to anyone else, he figured it was one of those things that showed his mind just wasn't quite where it should be. But a small part of him wondered if maybe that was the intention that she'd spoken of. Maybe he didn't give himself enough credit.

No, that was silly. Clover shooed the thought as quickly as it had come to him. He gave himself too much credit, sometimes. If he was worth a damn at anything, surely somebody else would've noticed by now.

Still, he knew it was more than just notes played. There was something else in the room, coming from the piano, and from her violin. Something tangible.

They were able to play together as if they'd rehearsed. Clover knew it was her that made that possible, not him. He had merely memorized some music, she was the one who was able to match him and play along. It was beautiful, and he felt proud to be a part of it, even if nobody else could hear it. As they finished, his smirk had turned itself into a full smile, and he couldn't help but beam at Ophelia as she turned to look at him again.

His smile faded a bit, though, and quickly, when she spoke. The words were not unkind, but they were unfamiliar. And unfamiliar made him uncomfortable. People didn't often compliment him, and he'd never heard anyone say anything good about what he could do with music. That was likely because he'd never let anyone hear him play, but the compliments were still a foreign concept to him. "I can't read music or anythin'," he was quick to respond, his brows furrowing together as he argued. His cheeks turned red, his hands moved from the keys to his lap, and he shook his head.

There was no reason for him to be angry, and yet that was the emotion that he was feeling the strongest. Granted, that was always the emotion that came to the forefront of his mind when he was confronted with something uncomfortable. He was angry because she had to be wrong about him, or maybe it was because she was obviously lying. How could this woman, who didn't even know his name, see something in him when very few people had ever seen anything in him before? And how now, when he had turned out the way that he had? "I don't play beautifully. I just memorized a few songs. And everyone has a good day sometimes," he said, scowling as he looked down at the piano he sat at, instead of at the woman.

Another surge of anger, anger he tried so hard to push back down, because he knew she didn't deserve it. Anger he'd been pushing down for so, so long now. As he finally looked up at Ophelia again, he felt something in him snap, and as it did there was a crashing sound behind him. Three music stands had fallen as if kicked, a few pages of sheet music that had been left behind fluttered offstage, and Clover jumped up from the bench, staring at the fallen stands. They had startled him, but he quickly excused it, figuring maybe a gust of wind had knocked them down. Or perhaps they were just faulty stands.

"S-sorry," he stammered, spinning around again to look at Ophelia, still a bit startled. "That scared me, damn."

Ophelia’s response came as she lifted her violin from its case, cradling it with care. She tightened the bow with precision, her movements unhurried, but her gaze held a quiet intensity as though she could already hear the notes Clover had invited her to create.

“Not just anyone, no,” she said softly, placing the bow against the strings. “Music is more than sound in the right setting. It’s intention. It’s what you give to it. What you pull out of it.”

When she began to play, her bow glided across the strings, and magic stirred like a breath catching in the cold. The first notes were gentle, searching, feeling their way into the room’s shadowed corners. Light began to bloom, not from her hands or the violin, but from the music itself, threading through the air like golden filaments. The notes wove upward, delicate and yearning, their resonance carrying something unspoken; a quiet plea for connection, for understanding.

The melody grew, drawing from the piano’s harmony like a partner in a dance. Her magic followed the rise and fall of her bow, seeking and filling every unseen space. It wasn’t just light that spread; it was warmth, the kind that settled in the chest and softened edges worn rough by worry and strife. The yearning in her magic didn’t demand; it beckoned, gentle and unrelenting, building until the air felt alive with warmth and comfort.

As the music swelled, the magic reached its peak, wrapping itself around the notes Clover played. The room seemed to breathe with them, holding its stillness as though afraid to disturb what had been created.

When she let the final note fade, Ophelia lowered her violin but didn’t speak immediately. Her gaze rested on Clover.

“Anyone can play,” she said at last, her voice quiet but firm, “with practice and dedication, but not everyone can make music that reaches someone else. What you played? That was something different. Special. Now I feel even more embarrassed that you heard the high schooler's play. Not one of them has the passion like you have. It frustrates me; I've been teaching for years -- performing for years, and I've never had someone match me like you have. I can only imagine the heights you'd soar to if you wanted... and you don't even see it, do you?” She had stayed in Cardinal Hill because she never dreamt of what was beyond it, and over the years she wondered if she had dreamt bigger, would she still have her loved ones?

The light and warmth of her magic faded, the shadows reclaiming their rightful spaces, the comfort and warmth retreating as the light faded. But such was the way of things. Where once she dreamed of a symphony full of magic musicians, now she stood alone - her dream long turned to ash … but Clover had given her a gift in his music, and she wouldn’t forget that. “You play beautifully.”

[greywoodrpg]

𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕠𝕕𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕖

he was born twenty-seven years ago, he is a werewolf who lives in wolf crossing as a firefighter, and is in the pack. he looks an awful lot like oliver stark.

“Just once, I really want someone to choose me.”

tw: dysfunctional family, attack

Theo was almost born to help. He loved people and loved to fix situations. It made him feel important even when he was younger. He noticed his mom seemed happier whenever he made drawings about dad and so he kept doing them until he became a bit too old for it to be sweet anymore. He missed him a lot, even if his older siblings liked to remind him that he didn't even know him. It became super obvious to him that they were right when he finally came back home, but he never stopped loving him. He just tried to focus on other things. He made sure to have good grades and a good behavior, he wanted his mom to be proud of him and to make her life easier. Then his dad left and he started getting attached to his new stepdad. He was nice enough, but Theo just wanted to have a dad like the rest of the kids his age. He was devastated when he lost both of them and he was lucky to have his big brother to raise him or he would've had nobody. He made many good friends in high school and often fell in love with someone new, hoping he could meet that special someone who would prioritize him, but this person certainly didn't come then. They were all a bit too immature for him. When he graduated, he didn't know what he wanted to do, he just knew he wanted to help people. He first started working for a little organization that was meant to help homeless people and then decided to be a firefighter. He was loved by his team immediately and felt like he found a second family. He met his wife after saving her and her dog from a fire and they got married only a year following their first date. He finally met someone who actually loved him (or so he thought) and he certainly couldnt let her go. His life was exciting, he had friends that he probably would keep forever, a wife who he loved more than anyone. He almost wasn't feeling the emptiness of not having his parents with him anymore. That was all until he came back from the restaurant one night with his wife. They decided to walk since it wasn't too cold, but it was a terrible idea because they got attacked by what he thought was a simple wolf. Theo tried to be the hero, but got pushed against a tree and only woke up the next morning in the hospital with scratches and his wife gone. She couldn't accept what he was about to become and he didn't know if he could either. Months later, he was still trying to adapt to his new life when his wife called. She asked him to join her, she said they could try again, that maybe she could accept him if it was away from everything else. She always said she wanted them to move, he never said yes until now. He was desperate, he didn’t want to be alone and so he quit his job and started new somewhere else. They made it for about 4 months before she asked for a divorce.

“what power did he attain when settling in greywood?”

None.

penned by... em