#one thing is sure: i’m glad i’ve waited because it wouldn’t be the same if i did it back in high school with a random guy

[in-this-light-on-this-evening]

💀💀💀💀💀

[arlestial]

❝trick me once, trick me twice❞

synopsis : "A lie can destroy a relationship in a second", they’ve said. Isagi would be the first to agree, if he wasn’t lying to you so frequently.

pairing : Isagi Yoichi x genderneutral!reader •— Blue Lock

tw : Fluff (mentions of reader wearing a dress, no she/her pronouns though)

word count : 3.8k

author-note : Hi !! It’s been a while I haven’t written for my favorite 🫶🏻 I came back from my vacations in Austria (it’s probably the prettiest country I have ever visited, by the way) and I’m glad to write for y’all again ! Thank you for all your likes and reblogs on my last post, I was very touched :( <3 Not proofread, I’ve been writing this while my car was getting fixed 😭 Reblogs are very appreciated !! Anyways, take care of yourselves ♡

ISAGI YOICHI’s parents had always told him not to lie. And when he was a kid, he agreed; lying was a bad thing. "It could hurt people around you," his mum said once. While growing-up, he obviously disobeyed, and lied; but he tried to stick to this old mantra of his, avoiding it at all costs. Telling the truth was far more beneficial, after all. Lying would only lead to complications, fights, and an overall loss of trust. And he didn’t want that, of course. Nobody would.

When ISAGI YOICHI and you got together, he quickly became a version of himself he feared to be, a version of himself he promised to stay away from. It was surprising how easily he was lying to you, and how trustful you were, believing everything he’d say. It was utterly frustrating — not because of you being too credulous about his words — but because he wasn’t feeling any guilt at all. Why ? Since lying turned into the most beneficial, advantageous and the quickest way to obtain what he wanted. People can’t be hurt about things they aren’t aware of, right ?

ISAGI YOICHI started his scheming with the weather. At first, he tried to convince himself it wasn’t too perverse, but he quickly realized it was. When you asked him to check the weather to see if it was hot enough outside this evening to wear a dress for your date, he replied yes without even looking. He knew it’ll be chilly when you’ll both get out of the restaurant. But he lied.

You shivered when the breeze hit the bare skin of your arms, goosebumps forming immediately after Isagi opened the door of the restaurant for you to walk out. You turned to look at him.

"It’s colder than what I expected. You said it would be hot, right ?"

Isagi approached you, a frown displayed on his features — he delicately ran his hand on your arm, feeling the soft skin under his palms.

"Yeah, I thought so too. The weather app’s forecasts were wrong, I guess."

You sighed, and at this very moment, he knew you had believed him. He smiled to himself, and took off his coat, draping you with it.

"Here. I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold, would I, baby ?"

You hummed softly, thanking him; he even got a kiss from you as a reward for his kindness. Well, now, he could see you in his clothes and in a dress at the same time, which was definitely a success. He didn’t even have to ask you to wear his stuff anymore — everything was already planned, even when you were coming over.

"I was sure I left one of my shirts in your drawer, though."

"It’s not a big deal, babe. I have plenty I can lend you."

And now he had you, in his bed, curled up against him while you were both watching a movie, wearing his shirt. What you obviously didn’t know, was that you did have a shirt in his drawer. Such a coincidence it was under all of his…

ISAGI YOICHI’s lies didn’t stop at the weather. No, now that he was assured you believed him, he could continue his shenanigans without the fear of getting caught. You are going to eat something warm ? Wait ! You shouldn’t, you could singe your tongue. Let him take the first bite first, just to make sure it’s riskless for you to eat.

"Can I taste it ?"

"You already took a bite earlier," You replied with a lifted eye-brow, perplexed by his demand.

"Yeah, but I didn’t really enjoy the taste, you know. I was too busy wondering if it’d burn you."

"Fine. But don’t take a big bite, I’m still hungry."

"Of course, darling. I’d never."

He carefully took a bite of your food, with your fork — or chopsticks, depending on the plate — humming as he felt the sweet savour you were experiencing just before on his own tongue.

"It’s not bad."

"Right ? I love it."

He killed two birds with the same stone. Sure, he appreciated to eat, but it was irrelevant here. He ate from the same fork as you — so you two kissed indirectly. He was a bit ashamed to lie about not remembering the taste of your food. He did, but he wanted to kiss you. But who could blame him ? He just wanted to be as close as possible with you, and he couldn’t touch you directly all the time. It was a tad embarrassing to ask for kisses, too.

ISAGI YOICHI also helps you when you want to wear several necklaces at the same time. It’s plain frustrating when you try to fasten them without tying a chain to the wrong one. But don’t worry, Isagi has your back. He wouldn’t let you struggle by yourself when he has the opportunity to do it for you.

"They’re tangled, darling."

"They are ? I swear to god—", you groaned, ready to fight with the pendants around your neck.

"Turn around for me," He told you, and you did. Of course. He brushed your hair to the side, allowing himself to look at the ties of the necklaces. They weren’t tangled at all. But it wouldn’t be fun if they weren’t. He removed each one of your perfectly tied chains, before carefully fastening them again — his hands lingering on your skin longer than necessary.

"Here you go, babe," He finally muttered, his arms wrapping around your waist from behind, pressing a gentle kiss to your shoulder, earning a smile from you. His favorite reward.

If lying was that bad, why did it feel so good ?

[corruptedcaps]

Clumsy Me

“It’s a super kind gesture Greg but are you sure there are no other pairs of pants I can wear? Not that I’m not grateful but skin tight leggings aren’t really my style. Plus I know your stepmom Madison ran out on you and your dad like a year ago but she’d kill me if she saw me in a pair of her slick black pants. You’re right beggars can’t be choosers put this is just until my own jeans dry in your machine ok? Still can’t believe I tripped like that, did you always have that foot stool there? Whatever, just give me a minute to change.”

“Well what do you think? You hate it right? Wait you like it? I guess it is kind of nice, it makes my figure kind of pop doesn’t it? I never thought I’d have the body to pull off anything like this. Can’t believe I’m the same size as you step mom too. Could never wear some of the things she has in there though. All that luxurious fur, expensive jewelry, and those plunging necklines, I could never! Oh whoops I’m so clumsy today, I’ve gone and spilled the second drink you got me on my top. I’ll just sneak back into your step mom’s closet and find something to wear.”

“There we go, now I’m all dry and warm, despite this new top not covering my navel. When I put it on I realized that something was missing and somehow I knew this belt would tie everything together. I feel so stylish, like one of those bougy bitches at school. Do you think if I wore this to school tomorrow they would notice? I promise I’ll bring it all back after school tomorrow. Thanks!”

“I know I know I said I would bring the clothes back and I have but I just had to borrow some others. My outfit was a big hit with Cassandra and all her friends, they said I showed real promise! Can you believe that? Only last week they were picking on me. But if I show up tomorrow wearing my usual drab unfashionable outfits they’ll start bullying me again. Plus don’t I look kind of hot in this new combo? I’ve never worn such high boots before or such a short skirt. It’s hard to explain but the clothes just kind of call to me and each piece I choose just makes sense. I never had an eye for fashion before but these clothes are bringing the inner designer out in me and I can’t deny the results!”

“Hey there handsome, I need to get a new outfit for tomorrow. The girls were in awe yet again. They were right too, I do look better without my glasses. My head is swimming with ideas of what to wear, it was all I could think of last night. What do you mean no? Greg you don’t understand, I need to keep up appearances otherwise I’m toast! Plus your stepmom isn’t around anymore! Still no huh? Well that’s a shame, because you know what else I was thinking last night? I was thinking how if I have to come over everyday to change then you and I should have some fun too. Don’t be coy, I’ve seen how you’ve been looking at me. Look how about you see the lingerie I borrowed, see wouldn’t you like to see me in more?”

“How did I get in here? I made a copy of your key, duh! If I’m going to be your girlfriend I need to be able to get inside your house when you’re not here. Aren’t you glad I did, like look at this new outfit I put together, all the girls are going to be green with envy when they see me. One of them was telling me that Cassandra was starting to feel threatened by my style, that she thinks I’m going to take over the clique! Can you believe that? Me?! It is kind of hot to think of though, me taking over a group of girls who used to bully me and taking down the head bitch herself. Mmmm it’s got me kind of wet, how about you be a good boyfriend and get our knees for me. There’s a reason why I’m wearing a skirt after all.”

“You’re breaking up with me? Why? I have not become a bully! Cassandra was the biggest bitch in our school, I just took her down several pegs. In front of the whole school. While she cried. Sure I made all her old friends block her on socials and refuse to talk to her ever again but she deserved it and now that all her friends are mine now I can run the school how it should be. If that means some of life’s losers get bullied then so be it, they don’t deserve my pity or yours. Come on baby I’m offering you the chance to become king, don’t let your morals get in the way of having me as your queen. Fine if that’s how you feel then fuck you loser, you small dicked prick. I only was with you to get access to you stepmom’s clothes, but I don’t need them or you! So long dork!”

“Oh it’s you creep. Surprised to see me in your house? Well I had every intention of never seeing you again but I was wrong about what I said last week. What? About you? Don’t be stupid, I meant about the clothes. I do NEED them! I bought some hawt clothes of my own but it just wasn’t the same. They weren’t expensive and slutty enough. I was feeling my confidence and power draining over the past few days but now that I’m back in Madison’s clothes I’m feeling more me again. Her bitchy perfume still lingers in their fabric and it’s makes me feel so bad! Your dad let me in and said I should just take whatever I wanted. He was just so accommodating after I put on Madison’s tightest clothes and gave him the best blowjob of his life. He said I should come back everyday and I fully intend on doing so.”

“Mmm your father was right, blonde does make me look older, more mature, more sexy. Wasn’t Madison a blonde? Why am I even asking you, it will only distract you from cooking. To think a few months ago I was giving you the best handjobs of your life so I could have access to Madison’s clothes and now I’m your dad’s fiancée and all the clothes are mine! You could have had me you know? You could have had this perfect ass but you were worried I had become a bully or some nonsense. Your father loves what a bitch I am and encourages me to be a mean spoilt brat by letting me buy whatever I want. Having access to his money allowed me to buy the clothes I deserved! That’s why I love him unconditionally. It certainly helps he’s so well hung, something you never inherited. Speaking of which I think I just heard him come in, I think he and I can slip in a quickie while you cook. Stay if you want to watch perv.”

“Don’t look at me worm, just keep scrubbing the floors. Your father and I want this place spotless when we return from our honeymoon but before we leave I just wanted to tell you a secret. I’m pregnant. I have no doubt it will be a girl and I’m going to raise her to be the biggest, meanest slut there even has been. She’ll have everything her cruel heart desires and I’m going to spoil her rotten. She’ll have my fashion sense of course and your father’s ruthless business acumen. What do you think of Maddy for her name, short for Madison? She’ll be such a wicked princess, and you? Well you’ll be here cleaning the floors everyday for the rest of your life. On that note… oooops I’ve spilled my drink all over your clean floor. I guess I’m just so clumsy.”

[3cremepie3]

Slip!

Jade Leech x reader Smut/ fluff 18+

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Synopsis- After taking a fall down the mountain Jade takes care of you! Quiet loving sex with the leech bro.

A/n- I just realized I didn’t write for him. So after weeks of writing and editing here he is. Also p.s this is long ash.

Warnings - mentions of injury, slight dark humor, saliva, multiple creampies, cursing, overall sloppy sex, sweat, strange dick shape

“Welcome Y/n.” Jade smiled down at you waiting underneath a large tree. “Hi, Jade.” You huffed out of breath from the long trail you had to walk to get here. “Don’t tell me you're tired already that wasn’t even a quarter of the way to our destination?”

“Nah that was nothing.” You lied trying to catch your breath. “While then let’s start walking,” you cheered!” You leaped over a large log and onto the walkway. Your boots squeaked as you walked through the numerous muddy paths.

“Thank god I found these at ramshackle,” you noted. “Yes to do these activities you have to have a sturdy pair of footwear,” Jade spoke. “I made that mistake my first time walking up here.” His voice was almost drowned out by a nearby stream so he spoke louder.

“I could barely stand while working at the Lounge the next day.” I know Azul probably didn’t let you have a break either,” you added. “You guessed right but luckily I didn’t have a shift the after so I was okay.” Just let me know if you need a break alright?”

“Right,” you nodded. Jade took note while you both walked even though you saw these same rocks and tree’s over and over. “How do you have so much to write down?” It’s the same scene over and over again.”

“Maybe I’ll find something new one day it’s always good to keep a new perspective on things.” Like, let’s use this rock.” He bent down and picked up a rock. At first, I thought it was a metamorphic rock that’s very common.” But looking closely I can see it’s a sandstone which is still common but still you get the point.”

“So it’s always good to keep an eye out?” Yes, try to find me something pretty we need better pictures.” Will do!” Now your eyes were scanning every surface. You thought of picking up a frog but it leaped away. Then you pointed to a bird but it flew away.

A bunch of mushrooms hung off a branch so you were gonna point those out but he said something that was living. “Ooo found something!” You went to grab the beautiful creature. “Stay just like that don’t move a muscle,” Jade demanded. You did as follows so he could snap a pic. It flew off of you going back to its business. “Come look Y/n.” Aww!” You gushed looking at the butterfly that landed on your nose.

