#it seems a little early to lose a main character

[screampied]

❛ NEVER WANNA LOSE ME. ❜ t. fushiguro

☆ sum. for the hell of it, you let your roommate toji hit just once and he’s never been the same. what starts as a usual lazy smoke sesh turns into him wanting more than just to get high—he wants you.

wc. 6.4k

warnings. fem! reader, college au, toji & reader are in early twenties, vırgin toji, pússy drunk toji, mentions of pre-substance consumption, impact play, fıngering, squırting, praise, he finishes quick, dry humping, ōral (f! receiving), size kink, talking him through it, spıt.

he’s never had a girl like you in his life.

with toji—he doesn’t do women. well he does, but not in that literal sense. he puts up a front whenever around his boys. little do they know he doesn’t know the first thing about a woman. he has little to no game, he’s a fake. a loser. but all of that changes until he meets you. you’re his roommate and the only person he can really stand. to toji, you were someone he could ramble to, someone to get high with and make fun of cheesy romcoms together. . like now.

“you always insist we watch this shit,” he huffs, leaned back against the couch. he’s got his legs raised over the sofa as he bores his stoic eyes into the screen. squinting at the cheesy subtitles on display, he takes another puff. “dunno why y’er so scared of watchin’ alien. now that’s a movie.”

“toji that’s boring,” you murmur, snuggling up close to him. he never really minded, it was always like this. he’s got a broad arm thrown over the back edge of the sofa as you’re leaned up against him. the both of you were blitzed, feeling a wave of euphoria surge through the both of you. the closer you got to him, the more you smelled him. god, that cologne—he practically pours it all over his body and it’s always so strong. toji could feel your head rubbing up against his wrinkled tank top before he glances down at you. “. . . your taste in movies suck.”

as you trail off your words, it’s a deadly awkward pause between the two of you as he just stares deep into your eyes. you wonder why he’s so quiet all of a sudden, why he’s just got that blank expression. but toji cups your chin, using a bare thumb to swipe against the inner crevice of your mouth. “tch. messy girl.”

oh.

you blink thrice once his thumb swiftly moves against the corner of your lip. it’s a subtle moment that’s seems way more intimate than it should of.

the dorm room grows substantially quiet and the only sounds that could be heard were the main characters of the movies talking in the background.

you never leave your locked gaze on toji and he gently rubs a finger near your lip. “you had leftover ice cream on your lip,” he utters, and you see his eyes flicker toward your mouth. so pretty, he thinks to himself. the way they curve and twist as you switch facial expressions. he’s sitting up now, taking in your face and could almost feel you lean into his touch. almost. a lump gets caught in the throat before he clears his throat, glancing away. “i— uh, sorry. that was stupid.”

you look at toji and his body language is different from how it usually was. he’s got a downcast pout, slouching back against the leather made sofa. cute, he’s blushing. you notice the way both temples of his cheeks burn and heat up and you raise a brow, scooting up close toward him. “it wasn’t stupid,” you utter, grabbing the remote and turning it on mute. with his burly arms crossed, he slowly stares back at you with a perplexed look. “toji. do you wanna kiss me?”

“what?” he blurts out a bit louder than he intended. could you read his mind?

he felt himself get hotter and not just his cheeks.

toji looks into your eyes, biting his tongue once he realizes you probably caught him staring at your glossy plump lips. he did want to kiss you. he wanted to kiss you so bad—he just didn’t know how to initiate, he didn’t want to just flat out kiss you or anything. darkened brows of his tweak into a relaxed furrow before he sighs. “y- yeah,” he gruffly murmurs, the steady pulses of his heartbeat growing faster.

“you could have said so,” you tease, leaning up close and wrapping your arms around him. he’s glancing at you, both of you had half-lidded eyes, pupils dilating full of sparkles and lust. toji awkwardly sets his hands aside once you straddle yourself on his lap. the thin fabric of his basketball shorts tickle against the undersides of your thighs before you plop down.

it’s so quiet, you scrape a thumb behind his soft undercut before leaning up close.

toji’s mind was going crazy. he was about to kiss you. he was about to finally kiss you. but there was just one problem.

he didn’t know how.

just as your lips were on the brink of planting themselves onto his, he whispers against you.

“w- wait.”

you pause, glancing at him. “hm?”

“i— um,” he looks away, that same reddened tint painting over his face once more. it’s so cute, out of the few years on campus you’ve grown to know this guy, you don’t think you’ve seen him in such a state. an embarrassed state. jade green eyes flicker everywhere around the room but towards you and he sighs. “i’ve never . . kissed before.”

a smile marinates against your features as you stroke a thumb near the scar that runs down the right side of his lips. “oh,” you hum, and he almost glares at you but remembers you’re literally sitting on his lap. toji holds back a groan, the addicting friction of your body hovering over him makes him start to imagine lewd things. he couldn’t help it, and the taunting stare you gave him only made things worse. “that’s okay, just follow my lead,” and the two of you lock eyes again. toji gives you a subtle nod before feeling you drag his hands toward your hips. “just hold my hips ‘n close your eyes, it’s okay.”

he doesn’t know if it’s because of the fact that he’s stoned out of his mind but you’re just so pretty.

you were feeling the mild after effects too, your eyelids felt heavy the further you leaned into him. toji’s big open palms cling onto your waist as you finally close the distance, pressing your lips onto his.

from first contact, he tastes sweet.

his lashes flutter close as he lets you control, gently moving your tongue against his. it was cute how awkward he was, toji didn’t know what to do. you heard him groan the moment you playfully suck against his tongue. every few seconds, he’d hear the sounds wet smacking coming from each mouth—how a bit of saliva would start to dribble down the side of his lips.

fuck, he tilts his head back, parting his uneven lips a bit further for you.

toji tastes minty, his hands find themselves roaming lower down your body as you teasingly grind more against him. he grunts, feeling you continuously meet against his bricked up friend.

he was hard—you knew that. it was poking at you underneath your shorts. a smile stretches on your lips as you deepen the hot steamy kiss, hearing the faint sounds of teeth clashing. he’s so hot, literally and physically. toji feels like he was sweating bullets when he really wasn’t.

he’s had countless dreams of this, of you.

the two of you would always get high together and chill, binging countless movies until the two of you knocked out. but now, it was different. you were making out with each other. it took you by surprise that he’s never kissed anyone—you sort of thought otherwise, especially with how he acts around other girls. of course, that’s all you really see. but behind closed doors, perhaps your roommate’s more different than you thought.

the passionate kiss accelerates further the moment you feel toji’s big hands creep near your ass. his fingers tug near the protected fabric of your shorts, desperate for them to come off. your repetitive swaying against his lap was damn near torture. he groans, finally pulling away from your lips to watch those glossy strings depart from each mouth.

“fuck,” he grunts hoarsely, his eyes darting back toward your sheeny lips. he’s already had a taste of you and he wanted more.

toji holds you firmly in place before leaning into the crook of your neck, pressing a soft kiss near your collarbone. “i- i want more,” he grouses, the tint in his shorts only growing larger. you felt it, all of it. with the way your hips playfully rubbed against the loose clothing — you were only fueling the fire. toji’s voice got a bit lower with its pitch and it was attractive with how needy was.

like he was desperately craving for this moment to happen.

he really was though.

you could see the look in his eyes - he’s hungry.

call it a little crush or whatever but he’s had his eyes on you for a while. toji was horrible whenever it came to feelings, terrible.

he didn’t think much of it, the two of you were just roommates who’d occasionally get blitzed together every blue moon. unless it was something else.

“it’s okay,” your breath hitch as you feel his soft lips assault near your neck.

he was gentle, coating invisible markings that stick against your skin like glue. your head slowly leans back as he starts to softly suck against your skin, keen edges of teeth tenderly tickling against your exposed flesh.

you were so sweet, it just wasn’t fair.

toji’s hands remain attached to your hips before he makes you lie back. you land backward with a little cute oof, glancing up at him as your back lightly hits against the cushioned furniture. “someone’s getting eager.”

“s- shut up,” he kisses his teeth, taking a good view at your body. so pretty, two words that he’s gonna forever keep repeating to describe you. toji couldn’t believe its taken him this long to get to this point.

truth be told, he was pretty shy. but now that you’re all sprawled and laid back, something ignited in him. he slowly spreads your legs with one hand, using a thumb to tug against the flimsy string of your shorts. you watch him intently, growing quiet — the room only fills up with noises of his soft feral pants. he peeps the little anklet that wraps around your ankle before he starts to pull off your shorts. “m- may i?”

“go ‘head.” you murmur, smiling at how he stops untying your shorts just to hear your permission.

your sweet words telling him to go forward, it’s all he needed to continue. callused fingertips pull down your shorts all the way until he’s met with your laced panties. god, he’s feeling a lump get caught in his throat. the way your panties stick against your thighs, how gorgeous the lace looked decorating against your skin, he couldn’t stop staring. .

toji inches his head down, going between your thighs. his hair - it was unkempt, he outgrew his hair within these past few weeks. it was cute, a few black strands of his reach near his shoulders.

he was really slow,

he’s pacing himself because he wants to savor this moment and your beauty. but to be honest, he didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. toji brings a awkward kiss toward the center part of your panties, watching you shudder. “mhm,” a low gruff comes out of him before he looks up at you. “was that good?”

“y- yeah, toji,” you swallow thickly, a hand of your own finding its way into his tangled sable tresses. he looks at you, finding your combing fingers digging through his scalp somewhat relaxing. he’s ogling at you like he’s waiting for you to say something else and you giggle. “right, you probably haven’t eaten a girl out either.”

“shut up,” he grimaces, bathing in his own cringe.

it’s almost adorable. it was adorable. he leans into your touch, staring at your slick dribbling pussy. he’s so close, you could almost peep his mouth watering. “just . . tell me what else ‘ta do, please.”

your face softens at his desperation. toji’s bottom lip pokes out a bit and you inhale, ruffling his hair a bit.

“okay, just start slow. ‘s no rush. start near my thighs ‘n give it a few kisses” and right at your words, he begins to give your thighs sweet individual kisses. he’s fast, you almost let off a moan before sitting up. “good, good, like that,” and his eyelashes close, making sure to give everywhere—even the secret secluded crevices of your thighs all types of attention. your skin was lukewarm, and each time it goes against his skin he only wants more. he hears your body fall back, the sofa screeching a wail from the sudden weight. “n- now um, kiss around here.”

toji pauses, watching as you spread yourself open for him with two fingers. with enticed driven eyes, he watches as you play with yourself to show him what to do next. your finger points near a soft pulsing area—your vulva, you wanted him to kiss right there. it’s shiny, drooling down with your own slick and he only imagined what it tasted like.

what you tasted like.

he doesn’t say anything—instead, he lets his mouth do the talking.

toji’s watched more than enough vulgar videos on pussy eating to know which exact methods to do.

but still, this was real life and nothing was exaggerated. your sweet whimpers and moans were very much real. he starts by kissing around and near your vulva - slow sloppy kisses that make your thighs twitch and your toes curl. he then begins to stimulate your clit with his tongue, swirling it around gently and you moan.

“fuuuck. . jus like that toji,” you breathe, digging your teeth into your lip.

he was already a quick learner, despite having no experience with practically anything.

with one trembling finger, you lift up his chin and he leans into your touch once more. “eyes up here baby,”

‘. . baby,’

his dick immediately twitches from that simple pet name. viridescent eyes of pure emerald stare into yours before you push him just a bit closer into your soddened cunt. “flatten out your tongue a bit. ‘s okay to spit on it a little.”

his ears perk up a bit at your words. “spit on it?”

“yeah,” you run a few more fingers in his hair, delving them into his soft scalp. “make it wet.”

“fine,” toji mumbles, and as his tongue’s moving upwards against your slobbering entrance. he gathers a decent wad of saliva before he spits right on your pussy. a slick ‘ptui’ sound slithers from his lips once he does so—you’re already wet but doing so, it gets you even wetter. a bit of cobwebby lustrous strands cling onto his lips as he watches his mess trickle down onto your folds. he groans, watching the cute pulse happen right between your legs.

so sloppy,

he adores the sloshing squelches your pussy makes at the simple gesture. toji’s never tasted anything so sweet before. “ugh, good. like that,” you moan. as you’re praising him, you then start to feel the quiver in your legs quicken. toji stretches his long tongue even further inside of you—pointing his tongue in a certain direction as his head leisurely sways itself side to side. as you’re telling him exactly how to eat you out, he starts to suck. you whine, feeling his pursing lips clamp around your twitching muscle. it’s so good,

his slurps were so nasty and he groans from your noises alone. as he’s eating you out—he can’t help but jerk his hips into the sofa, getting off to your pleasure. panting, you drag his head up by the hair so he could look at you again. “ ‘s okay, toji. y- you can use a finger or two also.”

“ ‘kay,” he grumps, and he feels your eyes boring into him. specially, you were mainly fixating on his hands. his veiny rough looking hands. you found yourself staring at toji’s hands a lot. they were so big, so wide, thick fat fingers. .

maybe you thought about having them wrapped around your neck, shoved down your throat, buried deep inside your-

your short fantasm and lewd thoughts get cut off the second he sinks a single digit inside—his middle finger. you whimper, slumping back against the sofa as his tongue still flicks against your cunt.

“fuuuck,” you chew on your words, your candied whines only grow more elongated as he seeps deeper inside of you. you take his finger in freely, it’s a perfect fit. with a brief ‘pop’ he’s inside and he feels you trying to clamp ‘n squeeze around his finger. toji’s kissing against your cunt again, shaping his crooked lips into ‘o’ before nibbling near your clit. “oh my goddd.” you gasp, feeling the pressure amongst you increase. his tongue was warm—but with the mixture of his finger, you started to feel your thigh haphazardly bounce. he was still lacking in some areas but you didn’t mind teaching him how to improve.

slowly, he brings another finger inside and now your cunt’s trying to squeeze down two of him. your brows curl up in rapture whilst his tongue happily roams all around you. he’s lapping up his saliva, slurping yours, and spitting right back on it all over again.

“so fuckin’ good,” he groans against your damp folds, causing vibrations just from his mouth. hot pants of breath aerate against your skin. you were getting close, your body started to get more and more unsteady. as your back arches, you yank on his hair a bit. “ow,” he looks up at you with a snarl, but he has a sheepish grin. with toji’s thick twin fingers plummeting in and out of you, he bites down near the edge of your pulled to the side panties. “am i doin’ good, princess?”

“y- yeah, ‘m gonna cum,” you whimper in a shaky tone, swiftly dragging his head back and forth.

toji’s plump glossed lips smear all around your cunt and you moan. he’s so messy and his chin being smothered with your slick. it’s running down, and he’s quite literally drowning in pussy.

your pussy.

the points of his ears twitch at your words though once he comes to the sheer realization—you were about to finish. as you’re getting closer, your grip against his hair tightens. “suck harder toji, ‘s okay. use your tongue, baby.”

with open ears and a open mouth, he listens, closing his eyes once more as his swollen lips latch around your entrance. you bite your lip, feeling his scar brush up against your cunt and it tickles.

so soaked, his fingers continue to insert in and out of you and you’re a nothing but a whiny mess.

your moans bounce through the thin walls of the spacey dorm before he kisses your clit. “make a mess on my mouth,” he almost pleads, a slight tremor in his voice. toji’s so into it that he doesn’t he notice he’s still humping the sofa. he’s humping the pillow propped directly underneath him to be exact. sloppy feral thrusts—his boner was almost painful and he needed more. he felt embarrassed, getting off to your pleasure. your sounds only made him grind harder though, and he groans once you’re literally tugging his head back and forth against you. “c’mon, give it pretty.”

his hoarse voice had you drenched even more, you feel the sharp pang of nirvana jolt through every artery and vessel stored inside your legs before it happens. you came, you’re teetering against his face as your hips buck into his mouth. he’s met with a sweet taste in his mouth.

a taste from you.

it lingers on his tongue as he merrily laps it up, drinking you until you’re all clean according to his mouth. your eyes were murky and doe eyed—you were holding in a breath you didn’t even know you were keeping in. as your chest deflates, you let off a loud ear shrilling climax and toji snickers. so cute, you were a mess. he was an ever bigger mess since his jaw was rightfully locked and sore, precious slick smoothly cascading down his smooth chin like it was a stream.

“fuck,” you huff out, wisping a few crumped fingers through his hair. your hold on his thin strands lessen as you lean back completely dumbfounded.

“did i do good?” toji utters in a raspy tone, lapping a few remnants of your honeyed juices near your outer folds. he slides his fingers out of you only to lick them clean, right before your very eyes.

panting, you nod. “yeah, y- yeah, you did good,” and you watch as shifts, closing the gap between you both. toji sits up from between your legs, and he starts the kiss this time.

your hooded eyes collapse for a moment, closing before you return the sloppy kiss. you moan, relishing at the obscene taste of yourself that now lives on his tongue. it’s sweet, your tongue curls its way around his before he sneaks a hand down between your thighs. you whimper in his mouth, feeling his broad hand give your cunt a big squeeze. you twitched right in his palm and he groans. your noises only made him want you ten times more.

with loud smacks of lips smacking against each other, you make your way on top of toji again. he’s looking at you—panting just like you were. his arched brows compress together as he grabs your hips in place. “you’re so hot,” he exhales, immediately regretting saying that out loud. he sees the slight bashful expression form on your face before you pull on his grey shorts. “y- y’er gonna ride me?”

“yeah,” you mutter, playing with the hem of his boxers. your thumb glissades against it, so soft. it sticks out above his shorts that were merely halfway on. “can i?”

toji nods. “uh huh,” and the fucking boner he had.

you felt it earlier but you knew he was suffering. each second you spent on his lap, the worse it became. it was up until you successfully removed his shorts and you started to grind your hips against his hardened bulge. “s- shit,” he curses, his head immediately throwing itself back. you’re playing with him—swaying up and down his procreated shaft. toji clenched his jaw, a hand of his squeezing the right cheek of your ass. “fuck, ‘s not fair. y’ said you were gonna ride me.”

“i am riding you, toji,” you hum, still a bit shaken up from your most recent orgasmic release. toji narrows his eyes at you and you toss your arms over his shoulders. “see?”

“tch. y’er bein’ unfair, princess.” he scowls at you.

toji’s got your hips in his hands as he’s lazily sat back. his hair was even more ruffled and messed up from your hands yanking and pulling on it. a few black strands run down his almond shaped eyes, shielding his vision a bit. as you proceed to move and jitter your hips around him, you then feel a sudden damp spot.

toji freezes - you freeze.

right near the poking center part of his boxers, it’s a spot where his boner lies that’s dampening up the piece of clothing rather quickly.

with furrowed brow, you glance down—pausing your jerking movements before eyeing toji. “toji. did you just . . . cum?”

suddenly, he grows mute, fuck.

he did—you figured he was sensitive but you didn’t think it was this much. his lips twitch and he’s trying to suppress a moan, it’s adorable. toji wasn’t so used to such contact, he thought he’d last a maybe one round or two, but he wasn’t even inside yet.

his jaw tightens and you spot his veins pulsing out through his skin. you stare at the now grey wet patch that sticks onto his half on boxers.

“oh, toji,” you softly smile, feeling him abruptly bury his face into your neck. he’s still groaning. you hold him, feeling him shiver a bit at your touch—you weren’t used to seeing this side to him, ever. “it’s okay,” you coo, and he’s practically whimpering into your neck. his gruff voice made you pulse and it only got louder. “it happens,” and you feel the stickiness start to bedaub against your fully exposed clit. with a timid expression, you tug in the hem of his boxers. “do you still wanna-”

“please,” he finally speaks again, his voice cracking.

toji’s eyes meets yours again and he’s just longing to feel you from the inside. despite his pussy drunken state, he was so desperate. your teasing only made him ten times more feral. cringing at his own self, his eye twitches. clearing his throat, he helps you pull down his boxers. “eh, i mean yeah. ride me.”

you block your tongue down your throat to refrain from giggling before his cock finally springs out.

it’s thick with a bunch of girth to support it. you can’t help but openly gawk a bit. you figured he’d be a packer but damn. you could literally equate his shaft to the size of a beer can. multiple veins ran down the sides and his base was even fatter than his actual size entirely—not to mention, it’s so pretty.

toji’s angry mushroom tip was glistening with sweltering fresh cum. he’s made quite the mess from that you could see already. he’s got a pink tip with an even more pink cockhead.

his heavy base, it’s swollen and had a tannish pigment color his entire dick. you lick your lips, preparing to align yourself and he grunts.

“s- slow baby,” he murmurs, gently burying his fingertips into both sides of your hips. you give him a nod, leaning up close to his face. you could hear the crack in his voice again before a husky groan rip out his throat. you’re so close to his face that you can’t help but pepper a few kisses near his crooked uneven lips. “fuck, fuck me.

as you’re lowering yourself down on his cock, you let off a moan - and so does he.

toji’s eyelids grow more heavy as he feels himself disappearing into your welcoming sloppy cunt. as toji’s barreling his fat dick inside, he squeezes your ass, feeling your walls swallow and suck him in entirely.

you were so soaked—so soaked, clamping down on him effortlessly and you were barely even moving. toji groans, finding his teeth tucking their ways into the left part of your neck as he holds you close.

“my god,” he hisses, continuing to bury his weighty cock into your slippery cunt.

you were so loud, especially right between your legs. every few seconds you’d be filling the room with wet squelches, pops and pops of pleasurable whines coming straight from your sweet cunt. it’s a feeling he’s never felt.

this felt a lot better than pathetically stroking himself off with the help of some off brand lotion as a substitute. he cringes at the thought because he was finally feeling the real thing. “fuck, ‘s fuckin’ warm, princess. you feel so good inside.”

“yeah?” you pant, and you’re almost all the way in before you grind your hips just a bit forward.

toji’s so thickly built that it takes your body a few seconds to acclimatize. you could feel the bulky tip of his cock extend straight through your spongey walls and it felt so good.

too good.

you could almost drool, that’s how good it felt—

he had staggering jaw-dropping inches that easily stretched you out like your cunt was simply elastic. it had you yearning for more. you lick near his chin where a few dripping droplets of slick run down before you kiss the curvature of his perfectly chiseled jaw. “ ‘m gonna start movin’ okay, toji?”

“okay.” he intakes a single breath, tracing the heart shaped parts of your ass with his fingers.

raspy pants bellow out from his vocal cords in such a rough raw way before he hears the squish.

your ass plops down on his lap and your hips start to create haste. toji grinds his teeth together the minute you start to rut further into him—his head slowly falling back. his eyes were barely open and yet he’s still finding the strength to look at you, look at your pretty face as you’re fucking him stupid.

his mouth slowly opens but no words come out. instead, sweet moans of your name leave his lips and it makes your ears twitch.

toji’s fully in and you feel every inch of him.

you’re bouncing on his dick until your ass was hitting near the hilt, the swollen base of his shaft felt so full and he’s chewing back sharp breaths that try to leave his packed full lungs. his high shortly leaves him with a slight pussy drunken grin and it’s so attractive—

the way his crimson glossed lips appeared all lopsided and droopy, twisting nto a sheepish smile. you spot two visible dimples on both sides of cheeks poking out from his lazy feral half-grin. you even found it hot how every so often he’d flick his tongue near the scar that slopes down the right side of his mouth.

“fuck me,” he repeats, using both hands to make you bounce harder.

skin against skin, both bodies press and squish against each other, and rocking in rhythm and lustful harmony. both of you felt so hot.

scorchingly hot, his heat radiates off of you and you lean into his warm.

it was so hot that you felt like you were gonna melt right on his lap—being turned into nothing but a puddled mess.

you whine, feeling his reddened tip start to thrash against your most sweetest spots.

thwack after abrupt thwack, it was tender at first but now it started to become more sloppy, more sloppy and rude. his mushroom tip swirls around your gripping, coating your insides while leaving blissful french kisses so good that your toes curl up again. “f- fuck, ‘s good, makin’ me feel—”

and his words get interrupted once you stop his sentence for another kiss. “mmph,” he jolts back, speedily returning the sultry embrace.

he could never get enough of your taste, that was for certain. your honed hips continue to buck forward into him as he’s fighting dominance for your tongue—you reel into him continuously as your thighs start to feel a twinge of convulsions.

toji’s balmy breath collides against yours as you slowly pry open your mouth, swapping strings of saliva and lapping up the few remnants of spit that dribble down past the cracks of his lips. “ngh, baby,” he whines between kisses, and his voice softens a bit. it’s not its usual cocky tone. it’s more affectionate,

more tender.

toji can’t keep his hands off of you. as he’s breathlessly speaking between kisses—a whisper of murmurs, he starts to spank your ass. smack after smack, you moan once his palm swats against you, encouraging your hips to go faster.

he quickly gets addicted to the reacting recoil. it was just the way your facial expressions twist from each smack and your little gasps at the brief stings that live near the centers of your rear.

“harder toji,” you whimper, digging your knees more into his thighs. with how fast you were bouncing on his cock, you were already in a trance. a trance you never wanted to get out of.

“tch,” he scoffs, giving your ass another spank. then one turns into two, then three.

he likes the way the fat of your ass collides against his palm. it’s enticing—he stares at you before biting near your chin. it’s more of a playful nibble. dark pools of eyes meet yours and you spot them through your peripherals. you moan at his touch before he feels you push him further back against the sofa. toji looks at you, falling back before you take the wheel. “fuck, gonna make me cum?”

and you don’t give him a reply. he prefers it that way. your hips end up speaking for you and as you rock against him quicker, the sofa cries out a plethora of squeals at the pressures of weight pounding onto it. “yeah you fuckin’ are,” he groans, pulling at the right cheek of your ass.

toji’s still very sensitive from before, but with the way you’re moving and how good your ass throws itself around him, he knew he was about to get ten times more sensitive. he just knew you were gonna milk him, ring him draw. fuck, the thought of being drained by your sweet cunt left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. not only that, but toji felt himself salivating the more he imagined himself finishing because of you.

he lowly grunts, munching down on his lip as the core muscles in his washboard abs tighten and flex underneath his tank top. your cunt constricts around his shaft every single time—ravaging your swollen needy walls became something he never wanted to stop doing.

you were so warm, his cock reached very specific areas that made you whimper out his name over and over on repeat as if it was some sort of exaggerated mantra.

“tojiiiii,” you whine, feelings of lust foiling at your brain. with the constant tingling sensations of his dick stretching through you—you gasp everytime, hearing the lewd shakiness linger underneath your voice. “fuck, ‘m gonna cum too.”

“c- cum with me, pretty girl,” he pants, clammy hands of his pawing at your waist.

your body and the way it moved against him in such maddened rhythm had him entirely dumbfounded. his brows arch as he leans back, adam’s apple still bobbing all in his throat. toji’s cock continues to jut his dick way into your drooling pussy before you let off a looooong three second mewl full of concluding elation.

it lasts a long time, the feeling you felt as you’re losing yourself on your roommate’s lap—yet this time, your eyes widen once your thighs clench together before collapsing.

you’re dexterously sucking him in well before your climax comes again—but as you’re trying to focus on your breathing, you feel yourself spraying all over his weighty cock. sappy sweet juices pour down his base as your mouth cutely forms into a circular shape of surprise.

“ffuckk,” you curse, your voice pitching as you pulse all around him. your chaste clit swerves against him as you’re finally coming undone. it’s so much, you left a pool of a mess right on his lap and he was just luxuriating in your sweet filth.

but before toji cums, his bottom lip quivers—beads of perspiration sliding down the sides of his face. “can i- can i finish inside?”

with a numb cock-drunken expression, you give him a nod. “y- yeah, go ahead,” and you look into his eyes, whispering into his ear. “c’mon toji, ‘s okay. give it to me. you can make a mess in me too.”

toji hoarsely groans at your words, holding onto you tight. “fuck, keep talkin’ to me,” he makes you bounce harder on his cock, his muscles clenching at such sensations. “think ‘m gonna cum jus from your words, princess.”

“good boy. f- fuck, toji cum in me,” you teasingly lick near his earlobe.

he grunts at your playfulness—his cock reaching its very limit. he’s so full, his jaw feels heavy before you kiss his cheek. “wan’ you to cum in me. don’t miss, baby. that’s it, h- hold my hips like that, mhm.”

toji holds back a whine as you’re preparing to milk him for all he’s got—he hiccups briefly before it spurts out all at once. it’s much more intense from before. as if on que, toji finished a few seconds later. but once he finishes again, this time it’s not as quick as last time.

he shoots into you raw and it’s literally as if his life changed right before his eyes.

toji’s feeling your hips momentarily swerve and stutter in swift arcs before he’s dumping such a sloppy goopy load into your pussy. slimy stringy ropes trickle into you all at once, shooting right into your empty womb. it’s so much of a load that some of it spills past your saturated folds and down his base.

