#performing arts banner

[cherry-purple]

About to reblog some cute art until I see the artist put an uglyass eye-straining DNI banner right under their drawing.

Doesn’t matter how much I initially liked the art, those DNI banners make me lose all interest.

Not only are they distracting and useless but it also makes me roll my eyes especially hard when I read shit like “usual dni criteria” or “dni racists! dni transphobes!”.

Friend, do you know how many racists and transphobes don’t realize they’re racist and/or transphobic in the first place? People won’t look at your banner and go “aw shucks, I’m too racist for this drawing :(“. And how is “usual dni criteria” any more efficient??

Like, you want to go for a performative Twittercore aesthetic? At that point just use a blocklist or smth, those are more efficient than your eyestrain sparkly banner.

Same with people who write their DNIs in light pastel tones against a white background. Trying to read that shit hurts.

[pawgyle]

Aquatifur 2023 Banner Secondary Events

A banner I did for Aquatifur! Featuring the convention's character performing! 

[piccolos-bigtoe]

Posting this here cause it’s been a while since I last posted and I am actually pretty proud of this…. I am making a mock RED brochure for my graphic design class and this is the cover…. I need five more panels I literally spent all of Wednesday working on this because text is my enemy and I am never satisfied with it but like actually taking a break from working on it and looking again later i was like “huh actually that’s not bad.” Sitka banner font easily in my top ten….

I was so proud of it I set it as my phones Home Screen…. Legitimately want to transfer to graphic design but I am torn. I currently am in studio art and have my own personal studio (it is shared between me and three friends tho), if I switch to graphic I lose that, and I really value my space cause I’ve been using it for like,,, four years pretty much (two I would sneak in there before I was in college cause my sibling owned it before I did, these past two it’s been my spot). It has memories and art work (that would REAAALLLYY suck to transport because there are LARGE pieces like LARGE) okau I will be real I am posting and rambling because I am stalling on cleaning my room… I am lazy……. I also just like to talk…. Accidentally woke up at 12 instead of 9 oops…

Work is REALLY gonna pile up this month…. I have a quilt, a weaving, and four papers for one class, my brochure and a 12 month calendar (obvi also gonna be tf2 themed calendar because i am insane…) for graphics, a screen print, and a paper and performance piece for another class… but I will make it thru E Z, after this I’m home free baby, summer is here ‘,B)

[ellethespaceunicorn]

Random thought:

You and August Walker sneaking out of a work party to get some time in his private office.

Zombie

Well, Zombie, I'll tell you what I think would happen...

Title: Executive Temptation

Rating: Explicit, 18+, Minors - DNI

Pairing: CEO!August Walker x Employee!Reader

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: You’ve caught the eye of CEO August Walker. What happens when he asks you to go to his private office?

Warnings: (responsible) alcohol consumption, oral sex (f receiving), fingering (f receiving), unprotected p-in-v sex, creampie

A/N: Unbeta’d, we die like people who tried their best. 

Dividers by: @firefly-graphics

Support/Reblog banner by me

Cover Art by me

My Masterlist

When the elevator dings and the doors open, he holds out an arm to let you enter first. As you step inside, you catch the eye of your coworker, who is making an obscene gesture with her hands. You can’t exactly blame her. You did just get into an elevator with the damn CEO of Walker Logistics LLC.

That’s right. You and August Walker are in an elevator on the way to his private office to speak more discreetly. 

A million different things went through your mind when he first asked you to step away to his office, and it showed on your face when you first stuttered through an excuse to stay at the party. 

“Tell you what, why don’t we just continue our conversation about your ideas over better booze than what they have down here? I’ll behave as long as you do,” he offers, his sonorous baritone washing over you like a warm bath.

It was more than easy to agree with him; he just had a way of making you feel like the most important person in the room.

As the elevator lifts, August leans against the left wall while you stand in the center. You try to maintain the silence that is only interrupted as the floor indicator dings every few seconds. The anxiety of feeling like you have to perform is strong, and you want to come up with something that he will find interesting.

But all you can come up with is, “You know, you can’t say happiness without saying penis.” 

August’s head whips to you so fast, you think his neck may have broken. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Sometimes, when I’m nervous, I spout useless trivia. It’s the worst superpower,” you admit, hoping he would let it go.

“Sex is ten times more effective than Valium. So, maybe we shouldn’t be so coy,” he hums, pushing off of the wall and coming to stand next to you when the elevator stops.

When the doors open, you are greeted with quite a sight. The entirety of the top floor is closed off by walls, except for his secretary’s desk, which sits just outside double doors. 

You are so surprised by the fact that you are in the CEO’s space that you just gawk at everything while staying in the elevator. It’s only when August stops the doors from closing on you that you close your mouth and follow him to the doors to his office.

Once they open, you’re greeted with a modern office space with two conference rooms around the left and right corners. His L-shaped desk sits in the center of the room, and the polished ebony wood stain reflects the lights of the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the back wall. A leather sofa and armchair set that seems rather inviting fills the carpeted area in front of the mini-bar. You spy the bookshelves that line the right and left walls and wonder to yourself if he’s even read half of them.

Walking around the desk, your feet carry you to the right bookcase. You read the titles of book after book about business and the economy. How fucking boring!

From his spot at the mini-bar, August gets your attention. “So, what would the lady like to drink while she snoops?”

“I’m not snooping. Just looking,” you advise, your fingers swiping the various spines as you walk toward him. “And I would love some bourbon if you have it. No ice.”

“I think I’ll join you,” he remarks, retrieving two lowball glasses and a decanter of the amber liquid. Pouring about two fingers into one glass and then the other. He takes both glasses and places them on the glass coffee table that sits between the sofa and the two comfy chairs. He picks up his drink and turns to you. “What shall we toast to?”

The anxiety running through you is replaced by lust as you join him on the couch, close enough to feel his body heat. Pheromones must be wafting in the air because he smells like sex on legs. You bend forward to pick up your bourbon, and the top of your dress reveals some cleavage. Out of the corner of your eye, you see August tilt his head as he sneaks a peek.

“To not being coy,” you insist, offering your raised glass.

August clinks his glass with yours and says, “To not being coy.”

You both take a sip and when you put your drink down after a sizable gulp, August mirrors you and sits back against the couch. You turn, and he is watching you with hungry eyes. Now or never, you think to yourself.

Leaning in, you kiss the smirk right off his face. His soft, pink lips part and his tongue licks into your mouth. Deepening the kiss, you allow him entry and massage his tongue with yours as you move to his lap. His hands caress your thighs before sliding up your leg to land on your hips. You know what he is after, so you start to rock your hips and are awarded with a deep rumble of a groan from August.

With his hands grabbing onto your ass, you grow bold and swivel your hips once, then twice. As August bucks up into you, you whimper, and he breaks the kiss. Maintaining eye contact, he reaches up your dress and stops when his fingertips touch your panties.

“May I take these off?” he asks, his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip as he looks up at you.

“Fuck, yes,” you yelp, your desire becoming too much to handle.

With your permission, he pulls them down your legs as far as they will go with you kneeling in his lap. Positioning you to lay back on the couch, he removes them completely, then dives in between your legs with his hands wrapped around your thighs to hold you close. 

He kisses your inner thighs before focusing on your wet pussy. To say he must have been starving for you is an understatement. The way he licks from your hole to your swollen nub was just this side of overwhelming. Swirling his tongue around your pearl, he waits until you begin to buck your hips to take your clit into his mouth.

Your hands go to his hair, clutching his chestnut locks as he sucks your soul out of your body. You’re near tears when he slowly inserts a finger between your folds. You barely hold yourself together as he strokes your inner walls, paying attention to the inner bundle of nerves that drives you wild.

Inserting another finger, he picks up his speed while massaging your G-spot. Listening to your body, he knows that you are on the very edge. One wrong move, and he could ruin it completely. 

But, lucky for you, he knows what he is doing.

He lets your clit slip past his lips, changing his tactic. Flicking his tongue up and down on your bud while adding a third finger to stretch you out, he puts on a master class at foreplay. Within moments, the hold you have on your faculties is all but forgotten as you are brought to orgasm. Your walls clench around his fingers, and he continues to play with your sweet spot. The noise of your sopping hole echoes in the office.

“That’s it; let it go. Such a good girl for me. So fucking delicious, too,” he praises, talking you through it. “You sound so fucking sexy right now.”

When you come down from your high, August is right there to kiss away the tear that escapes your eye as he caresses you. Your entire body is afire with sensations. His hands on you feel feather-soft. Looking up into his face, you can’t help but bring him down to kiss him. The kiss starts slow, but as it continues, tongues and teeth make an appearance. He nibbles and sucks on your bottom lip, eliciting a moan from deep in your throat. 

He breaks the kiss again to kiss and nip at your jaw and neck. You wrap a leg around his waist, shoving your hand between you to stroke him through his slacks. The groan from him at the contact radiates through you. You can tell he has a monster under those clothes, and you want it.

Echoing his politeness from earlier, you speak up, “May I?”

“Please,” he gushes, sitting on his heels to give you better access.

You unzip and unbutton him, reaching inside to take him out. You thank him silently for prepping you with three fingers, because damn. The uncut snake in his pants is heavy in your hands. While you want nothing more than to have it inside you, you would also love to gag on it. August’s hand under your chin lifts your face until your eyes meet.

“As much as I would love your pretty lips around me, I need to be inside you,” he implores, his thumb ghosting over your lips. “I promise you can choke on it later.”

You gasp as he removes your hand from his dick and pushes you slightly to lay back down. He throws your legs over his shoulders, lining himself up with your core, before pushing in slowly. He takes his time, letting you get used to being so filled and allowing him to adapt to your tight heat.

Folding you into yourself, he retracts his hips and thrusts forward. You groan in unison. Pulling out until just the tip remains inside you, he slams back in, kissing your cervix with his cockhead. He picks up the speed, and you can hear how fucking wet you are. The sloshy slaps of flesh on flesh are enough to have you close to orgasm already.

The entire room smells like sex, and it is intoxicating. Your gasps and whines as he fucks you only spur him on to help you chase after your climax. Parting your legs, he grips your thighs, fucking into you harder and faster. The look of determination on his face has you reaching down to play with your sensitive clit.

He swats your hand away in favor of using his fingers to make you cum around him. It happens quicker than you planned, a testament to his expertise. He fucks you through your release, your overworked pussy leaving cream all over his cock. He slows down to a more intimate pace as you come back to yourself.

You tangle a hand in his messy curls and pull him down to kiss you. With your hand on his hip, you urge him to move again. He kisses you deeper as his hips pick up the pace fucking you. You swallow every grunt and grumble from his thrusts. When his lips part from yours, you see the want in his eyes. You know he’s close by the way his hips stutter and his dick twitches.

Tightening your legs around his waist, you push your heel into his ass, and he gets the hint. 

“You want my cum? Ugh, fuck, I’m so close. Shit! Argh, fuck,” he gasps, his cock spasming as he spills inside you. He collapses on top of you with his face in your neck, and you rub his back while he comes down.

Once his softening length slips from you, he grunts and picks himself up to sit back on his heels. He watches as his cum leaks out of you and licks his lips. He gets up and tucks himself away before motioning for you to stay right where you are. He grabs a towel from the mini-bar, coming back to clean up his mess from between your legs. He tosses the towel on the coffee table and picks up his drink to take a sip.

“I wasn’t lying earlier, you know,” he discloses, moving to sit down when you pull yourself into a seated position.

“Huh?” you ask, wracking your brain to find out what he’s talking about.

“I still want to hear your ideas on how to expand our market reach. I mean, you don’t even work in our marketing department, and your ideas have my attention,” he praises, his voice sincere in tone.

“I do have a few ideas on how the company can grow,” you beam, happy to be noticed. “But I think I’d like to discuss that first thing on Monday. Right now, I’d rather enjoy this bourbon and spend time not talking about work. If you don’t mind?”

“I don’t mind at all,” he affirms, sipping his drink before smiling at you. “I am actually looking forward to Monday for a change. But before then, would you let me take you to dinner? I promise there will be no work talk.”

You look into your glass, swirling the amber liquid while you think about it for all of three seconds. “I’ll let you take me to dinner on one condition,” you advise, a smirk playing on your lips.

“And what would that be?” he asks, his arm going to the back of the couch.

“You let me choke on it before tonight is over,” you flirt, holding in a giggle.

The way his eyes darken is a thing of beauty. He lowers his drink from his lips and says, “Fuck, where did that coy little thing go? I’m not complaining, by the way. I’ll make sure you get a taste; don’t you worry.” 

You suddenly feel very warm, and you can’t believe this man is real. You wonder how his words can make you want nothing more than to kiss him until you can’t breathe. You put down your glass after downing the last bit in one go. Liquid courage, don’t fail me now, you think to yourself.

August puts down his glass and leans back. You crawl into his lap again, a knee on either side of his hips. Entwining a hand in his hair, you lean forward and capture his lips again. This time, the kiss is slow and sensual. Your tongue dances with his until your lips touch again. Nipping at his bottom lip elicits a whimper from him that is music to your ears.

His hands move to your ass, gripping the globes as if his life depended on it. When one hand leaves, you only miss it for a second before it lands back on your cheek with a slap. You moan into his mouth, and you can feel the rumble of a chuckle in his chest.

He’s got you right where he wants you, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

A/N: This story was super fun to write. I would love to know what you think!!! Feedback is appreciated!

**Tag List**

@peyton-warren @deandoesthingstome @cakesandtom @brattymum96 @ambinxe @avengersfan25 @kebabgirl67 @thabiddie23 @sweetandgentlecreature @foxyjwls007 @art2emily @titty-teetee @mrs-solo-walker @mollymal @princessaxoxo @astheskycries @enchantedbytomandhenry @rebelangel1102 @toooldforobsessions @carrie80reads @mayloma @thezombieprostitute

Let me know if you wanna be added (or removed) 😁If your name is crossed out, I couldn't tag you.

[justagamerandaweeb]

Bromance - Modern AU! Hakuji and Kyojuro x Reader

Hakuji is bi, Kyojuro is pan. They would've been a cute couple if you really put some thought into it.

Toxic, but still cute.

Art by p1nkmenace63, Pink and orange divider by @peachesboard, and pink and orange MDNI banner by @roseschoices.

The following smut includes: nipple play, cunnilingus, vaginal penetration, anal penetration, fellatio (both (Y/N) and Kyojuro are both giving), double barrel blowjob, skinfluting, teasing, cum swallowing, and cum licking.

Kyojuro profusely sweating after another day of sparring with Hakuji as he sat down on the floor with his legs crossed and the top half of his gi off. He opened the bottle of water in his hand and took a few sips of it as he lets out a sigh of relief and puts the cap back on. "Water, you are a lifesaver." He puts the bottle next to him and does a few arm and leg stretches as he slouches against the wall and closes his eyes.

He sighed as he had a brief moment of peace before he felt someone softly kick his foot. He opens his eyes and sees that it is (Y/N) towering over him. She smiled at him and waved as he said, "Oh, hey (Y/N). When did you get here?"

"I came through the door, seeing you two when I was passing by." She sits down next to him and asks, "So... How are you and Hakuji doing today?" "We're doing good. Just finished sparring with him if you couldn't tell." He said as he heard the sound of a body slamming on the floor. They both turn their heads to see Hakuji performing an Ezekiel Choke on one of the students.

The student struggled to disconnect the lock, but Hakuji had a firm grip on the forearm of his gi. "You gotta tap, that's the only way you get out of this." Hakuji commented at the student he was choking out. The more the student struggled, the more he tightened the submission. It got so tight in fact, that the student started to violently cough and their face started to turn red. "Tap." Hakuji softly barked at them as they closed their eyes and clenched their teeth before admitting defeat and tapping on the floor.

He got off of the student and they violently coughed as they held their neck, wheezing as oxygen entered their mouth, went down to their trachea, both left and right into their bronchus, and into their lungs. Their breathing started to relax as Hakuji extended their hand to them, and to his surprise, they accepted it. He picks them up and pats their shoulder as he compliments them, "That was a good fight. You would've been a challenge for me if you countered my takedown."

The student nods as they say, "Yeah..." And pats Hakuji's shoulder. They let go of his hand as they walked in the other direction, and Hakuji shouted at them, "Make sure you drink some water!" And they gave him a thumbs up behind their back while walking. Hakuji waved at them and saw Kyojuro and (Y/N) sitting together, so he took this as an opportunity to follow suit and sit with them.

Kyojuro grabbed his water bottle and extended it to Hakuji, gesturing at him to see if he would like a waterfall. He waved his hand left and right, politely declining the offer as Kyojuro put his bottle back on the floor. "Fancy seeing you here, (Y/N). You came to see us shit on the other students as we train? Or did you just come to hang out with us?"

(Y/N) giggles before responding to his question, "Well, originally it was hanging out with you guys, but seeing the way you choked out that other student, I think it's a mix of both." Kyojuro and Hakuji chuckled at that response as Hakuji noted, "Enjoy it while it lasts, we might be leaving in the next hour or so."

"Aw..." (Y/N) pouted. "Yeah, I know. But hey, once we're done with this, we can go get something to eat. Kyojuro, you up for round two?" "I am more than willing to oblige." Kyojuro agreed with Hakuji as he stood up and stretched. He then palmed his fist, which made a very loud slap, and said, "Shall we get started?" Hakuji scoffs playfully as he gets up and tightens his belt as they both walk on the mat. They both palmed their fist together, and bowed down to each other before taking their stances.

Hakuji, Kyojuro, and (Y/N) walked out of the building as Kyojuro and Hakuji were wearing their casual clothing with their duffle bags on their shoulder. Both of their faces were a little sweaty, but didn't smell musky due to them having deodorant on. "Well, that was fun." Hakuji commented while Kyojuro added on, "Indeed it was. Even though I was getting molly-whopped by you, I still had a fun time!" Walking with both of his hands behind his head, with a smile on his face.

(Y/N) softly giggles at his cheery carefree attitude while Hakuji scoffed with a smile on his face. "Even amidst defeat, you always look at things in a positive light." Hakuji said as Kyojuro retorted, "Well, you'll have to thank my mother for that. She told me to always be happy, even when things seem grim at certain times. Because tomorrow will be better than today, and if not, theres always the day after that. Rest her soul, she was a good woman, and a good mother." Kyojuro noted as they were walking.

They remained silent, the sound of cars passing by reducing the loudness of silence as they walked. Kyojuro's head perked up as he laughed and said, "Did I just ruin the mood? My apologies! I just miss my mom sometimes. C'mon, let's go get something to eat, like Hakuji said." And heavily sighs.