“This is perfect for our club poster,” Jade chuckled. “Hell yeah it is I found you two pretty things,” you joked. “Yup you’ll attract more club members.” Am I that fine?” Yes, are you blind to others' attraction to you?”

“I must because I had not one clue I was the “It girl” or whatever you want to call me.” Do you think everyone just asked you to come to their club meetings with no motive?” You thought back to all the proposals people had given you over the months. You were even allowed to attend their events if you wanted to.

“I thought that they just wanted my company?” I’m a good friend once you get to know me,” you pleaded. “Well you never come so they wouldn’t know that.” Not true I’m here with you today,” you called into question. “Now I can brag to Floyd about this his mood is sure to sour.” I wasn’t ever gonna go to basketball with sweaty high schoolers that are gonna yell at me when I miss. That seems like an absolute nightmare.”

“Yeah they wouldn’t go easy on you,” he chuckled. But I’m glad you're here with me.” Yes even though you scare me sometimes well most of the time!” I still rather be in this club than anyone else’s.” Thanks for coming y/n. For a long time, I thought I would always be alone. But somehow I’ve gained a companion.”

“Yup for now on I’ll be the best partner you can ask for Jade.” Y/n there’s something else I’ve been wanting to ask you.” You paused your actions to look back at him. Before he could speak his expression seriously you got distracted by the rain. It started to fall suddenly and heavily like a blanket of snow. “Does it usually rain on this mountain?” Yes, that’s why I brought these.”

He handed you a yellow poncho. “Up ahead there should be a resting area we can wait there until the rain clears.” Okay, let’s get there fast my boots are getting soaked.” You dashed ahead of him not focused on your footing. “Wait it’s slippery up there L/n!” He tried his best to warn you but it was too late. You already slipped on the stone steps. “Fuck why did I wear high waters!” You cussed looking at the gash in your leg.

“I’ll clean up your wound soon.” For now, let me carry you.” Are you sure I’m pretty heavy,” you warned. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he shushed you. Afterward, you didn’t protest as he picked you up bridal style. Despite the added weight, his steps were stable and he didn’t slip. “I'm sorry Jade I didn’t mean to be dead weight.”

“We got our mission accomplished so I don’t mind.” Besides you’re not heavy.” He bounced you up and down in his arms. “Ah,” you screamed thinking you were gonna fall down the hill. “I forget how strong you and your brother are.” You could probably deadlift Jack.” He didn’t look anywhere near tired even after bringing you further to the rest stop.

Which you now saw was a supply shed. He dropped you on a recliner that was in the corner. “This is your idea of a rest stop?”

“Yes now Stay still,” he directed. He pulled a small first aid kit out of his backpack. “At least someone came prepared.” You laughed at yourself who only brought your outfit and a half-eaten granola bar. “I always get hurt while up here.” Especially when I was newer like you I scraped my legs a lot.” I know just the thing to treat your injuries.”

He pulled out a small bottle of alcohol. “This is going to sting .” He explained to you all while holding that same unreassuring smile. “Wait!” I’m scared.” Sorry I know I’m such a baby,” you frowned. “This has to happen Y/n I’ll be here to guide you through it.” Fine just do it,” you blurted.

He began to pour the alcohol on the scrape. You grabbed his hand out of instinct squeezing tight on the large and long fingers of his. “All done.” He patched you up thoroughly then leaned your leg on the chair. “I think we should stay here until morning.” My weather predictor says there’s gonna be a storm.”

The whole time he was talking you couldn’t focus since you just now realized you were holding his hand. “Such a gentleman,” you spoke aloud. “What was that,” he interrupted. “I didn’t think I said that so loud… but I did mean it.” Thanks for all your help Jade I would’ve probably had to camp in some tree stump if you weren’t here.”

“I’m not so good at taking care of myself. But your pretty caring I can see that in the way you treat Floyd.” Thank you that was nice of you Y/n and… “About that thing earlier Y/n that I was trying to tell you.” Oh yeah, you weren’t able to finish I’m sorry that I interrupted you.” No problem as long as your listening now.” He clasped his other hand over both of yours encasing them with warmth. “I didn’t need your help to take pictures for the club.” I brought you out here for another reason.”

Silence filled the shack and the only thing you could hear was the rain tap in the background. “You brought me in these secluded woods to eat me?” You joked thinking it was funny but other questions ran through your mind. What was he planning to do with you? Was Jade asking you out? Your mind couldn’t even process it correctly. You stayed frozen in shock for a minute before his lips on one of your knuckles brought you back to earth.

“I hope you can find it in you to answer me.” It doesn’t have to be soon I’ll wait however long it takes.” Wait you’re serious Jade this isn’t some rude prank or scheme you and Azul boiled up?” No, I would never go as far as I plan to go with you,” he admitted.

“Just how far do you plan to go?” You smirked catching his flirtatiousness. “If your comfortable I wanted to try third base?” But today I’ll only be servicing you, my sweetheart.” He leaned over on the corner of the chair to kiss you.

While doing so his hands trailed down lifting your legs to each side of the chair. He sat up then squeezed himself in between your legs. Now he was impossibly closer smothering you into a drool-sharing kiss. You could feel him smile against you as you begged for air against him. But his tongue held you in a tight lock.

Your hands clasped his hair and your legs locked around his back. For a moment you even forgot about your injury blinded by lust. Finally, you broke apart. Worn out from the heat of the moment your leg dropped remembering the pain it once beard.

Jade looked at you one last time for permission before sliding your pants off. If only you’d known you would’ve worn your cutest panties. But Jade didn’t seem to give a damn after kissing your clit through them. “I did bring you deep in the woods for this.” Somewhere far where I know no one will bother us.”You shivered at the straightforward action while he laughed finding you too sensitive for your good.

“Try to stay still,” he directed. Even after his direction, you were still squirming in his strong grasp as he liked up your panties. His fingers lightly followed the path he made. Your underwear was completely drenched in your essence by the time he pulled them to the side. If he didn’t have patience he would’ve torn them off but he much preferred to keep their ruin so he could use them later.

He spat a globe that rolled down to your fluttering hole. You watched his every move your body reacting to every movement of his in anticipation. He paused completely his fingers just a few centimeters from your clit. He wouldn’t be a leech if he wasn’t at least a bit malicious. The noises falling out of your mouth were embarrassing. Jade could tell how uneasy you felt as his other hand worked his way up your shirt.

Your bra soon fell on the chair. You gripped the sides for support so your hands wouldn’t tangle in his hair. You wanted nothing more than to slam his head down on your cunt. You could feel his heavy breathing as his sight focused on yours.

“Please I can’t wait any longer,” you groaned. If you didn’t have such a grip on the chair then you would’ve touched yourself by now. “You’re so impatient.” You just really want my tongue that bad huh?” Yes please, I need you.”

“Just wait a little longer.” He kissed the area around your hole. You waited for what felt like forever you were even more soaked than the ground outside by now. You couldn’t wait for another second his smooching was too stimulating. Your hands moved from the side of the chair and into his hair.

You would probably come to regret it later but for now, you needed the pleasure. He groaned his supply of air being cut off since you stuffed him in your fat cunt. “Ahh finally,” you whined. “You’ll come to regret this later once I start I won’t stop.”

He wasn’t lying he licked you in all the places you needed until you were creaming all over his tongue. The first time you felt good your orgasm was powerful. You tightened the grip on his hair. The second time felt odd to you. Never before had you been so sensitive after an orgasm.

Your clit which he rolled around meticulously was now throbbing. “This feels weird.” You mewled feeling a new sensation rocking through your body. “Just let it all out no need to hold back.” Your body began to spasm your back arched off the chair and your head fell back. You hadn’t realized what you’d done until you looked down at Jade's ruined face.

“Ah, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make a mess.” You tried your best to help him reaching for a shirt to dry him off. But his grip on your legs tightened. He forced them back open again and began to feast. Maybe it was the merman in him but he loved it when you squirted. So he was gonna make it happen again.

Only this time his fingers filled your hole pumping you while his thumb rubbed on your overworked clit. He moved them faster and faster until the familiar feeling came back to you. “So good! So good, so good,” you chanted. He was hitting a spot you never thought you could reach.

Your juices dripped down his fingers but he didn’t care continuing to pump in and out of you. “Wow, I can’t believe it’s possible to get this wet.” You're making a mess everywhere but it’s nothing I can’t lick up.” It took you until now to notice his tongue wasn’t normally shaped. You couldn’t tell since you’ve never gotten head before. It was long and pointy enough to make your toes curl as it filled you.

He switched in and out with his tongue and his fingers his pace was slow. But the preciseness of it all had your legs crushing his head in between your thighs. Another orgasm hit you and he achieved his goal of making you squirt again. “I don’t think I can cum anymore.” That’s an impossible statement Y/n of course you can still cum look at how you're taking my fingers.”

Despite your begging, he didn’t let up erasing orgasm after orgasm out of you. You lost count of how many times you came your mind turning to mush. The sounds of your lovesong intensified as did the thunder that almost shattered the window. But you knew you were safe in his grasp. Your body jolted with each vibration his tongue let out.

You bit your hand embarrassed by the sounds you were making. But he removed your hand from your mouth. If you had to hear his groans as he ate you out he wanted to hear your reactions too. “Let me hear how good I make you feel.” Or I’ll stop altogether,” he threatened.

“No please don’t stop,” you begged. If you could feel this good just from his fingers how would his dick feel? It was all you could think about. You became unaware of your surroundings letting the pleasure take over.“I need you to fuck me.” Please I’m begging you!” Anyone walking nearby could probably hear you scream these slutty statements but you couldn’t care. Not when he complied pulling away from you. His face was smeared with your juices and his hair was ruffled. He looked a mess but nowhere near as worse as you.

Your mascara was running down your face for quite a few years fell. Also, your lips were swollen to perfection to him they looked biteable. And your body was hot and flushed with sweat it added a glow like no other to your beautiful skin. However, at the moment you couldn’t find a reason to hate it. Maybe the moonlight and the rain consumed you. Or maybe it was the kiss he pulled you in. The aftertaste was strong this time since you could taste it yourself.

“I have something to share with you before we continue.” What’s that Jade,” you said hastily. “My dick is different than most people.” It’s one part of me that only half changed when I turned human. That’s why I didn’t want to just pull it out.”

“You’ve already excepted every imperfection of mine.” So, of course, I’ll accept yours baby.” His smile returned to his face. He was quick to pull his cock out his pre dribbled on your thigh.“Okay,” you huffed. You were hesitant he was large as you expected but way thicker than you could handle. His cock had ridges that you could feel as your fingers traced. As you felt it he began to get slimy.

“I can’t wait much longer Y/n are you ready?” I- I don’t know if I can handle this.” I made you lose enough now relax love.” He slipped his cock into you after a little resistance. Immediately you tensed the stretch knocking the air out of your lungs. But after a few of his sloppy strokes, you felt good. Your cunt which had previously been prepared was now slimy with his slick.

“How are you feeling Y/n?” He already knew the answer by your face. Your eyes were rolling in the back of your head. He was hitting so deep inside that you began to see white. It didn’t take long for you to cum. He was quick to follow. His cum flowed back in and out of you as he continued to fuck you threw his orgasm.

Your body collapsed to the side of the chair. He lifted your leg so he could still have access to you’re drowning cunt. His strokes were slow and his hips snapped forward once your cunt craved more. You were both still sensitive from your highs that occurred not even a couple of minutes ago; consequently, the round was short.

The base of his cock was covered in a ring of your cream. Things weren’t only looking sloppy but they sounded sloppy. The sound of wet smacking filled the walls. Your body was tired but somehow you were able to keep up with his thrust throwing your ass back on his toned body. You didn’t having speak since you were able to see every emotion he wanted to convey through his smile.

He littered your neck with kisses and you littered his body with scratches. You would have felt bad but he didn’t care. The pain was nothing to him all he could feel were you milking him dry. His dick throbbed inside you. You could feel each vain and ride budge as he came inside you once again.

“I can't stop now not ever,” he whispered. “Please stay with me and take it.” His hand moved your head which was rolling back to his. “Don’t pass out I know it feels good but you gotta stay with me.” He spoke while thrusting into you. Your body was overstimulated each time he moved you gushed at him.

This continued after you moved through many positions. it didn’t matter how outlandish they were as long as he could see your face. Your injuries weren’t considered they couldn’t matter right now. “It’s too dark to leave we would get stranded.” He decided but you could tell it was just an excuse to stay with you and keep making love.

Before you knew it the morning had swept over you both. You awoke both of you collapsed in the chair. You were cockwarming him so you removed yourself from the previous rounds of cum he loaded into you dripping out.

“So this wasn’t a dream,” you confirmed. “Well, I’m glad I slipped!”



[mjolnirswriststrap]

Video Games

Bucky Barnes x Married!Reader x Steve Rogers

Masterlist Part 1/2

Summary: Running an advice blog often led you to solving others problems for them. So who do you turn to when your husband’s best friend is there every time you close your eyes?

Word Count: 2,026

Warnings: Cheating, Infidelity, Be prepared to wear the scarlet letter. Possessive husband!steve, throwing moral code right out the window.

“On Next Week’s Reader Submission….

“If you don’t let me get past you bitch, I’ll make you move.” I hear my fiancées friend say over game voicechat. I don’t know why but it stopped my brain in its tracks. Why did it instantly turn me on? Why did my brain wonder how exactly he would do that. My mind corrected itself because I know he was talking about a character in the game. But I instantly Imagined what if it was me, standing in his way? And he offered the same threat.

