#people don't want to check themselves first | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

seitmai · 1 day ago

Text

Three paces into the hallway, brown wood floors and white walls, you’re met with a smiling family picture. Only, you’re not in it. Because, it’s not a picture of Pete’s family. Pete doesn’t have a family. Pete Mitchell has a daughter from a one night stand with a married woman.

Uff 😬

The nickname stings you. Your name isn’t Mitchell because your biological father had wanted it to be. It’s Mitchell solely because your mother’s husband knew you weren’t his and would rather die before letting you take his name.

Damn

Your throat is thick with the knowledge that all you knew Maverick to be, is now all that he’ll ever be. An absent father, a fantastic pilot, a lousy cook. A thousand more things that you’ll never know.

To know that you don't know a lot and will never know more is rough...

It’s been almost two years since you even set foot in this house last. If you had known that Maverick was going to be gone this soon… you sit and think to yourself about if you would have maybe visited more. Probably not.

Sometimes being honest to oneself is not easy

He stares down at the pizza between the two of you as he chews through a bite, brows drawn together slightly. He hates thin crust pizza — it’s the worst kind of pizza. But, when you had suggested it, he had agreed with a tight-lipped smile.

Hey, nobody slander thin crust there are far worse kind of pizza ☝🏻

“I’m sorry.” Bradley blurts out. You both look across at each other, equally surprised that he has spoken. “…For what?” You ask quietly, lips tugging into a small frown. “I’m sorry that I’m here and he’s not.” He’s just got to say it. He knows you probably wouldn’t bring it up on your own, but there’s a big elephant in this room. Bradley knows what it’s like to sit in your spot, and not know how to talk about it.

God they are lowkey awkward together and neither of them just knows what to do with themselves 🥴

“We weren’t that close.” You tell him, like that’s supposed to make him feel better. It doesn’t. It’s like a blow to the chest. You’ll never get the opportunity to fix things, because of him.

I feel like this maybe hurts Bradley more than her..

Your teeth press into the inside of your cheek. Maverick hadn’t ever described Bradley as this nervous.

👀

Nothing. A couple of beers and a block of good German cheese.

I mean it could be worse lol🤷🏻‍♀️

“Uh... No, not really.” After a routine training presentation at the very beginning of their attachment, Admiral Simpson had once become so agitated by Maverick that he snapped his own reading glasses in half. Mav got a good laugh out of it, at least.

At that I would have laughed too 🤭

It’s an easy answer, rolling off of your tongue with a shrug of your shoulders and a deflated sigh. “People usually put us in the same boat — if they don’t like him, they don’t like me.”

That's really shitty, especially knowing Mav's reputation 🥴

That’s something that he thinks he can understand. There’s not an instant dislike, but there’s a pity that he finds in the eyes of people who once knew his father.

At that they really share a bit of similar fate

Her boots hit the ground, your lips parting slightly as you realise that she’s headed right for you. Bradley feels your arm tug in his grip and turns his head, taking note of the way you’re trying to shrink behind him. Lynn is a hugger by nature, and she was a good friend of Mav’s for a long time. She means well, but Bradley isn’t going to let her touch you when he can see how unnerved it makes you.

Good thinking Bradley, nothing worse than an unwanted hug by a stranger 🫣

You check back over your shoulder, glancing briefly at the man behind you, who has assumed his best bodyguard impression.

I'm sure he does 🤭

“Miss Mitchell,” The admiral takes his seat on the other side of his desk once again. “I want to first express my deepest condolences. Your father was a good man, and a… extremely skilled pilot.” Bradley almost scoffs. Even now, Cyclone can’t manage to compliment him.

It seems his feeling run deep 😬

“But— he’s dead.” You frown, rendering Cyclone suddenly quiet. “He’s got to be. It’s been a week. No food, no water, sub-zero temperature. What’s the point in looking?” Bradley grits his teeth. He looks across at you, the muscle in his jaw ticking. There’s nothing in your expression, no fear or sadness. Your father deserved more than that. “The point is to bring him home.” He bites from your side, staring straight ahead at Cyclone.

This is rough... I get her questioning the process, it's not something that someone is usually confronted with..

You’re biting at the inside of your cheek so hard that you must be tasting copper, picking at the seam of your jeans and breathing like you’re trying not to cry.

🥺🥺🥺

“I— fuck. I don’t want to be here. I-I— I’m going to have to find a job, and I’ll have to call my mom, and— and my friends, and—“ “Hey,” Bradley mumbles, resisting the instinct to throw his arms around you. His brows draw together as he reaches out and squeezes your bicep, bending his knees so he can catch your eye. “It’s alright. I’ll take care of it.” You know that he’s just trying to be nice, but really, you’re sick of nice. It’s all that Maverick ever was and it left you with no idea of who he really is.

She has every right to be angry, upset and sad even if he really just ries to be nice, this is just not a good situation anyway and with the news of the investigation it just got SO MUCH worse🥴

He nods, closing his mouth, swallowing dryly. Thinking of what he can, feasibly, take off of your plate for you. The idea sparks in him. “You need a job. I can get you a job. Um, your friends, we can call them and bring them down for a weekend?” He squeezes again at your bicep, nodding his way through his plans, trying to will the tears in your eyes not to spill over.

I like that he is thinking practical!

“I don’t want to go back to his house.” It comes out as a whimper, and really just reminds Bradley that you’re in the same position that he was when he was just a little younger than you. It’s a scared kid type of feeling, being all alone in the world. Being in an empty house had made it even worse. He licks his lips and glances towards the skies, watching the sun pass behind a cloud. “You could stay at my place, for a night or two.”

Just a night or two, sure 😏🤭

Ashes, Ashes | One | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

masterlist | prologue | next chapter

Synopsis: In which Maverick didn’t make it home after the Uranium mission. He’s missing, presumed dead. There are things that have to be done — someone has to take care of the house, the bills.

So, Maverick’s daughter is back in Fightertown for the first time since she was in elementary school. There’s a gaping hole in both of their lives now, and somehow, the world’s supposed to just keep on turning without him.

Warnings: mitchell!reader, no physical descriptors other than the implication that Bradley is taller, no use of YN, age gap (23/33), smut, angst, hurt / comfort, mentions of character death, mourning, military inaccuracies. This entire fic and my blog is an 18+ space, minors do not interact. Do not repost.

…

Crossing the threshold into Maverick’s home doesn’t come naturally to either one of you. This place is something that you had both left behind. Outgrown. It’s solely his. It’s not your home and it has never been, until now. Now, you’re stuck here until things are figured out.

On that fourteen hour drive down to San Diego, you had a lot of time to think. How long is a person supposed to wait for a body to turn up before they go ahead and throw the funeral without it?

Three paces into the hallway, brown wood floors and white walls, you’re met with a smiling family picture. Only, you’re not in it.

Because, it’s not a picture of Pete’s family. Pete doesn’t have a family. Pete Mitchell has a daughter from a one night stand with a married woman.

This picture is of a real family. Hung on the wall opposite the front door is a picture of Nick and Carole Bradshaw holding their infant son. He’s bald and gummy. They’re grinning and showing him off like a prize trophy — so proud of him even though all he did in those days was drool and pee himself.

These days, their infant son is up to more important things. Their infant son grew to an upsettingly grand height and is carrying two of your bags in one hand behind you today.

“C’mon, Mitchell — these are heavy.” Bradley huffs softly from behind you, reminding you that you’re standing stationary and blocking his path.

You shrug your duffel bag closer to your body and turn left. Bradley huffs under the weight of your luggage from behind you, watching you walk your cute butt in completely the wrong direction. “Wait, where are you going?”

Not struggling at all under the weight of your single duffel bag, you turn slowly to face him and frown slightly. “My room.”

You don’t remember Bradley. Not in your own memories, anyway. You know he was around, you’ve seen him in pictures but the image in your head doesn’t match. Not quite right. Like puzzle pieces bent and forced together.

He’s taller than he looked at his high school graduation, which sits pictured and framed above Mav’s mantle. Older, but that’s to be expected. Up close, he looks more like his mother than his father. A slight bump in his nose and scars, nicely healed, but jagged and raised nonetheless dusted his cheek and his throat.

Even with all those differences, there’s a familiarity to him that makes this all feel a little bit less suffocating.

Bradley’s brows draw together. He gives a small nod in the direction of the spare room. “That’s… I usually stayed in that room.”

“Oh.” You hum. With Bradley being ten years your senior, the room was his long before it was yours. With him growing up so close by, it was probably his much more frequently than it was yours. It’s not like you kept anything here anyway. It’s just a guest room that you would occupy every now and again.

There’s a brief quiet between you.

“I just figured you could take the big room. ‘Til you get settled. I’ll go home once your car is fixed, if that’s what you want.” Bradley adds on. That sad little look on your face is killing him.

The big room. The loft room upstairs. You’re pretty sure that you’ve never even been upstairs in this house.

“You’re staying too?”

Oh. Yeah. He hadn’t addressed that point yet. Truthfully, he hadn’t even been planning to stay. He hasn’t even packed an overnight bag. But, from the second that you stepped out of the car and looked up at the house with that look on your face, he hadn’t even considered leaving you here alone.

“Just ‘til we get your car fixed,” He offers with a small shrug. “I’ll be here to run you around until then.”

Like he’s doing this for your sake. Natasha has her own life to get back to and Bradley can’t stand the thought of going back to his apartment alone.

“Okay,” You agree, turning to peer down the hall towards the spare room. It’s nothing special — it really never felt like yours. “Alright, I’ll take Pete’s room.”

Pete. You call Maverick ‘Pete’ now.

Bradley just nods, shifting the weight of your bags and nodding for you to head for the stairs. All the floors in this house are tan oak. The entryway is now herringbone. With the help of a friend, Pete had done the entire thing himself.

Of course, as you walk silently across it, neither one of you would know that. Neither one of you was speaking to him last May, which was why he had needed a project in the first place.

Natasha’s outside on the phone. Bradley’s footsteps thud on the wood of the stairs behind you, following you up. You stop at the top, leaving just enough room for Bradley to stand there behind you.

The door to Maverick’s room is open. His bed is made. There’s a book thrown on top of it, the spine cracked and used, the pages yellow from years out in the sun.

“No way is he still trying to fucking finish War and Peace.” Bradley steps around you with your bags in his hands and heads straight for the book. Pete started this book before Bradley finished elementary school. Bradley twists and looks back at you. “He always gets bored and stops reading, then forgets his page and starts again.”

Another slow nod. One foot in front of the other, your shoes along the tan oak floors. Your fingers trail the white walls. Maverick wouldn’t have minded. This place was always messy before. It’s not now.

This house is vacant and quiet, but it’s far from empty. It’s filled to the brim, practically pulling apart at the seams with everything that Maverick was and planned to be. He was finishing War and Peace — he made it to chapter 253 this time; further than he had ever made it before.

Four days of knowing, a fourteen hour drive down here, and it’s a book that stings like a cold slap to the face, reminding you of why exactly it is that you’re here.

Fire burns behind your eyes, blistering and stinging as Bradley sets your bags on the floor with a soft thud.

He turns with his attention completely on the book, his fingers extending towards the peeling cover of the paperback. His fingers curl around its weathered pages and he lifts it tenderly, examining the front at first.

It’s too early to start this process bawling your eyes out, and you refuse to let Russian Literature be your downfall, again. That thick feeling sits in your throat like a stack of weights as you sit down on the end of Maverick’s bed. The mattress is soft, taking your weight without a squeak of complaint. Maybe he finally listened to you and got a bed that wasn’t so harsh on his back.

“I’ll change the sheets and stuff, then I’ll get out of your hair for a bit.”

Lifting your head, you blink at him. He has already started to pull back the comforter and strip the bottom sheet from the bed, awkwardly forcing you onto your feet again.

Mobile once more, you turn slowly to take in your surroundings. This is Maverick’s room. It’s his house, you were prepared for that much — but this is his room. The last thing you want is to be alone in it all night.

“Oh. Sure,” You nod, setting into motion to help take the sheets off. You watch him instead of what you’re doing.

He’s so methodical about it, like none of this phases him at all. But then, you’ve not seen how he has been for the past few days. “I was thinking of just ordering food tonight, since I’m kinda tired — and Pete never had groceries. Would you want… to maybe join?”

“Sure.” Bradley nods, tugging the pillows out of the cases. He glances up to you with a strictly polite, neutral smile. Quiet settles between the two of you until the bed is just a bare mattress and uncovered pillows.

There’s a moment of total stillness between the two of you. Your gaze flickers up, meeting his, and the realization settles between the two of you. Maverick’s favourite cologne was a French thing that some woman in the eighties had liked. Citrus in the shade of cypress wood. The scent fills the room like he’s standing between the two of you.

Bradley glances down at the white sheets in his hands. The snowy white peaks of those mountains, Maverick’s aircraft spiralling into them, engulfed in flames. In a sick way, Bradley hopes that he didn’t manage to eject. At least then, it would have been instant. Maverick wouldn’t have felt anything.

You watch his adam’s apple bob in his throat from the other side of the bed. The last you had heard, Mav and Bradley weren’t on speaking terms. You wonder if this is as weird for him as it is for you.

“I’ll put these in the washer. You can… unpack, or whatever.” He decides finally, already taking one step backwards, headed for the door. You stand there, blinking at him. Even with those steeped, broad shoulders, he makes it through the doorframe unscathed before he turns to check where he’s going.

He probably knows this house inside and out, just like he knew your dad. Once.

When it comes to wracking your brain and trying to remember Bradley Bradshaw, you can’t ever come up with anything. Maybe a glimpse, here and there. A blue t-shirt with green stripes. His school backpack accidentally left in the backseat of Maverick’s convertible beside your shoddily installed car seat.

Truthfully, your experience with Bradley Bradshaw is limited. He’s just as real to you as any of the other guys in the stories you grew up hearing about. Your very own Peter Pan is downstairs right now, trying to figure out Maverick’s ancient washing machine, just so that he doesn’t have to stand up here and stare across at you.

He can’t hide from you forever, though. Evening comes, and so does hunger.

Natasha has gone home. It’s just the two of you. Sitting in this unchanged, all too familiar kitchen. You’re barely unpacked. You set up a couple of things in Maverick’s bathroom, but it doesn’t feel right to be in the big room upstairs. That wasn’t ever your space to claim.

You chew absentmindedly at the bite you had taken. The TV in the living room is off. The record player is coated in a layer of thin dust already. It’s dead quiet. The kitchen light is dim above your heads.

There’s a chip in the corner of the table on Bradley’s side. It’s there because Bradley was running through this kitchen when he was four years old and had tripped and knocked his front tooth out right here. His thumb trails the tiny mark, wondering how his teeth had ever been that small.

Wondering why you aren’t angry with him, too.

Maverick had picked him up that day, turned him around and held Bradley while he cried, stemming the blood and quickly introducing the concept of the tooth fairy. He had done all that he could, and Bradley still found a way to resent him for what had happened to his own father.

Bradley hasn’t ever done a thing for you. Except maybe pay for this pizza. And here you are, calm as can be.

The sauce base feels tangy and coppery, and the cheese makes him want to puke. He sets the slice down on his plate and wipes his hands on the paper towel beside him.

Finally, he lifts his head and looks at you. Your hair is up now, tucked out of your way after an afternoon of manual labour upstairs. You’re wearing a stretched out old t-shirt. Bradley assumes you got it from a boyfriend.

Really, he doesn’t think you look that much like your old man. He would really have to search for the resemblance. But, briefly, when you offer him a polite smile across the table, he knows that you’re Mav’s kid.