“s- shit,” he looks down, glancing down at his bushy happy trail through his low hazed peripherals. you’re running a finger down the thin stretchy fabric of his tank top as you ride him, toying at his curly minuscule hairs with your fingertips.

toji came a lot. saying he came a lot was a understatement, he came a ton. such ropes oozed out of you and it was such a pretty sight. for sure—it a lot more than last time, it spills so much that it creates a creamy milky ring around his base. with the both of you now cumming in torrent, you can feel him shaking violently underneath you. the warmth of your walls was something he never knew he needed more.

toji’s mouth grows dry as he reclines back against the sofa. the movie was well over, black credits of dozens of random names blurred on the screen and all.

you both grow quiet. your head presses against his chest— feeling a few strands of chest hair tickle against your cheek. his heart was racing, and it was all because of you.

you didn’t want to move, he didn’t want to move, because then his cum would leak out of you. toji liked the feeling of having you plugged full, your thighs—specially near the crevices and insides were all sticky and wholly coated with his velvety hot spurts of cum.

“f- fuck,” you murmur in an almost whisper, feeling one of his hands slide back toward your ass. toji’s matching your irregular heaving pants before he feels you trying to get up. “toji, let’s—”

“stay,” he cuts you off, and he’s got the most neediest expression. his voice was whiny, he swallows—more breathy pants leaving from him before he buries his face in your chest. verdant droopy eyes give you a long stare before he hugs you, strong broad arms wrapping around you. “i- i want more,” he shivers in your embrace.

you sit up and you thought he was leaning in for a kiss—but instead, he licks your bottom lip. “i don’t wanna jus get high with you anymore, i just want you. i fuckin’ need you, girl,” and you can almost see hearts in his eyes. yeah, he was whipped.

toji cups your face, his voice shaky and he brings your hand up to his lips, kissing the back of your palm.

“please. one more round, baby. i love-” and he cuts himself off, his eyes widening before he backtracks, his pout growing. “i need you.”

[danieyells]

@2flowerz NOW I CAN POST THEM LOL HERE'S ED TO START WITH

PERVY OLD VAMPIRE IS AN ABSOLUTE GOOBER. . .he's also very very tired. But he has a very nice reaper taking care of him and a friendly dog that wants him to go outside more, so he has people who love and care for him even though he's. . .a little troublesome haha.

also I changed the format from previous posts and added the specific times and seasons and such for each dialogue! this should help lessen some confusion about how to get them.

Hello: (the first time the game is opened after that character is set as home screen NPC. Only happens once per day, unless the character is switched out and back.)

"Ah, there you are. I've a favor to ask of you— come to my room and I'll explain."

You've Got Mail: (whenever there's something in the inbox, usually Arena rewards)

"Oh? It appears we have some letters. Alas, my eyesight is not what it used to be. Read them out to me, would you?"

well maybe if you didn't stare at your tablet all day. . . .

Default: (requires no affinity, has no time constraints)

"I have much to learn about the human world... Rui is teaching me a lot, but I cannot seem to divorce myself of careless blunders."

y'know, it's good he's trying to learn anyway. 400 years old is never too late.

"What did I do before Darkwick? I eked out a humble existence in Eastern Europe. Hm? The most powerful vampire? No, those are just rumors. "

didn't you confirm it yourself in the main story though--also if he was living in eastern europe for the past 400-ish years i wonder if he saw lyca when he was young, even if in passing? then again eastern europe isn't exactly small.

"I was taken by a sudden whim to travel abroad. I had heard good things about Japan so I came over to play, but alas, I was captured."

so he went to japan just to have a nice time for a while but the Institute decided to keep him trapped in Darkwick. . .and then they didn't listen to any warnings or concerns he had. . .no wonder he doesn't give a shit what's going on around here, why would he? They abducted him while he was on vacation--and for what?

"I have no interest in harming humans. After all, they die so quickly. They should enjoy their short lives while they can."

"(cough cough) Oh, it's you... I'm feeling worse than usual today. I don't suppose you could carry me to bed?"

Affinity 1: (between 5am and 11am)

"(yawn) Good morning... What time is it? ...Still that early? Wake me up again at midday, would you?"

honestly Ed? Mood.

Affinity 2: (between 11am and 4pm)

"If this is about a mission, I can't help you, I'm afraid. I leave such day-to-day duties to Rui, so I suggest you ask him instead."

Affinity 3: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"I'm more or less confined to this house most days, for various reasons. I'm on my best behavior. But I'll do what I can to support you from the sidelines."

y'know, he's offering to help a little even at Affinity 3 and that counts for something in my book.

Affinity 4: (between 8pm and 5am)

"My favorite channel should be posting a new video at any moment... Sorry, but could we continue this tomorrow?"

you have not yet reached the stage of friendliness where you're more important than a youtube video lmao

Affinity 5: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I don't suppose you know where Rui is? How troubling... My YouTube video has stopped playing..."

well at this hour i'd check either the bar or his room???

Affinity 6: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Oh, it hurts... I cannot seem to shake this ache in the place Rui touched me earlier... I think I'll rest a while."

so it seems like either his limbs pop off/part of him breaks open when Rui touches him, or he suffers a great deal of pain for an extended period of time, maybe his body actively fighting extremely rapid necrosis? Rui did say that he basically insta-kills anyone who isn't super strong, so Ed being in excruciating pain instead of dying or losing a limb now and then makes sense.

Affinity 7: (between 11am and 4pm)

"I can't survive much sunlight. Without my parasol, I can barely go outside... (sigh) It really is quite punishing..."

Affinity 8: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"Sounds like Lyca's having fun, from all that yapping. I think it's good for him to develop some temporary bonds with humans at this time in his life."

Affinity 9: (between 8pm and 5am)

"I felt the urge to go stargazing, so I went to a hill nearby, but Towa was there already and he chased me away."

TOWA STOP BEING MEAN HE actually he probably would have bothered you and if he smells like a corpse to you that would have been annoying even if he didn't talk to you BUT STILL DON'T BE MEAN.

Affinity 10: (between 10pm and midnight)

"You ought to be getting ready for bed. Me? Oh, I'll turn in soon... Just one more YouTube video."

Affinity 11: (between 5am and 11am)

"Are you going for a walk? Take care not to spend too long in the garden. Humans are rather susceptible to the miasma there."

WE NEVER DID LEARN ABOUT THE MIASMA. WHAT'S UP WITH THE MIASMA WHY'S THE AIR IN OBSCUARY FUNKY.

Affinity 12: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Do you realize that human society is controlled by a shady cabal of elites? There are many videos about it on YouTube."

I AM ONCE AGAIN ASKING FOR HIS LAPTOP TO BE TAKEN AWAY OR TIME ON IT RESTRICTED. . .HE'S INTO CONSPIRACY THEORY YOUTUBERS HE'S GONE TOO FAR DOWN THE RABBITHOLE

Affinity 13: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"The ghouls are rioting again? Ah ha ha ha, they certainly are full of energy. If you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of a YouTube video."

he simply does NOT GIVE A FUCK lmao the ghouls could be dying out there and he'd probably shrug it off. Maybe keep an eye on things with his sixth sense or have some bats watch. Maybe that's part of why so many ghouls dislike him? he doesn't have any concerns for their plights and problems?

Affinity 14: (between 5am and 11am)

"How strange... I can't find my other sock. I could have sworn I put it here... Have you seen it?"

Affinity 15: (between 5am and 11am)

"Lyca made a mess again? Ah ha ha ha. Try not to judge him too harshly—he's not human, after all."

i think even for non-humans there's some cleanliness to be strived for. . .even pigs are pretty clean animals from what I hear. . . .

Affinity 16: (between 11am and 4pm)

"Rui? Is my lunch ready yet? ...Oh, it's you. You wouldn't happen to be feeling heartsore, would you?"

he's asking if you're sad because he feeds off of tears more than blood. . . . .he wanted to see if you'd cry for him. . . . . . .wait how does Rui usually go about doing this!? Does he cry every day for him???

Affinity 17: (between 10pm and midnight)

"Rui has his tavern work at this hour. He made sure I had everything I needed before he left, though."

ed's all cozy in bed with a nice bottle of tears and his fully charged tablet, all the dirty laundry's off his floor and everything--and now you're here! everything is perfect.

Affinity 18: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Has night fallen already? Do keep in mind that my vitality returns at this hour. You really should be more careful."

i'm kinda getting Taiga vibes here where as his affinity goes up he kind of clearly wants to eat you more, except where Taiga kinda tried to keep away from doing it until Affinity 24 where he snaps and ties you down and starts hurting you, Ed just starts warning you 'you're in danger being around me right now' lol. When he tells you to be careful he makes the sadist face, so he is telling you to be careful around him specifically. . . .

Affinity 19: (between 10pm and midnight)

"You can't sleep? Come, close your eyes. I'll hold you in my arms until you surrender yourself to the land of slumber."

isn't Ed's skin cold. . .I feel like it may be hard to sleep like that for most people lol then again maybe he'd be perfect for temperature regulation?

Affinity 20: (between 5am and 11am)

"Ah, thank you for coming so early. I slept even worse than usual last night... The cleaning can wait. Let me rest my head on your lap, would you?"

'the cleaning can wait' huh. . .is this another Jin situation where he's started to expect you to clean up his room all the time lmao I MEAN RUI ONLY CLEANS IT ONCE A MONTH SO A LITTLE SUPPLEMENTARY CLEANING WOULDN'T HURT. . . .

Affinity 21: (between 11am and 4pm)

"How are you finding Obscuary? Anomalies live quite differently to humans, so you're adapting to it remarkably well... Perhaps you're predisposed?"

'hey i know you're probably scared about becoming an anomaly that will harm your loved ones and all but you may already be showing signs so you should just stop worrying and join us!' also do they really live so differently. . .so far the main difference is cleanliness lmao

Affinity 22: (between 4pm and 8pm)

"My, where did the time go? Talking to you is just so relaxing. Why? Perhaps it's because I know I could feast upon you at any moment."

in Japanese he says something like "The sense of security of being able to strike at any moment"--he's saying he could bite you and you're so comfortable with him you wouldn't even put up a fight before he could do it. He's making his 'sadist' face, but I think he means it in a 'you're relaxed around me, and it makes me feel comfortable to' way. . . .or not. He could just mean that he appreciates you as easy prey 8D

Affinity 23: (between 8pm and 5am)

"Really. You became embroiled in another petty human dispute? How absurd you humans are. Come here."

he feels so bad for you and always getting involved in some shit. . .you know you wouldn't have to do any of this if you abandoned your humanity and just became an anomaly?

Affinity 24: (between 10pm and midnight)

"So, you've come sneaking into my room in the middle of the night? You really are a wicked girl. What were you hoping for? Go on, say it."

Do you want him to feed off of you? Or do you want him to feast upon you? Or were you just that starved for his company? I feel like he's willing to put aside his tablet for you at this point, especially if you're coming into his window late at night for a little tryst.

Affinity 25(max): (no time constraints)

"Being with you brings up old, old memories... Perhaps it's because you remind me a little of her."

well he is hundreds of years old, so of course he had lovers in the past. . .I wonder if she was also mortal, and if he refuses to see humans and anomalies as compatible because of heartbreak. Or maybe he doesn't get heartbroken like some humans do, and it's just nostalgia. But for someone who struggles to remember things sometimes to have old memories stirred up, I think that's a good thing. He must feel quite old at this point, but having someone around who reminds him of being even a little younger must be nice, even if he doesn't think it will last. . .then again maybe that's part of why he seems like he encourages you to become an anomaly in his character stories. Because he'll get to have you around for longer.

Spring: (March-May) (between 5am and 11am)

"The plants in our garden become rather lively in the spring. See? There's a little cannibalism going on over there."

(between 11am and 4pm)

"My favorite channels have been updating more frequently than usual of late. I suppose humans really do experience spring fever."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"(yawn) I look more tired than usual? Must be the spring weather... Goodnight."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"Cherry blossoms are fascinating organisms. Born carrying the stench of death and falling all too soon... Just like humans, really."

i don't think most humans smell like death(unless we're referencing the poem about sakura trees having corpses beneath them to make the petals pink again) but go off i guess--also it makes it seem like he wishes humans lived longer? funny thing for a guy who thinks humans aren't compatible to say.

Summer: (June-August) (between 5am and 11am)

"Obscuary is lovely in summer. It's so dark and cool, with a lovely miasma breeze. I've no desire to step outside its confines."

honestly living in eternal night during the summer doesn't sound bad aside from all the bugs. but the tentacle plant in the garden probably keeps most of them away, so. . .obscuary in summer sounds lovely.

(between 11am and 4pm)

"How the sun mocks me... Vampires across the nation are advised to avoid going outdoors unless absolutely necessary."

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"It was so hot this morning that Rui was walking around after his shower in just a towel. A sight for sore eyes, I must say."

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH HE IS BISEXUAL. in Japanese he says that Rui was walking around soaking wet and that he's incredibly handsome but doesn't mention the towel--so Rui may have been wet and bare naked walking around Obscuary. . . .

(between 8pm and 5am)

"My air-conditioner? I believe I have it set to 64 degrees. Hm? You're cold? Humans truly are such fragile creatures."

that is almost 18 degrees celcius for the non-americans! it's not that cold imo but it's definitely a little chillier than most people like their personal space.

Autumn: (September-November) (between 5am and 11am)

"Humans take extra delight in their meals during the harvest season, do they? Interesting. Perhaps I'll follow suit."

lap up your tears nice and slow and sensual--

(between 11am and 4pm)

"The stamina and physical strength of a vampire is dozens of times that of a human. We don't need to work ou— (cough) (wheeze)"

YOU GOOD BUDDY YOU STARTED COUGHING WITHOUT EVEN MOVING i mean i get it i have asthma but still--

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"Ah, the curtain of night closes. Now that the days are becoming shorter, my physical and mental health have much improved."

does that mean you don't need help getting dressed for a while--

(between 8pm and 5am)

"How beautiful the moon looks tonight. Its light is such a comfort to us non-humans. You look rather lovely bathed in it too."

Winter: (December-February) (between 5am and 11am)

"(sigh) Even in the dead of winter, Lyca is so full of energy in the mornings... Just try to imagine waking to him barking in your ear."

that explains why you lock him out of your room lmaoooo

(between 11am and 4pm)

"What do you think of my dressing gown? Rui made it for me. It's surprisingly warm."

MOM RUI STRIKES AGAIN MAKING HIS BOY COZY CLOTHES FOR THE WINTER

(between 4pm and 8pm)

"(cough cough) I only took a few steps outside, yet I felt as though my heart froze over... It's best not to leave one's room on days like this."

(between 8pm and 5am)

"They say that on cold nights like this, humans long for the warmth of another. Well? Shall I provide it for you?"

DO YOU POSSESS THE WARMTH OF ANOTHER SIR I RECALL YOUR SKIN BEING DESCRIBED AS COLD

His birthday: (November 10th)

"Having you celebrate my birthday makes all these long years of life worth it. How old am I? A gentleman doesn't tell."

given your estimate was 'idk 400 i stopped counting around 300' i think it's less you won't tell and more you can't tell lmaoooo

Your birthday:

"It's your birthday, is it? I'll have to give you a present. What do you want? Go on, tell me."

New Years: (January 1st)

"Happy New Year. I heard it's a tradition in this country to impart small monetary gifts. Here, for you."

OTOSHIDAMA GET!!!!

Valentine's Day: (February 14th)

"My, is this for me? I'm touched. I don't usually partake of human food, but I suppose I'll make an exception."

it's about the symbolism! it's the principle of the thing, even if the chocolate tastes bland to your vampire taste buds!

White Day: (March 14th)

"It seems that today those who received chocolates on Valentine's Day are supposed to return the favor. What a conscientious country this is..."

yeah but what'd you get them tho--

April Fool's Day: (April 1st)

"Oh, I'm burning up... I'm not long for this world... Won't you grant me one last request? ...No need to make that face. I'm joking, of course."

Halloween: (October 31st)

"Trick or treat. I'm a real vampire, you know. Give me your blood, or I'll play a trick on you."

probably the only time he's directly stated wanting to drink your blood lol

Christmas: (December 25th)

"Merry Christmas. Rather amusing for a vampire to celebrate a holy day, don't you think? Let's fill tonight with magic and wonder."

Idle: (about 20 seconds without interacting with the game) (below 13 affinity)

"I'm going to lie down a while. If you need something, ask Rui."

(13 affinity and above)

"Hello? Oh good, there you are. It would be troublesome for me if you were to disappear. Let me know next time you decide to wander off."

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'D BE TROUBLESOME. I guess it's because you clean up after him and help him and stuff. . .and at higher affinities maybe he feeds off of your tears and/or blood. . . .

Absent: (logging in for the first time in 2 or more days?)

"Well, hello there. It's been a while. Come over here—I've been looking forward to your return."

OUR SLOPPY LIL VAMPIRE BOY. Flirts, drinks tears, minds his own business, and is on his best behavior despite that he was abducted by Darkwick. They should be thankful he's not angrier, considering he's apparently strong enough to LEVEL A BUILDING ON HIS OWN. As his affinity goes up he seems to be more comfortable around you, although that comes with the concern that he expresses less human thoughts more openly. . .which isn't a bad thing, imo. He should be allowed to be an anomaly. He's not harming or preying on you, just saying he could and that he's dangerous. But he also just seems to like physical affection and flirting and having you do chores for him so he can be lazy. . . .

I love him lol he's stinky

[finisnihil]

Hello pookies let’s talk about Aventurine and Topaz

Penacony spoilers+Analysis ahead

Let’s start off the bat, I personally like Aventurine more than Topaz and the main reason is because Topaz willingly works for the IPC while Aventurine doesn’t. Some people have pointed out in other posts of mine that Topaz didn’t voluntarily join the IPC. Her planet was dying and the IPC bought it, she joined because it was required of her, but here’s the difference. She chooses to stay.

She emphasizes in her talking with Bronya and the Trailblazer than she doesn’t stay with the IPC just because she has to or because she needs a paycheck. She stays because she likes working for them.

Also, she sees what was done to her planet as a good thing. In her eyes, the IPC saved her planet, in her eyes it isn’t exploitation. She tries to force the same thing on Jarilo-VI to the point she attacks the Astral Express for trying to stop her after Bronya declined the contract. She felt entitled to Jarilo-VI and when she was told no she ignored it. To her, the IPC are the best. It’s no wonder either, as far as we know she hasn’t seen the truly ugly side of the IPC yet because the IPC need her. In her character stories other IPC constantly hype her up, she’s a prodigy, she makes the IPC more efficient. She raises the success rate from 63% to above 80%. Even in her early days we see her breaking rules and getting away with it because the IPC value her too much to lose her.

They don't even question her calculations. Adding to this, when Aventurine is first introduced, it's after she's punished for her actions on Jarilo-VI.

He gives a lot of context about Topaz's power in the IPC. She "dodged a bullet there", implying she theoretically should've got a stronger punishment than being demoted a rank and losing some bonuses she's mentioned she doesn't care about. He even mentions that somebody is "looking out for her". Topaz has backing. He also mentions Jarilo-VI was a high-risk low-reward situation and that her "kind heart" was a liability. Topaz has the room to take on such cases and exercise her "kind heart" because she isn't at risk of losing everything if she screws up. There's little consequences to her actions, there's powerful people protecting her, and the IPC need her. Topaz can leave at any time, she choses not to because she likes the IPC. You see this power dynamic in her character trailer.

A throne is strong imagery and she's surrounded by money, the real representation of power in the IPC.

So let's talk about Aventurine and why I think he's interesting and why I like him more than Topaz.

Let's start with his power dyanmic within the IPC, or more so, his lack of one.

Aventurine has a serial number on his neck and Dr Ratio specifically calls him a "thrall". The term thrall in this context seems to imply he's a captive of some sort of the IPC*, to them he's a product. We can feel his lack of power in the way people talk to him.

Sparkle speaks to him in a super derogratory way and belittles him by implying he had to humiliate himself to influence Sunday. Meanwhile Dr Ratio writes him off as ruining everything before he gets to really do anything.

He gets power by gambling for it. Power is fleeting and he can lose it easier than most.

At one point he talks about how much money he loses wasting ten minutes. Ten minutes is nothing for Topaz but to Aventurine it's lost money and if he's not making the IPC money he's useless and viable to be cast aside. He can't afford it because he has no power. Compared to Topaz, he can't leave. He has less room for screw ups.

Onto friendship.

When friendship comes up, he keeps the idea at a distance. He asks how friends benefit him. Sparkle says he treats friends like bargaining chips and when he's talking with Dr Ratio he says that "Friends are weapons of Avgins". To him, friends are used for or against you.

He doesn't have any real friends, he's always on his own. He has no backing. He can't trust anybody because he's in such a vulnerable state and everyone around him looks down on him because of his heritage. Dr Ratio even tells him he causes too much trouble to have freinds, likening him to a peacock with a jarring call.**

Finally I want to analyze this conversation between him and Topaz. When asking for her help, he calls her old friend, implying he's planning to use her. The thing about Aventurine is that compared to Topaz, he's more ruthless because he has to be, he doesn't have the wiggle room she does, even Black Swan notes this saying he'll go to extreme lengths to maintain an advantage. Right now, that's what he's doing because he's being thrown to Penacony as a sacrifice. For the reasons above he seems to be the most expendable Stoneheart. He notes Penacony is a lost cause and Topaz is shocked that the mission isn't given to a higher ranking Stoneheart. He eggs Topaz into being his project manager with the idea she'll recover what she lost on Jarilo-VI. What he's really doing is using her to shield himself. With her involvement the IPC will be less likely to cut their loses with him, because they need Topaz and if he puts his eggs in her basket to care for they're less likely to be left to break by the IPC. If things go wrong he takes the blame… unless he has Topaz to sofen the blow. He's gambling on her power in their dynamic.

*My personal theory as of 2.0 is that the Sigonians and Avgins had a war and the IPC backed the Avgins for a benefit of their victory, assuring it. Aventurine was a captive or some sort of "war prize" hence the serial number and Dr Ratio calling him a thrall. It also explains the negative view of Sigonians and the very favorable view of Avgins among other lore we've gotten about it. I may do a seperate post of this theory.

**Sparkle and Dr Ratio liken Aventurine to a peacock frequently. Male peacocks use their feathers to attract the attention of female peacocks. This matches Aventurine's very flamboyant and charismatic character and his place in the story.

Feel free to add discussion, have a great day, mwah!

[jooniperbonsai]

Thanks For The Sub (ksj) | Chapter One

Pairing: Camboy!Seokjin x Gamer!Reader (afab)

Rating: 18+

Chapter One length: 11-14k 18,371 (OOPS LOL)

Release date: Fri. January 19, 2024.

Genre: Smut, fluff, angst, camboy au, gamer au, comedy, crack, slow burn (?), coworkers/boss/friends to lovers, an exploration of adults in their late 20s/early 30s

Summary: After a clip of you sucking at video games goes viral, you've become somewhat famous, with thousands of subscribers now tuning in each week to see you play. Overnight, you've gone from a sexually frustrated grad student who reads smut in her room to a gamer girl (or rather, a not-gamer girl). This would have been the perfect job, except it was never the job you wanted. Desperate for money to pay for grad school, you bounce between your new gig and working at a local restaurant to pay the bills, where your hot coworker-now-boss Seokjin plays many of the lead roles in your sexual fantasies.

Seokjin, two years post losing his fiancé and job within the same day, is tired of the rut he's dug himself into and wants to start over. Now 30 years old, he's stuck managing his family's restaurant where he harbors an insanely inappropriate crush on you on top of carrying one hell of a secret: Seokjin is also known as Jin, a successful gay-for-pay camboy on the streaming site Worldwide Handsome.

When the stress of the upcoming semester and the pressure to stream becomes more than you can handle, you seek out some much-needed stress relief online, only to discover a man who looks a little too much like your boss is staring right back at you.

Warnings for Chapter One: Swearing, cheating (not between main characters), big age gap between lesser characters that can be uncomfy, sex work, gay sex work when the worker is actually not gay (but everyone is chill about it), <- allusions to queer fetishization bc of this, feelings of shame and guilt, feelings of failure/depression, improper restaurant safety procedures, the existential crisis of your late-20s/30s that we all seem to go through, off-handed references to kpop culture including fanfics because I'm a clown and need to call us out sometimes, silly literary tropes, references to pregnancy (NOT reeader), boss-employee power dynamics, allusions to queer BTS members or relationships, cameos of au Seventeen Members (Wonwoo and y/n are besties). NSFW sex stuff: big dick Seokjin (of course), Seokjin with rolled shirt sleeves and cutting things in a kitchen, Daddy Dom Seokjin makes himself known, blindfolds, camming (obviously), f/m masturbation, lots of dirty talk, sex toys, degradation kink, praise kink, sexual fantasies at the worst moment, kink exploration, a lot cum (sorry), I mention the omegaverse as a joke, a sparkly pink dildo, seokjin has a massive collection of toys and he intends to use them, seokjin and reader are constantly horny, reader is kind of inexperienced, implied exhibitionism kink, implied voyeurism, implied public sex.

a/n: it's here (and longer than I intended but oh well!) this fic is inspired by a combination of fics from the lovely writing community on here, the copious amounts of smut I read, a dabble of my friends or my own experience, & the high drama of kdramas. I felt really compelled to write this fic after rereading "tip 143 (for ∞ seconds of love)" by minilouvre on ao3. I feel like the camboy/person trope is so fun to explore and I wanted to try my own take on it with our Seokjin, who doesn't seem to get as many fics written about him but absolutely deserves it. I also wanted to create space for a fic that explores the weird transition of late 20s-30s that both BTS and I (and maybe many of you) have experienced in the last few years. I hope you enjoy! I keep my inbox open, so lmk your thoughts!

xo - h

That’s it baby cum for me. 

Such a good little slut for Daddy.

Wish that dildo was my cock. 

Fuck this is so hot.

The tip jar was going wild. The mute button tapped long ago, tonight was by far the most successful night camming Seokjin had ever had. He would definitely be able to afford that new gaming PC after this. 

Thank god. After three hours streaming, he was getting tired of riding the glittery pink dildo. It was cute–a Christmas gift from one of his loyal subscribers– but admittedly, he hadn’t prepped well enough before putting it in an hour ago, and when he let out a pained groan as he sank down on it, he immediately knew he would be feeling it tomorrow, and maybe the next day. 

His only consolation was the five new top-tier subscriptions he’d received while experiencing searing hot pain. He’d clearly appealed to someone’s kink. Well, there was always something for everyone. 

Seokjin knew this well. Today was his two-year anniversary since his first livestream on Worldwide Handsome, an international gay live cam site. During those two years he had seen just about every kink requested, from wax play to autoerotic asphyxiation to something called the omegaverse; he’d sifted through the internet and researched enough on each request to decide which ones he’d be willing to perform, and which kinks were too much outside of his comfort zone. 

Now, with an apartment full of gifted costumes and drawers full of just about every type of sex toy known to the human population (and perhaps even some aliens if those toys held any accuracy), it was obvious that Seokjin was a knowledgeable and successful camboy who could fulfill so many men’s fantasies.

Except for the fact that Seokjin wasn’t actually gay. 

Which is, as it turns out, also something people are into. 

Two Years Ago

It wasn’t that Seokjin ever intended to be a gay sex cam worker, much less a camboy at all, but two years, four months, three weeks, and twelve hours ago, Seokjin hopped on a plane after finishing a week-long conference in Los Angeles. He’d booked the first flight out, eager to come home to his fiancé. 

During the week, he hadn’t heard much from her. He understood, of course. She’d mentioned before he left that during that week she would be busy catching up on work and finalizing a really important project with a looming deadline. She’d been stressed about it the morning he left, practically shoving him out the door with his suitcase. 

But he missed her desperately, especially with the distance between them, and he was hoping he could regain some of that intimacy by trying phone sex. They’d been having less sex recently, probably from the stress of work, but he still craved her every single day, just like he did when they were in college. 

For most of his and Soon Yi’s relationship, they were insatiable. In college, they were known for being embarrassingly public in their displays of affection, with Yoongi once catching them in the kitchen at a party with Soon Yi’s hand down Seokjin’s pants and Seokjin’s hands up Soon Yi’s shirt. At first, Seokjin wondered if he always felt so horny because of his raging hormones and the fact that Soon Yi was the first person he’d had sex with. But even three years later, on the night he’d proposed, they had to leave the restaurant he rented out so they could have sex in the car. 

Soon Yi was charming. She matched Seokjin’s wit, always ready to keep up with a joke and take it to the next level. She fit in effortlessly with his group of friends, remembering their birthdays and always showing up with a tiny treat for them, even if they hated celebrating. His parents adored her the moment they met her. She was frequently fawned over when she visited his work to bring him lunch or to just stop by and say hello. 

When his boss, Mr. Choi met her during the company’s annual gala, he told Seokjin she was enchanting, she was the moon that lit up the evening sky. Mr. Choi was also incredibly drunk when he said this, but he wasn’t wrong. 

Soon Yi glowed through Seokjin’s darkest nights like the moon. 

That’s why when she denied every video call request he made during his trip, Seokjin knew something was wrong. He felt desperate and needy, something he’d never experienced during their relationship. 

As he laid in his hotel bed, touching himself to their memories, a strange need overtook him: he wanted to remind her that despite all the work stress, they always got through everything together and ultimately, being intimate might help with reconnection. 

So at the end of his boring conference, he flew back, planning on surprising her when she got home with a delicious meal and sexy massage. Maybe he’d even use those silly novelty heart-shaped handcuffs Jungkook got him as a gag gift. 

He was ready to rekindle his love for the moon. 

