#if it gets to the top 10 in a week then mark will be able to do more w Iron Lung

[alrightstartingscene]

so my partner and i finished The Edge of Sleep today (not that hard, it’s just 6 25min eps) and it was so good!! im a lil confused as to why im not seeing anything abt it

[elllisaaa]

KINKTOBER 2024

welcome to eli's kinktober masterlist !

-> author's note : i'm so so happy to be able to present you this ! i originally wanted to participate last year, but i've got caught up with the no nut november serie and i didn't have the time to do both. it was hard to choose which members from which groups to write, and i tried to keep it even in terms of how many times i write each group. i'm very proud of myself for getting through this and i hope you'll like it as much as i enjoyed writting this <3 take care !

-> reblogs and feebacks are appreciated !

-> english is not my first language, sorry for any mistake

-> 18+ content below, minors DNI

______________________________________________________________

_ DAY 01 | BIG DICK + SMOKING W. ROCKSTAR!GUNIL

you were a groupie, and you weren't afraid of admitting it. and you didn't mind that you probably were just one of the girls, that gunil had surely fucked hundreds of fans at this same exact spot. because it felt good, and you didn't want him to stop.

-> ONE OF THE GIRLS

______________________________________________________________

_ DAY 02 | VOICE KINK W. IDOL!YEOSANG x MANAGER!READER

going through your ovulation week when you were a manager for ateez was hard enough to not have to deal with yeosang deep voice too. it did things to you, and you weren't sure if you were going to be able to keep all of this professional.

-> MAKE IT BOUNCY

_ DAY 03 | VOYEURISM W. BEST FRIEND'S BROTHER!HUENING KAI

yeonjun had always made it clear to you that his friends were off limits for you, it was his only rule. and it never bothered you until kai started to come over. he was exactaly your type, but you didn't want to break the promise you made to your brother. however, is it really your fault if your door is left ajar as you're touching yourself at night ? and is it really your fault if kai walks by your room at the same time ?

-> EYES ON ME

_ DAY 04 | PRAISE KINK + MARKING W. TEACHER!JAY

after you did a successful presentation for jay's class, he feels the need to reward his favourite student in a very inapropriate way.

-> EARNED IT

_ DAY 05 | BREEDING W. SUGAR DADDY!CHAN

you've been nothing but a good girl to him lately, even watching over his niece when his sister visited him by surprise. and it awakened an urge in him. maybe your relationship is more than what chan pretends it is.

-> CONNECTED

_ DAY 06 | BUKKAKE W. XDH x STYLIST!READER

the dirty secret you've been hiding for a few months now is suddenly harder to keep for yourself when the other members catch you sucking off seungmin backstage. and after having discussed it, they decide that they have to get back at you for fucking each one of them sneakily.

-> HER

_ DAY 07 | ORAL FIXATION W. FRIEND!JIHOON

one of the first thing jihoon noticed about you was that you always needed to have something in your mouth - be that candies, cigarettes or joints, lollipops... he just didn't think that your obsession extended to him and his fingers too.

-> SUGARCOAT

_ DAY 08 | EDGING + HANDCUFFS W. JEALOUS FUCK BUDDY!SEUNGMIN

when seungmin catches you flirting with another guy at a bar, he gets possessive even if he has no right to be. you deserve to be punished for making him feel like that.

-> OBSESSION

_ DAY 09 | PREMATURE EJACULATION + FEET W. ASSISTANT!JAKE x CEO!READER

jake is the best assistant you've ever had, and to top it all, he's really cute. you know he has a crush on you, everyone knows it, and that makes him even more adorable. so when you have to leave for an important conference with him and that the hotel room only has one bed, you take it upon yourself to give him what he wants.

-> DANGEROUS WOMAN

_ DAY 10 | LINGERIE + HAIR PULLING W. BARISTA!SAN

you kinda like the barista who's always serving you, but you wish he would notice that you're flirting with him sometimes. so maybe that flashing him your pretty lingerie would help ?

-> FREAK

_ DAY 11 | HATE SEX W. ACADEMIC RIVAL!BEOMGYU

surely, everyone on campus knows how much you and beomgyu hate each other. but being locked in the library one evening because you both stayed too late studying forces you to communicate, for the better or for the worse.

-> ARE YOU DUMB, DUMB, DUMB ?

_ DAY 12 | BONDAGE + MIRRORS W. PHOTOGRAPHER!WONWOO

you wanted to be more confident about your body and having a boudoir photoshoot seemed to be a good option. you just didn't plan that having the photographer tying you up would excite you that much.

-> FOCUS ON ME

_ DAY 13 | CREAMPIE W. BF!JISEOK

jiseok thinks you're really cute when you're desperate for his attention, so he lets you sit on his cock even if all his friends are right there. he simply forgot that you were never the first one to back down.

-> IN FOR A RIDE

_ DAY 14 | AGE DIFFERENCE W. POLICE OFFICER!SEUNGCHEOL

"everybody knows that i'm a good girl, officer" is what you said to him when you got arrested for selling drugs. and despite seungcheol having a wife and kids, he can't help stumbling over his words when you ask to suck his cock in exchange for letting you go.

-> MR. POLICEMAN

_ DAY 15 | MULTIPLE ORGASMS + FEMDOM W. LOSER!HAN JISUNG

you always liked your men weak and pathetic, so no one was shocked to hear that you had a crush on han jisung - the nerdy boy of your physics class. being paired up with him for a project was the perfect opportunity to have him all for you. except that finding a collection of dairies filled with all the fantasises he has about you wasn't part of your plan.

-> SECRET SECRET

_ DAY 16 | PAIN PLAY W. BRATTY!WOOYOUNG x PRODUCER!READER

you need to work on the new track you're helping hongjoong produce for ateez, but wooyoung can't seem to be able to concentrate. though, you slowly notice that he loves it a little too much when you're mean to him.

-> USE ME

_ DAY 17 | ROUGH + LOUD SEX W. SOOBIN

it has not been long since you started dating soobin, and every intimate moment you had until then has been cut short. frustration starts to grow on the two of you and when he finally has the opportunity to have you all to himself, soobin doesn't hold back.

-> BE YOUR LOVE

_ DAY 18 | DACRYPHILIA + SPANKING W. RICH!SUNGHOON x BOOKWORM!READER

sunghoon is gentle enough to indulge in your book addiction. what he cannot bear is when you're ignoring him to read and fawn over some guy who doesn't even exist. he spoils you so it's only fair he takes what he wants from your body as a reward for being such a good boyfriend.

-> CRY FOR ME

_ DAY 19 | OMORASHI + SPIT W. LEE CHAN

after having taken you out a on a bunch of dates, you got comfortable enough to invite chan to come have a last drink at your apartment after a night out. chan really needs to go to the bathroom, but he doesn't want to cut off the conversation flowding fludily between the two of you, especially not when he had been meaning to ask you out for ages. so he stays here and tries to not think about his growing need to pee, even if it might lead to an accident.

-> NOT EASY FOR YOU

_ DAY 20 | COLLAR/LEASH + JEALOUSY W. BF!OH SEUNGMIN

despite you wearing the collar seungmin bought you, some guy still had the nerves to try and hit on you. your boyfriend had to do something, and to remind you that no one could ever treat you as good as he could.

-> HANDS ON YOUR KNEES [TBD]

_ DAY 21 | QUIROPHILIA W. SURGEON!YUNHO x SURGEON!READER

working with yunho was both a blessing and a curse. a blessing because he was incredibly talented and smart. a curse because you had to look at his pretty hands all day long and it was very, very distracting. so when you spend the night trying to come up with a diagnostic for a patient, doing exams in the labo all night with him, you cannot hide your attraction anymore.

-> UNDER THE INFLUENCE [TBD]

_ DAY 22 | APHRODISIACS + GROUP SEX W. ENHA HYUNG LINE

to celebrate the release of the new album of your friends, you decided to make them some cocktails. exept that they don't taste like they usually do, and when the fifth of you start to feel hot and bothered, you definitely understand that someone put something in your drinks.

-> FEELING GOOD [TBD]

_ DAY 23 | SEXTING W. BFF!YEONJUN

when your best friend receives a nude from you on a random tuesday, he feels the need to seek some clarification, and maybe that it is his chance to finally fuck you like he's been wanting to for years.

-> OOPS [TBD]

_ DAY 24 | MUTUAL MASTURBATION W. BEST FRIEND'S BROTHER!JEONGIN

you always had a soft spot for your best friend's little brother, maybe a little crush if you were honest. however, learning that he was still a virgin despite being this hot, you take it into your own hands to show him how it should be done.

-> SHAMELESS [TBD]

_ DAY 25 | OVERSTIMULATION + SEX WORK W. RICH!HEESEUNG x STRIPPER!READER

when a client offers a generous amount of bills to get a private show from you, you have no other choice but to say yes. after all, you need that money and the guy is handsome, you couldn't ask for more.

-> BROUGHT THE HEAT BACK [TBD]

_ DAY 26 | THREESOME + BATHING W. BFF!SEOKMIN & HOSHI

your parents are away all summer, and you take it upon yourself to invite your two best friends to spend it with you in their big villa. however, seeing you walking around in skimpy bikinis is starting to feel frustrating for soonyoung, and when he shares his misery to seokmin, they decide to act on it. the jacuzzi seems like a perfect excuse to finally get you all for themselves.

-> SOAKED [TBD]

_ DAY 27 | BITING W. IDOL!SEONGHWA

you never knew about your boyfriend biting kink until wooyoung revealed it in one of their videos. quickly, an idea emerges in your mind and you decide to make his fantasy come true.

-> SUPER FREAKY BOY [TBD]

_ DAY 28 | FREE USE W. MINHO FT. HYUNJIN

you really liked it when hyunjin came over to spend some time with your boyfriend, but today wasn't the good time because minho was needy. but luckily for him, you only want to satisfy him, no matter if hyunjin is still here.

-> SUCH A WHORE [TBD]

_ DAY 29 | CHOKING + HUMILIATION W. GYM TRAINER!TAEHYUN

today, you don't seem to be able to focus and your trainer is not having it, at all. but the effect his harsh words have on you are not what he imagined. but is it really a crime when you look this good in your gym clothes.

-> MASK OFF [TBD]

_ DAY 30 | SCENT KINK W. PERVY ROOMMATE!JUNHAN

you only see junhan as your roommate, and he knows it. you made it very clear by fucking with some guy when he's next door. but still, junhan cannot help his attraction to you, he cannot help sniffing your dirty panties and too bad that he didn't hid very well the last pair he stole, still covered in his cum. maybe that he picked your interest in the end.

-> I'LL MAKE YOU LOVE ME [TBD]

_ DAY 31 | SIZE KINK W. PIRATE!YUNHO & MINGI

being the captain of a boat with only men on board is sometimes tiring, but luckily, your two wingman are always willing to help, in more ways than one.

-> BIG BOY [TBD]

[winterzsurprise]

Change My Mind [6]

Pairing: BTS x reader

SUMMARY: As a make-up artist, you were expected to glamorize your clients with brushes and products that cost a week-worth of food, not to befriend them outside of work, let alone have them save you from dates yet here you are five years later as one of their closest confidants.

Being a stylist of the world's biggest boyband is no easy feat, someone is doing flips, someone can't stay still and one's asleep but its fine, you can work around their chaos but then one day, you find out they're all your soulmates, a whole different can of chaos you don't think you can handle.

Tags: Soulmates AU, Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Not Beta Read, Slow Build, Polyamory, Attempts at Humor

Words: 6.9k

If you weren't able to catch the author's note, update will be very slow due to my campus enrolling us to a government extracurricular that spans for three months so updates with be VERY slow until then. Sorry this one took long, had to remove one chunk out of this chapter so I could have it posted as soon as I could. Also ik the last chapter's ending was so rushed, I'll try to fix it once I get the time so for now, ignore that mess ;-;

EDIT: edited out the beginning scene, changed it kekeke

Please vote Jimin in Visa Choice in MAMA voting and push Namseok to the top 10 for Fan's Choice award! STREAM I'LL BE THERE

<<Prev || MASTERLIST || Next>>

________

You wouldn’t say it outloud but you quickly got used to the feeling of waking up next to Jimin.

The first day was jarring. Eyes opening to tufts of hair tickling your face and body waking up to the feeling of your arms thrown around his body flushed to your front, his hand holding yours from where it hangs. There’s a rumbling warmth pulsing through your body in intervals starting from your fingertips and down to your toes.

You remembered waking up feeling new and rejuvenated, as if your body had been dismantled down to its atoms with all its flaws and aches only to be reformed into a new, better form.

Waking up next to Jimin is the closest thing to experiencing heaven on earth. It was quiet and euphoric, comfortably warm, and you loved every second of it. Dare say, its quickly becoming one of your favorite things in the world.

Soulbond strain, that’s what the doctor had said. That's what caused the constant fatigue you and Jimin were feeling yesterday which eventually caused you both to pass out from exhaustion. Due to how ill-informed they are of both your marks, they weren't aware of how fragile your new bond was and how much touching should be involved for the first few days.

So now, you are bound to Jimin for a long while. The doctors had hypothesized that you both will be able to withstand not holding for an hour soon when he had accidentally let go of your hands in favor of taking food from Taehyung’s hands. 

You hope it goes past an hour when the week finally ends, a day if you’re both fortunate enough. Being forced to rest while everyone around you moved and worked is frustrating, even Jimin was growing antsy from all the sleeping, eating and sitting you both were doing.

Today marks the last day you both will be confined to the hospital as they've finally cleaned up one of the spare rooms in the dorm so you could move in.

You were so glad you could finally eat something more nutritious than bland soup. It would be a talent to be able to cook a soup so tasteless it would even make a white person frown despite the numerous vegetables and meat on them.

Since Jungkook's Birthday, you found yourself more often than not staring at the ceiling after eating, dreaming about eating other food so intensely it's like you could taste them in your buds. Jimin teased, saying you were growing insane from the lack of flavor.

A few days have passed since you found out you were soulmates with your best friends but you still couldn’t wrap your head around it.

The thought that these five—possibly seven depending on Seokjin and Hoseok’s test results later today—down to earth, aphrodite-blessed men with even more beautiful traits were tethered to you is bizarre. The idea never fails to short-circuit your brain every time you think about it. 

And it's hard not to, not when you wake up sleeping next to the peaceful face of South Korea’s IT boy—with his arms wrapped around you and his head nuzzled under your chin. 

It's something you’re still trying to get used to as you’ve never dared to sleep while cuddling with your friends, no matter how tired you might be. It was far too intimate of an act, reserved for those who are romantically involved and for someone with feelings as fickle as yours back then, it was inappropriate.

Not that it mattered much now but it's still difficult to be comfortable with the domesticity of it all.

What was once perceived as platonic now felt anything but.

Save for Taehyung and Seokjin, everyone else has continued working, although you had advised a weary looking Hoseok to take a break, he insisted that he's fine whilst practically dragging himself out of the room. Namjoon had assured you that he'll watch over his hyung but you had threatened Yoongi for extra measures. 

Speaking of work, your friends have been blowing up your phone since Jungkook's birthday, asking why they were required to sign a whole different NDA and you told them about your soulmates. 

All of them reacted positively, Minhyuk had even pleaded to hear about how you discovered and had asked to be informed of all the latest happenings, from the courting, dates, and even the bedroom—something you had promised to hit him for once you're back to work.

But for now, you were stuck with a foot out of the bathroom and body turned to the opposite with an arm stretched far out to hold Jimin's hand as he finished his business. 

So far, there's been no accidental flashing, to which you've been thankful for. The whole ordeal is already awkward as it is with only having to hear each other pee.

Jimin couldn’t even jokingly flirt with you the whole time, far too mortified with the idea of both parties being able to hear the stream of piss to even bother coming up with jokes to lighten up the situation, nor could you dare look into his eyes after the first few times you both had to go through this. You had refrained from eating too much in fear of having to shit during the week but you knew it would eventually happen.

Especially since you both have been greenlit to eat take outs and Seokjin had generously offered to buy you both food—bless that wonderful, handsome man—and dragged Taehyung out with him. 

You had been hesitant to make a few demands at first because do you even deserve the kindness Seokjin is showing you after hurting him for years? But the man proved himself devoted once more when he listed down the food you’ve been craving desperately for without hearing it from your lips.

(Tae had joked that maybe it's the soulmate mark manifesting a little late and Jimin elbowed him for that.)

You didn’t even get to tell him not to bother when he began to loudly chant gibberish as he pulled Taehyung out of the room with him.

After all the babying and princess treatment you've been receiving in the short time of knowing you were soulmates, it's hard not to feel frustrated having your best friends become your beck and call when they—save for Yoongi, bless that man for keeping his distance—hadn't been doing so for the past few years. 

It was somewhat pressuring that you could ask Jungkook to brush his teeth and immediately drink orange juice and he'd do it without question, if not gargling the juice for a little while longer just because you asked him to do it. 

From living alone and getting used to doing things by yourself, to suddenly having five people who'd follow your whims almost blindly, was overwhelming and slowly becoming more annoying than it is helpful.

If it wasn't for the guilt from getting irritated, you would've blown up on the first day when most of your soulmates had refused to let you stand up and walk around the room in fear of having you collapse.

Sure you had passed out from the soulbond strain but that same bond rendered you invulnerable to most things, I’m not about to die walking around the room with Jimin, Yoongs.

You couldn't fault Jungkook and Tae for wanting to baby you. Jungkook never had someone to pamper and spoil, and Taehyung only had Jungkook; Even then, it wasn't in a romantic way and Jungkook was also being taken care of by the others so he didn't need to do much. His ex and him didn't last long enough for when BTS’ fame had skyrocketed and he had more money than he could ever spend in his life and is quickly running out of things to spend it on.

Still, it was hard to take all the coddling. It was better when they treated you with the distance platonic relationships had granted you.

Today, you’re huddled next to Jimin as you both scrolled on social media with both your bare legs thrown over his.

There's been comments left on your instagram page asking for Jimin's health and you decided to reply to one comment to say that he's fine and recovering. You and him had been pardoned from work for a week, Taehyung had been granted some leniency and he used it to visit you both in the hospital once it was revealed that his soulmark had been affected by Jimins. 

Silencing the app, you move to twitter when the door suddenly opens and in comes Seokjin holding up two plastic bags of takeout, flexing them as if they were golden medals and you sit up.

“Your handsome savior has arrived with fries and actually good food!”

“Hi noona!” Taehyung greets as he steps out of Jin's shadow.

“Jin you're actually the most good looking man I've ever seen in this forsaken planet, did you get me cheese and sour cream flav—”

“Of course I did,” He scoffed, putting down two paper bags and one drink carrier on your bedside table before placing the rest on the table near the bathroom door. “Who do you think I am?!”

“He almost ordered it all in cheese until I reminded him that you wanted sour cream too, noona.” Taehyung chimes in with a grin as he closes the door, a hand hidden behind his back while he holds a covered cup in the other. 

Seokjin snapped his head towards him with an indignant ‘Ya!’, to which Tae only giggled at.

“You bought that heinous, god awful sweet tea with my money! How could you do this to me?!”

“I offered to pay but you—”

“WITH MY MONEY!”