“I’m sorry.” Bradley blurts out. You both look across at each other, equally surprised that he has spoken.

“…For what?” You ask quietly, lips tugging into a small frown.

“I’m sorry that I’m here and he’s not.” He’s just got to say it. He knows you probably wouldn’t bring it up on your own, but there’s a big elephant in this room. Bradley knows what it’s like to sit in your spot, and not know how to talk about it.

It’s his fault that Maverick didn’t make it home.

You stop chewing. That last bite sits in your mouth, doughy and dry all of a sudden. You stare across at him, awkwardly making yourself swallow down the last of your bite of pizza and picking up the paper towel to wipe at your mouth.

But, he knows what it’s like to be told how to grieve. He just dips his head and nods awkwardly. “Right.”

“I got a call from an admiral the other day,” You pick up the slice of pizza and pick at its toppings. There’s no one here now to tell you not to play with your food. Mav never really cared anyway. Bradley watches you, unhungry. “Invited me down to Miramar. He said he was a friend of Mav’s and that he could talk me through… this whole thing. How it works.” You explain with a shrug.

Bradley rubs a hand over the neatly trimmed hair above his lip. It feels like he has swallowed a golf ball, sitting here like it’s normal to be discussing the measures.

He knows how it works. It won’t be as simple as it was with his own father. At least Maverick had afforded him something to bury. For you, there’s nothing.

“I’ll have to be there around eleven.”

“Sure,” Bradley nods, scratching at the back of his neck. His legs tingle with stiffness. Clearing his throat, he shifts in the little wooden chair and stretches, knocking his foot into yours under the table. “Oh. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

Your teeth press into the inside of your cheek. Maverick hadn’t ever described Bradley as this nervous.

“It’s fine.” You hum, pushing back in your chair and standing up from the table. “Well, I’ve been up since like… four, so I might just hit the hay.”

“Sure.” Bradley breathes out, hands braced on his thighs, eyes focussed on that tiny chip in the corner of the table. “Yeah. Goodnight.”

The downstairs bedroom seemed bigger when he was a kid. The twin-sized bunks on the carrier feel bigger than the wooden-framed bed that Maverick put in here. Bradley’s shoulder is practically hanging off the side, and the old frame creaks with each movement he makes.

It’s not like he would be sleeping much anyway. When he closes his eyes, the only thing he can see is the fireball Maverick’s plane had turned into as it fell.

Bradley’s hunched over the coffee pot by the time that you wake up. He hears you coming down the stairs and straightens up like he wasn’t three seconds from throwing the stupid thing at the wall, clearing his throat and turning around.

It occurs to him that he should have put a shirt on. This isn’t his place. It’s yours, now, he guesses — either way, he hadn’t considered making you uncomfortable. He folds his arms over his naked torso as you stroll into the kitchen, hair mussed and rubbing at your eyes.

You’re wearing big socks and the same big t-shirt you had worn to eat the pizza last night. He can’t tell if you’re wearing shorts or not.

“Morning,” He offers up, making you lift your gaze from busily tapping at your phone. Your gaze lands squarely on his navel — more so, how low his shorts sit on his hips and the way a soft trail of brown hair ventures from there to his bellybutton.

Blinking, you find his face.

“Coffee machine’s broken, we can stop somewhere on the way to base if you like.” He leans down a little bit, like an awkward teenager shrinking away from a family picture. You lock your gaze on his, trying not to glance back down at his muscles.

“Oh. That’s not broken — if you hit it hard enough, it’ll work.” You head right for him, fuzzy socks padding across the floor so softly that it really does startle him when you grab the copy of War and Peace that now sits on the kitchen counter, and slam the book right into the side of the coffee machine.

He whips around as the machine whirs to life. You set the book back down gently, and look up at him. He sets his jaw, brows knitted together, searching your face.

Maverick never taught Bradley anything like that. In fact — Bradley always, always was taught the opposite. You never take the easy way out; if something’s worth fixing, then you fix it right.

Then you, you on the other hand, beat the thing with the heaviest book you can find? He just doesn’t get it.

“Well. Thanks.” He guesses, turning his bemused expression back to the brewing coffee.

He hadn’t been expecting you to do that. Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, given the way he’s still glaring at the machine. That coffee pot is older than you are, and Mav never taught him that trick?

“So this guy, the one who called me,” You skim your fingers along the cool granite countertop, just to have something to do, “He was the guy calling the shots up there?”

Bradley blinks. He doesn’t know how much you know about the way all of this works. He knew everything there is to know long before he ever enlisted, but that was because he wanted to know.

“Um,” Bradley grabs his mug and takes a step back for you to get yourself one. “He was our mission command so, kind of. He gives orders — but, y’know, everything happens fast, it’s… it’s hard to call the shots from back on the boat.”

“Did he like Mav much?” You ask, head tucked inside the fridge door as you scan for anything to make your coffee a little less black. Nothing. A couple of beers and a block of good German cheese. You swing it shut with a resigned sigh, wondering if you’ll be here long enough to need groceries.

The thought flashes across your mind — what’ll happen to this place when you leave it behind?

“Great.” Agitation creeps into your tone as you curl your fingers around a plain white coffee mug. All of his kitchenware is plain white.

“What?” Bradley tilts his head, trying to catch a glimpse at the look on your face, stuck between whether you’re sad or pissed off.

It’s an easy answer, rolling off of your tongue with a shrug of your shoulders and a deflated sigh. “People usually put us in the same boat — if they don’t like him, they don’t like me.”

That’s something that he thinks he can understand. There’s not an instant dislike, but there’s a pity that he finds in the eyes of people who once knew his father.

He screws his mouth up, shaking his head and reaching for you without thought. His palm claps against your shoulder, platonic and soothing, but the first time he has touched you nonetheless. “I’ll be there. He won’t say a thing.”

Glancing upward, while his palm lingers on your shoulder, your eyes flit across his features. He doesn’t know quite what you’re searching for, or whether you find it. His fingers squeeze softly against your skin before the touch is gone all together.

You drink your coffees in parallel, both subtly miserable in your silence but comfortable in it anyway. It’s difficult to prepare for a meeting like this — you don’t have a clue of what to expect.

Bradley wears black jeans and boots with a plain white t-shirt, which convinces you not to wear the more formal dress you had thought you’d have to wear. You slip into his passenger seat in a skirt and Mary Janes.

He drives a loud, blue vintage Bronco. It sparkles inside and out, and makes your dusty old car look even worse.

Bradley settles behind the wheel to the sound of chilled seventies music, the radio turned low. He drives with three fingers curled around the bottom of the wheel and the other hand resting absently on the stick shift.

Even though he seems calm enough behind the wheel, you watch him chew at the inside of his cheek for the duration of the drive. Gears tick away inside his head. His knee only stops bouncing nervously when it’s time to press his foot against the pedal.

He’s not as good at pretending as he thinks he is; you silently appreciate that he tries, either way.

Bradley, truthfully, spends the entire drive thinking about the last time he was face to face with Admiral Simpson. ‘Son, I’m doing this for you.’ He had sworn, face sullen, uttering the exact same words Pete Mitchell once had when delivering the words that had torn Bradley from him the first time.

Only, Admiral Simpson wasn’t pulling Bradley’s papers — he was just putting him on a month long bereavement leave. His protests had fallen on deaf ears once again, as they had fifteen years ago. He’s now a week into that leave, but it feels like longer.

It turns out that when you cut sleep from the equation, everything feels a lot longer. In his own apartment, his routine has been getting up at 2am after hours of tossing and turning, going for a run all the way down to the docks, coming back and showering, then waiting for the sun to rise.

Last night, he’d been awake in that creaky old twin bed, struck by the realisation that if he spent all night tossing and turning — one, he might actually break the old bed frame, and two, the squeaking of it would definitely keep you up.

All it had taken was the focus of trying to sit still for so long to finally knock him out. It was the best that he’d slept since the mission.

He kind of hopes that it’ll take him a while to figure out something to do with your car; at least that way he’ll be able to sleep at night.

“You ready?” His voice startles you from your daydream, the engine cutting out with a jingle of the keys as he stretches forwards in his seat to shove them into his pocket. “We’re headed just over there.”

“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” You’re stepping down and swinging the heavy door shut before you’re taking your next breath, leaving him to catch up to you.

His long strides have him at your side before long, reaching ahead of you to pull open the glass door to the post headquarters.

This process has already been easier with him at your side. He’d coolly handed over his service ID and greeted the guard at the gate by name, and he stops you from turning sharply down the wrong hallway with a soft bump of his shoulder against yours.

He catches your forearm as you try to blow right past the front desk, his grip loose but firm.

“Rooster.” The woman behind the desk stands up sharply, looking sharp in her service khakis, her entire face creased with a deep worry. She’s older, maybe around Mav’s age. “I heard, I’m so sorry.”

Rooster loosens his hold on your forearm, his lips flattening into a line. He stands up straight, his interaction with the woman nothing if not totally polite. His thumb trails across the bend of your wrist as he nods his head towards you.

“Thank you,” He says softly, seemingly unaware of the way you’ve stiffened in the presence of this woman. “We’re, uh… we’re just here to see Cyclone, Lynn.”

Her warm, brown eyes whip towards you, widening. Recognition floods her features as she pieces together who you must be.

Lynn is a hugger by nature, and she was a good friend of Mav’s for a long time. She means well, but Bradley isn’t going to let her touch you when he can see how unnerved it makes you.

“We’re a little late. I’ll catch you at the O-Bar this weekend?” His fingers uncurl from your forearm and his palm falls flat between your shoulder blades, giving you a gentle nudge and silent permission to avoid her hug.

The woman stops and there’s another polite, departing exchange between the two of them while you continue down the hall.

Bradley catches up to you as you rap your knuckles against the doorframe, fingers trembling when they come to settle back against your thighs.

“Miss Mitchell.” A chair scrapes along the tiled floor, Cyclone’s signature rumbling voice carrying out into the hallway. His boots tap across the ground, his face creased with sincerity and his hand outstretched when he notices Bradley standing behind you. “Bradley Bradshaw.”

You check back over your shoulder, glancing briefly at the man behind you, who has assumed his best bodyguard impression.

Standing tall, his uniform crisp and his greying black hair combed neatly, Admiral Beau Simpson slips his palm into yours and shakes your hand curtly. The sunlight catches on his shining name badge, his face heavy with lines and sharp angles.

Letting your hand go, he then reaches to your right to shake Bradley’s. Bradley’s chest bumps your back as he leans into the handshake.

You step away from him, angling yourself closer to the doorframe. “He just gave me a ride here. Is it okay if he comes in?” You answer.

“Of course,” Cyclone is far more polite to you than he has ever been to Bradley. “Anything you need. Please, take a seat.”

It feels a little bit wrong standing before his boss in jeans, and sitting before him. Everything about this feels a little bit wrong. Bradley rests his chin against his fist.

You sit in the chair beside him, shoving your trembling hands under your thighs, straightening up and trying to look as brave as you can.

It shouldn’t be this stranger sitting beside you in this meeting — your mother should have come with you.

Bradley almost scoffs. Even now, Cyclone can’t manage to compliment him.

“We are forever grateful for his service, and the sacrifices he made on behalf of our country. I understand that this is an extremely difficult time, and I’d just like to say that I’m going to personally make sure that this process is as easy as it can possibly be.”

You blink at him. Jet engines rumble on outside of the window. People bustle on outside of the closed office door.

Cyclone glances towards Bradley.

“When a man is lost in action, our resolve is to initiate a search and rescue effort as soon as possible,” The admiral explains, leaving out the part where that search and rescue effort had been delayed by seventy-two hours after Mav disappeared. “We’ve been working tirelessly, and our efforts to locate your father are ongoing.”

Your brows knit together.

“But— he’s dead.” You frown, rendering Cyclone suddenly quiet. “He’s got to be. It’s been a week. No food, no water, sub-zero temperature. What’s the point in looking?”

Bradley grits his teeth. He looks across at you, the muscle in his jaw ticking. There’s nothing in your expression, no fear or sadness. Your father deserved more than that.

“The point is to bring him home.” He bites from your side, staring straight ahead at Cyclone.

You shoot him a look. When it’s clear that you aren’t going to say anything else, Cyclone clears his throat to continue.

“Miss Mitchell, we do have to prepare ourselves for the other outcome. If recovery efforts are unsuccessful, in two weeks time, he will be listed as formally ‘Missing in Action’. If that’s the case, we will honor him with a memorial service and all of his service records and personal effects

are delivered to you.”

You drag your teeth across your bottom lip, swallowing hard and giving a small nod of your head.

“Okay. Two weeks?”

“This is going to be a longer process,” Cyclone warns you. He’d heard that you had come down specially for this, and he doesn’t want to mislead you about the time frame. “The recovery mission, if unsuccessful, will be suspended in two weeks’ time. After that, we’d like you to be local for the investigation.”

“Investigation?”

“Of ourselves. To ensure that the Navy had performed its due diligence, that kind of thing… I’d expect us to be here for a good few months.” He explains.

After that, it’s like Bradley can see a switch flip for you.

You’re biting at the inside of your cheek so hard that you must be tasting copper, picking at the seam of your jeans and breathing like you’re trying not to cry.

He’s still confused when he’s all but chasing you across the parking lot, listening to you try to control your breathing.

“Hey, hey, hey,” He tries, approaching you cautiously as you crowd yourself against the passenger side of his car. “It’s alright. We’ll get through it, it’s just a couple of months.”

“I— fuck. I don’t want to be here. I-I— I’m going to have to find a job, and I’ll have to call my mom, and— and my friends, and—“

“Hey,” Bradley mumbles, resisting the instinct to throw his arms around you. His brows draw together as he reaches out and squeezes your bicep, bending his knees so he can catch your eye. “It’s alright. I’ll take care of it.”

You know that he’s just trying to be nice, but really, you’re sick of nice. It’s all that Maverick ever was and it left you with no idea of who he really is. “Of what? There’s so much that I have to—“

He nods, closing his mouth, swallowing dryly. Thinking of what he can, feasibly, take off of your plate for you. The idea sparks in him.

“You need a job. I can get you a job. Um, your friends, we can call them and bring them down for a weekend?” He squeezes again at your bicep, nodding his way through his plans, trying to will the tears in your eyes not to spill over.

You sniff, turning your gaze towards the ground. The lump in your throat burns and bobs as you try to swallow it away.

Mav really is never coming back.

He licks his lips and glances towards the skies, watching the sun pass behind a cloud.

“You could stay at my place, for a night or two.”

…

364 notes · View notes

sherlockggrian · 2 days ago

Text

gonna talk about lore for a second cause it's eating away at me here

this is all entirely personal and 80% made up with zero basis other than the ongoing au for hermitcraft/life in my head, btw. Grian has steadily been getting more confident and dangerous with his powers since the end of season 8. He was terribly afraid of them and refused to use them for the first few years after Evo, and it took a long time during season 9 for him to be more comfortable. Each life series he gets more and more powerful and has more influence over the game. He's still not on the side of the watchers themselves.

In season 10, he uses it casually. He sits on the dock and mentally flies around the server to check on everyone. He can jump in and out of worlds and universes. He can stop time and talk to people in their dreams. Pearl has some powers as well, though she is not a true watcher in the sense and thus isn't quite the same as Grian. I was thinking about Taurtis, and how he made Grian and probably Pearl into what they are, and how he's the reason the watchers are so obsessed with Grian and his group specifically - becayse though Taurtis has lost most of what made him human, forgotten his human form and thinks mostly as a powerful entity, he still has this connection and ties to the other Evo players.