Pictures of him standing over me, looking down angrily while I stand there unmoving. I cleared them from my brain, stopping them in their tracks. My fiancé sits beside me, how sinful and disgusting of me to momentarily fantasize about his friend.

If only it wasn’t momentarily, it’s much worse. I’ve always sat and listened in on their banter. Most of the time it was amusing, their rage making me laugh because I can’t understand how a game could make them so upset. But sometimes that same rage was channeled through explicit language. I couldn’t count the amount of fucks, bitches, pussies, and obvious euphemisms; you’re not going nowhere, get on your knees for me, and the ones that I’m not proud of being, fucking stupid bitch, little pussy doesn’t know how to fight.

His words are meant for a 40 year old man playing video games in his basement, not me. But I fantasized about what if they were, always cutting my imagination short. It’s been an ongoing thing. I have to tell someone, and I thought ‘who else than my favorite advice blog?’. We know you keep things one hundred, that’s why we all come to you with our most pressing issues. What should I do Y/N? Do I keep pushing the fantasies away or let my brain have fun? Should I let my mind wander so my body never does? I don’t want to cheat on my husband but I cannot deny the way some of these words roll off his lips, it does things to me.

Love, A Long Time Reader x”

You finish typing the newsletter, sending it out, biting your nails waiting for the comments to roll in. Your readers aren’t very gentle, they like to call you harsh, but their words kept you from sharing a lot about yourself. Deciding to craft yourself into the persona they want. You wonder how they would respond to this, would they encourage it like feral women in heat or world they prude up and shame the submission for being dishonorable?

You tapped your nails on your desk waiting, after ten minutes of staring at your screen you finally decide to refresh, and like magic, 127 comments are ready for viewing. Your eyes dance across the screen eager to see the response.

“Sounds like she needs her husband to step it up in the bedroom.”

“She’s obviously not in love with her fiancé if she fantasizes about another man.”

“I think she should let her mind be free! Go for it girl! As long as you don’t act on your thoughts, you aren’t doing anything wrong.” You smile at the supportive comment.

“I sure hope Y/N tells this girl the honest truth, she’s cheating on her boo, don’t let her think this is acceptable behavior.” You sigh at the truth of that comment.

“Really wouldn’t consider it cheating, the reader is overreacting.” You hum at that one, raising your eyebrows.

Their comments gave you much to think about for your response the the submission. You close your laptop, feeling accomplished, posting that newsletter was like a heavy weight off your shoulders, you’re glad it’s done. You stand and stretch, your office was already dark and you turn off your rain machine as you exit, closing the door behind you. You shuffle down the stairs, the walls were echoing with the sound of men cheering. You walk into your living room, to be surprised by Bucky sitting on your couch beside Steve.

“Hey honey, finish your paper?” Steve throws the words over his shoulder, instantly focusing on the screen again. You didn’t even have time to answer before you were cut off by Bucky. “Dude I literally get no help, I’m on point and the whole team is fucking off.” The smashing of buttons fills the silence after.

“Huh?” Steve says, acting as if Bucky didn’t just shatter your ear drums. You smile at him, “Yes baby, hit send and closed my laptop, I was too tired to read any comments.” You laugh it off. You always read the comments, he knows that, so you had to come up with an excuse tonight. If you didn’t, he’d ask what they said, and that would mean you have to tell him what the articles about, which would be even more embarrassing to do infront of Bucky.

He nods, letting you off easy because his mind is preoccupied by the combat he’s partaking in with his friend. The game ends and Bucky stands up throwing the controller onto the cushion. “I’m done playing, the little bitch is cheating, fucking dumbass.”. He turns around and seems shocked by your presence behind the couch. He must have not heard you talking to Steve, over his focus or own voice. “Sorry.” He says when you stand there staring at him. It wasn’t because what he said actually shocked you. It’s because the words were perfect for the situation.

“You’re fine.” You say, not being able to look him in the eye for long. Too afraid that he might be able to read your mind. Leaning over the back of the couch, you grab Steve’s face and kiss him deeply. “Goodnight baby, don’t stay up too late.” You keep your grip on him, holding his stare till he agrees. “Where’s my kiss?” You hear from beside you. You jolt up pressing your brows together. “In your dreams pal.” Steve cuts in.

You fake laugh, looking up at Bucky. His smile told you he was joking, but you wish he wasn’t. You leave before another word is said. Walking but up the stairs to your shared bedroom with Steve. “Okay a couple more and then I’ll leave.” You hear Bucky offer as you make it to the top step. “Fine, but I have to make a pizza, my stomach is rumbling.” Steve says as you close your bedroom door.

You strip yourself of today’s outfit, jeans and a white fitted button down, tying your silk robe around yourself. Just as you’ve slid yourself into bed the door opens, it must be Steve coming to properly say goodnight to you. “You’ve come for more kisses?” You say when you feel him slide under the covers with you. You could feel his cold metal arm wrap around you and your eyes widen. “I’ve come to get my goodnight kiss.” He says, pressing himself into your back.

You press your eyes closed, and when you open them he’s gone, there’s no trace of him in the bed. You sit up quickly, you could’ve swore he was right there. You must have imagined it, but it felt so real. Looking around the room you take a deep breath, the door was still closed, and you could hear two voices shouting in the room beneath you.

With a sigh you lay back down, closing your eyes. You force the thoughts from your mind, you’re good at that. After about an hour you hear a door open and it rustles you from your sleep, this time you were fully in a sleep filled stupeur. Steve should’ve come up to bed by now, he probably fell asleep on the couch like he always does.

You shuffle downstairs, it was already dark in the house, at least he turned off the lights before passing out. You laugh at how silly your husband could be. Just as you expected you see a long lump on the couch, covered by the blanket you crotchet’d last Christmas. You walk over to him, laying on top of the blanket and whispering gently to wake him up. “Stevie, baby, come to bed and cuddle me.” You reach up to pull the blanket off his head but he does it before you can.

You let a gasp escape your lips when your eyes connect with blue ones; but they’re not your husband’s. You freeze in your spot, holding your breath, too embarrassed to say anything. Bucky stays silent too, but you feel his warm flesh hand wrap around your hip, and your eyebrows shoot up. “We could cuddle right here, doll.”.

You move to stand up, but he uses his metal hand to wrap around you, pulling you back down ontop of him, even closer than before, you could feel the different contours of his body, pressing into you. “I thought you were Steve, i’m sorry.” You say, not breaking eye contact with him. He huffs out a laugh and you can smell his cologne, it burned your nostrils in a good way.

“I’m not.” He says, scooting down slightly so your face is positioned more above him. You lift your hands, pressing them down on his chest. “Steve could see at any moment.” You whisper, finally realizing how bad this looks. “Isn’t that the best part?” He says, leaning in and pressing his lips to yours. You feel jolts of electricity run from your lips down to your core. He’s right, the fear of getting caught turns this from embarrassing to the hottest thing you’ve ever done. You move your lips with his, testing him out. When he feels your participation he lets his flesh hand slide from your hip to your ass, giving it a firm squeeze.

You don’t know who you are in this moment, you’re just doing what feels right. Bucky nudges his tongue into your mouth and when you give him access you hear the shower turn on upstairs. Steve must have went to the bathroom before coming to bed. You break the kiss. “I really should go.” You pull yourself away from him, against your whole body’s will. He sits up with you, not willing to let you leave just yet.

“Wait, we have a couple minutes at least. Just stay.” He says, taking deep a breath. You stare into his eyes, trying to read his seriousness, he looks completely fucked out, lips red and swollen, sweat covering his forehead and his cheeks a deep shade of pink. “How long have you felt this way?” I ask quietly, shifting on his lap.

He shrugs his shoulders, not being able to put a date and time on it. “Let’s just say, I’ve always wanted what Steve had.” He says into your ear, nudging your hair off your neck with his nose. He places a wet kiss to your pulse point, letting his hands roam your body, you couldn’t push him away if you tried.

When you hear the water cease upstairs you finally stand up from his lap. Taking a large step towards the stairs. You hear his whisper yell from across the living room, “This isn’t over, tease.”. You tiptoe back up to your room, closing the door behind you without a click from the knob. Just when you’re about to slide back into bed you realize Steve will smell Bucky on you. You hear the bathroom door open and you quickly rip your silk robe off, kicking it under the bed and you practically jump into bed, closing your eyes and trying to get your heart to stop racing.

Steve steps into the room, and you can hear his heavy feet step towards the bed, throwing back the covers and sliding in beside you. “My baby.” He says even though he thinks you’re asleep. He reaches out and pulls you close to him, humming into your hair. You pretend to sleep, while he gets comfortable in the bed. He takes seemingly one last breath that has you holding yours.

“Why do you smell like Bucky?” You feel him go ridged against you, “Quit pretending to sleep.”.

[sakusaur]

first time?

rin itoshi x fem! reader

a/n: first piece of rin! hope you guys like it :) will definitely continue from this piece

you are part of blue lock’s logistic team and your role at the facility was to make sure BLUE LOCK MAN was operating perfectly, ensuring the players have enough equipment and to make sure the whole logistics was taken care of.

sometimes you bump into the players in the hallways as they head to the different training rooms and they throw you a shy smile, as its been a long time since they’ve seen a girl. you bow slightly at them as a polite greeting but never strike conversations with them until one day, where you accidentally bumped into two players as you were heading out of a training room.

“oh sorry!” he says, and you quickly apologise too. you quickly stepped out of their way and turned into the hallway until the boy calls out again.

“hello! you’re one of the staff here aren’t you?”

you paused and did not turn around as you weren’t supposed to be having conversations with the players as it might cause a distraction as stated clearly on the contract you signed.

“stop bothering her. she’s clearly busy.” the other player said grumpily.

“oh sorry,” he apologises again,”i didn’t mean to bother you but i just wanted to thank you for your help! i’ve seen you going around checking the equipments.”

that was such a nice thing to say and it’s the first time someone has thanked you so sincerely in the past few months, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to him. so you turned back around and bowed slightly.

“thank you, i’m glad you are using them well.”

you recognised the both of them from the screens they broadcast in the viewing room where ego usually camps in. isagi yoichi was the one who thanked you while rin itoshi was the one who told him off.

and you’re blown away by how rin itoshi looks like up close (he doesnt look this pretty on screen). though his hair is slightly sticking with sweat to his forehead and covering his eyes, you can still see his bottom lashes peeking out and he looks absolutely adorable with semi-flushed cheeks.

“yeah we definitely appreciate it….” isagi runs off, waiting for you to fill up the blank with your name.

“y/n, i’m on the logistics team,” you say.

“well thanks, y/n!” isagi says again and knudges rin, “c’mon say something to her.”

you fidget with your finger nervously as you look at rin who looks like he has a scowl on his face but at the same time he looks embarrassed? after a few awkward moments, isagi nudges him harder and almost glares at him till he decides to speak up.

“thanks, y/n”, rin glances at you and quickly walks away when he noticed you were staring at him. isagi starts grinning ear to ear and says goodbye to you before he catches up with rin who has already speed walked a few hundred metres away.

what a weird interaction with the best player in blue lock, and it certainly won’t be your last.

moments before…..

isagi was about to ask rin what on earth was he doing standing outside the training room and peeking behind the door and when he called out rin’s name, rin immediately jumped and shut the door behind him, running up to isagi to put a hand over his mouth.

“what are you doing!” isagi struggles to say that while rin tries to silence him.

“can you shut up for a moment you big mouth?” rin shushes him and lets him go when he’s sure that isagi is able to keep his mouth shut.

“okay so what are you doing standing outside the door?” isagi whispers and tries to peek behind the door. this is the first time he’s seen rin acting all suspicious and- oh he sees you behind the door, checking on BLUE LOCK MAN.

isagi is really smart so he pieces everything together, its either rin is afraid to talk and chase someone out or he has a crush. it is obviously the former because why would rin not chase anyone out of the field when he really wants to practice.

“oh! oh you-!” isagi tries to say it out and rin knows he’s screwed so he tries to wrestle isagi down but isagi lost his balance which led him to bump into you as you opened the door behind them.

[xxlady-lunaxx]

Sanemitsu but make them the obamitsu dying scene with Mitsuri dying in Sanemi's arms and him watching the love of his life slowly die.

a bit late in responding bc..bc this is sad

The moment Muzan’s body disappeared, Sanemi found himself searching. He wasn’t quite sure for whom, or what, except that something in his brain told him he couldn’t quite rest yet. People around him were celebrating, relief crashing through them simultaneously. But he couldn’t quite share their tired cheering. For some reason, he was panicking. It didn’t hit him why for a long moment as he scoured the chipped ground, but then his eyes caught onto an unruly mess of pink and green and a surge of adrenaline made him stumble forward. Someone tried to stop him as the mix of Slayers and Kakushi came to their senses and began the tedious trek of recovery. Sanemi managed to just barely slip around them, using the fact that he was slippery with blood to duck out of their hold. They called out to him, probably worried for his state, but he ignored their calls, already by Mitsuri’s side. He knelt down, hissing as the rocky ground dug into his raw skin. Mitsuri seemed to notice him now, turning on her side. She was absolutely drenched in crimson, her usually pristinely white haori now tattered and soaked through. She was alone, having been deposited to someone to heal her during the fight but, presumably, they’d left to find help. Her smile was faint as she caught sight of Sanemi.

