#my tags are becoming more messy with each passing day

[a-random-citrus]

Thank....... You.......😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

[mydarlingclaudia]

just you and me, alone in the dark

note : divider is from @/thecutestgrotto. ermmm idrk. Leon is ooc again I know, I’m trying to write a few Leon summer fics over the next few weeks, if you have any ideas please let me know I only have like two more 😔 mdni

wc : 3.8k

tags : @lottiies

desc : Leon’s back in town, that couldn’t be too hard on the gigantic crush you have on your best friend, right? friends to lovers, smut!! - unprotected p in v, little bit of fingering. not proofread, fem!reader, post re2r!Leon

Leon was back home for one week this summer, he’s been a cop in Raccoon City for almost a year now, the two of you have been calling and writing each other, trying to keep up with each others lives, but it’s nothing like being face-to-face again. You’ve been hosting him at your house for the past few days, Leon’s been going to catch up with a few other friends, but he’s always back at your place by at least midnight.

It wasn’t like when you were kids. Some of your friends had moved away, that arcade a mile or two away that you and Leon would always walk to had closed down and was now a fancy restaurant, the old lady who ran the laundromat and would give the two of you quarters for the arcade games had passed away. But your crush on Leon had stayed, maybe even grew a bit. The two of you had been changing bit by bit, too. Leon was a big city cop now, and compared to him, you felt like the friend who went to college and immediately ran back home.

Leon’s always been handsome to you, but since leaving for the academy and becoming an actual cop, he looks more grown-up. Seeing him in the mornings, his hair all messy and still half-asleep, was proving to be a problem. Along with when the two of you would watch movies at night, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, sharing whatever food you were eating like you did when you were kids.

You’re starting to think that Leon might like you back.

You catch the way his eyes follow you when you walk through the house with wet hair, damp skin, and clothes that cling to your skin just a bit more after you get out of the shower. Or how he scoots closer to you when you both sit down together. Especially when he accidentally hugged you goodnight the second night he was over and pulled away with a red face. Not that you really mind being close to him, or his attraction to you.

Anyway, Leon’s leaving in two days, and the two of you are going camping for the night.

It’s not gonna be anything crazy, the two of you weren’t much for setting up tents and rocky roads riddled with pot-holes and roadkill. You’re staying the night at a smaller campground, there’s a lake, a playground for any kids there, and a camp store. There’s no need to bring a tent unless you’ve got more than three people with you. Each campsite comes with a small shelter that can hold a few people, each shelter has three walls and a roof, the opening faces the site.

Leon and you would come here with your family when you were kids, it was only an hour away from where you lived, the two of you wanted something a bit more fun to do than sit around at your house or go to dinner.

Leon hasn’t gone camping since before he left for the police academy, not that what the two of you are doing is anything difficult. But there’s no hotdogs cooked over the fire, just a pizza you had picked up a few hours ago and s’mores.

There’s chocolate around Leon’s lips as he chews on his s’more, yours goes ignored for a few minutes as you stare at him. The fire in front of you is low, you and Leon face it and lean back against the table part of the wooden bench, your knees knocking together.

“I know I got shit on my face.” He says to you, turning to look at you as he licks the marshmallow off of his fingers.

You smile at him and shake your head softly, taking a small bite of your s’more. “I’m just looking at you.” Leon only giggles, wiping his mouth with his palm.

“You’ve had plenty of time to look at me.”

“I know that, doesn’t mean I have to stop. And besides, you look at me all the time.”

“Yeah, that’s because I’m talking to you, you just stare at me sometimes.”

“Because I missed you terribly, and I’m happy to have you back home.” You joke a little bit, finishing off the dessert in your hand. “I’m still gonna miss you when you go back to the city.”

“Well, maybe you wouldn’t miss me so much if you came to visit every once-in-a-while. You know it wouldn’t kill you to drive three hours to see me. You’d like the city, anyway.” Leon scooted even closer to you and nudged your shoulder with his, still keeping his eyes on you.

“I know, I know. Just goddamn, I don’t get why you couldn’t have been a local sheriff or deputy or some shit. You could give me parking tickets everyday.” You laugh, his smile drops a little.

“Raccoon City is as good as it gets for me, I could give you parking tickets everyday of the year if you lived there.”

You drop a hand to his knee, squeezing it gently and leaning in closer to him. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to be mean. I know the city’s a big deal for you, and I’m really, really happy for you. You worked really hard.”

“You flatter me,” Leon’s smile brightened a bit again, your heart fluttered. “You haven’t seen me in action yet.”

“Yeah? And what exactly is ‘action’ for you? Helping old ladies cross the street? Maybe pulling someone over for speeding?” You chuckle, letting go of his knee and pushing against him.

“God, when did you get so mean?” Leon snickered and rolled his eyes, grabbing your bicep and pushing you away from him.

“Oh, come on, I’m supposed to be mean to you, that’s what best friends do. You’ve never complained before.”

“Yeah, you complain constantly when I do it.”

“Because boys aren’t supposed to be mean to girls. That’s the rule, aren’t you supposed to know all the rules, officer?”

“Don’t call me that!” Leon laughs, pushing you further away. “Listen, just- just come over. I just wanna see you, even if it’s for a couple of hours. I miss you a lot.”

You can feel your heart clench a little at his words. You know he means it, he’s always tried to come over and visit when he was able to, even when he was in the academy. You just didn’t want to be a bother to him, he’s living his dream, and you don’t want to get in the way of it.

“I’ll try, I promise. Maybe I can come over for a weekend in September.”

“Good, I’ll hold you to it. I was starting to think you didn’t like me anymore.” He jested, turning his gaze to the fire that was almost completely gone now.

“Jesus, don’t say that. I’ll always like you.”

That caught him off guard a little bit, you watched as his cheeks turned red and how his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed.

“That- that’s good.”

You smile at him, scooting closer once again and bringing your hand to rest on his shoulder to shake him gently. “Don’t forget it.” There’s a pause. Leon looks back up to you from the fire, his eyes bore into yours for a few long seconds before they trail down to your lips. It doesn’t go unnoticed. “Let’s go to the lake, it’s fun to swim when it’s getting dark.”

—

Leon had raced you back to your campsite three hours later and won. It was dark now, nearing eleven p.m., the fire was now completely out and all the other campers were asleep. The campground is illuminated by streetlights placed sparingly along the road, you can hardly see anything on your site besides your car and the outside of your shelter.

The lake had been fun, it was different from when you’d come here together a decade ago and push each other off the dock and into the water, but it was fun in a new kind of way. Luckily, there weren’t many people there due to the late hour, not that either of you would’ve really stopped even if it had been packed. Yours and Leon’s swimsuits cling to your skin, you probably would’ve run the race, but once he got in front of you you couldn’t tear your gaze away from the way his back muscles looked when they were wet.

“Fuck, I didn’t set up my air mattress.” You chuckle as you follow Leon into your campsites shelter, shuffling your bare feet along the ground to try to keep yourself from tripping.

“Well, hurry up then.” He giggles but waves you off, his back turned to you as he runs his towel over his wet hair once again. You scoff at him half-heartedly, turning away and going to get your air mattress out of the trunk of your car.

You discover that Leon’s air mattress is bigger than yours once you finally pull it back into the shelter and lay it down next to his. The air-pump is already attached to the nozzle, Leon sits at the bench and watches as you try to inflate the mattress.

“This isn’t working,” You groan, rising up from your squatting position and letting go of the air-pump to shake your arms free of the strain. Leon just shrugs at you, you roll your eyes and squat down again, patting down the air mattress, looking for rips, and you find one that you can fit your entire fist inside. You groan again, more loudly this time. “My mattress is trashed, I don’t have tape or any patches that’ll fix this.”

Leon rises from his seat at the bench, stepping into the shelter along side you and looking down at your air mattress. “You can share with me.”

“Really? You sure?”

“Yeah, of course. I don’t mind, it’s probably gonna be a bit colder tonight, anyway.” Leon offers you a small smirk, offering a hand to you to help you stand up.

“Thanks,” You say as you take his hand, he pulls you to your feet, holding onto your hand for a second before he pulls away. The two of you put your hands on your hips at the same time, glancing around the site. “I gotta get changed.”

“Alright,”

“I don’t wanna walk all the way to the bathroom, though.” You sigh, Leon chuckles and looks towards you.

“You gonna change here?”

“Yeah,” You don’t miss how his face drops slightly, the color returning to his cheeks. “Can you hold the flashlight for me?”

“Wh-“ He cuts himself off when you reach for the hem of your wet shirt, already pulling it up over your head and revealing the one piece you wore underneath.

“You don’t gotta look at me, dumbass. Just hold it so I can see what I’m doing.” You don’t see Leon nod, but you see the bright flashlight turn on and shine against you. You drop your wet shirt to the ground and reach for the straps of your swimsuit, beginning to pull it down over your shoulders.

You make the mistake of glancing over at Leon, he hadn’t turned away in the slightest, his gaze was locked onto you like it was absolutely necessary for him to watch you undress. Despite this, you don’t stop. You don’t know if he saw you look at him, but he keeps watching you as you begin to peel to wet swimsuit off your body.

He swallows thickly, his Adam’s apple goes up and down once again as he does so. The flashlight in his hand shakes slightly as you pull the swimsuit off your body completely.

Leon looks back up at your face for the first time and immediately winces, his free hand goes to his eyes as if to cover it and pretend he hadn’t seen you fully naked.

“Leon-“

“No, I-I’m sorry. You just- no, goddamnit, that was- shit, y-you’re just really pretty and I-I get it if you’re mad.“ His apology stumbles out of his mouth, his face is even more flushed and his hand that he had moved to cover his eyes now runs through his damp hair. You trail your eyes up and down his body, unsure where to focus, but your gaze keeps landing on the tent forming in his swim trunks.

“I’m not mad.”

“… S-Seriously?” Leon’s gaze meets yours again, he looks a little dumbfounded and awestruck, you can’t help but grin at him.

“No.”

“Oh,” He chuckles awkwardly, clearing his throat and looking down at his feet. “This is just k-kinda embarrassing.”

“… Sorry.” You mumble, looking from him out at the dark campsite.

“What? No- don’t apologize. You just look pretty, I mean, you’ve always been really fucking pretty and I’m just looking at you like- God, I don’t even know. Just don’t apologize.”

“Thanks,” You look back at him, you can’t help the smile on your face when he calls you pretty.

“I mean it, I’ve thought you were the prettiest since like, high school.”

“Actually?”

“Yeah. I don’t wanna sound weird or anything, but I’ve always kinda… liked you? Like, more than a-a friend. And I’m sorry for telling you this when you’re naked in front of me, I just-“ You don’t let Leon finish his sentence, shutting him up with a kiss instead of letting him get his thoughts out.

He melts against you almost instantly, his hands finding their way to your hips as the flashlight is discarded onto the floor. Your hands anchor themselves in his hair, keeping his head in place as the kiss goes on for another five seconds before the two of you split apart for air.

“I should’ve asked, I’m sorry-“ Your own apology is cut short when Leon pulls you against him even closer, kissing you again but only for two seconds.

“I told you not to say sorry.” You smile at him, your hands moving from his hair to the back of his neck. Before you can even stop yourself, your lips attach themselves to his neck, kissing and sucking along the skin you find there.

Leon groans, his fingers dig into the flesh of your hips as his head tilts back to give you more skin to work with, which you happily accept. Your hands move again, this time going from his neck to graze over his bare chest. Leon takes that as a sign to move his hands, leaving your hips to grip just underneath your ass. You giggle and push yourself up against him more, he gives a soft chuckle in response.

“This okay with you?” He asks, one hand moves up to cup your ass and squeeze it gently.

“Yeah, it’d be better if we weren’t standing, though.” You pull away from him, his grip on you loosens as he takes your hint and sits himself on the ground at the foot of his air mattress.

You wanted to straddle his lap, but when you lower yourself down to do so, Leon grabs hold of your hips once again and flips you so the upper half of your back rests on top of his air mattress as he hovers over you. He kisses you again, this time tracing the seam of your lips with his tongue to ask for entry. That doesn’t take any negotiation for you, his tongue meets yours, your arms find their way around his neck as he lowers himself down on top of you more, your breasts pressing against his chest.

“We need to be quiet,” You whisper to him once you pull away from his lips.

“Everyone’s asleep by now, and there’s only like, two other campsites near us.” He chuckles slightly, pulling back a few inches to get a better look at you.

“Leon.” You scold quietly, his chuckle turns into a snicker as his hands find their ways up to your breasts.

“Okay, okay,” Leon shakes his head slightly as he brushes his thumbs over your nipples. “Don’t ruin my fun just yet, I’ve been wanting to do this for years.”

“Have you now?” Your arms kissed around his neck, you push yourself further into his touch.

“You’ve got no idea,” He looks up from where your tits rest in his hands to your face, leaning in to kiss you again. The kiss goes on for what feels like thirty minutes before one of your arms unwraps itself from his neck and goes down to the hem of his swim trunks, you tug on it lightly.

Leon pulls back to look at you, his hands leave your breasts to rest on your thighs. The teasing smile on his face is gone, now replaced with a look of concern.

“You’re absolutely sure you’re okay with this?”

“Absolutely.” You smile at him, you cup his face in your hands and give him a small peck on the lips, feeling him smile against your mouth as his hands leave your thighs to pull down his trunks. Leon’s hands are back on you two seconds later, dipping in between your thighs to run his fingers through your slick folds.

“Fuck,” He murmurs, leaning his head down to press kisses to your cheek as his thumb presses against your clit, gently probing against your entrance with his middle finger. You whine softly, it only seems to spur him on, he gently pushes his finger inside you, continuing the soft amount of pressure on your clit. “You’re really pretty.”

“You keep saying that.” You giggle a little bit, your hands move to rest on his shoulders as your head tips to the right.

“Because I mean it.” You’re not sure why he groans, but he does once his finger slides deeper inside of you. “I missed you so much, I didn’t think that this was gonna happen when I came back to town, but I’m so happy it is.”

“M-Me too,” You agree a bit breathlessly, Leon’s kisses trail down to your throat as his pointer finger slowly joins his middle finger. You’re not even really sure how to feel right now, you’ve been craving this for so long, maybe not in a campground with a shelter that hardly concealed any noise, but you really hoped that this wasn’t going to be where things ended for you and Leon.

Leon’s kisses turns into gentle bites as his ministrations continue and the pressure on your clit increases. You bite down on your lip, trying to not let yourself get too loud, but the noises that do slip past your lips, Leon responds to with his own.

“Leon, please.” Your small whimper makes him stop, his fingers come to a halt inside you and he pulls back again to look down at your face.

“You sure?” You only close your eyes and nod, your nails dig into the skin of his shoulders as you wait. “Okay, I got you, I- I’m gonna be gentle.”

His fingers slip out of you, you whine quietly at the loss, earning a tiny snort from him as he pulls back to sit on his knees, keeping one hand attached to your thigh, longing himself up with your entrance. Leon pushes in slowly, watching your face and how your mouth falls open at the intrusion. He lets you adjust for maybe fifteen seconds before he starts moving slowly, keeping one hand on your thigh and slipping the other underneath your back to hold you up a bit.

