#pOST CANCELLED; EVERYBODY GO HOME

[heartbrake-hotel]

Lordy honey yall makin me wanna write my own damn prompt. I got some more little tidbits for ya:

Elvis was turned during his first appearance at the International. But who turned him? I'm thinking there's some sort of deal going on between one the old vampires who invested in the building, maybe even the International's owner and Colonel Parker. They want Elvis to play there for as long as possible, and he isn't getting any younger--so they make it so he can't get any older, either.

At first Elvis is in a state of confusion, because fledglings (at least in my thoughts) are in a sort of fog when first turned. It helps them to adapt to feeding; cue Colonel Parker shoving cigarette girls into Elvis's suite, which he drains dry, much to his own horror when the initial feeding frenzy lifts.

And Colonel Parker isn't exactly picky with what he feeds Elvis: whoever is easy to get up into the suite, and high young girls are the easiest. Elvis tries, when he can afford it, to not feed--he doesn't know that if he drinks regularly then the frenzy won't come, but nobody has told him much of anything. His Sire isn't there, there wasn't any sort of ritual to his Turning as there normally is. No, this was just business.

aLRIGHT WOOHOO SMITTY MY LOVE LOOK AT US !!! im finally getting to this lmaoooo oOOPS 🙈 AND i have some mf THOUGHTS,,

(the orig hc post is here btw) ((idk if yall could tell but it Wrecked my Shit))

also it's been Sooooo long since we discussed this that u now have some Other relevant supernatural!au lore to pull from . so,, i hope u don't mind if i conflate the two universes a lil but ur worldbuilding in you ain't nothin' but a overtook my conscious mind weeks ago and has yet to relent 💝 oh nooooo.. whatever shall i dooooo.. 😏

far too many words under the cut. i, uh.. i may have lost control a lil 🤭🦇 ft. a frankly excessive use of pet names and an e who has been babygirlified maybe more than is appropriate within the confines of the plot (shocking, i'm sure).

right ok so !! vegas as a hub for at least some of the supernatural bc of its transient nature, high tourist volume, and seedy reputation. obvious check

for the most part, unaffiliated vamps stay out of vegas. like you said- it's too hard to monitor their blood concentrations when everyone and their dog is doing truckloads of party drugs well into the night.! but there are, of course, some Old Ones, who saw (or perhaps even built??) the city as their own personal playground btw this blends so seamlessly into the irl high-level mob ties its crazy lmao. marina's bringing up elvis is literally never not on my mind 🙏

if you're rich enough, or powerful enough (or have friends who are enough so), you don't have to fend for yourself the same way, so it's less of an issue. sucking out some rando party girl off the street is faaar beneath the pay grade of the handful of guys at the top, who have their meals carefully cultivated and hand-procured thru what is almost certainly a human trafficking ring

kirk kerkorian [or meyer kohn - u can pick ur universe, here] and the entire board of the international is of course among this group, exerting their power and influence (and perhaps Compulsion) to keep the flow of money running smoothly from the casinos below directly into their cash-lined pockets.

colonel tom parker [a demon again? or perhaps nobody in particular - either way he ends up hellspawn lmao whether literally or figuratively] is acutely aware of this when he first signs elvis on for the hotel's opening season - how could he not be? and of course everything goes perfectly smoothly for those first six weeks in 1969. **ik im twisting ur original idea just a tad but bear w me

but the longer the engagement goes, the more trouble colonel has reining elvis in. he had agreed heartily to those first fifty-eight appearances - purely to fund his upcoming world tour, you understand ("the snowman strikes again!"). but no matter how much colonel wheedles, he's not budging; elvis simply will not sign on for the next year.! he's finally holding his ground... and that's his undoing

coming off the back of his comeback special and last movie, e finally feels like he's got his mojo workin' - the king is back on top! after a looong decade stuffed fit to bursting with his botched movie career, he never thought he'd wrest any semblance of creative control away from the powers that be. but the last year or so has really made him see the value of his own opinion, AND the dangers of continued complacency. so with the backing of his family and extended entourage, he's heading halfway across the world just as soon as he gets off that stage for the last time.

colonel can't have that, not with the remainder of his hefty personal debt hanging in the balance. and with all the dough the hotel is raking in during the first dregs of their opening season, nobody up top wants their prize little cash cow flying away to london or japan or the rock of eternity or wherever he's fixin' to go - not if they have anything to say about it !

and so a plan is devised, swiftly, mercilessly, and without any pesky sense of remorse. after all, what do they have to feel bad about? they're just taking care of business

just after elvis' last performance, he's heading to his packed-up suite to shower and change for what he thinks will be the last time.. the boys are downstairs getting the last of the stuff in the cars and then they'll all head to the airport. he's got just a couple minutes to spare, and he assures them he'll be fine alone. just gonna run on up and change real quick, y'all don't needta worry about me none. [*evil colonel voice* wanna bet?]

he steps into his unusually empty suite, but before he can even shuck the towel from around his neck, his throat is being wrenched to the side in a vice grip as an unseen assailant steps from their hiding spot behind the door. he yelps, tries to throw them off, goes for the gun in his boot, but their grip is like steel, solid and unyielding, and before he can move much of anywhere there's a sharp prick in his neck and a sudden heaviness in his muscles he can't quite shake.

he assumes it's a syringe - he's not wholly unfamiliar with a needle, after all, and why would he suspect anything else? he guesses he's been drugged on account of... well, on account of bein' elvis presley. goddamn sonsabitches don't need any more reason than that. 'course, the sensation is a little different than he's used to - the gauge is unfamiliar, and he could swear he feels two distinct track marks - but by then his head is spinning too much to be certain of anything.

the last thing he feels is a rushing sense of complacency as his legs give out. his vision is swimming too much too see his attacker's face, but they let him go down, hard, and he crumples to an undignified heap on the floor helplessly as they turn to... leave? huh. not what he expected, but he supposes beggars can't be choosers

his sluggishly disjointed musings are broken only by the shadowy figure melting back into the shadows... his increasingly-addled mind knows he should be glad at their sudden departure, but all he can concentrate on is the inexplicable swing out of the vague sense of euphoria that had been the "drugs" kicking in, and a sudden accompanying feeling that he didn't like one bit. he could only describe it as a crawling fear, an absence, a kind of ripping deep in his soul... a pervasive sense of distance, of wrongness so festering he feared it was about to tear him apart from the inside out. he's suddenly certain he's not meant to be alone right now.

he gasps in the worst pain he's ever felt, and at the same moment, he's aware of a rush of footsteps in the hallway outside - he barely manages a wobbly gesture to the door and a slurred request to rip his goddamn tongue out b'the roots to the panicked faces of his boys crowding around his supine form before his vision finally goes dark.

when he wakes up, he's in an all-too-familiar bed. before running for the doctor and his daddy, a frazzled jerry sitting vigil at his side hurriedly explains that without him conscious enough to fill them in, all they knew is he wasn't fit to travel, so they'd unpacked his suite again while waiting for him to return to the land of the living. he's grateful, but assures him that as soon as he's feeling better they'll be heading out again.

he asks jerry to turn down the thermostat and flip off the light on his way out. the heavily-drawn drapes had already ensured it'd been near-pitch dark and freezing, just how he liked it, but he murmured it felt like he was burnin' up from the inside out, and his eyes were too sensitive for even the ambient glow of his bedside lamp. jerry does so and also fetches him a pair of big ol' sunglasses, without a word.

the doctors (who'd been summoned to the hotel; despite protests from the mafia, colonel had suggested that moving elvis to a hospital could be even more dangerous, what with this criminal still on the loose, and vernon had reluctantly agreed) hadn't been able to tell what he'd been dosed with - it'd metabolized too quickly to detect, apparently. all they can tell him after the last four days of monitoring his comatose form is that his vitals have been almost astonishingly strong. the only symptom he's had has been a high fever, but it breaks as soon as he's awake again- and actually, his body temp has overcorrected and is a little low now, is he feeling chilly?

they joke that whatever he'd been given seems to have actually helped him, and he's inclined to agree... despite the fact that they hadn't administered anything to him except an IV drip, in case it had any adverse interactions with whatever he'd been on, his chronic pain has mysteriously vanished. and since he's been awake and in recovery, he's only seemed to get more handsome and charming, no sign at all of being out of it and on fluids for so long. you sure wouldn't have known his recent predicament by looking at him !

he's got a host of baffling new symptoms as well, but nothing that seems dangerous or that points to any kind of diagnosis. he's growing increasingly thirsty, but the buckets of water he's drinking aren't quenching him. he seems to have lost his sense of taste (this one hits him the worst) - at first, the smell of food made him nauseous. now he can keep it down, but it feels like ash in his mouth. his light sensitivity lingers, though for the most part it's limited to natural light, and he takes to wearing the sunglasses often. he seems to have developed a sudden allergy to some of his jewelry - his silver rings and pendants now cause a burning rash. he has them remade in gold and doesn't give it a second thought.

he tells and retells his story to the cops, but they're left scratching their heads; it's widely assumed the panicked arrival of the mafia scared off the creep before they could pull off the rest of their plan. kill him, kidnap him for ransom... seemed like they'd never know for sure, but either way everyone agrees he narrowly escaped a much worse fate. colonel doesn't think it wise for him to be on the road, what with this continued threat hanging over his head, but jerry argues it doesn't seem any better to stay in vegas with this freak at large. and elvis points out that if the bastard follows him overseas, they have bigger fish to fry.

the boys seem confused that the attack doesn't appear to have played into his usual paranoia in any way; he doesn't know quite how to explain it, he tells them, but he feels stronger, somehow. more settled. like if it ever came to it again, he could handle himself. it might just be relieved cockiness, but what didn't kill him made it so he's at least not afraid again. he's been reflecting deeply on psalm 23, apparently.

and so the suite is once again packed up, despite colonel's protestations- this time with elvis under constant supervision, much to his good-natured amusement. it goes without incident, and they make it all the way to the runway before elvis is suddenly doubled over in pain in the back of the limo, sweating and shaking like a leaf.

he's groaning that it hurts, hurts s'bad, but can't say anything more than that, and within seconds the whole caravan has whipped around and is careening back to the relative safety of the hotel. by the time he's being ferried hurriedly up to his room, he's improving steadily, and by the time he's settled in bed and the doctors once more fetched, he's weak and badly shaken but seems no worse for wear.

the doctors can't explain this apparent relapse any more than the first, but tentatively give him a clean bill of health, and two days later they try it all again. this time he makes it within a couple miles of the airport, and it takes him four days to recover. the last time they try, he only makes it four blocks away from the Strip and is bedridden for a week. nobody has any sort of explanation, and the tour is put on hold indefinitely while they're seemingly stranded.

the colonel is the one who offers a possible solution. he'd been hovering around elvis' room the whole time (like a bad smell, sonny mutters when he's out of earshot), fluttering around with assurances that the hotel would gladly host them as long as they needed, maybe even sign them on for another season if elvis so wished...

when elvis finally roars that he just wants OUT of this place, goddammit in response to vernon's suggestion that he stop working himself up with leaving, colonel finally pounces.

he must put his foot down, he says. his boy is clearly in no condition to travel- no, no, not physically, he hastily amends, when elvis opens his mouth to remind him what the doctors said, but clearly mentally. something about the attack has left him emotionally unstable, it appears, and the idea of leaving, even though he's so sure he wants to, is clearly triggering some kind of psychosomatic attack. why doesn't he make up his mind to stay- not forever, just until his head is screwed on right. he can keep playing the international, and they can find him some head-shrinkers to fix him right up, eh? elvis doesn't see any choice but to glumly agree.

of course, unbeknownst to elvis, the real issue is that his Maker won't allow him to leave vegas city limits. he's been kept totally in the dark as to his situation and is thus totally suggestible, so when the vampire who Turned him (continually employed by the Ancients for just this kind of dirty work) uses their mental connection to Compel him to stay within a certain radius, elvis doesn't even know he's feeling it, much less that it's possible to fight it. his Bat simply obeys without question, to the confusion of his body and conscious mind.

if his Turning had been accompanied by proper ritual, if his Maker had explained any of his new life to him, if he'd received any guidance at all, he'd know he could override this instinct, break the Bond they shared (especially as ill-cultivated as it is), and be on his way. as it is, he's like a dog with a newly-installed invisible fence. a dog who's also growing steadily weaker since his Turning because of his lack of sustenance, mind you.

the colonel knows all this. he also knows that any doctors or psychiatrists that see elvis from this point on will be in the know, be provided by the hotel, and be payed handsomely to tell elvis exactly what the colonel wants him to hear. he send word to the Council that they've got him at last. they rejoice at the prospect of chaining elvis to their stage for an eternity, elvis begrudgingly signs the contract for another engagement, and this is where the real trouble starts...

it's been three weeks since he was inadvertently Turned, and elvis is feeling the affects of not having Fed, though he doesn't realize it. he's weak, he's thirsty, he's snappish, and can somebody turn off those godDAMNED lights !!! the mafia assume it's due to his mental slump and are at a loss except to wait it out, but the colonel thinks he has something to cheer him up. he winks and tells red that elvis will have a few, ehem.. lady visitors tonight, and surely they shouldn't be disturbed. the boys get the hint.

colonel sends up the ditziest cigarette girl he can find downstairs, a perky little blonde, so doped-up out of her mind she's wobbling in her heels. she gasped and flushed darkly when he told her that mr. presley was in need of her services; he hadn't even needed to slip her any cash to incentivize her troubles. he chomped on his cigar and grinned darkly as he watched her giggle her way to the elevator.

elvis, for his part, almost makes it. he'd answered the rhythmic little knock in his robe, loosely tied, and didn't miss the way the sweet young thing at his door gaped at the sight of all that chest on display. before he can even say anything, she's slipped under his arm and further into the room, and he raises an eyebrow and grins as he eases the door shut. he peruses her wares (the CIGARETTES !! im talking about the cigarettes..) more for show than anything else, and hands her a $20 in exchange for a pack he doesn't plan on smoking, telling her to keep the change.

she bends over far more than necessary while stacking boxes back in her tray, and flutters her lashes when she asks him if there's... anything else she can get him. flattered as he is, he tells her, he isn't sure he needs anything just now, but thank you kindly anyways, honey. truthfully, he's not sure he's feeling up for it, but she pouts so prettily as she swings her hips sadly over to the door, and turns back to ask if he's really really sure... the colonel had sent her up with express instructions to give him anything he wanted, she explains, sultry little whine in her voice, and he finds his resolve crumbling.

surely a little kissing wouldn't hurt, he reasons, might even make him feel a lil better, and her eyes light up in glee when he beckons her back over. but the minute she's in his arms, easing her way up to his lips as her eyes flutter shut, he isn't sure what comes over him. they're so close her heartbeat rushes in his ears, and without a thought he's effortlessly snapped her neck (with strength he didn't know he had) and is lapping frantically from her torn throat (pierced with the aid of sharp fangs he's never felt before). she never even saw it coming.

he moans as he sags to the ground, clutching her limp form and still slurping desperately as, for the first time since his attack, his thirst is quenched. he dimly realizes he's done something unforgivable, but his head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton, everything around him distant and foggy. the sense of panic he knows he should be feeling is a far-off twinge, all but muted by the combined cocktail of ecstasy running through him: fresh blood, dope, and a brain fog he can't quite attribute to either.

when she's dry he's sated, the sense of woozy relief hits him so strong that he barely manages to stagger to his feet and stumble over to the couch, chin and hands still covered in blood, before he's passing out for ten hours of the emptiest sleep he's ever had. when he wakes up, all traces of what happened are gone, and with a mind that finally feels clearer than it has for weeks, he almost manages to convince himself it was an incredibly fucked-up dream, so potent that the sweet metallic tang is still blooming on his tongue...

