#it's got a glass roof which is cool. i had a Vibe in mind but didn't quite hit it i don't think

[ohlawsons]

also! i had to make sims!rei an appropriately sith-y house in preparation for the sw pack. at some point i’ll finish messing with it but i may have rage quit after realizing i had decorated the entire thing and forgot to put stairs.

[thebigqueer]

"Growth" - Piper McLean & Jason Grace - One-Shot

Summary: Jason & Piper share a moment together as her birthday comes to a close

Note: WOOOO HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER ILY and also this is purely platonic

Word Count: 1979

Read on AO3

A cool draft of night air pours over Piper, and she hugs her arms closer to her body in an attempt to block out the cold. It’s awfully chilly for a June night, but she doesn’t mind; she prefers the crispy air anyway. It’s liberating.

The black sky spills like ink overhead; twinkling stars poke white holes into the mesmerizing darkness. A gleaming white moon spills over Piper like a spotlight, and her eyes sparkle under the beautiful night.

She sighs contentedly and pulls her knees to her chest. These are her favorite moments - the ones on the roof of her house, with nothing but the empty, dark sky before her and the cold for company.

She’s comfortable in her skin here. She’s herself.

It’s a nice change from the eventful night she’s had. She and her friends have been celebrating her birthday all day, first by spending a day out in the city, and then throwing an eventful party at her house during the evening. Her body aches with a happy exhaustion, and her mind still buzzes with the music that pulsed just hours ago.

But as much as she’s loved today - especially after seeing most of the Argo II group - an urge has been humming in her head since the evening. An urge to just be alone, to slip away.

Now most of her friends are asleep inside the house, and finally, after hours of laughing and celebrating, hours of smiles and stretched enthusiasm, Piper can throw off her mask and let herself deflate.

The midnight sky embraces her. Its cool, comforting arms wrap around Piper and accompany her in her solitude. The shadowed trees dance under the moonlight as another brush of wind sweeps through the clearing before her.

Piper leans her chin against her knees and allows a soft, quiet smile to slip over her mouth. A feverish and excited warmth blooms under her cheeks as she gazes ahead into the night, its darkness full of possibilities for the future.

She’s so lost into the silence, so consumed into the solitude, that she barely notices when a large thud rumbles behind her. It’s only when a warm arm brushes against that she realizes she isn’t alone.

Anxiety beats in Piper’s heart at the brush of contact. She reaches for a dagger by her side as fear courses through her. What if it’s a monster? What if someone’s here to steal her?

The look of surprise and terror in her eyes must be pretty amusing, because when she finally meets the gaze of her intruder, a warm, familiar laugh falls over her.

“It’s just me,” says Jason. “No need to get jumpy.”

A groan of relief escapes Piper’s chest and she scoffs, turning her gaze back to the scene before her. The prior calmness that floated over her has completely dissipated and she frowns in frustration. “Geez,” she mutters. “Can’t you be a little more quiet?”

“If I was quieter I’m sure I would have made you accidentally fall from the roof,” responds Jason. He gestures to the empty spot beside her and raises an apprehensive eyebrow. “Do you mind if I sit?”

Despite her annoyance, a small smile quirks over Piper’s lips. Usually she’d be angry if someone came to interrupt her alone time, but knowing that it’s Jason, she’ll allow his intrusion. She scoots over and nods. “Have a seat, Sparky.”

Jason’s body thuds softly against the roof as he sets himself down. His long legs dangle next to hers, and against the next gust of wind, both their feet sway like wind chimes.

Piper watches Jason closely, a suspicious line drawing itself over her mouth. Her eyes travel over his physical being, searching for any new changes that may have appeared in his absence. Pale moonlight washes over his features and offers Jason an almost ethereal, elvish glow. His blond hair gleams like sunlight; his pale skin glows as it absorbs the cool, empty gleam of the moon. Behind his glasses, Jason’s electric eyes spark in the darkness.

The demigod turns his eyes to her, almost as if he knows she’s watching him. A confused smile quirks against his lips. “What?” he asks. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Piper shakes her head and smiles. “Nothing. It’s just… Seems like you’ve grown quite a bit since I’ve last seen you.” She nudges her shoulder against his playfully. “It’s weird growing up, isn’t it?”

Jason laughs softly, and the sound of his amusement billows in the air. He grins at her. “Gotta say, didn’t think we’d even make it to eighteen. Seems like a feat in itself.”

She hums in agreement, then turns her gaze back to the scenery around her. A warm blanket of quiet wraps around the two demigods, pulling them together in the intimate darkness, and Piper finds that she doesn’t mind this closeness with Jason at the moment. It’s been so long since she and him have truly taken a moment for themselves.

After a few moments of calm, Jason shifts a little, his sweatshirt rustling against his body. A slight whooshing sound slips over him - the sound of paper rustling against clothing - and Piper turns her head curiously to the noise.

In his hands, she notices a paper plate with two slices of pink cake, along with two white plastic forks. She offers a quizzical look to her friend.

He responds with a shy smile. “Do you wanna eat some with me? We can hoard it for ourselves before the others wake up tomorrow morning.”

A soft laugh puffs from Piper’s lips. She pulls a fork from the plate, jabs it into the cake, and pulls a piece of it closer to her mouth. Before biting down, she teases, “Damn, Grace, didn’t take you to be the rebellious kind.”

Jason chuckles as he takes his own fork and takes a chunk for himself. “Leo’s been a bad influence on me, I guess.”

Piper doesn’t miss the pink that bleeds over his cheeks at the mention of Leo’s name. After swallowing her bite down, she offers a sparkling grin to Jason. “Ah, yes. Your boyfriend.”

She relishes the sight of Jason’s red ears. “My boyfriend,” he agrees shyly, a hum of excitement lingering over his voice.

“How are you guys? Enjoying your new apartment together?”

The blond shrugs timidly, but Piper doesn’t miss the prideful smile over his mouth. “Yeah. It’s been kinda fun. He’s really hard to share a bed with though.” Jason rolls his eyes. “He hogs the blanket, which is stupid since he can literally turn to fire and be his own heat warmer. But no, he insists on leaving me in the cold.”

“Well, they never said love was easy.”

“Hm. Yeah, I guess so.” Jason offers her a pointed look now, a glimmer of excitement overcoming his own eyes. “And what about you? How are you and Shel?”

Now it’s Piper’s turn to blush. She stuffs her cheeks with another bite of cake, and watching her do so, Jason laughs merrily.

“Well,” she huffs after swallowing her food, “we’re good. We’re considering doing long distance for college. We’ll give it a try.”

Jason nods, and an almost pitiful look comes into his eyes. “Bet that’s gotta suck to leave her behind. But I have faith in you guys.” He nudges her. “And, if it doesn’t work out, then that’s fine, too. We’re still growing and we’re still learning. We still have a lot of life to live.”

Piper shrugs in reluctant agreement, but at his words, a chill of dread trickles down her back.

Growth. It’s all about growth. Life is about blooming and thriving, about setting up roots in one place and being ready to get transported to new soil whenever Fate decides it. As beautiful as growth can be, sometimes Piper wishes she could just stay in one state of mind for a while. But life just feels like a constant shift, a constant rotation of changes. It gets a little tiring.

She sighs and picks on a thread against her sweatshirt sleeve. “Jason,” murmurs the demigod, “I- I miss everything. You know? I miss the old days. Like, don’t get me wrong, I love how much we’ve all grown and stuff, but it’s just… I miss being with everyone again. I feel lost sometimes.”

Jason nods his head and gazes wistfully out to the trees. “Yeah,” he whispers. “Like, I don’t miss the danger and fear and trauma. But I miss the chaos and stuff in our group. Remember when we got Leo to snort all those Smarties on the ship one night?” A huff of laughter echoes from Jason’s chest, but this one isn’t as full as the others. It’s a little empty, like he’s laughing into the past. “Man, that was fun.”

Piper snorts. “Yeah. Poor Leo.”

Another curtain of silence falls between them, but this one is tense, high-strung, almost as if it’s waiting for some kind of confession.

Piper sighs and leans her head against Jason’s shoulder. He flinches at the contact a little but - after accepting her touch - he leans his own head against hers. Piper locks her elbow with his and closes her eyes, losing herself in the warmth of their bodies.

“I miss you,” she says. “I know we never really had any romantic feelings for each other, but… I miss our vibe, you know? I miss our friendship.” She smiles softly at him. “You were my best friend, Jason. You are my best friend. I guess I just miss being with you and Leo as a group together.” She rubs her finger over his wrist in an attempt to ground herself. “I just miss when it was us three against the world. Now we’re… growing farther apart. Living on different sides of the country.”

Jason sighs. “We miss you too, Piper. Trust me. Every night I always feel… I don’t know. I feel like we’re always missing some important piece of us. That important piece is you.” He chuckles sadly. “We can’t be the gay trio while you’re in some totally different state.”

Piper laughs hollowly. After another beat of silence, she whispers, “We’re growing up, Jason. I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

Jason doesn’t respond for a while. Piper looks up at him, wondering where his voice has gone, but finds that his gaze is fixated upon the trees. He’s not quite here, not in her hands; instead, he’s drifting over some other plane of reality, thinking through all that’s around him.

Finally, after what seems like hours, he says, “Yeah, we are. And it hurts to leave so much of our past behind. But… growing up doesn’t have to be all bad. Think of it like an important milestone for us.” He turns and smiles at her. “Everyday that we live and grow, we’re achieving greatness. We’re pushing the Fates and daring them to hurt us. We’re reaching closer to our destiny, if you believe in that stuff.” His fingers grapple with hers and he squeezes softly. At Jason’s touch, a spark of joy jolts up Piper’s arm and explodes in her core. “We’re growing,” he murmurs, “and while that can be sad, I think there’s a lot of power knowing that we’re making it as far as we are.”

A comfortable, fleeting warmth blooms in Piper’s chest as she gazes up at Jason. Only love and admiration for her glimmer in his eyes, and for once in her life, Piper feels like she’s been found.

“So philosophical,” she chuckles. Then she squeezes his hand and leans closer to him. “I love you, Jason. Thanks for being my best friend.”

“I love you, too.” Then, in a sudden movement, he throws his other arm around her and sighs contentedly. “You deserve the world,” he whispers. “Happy birthday, Piper.”

[deepseavibez]

Fall Pronto_1 || JHS

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-> Picture Source - Pinterest

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Fall Pronto [Hoseok x Reader]

Part 1 || Part 2

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Genre - Smut; 21+; Best Friends Brother

Summary - Hoseok was quiet. He focused on work and stayed out of the way. He was calm and collected. He was patient. He didn't even dispute your food choices. What a man. It made sense that he stayed over while he visited the city for business;you had the space and it would only be a few days. There was nothing complicated about a short visit, of course not, after all, he was only your best friend's brother. Right?

🎶 - Waves - KANG DANIEL (feat. Simon Dominic & Jamie

Warning - 21+!Only; Smut; Vulgarity;

Word Count - 2.1k

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It was late, a bit after two in the morning according to your bedside clock as you squinted to look at it properly. Your throat dry and skin itchy from the humid weather, you threw the covers off and stepped onto the wooden floors.

As you walked down the hall, a glance at the room next to you, the door wide open and bed untouched confirmed your roommate hadn't returned for the night.

Shaking your head absently, you decided to call her when you got back in your room. She worked too hard, too late, and she was too in love with her job.

But then, Seri was one of the lucky ones that way. Her family was well off, her job was perfect for her and she was beautiful.

You would be salty about it, but Seri was wonderful. A kind heart, caring and she was one of your best friends.

You sighed, a smile crossing your face at the thought of one of the most important people in your life.

Barefoot, in purple cotton shorts and a shirt, you walked to the kitchen. Delirious and tired, you navigated yourself through the dimly lit house, purely by muscle memory.

Yawning, you reflexively covered your mouth with your hand as you passed through the lounge and into the kitchen, illuminated by the moonlight shining through the window above the sink.

Opening the fridge, you scrunched your nose as you found nothing to your liking, so you grabbed a cup from the overhead drawer, and filled it in the ice water dispenser.

Humming at the coolness of it against your hand, and placing it against your lips, you were just about to drink as you turned around, only to let out a ear piercing shriek.

Cup forgotten, you clutched at your heart as you identified the familiar face and struggled to compose yourself.

The cup of water and its contents on the floor in pieces, you stared up at the face of the man that plagued your mind and caused you sleepless nights.

Jung Hoseok was absolutely handsome. A diamond shaped face, brown eyes and a jawline created to stand out he haunted your every sane thought. And considering the circumstances his presence did nothing to calm your fast beating heart.

Now dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts, his clear smooth skin, lean tummy and muscles drew your attention. You gulped audibly, trying to be as discreet as possible about his affect on you.

Would it be too much to hope my reaction could be passed as being chicken shit for the dark.

You thought it would be okay to have Hobi over, after all his sister was your roommate and he was only crashing for a week or two. But the days proved to already be too much.

You were antsy and you weren't used to being so flustered. Being single and having no sex for almost a year now, didn't help. You didn't want to feel so drawn to him, but it happened gradually and yet, all at once. Like a fine wine aging to potency.

His presence, was a stark thing. Within the hour of meeting him, your body hummed in awareness of the man, butterflies fluttered through you when you made eye contact with him and if it was even possible, the heat always kicked up a notch when he was around.

Hoseok saved his smile. For his sister. For a good plate of food. For his best friend, Yoongi. Other than that he made head nods a common acknowledgement for you.

Initially you just had an uncomfortable vibe with Hoseok around, which was fair. He was a stranger in your home and in your personal space, of course you felt uncomfortable. But you knew yourself, it was not just about leaning away when he leaned forward, or not making any skin contact with him through effort, you noticed that once it did happen, you wanted it way too much.

You can remember all too well, as you walked out of your room less than a day ago, and straight into something solid and warm. His hands caught at your arms as he looked you over and steadied you. The slight touch sent tingles across you, wanting to lean into his scent, his cologne, the expanse of him already too large in front of your 5'2 frame. You jumped back as if burned and mumbled an apology as you scurried away.

He said nothing to you. Didn't push you or anyone else, you had probably never met someone so set in their standard way of life and yet meeting middle ground with others.

As far as you knew the work habits ran in the family, because he always had his laptop open, one hand on it while he spoke on his Bluetooth and texted with the other. Direct and blunt, his voice carried over commands as if disobedience was never invited to the party.

His rolled up shirt sleeves and the Audemars Piguet watch on his hand, as you walked in on the scene almost had you closing your eyes asking for help from the universe. Because those forearms, curled around you, near you, those hands on you, those fingers in you... the cold shower you had did nothing for you that evening.

Now as he stared at the broken pieces on the floor and your clearly shaken form, you cursed yourself for actually forgetting he was under the same roof as you.

Blinking rapidly, you hissed at him. 'You freaking scared me!'

This man, he didn't deserve your tone, or the disrespect, but he triggered ferity in you on a level so intense you stayed as far away from your apartment as possible while he was around. It was all you could do to protect yourself.

'I happen to live here too,' he looked at you with irritation.

At least that reaction helped; irritation deserved irritation.

Deciding you shouldn't make a snide remark about how long he would be staying, you turned your attention away from him to the floor. Moving your hair aside, you looked down at your bare feet, hunting a way out of the sea of glass that could much likely hurt like a bitch if you stepped on it.

A short look, confirmed that Hoseok wasn't fine either, his feet were bare too.

So engrossed, with your dilemma you didn't notice, Hoseok huff in impatience and reach for you.

You yelped as a pair of strong arms, grabbed you under your thighs, hands flailing as you caught at his shoulders. Even in your shocked state you reveled at the feel of his muscles under your palm, and it took a portion of self control you didn't think you had not to grip into them with your nails and run your hands across the smooth expanse of his skin.

Your legs instinctively wrapped themselves around his waist, the action putting your center's together, the ravaging demand to rock your hips into his was leashed in before you could carry it through.

'What the hell are you doing!' The panic in you could be heard through your cold voice.

'Are you fucking kidding me? You're barefoot! Do you want to get cut?' You brushed aside his concern. You had to. The odds already too stacked against you.

'You're also barefoot,' pointing it out by looking down.

He ignored you. You stared at him waiting for some sort of explanation. He averted your eyes and didn't give one, so you took it upon yourself to try and get out of his grip.

'Can you stop? I'm trying to help you!' he said gruffly as you wiggled.

You huffed, and pushed harder at him, but he had a strong grip. 'I can take care of myself.'

You needed space. You needed to be away from him.

Something wild in you reared it's head but you pushed it aside. Baring it's teeth, you knew all too well you wanted this man and you hated it.

He moved his hands from your waist, and tightened it on your ass, adding more pressure to your center. You only now noticed he was hard. Very hard.

You held back a moan at the realization, but couldn't stop the breath leaving your body as you made eye contact with him.

Stilling yourself, hunting for a thread of calm, you cleared your throat and swallowed through the harsh lump formed in it.

Looking away you frantically searched for the next logical step in the situation. You felt your demeanor tearing itself apart, ice cracking into pieces.

Close to tears at wanting something you shouldn't and the frustration of the situation adding onto it, you whispered softly, 'Please put me down... away from the glass.' You sounded breathless, and you hated it, but assertive all the same.

Surprisingly, he listened. He managed to evade the glass as he walked you over to the island across the kitchen and placed you on it. Letting go off him you looked down, if he'd stepped wrong his expression didn't indicate it. So you swallowed your concern.

'Thank you.' You dragged it through clenched teeth. You evaded eye contact as you said it. Your blood was raging. Your skin too sensitive, too soft.

His hands finally leaving you made you feel empty, but at least you were safer, more from yourself than him.

You waited.

He just needed to move away from you and get out from the space between your legs, then you could get your shoes and clean up this mess.

He didn't.

You looked up at him again, an annoyed, questioning expression on your face.

'I want to know what's your problem with me.' Slightly taken aback at the direct question, you managed to keep yourself composed. Hobi never smiled around you, you didn't even think you were allowed to think of him as Hobi either. He reserved that right for his friends. But that was fine, you never intended to be his friend. He needed to leave as soon as possible. Sunday couldn't come fast enough.

'Move,' you bit out, wanting to crawl out of your skin with the need to sink your teeth on the firm muscle of the man in front of you. 'I need to clean up.'

He leaned in closer, hands on either side of you, caging you in. 'You're pissy with me. You have been since I got here.' His breath fanned your face, you tried evening yours. 'And you don't get out of this position until I know why.' His tone was quiet, but molded in steel, that of a man who had clearly reached his limit.

And so had you.

'Fawning over you is not a requirement Hoseok,' you managed with a smile and a tone so sweet, it drew blood.

'Someone should bite you... hard.' he responded gruffly. 'Then maybe you'd loosen up a little bit.'

You clenched at the near snarl, his tone doing all sorts of things to your body. Especially making the pooling between your thighs more noticeable.

Your nails dug into your skin, as you felt his breathe on your lips. 'It's not like you've been very forthcoming since you've got here.' Nerves far too close to the surface, you needed out or you really wouldn't be able to keep that part of you under wraps.

'Oh hell no!' His eyes slammed into yours. It was the first time you'd heard him come remotely close to raising his voice. 'Don't you dare pin this on me.'

'You took one look at me and decided you couldn't stand me, and I want to know why.'

You breathed in, an attempt to calm your beating heart.

'Look,' you started, 'I'm an asshole generally.'

'That's bullshit and you know it! I've seen you with others. Especially my sister.' His anger was a palpable thing. A blade with a serrated edge would have been less dangerous.

Patience wearing thin, you snapped, 'Get out of my face Hoseok!' You pushed at his chest.

'Are you sure I should?' He leaned in further, restraint evident he continued, 'You probably swipe at me because you can't have me close enough!'

You inhaled sharply.

His eyes widened in shock, as he pulled back. His mouth fell open at your reaction, a resounding, 'Fuck,' leaving his lips.

Part 1 || Part 2

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[ladywinterwitch]

On Va Voir

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Avenger! Reader

Summary: During a mission you unexpectedly find a new kink: Steve speaking french.

Warnings: Smut, unprotected sex (wrap it tf up), oral sex (f receiving), fingering, language kink (?), a bit of a dom fight between the reader and Steve, 18 + so if you’re under that age you shouldn’t be reading this. You’ve been warned.

Word Count: 3205 

A/n: Just rewatched for the 34868 time  the winter soldier and I’ve never noticed before HOW MUCH of a turn on is Steve speaking french. So yeah, enjoy a bit of smutty Rogers. Also, this is pretty much no plot and total filth.

                                                  (Gif not mine)

You were on a mission with Steve, Natasha, Sam and Bucky. You had been paired with Bucky, while Sam was with Nat and Steve was alone, although you were constantly in contact with your auricular. -We’re inside the ship, front. What’s your position?- Bucky says with a gun in each hand. You followed behind him, with two guns of your own. -We’re in the control room. Working on the informations.- Sam responds. -Steve?- Bucky tries.

-I’m on the roof. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. How long have you got?- he asks. -Like, ten minutes, at least. This computer’s older than both of you.- Natasha responds and you can feel the smirk on her voice. You press your lips tightly to not chuckle, Bucky notices and shakes his head.

-Ah, very funny Romanoff.- the blonde sasses back.

-She got you there, oldies.- Sam commented. Bucky grunted with a ‘shut up’. After a few moments you realize that there’s no one in your area, so you lower your guns.

-We should come to you, Steve. We got nothing to do here anyways.- you say, looking at your partner that was still, but didn’t completely put off his guard. -Don’t worry doll, I got it.- but then you hear a gun shot, and glare at Bucky with wide eyes. He looks at you and starts to run. -We’re coming, pal, hold on.- he speaks while running. You both get out to the open and then come up the stairs to the roof.

When you arrive, you see a couple of men already on the ground, and Steve facing another alone. They are one in front of the other and he’s talking. You don’t hear what he says, but you hear Steve response. He drops the shield at his side and then removes his helmet, his hair a little messy. He has the slightest smirk on his face while he speaks. -On va voir.- you hear from the speaker. 'Lets see’. And in that moment something in your stomach shifts. You can’t really place what or why, but you just know that you feel a little too hot in your leather catsuit all of a sudden.

The two start to fight, but it doesn’t take long for the avenger to take him down. You glance at Bucky, who’s just leaning againts the door, with his arms crossed, guns slipped into the belt at his sides. A little knowing smirk playing on his lips. -Jerk.- he says amused. You turn around and see Steve that kicks his shield, making it jump back to his wrist. -Okay guys we have everything. We’ll meet at the quinjet.- Sam says. You clear your throat and look away. -Copy that.- you croak. - You all go back to the avengers tower safely and Tony decides to throw a party. Why? Cause he’s Tony. He didn’t really need a valid reason. So here you were, the day after, finding yourself in front of your full lenght mirror, in your matching blue lacy lingerie, fixing your wavy loose hair and your red lipstick. Normally at this time, especially after a mission, you would’ve all been lazy somewhere, but obviously your teammate couldn’t wait one more day to give you a wild night. Missions usually had as a consequence jet lag, a few bruises to heal, business to take care of and stuff to analyze, so it wasn’t exactly the perfect timing, but fortunately you were able to sleep like a baby the night prior. A particualr help came, indirectly, from Steve which helped your love-me session to end quickly and kick you out to sleep.

You should’ve felt ashamed for that, but honestly you were pretty sure you were not the only one in the world to get off at the thought of the broad and handsome Captain America. The only small detail was that you were his teammate and friend. You had a huge crush on him, but you feel more like a friend vibe from him and that’s okay. It sure avoids problems at work.

You couldn’t stop thinking about that phrase that Steve said in french the day before. It turned you on to no end. You didn’t know why, but the way he said it, with that smugness, his hair all messy and shit. It was just so sexy to you. In any case, the crush was your dirty little secret. Well, not exactly, considering that both Bucky and Natasha had figured out by themselves and Wanda just happened to be reading your mind in the wrong moment. But you trusted them, even if them teasing you about it whenever they had the occasion was beyond embarassing.

You slid into your tight, red bodycon . It was plain, above the knee and had a low cut sweetheart neckline. It was strapless and it hugged your body perfectly. It wasn’t much in your style, but you felt bold that night, also you may or may not wanted to find someone to get laid.

You gave yourself one last look before going down with the elevator. Your black heels were already starting to bother you. You weren’t really a type for parties, but you did it just for the team. And a good drink, yeah. You arrived at the floor and when you stepped out you saw that there were a lot of people, but it wasn’t Tony’s worst. You looked around and saw Sam, Rhodie, Clint and Natasha at the bar, Wanda, Vision, Thor and Maria at the couches, Tony and Pepper talking with a couple of people, and then in a corner near the big window wall, Steve and Bucky.