“Holy shit, you feel s-so good.” He mumbles to you, biting down on his own lip to keep his groans from getting too loud. You nod, unable to find any words to respond with while you begin rocking your hips gently to try and meet his movements.

Leon’s thrusts don’t get much faster than this, he’s trying his best to be gentle and quiet, you’re sure it would be a different story if you were back home. You let your whines get a bit louder as you let the feeling of him pushing in and out of you take over, the soft squelching noises don’t help.

Your hands roam over his chest and shoulders as he continues on for the next few minutes. You can’t make any complaints, you’re sure he can’t, either.

His hand that had been on your thigh had left to trail in between once again, finding your clit and circling it, letting strained pants and whimpers fall from his lips as he hovered above you. Neither of you can find words to say to each other, too focused on how the both of you feel as you move together.

After a few more minutes, the feeling coiling up in your lower abdomen is beginning to become unbearable. “L-Leon, mm fuck- Leon, ‘M gonna-“

“It’s okay, ‘M not gonna stop just y-yet.” Only then does his hips snap forward a bit harder, determined to push you over the edge.

The moan you let out when you came was louder than any other noises you had made that night, Leon seemed to appreciate it, you could tell by the grin that grew on his face as you began to calm down, not that he stopped moving. He pulled out before he came, instead, cumming on the shelter floor and your thighs, you couldn’t say that it bugged you.

The two of you laid there for maybe five minutes, trying to catch your breath as you pressed kisses against each others skin. The floor was a mess but Leon only focused on wiping his release off of you, a stupid smile was painted on his face as he did so.

After the two of you went to piss on separate sides of the site, you met back up in the shelter and actually got dressed this time around. Leon didn’t push you away when you crawled onto his air mattress with him, and he was more than happy to wrap his arms around you and share his blanket with you. Your hands rested on his shoulder blades, head pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his chest. One of his hands was in your hair and the other rested on the small of your back, holding you close to him.

“I don’t… want to leave you just yet.” He said quietly.

“We’ve got a couple more days.”

“No, I know. What I mean is I- I want you to come to the city with me. Just for a few days. I just wanna figure things out between us because I think there’s a lot we should probably discuss and I just really, really don’t want things to end here.” Leon’s voice was a bit louder, you could hear the slight tremble in his words as he spoke, but you didn’t look up at him.

“Would you really be okay with me coming over?”

“All I want is for you to come over. Please.”

“Alright,” You smile against his chest, closing your eyes. “Just don’t keep me waiting with your fancy job.”

“I’m sure my bosses would understand me needing to put a few things on hold for my dream girl.”

[azullumi]

“i think i like this little life” ; genshin men

summary — small things and simple moments with him that makes life worth living.

includes — various characters (w/gender-neutral reader)

tags — fluff, established relationship, kind of domestic, not proof-read, kind of word vomit ; scenarios

words — 1336

notes — i was originally going to add like a watching him get ready scenario thingy but then i changed my mind,, anws i feel like i wrote everyone too soft here haha

;; spending the morning together

honey-dyed light slips through the thin drapery over the window as the distant shrunken circle of golden rises to the sky portraying the morning that comes. the birds sing a gentle tune outside, serving as some sort of alarm that wakes him up, eyes fluttering open to the sight of the familiar ceiling, the feeling of warmth beside him.

although the dawn’s early night was never a pleasant welcome to him as it only indicates the things that he has to do and have to do for the remainder of the day, anticipation comes at the mere thought that he’ll get to start and spend it with you—everything becomes a little bit better like a weight on his shoulder has been lifted.

in the stillness and silence of the morning, there you are besides him; his gaze lingers at your sleeping form—tranquility seen on the edges and corners of your being—, eyes deep and swirling with feelings of affection; he doesn’t even know how soft his expression becomes whenever he looks at you until someone would inform him of it. strands of your hair were tangled and messy, some of it obstructing your face as it fell over your forehead, and the feeble light shines itself on your skin, basking you in a warm golden glow. everything feels like scenery, something out of a claude monet painting. how did he ever become so lucky to have someone as lovely and wonderful as you in his life?

the moment doesn’t last forever, however. as if a fleeting one, a groan was heard from you and you stir yourself awake.

“good morning, lovely. did you sleep well?” his voice, tender and filled with affection, pierces through the gentle silence of the room. he presses a small kiss on your forehead as he greets you, brushing the strands of your hair back as he did. you slowly blink your eyes open, the sight of him greeting you and immediately, a small smile graces your lips. “good morning.” you reply and having just woken up, your words came out as a whisper only for him to hear.

“do you want to get out of bed?” you only shook your head as an answer, snuggling closer to him. face buried on the curve of his neck, you inhale his scent—faintly cloying yet pleasant. he laughs shortly, “we can stay in for a little bit more then.”

for him, the thought of waking up with you to the soft glow of morning outweighs every trace of his not-so-morning-person personality; he’s not a morning person but if he gets to spend every morning under this light with you, he wouldn’t mind it.

ayato, diluc, dainsleif, heizhou, kaeya, baizhu, kaveh

;; watching everything outside the window

it was just a small thing that you would do together, mostly when one of you is bored. sitting by the window, looking out of it, watching every person that passes by, and creating some sort of story behind them—a not-so-true reason behind the passing strangers’ actions. it’s really just a simple way to pass time and to entertain yourself and you love it, especially when you’re doing it with him.

“do you see that man over there?” you start, referring to the man on the street who seems like in a rush, and his gaze follows the mentioned person. “he’s walking—no, wait, he’s running because he’s on the way to meet someone.”

instead of a mere indulgence in gossip or prying into the affairs of others, it transforms into a serene narrative, delicately unwinding the threads of each moment that passes—people watching, the art of noticing. everything felt like a movie with each of the scenes unfolding before you.

he takes a sip from the cup that he was holding, eyes showing a hint of interest. “perhaps he’s on the way to meet the love of his life.” he chimes, his gaze then darting over at the sight of a woman with their dog. “how about them?”

you hum, “maybe on the way to the vet?”

“sounds like a plausible reason.”

the moment stills, the both of you quietly observing and noticing everything outside—like how the plant displayed outside the window of the shop was a different one compared to yesterday or how the cat across the street always sits and waits on that one spot until an old lady comes to feed them. in essence, yesterday was different to today; in a way that yesterday, there were less people than today or that yesterday, the sun whispered its golden tales to you as to today, it wears a different hue as clouds gather in quiet conversations.

“oh, look there, the cat has a companion.” you say, breaking the hushed moment being shared between you two, tone with a faint of excitement in it as your eyes flickered with the same note. “do you think they’re a couple?”

“they look alike, perhaps siblings.”

“that’s silly, you know a lot of cats look alike.”

and yet, despite all the small shifts and subtle differences painted on his moment before and currently, his yesterday was no different than his today, perhaps it was because you were there with him. many people experience today in a different way and for him, he experienced today with you—and he could only silently hope that it remains that way forever.

kaveh, alhaitham, baizhu, wanderer, lyney, heizhou, childe

;; making plans to spend more time together

there’s just something so intimate in doing things together even if it’s just as mundane as making plans together, to see if one has time for the other on a certain day so that you can have a small date with him or to see if he could accompany you out shopping. perhaps, it is one way of saying that the time you have right now is not enough, never enough, and you can’t wait to see spend time with each other again even if the two of you are right there besides each other currently—a shared anticipation that whispers of the inadequacy of the present moment, always leaving you yearning for more time in each other's company.

“do you want to go out tomorrow morning?” he asks you, his voice gentle like the soft beating of his heart against your ear. you lay besides him while your head is resting on top of his chest and he has his arm encircled around your figure which urges you to nestle into the curve of it; your forms were intertwined with one another in bed, his fingers going from tracing the delicate of your back to playing the strands of your hair, twirling and combing through it.

“to where are we going?” you answer, head tilting up to look at him and his eyes meet yours in that moment, a soft gaze full of adoration for you and only you. he hums, as if going into thought, “there’s a newly opened cafe down the street, do you want to have breakfast there or do you want to have it here instead? we can cook something together. which one sounds more appealing to you?”

he gives you a set of choices, giving you the freedom for your own comfort and desire—something that you greatly appreciate. you’ve contemplated on your decision, taking just a few seconds to do so: “the former.”

“in a cafe?”

“yeah, i feel like going out tomorrow. can we wake up early so that we could, like, take a walk and go to the park?” he doesn’t give it a second thought, nodding and agreeing to what you have asked: “i don’t mind. maybe we can have a picnic there?”

“next time we can.” you answer in which he responded with a hum. silence then settles in the air between you two yet it doesn’t last long as he spoke once more: “can you move closer? it feels like you’re not that close enough for me.” he says, earning a chuckle from you.

albedo, thoma, tighnari, zhongli, dainsleif, lyney, cyno

© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.

[droaxa]

half of the ring

✧ tags: first love x reader, the reader takes too long to admit she’s in love with him and it has consequences

✧ warnings: angst angst angst be ready, betrayal but not really, you cry, friends to lovers to strangers

✧ a/n: really wanted to show you guys my angst skills, started on a plane but then got rlly into it 💗 but fr idk what i was on while making this.

✧ 2.1k words

He was your first love. You had a boyfriend before him but that relationship wasn’t born out of love, hell you didn’t even know if you liked your first boyfriend. The middle school curse of saying yes to dating boys you didn’t really know had gotten to you too, just like many other young girls at school. At an age when you were unsure of what boyfriends and girlfriends even did, you got into your first relationship.

Then you met him. Tall, charming, and somewhat nerdy. He wasn’t anything close to your first boyfriend but you felt strangely attracted to him nonetheless, much to the dismay of your friends who stated that he was ‘a weird loner that no one really liked’. You didn’t care about his obnoxious sports glasses, his long frizzy hair, or his ‘nerdy interests’, to you he was perfect and unapologetically himself.

You broke up with your boyfriend days after meeting him, he made you realize that if you should date anyone, it should be someone that makes you happy. Not someone you feel obligated to.

He was exciting and cool in ways your friends didn’t understand, a diamond in the rough. Before you knew it, months had passed and he moved to your neighborhood.

“The school was better here than in his district” he explained.

You were thrilled of course, who knew what this could bring? Your parents were friends so you met often, but they didn’t allow you both to date so you hid it. Soon, secretive texts and calls turned to meetups and walks in your neighborhood under the guise of being with a ‘friend’. You were with him all the time, if not at school, on the bus, and if not on the bus, around the neighborhood.

Truly the ying to your yang, you were opposites but still had so much in common. While you loved horror movies and he would bury his face in your neck during a jumpscare, squeezing your hand so hard it would turn blue. You would laugh at it his cowardly manner, patting his messy hair as he complained.

You were hopelessly unathletic and he was on the volleyball team. He taught you how to play, laughing as you tried to receive the ball only to have it hit the ground next to you. He never brought up your shortcomings or belittled you, instead helping you become a better version of yourself.

Inseparable. The only way to describe it, atleast until you heard about his reputation first hand. Being ignored by kids at school, shunned for the way he acted and spoke. That’s when you started to become embarrassed of him. Sweet thoughtful him. You heard the whispers about him and didn’t want to be dragged down along with his reputation.

You had been alone long enough, you could still remember those days when you had no one. You didn’t want to be alone again. You were young and dumb, placing social acceptance at a higher priority than him. But it was the pulling away from him that was the hard hardest. You were each others halves but there was something else. Something that young dumb you wouldn’t yet understand.

If his disappointed expression every time you would cancel on him didn’t hurt your heart, the hurt on his face when you would pretend like you didn’t see his wave in the school hallway punched you in the gut. But you managed to make more friends. It would be worth it. Wouldn’t it? You missed him, but you still wanted to have this social power, this freedom.

On the bus home one day a ring you wore broke in half, a silver ring with the emblem of wings. Looking at the two halves you decided to give one half to him on your walk home, his face lighting up as you give him the metal fragment. You would never truly understand the meaning of ring to him. It was a bittersweet moment when you both bid each other goodbye, no hugs or touches. Just a smile.

You saw him was again on the bus, this time your phone chimed with a text. It’s from him.

‘i’m going to kiss you today’

It was a little strange but so hopelessly innocent, he was asking his permission. You felt guilty when he had told you that you were his first anything, first girl he had talked to romantically and now he was hoping first kiss. But you didn’t know if you wanted it. You’d already wasted your first kiss on your first boyfriend, a regret.

You didn’t want to be a regret for him, you didn’t want to face your feelings firsthand either. You knew that this kiss would prove your feelings for him, no more tiptoeing around the bush that you both were doing. You were scared, what if he realized that you weren’t what he wanted. What if you get shunned from being with him?

So you ran. From your feelings, confusion, and most importantly from him. You didn’t kiss him that day, much less look at him.

You didn’t see him around much after that, you heard that he moved out of your neighborhood and into another one. His father had decided they needed a bigger house. You visited him with your family and he led you up to his room, showing you around. On his bookshelf glimmered the half of the ring you gave him, put on display as if it was a piece of art. You smiled as you saw it, you didn't know how much it meant to him.

In a few months, you would move to the same neighborhood. A plan your family had before you had even met him, maybe it was fate or maybe it was just some coincidence.

Your meetups were few and far between then, the next time you saw him was on a school trip to another state. A week where students would be unsupervised, to do whatever they pleased, a recipe for disaster. On the day of the departure, one of your friends had asked you about him before you both had got on the bus to leave. What sport he did, what he was like. You were confused, they’d never asked about him before. Much less without making fun of him.

You shrugged off the strange feeling creeping up on you and told her the basics, she was elated. Then she revealed her true intentions, she was interested. In him. You buffered. What? But you had ever told her what went on between you and him, so it’s not like girl code applied. And for some reason you didn’t want to tell her, he was a loser in the eyes of everyone. If you revealed what really happened, you would be deserted. You had enough of being alone for a lifetime.

You shot her a smile as genuine as you could muster and told her that you’d tell him to think about her. She grinned and thanked you, heading into the bus.

And you did. You did tell him that she would be good for him, that they had so much in common. You could see the disbelief in his eyes, that something like this was coming from someone as special to him as you. You didn’t meet his eyes once, face turned down and words quickly mumbled.

You didn’t know what you were expecting, maybe a romantic display like in the movies where the male lead would refuse and tell the female lead he only wanted her. Maybe you wanted him to grab you and shake some sense into you, remind you of what mattered and what he was to you.

You hated yourself for it, you didn’t want him to go, to leave you. But you were conflicted and stupid, unable to see the true value of what you were giving up. After he nodded at your suggestion, he walked off without a word. Maybe you didn’t deserve him anyway. You warded the tears off as you walked in the other direction.

You didn’t know that he would take the suggestion seriously, to get back at you or to get over you, you didn’t know. You'd deluded yourself into thinking that he would come back, you mattered enough to him, right? You didn't see or talk to him for two whole days, and honestly, you were ripping out your hair in frustration.