Which is why Grian and Pearl want to kill him. Permanently. They cause a rip in the world borders of Hermitcraft, and Taurtis comes to them, and during the fight something goes wrong and Taurtis ends up posessing Grian. He's now sort of two people, with Taurtis able to control him sometimes, but Grian powerful enough to fight it off. This small disruption in the world is enough for the watchers to trap the players into Wild Life.

Grian/Taurtis choose the wild cards. Grian knows what is going to happen, yet is somewhat powerless to stop it. He's in this sort of interal war while also trying to keep his friends alive (and failing miserably). Scar, who believes the canary curse being broken last time is what let him beat the watchers (he won instead of Gem, the one who the watchers wanted), is working dsperately to stop Jimmy from dying.

Pearl is the only one who knows about Grian. She's keeping quiet, waiting for the right moment to intervene again, like she did last season. They always keep their distance from each other because they know they're the ones who can sort of protect everyone as best they can from the watchers, and it works better when they are spread out. Their alliance is very thin at best. Despite their powers, they don't trust each other.

And Bigb, once again, is there to observe. He is not a watcher, or a listener, but something else, a 3rd being that the watchers keep a careful eye on. He could end everything, if he wanted, he wasn't even intended to be there, but he chooses to go along with it, for reasons unknown to anyone but him. He is not allied with the watchers, but he does nothing to prevent their attacks. Nobody knows where he came from, or where he goes when the games are over. He is merely there.

#all of this sounds crazy probably sorry about that #just gotta yap #wild life #wlsmp #hermitcraft #grian #watcher grian #watcher lore #life series lore #yapping

54 notes · View notes

yanmuffins · 2 days ago

Note

Warning: bad english ,sorry it's not my first language.

I read a bit of the link you sent because I really don't know anything about this game 😅 but I think it would make more sense (to me) if the reader was in the rose clan. Since they are good at seducing people, the reader would perhaps react better towards them than the sword clan, aka the blue bloods, who are politicians, CEOs and who would make her think too much of her family maybe. I think it also depends on whether reader wants to compete (secretly or not) with Tim and/or Damian to run the Wayne company .

I believe that she would also be a more interesting pawn for the Roses' clan than that Swords clan because the latter would immediately see that she will not bring many advantages because she's kind the black sheep of the family. They probably already have plenty of people who have connections with high society and so they will be more disdainful towards her because she is ordinary compared to the rest of the batfam.

On the other hand, in my opinion the rose clan will actively try to please her because she would surely be the first access for them to high society. And the clan would probably train her so she can esaily talk to the big shoes and invest on them. In fact , I would really like to see a reader who masters the art of rizz like his father. I think that it would be funny that one day ,she participate in a gala and all the batfam become dumbfound when they see that the most calm and unnoticeable member of their family is now surronded by these haughy people 'cause she's kind of seduce,flatter them before for the benefit of her company.

context &. context.

another team toreador anon!! hello!! (=´∇｀=)

the consensus is that the ventrue clan would shun reader because they are not favored by bruce. while i think this notion isn't incorrect, reader's embrace is more strategic than anything, meaning that it is good that she's not favored by bruce and overlooked by her family. and they can see that is the case when she, daughter of the bruce wayne, traverses gotham freely without a single bodyguard or even a call from her father to check on her well-being when she's out so late.

in other circumstances, she would be disdained. but there's ulterior motives at play, and she's a good candidate.

therefore, they're not counting on anyone questioning her whereabouts or personal life, making it perfect for them to just snatch her up, turn her and introduce her to her new reality as a vampire. but it just happened that now the waynes are worried about the black sheep of the family, which put a damper on their plans.

but i do think she would bloom in the rose clan (pun intended). as has been said, they're experts of seduction. they're actually no strangers to money and status! they may not all come from the top 1%, but even when they're not rich and influential themselves, chances are they are attached to someone who is. but you are right, anon, vampire! reader is kinda is their golden ticket to gotham high-society...

don't want to delve into that too much, but reader will go through many changes after she mets her sire, some before she is turned into a vampire and some after. we will have cunty reader, i promise you. and the toreador is known for being a clan of enthralling, often deadly social butterflies, and it's not uncommon for them to be surrounded by admirers. vampire! reader would learn many things from them.

not that they can teach her anything the batfam would like.

#thank you for the ask!!#bruce sheltered vampire! reader a lot so suddenly seeing her being charming and surrounded by people who want a piece of her #man is going to bluescreen. he's confused. he's displeased. and that's because we haven't even touched his opinion on the sire yet.#asks.#anonymous.#vampire! batsis.#yandere batfam #yandere batfamily #dark batfamily

50 notes · View notes

hibiscus-intern · 2 days ago

Text

Fit check for my new internship! This freighter ship is super cramped. You can barely see anything in the mirrors! I'll h- uh. Sounds like the Captain... Curly, I think? Sounds like he broke the news to my new boss. I'd better go check that out. AMA and I’ll get on it after my shift, yeah? Apparently we only get like, five hours of sleep! Aw man, I don't know anything about... Recording ended.

ASK BOX IS OPEN!

A/N and guidelines under cut! Please read before sending :]

Hi and welcome! I haven't run an ask blog in years, now, but this isn't my first go at it so I'll hop right into some rules and guidelines for interaction!

As a canon-adherent Mouthwashing blog, themes of abuse, assault, institutionalized misogyny & violence against women, capitalist and patriarchal hierarchies, rape culture, ageism, etc. can and likely will be explored. I am 21 years old and as such will tackle adult topics! I gently ask that people who interact do their due diligence not only to keep themselves safe but also to respect the severity of the themes in the games when engaging with Daisuke. While lighthearted asks are more than welcome, this is a blog run in earnest and out of a genuine interest (personal and scholastic) in the themes in Mouthwashing. I will tag with trigger warnings as I see appropriate. Thank you!

With this in mind, the blog is canon-compliant, meaning Daisuke only knows what Daisuke knew in-game (thus far, only pre-crash)! For example, he is not aware of Jimmy's true nature. Please bear this in mind when interacting and please do not be too surprised if his answers aren't as critical as a player of Mouthwashing might be. But not all questions have to be explicitly about the game canon! Feel free to ask personal questions or pose hypotheticals--I will tag headcanons and non-canon responses as appropriate. This is still a blog made out of love and for entertainment purposes!

I will periodically update the transit time in the blog description to reflect when in the voyage the questions are being answered from. If you want your ask answered from a specific time into the voyage, just add it in your ask! For archival purposes, the date at which he answered the question will be recorded in the tags :D

My name is Clem (he/him 🇲🇽🇬🇹), feel free to directly ask me things you're curious about!! 💗

Small shoutout! The creation of this blog was inspired by @/ask-anya-anything, whose posts I ran into over on Twitter! Absolutely an incredible writer and artist you should totally check out!

Thanks a bunch! Hope to hear from you soon ☀️

#🌺.art #welcome post!#// ooc #mouthwashing #mouthwashing fanart #daisuke mouthwashing #ask blog #mouthwashing game

37 notes · View notes

bteezxyewriter12 · 2 days ago

Text

Name

Pairing- Tae x Named Reader

Word count- 10.5k

Includes- oral, blow job, pussy eating, face riding, cock riding, missionary, multiple orgasms, love making, fluff

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxminnie @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa

@borntowalkaway @soulseobi05 @kpop-bambi @seokwoosmole @meowmeowminnie @realisticnotes @effielumiere @svnbangtansworld @pinkies-things @insomniacatiny @marvelfamily3000 @amyz78 @blueie-things

Masterlists- check out for more fics

📝Masterlists 📝BTS Masterlist 📝Taehyung Masterlist

J POV

"I found my soulmate Jo!", Elena gushes

"Oh yeah? That's great!", I answer, getting jealous and disappointed

I'm glad I'm on the phone with her instead of in person. That's way she can't see my face

"Yeah! He just came into the Starbucks and when I asked his name he said Stefan. I was so excited and I asked him his last name. He said Salvatore. It's the name that's been in my head since I was born! I had a feeling when I first saw him"

"Did you tell him your name?"

"No he asked if I was Elena Gilbert before I could tell him! It was him!"

"That's crazy. And so out of nowhere", I reply

I'm trying so hard to stay cheerful for her

"It's just like they say Jo. You can feel that they're yours. You just know. The love is there and it's like everything wakes up in you."

Sounds amazing. Too bad I'll never find mine

"I'm happy for you Elena. You're so lucky"

"Don't worry Jo. You'll find yours"

I hold back a snort. Yeah right. Not with the name I'm stuck with

"Yeah I hope so."

"I gotta go. Stefan is coming over and he'll be here soon"

Already? That's quick. I mean I know he's her soulmate but she doesn't know him like that. What if he's a serial killer? But it's her life

"Ok Elena. I'll see you soon"

"Yeah Jo. Ok. Bye!"

"Bye", I answer and hang up

I sigh. It's so not fair

"Urgggg", I whine

That's my last friend who didn't have a soulmate. Now they all have one and Elena's gone. Once they get their soulmate, my friends all drop off the face of the earth. They're with their soulmates 24/7. So now I'm alone

I haven't found my soulmate. I don't think I ever will. The name in my head is not something that anyone would name their kid

The name of my soulmate is "V"

One letter. One fucking letter. Never going to happen. I've had people contact me because they had my name in their head

Joanne Summers

Easy. But when they tell me their name, it's never V. Never. And I've given up

------------

I close the door to my apartment, sighing. I just got off of work and I'm dead tired from the commute. I just want to eat, watch TV and then sleep. After showering and getting into my pjs, I flop on my couch, turning the TV on. Opening the Uber eats app, I order some food, then watch TV

Looking up I see I'm watching Jimmy Fallon. Eh he's ok and I'm too tired to care what I watch. I'm just waiting for food. I scroll through Twitter, glancing at the tv now and then. Screaming comes from the tv and I look up. What the hell?

A group of Asian men come onto the stage and the crowd gets louder. A group of very handsome Asian men. Who are these people?

"We have the biggest kpop boy band here tonight. BTS!"

BTS?

Who the hell is that? And what is kpop? Jimmy asks the guys to introduce themselves and I grab the remote to change the channel. I don't know who they are and I don't care

Pointing to the tv, I'm about to change the channel when I hear, "Hi guys, I'm V"

I stop dead in my tracks and look up at the tv

Did he say...V?

Which one said it? I don't know. The last one speaks and says his name is J-Hope. Which one is V?

I sit on my couch, my mouth hanging open and eyes glued to the TV. Jimmy is asking them questions and one of them keeps answering and talking. Is he the front man? Is he V?

Five minutes later, Jimmy asks another question and the one who keeps answering hands the mic to the one next to him saying, "Suga, answer"

Suga? What are these names? I'm guessing their stage names like Avenged Sevenfold has. Suga answers and hands back the mic. I find out the one who talks a lot is RM and that they other ones aren't that great in English. Some are better than others. Jimmy asks certain members something and they answers. There's three that haven't spoken yet

"V, what do you think?", Jimmy asks

RM hands the microphone to V. And I see him for the first time. And hear his voice. He's fucking beautiful. More beautiful than I am, hands down. And his voice is so deep. Can the name in my head be his stage name? He's the only person I've ever heard call themselves V. His English is alright.

During the commercial, I Google BTS and find out kpop is Korean pop music. So he's Korean. I don't speak Korean. I don't live in Korea. He does. Because of course he does

When Jimmy Fallon comes back, BTS performs a song, it's called "Butter". It's in English. I watch V and he has a beautiful singing voice. And he can dance. All seven of them are amazing

When the show ends, I grab my laptop and go back to Google

-----------

I've been up for hours. I'm going to have to call in sick tomorrow. It's almost four a.m.

I've fallen into a BTS hole

I really like their music. They're videos are amazing and their dancing is incredible. I read all about them and I found out their real names

What V's real name is

It's Kim, Taehyung

The members call him Tae, Tae Tae and Tayhungie

Adorable

All the members seem like kind, generous and honest people. They care and love their fans who are called ARMY. They're really all just big goofballs having fun

V is a year younger than me. He's twenty six and I'm twenty seven. BTS is huge, bigger than the Beatles used to be. And I instantly know, there is no way I can ever get in contact with V. Not unless I go to Korea and basically go broke buying albums for the chance to get a ticket for a fan meet. So I found my soulmate, maybe, but I'll never be with him. He'll never know me

I can't even guess how many fangirls tell him they're his soulmate. He's one of the maknaes, the younger members and he is the bias of so many girls. He's voted the most handsome man and he's the most popular member. Why would he believe me?

And how many Joanne Summers are in the world who are his fan? My name is common. My chance is zero . Still I have to try

I'm in the middle of writing a message to him. I'm going to send it through Weverse. I read that the members answer their fans more on there. And my post will be public but I don't care. If he sees it, then I don't care what anyone says. I can't think of anything else to do

So I post a simple message and hope he reads it

--------------------------------

Tae POV

I'm eating breakfast with the guys. We came back to Seoul after the Jimmy Fallon show. I crashed on the plane and all day yesterday

Thank god we have today off

I check my phone while I eat. Instagram, Twitter, Weverse. So many people messaging us. I scroll through the "to V", messages on Weverse. Some are in English, Korean and other languages. I try to answer as many as I can

I see a long message from someone and it catches my eye because her name is Joanne

The first name of my soulmate

I basically have given up on finding my soulmate. There are so many girls messaging me that they're my soulmate but it's never true. I don't know how I will ever find her or how I'll know it's the right girl. But I can't just not read her message especially since she has my soulmate's first name

She wrote the message in English. I can read and understand English but I rather read it in Korean. Taking a bite of my sandwich, I hit the translate button and start reading-

"Hi. My name is Joanne Summers and I think you might be my soulmate. I just saw you on Jimmy Fallon tonight and heard you call yourself V. The name of my soulmate is V. I know you may not believe me and have lots of girls say they're your soulmate but I swear I didn't even know who you were until tonight. I basically have given up finding a V, and I'd like to meet you to be sure if you are my soulmate or not. I know I sound insane and I'm sorry. I understand if you never answer me. I don't even know if you'll see this. But if you do thanks for reading.

-Joanne

I gasp and drop my sandwhich

"Tae what's wrong?", Jimin asks

I hear him but I can't answer him

I can only stare at the message. And I know it's real. I know it's her. Because she said that the name of her soulmate is V. Every other girl whose ever messaged me says my real name is in their head

Kim, Taehyung

But this girl....she said V

And her name is my soulmate

Joanne Summers

"TAE!", Namjoon yells

I look up to see the guys looking at me

"I...I found her", I whisper

Yoongi raises his eyebrow, "Found who?"

"My soulmate"

"Uh ok, how?", Hobi asks skeptically

"She messaged me on Weverse"

"Seriously Tae? You can't believe that", Jin answers

"It's true.", I insist

"C'mon Tae, we all get so many messages from girls and guys saying that they're our soulmate but they're really not.", Jungkook scoffs

"She said the name in her head is V", I blurt

They all stop and look at me

"V. Not Kim, Taehyung. V. No one ever said the name of their soulmate is V. They always use my name."

"That's different. I don't think anyone has ever used our stage names before.", Jimin muses

"What's her name?", Hobi asks

"Joanne Summers"

"The name of your soulmate", Namjoon realizes, "Maybe it is real."

