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happy74827 · 9 months ago

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Contagiously Human.

[Brian Moser x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Killing was always the easiest part for him, but this… you… well, as fate would have it, that created a new problem for him. {GIF Creds: brothermoser}

WC: 1881

Category: Plot-Driven, Maybe Some Fluff/Angst…?

Someone asked me if I’d ever thought about writing Biney… and well, I decided to put my thought into actual words 🤷‍♀️

Just for some minor clarification, this is pretty much a “what if” fic in which Dexter does not end his life. This being said, I picture this taking place around season 5-6 ish.

『••✎••』

Hesitation.

The thing that makes or breaks a killer. The line that separates predator from prey. It's the pause between life and death, the time a man takes to make the decision, and whether he'll live to regret it or not.

He’s never had hesitation. Not once. In fact, he relishes in it; he finds peace in knowing that he can decide one way or another and be content with either outcome. It makes him a dangerous man, unpredictable, a ticking time bomb.

His baby brother, his blood, had the disease. The disease of being too much of a good person, feeling guilt, having morals, a sense of what's right and wrong. He was weak, he hesitated, and he wasn’t even aware of how much the disease was eating him alive until that Trinity Killer came around.

He was supposed to protect his brother, save him from himself, and show him the proper way of things. The way of survival. Of the hunt. But no, Brian wasn’t there to catch him. To stop him.

So, as all good brothers do, he’s here to fix him. To set him straight and rid him of the disease. Forever.

It's an easy task, really. His little brother is so trusting and caring that he'd do anything for the ones he loved. Why not start by showing him why he shouldn't?

Because clearly, the loss of his apparent wife wasn’t enough. He needed to understand, truly and absolutely, that the world would only disappoint him. It's a harsh lesson but a necessary one.

So, that led him to you. His brother’s friend from school. The woman, aside from Dexter’s poor excuse for a sister, that his brother actually cared about.

Just like him, you were naive. Trusting, too. Friendly to everyone, completely unaware of the monsters that hid in the shadows. His brother included.

You might’ve never killed someone, but with everything else, it was clear why his brother was so interested in you. He always loved the innocent ones.

So, the question was, how would he go about it? He could take you somewhere, but the element of surprise was an important factor. You had to believe you were safe and comfortable before he could make his move.

A Debra repeat? Or a more... Unique approach. He'd think about it, plan it out, and strike at the perfect moment.

He wouldn’t hesitate, after all.

When the day presented itself, the stars had aligned, and everything was just right; he made his move. It was noon, a warm Sunday.

You were in your little bookshop, reading one of the books in your free time. Business had been slow today, as most people were enjoying the weather.

You never saw him coming. He was the type to blend into the crowd, the type that you'd see once and forget about. The type you'd pass on the street without a second thought.

He had his ways, of course, and his way was simple. A simple, kind greeting. One that had your eyes lighting up as if you'd never seen another person before.

He was charming, handsome, the perfect man to lure you in. You didn’t stand a chance.

That's what led him here, picking up your fallen book and handing it to you, watching the smile that graced your lips.

A romance novel, of course. How ironic.

"Oh, uh, thank you. That’s very kind."

You smiled, a hint of blush dusting your cheeks. Far more tame than that Debra woman, thankfully. He didn’t have to fight back the urge to roll his eyes.

"Tea and romance? Can’t say I blame you." He pulled a gentle grin, one that had you blushing further, more so of embarrassment this time.

"It's the first of a series. A favorite, actually, I’ve been rereading it." You explained, holding the book to your chest. He didn’t miss the way your thumb rubbed over the spine, fond and gentle.

Just from that, he knew. He was going to have fun with you. “Believe it or not, I read the first one too. A few months ago, actually. It was quite the page-turner. The ending had me on the edge of my seat, I swear."

You laughed, soft and airy, and for a moment, he found himself smiling genuinely. His lie was working, and he couldn’t believe it was that easy.

"I've only heard mixed reviews on it.” You spoke, moving to place the book back on the shelf. "I'm glad to hear you liked it. Marienne’s death was hard, wasn't it?"

"Very." He agreed though it was a lie. He had to pretend he cared. "It was a shame; I really enjoyed the character."

"You did?" You raised a brow, surprised. “Most people didn’t. Given that she doesn’t even exist.”

Shit.

He cleared his throat, a slight pause. He was so blinded by the idea of finally getting to his brother that he'd forgotten.

You were a reader, an author; of course, you would know the ins and outs of the story. The characters, the plot, and every little detail. Why would you not?

First rule of hunting. Don’t get cocky.

"Alright, I admit. I've been caught." He gave a small shrug, his voice holding a hint of sheepishness. Maybe you’d fall for it. “I couldn’t help myself; I figured you wouldn’t appreciate my love for fantasy books."

"Fantasy?" You tilted your head, and he knew. You bought it. You were a sucker for fantasy; you didn't like it when others looked down on them.

"I'm a bit of a nerd. Guilty pleasure."

"I didn’t peg you for the fantasy type…” You raised your eyebrow, though a smile still rested on your lips—a look of amusement.

"Really? Most people can't seem to look past the collared shirt.

"No, it's not that. It's your aura." You shook your head, and now, it was his turn to raise his brow. What the hell did that mean?

"My aura?"

"Those books in your hands..” You nodded towards his bag, a small smirk pulling at the corner of your lips. "You're definitely not a casual reader. My guess is everything in there is a throwaway.”

"And that means...?"

"You're bullshit through and through. You don't like romance or fantasy. In fact, I think you absolutely hate it."

Oh. Oh, you clever thing. Now, he truly understood why his brother connected with you so much. You'd figured him out, and yet, you had no clue. You were clever, smarter than you let on.

"Alright,” He held his hands up in mock surrender. He was enjoying this; for once, someone could see through his façade. See his true self. It was a rush.

“If you’re so smart, what do I like then?"

"Hmm, let's see...” And just like that, you were off with him in tow. You were taking him along on a trip through the shelves, looking through the genres, searching and searching.

He was intrigued, his eyes locked on you, his ears drinking in the sound of your hums and contemplation. Your mind was running, spinning, thinking. You were truly in your element.

"Well, let's start with what I know. You like horror." You said, turning towards the horror section and picking up a book. "You seem like the type who enjoys the dark side of humanity and likes to see the bad guy win."

Damn.

He was almost impressed. Almost.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Eyes. They tell the most about a person. You’ve seen a lot, and it shows. I could tell just by looking at you. Your eyes are... Cold. Empty." You said, and it was then that he realized you were more observant than you appeared. Naivety might’ve not been a part of your personality, but trust was. You trusted a lot. Too much. “Are you a cop, by chance? You've got the whole detective thing going on."

"Prosthetist, actually." He answered, his hand reaching out and picking up a book at random. He wasn't a fan of fiction, not really. He preferred nonfiction; it was more realistic—less pointless details.

"Oh, wow, I was completely off. I didn’t expect that." You mused, looking up at him with those eyes. You had such an expressive face; it was amazing how easy you were to read. He could practically see the gears turning. How could he use this?

"Expected an axe murderer, did you?" He joked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Maybe. Wouldn’t that be a twist?" You grinned a glint of amusement in your eye. “Speaking of, that’s probably what you like. Thrillers. Those kinds of stories are full of twists and turns. No one is who they appear to be. Kinda like you, hm?"

"Ouch."

"Sorry, am I being too honest?"

"No, I like it. Keep going." He was having fun. With Debra, it was exhausting. She was so stubborn, so headstrong, she never listened. It took him about three coffees just to have enough patience to deal with her sob story.

But with you, you were a breath of fresh air. He didn’t have to force himself awake or hide his boredom. He could just enjoy it, relish in the moment, and the fact that you were so easy to play with.

You pulled out three books: two thrillers and one horror. A classic and a new one. "These are what I recommend. Start with Primal Fear; that’s the one I believe you'll like the most. The first one might take you a while, but if you stick with it, the sequel will be worth it.

He reached forward, his hand brushing over yours, his touch lingering as he took the book. He purposely brushed his thumb against the back of your hand, just enough for a spark to go through your veins.

He saw the way your breath hitched, and he smirked. This was too easy.

"Thank you, you've been a great help."

"One more thing before you go." You spoke, stopping him. His eyes moved up from the book to your own, and there he saw something that made him falter.

Something that made him freeze longer than he should have.

You had a fire behind those eyes. A flame that burned with a passion, a curiosity that threatened to eat him alive. A want, a need, to get into his head. To peel him open and look inside.

Your eyes weren't cold or empty like his. They were alive. Full of life.

"Books don’t impress women,” Your voice was low, a secret, something meant only for him to hear. “It’s the passion that opens their hearts. You have nothing if you can't show it."

"I think I've misjudged you." He spoke, his hand resting on the shelf above your head. He had no choice but to lean closer, and he felt the way your breath fanned across his skin.

"Oh?"

"Yes. You're a lot more than you appear, aren’t you?"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

The question was left unanswered. He didn't give a response because, in truth, he didn't know.

He left that day not with his brother’s cure or even the thought of him. He left with three books.

Three books and the disease he believed to be immune to…

Hesitation.

[@numetalnerd2007] Since you asked, I figured this would automatically mean you were interested. At least I hope you were 💀

That being said, please be nice to me for this one since it’s my first time writing for Biney here (and I haven’t rewatched season 1 in forever), so his character probably isn’t 100% solid. It’s a work in progress 🙏✨

Also, for all my Joe Goldberg fans out there, did you catch the reference I made? I see a slight resemblance between Brian and Joe, so I wanted to sneak it in a little something. I think it’s the hair, honestly.

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taesanrot · 3 months ago

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[van gogh] sungchan x f!reader | 2.7k words sneaky links/relationship, office romance ish, kind of just a slice of life if that makes sense, smut! (making out, oral f. receiving, tongue fucking .... they get freaky) syn. during the daytime, jung sungchan is nothing but another colleague at your job. to everyone's knowledge, the two of you are pretty much strangers. but in the late hours of the weekends, it's sungchan who meets you at the end of nights filled with parties and clubs. note. im back !!! after 30 million years 💗 uni has been rough sorry guys. anyways here’s another song fic hehe. this was supposed to be my first one actually but i forgot about it for like ever.

now playing: van gogh by aminé

"tell me where to go when the party 'gon close, after party shawty she don't wanna go home"

sungchan waved his drunken friends off as they clambered into the first cab they could hail. anton looked at sungchan once again, asking if he should stay with his eyes. sungchan smiled and shook his head at the younger male, checking the time on his silver plated watch.

it was almost 2 am, you were probably in the same position as him, sending your friends off back to their own apartments. sungchan had just enough luck to catch a glimpse of you in the club you were both at.

he was mesmerized by your shimmery dress, shivering as he remembered how he nearly fainted when he caught the outline of your collarbone under the flickering lights of the nightclub.

the tall male was lighting a cigarette when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

[1:59 a.m.] y/n: wya

[2:00 a.m.] sungchan: 9th and valentina

[2:00 a.m.] y/n: omw

sungchan leaned back against the brick wall behind him, taking a long drag from the cigarette. he knew you'd nag him when you saw the cig, complaining that the smell bothered you. sungchan smiled softly thinking of your protests. he knew you nagged him about it because you cared about him, whether or not you'd admit it.

the clicking of your silver heels caught sungchan's attention, and he whipped his head in your direction. tossing his dart on the ground, the boy gave you and half smile and walked in your direction.

now standing face to face with sungchan, you didn't miss the way he shamelessly eyed you up and down.

"pretty dress." compliments rolled off his tongue whenever he was around you; sometimes sungchan swore you cast a spell on him

he smiled down at you. you rolled your eyes, bringing your hand up to link your arm with his.

"it's new." you replied teasingly, waving an arm in the air the hail a cab. as quick as you linked your arm with his, sungchan retracted his arm from yours, sliding it around your waist so you were flush against his side. you felt his breath fan on your neck as he pressed a light kiss behind your ear.

"missed you." he whispered, smirking as he felt you shiver slightly.

a cab arrived before you could respond, and sungchan opened the car door for you, hand never leaving the small of your back until you were fully seated in the vehicle.

over your dress, sungchans fingers traced the lines of your tattoo, the one on your lower back that almost no one knew about. scooting into the car, he watched you lean forward to give the driver directions to your house.

sungchan wondered if your roommate, giselle, would be home or if the two of you would be alone. he felt you press into his side and lay your head on his chest once you finished talking to the driver, his arm wrapping around your frame like it was second nature for him. no matter what, he always found his hand settling in the dip in your side, like it was being pulled by a magnet.

looking at your eyes that fluttered shut, sungchan chuckled slightly. you tilted your face up at him, feeling his chest rumble against you.

“tired?” he teased, smoothing down part of your hair. you pouted slightly and shook your head in protest.

“no i’m not” sungchan smiled at you again in the way that made your stomach explode with butterflies as he leaned down to leave a peck on your lips.

“it’s okay baby, i’ll wake you up when we’re there.” he shrugged off his jacket to drop it around your almost bare shoulders. lacing a hand with yours, he let you adjust yourself slightly to rest against his shoulder.

sungchan thought you looked the prettiest in moments like this, when you weren’t thinking about anything. your lashes laid delicately on your cheeks as your chest rose up and down slowly. he reveled in the sight of his jacket wrapped around you.

even if no one in the office knew about your romance, sungchan knew you were his and he was yours. he secretly loved the sneaking around, feeling like it added a little but of excitement to your boring work days.

the two of you would act sneaky for no reason, leaving at different times to talk to each other near bathroom or take your coffee breaks together.

even when you went out, you’d go with your respective friend groups, meeting up after they were done migrating from club to club.

sungchan looked down at your intertwined fingers. at the end of the night, it was him you’d come back to, it was him who’d take you home.

as the taxi came to a stop, sungchan pinched your cheek slightly. you whined at the contact but moved to get out of the car. sungchan paid the driver and the two of you stepped out together, sungchan’s hand falling back to the small of your back as you kept his jacket wrapped around your shoulders.

the ride up to your floor was short, the two of you were at your front door within a minute of entering your complex. you shoved your keys into the lock and shoved the door open impatiently, wanting to get your dress and makeup off.

“aeri?” your voice cut through the silence of the apartment. the lack of response and the empty hook where her keys usually hung told you she wasn’t home.

sungchan smiled and pulled you towards your bedroom, kicking off his shoes lazily. you grinned as he pushed open your bedroom door, throwing his jacket onto the bed.

pushing you against your now closed door, he lowered his face to the curve of your neck, placing open mouthed kisses down to your shoulders. his hand played with the thin straps of your dress, watching how the slid off your shoulders easily. before he could tug it off of you completely, you tapped his shoulder, prompting him to look up at you.

“let me wash my face baby, my makeup.” your boyfriend pouted dramatically but stepped away from you so you could walk over to the bathroom.

as you changed and washed off your makeup, sungchan changed in your room, retrieving clothes from the bottom drawer of your dresser -- the one that was reserved just for him.

as you were rinsing off the last of your makeup, sungchan opened the door of the bathroom, grabbing both his and your toothbrushes and squeezing paste onto them. you sat on the counter and sungchan stood between your legs as you brushed your teeth.

you ran your fingers through his fluffy hair, stomach flipping at the way he lazily leaned into your touch. his free hand came up to rub circles on your upper thigh, making you almost choke on your spit. sungchan smirked at the way you tensed, moving his hand up to play with the hem of your shirt.

you rolled your eyes at his antics, sliding off the counter to rinse your mouth. pushing the bathroom door open, you slipped into bed, sitting up against the headboard and scrolling through your phone. you laughed at some drunk texts from your coworkers. you hadn't drank much, and the lingering buzz from earlier was slowly slipping away.

sungchan walked out of the bathroom soon after, closing the door gently and turning your room lights off. your eyes could barely make out his large frame in the dark room, the only light coming from the streetlights outside and your phone screen.

you were still scrolling through some messages and emails when your boyfriend plucked your phone out of your hands, switching it off and placing it on the nightstand next to you.

he pulled you onto his lap, not giving you a moment to react. you giggled, tilting your head at him as his hooded eyes ran up and down your skin, stopping at the curve of your neck.

"what's up baby?" you asked, grinning. you could read sungchan like a book. he hummed in response, in a daze as his hands toyed with the hem of your shirt once again. you looked down at his fingers as they slipped under the fabric, running over your sides. you involuntarily shivered at how cold they were, and you felt your stomach burn with anticipation.

sungchan's other hand held your face gently, tilting your chin so you were looking at him again. he thumbed your bottom lip slightly, watching as your mouth wrapped around the tip of it delicately.

you enjoyed watching him breathe in shakily, knowing the effect you had on him. moving your legs to straddle him, you felt something poke against your center. sungchan moaned at the sudden pressure, pulling your face so he could meet your lips with his.

you gasped into the kiss, relishing the way his tongue slid into your mouth fervently. your hands landed on his neck, fingers tugging at the hair on his nape. his mouth melted into yours as he tilted his face to deepen the kiss even more.

you whimpered, feeling his hands roam under your shirt lazily. one hand pressed against the bottom of your spine, making your back curve into him slightly. the other massaged the skin of your thigh, moving closer and closer to where your clothed bodies met.

you were already sensitive, the feeling of sungchan shifting slightly underneath you making your breathing shallow.

his fingers danced along the waistband of your shorts, while his other hand stroked up and down your thigh. his light touches and the way he bit your lip were already making your head spin.

painstakingly slow, his hand at your waistband slowly slipped into your shorts, brushing against your clothed clit before applying pressure to your center over your panties. you broke away from his lips in favor of pressing your face into his neck, moaning into his soft skin. he ran his fingertips up and down your covered slit a few times before moving past your panties to feel your slick. noting how wet you were already, he chuckled.

“all this for me, baby?” you couldn’t see the smile on his face but you could hear it in his voice as you weakly nodded against his shoulder. you were aching in anticipation, almost screaming when sungchan pulled his hand out of your shorts. you watched impatiently as he licked his fingers, before bringing a hand up to tuck a strand on your hair back.

“wanna taste more.” he groaned into your ear, making you shudder.

“lay down for me?” you happily obliged, lifting yourself off his lap and laying your head on your pillow.

sungchan moved so he was hovering over you, placing a heavy hand on your hip. the sight of you under him was something straight of out sungchan’s dreams, your hair fanning around your face and small marks decorating your neck and chest.

he lowered his face to your neck, pressing wet kisses down the side as you writhed underneath him. his other hand pushed your flimsy tank up so he could see your boobs, latching his mouth around the right one.

"you always look so pretty when we go out. boosting my ego baby."

you moaned as his hot tongue pressed against your harden bud, back arching up to meet his face. he massaged your other boob, tweaking your nipple with his finger and basking in all of the pretty sounds you were making.

"always the prettiest girl in the room. and you're all mine."

he slowly but surely moved lower, kissing and licking your stomach. his hands hooked around the waistband of your shorts, and he pulled them and your panties off of you gently.

sungchan throbbed in his pants at the sight of you, your cami pushed up and your heat all bare for him. your eyes were screwed shut in anticipation, and he had to bite his lip to keep a laugh from escaping at the sight of you all pent up for him.

you were a mess, head thrown back against the pillow. you lost the ability to think straight a while ago, barely being able to control the noises you were making.