(Y/N) got closer to him as she looked down and locked hands with him. Kyojuro looks at her, and softly smiled at her as Hakuji wraps his arm around his shoulder. Kyojuro softly chuckles as they continue to walk on the sidewalk, wandering off until they stop at a certain restaurant so they can have some food in their stomachs.

They all stopped at a ramen restaurant, and went inside as they sat down on the stools which were in front of the ramen menu. Hakuji asked Kyojuro and (Y/N), "Alright, what are you guys getting? I already know what I want." He said, scratching the right side of his face with his index finger. Kyojuro responds by saying, "I'll just take a soba soup, since that's my go-to whenever I eat something that includes ramen. (Y/N)?"

"Uh... I guess I'll take... tonkotsu...?" (Y/N) pondered at that last part, unsure if that's what she really wants. Hakuji scoffs as he puts on his headphones, and plays his playlist as he taps his finger on the counter, waiting for the server to come by and take his order. While Kyojuro and (Y/N) look around the restaurant, like a pair of curious kids.

"So... How have you been? I think I forgot to ask you that when you came over to the dojo." Kyojuro says, leaning forward to make eye contact with (Y/N). "Oh. Well, I've been doing good. I currently have the day off from my job, so that's why I decided to hang out with you guys." "Oh, that's nice." Kyojuro commented while Hakuji was still on his phone.

"Mind if I ask you something, (Y/N)? And you don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable." He said, his eyes darting to Hakuji who was looking to his left bobbing his head to whatever song he was listening to, and back to (Y/N). "What do you think of Hakuji as a person?'

"Hm, well... I think he's nice. He's a bit of a rebel at certain times, but he shows respect to people when he thinks they earned it. And he's respectable to women, from what I've seen from him." (Y/N) stated, showing mutual respect for him. "Hm, okay then. Now for my second question, what do you think of him as a friend?"

(Y/N) was about to speak, but Kyojuro cut her off by noting, "And don't say anything like what you just described him as a person. I want to see what you think of him as a friend." Her face started to become a little red as she began to speak up about what she thought about him. "He's... Um... wow, this shouldn't be a hard question... He's..." (Y/N)'s leg started to bounce as she couldn't find a good answer for him. Sure, she knew he was a good friend to her, fantastic even, but she couldn't find the words to describe him.

"If it's too hard for you, let me rephrase; what qualities does he have that make him a good friend?" Him saying that, made more clearer for (Y/N) to answer. She softly cleared her throat as she said, "He's... generous... he's patient with me, like he doesn't want to start anything... He's kind, and respectful too. He doesn't get angry with me like he does with other people, but when he does, he'll leave me alone and try to cope on his own."

"I'm pretty sure you described him as a gentleman." Kyojuro stated leaning his head to the right with a smile on his face. "Now, for the last question... and I need you to answer this as genuinely as you can..." he leans closer to her, getting a little bit into her personal space as he whispers, "What do you think of him... as a lover?"

A bead of sweat formed on the right side of (Y/N)'s forehead as Kyojuro leaned back, and gave (Y/N) the time to process. Her face became more red as she nervously swallowed the spit that was in her mouth as she was spiraling in her head, What type of question is that?! How can you ask someone a question like that so casually? How can you expect someone to even properly process that question!? And... why does my stomach feel weird when I think about it...? (Y/N) puts her hand on her stomach as she starts to feel lightheaded from thinking about an answer to Kyojuro's question.

"Excuse me?" They both heard a random stranger say. They both paid their attention to the voice, to see a young woman in a chef outfit, with a pen and a notepad in her hands. "Can I get you two anything?" Kyojuro softly chuckles as Kyojuro says, "Apologies for not noticing you, young lady. But yeah, I'll take a bowl of soba please." He said as the lady wrote down the food of choice and looked at (Y/N). "Tonkotsu..." She softly uttered as she wrote down the food and said, "I'll have your bowls in a couple of minutes." And walked away. "Thank you, ma'am!" Kyojuro exclaimed as he softly sighed, and looked back at (Y/N), who still had a visible blush on her face.

"I think... I'm gonna go to the restroom. Get my bearings straight as I... yeah." She stood up off the stool, and started to walk to a hall that led to the restroom. As Kyojuro watched her walk to the hall, he thought to himself, Hm. Seems like (Y/N) has feelings for Hakuji. Which, is reasonable. I mean, I have my significant feelings towards him, so I get where she's coming from. But, now that I'm waiting for her to leave the restroom... his eyes transitioned to Hakuji's direction as he then sat on (Y/N)'s stool, and Hakuji took his headphones off as he saw him in his peripherals.

"Kyojuro? Where's (Y/N)?" Hakuji questioned, looking around the restaurant for her. "She's in the restroom. If you're wondering why, it's because she's processing an answer to a question I ask her. A question that is entirely about you, and your relations with her." A blush started to fade into Hakuji's face as he said, "My relations...? The hell did you say to her about me?" He barked, making his voice sound more serious but still maintaining the blush on his face. Kyojuro leans towards Hakuji and asks Hakuji, "What do you think of (Y/N) as a person?"

(Y/N) splashed water on her face as her hands started to shake, and her heart started to become more audible in her ears. She made a sharp inhale, held her breath for a few seconds, and softly exhaled. She repeated this cycle a few more times until her heart started to slow down. She repeated what Kyojuro said to her in her head, "What do you think of him... as a lover?"

She tightly balled her fist as she thought to herself, I think of him as... as... she whined as even in her thoughts, she couldn't think of a legitimate answer. I think of him as... a... a good husband... she palmed her face with both of her hands as she rapidly stomped on the floor, screaming internally. This shouldn't be a hard question! All I have to do is tell Kyojuro how I feel about him! Wait, no that's not- She made some sort of noise that sounded like a squeal, but a moan of embarrassment at the same time.

Her hands slid down her face as he let out a sigh of defeat as she left the restroom. As she was walking, she thought to herself, Okay, all you need to do is tell Kyojuro that Hakuji would make a good husband... surely that'll convince him of what I think about him, right? She trotted back to the main room, and saw Hakuji and Kyojuro eating their bowls of ramen. She made a brief huff and puff as she walked back to the stool that she was sitting on, grabbed and broke the chopsticks apart, and picked up a handful of noodles with a half-cut egg in it.

She took the chopsticks and shoved them into her mouth as she started to chew the delicacy that was in her mouth. It had a bitter, tangy taste to it, mixed with the slight sourness of the noodles, and the sulfurous flavor of the egg, it was quite the delectable meal. As she was eating her bowl, Hakuji couldn't help but keep glancing at her. What he told Kyojuro, was feelings that he genuinely had for her. But, he doesn't know if she has the same since he was too busy listening to music.

He would continue to eat his bowl of ramen as he spoke to himself, If what Kyojuro told me about how (Y/N) feels about me is true, then how should I even respond to her? I do like her, but, I don't know if we're on that level yet, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable if she isn't. He was about to put the ramen in his mouth, but stopped as he was almost about to. He puts the chopsticks down in the bowl and softly sighs. Damn it... Now I don't feel hungry anymore... he pushes the bowl away to the left from him, and slumps his head on the counter.

(Y/N) looked to her left to see him like that, and she could only guess what she was thinking about. As Kyojuro was eating, he looks to his left to see (Y/N) staring at Hakuji as he swallows his food and prods her shoulder with his index finger. She turned her head back to face him, and he said, "Is there something you wanna tell him?" She looks back at Hakuji as she puckers her lips and softly groans. Kyojuro softly sighed through his nose as he spoke out, "Y'know what? I think I have an idea for all three of us. Check please!" He shouted, making even Hakuji lift his head back up from the boom of his voice.

One of the waiters walked to him and gave him the receipt for the food they just consumed. He took out his wallet, and gave the waiter the amount of yen required as he grabbed his duffel bag that was on the floor, stood up off the stool, and tapped on (Y/N) and Hakuji's shoulder. They both watch Kyojuro leave the restaurant, and they both briefly look at each other, with blushes on their faces as they avoid eye contact the millisecond they look at each other.

Hakuji grabbed his duffel bag, and started to walk to the door exit. (Y/N) follows him and he leaves the door open for her to walk through. Once she walked through, he let go of the door and started to follow her as she was following Kyojuro. (Y/N) started to walk a little bit faster to Kyojuro to ask him something. And once she did, she asked him, "Where are you taking us?" And which made Kyojuro smile as he responded, "We're going to my place. That way, we can have this... confab, about how you both feel about each other."

(Y/N)'s blush became more visible as she started to slow down, but not be slow enough to where Kyojuro was a couple of feet away from her, rather being in a line in the middle between Kyojuro and Hakuji. The sound of her heart became more audible in her ears as her body started to feel light as they were walking on the sidewalk. Thankfully the walk didn't last long as they arrived at the place Kyojuro lived in; an apartment complex.

Kyojuro grabs the door handle, and pulls it open for (Y/N) and Hakuji to walk through. Kyojuro follows them as Hakuji presses the button to call the elevator. Hakuji was bouncing his leg, (Y/N) clamped her hands together, looking down with slight embarrassment on her face, and Kyojuro had a smile on his face. The elevator opened, and the trio went inside as Kyojuro pressed the button that led to the fourth floor of the building. The door closed and the elevator started to go up.

(Y/N)'s body started to become light again, not from the elevator going up, but from this sense of trepidation. She knew what was about to happen, but she didn't know what to do when the time came. All she could do was just roll with it, and see what would happen. Soon the elevator made a stop and dinged as the elevator door opened. Kyojuro's hand went into his back pocket as he took out a keycard. He started to spin the card in between the gaps of his fingers as they were walking.

Eventually, they stopped at a door as Kyojuro swiped the card at the card reader, and the reader beeps as Kyojuro grabbed the door handle, and opened the door. They all went inside as they took off their shoes and took off their hoodies. Kyojuro folded his up on his forearm, Hakuji threw his on the couch and put his luggage on the floor, and (Y/N) put hers on the lamp table. They followed Kyojuro to his room and they saw a king-sized bed that had a grey comforter and big pillows. "Alright, both of you sit down."

Hakuji and (Y/N) both looked at each other and they softly swallowed their spit as they slowly walked to the bed, and sat down on it. Kyojuro puts his bag in the closet as he says, "I'm gonna get us some drinks, why don't you two talk about how you both feel about each other while I do so?" Both of them remained silent until Kyojuro left and closed the door behind him, and now there was silence. Their hearts profusely beating out of their chest as they couldn't help but glance at each other.

Their stomachs felt weird, like there was a constant churn in their stomachs as they struggled to find words to say to each other. (Y/N) twisted her legs together as she twiddled her thumbs and looked down at the floor, showing clear signs of uneasiness from the tension that was flowing through the room. Hakuji was bouncing his right leg and his hands were clenched together as he too didn't know what to say.

Correction; he did know what to say, but he didn't know how to deliver it. Reason? He doesn't quite know himself. Fear of rejection? Misinterpreting about what he said? So many negative things going through his mind, that it made it more harder to get his bearings straight. He huffed as he turned his head and was about to speak, but then was met with (Y/N)'s lips on his.

His eyes widened as he made a sound that indicated extreme confusion, and unexpectancy. (Y/N) wrapped her arms around him, not giving him any time to properly process what was happening as they both collapsed on the bed, and (Y/N) was mounted on top of him. His arms were up, beside both sides of his head as he listened to the sounds of (Y/N) whimpers and their lips reconnecting. She leaned her head to the right to make the kiss deeper as drool started to run down their mouths.

What the fuck is happening...? She's... She's kissing me... and mounted on top of me... Should I feel happy, or concerned? I'm glad she has the same feelings for me... but, at the same time, it feels like she's forcing herself to do this, despite being a year older than me. Hakuji lifts his arms up and puts his hands on her shoulders as he softly pushes her off. "Wh- What are you doing? S-Shouldn't you be happy that I'm kissing you?" She said, her voice trembling as if she was about to break into tears.

Hakuji then avoided eye contact with her as he asked her, "Are you... comfortable doing this...?" "H-Huh?" Hakuji slowly sat up as his right hand slowly crept up to (Y/N)'s cheek. "You don't have to force yourself to do something you aren't comfortable with. Yes, I love you. But I don't want our first time together to be something that feels like we have to do because Kyojuro told us to. Like some damn arranged marriage that the two didn't agree with. So (Y/N), please tell me," he puts his hand on the back of her head and their foreheads bumped against each other, "Are you comfortable doing this with me?"

Tears started to well up in (Y/N)'s eyes as she backed away from him and started to wipe her eyes. "I-I'm sorry..." This made Hakuji tilt his head in a confused manner as he asked her, "What are you apologizing for? I'm just asking you if you're comfortable doing this. Is there... something I said wrong...?" "N-No, no, no, it's just... I-I've never done this before, a-and... I'm afraid that I'm gonna do a bad job a-and-" Hakuji silenced her as he softly put his lips onto hers, making her elicit a moan.

His hands cupped her cheeks as he tilted his head to the side and slid his tongue inside (Y/N)'s mouth. She softly whimpered as he mounted on top of her. She felt his tongue touch hers, which made her recoil a little before melting into it. Their tongue slowly twirled with one another due to the inexperience they both had as this was their first legitimate kiss. Hakuji's hands started to slide down to her face, and onto her hindquarters. She softly gasped as she felt Hakuji's firm hands softly squeezing her behind as if it were a pillow made out of memory foam.

They both stopped kissing as both of their faces were burgundy, their pupils dilated and steam coming out of their mouths through every exhale they'd done. "I'll tell you once again, are you comfortable doing this with me?" She softly nodded as Hakuji said to her, "Don't nod to me, I wanna hear you say it." Despite being 18 years old, he was always so commanding and respectful to other people, when they earned his respect, of course. (Y/N) softly swallowed her spit as she softly inhaled and responded, "Yes, Hakuji. I am comfortable doing this with you."

Hakuji smirked as he said, "Good." And kissed her again. This time however, he decided to take the initiative, and started to move his hand onto her shirt and started to fondle her. She mewled at the sensation of his hand touching her cloth-covered breast, but whimpered out, "W-Wait, my shirt is gonna wrinkle..." This causes Hakuji to stop as he grabs the bottom rim of her shirt and says, "Can I take it off? And please say that I can rather than nodding to me."

(Y/N) softly whined at the retort of his question, but she answered him as she wanted this to happen. "Please do." And so he did, slowly rolling her shirt up to reveal her stomach, and soon enough, her bra. She raised her arms so he completely took off the shirt as he dropped it on the floor and looked at her body. He started to caress her body, making her mewl again as she moved her head to the right and looked out the night city. "So soft..." he softly utters as he lowers his head down and starts to peck her stomach with soft and sensual kisses.

She cooed at his warm, chapped lips touching her sensitive skin, as she closed her eyes and softly balled her fists up as she felt the prints of his fingers touch her sides. His kisses from her stomach began to get higher and higher until he reached her xiphoid process and was between her breasts. He grabbed the rim of her bra as he looked up at her and she softly spoke, "Do it..." he was about to push them up until he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Sorry guys, I was washing the dishes since I forgot how full my sink— oh." Kyojuro stared at Hakuji mounted on top of (Y/N), as it looked like he was about to take (Y/N)'s bra off. "Am... I interrupting the fun? I could always leave you two alone and..." he clears his throat and scratches the back of his head as a blush forms on his face. "I'm gonna go, uh... Yeah." Kyojuro was about to walk out of the room but (Y/N) called out his name, stopping Kyojuro from completely closing the door.

He reopens it as (Y/N) starts to struggle to find the words to say now that he was making eye contact with her in this... rather interesting position she was in. "I... Y-You..." she covers her face from embarrassment as Hakuji asks her, "Do you... want him to stay?" She nodded on impulse, as Hakuji looked back at Kyojuro and gestured him to come in. Kyojuro's eyes slightly widened as he reopened the door, and closed it. "Well, since I'm here, I guess I should fit the mood... right?" He said as he started to take off his shirt, and unbuckle his belt.

He walked to the other side of the bed and sat down with his arms and legs crossed together, and softly chuckled as he glanced at them. His face was red just like the tips of his hair as he said, "Well? Continue with what you two were doing." Hakuji and (Y/N) both looked back at each other before Hakuji slowly pushed (Y/N)'s bra off to show her breasts in full display. The tips of Hakuji's ears started to turn into a blood-like color as this was the first time seeing a woman's breasts.

It's as if his hands were on autopilot as they immediately groped and squeezed one of them, making (Y/N) exclaim a moan from her lips. Kyojuro's eyes widened from the sound that came out of her mouth, while Hakuji quickly pulled his hand back and said, "Sorry! Did... did I hurt you?" She shook her head and said, "N-No... It didn't hurt. Y-You can keep going." She said, in a hush, feeble tone. Hakuji looked back down to her mounds of flesh, softly clasped his hand on one of them, and started to softly fondle it.

She elicited another moan from her lips, feeling his firm but gentle hand on her made her body feel warm and fuzzy. While Kyojuro was forming a half-chub in his pants as he watched. His body temperature began to rise as he watched the action unfold. Seeing that Hakuji wasn't completely on top of her, he took the opportunity to move down to the lower half of her body, and grabbed the rim of her pants as he slowly pulled them down. "K-Kyojuro..."

Kyojuro pulled her pants off and dropped them on the of the bed as he started to trail his hands onto (Y/N)'s legs, making her softly whimper as Hakuji continued to fondle her. Her skin against his prints made it feel like he was trailing his fingers against silk. Her smooth, hairless legs stimulate his prints as he courses them. Her skin... it's so soft... he thought as he lowered his head down, and began to peck her leg.

(Y/N) was about to moan out Kyojuro's name, but then she made a loud gasp as she felt Hakuji suck on her nipple, making her slightly bend her neck and back. His warm mouth around her gave her chills throughout her body, and it didn't help the fact that her nipples were fully erect. Not only that, but her spot from down there was slowly becoming self-lubricated.

Hakuji softly cupped his hands on the mound of flesh he was sucking on, moving his tongue up and down on her erect teat as he moans and send vibrations on it. She moans a little bit louder than before, making her toes softly curl up in the process. Kyojuro then glanced at (Y/N)'s undergarments, to see a small damp spot between her hips, only indicating what that spot could be.

