#perhaps complaining will help motivate me because it's something i enjoy doing

[lostxmelody]

forgot how to write

[coffeegnomee]

genuinely i think alot of kaboodle's actions on lifesteal can be explained by her scripted lore background. the world of scripted lore is fraught with the idea that "lore" is just... being miserable. it was something that made it difficult for me to get into ksmp (though i did eventually enjoy it), because it felt just so awful all the time. pointless arguments didn't tug at my heartstrings, it made me frustrated. but that's besides the point

i think maybe one of the reasons she takes everything way harder than she should and exaggerates relationships and disagreements is perhaps because she is drawing in past experience to be a good entertainer, in the way she is familiar with. which is so fair! we are formed by our backgrounds. it does unfortunately make it difficult to watch her if you're accustomed to the more ""live action"" sort of format lifesteal is usually in, where people seperate their characters from themselves a little less. but she has a good size audience that seems to fw it, so i dunno

that's just my take on the overuse of the word "betrayal" and such

agree but disagree. yes scripted is usually just being miserable but zam is just miserable all the time and his lore actually makes sense and is very entertaining to watch and he also separates himself from his character (to a degree). but when he is miserable he is consistently miserable while also doing some fun things to distract from the misery or making some impact on the server like cleaning up spawn while being miserable to chat. kab just sits around and talks and does fuck all. sorry. hating. a lot of hating below.

and it's annoying because she is miserable but then will go be fighting her inner demons of destruction, but then won't destroy because she doesn't want to be mean and she cares so much, but then she plans to destroy anyway but then she doesn't do it and doesn't have any consistency in any motivation or characterization and she's all over the place. every hour her emotional state is different and there's absolutely no effort at a throughline and everything before is just thrown out the window.

And it pisses me off that she does come from scripting because surely her characters on ksmp had some throughline and consistency.

and yet her inconsistency on ls does make sense bc in scripted you can plan and succeed with every plan you make when you are literally scripting the outcome.

but on lifesteal you can plan for something cool and fun and it can be taken away in an instant by the very same people you were trying to impress and that is hard and will send anyone into being tilted.

and trying to decide how to react to that is wildly difficult and i dont really envy them having to figure out what to do, but i do wish she would DO something. but that's also unfair because she is doing something, she's rebuilding. but while rebuilding she's going between wanting 4c to help her while also trying to convince him to betray his team while also trying to convince him to give her a heart without a fight while also planning to kill him while also reminding herself she has to be nice to him. so she's just using him. just say it with your full chest. you never cared about him and you just want someone else to do the work to get your own selfish self-pity plan back on the server.

you want to complain and then have someone swoop in and save you. and you dont want to make any effort to actually care about that person.

it's miserably sad and annoying to watch because lifesteal is about caring about people, and she goes on and on an on about caring *so much* but she doesn't give a shit about anyone but herself. and she lies to herself and and chat and insists that she cares.

and yes that's a rather consistent characterization to through at ls!kab but damn if it doesn't read like that at all and she went from genuinely apologizing to 4c to just using him flat out and reminding herself that she needs to use him and cant just kill him.

maybe its just that she's vilely unlikable. maybe that's the point in her scripted mind. make a hatable character. and yet her actions also speak to desperately trying to make a likable character whom youre sympathetic to, she tries desperately to guilt trip and pull at the heartstings about how shes just been betrayed so many times and life is so hard for her and shes so weak and how could you be mean to someone so pathetic and wounded.

but she's not likable at all. she doesnt care about a single other soul or what they care about. the second they put a boundary up she wants to run and leave, which, fair enough, actually a cool characterization of trauma but like also so abusive-coded. but in the end she chose to not abandon bacon as far as we can tell, but i can tell you give it two seconds and that thought will come back and she'll decide to betray him anyway. because nothing is consistent and nothing she says has any long term value. she just goes on the past five minutes to decide what she will do.

she's just so fake and that fakeness can be attributed to the character, but it only feels even more fake because she insists it's a character and not her as she turns around and does something that makes more sense for her to do as herself than the character. she is being two people existing on the same account, swapping out whenever necessary. but that's stupid. take responsibility for your actions and your emotions. stop blaming others.

and yes. it all goes back to how painfully different scripted mcrp is from unscripted.

and i know for damn sure that this will not be like this next season because she will learn from this season. or she doesn't. and that's what's so frustrating. the possibility that she never learns why lifesteal is lifesteal.

the possibility that she keeps writing asshole abusive characters that just get more abusive because of her own internal mental problems that lay unresolved and shoved under the rug like they aren't part of the character even though they are part of herself. she refuses to look at herself and acts like if just just acts hard enough they won't affect anything. they effect everything. you can't run from yourself when you are making unscripted content.

and yes. i am being really mean about someone who clearly has a lot of baggage. yes i am being mean about someone who is abusive as a defense mechanism and hates boundaries because of fear of being alone and all these things that are basically the bully being bullied at home type beat.

but she embraces none of it. doesn't even see any of it. thinks she has written a cute story with kazam, a cute ship that may be a little messed up but is at it's core cute.

it's fucking abusive and shit. it makes my skin crawl. zam is screaming to be let out of it and she thinks it's sunshine and roses. she is, to use the word literally, delusional about her actions. she thinks they are one thing when they are anything besides that.

but we do have one success story. and the trend goes that every lifestealer learns what lifesteal is by their second or third season. they all eventually get it. vi chose to do a very distinct character vs streamer in s4 and he crashed and burned to a degree unfathomable. and he learned from it. and he now says that was his favorite story he ever told. he see's how he's grown as a person because of it.

there is only hope in the future when it comes to kaboodle. lifesteal genuinely changes you and makes you grow. not because you choose to grow, but because it forces it out of you.

but in this moment im just constantly a ball of rage and constantly sent into sadness every time i watch. and she keeps interacting with my mains so im not going to just miss the story, and the progression is already happening, the kablantis shock is a genuinely lifesteal trauma moment for kab and is already changing her in good ways. this is the story, this is part of watching lifesteal. the meta conflict is what makes this server painfully unique. this difficult encounter with players that piss you off. because people in life are like this. people can suck and hurt each other and don't look at their internal mental state, they shove things under the rug and think they're fine and cause sorrow and pain when life gets difficult. that's life. encountering it as story really helps understand the people around you. to be more compassionate, be able to see when theyre hurting and chose to be kind anyway. to learn how to feel the negative emotions and process them and not run from them yourself. or learn how to stick up for yourself and put up your own boundaries and learn that you can. to figure out who you are. it's the best. and the worst. and leaves me hating until i realize it is interesting even though i hate it.

[verona2314]

Hello dear readers, new chapter available!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don’t hesitate to leave your comments. They help a lot as motivation!! Have a nice week!

  For the first time in the conversation, Alastor fell silent, gazing at her without his usual arrogance. It was as if the weight of her words had finally broken through the wall he always kept up. Rosie held his gaze, hopeful that this time she’d plant a seed of doubt, one that would eventually lead him to confront his own feelings.

     After a moment, Alastor broke the silence, his voice calm but with a slight tremor that Rosie picked up on instantly.

     "Perhaps, Rosie… just perhaps, there’s some truth to your words," he conceded, setting his coffee cup back on the table with a resigned sigh. "But even so… I can’t allow myself to act as if it’s important."

     Rosie nodded with a warm smile. She knew that, for Alastor, even admitting a hint of truth in all of this was a monumental step. But she also knew she wouldn’t stop until her friend acknowledged everything he truly felt.

     The Overlord noticed Alastor was about to leave the topic there, as he tended to do whenever the conversation veered too close to his comfort zone. But this time, she wouldn’t let him. "You know," she said, looking at him with genuine interest, "I was thinking about what you said back then about keeping a ‘strategic distance’ from the judge. Do you really believe it will help you, or is it just an excuse to avoid facing what you feel?"

     "Facing what I feel?" he repeated with a hint of sarcasm, turning his gaze to the window. "There’s nothing to face, nothing to feel beyond a slight emotional connection."

     "And the attention you give her isn’t beyond the ‘strictly necessary’?" she pressed, not losing her smile. "Because from here, it seems your decisions aren’t as cold as you claim. Alastor, you’re someone who analyzes even the smallest detail. And yet, when it comes to her… don’t you realize you act differently?"

     The radio demon let out a sigh, avoiding her eyes, as if he feared she might read something in his gaze that even he wasn’t ready to accept. Sensing the silence, Rosie decided to try a different, more direct approach.

     "I’ll put it another way," she said, crossing her arms. "If Victoria didn’t matter to you, you wouldn’t be so worried about who else is around her. You wouldn’t care if Stolas wanted her attention, nor would you bother to keep her away from other Overlords or influential demons. That ‘complication’ you complain so much about is just your way of disguising what you truly feel."

     Alastor clenched his jaw—a gesture so subtle anyone else might have missed it, but not Rosie. She decided to deliver the final blow, hoping this time she’d break through all his barriers. The tension in the radio demon’s face became more evident. There was something in his eyes, a mix of doubt and frustration, and she could almost see the inner conflict it stirred within him. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke in a barely audible tone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TAGLIST!!

@slytherin4ever

@empressofashed

(Write me if you want to be added to the taglist!!!)

[lorestory0]

yall i know the daydream imagination thing going on is really good when i start spacing out and staring at nothing while absentmindedly biting some skin off my face.

no idea why but happiness causes me some sort of "hurt myself" response.

like, if the music im listening to is really good i may faceplant onto the closest surface, start contorting into weird shapes, and make some funny sounding noises. and its probably either really hilarious or disturbing to anyone who might witness such a thing.

if im absentmindedly enjoying whatever the heck i got going on in my mind i may bite myself. (usually imagining whatever anime character im currently obsessed with in some kind of situations with storyline and stuff that can last many days until i get bored and want a different storyline) will i spit blood on the floor without knowing why? perhaps. but am i feeling depressed like i often do? nope. not at all. im still just watching a brand new nonexistant anime episode and cant be bothered by whatever motivated me to do the biting myself in the face.

its really cool when i use this imagination to turn singleplayer games into "multiplayer without social anxiety" and i just play as whatever anime character, using imagination to change entire storyline in games.

(coming up with reasons why i have to use a bow when im playing as a sword wielder is an annoying challenge. especially when i actually like using a sword better. its just that im swinging at the air in front of me because i have no depth perception and bows have this convenient thing in the middle of the screen to help me know where the projectiles gonna land. if i had less lag tho, that wouldnt be an issue because i actually do have pretty fast reaction time. oops now i wanna play skyrim)

yes my face is bleeding. dont ask. im probably watching anime that no one else is aware of and its getting really good and i dont have much experience feeling joy at that level and dont really know how to properly express it. stuff just happens without any thought as to why, but i have noticed the blood on the floor and the bites on my face do seem to happen when i get really really happy so im not complaining.

joy is rare. imma just take the blood with the good.

as long as im not spitting blood on my toys or video games its okeedokie.

besides, my response to fear and extreme stress is even worse. and dont get me started on that one time i asked a question on the internet about why the fridge new computer mouses and keyboards hurt me and people called me names and thought i was making it up.

i would not be using these old stinky used keyboards and mouse if it werent for the headache i get from new stuff for several years now like howd it wake me up from deep slumber without me even knowing i got a new keyboard????? these old ones are stinky, really hard to find, and expensive. and worst of all, in limited supply.

and i dont really have a choice since i get some weird weakness when im bored somehow and i get weak enough to be cut by toothpaste when normally my annoyingly tough skin sometimes gotta use a knife to scratch the really bad itches. (gotta use really sharp scissors to cut my rock like fingernails and toenails too what even am i???)

the asking of the serious question on the internet just to getting name called is the reason for at least 1 scar in less than a hour.

i have no scars from happiness injuries. scars look neat tho. i got some neat claw shape scratches from a stress response. but i still definitely prefer happiness.

my response to being happy used to make me jump up and down. im trying to get back to that but its difficult. the abusive high school teacher would always punish me during the few times id get happy about something during school and i am out of that habit.

teacher would always say the same "preparing me for the real world" whenever the being punished for blinking too long. and the being punished whenever it rained because it messed up my hair that i was being forced to wash despite the water bill. and the punishing me for crying or showing emotion. i still cant even hear my name without crying. there my reason for fear of people, but behind a screen its a bit easier as long as i dont see the person because the sight of people scares me too. exept anime people the fear response doesnt see them as people. especially the ones i like.

i cant even hear whistling without something in my mind tryna convince me the torturers are doing it on purpose to "desensitize" even if its a anime person. of course they frearfing arent trying to cause me pain its a random anime character who doesnt even know me because its anime, like what the flop, brain. not that i want them to know me that would make the imagination really awkward

too bad emotional scars arent visible because id have some really big ones that probably have some cool chaotic pattern or something.

i dont hurt myself intentionally but when it leaves a scar it at least looks cool

[dojae-huh]

last year 127central organized a bracket where fans could vote for their favorite title track by donating $1.27 and it was really popular with fans (https://x.com/127central/status/1701043086862716965?s=46&t=rtDww04bg8UG7actgmYBAw) she raised over $2000 i thought it was a really good idea it was fun and engaging and she sent a budget report to each donor at the end (https://x.com/127central/status/1760181966001856935?s=46&t=rtDww04bg8UG7actgmYBAw) idk if the admin changed or if she was just too busy to do something like this again but i was disappointed she gave up on the streaming team a few days before the comeback even if the streaming team is small it’s nice to have a united group working towards a common goal i had a good experience with the streaming team during fact check era it was fun to talk to other fans on discord and feel like i was part of something.

idk why 127 fandom is like this dream fans seem much more united and motivated to support their favorites idk what it is about 127 that attracts such apathetic and defeatist fans. solo stans are present in every fandom and attacks from solo fans usually make group fans feel more motivated to support the group not abandon them it’s not just solo fans and akgaes who are to blame. you’ve been in the fandom longer than me have 127 fans always been like this or when did the change happen? anyway i’ll try to enjoy this comeback by myself and remember to leave positive comments on things i like everyone is very vocal about what they don’t like but quiet about what they like

Link, Link2

Before 2018 and Boss the fandom was small, mostly consisted of old fans of other SM groups and multistans with a long record. Then it started to grow gradually with influx of people after popular releases. The fandom at large was always told to be bad at participation in promotional activities, streaming and voting. Perhaps, 127 coming back once a year doesn't help either. As well as the division between the older fans (working adults) who pay for merch and concert tickets but don't spend time on X, and the younger fans (still in school) who comment a lot but don't have money and don't know how to listen to each other and cooperate, who discourage each other's efforts at streaming or voting.

I regularly see small-scale initiatives ran by country fanclubs or small groups of active fans: streaming of old songs to bring them to 100mln, calling to radio stations to ask for 127 songs, donations in their name. However, there is no big one centre that attracts talented fans with ideas and means. Maybe 127Central was founded with this goal in mind, looking at the name, but it failed somewhere along the way. It is no small task and requires a lot of effort and constant commitment. And admins are humans with their own problems and lives.

Keep in mind that there are successful fanclubs whose work is not seen because they are on other platforms or speak in different languages.

You mentioned that is fun to be a part of a streaming group and talk on discord. Fun and the feeling of doing something together is what drives people to participate, give money. FUN is the key word. The fandom culture and unity is not built overnight. New fans come and bring their own rules and opinions, make a fandom more toxic.

Yes. If you want to see a change in the world, start with yourself. There are two things to do: be positive oneself (as you correctly said, everyone are quick to complain and remember bad things, few comment when they like something or let others know that their actions brightened their day) and get rid of negative people around you (unsubscribe and ban with no mercy, you don't know those people on the i-net even).

Your old discord channel should still exist, no? Maybe try to gather the old participants there yourself? Even if there will be fewer of you, 2-5 people still can form a fun party. A tight circle of online friends is better than masses of anonymous and strangers on X.

Drop the name of the discord channel, maybe someone among the readers will be interested to join. Outline a few rules/what they should expect to interest them.

[miriamladyvoid]

Thank you for pointing this out. Because I always feel something out of place in Yor but you managed to put the right words to what I didn't know how to express.

Yor will be more interesting if his kindness contrasts with a meaner or less positive side. I mean that he has a deep internal conflict.

Let's go through some aspects that could change the perspective of Yor's character:

Parentification and Forced Motherhood: The fact that Yor is a loving mother does not seem bad to me, it seems incongruous to me that she NEVER complains or feels negative feelings about it. Because it is well known that even a planned and desired motherhood of a woman who decides to be a mother does not preclude the fact that there may be aspects or things that she does not enjoy doing. Both aspects are not exclusive of each other.

Let's take Melinda Desmond as an example, who although she claims to love her son, she also feels a rejection towards him. Although we still don't know exactly why Melinda does this. I feel that this type of behavior would make sense with Yor because she was literally a child who gave up her childhood and innocence to become a caregiver and provider for herself and Yuri. She loves but doesn't necessarily hate Yuri. She loves showing affection and care to her brother but hates having to BE the one to make responsible and adult decisions even when she was trying to process the trauma of losing her parents.

That sometimes she can't help but feel a silent resentment/rejection towards her brother for everything he represents for her. Yuri is a responsibility that she can never let go of in her life. Because she knows that taking care of her brother would have been the last will of her deceased parents even if she was never prepared for such responsibility.

Maybe she represses a lot of anger/pettiness towards Yuri by wearing a "sweet sister/mother" mask. Using lies as her way of loving and protecting her brother from all his inner negativity. In her desperate attempt to cope with her role as a mother. Lying to herself and Yuri in a love that is born from the selfish desires of both sides. Forcing herself to "love" her role as a mother.

This change of perspective will make his relationship with Yuri much deeper and more interesting. Leaving aside the negative side I think that perhaps with a construction of bonding moments between the two. The relationship between the two will make his love for Yuri begin to fully develop, helping to calm his repressed negativity towards him. Although that pang of anger would still be very hidden.

Accidental motherhood acquired with Anya: Here, obviously, Yor will have much more experience in raising Anya. But I imagine that she still feels internally disappointed/frustrated at having to mother another child AGAIN. But considering her situation, she has no other choice. Since she believes that Anya is the daughter of Loid's "deceased wife", she feels guilty for those conflicting thoughts.