I nod. I think it is. I have to meet her to see

"Be careful Tae. I see that look on your face. You want to meet her. Just be careful", Jimin warns

I just nod. I'm not dumb, of course I'll be careful. Now I have to think of a way to contact her. I can't do it on Weverse. Everything there is public. I have to use Twitter or Instagram and message her privately. But how am I supposed to know which Joanne Summers is her?. I log onto Instagram and search her name . So many profiles come up

I sigh and click on the first profile

------------

Oh my god I found her. I've been on this goddamn app for over an hour, looking at every profile with her name. I know this is her because in her small profile description the only thing there is V. And a link to her Twitter

I take a few minutes to look at her pictures since her profile is public. She doesn't have that many. I click on a picture of her. And my breath catches in my throat

She's gorgeous

Beautiful deep eyes, stunning smile and long hair dyed pink

Going back to her profile I click on her Twitter. I decide to follow her. But first I change my private Twitter bio to include, "It's me. V", in English. Then I click follow on her profile and wait

--------------------------------

J POV

My alarm clock goes off and I want to die. I want to sleep more. But I have to go to work. I called out yesterday but I can't today. It's just the commute to the city that kills me. Over an hour going and coming back. It's exhausting but there's nowhere else I can do my job in New York. And I don't want to move. Not yet anyway

I sigh, forcing myself up and into the bathroom I get dressed quickly and grab my phone, throwing it in my bag without looking at it. I'll get some tea and food on the way to the train

-----------

I hate being on the subway. Weird fucking things happen on the subway. I avoid eye contact as much as I can. Which means I look at my phone. Which I'm going to do now

Taking out my phone, I look at it for the first time today. Nothing much.nBut I assumed as much. Like I said all my friends are with their soulmates so no messages for me. The only thing I have is a Twitter notification. Someone followed me. I click on the notification. I want to see who's following me, hoping it's not a weirdo

The name is in Asian characters. I have no clue which language, so I can't read the name. And the picture is of a painting. I scan the bio and my heart stops

There in English, it says, "It's me. V"

Is it really him? I have no idea. But I need to take the chance. So I follow him back. I know that if he's in Korea it's a twelve hour time difference. It's 9:30 am here, so there it's 9:30 pm there. Hopefully he's still up

So I send a message

"Hi. Is this V? For real?"

Hopefully he'll answer. Maybe I found my soulmate

------------

My phone buzzes as soon as I get into work. It's a Twitter notification for a message

"Hi. Yes this is V. I saw your message on Weverse. I think you're my soulmate too. The name of my soulmate is Joanne Summers. You're right that many girls tell me they're my soulmate. But you are the first one to tell me the name in your head is V. That's why I think this is real."

As I'm reading, another message appears, with a phone number

"This is my cell number. Can I have yours?"

I'd usually say no but he spoke about the message I sent on Weverse. And said my name is the one in his head. And that he thinks this is real. I hope I don't regret it and I send my phone number

I'm about to send another message when my phone starts ringing. A video call. From the number V sent me. I rush into my office and sit down, picking up the phone

The guy on my phone is the guy I saw on the tv the other day

And my god he's gorgeous. He's staring back at me and I'm aware that I have to talk

"Hi"

"Hi", he answers

Fucking hell, his voice

"Are you V?", I ask

He nods, "You are Joanne Summers?"

I nod

"I uh sorry. I no speak English well", he says

"Oh, that's ok. I don't speak Korean"

Then I think of something

"How did you write the message to me in English?"

"Oh. Uh I write in Korean. Namjoon uh write what I write in English"

Ok, he got RM to translate. I don't have anyone to translate what I write into Korean except Google translate. And that is known for being wrong a lot

"I'm sorry I don't have anyone to translate things to Korean", I tell him

"It's ok. I can uh read and uh... understand English. But writing and uh talking no much"

He makes a writing gesture to show me what he means

"I uh want talk to you more. Are you work or school?"

I want to talk to him too. Get to know him and see if this is real

"Yeah I'm at work now. I just got here."

"Ok where you live?"

"New York"

He nods, "Twelve uh hour time, not same"

I get what he means. He's talking about the time difference. I nod

"When work done?"

"Five", I say, holding up my hand with five fingers up

"Oh. I sleep then"

"Yes ok. When do you wake up?"

"Different times. Sometimes six, but a lot eight or nine"

I nod, "It's night time here then. I can talk to you then"

"Ok. And I can talk to you when night here"

That sounds great

"Ok", I agree

"I come to uh U.S. in May. For Billboard awards and tour. I have uh show in New Jersey. I want to see you", he tells me

He wants to meet me? I want too as well.

"Yeah that sounds good", I answer

"I uh want to message too. Is that ok?"

I nod, "Yeah"

He smiles and shit it's beautiful

"Ok. I go now and you can work"

"Yeah ok V."

He shakes his head, "Tae. Call me Tae"

His real name. He wants me to call him by his real name. I feel so fucking giddy

"Ok. Tae", I agree

"Bye Joanne. We talk later"

"Ok Tae. Bye"

He smiles at me, waves and I wave back. Then he hangs up. And I sit stunned

He got back to me. He actually called me. And he wants to keep talking to me. And meet me

This idol, this famous singer, wants to meet me. And he thinks I'm right, that we are soulmates. He's coming in May. In two months. It seems so far away

But I've waited for him for years, I can wait two months

🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯

2 months later

Tae POV

"So I can see you tomorrow?", I ask her

She nods, "Yeah. Just tell me where you want to meet and I'll be there"

"Oh, I come to your job? I like museums"

"You wanna come here?", she asks

I nod

"Well ok. I can meet you here.", she agrees

"Good. At one?"

"Yeah that's good for me", she answers

I smile, "Ok. I see you tomorrow"

"Ok. Bye Tae", she says

I love the way she says my name

"Bye Jo"

She smiles, then hangs up. I'm so excited to finally meet her. After the first day I spoke to her, she's never left my mind. I think about her all the time. We text all day and night. We video call twice a day. We talk about everything. I've been practicing English and having Namjoon teach me more so I can speak to her. I've gotten better over the last two months. I still have a lot more to learn but at least I can talk to her. And I've fallen in love with her. She's an amazing person, she's beautiful and she's everything I want. And I know that even if she's not my soulmate, I'm going to ask her to be mine

----------

I scan the area as I walk to the New York Museum of Natural History. She works here but took today off so we could meet. I hope she's not annoyed that she had to come back to where she works. She's told me she's a paleontologist

I didn't know what that was and she explained she works with and studies prehistoric life, mostly dinosaur bones in the museum. That's amazing. I never heard of someone doing that. I'm hoping maybe she can take me to the back where she works and show me some cool stuff

I get to the stairs and look for her. She said she'd be by the stairs, behind the statue. Scanning the area, my eyes land on a girl with light purple hair. She changed her hair since I first spoke to her. To light purple. I did too

Mine is black now

The girl has her back to me but her head is moving like she's looking around. Maybe looking for me. I pull down my mask, take off my sunglasses and cap, so she can see that it's me

The girl turns around and I see that it's her

The second our eyes meet, something wakes up inside me and I know. She's mine. I found her. I feel unconditional love for her and the need to be with her. Everything around me fades away until I'm just focused on her

"It's you", she says, "I found you"

I nod and walk straight to her. I need to be near her.When I get to her, I pull her to me, my lips on hers in a second

Fireworks blast in my body and I feel like I'm complete

--------------------------------

J POV

I see Tae standing in front of me and I know. Everything that all my friends told me happens when you see your soulmate in person for the first time is true. I know he's my soulmate. I don't know how I know but I do. Honestly I fell for Tae these past two months

I love him

But the love for him that bursts in my body now is more powerful than what I felt before. He's mine. I belong with him

"It's you", I say, "I found you"

I can't believe I found him. He walks straight to me, pulls me in his arms and kisses me

The second his lips touch mine, fire races through me

I slide my arms around his neck, getting as close to him as I possibly can. He deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue in my mouth. Oh my god. His kiss is fucking incredible

When it ends, he pulls back and looks down at me. He's everything

He moves hair from my face and tells me, "I love you"

Complete happiness bursts in my body from hearing him say that

"I love you", I tell him

He smiles and I find his ARMYS are right. He has a boxy smile and it's stunning . He leans down again and kisses me. I know he's going to have to keep kissing me all the time because I'm addicted

He pulls away and asks, "Want to go inside?"

I nod and he takes my hand, lacing our fingers together and we start walking to the entrance

-----------

Tae is so much fun. He loves taking pictures and is constantly snapping pictures with a camera he brought. He keeps his hat, mask and sunglasses off, telling me he doesn't care if people recognize him

"Jo", he calls and I turn around

He holds up his phone this time and I smile. He's been taking so many pictures of me with both his phone and his camera. I didn't want him to at first but then he told me that he wants pictures of his beautiful soulmate on his phone so he can look at them anytime he wants. And I couldn't say no after that. But I know what he means, I'm taking a lot of pictures of him too

"Come Jo, selfie", he says

"Ok Tae", I answer

I go next to him and he holds out his phone. We smile for the first, make silly faces for the second and then he kisses me for the last one. Turning to me, he runs his fingers in my hair

"You so beautiful baby. I so lucky", he murmurs

I'm completely floored. He's lucky?Yeah right. I'm lucky

"No, Tae I'm lucky to have you. You're the best man I could ever ask for"

He smiles so widely, "Thank you Jo. You the best girl. I was scared I don't find my soulmate ever. Because I am idol. I'm so happy I found you. You make me happy"

I can't, he's the best guy ever. The things he's saying to me, it makes me happy that I can make him happy

I touch his cheek gently, "You make me happy Tae"

Smiling, he leans down, his lips against mine in another sweet kiss. God I love his kisses. I want them all the time. I'd be happy just sitting together and kissing all day

He takes my hand again as we walk around. He always wants to be touching me somehow. Holding my hand, having his arm around me, moving my hair. And I fucking love it

We walk around the dinosaur exhibit. He was so excited to come here since he knows what my job is

"Wow", he says, looking up at the T- Rex skeleton

He takes a picture, then holds my hand again, walking to the next dinosaur. He lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. I blush and smile. He's been doing that also. Just kissing my hand. He's so romantic

"Jo, can you uh show me where you work?", he asks

"You want to see that?"

He nods, "Yes"

I shrug, "Ok. Come on"

I lead him to an elevator and we go to the floor where I work

-----------

"This is a what?", Tae asks confused

"A Utah raptor claw", I repeat

I find the picture of the dinosaur online and show him

"This uh claw from that?"

I nod and point to the claw on the picture

"Can I hold?"

"Sure. Just be careful."

He slowly lifts it up, his eyebrows raising

"Heavy"

"Yeah. The bones are a lot more heavy than you'd think"

He places it back down

"More?", he asks excitedly

I just smile at how cute he is. We've been here for about half an hour. He wants to see everything and honestly I don't mind at all. No one really cares about what I do so it's nice to have someone interested. I close the drawer with the raptor claws and open the one under it

"Teeth?", he questions

"T-Rex teeth", I correct

"T-Rex?", he gasps, "Dinosaur king? Big one yes?"

God he's so fucking cute. His English has gotten better but sometimes he still speaks in broken sentences. I think it's fucking adorable. I can't speak Korean for the life of me so I have no place to judge his English

"Yeah Tae. The big one we took a picture by"

He nods, picking up one tooth and looking closely at it, "Have you uh dig up dinosaur too?"

"Once. I had to take a class that sent me to Colorado to help dig up a dinosaur that was found"

"Was fun?"

I nod. It was but it was also nerve wracking. I had to make sure I didn't break any of the bones while digging

"What dinosaur you dig?"

"Uh it was a triceratops"

He just looks at me, "I uh don't know name, just what look like"

"Hold on", I say going back on my phone and finding a picture

"This one", I say, showing him the picture

"Oh yeah. Three horns. We see that too in museum"

We did, he took a selfie in front of it

"What is your favorite dinosaur?"

"That's easy", I answer, pulling up a picture of the dinosaur, "Velociraptor"

"Ooo like the movie? Jurassic world?"

"Yeah like the movie. But they weren't that big"

"No?", he asks, confused

"No Velociraptors were the size of a chicken"

His eyes widen, "That little?"

I nod, "Utah raptors were the size of the ones in the movie"

"Oh. That the claw in the drawer yes?"

"Yeah baby"

He nods, putting the tooth down and I open the last drawer in this cabinet

"What is that? Not bone"

This drawer has small to large lumps in it

"Uh no. That's dinosaur poop"

Shock fills his face and he looks over at me

"Poop?"

I laugh at his expression

"Yeah Tae. Dinosaur poop"

"Why poop?", he asks disgusted

"Because Tae, the poop tells us what the dinosaurs ate"

"Oh I see. But still, yuck"

"You don't want to touch it?", I tease

"Ah no thank you", he day, shaking his head

"Ok baby", I giggle, closing the drawer

I turn back to him, "What do you want to do now? See more back here or go back to the museum?"

He doesn't answer, instead he comes closer and kisses me. My whole body is shocked as soon as his lips touch mine. I love how my body reacts to this kiss. I just get so happy

"I don't care. I want to be with you. Whatever you want, I go", he whispers to me

Pulling him back for a kiss, he puts his arms around me, holding me against him. God, I love being in his arms

"Do you want to go somewhere else?", I ask

"Yes. I go with you"

Should we go somewhere else in the city? Or should we go back around my apartment? There are parks there but it's not central park

"Do you want to stay in the city?"

He shakes his head, "You no like city. I know you come to work. We go somewhere else"

"No Tae. We can stay. I don't want to ruin anything for you. Whatever you want we'll do baby"

I don't want to take him away if he wants to be here. He doesn't come here often and it's not fair for me to be selfish

"I want you. I see New York before. I want see where you live"

"You want to go to my apartment?", I ask surprised

I'm worried that'd be boring for him

He nods, "I want"

Well if he wants to, I guess it's fine

"Ok. We can get a Uber or take the train"

"Can....can we take train? I already drive everywhere. I never go on train"

Right, of course he can't, he's an idol

He'd get swarmed on trains or buses

"We can go on the train baby but aren't you worried people will recognize you?", I ask

He shakes his head, "I have hat, glasses and mask. I'm ok"

"Ok", I answer and wait for him to put everything on. He's right, all the stuff hides who he is. As long as he's safe, I'm good. I take his hand and we leave the office

--------------------------------

Tae POV

The New York subway is.... interesting

So far, there have been people asking for money and a group of people dancing and performing in the train car. Joanne told me not to look because they'll expect me to give them money. I kept switching my gaze between her and the performers

It's crazy that they do this in the subway

Once it was done, they did ask for money. Some people gave them some but most didn't. I don't care about giving them money but Joanne told me not to. I don't know how things are done here so I'm going to listen to her. After awhile, the train stops and everyone gets off

"Uh"

"It's the last stop baby", she says, taking my hand and leading me out of the train

"Ok pumpkin. We go to your apartment now?", I ask

"Yeah. We're going to my car and I'm gonna drive home"

I nod. I know she has a car. She told me she drives to the train station, parks her car, then takes the train. It's a lot just go get to work. I don't know if I could ever do that every single day. We get to her car, get in and she starts driving

-----------

"So this is my apartment", she says

She showed me all of her apartment and we're back in her living room, sitting on the couch

"I like it", I answer

"Yeah? It's probably kinda smaller than you're use to"

"Oh no. It's great. I share with seven people. You get all space by yourself"

She smiles at me, "Yeah but sometimes it gets lonely. You have the rest of the members with you if you need to be around someone"

She's not wrong. I do have my own room when I want to be alone and I can go into the living room when I want to be around people. Everyone is always there

"What about you family?"

"Oh uh yeah I don't talk to them. I don't have any brothers or sisters. Just my parents and they're not nice people"

That upsets me. I can't imagine being without my family. They're one of the most important things in my life. But she had no one for so long

"You have me now", I answer

Her smile widens, "Yeah I do. And you have me"

God, I love hearing that. I do have her. And I'm never letting her go.