His chub started to become more visible and his bottom half started to become more tense. He got on his hands and knees and started to reach his hand out to it. He grabs the part of the crotch and pulls it to the side to reveal her wet, puffy lips. His shaft in his pants became fully erect when he lays eyes on it, her clit fully erect and twitching making him almost choke on his spit. He traces his fingers on her inner thigh, and slowly goes down to her spot as he uses his thumb and slowly moves it up and down.

(Y/N) gasps as her entire body tensed up and her back arched. Her breath hitches, and letting out slight whimpers as she tries to regain her composure. Kyojuro never heard a sound like that coming out of (Y/N) before, but a part of him for some odd reason enjoyed that sound.

And the smallest bit of him wouldn't mind if she made that sound again.

He continued to move his thumb up and down on her sensitive slit, making her ball her fist tight enough to the point where her knuckles started to turn white, and she was breathing in short rapid pants. "K-Kyojuro! P-Please!" Hakuji was still sucking on (Y/N)'s nipple, and he started to get an erection as he was hearing the sounds of (Y/N)'s mewls of pleasure.

She's so wet down here... it's... unreal... I wonder what would happen if I... he swallows his spit and licks his lips as he starts to imagine what it would be like to lick her warm, tight, pink, wet, and sticky insides. And then, something clicked in his mind as he used both of his thumbs, glancing at her cunt winking at him, and that caused him, on impulse, to lick it.

Her legs instantly formed an x formation as she immediately grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pucked her lips to stifle a scream. He continued to lick her down there, now nose-deep and his lips latched onto hers. The musky aroma that he scented from her spot, made his head feel slightly floaty, as if she was laced with some sort of aphrodisiac and was having the first chance of tasting it. He closed his eyes and softly groaned as he felt her juices flow through his tongue.

She tastes so good... she might be tastier than actual food... he thought as he puts his hands onto her inner thighs and began to suck on her bead. Her hand gripped his hair tighter as she felt him sucking on her sensitive clit, releasing an exclaim of pleasure through her mouth. Hakuji stops sucking her nipple as he then started to pull his pants and boxers off to reveal his erect shaft. Him watching this all play out made him want to feel good as well. He stood on his knees as he said, "(Y/N)..."

(Y/N) looks to her left to see a dark pink tip with a transparent bead of liquid on it. (Y/N)'s face heats up as she looks up at Hakuji to see his face red as well, and avoiding eye contact with her. "If it's too much, you don't have to... you know..." She looked back down at his shaft that was twitching and was leaking out pre. His shaft was surrounded by some sort of musky scent that was making her head spin, and her intrusive thoughts were to lick the tip and the clear liquid, which she did.

Hakuji softly gasped as he felt her warm wet tongue lick his organic crown, making his shaft throb and his body have chills. She continued to lick his crown, getting a feel for what it would feel like before she fully committed to putting it in her mouth. His pre had a sour taste, but she liked it. She was savoring his taste as she was giving him kitty licks, slightly stimulating him.

Hakuji softly groans as he puts his hand on her head, and starts to stroke her hair. Fuck... even with her licking me like this, it still feels really good. He softly caressed the left side of her forehead with his thumb as he closed his eyes and let (Y/N) do her thing. Kyojuro stopped sucking (Y/N)'s clit as he pulled his head back to get some air. As he wiped his chin that was covered from (Y/N)'s lather as he thought, Fuck, that tasted delicious. I can still taste her from her remnants on my tongue. He licks his lips as he makes a hum of satisfaction.

However, he was a little caught off by how (Y/N) wasn't making that much noise now, as his eyes slowly pan up to see (Y/N) moving her tongue in a circle around Hakuji's crown. For whatever reason, Kyojuro's eyes were stuck on Hakuji's shaft. Its pale complexion with its smooth texture, not a single vein to be seen as his hair from down there looked a little formal, which couldn't be said for Kyojuro. Not only that, but his abdominal muscles were so tone, that both sides of his waist were forming a v that led straight to his crotch area.

It made Kyojuro drool a little without him realizing as he then softly shook his head, and sucked his saliva back. He then got on his hands and knees as he then started to crawl next to (Y/N), and started to lick the side of the body of his shaft. This made Hakuji slightly flinch from the feeling of another tongue licking him, so he opened his eyes to see Kyojuro, with his eyes closed, licking his rod. "T-The hell?"

(Y/N) slowly opens her eyes to see Kyojuro, right next to her, attempting to please Hakuji. She stops licking his tip as she says, "K-Kyojuro?" He stops as he makes a quick remark, "What? Can't I please him as well? I'll admit, his cock is what attracted me to pleasing him." Both of them turned burgundy when he said that with so much confidence and without stuttering at that. (Y/N) was about to speak until she was silenced by Kyojuro when he locked his lips onto hers.

She could taste the bits of her juices on his tongue as he slowly twirled it around hers, making her brain reach maximum stimulation. Kyojuro puts his hand on the back of (Y/N)'s head, making sure that she keeps her head steady as he twirls his tongue around hers. Hakuji's shaft began to twitch as he watched them kiss, seeing their saliva dripping down from their chin to the bed. They both stopped kissing as a string of saliva gaped the distance between them, and then Hakuji moved forward only to show his erect shaft to them.

He then put both of his hands on Kyojuro and (Y/N)'s heads as he softly pushed their heads until their lips were on his shaft. "I want to try something, Is that okay with you two? The way you both kissed... it just... fuck, it was hot." His face turned red when he said that, but that didn't stop him from continuing. "S-So, I'm gonna move my hips, and see what happens after, okay?" They both nod in agreement as Hakuji exhales, "Okay..." And started to move his hips.

Not even three thrusts in, and Hakuji was already groaning from the texture of their moist lips rubbing against his rod. Their tongues also rubbing under him amplified the feeling as he was thrusting at a moderate pace. He softly grips their hair as he utters, "F-Fuck..." and softly moans. Kyojuro started to move his tongue in and out of his mouth, making Hakuji slightly flinch as he was thrusting, while (Y/N) was moving her tongue left and right, lubricating a significant amount of his skin.

Kyojuro softly moaned on his rod, sending soft vibrations on his shaft, and making his breath hitch. "H-Hey, you can't do that... my dick's already sensitive enough as it is..." Kyojuro opens his eyes and glanced at (Y/N) to see that she was still letting her lips get rubbed on by his cock. His lips formed a smile as he then grabbed Hakuji's wrist from the back of his head, and pulled him down to the bed. He pinned him to the bed, and opened his legs, leaving his shaft constantly twitching for more stimulation.

He slowly crawled down to his shaft, and without giving Hakuji a chance to speak, he licked his tip. Hakuji grits his teeth and his left eye as he says, "Kyojuro, t-the hell—" he makes a gravely moan as he feels Kyojuro wrap his lips around him and bob his head. The muscles on his legs tensed up as he felt Kyojuro's mouth surrounding his shaft and going in and out of it. Hakuji put his hand on Kyojuro's face, trying to pull him off to make him stop, but his mouth felt so good, he couldn't help but feel weak to it.

(Y/N) help but watch Kyojuro pleasing Hakuji with his mouth, it made her slit feel really tingly and a bead of her juices started to run down her thigh. Her hand started to go under there, and she couldn't help but rub her finger up and down on it. She whimpers as she was stimulating herself with her finger, her wet and sensitive cunt educing lewd noises made this situation so much more erotic than it needed to be.

Kyojuro elicits a popping sound from his lips as he wipes his saliva from his chin and wraps his hand around his shaft and slowly starts to stroke it. Kyojuro turns around to see (Y/N) touching herself, which turned him on a little, and calls her out. "It's your turn now." She moved her finger away from her slit, which was now drenched from her juices as her fingers had multiple lines stretching away from her flower.

The entire top half of her body started to lean down, leaving her bottom half arching out upwards, and her rear completely in the air. (Y/N) looks at the stiff muscle occasionally twitching and throbbing as it waits to be stimulated. She felt Kyojuro's hand on the back of her head as he heard him whisper, "Come on now, don't be shy. If it helps, he tastes a little good." That gave (Y/N) a little smirk and a chuckle as he then opened her mouth, wrapped her lips around him, and softly started to bob her head.

Hakuji moans again, but rather than trying to push (Y/N)'s head off, he pats her hair as he looks up at the ceiling and says, "F-Fuck..." Kyojuro notices that (Y/N)'s ass was in the air, and he took advantage of the position she was in as he sat up and got behind her. He looks down to see his raging erection tenting his pants as he thinks, Huh, somehow I forgot these were on. Ah, doesn't matter, now that we're here. He took them off, as well as his boxers, grabs his shaft from the base, and started to move it up and down on her drenched cunt.

(Y/N) felt her entire body tense up as she felt Kyojuro's shaft moving up and down on her spot, teasing her entrance as he lubricated himself for what was about to come, but not in the way she thought. She continued to pleasure Hakuji orally as saliva was running down his shaft, laying the saliva that was already coating his rod from Kyojuro. "D-Dosh dis phel gud, Hakushi?" She says, her mouth full from his shaft in her mouth. "Yeah... Y-Yeah, it does... I can only imagine what you're gonna feel like down there. So warm, and tight..." his shaft throbbed just from thinking about it.

Meanwhile, Kyojuro was making muffled groans as he was coating his shaft with (Y/N)'s cunt-juice, moving his hips up and down and even going as far as taking all four of his fingers, rubbing her with them, and stroking his rod. His shaft felt so sensitive, it felt like he could burst just from pumping himself alone. Her discharge felt so slimy yet smooth, it felt like he was moving his hand up and down with ease. He decided to pump himself lying down on his back, next to Hakuji as he does so.

Hakuji turns his head to see Kyojuro right next to him, and he makes a soft frown on his face, but still maintains his blush. Kyojuro leans towards him only to peck his lips, and making Hakuji more flustered. Kyojuro softly chuckles. But moans as he suddenly felt (Y/N) sucking his shaft as well, leaving Hakuji blue-balled and begging for more. "Hey, I wasn't finished yet... you can't just stop and do him next."

Kyojuro chuckles again as he says, "Well, th-there is one way we could do it... (Y/N), stop." Kyojuro commanded her, making a hum that gives off a sense of confusion as she takes his cock out of his mouth and said, "D-Did I do something wrong? Why are you telling me to stop?" She said, softly panting as she swallowed her saliva. "First off, no, you're doing a fantastic job. Second off, Hakuji wants you to suck his cock again since you stopped so abruptly for me. So, I have a solution that may or may not work. And all we need to do, specifically me and Hakuji, is to stand on our knees."

Hakuji was a little confused by this, but he still went with it as he sat up and stood on his knees with Hakuji. Kyojuro scooted closer to him as he put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Now, I want you to fit both of us in your mouth. Think you can do that?" Leaving both (Y/N) and Hakuji's faces having the ideal color of blood covering their face and ears.

If they were in some sort of animation, blood would be spewing out of their noses like as if they were in a show that had nothing but fan service. "O... O-okay..." (Y/N) grabs both Hakuji and Kyojuro's shafts, as she softly pumps both of them, moves closer to them, opens her mouth, and shoves both of them into her mouth. Her face was scrunched up as her lips were hurting a little due to it stretching as she attempted to bob her head with her mouth full. Kyojuro looked at Hakuji who was focused on (Y/N) performing the action.

Hakuji quickly realized that Kyojuro was looking at him as he uttered, "What?" Kyojuro tried to cup his cheek, but he slightly recoiled back. "The hell are you doing?" He said, sounding a little bit concerned about Kyojuro trying to touch his face. "I just want to feel your skin. To be honest, I never knew how cute you looked up close. I knew you were attractive, but being this cute to a degree, how has no man or woman tried to fall for you?" He asks Hakuji, leaving him very flustered and a little conflicted. He then cups Hakuji's cheek this time and started to lean closer to Hakuji. He realizes this, and tries to move back, but for some reason, his body feels weak. The closer Kyojuro got to his face, the more he felt like a stiff in the physical sense.

His mouth was gaped open and Kyojuro closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side as they both locked lips together. Hakuji puts his hand on Kyojuro's abdomen, feeling his toned muscles as they slowly move their tongues together and moan into each other's mouths. The sounds of them breathing through their nose, along with the sound of their lips disconnecting and reconnecting made their minds blank for a couple of seconds as they were passionately kissing.

Eventually, they stopped, a string of saliva stretching between them as Kyojuro stroked his pink hair and said, "You're so adorable." Making Hakuji pout and say, "S-Shut up..." he stutters out as he feels his shaft twitch again, only this time he feels more sensitive. Kyojuro feels the same as he says, "You feel it too, r-right?" Hakuji nodded as he responded, "Yeah..."

They both put their hands on (Y/N)'s head, and started to softly thrust their hips together into her mouth, the sounds of her whimpering as it felt like her lips were being stretched beyond capabilities. She clamped her eyes closed as she couldn't do anything but take their shafts in her mouth. Both of the boy's breaths started to sound louder as their rods were twitching more and more frantically than before. "Fucking... g-gonna..." Hakuji utters out as his eyes are struggling to be open. "Me too..." Kyojuro concurred with Hakuji as he grabbed his chin, and kissed his lips again as they moved their hips faster.

The sound of (Y/N)'s gagging and her saliva being mashed with their tips touching together as they make a few more thrusts before they both make a sound of a stern groan as they release themselves into her mouth. Her mouth was coated with their warm milk, spurting out thick ropes each more powerful than the last. They both stopped kissing and moved their hips back to see the aftermath of what they'd done. Her chin was covered in the mix of spit, and their seed as her mouth was almost full of their cum.

She opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue to give them the full display, making Hakuji feel a little grossed out, but Kyojuro is a bit prideful about his actions. She closed her mouth and attempted to swallow the remains of their seed, almost spat it out for how slimy it was, but endured as she swallowed it and heavily panted.

Hakuji was shocked while Kyojuro had a big smile on her face as Hakuji said, "You didn't have to swallow it..." and Kyojuro responded, "Maybe she didn't want to spill it on the bed. It would've been a tough stain to get rid of if it were the case." He said, laughing after he said that. Hakuji groans as he then feels (Y/N) stroke his sensitive shaft. "H-Hey, don't touch me like that. I need to recover before you—" Next thing he knew, (Y/N) pulled him down to where he was on top of her, and his still erect shaft was aiming at her entrance.

They both switched positions where they were lying on their sides but still facing each other as Hakuji's shaft was grazing (Y/N)'s wet lips. "(Y/N)... You—" Hakuji was abruptly silenced by her as she connected her lips against his, tasting her tongue that still had the aftertaste of their spunk. She then whimpers as she moves her hips and feels his rod slowly going inside her. She was already so drenched down there, that she didn't notice the pain of her hymen breaking.

She then started to roll her hips, causing Hakuji to groan as they both stopped kissing each other and he looked down. He saw his shaft was nowhere to be seen but was completely inside of her as she continued to roll her hips to make him move. He then looked back up at (Y/N), whose face was completely sex drunk, yearning for stimulation and euphoria, and wrapped his arms around her waist as he started to thrust his hips. She mewled at the feeling of his shaft going in and out of her, causing her body to feel weak as she laid her head on her chest and started to moan.

"Th-This... is what you wanted... right? You just wanted to make sweet love to me...?" He said, sounding breathless as he was thrusting his hips. "Y-Yes... That's all I e-ever wanted to do..." she trembled out as she began to peck his body from his pecs, his neck, and his chin. He held her tighter with his forearms as they both kissed their lips and softly bumped their heads together. Both closed their eyes as they focused on the sound and the pleasure of their genitalia meeting against each other.

As Hakuji was thrusting his hips, he felt Kyojuro's hand touching his rear and circling his hand on him as he was caressing him. "You're really firm here. What type of exercises do you do to reach such glutes?" He said, giving him a soft slap as he then moved his hand down on his right cheek and spread it out. He sees his whole was a light pink color, and not a single hair was visible. "Wow, you're even clean here as well. Are you trying to impress your significant other? If so, you've already accomplished it."

"T-The hell are you—" Hakuji couldn't finish his sentence as he felt Kyojuro's tip slowly going inside his pink hole, slowly widening his walls as he filled him inch by inch. He felt his muscles tense up, including his asshole that was constricting around Kyojuro's shaft. Kyojuro softly groans as he kisses Hakuji's shoulder and whispers, "Relax, Hakuji. You feel really tight right now and I don't want to cause you any pain as I move." He continued to give Hakuji pecks on his shoulder. Hakuji's breath was trembling, trying to reduce the pain down by taking deep breaths and trying to focus on (Y/N) and instead of Kyojuro.

She started to roll her hips again, which gave him a better chance for him to forget about the pain as her insides felt so warm and slimy. "J-Just like that..." he huskily uttered as he kissed her forehead. As soon as he kissed her forehead, Kyojuro's hand grabbed his chin and he made him turn his head around, and they both kissed each other. Their tongues intertwined with each other without a second thought as Kyojuro touched down on his body. They both stop as Kyojuro asks him, "Feeling better?" caressing his face as he says so.

The slight blush on his face rose as he said, "Did you have to say it like that? Yeah, I'm better now. You can move... I guess." Kyojuro softly smirked as he pecked Hakuji's cheek and started to thrust his hips. Kyojuro groaned while Hakuji moaned from the feeling of his thick shaft going in and out of his tight bussy.

He continued to move his hips in unison with him, multiplying the pleasure of getting fucked by Kyojuro and fucking (Y/N) by twelve. Felt his prostate getting pressed through every thrust, making sounds that were almost like whimpers. "Oh, f-fuck this feels good..." Hakuji spat out, showing acceptance of the pleasure of his ass getting stretched out. (Y/N) lets out a shaky mewl as her insides started to get tighter around Hakuji's cock.

Hakuji firmly gropes (Y/N)'s ass as he lets out a soft growl in response to (Y/N)'s sudden tightness. He squeezes both of her cheeks as she moans out, "H-Hakuji..." And lays her head on his shoulder. She stopped moving her hips, leaving Hakuji in complete control of her as he then positioned his hands onto her hindquarters, and made her move. Mainly because it felt like he was going deeper inside her as they were moving their hips together. Kyojuro then kissed her, cupping his cheeks as he was continuously thrusting into Hakuji.

They both stopped as Kyojuro said, "You two deserve each other." Caressing her scalp with his thumb. He then started to thrust rougher, making Hakuji recoil as he couldn't help but yelp from every thrust. His body jolted every time Kyojuro left the tip in and slammed back all the way, hitting his prostate with such force that it gave him maximum stimulation. Moans began to leak out of his mouth as he was now his hips were being pushed by Kyojuro, all while maintaining his grip on (Y/N)'s waist.