So applying the same thing she did with Yuri she tries to bond with Anya. I think Anya, able to hear her thoughts, may have moments, not knowing whether to trust Yor or not, but seeing that she is not a bad person, she decides to give her a chance.

To strengthen their trusting connection, the sweet moments between the two will add weight to their “mother and daughter” relationship. I think Anya would motivate Yor to relax a bit in moments of fun and play, which would help heal Yor’s inner child. Yor’s love for Anya gradually grows and she starts to feel less anxiety about her motherhood. She starts to truly love being a mother.

Cooking Skills: "Yor's inedible food," as you mentioned, also strikes me as inconsistent. I can pass on the joke at the stage where she was still adjusting to her role as a mother. I wouldn't be surprised if Yor improvised when preparing food with whatever little or much she had on hand, as the lack of adult guidance or even money led Yor to make many fatal mistakes when cooking.

However, she eventually begins to make fairly decent dishes through trial and error. Perhaps she learned by reading magazines or cookbooks, and even by asking a nearby neighbor for advice. Her cooking would not be "edible" in her adult years; it would be decent, not as advanced as Loid's cooking, nothing out of the ordinary.

Assassin's Job: According to the logic that she was very strong physically, I think Yor really trains quite hard to develop her skills as an assassin. In her early stages as an assassin, that strength was very violent and caused more disasters and chaos than necessary, which led to me being severely punished and scolded by the higher-ups for causing the ruin of missions. It is suggested that her salary might be reduced or her jobs limited. Yor is frightened by this and begins training intensively to make her fighting style more silent but brutal. She quickly acquires the name "Thorn Princess" after rising through the ranks of the assassins.

Since we don't know much about the assassin group yet. Like a guild of bounty hunters (but assassins), where many work alone to be able to collect the highest bidder, I want to imagine that they are a pretty closed and competitive group.

Where they listen to their superiors but no one trusts each other, this would make sense in that Yor didn't have an assassin friend and prefers to keep her distance but would be professional if she was asked to work in teams with other assassins.

Internal Morality: I'm not sure if Yor enjoys or feels sadness when she kills people. I like to think that in her killer mode she tends to numb the senses and is usually pretty neutral about the people he kills. It would be fascinating if Yor experienced moments of insecurity not knowing if it's appropriate to hug or give affection to his family, since her hands are stained from so much killing.

Loneliness and social ineptitude: Another aspect that I find tragic about Yor is the lack of a support network that she has. Being so busy working, she didn't have much time to relate to other people throughout her life. I think this would really depress Yor inside. It's possible that she tries to pretend to be happy many times or simply ignore the seriousness of the matter. Obviously Anya, hearing her mother's thoughts, would try to tell Loid to try to help Yor how to relate to other people.

Loid could give her some guidance on how to communicate or talk to other people. She will be strongly encouraged to have days off where she can interact with other people who work at the town hall, perhaps with a neighbour in the building. It will obviously be a difficult process as she either isolates herself internally from other people or doesn't know how to do so. However, she will gradually be able to come out of her shell and interact with other people.

I don't think she has a friend yet but she might have people to talk to for a while.

Effects of trauma and PTSD in Yor's life: Another thing I reflected on is that Yor, unlike Loid, hasn't had a chapter where her trauma is handled. It's like it's only talked about superficially but we never see how it affects her adult life. Considering Yor's shy, sweet, naive, yet reserved personality, in stressful situations, where she doesn't know how to handle the emotions that overwhelm her, Yor's trauma can manifest itself in a deep emotional numbness, which can manifest as an unhealthy defense mechanism. At times, she has difficulty expressing her needs or problems, resulting in self-imposed and complacent behaviors. Overprotection, paranoia or the memory/hallucination of their dead parents.

But well, here I'm just brainstorming how a different angle can improve Yor's character by working with canon information.

I wanna say something that's really mean and a lot of people are gonna hate me for it but idk it has to be said. Yor is an extremely boring and flat character. And this is not me hating on her, it's actually the opposite because I love Yor and I believe she is the most complex and nuanced character on the rooster. The problem is that no one seems to let her be the complex interesting character she is.

And the reason is because of fucking blatant misogyny and it drives me up the wall. Yor isn't allowed to be anything but a mother. She isn't allowed to an assassin, she isn't allowed to have friends, hell she isn't even allowed to be a sister. She's just a mother and nothing else.

We don't really see Yor being an assassin. She doesn't train or work on her skills, she didn't even have to work on her strength, she was born that way. The only time we get to focus on her job is the cruise arc but even then she's not even doing her actual job, she's being a bodyguard??? And the entire time she felt bad because she wasn't with her family??? And after all of that she forced her self to go enjoy the vacation with them even though she just spent the being beat up by people actively trying to murder her. Mind you- when Loid comes back from beating the living fuck out her brother only to get his ass saved by Nightfall- he gets to lay in bed while Yor just brushes everyone's hair??? And to top it all off, after all the work that she did protecting that random woman and her baby, Twilight is the one who actually ends up saving the day by disarming a bomb. WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU PUT THAT IN??? WHY WAS HE EVEN THERE??? COULDN'T HE JUST VANISH THE WAY YOR REGULARLY DOES SO TWILIGHT CAN FOCUS ON HIS JOB??? LIKE GO HOME OH MY GOD

And then there's the friend thing. Twilight has friends, he wouldn't classify them as friends but they're clearly on his side. Namely, he has Franky who he trust so much he gets to go little adventures with him and take care of his daughter. We even get a look at their meeting. Then there's Yor, Yor has no actual friends. There are her coworkers who fucking hate her for some unclear reason. Apparently she's weird (not even that weird just not very social because why give her an actual personality) so that means you gotta bully her like your a bunch of high school girls even though you're married adult women (one with a whole ass child). And then you introduce a new female character except she hates her because she's jealous of her, why, oh because of a man of course. I can't even think of a single other female character Yor talks to, and she clearly doesn't have any guy friends because make her uncomfortable.

"But the whole point is that she was a shy shut in and being with Loid and Anya makes her more confident" and you see why that is an issue right? Because when she's single and childless, she's lost and confused and isolated. The only genuine r/ship she has is with Yuri and it's fucking Yuri man come on. The only time she seems to feel fulfilled is when she gets to be a mother and a wife because fuck everything else. Dead parents? Groomed into a serial killer? Parentification? Workplace harassment? Vaguely suicidal thoughts? Who cares, her biggest dilemma is that she can't cook.

Speaking of which, that was a random fucking retcon. Because before she wasn't a good cook but she was competent. And then all of a sudden she just can't at all? Yor's whole fucking thing is that she raised her brother by herself after both he parents fucking died and I am supposed to believe she didn't even learn how to cook? You couldn't even let her have one fucking skill. Just a useless woman who does nothing but offer to make tea and coffee. Apparently she can kick ass but only when she's paid to or when her family is threatened (or just a child in general).

And the cherry on the cake. Not even the fucking dog likes her. Why doesn't the dog like her? Because she can't cook.

I am not even going to try to open the can of worms that is Lieutenant Yuri Briar because where would I even begin.

The one genuine developed relationship she has is the one with Anya and it's based on absolutely fucking nothing. She just decided this random child is her daughter now and that she wants to be her mother despite never actually expressing any interest in parenthood or children. Like she was a-ok throwing away all her freedom from before and just becoming a mother overnight because????????

"Oh she raised her brother-" That's more of a reason for her to NOT want to raise a child especially so suddenly. But who cares right? The only significance of that storyline is explaining Yuri's odd obsession with his sister, it didn't affect her psychological development at all. Because at the end of the day, she's a woman and raising and caring for children is instinctual even at the age of 12.

[faelapis]

"the owl house" thoughts - s2 finale

i'm just gonna bulletpoint here. starting with things i liked:

obviously, i like that the collector ended up being someone with their own motivations rather than just like a xD quirky ex machina

i like that hunter wasn't able to fight belos, even when it counted. so often you see the """satisfying""" thing where an abuse victim just snaps and decks their abuser in the face without fear. i'm sure hunter is mad deep down... but i like that it's something he's not able to channel, due to other emotions like fear being paramount here. perhaps even lingering love.

in fact, IF hunter stays this way... i, resident hunter disliker, may even grow to like him. i just assumed, TOH being somewhat predictable, he was gonna have the classic arc of realizing he's been lied to and then Beating Up His Abuser. i want him to stay more conflicted. more gentle.

i like that they played into belos as someone who wants to save humanity with more sincerity. that felt very fake and cheap before, it was more substantial here. it was like he almost had a real motivation!! rather than being just an Evil Liar who Lies!!!

as much as i didn't like how refusing to free the collector was another instance of belos being, well, an Evil Liar who Lies, in hindsight, it does make sense. this kids a powerful lil fucker.

i also like that this means we have a "villain" who is not an authoritarian, but an anarchist agent of chaos. wild magic, even. sure, i don't think the collector will really be a villain, more an unpredictable force of nature who may actually just be having a tea party with king right now. but still. duality! nuance! yay!

I LIKE BELOS WEARING HIS HUMAN DRIP FUCK YOU LUZ

also huge fan that the belos goo attached to hunter and came with to the human realm :D i'm sure this means only good things :D ok but unironically i would like a redemption arc ("we need your help to save humanity") that only i will enjoy, while every egg on twitter complains about it being unearned or rushed.

WE GOT A TITLE DROP!!!!! THE COLLECTOR IS CREATING AN OWL HOUSE (TM) THAT MATTERS TO THE STORY?

things i disliked:

the aforementioned "you lied to me!" betrayal between belos and the collector. i feel like every poorly-written villain has to do because they're the villain. they're an asshole to people around them not because it furthers their goals, but just to make sure the audience knows they're an asshole.

same thing with kikimora.

in the collectors case, like i said, not entirely unwarranted... but it does seem like an instance where belos is just big mad that he cant control them. its not like he's doing it for the boiling isles' sake. its just him him him.

wow they really just had belos try to kill everyone (even his followers, some of which he's known for decades, if not centuries!) just to once again show that he's the bad guy.

okay. so. this is a big one - in a show for kids, you know the protagonists will survive. that's not a bad thing! but it does mean you NEED emotional stakes that aren't rooted in whether people will live. and almost everything "emotional" this episode is a fakeout about someone dying.

strongly trying to resist urge to contrast it to SU "change your mind", where steven's entire identity as himself, as someone separate from his mother, hangs in the balance.

raeda suffers the most from this. like 50% of their relationship is already someone lying or tricking the other To Protect Them (tm), which i already don't love... but to ALSO have their main emotional thread in the s2 finale be a fakeout sacrifice is not great. we know raine isn't gonna die, we know eda isn't gonna die. this is a real relationship with emotional complexity, but they can't steer it in any other direction than angsty fake sacrifices.

oh eda got out of the coven system REAL easy. just remove the arm, i guess. that's dumb. i wish she had stuck with it. could've prompted some soul-searching now that the new threat (the collector) is the embodiment of wild, unhinged magic.

other general thoughts:

look. i know belos tentative truce with the heroes is extremely unlikely, but i feel like even people who want him to just be a villain have to be somewhat charmed with the idea of grumpy ghost goo following the gang around, commenting on how stupid their plans are, how he should be the leader, etc.

on that note, luz actually keeping her promise and getting belos some modern human clothes would be sick. girls night shopping trip WHEN????? i wanna see him in yeezys.

i'm all on board with king molting theory. make him big.

bring luz' mama to the demon realm somehow. she seems somewhat disillusioned with her own life, yknow?

while i agree that this was a somewhat messy / overstuffed episode, idk, i think that lends it an advantage in that it can't just wrap everything up with a neat little bow. i think that lack of time might even benefit the show in s3 somewhat, because they might have to keep some things open-ended. which i like :)

aaaand that's all! see you in season 3.

[twstedtales]

Hey! I saw your request were open and I love your work!! Is it ok if I get Headcannons for Floyd, Deuce, and Ace with an mc that likes to bring them little gifts now and then, things like little flowers to brighten them up on a Monday, or little sweets they happened to have on them? Thank you!!

𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑, 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋.

❝there is no greater gift than being loved by you.❞ - Unknown.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | floyd leech, deuce spade, ace trappola × gender neutral reader.

𝐭𝐰 | none!

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | Aww, this is so sweet and thank you for liking my works, anon-chanヽ(´▽｀)ノ it makes me feel motivated to write when I know people were having fun to what I enjoy doing (´･ω･`)

Floyd definitely loves it when you give him little trinkets, no matter how useless it was to other people. It was from his dear shrimpy after all! He would always give you a tight squeeze whenever you do so since he can't let himself having a debt on you, right?

He would also find a new appreciation and interest for flowers, perhaps telling him the meaning behind each of the flowers you gave him would pique his interest more. Floyd can easily memorise information and stuff so remembering thousands of different species of flora for you ain't that difficult for him.

If he were in a good mood, Floyd will most likely use your flowers to either decorate the lounge with it or just display it in his shared room with Jade. If unfortunately he was in a bad case of mood swings and feeling extra clingy to you, he won't share even to take a look at the things you gave him.

And sweets, of course. Floyd loves sweets, especially candies that would brighten up his day. And you personally giving it to him transforms a simple packed lollipop into something more special.

His taste in sweets varies, and so you make it your mission to guess what kind of things he would like today, or what would be preferred tomorrow. It was an effective bribery so that he'll cheer up. Maybe you'll give him mints today, or lollipops tomorrow, and then chocolates the other day. With Floyd, the possibilities are endless.

"Koebi-chan, Koebi-chan, this is for me? A~aww. You're being extra sweet today. Not that I mind. Come here and let me squeeze you in return! Aha!"

Deuce would often get embarrassed if you continuously give him flowers and trinkets. After all, he always believed that he should be the one giving you things instead of you spoiling him. But in time, he learned to accept them proudly even if he earned looks of disbelief and incredulousness from his peers. 

Why would he be continued to get embarrassed when it was you who gave those stuff to him? You were being incredibly sweet and perfect for him so there's no need to feel embarrassed. 

I think that Deuce is most likely the type to preserve the little things you gave him. For example, the box of the chocolates you gave him today was carefully tucked away in his closet safely. The fallen petals of the roses you gave him the other day, he heard that it could be used as a bookmark as well. And even the wrappers of the candies you gave him earlier were inside his memory box.

You told him that he doesn't need to always do that because you can always give him something new. But Deuce's earnest personality was so endearing you couldn't help but to let him be. And it was rather cute to see the former delinquent walking with flower crowns and bracelets without complaining.

Like Floyd, Deuce will do this best to repay what you had given him. Unlike the former though, it's not in the form of heavy squeezes and stuff like that. Instead, Deuce will also give you things he knew you would like. Or you can ask him anything you want. Although you told him many times that there's no need to pay you back because you love what you're doing.

"It's only natural that I should give what was given to me. This relationship is not one-sided, you know. You can ask me whatever you like!"

Unlike the first two, I felt like Ace wasn't the type to show how pleasant it was to receive sweet things from you. Even though he loved it, he would pretend to not like it because of how "uncool" it was to him. Although the slight twitch of his lips upwards says otherwise.

Ace would ruffle your hair when you have him sweets though, teasing you endlessly how much you love him and stuff that would make you huff in irritation. When you threatened him to take it back, Ace would shoot up his hand so that you won't be able to reach the "gift to Master Ace" or if you're tall enough, he would just run away from you, sticking out his tongue.

 A burst of serotonin during late night practice from the basketball club is more than welcome to him, too. So even if he doesn't downright tell you to do it, you would've because he would always tell you off-handed comments on how "tiring it was in practice and he needs to be energised".

Giving him flowers would always meet with a roll of his eyes but he would begrudgingly take it in the end though. He would never admit to you even if he's on the verge of dying of sweet it was and how cute you were puffing up your cheeks when you become irritated with his teasing comments.

"Aww, I know you love me so much to the point you can't stop thinking of me but there's no need to show it all the time. Hahahaha! I'm just kidding, hey, stop hitting me!"

[ieatmorecrispsthanyou]

Hi again! Hope it's ok to keep this discussion going at great length, feel free to ignore this, but it does gives me a chance to ramble about JFSP et al and that's something I love doing. I haven't ever got the chance to ramble with someone who also enjoys his work so I'm going to give it my best shot...

I can definitely see where you're coming from about sketch comedy in general being hit or miss, and in this case some JFSP sketches throwing you off having a good time - I actively dislike some of his sketches but I tend to find that the ones I find least funny are conveniently grouped together in a 'mid' episode for me to skip, and even in those mid episodes there are gems (likewise even in 'good episodes' there are less funny sketches as you mentioned). So I can understand why Cabin Pressure and JFDA are more consistently fun listens for you, since you know you're going to enjoy *all* of it.

Also there's that element of a more coherent character driven plot in Cabin Pressure and JFDA, as the audience gets to spend more than 5 minutes with each character unlike in the sketches. I like the short-term characters as well though, because I don't get so invested in them that I feel awful when something embarrassing or bad happens to them (as prevents me from listening to a couple of episodes of Cabin Pressure). I also think it really showcases JF's skill in that he can write a 5 minute sketch about two people in some situation and yet the audience can understand all about these people's characters, motivations and shortcomings and that this is the situation which exposes all of them, and it's so damn funny.

I agree about picking off a menu of sketches - I wish I was internet proficient enough to clip all his sketches and arrange them in a website for people to peruse at their leisure... currently what I do is go on the comedy central episode guide to each series (written by JF I think) and at this point I know each episode so well I can tell by the basic description exactly how much of a fun time I'm going to have listening to each episode.

I think JFSP is at its best when there's some sort of coherent narrative or link between the sketches, mostly found at the 'since you ask me' ending, or repeating 'bits' - like the time travelling episode (s4.e6), your favourite heist episode (s7.e6), The Adventures of Mr Floofywhiskers (s5.e1, s7.e4), the animals and kings episode (s7.e5), or in terms of repeating bits, the reluctant underappreciated holiday singer (s4.e6 and the christmas episode), the archers bit from series 2-6, the train driver and train manager bit (fun fact: there's fanfiction of them on AO3!), Mr Frint the curmudgeonly pedant (and too many more to mention). I also like when he includes fictionalised versions of the cast complaining about the sketches - I enjoy the meta aspect of it, although as he points out there's an element of being so self aware and self deprecating about your own comedy that it ruins the joke.