Everyone only laughed and Jin trudged over with Jimin’s lunch in hand, offering it with an outreached arm and he took it. At least, he tried to. Jin suddenly raised his hand over his head. You watched as Jin continuously teased Jimin whose reach is limited due to the need to be holding your hand. 

Jimin then finally got a grip on the plastic bag’s bottom and suddenly, their fishing game became a tug of war.

“Wait wait wait! You're going to tear it! It's going to spill!”

“Just fucking give it to me, hyung!” Jimin grunt, tugging one last time and the side of the bag rips, immediately Jin lets go.

“Why would you pull that hard?!”

Jimin ignored him in favor of pulling out his container, which he realized is overwhelmingly little compared to your three packages.

“Hyung!” He screams with his bottom lip jut out, dragging out the word. “How come I only have one food package? I'm also a patient, you know?!”

“You didn't request anything.” Jin says nonchalantly, shrugging.

“We've been together for years hyung! You should've known what I wanted like you did noona! This is blatant favoritism hyung!”

Seokjin ignored him, handing you a large bowl of mixed flavored fries, a large boba tea, and a plastic container where an aroma of caramelized fried chicken is leaking out of it the moment it leaves the paper bag. Next to you, Jimin scoffed, incredulous as he crossed his arms.

“She gets fried chicken, fries and boba but I only get Jajangmyeon?!” 

Once again, he ignored the younger man, rolling his eyes as Taehyung bounds up to his disgruntled best friend to reveal the half occupied half empty paper beverage carrier hidden behind his back, grinning widely as Jimin’s face morphs into disbelieving betrayal.

“Wow, so this is how we do things now, huh? I can’t believe you’d do this to me when I’m a patient!” 

“I’m so sorry, you poor poor thing.” Taehyung pouts as he offers out the food and Jimin spared no time in swiping the bag from him.

With their bicker finally coming to an end and Taehyung comfortably sitting crossed legs at the foot of you and Jimin’s bed, you turned to your food.

After eating nothing but bland, runny soup since the night at Jungkook’s birthday, tasting the cheddar almost made you tear up. You had taken advantage of the privilege of tasting far too long, being able to finally ingest something else felt euphoric, as if you were given the chance to walk through the garden of eden.

Exaggerated much but it's the only way you could explain the feeling.

Wasting no more time, you dug into the french fries bowl. 

You hear Seokjin whisper something underneath his breath, sounding incredulous. You watched as he crossed over to Taehyung and snatched his cup, ignoring the younger man’s indignant yelp and took a sip.

Instantly, the mixed taste of cheddar and sour cream was washed away by the familiar taste of Taehyung’s heinous tea preference of illegal amounts of tea and milk. The harsh difference of the three flavors along with the texture of fries gliding on your tongue makes you gag. Your soulmates react, Jimin placing his food down to place his cupped hands under you as if trying to catch your puke while Tae flinches, about to reach over until he sees his brother already positioned to help you and turns to fetch you a glass of water instead.

“You ate too fast noona, try to chew it first.”

“You ate too fast noona, try to chew it first.” You mimic in a tone far too high to be his and Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Why are you being so annoying today?”

“I’m sorry I’m getting cranky after someone disrupted me eating—” Your words abruptly end as Jin suddenly surged in to hug you.

You look at Taehyung who’s staring longingly at his tea still in Jin’s grasp behind you before turning to a similarly perplexed Jimin mid-bite of his tteokbokki. Raising an eyebrow at him, he responds with a shrug before continuing to stuff food into his mouth.

But as you rested both hands on his shoulders, Jin suddenly sniffled.

“Jin?”

Alert, you gently push him off and your eyes meet with his misty pairs, matched with a teary smile stretching plush red lips. Your heart leapt to your throat as both his hands cupped your cheeks and kissed your forehead in under a second. But instead of getting a seizure or being struck with an overwhelming amount of pain, nothing happened.

Instead a warm feeling, akin to what the rest of your soulmates caused you, wrapped around you like a thick blanket and you froze.

Then, Jin stands with an excited yip and excused himself out of the room, leaving you and the others confused.

What?

You didn't need to look at Jimin or Tae to know they all had huge question marks hanging over their heads as they stared at where they last saw their hyung disappear out of the room.

Why didn't your body react from having someone kiss your forehead while your bonds were still unsettled? From what you've read, there's always a chance of it happening, yet even if your relationship with him stretched over years, there shouldn't be any reason why he's not causing you and Jimin pain.

Unless he's also a soulmate.

Immediately you were reminded of the time he had carried you and wondered why no one ever questioned why nothing fatal had happened when he had done that in the DFA. Even if it had everyone in a flurry of panic, someone should've noticed and questioned it right? Yoongi should have at least.

There was also that one time Hoseok had held your hand in the car, it was brief but it should've done something still with a Nexus bond as complicated and huge as yours. Yet like with Seokjin, nothing happened.

“What did I just watch?” Taehyung began and you wish you had the answer. “Did I just witness my soulmate get stolen by Seokjin hyung?”

“No,” Jimin says, eyes thoughtful as he looks at you before turning to the bathroom door. “I think we just discovered that hyung is also tethered to her.”

Both your head snapped to the man next to you.

In the small amount of time you stared at your soulmate, the pieces began to click as the cogs in your mind whirs with all the possibilities before it took you back to the moment the horrendous taste of Taehyung's tea violated your tongue. Your mouth falls into an ‘o’.

“Shared Tastebuds.” You mutter.

Jimin opens his mouth to ask you to elaborate when Seokjin reenters with a doctor following behind him, red faced but the blinding wide smile he wore was enough to make you forget he was crying not a second before. The doctor next to him looked ecstatic, eyes a little crazy at the newfound discovery.

“Congratulations, it seems that also Mr. Kim here is a part of your Nexus bond!” He says a little cheerily as he hugs the clipboard close to his chest. “It would do you all well to inform the rest of the group of this finding. From a professional standpoint, I do think that Mr. Jung has a huge chance of also being a part of your Nexus.”

To say you never had doubts that the other two members were a part of your nexus would be a lie, you had hoped they were but the absence of mark manifestation symptoms made it hard to believe they’ll be one of your soulmates.

Who knew all it took to find out if you and Jin were connected was eating while in the presence of each other? If you hadn’t fainted from the lack of food and the Soulbond strain, would you have found out about it earlier?

Was he the reason you’d taste the savory taste of a well-seasoned grilled meat or the sweet fizzling taste of a soda late at night yesterday?

Or is the bond you both have will allow for long distance sense sharing? There are two types of Shared Tastebuds after all.

“The results are due today right?” Jimin asks and the doctor turns to his watch.

“This afternoon I'm sure just before you both are discharged. But,” He turns to Jin. “For now I'll be taking Mr. Kim with me to register his soulbond and involvement in your Nexus.”

When they left again, the three of you remained unmoving, stunned. 

It must be Jimin’s touch that had kept you calm throughout the revelation because you didn’t know how to react. There’s no doubt joy in the hurricane of emotions swirling in your chest, as well as the pacifying effect from both your and Jimin’s touch overwhelming the rising stress and conflict at the back of your head, forcing and pushing them back into the shadows.

You knew you should be stressing over the possibilities of having seven soulmates and how you’d divide your time to be able to equally spend time with everyone, it was already difficult having five these past few days. More often than not, you found yourself suffering a headache caused by the constant noise and overwhelming sensations each individual soulmarks gave you. 

From the constant sounds of Namjoon’s heartbeat at the back of your head, and Jimin’s touch making your skin thrum, even the Amoneuron in your blood is having a hard time keeping you away from soulbond hyperactivity.

Someone’s phone erupted into a shrill scream, it was Taehyung’s. Picking it up, he automatically puts it on speaker and holds the end of the phone close to his mouth. 

“Is it true? Please tell me it’s not true! I’m already competing with most of my hyungs for noona’s time!”

“This isn’t a competition, gguk.” Yoongi drawled in the background. “Didn’t we already establish that? No fighting for her hear—”

“What soulmark do they have?!” 

“Manager Sejin is already on the way with a lawyer to handle the legal side of things, how are you guys doing right now? Is noona good?” Namjoon asks, sounding closer to the mic.

“She didn't faint if that's what you're asking about. If anything,” Taehyung turns to you. “She looks a little out of it.”

“How did it happen? Is it the test? Is it out already?” Hoseok's voice came through, nervous.

“Yeah we'll deliver it to you later also, remember hyung complaining about tasting something weird? Apparently he was tasting the hospital special soup—”

_______

On your dismissal, the doctor had handed the eldest their test results. Seokjin had thrown him out since he already knew what it'll entail but held on protectively on Hoseok's envelope.

Jimin had proposed a small celebration for the mark's manifestation for everyone, nothing too grand, just a few take outs appropriate for tomorrow’s dinner—because Jungkook and Tae had requested pancakes and waffles for whatever reason—and a small cake. 

With five—not counting Jimin as he insisted that you both sit the activity out and Hoseok who visited his sister but promised to return the next day to read his result at dinner—men at your disposal, boxing up and moving your items into their dorm was easy, even if Yoongi has noticeably slowed down the stairs carrying the same one box he’s picked up since earlier; not that you’d call him out on it but you knew Seokjin and Jimin would to do it instead.

If it wasn't for Jungkook's eagerness to have you move in, it would have taken you all longer than you had today.

It was surreal seeing the items in your home slowly decrease, the mass on your shelves and all the personality of every room disappear with every box filled. You had been staying in the same apartment since you were 21, to have its familiar sights and spots be slowly stripped off of its glow felt sadder than you thought it would be.

BigHit had requested your company friends do all the packing while you were at the hospital, it wasn't forced but they acted like it was anyway. They (read: Minhyuk and Nabi) had jokingly complained about being tasked with doing things your soulmates should’ve been doing, Minhyuk going as far as threatening to sneak off something into one of the boxes and you feared for your life for what that something might entail.

You offered to buy them anything they want the next time you all visit the mall in exchange for their full cooperation and Minhyuk had vowed to run your bank dry with a sly grin.

“It's not like you’d even need them anymore when you’ve got the world’s biggest boyband as your soulmates, might as well spend your hard earned money on important things; friends, especially me though.”

You wouldn't deny the fact that you tried dating Guwon with the hopes of living lavishly without lifting a finger but the world would have to bathe in fire and water before you'd let them buy you expensive things outside of food; that you accept because you'd be able to taste and experience delicious dishes. Not to mention, it's practical.

Having your furniture moved out as well was out of the question after an hour of argument with Jimin and Jin who insisted on having you buy new decorations, except for the books, trinkets, and plethora of BTS collection you were given by the members themselves every comeback.

You argued that you didn’t need them to buy new furniture when you already have working ones.

But that argument was easily disproved when the maknaes (plus Namjoon because, hyung you’re big, we need to weight test it!) had jumped into your bed and the frames creaked and trembled.

He was right, as much as it pains you to accept it.

But just because he's right doesn't mean you agree with him.

In the end, with one against eventually all of them, you were due for furniture shopping with Jimin, Yoongi and Namjoon the next day. Today though, you were bunking with Jimin due to the need for constant skinship and the lack of bed in your new room.

You spent the better half of the afternoon unboxing and filling your closet with your items which barely filled two shelves out of six that were bolted onto the wall of the small well-lit room.

“Noona, your closet is a bit… barren.”

“The closets are just huge, I have plenty.”

“I’m concerned that you think this is plenty.” He says, thumbing the material of your cream cardigan as a grin grows on his lips. “I think I saw a few cute clothes online that would fit you.”

“Don’t.”

“Can’t do much about it now, they’re already in transit.”

After finding out your and Jin’s soulmark, you had thought deciding what you ate for dinner until the bond settled would be a hassle or until you both learn how to disable it. But Jin had simply agreed on your choices that night with a shrug of his shoulder with that soft smile on his lips.

And that amount of trust in whatever you’ll pick scares you in ways you never thought it would.

It's just a simple decision, one would say, but the ugly voices at the back of your head wondered if you even deserve this amount of consideration from him when you hadn’t noticed his lingering feelings for you for years.

But it seems like that fact has long been swept under the rug when the maknaes bounded up to you with mischief in their eyes.

Upon the realization that their Jin hyung would agree to almost anything you’d eat for a while, Jungkook and Taehyung wasted no second running up to you to propose the idea of ordering you a strawberry ice cream for dessert, claiming it was the only way to test their hyung’s love for her.

“You see noona, if hyung really loves you like he said he does, he would suck it up like the man he is.” Jungkook had reasoned to you with Taehyung nodding behind him and Jimin grinning mischievously next to you.

Fortunately for Jin, you don’t think forcing him to taste strawberry flavored things on the day he found out he wasn’t untethered would be a good decision despite the loud voice at the back of your head goading you to follow through their plan for fun.

But you promised the maknaes that you’ll do it someday.

Dinner was surprisingly uneventful with a few talks about the schedule changes and the rumors Jungkook had read and heard from his small friend group outside his brothers. If it wasn’t for the soft glow of gold at the edge of your vision from where your foot is resting on top of Jimin’s under the table and the faint outline of the red string of fate stretching across to Yoongi’s right pinkie, you would’ve tricked your brain into thinking it was a normal dinner with your friends.

With the words streaming out of Jungkook’s mouth, Tae and Jimin’s additional information and the scandalous gasp and widened eyes around the table once the pieces began to form a picture, you almost thought it was an average weekly dinner with your bosses.

But soon enough, plates are taken into the kitchen and Jimin is already pulling you up to your room, saying how he wants to take a shower and that you should take your toiletries.

Something you had dreaded since you heard the doctor had sentenced you to be in constant skinship with Jimin.

Why are you even nervous?! You had seen him and his brothers in their boxers from being one of their make up artists yet your heart had been thudding loudly in your ears the moment you had entered his room with your travel bag in hand.

Turns out, there was a truth in the saying “Ignorance is bliss” in the fact that knowing something could alter the way you think and perceive even the smallest of actions. In your case, knowing Jimin's your soulmate while facing the dilemma of showering together had you completely fucked up.

On the verge of a breakdown, half a foot on the ledge and the other hanging over the fall.

You had swam in public pools with him before but it was always with the presence of others, to be alone in a small room in nothing but your undies while maintaining skinship with your soulmate—

Isn't that a bit too intimate?

Will you even survive?

To stand half naked in a minimal space alone with Jimin, your heart might just collapse.

Seeing him in his underwear shouldn't faze you as much as it should. He and the others has stripped in front of you in a haste of changing into the next costume for the next performance but in the minimal space of his bathroom where you both are secluded away from the other dwellers of the building and he's already topless and is now unbuttoning and sliding the zippers of his jorts, the mass in your throat kept on thickening with the tension in the air.

Your eyes roamed the soft, flatness of his stomach; from up his lightly freckled bare chest and down to the thin trail of hair down his abdomen. The prominent bones of his adonis belt had your throat drying up.

Seeing him topless shouldn't affect you the way it should yet you found yourself heating up at the sight of them.

When he begins to remove his pants, you force yourself to look away, cheeks burning hot as you thumb the top buttons of your—Taehyung’s—polo before beginning to undo them all with your heart thudding loudly in your ears.

The string tied to your finger lights up in a rhythmic beat, persistent and hurried. Wrapping your fingers around it, Yoongi's loud concern immediately washes over your body. You respond to him by pushing down reassurance down the lane and the thread dulls from one side.

“Did hyung contact you?”

You turn to Jimin, already stripped down to his boxers.

God is really testing you today, putting a handsome man in his underwear in front of you and tempting you to let your gaze fall down for a glimpse of his thick muscled thighs you always saw through the fabric of his skinny jeans.

“Ye-yeah, nothing to worry about though. Give me your foot, I need to remove my shirt.”

Obediently, he puts his foot forward and you step on it before making quick work of your shirt. You feel his burning gaze roam your skin and you shiver from its intensity.

By the time you had your pants pooling on the floor alongside his, your heart is thudding uncontrollably in a way that might concern Namjoon at how fast it's going.

Why is the calming effect of Jimin's touch absent when you need it?

“Ready to go?” 

You almost jumped at how hoarse his voice had gotten but recovered quickly and nodded, stepping first into the shower and twisting the valve towards the hotter temperature. Jimin hissed the moment the water touched his skin, breaking the stifling tension for a moment.

“How are your skin not burning off?! It's so hot!”

You rolled your eyes. “You're being dramatic, it's not that hot.”

“It is! The mirror is literally steaming!” He exclaimed, pointing at the long horizontal mirror above the sink which is indeed, fogging up. 

Jimin then leaned over, his naked chest touching your back. Goosebumps prickled your skin and you barely stopped the urge to shiver as he manipulated the valve until he was satisfied with the temperature. When he steps back, you finally let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding.

Hearing your exhale, he laughed lightheartedly. The fucker did it on purpose.

Trying to ignore the thumps of your racing heart, you busied yourself with the task of washing your hair. You reached for the shampoo bottle and popped open the cap, body still facing the wall.

“Noona.”

You looked over your shoulder and Jimin was scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

“Can I wash your hair for you?” He shyly asks, his sly attitude from earlier nonexistent. “I've never done that with someone else before. I-I’ve always wanted to do that now and now that we're soulmates, I was–I was wondering if maybe I–we could—”

“Not even with that girl you’ve dated before?”

He shook his head. “We were too busy to do something like that, noona. Idol lives and all that. It's one of the reasons why we broke up.”

“She was pretty nice though.”

His lips quirks up. “Don’t get jealous noona, you’re my soulmate after all.”

You hit his shoulder and he brought his arms up to shield himself, giggling. “Do you want to wash each other’s hair or not?!”

Despite your agreement, you were beyond nervous as you handed him the shampoo and turned around to shut the shower off. The string on your finger thrummed once more, still concerned as your heart leapt up to your throat when Jimin's fingers began to thread and scrape his nails against your scalp.

A thrill of pleasure shoots down your spine and you hold back the urge to mewl as he begins to put more pressure on his motions.

It stayed like that for a while and you reveled in the pure domesticity of it all. 

When Jimin retracts his hands, you reach for his shampoo and order him to turn around.

“What if I don't want to?” He challenges with a mischievous smirk.

“If it gets in your eyes, it's your fault.”

He giggled and shrunk down to your height, to which you hit his shoulder for and he laughed, standing back up. 

“Can you even reach the top of my head like this?”

“Fine but don't complain about your knees hurting, you wanted this.” You jokingly say as he bends his knees once more, a playful lilt in his eyes.

Once you lathered the shampoo enough, you began. 

You’ve seen multiple couples on screen shower together and had once wondered how it’d felt having someone to help reach the spots you couldn’t as well as do those domestic things such as brushing your teeth together and just washing each other in general. The actors always made them natural and romantic, with the soft lighting bouncing off their skin and their laughter ringing in the small space.

But showering with Jimin is anything you’ve ever thought of.

Against the other members, Jimin is easily dwarfed by them, matched with the constant jokes about his height, it's easy to forget that the man is still taller than the average man. He towered over you, his eyes intense and lit with a playful sultriness. His lips twisted into a mischievous smirk as he bent his knees low enough where you could touch the top of his head without risking a stiff neck or standing on your tiptoes.

He’s peering up at you yet you feel smaller under his gaze.