Finally, you'd see him when your group was visiting a landmark in the city you were in. It was supposed to be a normal day of the usual activities, sightseeing and such. But then you saw them both. Together. Maybe they’d started talking after you suggested it or maybe she’d come up to him, you didn’t even want to think he went up to her on his own accord.

It hurt in ways you thought unimaginable, why was it so easy for her? People did snicker at them and laugh sometimes but she was with him all day, not a hint of embarrassment on her face. They both laughed and whispered to each other, about what? You didn't know, you weren't sure you wanted to. But this wasn't fair, that should’ve been you. You tear your eyes away from the scene, you should've been stronger, been more resilient. Had you lost him already?

On the last day of the trip, you finally faced the truth that this wasn’t anything close to what you wanted. You knew that he deserved better, but with him by your side you could be better, for him. All you needed was him. You could deal with the gossip and public shunning if he was by your side.

You decide to talk to him on the last day of your trip, striding towards him as he faces the opposite direction, observing the artwork on the urban brick wall. Before you can even get close to him, she appears. Hair flowing behind her as confident strides bring her every bit closer to him. There's a bright smile on her face as she pulls him to face her, and he smiles back. Why does he smile back? Months of late-night talking, laughing, and understanding can’t be undone in a week right? Your heart stutters as you see him smile, a real smile. Not the melancholic one he’d give you when you said you couldn’t meet or talk to him, a real smile from his heart.

Then he leans in, he leans in first, and presses his lips against hers. A strong hand on her back to steady her as they share an innocent kiss, nothing more than lips pressed against each other. You stare at them, shock rendering your body immobile as they pull apart. Faint smiles are still present as they look at each other, and a glimmer in his eyes that you had stopped seeing a while ago returns.

You can’t stop the tears that fall down your face, apology you were planning to give him dampened and forgotten. You step back, you were too late. Far too late.

Turning around, you try to wipe the tears as they fall. You were really stupid huh? Took too long to decide and he finally realized that he deserved better, and she was his better apparently. But that kiss was supposed to be yours, it was your kiss. He was supposed to be yours, you were the one with him before anyone else. It was selfish, but if only. If only.

‘But you chased him away didn’t you?’ a voice whispered. You stopped. You were the one that forced him into the arms of another, why did you deserve to cry? You couldn’t help but wonder, did he think about you? Did he think about those late nights when you both would text like you were each other's lifelines? Maybe he would still be with you now, if you tried harder, if you ignored the others, if you saw all that mattered. He was what mattered.

But sometimes, doubt, a moment of hesitation was all it took to ruin everything that is and can be. All you had now were questions. The what ifs and maybes. The half of the ring, without knowing if he kept his.

a/n: well thats all guys :)) i'm gonna write a part two for this who knows how it'll go

[sim0nril3y]

Your Flat

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Civilian!Reader Scenario: It's date night and Simon invites himself over to your flat to pick you up and he finally sees that chaos that you're living in, along with your artwork. Note: Set in 2014 Warnings: No mask Simon (It's my personal headcanon in his regular life he probably wouldn't wear it), teasing, smut, P in V, Simon being his usual guarded self, canon-typical swearing.

Friday night. It was date night – something one night that you had jokingly called it and now it had begrudgingly become part of his own vocabulary too. It was now the thing in the week that Simon was beginning to look forward to the most. There had been no conversation of commitment but Simon knew that he liked spending time with you. Actually, you were consuming his mind outside of spending date nights with you. Deep down a voice continued to tell him that this was all a bad idea and that your safety was being risked but that voice was beginning to become more and more quiet as each day passed.

This would be the first time that Simon would see your flat. It had been the only thing you had been fairly secretive about. Rapping his knuckles loudly against the door Simon smirked to himself as he heard a flurry of sound from behind it. It swung open swiftly and witnessed you rushing in the opposite direction down the hallway, minus a few items of clothes. “You’re early!” That had been intentional, otherwise you’d had met him in the carpark and he’d never been able to set foot in your flat. “Come in!” You coaxed from your bedroom.

Entering your flat Simon was instantly overwhelmed by the sheer chaos of the place. It was small but it was full of clutter and art supplies, they were littering almost every surface. There was laundry slung over every door and radiator, hanging off the backs of chairs and on hangers over doorways, interestingly every place but the airer designed for it which was instead housing some of your drying canvas’. “Jesus, kid…”

“I didn’t realise I’d have company!” You hollered from your bedroom, sounding breathless behind the door, bumping into objects and fussing over trying to find something appropriate to wear. "I'm sorry!" You tagged on quickly.

In your lounge area there was one particular space that caught his attention. There were stacks of canvas’ placed against one another, an old looking easel, rows of different paints and brushes. Oh, so this must have been where you created your artwork and those canvas’ must have been the finished pieces. Simon took great care as he stepped into that little shrine and began to inspect them. It wasn’t like he understood art anyway. Looking at some pieces made him feel certain ways. It was invoking emotions – wasn’t that what art was supposed to do? Fuck, he wasn’t some connoisseur but he could see that you were very talented. “Right, I’m-” Your flustered frame bound around the corner still mid putting your heel on and cutting you sentence short as you spotted Simon in your ‘art studio’. “Oh, you found my art…”

Simon was careful in returning the canvas’ how he had found them and turned to you. “It was about the only thing I could find in here…” There was a tell-tale look of embarrassment that flashed across your features as you rolled your eyes. “You are a messy pup…” He commented taking a few steps in your direction and quirking a brow down at you, as if waiting for some explanation.

“I-It isn’t usually this bad…” There was so much defensiveness to your tone, attempting to rack your brain for some reasonable excuse for your flat being in such a state. “I woke up and I had this massive spark that I just knew I needed to get onto canvas… right, I’m not making excuses…. God, I know I must sound so stupid…. I’m not making a whole lot of sense, but-” “Kid, enough.” His firm tone commanded, reaching up and tugging you gently in his direction. “Honestly, I couldn’t care less if your flat is messy…” You let out a relieved puff of air. “As long as mine doesn’t end up the same way, I’m fine with it.” A bright smile found your lips. “What time did you say our table is booked for?”

His eyes narrowed softly as he felt your dainty fingers dancing along his belt. “Babe…” It was a warning. “What?” There was such false innocence to your tone and that was what finally made him snap.

It seemed very clear that your IKEA bedframe wasn’t up to the task of being fucked on. It creaked and cracked dangerously with each thrust into your trembling frame, the headboard was clattering against the wall so much that Simon wondered if he should put a pillow behind it to try and save your poor neighbours ears. All this whilst you whine and whimpered beneath him, clearly unaware of all this commotion. It appeared that all that consumed your mind was the way he perfectly stretched your tight walls to accommodate his girthy cock.

With one particularly strong crack beneath him Simon grumbled out. “M’gonna break your fuckin’ bed…” It earned a fit of giggles from you that mixed with a soft load of whimpers. “Fuck off. I’m being serious.” Even he could fight the small smirk before finally deciding to save your poor bed anymore stress.

Instead, his arms wound around your frame. “Fuckin’… c’mere…” His cock still buried deep within your walls as he rose from the bed and placed you against the closest surface. There wasn’t any hesitation from there, Simon began to fuck into your wet cunt with reckless-abandon. This time he was far more confident that he would be able to do any structural damage to your home. There wasn’t any way that he’d be able to knock down a loadbearing wall from fucking alone. “My good girl~”

Rushing from your flat once they had cleaned up and resituated the majority of their clothes. You were speaking your worries about the possibility of missing the table whilst trying to work your key into the dodge lock barrel, it didn’t escape your knowledge your grumpy old neighbour Peter was lingering outside smoking over the balcony and observing the estate below him. “These flats have thin walls, you know…” He muttered lowly and Simon narrowed his eyes as you struggled with the lock, cursing softly under your breath.

“Bad enough I have to listen to that shit you call music, but now I have to listen to you fucking too-” “That’s enough.” Simon growled out at him causing Peter to look in his direction furious. By luck the key finally spun and you were quick to be by Simon’s side, taking his hand and beginning to drag him past Peter and away from the possibility of an altercation.

As you got further away from Peter, you finally decided you could laugh softly, looking at Simon and saying. “You don’t have to fight every prick that says something stupid to us…” Taking your hand he tugged you close and pressed a sweet kiss to your forehead. “How else are they gonna learn not to be disrespectful to you.” He watched the way that your eyes filled with such adoration. “Now get your arse moving before I end up fucking you in the stairwell just to prove a point to that twat…”

Masterlist | Ask | 05-09-2023

[chieri-rose-under-blog]

“And Then, Our Paths Crossed”

(Part 2: Tell Me)

Summary: A fateful meeting at Saboady two years ago leads to a love affair with no promising future, but pirates live in the moment, and that's what you and Law plan to do.

Info: MDI/18+, Law x fem/reader, angst, light bondage, light Law/dom, rebellious behavior, ridding, oral and vaginal sex, orgasm holding, romance

Tag list: @lawsvalentine @itsnunya12 @sasukeswife3 @520love-a @augustanna @patchofblue @kiasnotforever

The breeze felt good this high up in the crow's nest, and the view was one that you would never be tired of seeing. The ocean’s winds played at your hair, and the scarf still tied around your neck.

You laugh to yourself as you remember what had happened at breakfast that morning. Really though, what was Law thinking staring at you like that? Zoro may not look it, but he is always perceptive about his surroundings.

We’re just going to have to be more cautious about our public interactions.

You had no worries about Law ending what you two had going on. If anything, he might become overly zealous about this affair between you and him.

For a man that appeared complicated, he actually wasn’t. A trauma case, certainly, but what person wasn’t one nowadays? But complex, never, at least to you, he wasn't.

Maybe that's why this ‘relationship’ worked or why you chose to speak to him first two years ago at the archipelago.

Thinking about it now, you could laugh at yourself for feeling so nervous approaching him.

At the time, you were being followed by four, no, six men (Zoro had taught you better than letting your nerves distract your senses) while walking as casually as possible through one of the populated groves.

From the information you had gathered from the locals, kidnappings and human trafficking occurred frequently in certain parts of the archipelago.

And, of course, I have to walk in one of those zones alone.

When everyone had chosen to go their separate ways at the Sunny, Nami had wanted you and Robin to join her on a shopping spree.

"Not this time Nami. I want to explore the place on my own and see what intel I can get about the New World."

"Oh, but Y/N, you can do any time. We are stuck here for a few days." Nami had pouted.

"Besides, Robin can do that for us while we're shopping!"

"I think we should let Y/N go on her own. There's a benefit to having the both of us gathering information." Robin chimed in with her option.

You nodded in agreement and promised Nami, "We can go shopping together tomorrow. Like you said, we have time, and I doubt one day will be enough for you."

"Fine," Nami moped.

Robin giggled and then said to you, "Have fun, Y/N. Just don't get kidnapped by a mysterious man."

You had wondered if Robin’s words had unintentionally brought you bad luck. Your eyes scanned around for an opportunity to lose the hunters, but instincts told you to keep walking.

The number of men had grown to ten and that seemed like overkill to you for one lone woman, but maybe they knew whose crew you were a part of.

Or maybe they're all from different gangs, lucky me.

You weren't weak, but you had to be clever. If all these men were from different gangs, they might fight each other over you or team up and backstab each other later. A messy situation either way.

Walking a tad faster, you heard fighting up ahead. A few people ran passed you, screaming about pirates going crazy.

A few names were mentioned, but none of them meant anything to you. Not that you could care. You were too busy thinking about using the chaos ahead to lose the people pursuing you.

That plan died when you noticed him sitting on a wooden crate, legs spread apart, with three of his men standing at his back. Immediately you recognized him from the newspapers and wanted posters.

The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law.

You could never forget the sight, and the memory would always make you quiver with infatuation. What you did that day was crazy, but between approaching him for aid or fighting off the hunters alone, it was worth the gamble.

The trapped door slammed open, and the memory bubble popped away as you turned to see Sanji climbing through the opening.

“Hey,” he said simply with a smile while brushing the blond locks out of his right eye. “I came to serve you a light mid-morning snack.”

“Aw, thanks Sanji! You didn’t have to do that!”

Sanji looked pleased by your reaction and went over to the snack platform to take out a tray with a glass bowl on top.

He took out the tray and went over to you then bowed saying, “You know I don't mind. It's always a pleasure to serve a beautiful woman.”

You rolled your eyes but giggled at his words.

“Thank you, sir, for always being the handsome gentleman willing to serve me.”

Sanji chuckled and watched you take your first bite of the treat.

“Mm! So good!”

“I'm glad.”

He watched you take a few more bites before Sanji’s face became serious as he got to his other purpose for seeing you.

“So, Y/n, what was the real reason Traffy was staring at your neck?”

The spoon was in your mouth, and you glanced up at him with large, questioning eyes as if you didn't know what he was talking about.

“Zoro is an idiot, but he’s not stupid. Law was staring at your neck. Why?”

You licked your spoon and shrugged.

“I don't know. He did say he was admiring my scarf.”

“Your scarf,” Sanji frowned. “Really?”

You scooped up more of your delicious treat, saying, “He has a thing for feathers and furs; maybe he likes scarfs too.”

Sanji sighed and got out his cigarette pack. You watched him take one out and place it between his lips. It wasn't till he got out his lighter that you said something to stop him.

“You know Zoro hates it when you smoke in here.” You chided him.

The lighter clicked open and Sanji moved the small flame to light his cigarette. Smoke bloomed from his lips and he took the stick between his fingers and looked at you.

“I know that Luffy told us to get along, but you need to be careful. We’re pirates, and Traffy isn't part of our crew. Once this alliance is over, we go back to being enemies."

"I know." Boy, do I know it.

“Also, he’s not telling us everything about this plan of his. Luffy is not the only one taking advantage here; Traffy is using us.”

You nodded, agreeing that Law was holding back information. You felt a touch of guilt for not using your ‘relationship’ to find out what Law was hiding. A part of you didn't want to pry, fearing it would ruin what you had with him.

“I know,” you reluctantly admitted after a moment of silence.

Sanji took another puff of his cigarette, but the tobacco did little to ease his stress.

Something was going on, and you were hiding it from everyone. Sanji just hoped that you knew what you were doing and would ask for help if needed.

"Good," he breathed shakily as smoke swirled out of his mouth.

"And you know that if anything bad happens, I would be the first to come to your rescue, right? Or if you're hurting and can't talk to someone, you can come to me."

You set down the bowl and grabbed his hand to give it a comforting squeeze.

"Hey," you said tenderly, "you know that I love all of you, right? You and the rest of this crew are precious to me. My only and true family."

Sanji blushed and grinned at you, asking, "But you love me the most, right?"

"Of course," you grinned back at him, "how can a queen not love her knight?"

You both laughed at the playful banter, acting like the warnings about Law never happened.

As the two of you chatted pleasantly, Sanji suddenly wished this alliance will Law had never occurred. Or that the man had brought his ship and crew along, so he wouldn't have to be on the Sunny.

Better yet, he wished that a certain idiot had made his move when you were still interested. Not that he deserved you.