This is probably why I enjoy series 9 (perhaps) most of all - the interwoven short character moments building up into a bigger patchwork covering generations, but so gradually that you don't notice until you're hooked in. Since you first meet the characters when they're at the end of their stories, you have this sense that you won't hear anything really bad happen to them, which makes for some very comforting listening. (fun fact - I met Carrie and she said that her favourite series was s9 as well!)

And now to address your point in the tags about John Finnemore and how he handles race and religion...

...which is basically that I agree with everything you've said and more people should take notice of it as you have done. It's a conversation we should be having, and it helps us fully understand his works in their complete context.

For me I can understand why JF is the way he is about this topic, definitely not to excuse him or me though (as you'll see later in this post). We both come from deep in rural England, where, at least in my experience, you don't really encounter anyone outside your white, culturally-Christian 'bubble' until you've internalised all the messages people inside your bubble have been explicitly and implicitly telling you, and that makes it harder to unlearn them (although the unlearning is necessary). And then leaving that bubble as an adult is challenging, so you make friends who are just like you and that reinforces the attitudes you know are wrong. So while I love the casts of JFSP and JFDA and Cabin Pressure so very very much, it is rather telling that a lot of them do share certain characteristics (in terms of race at least). Some of the radio 4 audience also share those characteristics as well, so it makes sense why in those bits about race and religion he seems to imagine himself as talking to a crowd just like him, inside his 'bubble', not realising (or caring?) how uncomfortable a listen it is for people outside that 'bubble'. (I've stretched the bubble metaphor too thin, methinks)

I don't want it to come across as if I'm excusing him for his more mean-spirited comedy, the 'we all know as white people not to make fun of different races and religions, because it's wrong, but I'm going to toe the line because I think I'm catering to an audience like me' comedy, because I don't agree with this attitude and he definitely could and should have made more of an effort to be more aware of his privilege. Being in a position of power like that means you are contributing to the status quo and sort-of-making-fun-of minorities just reinforces the idea that people like him are 'above' those minorities, an idea which I think is dangerous to be spreading to your audience.

Like you, I've also met him and he was so kind - he was everything I imagined he was from listening to his stuff. So I feel there is hope that he can unlearn his harmful attitudes and make comedy everyone can enjoy. (But this may be putting him on a pedestal, and I definitely don't want to do that.)

Anyway, thanks for reading! I would love to discuss any aspect of this in more detail with you (or anyone reading this!) so please do add on to this ramble if you feel like it!

Hi! I hope you're doing well and having a lovely holiday season :)

Sorry if you've already talked about this before, I haven't been following you for a long time - but what do you think of the other series of JFSP apart from series 9?

Personally I love them to bits, I have listened to every episode more than 30 times and they're probably one of my favourite things in the whole world. I just love the humour, the characters, the situations - it feels very safe, no mean spirited jokes, very comforting. The sketches feels very autistic-coded to me as an autistic person, much like Martin from Cabin Pressure - some of the sketches are things I doubt a neurotypical person would notice or comment on from the angle he chooses. Like the geek sketch and the 'friend I'm in the mood for' sketch from series 5.

What are your thoughts on these series?

Thank you for asking, that’s an awesome question!

The basic answer is that I am, of course, a big fan. That said, I’d say that as much as I overall enjoy sketch comedy, I do tend to find it hit or miss; and while JFSP has a higher hit rate than most, and plenty of sketches are fantastic*, it definitely doesn’t get there ALL the time.

*Notable faves- Spooktacular, seashells, reincarnation/past lives, “Stop Saying G’nus,” tricyclist… there are loads and loads more, just off the top of my head! Not to mention the excellent ones you already cited…

The functional difference for me ends up being that while I don’t think there’s a 100% hit rate on Cabin Pressure or Double Acts either, I know that if I pick one episode that I like I will enjoy myself for a full half hour. Because I’m less familiar with a given episode of JFSP given how many there have been and how many sketches are in an episode, I don’t have that same sense of instant “ahhh” from turning on an episode of JFSP* as I would from the other two shows, where a lot of my emotions about it come from knowing it like the back of my hand.

*Major exception- S7E6. A perfect episode of sketch comedy that I can listen to literally whenever. No notes.

This isn’t to say that I don’t really enjoy JFSP! I just wish I could pick off a menu of sketches, not simply because I like some better than others but because I like the feeling of “oooh this” on demand that I get from turning on a favorite half hour episode. I will say- I find JFSP to be PERFECT for things like dental procedures and car trips, where I might be in the chair for anywhere from five minutes to two hours and can just turn on a bunch of sequential episodes for as long as I need. But it doesn’t necessarily have the same immediate impact for me as the episodes I love of the other shows.

That said- some of the best things JF ever wrote are Since You Asked Me sketches. I want them pumped into my veins.

[solomonish]

selfless (to a fault?) [nowdateables]

CW: allusions to past toxic relationships.

brothers here!

Diavolo

So. Diavolo might not notice right away. It’s not ignorance! He’s just very busy, and public appearances are important to keep up, so one of the ways he keeps up with you happens to be exactly what you have trouble accepting. Large bouquets sent to the House of Lamentation when you’re there, a word sent out to any of his staff out where you may be to make your life easier however possible (Mammon tries to tag along with you all the time, hoping to hear the magic words: “His highness has graciously waived the fee for all exchange students’ purchases today!”) - and he’s not even there to see the way your smile looks a little more like a grimace, or the way you stare uncomfortably at the little gift.

He seems to love that you are so willing to try and help him out - even if there isn’t much you can do, since he handles a lot of sensitive documents and information. But, considering he’s so lonely, when it comes to reciprocating he sort of follows your lead?

He knows, on a surface level, how to be in a relationship, but considering you’re a human AND he doesn’t have a lot of interpersonal relationships for practice...he sort of follows your lead, and hopes your way of giving love is the same as your way of receiving.

You’ll have to bring it up to him, which is a nerve-wracking experience on its own, eased only by the fact that you know Diavolo has done his best to make sure you KNOW you can bring up any issues you have. He is very good at opening his ears to you and helping you problem solve, and when dealing with the things he cares about (yes, YOU) he is very direct about problem solving.

The moment you stand before him, Diavolo notices the way you fidget with your hands and almost refuse to look at him directly. He immediately stops what he’s doing, putting everything down and turning in his seat. If he’s at his desk, he gestures for you to come to his side and asks you directly - “What’s wrong?”

It seems terrible to directly accuse the prince of wanting to manipulate you, so instead you ask, “What did you want in exchange for those gifts?” And for a moment, he does not know what you are talking about. First of all, WHICH gifts, there’s so many, and secondly did he come across as wanting something in return other than your happiness?

No matter what he was doing before, he will set aside all of the time he needs to at least start to communicate to you that he has no ulterior motives with his gifts to you. If you’d like him to stop with such blatant displays of affection, he will, but it’s more important to him that you know he is only trying to communicate how he feels when he cannot do it directly.

Barbatos

This is a relationship where you might have to bring it up before you even start dating. Either that or he WILL get a hint before then. He’s a butler! Not only is he normally serving other people, he is a master at standing in the back and watching people. He notices the way you awkwardly hold your tea cup after he gives it to you, or decline anything that he offers you when given the chance. It just comes up by nature of who he is.

Before he is interested in pursuing a relationship, he simply brushes it off as the unfamiliarity of having someone wait on you. Perhaps you’re particularly independent, or you just never really are in a situation where someone waits on you like he does. Either way, it isn’t really much of his business.

But...it is very obvious in a relationship. He just...defaults to helping others. Sure, he knows how to separate work and his personal life (though, to be fair, there is not much of a “personal life” there with how much time work takes up, so maybe that needs to be revisited. some day...) but even with that separation he enjoys providing solutions for people and helping out. It brings him joy to help make your life a little easier if he can help, and it’s something he’s good at.

Still, he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable, and he definitely doesn’t want to make you think that he’s treating you the way he treats people as a job. If he wanted to, he could most likely peer into different timelines or even into your past, try to figure out what’s bothering you...but he knows better than to creep into places you haven’t explicitly told him you want him. Besides, communication is important, and this seems a prime opportunity to put that to use.

So he asks you one day when you visit him at the castle, after he notices your hesitation to respond to him when he offers to help you with something you were complaining about. “Why does it make you uncomfortable when I offer my assistance to you?”

You freeze for a moment. “Wouldn’t you be able to find that out on your own?” “Would you like me to?” “...no, not really.”

He isn’t one to press you for information, or to ask a thousand times if you know he’d never use any of his attempts to make your life in the Devildom easier against you. Barbatos will listen to what you have to say intently and do his best to mesh to what you think you’re most comfortable with. He does intend to help you accept help as much as he can, but it’ll be so subtle you’ll hardly even notice. With the little amount of time he already gets with you, he’s already practiced in making the most of it - what’s one more little task to the greatest butler in all the realms?

Solomon

See, this is a relationship that doesn’t necessarily depend on the whole “acts of kindness” thing. (Like, it does to the same degree any relationship does, but considering I think you’d both be pretty independent people and the helping each other aspect normally comes from things you’re doing together anyway. If that makes sense.)

Still, he does notice how...surprised you look when he surprises you with a flashy spell he learned, or when he hears you complaining about your course load or Lucifer’s expectations for you. You decline every single offer he gives you to help, and you never look as happy as he hopes you will when he shows you his spells. (Depending on what stage you are at in the relationship, how is he supposed to impress you if you never want him to do things for you !!!)

However, he is accustomed to holding information close to his chest, and he isn’t always the best at asking about people’s emotions. So, even though sometimes you jump at the opportunity to help him collect ingredients for potions or find one book in massive libraries or craft things for enchantments and spells but you REFUSE to let him help you study for a class he could pass without even listening to one of the lectures, he silently suffers and hopes you’ll breach the subject on your own.

Which you do. Kinda. He’s trying to convince you to let him help you with paying back the debts of one of Mammon’s schemes he dragged you into - figuring two bodies on the job will get it done faster and, in turn, he can have more time with you later - but he makes the mistake of rationalizing it with, “Well, since you help me out so much, maybe I could-”

“Don’t! Don’t...say that. We don’t owe each other anything.” You give him a tight smile that’s OBVIOUSLY fake. “I help you because I want to.”

“And I want to help you. Why won’t you let me? What’s up?”

The conversation is...uncomfortable. Solomon isn’t the best at handling vulnerability. But he doesn’t judge you for a second, and he gets the fear that you have in the back of your mind. Especially since people keep telling you not to trust him and that he’s shady...this relationship is pretty dependent on a thorough trust between the two of you. But he doesn’t mind proving himself a little more, so long as you’ll be gracious enough to give him a chance.

Simeon

Simeon is really good at vibing out somebody’s boundaries and comforts. Call it angelic intuition, but he also has a feeling about you that makes a little too much sense when he notices how you shy away from any offers of assistance.

A little thinking, and suddenly the way you stretch yourself thing to help the brothers at any moment makes a lot of sense too. (And, of course, he is pleased to know everyone considers everyone to be family. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t two main causes!)

Angels naturally want to ease the strife of the humans they come across, and even though Simeon knows that it might make you uncomfortable, he finds himself unknowingly putting you in awkward positions with how often he reaches out to make your life easier.

Bringing you homework that you missed, being your escort when the brothers are busy, buying you lunch just because - he’s a bit of a sweetheart and it’s in his blood to do these things, and he only remembers how it hurts you when you uncomfortably shift before taking the only option he’s given you - accept what you don’t want.

He sits you down one day, letting you know it’s bound to be a healing conversation between the two of you. Fortunately, he has a knack for making you feel comfortable and safe, so he has a slightly easier time getting you to pen up to him.

The moment you even hint at him having ulterior motives, you feel stupid. Even when he assures you that it’s alright, saying it out in the open feels...wrong. That doesn’t shake the feeling or ease your fears, but it does make addressing things a bit easier.

Simeon has no problem helping to draft a plan for re-affirming your trust in genuine love and kindness. He also inserts himself directly into the plans - what, you thought he wouldn’t? Simeon will remind you what it feels like to be cared for with no expectation of return. don’t get him wrong though, he’ll take a lil kiss or something if u want...

Luke

You can’t say no to him. Unfortunately, he bakes a LOT and he is all too eager to be your personal guard dog guardian angel.

When you do decide to let him know why you look so uncomfortable when he tries to do something for you (giving him an abridged version, of course) - and he, in all his energy, does not seem to get the hint to STOP ASKING - you can see him literally just chill out. One minute he’s vibrating with pure energy and the next he’s just. Still.

He half wants to get indignant on you, but he knows that’s not a good response. Instead he just sort of stands there, watching you for a minute, until he blurts out with zero grace - “What would I even have to do that for??”

He realizes it’s a terrible response the moment it comes out of his mouth, but you seem to be okay with it if your awkward chuckle is anything to go with. Luke starts pouting just a little bit, more upset with himself that he’s completely failing at handling this situation. “I’m just nice to you because you’re nice and you deserve it. There’s nothing else to it.”

He’s a sweet boy, and he doesn’t wanna lose his favorite taste-tester. He’s got the spirit.

[songbirdstyles]

kodachrome.

summary: you give harry a camera for his birthday and the two of you are more than excited to put it to good use.

warnings: smut, 18+

word count: 5k

song inspo.: kodachrome - paul simon

It’s true that you may have had ulterior motives with Harry’s birthday gift.

His hands are delicate, fingertips running across the surface of the Polaroid camera as though he’d break it if his grip got any tighter. The packs of film you’d purchased with the camera rest on the coffee table, being thoroughly ignored while Harry examines his gift, and you duck your head just a bit to read his expression. Slightly confused, brows furrowed, a small grin tugging at his lips - it’s what you’d expected with a gift like this, because it isn’t as though either of you need a camera. Surely both of your phones are better quality than the photos you’ll be taking with the Polaroid but it’s for the aesthetic, you suppose. 

“Do you like it?” you question, voice soft. 

Harry rests the camera on his lap and glances up at you, large hand moving to rest over your knee through your jeans. “Well, I love it, ‘course.”

There’s a second part of his response that’s left unsaid - perhaps the question of why you’d gotten him it - so you lean in, chin resting on your boyfriend’s shoulder and your lips drifting dangerously close to his ear. Just enough that you know his jeans are growing tighter and he shifts in his seat on your living room couch as if to prove it to you. “Thought it might be fun to start taking pictures of each other.”

A beat passes with silence, and then he turns his head to look at you, nearly bemused by the concept, as though he doesn’t know exactly what you’re implying. “Wha’ kinda pictures?”

You hum softly, reaching over to the coffee table to pick up one of the film packages, already beginning to tear open the wrapper. “The kind that’ll make touring more fun for both of us.”

Harry pauses, eyes narrowing at your fingers ripping open the crinkly film packaging, and you can practically hear his rebuttal of the idea before he says it. “Thought we said no nudes - people could find ‘em, babe.”

“Physical copies are more secure than digital ones,” you tell him, picking up the camera from his lap to put the film in. “Are you telling me you don’t want to take pictures of me sucking you off to have with you on tour? ‘Cause that’s very out of character for you, Mr. Styles.”

He snorts and the familiar sound is like music to your ears, and then he reaches over to grab the film-loaded Polaroid from your hands, fingers tracing over the small rainbow printed on the front of the camera. “I do,” he confesses, voice dropping in a way you recognize all too well, and your stomach drops with it. “Yeah, I do.”

You lean sideways, resting against the arm of the couch as Harry shifts to face you, raising the camera up to his face with a grin gracing his lips that doesn’t at all match the mood of what you do next - mere seconds before Harry takes the picture, you grip onto the hem of your shirt, tugging it up and over your chest for the camera to capture as his mouth drops into a soft ‘o.’

The click of the photo being taken is nearly deafening against the sudden thick silence, flash blinding you for just a moment and you’re left blinking furiously to regain sight as Harry lowers the camera to his lap. The camera spits out the photo, still white and undeveloped, and he picks it up with delicate fingers to rest it on the couch cushion between you two.

Your shirt drops back over your chest as you shift closer to Harry, pretending like you don’t hear the way his breathing has picked up and how his eyes keep darting to examine your side profile as if trying to see if you’re as affected as the photo as he is - and you are, of course. It’s possibly one of the hottest things you could ever imagine doing with him, taking photos like that, and you can’t lie and say that the redness blooming in his cheeks isn’t adding to the moisture you’re feeling in your panties.

You drag your thumb over the image slowly developing on the Polaroid between you. You can see the beginnings of the outline of your body, though it’s too light to discern the details yet. “Starting to come to. What do you think?”

It’s a stupid question and you already know the answer but it’s more gratifying to hear the way Harry’s voice cracks as he begins, “S’hot.”

“Just hot?”

“Like, g’na cum in m’pants hot.”

You grin and Harry turns his head and it’s practically all you can do to lean in, press your lips to his and feel his hand, pressing to your thigh and sliding upwards. Even through your jeans, his fingers so close to the spot you’re yearning for him has your stomach turning, and you raise your palm to press delicately against his cheek, holding his face close to yours. His breath smells and tastes like the birthday cake you’d been eating in the kitchen with a tinge of expensive wine from dinner with all of your friends but above all he tastes like Harry, the man you love so much, the man who’s reaching down to the couch between you two and picking up the Polaroid with two careful fingers.

“Look,” Harry hums softly as he pulls away from you and you look down at the picture to examine it with him. It’s you, in full color, fingers gripping the hem of your shirt tight above your breasts, exposing the cherry-red bra you’re donning beneath. It’s Harry’s favorite bra of yours -  meant to be a surprise for later tonight but you don’t think he’ll mind seeing it early. The photo cuts off halfway up your face but you can see your smirk, smug as you saw the shock on his face just as the photo took. “S’developed.”

 --

 Harry’s soft moans are like music to your ears - like a favorite song and you’d love nothing more than to listen to it on repeat, plug in your headphones and tilt your head back until it’s stuck in your head like an earworm.

For now, though, you’re more than content to enjoy them in the moment, and God, you’re enjoying it. He’s always vocal in bed but even more so when you ride him, when his fingers are digging bruises into your thighs to help your movements up and down and the only words that manage to fall off of his lips are breathy cries of your name like prayer, as though you’re a goddess and he’s merely a worshipper at your altar.