“please.” you whined quietly. you didn’t even realize what you said, and you definitely didn’t hear sungchan chuckling at your frenzied state.

placing his hands on your hips, he leaned in to brush your inner thigh with his lips, nibbling at the soft skin lightly. usually, he’d take his time with you, starting at your knee and kissing up your legs. he’d press kisses on the outside of your folds and the edges of your heat, and watch as your grip tightened on the sheets or in his hair. however, sungchan decided that he was feeling a bit more generous tonight.

before you could even ask him to stop teasing you, he pressed a deep kiss to your clit. a moan ripped through you, thighs twitching slightly. your legs already began to close instinctively, and sungchan looked up at you briefly before hooking his arms around your thighs both to keep them apart and pull you closer to his face. he had a wicked glint in his eyes as he looked up at you, basking in all the sounds and twitches coming from your pretty self.

his lips gingerly wrapped around your clit and you grabbed the closest thing to your hand, crumpling the sheets in your fist. sungchan’s arm looped around your knee and his hand found your heat easily. he pulled the skin above your clit slightly so he could hit the sensitive spot underneath, the spot that made profanities spill from your lips.

you bit your lip and screwed your eyes shut as his mouth and kisses travelled lower, his warm tongue swiping through the wetness of your slit. you couldn’t stop your lower half from jerking upwards, and sungchan’s free hand pinned your hips down to the mattress beneath you.

as his tongue breached your wet hole and his thumb rubbed your clit mercilessly, you cried out, back arching upwards. your head was spinning and stars were dancing on the back of your eyelids, and sungchan glanced up at you, watching as your mouth opened and no sound came out. you wanted to tell him keep going, to tell him how good he was making you feel. but your mind was melting at the way his mouth felt against you, and you were lost in him.

sungchan’s tongue flexed in and out of you, just the way you liked. he flicked it upwards every time he thrusted it into you, brushing your walls with the wet muscle.

"fuck- sungchan i'm gonna-" you could barely choke out words, drowning in the overwhelming stimulation.

you felt the knot in your stomach building at a gradual pace as your legs began to tense. sungchan’s pressure on your clit increased, revolutions only speeding up until you cried out his name, vision going white. your orgasm hit you like a truck, your walls fluttering around sungchan’s tongue and thighs shaking uncontrollably. all you could see was white as sungchan fucked you through your high with his tongue.

as you came back to earth, you looked down to see your boyfriend licking his lips sinfully, eyes hungry as he moved up to hover over you. brushing a finger down your cheek, he traced your lips with his fingertips, breath stolen from his body as you slowly opened your eyes.

your hooded gaze drove him insane, his lips being pulled to yours like a magnet. you sighed into his mouth, hands unlatching from the sheets to card through his soft brown hair. sugnchan's large hand fell onto your side, fingers digging into your soft flesh when he felt you bite his lip.

whining softly, you tugged at the end of sungchan's pajama shirt, making him break away from you for a split second to pull over his head. you didn't see where he tossed it, hands immediately moving to run down the soft skin of his firm chest. sitting up slightly, you pushed him backwards so you were leaning over him, smiling as he made a noise in surprise. you softly palmed him through his pajama pants, watching his eyebrows furrow in satisfaction at the way your palm rolled against his bulge.

as your fingers deftly worked at untying the drawstrings, you smiled at your shaking boyfriend.

"my turn, baby"

#riize #riize smut #riize x reader #sungchan #jung sungchan #sungchan x reader #sungchan imagines #riize imagines #sungchan smut #jung sungchan x reader #jinsu #i want him so bad #riize fics #riize fic recs #sungchan fic #sungchan fics

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spiderlily-w1tch-blog · 1 month ago

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𝙺𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚘 𝚃𝚎𝚝𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚞 - 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛/𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗

𝕎𝕀𝕊ℙ��𝕀𝕄ℙ𝕊

— — —

Ft Knotting, aquarium|enclosure, Teeth + Claws, tentacles, cunnilingus, sexual tentacle usage, light bondage(ish??), belly bulge, creampie

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: I do not own Haikyuu or its characters, all credit goes to its creators and actors

WC: 6,309

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: Includes human/non-human romance/sex, Tentacles, no use of Y/n, 2nd Person POV, obligatory exhibitionism/public sex warning (Series Warning)

𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖎 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊: y’all ready for one tentacle-y boi? HOLY SHIT, I KEEP GETTING CARRIED AWAY,, Why is it the Mers that are getting the highest word counts??? 😭😭

𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖎 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 2; 𝕰𝖑𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖈 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖌𝖆𝖑𝖔𝖔: So I have had A Thought™️ and I wanted to get y’all’s opinion. How would all you lovelies feel about a book centred around the concept of ‘If He Cheats, Fuck His Dad’ in the future, like I did for Enji? It won’t be exhibitionism but it will have some voyeurism if that catches your fancy, like when Shouto walked in. I have the concept kinda figured out but I wanted to know if that would interest some of you guys. Let me know if that’s something y’all would be interested in, lovelies!

【Ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ】

— — —

You readjusted your wetsuit again because they didn’t have your exact size so you had to improvise with what they had, and so it clung to your body so tightly it left practically nothing to the imagination. You supposed it didn’t really matter, so long as it wasn’t actually uncomfortable, since you’d only be surrounded by animals for the rest of the day. Even so, you felt just a tad.. exposed.

It was a ‘No Kids Day’ that the Aquarium held once every month. They called it that but it usually spanned about a week and it was all of July with about a week cushioning each the start and end of the month as that’s most commonly the animals’ Mating seasons. They don’t want to make parents explain ‘what’s the thing sticking out of the animal’ or ‘why are they clumped together like that’. You figured that very few, if any people would show up since it was mainly Kids that enjoyed the Aquarium.

Because they didn’t have your size, they didn’t want to risk a lack of mobility in your limbs, particularly your legs so they gave you a long arm bikini cut wetsuit which made it cling to your nether regions. The size was also tight enough that it made your chest feel like it was one too-fast movement from tearing right through it.

You had gotten a new job at the New Aquarium in Tokyo as the caretaker of one of their exotic animals. You heard it was some sort of Octopus or something, so it couldn’t be that hard since those are famously intelligent creatures. You thought back to what your new coworker had said just after you started your shift.

“Hey, newbie! You’re working with the new Rare Species Arrival, right? Well be careful, it’s the start of his mating season, so he might be a little… aggressive.” You weren’t too worried, though, I mean how hard could it be to fight off one little octopus should it try anything?

You got into the access room above the actual enclosure behind the wall of glass and froze for a moment. There was a man there, a shirtless one at that.

“U-uhm, excuse me! I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here, sir, this is for authorized personnel only.” You called out nervously, cheeks burning at the Adonis-like figure of whoever this man was. He seemed to perk up at your voice and turned around to look at you.

His face was also that of a god, with a chiseled jawline and naturally seductive piercing golden eyes that gazed directly into yours. He had a playful smirk on his face and the bit of hair falling into his face only seemed to add to how unbelievably attractive he was. His chest was fully on display and it was spectacular. He was built with lean muscle and tight muscles around his stomach that showed off deliciously sculpted abs.

“Hm? Do I not count as authorized personnel?” He asked in a teasing voice and a tentacle rose up for him to rest his arm on to snugly prop his chin on his fist. Wait- a tentacle? Either that is one obedient Octopus or… This is a Mer!

“Y-you’re a..”

“A Mer? Yea. Did no one tell you?” He chuckled with a raised brow, clearly amused.

“Yea- I mean, no. No one told me… I thought I was just caring for a rare Octopus…” You stayed staring in bewilderment, you had never seen a Mer before outside of textbooks or low-quality YouTube videos— most of them claiming it was Cthulhu or The Kraken in the clickbait thumbnail.

“I mean, they’re technically not wrong,” He teased, shrugging with a smug and still very amused smirk. One of his tentacles came up to almost teasingly wave at you.

“Well.. I-uh I guess I’m your caretaker now…?” You said as you distractedly waved back.

“Kuroo. Kuroo Tetsurou.” He finally gave you a genuine smile as he introduced himself. Kuroo. Okay, you got this. You just have to act like you would taking care of a regular octopus. Well, plus interacting like a person.. I guess. Even if he is probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen…

“Uh-!” You rushed to give him your name when he arched a brow expectantly, “Nice to meet you.” You bowed in a hurry, realizing you had been standing there like an idiot for at least a full 30 seconds. He chuckled heartily and decided he’d make his way towards you. His demeanor made you feel like prey with a predator closing in, but you didn’t feel the instinctive need to run, rather something seemed to draw you in.

You’d seen octopi move before, it wasn’t anything new, but seeing the way this Octopus Mer moved seemed far more enticing than anything you had seen before. You saw the way the muscles moved differently than a normal Octopus since they had to hold up more weight and had to be firmer than the squishy wiggly ones for the squishy wiggly little floppy babies.

Seeing that you had no intentions to run, his smirk grew in satisfaction until he fully approached to rest right in front of you. His eyes seemed to almost devour you as he took in every bit of your body he could see, finding particular interest in your too-tight wetsuit.

“You didn’t know that I was a mer, you thought I was just a regular Octopus, yes?” He asked like he was simply looking for confirmation which you gave with a slow nod, “So if you thought you were caring for a regular Octopus… Does that mean that you’re some kind of freak with a tentacle fetish or something?” His tone was almost playful, not putting any malicious emphasis on the name he called you. It almost seemed like he was using it as a sort of term of endearment.

“What?” It shocked you out of your stupor anyways, dumbfounded that he would just call you names out of nowhere. But you figured out where ‘nowhere’ was when you saw his gaze still stuck on your suit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. “Oh! Uh, no, they don’t have my proper size, they uh, need to order a new one so they gave me the next best thing… Which, apparently means tight enough that if my family ever saw me, granny would probably drop dead of a heart attack on the spot and my mother would be clutching her pearls so hard they’d break.” You chuckled, rambling and trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a joke. He chuckled as well, but the atmosphere didn’t change. His eyes were still dark and fixated on your body.

It was then that you remembered exactly what your co-worker had said and realized what she meant.

“Well be careful, it’s the start of his mating season, so he might be a little… aggressive.”

His mating season. And you had walked into his enclosure like a lamb to the slaughter with, albeit unintentionally, the most provocative clothing you could have worn. Your face flushed with heat and you reached your hand up to hold it in front of your chest, if only just to avert his attention before you combusted under his stare. Before you could reach up fully, though, a slimy appendage shot up and grabbed your wrist, not tightly enough to hurt, but enough that you knew you wouldn’t be able to break free.

“You’re supposed to be my new caretaker, right?” His voice was deeper and huskier than before, it was heavier with want. Finally, his eyes flicked up from your chest to your face, looking directly into your eyes, “So why don’t you take care of me?” You instantly knew what he meant and the thought only added to the heat in your cheeks, feeling like you were practically on fire at that point.

The longer you stared into his eyes, the more flustered you got, so to save your sanity, you turned your head to look away from him bashfully.

Oh, boy, that only made it worse.

When you looked away, you turned your head towards the viewing area and met the eyes of what looked like a college student or fresh graduate. His eyes were wide as he watched the scene unfold. He was reasonably shocked, he likely didn’t expect to see an Octopus Mer getting frisky with his caretaker who was dressed like that was your job with your ass hanging out and your tits about to burst from your stretched taut top. It almost seemed like a bad porno plot; The Caretaker seducing her Charge. Even moreso with your ‘Charge’ being an Octopus Mer. Gods know just how much Tentacle Porn there was. It was certainly someone’s fantasy.

You hadn’t really thought it was yours but with the way your thighs clenched as you saw his tentacles writhing over each other you realised it was very much within the realm of possibilities. The stare of the spectator didn’t deter you as you looked back at the mer as such as you could bring yourself to. With a fiery blush heating your face, you nodded silently at him and his smirk only grew. It became far more predatory, like a fox about to catch the hare. Well. The aquatic version of that, you supposed.

The look didn’t set off the alarms that it probably should have since he could easily overpower you should he decide he wanted to. Rather it sent a jolt of arousal to the pit in your lower belly. You subconsciously squeezed your thighs together and got lost in your gaze at his lips that slightly pulled back to reveal sharp teeth that just screamed danger. Again, no alarms where there likely should have been. He had such strength that he could have you pinned down in 2 seconds flat and keep you down without even breaking a sweat and claws and teeth that were sharp enough that he could probably tear or bite into your flesh like a knife through warm butter. The thought sent another shock of warmth to your belly and a shiver of anticipation down your spine.

Glancing back to the viewing glass, you saw that more people had accumulated. They peered into the enclosure with interest and incredibly unabashed staring at your tits and ass. The attention flustered you and made you shrink into yourself just a bit before a clawed hand lifted to your chin. With delicate yet firm movements he guided you to look at him, his amber eyes pierced into you with an intensity that captivated you instantly.

“Don’t pay attention to them. You’re here to take care of me remember? Or do I have to take care of you first?” His voice dropped an octave as the hand on your chin shifted to hold your face, his hand wrapping around your jaw with your chin in the juncture of his thumb and index finger while his other hand slid over your waist to firmly grip your hip. His claws pricked the taut fabric just enough to tear small holes that became visible from the extreme stretch of the fabric that widened them. Your face erupted in a blush at his words and your reaction instantly brought a smirk to his face. “I’ll take that as a yes…” He rumbled, pleased, and picked you up like you weighed next to nothing and carried you to one of the shallower artificial tide pools towards the back of his enclosure, though still very much in view of the audience.

“W-wait- what are you-?” You were suddenly cut off by his clawed hands grabbing your tight suit, trying to find a way to pull it down before he realised that it was a one-piece suit. With an annoyed huff, he quickly thought up a solution when he saw the holes in the hip of the fabric and smirked. One of his sharp claws was instantly at the hem of the leg hole, carefully wiggling under it, making sure to not nick your skin. Once his finger was under the fabric, he slid it closer to the crotch of your suit. His warm finger brushed against the sensitive skin of your mound and made you shiver and quietly mewl, though he still seemed to hear it if the growing smirk on his lips was anything to go by. Once he reached just above your tingling cunt, his claw started to rip at the taut fabric, creating tears instantly.

With one quick tug, the fabric snaps like a rubber band cut by scissors, the instant slack causing the wetsuit to bunch up around your ribs. You gasped and shivered when the cold air suddenly met your wet heat. A deep chuckle brought your attention back to Kuroo’s face as he positioned himself between your spread thighs. His tentacles were spread out in the shallow pool under him, showing them off— whether that bit was intentional or not, you didn’t know, nor did you really care, it had the same effect either way— and the sight sent another little shock of arousal to your drippy cunt. Well, that answers that, I suppose.

His strong, clawed hands wrapped easily around your thighs and maneuvered them onto his shoulders to frame his face with a wicked glint in his eye. Without much warning other than the opening of his mouth, his sharp teeth glinted in the light and his long tongue lolled out of his lips and licked a long stripe up your cunt. The flat of his tongue against you and the long drag on your sensitive skin had your head thrown back immediately. A low, guttural moan left you and it seemed to encourage him further. Still with long licks— insanely, mind-numbingly long licks— his tongue flicked and lapped against you and swirled around your clit.

Your back arched off the very convincing fake rocks as he devoured you like you were his last meal. His ridiculously long tongue felt heavenly against your sensitive folds and added to the pleasure infinitely with the agonizingly long licks. A yelp was pulled from your chest and turned into a drawn-out moan when the tip of his tongue finally probed your entrance. The wet muscle wiggled and squirmed its way into your wet tunnel and thrust back and forth into you, going deeper each time.

You hadn’t gotten to see the full extent of his tongue but you could sure as hell feel it. The very tip of his tongue reached all the way to your cervix and teased around the muscle, even going so far as to lightly prod it. His eyes had been closed in satisfaction and gratification but they snapped open to stare at you and take in your reactions. Your moans reached a higher volume and pitch as the feeling and you could feel the smirk on his lips pressed against your heated skin. You would have scolded him and probably given him a good whack but your pleasure was far too overwhelming for you to truly think about fulfilling the action, much less actually moving to do so. Your thighs quivered with the urge to snap shut around his head but his hands quickly wrapped around them to hold them in place.

“Fuck- Kuroo- gods please!!” You didn’t know what you were begging for— reprieve or an orgasm, you weren’t sure— but he seemed to know. With a loud, lewd ‘slurp’ he finally pulled his tongue from deeper inside of you than had ever been reached before. A loud cry ripped through the air at the sudden feeling and his textured tongue scraping against all the sensitive nerves inside you. Before you could really believe he had given you respite his tongue was back to swirling around your clit and lapping at your folds with near desperation. Your body jolted off the faux-rock and hunched over his form, hands burying in his surprisingly soft and silky locks, automatically pushing his head further into you, mashing his mouth into your cunt, and adding pressure to the oversensitive skin. Your thighs burned at the stretch of being pressed fully into your torso but it didn’t matter when Kuroo was giving you pure bliss and sending you straight to Nirvana. His hands dug into your thighs, creating small pinpricks with his claws in the flesh and likely leaving hand-shaped bruises for you to display later.

Quickly, you were brought to the edge and unceremoniously hurled off of it, sending you hurdling into easily the most intense orgasm you’d ever experienced up til that point. You nearly collapsed back against the faux rock before a chuckling Kuroo guided you safely to lay back, your chest heaving for breath.

“You alright?” Kuroo chuckled with his tantalizingly deep voice. All you could offer was a dazed ‘uh-huh’ through heavy breaths and after such insane stimulation it came out high-pitched and almost whiny. With another deep chuckle, Kuroo drags his hands up your inner thighs until they reach the creases where your thighs met your hips, thumbs on the part of your thighs next to your trembling heat. The fingers stroked over the skin and set your nerves alight with every touch.

“You ready for me now? I took care of you now you’ve gotta do your job and take care of me.” He rumbled as he pushed himself up your body with his extremities— the sound of the wet muscles writhing was downright pornographic with the lewd squelching. His breath fanned over your neck and just below your ear as he held himself up with strong arms caging you in on either side of your head. A shiver wracked through your body at the sound of his sexy voice in your ear and the feeling of his hard body pressed against yours, though the most tantalizing thing you could focus on was the feeling of the softer, slimier flesh below his waist at the base of his octopus half.

“Y-es..” Your voice trembled with lewd wanting and your response coaxed yet another chuckle from the mer.

“Good girl.” He purred into your ear while he dragged his sharp teeth against the skin of your neck. Before you could react, or really even know what was happening, Kuroo moved back away from you, though he didn’t stray far. You felt the cold, slimy sensation of tentacles inching up and around your body before they hoisted you up with incredible strength. His arms quickly replaced the tactile appendages and the sound of writhing tentacles returned as he brought you away from the shallow pool.

And towards the viewing area.

The large window came back into view and the crowd had remained. Mostly college students, you noticed, and yet they still reacted like horny teenagers with the tents in their pants or the rubbing together of their thighs. You didn’t have much room to talk, you supposed, as it took hardly more than a few whispered sensual words in your ear to get you dripping. Before you knew it Kuroo’s tentacles were sliding and winding back up your body — your legs and your middle— and holding you open in front of him as he rested back against another faux-rock in his enclosure. You looked down at him to see what he was doing and saw his hands reaching for your breasts. With large, clawed hands, he groped your chest and thumbed at your nipples through the fabric still pulled taut across your frame.

Quickly, he grew tired of the cloth barrier and carefully, as to not prick you or hurt you, dug his claws into the wetsuit between your breasts and easily tore it apart. With a loud ‘rip’ the fabric was no more and hung uselessly beside your chest, around your shoulders. He hummed with appreciation and went back to groping you. The feeling of his large hands enveloping your chest distracted you long enough, you didn’t notice another tentacle inching up your leg until it reached your cunt. It swirled around your clit like his tongue had and you yelled at the sudden sensation. You cursed loudly when yet another limb slid up your leg to prod at your entrance.

A shocked scream was pulled from your throat when it entered you, the tip already thicker than his tongue. You looked down and saw his smug expression and satisfaction glinting in his amber eyes. Looking further down— down past his toned stomach that had abs you wanted to worship— you saw he still had 3 tentacles planted on the ground to keep him stable while the other 5 were on your body. What caught your attention even more was the squirming appendage that almost looked like another tentacle, though considerably shorter than the rest. When a bead of a clear liquidy substance appeared at the tip and dripped down its length it wasn’t long before you realized what it was. His cock.