They were both handsome. Bucky was wearing a grey shirt and Steve a deep blue one. They both had the first few buttons undone and were holding a beer and laughing. The blonde turned his head and saw you. His smile dropped and his gaze wandered on your body, from head to toe. You looked away, kinda embarrassed that you had been caught looking, but a few moments later the two man came to you.

-Y/n! You look great.- Bucky greeted you with a hug. You laughed and hugged him back. -Doesn’t she, Stevie?- he said in a slyly. The captain didn’t took his gaze away from you. -She always does.- he responds with a low tone that made you heat up. -Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.- you motioned at the two in front of you.

-Hey doll, care for a drink? We could go to the bar and -the brunette started, but Steve stepped closer. -Sam wants to talk to you, I’ll accompany her.- he says with a small smile. You smiled back and Bucky frowned. -Since when that bird man wants to breathe my same air?- Steve shoot at him a glare and he raised his eyebrows.

-Ooh, yeah, about the.. Uhm.. The mission…- he tries to save himself. Steve relaxes and Bucky starts to walk away. -Alright, catch up with you guys later.- he gives you a thumbs up. Steve looks at you and offers his arm. -Shall we get that drink?- he smirks making you melt. You smile widely and take his offer. -We very much shall.-

-

You soon were joined by the rest of the group and were having fun at the bar. You noticed that Steve never took his gaze off you, but you weren’t certain, considering the amount of alcohol that you ingested. You felt a little claustrophobic at one point so you excused yourself getting up. -Want me to come with you?- Nat asked. You shook your head. -I’m fine babe, just need a little air.- you walked between the people reaching the big balcony.

You went closer to the glass barrier and propped your elbows on the edge, looking at New York City by night. You closed your eyes, breathing deep. -Did you really drank that much?- you open your eyes suddenly, turning back to the voice. Steve was just a few feet away, hands in his pants’ pockets. He was looking at you with a little smile. You mirrored his expression, turning back to the view. The glass door was closed and you were alone.

-Not really. I’m just a little dizzy, and I needed some fresh air, that’s all.- you responded. There were some moments of silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable though. You felt him getting closeer to you, almost too close. So close that you could feel his breath on your neck. -You look so beautiful tonight..- he whispered raising one hand and resting it on your hip. Your breath hitched.

-Maybe it’s the alcohol, even though we both know I can’t really get drunk, or maybe its the way Bucky flirted before, or the way you looked so flustered yesterday on the mission..- he started to caress your waist gently. You were slowly melting under his touch, his hand so warm in stark contrast with the chilly air. You had goosbumps. -But I just can’t ignore how I feel anymore.- he turned you to face him slowly. You locked eyes. -I’ve never wanted someone so bad in my life, and I think that you want me, too.- he paused. You didn’t know what to say. You were completely taken aback by his confession.

-But if I’m wrong, I’m gonna step back right now and I’m gonna stay away.- he continued, with a little of uncertainty. You widened your eyes, laying your hand on his chest. -No- you said quickly. -I do. I want you. God, I want you so bad.- in that moment he grabbed your cheeks with his hands and started to kiss you. It was hungry, fast and messy. You almost didn’t even realize that he placed you against the wall, away from the view of the people. You grabbed his hair with one hand and his shirt in the other.

-I wanna fuck you right now, I don’t care if everyone sees, the team, the other people.- he said kissing your neck. -Steve.. Please- you moaned. He looked at you with the best bedroom eyes he could give. -Please what, baby?- he cooed.

-I need you, please. Let’s.. Let’s go to the bedroom, please I can’t take it anymore- he nodded and you quickly went inside, careful to not be seen by the team you reached the elevator and pressed to your private floor.

You had to keep your cool because you weren’t alone, but when you arrived you ran like teenagers, giggling towards his room. He opened the door and then slammed it shut. You pushed him on the bed and he let himself fall, resting on his elbows while he watches you like you were his prey. What he didn’t know was that joke’s on him.

You stood right in front of him, a smirk playing on your lips, an equally predatory gaze in your eyes. You reached to your side, unzipping the red dress slowly, letting it pool around your heels. You stepped out of the dress, bending to pick it up and in the meantime giving Steve a perfect view of your ass. -Fuck baby girl, blue is definitely your color.- he groaned. You chuckled straddling his lap. His warm hands were on your body in no time, pulling you flush against him kissing you. It wasn’t sweet, at all. It was full of passion, all teeth and tongue and soft bites.

At some point he reached behind your back to unclasp your blue lacy bra, then tossing the garment in some part of the room. He didn’t lose time and quickly attacked one of your breasts with his mouth, while he touched the other with his hand.

-Eager, captain?- you let out a noise that was a mixture between a moan and a laugh. He released your nipple from his mouth locking eyes.

-Excuse me if I can’t resist my urge to worship the goddess in front, oh well actually, on me.- he said smugly making you laugh. You gave him a push on the chest to make him lay down.

-Sweet talker.- you tease him, trailing his neck and jawline with wet kisses. He chuckles a little, his hands travelling on your sides, back and ass.

-What? You think I’m just, saying it? It’s true, y/n. You are stunning.- he says sincerly, making you look at him for a second. You smile and place a sweet kiss on his lips.

-Well, thank you.- you respond and you’re caught off guard when he grabs you by the hips and flips your position, so now he was hovering you. You gasped for the surprise.

-And now I’m gonna show exactly how much I want you.- he smirked and started to pepper your belly and hip bones with open mouthed kisses, and at the same time he slipped off your panties, letting them fall on the ground. And now you were stark naked and totally at his mercy. You moaned and with all the strenght you could find you stopped him. He gave you a confused look.

-First, I think you’re not playing fairly there, captain. Then, I’m gonna tell you exactly what I want. Strip.- you order and he licks his lips, his cerulean, and now glassy, eyes were eating you up. He got up, standing on his knees, and started to unbutton his blue shirt, while you took care of his belt and zip. He took off his pants and boxers in one move.

-Happy now?- he asked amused, resuming his work with his mouth, this time he started from your ankle, going up as he went. You peeked at his hard lenght, tip already glistening with precum and angry red.

-Can say so.- you murmured, laying on your back and enjoying the show of Steve between your legs. Your breath started to hitch when he got closer to your center, but as the teasing bastard that he his, he stopped.

-C'mon Steve, baby, I need you.- you say, throwing out of the window yor dignity. -What do you need? Tell me sweetheart.- he murmurs against your thigh, looking at you. -I’d quite like you to speak French between my legs, captain.- you smirk, biting your lip. His expression was priceless.

-Fuck yes- he groaned spreading your legsmore in front of him. He then smiled mischievously. -Alors c'est ce qui vous a tous énervé hier, uh?- So that’s what got you all flustered yesterday, uh?, his tone was a mixture of teasing and realization. He licked a long stripe from your entrance up to your clit anthat made you almost scream, instead you opted for grabbing his blonde hair with one hand and the snow-white like sheets.

-Can’t really blame me. With your cute messy hair, showing off like that..- you responded mewling, your eyes closed and your head leaned back. He chucked sending vibrations trough your whole body. You clenched instinctively. -Yeah, 'cause I’m good at what I do doesn’t mean that I was showing off, chéri.- a particularly harsh suck on your bundle of nerves got your back arching off the bed and moaning loudly -Steve- 

-Tu aimes ça, chérie?- You like that baby? you moaned when you heard him speak French again.

-Yes, God, Steve right there- you answer struggling to not grind onto his face. He adds two fingers and that knocks the air out of your lungs.

-Tu es si doux. Si mouillé, est-ce tout pour moi, chérie? Mmh cette jolie petite chatte, tout à moi pour jouer- You’re so sweet. So wet, is it all for me baby? This pretty little pussy, all mine to play with. He kept talking in between licks and open mouthed kisses on your clit, his long and thick fingers pumping directrly on your sweet spot.

-Fuck. I..I can’t take it anymore, please..- you pulled his hair slightly and he growled, the vibrations went straight to your core and you felt the coil in your belly tighten. You started to gasp. -You’re close aren’t you? Come on baby, I’ve got you, let go honey- he hummed, back to english, speeding up a little his fingers. With that you came. Hard. You screamed his name arching your back of the bed, the sheets out of place because of your pulling.

He rode you thorough your orgasm, and when he felt you calm down a bit he extracted his fingers, licking them clean. You could’ve cum again just by watching him. But instead, you rose up and pulled him to you, kissing him. You hummed when you felt your taste on his tongue. Your hand reached out to stroke his cock, now even harder than before. He choked out a moan on your mouth. -Baby girl I need to be inside you- you nodded and he replaced your hand with his, stroking his cock a few times, he lined himself with your entrance and entered you with a sharp thrust that took both your breaths away.

-Fuck y/n, baby, you feel so good around me- he hid his face in your neck and you circled his shoulders with your arms. -Please move- you gasped and he complied, starting to move faster. After a while he took your leg putting it on his hip, reaching a deeper spot inside you.

-Oh, Fuck. Yeah, right..ah, right there baby.-you gasped, your nails scratching his strong shoulders. You started to feel his breath getting erratic.

-So beautiful- he murmured in your ear and you felt yourself melt a bit more. -Baby ’m gonna come, I’m so close. Are you with me?- you said kissing him on the lips, the cheek, the jaw.

-Right behind you, love.- the pet name made your heart flutter, but you soon forgot about it when he stated to pick up pace again, then adding his fingers on your clit, and that was it. You orgasmed for the second time that night and he followed a few thrusts later with a loud moan and your name spilling from his plump lips. He ride out both of your releases and then planted his forehead against yours.

-It’s okay, baby.- you murmured scratching the nape of his neck lightly, while he calmed his breath, making him hum approvingly. You looked at his parted lips and closed eyes, his blissed out expression making you smile. A few seconds later he opened his blue pools, smiling back quite shyly. -Hi.- you said softly. -Hi sweetheart.- he responded fondly, caressing your cheek. You stayed there for a while.

Then he got up and cleaned you both with a warm and damp wash cloth, bringing it back to the bathroom then he came back to bed with you. -I don’t really wanna deal with the team tomorrow.- you said with your head on his chest. Your fingers tracing imaginary patterns on his torso, him petting your hair delicately. -Me neither. But even if we don’t say anything they’re gonna find out anyway. We kind of disappeared and never came back.- he chuckled and you laughed with him. -Let’s just enjoy this, for now.- you responded. -Yeah. Everything else can wait.- he kissed your head.

Thank you for reading, feedback is appreciated ;)

[bapyess1r]

Amphetamine

WARNINGS: drunken behavior, cursing, age difference, use of substance, slightly heated

CHAPTER 4

Talia’s POV

I left the house very excited to see my best friend. I had so much to tell her, so much to show her, and so little time to do it. I drove myself to the airport almost ready to hope out of my seat. These were the feelings my therapist once told me to savor. I took a deep breath and let the good feeling warm throughout my chest, gripping my steering wheel as I turned into the pickup lane. I parked the car, not bothering to turn the car off and climbed my car to sit on the roof, hoping to spot my tiny friend better. And in a matter of minutes, there she was carrying her bright purple suitcase, a jacket in her arms. She spotted me and screamed her head off, scuttling toward me with her arms wide open. I hopped off the car and ran to squeeze her tightly. Suddenly, I felt whole again. “Oh fraaaand! I missed you!” She squealed, brushing her long black hair off of her face. “I can’t believe it’s only been a month!”

“I know! Time flies. How’re the boys?” I asked, grabbing her suitcase and putting it in the backseat. Tulio and Jay were two other friends I was very close with in New York. The four of us were inseparable in school. There was never a bad moment with them.

“Tulio is currently a barista and freelancing. Jay is a voice actor now. He’s working on a kids show that's coming out soon.” She informed me as she got in the car, buckling her seatbelt. “Is the ABC still open? I wanna get us a bottle of something good!” She cheesed, nodding her head suggestively. It wasn’t too late so we had time to stop by.

While I drove, I noticed the sky growing darker and dark as Anna told me all about what was going on back home. She didn’t miss a single detail. And our behavior around each other didn’t change. Still horrible, still encouraging each other’s bad behavior, still laughing at dumb people doing dumb shit. We stopped by her hotel to put her suitcase and things in her room. “So what am I walkin’ into with this whole block party deal?” She asked me as we walked the hallway and waited for the elevator's arrival. I don’t know why but my stomach flipped and my mind immediately went to Sam. I blushed and covered my face, laughing away my nerves. Her eyes widened as she playfully and repeatedly hit my arm. She knew me all too well. “Biiiiiitch! Who is he?!” I took a deep breath and waited to board the elevator before answering.

“His name is Sam.”

“Oh, Sam…” she called dramatically clutching her chest, making me laugh. I pushed her off me and hid my face again.

“DILF vibes.” I groaned.

“Oooo an older gentleman! Okaaay! Okay sis!” She hyped me up to the best of her abilities. As the short elevator ride came to an end, I began fidgeting around for my cigarettes as we walked toward the parking lot. “Does he know you like him?” She pried.

“I fear he has an inkling…” I answered scrunching my face. I hadn’t even admitted to myself that I was into and now I was saying it out loud.

“Then make it a big splotch of ink, bitch! Tell him! Let it be known!” She said enthusiastically, throwing her arms all over the place. I laughed as I attempted to light my cigarette.

“He plays in the band I told you about…”

“Is he the guy that wasn’t there when you started playing with them?” I nodded.

“He plays guitar and he sings and even though haven’t heard it my god am I ready to but I’m so NERVOUS.” I blurted out before taking a long drag. “Fuck I need a drink…” That’s when she boldly grabbed my breast.

“Shit, bitch, I forgot the champagne!” She said and I cackled. “I’ll be right back!” She ran off performing her signature grandma speed walk.

“Alright. I’ll be here.” I said unlocking the car doors, sitting sideways in the driver’s seat. I looked up at the stars beginning to come through the now black sky. I huffed wondering what I was gonna do about Sam. There was no way my Godfather would let that slide. Not that it mattered to me. I was a grown woman. I did as I pleased. That’s when I felt the buzz in my back pocket. It was Marcel.

Marcel: Where are you? We’re about to start playing and Sam is looking like a nervous puppy

I felt a smile crack on my face as I read the last line. I couldn’t imagine Sam acting like everything wasn’t cool. He seemed so put together to me. I texted back, letting my cigarette hang from my lips.

Me: Im on my way!! I’ll be there soon. Good luck !

If anything, it was good that we’d show up late. Sam could sing without being worried about my opinion and I’d see him full force when I get there. “He’ll be alright.” I said aloud to myself as Anna returned, drinking said bottle already. She pouted as she looked at my face and held the bottle out to me.

“Take a sip. We’ll finish it before we go watch the band. That way you won’t be so nervous to see him! Also you’re gonna have to point him out to me. I’m ready to see this man.” She said, rounding the car to hop into her seat. I looked at the bottle and took a big but quick sip before turning into my seat correctly and giving her the bottle back. I slammed the car door and off we went to the block party.

By the time we arrived into the neighborhood, people were out dancing already, their children playing in the nearby park. I noticed the block was full of cars so I just pulled behind one and parked with a large sigh. I could hear the band playing already and I instantly became anxious. Anxious to see Sam, to hear him sing, to watch him play, to just be in his vicinity. I let out a loud frustrating grunt and my friend gave me the biggest smile. “Oh my god you really are nervous! Here! Drink bitch.” She told me, passing the bottle and almost dropping it. She was definitely tipsy. I giggled and actually relaxed enough to start drinking. “Is there anything else to drinky drink at this shindig?”

“The band bought plenty.” I said before taking a long sip. The beverage warmed my chest up so much I took off my tye dye shirt and tossed it in the back. I was just gonna go with the bralette from the combination of alcohol and Florida heat. I shook every part of my body with a random sound to release the tension that had been building, fluffing my hair as I did.

“That’s right, bitch. I see you. Get cute, sis.” She said aggressively sipping the champagne.

“Let’s do this…” I said, opening the door and slamming it shut.

Anna leaned over the car to pass me the bottle again and grabbed my hand, beginning to dance her way to the block party with a bright smile. Now that I was out of the car, I could hear the music more clearly. And even more so, closer we got to the party. Sam’s voice coming through strong and powerful as they performed Whisper to a Scream by the Icicle Works, sending shivers up my spine. I tried to move my feet to the music but I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him, it was over for me. The street became lined with tiki lights and string lights in the shape of pineapples. Somehow, the smell of wood for the bonfire being burned already comforted me. When we reached the end of the street where the band was, my breath was taken away. He stood front and center, clad in a tight white v neck, black shirt rolled to expose his strong forearms, veins bulging out from playing, and the best fitting jeans paired with his usual dirty boots. His hair was falling out of place from performing passionately, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead. Instinctively, I reached out for Anna and took an extended sip of champagne as I watched him. She looked at me with wide eyes and laughed. “Woo bitch…” I sighed, nearly shaking from how good he looked. “The one singing…”

“Sam?!” She exclaimed, running deeper into the crowd of drunk people dancing to get a better look, forgetting to let go of me. She dragged me right in front of him. And at the right moment he looked up and locked eyes with me. And almost like on the spot he began singing to me. I swallowed hard as he sent me a brief smile and wink. I could see his shoulders visibly dropping and loosening up. He was relaxing. Which was more than I could say for myself. “That’s Sam? He’s hot! Hell yes. You needed to fuck him like… yesterday.”

“Bitch I met him yesterday!”

“Your point?” She said putting a hand on her hip with a sassy expression.

“I mean… because he’s older I’m sure he’s more old school about that stuff.”

“I never try to understand what goes on in a man's head but that man wants to fuck. And real bad.” She said, reassuring me also tipping the bottle near my mouth upwards to make me drink. During the break in the song, Sam noticed the situation and smirked a bit trying to control his laughter onstage.

Throughout the night, Anna and I managed to find more booze. Boy….the trouble. We were now, drunk off our asses, shaking our hips and bobbing our heads to the music. Between songs, Sam would sip on a glass or three of scotch, watching me with intent and a hint of lust. The sexual tension was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. My friend would bring me back to earth sometimes when I was on another planet lost in this man’s performance. When his song was over, everyone clapped and he took his swig of scotch again. He waved everyone’s applause down enough for him to speak. “So… some of you know that we have recently acquired some new vocals for the band.” He began. I knew where this was going and I wasn’t prepared for it at all. Anna looked at me and snatched my beer out of my hands, pushing me forward. “My uh…. my guilty conscience is kickin in and I have to say it wouldn’t be fair if she didn’t get to sing a little something tonight. Would you guys be down for that?” And the neighbors cheered.

‘Well shit…’ I thought.

“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for our new vocalist Talia Aaron, everybody.” He said easing off the mic and clapping. The band hollered and encouraged the situation. With all the strength I had, I tried my best not to fall or trip over the wiring as I approached the stage. The band leaned in listening for my split second song selection. “Nice of you to join us.” He smirked before leaning in and whispering in my ear. “I showed you mine, now you show me yours.” I was absolutely shaking as I tried to think of a song. Not from stage fright but literally just smelling the cologne Sam wore. I had not a clue what to sing until Marcel caught my attention. He threw me that bright smile and winked. I knew exactly what he wanted me to sing. I nodded.

“Black Velvet…”

“Great choice.” Sam winked and it shot right through my heart.

“Here’s to hoping I don’t fuck this up!” I said stealing Sam’s glass and finishing it for him in one gulp. He blinked in surprise and laughed to himself.

“You got this Tali!!!!” I saw Anna yell and my neighbors all cheered. I smirked, adjusting the stand and bringing the mic to my lips with a nervous smile. With a nod of the head, Sam kicked us off with that classic riff and Marcel’s bass line sat right where it needed in me.

“Ok y’all. I hope you don’t mind if I just…. Feel this liquor for a minute…” I said softly as the opening of the song played, tapping my foot and rolling my body to the beat.

“Take yo time girl!” My friend cheered as I played with my hair, feeling my oats and finding that comfort zone. That’s when I began to sing. The moment I opened my mouth, I could see Sam staring at me in my peripheral. I was shaking my hips slowly to the music, letting my body sing the song as well, easing into every word and belting out every note; the raspiness in my voice adding a soulful tone to each verse. I stroked the stand, somewhat using it as a pole. And the entire time, his eyes never left my body. It was a very sensual performance even though I didn’t mean it to be. That was the liquor talking. The neighbors cheered and the band performed two more songs after me before joining the block party themselves.

After receiving praise from the drunk older women (all of which were definitely trying to get into bed with him), Sam locked eyes with me as he grabbed a beer from the cooler and nodded towards our designated smoking spot. I grabbed Anna by the wrist and brought her forehead to mine. “He’s calling me over, what do I do?!” I panicked and she repeatedly hit my arms, squealing as she turned me around.

“Go get your man, bitch! Go! Go, go!” She said, suddenly catching Marcel’s eyes. He winked at her and she gave me a mischievous smile. “I think I found a boo, too….” she said, waving at him as I grinned, heading towards the cooler to grab a beer myself and following Sam’s trail.

The docks were dark and the street lamp nearby hadn’t turned on yet. All I could see was his tall figure in the moonlight, smoke dancing in the air around him. Nervously, I pulled out my source of nicotine and walked over to him, my heeled boots making a sound that stood out from the sounds of nature. He turned to look at me as I eased up next to his large frame.

“You didn’t play any Billy Idol!” I said poking him in his strong chest. He rubbed the spot with a laugh.

“Actually I did. You were late.” He said with a lopsided smirk.

“I wouldn’t have been drunk enough anyway. Right now though?! I’m extra toasted.” I chuckled trying everything in me to not be that drunk girl randomly kisses someone. But boy was he making it hard for me.

“Oh yeah? Started early, I see. I’m getting there. But just a warning:” he leaned down to my level, our noses almost touching. “You might be in trouble.” He took a drag of his cigarette and a sip of his beer, returning his gaze to the moonlit waters. ‘Fuck…’ I thought, biting my lip. “What did you think of the show?” He asked me.

“You were amazing!” I blurted almost immediately, taking a sip of beer and pulling on my own cigarette to hide my eagerness but I don’t think it worked. He smiled to himself and I stood in silence for a moment. “How’d I do?” I was almost afraid to ask.

“It was uh… very sexy… if I may say so myself.” He said, his eyes never leaving the water. “I love your voice. Marcel made the right call adding you.”

With that, we continued to talk about upcoming rehearsals and how it would work with my job. He understood that as he had to take off often for his job. We somehow ended up not leaving each other’s side all night and getting drunk together with the band and my best friend. We danced and played field games, ate food. You know, wholesome shit. As the block party came to a close, we still didn’t wanna end the night. So we moved the party to Sam’s, just us. Anna was in a corner with Marcel as he flirted with her, showing her how to play bass. She shot me a fangirl smile and I grinned at her from across the room, sitting on the kitchen counter as Sam leaned on the other opposite of me. We had all gone from drinking beer to drinking whiskey and this cup was sending me over the edge. I felt loose and not as uptight as normal. I crossed my legs and rested myself on the bar behind me, looking into his hazel eyes as he spoke to me about his adventures with his brother and family. I couldn’t believe he really went to all of these places and almost died every time. It sounded so exhilarating. And for a moment, he grew silent, his eyes running up and down my figure as I sipped on my Jim Beam and soda. “What?” I asked nervously, writhing under his strong gaze. He walked over and uncrossed my legs so that he could stand between them. He stared into my eyes as he moved a strand of hair from my face.

“You look so good…” he mewed, his forehead resting on mine now as he cupped my face with a large, calloused hand. I leaned into as his thumb ran across my lower lip. “God, I could kiss you right now…”

“Why don’t you?” I responded almost instantly, caught up in the tension of what was happening between us.

“Don’t tempt me, little girl.” He said, pulling me closer by the back of my leg, gripping it for dear life. I took a long sip of my drink, letting the ice sit on my lips for a while before wrapping my arms around his neck and grazing them over his own. The coldness against his warm lips made him shudder as my free hand played in his hair. I let my tongue dart across his lips, sending him over the edge enough to wrap his arms firmly around my waist, pressing his lips to mine. He moved slowly against me, both of us heavy breathing over each other. My fingers graced the tattoo on his neck and he took a deep breath, deepening the kiss. He moved his lips to my jawline, then to my ear. I giggled flirtatiously as I his lips travelled to my chest and back up again to the other side. I could feel him smile against my neck as he paid extra attention there, his hands roaming my thighs, hips, and back. As I bit his lip, he laughed nervously and pulled away. I was taken aback.

“Did I do something?” I asked, suddenly panicking. He placed a hand on my cheek and gently stroked my skin.