Your hips slow into a gentle roll against his, clit brushing up against his pelvic bone in a way that has a chill rolling up your spine, and your hand slides from its place on Harry’s chest to his throat. Wraps around his neck just so, squeezing experimentally to listen to the way his moans crackle in the thick, humid air of your London bedroom, and a rush of arousal gushes to your core at the sight and sound.

“Look at me,” you order Harry, and you think you understand why he’s always so reluctant to hand you the reins when you want them. There’s something special about being above him, knowing that you can control what he does with just an authoritative lilt in your voice - even if he has the strength to flip you over at any moment. Deep down, you reckon he likes being below you sometimes just as much as you adore being on top. When he doesn’t obey your commands, eyes still rolled to the back of his head, you pause your movements completely, and his eyes fly open as if you’d pried them open. “Look at me, Har.”

You tighten your hand around his throat again as his eyes bore into yours, pupils clouded with lust that you’re sure are reflected in your own. When you’re positive he won’t look away from you, his hips bucking up in just the slightest for any semblance of movement, you resume your motions. Roll your hips just once against his, moan catching in your throat, and you keep going. You lift your hips up, thighs trembling to hold yourself up before sinking back down, feeling him fill you again and again.

“Fuck -” Harry gasps, tone cracking and you grin down at him, slamming your hips into his hard enough that the sound of skin slapping skin nearly overpowers his voice - but it doesn’t, and you’re oh so glad that you could hear it. “Feels - feels so good, babe.”

As dominant as you’re trying to be, his praise nearly makes you break and it would be the perfect moment for him to grab your thighs and flip you over but you regain your composure just as fast as you’d lost it. Your voice is shaky as you loosen your grip ever so slightly on his neck, leaning backwards enough so your clit is on display for him, glistening wet with the mixture of your juices together. “R - rub my clit for me.”

And he complies, hand sliding down his sweaty abdomen until two fingers are pressed to your clit, rubbing soft circles into the overly sensitive nub but you don’t want soft, you want hard. So you push your body forward, pressing your clit further into his fingers and he’s not stupid - he catches the hint and presses down harder, circles tightening into hard rubs that has your head dropping back, sweaty hair sticking to your back.

“God,” you tell him, rocking your hips more against his as a reward, “feels so good, Har. Doin’ so good - keep doing that.”

And he does, of course. Keeps rubbing your clit like he was born for it and in return you ride him with the new form of vigor that he earns, eyes rolling back into your head. When you look back down at him, grip tightening like a noose around his throat, you’re nearly overwhelmed by how fucking spectacular he looks. All sweaty hair, mouth dropped open in a permanent ‘o’ and his eyes struggling to stay open.

You could decide to merely engrave it in your brain for all eternity, but you have a better idea to memorialize it.

You swallow thickly, hips slowing to a near halt as Harry’s eyes fly completely open, threatening to complain. “R - reach into the drawer, Har. The nightstand.”

You can read the confusion on his face clear as day but he follows your orders, reaching over to tug open the nightstand drawer. Sitting inside, clear as day, sits the white Polaroid camera, and Harry knows what to do before you tell him to. He picks it up with one shaky hand and you immediately reach to grab it from him, turning it over briefly in your hands before raising it up to your face.

Briefly your hips roll over his, gentle but enough for him to rest his head back into his pillow, lips turning upwards into a satisfied grin and you know that’s the best shot you’ll get - his face contorted with pleasure, hair spread out over the pillow, and the flash of the picture being taken only makes the scene look that much more angelic.

You grab the photo with two shaking fingers and lift it up to examine it, resting the camera on the bed beside you. It hasn’t developed and so you shake it just for a moment, feeling increasingly needy to fucking see it but you know it will take time - and you certainly have a lot of that.

“Open up,” you direct and he obeys, mouth dropping open and you insert the picture onto his mouth, watching his teeth and lips clamp onto it. “Now, keep it nice like that ‘till it develops. You can do that, can’t you? ‘Course you can.”

 --

 “Keep those eyes on me, babe.”

It’s a task that’s easier said than done, eyes rolling nearly completely back in your head as you search to meet Harry’s. When your eyes find his it’s difficult to maintain, vision nearly completely upside down as you hang off the edge of the bed of your Malibu hotel room, fingers gripping so tight onto the duvet you’d be surprised if your nails hadn’t torn through the fabric. Gripping the coversis the only way to not reach out for Harry’s thighs and he’d forbid you from doing so with the threat of not being able to cum - a risk you’re rather unwilling to take.

His fingers brush your neck, surely searching for the bulge indicative of how far his cock is shoved down your throat, and you can tell he’s found it when he squeezes just hard enough to have your vision go fuzzy. Your tongue swirls around the swollen tip of his cock, feeling him slide out of your mouth just enough for you to press a gentle kiss to the tip, his hiss showing how much he appreciated the gesture before he’s pushing back in your mouth.

He’d been starting slow, fucking your throat gentle to make sure you’re alright with it. It’s not often that you do this - you prefer to be on your knees for him, with his hands in your hair to occasionally force you to go faster. But there is certainly something better about this, struggling to keep your eyes open and feeling blood rush to your head while trying to keep your sore jaw wide open for Harry to fuck.

Eventually, though, the slow pace had been abandoned and you can feel him picking up the pace, hips bucking into your face just fast enough to make you feel like you’re losing your damn mind but you wouldn’t have it any other way, even if you’re nearly gagging on him with every other thrust.

“God,” Harry moans, and through your blurred vision you can see his palms coming down to cup your face, using his leverage on your cheeks to increase his speed. “God, look so fuckin’ - fuckin’ pretty, baby. So pretty, takin’ my dick so well. Look at tha’ - moan f’me, babe.”

And you do, of course. You moan desperately and it’s muffled as his pelvis presses nearly flat to your face, holding himself there, and your cheeks hollow as you suck him, and you watch him toss his head back with sheer ecstasy and it encourages you to hold out for just another extra second before your hand flies towards his thigh, smacking twice, and he pulls out of you immediately until only the tip of his member rests on your tongue.

His thumbs massage your jawline as you flick your tongue over the tip of his cock, taking the second of pause to catch your breath and relish in his touch. It’s only a moment, though - you jerk your head just once up and he takes the gesture as it is, an invitation to keep going.

“There y’go,” Harry breathes, hands sliding downwards until he’s grasping your throat, heels of his hands massaging the lump in your throat as he had before. “Should take a picture of you - remember this forever.”

Do it, you want to shout at him. You love when he takes pictures and you’d love nothing more than to see yourself from his perspective but it seems that he didn’t need your suggestion - resting on the bed is his Polaroid camera from when you’d dumped your bags when you’d first gotten to the hotel and it’s become a traveling staple since you’d gotten it for him - you two never forget to bring it with you.

His fumbling hands raise the camera to his face, cock still thrusting in and out of your willing mouth and you make sure your eyes are open when the flash goes off, the click intensely loud in the hotel room. Your tongue swirls around his cock, grinning as Harry pulls the photo from the bottom of the camera and tosses it onto the bed, hand sliding down from your throat to your tits and his fingers pluck at your nipple just as the flash goes off again and the camera spurts out another image.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen,” your boyfriend murmurs, hips thrusting his cock further into your mouth and you gag around him before loosening your throat to take him, no way of encouraging him to continue but he doesn’t need it. “M’so fuckin’ close - and m’gonna cum on your face, and in your mouth, too. D’you want that?”

You nod.

“Knew you would.” His face is nearly adoring as he stares down at you and it’s an expression that doesn’t match the absolute filth of what’s in your mouth. “When I’ve painted your face like - like fuckin’ Michelangelo - m’gonna take another picture, and then m’gonna fuck you.”

It sounds just about perfect to you and you nod vehemently, Harry’s palm closing in around your breast and squeezing and in turn, you tighten your throat around his length and it gets the response you’d wanted - a sharp buck of his hips, and then he pulls out of your mouth.

Your lips close in around the tip of his cock, sucking on the swollen head and you can tell by the way his head drops back that he’s there - just a moment later, his hand pumping his cock, thick ribbons of cum spurt from the head and it’s warm as it lands on your face, and your tongue darts out to lick at the bit of it that had landed near your lips.

His breathing is heavy, desperately trying to catch his breath and it has a rush of pride coursing through your veins - only you do this to him, leave him needy and desperate and just as the smirk graces your lips, he’s muttering, “Say cheese,” and the flash illuminates your hotel room once more.

 --

 There’s something almost relaxing about having Harry’s face between your thighs.

It’s a sensation you’ll never tire of no matter how often it happens - and with his absolute adoration for the act, it happens often. Sometimes it’s hard and intense, fingers digging into your thighs and leaving bruises that won’t vanish for days, but other times - like now - it’s nearly offhanded. Lazy and gentle, his tongue swirling around your clit as your fingers lightly brush through your hair, your free hand clutching Harry’s Polaroid, waiting for the best moment to take the picture you’re yearning.

Your fingernails scratch at his scalp, digging deeper into his head as his teeth brush against your clit just enough to have your back arching upwards, hips bucking up into his mouth as a soft moan escapes your  throat. You can practically feel Harry smirking as his tongue rests flat over your folds, juices gushing to the apex of your thighs at the motion.

His breath is hot against your cunt as his lips close around your clit, tongue flicking over the sensitive bud and his palms smooth up and down your thighs, gently holding your lower body down before your hips can buck up to meet his mouth again. “Try not to move,” Harry mumbles against your pussy, voice sending vibrations rolling through your body and a chill slithers up your spine, head dropping back onto the arm of your living room couch. The movie playing on the television - Groundhog Day - has been long forgotten, abandoned from the moment he pushed you to lie on the couch and pushed off your sweatpants. “C’mon, baby - stay still f’me.”

You swallow thickly, raising the camera to your face and peering at Harry through the small screen. You can’t see his face - just the mess of curls on top of his head and your fingers combing through the locks - his palms, smoothing over your thighs gently - his eyelashes, on display while his eyes remain shut with pleasure. He tells you, again and again, that he loves eating you out more than you do and you’ve always rolled your eyes because there’s no way in hell he likes it more than you -

But sometimes you do believe him.

“Do that again, Har,” you murmur, voice dropping into a breathy cry as Harry repeats what you’d asked him to, his nose nudging at your clit while his tongue flicks at your folds. It’s at that moment that you take the first picture, flash illuminating the slick that coats your mound in a way you hadn’t noted before - at the sudden brightness Harry looks up and you can see your wetness surrounding his chin and mouth, pure proof of how hard he’s been working your cunt, and you take another picture.

The two images fall into your palms and you rest them on your stomach, tugging your shirt further up your torso so they lay flat on your skin. Harry’s eyes drift upwards for just a moment, scanning the faded outline of your legs wrapped around his shoulders and you can see the beginnings of a smirk working his lips before he turns back to the task at hand, tongue parting your cunt before it slips inside of you, thrusting in and out.

“Fuck,” you breathe, legs tightening around his shoulders and forcing his head further into your cunt, and he moans into your folds at the motion. “Fuck!”

“Y’like tha’?” Harry questions, voice rolling through your body again and you toss your head back with a moaning sob, pushing your hips further up to him. “Yeah, y’do.”

“Har -” you swallow thickly as his lips close around your clit, cheeks hollowing as he sucks. “Har - oh my god, I’m gonna - gonna cum -”

“Cum f’me,” and his voice is gruff and desperate, practically a plead for you to cum on his tongue, to bless him with your juices. “Cum on m’tongue.”

Whatever he’d been spouting before about keeping still is long forgotten, your hips bucking upwards to meet his mouth as your orgasm washes through you. It’s intense and near brutal, not any sort of match for the energy Harry had been maintaining but it doesn��t matter - it’s so relieving that you don’t try to fight it, just let your body relax and your head fall back with what’s nearly a scream.

His flexed tongue continues lazily thrusting in and out of your cunt, helping you through your orgasm like it hadn’t affected him one bit but you know that isn’t true. You can see his lips, turned into a grin and his eyes darkened when he glances up at you, hands on your thighs sliding across your skin until his thumbs lazily pull apart your lips, giving him easier access to the parts of you he craves.

He’s going for your second orgasm - you know that. And you also know it won’t be too long until you get there, especially when his thumb focuses on your clit, massaging the over-sensitive nub as your cunt clenches vehemently around his tongue. 

Click. One final picture, of Harry’s hands and face pressed to your pussy, devoted to getting you off and not worried in the slightest about his own neediness. When you’ve rested it to your stomach, next to the other two fully-developed images, you let your arm fall off the side of the couch, letting the camera slip from your fingers and land silently on the carpet, more than intent to focus solely on your boyfriend between your thighs.

Within moments you’re at the edge again, Harry’s face deepening between your thighs to help you ride out your second. Your hips roll against his lips, his thumbs rubbing your clit until you’re sobbing out towards the ceiling, heels digging into his back and forcing his body towards yours. You’re so lost in the sensation, in fact - and on the developed Polaroids sitting on your tummy - you hardly register his mumble of, “Think y’got a third one f’me?” But when you do -

Fuck.

 --

On Harry’s next birthday, you have a very different gift idea planned.

The plane tickets to Greece were the main course - a vacation you’d both dreamt of taking for as long as you’d known each other and you’d never gotten around to it, but you figure there’s no time like the present to knock it off your bucket list. And you could tell Harry was overjoyed, turning and wrapping you in a hug so large you nearly fell off of your seat in the middle of his favourite restaurant.

The side to the main course, though - the appetizer? - is what you’d been waiting for him to open, and not in the middle of the restaurant. It’s only when you two get home, your arms hooked together, giggling like teenagers as Harry fumbles with his keys, that you pull out the small envelope with his name scribbled on the front in red pen.

“Go ahead,” you tell him, pushing yourself to sit on the marble countertops in your kitchen while Harry situates himself between your legs, turning the envelope over in his hands with the same lingering curiosity he’d held last year. “It’s not gonna bite you, Har. Just open it.”

He rolls his eyes at that, a grin tugging his lips upwards as his fingers dig into the paper, tearing the envelope delicately open and you can tell he’s trying not to rough up the wrapper too much, in case he’ll want to keep it for sentimentality but you’re positive that, once he finds what’s inside, he won’t care too much.

Then he dumps the contents of the envelope onto your lap, ten small Polaroid pictures falling onto your dress where it covers your thighs, some face up and some down and as soon as Harry’s eyes scan then, you can see the red blush creeping up his cheeks.

“You fuckin’ minx,” he breathes, and you grin, leaning forward to drop your forehead against his shoulder just as Harry picks up the first Polaroid. Turning it over in his hands you glance down to look at which one he’s examining - it’s a close up he’d taken, his palm wrapped around your neck tight enough that his fingers turned white and you can remember the exact moment. How you’d whined and begged him to go harder, to God, fuck me like a whore, Har, and he’d responded by grabbing your throat so tight you saw stars before he released you.

“I like that one,” you confess, nail dragging over the edge of your jawline where it’s cut off by the camera before you reach down to your lap, overturning every image so you can see them all before grabbing one. “This one - it’s my favorite, though.”

You hold the picture up for Harry to see, watching his eyes narrow as he scrutinizes it. It’s a picture of his back, taken when he’d been bent over putting on pants the morning after Valentine’s Day - you’d intended to be inconspicuous, memorializing the array of deep red scratches you’d left on his skin the night before and you were beyond grateful when you saw the developed image. He’d complained when he heard the click of the camera, telling you that if anyone gets their hands on this, they’ll think I’m being abused - but you knew he liked it, because you caught him peeking at it on your dresser during the next few weeks.

It’s a nice thing to do to include it in his gift, though you’d love nothing more than to frame it on your wall to have there forever.

Harry hums gently, grabbing the picture from your fingers and dropping it back to your lap. You can feel his fingertips, drumming along your thighs as he sorts through the photos. “I remember this one,” he tells you, picking up the end of one of the pictures so you can both see it. Your cheeks flush when you see it - you’d picked it to commemorate the very first (and certainly not the last) time the two of you had tried anal. “God, came so fuckin’ hard tha’ day. Look at tha’ - how red your ass is, fuckin’ beginn’ be to spank you -”

“Alright,” you interrupt, feeling heat creep up your neck to your cheeks as you smack the photo out of his hands. It’s a shaky picture, taken while he was balls deep in your ass, his palm spreading your cheeks apart to get the best angle of his cock inside of you - you remember how good it felt, watching the flash illuminate the room and hearing Harry moan as the photo developed where he’d placed it on your back. The Polaroid lands back on your lap and you reach down, sorting through the array of images until you find the one you’re searching for. “Here - thought you’d like this one the most.”

And - God - when he sees it, grabbing it out of your hands to examine up close, you swear you can hear him whine with need as he brings it up to his eyes. It’s a photo of the two of you in front of a floor-to-ceiling mirror that had been at one of your hotel rooms and neither of you could pass up the chance to watch yourselves during the moment. Your dress, pulled down over your chest, his hand covering your breasts with his head buried in your neck, and you remember feeling him pressed inside of you, both so desperate and needy that you needed to capture it.

“I was right, wasn’t I?” You prod, pressing your lips to the side of Harry’s throat as his head drops to the side. It was, perhaps, the best sex you two had ever had - you couldn’t walk for a week without thinking of him. “You love it.”

“I do love it,” he confirms, hand snaking around your side to begin tugging your dress up your sides. “Reckon it’s not too early to start working on another year’s worth of pictures?”

[writing-in-april]

Party Play

Chip Taylor x Female Reader

Summary: After Reader gets Chip to voice one of his deepest desires Reader takes him to a play party Reader’s friend hosts.

A/N: This low key feels like the filthiest thing I’ve ever written 😂 This Chip fic is my ninth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April event! This was the original request- I kinda ran with it lol- i was also unable to get this fic beta’d so forgive me for any mistakes I missed 🙈I’ve been curious as to what has been y’all’s favorite so far- feel free to drop it in my ask box here. Hope y’all enjoy this one 😏 I know I did lol 😂 Thanks for reading ☺️

Warnings 18+, Smut, This all happens at a play party, Sub Chip, Chip in a skirt and panties, Chip in a Collar and Leash, Thigh riding, Hand job, Oral sex (F and M receiving), References to suspension play (they don’t participate and move on), Unprotected sex, Hinted at sex with multiple partners

Main Masterlist Word Count: 3.7k

Chip had never had much luck when it came to girls. Sure he had girls flocking around him wherever he went, but any type of relationship with them had always turned into a disaster.