He had always done this, getting into your face while you retouched his makeup. In a way, it was nice that you’re slowly regaining the normalcy 

But it's not appreciated when he’s doing it when you’re already fighting demons trying so hard not to ogle at his body and explode from how flustered you are.

“Are you seriously getting flushed now noona? We’ve done this plenty of times already, why now?”

Is he seriously asking you that?

He laughed. Your thoughts must’ve reflected on your face.

“Didn’t know you’d be affected by something as normal as this. Don’t you see us naked at least every other day?” He asks with a quirk to his eyebrow and you narrowed your eyes further at him.

“You know damn well why,” You say, slapping his shoulder before turning to open the shower once more. Laughing when the water burst open above him, cutting him off from replying.

With the tension dissolving with the shampoo on his hair, a playful grin replaced the coy smirk and with his newly washed hair, he grabbed your arms in an iron grip and began to shake his head at you, flicking water from his hair and onto you.

When he was done, he then pulled you into the stream with a bubbling laugh as he watched the shampoo suds dissolve with the water. But with both your arms pinned in place, you weren't able to wipe your eyes and had them closed the moment he had you under the shower head.

“I'm—I’m going to put chili in your fucking water, I can't see!”

With sorrys in between fits of giggles, Jimin reached up to wipe your face for you when he realized this.

Shower with Jimin sailed smoothly from that point on. After his teasing, he made no more attempts to fluster you, even when he was scrubbing your back a little longer than it should've taken. 

He had, however, made comments on how many steps there are for you to shower.

“Why do you need to shampoo twice, use soap AND body wash? It’s not like you’d ever get sick anymore when I’m here.”

You just rolled your eyes and told him to leave if he’s going to complain about your routine. Eventually though, you speed through your routine due to him whining about how he’s starting to feel cold, lightheaded—to which he dramatized by leaning his hurting head on your shoulder—, and is suddenly sleepy.

Changing into your pajamas was a little hard as you attempted to do it all under the safety of a towel while also maintaining skinship with Jimin every other ten seconds who's also doing the same.

You managed somehow and soon enough, you both situated yourselves into the bed, with your legs thrown over his and backreading the bangtan gc that had awakened the moment Jimin had his phone.

Surprisingly, even Jungkook was active.

           [21:24] Mimi: It's so weird tae            [21:24] Mimi: I’ve never seen someone use soap AND body wash THEN washes their hair t w i c e            [21:24] Hoba: I do that…            [21:25] Mimi: That’s expected hyung, you’re a neat freak.            [21:25] You: Why are you so weird about me being clean?!            [21:25] You: IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU BEING AN IDOL I BET YOU'D USE THOSE 11-IN-1 SHAMPOOS          �� [21:26] Mimi: ITS PSYCHOPATH BEHAVIOR            [21:26] Mimi: also EXCUSE YOU???            [21:26] Jinnie: hoba I think he just called you a psychopath            [21:26] Hoba: 🙁            [21:27] Ggukie: NOW YOU MADE HYUNG SAD            [21:27] Hoba: 🙁            [21:27] Hoba: you think im weird jimin-ah?🥺            [21:27] Yoongs: why is this even a conversation            [21:27] Joonie: Jimin just because you don’t do it, doesn’t mean it's unorthodox.            [21:28] Minnie: you’re one of them, are you hyung?!            [21:28] Tete: I still cant believe Jimin just showered with noona…            [21:28] Tete: why are we breezing through that information?            [21:28] Jinnie: ok so lets not talk about that            [21:29] Jinnie: this pretty prince is going to cook tomorrow's breakfast, what does the group's prettiest want?

Reading his message felt like cold water dousing you awake and you’re suddenly attacked by a wave of guilt.

Is it okay for you to even make demands like this? Do you even deserve being Seokjin’s dearest?

“Ask him for waffles, I'm craving for them.” Jimin says, his voice slicing through your thoughts and you turn back to your phone.

           [21:29] Ggukie: ask me too hyung!            [21:29] Jinnie: fine I’ll bite            [21:29] Jinnie: what do you want brat?            [21:30] Ggukie: noona’s love :DD

You watched as Jin’s profile pic popped up and came down multiple times, and each time they do, your and Jimin’s giggles multiply.

           [21:32] Jinnie: I’m blocking you            [21:32] Joonie: I should have you kicked out for that stupid, corny ass joke oh my god            [21:32] Yoongs: that activated my fight or flight            [21:32] Yoongs: don’t do that again            [21:32] Ggukie: hyung ask me again            [21:32] Ggukie: promise I’ll respond properly this time :]            [21:33] Jinnie: Y/N?            [21:33] Ggukie: HYUNG            [21:33] Minnie: she says she wants waffles :>            [21:33] Jinnie: I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth, Park Jimin            [21:34] Minnie: D:            [21:34] You: I want scrambled eggs and pancakes :D

“Get out of my room if you're going to betray me like this.”

“You shouldn’t have played around earlier then.” 

“You shouldn’t have played around earlier then. Give me that!” You stretch your arm away from him but Jimin was faster, managing to pluck your phone from your grasp and moving to place it on his side of the floor.

Without hesitation, you launched yourself at his hand making him yelp before it dissolved into giggles when you managed to catch him and had curled up around his arm, fingers attempting to pry him away from your phone.

It was how Tae had found you both in and immediately lept in, taking your side the moment he had seen you and Jimin tussled for your phone. 

With Tae’s help, you were able to take back your phone only to see that it had locked itself from the many times the screen had picked up on both you and Jimin’s palms and had typed in the wrong combination after the other. For that, you slapped his arm.

“What did I do wrong?! It’s not my fault the stupid phone couldn’t differentiate between palm and fingers!”

“If I wasn’t required to touch you, I’d have you kicked out of this room.”

Jimin pushed himself up, face incredulous. “This is literally my room.”

“Next week you should sleep in my room instead, noona. I’d love to have you there.” Taehyung says, pulling you to his chest and side-eyeing his friend. “I wouldn’t be as mean as Jiminie.”

“Why am I getting disrespected in my own room? Is it gang up on Jimin day?!”

“When is it not gang up on Jimin day?”

“Why you—GET OUT OF MY ROOM.”

TAGLIST: @wildestdreamsblog @canarystwin @prettywheenicry @jmnscutie @sassy-snassy @misuguru @11thenightwemet11 @yoongibaybee @rinkud @bri602 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @marvel-potter-1d-korea @comingupwithacoolnameishard @sooha-neul @juju-227592 @coffeewanderer @x-uno @diamonddia-mond @eggsysstuff @dearmyfavoritepeople-bts @sld88 @katsukis1wife

[lizzyiii]

Pregnancy Scare

pairing | josh washington x fem!reader

word count | 4.9k words

summary | you are slowly pulling away from your boyfriend, Josh, frustrated because of this secret his keeping. Matters only get worse when you realize your period is late.

tags | angst, hurt/comfort, pregnancy scare, mentions of pregnancy, teenagers in love, fluff, mentions of mental illness, confessions, no description of reader

a/n | hey beautiful people, just wanted to say that these are extractions from my actual fanfic on A03, unfortunately it is Josh x OC, but if you guys are interested it's called Echoes Of Us

likes comments and reblogs are much appreciated ✨

MASTERLIST

Oh god, oh god, oh god.

Your mind was racing as you sat on the edge of your bed, staring at the calendar pinned to your wall. The little red circle marking the start of your period last month seemed to mock you now. It had been over a week—a week—and nothing.

Your chest tightened as you buried your face in your hands, letting out a shaky breath. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not like this.

You were eighteen—still figuring everything out, still planning your future. And now the universe had decided to throw you a curveball you weren't ready for.

To make matters worse, you hadn’t spoken to Josh in days. You had been dodging his texts, ignoring his calls, and making every excuse to avoid seeing him when he came back home for the weekend.

It was easier this way. The secrets he’d been keeping had created a wedge between the two of you, and it was suffocating you.

You didn’t know what was worse—the way he would dodge your questions with a charming smile or cheesy joke or the nagging feeling in your gut that he didn’t trust you enough to let you all the way in.

And now? Now, you might be pregnant. Pregnant, for god’s sake. You let out a bitter laugh at the thought. "Eighteen and pregnant. That’ll look great on my college applications."

Your gaze drifted toward your phone on the nightstand. Josh’s name was still at the top of your unread messages. The last one from him was from this morning:

Sun, May 20, 2012,

10:47 AM

Josh: Baby, I’m sorry. Can you just talk to me?

11:19 AM

Josh: Please?

Your stomach churned. The thought of talking to him made you want to scream and cry all at once. What would you even say? That you were furious with him for keeping things from you?

That you weren't sure you could trust him? Or maybe you'd lead with the bombshell that you might be carrying his baby?

Your fingers trembled as you grabbed the unopened pregnancy test from your bag, your heart pounding in your chest. You had driven two towns over to buy it, far enough from Santa Monica that no one you knew could catch you.

Even then, you hadn’t been able to meet the cashier’s eyes as they scanned the box and handed it over.

Now it sat in your hands, small and unassuming, but it felt heavier than anything you'd ever held. A deep groan escaped you as you shoved the box under your pillow, as though hiding it would make it less real. Flopping back onto your bed, you grabbed your phone, hoping for a distraction.

Big mistake.

Your chest tightened as you scrolled through your notifications. A string of unread messages from Josh stared back at you, a silent accusation.

You locked your phone without responding, holding it to your chest. The guilt gnawed at you. Avoiding Josh was one thing, but there were also unread messages from Beth. That was worse. So much worse.

You swallowed hard, your throat tightening. Beth didn’t deserve this. She'd always been the supportive one, the steady one. Ignoring her felt like betraying your friendship.

But how could you face Beth right now? The thought of seeing her filled you with dread. Beth had this uncanny ability to read you like a book—she’d take one look at you and know something was wrong.

You could already picture the concerned tilt of Beth’s head, the gentle but insistent questions, the way she’d push until you cracked.

And then, before you could stop yourself, the words would come spilling out, “Hey, B, guess what? You’re going to be an aunt.”

Just imagining it made your stomach twist into knots. You couldn’t handle that conversation—not with Josh, not with Beth, not with anyone.

The spiral was already beginning, your thoughts circling darker and darker, and you clutched your pillow tightly against your chest as though the pressure might keep you from completely unraveling.

Your breaths were shallow, and you were dangerously close to a full-blown breakdown when the soft buzz of your phone snapped you out of it.

You froze, your heart jumping into your throat. Tentatively, you picked up the phone, half-dreading yet another message from Josh or Beth.

But when you glanced at the screen, you let out a shaky sigh of relief. It wasn’t them.

It was Em.

13:05 PM

Emily: Shopping later?

You stared at the text for a moment, your thumb hovering over the keyboard. Emily’s bluntness was weirdly comforting—it was one of the few things you could count on to stay consistent. You really could use a distraction, something to pull you out of your own head.

13:06 PM

You: Barney's in an hour?

It didn’t take long for Emily to reply.

13:07 PM

Emily: See you there, bitch.

You couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at your lips. For now, you could put everything aside—the unopened test, the missed calls, the terrifying what-ifs—and focus on something mindless.

You tossed your pillow aside, grabbed your purse, and headed out the door. Shopping with Emily wouldn’t fix your problems, but it might give you just enough strength to face them.

“Y’know, I’m surprised Jess isn’t here,” You murmured as you scanned the racks of dresses, running your fingers over the fabric, your thoughts far from the clothes in front of you.

Emily stood beside you, meticulously inspecting each hanger with the precision of someone on a mission.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Jess," Emily replied, her voice casual as she shifted a dress aside. "She’s my best friend, but sometimes… I don’t know. She doesn’t really give the best advice and doesn’t always get... certain things."

You turned to glance at Emily, raising an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on your lips. “Are you calling her dumb, Em?”

Emily laughed softly, shaking her head. "I’m not! Don’t twist my words like that."

But then her laughter faded, her gaze lingering on a dress she wasn’t really looking at. Her lips pursed, and she hesitated before adding, “It’s just… I’ve been having some problems with Mike.”

At the mention of Mike, you let out an audible sigh, unable to hide your disdain.

Emily shot you a sharp side-eye. "What was that sigh for?"

You shrugged, toying absentmindedly with a strand of your hair. “You know I don’t like him.”

"I’ll never understand why," Emily replied with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. She pulled a dress from the rack but didn’t even look at it before putting it back. Her tone softened as she admitted, "But… there’s something else."

You frowned, turning your full attention to Emily. "What is it, Em?"

Emily hesitated, her fingers fidgeting with a price tag. “I haven’t slept with him yet,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing to hide the tension in her voice.

Your eyebrows shot up to your hairline, your surprise evident. Emily noticed and immediately scoffed. "Why the hell are you looking at me like that?"

"I’m not shocked," You said quickly, though your tone betrayed your curiosity. "It’s just… you two have been together for, like, a year."

Emily sighed, crossing her arms defensively. “Yeah, and? Relationships aren’t all about that, you know.”

“I didn’t say they were,” You replied, your voice gentler now. You leaned slightly against the rack, studying Emily’s expression. "But if it’s bothering you, why haven’t you told him?"

Emily hesitated, her shoulders slumping slightly. "It’s not that easy. Mike’s… Mike. He can be so pushy sometimes, and I just—ugh, I don’t know."

You tilted your head, your tone blunt but kind. “If he’s making you feel pressured, that’s not okay, Em. You don’t owe him anything just because you’ve been together a while.”

Emily glanced at you, her guarded expression softening. “It’s not just him. It’s me, too. I guess I feel… guilty? Like I should be ready by now, but I’m just… not.”

You reached out, placing a hand on Emily’s shoulder. "Then that’s his problem, not yours. If Mike really cares about you—and I mean really—he’ll wait. No questions asked."

Emily nodded slowly, exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Thanks, babe.”

"Anytime," you replied with a small smile. Then you added, unable to resist, “But just for the record, I still think you could do better.”

Emily rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the grin tugging at her lips. “You’re impossible.”

“Yeah, but you love me anyway,” You quipped, a teasing grin on your face as you pulled another dress off the rack. For a moment, the air lightened between you.

But as your eyes wandered, something stopped you cold—the maternity section.

Your heart skipped a beat as your feet carried you there almost instinctively. You reached for a dress, a soft, pink summery thing with a flowy cut.

It was adorable and obviously meant for someone who was heavily pregnant. You stared at it, your mind spiraling. You could almost see yourself in it, your stomach round and heavy with life.

“What the hell are you doing?” Emily’s voice cut through the moment like a knife, startling you.

You jumped, the dress slipping from your hands. You shoved it hastily back onto the rack. “Nothing, Em,” you said, too quickly.

Emily raised a skeptical brow, her sharp eyes darting from you to the maternity section. A slow smirk tugged at her lips. “What, you pregnant or something?” she teased lightly.

You let out a forced laugh, waving your hand dismissively. “What the fuck? No.”

But Emily wasn’t buying it. Her playful expression gave way to something more calculating as she studied you closely. She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Wait... are you?”

“No, Em,” you said, too fast again, your voice dropping to a shaky murmur. You hesitated, then added, “My period’s just late, that’s all.”

Emily’s eyes widened, the gravity of the situation sinking in. “Oh my god,” she whispered, the teasing gone from her tone entirely.

“It’s nothing, Emily,” you snapped, your voice firm but not convincing. “I swear. Don’t make a big deal about it, okay?”

Emily nodded, her lips pursed like she wasn’t entirely convinced. Then, with a glance at you, she reached out and plucked the pink dress from the rack.

She held it up, studying it for a moment before saying, “If you are, you know you can’t keep it, right?”

You froze, your stomach dropping like a stone. “Why?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

Emily shrugged, her tone casual, almost flippant. “Because we’d be terrible moms.”

You frowned, your chest tightening. “Why would I be a terrible mom?” you asked, trying to sound indifferent but failing miserably.

“Don’t take it personally, Hon,” Emily replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “It’s just… we all turn into our parents eventually, right? And I mean, as soon as Junior you hits puberty, Senior you becomes a bitter bitch. It’s just how it goes.”

Your jaw clenched as you looked away, your gaze landing on the dress again. Emily’s words were meant to be casual, maybe even a joke, but they stung.

You swallowed hard, willing yourself not to cry. Somehow, your already bad day had just gotten worse.

You sat on the edge of your bed, staring down at the pregnancy test in your trembling hands. Your eyes were fixed on the single, unbroken line in the tiny window.

Not pregnant.

You should’ve felt relief. You wanted to feel relief. But all that settled in your chest was a heavy, hollow ache. Emily’s words echoed in your mind like a cruel mantra: We’d be terrible moms.

A lump formed in your throat as your grip tightened on the plastic stick. No, you thought fiercely. I wouldn’t be like that. You'd try. You'd try so damn hard to make your baby happy, to protect them from everything. You'd do better. You could do better.

But none of that mattered now. You weren't pregnant.

Distantly, you heard the doorbell ring, followed by your mother’s sharp, impatient voice cutting through the quiet of the house. “Get the door!”

You exhaled shakily, breaking out of your thoughts. You tossed the test into the trash with more force than necessary, the hollow clink of plastic against metal strangely satisfying.

With a sigh, you got to your feet and headed for the door, leaving the hollow ache behind—or at least trying to.

You froze when you opened the door, your heart leaping into your throat as you stared at Josh’s face. His green eyes, wide and pleading, met yours, and for a moment, all you could hear was the sound of your own heartbeat pounding in your ears.

Josh cleared his throat, looking a little sheepish as he murmured, “Can I come in?”

You didn’t trust your voice, so you just nodded and stepped aside, letting him cross the threshold. He slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind them.

“Thanks,” he said quietly, before reaching out and thrusting a bouquet of pink peonies into your hands. “These are for you.”

You blinked, surprised by the gesture. The delicate flowers felt out of place in your clammy grip, and all you could manage was a quiet, “Thanks.” You set the bouquet on a nearby table, your movements awkward and uncertain.

Josh stuffed his hands into his jean pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly as he asked, “Can we talk?”

You nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Yeah. Just... let’s go to my room. My mom’s in one of her moods.”

Josh followed you down the hall, his footsteps slow and tentative. Once inside your room, he closed the door softly, his gaze roaming the familiar space.

The walls were decorated with photos of all of you together—laughing at the beach, posing at school events, arms slung around each other.

Your bed was piled high with stuffed animals, and posters of The Cranberries and ABBA lined the walls. It hadn’t changed since the last time he’d been here, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

Josh took a deep breath, running a hand through his messy hair as he perched on the edge of your bed. His knee bounced nervously, the movement betraying the calm he was trying to project. “So... I’m sure you’re wondering why I came here.”

You stood stiffly near your vanity, arms crossed tightly over your chest. Your gaze was guarded, your tone biting as you replied, “No, not really. I’m just hoping for an explanation—any explanation, really.”

Josh winced at your words but managed a dry chuckle. “Yeah, I figured as much.”

He looked up at you, the corner of his mouth lifting in a small, self-deprecating smile, “I know I’ve been a really shitty boyfriend. And I’m so sorry for all the crappy things I’ve done. But... I don’t want to lose you, baby. I really don’t.”