Kyojuro was grunting with every thrust he did, and it made his body feel light, as if someone behind him was thrusting against him as well. (Y/N) began to let out loud whimpers as she wrapped her arms around Hakuji and she stuttered out, "I-I'm... getting c-close..." Hakuji and Kyojuro were a little surprised that (Y/N) was about to finish first. It was honestly a miracle none of the boys were the ones to do it first, but they felt prideful about it.

Kyojuro continued to move his hips as Hakuji was making her move faster as her voice started to sound more shaky. Her body was covered in sweat as her breathing became more frantic and her insides became tighter. Tighter enough for Hakuji to grit his teeth and say, "Don't clamp so tight..." "I-I'm, s-sorry... I can't..." She couldn't finish her sentence as she let out a soundless gasp as she felt her fluids flowing out of her, and running down his shaft.

Hakuji's shaft and pelvis were now drenched from her bust, and now was hearing such squishy and lewd sounds every time Kyojuro pushed his hips forward. (Y/N) was now a shaking mess, her body jolting at random as well making random yelps every time she felt Hakuji hit her cervix. She kisses Hakuji, tears running down her face as her breathing was very shaky. Hakuki softly groans in her mouth as he takes one of his hands that were on her ass, and courses it up to her cheek as they both twirl their tongues around, exchanging their saliva as they distance themselves so they can let their tongues do the work.

Hakuji's breath suddenly hitched as they kissed, his shaft twitching more frantically, as he felt his balls getting tight as he was about to release again. "I think... I might not last long..." he said, his voice sounding tireless as he nuzzled his head on (Y/N)'s chest. He started to move his hips in unison with Kyojuro as he used all the strength he had to go all out onto (Y/N)'s sensitive cunt, and Kyojuro moaned as he felt his hole become tighter. Kyojuro softly laughs as he says, "Wow, you want me to cum too, huh? Well, I am more than willing to oblige a request like this." He then bit down on Hakuji's shoulder, not hard enough to make him bleed, but enough to give him stimulation.

Kyojuro could feel his asshole constrict every time he thrust and hit his prostate. Hakuji clenched his eyes and teeth, struggling to hold back from finishing too early. His sweat streaked down his nose and chin as his heart was becoming louder in his ears. He bites his lip as he moves his hips fast enough to where he is like a piston, making (Y/N)'s moans reverberate from his pace. I can't... hold on... he tried to hold on as long as he could, but one sudden powerful thrust from Kyojuro was enough to break him down.

His shaft started to throb, and quickly enough, he slipped out of her and ejaculated on her stomach, on his chest, and on the bedsheets due to how powerful his spurts were. He lets out a runoff whine as he exhales out a loud, "Fuck..." He felt his arms slip off of (Y/N)'s back and waist as it felt like all his muscles shut down as he continued to take Kyojuro's shaft.

Kyojuro detaches his teeth from Hakuji's shoulder, looking at the bite mark that he caused as he says, "Wow, looks like I have the superior stamina." He chuckles out before grunting as he feels his shaft twitching. "But, I might not last long as well." He formed a smile on his face as he clenched his eyes closed and pumped himself a few more times before pulling out and shooting his white, sticky strings onto Hakuji's back.

Hakuji softly moaned at the sudden vacancy of his hole no longer being stuffed by Kyojuro's thick rod, but shivered when he felt his hot ropes on his back. He then felt the bed softly bounce as Kyojuro made his way to the bathroom and grabbed a roll of toilet paper. The sounds of the roll being ripped as he folded them up and started to clean his back. He put Hakuji on his back as he then started to clean off (Y/N)'s stomach and threw the used pieces of paper away.

"H-Hey, my chest is still covered in my cum. Shouldn't you clean that too?" Hakuji said, confused about why he put the roll back into the bathroom. "Oh no, I know. We just wanted to see what it would taste like as we clean it." He said as he picks up (Y/N) and then they started to lick his cum covered chest. Hakuji couldn't help but stare at them licking the cum off of him, along with the fact they were both taking their time while doing so.

Unfortunately it wasn't much for them as they both finished cleaning him and so they tongue kissed to savor the flavor of his spunk. Once they finished, they laid on his chest and immediately went to sleep. Hakuji looks up at the ceiling as he thought, This really just happened. I feel like if I were to tell the others about this, they wouldn't believe me. If that is the case, I might as well just keep it to myself. He looks at both of them, Kyojuro having a smirk on his face while (Y/N) was nuzzling on his neck, he grabbed the comforter and covered themselves with it as he puts his arms on them and went to sleep.

06-17-24 - Well, this could've been better. I think we can all agree that the first half of this sucked ass, right? There's no need to deny it, I know the first half sucked. To be honest, I wasn't really feeling the best writing this, but I had to make up something. If you enjoyed this, awesome. If you didn't, I can always find to please you.

Anyway, take care, and until next time,

✌️👋❤️.

[gofishygo]

i know this is pretty niche in terms of topic, but i just want a strings orchestra conductor! john price n first chair violinist! reader.. (definitions below bottom banner)

price of the burningham royal string orchestra has the unfortunate habit of losing his first chair.

his first victim was johnny mactavish- an ex military- just like him. sharp mouthed and witty, with an obnoxious mohawk that the man had sworn he would tear right off of his head. but what had stuck out to him the most was his passion for his arts running far less silently than price's had, even in the old days from before he had started conducting. but after an incident dug out from his sas days had left him half deaf, with a starburst shot on the side of his head and bad blood to be cleaned, he had bid farewell to soap.

and next in line was kyle garrick, who had shared a desk with johnny. unlike soap, who was sharp, loud, a serenade written in baroque times, kyle was much more snide with his work. charming, and gentle, in all the right ways- he'd guided you to your desk with a gentle hand on the small of your back in your early days- but as price's successor, had coined his conductor's ability to lay a heavy hand, a sharp look when needed. but kyle, he has his own fatal flaw; he often finds himself entangled in brilliant melodies, lost in his own interpretation of every piece of repertoire. and soon, that leads him to conducting an orchestra of his own, taking on the studies of a musician like price had, and leaving the first chair cold.

but unlike other fleeting faces, johnny and kyle only fill out two of the four he'd bothered to remember. because he remembers bringing out a hand to first cellist simon for a few months since kyle's transfer, the shadow and backbone of his orchestra.

and he also remembers you.

you, with your pretty face and nervous expression as you had ducked your ways through the chairs and stands in your first days as a violinist under the burningham's string orchestra- and the sparks that had flickered behind doe eyes. even then, you had always had some sort of bratty rebuttal hidden under the tonal qualities of your violin- the way you would glare at him with quiet concern when he would slip marlboro cigarette between his lips in the small breaks during rehearsals, how you would look up at him and promptly play your own, quieter interpretation of the repertoire you gave him. your silent determination- it takes up space in the sounds of his own viola, fills the gaps of what he has longed for during lonely nights. it is your quiet, ingenious spark, and the wisdom behind your eyes that makes him offer you the first chair with a firm tap of your shoulder after rehearsal, the quiet liverpool drawl of his voice inviting you to his office for a chat. it is not the sparkle in your eyes when you focus, the fluster that you try and fail to hide when he attempts conversation with you, how perfectly he imagines your face would fit in the palms of his hands. it is not that at all, he thinks, he lies.

but behind the closed doors of his own office, whatever bubbles in his chest can no longer be fought off by the low hum of whiskey or the pleasant fuzz of tobacco in his veins with you- such a lovely songbird- trapped in his cage. and he simply cannot help it, with the melodies that escape your lips in between his kisses.

so now, you finally sit in the first chair that he knows you have worked so hard to deserve- and you also lay in the arms of the man who has managed to entangle you- wholly, truly, melodically.

first chair- usually, first chair in violin 1 is considered a very prestigious seat in any string orchestra. they act as musical leaders, tune the orchestra, and work very closely with the conductor. them, and the conductor (and guest of honor), usually take bows at the end of a performance.

conductor- a person who directs an orchestra. i dont know what else to say girl

*a strings orchestra will usually consist of instruments: violin, viola, cello, and double/alto bass.

[shiny-jr]

I know you probably don't want to talk about this anymore, but I'm still really curious. Genshin Natlan characters have been revealed, and I want to know your opinion

Taking a long sigh. The fact that you seem hesitant to ask this means you probably have an idea of what my response would be like. Just so I don't have to end up making multiple posts about this topic, I'm gonna try to include everything here. If I forget something and someone asks later, I might be willing to address it.

So, heads up. This is a long rant. Shiny rants. Disclaimer, I am Mexican-American, so I believe I have some say on some of the cultures involved in this fiasco. Some of them, not all. That being said, I'll try to handle the others with as much respect as possible, but forgive me if I make a mistake somewhere.

I stopped playing genshin when Sumeru was announced. Despite me not having any affiliation with the cultures represented by Sumeru, I remember being livid as some of y'all might recall. So, let's start off with:

THE AMALGAMATION OF CULTURES. This meaning how very weird it is that somehow the european/east asian cultures get their own distinct nation dedicated to one sole peoples while brown/black cultures get meshed into one unrecognizable figure. Mondstadt is based off Germany, Liyue is based off China, Inazuma is based off Japan, Fontaine is based off France. On the other hand, Sumeru is a mix of south asia, the middle east, and north africa while Natlan takes that a step further by involving Incan, Mayan, Maori, Yoruban, and Hopi cultures (of what we know so far).

Why are all these other nations so carefully crafted and picked, but it feels as if for Natlan and Sumeru, the developers put up a map and grabbed some darts, then decided to use whatever culture wherever a handful of darts landed on the board? In the way they're handling it, it feels like these cultures are nothing but an accessory to them. An excuse to make these "exotic" looking characters, but not even make them properly due to the horrible designs and lack of melanin (these are two topics I will come back to).

It feels like they got lazy, and/or they clearly don't care enough to do in depth research properly as they might've done with past nations. The best example I've seen of this is Yunjin and Ororon. Yunjin is a beautiful example of a character done right and respectfully, as she is meant to be a Chinese opera singer. They even went so far as to hire an actual Chinese opera singer for a song she performs in-game. However, Ororon takes the name of "Olorun" which is a Yoruban deity, but when you look at this character's design, there is nothing that would even hint towards the fact that he's meant to be African.

This brings me to the second part, CULTURE AS COSTUMES. As mentioned previously, nothing about this Ororon character portrays the fact that he's meant to be African. NOTHING. If you do not know what he looks like, the character named after a Yoruban god is quite literally just a pale anime boy in edgy clothing and has some type of dog/cat/animal ears. I am not joking. That is what he looks like. If you don't believe me, look it up.

Do you know what the saddest part about all this is? It's the fact that I guarantee you, sometime in the future when Ororon appears in-game, gets his own quest, then his own banner, all that jazz, the chances of images of him appearing when you look up Olorun are high. In fact, when Sumeru was announced, I vividly remember doing research on the characters there were announced, such as Al-Haitham. When you looked up the name Al-Haitham then, google showed an Islamic astronomer. However, if you look up the name now, you immediately get builds and character guides and art of genshin's Al-Haitham, which is horrible when you really think about it. Because the same thing happened to Dehya (a Berber warrior queen), and it's about to happen to Kachina (Hopi spirits), Kinich (Mayan Sun God), Mualani (a princess of Hawaii), etc.

When you look at these characters, Natlan and Sumeru included, most of their designs don't even look as if they're portraying a culture. For now, I'll focus on Natlan.

Kinich is supposed to be Mayan, however, nothing about his design is giving Latino or indigenous Mayan. As a Mexican, I should be able to look at him and say, 'hey, he looks kinda like me or my cousins! Oh, I recognize those patterns, or that type of footwear/shirt/pants/headwear.' SOMETHING to that degree, but if you had shown me him and I didn't know, I would have never guessed.

Another infuriating design is Murata, the pyro archon. Tell me why does she look like a futuristic biker girl instead of a Maori/Polynesian warrior? The level of disrespect, ESPECIALLY because according to what I've gathered, her name is based off an actual entity/deity.

Time to point out the obvious, and I'm gonna say it but WHY ARE THEY WHITE? Yes, I know the argument about how not everyone from latino/arab cultures is brown, I know. But not everyone is white either, so please, get over it. If the entirety of Fontaine can be white because they're French, by that same logic, wouldn't it makes sense to make the entirety of Natlan brown/black because they're indigenous/african?

It lies well within hoyo's abilities to include colored characters. They have millions of dollars and they say they want a global audience, they just don't do it because there is major colorism there. Saying "but they're a Chinese company!" is no excuse either, because then that would be automatically classifying them as ignorant of anything outside of China when they clearly are not if they utilize strong elements of hip-hop and jazz (both with origins in African American communities) in their other games, want to pick these cultures like accessories on a shelf, and make brown/black npc enemies with locs and other poc features. I won't immediately jump to blaming the designers either, because it's probably that they have tried presenting ideas that do actually cater to the wider audience and poc people, but they were most likely turned down by higher-ups.

Anyways, I've been typing this for a while now and my mind is blanking. I'm sure I had more to say but I currently cannot remember it. I'm glad people are FINALLY speaking out against this, it's about time and actually late because the outrage around this should've happened back in Sumeru but better late than never.

If you don't agree with me or my takes on this, don't even bother trying to look for a response because I'm not gonna argue about this. That's about it for now though.

[wintaerbaer]

things we don’t say: part 1 (kth)

banner credit goes to the absolutely incredible @itaeewon

summary: Three years after graduating college, everything seems to be falling into place for you: stable job, cozy apartment, and a long-term boyfriend with a ring box hidden in his desk drawer. But when a mutual friend makes a remark that your best friend of nearly two decades is clearly in love with you, you realize that life may not be as simple as it seems.

pairing: Taehyung x Reader (with some VERY brief Seokjin x Reader and Yoongi x Reader)

rating: 18+ (minors dni)

genres: best friends to lovers, idiots to lovers (they’re so, SO stupid), slooooow burn, angst, fluff

word count: 8.4k

series warnings: swearing, sexual themes, one instance of mild violence, alcohol use, infidelity, brief mentions of neglectful parents and alcoholism

chapter warnings: potty mouths, oc teasingly threatens her friends, art world inaccuracies (probably, idk how art shows work), fns music festival dynamite performance taehyung (BLESSED), friends who can’t mind their own business, quick backstory on the aforementioned shitty parenting, oc needs (and has) a drink

a/n: so here is my first foray back into writing after being out of the game for several years! big shout outs to @itaeewon​ / @jeonqkooks​ for the banner and encouragement as well as @taegularities​ for giving me writing advice and letting me cry in her inbox every time i got frustrated with this. they’re also both INCREDIBLE writers so go show them some love once you’re done here!

 SERIES MASTERLIST // MASTERLIST

Read on ao3

“She was checking you out.”

“She was not checking me out.”

“Kim Taehyung, she was so checking you out!”

“No.”

“She tucked her hair behind her ear and gave you the ‘come hither’ head tilt.”

Taehyung makes a face. “No one says that anymore, and that’s a perfectly normal gesture to make in everyday conversation.”

“When you want to get someone’s pants off.”

He shushes you, eyes flicking over to the nearby tables in the mostly-empty dining room with all of its dim lights and dark wood paneling. The bar had been a go-to for you and your friends in college, boasting a wide variety of burgers, sandwiches, and wraps that could even satisfy Jungkook and his bottomless appetite. Though your visits have become fewer and farther in between after graduation, nostalgia occasionally drags you back for a lunch or round of late-night drinks, which is how you’ve wound up here on a bright Saturday afternoon.

“You should ask for her number.”

“I am not asking her for her num—!”

“Can I get you anything?”

Taehyung’s face turns bright red as the waitress materializes at the side of your table as if on cue. It’s subtle, but she bats her eyelashes at him, body angled in his direction as if you’re not even there. You raise an eyebrow at him from across the table. See?

“I think we’re ready to order,” you say, mostly to put Taehyung out of his misery as he wordlessly stammers at the blonde.

You’d think he’s never seen a girl before in his life.

The waitress jots your orders down before strolling away in the direction of the kitchen, and you’d swear she’s swinging her hips a little more dramatically than before. You turn towards Taehyung.

“Told you.”

“I said no,” he says sheepishly, cheeks still brushed with pink. “Besides, she looks like she’s probably still in college.”

“You look like you’re probably still in college.” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “And we’re not that old, Tae. You could date a college student.”

“Pass.”

You sigh, leaning back in your seat. “Fine, but we still need to find you a date to the wedding. Can’t let those youthful good looks go to waste.”

Taehyung huffs in faux annoyance, but his lips quirk up at the compliment. “I’m not bringing a date.”

“So you say, but I’m going to change your mind.”

His smile widens. “Oh, really?”

“Really.” You hold out a pinky, and he only hesitates a moment before linking his with yours.

“Okay, we’ll see.”

You fall into one of your usual conversation patterns as you ask about how his job is going. He tells you about the upcoming art show at the gallery where he works as a curator, doing some freelance photography as a side gig. He’d managed to snag Maya, one of the aforementioned friends, a spot in it, and he smiles as he gushes over how great her pieces turned out, cheeks lightly flushed with what you interpret as pride. The two of them met freshman year as photography majors and quickly developed into friends and partners, challenging each other artistically and now occasionally teaming up to shoot larger weddings and events.

It makes pride warm your own belly, seeing him flourish and succeed in the field he had always dreamed of. Photography had been an outlet for him throughout high school, a vital reprieve from the insulated struggles of your shared childhood. Taehyung has never been a negative person, never weighed down in spite of the home life which would have given him every justifiable reason to become jaded. Still, you’d watched a new light bloom in him after he discovered photography as if the camera lens truly gave him a fresh way of seeing the world.

And you’ve always loved seeing happiness spill from your best friend.

Your food is just being brought to the table when Jimin comes shuffling up in a zombie-like trance, eyes wide and mouth slack.

"Finally made i—woah, are you alright?"

Jimin drops into a seat, glazed eyes fixated on the window overlooking the street.

"Maya and Kook are hooking up."

Taehyung chokes on his drink, water spraying onto his plate, while your jaw hits the floor.

"They're what?!"

"What the fuck?!"

Jimin works his jaw before wiping his hands over his face, "Yup."

You and Taehyung gape at him.

"What in the name of God would make you say that?" you ask emphatically, just as Taehyung says, "They hate each other."

"I don't know. Probably because I just caught her straddling him on our couch half-naked. But it’s just a feeling."

"Oh my God, we don't need to know that!"

"Our couch?!"

Jimin scrubs a hand over his face again as if he could wipe the image from his brain. “Yeah, I…can’t say I’m entirely surprised, but, Jesus, I did not need to see that with my own two eyes.”