Your walls unconsciously clenched at the sight and subsequent realization and it coaxed a groan out of him as he felt your walls convulse around his tentacle that worked you open much like his tongue had. It thrust in little bits at a time, going deeper each time, and stretching you on the increasing thickness of the tapered appendage. You hadn’t realized you were moaning until a louder one was punched out of you when his hands moved to your hips to fuck his tentacle deeper into your cunt. The limb that still circled your clit sped up its ministrations and pushed you further to your second release. The intense feeling of eyes on you brought your gaze back to Kuroo’s face but his eyes were closed in bliss as he felt the tightness of your cunt around his thick extremity. With that realization, your head quickly swiveled to the side and saw nearly all of the gazes outside of the viewing glass trained on you and Kuroo and his movements and his tentacle thrusting into your sloppy cunt like a fucking sex machine.

Their eyes didn’t deter or disturb you as much as you would have thought. It spurred you on, even. With the newfound boldness, you began to move your hips against Kuroo and the appendages giving so much attention to your pussy and his eyes shot open. A cocky smirk resurfaced on his lips and his hands squeezed your hips before releasing them and returning to your chest while the limbs wrapped around your thighs and midsection tightened their grip to assist in pounding your pussy. His fingers toying with your nipples, the constant stimulation to your clit, and the tentacle ramming into you all combined in their pleasure and had your eyes rolling back as your tongue lolled out as Kuroo continues to fuck your brains out while your orgasm crashed over you. Your cunt gushed around the appendage that constantly re-stretched you with every thrust and slammed into the deepest parts of you that even his tongue hadn’t reached.

When your senses slightly returned to you, you let your head hang limply and looked down towards where the octopus mer was entering you over and over again and saw the way your tummy protruded every time the limb slammed back into you. The tentacle went so far into you each time you could feel it curl inside you as it slammed against the back of your cunt. The way it curled only served to create a larger protrusion and an even more explosive pleasure. He kept pounding you until your walls clamped around him again with another mind-numbing orgasm. Finally, he gave you a moment’s reprieve, forcing his limb deep into your depths and keeping it there. Your eyes rolled back and your body stiffened, legs straightening and toes curling, fists clenching and back arching, a silent scream never escaping your throat.

“Good girl. So good for me. Gotta get you all loose and relaxed so I don’t break you on my cock. Too badly, anyways.” Kuroo’s deep voice broke through the ringing in your ears and brought you back to reality. Your body fell limp in his hold, his tentacles around your thighs and middle and his hands still grasping and groping your chest being the only things holding you up.

“Think they’ve enjoyed the show so far? Think they’ll enjoy the next one even more?” He rumbled, shifting your and his bodies into a new position you couldn’t comprehend just yet. His words didn’t make sense at first, your brain still muddled from your consecutive mind-blowing orgasms, until he settled into the new position and you managed to lift your head from where it had fallen back onto his shoulder. Through your still-recuperating vision, you managed to make out the sight of the college students outside the viewing glass. Though you still couldn’t quite see right the coloured blobs movements spoke to hands palming their bulges or creating friction between clamped thighs. A surge of excitement went through you and sobered you right up.

Instantly, you recognized your position, your back to his chest, his hands gripping your legs and keeping them wide open— both for his access and to display you to your audience— two of his tentacles assisting him with a strong grip around the very tops of your thighs, wrapped twice round with the squirming tips wriggling on your mound above your dripping messy cunt. His cock was stood at attention between your legs intimidatingly and twitching in a desperate want to be buried inside your fertile pussy.

In anticipation, intimidation, or excitement— you didn’t know which— you gulped, staring wide-eyed at the girthy member in front of you. Wordlessly, Kuroo cooed into your ear and nosed at the edge of your jaw and placed sweet yet possessive kisses to the area of your neck there. He scraped his fangs against your neck and sucked small marks there that would more than likely fade quickly but he was gladly planning on replacing them with longer-lasting ones soon enough.

A horny whimper was the cue for Kuroo to proceed. He shifted his hips and his hold on you to align his cock with your folds. He rutted his hips up and forward a few times, the narrow tip just sliding through your lower lips. Increasingly agitated grunts and growls left his chest until finally, his tip caught on your hole where he paused before it would slip past. With careful precision, he thrusted his hips in a way that finally managed to bury himself inside you. With his first thrust, he managed to push half of himself into your tight walls, even with only half, you already felt so perfectly full. With his quick thrust, you couldn’t feel the way his tapered cock slowly increased in diameter but you knew. You remembered the sight of it that had your pussy dripping.

You looked up and saw the multiple pairs of eyes trained on you and where you were connected with your new charge. The way he was already beginning to stretch your cunt around him. He pulled back just a couple of inches before he snapped his hips up again, pushing more of himself in. Now you could feel the way his size increased when he pushed in further bit by bit. Before he was even fully inside, you could feel your pussy stretched out around his girth and how his length reached so far inside you. You didn’t even realize the whorish moans that left your mouth until the cocky, amused chuckle from Kuroo brought you back from your intense focus on the physical sensations that threatened to push you over the edge.

“Feeling good, angelfish?” His sultry voice sounded from right next to your ear and you had to bite your lip to keep from moaning just from that and the feeling of his warm breath against your neck.

“Yea…” You nodded with your breathy response and shivered at another chuckle that vibrated deep in his chest.

“Good girl.” He purred again and kept up his pace of pushing more and more of himself into your tight little cunt, pushing past the slight resistance until he was fully buried inside you. The burn was vastly overpowered by the pleasure and you had to fling your head back onto his shoulder with a moan as your stomach muscles tightened at the delicious feeling of being so full and stretched. He gave you only a moment of rest before he slowly pulled his hips back from you until there was only his narrow tip still inside you. With a swift motion, he slammed his hips up to bury himself in you with one swift thrust that punched a loud yelp of a moan out of you and jolted your body upwards despite his hold on your thighs and around your midsection.

The tentacle around your middle began winding further around your body until it went across your back and around to your chest. It wound itself around your breast and teased and flicked your nipple. A surprised whine left you and a long, high moan followed it at the sensations. The tip circled your nipple and twisted and pulled before covering it fully and letting its sucker do the job instead. The sucker tugged and pulled your bud and provided such a foreign sensation that you couldn’t help but react. Your chest arched into the tentacle’s hold and you squirmed helplessly at the strange feeling.

“Ah, you like that, don’t you?” Kuroo, the cheeky bastard, muttered into your ear as he placed more marks along the column of your throat. Your answering shiver and moan was enough for him to snap his hips up sharply into you. The way his tip slammed against the back of your walls had you squirming and mewling. Incoherently, you begged for more and he happily indulged. With a cocky smirk practically sculpted permanently into his face, he continued to fuck you brutally. It seemed as if the more he fucked into you, the more brain cells it killed with how thoughtless your hazy brain became. All you could do was release slutty moans and mewls as your body shook with the force of his thrusts. Your hamstrings burned with the stretch of his hold on you but you couldn’t care less with the overwhelming pleasure he pounded into you. You could practically hear the ‘Ooh’s and ‘Ahh’s of the people outside the viewing glass and it only fueled your mindless state.

Kuroo chased his release relentlessly and pounded into you with such force that you wondered if it was possible to bruise your velvety walls. The squirming appendage inside you managed to hit each and every one of the spots inside you that ignited the jolts of pleasure that shot through your whole body. The deep voice of the mer fucking you so deeply was like paradise with the sounds of his growls, grunts, and moans as the pleasure seeped into him as well. Suddenly, you came to the realisation that the base of his cock was becoming more firm and even bulging out. It took longer than you’d like to admit for you to realise what it was; a knot. The thought was beyond tantalizing to you, a bolt of excitement rushing through you. Your walls fluttered and clenched around him in reaction and it wrenched a groan from his throat that made goosebumps litter your skin in record time.

“Fuck. Feel so fuckin’ good, angelfish. Gonna knot you.. Gonna breed you so fucking’ full.” He grunted in your ear and it made your face flush with warmth and your pussy to gush around him. Being bred by a mer had never exactly been on your bucket list but now it sounded downright appetizing. He felt the way your body reacted and groaned in response, thrusting with more vigor. He gladly put on a show for the audience outside his enclosure and showed you off like a beloved prize. As his knot inflated he didn’t slow down even once and looked down and away from the humans watching to enjoy the sight of your belly bulging with every time he bottomed out.

Before long, his knot inflated enough that he couldn’t force his hips flush to yours anymore and he consciously kept it from popping inside you. You felt the fullness of it every time it pressed against your stretched hole and whined every time he didn’t push it into you, every time he refrained from filing you fully and spilling his cum deep inside you. He didn’t respond to your desperate whines, too lost in the pleasure, and simply proceeded to leave more lasting marks on your skin. Darker splotches appeared on your shoulders and neck along with bites with just the smallest pinpricks where he was careful not to fully bury his fangs in your flesh.

Soon, you felt why he was waiting to push his knot inside your cunt. Above his swollen base, another bit of his slimy, wriggling cock began to inflate. This one was a bit smaller than the very base of his member but nonetheless tantalizing. Because of its smaller size, it inflated much quicker than the fuller knot below. The feeling of the smaller bulb catching on the rim of your cunt was delicious and had you crying and whining like a desperate whore for him to fill you up. More aggressive and hurried grunts left him and more wordless coos to you and silent praises in the form of nosing at your jaw and temple were as much of a warning as you got that he was nearing his end. Your body was being jolted with every powerful thrust into your sopping cunt and the more slutty moans it punched out of you.

“Fuck-! Kuroo-! Please, fuck… Please- Pleasepleaseplease!!” You cried, not fully knowing if you were begging for him to knot you, to cum inside you, to give you reprieve, or to let you cum— or some sort of combination— but not quite caring either so long as he fulfilled your desperate pleas. Possessive growls filled your ears and set off every nerve in your body and shot down to your core, setting off the most powerful orgasm yet. Your walls clamped and fluttered around him like a vice and tried to milk him for all he was worth.

It seemed to work because with a final loud, possessive, and nearly dangerous growl he slammed his hips up into you just a couple more times before both of his knots managed to fit inside your still-spasming cunt. The feeling of his knots filling you so full and so instantaneously was enough to ignite another orgasm before the previous one was even over. With a scream of pure ecstasy, your body convulsed and tightened and spasmed and finally fell limp in Kuroo’s hold as he stuffed you fuller than you’d ever been in your life.

“Fuck, angel. Holy shit. You took me so fucking good, angelfish. So perfect. Fits so perfectly. Fillin’ you up so full, angelfish.” He spoke through rough, ragged breaths. You trembled in his grip as you felt just that— his cum pumping into you. His narrow tip pushed into and past your cervix, just barely poking into your womb as he pumped load after load into you. Looking down with blurry— almost double— vision you saw the way his cock bulged your tummy and how it steadily increased with how much hot, fertile seed he was emptying inside you.

“Gonna be such a good mama. Gonna look so fuckin’ pretty all round and full with my babies. ‘N’ when you give birth I’ll fill your womb up again with my cum ‘n’ get you pregnant all over again. Gonna keep you good and bred. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, angelfish?” He spoke with his deep, sultry voice directly in your ear as he nosed at the space just below it, nipping your lobe slightly and pressing a kiss to your neck.

“Yea… Wan’ it.. Wanna be bred. Wanna be full…” Your words slurred together as you huffed and puffed for breath after the rough pounding and the consecutive orgasms that stole the air from your lungs.

“And I’ll give it to you. I’ll keep you nice and bred however long you want it. Make you a mama over and over again.” He flicked his gaze other to the glass and while his pride swelled in his chest that they all got to witness as he claimed you, his possessiveness prevailed in his instincts and he sent a glare at the humans who dared to keep staring at what was his. With that in mind— overtaking his mind, snuffing out any other thoughts— he slinked back towards his pool, keeping you stuffed with his knots. He shifted you from being fully spread out to simply being held against him as he held you close and easily made his way back to the privacy behind his faux rocks. He kept your shoulders and everything up above water while he held you tenderly close, carefully stroking his clawed hand over your swollen stomach. You rested limply against him and remained pliable for him to move about, your muscles like wet spaghetti in their uselessness. Kuroo wrapped his arm around your middle and buried his head in your neck, simply inhaling your scent and imagining what you’d look like all swollen with his young, the image adding fuel to the fire in his lower belly. Then, he imagines what your offspring would look like and it made his pride and protectiveness swell in his chest.

He couldn’t wait for you to give birth so he could do it all again.

— — —

𝕋𝕒𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥:

@frosch-thefrog @hellsingalucard18

#cw exhibitionism #cw public sex #tw exhibitionism #tw public sex #octopus mer x reader #merfolk #kuroo tetsurou x reader #tetsurou kuroo x reader #kuroo x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu smut #fem!reader #afab reader #spiderlily spells

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taeyongdoyoung · 3 months ago

Text

mind games

summary: taken away by your ex and best friend, you try to do everything in your power to survive another day... characters: reader, sunoo, sunghoon and heeseung (only mentioned in this part) genre: thriller, dark romance(-ish) warnings: kidnapping, reader is tied up (in a non-sexy way), mentions of fake blood, stalking, spitting, handwriting forgery, hidden cameras, invasion of privacy, blade, overall toxic behaviour, kissing, manipulation, biting, tracking device, trauma author's note: hii guys, the title is inspired by this iconic song and to be honest, i had a really hard time writing it due to some bad experiences in the past so if any of this is triggering to you, please proceed with caution! 🤍 part one & part three word count: 2.6k

You wake up in a unfamiliar place. You feel that your hands and feet and are tied up to a chair. Your surroundings are damp, near black and you can barely make out anything. You wonder if you are alone or if one of your kidnappers is somewhere out there, lurking in the dark.

How on earth did you end up here? You thought you were generally a good person. True, you started dating the guy you told your ex "not to worry about" three months after the break-up but it’s not like you cheated. Then again, bad things had the tendency of happening to good people. So maybe it’s not your fault you’re here. You’re right. It’s Sunghoon and Sunoo’s fault!

Sunghoon, you can understand. He’d always been a jealous, possessive little freak. But Sunoo? To pretend he’s your best friend and work with Sunghoon behind your back? Damnit, you should have investigated suspect number two more seriously before trusting him too much. That part is completely your fault, you admit to yourself.

"You awake?" you hear Sunoo’s adorable voice, which does little to ease your panic.

"Gee, I had a crazy nightmare, Sunnie. Dreamt that my best friend kidnapped me along with my ex. Isn’t that a good story?" you respond sarcastically.

"Listen, it would have been much easier if you came with us willingly," Sunoo pats your cheek gently.

"Willingly? How insane are you, actually?"

"Come oooon, me and Sunghoon-hyung can treat you so much better than Heeseung."

You shake your head in disbelief.

"Just tell me one thing. Were you behind the stalking as well?"

"Which part? Sunghoon took the photos of you and stole some of your clothes. But the creepy dolls covered in blood was all me."

First of all, ew. Second of all, WHAT THE FUCK?

"Where did you get the blood from?" you finally dare to ask.

"It’s fake blood, silly. It looks so real, right?" Sunoo cackles maniacally.

"You need help. Like serious, professional help, Sunoo. I’m only saying that because despite everything I still care about you. If you get me out of here, I’ll make sure you receive the proper treatment you need and-"

"Get you out?" he laughs again. "Why would I do that? We can be such a lovely family of three. Trust me, you’ll never want to leave."

You already want to leave.

Hours later, Sunghoon appears and Sunoo leaves. You suppose kidnappers still have jobs to go to whenever they’re not spending time with their victims. God, this is so wrong.

"How have you been, princess?" Sunghoon asks.

You don’t reward him with an answer and spit in his face. Very dumb of you but oh well.

Sunghoon wipes the spit with his gloved hand and squats in front of you.

"Not a very enthusiastic welcome, I see. Don’t worry, I’ll be patient. You’ll get used to us in no time."

"I’m not getting used to anything. Let me the fuck go!"

"Hmm, I don’t think so," Sunghoon wraps his arms around your legs like a fucking snake. He may not have bitten you but you feel his poison spreading further down your body. What if you’re meant to suffocate here?

"It’s only a matter of time before Heeseung calls the cops and they find me," you bluff. You can only hope Heeseung will come for you.

"He probably won’t. See, I wrote him a little letter. You remember how good I am at copying your handwriting? Well, I never thought it’d come in…well, pun-intended but handy. In the letter I tell Heeseung that you’re still in love with me so you’re leaving him and ran away with me. I’m so creative, aren’t I?"

"You’re sick in the head! Heeseung’s never gonna buy that!" you scream and you pray you’re right.

"Wanna check? I put hidden cameras at your place, if Heeseung was there, we can see his reaction."

God, this is worse than you thought. You really should have contacted the police earlier. Helpful or not, it would have been something.

And indeed, Sunghoon shows you a video of Heeseung opening said letter, reading it and then sighing deeply. Alas, he doesn't look in a huge hurry to find you. Or maybe, he's just that good of an actor...

"What are you going to do to me?" you ask Sunghoon, horrified now that your hope of Heeseung finding you diminishes by the hour.

"Nothing," Sunghoon replies simply. "I just wanna be with you. Away from him." The him in question is Heeseung, you deduce. "Forever."

The word forever never tasted so bitter.

"What about Sunoo? Why is he helping you?"

"I think he has a little crush on me. So I'm using him," Sunghoon shrugs, as if it's the simplest answer in the world.

First of all, a little crush is definitely an understatement. No one helps his best friend's ex kidnap his best friend over a little crush. Sunoo's feelings are reaching a dangerous magnitude. You don't dare imagine how far he'd be willing to go for Sunghoon's sake. And second of all, the fact that Sunghoon's using Sunoo and doesn't reciprocate his feelings might be helpful for you in the future. So, you tuck that information safely into your mind for later.

But until then, you gotta play the game well enough in order to survive. You never know when Sunghoon or Sunoo might snap and feel like killing you. Psychopaths like that are totally unpredictable. So, you make it your mission to smoothly pretend you have zero plans of escaping.

"Poor Sunoo," you sigh, targeting Sunghoon's jealousy issues. "And here I thought he had a crush on me and wants to share me with you."

"As beautiful as you are, not everyone on this plaent is madly in love with you, princess," Sunghoon laughs, suddenly amused by your words. "And if it's anyone doing the sharing, it'd be me. But I don't share."

He smirks darkly and kisses you. His lips are venomous poison. You kiss him back even though every bone in your body is telling you no. But after being so foolish before, you have to be clever enough now. Clever enough to trick him. Clever enough to live.

Sunghoon wraps his hands around the back of your neck, kissing you more deeply. Your tongue battles against his desperately, trying to convey every bit of your hatred and make him mistake it for love. He's laughing against your lips. But you're determined to make sure you have the last laugh.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Sunghoon chuckles in disbelief you kissed him back.

Yes! Y/N: 1. Sunghoon: 0.

"You taste just as I remember. Coffee."

"Your favourite taste," Sunghoon nods thoughtfully.

You don't dare tell him that lately, you like ramen more...

"You should be nice to Sunoo," you advise Sunghoon, even though it won't help you. Not immediately, anyway. "You never know when he might turn against you."

"He won't. But I'm nice enough. Or else he wouldn't have helped me in the first place."

"When did you two become so close anyway?"

"Right after you broke up with me. He would constantly call me and meet up in secret. He'd keep me posted on how you were doing. Show me pictures and stuff. He said that just because you and I were no longer together didn't mean that he couldn't be friends with me."

That sly little fox. And here you were, mistaking Sunoo for your best friend. Then again, you are no saint, either, considering you moved on with Heeseung so quickly. But after the way Sunghoon had treated you, it was only natural you were drawn by Heeseung's warmth.

"Interesting. How does he put up with your mint choco-hating ass?" you tease Sunghoon.