“The sun is up,” she mumbled, eyes half lidded. Sanemi gaslighted himself into thinking it was from the sunlight. “Did we win?”

He scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. He couldn’t tell whose body was the most fragile. Mitsuri felt unnaturally light, as if the blood loss had lessened her weight. Perhaps that was how Sanemi had made it here. His own body felt as if it could float away at any second.

“We did,” Sanemi rasped. His head ducked down, limp and exhausted. He managed a vague smile. “Fuck yeah, we did.”

“I’m glad,” Mitsuri breathed. “I’m sorry I didn’t do much in the fight. I wanted to do more, but-”

Sanemi shook his head. He felt dizzy from that alone. “No. Without any of us, we wouldn’t have won. ‘s fine, Kanroji. You did just great. We just have to wait for- for one of the Kakushi to come. Or someone. They’ll bandage you right up,” he promised. Empty promises were his thing, it seemed. He fought back the memory of Genya, trying to reason with himself that Mitsuri would not die the same way. Genya hadn’t been able to come back because of his demon attributes. Mitsuri didn’t have them. Surely, he could save her.

“I don’t…” Mitsuri trailed off, eyelids fluttering. She struggled with herself, blinking up at Sanemi. “I don’t think I’m going to make it, Shinazugawa-san.”

“No, you are,” Sanemi said firmly. “You fucking are.”

Mitsuri offered him a knowing sigh. Her life seemed to seep out with it. Sanemi held her tighter.

“I lost too much blood,” Mitsuri continued, “so it’s too late for me.”

Sanemi bit his tongue hard enough to taste the fresh tang of blood fill his mouth. He swallowed. “No.”

“I’m glad you came to see me before, though,” she said quietly. “I’ve had some”—she cut herself off with an abrupt cough, eyes squinting shut until she settled back down—“things. That I wanted to tell you.”

“Tell me later,” Sanemi interrupted. “When you’ve rested. And can think better.”

He was fooling himself. He could’ve laughed at his futile attempt to make things right. How many times had he done this before? How many times had he failed? His only consolation was that he was likely to die with her.

Mitsuri noticed the stirrings of his resignation. A tear smudged the blood that had dried on her cheek. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve always liked you,” she whispered. “I admired you and… wished to… be with you. But I was happy to have you as my coworker—as a friend—so I never said anything.”

“Fuck,” Sanemi stammered. He didn’t even know what to say now. “You should’ve- You should’a told me.”

“I didn’t think you’d feel the same,” she admitted, a soft laugh following her words. The sound was sweet to Sanemi’s ears. His posture sunk until he was nearly doubled over her. He attempted to righten himself.

“I did.” His voice came out choked and meek. His own reflection would’ve called him pathetic. He struggled on. Maybe if he kept her talking just a bit more, someone would come and work a miracle on her. She was younger than him. She still had a family and so much ahead of her. She deserved so much better. “I loved you so fucking much. But you were supposed to find someone better to marry. Not someone like me, who has nothing to offer. Didn’t think you would’ve noticed me, either. You were always in your own world. I always wondered what it’d be like to be there with you.”

Mitsuri’s response took a while, this time. Her voice was barely there anymore. Her previously staccatoed breathing had softened to shaky, desperate breaths. “I should have said something, hm?” Her smile lacked energy.

“No. You should’ve found someone better,” Sanemi said. He said it flatly. Knowing he would’ve hated it. Would’ve resented himself for never saying anything, because he always hoped she might be the one to save him. From himself. She was always amazing in that way. Effortlessly bringing a smile onto someone’s face. He’d be damned to say she’d never made him feel better with a single word.

“Better? Than you?” Mitsuri asked. Her eyes closed. It took a moment for Sanemi to realize that the light was glinting off her tears. Fuck. She was crying.

“Yeah. Anyone else would’ve fit you better,” Sanemi breathed. He paused. He was feeling lightheaded. “Mitsuri.”

Her name was replied to with a quivering smile. “I always wanted to hear you say that.”

Sanemi could barely hold himself up at this point. His forehead rested ever so gently against hers. “Say my name,” he pleaded.

“Sanemi.” She uttered his name like a prayer. To what? Him? “Sanemi,” she repeated, softly. “I really love you.”

“I-” Sanemi nearly choked on his own words. “I really love you too,” he mumbled. He went to say something else, letting his thoughts flow from his lips. But he never got to know what he’d meant to say. His breath hitched, his eyes flickering open. There was a sudden absence. It took him a moment to place it. His gaze traveled down to Mitsuri, tracing her features. She’d always been so, so beautiful. Even when he’d resented her cheery nature, he’d found her so, damn pretty.

“Mitsuri?” he heard himself say. But his mind, fatigued and slow, was finally catching up with his realization. She was no longer breathing. Fuck. Fuck, she wasn’t breathing.

His hands moved numbly, trying to push air back into her lungs. Hoping to make her heart beat again, pleading with himself to revive her. Something warm and wet pricked his eyes. He thought he was bleeding again but a drop fell, branding itself on Mitsuri’s skin. He wiped it away shakily. Oh, fuck, he was crying now. His vision blurred as he bent down low, face buried in Mitsuri’s chest. The last of her heat was fading, disappearing quickly. Everything was cold. The sun, though providing him with light to see her, had failed to preserve her warmth. Had failed to keep her alive and breathing and. And, really, it was his own fault. He was sobbing. As if it would help. His shoulders shook. He’d done this before, had knelt on the ground and held someone equally, fruitlessly begging for them to return. And somehow, it felt as if Mitsuri was disappearing, too. Her body was merely the carcass of someone who had been, but who’d never be again. She was gone. Mitsuri was gone.

<3

Sanemi should’ve died. There had been a higher chance of him dying than of him living. But he seemed to defy everything. He awoke. Aching, coughing, barely hanging in there. But he was awake. And alone.

His head hurt, and he couldn’t place his surroundings. He was already slipping back into unconsciousness when a single thought slipped passed him. He should’ve died.

[talonslockau]

Forest of Secrets - Chapter 52

Chapter 51 || Index || Chapter 53

Fireheart sat beneath the Highrock, sharing a pigeon with Bluestar as the rest of the Clan shared tongues. The camp was even more excited than usual: Goldenflower had sent for Dewshine and Yellowfang just before sunhigh, because Frostfur had begun kitting. The camp was full of speculation - how many kits there would be, what they’d look like, even what their names might be. The only cats absent from camp were Peppermask and Princess - they’d taken the kits out to a nearby meadow to play so they wouldn’t interrupt the healers working or irritate Frostfur (who even Goldenflower had admitted was ‘a bit snappish at the moment’). 

“Are you excited?” Fireheart prompted Bluestar after a long silence. She glanced up at him for a moment, chewing on the pigeon thoughtfully. Then she nodded and sat up.

“Of course. New kittens are always welcome in the Clan.” She purred, blinking happily in the direction of the nursery. “I know Whitestorm and Lionheart will be good parents for them. I thought, after Whitestorm…”

She trailed off for a moment, a worried look in her eyes. “After Whitestorm?” Fireheart prompted, but she didn’t respond. He recognized that look: the same one she often had when speaking about Snowstorm, or her kits. It was her being haunted by the family she had lost; and, as he thought about it, he realized he was fairly certain what she was thinking of. “Are you talking about the leafbare before I joined? He told me that he’d almost died from greencough.”

Bluestar sighed deeply and nodded in response. “Yes. Spottedleaf told me to prepare his vigil, for he would only recover from the grace of Starclan. Through Starclan’s grace, he did recover, although…” She didn’t finish her sentence, but Fireheart could guess at the ending - although many didn’t. “You know how lonely it is in the Clan without any family, Fireheart. It wasn’t so long ago that I faced the same. It’s hard to let go of the past, sometimes.”

Fireheart wasn’t sure he fully understood, but he dipped his head to her nonetheless. “But now he’s having kits. Surely that’s reason enough to move on?”

“Yes.” Bluestar agreed readily to her deputy, a smile flickering over her lips. “Yes, it is. I know he has always wanted kits of his own. And now they are here, and I hope they are everything he imagined them to be and more.” Pain still showed in her eyes - remembering her own kits, perhaps, or still lingering on how she’d almost lost her nephew - but she turned to Fireheart with perked ears, ignoring her feelings. “Your own nephews and nieces are quite lovely. Little Cloudkit especially - I’ve never felt kitten teeth so sharp!”

Fireheart purred at the compliment from his leader, remembering how Sootkit and Rainkit had knocked her over. “Yes, I’m glad they’re here in Thunderclan. I can’t wait to see their apprentice ceremonies - though they can hardly wait either!” He glanced fondly at the camp entrance, imagining them romping around in a field of flowers with reckless abandon. “They’re all so excited to have new playmates, though they don’t seem to fully understand how small newborns are.”

“It’s a hard thing for a kit to comprehend.” Bluestar mewed in understanding. “For much of their life, they’re the smallest cats around! It’s hard to imagine anything being smaller.” She sighed and wistfully looked off at the nursery, clearly remembering some time long past. “I didn’t get to see a newborn kit until Robinwing had her litter, when I was already a warrior. I was shocked to see a cat small enough to fit in my paws!”

Fireheart nodded, remembering how small Lynxkit had been. She was essentially the same size as Sootkit and Rainkit now, with Sorrelkit having become the new runt. The thought of her becoming even the three moon old kit she was now amazed him. “I know what you mean. They’re basically the size of a mou-”

“FIREHEART!”

The deputy sat up with a bolt of panic as he heard his name howled loud enough to be heard from Fourtrees. Princess had just clawed her way through the bramble entrance, racing towards him with terrified puffed fur. “Fireheart, Cloudkit’s gone missing!” She cried, her green eyes already full of tears.

For a moment, Fireheart felt frozen with fear. Cloudkit had gone missing? “What happened?” He finally managed to stammer out, feeling the heat of the entire Clan watching him as he swallowed hard.

“I- I don’t-” She took a huge gulping breath, her whole body trembling as she looked up at her brother. “They were chasing this - this butterfly, in the flowers. It was bright, I didn’t see anyone, everything was okay. Peppermask and I smiled at each other - it was just a couple of heartbeats! We were just - we were happy, everything was nice, and-” Princess’ white paws were kneading in and out of the dirt below her in an attempt to calm herself. “I swear, Fireheart, he just vanished!”

“Calm down.” Fireheart was grateful to hear Bluestar speak up beside him. “What about the other kits and Peppermask? Are they okay?”

Princess stared at the leader as though she had suddenly turned purple. “I- I don’t-” She took another deep shuddering breath, clearly on the verge of hyperventilating. “Peppermask told me to come tell you, Fireheart. She said she’d tell them a story to keep them calm and in one place.”

Why in Starclan’s name would Peppermask tell Princess to do that? The thought echoed in his mind for too long, as Bluestar and Princess both stared at him. What did they want from him? He didn’t know how to find a kit! He was just-

Right, he was deputy. He was supposed to take care of this. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what Quickflash would do in this situation. Maybe he could order a patrol? He hesitated at the thought. Was that an abuse of his power, though? After all, it was one kit - maybe he should just go and help her find Cloudkit. What would the Clan think if they had to search all over the forest for a kittypet kit?

No, he thought to himself after a heartbeat, that was a flea-brained thought. Kits were the most important part of the Clan! The warrior code itself said that no kit could be neglected, no matter their origin. Whether Cloudkit’s parents were kittypet or not didn’t matter. The Clan would expect to be sent out to find a lost kit. Their territory was safe, generally, but there was always a chance that something had snuck past one of their borders. Not to mention the owl, or hawks, any of which could pick off an unsuspecting kit.

“Speckleflight.” Fireheart stepped forward and spoke now, still keenly aware that nearly all of the Clan’s eyes were on him. The elder blinked at him in surprise. “Take Rosetail and go with Princess to help Peppermask keep the other kits calm. The last thing we need is two missing kits.”

The pale golden queen nodded, glancing around to see Rosetail already standing up. Fireheart watched as Speckleflight came up alongside Princess, mewing something softly to her as the two older tortoiseshells led her out of camp. The older queens, he figured, would be able to help calm Princess in addition to telling the kits all sorts of fun stories for however long it took to find Cloudkit.

He surveyed camp, assessing which cats were best to go out looking for a kit. “We’ll form three patrols, each taking a different direction from the meadow. I want Cloudkit found as quickly and quietly as possible.” There was no dissent at his order, cats beginning to sit up and wait to be called. “Mousefur, you’ll take Mistspring and Dustleap and head towards the Riverclan border. Sandstorm, you’ll take Willowbranch and Graystripe towards the Shadowclan border. Dappleshine, you and Tinyfrost will be with me heading towards Tallpines. Longtail, Cinderspark, Bluestar, and the apprentices will stay behind and guard camp.”

Across camp, Cinderspark turned away, her tail low in disappointment. Fireheart understood why she was disappointed that she hadn’t been picked - likely wondering if he hadn’t chosen her because once again, he didn’t trust her. He briefly wished he could reassure her, to tell her that she had been given the most important mission of all. He doubted that this was a ploy to get the Clan out of camp, but he couldn’t help but remember what had happened the last time kits had gone missing. Brokentail was dead, but his rogues were still out there - and now, more than ever, they were probably seeking revenge against Thunderclan.