Neither of them did, in his opinion, but it was lady’s choice.

“I'll kill him if he hurts her.” Sanji calmly thought as he finished his cigarette.

Your soft cries filled the storage room where you and Law agreed to meet.

The pretty scarf that caused so much disruption at breakfast was torn in half.

Law used the pieces to bind your wrist and cover your eyes. He was paying you back for the trouble you caused this morning and last night.

That's what Law told himself, refusing to acknowledge the greedy monster taking over his reasoning.

The shorts and panties you wore were stripped away and tossed aside, along with your bra, which he had impatiently cut from your body. You didn't know why, but Law wanted you to leave on the thin cotton crop top you wore.

Law took in the sight of you lying submissively on the floor, steadily breathing. His grey eyes watch your chest rise and fall, the thin fabric stretching over your breast. Your nipples slowly harden under his gaze, making Law lick his lips.

“Not bad,” he said huskily.

His eye travel further down over your belly and to the valley of your core, surrounded by your thighs. Yes, this was a treat he would enjoy devouring.

“Remember, Y/N, I don't want to hear a word from you.”

Your throat moved as you swallowed, remaining obediently still.

You could hear him moving, and then something light dropped to the floor, perhaps a shirt. It sounded like he was moving closer, and you shifted your head to figure out where Law had gone.

You then gasped when his hands grabbed your legs and dragged you down towards him, you guessed. You felt him spread your legs wide, and you waited anxiously for Law to enter you roughly.

It would hurt like a bitch since you were barely wet enough to take him, but you swore not to say a word.

“What a good girl you're being for me,” he purred over your lower belly, then gave your skin a long lick.

You shivered, trying to relax your body before he penetrated you.

Law chuckled and kissed your inner thigh, following it with another teasing lick. His eyes darted up when you made a sound that nearly became a word, but you drew your bottom lip between your teeth to stop your voice.

Fuck, you were beautiful.

Watching you struggle like this pumped the blood straight to his cock, and Law wanted to do what you expected and dive right into you.

But tomorrow, they will be in Dressrosa, and Doflamingo will have stepped down from the Warlords. One way or another, his life's goal would be accomplished, and he had only now to be frivolous.

He didn't want to die, but if that's what it took, he'll have something interesting to reflect on in the afterlife.

"I'm going to take my time with you," he grinned, "so don't say a fucking word." He pressed his tongue to your heat and ran it up, fast, wet, and hot.

You let out a sharp cry of surprise, turning your head to the side. Your breath became a mix of panted cries and whines as Law's mouth tasted more of you.

His strong inked hands kept your legs open to him, and you would feel a digit enter you. You could also feel his goatee rubbing against you as he ate at you.

Being unable to see made all of this too intense and startling since you didn't know what would happen next.

What you would give to look at him! To see his expression! To have him glance up at you, grey eyes locking with yours as he dipped his tongue into you!

"Aah, ah, nah. Ah!"  

Law enjoyed the sounds of your pathetic voice as he tasted you. With every reaction you made, he wanted to see if he could get more out of you. He flicked his tongue, then swirled it, playing with you, then used his lips to suck at the sweet honey dripping from your pussy.

Every touch was sweet torment from the lack of sight, nearly bringing you to your end, but Law would only bring you to the edge and then retreat at the last second.

It made you want to scream!

Law chuckled at your frustrated cries and went back to torturing you.

Having enough, your hands reached out to touch him back and get him to give you what you wanted. His dark hair brushed along your fingers, and they curled into the short locks to hold him to you as your hips gyrate in slow waves.

Law growled into you, but he didn't stop and suck in your clit. The scream you let out stroked his pride, making his dick throb painfully. He wanted to drag this out more, but he had to get inside you.

“Damn you,” he mentally swore.

Even when you promise to behave, you always find a way to rebel. It drove him insane, but he loved it. Still, Law was determined to remain in charge.

He moved away from your hands, making you cry desperately, and gazed down at his work.

Your tasty pussy, now moist and pulsing, looked ready to take him in. Law gripped your tied hands and pushed them back over your head while moving over you.

"Keep them there," he order.

You frowned, annoyed that you couldn't argue back, but you didn't move your hands.

You then gasped, almost saying his name, when Law pinched one of your nipples. His mouth then came over your other mound. The fabric became wet, and you cursed the man for making you leave the top on!

The curses grew louder in your head as you felt Law pushed into you without warning.

"FUCK!" Law voiced as you screamed it in your head.

The connection was like a hot wire coming to life as he reached further into you. God, he just had you last night, and Law felt ready to burst into you without needing to move.

And, of course, being the blasted woman you were, you just had to squeeze the muscles holding him.

"F-Fuck! Y/n! Don't!"

You released him and moved your hips. Law gritted his teeth, focusing on not losing to you so soon. You were tired of orders the arrogant bastard kept making. You had something thick and hard in you and wanted to feel the pleasure it could bring you.

"You bitch!" Law groaned when you grind and squeezed against him.

He tried to pull away, but you quickly trapped him with your legs. You squeezed him again, and Law collapsed against your body. A low chuckle vibrated against your neck, then he kissed one of the love bites he had marked you with.

"Fine!"

Law rolled the two of you over so you sat on top of him with you still impaled on his length.

You tossed back your head with a hiss at the new position. Law brought his arms under his head and smirked up at you.

"Since you're so eager, you can do the work. Maybe this will teach you a lesson for disobedience."

You huffed, now really having enough. You used your bonded hands to remove the blindfold and glared down at him.

"I'm going to make you regret those words," you mentally told him.

Law just stared back with that annoying smirk and taunted, "Bring it."

"Mother Fu-"

You lifted yourself up and slammed back down, your hands on his firm abs for support. Law groaned, then chuckled. It would take more than that for him to cave to you, and you knew it as well.

And you knew him.

Law's brow quirked when you smirked back at him. How could he forget that he was in your territory? Literally.

You moved, but you also used your hands to touch your breast. Law swallowed hard, watching you grope yourself as you moved on his cock. You didn't utter his name but he could see you thinking it in your eyes.

You were calling to him, begging him to move with you. To reach that final place. Law was almost moved enough to be seduced by you. Almost, be he stubbornly held back.

He wouldn't give in! Not this time! Not when it could be his last!

Law tried closing his eyes to fake boredom, but then the sounds you made had him want to thrust his hips up into you, but he held back. He didn't care if you brought yourself to your own end at this point. He refused to budge. 

Law would hold on till you begged him to take you or till you tuckered yourself out.

Just like you knew him, Law knew you.

You were starting to slow down, and Law opened an eye to peer at you. He smirked at how frustrated you looked, trying to hold back your orgasm.

"Keep going, baby. I'm not getting tired of this view anytime soon."

You whined, not wanting to cum without him. Only you did. You couldn't help it. All that thrusting you did with his gaze lazily watching you was too much. Damn him.

Law caught you as you slumped forward. He had to breathe through the spasms he felt as your pussy tried to milk him of his seed. His mouth covered yours, and you kissed deliriously at him, taking in his tongue.

He rolled you back over and drew out of you.

"No," you nearly whispered, but Law kissed your mouth to stop you.

"Shh." Law hushed as he undid the piece of fabric at your wrist.

Immediately you ran your hands over his tattooed chest, then up his neck, where they cradled his face. You kissed his lips again as a frightening feeling crept into your chest.

You loved this frustrating, stubborn, ruthless, scheming, yet kind man. Law promised to tell you a small part of what he was hiding from your crew, but only if you didn't speak until he permitted and you nearly lost the game.

Law pressed his forehead to yours and adjusted himself over you.

“Be a good girl for me, Y/n or I’ll punish you again. Understand.”

You weakly nodded, then sighed.

Law then surprised you by tenderly kissing your lips and sighing a smile. Not a smirk or grin, but a genuine smile.

No, you thought mournfully, don't do that to me.

“Let me take care of the rest,” he breathed as he pressed the head of his cock back at your entrance.

Law heatedly kissed you as he plunged back into you. Now that he had you exhaust the defiance out of yourself, you were his to enjoy at his leisure. You held him as he pounded into you, not caring anymore about retaliating.

Not wanting to think what that smile could have meant!

Use me! Just use me and don't give me false hope. Don't show me a dream that can never be!

You didn't care if he gave you another order. If he wanted you to bark like a needy bitch, you would have. You should have just been a ‘good girl’ and let him fuck you till he had enough.

It would have been easier to pretend that nothing deeper was happening between the two of you besides sex.

You still could have if the energy behind his thrust hadn't changed. Still, fast and hard, something felt different. His breathing changed, and the way he suddenly held onto you changed. Law was doing something he wasn’t supposed to do, and it felt amazing.

Damn him! Damn him! You cursed as you closed your eyes to hold back tears.

The heat in your lower belly started to coil again, making you move with him. There was no choice; you had to move with him to respond to his hidden confession.

Law didn't tell you to stop and groaned into your ear, "Go ahead, say it."

You moaned, then breathed out his name.

"Louder," he commanded, then bit down at an empty space at your shoulder.

"Law!" You gasped, his pounding coming harder, growing more desperate.

"Again!"

You were both racing toward that end, ready to fall into oblivion.

"LAW!" You cried louder.

It wasn't enough! He needed more from you!

"Tell me your mine!"

"I'm yours!!” You cried out earnestly, wishing you could somehow get closer to him while holding on to your sanity.

“All yours! I'm all yours, Law!"

Law closed his eyes, feeling himself losing his mind! He knew this was wrong to do. That he was being selfish and cruel to you but he wanted it! This might be his last chance to hear it!

"Tell me-" he started to say, but you change the movement of your hips, throwing his body and mine into chaos.

“Tell-"

"Me-"

Law groaned and grunted as he came inside you as his head came down to your shoulder. You held him, head thrown back with a breathless cry as you orgasmed again.

Tears pricked at your eyes at the blissful rapture you were bathed in and at the selfish request Law had nearly made.

You knew what he wanted you to tell him, but they were words that shouldn't be said out loud.

The two of you were sharing a fantasy that was meant to be short lived.

Saying those words would shatter the fantasy and invite cruel reality.

The reality where the two of you were from different pirate crews and attempting to take down a Warlord and an Emperor. There was no room for fantasy if you wanted to survive.

You stared at the ceiling as you held a panting Law, his length still buried inside you. Tears trickle down from your eyes as you gave him a protective squeeze. 

Law was a logical man and his sudden act of recklessness told you more than you wanted to know about his plan.

Sanji was right.

Law was using Luffy and all of you, but it was something he was willing to die for, and you didn't want to know what it was anymore.

Nothing would come out of this relationship, but Law was an idiot to think you would let him die. Or that Luffy would allow it.

You smiled and wiped away your tears.

“You’re about to find out what all of us are made of,” you whispered to Law as he dozed off in your arms.

(Part 1)

[scrollonso]

Blurb as a follow-up to my tags on this post

I'm really not sure what it is... I had an idea 🤷‍♀️ (like 600 words)

Bez had always idolized Valentino. To him, Vale wasn’t just a mentor or a champion rider, he was a god, a beacon of everything Bez aspired to be. Every time he saw Vale on track, his heart swelled with admiration and longing. He yearned for Vale’s attention, his praise, his mentorship. His devotion was almost canine in its intensity. Loyal, eager, and desperate for any crumb of affection or acknowledgment.

For years, he basked in the glow of Vale's guidance. He worked tirelessly, always hoping to catch that approving glance, the pat on the back that would signify he was on the right path. However, as Pecco began to rise through the ranks of MotoGP with remarkable success, Vale’s focus naturally shifted towards his new star.

Bez watched from the shadows, feeling a cold, creeping emptiness settle in his chest. The camaraderie he once felt with Vale seemed distant, replaced by an aching void. Pecco’s victories were celebrated with enthusiasm and pride, leaving Bez feeling like a forgotten relic, a has-been in the making.

In his desperation, he began seeking validation elsewhere. He needed someone to fill the void left by Vale's waning attention, someone who could make him feel worthy again. It was then that Marc began to take an interest in him. Bez knew the history between Vale and Marc, the legendary on-track battles, the messy breakup that was as much about personal betrayals as professional rivalries. But Marc’s sudden interest was intoxicating, a heady mix of danger and promise.

Marc was cunning, his approach subtle yet manipulative. He saw the cracks in Bez's armor, the vulnerability that Vale’s neglect had created. Marc began to weave a web of psychological and emotional entanglement, playing on his fears and insecurities. He would drop hints, little seeds of doubt about Vale’s loyalty and intentions, making Bez question everything he had once believed.

“Valentino has moved on, Marco,” Marc would say in his smooth, persuasive tone. “He’s focused on Francesco now. You deserve someone who sees your worth, who can bring out the best in you.”

Bez, starved for the validation he had once received from Vale, began to fall under Marc's spell. The rival’s words were a balm to his wounded pride, a lifeline he clung to in his darkest moments. Marc was always there, whispering reassurances, promising to be the mentor Bez needed, the guide who wouldn’t abandon him for the next rising star.

In his heart, he still revered Vale, but the seed of doubt had been planted. He found himself torn between the god he had worshipped for so long and the devil whispering sweet nothings in his ear. Marc's psychosexual tactics were working, slowly but surely pulling Bez into his orbit. The boy’s desire for validation, for someone to believe in him, was leading him down a path he never thought he would tread, away from Valentino and towards the man who had once been his god’s greatest enemy. The serpent of the academy's religon.

Marc’s grip on him tightened, the lines between mentor, rival, and something more sinister blurring with each passing day. Bez could feel himself changing, the desperation transforming into a darker kind of loyalty. He was becoming Marc’s, not by choice, but by a twisted game of manipulation and desire. And as he fell deeper under Marc’s influence, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what he truly wanted, or if he was just a pawn in a game between two legends, destined to lose no matter which side he chose.

[warm-concrete]

Weapon & Wound.

Chapter 2

Astarion x Fem!Reader + Gale x Fem!Reader

Summary: Tav is a druid drow called Fawn.

Fawn gains attention wherever she goes. She's more than used to men that are troublesomely complimentary at best, wishing to revel in her death at worst.

So she's exasperated when she can't divert her attention from Astarion, who acts as though he'd like to do both and more.

Word Count: 6.7k

Ao3 Links: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Tags on Ao3. NSFW Snippet Below.

What a show.

Astarion had been awake all night, still not used to sleeping through it, despite all the battles he’d been dragged into that day.

It had been an incredibly dull evening, trapped with his thoughts by the rain. Usually he’d go find something to hunt and drink but, he wasn’t going to get drenched for animal blood, his hair would be ruined. 

Instead he focused on the one thing that didn’t involve the tadpole or Cazador. He thought about her. If he was honest, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Like the evening they’d spent gossiping, when she’d excitedly indulged his musings on their companions’ blood. It was a strange feeling, chatting casually, she almost seemed more comfortable than he was with his undead status.

Whenever she was close, which was constantly since he had apparently been included in her favoured group to go off exploring, he couldn’t help but become acutely aware of her smell. Her blood pumping, hidden by skin. It was becoming irksome, to know how she felt inside him, the effect her blood had in him. He desperately wanted more, but it wasn’t like he could just ask. 