"He's strangely forgiving in that respect," Sunghoon responds.

You smile fondly, recalling all your mint choco dates with your best friend. You will never forgive him.

A while later, Sunoo returns, immediately brightening up the room with his presence. But now you know it's all a façade. The real him is not the sun, but the darkest sky.

"Heyyy, hyung, missed me?" he greets Sunghoon.

"So much, sunshine," Sunghoon ruffles Sunoo's hair, the action so smooth and affectionate it gives you goosebumps. You aspire to be such a talented actress.

"Did noona give you trouble?" Sunoo asks teasingly.

"Not really, she's quite docile now," Sunghoon shrugs, not suspecting anything.

"I'm right here, you know?" you roll your eyes.

"Aww, Y/Nnie, don't be jealous, it's not a good quality," Sunoo messes with you.

Pfft. If there's anyone guilty of jealousy in this room, it's definitely not you.

"As much as I hate to leave you two angels all alone, I have business to attend to," Sunghoon announces. "Take care of her, yeah?"

"Will do!" Sunoo promises excitedly.

Once alone with Sunoo, you set your sinister plan in motion.

"Sunnie, you do realize Sunghoon's only using you, right? He told me so himself. He'll never love you. He's incapable of loving anyone but himself."

"Why would I believe you?" Sunoo snickers. "You'd say anything to get me to untie you."

"Screw that, you know I like things like that," you joke. Though you prefer things like that in a safe, consensual environment, it doesn't hurt to try misleading Sunoo.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Sunoo squeezes your cheeks affectionately.

You sigh deeply. Okay, you're gonna have to try harder.

"Haven't you asked yourself why Sunghoon's always wearing gloves? So he can leave no fingerprints! Meanwhile, you're spreading your DNA all over the crime scene."

"This isn't a crime scene, we're just making a home for ourselves!" Sunoo shouts in denial. "And...h-hyung likes gloves, they're a fashion statement. They look hot on him!"

"When the police finds us, Sunghoon won't be here and he'll make you take the fall for it," you hypothesize

"What do you mean when?" Sunoo is starting to panic a little now. "They won't find us. No one knows where we are. Right?"

You smile sinisterly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

A while later, Sunoo leaves again and you remain alone with Sunghoon. Your worst nightmare.

"Hi, princess," he kisses you, as if what you two have is completely normal. As if it's okay. You kiss him back, as if you mean it. As if you love him back. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know, splendid. My favourite place in the world," you chuckle bitterly.

"Ever the spoiled brat, I see. At least I'm giving you food and water, no?"

"Ah, yes, I'm living the dream," you keep responding sarcastically. But nothing too bad, you're still afraid he might snap. Also, you haven't mentioned Heeseung since you got here. You figured it would just be poking the bear or something. So, you play nice. Or as nice as you can be, given the circumstances.

"You know, this could be so much easier if you just cooperated. I could even untie you someday. We could go to Paris, I know how much you've wanted to go there. We could go back to the way we used to be. Just us two."

"What about Sunoo?"

"Well, he can tag along, I don't mind."

"What, like Bonnie and Clyde and their pet or some shit?" Except, you'd be the fucking pet 'cause you're no criminal.

"Yeah, that sounds nice, don't you think?"

It does sound nice. But you'll never agree to this. Even if Sunghoon was the last man on Earth, you still wouldn't go with him anywhere willingly. He lost not only your trust but your heart. And he's never getting it back. But you pretend anyways.

"Yeah, that sounds amazing," you lie through your teeth. "Maybe we'll get there one day."

"You can learn to love me again," Sunghoon says it not as a question but as a statement. And with such conviction it almost makes you sad. Almost.

"I can," you repeat the lie as if hypnotized. But he can't. Because this isn't love. It's obsession, dark and twisted, and you would do anything in your power to escape its deadly grasp.

Sunghoon kisses you and you bite his lips angrily in the process. He mistakes it for passion. Good. Let him be the fool. You've been playing that role yourself for too long. It's his turn now.

Hours melt into days. You know that the police requires at least 48 hours to start looking for a missing person so you try to be patient when waiting. But patience has a limit and Sunghoon is getting on your nerves more and more with every second. Sunoo, as well, with him pretending he's the sweetest bean ever but actually the devil in disguise. You just wish you could be found and rescued already. You desperately wish you could be back in the safety of Heeseung's arms. But you know it won't be that easy.

Throughout your stay here, you try your best to ensure you'll make it out alive. Sunghoon or Sunoo only untie to let you take care of your natural needs and don't take any chances so there is no opportunity for you to investigate where exactly you're located, let alone try to escape. But that's besides the point. You have a plan. And you just hope it doesn't go to shit.

"Just let me go, Sunoo, if you don't, you'll regret it, I promise you," you keep pleading with him gently.

"Why would I regret it?" Sunoo traces his blade alongside your neck. Damn, he's addicted to that thing.

"I can't tell you," you smile cruelly.

"If you don't tell me, I'll hurt you," he threatens you vaguely.

"You already did," mentally you mean. "But if you actually use that blade on me, Sunghoon won't be very happy with you. Do you want to make him angry?"

Sunoo shakes and takes a step back, dropping the blade. He's been creeping you out and yet, still...such a sweet child. God, you're conflicted.

On the fifth day, the miracle happens. Storming inside is a whole crew of cops, whom you previously distrusted (okay, lesson learned) and Heeseung comes along with them. You are quickly untied and a medic checks for any injuries (there aren't any physical ones, other than the mental trauma that comes with being kidnapped and stalked by your ex and former best friend).

How were you found so fast, one may ask? Well, you were slightly wary of Sunoo. Heeseung, you never doubted. So, the day before you waited awake for Sunghoon to arrive, you asked Heeseung to help you install a tracking device inside your skin. Your gut feeling was telling you that if something bad were to happen to you, your phone would be destroyed. A small chip, however, would be difficult to notice. The device got slightly damaged in the process of being kidnapped, so it was difficult for the police and Heeseung to catch a signal rightaway. Which is why it took five days. But still, you consider yourself somewhat lucky. Some people remain kidnapped for years...Others are never found.

Regrettably, Sunghoon is nowhere to be located. That bastard. They apprehend Sunoo quickly and he claims that he did it all by himself. Fucking idiot, why is he so loyal to Sunghoon? You insist that he worked together with your ex but the cops say that you might be so traumatized you're hallucinating another person. Why is that, you wonder? Oh, wait. 'Cause there are no fucking fingerprints of Sunghoon's, of course. Those stupid gloves of his may be the smartest thing he's ever done.

You know that you'll have to work harder to make sure Sunghoon is detained as soon as possible. You know that you'll somehow have to convince Sunoo to testify against Sunghoon. You know that your creepy ex won't give you up so easily. You know that you'll have to be smarter, more resilient and perhaps more careful who you trust.

Right now, your mind is your biggest weapon to play this sick game. But it doesn't end here. This is just the beginning.

To be continued...

#enhypen #enhypen fic #sunghoon #sunoo #heeseung #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #enhypen x reader #sunghoon x reader #sunoo x reader #thriller #dark romance #heeseung x reader #enhypen angst #writing

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frenchkisstheabyss · 8 months ago

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⛧ 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝙱𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝙸𝙸 ⛧

⛧ Pairing: poly!slasher!minsung x chubby!fem!reader

⛧ Genre: slasher au/horror/angst/smut

⛧ Summary: It's Halloween 1996, you've just broken up with your toxic ex, and there's a killer on the loose. When you go to the local video store to find your next distraction, you run into your longtime crushes who have their hearts set on looking after you. But you must be careful. Not everyone's who they appear to be.

⛧ Word Count: 2.k-ish

⛧ Warnings: If you don't like horror turn back now. This isn't graphic by any means but there are horror elements! Slight sadomasichism, full blown yandere vibes, mentions of toxic ex, mention of dead body w/ tame description, shallow knife wound (you don't get stabbed. no worries), knife/blood play, a lil smut because there's kissing/fingering/nipple play, pet names (babe, baby) a threesome happens but is only referenced, slasherfucker reader, reader's kinda losing it

⛧ A/N: This is part 2 in a series. I linked the first part in the summary. Part 1 was dark and fluffy while this one is really dark and angsty. There's still romance but said romance is kinda psychotic. For the record, I'm in no way encouraging you to go out and have sex with two psychokillers. But if they're Minsung hot? I meaaaaan....

💀 <<< Rewind to Tape 1 or Keep Going to Tape 3 >>> 💀

Han laughs, bringing his arms around your waist, “Oh but sweetie, we’ve played your game. Don’t you wanna play ours now?”

Street Fighter is a game. Monopoly is a game. Minho forcing you to hold a knife to his throat in the middle of their kitchen? This is unlike any game you’ve ever played before. Against your better judgment, you throw caution to the wind and ask the million dollar question.

“And what are the rules to this game of yours?”

Minho clicks his tongue, delighted at your morbid curiosity, “It’s simple really. If I can make my lips touch yours without the blade slitting my throat open I get a kiss.”

“And if he doesn’t—” Han muses, “I’m down a roommate I suppose.”

“Kiss or death, baby” Minho says, leaning into the tip of the blade so that it's agonizingly slow to witness. He stops when it pricks his skin, a scarlet drop of blood rising to the surface. Your fingers tremble around the handle of the knife, your body running ice cold at the realization that this is actually happening.

“You’re both fucking psycho!” you shout, twisting free of them with reckless abandon. You stumble backward into the kitchen counter, the blade still in your hand. When you regain your footing you notice tiny droplets of blood decorating the white tile floor. You trace their source to the much larger cut in the side of Minho’s neck.

Han stares at you with a Milky Way galaxy of stars dancing behind his eyes, “So she does have it in her.”

Time itself seems to come to a halt when you register what you’ve done. You hadn’t meant to do it but, accident or not, you did it. “Oh god, no, I didn’t mean it. I’m so sorry. I…I…” you stutter, tossing the knife into the sink. Minho takes a deep breath, running his fingers across his wound as he approaches you. “It’s okay. I’ll live” he smirks, applying blood to his lips like some luxurious lipstick, “Now about that kiss.”

Minho’s close enough to you that you can feel his shallow breaths against your face. His bottom lip brushes yours and your mouth falls open without hesitation. The voice of the girl you were before you came here whispers for you to run—leave this place and never come back—but it’s far too late for that. Minho locks you in a kiss, metallic and sweet, that makes you a stranger to yourself.

It’s not you hungrily kissing Minho, blood staining his collar as he takes greedy handfuls of your plush body. It’s not your cheek that Han cups, tilting your head to the side to steal kisses and taste that last bit of blood on your tongue. Only…it is you and you’re loving every second of it. So much that when Han unbuttons your jeans, slipping a hand inside to tease your clit, you’ve already managed to soak through your panties.

“Aah, I knew it” he whispers, lightly stroking your entrance, “I told you she was the one. That she was special.” You moan into Minho’s mouth when Han’s fingers sink into you, your cries of pleasure echoing within his cheeks. “It’s true. You’re our special girl, aren’t you?” Minho hums, his thumb circling one of your nipples through your shirt.

The praise goes to your head in the worst way, setting a once cold body ablaze with lust. Your walls contract with every mention of how special you are—of how long they’ve waited to have you here. Han’s never had his fingers this drenched before, his mind’s already running wild with thoughts of licking your juices from them once you come. The noises you make are so melodic, so splendid, that they'd burn them into their memories if they could.

Minho’s sharp eyes lock onto yours, fingers toiling away at the delicate hooks of your bra. “Can we keep you?” he asks like a demon masquerading as a child. Innocence with something darker lurking beneath, waiting to tear you to pieces. The answer comes easily, driven by your thirst to be devoured.

“Yes,” you moan, exhaling at the relief of being freed from your bra, “I’m yours.” Han licks up the side of your neck, softly nibbling at your earlobe as his fingers pick up speed.

“All ours,” he whispers, “Forever.”

Grainy black and white dots dance across the TV screen, casting a white glow across the bed where you lay naked cuddled up beneath the blanket with Han’s childhood teddy bear. It’s 3AM and Camp Counselor Sleepover Murder Party 4 ended an hour ago. Not that you were paying an ounce of attention to it. Your focus was placed entirely on being bent into a series of unholy positions by the two men you expect to see when you open your eyes. But when you finally do—limbs still tingling from your last orgasm—they’re nowhere to be found.

Yawning, you force yourself up in bed, squinting at the light from the TV. Holding your hand up to shield your eyes, you notice the dried up blood on your fingertips. The events of the night come back to you gradually like a fuzzy radio signal sorting itself out. Your mouth is saturated with that same metallic taste from before, the sweetness of it having long faded. Finding it too nauseating to tolerate, you retrieve your underwear from the floor and set out in search of something to wash the taste away.

Stepping out into the hallway you find yourself in near pitch black darkness. The only guiding light is the glow of a lamp from the bottom of the staircase at the opposite end of the hallway. “Minho!” you call out, taking slow cautious steps down the hall. You extend your arms out on both sides, feeling around for anything you might bump into. You hold your breath, listening for even the faintest sound of his voice but it never comes. Finally reaching the staircase, you grab onto the sides and make your way down.

You call out again, this time trying another name for good measure, “Han! Where are you guys?” It suddenly occurs to you that this is the moment in slasher movies where the girl wanders downstairs and gets sliced up by some masked psycho killer. You stop halfway down the stairs, glancing up at the darkness you left behind. “Fuck that” you huff, jogging the rest of the way down the stairs to find safety in the light.

Finally you’re back in familiar territory. To your right you spot the kitchen and your heart jumps at the thought of the Halloween candy left untouched on the table. But your tooth rotting dreams are derailed by the sound of whirling somewhere to your left. You turn to spot a heavy wooden door left slightly cracked. It’d look like any other door if not for the two deadbolts drilled into the frame. Off to the side sits a black garbage bag, the kind contractors use on construction jobs, and it’s stuffed full of…something.

Hearing the low chattering of voices, you drift towards the door whispering to yourself the whole time. “Why are you freaking out? Nothing’s wrong. They’re probably just taking out the trash. Don’t be so—” You choke on your own words as you stare down into the trash bag. It is full of trash. There’s pizza boxes, empty soda cans, and crumbled up chips bags all from last night.

And then there’s something else.

The tip of something red poking out from between the pizza boxes. You lean in closer and make out deep wrinkles carved in plastic. Pinching the end of it you pull it from the trash and you feel even more nauseous than before. It’s a mask. Not just any mask. The same mask your ex had on when you saw him at the video store. A chill runs down your spine, making you let out an unexpected squeak that brings all of the background conversation to a halt.

“Hello?” Han’s voice rings out, seemingly from beneath you. You crack the door a little more, peeking in to find another set of stairs leading down into the basement. “Everything okay up there?” Minho asks, his tone oddly suspicious of you. You clear your throat, tucking the mask back into the trash bag, “I’m—I’m fine. Just got a little snack craving is all. Are you guys good?”

You’re met with silence reminiscent of the moment before Minho forced you to cut his throat. “Why don’t you come down?” Han insists, bubbling with joy, “We have a surprise for you!” You pull the door open all the way, shuddering at the creaking sound the old wooden stairs make when you step on them.

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“One you weren’t supposed to see yet” Minho pouts, “But you’re here now so whatever.”

Minho’s adorable tendency to whine gives you the sense of normalcy you needed to get you to the bottom of the stairs. But when you reach it you wish you hadn’t. The basement is nothing like the welcoming warmth of the rest of the house. It’s pristine and white, the polished floor icy against your bare feet. In each corner there’s a large cabinet stocked with all sorts of medical supplies. It reminds you of an operating room in one of those medical dramas.

It is an operating room and at the center of it, in a pool of blood that leaks between the cracks in the tiles, is the partially dismembered body of your ex boyfriend. “Hi, baby” Han waves with the hand not currently holding a cordless saw. Still in his underwear, he’s dressed in a long black apron with the gloves to match. Minho’s dressed the same and both are slick with blood.

Before you can think better of it, you’re screaming at the top of your lungs and bolting back up the stairs. All the while images of torn flesh and fractured bone flash in your mind. You couldn’t stand that man, hated him in fact, but you’d never wanted to see him in pieces.

Spotting your purse by the front door, you make a mad dash for it clueless to the two figures gathering behind you. Your vision clouded with tears, you fight with the front door locks to get out. “I knew it was too soon” Minho sighs in disappointment, “We should’ve waited.” Han slips his gloves off, coming over to kiss you on the cheek.

Your body recoils, shaking in fear, “Don’t hurt me. Please.”

“Hurt you?” he scoffs, flipping the lock open, “I’d never hurt you. You just seemed like you needed a little help.”

Minho flops down in a chair near the door, messy hair falling in his face, “Take my jacket at least. It’s cold out.”

Their calmness is odd to say the least, making you reevaluate the fear that you feel. “You’re letting me go? Just like that?” Han plucks a wool trench coat from its hook, draping it over your shoulders. He pulls the door open and a slight autumn breeze blows through the door. “I told you. We don’t want to hurt you. We’re here to protect you...and maybe teach you how to protect yourself.”

His sincerity makes you uncomfortable and you feel yourself splitting in two again. This time the old you wins and throw yourself out into the night, scanning the street to find where you parked your car. The block is as dark as the upstairs hall, giving you the sense that you’re on some terrifying island all your own.

You can't make sense of why they’d let you go. Any normal person would drive straight from here to the police station. You know their faces. Their names. Where they work. Where they live. Do they want to get caught?

“You can’t run from who you are forever, pretty girl!” you hear Minho taunting. You look back to see them watching you from the doorway, smiling lovingly in your direction.

Minho winks at you, blowing you a kiss, “See you real soon, babe.”

#stray kids au #stray kids x you #stray kids x reader #han jisung x female reader #han jisung x you #han jisung x reader #lee know angst #han jisung angst #minho x reader #lee know x reader #minho x you #stray kids angst #plus size reader #chubby reader

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hyucksos · 2 months ago

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after rain, comes sunshine — huang renjun [preview]

pairing: huang renjun x f!reader genre: coffee shop au, grumpy x sunshine, fluff, romance, slow burn-ish preview wc: 0.6k (actual wc: 6.7k) synopsis: a thunderstorm leaves renjun stuck with his relentlessly cheerful, ever-optimistic coworker— you. you're the embodiment of everything he hates, but as the night stretches on, renjun starts to realise that the things that irritate him the most may not be all that unbearable after all. at least, not if it involves you.

There are three things in this world that Renjun hates.

Early mornings, small talk, and thunderstorms.

He must have done something super horrible in his past life, because it's barely even 3pm, and Renjun has had to go through all three of the aforementioned in that exact order.

He wasn't even supposed to come in to work today, but Donghyuck had called in sick (Renjun finds that hard to believe) and he was the only other person on the roster who knew how to make a Toasted Caramel Cloud Latte. Obviously, that wasn't a good enough reason for Renjun to willingly sacrifice his much-needed sleep, and it seemed that Donghyuck knew that too, because not only was he quick to promise Renjun to cover him for his next shift, the boy had also vowed to chip in to buy the new set of gouache paints he had been eyeing for so long.

That was what got Renjun out of bed, albeit begrudgingly.

The last thing he needed was an extra factor to contribute to his already-terrible mood, but that was what he got anyway when he stepped into the café, only to be met with you.

"Morning, Renjun!" You chirped from behind the counter as you dried down a mug, the café already prepped for opening— you liked to take your time when doing the opening duties, and you found that coming in earlier helped avoid any unnecessary rushing on your end.

Renjun didn't say anything, opting to shut his eyes as he tilted his head to the ceiling. You didn't miss the tick of his jaw as he trudged towards you wordlessly, letting his bag fall from his shoulder to the shelf beneath the cash register.

"You know how to make a cloud latte," he muttered under his breath as he put on his apron, securing it tightly with a double knot behind his back. "Why am I here?"