Fireheart wanted this to be nothing more than Cloudkit accidentally running off, but he had to prepare for the worst.

“Let’s go!” He barked, lashing his tail once for the warriors to follow him before turning and leaving camp. He didn’t need to look to know they were following him - he could hear the march of many pawsteps and the rustling of brambles through the tunnel behind him. Fireheart instead kept his eyes on the trail again - following the thick fear-scent of his sister, which he had to focus on to keep from overwhelming him.

The meadow wasn’t far from camp - about as far away as the training hollow was, but on the other side of the ravine. There, Speckleflight was cooing softly at his niblings sitting amongst pale blue flowers, likely telling them a story about times long ago. Rosetail was sitting off to the side, doing her best to console Princess and Peppermask alike. The kits were occasionally glancing at their mama, clearly picking up on her fear, but politely listening to Speckleflight nonetheless.

He could see all four of them look eagerly towards him as the three patrols entered the meadow, but he had no time to stop and reassure them. He had to trust that the elders, Princess, and Peppermask would be enough eyes on his remaining niblings to keep them safe. Instead, with a swift nod shared between the patrols, they all turned and raced off towards their assigned directions.

“Dappleshine, you should take the lead. You’re the best hunter out of all of us.” Fireheart mewed, slowing down slightly to allow the tortoiseshell to do just that. There was no time for bragging, or for modesty: while Tinyfrost and Fireheart were both good hunters, it was well known within the Clan that Dappleshine had the sharpest nose and had taught two of the other great hunters in the Clan. 

She slipped forward without complaint at the opening, keeping her nose raised as she drew air over her tongue to try and find a scent. Silently, Fireheart motioned for Tinyfrost to flank her on her other side, the three spreading out so that they could cover as much ground as possible without losing sight of each other in the forest undergrowth.

The ginger deputy tried to keep himself calm, taking deep breaths of the scents of the wild to keep his heart from racing. As scared as he was for his nephew, out in the forest on his own, allowing his fear to overtake him would only smother the other warriors’ attempts to scent out Cloudkit. 

The forest was full of dangers - even things that would only bother a fully grown warrior could be deadly for a young kit. What if Cloudkit fell into a hole and couldn’t get back out? If he strayed out towards the Twolegplace, he would run into dogs - even the smallest of which would be impossible for a kit to handle on his own. And if he went towards the Owltree, and the owl was in the mood for a midday snack-

No, Fireheart couldn’t allow himself to imagine such horrors, forcing himself to take another couple of deep breaths as he continued flanking Dappleshine. For all he knew, one of the other patrols had found his nephew already. Maybe Cloudkit was already safe and sound, listening to Speckleflight tell a mighty tale about Lynxstar of Leopardclan and how she had driven out the fearsome Stonescales from the river. He could have even found his way back to the meadow on his own, having gotten bored of playing with himself.

There was no reason to-

“I smell him!” Fireheart’s ears perked forward as he heard Dappleshine’s call. Immediately, the other two warriors converged on her, finding her sniffing at a fallen log. “He climbed on top of this.” She explained as they both scented at the bark. Fireheart didn’t know whether to be thankful they had finally caught a trail, or furious that his nephew had gone so far into the forest on his own. They were almost at Tallpines! What had Cloudkit been thinking? 

“Fireheart.” The deputy looked up at the sound of his old mentor’s quiet voice, seeing Tinyfrost sniffing at the air rather than the log. “Do you smell that?”

Both Fireheart and Dappleshine scented at the air, trying to discern what Tinyfrost was hinting at. It took Fireheart several heartbeats, but as soon as he did, his face wrinkled in disgust. “That’s the foulest smelling dog I’ve ever scented.” He growled disdainfully, before fear seized his heart. It was a recent scent. “You don’t think-”

“It’s not dog. It’s badger.” Dappleshine snarled out, pacing forward as her hackles began to rise. “That’s close. Somewhere in our territory, I think.”

Fireheart didn’t know what to do. He’d never seen a badger before - only heard tales about them swapped between the warriors. They were huge, lumbering beasts, big enough that a cat the size of Lionheart could ride on their backs, with claws as long as whiskers. Mistspring had mentioned driving one off once, in a combined effort between Windclan and Thunderclan. Three warriors couldn’t be enough to chase one out of their territory!

But Cloudkit was nearby. They couldn’t leave, not without finding his nephew. What if the badger found him? He was a white kit, after all, standing out amongst the greens and browns of the forest. He hadn’t had any battle training - he’d be easy prey -

The two other warriors were staring at him. Once again, Fireheart could feel bile rising in his throat. He was deputy - he had to make a decision. But what if Cloudkit died because of him? How could he go back to Princess and tell her that her kit could have lived, if he’d just made the right-

“We find the badger first.” Tinyfrost cut through his thoughts with the same quiet, icy tone he always had. “If the kit’s smart, he’ll have scented it and climbed a tree to wait for us. If he’s not, then we better get to it before it gets to him.” With that ominous note, Tinyfrost turned and began leading the way through the forest, towards the edge of Tallpines. 

There was no need to taste the air now - the badger’s scent was thick and musty, like the marshes of Shadowclan had been when Fireheart had gone with Graystripe to defeat Brokentail and his rogues. It took everything in him not to completely block out the pungent odor - and he could tell that the other two warriors with him were feeling just the same.

“Help me!”

The voice was faint, but all three cats knew exactly who it was as it floated through the trees. As one, the three bounded forward, racing through the forest towards Cloudkit’s desperate cries. “Somebody! Help! Don’t let it get me!” They got louder and louder, until-

The three burst through the foliage into a large stony clearing sparsely covered by dry tufts of grass. On the far end was a small cliff, where a huge gray figure was swiping furiously at a crack in the bottom. Though he couldn’t see inside, Fireheart already knew what the badger was swiping at- Cloudkit.

“Tinyfrost, take its back! I’ll distract it from the front. Dappleshine, get Cloudkit out when it’s safe!” Fireheart was already barking out the orders as he dived forward, yowling a bitter battle cry as he lashed out at one of the badger’s front paws. It immediately turned towards him with baleful, beady eyes, returning his battle cry with a furious screech that rang through the air. Fireheart ducked as it swiped a large, clumsy paw at him, its claws easily thrice the length of his own. Fear and determination surged through his veins in equal measure; fear that this fight would be his last, and determination not to let it get to Cloudkit at any cost.

He swiped at its disgustingly large muzzle, his claws scoring through the coarse black and white fur with surprising ease. The badger was large, yes, but slow; slower than Tigerclaw had been, even. It let out another shrill scream as blood welled up from where his claws had been, lunging towards him with its massive bulk.

Fireheart took three quick steps back, luring the beast away from his nibling. It pounced towards him again, claws scoring into the earth once more as he took another pair of quick back steps. Before he could move further, however, a black shadow materialized on top of the badger: heartbeats later, it howled in furious pain as Tinyfrost dug into its thick gray fur with his claws and began biting for whatever he could reach.

The badger reared back, clearly intending to force its new attacker off, but before it could Fireheart had leaped forward to his former mentor’s aid, claws tearing away the tawny fur of its underbelly. He ducked back as the badger slashed wildly out with its giant claws, screeching furiously as it realized it was outnumbered.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Dappleshine race by with a distinctly white blur, and he immediately felt a wave of relief. Cloudkit was safe, which meant-

Fireheart yowled in shock as pain streaked through one side. He’d let himself be distracted for mere heartbeats - but heartbeats were long enough for the brutish creature, lunging forward to tear into his shoulder with its fangs. His first instinct was to tear away from it, but he forced himself to instead lean into the bite and use the opportunity to rake his claws down its neck. The badger immediately released him, shaking both one way and then the other as attacks came in from what surely felt like all sides.

Even as the pain filled his thoughts, Fireheart forced himself not to dwell on it, instead focusing on the beast in front of him. It was lashing out blindly now, clearly trying to get all the attacks to stop. “Tinyfrost! Let it go!” He called out to the small black tom.

Tinyfrost complied, sinking his fangs into its ear one last time before loosening his claws and letting the badger’s momentum throw him off to one side. It flailed out for another couple of heartbeats as the two warriors regrouped together, its tiny eyes flashing with panic as the attacks stopped as quickly as they had come. 

“Get out!” Tinyfrost snarled, advancing on the creature with his claws prepared for more attacks. Fireheart quickly copied him, advancing on the badger with his fur puffed out as far as he could get it. As soon as they did, the badger turned quickly away from them towards the open forest beyond Tallpines. As soon as it saw a clear opening, it bolted, bounding away on its stubby legs into the woods beyond their border.

The two toms stood side by side as they watched it race off, their hearts still pounding from the thrill of the fight. Fireheart’s side began to sting, a sign that he would surely be visiting the healers shortly, but he once again pushed it away to turn and look for his nibling. “Dappleshine? Cloudkit? Are you alright?” He called softly, a tiny bolt of anxiety spiking through him. They had to be safe, right? There was no way they could have gotten hurt while he was fighting-

He sighed in relief as Dappleshine waddled into the clearing, carrying Cloudkit by his scruff. He was a bit too big for it now, dragging in the dirt between her legs, but the older queen didn’t seem to notice as she came to stand in front of Fireheart and Tinyfrost. She released his nephew gracelessly, and he fell into the dirt below with a thin wail.

“What in Starclan’s name were you doing out here?” Fireheart snarled at the little white kit, his tail lashing in anger now that the danger had passed. “You’ve got your mother worried sick, and the whole Clan tearing up the forest looking for you! Didn’t your mother tell you not to wander off?”

There was genuine fear in Cloudkit’s bold blue eyes, but as Fireheart lectured him he could see that same stubborn defiance that his nephew normally had beginning to leak back in. “I didn’t wander off.” He refuted, his chin sticking up into the air as he stared down his uncle.

“Didn’t wander off?” Fireheart scoffed, his anger only rising at his nephew’s audacity. “This hardly looks like the meadow where you’re supposed to be playing with your siblings, does it? Not to mention you’re only treelengths from the border, with no other cat to be seen, hiding from a badger - how exactly do you expect me to believe you didn’t wander off?”

“I didn’t!” Cloudkit repeated, stomping one tiny white paw. “I followed a warrior out here!”

Fireheart could hear noises of confusion from the other two cats, but he didn’t stop to let it bother him. “And how, exactly, did you follow a warrior out here when all of them were back in camp?” He spat, lashing his tail once more in emphasis. “Which warrior was this? Graystripe? Mistspring? Maybe Lionheart?”

Cloudkit looked confused at all the names. “I- I don’t- he didn’t say what his name was.” He mewed plaintively, his eyebrows furrowing as if in brief confusion. “But he said he had found something super cool to show me, so I followed him, but then he was gone and I got lost and then- then that thing-”

“And I suppose you expect me to believe this imaginary warrior grew wings and flew, right in front of your eyes.” Fireheart snapped, losing any patience he might have had left for his nephew. “Making up some warrior that doesn’t exist isn’t going to get you out of trouble, Cloudkit. But I’ll let your mother decide your punishment.”

Cloudkit immediately started complaining, furiously reasserting that he definitely had seen a real warrior that smelled of Thunderclan and everything, but Fireheart tuned him out and turned to the other two warriors. “Dappleshine, why don’t you go find Sandstorm’s patrol near the Riverclan border and let them know we’ve found him. Tinyfrost, you do the same for Mousefur’s patrol near Shadowclan. I’ll take this little troublemaker back to his mother.”

The two warriors looked slightly dubious at his orders, but if they had any doubts they didn’t voice them, instead turning away and racing off towards their respective areas. Fireheart advanced on Cloudkit, who could only stumble back a couple of steps before he was unceremoniously scruffed by his uncle. With a bitter scowl, still trying to ignore the pain of the badger bite in his side, Fireheart began carrying his nephew back to Princess and to safety. Leave it to Cloudkit to ruin an otherwise happy day, he grumbled to himself, satisfying his anger at his nephew by imagining all the punishments that he would suffer for this as the two made their way back to camp.

[made-ofmemories]

Also on AO3

Click click click. It’s driving her insane, the rhythmic clicking of a Rubik's cube being turned over and over again. Robin has had to listen to it all morning. She’s standing by the cash register sorting through a pile of returns and Steve is sitting on the floor behind her, legs stretched out in front of him twisting the Rubik's cube around and around. She doesn’t think he’s even trying to solve it.

“Keith’s going to tear us both a new one if he finds you sitting on your ass, you know?” She says over her shoulder with mild disinterest. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t care about what Keith has to say, but they’re on their last strike and she really doesn’t want to go through the hassle of job hunting again. 

“Keith’s not here and we haven’t had a customer in hours.” It’s barely more than a mutter followed by the thump of Steve’s head against the shelf he’s propped up against.

She sighs and turns to face him, crossing her arms as she leans back against the counter. He’s right it has been an exceptionally slow day, but there’s something else going on he’s just not telling her what. He was quiet on the way to work and he’s barely spoken a word since they got here, he just sits there frowning at that damn Rubik's cube.

“Alright.” She tries to sound stern, but it just comes out concerned, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“ Steve .” She moves to sit opposite him when he doesn’t respond, nudging his leg with her foot to get his attention. “Talk to me.”

“Eddie asked me out,” He blurts it out in such a rush she’s not sure she’s hearing correctly at first. “On a date.”

“Oh.” 