Moving closer to her, I crash my lips to hers. She throws her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. I can't stop kissing her. It's like after the first one, I just can't stop. And I love the feeling I get from her kisses. I pull her on my lap and she comes, still kissing. Her hands go in my hair and it feels good

I cautiously run my hands up and down her body. I want to do more but I don't know if she wants to. If it's too soon. Keeping my hands by the hem of her shirt, I play with it, lifting it a little but not too much. She moves her hands from my hair to my shirt and she pulls it up and off

Leaning back, her mouth drops open as she looks at me, "Fuck Tae, you're perfect"

The look on her face tells me she's telling the truth. I'm so happy she thinks that about me. I don't have abs like Jungkook or Jimin. I actually have a little tummy and I was self conscious about it around her. She touches my chest and runs her hands all over me

I close my eyes against her touch and just enjoy it. Her hands are soft and warm against my skin. She slides her hands up my chest, up my neck, touching my face as she leans to me and kisses me softly

When she pulls away, I open my eyes and just tell her, "I want you. So much"

She smirks, "Yeah baby?"

I nod rapidly

She kisses my cheek, then whispers, "Well you're in luck baby because I want you so much too"

"Yeah?", I ask

She nods, "Don't stop"

I pull her to me in a kiss, sliding my hands up her shirt and finally touching her skin. Fuck, she's so soft and smooth, I absolutely love it. Pulling her shirt up, I take it off and throw it somewhere, her lips back on mine in a second. I unclasp her bra taking it off as well

Touching her boobs, I moan against her lips. Kissing down her neck, she leans back as I get to her boobs, holding them up. Putting her nipple in my mouth I suck on it, feeling it get hard right instant. And her nipple isn't the only thing that gets hard

She moans, gripping my upper arms tightly. Going to the other nipple, I lick it over and over, it getting hard against my tongue. Fuck I'm so turned on. When I move back, she stands up, grabs my hand and pulls me with her

I follow her and we go in her room. She leads me to her bed and she sits on it, moving me in front of her. Her hands move fast on my jeans getting them undone and pulling them and my boxers down right away. I watch her lick up and down my hard cock, pleasure slamming my body

"Fuck", I whisper

She takes me in her mouth, sucking right away

"Oh my god!", I yell

I can't, it feels so good

And watching her turns me on so much more. I feel her tongue licking me all over as she sucks harder

"Baby oh god", I moan

She sucks on my head while jerking me off. I don't know which feels better, all I know is that I'm in so much pleasure. She takes her hand away and moves down my cock more, putting all of me inside

When she starts sucking, my body shivers from the pleasure. She nods her head, up and down, burying me in her tight throat each time. My god, it's amazing. Each thrust into her throat brings me closer and closer until I snap

"Joanne oh fuck, baby, baby!", I shout, coming, bliss crashing over me. I feel her swallow on my cock over and over making the pleasure last longer

"Mmmm", she groans, "So good"

My mouth drops open

"Ggg..good?", I stammer

She moves off me, looking up and smiling, "Yeah Tae. Good. You taste good"

Jesus Christ, I can't wrap my head around that. Instead of thinking about it, I gently push her back on the bed and pull off her pants and panties slowly. I take a second to look at her naked body. Oh my god, I can't fucking breathe. She's fucking so beautiful, so hot, so perfect

Running my hands up her body, I lean over her, kissing her again. I love how her arms immediately go around my neck, holding me close to her. Getting on the bed, I lay on my back and pull her to me

"Up", I tell her, moving her on top of me until she's right over my mouth

I can't wait to eat her out. Pulling her down more, I lift my head up and lick her

"Ttt... Tae", she whimpers

I keep going, licking all over, just feeling her on my tongue. And she feels good. She's already so wet and it tastes good. I move my hands on her ass and squeeze

"Mmmm", she moans

Stopping for a second, I look at her pretty pussy, her clit throbbing hard. I want it in my mouth so badly, so I wrap my lips around it and start sucking hard and fast

"Oh my god Tae!", she screams

I can't help but smile at her scream. I'm so glad I can make her feel so good. Still sucking on her, she moans, grabbing my arms tightly. Her clit throbs against lips, sending pleasure down to my hardening cock. I groan, slurping on her clit, her moans getting louder and louder

"Taehyung!", she screams, coming and shaking above me

I lick her cum and I'm so surprised at how good she tastes. I've gone down on girls before but I never really liked the way they taste. But her....I love it. And I know I'm always going to want it. When she finishes I keep licking her to get her to cum again. I swipe my tongue on her over and over, feeling her get more wet. Sliding down to her hole, I push my tongue inside, feeling her pussy squeezing, making both of us moan

I move my tongue in and out of her hole, fucking into her, her sweet juice drowning me. After another minute, she yells my name as she orgasms again and I lick up all her cum

"Mmm so good baby", I murmur

When I finish, I grab her hips, I move her down my body until she's right over my cock

"Please baby", I beg

She bites her lip, nodding at me. Pushing her down on me, my cock gets so wet and warm from her, her pussy the tightest I've ever felt

"Oh shit", I moan as pleasure slams right into me

"Are you ok?", she asks worriedly

I nod rapidly, "You just....fuck...so tight....feel so good"

Jesus I just went in and I already can't talk

"You...you like it?", she asks

"I love it", I gasp

She leans over me, kissing my lips softly. God her kisses are everything. I bury my hands in her hair, sliding my tongue in her mouth. Hers touches mine, sending chills down my spine. I feel her hands slide in my hair and touch my face. Goddamnit I love her so much

She moves back and smiles at me, giving me a quick kiss. Then she sits up and starts moving up and down my cock slowly

"Oh god", I moan

The pleasure is so intense and I've never felt this good before. Moving quicker, she bounces on me and takes my hands, putting them on her body

"Touch me Tae"

Hell yes. My hands slide up and down her body touching her everywhere I can

"You're hands feel so good baby", she whimpers

God she's everything. And she loves me. That's the best part. She loves just me. She just wants me. I'm so fucking happy

"Tae", she moans

She's going to cum. I can feel her throbbing hard. And I've never been more excited for a girl to cum on me

"Tae"

She's right there, so I thrust up into her

"Oh fuck", she cries

"Come on baby", I whisper, moving up into her again

"Taehyung oh fuck", she cries, getting so tight on me as she orgasms

Pure fucking pleasure washes over me as she cums on me. Oh my god, it feels amazing. But I knew it would. I knew being with her would be the best. I had no doubt

The pleasure on her face makes me happy and makes me want to give her more. Holding her hips, I thrust into her while she orgasms, making her scream louder

"Baby-"

"It's ok baby. Again"

She starts moving slamming down as I thrust up. I hit inside so much deeper and I love the feeling, the fast pulsing her cunt is doing around me

"There Tae. Oh shit right there", she moans

I slam up and she shouts

"There?", I ask

"Yes!"

She likes it there, in that spot and I'm going to give it to her. I move faster, making sure I slam into where she wants, her pussy covering my cock in so much cream, making a huge pretty mess

"Fuck!", she cries, orgasming again and holding onto my cock so tightly

"Fuck", I gasp from the pleasure

She shakes on top of me so I just hold her until she finishes. I sit up, holding her to me and rolling her over so she's under me. Kissing her lips hard, I push back inside and start moving slowly. Her hands are on my hips and she slides them up my back slowly, touching everywhere and her fingers leaving fire all along my back. I shiver from her touch and I feel her smile against my lips. I pull away from her, touching her face softly

"I love you"

-----------

J POV

Looking up at Tae, he tells me, "I love you"

Happiness explodes in my heart. I can never stop hearing him say that

"I love you", I tell him

The smile he gives me is so stunning, it takes my breath away. I'm so lucky I have him. I'm extremely lucky I found him. I would never have expected my soulmate to be famous. And everything that led to me finding him was pure luck. I know this . But I'm glad luck was on my side

He kisses me again, still moving slowly

I can feel every move, every thrust, every touch and I absolutely love it. He kisses down my neck, whispering to me as he does

"My baby."

He kisses another spot on my neck

"My Joanne"

Another kiss

"My soulmate"

I can't, he's everything

"My Tae", I whisper to him

He looks at me and smiles before pressing his lips to mine. He moves a little bit harder and it feels so good, his cock going so deep, hitting my spot every thrust. His cock is huge, spreading me wide open, the drag of his cock sending bliss through every inch of my body . He's getting me right there, just a few more thrusts

"Tttt.....Tae baby", I whimper

"Yeah baby", he answers, kissing me more

He thrusts again and I snap, ecstacy washing over me as I orgasm

"Oh god Tae!", I moan, clinging onto him, my body pressing into his

"Joanne, oh fuck, baby", he groans, coming inside

I feel his cock move and throb as he cums, his warm cum filling me so perfectly, feeling so fucking pleasurable it prolongs the bliss

"Fuck Tae!", I cry, shaking in his arms

"Jo, oh, so good", he moans, burying his face in my neck

Wrapping my arms around him, I keep him on top of me, running my fingers up and down his back and playing with his hair. Turning my head, I kiss the side of his face and his shoulder

"I love you", I tell him and keep kissing him

He lifts his head, looking at me, "Marry me"

I blink in shock. What? Which is what I say

"What?"

He kisses me, then gets up and leans over the bed to the floor. What is he doing? Did he really just ask me to marry him?. Is he being serious?

He comes back, laying down next to me and I move so we're facing each other. He holds up a ring to me. Oh my god he's serious

"I love you. You are mine. I am yours. I don't want to wait anymore. I come and know if you are my soulmate, I want to marry you. And you are. I don't want to be without you", he says softly, moving hair from my face

I take in his words and I already know my answer

"Marry me?", he asks again

"Yes", I answer with no hesitation

"Yes?"

"Yes", I confirm, nodding, "I love you Tae. I don't want to be without you either"

I don't. I already loved him before I met him today. And the love I feel for him now that he's my soulmate is so much more than before. I don't want to be away from him

It's going to kill me when he has to leave tonight to go back to the hotel. And he has a whole tour to go on. But I want to marry him. He's my everything

-----------

Tae POV

She said yes. I'm going to marry my soulmate. I'm so elated. I came here knowing I was going to propose to her if she was my soulmate. I didn't want to be apart from her if she was. And she is

I don't care about being too young or being famous for marriage. I'm ready as long as it's her. I was scared to ask, worrying about when the right time would be. But it came so easily. I just asked. And she said yes

I kiss her softly, just feeling her lips on mine. She cups my face, deepening the kiss. I love when she touches me. Her hands are so soft against my skin

When we pull away, I take her hand and slide the ring on it. She looks at it, smiling so widely

"Do you like it?", I ask

She nods, "I love it. It's beautiful Tae. Thank you"

There's more I want to ask her but this I'm scared about. But I have to

"Uh Jo. Can we uh talk?", I ask

She lifts her gaze from the ring to me

"Sure Tae"

"Uh Jo, I want to ask if you uh come with me. To Korea?"

"You want me to move to Korea? Don't you live in the dorm with the members?", she asks

"Uh yes but if you come, I move. I live with you"

"And you want to get married in Korea too?"

That I don't care about. We can get married here or there. Wherever she wants

"Whatever you want Jo. That does not matter. But I have uh stay in Korea. Because BTS is there. If I'm not in BTS, I move here with you. But I cannot now. Maybe later but not now"

"I get it Tae. I know you can't leave Korea", she answers

I'm worried she's not going to come. I know I'm asking a lot in a short period of time. She takes my hand, lacing our fingers and kisses the back of mine

"I'll go with you to Korea Tae."

"Yes? You will?"

"Of course Tae. I love you and we're going to get married. I'm not going to stay here when you're in Korea. Wherever you go, I go", she says softly

I can't hold the smile that bursts on my face

"Thank you baby", I thank her

"There's nothing to thank Tae. I'd do anything for you"

"Me too. I do anything for you", I repeat

"Uh I guess this is happening after your tour?"

"Yes we move after tour. I come help you", I confirm

She's moving for me, the least I could do is help her pack and ship everything

She nods, "I'm going to miss you when you're on tour"

I've thought about that too. I knew if she was my soulmate, I wouldn't want to be away from her so quickly

"You uh can come with me", I say lowly

Surprise falls on her face, "I can?"

I nod, "Yes. Before I leave Korea, I tell manager um about..you. I told them you maybe come with me. I told my members the same. They ok. Manager no ok but I don't care."

"Oh, Tae I don't want to get you in trouble if your managers said no"

I'm not explaining this right. I take a few seconds to think

"Uh they no say no. They say it's not a good idea. But not say no. And anyway, I don't care. You come. Please?"

I hope she understands

"Oh, uh but my job Tae."

Oh right. I forgot. She may not be able to get off

"I forgot", I answer

Then I get an idea, "Uh Jo. When you move to Korea, you quit job here, yes?"

She nods

"So uh, you quit now and come with me", I suggest

"I mean I guess I could but I kinda need to make money Tae. I'm going to have to spend a lot of money to ship my stuff to Korea."

I shake my head, "No think about money. I have money. I pay for everything"

"What?", she exclaims, "No way Tae. No"

"Yes", I insist, "I don't care, I pay for you. I take care of you. I want you to come with me. You don't need a job."

"Tae-"

"Jo, only for a little time. When we go to Korea, you find a job if you want. If you don't want work, it's ok. I pay"

She hesitates

"Please baby", I beg

I want her with me. I'll be able to relax on the tour if she's there instead of thinking and worrying about her. I'll perform better if I know she's backstage, watching and waiting for me .And I tell her this, her face softening

She nods, "Yeah Tae ok fine. But, you do not spend a lot of money on me. And I will get a job in Korea. I'm not a moocher"

Moocher? What's that?

"What is moocher?", I ask

"It's a person who just takes people's money, spends it and doesn't work or do anything to help the person who's giving them money"

There is no way I'd ever think she's like that. I know she's not. I know she loves her job and I know she doesn't like just taking things from people

"I know you're not like that baby. Don't worry."

She just nods

"So you come?"

"Yes Tae, I'll come"

Relief floods my body and I pull her to me, her lips on mine

"Time to sleep baby?", I ask after the kiss ends

"Yeah Tae if you're sleepy"

"I am", I nod

"You don't have to go back to the hotel?"

I shake my head

"No, I stay with you. We pack your suitcase in the morning and go to my hotel. I have a show tomorrow"

"Ok baby. Whatever you want"

"You, I want you"

"You have me Tae. Always"

She kisses me again, then lays in my arms, holding me tightly. Playing with her hair, I put my baby to sleep, then I close my eyes

------------

J POV

"C'mon aegi", Tae says, pulling me behind him, "Don't be uh...nervous"

Of course I'm nervous. I'm meeting his group members. We had to wake up early today because he has to go to sound check and practice for the concert tonight. He asked me to come with him. While I agreed, I'm still nervous. I'm meeting the people who have been his family for the last seven years. What if they think I'm not good enough?

Tae leads me backstage into a room. There are six guys sitting around on their cell phones. Tae starts talking in Korean, making the guys look up. I hear my name in there somewhere

"Hi Joanne", one says to me and I wave, smiling

Tae introduces me to each guy, telling me their real name and stage name. He brings me to a couch where we sit down and I end up sitting next to Jimin on one side

He smiles at me, "You love him?"

I nod and I feel Tae put his arm around my waist

"Yeah a lot"

"Nice but he is a pain in ass", Jimin jokes

I burst out laughing as Tae says, "Hey!"

"Yes big pain and very silly", Jungkook adds

Tae glares at him

"It's ok. I'm a pain in the ass too"

I glance at Tae, smiling and a huge smile bursts on his face

"And anyway he's not a pain."