Despite his less-than-enthused response, you grinned. You've been working with Renjun long enough to know that he's a little bit of a grump, so you didn't take his moodiness to heart.

"Hyuck's your best friend. It would make sense for him to ask you instead of anyone else," you reasoned lightly. "Plus, having company isn't so bad, is it? You'll be out the door before you know it!"

"Citizens are advised to stay indoors..."

Renjun lets out a groan as he lets his head hit the cabinet behind him. It hurts, but not as much as the migraine that's already beginning to form in his temples. And as if to add insult to injury (no pun intended), the sky lets out yet another guttural rumble, reminding him once more of his ill-stricken fate.

"I don't think Seoul's had a downpour this bad in ages," you remark from somewhere at the dining area. Renjun couldn't tell where exactly you are; he had slid down to the floor when he decided to accept his fate fifteen minutes ago, and his only view since are the bottles of syrup and unopened bags of coffee beans under the espresso machines.

And as if to add even more insult to injury, the two of you are the only ones left in the shop. With it being a Tuesday afternoon, most of your regulars are either at work or school. Renjun has never liked working during the rush hour, but God does he wish for that to be the case now.

He looks up when he sees your head pop above the counter, raising a brow at the smile on your face. He knows how awfully cheery you are, but even in a time like this?

You must be crazy, he thinks.

#huang renjun #renjun x reader #renjun imagines #renjun fluff #lee donghyuck #lee haechan #nct #nct dream #nct x reader #nct fluff #nct dream scenarios #nct dream imagines

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e-rated-beardo · 29 days ago

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2024 fic roundup

@cheeseplants created this ask/tag game, and I've been tagged by @addledmongoose and @harlotofupdog, here we gooo

What fandoms do you write in?

200% Good Omens. First proper fandom experience. First thing that forced (aye, forced) me to write a fanfic. Huge obsession.

If I were to write for anything else, it might be Our Flag Means Death, or Doctor Who, or perhaps House M.D. or some flavour of Star Trek. Or a crossover between one of those and GO. I'm a completely normal amount of obsessed with Aziraphale and Crowley.

How many words have you published in 2024?

*goes to ao3 stats page*

*hits "2024"*

...220,232 words

What the whole entire fuck!?

And there's another three chapters left on Scorn to go before New Year's, so we'll comfortably surpass 231k. How in the actual fuck is that possible.

What is your greatest achievement this year?

Getting this comment:

What are your favourite top three fics you wrote this year?

Not Single Spies (the third part of Nice And Ominous, which can be read on its own or with the two preceding parts); The Co-pilot; and I'm going to say Scorn and the Saint-Maker, although that's far from finished, because it's been the entirety of my past half-year.

Not Single Spies (part III of Nice And Ominous: a reluctant eschatology of the Second Attempt) Rated E; 61k words Second Coming/post-S2 fic; plot-driven

A man with pale hair turns up in Saint Peter's Square, naked and without memory, and Crowley's old sense of Aziraphale's location snaps like a twig. Heaven is down another Supreme Archangel—but the new Christ is already on Earth (in France, to be precise) and the Second Coming is well underway. And Crowley works for Hell now, but really, he works for the good of humanity; pulling on every friend he has to stop the end of the world.

There is some smut in this, but it's only three sections and they're all skippable. The rest of the story is rated T with no major warnings.

The Co-pilot Rated E; 4k words Human-ish AU; shameless smut

An un-English heatwave, a few open shirt buttons and the demonic entity possessing an innocent Londoner conspire to make long-time friends Az and Tony finally get over themselves and bone.

Scorn and the Saint-Maker Rated E; 97k words so far (WIP) Human not-actually-AU; sorta-post-S2; plot-driven, smutty, mathsy; four plots in a trench coat

Doctor Crowley has turned truancy into an art form, lecturing only under sufferance. Doctor Fell has signed up for his undergraduate course and has no plans to let him slack off. When a faculty member is found dead, our heroes start forming uneasy suspicions. What was the occult symbol drawn next to the body? Why does it feel like they’ve known each other forever? How is Crowley supposed to tell police that he thinks the murderer is a demon he summoned 35 years ago? And what about that statue that’s the spitting image of the victim?

They've been turned human. Now they're academics in Scotland. Romance, weirdness and (skippable!) smut ensue. The fic has some warnings, so check the tags.

What was your biggest pit of despair moment?

I had a nasty week in August, when I got depressive symptoms as a side effect of a necessary medication and spent ~10 days convinced everything I did was shit.

I'm also kind of in one at the moment, but without the pharmaceutical explanation/excuse. I'm just... urgh. Things are stuck. It's. It's a thing. Idk.

What have you learned?

You're expecting me to list everything I've learnt related to writing and fandom and fandom writing in less than an entire academic essay? Are you out of your entire mind!? (❤️)

Big things: I've learnt that I do have the capacity to finish big stories; that things I write are good enough that people want to read them and look forward to reading them and give me all these amazing compliments on them and go slightly feral sometimes; and that if I'm enthusiastic enough about maths, I can trick some folks who didn't even like maths into sort of liking maths.

Smaller things: A smattering of fancy vocabulary. How to paint with watercolour. How to draw Michael Sheen's nose and David Tennant's lower lip. The fact that I have a massive praise kink. More than I knew there was to know about em-dashes and en-rules. Heaps of random facts about the Bible, angels, demonology, poetry, Scotland Yard, Shakespeare, wine, dicks, queer identities I don't have, and queer identities I do have. And a bunch about how to watch/read/consume media with my eyes open and my brain switched on.

What fic did you want to do but never made it off the ground?

I still low-key want to continue The Co-pilot into... something. And That Berry Ice Cream from last December has been sort of asking for a follow-up, which just hasn't happened.

I had this idea, shortly after that week in November that the Americans don't like to think about, for something short, snappy, and a little cathartic; a fuck the system-type deal, both to that political shitshow and to all the sad crap fucking over the GO fandom lately, and I started to write it but got stuck not even a thousand words in. Maybe it just wasn't that good of an idea.

Did you beta any fics? Any favs you want to shout out?

I did my first toe-dipping of a beta read just the other month, for Easy Access by @ModernDayKlutz. I've not dared to jump into beta:ing properly for fear that my old flakiness will resurface and make me disappoint a person I've made a promise to, but this one seemed contained enough that I felt I could contribute. Especially with Kilt Knowledge™️.

What three fics have you read this year that you love?

THREE!??!?

All right, so I'm looking through my bookmarks, and, as it turns out, That Fic I Keep Recommending Basically All The Time was one I only read - or at least, finished reading - early this year!

Mint Tea by @copperplatebeech - 31.5k words; rated E - is one of those fics that half the fandom have heard about, right? I don't know if it happened to hit me at a formative point in my fandom life or if it's simply That Good, which is also very likely, but thirsty-well-hung-Dom!Crowley lives in my head for free and will not move out, it seems. It's scorching and funny and sweet, and when I say it gave me the idea to try some... things... which I hadn't tried before, in... certain parts of my life... 🔥🫠

Fanfic, uh... changes lives, y'all! Ahem, well then, onwards:

Come as you are by hiya_angel - 4k words, rated E - this gave me some of the experience reflected in that gorgeous comment above. The angst is minimal and the smut is gorgeous and wonderfully sweet and I adore this fandom for making me feel hope again and again for all this trans stuff that's still comparatively new to me.

Submitted for Your Consideration by @zehwulf - 19k words, rated E - contains possibly the most spectacular description of subspace I've read in... ever? And when it comes to bowling me over with porn, I could probably just pick anything by ZehWulf because whatever story I pick up it ends with me sitting there absolutely sweating. And feeling fuzzy inside. And maybe also crying for joy.

HERE'S A FOURTH ACTUALLY, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME:

Lucid by @twilightcitysky - 35k words, rated E. It's unfinished and I barely even care at this point, because something about this fic changed me. It's So. Fucking. Good. It's one of those (rare? Not in this fandom! But a little rare, probably) stories where the smut is absolutely plot-crucial. It's also excruciatingly clever and angstier than I thought I would like (I was wrong! I LIKE IT) and the characters are great. And it's written just beautifully.

What ideas are percolating for next year?

More Scorn. (Don't trust the projected chapter count. Knowing myself, there'll be more of them. Or I might be done with less. It's a completely unqualified approximation.)

More Co-pilot, maybe? (I have Ideas.)

A slightly more fantastical fic that goes into a smut genre I haven't really explored at all before. And which has made me research goats' pupils.

Plus, I want to look into making podfics more. Maybe get better at it. Maybe even try out doing voice work for money? (I'm talking to a guy, it's completely wild, but damn it might be a thing I could do)

Who do you want to thank?

@addledmongoose (quite unintentionally) brought me to Tumblr. (She wrote a review of Nice And Ominous, and it was so lovely, I wanted to go there and like it and respond to it properly, so I just had to create an account, you know? No other options.) I'm so glad I'm here.

@bakingcat made excitable comments about my linguistics-nerdery-snuck-into-sex-scene and made me realise you can actually make friends in fandom.

@klikandtuna wrote the fic which I was a completely normal amount of obsessed with this summer, and which led to (via an instance of fanwork of the fanwork) me being flooded with love from strangers one random Friday and getting put in contact with that voice work guy. We also had the most wonderfully grown-up conversation about a tricky thing, for which I am so very proud and grateful.

@harlotofupdog came straight over to read Scorn almost right when I started posting it - I can't quite remember now, but the timing isn't the important bit - and wrote some absolutely glorious comments. D'you know you're the first writer whose work I'd already been painfully obsessed with, who's also expressed obsession with mine? D'you know how bloody cool that is??

And finally the unhinged smutgoblins of The Beta Fishes The Big Fucks server - idk who to thank anymore because I can't recall who invited me (it was past 3am and I'd just watched Michael Sheen shirtless for an hour, you'll have to forgive a guy) but all of y'all are weirdos and I love to hang out with yous and draw dicks and discuss writing and scream about Rivals and definitely not put mustaches on anyone.

No-pressure tags (in addition to everyone tagged above - please feel free to consider yourselves tagged-tagged if you like) without checking who's already been tagged in this before, because that's A Lot of Work that I don't want to do:

@wiblywoblytimeywimey754 @brenna @majnoonathelibrarian annnnd @kiratastic, pretty sure this could be modified to work for an art perspective too? Right? (If you want)

#tag game #2024 fic roundup #tagging too many people so half the tags probably won't even be tags (kindly fu tumblr </3)#good omens #fanfic #my fics #fic recs #e-rated #(mostly)#getting a little soppy #good omens fandom #GO fandom

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nokiatelava · 1 year ago

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✿✿Orange Moon✿✿

♡✧.·:*¨༺✪⍟✪༻¨*:·.✧♡

Author’s Note - HEHEHEHAHAHA! HI YALL!! I feel like im on a literal rollll, i started writing this RIGHT AFTER Moonlight! But this is like a part three-ish to this little Awpxey series!!! If you guys want anything more to do with him girl don’t be shy to hit up my inboxxx! I actually have to check if it even works but regardless! Enjoy this please!

♡✧.·:*¨༺✪⍟✪༻¨*:·.✧♡

Summary - It is now early in the morning, the morning after you had snuck out. You are now stuck in between how to explain to your parents why you had left and never returned, and why you now have a boy with you, courting you, following you 24/7, and asking for your family’s blessing!

♡✧.·:*¨༺✪⍟✪༻¨*:·.✧♡

Warnings - nothing to crazy?, cuddling, kissing, teen romance, fluffy stuff, courting, relationship establishments, very worried parents, worried family, parent talk, jake still coming to terms reader’s growing up, mentions of mating, boyfriend vs family tension, happy family moments, family dinner, meeting parents (yes already), overprotective family

༺｡° .ᘛ𓆩♡𓆪ᘚ. ° ｡༻

A sudden loud chirp was what had woken you up from your peaceful slumber. Your ears folding down in a slight annoyance as you were so groggy.

You sighed tiredly, your nose stuffy and congested from your sleep. Your body felt so warm, you thought it was from the atmosphere of the cave.

Until, you felt the cool breath of someone from behind you.

You froze.

Who is that?

You had felt relieved once you remembered it was just Awpxey.

What left that relief short lived was the fact you had fallen asleep here, in this cave, all through the night, with Awpxey, exchanging kisses throughout the night, and you still haven’t said a thing to your parents. I mean how were you supposed to talk to them?

You were not home. And you were not going to wake them up in the middle of the night over the fact you couldn’t sleep.

But now you wish you had left some type of note. You were scared to return home. Gosh your parents are not going to be happy.

You knew that as soon as you walk through that hut entrance, your ass is as good as grass.

You’re done for. You’re gonna be on the worst punishments ever. This would be your first and very last time sneaking out.

If you even make it out of this, alive.

Awpxey’s head stirring had brought you back to reality, a deep sigh coming from his stuffy nose too.

You had stood up abruptly, your back weirdly warm due to his chest. But that was the last thing on your mind.

Guilt set in your stomach as you seen how he jerked due to your quick removal. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he was trying to look at you but rub that itch out his eyes.

“Y/n?” Oh god… His morning voice was beyond fine.

“A-Awpxey… We-uhm, we fell asleep here. I have to get home, and I’m probably gonna be in trouble.” You ramble on nervously. When you looked down towards him to see why he was so quiet you found him already looking at you, a soft smile adorning his lips.

Awpxey proposed his idea. “Why don’t we go wash up first? Then I’ll walk you to your hut, and say it’s my fault you left and never went back in the first please, yeah?”

“No. No, that’s not fair for you to just take the blame lime that. I cant do that to you.”

“I’m doing it to myself, actually.”

Gosh when did everybody just start becoming such smartasses?

“Okay then, smartass. Since you know everything, fine then. You can do whatever you want. I don’t care.” You grumbled as you crossed your arms over your chest.

He smiled at you teasingly from the floor before standing and stretching. A yawn spread across your mouth as you heard his back crack.

You were caught off guard when Awpxey was just then in front of you, and pecked your lips.

You covered your mouth with both your hands in shock. His name coming muffled from behind your hands.

He stared at you confused, his head tilted as the skin of his eyebrow was raised on one side.

“You kissed me before I even washed my mouth!” You exclaim, your shock seemed so foreign to him, why was it so important.

Your mood felt more sour once you heard that familiar laugh. He was laughing at you, in your face. His head thrown pack with one hand slapped over his stomach kind of laugh.

“Boys are unsalvageable.” You mutter the comment to yourself, or at least it was supposed to be to yourself. In your daze of being annoyed at the fact Awpxey laughed at you, you didn’t notice when he had stopped.

Hands were suddenly around your waist from your front, scaring you. And there Awpxey was standing in all his glory, his tall stature hanging over you.

“What’s that supposed to mean, sevin?” You eyes widen at the question, and at the fact he had called you pretty.

There wasn’t must time to dwell on it before he smashed his lips against yours. His hands gently holding your waist, giving it four small squeezes.

Your hands soon moved up towards his shoulders, your arms wrapping behind his neck, deepening the kiss.

The kiss lasted for almost a good minute, before you realized neither of you had washed your mouths.

“Awpxey! That’s the second time!” You jump back after you separate from the kiss.

“What are you, a germaphobe or something?” He asked mockingly while rolling his eyes. You turned back to glare at him while you exited the cave.

You were glad there was a river close to where the cave was located as you submerged yourself knee-deep into the cool water.

It helped cool down your hot skin, so you had given in to your urge and went completely underwater.

The cold water enveloped you, your hair, your clothes, your jewelry, your whole body.

When you resurfaced, a small pant evident in your chest, you turned around to see Awpxey around shoulder deep into the water.

You swam towards him, catching his attention quick. A smile on both of your faces.

“Have you washed your mouth?” He asked matter-of-factly. And you responded just the same.

“Yes I have, have you?” You were expectant for his answer as what you wanted to say was on the tip of your tongue.

“I sure did.” He said with so much confidence.

“Hard to believe…” You mutter out purposely, hoping to get under his skin. Which you had.

“What did you say?” He leaned forward to you, turning his head to point his ear at you.

You placed your mouth right in front of his ear, speaking decibels louder. “Hard to believe.”

Awpxey moved back, shock on his face. “I’m offended Y/n.” He placed his hand on his chest.

“That’s okay.” You shrugged, a smile breaking out on your face.

“You’re so mean to me, makes me wanna kiss you.” You froze at his words.

“What?” You say blindly, shock written all over you.

“You heard me. Didn’t you?” He wasn’t be serious was he? He’s just trying to bother you for bothering him that’s all.

Yeah. That’s all.

But it wasn’t when he put his index finger under your chin, lifting your head so you look back up to his face.

“I said I wanna kiss you. Can I?”

You were speechless. Not really knowing what to say back to him, but you blindly nodded anyways.

“Can I hear you say it? I gotta know you’re functioning Y/n.”

Oh Eywa.

Somebody needs to come get this man.

“F-fine. You can kiss me.” You grumbled.

“Good.” Awpxey said with a smile.

His lips then connected with yours, his hands holding the sides of your face gently as the kiss deepened.

Your hands held onto his biceps, your legs felt weak under the water. His arms were working as your extra support.

You have never felt anything more intimate in your whole life.

This is what true love felt like.

This must be what your parents feel like, your grandparents. Your grandfather who you were never able to meet.

And the many generations before that. They had all felt true love. They all had their own intimate moments such as this. You’re experiencing that moment, right now.

“Awpxey.” You said breathlessly. He felt this way too right?

“Y/n.” His voice was so soft, it was smooth and sultry. A tone like no other.

“I want to ask you something, Y/n. If you don’t have a problem with that.”

You nodded, “it’s fine Awpxey, you can ask me.”

“Come,” he beckoned, “I want to ask you while sitting down somewhere.”

You nodded, following him out the water. You watched starstruck as water cascaded down his back. Going through and then out of the crevices and dips from his muscles.

Eywa took her time on him.

Before you knew it you were sat on a patch of grass not far from the river, Awpxey next to you.

“What was it you wanted to ask me Awpxey?” You didn’t want to rush him, your parents the last thing on your mind right now.

He took a deep breath, settling his nerves before he spoke.

“I want to start courting you.”

You did everything to stay still and to just look and listen so your body language didn’t send any of the wrong signs.

You gave a small smile and a nod as you noticed he had more to say.

Awpxey turned more towards you, grabbing your hand. Fidgeting with your fingers and the rings you wore, along with your bracelets.

“This is why I want to court you.” He starts.

“You read me so well, you read everybody so well. You notice the little things and always want to help!” You nod, letting him know that he has your full attention and that you’re listening to him.

“You’re so sweet, and kind, and beautiful. You can make anybody happy. You light up rooms when you walk in and your smile brightens everyone’s day. The elders love you since you are so kind. You’re humble! And they love that, I know I do.” You laugh at his small comment, trying not to cry at his sweet words.

“And the children.. The classes that you teach you can hear them when they talk to their parents, just raving about just how amazing you are, and how you’re so interactive and I just love you.” Your eyes widen.

“I love you. And I want to show it by courting you. So, I am asking for your permission. Y/n te Sulli Neytiri’ite, may I, Awpxey te Relongtai Puo’itan, court you?”

Your eyes well with tears. His words were so heartfelt. No one had ever said they loved you but your own family. To hear it from somebody else in that way caused this feeling in your chest that was so foreign and unexplainable you didn’t know what to do.

But you did know that you loved him, you loved Awpxey. So you nodded. You nodded accepting his request to court you.

“Y-Yes Awpxey. You can court me.” You wiped your tears as you laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed at your reaction.

He tackled you into a hug. Holding you tightly before his whispered a small ‘thank you’ into your ear.

“Does that mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now?” You asked into his shoulder.

“I guess so, but that’s only if you want to.”

“Then I guess we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.”