What Seokjin wasn’t ready for was the fact that when he walked through the door of his house, the only moon he saw was that of Mr. Choi’s naked ass as he thrust into Soon Yi on the dining room table. 

As it became immediately apparent, Soon Yi’s “work project” was clearly what was playing out before him as he watched the only woman he’d ever been in love with writhe in ecstasy underneath his much older work superior. 

It would have been one thing to lose his fiancé, but in witnessing this entanglement, Seokjin also knew he’d lost his job. Due to the blur of his memory, his brain trying to erase what he’d seen, he wasn’t entirely sure when they realized he was home. However, by the time he had grabbed another duffel with some fresh, non work-related clothes from his dresser–after he breezed past his unmade bed that probably didn’t smell like him anymore–Soon Yi and Mr. Choi were half dressed and sheepishly waiting for him near the entry.

Seokjin couldn’t bring himself to look either of them in the eyes as he stated his resignation letter would be on Mr. Choi’s desk the following morning. 

When he arrived at Jimin and Jungkook’s apartment to crash, that’s when reality set in. What would he do now? He had no house to live in, no job to make money from, and he just lost the love of his life. 

His head was splitting from the idea of car payments, a mortgage under his name for a place he wouldn’t be living in, having to tell his parents, calling the wedding venue and paying that awful cancellation fee on top of not getting his deposit back. The extra zeros in his bank account were depleting fast and it wasn’t like he would be able to sleep on Jimin and Jungkook’s couch forever. 

After two weeks of dodging family phone calls, desperately applying to every job that didn’t sound like a scam, waking up in the middle of the night from the lumpiness of the couch or Jungkook’s horrible snoring, Seokjin felt like he was out of options. 

“I’m going to call my parents and tell them. Maybe I can work at the restaurant for the time being while I wait for callbacks. I have some money in my savings for my own apartment. I just can’t keep doing this,” he said. 

“Hyung, are you sure? You know that we don’t mind you being here as long as you need. Really, it’s not an issue.” Jimin was gentle as always, the concern on his face knitting his eyebrows together. 

But Seokjin knew he was avoiding the inevitable, so when he nodded and then called his parents, their warm voices on the other end felt like a sign he’d made the right decision after all.  

The next week, Seokjin began working at his family’s restaurant, filling in for shifts that were short, typically in the kitchen. Chopping and prepping the food for the chefs, dish washing, and anything that kept his hands busy were welcome distractions from the painful reminder of what awaited him outside of the restaurant. 

Soon Yi was pregnant. Seokjin found out one day when he stopped by to grab a load of his things to bring to his new apartment. While both he and Soon Yi agreed to sell the house, it appeared she was taking longer than him to pack. He figured this was because she would be moving in with Mr. Choi, who lived in the penthouse of a luxury apartment complex downtown. 

During their meeting with the real estate agent, Soon Yi had scribbled her new contact information and mailing address onto some forms with Mr. Choi’s details. Wealthy people always operated on their own timeline, one where they could hire a moving company to have everything neatly packed and stored within hours. 

Seokjin, however, was limited to an ongoing loop of back and forth where he crammed his car full of silverware, lamps, and his MapleStory figure collection Soon Yi once mocked him for collecting. As Seokjin continued to pack away his belongings, he saw it. In the guest bathroom outside of the kitchen, there were two positive pregnancy tests in the garbage can. 

Soon Yi was pregnant and the father wasn’t him. The last time they’d had sex was three months ago. She would have known by now if that were the case. 

A wave of nausea rushed over him, and somewhere between bouts of gagging and wiping tears from his eyes, Seokjin realized that things were truly over. 

Two months passed, and still he couldn’t find a job. While the restaurant gig was taking care of some of his bills, it was only a matter of time before Seokjin would be unable to take care of himself. At 28 years old, he’d have to move back in with his parents, which was next to impossible in terms of space, not to mention the fact that his brother and wife were living with them while their apartment was being renovated to better accommodate a life transition of their own: they were expecting their first child.  

Given his semi-recent discovery, being around a pregnant woman was something Seokjin didn’t particularly want a reminder of. 

“I don’t know what to do. Something has to give,” he said one day as he sat in Yoongi’s living room. A thick coat of snow was covering the earth outside, though from the sweat running down the back of Seokjin’s neck, you would never be able to tell. Yoongi always kept his home at the exact opposite of the climate outside, trying to quell the possibility he would have to experience any physical discomfort if he dared to ever leave his house, which he rarely did.

His friends all sat around him, quietly sipping their whisky or beer while the flashing light from the TV casted a kaleidoscope of colors across the coffee table. Hoseok nudged Taehyung, who’d fallen asleep at some point between the long pauses in conversation. Seokjin couldn’t blame him. 

It was late, much later than the invitation Yoongi extended typically lasted, but this meetup was different. Everyone had always known Seokjin to be optimistic. From a goofy dad-joke-making 18 year old until now, he’d consistently been a source of light. When Taehyung’s grandmother died a few years back, it was Seokjin who made him first smile again with a spot-on impression of his own halmoni as they slurped bowls of naengmyeon.

His hair was shaggy and unkempt, his smile fading quickly from his face after cracking a joke. His jokes were also darker, less silly and eye-rolling and more self-deprecating and sarcastic. It was like his life was draining from him before their eyes, and it was becoming nearly impossible to stomach. 

But concern doesn’t always lead to action, which is why they were sitting around in Yoongi’s living room hoping the whisky would give them some inspiration to find a solution to Seokjin’s problem that he wouldn’t immediately turn down. They’d scoured job sites together earlier, and anything in Seokjin’s former profession only led to him suggesting his next boss better be a woman or else he might have to keep his future girlfriend away from corporate events or dining tables. Other careers in his field were met with similar disdain. 

Seokjin wasn’t always this way. In college, he didn’t know what kind of job he wanted or where he wanted to end up, so he majored in acting, hoping that it would lead him where he would eventually develop some sense of passion. 

In a sense it did. During an internship with an entertainment company shortly after he graduated, his attention to detail, natural charisma, and flexibility showcased a skillset he didn’t even know he had, which resulted in him being offered a position in their corporate headquarters the following fall. He’d been there ever since. 

But Seokjin didn’t want to return to the same life he’d had. So much of his life up to this point had been the same, and it clearly didn’t work out for him, so why continue on? The only issue was that he once again felt like he was 18, trying to decide on a path to follow when he didn’t even know who he was anymore. Nothing was appealing to him. 

“What about video game streaming?” Namjoon suggested. “You love games, and you have all the equipment. You used to talk about doing that all the time.��� 

“Yeah, hyung. You’re also really good at talking and stuff, so it would be fun to watch you do it!” Taehyung perked up at this suggestion, shaking off his sleepiness to contribute to the conversation. “I’ve seen how much streamers make with all their sponsorships and stuff, they don’t even have to work another job!”

The energy in the room picked up slightly as they waited expectantly for an answer. 

Seokjin grunted. “Okay, look. I would love to do that. That’s my dream job. But you’re forgetting something important. Those streamers didn’t just jump on the internet one day and then got thousands of subscribers and sponsorships to pay their bills overnight. Some of them took years to build up their following before they even started making money off of it. A lot of people actually lose money from game streaming. And I need money now. I don’t have that kind of time!”

Taehyung deflated, settling himself back into the couch next to Hoseok, who gave him a tender pat on his thigh. 

“But what if…what if you did a kind of streaming that made you money pretty much right away?” Jungkook offered quietly. 

Seokjin glanced over at his youngest friend, who was holding his empty whisky glass in his hands instead of looking at him. 

“What do you mean? Is there some kind of gaming livestream service that does that?” Now Seojkin was curious. 

“Um, well, not for gaming, exactly. I was just thinking. Um, you could always do like an OnlyFans or something? I have a friend who does it and she sometimes makes $1000 a night. And that would take care of–”

“You mean being a camboy? Jungkook, seriously? Listen I know we’ve all had a bit to drink, but that’s a ridiculous idea.” Seokjin snorted. “Besides, the market is flooded with people doing their own sex work. Maybe your friend is just really pretty or something to make that much from it, but I highly doubt I would make any money off OnlyFans because no one would even see me!” 

Jungkook nursed his bottom lip between his teeth as he was dismissed, his body mirroring Taehyung as he fell back into the couch cushions. 

“Hyung is right,” Jimin added finally, having spent most of the night settled quietly next to an even quieter Yoongi. “He wouldn’t make much money on OnlyFans. All the men on there are either ugly or buff, and Seokjin-hyung looks way too gay to appeal to that market.” 

Yoongi, who was sipping his whisky as Jimin spoke, spluttered into the glass as he lost his composure, falling into a fit of laughter. From the other side of the room, Hoseok joined in, clapping and gasping for air between laughs.

“Excuse me? What the hell does that even mean? Yah, stop laughing! It’s not funny!” Seokjin fought the smile that was trying to form on his lips. Okay, it was a little funny.

“Well, hyung, isn’t it obvious? Remember that one time we went to a gay bar and all those guys I tried to pick up tried to pick you up instead?” Jimin sighed as he glanced at Seokjin before reaching across the coffee table to grab a handful of cheese balls. 

“We’ve been over this. They weren’t trying to pick me up. They just told me I was really handsome and had fuckable lips. And they’re not wrong!” 

“Wait when did you guys go to a gay bar? Where was I?” Yoongi cleared his throat, finally recovering from his laughing fit. 

“You didn’t want to come, remember? I don’t know why you’re asking this, you never want to go anywhere. Anyway that’s besides the point. Seokjin-hyung and I went to the gay bar and he stole all of the guys I was hitting on because they wanted to make him their baby girl!”

Hoseok wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled. “Yeah, no, hyung I’m sorry but if Jimin is being passed up at a gay bar for you, you clearly give off that vibe. I can see it. You look all soft and plushy and like you would be the perfect bottom.” 

Seokjin tried to fight off the heat that was creeping up his neck into his ears, but after a few glasses of whisky, and the ungodly temperature of the room,  it was a failed mission to avoid being flushed.

Jimin shot a glare at Hoseok, who shrugged. “What? I meant it as a compliment!” 

“Well, thanks I guess. Now I know I look like I’m gay. That doesn’t seem to solve my problem here!” Seokjin looked over at Namjoon for backup, but all Namjoon seemed to be able to do was give him an apologetic smile.

 “No, I know, I know. We got off topic.” Jimin said, “Sort of. Listen, like I said before you wouldn’t be successful on OnlyFans, just because of what they market. But you could always market yourself differently. And I’m thinking, if you really need to make money fast, you could always work with what you’ve got going for you.”

The entire room went silent. 

“Wait,” Namjoon said, “you don’t mean…” His eyes flitted to Seokjin and widened in alarm. 

Slowly, everyone shifted as they realized what Jimin was suggesting, Seokjin evidently being the last one. 

How was he supposed to work with what he had when what he had was apparently drawing a different crowd of people from the one he was interested in? What did Jimin mean by marketing himself differently? Was he supposed to just stream on websites that were exclusively for gay men? 

Oh. That’s exactly what Jimin was saying. 

“Wh-Jimin what the fuck? You mean I should be a gay camboy? I know we just talked about me being attractive to men, but I’m not interested in them that way!”

Jimin huffed. “Well obviously I know you’re not gay. Otherwise we might not be in this situation.” 

Seokjin winced. 

“Sorry, that was unfair. It’s just…hyung, you’ve been so not like yourself lately. And you’re right, something needs to change. I know you’re not gay, but this still could help. Haven’t you heard of gay for pay? Like in porn and stuff a bunch of straight actors will fuck each other or some gay guy because it pays more than straight porn. It’s the same thing.”

“Only you don’t have to actually fuck anyone. Maybe you should remind him of that,” Yoongi added. 

“Right, exactly! Look, you don’t have to do it. But it could help you get by and pay bills in the meantime until you find something else that you want to do. And there’s a lot of sites where you can stream even once and get a direct payout the next day. It might be worth a shot.”

Seokjin thought about it for a moment. It didn’t sound completely awful. From what he’d seen from the times he saw cam sites out of curiosity, most of what happened was masturbating and talking to people. And he didn’t hate people. But something about it made him nervous. 

“I don’t know if I’d be okay with being watched. That seems embarrassing.” 

“Oh please, the number of times you and Soon Yi fucked basically in public is astronomical. You’re practically an exhibitionist,” Hoseok teased. 

“That was different! I was with her! Now it would be everyone watching just me up close and personal. Namjoon-ah, talk some sense into them. This is crazy, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know if it actually is, hyung,” Namjoon said lightly. “Jimin-ah and Hobi have made some good points. And I think…I think if you weren’t even just a little bit curious you would have immediately said no instead of going back and forth with them over it like how you flat out said no to the other stuff. Maybe you’re feeling a bit shy because it’s been a little while and you are trying to heal through the breakup and stuff, but you also don’t have to do it or you can do it once and change your mind after if you want. 

“It just doesn’t seem to me like this is the worst option for you. You get to talk to people, you can maybe have fun. You don’t see the people on the other side anyway, so if you wanted to pretend they were girls instead of guys you could, or turn off the comments probably? It’s not real sex though. And even if it was, is that so wrong? It’s not like you would be cheating on Soon Yi for doing this. I mean-”

“Thanks Hyung! I think we get it!” Jimin interjected, raising his eyebrows at Namjoon as if to say shut the fuck up. 

Seokjin felt his stomach sink. Is this why he was panicked at the thought? It wasn’t real sex, but it almost felt like he would be doing something wrong by doing this. Not morally against himself, but someone else. Maybe he was still hanging on to Soon Yi in ways he didn’t fully realize. 

He felt almost like a heavy weight was pressing on his chest and forbidding him from moving on. What would happen then if he tried doing this for himself? Would the weight still feel the same? He wanted to know. 

“Ah, fine, I’ll think about it.” He looked over at Yoongi, who looked relieved that the conversation was nearing its end. “You have anything to add to this? A final voice of reason?” 

Yoongi snorted as he jumped up to stretch. “Nah. Except, as your former roommate, ‘Seok’s got a point about the exhibitionism thing. You were way too into showing me your dick all the time and walking around naked when we roomed together.” 

The room erupted into laughter, Seokjin himself joining. This time his smile didn’t immediately fall from his face. 

Slowly, everyone else stood, bodies unwinding from furniture and each other. While Jimin ordered Jungkook and himself a taxi, Seokjin waited with him. 

“My only issue is, how do I pretend to be gay? Won’t they know I’m not?” 

Jimin scoffed as he nudged a sleepy and tipsy Jungkook into his shoes. “I don’t know hyung. You have an acting degree. Use it.”

A few weeks later, Seokjin held his first stream, nervously engaging with the handful of viewers trickling in and tried to deflect the discomfort he felt in his new spotlight.

“Um, hi everyone. My name’s Jin. Thanks for coming. You can probably tell, but this is my first time and I’m really nervous. I hope you enjoy the show.” 

Seokjin decided to shorten his name for his streams to help him feel like he was embodying a different persona, someone named Jin who may actually be gay. It wasn’t a big change, but it was nice to give himself some separation from Seokjin, the guy who was doing gay for pay to afford a new life.

Unfortunately, Jimin’s suggestion for Seokjin to act wasn’t as easy to implement as he’d hoped. Within the first half hour, viewers of his stream had noticed he was still nervous, and started asking him questions to get him to unwind, and hopefully undress. 

“Ah, yeah, uh, anal. I’ve done it once or twice, it’s nice.” It wasn’t a lie, he’d tried anal a few times with Soon Yi and did find it nice, but he also knew that this wasn’t what the question was asking. 

“Do I have a boyfriend? No, I’m single.” 

Slowly he began undressing, the heat of his half-truths causing him to feel like he was burning up. 

“Are you really gay? Well, what kind of question is that? I’m here aren’t I?” 

That question seemed to satisfy his audience for another half hour, until a new thread of people trickled in, asking him the same questions. He was running out of ways to answer.

I don’t care if you’re straight. You’re still hot. 

When he read this comment, he exhaled deeply. And from that one reaction, a flurry of others joined in. 

Yeah, idc either. You’re still so pretty. 

So hot if u were straight. Maybe I’d convert u. ;)

I’d let you put it into my ass and let you pretend it was a pussy.

For some reason, these comments began to fuel him. The attention was kind of nice. It reminded him of how he used to feel. 

Maybe he didn’t need to act gay to get what he wanted. Maybe he could just enjoy the pleasure of the compliments and company and see what happened from there? The weight he had been carrying around in his chest was feeling a bit lighter, and the comments were helping distract him from the pinches of guilt that he was doing something wrong. Because he wasn’t. 

Here, he was Jin, a sexy, flirty guy who could shine in the sky of his own making. 

Jin, the moon. 

That’s it. He was the moon.

Present

“That’s it, give it to me. Please, I’m gonna cum.” Seokjin hoped the words he moaned at his camera were true. He was so tired, and he wanted to be free from the stupid dildo.  

Lately, Seojkin has been having a hard time cumming on stream. He wasn’t sure why. For so long it had never been an issue, but streaming had begun feeling less like a fun way to relieve stress and more like an actual job. 

Never before was he so popular with his stream, and while it’s nice to see a larger deposit being made into his bank account each week, every time he came home from the restaurant and knew he was scheduled to do a cam show, his stomach knotted up with dread. 

The last time he felt this feeling was a little over two years ago, when hopping on planes to fly to mundane conferences or sitting in board rooms for morning meetings consumed all his time. Even during the period he was jobless, there was a tiny part of him relishing the fact that the work-related dread was over. 

And it returned with a vengeance. Seokjin tried everything, ventured into new kinks and even the game features of the website with the hope that he would feel the rush he used to love from streaming. But nothing really worked. It was now just his job.

He didn’t even want to stream for so long tonight, but because it was his anniversary, he wanted to make sure he ended on a good note to thank his viewers. 

One thing Seokjin’s viewers loved was seeing him cum. It was the part of his stream when he always earned the most tips. Jimin had been right. 

If Seokjin knew anything now, it’s that he had many assets worth using to finance his life, and his pretty face coupled with his big dick seemed to work for him.

But even as he stroked himself, precum dripping down the head of his cock, and even though he was riding the dildo in a way that would hit his prostate and finally give him an easy out, he could feel the edge pulling away.

“Fuck,” he grunted. He was losing it. He doubled down, rocking his hips to see if hitting a different sweet spot would do the trick. But it was to no avail; his cock was softening.

On his nightstand, his phone pinged, which only could mean one thing. Seokjin always turned his do not disturb mode on during his work hours, only allowing phone calls from his family or one alert from an app to pierce through the silence. This one was the alert.

It meant Y/N was online and you had just started a live stream of your own. 

You were one of this month’s top gaming streamers, bringing in more viewers than Seokjin had ever received during his top months of streaming. You were popular not because you were good, but because you were the exact opposite.

You were awful at most games you played, jolting at jumpscares over and over, losing in first rounds of Fall Guys or Dead by Daylight. One time you jumped into a game of Fortnite and were eliminated by a potty-mouthed child the second you landed. Your jaw hung open as the tiny, high pitched voice called you a bitchass before falling into a fit of laughter that had Seokjin himself in tears. 

You were inspiring. Sexy. You received dozens of comments every stream about how pretty you were or how great your laugh was, which you often didn’t read out loud but always offered a humble nod and show of thanks when you did. There was something about you that hit up the world around you, and though he wouldn’t so much as utter it out loud, Seokjin had a massive crush on you.

But Seokjin was also sort-of-not-really your manager. Unlike all the people pining over you in your comment section wishing they knew you in real life, Seokjin actually did. He saw you three times a week at his family’s restaurant that he was strong-armed into managing while his parents took the opportunity to finally travel and see other parts of the world. 

Seokjin stayed, not because he needed the money. Not that his pay was all that much anyway. 

Camming was incredibly lucrative for him, cementing his income in a way that allowed him to pay rent in a very nice apartment downtown. Seokjin was also someone who had always been smart with his finances and knew how to invest in the best trends. 

When his house with Yoon Si finally sold (after four months of her taking her sweet time to gather her last belongings and sign off on him putting it on the market), Seokjin took his cut and applied it toward a better streaming setup and some lower level stocks…and a special edition MapleStory figurine to celebrate the new chapter in his life. 

Seokjin’s family never seemed to question how he was able to afford his fancy apartment given how much money he made at their business. Well, they did ask once, but Seokjin orchestrated some simple lie saying he worked in cryptocurrency, and that seemed to be enough of an explanation for his family. No one wants to know how crypto works, which in the end worked in his favor. 

He’d planned to leave the restaurant about 8 months ago, but then you showed up one day asking about a job. The restaurant was within walking distance to your university, where you were getting your master’s degree in early childhood education. While the program you were enrolled in had some funding, you’d told Seokjin’s mother you were a student and in need of work. The following Monday, Seokjin walked in and found you with an apron tied around your waist, your bright eyes and smile shining back at him. He couldn’t bring himself to leave after that. 

A few months after you’d started working there, Seokjin and you had become somewhat friends, sharing stories about past jobs (minus some key details on Seokjin’s part), student observations you had to do for school, and your interests. You mentioned casually you were a livestreamer for gaming, never alluding to how popular you actually were.

Eventually, Seokjin convinced you to give him your username, batting his eyelashes dramatically and promising he would be your cheerleader. For some reason, that seemed to work, and later that night, Seokjin tuned in to your stream, one man among the thousands. From that moment on he let his crush become a safe thing where, like his own viewers, he could fantasize from behind a screen. Maybe soon he would actually ask you out on a date, taking your coworker relationship and transforming it into something more.

And then a month ago his parents left, leaving him with the roles and responsibility of manager. Which meant he was an authority figure who could arguably do whatever he wanted. Similar to how his boss in a way was an authority figure who could get whatever he wanted. That idea turned Seokjin’s stomach sour. He could never do anything about this crush now, not while you worked underneath him. It was too familiar and distorted, and he never wanted you to be in the position he was once in. It was completely inappropriate.

But try telling his dick that.  

Two days ago, Seokjin witnessed you in the kitchen bending over to pick up onion peels that had fallen to the ground. You definitely weren’t aware, but your skirt had ridden up a bit while you were working, and that meant he could see a tiniest delicate trim of lace on your blush colored panties. 

And despite the fact that Seokjin was 30 years old and had believed he’d gotten past his boner-in-public-just-from-seeing-underwear era during his teen years, he was evidently wrong. Because those panties and soft looking curve of ass didn’t just belong to anyone; they belonged to you.

This wasn’t the only time he got hard for you at work. Sometimes on days when there were no customers, he would watch you study at one of the tables, where you were prone to stretching your body after long periods of staring down, trying to unknot the tense muscles caused by sitting almost completely still as you tried to comprehend what you were reading. 

During those stretches, you would often let out the most sexual moans and sighs as you felt relief and it was enough to have Seokjin tucking himself under his belt like a horny school boy. God, what he would do to hear you moan underneath him, because of him. 

He thought about recording you stretching. He was addicted to your voice, your soft sighs. It would be so easy to just “leave” his phone in the booth behind you. Then he could hear it forever while he imagined what else made you moan. Did you like your nipples sucked? Did you sigh when you were being stretched open and felt full? How did you taste? 

And then Seokjin pulled himself together and realized how sickeningly perverted he was to be thinking about you like this as he stood hard and aching in the middle of his parents’ fucking restaurant.

He wanted you. So much so that now as he worked his cock in his fist, he let himself fall more into fantasy, one where you were watching, curious about the many toys and gifts around his apartment, wondering how you could reach the limits of what you wanted and needed to make you scream. He imagined that across town, you weren’t firing up your computer for a night of cozy games, but rubbing your pussy at the same speed he was stroking himself, wet and begging for him to cum all over those gorgeous tits, that wet tongue–

Seokjin groaned as he came, his entire body trembling as a thick load erupted all over his hands, chin, and chest. Normally he could control the direction to minimize the mess but this orgasm caught him a bit off guard, almost completely lost until it crept up with a burning need and coated him. He hadn’t felt that good in a while. 

As he panted and focused his eyes back onto the screen, his comments were flooded with praise and tips, viewers exclaiming how this might have been his best orgasm they’ve ever seen, which was saying a lot considering some of his subscribers had been with him from the very beginning, and there had been some pretty fantastic orgasms. 

He wouldn’t deny it, though. He felt looser in his joints, calm washing over him and breaking apart the bitterness that was in his gut from how lackluster streaming had been recently. He wiped his chin with a grin and reached for the towel next to him, ready to wrap up his show. As he delivered his thank yous, one comment drifting through the chat stopped him dead in his tracks. His post-orgasmic high was crashing as panic flittered into his stomach. 

Did you guys hear him moaning a name as he came? Who the fuck is Y/N?

She had to leave. If the king couldn’t overcome his malice, she knew she couldn’t stay. No amount of love she had for his son was going to make him see that. She’d told him she loved him despite the scar that ran over his left eye and down his soft cheek. She vowed to be good enough to marry him, do whatever it took. Yet the king and queen had laughed at her, had their guard hold his foot on her back so she couldn't stand up from her deep bow. 

Laughed as they stood from their thrones to welcome the guest’s arrival: the consort for their son. The prince stood with them, silent as he followed them through the open doors. Quiet like how he used to be back in the first days of when she met him last summer. In memory, she couldn’t even fathom how he was anything like the man she’d grown to love. Yet, looking up from the pulp of the floor, she’d seen him return to that man. 

Hadn’t the days she’d spent walking those palace gardens with him been enough? They’d stood together under the plum blossom tree in the middle of winter and he’d promised that he would love her even while the buds were hibernating. 

“We can watch them become flowers together in the spring,” he’d said. 

He had taken her to his bed that night. Used his sensuous tongue to lap at her sweet nectar. He devoured her heart and soul. Climaxed with her and held her through the heavy snow.

Where was that man now? She didn’t know.

She waited until well after nightfall, when even the latest bird twitterings were silenced by the call of sleep. She knew she couldn’t bring much, but she managed to slip into the kitchen after dinner to pull together a few scraps for the road. Where would she even go? The nearest village was at least a two-day walk and if he sent his men for her, she knew word would spread before she’d even arrived. 

Unless he didn’t send anyone for her, she realized, her stomach dropping with nausea. He wouldn’t send anyone for her. She knew this. It’s why Prince August stood in the throne room, lethal as ever, even with no sword in his belt. August. Sugar. Whichever person he decided he was in the moment. Her nickname for him didn’t matter anymore. He wasn’t sweet. His desire for power showed the bitterness in his heart. He had given in to his parents’ wishes, despite the times he swore he would never give them the satisfaction.

He was cruel. But even worse, she believed he wouldn’t be. She was a fool.

It was the darkest part of the night when she left the servant’s quarters. She’d miss the ladies and all their kindness, but she knew she couldn’t serve August his breakfast in his bedchamber after this. After knowing that the sheets she once laid in with him were now being laid in by someone else. 

She took the back route, near the interior of the garden, ducking behind the ornamental shrubs and skirting past the watchpost the guards usually abandoned at this hour with ease. All that was left was to make it through the courtyard and she would be free. 

She padded her way along the path. A light breeze of the pre-dawn was catching, fluttering the branches of the newly blossoming trees around her and blowing petals in their wake. She caught one in her fingertips and fought a sob. Plum blossoms.

Should she take one with her? For the memory? So that she could always have a part of him with her? 

No, she decided. It would be too much to remember this. Once she passed through those gates, she would not be the same woman she was. Holding her breath, she let the petal go, hoping wherever the wind carried it, it would find the peace she too was looking for. It swept to the end of the courtyard, over the gate that was now her future. 

This was a sign, she mourned. Not all promises were meant to be kept.

With a final look at the place she’d learned to call home, the man she’d learned to call home, she opened the gate, ready to forge into the unknown. 

“Petal,” she thought she heard his call, his nickname for her. Though when she turned around, he was nowhere to be found. 

She must’ve imagined it, wished for the impossible. As she took steps through the gate, she looked out at the world around her, the plum petal a few feet in front of her. Maybe she would take a piece of him with her, after all. It was too tempting not to. 

She moved, trying to ignore the tug she felt back toward the palace, the invisible string of fate she thought that tied her to August trying to tangle her back in. She wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t go back. 

She bent down, clutching the petal tenderly in her palms and letting the first tears fall. 

“So that’s it, hm? After all that, you weren’t even going to wish me goodbye.” 

She rose swiftly, whipping around to the voice’s owner. 

There, leaning against the outer palace wall, was August. 

The alarm on your phone chimes, pulling you from the book in your lap. You’ve been reading all afternoon, the sun now taking its final bow before plunging the world into darkness. Soon you’ll have to turn the lights on, then it will be time for work. On your only day off. 

You groan, stretching your neck as you allow yourself to come back to reality. 

To some, it would be hard to call your job “work”. Many people dreamed of being professional game streamers. Who wouldn’t want to be paid to sit online, play games, and talk to people? 

You don’t. That’s the problem. 

Your ascent into gaming stardom was a fluke. About 9 months ago, you were in between semesters for your grad program and looking for ways to unwind. Your oldest friend, Wonwoo, was a pretty successful streamer who often hosted game nights to play with his viewers and friends. 