"Thanks pumpkin"

"Pumpkin? Oh boy he's whipped", Namjoon laughs

"Shush!", Tae growls making me giggle

"It's ok baby", I tell him and kiss his cheek

We stay in the room for awhile while the guys hang out and eat

"Here pumpkin", Tae says, handing me a breakfast sandwich and some juice

"Oh no baby, that's for you guys"

"No Jo, eat it. It's for whoever wants it", Namjoon tells me

"Eat. It's fine", Hoseok says

Tae smiles at me encouragingly and I take the food from him

"Thank you", I say to all of them

Most of them nod, some smile. As I eat Tae is constantly giving me little kisses, little touches and I fucking love it. When we're done eating, Tae tells me that they have to rehearse

"You come baby"

"But your fans"

He shakes his head, "Not yet baby. They come for soundcheck later. Now just us and staff. You can come. Please"

I nod. I want to go with him, see what he does. He takes my hand and leads me down a hallway. The guys are staring out a window and Tae brings me to it. I look outside to see a huge line of people waiting outside

"Is that ARMYS?", I gasp

Tae nods. There are so many people just waiting for them. It's 10 a.m. The concert is at 6. These people are going to be here all day. Just for them. That's amazing

"Wow that's incredible. They love you guys so much"

"Yes. We love them too", Yoongi says

"If not for them, we wouldn't be here", Namjoon replies

I can get that. I think it's so sweet how much they love their ARMYS and everything they do is for them

"Come pumpkin", Tae says, leading me outside to the stage

Tae is handed a green mic and some ear things that he puts in. He takes my hand again and leads me on to the big stage. Music starts and the guys start rapping and singing. Tae leads me down the catwalk while he sings. His voice is so fucking amazing. Both his speaking voice and singing voice is so deep and it turns me on

I move away and watch him during certain songs when they have to dance their choreography. Tae moves gracefully and he's fucking sexy as hell. He's always licking his lips, biting his lip, smirking, acting sexy . And it turns me on so much.

When they finish, Tae comes over to me, "Come Jo. Last song. Then we relax then soundcheck"

"Ok Tae", I answer, taking his hand

We walk to the middle of the stage and he pulls me close to him. He kisses my forehead while the other guys are rapping and singing their part. He smiles at me, then when his part comes, he moves his arm around my shoulder and starts singing

I put my arms around him, looking up at this beautiful man that's mine. When he finishes singing, he smiles down at me, kissing me softly. My heart pounds harder with absolute love I have for him

After the kiss, I hug him, putting my head against his chest. He moves his arm around my waist, keeping me against him. When he sings, I can hear his voice reverberate in his chest. I smile and kiss his chest. I feel him kiss the top of my head when his part is over

When the song ends, he just hugs me while we stand on the stage

"I love you Jo. I'm so happy I found you"

I nod, "I love you Tae and I'm so happy too"

I look up at him and see him moving towards me. I meet him in the middle, our lips meeting in a kiss

Three months later

🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯🐯

J POV

I step out of the plane and into the airport, Tae holding my hand as we walk

"Welcome to Korea", he smiles

I smile back. I'm excited to be here but I'm also so nervous. I don't know Korean that well. I've been practicing Korean more and I'm getting better by talking to Tae. While I can speak it a little, I still can't read it. So I have no idea what's around me, what the signs mean, what the stores are

Tae promises to help me and be with me but I also know he always has a packed schedule. I saw that from spending three months with him and BTS while they were on tour

Constant travelling, constant practicing and concerts. Tae was always tired and I did whatever I could to help him. I'd give him massages, lay with him, hold him, play with his hair. Whatever he wanted, I did

He of course wanted to have sex all the time and of course I wanted to too. I love him and he's sexy as fuck, no way I'm going to say no. And he wants me. He loves me. That still blows my mind

After the tour was over, he came back to New York with me and helped me pack up my apartment. Like he told me, he paid for everything- boxes, tape, shipping costs, even though I yelled at him for it. He'd just smile and kiss me. He's the sweetest thing ever. After everything was sent here, he got on a plane with me and here we are

"You ok pumpkin?", he asks

I nod, "Yeah Tae. I'm good"

"Ok. I call BigHit to get us and we go to our apartment"

"Our apartment", I repeat, smiling at him

He told me he got an apartment last year when the rest of the BTS members were buying apartments but he still lives in the dorm with them. But now that he has me, he wants to live with me. Tomorrow we're going to the dorm to start moving Tae's stuff too

The guys are really nice and they understand that Tae would want to move in with me. They're ok with it. I'm glad. Even though Tae is my soulmate, I don't want to get in the way of his friendships. But everything is going great

"Pumpkin! Car is outside"

He leads me out of the airport right into a car

------------

"No way Tae!", I gasp as he opens the door to the apartment

The apartment is huge. Well what I've seen so far. Which is the huge living room. With the flat screen tv, game systems, couches and table

"What? Is it not good?", he asks confused

I turn to him

"What? Are you kidding me? I love it", I exclaim, hugging him so tightly, "Thank you baby"

"No thank aegi. I love you. Everything is for you"

"I love you Tae"

Standing on my toes, I press my lips to his. He wraps his arms around me, kissing me back

"Come baby. I show you apartment"

Tae leads me around, showing me the large kitchen, dining room, and bathroom. There's five bedrooms- Tae said one is for me for my books, one is for his art studio he wants to set and the other is for a baby.

"Baby?", I ask laughing

"Uh yes. No now. Baby later. After marry. Few years", he answers, turning red

We're planning to have our wedding for next November and Tae is already thinking and planning things. He's already going all out. It's adorable. I'm glad I found someone who wants to get married and have kids

"Ok Tae. Babies later", I nod

"Babies?", he asks

I nod. I know he wants lot of kids. That's general info on BTS' V. I'm not opposed to it. I like kids and I always wanted my own

"Yeah Tae. Babies. We're having more than one right?"

"I...I want more but I don't know if you-"

"I do Tae. With you, I do"

The smile that bursts on his face is so beautiful. He takes my hand again and leads me into the last room

"Our room", he says

I move into the room looking around. There's a huge bed, dressers, tv, huge walk in closet and a door that leads to a huge bathroom

"Wow Tae"

"You like?", he asks

I look at him, "I love, baby"

He comes over to me, pulling me into his arms. Laying my head on his chest, I just stand with him with our arms around each other, in our room

"Are you tired? It late. You didn't sleep much on the plane"

I didn't. I can't sleep on planes. It's so uncomfortable

"Yeah ok. Are you going to stay with me?"

I want him to but I'm not going to force him

"Of course. I'll always stay with you", he tells me

I kiss his cheek and then we both change. I get into the bed and wait for him to come. As soon as he gets in, he automatically comes closer to me, wrapping me up in his arms

Snuggling into each other, I give him a kiss and tell him, "I love you Tae"

"I love you Jo", he answers, kissing my forehead

I close my eyes, laying in Tae's arms

I'm happy I'm in Korea with him. It's a huge move but as long as I have him I'll be ok and we'll get through anything together

I finally found my soulmate and I get my happily ever after with the best guy I could ask for

#kim taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfic #bts taehyung fanfic #bts v fanfic #v fanfic #bts fanfic #bts smut #tae smut #kim taehyung smut #bts taehyung smut #taehyung smut #bts v smut #v smut

21 notes · View notes

hayatheauthor · 1 month ago

Text

10 Flaws to Give Your Perfect Characters to Make Them Human

If you're tired of the usual vices like arrogance or impatience, here are some unique (or at least less basic) character flaws to give your perfect characters:

Pathological Altruism

A character so obsessed with helping others that they end up doing more harm than good. Their inability to let others grow or face consequences creates tension.

2. Moral Narcissism

A character who sees themselves as morally superior to others, constantly justifying selfish or harmful actions because they believe they have the moral high ground.

3. Chronic Self-Sabotage

A character who intentionally undermines their own success, perhaps due to deep-seated feelings of unworthiness, pushing them into frustrating, cyclical failures.

4. Emotional Numbness

Rather than feeling too much, this character feels too little. Their lack of emotional response to critical moments creates isolation and makes it difficult for them to connect with others.

5. Fixation on Legacy

This character is obsessed with how they’ll be remembered after death, often sacrificing present relationships and happiness for a future that’s uncertain.

6. Fear of Irrelevance

A character-driven by the fear that they no longer matter, constantly seeking validation or pursuing extreme measures to stay important in their social or professional circles.

7. Addiction to Novelty

Someone who needs constant newness in their life, whether it’s experiences, relationships, or goals. They may abandon projects, people, or causes once the excitement fades, leaving destruction in their wake.

8. Compulsive Truth-Telling

A character who refuses to lie, even in situations where a lie or omission would be the kinder or more pragmatic choice. This flaw causes unnecessary conflict and social alienation.

9. Over-Identification with Others' Pain

Instead of empathy, this character feels others' pain too intensely, to the point that they can’t function properly in their own life. They’re paralyzed by the suffering of others and fail to act effectively.

10. Reluctant Power

A character who fears their own strength, talent, or influence and is constantly trying to shrink themselves to avoid the responsibility or consequences of wielding it.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors! Instagram Tiktok

PS: This is my first short-form blog post! Lmk if you liked it and want to see more (I already have them scheduled you don't have a choice)

6K notes · View notes

harrysfolklore · 1 month ago

Text

max verstappen being the perfect boyfriend: a compilation

summary: max verstappen can’t help but talk about his girlfriend whenever he cans, fans make compilation videos about it

folkie radio: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAXIEEE, it's been a minute since the last time i did a compilation blurb and this felt like the perfect occasion to bring them back, i hope you like this!

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

Max Verstappen, three time world champion and the best driver of his generation is known for his incredible driving skills and relentless pursuit of victory on the track.

However, behind the wheel, Max has another passion that rivals his love for racing: his girlfriend.

In every interview, press conference, and social media post, Max can't help but gush about her, seamlessly sharing stories of their life together into conversations about lap times and race strategies.

Fans quickly began doing compilation videos about all the times he mentioned his girlfriend publicly, and those gathered millions of views across social media platforms.

The most popular one was called "Max Verstappen being the perfect boyfriend: a compilation," and it began with a video of Max arriving to the paddock for media day, Red Bull's social media team filming him while he answered some rapid fire questions.

"Waffles or Pancakes? You know I used to love pancakes but I think I've had too many because my girlfriend is obsessed with making them," he said as he signed some stuff, "So I would go for Waffles at the moment, but if my girlfriend is watching this I'd say I take her pancakes every day."

The next clip was from a post qualifying interview, and of course, Max earned the pole position, the interviewer had asked him what was expecting for the race the following day.

"To win of course, that's what I'm here for," he said with so hesitation, "But I'm also looking forward to it because my girlfriend will be here, it's the first race she attends this season and I can't wait to see her in the crowd while I take on the podium."

The video moved to show Max with his teammate Sergio Perez, they were playing a game of Green Flag or Red Flag, they were asked about people who film themselves at the gym and Max immediately waved the red flag.

"I actually don't go to the gym anymore," Max added, "I get annoyed by everyone else so I just exercise at home."

"So no topless selfies, not even at home," the interviewer said.

"I don't need to impress anyone, I've got my girlfriend, so," Max shrugged.

The next clip was taken from Max's own Youtube channel, he was showing some of his preparation routine for a race, that included some neck training, checking statistics, quick meetings with his team and engineers among other things.

And of course, his girlfriend made an appearance, standing in a corner watching everything unfold. He approached her, race suit on and helmet in hand, kissed her lips gently as she caressed his arm.

"Be safe out there okay?" her voice could be faintly heard.

"Always schatje, I love you."

In the next segment, Max had just earned his second world championship and was doing a casual interview for a sports channel.

"Do you have your girlfriend now call you 'Two time world champion Max Verstappen' or just Max,"

"Definitely not the first one," Max laughed, "She'd never do that, she says she likes to keep me humble."

"Your girlfriend has a pet name for you?" the guy asked again.

"We call each other a bit different but I prefer not to say that on camera," Max laughed again, "I don't want the internet to make fun of me for being cheesy."

The next clip was from Max's streamings, he was too immersed in a game that he didn't hear his girlfriend come into the room, noticing her presence when she leaned into him.

Out of habit of keeping their privacy, he covered the camera but forgot to turn his mic off.

"Schatje I'm streaming," he said, unaware that everyone could hear him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was going to ask if you could feed the cats but I'll do it myself," his girlfriend spoke.

"No I'll do it, just let me get off the stream,"

"Baby, there's no need," she insisted.

"I was missing you anyways, just give me a minute."

His audience couldn't see anything but they clearly heard how Max kissed his girlfriend's lips, turning his attention back to the screen, he realized that he was broadcasting their conversation to everyone.

His viewers went wild in the chat, spamming heart emojis and comments about how sweet the couple was. Max ended the stream with a laugh, addressing his fans. "Alright, you heard the boss. I gotta go feed the cats. See you all next time."

On the same note, another clip from a video for RedBull with Checo was included, they had been asked to show the most recent picture in their phones.

"Oh it's from this morning, my girlfriend with the kids," Max said, showing the picture to the camera.

"The kids?" Checo asked with a laugh.

"The cats are our kids," Max shrugged, "Jimmy and Sassy Verstappen."

A particularly touching moment was from a press conference after a difficult race. Max had finished fifth, a rare position for him given his usual dominance. When asked how he dealt with setbacks, he gave a candid response.

"It can be tough, but my girlfriend always knows how to lift my spirits. She's my biggest supporter and always finds the right words to say. Just being with her makes everything better, no matter how bad the race went."

During a clip of Max giving a tour of the Red Bull factory, he stopped at a wall covered in race-winning memorabilia. Among the trophies and champagne bottles, there was a small, framed photograph.

"This is special to me," Max pointed it out, "It's from my first win with Red Bull. But look closer..."

The camera zoomed in to show a young woman in the background of the photo, cheering in the pit lane.

"That's my girlfriend," Max said softly. "She was there for my first win, and she's been there for every one since - even if she can't always be at the track. The team knew how much that meant to me, so they made sure she was in this photo when they framed it."

In the next segment, Max was asked about his favorite off-track activity.

"I love cooking," Max grinned, "Well, more like watching my girlfriend cook. She's amazing in the kitchen, and I'm just there to taste-test everything."

The compilation included a moment during a press conference, Max addressed a question about his girlfriend facing criticism online. The question arose after she received negative comments following a public appearance with him.

"Look, it's tough sometimes," Max began, his expression turning serious. "She didn't choose this life, but she supports me through everything. It's not fair for her to get hate just because of who she's dating. If you have a problem with me that's fine but don't go after my family or my girlfriend because that is just unacceptable."

The final clip that wrapped the video us was from the FIA Prize Giving ceremony, Max received his trophy for winning the 2023 championship.

In his acceptance speech, he thanked his team, his family, and, of course, his girlfriend.

"Winning races and championships is amazing, but having someone by your side who believes in you and supports you unconditionally is truly special. To my girlfriend, thank you for being my rock and my biggest cheerleader. I love you."

The screen faded to black, showing a text that read: Max Verstappen, three time world champion and the perfect boyfriend.

4K notes · View notes

nightingale-prompts · 2 months ago

Text

Danny lives in a horror movie-DC x DP prompt

Based on my favorite book series "tales from the gas station"

It's not every day that a mission requires the league to travel to middle America in a bid to obtain a highly cursed artifact but it certainly is today.

Locating the Seal of Silent Ashes was a task usually given to Justice League Dark but Constantine was currently busy. So that meant it was left to the poster boys to get this done. They dressed in civilian attire to investigate the last location of the seal starting with the first building on the edge of town. A small dusty gas station near the woods.