You both laid there, together. Enjoying your moment, until your eyes widened, realizing that you are still out here and your family has no idea where you are.

“Oh my god Awpxey!” You exclaimed, rushing to get up.

“What? What happened?” He got up just as frantically as you had.

“I have to go home! I haven’t went home, oh my god! Awpxey I’m gonna be in so much trouble! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.”

Awpxey was quick to be at your side, holding your shoulders to calm you down.

“It’s gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna be okay, okay? Like I said earlier, I’ll take the blame. I’ll say it was apart of my plan when I was asking to court you, alright?”

You shook your head, “I can’t allow you to get in trouble like that! I’m not doing that to you!”

You were refusing, you know how your parents could get, you did not need the only man who had shown you true love and interest in you, to be chased away by your parents who are borderline-psychotic.

“Please Awpxey, I can’t lose you.” Your eyes had gotten teary again. And that’s when Awpxey realized how serious this was to you.

“Okay Y/n, okay. We’ll figure something out, I promise.” Awpxey pulled you to his chest, brushing your hair back from your face.

“I’m just gonna tell the truth… My mother always told me that the truth sets you free, so I’m gonna say what really happened.” You were dead set on not letting Awpxey lie for you. And he could see that, so he nodded, not wanting to upset you further.

“If that’s what you wanna do Y/n, you can do that. You know your family better than I do, you know their morals and what they believe.” Awpxey still held you, his chin resting on your head.

“We should go now…” You whispered meekly. “Go and get it over with.” There was an apology at the tip of your tongue. But you wanted to hold it, just in case you might really need to say it later.

“Okay, let’s go Y/n.” Awpxey held your hand the whole way. He talked to you and helped you take your mind off things for quite a bit.

You then realized that you were at the point where you would need your ikran to go back to High Camp.

“Awpxey, we need our Ikran now.. To go back.” You had gotten sad at even the thought of returning. You were scared to see how your parents would react.

Awpxey agreed, and had noticed your hesitation, so he placed his hand on your shoulder, rubbing it gently.

When you both had finished calling your ikran, and they had both arrived, you mounted them. Riding back to your home located in the Hallelujah Mountains.

Once you were there, and had landed your ikran, the amount of anxiety and trepidation inside your stomach was unreal.

As you two walked close to where your hut was you had stopped, shaking your head.

“Y/n? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t go in there Awpxey. I can’t go in there. They’re going to be so mad at me, so disappointed I can’t do this. I can’t, I really can’t.” You rambled out, your breath shortening as you panted.

“Y/n. Y/n, you need to focus. Okay? Look at me. Y/n look at me please.” Your eyes flickered to his. “You can do this, okay? Don’t ever say you can’t. Got it?”

“G-got it.” You nodded. “I-I’m going to go now, I want you to stay out here though Awpxey. I don’t.. I don’t want them to act different if you’re in there, okay?”

He nodded immediately, understanding your situation. “I got it Y/n. If anything, absolutely anything happens, come look for me. I’ll most likely be in my hut with my parents, okay?” You smiled.

“Okay Awpxey.” You hugged him, hugged him tight to savor his body warmth because you had no idea if that was going to be your last time seeing him.

“You’re going to be okay Y/n, go. I promise.” Yo nodded, waving goodbye to him before walking towards your hut.

You walked slow, your footsteps light as to not aware anybody in the hut.

When you had finally approached the entrance, walking through it slowly, your chest heavy and your mind hazy you stopped.

All heads turned to you quickly, your parents the first to stand. They rushed towards you, both exclaiming, “Y/n!” As they ran.

Your father grabbed you, turning you around and examining your body for any injuries, he had obviously, found none.

Your mother held your hand, pulling your head to her chest as she cried tears of joy at the fact you had come home, safe, and with no injuries.

“Where have you been ma’ite? We were all so worried for you!”

“I-I’m okay mom, I swear. This is a really, really big misunderstanding.” You held your hands out.

“Misunderstanding?” You dad echoed.

“Yes, misunderstanding. I want to explain you guys what happened first before you ask me anything though, okay?” Your parents nodded, they had beckoned your siblings out, though they protested as they wanted to see you too.

Your parents gave them the promise that they will see you later.

Awpxey watched from afar as he seen all your siblings walk out the hut, incoherent protests leaving their mouths.

‘Shit.’

Once they were all gone, and your father checked the area to see that they were really gone, you all sat at the table.

As your parents faced you, you fidgeted with your jewelry, scared to even look them in the face.

“Ma’ite? What happened? Why were you gone for so long?” Your mother asked. That’s when you finally looked up.

“I-It’s a little bit of a long story? I’m going to explain everything though.” Your father nodded, giving you his undivided attention.

“Last night, I could not fall asleep.” Your parents began to nod along to your story.

“So, I decided that I would go to the forest, to get my mind off of things.” You internally cringed as you seen your fathers eyes widen.

“I know, I know that it was really, really dangerous to leave with out saying anything and with the fact Sky People are here, I know. I hesitated at first. I was scared to even go. But I followed my gut. I think it was the best decision I ever made actually.” You said with a sheepish smile after your last sentence.

Your parents’ brows furrowed as they shared a look between each other.

“Anyway, while I was out there, about to bother the fan lizards, I had found Awpxey.” The name felt heavy on your tongue, worried about how your father would feel before anybody else.

“We hung out, and then he took me to this really pretty cave that had an open top so we watched the stars.” Your cheeks felt warm as you knew you were leaving some details out.

“We watched the stars and then fell asleep after a while, and when we woke up we washed at the river then came here.” You felt bad for worrying your parents, but at the same time you are so, so glad you left.

“Nothing like that happened either, dad. We only hung out, talked and stargazed. That’s it.” Toy father put his hands up.

“I-I never said anything.” He already looked so guilty, but you know you had put him on the spot.

“I know how you are, I just want to say it to clear any thoughts.”

After about 10 seconds you noticed your mother’s ongoing silence. You peeked up at her nervously, wondering why she hadn’t said anything.

You were shocked to see she had a smile on her face. Did she know?

“I’m glad it was only positive stuff that happened ma’ite, is there anything else you want to say?”

You choked as you remembered the fact Awpxey is now courting you.

“Babygirl?” Your dad asked.

“Uhm.. Yeah. One more thing..” You let out a nervous chuckle.

“Awpxeyaskedtocourtmesoweretechnicallykindofdatingnow!” You rushed out in one breath.

“What?” Your parents said simultaneously.

You took a deep breath. “Awpxey asked to court me. So.. We’re technically kind of dating now…”

Your eyes were shut. And you wanted to keep it that way.

You peeked through one squinted eyelid, just to see your mother holding your fathers head.

Your body slumped in as you stared on in disbelief.

“Sh, sh, sh, it’s okay ma’jake. It’s okay.” Your mother patted his head.

“Wha- Mom. What is even happening right now?” You jumbled out.

You then heard a hiccup. A deep one.

Is your father crying?

“Dad?” You asked worriedly.

When his head lifted to face towards you your heart broke. You had never seen your father cry in your 17 years of living. So to see his tearful face and swollen eyes, knowing you were the reason broke you.

“Dad.” Your eyes watered, hands clenching into fists at your side to try and hold them back.

“Oh babygirl, come here.” You both hugged, he held you close to him, and you cried into his shoulder. Happy to feel the familiar parental love and warm body that used to hold you when you were young.

The sensation had felt so far away at this point. It was heartwarming to feel it again.

Feel it as if you were little all over again.

“I’m sorry dad.” You didn’t know what exactly you were apologizing for, whether it was for making him cry, dating Awpxey or both. But regardless, you knew you had to apologize.

Your mother looked at you both with a smile on her face, an idea flashing in her head.

“You should invite him for dinner.” You and your father turned to look at your mother quickly. Both talking out at the same time.

“No!”

“Really?”

You look to your father quickly, trying to catch his eye as he avoided looking at you.

“I mean, uh. Yeah, uhm yeah. H-he should come for dinner, yeah.”

Your mother came forward, patting Jake on his shoulder. “You’ll be fine ma’Jake. I think it would be nice, think about it. We can see what he’s really like.”

You nodded, “please dad? He’s super nice, and respectful! He’s like a family man.” You had made sure to add the last comment because you knew it would win your dad over.

You could see the cogs in his brain working as he actually thought about it.

“Hmm.. Okay, okay fine he can come over for dinner.”

You jumped into his arms, knocking him onto his butt on the floor. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you! Thank you dad! I love you!” You kissed his cheeks and hugged him, he smiled as he hugged you back.

“You’re welcome, and I love you too babygirl.”

“Now go, go get him for dinner. Because I will start preparing it soon.” Your mother shooed you, and you left hastily with a new excitement as she was pulling you out the hut.

You walked around for a bit, looking for Awpxey’s hut when you finally noticed his father, Puo outside, hanging loincloths to dry.

You walk up to him speaking quietly as to not abruptly disturb him. “Excuse me, Mr. Relongtai?” He turned around at the call of his name.

“Oh, Y/n. Oel Ngati Kameie.” He said, doing the hand sign’s greeting. “Oel Ngati Kameie.” You greet back.

“What brings you here Y/n?” He asked.

So Awpxey hasn’t said anything to his parents. Good, that’s good. For right now at least.

“I was wondering if I could borrow Awpxey for dinner? My, uhm, my parents invited him over for dinner.” Puo had smiled at you.

“That’s fine with me! I’ll pack him a plate to take so he doesn’t go over there empty handed! Just go look for him inside and tell him to get presentable. Don’t need my son to look ugly if I’m handsome.” He mutters his last sentence sarcastically, chuckling at his own joke.

“If I’m being honest, he has your looks!” You gave a kind smile.

Puo paused, “really?” He asked, patting his cheeks. He smiled before running into the hut, yelling, “Itxä! Itxä! Y/n said Awpxey has my looks! That means I look young right?”

You peeked into the hut, seeing Puo kneeling next to Itxä who was re-braiding her hair.

“Puo! Get away from me! Go hang the clothes like I told you!” She was nudging him away with her elbow, still skillfully braiding her hair.

“But Itxä, you don’t think I’m handsome?” Puo asked with a frown.

“I mean, sometimes. It deducts points when you drool, you know unless-” She was cut off by Puo.

“Okay! Thanks by honey see you later!” He rushed back out the hut.

You finally noticed Awpxey in the corner, cringing at his mother’s innuendo.

“Mom really? Unless? Unless what? You know, don’t even answer I’m okay.” You giggled, a hand covering your mouth.

That had caught Itxä and Awpxey’s attention. Awpxey stood with a smile once he saw you.

“Y/n. Are you okay? Did everything go good?” He approached you, a nervous look in his eye.

You nodded happily, “yeah, everything went good. Really good actually. They want you to come over for dinner.”

Awpxey’s eyes widened. They wanted him to come over?

“R-really?” He was shocked, very shocked.

“Mhm! And I’m sure it’s with good intention! My mother proposed the idea and my father even agreed!” You fiddled with a bracelet on your arm.

“Mrs. Relongtai, is it okay if Awpxey comes over for dinner at my house?” You ask, knowing it would be rude to not even acknowledge her.

“Yes please, don’t even ask! It’s good he goes out. Or just gets out.” She adds quietly.

“What? Mom!” He turned to her, her head facing the wall to not look at him.

“What? I didn’t say anything!” She rolled her eyes. “Make sure you take a plate of food to offer to the Sully’s! Don’t even think you’re going over there empty handed slugging your shoulders.” You laughed, covering your mouth as it accidentally came out to loud.

“Y/n? You’re laughing too?” You placed your hand on his chest, still covering your mouth, shaking your head.

“No, no I was just, uhm..” You mumbled from behind your hand as you tried to think of an excuse.

“You’re hurting my heart Y/n.” Awpxey said walking away, going and packing a plate of what his parents had made for dinner.

“You’ll be fine, and make sure you tell the Sully’s I said hello, Awpxey!” Itxä called from the floor.

“I will, bye mom, love you!” Awpxey said as he started to leave the hut, you in tow.

“Bye, love you too!” She called back. As you walked by his father, he also said his farewells.

“Bye dad, love you.” He said as he intertwined his fingers with yours.

“Bye Awpxey, see you later, correct?” His dad teased. Awpxey pursed his lips in embarrassment.

“Yeah dad see you later.” Awpxey grumbled.

“See you son, love you.” Puo said before turning back around, continuing to hang up clothing items and other pieces.

“Love you too.” Awpxey then pulled you a long with him, walking to your hut.

“Awpxey?” You call for him.

“Hm?” He hums back in response.

“How do you know where I live?” You genuinely question. You weren’t trying to press him on anything personal, you just wanted to know.

“Y/n..” He says, his face was almost in a form of shock. “What?” You respond confused.

“Almost like everybody knows where you live… You’re a royal Y/n, even then, everybody knows where everybody lives. And your hut gets a bit rowdy with your siblings. Though it’s definitely not the biggest household.” You nodded in agreement at his last comment, you always wonder how the Ipexti Family is doing.

And wonder how they even managed 14 kids.

“Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I’m sure my brother kind of just lets everybody know doesn’t he?” You said with a small laugh.

You didn’t notice it, but Awpxey stared at you, looking at your smile, and all the features on your face.

Eywa took her time on her.

He had thought, he shook his head continuing to walk towards your house.

As you got closer, you slowed as you noticed your brother, Lo’ak, standing in the entrance of the hut. His arms crossed over his chest and his foot tapping impatiently on the ground.

“Oh God…” You mumbled as you seen him.

“Is that Lo’ak?” Awpxey asked, his eyes squinting as he smiled.

“Oh my God. Just walk by or something, cover your face so he doesn’t see us.” You muttered as you placed a hand to cover the side of your face.

“Y/n!” A voice suddenly yelled out. You did not turn your head as you knew exactly who it was.

“Y/n Sully!” Lo’ak continued to yell.

Now you see why everyone knows where you live.

You walked even slower towards your home. Awpxey laughed, seeing how you felt embarrassed.

Once you were finally near the entrance, you had noticed Neteyam stand up from the table and stand behind Lo’ak. Once you were in front of Lo’ak, he squinted his eyes to Awpxey.

“And who are you?” Lo’ak sneered at him.

“Lo’ak!” But your call had fallen on deaf ears.

Awpxey opened his mouth to answer, but was silenced when a hand rose up towards his face.

“Save it. I want to know what you’re doing with my sister. And why you’re here, holding her hand.” Lo’ak poked his chest, his eyes trained solely on Awpxey.

“Lo’ak.” You let out a low warning, Neteyam seemed to notice how serious you gotten. So he reached forward and placed a hand gently around Lo’ak’s elbow.

Awpxey raised his hands in surrender, balancing the covered plate of food in his other.

“I come in no harm. I’m here with your sister for this dinner and to meet your family.” Awpxey explained.

“Meet us for what? Are you trying to mate her?” Lo’ak jabbed his finger back into Awpxey’s chest, and his eyes widened at Lo’aks question, not even the gesture.

That’s when Neteyam pulled Lo’ak back by his elbow, turning him around and pushing him into the hut.

“That’s enough.” He said to Lo’ak, still gripping onto his arm. Lo’ak pulled his arm back, walking to the table and sitting down.

“I apologize for his behavior, he doesn’t usually act like this.” Neteyam said, facing Awpxey with an apologetic smile.

“That’s alright, I can see why he’s upset.” Awpxey smiled.

When Neteyam had finally looked away, you turned to Awpxey, “I’m sorry about him. Don’t let him make you upset he does that to everybody really.”

Awpxey laughed, “it’s okay Y/n, I really don’t have have a problem with it.” He said with a smile.

You nodded, giving a nervous smile back. When you faced back towards the hut, grabbing his hand gently. You were shocked to see how everyone in the hut had a stiff face.

Your mother and father included.

What happened to the happy go lucky moods they had earlier when they told you to invite him?

You sighed, already feeling defeated in some way.

You just hoped he didn’t want to leave you.

Approaching the table, you sat in your usual spot, making sure that there was enough space for Awpxey before looking at everyone.

No one was batting an eyelash at you, everyone was looking at Awpxey. Their faces serious. It shocking to you to see even Tuk staring at him with her face hard from next to you.

She grabbed onto your arm, hugging herself around it and resting her head in your bicep, your hand instinctively coming to the top of her head.

You couldn’t see it, but Tuk smiled to the other side of the table. To your siblings that sat on the other side, expectant.

They must have not taken the news of you bringing a boy home too kindly.

The tension in the air was so thick, and you could see it was working Awpxey’s nerves as he rubbed his hands up and down his thighs.

Though he was the first to break the silence, “I brought a plate of fwampop, I helped my mother make it for dinner. I don’t know if any of you like that, so I apologize if you don’t. I’m sure it should still be warm.” He pulled the wrapping off the top of the plate, showing the seasoned meat, steam elevating as the barrier was released.

“Fwampop is fine.” It was Kiri’s voice who cut into the air next. You noticed her posture and realized how intimidating she actually looked. Her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Awpxey, the usual warm expression she wears, gone.

“Yeah, thank you.” Tuk said as she leaned forward, making sure to be in his line of sight as her tone wasn’t the most, welcoming.

Your mother gave an expectant look towards your brothers, making them flicker their eyes to each other before looking back at Awpxey.

“Thank you.” It wasn’t exactly rude, but it wasn’t nice either. You’ve never heard them sound so passive aggressive.

“It was very nice of you to bring us something, Awpxey.” Your mother broke her characteristic silence, her voice calming and comforting as she nodded her head Awpxey.

“Now, how about we eat, yeah?” Your dad asked, placing his hand around Neytiri’s waist, pulling her closer.

You all hummed and nodded in agreement.

When you all began to serve yourselves, saying a quick prayer before eating, you took the time to look around. Seeing that the atmosphere had lightened up somewhat, they were making their own conversations. In their own little worlds.

So you took that as an opportunity to talk to Awpxey.

“Hey..” You whisper, bumping his knee with yours. He turns his head, responding in a quiet “hm?” As he finished the food he was chewing.

“You okay?” You continue to whisper, keeping your head as straight as possible while still attempting to look at him.

“Yeah I’m good.” He whispered back, nodding.

“Good.” You nodded, giving him a smile before returning back to your food.

Once you all began to approach the end of your meals, you noticed everybody start to sit up straighter, clearing their throats.

Oh God.. The questions were to start now…

“So Awpxey..” Your father started, Awpxey already had his head up, his eyes and ears focused on your father to catch every word he said.

“What do you do? For the clan?” He finished.

Awpxey cleared his throat, “I am a Warrior.” Your father’s eyes widened for a split moment.

“Warrior?” Awpxey nodded. “Yes sir, I am.”

“How come..” Your father’s eyebrows were furrowed. “How come I’ve never seen you?”

Awpxey smiled, “I guess I’m not that important, or just unnoticeable.” You wrapped your fingers around his, your face scrunching in confusion.

His smile.. He looked so dejected, his eyes having a dog-tired look swirling in his irises.

You didn’t care if anyone at the table got mad at you for showing some type of ‘affection’ towards Awpxey.

Neytiri looked at the both of you, a smile on her face as she noticed the slight movement under the table.

“You work along side your father?” Your dad asked, wanting to change the subject as he as well noticed the expression on Awpxey.

Awpxey nodded, “most of the time, unless we’re assigned apart to different groups.” Your father hummed and nodded.

Neytiri cleared her throat quietly, bringing the attention of everyone to her.

“I made kalin paste. If anybody wants any?”

Everyone around the table quickly nodded. Your mother looked towards Jake, pointing her chin to the pot that held the paste.

“And don’t eat it all while you’re over there.” Your fathers ears twinged purple in embarrassment.

“I won’t..” He muttered, his lips pursed as he walked to the steaming pot.

Minutes later, you all had your own servings of the kalin paste. Lo’ak with the most on his plate.