“God, no! That was… incredible. I just… I don’t wanna hurt you…” He said in a whispery tone as a slow tune played in the background. “And it’s so soon. I wanna make sure this is what you want first.” He was very considerate of me. I took a deep breath and nodded. He was right. We had only just met 24 hours ago and here we were making out like we’d known each other forever.

“We’ll work on it.” I said biting my lip. He gave a low frustrated growl before kissing me once more.

“Man, I like kissing you though…” he chuckled before kissing me again.

Eventually, the night did have to come to an end. I had taken off my heels and leaned on my friend to walk home, Sam trailing us to make sure nothing happened to either of us. As we made it to the front door, I unlocked it and sent my friend to my room. There was no way I was driving tonight. I turned to look at Sam in the doorway as my friend crawled the stairs. “Drink some water and eat something before bed. That way you won’t wake up with a hangover.”

“This isn’t my first drunk night, Mr. Drake.” I said rather loudly. It was like I had cotton stuck in my ears, everything was so quiet now. He chuckled at my current drunken state and leaned against the wall. He bent his head down, grabbing my waist with a single hand and guided me to kiss him for a final time tonight. It was sweet and passionate.

“Goodnight, princess.” He said lowly, kissing my cheek before walking across the street to his own home. I smirked as I drunkenly stared at his ass in those jeans, nodding in satisfaction as I turned to close the door and join my friend for the night.

[kmelanin]

Permanent Ink / 3 \\ kth

a/n: enjoy

Main Masterlist~

( Permanent Ink ) masterlist~

WARNING- umm idk really.

word count: 3k+

____________________________

(I'm going to be very vague with the clothing, imagine your own style. lol)

Over the next couple of days, you had meetings after meetings. You prefered to have longer work days a couple days a week then short ones all week. Some of the meetings were to schedule and plan some photoshoots, you had to send out PRs, you had to make sure that things were getting done. You loved it. You loved knowing that if you just did your best everything and took your time, the outcome would be wonderful.

Currently, everything that was ready to be sold from your website is sold out. You were so happy about it. Everyone that works with you were proud of you, throughout the meetings they always complimented you, or went on about how lucky they were, because they got to be involved that will one day expand into something.

In the next clothing release you wanted release a couple male items. A couple shirts, and hoodies. Not too much, but just enough to see if they would do well or not. When someone mentioned who was going to model the new line you instantly thought of one person.

Taehyung.

He would be perfect for it. It would give your clothes a certain vibe if people see all of the tattoos and how dangerous he looks. You needed it. It would help your brand, plus it would help you get closer to him. You mention him, plus you mention that you wanted Rowan and her sister Amia. Plus some of the earlier models.

Once you were done with your meetings, you and Rowan walked to your office to get ready to go home.

“Do you think I should ask Taehyung?” You ask grabbing your jacket from the hook and handing over hers.

“Fuck yea. He would look so good in everything, especially that black hoodie that's coming out.” She says mentioning one of the colors that the world have yet to see. You sighed. You had to try. You would regret not.

The next day you had Rowan go and grab a few things to put together a gift basket. First you had her get a one of a kind bong. You were looking on a artists website. He lived in the USA and he made bongs that you wouldn't find anywhere else.

The one you picked out was inspired by a cherry blossom tree. Everything from the actual bowl which was a flower, to the actual glass was shade of pink. It had flowers along everywhere in a pretty pattern. You had Rowan pick up the $1,500 bong up from the post office, but some other smoking essentials.

You hoped this would convince him to model for you. Plus some other payment if he would like.

Once it was all put together, Rowan drove you to his apartment. Rowan simply asked Jin for his address, and without giving him a reason to why she wanted it. Which surprised you. You went in alone and went to the correct door.  You raised your hand up to push the doorbell but yelling from the other side stopped you.

“You can't loan it to me Sinsi? I'm literally about to lose the roof from over my head.” You heard Taehyung's voice loud and clear. That made you frown.

“You know that I'm not even supposed to be here, let alone loan you money. I wish I could.” She yelled back. “Sell the shop.”  You quickly knocked on the door in case someone was to storm out and think you were eavesdropping. Also because maybe he would want to model for you if you were willing to help him out. You picked up the hidden gift basket.

The door swings open and thank god  Taehyung opened it.

“YN?” He asks confused. He was wearing black sweats and a red pull over, and his hair was all wild and had that ‘just had sex’ effect. Which made your jealousy boil.

“Hi, can we talk?” You ask him, holding the bag higher in your hands. You noticed he was started to think if he really should or not, so you just walk in anyways. “Trust me, you will love the fact that I just entered without your permission.” You set the hidden present on his table and you turn to both of them. Sinsi looked confused and surprised while Taehyung confused and irritated.

“Hi YN!” Sinsi smiles, you could tell she didn't know what she wanted to do with herself. You looked at her and nodded smiling slightly.

“I wanted to offer you a job.” You say clasping your hands together, when you only seen a eyebrows raise on his face, you further explain. “As you both know, i've recently released a clothing line. I'm working on something for it, and I need a model. And I think you would be perfect for it. But! Before you say anything else. I have two things that you will get out of this.” You say holding up one finger. Sinsi was beaming in her shoes, she seemed excited for Taehyung.

“First, I know how you are a weed smoker… sooooo” You pull the bong out first not wanting to knock it over. His eyes went extremely large, you could’ve sworn he was having a heart attack by the way he was holding his chest. You turned confused when you seen Sinsi looking back and forth between you two with a slight pout on her face.

“What? Does he not like pink? I didn't think he would mind because he is a tat-”

“No it's not that, he has been saving his money up for this exact bong. I even planned on buying it for him for his birthday.” And he frown turns a bit deeper. You couldn't help but to extremely excited, you finally did something right. Taehyung's eyes were stuck on the glass in your hands. You smiled and set it down on the table. You then removed the blanket, exposing a whole set up of rolling papers and leafs, with a bunch of different cool looking lighters and rolling tray with grinders at the bottom. Taehyung's eyes were practically popping out of his head.

“If you sign to become a model, the face of the men's collection, you won't have to worry about your financial problems.” You felt like you were becoming a someones sugar mommy. But all of your models are paid well, you were willing to pay him more. At least until he didn't have to worry about his living space being taken away. You looked over at Sinsi and she looked happy but it didn't meet her eyes.

“Would you like to model?” You ask, giving her a opportunity. It was then her eyes exploded with excitement, but Taehyung cuts in.

“You aren't even suppose to be here, let alone model with me. What will Bogum say?” He scoffs, he pulls the basket toward him checking out all of the different items in there. Sinsi looked stuck for a moment, but just nods agreeing.

“With you? So you will do it?” You ask.

“Why the hell not, I have to put these good looks somewhere.” He jokes around.

“I'm going to go. It was nice seeing you again YN. See ya Tae.” Sinsi says quietly and walks out after grabbing her bag. It was quiet for a moment until you decided to say something.

“Don't use it without me first.” You joke around as he held the bong close to his face, looking at all of the details.

“I've been saving for this for so long.” He mumbles and sets it down, his eyes don't meet yours.

“I hope that doesn't upset you, that I've ruined something you've been saving for.” You say feeling slightly guilty.

“No, it's fine, now I can use the money for something else.” He nods and smiles a little.

“Since you are the only male model I have, I'm willing to pay you ten thousand a shoot.” You say wanting to finish this conversation up. You felt slightly nervous around him. You could feel his presence so strong, and his warmth was radiating off of him.

��Are you kidding me?” He asks looking down at you. His hair was covering most of his forehead and almost in his eyes. But you could still tell that he brows were frowned down.

“No, I'm serious about my work. If that's too little then I-”

“No, It's too much.” He looks down at the table of items. “All of this. Why?” He mumbles looking up to you.

“Um, well I needed a model, and you were the first person I thought of. There aren't that many shoots, so it's not like you are going to get a 100k in a week.” You laugh trying to lighten the mood a little. “And honestly, I want that ‘bad boy’ vibe for my clothes. The tattoos help with that.” You point to his exposed arms.

“Ahh, I understand.” He smiles a little and looks down at his arms. “I did a lot of them myself.” He mumbles. Then a ding comes from somewhere, and you watch as he pulls his phone out. That's when you got the biggest smile.

“I will have Rowan send you the contract and I will also need your number. You know, so I can let you know when I need you.” You started to mumble at towards the end, not really sure of what to say specifically. You open your phone and he passes his as you pass yours. You put yourself in your first name and a cloud emoji. When you got you phone back you seen a ‘KTH’ and you couldn't help but chuckle a little. Cute.

“Okay, well that's all I really wanted. I’ll see you later.” You nod your head slightly and grab the blanket.

“Wait.” Taehyung voice stops you from walking past him. Your heart practically fell to your ass when you heard him step forward. “Do you want to smoke?” His voice came so deep and close to you. You turned to him and he was so close to you looking down.

“Smoke?” You peep. He then backs away and looks down to some of the wraps on the table.

“Yea, I want to take some pictures of the glass, so I don't want to use it, if that's okay with you.”

“Uh, sure, whatever. It's yours.” You smile, you were nervous now. You weren't a ‘stoner’. And now with these sudden nerves and just Taehyung in general, you weren't sure what was going to happen.

“So what type of clothes is it?” He asks as he pulls out a airtight glass jar from under his bed. You sit on the far end, away from him, leaving space in the middle. He also grabbed one of your trays that you got him and he pulls a grinder and a pack of rellos out. You pull out your phone and showed him some pictures.

(Don't post this picture.)

You showed him one of the more fancy and expensive pieces.

“I was wondering if you would be up to dye your blonde.” You ask mentioning and idea you had.

“Whatever you want, especially if i'm being paid 10k.” He smiles a little.

You watch as he seals up the blunt, his lips wraps around it so beautifully. His tongue then sticks out and licks it one more time. He grabs one of the lighters you brought and he runs the flame around the blunt, which you assumed dried it a bit.  He then sticks one end in his mouth, and you noticed something on the end. He lights it up and puffs some smoke.

“I put a glass tip on it.” He nods at it and passes it to you. You took it and brought it up to your lips. You could feel his eyes on you, which made your heart race a little. But that doesn't stop you from hitting it and inhaling it in a french inhale way. That one hit you pretty hard, since you haven't smoked in a while. But you hit it again and pass it back. Your eyes met his, but he looks down and grabs it.

“I also have some other things coming out in a couple of months. My father got Gucci to collab with me. I think you will look really nice in Gucci.” You talk some more, you didn't want there to be a awkward silence. “And all the models, whichever clothes they model they get to keep. Now that I think about it, I need to find some more male models, I can't have you leave with another ten thousand in clothes.” You laugh.

“Fuck, I'd feel like I owe you my life.” He shakes his head.

“Just think about this being a side job. Imagine, Kim Taehyung sexy tattoo artist, and Gucci model.” You throw your hands up and wiggle your fingers to make it more dramatic.

“Mhmm.” He groans and shakes his head. “You think I'm sexy?” He asks taking another hit and passing it to you.

“Doesn't everyone?” You shrug, you felt your cheeks burn. You brought the weed up and hit it a couple of times, needing to relax.

“I'm really putting myself out there doing this. I usually keep to myself. I've also noticed that people don't tell me anything face to face. They usually talk about me in their instagram posts of their tattoos.” You pass it back and he happily hit it.

“Well, they must not really want you then. Sometimes the girl has to make the first move.” You shrug. Then you realized what you said. “Not that I want you. Seems like Sinsi got to you first.” You laugh a little, trying to make it into somewhat of a joke. He puts the rolling tray down on the floor and slides it down under his bed. He then scooches forward a little and passes it. You were freaking out slightly. The weed was clearly getting to you and you were high as shit. You made yourself sound thirsty, and you wanted to slam your head in the wall.

Your thoughts were cut off when he leans forward a little, he caught you halfway and watched you blow it out.

“You are really pretty when you smoke. You look as if you don't what you are doing, but then you hit it and wow.” His voice was low, and deep.

“Oh, thank you.” You mumble and you look away from him. You little bit of confidence was gone and you felt little and small. You pass it to him. He grabs it and sits back a bit. He takes a hit and blow it out.

“Sinsi, she did ‘get to me first’. But we are no longer, and never will be again.” he nods and takes a huge hit. It comes in almost in a bubble and he sucks it back in. He then blow it's out and he tries to pass it back but you reject it.

“I should probably go.” You smile and stand up.

“Wait. I need to tell you something.” he says making you sit back down.

“Sinsi left me for one of my best friends Bogum. So whenever you see us together, it's just as friends. I don't even want that, but she's just so…”

“You loved her? Understandable.” You smile sadly.

“We broke up so long ago. I don't have feelings for her anymore and-”

“Wait, why are you telling me this?”

“Look. I'm not dumb, neither are you. You just come into my shop, get a tattoo, and it's like you've never left. Now you're offering this amazing job opportunity. And let's not forget the thousands of followers you gave me. You must of taken some liking of me.”

He caught you. Oh fuck.

“Mhm.” Was all you could say, you weren't sure how to answer him, without saying anything wrong. But when you looked back up at him, and you seen that he was already staring back, you got this surge of confidence. “You’re right. I’m attracted to you, physically. I’m trying to keep you around so i can figure you out Kim Taehyung. I’m not sure if you’re a seducer then heartbreak or you’re actually a soft baby inside of this hard exterior you got going on.” you point at him. His facial expression went from a smug one to confused and back to his frowning self.

“Figure me out?” He asks with a strained voice.

      “Look. I’m not trying to poke into your personal life. But you agreeing to model for me, it’s going to open a lot more doors for you. Without some help, the public will eat you up.” You stood up needing to get your point across. “Now that you mention earlier, you said Sinsi left you for Bogum. Park Bogum?” He nods once. “Yea, I seen them at a couple events. Why don’t you show Sinsi that’s she’s missing out. Because what she did was fucked up.” You shrugged. “Go with the flow” You nod once more. You watch as he nods agreeing with you. You realize your eyes felt quiet heavy and your mind was a little fuzzy. You then focus on Taehyung.

He sat there finishing the blunt and he just looked godly.

“Just be careful with the girls, because they will be willing to do anything for someone who looks like you.” You add a little laugh into it, but he just looks at you with this serious expression. He puts out the roach and claps his hands together.

“Who looks likes me?” He raises a brow. Your cheeks burn realizing that he was teasing you once again. He knows you have taken a liking into him, yet he pushes and pulls like this.

“Yes Taehyung.” You sigh. He smiles a bit noticing your frustration.

“And anything you say? Like what?” He leans back on his hands.

“You can do whatever you want, I was just trying to give you advice.” You roll your eyes. You didn't know if you wanted to leave or not. You didn't know if you wanted to jump on his lap or not. He pulls you out of your thoughts when he stands up.

“Come here.”He nods toward you. Your eyes widen a little, sudden nerves enter your system. You walk in front on him, leaving a foot of space. He looks down at you, he doesn't say anything, he just tilts his head a little a continues to stare. His hair covering his eyes a little. You could see his lips start to pull into a smile until he clenches his jaw and any sign of a smile is gone.

“You Ms Yn, you try to be slick, but yet you are very very obvious.” He says breaking the silence. You lick your lips and smile a little, trying to hide the fact that your whole face and the tips of your ears were burning. “The list is getting longer and longer, eventually i'm going to have to give my life to you to pay you back.” He jokes shaking his head a little.

“Are you complaining?” You shrug and laugh at him. He then suddenly pulls you close to him by your waist. His face was suddenly right in front of yours and your breath was caught in your throat.

“Nah, but I do have a way I could pay you back.” He then grabs your hair pulling on it a little making you tilt your head back a bit, his head then goes in a he lays a couple of kisses on your neck. He trails up, getting a little messy. You were so stunned by what was happening. You hands grabbed onto his shoulders, tight. As he nibbled and kissed, your nails dug into his shoulder, you bit your bottom lip to hold in any noise. “I take care of this body for a while.” His hand suddenly went down and he grabbed at your ass. Before a moan could slip out you push him away.

         “You’re gross, you know that?” You cross your arms in front of yourself.

“What I do wrong?” He smirks and shrugs. But you just roll your eyes.

“Are you kidding me?” You looked at him like he was coo-coo.

        “Okay maybe the body part was a little much, but i was kinda serious. I can't lie and say i’m not attracted to you as well. Shit, i’m kinda hard thinking about the things I could and would do to your right now if you let me.” As he said that, his face was set in a serious way. There you go again blushing. You didn’t know if you should believe him or not.

         “You warn me about the girls out here when i really only want you, physically of course. Do you not feel the same about me?” He throws his hands up like he was a damn emoji.

           “Shouldn’t we keep things professional?” You end up whispering.

            “Oh please. If i kissed you right now, and thought of professionalism would go out the door. Would it not?” He raises a brow. But then he smirks once again. “I’m assuming your puppy Rowan will tell me when to come in. So i’ll see you later.” He then pulls off his shirt and turns to pull his covers back. You were stuck. His whole torso was covered in beautiful all black ink. You see a cherry blossom trees, and different birds and flowers. There was Korean words and english combined. There were so many layers. He looks back at you with a confused look.

“Why are you still here?” He asks. Your eyes widen at his sudden change in emotions. You gathered the things you needed to take and you left without looking back.

            It was now Friday, which meant you were free to do whatever you want until Monday. Rowan had to take a small vacation to visit her family in the US. So you were all alone and bored. With a photoshoot with Taehyung on Monday, you had Rowan set up a hair appointment for Taehyung to dye his hair blonde. So you knew that the next time you see him he was going to be a blonde.

You were currently laying in bed, you picked your phone up and checked the time. It was currently 10 am and you had nothing to do all day. You suddenly get a little idea that you might regret later on, but you open your text messages and click on Taehyung. You quickly type out a text asking him if he knew anyone that could drop off some weed.

Your heart started beating fast as you pushed send. You quickly got up wanting to distract your mind from him, wondering what he response will be. You got into the shower. You quickly did everything you needed to do and got out, to worried about your phone. You picked out a casual but quick outfit, wanting to take some pictures today. You pulled out tanish cargo pants and a off the shoulders tight black crop top from your line. Then you pulled out some black nikes to wear with it. Then you hear a ding.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous. Just about a fucking text message. You sighed and went to look. It was him.

//Ill send the best, boss\\ with a smirking emoji. You rolled your eyes, but clicked on the number he sent below that. It started to ring and then someone answers.

“Hello?” A deep voice says.

“Uhm, Hi, I'm YN.” You wanted to slap yourself, really?

“Ah, Taehyung just texted me about you, text me your address and we can talk about it then. I'm Yoongi by the way.”

By the time Yoongi showed up, your hair was waved and put in a half up and down style. And your makeup was done. You opened the door and you wanted to jump in a pit of lava. Fuck he was beautiful and you should've known that someone like Taehyung only know people like him, dangerous. You nodded towards him and he does it back and steps in. You lead him into your kitchen to the island. He sets his black bag on the counter. He then unzips his black windbreaker to reveal a black t-shirt. But what made your mouth go dry, was the black ink all over his arms. Damn your weakness for ink.

He then opens the bag up and in it was multiple freezer bags.

“How much?” You ask, you noticed that he has six freezer bags, filled half way.

“Oh, surprisingly Taehyung offered to pay for you. He said something about you getting something that he really wanted?” He shrugs. He then takes out some plastic baggies and nods. “So i'll give you a quarter of everything. He’ll be pissed because that's a lot of money, but he owed me anyways.” He starts to weight it all out.

“What in the hell am I supposed to do with all of that weed?” You ask, that's like a zip in a half. So 28 plus 14 grams….you rarely smoke!

“Not my problem.” He shrugs. You roll your eyes and pull five hundreds out of your wallet.

“Here, is this enough?” You ask, you raised a eyebrow as his eyes widen a bit. But he nods and finishes up. He hands you the weed and puts the money in his pocket.

“I know that's too much Yoongi, but ill let it slide for gas money.” You smile when his eyes widen again.

“My bad, it's just the business man in me.” he smiles a bit, his smile made you tingle a bit.

“Sure, whatever.” You laugh looking at all the weed you have. “At least get me something to smoke this with.”

“Oh, I got some rellos.” He unzips the pocket on the side and pulls out a plastic baggy with packs of them in there. He tosses it down on the counter.

“So how do you know Taehyung?” You ask.

“We used to tat together in high school. You?” He asks.

“He gave me this.” You say and lift your shirt up. “And he is now one of my clothing models.” You say pulling your shirt back down.

“I could've done so much better.” He shrugs.

“Mhm, I like mine just how it is, thank you very much.” You cross your shoulders. He laughs and starts to tug his jacket back on. You notice that everything from his bag to his shoes, to the beanie on his head is black. Even his tattoos, or the ones you could see. Everything was black except his skin, in fact it was the complete opposite. You hated how attracted you were, he was no Taehyung, but he was a close second.

“Well, can I hit you up when I need more weed?” You ask. “That is, if your weed isn't trash.” You didn't know why you felt like you could talk to him like that, but he just had this goofy vibe to him, even if he looked scary beautiful. But when he smiles extra gummy like you knew you were good.

“Trust me, it's not.” He pulls out his phone when it dinged in his pocket. “I follow you on instagram by the way, so I was wondering if you would like to come to this party i'm throwing tonight.”

You just raise a brow.

“It would be nice if someone with a higher status in the social world, would come.” He pulls out the money you gave him. “Here. I know I sound thirsty, but when you opened your door I was hella surprised. First by how beautiful you actually are in person, unlike the facetune clan. And because how could someone like Taehyung know you. So here is all of your money back.”

“So for all of this weed, I come to your party instead of paying?” You say trying to ignore that fact that he called you beautiful. He nods not breaking eye contact. “Fine.”

Later that night, your driver pulled into a little frat village, and you were nervous. College students scared you. They were like a whole different species. You told Yoongi to wait for you outside. Supposedly his brother is the head student in the frat the party is in, so if you show up with Yoongi, no one will mess with you. As soon as you told your driver that you will message him, you open the door and come face to face with Yoongi.

He quickly grabs your hands and pull you inside. You were immediately thrown into a whole different world. Drugs and alcohol everywhere. Students all over each other. The ones who were somewhat sober started to recognize you, but then they look up a little and see Yoongi, they stop themselves from going any further. He quickly pulls you further into the building, you enter double doors that were currently shut. Once they open, you notice a huge room that was set up like a living room, but then it opened up to a backyard, mainly filled with a in-ground pool.

You didn't expect to see Taehyung standing behind a couch, with a red solo cup in his hands. His hair was a honey brown, which you assume is from lightening his hair for Monday. You also didn't expect to see Sinsi sitting on the couch in front of him. Somehow she managed to hold his hand in that position. Taehyung's eyes were on you, and his hand suddenly wasn't in hers. But before you could see anything else you look around other places. You see Jin and Namjoon, and a couple of other people.

“Ah! Yn you're here? You came for the free alcohol or drugs?” Seokjin tried to stand up but his words slurred and his intoxicated body gave out on him and landed on Joon, his boyfriend.

“Um, actually Yoongi asked me to come.” You smile and intertwin your arm into Yoongi’s, not to much. You prayed to someone that he wouldn't move his arm away. But instead you felt your arm grow goosebumps when he actually laces his fingers through yours.

“I'm going to go get us some drinks, have fun.”

You felt like you were in a movie of some sort. You, at a college party, with a guy that you want so badly, but got invited by who you assume was his competition in the tattoo business. Better yet, the guy you want has his suppose ex all over him.

You soon found Yoongi’s brother, you didn't catch his name, but you did catch the fact that you made him the coolest ‘dude’ on campus. You didn't know how to feel about being used, but you couldn't say anything, you agreed to come. Plus free alcohol. You’ll just count it as charity work since he said that he will, quote on quote, ‘be known for having the best party.’

You did your best to get lots of pictures with the party goers. At the same time, you've downed a couple of drinks, wanting it to help with everyone wanting something from you. You were just thankful that half of the people were shit faced.

Before taking pictures, you had the choice to hang out with Sinsi, she even offered to take your pictures for instagram.

It was about a hour later when the picture needs go down. Which meant that you were starting to feel the drink a little more now that you weren't doing much. In fact your head started to spin a little. You wanted to go back to the room you were first in, maybe sit down a bit.

Before you could make it to the double doors, a cliq of four girls blocked your view. You could tell that they were high out of their minds. But you could also tell that they could handle their drugs, so they looked pretty normal, other then red eyes.

“Would you like a picture or something?” You ask kind of confused to why they all had these rude faces. “No? Then what?”

“I, no we want to you follow us on instagram, and give us a shout out. We wanna be like you.” The girl in front say, then she crosses her arms, and the other three followed behind.

“Like me?” You were highly confused.