The inside had an awful smell, like death and cleaning fluid. The lights gave off a greenish-blue tint. Rats could be seen out of the corner of your eyes. Most of the chips were offbrand and crappy.

Behind the counter was the teenage boy chewing gum. He looked up at the group before going back to reading his book. He had clearly seen better days but didn't show signs of caring about the state of his hair or bags under his eyes. He drank his coffee.

The air felt off.

"Hey kiddo, do you mind giving us directions?" Clark started.

The kid narrowed his eyes as he popped his gum.

"You're not from here. That or you're from that cult in the woods. Listen I'm not joining. Seriously, cosmic nihilism and fatalism sounds doomed. Hey wait-" the teen checked his notes " No, the cult killed themselves in that mass suicide 2 weeks ago. I forgot, sorry."

The teen didn't say anything else as he went back to his book.

The horrified look of the adults shared was almost hilarious. At least to the teen if he looked up.

"Oh, and stay out of the woods. I don't want the police to come back and ask about who saw you last. Seriously if whatever is in there tears you apart I won't feel bad. I put those signs out forever ago and if I get one more girl covered in blood running in here screaming about her dead friends I'll get a headache." The teen shrugged turning the page.

"What do you mean?! Why would-?! Who's killing people?!" Barry asked frantically as Bruce serched for more reports of missing people in the area.

"I don't know. Why would I know? If you want to go in the cursed forest go ahead. I mean that's how they all die. It isn't my job to stop you. My job is to sit here and watch this store." The teen huffed in annoyance.

Before anymore questions were asked the signal of the radio was disrupted and a demonic howl screeched through the radio.

"God damnit. That cunt is back. Stay here." The teen growled as he grabbed his bat from under the counter and walked out the back door. "String bean! Get off the fucking roof you bastard! You know that radio is all I have here!"

A chattering laugh like a death rattle was heard and the sound of 2 sets of feet was heard on the roof then they lept down.

"Come here so I can beat you to death!" The teen ran around the building towards the front of the gas station chasing-what the fuck is that!

It was like a human that was twisted to crabwalk on all fours backwards. Its face was contorted into a black stretched-out smile with no teeth. It had no eyes just black sockets. All its limbs were stretched out to an extra meter in length. It was a skinwalker of some kind with chalk-white skin. It was skittering away from the teen who was swinging his bat at its head.

"Stop running! I told you before what would happen if I found you fucking with me again!" The boy meant it as he finally landed a hit and began wacking it over and over it.

The skin walker screeched and tried to run for its life but couldn't.

After reducing the monster into a black puddle the black-stained teen came back inside to sit back down not paying anymore to the monster blood he was covered in.

"Sorry about that. Most of the freaks around here have learned to stay away from this place. That one is new and he doesn't listen. You'd think they'd learn but Sting Bean thinks he can torment me. Petty bastard." The teen sighed "anyways are going to buy anything or are you going to waste what oxygen we get in here with this shitty ventilation.

Diana couldn't help but admire the boldness of the boy. He had no hesitation or fear against the beasts of this area even if was crude.

"Does Constantine have a cousin or something? Just a more angry one" Barry whispered to Hal.

#dc x dp #dpxdc #dc x dp prompt #dp x dc prompt #danny fenton #danny phantom #batman #barry allen #hal jordan #superman #clark kent #justice league #diana prince #wonder woman #john constantine

3K notes · View notes

comicaurora · 7 days ago

Note

So uhh. If you feel like talking about it. As someone who lives in the US, how are you being kind to yourself on this upsetting morning <3

Checked in with my loved ones first and foremost.

It's interesting. The vibe I've been getting from my circle is very different from 2016. Much less… dread and horror at a realignment of the understanding of what can and can't happen here, now, in this place and day and age. More "fuck, guys. again? whatever. enjoy your consequences, maybe you'll manage to learn something this time."

Frustration and anger is not the most positive feeling, or even the most fair one to express, but it is a protective one. It hurts a lot less than most alternatives.

And it's quite a shift. It was earthshattering back then. How could this have been allowed to happen? Why couldn't it be stopped? Why couldn't we stop it? Why couldn't I stop it? Why couldn't everyone see what this meant? Why couldn't I make them understand? Did they really not care? What did that mean about humanity as a whole? Were we so thoughtless? How could anyone be trusted?

It seems… much less earthshattering to see it happen twice. Disappointing, sure. Frustrating. But nowhere near as devastating as the first time I saw it unfold. We already knew it could happen. I've already had time to digest the implications. Now I'm just freshly disappointed.

It also feels less indicative of Crushing Truths Of Reality this time. We've seen shit get bad. We've also seen shit get better from here! We know both outcomes are possible, even inevitable. We know hoping for a better future is always worthwhile. This isn't the apocalypse. It's an unremarkably bad turn of events brought on by unremarkably self-centered well-documented human impulses. It's utterly mundane in its unpleasantness. It doesn't need to be dignified with despair.

A democratic election, no matter the outcome or the side we're on, makes us all acutely aware of how outnumbered we are by people whose worldviews and priorities are demonstrably incomprehensible to us. And the first time you get outnumbered, it's a shock. Defeat is haunting. It didn't matter how badly you wanted it; by the very function of democracy, you do not have the power to override greater numbers. (insert electoral college caveat here)

The second time through, I find myself focusing on a different facet that has dramatically reduced the amount of spiralling I'm doing. I don't expect this to work for everyone, but for me specifically, it helped to crystallize a few thoughts:

You don't have the power to control anyone else. You don't. You can't share your worldview and your revelations with them. You can't make them think or understand anything. You can lay it all out for them, but you can't make them listen, and you can't make it click. A mentor can't make their student learn a lesson; that's why teaching is so complicated and hard. An active choice must be made by the person to enable themselves to understand, and they must put the pieces together in their own mind before it makes sense to them, and the pieces must have been presented in a way that makes sense to them in the first place. Lead a horse to water, can't make them drink.

These elections highlight a disconnect in what different groups of people care about; and no matter how clearly you explain yourself or how passionately you perform, caring cannot be forced on someone. Understanding and connection cannot be forced. You cannot make anything or anyone matter to someone. They have to choose to see how it matters in order to internalize it. If they choose not to, that is not your failing. You couldn't have made them do it by just Explaining Better. They are not your responsibility. They make their own choices. You can't reach inside their head and connect the dots for them.

I'm a storyteller. I make stories and put them out into the world. I hope people get something good out of them, but I have no control over what that something is. I want people to be thoughtful and kind and compassionate and hopeful and see themselves reflected in stranges, no matter their differences. I can craft stories that I hope encourage this. But that is the extent of my ability and the extent of my responsibility. I control no-one's actions but my own, and so while I am not having the best day, I am at least content that I am doing what I can, and I am not shattering myself against impossibilities trying to control the things I can't.

Sometimes, people make decisions that I think are really bad. I can't make that not happen. All I can do is try to make decisions that will result in things I think are good. Today, that means checking in on people, and not assigning too much dramatic narrative weight to an ultimately mundane set of unremarkable bad decisions outside of my control. We'll take life as it comes and help each other out when and how we can. Everything else is out of our hands.

#asks #not aurora #i'm also watching lots of star trek tos #it is helping considerably

1K notes · View notes

tightwadspoonies · 24 days ago

Text

How to Shop at an Asian (or other ethnic) Grocery Store

Do you live in or near a city in the US?

Need to save some money on groceries?

Might I introduce you to... shopping at the local Asian grocery?

Asian grocery stores aimed at an Asian-American customer base almost always beat the prices of their western (or for-western) counterparts. Often by a significant amount, especially in categories like produce, meat, rice, and spices. Plus in addition to lower prices, you get the satisfaction of supporting a small, local business instead of a larger chain store.

(Note that a lot of this information applies to other ethnic grocery stores as well, but we're using Asian because they're common in many cities, and have particularly good prices on produce.)

But it can be a little bit of a learning curve when you first start to shop at them. This post will give you the information you need to navigate them.

So how do you find a good Asian grocery store?

First, go on google maps and search "grocery".

Note that you are NOT googling "Asian Grocery" or "Cheap Grocery". If you search "Asian Grocery" you will get results for Asian stores marketing toward a western audience, and because of this, will be neat, shiny, and very pricey. If you search "Cheap Grocery" you will get stores marketing themselves as cheap, which generally are only slightly less expensive than their "expensive" counterparts (think Aldi). Okay in a pinch, but you can do better.

Second, look at the pictures of all the stores you can easily get to.

Here's what you want: not a lot of printed ads, pictures of hand-written signs (especially in languages other than English), food in cardboard bins, and you want it to look kind of "junky". Bonus points if you can see prices listed in the pictures or the people shopping there are mostly older, ethnic women.

Third, If you couldn't find anything like this, go on your city's subreddit.

Search "cheap", "cheap grocery" and "expensive grocery". Why "expensive grocery"? Because you want to find people complaining about grocery prices, and you want to see the advice they get. Many times, that advice is Asian or ethnic grocery stores.

If you're still not getting anything, google "[city name] cheap grocery" and "[city name] expensive grocery" (see above). Scroll until you get to FORUMS discussing groceries in your city. You DO NOT want blogs or articles. Again, you're looking at the advice people are given when they complain about grocery prices.

One of the first questions people ask upon walking into an Asian grocery store of the type discussed in this post is:

"Is the food I'm getting here safe to eat?"

The answer is just as safe as anywhere else you might shop.

You're probably used to very clean, pretty, well-lit, well-organized stores. This will probably not be that, but it will be regulated by the same health department that regulates those stores. They are held to the same standards.

It's a lot of work to keep a store looking like a western consumer expects. It's a lot less work (and thus less money) to keep a store looking like an ethnic career housewife or grandmother expects. That is largely where the savings comes from.

What's a good deal at an Asian grocery?

Produce. You're probably used to things like onions and carrots being the cheapest per pound. Here it's going to be greens, apples, pears, radish, cabbage and maybe squash and sweet potatoes. Check unit prices and prepare to try some new things. Also a pound of greens is a LOT of greens. Keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that you might see a few pieces of produce that are bruised or have mold on them. That's okay. Just don't buy those pieces. The rest of the batch is probably fine. Wash produce when you get home if you're concerned, though you should be doing that anyway.

Rice and dry beans. If you like to buy in bulk, you're in luck. Don't expect to walk away with a pound or two of these. They come in 40lb packages. But if you tailor most of your meals around them, those meals will be cheap af. There are also lots of different types of specialty rice if you want to make your own sushi or mochi. Learn how to soak and sprout beans.

Tofu. Tofu is expensive when you buy it at a health food store. It is not when you buy it at an Asian grocery. It probably won't be in pretty packages, but again, cheap is not going to be super pretty.

Meat and fish. Meat is generally going to be cheaper here, though maybe not by as much as the produce is. Pork will probably be your cheapest option. You may also see cuts you don't normally see, like tongue, intestine, liver, kidneys, blood, etc... "Weird," however, does not automatically mean cheap in this context. Check unit prices and prepare to be adventurous. If you don't know what else to do with them, dried fish and animal organs make fantastic stock when boiled.

Spices. Again with the extremely large quantities here. But very inexpensive compared with their western counterparts.

Candy. This makes a great inexpensive gift if you need one, since the candy sold at these stores is fairly exotic for a western audience.

What isn't a good deal at an Asian grocery?

Dairy. This includes fresh milk, butter, cheese, etc... If they have it, it will be very expensive. Consider buying elsewhere.

Eggs. Again, this will probably be as expensive or more than the eggs you could get at a western supermarket.

Snacks. Pre-made items will be expensive in general, even though they may be tempting because they are different from what you are used to and you don't need to learn to cook a new thing. Do your best to avoid these and make your own if you can. If you can't, frozen pork or vegetable dumplings are probably your best bet for a quick meal.

Bread. It's pricey. A lot of Asian cuisines use rice, noodles, or buns for their starch instead of western-style bread. So if you can find it it will often be a novelty item.

What else do I need to know?

It's okay to be overwhelmed by new ingredients. Look up some YouTube videos on how to cook certain ingredients if you're not familiar with them.

These are not supermarkets. They sell food and sometimes the kitchenware (steamers, woks, chopsticks, etc...) needed to cook it. You will probably need to get your soap and household items somewhere else.

Pay in cash if you can. Most of these are very small businesses and paying them cash makes it so they don't need to pay credit card fees. At the very least, make the minimum purchase before paying with a card.

#food #tightwadery #groceries #Asian Grocery Stores

1K notes · View notes

yuujispinkhair · 8 months ago

Text

Bad Boy - Good Toy

Sukuna is used to girls throwing themselves at him, begging him to dominate them. He never met any resistance. He never met any challenge. Until he meets you, and suddenly, the bad boy becomes nothing but a willing fucktoy.

There is now a Part 02

Pairing: Sub!Sukuna x Dom!Reader (female) Genre: smut, College AU Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: 18+, smut, degradation, humiliation, edging, exhibitionism, voyeurism, smoking, mentions of drugs, sharing chewing gum, facesitting, squirting, abs-riding, overstimulation, Sukuna cums untouched, piss (Reader pees on Sukuna to humiliate him, and he likes it). Reader calls Sukuna slut, fucktoy and fuckdoll. Unhealthy relationship dynamics. Reader and Sukuna don't talk about limits or safe words. Sukuna is ok with everything Reader does to him, but please be aware that this isn't the way a sub/dom relationship is supposed to be in real life. I just wanted things to be a bit fucked up in this story ;) Divider @/benkeibear

Sukuna is bored. So fucking bored. Bored with college in general, bored of the parties that are always the same, bored of the drugs that don't give him the kick he craves anymore. Even sex is boring nowadays. He sighs as his gaze brushes over the girl kneeling between his spread legs. He didn't bother asking for her name. He thinks she might be in his history course. But it doesn't matter. Nothing matters.

He doesn't even bother to hide from view, letting her suck him off in the back of the dimly lit living room on some ratty couch, while a few meters away, people are dancing and drinking and singing along to songs that Sukuna hates. She is eager, bopping her mouth on his dick enthusiastically, humming around him, and hollowing her cheeks like a champ. But he feels nothing at all. He isn't even sure he can cum tonight. It's like he is numb to everything. The nameless girl moans around his dick, and Sukuna grabs his phone to send his brother a message.

Where are you, brat? I want to leave.

He doesn't get a reply and instead checks his group chats and e-mails while the girl between his legs slurps loudly on his tip. Sukuna huffs in annoyance and lets his bored gaze travel through the room. It lands on a girl in a red t-shirt who is looking in his direction. You are sipping your drink casually while you unashamedly watch him getting his dick sucked.

It makes him grin broadly. Finally, a little bit of entertainment. Maybe he will manage to cum just to give that little voyeur a good show. And afterward, he can take you to one of the bedrooms and fuck you. Or maybe do it right here on that couch, too.

He winks at you. A smile spreads over your face, but it's not the smile Sukuna usually sees on the faces of the girls he plans to fuck. It's the kind of smile he sees in the mirror. A smile that means trouble. His cock twitches, and he groans softly.

He doesn't break eye contact, and neither do you. Sukuna raises an eyebrow challengingly, smirking at you, daring you to come over while he gets his dick sucked. His stomach flips when you really start walking towards him.

Sukuna's pulse accelerates when you stop right next to him. You let your gaze travel from his face down to his cock, watching it bop in and out of that other girl's mouth. You chuckle. It's not a nice sound.

"Aww, do you have problems cumming, Sukuna? Is your dick not working?"