She isn’t exactly surprised, Eddie has been flirting with Steve for weeks and every time Steve doesn’t shut it down he just gets bolder. Steve would have let him down gently, she’s sure of that. But Eddie is more sensitive than people realize under all that bravado and the last thing she wants is for him to get hurt, for either of them to get hurt. She should have done something about it, talked to Eddie, and stopped it before it got this far, but it never felt like her place to interfere.

“I’m sure it’ll be ok. He’ll understand, he-”

“I said yes.”

“ Oh .”

“Yeah, oh. ”

“And you want to?” She keeps her words slow and careful. “Go on this date I mean.” He nods, looks down at the Rubik's cube in his hands for a moment then back at her. 

“I don’t think I’m gay, Robs.” He’s quiet when he speaks, lacking his usual confidence.

“Ok.” There’s a pause, but Robin doesn’t interrupt, just waits patiently until he’s ready to continue.

“I still like girls, it’s just…” He frowns, runs a hand through his hair, and lets out a frustrated groan as if he can’t quite find the words, “I think I like boys too. When I’m with Eddie I feel the same way I feel when I have a crush on a girl, and I don’t think Eddie is the first. I think I’ve felt it before with others, other men I mean, but I’ve always been too scared to admit it.”

“So you like both?” She asks, hoping she’s been following along correctly. He nods again.

“Do you think I’m weird?”

“Oh absolutely.” She shuffles across the distance between them so they’re side by side and takes one of his hands into hers, their fingers intertwined. “I’ve always thought you were a weirdo, dingus. But not because of that.” It earns her a smile and he lets his head drop onto her shoulder.

“I really like him.” He sounds all dreamy and lovestruck and she has to bite her tongue to resist the urge to tease him for it, he just makes it too easy sometimes. 

“I’m glad you told me.” 

“I wanted to tell you earlier,” He admits, “But I didn’t know how, I was still figuring it all out myself I think.”

“Does that mean you’re going to put that damn Rubik's cube down now.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles. “No more Rubik's cube.”

Steve doesn’t say anything else and she doesn’t want to push more than she already has so she holds onto his hand a little tighter and embraces the companionable silence they’ve fallen into. The sound of the door opening comes a few minutes later and she shrugs the shoulder Steve is leaning on, not entirely sure if he’s even still awake. She doubts he got much sleep last night.

“Your turn,” She tells him and he gets up without argument.

“Hi! Welcome to-” He starts in his usual overly peppy customer service tone before he cuts himself off, “Oh- Hi Keith!” 

“Oh shit,” Robin mutters under her breath, scrambling to her feet as quickly as possible. She grabs a tape on her way up so it at least looks like she was down there searching for something and gives Keith the brightest smile she can muster. 

“We are so screwed,” Steve whispers through gritted teeth as they watch Keith making his way toward them.

“I heard the coffee shop across the street was hiring?” She offers in a similarly hushed tone. She’s only partially joking. 

[dearweirdme]

Oh this is just 😭 https://x.com/tkvk95972/status/1864684385208766524?s=46&t=VGR0B9a59mdmL-KO7fDdLg

Never seen it zoomed in like that. JK really looked so tense and worried and was just so fidgety when Tae talked about joining special forces and the concerns and dangers of it. And him then saying very very quietly how he also wanted to join the special forces meaning he would have & would liked to be with Tae even in the military 🥹

Of course that wasn’t possible due to their personal relationship amongst possible other reasons, and I’m glad Tae took on that challenge. I’m sure they discussed it at length and that JK is really proud of Tae.

But after he said that while looking so sad, Tae smiled at him and then also looked quite somber, while JK looked even more defeated, but of course couldn’t help but to smile back cause it’s Tae. 🥹

I just think and can imagine that JK is so used to pay attention and take care of Tae, he likes to fix things. His love language is acts of service and he likes to take care and protect. I’m thinking about him climbing a wall to cheer on a scared Tae to jump. Or him roller skating behind Tae who was like Bambi on ice haha to help steady him and catch him when he fell. Or him switching tasks with Tae when he said he doesn’t want to go to the sauna, JK volunteered. Or him cooking Tae an extra batch of a less spicy food etc etc. The list is endless.

So him knowing he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore or to that extent must have been troubling him surely. They are so close but weee separated forcefully for the first time since meeting - that must have been so bizarre and a real adjustment for them 😭 I am so glad it’s nearly over.

But I can also imagine that it brought them even closer, realizing how precious time together is. Which brings me to Tae saying a similar thing in that same live (which makes so much sense cause they don’t know anything else but each other since they were like 15 & 17, but also with the other members) but then JK kind of silently again said to V something along the lines that he knew all along / before that how precious he is…which 🫠

Anyways sorry for the rant, very sweet, very bittersweet. Makes me emotional but also proud of them. And sad for them. And I can’t wait for them to have their little bubble of freedom back and for them to be back next year ❤️

Hi anon!

Rants like this are always welcome 😊.

I love how you said: ‘I’m glad it’s almost over’. I’ve been trying to get into that mindset. It’s already been almost a year since they enlisted.. I can hardly believe it! These last couple of months are going to fly by so fast.

Tae and Jk went through a lot already, but being apart for an extended period of time was never something they had to endure before. I can imagine all sorts of emotions at play because of that. Especially when we could see how much time they spent together last year, and.. how much they miss each other when they’re apart.

I think if anyone knows how capable Tae is in overcoming fears, and managing himself in all sorts of areas, it’s Jk. But, when it comes to the ones we love.. knowing how capable they are doesn’t stop us from worrying and from wanting to be there and making things better.

I hope for Jk ultimately it doesn’t really matter what part of the military he went in. He doesn’t want to make a career out of it, it’s basically just sitting out his time until he can do what he really wants again. Tae went in with a somewhat different mindset, which is great for him. He managed to get himself somewhat excited for something he’s basically forced to do. I just hope they all come out of it alright, with having a sense of relief from having finished and perhaps from having made new friends.

[stayandot8]

Notice

Genre: Smut

Relationship type: established boyfriend/girlfriend

Important Contents: Based off the Little Mix song with the same name. Enjoy :) 18+ content. Minor, do no engage.

WC: 1.6k

masterlist

I hate tour. 

Not just because he’s away from me but also the residual effects of it. The only thing I can do to keep close to him is wear his clothes. Watching the videos his fans post online is torture. The photos I see of my Chan shining so brightly make me the most conflicted; feeling so proud that the man I love is doing what he loves for people that love him, but I can’t help but be struck with envy that they are near him when I can not be. But it also makes him concentrate on his work more  often than before he leaves. It’s like he gets tunnel vision because he is reminded of how much needs to be done. And when he concentrates on his work, our relationship tends to take the backburner. As well as our sex life. 

Every time I would try to initiate something Chan would be so caught up in what he was doing that he wouldn’t even lay his eyes on me. I would sit on his lap and he still wouldn’t do much, just give me a peck here and there. Sometimes I felt like I could show up butt-ass naked and he still wouldn’t even take off his headphones. I decided to test just how far I could take that theory. 

I was scrolling on my phone in my own apartment, trying to find a piece of lingerie that caught my attention. If it caught my attention, it certainly would catch his, right? I stopped at a very thin, black lace contraption that didn’t leave much to the imagination. I added it to the cart, along with a matching blindfold, hoping that I wouldn’t need it but knowing it would be good to have in my tool belt. It came shortly after, wrapped in red tissue paper and promises that it would solve the problem I was having. 

The day came when I knew Chan was working when he shouldn’t be. He’d been answering my texts sporadically and with short replies. This time would be different, I was sure of it. I would make it so. Being the good girlfriend I am,I texted Han to make sure he wasn’t working on anything too important. 

Han: No, what he’s working on can definitely wait until tomorrow. Or next week if he’s a good boy ;)

Me: You’re gross lol. Thank you. Whoever’s in the apartment, I suggest you take off. You’ve got 10 minutes. 

Han: Copy that. 

With all but one household member gone, the apartment was silent. I was glad for it because the  breeze of the air conditioned did nothing good for the piece I was wearing underneath my coat, barely covering my not-so-clothed ass underneath. The blindfold in my bag was burning a hole in it, itching to be used along with the other toys and things with it. When I cracked the bedroom door open, Chan was facing away from me, intent on the screen of his laptop. I cocked my eyebrow and smirked, internally cackling at what I knew was about to happen and his innocence at this very moment. I shut the door just hard enough to get his attention, still covered up. His head flips back just long enough to see that it was me then turns back to his screen. 

“Hey baby.” He says, completely unaware as he continues typing. He takes off his headphones on one ear, just enough to hear me. 

“Hey. I’m bored, is it alright if I just hang out here?” I was counting on him not turning around as usual as I took off my coat, wearing just the lingerie and putting my bag on his bed. 

“Yeah sure. I’ve just got some work to do, okay?” He put his headphones back on both ears. Great.

“Yeah that’s fine.” I would give him five minutes. Five minutes to turn around and see what I was wearing and then pull out the big guns…

Those five minutes lasted about 30 seconds. 

I settled into the pillow I was resting on, set in my resolve to make him pay attention. When staring at the back of his head, all I could do was silently plead with him to turn around. And when that obviously didn’t work, I went to Plan B. Stirring in my bag of tricks, I took out my vibrator and opened my phone to photos and videos of him. I flipped it on and got to work, finally not caring if he was seeing me or not. The sudden vibrations on my clit were a shock to my system, making me hum in satisfaction. I kept my bullet going in gente rolls around my pussy, still watching and scrolling through my selected photos of the stupid boy that was two feet me and still wouldn't turn-

Chan’s head turned to the side and he paused, as if listening for something. I smirked to myself and moaned particularly loud. He whipped his headphones off and sharply turned to finally rest his beautiful eyes on me, the lovely show waiting for him. His face went blank, the color draining for just a second. 

“Wait a minute. Were you wearing that this whole time?!” I had to laugh in exasperation. 

“How nice of you to notice.” I turned the dial on the vibrator so it turned off as I looked back to him and bit my bottom lip. My clit ached with the sudden lack of attention. 

“How did you get in here like that?! Did they see you in that?” I rolled my eyes. Clearly he was missing the point. I turned my vibrator back on and placed it back on its intended target, ignoring him. I made sure to make eye contact with him as before his eyes flitted down to the scene in front of him, his jaw going slack. He bit his lip, his eyes becoming glued to it. I spotted the physical evidence of my plan growing in his sweatpants, begging to be let out. It took all my focus to get my next words out, my writhing only growing the longer the vibrator stayed roaming my lower region. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I ruining your work day?” He slowly shook his head as he closed his laptop and climbed over to me and the show just for him. I could hear his gulp as he finally looked back up my body, his gaze raking through my outfit and pausing at my breasts, my nipples peaked. He didn’t move, just staring at anything his eyes could roam on. 

“Good.” I said to myself, moving to rid myself of the lace panties before I felt some other hands bat my own away and grab hold of them. He eased them down my own legs before flinging them somewhere I couldn’t see because all I could keep my eyes on were his. His groan was heaven to my ears as he spread my legs apart to show him just how wet I was just for him. He nested between my legs, laying down on his stomach on his bed. I couldn’t help my moans as he held my lips open to licked a wide strip from my entrance to my clit, my vibrator completely forgotten as it was tossed to the side. His lips wrapped around it and just started to suck, forcing my thighs to be held down in fear of suffocating him. My hips moved of their own accord, rolling into his mouth for more friction. He continued to lick and suck as if it were his last meal, every apology he could say through his actions becoming clear. 

I’m sorry I’ve been so busy

A long lick.

I’m sorry I haven’t been paying attention

A harsh suck.

I’ll make it up to you, I swear.

I felt his fingers push in and curl, hitting the fleshy spot inside. My hands had fistfuls of the sheets below me, but I couldn’t do anything but focus on the electricity coming from between my legs. My eyes shut tight as he hit that spot again. It didn’t take much since it had been so long since we had done anything of that sort. The coil in my gut had exploded, his hand on my thighs the only anchor that I could hold on to keep from getting too lost. The sound of my heavy breathing filled the room as I came down, Chan till in between my legs. The sight of him still there was a sight I could watch forever. I smile-sighed as he kissed his way up to my face, cradling me as he wrapped around me like a koala. 

“I missed you.” He kissed me again and again, soft pecks on my lips, my cheeks, my forehead. “I’m sorry I’ve been so… I don’t know. But I promise it won’t be like that anymore. How about we spend all day tomorrow together huh? They owe me a day off anyways.”

“Oh, I’m not sure you’ll feel like doing anything tomorrow.” I felt an evil grin creep up on my lips as I swung my weight around to pin him beneath my naked form. His shocked expression was quickly replaced by his sly smile as he glanced at me with hooded eyes. 

“I think you’re right. I’ve got a lot to make up for, don’t I?” His grin matched mine, my suspicion growing as he hooked his arms around my thighs one more and forced me forward so my wetness was forced in front of him for the second time that night. 

“Oh, I was thinking you might get a turn at some point tonight. I’ve got some stuff for you in that- oh.” He didn’t give me the chance to finish my thought before he dove in again, shaking his head in answer. 

I guess my plan worked.

[aestherians]

Defining Paratypes - Once and For All

Word count: ~1450 Estimated reading time: 10-12 minutes

1. Introduction

Language is a funny thing, huh?