You leaned against your vanity, your fingers gripping the edge as though it could steady you. Your voice softened slightly, but the edge of frustration still lingered. “But that’s not the truth, Josh.”

He looked away, guilt flickering across his face. Of course, you'd call him out. There was no way he’d get off that easily. “Yeah...” he murmured, his voice low. “That’s what I need to explain.”

Your silence was heavy, expectant.

Josh sighed, his hands rubbing over his jeans as if to release the tension coiling inside him. “I was hoping you’d just... I don’t know... kinda understand without me having to say it out loud.” He shook his head, a sad smile flickering briefly before fading. “But that’s not fair to you.”

He paused, his throat tightening as he tried to find the words. “I love you, baby. I don’t know how else to say it. I love you so much it scares the hell out of me sometimes."

Your voice cracked as tears welled in your eyes. “How about showing it, Josh?” you said, your words trembling. “I’m not trying to push you away—I’m holding on for dear life—but I need you to need me back.”

The sight of you breaking made Josh’s heart twist painfully. He stood, his movements slow and deliberate, before wrapping his arms tightly around you.

“Hey, hey,” he murmured, his voice soft and pleading.

“Don’t cry, baby. Please don’t cry. I promise you—I do need you.” He pressed his lips to your hair, holding you like you might disappear.

You sobbed against his chest, your hands pushing weakly against him as you choked out, “Then why won’t you just tell me? Why do you need the medication? Where do you go when you disappear? Why won’t you let me all the way in?!”

Your words cut deeper than any knife, and Josh felt his resolve crumbling. He hated this—the way he was hurting you, the way his silence was tearing the two of you apart. He tightened his grip on you as though that alone could keep you two from unraveling completely.

“Baby…” He trailed off, his voice heavy with guilt. He couldn’t bring himself to meet your eyes. How could he tell you?

How could he say the words he’d been terrified to utter? But lying—or saying nothing—would only hurt you more.

He took another shaky breath, his throat tightening as he finally said it. “Because I’m sick. Okay?”

You pulled back slightly, your brows furrowing in confusion. “What do you mean... sick?”

Josh’s hands tightened slightly on your waist as he closed his eyes, his voice barely above a whisper. “I-I have schizophrenia. I was diagnosed when I was twelve.”

His words hung in the air, heavy and raw. He couldn’t bear to look at you, couldn’t face the possibility of seeing disgust—or worse, pity—in your eyes.

“What?” your voice was small, almost inaudible, as you stared up at him, your tears momentarily forgotten.

Josh finally forced himself to look at you, his green eyes wide with vulnerability. “I didn’t want you to know because... because I was scared. Scared of how you’d see me. Scared of losing you.”

His voice cracked, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I hear things that aren’t there. I see things. I have these thoughts I can’t control, and... I didn’t want you to think I was crazy.”

Your heart sank as the weight of his confession settled over you. You reached up, cupping his face with trembling hands. “Josh,” you whispered, your voice steady despite the tears slipping down your cheeks. “You’re not crazy. You’re... you’re Josh.”

His furrowed his brows, and for a moment, he looked as though he couldn’t believe your words. “You don’t... you don’t think I’m broken?”

You shook your head firmly, your trembling hands still cradling his face. “You’re not broken, Josh. You’re human. And if you’re scared, let me be scared with you. I want to be here for you. But you have to let me.”

Josh’s throat tightened as he pulled you into his arms, holding you against his chest like you were his lifeline. He buried his face in your hair, his voice barely a whisper. “You still love me,” he murmured, attempting to lighten the heavy moment.

You scoffed, your voice muffled against his shirt. “Of course, I still love you, you idiot.”

Josh let out a quiet laugh, the sound soft and relieved. He pulled back just enough to look at you, his hands sliding up to cup your cheeks.

Gently, he brushed away the tears still clinging to your skin with his thumbs. “I know, I know—I’m an idiot. Just... stop crying, okay? It’s killing me.”

You let out a thick chuckle, sniffing as you wiped at your face with the back of your hand. “Fine, but you owe me a whole box of chocolates for this.”

“Deal,” Josh said, his lips quirking into a small, crooked smile. His hands slipped to your waist, anchoring you as though he was scared to let go.

You stepped back slightly, giving him a sheepish look. “Wanna stay for a movie? Something light, maybe?”

Josh smirked, tilting his head as though considering your suggestion. “Only if it’s horror.”

You rolled your eyes, laughing softly. “You call that light? Fine, but if I scream, you’re paying for my therapy.”

“Deal,” Josh said again, his voice warm and playful now.

“Alright,” you said, gesturing toward the bed. “Pick something while I go freshen up. And no weird indie stuff this time, I mean it.”

Josh raised his hands in mock surrender, a light grin tugging at his lips. “Scout’s honor. But no rom-coms either—I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

As you disappeared into the bathroom, Josh sat on the edge of your bed, trying to collect his thoughts. But something caught his eye, and his heart skipped a beat.

A small object was sticking out of the trash can beside your desk. His hand reached out almost instinctively, and his fingers closed around a small white stick—a pregnancy test.

Josh’s pulse quickened as he stared at it, feeling a knot form in his stomach. A small part of him prayed it would be negative, that the whole situation would be a misunderstanding, something you two could laugh off later.

The air around him suddenly felt thick, suffocating. A tidal wave of emotions crashed over him: happiness, fear, panic, and confusion.

He sat there, frozen for a moment, staring at the test in his hand as if it were some sort of cruel joke. Was he really about to become a father? At nineteen? Was he ready for this?

The sound of your voice broke through his haze, pulling him back to reality. “Josh?”

He looked up, his face pale, still holding the test between his fingers. The words felt heavy on his tongue, but they spilled out anyway.

“You’re… pregnant,” he said quietly, his gaze still locked on you as if the reality of it hadn’t fully hit him yet.

Your eyes flicked down to the test in his hand, and you let out a deep, small sigh. “Josh, it’s one line. That means negative,” you said, walking closer to him.

Josh’s heart thudded in his chest, his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He glanced down at the test again, now noticing how the faintest second line appeared to be nothing more than a shadow.

Josh swallowed hard, the embarrassment still fresh as he asked again, “It’s negative?”

You nodded softly, your shoulders slumping with a mixture of relief and lingering unease. “Yeah, it’s negative,” you murmured before sitting down beside him, your hands clasped tightly in her lap. “My period was late, and I just… I was so scared, Josh. I didn’t know what to do.”

He nodded slowly, letting out a breath as he placed the test back in the trashcan. “Well… it’s a good thing it’s negative, right?” His voice was light, almost hesitant, as if trying to gauge how you felt.

You didn’t respond right away. Your gaze was distant, fixed on the trashcan. “I told Emily,” you said quietly, her voice carrying a hint of sadness.

Josh frowned, his concern deepening. “What did she say?” he asked gently, noticing how your mood had darkened, your shoulders tightening.

Your lips trembled as you tried to keep your composure. “She said… she said I shouldn’t keep it if I was pregnant. That I’d make a terrible mom,” you said, your voice breaking slightly as you blinked back tears.

Josh’s eyes widened in disbelief, a flash of anger rising in his chest. “Why the hell would she say that?”

He shook his head, his expression softening as he turned towards you. “That’s such a shitty thing to say. Baby, you’d be an awesome mom someday.”

You shook your head, your pout deepening as you murmured, “She said we all turn out like our parents. And if I had a baby, I’d just end up like my mom… a bitter bitch.” Your voice cracked slightly, and you leaned your head against his shoulder for support.

Josh let out a soft sigh, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you closer so you were nestled against his chest. “That’s total bullshit. You're not a bitch, and you could never be one either. You have the biggest heart I know, and— and any kid would be lucky to have you as their mom.” he said firmly, rubbing your back in soothing circles.

You glanced up at him, your wide eyes shining with both doubt and hope. “Do you… do you want babies?” you asked softly, your voice laced with hesitation.

Josh blinked, the question catching him off guard. He leaned back slightly, thinking it over. “I… yeah, I think I do,” he admitted after a moment, his tone gentle but honest.

“It’s scary to think about, you know? But yeah… I’d really like that someday.” He smiled down at you, pressing a kiss to the side of your head.

You felt your heart skip a beat at his words. You bit your lip before asking hesitantly, “With me?”

Josh let out a soft laugh, cupping your cheek as he tilted your face up to meet his gaze. “Of course with you, silly. Who else would I want that with? You’re the only person I can imagine having a family with.”

A small, genuine smile broke across your face, warmth spreading through your chest. You tilted your head up slowly, your heart pounding as you closed the distance between the two of you.

Your lips met in a gentle, lingering kiss, the kind that made you feel like the world had melted away.

When you finally pulled apart, Josh rested his forehead against yours, his hands cradling your face. “See? You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

You let out a small, watery laugh, your fingers brushing away a stray tear. “You’re really good at this pep talk thing, you know, Mr Washington?”

“Hey, someone’s gotta be, Mrs Washington,” he teased with a grin, pulling you closer.

For the first time in a few months, you felt lighter, as though the storm clouds in your mind had started to part.

You didn’t know what the future held, but as long as Josh was by your side, you knew you could face anything.

[ladykailitha]

The Au Pair Boy Part 11

Hello! And welcome back. You'll be happy to note that this story is now marked complete. It will have a total of 15 chapters that will be released here every Thursday! So I hope you enjoy the ride.

In this we have Steve adjusting to Eddie being home and Hopper runs afoul a creature.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

~

Steve was adjusting to life with Eddie with some difficulty. Since Eddie did most of his work from home, Steve would turn a corner to do the laundry and be surprised to see someone else in the house.

“You had Chrissy and Wayne here for two weeks each,” Eddie huffed with a amusement the third time it happened. “How are you still surprised to see me?”

Steve’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. “I don’t know. I’d guess that it was because they tended to stay to the guest wing part of this massive house and you don’t.” Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Not that you have to or anything! Just an observation. I’ll get used to it! I promise!”

Eddie chuckled. “I’m not going to lie, having you here sometimes startles me too. I spent nearly a year with just me and the girls and now the house is teeming with people and it’s a bit of a shock to the system.”

“Oh!” Steve cried. “Yeah, I guess it would be. Do you like it better with people or without?”

Eddie smiled that sweet fond smile that melted Steve’s insides every time. But they were extra melty because that was the first time Steve had seen it aimed at him and he felt warm all over.

“Oh it’s definitely better with people,” he murmured. “Especially knowing that you hand picked everyone and would have never picked someone you didn’t trust. You also somehow managed to make the D&D room something other than a shrine to my past. People play in there now. And it’s all thanks to you.”

Steve blushed, ducking his head. “You’re welcome. I just did what you asked me to do, to find people I could work with and that’s what I did. I’m just glad it all worked out for you.”

Just then the girls came barreling through the hall like a herd of elephants.

Eddie and Steve shared a glance and then Steve dropped the laundry basket and they both took off after the girls. They chased them through the house until they were cornered in the kitchen.

“Joanie,” Eddie said darkly, “Janie, you were supposed to be napping.”

Both girls looked at each other then at Eddie and Steve who both had their hands on their hips and crumpled. Joan started with the water works first and then Janice.

Eddie and Steve shared an exasperated glance and eye roll, then Eddie picked up Joan and Steve picked up Janice.

“See how tired you are?” Steve murmured as he rocked Janice back and forth. “You’re crying because you need sleep but you’re fighting it.”

“Come on,” Eddie said gently. “I’ll read you a story for your nap so that you can go to sleep. But just this once. This is what Steve is here for. To take care of you while Daddy works, okay?”

Both girls nodded. But in the end Eddie hadn’t needed to read a story to them because halfway up the stairs, Joan fell asleep and at the top, Janice followed suit. Steve and Eddie carefully tucked them into bed, stuff animals piled up around them as fierce guardians. Eddie slipped out first and then Steve, turning the light off behind him.

As Eddie and Steve walked down the stairs trying to be as quiet as possible, they only were able to breathe once they had reached the bottom.

“I’d put them in their own rooms,” Eddie said with an exasperated huff, “if I didn’t know that they would be sneaking into each others rooms anyway.”

Steve licked his upper lip, nodding, “Oh yeah. But they’re also getting to the point where they’re starting to form their own thoughts and opinions and realizing that they don’t match up to their twin.”

Eddie pursed his lips. “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Steve said, sighing. “Oh, I wanted to let you know that Dustin called, they’re moving the game to Saturday from their usual Thursdays, Lucas is trying out for the basketball team and they’re all going out to support him.”

“I’ll be sure to let the guys know,” Eddie said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re partying or going out drinking on the weekend anymore.”

“God,” Steve said shaking his head. “I remember my frat boys days and it is not something I care to repeat.”

“When did you go to school?” Eddie asked, “I thought it was the circus and nannying?”

“There was about two years where I decided to get an associate’s degree in early child development,” Steve said with a shrug, “and applying at my dad’s former fraternity helped pay for the education.”

“Wow.”

He shook his head. “I was also nannying for a couple where they only needed me on the week days to make sure someone was home and the kid fed before they got off work.”

“Was that the weird taxidermists?” Eddie asked with a grin.

“That would be them,” Steve replied with his own answering grin. “It got me through college and gave me free weekends to blow my liver out.”

“God,” Eddie said, flopping on the sofa, “I remember those days. Before I met and married Ethan.”

“How did you two meet?” Steve asked, sitting next to Eddie.

“Some award show,” Eddie said, rubbing his eyebrow. “Not the Grammy’s, I’d remember that. Teen Choice Awards or the VMAs. Something like that where it was a mix of models, movie stars, and musicians. And he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid my eyes on. He had sea green eyes, coal black hair and a single dimple in his left cheek. I wanted. And the bastard made me chase him. And I did. I think that should have been my first sign he didn’t care for me like I did for him.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said scooting closer to him. He took his hand into his and rubbed his thumb back and forth. “I’m sure there were too many signs to count but because he played happy to the hilt you believed it, because you were happy.”

Eddie scoffed. “Sounds like you’re talking from experience there. Any skeletons in the closet you keep your exes?”

“Loads,” Steve said with a snort. “I don’t date much because usually I’m up to my eyeballs in kiddos, but there have been some absolute chunkers of walking red flags in there. Men and women both. They all seemed to wander in search of other people some times breaking up with me first, but not always. But the unending refrain of why never changed. I was too much... of everything I guess.”

Eddie covered Steve’s hand with his other hand. “I don’t think there is anything you could do that would make me think that of you.”

Steve smiled back. “That’s kind of you.”

The back door bang open and there was a lot of swearing, forcing the two men to jump out of their skins, but somehow not apart.

“Those God damned critters!” Hopper cursed. “When I get my hands on them, I’ll skin them alive!”

Steve and Eddie shared a glance before they both got to their feet and followed the sound of cursing to where the house kept their garbage bins on the days it wasn’t out on the curb. Two of the three cans had been tipped over and riffled through. Hopper, the groundskeeper was standing over top of them with his hand on his hips glaring down at the mess.

“Oooh,” Eddie hissed. “What happened here, chief?”

Hopper looked up at them in confusion as if he had forgotten the house populated at all. He blinked a moment. “I didn’t wake the girls did I?”

Steve shook his head. “It would take a sonic boom going off near their heads to wake them once they’ve actually fallen asleep.”

Eddie chuckled, “They’re like their dad that way.”

Hopper breathed out a sigh of relief. “I was worried I had woken up the littles. As to what happened, raccoons is what happened. They get into the trash and just fuck it up.”

“How do you know it’s raccoons?” Steve asked cocking his head to the side. “Couldn’t it have just been someone messing around or even vagrants?”

Jim rubbed his chin. “Could be, but I used to do security on one of the neighborhood houses.” he said wearily, “and they were having raccoon problems. They put locks on the garbage bins and that was that. I’d suggest you do the same.”

Steve nodded. “And if it’s the other two, the lock would fix both problems as well.”

“Eehhh...” Eddie said with a wince. “If my cleaners were anything other than a single mom and her fifteen year old daughter, then I’d agree with the lock and move on. But aren’t there other things we can try first, like those bear proof bins at Yellowstone or whatever?”

“You’ve been to Yellowstone?” Steve asked tilting his head to the side. “I wouldn’t have thought you were the outdoorsy type.”

“Yup!” Eddie said with a bright smile, rocking back on his heels. “Wayne and I used to travel to all the national parks before I had the girls. We plan are starting back up next year or the one after now that they aren’t babes in arms anymore.”

“I’ll look into get some,” Hopper said clearing his throat so their attention was back at the matter at hand. “See if I can find some approved by the county. I’ve got a friend who’s a wildlife rescuer. Maybe he can loan me some traps so we get the critter some place safer.”

Eddie nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure the girls would appreciate knowing that the animal isn’t going to be harmed.”

Hopper got a twisted sort of smile. “Had a little girl myself once, I know how tenderhearted they can be.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Steve murmured, noting the past tense of that statement.

Hopper cocked his head and then shook it ruefully. “Pastor says she’s in better place, ain’t sure if I believe that anymore.”

“I hear that,” Eddie said, “I felt the same way when my mom died. Everyone was telling eight year old me that she was in a better place. When I thought the best place she could be was with me.”

Hopper nodded. “I get to it. I didn’t mean to startle you. Have a good day.” Then he wandered off to find garbage bags to clean up the mess.

“Grumpy, old man,” Eddie said fondly. “He’s good at his job though. How did you entice him away from his other job?”

Steve grinned. “I told him that he could live on the property rent free and be left alone for the most part.”

Eddie threw back is head and laughed. “That would do it all right. And it’s not like I don’t get wanting to be left the fuck alone. He does his job and his does it well. Ten of ten, no complaints from me.”

“I really should get back to doing the laundry,” Steve said jutting his thumb behind him to inside the house.”

Eddie checked his watch. “And I’ve got a Zoom meeting with some weirdo nu metal band who wants me to produce their album. Lord save me from Nu Metal!”

Steve just shook his head and the two of them went inside. Maybe living with Eddie wasn’t as hard as he thought it was.

~

Part 12

Tag List: ONE SLOT OPEN!!

1- @itsall-taken @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @tartarusknight @gregre369

2- ​@a-little-unsteddie @cryptid-system @maya-custodios-dionach @yesdangerpls @goodolefashionedloverboi

3- @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch

4- @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji @ollieolive @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1

5- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

6- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

7- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

8- @sadisticaltarts @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @dolphincliffs @steddie-as-they-go @steddieislife

9- @kultiras @morallyundefined @themoonagainstmers @fearieshadow @blondie1006

10- @thesecondfate @wheneverfeasible @depressed-freak13 @genderless-spoon

[qqueenofhades]

I think the veepstakes are going to continue for another week or so, both to increase the profile of her potential running mates and see how they do with the public, time to vet, and give everyone a little more incentive to be extra enthusiastic about campaigning for her, but ALSO because there's a nonzero chance Trump may drop Vance and they'll need to pivot their strategy, though I think most choices will be sound either way(I like Walz and Beshear the best). What do you think are the odds of Trump dropping Vance versus doubling down because he doesn't want to look weak or indecisive?