You frequently watched his streams, letting his soft voice be the perfect background noise as you studied and formulated the next lesson plan or behavioral assessment. You’d known Wonwoo for what felt like forever at this point, being his first subscriber, first moderator, and first kiss (not in that order). But your middle school kiss outside of the convenience store never led to anything more than that, as desperately as you’d wanted it to. 

Once he moved across the country, you let your crush die with the distance. The years turned faster and your twenties were spinning by with the revolving door of lovers you’d watch him pine over, cry over, and in one case, almost marry. Streaming then became one of your main forms of connection, and your role as his moderator tied some part of you to him out of loyalty. To imagine him as anything other than a friend now feels ridiculous. 

But that loyalty you have is also to a fault. When Wonwoo’s usual streaming friends bailed one night during a tournament, you subbed in…for a game you didn’t even know how to play. 

And to make matters worse, this was a game that required talking to each other on-stream, which meant you not only sucked major ass at this game, but Wonwoo’s 700 viewers that day were also subjected to your constant frustrated squeaks, swears, and embarrassed maws as you tried to key-smash your way to victory but ended up throwing the entire team’s game with your incompetence. 

Wonwoo wasn’t mad, though many others were. He knew what he was getting into when he agreed, and his streams operated with very few rules: no hate, no spam, and we are in this to have fun. And he did have fun. By the time the first round was over, he and most of the chat were losing it over your commentary. 

As he wiped tears from eyes and took in a breath, he read his comments. “‘Damn, I never heard a chick threaten someone with a plunger like that before’. Yeah, I’ll give it to you, Y/N, you got really creative with your insults in that. Hey, PartyShitty thanks for the sub! ‘I can’t BREATHE’, yeah I’m still trying to get it together. W00000000000000000ziiiiii–damn that’s a lot of zeros in that username–thanks for the 5000 points! ‘Is she hot’ uh, I mean, I don’t— 

“Oh shit, LetsGetIt15, thank you for gifting twenty subs! ‘Please, Y/N, start your own channel. I’ll be the first subscriber.’ Actually, no, I’ll be. But really, that's not a bad idea.”

Wonwoo navigated the rest of his stream with ease that night, but after it was over, he called you to try to convince you to start your own channel. 

“It could help with school at least! Or you could get that special edition of that one book you like with the dragons or the blue alien porn stars or whatever it is.”

“They’re neither of those things, they’re actually–”

“Whatever they are! The book that has people fucking nonstop and some plot. You know, the special edition cover that you keep talking about in your close friend story that you won’t buy?” Wonwoo said. “The point is, if you start streaming you could finally buy it and then stop talking about it and I won’t need to see sections about how hot you think their alien or fairytale or demon whatever cocks are.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at his exasperation. “That won’t stop with me getting that book, just so you know. And if it bothers you so much, I can take you out of the close friend story. I didn’t even know you looked at my stories that much.” You didn’t know he still used Instagram at all actually. He very rarely posted. He mostly lived on his Discord channel talking about games with his subscribers or other friends.

Regardless, it was nice to know that he was trying to be aware of your interests, even if it was incredibly embarrassing. Although the copious amount of smut you read wasn’t something you always wanted to broadcast to the public, you’d still made some friends from online book communities over the last few years and enjoyed keeping them in the loop of your reading list.

Also, Wonwoo had a point. Streaming could help paying some of your school expenses…or get you more books. You told him you’d think about it, and while you weren’t completely in love with the idea of streaming, it did provide you with some steady income until you landed your job at the restaurant.  

After that conversation, you haven’t discussed smut or cocks since, and you’re honestly relieved, not because Wonwoo is hard to talk to about things, but because you are. Which is why streaming always feels a little uncomfortable and your position ironic, because you can barely have conversations successfully unless you really know the person to ramble about your interests to, or you can occasionally eke by with small talk. 

But streaming requires the spotlight being on you in some way at all times. It’s your face that is fixed to the corner of the screen, monitoring your every reaction. It’s your voice that echoes into the mic and responds to your chat. Sure, you have mods and some streamers don’t interact with their chat at all, but you don’t want to be like that. You’ve been on the other side before, and know that most people are just lonely and looking for connection. . 

From the moment you decided to do this, you were aware that because you were now a “gamer girl” you would be subjected to the three extremes of the comment section: chronic oversharers who tell strangers all their personal baggage perhaps in the hope that you will assume some role of therapist to them, people coming to insult your gaming (which is the point so that can’t impact you) or physical appearance, or sexually explicit comments. 

Over the months, you’ve seen many things flitting by on the screen, deleted in haste by your trusty mod squad, but it doesn’t stop the fact that you still see them. 

Those things you can handle. They are impersonal and a direct copy-paste of the same thing.

But when people compliment you? That makes you want to bury yourself under your covers and never come out. Because the compliments are always personal and touching a part of you that is authentic.

The people in your chat want to know you. They want to know what kind of music you like, your favorite foods and books. They ask if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or partner, compliment your hair or the shirt you’re wearing or your gaming setup. It feels intimate. Almost like you could find these people and touch them and let them know you. 

But they can’t. Because the only thing that drew them to you, the part where you’re this funny, positive gamer chick who sucks at video games but is down for whatever, isn’t real. 

Spring Day Streams Y/N is a persona. You don’t stream because you’re her. You stream because you have to be her in order to survive.  

And now she’s taking up more time. Last month’s streams landed you Streamer of the Month, which thanks to the exposure, brought dozens of new subscribers and thousands of points, and that helped take care of some of your expenses for the new semester. Some. You’re still behind on your credit card bill. 

Also, more people means more expectations for streaming. So you’ve kicked up your streaming schedule from twice weekly to three times a week, with you occasionally hopping onto Wonwoo’s channel even if you aren’t streaming to mod. 

When you aren’t glued to your computer, you’re usually at the restaurant, in a cramped kitchen where you do the prep work, often alongside him, your sexy coworker-but-now-boss, Seokjin. 

The man you are quietly obsessed with. You can’t think about Kim Seokjin without thinking about all the positions you want him to fuck you in. 

Which is also why you’ve been devouring books lately. When you’re home, you throw all your energy into the escapism they provide, especially ones where you can get yourself off to whatever fantasy Seokjin effortlessly slips into. 

For every hot mob boss, corrupt CEO, longterm best friend, dragon-rider, fairy, demon, alien, ghost, or hockey playing love interest you can find, Seokjin is sure to fill the role. A hot merman looking for someone to help him grow legs and something else? Seokjin. A Grinch who inherits his family’s Christmas tree farm and discovers how much he loves to ho ho ho? Seokjin. A god who tears apart the underworld to find his lost lover, and then during the reunion fucks her on the throne of Satan while she wears the crown? All Seokjin. 

Unfortunately, his transition from co worker to boss has made your fantasies all the more dirty. 

It’s been incredibly difficult for you to handle the fact that any flirtation you two previously shared in the months before he was your boss can no longer continue. But it’s also incredibly hot.

Fantasies of him eating you out on the counter have been replaced with the fantasy of him shoving you in the back office and fucking you on the desk while wearing one of those perfect-fitting dress shirts he often parades around in. 

And when he rolls up the sleeves to help in the kitchen? Fuck, it’s humiliating how wet you get.

The entire thing is pathetic really. He’s just standing there half the time, lecturing everyone on proper kitchen hygiene and ensuring one of the cooks doesn’t use expired seasonings for his eomma’s secret sauce. 

And you’re standing next to him clenching your thighs together because when you’re this close, you can just make out the freshness of his cologne and feel the heat of his body close to yours. 

When someone fucks up, he has a tendency to take over, chopping with unmatched precision and self assurance, trying to keep his voice even and usually failing as everything builds in intensity until he’s accidentally speaking at a million miles an hour and lecturing until his face turns red. 

If someone were to pass by the shop, they’d probably mistake his shouting for anger, but you’ve come to understand Seokjin is just passionate about things. Usually when he comes down from his tangent, he’s embarrassed and apologizes, and not long after the entire staff is laughing along with him as he cracks a joke at himself for his inability to tone it down.

Which to you makes him even hotter. Seokjin is able to see his faults and work with them, not against them. He holds himself accountable. He’s nothing like the haughty men you’ve gone on brief dinners with after downloading dating apps for the hundredth time while you’re drunk. He’s actually funny, knowing the right way to use humor and tell jokes, never at someone else’s expense, and definitely without being disgustingly crude. 

All those clowns you suffered through drinks with always made comments and digs at other women or referenced their cock like they were setting up some goofy scene from porn and you would find it hilarious and endearing. 

Seokjin isn’t like that at all. He probably refers to his dick as a penis and would blush to high heavens if he knew how horny you are for him. He’s unwound you, and he has no clue. Maybe if it hadn’t been literal years since you’ve last had sex you could tone it down. 

With working all the time and going to school, it’s already been hard to even go on singular dates here and there. And since the prospects were frankly awful, sex is just something that has had to go onto the back burner for a bit, but you seemed to scorch the fucking pan by forgetting to turn the heat off and now you are burning and hungry. 

With a final sigh, you put the book down, annoyed that you didn’t have time to finish it today or at least get to a good part where you could insert yourself into the role of the palace servant and Seokjin as the Prince. Based on the reviews, there’s sure to be a hot sex scene coming up involving using a sword in a particular way that has piqued your curiosity. 

In a moment of depravity earlier, you’d snaked one hand down the front of your panties to rub a few damp fingers around your clit to take the edge off. 

You check the time on your phone, already aware that you don’t have time to cum before streaming. You already hit the snooze button twice. The spicy stuff will have to wait. 

Defeated, you stand up, turning on the lights in your apartment as the sun finally fades away and the dark creeps in. You eat a bowl of cereal while doing your makeup, what little of it you want to put on. Finally, you fire up your PC, trying to ignore the irritation you’re already experiencing from being so high strung and unsatisfied.

The second this stream is over, you’re going to make sure you cum until you pass out. Until then, it’s time for work.

“At what point am I supposed to become good at this again?” You ask Seokjin as you attempt (and fail) to julienne carrots. 

When you arrived at work at an ungodly hour this morning to prep for the weekend rush, Seokjin had already started the coffee. 

Your empty cup now idles next to your scrap pile of too-wide carrot blocks that’ll have to be pulverized by the blender and repurposed in another recipe. 

Seokjin chuckles as he buzzes about the kitchen, reaching tenderly around you to grab your mug for a refill. 

“That all depends on how much you practice.”

“So should I expect a large carton of carrots to be delivered to my home this evening with the instructions to have them julienned by Monday?” You tease, as you split another carrot down the center, half of it flinging off the prep counter and onto the floor. 

Seokjin smirks and bends down. He picks up the carrot and deposits it into the garbage bin. “Two cartons, actually. Given how many carrots we’ve lost already today, I need to make sure at least some of our inventory lands on the customer’s plate and not just into the trash.”

“How considerate of you,” you chide, and put down the knife, reaching out to accept your newly filled coffee mug. Seokjin’s hands are red from the constant washing and chopping of potatoes, which you recently learned he’s allergic to. 

As well as garlic, and you’ve already voluntarily peeled and minced that for the day. That much you can do without guidance, but anything besides your imprecise chopping is on the list of knife skills Seokjin wants you to improve upon. 

This is fair, given how dangerous your previous cutting methods have been. Once Seokjin saw the way you tried to stab at a watermelon, it was over. Now you often come in an hour and a half early before each shift to practice. 

And to also be alone with Seokjin before he is forced from the kitchen to deal with other duties. 

“Thank you,” you say, as you take the first warm sip and shiver. It’s freezing outside, and it’s only supposed to get worse. 

There’s snow forecasted for the weekend, which could mean one of two things: everyone stays home and avoids driving, or they all leave the house in one show of silent agreement and fill every nook and cranny of the restaurant to order bowls of sundubu jjigae or crisp and hot pajeon. 

Seokjin predicts that because a warm front is moving in afterward, people will utilize one of the only days of snow you’ll likely get this winter to gather together.

Valentine’s Day is soon, and the city has started to prepare. Storefronts have begun switching out new year sale signs for pink and red heart motifs, with spas and restaurants offering couple specials. The perfumeries have moved from campaigns advertising the perfect Christmas gift to ones of sexy, decadent colognes sure to transform a man into his inner beast. 

And then there’s the chocolate. It’s like the air in the neighborhood the restaurant resides in smells different, less greasy and grimy and more sweet. Everywhere you turn there’s pastries, cakes, bonbons, crepes, chocolate dipped nuts and other confections that just looking at makes your teeth sore. 

With the district washing itself in a pink glow, more and more couples have been braving the cold, landing in the restaurant after weighing themselves down with shopping bags. 

You’ve seen what’s in them, often tripping over or kicking at least one bag each shift while you attempt to bring an order to the table and spilling the contents. This year seems to be popular for matching couple outfits. You’ve seen a lot of pairs in their early twenties wearing or recently acquiring sweaters that have the same characters or color combinations. With the temperatures dipping into a bitter chill this week, some have elected to wear cute but inconvenient sets of mittens that allow them to hold hands as they stroll. 

When it snows in the city, the world gets quieter, cleaner. Even if people shuffle around in the bustle of novelty experiences, how they show their love, from brushing the snow off each other’s coats or taking kissing selfies in front of snow fallen trees, it always makes you feel a little softer, a little more at peace. 

Snow is really romantic.

“What?” Seokjin asks, which alerts you to the fact that you’ve been staring at him as you let your thoughts run, a dopey grin splattered across your face. 

“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about how much I love the snow.” You break eye contact, feeling the heat of embarrassment flood your cheeks. 

“Ah, yeah. It’s supposed to start soon,” he looks at you thoughtfully before looking back down at the tofu blocks he’s draining. 

A silence falls on you, the once normal pause now becoming a bit awkward. 

“What do–”

“I just–”

You both stumble over each other, trying to fill the unnatural pause you’ve reached, which has you laughing and Seokjin cracking a wide grin. 

“What were you going to say?” he asks, and then motions for you to get back to your carrot desecrating. 

“Ah nothing. You were going to ask something?”

You slice a carrot, this time less match stick and more shaved. Damn. 

“Oh, um. I was going to ask you what you like about the snow. That thought kind of came from nowhere and I was trying to follow.” His voice is careful, as if he’s trying not to offend you. Is he nervous?

Your mouth draws into a thin line. Can you risk saying what you were just thinking? Is it inappropriate to talk about romance in front of your boss, who you’ve thought about kissing in the snow at least three times a day? You don’t want to make him uncomfortable. You’re aware of the ways in which Seokjin’s new position of authority weighs on him. 

While he’s always had more authority due to being the owners’ son, it isn’t like Seokjin walked around the place with a power complex before his promotion. You two had become something akin to friends in the months you’ve worked together, falling into occasional flirty banter as you shuffled around each other to mop floors or wash dishes. 

You know he used to work for a large company a few years ago but quit to help his family with their restaurant. You also know he loves MapleStory and is always showing you his newest splurge from their online shop or the latest piece to his collection. 

He doesn’t have any pets, but sometimes debates getting a dog and then when shown support, he dismisses it with boisterous laughter, talking about how he doesn’t have the time and if he ever wants to get a dog, he will have to buy a house. Usually once he lands on discussions of a house, he gets a little more quiet, perhaps a bit sad.  

He has an older brother who has one child and another on the way, a major reason for his parents’ decision to travel now, before the new baby arrives. His brother and brother’s wife have visited a few times while you were working, but Seokjin’s mother had mentioned that her son and his wife recently moved into a new house outside of the city, and with the new addition joining sometime in the spring, it can be a bit exhausting to pack up the car for a few hours of visiting time. 

While you haven’t experienced Seokjin as an uncle, you know how much he loves being one, excusing himself from the front of the shop to Facetime with his nephew from the back office, where you can hear his voice carry with high pitched impressions and jokes or random songs he babbles to the youngest Kim. 

Knowing him in this way feels a bit awkward now that he’s the one signing your paychecks. Since his transition, he’s been a bit more formal with you, you assume trying to be respectful and professional. 

You understand where he’s coming from, but you miss the past connection you two had formed. And that seems to dictate your response. 

“I like how romantic snow is. How it not only makes the lights twinkle more, but how people do cute things in it. Snowball fights, drinking hot chocolate, building snowmen. They change their behaviors for the snow. To celebrate love in it. Last time it snowed here, I saw one girl push her boyfriend into a snowbank.”

Seokjin laughs as he begins popping the tofu blocks into containers. “That sounds awful,” he says. 

Your heart plummets. “Oh,” you squeak. 

His head darts up to catch your expression and his eyes flash. “Oh, no no! Not like that. I mean, being pushed into the snowbank. That poor guy was probably soaking wet and freezing after that!” He waves his knife in his hand wildly with his gesture and then quickly deposits it into a sheath before stepping over to your workstation. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.” 

You recover. “Oh he was. He also got his revenge by pulling her in with him. And she wasn’t even wearing a coat.”

You watch Seokjin’s tense shoulders relax. His broad frame is so close now, towering over you. He smells a little like the earthy starch of potatoes, but you like it. 

“I, uh,” he says, his voice becoming more raw. “I like the snow too. You’re right, it is romantic in a way. The snowflakes getting caught in your hair, you huddle closer to someone to share body heat, it’s nice.”

As if on cue, your bodies inch a little closer to each other. Seokjin reaches his arm forward, brushing along yours as he grasps one edge of the workstation to lean in. 

“Yeah,” you reply lamely. 

You blink up at him and he smiles back. You both sit there for a moment, neither of you moving, just studying the other’s expression. 

Then, he leans in.

Your breath catches, and his other arm lifts up above you on the other side, caging you to the workstation.

Your eyes close from the intensity. He’s so close that you feel the fabric of his rolled shirt sleeve graze against your cheek. 

All it would take is him leaning in and searing his lips onto yours and you would fold for him. You know this.  

This is what you often fantasize about, the two of you in this position. That’s the power he has over you, his smooth seduction, your willingness. 

If he asked you right now, you would strip down and bend over this workstation, let him fuck you with your nipples brushing against the cold steel of the counter, carrot shavings squishing against your face as he impales you with his cock. 

It would be so easy, he just needs to ask you. 

“Y/N,” he says, a bit more distant now, but you shudder at how roughly he says your name. 

“Mm?” you hum, forcing your eyes to reopen. Seokjin has pulled away from you. How long has he been just looking at you standing here with your eyes closed?  

“Turn around,” he says. 

Wait, what? 

You stare back at him blankly. Is he reading your mind? 

Seokjin rolls his eyes and laughs, holding up the package of dried seaweed that was above you on the shelf. He tosses it on the counter behind him.

“Are you still here or did I lose you? I said turn around.” You freeze, confused. 

He did all that to reach above you for some seaweed? Is he fucking with you? And what does he want you to turn around for? 

“Wha–”

You open your mouth to ask but Seokjin moves in, his hands on your wrists as he takes you and spins you around so you’re up against your workstation, his stomach resting on your back as you stand sandwiched against him and the cold counter. You clench your thighs, suddenly aware that you are wet. 

Fuck.  

“You need to focus,” he says low in your ear. You take a shaky breath. 

Focus. How are you supposed to focus when you imagined this exact scenario exactly one minute ago? 

“I, what?” Your words fail you as you stand there, stunned and aroused but also completely confused about what he wants from you. This entire situation is a mindfuck. 

Seokjin’s hands leave your wrists and make their way to your hands as he moves you like a puppet. 

“Y/N, were you even paying attention? We just went over this. God, I swear, I’ve told you. You need to be present in the kitchen space. You’re lucky I resheathed the knife for you while you were on another planet. You could have easily gotten hurt.” Seokjin scolds you overhead. 

Oh. You look to the right and see the kitchen knife you were using back in its protective shell and not where you left it, which, come to think of it, was incredibly close to where your hands were now on the counter under Seokjin’s. Yikes. 

“Sorry,” you mutter, feeling a prick of shame seeping through the fog. Seokjin isn’t trying to fuck you against the counter; he’s trying to make sure you don’t cut your finger off. 

He tuts above you, his grip still firm as he directs you to the uncut carrots and chopping board. 

“Tsk, honestly. You’re ridiculous. What am I going to do if my best girl is hospitalized after losing her hand because she’s too busy daydreaming about snow storms instead of having basic kitchen awareness? You know, I could send you home over this. Make you unable to come back until you rewatch those kitchen safety videos with the fake blood and awful actors. Seriously.” 

You shiver at his words. He’s so busy setting up for a rant, you almost miss it. 

“Your best girl?” You ask lightly. 

Seokjin stills, your joined hands hovering over the cutting board. “Oh, uh. You know what I mean. You’re the best….girl we have on staff. You know.”

You don’t. You’re far from the best girl on staff. Seha has a degree in culinary arts. She’s usually the one who has everything prepped days ahead with perfectly formed cuts. She manages the kitchen cleanliness with rigidness. She even barks orders at Seokjin when he’s in the kitchen because he isn’t as clean as her. 

If she wasn’t out with the flu, none of this work would even need to be done. Maybe Seokjin is getting sick too. He’s been feverish looking and a little uneasy around you all morning, and clearly he’s now being delusional.

“Ah,” you concede, and give your hands a shake to urge him to continue. 

“Right, anyway. You’re getting better at your cuts, but I’m losing money quickly with all your sacrifices to the floor goblins. And we don’t have much time left before the others start coming in, so let’s finish this up.” 

You let Seokjin guide you, literally hand-over-hand, as he restructures your positioning on the knife and angle of the blade to slice through the carrots a lot more cleanly and easily. 

“That’s it, good. You’re doing such a good job,” he breathes. 

You feel his exhale along your spine. God, you’re a pervert. He’s just trying to help you better yourself, and all you’re thinking about is how dominating he seems right now and how much you want to please him. 

God, if he calls you a good girl you know you’re going to moan audibly. That’s how bad he’s got you.

You keep working, and once you get the hang of it, Seokjin’s grip loosens, allowing you to finish the bag by yourself. But his hands are still on yours, even if you’re the one in control. 

After a while though, it’s becoming too much to handle. Him bent over you like this is limiting your range of motion, making it hard to wipe the sweat on your hands or move your scrap pile further down the counter. 

He’s also a human furnace, the space between you still so limited that you’ve begun sweating under him. 

In one particular cut of carrot, the sweat caused by the joint heat of your hands causes you to lose your grip, shooting it down onto the floor. 

Reflexively, you reach down to grab it, but with Seokjin still attached to you, it proves to be an immediate disaster. 

You throw your body into a bend, which forces you back, your ass grinding directly into Seokjin and being met with something very large. 

You gasp and Seokjin grunts, swiftly releasing your hands, which are actually balancing you in your bend. 

You fall forward, smacking your head into the edge of the counter as you go down. 

The kitchen echoes with an embarrassing clang as your forehead ricochets off the metal. 

“Fuck,” you groan, a sharp pain shooting through you.. 

You scramble to recover, one hand going to your head as you steady yourself, rubbing the soreness. Seokjin flails above you, panicked. 

“Oh shit! Y/N I’m so sorry! Oh my god. Are you okay? I shouldn’t have let go, I just was–” Seokjin rambles as you stare up at him, trying to get him to steel himself. 

“No, fuck, ouch, it’s okay! I’m okay. Seokjin, can you please just get me some ice and help me up?” You aren’t sure you can get yourself up as your vision swirls from the heat of the pain. You really went down hard. 

Seokjin ceases his flailing and shouting, leaning down and picking your body up off the floor with impressive strength and carrying you to a clean workstation in the center of the room. He sits you on top of it, making you now almost his height. 

Holy shit.

Once sure you’re not at risk of flopping over, he walks over to the ice maker with a clean kitchen cloth and folds some ice cubes inside. 

You reach for the cloth, but he refuses to hand it over. 

“Yah! No. Please let me do this, I can see the bump forming already. I’m the one who caused your injury.” He gingerly lays the cold cloth against your head. You wince. 

“‘Snot your fault,” you pout, trying to ignore the pain. “It was an accident. No one caused it.” 

Seokjin sighs and places his free hand behind your head, discouraging you from angling away like you’ve subconsciously been doing. 

“It is my fault. I let go of you. After just lecturing you about kitchen safety. God, what kind of example am I setting? I’m really sucking at this boss thing.” 

You reach up, placing your hand on Seokjin’s wrist to remove it from the ice. But he doesn’t relent. You keep your hold. 

“Seokjin, you’re not a bad boss. God you’re literally the opposite. Everyone here loves you. You’ve only been the manager for a little while. Give yourself some time. And keep in mind both of your parents ran this place, and now it’s down to just you.” 

You feel the tendons under his wrist adjust, his grip a little looser. Seokjin’s wrists are soft and tan, a thin coating of hair trailing up his forearms and under his sleeve. Your grip loosens too, and you let your thumb brush back and forth through the hair. 

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t supposed to be the manager. My brother was supposed to manage the restaurant when my parents were ready to retire. That was always the plan, anyway. But things change. When they were getting their apartment ready for my nephew to arrive, I think they realized how tight space can be living in the city. We grew up in an apartment complex not too far from here and it always felt like we were on top of each other. 

“Which, we kind of were. My brother and I shared this tiny room that had bunk beds, and we lived that way until he went away to college. I used to always smack my head against the ceiling when I was a teenager and woke up in the middle of the night. My forehead would get huge bruises on it, probably a lot like the one you’re going to have on your head.” He frowns. 

“I guess my brother didn’t want to see his kids living like that either. I never minded it so much, but maybe that’s because I was the younger one. Not having any privacy during puberty or dealing with me during puberty was probably a nightmare for him.”

You shoot him a sympathetic smile. “It was nice of you to take over on his behalf then. I know you used to work for major companies in the business district downtown. This must have felt like a sacrifice.” 

Seokjin’s arm falls away from your head, your soft caress pulling away with it. He sets the cloth down next to you. He worries his bottom lip into his mouth and then shakes his head. 

“No, it was never like that. I’m sure eomma filled everyone and their brother’s ears with stuff about me. ‘Seokjin is our business minded son! He’ll make a great leader!’ ‘Seokjin is talented in the kitchen and spent his whole life working for us. We trained him well!’ ‘Don’t worry about him abusing his power. He knows exactly how it is for everyone!’” Seokjin’s says, his voice inotating the same pattern of his mother. 

“Well, she wasn’t wrong. You are all those things,” you argue, lacing your fingers in his. You know it’s not necessarily appropriate behavior between a boss and his employee, but at this moment, you’d argue Seokjin needs a friend more than anything. 

“I’m not, though, Y/N. I didn’t sacrifice anything to do this. It wasn’t some great act of loyalty where the son with a promising future gives up his dream for his family business. In fact I had to beg my parents to let me work here! Because I, their failure of a son, lost everything and had nowhere else to go! And the shit I ended up doing to even keep myself afloat…I’m not a great leader. I’m nothing more than a fraud.”

Seokjin rakes his free hand through his hair. 

“I had a good life before this Y/N. A good job, a nice house, a fi-...just..I was living a dream that I no longer have for myself is all. But at the time I was on top of the world and now I feel like such a fucking failure.” 

Seokjin looks like he’s falling apart, eyes darting madly as he shifts around, suddenly transforming into nothing like his usual cool, goofy self. 

You need to stop this from getting worse. To distract him and stop him from talking himself into a pit of despair. If Seokjin’s mouth is occupied somehow, he can’t continue with all the negative self-talk. 

A stupid idea flashes in your head. You don’t even think before you roll with it. 

“Jesus, I can’t even manage properly. I messed up Mino’s paycheck a few weeks ago and I’m still not sure how it happened. I’m just not–”

Your lips connect with Seokjin’s, your legs wrapping around his waist to tug him closer as you move your body against his. Seokjin returns the kiss in earnest, parting his mouth to welcome your tongue as you lap the words out of his mouth. 

His plush lips feel so soft against yours, his taste a bit bitter from the coffee you both drank earlier, but you find yourself craving more of it, sucking his bottom lip into your mouth with the hope that maybe you can absorb it. 

Seokjin groans in response, gripping your hand tighter, his other settling on your lower back as he pulls you closer. If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear every atom in your body is vibrating at a higher frequency from his touch. You want to feel him everywhere. 

You break the kiss, and see Seokjin’s eyelids are heavy, almost like he’s drunk. You’re about to move back in, to tongue along his sweaty, long neck, suck on his protruding Adam’s apple. 

That’s when you hear it. The slam of the back door as your coworkers arrive.

Seokjin jolts back, breaking the hold you have around his waist with your legs. 

His mouth looks a little red and swollen. And his eyes are wide, panic flashing across his face. 

“I–I’m sorry!” 

Before you can reassure him, tell him that you’re the one who should be sorry, you started this, who crossed this line between boss and employee by kissing him, Seokjin bolts from the kitchen. 

You sit for a minute, stunned, and then look around, taking in the scene around you. The carrot shavings all over the counter, the discarded one still on the floor. Your knife is unsheathed again. There’s containers of tofu and seaweed just abandoned in a pile next to a large pot. 

And you can feel the puddle forming under you from where the ice has begun to melt. What the fuck just happened? What mess did you just get yourself into? 

The rest of your shift, you’re anxious. Especially because you’re short-staffed due to the weather forecast, which has led to three call-outs from people who commute from across town. That means you’re performing multiple roles: taking orders, bussing tables, seating customers, and getting appetizers, drinks, and side dishes ready for each group of people coming through the door. 