“A social star? Duh.” You almost wanted to cringe. Are they serious.

You didn't know that Yoongi was watching everything in the past hour, he was standing near the kitchen, it was on a slight higher level, he could see over people's head. He noticed the main girl in front to his his brothers ex. He looked further down the hall that you were standing in front of and he sees Taehyung leaving from the bathroom. He stops in his tracks when he sees you.

“How about no.” You give them a sarcastic smile. You almost wanted to laugh in their face. Did they think they could scare you into doing what they say.

“Do it, or face what we will bring you.” She raises her eyebrow. You made her smile when you put on a nervous face.

“Oh no, what ever will I do?” You just scoff, erasing the smirk off of her face.

“You've got one last chance, how hard is it? A simple follow and shoutout?” A girl in the back says.

“I've worked for what I got. Now if four broke ass college students want to jump me, bring it. Just know that right after this i'm going to go back to my million dollar home and talk to my rich friends, something youll never understand because you're stuck studying your life away.” You step forward showing that you weren't scared of them. If you were sober then you wouldn't of said what you did. But you weren't going to be forced to do something you didn't want to.

Then everything happened at once.

They started to attack but then two large hands come in. One came around your shoulders, pulling you back. You look over and see that the other hand is Yoongi, standing in front of the girls blocking them for you. Once they realized that it was him in front of them, they backed away almost immediately. At this time, everyone was now looking at you all. Then Yoongi’s brother pushed his way through.

“What the fuck Misa?” He yells, clearly intoxicated.

Your heart was racing and you were too focused on everything in front of you, that you didn't realize that you were still being pulled backwards. You frowned wanting to know who the hell was behind you. Your hands come up to grab on to the arm around your shoulders. But another hand came around your waist and a ‘shh’ was said into your ear. You kept walking backwards until you both were outside.

Your heart was still going, only because you were hoping that it wasn't who you thought it was. But then again you were. But what would you even say. Once the door was shut and you were alone in the screened in porch, he pulled away. You were hit with the cool air of the night, and you turned around. Standing there, Taehyung.

[piccolina-mina]

Fire & Lightning

A/N: *waves* Just a little humble offering for Echo3Days2019. Day 2 is Elements, so it’s a wee bit elemental, I suppose.

I also happen to be listening to Dawn Golden’s All I Want while typing this. It has a certain vibe. Maybe it’ll get out of my head now that I have attributed it to this. 

—-

A crack of thunder awakened her from a fitful sleep – her hair a mess of tangles across the pillow.

She blinked, taking in her surroundings before resting her hand against the sheets beside her, soft and cold. A streak of lightning illuminated the room, and it was as empty as she felt.

She crawled out of bed, stumbled to the kitchen, his shirt hanging loose around her, falling practically to her knees. Soft cotton faded like the mark he left on her, his scent still clinging to the fabric, just barely.

She poured herself a glass of water and padded across the floor. The blood is long gone, and so are the shards of glass, but the memories aren’t.

She pressed a hand against the window, it’s cool to the touch, and she watched nature throw the fit she can’t bring herself to do anymore.

Rain skittered across the window in rivulets – beat against the roof and hard against the desert earth.

She pressed her forehead to the glass, closed her eyes and exhaled. The rumble of thunder a comfort. Mother Nature was screaming because she can’t. She was crying because Liz doesn’t have tears left.

The first storm since … since.

She relished it and its destructive power. She pressed herself to the glass wishing she could harness its energy. Feel it in her bones, fortify herself with its strength.

But she’s fire, burning bright, once orange and now blue, hot, destructive and wild without him. Blazing so much it threatened to engulf her whole with each passing day.

Rain beat against the windowpane, hard and violent. Another streak of lightning danced across the indigo sky eerily close, and she challenged it to do the damage it threatened.

The water was cool in the back of her throat, but the taste of him was still on her tongue. She laughed a caustic, harsh sound and banged her fist against the window.

But it caught in her throat as a dark figure, nothing but a dot where the sky met the earth, emerged.

It was walking towards her – he was walking towards her, nude, pale skin still caked in silver glimmering under the moonlight, but all him, weary, wet, alive.

The glass slipped from her fingertips, crashed against the floor, shards of glass like diamonds glittering on her feet, and the thunder drowned out her gasp.

She walked alongside the window, unsure, cautious, knowing for sure her brain was playing tricks on her again, nothing of which she hadn’t been familiar.

But it wasn’t, her heart – her gut told her otherwise. She slid the patio door open, stepped out into a puddle of water ignoring the sting of glass piercing her flesh.

She wanted to freeze, but her body wanted to run, taking its cue without her, slow at first –unsure, and hesitant like a calf finding its footing and then a full-blown sprint.

Her hair plastered against her skin – his shirt clung to her form revealing her body in all of its glory, but she didn’t care.

Her feet slapped against the dirt – lightning danced around her dangerously close but illuminated her path to him. He was closing the distance,  the moonlight shone against his slick skin, dark hair – wet fell into his eyes.

Her body hurled forward of its own volition, and he caught her, his big hands splayed across her back. She locked her feet around his waist, dirt caked heels digging into his ass, his name slipped from her lips in a sigh and hers slipped from his in a prayer of worship.

He left a trail of hot, wet kisses along her neck, up, up, until his eyes met hers, crooked smile in place, slightly smug, wholly adoring and in love, shining with the tears his – or maybe a reflection of her own.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he said sheepishly, his deep voice sincere and heartfelt. “I got a little caught up.”

“You’re … you’re sorry,” she barely got out. She laughed, a blend of disbelief and relief. It’s uncontrollable and drowned out by another crash of thunder, and then his lips against hers, eager, starving, soft at first and then firmer and more desperate.

She ran her hand through his hair, pulled him closer, pressed him against her until there was no space between them, and it still wasn’t close enough.

They fell into the dirt, laughing, kissing, limbs entwined.

She discarded her shirt – his shirt, heavy and thick. Welcomed his hands, soft, firm, and comforting against her skin. Cherished his laugh – felt it reverberate through her, firing up her neurons, making her skin tingle.

Storms are cleansing, they renew and restore, they bring rebirth, and also, apparently, resurrect.

She writhed on top of him, face upturned to the sky – his breath hot and electric against her sternum.

She had questions, so many questions. How? Why? Her mind raced, tried to make sense of it. Tried to piece it together, dissect it and reassemble again until it became something that made sense. 

But, he was there, flesh and bones, beneath her, inside her, and it’s all she wanted. It was the last thing left that she wanted. 

They had time to figure the rest out later.

And for now, she had every intention of showing mother earth what happened when lightning met flame.

—

[killitquick]

Here Comes a Thought.

Sherlock watched as you interacted with the men in the bar you two had found yourselves in. John, Sherlock and you had decided to take a case from a woman who lived up in the county.  Her grandmother had met an untimely death and although the coroner had said all was well she just didn’t believe him.There wasn’t a lot of cell service. Which wasn’t that much of a problem for the three of you; until it was. The good thing was that the case was finished. The killer was her grandfather who had run himself into debt. He hadn’t realized  that he had been cut out of the will and all the money was to be sent to his grand-daughter. 

 The car you had rented for this case was supposed to be in tip top shape. However down a dark and twisty road the engine shuttered and spat and then then car rolled to a stop.  The two men had gotten out and started to push while you steered.  There was an exit a kilometer away which wasn’t that far. You had almost made it till a huge hill had gotten in the way of your advances. 

It was a warm summer night and you weren’t bothered by the walk You and John were laughing and Sherlock could feel his blood starting to boil. Sherlock wasn’t sure why he was feeling so much animosity towards John. He had a wife and a child and he knew that he was loyal. He trusted him with his life and his secrets but every time one of his hands landed on your body he wanted to throw him into a fire. 

The wind blew and you just knew.  The air was sticky sweet with the aroma of  fresh pine needles and dirt. It hadn’t hit yet but it was coming; rain. You looked up to the previously clear sky and come face to face with dark and heavy clouds. It wasn’t on the forecast but neither was your car breaking down. 

“ We should hurry, It’s going to rain.” 

“ How do you know?” Sherlock asks. 

He means it to be just a genuine question but his voice comes off clipped and harsh and he see’s the way you recoil. A pang or regret hits his heart but for some reason he can’t help but let the anger cloud his words. 

“ I can smell it, plus there’s rain clouds hanging above our heads” you point up 

Sherlock refuses to look to where you’re pointing. What did John have that he hadn’t? You had seemed to be  so enamored by him this whole trip and he had enough of watching the two of you.  

“ Improbable, you can’t smell the weather” 

You’re not sure why Sherlock was in bad mood, you just knew he was. You know better than to argue when he’s like this. He gets cold and mean and you don’t think your heart could take his slashing words. You had thought that he was getting warmer towards you.  Yet as soon as you moved in his direction he lashed out at you. You found solace in John. He assured you that Sherlock was just adjusting to his feelings . He likened him to a rabid, cornered raccoon. Any moves towards him would be perceived as hostile.

The three of you hadn’t walked quick enough and were soon caught in a down pour. The summer rains were warm though so it wasn’t so bad. You shot a look at Sherlock as you made it to the top of the hill. 

“ I told you so” slips from your lips before you can stop them.

 The wide smile on your lips dropped the second your eyes connected with his. The scowl that had graced his features hit you harder than you would have liked.  John notices the stare down the two of you were stuck in. It was the staring match of the century.

“ There’s a bar a half click from here” John says bringing you out of your stupor. 

The bar was busy and loud. The chatter overlapped the sounds of the rain hitting the tin roof. Sounds of clinking glasses and cheers slurred around  and you welcomed such cheery vibes.  John was at the telephone booth getting a hold of a mechanic and you were at the bar getting everyone a beer.  A man that had already had a few rocked up beside you.  He looked nothing like your Sherlock but he was still attractive. His breath smelt like limes and beer and you didn’t mind the flirty smile.  He was easy to talk to and you wondered if it was always supposed to be this easy. You hadn’t been in the flirting game for a while because you had been strung out on Sherlock. Plus with the crazy hours you worked a social life was hard to maintain. 

Sherlock could only see red as the strangers hand crept along the exposed skin of your hip. Your wet shirt clung to your body in a delicious way and he wasn’t surprised that other men could see your beauty. He was surprised that you were welcoming their advances though. He felt a pang of betrayal crawl up his throat. John was still on the phone with the mechanics office and so there was no one to stop him from marching over towards the two of you. 

Harry’s finger rubbed tiny circles on your hip as you waited for your drinks to be made. It was sending chills up your spine and if you weren’t already head over heels for someone you would have gone home with him. He was a nice bloke and you could see yourself being happy in his arms but not as happy as you could be in Sherlock’s. The curly haired man comes into your field of vision and your whole world is set alight. The hand on your hip falls away as you move your body towards Sherlock’s instinctively.

“ Hey Sherlock!” you yelled over the noise. 

“ I just wanted to know what was taking you so long.” 

“ Oh, well our drinks should be up next. I got a you a beer. I wasn’t sure if you were in the mood for wine or not” 

“ I’m not in the mood for anything.” 

“ Sherlock what’s wrong, you’ve been acting strange this whole trip.” 

Sherlock scoffs at the question. How could you ask him what was wrong. Like you cared about his feelings. You were so easily distracted by that man that your affections towards him felt cheapened.  Were you really into him or was he just there. Was he the only available man for you to cling to. The thought of him being nothing more than that, hurt on a level he didn’t even know he could hurt on. 

“ Don’t act as if you care.” the words fumble out of his mouth like putrid bile. It stings the whole way up and leaves a nasty taste in his mouth. 

“ How could you say that, of course I care!” you grabbed the man by the arm and led him out into the cooling night air. 

“ Please, you care for me the same way that you care for that man at the bar. Just the tiniest bit of attention and you’ll throw yourself down like a ten cent whore” 

The words hit like a slap to the face and Sherlock watches as you physically flinch. His heart yearns  to reconcile the second he see’s tears spring up into your eyes. He knows he’s acting irrationally but that was entirely your fault. You had done something to him to make him behave like this, you had possibly drugged him or put him under hypnosis.  Sherlock didn’t get emotional, not like this. Sherlock didn’t believe that it was his deep hidden feelings for you that had made him go bonkers. He didn’t believe the word jealous lived in his vocabulary when describing himself and yet here he was with the green monster sitting in his belly. 

You’re so shocked you can’t even say anything. You hadn’t shied away from the mans advances, but it was nice to finally feel wanted. To feel the warm hands of someone on your skin left you a little breathless. Even then it wasn’t sweet Harry you were thinking of.  It was so easy to pretend it was Sherlock.  You knew something like this would never happen with him and so you let yourself slide into the fantasy. You didn’t think for one second you were being whorish maybe  a little too flirty but it was all innocent to you. 

“ I was pretending it was you. You only give me an inch every mile. It’s like half a step forward ten steps back with you, Sherlock, but I love you anyways. I love you knowing full well who you are. It just felt nice to feel wanted. That doesn’t make a-a whore. It makes me lonely and a little desperate for affection but not a whore. “ You couldn’t help the tears that fell down your cheeks or the lump that formed in your throat. 

“ It makes you weak throwing yourself into another’s arms because I don’t bend to your every whim.”  his voice is as sharp as his tongue 

“ And what does that make you, jealous and too emotionally stunted to see it. ” you yelled walking away from the man

There was an Inn just down the street from the bar and so you left Sherlock to his thoughts. There was no point in shielding yourself from the rain. You were already soaking wet from the walk to the bar. You wrapped your arms around yourself looking for some sort of comfort as sobs wracked your chest and your hot tears mixed with the cold rain. It left you numb. 

Sherlock marched his way back inside and found John at the booth with the three beers you had ordered. John looked up expecting to see your smiling form behind Sherlock but was confused when he sat down across from him alone. 

“ Where’s YN?” 

“ Most likely booking a motel room for herself” 

“ and why’s that? Sherlock,what did you do?” 

Sherlock tried to ignore John’s expectant gaze but it was hard to with his head so full. Sherlock needed to spill the secrets of his mind and John was his confident. He trusted him with his deepest thoughts.  Sherlock too a big sip of his beer and let the buttery notes of pine fill his thoughts up for a second before he explained to John what had transpired between the two of you, 

“ I hardly think that counts as jealousy and I refuse to believe i’m emotionally stunted.” 

“ You’re an idiot and you are jealous. Go and apologize” John demands 

“ I’m not apologizing. I’m not wrong. She should be apologizing to me” 

“ You’re going to lose her. She’ll figure out that she’s too good for you and she’ll never come back, is that what you want?” John asks seriously 

Sherlock knows he’s being obtuse. He knows deep in his bones that he wants you to himself. That he wants your smiles and laughter for himself. He also knows he’s being selfish. He knows that he purposely gives you just enough attention to keep you from leaving but not enough for him to stay. He knows it’s not fair of him to deny you love but he was afraid. You were uncharted territory. You were a  place in his mind he wasn’t sure of. You had a hold on him that he couldn’t explain not even to himself and that terrified him. John was right though you would go off into the world and learn that you deserved more than what he was giving you and you wouldn’t come back.

There was knocking at your door. A loud banging that wouldn’t let up and you just knew it was Sherlock. You pulled the door open and looked up at the raven haired man. His gray eyes were bright with something you couldn’t figure out, but honestly you just couldn’t bring yourself to care.  The two of your stare at each other for a moment before Sherlock made a move. His large hands gripped your body as he moved the two of you into the tiny room. You wanted to just go with it but the tears he had caused weren’t even dry. Your tiny hands gripped his soaked button up shirt as he sat you down on the small table in your room. Sherlock stood between your legs. His body cold and wanting. His head was bowed to you and  he took a minute to gather his thoughts. You watched as droplets of rain slid down his wet curly tresses. The tiny drops landed your exposed flesh bringing you out of your haze. 

“ I was jealous of that mans hands on your body. I was jealous and I was hurt and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.” his baritone voice rumbles through your chest and you feel the butterflies erupt inside of you. 

“ Sherlock, kiss me” 

The request doesn’t fall on def ears. Pillow soft lips crashed into yours and you could feel all his love being poured into you. Things weren’t perfect but you’d work on that but for right now, all was well. 

A/N I hope you liked it anon. Requests 

[mutually-screaming]

for death and he

Fandom: Homestuck

AU: Godstuck, but with more cults

Chapter(s): 1/??

Ship/Pairing: Dirk/Lil Hal

Summary: Hal needs to feed to survive at this point in his everlasting life. Being a god isn’t easy, especially not when you have virtually no followers. But he’s not god now. He’s a leech. And he needs Dirk to be his host if he wants to survive any longer as a god.

Author Note: Chapter one! I hope you all enjoy! I will be posting this on Archive of Our Own as well, and links will be provided once I do so! I hope you enjoy!

This party sucked.

It wasn't the fact that the party itself was bad, but the suckyness of the party predominately came from Dirk himself. Things that he used to enjoy, like this shitty party, felt like they were slowly getting crappier and crappier over time. Whether it was boredom or how they always seemed to go the same, he couldn't quite tell. But it sucked to Dirk. Everyone else was having a good time, and part of him was jealous of them for that, but he felt like it sucked.

But of course it sucked for Dirk. Dirk Strider, forever sitting on the couch, making boring idle conversation, waiting to get himself drunk. Dirk Strider, always embarrassing himself when he gets drunk. Dirk Strider, waking up in the morning with a shitty hangover and a will in his mind that he was never drinking again. Parties weren't awful, but he just couldn't get why he wasn't enjoying them anymore.

Maybe because of the monotony of his actions at these parties, or maybe he was becoming more of a homebody. The latter option made the most sense to him right off the bat. He was spending more time at home, but he blamed that mostly on school and how it was so vigorously kicking his ass at the moment.

The blonde took a sip of probably one of the grossest IPA's he's ever drank before setting the bottle down and deciding he was done with it. It was almost full.

Music played, people were dancing, the air was hot and humid with their sweat. It was kinda gross. Deciding he needed a break, he shoved his way out of the living room and into the back yard, greeted by a cold yet refreshing gust of night air as he stumbled upon what seemed to be a beer pong tournament? Except all frat-dudes involved seemed way too fucked up. Amber eyes scoped the scene before settling upon three mostly empty tequila bottles on the floor. Ah. Tequila pong.

Considering the last time he decided to play the one way alcohol poisoning game of Tequila pong, he decided against it. Nope. Never again.

Reasoning being, nobody wanted to watch him try to jump from the roof and into the neighbor's pool and fail again. That entire incident ended with a broken wrist and a written apology.

But see? He used to think this was fun. Now he was bored, tired, and couldn't wait to put on his pajamas and fuzzy socks when he got home.

He needed to find Roxy.

Turning around to head back inside, he struggled through the living room and made his way towards the kitchen, only to run into a very frazzled looking Jane dealing with a very stoned freshman he didn't recognize.

"Hey, where's Roxy?" Dirk asked, grabbing some paper towels and handing them to Jane as she tried desperately to clean up a green mess that the freshman seemed to have spilled. The freshman seemed cool with it. Hell, Dirk wasn't even sure if the freshman noticed that he had spilled half of whatever the fuck that green stuff was all over the front of him. He was blazed as fuck.

"Last place I saw her was in the garage getting more drinks, but that couldn't have been more than twenty minutes ago," Jane replied, gratefully taking the paper towels and using them to sop up the green mess. "By the way," the brunette huffed, straightening up and dumping the dirty trash into the bin, "This is Gamzee, he's the foreign exchange student I've been mentoring."

"How's it been, brother? Long time no see," Gamzee grins, his voice deep and laced with an accent he didn't recognize. The stoner reached over and clapped a large hand on Dirk's back, possibly getting some of that goop on his shirt.

Dirk has never met this kid in his life.

"Uh...it's been good," Dirk says slowly, taking a step away from Gamzee as he turned back to Jane, "Look, if you get the chance to talk to Roxy, let her know I'm headed home. Glad for the invite though, that was cool of her. Don't think this kind of stuff is my thing anymore though." Hm. Maybe a little too much information for now. He didn't want to offend Roxy for inviting him to these, he knew she genuinely enjoyed them and that he used to too. But might as well be honest, right?

"Oh, uhm, alright," Jane replied, seeming a little taken aback by Dirk's bluntness. "I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Dirk nodded, briefly eyeing Gamzee warily before making his way out of the party. Part of him kinda felt bad for the guy. He seemed stoned out of his mind. But hey, at least even he was having a good time.

The party had been hosted at a nearby fraternity house that was only about three blocks from the school, making it only about a twenty-ish minute walk back to his dorms, which wasn't too bad. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he quickly sent a text to Roxy, just in case Jane didn't get the chance to relay the message.

headed home. thanks for the invite.

Dirk knew Roxy worried about him sometimes. Especially these past few months since his particularly messy breakup with his ex. But that was a story for another day.

It didn't take long for him to reach his dorm, quickly changing out of his plain jeans and t-shirt and into his beloved fuzzy socks, sweatpants and hoodie. It was a cold night and he might as well get comfortable for the night.

Flopping onto the bed, he couldn't help but lie there for a second. The room was completely quiet, other than the gentle hum of the heater running and the soft thump of his heart beating. Glancing at his clock on his desk, it was only ten forty-five. It wasn't even that late. But why did he feel so fucking tired? He lied still on his bed for as long as he could manage, legs dangling over the side as he shifted and shoved his face into his pillow, only to immediately sit up in distaste as a red line formed across his face from his shades.

Right. He was wearing those.

Dirk took them off and set them on his desk next to his bed before getting settled in. Snuggled in a thick duvet, laptop in his lap, he grabbed his glasses off of his desk. Trading comfort over style, he guessed. It was a miracle he could get those wack-ass shades as prescription, but he was from Hollywood and wasn't about to read too deep into this and you shouldn't either.

Was he tired? Yes. But it was more like the slightly sleepy that led into boredom that led into him browsing the internet for a couple of hours.

An hour and a half later, Dirk found himself falling down the rabbit hole of food network youtube videos on how to make gourmet gushers when an unfamiliar notification popped up. It was from Pesterchum, what was essentially a remake of the now outdated Skype, but he didn't recognize the message that appeared.

autoResponder [AR] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT]

AR: Hey. Ever wondered what ascension is like?

The name autoResponder immediately made Dirk think this was a bot messaging him. But that didn't make sense. The only way someone could message him would be if he gave them his username himself, but he couldn't remember giving anyone his username recently. He honestly didn't even use Pesterchum that much lately anyways because of how busy he's been with school. This totally had to be a bot. But it hadn't sent him any weird links yet or offered to show him boobs. Or maybe it was a hacker trying to give his laptop a virus. But he could handle that. Maybe it would be fun to fuck with this guy. If he was going to try to send him a virus he would well deserve it.

Just as he started to type a response back, he got another message.

AR: Ever wondered what happens after death?

Dirk's fingers hesitated. Now this was starting to sound a little more religious-y. But it gave more of the vibe of those signs you drive by on road trips. The ones paid for by Biblethumpers who had nothing better to do but shove god in every aspect of life, including road trips apparently.

Another message.

AR: Ever wondered what happens when everything becomes void, Dirk?

Dirk closed his laptop.

[goodproofingwater]

Wildfire Records - Chapter Nine

Word count: 2841

Warnings: Drug and alcohol abuse, sexual scenes

Playlist:

Somebody Else - The 1975 Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair - Arctic Monkeys press play when you see the *’s

Breathe for the love of God. Victoria stood in front of the floor length mirror in her room adjusting her outfit for the fifth time as nerves ran through her, and she picked up her bag before walking up to the reception room, the boys and Juliet sitting in the living space and drinking coffee.

“How do I look?” She asked, and Josh let his eyes run over her. She had opted for a band shirt and tight jeans for the interview, black boots making her a few inches taller and red hair tied up in a ponytail out of her face. In a word, she looked beautiful, and he was about to respond when Andy stood and jumped over the back of the sofa, grabbing her by her thighs, picking her up and grinning up at her.

“You look fucking hot babe.. how long till you have to be at the interview?” He placed chaste kisses along her neck and Josh averted his eyes back to the TV, the song of jealousy in the pit of his stomach becoming an increasingly familiar feeling. The sound of that excited giggle ran through him and he felt sick to his stomach. Sleeping with Kaya had helped while it was happening, but it was hard to get over someone that you saw every day.

“Not long enough for what you’re thinking..” she giggled once more and kissed him softly, running her thumb along his lips when she left lipstick there.

He set her down and she straightened herself up, glancing over at the others, the pain in her chest sparking again as she saw Josh avoiding her eyes once more.

“Well… have a good day everyone, wish me luck.” She smiled, grabbing her bag and walking out.