“Okay, wait, wait,” you say, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to clear your thoughts. “You’re sure it was Maya—not another one of his random hook-ups?”

“You think I don’t know what she looks like?” Jimin asks, pulling a face. “Look, she stopped by to grab some camera equipment Tae left for her and said she was going to hang around for a minute to wait for an Uber. I was already late for here so I left, but I forgot my wallet. When I went back they were…compromised. And I didn’t exactly stick around to interrogate them.” He frowns again, turning to Taehyung. “Speaking of, can you cover me for lunch?”

“This is unreal. Fucking unreal,” you fume. “I’m going to kill them.”

“Is it really all that surprising?” Jimin asks. “Somewhere in all of their bickering and nagging and constant frowning at each other was always some thinly-veiled sexual tension.” When you glare at him, he adds, “Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t sleep with her.”

“That’s not the problem, Chim. You know how this shit goes.” You rub a thumb between your eyes, trying to ease the sudden tension there. “They already fight all the time, and sex only ever complicates things. How long until this blows up and we’re forced to choose sides?”

And that’s the crux of your worry—a disaster seems inevitable. Maya and Jungkook have always been clear about their bare tolerance of each other, seeing it as a necessary evil for the benefit of the rest of your friendships. And while their arguments and bickering have been relatively muted in recent years after you, Taehyung, and Jimin had put down a collective foot and told them you were tired of hearing their shit, you are not eager to see them test the fragile thread that links all of you.

You’ve dealt with enough instability regarding the people in your life; the last thing you need is more.

The waitress comes up to take Jimin’s order while Taehyung studies you as you press the heels of your palms to your eyes.

“Hey,” he says as the waitress walks off again, a hand sliding across the table in your direction but not quite making it there. “No one is getting divorced or anything. Just talk to Maya first. We really don’t even know what’s going on here.”

Jimin lets out a puff of air. “I do. He had his hand up her—” He shuts his mouth as both you and Taehyung shoot daggers at him.

After a moment, your fingers tap absent-mindedly over your phone. “Yeah, I guess I’ll talk to her tonight. We’re supposed to go dress shopping for the art show.”

“Gotta get something nice for Jace?” Jimin asks, wiggling an eyebrow. You smirk back at him.

“No, he can’t make it. Work has him putting in overtime like crazy for their annual convention in a few weeks.”

“How is he doing—Jace?” Taehyung asks. His tone is light, but as Jimin turns to look at him, he notices his hand on the table had closed into a fist.

“He’s good,” you say, the tension finally melting out of your face as your eyes light up. “He’s been incredibly upbeat lately, actually—more romantic even.” There’s a pause as you hesitate. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was going to…you know.” You wave faintly with your left hand.

Jimin’s eyes go wide. “You think he’s planning to pro—” You quickly press a finger over your lips, and Jimin slaps a hand to his thigh. “Fuck yes! About damn time. Hey,” he settles his face in his palm and stares off dreamily. “Can I be your maid of honor?” Then, when you giggle, “Don’t laugh. I would look great in a dress.”

“I’ll put you on the short list,” you say, turning towards your food as Jimin pumps a fist. “But no more talk about that. I’ve waited damn long enough and do not want to jinx it.”

Taehyung’s knuckles had gone white.

“It’s really none of your business,” Maya says, picking up a bright purple, thigh-length dress off the rack and holding it up to her shoulders. “How about this one?”

“Too short.” She puts it back. “And I beg to differ. When something stands to get between two of my best friends who I care about deeply, I think that makes it my business.” When Maya doesn’t say anything, still nonchalantly flipping through dresses, you press on. “You know this can’t end well, right? You’re adding sex to an already volatile relationship, and I don’t like the idea of the friend group having to split if and when the two of you implode.”

“First of all, we’re not your damn parents. Kook may be a walking man child, but the rest of us are mature adults. We’d figure it out,” Maya says. She holds up a green gown, frowns, and returns it. Turning towards you, she quirks an eyebrow. “Second of all, who says that this morning was the first time?”

Your jaw drops. As you stand speechless, Maya resumes her dress perusal.

“Wha—how long?” you finally choke out.

“Ooh, this is pretty.” Maya pulls out a deep red cocktail dress, silver roses adorning the fabric. Catching the look on your face, she says, “Two years, give or take.”

“Two—!” you squeak before shaking your head. “No. No fucking way. You two can barely be in the same room for two minutes let alone sleep together for two years.”

Maya smirks. “Turns out he can do much better things with his mouth when he’s not using it to talk out of his ass.”

“Maya, oh my God!”

“What? You wanted to make it your business, right?”

You take a breath to steady yourself. “Look, I am just worried about you guys, okay? That’s it. You’re two of my best friends, and I don’t want to see anyone get hurt. And I certainly don’t want to be put into a situation where I have to choose between you.”

“That won’t happen,” Maya says, trailing off towards a dressing room. “For someone to get hurt, there’d have to be actual feelings involved, and the only feeling he gives me is a migraine.” She slips into a changing stall while you lean against the wall, still trying to wrap your head around what you’re hearing.

“Besides,” Maya’s voice sounded from behind the curtain, “Jimin only found out because of his stupid wallet, and he notices everything. If we could fool him for that long with no problems…” She pulls the curtain back. The red fabric of the dress hugs her hips, her dark hair draped over one shoulder. “How do I look?”

“Gorgeous, as usual,” you say. And then, because you can’t help it, “I’m sure Kook will love it.”

Maya rolls her eyes. “Oh, please.” She steps back into the stall and yanks the curtain closed again. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just…weird.”

“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” Maya says over the shuffling of clothes. “Nothing changed during the two years when you guys didn’t know and nothing has to change now.”

Maybe she’s right, you think to yourself, resting your head back and closing your eyes to the bright fluorescents above you. Maybe everything would be fine. Jungkook, in spite of his cocky playboy persona, may be a big teddy bear at heart, but you’ve never known him to mix emotions with pleasure. And Maya is certainly capable of handling herself.

Still, the whole thing just reeks of disaster waiting to happen.

The sun has just started its descent when the two of you step out of the shop, Maya now carrying a long white bag along with her. You pause for a moment, taking a slow inhale of the soft spring air. This is probably your favorite time of day, when the whole city is tinted gold, the push of the foot traffic slowing to a lazier pace as college students and businessmen alike meander their way to dinners and evening plans.

“Do you want to do dinner at my place?” Maya asks, starting to move in the direction of her apartment as you trail at her side. “I was planning on trying this new pot roast recipe, and I’d rather not get stuck with too many leftovers.”

“Ooh, that sounds good,” you say. “I’m in.”

“You just have to promise to stop looking so constipated.”

You let out a puff of a laugh. “I’m sorry—I really don’t mean to meddle.” You purse your lips. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“I know, you said that already,” Maya sighs. “But we’re all grown-ups, Y/N. I know you mean well, but you’ve gotta loosen up the reins a little bit.”

“Whatever. As long as I don’t have to walk in on you guys like Jimin did.” You chew the inside of your cheek. “And just…be careful.”

Maya rolls her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that day. She knows your heart is in a good place—the stereotypical “mom friend” just looking out for everyone—but your own blind spot drives her crazy.

You insist that you don’t truly mean to meddle. Maya, however, has no such qualms.

“You know,” she says, smirking at you with a sideways glance. “If you’re really worried about someone getting their heart broken, you should spend less time worrying about me and Kook and more time worrying about Tae.”

Your steps slow, frown lines gradually forming on your face. “Tae? What about Tae?” You pause. “He and Luna broke up months ago. He said he was over her.”

They were barely together a year, but the relationship had been the longest of Taehyung’s life. He’d spent the two weeks following the breakup locked in his room while you juggled both making sure he was alright and moving into a new apartment.

Maya gestures to the bag in her hands. “Don’t stop walking. This thing is a bitch to carry.”

As you jog a few steps to catch up, you ask, “Why? Did he say something to you?”

“Oh, please.” Another eyeroll. “He was never into Luna. It’s a wonder they even lasted as long as he did.”

“Then who?”

“C’mon, Y/N.”

“Maya, I genuinely have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”

It’s Maya’s turn to stop in her tracks this time, passerby giving the two of you dirty looks as they swerve around you. She pins you with a pointed expression that has you blinking back at her. “What?”

Maya only continues to stare, tilting her head and biting her tongue until you finally put the pieces together. Your eyes going wide before you shake your head vigorously.

“No. No. You’re wrong.”

Maya scoffs and continues walking. “Uh-huh.”

“I’ve told you this before. We’re just comfortable with each other. He’s my—”

“Best friend who has made heart eyes at you the entire time I’ve known you two.”

“He does not. He looks at me like he’s always looked at me.”

“Exactly.”

“I—need I remind you that I’m in a committed relationship?”

“So? That doesn’t affect his feelings.”

“Tae has dated plenty of girls.”

“And with much success, obviously.”

You hesitate. “It’s not his fault that they all—”

“See how he looks at you and decide not to waste their time?”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Sure it is.”

“You’re misreading it. It’s just that we have history.”

“And chemistry. And while we’re rattling off school subjects the two of you share, I’m sure he’d be willing to help you with your physical education.”

“Maya.”

“I’m just saying!” She adjusts the bag, the plastic rustling the air. “I just got this sense that something, I don’t know, broke after Luna. I figured he finally realized how hung up on you he is or something, and that’s why he hasn’t dated since.”

The idea of a broken Taehyung squeezes your heart as your frown impossibly deepens. “That’s not…no. That’s definitely not what it was. He’s fine. We’re fine. Everything is fine.”

“Okay. Fine. If you say so.”

The two of you fall into silence, the light crackle of Maya’s bag hanging delicately between you. The sun is starting to dip behind buildings now, stretching long shadows onto the ground in front of you as you turn onto her block. You inhale a long, shaky breath.

Yes, it’s been a while since Taehyung has dated, and yes, this is a little peculiar. He may be your best friend,  but part of that means you’ve watched him grow from awkward kid to gangly teenager to one of the most handsome men you’ve ever laid eyes on. You’re not blind—you’ve seen how it’s unsurprisingly garnered him a good deal of female attention throughout the years (Saturday afternoon was not the first time he’s been hit on by a waitress). And while he’s never been anywhere near Jungkook’s level of playboy, he’s definitely been on his fair share of dates.

You don’t doubt that Maya’s noticed something of a shift in him—after you, she’s probably the person who knows him best. But both you and Taehyung have always insisted that your platonic relationship is, well, entirely platonic. So even if something changed for him, she has to be off base as to the why.

Right?

“Maya—”

“Look, I’m not telling you to sleep with him or leave Jace or anything like that. Just…” Maya purses her lips together, blowing air out of her nose. “Step back and look at what you’re doing to him before you lecture the rest of us. The guy is crazy about you, and you’re the only one who doesn’t see it.”

Well.

Shit.

She climbs the steps to her front door, slipping in the key and opening it before turning back to where you remain at the bottom of the stoop fiddling with your purse strap.

“You coming?”

“Um,” you hesitate. Your eyes drift off down the street, mind suddenly racing . “I don’t know. I’m not really hungry anymore.”

Maya’s expression softens. “I didn’t mean to upset you…”

“No, no,” you say with another shake of your head.  “I’m not mad. I just think I want to go home, maybe take a bath.”

“Okay,” Maya slowly responds. “I’ll see you at the show Friday night?”

You smile. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Perhaps, Maya muses as she watches you saunter down the sidewalk, calling you out was not the right move. But the thought only lingers for a moment before she turns with a shrug and goes inside.

It’s Sunday night when you find yourself at the guys’ apartment for your and Taehyung’s weekly meal prep tradition. The ritual is the evolution of several years of having to care for yourselves—a need to eat turned into a sacred bonding activity for two people who had learned to rely on each other.

You and Taehyung met when you were eight-years-old after your teacher had fatefully situated your desks next to each other on the first day of school. A compliment from Taehyung on the color of your pencil case (a bright and bold turquoise) turned into a fast friendship that rapidly deepened as you realized just how similar you were: both only children living in homes with parents who were neglectful in their own ways.

In spite of growing up in a lavish, sparkling house with more rooms than you could count, your childhood was a struggle as your endlessly-busy, high-powered-lawyer parents virtually ignored your existence and left you to your own devices, working late hours every day and oftentimes not even ensuring that you had been properly fed. The mansion had felt like a prison, long hallways and tall ceilings devoid of life, filled with nothing but a terrible sense of loneliness.

That was, at least, until Taehyung showed up.

When either of you had a bad day (which was, admittedly, most days), he would slip away from the tiny, one-bedroom house on the poorer side of town, where his mother had abandoned him to an alcoholic father, and you'd sneak him in the back door (your parents either never noticed or simply didn't care). The two of you would raid the kitchen cabinets for snacks and lug your loot up to your bedroom, where you'd throw together a giant fort made of pillows and blankets with your prized possession at the center—a small globe light with tiny cut-out stars.

You never really talked about your respective situations—there was never really a need to. He saw your non-relationship with your parents firsthand, and you had heard the rumors about his family—whispers at school about the boy with secondhand clothes and a dad who often had to be dragged out of the local bars. The outside world may have been cruel, passing judgment on the both of you (and Taehyung especially) for circumstances outside of your control, but in the comfort of your room, even that fostered your kinship. It was like your own minuscule universe, belonging only to the two of you, and as you munched on your popcorn and watched the soft stars dance across the propped-up fabric, you'd talk and tell each other stories. Stories about anything from kings and queens to pirates to cowboys to astronauts. The only rule was that every tale had to have a happy ending.

As you got older, you traded your storytelling nights for evenings experimenting in the kitchen, sick of gorging yourselves on chips, pretzels, and sodas. Occasionally, once Taehyung purchased his first camera from a secondhand shop with money he saved delivering newspapers, he'd drag you around town for a photoshoot. You’d wander the streets together, helping him to scout out areas for inspiration, and he’d use you as his model to practice portraits and photographing human subjects. This tradition, too, had faded once the two of you escaped your hometown to go to college (you're not sure your parents even realized you had left), as Taehyung began working on class projects with Maya and you started spending more time with Jace. Only your weekly meal prep had persisted.

Your cooking had been a staple during college, you and Taehyung hosting “family dinners” for you and your friends on weekends (usually followed by a good few rounds of drinks), eventually shifting into you making batch meals on Sundays once you’d all graduated and begun working. That was when it had been you who’d lived in this apartment, back before you’d moved in with Jace and Jungkook had taken your place here. Still, even as lifestyles and living arrangements changed, you always wound up cooking with Taehyung on Sunday nights.

“What are mom and dad making tonight?” Jimin trills, reaching over the counter to take a swipe at a baby carrot. You shoo his hand away.

“Nothing, if you keep stealing our ingredients. Aren’t you supposed to be going to the gym?”

“I am, but someone,” he turns to yell over his shoulder, “is taking their sweet ass time getting ready!”

A door clicks open down the hall before Jungkook’s voice yells out, “Calm down, asshole, I’m almost done!” The door slams shut again.

“Such a diva,” Jimin huffs, gaining an edge to pop a carrot into his mouth. You let out a cry of protest.

“Chim, cut it out!” You turn to Taehyung who is at the opposite counter with his back to you, chopping more vegetables. “Tae, stop him.”

Taehyung snorts, not turning around. “That’s my job?”

“You have a knife.”

“Sorry, I’ve taken a vow of nonviolence.”

“Unbelievable,” you mutter as Jimin tries to reach around you again. “Hands off, Park, or I swear to God I will kick you in the balls, and you will not see it coming.”

“Guy’s gotta get some action somehow, am I right?” Jungkook comes striding down the hallway in a tank top and shorts, looking more like he’s ready for a magazine cover shoot than a gym visit as he bounds up to where you and Jimin stand in the kitchen.

“Hey, I get plenty of action!”

“You were literally whining this morning that it’s been three months.”

Jimin flushes. “That’s because I don’t sleep with my friends.”

“Neither do I,” Jungkook says, throwing a wink in your direction as you roll your eyes back at him.

“You’re disgusting. It’s a wonder Maya puts up with you.”

“It’s definitely more of a puts out situation.” He taps his chin thoughtfully. “And not really up? Contrary to what you might expect, she’s usually under—“

“Jeon Jungkook.” Then, when he makes a move to grab a carrot, you turn to Taehyung and snap, “Tae, give me a knife, I’ll stab them myself.”

Barely looking up, he reaches over to grab a knife out of the block, twisting it in his hands to hold it delicately by the blade and offer it to you handle-first. You grip it, only to slam the knife down firmly on its side in front of you, staring down Jimin and Jungkook in a silent challenge. But Jimin merely quirks an eyebrow in silent laughter, while Jungkook lets out a teasing, “Hot.”

You glare and raise the knife to chest level, pointing it at his sternum and trying to muster as much threatening energy as you possibly can in the face of a guy who could bench press you in his sleep. And while his facial expression remains one of passive amusement, he raises his hands in mock surrender and says, "Fine, fine, we're going."

With a sweep of their gym bags, they make their way out, and there's one last, "Save some for us!" from Jimin before the door swings shut behind them.

You sigh. "Idiots."

"But they're our idiots," Taehyung says, and a glance over your shoulder tells you that he's laughing at your frustration, a smile brightening his features and warming your chest.

"Remind me why we adopted them again?"

"You instantly fell for Jimin's puppy dog eyes when he was wandering around lost at orientation, and Kook..." He trails off. "Why did we adopt Kook?"

"School administration made you dorm with him, and we haven't been able to get rid of him since?"

"Oh yeah, that's right."

You fall into a comfortable silence, the only sound being that of your respective knives hitting the cutting board before Taehyung speaks up again.

"Speaking of Kook, you never told me how your conversation with Maya went."

You're thankful you have your back to him because you immediately feel yourself flush, heat shooting up your neck like an erupting volcano. You want to say, Yeah, it went great. She told me that you're desperately in love with me, and I'm the reason why none of your relationships have worked out. But that's ridiculous, right? Right?!

Instead, you do your best to mask your expression into one of relative impassivity and say, “Well, according to her, this isn’t new. They’ve been doing this for two years.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish.”

Taehyung ignores that. “How did none of us ever notice?”

“That’s what I can’t figure out. You’d think we would’ve noticed a change or something, right?”

He’s quiet, and you glance over to see him staring at a distant point out the window, lost in thought, the heel of the knife absentmindedly tapping a beat against the board. Taehyung’s always been introspective—content to sit in contemplation as he slowly works an idea through his mind. He’s thoughtful like that, ever the deliberator and rarely one to act on impulse. You balance each other out in this regard, with you having always been more inclined to break rules as you see fit and Taehyung being there to reel you in as needed.