...until of course, the next time it happens. it goes much the same way: the colonel has no trouble locating a girl who'll never be missed- this is vegas, after all- and sends her, high as a kite of her own volition, up to the penthouse to keep company with a disgruntled and starving elvis. he drains her dry before he can even blink, but stays awake this time to spend the next few hours totally blissed out in an uncomfortably drugged haze. the more he comes down, the more he hates not only what he's done but also the way it makes him feel.

thus starts a vicious cycle: elvis, terrified of feeding, swears off blood, until he's half-starved but fighting himself at every turn. the colonel intervenes, sending throngs of low-risk girls up to the suite, where e simply can't help himself anymore, and enters a violent blood-crazed frenzy. he spends the hours after staggering around half-lucid, waiting for the effects to fade so he can convince himself he'll never do it again.

the stronger he maintains his tenuous mental fortitude- the longer he goes between feeds- the more girls he needs in a night to fill him up, and the higher he gets afterwards. he doesn't ask where colonel finds them or what he does with the bodies. he thinks dully that he doesn't much want to know.. it's hard enough on his conscience already.

of course, yet another thing nobody's bothered to explain to poor frightened fledgling elvis is that every time he refuses to feed when he should, every time he feels the welling signs of that dark hunger within himself and shoves them down in distress, every time his instincts are forced to take over and quite literally make him feed, that it exacerbates the mental fog he's feeling.

vampiric lore (which of course he doesn't know) attributes it to a sort of easing-in countermeasure; it's only newly-turned vampires, not fully in touch with their desires, that attempt to starve themselves so, clearly suffering from a mental block regarding the morality of preying upon their former species. to smooth their transition into acceptance of their new form, every time they're forced to feed rather than do it willingly, a potent release of hormones and neurotransmitters floods their system, both to combat any lingering guilt and to make them crave the mental release of feeding just as much as the physical.

if he were to feed normally, if he were to provide his body with the nourishment it needed on a regular basis, his instincts wouldn't have to override his mind this way. he wouldn't be forced to feed so violently or so much, he'd be able to control himself such that he could select his own victims preferentially and even bring himself to stop before killing them, and he wouldn't feel so overwhelmed afterwards.

elvis thinks of his... condition as an affliction, a temptation he lacks the strength to overcome, but really, it's his body's desperate attempt to stay alive when his mind insists on thwarting his ongoing survival at every turn. the bloodlust isn't a punishment but a protective measure, and one he could prevent if he'd take consistent care of his new needs.

and on top of all that, the particular way his intake is chemically tainted only adds to this anguish, because now he's unknowingly also developing a dependency on the drugs- the painful withdrawal symptoms of which serve to strongarm him into feeding even more frequently.

things are only exacerbated by his performance engagement starting back up; of course, it's even easier to find girls- hordes of them batter the doors to the showroom after every show, desperate for just another glimpse of him- but it also means he's got a responsibility to be right there on that stage twice a night, able-minded or no, and he takes that very seriously.

he's got people to support, after all, so he gets very used to functioning while highly intoxicated, whether that means performing, schmoozing the high rollers in the casino at the behest of his hotel benefactors, or smiling through a never-ending stream of reporters and photographers during every interview and press conference.

this is where the reader steps in !!!

you're one of less than a handful of vamps, just two or three, really, who manage to stick around vegas (and consume healthy blood) without the influence of the Old Ones, a feat you manage by staying off the Strip almost entirely. you stick to the suburbs, both as a way to ensure you're not tripping out after every meal, and to (hopefully) stay out of sight and out of mind of the powerful Ancients who don't want anyone infringing on their territory. this is very fright night remake vibes btw if anyone remembers that

but there's very little to do in the dusty, sprawling desert neighborhoods that isn't centered around maintaining the tourism industry downtown, especially for an immortal with nothing but time (and the occasional meal) to kill. you're nowhere near as experienced as those you seek to avoid, but you've been around the block quite a few times yourself, and sometimes the neon glow of the city lights overrides the quiet boredom of your safely-maintained little perimeter.

tonight is one such night: elvis presley had been headlining the international hotel for what felt like ages, or maybe just a blink - it was hard to judge that pesky human time, when their lifespans were so much shorter than yours. either way, he'd been this era's answer to jesus for a few decades now, and you had to admit you were curious to see him in person at last.

you decide on the midnight show- maybe if you're lucky, you can scrounge up a snack on the way home. you don't bother with a ticket- though you have more than enough human money stored up over the years, you're sure it's no use for what promises to be a sold-out show. the bouncers aren't any deterrent, either- you simply Compel them into checking the list for your name another time, and they let you in without a murmur. the showroom is packed so full, you notice as you survey the area, that nobody could ever notice one more.

you slip into a vacant seat at the end of one of the long tables that line the stage, with a group of screaming fans who don't seem to notice that they don't know you. you can't tell if their distraction is borne more from excitement or alcohol, but either way, you're grateful for the cover. you order a bloody mary as your own personal joke and bide your time until the show starts, perusing the booths that line the floor behind you. you recognize a few familiar Old Ones, by face if not name- no surprise, considering who runs the casino just outside.

eventually, the lights fade and the orchestra bursts into an opening riff. you clap with the rest when elvis struts out on stage, looking resplendent in a white jumpsuit, grinning wide and boyishly and practically glowing under the stage lights. his rings flash as he waves to the audience, courteous and attentive even as he starts singing. when the song's over he introduces himself and some of the VIPs, including the owner of the hotel (now there's a vamp who's been getting himself a lot of press lately), and the heavyset man next to him, apparently elvis' own manager. the man gives a simpering smile and wave to the crowd as the spotlights illuminate the booth, and you wrinkle your nose as you turn back to the main stage. you haven't placed it yet, but something seems off about that one.

elvis puts on a good show, you'll give him that, but the longer you watch, the more puzzled you become. he's slurring just a bit when he jokes with the band in between numbers, and more clumsy than you'd expect for someone so flexible; you'd say it was just another hollywood star using and abusing drugs if he didn't look so... panicked every time. he's twitchy, too, keeps getting down toward the edge of the stage like he's about to move out into the crowd and start planting kisses on his clamoring fans, like you've heard he does, but he keeps jerking himself back at the last second. they seem to think he's teasing, screaming louder every time, and he plays it off with a slow grin, but it's almost like... like he's afraid he won't be able to control himself, like...

ah. there it is

you zero in on just the barest flash of fang in his smile, and immediately suss out what's going on. elvis presley, a fledgling vamp in what is indisputably the worst city in the world for fledgling vamps... strange things are happening every day, aren't they?

that leaves you with more questions than answers, however... questions like where's his Master? why isn't he feeding properly? who's keeping him half-starved and strung-out? and most importantly, does he even know what's going on?

you narrow your eyes contemplatively as you watch him fool with the microphone before prompting the band to start the next song. all it takes is seeing his hands tremble around the cord to make you nod decisively and shoot back the rest of your drink. you suppose you can stick around a little longer than originally planned... after all, it seemed like elvis might need a little help fixing this, whether he knew it or not.

you lingered just a little after the show ended, waiting until the throngs of frantic women had pushed their way back to the lobby before heading after them yourself. you glanced around surreptitiously, locating the nearest elevator bay... and near it, a familiar older man with a cane whispering furtively to a clearly-tipsy young woman, one you recognized from your table during the show. she had caught a silk scarf fluttering down in front of her from the man himself and hadn't stopped screaming until the lights came back on. bingo

you ran one hand through your hair haphazardly, tousling it slightly as you stumbled your way over to them. "oh, there you are! i was looking for you," you chirped. she gasps and waves excitedly in the earnest way only drunk girls do, but your mouth is open again before she can speak and do something incriminating, like ask your name. "who's y'r friend? s'he coming upstairs with us?" you giggle, leering at... what had his name been again? ah yes, colonel parker. you silently gave a sigh of thanks for your heightened senses- you might not have recognized him just from your brief glimpse during the show otherwise.

the colonel glanced you over dismissively, clearly writing you off as another inebriated fan - his mistake, but exactly what you wanted him to think all the same. he gave you a leering grin and tapped his cane as he said "ah, i was just asking your friend here to do a simple personal favor for me..." you hummed disinterestedly until he continued "...on behalf of mister presley, of course." you gasped exaggeratedly and willed your cheeks to flush- lucky you had fed recently.

he seems to buy it, from the way his eyebrow ticks upwards when he sees your reaction "perhaps you would like to... accompany her to his suite, no?" he teases. you nod raptly, artificial stars in your eyes, and he snorts as he pushes the call elevator button for you with the top of his cane. "top floor. you two enjoy yourselves," he chuckles. the two of you giggle as he saunters away, towards the casino entrance.

as soon as the doors slide shut behind you, you straighten up and tidy your hair in the chromatic reflection until you're once again presentable. you brush off your outfit, fiddling until you're satisfied, then take a deep breath. snapping once to get your lightly confused companion's attention, your turn her shoulders towards you so she's making woozy and bewildered eye contact with you.

"hi honey. having a good night? good. this is how the rest of it is gonna go, ok? now you listen to me-"

when the doors opened again at the thirtieth floor, the girl (tracy. she had told you absently her name was tracy) waved distractedly over her shoulder as she walked straight out of the elevator bay and into the nearby stairwell, head filled with what she believed to be an immutable truth about the elevator being out of service. she'd walk back to her room (on the off chance there was anyone downstairs monitoring the floor indicator dial), wake up perfectly safe in the morning, and think nothing of it.

meanwhile, you let yourself into elvis' suite with the key tracy had handed over, a parting gift from the colonel. you left the lights off, made yourself comfortable on the couch facing the door, and waited.

you didn't have to wait long- just minutes later, there was noise outside, multiple male voices speaking over each other as they all piled out of the elevator and headed for the door, elvis' the loudest. "yeah, yeah, i said i'd meet you down there, didn't i? doin' my damn head in... i'll tell ya what, y'all g'head and i'll call down there when i'm done. yes i swear, now git!" laughter and good-natured ribbing faded as the elevator doors presumably closed behind the crowd once again, punctuated with a sigh and the click of the door lock disengaging another time.

elvis didn't seem to notice you as he walked in, leaving the light off as well as he patted his face dry with the damp towel looped around his neck. he leaned against the wall with one hand to brace himself as he toed off his boots, then whipped his dark shades off onto a side table and gripped the bridge of his nose with another deep sigh.

"are you in any pain, mr. presley?" he yelped in undignified surprise and whipped around with a touch of vampiric speed, dropping the towel in his fright to discover the source of your voice. despite the pitch blackness of the room, his eyes locked onto yours immediately through the dark, without needing to scan the empty space around you- another sign of his transition. no mortal could see as perfectly well in this scenario as the two of you could.

"wh- who-" he stuttered some, regaining his bearings, as you cocked your head in evaluation. "i'm sorry to startle you, mr. presley," you say evenly, but pleasantly. "you can drop that shit straightaway, honey, that's my daddy. can jus' call me elvis." he murmurs absentmindedly, as if it hadn't been what he really intended to say but came out by habit. "and now that you know me, may i ask who you are? and better yet what the hell you're doing in my room?" he doesn't sound angry, per se, more resigned than anything, and you smile wryly in response as you introduce yourself. "real pretty, honey, but i'd like an answer to my other question, too." he raises his eyebrow, and you wonder if he's even aware of how much charismatic mental energy he's leaking right now. it was even more apparent to you now why humans throw themselves at him left and right.

"sorry, m- i mean, elvis. the colonel sent me up. i saw your show- you were fantastic, but i had a couple questions." "he did, did he? just wonderful," he almost growls, squeezing his eyes shut. "and some questions, you said? you a reporter?" his voice sounds hard-edged for the first time tonight, but he seems to relax again when you answer with a simple no. "just concerned, i guess." he hums tiredly at your response, vague though it is. "concerned about what, 'bout the show? i'll do my best to answer your questions, honey, but i really don't think there's all too much to be concerned about-"

"elvis, when was the last time you fed?" you can hear his breath catch from clear across the room. "i-i had lunch after rehearsals, but i ain't had dinner yet, if that's what you're askin'... pretty forward way to ask me on a date, but i-" you put a hand up to cut him off. "i think you know perfectly well that's not what i'm asking, elvis. when was the last time you fed properly? on blood?" "...ha! been watching a little too many dark shadows reruns, honey?" his words trip over themselves getting out, and eventually he gives up to just blink at you, speechless, owl-eyed, and afraid despite his frankly pathetic attempt at a cover. he looks like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar only this time the metaphorical cookie jar is a number of very literal human corpses lol

you bite back a sigh- perhaps you pushed too hard there. poor thing is wringing his hands like he thinks you're gonna put him in cuffs any minute. "maybe we should start over- i'm here to help, ok? i wanna make sure you're alright, cuz i think you might have a lot of questions nobody's explained to you yet. c'mere and sit next to me, baby, and we'll just talk" you pat the seat next to you, flipping his casual pet naming back on him effortlessly. to be fair, he is a baby to you- only, what, a couple months old? that's nothing compared to your few hundred years.

he eyes the spot next to you but shakes his head, still looking like a lost puppy. "n-no, i- m'fine over here," he manages. you furrow your brow; he's gonna need to start trusting you if he wants your help, and this is a bad way to begin. "i promise, i'm not gonna hurt you, elvis-" that sure does it. "i'm not worried about that!" he exclaims. "m'worried about me hurting you!"

you breathe out a surprised little oh, suddenly understanding. "is that what you're so worried about, sweetie? i'm not afraid of you." you try to placate him. "y-you should be afraid of me, honey. i am."

and that's the crux of the matter, isn't it? it breaks your heart a little to know that this is what he's been grappling with alone. it's not meant to be like this- with time and acceptance, he was meant to gain eternal companionship (your semi-loner status nonwithstanding). and whoever heard of a scared vampire?

but you put that aside to focus on elvis- and quickly realize there's one more... little thing you might've left out.

"you don't need to be anymore, ok? i'm gonna help you learn to control it." you beckon him over again, and this time he makes it halfway across the floor before you realize you're not sure if you're Compelling him or not. he'll need to learn what it feels like eventually, in order to both use it and combat it, but now's probably not the time. you break eye contact, just in case, and he falters slightly, but keeps coming, putting you at ease.

as he gets close enough to hear your heartbeat, though, his eyes suddenly turn frantic, and he backpedals, once again in the grip of that familiar terror. "you- you have to get out of here, i can't-" you shush him, not unkindly. "oh, sweetheart. that one's my bad, ok? i guess i haven't been very good at this so far," you grin apologetically. "but you couldn't hurt me, even if you tried"

you use your superspeed to whoosh over to his side and back, the only sign you'd moved at all the slight sway of your hair in the breeze it creates- and the golden ankh pendant now swinging from your upturned palm. elvis gapes, hands reaching up to feel the now-empty space around his neck where the necklace rested just moments ago. "how...?" listen i really can't be assed abt the fact he wasn't wearing necklaces this early ok. it was a cool move

"forgot to tell you - i'm souped up, too." you wink at him, flashing your pupils the deep red they turn when you're Feeding. "and also i think a little stronger than you, given what i saw on stage tonight." this is soo cliche im sorry but Spooky Eyes HAWT. i don't feel bad about it actually

the immediate sense of overwhelming relief on his face almost aches to see, and he's crossed the remaining stretch of floor to practically collapse in your arms sobbing before you can blink. it's... very surprising, you'll admit, but not unwelcome, either, and you're sure the uncertainty lingers in your voice as you gentle him softly, petting his hair and rubbing his back and trying not to overthink the fact that you've known elvis presley for all of ten minutes and now... this is happening. whatever this is.

"woah- woah, hey, what's happening? what's the matter, baby?" he's shaking like a leaf as you hold him, trying to work out in what universe this makes sense. "i-i-i ain't-" he manages through tears. "i haven't been able to touch any-anyone this whole time without b-being so goddamned afraid i'd hurt 'em... and i just- i..."

your worst fears for him, first materialized as you watched him onstage and puzzled about the identity of his Master, are confirmed. "baby... have you been alone this whole time?" you whisper. he just nods from his resting place, face buried in your shoulder. IS this a weird level of intimacy for 2 virtual strangers? totally yup. DO i still think its arguably valid considering how desperately lonely i have decided to make this bitch? uh huh :3

you suck in a breath through your teeth, suddenly filled with the fiery emotion you've been tamping down all night- rage. rage at whoever organized this hit, at whoever must be profiting off it while elvis suffers and innocent girls die, at the colonel who's been shepherding bodies in here endlessly and apparently without deigning to give elvis any proper help or training- yeah, don't think you forgot about him.

but before you can do anything about that, you have to do something with the king of rock 'n roll, who's finally quieting down in your lap. you shove the anger back down, the same way you do your bloodlust- the same way you'll teach elvis.

he sits back up, furiously wiping his tear-stained face. "sorry, honey- i don't know what came over me." he barks a laugh but his eyes tell you it's for show. you tut at him, standing up to fetch him a tissue and maybe a bottle of water, if you can find it- you're sure there must have been one waiting for him after the show. his eyes widen again, but before he has time for concern you cup his cheek to brush the last of his tears away with the pad of your thumb, accompanied by a gently chiding look that says i'm not going anywhere

he has enough time to look sheepish before you putter back over to him with your spoils, talking a mile a minute to distract him. "tch, enough of that! that's part of the change- everything you felt before is doubly strong now. it can be hard to separate your emotions sometimes, especially when you're not used to it. you'll feel everything differently now, and twice as hard."

he takes a moment to mull that over as he mops his face and chugs the water bottle, then nods as he meets your eyes again. "i didn't know that, but it sounds- it feels right. what else can ya tell me?" you chuckle darkly, stretching out on the couch. "oh, just bunches, baby. get comfortable, cuz i know you've got questions- and i've got your answers."

over the course of the night, you explain everything to elvis- how he was Turned, the changes his body's going through, all the symptoms and abilities he'll experience now, why he's feeling the way he is, his options for feeding, how his habits need to change if he intends to keep going like this... it's a laborious process, given how little he knows and how much he thinks he does- he's already got a lot of misconceptions to retrain.

"hey, maybe you're the one who's been watching too many dark shadows reruns lately!" you mean it as a joke, but he flushes. "well, s'not like there's a, a handbook or anythin'! i've been tryin' to study up!" you burst out laughing, and he laughs with you.

at one point he orders up dinner for the two of you, which provides the perfect opportunity for you to offer him a creature comfort- "food? yeah, you can eat food. it won't sustain you, but you're free to eat for pleasure." at his pained look, you give him a knowing smirk. "i bet it tastes nasty right now, doesn't it?" he nods glumly, eyeing your super-rare hamburger, and you chuckle, eyeing him as you take an exaggerated bite. he groans in annoyance, and you laugh as you lick your fingers clean. "don't worry- that'll pass. it's your instincts' way of telling you that you're malnourished- kind of a deterrent from stuff that won't actually keep you alive. you'll be back to your peanut butter and banana in no time, promise." he cheers, and orders up a bottle of champagne, just for that.