As she made her way to the record shop she felt her phone vibrate, and she smiled as she saw who the message was from, her stomach doing a backflip that she knew she would have to address at some point.

J: you’re gonna kill it. Break a leg xx

The interview was long, and to her surprise, they grilled her much more than they thought. They had asked for her favourite band and genre, and then questions about genres that were the complete opposite. Thankfully she knew her stuff, and after 2 hours she walked out of the record shop as a hired woman.

Even though she had insisted that they didn’t need to, Juliet had a bottle of prosecco open the moment she stepped in the door to celebrate, and Victoria felt glad to have met a woman who was so supportive. She sat with Juliet and Danny on the roof as Andy and Josh worked on music in the studio, joining them with another bottle when they were done.

“Congratulations!” Andy spoke as he sat down opposite her in one of the armchairs, leaning over to clink his glass with her own and she looked at him with a smile.

“Thank you,” She smiled at him, “must have been all of your good vibes and messages that helped me..” she smiled, glancing over at Josh who gave her a warm smile for the first time in ages, her heart jumping at the sight.

“Knew you could do it, V” he smiled, raising his glass to her, “now you can get me hella discounts on vinyl” he grinned

“Oh I’ll have to see about that” she smiled cheekily at him, and he sat back in his chair as he mirrored it. It was hard to not talk to her, to avoid her when they hadn’t been intoxicated like he had been doing, and even though he was still not happy with it he was coming to terms with the fact that she would never be his.

Another bottle later and the party really began to get going, Josh once again in charge of the speaker's much to Andy's disdain.

* The 1975 began to blast out again, and Josh poured himself another glass of prosecco as he let his eyes wander, smiling softly at Juliet and Danny who were dancing some kind of ballroom thing, and sipping his drink once more as he watched Victoria pressed so close to his friend.

It was getting stupid now, this crush. He knew that there was nothing else he could do, knew that there’s no way that she had liked him as he had thought he was picking up on. He had been wrong and was now torturing himself for no reason. But still, he couldn’t get her out of his head, couldn’t get past the butterflies he felt each time she smiled at him.

Watching as she and Andy snuck off down the stairs, Josh downed his glass and poured himself another, grabbing his guitar from the studio and sitting on the couch as he played along to the tunes that Danny, Juliet and himself took turns switching on.

After a few songs, Josh began to really get into the jam session, with Danny picking up another guitar and starting to jam with him. Juliet tapped her knees along and allowed herself to become the drummer for a moment. Josh grinned as they started to come up with something cool, but he knew there was something that could make it sound even better.

* Dashing down the stairs, he didn’t even think to knock before he burst into Andy's room. He had been so used to there being no reason to care about knocking, and now he wished more than anything that he hadn’t decided to try and borrow Andy's guitar pedal in the first place.

She straddled his body, quilts covering the place where their bodies became one and Andy watched with a smirk as she sniffed powder from his chest. His hand gripped her hips as she sat up, biting her lip with a smile and she began to move her hips on him once more. It was one thing that he had given her coke at a party, but something else that he held her hair and had that fucking cocky grin as she did his drugs off his chest on a random Friday evening.

“What the fuck?!” He spoke before he could help himself. He knew it wasn’t his place to say, but the way he felt about her wouldn’t let him hold back. He couldn’t stand by and watch her get dragged into Andy’s increasingly worrying coke habit.

Andy looked over with a nonchalant glance which angered the blonde even more, and Victoria pulled more of the quilt over her, covering her underwear-clad chest in shock. She moved from him and pulled her panties back into position before she stood and wrapped the sheets around her.

“Josh, what the fuck?!” she mirrored, glancing at the blonde and confused by his expression. He had just walked in on them - why did he look so pissed off?

“You’re just doing coke with him all the time now?” His anger overpowered any sense that told him he should have walked away and left them to it.

“Wh—“ she glanced over at Andy who laid in the same position, a thin tented sheet the only thing covering him but he didn’t seem to care.

“He’s fucking ruining you V, can’t you see it?” Her eyebrows raised and she took a step back at his words, “since you’ve been with him you’ve changed into this coke loving—“

“Whore?” Victoria finished, absolutely livid that he was even still standing there. Why did he think he had a right to comment on her sexual habits or what she did in her spare time?

“I wasn’t going to call you that.” Josh spoke, eyes widening a little and hands raising defensively, “listen we all know he does coke. He did it in Cali and we didn’t expect him to give up when we moved here. We’ve had to deal with it getting worse and worse over the last few months and we haven’t said anything because it looked like he had it under control for a while, but now he’s fucking passing it on to you!” Josh's voice got louder and louder, yelling more at Andy than Victoria but Andy was so coked up that he could only find the situation funny.

“Josh I’m a big girl I can do what the fuck I want, with who the fuck I want.” She moved closer to him, “just because I’m doing coke with him now doesn’t make me a coke whore, and I don’t know who the fuck you think you are to even be standing in Andy's room shouting at me. Get the fuck out!” She pushed him back gently, but the blow was enough to push him out of the door. She was right. It wasn’t his place. If she wanted to do coke with Andy then she should be allowed to. He had no right to comment on her choices regardless of how good his intentions were.

Juliet and Danny had come downstairs at some point during the fighting, voices having traveled up the stairs in between tracks. Danny tried to speak to Josh, but he just shook his head and stormed to his room, punching the side of his wardrobe and trying not to think about everything she was doing without him, how much his friend was fucking up the girl of his dreams.

Victoria was higher than she had ever been, and while she was confident that she had been right with what she had said to Josh, she felt terrible. She had never been one to do drugs this often, and it was always because of Andy that she did them. Still, she climbed back on top of him and rode him out, allowing the drug to course through her veins as she tried to keep her mind off the kind of life she could have had if she was with someone that cared about her as much as Josh did. All Andy ever wanted to do was party and fuck and party some more. Josh was kind, nice and fun all in one and she was beginning to realise how happy she could have been with him.

Collapsing next to the redhead, she turned on her side and waited until he fell asleep, not wanting to talk to him about what had happened. His strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, and she fell asleep wishing they were Josh’s.

The next morning the blonde felt terrible. He cared so much about Victoria that the last thing he wanted was her thinking that he thought she was some kind of coke whore. He could blame the prosecco for his outburst, but he wasn’t even that drunk and he knew that it barely had anything to do with the coke anyway. He could admit to himself that he was jealous now.

He showered, practicing what he was going to say, how he was going to apologise to her and he planned to make her breakfast, but by the time he got up there she was already whisking eggs in a bowl with bacon sizzling in the pan. He could tell from the small glance his way that she wasn’t happy with him, and he couldn’t blame her. He had walked in on her having sex with someone she was seeing and then shouted at her for it. Still, he swallowed his pride and walked over to the kitchen, sitting down at the breakfast bar.

“Smells amazing..” he tried, and when she didn’t respond he walked around the bar and started up the coffee machine with a small glance in her direction.

“I’ll do it..” she spoke, her voice small and he shook his head, placing a hand on the counter in front of it so she couldn’t move to take over.

“V…” he spoke, looking into her eyes as she tried to avoid his, “V, I’m so sorry for last night.”

When she realised that he would not let up, she looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes and felt her stomach do the backflip which she had learned was reserved solely for Josh. This was all so wrong, she wanted to go back in time and stop herself from going into that bathroom, to tell that version of herself to walk away.

She shook her head, “‘sfine..”

“No it’s not, I shouldn’t have walked in on you and I shouldn’t have shouted at you. You’re right, you can do whatever you want,” he moved closer to her, swallowing thickly as he desperately wanted to reach out to her, to touch her in any way. She was like a magnet and he was finding it hard to resist.

“You’re right though..” she spoke, “I’ve never done this many drugs before… he just… he just wants to party all the time..” she shrugged, biting her lip and shaking her head as she turned back to the eggs, whisking them more before pouring them into the pan as she tried to distract herself from what she became when she was with the lead singer.

Josh let out a short sigh, watching as she busied herself and he decided that he didn’t care. Sure she was seeing Andy, but he couldn’t help but be selfish just this once. He hadn’t felt this way about someone in a very long time, and he had to know if she felt the same even if he had to be subtle about it.

Slowly he moved to stand behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pressing against her in a hug from behind. He let his chin rest on her shoulder, the scent of her coconut shampoo making his heart skip a beat and he wanted nothing more than to place soft kisses along her shoulder. But he held back.

“Are you happy?” He spoke in an almost-whisper, pulling back so he could look at her as her head turned to face him slightly.

She bit down on her lip hard. She had not been ready for him to be so close, had not expected to feel his fingers move slowly around her waist, his chin to rest on her shoulder. Her breath began to shake as she realised how easy it would be to press her lips to his own and how much she wanted to. “That’s all that matters, V..”

His breath brushed against her neck and she tried her best to focus on the breakfast, stopping the eggs from sticking to the pan and turning the bacon.

“I—“ she started to answer and then realised she didn’t know how to. She was happy she lived in this gorgeous home, happy for the experiences that Andy had given her, but was she happy with him? Not really. In all honesty, standing here with Josh’s arms wrapped around her was the happiest she had been in a long time. He made her heart beat faster, made her head spin and it was taking everything in her not to turn and kiss him.

“Right now? Yeah..” she breathed and then swallowed thickly, hoping it would be enough for him to make the move that she wasn’t brave enough to herself. She moved the pans off the heat and turned her head further, their lips so close, and she knew she shouldn’t want this as much as she did...

His stomach dropped as she answered. Of course, he was happy that she was happy with his friend, but part of him had been wishing that his arms wrapped around her would make her realise otherwise. Unless she meant in this moment… but no, that was just clutching at straws. He had obviously misread the signs horribly, and although he felt like his heart had broken, he gave her a soft squeeze before moving away to pour the coffee.

“Good..” he smiled, and was glad for the timing as Andy made his way up the stairs, towel wrapped around his waist.

The redhead moved to steal the mug from Josh’s hand with what was supposed to be a playful grin before he pulled Victoria into him and kissed her fiercely. The blonde clenched his jaw and poured himself another mug of coffee, making eye contact with Victoria when she pulled away from Andy, a small smile which didn’t touch his eyes gracing his face before he made his way into the studio.

Victoria watched as he walked away and wished that they had been alone for longer, that she could taste his coffee-stained lips and feel those deft fingers gripping her waist. Instead, she turned back to the stove and began to spoon out breakfast on the waiting plates as Andy pressed against her, his hard member threatening to push his towel aside but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it. After the blondes gentle touch, his breath on her neck, his lips do dangerously close, she was sure she would never crave Andy again.

[athina39]

Dead Apple Movie Report/Summary

as promised, here’s my reaction thread/summary/speculations/theories about the Dead Apple Movie!!! sorry it’s a day late orz

everything under the cut because IT’S LONG. the CR subs comparison is c/o Fayto-san!!!! i watched the movie in SE Asia, so it’s a different company who handled the subtitles/distribution (it’s ODEX).

here goes! (also a warning/enticement: i’m shamelessly biased towards chuuya and soukoku)

Extra Notes:

- we probably got ourselves perma-banned so many places yesterday (the restaurant where we had lunch, the coffeeshop we went to pre-movie, the foodcourt where we had our post-movie drink, the entire mall itself....) because we were..... quite wild haha

- we took up a whole row in the cinema and there was another group that had their own row behind us! they're chuuya fans too, which is always awesome. the girl behind me is educating her new-to-the-fandom friend to ship soukoku "even if dazai is an asshole", which is Big Mood.

- certain someones (lol) cough "walking dead show" whenever soda is onscreen;;;;; if only They Knew that was the actual theme of the show (more on that below)

- our group was the loudest in the squealing/shrieking ahahaha. and aside from the obvious chuuya and soukoku scenes, we were the loudest at: (1) ALL THE GIRLS (each time yosano/agatha/tsujimura/kyouka's mom appeared, there's guaranteed squealing; Kyouka is Best Girl); (2) akutagawa's Dynamic Entry & akutagawa's curl-up lol; (3) that scene in the OP with the pm dazai & ada dazai; (4) the backstab scene; (5) dazai's handcuff escape & pill swallow. we were also fairly loud at some of atsushi's scenes, but it was more out of laughter??? like.... tiger son, you're kinda unintentionally funny/narmy this movie;;;;

- the people behind us each time there's an atsukyou scene: "BUT. SHE'S. 14." / "she's cuuuute" / "but. she's. 14."

- drinking game: drink for (1) each time atsushi yells kyouka's name - you won't make it out alive within the first 30 mins. slightly easier version: drink for (2) each time there's an orphanage flashback. fast-paced version: drink for (3) each time the "CLAWSSSS" was repeated

Movie Itself:

- chuuya's dynamic entry is so cool, pink motorbike included. like 30% of movie budget probably went to the animation of that scene. it's also asdfghk;da that chuuya tooling/destroying buildings is like, part of his theme in this movie. also, it makes me excited to see a pm days!soukoku driving a car to a mission - they both drive like hell lol

- dazai's "hi, chuuya~" haunts me until now, like. stop sounding so sassy and flirty, gdI but then again, dazai's teasing voice when he talks to chuuya the entire time is sassy and flirty so. asdfhgla

- dazai's “It would have been interesting if Chuuya got struck with lightning instead.” made us shriek because pre-movie, we were discussing that the French term for lightning strike, "le coup de foudre" is associated with love at first sight

- dazai complaining that because chuuya arrived 5 mins late, dazai had to get hit 3 times & chuuya just rolling with that = old married couple vibe much;;;;

- on a more serious note - it's very interesting to see this side of chuuya - in his previous appearances, he was the type to immediately blow his fuse whenever dazai says something to infuriate him, but this time, while he still bickers with dazai, there's a serious edge to it? chuuya's about to deal with the cause of death of his sheep fa(r)m, after all.

- (also - wtf was that dude holding a gun to dazai's head doing??? he just allowed dazai, his hostage, to fucking talk in the communicator the entire time???? bro, you ok??? are you sure you're a villain??? it would be funny tho if the 3 smacks that dazai was talking was 1 smack per sentence that he said on the communicator - because he did say 3 hahaha)

- chuuya activating For The Tainted Sorrow wordlessly (come to think of it, he has never said anything to activate For The Tainted Sorrow? like, everyone else says their ability name....) and on a whole building range = fucking lit. i wonder how's the range/control for his ability... because he managed to knock every single one of the mooks (incl the Lightning User) on that building rooftop in like, 3 seconds. and he managed to do it *without* crushing his bike, which is also on the roof, so he's able to do fine-tune who can be affected.

- chuuya so very tsun-tsun and dishonest when he wants to "help"!!! like aside from destroying buildings, being married w/dazai and being beautiful - one of chuuya's themes in the movie is that.... he does things that others tell him to, in two ways. one is if it's an order/job - which he'll only take from his superior/boss. another is if it's a debt he has to repay.

- soukoku then meets shibusawa; dazai says that all the gems that shibu's throwing away are wasted and it would have made for a good gift to women. chuuya asks for shibu to return the sheep fa(r)m, but shibu says that the sheep won't return because they committed the (apple) suicide. (so the sheep are Ability users? at least these six?)

- in the crunchyroll ver, shibu calls chuuya (&dazai?) "boring guests", while in odex ver, he calls them "bored guests"

- upon hearing confirmation that sheep fa(r)m is deader than dead, chuuya activates corruption wordlessly and tells dazai to not stop him. dazai actually acquiesces to that order w/o mouthing off, so it's good to see that he actually acknowledges how important it is for chuuya to avenge the sheep fa(r)m, despite the events in 15...

- building with soukoku&shibu explodes....... and camera pans to dramatically billowing in the wind coat of fyodor as he watches the proceedings, and calls it great entertainment. (so fyodor has already seen corruption at work? hmmmmm)

- re: the ADA briefing re: shibusawa....... like. ranpo-san. if you already knew how everything will happen/end......can you like.......inform the rest of ADA too......

- the fog events where a fog appears then disappears after a *few minutes* leaving behind a corpse of an Ability user started 3 years ago. the info that they have on shibu is that he's 29, he's an ability user, he goes by "collector", and he's the person responsible for the fog events

- also laughing at how... the meeting kunikida & tanizaki went to, to meet with the Special Ops agent... so shady hahaha. though apparently, this is the first time that the "calling card" of a stabbed, juicy apple is left behind.

- tanizaki: "why an apple?" / kunikida: "how should i know?" asd;sfha;ds why is that your main concern tanizaki, there's a dead person there in front of you hahahaha

- (flashback to bar lupin - dazai asking soda if he knows about apple suicides & soda replying that it's cinderella..... and dazai saying that soda is really interesting because of that.....dazai, your definition of interesting.... is if people don't know cultural/literary references? and soda's an aspiring author at this point??? do you sure??? and dazai giving such motives to snow white ahahaha, the definition of overthinking....;;;)

- dazai gets ambushed by ango in front of bar lupin after dazai took the pill (that would supposedly eventually act as an antidote) (like.....how the fuck did dazai end up hiding that pill in his mouth for that long and he kept on talking a lot and it didn't slip or melt wHAT) & ango says that dazai's the one who brought shibu back to yokohama;;; dazai doesn't get captured by ango's team, bec that's when the fog appears

- (atsushi sleeps inside kyouka's closet???? like............why. i thought he had his own dorm room before??? and kyouka's apparently living (in the dorm???) that's quite far away from the agency itself, bec they had to walk a long way to reach the agency?? i was initially thinking it was like, just behind the office or just the next street over hahaha

- ADA budget apparently is spent on high-tech communicators (just use special satellite phones asdj;asd) and fancy gun storage. i'm a bit disappointed that there wasn't a flamethrower. also, the gun that kuni gave atsushi??? had so many fucking bullets.

- ango and his team is able to monitor the fog in yokohama so they're.... not in yokohama? do they have like an airship or something? the fog is apparently able to remove any non-ability users in the vicinity & separate the ability user from his gift. ango reveals that the HQ of the enemies is an abandoned tower called Mukurotoride in the middle of yokohama and i'm just.... did nobody ever think that an abandoned tower in the middle of a busy city isn't damn suspicious???? it's apparently been there for a long time ffs

- (atsushi has this one-track mind that because dazai saved him, then dazai must be good at all costs, which is. i'd love to say it's because he trusts dazai, but it's more like those fanatic belief, really. it would be great if the manga can explore this deeper - because atsushi's hypocrisy is a really interesting facet of his character. atsushi who doesn't even want to point his gun towards the enemy abilities in the beginning and who say that 'even if he's a villain, we don't know the type of person he is...' 'no matter how bad they are, there's no need to kill them', but when akutagawa says that bec dazai is an enemy now, he'll kill him, atsushi reflexively points a gun at aku...)

- ango's subordinates track chuuya (A5158) down and sends him a message to "pay his debt to professor glasses"

- bitch trio scene! shibusawa's theme of boredom bec he's apparently that much of a genius whose intellect can't be surpassed. dazai says that he's just like shibu before, bored beyond belief. when shibu asks dazai how he's surpassed it, dazai claims that he's going to show shibu and that shibu doesn't know what's dazai's true intentions. shibu shoots it down by saying that it's only dazai who thinks he's fushigi mystery. dazai says that shibu needs salvation.... by either an angel or a demon.

- and because call a demon and he'll appear, fyodor appears. who tells the two that they're the only ones who think they're being mysterious because they're pretty easy to read. (shibu then calls fyodor "Majin Fyodor-kun" ahhh). dazai claims that fyodor's the one most likely to betray shibu, which fyodor agrees with. shibu just says that there hasn't been anyone who surpassed his expectations, so he's looking forward to it.

- during the entire bitch trio scene, there's a focus on apples and a certain skull.

- aku telling kyouka that she now has the opportunity to kill him in an ability-less world asdfgh;lasd

- the PM apparently has made an emergency passage specially made to counteract ability user-attacks and can't be penetrated by the fog?? i wonder how they made it?? a nullifying ability from dazai??? hmm

- aku says that the fog is a "dragon's breath" & aku schooling atsushi on information gathering is asdfjg;asd (i wonder who gave the info to aku though....? probs mori haha)

- at this point, i'm gonna jump the explanations and go with - during this entire movie, shibusawa is already dead. he's a walking dead. except for That One Flashback, shibu is dead.

- shibu then welcomes the bitch trio to his collection room, Draconia. which is filled with crystallized abilities. the room has abilities that are bright red and dull red - apparently, all the ability users that is engulfed with the mist will have crystals in the room - once the ability user has been defeated by their ability, the ability will be crystallized and will become a bright red gem inside the collection room. the collected ability can then be taken and used by anyone who's holding the red gem.

- fyodor says that the collection is enough to make a devil jealous, while shibu says that fyodor sold him information about most of the ability users in his collection, which is how he was able to collect them. (remember in the Fyodor v A chapter - fyodor got himself captured so he can steal the notes/docs about Port Mafia members. *more on this below)

- Shibusawa: But how did you gather all that information? Fyodor: Every city is filled with rats. Dazai: Meow.

- that meow also haunts me hahahaha

- shibu then basically says that he's actually just looking for That One Special Ability to make the collection worthy

- akuatsukyou arrive at the end of the passage? but it's foggy, so either the fog is stronger, they're outside of the passage, or aku's lying about the passage being impenetrable by the fog asd;fasd

- Shibusawa: To me, people are nothing but machines of flesh, behaving in identifiable ways. But there is just one person I fail to comprehend. Myself. Dazai: Don't you have any friends? Shibusawa: I don't need friends. I understand everyone's mind, after all. I will surely go to the world beyond, between my lines, past the blank spaces. Dazai: You wouldn't be saying that if you actually had friends.

- this exchange is just so asdfgj'asds like pls you two

- akutagawa summarizes rashomon's ability as.... "to change a cloth to a blade and send it flying towards the enemy". i'm so proud of how aku's able to utilize that ability and create so many things (so demon armor is literally like a suit of blades??? damn son);;; (also, this brings to mind the saying "silk hiding steel" hahaha)

- aku defeating rashomon by slapping it towards the vat of lava..... damn son again;;;; aku going "just as planned", then rashomon apparently survives and aku changes it to "just as i expect from my own ability" ahahahaha.... and aku telling rashomon that he should quiet down and that he belongs in there (in his coat).... ahh bless him

- atsushi shattering the crystal on Byakko by shoving the blade inside its mouth.... is apparently Foreshadowing for something later

- chuuya complaining that he's being expected to go to ango's facility by one phone call.... but chuuya.... you still went..... ;;;;;

Chuuya: You've got some nerve, expecting me to answer your phone call like I'm on your beck and call. Ango: May we have some time alone? This is a government facility. You don't expect to get away doing something like this, do you? (referring to chuuya probs destroying a dozen doors in the process of him reaching ango's office) Chuuya: I'll be the one to decide if I do or not. Not you. Ango: You have a debt to me. Chuuya: No, you have a debt with me. Ango: What are you talking about? Chuuya: Don't act dumb. Do you think I'm stupid? It's about what happened six years ago. Ango: What do you mean? Chuuya: It was the government who sent Shibusawa into the Dragon Head Conflict. It was supposed to end the conflict that had engulfed all of Yokohama. But he never had any intention of maintaining peace. All you did was create more corpses. You sheltered him anyway, because he's a gifted that can help in protecting the nation. That's why, not only did you turn a blind eye to all the corpses he'd produced overseas, you covered it all up. Ango: All for the peace in this nation. Chuuya (grabbing Ango): Watch your mouth, professor glasses. If you hadn't sent him out, all six of my friends would be alive right now. Ango: Will you kill me? I wouldn't mind. I've been prepared ever since I'd decided to ask for your assistance. Chuuya (throwing Ango aside): It's a deal, then. I'll accept your job. And you'll pay with your life.