“Maybe it works for them,” he finally says, and you feel your eyebrows shoot halfway up your forehead.

“You can’t seriously think this is a good idea.”

He shrugs, attention drawn back to the vegetables in front of him. “It hasn’t caused a problem yet, right?”

“The operative word there being yet.”

He shrugs again, brows tilting together. “I’m just saying that they’re both consenting adults, and if it’s gone this long without any catastrophes, maybe it really is a good arrangement for both of them.”

“It’s Maya and Kook. They’re always a catastrophe.”

“Exactly. They’d probably have an eventual falling out even if they weren’t sleeping together, so who knows? Maybe it actually helps them work some of that tension off.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“I didn’t say it was healthy.” He finishes chopping his last onion and sets his knife down, crossing the kitchen to check your own progress. Reaching over you, he grabs a piece of carrot and slips it into his mouth, grinning when you frown at him. “Really, Y/N, what can you do?”

“I know, but they’re…they’re the closest thing to family that we have. You know that.”

“Families can be dysfunctional. We both know that.” He munches on another carrot. “I’d still take them over my biological family any day.”

When that still doesn’t seem to entirely placate you, he reaches out to squeeze your shoulder, the tips of his fingers brushing the base of your neck and raising goosebumps there, before he slides his hand down to loop your pinkies together. “What will happen will happen. Don’t let it worry you unnecessarily.” Then he’s off heating up oil on the stove.

Normally, the brief touch would have barely registered in your mind—a simple gesture you had gotten into the habit of using when you were kids to provide reassurance. But it’s like your conversation with Maya has been inked under your skin, recoloring your perspective on the single-most steadfast relationship you’ve ever had in your life.

You hate it.

The oil begins to bubble on the stove, but Taehyung is distracted, rummaging around the refrigerator for something, so you take over, dumping in the beef that will help form the base for the soup. You throw in some seasoning, poking at the meat with a spoon and willing it to brown.

“So you’re really not interested in dating again?”

The words slip out, and the contents of the pot pop angrily at you.

Yeah, you might regret this later.

“Hmm?” Taehyung closes the fridge, cracking open the beer that’s now in his hand.

You curse your loose tongue under your breath. “Just…the other day at lunch. You were so against asking that waitress for her number.”

“She wasn’t my type.”

“And you don’t want to bring a date to the wedding.”

“I’d only bring a long-term girlfriend to a wedding. Less of a chance we’d have to edit her out of pictures later.”

“And how many dates have you been on since Luna? It’s been what, almost a full year?”

His brow scrunches, and the way he’s studying you makes you blush. “Why the sudden interest in my love life?”

You stare determinedly into the soup pot, trying to look nonchalant. “You’re my best friend, and I want to see you happy. Of course I’m interested.”

He props his hip against the counter in thought and takes a long drag of beer before he answers you. “I thought after Luna that it would be best if I take some time to focus on myself before diving back in. That’s all.”

“She really did a number on you, huh?”

“Something like that.”

You poke at the beginnings of your soup, memories of an absolutely miserable Taehyung surfacing in your mind. “It sucked, you know.”

“What?”

“Seeing your heart break.”

“Ah.” He takes another drink. “Right.”

“I swear, if I saw her again, I’d be tempted to kick her ass.”

He chuckles at that, and it rumbles his entire chest.

It might stir something in yours, too.

“I mean it, Tae.”

“Oh, trust me, I know you do.”

“Could be anywhere: club, grocery store. I’m not afraid to throw hands.”

He gives a tilt of his head. “She was a third degree black belt.”

“Well I kicked that Kenji kid in the groin during recess after he stole your backpack, and he cried for like twenty minutes. Remember that? He was practically six feet tall in the fifth grade, and that didn’t stop me. First degree black belt my ass.”

“Third degree.”

“Whatever.”

“Well as much as I appreciate your determined defense of my pride, I can assure you any emotional distress I suffered was minimal—“

“You haven’t dated since!”

“—and is definitely not worth putting yourself in the hospital over.”

“You don’t miss it though? What about like…” You trail off, cursing your stupid mouth getting ahead of your brain. You’ve never really talked about this before. Relationships, sure, but when it comes to the physical, along with your families, it’s one of the few subjects you avoid.

As your pause stretches on, he raises his eyebrows in question, and you decide to just come out with it.

“What about sex?”

Taehyung, to his credit, is unfazed by your sudden mention of the taboo. “I still have two hands, and they haven’t failed me so far.”

“Oh, Tae, ew.”

He grins devilishly at you, mischief brightening his eyes. It’s a look that he used to wear all the time when you were kids but which became rarer once he mellowed out with adulthood.

Seeing it on him now makes your heart jump.

“Point taken, forget I asked,” you say, and he laughs.

“Really, I’m fine with taking a break from dating for now. Isn’t that what that band you love is always preaching? Self-love and all that.”

You huff out a breath, nodding at his hands. “You don’t say.”

He laughs again, grinning down at you, and the uncertainty you’ve been feeling bubbles up again, your nerves sparking in time with a particularly loud crackle from the pot on the stove.

“Ah, geez, don’t let it burn,” he says, nudging you out of the way to take over. You take the opportunity to wander over to the fridge for a water bottle, feeling the need to cool yourself down. Honestly, what is wrong with you?

Taehyung, in sync with your moods by now, reads you like a book. “I feel like I should be asking you if you’re okay.” He says as he sets the meat aside and begins simmering the mirepoix in the fat. “You seem distracted.”

The conversation has become too much for you to wrestle with at this point, and you feel the need to shut it down before it gets out of control entirely. So you swallow down your anxieties like a pill without water and deflect.

“There’s just…a lot going on right now.”

It’s almost imperceptible, possibly a trick of the light, but his back stiffens ever so slightly. “Hmm, I’m sure.” He looks up at you from the stove, eyes pinning you where you stand. “But you’d tell me if there were something?”

You swallow. “Of course. You?”

“Of course.”

And that has to be enough for now.

The glow of the sunset creeps into your room as you put the finishing touches on your make-up for the night. You're running later than anticipated as you had hoped to catch Jace before you left—you know he has a virtual client meeting scheduled in fifteen minutes that he had planned to attend from home, but he texted you a half-hour ago saying that he got caught up at the office and might just take it there.

With your make-up done, you can't justify lingering any longer and decide to just leave him a note letting him know when you'll be back. Jace's desk is an absolute mess, but you're thankfully able to locate a notepad easily. A pen, however, is a different matter, and it's not long before you're rummaging through the drawers trying to find anything to write with. For a man who keeps his appearance so well-groomed, he has a true affinity for clutter, and you roll your eyes at the junk you have to sift through in search of a simple writing utensil: a hammer, old movie tickets, a broken picture frame, a ring box...

A ring box?

You pause, fingers hovering over the black velvet. Surely, you shouldn't look, right? You already feel like you're crossing some line by discovering the small box—you should preserve some element of surprise for both of your sakes.

Still, the devil on your shoulder whispers to sneak a peek...

Your decision is made for you as you hear the front door click open and shut, and you hastily close the drawer and try to school your features into something casual.

"Hey, gorgeous."

Jace leans in the doorway grinning, not a single sandy brown hair out of place and his impeccably-ironed dress shirt pulled tight across his toned chest. In a fraction of a second, you see his eyes flick from his desk drawer to where you stand stiffly in front of it.

"Hey!" The word comes out a little too loudly, and you rush to cover up the blunder. "I thought I wouldn't see you."

"Wanted to surprise my girl," he says, smile brightening as he swings a hand from behind his back to offer you a single red rose. You feel your cheeks heating up as you take it from him, marveling at how—even four years down the line—he can still manage to charm you.

He presses a kiss to your mouth, hands trailing down the back of your dress to palm your ass with a groan. "Fuck. Can't believe I have this work meeting when you look like this."

"And unfortunately, I need to get going, too, or Maya will have my head." You lean in for another quick peck. "Rain check for later?"

He chuckles, letting you go with one final squeeze. "I'll hold you to that."

"Look who finally showed up!" is what you're greeted with when you locate your friends in the gallery atrium, dodging the other patrons milling about.

"Sorry, got caught up with Jace," you say, shrugging at Maya's teasing glare.

Jungkook winks at you. "I'm sure you did."

"Yah, Kook, don't be gross," Jimin complains, slapping him on the arm.

"What?! She looks great! Right, Tae? Tell her she looks great."

You meet Taehyung's eyes for the first time since you walked up, and he shifts on his feet, gaze darting down to the accentuated curve of your hips. Clearing his throat, he smiles and says, "You look beautiful."

Cheeks hot, you murmur a quiet, "Thanks," so distracted by the awkwardness of the moment that you don't notice the look exchanged by Jimin and Maya between you.

Friends can call friends beautiful and not have it mean anything beyond that, right? You told Maya she looked gorgeous when she bought her dress with you last weekend, and you’d definitely be willing to admit that Taehyung looks incredible tonight. His navy blue suit hugs the lines of his body perfectly—highlighting his tall, lithe form—while his hair is combed up and off his forehead in a style that projects both professionalism and approachability. Combine that with the easy smile he keeps on his face, and he’s basically in male model territory.

You’ll be stunned if he doesn’t get hit on again tonight.

You make some idle small talk with your friends for a few minutes (Jungkook is trying to convince the others to head over to the bar where he works after the reception) before Maya gently nudges you with an elbow.

"Go and have a look around. Mine are back there," she declares, nodding her head towards the right hand corner of the exhibit, "but you should really check out all of the work—there's some good stuff. Hoseok and Sunny are around somewhere too."

You nod, welcoming the chance to see what it is your friends have been working so hard on, and excuse yourself to peruse the gallery. You may not be much of a creative mind yourself, but years of friendship with Taehyung and his infectious enthusiasm have at least helped you develop an appreciation for art. Weaving between the walls of frames and canvases, you stop here and there as a piece catches your eye: dark bars slashed across a messy outline of a heart titled Fake Love; a small boy offering up a waffle cone that holds a rose instead of ice cream—For You.

However, you find yourself slowing down entirely when you get to Maya's collection of photographs. They're mostly black and white candids of strangers. A woman shopping in an outdoor market. A girl chasing a dog in a park. Your friends pop up occasionally, and you smile at one of the memories you recognize: Jungkook pushing Jimin into the pool during your friendcation last year, bunny smile stretched wide across his face.

And suddenly you're frozen by a photo that's in full color.

It's Taehyung's face in close-up, his head turned to the side as he looks at something out of frame. His jaw strikes a downward line, mouth ever so slightly dipped open in something akin to wonder and tan cheeks curving with subtle delight. It's his eyes you can't look away from, though, opened wide enough to soak in whatever he's looking at that they reflect the golden lights around him, tiny galaxies swimming in his irises.

"Enjoying the view?" a deep voice teases at your shoulder, the man himself coming to stand at your side.

"That's an incredible picture of you," you tell him, still taking it in.

He hums in agreement. "I told you, she did a good job."

"Was that last summer?"

"Yeah." He nods his head at the picture of Jimin and Jungkook. "Same night as that, I think."

"What were you looking at?"

Taehyung is quiet as he thinks, scratching lightly at his nose. "I can't say I remember. Probably Hoseok walking out with that plate of pork belly. That was mouth-watering."

You laugh, and he smiles back at you before gesturing at the rows of artwork. "Can I show you some of my favorites?"

"I'd love that."

You let him drag you away, but not before glancing back to read the title card delicately placed next to Taehyung's image.

Your eyes tell.

Taehyung navigates you around the exhibit for a while, describing his role in organizing the gallery and stopping to gush about his favorite pieces. You've always loved hearing him talk about art, his passion for the subject illuminating his face as he enthuses about light and shadows and colors.

He's explaining the rule of thirds to you when Maya interrupts, telling Taehyung she has a potential client for him that she wants him to meet. He promises to find you later as she whisks him away, and, alone again, you decide to head to the adjoining reception area in search of your other friends.

You’re only a few steps into the room when you hear a voice call out your name, Jimin flagging you down from where he stands at a table with Jungkook, Hoseok, and Sunny, and you quickly slide up to hug the latter two.

“You guys made it! We’ve missed you. How’s wedding planning going?”

Hoseok groans into his champagne. “Please do not remind me,” he grumbles. “It makes med school feel like a cakewalk.”

“What my wonderful fiancé meant to say,” Sunny says, playfully elbowing Hoseok in the side and making him sputter on his drink, “is that it’s going fantastically, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you all.”

“Rumor is that it’s the can’t-miss event of the year,” Jimin singsongs. “And Kook and I are bringing the party!” He reaches over so he and Jungkook can share a short but excessively elaborate handshake.

Sunny looks on, amused. “Speaking of, do you two know if you’re bringing dates? We don’t have to finalize headcount quite yet, but knowing sooner rather than later would be appreciated.”

“I will definitely be going stag, but I think Kook might have one, yeah?” Jimin’s voice is teasing, but Jungkook doesn’t catch on, throwing him a quizzical look and causing Jimin to clarify with a smirk. “Maya.”

Jungkook scoffs, muttering, “Not a chance,” while Hoseok’s and Sunny’s eyebrows shoot up in sync.

“You and Maya are dating now?” Sunny asks, eyes wide.

Jungkook tosses Jimin a glare. “No, he’s being an ass.”

When Sunny and Hoseok continue to look confused, glancing back and forth between Jungkook and Jimin, Jimin explains, "We found out recently—and unpleasantly for me, might I add—that Maya and Kook here have been engaging in some activities with, ah, no strings?"

Hoseok's eyebrows go impossibly higher, threatening to meld with his hairline, as his mouth pops open in surprise. "Uhh...congrats?"

Jungkook shakes his head, bottom lip jutting out like a child. "Chim's just jealous because he's in a drought."

"Hey!"

"I, for one, don't see an issue," Sunny says, hopping in to play peacemaker before Jimin and Jungkook devolve into one of their notorious bickering sessions. "You're both adults. And don't sweat it, Jimin, any girl would be lucky to have you."

"What's that supposed to mea—" Hoseok starts to ask before Sunny shuts him up with a finger to his lips, subtly nodding her head at the clearly placated men.

"I just can't believe you two are finally getting married." You change the subject, snatching up a flute of champagne off a tray as a waiter walks by. "Been a long time coming."

Sunny hums. "To be honest, I'm surprised we're beating you and Jace to the alter," she says, and now it's your turn to cough on your drink. "When is that happening?"

"Oh, I, um—" you stutter, as you weigh how much you should say. You should keep what you saw earlier a secret, right? After all, what if you're wrong and you come out looking like a fool?

But four pairs of eyes are now fixed on you expectantly, and these are your friends so you cave.

"Okay, I am swearing all of you to secrecy," you say, making deliberate eye contact with each of them in turn to emphasize your point, "but I literally found a ring box in his desk earlier when I was getting ready to come here."

The table erupts in your friends' squeals and cheers, Jimin and Jungkook coming around to playfully shake your shoulders.

"Oh my gosh, I knew it!"

"That's amazing news!"

"I want to be man of honor!"

"I already called dibs!"

"What are we calling dibs on?"

Your heart skips as Taehyung joins your table, smiling at the five of you but obviously perplexed as to what the ruckus is about. And maybe you're imagining it, but your friends all seem to quiet down at his appearance as well, causing Maya's words to once again echo in your mind. The guy is crazy about you, and you're the only one who doesn't see it.

An awkward silence drapes itself over the table, Jimin being the one to pipe up when Taehyung's expression begins to morph from curious to concerned. "Y/N, tell him the good news!"

At that, Taehyung's brown eyes settle on you, and so you take a deep breath and spill. "I found a ring box in Jace's desk."

You're looking at him intently, and it's only the tiniest sliver of a second, but you see it. Unmistakably.

His face drops.

If Maya's photo captured stars in his eyes, you watch each go out one-by-one, his lips pressing together like he's trying not to be sick. A heaviness hits his shoulders that has his chest curling inwards and you almost reaching out to him...

And just like that—all at once—he's gathered his features into a smile and beams at you.

"That's fantastic, Y/N. I'm so incredibly happy for you."

His voice sounds genuine, dripping in the baritone honey that is so warm and so him, but you know what you saw—you're sure of it—and it has your mind spinning.

Shit, shit, shit, she was right.

You down your champagne in one gulp, oblivious to the shocked faces around you as you throw it back and thump the glass harshly on the table. "I'm going for a drink. Anyone want anything?"

You barely give them time to shake their heads before you're scurrying away to the bar and ordering a cosmopolitan—strong. Thoughts whirring, you try to make sense of Taehyung’s crestfallen expression as the bartender mixes your drink. There surely must be an alternate explanation, right? Until now, Taehyung has never, ever given any indication that he has feelings for you. This must be a mistake; you must be seeing things…

But just as the bartender slides your glass across the countertop, you glance back at the table, blood running cold as you find Taehyung already looking at you. He gives you a tight-lipped smile that doesn’t quite make it to his eyes before turning back to listen to whatever Jimin is currently saying.

You quickly down your second drink of the night and order a third.

NEXT

a/n: and we’re off! likes, reblogs, comments, asks, feedback, constructive criticism, and carrier pigeons are all appreciated! this started off as a story with all OCs, and the first drafts of some of these scenes were originally written in third person omniscient so please forgive me if the POVs are a little all over the place in this chapter. it’ll be rectified moving forward!

taglist open: just message or reply 😊

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

02/10/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Long Post is Long. Cast & Crew Sightings; David Jenkins; Matt Maher; Clowning; Rhys Darby; Rosie; Samba; Max Trolling Reminder; Coyote Vs Acme Cont'd / Articles; Watch Party Reminders for Feb 11; SafeSpaceShip; Art Director's Guild Nominee; We Need to Be a Lighthouse! Game; AdoptOurCrew Choose Your Own Adventure; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika;

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

Well as you can imagine, the David Jenkins IG is the big news of today. The clowning forecast has gone up significantly. Dad posted one of the late-blooming SaveOFMD banners in NY and attached Elton John - Candle In The Wind to the post. This song has some very specific significance to our fandom.

Apparently back when we lost Lucius in Season 1, Chaos Dad posted this song to Nathan Foad. Src @cptn_brightsky's Twitter Post

Now ADD to that... David Jenkins ALSO added this picture of Matthew Maher standing in front of a saveOFMD flyer found out on the street.