As you finished up your plate, you took the time to look around at your family.

Neteyam, he was in his own world, Lo’ak, he was still scraping for scraps of the paste on his plate, Kiri, she was fiddling with something in her hands, your parents, who were talking with their hands in front of their face as if they were gossiping like teenagers.

Which they were.

Now on your right, closest to your parents was Awpxey. And you were unprepared when you turned your head to look at him to find him already staring at you.

“Hey..” He whispers, a smile on his face.

“Hi.” You whisper back, the same smile mirroring onto your face.

“Can you tell your mom that her kalin paste is the best I’ve had? It’s really good, please tell her.” You smiled, your hand coming to cover it as you nodded in agreement.

“What are you doing?” As he asked, you hesitated in answering, but you had already decided.

“People Watching.” You say with an embarrassed smile.

“People Watching?” Awpxey echoes curiously. You were relieved when you didn’t hear any type of disgust or disappointment in his tone or face. He was genuinely curious.

“It’s where you kind of just, uhm, you know. Watch people? But it’s not that simple. You- you mostly actually observe them. And think, think a lot about what they’re like, or what they can be like. What they could be like. You evaluate them, study, but on a emotional and physical note? When you People Watch, you aren’t supposed to judge, because all it is, is an observation, and thinking.” As you end your rambling, you bring a hand to your mouth and squeeze it tightly, not even for a second.

It was an unfortunate habit you developed young when you realized you talked to much.

Awpxey noticed, and in an attempt to distract you, he grabbed your hand gently. Intertwining your fingers together.

“That’s really cool.” He squeezes your hand, a toothy smile adorning his lips.

“You think so?” Your eyes search his, looking for any type of sign that could show he’s lying.

“Of course! How long have you been doing this?”

“My whole life. It’s actually like a hereditary thing. Mostly between the females in my family. My grandma, her mom, my mom, my late aunt, my sisters do it too, only sometimes. And my brothers.” You roll your eyes at the me ruin of your brothers, thinking of mostly Lo’ak. He stares at people. Little weirdo.

You hoped, hoped that this genetic trait didn’t scare him away and make you look even more like the weirdo you are.

It doesn’t, it really doesn’t.

All these little things you tell him, these details. He eats it all up, saving it to his memories and saving it to learn more about it later.

He was planning to try and do this “People Watching” trick when he got home, or when his stomach wasn’t as full.

Maybe he could try it with his parents? His friends while they train, or just strangers around the clan.

Though nobody in this clan is really a stranger.

“I wanna try it,” he frowned. You laughed, “why are you frowning? You could try it now if you want? With my parents and siblings? But you might be too tired, kalin paste is heavy on the stomach.” He nodded in agreement.

“Can I do it tomorrow? I really wanna try it.” He slouched.

You smiled, “you can do it tomorrow. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Awpxey smiled, looking at yours. His eyes trailed your face, looking at your lips.

It was as if his surroundings melted, Awpxey was stuck in a white space with just you. His hand squeezed yours tighter, eyes moving across your face in a triangular motion.

When he began to raise his hand to try and caress your chin, everything rushed back to him.

He’s still in your family’s hut, still sitting at your dining table, still with your family.

“Oh, uhm.” He stumbled, his hand slowly coming back down, lightly slapping against his lap.

You let out a small chuckle, wondering what was going through Awpxey’s head at this exact moment.

“Awpxey?” You mutter quietly, a small giggle escaping your mouth as you see him come back to reality, blinking a bit too hard.

“S-sorry Y/n..” He stuttered, you began to nod in response, opening your mouth to say something before something brushed against your back, skin brushed against your back.

You turn your head to look behind you, only to be met with a swaying Tuk, a drowsy weighed-down look on her face.

“Tuk?” Your sister took your attention from Awpxey. Though he had no problem with that with how questionable Tuk’s state was.

“Is she okay?” But Awpxey’s voice only echoed in the back of your mind, right now, the only thing you can think of is Tuk.

“Tuk? Tuk what happened?” You grasped her cheeks in your hands, turning her face towards you. You could tell she was mumbling something, but you could not see what.

“What are you saying Tuk? What happened?”

“A-ate to much… Ate to much kalin paste.. Stomach hurts and I’m very tired…” She mumbled.

You felt a bit relieved as you realized it wasn’t anything serious, but the fact she was in pain made you sad.

“Okay then Tuk,” you laugh. “I’ll go put you to bed, okay?”

All Tuk was able to offer back was a simple nod.

You stood up, scooping Tuk up in a bridal style. She was obviously very, very tired by the way she snuggled her head closer to your chest, curling up in your arms.

When you reached the sleeping mats, you placed Tuk on her respective mat, tucking her in, saying a quick prayer before you placed a kiss on her forehead and left.

When you arrived back at the table, your parents had asked you what happened with Tuk, which you explained.

“She ate to much kalin paste and got dizzy? But she was swaying and said her stomach hurt, oh, and that she was tired. So I just put her to bed.”

Your mother smiles and nodded in appreciation, you always made things a bit easier for her around the house.

You loved helping out, it would make you feel complete when you were always able to help people.

Awpxey watched you, he watched quietly as he seen you walk back to the table, an empty spot now behind you where Tuk was previously sat.

“Sorry about that. I just get really worried about my siblings.” You rub your hand against your forearm embarrassingly, not noticing Awpxey’s smile.

“Don’t apologize for it, it’s okay.” He messed with his loincloth. You smile, flashing a tired smile.

Awpxey had noticed, seeing the small bags under your eyes. “Hey, do you want me to go now? You look pretty tired.” Your eyes flicker to his, now at the fact it was pointed out, you started to feel sluggish. Your eyes struggling to keep themselves open as the kalin paste started to push down on your stomach.

“You know what? Now that you said that, I actually feel super tired.” You rub your eye, holding back a yawn in your throat. Awpxey smiled at you, “I’ll tell your parents.”

He turned towards your parents, who were still in their conversation, trying to find a part to speak to them without interrupting.

“Excuse me Mr. and Mrs. Sully?” Your parents stop, looking towards Awpxey, “yeah honey?” Neytiri says with a smile.

“I’m going to be heading home now, Y/n’s very tired and I don’t want to hold your family up any longer.” Neytiri and Jake both smiled, nodding their heads toward Awpxey.

“Okay Awpxey, be careful and make it home safe, okay?” Your mom said. Awpxey nodded, “I will Mrs. Sully! Thank you for having me for dinner, it was very good, and your kalin paste is the best!” Neytiri and Jake laughed together, your father nodding in agreement.

You smiled, getting up to walk Awpxey to the entrance of the hut. But what you didn’t know was that Kiri had also gotten up, following you both out the hut.

Right when you were about to wish Awpxey a goodnight and send him off, your sister, Kiri had rounded the corner coming to a stop at your side.

“Kiri? Is something wrong?” Your sister shook her head, looking forward to Awpxey.

“I wanted to bring him this, here you go Awpxey.” Your sister pushed an object into Awpxey’s hand.

Awpxey looked down at it, holding and feeling the smoothed surface of the object, not being able to tell what it was straight away.

“It’s a Lepidolite, a peace stone, it brings good luck. I’m giving it to you now that you are in a relationship with my sister, so you are both stable enough to take care of each other.” Kiri said with a sincere nod. Awpxey smiled, “thank you Kiri. That’s very thoughtful of you.”

You watched with smile, seeing how Awpxey fidgeted with the polished surface of the lilac-gray crystal.

“Goodnight guys, see you in the morning Y/n.” Kiri waved the both of goodbye, walking back into the hut and heading towards the sleeping mats.

You waved her goodbye, turning back towards Awpxey, feeling shy.

“Too quiet to say goodnight to me now too?” Awpxey teased as he leaned down to your face, trying to catch your eyes.

You giggled, “be quiet Awpxey.” Your cheeks burning as you smiled hard.

You turned your head up in his direction, smiling as you tried to hold back a laugh and make eye contact with him.

“Goodnight Awpxey, get a good nights rest, okay?” He nodded, reciprocating. “You too Y/n, sleep well..”

You both stood in a small silence, it was comfortable and not awkward. Awpxey was the one who made the initiating move and leaned forward, planting a small kiss on your lips.

You were quick to kiss him back, making sure not to leave his lips stranded for too long.

When you both parted, a small ‘smooch’ sound indicating that your lips separated, you stood with your hands clasped together behind your back.

“Goodnight Y/n.”

“Goodnight Awpxey.”

After finally saying goodnight, Awpxey walked back home, smiling all the way back to his hut. Happy to see his parents together in their sleeping mat.

When you were done recollecting yourself outside of your hut, you walked back inside. Shocked to find all the plates put away, hanging to dry.

When you walked toward the family room, looking to see where everyone went. You were not shocked to see everybody already asleep, tangled in their own bedrolls.

You were happy to see your parents together in their sleeping mat.

Getting into your mat and tucking yourself in, you reflected on your day. Thinking about how it was a really good day and how your family accepted Awpxey.

You yawned, turning on your left side as your eyes began to shut due to your tiredness.

Warmly, you let your body succumb to the drowsiness you felt.

Oh my gosh you guys. This is longggg… I feel like almost all of my stories are long, maybe to long. Because I just write when I have the time and I don’t have like an active word count, so i just write. I apologize if it’s to much for you! Also I just want to mention @creamboba ! I didn’t know if you wanted to be tagged, I’m sorry if you didn’t! Oh my gosh please excuse any spelling mistakes I try my best to proof read but I get tired you guys. But anyway, thank you for reading 🤍!

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neuroticbookworm · 11 months ago

Text

FRIENDS. FRIENDS.

Cooking Crush is undoubtedly one of the best shows airing at the moment.

Today's episode gave me so much life that I don't even know where to begin, but I'm gonna try my best to pull two (2) coherent thoughts out of my melting brain.

1. The Three Must-Eat-eers Conflict and Resolution:

Last episode had set up such a perfect conflict that's rarely handled well in any media: the bruised feelings of the single friend when the rest of the gang gets into committed romantic relationships. Most of the time this scenario shows up in media, one party will be framed as selfish and/or jealous. None of that nonsense here; Cooking Crush has always taken the friendship of its characters very seriously, especially Prem, Dynamite and Samsee. Samsee’s feelings were hurt not just because of his own fears of being abandoned by his friends, he was also (rightfully) mad that he ended up as the only friend who was kept out of the loop of knowing that his best friends had boyfriends now. But Prem and Dynamite did not intend to do this, and they were also right to set their own pace in making their relationship public, but it’s just that the string of accidental reveals happened in an order that made Samsee feel like a third-wheeler in his own home, twice over.

Cooking Crush treats its characters with a lot of kindness and empathy and it shows. Prem and Dy wanting to keep their relationships under wraps for the time being is valid. Samsee feeling hurt and lost, and opting out of the competition is valid. This episode begins with the drama of the cooking competition and works its comedy (thank you for the chuckles, wildly gesticulating White Man) and romance (my poor heart swooned all over my rib cage when Ten helped Prem into his chef clothes). And when the time came for the big reconciliation, the show does not sweep away Samee’s very hurt feelings just because Prem and Dy struggled without Samsee for most of the first round of cooking. He apologizes for ditching them and Dy was having none of it.

(Dy, my perfect child, oh how I love you with my entire heart)

Perfect resolution. and a well-earned, most adorable group hug to bookend it. I truly could not be more in love with this show. Or can I?

2. Miscommunication? Nah.

Well, this episode also featured the Annoying Asshole Chef dude who’s determined to pursue Prem even though it is very clear that Prem is not interested and would reject his advances, if only he stuck around long enough to actually get rejected and not run away from him like a goddamn coward. I was furious when he positioned himself as an actual option for Prem to Ten in this episode, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment Ten chose to call him out on his bullshit.

But y’all. The very inappropriate hug. The well-deserved punch to his stupid face. The storm-off. All of it had me very concerned that this is all barrelling towards a classic miscommunication moment.

BUT NO.

THE SHOW SAID THERE WILL BE NO STUPID MISCOMMUNICATION.

NOT IN THIS HOUSE.

My problem with the miscommunication trope is that it ultimately positions the couple we are supposed to be rooting for as a weak team. Honest communication and vulnerability in a new-ish relationship is not easy, and it takes a lot of courage to take that step to be the one to spell out the facts, and trust that the other person likes them well enough to keep an open ear, and believe them when they say a meddling cowardly asshole is trying to get in the way of their relationship. Ten’s bravery was perfectly contrasted with the sliminess of the Annoying Cowardly Chef (I refuse to learn his name, he is not worth my braincells).

Oh but Ten wasn’t done yet!

I absolutely adore how he moves the conversation away from that pesky little pest of a human towards something that matters more: his desire to make things official with Prem. The Annoying Asshole Chef was not the focus of the conversation, Ten and Prem are. And it all culminates in an incredible kiss and a camera swoop that already has a permanent little shrine in my silly little head.

TAKE MY HEART, COOKING CRUSH. TREAT IT WELL.

#cooking crush #tenprem #offgun #off jumpol #gun atthaphan #neo trai #aungpao ochiris #thai bl

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frozen-waters · 10 months ago

Note

General Johnigail/Marston family hcs?? <3

ofc ofc yay yay yay!!!!!!! sorry for making John a little lover boy whenever I write johnigail and there are also a few angsty-ish hcs in here

More Johnigail and Marston Family hcs!!!

• John loves when Abigail plays the piano (canon but it makes me giggle)

• John also watches Abigail sew new clothes or mend old ones. I don’t mean this in a weird way but he likes watching her sew without her knowing. in like a sweet way. she looks peaceful to him

• I’m not sure how to explain this but the Marston family (or mostly Jack) is a few The Smiths songs to me

• speaking of The Smiths modern Jack would listen to them

• after Abigail died, Jack wished he had read to her more in his tween/teen years

• even as Jack gets older, he still laughs sometimes at the stories Uncle tells

• Jack also kept all of Abigail’s dresses that she had after she died. he didn’t really know what he was gonna do with them but he couldn’t stand getting rid of them. he did the same with John’s clothes but he kept them so he could wear them

• in modern when Abigail has to go to work in the morning or something John will wake up before her and turn on the car for her so it’ll be warm by the time she’s gotta go

• John and Abigail dancing together!!!!!!!!!!!!!! idk when but maybe if Uncle still plays the banjo or overhearing music is Blackwater!!!!!!!!!!

• modern John had a gamecube when he was in highschool but the only games he played were like. sonic, eternal darkness, and resident evil. dug it out of Hoseas garage or attic when Jack became a teen and "gifted" it to him -> has it in the livingroom and John plays it and Jack will watch him sometimes -> John also thought Jack was insane when he didn't know what he was supposed to do w a gamecube. to him its The Gift

• in modern when Jack was like 7-10 he'd infodump for an entire dinner about a book or show he read or watched in excruciating detail

• Abigail loved dressing up Jack and his sister

• the Marston daughter used Johns shirts and basketball shorts as pajamas for like. five years straight in modern

• mosquito's were Jacks worst enemy in his tween years

• Abigail loves the horses they keep on Beechers Hope. she likes keeping them all pretty and clean

• John buys Abigail jewelry sometimes. it takes all his brainpower to find something that will look nice with an outfit of hers but its worth it when he sees her get giddy over a necklace he got her

• John bought Mary-Beth's books for Abigail since they were mostly romance and he would read them to her. after John died Jack would read the books to her on her and John's anniversary along with taking her to the movies. or he'd read them to her if she asked

• in modern I know deep in my bones John had some weirdass senior quote

• in modern the Marston daughter was afraid of the dark and had a horrible habit of going into John and Abigail's room and accidentally scaring them

• modern Jack wants to have a bunch of little nick-nacks and cool stuff in his room but everything he finds he feels like it doesn't fit the "vibe" he wants

• John does recognize Jack's empathy towards the animals on the ranch. not that he knows what to do or say about it. tried sugarcoating some sickness among the animals to Jack once but eventually had to tell him what was actually happening and Jack was very sad about it

• Abigail did teach Jack to sew a tiny bit

• John would give Jack "relationship advice" (as if he fucking knows anything) when they'd go into Blackwater to sell the ranches goods

• every year for John and Abigail's anniversary he'd take her into Blackwater and take her to see a movie

• Abigail always notices when John wears a gift she got for him no matter how long ago its from

• when Abigail's sick John tries to keep the house nice and tries to cook for her even though they're both fairly bad cooks

• Jack absentmindedly tells Uncle about the book he's reading when they sit on the porch together and Uncle comes up with some story he witnessed similar to the book

• John also takes Jack to see a movie for his birthday. the first time he did Jack does that thing where he gets excited and cant really talk straight and John was proud of himself

• Jack does occasionally like helping Abigail cook or gather things in the garden

• as Jacks hair gets longer he braids little pieces of it without thinking sometimes

this wasn't as long as the last one whoops

#rdr2 #john marston #abigail marston #jack marston #johnigail #the marston daughter #rdr2 headcanons

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cinderella-ish · 10 months ago

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My evolving thoughts on who Yuki should've ended up with, and fanfic's role in changing my mind

So, I want to talk about Yuki Sohma.

Yuki is the member of the main trio in Fruits Basket with whom I most identify. I have little in common with both Tohru and Kyo, and it took me several watches and read-throughs to start to understand their characters/arcs. (I love them, don't get me wrong! I just didn't fully appreciate the depth of their characters/arcs until maybe my third time through the series.)

Yuki, on the other hand, not only had many external qualities in common with me, but the way he grew mirrored some of the ways I changed in early adulthood. His arc felt true to my life, and so he was my favorite character from my first exposure to Fruits Basket.

When I started reading fanfic, I initially limited myself to canon compliant or limited canon-divergence fics, but eventually, I dipped my toes into some alternate pairings. Interestingly, while I truly can't see Tohru with anyone but Kyo, and I can only see Kyo with someone other than Tohru in very specific circumstances, Yuki seems to work with almost everyone he gets paired with. I mean, Yuki and Machi are my OTP, yet I have probably read (and bookmarked) every Yuki/Kakeru fic on Ao3, and some of the most beautiful fanfic I've ever read is Yuki/Kyo.

This confused me at first. Deeply. If Yuchi is my OTP, why do I devour every Yukeru and Yukyo fic?

Well, I think that's because Yuki's arc is, among other things, one where he rejects compulsory romance. This is made explicit in the Cinderella-ish story (why yes this is my favorite part of Fruits Basket, why do you ask?), where he quite literally rejects the role of the prince - the role that's been put onto him by others through the series. I think his arc would have been complete without him ending up with Machi, but there are things about their relationship that make his ending so much more satisfying. In stories where he ends up with Kakeru or Kyo, Machi almost always appears as an important friend for him. I think, for him, having strong bonds outside the Sohmas that he forged on his own was the point, rather than ending up in a relationship.

Anyway, with that out of the way, here are my thoughts on the five most common Yuki pairings on Ao3!

Yuki/Machi

Yes. I love them. 1000/10.

Okay, so the one criticism I have of Yuki/Machi is that Yuki is strongly gay-coded throughout the series, and it would've been awesome to see that play out in the way it was set up. I think that's a huge part of why I connected with Yuki - his arc definitely reminded me of my own experience coming to terms with my own queerness. For more on this, see this exceptional post by @yunsoh

But there are so many moments between them that make me swoon. The chalk scene, first and foremost. I used that scene to talk to my partner about how to support me when my OCD or ADHD is bad. Then there's scene where Yuki figures out why Machi destroys things, then asks to make footprints in the snow together (and tells her he's proud of her! and sees how hard she's worked!). The way he bought her Mogeta memorabilia or figured out she likes red or understood her intent when she chased him around the school to give him a flower and just ended up getting angry at him. The way he understood she bought Tohru a bath set because it's what she would want, just because Kakeru made a similar remark. The way he lit up when he saw Machi's trashed apartment - "the sea of despair."