- back at the creepy beautiful castle:

- fyodor and dazai utter the "keikaku doori" line, which means shit is about to go down - apparently fyozai had made a team-up to sneak into the collection room w/o shibu knowing - dazai reveals that he worked to "guide" shibu in yokohama because shibu is someone that can't be touched because he has the protection of the government... which means that he'll just continue filling up his collection room with ability users and japanese gov't will just turn a blind eye to it, and therefore shibu must be stopped by other means - fyodor says that even w/o dazai meddling with shibu, shibu would create a fog in yokohama. - fyodor takes out 2 abilities. 1st ability can summon all ability users in the area and teleport them to a single place. 2nd can turn the abilities of the gifted who touch it into crystals. (was A a foreshadowing for this all along? A's ability is to change the lifespan of his subordinates to jewels....what is with fyodor and ability users re: gems hahah) - fyodor holds up the 2 gems so that dazai can touch it and nullify it

- (a side note: at this point, here are the characters who've been shown to still retain their abilities: Dazai, Chuuya, Fyodor*more on this later; Dazai because his nullification still works; Chuuya, because he still had that glowy red when he dealt with ango and cracked an entire office wall in the process)

- the logic is that, if dazai touches the 2 gem abilities... the crystals will be broken and the abilities will return to their "former state"*** (v important) and the ability to summon all ability users in one place (aka The Fog) will be cancelled and therefore fog will disappear

- fyodor offers the 2nd gem first... dazai touches it.... but instead of the abilities returning to their owners, the abilities escaped from the crystal shells inside the collection room and fused into one

- before dazai can work on dispelling the fog by touching the 1st gem, shibusawa stabs dazai in the back with a fruit knife. shibu says that he expected this, bec nothing surpasses his expectations. dazai just blandly says "i see... so this is where the betrayal happens", bec fyodor had supposedly locked the door to the collection room when they entered it, but woopsie, apparently not, because fyodor values entertainment

- dazai asks shibu what's his next step, but shibu says that his target is dazai anyway, so there's "no next"

- dazai says that he didn't expect a fruit knife to hurt this bad, so there must be poison in it

- shibu tells dazai that he can now taste the death he's longed for dearly

- in CR subs: dazai says: "How could you? This feels great" while in ODEX subs, dazai says: "What have you done? This doesn't feel great at all", which i think makes more sense

- fyodor says that "with the owner dead, the ability leaves him", and dazai "dies" and "no longer human" crystallizes

- (a side note: so it's confirmed that if ability user dies, ability leaves him.... but what happens to it next? is it transferred to a next person? how about its effects? the people that yosano healed... will their effects be gone and therefore the people will regain their wounds??)

- shibu holds NLH in his palms. shibu's very excited to see NLH crystallized because it very blue (as opposed to the red-gem abilities), the blue changes to red, gemblocking him.

- (presumably, NLH activates?? but.... fyodor held the two gems before and they didn't really activate.... but maybe they didn't because they were already active??)

- Fyodor: The merging ability (the 1st gem, aka: The Fog, aka Shibusawa's Ability) and the disabling ability (NLH). With the two contrary abilities becoming one, a singularity is born. Even with Dazai's special ability, what you really desire-- your lost memories-- will never come back.

- fyodor then says that he'll help shibu recover his memories, and slits his throat

- (joint orphanage flashback time!! c/o atsu and shibu as shibu regains his memories! shibu experiments on young atsushi by electrocuting him. shibu says that the president was mistaken about atsushi's ability, implying that atsushi's real ability isn't Beast Underneath the Moonlight. it's apparently a Very Special Ability, but atsushi's not able to use it properly because of his youth/inexperience. shibu says that even he isn't able to pull the ability out and collect it with his fog.

- in CR subs, shibu says that: "It's the only special ability that won the envy of all other gifted." // in ODEX subs, shibu says that: "It's a special ability that can grant the wishes of other ability users"

(a side note - if his real ability is an ability that can grant his wish, it's possible that atsushi probably read a picture book somewhere or got influenced into thinking that Tigers are Bad. his ability goes haywire, bec it was too strong and he was too young to control it, so atsushi's ability has formed into a tiger because atsushi needed something to blame. something beastly. something monstrous. he can't accept that he himself is the one who's hurting others, so he has formed his ability to turn to a tiger. the regeneration, the shounen power ups... they're not very "tiger-like" or it'd make for a very OP tiger, so his ability could be to make his wishes to reality, like "i want to heal!", "i want to be strong!" and the tiger is just the form that atsushi can deal with/can understand. you can even say..... that byakko is his fursona;;;; *gets kicked*)

(more side note: irl!atsushi wrote a story Tiger Poet, which features a man changing to a tiger....that is a poet... so he might have read that story and got an idea re: the tiger. there's a quote there, "We are all the trainers of wild beasts and the beasts in question are our own inner-selves.", which could be atsushi getting the idea of personifying his ability as a tiger so he can "tame it", aka control his ability)

- anyway, young atsushi didn't enjoy the electrocutions, the tiger takes over and claws shibusawa's face off, killing him

- shibu then says that the reason why he targeted atsushi to begin with is because he heard from a Russian named Fyodor that atsushi's ability is special (see the same contrast betw the CR and ODEX subs noted above)

- present time, fyodor then confirms that shibu died at that point. But. upon death, shibusawa apparently inherited a new ability - the ability to split himself (his soul? spirit?) away from his corpse. his body (aka, the skull that's been there the entire time) is the one who remembers death while his mind doesn't remember it and has retreated into a room (the Collection Room) to deal with his Feelings. (so it means that the shibu soukoku faced off in the beginning is walking dead shibu as well, because apparently shibu has gone for the gem collection quest after his death)

- a side note: so Shibusawa's Real/Original Ability is The Fog (1st ability can summon all ability users in the area and teleport them to a single place....and presumably "pull" the ability away from them). after dying, he got the ability to separate his mind from his corpse (redefining mind over matter), presumably given to him by fyodor?. he then gets the ability to turn abilities into crystals, presumably given to him by fyodor too?, then because he's basically a ghost wandering around earth, he tries to find a reason for "existing" to fulfill the void, which leads him to gathering abilities (*more on this later)

- the abilities continue fusing to each other, creating a huge mass. dazai's "dead" body is sucked into that mass.

- fyodor comments that dazia is quite greedy, because even in death, he intends to watch the city fall into destruction. fyodor then says that as congratulation for their anniversary of being friends (LOL; also - they've known each other for a year already? or is fyodor gigglesnorting here and considering that very same day as the start of their friendship?), he'll tell the dead dazai the reason why he managed to keep his ability in the fog.

- a "2nd" fyodor appears, the personification of his ability. he looks exactly like him. they say the "I am crime. I am punishment. Did you know? Crime and punishment are close friends." line ahahaha

- fyodor merges with his ability

- the mass of abilities that sucked dazai in changes for to a dragon

- fyodor reveals that the dragon is the form of the chaos of special abilities. (remember that "original state of abilities" that fyodor said above? apparently, it's a dragon)

- the singularity anomaly readings are over 9000, more than the events 6 years ago (aka, the opening scene). ango checks on chuuya's location to see if he's on his way

Ango: Chuuya-kun... Dazai-kun is almost certainly eliminated by now.Do you understand what that means? (implying that if chuuya ends up using corruption, there's no dazai who'll nullify it, therefore he'll also die) Chuuya: I don't care. Ango: Are you sure? You haven't taken your reward... My life. Chuuya: Don't get cocky, asshole. You were a just lowly infiltrator six years ago. It's not like anyone would have listened to you if you had opposed their plan to use Shibusawa.  (Chuuya lowkey implying that he actually doesn't blame Ango all that much, despite all his talk earlier) Chuuya: This is nothing but that idiot's plans. That Dazai is still inside there. No doubt about it. I need to give him a smack, or I'll never get over it. I'm hanging up.

(can i just say.... chuuya.... even though he has no proof of it whatsoever, he believes that dazai's still alive and waiting for him. ango, who can see the readings of the ability users, knows that dazai's dead. but chuuya----he doesn't need that kind of logic. unconditional trust is here, folks. also, the theories about chuuya actually being able to read dazai's plans/motives??? hell yes)

- chuuya's in a plane approaching the castle (so confirmed that ango's office really is floating over yokohama??? or at least not near it?)

Tsujimura: We're approaching the target. Chuuya: You're that chick from way back. Tsujimura: I'm Tsujimura. Are you really going? Chuuya: Yeah. Tsujimura: It's no use. No human can defeat it. That thing is a monster beyond human comprehension. Get overconfident and fight it, and you'll die. (lowkey spoilers about chuuya being beyond human, thanks bones) Chuuya: That's not a reason to chicken out and go home. Do you know when it's all right to chicken out and go home? Tsujimura: I do not. Chuuya (jumping off the plane): There is no such time.

(chuuya's badass way of removing his gloves and jumping off and his hat and coat flying off???? the whole cinema SCREAMED)

- chuuya chants the "grantors of dark disgrace" line and corruption activates

- chuuya lands on a building, breaks it down to chunks and launches them at the dragon (with dazai inside hahaha)

- extended battle scene with chuuya just battling a dragon, which is the force of a fuckton of ability users' abilities combined, and nailing it. like. just. think about it. the dragon is formed by the force of all the abilities. and there's like, more than 128 of them (as per the initial briefing with ADA). chuuya actually defeated the force of that many ability users. fuck.

- chuuya jumps down to a huge-ass building, floats it and uses it to beat up a dragon. a building is being used as a baseball bat to hit a dragon. the sheer scale and ridiculousness of how powerful he is??? amazing.

- chuuya ends up ramming the building to the dragon's mouth. that's how the fight ends. he makes the dragon choke on AN ENTIRE BUILDING.

- chuuya then yells "DAZAIIIIIIIIIIII" as the dragon explodes (while he's still in corruption mode)

- chuuya reaches dazai, who's inside the dragon, and chuuya (still in corruption mode) punches dazai in the face

- the punch is apparently the key needed for dazai to bite down on the pill, releasing the antidote to the poison (if only romeo and juliet knew about this method...)

- dazai lives. chuuya coughs out blood from using corruption for too long.

- they float in the air and dazai. just. softly touches chuuya's cheek, disabling corruption.

Dazai: You believed in me and used Corruption? I'm so touched I could cry. Chuuya: Yeah, I did. I believed in your disgusting craftiness and refusal to die.* Dazai: That was a somewhat violent way of waking Snow White. Chuuya: You're the one who planned it by hiding an antidote in your mouth, knowing I'd punch you.

...JUST.

dazai's voice.

chuuya. admitting that he believes in dazai. in ODEX subs, it was "i believed in the fact that you wouldn't die", which is extra doki in that ----- even though they've said "i'll kill you" to each other so many times (even in the beginning of the movie) and even though chuuya knows about dazai's double suicide longings.... he still believes that dazai wouldn't die.

and just. dazai implying that he's snow white. and chuuya just rolling with it????? dazai implying that chuuya's the prince who woke up snow white. and chuuya just rolling with it????????

this is high-level flirting i CANNOT

and chuuya KNOWING that him being here is part of dazai's plans and him being here anyways knowing that (even though he had mentioned about dazai's plans always toying with him---)--------------- i CANNOT

Chuuya: Let go, asshole. Dazai: (*dazai presses down on chuuya's head to prevent him from moving*) Don't move. The fog hasn't cleared. I don't want to have to protect you from your special ability in this situation. Chuuya: It's still not over? Dazai: No, it's just beginning. Chuuya: Shit. I can't even move a single finger. (Chuuya collapses into Dazai's thigh, his face/chin landing on Dazai's upper right thigh/hip) Dazai: I predicted things this far. But the rest is on them.

and of course. the lap scene. the scene that killed everyone in the cinema. just. there's no words that can bring it justice. the fuwafuwa atmosphere. the shoujo music background during the floating then the lap scene. the sound of dazai's hand patting chuuya's head. the body placements. the camera angles. that pic in the magazine???? oh boy the actual scene, the extended scene is 10000000000x gayer.

just think.

dazai. who shoved atsushi off when he fell on him.

dazai. who had chuuya fall on his crotch and legs and just. let him stay there. like yes, the point is that dazai has to keep on touching chuuya so he can nullify chuuya's ability and therefore not have his powerful ability have a separate form that can fight them. but they didn't have to stay in that position, did they? i mean, chuuya can't move but dazai could have shoved him off, right? he could have touched him using anything else but keeping him between his legs and patting his head/hair right.

.............BUT WAIT.

dazai.

before he "died".

he.

already nullified the ability to form abilities to crystals. the only ability left is shibusawa's fog, which can trap ability users in one place and extract the ability from them (and just that. the abilities shouldn't be trying to hunt down their "owners" anymore, because no more moon crystal power. right???)

so.

dazai........didn't really have to keep touching chuuya then?

.......is that so. huh.

.....i see.

sasuga dazai.

(i mean even that conjecture is incorrect - as in the Fog can also make abilities fight their owners, aside from just extracting them..... did dazai really have to touch chuuya like that????? .....he really did, huh. i see. sasuga dazai)

.........also. the ability, even if given form, only attacks the owner. (except for that lol-worthy case of rashomon and the tiger having different ideas and attacking each other). so if dazai, as he says, really hates chuuya and wants him to die...... he can..... just let the ability kill chuuya, right??? he doesn't *have* to protect chuuya from it, right? his keikaku that will allow him to use the antidote pill is done, right....? ....ah, but he has to protect chuuya... i see.... sasuga dazai) (unless dazai thinks that chuuya's ability would also hunt him down, in which case.......... dazai, you think yourself that important to chuuya that his ability will hunt you too, huh...... i see.... sasuga dazai)

....also.

dazai.

saying that this is within his predictions, while he's holding the collapsed chuuya to his thigh. still with his hands on chuuya's head. dazai....... why are you predicting that chuuya will end up in your lap. more importantly, why does your predictions END once you have chuuya in your lap. you're leaving the akuatsukyou children to fend for themselves and didn't predict the next parts because you got chuuya in your lap already. .....i see. sasuga dazai;;;;

(a sidenote. from above. fyodor sold the port mafia's information re: ability users to shibusawa. the ability users that shibu knows about will be in the collection room, their abilities getting taken from them. chuuya has his ability The Entire Movie. he didn't lose for the tainted sorrow, at all. so.

- chuuya's ability too strong and can't be extracted, just like atsushi - OR chuuya's ability not in port mafia records - OR chuuya's info is there, but incorrect/incomplete - OR chuuya's info is there, fyodor kept chuuya's ability's information and didn't sell it (a good theory for fyoya fans???) - OR collection room can only get abilities from humans?

(signs point to the first one....... but the other options are also hmmmmm)

- fyodor planting a broken crystal of shibusawa's original ability crystal on the skull's head (it looks like a goddamn horn) so that shibu becomes the "point of singularity" in lieu of the dragon bec dragon is dead. fog continues.

- shibusawa realizing that all his plot?? at collecting abilities? is just his way of trying to cope with the fact that his real thirst lies with atsushi. no really. he just really, really, really wants to see atsushi again.

- another sidenote: AGATHA IS A QUEEN. also, we're laughing about how Agatha is in command of EU. (no brexit in BSD world, apparently) (but also crying a bit because..... Verlaine and Rimbaud and the Trancendentals could be part of the clock tower order??? because there's 12 Transcendetals, there's 12 #s in a clock and they're from france, therefore europe, therefore part of EU therefore----)

- THAT FUKUMORI BACK TO BACK SCENE. MOTHER OF FUCK. mori having faith in dazai's keikaku..... but he's wrong.... because dazai's keikaku had already ended a few minutes ago, with chuuya in his lap. (but really. so mori can't 100% predict dazai, apparently. because mori thinks that it's still within dazai's plan, but dazai says it's not anymore, so.) also. mori being able to kill the ability-elise but not doing so because of the power of cute??? wow, just wow.

Mori: Fukuzawa-dono. Fukuzawa: What a coincidence, Mori-sensei. Mori: Are you having a problem? Fukuzawa: I've just had a glimpse of a solution. Mori: Excellent. Is it not at times like these that your daily actions speak? (They attack each other's abilities) Fukuzawa: I thought you only used your scalpel. I'll be careful from now on. Mori: No mercy, even for an endearing girl. The lone swordsman, Silver Wolf. You are indeed full of sin.* (CR: you are indeed guilty; ODEX: you are indeed, full of sin) Fukuzawa: That was nothing but a demon. Elise: Hey, Rintarou! What the heck are you doing, leaving me behind?! Mori: It's the real Elise-chan~ Fukuzawa: I think she's a demon either way.

- the akukyouatsu v shibu fight continues, with shibusawa basically saying, "ATSUSHI THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE" in repeat. the reference re: tiger v dragon is brought up. shibu says that he's not bored anymore bec atsushi's there.

- the tiger and the dragon are enemies. (more on that here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TigerVersusDragon) apparently, because the dragon represents all the abilities fused together, the tiger is the opposite (......so..... tiger = no abilities? hmmmmm. no wonder fyodor wants him. it's the fulfillment of his goal of a world without abilities, then?). shibu says that atsushi's ability is the opposite of all the abilities, the most special ability of all. atsushi's ability crystallizes, but before shibu can take it, atsushi grabs and says "that's not an ability, that's me!"

- (side note:

- i wasn't expecting that atsushi (whether it's the beast underneath the moonlight or the possibility that his is an ability that takes the form of his desires/wishes) would be the opposite of all the abilities. i would think it's more of dazai's or someone who can erase an ability, but. MC powers? - then again. all of shibusawa's info came from fyodor. so it's also highkey possible that this is all Fake News from fyodor)

Shibusawa: I understand everything, now. Why I'm here, why you appeared before me, and what his words mean... You... You must be the angel who saves me.

- shibu proving dazai right that "an angel" saved him, though technically a "demon" saved him "from death" before too....

- atsushi kills shibu for the second time by crushing his skull

- AGATHA. BEING DISAPPOINTED. THAT YOKOHAMA IS SAVED. because. "The scent of a burning nation goes well with tea." AGATHAAA

- at the end of fighting, chuuya's propped up against the wall of rubble (YOU KNOW THE ONE). his hat apparently landed a few feet away from him. (did dazai drag him there so he can be near his hat? did dazai look for the hat?? did the hat get magically pulled to where chuuya is??).

akutagawa appears.

chuuya asks what the hell is he doing here, then says that the idiot dazai is safe.

akutagawa..... bows to chuuya.

like damn.

akutagawa "DON'T YOU ORDER ME, YOU FOOL" ryuunosuke, bowing down to chuuya. a+++++++++

but then akutagawa starts to leave chuuya behind ahahahaha

and chuuya goes..... what, you're just gonna leave me here when you see i can't walk what. but seriously, his line is: "Oi. Lend me a shoulder."

(so.... dazai and chuuya were together till daybreak, in time for chuuya to wake up, for the spoonDI cover to be shot, for them to have matching bruises on their lips in that photo, huge smiles in their faces, for dazai to change clothes, for chuuya to be unable to walk.......... i don't to say they banged in the rubble, but they totally banged in the rubble.)

- dazai basically saying that, welp i did this keikaku and harmed so many things! - atsushi: but dazai is helping yokohama!!! - Dazai: Do I look like such a good person?

- atsushi.... i want to say it's your trust or that it's your naivete, but...... are you sure you have eyes lol

- dazai reveals that he hopes that shibu managed to fill his boredom and loneliness..... dazai, stop projecting your issues on others. stop helping others with your same issues achieve happiness.... do it to yourself first please.....

- as the ending song plays... we have this scene from ango:

Ango: Given the complexity of the three masterminds' motivations, we still don't have a full picture. Dazai-kun's the same as usual, and demon Fyodor's intentions are impossible to comprehend. But, beyond all the scheming and lying, the incident may fundamentally be very simple. How is a man like Shibusawa, so intelligent that others look like alien creatures to him, to act, to be destroyed, or to be saved? To be one of three aliens in the world, in isolation and loneliness... I can't even imagine it.

.....like, given the movie. it really is a good summary. all these genius aliens.... they actually have such simple thoughts.

- shibu did all of that, but he just really wanted to see atsushi again. - fyodor did all of that, but he just really wanted to be a bitch and have fun. (and maybe kill all ability users eventually) - dazai did all of that, but he just really wanted to try an apple suicide and be saved just like snow white.

.....one of it is not like the others, ahahaha;;;;;;

- chuuya looking beautiful in the ending scene, as he talks with mori

Chuuya: Were you aware of the trick, Boss? (*referring to dazai not really dying? and using that antidote pill?) Mori: Dazai-kun was acting on his own, and I expected he would need your help. As a forerunner. Chuuya: So I was an opening act? Mori: Dazai-kun decides the star. (in ODEX: Dazai-kun was the one who decided on the star.) Chuuya: And what do I get in return? Mori: The return of order in this city. Chuuya: The peace of this city, huh? Mori: Good work. Chuuya: You don't need to thank me. It was your order, so I'm just doing my job.

- asdfgj;asd - mori #1 soukoku shipper confirmed. like. even if he has that much faith in dazai's plans (see above), he also has a lot of belief that dazai's plans will work if chuuya's there to help.

and that "dazai decides the star"/"dazai decided (on you) being the star.... and chuuya....... just rolling with it. he's not ok with simply being an "opening act" ahhaahh. and mori knowing that dazai made the plan with chuuya having the starring role. and chuuya Knowing that too.

and here comes chuuya's concept of "reward" again.... does this boy get paid.......

chuuya's reward being yokohama's peace???? is he really part of the mafia??????????? a pure boy. someone give him the yokohama peace prize.

- second to the last scene is fyodor still creeping on them:

Fyodor: Everything is but entertainment. But in order to end this world, rife with crime and punishment, I really do need that book. The blank novel sleeping in this town.

(so Book's location is confirmed to be in Yokohama at this point)

- final scene with ADA doing business as usual and atsukyou going out for a mission? to buy crepes? to buy chazuke? idk

[cass-chan12]

Felony of the Heart (Ch 5)

Fandom: Fairy Tail Genre: Romance and Friendship Pairing: Main- NaLu. Sides- Gajevy, Gruvia and JerzaSummary: What would you do if you were forced into a school that deals with Delinquents and young adults that have committed felonies? Lucy Heartfilia would rather chance it than going back home to being married off. What lies ahead for the blonde is unknown but she's convinced she can make it through with him by her side

Chapter  four

I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see me crying.

– Charles Chaplin

The rain was beating hard on the roof as I heard in between dunks.

The sensation was horrific; almost like drowning but then being pulled up again to receive sweet oxygen and then being tortured by stealing it away from you again by plummeting back in.

My breath was wearing thin as every time I was hurled down and pulled back up, my arms grew weak at holding each side of the tub, trying to prevent myself from hurdling down into the merciless cold water.

She was a lot stronger than I was, I tried to fight back but before I knew it she dragged me to a bathtub.

Her white porcelain face was stained with livid and remorseful tears and her blue hair stuck to her forehead that was drenched in cold sweat.

It felt like she tried to stop herself as her hands wanted to let go but she only gripped my shirt tighter.

Lifting me up once again I coughed up the murky water that invaded my lungs and felt like the little food in my stomach was coming up inch by inch.

She stared at me with grief and pain, her hands itching to either push me back down or to completely let me out of her grasp.

It was up to her to decide.

The moment I walked back to class with Gray after I asked him to join us had certainly changed our group, I wasn't sure if it was for better or worse though. It kept our group lively though. For example Gray's arrival lit up a fighting spirit I thought the group never had. Like I said I wasn't sure if it was for better or for worse.

The moment we walked to Lunch together and introduced him to Erza and Levy, everything went smoothly.

And when Natsu arrived the vibe went up a whole new level.

I wasn't expecting Natsu to be so disconsolate and offensive for I only knew him to be Happy and bright-spirited.

Gray was different too from how he acted when I met him; the cool identity seemed so easy for him to maintain. As soon as he and Natsu made eye contact it felt like opposites locked horns for dominance.

As we sat at the table Natsu and Gray sat on each side of me. I paid no mind to it until Gray started to speak to me; Natsu would creep closer to me, giving me no room to sit unless I was in his lap.

A few times I was interrupted while talking to Gray by Natsu and I told him to move back some.

Natsu did as I told and tried to listen to Erza and Levy's conversation but from the corner of my eye we sometimes made eye contact. His eyes were still as piercing as ever and I hadn't noticed the sternness about them before.

When I glanced back to Gray, I almost had a heart attack.

He was shirtless.

A strangled yelp came from me being hoisted up and placed back on the bench but on the other side of Natsu.

How did that happen?

I kept blinking in surprise staring at Levy and Erza probably wearing the same expression as me.

"Bastard, keep your clothes on!" Natsu yelled standing on the bench and pointing at his chest.

I could only see the back of his head but his so called angry voice was higher than usual, almost comical actually. Gray's collected gaze looked down and his face went pale.

"Gah! Again?! I can't get community service again!" Gray panicked and looked for his shirt and the sight of his icy exterior melting away was just as comical as Natsu's breaking voice.

"Tch. Freak, how do you get a habit like this? Did you grow up in strip club?" Natsu mocked and then hopped down to the floor from the bench.

Gray with his rediscovered shirt on with the buttons were undone allowed everyone to get a view of his torso.

"What was that pyro? You wanna start?!" Gray said while walking towards him.

Natsu countered his action moving forward and the two's foreheads bashed into another to intimidate each other. Now they really did look like Bulls locking horns.

I wasn't sure if what they were doing was funny or not but it definitely caught the attention of the people around our table.

"I prefer if you shut yer trap exhibitionist!"

I was frozen, the two were about to start a fist fight and cause a scene in the only safe haven we have here. I was panicking watching them and looked to check if anyone of the teachers were going to enter.