In June 2018 I erroneously coined the word “cameotype” — English is my 2nd language and I’ve picked up a lot of words by just noting in which contexts they’re used and then never looking them up in the dictionary. Usually this works, sometimes it doesn’t. I thought a cameo meant an addition, something secondary, or something along those lines. When people discussed cameo-shifts, I knew they were discussing brief, temporary shifts, but it was only after coming up with this word that I realized what “cameo” actually means: A minor role.

That’s absolutely not the meaning I was going for when I made up the word “cameotype,” and I backtracked as soon as I realized my mistake. But I still needed a word to cover that concept I’d originally intended for “cameotype” to cover — to quote my original post: “You know those characters, animals, and so on that make you feel all shifty but aren’t technically kintypes or [hearttypes], yet are still important enough to your therian/’kin experience that you feel like mentioning them somehow?”

In March 2019 I finally shared a follow-up post where I suggested a few alternatives: Paratype (from para-/beside), fratertype/fratype (from frater-/sibling), and sintype (from sin-/together), all of which better describe the concept I was going for. My Anglophonic readers helpfully pointed out that the latter two words sound weird in English, and “paratype” ended up being the most popular word.

And then I never made another follow-up post.

2. An Ill-Defined Definition

I’m not sure why I never wrote a concise definition but in hindsight I’m glad I didn’t. It allowed for 4 years of input and discussion of the term and its scope. Originally, I wanted it to be very broad, covering “anything that doesn’t fit neatly into the established [alterhuman] categories but is still important to your nonhuman identity,” and I thank the gods that that didn’t become the go-to definition. It’s too poorly defined to be useful, and the broadness I was going for is already covered by synpath and vaguetype.

It did, however, end up with a not-much-better definition in Kiera’s Alterhuman Dictionary: “A character, animal, or mythical creature that is not a kin/therio/fictotype or a hearttype, but somehow feels important to your established identity. Some examples of how it may manifest include: inducing shifts of one or more of your established ‘types, showing up as a cameo shift that somehow feels related to your established ‘type, or feeling similar to a hearttype because they remind you of your kintype in some significant way.”

I never got around to asking Kiera to change that definition.

3. Covering all bases

Like I said, I’m glad I ended up waiting so long to write this essay, even if it wasn’t intentional. It allowed me to see a lot of perspectives that I wouldn’t even have considered on my own.

First of all, how do you know if something’s a paratype or something else? After all, it’s possible to have two kintypes that are extremely similar, like two species from the same genus, or two characters who fit the same archetype. If they feel obviously connected, how do you determine if one of them is a paratype or something else? The annoying answer is that you don’t — not really. Alterhumanity isn’t a hard science, we can’t run calculations to determine which identity facets fit into which categories. All our jargon should be opt-in, not something you feel forced to use because you fit a dictionary definition. If your kintype is a labradoodle and you later learn that goldendoodles exist, and you feel like you’re a goldendoodle concurrently with your labradoodle kintype, you can choose to call the goldendoodle a paratype, a kintype, both, or neither. “Paratype” is an opt-in category (no one is forced to use it) and it’s not an exclusive category (if something’s a paratype that doesn’t mean it can’t simultaneously be another kind of ‘type too).

The only requirement for something to be a paratype is that it has an associated identity. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it’s always an offshoot of something else. I was a bit wishy-washy about this at first since I was more attached to the “it feels like a hearttype/kintype/something else, but it’s not” part of the concept than the “it feels that way because it’s connected to your preestablished identity” part. But no, no matter how a paratype presents itself, or what the experience of it is, it’s defined by its origin: If your paratype-like feelings don’t exist because of another identity facet, it’s not a paratype.

Paratypes are not defined by their origins in the same way that some folks try to define kintypes - whether a paratype is psychological, spiritual, or something else is irrelevant. A paratype can be a quirk of the brain just as well as it can be a past life. As long as the paratype/your connection to the paratype is an offshoot/extension of a preestablished identity, it counts.

The example I’ve used most often to get the idea across is that I am a bison, and because I’m a bison it’s only natural that I feel a connection to domestic bulls. This connection does feel like a hearttype. Unrelated, I am also unicornhearted. The difference comes down to whether I can separate my otherhearted feelings from other parts of my identity. If I can (like with unicorns), I call it a hearttype. If I can’t (like with bulls) it’s a paratype. It’s definitely splitting hairs, but the distinction is valuable to me.

I did get a question once, asking if a paratype had to be an offshoot of an alterhuman identity, or if it could be connected to a gender identity or a disability. I had not considered that possibility, but I gave it a tentative yes. Especially in light of Mord’s “Alterhumanity is Queer” essay, queerness and alterhumanity is not something I want to split hairs about. If you feel connected to dogs because of your gender, or cats because of your disability, and you want to refer to those connections as paratypes, I’m not gonna stop you. More power to you!

It's also worth noting that throughout this essay I have been using animals as examples, but “paratype” is by no means limited to therianthropic/animalhearted identities. Plantfolk, fictionfolk, objectkin, conceptkin, and factualkin can all use it if they want, and the term can be used for any identity category, from kintypes and hearttypes to headmates and past lives to constels and linktypes. It can even be used for paratypes - in theory, a paratype can have a paratype can have a paratype, ad infinitum. Personally, I’m spiderhearted and as a result I feel strongly connected to other arachnids, including ticks, and as I feel connected to ticks, I feel connected to other ectoparasites, like mosquitoes and lice.

A paratype can have any kind of connection to your preestablished ‘type. I use the bison <-> bull example often because it’s an easy way to explain the concept, but other examples may include a lion therian whose paratype is gazelles, a reptile with a sun paratype, a rabbit with a hawk paratype, a robot with a glitch paratype, a mushroom with a tree paratype, a werewolf with a silver paratype, and I could go on. Even something like a lost love from another life or an entire universe could be categorized as a paratype if you wish to do so.

You can also get noemata from a paratype, or only have one specific version of a species/object/character be your paratype. A paratype can be as vague as it can be specific - it can be every single type of dragon ever, or it can be a specific interpretation of a specific dragon species from a specific book. Essentially, you can have any kind of alterhuman experience be classified as a “paratype” as long as it meets the “offshoot/extension of a preestablished identity” criterion - which led to the excellent essay “How a hearttype gave birth to a parallel life of a paratype - a view on the connection between spiritual and psychological roots for otherkinity” which I implore you to read - but not before you’ve finished the final section:

4. A definition - finally!

paratype, plural paratypes (noun) From para- (prefix): beside, alongside, related to; and type (noun): a particular kind, class, or group

1. (biology) a specimen of a type series other than the holotype 2. (biology) the environmental component of a phenotype 3. (alterhuman community slang) an identity facet that only exists in relation to a preestablished identity

[laura1633]

hey Laura,

so idk if i’ll say the right words but i’ll try because you seem to be having a pretty tough time and that’s honestly very understandable.

i’m quite new to f1, i missed the big shit show that was 2021 and icl i’m quite happy because i’m not sure i would have survived going into the tranches for Max as he won his first wdc. however, i’m happy to do so this year and it’s been even more enjoyable that i know people believe and would do the same, especially you!

when i entered the f1 fandom, you were one of the first i started to follow and to read. you’ve always seemed to be one of the kindest and you are, truly. your writing has saved me from sad nights and i’m very very grateful for that. i don’t know if you’ll remember but 3 weeks ago you wrote a lestappen prompt just because i told you i had had a bad day. that’s the kind of thing you do for others in here, and that is just so nice to do when you’re new to the fandom. i’ve always felt truly welcome and it’s hugely thanks to you!

now you’re totally right. the fia is being unfair (euphemism) and they’re just acting like a bunch of clowns. the whole organization seems to be acting against Max and it’s truly disgusting because he is such a big part of their sport. like, truly, the sport wouldn’t be the way it is today without Max. one thing sure, he left for the future his mark on this sport, and many many many children look up to him and he’s going to be their role model. so when the fia is bothering me as they are currently, i tell myself that they would be nothing without Max and i feel better, because he’s really an icon that they don’t deserve yet he stays because racing is a huge part of his life. and idk, as long as he gives them a chance, i give them a chance, albeit part of me giving them a chance is just to witness Max shine and shit on their obvious bias.

and it warms my heart that so many drivers backed up Max : Charles, Pierre, Esteban, Kevin, George, Alex, Lewis… everyone knows that Max is one of the best drivers if not the best and that the fia is doing a terrible job. maybe it’s not enough but at least we have that!

just know that i love your anti era and that i wish it would suffice. i wish you’d let all your anger be on this blog or to your friends or in your writing and that it’d be enough but sometimes all you need is a break and if you feel like it’s something you need, we’ll support you during this time.

now i already told you, you’re so kind that i wanna be that kind to you. know that we’ll keep rereading your work, that we’ll wait for you if you ever wanna come back, and that in the meantime we’ll support Max twice as much as we do today.

just tell us if we can do something for you. we can send a hundred lestappen snippets or prompts in you ask box, we can send as many Max pictures as you want, we can shit on the fia, shit on some drivers, shit on everything. just know that you created a community and that this community will be there no matter what!

take care Laura xx

Thank you so much anon, what a beautiful message to receive.

To anyone reading this I know that I am being overly dramatic but I have just had a bit of a rough week and F1 is normally something that brings me joy so it’s sad that it seems to be going in such a negative direction. 

2021 was indeed very stressful, I was not on Tumblr then but I was on twitter which was not good!! It was actually the reason I deleted my twitter account because it became too toxic. I mostly stay away from there now. 

I’m so glad you have felt welcomed into the fandom and that in some way I have been able to help with that. You are definitely right, supporting someone is easier when you know there are others who are also rooting for them and sending them the love they deserve. 

Max is truly an icon of the sport. He has had to put up with so much rubbish over the years and I cant’ believe how well he seems to deal with the pressure. No matter what they do or say his name will go down in the history books as one of, if not, the greatest of all time. Going on to other racing series and achieving great things will also cement that. I also do believe that he will do great things for younger generations coming into the sport and he will do this without requiring fanfare but because he loves the sport. If certain sections of the sport embraced him as much as they should they would see what an amazing ambassador he is for racing.

I have been pleased that a few times this season, when the media has tried to make a big deal out of something, a lot of the other drivers have stood up for Max. Unfortunately I do feel that there are drivers that may use Max’s ‘reputation’ and try and play up to the good v bad thing to sway the public and the penalties handed out. It’s a tactic I find rather cowardly and I was very happy that when we had Max and Charles fighting at the front Charles did not try and revert to this tactic. 

I try not to be too open with all my anti thoughts because I don’t want to invite lots of people arguing with me in my inbox but I am sure most of you can probably work out how I feel about certain things without me having to explicitly state it 😂

You are so kind anon. 

I will probably return to writing at some point point because I have loved trying to develop and improve my writing style and I love writing lestappen (and I will continue with my ongoing story because I think that it would be unfair to stop!) 

Honestly just seeing everyone’s love and defence of Max is enough to make me happier. I will be hanging around here and am still happy to chat to you. I might just not have the energy to be writing about this sport right now. 

Thank you anon for being so lovely <3

[honeyjars-sims]

2.9 Itinerary

[Cece and Ben are cuddled up on the couch]

Cece: I really need to study, but I’m so comfy right now.

Ben: Yeah, me, too. It’s hard enough getting up the motivation to do anything for school as it is, much less when it means I have to stop snuggling with you.

Cece: Wait, do you have senioritis already? The semester just started!

Ben: I don’t think it’s that. All my classes are so boring. I really thought I wanted to work on the technical side of the music industry, but lately all that’s been on my mind is being onstage.

Cece: This is a hell of a time to come to that realization! I know what you mean, though. I’m glad I’ve gotten to work on my songwriting skills, but now that I’ve been performing more that’s all I want to do. What do you think you’ll do after graduation?

Ben: Well, there’s what I think I’ll do and what I want to do, and those are two different things.

Cece: Now I’m curious.

Ben: What I think I’ll do is stay in Del Sol Valley, try to get in with one of the record companies to do some sound engineering, and do that 5 days a week for the rest of my life. What I want to do is travel the world, perform in different cities, and snuggle with my girl on the tour bus every night.

Cece: Hmm, you’ve been bringing that up a lot.

Ben: A guy can dream, can’t he?

Cece: Well, since you’re soooo sure we’re going to have this fantastic life together, there’s something I should probably tell you.

Ben: Uh oh. Nothing good has ever followed those words.

Cece: It’s not that bad. I think. It’s just…I’m on the asexuality spectrum. And while I do find you attractive, I’m not sure that our sex life is going to be as active as you might expect.

Ben: [laughing] Are you for real?

Cece: Yeah, I am. You don’t have to laugh about it. If you’re not interested in me anymore, just say so–

Ben: No! Cecelia, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t laughing at you, I’m laughing because I’m greysexual and I’ve been too scared to tell you. An active sex life is pretty low on my list of priorities.

Cece: Wow. I feel like I shouldn’t be this happy to hear that the guy I like doesn’t want to have sex with me! How do you feel about kids?

Ben: Oh, now you’re all about the future talk. If I’m being honest, parenthood isn’t really my gig. I’m more of the uncle type.

Cece: Yeah, I don’t want kids, either. The thought of having a baby doesn’t appeal to me at all.

Johnny: What are you two talking about? Nobody in here better be having any babies any time soon.

Cece: Uh, definitely not. Ben and I were just talking about how we don’t want to have kids.