He was growing better at hunting animals with each passing day. It was almost funny, how he was so practised in the art of luring people but, against the wilderness he was out of his element. Like he was just another predator on the food-chain. But he had to do it, their blood was the only thing stopping him from tearing Fawn apart. Gods! Even her stupid name temped him, teased him. 

After being starved for so long, he found that he didn’t like the feeling of being full. It was strange, unnatural, uncomfortable. It felt worse than the infinite hunger he’d been forced to nurture. Except that one night. Her blood was the exquisite exception.

For the second time in this century, his dick twitched on its own accord. This time, in the privacy of his tent, covered with the sound of the storm he grew curious. Besides he didn’t have any better plans and abstinence was unhealthy for a man of his condition, probably.

Astarion pulled his semi out from his leathers. He spat in his palm and reached for himself. Anything to have her in my mouth again. Her flesh; skin not so tough when warred with his jaw. He pumped slowly, with a strong grip. She’d nursed him drooling and panting and messy, dosing him, nourishing him. His breath hitched. He tried to picture spreading her open, instead he saw another’s legs. This was torture.  

But, he continued, fangs bared as he looked down as himself. His dick was pulsing, straining, dripping. His fist was hammering down, desperate for distraction, to loosen some tension. He was well versed in finding what made another tick, and yet. 

He tried closing his eyes, brow crumpled. A thought flashed; the drow climbing onto him. Yes. Grabbing his neck, tipping his head back. Gods, yes. An unexpected heat spread through him, he was leaking over his fingers. She drew a stake from where one arm had stayed behind her back, plunging it through ribs.

“Ueh.” He whipped his hand away from himself, shakily wiping his hand off over his chest, bare from where his shirt had ridden up. “Mood killer.” He announced to his messy confines. His dick still stood straight, aching for attention but, he was disinterested in what his body wanted. Blood, touch, heat, softness; always so needy, it was tiresome.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed as he lay still. He thought of thumbing through a book he’d picked up but remembered how incredibly dull its contents had been: ‘Thyme heals all wounds’. The spelling had been covered with a dark smudge when he grabbed it. He wasn’t amused when he’d sat expecting some hilariously awful publication, only to find infographics and illustrations about planting a garden of useful herbs. The rain had slowed from a pour, but was still constant, relentless. Although the thunder had grown sparse. 

Thats when he’d heard her.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Salvation pt. 3

Full Masterlist

Roy Kent Masterlist

Roy Kent / Reader - general rating for now... set to increase 😏

Meet the woman who stole Roy Kent's watch... We finally get to some Roy x Reader deep conversation and messy history... This one is ALL OF THE ANGST guys! But the reward in part 4.... whooooo boy! The spoils (🔥) are coming lads, fear not!

This also helpfully covers one of the prompts from my 200 Followers Celebration 🎉! From a lovely Anon who requested Roy and "I won't let anything bad happen to you".

~~~~~~~~

You pick Sammy up. It’s an excuse really to see Nia, your mother/sister/best friend stand in of the last few years. Even if she is practically the same age. If Sammy’s the one who gave you a job and some semblance of financial security, Nia’s the one who recognised the dark hole you were in and lowered down the ladder to you. You hadn’t realised how close you could feel with someone in only three years, but she’d become your ‘person’ almost immediately.

“Darling, morning.”

“Hey, how’re you feeling?”

“Like my ribs have become a xylophone.” You grimace at that. The human body is a magnificent and terrifying thing. When she’d shown you in her baby book how her organs shifted to make space for her growing baby, you’d declared auntie duty would be just fine, thanks. There would be no babies moving your organs around. 

“Nice. Brought you breakfast.” You pass her a bag of pastries. “Is he ready yet?”

“Nearly. Must have changed either his tie or his turban about four times trying to find the perfect combination,” you both roll your eyes and laugh at his commitment to the flawless matching pair. You both knew the answer already - 

“Blue floral.” You confirm together with a nod.

“The fabric is just beautiful. I do feel sorry for the poor bugger who has to make a matching tie for every turban though.” You muse, knowing it’s his mother in law who takes up that mantle.

“I know, right? And he complains that I buy too many books? I think not, pal.” She sniggers.

“You show him who’s boss. Cos if you don’t, then a certain someone else will.” You point at her growing belly. 

“Come on, Sam. You’re going to be late!” She shouts up the stairs. “Dinner tonight?” She asks you, she knows you might need company after the day ahead of you. You’ve disclosed a lot more of your past to her than Sam so she’s already up to speed on the last few days. You nod gratefully. “You’ll be fine. You need to talk to him though, apologise properly - explain what was going on back then.”

“I know. I will.” You hug her tightly and pester Sam out of the door.

Rebecca Welton is a gracious host. Warm, welcoming… you knew the lies the tabloids liked to spread so you knew the whole ‘cold, old Rebecca’ name tag was a load of crap.

“So, I think if it suits you both, I’ll have a cup of tea with Sam and we can get caught up while I get Roy to give you a tour and then we can arrange some smaller interviews with key staff and players?” Sam is beside himself,

“Sounds perfect Ms. Welton.”

“Yep, I’d love a tour.” You accept with a tight smile. 

“Wonderful! Here’s Roy now,” he steps through the open door and is clearly not expecting to see you.

“Thought we had reporters coming?” He grunts.

“We do, Sammy’s here from the Gazette. This is his… apprentice?” Rebecca tells him, “Something like that.” Sam laughs. You take a deep breath before holding your hand out,

“Nice to meet you again.”

“Hmm.” His warm hand engulfs yours and shakes it. The feel of his skin against yours is enough to trigger memories through your brain at top speed - his hand in yours, his hands on your face, your legs, in your hair. You snatch your hand away. “Come on, tour.” You follow him down the stairs and through mazes of rooms, “ticket office, finance,” then out into a wide corridor, “hall of fame.” You stop to look at the collection of memorabilia, making your way slowly past each piece and reading the accompanying cards. You stop fully at the couple of shelves dedicated to him, fingertips resting lightly on the glass. He clears his throat and you follow him deeper into the building. “Locker room, physio, boot room.” He pauses at the boot room. More memories come flooding back. “Remember when we -”

“Yeahhh,” you breathed, “I remember every single time.” You turn away to avoid his gaze.

“We were good together?”

“The best.” You reply quietly, a little sadness creeping in. He pushes the door open and holds it for you to follow. You sit shoulder to shoulder on the bench, both looking straight ahead.

“How have you been?” He asks quietly.

“Better recently. You?”

“Well no one has stolen my fucking watch lately.” He bumps you slightly, there’s the barest hint of amusement in his voice that you latch onto.

“They haven’t tried hard enough then,” you reply with a wry smile. He lets out a breathy laugh that he can’t quite disguise as anything else.

“I wish I could be more fucking angry with you than I am.”

“You have every right to be angry with me. I fucked up. I’ve been angry with myself for as long as I can remember.”

“You really fucked up. I just can’t understand why. I’ve spent this whole time trying to understand why. Because we were good together.”

“I know.” You agree, again. You were good together. You’ve been single since the day you walked out on him, haven’t even kissed anyone else in all that time. He’s the one you think of when you’re alone - he’s the only one you need to think of when you can’t sleep and you let your memories guide your hand down your body. These are obviously things you can’t say aloud, illicit memories you shouldn’t lean on but do. You sigh, he’s so expectant beside you, “How are you so… calm?” you wonder aloud. 

“Therapy,” he mutters with a short laugh.

“Shit, really?”

“Yeah, you?”

“No. Not sure if I’m ready for that yet.”

“Much as I hate to admit it, it helps.”

“Do you remember when you were angling for an invite to Christmas at my mums?” You ask, he frowns a little at the sudden change of subject. You feel him nod next to you.

“That’s when it started, that’s when you started to pull away. I never met any of your family.”

“My brother. You never met him, I never wanted you to meet him. He was there… he’s an addict. He has been for a really long time and we’ve tried everything to help him, everything. He told me that he was in some money trouble with some blokes he brought off. I didn’t have much but I gave him everything I had saved. Then he needed more. And more, and more and I just didn’t know where I was going to get it from, or how to help him. I took the watch, changed my phone number and left.” You pause for a minute to take stock of what you’ve said, you can tell he wants to ask questions but he waits patiently instead. “He was a fucking mess. I made him tell me who he owed and went to see them on my own, told them I’d pay them back myself if they never went near him again. Worked about three jobs, moved back in with mum so I wouldn’t have to pay rent as well, and spent the next year and a half paying them back. I worked 18 hour days, 7 days a week. I literally kept back, like, a tenner a week for myself. I kept a record of how much I paid and when. When we were done I told them so and told them to never come near us again.”

“And?”

“They still turn up occasionally to try and get more out of me, they claim it’s interest.”

“And your brother?”

“We sent him to my uncle’s house up in the North West, he’s been there ever since but he’s clean now. Too scared to come home though.” Roy is quiet for the longest time.

“He must have owed…”

“About 130k. Maybe a bit more than that. I was pretty fucking knackered. I was doing early mornings 4-8am at Maccys, then 8.30-5 with Sammy at the paper and then bar shifts til about 10 or 11 pm most nights. Sam saved me, let me get an hour's kip at lunchtime, and brought extra food every day for me to share with him.”

“Fuuuuuck.” He slumps where he’s sat next to you.

“There is something else.” He looks over in disbelief. You reach into your bag, pull out a sleek, matt black box and put it in his hands. 

“Fuck off?” He slides open the box to find his Rolex, in pristine condition - still ticking. “Fuck off.”

“I went to hand it over to them and… I couldn’t. I didn’t want them to have something of yours. I didn’t want to know that I’d done that, sunk that low.” Your voice gets even smaller, “they tried to suggest other methods of payment but…” you feel his shoulders tense, see his fists ball tightly in his lap, “I told them to give me a couple of months and see that I was good for the money, and if I ever missed a payment then we’d have that conversation.” He wants to know if you ever had the conversation, you can feel it in the air between you both,

“You never have to justify yourself to me.” He says firmly.

“I didn’t do it. Never missed a payment. Had to borrow a bit from Sam occasionally when I fell short, but I was never going to have that conversation with them. Never.” The air feels weighty with the tension, like it's risen up from your shoulders where it’s weighed you down for the last three years and is now hovering around you both. You’re amazed you got through it without tears. It’s been so easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for yourself over the years and wallow in the self pity of it all. Roy on the other hand is still visibly tense, his knuckles white. You tentatively reach your hand across to cover his, using your fingers to unball his hands.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He sounds worse than he had when he asked the same question a few days ago. His voice is hoarse and tight,

“I couldn’t let them know about you. They’d have ruined you. I had to protect you.”

“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I would never have let anything happen to you. We could have sorted it together.” You turn to face him, bringing your other hand to his cheek,

“No love, it was never your problem to fix.”

“If all of this was over eighteen months ago -”

“Don’t ask me why I didn’t come back, Roy. It’s never really over, I couldn’t bring this shit to your doorstep and these dickheads just turn up whenever they think they might get a bit of extra cash out of me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I’m sorry I took your watch and I’m sorry I walked out on us.” You can hear voices in the corridor outside, your times up and now you both have to be the epitome of professionalism while Roy is interviewed. “I’ll get Sam to interview the team and other staff first, give you some time.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve been living with this for three years, I’m tougher than I look. Besides, I’ve got some happy memories of this place,” you admit, looking around the familiar boot room. “I had the best sex of my life in this very room.” He lets out a low laugh, shaking his head. “I would never expect you to forgive me, Roy, but I truly thank you for giving me the chance to explain.” You pat his hand gently and leave a cool space beside him when you slip through the door to meet up with Sam and Rebecca.

~~~~~~

[nuoyipeach]

Off-Cam

Kang Seulgi X Lee Taeyong

requested warnings: none? tags: : @gerardeveryway @gomseulgiii @innssanityyy @seulyongggi

"Welcome to Speed Date Life! I am the director for the show, and I'll explain to you the process with my assistant here."

Seulgi rolled her eyes as she stood amongst the crowd of five other women, sitting opposite the five male participants. Why her mother signed her up for a dating show was an impossible question to her.

"You're so focused on earning money, I had no choice. I'd like to see my only daughter have a family please."

Her thoughts were snapped back when the director continued. "So we've gone through all your profiles as well as what your preferences are, and will be pairing you all as closely as possible. To avoid any mishaps we also had an actual matchmaker help us with the pairing."

She watched as the man pulled out 5 folders and opened one by one. "I'll call out the couples right now, but you will be introduced to each other when we start filming tomorrow. This is just so you know beforehand."

Seulgi watched as he opened a folder and passed it to his assistant. "Please raise your hand so your partner knows you. Jung Jaehyun and Kim Yerim." Two people raised their hands, smiling at each other as they bowed their heads slightly. "Johnny Seo and Bae Joohyun." Another pair raised their hands.

"Lee Taeyong and Kang Seulgi." Seulgi raised her hand, then looked at her male counterpart. The man smiled and bowed his head slightly at her, which she returned before looking back to the front, listening to the final two pairings.

Mark Lee and Ko Eun

Nakamoto Yuta and Park Sooyoung

"So the idea is for the first week you will meet daily, warm up and get to know each other. On week two we will put a couple together in one house, rooms will be separate. From there onwards you can progress as you like, hopefully we'll get some actual results out of you all." The director teased before continuing. "Also remember you all have signed and consented to this idea beforehand as well, but we won't be pushing you or preventing you from doing anything after the first week. And if you do decide to drop out, we will take your issue into consideration. Any questions?"

Seulgi raised her hand almost immediately, and the director signalled her to ask. "Even if we're not sharing rooms, will we have our privacy from cameras? Because if not, I don't see the point of separate rooms." she raised an eyebrow asking.

The assistant was quick to wave her hand. "Oh no no, don't worry. The houses will have cameras, except for your bedrooms and bathrooms. It's only the common spaces that will be televised, like the living room, kitchen, dining, etcetera. Your mics will be on you all times, but during bedtime or in the bathroom you can switch off or remove when sleeping."

After a few more chats, the meeting ended, and Seulgi was quick to dash home. She crashed onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, sighing at the thought of two things.

Tomorrow she'll start dating someone.

Tomorrow she'll become a TV personality.

>>>

The day came for Seulgi's first date with her paired up man, Lee Taeyong. During the introduction recording, the most she could see he had in common with her was that they both loved music and dancing. While she worked as a nurse at a private hospital, he was a primary school teacher as he claimed he loved kids, while also volunteering weekends at an orphanage to teach art.

It's almost like they had completely opposite lives, and Seulgi wondered how would this ever work out. Sure they had the two common interests, but was that really enough?

She checked herself one last time as the car came to a stop in front of the cafe they were to meet in, making sure her outfit dusted and hair wasn't messy. She stepped out, startled a little as she realised a camera was focused on her outside, and smiled with a quick bow before going inside. She followed where she assumed he'd be, noticing another two cameramen near a table by the window.