Although what happened next made question the boys. With their heads still in a bull lock the two were insulting each other like pre-schoolers

"Birdbrain"

"Slippery bastard"

"Get out my face"

"You stink"

Noticing everyone in the cafeteria were staring and had formed sweat drops on their heads, some also had started to laugh. The noise of the cafeteria was increasing which worried me slightly.

I needed salvation and turned to Levy and Erza, although Erza wasn't there anymore.

My head snapped to the two idiot boys and Erza wearing an expression that I hadn't seen before and it was frightening. She grabbed the two boy's hair separately in each of her hands. The two yelped at the same time and looked at Erza terrified like I am.

"Are you two idiots or something?" She hissed "If you start something then the Headmaster will bring someone who will watch us, unlike Kain-sensei."

After her reasoning she let go of the pinkette and dark haired boy onto the floor with a hard thud.

Erza gave them a last glare "Now are you two going to be friends and keep quiet?" she asked knowing the answer in any case.

They both gulped and nodded their heads. With Erza satisfied she went back to the lunch queue to refill her water glass.

Natsu gave Gray a deadly look before sliding next to me as did Gray but he sat next to Levy and started speaking to her.

Natsu leaned into my right side and made me jump slightly "You could've helped me." He whispered grouchily.

I smiled slightly and stifled my giggling "You had it coming." I whispered back.

He growled slightly in my ear, the sound felt sensual which almost caused me to internally swoon. "He can't just strip in front of you and not pay for it."

A fluttery sensation was floating in my stomach and I'm positive it wasn't because I ate the terrible food here.

I just feel myself falling deeper for him; the gestures he would make, his reasoning's, his looks that would gaze straight into your heart. It was terrifically overbearing.

Turning my head slightly our noses bumped and we both jumped back in surprise. My cheeks reddened while nothing appeared on Natsu.

Why did that disappoint me?

A cough took me out of my daze to Gray smirking "Easy lovebirds, that kind of stuff heads for community service for months."

Embarrassed by his observation I was in denial "We're not lovebirds!" I yapped loudly.

"What this about Lovebirds?" Erza's voice spoke up after she returned.

"Nothing!" I shrieked.

"Them two are getting pretty cozy" Gray explained while Levy laughed at me.

I turned to Natsu with his face looking cheerful and passive, I needed help and his one track mind was not here.

"Are you going to help me or not?" I barked at him.

His onyx eyes scanned the table confusingly "What was the question again?"

I faked cried and buried my face in my palms. He wasn't even paying attention in the first place.

Before anyone could reply, a tremor went through the cafeteria. Shaking all the cutlery and crockery slightly and capturing the attention of everyone.

I looked to the rest of the table; their reactions were the same as mine only it looked like they knew what was coming. Especially Levy.

"You dot think it's-?" Gray started.

"I'm positive it is…" Levy said despairingly.

"Wh-what are you guys talking about?" I asked hesitantly.

Another tremor swept through the area and Natsu snarled towards the door of the cafeteria "Not that I'm a hundred percent sure, but I'm sure it's him."

"Who? Who's coming?" I asked again but seemed my voice was being blocked out by the others.

"He's coming closer. We made to much noise." Erza said bitterly.

The vibrations hit hard under my feet like giant footsteps. My heartbeat was accelerating as it got closer, not to mention the commentary of the others making me wonder who or what was heading towards us.

All heads turned to the front door for the hall where the vibrations were emanating from.

With a swift opening of the door along with a loud bang I wasn't quite sure what I was staring at…

He was large, no… he was enormous! The man who made his way to the cafeteria and made those large earthquake-like vibrations was no ordinary person. None in the least.

"Who… is that?" I whispered to my blank-faced crush.

His eyes were locked to the doors, cautious not to move suddenly like a stalking predator not wanting to be discovered amongst the forestry "Kain; he's the teacher in charge of the cafeteria breaks. But he blows them off all the time." He whispered back.

My body jolted slightly hearing the news…

So… this was the teacher who was meant to watch us? He was definitely weird in appearance; you could almost mistake him for a sumo wrestler or a giant marshmallow over a teacher.

His body must weigh the same as a pick-up truck; he was pale with a tinge of blue along with his small features such as his eyes, nose and a large mouth. And his hair was just as unruly as Zancrow's perhaps even worse by the appearance of it looking so coarse; like it had never been brushed before.

He gave a dirty look to the hall and outstretched his finger "Shut up you Brats! You are interrupting our time!" he yelled whilst bringing up his other hand revealing a doll.

Everyone gave a confused look at the man. The doll in his hand looked creepy and similar to the appearance of a voodoo doll.

The chill I had of fear before died down surprisingly fast, the man was a remodelled yet huge version of a toddler. He was comical if I had to compliment him, but that's about it.

He glared at us once more before shouting again "Last warning or you'll all pay."

I shivered slightly, taking back my comment about not being afraid.

He stomped his way out like an angry beast but strangely reminded me of an angry child.

After he left everyone in the hall sighed in relief, it certainly was a close call.

Gray groaned and rubbed his neck "So the rumours were true that he blows off his duty for his doll."

Levy giggled "I thought it was just a rumour but it was funnier to see him act so strange in person."

I smiled along with her, to think that something so odd would happen in a cruel place like this was a relief.

Erza hastily knocked the table for our attention, both Levy and I jumped while Natsu and Gray looked at the redhead with serious expressions. Erza motioned her index finger to come closer and huddle up inconspicuously.

Once we did her voice was as low as a hum, I had to lean in as much as I could "I heard news from the kitchen staff that the Principal is going to announce a need for Physical Education."

Natsu raised his eyebrow "In the middle of the rainy season? And with winter around the corner?"

Erza nodded "I took it upon myself to ask some students that have been here longer and they said Hades doesn't stress the importance over it since they have enough labour through chores."

Gray rubbed his temple before beginning to speak "Sounds like some thin ice we'll be treading… this is really suspicious."

Leaning back Erza didn't care for much of what would be heard of from this point on "Indeed it is, I expect everyone to look out for each other. Especially you Gray, since you are the newest and I won't take kindly to betrayal."

A shiver ran down my spine. But has Erza always been like this? It's odd; for the time I've known her she has shown a different side I hadn't expected. Although I didn't reject it. It suited her in my opinion, her leadership was showing through as well as the strength I always knew she had. This persona suited her best.

Gray looked indifferent to my belief briefly as he stared at her making the notion he might betray us.

After he intently looked back at her, he smiled "I'd rather suffer than betray my comrades. You have my word"

I sighed in relief "That's good to hear." I said aloud.

Natsu snaked an arm around my shoulder which surprised me "Don't worry Luce, I'll kick his sorry ass if he weasel's on us." He said almost challenging.

Gray growled at the pinkette "Didn't you just hear me Ash for brains?"

Natsu took his arm back and clenched his fist, bringing it in front of him "That's what a weasel would say, I ain't gonna lower my guard around ya!" he raised the pitch of his voice up.

I groaned and rested my elbow on the table top while resting my face in my palm, fuzzing out the boys' pointless argument and replacing it with the thoughts of my own thoughts of tomorrow.

Their banter slowly disappeared and so did my thoughts.

Today seemed like the rest of this torturous rainy season.

True to Erza's sources Principal Hades interrupted our dinner the previous night to tell us that we would be starting physical education in the new day.

After dinner we went to our collective dorm room to see that we all got a set of clothes for exercising in the cold weather along with rain-breaker jackets.

So here we were, in the rain, cold and shivering.

What's more is that Kain was our teacher.

The whole of our grade was split into two groups and I was split from Erza and Levy and ended up with the worst two in my group. I could already hear their bickering from behind me. And I was getting annoyed very quickly.

I snapped and hastily turned around to yell at them "Will you two grow up! I'm already freezing here and I don't need your bickering!"

The look on their faces was surprising, Gray looked more fearful but Natsu looked like I punched him in the gut and he wanted to squeeze in a comment.

Before he did Kain spoke up to the crowd altogether "No one is as strong as I am but to train you all I present 'Kain's boot camp'." he gestured to the obstacle course in front of us.

I wasn't sure if the school had a mixed up view for torturing us or preparing us for war. The course in front of us looked like it should be stationed at an army facility. Starting it off was a rope ladder of some sorts followed by a series of large tires; the kind you'd find on large vehicles. Next were wooden slopes, the ascended high and many obstacles followed it.

It carried on obstacle after obstacle until it reached to the last one which was a crawl space with wires above it.

My legs already felt weak at the sight of it and my breathing was already irregular.

The first half of the grade went first, I tried to study how everything was done so I wouldn't look as foolish as I would if I tried before them.

Emphasis on how I tried because I was being stared at. By Kain.

I was getting uncomfortable; he was staring at me like it was nothing, no one else noticed which didn't help me at all.

Did Principal Hades tell him to watch me?

Or is he really just a creep?

I hope it isn't the latter.

I looked back him with anger, in actual fact it felt like I was glaring at him to make him uncomfortable too.

The large man dashed to hide by a nearby tree and peaked behind it "G-glaring isn't going to get you anywhere. You see, I'm a teacher of this school, I have authority-"

"That doesn't matter to me, I made it clear to the Principal that I have no intentions to give up so you can stop staring at me and lead this lesson." I interrupted him hastily.

I shocked myself to be honest, replying at one of Hades allies in such a manner, and now that it dawned on me I might face the consequences for it. I gulped hard after I thought about it but Kain looked just speechless.

He moved out of his hiding place scratching his head out of habit and pulled out something from the side of his body "What do you think we should do Mr Cursey?" Kain asked the object he pulled out.

It's the second time I've seen Mr Cursey, the doll rumoured to have all of Kain's attention during Lunch break. The doll itself was already creepy in appearance but for Kain to actually speak to it took it to a whole other level of weird.

He pushed the doll against his ear and nodded making notions that the doll is actually talking to him. He nodded once more and brought it away from his ear and again stared at me.

"You will do the course twice" he said darkly.

Stunned I looked to the obstacle course and felt a part of me die. I thought I wouldn't even make it the first time around.

With my doom upon me I walked away from the sumo sized man to stand next to Natsu and Gray who hadn't even noticed my short disappearance.

Gray in the middle of his backbiting against Natsu stopped abruptly noticing something wrong with me; he really is too perceptive for his own good.

"You okay Lucy?" he asked.

I hid my face under the hood that was protecting me from getting too wet. Gray's question brought Natsu into curiosity too. His dark orbs felt like they could see through the hood and see my hiding face.

"I uh spoke to Kain and he said -"

A shrill whistle stopped me from finishing and it seemed to be the time for our group to start. I turned around to start before Gray would make me answer and to avoid the pink haired boy's intent look.

I jumped off to run at a pace I can handle, the first obstacle was not nearby so walking wasn't going to help.

I approached the rope ladder and began climbing, the gaps were big and the lack of stability the rope had made it hard to try grasp and climb. I was going higher and at the top I knew this would take me two lifetimes to complete but I couldn't lose hope.

When I reached the bottom Gray passed me and not a second later Natsu did too. It was clear to see the two had engaged in a race to see who was faster. I'm just glad to see them not fighting with their fists.

It was a blur, remembering the rest of the trials on the course was strenuous. The cold was icy, the ground was slippery from the rain thus leaving mud behind for everyone to be covered with and not to mention that the stamina of everyone was depleting.

And I still had a long way ahead.

The crawl space was the worst; it was just pure mud and wire in a horrible mud pie mixture. And once I crawled out I saw Kain observing me and I turned on my heel to the beginning.

I went slowly, my muscles couldn't allow me to do more than the pace I had.

Once I made it to the top of the rope ladder again I saw the crowd looking at me in what I think is awe or disbelief.

I shrugged it off and I carried on, my lungs started to burn and every breath I would take in the cold air, it felt like it was choking me. It's no deniability that I wasn't dehydrated due to the rain but every time I licked my lips I could only remember the taste of sweat.

I finally reached the crawl space again with view of everyone's faces.

Erza and Levy stood next to each other with anticipating expressions, I knew it only meant that they were happy I made it here. Gray's face looked flaccid, not showing any emotion which he's known for but I can't imagine what is going through his head right now.

Natsu…

He looks like he's badly hurt… his eyes that are so full of life, whether he was angry or happy, look overcast and crushed.

It can't be because of me… can it?

I slumped my body down back into the crawl and proceeded to slink forward inch by inch.

My arms dug deep into the mud and to pull me onward and my legs ploughed and pushed towards the same way moving my aching body closer.

I made it by the exit but my limps wouldn't pull me out. I wheezed and water formed in my eyes.

I can't give up! I'm right here!

All the energy I have is to look up at my peers with stunned looks on their faces.

A shadow casted over me, I looked up to see naturally the person who would be here in a time like this.

"Come on Luce, your Home Free" Natsu said while smiling sadly, stretching out his hand for me to grab.

I reached for his grimed hand that looked so welcoming.

A force of another pushed the hand away, or rather Natsu away. My eyes dilated at the sight of Kain pushing Natsu to the floor.

Natsu's face turned into to sheer wanting of bloodshed.

"Natsu!" I yelled

He picked himself up from the floor not looking like in the greatest shape either but still better than I am. He readied himself to fight the giant man and yelled over to me "Get out of there Lucy!"

My Hands clenched the ground below me "N-no."

Kain made a step forward to Natsu "Lucy please go!" he yelled again.

"I don't want to run away by myself because no matter what… I'd rather be together with everyone." I smiled weakly at him.

His eyes looked desperate, they darted to Gray pleadingly which Gray understood.

Quickly the raven haired boy ran around the Sumo teacher by my side.

"No! Gray!"

He ignored my protest and his hands grabbed me from underneath my armpits to drag me out. When he pulled me out he carried me bridal style and stood on his legs that were unnerving.

Kain swiftly turned to us but Gray had already started his way into a run, we didn't get far… Kain was in our way again.

Gray was frozen on the spot.

Kain came charging to us.

"Kain-sensei stop." A stern female voice said near us.

We turned our heads to see Ultear with an umbrella in her hands.

"That's enough Kain, you're excused." She said coldly.

The large man looked embarrassed at Ultear finding him like this. Before he could protest she gave a frightening glare which made him run to the main house.

She looked to me and Gray with a softer expression I'd never thought she had and what she said was even more surprising "My Apologies for Kain-sensei's actions Miss Heartfilia. Mr Fullbuster it would be appreciated if you could take her to her dorm house so she may rest."

I looked to Gray, he looked indecisive. His eyes were deep in thought while looking at Ultear. Did he know her?

He forced himself to nod and carry me back. I looked back to see if Natsu was alright and sighed in relief when I saw him standing and being excused by Ultear along with the rest of the Grade who were watching the display just shown.

I turned my head back to the front watching the building get closer.

Slowly while we got there I felt a familiar unpleasant sensation. It happened before when I didn't know Gray and when we were close to another, the other time is when I spoke to him yesterday.

What could it be?

It took me longer than expected but I managed to get clean.

Since the physical education was near the end of our school day I bathed the rest of the time and when I was done I had to quickly dash to the cafeteria for dinner.

My body ached for the rest of the evening and what ached more was the suddenness of the boys having to eat separately from us because they had extra chores tomorrow since it was Saturday.

Finally I could get into bed; it wasn't hard for me to sleep but my urge to pee at 2 in the morning.

I sat on the side of my bed that made infernal whines when I got off it quick enough not to draw out the sound. My sock covered feet padded to the bathroom furthest from the room so not to wake up anyone with sensitive ears.

It was unusual to see we weren't being spied on by the dorm guards, in fact it is weird they aren't here tonight doing so.

When I got in the stall I relieved myself and went to the sink to wash my hands.

The cold water was tingly and reminded me of the sensation I had earlier today. It felt stronger now though.

Like it's behind me…

I looked up at the mirror in front of me and saw a reflection that indeed showed someone behind me.

Her blue hair covered her face and her stance was uneven.

Once she lifted her gaze it was all over… The frightening process of being pulled to the filled bathtub and the relentless dunking convinced me it was over; that was until…

She stared at me with grief and pain, her hands itching to either push me back down or to completely let me out of her grasp.

Now it was up to her to decide.

[lasersheith]

for prompts: mutually pining Keith and Shiro with matching tattoos (something that’s meaningful to them specifically)... that they got separately, without realizing they were getting matching tattoos 🙌🏼

I love this prompt SO much! Thank you for sending it! It got pretty long, so I’m gonna make a part two later. It’ll probably eventually end up on AO3 at some point. 

A lot of people asked Allura why she became a tattoo artist of all things. Her mother and father, with their high ranking offices and political connections had always expected her to follow in their footsteps, but loved her and supported her decision even if they didn’t understand it. When she first became interested in art and design, her uncle, with his veritable fashion empire had been especially keen to take her under his wing, but still offered her his critiques and praises for her beautiful work. Her friends from the ivy league school at which she’d gotten a full ride for a business degree pretended they didn’t turn up their noses at her chosen career, but it didn’t bother her in the slightest. Especially not when a familiar handsome face walked into her quiet little shop.

“Keith! Back again, are we?” She greeted him with a smile. “You’ve turned me into an addict, Ally. Can’t stay away long.” He replied, returning her smile and dropping a sheet of notebook paper in front of her on the desk. The page was filled with pencil sketches. There was a large, black panther in the middle with an inscrutable expression, poised to pounce. Along the edges there were more sketches of large cats; a few leopards, a cheetah, another panther. The one that caught her eye the most, however, was the lion. It stood serenely, facing just slightly left of center, windswept mane appearing to billow in an unseen breeze. It exuded a certain dangerous quality that Allura couldn’t quite name. As though it were standing there just to observe, but it absolutely wasn’t to be trifled with.

It was perfect for Keith.

“I think this one.” She said, pointing at it. Keith hummed in approval. “Not the panther?” He asked tentatively. “Well it’s your body, so we can do the panther if that’s what you’d like.” She started tactfully. “But I think the lion suits you better.” He nodded, deep in thought. “I do think you’ve just about run out of room on your arms and chest, though.” She added with a teasing smile. “Where is this one going?” He turned around and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “I was thinking in between my shoulder blades, pretty big. Dinner plate sized, maybe?” Allura narrowed her eyes and looked between the spot where he was pointing and the paper. She held the drawing up, first looking at the panther and then the lion. “That should work.” She finally said after a brief pause, twisting the paper a few ways to gauge where each drawing would look best.

“Let’s do it then,” He said decisively, “The lion.” Allura nodded with a smile. “Alright then, let’s get started.”

2 hours later, all of the outlining was finished and looked absolutely perfect to Allura’s eyes. She held up a mirror in front of Keith as he studied the fresh tattoo from the larger wall mirror’s reflection with a wide smile. “I think this is my favorite one yet.” He said, looking up at her. She grinned back. “Excellent!” She replied triumphantly. “I think we should wait 10 days, maybe 2 weeks for the rest. Let you heal up and rest, this piece is pretty big.” He nodded. “Same time, Saturday after next?” She pulled out her phone and put his next appointment in her calendar. “You’re booked. Let’s get you covered up and checked out, then.”

..

Some days Allura regretted her walk-in policy; there was always the danger of people coming in to get something on the spur of the moment and being angry when they regret it, inebriated college boys who don’t understand how bleeding works and why she won’t tattoo them when they’re nearly black out drunk, and kids who come in pretending they “forgot” their ID at home. Other days, ridiculously tall and muscular, handsome, one-armed strangers waltz in wearing leather jackets, tight jeans, and boots that make her mouth drop open and she didn’t regret it at all. He smiled shyly at her as he approached the counter. “Hi there, how can I help you?” She asked with her best charming smile. The man returned it politely and pulled an unevenly folded sheet of notebook paper from his pocket, slightly poking his tongue out between his pursed lips as he struggled to unfold it with one hand. Allura waited patiently, sensing that he would be put off by an offer of assistance. “I was hoping to do a consultation to maybe get one of these done on my chest.” He said, having finally opened the page flat on the counter.

The lions littering the page were Keith’s work. There was no doubt in her mind. Allura had tattooed enough of his drawings on his own skin that she’d be able to pick them out in the dark if the lines were drawn hard enough. “Where did you get this?” She asked, trying not to sound hostile. Art theft was rampant in the tattooing community and she wouldn’t let it happen to one of her best customers, especially since she also considered him a close friend. The man’s cheeks went pink and he stuttered a bit. “My friend is an artist.” He started, clearing his throat before continuing. “We went to the zoo and he was sketching, so I asked him to draw some of the lions for me.” Allura eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “Does this friend have a name?” She asked. The man looked immediately affronted. “Keith.” He said plainly. “Look, I can go somewhere else if you want.” His voice took on a hardened edge.

Everything clicked into place for her with that. The leather jacket and jawline that could cut glass should have clenched it immediately, but she was an artist not a detective. The new “friend” Keith had mentioned spending time with, the one he’d been going on and on about how sweet and kind and strong he was. He’d mentioned their date to the zoo to Allura during his last tattooing session, having absolutely denied it was a date, because “there’s no way someone like him is into someone like me, Allura, come on.” She held up her hands, “No, no, I’m sorry. Keith comes here a lot is all, I recognized his work and wanted to make sure you hadn’t stolen it.” His eyes and his posture softened at her words. “Oh, ok. Well that’s really cool of you, actually.” He said with a faraway smile. “His work is pretty one of a kind, isn’t it?” Allura tried hard not to giggle. He was absolutely done for and it was painfully obviously written clear across his face.

“It is absolutely unique and gorgeous.” She agreed. “And I think any of these would look great on you, which one’s your favorite?” She asked, the vibe of the conversation having eased back into a much more friendly one. “I was thinking this one.” She smiled as he pointed at a drawing that was very reminiscent of the one she’d just done on Keith. The lion was sitting in this one, not standing, facing slightly to the right this time. His mane was fluffed and blowing in the breeze, and he had that same hint of dangerous, predatory energy while still appearing aloof and regal.

“Great choice.” She replied sincerely. “I’ve done a lot of Keith’s work, I’m more than comfortable freehanding it, but I’m happy to use a stencil if that’s what you’d prefer.” She pulled a binder out of the desk drawer and laid it on the table, hundreds of small photos of her previous work was lovingly arranged in the plastic sleeves. The middle had a divider. “Up here is stenciled work, and the back is freehand. Feel free to take your time looking.”

She observed him as he poured through the book, comparing several pictures from the front and back in turns. Keith had described him as breathtaking, and he certainly wasn’t wrong. The scar across the bridge of his nose only made him more handsome, somehow sharpening his features even further than nature already had. She had to stifle a laugh as she noticed him clack the barbell in his tongue against the roof of his mouth while deep in thought. Keith had never stood a chance. He looked up at her with another polite smile. “I think freehand is fine. Your work is really incredible.” Praises for her art were the quickest path to excellent service. She’d gladly bend over backwards for a polite customer who claimed to be a fan.

“I’m so glad you think so.” She answered with a bright smile. “When were you thinking?” He pulled out his phone and opened his calendar. “When’s your next available appointment?” She pulled open her own shop calendar and hummed in thought. “Well, I have a Tuesday at 4:30. Or if you’ve not had any aspirin or alcohol in about 12 hours, we could do it now. I don’t have anyone else scheduled for 3 hours. That should be plenty of time provided it’s going in this area.” She made a circle with her hands in the air around one of his pecs. His eyes widened a little. “Or if you need more time to think about it. No rush.” He smiled wide.

“No, now is perfect. Keith’s away for work, so I’ll be able to show it off all healed up by the time he gets back.” Allura returned his grin and had him sign all the usual paperwork. He finally introduced himself as Shiro. She couldn’t wait for the frantic messages from Keith when he finally saw Shiro’s tattoo of his drawing. Allura led him back to the sterile tattooing room trying not to snicker about Keith’s reaction, it was sure to be priceless.

“Oh uh…” Shiro started, clearly nervous. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the hook next to the door. “Before we get started. There’s um. There’s kind of a lot…” Allura waited patiently again as he tried to find the right words. “There’s a lot of scarring. The spot I want the ink doesn’t have much, but it might be hard to look at.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes as he spoke. “Don’t worry about that at all. I promise there’s nothing you can show me that I would run from.” She meant it sincerely, and he appeared to not mistake it for a platitude, offering her a kind smile in return. “And, if I may be so bold.” She added quietly. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.” Shiro knew, of course, who she meant. A dark blush spread its way across his cheeks. “Here’s to hoping.” He replied with a slight chuckle.