"that's another thing- we metabolize differently. your system can tell the difference between the liquid calories it needs and the solid calories you're feeding it just for fun. you won't derive any energy from human food, so you can't gain weight. no reason to store fat," you shrug. "but it also means-" you clink your champagne glass with his in a mock toast, "-you can't get drunk." he sputters, "well, why'd you even let me order the bubbly then?? this shit's expensive, so they tell me!" "i like the way it sparkles! it tickles my nose!"

the hours come and go, but the two of you barely notice, so wrapped up in your conversation. that's another thing you explain- how he'll need much less rest now, if he keeps himself healthy, but that until he's being nourished properly he'll be fatigued and need to sleep pretty much like before. he admits that he was practically nocturnal beforehand, anyway- he hadn't even noticed this one change among so many more pressing.

his drapes were heavy-duty, but you could see just the barest sliver of skyline out the window as the sun began to rise. "it's almost dawn," you whisper, conscious of the fact that the vampire before you is very young, and has had a very long night. a very long month, to be perfectly honest. he hums from where his head is resting on your thigh- you'd encouraged him to lie down an hour ago when he kept breaking off his sentences to yawn hugely. actually, you'd encouraged him to get some rest and you'd talk more later, but he'd refused to go to bed, assuring you he wasn't tired 't all, just sore from the show- he got muscle aches, you know, and he needed to stretch out. you hadn't been convinced then, and you were even less so now, keeping a fond eye on him (fond?? when had that happened) as he drowsed in your lap.

his end of the conversation had started lagging about the same time you started running your hand through his hair, until he was practically purring in contentment. you huffed in amusement. "more like a kitty cat than a bat, i think." he cocked an eyebrow and grinned salaciously, though he didn't open his eyes. "oh honey, i'll show you a cat... a pussycat, to be precis-" "HEY!" you swatted him teasingly and he snickered, settling down again. "keep it clean, presley." "yes, Master." you paused in your ministrations at that, just long enough for his brow to furrow. "you don't have to call me that." "yeah... but can i? i mean, would'ya mind if i-?" his voice was quiet, but sincere. "...ok. but only if you want to." he can hear the smile in your voice without looking, and it makes him smile, too.

"you do have a real one out there, y'know." "i know. but they ain't ever helped me none- all they've done for me is turn my life upside down and leave again. but you... hell, honey, i've only known you one night, and already things are starting to feel right side up again." you sit with that for just long enough to feel pleased before you reach down to tweak his nose. he giggles, and your bid to give the both of you a break from being so fucking earnest goes off without a hitch. the tension stays broken, but the tranquil mood remains.

"guess you're stuck with me again- i can't make it all the way home in that," you venture eventually, nodding at the lone streak of sun making its way past the blackout curtains to pool on the floor behind the piano. luckily far out of the way, or he might've had a particularly unpleasant awakening of his own, had he stumbled through the patch accidentally. he shifts minutely, well on his way to sleep by now. "mm, sounds jus' awful," he drawls, answer delayed only slightly by the fact that he's snoozing, his voice is so quiet that without your enhanced senses you'd have to strain to hear it. "can't imagine quite how i'll make it through if you've gotta stick around s'more." "even dead to the world, you maintain your sense of humor, huh, baby? and those lady-killer tendencies, i see" "yeah, well, i have killed quite a few lad-" "elvis!" you laugh, scandalized, as he huffs a laugh as well as he leverages himself up to sitting.

he rubs his eyes as he tries to get his bearings. "s'pose that's my way of asking real tactful... what happens next?" "well, first we've gotta detox you." "what, from the blood? i thought you said-" "nope, not from the blood. from the drugs in the blood." "from the w-" he gapes, looking shocked and hurt, and also a little appalled at himself. "i really am sorry to break it to you, sweetheart- there's a lot going on with you right now, and only some of it is due to... this," you reach up a hand to thumb at one of his fangs, which had slipped out as soon as you started talking about blood. "the rest of it is a combination of the vegas lights and whoever up top orchestrated the whole thing." he nods slowly, expression inscrutable. "we'll take it slow, i promise. ok?" "yeah," he nods more steadily now. "yeah, i trust you."

"well, then, mr. presley- are you ready?" he nods his head as if on instinct, then has the decency to look confused. "ready for what?" you smile, fangs out. "to start getting you fixed up... so we can take down those bastards responsible for this." he just stares at you a moment before a slow grin starts to take over his face, eyes darkening to match the quite literally bloodthirsty expression in yours.

"let's get to it."

[goldenspirits]

she ghost on my face til i

[tigirl-and-co]

I HATE. HAVING. A MOOD. DISORDER. THIS SHIT FUCKING BLOWS FAT CHUUUUUNKS

[sunriseovergotham]

guys

[redroomreflections]

Words For US

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Request:What about Luke's first time saying mom or Mama to R? I know she'd be over the moon! Or maybe if you wanted to share Luke's words with both Nat and r while he's sitting on the ground playing ball with midnight and he points at both both r and Nat on opposite ends of the couch and squeals Mama!

The car was a madhouse.

Luke’s wails pierced the air, his little fists thrashing against the straps of his car seat. He hated being strapped in, and it didn’t help that it was after school — when his patience was nonexistent. Paige, from her spot in the back, was loudly insisting on playing Cocomelon for the hundredth time, her voice climbing over Luke’s cries.

“I said Cocomelon, Mama! Please, please!” Paige’s pleas turned into whining as she kicked the back of the seat in front of her.

Meanwhile, Charlie, seated directly next to Luke, was on her own mission, talking a mile a minute about something that happened at school. “—and then, Mom, she said I couldn’t have the glitter because Ava took it, but it wasn’t fair because—”

Natasha’s hands gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, trying to focus on the road ahead, while you juggled between soothing Luke and listening to Charlie's rambling. Your head was spinning from the constant noise. It was pure chaos, the kind that came with having a car full of kids on a wild, post-school energy high.

“Okay, everyone, let’s just—” You started, turning toward Luke in the back, trying to calm him down.

But the chaos had its own rhythm. No one was slowing down.

Luke screamed a little louder, the pitch of his wails rising.

Paige stomped her feet against the backseat, shouting for her music.

Charlie was still prattling away.

"Dear God, I'm going to walk home from now on," Cara sighed in annoyance. She pressed her headphones tighter into her ear. No matter how much the volume was turned up she couldn't cancel out the sound of her sibling's voices.

Your head pounded.

Natasha's grip on the steering wheel tightened even more. "Okay, everybody!" She yelled, her voice louder than the rest, "Everybody needs to calm down!"

Even Luke’s cries stopped at the sound of Nataha's serious voice. His tiny, tear-streaked face twisted into something determined as he pointed, still hiccupping, toward the front seat where both you and Natasha sat.

“M-mama!” he squealed, the word clear and insistent, cutting through the air like a beacon. His little finger bounced between the two of you. “Mama! Mama!”

"Did he just?" Natasha looked toward you. For a while, Luke's progression with his vocabulary had remained stagnant. His only words were Dog, Ball, and Mine. All very important words of course. But hearing him speak so clearly was new, and his word of choice was enough to make you want to cry.

You nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, he did."

Paige clapped excitedly. "Yes, Lukie, say it again."

Luke's smile grew as he heard Paige's voice. "Mama," he giggled.

You and Natasha looked at each other again, your heart racing as Luke began to point toward Paige, repeating his new favorite word.

"I am not, Mama, silly," Paige laughed. "I'm your sister."

"Ma-ma," Luke said, his tiny brow furrowing. "Out!"

"No, no, don't throw your toy!"

"Ma-ma! Out!"

"It's okay, bud, we're almost home," You reassured.

But that was the wrong thing to say, and soon, his little face was twisting up. "Ma-ma! Mama! Out!"

"Okay, okay, buddy, I've got you," You said, releasing the seatbelt and reaching toward the backseat, undoing Luke's buckles, and scooping him up into your arms. "Let's just pull over for a minute and everyone breathe."

You had no idea if this was the correct way to handle this situation, but what the hell. You needed to get out of the car anyway.

The moment the car pulled over, Luke calmed down, his tears disappearing like they'd never been there at all. "Mama," he cooed, pressing a wet, sloppy kiss against your cheek.

"Thank you," Natasha breathed.

"No problem," You laughed, holding Luke close to you.

[viviennevermillion]

ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ɢᴏᴏᴅ

❝ you see my heart i wear it on my sleeve, 'cause i just can't hide it anymore. i know that it's gonna take some time; i've got to admit that the thought has crossed my mind: this might end up like it should ❞ — daughtry

ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ: character x gn!reader, ideal dates

ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ: alhaitham, baizhu, capitano, cyno, diluc, dottore, kaveh, pantalone, tighnari, wanderer

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: dottore's ideal date includes observing his creepy mad scientist experiments. he's sweet to reader but very much not a good person in this and neither are you

ɴᴏᴛᴇꜱ: guess who is back? thought hitting 4.5k followers might be a good time to break my 3 month genshin hiatus and comeback with a 10 character headcanon post. comments and reblogs are appreciated! you're also always welcome to shoot me an ask about my works! 💙

ᴅɴɪ: ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴜᴍᴇʀꜱ, ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ᴇɴᴛʜᴜꜱɪᴀꜱᴛꜱ, ʙʟᴏɢꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴜꜱᴇʀɴᴀᴍᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘꜰᴘ

Alhaitham isn’t really the type to go out of his way to take you on dates if there isn’t a special occasion. Before the two of you got together, he would often ask you whether you’d like to go to the tavern with him after he finished up work or join him in the library. Once in a while you’d take a walk together and sometimes after you spent time, Alhaitham would invite you over to dinner at his house, apologising for his roommate in advance even though you found Kaveh to be not even half as unpleasant as Alhaitham thought he was.

“Dates” with Alhaitham always retain this character of a loose and relaxed hangout with a good friend, even throughout your relationship. Of course, Alhaitham will pay attention to your needs and make sure you don’t doubt his love for you, but he doesn’t really care for the conventional idea of a date. He mostly wants to spend time with you.

For Alhaitham the most important part of your dates are the conversations. He wouldn’t have fallen for you if he doesn’t love to have long, in-depth conversations with you about whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re as well-versed in a subject as he is with language; as long as you’re able to hold your own in a discussion with him, he’ll have a good time. If you manage to answer something clever and humorous to a question he asks you, you might get a chuckle out of him. It’s how you found out that Alhaitham actually has a very warm laugh that makes you feel content in his presence.

Being with Alhaitham means that sometimes you forget the fact that you’re even on a date. You’re so immersed in the conversation with him, his hand placed on top of yours as he takes another sip of his coffee, that the environment around you just fades away; whether you’re out in the forests or having a meal at the tavern.

Just make sure to not take Alhaitham to places that are too loud or too crowded. He prefers a quiet and calm atmosphere where he can focus on you and his thoughts. After all, he came here for some quality time with the person he loves rather than listening to a drunk scholar’s misadventures at the table next to him. He brings his noise-cancelling headphones along with him, but he still makes sure to get the two of you a quiet place away from the busy chatter of the townfolk.

Alhaitham loves to take you to Akademiya exhibitions or ruins in the desert. He’s well-aware that sitting over a book for hours and researching a topic may not be everybody’s cup of tea, so he likes going out with you to places where you can actually see the things he studies while he explains them to you. He’ll show you ancient scriptures and patiently tells you what they mean and why they were written.

Those days typically end with the two of you enjoying a nice meal that Alhaitham cooked at home and you resting your head in his lap; tired from all the walking and exploring, as your significant other picks up one of his books to read. You close your eyes and he places one hand on your back and lets you rest close to him. If you have any questions about the book he’s reading or need anything, don’t hesitate to ask him. He’ll answer if it’s you.  

Baizhu would love to spend his day exploring Liyue with you, taking you to all the beautiful places you haven’t seen yet. But unfortunately, due to his condition, this isn’t always possible. He apologizes for this way more than he should. You and Changsheng tend to scold him for this. You’d cup his face in your hands and press a kiss to his lips. “As long as I’m with you, I’m having the time of my life”, you reassure him with a gentle voice and litter his face with soft kisses to drive the point home. With every kiss, Baizhu grows more flustered but his smile becomes wider. “Very well then”, he coughs and pulls you into a hug, “if you say so, I’ll hold you to it.”

Baizhu likes to go on spa dates with you. He takes you to a thermal bath in Liyue Harbor. You have to remind him that he already explained the health benefits of spa treatment to you multiple times, or he’ll do it again. Doctor’s habits. You chuckle at how he puts a hand on his neck and stumbles over his words when you two finish his sentence in sync; him having completely forgotten how familiar you already are with his medical rambles.

You two relax in the brine bath as slow music plays along with quiet white noise. Baizhu leans back against the wall of the pool and lets out a relaxed sigh.

Changsheng is resting on a miniature beach chair you insisted to bring along because you “thought it was cute”. 

You twirl a strand of Baizhu’s long hair around your finger. “You’re so beautiful with your hair down”, you breathe and pull him into a deep kiss, which Baizhu readily accepts. “You keep telling me”, he chuckles but avoids looking into your eyes. “Well it’s true”, you insist and Baizhu once more can’t believe how you look at him like he’s the most precious thing you have ever laid eyes on. “You should have seen him the first time you told him that”, Changsheng raises her voice, “he was a flustered mess but he’s been smiling for days afterwards.” “I- Did you have to tell them that?”, Baizhu sighs. “This is still tame compared to that time she told me that you had to redo my prescription because you absentmindedly drew a heart next to my name”, you laugh and Baizhu’s head turns towards his snake companion in shock. “You did what-”

You’re giggling at this point. Baizhu just lets out a disappointed sigh,

“Did you know that the salt in a brine bath can help with various skin and even lung diseases and is a tried and tested remedy for them?”, Baizhu asks as you make another amateur attempt at braiding his hair. “Yes, you told me”, you kiss his cheek, smiling against his skin. “The high concentration of salt in the water also makes you float effortlessly, if you lie down in the water.” Against your protests, Baizhu makes you abandon your masterpiece (a loose braid you improvised without any idea what you’re doing) and holds you as you lean back, letting you float on the water as you look up to the ceiling. It’s the first time you notice that the owners of the establishment have actually crafted the ceiling above the pool to look like the night sky; false stars sparkling above anyone who might come to be in your position right now. “Isn’t it beautiful?”, Baizhu, who had been looking up to the ceiling, remarks. When his eyes meet yours again, he realizes your attention had already shifted. “You’re supposed to look at the ceiling, not my face”, he chuckles but you protest and brush a strand of hair behind his ear. “Got distracted”, you wink and Baizhu leans down to press a kiss to your lips.

The two of you spend a relaxing day at the spa, sharing herbal tea and ending up in each other’s arms at every possible opportunity. 

Capitano, on a day off from his duties as a Fatui Harbinger, prefers to spend the majority of hours at home with you; alone, where he can take off his mask. You’re the only one he has trusted to take it off around in a very long time. A small price to pay for your affection; the way you kiss his lips softly as if he was fragile, even though most would regard him as a monster. Throughout his lifetime he had internalized that his hands were ones meant to kill and lead his men into battle. How ironic it was then, how gentle Capitano was with you. How he held your face in his big hands and looked at you with unmatched adoration in his eyes, whispering how much he loved you while pressing kisses to your forehead.

Capitano likes to take you to the botanical gardens of Zapolyarny Palace. It’s a little project of his; taking care of some of the gardening in his freetime, planting new flowers and making sure they thrive even in a nation such as Snezhnaya. When you first met the Captain, you never expected a man like him to have a hobby like this, but now that you knew, you found it endearing. Just one more thing that you adored about the man.

Capitano takes your hand into his and the two of you take a walk through the garden. He has been working on it for over a decade now and you can tell that he is proud of the result, especially when he gets to see that you find it beautiful and like to visit. After having relied on brute force in his profession for a long time and with the sheer strength Capitano had, it was difficult at first to tend to small, fragile beings such as plants. But everyone has to start somewhere right?

Capitano, being one of the strongest and also one of the most trusted harbingers, has been sent abroad on a mission in the name of the Tsaritsa countless times. An entire shelf in his bedroom is just filled with travel logs that you love to browse through on a relaxing day together like this. You’ll be snuggled up in his arms, skimming through the pages and letting Capitano explain the story behind the pictures he took and the paragraphs he wrote. It was like each time you did this, you learned another new thing to love about him. For someone who was sent into war and all kinds of mysterious dealings, Capitano’s travel logs were surprisingly ordinary. They included the food he had for dinner in a foreign nation, how he witnessed the locals dance at a festival and the natural phenomenons he wanted to make note of. Perhaps these were the things that stuck with him; the experiences he wanted to remember.

In the evenings, Capitano takes you stargazing. Throughout his lonesome strive across Teyvat, the stars had been his trusted companion. Therefore, he knew quite a lot about the constellations and how to use them to navigate. He’d be happy to explain it to you or just sit there with you in silence by the side of a campfire, watching as a shooting star trails across the sky. “Are you going to make a wish?”, you ask, smiling at him from the side. Capitano shakes his head and takes your hand into his. “I have everything I want for as long as I have you.”