Taeyong sat fumbling his hands on the table, as if to show he was nervous, she wondered if that was his real actions or simply for the cameras. As she came closer he stood up and they greeted each other, when he suddenly moved to her side and pulled out the chair for her. She stood startled again and smiled, though she still wondered if that was real.

"So..." he spoke up as he sat, chuckling nervously. "How do we go about this? I'm not exactly good with dating."

Seulgi raised her eyebrows, letting out a laugh before responding. "I'm not exactly experienced myself to be honest. This would be my first time dating officially."

The two shared a short laugh, a moment the director signalled the camera men to get clearer shots of. Soon enough the barrier was lifted as Taeyong started talking more about himself first, always making sure to get her involved in between. She noted this action of his, and it made her smile that he wasn't simply going on and on about himself.

So he's not narcissistic, good...

In turn she spoke about her life, and tried to keep it as interactive as he did. However at one point she noticed he simply kept quiet and let her babble on about something she didn't like, though his eyes were on her with a small smile so she knew he was paying attention. Once she finished he nodded and empathised with her, another thing that really caught her attention.

"Do you wanna maybe go for a walk, continue the date?" Taeyong asked once she was finished talking, and she noticed they had finished their coffees. "I know a nice spot we can sit and have a picnic. There's food there too." his eyes glimmered, then suddenly switched to nervous. "Oh, unless you prefer indoors, then there's a nice restaurant nearby too."

Seulgi chuckled, finding his ramble too cute. Unconsciously she reached to hold his hand in comfort. "The picnic sounds nice."

>>>

The first week went well, to Seulgi at least. She didn't feel awkward around Taeyong or get any weird vibes from him. He was nice, soft spoken, funny, polite, a gentleman overall. He also seemed very put together in his life, albeit a little clumsy like when his canned soda exploded and got on both of them, but Seulgi was more amused than angry at the way didn't realise he had been shaking it.

The time came for the couples to move in together. Seulgi was nervous despite being comfortable around Taeyong, because if there's one thing she knew is that one's true self always appears when living together. She sat in the car readying herself one last time before stepping out, greeting the camera as usual, before getting her bags out and going into the airbnb the show had rented out for her and Taeyong.

Just as she reached the front door, it opened showing a smiley Taeyong, who immediately grabbed her luggage from her and leading her inside. "Welcome home." he greeted as if they were already living together, it made her smile at his fun manner. But she wasn't gonna let her guard down this easily. "There's three rooms here, two are our bedrooms. They're pretty much the same but I figured you'd come and pick one first? I'm kinda indecisive."

She stared at him scratching his head, then peeked at the two bedrooms. They were pretty similar, just a matter of front and backyard view difference. After a little thinking, she nodded and went in to the room looking over the backyard, Taeyong following behind with her luggage.

"I'll take this one."

"Great, I'll move in across then." he smiled before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. Seulgi sighed, plopping her body onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling feeling overwhelmed. She suddenly wondered if all of this is a good idea. She's just signed up to live in a house alone with a man she only just met for another what, three weeks? And while they're on camera most of the time, what if he does something to her?

That night, as the cameras were shut off and their mics taken back, Seulgi shut her door and sat in her room in silence. She was considering going to bed early, when a knock came on the door.

"Hey, sorry to disturb you... uhm, I noticed you didn't eat dinner properly because of the cameras, so I saved you some food for later."

He noticed? Seulgi had felt a little insecure to eat in a home-like setting with cameras surrounding her, so much that she only took small portions and ate unnaturally. She didn't think it was that unnatural that she'd be obvious.

She rushed to the door and opened it. "Oh my God, do you think people will notice that?" her immediate words to him as Taeyong stood puzzled.

"Notice what?"

"That I was eating for the camera? It's not like I'm trying to show off I'm healthy or anything, I just felt weird with the cameras there..."

Taeyong smiled and held her shoulder to stop her rambling on. "It didn't look that bad, and I doubt they'll use our first dinner footage considering we barely spoke." he chuckled, albeit a little awkwardly. "But I noticed you didn't eat properly, and they're all gone now, so come down and finish it off. I was craving a little dessert too, heard there's ice cream in the fridge." he left with a smile, leaving Seulgi's heart to flutter.

Stop it, you barely know him...

Sighing she followed behind, and saw how he had plated a new plate of food for her, and two empty dessert cups next to it for the said later ice cream. Seulgi had never felt this touched by a man before. One of the reasons she never dated was because of the things she saw her friends go through, although some did end up with their supposed forever lovers now, there was a lot of trial and error they had gone through.

Stop it, stop it...

She sat opposite to him on the small dining table and started to eat while watching him in the kitchen preparing them drinks. He got some lemonade out for them and gave her a glass. "I hope this is OK, I noticed you don't drink alcohol much, so I got this instead." he poured some out and placed it next to her plate.

Stop it... her heart paced faster, while her mind tried keeping her smart. But she could tell which was winning. She smiled back, nodding at him in gratitude before taking a sip of her drink and start eating.

Taeyong watched her silently, smiling every time she hummed in pleasure at the food. Seeing her able to be in her own self without the pressure of cameras around her. He felt it too, but he could tell the insecurity was higher for her.

"Should we get to know each other better?" he spoke up, getting her attention as she stared perplexed. "I know we kinda did that in the first meeting, but I feel like we didn't really get to talk as much as we should have as a potential couple..."

Seulgi stared a little longer, feeling an odd sense of worry in her chest. "You... you're really taking this whole thing seriously huh?" she asked, her voice filled with doubt.

The smile disappeared from his face so fast, Seulgi realised her mistake in asking in such a tone. He bit his lip, looked down at the table, then back up with a much sadder smile.

"I'm sorry, I kinda assumed you were in it seriously too... but I guess it's better to know now than in the end."

"What do you mean seriously?" she asked, trying to be sympathetic, although she felt bad for ruining his expectations.

Taeyong sighed. "Well, I joined this in hopes to find someone for real. Considering my time as a teacher, I haven't had the best of luck in finding a long term relationship. My friend works in production and told me about this, and I had a lot of paid leaves left, so I figured it's the perfect chance for me to find someone." he stopped and watched her expressions, noticing a look of guilt. "What about you? What made you join if you're not really into it?"

Seulgi silently thought for a while, debating how honest she should be with him. Her answer, completely. "My mum signed me up for this because I wasn't, as she said, taking the initiative myself of finding someone. Truthfully I like to keep busy at the hospital, and... I don't mean to sound rude but I've just seen dating go wrong for a lot of my friends so it never came across me to go for it. When I came into this though, I honestly didn't have expectations, I was just gonna see how everything goes.."

She felt a weight off her chest having finally have been honest bout this with someone. But she still felt bad, feeling as though she wasted his chance at a proper relationship. She warrily watched his expression, noticing he seemed very deep in thought all of a sudden.

"So, you're not entirely closed off to the idea of a relationship coming out of all this right?"

"I guess not?" she answered more like a question.

He smiled again, a little reluctantly though. "Well, we have another three weeks. How about you give us a chance? I am hopeful that after this show we might actually be something. I mean, I think you're a great person, I'd love to get to know you more."

>>>

Seulgi couldn't believe herself as she put her arms through the dress she decided to wear for their date night. Two weeks in and suddenly she found herself excited and putting in effort to look her best, something she never would have done even three months back.

Not that she went out looking sloppy, but the way she was stressed now about looking good, she never would have imagined.

As it turned out, Taeyong was great to her. Besides music and dancing, she found out their shared love of art and photography, and how he was just as career focused as she was, except he had realised sooner he felt empty from loneliness while Seulgi assumed she was simply unproductive.

Another thing she realised, and so did Taeyong, was that she did better off camera, and she couldn't have been more relieved when he didn't bother her with it and instead matched her energy. On camera, they kept things civil and formal, while when they turn off the two get comfortable with each other, talking and laughing to no end sometimes.

Their current date was on camera, and that was another thing she worried about. It would be their final week together in the house, and she was nervous as to what would the end result be. As she finally stepped out of the room, she looked around before going to the living room, seeing that Taeyong had already gotten ready and sat waiting for her.

"Hey." she called softly, smiling when he looked up, eyeing her up and down as if in awe of her looks. "Let's go?"

"Oh yea, yes." he stumbled his words a bit before getting up in a haste, heading to the front door and opening it for her. She chuckled at his sudden clumsiness, but it was something she had learned to appreciate. After closing the door behind then, Taeyong went ahead and helped her into his car as well, and like before giving her the option to pick their music for the drive.

It wasn't any longer than half an hour when they arrived at a rooftop restaurant, where they sat and immediately indulged in the food. Seulgi noticed the director signalling them to interact more, and though nervous she tried her best, relieved again as Taeyong didn't mind it too much himself.

Before long they were done, and the cameras stopped filming as the crew began to pack away to move back to the house, when the director suddenly came up to the two at their table looking strict.

"Ms Kang, I'm not sure how the two of you will end your relationship, but for once could you show something on camera? Your segments are so far the most boring, you're not captivating the audience, I get you might not enjoy this but for as long as you signed up for it give us something to work with."

Seulgi felt her throat close up, as if she lost all ability to speak completely. The man wasn't yelling, but the stern voice was enough to scare her, and all she could do was whisper a soft apology bowing her head slightly. A sudden hand grabbing hers caught her off guard further, and she looked up to see Taeyong standing right by her, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

"We apologise sir, Seulgi just doesn't do well in front of cameras, so please there is no need to cause a commotion. I mean, it's our last week anyways."

"Mr Lee I'm sorry but this doesn't concern you. It is the last week, but we've never intervened before considering her comfort of getting along with you, but as it is the last week our writers and producers have had complaints all around. Like I said, her cuts have been boring, so please just for these last few days give us something to end on a good note."

The crew decided to stop filming for the rest of the night, figuring everyone needed some rest after that slight conflict of interest. Taeyong drove Seulgi back in silence, despite there being no cameras or mics on them, as he noticed her upset. He felt bad, knowing how she was here reluctantly yet she attempted her best yet it wasn't enough, and although he knew where she went wrong, he didn't think she deserved that intervention.

As they reached the house and he parked the car, he quickly reached over and held her hand before she could leave. Seulgi stopped undoing the seat belt and looked at him confused, sitting back comfortable when seeing his sad smile at her.

"Let's sit for a bit." she sighed at his suggestion, looking out the window as he took her hand in both his, rubbing his thumb over the back of hers. "Don't get disheartened, they mean well, but it's not your fault."

"It is..." she suddenly pulled her hand away, her voice filled with sudden bitterness. "It's always been my fault. That's why I'm here, my mother is sick of me being this way, I don't know why I am but I hate it too..."

"What do you mean?" Taeyong asked confused by the sudden outburst, further shocked when noticing her teary eyes.

"I've never been good at... socialising, and communication... whenever someone had asked me out I'd shut them out almost immediately because I wouldn't know how to react. Like as long as we're aquintances or friends I'm good, but then moment anyone tries to go further, I get all closed off..."

By now she had wiped her eyes few times trying to stop the tears running down her cheeks, but it was a failed attempt when she noticed Taeyong handing her a tissue. She took it reluctantly and wiped her face, before rushing to get inside the house and into her bedroom.

>

Seulgi felt bad. Taeyong had genuinely been concerned for her, even stood up for her, and all she did was have an outburst before shutting herself away. Again. She wanted to get back to him, but she didn't know how. She had already washed up and changed into some shorts and a lounge shirt, and she figured by now Taeyong would have done the same.

She wanted to go out to him badly, but again she didn't know how. Not until knocks came on her door and she scurried up to open it, her heart shaking at the sight of the said man holding two ice cream cups and spoons smiling at her.

"I figured you'd wanna have something for dessert, to feel better."

For some reason, Seulgi felt unable to control herself. Before she knew it she had thrown herself towards Taeyong, hand around his neck while her face hid in his shoulder, body tight to his as she hugged him and all of a sudden let out a sigular loud sob. With his hands full, Taeyong wasn't sure what to do but wrap his arms around her as well, slowly walking her into her room to place the ice cream and spoons onto the vanity table and then hug her back properly.

Though he wasn't entirely sure, he felt she needed nothing but an embrace at this very moment. And that's exactly what he gave her as they stood in the middle of the room in silence, still hugging, his one hand around her waist while the other rubbed her back up and down.

After a few minutes Seulgi finally lifted her head up, turning to him slowly as she felt embarrassed from what had just happened. But she also felt calm, comforted, peaceful, unlike ever before as their eyes slowly met. Taeyong gave her a quick smiled, but the longer they stared his smile suddenly disappeared, but not from negativity.

She figured she was still at no control of herself, not when Seulgi realised her face had moved closer to his, noses almost touching as his eyes trailed down to her lips, and before Taeyong himself could think any longer she had sealed their lips together, kissing him softly but with need.

As realisation hit of what she had done, she pulled away just as quickly. "Shit..." she tried to push away from Taeyong's hold, but this time he held her closer and they kissed again. Her hands threaded through his hair, tugging on his locks as their kiss deepened, body's pressing together closer. As they pulled away to breath, Seulgi quickly hid head face into his chest, causing him to chuckle which she felt as his chest vibrated.

"The ice-cream will melt." he whispered, making her look up to his shy smile. "Let's enjoy it, together." he let go of her and grabbed the tubs again, sitting on her bed and signalling her over. Seulgi was confused more than ever, but went along with it.

>>>

The crew were delighted, noticing something was different from the night before, and although it was the final three days of filming the couple, the slight change in Seulgi's on camera demeanor was enough for them to be satisfied. She had been smiling more, especially when the two spoke, and showing more expressions. On the second last day, she even laughed out at the moment Taeyong tripped and dropped his water bottle over himself.

"That's a wrap." the director called out later in the evening. "Good job everyone, and great progress Ms Kang. As tomorrow is the last day, it has been planned by the writers in advance so you will receive instructions later tonight."

They had been in the backyard of the house, having a quick dinner while talking about whatever they could think of. The moment the staff had left, Seulgi started clearing away their cutlery when a sudden splash took her attention, and she turned to see Taeyong, in nothing but his shorts, wading around the pool.

"What are you doing?" she called out to him, putting the plates down again a little further away.

"Come on, it's relaxing. Jump in."

Hesitant, Seulgi thought for a minute before deciding to just go for it. She went inside, changed into a swimsuit she found, and quickly came back out jumping in, laughing as the water splashed into Taeyong's face. She quickly tried waddling away, but he was faster as he chased behind and splashed her back, and they soon started a water fight.

With the sun almost setting and the wind gentle, Taeyong couldn't help stare at the woman in front of him who looked beautiful as always, and a sudden sadness filled in him that it was their last day together, unofficially at least. Unable to help himself, he went closer to her slowly as Seulgi wiped her eyes, her attention taken away when feeling arms around her waist. She looked up at him a little surprised, but his warm smile was enough to put her at ease as she smiled back, her hands now placed on his shoulders.

As their bodies slowly got closer, Seulgi realised he was top naked, and started biting her lower lip with her eyes off to a corner in shyness, causing Taeyong to laugh.