Seokjin was right in his prediction; you guys are slammed. And because there’s less staff, that means Seokjin is orbiting around you, following behind with cleaning rags as you finish bussing or running into you in the narrow doorway as you both attempt to fetch an order from the kitchen. You’re both flushed and sweating, the hairs on the back of your neck now matted down. 

Your mind is swirling around that kiss and its consequences, but you don’t have time to lose focus; the minute you finish one thing, you’re pulled into another task for a temporary distraction.

Only to be thrust back into the reminder of this morning when Seokjin lightly caresses the small of your back as he squeezes behind you to grab more plates. 

If either of you ever need a break, you don’t say so, only pausing in between rushes to pee, take a bite of something, and chug water before you’re thrown back out into the mess. 

Finally, after you elect to work a double, it’s closing time.

“Y/N!” Seokjin calls you from the front as you scrub the grime off a stack of dirty dishes.

Your pulse quickens. You’re the last one here. The storm kicked up an hour ago, and since you live the closest, you shoved your coworkers out the door so they could get home before the roads were a mess. 

You dry your hands on your messy apron, pulling out your phone and wincing at the slew of missed calls, texts and notifications. You were supposed to stream again tonight with a bunch of other girl gamers as a part of a “Galentine's Day” collab, playing dating simulation games as a warm up before jumping into some first person shooters. 

You’d reached out to cancel once you saw the stress tugging at Seokjin’s face, his jaw set, his brow constantly furrowed. While the other streamers were completely understanding, you still have a ton of notifications from your social channels asking if you are okay and some texts from Wonwoo and a few other friends asking the same. 

You’ll fill them in later. But now, you have to face Seokjin. 

He’s sitting at a freshly wiped-down table, counting the drawers and preparing the deposit slip. 

He ushers you over and gestures at the stack of cash, silently asking you to verify his numbers. You comply, the room silent less the shuffling of bills or coins under your fingertips and your habitual mouthing of the numbers to ensure you don’t lose count. 

He nods at your final calculation, jotting the number down on the sheet and placing the bills together. You turn and begin to head back to the kitchen. 

“Wait,” he says, and you freeze. 

Your stomach is quickly turning into a bundle of knots. You suck your lips into your mouth as you spin back around, Seokjin’s eyes meeting yours. 

“I…” Seokjin takes a deep breath before continuing. “Listen. I’m really sorry about this morning. Today’s just been a whole mess and I really shouldn’t have been airing my frustrations to an employee like that. It was inappropriate and immature. I know better than to behave this way.”

Did you say your stomach was in knots? You mean it’s filled with heavy, sickening lead. “Oh, right. Uh, don’t. I mean, I started it. I just…you were panicking and I didn’t know what to do and I thought maybe this would help.” 

Seokjin’s brow furrows, a frown on his face. “Why are you apologizing when I’m clearly the one in the wrong here? Ah, no let me finish! I’ve always prided myself on my professionalism and ability to keep personal matters out of my work. And I failed in doing so, which takes advantage of you since I’m your superior. You not only felt a need to comfort me but also stop me from spinning out. I’m truly sorry Y/N, about the oversharing and the um, kiss. I definitely gave into my emotions in a moment of weakness. Please forgive me, I promise I will never touch you again. This won’t happen again.” 

His head droops and he looks down, clearly ashamed.

Oh. So he doesn’t want this. Which, why would he? He’s right in that he’s your boss, and clearly Seokjin values his reputation and his job because they’re a reflection of not just him, but his family. Why risk that with someone like you?

You swallow the lump in your throat along with any response. There is the boundary, you know better than to cross it. 

As you move again, Seokjin rises from the table. “Y/N…you know what? You go home. The storm is really coming down.”

“But, there’s still mopping and all those dishes left,” you croak. Your voice is so hoarse from being dehydrated and talking all day that you barely recognize it as your own. 

“Don’t worry about those. You look and sound exhausted. It’s not your job to take care of everything. Go home, enjoy your romantic snowy trek,” he smirks, “and get some much needed rest. You’ve more than earned it.”

When you arrive home, your body slugs onto your bed, finally giving into the fatigue you’ve ignored all day. Your feet ache, your stomach now settled enough from your walk that you are starving. And you smell awful. 

As much as you want to fall asleep, you know that you at the very least need to eat something. 

With a groan, you rise, hobbling to your kitchen to make some instant ramyeon. The collab stream is now over, you learned this while finally checking your phone on your way home and seeing a thank you message blasted out by one of the streamers. Oh well. 

You suppose you could get back to your book, see what Prince August and his lover are getting up to in their reunion, but that seems like more brain power than you’re willing to give. 

You elect to eat, then take a shower, rinsing the grime of the day off you. When you step out of the shower, you see an ugly looking bump and purple bruise on your forehead. 

That’s right, you’d already forgotten about your injury from earlier. You touch it lightly and recoil from the sharp pain. Damn, maybe you should’ve checked to see if you were concussed earlier. You didn’t realize you hit your head that hard. 

You decide to ice it before bed, crawling under your covers and trying to rest while you play back your day. 

How you started is so significantly different from where you are now. When you woke up, you were eager and excited to be around Seokjin, to learn new skills and feel light and warm in his presence. Now, the idea of going back to work in a few days, to have to muddle through the rejection you got tonight and try to get back to a baseline makes you feel nauseous. 

Seokjin wants to make this all water under the bridge, and you want to do that for him. But it’s nearly impossible when he’s, well, him. He doesn’t understand how much more difficult it’s going to be to look at him because you’re not walking around with a face like that: perfectly balanced and delicate features and a full, delicious set of lips. 

God, he really did taste fantastic. You wonder what would’ve happened if you two weren’t interrupted. Would giving into his emotional need for comfort have given you more? You know it’s wrong to think about, because you're the one who took advantage of him, not the other way around. 

He can say he took advantage of you with his power imbalance or whatever, but you’re the one who was seconds away from licking down that thick neck or grinding back onto that massive cock. 

Fuck, that’s right, Seokjin is huge under all those clothes and your ass got to experience rubbing against it today. And maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but he seemed like he was a little hard. 

If Mino and the others had been just a little later, you might have seen it. They might have walked in on you on your knees as you choked on it, Seokjin’s moans and whines echoing in the kitchen. 

Because now from kissing him, you got a taste of those little noises he makes. And the memory has you becoming slick and needy. 

It’s late. Too late to read your smutty book, especially since you’re not at the next smutty scene yet. August and his beloved are just reuniting. You’re sure it’s bound to be good, but you don’t have that kind of patience right now. You need to cum, to get your ideas about Seokjin and what he firmly set as a boundary out of your head once and for all. 

Which means you need to give your fantasy of him out of your head too. You shove the ice pack you’ve been holding to your head aside, ready to relieve some tension. 

You reach under your shirt and gasp when the chill of your icy hand plucks at one of your nipples. Yes, you need more of this. 

You touch the other one with your other hand, disappointed that it’s warm. And then you get a fantastic idea. You grope around for a moment until you feel the cold cloth housing the ice cubes from your freezer and pluck one out. It melts quickly in your hand, but the cold water is stimulating as you feel it run down your forearms, a droplet or two rushing down and reaching the heat of your armpit. You pull the large shirt you use as pajamas  up further with your other hand, fully exposing your chest and stomach to the chilly air of your apartment.  

The ice cube drips over your navel. You hiss as the new sensation floods your core with warmth. Some of the water pools in your belly button, a satisfying dampness taking over your body. Then, you drip the melting ice cube onto each nipple and relish how erect and sensitive they’ve become from your arousal. 

Your breasts are plush, something you love to grab and tug as you play with yourself. They’re heavy, the weight of gravity tugging them down instead of staying up as porn once made you believe was possible. 

You can understand why people sometimes get caught up playing with tits all the time. They’re arguably fun to play with. 

As the ice cube warms and shrinks, you become more curious, taking it between your fingers and swirling it directly over each nipple, a shock of cold hitting them and your hips bucking in pleasure. More. Whatever you’re feeling right now, you need more of it. 

You rip your sleep shorts and panties off in desperation, splaying your legs open and aiming yourself up so the last drips of the ice cube can fall directly onto the folds of your pussy, a few dribbles landing right on your aching clit. 

Heat, that’s what you actually feel. Fire and ice swirling together in a decadent and hot pleasure. You reach over and grab another cube, this time skipping the teasing and touching the ice right to your clit. It’s a lot. Too much. Not enough. The pain shooting through your clit is also full of so much pleasure and you don’t want to stop. 

You rock against your hand, rubbing your clit with your fingers as the ice melts, mixing the wetness of the water with your own, getting you messier, hotter, hungrier. 

The memory of Seokjin holding the ice pack flits through your head, how cold his one hand was as it held yours, similar to the chill of your own hand as you grind it against your pussy. You need something inside of you. Now. 

And unfortunately for you, all your toys are currently dirty. When you finished streaming last night, you made good on your promise to fuck yourself until you passed out, which means your collection of dildos and vibrators are now discarded in a pile next to your bed that you’d intended to wash after work today. 

You insert a finger and sigh. It’s not enough. The angle is too awkward and you can’t get far enough in. Seokjin’s hands are much larger than yours, capable of pumping his long fingers deep within you, to get to the part of your core that is aching. If he were here right now, he could be itching that scratch, a smug look on his face as he comments on how soaking wet you are for him and commands you to cum. 

Ugh. You said you wouldn’t think of him, yet here he is again, stirring up inside your fantasies. You can’t give in, you need to distract yourself, look at another face so you can feel motivation. 

You remove your fingers, wipe them on the damp washcloth next to you, and reach over on your side table for your laptop. 

You don’t watch a lot of porn, finding the videos often too fake, but you’re desperate. You scroll through the website, quickly losing some of your arousal as you click through pages of straight porn, the ones you know that will have some awful plot, or the woman has some nasal and fake moan that kills your buzz. Or the guys are so ugly, proving that porn always has the male gaze in mind. 

You just need to cum. Today has been awful enough, and knowing you have to stream tomorrow again is already causing you to wind up. No, this is necessary stress relief. An unwinding. Make it dirty and to the point. 

You click over into the other categories. You need just a man, someone else who isn’t Seokjin. You hover over the male masturbation tag, still disappointed. Then you see a banner ad for a camming site: Worldwide Handsome, Hunks From Around the Globe. That, you think, seems more promising. 

Live cams are interactive, more with immediacy. Usually the guys on them are hot or gay or both and just ready to jack off for money and give in to some dirty talk. Even the gay camboys don’t always care if women are viewing. Money is money. 

You click the banner, praying this doesn’t immediately give your computer a hundred viruses that will delete all your coursework you’ve saved to the harddrive. 

Luckily, it’s a legitimate website, much like OnlyFans, just with the emphasis on queer men from every country. You might just be saved. 

There are so many categories to choose from: couples, kinks, trans, bisexual, furries, just chatting, BDSM, interactive games, private rooms. It’s a little overwhelming. You select the “solo” tab, which, of course, has the most videos under it, and begin exploring. 

You click on one that seems promising, but quickly exit out because the user has fallen asleep and it feels too intimate. 

In another, the streamer is yelling at his chat for outting him to his parents, and you exit out of that as well. 

You’re about to give up when you refresh the page, but then a recently started stream catches your eye. It’s quickly gaining views, and has a little “1” next to it, probably to indicate that this streamer is the most popular one in his category. 

The title for the stream is Unwind with me. Late night play with Daddy which makes your core throb a little with promise. The thumbnail is black, which is a little odd, but you’re curious who this “Daddy” is and how he plans on helping his viewers unwind. Because that is exactly what you need. In his associated tags, there’s a tiny banner at the bottom that urges you forward “all genders welcome”. 

You click the link, and the video itself is black, but there’s still hundreds of comments fluttering through the chat. Is your stream broken? This sometimes happens when you stream too, but after a quick refresh you realize that the screen isn’t black. There’s a little bit of light pouring through whatever is covering the camera, detecting some movement through the veil. 

“You don’t know how stressed I am today,” a low voice groans. 

Whoa. You lean closer, tapping the volume button on your laptop to the max and leaning back. God, whoever this guy is, he sounds hot. This might actually work to get you off and get over Seokjin.

You balance your laptop on your knees and roll your hand down your stomach and between your legs, finding your aching clit and sighing as you delight in your touch. 

“I know we don’t always play games like this baby. I know you usually like it when I beg. But I can’t play like that today. It’s been so long since I got to fall back into what I desperately, absolutely need.”

His voice is so seductive yet also comforting in a way that’s familiar. You feel more of your arousal dripping out of you, and you scoop it up to swirl it around your clit, feeling a little twinge of that white hot pleasure return to you. 

“And what I need is to take the edge off, to remind all of you who is in charge. Some of you have been very, very bad lately. Haven’t I given you enough? A two-year anniversary stream? I gave you all my cum didn’t I? All of it.” 

The chat is going nuts, comments replying with “yes Daddy” accompanying tips that vary from twenty bucks to one thousand dollars spilling in. You check his timestamp. He’s only been live for five minutes and he’s already getting this much? Even your most successful streams take hours to reach a little over a thousand after royalty cuts. 

To his credit, though, if you had a grand to drop on him, you just might, and that’s going by his sexy voice alone.

“I let you watch me spill from my cock, let you see me touch myself. And you were greedy. Don’t think I don’t know what you did. I saw your questioning comments, trying to shame me for muttering someone’s name in pleasure. But I’m not ashamed. I’m proud.”

Fuck, what you would do to have this guy moan your name. You feel your orgasm approaching and rub yourself harder, a soft squelch echoing through your room.

“You took what I gave you for granted, you fucking whores. And now, you need to be punished.” 

You’re so close, the little peaks of pleasure starting to build up higher in intensity. 

The mystery man stops talking, and you along with the chat, begging for more. 

“Please,” you moan at your screen. 

Suddenly, you hear it, a wet, slick sound. Fuck, is he touching himself? 

“It’s been a long day. All day, I was working and I was so horny because some people in this world can’t stop fucking teasing me, tempting me to punish them, just like you.”

You feel the tremor of your first orgasm, but it’s not as sharp, more like a hint of what is to come. You pinch your clit between your fingers, sighing a little bit at the relief of pressure.

“You’ve all been very bad. And until you show me you can be good, I’m going to pump my cock and not let any of you see. You think you can do that? You think you can be my good little subs and prove to me you’ll behave?”

Oh god. Fuck. He’s insane, he’s so hot and insane, and you’re also insane, nodding along. The condescension is so hot, and it reminds you of earlier in the kitchen, when Seokjin scolded you for not being safe with the knife. His voice got rough just like this guy. And it makes you feel so needy and desperate. 

Please, you beg silently, just like how you did this morning. I’ll do anything. 

Almost as if he knows this, you hear a moan carry through your speakers. You assume he’s reading the comments and tips with promises to behave. You clench around nothing, really wishing at least one of your toys was clean for you to use to feel less empty. You’re never falling asleep without washing them again. 

“Good, that’s what I like to see. Now remember, you don’t get to cum until I get to cum. Go ahead and play with yourself for me, get yourself all worked up. And then be good and listen. I’ll tell you what to do next.” 

Whoops. Well, the first one didn’t count. You aren’t satisfied. 

He groans, signaling that he’s stroking himself again, rough jerks you can hear from the way his hands are sliding over his (you assume) lubed cock. 

“You want to see me cum? You want to earn it all over you? You know what you have to do, my pretty little subs. Work for it. And not a penny less.” 

In a frenzy, the tip jar continues to buzz in the bottom corner, the graphic of coins depositing into it glitching out a bit as it fails to keep up with the volume of tips. While he’s the most popular streamer on this site, it’s not as though the website is the only one of its kind, and that means that his couple hundred viewers are putting in the work and the cash. 

You watch the numbers rise next to the tip jar as his subs showcase their double entendre: both his subscriber count soars and his comments flood with loyal submissives.

Please, Daddy. Please let me cum. 

I’m sorry Daddy. I’ll be good, I swear. 

Remove the blindfold please! I need to see your big cock! 

Ah, it’s a blindfold. Of course. 

The graphic of the jar changes, exploding and sending animated dollars and coins across the screen. This is wild. His viewers have already met the milestone. They’ve just raised ten grand in less than 15 minutes. That has to be some kind of record. 

He tuts and the sound of it punches your gut. Why does he sound so familiar?  “Tsk, that wasn’t so hard, was it? I knew you could do it. You want my forgiveness that badly, huh? Okay, I’ll give you what you need. I’ll forgive you.” 

Your pussy is throbbing. You’ve had to scale back the touching, feeling a weird sense of obedience to this camboy that you can’t describe. 

There’s a ruffling sound and the camera jolts before light pours into view, a blur of shapes and colors you can’t make out greeting you until it comes into focus and you’re met with a massive, leaking cock. 

“Holy shit,” you moan, finding your footing on your bed and moving your resting hand from your inner thigh back to your clit. 

The camera is framed from the user’s toned abs down to just the top of his thighs, showing off his heavy, tight balls and red, angry tip. 

“Is this what you’re begging for?” 

Yes, you shudder a breath. Yes. 

Large hands with long knobby fingers run along his thighs, one sweeping under to cup his balls while the other works his shaft, thumb sliding over his slit to rub precum around the tip. 

“Alright, then.” He begins pumping, smooth, tight jerks that have him squeezing his length and encouraging more strands of precum to leak out. He falls into a steady rhythm and you mirror the pace on your clit, gasping for breaths as you become all the more sensitive now that you have a visual to follow. 

“My face? Oh, no. You didn’t earn the right to see that. Don’t start with me. If you want to see my face when I cum, you have to reach the next milestone. You know the rules.” 

You don’t know the rules, but you hope someone else will be desperate enough to reach it for you. You’re dying to know what he looks like. 

Almost instantly, the money animation explodes on the screen again. A $5000 tip. Jesus Christ.

“Ah, of course mapl3stor33, I should’ve known it was you. Always so good to me.  Because of you I got to get that new collector figurine. Thank you. Well everyone, because of mapl3’s generosity and mmm…loyalty…fuck. I guess I’ll let you get your full fantasy. Let you see my face as you imagine you get to make a mess of me, milk my fucking cock all over you and let me make a mess of you.” He’s moaning as he speaks, pausing between sentences to pump himself harder as he gives “Maple” a proper shout out. 

Your cheeks heat in embarrassment. It’s one thing for you to create the fantasy, but him acknowledging it with some judgment, as though you’re not good enough to even fantasize about him, it’s leading you quicker to your undoing. 

His pace builds to a heavy, slick rut. His hands are slightly red, almost like how yours looked after washing the dishes before Seokjin kicked you out. 

Wait. Red hands. His look similar to Seokjin’s, with the same knobby long fingers. And the figurine and Maple…like, MapleStory? 

There’s no way. No, you’re clearly just losing it with your fantasies. This one is taking it too far. 

“Fuck, yeah that’s it baby. Touch yourself. Be good for me. Where do you want my cum? Oh, you dirty slut, fuck, yes. Okay, I’ll cum all over myself. Just for you. Shit. Almost, come on.”

Your fingers are still following his lead, unable to stop, so close to finishing, to the release. 

He moans, his hands blurring as he strokes fast and hard, jerking into himself. And that’s when you know. You heard that moan. You caused that moan. 

With a final solid, slightly whiny grunt, he backs up. His face coming into frame, and the first strands of thick white release cascades across Seokjin’s chest as you focus in on the pure bliss washing over him, his head thrown back and mouth shaped into a delicious “o”. 

“Oh, fuck. Take it, take my cum. Yes, that’s it. That’s my best girl, so good for me. Such a good girl.” 

The second you hear the praising fall from Seokjin’s mouth, he takes you over the edge with him. Your body rockets into your orgasm with a heavy clench of your core, feet losing their solid hold below you as you begin to shake and succumb to the feeling. 

You’ve unwound, the tension of your body unfurling as you’re cast out to sea, your body bobbing along each wave with a newfound euphoria. Out here on the water, the world is silent except the ring in your ears. You bask in the peaceful ebb until you feel a tingling in your fingertips and toes calling you back, forcing breath back into your lungs with a heavy pant. 

Once you recenter, you gaze back at the stream, confirming that this is the smiling and grateful Seokjin you just saw three hours ago. 

He called you a good girl. He came all over his sweaty chest. And he’s the top streamer on a gay sex cam site. 

©2024 by jooniperbonsai

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

While I’d love to hear six hours of discussion, perhaps we can hear your top 10 reasons you like Ironwood? Don’t want you to lose your voice after all my fellow Dadmiral friendo

Look I stream for 6 hours straight some days but that’s beside the point lolz. Also sorry this took so long. Life has been a thing.

1. James feels…human. I know the point of characters in stories is to make them feel alive and to immerse you into the world I know. But stay with me there are just little details like James adjusting his tie and little laughs at R/WBY’s antics that just make him feel more real.

2. James is strong. And not just in the physical sense but the emotional one. Between him in volume 3 holding it together despite the world falling apart around him and him taking on all of Atlas and Mantles hatred and vitriol while trying to protect them is incredible. Everyone hates him despite him trying his best and it’s both incredible and heartbreaking to see.

3. James is compassionate. I am not even slightly referring to volume 8 that bullshit is not canon at all just no. After watching Yang with his own eyes break (who he thought) was an innocent students leg unprovoked after the match ended and his aura was down, he believed her when she said she saw him attack first. He assumed the best of her even when all evidence showed that she was being malicious. Or in volume 4 when Weiss accidentally summoned a Grimm that attacked someone, he stood up for her or after Ruby failed to stop Cinder in volume 3 (? Or 2 can’t remember for sure) and he told her she did well and she took action which is what huntresses do. He is strict but he shows kindness to people.

4. He’s kind of silly sometimes. He’s normally very strict so it makes his funny moments stand out more. Like when he laughs when the girls admit they stole an airship or when he grins at Winters comment about how he couldn’t pay her to smile for the cameras.

5. He’s not a good public speaker. Now I can hear you say “but wait, he speaks publically all the time and while yes he does, he also does the equivalent of error 404 when things don’t go exactly as he mentally prepared beforehand and we see this in volume 7.

When the girls don’t react at all to his announcement that they’re all huntresses now he just freezes because this man needs to preplan everything and he did not have a plan b prepared and panics and it’s so relatable I adore it so much.

6. He’s awkward. While similar to the last point, people can suck at public speaking and still be able to converse well with people in a smaller setting but sometimes James seems to even be a little awkward even in less formal moments.

7. In early volumes he was allowed to make mistakes and still be a good person. I like it when characters are allowed to make a mistake and still be seen as a good guy. People make mistakes and screw up but that doesn’t make said person evil. Sometimes we can’t fix something or stop a bad thing from happening or even make a decision that winds up causing more problems. But the intention of the decision is the important thing. James wanted to protect people in volumes 2 and 3 so he brought his army because he had a feeling Salem was up to something. Cinder used said army to cause even more chaos but at the time the narrative refused to demonize him for this and allowed people to understand what his intentions were. That’s way more compelling than the narrative twisting itself to try and somehow prove the mains are always correct and never make mistakes. Learning and growing make stories interesting.

8. James is willing to make the tough decisions. Time and time again we see James making really difficult calls to try and navigate a war that most people don’t even know they’re fighting. He makes the plans to transfer Ambers Aura to keep it from Cinder. He pulled his armies from the other kingdoms to try and maintain peace, he decided to focus on Amity instead of the wall to try and restore global communication, he decided to try and save who he could when he was put between a rock and a hard place. He made the tough calls and stuck by his decision and that is admirable.

9. James trusts people. After James’s talk with Glynda she took his advice to heart and was more open and honest with people. When Winter tells him something is going on at Haven, he takes her word for it. When Ruby and co lie to his face he trusts their word. He trusts Yang when she says she saw Mercury attack her first during the Vytal Festival. (Despite what the narrative tries to tell us) James gives people the benefit of the doubt and is willing to trust people.

10. James is an incredible fighter even without a typical offensive Aura. Pretty self explanatory but James is able to go toe to toe with some dangerous adversaries and hold his own despite not having a special “super power” like everyone else does. Or even a special weapon really he kicks ass with just a pair of guns and that is so badass of him lolz.

And a bonus more meta point because I want to talk about this so there. But one thing I loved about Ruby and James’s volume 7 fallout is that we can see exactly how and why each of them made the decision they did during that breakdown. On one had we have Ruby who is full of hope still and sees the best in the world. She lost her friends and is still dealing with the trauma of that and doesn’t want to ever lose anyone else again or let people suffer a loss like she did during the fall of Beacon. On the other we have James who is equally traumatized from Beacon but in a very different way. He did his best to fight back against Salem and it was in the end used against him and caused even more pain and suffering. He’s terrified of going toe to toe against Salem again and wants to protect what he knows he can until he knows they are able to take on Salem. It’s realistic and painful and neither side is really a perfect option. It’s a bad situation and we can see how the characters respond to it and it feels in character and real and I wish that we got to see that writing continue into volume 9.

Sorry again for how long this one took! As I said life’s been all over the place and chaotic and it still is but I got a burst of motivation so I decided to finally type this out.

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Screaming at an Empty Room -

Reintroduction/Update

Hello everyone! Probably too late to do an intro, given that I've been writing on this blog since 2017, but since I've returned after a few years away from writing, I wanted the opportunity to talk about my blog and projects completed and my upcoming plans!

I go by Avaleon everywhere else on the internet, but respond to pretty much anything, including Screaming, hey you, etc! Started this blog in my mid 20s, and aged normally into the early 30s from there. I love writing, have always loved it, but between work and life, it's definitely something that I mostly do late at night and on weekends. I love hearing from people, but I usually answer asks in bunches, and typically right before I post writing. Love hearing about other people's projects as well!

I write short stories, novellas, and occasional full length novels. I am not published, but actively working on self-publishing some of my full length works. Everything I write is posted online, I enjoy sharing my work. The main reason to self publish for me is to have physical copies for myself or anyone who might want one!

My short stories can be found under the #writing tag on my blog. As for the long completed stories, I'll post them below the cut!

Love you Tumblr, happy to be back!

A. Full Length Novels (100,000+ words)

Please Fix the Story!

Description:

I don’t know who I am. I don’t know why I’m trapped in this never ending cycle of rebirth. All I know is that I wake up inside the worlds of unfinished stories, with a mission to accomplish the author’s wishes and stabilize the worlds now headed for destruction. I do my best, hoping, praying that maybe if I complete enough missions, I’ll be able to remember my past and return to my home.

It’s just fixing stories, it should be simple enough.

So can someone explain who this random villain is who keeps following me to each world?

Masterpost linked here

2. I Can’t Eat Love

Description:

Lenora did not have a wonderful life. After her engagement to Prince Ronan is broken, she loses everything… her reputation, her home and her family. Starving on the streets, she dies angry and bitter at how her life unfolded… only to wake up in her old bed, fifteen again, five years before her death. 

Now she must struggle to change her fate, and the fate of the around her. This time she won’t trust in something as flimsy or changeable as love. No, this time she’ll have the power and the money she needs to protect herself. 

Lenora has already lost everything once. She’s not going to lose again. 

No matter the cost. 

Masterpost Linked Here

B. Novellas

I Refuse to be a Named Character

Description:

I woke up inside the world of one of the best selling fantasy book series “Deadly Crown.” Intrigue, handsome heroes, adventure… sounds great, right? Just one problem: all the named characters except the main hero and villain die, are replaced and their replacements die. Being important in this story is a death sentence, so I plan to move to the middle of nowhere, and avoid the plot! 

It should be a fool proof plan, so why do the main characters keep dragging me into the story?

Masterpost Linked Here

2. Living in a Rewrite of my Own Book World

Description:

This is the story about an author who gets hit by a car right before she can finish her bestselling book series. Trapped in the role of a terrible side character antagonist, she must find a way to change the story’s ending. Not just for her own survival, but for the characters that seem just a little too real to be fiction. (30K words)

Masterpost Linked Here

3.Baby’s First Revenge!

Description:

When Charlotte is betrayed and killed by the friend she sacrificed everything for, she thought it was the end. Instead, she found herself reborn as a baby, with her killer still enjoying the fame of stealing her work. Now, she's coming after him, and plans to make him pay... But first, nap time.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

4. The Supervillain’s Daughter

The story of Erica, a girl who finds out that her brother is the kidnapped child of superheroes, and that her parents are villains. Years later she is the best agent in the Villain Suppression Unit, and hates everything to do with superheroes. So of course she isn’t pleased when she is paired with the strongest man alive, especially because she knows him. But with even darker parts of her past surfacing again, she will have no choice but to join forces and save the world. 

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

Other smaller works and the incomplete ones can be found on this page

Thanks everyone!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Re: the previous anon asking about ramshackle, my personal hc is that it used to be the staff's dorm (I could be completely wrong, I haven't read the early books in a while). Then, when Crowley took over from the previous headmaster, he didn't hire any new staff and instead let the non-teaching current staff retire/quit/otherwise leave their positions and then employed ghosts (since they don't really need a place to "live" (ba dum tss)), and left Ramshackle to fall into disrepair. Whether or not these ghosts were the old staff or were just looking for jobs is up in the air (and also opens a whole can of worms about ghost economics, but I'm not willing to get into that here) For some reason he still hires living teachers and Sam, but I'm not sure if we ever get any details on where they live during the school year.