If you ask Cyno to pick a date idea, you know full well where this is going. You could have just asked “which deck are you going to use for Genius Invokation TCG today?” because that will be what you’re going to be doing if you let Cyno pick. If you’re as enthusiastic about the game as he is, even better. 

The two of you could have a picnic or visit the tavern to play against other people, Cyno leaves that choice to you. He brings all of his cards, safely concealed within a limited edition Genius Invokation TCG card box, and you’re one of the only people who’s allowed to play with his most rare cards and the ones with a holographic layer. 

He may ramble about how he obtained them and how the intricate design is symbolic for xy plotline in King of Invokations, his favorite novel, but that’s just how he is. A joke here and there, a TCG novel quote thrown in; if you indulge him and encourage him he’s over the moon for you, although he’s making a (bad) attempt at keeping it together. 

If he plays against other people, he’s expecting you to back him up. Knowing you have his back and are cheering him on makes Cyno even more dedicated to win. “The strength you see now does not come from the fortune of my cards, but instead from within; a heart determined to not fail the loved ones who have put their trust in me”, Cyno’s expression becomes more serious as he puts his cards on the table in front of his opponents, “this is a quote from ‘King of Invokations’ that I have felt deeply the first time I read it.” You repress a chuckle and simply leave a kiss on his cheek before getting up to grab your drinks from the tavern counter.

“I believe I have earned myself a kiss”, Cyno smiles at you triumphantly after winning against the group of people he met at the tavern. “I don’t remember promising you one as a reward”, you tease and he smirks, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Well I suppose if you don’t want to, it can’t be helped-”

He’s unsurprised by how you pull him into your arms, locking your lips with his and burying your fingers in his soft white hair. Cyno smiles into the kiss, squeezing your hand gently. The way he reciprocates your gesture shows how much love he feels for you in this moment. 

Cyno only becomes more smitten the more you compliment him for his TCG strategies and his hard-won victories; feeling his heart beat faster as you trail a couple of light kisses down his neck. “I had no doubts you would win”, you smile against his soft skin and Cyno rests his forehead against yours. “Whether I win or lose, for as long as I am privy to your love, I will emerge from every duel victorious”, Cyno whispers and you laugh. “I can’t believe you’re still using King of Invokations quotes to flirt with me.” “They worked better back when you hadn’t read the novels yet”, he lets out a sigh, “it was the price that had to be paid for making you familiar with the lore around Genius Invokation TCG.” You chuckle and wrap an arm around his waist, nuzzling his cheek. “In turn, you can imagine my surprise when I read them for the first time and recognized some of the most memorable things you had said to me…tsk tsk, Cyno, you have to be more original.” Cyno takes your hand into his and looks into your eyes with an earnest look. “In my defense, I remembered them when I spent time with you and they happened to perfectly describe how I feel for you”, he explains before his lips met yours once more. 

Cyno spends the afternoon helping you improve your own Genius Invokation TCG playstyle and he shares some snacks ordered from the tavern with you. You can see that he’s passionate and enjoys every second of this date, even if he tries to play it cool. His still obvious excitement is enough of a reward for you, even if you don’t win the game.

Diluc keeps things classic when he plans a date with you. He’ll take a walk with you through Mondstadt, especially on days when the city hosts a market with fresh food and handmade crafts to look at while you enjoy a nice and sunny day in the City of Freedom. 

If you have your eyes on anything, Diluc might get it for you. He enjoys seeing the smile on your face when he hands the item to you. Diluc has more than enough Mora and if he can use it to add a little joy to your day? That’s all he could hope for. The cool summer breeze and bustling market reminds him of days long gone, when he’d go to the city with his father to promote the drinks created at Dawn Winery. If he’s feeling comfortable enough around you, he might even tell you about it.

“Ah, young Master Diluc…I haven’t seen you stop by in a while”, an older man calls out to Diluc as the two of you pass his stall, “and you must be y/n, right? I remember how quickly word spread throughout the town when it became official that Mondstadt’s richest bachelor had finally settled down. There were a lot of disappointed young ladies, let me tell you…” Diluc awkwardly chuckles and takes your hand in his. “This is Ralf. He’s been putting up this stall at least once a month ever since I can remember”, Diluc explains. The man laughs and turns to you. “You should have seen him when he was just a wee little lad. His father would always buy a bag of cinnamon curd balls for him and Cavalry Captain Kaeya at my stall and the two of them would fight over it as if it was their last meal on death row.” You chuckle at the image of Diluc and Kaeya having a brotherly quarrell over something as simple as baked goods. Although, imagining them as children, it seemed quite on brand for the two. “Ah, that”, Diluc runs a hand through his hair and looks up to the sky as he recalls the memories that seem so far out of reach by now, “looking back on it, it seems like such a trivial matter.”

As you leave through the city gates, Diluc holds your hand all the way back to the winery and if you ask him about it, he’ll tell you more about those simple days of the past when he’d visit the city on the weekends with his family; even smiling fondly at the memory despite the pain in his heart about the death of his father and the estrangement from Kaeya. You were glad your date together could make him recall the good aspects of those memories.

While you were out in Mondstadt, Diluc’s maids already prepared a nice candlelit dinner for the two of you. Diluc has informed them of what kinds of food you prefer and they will adjust the dishes according to your liking. Over a plate of regional food from Mondstadt, you and Diluc talk about all sorts of topics that have come up recently, and Diluc makes sure to also convey his feelings to you through his words more thoroughly than usual. As soon as you finished eating, Diluc sits down with you on the couch and lets you rest in his arms as you continue your conversation from the dinner table. The maids light up even more candles to provide for a romantic atmosphere and quiet instrumental music sounds from the record player. 

Diluc lets his hair down and lets out a sigh. On days like these he decides to let the Darknight Hero rest for a night. After all you deserve for the conclusion of your day together to be sleeping in his arms throughout the night. You rest your head on his shoulder and watch the calming flames of the fireplace as Diluc runs his fingertips up and down your arm. “I apologize if I haven’t spent as much time with you lately”, Diluc whispers and pulls you into a kiss, “please know that I missed you dearly and I love you with all my heart.” You peck at his lips a couple times before reassuring him that you already know. ���I love you too, Diluc.”

If you decided to date the mad scientist who earns his wages by experimenting on people you should have seen that one coming but Dottore’s idea of date night includes sharing the research with you that he’s so passionate about.

He lets you pick the experiment. Is there anything you ever wanted to know about the human soul? Our behaviours and motivations? Or perhaps the powers of the gods? The truth of this world? Look no further, because your beloved Zandik is going to get you some answers to them through his rather….unconventional methods. After all, knowledge is the one thing he strives for above all else; and as such it shouldn’t be kept away from the person he loves as well. Whatever knowledge you seek to have, Dottore will happily help you to obtain it. 

“We don’t have all day, y/n. The experiment is scheduled to begin in a couple of minutes”, he sighs and reminds you to hurry up as you give your affection to at least five of his clones that passed you by on your way to the lab. They were always yearning for your attention; as Prime Dottore received most of it, and who were you to turn them down? “You were the one who thought it was a good idea to try and woo me when there’s at least 20 of you”, you tease and link your arm with the one he held out to you, “or are you getting jealous again?” 

Dottore doesn’t respond to your teasing and simply takes the elevator to the underground laboratory with you. He wraps his arms around you and looks into the mirror inside the elevator at how the two of you looked together. The fact that a man like him who had taken so many lives was now so adamant about protecting and nurturing just one brought a chuckle to his lips. “I thought you said that you cleared the lab out safe for your clones”, you remark, “don’t you think it’s time to take that mask off?”

Dottore indulges you and does as you say. You cup his face in your hands. “I still don’t understand why you’d hide a face this beautiful behind a mask”, you smile and press some soft kisses to the scars on his temple. Dottore’s lips meet yours and he wraps his arms tighter around you, unwilling to let go of you just yet. He kisses you passionately. Your fingertips are buried in the soft teal hair that falls into his neck and Dottore sighs into the kiss, no intention of ending it anytime soon. 

“I thought you said we don’t have all day?”, you smirk, pushing him back gently and leading him out of the elevator, “or is that only when I give affection to your segments?” “I’ll let you guess”, Zandik whispers into your ear and presses a kiss to your cheek before heading off the supply closet to get you your lab gear. He actually had it custom-made for you. He explains to you how to wear it properly, as lab safety is very important. “I’ve seen you come in here in a t-shirt and sweatpants”, you raise an eyebrow. “I’m experienced. Let it be of no concern to you. However, seeing you get hurt in my laboratory when the purpose of this day is to provide you with the knowledge you seek is the last thing I’d want.” 

He presses a kiss to your hands before he slips the protective gloves onto your fingers. 

Before beginning the experiment, Dottore lets you come up with your own hypothesis about the outcome. He’s curious to hear your thoughts and why you have this perspective on the experiment setup. He explains how he set up this particular experiment in response to your questions and lets you read the files of the test subjects. 

All in all, Dottore’s research of that day doesn’t differ too much from a regular work day as a Fatui Harbinger, yet he finds himself enjoying to have you around and sharing his findings with you. He makes a note to ask you whether you’d be interested in becoming his assistant permanently. 

Kaveh would love to take you out to the theatre to watch a play with you. He loves the atmosphere of the theatre; that he can forget about reality for a moment and just immerse himself in someone else’s story while also being led to think about the matter of the play in more depth. He wants to share this experience with you. 

Kaveh is the type to bring you flowers before your date. He knows quite a bit about the language of flowers and carefully selects those kinds that would best convey his feelings for you.

He gets nice seats at a table near the stage of Zubayr Theatre for you and brings some drinks and snacks from the nearest cafe or tavern. Before the play begins, Kaveh reads through the leaflet that Nilou had given to you about this new play that would premiere on the night of your date with Kaveh. “I must say, I am really interested in how the story is going to play out, based on the summary they’re giving here”, Kaveh tells you, “it’s always interesting to see the prompt first and wonder how they’re going to make this work with the costumes and props.”

He goes on to talk about how he’d be sure to help the theatre out if they ever needed any advice on architectural styles during a certain time period or needed some designs for their props; but they have yet to commission him. And of course he rants about how Alhaitham just can’t understand the beauty of the performing arts. “I’m glad you get it though”, Kaveh takes your hand into his as the play is about to begin. You sit closer to him so you’ll be able to rest your head on his shoulder or wrap his arms around his waist while watching the play.

Kaveh is mesmerized by what is happening on stage and sometimes quietly rambles about the design of the costumes or the ways the actors express the emotions of their characters. You smile at him fondly as he’s watching the play, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and finding it amusing how much he’s already lost in the fairytale being shown. Your touch distracts him for a moment and Kaveh turns his head to you and presses a kiss to your lips before returning his attention to the stage.

The two of you laugh and talk a lot on your way back home; discussing all the facets of the play. At the end of the day, Kaveh just wants to be alone with you for a bit and be held in your arms. Luckily Alhaitham isn’t home yet, so Kaveh can avoid any quarrels with his roommate. 

Kaveh rests his head on your chest and closes his eyes while you undo his hairstyle and run your hands through the strands on his head. He lets out a relaxed sigh and a smile finds its way to his face. “I love you so dearly”, he whispers and notices how warm your embrace feels. You press a kiss to his forehead. “I love you too, sunshine”, you chuckle and run your fingertips over the exposed skin of his back, which made Kaveh melt into your embrace and relax even more. 

You cup his cheek gently and kiss him, pouring all your love for him into the gesture. Kaveh wore his heart on his sleeve around you and you always knew how he felt about you. In turn, you only considered it natural to express your affections for him in the same way. Kaveh longs for someone who feels as deeply about something as him and will understand him and love him the way he is. Today was just another day to prove that finally someone does. 

You want to be taken out on a nice date? Well, look no further, because this man is going to go all out for you. Pantalone has all the riches in the world, as far as Mora is concerned, and why wouldn't he spend it on his dearest? It is said that the Regrator has a unique understanding of wealth and Mora is just one facet of that. After all, when it comes to love, isn't what we treasure most the memories with our loved ones? And if he can use his Mora to make this one the most memorable date you've ever been on; that's every reason not to be stingy with it.

It all starts with Pantalone joining you for dinner after his work for the day was done; pulling you into a loving kiss that made you drop whatever it was you were currently doing and just be close to him. Pantalone has always been affectionate with you, but with how clingy and appreciative he is today; you either suspect he had a bad day or just one of those days where his thoughts kept circling back to you and he missed you from the moment he left to the second he was reunited with you. Or perhaps it had to do with your anniversary that was approaching.

He pulls out a leaflet from his bag, putting it down on the table in front of you. You take a look at it, looking back up at him in confusion. "A tailor?", you question, still holding the advertisement in your hands. Pantalone nods. "I have recently met them in the city; their store is very new and quite exquisite. They will be here tomorrow to take a commission from the two of us. I have purchased an establishment in the far north and a ball will be held there on our anniversary. Please make sure to give the tailor a detailed description of the suit or dress you want to wear to it", Pantalone takes your hand into his and squeezes it gently, "please do not hold back. If you want there to be real diamonds on it, there's going to be real diamonds on it."

On the day of your anniversary, Pantalone procured a carriage with a portable heater to take you to your destination. Still, he makes sure to also keep you warm personally, holding you in his arms all the way. He kisses you deeply, pulling you into his lap as he showers you in his love and affection.

Pantalone has a nice suite prepared for the two of you in the luxurious building that the ball is being held in and upon arrival he asks you to change into the outfit that the tailor had prepared for you. "Do notify me when you're done and if you need any help, just call out to me."

However when you step out of the dressing room, Pantalone is nowhere to be found. Your questions are answered just a moment later as he enters the room again, wearing a custom-made luxurious suit and holding a bouquet of roses in his hand. "These are for you, my dearest", he kisses you cheek.

Upon entering the ballroom, you notice there isn't really anyone in it aside from the staff and the musicians that Pantalone hired to play your favorite songs. "Where are all the people?", you wonder. Your lover chuckles. "Darling, did you really believe I was going to put you through boring conversations with foreign emissaries and businessmen today?", he presses a kiss to your temple, then another to your cheek, then another to your neck, "no, this is just for the two of us."

"You're aware that you can just rent a location, right, you don't have to buy the whole thing every time?", you raise an eyebrow at him but let him indulge you. He gives you his signature smile with a hint of mischievousness. "Oh no, you misunderstood me, love, I had this built for you over the course of the last few months." "Wait what-"

Pantalone dances the night away with you and enjoys your favorite food with you that he hired famous chefs to make. If you want to sit down for a while or just kiss him and be in his arms, he's fine with that too.

"I love all of this, but why did we come so far out here for this date?", you ask as Pantalone takes your hand into his and gently rubs the back of it with his thumb. "Well, to top it off, once we're done dancing for the night, I'm going to take you to see the northern lights. They're quite beautiful, although they don't compare to you in the slightest", Pantalone pulls you into a hug, "and after that I'll have the staff prepare a nice bath for the two of us. How does that sound?"

Pantalone loves you with all of his heart and if he feels confident enough that you return his love in full....well there might just be another surprise waiting for you in the form of a diamond ring he brought along.

Tighnari's idea of a nice date includes a hike through the nature of Sumeru's rainforest. If you're not that into hiking, you don't have to go far and you can also walk as slowly as you wish to, Tighnari will adapt to you.

He prepared a picnic for you as well. Some of the food for it he bought at the tavern; a few of the items he made himself. Although….Collei definitely helped. 

The two of you eventually stop by a dock near the Apam Woods. “This seems like a good place to rest, don’t you think?”, Tighnari smiles at you and takes his shoes off; sitting down on the dock and letting his feet meet the cold but calming water of the creek while pulling some of the snacks out of his backpack. You sit down next to him. “There’s even a little house here with a cooking pot and a small table on a tree trunk….I wonder who built this here…it’s too small for a human”, you muse and look to Tighnari for answers. “Well, legends speak of an ancient race of small forest creatures connected to the Dendro Archon. Those small houses are scattered all over the rainforest. The people of Sumeru tend to say that they belong to the Aranara. Although I’m not sure how much truth there is to that”, Tighnari shrugs.

You decide for the baklava Collei made as a snack and lean back to let the sun shine on your face. “It’s nice here, isn’t it?”, Tighnari puts his hand over yours, “I just hope none of the adventurers happen to stumble upon me here and go ‘oh Forest Watcher, please help me; I put my hand inside of the mouth of a Rishboland Tiger and now my arm fell off; whatever shall I do?’ this time.” You grin and raise an eyebrow at him. “This wasn’t actually something that happened, right?”, you chuckle. “Kaveh calls that one ‘stylistic exaggeration’, if I recall correctly”, Tighnari laughs. “Fits perfectly with your usual sass”, you tease and your hand wanders to his ears, gently scratching one of them. 

“Collei wanted to make a bet with me how long it’s going to take you before you start doing this once we sit down somewhere”, Tighnari sighs, “she said about half an hour. I didn’t even give you 10 minutes.” You pout and reach for his other ear. “I know you like this and you’re so cute, so why shouldn’t I?”, you press a kiss to his cheek, “don’t tell me this still makes you flustered?” “Not anymore, no”, Tighnari affirms but you recall how his cheeks heated up and he stumbled over his words the first few times you did this. 