"Are you nervous?" his sudden question got her to look back at him, and she noticed the slight worry in his eyes.

"About what?"

"Tomorrow." his one hand moved to push some of her wet hair off her face. "It's our last night together, and tomorrow... well, I'm nervous." Her hands wrapped around his neck as she suddenly pulled herself closer to him.

"Why?"

"Well... what's your verdict?" Seulgi realised what he was talking about, and knew she shared the same worry. "Do you wanna continue this afterwards?" his questions left her speechless. She came into this program with no motivation on being involved with whoever she would be with. But now she was confused.

Did she like Taeyong enough to have a relationship? Sure they kissed that one time, but they never spoke about it after.

"What's yours?" that was all she managed to let out, afraid she might say the wrong thing otherwise. She watched as he bit his lip, looking down at the water then back up at her.

"I don't want to force you into something you don't want." oddly, his answer frustrated Seulgi, and it was evident as a frown appeared on her face. "I mean, my answer depends on yours, if you don't want to then neither will I."

"You're such a coward." Seulgi let out before she could think or realise what she said, catching herself and him off guard. She quickly pulled away from his hold, backing away slightly before he caught her hand, preventing her from getting any further.

"Why am I a coward?"

"I'm sorry..." she sighed, but figured it's best to be honest with him at this point. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't like that you're leaving the final decision on me. Why is it my responsibility only for our relationship to work?"

Taeyong was further confused, pulling her closer by her arm then holding both her hands. "That's not how I mean it to be. I just don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation. I mean, you said it yourself, you're just here because your mother sent you. I wasn't gonna make you be our reason to not work out, I just thought it's best to figure out our position now so that there's no awkward tension tomorrow in front of everybody else." he sighed as he finished speaking, noticing the slight worry on her face.

That's when he realised what she was doing, closing herself off again. Only this time, Taeyong was determined to break her out of her shell. If their relationship was going to fail, he wanted it to be on proper reasons, and shying away out of fear or hesitation was not going to cut it for him.

He slowly pulled her even closer, encasing her within his arms again as his forehead rested on hers, sending her into shock again as her body froze up.

"Let go how you really feel Seulgi." he whispered. "It's now or never, and I'd regret myself if you hide away again." this time, his lips were first on hers, nothing more than a soft peck. That was until her hands circled around his neck and kissed him back. Taeyong smiled through their kiss, tightening his hold around her as their kiss deepened, happier when he felt her pulling them closer to the point their legs entangled underwater.

Once they pulled away, Seulgi for the first time didn't shy away. Maybe it was what he said that really got to her, or maybe she finally felt open and comfortable with him enough, but instead she looked at him directly and smiled, eyes glimmering with hope.

>

"Let's move on to our next couple, Taeyong and Seulgi." the interviewer spoke as the couple were next to walk onto the patio where she had been speaking to the coupled before them.

It was the final day of filming, and as mentioned the crew had already pre-planned the itinerary, with every couple coming in separately to get interviewed about their experience and outcome. So far three other couples had positive results, and Seulgi and Taeyong were the second last to be called on. She wiped her hands on her skirt, feeling how sweaty they were from sudden rush of nerves, but one look at Taeyong and she suddenly felt better as he smiled at her before they got to the table.

"So, Seulgi, apparently you were quite closed off at the beginning of the show, is that right?" embarassed, Seulgi nodded with a nervous chuckle. "How was that for you Taeyong?"

Taeyong hummed as if in thought, even though he already had an answer. "Honestly, I didn't mind it. Obviously no one would be completely comfortable with somebody they just met, let alone living under one roof, so yea it took her some time but we had a lot of nice conversations. I think that's something I really appreciate about Seulgi, being able to have good conversations with her." his eyes drifted towards Seulgi, who looked back at him in awe at his unexpected answer.

"Oh my, that's quite touchy." the interviewer cheered. "How about you Seulgi? How did you feel about Taeyong after your initial meeting?"

Seulgi was still taken aback by his answer, but she had one ready to go as well. "I think my favourite moments were our conversations as well, especially when it was just two of us. Like you said I was a bit closed off, but on our own time he was still patient with getting to know me, and I really love that about him." the words left her mouth before she could finish, causing her to hand to clasp over her mouth while the interviewer gasped, and Taeyong stared in happy shock.

"Did you say love?" he teased her.

"I meant, your personality wise, like... being patient... uhm-"

"Well, I love your insightfulness, and your laugh." he suddenly replied, and although Seulgi knew it was to defuse her awkward position, which itself melted her heart, she could also tell he was being genuine.

"Oh my God you two must have gotten really close. Can I conclude this as a success story?"

The couple instinctively looked at each other with knowing eyes, before Taeyong smiled and turned to the interviewer.

"We still have a long way to go, but I guess you could say it was destiny."

>>>

"God, you were so cliche back then." Taeyong scowled at the words coming out of his wife, who laid next to him on her phone watching the three year old clip on youtube.

"Yea well, this cliche man was the one who you married, so needless to say my charms worked."

Seulgi chuckled, putting her phone away and turning towards her husband, throwing her arm around his torso as she cuddled closer. He laid his arm out for her to rest on, fingers playing with her hair as they got comfortable enough to fall asleep.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way." they shared a quick kiss, before laying back down and closing their eyes, both knowing he was right back then.

>>>

omg I forgot if this ask is a year or more, so sorry for the delay anon!🙏🏼 like I said, this exam season got my nerves so high I'm binge writing a few things together again lmao so I hope you enjoyed this still! took me a little extra thought for it bcuz ngl I've NEVER watched dating shows😅 so not sure if the format is what you expected (or if it made any sense😬)

[vinegar-rights]

thoughts on my version of little shop of horrors: seymours mother :p (read tags plz)

I like to combine aspects of the 1986 and the 1960 films :3.

He was put up for adoption as a baby, too expensive to care for a child. Seymour grew up assuming he was an orphan and was put into the custody of Mr. Mushnik. As he became older, he figured that he DID have a biological mother and she was still alive. He tried to reach out to meet her, but she refused to keep contact. He never met her until he became more well known, with newspapers covering the story of him and his new special plant. His success reached her and Seymour was delighted to know that he was finally going to meet his mother after so many years. Who knew fame was this powerful?

She requested that he visit her apartment for dinner. The woman was older, with messy gray-white hair and eyes that matched seymours, mousey and nervous. She welcomed her son but not without a quick check-up, only to make sure he won't drop dead right at that moment.

The apartment was messy, but no smell of mildew or sight of mold. A clean-ish hoarding situation, there were boxes everywhere full of who knows what and half-used first aid kits. The lack of bugs is what made Seymour confused, cockroaches were a common bug, especially in more drafty, more run down apartments like in Skid Row. He developed a bit of a phobia, growing up around the critters in skid rows home for boys. Dirty. Gross. Even as an adult he sometimes would sit up in bed in the middle of the night, scanning his room for any nocturnal bugs that would skitter in for shelter from the elements.

Seymour was immediately put off by the kitchen, where dinner was cooking. His mother had been talking the entire time, rambling something about the shop and what was in the paper that day, he tuned her out as he became more aware of his surroundings. The kitchen had bottles full of medicine, pill bottles aligned in rows on the counter, and already there's a napkin out with a glass of water with an assortment of pills that are ready to be consumed.

he noticed Seymour's quietness and slight discomfort, who was gazing at the view of her kitchen. She turned to explain her many issues, bad back, sinus infection, constant cold, her appendix got removed recently, ect. Her explanation managed to visibly calm her son's nerves, but he was still eyeing what was on the stove. Seymour tried not to pay mind to his mother's cooking, she was gracious enough to try to form a connection with him, and even asked him to come over! He turned to her to change the subject, he didn't want it to seem like he was judging her. They talked throughout the afternoon about what happened in the past years, and how they found each other. Most of the conversation was directed at Seymour: How did you find the plant? What kind is it? Oh, its a cross between a flytrap and what exactly? You don't know? You must be getting a lot of press, any opportunities? You were asked to host a TV show?ect. There were so many questions that Seymour wasn't to ask his own, he wanted to know why it took so long to talk to her, where was she this entire time, why didn't she reach out first?

Eventually, she passed him a bowl of whatever was in the pot in the kitchen. He didn't notice any food on the counter. The soup smelled sweet, like cough syrup. He opted to drink more of the water she offered, but he didn't want to be rude, he consumed some of the dinner. She grinned as she ate her food with her son, explaining that this is a staple of her household. The aftertaste after one spoonful made his whole body shiver as if he drank bitter wine. Out of fear of potentially offending her and risking her cutting him off forever, he ate a little bit more, cringing at the taste. Quickly he started becoming nauseous. He paused, looking more closely at the bowl, there was little to no actual food, there was a broth of course, but little to no items that would be the cause of this spike in anxiety and confusion. Something dawned on him. While his mother was watching him in between spoonfuls, she asked if he was okay. He nodded but politely declined any more. His newly reunited mother was either horribly ill all the time or a hypochondriac. He didn't need a high school education to know that. The pills and bottles on the counter were another explanation. This wasn't regular soup. She was drugging him. He sat up from the realization, and his mother became more worried at his sudden change of personality. She asked him if he was alright again, if he didn't like her food. He replied hastily that it was amazing, it's just that he remembered he left the stove on-- no, he needed to check on twoey, around this time her leaves should get washed. She accepted that explanation, and began pushing him out the door to help him on his way to Mushnik and Sons. As soon as Seymour was on the sidewalk outside of her apartment, he turned to an alleyway nearby. Fearful of whatever was in his system, he tried to throw up.

He became experienced when he accidentally ingested pesticide as a child and had to induce vomiting to avoid a hospital visit. He ran home, still feeling some residual effects of the drugs, despite only ingesting a little. The shop was empty and dark, Mr. Mushnik and Audrey went home early that day. He drank water and tried to calm himself. He found himself leaning next to audrey ii's pot, mind racing from the events that transpired. His strange mother, the apartment, the "food".

Tears sprang from his eyes as he thought everything over. She only cared to reach out as soon as he became famous. She didn't care to reach out to what was presumably her only child and never gave an explanation as to why she gave him away. He felt used. Defeated, he cried into his clammy hands. Why is everyone so cruel? Was twoey right? That some people were evil by fault and needed to die? His thoughts were deafening his senses, and didn't notice a vine curl around his body and pulled toward the sentient plant. Twoey could read his mind, which was why she knew what his innermost desires were. Turns out trying to get Seymour to reunite with his mother was a bad idea. He tired himself out after 2 hours, one of her vines snaked around his wrist and fingers, sensing Seymour's ratial artery to monitor his heart rate. He was asleep eventually, blanketed by twoeys vines and leaves. Thanks to Seymour, Orin left twoey satisfied for the past week, though maybe she could convince him again for another meal sometime soon.

[glassrowboat]

If I bleed for you, drain myself dry for a drop of your affection, will you see me then, my love?

-

I believe I've always had a different view of death than many, or at least, those I've met. You see, future me, I have been told the end of it all is scary, that the moment our strings of fate are cut all that's left is the abyss to swallow us whole, but is that truly so bad?

Not to mention, that's not how I picture death at all, anyway.

You see, I don't imagine a skeleton with a scythe, but a woman far more beautiful than life could ever be. Golden hair, eyes brighter than the sun, and a smile that any painter would wish to capture. She would lead those who have passed into the beyond and wish them safe travels as their visage wonders into the distance.

This is what I imagined death as for years, even as I craved her touch, her embrace, but today, I think I might have seen death differently.

Today, death was blue, white, and stunk of antiseptic.

-

The middle of winter was supposed to be the coldest time of all, especially as Snezhaya's winds whipped around the small carriage in were in, rocking with every lull of the anemo Archon call. Back and forth in a steady motion, almost like a crib with a father's hand keeping it ever in motion.

But right now was the hottest you've ever been, even as your eyes fell on the partially open curtain to see through the window. Taught fabric in hand from you trying to find anything you could clutch onto for dear life revealing flurries of snow. For her breath was warm, her hands scorching, her tongue like molten lava as it traced your core.

You couldn't even hear the sound of snow crunching under the carriage wheels as you cried her name.

Arlecchino.

All you were greeted with in response was the feeling of her nails digging into the fat of your thighs.

Casual.

That's what she was telling you, warning you, even as you felt like a meal set before the gods. Graced by their touch as their forks stabbed into you and rose your boneless corpse to their lips. Tasting you as your very essence is swallowed down their throats.

-

The first thing he noticed as Kazuha woke up was a green ribbon, a soft little thing that was funnily enough the same color as his vision, now wrapped around his bandaged wrist. So carefully tied onto him that it seemed if the thing even got one tug it would fall off of him in an instant. No wonder Kazuha didn't notice it being tied to him in the middle of the night. That, or he's just gotten a little numb to the usual chaos and ruckus the others of the crew would kick up right around when he usually fell asleep that his half awake mind wrote it off with ease. His fault then.

But what was truly interesting was that as Kazuha raised his arm, the little tag strung through the ribbon. A note attached? That's what the messy handwriting he had to squint to make out was telling him anyway.

Someone's in a mood then as he just barely made out through the messy scrawl. ‘Find the other four for a kiss! Xoxo!’

Well, that's manageable. At least Kazuha thought to himself as a breathy laugh fell past his lips that was quick to remind him he needed to go brush his teeth. “If you say so, my dear.”

With that, Kazuha kicked the scratchy blankets off of him, letting them slide down and off his feet as the boards his hammock was attached to by metal hooks creaked in protest from Kazuha’s sudden movements.

The first ribbon was easy to find, the color standing out amongst the wooden railing and crimson red sails that have become so accustomed to Kazuha as he climbs to the crows nest every day at some point or another to feel the breeze ruffling through his hair. The wind that would pull and tug at the pages of his notebooks full of limericks, haikus, and flowing words that would more often than not scrawl out descriptions of a certain someone's cheeks as they flush from nights of booze and idle chatter by each others sides. You would always have to find some way to get Kazuha back to his room if you didn't decide to simply give up and let him claim your lap as a pillow.

The absolute gall.

Still, the turquoise color nearly blended with the shining blue sky as the sun's rays beamed down. Today would surely be a beautiful day, he mused as another ribbon was added to the growing collection around Kazuha's wrist.

Three more to go.

It seems this entire scavenger hunt would be easy, despite what was probably your best attempts. It's hard to find spots to hide something when there's a bustling crew with curious eyes and items getting moved around every passing second. That was only further proved as a brown head popped into Kazuha’s vision, long hair trailing after the woman. At least this time, she didn't tug him into a hug that would be too tight to escape from as Beidou cheered to the seas that guided them on their journey from one port to the next.