After the whole business with Liza Chip had sworn off girls, and any other type of long term romantic relationships for a good long while. People of all ages would still hit on him of course, that time an older woman had pinched his ass while behind him in line to check out at the grocery store still made him blush.

It had been around 3 years when someone had contested and eventually got him to break his promise to swear off any type of romantic connection. You had come in like a storm, turning his whole life upside down. Unlike with Liza he didn't mind when you came through to turn it upside down because instead of ruining it you had begun to put the prices back in place.

Your relationship hadn’t been a whirlwind romance, you turned everything upside down slowly and carefully. Each piece that was put back into place was given all the time that it needed to settle back in its place. Chip still got whiplash from the whole experience, any pure affection given without motive was an entirely foreign concept to him.

Sex had been one of the biggest obstacles in your relationship. He had wanted to wait until he felt like he could implicitly trust you with anything. Even after you had both gotten to that point Chip had wanted to wait a little longer as he still had trouble with flashbacks of his bad experiences with sex, most of them involving Liza. Not that you minded at all, you were there for the long haul. You wanted Chip to be completely comfortable with the idea of having sex before you took that step forward. Even when the two of you had an intense make out session with you straddling him you checked in on him at every new turn. It would be a nightmare to you if you ever even made him feel an ounce of uncomfortableness.

When you had eventually gotten to your first time you had made sure it was sweet and slow, giving him an experience he had never had before. Each time you had sex since then even though it had developed into something a little less than vanilla (that was an understatement), you made sure Chip was cared for, always.

Today you had both agreed on doing something that Chip had never gotten to experience before. He had felt too afraid to tell Liza and had been too shy to tell you until you pried it out of him with some light teasing, with a bit of love of course.

While he had been moaning underneath you had been goading him while rolling your hips, “Come on- tell me what you’ve been thinking about, baby boy.”

In a breathy whine he then broke down and admitted, “W-want to go- to one of those parties your friend hosts!”

A smirk had been evident on your face then, you knew exactly what he had been referring to. One of your closest friends often hosted play parties every month. Chip had found out about them when your friend had come over one day and had casually mentioned it. The thought of going to one with you must have been stuck in his mind ever since that day. You sped up the slow pace you had started with and had promised him, “Alright- I’ll take you to one. You’ll have to be on your best behavior, baby boy.”

—-

Now that the day had come Chip was antsy, you could tell. He hadn’t had a job to go and work on today, instead opting to cling to you as you did your own work on your computer. You let him sit on your lap while you worked even though it was slightly awkward with his lanky limbs.

His clinginess had made you nervous, wondering if he didn’t want to go anymore. You carded your hands through his hair, fingers catching on a few knots as you soothed him. Making sure you were done with the last bit of your work for the day you closed the laptop. then you broke the silence that had been between you both while you had been working, “Do you not want to go? No matter what your answer is I won’t be mad, I promise.”

“No no no no-I do I promise!” He squeaked out and sat up rigidly, “Just a little nervous- the good type of nervous.”

“Alright- I’ll take your word for it pretty boy.” You leaned forward to whisper. There was no one around you both right now, no need to whisper, but Chip always shivered a little when you spoke to him like this, “Speaking of you being pretty, I think it’s about time to get you dressed up pretty as well.”

You wanted to look pretty for this event of course, you also wanted to dress Chip up as well. For yourself you had chosen a simple black dress that was hiding a set underneath in matching black as well. For Chip you had picked out a much more revealing outfit. He’d be hiding this all under a coat at first, but once you both entered the house you’d make him reveal what was underneath.

You got him dressed in a black skirt, with matching black panties underneath. That would be all he’d be wearing to cover himself besides his coat and combat boots, which he’d be shedding at the door. For an accessory you had brought out his collar and leash, also black in color (what can you say? You like black).

Once he was all dressed up and pretty you stood back to admire your work while he sat on the bed obediently. He withered a bit in shyness underneath your gaze, but when you cocked your eyebrows up in question he went right back to his original position.

“You stay right there looking pretty while I get ready.” Leaving no room for defiance you then left to get the outfit you had picked out for yourself. After you came back you slipped out of your clothes, standing naked in front of him before then getting your lingerie on as slow as you could, just to tease him. When you covered up your lingerie with the black dress on top and slipped on some platform heels he whimpered. Your response to the whimper was quick and biting, “Don’t complain, you’ll get to see it later if you’re good. Now help me zip up my dress.”

That made him quiet quickly, obediently helping you zip up the dress, hiding anything underneath out of sight until he was good. He continued his obedience when you had gotten your things ready and got into the car, already getting into his submissive state. He only made any noise on the car ride there when you asked him a question.

You had gone before to one of your friend’s parties with a previous partner, the one before Chip. Their house was huge, with multiple guest bedrooms plus some other rooms converted so people could play in them. Each room that was occupied had a sheet pinned up on the wall beside it listing all the things that would entail if you walked in through the door, plus hard limits set by the person running the room. If you wanted to join in, you’d write your names down and whether or not you were there to watch or join in. If you wanted to leave for any reason, you could with no questions asked and if the person running the room asked you to leave, you had to with no fight. There was something for everybody.

Some of the guest rooms had an occupancy limit, some had a small limit of how many people could join and some could allow a large group of people. Even before you could go up to the rooms you had to go through a coat check where you also confirmed who you were. Every person in the house had to bring ID and be on the list approved by your friend.

“Are you nervous?” You asked Chip quietly after you had handed the person at coat check your ID’s.

His cheeks flushed red at your question, shifting from side to side on his feet. You could tell that he was feeling exposed in his outfit, like you had intended. But, you had wanted to check in one more time before fully entering, wanting him to be flustered, not uncomfortable. You breathed a little sigh of relief when he answered in a small voice, “In a good way.”

“Good.”

It was silent between you two for a minute until the person came back with your IDs. When you were let loose and told to enjoy the party you wrapped one of your hands around the end of his leash to beckon him to follow you.

After the coat check and down a small hallway there was the living room connected with the kitchen in an open floor plan. People were mingling about, having light conversation with some people perhaps deciding if they wanted to pull them up into a room with them.

When you spotted your friend, who was hosting this at their home, you walked up to them while pulling Chip along.

“Hey! How are you?” Your friend greeted you once they were done with their previous conversation with another guest. Chip waited patiently and quietly while you both caught up with each other. You had set some rules before you had gone to the party, he wasn’t allowed to speak unless you asked him something directly or allowed him to speak to someone else. He slowly flushed a deeper shade of red as you both kept having a conversation, not acknowledging him standing there in practically nothing. Your friend then eyed Chip up and down after you had concluded telling them about your last work trip, “Well, I won’t keep you both any longer, enjoy the rooms.”

You gave your friend a thanks, pulling Chip along behind you towards the stairs that led to the guest bedrooms. The hallway of guest rooms was to your right after you made it to the top of the stairs. Loud moans from all the rooms were easily heard despite all the doors being shut tight.

You looked at the first sheet next to the first room, seeing if you both might be interested in this room. Other people around you were doing the same, some couples and some single people looking at each sheet down the hall. Once you had read over the hard limits of the room you decided that Chip might like this one. The rooms closer to the stairs were often the tamer ones, building up slowly to the last room, which was the largest and usually held the most people.

“I think you might like this one.” You said simply, then opening the door to let him have a look before you wrote both of your names down. Most of the people in here were watching the couple in the center, a woman being fucked from behind while her partner pulled her hair to arch her back.

His eyes were glistening and wide as he looked through the door to see if he’d be interested in this first room.

“I-I’d like to go in this one please.” His request was meek, you let it slide this time as you knew he was still nervous. After you had written down your names you entered, greeting the person running the room before sitting down at the closest armchair to the door. You wanted to sit closest to the door so you could bring Chip out in case he got uncomfortable.

You had Chip sit perched on your lap while he watched with wide eyes at the couple in the center. He also occasionally looked over to the people on the side touching themselves while watching. You let him get comfortable for a while before enacting your plan.

While he watched, his eyes still trained on the sight in front of him, you started to trail your hand upwards to go underneath the skirt he was wearing. The pair of panties you had him wear were already straining because of how hard his cock was. Cupping him through his panties you began to stroke him through them, not yet taking him out of them, that was for later.

“No, you don’t get to make a noise, not yet.” You commanded quietly when he opened his mouth out to moan after you had been stroking him for a while. He looked down at you with glistening eyes begging you to let him do something. You tugged his leash with your free hand to bring his face down to yours, “You can grind your hips on your thigh if you want to, but nothing else. You’ve got to earn more than that baby boy.”

He looked like he wanted to protest, but decided instead to take what he was given. Notching one of your thighs right between his you then began to stroke him again. He then began to grind down onto your thigh, taking what little you had given and running with it.

He kept quiet as he rode your thigh, not willing to break your rules today, he wanted a reward. He was careful to not put too much pressure as he swiveled his hips, just enough to push him closer to the edge along with your hand stroking him. His eyes were still trained in front of him at the couple who had now switched positions to have the woman riding her partner. When he got close to the edge, his hips bucking harder against yours desperately you stopped moving your hand. You also grabbed his hips so he would stop grinding against you. When he dared to begin to protest you yanked his leash again, your lips so close they were practically touching.

“No you don’t get to cum yet, we’ve got so many more rooms to look at.” When you revealed your plan Chip whined indignantly, which got him a slap on his inner thigh, “Don’t complain or I won’t let you finish at all tonight. Be a good boy for me?”

He nodded while biting his lip, his hair mussed up from you running your hands through it and tugging just the way he liked it. You didn’t let him linger any longer in the room, getting up to leave the room and pulling Chip along with you. He had already looked intrigued every time you had both walked into a new room, wide eyed and curious to find another that he would enjoy.

In the next room Chip had chosen a man who was being edged by his dom, just like you were doing to him while he watched.

You took him into your mouth this time to edge him, pulling his panties down to free him, though you had him keep the skirt on. Then you took him as far back into your mouth as you could while he watched. You could tell he wanted to make noise while you brought him closer and closer again with your mouth. The man who was also being edged at the center of the room was getting the same treatment, except he was allowed to moan, which only made Chip’s job harder.

Just as you could feel him come closer to the edge once again you pulled off of him with a pop, “I think it’s time you paid some attention to me, baby boy.”

He squirmed underneath you, an unconscious movement from when you removed any stimulation. Though, you also suspected there was a hint of defiance as well because of how hard he squirmed. That made you put off when you would let him finish just a bit longer.

You finally pulled off the black dress you had been wearing all night revealing the black set you were wearing. The crotch less panties you had picked out were perfect for this. You had him get on his knees with a tug of the leash, in the exact same position you had been in earlier.

Yanking on the leash hard you pulled his face close to your dripping core. You hadn’t been unaffected by all the things you had seen and done so far tonight. He looked up at you, waiting for permission to surge forward to use his mouth on you and you freely gave it, “Go on- if you make me cum I might let you finish in the next room.”

That made him almost feral as he dove into your heat, not starting with small kitten licks and teasing. He parted your folds with his tongue, gathering all the wetness that had accumulated. Then dipping back down he began to circle the hole of your entrance a few times, then pushing it inside you while nudging his nose against your clit.

Instead of holding back your moans like you had made Chip do, you let them fall free along with most of the other people watching the man in the middle. It was hard to focus on the sight in front of you while also looking down at Chip who was fighting for your attention as hard as he could. His hands had even dared to leave his sides even though you hadn’t given him permission. He moved them to grip hard around your hips to pull you closer, if that was even possible.

“Mmm, I’ll let that slide since your mouth feels so-“ You didn’t finish your sentence as it morphed into a high pitched whine, a signal as to how close you were getting from Chip’s stimulating movements. When he started to suck on your clit, your hips tried to fight his hard grip, the stimulation almost too much. Still, you commanded him to do more with a gasp, “Put your fingers inside me!”

He followed your command perfectly, letting one of his hands move away from your hips so he could push two fingers inside you. Once he had worked them inside you, he curled them to hit at the perfect spot. That combined with his lips wrapped around your clit triggered your orgasm swiftly. You praised him as well as you could through your moans, your grip also loosening on the leash a bit as your orgasm flowed through you.

“Good boy.” You praised again, this time more coherently after you had ridden out your devastating orgasm. His cheeks were covered in your arousal, glistening in the darker lighting of the room. Bringing him in for a long passionate kiss was to show your appreciation, but to also taste yourself on his tongue. When you separated from him you gave him something he had been waiting for all night, “In the next room we choose, I’ll let you cum as many times as you want.”

He almost bolted out of the room at that, though he stopped himself, waiting for you to lead him out with his leash.

“The collar isn’t too tight? And- you're still feeling good?” You checked in with him while you walked to the next room.

“Yes!” Any nervousness had vanished by now, plus he was chipper at the prospect of being able to cum. Giving him a kiss on his lips at his response made him blush, even though it was much more chaste than any others you had shared tonight. You always knew how to make him a little bit embarrassed, just enough to make him excited.

The next room we stopped in wasn’t suited to our liking as it had a girl suspended off the floor. Chip had seemed intrigued at first by it, but ultimately decided that it wasn’t his taste.

“What’s in that last room?” He had asked, intrigued by the last room in the hall.

“Why don’t I open the door and show you? It might be a little much for tonight, but if you want, we can go in.”

He nodded eagerly at that, prompting you to open the door to the room. You had been in this room multiple times when coming here previously, it was one of your favorite rooms.

At every party this one was the same, no one was just simply watching in this one. Everyone was touching each other, no couple strictly in the center for everyone to watch while playing with themselves.

It looked like utter chaos to anyone who was new, in your opinion that was one of the best parts. They even had three people in the room to see through the chaos, the only people just watching, to make sure everything was ok.

“I want to go in.” He hadn’t even waited for you to ask before he voiced his opinion. A bright smile made its way onto both of your faces out of excitement. You had him read all of the hard limits and rules of this particular room before you nudged him forward through the door frame, letting him lead for once tonight.

It was hard to focus on what was happening around you, everyone was really touching everyone, only a few groups splitting off to pleasure themselves.

When one of the couples trained eyes on you they beckoned you both to come closer. Chip unconsciously moved forward without your leash tugging him to do so. You side eyed him a little when he did so, he did stop his movements, waiting for you to tell him what to do. You turned so you were standing in front of him, blocking his view of the couple who were now eagerly waiting to see if you two would join them.

Tugging on his leash a little made him stumble forward a bit in surprise. Now that he was closer to you, you leant forward to ask with a whisper in his ear, “Do you want to stay in this room, baby boy?” Grabbing his hair with one hand you then tilted his neck slightly to the side, nipping on it a little before then asking another question, “Do you want to get used in front of everybody baby? And- have other people use you?”

“Yes, Miss.”

With his whimpered confirmation you let your grip on him go giving him one more command before joining in with anyone, “I want you to cum as much as you want baby boy, it’s your reward. And- I’ll let you make as much noise as you want.”

Ask Me Anything

——-

Tag lists (message me if you want to be added):

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @takeyourleap-of-faith (I thought it worked and then it didn’t 😡)

All MGG characters: @muffin-cup @willowrose99

Spencer Reid/CM: @calm-and-doctor @destiny-tsukino @safertokiss @slutforthegubes @onlyhereforthefanfics @jareauswifey

[baepsaesbae]

Eclipse

Pairing— Day Fairy!Hoseok x Night fairy!reader    

Genre— SMUT, fae au, angst, idiots to lovers

Warnings— Oral (F receiving), nipple play, explicit unprotected sex, hair pulling, both praise and slight derogatory dirty talk bc I can’t make up my mind, slight swearing

Word Count— 3.3k  

Summary— The summer solstice is here and it’s time to celebrate. Your favorite part of the solstice is that you get to see Hoseok, or rather, the love of your life. It’s too bad you haven’t told him how you really felt, even though it has been centuries. Maybe this year will be different. 

A/N— This fic is part of The Fabled Collab hosted by @joontopia, @kimtaehyunq, and @whipped-for-kpop-fics. Hoseok is my sunshine, so I just had to write about him! Thank you to @s0seo and @taegularities for giving me motivation to write. Lastly, huge shoutout to Eden from @thebiasrekkers​ for making this awesome banner for me! As always, let me know how you guys like the fic! My askbox is always open <3

Fae clans have many holidays and rituals, but solstices are by far the most celebrated. Solstices mark the pivotal event that shifts the seasonal responsibilities between the sun and moon clans. The summer and winter solstice are always the biggest events of the year, with about a week of festivities leading up to the final event. 

Sweat ran down your spine as the sun beat down on you. You’ve been holding up a stupid banner for what felt like an eternity.

“Okay wait, you’re gonna hate me but I think we should put it back to where we originally had it,” Sunghoon said with furrowed brows.

“That’s it. We’ve been doing this all morning. Figure this out yourself,” you angrily threw down the banner and stormed off before Sunghoon had the chance to yell at you.

You ignored the friendly calls from other fae that were setting up decor nearby. It was way past your bedtime. Cranky and drenched in sweat, you were definitely not a happy night fairy. Heading straight to the pond, you derobed and found comfort in the cool waters that  washed away your stress instantly. You gazed up at the blue sky while floating on your back. The day truly was beautiful, you couldn’t deny that. However, nighttime was better in your very much biased opinion. The dark sky littered with countless stars that glittered like diamonds was an unbeatable sight. 

“Hey there sunshine!” a familiar voice interrupted your thoughts. You dipped back into the water and turned to the source of the sound.

“Hey there, perv. Care to join me?” you beckoned.

“I wish I could, but I need to go finalize some plans for the handoff ceremony--”

“It’s the same EVERY year. C’mon Hobi, you don’t need to go,” you whined.

“I’ll meet you back here at sunset, how does that sound?” he tried to appease you.

“Midnight. I’m already exhausted, I don’t wanna wake up early,” you blew raspberries into the pond.

“That’s fair. I’ll see you then okay?” Hoseok waved before flying off.

On top of parties filled with indulgences that would blow the mind of any feeble human, Hoseok was the added bonus that made you eager for each solstice. Admittedly, you two have had some sort of flirtationship going on for the past few centuries. Your friends always teased you about how madly head over heels you were for him. As much as you wanted to believe that he loved you in the same way, something always felt off.  