And the way Machi understood and empathized with Yuki. The way he lit up and started laughing when she called him an airhead. The way she said it took someone like him to notice someone like her. The way she opened up to him and always sought him out. The way Kakeru shipped them. The way he knew she would miss him if he were to disappear, and the way being a support to her was something he needed for himself. The way she accepted him as he actually was, and not the way he thought he was supposed to be. The way she broke the door down with a chair when Yuki was trapped in the storage room. The way he teased her!

They've both been put in seemingly desirable positions within their families, yet those positions are responsible for so much of their pain and trauma. They get each other at a deep level. There's a mutuality to their relationship that Yuki desperately needed. I love them so much!

PS: if you also love Yuki/Machi, come find me on Ao3! I'll be posting some Yuchi content later this week!

Yuki/Kakeru

They have a fantastic and fun dynamic, and they are always touching each other. Kakeru is Yuki's confidant and someone who makes Yuki feel safe in being himself, flaws and all. They help each other grow - Yuki helps Kakeru be more empathetic, and Kakeru helps Yuki become more comfortable with himself. I think this pairing would have also been a satisfying end for Yuki, full stop. I love them, and I will read all your Yukeru fics, please and thank you. (Also, lots of Yukeru writers are just really good writers, so there are some gorgeous works for them.)

Yuki/Kyo

So, I didn't get why this ship was so popular at first, but then I was reminded that Yuki's first thought when he met Kyo was "pretty!" They both secretly admired each other, they're written as foils for each other, and there's a reason enemies to lovers is so popular (and it's called sexual tension).

There's a Yuki/Kyo fic that I'd credit with showing me what fanfic can really do - especially in the ways it expanded the universe, found its own way of handling the curse, and developed the relationship between the two boys in a way that also grew their characters. That fic is The Pursuit of Repeating History by @mistergrass

I do think that Yuki ending up with someone outside the Sohmas is more satisfying for his character arc than someone from the Sohma clan, but his relationship with Kyo is such a key part of his arc that this could be satisfying in its own right.

Yuki/Haru

I absolutely love the relationship these two have in canon. I love how Haru looks out for Yuki, and I love how he drives Yuki a bit crazy. I love how Haru tells Yuki the things he needs to hear, like that it's okay for him to focus on himself for a while, and I love how Yuki braves the Sohma estate to check on Haru. I also love the way Haru can read Yuki like a book.

Haru's words to Yuki about finding someone who will appreciate his fragility and kindness are always so touching. Haru is almost a mentor to Yuki, in a way, or a fairy godmother. (Or a long lost sister?) The fact that he was the one who got Yuki out of isolation at the hands of Akito, or that he was the one person who would check on him just speaks to the strength of his loyalty to Yuki.

I take Haru's statement of "Yuki was my first love" seriously, because he tells Yuki he is serious when Yuki warns him people will take him seriously when he says that. I know there's an argument to be made that Haru is just being his weird self, but that gives me and they were roommates vibes.

Unfortunately, most of the Yuki/Haru fics are dubcon with Dark Haru, which is not something I enjoy reading. What I'd really love to read is an AU where they're together in high school or later, or something that explores Haru's early feelings for Yuki, or just something that explores interesting sides of their characters that are brought out when they're together.

I don't think this would be a terribly satisfying end for Yuki, but I do really love their dynamic.

Yuki/Tohru

Okay, so, full disclosure: I was #teamyuki when I first watched Fruits Basket. Yet now, they're the only pairing on this list that I don't like. Why? Well, as I said above, Yuki's arc is much about rejecting this specific compulsory romance.

Compulsory how? Well, from the beginning, the series seems like it's setting up a love triangle, but kind of tells us (more and more explicitly as the series goes on) that things are not what they seem.

I think the series does a phenomenal job of making the reader/viewer complicit in placing this compulsory romance onto Yuki. A brief aside, making the reader/viewer complicit in the thing a story is criticizing is one of the most effective ways to criticize something, IMO, because it doesn't let the reader/viewer off the hook. We don't get to say, "Look at them, they're so foolish!" We're forced to examine our own expectations and acknowledge that we were made a fool of, too.

I totally got tingles at the spa scene (pictured above), even though upon rewatch, it's obvious how much of an act it is on Yuki's part, and how uncomfortable it makes Tohru. In fact, many of their most "romantic" moments, where the shojo bubbles appear and everything, are when Tohru is acting in an explicitly motherly way to Yuki, and he awkwardly tries to flirt because he's either misinterpreting his feelings or in denial about them.

I also thought his line, "that isn't what I want!" when he tells Kakeru about his true feelings for Tohru is one of the most powerful moments in the series. It's the moment he's finally letting go of being the Princely character and choosing to be himself, for himself, because he deserves to be known and accepted - something he'd never fully believed until that moment.

I think part of why I was initially #teamyuki was because I came to Fruits Basket through the anime first, where much of the development of his relationship with Machi was cut. Also, as I said above, I didn't really get the characters of Kyo and Tohru right away, and I think that prevented me from seeing the power of their romance. The True Form arc was a key moment that I truly didn't understand until several viewings/readings later.

So, all of that is why I don't care for this pairing. I get why people do, but I do feel it undermines Yuki's agency and his character arc. It's a pairing that makes me sad when I see it, as if this character I love has taken a step backward.

(Incidentally, I've been wanting to write a fic where the True Form arc plays out differently and Yuki takes longer to realize the nature of his feelings for Tohru. I truly wonder how he would've come to that understanding without witnessing her running after Kyo. Would he have tried dating her? Would it have been a total disaster?)

Other pairings and larger relationship structures

Out of the other pairings I found, the only one I'm genuinely curious about is Yuki with Saki Hanajima. I'll have to go read those fics. They are each the "cold" half of a "hot/cold" duo (the "hot" halves being Kyo and Arisa, who are basically the same person). I'm very curious what led people to pair them in the handful of fics about them!

(Interestingly, I think it's possible to read Saki and Arisa both as having a bit of sexual tension with Kyo, but not with Yuki.)

The others include Akito, Ayame, Hatori, and Shigure - all pairings that would have a noncon/dubcon element due to Yuki's age, and that's before you get into the specific traumas that these characters have inflicted on Yuki, or the inherent power dynamics between them, or the close familial relationship with Ayame, etc...

The trio relationships are all intriguing and full of possibility. Yuki/Tohru/Kyo? Obviously. Yuki/Kakeru/Kimi? Potential for lots of wackiness. Yuki/Kyo/Haru? Could be the next Mabudachi trio.

(No shade to anyone who enjoys fics with the pairings or tropes I don't like! This blogger believes in "don't like, don't read.")

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readingwiththestars · 6 months ago

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₊˚⊹♡ RECKLESS

["it's a good thing you're not here, because i still havent found my courage."]

| ✮ 4.5 stars |

THOUGHTS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . [spoilers ahead]

okayyy let me just start off with WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK WAS THAT ENDING LAUREN???? i'm not okay because of it. like nuh uh get lost. u had no right to do that (im saying this as if it didnt get spoiled for me and i didnt gaslight myself the entire book read that it wasn't going to happen)

i would like to straight up say this seemed like a filler book. just a set up for the next one, it didn't really have all too much plot-wise aside from pae and kai's romance. it was less on the fantasy side and more on the romance but i still enjoyed it a lot. and obviously since it was a filler book there was less character development (for some- im looking at you paedyn)

kai and pae were really cute in this book honestly (and as it mostly focuses on the romance ofc they were) the banter and everything was so wonderful to read i was giggling and kicking my feet wayyy to much. the romance was romancing but also not romancing at the same time (im not even gonna try to explain that just use vibes)

i do feel as though lauren's writing has definitely improved from powerless. she has this whimsical magical style of writing that i love it really takes me into the world of the book (mostly). other times the long sentences were too much in moments. like lauren. we did not need to know the colour of the bricks in the market at this certain moment in time when you'd already explained the colour two pages ago-

CHARACTERS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° .

paedyn - ok i love her. i really do she's such a good fmc BUT for me in this book she was boring-ish. and hella indecisive like girly pop if i had kai talking to me like that i'd be folding so damn fast- but yeah it felt like she didn't have too much character development aside from finding out her dad was actually her dad. also i idk who the fuck she was trying to fool with her 'i hate you' to kai, like be fucking for real bitch no you dont.

kai - ok bye i could write a whole rant on why i love this man. like im sat. this book felt more like kai's book (as powerless felt like pae's) imo we got more on his backstory and i think his character (and povs) were more interesting for me to focus on. also his flirting and little one liners had me giggling and shit my sister actually woke up to me grinning like an idiot under torch light-

kitt - bye idek why i made this section for him. this is going to entirely be hate fr. OKAY WE GET IT DUDE UR A GHOST WHATEVER. OH MY GOSH U MISS UR DAD BUT IN THE NEXT POV U DONT LIKE BITCH CHOOSE A SIDE IDC ABT UR WHINY ASS. ALSO U CLEARLY HAVE AN OBSESSION WITH PAEDYN LIKE FUCKING HELL DUDE SHE IS UR 'MUSE' OR WHATEVER GET OVER YOURSELF. EUGH AND THEN PROPOSING TO HER?? YEAH SURE BUDDY "YOUR FEELINGS FOR HER DIED" MHM YUP OKAY TOTALLYYY *clears throat awkwardly* can you tell i hate him?

QUOTES ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . [its like all kai... im not even sorry about it either]

"you are my proof of paradise." - kai

"call us even. call me crazy. i don't care. just... just call me yours." - kai

"under different curcumstances i promise you im much more fun tied up." - kai (WHEN I TELL YOU I SCREECHED AND STARED AT THE PAGE. MALAKAI AZER-)

"just pae and kai." - kai

"she was supposed to be my forever. now i'll watch her become someone else's. because the beast doesn't get the beauty." - kai

jahsdgj i can't wait for the next book hehe

#the library ౨ৎ⋆˚｡⋆#the bookshelf ౨ৎ⋆˚｡⋆#reckless #powerless #reckless lauren roberts #reckless spoilers

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spaceorphan18 · 4 months ago

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Ranking the Bridgerton Books

Well. I have finished all eight novels in Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series (yes - I know there are a bunch of spin-offs, and that's great -- I have no desire to read those.) And of course, I have thoughts...

Before I jump into the rankings, though, I a few overall thoughts... I liked the series much more than I thought I would. Look, I'm rarely a romance reader, and really have no desire to read most historical fiction. But these books aren't as bad as I feared they would be. They're fun and light and you could probably read them all over the course of a week if you were dedicated to it. I don't know that there's anything (to me) that makes them really stand out, but other than being rather dated, and depicting some historical-ish things, I don't think there is anything too offensive about them, either.

I also... don't love Julia Quinn's writing style. These books -- are literally all the same structure of book. Some of the plot details, and the character tropes are different. But if you read one, you've read all of them, so you either have to get on board with that, or not. I also have to quibbles with the writing -- first of all, the men, omg, are usually pretty terrible. Most of the time they're prone to anger and they're just kind of asshats all the way around. The second thing is a writer-y thing. Quinn lets a scene go on and on and on for way too long without really doing anything, which caused the books to drag a bit. These books could have worked at half length, but ah well.

I think also, one thing that I wrestled with throughout, is that I think my favorite aspect of all the books -- was more about the Bridgertons as a family, and sibling dynamics, etc, than the actual romances. I don't know if any of the actual romances really worked for me, ultimately. None of them moved me emotionally the way I think they were supposed to. And that's fine. (No, I don't have a heart of stone - I just relate to romance stories in a different way than these books are presented, I suppose.) Idk - this thought may get another post.

That all said... The thing about ranking these is this -- all of it is incredibly subjective. Because I think the fact that they all use such different tropes, everyone is going to feel differently towards each book? And some things are going to resonate with certain people, while other people are going to enjoy aspects of other books? So - this is just tuned into my own tastes, and less about looking at how the books were written (because, honestly -- I'd rate them pretty much all at the same level) and more about how I felt when reading them.

8. When He Was Wicked (Francesca and Michael)

I know, I know, I know I'm starting off with a controversial choice. When I was looking into the books, there were so many people who put this near and at the top. And I do get it -- this might be the most solid love story of the bunch; Michael is one of the best leads in that he is the least problematic, this book definitely has the spiciest smutty scenes, and their arc to each other probably makes the most sense.

But my god, did I find this book utterly boring. Here's the thing -- a lot of this book is tied up with death, grieving, hurt, and comfort. There's a lot of tragedy in Francesca's story -- and I these kind of thematic elements resonate with a lot of readers, and I get that! It's just not for me. They aren't the tropes I seek out when reading romance, and I didn't find myself caring all that much.

Add to that the fact that Francesca probably has the least connection to her family, and Michael's yearning just doesn't do it for me as it does other people, and this book just doesn't work (for me). So, it's at the bottom.

7. The Duke and I (Daphne and Simon)

I was actually pleasantly surprised when I read the book that I didn't hate it, because (and I'm so sorry) I don't really love their romance on the screen. With the exception of the incredibly problematic moments (you know which ones...) this book is by no means bad. I just found it, like When He Was Wicked, a bit boring at times. (I don't think it helps that I've seen the show enough times that I know the plot pretty well, and this book is adapted rather well for the show.)

My biggest issue is that Daphne is a rather blank slate -- ready for you to fill her in with your own experiences because she is almost a stand in for the reader more so than an actual character. And Simon is going to kick off a long line of male characters who have daddy and anger issues. But it also is the book that feels the most historical? I felt like we were in Regency England -- as opposed to pretty much all the rest of them feeling like generically historical.

Again, it's decently written for what it is, just feels a bit bland, which is why it's near the bottom.

6. To Sir Phillip, With Love (Eloise and Phillip)

I honestly expected to hate this book based on its reputation for being at the bottom or nearly at the bottom of every rankings list I sought out before I jumped into these. And... I didn't hate it. Is it the worst written one? Probably. Is Phillip Crane just a terrible person? Oh, absolutely. Is it hard to go to this Eloise after loving show Eloise so dearly? You bet!

But I didn't hate it -- and, even if there are definitely elements that are truly terrible, it kept me more engaged than the previous two books. I read somewhere recently that this book is also, kinda, a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I'm like -- huh, that makes a lot of sense. I can totally see it.

This book gets bumped up, also, for having one of my favorite sequences in the entirety of the series -- when Eloise's four brothers end up showing up at Phillip's doorstep to defend their sister. It's kind of hilarious, and as someone who really likes the sibling dynamics of these books, really works for me.

There's actually some fun things going on in this book... if you can overlook some of the more problematic aspects of it (and yes, it definitely has a lot of those, which is why it's near the bottom.)

5. An Offer From A Gentleman (Benedict and Sophie)

Hey, it's the Cinderella story -- and my god, it's literally Cinderella... in the first third of the book. And you know, I actually did like the first half of this book pretty well. I think Sophie is probably one of the sweetest characters in these books. And I think the story, overall, hangs together pretty well.

Which is why I have it here in the middle. The unfortunate thing is that half way through, things take a real turn, and Benedict -- who is mostly a blank slate at best up until this point -- becomes possibly one of the worst male characters in any of these books. He's raging and possessive and is just kind of a jerk, which makes the second half of the book unpleasant to read.

Which is a real shame, because I think I like the overall ideas in the book; the fairy tale angle, My Cottage, the fact that Sophie starts working for the Bridgertons... there are a lot of really good and interesting plot points going on, and the only real thing weighing it down is the fact that Benedict is an asshat...

4. On The Way To The Wedding (Gregory and Lucy)

It is kind of funny that this book ends up as high as it does, because it's almost by default. I struggled with the first half of this book. Really, I did. It suffers from being somewhat bland and boring in the way the bottom two books on this list suffer. But man that second half...

It's just kind of a bonkers wild ride that throws everything at the wall. There's actually some action going on (other than sexual, these books don't see a whole lot of action) and the characters become a bit wacky. Maybe that's due to Quinn being at the end of the line with this series, but man, I appreciate these characters kind of breaking out of their expected molds.

And Gregory and Lucy are likable enough. I don't know if I fully buy their romance, Gregory switches on a dime from one girl to the next, but honestly, they're more enjoyable to spend time with than many of the other couples on this list, so I'll take it.

3. The Viscount Who Loved Me (Anthony and Kate)

You know, I toyed with this being number one for a while, and I honestly see why it often tops a lot of lists. It really was a fun book to read -- the whole enemies to lovers, Taming of the Shrew stuff really works. Plus, both Kate and Anthony are well drawn, engaging and interesting characters. I think some of the best actual character of the series work is done in this novel, and it might be the romance I think works the best? (Kind of? I think it might be the romance that Quinn manages to portray the best? idk...) Plus, the story just remains engaging all the way through.

I also think this is some of the most fun, broader world stuff going on. The sibling dynamics are great, the pall mall stuff is a lot of fun, they get the best second epilogue when the family gets together again, and there's some great stuff with Penelope!

I guess what's holding me back from actually placing it on top is the fact that I wasn't a huge fan of the last third(-ish) of the novel. The way they're forced into marriage is just kind of dumb (seriously - no one would believe the bee sting?) and it just felt like Anthony took a little too long to settle into his marriage.

But this book is really good -- and if I were to recommend only one book to new fans, it'd probably be this one.

2. Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Colin and Penelope)

I've really had to sit and think about this one, and have been back and fourth about its placement for a long while. And... it kind of comes down to this...

Penelope is one of the best characters in this whole series (even if she really is only in the first four books). She just is; and I really love her and her story and despite the fact that I have issues with this book (and my god, I have issues with this book) I think my love for her as a character kind of transcends that. The Lady Whistledown stuff, too, remains one of the most interesting elements of these books (and it's a damn shame it disappears after this book). And that is why I have this one so high.

Because, my god Colin. Okay. So here's the thing that really hurts, though --- Colin in every other book I absolutely adore. I really do, he's hilarious and charming and fun and a good guy. And the problem in his own book is that Quinn tries to force him from being the easy going, fun one into crazy angry guy like Simon, Anthony, and Benedict before him -- and it makes him come off as a mentally unstable asshat as he swings between those two character types, and I think with better characterization, had Colin not swung so hard in that angry direction, I would have fully loved this book.

I would have even said this is a great book.

So, I don't know, maybe I love the possibility of this book more than the actual book itself, maybe I just have fallen in love with the characters so much in the last four months I'm giving this one a pass, maybe because I like the characters outside this book, too, that I'm giving it some room, but I just feel it goes here. And, i mean, there truly is a lot I do like about the book, too, don't get me wrong. but it's not perfect, it's not the best, and I get that. But it means something to me, and I suppose that's what matters.

1. It's In His Kiss (Hyacinth and Gareth)

Hyacinth is a goddamn delight, and this was the only book of the series that I truly enjoyed the whole way through.

And I think, in a way kind of opposite of Francesca's book, there are a bunch of tropes all working together that are a bunch of my favorite tropes. It's a funny book -- Hyacinth is a true joy in pretty much all the books she is in, and she gets to be fun and banter-y here with Gareth. This book is a comedy, in some ways, and that's great. She and Gareth go on sleuthing and solving mysteries together, which of course I love. And the two of them fall in love as they become friends and grow closer together through the shared interest of the mystery. And I mean, yeah, I am here for all of that.

Like all of these books, it's not perfect -- Gareth suffers (on a milder level) of the angry, daddy issue male lead thing. And there are times when I'm like, good god, Julia Quinn, why....

But after really thinking about it, and thinking about which books I'd really like to have and/or read again, this one just kept bubbling back up the list. Because besides RMB, this is, possibly, the only one I have a desire to read again. Because it was a delight.

And... there we go! All the Bridgerton Books Ranked. :)

#bridgerton #bridgerton books #polin #polination #i'm not tagging them all #ooff #well #guess that is that #feels a little bittersweet to be done

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