She is going to have to pick pretty quickly, because the Ohio GOP attempted some fuckery by putting their ballot deadline before the DNC (and refusing to grant an extension as they always did for Republicans, so you know). I expect she will pick by the middle of next week at the latest, because the virtual nomination has to be made by, iirc, August 6th in order to outwit the attempted Republican ratfuckery. The DNC is then August 19-22, where the whole thing will be made official and everyone will pledge/endorse/etc. That leaves a pretty compressed timeline to road-test Veep picks, see how they work with Harris, how they play with the public, etc. But they've been on top of it so far, so there's that. I saw someone suggest that she let it go on as long as possible in order to have 6-10 white guys hyping her up on TV every day -- which is valid, yes, but she will have to pick soon. There are really no bad options, though I too have ones that I would like in particular. I am really warming to Walz, as I think he has a great communication style and would shore her up in the white Midwest. Though I did get a fundraising email from Mark Kelly on behalf of Kamala Harris yesterday, and lbr if you can pick an astronaut, pick an astronaut.

As for Trump dropping Vance, he's in considerably more of a pickle (everyone together now: AHAHAAHHAH! HAHAHAH! HAAHHAHAHAHAHA!) because the RNC has already happened, Vance is legally and bindingly the VP nominee, and if they change it now, there are a ton of legal and procedural steps that take time and make the GOP look incredibly weak. They will also piss off the Project 2025 people (who were all over the Vance pick because obviously, Vance loves it and they are horrible) -- which, if they were at all sensible, they might do. But they're fascists and that's actually what they want to do, so they won't. Biden was able to step aside and put Harris in so easily because he was not actually the Democratic nominee yet -- he was just the presumptive nominee, delegates are technically free to vote for whoever they want and the nominee is not official until after this convention process has happened, and he wasn't locked in. But if the GOP tries to drop Vance now, it's going to be a lot of legal hassle, they'll look incredibly foolish, and they'll piss off the core fascists they have been rallying every step of the way. Too bad, so sad. No good choice, huh? Seems karmically fitting that they can't abort Vance. Oh no. They must carry his ass to term.

[morgana-larkin]

Alright as most of you voted yes, here’s part 2 to ‘Wanna Kiss The Teacher’. Also I want to do some fics for kinktober, so feel free to send ideas for kinks and for which character! Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: Sorry about being behind on my Melissa and Chessy fics lately. I did come out with an Agatha and Misty fic recently so if interested then you can check them out. I’ll be updating my masterlist today with an improved look as well as I finally found the time.

Wanna Kiss The Teacher - Part 2

Warnings: smut, exam anxiety (we’ve all been there)

Words: 2.18k

It’s been a little over a month since you and Melissa started going out. Everytime she comes into the classroom for your class, she smiles at you and you smile at her. You have to admit that you’re happy you took the chance with her and you wouldn’t change it. She’s thriving in your class and from what she’s told you, she’s doing amazing in her other classes as well. But with exams coming up in a week, you see Melissa less and less, and every time you do see her, she’s incredibly stressed out.

“Melissa, calm down.” You tell her as she’s on the verge of a panic attack as you’re helping her study for an exam from another class of hers. “You know the answers ok. Listen to me.” You tell her and grab both her wrists and that gets her to look at you. “You’re amazing in all of your classes, you know all the answers. You need to calm down or that will cloud your brain and you won’t be able to think of the answers. I know it’s scary, I was exactly where you were about 10 years ago, but you got this.” You tell her and then kiss her forehead. She lays her head on your chest and you wrap your arms around her.

“Thank you.” She says softly and you hum.

“It’s not a problem, sweetheart.” You tell her and then Max comes running in and demands attention from Melissa, which she does give him, every time he asks. “I’ll go feed him while you take a small rest, ok? Just take a breather and we’ll continue when I get back alright?” You tell her and she nods.

You go and feed Max and then you heat up some leftovers you have in the fridge, as it’s dinner time and you doubt Melissa will remember to eat anything.

“Ok Melissa, I have fo-” you begin to say but then you see her asleep on the couch. You did notice the bags under her eyes getting worse but you didn’t say anything. You go back into the kitchen and leave her leftovers in the microwave and then you eat your leftovers in the kitchen so you don’t wake her. You go and check on her when you’re done and see that she’s still asleep and you gently place a blanket over her and then you go and do the dishes. When you’re done with the dishes you go back out and decide to start marking some assignments. An hour later is when she begins to stir.

“Hey sleepyhead.” You say and she opens her eyes and looks at you.

“What?” She asks, confused as to what’s happening.

“You slept for a couple hours, and you definitely needed it. I’ll go get you some food.” You tell her as she wakes up. You come back out after heating up her leftovers and see her more awake and preparing to start studying again.

“Why did you let me sleep? Why didn’t you wake me?” She questions you.

“Because you needed it, Melissa. Do you think I didn’t notice the bags under your eyes get worse and worse? You needed sleep, which is why I let you sleep, and you also need to eat, so here’s some food.” You tell her and hand her a plate of food.

“Thank you.” She says as she accepts the plate. You sit down beside her as she eats her food and you continue grading assignments. “What did I get?” She asks you and you smile.

“What makes you think these are from your class?” You ask without looking up from grading.

“I can see Lana’s name right there.” She says and points to the name and you chuckle. You put the grade at the top of the sheet and then move to the next one.

“I guess I’m about to do yours.” You tell her and she leans her head on your shoulder when she finishes eating. You take a few minutes to read her assignment carefully before starting the grading. “Alright, your wording is very good as usual, gets a little confusing here.” You tell her and point to a spot on the paper. “I would word it a bit differently but it’s still good. Just a few mistakes but that’s normal.” You tell her as she nods along. “And you make excellent points with evidence to back it up. I’m gonna give it 91%.” You tell her and she smiles and kisses your cheek.

“What’s my overall mark in the class so far?” She suddenly asks. You get your paper out with everyone’s marks and you look for her name.

“Let’s see, 88%.” You tell her and she smiles, you kiss her forehead when you feel her let out a breath. “Feeling better?” You ask her and lifts her head up from your shoulder.

“No. Like I know that I know the answers, but I’m just afraid I’ll mess it up somehow or run a blank when I get to the exam.” She says and you lift her chin up to get her to look at you.

“It’s just another test, I didn’t see you running a blank on those.” You tell her and she pouts.

“It’s not just a test though, well it is, but it counts towards the final mark a lot more.” She says frantically and you kiss her lips to calm her down.

“You shouldn’t get yourself worked up, it’s important to stay calm. If you don’t then that’s when mistakes happen.” You say and she nods. You start to go back to grading the assignments when she grabs your pen, puts it on the table and straddles your lap. “Whatcha doing, sweetheart?” You ask her as you lean backwards a bit.

“Well I know a way that’ll help me destress.” She says and you smile as she kisses you. She starts trailing down your neck and you move your neck to give her more access automatically. “I want to ride your fingers.” She says in your ear and you nod. You kiss her again and then feel her move a bit on your leg and then feel her start moving on your thigh, essentially thigh humping you. You put your hands on her waist before moving them up to take off her shirt and she lets you. You unclip her bra and fling it across the room, where it landed, you don’t know and you don’t care.

You put a nipple in your mouth and you see her throw her head back and gasp. She puts her hands in your hair to keep you there and you still feel her dry humping your thigh. You put one hand on her waist and the other on the free nipple and play with it before switching to put the other nipple now in your mouth. You undo the buttons on her jeans and pull down the zipper before slipping your hand in her underwear. You pull her a bit so her pussy is in between your legs so you can easily slip your fingers in her entrance. You move your hand from her waist to her back before slipping a finger in her entrance and she gasps when you do. You slip another finger in it and Melissa moves her hips again and starts riding your fingers, just like she asked for.

“You’re so beautiful Melissa, and I love when my fingers are in you.” You tell her and she wraps her arms around your neck and pulls her body closer to you when her orgasm starts building. You place your palm on her clit and her breathing quickens and deepens. You feel her walls starts to clench around your fingers and you know she’s close. “Come when you need my beautiful girl.” You tell her and then she comes with a gasp and you feel it drip on your hands. You slow down and remove your palm from her clit before removing your fingers from inside of her. She’s still clinging to you and has her head resting on your shoulder while she catches her breath. “Take your time sweetheart.” You tell her as you rub her back with the hand that was not in her. You lick your fingers when she lifts her head and pulls back to look at you.

“I love you.” She tells you and you freeze and look at her.

“Really?” You ask and she nods with a smile. “I love you too.” You say and stroke her cheek. She leans forward and kisses you immediately. She starts giggling softly as she’s kissing you and you pull back to look at her. “What’s so funny?” You ask her and you remove some hair from her face.

“A month ago you didn’t know if you should date a student, and now you’re in love with one.” She says with a smile and you scoff playfully at her.

“Well how could one resist your charm and beauty?” You tell her and she shrugs her shoulders.

“Well I don’t know about everyone else but you couldn’t resist.” She says slyly and you start tickling her stomach and she starts squirming and laughing on your lap.

You stop tickling her after a few seconds and she turns around in your lap and you wrap your arms around her waist. You can tell she’s now thinking about the exams again as she leans back onto you with a sigh.

“You got this. You’re gonna kill those exams.” You tell her and she looks at you with a smile.

*two weeks later*

Melissa is running down the hall of the dormitory and out the door. She’s running across the college quad and field and gets to your place in under 10 minutes. She starts knocking rapidly on your door and you run to answer it.

“Melissa, what’s- woah!” You say as she wraps you in a hug excitedly and then pulls back and gives you a letter.

“I passed all the exams! I just got the letter!” She says as you read all her marks. You pull her into a hug, happy for her, knowing she could do it.

“Congrats sweetheart! I knew you’d kill it! We should go out to celebrate!” You tell her and she smiles widely as she looks at her marks again.

“Seems like my highest mark is from your class.” She says and you chuckle.

“You also got the highest mark in the class.” You tell her and she blushes with a smile.

*30 years later*

You pull up to Abbott with some Italian food from one of Melissa’s favourite restaurants. You knew she’s been stressed this week with all the grading and work she’s been doing as it’s almost the end of the school year. You get out of the car, grab the food and walk in through the doors.

“Surprise!” You say as you walk into the break room and Melissa’s eyes widen and a smile is on her face. “Double surprise actually as I have food from your favourite place.” You say as you walk over to her table and place it in front of her.

“What’s the occasion?” She asks you as she stands up to look in the bag to see what you got her. She pulls out a couple containers.

“Well I know you’ve been doing a lot of work this week so I thought I’d surprise you.” You say as you move some hair out of her face and give her a kiss on the cheek, and everyone is looking at you guys with a smile.

“That’s really sweet of you.” Melissa tells you with a smile. “And to think that I was stuck with this boring ass salad.” She says and you giggle and then look at her salad.

“Heyyy!! I made that salad.” You complain and she laughs and winks at you. “Maybe I should make you more boring salads.” You say and cross your arms.

“So you agree that it’s boring then?” She asks with a quirked brow.

“I walked right into that.” You say as you both sit down with the food.

“I do appreciate the food and the salad.” She tells you and holds your hand.

“Even though it’s boring.” You ask and she laughs.

“Even though it’s boring.” She tells you and you both start eating, Melissa looking at you the entire time with a smile.

“You know you’re still my favourite student.” You tell her and she giggles.

“Well I would hope so, since you married me.” She tells you.

“Melissa was your student?” Janine asks you and you turn to look at her.

“Yep, her first class of her first year of college, it’s how we met.” You tell her. “And you didn’t get with me to improve your grades, as you got the highest mark in my class.” You say with a fond smile.

“I thought you were hot, what else is there to say?” She tells you and you burst out laughing.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

@imaginesmultifandoms

@idonothingalldays-blog

@sexysapphicshopowner

@dvrkhcld

@lilfartbox1

@ricejucie

@unicorniusfallapatorius

@a-queen-and-her-throne

@sleep-deprived-athlete

@og-kxsh-420

@sasheemo

@midnight-lestrange

Let me know if you want to be added!

[notafragilething]

Buck/Tommy Late Night Ramblings: The Data (the 24 hour update)

We've passed the 24 hour point of the official 911 ABC Instagram posting the Buck and Tommy hospital kiss and holy shit, it performed better than I anticipated. Views have slowed, which is to be expected, but not as much as I anticipated. So let's get into the numbers.

If you want to take a minute to review what they were last night, check out 5/5 nightly BuckTommy ramble post here.

First major news is that multiple other videos were uploaded today, which brings the total number of reels on the official account to 113 with the average view count of 379k (so that has remained unchanged).

The hospital kiss has, as of the time I'm posting this, had 791k views, 75k in likes and 2k in comments. When we compare that to last night, it was an increase of 256k in views (so roughly a quarter million on it's second day), 19k in likes and 500 additional comments.

Overall, it moved from being the 22nd most viewed reel on the Instagram to 9th most viewed reel. The fact it was able to break the top 10 already shows just how much engagement this video is getting.

I also went down and broke down the top 11 videos so we can look at those closer.

Happy 1-18 Day (15 weeks ago): 4.1 million views

Trailer for Season 7 - Day of Premiere (7 weeks ago): 2.2 million

The Bachelor Promo (4 weeks ago): 1.4 million

The Bachelor Promo 2 (4 weeks ago): 1.4 million

Wedding Cliffhanger Scene / End of Episode 4 (3 weeks ago): 1.3 million

Happy Holidays from Angela (19 weeks ago): 1.1 million

Oliver Making a Basket on set of episode 4 (5 weeks ago): 927k

Name the Season Episode Title (1 week ago): 926k

Buck and Tommy Hospital Kiss & Coming Out (1 day ago): 791k

Buck Coming out to Eddie (3 weeks ago): 764k

JLH Song for Wedding (3 days ago): 753k

So a few observations about these:

I include 11 reels because I don't really consider the Happy 1-18 a good representation of the top videos. That clip is only a few seconds long and loops really quickly. That explains why it has 4 million views compared to everything else.

Most of these videos have been up 3+ weeks to pull these type of numbers.

I think it's interesting the Madney/Chimney song video is pulling very similar numbers as the Buck/Tommy kiss in the same time frame. This, to me, suggests a similar appeal to the ships in regards to how fans are engaging. Which is a very, very good sign. It also passed the Buddie coming out scene which honestly surprised me. I didn't anticipate that happening so quickly.

Comments also remain overwhelming positive.

I'm gong to update the numbers tomorrow night but I don't predict a huge movement in it's overall place. As you can see, spot 8 and up are basically at the million and higher mark. I do have confidence that this video will eventually hit that but when that will be is determined by how quickly the views slow down (which naturally occurs as we get further and further away from the date it's posted).

I've also decided to keep doing these nightly BuckTommy rambles so please follow, comment and send me ideas of what you'd like me to talk about.

[v-a-l]

What's your top 10 Harry Potter favorite characters and favorite book?

ten is too many I think XD. I like Sirius, I suppose that's a given, Harry, Ron and Hermione. I adore Moody and McGonagall, Luna, Neville, James even though we don't really get much of him in canon. I'm attached to the universe, I grew up with it, and whilst I imprinted largely on Sirius, I do have significant fondness for most of the characters.

Favourite book, hmmm. Probably Goblet of Fire. I think PoA is lovely for how much we learn about Harry and where he comes from, and OOTP is great for learning about the first war, and Deathly Hallows is great for the resistance movement that exists beyond Harry and the one man war he's been fighting since book one, but I've always had a fondness for Goblet of Fire and the way the stakes are raised and the characters we are introduced to, I loved learning about Crouch and side characters like Bertha Jorkins who though briefly mentioned, add so much colour to the narrative. I love the conversation in the cave,

“How d’you know?” Hermione shot back. “How d’you know where he Disapparated to?” “Come off it,” said Ron incredulously. “Are you saying you reckon Ludo Bagman conjured the Dark Mark?” “It’s more likely he did it than Winky,” said Hermione stubbornly. “Told you,” said Ron, looking meaningfully at Sirius, “told you she’s obsessed with house —” But Sirius held up a hand to silence Ron. “When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry’s wand, what did Crouch do?” “Went to look in the bushes,” said Harry, “but there wasn’t anyone else there.” “Of course,” Sirius muttered, pacing up and down, “of course, he’d want to pin it on anyone but his own elf … and then he sacked her?” “Yes,” said Hermione in a heated voice, “he sacked her, just because she hadn’t stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled —” “Hermione, will you give it a rest with the elf!” said Ron. Sirius shook his head and said, “She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

Chef's kiss.

“He was tipped for the next Minister of Magic,” said Sirius. “He’s a great wizard, Barty Crouch, powerfully magical — and power-hungry. Oh never a Voldemort supporter,” he said, reading the look on Harry’s face. “No, Barty Crouch was always very outspoken against the Dark Side. But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side … well, you wouldn’t understand … you’re too young. …” “That’s what my dad said at the World Cup,” said Ron, with a trace of irritation in his voice. “Try us, why don’t you?” A grin flashed across Sirius’s thin face. “All right, I’ll try you. …” He walked once up the cave, back again, and then said, “Imagine that Voldemort’s powerful now. You don’t know who his supporters are, you don’t know who’s working for him and who isn’t; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You’re scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing … the Ministry of Magic’s in disarray, they don’t know what to do, they’re trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere … panic … confusion … that’s how it used to be. “Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch’s principles might’ve been good in the beginning — I wouldn’t know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort’s supporters. The Aurors were given new powers — powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn’t the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you — plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic.

We learn so much about Sirius in this one conversation. How strong his morals were, how he definitely did not believe in a binary world where you're either evil and deserve extreme punitive measures or you're good. Here is a Sirius Black who vocally disagrees with the use of Unforgivables against Death Eaters. He is passionately against aurors being empowered to inflict unquestioned brutality during the war. This probably added to why he seemed all the more suspicious to the ministry, Sirius is not one to be silent about his disagreements. And note that the law allowed the use of Unforgivables against suspects. Can you imagine what they'd have done to Voldemort's supposed right hand? Regardless, Sirius here clearly believes in not just achieving victory in war but achieving a victory that is rightful and just and through just means. He doesn't just want to win the war he wants to achieve the objective for which they are fighting this war in the first place. Something he'd be uniquely equipped with as he comes from a lifetime of observing everything that is wrong with Wixen society and actively disagrees with it. He's not a bystander sympathising with the plight of the lesser fortunate, he's a frontline warrior who deeply believes in the cause he's fighting for, enough to give his life for it, his compassion is proactive, which is exactly what makes him a hero. Sadly all these facets of Sirius' character have largely been left behind by fandom and I miss him deeply.

I'd pay good money to read more of Sirius the way he's written here, GoF is Sirius at his best, rats, caves, detective work and all. If this is Sirius a few months out of Azkaban, I can't imagine how he'd have been at Hogwarts or during the first war. Alas. We'll never know.

[aquaquadrant]

I was wondering if you had an estimated date of when you will post the next HTP chapter?

Like, leaving us on such a cliffhanger must be a crime! It cant be legal!

Anyways, while I wait for it, Ive decided to copy paste every chapter into a doc and mark it up color code style for all my over analyzing needs. It took me an hour but it was worth it.