Hoseok always reciprocated your flirtatious advances, but it felt more like a game between friends rather than something substantial. You’ve even observed his interactions with other fairies, and it didn’t seem like he gave you any special treatment. He was simply a good friendly guy that everyone loved, but not the way that you loved him. 

You were dying to know how he truly felt about you. All these years of playful banter had been fun, but they had also been simultaneously eating away at you. There’s no way he doesn’t know that you love him. At the same time, what if he thinks you’re just a good friend? You needed to know for sure, and you intended to confront him about it at midnight.

“Good evening,” you greeted Hoseok shyly as you approached the pond’s bank. 

“Good day to you sunshine,” Hoseok called back as he kicked at the water.

“How’d the meeting go?” you asked.

“Boring as always. You’re right, it’s the same every year. But the elders still want to go over everything again to ensure that the ceremony is perfect,” Hoseok sighed.

“Thanks for coming to hangout with me even though you’re so busy,” you said, suddenly feeling guilty.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all day! You’re the perfect person to unwind with after a long day,” Hoseok smiled. There it was. The radiant smile you fell for the first time you ever met him. 

“You sure I’m the perfect person for that? What do you do when you’re back in your own land surrounded by other day fae?” you prodded, hoping to steer the conversation onto the ‘what are we’ topic. 

“I have my friends there for sure, and I appreciate them too. But it’s different with you. Maybe because I can only hangout with you twice a year. You’re like my super special friend, yaknow?” Hoseok tried to explain. 

“Uh yeah, for sure. Like a special playdate kind of thing huh?” you tried to hide your hurt feelings.

“Exactly! You get it. It’s like you’re my favorite dessert that I can only have twice a year,” Hoseok nodded.

“Right…” you whispered softly to yourself. You spent the rest of the night listening to the unfruitful discussions Hoseok had during his meetings. All the excitement over the festival had drained from you. Now, you just wanted it to be over so you can go sulk in peace. 

“You’re awfully quiet,” Hoseok observed, “You haven’t interjected once about how stupid our traditions are or how you’re looking forward to having long nights again.”

“Hm? Oh yeah, I’m just tired. Sunghoon really worked me to the bone yesterday, that damn day fairy,” you faked a yawn.

“Hey, be nice! Wasn’t it you who volunteered to help us anyway?” Hoseok shook his head.

‘Yeah, because I thought I’d be able to work with you,’ you thought.

“It was a bizarre streak of altruism, that’s all,” you shrugged. 

“Nah, I know you’re a kind fairy deep down!” Hoseok playfully nudged your shoulder. Normally you would welcome this type of physical affection, but for right now it served as a painful reminder that you were merely seen as a buddy. 

You actively avoided Hoseok for the remainder of the week, counting down the hours to when it would finally all be over. You made up some lame excuse to not hangout with Hoseok every time he approached you. He must have caught on by the final day, either that or he was extremely busy. Afterall, he was the MC for the entire ordeal. 

Apparently, your abrasive reputation preceded you because no one wanted your help with anything. As soon as they saw you coming, they would randomly find themselves very preoccupied with something that made them too busy to talk to you. The only person who would put you to work was Sunghoon, who was one of Hoseok’s best friends. You wondered why he was always so nice to you even when you complained the entire time you helped him.

“That’s the last table! They all look great, thanks for helping with the set up,” Sunghoon gave you a thumbs up.

“You know it’s pointless setting up all these tables. Most of the fairies are just gonna be dancing or fucking all night long, no one is gonna be sitting down,” you said.

“Are you gonna be one of the fairies partying?” Sunghoon inquired.

“Definitely not,” you answered curtly.

“Then I’m happy at least one of these tables will be utilized,” Sunghoon nodded, “Try to enjoy yourself tonight okay?”

“Whatever,” you rolled your eyes.

The entire forest seemed to come alive that night. The trees swayed with the enchanting music while cheers of merriment erupted around the party scene. You sat alone at a mushroom table with your third (or was it fourth?) cup of berry wine. You glared at the fairies who had lost themselves to their pleasures, whether it be the wine or the toadstools, or perhaps even both. Fairies who had given into their more lustful urges could be seen on the outskirts of the dance floor, some in the innocent stages of kissing and others entangled full fledged fornication. Scoffing at the obscene orgy, you stumbled off to get another cup of wine. Even though you weren’t really participating, you had to admit that fairies knew how to throw a party. 

“Hey ___, I noticed you’ve been by yourself the whole evening. Want some company?” someone asked behind you as you filled up your mug to the brim. You turned to see two Sunghoons merge to become one hazy Sunghoon in the blink of an eye. 

“F-ffuck off Sunghoon,” you slurred.

“I wanted to thank you for all the hard work you did for this year’s summer solstice,” Sunghoon continued, unfazed by your harshness, “Wanna dance to celebrate?”

“Nope,” you answered as you pushed him aside.

“Yeah she seemed pretty pissed dude,” Sunghoon said while taking a large swig.

“At you or in general?” Hoseok inquired.

“Dunno man, she’s always been like that. However, she seemed more aggravated than usual, which is hard to imagine,” Sunghoon chuckled, “Did you do something to her?”

“No! I’ve been replaying everything we talked about at the pond but everything seemed fine! I even told her that she was my super special friend and---oh shit,” Hoseok’s face fell.

“Idiot,” Sunghoon tsked. 

Both fae clans had gathered by the main stage, intently listening to the same speeches that the clan leaders have spoken for centuries. You watched apathetically as the everlasting flame was being formally handed over. The crowd roared as the flame changed from a deep crimson red to an icy silver color with a blue hue, signifying that the solstice had come to pass. 

If the festival wasn’t wild before, it had only gotten more out of hand after the official ceremony. Seeing the other fairies go wild in every sense of the word made you nauseous. The noise level intensified as you watched your fairy brethren engage in rather promiscuous activities. Someone even beckoned for you to join in the fun, but you just walked away. The only person you wanted to have that kind of fun with was Hoseok. It infuriated you that your thoughts always drifted to him. You filled up your cup one last time and walked away from the ruckus, towards an empty grove. Hopefully you would be able to wallow in self pity in peace there. 

The stars twinkled above you, and dim moonlight speckled the ground around you as it shone through the trees. You could still hear the party, but it was much fainter now and served as nice background noise to keep you from drowning in your thoughts. With a deep exhale, you fought to hold back tears. You felt so foolish. Too many years have been wasted in vain for an unrequited love that you should have seen coming. It was so stupid of you to hold onto a sliver of hope that Hoseok would like you back. 

“The party is that way,” a familiar voice called out to you.

“Then why aren’t you there?” you didn’t try to mask the annoyance in your voice.

“I saw you walk away, I wanted to check up on you.”

“Why the fuck would you even care?” you sat up and hissed.

“Why are you being so hostile? You’re the one who has been avoiding me all week!” Hoseok raised his voice.

“I’m sure you didn’t have much time to spend with me anyway,” you huffed.

“That’s not true. I spent every moment of my free time looking for you, only for you to turn me away. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Hoseok calmed down.

“Fine. I’m in love with you, okay? How fucking embarrassing. It hurt when you said that I was your super best friend or whatever. Seeing you afterward just reminded me of how dumb I am,” you couldn’t make eye contact with him.

“Oh sunshine, I’m the idiot. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re my special friend because I like you too. I wanted to spend every second with you this week. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that, I’m so sorry ____,” Hoseok got down on his knees and pulled you in for a hug. You were stunned.

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner then!” you pushed him off.

“I thought it was obvious from the way we flirted!” he argued. 

“You’re nice to everyone, it was hard for me to tell,” you pouted.

“My apologies for not being a sourpuss like you,” Hoseok laughed.

“So...what now? It wasn’t really a romantic confession but I guess our feelings are out in the open now,” you whispered as you leaned against him.

Suddenly, Hoseok pushed you back to the ground, straddling your hips. His dark hair nearly covered his eyes as he looked down at you. He was beyond beautiful, his white iridescent wings glittered ethereally in the moonlight. 

“Remember when I said you’re like a dessert I can only have twice a year? I’d like to make that a reality,” Hobi smirked. He bent over to kiss you. It was soft at first, his plush lips pressing up against yours. He gently cupped your face with one hand while the other wandered to your chest, undoing your blouse. Lust overtook the both of you as the kiss deepened and Hoseok fondled your breasts. You let out a small gasp as he played with your nipples, rolling them between his fingers.  

“Spread those legs for me, sunshine,” he demanded.

You complied, slowly exposing yourself to him. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him while in such a compromising position. Hoseok gingerly kissed a trail along your inner thighs towards your core. His hot breath against your pussy made you squirm under him in anticipation.

“So impatient,” he chuckled, “Let’s play a game. You have to make eye contact with me while I eat you out. Every time you look away, I stop.”

“You’re evil,” you huffed before reluctantly looking at the beautiful being perched between your legs. 

“That’s my girl,” he purred approvingly before spreading your folds with his fingers. His eyes darkened with lust as you watched him lick tantalizingly slow stripes. He could feel your need for more, so he moved up to focus on your clit, giving it special attention as his tongue swirled around it. 

You tangled your fingers into his hair, gripping him tighter as he licked your clit faster. All your composure was lost as you looked down at him with pleading eyes.

“What is it? Need more?” Hoseok teased as his fingers traced your entrance.

“Please,” you whimpered.

“Please what?” Hoseok feigned ignorance

“Please touch me,” you said softly.

“We need to work on your begging, but you’re so adorable I can’t say no,” Hobi dove back into stimulating your clit as he slipped a finger inside of you. He smirked at how easily he went in, and immediately added a second finger. The new feeling had you throwing your head back as he grazed your g-spot. Right as things began to feel good, he retracted everything.

“Hobi!” you cried out in frustration.

“You looked away. Remember the rules to our little game?” Hoseok chided. You glared down at him as he immediately picked up where he left off, not giving you time to readjust. Fighting back the urge to close your eyes, soft moans escaped from your lips.

“Ready to cum, my dear ___?” he asked sweetly as his fingers dipped to directly attack your g-spot.

There was no time to give a proper response. Your back arched and your toes curled up as your orgasm overwhelmed you. Drenched in your juices, Hoseok glistened under the moonlight.

“Absolutely gorgeous,” Hoseok praised, “But I’m not finished with you yet,” he leaned in to whisper in your ear.

He unbuckled his trousers, releasing the monster that dangled between his legs. You willingly spread your legs for him, eager for more.

“So needy, you haven’t had enough yet?” Hoseok tsked as he rubbed the tip of his cock along your folds.

Finally, Hoseok began to bury himself into you. He took his time, relishing how your warm walls squeezed him. You closed your eyes in ecstasy, focusing on feeling every inch of him. Once he bottomed out, you wrapped your legs around him in an attempt to bring him impossibly closer. The dark lust that swam in his eyes broke for a second, replaced by the warm smile that made you fall in love with him in the first place. He bent down to kiss you, and you happily reciprocated. 

Hoseok moved his hips slowly as he fucked you at a deep yet gentle pace. Mouths still colliding, you shyly licked at his lips. Taking your hint, Hoseok’s tongue met yours. As the kisses deepened with more saliva being interchanged, Hoseok’s thrusts became harsher.    

“You’re so fucking sexy. Lemme see that ass baby,” Hoseok growled as he flipped you over.

He smacked your ass twice and watched it jiggle in awe before placing a firm grip on your hips. Almost animalistically, he bucked into you. Your body jolted forward with each thrust. You had never been fucked this hard before, and it was heavenly. Hoseok’s control over his body movement was insane. Your moans grew louder as his hips continuously rolled into you. 

One of Hoseok’s hands formed a tight grip on your hair, roughly bringing your head up off the ground. You couldn’t stop your wanton moans from filling the open air. 

“H-Hoseok,” you cried out.

“What is it? Is it too much for you?” Hoseok cooed in your ear as he brought your head back even closer to him.

“Mmm-no,” was all you could make out.

“I knew you could take it all, such a good slut,” Hoseok praised as he let go of your hair.

Unable to hold yourself up, you immediately fell back onto your chest. Your fingernails dug into the dirt as you could feel another orgasm swelling up inside of you. 

“I’m gonna cum again,” you wailed out.

“I’m almost there, wait for me baby,” Hoseok instructed.

With perfect timing, Hoseok let out a guttural moan as he spilled his seed inside of you. Sounds of pleasure bounced around the grove as you came in unison. Hoseok’s cum dripped down the sides of your inner thighs when he pulled out. 

“How did I do, sunshine?” Hoseok asked jovially as you laid on the ground before him.

“You knocked me out. I don’t think I can move for a while,” you weakly answered with a smile.

“Not a problem, we can just stay here for a while, sunshine,” Hoseok laid down beside you, beckoning for you to rest atop his chest. 

“I like when you call me that,” you yawned.

“Sunshine?” Hoseok asked.

“Yeah, that. It makes me feel special,” you nodded.

“Is that so? I’m glad it makes you feel special, because you are. You’ve always been the spunky night fairy that everyone knows but is too afraid to approach,” Hoseok laughed.

“What! I am totally friendly! Just not to those who piss me off,” you defended, “Which...I guess is a lot of people so I suppose I see your point. What made you want to be my friend if everyone thought I’m scary?”

“You treated me like everyone else. It always felt like people put on a fake facade around me since I’m the chief’s son. They’re nice to me to try and curry favor with my father, or maybe flirt with me to try and gain some special sort of status. I don’t know. I’m just me,” Hoseok shrugged. 

“If it makes you feel any better, you’re my sunshine,” you hugged him.

“That makes me feel great. I’ll do my best to see you more than twice a year, okay?” he kissed your forehead.

“I guess I can clear my schedule and come over to visit you too,” you giggled, “Or maybe we can run away and make a clan of our own.”

“Are you serious?” he asked, “Don’t tempt me. I’d love to go somewhere where no one knows my name or expects anything from me.”

“How about we go to where the day meets the night?” you offered.

“Like what? An eclipse?” Hoseok said as he gazed into the night sky.

“Precisely. We can make an eclipse clan. We only have to do festivals for eclipses, and those are kinda rare,” you giggled.

“Sounds like a good dream, sunshine. Let’s seriously discuss it in the morning when we’re both more sober,” Hoseok kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight, my sunshine,” you whispered into his chest.

Published July 23, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.

[symphonicmetal101]

After watching some anime, can I request the brothers and Side characters with an MC that makes really great bentos in their aesthetic with their favorite meals? MC could make Lucifer a fancy dish of steak done to his favorite temperature, side dishes are organized neatly, and the bento is red and black to match his design or she made pink/pastel treats for Asmo is a very cute bento that matches his style. I think it would make their day when they receive something so cute from the human

ABSOFRICKINGLUTELY! ANON! I LOVE YOU! THANK YOU! However, I write gn! Whenever possible, so I hope you don't mind. Also, I've only made bento once, so I did a tinny bit of research. Most of them stray from traditional bento, however I tried to make sure I had the four components, (protien, carbs, salad/veggies, and fruit) (except Asmo), and different cooking methods for each. Some of them I forgot to explicitly say what colour the box was, so I'm sorry about that. I didn't do Luke because he had a role in Simeon's, and I blanked. (Sorry) Also, some of them have links bc I started to lose inspiration and motivation to write the same thing over and over again bc brain juice went bye. Hopefully I did this justice, I may have gotten a little carried away...sorry for rambling.

MC Makes Bento For The Boys

Lucifer

Lucifer had been working non-stop for the past few weeks

You had barely seen him, as he was so busy going back and forth from the castle, meetings, and he had banned everyone from his office. It had gotten so bad that he would "postpone" his meals, but nobody had seen him eat in a while.

You had a lot of spare time, so you did meal prep for the whole week just for Lucifer.

It was a little past noon by the time you finished, (and made Beel swear he wouldn't touch the food because you would treat him at Madam Scream's later), so you decided to make a bento box for Lucifer's lunch today with some leftover beef and rice you had.

With your protein and carbs taken care of, you prepared some roasted asparagus to add some colour to the box as well as a couple of carrots. You also added an umeboshi plum on top of the rice to match the colour of the box. (A/N I personally don't mind umeboshi on it's own, but if anyone wants to try it, I highly suggest you eat it with rice or have water on hand 😂)(oh yeah, umeboshi is a small, sour, pickled plum.)

In the final box you arranged a couple of orange slices, strawberries and grapes.

Satisfied, you brought the box and a glass of water up to his study. You didn't even bother knocking, knowing he would just send you away anyways.

You were greeted by a low growl. "Get out."

You rolled your eyes. "No. You need to eat Lucifer, and I'm not leaving until I know you've finished this."

"I don't have time for this MC. I have to-" he was cut off by his stomach rumbling.

He blushed slightly, and continued to busy himself with work.

"Please? I hate seeing you overwork yourself like this. Have you looked in the mirror lately? When was the last time you slept? Eaten? Had something other than coffee? Have you even gone to the bathroom in the past 48 hours?"

He sighed, folded his hands under his chin and looked up at you through disheveled raven locks.

"...you really aren't going anywhere until I eat." It wasn't a question, rather a statement with a trace of relief in it.

You extended the bento box out to him once more, though this time he accepted it.

"....thank you MC.....this is quite delicious. Perhaps once I'm done my work I can take you out to Ristorante Six to show my appreciation."

You pushed his hair back and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Once you're done your work, you're going to sleep. That's an order, sir."

He silently cursed himself as he felt himself blush again

You were planning to stay until he finished, but then you heard Mammon and Levi fighting.

"I'll take care of that love. Make sure you drink that water too. Also, I prepped meals for the rest of the week for you, so you have no excuse to not eat. I bribed Beel, so they should stay there, but as an extra precaution I got Satan to teach me a protection spell. I didn't tell him what it was for, so it should be fine."

He watched you close the door behind you and wondered what he did to deserve someone like you.

Mammon

He was complaining to you because his actions finally caught up with him, and tomorrow he had to go out and repay some witches with time and favours, (being a bagboy), instead of money

He started belly-aching even more when you told him you weren't interested in joining him.

Luckily you were on dinner duty tonight, so you had a legitimate excuse to leave his pity-party

However while you were making dinner, you decided to show Mammon a little bit of sympathy, and set some rice and pork cutlet aside that you could use later.

After dinner, Mammon followed Lucifer, trying to convince him to give him money.