For a stunned second, Sukuna just blinks at you, mouth hanging open. The resident bad boy rendered speechless for the first time in his life. And then he throws his head back and laughs, and simultaneously, he feels his balls tighten.

"If you get on all fours, I will show you just how good my dick works, sweetheart."

You roll your eyes and cross your arms in front of your breasts, looking at him with a bored and unimpressed expression.

"What makes you think I would let you get anywhere near me with that dick of yours. I don't want dirty, good-for-nothing sluts like you."

"What did you just call me?"

But his response lacks the bite. Instead, he sounds breathless, and his hand tightens on the couch as his cock twitches in the other girl's mouth. Fuck, it feels so good all of a sudden.

You smile that dangerous smile again and lean closer, your flowery perfume filling Sukuna's nose, and you repeat your words to him, slowly, overly accentuated as if he is stupid,

"Dirty. Good-for-nothing. Slut."

A raw groan spills from Sukuna's throat, and his hips buck off the couch, making the girl between his legs choke on his cock, as he nuts so hard into her mouth that she's spluttering his cum everywhere.

He stares wide-eyed at your smug face as the gears in his mind shift at lightspeed. What the fuck just happened?

The girl between his legs climbs onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, and tries to kiss him, but Sukuna turns his face to the side, looking at you instead,

"Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

"Why? Enjoyed it too much, and now you are scared of how your body betrayed you, little slut?"

You laugh and turn around, walking away while you lift a hand in a mocking little wave, and Sukuna stares after you with his mind whirling and his cock still throbbing.

He wakes up the next morning with a strange feeling in his gut. Something is different.

And after a moment, he realizes what it is when the memories from last night come back, and his eyes widen, and a whispered curse falls from his lips. The encounter with you replays in his mind just like it did countless times before he managed to fall asleep last night. Your cruel smile and the sadistic glint in your eyes. The way his body reacted to it.

He is so used to everyone cowering before him. So used to everyone submitting to him so willingly. All those countless girls throwing themselves at him, begging him to please let them suck his dick, obeying his every command, asking him if they can please call him daddy during fucking.

He never met any resistance. He never met any challenge. One look from him and the girls were practically on their backs with their legs spread like some animal in heat.

No one ever talked to him the way you did. Or looked at him that way. As if he is worthless trash in your eyes. Your words resonate in his brain. "You dirty, good-for-nothing slut."

Fuck! It turns him on. It makes him achingly hard even now. He turns onto his back and shoves a hand into his pants. He jerks off so furiously that his wrist hurts, making a huge mess all over himself when he cums to the thought of you calling him a useless brat.

Sukuna isn't the same man he was 24 hours ago.

He totally doesn't look for you on campus on Monday morning. It is totally a coincidence that he slides up to you when you pull out a package of strawberry bubble gum from the vending machine. It's definitely not like he followed you around like a puppy for a whole hour until he finally got his shit together and decided to approach you.

"Strawberry flavor, huh? Wouldn't have thought that a foul person like you would pick such a sweet flavor."

You eye him lazily, eyes never leaving his as you tear open the packaging and put one of the pastel pink bubble gums into your mouth before you grace him with a reply.

"Oh, shut up. An attitude like that doesn't fit a pretty boy like you. Learn to behave, and then we can talk again."

Sukuna feels his lips lift in his trademark smirk as that weird, exhilarating sensation fills his veins again. He is enjoying himself far too much. He braces himself against the vending machine, his large hands on both sides of your face, caging you in, towering over you, while he smirks down at you.

But you don't seem intimidated at all by his height and muscular figure and the tattoos on his face. Instead, you smile at him and cock your head to the side, eyeing him expectantly as if you are waiting for him to do something.

He leans down, bringing his face closer to yours.

"Can I have a gum too? Please? See, I can behave very well."

His voice has dropped to his usual flirty, seductive tone, which he always uses on girls. The tone that always drives them crazy and makes them drop their panties faster than they can say his name.

You flutter your lashes exaggeratedly at him, smiling a sickeningly fake angelic smile as you open your mouth and pull out your gum.

"Ok, you can have one since you asked so politely. Open up, slut."

He laughs when you push the used gum to his lips, but Sukuna isn't one to back down, so he grabs your small hand, wraps his tattooed hand around your wrist, and opens his mouth. He licks your fingers, lets his tongue-piercing glide over your fingertips, and sucks the used bubble gum into his mouth.

You gaze deeply into his eyes, looking amused.

"You didn't even say thank you, Sukuna. You are still such a useless and rude brat."

You turn on your heel and leave him standing there like some rejected loser, and he chews the gum that tastes like strawberry and your spit and feels his cock twitch against his sweatpants.

Sukuna sees you again on Saturday at another party. Two girls danced with him and asked him if he wanted to fuck them both upstairs in one of the bedrooms, but he turned them down, not even able to grasp why.

Until he walks into the kitchen and sees you. And suddenly, things fall into place.

Why bother with those random girls when the one he really wants is you? You are the only one who poses a challenge. The only one who makes his skin tingle with excitement. The only one who makes him feel like he is still alive and not some fucking ghost.

He leans against the fridge and watches you while he lights a cigarette. He smokes it in silence, just smirking at you and hoping you will come over and call him a slut again. Or any other degrading name you can think of. Sukuna isn't picky.

You walk over to him, a few drags into his cigarette, and stop in front of him, so close that he can smell your sweet perfume again. And you smile that smile that isn't sweet at all as you reach up and take the cigarette from Sukuna's lips. Your eyes never leave his as you bring his half-smoked cigarette to your mouth, wrapping your lips with the red lipstick around the filter right where Sukuna's lips were a moment ago, and the sight is so sexy to him that Sukuna has to bite his lip not to moan.

You take a deep drag, and your eyes close for a moment as the nicotine fills your senses before they open again to gaze up at Sukuna through your long lashes, grinning as you slowly blow the smoke right into Sukuna's face.

He laughs, pushing himself off the fridge, stepping closer to you, so close that his hips brush against you,

"You know what that means, right princess? Blowing smoke in someone's face?"

"Who doesn't know that?"

You roll your eyes and look at him as if he is stupid, and he can't help but place his large hands on your waist and drawl in his best bedroom voice,

"So, you admit you want to fuck me?"

You smirk back at him as you push his hands off your waist, sounding dismissive when you shrug and say,

"You have a pretty face and a good body. And I am horny right now. So why not? And you are probably a good fuck, with all that practice you had."

"What makes you so sure I want to fuck you?"

"Oh, don't be silly. You won't say no. A slut like you never does. Everyone knows you are easy."

Sukuna doesn't bother telling you that he just turned down two hot chicks half an hour ago. He lets you grab his hand and pull him along, and he follows you with a broad smirk on his tattooed face.

His cock is already pressing against his jeans when his crotch brushes over your ass when you pull him up the stairs. His mind is hazy, thoughts clouded over by lust, finally feeling that sweet, exciting buzzing again that he missed so much.

You pull him into one of the bedrooms, yank off his t-shirt, and push him onto the bed. Or you try to. You push against his broad chest, not able to move him an inch, but he plays along and lets himself fall onto the bed, looking up at you with heavy-lidded maroon eyes and his throbbing erection leaking pre-cum into his pants like some pathetic little virgin before his first fuck.

Sukuna licks his lips when he watches you reach under your skirt and take off your panties. That's the only thing you take off before you join him on the bed, straddling his thighs, making him smirk at you like the devil that he is,

"So eager to get my cock inside you that you can't even be bothered to get naked, princess?"

"Shut up, slut. Good boys don't talk unless I allow it."

Your little hands are on his belt, opening it, unbuttoning his jeans, and pulling down the zipper, making Sukuna's hips twitch when your hand rubs over his boxer-clad erection. He knows he is acting pathetic right now, cock so eager, already staining the fabric of his boxer briefs with a ridiculously huge amount of pre-cum. But fuck it, he is finally turned on again, finally excited to fuck again after all those months of feeling bored.

He pushes his hard cock against your hand, but you pull away again, smiling that devilish smile at him as you crawl on top of him.

Sukuna laughs breathlessly when you hover above his face, letting him know what you want from him. His large hands reach out to run slowly up the back of your thighs before they cup your ass cheeks, and he pulls you down onto his face.

He groans when your hot wet pussy settles on his tattooed face. Fuck, he always heard his brother go on and on about how hot he finds it when a girl sits on his face with a skirt and no panties. Sukuna had never found it so fascinating until now. Until it is you, and you tell him in that emotionless voice,

"Get to work, my little slut. If you make me squirt, you will get a reward."

He turns his face and moans against your inner thigh, leaving a kiss there,

"And what will my reward be?"

"I'll allow you to cum."

Allow him to cum?

Fuck. The words alone make Sukuna throb in his boxer briefs, another pearl of pre-cum leaking out of him.

"Then stop acting like a squeamish virgin and sit on my face for real."

"I told you to shut up, brat."

"Then shut me up with your pussy."

Sukuna grabs your ass cheeks tightly and pulls you down further, making you sit on his face for real. He isn't just a good fuck. He is the best fuck, and he will prove it to you!

He sucks your little swollen clit into his mouth and laughs when you gasp loudly. You grab his hair, tugging on it, making him groan as the slightly painful sensation goes directly to his throbbing cock. And he spoils your pussy like the slut that he is. Teases your clit with the stiff tip of his tongue and pushes the metal ball of his tongue piercing under the hood of your clit until you tremble and moan loudly.

He gets really into it, fucks you with his tongue and sucks savagely on your clit, eats you so good that it only takes a few minutes until you let out a high-pitched squeal and buck wildly against his face.

Hot, sticky liquid gushes over his lips, and you rock against him, voice breathless but still so stern,

"Open your eyes. Watch me cum all over your pretty face. Yeah, take it all, you little slut. Drink it all up."

Sukuna's eyes meet yours, and he moans, and his hips buck involuntarily, cock so desperate that he is rutting against thin air while pulsing pre into his boxer briefs.

He drinks you up, pushes his pierced tongue deeply into your twitching pussy, and licks it all up, basking in the way you mewl his name for a split second before you regain control and run a hand through his tousled pink hair, smoothing it down again,

"You are a good little fucktoy, Sukuna. Well done."

Sukuna's cock throbs at your words, and he blinks in surprise. Ok, so it's not just degradation that gets him excited, but also praise? Well, he is so fucked. So thoroughly fucked, and he loves every second of it!

You climb off his face, kneeling on the bed beside him, and let your small hands trail down Sukuna's defined pecs and his taut abs, following his tattoos down to the hem of his boxer briefs.

"You have such a nice body, Sukuna. The perfect little fucktoy. And what about that pretty cock? Is he perfect too, hm?"

A breathy gasp falls from his lips when you run a single finger over the thick bulge in his boxer briefs, slowly running up and down his whole throbbing length. Just a light, teasing touch, but it makes his vision blurry and pulls a desperate-sounding whine from his mouth.

It's so fucking humiliating. He's making such pathetic noises. But he simply can't bring himself to care. Not when he finally feels alive again when he is with you. His low voice is thick with need when he whispers,

"You said you would make me cum."

"Uh uh, I didn't say I would make you cum, sweetheart. I said I will allow you to cum. Let's see how things will go. Let's see how excited my little fucktoy will get. Don't forget what you are here for, Sukuna, baby. You are in this bed to serve me."

"Fuck..."

It takes all of Sukuna's willpower to not shove a hand into his boxer briefs and relieve that fucking pressure.

You straddle him again, sit on his abs this time, rubbing yourself on them, making him gasp when he feels how wet and hot your pussy is and how you spread your cream all over him. It's sexy. Nasty, just as he likes it.

Sukuna can see your face now, and it makes his chest fill with elation when he sees the fucked out expression on your face as you slide over his firm abs, rubbing your little clit against his hard muscles, your eyes closing and lips hanging open dumbly when you moan so sweetly and twitch on his stomach, reaching another orgasm on him.

He could sneak a hand behind you, could jack off behind your back, but he doesn't do it. He wants to be your good little toy.

You don't stop but keep rutting against him, your fingernails digging into the swell of Sukuna's pecs, leaving their crescent-moon-shaped marks there as you abuse your puffy clit further on his abs.

And Sukuna grabs your hips and helps you ride his abs, grinning as he hears your harsh breathing and feels you starting to tense up again. Another loud squeal tumbles out of your mouth, and Sukuna is about to taunt you for being so horny for him that you cum on him three times in a row when he feels something hot and wet on his abs, much more than during your other two orgasms.

You hum and grind against him as more wetness flows out of you and onto Sukuna's stomach, warm and sweet-smelling, and Sukuna's gaze snaps to yours in understanding.

You laugh and rub yourself against him, smiling that devilish smile as you pee on him. And he can't hold back the loud moan falling from his lips, can't stop his cock from twitching, almost cumming in his boxer briefs.

"You like that, you fucking pervert? Yeah, Sukuna? You like getting peed on? Well, I have more for you, my nasty boy."

You slide off him, hands grabbing his boxer briefs and pulling them down, finally freeing his aching cock. Sukuna groans when it springs up, bouncing lightly, rock-hard, pre-cum dripping down from it onto his abs.

You throw one leg over his thighs, kneeling over his stiff cock, and then more piss rains down from your hot cunt and onto Sukuna's cock.

And Sukuna moans and curses loudly as his back arches off the bed, and he cums all over himself, untouched, shooting hot ropes of cum out of his tip, all over his abs, and over your cunt that's hovering above him.

His vision goes black for a moment, and his breath comes out in loud, harsh huffs, his whole body shaking from the intensity of his orgasm. He thinks he never came so hard in his life.

You laugh and finally sit down on Sukuna's twitching cock, letting it glide between your wet folds, making him buck against you. But you don't let him push inside you. You just rub your wet cunt slowly over his spent length, watching with an amused smile as you milk every last spurt of cum out of Sukuna while you let more pee trickle over his cock, mixing his cum with your piss.

Sukuna's heart is beating so fast that he feels lightheaded. And the overstimulation makes him sob, makes his oversensitive cock ache and twitch, but oh, how he craves this sweet pain. He lets his head fall back on the pillow, letting more low moans spill from his lips, eyes closing as he pushes his slowly softening cock between your pussy lips, whimpering softly anytime that delicious pain pulses in his length.

He doesn't know how long it takes before you stop moving on him and slip off his lap. But he sighs when the sticky heat of your cunt leaves his cock.

The bed creaks as you crawl up to him to press a gentle kiss to his cheek, whispering in his ear,

"You are such a mess, Sukuna. Such a cute mess for me. I'm excited to see what else you can give me, my little fuckdoll."

You leave him lying there on top of the blanket, his cock pulsing hotly from the overstimulation, mind hazy with post-coital bliss, chest heaving with heavy breaths, skin sticky from his cum, and your squirt and pee.

It's disgusting, and he should feel embarrassed, but he can't help but moan softly as a small smile creeps over his face. Sukuna feels satisfied like he hasn't felt in months. He hopes you will use him again as your personal fucktoy very soon.

FUCKTOY SUKUNA, I WANT YOU 💗💗 I wrote the first draft of this story a while ago and then thought I wouldn't dare publish it because it's too nasty, but I changed my mind, lol. I hope it was ok and that my fellow sub!Sukuna enjoyers accept this treat ;)

There will be a second part!! The story got too long, and there would have been too many sex scenes, so I decided to split it.

Thank you so much for reading 💗 Reblogs and comments would be very sweet!

HERE IS PART 02

#sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #sukuna #sukuna smut #jjk smut #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk x y/n #sukuna x y/n #ryomen sukuna #tw piss #tw dark content

3K notes · View notes