You enjoy your snacks together and get ready to move on but the weather has other plans as the rain pours down on you and your fox-like boyfriend. “I hope the Aranara doesn’t mind us using their house for a while”, you say as you enter the small structure. 

Tighnari quickly ends up snuggled against you with his head on your chest and you holding his ears because the thunder hurts in them. “Sorry this hike turned out like this”, he apologizes but you stop him. “It’s not like you can control the weather or something”, you chuckle and nuzzle his ear, “we’re still together right? So what’s the harm of a little rain?”

It all starts when Nilou asks for your help while preparing for a special theatre performance. The actors would all improvise the story based on a prompt that was given before. As Nilou already knew the prompt, she decides to prepare for a play centered around the idea of lovers celebrating their anniversary together. But given that she doesn’t have much experience with love, the two of you decide to go around and ask your acquaintances what their ideal date might look like.

As luck has it, you happen to run into the Wanderer at the Grand Bazaar. So what harm could there be in asking him for his thoughts on the matter as well, right? Although, a part of you decided to do this because of your growing feelings for him.

You quickly explain the situation with the play to him. “If you must know, I don’t care for the idea of a romantic affair. Lovey-dovey stuff and flirting is just a pointless waste of time and makes my skin crawl”, he scoffs, “besides, the notion of two people being bound to each other for eternity simply because of their feelings for one another is ridiculous. Even those endeavors end one day and even someone who claims to love you might leave if offered the right price. They tell you that you mean something to them and then one day you never see them again. There’s no use in pursuing love.” You let out a sigh, not sure what you were expecting for an answer instead of this. 

“Okay, great, now can we put your attitude aside for a moment?”, you roll your eyes, “just imagine you had someone you were in love with. What activities would be fun for you to do with them?” He sighs but muses that Nahida would probably scold him if she found out he didn’t help you with something as simple as an answer to a question. “Hmph. Fine. If I was to go on a ‘date’, I’d like to cook with them. The act of cooking together to produce the perfect meal feels much more intimate than any shallow flirting”, he answers.

“Oh that’s a nice idea!”, you respond before impulse gets the better of you, “we should cook together sometime-”

“Did you just ask me out on a date?”, he raises an eyebrow but blushes furiously. “Well, that depends on your answer, doesn’t it?”, you wink.

“I- I’m not necessarily against it”, he admits and crosses his arms in front of his chest, “ that is, if you can even cook properly.” He huffs and you let out a laugh. “Oh, whatever happened to ‘this is just a pointless waste of time and makes my skin crawl’, huh?”, you dramatically sigh, “if I recall correctly from what Yae Miko told me, in your homeland of Inazuma they refer to this as being a tsundere.” “I’m not-”, his blush darkens, “you should keep your mouth shut before I change my mind.”

Whatever happened to ‘love makes my skin crawl indeed, you think to yourself and smile as you watch the Wanderer carefully handle the ingredients for the meal you’re going to make. He explains every step of the recipe to you and you follow his instructions carefully.

When you accidentally cut your finger while cutting vegetables, Wanderer is at your side with disinfectant and bandaids in an instant. “What the hell are you doing? Are you incapable of cutting a couple of ingredients? You’re supposed to focus on the knive, why were you staring at my face instead?”, he fusses over you, pretending it was because he was annoyed with you. “Well…you’re pretty”, you quietly respond and he shakes his head and lets out a sigh. “You’re too much…” “Aw, you’re worried! If it calms you, you could kiss it better!”, you suggest, winking at him again. “Who do you think you’re talking to-?”, the blush is back on his face and he refuses to look you in the eyes.

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll never trust you with anything again”, he mumbles a couple hours later after the two of you had finished your meal and he was sitting on your couch with you, snuggled close to you. “Oh, don’t worry, they’re going to know about it soon enough when some random stranger decides to flirt with me and you get jealous”, you tease. “You talk too much”, he scoffs and his lips meet yours in another gentle kiss. He didn’t tell you how he felt just yet, but his actions speak louder than words.

[umemiyan]

𝘼 𝙇𝙄𝙏𝙏𝙇𝙀 𝘾𝙇𝙊𝙎𝙀𝙍 𝙀𝘼𝘾𝙃 𝘿𝘼𝙔.

𝗠𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗠𝗜 𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗢 𝗫 𝗙!𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥. ⌇ 18+ only, mdni / established relationship, mommy kink (reader referred to as mommy/momma) / hand job / unprotected piv sex / riding / creampie / 2.5k words

the people have spoken!!!! i posted a poll because i needed help deciding who to write mommy kink for first, and my darling megumi ultimately came out ahead. this is like one of my fave kinks of all time so just know that this is not the last you'll see of it. also this might be somewhat ooc idk but fuck it we ball!!!!

He’d been quieter than usual today, and you hadn’t been able to figure out why.

It was in Megumi’s nature to be rather brooding and reserved, but you’d noticed an excess of antisocial behavior ever since he’d woken up this morning. You’d checked in on him, of course, but when he repeatedly insisted that everything was fine, you simply let it go lest you push him further into irritable territory. You would’ve preferred him to be on a more agreeable wavelength since you both were meant to be meeting up with friends later in the day.

His apathetic demeanor didn’t change, however, even in the midst of good food, fun games, and beloved companions. It didn’t cause any of the others any concern seeing that it was rather typical of him, but you knew Megumi well enough to know that something was still brewing beneath the surface, regardless of his denial.

He’d subtly clung to your side the entire time, sulking and waiting for the moment when you’d decided you’d had your fill of entertainment and were ready to go home. That moment hadn’t come fast enough, however, and he found himself growing increasingly impatient.

When the others had become distracted, Megumi took it as an opportunity to push his agenda. Standing next to you, he leaned in close, lips only a few inches away from your ear to keep any eavesdroppers from listening in. “Can we go now?” he mumbled, jaw clenched and voice colored by a somewhat irritable tone.

The smile on your face faded, and you turned your head to look over at him. His expression, though still rather neutral, had a sincere and pleading aura that you couldn’t ignore. You’d decided right then and there that it was time to take your leave.

You placed a kiss against his temple and softly said, “Yeah, baby, of course. Let’s go.”

Much to your friends’ dismay, you’d quickly made your departure and drove home in silence, thinking of ways to hash things out with Megumi once you both arrived home.

Now, closing the door behind you and setting your things down, you watch as your boyfriend quietly pads off to take a seat on the couch, acting as though nothing peculiar had happened at all. You follow behind him and stand with your hands on your hips, peering down at him with a curious gaze.

“So…” you start, “you gonna tell me what’s the matter?”

He looks up at you, expressionless. “Nothing. I just wanted to get out of there.” Megumi sighs when you take a seat next to him. “I got tired of listening to Nobara’s big mouth.”

“You’re used to Nobara’s big mouth,” you reply, not touching or smothering him, but rather speaking softly and maintaining boundaries. “And besides, you’ve been acting off all day, even before the party.”

He doesn’t respond or even look in your direction, so you place a hand under his chin and guide him to meet your gaze. “So, tell me… what’s wrong?”

Your eyes force his to soften almost immediately, but then he responds by gently jerking away with a small scowl and the hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. After a moment, he speaks again. “I guess I was just… hoping we could spend the day together. Alone.”

Your heart swells with both glee and guilt, wishing you’d known before dragging him off to a busy get-together. “Megs, you should’ve told me. We could’ve skipped out.”

“You were looking forward to hanging out with everybody.”

“Yeah, well… I still would’ve cancelled,” you reassure him with a whispery voice, brushing your fingers through the hair against his forehead. “I love those guys, but I love you more.”

Megumi’s blush grows deeper now even as he stares ahead with stoicism, trying to ignore your affection and his own vulnerability, but you don’t let him. You take it upon yourself to slide into his lap, giving him no choice but to face you as you grab his chin and stroke it with your thumb to gain his attention. “Do you hear me? I love you.”

He gulps at the seriousness of your words and then utters with a down-cast gaze, “I love you too.” This makes you smile and lean forward to press a quick kiss against his lips. Little do you know, you’ve already been making his cock twitch all evening, and this moment is certainly no exception. 

“Good,” you say, pressing another little kiss to the tip of his nose. Your sweet words and closeness have suddenly become overwhelming for him, and Megumi can’t help but lean in for another kiss now that you’ve teased him with your familiar taste. It’s soft, but it catches you by surprise given his previous attitude, and it suddenly dawns on you when you feel the way he clutches at your hips that this must be what he’s been waiting for all day.

Megumi often has trouble expressing his wants and needs—some days more than others—so it wasn’t unheard of for him to bottle things up until he couldn’t hold them inside anymore. You’ve always tried to urge him to be more open with you, but it’s a work in progress, and sometimes all you can do is be there for him in the moments he decides to let his walls down. This is one of those moments.

You can tell he’s holding himself back as he kisses you slowly, fingers trying not to dig too harshly into your skin, but you want him to know that he has full permission to ask for what he wants, so you deepen the kiss and move to press your body in closer to his. Megumi accepts without protest and meets your enthusiasm now that you’ve paved the way, licking into your mouth and shuddering when you grind down in his lap.

“Is this what you’ve been wanting?” you ask after pulling back for air. He hesitates for a moment and then nods once with a blissfully innocent look in his eyes despite the way his chest heaves up and down and his cock hardens beneath you. It felt impossible to admit to you earlier that he just wanted you all to himself, but now he regrets not having done it sooner.

You don’t tease him for it, don’t make him feel guilty or inadequate for his lack of communication, but rather tend to him with every bit of love you think he deserves. You give his lips another kiss, then the corner of his mouth, his jaw, and finally up to where your breath lingers just below his ear. You suck there and feel him tense up, fighting back a hiss of arousal now that you’ve gotten him so worked up with your diligent attention.

Kissing different spots along his throat, you wiggle back enough so that you can reach down and palm at the bulge in his pants until his hips twitch responsively. Then, slowly, you begin undoing the button and zipper with a warmth to your voice. “You’re so good for me, Megumi,” you say as you slip your hand into his pants and apply a pressure that makes his breath hitch. Then, you continue lowly in his ear, “Mama’s gonna make you feel better, okay?”

He doesn’t get a chance to respond before you’re tugging at the waistband of his pants and briefs, his hips raising up instinctively to assist you in pulling them down until his cock springs free and streaks his belly with precum. Your words mixed with his obvious arousal causes Megumi’s cheeks to heat up with embarrassment, and all he can do is throw his head back when you rub the tip of your finger across his leaking slit and bring it up to your mouth for a taste.

“Mmm… my beautiful boy. Wish you would let me know when you need me to take care of you.” You feel his fingers grip at you with more intensity as you speak, and he gasps when you drool down onto his length and wrap your hand around it, letting your saliva mix with his pre. “But it’s okay—I’ve got you now.” You stroke him once, then twice, and Megumi has to grit his teeth to keep from cumming right on the spot. You never fail to have him unraveling when he gets like this, and although it’s borderline humiliating for him to get so wound up, he can’t deny that you always make it feel incredible.

His eyes are squeezed shut and jaw clenched as you continue to slick his cock up and stroke it in your fist, working him closer to an orgasm with every second. Even with the building pleasure, he’s as quiet as ever, save for the soft sound of his breath and the occasional stray grunt, so you decide to prod at him a bit.

“Look at me, baby,” you command gently, stroking his cheek with your thumb until he opens his eyes. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on; tell me what you need.”

Megumi swallows and breathes, staring into your eyes. “F-feels good…” he says breathlessly, hissing when you thumb beneath the sensitive head of his cock. “Need you to—ah!” A shiver runs down his spine as you pick up your pace and force the words out of him. “Need you to—fu-uck, mommy… fuck me, please.” It tumbles from his lips with little grace but enough desperation to make up for it. There’s already a sheen of sweat on his forehead, and you know that you simply can’t deny his request.

Rising up from his lap, you shimmy out of your pants and let them fall to the floor before retaking your seat, his briefly neglected cock twitching at the sight of your wet cunt. You balance on your knees and bring his tip to brush along your folds only a couple of times before starting to sink yourself onto him, not keen on teasing or making him wait despite your own lack of prep. You know he needs this, so you’re going to provide.

Megumi releases his first real moan at the feeling of you sliding down onto him and surrounding him with your walls, squeezing each inch with your warmth and selflessness. He trembles when you're fully seated, the stretch heating up your core and causing you to clamp down in a way that already has him once again fighting off an orgasm, but he uses every ounce of concentration to keep from releasing so soon. You can tell that he’s struggling with the intensity of it all, so you sit still like this for a few moments to let him soak in the sensations before you start moving. 

Without saying a word, he leans in to hide himself away in your neck, feeling safe tucked in against you and wrapping his arms around your waist. He’s desperate for release, yes, but he’s even more desperate to simply feel you close. He’s already as deep inside you as possible, prodding at your womb, but the depth only increases when he gets to hold you tightly, feeling you against him even through all the layers of clothing that keep you apart.

You place a hand at the back of his neck to offer him more security while he mouths at your skin, then you press a kiss to the side of his head. “I’m gonna start moving now,” you warn him, and he nods, pulling his head back with what looks like tears welling up in his eyes. It makes your heart thump. “Cum whenever you need to, okay?” You’re hardly worried about yourself; you just want him to get as much pleasure out of this as he can, and to not hold himself back for your sake.

Megumi looks at you appreciatively but feels almost pathetic at how needy he is; however, he feels safest when he’s with you, free from harsh judgement, so he does his best to listen to what his body tells him. You rock your hips against him and it feels like heaven for him to slide against your walls, feeling you in the most intimate way possible. It’s almost like the first time all over again, the emotional rawness of it consuming him and leaving him so sensitive that he might as well be a virgin. Every time you strip him down to his fundamental self, there’s always something cosmic about it.

After giving him a few slower rolls of your hips, you start to pick up the pace and use your knees to rise up and down, bouncing yourself on his cock and earning a lovely whimper in return. Megumi’s body relaxes more now that you drop yourself onto him and offer him the most magnificent of pleasures, leaving him wondering why he ever feels the need to hold himself back from you. It’s harder to leave behind old habits than one might think, but you’d consider moments like these to be the markers of significant progress.

The fire in his gut is growing with each second of you squeezing around him, and the wet, rhythmic sound meeting his ears makes Megumi even more flustered than before. He wishes this were one of the times in which he could hold out and use his stamina to make you feel infinitely good in return, but with the way his balls tighten and heart gallops in his chest, he has no choice but to give in to his own pleasure like you ask of him.

“‘M’gonna…” he starts, not fully saying the words, but you know exactly what he means regardless. His breaths are coming more quickly as you keep moving your hips, and every sign is pointing towards his release. 

“That’s okay, baby—you can cum.” It only takes your words and a couple more strokes before he’s whimpering and shooting his load inside you, arms tightening around your waist to keep you in place as every last bit of seed pulses out of him. Megumi presses his forehead to your chest and trembles out the remainder of his orgasm, happily letting you stroke his hair and coo at him while the pleasure incapacitates him.

“Good boy. Mommy’s got you,” you whisper into his hair before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. You hold him there for as long as it takes for him to float back down to earth and go limp in your arms, feeling the wave of relaxation wash over him. Even after he’s come to his senses and looks up at you with hazy eyes and the path from a single tear staining his cheek, you’re not sure you’ll be able to get him to let you go long enough to clean you both up.

So you decide that it can’t hurt to sit here like this for a few more moments, letting your grumpy boy enjoy his bliss while you get the satisfaction of holding him in your arms like no one before you ever has.

[osleeplessflowero]

Oneshot Masterpost

A collection of my oneshots! Series gradually being updated. These links are specific to Tumblr, BUT I have also posted quite a few of these on my Ao3! I also have fics on there, which I will also be making a masterpost for + uploading the chapters to tumblr.

🏡Neighborhood Series🏡

A series of randomized oneshots that take place in the same universe, a timeline where the skeleton duos all live in their own houses in a singular neighborhood.

In order(with links attached):

{Lore Related v}

🌠Stargazing (Classic Sans! First oneshot I wrote.)🔭

✨Back To You (Also Classic Sans, takes place a little bit after the former.)💤

🎸Concert Night (Fell!Sans)🎵

{Out Of Order/Bonus Content v}

🏍Stress Relief (Fell/Red! I need to write him again..)💢

📻Close (Blue/Reader) [I don't really like this one that much anymore but I'll keep it up for any that do]🎵

🏖Beach Day (Swap Bros!)🌊

☕️Relax. (Fell Papyrus/Edge!)❄️

🌃Late Night Walk (Rus/Reader)🛹

🪓Scare Actor!Horror🎃

A series mainly themed for Halloween where Reader has a chance encounter with Horror while going to a Haunted House with their partner. Takes place in a Post-Pacifist Horrortale timeline, so Horror goes by Sans.

Part 1: Scares and a Sudden Friendship🎃🪓

Part 2: Coffee Hangout☕

Part 3: New Experiences // Meeting Papyrus!🥄

📖Fairytale Series🪄

A series of miscellaneous fairytale-based scenarios featuring your favorite skeletons. Some may have connections to others!

🗡️Assassin!Red/Mage!Reader🪄

⚔️Knight!Blue/Reader🎶

👑King!Nightmare/Ruler!Reader(Start of a Bad Sanses series)💢

🌹King!Dream/Ruler!Reader (An alternate timeline to the former concept)🪄

🤠Cowboy!Stretch🐎

An AU where Stretch and Blue live on a ranch and work as cowboys. The other skeletons ARE present in other areas, but this mainly just focuses on Stretch and his growing relationship with Reader. Could be considered Farmtale inspired.