[Referencing this post!]

I went back into the prologue to check! The dialogue seems to suggest that Ramshackle used to house students. The Ramshackle Ghosts mention that people used to live there, then Crowley tells us "the ghosts scared away all the students." (Note that Crowley does not say “the ghosts scared away all the students AND staff.”) Thinking about it, staff lived at Ramshackle, well... it might be a little strange to have students visit them at their living quarters instead of in the classroom or their offices if they need academic assistance. Most likely Ramshackle served a similar function as the other dorms: student housing.

As for where staff stay… There was one line dropped by Crowley in the second Halloween event which implies the (current) staff may live off campus. I talked about it in this post!

We’re not sure exactly how long Crowley has been headmaster for or when Ramshackle exactly fell into ruin 🤔 I wonder if the main story (or extra materials/content) will cover that… We don’t even know if there was even a previous headmaster or if Crowley was just always the headmaster. From how he speaks (ie being salty at the 99 lose streak to RSA and honoring Lilia’s invite to NRC despite being hundreds of years later), it feels like Crowley has been in charge for a long ass time. It could be that he’s honoring his predecessor’s legacy or wishes, but he seems to personally be making the shots or reacting in a way that’s quite emotionally invested for someone who is newly taking up the mantle.

Mmmm, I wonder if it’s really as simple as Crowley letting the current staff go…? I’d imagine most can’t afford to quit their job or retire on the spot (unless he incentivized them to leave with a generous severance package). I do think employing ghosts in the place of living people to do odd jobs may be more cost effective though, seeing as ghosts have far fewer living expenses than the living. (No need for housing, food, most material possessions, etc.). Crowley could thus justify paying them less/j Although… This is also most likely an efficient way for the devs to reuse assets and not have to design unique characters or more mobs to fulfill the roles of odd job NPCs.

There is lore which states that ghosts are attracted to areas that are concentrated with magical energy, which may explain why NRC has so many ghosts lurking around. I wonder if Crowley just happened to notice all the ghosts lurking on campus (rather than actively seeking them out) and wanted to give them something fulfilling to do with their time, hence the jobs. (Do ghosts even have a need for employment or money when they don’t really have physical demands??? What would they even buy with their earnings, if they’re being compensated at all?) Some ghosts, like the ones that work in the cafeteria, seem to be brought in from the outside to serve more specific roles (ie as Master Chef/Culinary Crucibles instructors and cafeteria staff). The Ramshackle Ghosts though… I’m not sure about their origins?

So the Ramshackle Ghosts have taken up residence in the dormitory, but we don’t have much in the way of their history. It could be that they were random ghosts that migrated to NRC due to its magical draw?? Other unrelated ghosts seem to have been drawn to Ramshackle in the past (such as Eliza and her ghostly entourage in Ghost Marriage). Some have theorized the Ramshackle Ghosts are dead students, but the closest thing we get to proof of that is a line from book 2. One of the Ramshackle Ghosts says that he was a star magift/spelldrive player when he was alive—but this does not inherently imply he was a student, since the sport is very popular and widely played by mages, student or not.

There’s still so many mysteries wrapped up in Ramshackle… 🔍

[zuppizup]

When when Rayla does apologize, people will complain that it’s disingenuous or “too little too late”

I foresee a number of complaints

Too little, too late (like you say) She should have apologised immediately even though Callum didn’t want to talk and she respected that.

Not apologising for the “right” thing or in the right way. People have had years to imagine the “perfect” apology and I can guarantee there’s going to be a number of them bemoaning the fact it didn’t go like they felt it should have and therefore is “bad”.

If Callum acknowledges the part he played in the events of TTM then that’s Rayla deflecting responsibility and making him the real bad guy.

If Callum cuts her off from a self deprecating spiral then he’s excusing her actions and not making her “pay”, even though Callum repeatedly shows grace and forgiveness with Rayla. He has a quick and sometimes mean temper (though not to much in arc 2, showing how he has matured) but he’s never kicked her when she’s down. No-one is harder on Rayla than Rayla herself, something Callum has obviously realised since early on.

But ultimately, I think a lot the flack Rayla gets post-TTM is not playing her part in the narrative. Callum is the main character, right? He’s supposed to get the cool girlfriend who then becomes his cheerleader and has no narrative seperate from backing him up. She can’t be stronger or faster than him. She can’t have thoughts and desires seperate from his and she certainly can’t pursue them.

Hell, she can’t even be taller than him without people losing their shit about it.

So, no, I don’t think any apology will change her detractors opinion of her. Which, well, that’s their prerogative. A certain group of people really don’t seem to get they’re not watching the show they think they’re watching and this is merely another aspect of that.

[stormbreakers45]

The Other Side of Suzui Ryota

What do you think of Suzui Ryota from Kakegurui? I can tell that most of you will tell that he's a useless character who always follows Yumeko's to wherever he go.

Most of Kakegurui fans are even not sure of what's purpose that Ryota serves in the Kakegurui plot so far and even in some forums, I saw many people makes fun of him by saying "Who the fuck is Suzui?" and there's also limited fanfictions or fanarts about him too.

Well, everybody can have their opinions, but is it justified to plainly deem Suzui Ryota as useless characters? I'm personally thinking it's not and I have one sole reason for it.

It is because Suzui Ryouta might be the only character in Kakegurui that has not clear past and much details besides the ones that the viewers saw in anime and the readers saw in the manga.

Kakegurui franchise has been up and running since 2017 until now. Besides its main manga, it's also already produced the character's spin-off like Mary's Kakegurui Twin or Midari in her own manga story.

And yet, In all those things, Suzui Ryouta's past or details about him are still lies in darkness while the other characters like Kirari, Sayaka, Yumeko, Mary, and many others are having their own "explanations" about who they are, what they do, and so on.

To understand that, first we need to at least to knows what's the intent of the author for Ryouta's character. In many articles, it is stated that Ryota is positioned as "observer" and "storyteller" to what's happened in Kakegurui's series, particularly about Yumeko's journey where he was acted as her companion throughout the story.

Compared to other characters, Ryouta seems doesn't have "other clear purpose" other than being a support and close friend to Yumeko.

But keep in mind that the official wiki still officially recognized Ryota as one of the main protagonists of the series. Then, it is raised some questions which correlates to my early statement. If he's one of the protagonists, then why any details regarding who he actually is and his past are very limited? or Will there any character development for him in the future?

To answer those questions, we will need to breakdown some key points about him and his correlation to the plot.

We already know a little about Ryouta in the beginning as he was fell into housepet status after losing to Mary in a gambling game, then he met Yumeko who helped him regain his human status, and then starts a friendship with her.

Besides of that, Ryota is also shown holding a position as class representation. Anything other than that ? nada. We don't know much more about his other activities in the school like if he's belong to any clubs in the school and so on.

Other things about him is, he's actually a very smart person who's excelling in his academic study (although Hyakkaou Academy is not focusing much on academic or sports). He's also very quick to understand what's going on in a gamble (both involved or just watching) and also has an expertise to analyse every single details and devising solutions.

This traits of his is showing several times in both manga and anime version, particularly around Yumeko's gamble against Midari where his approach is succesfully getting both him and Yumeko out from danger of Midari's game of death or how he quickly realize Kirari's manipulation on the entire tarot game.

It shows that Ryota is actually a good gambler and he has so many potentials on it. The only thing that holds him back is his low self-esteem, reluctant personality and low level of confidence. When he's with Yumeko, he's not only watch over her but he also learns a lot from her and after so many chapters in the manga, he's shown a growth in his gambling skills and confidence level which one point for his character development.

Another interesting point about him is how he seems the only one in Kakegurui franchise who doesn't have "psychopatic" traits like the others. He's shown to be a nice and kind person who also rarely holds grudge against people. His personality is calm and sensible which also added by his honesty trait.

Looking at those, it seems that we are looking Ryouta as the only colored thing in the middle of black and white. This is his exceptional things that makes him different and also on the same time, special from the other characters. To put it more dramatically, Ryota is like the sailor whose ship is trying to survive in the sea of madness which is the Hyakkaou Academy.

After that, from here thing is getting more interesting. Who is Suzui Ryouta actually is and his family background?

To begin with, there's no clear details on that, but the wiki said that he has unnamed parents. A Day after Yumeko helped him pay his 5 million yen debt to student council, Ryota is offering 1 million yen that he borrows from his parents to pay Yumeko back which Yumeko simply refused.

It's indicating that Ryota is coming from a rich family while it's also considering that how he can enrol in Hyakkaou possibly from regular way where he need to make frequent deposit to student council and school fee.

But who is Ryota's family is still clouded in dark. But we might have a lead on this. In one reddit thread few years ago, it is said that Ryota is coming from a famous wealthy baker family with the brand name "Seikadou". Here's the overview.

The interruptions when he's about to saying "Oh, It's our ..." is really one strong proof about his family's business. It is still not confirmed yet, but this cake business theory is the most logical one to explain more about him.

Another thing about him is, people don't realize that he is actually existed all the time in any of Kakegurui franchises so far, whether it's the main manga, twin, or Midari.

For example, both Kakegurui twin and Kakegurui Midari are both set in the previous year of main Kakegurui manga plot which makes Ryota is strongly possible in both spin-offs, although his names are not mentioned.

But is is definitely happened since the gap between the two spin-offs and the main story is only one year apart which means that Ryota is already there wandering the school and knows every events in both spin-offs like the raise of Mary, the full bloom society, and so on. After all, Ryota's is very aware of his surroundings so he's keeping on track.

What's he's doing on that period? It's still a big mystery, but judging from his behaviour, he might be living a quiet and ordinary gambling and schooling far from the spotlight. As mentioned above too, there's also question if whether he's involved in a club's school too.

Well, I can't say for sure, but Ryota is probably involved in one or maybe just spend his days of gambling and socializing with his friends. Just a completely ordinary guy.

For his love interest, well it's pretty obvious that Ryota probably holds a secret romantic feeling for Yumeko. He's stated it in sublime way when he's confessed that he wants to keep watching her in the best seat and walk with her when they faced Kirari in a tarot game. He even said that Yumeko's risk is also his risk which shows that he is ready to die anytime for Yumeko.

From this point, we already know there's so many undiscovered thing about Ryota's personal life and how his character's development happened in both manga and the anime which happened to be a lot without people noticing.

Being on the side of Yumeko all the time, Ryota is influenced by her but still in a positive way and accordingly. He's still trying to be himself and hopefully more of him will coming up so soon.

And that's it.

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Give me your thoughts in the comments yeah ?

[nsyncat]

OK, so this is my first post EVER since I joined Tumblr like ten years ago. Always been a lurker, enjoying all of the wonderful things here, the gifs, fics, ships, art, all the knowledge and all the amazing heritage posts, but never posting and hardly reblogging, I don't know why, was always afraid I would make a mistake or reblogg incorrectly...

Anyway, the reason this is my first time posting is because THAT amazing moment that happened a week ago, and I've been losing my mind ever since, and unfortunately I have nobody to share this excitement with that will understand... So I had to get it out somehow, and here seems like the perfect place to do so.

I don't know if anybody will read this or pay it any attention, but never mind, I just have TO. GET. IT ALL. OUT!

So I've been a loyal fan of 9-1-1 this past six years, got hooked to these kind of first responders dramas, also Station 19 and then of course Lone Star. I fell in love with the writing, the drama and action, the characters of course, the emotional and moving stories, both of the regular cast and the people in the emergencies (am not afraid to admit that I cried more than a few times, especially when I was pregnant... woooh, that was a tough season for me).

Anyway, like everyone else, got invested in Buck's storyline and of course hopped on the Buddie train in season 2. And obviously there was something between them, and the fandom always clowned themselves that "in the next season SOMETHING is going to happen!" and I always wanted to believe it, and also fooled myself a few times but always was the cold harsh realist and realised it was not going to happen... But enjoyed the ride nonetheless, read amazing fics, saw wonderful fanart, read interesting breakdowns and analysis.

And then 704 happened and I'm not joking or exaggerating, my life changed!

Confirming that Buck is Bi was amazing! I'm ashamed to admit that I really thought it won't happen, EVER! So I still can't believe it actually happened (thank you soooo much ABC!) and like a lot of you, I've been on cloud nine this past week and can't wait for tomorrows episode (also not from the US), literally counting down the hours.

And look, I love Buddie, I really do, but I fell in love with TEVAN (my favourite one yet) 😍 and been OBSESSED with them this past week. Just from those few moments between them and what we barely know that is going to happen the next episode, I truly fell in love with them and really hope they make it as far as they can. I think its an amazing thing for Buck and also CANT. STOP. WATCHING THE KISS! The actors did an incredible job, especially Oliver, also with his spoken support of the storyline and his love for Buck. Such a KING! So this whole thing is huge.

And I have a one-year-old, my life is hectic with taking care of a little human being, a hubby who is also very busy, work, family and a million other things and this past year with a heavy heart I kinda neglected reading fics, and it was my main hobby, my escape, my one and constant thing in my LIFE since I was 12. I do read here and there, but not like I used to, reading hours and hours and into the night, multi chapters and long oneshots, in multiple fandoms, and now whenever I do get to read something once In a blue moon I'm not fully invested or enjoying it because either I'm tired or have something else more important to do. And unfortunately, eventually I noticed that I lost this fire, the passion in me and it left me sad and heartbroken...

And then something incredible happened. Ever since that earth-shattering kiss, the fire and passion came back! Holy shit! I've been reading and ENJOYING fics nonstop this whole week, I can't concentrate on work thinking about everything and reading in-between tasks, I use every single free minute I have to search new fics and scroll through the tags, I go to sleep late because I need to read just one more fic(!!!) even tough I have to wake up very early in the morning and I DON'T EVEN CARE. I'm thinking about it sooo much and imagining new scenarios in my head, and feeling giddy and happy, in a good mood a lot of the time, more optimistic, knowing I have a new and exciting place I can "escape" to, like I had in the past.

Its not that i'm not happy, I have an amazing son and a wonderful husband and I cherish every moment with them, but these are hard and difficult times and life can be hard and stressful and I'm a different kind of happy... So these past few days have been nourishment for my soul and my mood, it sounds so silly but its true! I'm feeling a bit like my old self and it's amazing.

And if someone did read this or did pay attention and got to this point, sorry for the long rant and thank you so much for the patience and understanding 🙏 I love you and wish you a wonderful weekend and happy Buck's-first-date-with-a-man day! 🥰

So I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, ABC, Oliver, Lou and you crazy lot for resurrecting my old fangirl self 😌 I'm so grateful for all your posts, your takes, your similar enjoyment and of course your amazing fics you're writing and sharing 🩵

[theharrowing]

Collateral 🗡️ POV: Taehyung

In the aftermath of the latest attack, Taehyung patches everyone up, then rips a man apart for information.

PREVIOUS | INDEX | NEXT

❗ THIS IS A CHARACTER POV CHAPTER!!!

if you do not wish to perceive any POV that is not the main character, please feel free to skip this one!

🗡️Taehyung x Jungkook

🗡️ word count: 10.9k

🗡️ mafia au, violence & gore, established relationship, smut, angst, fluff, nsfw, explicit, 21+

🗡️ warnings: this chapter is very violent & gory!!! Taehyung has a katana & it is still inside the man he stabbed; lots of blood; the briefest mention of past abuse by Yoongi's father; Yoongi has been shot off screen; tending to Yoongi's wounds; Taehyung & Jungkook have a hostage; threatening a man with a gun; some technical anatomy & doctor jargon since we're in Taehyung's head; Taehyung & Jungkook really enjoy torturing people...if you catch my drift; pain play including pressure on genitals; use of a bone saw!!!; use of lye on wounds; improper use of an epipen; body dismemberment; a touch of dissociation; rough shower sex (bottom Jungkook, top Taehyung); use of restraints.

🗡️ notes: mc is referred to in 3rd person (she/her) pronouns for this chapter! this opens just after the chapter where they are chased in cars, there is gun fire, and Taehyung runs a katana through a man! i researched bone saws for this chapter!!! it is violent right out of the gate.

🗡️ early draft beta read by @neoneunnajimin - with minor unbeta’d edits done since.

🗡️ posted april 2024 - originally may 2023 | read on ao3

"What is the matter with you?" Jeongguk shouts, panting and sounding somewhat frantic.

Every inch of Taehyung buzzes—vibrates with an energy he only gets when he is covered in another man's blood. The tail lights of Namjoon's sedan drive further away, and Taehyung is fixated on them, watching as the red dots become smaller and smaller before fading entirely.

"Be more specific," Taehyung mutters as he slowly slides his katana from the man whose hair he holds tightly in his fist, feeling the weight of him drag down as his body continues to convulse and fully lose consciousness. 

"You're gonna fucking scar buttercup, you idiot," Jeongguk grumbles as he yanks away the dead man and throws him aside. "She did not need to watch you gut this man."

Taehyung's arm stays suspended in the air for a split moment, then he drops it to his side and looks up at Jeongguk. Jeongguk's hair is disheveled, face is smeared with blood and dirt, and he is the prettiest fucking thing Taehyung has ever laid eyes on. 

"She's stabbed a man before," Taehyung reasons, unsure what the big deal is. Sooner or later, she is going to need to become a hardened killer too. Or hide away in the brothels with little Jimin. 

With a sigh, Jeongguk grabs Taehyung's bicep and roughly pulls up, attempting to lift him. But the blood that covers him makes it impossible for Jeongguk to get a good grip, causing Taehyung's arm to slide away. 

"Get up!" Jeongguk sounds pained, or possibly angry. "Yoongi-hyung is hurt."

At that, Taehyung's heart seems to jolt in his chest and every nerve sparks with panic. Taehyung looks up and searches Jeongguk's face for any hint that he is joking or exaggerating. 

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Taehyung practically shouts as he scrambles to his feet, holding his katana pointed to the ground. 

Frantically, he looks around, trying to listen for where Yoongi could be, but everything around them is unusually quiet. That, or Taehyung's ears are ringing too loudly. 

"He's not seriously injured, but he has been shot in the chest, over the vest. And a bullet grazed his hand."

This news is shocking to Taehyung, and he allows Jeongguk to drag him off to where Yoongi is sitting against a sedan with Seokjin and Hoseok huddled on either side. Not since he was a teenager has Yoongi been shot. Of everyone, he has come away with the fewest injuries overall—with the exception of those left by his father. 

Yoongi holds a hand over the center of his chest, leaning forward and catching his breath. A weak smile tugs on his face, and as they approach, the loud ringing dulls enough for Taehyung to hear him say, "I'm fine, really."

"I'll take you to my place to check it out," Taehyung insists as he crouches before Yoongi, places the sword onto the pavement, and lifts his injured hand. 

Sure enough, from the thenar web space between Yoongi's thumb and index finger, up to the scaphoid bone on his outer wrist is a shallow gash left by a hot bullet. The skin is opened and slightly cauterized shut, leaving behind a hell of a red mark. 

"How do you feel otherwise?" Taehyung asks, assessing Yoongi to make sure his vision seems clear at a glance. "Can you take in a deep, slow breath for me?"

Yoongi nods and smiles, then sucks in air. Although his inhale is shaky, undoubtedly from a bruised bone, he does not seem to be in dangerous levels of pain, leading Taehyung to hope that the bullet has, in fact, only bruised him, and that there is no internal bleeding. 

Taehyung reaches into his slacks pocket and pulls out a thin flashlight the size of a pen, then presses a button on the end of it, lighting it up. He holds the light just under Yoongi's right eye and says, "Eyes on me, boss," as he slowly lifts the light and watches Yoongi's pupil constrict, becoming smaller. Then he holds the light just under Yoongi's left eye and does the same, yielding the same result. 

"No immediate sign of a concussion," Taehyung says as he clicks the flashlight off and shoves it back where it belongs, catching a little metal hook on the end of it to the material of his pocket so that it stays snug. "Alright, let's get you up and into a vehicle. Jeongguk and I will take you home."

Seokjin and Hoseok stand and take a step back, and Taehyung looks upward, glancing between them, "Are you two good?"

"Yeah," Seokjin responds, and Hoseok mutters, "I'm good."

"Good," Taehyung says as he stands, then he turns to Seokjin and asks, "And did you manage to keep one alive for me?"

With a grin, Seokjin tilts his head to the left, toward Taehyung's vehicle, and says, "Knocked out and bound. He's all yours."

"Perfect," Taehyung responds, feeling a thrill quake through him. "Thanks, hyung."

* * *

A little over halfway to the mansion, the man in the back seat begins to stir. First, he makes a low grumble, and then he begins to whimper. Taehyung glances through the rearview mirror and waits for the man to notice him before he snarls.

"Good morning, sunshine," Taehyung says, watching as the man becomes frantic, attempting to thrash. 

Jeongguk, who sits beside the man, pulls a gun from his thigh holster and lifts it, cocking the hammer nice and loud. Taehyung finds it difficult to keep his eyes on the road, absolutely enthralled by the anger in Jeongguk's eyes while he points the gun in the man's face.

"I will paint the window with your brain if you don't shut the fuck up," Jeongguk practically growls, pressing the weapon against the man's head. 

All this does is make the man squeal more, and from the passenger seat, Yoongi huffs out an impatient sigh. Taehyung glances over to find Yoongi sitting stiffly with his head pressed into the seat, staring ahead. He cannot tell how Yoongi's breathing is only from a glance, but he does not hear any labored breaths, so he continues to drive without pressing him. 

Whoever the man in the back seat is, he does not deserve the pleasure of overhearing that one of his men has managed to injure Boss Min. Even if he does only have a few more hours to live. 

It is unusual for Yoongi to be so quiet, especially with a hostage present, so Taehyung imagines he must be pretty sore. He had not bothered to turn in his seat to have a look at or taunt the man, as he is usually wont to do. Taehyung wonders who this man is and whether he knows who Yoongi is. He supposes he will find out soon enough. 

In the back seat, the man has quieted down, but continues to mutter into the tape over his mouth. They are less than a mile from the property now, and Taehyung speeds up, gradually pressing his foot on the accelerator and listening as the engine hums. Nobody is ever on this stretch of road; nobody who knows who this road belongs to would dare. 

As soon as his mansion comes into view over a low hill, Taehyung lets up on the gas a little, taking the hill at enough speed that it rattles the vehicle. He remembers too late that his boss is injured; he is always so eager for the light-headed rush that comes from flying over the hump that he was only focused on the thrill. But Yoongi says nothing beside him, hands clasped over his lap while he stares ahead. 

"Sorry, boss," Taehyung mutters anyway.

"I always do it, too," Yoongi responds, and Taehyung glances over to find a small smile pulling at his lips. 

Silence falls a little longer, and Taehyung slows to approach the driveway, turning to the right and stopping before a large metal gate. He pulls down the visor and punches an eight-digit code—Jeongguk's birth year, month, and day—then waits as the gate opens. 

"How long have we known each other?" Yoongi asks, taking Taehyung by surprise. 

Taehyung glances to find Yoongi staring ahead, looking pensive. 

"A long time," he responds, unsure exactly how many years it has been. Somewhere around fifteen, he surmises. 

Yoongi hums, and Taehyung pulls into the circular drive, parking the sedan parallel to the garage. He shuts off the engine, unbuckles his seatbelt, and turns to Yoongi, who slowly reaches to undo his own belt.

"A long time," Yoongi repeats with a soft smile, then he reaches for the handle and opens the door, letting himself out. 

Ordinarily, Taehyung would cause a fuss and insist on Yoongi waiting for help, but he knows better. Yoongi is not going to appear weak in front of the man in the back seat. He does groan when he gets out, however, and Taehyung takes note of the sharp intake of breath as he steps onto the driveway and rotates to shut the door. 

"Do you need help with him?" Taehyung asks, voice coming out a little more gruff than he expected it to. He glances into the rearview mirror and finds Jeongguk eyeing the man and shrugging. 

"Nah, I got him. Take care of the boss and I'll drag this shithead inside when you're ready."

With a nod, Taehyung opens his door and slides out, slamming it shut and jogging around the back of the sedan to get to the front door of his house before Yoongi does. He punches the years Yoongi and Jeongguk were born into the keypad, then stares into the retina scanner, feeling impatient to get inside.

"That pass code is weak," Yoongi grumbles, making Taehyung scoff. 

"You always say that, boss," Taehyung responds as he twists the knob and reaches a hand high to hold the door open as Yoongi enters.

Yoongi hobbles inside, hugging his arms around his chest, then he approaches the wall beside the door and leans back while taking a deep breath, staring down at his feet. Taehyung approaches, letting the door close behind him, and takes a knee, smacking Yoongi's slowly lowering hands out of the way before untying his right boot and then his left. 

"I can do it," Yoongi grumbles, and Taehyung glances up to watch Yoongi look at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

"What do you always tell us?" Taehyung asks as he holds onto the heel of the right boot and keeps it still for Yoongi to pull his foot free. 

"I tell you a lot of things," Yoongi responds as Taehyung grabs the left heel, "most of which you do not bother to listen to."

As Yoongi pulls his left foot free, Taehyung looks up, raising his eyebrows as if he has been insulted, though unable to keep himself from smiling. 

"You and I both know that is not true, boss," Taehyung says, watching as Yoongi stares down incredulously. "You always tell us not to try to do everything alone, isn't that right?"

Yoongi hums and scoffs, then wraps his arms around his torso. He appears to have a lot on his mind, but Taehyung does not want to prompt him to tell him what it is. In the years he has known Yoongi, he has come to learn that the man will only divulge what he wants when he wants to. 

Taehyung shifts his weight back and unties his left boot, then he adjusts to untie the right boot and stands. His legs and back feel tired, and he lets out a slow exhale as he kicks the boots off and leads Yoongi down into his basement. 

With a press of a button near the ramp that leads down, everything glows a hot, blue-white. The fluorescent lighting is bright, taking Taehyung's tired eyes a moment to adjust to as he wraps an arm around Yoongi's shoulder and guides him down to the next level, slowly taking one step at a time. 

Silence hangs, thick and oppressive, buzzing through Taehyung much in the way he imagines gas and mercury buzzing through the bulbs overhead. He does not mind the silence—preferring it to filler bullshit—but Yoongi's demeanor has him worried. No use dwelling on it, he decides as he leads Yoongi into an exam room just off to the right of the main room. 

Taehyung's basement is massive, stretching further than his house, in the direction of the main mansion. If someone were to dig a hole into the shrub maze in Yoongi's garden, they would likely end up in the worst part of Taehyung's estate. The main room is a large sterile white space with doors on the right leading into an exam room, an operating room, and storage rooms. 

Through the space, straight ahead, is a steel door that leads to an area of the property that men only go to in order to die.

They walk into the first room on the right, and Taehyung flips on a switch, casting more bright, fluorescent light.

"Have a seat," Taehyung says as he guides Yoongi over to the examination table and waits for him to turn around and get situated.

Once Yoongi sits, he drops his hands to his sides, and Taehyung makes quick, careful work of unstrapping the bulletproof vest. The velcro is loud as it tears apart, seemingly echoing throughout the otherwise empty room. Yoongi raises his arms, wincing from the motion, and Taehyung slowly lifts the vest, doing his best to slide it away and not add any additional pressure to the center of his chest. 

"How is the pain?" Taehyung asks while setting aside the vest and taking Yoongi's wrists to slowly help him lower his arms. Even if it is just a bruise, the ribs can still hurt, and the movement can put strain on the injury.

"Fucking sucks," Yoongi grits through his teeth as his arms rest at his sides, "but it is manageable. Just need a valium and a bath and I will be fine."

"I'm surprised you took a bullet at all," Taehyung mutters before he can stop himself. 

Silence hangs, then Yoongi snickers and responds, "Even dexterous monkeys fall from trees sometimes, Taehyungah."

Of all the animals in the kingdom, Taehyung cannot imagine likening his boss to a monkey. A lion, perhaps. Or a leopard. 

Taehyung hums as he begins unbuttoning Yoongi's shirt, revealing a black tee underneath. As he slides away the garment, he wonders if they should just cut away the undershirt to save Yoongi some trouble, but Yoongi shrugs the material off and slowly begins to lift his shirt, pulling it up until it reveals a nice red welt right in the center of his chest. 

Bruising is minimal, but the area is raised and irritated. Taehyung decides that he can assess the injury without fully undressing Yoongi, so long as he is able to hold the cloth in place. 

"Would you describe the pain as sharp or dull?" Taehyung asks as he turns to grab a stethoscope from the table to his right and situate the ear pieces into his ears. 

"Not sharp," Yoongi responds. "Not quite dull either. But it doesn't feel like anything is broken."

Taehyung walks around the operating table and lifts the back of Yoongi's shirt a bit higher, muttering, "This might feel cold against your skin," as he touches the stethoscope beside his right scapula. 

"Deep breath in," Taehyung instructs, listening as Yoongi does as he is told. There is nothing indicating any sort of injury; his oxygen flow sounds smooth and unobstructed. Taehyung lowers the stethoscope, following the scapula bone shape down, instructing Yoongi to take another breath and then another, then repeating it on the other side, carefully listening to his lungs. Once he is satisfied, he pulls off the stethoscope and slowly lowers Yoongi's shirt. 

"Sounds good, but I want to take an x-ray to be sure," Taehyung grumbles as he walks back around to the front of the table.