NOW OF COURSE, we are all clowning, but I think as usual Chaos Dad is trying to give us info without giving us info since the fandom pays so much attention to every little detail.

@saltpepperbeard has a theory that I'm down to clown with until I turn blue in the face. Src.

So yeah, as always take the clowning how you will, but I'll be honest, this looks like great news to me. It really does. CLOWN ON MY FRIENDS.

= Other Cast & Crew Sightings =

Rhys Darby's going to be at The Bourbon Room Hollywood next Friday, 2/16 at 8 PM PT.

== Rosie ==

Since doing cute stuff just doesn't stop in the Darby houshold, tonight I wanted to make a special shout out to Rosie Carnahan Darby, Rhys' Wife who has been active the last couple days. First and foremost, she knit a little blanket and hat for Samba's baby!

Second apparently she's restocked the Awesomeness Comedy website with more Buttons McGinty books and Comedy Special DVD's in case you're interested.

Oh and by the way, Samba loves the blanket:

= Vico Ortiz =

Tonight Vico was out performing with Them Fatale Drag Kings at their last night at their home bar Redline! Just some shots from their IG stories, feel free to check out more.

== Max Trolling ==

Gentle reminder luvs, if you're going to IG, or Twitter to troll Max posts, let's try to remember not to post OFMD/Negative comments on any posts that are celebrating underrepresented groups. We want to support those groups. Please note however, if you'd done it previously and didn't know, don't beat yourself up! We all make mistakes, just please try to keep it in mind going forward! (If you can delete your previous posts, great, if not, again not the end of the world).

== Coyote Vs Acme Cont'd / Articles ==

Why Deleting and Destroying Finished Movies Like Coyote vs Acme Should Be a Crime

This article is from yesterday but this blurb was pretty damn specific so I wanted to make sure if you missed it you got to see some of the reasons why Max did cancel OFMD.

"Some of the company’s tactics post-merger were garden-variety ruthless, like eliminating 87 series from its streaming platform Max, so that they won’t have to pay union-mandated residuals to the talent that created already-existing programs or pony up funds to produce more seasons of existing ones (such as “Our Flag Means Death,” one of the company’s most popular and critically acclaimed comedies—canceled after just two seasons)."

= Watch Party / Event Reminders =

Feb 11: Q+ and AdoptOurCrew Season 2 Live-Rewatch Party

Times: 2PM GMT, 9 AM EST, 6 AM PST

Watch Party Hashtags:

#OurFlagMeansBBC 

#OurFlagMeansRewatch

#SaveOFMD 

#AdoptOurCrew

= Feb 11: Relax I'm From the Future Watch Party! =

Sunday February 11th, 1 PM PT. 4 PM ET, 9PM GMT

Watch Party Hashtags:

#PiratesFromTheFuture

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

== In Person Events: San Diego CA ==

February 11, 2024 at 4 PM at Maritime Museum of San Diego

Costumes & Cosplay Encouraged! Location: Maritime Museum of San Diego 1492 North Harbor Drive San Diego, CA 92101

Hashtags:

#SafeSpaceShip

#SaveOFMD

#AdoptOurCrew

= Art Director's Guild Award Nominee! =

Sorry, I forgot to add this one yesterday!

Ra Vincent - Nominee for Half-Hour Single - Camera Series. Src: @AdoptOurCrew and ADG

Check out the Design Presentation: OFMD_s2_art.pdf

== We Need To Be A LightHouse! ==

Have YOU heard of this awesome new Monkey Island Inspired Point and Click Adventure Game by @blueberreads and @eldawee? They've been working on it for months and it's FINALLLLLLLY HEEEERE!

These folks are so incredibly talented! Please go check it out here! https://dawee.itch.io/lighthouse If you're using a MAC OS you'll most likely need to download an executable at the bottom of the main page. Just FYI! If it prompts you with the "you downloaded this from the internet" error just click OK. I already started playing with it and I'm in love.

I pushed Ed and he asked if I wanna do something weird xD Okay no more spoilers, GO CHECK IT OUT!

== AdoptOurCrew Choose Your Own Adventure Game!==

In honor of the s2 watch party with Q! tomorrow, @adoptourcrew did a really adorable choose your own adventure game on twitter today! They did polls and let the majority pick which direction they wanted the story to go!

Since it was a lot of pictures I made a separate post so you can see the whole story: @adoptourcrew Choose Your Own Adventure here on tumblr. Please check it out!

== Love Notes ==

Alrighty lovelies. It's been another busy day. Lots of clowning, lots of hope, lots of emotional roller coasters. I hope you had a good time and generally it was more positive than negative. I have a lot I want to say, but my brain is still pretty foggy. So I'll make this short.

Sometimes when things go well, our brain gets excited and then they overcompensate when we calm down. It starts to think a lot more negatively because it had so much extra dopamine for a time. When that happens, little things can be really devastating. I just want you to remember that we all make mistakes and YOU, you beautiful imperfect being are not your mistakes. They hurt, and we learn from them, but they don't define us. Try not to listen to your brain if it's telling you otherwise. You are so very wonderful.

Anyway, I hope that makes sense.

Here's a picture I found today I thought really applied to all you wonderful people. Thank you to all the folks who reached out to me and checked in and sent me love when you knew I was struggling (there are too many to list and I don't know if you want to be tagged so please just know how much I appreciate you). I love you all so much, and I'm so lucky to how found people who make me feel like it's ok to be me.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight is once again animal themed. I wish I'd made that Taika gif last night for the lovebirds theme, but here we are.

[laudaddysmitten]

GOAD Writer's Guild Presents

"Stunning View" (Ch 3)

by LaudaddySmitten

Ch 3 (finally!): Look At The Stars, Look How They Shine For You

~*~ Happy Season 2 Anniversary everyone! ~*~

I'm finally done with my extremely long fic hiatus, and I'm looking forward to you getting to read the next 4 chapters that are done! This one is THE very science-y (and footnote-y) chapter, with also lots of sweet fluff.

I hope you enjoy it!

🔭 🌗 🥰 🧬 🥼 😇 ❤️‍🔥😈

Summary:

From their vantage point on the grass, and safe from the prying eyes of Heaven and Hell, Aziraphale encourages Crowley to pass the sobering-up time acting as Aziraphale's tour guide of the night sky. Little did he know how some of the info would affect each of them.

Excerpt:

“They are also binary, but instead of just being two stars orbiting one another, this is two entire galaxies.”

Crowley cleared his throat and became very expressive with his hands, the two of them demonstrating with unsteady swirls and arcs the hypothetical paths of the two far off galaxies.

“Instead of two stars orbiting one another in nice stable ellipses, two galaxies circle and weave around irregularly, passing closer and farther and closer, until they eventually…”

Here, Crowley paused to look over with hands frozen in the air, and Aziraphale’s throat clenched with anticipation despite himself, the pull of Crowley's antics born of enthusiasm too great to resist. “...Collide!”— Ppfffwhooo! — and combine!"

Crowley smashed his fists together, fingers flourishing outward in time with his explosive sound effects, a riotous display he performed on a lopsided loop with joyful abandon. Aziraphale idly wondered how much of Crowley's demonstration was actually scientifically accurate(^), and how much was influenced by laudanum.

(^)Footnote: Aziraphale would be pleased to know that Crowley's hand motion demonstration was approximately 78.35% accurate.

“So for now, they're partway through the process, so all the matter, like gas, and dust, and bigger stuff too! Asteroids, planets, and stuff— that is floating around out there just follows them everywhere.” Crowley beamed at Aziraphale, his voice rising with excitement as he drew a spiral emerging from one of his galaxy-hands in the air above them. “They’re positioned such that the galaxies and all the spirals and clouds of matter together form what looks like a heart!” He sobered slightly but was still grinning. “Not, ya know, an anatomical human heart. But the human-invented simple shape they use to represent a heart and…” Aziraphale swallowed at the same time Crowley weakly cleared his throat. “And love.”

“Oh!” Aziraphale said a little breathlessly. “That sounds absolutely lovely!”

Crowley’s erratic arms fell gently back to the ground. The side of his pinkie happened to lightly press up against Aziraphale's. Neither of them moved away. All of Aziraphale's mental focus was on that point of contact.

Continue reading on AO3:

♥️♥️ Thanks to my VERY patient beta readers ♥️♥️ @olfactoryventriloquism , @outrageousring5655 , @happynachohologram

Astrophysics beta (yep, needed one of those, got the best, and this is THE chapter): @nosferatini

Human Anatomy & Physiology beta: @unapologetic-apathy

@goodomensafterdark thanks for all the support and encouragement! Thanks to the Writer's Guild for being awesome and helpful and tolerating me in chat, lol. ❤️‍🔥

Other Guild chapter 3 beta help: @sixbynine-da @ghst-signal @adverbian

Art banner by @lexarturo (and this is finally the chapter that has the exact moment it portrays!)

[jmdbjk]

Bangtan weekly report

I hope everyone is having a great day so far. It's been a busy week/weekend for Bangtan.

Hobi's Hope On The Street album dropped on Friday and I got my ass to Target first thing to get it!

The album is amazing, as I knew it would be. Hobi continues to amaze me. I'm struggling to find the right words to express how I feel about him. As I told my bestie, Hobi is the blood and bones of BTS. Namjoon might be the big brain lyricist, the leader and Yoongi might be the constant melody maker and realist, but Hobi makes the whole thing come alive and beat with movement.

The first two episodes of the HOTS docu-series were also amazing. To hear and see him delving so deeply into the thing that makes him who he is and therefore makes BTS what it is brought tears to my eyes.

The Hope On The Street Pop Up location in Seoul is an overwhelming success as were the parties that Hobi threw for fans in LA, Chicago and NYC.

Items from his Hybe studio are on display at the Seoul pop up event and merch that is available there might be the same that will be available on April 9 on Weverse Shop.

Neuron dance lessons were being conducted today and look like they are being filmed. Maybe they will end up in a future Bangtan Episode! If you'd like to see more of what's inside the pop up, you can view this thread on X.

(image from @ddaisyy94 on X)

Yoongi has entered the Nonsan Training Center, the same one where Namjoon and Tae did their basic training. Yoongi's basic training will last 3 weeks and then he will return to his alternate service assignment. He looks so good! (sarcasm)

And it was mentioned that Jin accompanied Yoongi on this day. Jin wasn't going to let Yoongi enter military basic training without having his only hyung in the group see him off.

Speaking of Jin, his Weverse post for March was 77 DAYS LEFT!

Jimin has made a scholarship available at the Department of Physical Therapy at Dongeui Science University in Busan. According to the information, Jimin made this donation prior to enlisting. Physical therapists are important in his and the members' lives to keep them healthy while performing at such high levels.

Taehyung was spotted at a soccer match in Chuncheon. He was with a group of fellow soldiers in uniform. However, also present were Manager-nim and several recognizable Hybe security guys. Interesting.

Namjoon shared some moments from his weekend with us. I will assume he is taking his proper holiday now that he's past the 100-day mark of enlistment. He visited Sorol Art Museum in Gangneung, he hugged the sky at a beach, smelled the cherry blossoms and was lurking in and about the Hybe building because he saw a banner from Army. It's possible the banner was installed by the owner of a nearby restaurant.

Hiding his beard stubble with hotteok:

Stopping to smell the flowers during his time off:

Hugging the sky at the beach:

And I can't leave my precious Kookie off this week's report. We don't know if he and Jimin have taken the vacation that is due them now that they've also passed the 100-day milestone of their enlistment. They've completed just over 20% of their obligation as of yesterday/today and tomorrow they will be promoted to Private First Class II.

We've seen more pics of Bam than of JK this year.

(photo from @holicare.barf on Instagram)

[charmandabear]

Banner art provided by: Astarion's Simple Plan and House of Vinewood. (Go check out their shit they're both incredible.)

Terms of Service

Summary:

Althaea broke some propriety laws while working at Sharess' Caress, and Magistrate Ancunín isn't going to be easily convinced to be lenient.

Pairing: Astarion/F!OC Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5.5k Tags/Warnings: sex work, direct references to Astarion's trauma, magistrate!Astarion, soft!Astarion, nervous!Astarion, hand jobs, p in v sex, awkward sex, blood/blood drinking, astarion learns what aftercare is

Read on AO3.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about sex work, decriminalization, and when rules and regulations are made without sex workers it only serves to infantilize them (or much, much worse.) We need to be more willing to have these conversations and, for fuck's sake, LISTEN TO SEX WORKERS.

Additionally, a whole bunch of headcanon posts influenced this:

- Astarion learning how to not "perform" during sex - Astarion getting real quiet during sex - Astarion speaking Elvish during sex

[ellethespaceunicorn]

You're Mine

Title: You’re Mine

Rating: Explicit, 18+, Minors - DNI

Pairing: Dark!Daddy!Geralt x Female!Reader

Word Count: 1.8K

Prompts: Geralt of Rivia + Female Reader + Daddy Kink + “Can you feel how much I want you?” + Darkfic, requested by @chibijusstuff

Summary: After coming back from a hunt, you find out that Geralt isn’t himself.

Warnings: Daddy Kink, pet names for Reader (little one, my sweet), Darkfic, dark!Geralt, drugged!Geralt, choking, biting, scratching, manipulation, Geralt rips Readers underwear off, non-con, unprotected p-in-v sex, creampie, mention of bodily fluids, memory lapse, bathtime as aftercare, cuddling, possessiveness, dead dove: do not eat

A/N: Unbeta'd, because I was impatient about posting this. All mistakes are mine.

Dividers by me

Support/Reblog banner by me

Cover Art by me

Sweet Treats Event 2024 Masterlist

My Masterlist

You’ve been watching him for hours from your spot in a nearby chair as he kneels in front of the fire. The silver wolf's face on his medallion shines brightly from the flickering embers, suspended from his chest. The remnants of the potion in his system show themselves in deep, black cracking lines on his ashen skin that radiate from his closed eyes. He has never taken this long to shake off the effects of any of the mixtures he carries in his pack, and your concern is beginning to grow.

He barely acknowledged you when he came home in the early morning hours. He placed his swords in their spot by the door, shed his armor, and took his place in front of the fire to warm himself and meditate. The longer he remains in that spot, the more you wring your hands with concern.

You were but a commoner; you hadn’t much knowledge of the Witcher lifestyle before meeting Geralt in that tavern. And even now, Geralt wasn’t the most forthcoming with things he deemed ‘unnecessary for you to concern yourself with’, as he put it. You hadn’t the faintest idea of what was in his potions, let alone how to make them.

You only knew that he was usually back to himself by now.

Another thing you noticed was that his scent had changed. He tended to keep the smell of whatever beast or monster he had slain. But all you could smell were flowers, and more specifically, the aroma of tuberose.

Heady and exotic, the scent of tuberose is one you are accustomed to. Your mother would use tuberose oil as a perfume, saying it would lure in men with its sweet honey and warm spice combination. Your poor father had died years prior, and your mother barely waited for the dirt in his grave to settle before she was out with other men. But that’s a story for a different day.

Even though the oil performed just as she promised, you couldn't quite grasp why she never revealed the source of that unique blend to you. Of course, you called it magic, but she would always shake her head and say there was no way it was magical. She claimed it was a gift from an elderly beggar woman to whom she had once given a handful of orens. You knew well enough not to push any further, but that doesn’t mean you forgot that story.

Or that smell.

You were so in your thoughts that you almost missed Geralt’s grumbling. Your eyes returned to his face, and this time, his eyes looked at you. Gone was the golden yellow iris you had come to love, only to be replaced with full, black eyes. Black, like you never saw black. Nothingness.

Rising from the floor, he bares his teeth and growls lowly. You stand up from your chair and raise your hands in front of you.

“Geralt?” You attempt, moving backward when he takes a step forward. “Daddy...” you trail off as he smiles at you, a devilish grin showing his sharp canines.

“My sweet little one. Don’t you look delectable?” Geralt coos, crowding into your space as you are backed into the wall behind you.

His hands rest on either side of your head on the wall while he noses at your neck, no doubt smelling the fear-induced arousal that is shooting through your entire body.

“Daddy? Why don’t we take it slow? You’re not yourself yet-”

His hand flies to your throat, tightening at the sides. “You wish to refuse me that which is rightfully mine?”

“Geralt, I-”

“Ah, ah. Try again, little one,” he cautions, his grip on your neck ever sure.

“Daddy, I’m scared,” you breathe, tears falling from your eyes.

“I know. I can smell it on you,” he confesses, leaning back in to sniff under your jawline. He stoops to pick you up and brings you to the bed, lying his body on top of yours. He doesn’t waste time in rucking your dress up and pressing his clothed sex against your own. “Can you feel how much I want you?”

His voice, so delicate as he speaks to you, sounds like your Geralt. But those eyes, the way he takes without asking, and his smell only serve to repel you. It feels like your partner has been swapped out for a harsher, more unkind version of who he used to be.

His hand reaches between the two of you and rips away your undergarments before unbuttoning his pants so his thick and ready length can fall free. As soon as his shaft is uninhibited from its confines, he is pushing and prodding at your entrance.

Without preparation or care, he enters you swiftly. You aren’t given a second to adjust to his girth before he withdraws his cock and forces himself back inside you. By the third thrust, you are crying and begging him to stop. Your hands are balled into fists as you pound on his chest, his shoulders, anywhere you can land a blow.

He only laughs at your feeble attempts to thwart his actions. He also teases you when your body eventually betrays you.

“Look at you, being torn apart from the inside out, and your sloppy little cunt can’t get enough of it. Always so soft and warm for me. Stop fighting and take it, little one,” he soothes. His warm, rich voice invades your ears, and you cease efforts to push him away from you.

Once he has you malleable and compliant, he focuses on chasing his release. Unconcerned with your pleasure, he fists one hand in the sheets of your bed while the other tangles in your hair to expose your neck. Biting and sucking at your skin until blood is brought to the surface, he takes pride in marking you.

Soon, your neck and chest are littered with bite marks and bruises. You can feel every welt as he takes his time poking them as he drives into you over and over. His first orgasm is so intense that he lets out a feral growl, slowing down for a bit before it’s evident that he isn’t done in the slightest.

Realizing your fate, you begin to hyperventilate. Your chest is heaving as you inhale and exhale shallowly; you feel as though your heart could beat out of your chest. But only momentarily as Geralt leans down to speak into your ear.

“You’ve never looked lovelier than you do tonight. I can smell your fear; I can taste your panic. Just have to hold out a little longer for me, my sweet,” he sighs, nosing at your neck.