Have a good week and take care :)

(This is meant to be genuine, not mean or passive aggressive, just so you know. While I indeed am anxiously awaiting Chapter 10 by highlighting the chapters on a doc like that one photo of a bible page that’s highlighted with different colors. This isn’t meant to be mean or pressuring, take your time and take care of yourself)

⬆️(Ah poo, Im an over thinker

hey there, no worries y’all- i love seeing my reader’s enthusiasm and it’s reassuring to see continued interest in the series. i’d been hoping to have BOTH of the final ‘from eden’ chapters done before summer. but i have to admit, progress on the next chapter hasn’t been as forthcoming as i’d expected, for a couple reasons.

the first is health-related. not to be too TMI, but i recently got diagnosed with crohn’s disease. my symptoms started ages ago but have really ramped up in the last couple months, and the diagnosis was a lengthy and involved process (started the hunt back in november, presumptively diagnosed after a colonoscopy in feb, definitively diagnosed when biopsies came back over spring break) and even when i was simply waiting for results, it occupied a lot of my mental capacity. and ofc it happened to line up with me turning 26 and needing new insurance, which has caused lots of delays. anyone dealing with the american health care system while chronically ill will tell you it’s a frustrating, exhausting process. as of right now, i’m still waiting to start treatment 🫠

but honestly, even more than that, the biggest thing stopping me from writing is… me? 😂 so there’s this thing that happens after i post a chapter that’s like… decision paralysis? except it’s just that sometimes, i literally can’t bring myself to start the next chapter. it’s like, i have this unfounded fear that all my writing up until this point has been some magical fluke out of my control, and i’m not capable of ‘pulling it off’ again. i guess you could call it a form of imposter syndrome (which i already encounter enough in my vet school life). it gets worse after posting something that was a particularly massive undertaking or was insanely well-received bc i’m scared i won’t be able to top it- even though the impact of storytelling is supposed to be cohesive, and it’s unrealistic for every chapter to be ‘bigger and better’ (what does that even mean?) than the last one because they serve different purposes at different points in the story. i know this, rationally, but that doesn’t stop the irrational fear of failure from making me avoid writing.

i’m not sharing this to make excuses or garner sympathy, or fish for compliments, and certainly not to make anyone feel guilty for asking about updates. i just feel like maybe this will resonate with anyone who has the same experience. and also to share hope, because despite how often this feeling rears its ugly head, i’ve still been able to push through and get back to writing- and i’m always very happy with the result. sometimes it just takes longer than i’d like (pro tip: writing on ur phone is less intimidating, tho it’s more of a pain). but in any case, the next chapter of ‘from eden’ is well underway and i still hope to have the series done before summer’s end^^

[skyward-floored]

Febuwhump Collab Day 10 — killing in self defense

Nobody asked for more of Sky and Warriors when they’re teenagers but I’m delivering more anyway lol. If you ever wondered how the events of skyward sword fit in with the Incredibles au, here’s your explanation.

Aka: I’m unnecessarily mean to Sky again.

Warnings for mentions of blood/injuries, some stuff about killing, and vomiting (though it isn’t too graphic)

Today’s lovely art

Ao3 link

————————————————————

They’d decided not to say anything.

Sure they wouldn’t be able to keep it quiet forever— parts of it were still all over the news (spun as them causing needless destruction of course, despite the fact that they’d saved everyone) and a good block of the city had been totally destroyed— but Time and Malon had just gotten back from their honeymoon.

Their honeymoon that they’d already had to postpone for way too long and thought they might not even get to take because of all those stupid lawsuits.

At first Warriors and Sky had expected to have to explain everything once Time and Malon returned. They’d prepared for it, even. But when they had come back looking so happy, and Time more relaxed then Warriors had ever seen him... he’d made eye contact with Sky, and they’d decided it could wait.

Warriors didn’t want to burst their bubble with the news that he and Sky had stopped a plot to destroy the world and nearly been killed in the process.

(Besides, they’d handled it, right? There wasn’t really that much to tell.)

So they both agreed to just keep it quiet, and hide the pages of the newspaper with articles about the event. They only changed their bandages from the injuries they’d gotten while Time and Malon were busy, and Sky made sure to hide the limp he was still dealing with.

And Warriors was just starting to feel confident that their plan would work and maybe they wouldn’t ever have to bother Time with what had happened...

...when Sky suddenly cracked.

It was the evening two days after Time and Malon had gotten back, and Warriors was trying to find clean pajamas, digging through a pile of clothes that he was pretty sure were clean. Most of them smelled clean anyway, and aside from the shirt with the bloodstains (oops) and the socks that had been festering for at least a week (double oops), they all looked mostly clean too.

...Laundry hadn’t exactly been at the top of his priorities lately.

Warriors pulled out a shoe that had somehow been buried in the pile, and huffed at the teeth marks on the heel. He’d thought this pair had been safe from Twilight’s wolf teething, but apparently not.

Warriors rolled his eyes and set the shoe aside, then let out a noise of triumph as he finally unburied some pajamas that appeared unworn. He tossed them on, wincing as the movement pulled at an injury on his side, and then flopped on his bed, listening to Malon try and get Twilight to go back to sleep in the other room with a sigh.

He had to admit he’d missed having Twilight underfoot. He’d been left with his grandpa while Time and Malon were away, and while Warriors was a little offended they didn’t trust him and Sky to watch him for more then an afternoon, he was rather relieved his tiny nephew had been far away from everything that had happened.

It had been stressful enough without a barely one year-old to watch as well.

He could hear Malon singing a lullaby through the wall, steps creaking as she walked up and down the length of the room. The song was soothing, and Warriors bit back a yawn, closing his eyes for a second.

Mm, maybe I’ll just go to bed now...

A gagging sound interrupted his dozing, and Warriors startled, shooting up from the bed. It hadn’t come from the room Malon was in, and he poked his head out the door, quickly following the noise down the hallway to where he thought Sky had just been brushing his teeth.

And found Sky throwing up rather violently into the toilet, face pale and eyes wide and horrified.

Warriors ran to his side as he finished, Sky’s breathing little more than gasps, and his brother stared up at him, gaze haunted.

“Sky, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Warriors asked frantically, and Sky seemed to pale further.

“W-Wars I...” he wheezed, his face panicked, “Wars I killed him, I killed s-some—”

He gagged again and almost missed the toilet, and Warriors put his hands on his shoulders, holding him steady until he was finished.

“Sky, calm down,” he tried as Sky continued to choke on air, and when that didn’t work, he grabbed his hands, squeezing them tight. “Sky, please, you’re gonna hurt yourself, you have to breathe.”

Sky only wheezed, and Warriors watched him with a growing panic, unsure of what to do.

“Sky. You have to breathe,” Warriors repeated, giving his hands a harder squeeze and ignoring his own shaking fingers. “Don’t think about anything else, just take some deep breaths.”

Sky dragged in a breath that might’ve been slightly deeper than the ones before, but he still wasn’t breathing the way he should be. At the rate he was going, he would likely pass out.

But what could he do? Sky was completely freaking out, and Warriors was beginning to as well.

Sky gagged on a cough, and Warriors shot a panicked glance out into the hallway as quick footsteps came down it. Time appeared in the doorway, and immediately got to a knee beside Sky, his face creased with concern as he gently stepped past where Sky’s wings were splayed.

“Sky, what’s wrong?” he asked, putting his hands on his shoulders.

“I-I, I ki...” Sky wheezed, shaking like a leaf, “T-Time I was...”

He couldn’t get enough words out for Time to understand, and Time looked over at Warriors, confusion and worry on his face. Warriors made a helpless gesture, and Sky wheezed again and brought Time’s attention back to himself.

Time focused on getting Sky to properly breathe, and Warriors watched anxiously, kicking himself for not expecting this sooner.

He should’ve known it would all crash down on Sky at some point— he’d barely even reacted after everything had happened. He had shed a few tears when they’d gotten Sun back and everyone turned out to be okay, but he hadn’t fallen into an utter panic like he was now.

Warriors should have expected it. Sky’s best friend had been kidnapped, and he’d nearly been killed by the same man who’d murdered his parents, and then he’d turned around and had to—

Sky coughed, and Warriors squeezed that hand that was in his again, ignoring how the motion made his arm ache.

So much for keeping things quiet for a while.

“Sky, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Time asked again after he’d managed to get Sky to breathe a little.

“I’m—” Sky stuttered, then looked at his hands with a panicked expression. “I didn’t know I would— Sun was hurt, she almost died a-and he said he was— I just wanted it to end, and I-I—”

His voice died, and he closed his eyes, lip trembling.

“...Warriors?” Time asked quietly, and Warriors fiddled with the hem of his shirt, wishing he hadn’t taken his scarf off. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

Warriors swallowed, but before he could speak, Sky choked out a few more words.

“Demise was back.”

Time froze, and looked between the two of them, his gaze suddenly sharp. Warriors didn’t meet his eye, and the heavy silence that fell over them was only broken when Malon came down the hall and peered inside the doorway, drawn by the noise after having finally gotten Twilight back to sleep.

“Oh Sky, my goodness,” she breathed worriedly, looking at his pale face and T-shirt speckled with vomit. “How long have you been sick, honey?”

“I’m not sick,” he whispered, and Time breathed out, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“Some things happened while we were gone, it seems,” he said in a quiet voice. “I believe a full explanation is in order.”

Malon’s face gained some suspicion along with the worry. “What kinds of things?”

Sky shivered, and they all looked over at him. He had finally gotten his breathing under control, but was still pale, and shaking in Time’s hold on his shoulders. Malon came forward and cupped his cheek with a sigh, worry bright in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Do you think you’re going to be sick any more hon?” she asked, and Sky softly shook his head. “Okay. Why don’t you get cleaned up and changed, and then we can sit down and discuss this somewhere that isn’t the cold bathroom floor, huh?”

Sky and Warriors nodded.

Ten minutes later found them all in the living room, Sky in fresh clothes and wrapped in a blanket with Warriors next to him. The top of Sky’s wings poked out from the blanket, and he looked a little less overwhelmed then he did earlier.

Malon had warmed up some milk, but she was the only one who had touched her cup, steam gently wafting from the other mugs on the tray. Warriors looked down at the milk in front of him, but the sight of it just made his stomach roll.

Time leaned back in his chair, and sighed.

“So. What happened?”

Warriors exhaled, and Sky looked down at his lap.

“...Sun got kidnapped the day after you left,” Warriors admitted, his voice quiet.

Malon let out a soft gasp, and Sky’s wings ruffled a little, but nobody spoke as Warriors continued.

“Sky was there when it happened, but he couldn’t do anything in time and she was... taken. We started out looking for her, but we met this weird guy, and it turned out he was the one who’d kidnapped her for his boss, and he kept fighting Sky, but... there was a lot more going on then we thought...”

“Sun was.... Why didn’t you call us?” Malon asked in dismay, and Sky and Warriors both fidgeted.

“We didn’t want to bother you,” Sky admitted quietly. “And we didn’t realize how big a deal everything was going to be... and Mr. Gaepora agreed with us.”

“Gaepora should have known better,” Time said darkly. “We could have come back and helped, why—”

“Because you were finally taking a vacation!” Warriors burst out, and met Time’s eye when he looked at him. “You never take vacations, Time! And this was your honeymoon, we weren’t about to take that away from you.”

“And we did handle it,” Sky added quietly. “Obviously.”

Time sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second before replying. “I still maintain that you two should have called, and I will be talking about this with Gaepora, but it’s too late now and I assume there’s more to the story.”

Sky nodded, and Time motioned for Warriors to continue.

“Right,” Warriors said, then sighed. “So Fi was helping us because it turned out she knew a little of what was going on, and Ghirahim— he was the guy that kidnapped Sun— actually knew Fi somehow, I think. He was talking like it anyway. But anyway, it turned out he was... working for Demise.”

Malon sucked in a sharp breath, and Time had that oddly blank look settle on his face again.

“How... but Sky’s parents defeated him, everyone thought he was dead,” Malon breathed, her face pale. “You boys fought him?”

“I killed him,” Sky choked out.

The silence that fell over the room was even heavier then the earlier one had been, and Warriors risked a glance at his older brother. Time’s face was impossible to read though, and he leaned closer to Sky, meeting his eyes when he looked up.

“You killed him?” he asked in a voice Warriors couldn’t gauge, and Sky nodded.

“I did,” he whispered. “He’s dead. For certain.”

Sky’s wings began to tremble, and Warriors felt the sick feeling roll in his stomach again. I should’ve done it, I should’ve fought him.

“Was he trying to kill you?” Time continued in the same emotionless voice.

“Yes,” Sky whispered.

“He was trying to resume that crazy plan of his Sky’s parents stopped,” Warriors quietly filled in for Sky’s sake. “And for some reason Sun’s powers were a part of it. I still don’t know how. But that’s why he kidnapped her.“

“But you stopped him,” Time asked, and Warriors nodded.

“Sky did. Ethereal and me were there too, but somehow Demise summoned these... monster things, and kept us busy with those while he fought Sky. I think we would’ve died if Fi hadn’t gotten Ghirahim to help us out at the end. Apparently Demise was only using him.”

Warriors closed his eyes again. “There’s more to it then that obviously, but... but that’s the basics. Sun’s okay now. We stopped Demise.”

“I killed him,” Sky said in a wretched voice, his wings tightly wrapped around himself. “I... I barely even thought about it at the time, but he’s— he’s dead.”

Malon’s face was distraught, and Time leaned closer as Sky shook in his seat.

“Sky. It was self defense,” Time said firmly, grief in his voice. “He was trying to kill you, and Warriors and Sun and countless other people. No court would convict you.”

“But he was still a person!” Sky stressed in a shrill, watery voice. “A horrible one, probably the w-worst one I’ve ever met, but he’s dead now, and I’m the one that did it!”

“Sky, honey you had no choice,” Malon said softly, placing her hand over his. “It’s like Time said, it was self defense. If you hadn’t killed him, he... he would’ve killed you. And so many others.”

“He still could’ve gone to jail or something!” Sky said more frantically, his breathing beginning to speed up again. “I didn’t even give him th-that choice, I was so intent on stopping him I— I felt proud when I killed him! I was happy he’s gone, I still am happy because he killed Mom and Dad but I shouldn’t be and I— I keep finding his blood in my feathers!” he choked out, and Warriors was almost afraid he would throw up again.

“Sky, listen to me,” Time said firmly, looking him dead in the eye. “You did what you had to do. Demise was a supervillain, and a terrorist. The list of people he killed over the years is long, and he would have gladly added you and Warriors to their number, without remorse or hesitation. Killing him was the only option available to you. And if you hadn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, and most of this city would be dead.”

“But I— I’m a murderer,” Sky whispered, and Time put his hands on his shoulders.

“No you’re not. Demise was. You did the only thing you could do, Sky. That never should have been a choice you had to make, but you made it anyway, and you saved so many lives by doing so,” Time murmured, voice heavy. He looked directly into Sky’s eyes. “And I know your parents would be proud.”

Sky crumpled, and Time put his arms around him, murmuring something Warriors didn’t catch when a soft sob came from his hold.

Sky’s blanket slipped as Time held him, and revealed the angry lines from Demise’s lightning that were still on his arms, red and painful-looking. Malon’s face turned a little red with anger at the sight, but Time merely pulled the blanket back to where it was supposed to be, and said nothing. Warriors could see the look on his face though, and he was sure that if Demise hadn’t already been dead, then the look in Time’s eye alone would have done it.

They all sat quietly as Time continued to calm Sky’s trembling, Warriors staring blankly down at his cup. He didn’t realize his own hands were shaking until Malon took one in hers.

“Warriors, are you alright?” she asked softly.

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t... kill anyone,” he said weakly.

Did you though? his mind whispered, thinking back to the blood he’d been covered in by the time he’d gotten back to Sky. Those monsters you killed had to come from somewhere, who’s to say they hadn’t once been hu—

Malon put her arms around him, and Warriors swallowed back the lump in his throat, letting her hug him.

“Goodness I’m glad you two are okay,” she said softly, holding him tight. “No wonder you’ve been so quiet since we got back, we...”

She trailed off with a sigh, and set a hand on his head.

“Call us next time, I don’t care what we’re doing,” she said, her grip tightening. “I mean it. You two are so strong, but you shouldn’t have to save the world by yourselves.”

“It was mostly Sky,” Warriors replied softly, thinking back to the look on his face while he’d been fighting Demise. Sky wasn’t normally a very imposing figure, but the look in his eyes as he’d dodged lightning, his wings outstretched, his sword raised, and eyes nearly glowing with a cold rage...

It wasn’t a sight he would ever forget.

Malon sighed again, but didn’t say anything further for the moment, leaning against Time while she continued to hold Warriors. All four of them ended up resting against one another, and Warriors closed his eyes as he suddenly felt very keenly every half-healed scratch and bruise on his person.

He hadn’t realized until now just how truly bone-deep exhausted he was.

“I’m so glad you’re alright. Both of you,” Malon said softly, and Warriors sighed, Sky’s head coming to rest on his shoulder, a wing settling around them all.

“Yeah. Me too,” he whispered.

Sky and Time said nothing at all.

[lil-spider]

So Damn Pretty

Chapter 9

Part 8 : Part 10

Pairing: Johnny Slaughter X Female Reader

Summary: Johnny is sex starved and you’re very attractive, so attractive that he doesn’t want to kill you. Instead he finds ways to keep you around longer.

Note: I wrote this while having shirtless Johnny on my tv, his muscles are the only thing I can think about 😩.

Warning: This is 18+ and please do not read if your sensitive to heavy descriptions of non/con and violence. Including bondage, blood, gore, assault, objectification and unsafe sex. For those who don’t mind, I hope you enjoy.

I stare timidly at the horribly cracked mirror, observing my naked body. It’s barely recognisable; blue and purple marks spread along my chest, hips, neck and thighs. Johnny has been getting a lot rougher during sex; ever since that night I killed that girl, he’s been more ravenous.

He’s been interrupting me from my tasks more frequently, dragging me off multiple times throughout the day to somewhere away from the house, only to bend me over whatever object he deems fit. His favourite thing to do right now is sit on a pulled-out, deteriorating car seat, drink, or smoke while I’m on my knees in the dirt, sucking him off. At least it gives my poor body a break, even though my knees are now suffering.

I take one last glance at myself before putting on a pastel blue dress decorated with cute yellow flowers. The dress is short and sleeveless. Starting high, wrapping around my neck, to just stopping at the top of my knees, simple but pretty.

Looking down in the sink, I pick up a broken-handled hairbrush and roughly begin brushing my hair. Sissy kindly gifted it to me with an apology for its damaged state, but I didn't care that it was broken; I was so grateful that I squeezed her in for a tight hug. I've been desperate to rid my hair of these nasty knots. My fingers are only able to do so much.

The bathroom is now the only place I get time to think. It used to be my room, but with late-night visits from Johnny, it's no longer available.

I put the brush back down and rummaged through Jessica's makeup bag. I was supposed to hide it originally, but I changed my mind and decided to use her stuff; it would have been wasting away and forgotten about if I hid it. Searching around, I pulled out a black mascara tube, black eyeliner, and a small brown eyeshadow palette with three shades. Having no brushes, I got to work using my fingers, delicately rubbing the pigments over my eyelids. It feels good to use makeup again, a luxury I guess I took for granted. It makes me feel better, feeling refreshed and pretty.