Lexie: Wow, you’re having those kinds of discussions already? 

Ben: See, Lexie, when you have such a strong and undeniable connection like Cecelia and I do, your future becomes clear as day. Yes, I can see it now…Cecelia is about to give me an exasperated look and swat me on the arm–Ow!

Cece: I barely touched you! Anyway, we’re just making sure our expectations match up. Don’t you and Johnny talk about stuff like this?

Lexie: We haven’t, no. I’m just saying, there’s no point in rushing things.

Cece: Nobody’s rushing anything, not even this doofus. There’s no harm in making sure you’re on the same page about the big stuff before you get too invested. What if Johnny really wants kids and you don’t? Wouldn’t you rather know that now instead of later?

Lexie: I don’t know, I just turned 19. I don’t even know if I want kids or marriage yet. I just want to pass my test on Thursday and plan something fun for Spring Break.

Johnny: Yeah, I’m not trying to think about any of that stuff yet, either.

Ben: Lexie’s right, the only thing we should be thinking about right now is Spring Break. I have the itch to travel. How does everyone feel about taking a few days to unwind in Granite Falls?

Cece: I’ve always wanted to go! And since we have a few weeks, that gives me plenty of time to plan. I can get started on an itinerary so we can make sure we don’t miss out on anything.

Lexie: I’ve been there a few times with my family. I can help you out with planning! There are some really great hiking trails we should check out, and you just have to see the falls. This is going to be a blast.

Johnny: I’m totally down to get away, but I’m telling you right now, I’m not following any damn itinerary. You said "unwind" and that's what I'm gonna do.

Ben: Awesome! I'm glad everyone's on board. Cecelia and I can bring our guitars and serenade each other by the campfire.

Johnny: On second thought, maybe I'll just stay home.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[planet-crait]

Episode 5 we have lost the glorious intro song again. Yes I am very invested in the into sue me.

The title card reminds me of the episode where Timmy wishes to not feel any emotions. I wonder if this will be similar to that or ever brought up. I noticed Timmy hasn’t come up since episode one but with the comments about how he haunts the narrative I expect him to be referenced again just an interesting note.

Okay it’s pretty cute how excited Hazel is that excited Jasmine is coming over. First new friend excitement is such a real thing. I have to wonder though how Cosmo and Wanda know Hazel calls them. If Fairies can hear their god kids call them from anywhere how did all the fairies lose their kids in the episode where everyone looks the same?

What kind of parent lets their ten year old watch horror movies? Maybe this is more common than I realize and my shock comes from how sheltered my parents raised me it’s just weird to me. Cute again how excited Hazel is to share them but uh, I am shocked a ten year olds parent isn’t monitoring what their kids are watching.

I couldn’t help but laugh about Jasmine talking about how bad a horror movie about dolls would be. My best friend cannot handle horror around dolls because he has a doll collection so I can feel that in my soul. I’m starting to see the flags for what Hazel wishes for and why and I appreciate the setup.

Also I appreciate Jasmine setting up firm boundaries about what she is and is not okay with. Good job kiddo, it’s important to establish firmly what is and is not okay and it’s nice to see her so comfortable with that. I wonder if Jasmine has tryophobia given her hatred of Swiss cheese specifically for the holes?

Hazel I get not wanting to watch a scary movie alone. I get certain things aren’t as fun by yourself I get it. But forcing Jasmine to be that companion is not it. And why don’t Cosmo and Wanda like question this choice at all? Did they ever with Timmy? This is another one of those have to go back and check isn’t it?

Why does removing Jasmines fear make another Jasmine? When Timmy lost his emotions they manifested very differently and this Jasmine looks evil instead of being terrified like fear was in the OG. We’ll see if this gets addressed lolz. I’m glad Hazel does ask about it, even if somehow Cosmo and Wanda don’t know the answer.

Oh monster oh fuck spider. I hate spiders. I am terrified. Wait theirs a new Jasmine for each of her fears? I’m very confused.

Wait how did Cosmo and Wanda not think of this they did this before? Wouldn’t removing all emotions and a specific one do the same thing? Or is their wordplay I’m not catching any caused the difference?

Why didn’t the wish not work? Ohhh they answered that fast but why would the fears reveal how they could be defeated? Why not laugh and leave and let Hazel work it out by bouncing ideas off of Cosmo and Wanda? Thats how I personally would have rolled with it. Villains revealing their weaknesses never makes sense to me.

Lolz wait did the wish make Jasmine pass out or is class that boring? I need to know this lolz. Also adults apparently also fail to notice anything ever because no one questions why Hazel looks like a puppet. Great note taking fake Hazel. 10/10.

Wait this specific thing is in Da Rules? Like how to defeat them? I thought Da Rules just…listed wishes that couldn’t be made?

Not sure how I feel about how Hazel is going about this but I suppose desperate times desperate measures? Though Hazel is right in that Jasmine has different skill sets than a lot of kids and it’s all true. A lot of people struggle when dealing with public situations involving people and Jasmine isn’t and it’s a good strength of hers. Jasmines family sucks though for teasing her so much.

Don’t kill me internet but uh I’ve never watched or read Charlottes Web lolz.

Wait where has fear itself been this entire time? I have questions. WOW good job Cosmo little late. I didn’t think their crowns could be knocked off?

Ohhh so fear can see Hazels fears. Oh that makes sense. I do like Hazel realizing what she was doing and acknowledging it wasn’t good and deciding to pick something with Jasmine to do. Not quite how I expected it to go I think an acknowledgment about boundaries would have been good but at least Hazel realizes she shouldn’t force people to be who they’re not.

…am I forgetting an episode of FOP or is the puppet going rogue thing ever going to come up when that happened?

After sleeping on it, I realized I’m glad the writers decided to do their own thing with their variations of losing an emotion. This show shouldn’t be just Hazels versions of Timmy’s wishes, this show should be able to be its own thing. And I think the twist of the fears each manifesting as something physical to face was a fun twist.

Episode 5 I found better than 4 and 2 but not sure it beats episode 3. I think it’s a pretty close tie currently. During the work week I think these reviews will be coming out a little slower just cuz I don’t have as much time sorry about that! Onto episode 6!

[solar-halos]

odesta week. day #4 - throwback thursday

summary: beach meet cute. 1k

The beach is safe. Not a lot of things are, especially after Annie’s Games. 

Lucky for her, the beach is right outside her house. It’s the one nice thing about living in the Victor’s Village. 

She dives under the water until her lungs feel like they’re going to explode. Then she pops back up and does it all over again. It’s nice and repetitive and puts her mind at ease. 

She comes back up. She stops in her tracks, stunned into silence by some fucking creeper suddenly in the water with her.

She whips some sopping wet strands of hair out of her face. Oh. That’s not a creeper—that’s Finnick Odair.

“Dude!” she protests, because who the fuck just sneaks up on someone like that? Especially a victor? “What gives?”

“Huh?” Eloquent. Annie thought he was supposed to be a poet. “I didn’t even see you out here! You’re the one who scared me.”

Oh. Something about that is so incredibly funny—she scared Finnick Odair—that she starts to laugh. Some people at the Career Academy were intimidated by her, sure, but take away all her throwing knives, and what was there to be scared of?

“I can hold my breath for a very long time,” she explains. “It’s like you didn’t even watch my Games.”

She purses her lips to keep from laughing again, because she’s pretty sure she’s not supposed to be joking about that stuff. She’s still fresh out of the arena, so no one says anything about it to her, but sometimes when she’s having a really good day she’ll sprinkle it into a conversation. Kinda like she’s taking the power back.

Finnick takes a step back. She wouldn’t have even noticed if it wasn’t for the water rippling.

“Right…” he says, like he’s not sure if he should laugh with her or start running home. Annie doesn’t know how to feel about that. “Well, it was nice running into you.”

Annie considers that. She supposes it was. She’s hardly talked to anyone since she got back, so it’s nice to know she’s still capable of normal things. Looking back, it’s a miracle she didn’t start swinging after he spooked her.

“Same here,” she says. “I’ve never seen you out here. Do you visit a lot, or are you already tired of the beach?”

“I don’t think anyone could get tired of the beach,” he replies, but he looks a lot less awkward now. He even stops taking steps back. “I usually come a lot later in the day, but I couldn’t sleep. You know how it is.”

Annie nods. She does. “Winning isn’t anything like the Academy said it would be. Night terrors are not the same as nightmares.”

“Yeah. They really need to update their curriculum.”

Annie laughs—that’s such a ridiculous thing to say, even if she can’t put her finger on why—and she knows that she reacted the right way when Finnick laughs with her. It’s strange—she saw him all the time when she was reaped, but she never spoke to him. Not really, unless they were talking about the arena, and even then he was always too drunk to tell her anything useful.

Annie leans closer so she can examine him. He seems very, very sober.

He leans back. His laughter fades into a tight-lipped smile. “What are you doing?”

“I dunno,” she admits. Of course he was sober. “It’s strange. Meeting you, I mean.”

She doesn’t need to explain what she means. He nods, obviously pleased with the fact that she’s not invading his personal space anymore. “I’m not mad about it. Like, meeting you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean—I didn’t love being jumpscared—”

“You snuck up on me!”

He’s the one that laughs first this time. “—but you’re very nice to talk to.”

That’s such a sweet thing to say that all she does is thank him. No one’s ever said that to her before—not even before she was reaped—but she’s glad that Finnick Odair thinks that she’s a pleasant conversationalist. She doesn’t ask him about it this time—or the next time they talk, or the next time—but she finally mentions it when they’re waiting for the cookies in his oven to bake. 

He grins at her. “I liked how unsettling you were.”

“What?” That was definitely not the answer she was expecting. Kinda—she knows that the Capitol thinks she’s fucking crazy, and that most people in the district think she’s a disappointment, but she has no idea why Finnick would find that appealing. “Finnick! You didn’t!”

“I did. I still do.” Ugh. It’s just like him to start firing up compliments to soften all their banter, so she crosses her arms over her chest and pretends like she isn’t blushing. “Cmon, dude—you have those big eyes and a very unpredictable mind. You kept me on my toes.”

Annie’s stomach sinks, genuinely disheartened by this information. She hopes it doesn’t show on her face.

“Oh,” she replies. She’s not sure what else there is to say. 

Somehow, he figures out she’s in a mood. He turns to her, the beginnings of a frown beginning to pull at his lips. Annie allows herself to frown, too. What gives? She’s not the one who called him unsettling and unpredictable.

“I can see how that might sound bad,” he admits. Annie rolls her eyes, suddenly a bit less offended. Boys are so stupid. “I mean, it does sound bad. I just mean that you’re very genuine. You talk to me like you’d talk to anyone else. And you ask me questions no one ever asks.”

True. And he always, always answers them. Sometimes, he’s the only person that ever does.

“So you don’t think I’m unsettling and unpredictable?” she presses.

“I retract my statement,” he confirms. Yeah—boys were stupid. Finnick makes it work. “You are not unsettling and unpredictable. You are fascinating and original.”

“Well, I’ve always been huge on free thinking,” Annie agrees.

Finnick smiles. Someone close the blinds. “That’s what I mean. I never know what you’re going to say.”

“And you like that?” She needs to be sure. 

“I like that.” 

“Okay. Well, if you were curious, I like hanging out with you because you’re the only person who ever listens to me.”

“You do like hearing yourself talk,” he says, but he’s joking, so she only bumps her shoulder into his.

“Yeah, right!” Talk about throwing stones in glass houses. “Why don’t you go recite another shitty poem?”

She’s not being mean. One time, he told her that he’s been making his poems progressively worse, just to see if the Capitol would say anything. It was a strange thing to say as someone that’s supposed to be a Capitol fanatic. Good thing that Annie knows he is not a Capitol fanatic.

“You love my shitty poems,” he shoots back. It’s true. She does (not that he needs to know that, though, so she rolls her eyes). “Annie Cresta, borne of the sea—”

Not this again! Thankfully, the timer for the cookies goes off, so she is spared from hearing him do a dramatic retelling of the poem he wrote for her. It’s a lovely poem—she just blushes too hard whenever he brings it up, which gives him a ton of leverage. 

Two can play at this game. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pair of socks she knitted for him. His feet always got way too cold, prompting him to steal the blankets from her during their late night chats. She was gonna package it up for him, but if he was gonna be like this, she might as well fight fire with fire.

He doesn’t even try talking over the timer. He examines the socks like she just revealed another world wonder to him. “Woah,” he says, his cheeks turning just as pink as hers feel. “Thank you. You didn’t need to…”

He trails off. She doesn’t even have to interrupt him anymore, because he knows she didn’t need to—she wanted to, just like how he wants to do nice things for her, too.

He puts them on, sliding all over the floor the entire time Annie takes the cookies out of the oven. It’s not very long before he topples over and eats shit.

Annie crosses over to him. And then she melts onto the floor in solidarity.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“I’m okay,” he says. “Are the socks okay?”

She rearranges herself so she can tug at his ankle, examining the socks for any wear or tear. “Yup,” she says. “Good as new.”

He nods again. “Thank you again, by the way. I really love them.”

“I’m glad. Maybe now you won’t hog all the blankets.”

“As if!” he replies. It’s his favorite phrase of hers to borrow, and her favorite phrase to hear. 

She makes a face at him anyway. He makes a face back. Then, they promptly laugh so hard their stomachs cramp up.

Huh. Maybe being a victor wasn’t all bad.