So you had ample time to continue working on his bento.

He had a three compartment wooden box

You scooped the rice into the box, put the cutlet on top, and two thinly sliced pieces of lemon on top.

You cut up some yellow, red, and orange bell pepper to put in the top left corner of the box

In the last compartment, you cut up golden kiwi, pineapple chunks, and a couple blueberries

You were about to put it in the fridge, when Mammon came screaming into the kitchen.

"MC HELP ME LUCIFER'S MAD I DON'T WANNA GET STRUNG UP AGAIN AND- wait, what's that?"

You sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise Mammon! I made lunch for you for tomorrow, because you're going to be doing some running around and who knows when you'll get a moment to yourself? I was going to cast a spell on it to keep Beel from eating it, so it would have lasted overnight too... I just want to make sure you have something healthy to eat and so you don't have to spend money on take out. If you don't want it though, I'll just give it to Beel..."

He blushed furiously. "Ya don't gotta worry bout me, silly human. The Great Mammon can take care of himself! But-uh, I'll probably end up taking it anyways, because it's umm, it's free food! And Mammon ain't about to pass that up!"

He tried to grab it, but you pulled it close to yourself and turned, blocking him.

"You only want it because it's free? Ok. Fine. You'll have to pay me if you want it." You teased

He whined a bit. "Aw come on, ya even said ya didn't want me spendin money tomorrow! And ya said it was for me! MC, this ain't fair!"

"I didn't say you had to use money."

The next day while Mammon was out and about, trying to carry multiple bags of stuff for the witches, he happily ate his food, a light blush on his cheeks as every bite reminded him of the way you felt against his lips yesterday.

Leviathan

Levi had lost out on another draw despite having spent copious amounts of money on the tickets

As such, he had locked himself in his room to temporarily drown in his sorrows

You decided to make Kyaraben, character bento, for him. (Kyaraben can also refer to animals, real life celebrities, or natural settings)

(I would do Ruri- Chan but I have no fricking clue, so here's a link to a recipe for Pikachu Kyaraben because that's what you did instead)

Hesitantly, you brought your creation to his room and lightly knocked on the door.

"...I don't wanna talk to anyone right now."

"Levi, it's me. I brought something to cheer you up! At least let me give it to you if you don't want me to stay."

You could hear some scuffling and mumbling from behind the door. "I highly doubt there's anything a normie like you can do to help."

You tried to brush that off, because, ouch, but you knew he was upset so you tried not to take it to heart.

He was pouty as he opened the door, his demon form on display.

His expression immediately changed when he saw the bento in your hands.

"WOOOOOAAAHHH!!! THIS IS FOR ME??!! YOU MADE ME BENTO??!! This is something straight out of anime!!! Uh...uhm...d-do you maybe w-want to share it?"

The last part of his sentence had him blushing furiously, and he refused to look you in the eye.

"Sure. Maybe we can watch that anime you texted me about a couple days ago too."

His eyes lit up with joy as he used his tail to gently grab your wrist and pull you excitedly to his couch.

Once he had arranged everything to his liking, he sat down and bashfully accepted the bento.

At some point, he asked if he could feed it to you, however, there was only one pair of chopsticks

Blushy otaku very much enjoyed the bento, not only because it was like his anime, but also because it was you who made it.

He also got a couple indirect kisses, and could not focus on anything but that for the next few days.

Satan

You and Satan had been spending a lot of time together lately because he was helping you study for a test

Thanks to Satan's tutoring, you had managed to get a much higher score on the test than you had imagined.

As thanks, you wanted to make a kitten Kyaraben

You found him in the library at a desk, hunched over a book, studying some foreign language.

He was so engrossed in his studies that he didn't notice you right away, so you tapped him gently on his shoulder.

"Ah, MC. I'm afraid I missed you coming in. Are you alright?"

You smiled and nodded. You brought the box out from behind your back with your test papers on top, the mark clearly visible.

"I couldn't have gotten that mark without your help, so I made you some bento as thanks. I hope you like it."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh MC, that wasn't necessary. Spending time with you was enough for me, but thank you."

He slid the lid off the bento and chuckled when he saw what you had done.

"That's quite clever kitten. Perhaps next time you can show me how to make it?"

His pet name made you blush a bit, but that didn't stop you from agreeing.

You two spent the next few hours discussing different meals you guys could learn to make together.

Asmodeus

Asmo had been taking you shopping lately, hyping you up and helping you destress with spa nights

In return, you decided to make a dessert bento box in a pretty pink container.

It was a square container split into nine compartments.

Across the top three compartments, you arranged a rainbow of mochi.

On the bottom three you arranged a rainbow of macaroons.

In the two outside compartments left, you put a mini Wicked cupcake in each

Finally in the middle, you arranged Hershey's kisses into a heart.

Satisfied, you made your way to his room and announced your presence at his door.

"Come in darling~ I'm just finishing up my nails!"

You let yourself in and settled across the table from Asmo.

"I brought you something. I just wanted to thank you for helping me out lately and show you how much I appreciate you!"

You placed the box next to him so he could see what you had done.

His squeal of excitement almost decimated your eardrums, however moments later you were enveloped in a very tight, heartfelt, "smooshy" hug, but his elated expression made up for your temporary loss of hearing.

"Ohh MC! You're so sweet!!!! These look delicious, let's share them!! Just let me take a picture first with my favourite snack!!"

You sat back and expected him to pick up a cupcake, but yelped as he pulled you into the frame.

"I said with my favourite snacc MC, and I meant it!!" (Yes, he still took a picture of the bento)

Beelzebub

You wanted to plan an outdoor date for the two of you that wouldn't require you to excersize.

So you decided to try and make Koraku Bento, or picnic bento, but even bigger in hopes you would be able to temporarily satiate Beel's hunger

Because you were making so much, you needed multiple boxes, and a couple days to prepare, so you asked Simeon if you could work at PH so Beel wouldn't get to it early.

Of course, he agreed

Day one, you prepared five different fillings for the Onigiri you were planning to make: sha-ke (salted salmon),umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum), okaka (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce), kombu (simmered kombu seaweed), tuna mayo (canned tuna with Japanese mayonnaise)

Day two you prepared three large protiens, (chicken, beef, and pork), each enough to fill about two containers each. You cooked each of them differently. You also cut up/prepared vegetables you wanted to use for tempura.

Day three you woke up early in order to be ready to take Beel out after his game. You made rice and finished making the Onigiri, (which Luke was adamant you let him make with you).

And Simeon helped you make the tempura and a beautiful salad to accompany everything else.

However, now there was a lot of stuff to carry and you wanted to greet Beel out of his game.

So the angels took care of transporting the food to the roof while you went to get Beel

"Why are we going to Purgatory Hall? Are we having dinner with the angels?"

"Not quite. The date I wanted to take you on had a slight change of plans. We just need to get to the roof-"

"Do you want me to fly us up there?"

You considered it for a moment then agreed. If nothing else, you would be avoiding Solomon.

Once you landed, appreciation for the angels swelled as they had laid everything out so beautifully.

"...oh. It looks like someone else is doing something up here. It smells really good, so we should probably go. I don't want to eat someone else's food and ruin their night by accident....again." He tried to leave, but you pulled on him gently.

"I'm glad you think it smells good. This is for you! I made it for you, and the angels helped me bring it up here when I went to pick you up."

His eyes widened. "...All of that...you made it for me?"

You couldn't help but smile and nod at his bashful expression.

He hugged you gently. "Thank you MC. I know that took a lot."

"It was worth it! You haven't even tried it yet. Come on, I'm hungry!" You giggled.

Beel's stomach growled in response, causing a slight blush to light his cheeks. You're so good to him❤

Belphegor (this has a bit of crack energy, I'm sorry. So will Solomon's😅)

"MC....can you pass me my D.D.D?"

"MC....can you give me a massage?"

"MC....can you switch my laundry for me?"

"MC....can you pass me my pillow?"

"Belphie, I love you. I understand you're the Avatar of Sloth. But what the actual fuck? Your pillow is under your arm, just move it under your head. I've already gotten up, like six times to do stuff for you."

He groaned. "But it takes too much effort!" He smushed his cheek into his arm and attempted to give you puppy-dog eyes.

"Sorry, only Beel can pull that off. If you want your pillow moved less than a foot, you're going to do it yourself. You of all people should now how frustrating it is to get up as soon as you sit down."

He groaned again and grumbled as he moved his own damn pillow.

You tried to relax a bit. Normally your time with Belphie consisted of cuddles, movie nights, planeterium visits, or just plugging into some music and enjoying each other's company, like you were trying to do now.

Until you made eye contact with him again.

He was going to ask something-

"MC........... can you get me a snack?"

Dear God, he was not gonna like this.

"Of course Belphie. I'd love to."

You made your way to the kitchen with new found energy.

You were going to make Shikaeshi Bento (revenge lunchbox)

Basically, it's supposed to be inedible or embarrassing, and be used to convey anger or overall dissatisfaction

So you grabbed his bento box, dumped uncooked rice into it, cracked an egg and left the shell in the box. You used purple food colouring to make a heart.

You brought the box up to Belphie, who was surprisingly still awake

"That was quick."

You grunted in response and walked out

"Hey why are you leaving?!"

A few seconds later, you heard, "MC! ...WHAT DID I DO??!! I JUST WANTED A SNACK!!...MC PLEASE COME BACK I DON'T WANNA GET UP!!"

Diavolo

So, usually Barbatos is in charge of making sure the Demon Prince eats

However, you told Barbatos that you wanted to make something special for Dia

"My Lord would thoroughly enjoy anything you made for him. He's been very busy lately, so I'm sure he would appreciate the kind gesture."

Barbatos graciously gave you precedence over the kitchen, giving you full access to everything you could ever need or want.

You decided to make him bento with your favourite protein

One compartment you filled with rice, using sesame seeds and an umeboshi for garnish

You arranged pieces of your favourite fruits in one of the smaller compartments

Then you made your favourite type of tempura, and prepared the sauce to go in the last two compartments

You asked Barbatos where Diavolo would be, and he escorted you to his office.

"My Lord, MC has come to speak with you."

Diavolo's head shot up and his face lit up with delight as he watched you walk through the door.

"MC! A welcome surprise. How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine! I actually just wanted to give you something." You gave him the black box.

"I made bento with some of my favourite things...you mentioned wanting to get to know me a little bett-"

You were cut off by Diavolo crushing you in a hug

"...My Lord, MC needs to breathe."

"Ah, my apologies MC. This is the most wonderful, meaningful thing anyone has ever given me. How can I adequately express my gratitude? Simply name anything you want, and it shall be yours."

Once you had regained your breath, you gave him a small smile.

"Anything? Could I trouble you for your time?"

"MC, Lord Diavolo must finish his work in a timely matter. I can clear his schedule for afterwards."

"Barbatos, could they stay long enough for us to share the wonderful meal they've prepared?"

Usually Diavolo's begging and sad eyes™ would be powerless against him, however the soft spot he had for you and your much- less-seen sad expression were enough for him to bend this once.

"My Lord, I'll be back in an hour. I'm afraid that's all the time I can allow."

He stepped out, and allowed a small smile form on his face as he heard the two of you celebrate, also knowing that later on he would be listening to a very happy prince recount everything you two talked about and how much he loved you.

Barbatos

You, the brothers, and the other exchange students had been invited to the demon lord's castle for another event

It wasn't for another day, but you felt your chest tighten as you remembered Barbatos

Did he even get to eat those days when everyone was there?

You didn't want to take that chance, and decided to set up a small, filling bento box.

It only had three compartments, so you stuffed each one.

One had rice and meat.

You made some sushi and tamagoyaki to go on top.

For the last compartment, you made a simple chickpea salad.

The next day, Barbatos welcomed you all to the castle, as per usual.

However, this time he stuck around once the brothers and others had left.

"I...Well you already know, but this is for you!"

He nodded and graced you with a smile. "My knowing does not take away from my appreciation MC. Admittedly, nights like this are very demanding. I will repay you later. Thank you."

He tried to walk away, but you yelled after him, "You're not supposed to repay someone for a gift! Just take it!!"

He smiled to himself as he started to eat some food.

Perhaps this night would not be as taxing as he thought

Simeon

You had been experimenting new dinner recipes with Luke at Purgatory Hall; you were watching him while Simeon was away.

"If we leave these leftovers out, Solomon will get to them and ruin them."

"....why don't we make bento for Simeon? He's coming back tomorrow, isn't he?"

Luke beamed at you. "Okay!"

He went to get a small bento box divided into fifths (two large bottom compartments and three small top ones).

"Ok, so in one of the big ones, we can fit the rest of the rice."

Luke nodded. "Can I use this?" He held up a star-shaped cookie cutter.

"Of course!" You helped him mould the rice into a stable star shape.

He looked so happy designing stuff, you let him take the lead.

By the time you were finished, it was easily the most stunning dish you had seen.

"Wow MC! We should do this more often!" He was very proud of himself, and rightfully so. "I can't wait to give it to Simeon!....Is it ok if I give it to Simeon? It was your idea, so it's ok if you want to do it instead..."

You just smiled at him. "You can give it to him, you did most of the work anyways. For now though, you need to get to bed."

He pouted slightly, but complied.

The next morning you woke up to Luke speaking very animatedly to Simeon.

"Yeah! We tried a bunch of new things, and then MC suggested we make you a bento box with the leftovers, and it turned out really well so I can't wait for you to try it!!"

You leaned against the kitchen doorframe observing the interaction.

"Thank you Luke, it looks wonderful. Good morning MC. I hope you slept well. Thanks for ba- for helping Luke while I was away."

He smiled gently at you before Luke was trying to get him to try the bento again.

He took a bite and smiled at Luke.

"It's delicious. You guys must have put a lot of love into it, as always." He looked directly at you at that point, but Luke was too elated to notice the silent exchange between you too.

Solomon

"Don't get mad at me! You agreed to test spells with me!"

"You asked me when I was half asleep Solomon! I also meant later, not right away!"

"Well, you're not a frog anymore, so I don't see what the problem is."

.... No, you weren't a frog anymore

That didn't mean you were happy about being a frog in the first place.

You texted Simeon, 'Who's on lunch duty today?"

"Me. Why?"

"I'll make us bento. We can picnic, the exchange students, that is."

So you spent the next little bit making normal bento for the three of you.

"Simeon said we should probably leave in five minutes" you thanked Luke and started on Solomon's.

You made Shikaeshi bento; you cracked four eggs and aligned their yolks into a rather phallic shape, added way too much fish oil, and threw a few sesame seeds on top.

However, once you made it to the picnic grounds, Solomon opened his box and gasped.

"MC, you know me so well!" And proceeded to drink right out of the box, the rest of you looking on in horror.

"I thought you were mad at me and you were going to give me something disgusting like Mac and Cheese. I guess all is forgiven. Thank you!"

At that point you couldn't even stay mad, that was just disgusting.

Aye, I hope you liked it anon, not sure if this is quite what you meant but....yeah.

Love y'all!

Masterlist

[skywardscroll]

divine intervention | venti

✧ word count: 2.5k

✧ summary: baring witness to world can become wearisome. venti, though you don’t really know him, wants to help.

✧ warnings: really angsty with some fluff thrown in! the reader has depression / there is self-deprecation. reader is also afab!

✧ a/n: this is so sweet >-< . i’m really proud of this one! also, writing klee is literally the funnest thing ever lol. <3 hope you guys enjoy!!

Teyvat, as you’d come to learn through your years, was a dangerous, merciless world. Every day, people lost their fathers, sisters, friends, and lovers. The world was full of greedy bandits and vicious monsters, and it only seemed to be getting worse as the days went by.

This last adventure out to Liyue had really taken the optimism out of you; Growing weary from traveling, you returned to your home in Mondstadt quite exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. Was there any other facet of you that could be exhausted? Because you were sure that it would also be stricken with strife.

You told the Adventurer’s Guild that you were temporarily retiring from your work to take a well-overdue vacation from fighting and the ever-arising political strain you witnessed every time you left the City of Freedom. You just wanted to enjoy your safe corner of the world, at least for the summer.

The (admittedly strange) way you decided to do this was by staying indoors with your books, sometimes going entire days without once stepping into the sunlight. It was a pleasant way to spend the time, but you knew it was unhealthy.

Your books, when the main characters shared similar habits to you, called this behavior ‘depression.’ Though, you willfully ignored this, pretending that this was normal of someone with a heavy heart (just a heavy heart. Not all the other symptoms that you were falsely denying you had, like an aversion to engagements with friends, or a neglect of hydration.)

It was one of the hottest days in July, you remembered, when you heard a knock on your door. You contemplated answering it, thinking that maybe the Adventurer’s Guild would want you back to work prematurely. This was quickly disproven, though, when a small voice called from outside the door:

“Miss Y/N? Oh, Miss Y/N~! Please come out!”

Klee’s sweet voice seemed to somehow wrap itself around your heart and pull you towards the door.

“Miss Y/N?”

You hesitated, knowing that once you saw that endearing child’s round eyes, you would be forced to play outside with her for as long as she wanted you to. You loved Klee dearly, and would do anything for her, even if you didn’t necessarily wish to go along with it. But you really didn’t feel like leaving your house, knowing that the Freedom Festival was currently in full swing.

“Y/N? Are you in there?” You recognize a second voice to belong to Grandmaster Jean.

Inhaling deeply, you opened the door to see Klee’s face light up as she excitedly pulled on Jean’s hand.

“She opened the door! She did! I told you Y/N would open the door!”

“Y/N!” Jean said, obviously surprised by your appearance. “It’s so good to see you’re well.”

“It’s good to see you two, as well.” You said with full honesty. You hadn’t realized it until you saw them before you, but you had certainly missed seeing your friends.

“Y/N! I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the Freedom festival with us! There’ll be food, and music, and I overheard Rosaria saying something to Kaeya about special drinks!”

“Oh… I don’t know…”

“Come on! It’ll be fun! They have this game, and it has a prize that looks like a biiiig dodoco! I want it but if you come you can have it!” Klee’s excitement makes a smile appear on your face.

“You should come, Y/N. It would be good for you, I think.”