🥃Part 1: howdy.🍯

🐴Part 2: Going for a ride🏇

💚Nightmare/Multiverse Traveler!Reader✨

An endless(?) game of Cat and Mouse, where Nightmare chases Reader across the Multiverse in order to finally be with them. Mutual pining, we love to see it!!

🎭Part 1: Chasing🌌

🌺Part 2: Blooms. (Angst)🥀

🖤Bad Sanses Shenanigans🔪

A collection of scenarios with everybody's favorite villains.

🎃Pumpkin Carving! (was originally a part of a now cancelled Halloween writing challenge series.)🔪

☃️Snow Day! (Christmas Special)🌨

🛌Sleepover!💕

🛝i'm here. (Dust Comfort)💜

🔪"Knife" To Meet'cha (Killer/Reader #1)🍻

🌹Falling For Ya (Killer/Reader #2(?) ) 🌃

🔒Cornered (Dust/Reader) (Kinda steamy)💜

🌌Alone With You (Dust/Reader)💕

AmalgaMATE

A scenario where Reader is an amalgamate of several different Reader souls, and is hopelessly in love with Science/Classic? Sans.

🧪Part 1: me and the amalgamate i pulled by being a punny guy 🔒

🤍Part 2: Soulmates?!🤍

Standalone Oneshots

Oneshots that haven't been made into series yet/are intended to be by themselves.

☔️Chance Encounter (Dream/Reader)🚍

🎶Dream/Fem Reader (Requested)🌳

💌Messages + Confessions (Error/Reader)📄

🛍First Meeting (Fell Papyrus/Edge!/Fem Reader)🐾 (Requested)

🫧Into The Sea (Merman!Blue/Reader)🌊

☕Home (Cross/Reader)🏠 (Requested)

Star Sanses HQ Shenanigans(Star Sanses & Reader [Platonic]) (Requested)

Flirting With Death (Reaper/Immune!Reader) (Requested)

🎡Carnival Date (Classic!Papyrus/Reader) (Requested)🧣

😱Frightening New Friend (Horror!Papyrus & Reader)🎃 [Halloween Special]

🌊A Light In The Depths (Mer!Nightmare/Reader)🤿

😳Crushing (Cross x Swap Universe!Reader) (Requested)💜

🛞Immune (Siren!Nightmare/Reader)⛵

🩹(Platonic)Fell Sans & Reader Hurt/Comfort (Requested)❤️‍🩹

🌑Bittersweet (Flirty Vampire!Nightmare x Vampire Hunter!Reader)🗡️

My oneshot requests ARE OPEN if you would like to submit one, you can check out my rules post here! (You can send requests via Ask(Preferred) or here in the comments if you'd like.) Happy reading!

[ksyongi]

seventeen reaction ; forehead kisses!

wc: approx. 3k

genre: fluff, bf!svt x afab!reader

warnings: kissing + mushy romance! mentions of eating/cooking, lmk if i missed anything :)

an: it's been agess since i posted,, sorry for the inactivity everybody — HAPPY 900!!!

m.list

seungcheol - you were heading off after a cute date night at his home. both of you were slightly tipsy from the drinks earlier so you had to result to calling a taxi. after seeing that the taxi was already outside of his home, you groan as you pulled yourself out of his embrace on the couch. his cuddles were always so warm and comfortable it made you feel safe. you slightly stumble as you stood up, seungcheol quickly springing to sit upright and hold your hips to help steady you. he shoots you his signature grin and you laugh. you bend down, you lips contacting his forehead for a few seconds before pulling back. "see you tomorrow baby." seungcheol takes a few seconds to register before stretching his arm out to grab your wrist. "cancel the taxi." he says, "stay here tonight, please. i'll handle the fares or whatever. just, stay please? can't let you go after what you just did." he did not know what overcame him, it's probably the alcohol but suddenly he is looking at you with the cutest puppy eyes and you cannot resist. you grab your phone and cancel the taxi, throwing your phone aside after. "thank you" he smiles, wrapping his arms around you in a suffocating hug. yes, getting suffocated by his muscles are amazing but not to the extent that you can't breathe. "babe. i. can't. breathe." you choke out. "oh sorry love" he chuckles, pulling you back onto the couch and wrapping you in his arms safely.

jeonghan - you were braiding his long hair. it was all going well until you discovered that his hair was knotted. "uh..haha you know your hair is so nice and beautiful right hannie?" you nervously chuckle. "what did you do angel?" jeonghan goes straight to the point, seeing right through you like he always does. "i might have knotted your hair...but it's not as bad as you think!" you shuffle to show him the tangled part. "WHAT? HOW EVEN?" jeonghan shrieks. "IT JUST HAPPENED OKAY." you quickly try undoing the knots earning a few groans from him. you quickly look down at his face to make sure that he's not crying out of pain before landing a quick peck on his forehead, "i'll try and fix this, i'm sorry love." jeonghan pokes your side, "you did this on purpose didn't you?" you look back down at him, "what?" jeonghan laughs, looking up at you "i mean kissing my forehead. no way do you still expect me to be upset after that." you gasp, "stop distracting me and stay still idiot. i'm halfway there." jeonghan continues laughing, putting his arms up in surrender, "alright, alright."

joshua - joshua was making bracelets, but the difference was that it was for you. he had gone down to a shop to pick the exact colours you liked and the perfect charms to match it. when he had completed it, it was perfect. you loved the charms and colours even though you did not tell him anything about it. of course, its joshua hong. he would not forget the smallest of things you tell him. when he puts it on your hand to let you try it on, it bursts. he gasps loudly as your hand flies to your mouth in shock. "i'm sorry, i didn't tie it properly." he quickly tries to salvage the rest of the bracelet but fails. "it's alright josh, you could always make me another, no worries." you give a reassuring smile. his face still visibly showing the distress. you get off your seat and stand next to him, tilting his head up and leaning down to land a kiss on his forehead. his eyes widen at the slightest before looking full of sadness again. "its the thought that counts okay josh?" you smile at him, hand going to ruffle his hair. joshua can't hide the smile sneaking onto his face, smiling back at you.

junhui - you were going out with your friends. junhui had known about it but it probably had slipped his mind, given the fact that he's still deep asleep. you quickly wriggle out of his grasp making him stir slightly. you throw a simple hoodie and sweats on, going back to the bedroom to be met with the sight of the still, sleeping prince on your bed. he was still sleeping, but one of his hands were feeling the cold empty space that you were supposed to be at. you adore the sight, pulling out your phone to snap a picture. then you walk to his side pushing the strands of his hair out of his face. you now lean down to hiss his bare forehead, totally not seeing the smirk on the face of your boyfriend under you. you shriek when you see him looking right at you. you honestly still could not tell if he was asleep or awake since he sleeps with his eyes open. jun sits up, pulling you onto his lap, "you didn't wake me up to let me see you off?" you refuse, waving your hands to protest, "well you were asleep, i didn't want to wake you." jun frowns, snaking his arms around your waist, "okay since you didn't wake me and wanted to leave just like that you gotta stay home." you raise an eyebrow, "i mean you gonna leave me all alone for like five hours," jun cries dramatically. its rare to see him like this, "i'm still going to go junnie," you try to get off his lap but fail. jun groans out loud to make sure you hear, and you sure did. "i'll be back quick okay? i'll get you some snacks." jun finally looks satisfied with your answer, letting you go.

soonyoung - you were visiting a photobooth for a date night. both of you were hyped for it, not planning anything and just decided to walk in after seeing one along the street. you grabbed your props whilst soonyoung was grabbing anything tiger related. a tiger headband, tiger paws and a hat. he wasn't soonyoung anymore, he was going to turn into a tiger. you burst into a fit of giggles as he eagerly takes his props to a free booth. you both decide to not use any accessories on the first image. however, your mind went blank when the timer went off from five. soonyoung seemed to be in a similar situation, turning to you with some panic in his face. you do the first thing your mind tells you to do and you lean forward placing a kiss on his forehead as the shutter went off. his lips part in surprise and as the next timer goes off, he starts attacking you with kisses for all the following shots. he was so giddy that you were bold to give him a forehead kiss as you usually don't initiate things so he wanted to do the same for you, keeping the strip of film forever. he did not mind that he looked like a lovestruck idiot, but that shocked face coated with a crimson blush was enough to make him fall in love with you again and again.

wonwoo - wonwoo wanted to show you his new edits on a vlog he was working on from an outing you and him had the previous day. the video transitions and the things he captured from the day spent out were enough to make you relive the day. the video comes to an end. wonwoo turns to look at you with hopeful eyes, "well, how is it?" you grab his hand, intertwining yours and his. "it's amazing woo, i love it." a shy smile creeps itself onto his face, making you smile too. his smiles were always contagious. but he still felt it wasn't enough, like he could add something more to the short vlog. "you sure? i could add dialogue—or perhaps background music? i don't know if this is good enough." a frown makes its way to your face, "hey..don't think so lowly of your editing. it's perfect to me." you grab his face in your hands placing a soft, comforting kiss to his forehead. "i-uh...mhm yes okay," wonwoo's eyes shift around the room. "you good man?" you laugh. "me? yea pfffttt of course i'm good. totally not close to cardiac arrest right now." you try to stifle your laughter but wonwoo cracks first, his eyes turning into crescents as you burst out into laughter.

jihoon - jihoon was singing to you. yes, after eight months of dating he finally decided to sing to you after multiple attempts of begging him to do so for the longest time. although he sings in front of thousands in concerts, he still got flustered and shy around you when he sang. he was currently starting to sing a new song, a familiar tune. 'you were beautiful' by day6. his soft strumming of the guitar and his angelic voice made the ambience intimate. the strands of his hair fell over his face as his head slightly hung over the guitar. as he finished the song, he looked up at you with a shy smile. "oh my god ji that was amazing!!! pleaseee let me record you?" you plea, hands shifting to his hair to tuck his hair behind his ears. "noo it wasn't that great, no need to record." he shakes his head, a slight blush arising on his face. "please? it will just be for me to listen when you are not around." you put your hands together trying to convince him. jihoon sighs, "fine, alright. you better keep your word." you got giddy, standing up and kissing his forehead, "thank you ji~" jihoon wraps his arms around your figure before you could move. he couldn't let you see him in his current state—a blushing mess. he needed time to register and calm down before letting you see him. "lets just stay like this for a bit." jihoon's voice was slightly muffled from him talking into his your sweater. you didn't question what he was doing, having a blush on your face too due to him initiating the physical contact. "yeah i'd like that."

minghao - minghao was helping you paint your nails. he was getting better at it overtime, thanks to the help of you. you let him choose the colour because he was suuuperrr hyped about doing your nails and apparently it was 'overdue', typical hao. you went and let him do his thing as you watched him. it was cute how his face scrunched up when he accidentally applied it off your nail or how he was so focused about it. "you just gonna stare at me the whole time i do your nails?" minghao said, still focused on your ring finger. you hum in delight, not fazed at all. before you knew it, he was done with your nails. all applied perfectly. you stood up, giving him a quick kiss to his forehead as a silent 'thank you'. minghao was taken aback. but he was quick to say "is that because i haven't been giving you attention honey? if that's the case then just say so. you don't gotta miss me in less than a meter's length away." your head shoots to him, not surprised to see the smirk evident on his face. "don't get any ideas babe. i would work on hiding that red face of yours first." you see his eyes widen–"WHAATTT NAHHH NO WAY," hao quickly scrambles away, you knew he's going to get back at you sooner or later.

mingyu - gyu was cooking a new dish for you he found on the web. he's been addicted to cooking shows lately and he has been dying to cook one of the dishes for you. mingyu was using an oversized hoodie which made him look like the most cutest thing ever whilst he cooked the dish. he was actually yoloing the recipe, full on gaslighting himself that everything was being done correctly. you were slightly suspicious about that but you trusted him–enough that you know you would survive. but you were sure to keep an eye on him in case he mixes up the sugar and salt. it happened before but you don't talk about it. mingyu was so focused on the dish making it to perfection. so it wasn't a surprise when he finished the dish, it was plated with such good presentation. "woah baby you really did outdo yourself for this one." he gives a shy grin, excited for you to try it. you take a bite and frown, mingyu's face dropped seeing your reaction. you put your fork back down, "babe...THIS IS AMAZING, THE BEST DISH YOU'VE DONE FOR ME YET." mingyu's face got washed with relief. you ran over to him kissing his forehead and smiling up at him. "i'm actually so happy you liked it but you kissing me on my forehead was even cuter you don't even understand–" he caught himself rambling and he just hugged you. he was literally buzzing, wrapping his arms around you like he was the happiest guy on the planet.

seokmin - well you could always see yourself smiling with seokmin. no matter where or when he would always manage to. but the fact he was designing matching tote bags for the two of you made you feel like a young teenage girl all over again. you always wanted matching items with seokmin but you never asked him but he seemed to have read your mind. he was drawing on the material with his colourful markers, making sure your bag was filled with your favourite ones. he managed to sneak in a small 'i love lee seokmin!!' in the corner with a tiny red heart, cute. he showed you his finished product with a satisfied look on his face. you felt so in love with him, placing a lingering kiss on his forehead. when you pulled back, seokmin asked "do it again please?" with a tiny pout. how could you have said no to that? you made sure to place many more, even all around his face as he started laughing at you, "i would honestly make more of these things for you if you would kiss me like this more often angel." you look up at seokmin, "i wouldn't mind that at all minnie."

seungkwan - you were calling seungkwan since he was on tour. you were missing him dearly and he was going to come back home to you any day now. you were rambling to seungkwan about your colleague that was a pain in the ass. seungkwan would say some 'mhm''s or 'oh no way he did that???' once in a while to let you know he was listening. you needed his cuddles again so you said "i can't wait for you to come home kwan. i really miss you and i wanna hug you so badly." seungkwan laughs, "then turn around sweetheart." the phone in your hand drops onto your's and seungkwan's bed as you see him standing there with his luggage. you run to him, engulfing him in your arms. "i missed you so damn much boo seungkwan. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANYTHING???" seungkwan returns the hug with equal enthusiasm, "i thought you'd figure it out yourself." only then do you pick up your phone in your hands seeing the many texts from your friend and the web exploding from seventeen's early arrival back. "oh..." you murmur. "yea 'oh' darling." he smiles. you walk over to him kissing his forehead, "you don't know how much i've been waiting for this since you left." you don't hear a response from him so you look down at him seeing him slightly spacing out. "kwan, babe you there?" you snap your fingers in front of his face. "oh uh YES yes i am.." you jumped onto him, taking in his familiar and comforting scent, "let's get you showered then we can have a cuddle and gossip session hm?" seungkwan replies, "oh, i'm so down for that."

vernon - vernon gave you a gift, in fact it was the latest wireless headphones of the best quality. 'vernon approved' apparently. you opened the packaging with him by your side. seeing that the sides of the headphones were decorated with stickers. it was so unexpected for vernon to do such a thing so you were taken aback for a second. "do you like it?" he asks. "omg yea of course babe! it's really really cute what you did." you smile. "it is? oh thank god i took seungkwan's advice." he sighs in relief. "mhm i love this gift so much nonnie." you press a kiss to his forehead, giving him a small smile as you keep the headphones in the packaging nicely. vernon raises an eyebrow, confused about your earlier actions. vernon goes forward and returns the kiss, pressing his lips to your forehead too. your eyes widened, your face set ablaze. "vernon, i love you but you being so random is going to be the death of me." he lets out a small "hm?" at your response. well how he easily turned the tables on you.

lee chan - you were in the dance studio with chan. he was at practice with the members. he had a solo part of the performance and he had to perfect it–at which he did already, he spent hours the previous day making sure everything was perfect. you watched as the members asked him to perform it for them, clearing the space as they dimmed the lights. he focused, his smile slowly fading away as the song started. his hard work definitely payed off. you could tell from the reactions from the members. they were cheering and whooping for him throughout the solo performance. you got to see the piece for the first time and you were in awe like always. he always managed to amaze you at whatever he did. chan's members all attacked him with hugs and showered him with compliments. you were absolutely proud of him. when he managed to get out of the bone crushing hug from mingyu, he walked over to you with a big smile. you returned it, giving his forehead a kiss. chan pressed his lips together, his eyes sparkling as a blush blossomed on his face. the next thing you knew, he was covering his face with his hands, mumbling a small "be right back." and rushing out of the doors. chan's members took notice of that, making a mental note to tease him about it when he's back. he was definitely not going to hear the end of that from his members nor you.

an: i have quite a number of things in my drafts but i don't have the time to complete them😭😭 but thank you guys for always being here for me even thou i am inactive!! love you guys sm<3

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for killing and dismembering the school bully?

now, i know this sound bad, but listen.

i (18f) am a senior in high school. i go to a public school, as there are no christian schools in town.

the school i attend, to be as nice as possible, is a pathetic excuse for education.

the school itself encourages lust every single year with it’s homecoming dance. everyone is all over each other, kissing one another and dancing waaaay to close to one another.

clearly, this is morally reprehensible, and so naturally, i made it my goal to get the homecoming dance canceled.

throughout the first week of school, i campaigned around the building with that goal in mind. while doing so, a guy (18m), who’s probably bullied the entire school at this point, began hitting on me. i kindly rejected his advances, reminding him that if he keeps it up with the way he speaks, he’s going to be roasting in hell… and then i left.

despite that, when i got home, i could not stop myself from thinking about him. not in a regular way at all though. i felt an attraction to him.

it disgusted me that i would feel this way about someone.

but it wasn’t my fault. it was his. (obviously)

so, i decided i was going to get back at him.

turns out, a group of other people, who each will be represented by a letter:

a (17m)

b (18m)

c (18f)

d (18f)

wanted to get back at him too!

so, i helped devise a plan.

we would go to an old, haunted, house my father was the realtor for. we would then, lead the bully into the house under the guise of a fun event, which d was able to do as she was a part of his friend circle. finally, b would film him freaking out about the “ghouls” (played in costumes by a & c) in the house, and then post it online.

the stage was set, and so the show was on . all was going well until we realized he was going to try and fight both a & c, believing they were actually monsters. d had to get in the way to make sure a&c didn’t get hurt, and told the bully that a prank was being pulled.

he seemed to be a bit happy about the prank; that was until he fell an entire story and got impaled by wood planks.

and for some reason, everybody was freaking out. d suggested we call the police and show the video as evidence, but apparently b hadn’t got any footage of him falling.

a, filled with ignorance, said we were surely going to prison for this.

but i knew we wouldn’t.

his death wasn’t an accident, but it wasn’t murder.

it was an act of god.

i believe if he would have turned to jesus, he’d still be with us. but no, he was a terrible terrible person and got what was coming. thank goodness he’s rotting in hell now.

unfortunately, we couldn’t just leave him there.

so, i suggested we dismember the body and hide him underneath the floorboards.

with a lot of confusion and minimal protest from the group, we did just that.

it’s been a couple weeks since the incident, and i’m having a very hard time feeling bad about it.

he was a real crappy guy. everyone seems a lot happier since he’s been gone.

but i’m not sure.

should i feel bad about this?