[bittersqxtch]

Songs and Ships

thank you @athenswrites for the tag! i shall add @imslowlydisintegrating and @taeonysus8 (i really need more writer moots sob sob)

the rules of this tag game: write 2-5 songs that represent a ship between your characters (can be romantic or platonic or a secret third thing). then add a quote from your WIP beneath each song (if possible!).

i've decided that i'm gonna focus on Jae and Jun from TGCT for this since i'm currently working on that fic and this might help me get the vibes right for once (literally on my third rewrite already, someone send help ;^;)

HER - Chase Atlantic

"ꜱʜᴇ ꜱᴀʏꜱ 'ᴏᴏʜ, ᴡᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ʙᴏʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ…ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴛᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ, ᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪꜱ ᴏɴᴇ ᴅᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ'."

this song reminds me of them because, in a moment of vulnerability, Jae makes Jun promise that he will keep hating her until the end of time. her greatest secret is that she is terminally ill (suffering from a heart illness) and that's why she lives every day like it's her last - considering how she refuses bad medication most days, she could drop dead at any moment. anyway, she has no problem hanging out with Jun and getting into messy situations with him because she believes that he will keep hating her indefinitely. unlike her friends, he won't mourn her when she dies - or at least that's what she believes. even when things get a little heated and feelings start brewing, Jae pushes the longing aside and intends to cut him off when the time comes. having a relationship with him would only subject Jun to a great deal of heartache and Jae would much rather he stay as her enemy than have him become something more only to end up wasting his life on mourning her once she passes away.

"Please hate me," Jae whispered, pulling him out of his thoughts.  When he turned to look at her, he was caught off by the silent plea shining in her eyes. "Why?" Jun frowned, confused by her request. "Why do you want me to hate you?" "Because you hated me before," Jae responded quietly. "It should be easy for you to keep hating me even if we start hanging out and acting civil with one another like this." A sad smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she added, "Besides, you never liked me in the first place, did you? So don't change that now. Don't stop hating me."

"ɪꜰ ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ɴɪᴄᴇ ɢᴜʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ��ʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴡʜʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴇ ᴋɪᴄᴋ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴀ ɴᴏᴛᴄʜ? ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ, ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ɪɴ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴇᴛ ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅꜱ ɢɪᴠᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀ ꜱʜᴏᴛ"

Just Friends - JORDY

Jun is the first to breach the thin line between love and hate. being reluctant acquaintances with Jae seems impossible until he finds himself thinking constantly about her, wondering if she got home safely from school, becoming irritated when she's too close to other guys, and so on. he denies it time and time again, half because he cannot imagine that he could've caught feelings for his enemy and half because he subconsciously knows that nothing good will come out of him developing feelings for her. still, a part of him can't help but yearn to cross over that line. unfortunately, Jae is intent on staying enemies. no one said anything about that coming with a few benefits though...

Uh oh, he thought, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. This won't end well. "Hey," he uttered quietly, knowing that he should probably step away from her but not being able to move from the spot. Jae quirked her eyebrow at him. Equally quietly, she replied, "Hi...?" "About my wish..." "What about it?" Jun's eyes flickered down to her lips briefly. Influenced by a sudden burst of bravery, he blurted out, "I know what I want." "Oh yeah?" Jae tilted her head to the side curiously, a small smile playing on her lips. She found his awkwardness adorable, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Instead, voice quiet, she prompted, "What is it?" "...Kiss me."

"ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ, ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ꜰʀᴇᴇ, ɪᴛ'ꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ ɪꜱ ᴍᴏᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ. ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴄʀᴇᴀᴍɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴏᴜᴛɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ɴᴏ ꜱᴏᴜɴᴅ. ɪ'ᴍ ʟᴏꜱᴛ, ɪ'ᴍ ꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ, ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ"

Trapped In A Dream - RudyWade

when they figure out that they are living in the world of a manhwa and that all that they have been through was scripted by The Writer for the plot, Jae and Jun begin to question everything - their past, their hardships, their relationship, and where The Writer intends to take the story next. amidst the chaos, they start to remember bits and pieces of their previous lives and both start wondering whether their feelings for one another are real or if, perhaps, they are nothing more than a set-up forced upon them by their god.

(i have yet to write this section so no WIP writing for this i'm afraid)

[fastcardotmp3]

wip weekend (lowkey edition)

tagged by: @judasofsuburbia @stevethehairington @fragilecapric0rnn @hellsfireclub (I think that's everyone thanks pals 💖💖💖)

rules:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

wips:

(I'm only doing 2 right now because my brain can't handle lots of jumping around at the moment but I'm here to have a fun distraction nonetheless <3)

almosts and such (aka White Rabbit ch. 3)

fluff palate cleanser oneshot

snippet (from White Rabbit):

Eddie wakes up on a Thursday in September, walks barefoot out onto the porch with an unlit cigarette perched on his lip and a shiny silver zippo in hand, and finds Steve Harrington dead to the world on the couch.

Sleeping. Heavy and full in the light of the morning sun, the kind of depth to each breath that makes it seem like he’s not coming out of it anytime soon. 

In another life, Eddie would probably jump out of his skin to find a person just passed out on his porch at nine in the morning, but even if this specific sort of weirdness hasn’t happened before, weirdness in general is sort of par for the course at this point. 

He stands and watches Steve breathe for a moment, considers going back inside so as to not risk waking him up, but can’t quite make himself look away. 

Steve’s half on his stomach, one hand dangling off the couch and one tucked under his cheek, his hair grown out just enough to look mussed and messy but not enough to hide the rare sort of peace which has taken over his face. 

Peace. 

Eddie sits down on the ground beside the couch, leaning against it near where Steve’s sneakered feet knock against the opposite arm to where his head rests, and only then does he light up and take a deep inhale of smoke. 

Steve doesn’t have a pillow or blanket, but he has those ever-present layers of clothing that are becoming more reasonable as the seasons prepare to change over, so Eddie’s not too worried about him catching a chill in the morning dew and breeze. 

He is still worried though.

(no pressure) tagging: @thefreakandthehair @stargyles @capriciouslyterminal @cheatghost @gothbat99 @gideoncharov @kkpwnall @figthefruitfaeth @sharpbutsoft

[neko-naruto]

It doesn't translate the best

Summary: Simon has become Klaviers stand in therapist, he's still blissfully unaware of that fact, but one day, one day its really bad and he realizes he might just be this guys last support to safely speak with.

Warnings: Heavy themes, referenced suicide, referenced bullying, check tags for further warnings.

Authors Note: writing bilingual characters is hell, I used google translate for the German bits, reblogs are always much appreciated and let me know my work is good enough for more people to see.

Klavier always came off as just a bit, blunt, to Simon.

He knew when to bite his tongue, when to be quiet, when to mince words, but it felt like he just said what he wanted around the people in the agency. It was still clear that he knew the difference between don't ever fucking say that blunt and ouch, you're not wrong blunt, and was tactful of when to swap between the two, but some things he regretted saying slipped out. He's called Miles a snob, he's called Phoenix an idiot, he's dared to call Athena scary, and he's written heartfelt apologies after realizing he let it slip out.

He just has a lot of thoughts is his head, is the most common excuse people come up

And sure, Simon had taken note of how Klavier kind of, latched onto him in a sense, just spilling his heart and soul onto a silver platter for Simon to indulge; but he paid no mind as he's been told he just has that effect on people. But when Klavier keeps doing it over and over and over, digging a little deeper into his problems each time, he kind of takes to Klavier in a way that he knows he shouldn't stop; he knows he should keep listening to try and sustain. He doesn't like to know about it, but he likes to know people can keep persevering despite whatevers happened to them.

A month of this has passed by now, and Klavier comes to Simons doorstep with a pair of scissors and a comb, clearly shaking.

"Cut it off, please," and something about the desperation in Klaviers voice made Simon agree despite knowing better, the slight crack and pain in the please, it was to much to decline, "I need the ficken release."

"Ficken?" Simon asked as Klavier held out the two items, he took them, gently grasping Klaviers shaking hands for a second to still them, they were cold.

"German for fucking," Klavier sighed, running a hand through his hair, it was long, twirled a bit, loose like silk in between his fingers and it felt like the physical manifestation of his burdens when he woke up.

"Follow me," Simon stated simply, leading Klavier into his apartment, it was a bit messy, but it looked perfectly fine at the same time, he layered the mess just right, an illusion. Klavier was grasping his upper arms tightly, they were bare, he was lacking his usual flair, dressed very differently than usual; thick pants, a vest, a t-shirt, no accessories, "I like your outfit, although I must ask, why lose the flair?"

"It's a facade, I know you wouldn't care if I dropped it, I presumed at least," Klavier said as he dropped his hands from his arms, stuffing them in pockets to hide the fact they were still shaking furiously despite knowing he was safe here and no one would judge him, or expose him, or ruin him.

"I don't care, I'm flattered you think I'm safe enough to drop it around me though," Simon said as he grabbed a towel, draping it over Klaviers shoulders, the blonde dropping his vest so the towel would rest easier, "do you care if it looks good?"

"Just get rid of it," Klavier said as he stared in the mirror, Simon stood at his side, combing through hair until it straightened enough, and he brought up the scissors slowly, "there, leave that much."

"Okay, you're not allowed to get mad if it doesn't like good," Simon said, angling his scissors and loosely cutting clumps around that length to try and let it keep a bit of body in the process, the visible relief in Klaviers form as it stopped shaking and stopped tensing was comforting to see he was doing a good job, "is there anything on your mind?"

"I-I've been... nicht so kind to mich selber lately," Klavier said, the shake in his form returned as he reached to grip the edge of the sink, fingers spread, scabbed over cuts between digits starting to tear again, the mix of German words had Simon somewhat confused, "und, and the noose came out again."

"Again?" Simon asked as he gently ran a hand through the cut chunk of hair to loosen it up.

"Ja, grade ten, bullies, barely survived, my perseverance was lacking at the time," Klavier said, using his words in such a way it only chipped at his form of self even more, Simon noticed, he trimmed the back nice and short, large clumps scattered as they fell to the floor and Klaviers shake eased up again, then he spoke, "and they knew, they knew I was suffering and they wanted so bad to see if they could push me to die Kante and they won Simon, they won, sie beat me, sie, sie-" a shaking sob shattered his speech as raindrop tears fell from the edge of his jaw.

"Your survival proved them wrong Klavier, they won the battle, but you're winning the war, can you repeat that for me?" Simon asked gently, he rarely got to use this style of manipulation, but he was doing it for the good, he needed to drill it into Klaviers head that he is winning.

"Sie, they won the battle," Klavier said staring intently at the blood oozing from between his fingers, weakness, he stifled a sob, another clump of hair came down, "but I'm winning the war."

"You got that?" Simon asked as he finished the trimming on Klaviers hair, brushing down the blondes neck with the back of his hand, he felt a shudder before Klavier nodded, he caught the red on the Germans face in the mirror, it faded out fast when he rubbed away the dampness of the tears.

"Danke, for lending an ear and helping me just, let it out," Klavier said as he turned to Simon, finding a warm expression in place of the usual cold and stoic one most people see, "Ich bin bis über beide Ohren verliebt."

"Translation?" Simon asked as he tossed the towel to the side, Klavier following him in lockstep, the lack of burdens freeing; Simon sat on the ground in front of the couch, Klavier sat on the couch beside him to an extent.

"It really doesn't translate at all, directly at least, trust me," Klavier said as his face heated up again, completely regretting what he had let slip out, even if Simon didn't understand a single syllable, it was still something he didn't like letting out, even on paper.

"Could you try to twist it just a bit so I could understand then?" Simon asked, gently nudging Klavier, who instinctively reached to run a hand through his hair, he still could, it was just a lot shorter and the way he awkwardly changed the way he usually would was clear.

"Do I have to?" Klavier asked, glancing to Simon pleadingly.

"Yes," Simon said, tone dead.

"I... I'm head over heels in love with you Simon, fuck, I, I get it if you want me to leave now, I'm sorry, I just-" Klavier couldn't continue, shaking again, crying just a bit, Simon sat beside him and the blonde leaned into him.

"No, I don't want you to leave, I don't ever want you to leave until I can be sure you can keep fighting your own war, and now I really don't want you to leave Klavier," Simon said, wrapping his arms around the lithe frame, weaving his fingers with Klaviers, the crust of drying blood coming undone and stinging, he rested his head on the blondes, "promise you'll keep talking to me about these things?"

"I-I promise," Klavier said, going to unwrap Simons arms despite his form still shaking and tears still spilling, "I should be going now."

"Didn't you hear me? I'm not letting you go until you're calm, I don't want you to go home in a bad state and just end it," Simon explained, speaking softly so he wouldn't hurt Klaviers ears, he got a soft nod before the blonde relaxed just a bit in the tight and comforting grip.

[kellshaw]

Author Ask Tag Game!

I'm knee-deep in edits at the moment on Book Two of the Revenant Records, so haven't been able to write all the Deep and Meaningful posts I wanted to. So I'm playing a tag game!

So this open tag came via an open tag @nonsenseramble via @mthollowell-writes reblog.

(Am I doing this right? Should I reblog, reply or just post separately with tags?)

This is about the current book I'm editing at the moment.

What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it? It's about accepting things, moving on, gaining wisdom. Lukie was murdered twenty years ago, made a deal with a ghost lord, and returned to the living lands as an undead revenant. Having dealt with her killer, all she wants to do is go home again. But her father's got a new family now, and the magical and mundane worlds are severed from each other because of ancient rituals. When she tries to reconnect with her father, he doesn't believe it's her. Worse, she accidentally causes his soul to become trapped in the Underworld. Her attempts to get it back stir up ancient curses and malevolent forces.

What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)? It's a secondary world modern day setting. A lot of it is figuring out, "What would elves look like in the modern day" and "how does a hidden occult world work and what does magic look like in an age where most of it has passed?" And "what does magic look like when it's all based on pacts?" I pose a question and try to answer it in the setting. Then take out lots of extraneous world-building, leaving enough for the story to work. Also, it's also heavily inspired by all the urban fantasy tabletop rpgs we played in the 1990s/2000s. I'm working on a game for the setting, once I find the System of my Dreams (I've got through so many....) I've run a few games in the setting, and some worldbuilding comes from how the players did!

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person? Lukie leaps into things without thinking and makes decisions she thinks are the best at the time but have messy consequences. One idea was to figure out how to grow up when you're stuck at being seventeen forever? How do you escape from a mire of supernatural debt that you took on to gain the power you have? And also, how do maintain your friendship going with your former best friend from high school, after he's forced to become your guardian and control how and when you feed on souls? Especially when he's keeping secrets...

How many chapters is your story going to have? 33. There were twenty eight, but I added a POV character to flesh out a plot line that beta readers thought needed more development. It's working out.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it? Original work. I'll stick it up on the book store fronts Amazon, Kobo, etc when it's ready.

When and why did you start writing? I've been writing since primary school, but i decided to publish shorter, urban fantasy crime/thrillers after spending years bogged down trying to write epic fantasy. I have a vast graveyard of trunk novels. Sometimes I think about revising them, but I'm working on building up fiction in my current setting first.

Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? Keep on writing. Write what you like. Find what works for you—writing every day consistently works for me.

What other writers of Tumblr do you follow? People with cool writing blogs!

Uh, do I tag people now? @anomalousfrequency @jgmartin and everyone else, you're all awesome.