After applying the eyeliner along my eye shape and coating on layers of mascara, I take a second to admire myself, which is a tad difficult with a broken mirror. I won't have many chances to do this again, sadly; Jessica only carried a small bag of makeup wipes with her.

I bundle the makeup products and the broken hairbrush in my arms and swiftly leave the bathroom towards my bedroom. Pushing the door open with my foot, I place the items down gently on my bedside table, and I grab an old, ugly pair of brown sandles, sliding them on. They were perfect for getting around that house quietly without disturbing anyone; Sissy's style of barefoot isn't something I was too fond of. Buckling up the sandle straps, I march downstairs, feeling ready for today.

Reaching the dining room, I notice it's unusually quiet; there's no sign of Bubbaor Nubbins messing around; Johnny ain't here either, lacking the sound of his thundering footsteps and voice.

Did I spend so long getting ready that I missed breakfast? Hopefully, Johnny went with Drayton in the early morning. I can’t help but feel anxious thinking of what else he could be up to. It was weeks ago that he brought that woman back to purposefully antagonise me. My mouth always dries up thinking about that. Did Johnny even realise I had caught him before he brought me down to the basement? Or was that his plan to further anger me?

I don't like thinking about it, and I also can't stop. The guilt and excitement I felt were like none other. Killing her was intense. So much was happening all at once with such little consequence. It bothers me that I killed her out of petty jealousy, even more so that I'm happy she's dead. God, what is happening to me?

“Lookin’ very dolled up today, sweetie?” Sissy says with a smirk as she takes a bite from her buttered-up toast.

 

Her voice snaps me out of my thoughts instantly, and I flinch in surprise, not aware she was sitting so close. She really is the quietest out of the whole family.

 "I felt like using some makeup, just for fun.” I responded to her honestly; it was true. I just wanted to feel pretty.

“Shame Johnny ain’t here to see you all pretty this morning." She smiles at me teasingly, a glint in her dangerous eyes. Not bothered, I grab myself a plate with strawberry jam toast and take a seat in front of her.

“I didn’t do it for Johnny.” I tell her, taking a large bite of my toast. She stands after finishing her breakfeast, walking off with an unconvinced look.

I wonder if the rest of the family knows about Johnny and I’s relationship; Drayton and him did have that argument when I first arrived. Not to mention our lack of subtlety; I mean, we go off together for long periods and come back with dishevelled hair and clothes. It doesn't help that I am covered head to toe in bruises.

I nibbled on the rest of the toast while thinking. Maybe they don't care; I know Johnny doesn't lose sleep over other opinions on what he does. I am, for one, embarrassed if they know.

Am I the lucky one? Johnny has chosen me to be with him out of so many other girls; he likes me the most, or I would not be here right now, and I want to keep it that way. After everything I’ve been through, God forbid another woman tries to take that away from me. I just need more time to understand Johnny and what he truly wants from me.

 

I finish my small breakfast, standing up to clean up my plate. I better hurry up; it’s my turn to feed Grandpa Sawyer, and he is most likely hungry by now.

Ironically, out of everyone in this family, Grandpa Sawyer is the most pleasant person to be around. Feeding him the vial of blood that I had once found gross has become a normal occurrence, and afterwards, I just relax in the living room, sewing or knitting near him while he sleeps; it’s peaceful.

I just started sewing and knitting as a new hobby. With the hard work Sissy and I have been doing, we were all caught up on house chores. We get them done in a couple of hours instead of a whole day. I've also finished trimming all the bushes and flowers, with nothing else important to do. Sissy has been teaching me to sew and knit to kill time while she tends to her plants in her greenhouse. So I spend my free time fixing old clothes in the living room, near Grandpa.

Now that oh so sweet, peacefulness went away as Nubbins came stomping downstairs, crashing down on the couch next to me with a heavy photo album. It’s amazing that he didn’t wake up, grandpa.

"I-I-I got some new photos I-i took with my n-n-new camera." Nubbins informs me gleefully, opening up his album.

"Ah, sure thing, yeah," I tell him, surprised by the suddenness of his appearance. He usually keeps himself locked up in his room. I put my sewing needles and the shirt I was working on to the side so I could focus my attention on him.

With beaming excitement, Nubbins flips through the photo album, going to the back to show his most recent pictures. I look at the ones he is flipping through and see a variety of shots of sunsets and sunflowers. He seems to be very passionate about his hobby. It's nice to see how he spends his free time.

It was nice until I saw pictures of mutilated animals. I cringed at the horrid sights, flicking my eyes away and swallowing my distaste. He finally gets to the page he wants. Chucking the album in my lap, he begins pointing to each picture, telling me the meaning behind each one.

 

I couldn't help but chuckle looking at the super close-up shots of Drayton's angry face. I tell Nubbins how hilarious it is, and he needs to take more close-up shots of everyone. He giggles in agreement. He flips the page over while bouncing in his seat. Thankfully, there are no more gruesome pictures; his latest ones are all beautiful and sweet. I point to the ones I like best.

One is of Sissy and Bubba dancing out in the backyard; he's adorably holding her hand up as she daintily spins. Another set of pictures I love is of Johnny in a white singlet, covered in grease stains, bent over working on a car. It follows another picture of him standing back up, turned towards the camera with a confused face, and then the last shot shows him angrily marching towards the camera, trying to grab it. It's a bit blurred; Nubbins must have started running off as he took that last picture. 

"These are really beautiful Nubbins." I tell him wholeheartedly. The pictures are well shot, and there is a loveliness to them, showing the fun side of his family. 

He grins at me in delight, and with a stutter in his voice, he asks if he could take a picture of me since I look very pretty today and will make a nice new collection. 

I nod my head. I don't see the harm in a few pictures. Nubbins quickly hops off the couch and stands in front of me, grabbing his camera that's strapped around his neck. He starts rapidly snapping pictures, the flash blinding me slightly, but I quickly compose myself and begin to smile, sitting up straighter, hopefully looking okay. I get nervous about my photo being taken.

After six or seven pictures fall from his camera, Nubbins squats down quickly, scattering them in his hands, and hobbles his way upstairs, forgetting about his photo album that is still placed on my lap.

With a morbid sense of curiosity, I flip back to see what other pictures Nubbins has taken. It consists mainly of poor dead cattle, roadkill, more of the family, and property. Until I found a picture of Johnny smiling with the corpse of a dead girl, he looked ecstatic, carrying her over his shoulder, shirtless and sweaty. It appears like he was chasing her and finally caught her. Like a wolf hunting a rabbit. Before I could turn another page, I heard Nubbins coming back downstairs.

I quickly snap the album shut and plop it next to me while grabbing my sewing needles, pretending I was focusing on something else other than his photos.

 “F-forgot this.” He mumbles under his breath, snatching the album from the couch and placing it under his arm while scuttling back to his room.

I sigh in relief at not getting caught looking through his album. I don’t know how he would react to it; it seems he takes his photography very seriously and personally. The last thing I want to do is cause trouble. Snooping like that is dangerous for me; I won’t try that again.

 

A few hours have passed since that little incident, and Sissy and I had just finished making dinner—chilli again, of course; it’s the family’s favourite. Made only how Drayton likes it, as he is the chilli expert.

I finish placing the cutlery and ceramic white plates on the dinner table just as Sissy rings the bell, signalling that food is cooked and it's time for supper. 

“Pa and Johnny should be back anytime now.” Sissy yells out to me from the kitchen, and right on cue, I hear Drayton's beat-up old truck roll up front.

Heavy doors slam, and loud voices take over the silence. The more they get closer, the easier it is to tell that an argument broke out between them—more of Drayton lecturing over Johnny. But they both come straight to the dining table, sitting in their designated spots as I take my seat.

I’m in front of Johnny. I look at his handsome face and am happy to see him. He stares back at me, making heavy eye contact with me. He looks hungry, and I don’t think it's for chilli. I cast my eyes down, not being able to keep the contact. I’ve never been good at holding eye contact; it gets too much before I start feeling embarrassed; it's easier to just look away.

Bubba comes in dressed up like an old grandma, carrying the big pot of chilli. Using a large wooden spoon, he goes around the table, serving the portions on the plates. Sissy must have given him the task when he came up from the basement. He practically lives down there, barely coming up. I guess having your own lair would be nice; it’s spacious, but I don't see the appeal; each to their own.

Sissy comes skipping in right after with a tea spoon and medium-sized bowl of sour cream, plopping them down on the table for whoever. She glances around and notices Nubbins hasn’t arrived. She sighs in annoyance, skips to the stairs, and yells out his name while also yelling that it’s dinnertime.

 

"Hurry up before it gets cold!" She yells for the last time. She comes back, smiling and taking her seat right next to me. We wait to eat until Nubbins arrives, who, of course, rushes down the stairs to take his spot. Yapping on about the new photos he took today. 

As Bubba puts the large pot down and sits, we begin to eat, and I glance back at Johnny, who is no longer staring at me but just casually eating and focusing on the others. I'm a tad jealous that he’s not focusing on me anymore. I must be showing it on my face as Johnny looks back at me with a smirk on his face. I flush red as he winks, and I look down again. I hate being so easy to read and tease. 

After finishing dinner, I was helping clean up the leftovers and dishes. Then the most odd thing happened. Johnny started to help, packing up the plates and bringing them to me. Not once since I've been here has Johnny ever helped with dishes. Placing the dirty dishes in the sink, he slides behind me, sneakily pressing himself against my ass. 

“Meet me outside near the shed. I got somethin’ for ya’." He says this quietly into my ear. With a quick kiss on my cheek, he's moves away leaving me alone and most likely heading to the shed. 

I wonder what he planned for me tonight; I have a feeling it’s not just the usual romp but something more. Taking deep breaths, I head out from the back garden to the nearby large shed. I really hope this isn't a punishment after that incident a few days ago. After I had killed that black-haired woman, I yelled at him for sleeping with her. Yes, I murdered her, but I was still pissed that he did that. I felt betrayed.

Johnny, not reacting to my anger, turned and left, leaving me baffled. It's why now I'm getting nervous as I get closer to the shed. Moonlight giving me vision in the dark while the gravel crunches underneath my shoes, sounds of crickets and leaves rustling around me as I reach my destination. 

 

Walking inside, Johnny is sitting on top of a large crater, and near him is another woman, bleeding from many cuts, gagged, and tied with an old rope to a chair. The poor thing is a sobbing mess. The outdoor lamps reflecting the wetness from her tears.

“I kept her alive just for you, sweetheart.” He says as he takes a drag from his cigarette. He stands up from the crate and saunters closer to me. 

Did you fuck this one too? I wanted to say badly, but I held my tongue. The last thing I want is to end up in the same position as the new victim. I shouldn't test him.

Johnny smiles, like he knows what I want to say, and I'm never going to be able to hide my thoughts from him. 

He wraps his muscular arm around my waist, pulling me towards him. “I know what you're thinking, sweetheart, and I didn’t put my cock any wear near her. I didn’t want you to have another temper tantrum like the other night.” He mocks me by blowing his cigarette smoke in my face. 

I crinkled my nose at the smoke, swatting its vileness away from my face. He tugs me along closer and grips my chin to my face towards the woman, who is straining her eyes at me with desperation.

“I want you to slice her up real good.” He speaks softly into my ear. Using the arm that was around my waist, he reaches to his pocket, pulling out a small switchblade and placing it in my sweaty palm. A lump swells in my throat at what he's asking me to do. I have to torture this innocent woman. I look closely at her; she seems to be in her mid-late twenties or early thirties. How am I going to do this?

He notices my hesitation, and without getting angry, he instead gently guides me closer to her. He walks behind me, pressing his large frame against me. "Let me show you." His deep voice soothes me as he holds my wrists like a puppeteer. I bite my bottom lip as he, or I guess me, presses the knife to the fat part of her cheek. Sliding it across. Ruby-red blood shines out of the gash as the woman wrestles with her restraints on the chair.

“I can’t.” I whimper at him. My hands are trembling for causing her anguish. She doesn’t deserve this; no matter who she is, this is wrong. 

“You will, or else I'll fuck her in front of you.” I'm not sure if it’s cowardice or selfishness, but I give in to him, letting him guide the knife along her delicate skin, slicing it and causing nasty red lines. We drag it down along her neck, pressing it down harder into her chest, where her heart is. I feel his hardness press into me, his hot breath along my neck, and his arm around my waist as we continue, going back up and pressing the sharp blade along her throat. 

The woman's breathing is rapid. Panting from fear. I refuse to look at her face, knowing what I'll see. Knowing she doesn't want to die. Begging for her life. 

“Do it.” He grunts, letting go of my wrist, holding me tight, waiting for me to slice her throat, wanting me to murder her on my own accord. I ignore the voices in my head as I dig the blade in deep enough. I shut my eyes as it gushes out. The woman gurgles and splatters in her gag as she chokes on her own blood.

I just killed another person, a human being. Who had a life? No, I can’t think about it; I won't. Thinking about that will get me killed. I love Johnny, and I’ll do anything for him. 

I let out a big sob, trying to calm down as Johnny turned me into his chest, hugging me. 

"You did so well, sweetheart." He assured me, patting my head. A sense of comfort swarms me as I'm held tight in his arms. 

I crane my neck up to look up at him, his dark eyes blown wide with excitement. We stare at each other as our breaths get heavy.

He dives in for a hungry kiss. I reciprocate, wanting him to devour me and to feel him inside me. Keeping me full.

Johnny pulls and tosses me against a crate. My chest squishes flat as he pulls up my dress. I wiggle my upper body, trying to adjust myself to a comfortable position. 

“Your soaked.” Johnny mocks me while gliding his fingers along my slit.

Without hesitation, I grind myself back on his hand, his thumb rubbing slow circles on my engorged clit, while two other fingers slide inside, stretching me out for his cock.

“Johnny.” I moan softly, feeling guilty as I look at the bleeding-dead woman, her limp body falling forward. 

“Don't worry, darlin', I got you." His fingers start thrusting out of me, distracting me as I clench around them, moaning. Fuck, it feels good.

 “Please, Johnny, keep going; don’t stop.” I squeezed myself again around his fingers. I'm so aroused that I could cum at any moment.

He is always so good with his fingers; he knows exactly where to put them, turning me into a moaning mess and aching for an orgasm. He presses his thumb on my clit harder, rocking it back and forth along with his other fingers. 

 

I try not to look back at the woman; the sounds of my wetness echo through the shed. A hard slap to my ass cues me to look back at Johnny in surprise; he looks annoyed.

“Don’t fuckin’ ignore me, sweetheart.” He yells angry at me for being distracted. He pulls out his fingers, drawing a gasp out of me as he flips me over.

Flatting my back on the crate, I spread my legs while the rest of my dress is dragged up over my breasts. He moves in between my legs hovering over me.

“I’m sorry, Johnny.” I moan out as he gropes and kneads my breasts. I spread my legs further to accommodate his hulking frame. My pussy aching to be touched again. He sucks on a nipple, swirling it with his tongue as I reach around, digging my nails into his soft hair. 

He stops sucking my nipples and roughly pulls my knees up to my chest so he can place his lips on my clit. He gently blows cool air on my pearl before encompassing his mouth around it, sucking and licking. I pant and squeeze his hair tighter, making him groan into my cunt. Shit, I'm going to cum soon. My cunt clenches around nothing, demanding to be filled as I reach my peak, legs shaking as I cum.

He pushes his cock inside me as I cum. We both groan in sync as he keeps going in. "Fuck your pussy feels incredible!" He groans, thrusting away.

I start moaning loudly, feeling very sensitive from my orgasm. He starts going harder, placing my calves over his shoulders. I hold on to him, trying to focus, but I'm so sensitive that I can barely keep up. 

"Johnnyyy s-so good.” I breatheless moan, barely making a full sentence as my tits swing to his pounding.

“Gonna cum, sweetheart.” He warns, pushing my legs further back, reaching deeper than before. He places his thumb on my clit, massaging it. 

I unexpectedly cum again, and my body shakes at its suddenness. Johnny moans deeply, feeling my gummy walls gush and tighten around his throbbing cock.

“Oh yeah, that’s what I love’.” He groans as he cums, squirting in me deeply, holding me still as he fills me up. I whine when he places my legs down. He watches his cum drip out of your cunt, biting his lower lip at the sight. 

"Shit darlin', I wanna' fuck again." He groans enthusiastically, slapping my thighs. 

@alurafairy : @mikaneedy

[lurkingshan]

Shan! After today’s episode of Only Friends, I have the feeling that I’ve lost a sense of the endgame of this series. I think I was under the impression — from the promos, the tweets, etc. — that we were going to get a summarily messy ending, with a whole bunch of toxic threads needing to be unwound. I’m intrigued by my thoughts on this — and maybe a touch concerned that we might end up getting morality stories out of this. By the time we roll around to an episode 10 or 11, what are your thoughts on a viewer not having a sense — not even of where the journey will end — but also of what the meaning of the journey was in the first place? I wonder if, in successful show construction, if I would have had a stronger and clearer sense of this earlier in the series?

Typically, we do have a strong sense of a show’s arc and narrative beats by this point in a story, but Only Friends specifically does not follow bl beats, so it’s always been a little bit its own beast. That said, it’s funny that you ask this now because after this week, I do feel like I have a sense of where this is going and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Namely, I am now fairly confident that we’re headed toward an ending with all three couples together and happyish, if not purely happy. The way this episode was structured to lead us into the final arc points to the end game conflicts—Boston and Nick figuring out where they stand on monogamy and distance, Mew deciding whether he can truly forgive Top, Ray trying rehab and Sand getting his head spun by Boeing—playing out next week, leaving the finale for resolutions and probably some kind of final word on this group of friends who barely seem to like each other.

I feel mixed about this suspicion because to me, happy endings all around doesn’t feel totally aligned with the spirit of this show and some of its themes. It feels a bit like the character arcs have been adjusted as we go, so that if you returned to the beginning and tried to draw a straight line to where we’re landing, it wouldn’t entirely track. But I’m also aware that this show has been unusually shaped by external forces like branded pairs and fan reactions.

In recent interviews the show’s creators, Jojo and Ninew, shared a few things that made a lot of this click for me:

Their original vision for this show was intended to be cast entirely with supporting actors and not bl pairs (this is why Neo and Mark were first in)

When they realized they were getting branded pairs they they were surprised and tweaked the characters and story to fit them (I’d bet money this rehab arc for Ray was added once they knew Khaotung was playing him)

Jojo allows the actors and their management to view their scenes (he said this specifically about sex scenes, but it may include others as well) and anything they are uncomfortable with doesn’t get put in the show

They have been tracking fan reactions closely and have incorporated those reactions into their final editing decisions (for example, removing a scene of Top hooking up with a random because people already hated him more than expected)

For me, all of this adds up to the conclusion that the show has in fact changed pretty significantly from their original vision, and those changes have been in the direction of a more conventional ending that will align with expectations for bls with branded pairs. In the end, branded pairs are a capitalist endeavor and they can’t let OF damage the brands. So while I do think the show has done more than any that came before it to push the boundaries of these constraints, they’re not going to be able to go all the way. The pairs need to end up in a good enough place that fans don’t want to burn GMMTV to the ground and the actors’ next projects are still set up for success.