AITA?

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Master list

Request guidelines>

Key

Angsty

Fluff

Moderately spicy

smut

Slytherin boys

Blaise

Blaise ditches a party to join you upstairs

Dating Blaise Zabini hcs

Mattheo

Mattheo is Gomez you are Morticia pt 1

Mattheo is Gomez you are Morticia pt 2

Mattheo is Gomez blah blah pt 3

Mattheo gets nervy around r bc they're so hot

Mattheo hates your boyfriend, Cormac

Mattheo’s dad sucks and you have a lot of y/n moments and gain a lot of trauma

Draco

Dating Draco hcs

Marauders era

Marauders cheat cards

Valkyries cheat cards

Skittle cheat cards

Marauders hanging up pictures hcs

Marauders stubbing their toe hcs

Jegulus

You and your boyfriend James both think regulus is fine as fuuuuuuuuuuckk

^^Pt 2 of the above^^

You get called in to your kids school bc they got into a fight but friends' dads are hot

Part two (you to a waterpark)^^^^^^^^

You and your boyfriend Reggie meet a hot guy at the Ren fair

you come out to james and regulus as genderfluid

Regulus and James are ice skaters and they kiss and you kiss them and everybody kisses

Regulus post cave and stuff it's cool and fun

James and regulus take care of you after you spend time with your toxic family

Jegulily

You're insecure and your lovers love you idk

You and jegugily bang

You and jegugily have a baby

Wolfstar

You and Sirius make out to get Remus’ attention

Rosekiller

You, Evan, and Barty bang, with knives, it's cool

Part two^^^

Barty wrecks havoc in his animagus form on his way to give you and Evan cuddles

Ppl spread rumors abt you and ur boyfriends batty and Evan

You got dysphoria so Evan and Barty canceled their plans

You and Evan are famous acting professionals and Barty makes edits

You annoy your lovers during class (in a fun way they love you they think it's quirky)

You change your fashion out of insecurity and they comfort you

Your boyfriends beat up a douche bag for you

Dorlene

You and your gf Marlene flirt with Dorcas in a roundabout way

Poly marauders

Remus' pain flares up and you get overstimulated

They find out you play violin

Moonwater

Regulus and Remus date and then also date you and there's kisses and yeah you should read it it's cool

Prongsfoot

Sirius and James are in a band and think you're hot

Evan Barty And Reg

Genderfluid reader with Evan barty and Regulus

Regulus

Ur Reggie's muse

Reggie gets drunk and confesses to you

Part two^^^^^(confessing)

runaway groom (you & regulus kiss)

runaway bride (you & regulus kiss)

Remus

remus helps you find words and the lid to a jar

Lily

You give your roommate lily head

James

You have feelings bc your home was unkind and James loved you idk

Barty

You have a headache and are horny and Barty gives you a handy

Barty and you are slutty and you like do things idk dude I'm tired

The hunger games

Peeta

You have a nightmare and hide in Peeta's bed

You faint and Peeta takes care of you (also you have children)

You give him a handy during the games

Coriolanus

You're covey and sing coryo some songs

You guys are married and you have chronic pain

Pt 2^^^^^^^

You get nightmares after the games and you guys reconnect

Billy the kid

Billy

You like Billy's hips cuz they're hot and stuff

The umbrella academy

Five/max ig

You guys are just loving and go to graces birthday party

You chill out after an agreement in the five deli

You're in the 60s and also have bad memory and five loves you dude idk stop asking me questions

Klaus

You're goth and Klaus thinks youre hot

Lockwood and Co

Anthony

Lockwood gets asked out by someone else and hilarity ensues

Lockwood gets a secret admirer

Lockwood gives you head while on the job

^^^ part two^^^

Locklyle

You are embarrassed about about having a stuffy but locklyle comfort you

Lockwood and Lucy think you (their neighbor) is hot

Supernatural

Dean

You hide your kid from Dean bc he's an immature little bitch

Part two^^^^^

Kick-Ass

Dave

You're a super hero and you find out Dave is kickass and flirt with him to see what happens

You guys like enjoy comics and you patch him up and you guys kiss and and and

Criminal minds

Spencer

Secret relationship

Pt 2^^^^^^

Derek

You confess that you were SAed and Derek loves you idk

You're a sheriff and Derek is nice to you

Hotch

You're his nanny

Percy Jackson hoes

Luke

Luke's wank bank

Soaked

Luke's an underwear stealer

Pathetic loser Luke crys

Long hair Luke

Luke peeks through your window

Luke fingering you under the stars

Luke listens to you talking Abt frogs

Luke and Aphrodite!reader

Luke and more pulling hair

Bottoms wife

Hazel

After you and Hazel kiss for the first time

Hazel yearns

It's Hazel's birthday and you guys make out

Hazel knows how to use a yoyo

You and Hazel scissor

You finger Hazel in the school bathroom

Descendants

Hook

Your ass is kidnapped

[spiritshaydra]

Spicy hot take (lmao not really)

I think Wavewave hostility is an underrated dynamic. I wanna see these losers duke it out over them both having names that end in “wave” in a sort of THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE fashion (or something of an equally stupid and petty level)

Methinks it would be very entertaining, like how it’s entertaining to watch grackles fight over the same bread crust <3

[ifwebefriends]

Hellaverse Tumblr Simulator part 1

Part 2 here

TW: unreality, mentions of death, mentions of sex

0 notes

🎞️ dancingqueen117 Follow

Extermination canceled, everyone go home I guess?

4 notes

🧨 imthebombau Follow

There’s this guy I kinda knew and he was NOT CUTE LMAO but he was kinda cool in a kicked dingo kinda way and earlier he kissed me confessed that he loved me and then I just found out he fucking DIED?????????

💝 whoreofsilk Follow

BITCH WHAT?!?!?!?

🧨 imthebombau Follow

Yeah it sucks I woulda let him hit 😔

💝 whoreofsilk Follow

Man died before getting some ass, saddest post I’ve ever seen

1094 notes

🐎 sluttykiller829 Follow

my fuck buddy/business partner/childhood friend just almost died i didnt even know he could do that and i dont know what to do about it lmao

��� imthebombau Follow

IM DEAD WHAT IS THIS RELATIONSHIP?!? 🤣🤣🤣

🎶 musicalslaughter029 Follow

Maybe go visit him? Make sure he’s okay?!

🐎 sluttykiller829 Follow

respectfully i am unable to do that

37 notes

🍾 drinksonme79 Follow

So my boss’ boss’ girlfriend just told us she was an exorcist and it was all dramatic and shit, and I didn’t want to say that I already knew but kept quiet, it was awkward as hell. LOL

❌ descendedlesbian Follow

Hey thanks for not telling man I appreciate it

🍾 drinksonme79 Follow

????????

829 notes

📺 tuninginfordrama Follow

Princess Charlie the typa cunt to go “snork mimimimimi” while sleeping and say “oh great heavens!” when surprised

❌ descendedlesbian Follow

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU CURSE OF 1000 ANGELS ON YOU

🎟️ princesscharlieafterdark Follow

Haha that’s funny! I would do that! 😆

📲 digitalbitch1337 Follow

4092 notes

💝 whoreofsilk Follow

So the extermination ended literally 2 hours ago and my boss is already asking when I’m coming in fuck this shit can someone kill him for me please?

🐍 itwasjustanapple666 Follow

On it.

48 notes

🐎 sluttykiller829 Follow

309 notes

📖 agonizedhoot Follow

I yearn to hold you close

But our love is forbidden, society says

I’ll love you in secret, in the shadows

Hoping that one day, we can break free from this maze

🏩 houseoflust Follow

Major L can’t relate grow some balls man

78 notes

🦾 clownofass Follow

Everybody forced to watch a hopeless gay pining romance play out in front of them that could be easily resolved deserves financial compensation

🔪 kountrykillin Follow

Agreed

📻 smilingdemon Follow

AGREED.

[joyboygojo]

good things come to those who wait

ABOUT — Saturo would be more then happy to give into your desperate pleas for attention. After all he hates to deny you, but Shoko has other ideas for the evening. Including making sure you’re nice and needy when you finally return home from the party.

INCLUDES — mdni. mommy / daddy themes, pet names, edging, spanking, oral (giving), sex, mentions of cum, begging, fingering

NOTES — Hey! This is my first time posting a fic. Feedback is always welcome, but be kind.

You’re lounging on the couch, book propped against your stomach, bored out of your mind. You reach over and grab your phone, checking the time, and groaning when you see you still have a couple of hours left to go until your partners are home.

You sigh, and try to get back into your book, but when you check your phone again only mere minutes have gone by. With defeat your impulses get the better of you, and you ring your boyfriend.

If he’s on a mission he’ll let it go through, and you grin when he picks up on the second ring. “Hey,” he greets, “why are you calling?”

You huff, “I’m bored ‘toru.” You complain. The deep vibrations of his laugh are almost felt through the phone. “Can’t you and Shoko come home early?”

“Too busy here unfortunately, mission gone wrong, Shoko’s healing everybody up.” He says.

“Everyone okay?” You ask. As much as your need for attention was pressing, you cared for the kids your boyfriend more or less calls his own.

“Yeah, just a few wounds. Nothings serious.” There’s silence. “Why don’t you go entertain that pretty little head of yours with my card sweetheart. Get out of the house.”

“I want you though.” He laughs again as he can hear the desperation that seeps into your voice. “Can’t you play with me a little?”

You know you shouldn’t. You all have some dinner with the higher ups to go to later and your girlfriend said the only way you were going to enjoy the night is if you refrained from playing with yourself while they were at work.

Of course this was received with irritation since they had left you high and dry for a couple of days now. You needed more than kisses and lingering touches. But they were hell bent on teasing you. Sho had all but worked up you up and left you hanging before she went to work today. And you could still feel the throb of an incomplete orgasm sitting in your belly and you constantly shifted in the hopes of relief.

You want to be good, you really do, but the throbbing has become unbearable. “You want daddy to play with you mhm?” He says, tone slipping deeper than before. “And how do you want me to play with you doll?”

“Wanna use my fingers while you listen to me please-”

“Is that (y/n)?” Your girlfriend‘a voice can be heard in the background. You groan in defeat and remove your wandering fingers. You know she can’t see you through the phone, although Satoru probably can, but you don’t want to give her a reason to punish you anyways.

“Yup, she’s bored.” You hear a scoff and the passing of his phone.

“Bored mhm?” Your girlfriend teases.

“Please don’t make me wait.” You plea. “We can just skip dinner.” You can hear your boyfriend hum in agreement. You know that he’s easy to convince, you only need to suggest it and he’ll cancel going. Shoko doesn’t really like going either, but she usually requires more convincing. “I can make you dinner, we can stay in and I can—”

“We have to go this time.” She says breezily, and you pout in response. Fingers slowly playing with the waistband of your shorts as she speaks. Restless energy slowly returning as you stare up at the clock. “I wanted to tell you to go pick up our outfits from the dry cleaners.” You nod absentmindedly. “Behave and we’ll entertain you later. It’s only a few more hours.”

You huff as she hangs up, and decide to try your best to distract yourself in the meantime.

You managed to have some restraint while getting your outfits and shopping as suggested. You did your best to take your mind off the way your clit throbbed at the mere thought of tonight. All your efforts though go out the window when you see them dressed up and ready to go.

Saturo is a deep black suit, arguably your favorite by the way the slacks show of his toned thighs and his rather large - you avert your gaze. You can see his shit eating grin though as he catches you staring. Shoko is not much better, and the way her thighs show through the slit in her dress makes you envision her thighs around you in a different way. You rub your thighs together in the hope of quelling the growing need you feel.

“Good choice in dress,” Satoru says when he sees you, and your girlfriend hums in agreement. You go to her, wrap your arms around her waist and lean up to kiss her.

“Please Sho let’s cancel.” You plea, and push against her. She chuckles, and kisses your nose, before giving your ass a tap.

“We’ll go, stand around for an hour and leave.” She says easily, and with that you all set out. On a good day you tolerate these parties, on a bad day you loathe them. Tonight is a loathe kind of night as you do your best to focus on the maroon coloured walls to distract yourself. It doesn’t help your efforts that your girlfriend has other ideas.

Gojo is off speaking to some of the higher ups, when you feel her hand rest on your ass. “You look gorgeous sweetheart.” She squeezes, and you startle in surprise.

“We’re in public.” You complain.

“I bet if I checked under the tight dress you’re absolutely soaked.” You clench you jaw and she laughs. “I mean Saturo is in that suit you really like isn’t he.” Your eyes rake over him, and you try not to imagine what’s underneath it. “All he’d have to do is unzip his fly, and bend you over.”

You exhale shakily, squeezing your thighs together. “Please.” You let the slight whine in your voice be known.

“Please let him bend you over right here and have his way with you while I and all the other higher ups watch.” You feel your face get hot at the thought. Her hands squeeze again, and you try to move away, but she wraps her arm around your waist.

She knows your move, of course she does, you’ll head straight over to your boyfriend and beg him to leave and he’ll oblige. She’s seen the way his eyes linger to yours hungry and tried.

“Nuh uh.” She tuts at your feeble attempt. “How long has it been since we showed you any attention hm?”

“Two days and seven hours.” You tell her, and she breathes a laugh right near your ear.

“Is that so?” You give her a look. “Come on baby, that’s no so long is it?” You don’t answer. “Or are you just that needy?”

You turn into her. “Please.” You beg.

“Please what?”

“Take me home and give me some attention.” You plea. You stare up at her brown eyes, to see as per usual that they’re twinkling with mischief.

“What if I like you needy though?” She moves you in front of her. Arms around your waist. You’re keenly aware of everyone around you, though luckily no one much pays you two any attention. Her lips hover near your ear. “I know ‘toru likes you needy.” You whimper at the mention. “Know that we’re going to get home and he’s going to make you beg for his cock like the needy little thing you are.” You see your boyfriend’s lips turn up in a smirk and you know he’s listening. “He’s not even going to have to work you up now is he?”

“No Sho.” You breathe and push back against her.

“So needy.” She teases.

“Please ‘toru take me home.” You plea, and your girlfriend this time lets you. “Please take me home, I need you to stuff me full.” He says something abruptly to the person he’s speaking to and turns. You whine in relief when he comes to you, wrapping his arm around your waist and kissing your forehead.

“Let’s head home.” You’re situated between them on the way home, and they take the opportunity to rub both of their thumbs across your thighs. You don’t care when your legs part for them, and they chuckle.

“Little slut is needy.” Saturo says, and you nod your head frantically. Once upstairs your dress doesn’t last, once in the bedroom, he’s pushing it up around your waist and spanking your folds. You let out a soft cry, and push yourself back against him. “So wet.”

“All for you.” You say as he runs his fingers along you. You hear your girlfriend in the bathroom, probably getting undressed, and if your mind weren’t so fuzzy already you’d snap at her to hurry up.

You press against the crotch of his pants, babble when you feel him hard against the satin fabric, and grind. “You don’t even need me-“

“No!” You interject and he smirks. “Need you, need you so bad.” Shoko comes out, and her eyes drink in the sight of you. She likes you just like this, desperate and eager to please the both of them.

She lays down in front of you, legs open, and she doesn’t even need to ask you. You instantly begin to eat her out. Her fingers tangling in your hair as you do, pushing you against her further. “So good for us.” She murmurs, and you suck her clit harshly in response.