He pulled the white shirt up over his head and with a practiced motion. She took in the scars around his missing arm first, they looked faded and pink- clearly an old injury. There were several other scars across his chest and stomach, some deep and still an angry purplish color, others not as severe and closer to the tone of his skin. “Not even close to the worst thing I’ve seen.” She said as she pulled on her gloves and set about opening all of the fresh packages. “Let me tell you about the ridiculous frat boy that came in a few years back.” She started her story as she set about preparing his skin for the ink. “You’ll NEVER believe what he wanted.” She pulled back and made a disgusted face. “Or where.” Shiro visibly relaxed and laughed a bit, coaxing her for the rest of the story as she started.

TO BE CONTINUED

[avialaeandapidae]

Got my days wrong and ended up alone in a room with my boss and the President of Ireland while I was on ketamine.

Thread by @shockproofbeats

Right, this was when I was eighteen so don't judge me too harshly. Or if you think drugs are cool and I'm a legend, fill your boots. Anyway, at the time I was working through college in Dublin with bar shifts at [redacted] music venue.

One day I get a call on my day off. Way the gig worked, you'd either get Fri or Sat off. This week it was Fri, happy days. My manager, let's call her Dympna, pipes up on the phone: "So, when you come in this evening, just a few things to remember". I'm like, hold on Dympz, I'm off this eve, jog on. She corrects me. "Remember I said you could get all of Saturday off if you just worked 2 hours tonight?".

And of course THEN, I did suddenly remember, she'd said it to me as I was leaving the building and my conscious work brain was doing somersaults to get out of the place. She could have told me I was to have my foreskin tattooed with a harpoon and I would have given her a smile, thumbs up, and a flurry of yeps to get out of the place. I was eighteen. On minimum wage, and - bear in mind this is really saying something - my absolute minimum effort. So, I'm bang to rights and I say "yeaaah, of course, sorry just got my days mixed up, I'll be there no problem" and she says, "this evening will be fine, just the head of the [redacted] and some VIPs, few hours then you can take off".

All good. Except for the one thing. At that very moment, I was in a mate's house on Dame St, relaxing with (I thought) nothing to do for the evening.

Now you have to remember that, before dabbing and fortnite, kids used "drugs" to get high and I was, occasionally, adjacent to them. I was a fairly sheltered kid before college, and didn't even drink til I was well into my late teens, never smoked even. I was very green.

So too, coincidentally, was the homebrew ketamine that said pal was making IN HIS OVEN when I arrived. My pal had gotten it in liquid form and, for some reason, it had been dyed green - he has subsequently told me he thought it was a St Patrick's Day promotion, and I've always thought it a charming entrepreneurial flourish on the part of his enterprising ketamine wholesaler. (Ketamine wholesalers are often vets, and the stuff originally for cats. People always say horse tranquiliser, either to make it sound more sordid or more badass, but ketamine is used on many animals, and vets have more use for cat tranqs than horses. Not quite as sexy is it?)

Anyway, for want of a better idea, I took him up on his offer of a line of this thick, vaguely slightly clumpy bright green powder, knowing I had nothing else to do for the evening. Felt nothing. Had a tiny further bump 10 mins later. It was at this point that my phone rang.

FLASHBACK ENDS, WE'RE BACK IN THE ROOM. So I'm definitely sweating after the call, not like instant come-up, more worried ABOUT the come-up. Never done this in my life, I've no idea how it's going to feel. But, absent any other idea, I get my stuff together and head to work.

On way to work, starts kicking in. You know when the roof of your mouth starts politely folding your brain in half, and your chest flutters like a cathedral filled with bees? I was holding it together but knew if I stopped concentrating for one second, I would become time itself.

By the time I reach work (twenty mins later) I am sweating like microwaved bread, eyes on hinges, convinced my fingernails owe me money. I have an overwelming urge to yawn, just to get the memories out WHEN in comes Dympna with the rota for the evening.

D: Thanks again, know it's short- oh, you look a bit hot and bothered, did you run here ha?"

Me: Hmnnnnnyes, I did - the dids is"

D: OK, just you tonight and the top man, he's showing the President what's going on for the next while"

[one beat]

Me: Sorr din you sez de presddyen?" D: Yes, Mary McAleese is in to see this season's programme of events.

Me: Hmmnggg

D: All you need to do is stand in the corner and offer them drinks every fifteen minutes.

Me: Ahhh yesssshnshh

D: Maybe have a wash beforehand So the gig is this: Mary McAleese (the *original* MMA) was to go round this room upstairs which had upcoming acts for the season illustrated with photographs and programme notes. The director of [redacted] would walk her around and say "fricken great, Madge innit?" or whatever.

My role is pretty weird, I have to stand in the corner and then every 15 mins, INTERRUPT this live-wire pair to offer them drinks, which protocol dictates they must refuse. I have barely processed any of this before I'm grabbing a tray and heading upstairs.

The tray, btw, contains a white wine, a red wine, a G&T, a whiskey, a rum and coke and some mineral waters. Always found that mix weird. Imagine the President of Ireland seeing the rum and coke and going "oooooh nice one, ta - now tell me about this Latvian choir again".

Right now I can hold it together when stimulated, when the adrenaline and fear is keeping me just ticking over - I'm weird but with it.

Problem is, my job is now to stand silent and motionless in a room on my own until the President of Ireland arrives. Time passes on my own. Empires crumble and glaciers dissolve, stars die and oceans melt, out on the dusty planes of mother earth, hot bursts of young love gift the miracle of life; children are born, raised, stricken infirm and die of old age.

And then Mary McAleese walks in. By now, having been alone with my thoughts for the entire Cretaceous period, I am no longer mildly weird but deeply, extravagantly deranged. As the President of Ireland walks in, with my boss's boss's boss's boss, my first impulse is to greet them like I own the place. It would be rude, surely, to not acknowledge their presence? Out of order even. Best thing to do would obviously be to say "hello guys" like it's my home and I live there, in this big white room, where I stand in the corner, alone, holding a tray of drinks, like you do, at home.

Me: hello guys HELLO GUYS

Anyway, by the divine grace of the infant Christ, they somehow do not hear me say this, and begin their itinerary round the room. I clench my entire head and focus on not shouting across the room to let them know that they should always feel at home here in this room of ours.

I become extremely aware of my hands, and how I haven't felt them in a very long time. They're detuned to static , which would be worrying even if they weren't holding a tray of drinks filled with noise and judgement. I hold no faith or creed other than "do not drop these plz".

Just when dropping everything seems to become less urgent, I realise it's time to go over and offer these motherfuckers some fucken drinks, let's get this party started wooooooo I begin walking over to them and I move so abruptly that the glasses clink and they turn to look at me.

I did this too fast.

Now I'm thinking wooooah slow down there martina hingis, so I self-correct to a much slower speed. Watching my breath, nice and casual, you got this buddy. Guys. GUYS. Now, I'm moving far too slow. I started at this speed and I'm to embarassed to change and now it's gonna take me like 5 mins to cross the room. They are watching me, frowning and sweaty, traversing the 5 foot between us like it's a wooden plank on the Crystal Maze. I'm moving so slow my legs are cramping. I think they're wondering why it's taking me so long. It's way harder than walking at normal speed. I'm shaking so the drinks are making noise again. For what feels like minutes.

Anyway, I offer them the drinks and they say no. Do this another two times - how long was this presentation anyway, is this what the President does all day? Give her a brochure and a carryout ffs - and they say no.

By the end, I've calmed down a bit in physical side (sweating, shaking) but I still feel completely batshit. At one point I clearly remember believing that my mind had escaped my body and was watching me hold the tray of drinks from the wallspace behind my head. Only out-of-body experience I've ever had.

At the very end, they do accept a drink. It was at this point she spoke to me. Just some inane pleasantries, to which I reply with some off-the-hook pablum about work and college, at which point she says;

"Oh, is that a Northern accent I detect?"

Dawgs, you know I'm down for the Nordie solidarity vibe, but this is the last thing I need right now. "Yeeerrrsh" I say, with a goalkeeper's glove in my mouth. She starts talking about her experience coming down to study here, how it can be a real scenic change, but the making of you if you keep your eyes open to new experiences.

I can tell she definitely means green ketamine. She's a lovely woman, and very open and generous with her time, giving me ample space to answer her questions which I mostly do with sheepish, one-or-two-word answers. Finally, she asks me if Dublin is everything I thought it wou-

Me: YES I LIKE IT I THINK IT'S GOOD

I'd been paying such fierce attention, I'd mis-timed my reply AND badly modulated my volume. She actually recoiled a little. I think the head of the venue actually stepped back and said "jesus!". Mary McAleese flinched for what seemed like half a second, then flashed her best your-mum's-sound-mate smile and replaced her white wine on my tray.

The boss man nodded at me, they walked out of the room and I waited a few seconds before making my way downstairs to the kitchen. So at this point I'm thinking, wellll, I'm definitely fired but this will one day make a great story on an Nazi-riddled microblogging platform.

I make my way to the staff area, wipe my sopping face and check my phone. I had only been in the room for 35 minutes. Dympna pads in all smiles, thanking me for my help at short notice. She sees that I'm a bit freaked and says, almost with a wink, "you could have told me you'd be like this, by the way" I'm thinking, of course, Dympna gets what's up, it's the service industry, people mistime their vibes, I bet this isn't the first time she's seen some-

"I had no idea you were such a huge fan of Mary McAleese"

I'm sorry what again was that did you mean The boss man had indeed related the events upstairs to Dympna, but rather than a frightened waif hepped up on cat tranqs, he'd seen a political nerd deeply, irretrievably starstruck by contact with the 8th President of the Irish Republic, Mary McAleese. Presumably a political nerd with a gland problem, and low-grade artritis in both legs, and a tendency to welcome people into their workspaces, but a political nerd all the same.

Me: Oh, yeah well, you know, it's embarassing. She's, just amazing.

And you know what, she kinda is. She was always very nice to me each of the subsequent times we met - me doling out the drinks, her asking me how Dublin was getting on, all the while the other staff eyeing me to see how I was dealing with such close contact with my hero. I'd gurn and fret, play up to it when she'd be coming in, "oh what am I like". I'd bat away suggestions I fancied her from the more ribald members of the changing room, and laugh along with the usual jibes, safe in the knowledge my nerdy affect had saved my bacon.

So take ketamine at work, it's great.

END.

[theepitomeofsimplicite]

Dear New York City,

You are incredible! I love your busy streets and young energetic crowd. You are simply vibrant of life just how I had imagined you (from the movies, Sex & the City shows, and the songs about you)! So many reasons to have a crush on you so where shall I start?

Butcher’s Daughter

Driving through Chinatown

Ok, here are some of my first impressions of you, NYC:

It is said of you that you are the entire world into one city. Could it be real? You have a platter full of food options! As you are being the hub of internationals and a known place for storied history, you satisfy anyone’s taste bud, I can’t make up my mind. How can I decide between a casual French bistro (Bagatelle, 1 Little West 12th St.), delicious house-made Italian pasta (La Sirena, 88 9th Ave.), Exotic Moroccan (Cafe Mogador, 101 Saint Marks Pl #1), spicy Korean (Kori Tribeca, 253 Church St.), fun cocktails and Mexican food (La Palapa, 77 St Marks Pl.), Barcelona-style tapas (Toro, 85 10th Ave.), German’s pretzels and beer (The Standard Biergarten, 848 Washington St. just outside of the Standard High Line Hotel and I’ll tell more later), Green Juice (Yep that’s also food trust me!) and far more as if I was in the mood for a health conscious Californian style (not just green juice) there is Dime (49 Canal St.). And let’s not omit American sandwiches (Tiny’s & the Bar Upstairs, 135 W Broadway), and comfort food made of shakes, fries and burgers (Bill’s Bar & Burgers, 16 W 51st St.). There is also the Michelin starred Chef Gunter Seeger at Gunter Seerger NY (641 Hudson St.) and for the gluten free folks there is Friedman’s Lunch (75 9th Ave. at the Chelsea Market which I’ll speak more about in this post). Alas, due to my devoted ramen international tour mission, my friend and I set our minds towards Ippudo Ramen (65 Fourth Ave.) as soon as we set our feet on you.

Ippudo NYC

Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen

Shook off the night away at Le Bain (848 Washington St.), the penthouse club and roof top bar with an outstanding sweeping city and river view located at the Standard High Line hotel. You blew us away! The vibe was electric between the sparkly giant disco ball, the Afro kinetics music, the sweaty dance moves, with the sticky cranberry vodka on my hand. I’ll remember this moment for a while 🙂 Not to mention our pre-game with gin-based drinks at this speakeasy bar Bathtub Gin that is disguised with a front panel as a regular coffee shop. How dare you tricked us!! Fortunately a friendly local had mercy and pointed the place out to us. Piouf don’t you know I have the fear of missing out syndromes!! 

Le Bain with a sweeping view of the river and the city

Some cool walls at the Standard High Line

Bathtub Gin is behind the facade of this coffee shop

The Maritime Hotel (363 W 16th St.) is one of your best places to spend the night in my opinion; friendly, quirky (how I personally like it) and cozy. Located right in the center of the Meatpacking District. This 24-hour neighborhood is found on the far west side of Manhattan and is bordered by Chelsea to the north and the West Village towards downtown. It’s a formidable plant for fashion and graphic designers, architects, artists, restaurateurs, stylists and even corporate headquarters. I enjoyed staying at this hotel in that unique style, it has a nautical-themed landmark with the signature view porthole windows and how I love the white and blue tiles at the restaurant bar and the outdoor terraces seemed just perfect for spring time. In the morning a modest continental breakfast was served at the hotel restaurant so I grabbed myself a quick bite of the bagel with some flavorful orange spread, a mini pain au chocolat, a hard boiled egg, a cup of black coffee and a fresh squeeze glass of OJ. I love the serene atmosphere there with plenty of sun rays through the large windows illuminating the brass surfaced pending lamps.

The Maritime Hotel Restaurant

Ice Wine from Montreal

My Instragram (non worthy) messy bed at the Maritime Hotel

The view port over Manhattan from the Maritime Hotel

Map printed furniture at the Maritime Hotel

Petit dej at the Maritime Hotel Restaurant

You are so walkable in lower Manhattan and it was a great way to see your beauty (your wall graffitis, your modern architectures, your red bricked walls, your apartment stair cases, your lively people, and your multi-culture). But if I didn’t care for strolling around in the cold, then there was the world known yellow cab which was very affordable too! Besides the hotel’s cool white-tiled exterior, I can find within a short walking distance anything ranging from roof top night clubs around the corner, espresso bars, bakeries, as well as street food stands (one in the front of the hotel), yummy late night pizzas (Brunetti Pizza, 626 Hudson St.) (especially required after too much drinks at 4 am), and have I already mentioned great restaurants and bars?!

Cool wall art

Greenwich Village street crossing

The signature NYC staircases

And more wall graffitis

Chelsea Market and the well known yellow cab

The Chelsea Market (75 9th Ave.) to me is where anything can happen and is only a block away from the hotel. You are spontaneous like that! If I ever get too lazy to walk out there into town and/or there is a snow storm alert coming, this covered venue is very special! One is expected to find anything ranging from espresso bar, pastries and freshly baked bread. A crave for fresh oysters there is The Lobster Place!! There, it’s a retail fish market with omakase sushi bar but also a raw bar where people can order and eat at the counter nearby the living seashells. There is even a German wurst place!! There are plenty of cool shops for gifts giving. I love this market!

Chelsea Market

Seafood Bar

Oyster Platter

The Lobster Place

Sight seeing to me is so boring but we strolled around town and set our sight towards The Flatiron Building then marched towards the Empire State Building. I got remotely distracted by the Museum of Sex and ought to call out Grant on this! Our last Vegas trip during thanksgiving holiday failed on us in finding adult shows for some sort of sex Ed haha I’ll skip the details there 😉 but anyone can read this post here! The Empire State Building was incredibly crowded (uncool!!) so we evidently ditched the queue and headed out towards the world known Times Square. Bright lights, giant billboards and honking everywhere! It was to say the least chaotic. Gotta get away now! Who really hangs out in Times Square aside from catching a Broadway show or… yeah tourists!!

The Flatiron Building

The Empire State Building

The chaotic Times Square

The Museum of Sex, was it really a distraction?! or an attraction? Can you tell me 😉

  If anyone needed a breath of fresh air when the concrete walk way and the stinging sound of sirens and honking felt suffocating and exhausting, there is fun and relaxation in strolling in your parks. Aside from the obvious green area of Central Park, I loved the Brooklyn Bridge Park where my friend and I got to have a humble picnic; with the magical view over Manhattan in the dark contrast of what you do best which is to gleam lights and inspire us with your beauty. We hopped on a yellow cab and asked to go to Pier 11. I had the idea of getting on a ferry to have a good gaze at the scintillant Brooklyn Bridge by the night. My friend and I cheered with red wine in plastic cups (lack of sophistication here, not me!) set ourselves up on a butt- frozen stairwell of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. We had some crackers dipped in olive paste and some (unidentifiable) cheese. Despite the blazing cold where my fingers and toes stopped responding to my commands, I very much enjoyed taking you in for a brief and calm sudden moment. 

View of the Brooklyn Bridge on the Jumbo Ferry

Sweeping view of lower Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge Park

A view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Pier 11

After filling our stomach at Mr. Tuka Ramen (170 Allen St.), we needed to walk it off a bit right so we headed towards world renown Comedy Cellar to test your sense of humor. Are you that funny? Unfortunately you are ever so crowded so we again ditched the queue and got some late drinks at the hotel. I served my friend some of the ice wine I got from my trip to Montreal the weekend before. It was so sweet but so tasty.

Mr. Tuka Ramen

Tonkotsu Ramen

More sight seeing followed on our last day photographing the one World Trade Center and the memorial site, stopped by Wall Street to find the Charging Bull and the Fearless Girl. Finally walked towards the Battery Park to have a peak at the Statue of Liberty from a far distance. But on our way to Sunday Brunch, not Egg Shop,151 Elizabeth St.), not the Butcher’s Daughter (19 Kenmare St.) (the queue estimated to be 1 hour waiting time so no thanks!!) got a green juice (must have Matcha Fizz made of matcha, fresh lime, honey and rosemary ) at the Cafe Integral (149 Elizabeth St.) and amazing classic Persian food instead (Ravagh Persian Grill, 125 1st Ave.). On our way there, I got to see life through Greenwich village. Kids playing at the playground and youngsters shooting hoops. And other people brunching too. The Persian grill was phenomenal! I’d recommend to anyone! And finally time was up!

Greenwich Village strolling

Life in Greenwich Village

The Egg Shop for Brunch

Awkward me as a tourist

A ride towards the World Trade Center

Cafe Integral Matcha Fitz Juice

Classic Persian Food

Until next time darling, we’ll have another date! I promise 😉

New York City Dear New York City, You are incredible! I love your busy streets and young energetic crowd. You are simply vibrant of life just how I had imagined you (from the movies, Sex & the City shows, and the songs about you)!

[anne-aerwyna]

Anne ~ Chapter 11

As soon as Anne got off the carriage she got her priorities in order, making a list of all of the major things that she needed to do. There at the top of the list was Operation Roommate Dawn, which needed to be set into motion. The easy three-step plan was as follows:

Step 1: Ask Dawn what type of place she is planning to stay in

Step 2: Ask Dawn if she is planning to get a roommate to split the rent

Step 3: Great success (if she said yes)

Because it was simple, the plan was airtight.

"Hey Dawn, where are you planning to stay now that we're here in the city?" she asked innocently. "I'm hoping that there are some apartments to rent, otherwise we might have to stay at the guild!" Anne tried to keep her voice calm and collected; messing up now could put a damper on her master plan.

"Like I said on the carriage: I am going to look for a small rental near to the beach, something that isn’t too small and that looks nice." Dawn responded. She didn’t need glasses to read what was written on Anne’s face, so she decided to circumvent unnecessary discussion and cut right to the chase. "Would you like to stay with me, Anne? I'm sure that with the two of us even a moderately priced beachfront apartment will be relatively easy to pay for."

Anne stiffened up, ears slightly red. "O-of course!" she stammered, cheeks slowly changing color to match her ears. "I mean, if you r-really want to that is... I wouldn't want to be a burden or anything, I know that you're going to be busy as a Guild Gal and may not... uhh..." she trailed off as Dawn nodded and gave her a smile.

"So it's settled then. Why don't we go find a place that we both like, hmm? It will be quicker if we both keep our eyes peeled." Dawn was talking while she was walking off and Anne, still tongue-tied, could only nod and follow behind. They walked past many luxurious houses and compounds on their way to the beach. One compound was open, airy and had only one or two rooms with four full walls. The other “rooms” functioned like open-air gathering areas, containing intricately carved wooden seats upon which people sat in bright clothing, sipping drinks and enjoying the breeze. Across the road from that compound was a large house that was the complete opposite - while the compound was airy and allowed the wind to blow through it, this house was sturdy as a Brute Wyvern and almost entirely closed-off. The windows were nothing but thin open slits and all of the doors were shut tightly. Nobody could be seen through the windows or in the garden. Anne couldn't help but be slightly put-off. She looked between the living places, marveling at how different the living styles between the two were.

 'There must be a person of every kind living in this city!' she thought to herself. 'I wonder if there are any inland folks like me and Dawn?' 

The pair reached the end of the street and turned right, and there to the left, running parallel to the path, was the beach! Dawn was walking quickly onward with no sign of interest, but Anne could hardly hold herself back. Her playground was mere feet away! It took all of her willpower to continue following Dawn instead of running straight into the sea. She was so distracted that she didn't even realize that Dawn had stopped to examine a small cottage with a "For Rent" sign posted in the front yard. It had white stone walls and was blue roofed like many other buildings in the city, but it was distinguished by being squat and having some vines growing on wooden trellises set against the front of the house.

"What do you think about this one, Anne?" Dawn asked, snapping Anne out of her daydreams as Dawn turned to look at her. "I think it looks rather cozy, and I like the proximity to the beach. Looking at the rest of the houses on this road from here, I think I can safely assume that this is the nicest we're going to get."

For Anne the choice was simple. Could she smell the salty sea air? Check. Could she feel the cool ocean breeze? Check. Could she see the beautiful blue ocean and the sandy beach? Double check. Was she going to live with Dawn? 100% check. How could any other place be better? She attempted a cool response, to make up for earlier. 

"Y-yeah, this'll do just fine! I hope the price isn't too high, otherwise the search continues. Does it say how much the rent is on this sign?" Anne took a closer look at the sign in question. There was no indication of pricing on the front of it, and nothing on the back either. She turned to Dawn and shrugged. "We'll have to find the person selling it, I think. There's nothing but ‘For Sale’ anywhere on here!" Suddenly the door of the small cottage opened, and a young man in gaudy purple robes stepped out.

"Welcome to Oceanview Cottage!" he exclaimed with a noticeably fake grin on his face, spreading his arms widely. "You looking to buy? If so, you've found the right man! I'll rent it out to you for cheap too, pretty ladies. How about it?" Anne's shyness came rushing back in full force, and she stared down at her feet. This guy gave off some sketchy vibes. Dawn came to Anne's rescue by walking up to the man and starting the bargaining. Anne couldn't hear what they were saying and she didn't really want to, so she turned around and gazed over the ocean, taking in the sights and smells. White birds were flying lazily above the water, squawking loudly at nothing in particular. Children played in the shallows under the watchful vigil of their parents, and at one point a group of small monsters breached the surface! They were green monsters with long bodies that terminated in small heads which had tiny crests on top. They had four fins, each of them with five spikes on the end, and their tails looked somewhat like fish tails. The funniest thing about them was that they had a pair of white plates sticking out from the sides of their jaws, giving the monsters the appearance of being mustached. The monsters gently floated on the surface of the water to sunbathe, and then dived back down into the depths. Anne stood in awe of her surroundings, lost in the intricacies of beach life. She could most certainly get used to this. However, darker thoughts began to invade her mind. 'I wonder what large monsters live in the ocean?' she questioned, casting her gaze to the deeper water on the horizon. 'I bet they're big... with lots of teeth. And sharp claws. And I'll bet that they can swim faster than any person can. How scary... fighting a monster in its home turf would be the worst. I can’t imagine going deep down in that dark blue and fighting something huge. Huge and mean. With a huge appetite too, and maybe-'

Tap tap

Anne nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt someone's finger tap her shoulder. "Hey, it's just me!" Dawn exclaimed, surprised by Anne's jitteriness. "You look so shocked it's like I inflicted you with Thunderblight! What were you thinking about?" Anne pulled herself together.

"Oh, n-nothing." she replied, voice quavering. "What happened to the tacky guy?"

Dawn smiled her signature small smile and replied, "Anne Aerwyna, congratulations. We are the new renters of Oceanview Cottage. Welcome to your new home."