By now, you can feel nothing but pain from the bites, the scratches, and his relentless pounding into your battered and bruised heat. The stuttering of his hips is a gift, alerting you to his impending climax. You’d already given up on experiencing your peak.

“So close. I can feel it coming, little one,” he whispers, his voice strained and gruff as he forces his eyes shut. He thrusts into you one last time, his hips flush with yours as his cock paints your insides. Once he stops spasming, he lets out a heavy breath and opens his eyes.

You watch as he comes back to himself, the black veins disappearing from his face and his eyes returning to their golden hue. Frozen where you are, you observe the realization on Geralt’s face as he looks down at your marred skin and wet eyes.

As he relaxes just enough to pull away from your body, he quickly adjusts himself back into his pants and settles down onto his knees. He’s unsure of what to say; what can he say that would make this situation any easier? His eyes are drawn to where his semen drips from you.

“Daddy? Are you back?” you ask, your hands pushing your dress down over yourself as you sit up.

The sound of your tiny voice washes over him like a cold shower. He finally looks back at you, and a single tear falls from his left eye. As if a switch were flipped, Geralt appears smaller than before. He shrinks into himself, hunching his shoulders.

“I did this to you?” he guesses, nodding to the angry marks on your skin.

“Geralt, I think you were poisoned. What’s the last thing you remember?” you question, raising your hands to show him you mean no harm.

“The wyvern nest. There were druids; they surrounded me. I felt pain in my neck and then smelled flowers before everything went black. Next thing I know, I’m in bed with you,” he replies.

“You weren’t yourself, Geralt. This wasn’t you,” you insist, feeling the urge to comfort him.

“Poisoned or possessed, I am the reason you’re hurt right now. I could have killed you if I hadn’t come back to myself,” he frets, holding up a hand when you try to move closer to him.

“I’ve already forgiven you, if only you would forgive yourself,” you plead, trying to hide your distress.

“You should have a bath. Let me draw it for you,” he suggests, leaving you on the bed before you can say anything in response.

After he fills the wooden bath with enough water, he uses Igni to warm the water to your liking. He helps you into the water, washing your body and hair when you ask him to stay with you. When you are done, he helps dry your skin. You don’t exchange many words, and neither of you knows how to start a conversation.

After you are dressed in a nightgown, you climb into bed and pull Geralt in behind you. He reluctantly lays next to you, afraid that he will hurt you again somehow. Turning onto your side, you face away from him. You sniff, holding back tears and the lump in your throat.

Before you could clear your throat, Geralt was pulling you into his chest. His strong arms wrap around you, and he inhales your scent. While he can still smell the faint echo of fear on you, the most prevalent fragrance is overwhelming love.

You were pushing down your fear with all your might and thinking only of good moments of Geralt. Images of a smile pulling at his lips, your hands in his, and a stolen kiss cloud your vision.

You snuggle into his embrace, his body heat keeping you warm. He peppers kisses over your hickeys on your neck, lulling you to sleep. But just before you can give in to the draw of slumber, you hear his voice in your ear.

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable,” he whispers, laughing lowly. “You’re mine, little one. And I won’t let you escape.” His hand goes to your mouth, and you know your night is far from over.

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this story. It took so long to write, but I am happy with what I have created here. Also, I feel like there are very few dark!Geralt or Daddy!Geralt stories out there. Is it because we don’t like these or it’s just too taboo? Let me know, cuz I could write more dark versions of this man.

[invisibleicewands]

‘Theatre changed my life,’ says Michael Sheen. ‘Now my passion is for helping others’

Theatre can change lives. And I should know. It’s changed my life more than I’d ever have imagined. Back in 2011, a play called The Passion took over the streets of my hometown of Port Talbot. And I haven’t been the same since.

Perhaps the perception of actors before a play is that we’ll learn a few lines, try on a few costumes... break a leg. But with The Passion, I went all in like never before.

I also met the people doing vital work in the community I grew up in, helping vulnerable people who need it the most, often at make-or-break moments. Being at this coalface of community opened my eyes.

This patchwork of people holding society together with the thinnest of threads, going over and above each and every day to help people in almost every aspect of their lives.

I saw then – and I continue to see – kind-hearted, warm, tolerant people helping out their fellow humans to bring communities together. These are the people who make our nation what it is.

The good deeds that these people did – from giving young carers a night off to go bowling, to setting up the only grief counselling service in the area – generally worked under fragile funding and often were under-appreciated by the wider community.

I knew then that I had to devote as much time and energy as I could to helping, however I could.

In the decade and a half since The Passion, I’ve started projects around homelessness, high-cost credit, care, and local journalism. And for the past 18 months, these have come under the banner of a movement known as Mab Gwalia.

Mab Gwalia believes that opportunity should not only be available to those who can afford it. The ambition is to build a movement that makes change.

We support people and projects which work in three ways: projects creating opportunity and fighting for fairness; projects rooted in communities, helping people directly; and projects that work in new and ambitious ways to deliver change.

My work on The Passion made me realise there’s so many people out there doing this. And Mab Gwalia has supported as many of them as we can.

This has included: Army veterans in Merthyr Tydfil. Autism support for children in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Food growing in Pembrokeshire. Opportunities for women in Swansea who’ve suffered knock-back after knock-back. Community skills hubs in Rhyl.

Theatre changed my life. Now I want the spark it set off in me to do the same for others.

My ancestor, Nanny Blower, the lion tamer

My great-great grandmother was called Mary Ann-North. Or Nanny Blower, as we know her.

She left Wales for New York in 1896 where she became, wait for it, an elephant and lion tamer for the Bostock and Wombwell Circus. Fast forward to today and young people in the Upper Neath Valleys don’t have to run away to join the circus. Organised Kaos comes to them.

Kaos stands for “keeping adolescents off the streets” and that’s what they do. I first met them on The Passion (riding BMXs through fire – them, not me) and now Mab Gwalia has helped fund their work.

Manics band drum up £15,000 for drama study

“Libraries gave us power” – the opening lyrics to Wales’ second national anthem, A Design For Life.

The Manic Street Preachers wrote a version of the song for The Passion, performing it at The Last Supper in the Seaside Social & Labour Club… before being arrested and hauled off stage for the show’s added drama.

The band is working with Mab Gwalia to fund a drama scholarship, providing financial support to students who need it. Since 2021, 11 students have received up to £15,000 each academic year.

We’ve just committed to another three years. The students tell us it gives them a chance to believe. The arts should be for everyone.

Mothers Matter, like my mum and partner Anna

My mum’s going through a tough time as my dad is living with Alzheimer’s. It’s a lot to take. I’m thankful every day for how my partner Anna is with our daughters.

It’s an understatement, but mothers matter. That’s the name of an organisation Mab Gwalia has supported. Mothers Matter helps mums suffering from loneliness and isolation through support, counselling, wellbeing hubs and workshops. Mothers in South Wales don’t have to do it alone.

We give a voice to working class writers

A summer reading recommendation: Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands. It’s Cora’s story – a teenage girl with ADHD finding her way through life in the early 90s in post-industrial Scotland. She’ll change the way you think about neurodivergence. It’s an unforgettable debut novel.

Tom was part of A Writing Chance, a project I developed alongside the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, New Writing North and Northumbria University. The Office for National Statistics says nearly half all authors are from the most privileged backgrounds.

So we’re trying to redress that balance. To turn up voices not always heard. Tom was one of the first group – 11 writers who received bursaries and mentoring with industry leaders including regular writer of this column, Ros Wynne-Jones.

You can hear their stories in the BBC Sounds podcast Margins to Mainstream with Michael Sheen. Now, 16 more writers are on board. Think of the stories to come.

My debut at the ‘brilliant Welsh party’

With origins dating from 1176, the National Eisteddfod is Europe’s largest cultural festival. A celebration of Welsh language culture with performances and competitions in everything from composition to cynghanedd (a type of Welsh poetry). And, last weekend, in Pontypridd, I made my debut on the maes (site or field).

My four-year-old daughter now refers to it as “that brilliant Welsh party” which neatly describes the atmosphere. On stage, the actress Sian Phillips said the sounds of words in Welsh “echoed with the language”.

I felt those echoes all day. Spoken in the park by families. Performed by young actors. Sung with emotion by choirs. It was a beautiful thing.

Homeless World Cup a beautiful game

Next month, the Homeless World Cup takes place in Seoul, South Korea. Bringing the tournament to Cardiff in 2019, seeing 500 players with experience of homelessness represent their nation on the football field, was something I’ll never forget.

If you can’t wait until then, watch The Beautiful Game on Netflix. Keep an eye on Callum Scott Howells, a brilliant young Welsh actor who I directed in BBC drama The Way (available on iPlayer).

Nye NHS vision seen on world stage

I’ve spent much of this year playing the man who had the vision and valour to create the National Health Service. Nye was theatre at its most far-reaching.

There were sold-out runs in the National Theatre in London, the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. And cinema screenings were viewed by people all over the world.

On the night we filmed the NT Live screening, NHS workers from around the country were invited to be in the audience. They knew that at that moment, a global audience was learning about our welfare state and the man who was behind it.

My dad came along one night. He was just a little kid when Bevan’s idea became reality. Soon there’ll be very few left who can remember what life was like before the NHS.

Let’s hope it stays that way. Can the new government come up with a progressive policy that inspires a story which packs them in 75 years on? We can but dream.

[journeytothewestresearch]

WIP: Sun Wukong's Powers and Skills

I'm currently working on a comprehensive list of Sun Wukong's magic powers. Here is just a taste from chapters two to four.

Bold black = magic power Bold red = acquired non-magic skill Bold green = claimed magic power that is never actually demonstrated Bold orange = inborn talent?

Ch. 2

Early education #1: human skills - “[H]e began to learn from his [senior immortal] schoolmates the arts of language and etiquette” (與眾師兄學言語禮貌) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116). - Note: We all know that Monkey failed his etiquette classes.

Early education #2: religious skills - “He discussed with them the scriptures and the doctrines; he practiced calligraphy and burned incense” (講經論道、習字焚香; i.e. ritual procedure) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).

Wukong’s knowledge of scripture and philosophy pops up a few times in the novel. For example, he subsequently becomes enraptured by Subodhi's lecture on the Dao and Chan (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).

Early education #3: gardening skills - “In more leisurely moments he would be … hoeing the garden, planting flowers or pruning trees” (閑時即...鋤園、養花修樹) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 116).

Immorality (1st category) [1] - This is achieved via oral formulas (口訣) and breathing exercises (自己調息) at prescribed times (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 120-121). - The stipulated Chinese hours are before zi (12:00-14:00) and after wu (12:00-02:00) (i.e. noon to midnight) (子前午後). However, historical real world practice is reversed: after zi and before wu (i.e. midnight to noon).

Adeptness (i.e. quick learning) - “But this Monkey King was someone who, knowing one thing, could understand a hundred!” (這猴王也是他一竅通時百竅通) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122).

First learns the “Multitude of Terrestrial Killers” (地煞數; a.k.a. “72 changes,” 七十二般變化) - This requires oral formulas (口訣, a.k.a. “oral spells,” 咒語) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122). - This sometimes requires a magic hand sign and a shake of the body (see below).

First attempt at “Cloud-Soaring” (騰雲) - Subodhi mockingly calls this “Cloud-Climbing” (爬雲) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 122).

First learns the “cloud somersault” (觔斗雲) - This requires a magic sign, an oral spell, a fist clinch, and a body shake (捻著訣，念動真言，攢緊了拳，將身一抖). It takes him 108,000 li (里) in a single leap (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 123). - 108,000 li = 33,554 mi or 54,000 km [2]

Multitude of Terrestrial Killers (i.e. 72 changes) - This requires a magic sign (捻著訣) and an oral spell (咒語). He transforms into a pine tree (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 124).

Cloud somersault - He flies from the Western Continent to Flower-Fruit Mountain (i.e. from one side of the world to the other) “in less than an hour” (消一個時辰) (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 125).

First use of the “body beyond body” (身外身法; a.k.a. “magic of body division,” 分身法) (i.e. hair clones) - This requires chewing and a “change!” (變) command. Small clone monkeys are used to overwhelm and beat up a monster who is three zhang (三丈) (31.29 ft / 9.53 m) tall (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 128). [3] A passage explains: - “For you see, when someone acquires the body of an immortal, he can project his spirit, change his form, and perform all kinds of wonders [出神變化無方]. Since the Monkey King had become accomplished in the Way, every one of the eighty-four thousand hairs on his body could change into whatever shape or substance he desired” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 128). - 原來人得仙體，出神變化無方。不知這猴王自從了道之後，身上有八萬四千毛羽，根根能變，應物隨心。

Cloud somersault - He flies 30 or 50 monkeys and property (pots, bowls, utensils, etc.) home from captivity to Flower-Fruit Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 129).

Ch. 3

Martial arts (武藝) - He “teach[es his monkeys] how to sharpen bamboos for making spears, file wood for making swords, arrange flags and banners, go on patrol, advance or retreat, and pitch camp” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 131-132). - 教小猴砍竹為標，削木為刀，治旗幡，打哨子，一進一退，安營下寨  …

Cloud Somersault - He flies east from Flower-Fruit Mountain over “200 li of water in no time” (霎時間過了二百里水面) to the Eastern Continent (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 131).

Blows a mighty wind (陣風) - This requires a magic sign (捻起訣來), an oral spell (咒語), and taking a deep breath (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 131-132). A poem states that it puts the world into chaos: - Thick clouds in vast formation moved o'er the world; Black fog and dusky vapor darkened the Earth; Waves churned in seas and rivers, afrighting fishes and crabs; Boughs broke in mountain forests, wolves and tigers taking flight. Traders and merchants were gone from stores and shops. No single man was seen at sundry marts and malls. The king retreated to his chamber from the royal court. Officials, martial and civil, returned to their homes. This wind toppled Buddha's throne of a thousand years And shook to its foundations the Five-Phoenix Tower (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132). - 炮雲起處蕩乾坤，黑霧陰霾大地昏。 江海波翻魚蟹怕，山林樹折虎狼奔。 諸般買賣無商旅，各樣生涯不見人。 殿上君王歸內院，階前文武轉衙門。 千秋寶座都吹倒，五鳳高樓幌動根。

Body beyond body (i.e. hair clones) - This requires chewing and a “change!” (變) command. The small clone monkeys carry an armory’s worth of weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132).

Magic of displacement (攝法) - This is a spell that carries the weapon-laden monkeys on wind (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 132).

Monkey claims to have a number of supernatural powers: - “I have the ability of seventy-two transformations. The cloud somersault has unlimited power. I am familiar with the magic of body concealment (身遯身, a.k.a. 隱身法) and the magic of displacement. I can find my way to Heaven or I can enter the Earth. I can walk past the sun and the moon without casting a shadow, and I can penetrate stone and metal without hindrance. Water cannot drown me, nor fire burn me” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 133). - 我自聞道之後，有七十二般地煞變化之功，觔斗雲有莫大的神通；善能隱身遯身，起法攝法。上天有路，入地有門；步日月無影，入金石無礙；水不能溺，火不能焚。

Magic of water restriction (閉水法) - He travels to the Dragon Kingdom (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 133).

Super strength - He effortlessly toys with a 3,600 catty (斤) (4,682.61 lbs / 2,124 kg) battle fork and a 7,200 catty (9,365.23 lbs / 4,248 kg) halberd (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 134). [4] 

Super strength - He lifts the 13,500 catty (斤) (17,559.81 lbs / 7,965 kg) iron pillar in the dragon treasury (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 135).

Opens a waterway (開水道) - He uses the magic of water restriction to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 137).

First use of the “Magic Method of Modeling Heaven on Earth” (法天像地的神通), a 10,000 zhang (萬丈) (104,300 ft / 31,800 m) tall giant form - This requires bending over and screaming “grow!” [長!]. This form has: - “[A] head like the Tai Mountain and a chest like a rugged peak, eyes like lightning and a mouth like a blood bowl, and teeth like swords and halberds” (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 138).  - 頭如泰山，腰如峻嶺，眼如閃電，口似血盆，牙如劍戟

Immorality (2nd category) - This is achieved by inking out his name from the ledgers of hell [生死簿子] (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 141).

Ch. 4

Cloud somersault - It is much faster than those of ordinary immortals (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 145).

Travel to heaven - Refer back to ch. 3-#6A (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 145).

First use of “three-headed and six-armed” (三頭六臂) war form - This requires a “change!” (變) command (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 155).

Staff multiplication - This is done millions of times over (以一化千千化萬) to face Nezha’s own countless weapons (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156). - The multitude of armaments are said to “clash like horned-dragons flying in the air” (cf. Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156).

Body beyond body (i.e. hair clones) - This requires a “change!” (變) command. Monkey creates an autonomous decoy to distract Nezha while he slips behind him to land a staff blow (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 1, p. 156).

Immortality (3rd category) - This is achieved via heavenly imperial wine (御酒, a.k.a. “Immortal wine,” 仙酒 and “juices of jade,” 玉液瓊漿) (Wu & Yu, vol. 1, p. 159, 165, and 167). 

I'm currently on chapter 16, so it will take me a while to finish, especially since I'm simultaneously gathering info for several other articles, including mirrored essays for Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.

Once I've gone through all 100 chapters, I will put each instance of a particular power into its own category (transformation, super strength, hair clones/tools, etc.) and then analyze everything as a whole. The Google Doc containing the list of powers will be attached to the analysis.

This project was partly inspired by a previous effort made by @the-monkey-ruler.

I'm open to feedback.

Notes:

1)  In place of using “layer” or “level,” I’m choosing to designate his various immortalities as “categories.” This is because a new layer of divine longevity or durability would surely be added for each immortal peach, elixir pill, or cup/jug of heavenly wine consumed. Hence, eating multiple peaches would be one category, eating multiple elixir pills would be one category, and so on and so forth.

2) It’s important to note that 108,000 li is a metaphor for instant enlightenment (see section III here). Therefore, power-scalers should not use any instance of this as a feat. 

3) One zhang (丈) comprises ten chi (尺, a.k.a. "Chinese feet"), and during the Ming Dynasty, one chi was roughly 12.3 in or 31.8 cm. This makes one zhang 10.43 ft or 3.18 m (Jiang, 2005, p. xxxi).  

4) During the Ming, one catty (jin, 斤) was 590 grams (Elvin, 2004, p. 491 n. 133).

Source:

Elvin, M. (2004). The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China. New Haven (Conn.): Yale University Press.

Wu, C., & Yu, A. C. (2012). The Journey to the West (Vols. 1-4) (Rev. ed.). Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.