If you weren’t so focused on the task of eating your girlfriend out you may have noticed her nod to your boyfriend, who finally sinks his cock into your desperate folds. You moan out at the feeling of being stretched. Even with how wet you are he’s still thick enough that it burns slightly.

He bottoms out almost instantly, and you hear him moan. Your pace slows for a moment, to distracted by your own pleasure, but a hard spank to your ass makes you whine and get back to pleasing your girlfriend.

“Daddy’s gonna take it real slow okay baby, and when you make mommy come then we’ll talk.” You double down on your efforts, trying with each movement to gain a bit more friction from Saturo, but he purposefully denies it.

Her fingers lace in your hair tighter, as you can feel her walls clench around your tongue. She comes on your face, and you do your best to clean her up. Gojo rewards you with a harsher thrust that makes you cry out, his speed picking up. “Come on doll give mommy another one you can do it.” His nimble fingers reach around and pinch your clit.

“Please faster.” You beg, you feel almost there, but Gojo’s pace keeps you right on the edge of your orgasm. He pulls out and you sob. “Please!”

You feel your girlfriend’s fingers grab your chin. “You’re our good little slut aren’t you?” You nod frantically. “And you’d do anything to make mommy and daddy feel good?” You nod, your lip quivering. “I know you can give me another one.” You nod, and she pulls you back into her, and only when you work to yank another orgasm out of her does Gojo sink back into you, pace quicker than before.

Your brain is fuzzy now, as the pressure in your lower belly builds. You feel her come again, and so desperate to please you continue. You can feel the way your boyfriends hips stutter as he gets closer himself. “Please can I come?” You beg. She watches your glassy eyes.

“My needy baby wants to come?” You nod. “Want ‘toru to come in you? Stuff that needy hole?”

“Please daddy.” You beg. Shoko pulls you into a kiss, and you feel both your orgasm and Saturo’s wash over you. He pulls out, and pushes his fingers in, helping you ride out your orgasm, as he fucks him cum back into you. You let you body go lax against your girlfriend, and she chuckles.

“See?” She teases. “Good things come to those who wait.” You huff as Saturo goes off to get you a glass of water and a cloth to clean you up with. “Next time maybe we’ll make you wait a week.”

“You wouldn’t last that long.” You whisper against her, eyelids getting heavy.

Saturo laughs. “She’s right.” He says as he climbs into bed. “She’s too cute to deny for that long.”

[infamousbrad]

Somebody other than me cares!

For only the second time in the last decade or more, my personal obsession is in the news and I'm incredibly excited. "Below the fold," in old newspaper jargon, but at least somebody's trying to do something and some newspapers noticed. When you're as starved for validation as I am, it only takes that much attention to excite me.

Amudalat Ajasa and Carolyn Van Houten, "Lead paint upended this boy’s life. Now the EPA is trying to eliminate the threat. The Environmental Protection Agency is about to issue strict limits on lead dust, which poses a threat to millions of children across the United States," Washington Post. Oct 19, 2024 (non-paywall link)

Lead was used as a paint additive from Victorian times up until the late 1970s for a couple of reasons. It made a bright white pigment that didn't fade quickly, it was shiny, and most importantly to the Victorians, it tolerated harsh cleaning chemicals well, which they thought was important to reducing the spread of disease.

(On a local note for here in St. Louis MO USA, it also almost single-handedly propped up the local economy in this town for that whole century, thanks to the huge lead mines south of town and our ability to export products to the whole world via our port on the Mississippi river. Almost all of the abandoned factory and warehouse buildings down here in South St. Louis are contaminated former lead-paint businesses.)

Lead paint though has an even bigger problem than lead pipes, though: over time, it starts shedding lead dust, and children are incredibly vulnerable to lead dust, breathing it in and/or swallowing it. And it takes very little lead dust to permanently damage a growing mind, destroying the parts of the brain that control impulses and the ones that down-regulate emotions.

This is why lead paint was outlawed in the late 1970s. But there was no law requiring it to be removed from (frankly, nearly all) surfaces. Instead, there was a voluntary lead abatement program, and even it only applied to residential property. Homeowners and apartment owners could borrow money from the nearest S&L, pay contractors to rip out and replace all the lead-dust tainted windows, carpets, plaster walls, and so forth and replace them with clean new vinyl-clad or latex-painted bits. They could then submit the receipts with their taxes and get a 100% refundable tax credit.

But they weren't able to make it mandatory because of intense lobbying by openly-racist slumlords, who didn't want to lead abate their properties even it was free because that's telling them what to do with their property, who didn't think their black tenants "deserved" refurbished apartments. That's also why it's illegal to disclose, in sales or in rental contracts, that your property has been through lead abatement; doing so is "unfair" to those '70s slumlords.

And besides, Reagan canceled the whole program halfway though his first term. To bend over backwards to be fair to Reagan, they weren't still getting many applications; everybody who was going to do so voluntarily already had. (Free money for home improvements has that effect.)

About a decade ago, a Reuters reporter used FOIA to demand state health departments turn over their records on childhood lead testing. Almost half of them don't keep any. Most only track it at the state level or maybe county level. Missouri's one of the only states that tracks it to the census-tract level, tracks where kids who are lead poisoned live to within a couple of blocks. And the map of apartments that didn't go through lead abatement, here in Missouri, perfectly maps onto the homicide data.

As someone who was pretty badly lead poisoned as a teenager myself, and as someone who's spent most of his life living in or near lead-poisoned apartments, I'm obsessed with this and ever since the Reuters article came out I've been begging every politician or candidate I interact with to bring back the late '70s lead abatement tax credit and this time make it mandatory to test before selling or leasing a home. Even when St. Louis, with its nominally, mostly progressive mayor got huge uncommitted funds dumped on her, from ARPA and from the Rams-relocation-fraud settlement, I couldn't get any politician to care about this. Their constituents weren't demanding it, so it couldn't be done.

The Washington Post reported, today, that the US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule to do just that. No tax credit provision, so they're being fought tooth and nail by people who don't want to make property sellers and landlords pay for it out of pocket, but the proposed rule is on the docket, potentially to take effect mid next year. Somebody other than me noticed. Somebody other than me cares.

If you are like the average person (to my distress) the main thing you want to know is "what can I do to protect myself or my kids?"

This is a shitty way to think because let me tell you, if your kid grows up on the same block as a lead-poisoned kid, your kid is going to grow up with C-PTSD from the resulting violence. Your kids aren't safe until everybody's kids are safe.

I didn't convince you? You've given up on keeping everybody else's kids safe, too?

If you have a painted surface anywhere on your property that existed prior to 1976, you should assume that there is lead paint on it. Older chain-link fences almost certainly. Wooden single-pane windows, 100% likely. If you have plaster, instead of drywall, interior walls in your house, then neither the walls nor the floorboards nor the carpets are safe. They will tell you these surfaces can be rendered safe by painting over them with latex paint; anybody who tells you this is whistling past the graveyard.

Do not have or raise kids in a house or apartment like that. Either abate the lead or move. Yes, even if it's more expensive; the alternative is to raise a child who may never work and has a high likelihood of spending most of their life in and out of jail.

If it's too late for that, and your child is already lead poisoned, don't give up hope entirely, but understand that the interventions that show promise for such kids are hard to find and aren't 100% reliable.

The most important thing you can do is investigate the concept of "trauma-informed schools," and demand, as part of your child's IEP, that his teacher and any associated staff get trauma-informed schooling trained. (Your kid will not be the only one who benefits.)

Children with profoundly impaired impulse control and/or profoundly impaired emotional down-regulation skills can be taught to do better, but that requires that they be given the extra time it will take them to do so, and the privacy, and the calm quiet space, especially when they're very young and just learning. Their brains don't do this naturally, so they don't do them quickly; hold them to the same standard of behavior as everybody else but until they spend a decade or more practicing and grow up more, after you remind them, give them enough time to obey.

But believe me when I tell you this: lead abatement and behavioral education are cheaper and better than prison.

[pascalispretty]

Definitely Not Jealousy

Nick Amaro x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 2004

Warnings: Friends with benefits, insecurity, lingerie, sex toys (nipple clamps), nipple play, light D/s vibes.

Summary: It's definitely not jealousy that leads you to surprise Nick with a new toy. Can be read as part of the Mutually Beneficial universe.

A/N: Happy Kinktober everybody! This is my entry for Day One: Sex Toys (using @absurdthirst's prompt list). As always my thanks to @misscharlielulu for her support. (ao3).

It wasn’t as though you were jealous. Nick isn’t your boyfriend; you don’t really have a right to be jealous. Still, it had stung when he had called to let you know he’d be coming over later than expected that evening because he’d had to drive out of state to interview someone with Rollins. 

Nick isn’t your boyfriend. But the idea of the two of them, alone in the car, rattles you more than you’d like. It’s not jealousy that has you making a trip to a lingerie store after work. Jealousy isn’t what motivates you to buy new lingerie and a new toy. You’re not jealous. 

You text Nick on your way home from work, informing him that you have a surprise for him. He texts back within moments; he can’t wait to see you. Even so, there’s that insistent tug at the back of your mind that he could cancel, abandon your plans in favour of Rollins. But his messages stay the same; he’s dying to see you, can’t wait for what has become your usual post-sex meal of takeout and wine in your bed.

By the time the buzzer rings, you’re more than ready. You’re wearing your new emerald green lingerie; the wine is chilling in the refrigerator, and you’ve triple-checked that your roommate will be staying at her boyfriend’s place tonight. You buzz Nick into the building, and even though you know he’s coming, you still jump at the loud knock on your door moments later. 

“God, you have such a cop knock,” you tease as you open the door. Nick smirks, making no attempt to hide the way his eyes run over you. You only have a robe on over your lingerie, a black silk affair that makes you feel like a rich widow in an old movie.

It’s hard to feel insecure when he’s staring at you like that, the heat of his gaze sparking that familiar warmth in your body. Before Nick can say anything, you grab his tie and tug him into your apartment. 

Taking your cue, he kicks the door closed behind him as he leans down to kiss you. One of his arms wraps around your waist, holding you close against him as you melt into him. Without even pausing for breath, he begins to walk you backwards towards your bedroom, so familiar with your apartment now that he doesn’t even need to look where he’s going.

At your bedroom door he pauses, his hands finding the knot of your robe and pulling it open. You let it fall to the floor with a soft thump¸ Nick’s eyes dragging over your body.

“Is this new?” He asks, his hands finding their way to your waist. You’re wearing something between a longline bra and a corset and the matching panties, hoping that it would boost your confidence.

“Maybe,” you admit, a sly smile on your face. “I felt like treating myself.” Nick lets you shrug his jacket off and throw it in the direction of the chair, followed swiftly by his tie.

“You look incredible. I’m feeling underdressed,” he teases, his thumbs tracing light circles on your ribcage.

“Actually, you’re overdressed,” you tell him, doing your best to resist the urge to rip his shirt open and send buttons skittering over your floor. He gives you one of those charming smiles, rolling his eyes affectionately as he takes over undressing himself.

“Do you want a drink?” You ask as he shrugs his shirt off, making to walk past him towards the kitchen. He stops you, one of his hands darting out to catch your arm.

“After.” Nick uses his grip on you to pull you back in for another kiss, messier than the first, only pausing to pull his undershirt over his head. Between the two of you, you strip him down to his boxer-briefs, but you stop him before he can tip you back onto the bed.

“I, um. I have a surprise for you,” you admit, looking at him from under your eyelashes. Now that the moment is here, your anxiety catches up to you again. Nick might think it’s ridiculous. It might scream that you’re trying too hard to keep his attention. You can feel your cheeks growing warmer, and then hotter still as Nick cups your face in his hands.

“You greeting me at the door looking like a Victoria’s Secret model isn’t surprise enough?” He asks, one of his thumbs resting on your lower lip. You shake your head.

“Go and lie down for me?” You ask, your heart pounding. With a degree of reluctance, Nick lets you go, moving over to your bed as you’d asked. You watch him make himself comfortable out of the corner of your eye as you move towards your bedside table. You swear you can feel the weight of his gaze on you as you tug the drawer open and find your new purchase.

You loop the chain over your fingertip and swallow thickly, before straightening up and closing the drawer. Nick watches you curiously as you turn back to him, and raises an eyebrow when he spots what you’re holding.

“Now what might those be for, Kid?” He asks teasingly, reaching out towards you. His hands find your waist again, pulling you onto his lap. You suck in a breath as you settle directly over his hardening cock, resisting the urge to grind down on him.

“You’re telling me you’ve never seen a pair of nipple clamps before?” You tease back, leaving the chain looped around your finger as you lean down to kiss him again. His hands tighten on your waist, pulling you in closer as he dips his tongue into your mouth.

“Mmm, you might have to help me out of this corset though,” you sigh against his lips, and he groans lightly.

“Shame. I like it.” Nick pulls away a little to admire it once again, one of his hands moving to trace the lace of the cups.

“You’ll see me in it again,” you promise, your hands coming to rest on his broad shoulders.

“Oh, in that case-” Nick kisses you again, his free hand sliding into your hair before tugging on it, encouraging you to arch your back for him. The new angle grants him access to your throat, and a soft moan escapes you as he trails kisses down your neck.

You whine when he lets go of your hair in order to unclasp the back of your bra, only for Nick to drag his teeth against the delicate skin of your throat in response. Your fingertips dig into his shoulders, trying to find purchase against his solid frame. He nips lightly at your neck as the clasps finally come free.

“Kid?” He asks softly, lips brushing against your throat as he slides the straps down your shoulders. “Have you done this before?”

“Yeah,” you sigh, sliding your fingers into his thick hair. He shifts, looking up at you softly with those beautiful dark eyes.

“I’ve never used them before. How do I-?” Nick asks as he gives you that soft smile again, the one that makes you utterly weak, before moving back to your neck. His breath is hot against your skin his nose bumping the hinge of your jaw as he presses another soft kiss over your pulse point. You wonder if he can feel how fast your heart is racing.

“You’ll need to tell me, baby,” he whispers, and your eyes nearly roll back in your skull at the feeling. “I need to know. Why do you like it? How do you like it? Tell me, baby, you know I only want to please you…” As if realising that you’re having a hard time forming sentences while he nuzzles against your neck, he leans back a little, watching you closely.

“I- I like it because it feels good. Like a pinch, but more intense? It’s kinda like spanking like that; much more pleasure than pain. And I’ve been told I don’t look half bad in them either,” you manage. You know he’ll settle for nothing less than the truth when there’s even the slightest chance that he could cause you real pain. Nick nods, his thumb brushing ever so lightly over one of your nipples.

“It doesn’t hurt at all?”

“No. Here, gimme your hand,” you take his free hand in yours and attach one of the clamps to the very tip of his little finger. “See? Just a pinch.” Nick looks at the clamp on his finger for a moment, before surging back up to kiss you. The hand on your breast moves up, catching a fistful of your hair and pulling again until your back is arched.

“Stay like that,” Nick tells you, and you obey him without question. With your back arched like this, your breasts are practically on display for him. He ducks his head to one of your nipples, licking it messily with the flat of his tongue before catching it ever so carefully between his teeth. You moan at the feeling, your eyes fluttering shut as your nipple hardens in the wet heat of Nick’s mouth.

You want to whine in protest when he stops, only for his thumb to lightly circle the stiffened flesh as he considers the clamps. He’s so careful as he attaches the first clamp; when you open your eyes, you find him studying your face closely for any sign of pain. Finding none, he moves onto your other nipple, repeating the process of teasing your nipple into a stiff peak before carefully attaching the other clamp.

You can barely breathe once they’re both in place. It’s been so long since you last did anything like this that you’ve forgotten just how intense it can be. Nick carefully shifts you, moving the two of you until you’re lying on your back before him, spread out for him to look at.

For a long moment, he doesn’t say anything. He’s silent, just staring at you and the chain draped across your chest. The silence drags on for so long that you come around to feeling self-conscious again. Biting your lower lip, you open your eyes again to scrutinise his face for any sign, your vision hazy with arousal.

“Is it too much?” You ask. Your voice seems to shake Nick out of his reverie, and you see his throat bob as he swallows.

“No. It’s not too much.” His hands slide down the outsides of your thighs, up towards your hips. “It’s just- You look so incredible, Kid; you’re gorgeous. I swear I felt your breathing change when they went on.” Nick’s not even really touching you, his thumbs idly sweeping over your hips, but you want him so badly it makes you feel dizzy.

“The chain is there for a reason, you know,” you tell him breathily, squirming underneath him. “Gives you something to tug on; lets you have more control.” You’ve been with Nick long enough now to understand his deep-seated need for control; you’re more than happy to cede that to him.

Slowly, one of his hands moves from your hips up to your chest, his fingertips coming to rest gently on the chain. You can barely breathe as he hooks his index finger around it and gives it the barest pull.

It’s enough to make you moan, a white hot heat ripping through your body at the feeling. Nick’s eyes are on you the whole time, watching you closely. Satisfied that you’re not in any pain, he smirks at you.

“Put your hands on the headboard, baby, and keep them there ‘til I say you can move them.” Nick keeps running his finger lightly over the chain, tracing the line it cuts across your sternum.

“Yes, sir,” you say teasingly as you obey, knowing that another tug will come before you’ve even finished speaking.

Somewhere amid the haze of pleasure, it occurs to you that you might have created a monster.

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