So to your original question: I think the tension you’re feeling about the show’s overall point is a result of these changes creators are making as they bow to external forces. I personally think, given the constraints they are juggling, that they’ve still kept the story and its themes pretty legible, and some of the messaging is landing very consistently. But Only Friends is clearly not purely uncompromised art, it’s serving a lot of different needs and motivations.

[sheepheadfred]

Ectoberhaunt Day 10: Creepy/Wet

Summary: A ghost dog and several feral ghost children and one Little Baby Man become menaces across town together the week of Halloween.

AO3 link

It started with an idea the youngest half ghost had while getting affectionately licked by the pup who chose her template as his person.

Halloween is coming up and what could be more fun for a ghost than to scare some people? But first, she needs a target.

As she looks for one, big, bright eyes watch from the shadows passed by. Curious to what she was doing.

She was so lost in thought on who to prank that the figure easily snuck up on her. Turning around only to come face to face with a ghost around her size. Startling her enough to let gravity take hold.

This ghost had pinkish purple-y hair in a cloud like texture and look and an oversized hooded jacket with pom poms dangling from it. Their tongue is in an eternal 'blep' poking out and stitch like markings up and down in the middle of their face. Topped off with a worn giraffe plush wearing an orange cape on their head, peaking out of their hair.

"Hi. Sorry for scaring you, we wanted to see what you were doing. It looked fun."

Their voice was quiet and unsure, yet excited.

Before Dani could give an answer, Cujo popped in and tackled the new ghost down to play. Licking the newcomer and then going off to play with the smaller, more animal shaped, ghost like the excited puppy he is.

Deemed a friend by the dog, she doesn't see a reason why to exclude a fellow ghost kid.

"Sure, I don't see why not. What's your name, though? Never seen you around Amity Park before."

"Oh! Ummm," the newcomer twisted their long sleeves before answering, "I'm Stuffie! Friend to all plush creatures and companions! Nice to meet you!"

Their bouncy answer was accompanied by flappy hands in their oversized sleeves and the giraffe plush flying up in glee, making a high pitched squeak in agreement.

"Who's that?" Dani was curious, she knew some ghosts had objects that were empowered by them and tend to be linked to their obsession in some way, but she has not seen one have sentience.

Well, unless Youngblood's skeleton companion counted?

Questions for later.

"That's Raffi, my best friend! She sometimes goes by Super Raffi, hence the cape. Would you like to hug her?"

Amused, Dani agreed and a comforting hug was paired with an unexpected lick from a long, somehow wet, giraffe tongue via ghostly plush.

"Aww, she likes you!"

The two share a laugh as the young Phantom explains her desire to prank and give a good scare to some people on Halloween. She still just didn't know exactly how to go about it. Two minds now are able to plan much easier with different ideas getting tossed around. The two animal companions played a fun game of chase, going in circles the whole time.

Unaware that a third, small creature had joined the two playing animal-like companions.

Mischievous spirits of restless children plan and wait.

Excited for a good Halloween haunting.

Biding their time blending in with trick-or-treaters, collecting candy along the way, until the house grew dark.

When the night came, they found their first victims.

A group of older kids acting like nothing scares them from living in Amity Park. Clearly plotting to TP someone's house... Or multiple someones from what could be seen or heard to passer bys. Doesn't matter anyway.

What they didn't know what waited them in shadows of the deepening night.

Giving the signal for their plan, the two humanoid ghosts get in position and Cujo grows and hides with his invisibility, a trick Dani worked hard making sure he'd listen to.

Eyes seemingly coming from the walls, staring from the darkness.

Liquid dripping onto them from above. A smell wafting onto them, warm and wet.

A creepy chant started from all sides.

"Trick or treat! ~

~Smell my feet~

~Give me something good to eat~~~"

Overlapped voices coming from different directions, moving around slowly as the come closer.

"If you don't~

~I don't care~

~I will give you some nightmares~"

A short giggle from at least three voices from no concrete direction followed the haunting rhyme.

All it took was a single tap on the shoulder and something small yet soft landing on a head for one kid to run screaming, followed by their friends. Forgetting their candy.

Leaving it to the spirits.

SCORE!

A great scare and a new friend made all of this worth it!

The new sweets didn't hurt, as well.

Dani and Stuffie found an isolated part of the park to sort their new candy, making a third pile for Raffi who loves chocolate. She is willing to share but she loves not having to!

Cujo chasing the extra friend that was with them, uninterested in the candy with his toy and new friends to play with. At least the candy won't kill him if he does try something.

"So, who is this little guy?" Stuffie asked, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk with candy before swallowing as if they were in cartoon.

"Oh, that little guy hangs out around town, mainly by my cousin or his friends. We don't exactly know how he came to be or where he came from, but he looks just like Phantom but somehow more fight-y. Heh heh." a laugh came out just thinking about it, "We've taken to calling him Little Baby Man, though. So I guess that's his name."

"Aww, he's cute!," they exclaim, "And I can tell Raffi likes having two new friends, here! I liked meeting you, too! Does this mean we're friends?" Stuffie asked her with bright sparkles in their eyes.

"Sure," Dani laughs, charmed by her new friend, "I don't see why not after all!"

Stuffie wiggled happily before responding, "Would you like it if I make you a plush friend? It can be of anyone or anything! I, uhm, don't really know how else to say this, but I like being around you and I want to give a plush friend custom made just for you! You can even take it with you on your travels when you leave next! That is, well, if you want it? I don't really know how to make friends, to be honest."

"Let me think about what it will be, OK? I don't really have many friends, either!"

"Sure!"

A reply given in a sunny smile before their small companions got their attention by trying to lay on them or bury themselves into the candy piles.

Laughs were heard all around from the abandoned park.

This was the greatest Halloween either has ever had.

[peachycrisis]

Human Again

Chapter 6

—————

Angel and Alastor talk, and Alastor Opens Up.

Angel makes a discovery.

—————

Alastor looked around his new radio tower. It had the same spark and feel as his older one, but seemed to be a lot more modernized. Gold accents littered the walls, red vines hung from the ceiling. On the far right side of the studio was a huge console, perfect for broadcasting his radio shows, and on the far left was a comfy couch stained blood red, modernized but also still retro, just the way Alastor liked it. Alastor stood and took in everything he was seeing. Even though they didn’t know that he was alive, they still took the time to rebuild his precious tower.

Even though he could have been dead, they still made it for him regardless.

Why?

“Hey, smiles..?” Angel asked, tapping on the man’s shoulder. “You okay? You’ve been kind of.. standing there for a hot moment.”

Alastor sighed, then smiled, wiping the now dried tears off of his cheek. The walk to the tower had been relatively silent, besides the occasional sniffles and hiccups from the former deer man. Alastor ran his hand through his curly locks and turned his head to face the spider, who was directly next to him.

“Why?”

Angel paused.

“What do you mean Al?”

“Why did you do this?” Alastor asked softly, he turned away from Angel and looked down at the ground, his hands started fidgeting.

His hands hadn’t done that in nearly 90 years.

“I mean, I could of been dead… I should have been dead- I… I…” the man stuttered, he dropped the smile once more as he began to scratch his arms in attempt to ground himself- to gain control once more. “You guys didn’t know that I was alive, and you still rebuilt this for me… why?”

Angels breath hitched at the vulnerability that was radiating from the former demon, no one knows what truly happened to him- but one thing is for sure, his stubborn ass has suddenly become capable of ‘human emotions.’

or as close to human emotions as a psychopath could have.

“Huh,” Angel softly chuckled, “seems like the stick has finally shot out your ass, huh smiles?”

Alastor shot him a glance, tears in his eyes.

“You know I don’t understand your… millennial, gen.. f y z- whatever it is terminology, Angel Dust.”

“Al, we lived around the same time, I died like 10 years after you-“ Angel looked down to see the man’s hands scraping away at the skin on his already scared forearms- each scratch leaving a new red mark on his tanned skin.

How did he get those scars? He has always been covered up, showing even the slightest amount of skin is seen as scandalous on him.

But that isn’t important, the important thing right now is comforting his… friend…?

Angel moved to stand in front of Alastor, and softly grazed his hand on top of the others. The man’s hands were warm and clammy- yet soft and strong. He grabbed the man’s hand, preventing it from doing any more damage to his forearm, and squeezed it tight, he could feel the man’s hands shake in his grip, so he began to attempt to soothe him by running his thumb up and down across the soft skin of his outer hand. This seemed to work well enough, as he was able to see the man in front of him begin to relax.

God, he looks actually… really adorable…? Angel thought to himself as he used his other hand to grab Alastors other hand, holding them in front of him, between the two men. He squeezed both of the man’s hands.

“I know you’re scared Smiles, and that is okay. If any of us were in your situation, we would be scared too.” His glance moved from the hands that separated the two, to the man in front of him- making eye contact with Alastors brown eyes.

“And we rebuilt your tower because we care about you, and we wanted to you have something familiar to come back to when you came back to the hotel, whether that had to take weeks, months, or even years. We did it not because we felt bad, but because we care about you. We want you to feel comfortable and we all knew deep down that even if you didn’t show it, or even think about it directly- we knew, and I think you know too, that you do deeply care about this hotel, whether you believe in Charlie’s dream of redeeming sinners or not. We know deep down you wouldn’t give up on us, so we will never give up on you- whether your the radio demon, or your true self.”

Angel moved his left hand from Alastors, and placed it on his chest.

“And I believe that this experience has allowed you to finally figure out who you are again, rather than the image of what you want people to think you are.”

Alastor stared at Angel, mouth wide open and glistening with tears, he looked away from the spider.

“My mother always used to tell me “We just gotta think good thoughts and hope that everything passes. A smile is a valuable tool, it assures that through anything that comes our way- we will always be the ones in control,” My mother was my best friend. You know, people like me weren’t treated very well during my time of living, dear. It was really her and me against the world.”

Alastor sighed, and used his newly free hand to wipe some stray tears that had escaped.

“When she died, I promised her that I would never let me feel inferior ever again. And that’s exactly what happened, in life- and in death. I became a smiling psychopath in life, just like many of the people that were brought down here, but down here I had become a monster, and there’s no redeeming that.”

Alastor sadly chuckled, as Angel listened, watching his face as he opened up. He was nearly unrecognizable.

“Even though I don’t want to admit it, occasionally I do think about what she would think of me… heh, she would probably think I was a monster, which is reasonable. She would probably be pissed off at the fact that I have used the radio accent for nearly 90 years.”

“Radio accent?” Angel asked, was the transatlantic accent not his actually accent? What?

“Yes, this is not my original accent- I have just spoke long enough with this one that I had practically forgotten how to speak in my natural voice. I grew up in a Creole family in Louisiana, which is surprising considering how I looked as a demon. I tried so hard to… as kids these days would say, “white wash” myself in order to fit in more with the people around us, which I seemed to be eternally cursed with once I got to hell… the white wash, the smile, the accent, the works.” Alastor chuckled, running his hands, once again through his curly locks.

“Being back in this body brings back some… conflicting feelings, especially when it comes to my life and death. It feels like reverse puberty.” Alastor sighed, finally escaping the grip of Angel Dust- finding the nearest chair to him- which happened to be the blood red couch, and practically fell into it.

Angel watched as the man’s hair bounced with the movement with his head, how his smile began to slightly resurface- showcasing his pink lips. He watched as the man’s eyes fluttered closed as he sighed, finally relaxing after a while. He took note of the man’s shirt, half undone- and his sleeves rolled up half wa-

Oh no.

No. No. No.

Angel can’t.

Or maybe, just possibly he has changed enough.

[lcvedior]

𖤐 ʾ ⠀ ❪ ⠀ NATALIA HWANG ⠀ ╲ ⠀A DISCOGRAPHY DEEP DIVE

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  TALIA (2015): THE GRAND DEBUT … Fresh out of filming for her supporting role in the 2016 film ‘The Handmaiden,’ Natalia would make her musical debut on her 18th birthday, releasing her first full studio album, featuring three lead singles: ONLY YOU, FULL MOON, and FLY. Each of these tracks would get their own individual promotional periods. This release would debut to much critical acclaim, the lead singles peaking at #1, #5, and #1 on charts respectively and the album selling over 683,000 units. Only You rose to popularity with a surprising quickness, racking in 7 music show wins. Full Moon was also a hit, recognized as one of the most iconic songs as well as choreography in the industry, being covered by large range of idols and notable celebrities. Then Fly did surprisingly well with the general public, taking the industry by storm with it’s vocal prowess and earning several PAKS and RAKS, and staying in the top of charts for a total of 70 weeks.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  24 HOURS (2016): THE FIRST COMEBACK … Riding off the success of Natalia’s debut, her acting projects, and modeling work, Zephyr thought it’d be best to release her first comeback in the earlier part of 2016. 24 Hours is her second studio album, consisting of 8 tracks with 24 Hours serving as the title track. 24 Hours debuted at #15 on charts but progressively worked itself up to #1 throughout the promotional period. Alongside the title track, the b-side MAGIC which unexpectedly peaked within the top 10 on music charts. Due to popular demand, Natalia also promoted the track very briefly on music shows. Although the public’s reception of her work was seemingly positive, it was evident that she was still exploring her artistry. Even though she was never truly given credit for anything on this album or the album prior, she was heavily involved in the writing and concept for all tracks. On the contrary, both Zephyr Entertainment and Henri Kwon (especially) were very adamant on not straying away from the sexier image she’d been portraying already.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  WHY (2016): THE SUMMER RENAISSANCE … Natalia came back just in time for the summer with her single Why. The tropical house track was met with immediate acclaim upon release, peaking at #1 on all charts, taking home 10 music show wins, and seeing several PAKS. This song was everywhere that year. When people think of summer 2016, Why is destined to come to mind. It also trumped her previous reign of 70 weeks on charts by staying for 90 weeks. It also revisits the charts frequently, usually around summertime of every year. This year she was able to take home BEST NEW ARTIST and SONG OF THE YEAR with this single alone. This is what marked the official solidification of her status in the music industry.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  VARIATIONS ON THE WORLD LOVE (2017): A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP … Natalia Hwang released yet another studio album titled Variations on the Word Love, which is a darker piece of work exploring themes of toxic relationships and what love can look and feel like. Never Ever, the title track, debuted at #1 on charts and stayed there for weeks. Other b-sides on the album also charted well, like the #5 peaking track MOONLIGHT. The album sold over 2 million copies, marking her first 2 million seller in her career. Aside from the success, though, fans were worried that Natalia was being overworked. From booking luxury brand deals, Mon Cheri’s new season, and gearing up for her first world tour, it was safe to say there wasn’t a time where Natalia wasn’t working. Everything she did was selling like hot cakes, Zephyr and Henri felt like they could slap her name onto anything and make bank. On the contrary, while she was apparently loved by the public, she was also hated a great deal. People slapped the names ‘diva’ and ‘airheaded’ on her, embroiling her in attitude controversies and slandering her for her interviews where Henri accompanied her.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  FANTASY (2017): A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP PART 2 … Following the promotional period for VOTWL, Natalia would release her first mini album only a few months later, selling 2 million copies once again. It’s title track Fantasy would garner 9 music show wins and peak at #1 on charts. Of course, this release wouldn’t come without backlash, many netizens criticizing the attire she wore in her music video, calling it skimpy and inappropriate. Although she wouldn’t promote this release much as she was preparing for her first world tour, other tracks on the mini would gain popularity, such as DON’T SAY NO (which would later get its own music video) and WHATEVER. Those tracks would both get added to the Setlist for the tour. She would walk away from this year with the ARTIST OF THE YEAR award, much to a lot of people’s dismay. Regardless, this year was still a success even with the boycotts and nasty, intrusive comments from interviewers and netizens alike.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT (2018): THE EERIE CALM BEFORE THE STORM … Natalia released her second mini album right in time for spring of this year, a reference to netizens titling her a ‘national embarrassment.’ While the album sold less copies than her previous releases, it would still chart exceedingly well. She didn’t promote this album much, never performing it and oftentimes barely acknowledging it after its release.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  TIMELESS (2018): THE HATE TRAIN (WHEN THINGS FALL APART) … Around winter of 2018, Natalia released her fourth studio album, featuring the title track #LADY and the promotional b-side ALTERLIFE. Things seemed to be looking up before its release, the albums presales already hitting incredible milestones and the anticipation for the release umpteenth. The first few hours of the release were peaceful, both tracks debuting at #1 and #10 respectively. However, things came crumbling down when Henri Kwon released an exposé regarding Natalia, officially announcing their parting from one another and dumping on her mental health and extremely personal issues. This sent the media into a frenzy, everyone talking about it and a plethora of headlines coming out everyday. Some people sided with Natalia, saying that Henri was wrong for speaking on her and airing out her mental state and sexuality like that, while most used this as an opportunity to bag on her all that they wanted. This was an extremely rough period for Natalia, as she was being asked very rude and inappropriate questions every interview and being harassed by paparazzi and fans on the internet everyday. This was an all-time low for her, emotionally and in her career. She’d always received hate but never to the extent of this year. Due to this, her promotions were cut short and she canceled many schedules. She would then be placed on an indefinite and unofficial hiatus where she wouldn’t release music or make any public appearances for the next nearly three years.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  MY OBSESSION (2021): THE LONG AWAITED COMEBACK … After nearly three years and many half-assed, vague updates from Zephyr Entertainment about Natalia’s whereabouts, Hwang finally made her comeback in 2021, releasing her first studio album in years titled My Obsession. My Obsession would prove to be her best-selling album, selling over 4 million units with its title track MIDNIGHT winning 12 music show wins and SONG OF THE YEAR, while other tracks such as TOUCH, SELFISH, and SECRETS charted exceptionally and were promoted due to popular demand.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  DESSERT [FEAT. MICKEY MOON & KYRIE HAN] (2021): COLLAB OF THE YEAR … A little later this same year, Natalia would unveil another release, which would be a chart topping single featuring Mickey Moon of DREAMCHIC and Kyrie Han of RAVANA. The collaboration would go viral, peaking at #1 and staying within the top 15 weeks after its release. The single would even be nominated alongside Midnight for awards such as BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE and SONG OF THE YEAR. Although, it would win BEST COLLABORATION.

∬ ˚ ⋆ ࣪  BAD OMENS (2022): CREATIVE FREEDOM AND ARTISTIC AUTHENTICITY … After taking yet another year off from music, Natalia came back with her studio album titled Bad Omens, featuring the title track Fever. This ‘hiatus’ was much different from the previous one—in length and reason. It was obvious that she was working on projects behind the scenes, such as new modeling projects, preparing for comebacks and (possible) tours, and making business moves. In this album, fans were able to see a different, deeper side of Natalia and her music. She was vulnerable with the concepts for music videos and album art, and talked about past experiences in her tracks which raised quite a few brows to listeners. Many people would speculate about the lyrics but when questioned about them, she would only answer with vague responses. Some tracks that were talked about in particular were: I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND, PWIC, and LIQUID SMOOTH. The album is often regarded as her best piece of work sonically, conceptually, and artistically.

As of early 2024, Natalia has taken more time off from music to focus on her new record label COUNTESSA RECORDINGS, which she revealed and bought her first artist in the later part of 2023.