Yoongi stands from the table, sighing as he says, "Of course you do," then he empties his pockets of his phone and wallet, removes his Rolex, and drops everything onto the exam table before exiting the room. 

He takes a right, leading the way through Taehyung's basement as if he owns the place, making Taehyung smile to himself over the man's impatience. Taehyung sets the stethoscope down onto the spot where Yoongi had been sitting and follows behind, out to the right, past the operating room to the third door on the right. 

Yoongi is already in position in front of the detection panel with his back to the x-ray machine, lights turned on. Taehyung smiles to himself and walks through the small, sterile white room, through a lead door, and into a much smaller room. 

Lead walls and windows shield him from radiation, and in the confined space, there is only a small desk with a computer, a tablet, and a microphone for a two-way intercom. Taehyung, however, keeps the door open, not concerned about radiation since it is rare that he uses imaging equipment these days. 

With the flip of a few switches, the equipment buzzes to life, and Taehyung settles back in a black leather chair as he uses a computer program to align the camera with Yoongi's chest and takes an x-ray. A tablet sitting to the right of the computer lights up with a notification that the image has been received and Taehyung lifts it, opens the photograph, and has a look. 

Meanwhile, Yoongi begins to hobble out of the room, to a small black couch that sits just on the other side of the door to wait, as he has become accustomed to doing. Taehyung chuckles and shakes his head, then returns his attention to the image.

There is no sign of fracture on the sternum, for anything to indicate a fracture in any of Yoongi's ribs, and Taehyung stands with the tablet in hand and leaves the lead room, walking past the equipment and out into the large, empty outer room. 

"Looks good, hyung," Taehyung says as he passes the tablet over and lets Yoongi have a look. "Since the area is likely just bruised, you should feel better after a warm shower and some rest. Take some painkillers, and don't put too much strain on yourself."

"Thanks, doc," Yoongi responds, lifting the tablet for Taehyung to take, which he does. 

"Now would be a good time for that vacation you have been talking about."

Yoongi nods his head, tired eyes staring straight ahead at the plain white wall. 

"Perhaps one of Jimin's rooms in Paris is free," Taehyung suggests, making Yoongi nod more. 

The seven of them own penthouse suites here and there, sprinkled across various continents, and he imagines both Namjoon and buttercup would be easily charmed by the city of love.  

"Jimin has been in Paris for the last few days, laying low and taking some time for himself," Yoongi says. "I'll get in touch and see if we can use one of his suites. Perhaps a night in the city with him will be good for our darling, too."

Jimin is in Paris? This is news to Taehyung. Although Jimin's absence has been felt lately, he prefers not to pry, but he is surprised to learn that his friend is on the other side of the globe. Taehyung hopes he is doing well. 

"We have the meeting with The Tigers in Hong Kong," Yoongi mutters, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. "I'll plan a trip from Hong Kong to Paris for a long weekend. Think you and Jeongguk can hold things down here while we're away?"

Taehyung chuckles, hums a soft, "Mmhmm," and turns, entering the x-ray room to return the tablet to its home and shut the equipment down. As he switches off the last set of lights and pulls the door to the room closed, Yoongi stands, pressing his palms into his knees with a deep sigh. He holds out a hand to help keep Yoongi steady in case he needs it, hovering it around his lower back. 

"I want to clean this hand wound, and bandage it a little so that the sight of it doesn't freak buttercup out," Taehyung says, using his fingertips against the palm of Yoongi's hand to encourage him to lift it. 

The wound is not too deep, and Taehyung leads Yoongi back into the first room, then grabs and rips open an antiseptic wipe packet, rubbing it over the surface of the wound to clean it. He grabs and unwraps a sterile pad while the antiseptic takes a moment to air dry, then he places it over the wound, positioning it diagonally so the entirety is covered, and gently wraps the hand in bandage tape that sticks to itself. 

Yoongi opens his fingers and squeezes them tightly closed, seemingly pleased with his range of motion, then he stands and begins to gather the items he discarded before having the x-ray,  dropping everything into his slacks pockets. Slowly, Yoongi slides his arms into his black button-up, and Taehyung helps him situate it over his shoulders.

"Let's get you home," Taehyung says as he wraps an arm around Yoongi's lower back, leading him back out to the main room and shutting off the light in the exam room. "I'm going to take care of our little friend. Anything you want me to ask him?"

Yoongi shrugs. "Just need a name or motive. I have a feeling I already know what this is about."

As they walk through the basement, toward the ramp leading up, Taehyung gives Yoongi's side a gentle squeeze, smiling when Yoongi leans into his side for a brief moment. He wishes they had more moments like this, with just the two of them, minus the injury. But, as it is, they both seem to have their hands full. 

"Do you think The Tigers will be able to handle the operations better than we have, if they decide to take over?" Taehyung asks as they walk up the ramp, to the foyer. He reaches to switch off the lights to the lower level, blinking as his eyes adjust to less light. 

"I think they are more than capable," Yoongi responds in a tone so flat, there is nothing to glean from it but the words themselves.

Taehyung nods, then asks, "And tonight...do we think this has anything to do with the men Jeongguk took out? Or do we think it is a personal attack from Ryujin?"

Yoongi hums, releases himself from Taehyung's hold, and turns to lean against the wall. Taehyung begins to crouch to retrieve Yoongi's boots, but Yoongi swats his hands away, letting out deep, long breaths as he bends. 

"Just give me time to do it," he mutters, so Taehyung nods and retrieves a pair of athletic slides, then he stands and joins Yoongi with his butt against the wall, sliding his feet into one sandal at a time.

By the time Taehyung is standing straight against the wall, Yoongi has his first boot tied, and Taehyung relaxes his shoulders and waits. 

"Seokjin thinks Ryujin may no longer be in charge of the Busan operations," Yoongi says after a pause, still bent in half.

"Oh?" Taehyung asks, not entirely surprised. He has heard whispers of such a thing. 

Yoongi hums, then stands still with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Taehyung is happy to see his range of motion is not inhibited too much, and continues to patiently wait. 

"He is working on gathering more information. Hopefully Hyunjin will have some insight, and we can sit down and talk with him once we have him safely in hiding."

"Ah," Taehyung responds, remembering a conversation about their informant finally being pulled out. 

He wonders if they plan on sending anyone new in his place, but does not ask. Information like this hardly leaves the small circles in which it is discussed until plans have been set in motion and they can safely discuss it openly. It took two years for him to learn they had an informant there, in the first place. 

"But to answer your question," Yoongi continues, sliding his foot into the second boot, "and to bring all of this mess—for lack of better term—together," he sighs heavily, "it is not that I think The Tigers can handle things better, necessarily, but if Ryujin, or whomever, does call for war, I do not want Jeongguk on the frontlines. Not only is he reckless and too willing to charge into a scenario like that headfirst, but he is our maknae. I found him as a kid dazed and scared on the street, covered in another man's blood, and I promised myself that nothing terrible would befall him again. Of course, I have failed at keeping that promise…but if I can keep him alive and healthy, I will do whatever it takes."

Relief washes over Taehyung and he rests his head back against the wall, letting out a deep exhale. He knows that Yoongi loves Jeongguk, and that protecting him has always been a priority, but he is glad that steps are being taken to pull Jeongguk out of operations that have kept him close to Busan. The guy is far too smart to be in charge of drug running, and it is high time he is given more responsibility that keeps him close to home. 

Perhaps Taehyung is selfish, but he does not want his Jeonggukie constantly traveling to the shore and back. He wants him here, where he belongs. If anything were to happen to Jeongguk, Taehyung would raise every demon from hell and burn this city and every building from here to the shore down to the fucking ground. 

"Nobody is more brilliant at logistics than Jeongguk," Yoongi continues, bent in half again and slowly tying his second boot. "Having him oversee drug operations has been monumental in our financial success, and thanks to him, the clubs have more high-spending clientele. Our success—that which we gained, and which was not passed down from the old man—is largely thanks to him. He has worked hard, and it is time for him to rest."

The thought of Jeongguk resting makes Taehyung chuckle. "You know that of all of us, he is the second most restless, after only you, hyung."

"I am aware," Yoongi responds with a hint of mirth in his voice. With a groan, he stands tall, resting his head back against the wall, and Taehyung watches him—watches as his long lashes flutter against his high cheekbones and his brows knit slightly. At times, he wishes he could read the man's mind. "I'll make sure he is kept busy. There is no shortage of bullshit to handle."

"Rumor has it, Jimin wants him to help with the clubs," Taehyung mutters, momentarily picturing muscular, tattooed Jeongguk spinning around one of the poles at Paradise wearing a tiny black thong with his piercings glittering in the light. 

Of course, stripping would not be one of the duties Jeongguk would be appointed to, but a man can dream.

"That certainly is an option," Yoongi responds as he opens his eyes and turns his gaze to Taehyung, soft and calm. "He can help Hoseok with weapons too, if he would like. Anything that strikes his fancy; this world is his."

Although Taehyung is not often one to openly show affection toward his boss, he cannot help himself as he turns and pulls Yoongi into a hug. Although Yoongi grumbles a sound of confusion, he lifts his arms and gently settles them around Taehyung's hips, and he does not balk at Taehyung resting his head on his shoulder. 

"Thank you, hyung."

Yoongi chuckles and begins to ask what Taehyung is thanking him for, but Taehyung shakes his head and gently hugs him tighter around the upper arms, careful not to compress against his chest. 

"I know you love us. I know that you look out for us, not just because it is your duty as our boss, but because you genuinely care about us. But I still want to acknowledge what you do to keep us safe. God only knows what could have become of Jeongguk, if— Just—" To his surprise, Taehyung feels emotional from his words, and he takes a fortifying breath. "Thank you." 

"Ah, Taehyungah," Yoongi grumbles, finally pushing free from the hug, making Taehyung momentarily hold on tighter, "We are a family."

"An incestuous family," Taehyung teases, earning him a smack on the side of the head, making him laugh as he finally releases the hug. 

"Nobody is forcing you to fuck one of the family men," Yoongi grumbles, hardly sounding defensive.

Taehyung laughs, mutters, "Sometimes he does," with a smile, earning him one more smack against the head before they walk to the front door and open it, greeted by cold night air and the sight of Jeongguk sitting on top of a body that lays face-down on the cement while smoking a cigarette. 

"Speak of the devil," Yoongi mutters, and Taehyung chuckles, feeling affection warm him. How can one man be so unhinged and so dreadfully beautiful, covered in blood and sweat.

"Gonna walk hyung home, then we'll take care of him?" Taehyung asks.

Jeongguk nods and tugs his lips into a small smirk. "Looking forward to it, hyung."

The walk back to Yoongi's mansion is quick and quiet, with gravel crunching and twigs snapping underfoot. The fountains appear somewhat ominous underlit in the dark—eerie and foreboding. When they reach the mansion, Yoongi looks up toward the only lit window on this side of the house and chuckles. 

"Want to take bets on whether they are in the tub or the shower?" Taehyung asks playfully.

"Definitely the tub," Yoongi responds with a soft smile that falls to something akin to worry. "I'm sure our darling is pretty shaken up from everything."

With a knowing nod, Taehyung hums. Perhaps he should not have run his sword through the man right in front of her. In the moment of passion, he finds he has a hard time with reason, seeing red and only considering the most effective way to maim and kill. 

"I'm a little surprised she hasn't been scared off, yet," Taehyung says against his better judgment. Thankfully, Yoongi never seems to take things too seriously when it comes to casual conversation between the family men, and he just hums in response.

"She's more resilient than she seems," Yoongi mutters after a moment. 

Taehyung wonders how true that might be. He has no reason to think she is weak, but is she as strong as they give her credit for? Or does she simply have nowhere else to go? 

He certainly would never blame her, either way. If being at the mansion is something she wants, then he wants her to find comfort and happiness…but he also worries about the unorthodox way in which she arrived at the mansion in the first place. 

Is there a chance she still feels like a prisoner in her own home? Are Yoongi and Namjoon distracting her with sex and a seemingly endless supply of money, drugs, and champagne?

As they round the mansion to the front door, Taehyung is relieved to find only one vehicle in the drive. Although he did not necessarily expect Seokjin or Hoseok to be around, he is glad to not have to stay and chat. Knowing there is a man at his home who he needs to deal with has him feeling antsy and eager to return. 

Yoongi's steps begin to slow as they approach the front door, and Taehyung steps in closer to offer a hand, which Yoongi pushes away as he goes through the various security measures to get into the front door. 

Once they are inside, however, Taehyung closes the door tight and gets down on his knees, ignoring Yoongi's protests for help, and unties his boots for him. Then he holds each one steady for Yoongi to step out of, stands, and wraps an arm around Yoongi's middle to guide him to the steps. Yoongi does not bother turning on any lights; a yellow glow from outside security lamps shine through the windows, making it easy enough to see. 

"I can walk just fine," Yoongi grumbles despite allowing Taehyung to continue with the assist. 

"You can," Taehyung agrees as he steps out of his slides and kicks them aside, "but you're slowing down and I want to get back home."

"Go fucking home then," Yoongi says with a gentle shove of his shoulder, but without a hint of malice in his tone. 

"Gotta make sure your darling doesn't have a concussion, and then I will."

Yoongi hums, then they round the staircase and take it nice and slow to the top. Although Yoongi winces and groans less, he leans more into Taehyung the closer they get to the landing, and he seems out of breath once they reach their destination. 

"How's your chest?" Taehyung asks as they approach the open door to the master bedroom. 

"Eh," Yoongi responds. "The pain is minimal compared to before. Now I just feel really fucking tired."

"Well," Taehyung says in a teasing tone as they enter the bedroom and swing to the left, toward the ensuite, and only light that appears to be on in the entire mansion, "no vigorous activity tonight. Leave all of that to Namjoon."

Yoongi chuckles, and Taehyung clears his throat, schooling his features to appear a little more impassive as they turn the corner and face Namjoon and buttercup in the tub. Namjoon appears to be giving her a foot massage, nearly making Taehyung crack a smile. No wonder she puts up with their bullshit. 

Although Taehyung should have expected such a response, he is taken slightly aback when she sees Yoongi and sits up quickly with a look of fear on her face. As she moves, water sloshes over the side of the tub, and it seems to take her a moment to realize her bare breasts are exposed before she lifts an arm to cover herself. Taehyung swallows a lump in his throat and does his best to appear as stoic as possible…Jeonggukie is going to be so jealous, but now is not the time to feel giddy about that.

“Don’t panic,” Yoongi says, holding his injured hand in the air. “I took a bullet to the vest, right in my sternum, and it hurts like a mother fucker, but I just need to rest.”

“You took a—” buttercup gasps, voice sounding weak before dying in her throat, and Taehyung is suddenly uncomfortable with having to witness this exchange, letting his vision lose focus as the moment passes. He really wants to get back home. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Namjoon says calmly.

Eager to check buttercup's eyes and get back to his captive, Taehyung walks Yoongi over to the toilet and stands close while he takes a seat on the closed lid, then he approaches the tub, pulling his little flashlight from his pocket.

“Yoongi, Jeongguk, and I are all fine after the bout of whiplash, but I would like to check your eyes,” Taehyung says, squatting beside the tub.

Buttercup nods and stares up at Taehyung, who switches on the flashlight beside the right side of her face and slowly pulls it upward until some of the light hits her eye. Everything looks good on this side, and he moves the light to the left side and does the same, then he switches it off and cracks a smile, relieved to find that she is fine. 

“Your pupils are dilating properly. Do you have any severe head or neck pain?”

She shakes her head and mutters, “No, just a little soreness where my head hit the seat.”

“Nausea or dizziness?”

“Kind of, but I think it’s just related to all the anxiety.”

“Alright,” Taehyung says, standing and taking a step backward; her responses are pretty standard, and her speech is fine. She seems perfectly cognizant. “If you happen to become dizzy or nauseated enough to vomit, or experience any sharp head pain, please call me and I will come right over.”

“Thank you, Taehyung,” she says softly, sighing with what sounds like relief.

Unable to hold back a shy smile, Taehyung says, “Don’t mention it, buttercup,” then he backs up, turns gracefully on his socked feet, and takes his exit, leaving Yoongi to undress himself and join his little harem in the tub. 

With a pep in his step, Taehyung leaves the master suite and practically slides to the top of the stairs, barreling down two at a time, jumping over the last three. As he practically sprints to his slides and throws the front door open, adrenaline spikes, and Taehyung takes off back to his property as quickly as his sandaled feet will carry him.

When Taehyung reaches the basement, finding the fluorescent lights turned back on, he notices boot tracks and droplets of blood on the otherwise polished floor, leading back to the dungeon. Just the thought alone of Jeongguk dragging a desperate, whimpering man through the space has blood rushing to his cock, and he steadily makes his way to the back of the long, mostly empty basement space, standing before a large metal door that Jeongguk has conveniently left cracked open. 

Taehyung's steps are light, sandals making minimal sound as he slowly pulls the door open and takes in the sight before him. The man is hanging limp in the center of the cement room with his wrists in chains, muttering something weakly with his head hung low, and Jeongguk is leaning against the far corner with his black button-up hanging half open exposing an enticing strip of golden skin while he smokes another cigarette. 

"Finally," Jeongguk says, dropping the cigarette to the floor and stomping it out beneath his boot. He looks angry to have been kept waiting, which fuels the already growing wildfire just beneath Taehyung's skin.

"Copping an attitude already?" Taehyung bites back with a glare, stepping through the space in a rush, past the man, to take Jeongguk's pretty little jaw in his hand and squeeze. "I had to take care of our boss. Have you no respect?"

Jeongguk is the first to crack, smiling with his lips squeezed between Taehyung's fingers, making Taehyung laugh. He pulls Jeongguk close, slots a leg between his thighs and presses their bodies together until Jeongguk whimpers. 

"I hope you didn't hurt him too much without me," Taehyung groans, digging his thigh higher into Jeongguk's balls until the poor guy's eyes begin to fill with tears. 

"N-no, sir," Jeongguk mutters sweetly, nearly making Taehyung consider putting the torture on hold so he can fuck him against this grimy cement wall.

But he wants to make this man scream. He really wants to.

"Damn," Taehyung mock pouts, dropping Jeongguk's jaw and taking a step back, watching as a mix of emotions flash before Jeongguk's face, including a hint of disappointment. "I was hoping to have a reason to punish you."

With a sudden devious grin, Jeongguk reaches for the holster around his thigh, pulls out a handgun, and lifts it, pointing to the man. He clicks the hammer back while raising his eyebrows, and Taehyung grabs his hand quickly, twisting the gun from Jeongguk's grasp and holding it behind his back. 

"Don't you fucking dare," Taehyung challenges, and Jeongguk laughs, bright and pretty, making him absolutely crazy. 

"God, you should have seen the look on your face," Jeongguk teases, stepping forward and reaching around Taehyung for his gun, which Taehyung allows him to have. "You looked like you were going to kill me."

"Please don't give me a reason to," Taehyung responds, shoving Jeongguk back into the corner and lifting his hands to rake them over the dirty, bloodstained shirt. "As pretty of a trophy as your head would make, I would suffer a great loss without you."

"So romantic," Jeongguk groans as his freehand presses into Taehyung's semi-hard cock and gives it a squeeze. 

The feeling is exquisite, especially with how tight and constricting Taehyung's slacks are, and he lets out a deep, pleased groan, allowing Jeongguk to tease him just a little more before getting his hands dirty. With a chaste, soft kiss, Taehyung backs from Jeongguk and turns back to their captive, who stirs and grumbles, head slumped forward. 

"Did you rough him up?" Taehyung asks as he crosses the room, over to a large metal rack that contains some of his retired tools. "He seems more out of it now than he was in the car."

"Yeah," Jeongguk responds, "while you and Yoongi were down here, I shot him up with a little baby dose of heroin."

A mix of anger and surprise spikes in Taehyung, and he spins, searching Jeongguk for any sign that he may be joking. "Heroin? Where the fuck did you get that?"

Jeongguk chuckles and shakes his head, holding up a hand. "Relax, hyung. Our friends in Japan sent some over in case we wanted to try it out, but I have been holding onto it only to use for purposes like these."

This information does not compute, and Taehyung watches Jeongguk a moment more, hoping that he will continue to talk. When he does not, Taehyung turns back to his rack of rusted, dull surgical instruments, and attempts to gather his thoughts. 

Bringing heroin back into the family, even unintentionally, could yield catastrophic results. The last time Yoongi had his hands on a supply, they nearly lost everything, including the man himself. 

Now is not the time for this conversation, but he does not want to let it go. With a sigh, he grabs onto his trusty Serratec III—feeling the weight of the steel, handheld bone saw—and flips the switch on, watching the blade whirr and spin to life. The sound rings out loudly in the otherwise silent space, and the man chained in the center of the room stirs, jerking his head upward. 

Blood drips from the top of the man's head into his eyes, and Taehyung takes a step forward, watching as clarity hits and the man begins to fully understand the gravity of the situation. 

"What is your name?" Taehyung shouts over the shrill buzz of the saw, standing about ten feet from the man, who jerks at the chains holding him. 

The man shivers like a leaf caught in a storm, whipping his head frantically from left to right. 

"P-please," he begs, "please don't do this."

"Please don't do this?" Taehyung asks loudly, taking a step closer. "That's a long family name…doesn't sound Korean."

Behind the man, Jeongguk snickers. Then he grabs the man's face with both hands and uses his thumbs and index fingers to open the man's eyes wide, forcing him to look at Taehyung. 

"Name," Taehyung shouts, crouching slightly to be eye-level with him. 

The man whimpers pathetically and turns his head away, blood, sweat, and drool coating his ugly face. Taehyung switches off the small metal saw, and silence falls as the spinning blade slows to an abrupt stop. Using the end of the semi-rusted blade, Taehyung presses the tool against the man's chin to push on his face and make him look at Taehyung a little more squarely. Jeongguk continues to hold open his eyes, which the man attempts to blink.

"You really should answer my questions," Taehyung says softly. "Men who don't follow my orders don't make it out of here alive."

With a low squeal, the man manages to twist out of Jeongguk's grasp, dropping his head to the side. Jeongguk roughly grips onto the man's greasy, short dark brown hair and jerks his head up, making him sob. With the ability to blink, tears fall freely down the man's face, and he shakes his head in quick, shallow movements. 

"I know who you are," the man mutters, spitting through his words while snot dribbles onto his upper lip. "N-nobody comes out of this basement alive."

Taehyung snarls, eyes wide with his teeth bared, doing his best to look as horrifying as possible. The man winces, shivering, and Taehyung chuckles, glad his plan has worked. 

"You know who I am, hmm?" he asks in a playful voice, scraping the edge of the saw blade gently up the man's jaw. 

"Y-you're d-doctor death," the man croaks through sobs. "Everyone has heard of you."

"Doctor death?" Taehyung repeats, chest swelling with excitement over the moniker. "My, my, my, I am honored to have earned such a title."

"Please just kill me," the man whimpers, shaking so hard his teeth rattle. 

"Ah, but I can't do that," Taehyung responds, cocking his head to the side to mirror the angle of the man's head. "I need to know who sent you to us tonight. And the longer it takes you to talk, the more painful it will be, do you understand?"

"Y-you know who it was," the man bleats, wincing when Jeongguk tugs his hair harder. 

With a sigh, Taehyung stands straight and flips the saw back on. The smell of piss hits his nose in an instant, and glances down to see a trickle running from the man's pant leg, into the small metal grate at his feet. 

Taehyung wonders how long this man has worked in this business, and what his rank might be. He appears no older than Yoongi or Seokjin but he cowers like a bitch who has hardly seen any action. 

"If you're so afraid of me, you should just talk!" Taehyung shouts like a parent scolding a child. 

"B-but they'll kill me," the man sputters, barely audible over the saw. 

"What I will do is worse than killing you!" Taehyung insists, holding up the saw so that the man has a good view of it. 

Finally, the man screams bloody murder, eyes screwed shut and spit falling from between his lips. 

"You're a lamb hung out to slaughter," Taehyung mutters, uncaring whether the man can hear him or not. "And nobody can hear you scream."

"P-please," the man whimpers, shaking his head, which is still being tugged by Jeongguk. "Tonight was nothing. She already has attacks planned at a much greater scale."

"She does, does she?" Taehyung asks, receiving at least one answer. 

There have been whispers, however, that Ryujin may not be in charge of the Busan operations. Nothing more than voices murmuring rumors…but Taehyung is curious whether there is anything to substantiate those murmurs, especially since Yoongi and Seokjin seem to also think they could be true; Yoongi knows Ryujin better than anyone. 

The streets tend to talk a lot, but something about this particular rumor seems to hold a little weight, if it is who Taehyung believes it may be. Although Ryujin has her bone to pick with her ex, she was never quite the vindictive type—not on this scale. 

Kim Hyungseo, on the other hand…

"P-please," the man sobs. "If you can promise me a clean death, I will tell you everything."

Taehyung's head rolls back as he laughs, making the sound as boisterous as he can muster. Just who does this man think he is, trying to tell Doctor Death what to do?

"Are you giving me orders?" Taehyung snaps, leaning in close while Jeongguk yanks the man's head hard enough to make him scream. 

"No! No, please, no, I was just—"

Taehyung leans in closer, speaking nice and slow, "Because I don't take too well to being given orders."

The man's eyes widen, full of fear so great, it makes Taehyung's heart soar to the heavens. Taehyung lifts the saw and gently nicks the man's jaw, causing a splattering of blood to hit him on the chest. The man squeals like a pig, frantically yanking at his restraints and causing Jeongguk's grasp on his hair to slip. 

"Who is your boss!" Taehyung screams, making the man scream in response, and Taehyung lifts the saw high and nicks the man on his ulna bone, just below his wrist, deep enough to hit the bone, but not deep enough to sever anything important.

"Fuck!" the man screams, "Please, please just kill me!"

"You know I won't do that," Taehyung teases, moving the saw around to hit the other arm in the same spot, letting the saw collide with the metal chains holding the man in place to make a horrific metallic scraping sound. "My reputation precedes me, remember? Doctor Death, was it?" 

It always amazes Taehyung how much a man will tolerate just to keep his mouth shut, and he leaves more little nicks along the man's arms, causing blood to run down in thin streaks. He is certain he would be able to withstand torture to keep Yoongi safe, but that is Yoongi, after all. 

What could this man possibly stand to gain, as a grunt sent into a gunfight? Is his life really worth more than whatever he is willing to protect?

"Alright," Taehyung sighs, turning the saw off once more. "Let's suit up and really make this pig squeal."

Beside the metal rack of nearly-defunct toys is a large, metal cabinet that holds hazmat suits, oxygen masks, and other protective barriers, as well as tubs of cleaning agents. Jeongguk slaps the man on the back of the head, then joins Taehyung by the cabinet.

The two of them make quick work sliding into two white suits that zip in the front, pulling hoods over their heads and covering their faces with masks that have a clear plate over the eyes, and respirators over the mouth. They put on sets of nitrile gloves, and Taehyung grabs a small tub of powdered lye that he hands to Jeongguk. 

Taehyung retrieves his saw and returns to the man, who trembles hard, bleating out pathetic pleas to be spared. Jeongguk removes the lid from the lye and tosses it aside, then pulls out a little blue measuring scoop and begins to sprinkle the caustic powder onto the man's hands and arms. 

The effect where the man is cut is instant—the lye begins to burn at the skin, eating away and causing the wounds to fester. The man thrashes and screams, spit and sweat flying from him as unintelligible syllables fall from his mouth as his chains clatter.

"You really should just answer my questions," Taehyung sing-songs, voice sounding even more menacing as it filters through the oxygen mask. "I can shoot you up with epinephrine and keep you alive for a long time."

The man curses and screams, frantically shaking his arms, rattling the chains loudly, only serving to make every nerve of Taehyung's spike—making him itch to hurt the man more. 

"Is Shin still in charge?" Taehyung asks, watching as the skin on the man's hands and wrists slowly turns a horrible yellow-pink. 

The man shakes his head, but it is not enough of a response; for all Taehyung knows, it could simply be a reaction to the pain. 

"Answer me!" Taehyung screams, and the man jerks away, frantically thrashing in his chains. 

"Y-yes," the man whimpers, but it is not convincing. He screws up his face in a way that tells Taehyung he is lying. 

"You're sure about that?" Taehyung asks, inching closer. "Rumor has it Kim is in charge, and Shin is a pawn."

The way the man's eyes light up tells Taehyung he is onto something, then he shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut, quaking with fear and pain the likes of which Taehyung can only imagine. 

But then the man says, "I d-don't know what you are t-talking about," squeezing his eyes shut even tighter. 

Taehyung hums, lifts the saw, and shouts, "Let's jog that memory of yours!" as he flips the switch and it whirrs loudly to life. 

Without waiting for the man to react, Taehyung begins to tap the spinning blade against the man's elbows and the fatty bits below the pronator teres and tricep muscles, careful not to go deep enough to sever any of the veins and nerves.

The screams that come from the man are nothing short of astounding. Jeongguk dips his nitrile-clad hand into the bucket of powdered lye and pulls out enough to begin spreading over the wounds, causing the wailing and shrieking to increase.

Taehyung worries the man might pass out a little too fast if they keep this up, but the sounds are magnificent, and he loves making men walk the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness.  

"What other plans does she have!" Taehyung shouts, and the man screws up his face, unwilling to open his eyes or look at him.  

"I don't—" the man spits, shaking his head slowly, "I don't know."

"Now is not the time to lie to me! You said she has plans for large-scale attacks! What does that mean?"

The man sobs, tears streaming down his face, and he heaves in deep breaths, appearing as if he might slowly be losing his grasp on reality. 

"She knows where you live," he mutters, head drooping low as all of his weight begins to tug on the chains around his wrists. 

Taehyung shuts off the saw and hands it over to Jeongguk, then he reaches into the pocket of his suit to grab from a stash of epinephrine pens and removes the safety cap from the end.

"Everyone knows where we live," Taehyung responds as he jabs the pen into the man's thigh and holds it in place, watching as the man jerks around and begins to scream again, appearing confused by his surroundings. 

"We could do this all night," Taehyung mutters, tossing the epinephrine aside and gripping the man by the jaw. "Tell me what she plans."

"She—" the man mutters, eyes widening before they begin to search the room as if the man has no grasp on where he is, even with the added adrenaline. 

"Fuck," Taehyung spits under his breath. 

Although an attack on their homes has always been within the realm of possibility—Ryujin lived in the mansion for years, after all—Taehyung does not like that the man brings it up. Hoseok has equipped each home with some fairly intense, high-tech firepower, but Ryujin could be expecting that. 

And if Hyungseo is the one in charge, there is no telling what their next moves might be. Taehyung needs to report back to Yoongi and Seokjin immediately. 

"Alright, well if you won't talk, I guess I will have to kill you," Taehyung says, exasperated and annoyed.

The man squeals, but he hardly seems to have any fight left in him. His skin is corroding where Jeongguk applied lye, festering with puss and blood and undoubtedly leaving behind a stench. 

Taehyung switches the saw back on, and Jeongguk pulls out the little blue scoop from the lye, holding it above the man's head. 

"May as well," Taehyung says with a shrug, and Jeongguk nods once before dumping the powder onto him. 

Soon it will mix with sweat and get into the man's eyes. Taehyung fails to think of anything more horrible to experience. 

With a yawn, Taehyung crouches and begins to hack away at the man, making him easier to dispose of later. He starts with his ankles, slicing through the material of his black slacks, which catches on the blade of the saw, yanking the man around. 

The sounds of the man screaming are drowned out partially by the pounding of Taehyung's heart in his ears, and he watches as one of the man's feet hangs on by tendons and sinew, dangling from a stump that gushes blood. 

The rest of his movements are mechanical, hacking the man at each major joint while Jeongguk uses scissors to cut away at the clothing and make it easier for him. He feels so tired suddenly—so worn down from the events of earlier—that he has half a mind to drag the man into the next room over and toss him into the cremation oven just as he is. 

Taehyung has no idea how long it takes, but by the time Jeongguk is shutting the oven door and exiting the dungeon to peel off his clothing, Taehyung feels as if he is blinking from a trance. 

He feels exhausted and disgusting. He needs to shower, and he needs to cum. 

Jeongguk helps Taehyung undress, carefully piling their clothing into a corner to be dealt with later, retrieving phones, wallets, and any other items from their pockets and carrying them in his hand. They walk through the basement in the nude, feet lightly slapping against cold white tile, and make their way to the main floor, through the foyer, up the flight of stairs, and down the hall to the master bedroom. 

Taehyung takes his phone once Jeongguk has set all the items down on a small marble table beside the bedroom door, and he shoots a text off to Seokjin and Yoongi with what little information he has. That he tried to confirm the whispered rumors, but the man hardly spoke; that the man said "she" knows where they live, but lost consciousness shortly after.

Water runs and steam pours from the ensuite, calling Taehyung like a siren's song. He tosses his phone onto the table and turns, meandering ungracefully into the bathroom. He feels the overwhelming urge to curl into a ball and let sleep claim him, but the sight of Jeongguk scrubbing the grime and blood from his perfect, tattooed body invigorates him.

Taehyung steps into the large white tiled shower and goes straight for Jeongguk, cornering him despite his limbs dripping with suds. He reaches for Jeongguk, who swats his hands away and shoves his washcloth into his grasp.

"You can touch me when you're clean, hyung," Jeongguk teases, snaking out from the corner to rinse himself.

Taehyung wastes no time squirting more soap onto the cloth and washing himself. He takes extra care to get behind his ears, and cleans his hair and face. Then he tosses the rag aside and reaches to the upper lip of the white tiles—to a space a few feet below the ceiling—where he has cloth restraints connected to a metal bolt in the corner.

"Trying to reenact the scene downstairs?" Jeongguk teases, taking his place in the corner and lifting his hands over his head.

"So fucking bratty tonight," Taehyung growls as he wraps each of Jeongguk's wrists in the restraints and closes the velcro tight. 

Taehyung keeps Jeongguk facing him, and he reaches between his legs, wasting no time prodding him open with one finger. Jeongguk squirms and squeals, getting onto his tippy toes before crashing back to his heels, over and over. 

"Lube, hyung," Jeongguk whines, and Taehyung shoves his finger in deeper. 

"What do you call me?" he grits between his teeth.

"Sir! Please!" Jeongguk whines, "F-feels good but it hurts."

Taehyung pulls his fingers away and grabs the bottle of lube that sits between his shampoo and body wash, squirting some on his fingers and setting it aside. He reaches between Jeongguk's spread thighs once more and prods with two fingers, slowly stretching him, giving him brief moments to catch his breath until he is settled knuckle-deep.

"Reassure me once more that Yoongi does not have access to heroin," Taehyung says, fixing Jeongguk with a stern look, watching as his eyes widen. 

"Sir," Jeongguk mutters, pulling on the restraints around his wrists. "Hyung, is now the right time?"

"Reassure me that you were given product in person, from someone you know. Nothing was mailed to the property? There is absolutely no way that it was a man from the Busan crew trying to get drugs into the mansion somehow?"

"Hyung!" Jeongguk responds, much more forcefully, with his brows knit. 

"I just need to be absolutely certain that our boss is safe."

"Can we talk about this later?" Jeongguk asks, eyes wide and frantic. "Since when are drug operations any of your responsibility?"

Taehyung slips his fingers from Jeongguk and takes a step back, feeling anger fizzle through him. He crashes his palm against the wet marble, sending water flying in a weak-sounding, somewhat painful slap, making Jeongguk flinch and grimace.

"Keeping our hyung alive is all our responsibility, Jeon Jeongguk!" Taehyung snaps, barely able to register the look of fear and confusion on his boyfriend's beautiful face. "If anything happens to him, I'll—"

Overcome with emotion, Taehyung slides his hand from the wall. The steam from the shower is too much, and he stumbles back, twisting to catch himself against cold tile that is not hit by the scalding stream of water. 

"You're tired, hyung. Let's fuck and go to bed, yeah?" Jeongguk suggests sweetly, shaking his restraints in wet smacks against the tile. "Or untie me and we'll talk about this." 

Taehyung takes a moment to catch his breath. Panicking over the health and safety of one man is not going to get him anywhere. Not when that man is safe in his home, sandwiched between two very clingy people who are just as determined as he is to keep him safe. The thought makes Taehyung chuckle and shake his head, coming back to himself. 

"I am tired, but first I'm going to fuck that tight little hole of yours," Taehyung says, fixing Jeongguk with a smile that he knows must appear maniacal—eyes wet and bloodshot, bearing his teeth. Nothing Jeongguk is not used to, but my, what a spectacle he must be. 

Jeongguk takes in a deep breath that comes out ragged, and Taehyung wastes no time grabbing him by the jaw with one hand while his other reaches between his thighs, pressing two fingers past the knuckle back into him. 

With a strained chorus of, "Ah, ah, ah," Jeongguk's head rolls back, sweat and condensation from the hot shower pouring down his chest, dropping from the little metal balls of his nipple rings. 

Taehyung licks from the center of his chest to his clavicle, coating his tongue in salty-sweet sweat, groaning in tandem with Jeongguk's deep, needy moan. He does not allow Jeongguk a moment to adjust, fucking his fingers deep while Jeongguk trembles and bleats out broken, desperate sounds. 

It takes no time at all to stretch him enough to get him begging, and Taehyung slicks his cock with lube, then lifts Jeongguk's leg, hooking it over his hip while pulling him into a position that is far too precarious to be doing in the shower. 

Jeongguk sighs and gasps as Taehyung presses his cock slowly, carving him open much wider than his fingers possibly could. The tight squeeze feels incredible, and Taehyung stills once he is buried deep, taking a moment to clear his head and catch his breath. 

He fucks Jeongguk slowly at first, pinching and rubbing his fingertips over pierced nipples and a pretty clavicle while his other hand holds him firmly by the hip. Jeongguk sings for him, moans and sobs echoing through the enclosed space, pitchy and broken and beautiful, driving Taehyung absolutely fucking insane. 

"Just look at you," Taehyung growls as he picks up his pace, eager to fill Jeongguk with his release. "Look at how that pretty cock bounces, untouched and leaking." 

Jeongguk whimpers and attempts to bury his face against one of his arms, but Taehyung grabs him roughly by both hips and says, "Look at me," in a stern enough voice that has Jeongguk's eyes widening, tears and water falling from his long brown lashes. 

That look alone sends Taehyung hurtling over the edge, and he fucks impossibly harder, water squelching in the spaces where their bodies meet. With one hand, he takes Jeongguk's cock and strokes it, rolling his palm over the head, just the way he likes.

"Please," Jeongguk sobs with desperate eyes, and Taehyung nods, biting his lip hard in an effort to stave off his own orgasm.  

Jeongguk cries out as he paints his tummy in release, eyes screwing momentarily shut before he opens them wide, trained after years of Taehyung forcing him to look at him while he cums. Taehyung cannot hold any longer, and he slams his cock deep, quaking from pleasure as he fills Jeongguk, gripping onto his hips tightly, desperate to never let him go. 

As Taehyung pulls out, he wraps his arms around Jeongguk and buries his face into his neck. He hates that he gets this way—so overcome with affection and love that he feels the urge to sob. 

"Thank you," he grumbles into Jeongguk's skin, then he slowly begins to reach up and undo the velcro restraints. 

"Felt good, hyung," Jeongguk mutters as his hands are freed and he is able to pull Taehyung close. "Let's get to bed."

Taehyung wants to get to bed—needs to rest his weary head and relax his tired bones. But he hugs Jeongguk close, breathing through the surge of anger and fear that spark throughout his limbs and sizzle beneath his skin.

"I won't let her hurt him," he grits through his teeth, picturing the way Yoongi was so worn down today—so unlike himself. "I won't let anyone hurt any of us."

"Shh," Jeongguk whispers softly, reaching to shut off the stream of water, making the warmth on Taehyung's skin instantly turn cold. "We won't let anything happen to anyone, hyung. We'll keep them safe."

"We'll keep them safe," Taehyung mutters in response, feeling sleep claw at him, dragging him down, down, down. It is a promise he does not take lightly. Every last person in Busan had better watch out.

*

woof, that one was a doozy! for those who don't know who Kim Hyungseo (BIBI) is, here is a palate cleanser.

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[tea-earl-grey]

i had an itching for comfort media so i went back to watch some s1 voyager episodes and s1 is soooo much better than i remembered. the later seasons appeal to my tastes a bit more but all the characters in s1 are so earnest and hopeful even when they butt heads and disagree and i'm just sitting here like "oh god they don't know what the next 7 years have in store..." i doubt it was that purposeful on the writers' part but it's so compelling how all of the characters have pretty open insecurities and are clearly people with lives and dreams beyond Voyager and bit by bit that's chipped away in later seasons. yes everyone becomes more confident and competent but is that really who they are or are they just losing themselves along the journey? (unfortunately the Doyalist explanation is just that the writers stopped putting focus on like. half of the main cast but shh i'm here for Watsonian analysis.)

like it's particularly noticeable with Janeway. she's definitely always been written as a strong leader but i forgot how much in early seasons we get to see her insecurities and vulnerabilities, how different she acts from when she's acting as captain to when she's alone, how often she questions her morality and whether she has the right to make decisions for her crew (and how often others questioned that right). then in the later seasons (around s3 and definitely by s4), she almost never questions her moral decisions, she rarely shows doubt, she plans heists on Borg cubes without a second thought, she dispenses her justice to the Equinox crew without really considering their position, she regulates others' autonomy (especially with Seven and the Doctor) without seeming to realize how easily that can go wrong. and don't get me wrong i love this development and think it's incredibly realistic for Janeway to deeply internalize her role and authority as a Captain and for it to permanently change her sense of self. Endgame is the perfect closure for Janeway's character because her future self exerts that same authority that she's been practicing over herself (also Janeway gets to live out her martyr complex one last time). i just wish the show was a little bit more self-aware that it was writing Janeway (and other characters) like this because there could be so many more interesting character conflicts.

anyways rewatching early ds9 made me say "aww these characters don't know that one day they'll all grow together and basically become family" and rewatching early voyager has me saying "uhohhhh these characters don't know the unhealthy relationships and neuroses they're going to uncover and develop". toxic found family for the win.

[joofie404]

joofie oc project masterpost

for easy reference, this'll be my new pinned post

ACTIVE PROJECTS

projects that are rotating in my head as we speek

Main OC Universe A fantasy story inspired by early 2000s rpg maker anime adventure games. It stars two best friends, Clyde and Ni, as they travel the world and meet memorable friends and powerful foes. It's gonna be a series of RPG maker games in the future.

Fuuka's story Mayumi, Michiru, and Usagi, three high school students, are begged by an ice cream vendor to befriend a strange girl named Fuuka. They agree, and are quickly pulled into her own eccentric little world. Follows the daily lives of the girls as Fuuka cartwheels through life and drags everyone along with her own unique charm.

Mano N' Mona Two sisters, one abnormally strong (yet somewhat empty minded) and another having unique shapeshifting abilities, who were adopted by a kind, elderly dog, set off to explore the world around them. On their travels they find many new people and places, having fun and playin the ukulele.

EVANGELINE After losing her sister to demons, Evangeline, an angel, was driven over the edge. Stealing a weapon from her higher ups, she threw herself into the abyss and killed thousands in retribution. In the aftermath of her massacre, she has to find some way to return to paradise's society; a task proven easier said than done. Fortunately, her friend Seph is there to try and help her heal. But with rising activity in the abyss, Evangeline finds herself torn between trying to heal, or diving right back down to give the infernal what they deserve.

Dark Star Meiko, a spunky, bright warrior, has spent years fighting against the villainous King Rend with her friends. Hundreds of adventures, multiple character arcs, countless memories. In what seems like the final battle to beat Rend to a magical artifact known as the dark star (a star that grants three wishes to evil people) however, Meiko fails unexpectedly. With her enemy now being all powerful, Rend uses his third and final wish to completely erase Meiko from existence. After somehow willing herself back into existence in a permanently altered form, she now has once more chance to save her world, which is now a doomed land where her foe rules all and her allies don't know her.

Unnamed Kemonomimi Project going under rewrite

Unnamed Detective Story A book I'm writing. Twin detectives Andrew and Tracy from New Jerk City, a big place in the fictional country of Leftwall, who have been stuck with small fry cases their whole career, finally get a big case which drags them into a scheme much bigger than they could ever imagine. Chaos ensues.

WW3.5 A spinoff of Unnamed Detective Story. World War Three breaks out and everyone is fighting but two made up countries, Leftwall and Rightnair, who absolutely DESPISE each other yet held off from war use it as an excuse to fight exclusively with each other, earning their battle the title of World War 3.5. Leftwallian childhood friends Tammy and Ricky get drafted into the skirmish, and now are stuck following orders, blowing things up, and shooting people while getting into increasingly absurd situations and absolutely not getting out unscathed.

Jam And Jeepney The antics of two married women as they depart from the comfort of their trailer in order to take on random jobs to get cash. The jobs are never normal however, with the two facing everything from monster chefs and killer robots to zombie generals, grumpy scarecrows, and more.

subterfuge four friends, Maisie, Dan, Tara and Trevor, distance from each other after their fifth friend, Andrew, disappears during a camping trip. Approximately one year later, all four wake up in an empty city blanketed in fog. They aren't alone, however. Their old friend is here too, but PSYCH it's actually a cryptid of unknown origin and power wearing his skin in order to terrorize the four in a sick game. previously a choose your own adventure google slides horror story, planned to one day be an actual rpg horror game.

somewhere a girl named Maebi's best friend Harmony disappears while she sleeps, leading to her deciding to explore the gray void they reside in and open every door she comes across in order to find her again. on the way she meets a few people and finds some new places which help her realize some things about herself, and i'm not gonna spoil much because yeah

IFFY PROJECTS

projects i have but haven't done anything with in a while

Freak Hunters Freaks are malicious entities that take forms based off of objects, materials, elements, or feelings, gaining powers based off of what they chose. It is in their nature to cause destruction and mayhem, and they use these forms in order to do so. Its a Freak Hunter's job to find and destroy them. John, Cassidy, and Whitty, three former police officers who were offered a role as freak hunters after dispatching Reznor the sawblade freak during an attack on the training grounds, are now the head of division 047. Their day-to-day lives revolve around them hunting down the aforementioned freaks, whatever the conditions or threat level. Reasons for lack of content: lost interest kinda

unnamed power of friendship thing this story synopsis is so long i'm not even gonna try. here's the quick and dirty: void creates good and bad people, void beasts are evil and come from negative energy, lumians are good and come from positive energy. lumians are basically the sweetest creatures alive but when the five monarchs find out they come from the void, out of fear they kill them all and seal the entrances to the void, which would stop the creation of any more lumians. felince malson, a scientist whose marriage with a lumian was ruined by the act, was asked to seal one of the entrances but she just faked it out of spite, which leads to a little boy coming into existance many years later. he escapes, charms the townsfolk, becomes the best friend of a bird girl named Ava, and everything is swell until the king finds out and sics the guards on him. now he and Ava are running around the world, making friends while avoiding the kingdom guard. Reasons for lack of content: genuinely a monster sized project

joofie's unnamed mascot horror Ok, so there's a world called uh. i don't remember! it's a self enclosed space, not terribly large, and it's inhabited by goobers with wildly varying designs, both good and antagonistic? not necessarily pure evil, like cartoonishly heinous villains. It's like a well-oiled system, running like a kids cartoon with each member being their own cog in the grand scheme. And this world was all brought about by a deity-like figure known simply as The Artist. Appearance wise she's just a white silhouette with a beret, but all the inhabitants love her and even the villains drop any fights or schemes to talk with her when she shows up. She's kinda like the god, it's implied she hand-made the world and it's inhabitants, but she doesn't really act godlike. Anyways, one day, she disappears. And that leaves the goobers at the mercy of monsters known simply as the predecessors. They vaguely resemble characters? But they've been like. slendytubbied and they're kinda visually oppressive. they tear apart anything they get their hands on, and that leaves the inhabitants, a bunch of kids who have no idea what a death is, to fend entirely for themselves. the main character is this guy named Wim, and he's a doormat essentially trying his best to keep his friends and little sister Zee from getting hurt. he kinda fails and falls apart until he's the only one left but that's beside the point uhhhh OK so there's this big reveal that the world is kinda like a cycle, with a world being created and then abandoned when the artist makes a new world. The predecessors were actually the inhabitants of the previous world, twisted beyond recognition by hatred and jealousy for their replacements. there were two endings, a good one that was kinda sappy but satisfying for people who liked the characters and a bad one that was more inline with the horror and hopeless feel of the series Reasons for lack of content: idea was made with ex-friends from a discord server that collectively manipulated and hurt me, i haven't touched the series since. if you like the idea i'm pretty sure a roblox game called dandy's world or something is pretty similar idk

[aryaqua-reh2o]

Stolas will die???

So I’m still recovering from Apology Tour because it utterly destroyed me and there is so much to unpack from that AMAZING episode I’ll need months to put it all together. But I just had a cathartic moment while randomly considering strings of information gathered here and there and… I think Stolas may, indeed, die. 

Not as in assassinated or something like that. He will hopefully die after a long life shared with a certain someone (DELULU LAND!!!). 

So from the last episode, Apology Tour, we had the confirmation that Stolas is, indeed, immortal. 

But in The Full Moon Stolas himself cries out “I’ll fkn die alone if this goes bad” - did he forget he is immortal? Does he think he’ll likely be killed along the way, considering that he barely escaped Striker’s attempt?

His dying is brought up as early as in S1E2 when a young Stolas sings to Octavia, he’s clearly implying his death there, but why? 

And if the seven hells collapse

Although the day could be my last

You will be okay

When I'm gone, you'll be okay

He sings *WHEN*, not IF I'm gone. Well, he had to marry Stella to sire a precautionary heir so maybe assassinations are a normal occurrence among the Ars Goetia. 

And then we have this frame from back in Oops! that had me freak out when I first saw it.

Helluva Boss is so well written that I highly doubt the creators would do something so nonsensical like killing Stolas, it will serve nothing and it would likely ruin the show (I would 100% stop watching if that ever happens) so I don’t think this is the case. But after having my life ruined by the last two episodes I came to a realisation: Stolas is at fault in many ways, he’s a flawed character and that’s what makes him so real. Blitzø is starting his journey towards redemption and healing from his traumas because he was pointed in the right direction (in a very traumatic way for both him and the fandom), but Stolas still has no one to help him see his wrongdoing. He knows something isn’t right and he feels he might be part of the problem, but he is still far away from understanding and he’s completely alone now, even Via seems not to live in the palace anymore. So, there are two main issues that weigh on the imbalance between Blitzø and Stolas that seem to be impossible to overcome: Stolas’ wealth/nobility and his immortality. I think that for Stolitz to happen there is a need to fill the enormous gap between Blitzø and Stolas, and I think this is going to happen. From what little we see from the trailer it seems likely that Stolas will be stripped of his title and possessions and lose his privileges. I don’t think he will lose all his powers because he was born with them, but maybe he will have to give up the Grimoire so he won’t be as powerful as he is right now. This in my opinion needs to happen for him to be forced to face reality outside his gilded jail, to live as a normal, ordinary demon in hell, maybe even being treated like an outcast, like an imp. This leaves immortality on the table as the main difference between Blitzø and Stolas. What if Stolas has to give his immortality up at a certain point? Because he loses his royalty, or maybe because… he will give it up willingly to save someone’s life? After all, what we see in Oops! is a clock that turns into a skull once it hits Stolas. There is not a single frame in this show that is put there by accident, so my two cents go into thinking that one day Stolas will lose his immortality somehow. And this will take him closer to Blitzø. 

[antianakin]

Lol bringing Anakin Skywalker onto your show where your own fucking characters are so flat and disconnected from the wider storyline that they routinely have to be SIDELINED whenever they try to touch on it is such a transparently desperate move to try to make this show seem bigger and more important than it is.

Much like with The Mandalorian and the Ahsoka show, TBB is making the PROFOUND mistake of thinking that being disconnected from the greater Skywalker Saga is a failure and not an opportunity. This is also why the main ensemble NEVER SHOULD'VE BEEN CLONES IN THE FIRST PLACE because the story that was written for them was so clearly and obviously not made with clones in mind. The characters DO NOT CARE about clone issues, they DO NOT CARE about the rebellion, they DO NOT CARE about the Republic or what happened to it. ALL they care about is themselves and like... Omega.

And this doesn't have to be a BAD thing, they can just live in their own little bubble and have their own adventures in the Star Wars universe without being really impacted at all by the narrative happening around them. This was something people loved about Din and The Mandalorian in its early years, something it started to lose in season 2 with the introduction of Ahsoka and Bo-Katan and then completely gave up on in season 3. Having your main character(s) be completely removed from the more well-known story and its characters can really open up a LOT of chances to tell some unique and interesting stories. We see the proof of that in pretty much every episode of Visions that exists.

But by making the main ensemble of TBB clones, people are going into this expecting it to be a story ABOUT THE FUCKING CLONES, exploring how the clones are actually impacted by Order 66 in its immediate aftermath, what does this look like for them, what happened to them, how did Rex, Gregor, and Wolffe end up entirely alone on Seelos and are they truly the only three survivors out of that population of MILLIONS. And instead, because the main characters are clones-but-not-really, we have a story that tries to pretend to be about clones but is in actuality could not care less about the clone issues and any time they try to ADDRESS clone issues, their entire ensemble has to be literally sidelined to do it because it wouldn't make any sense for them to care.

And they keep tossing in all these random cameos by other characters who ARE more involved in the bigger story, like Rex and Hera and Saw and Riyo and Bail and Cody and Ventress. So not only are we expecting this to be a show about clones, we're expecting it to touch on a lot of the characters whose stories are more interesting. Except it can't do that and these characters just flit in and out without having any real impact on TBB at all because they CAN'T. This show and its characters literally won't allow for it. It relies on these cameos to keep people invested in it because they so clearly don't trust their own main characters enough to hold anybody's attention on their own, but they can't do anything interesting with those cameos because they AREN'T the main characters and their main characters WON'T GET INVOLVED IN THOSE STORIES. So we're locked in this really annoying pattern of getting glimpses into these better, more interesting stories and then getting abruptly wrenched away without getting any kind of follow-up or conclusion.

So including Anakin? Yeah, that's gonna be a massive mistake. People are going to LOVE having Anakin in there because hey, it's Anakin, the main character of the REAL story everyone ACTUALLY cares about, it's Darth Vader, that villain everybody loved, we're all invested in THAT DUDE already. But it's going to pull focus from TBB immensely and add exactly nothing to them because TBB have zero real connection to Anakin and all of the themes surrounding his character don't mean shit to this particular ensemble. At best, he's a monster for them to flee from because they can't defeat him in any meaningful way, and anybody could've been that monster. But they made it Anakin because people already like him and they're DESPERATE for some positive attention on the finale season of this show. It won't work, this show is already fucking awful and tossing in yet another cameo isn't going to change that. It's just desperate and it's lazy, two things this show has been from day one.

[yurisorcerer]

I'm not gonna pretend I have anything super new or innovative to say about Mobile Suit Gundam. It's one of the most-analyzed anime ever, and I pale in comparison to some of the people who *have* analyzed it, but here I am, thinking about it regardless.

For context, I am watching this as part of a---as she called it---"comet swap" with my good friend @charaznablespeteevee, where I watch a mecha anime she is obsessed with (Gundam) and she watches one I am obsessed with (Code Geass). I'm not sure if I'm going to write a big long post like this about every episode (since I'm going to *try* to watch at least one per day, that would get quite exhausting), but I am liveblogging it more informally over on the worst website on Earth, if you're willing to put up with that Nazi-infested hellhole long enough to read some posts from yours truly.

In any case, Gundam and Code Geass. are many differences between these, the main ones being that Code Geass is more recent and also not widely hailed as a masterpiece of its form. It does *draw* notably from Gundam though despite having very different artistic aims and a different tone, so watching this makes sense in a way. I spent way too much of my teenagerhood obsessed with Lelouch, and now I'm watching the anime that his archetypal grandfather came from. (Goddess have mercy on my soul.)

My experience with Gundam as a franchise prior to this is very limited, but I do have some. For reference, I have seen all of:

Gundam 00, back when it aired on the SyFy channel when they had an anime block many years ago. I really liked this as a teenager but I don't remember it super well.

The Witch From Mercury, lesbian space combat, with a notable Code Geass staff connection. WFM was not perfect or anything but I loved it a lot and Suletta is very dear to me. I actually bought an Aerial gunpla a few months ago that is currently sitting unassembled in my closet.

the first Gundam 0079 compilation movie. Now, it might seem weird that I've seen this and am now going back to watch the TV series. But, while I remember the general outline of what happened, I was SUPER sick when I watched it, and I only remember what happened really, really vaguely. While I have some idea of the general outline of what's to come, I'm mostly going in genuinely blind.

like 4 or 5 episodes of Victory Gundam, which I liked but kind of fell off of. So we're giving the franchise a proper second go here.

I'm a mecha fan more generally, and I'll get into some of that as I write these, but for now that's the relevant stuff.

Anyway, my main impression of 0079's first episode is actually a structural one. It's REALLY well put together. We introduce the setting, we introduce our main characters, and we introduce the main conflict, all very economically and with a lot of style---more style than some shows with significantly less room to work with manage, in fact---and I'm immediately invested in the fate of our main character, Amuro Ray.

From what I gather here (and a little bit from outside information), my impression is that of a kid who loses his innocence very, very rapidly over the course of this story. Here, the space-hab-thing he lives on is attacked, and he ends up in the cockpit of an experimental superweapon called a Gundam (maybe you've heard of them?). I LOVE how the Gundam is framed here, like some kind of genuinely scary war machine. It's an intentionally othering effect i mostly associate with later mecha anime, especially those with outright monstrous mecha like Evangelion or even The Big O, so to see it here in such a comparatively early series in the genre is impressive.

The episode's climax sees him kill two soldiers from the enemy nation of Zeon, but it's not a triumphant thing, really. He's portrayed as kind of not really knowing what he's doing, flailing around inside this gigantic walking tank / mechanical war god. But then when he *does* figure things out, well, he has to deal with the fact that he just killed two dudes. Going by the cliffhangery ending here, it doesn't seem like his troubles are over, either.