You sighed a little, looking back at your book which sat with the pages down against the cushion of your reading chair, waiting to be returned to. But as if by design, the wind carried the smell of food into your door and your stomach rumbled. Besides, Klee’s eyes were bearing into your heart just as you predicted, and you could see Jean’s hand clasp onto Klee’s a little tighter in hopes that she wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Alright, I’ll come.”

If you were to be frank, you had no idea what the difference between the Windblume Festival and the Freedom Festival was. To you, it just seemed like another concocted excuse to party. Which, in your youth, you never complained about, and you weren’t inclined to complain now, either, as Sara handed you a particularly delicious-looking chicken and mushroom skewer. You hadn’t eaten something like this in a month, and it was very welcome in your stomach.

“Over there! It’s Venti! Venti!” Klee went running ahead of you and Jean, who were idly speaking to one another as you finished off your food and threw the stick away.

“Klee! Don’t run off!” Jean called out, running after the young girl while you walked a bit behind, enjoying the scenery of Mondstadt decorated in flowers and it’s streets lined with vendors.

“Hi Klee!” You looked up and saw a man hug Klee tightly (a boy? He was quite short, but you were pretty sure he was an adult.) It was hard not to notice the golden lyre in his hand and how the strings seemed to be luminescent. You’d never seen anything like it before, and accidentally stared at it in clear awe.

“Do you play?” He asked, a smile that seemed to lift your heart was directed to you after the question left his lips.

“No… Not anymore. I tried to learn when I was a child but…”

“That’s alright. It takes a lot of practice, yeah?”

You let out a breathy laugh and nod, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Jean scooped up Klee into her arms before she could run off again. “You two haven’t met before?”

“Sadly no.” Venti said, placing his hand over his heart. “I would’ve remembered such a beautiful face, surely.”

Bard’s and their sweet words. You thought to yourself. Out of kindness, you only laughed in response to his compliment.

“I’m Y/N.”

“Ahh! I’ve heard of you! The exceptional adventurer!”

Why does this guy say everything so enthusiastically? Is this what you used to sound like? His way of speaking, though you felt guilty for it because you knew he couldn’t help it, grated against your nerves. You weren’t in the right mindset for his optimism. Or, perhaps, it was that you were jealous that he still had a hold on his, and so easily too, while it had been so long since you were excited about anything.

When you didn’t say anything, there was a small look in Venti’s eyes that told you he could see right through you, or that he was at least aware that something was wrong with you.

“Well, I ought to be on my way back home.” You said, causing Klee to whine out.

“Y/N~! You can’t go yet! What about the giant dodoco?”

You frowned, feeling guilty for letting Klee down, but feeling too exhausted for any more socialization.

“At least stay for a song, Y/N?” Venti offered with a quieter tone of voice, pointing to a chair that was left unoccupied by the gathering crowd around him.

“Yeah! Just one song~?” Klee pleaded.

You bit the inside of your cheek before eventually nodding and sitting in the chair. Klee let out a cheer of celebration as Jean sat down beside you, letting Klee sit in her lap. You noticed how Jean had been particularly silent throughout this. Did she feel bad for you? Or did she, too, want you to stay for some reason?

“I’ll sing a very special song for a new friend!” Venti announced to the audience, to which you blushed a little at the attention and rolled your eyes. Though, once Venti’s fingers started gracing the strings of his harp, all feelings of discomfort and irritation floated away.

“Sit here closely, let me tell,

of the young maiden’s heart who one day swelled.

The once frozen walls, the once salty tears,

Now gone with a kiss that she wished had lasted years.

In the times of old, long before the gods were bold,

there was no remedy for a heart gone cold.

The young maiden wandered, hoping for peace

from the heartache and unrest the world did unleash.

Did she find it, you ask? Did she find it? I’ll tell.

She found it in freedom, from freedom it fell.

For Barbatos did bless her, from under the Windrise tree,

She only had to meet him in the morning at three.

The warmth she had searched for, that unlike she had ever known

was hers, finally, to own.”

The crowd clapped for Venti as he finished his short song, one that was unfamiliar to you and unsettled you to no end.

What was his motive?

You weren’t stupid. You’d read enough of your books in the last month and been on enough adventures with a multitude of twists and turns to know that he had just come up with that song for you. As beautiful as it was, you felt uncomfortable with the stranger being able to see through you so well.

Yet, when he flashed you a cheeky smile while he reveled in the applause, you felt that he had good intentions. In fact, you wondered if he could do any wrong. He just didn’t seem like the type to do anything evil… Ever.

“Did you like it, Klee?” Venti asked, bending down to talk to the girl who wriggled excitedly in Jean’s lap.

“Yes! It was sooooo pretty! I’ve never heard it before!” She gushed.

“A very lovely song, indeed, Venti.”

“Thanks Jean!” Venti flashed her a confident grin.

“Well, Y/N! Thanks for staying for the show!” He said, standing back up and turning to you. “I hope I can see you again soon!”

“Yeah. See you soon.” You replied with a half-hearted tone.

You were entirely conflicted. Your mind was telling you no; You shouldn’t go out there tonight. It was dangerous and you were significantly out of shape to be dealing with slimes and hilichurls. Besides, it was just a song… What if you were reading too much into it? And what if… You just wanted him to be singing about you and him?

Your heart wanted that to be true. It’d be like the books you’ve been reading, where the prince comes up with some elaborate way of asking the maiden to meet him in secret. You were, no matter how hardened you became, a hopeless romantic at heart. Something about Venti made your heart soar from the pits of depression you had fallen into. You… Trusted him.

You could do with a late-night walk, you supposed.

It took longer than usual because of the festivities, but the city eventually fell silent as everyone either rested in their beds or in a tavern. You found walking in the empty city strangely comforting. Rather than being shut away from the world out of fear of pestering others, you could now walk freely without a single care, if you so pleased.

You took your time walking out of the city, smiling at every stray cat and even stopping for a moment at the bridge to admire the water. You missed how, when you were a young girl, you used to look at the lake and dream about visiting all the other lakes in the world. You’d seen a lot of them, now, but this one still held a special place in your heart.

Windrise, though it had been years since you visited the Archon Statue, was as beautiful as ever. The tree looked even more alive in the moonlight, if it were possible.

You were raised to believe that you were under the protection of Barbatos, though you never would call yourself devout. That title belonged to the sisters of the church, who were truly faithful to Barbatos. But you would feel comfortable saying you were a believer. You liked that Barbatos was so just, and his famous story of his liberation of old Mondstadt was a tale you frankly would never tire of.

Regardless, as you sat in front of the statue, you saw no signs of the charming bard from before. You wondered if he memorized that tale of Barbatos; A part of you wanted to hear him tell it.

“I’m a fool, aren’t I?” You said, talking to the statue (not talking to yourself.) “A silly, odd, hermit of a fool. One who shuts themselves away and avoids all their problems. How cowardly can I be?”

A peculiar phenomenon began: The words started pouring out like an uncontrollable waterfall. Once the self-deprecation started, it didn’t seem to want to end.

“My family was so proud to hear I was a part of the guild. They said that you – that Barbatos – had blessed me with the life of an adventurer – a life of freedom. Am I selfish to despise it? I don’t feel free. I feel heavy with all the troubles of the world. Outside Mondstadt it’s… Well, you’re a god, you know how it is.”

You hadn’t spoken much to anyone in over a month. You didn’t even know if anyone was listening. Was he listening? Did he see the tears starting to run down your face and did he hear the cracking in your voice?

“I feel like a joke. A witness to trouble without the power to make things right. It’s so… Frustrating. I hate myself because I hate the world. I’m so useless… So useless.”

And you cried, your head leant against the statue of Barbatos. The months of pain finally bubbled over and bared itself for the world and the gods to see. You were ashamed, and angry at yourself, but you let yourself cry. You cried up to the heavens, to Celestia. Was he watching? Listening?

“Y/N?” A voice softly spoke your name, but your sobs turned into wails immediately following and you couldn’t make yourself stop even if you wanted to.  You felt a pair of arms wrap around you and you hugged Venti back, breathing in his scent of Cecilia. He was so warm compared to the cool summer breeze that blew through the leaves above.

“I’m sorry.” You cried against his shirt; the words muffled but still understandable. There were so many apologies you were making with the single phrase: Sorry for crying, sorry for being rude. Sorry for shutting everyone who cares about me out. I’m sorry for being ungrateful. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

“You don’t have to hide your tears from me, okay?” His voice was so soft and gentle as he pulled your head away from his chest and wiped away your ever-flowing tears from your cheeks.

This went on for a while, him running his thumbs over your cheeks every few minutes and catching the tears. You felt so awful that he was witnessing you like this, he barely knew you. But something in you was saying that this was right. Trust him, this is where you’re meant to be.

You calmed down enough about an hour later that he felt he could speak.

“Everything will be alright, Y/N.”

You let out a jagged exhale. At this point, your jaw was numb, and you were developing a headache. Still, being in Venti’s arms brought you comfort unlike anything you’d ever experienced. It was… Divine.

“Do you think he heard me? That he’s watching over me?”

Venti gave you the most assured, comforting smile you think is humanly possible. Brushing your hair from your face, he replied.

“I’ve never been so certain of anything.”

[robininthelabyrinth]

Good Help - chapter 3 - ao3 link

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Everyone was required to come to the Nightless City to pay homage to the Emperor, no matter their status, and any number of sects had chosen to pay another visit during the Emperor’s absence – whether in search of profit or merely credit for fulfilling their duties, preferably without the risk of incurring their volatile Emperor’s attention.

One of those sects was Lanling Jin.

Meng Yao felt both disappointment and relief when he learned that Jin Guangshan would not be coming himself, declining on the grounds that it was just too miserable to go without his good friend the Emperor there, though it was far more likely that he didn’t want to have to acknowledge the presence of Meng Yao, standing there in the Emperor’s place. Instead, his father sent his one legitimate son and heir, Jin Zixuan, and Jin Zixuan brought his wives.

The rumors of friendship between Wen Ruohan and Jin Guangshan were exaggerated for effect, in Meng Yao’s opinion, but there must be some basis to it. Otherwise, there was no way Jin Zixuan would have been allowed to hold such a treasure in his hands: he had married the last survivors of the Jiang clan, Jiang Yanli and her younger brother Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Yanli, at least, was considered a prize, given that she brought with her the bloodline and legitimacy of a former Great Sect and had at least a technical claim to a frankly eye-popping dowry, should the Emperor ever decide to allow her to reclaim the ownership of the Lotus Pier, even if in practice the place had been rapidly converted into a pleasure palace by his second son.

Jin Zixuan had managed to win that race, having had the advantage of being already engaged to Jiang Yanli since birth, his mother having apparently been friends with the former Madame Jiang, known better as Madame Yu. Given Jin Zixuan’s character – not known to be especially good at either politics or finance – Meng Yao was of the belief, as were many people, that he had only taken Jiang Cheng as a bride in order to please his wife by saving the life of her younger brother after the Jiang sect was destroyed, since Jiang Cheng, the son of a fallen clan, represented little more than a gigantic target on the back of anyone who might claim him.

Of course, rather than admit it, Jin Zixuan denied all such rumors and maintained consistently that he had been in love with both of them, desperately, and that had been the reason he’d petitioned for the right of marriage.

(Meng Yao also heard rumors that Wen Ruohan had found his insistence funny and agreed to the match on the condition that their marriage bed be witnessed, which sounded very much in line with what he knew of Wen Ruohan’s character – he would have enjoyed forcing them to consummate their fake marriage, luxuriated in their humiliation, and laughed when they failed to look each other in the eye later. Still, what wasn’t worth doing to preserve a life?)

At any rate, regardless of anything else, Jin Zixuan was still the Emperor’s subject, and therefore he had to come pay homage the same as anyone else. Meng Yao’s brother by blood (although frustratingly not by law) had trouble looking directly at Meng Yao during the ceremony, but he managed to conduct the ritual of swearing loyalty moderately well regardless, with no indications of disrespect and perfect etiquette. It was only after, when Meng Yao had maliciously invited him to share a cup of tea to extend the duration of the awkwardness, that something broke – and it wasn’t Jin Zixuan at all.

“Is it true?” Jiang Cheng asked abruptly, the first words he’d said in this visit, and Meng Yao turned to look at him even as Jin Zixuan’s face turned pale. “That the Emperor started fucking Huaisang?”

Huaisang, Meng Yao thought, rolling the name around in his mouth – was A-Sang originally a Jiang, then?

But no, if he was, Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have that look of desperation on his face, of longing and despair; whoever this Huaisang had been in his previous life, before he’d become an Imperial Consort, he’d been someone that Jiang Cheng had been close to. Maybe someone he had even lost his heart to.

Interesting.

Or, well – interesting, but ultimately irrelevant.

“I have no insight into the Emperor’s personal affairs,” Meng Yao said, calm and placid as ever. “Especially while he is far away on a long voyage.”

Jiang Cheng scowled at him, but his sister put her hand on his shoulder and he subsided, still looking upset.

Meng Yao decided to show pity as a stratagem to put Jin Zixuan into his debt, and said, affecting a tone of mild sympathy, “I have no reason to think that he is based on his conduct before leaving, and I understand that his travels were motivated by a search for a spiritual item capable of improving cultivation. It may be that he took Imperial Consort A-Sang with him on account of the Consort’s reputed scholarly achievements.”

To the extent A-Sang had any scholarly achievements other than carting around a scholar’s fan, anyway.

Jiang Cheng still scowled, but his shoulders relaxed a little, and Jiang Yanli sent Meng Yao a grateful look.

Jin Zixuan seemed only a little moved, picking up his tea cup and continuing the former conversation without a hitch, but when everything was done he unexpectedly reached out and caught Meng Yao’s arm.

Meng Yao tensed, but Jin Zixuan took no movement against him, only looked at him. “It was an unexpected pleasure to meet you,” he said, nothing he couldn’t have said without touching, but then his hand shifted and Meng Yao felt the prickle of paper beneath his palm.

Meng Yao put a smile on his face and said some pleasantries, and as soon as Jin Zixuan left he looked at the note he’d been smuggled.

You are being targeted, it said, which – was rather unhelpful, actually.

“He couldn’t have included more details of who, what, or when?” Meng Yao complained to A-Jue later, making sure to look piteous out of habit even though he knew A-Jue didn’t believe him at all. Or at least, he shouldn’t by this point, or else Meng Yao’s lessons on how to detect a liar were all going to waste. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s me that he didn’t want to commit to saying too much, there is that awkwardness there, but it’s not like I don’t know people are trying to kill me. I’m the Emperor’s viceroy! I’ve been making changes left and right in his absence, some of them extremely unpopular –”

And yet others that were extremely popular. He’d known the Watchtower idea would win him acclaim among the common people, and that even if the smaller sects complained about the encroachment at first they would soon – or at least, eventually – realize that it was in their own best interest.

“ – and really. He left a note! Why be ominous and vague in a note?”

“Perhaps he meant something more general,” A-Jue said.

Meng Yao looked at him, and A-Jue shrugged, averting his eyes. The action – so obviously indicating that he had something to say and wasn’t saying it for whatever reason – should have irritated Meng Yao, but by now he’d grown to find A-Jue’s thorough inability to dissemble directly rather adorable. Such a big man, older than Meng Yao, and he still blushed when he tried to lie to your face.

“You can go on,” Meng Yao coaxed. “I’m not going to be angry.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m five.”

“Who’s a big boy who knows something he’s not saying? You are, yes, you are!”

A-Jue tried to look disapproving but ended up having to hide his sniggering into his sleeve. “That’s more like you’d treat a dog, viceroy Meng. Not that you’d know, given how much you hate them.”

“I don’t hate dogs,” Meng Yao said. “I gave Jin Zixuan’s eldest a spiritual dog just last year, a husky. It’s gigantic man-eaters I object to.”

“Northern mountain dogs are a bit large,” A-Jue conceded, a little reluctantly, but in fairness at his size the mountain dogs were probably proportional in size to regular dogs. Actually, A-Jue’s accent, however blurred by time and assimilation, suggested he was from somewhere to north of the Nightless City – maybe he’d drunk the same water as the dogs growing up, explaining how he reached his current heights. “And aren’t you the one who’s always saying that you only keep things from people that they don’t need to know?”

“I like being the person to decide who needs to know what,” Meng Yao said. “Now, you clearly want to tell me, so tell me already.”

A-Jue sighed. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the job is supposed to kill you?”

Meng Yao frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’re the Emperor’s viceroy,” A-Jue said. “He appointed you, and then he immediately left you alone to more or less run the entirety of his domain – he gave you the power of authority, to speak with his voice. That’s a pretty big promotion from chief torturer, wouldn’t you say?”

Meng Yao would not describe being the deputy in charge of the Fire Palace as ‘chief torturer’ – prisons required a great deal of management, he wasn’t just torturing people anymore – but he couldn’t exactly say that A-Jue was wrong.

He’d enjoyed his success, but he’d been startled by it, too. He’d had to fight and scheme for every last thing that he’d ever wanted, before this, and while he’d had to do more than a bit of tussling to keep this role over the overtures of the other deputies, it did sometimes feel as though this promotion came a little too easily, too suddenly.

“What do you think, then?” he asked, folding his hands together under his sleeves so no one could see how his nails dug into his flesh. If there was one thing he truly hated, it was the scorn of others, of those who thought they were better than him.

Being schemed against was a very close second.

“Some of your policies are in fact very unpopular,” A-Jue said. “Even though we both know that they’re necessary…the Emperor would know that they were necessary, too.”

“You think he wants me as what? A scapegoat?”

Wen Ruohan didn’t pay attention to things like popularity, officially taking the position that strength was all that mattered, and yet only a fool ignored such things entirely, and Wen Ruohan was no fool.

“The Emperor is friends with Jin Guangshan,” A-Jue said quietly. “Not merely for show, and although Jin Guangshan does exaggerate it somewhat, it’s not as much as people think. Before he became Emperor, back when they were peers, they would often spend time together, do things together…and your existence offends Jin Guangshan. People laugh at him for not having accepted you back then.”

That was as Meng Yao wanted. He’d wanted to rub into his father’s face how stupid he’d been – and Jin Guangshan had done nothing, had just taken it, and in retrospect that seemed rather uncharacteristic of someone of his reputation.

“So, what?” he asked, ignoring the blood on his nails from where his flesh could no longer take the pressure. “You think he’s pressing the Emperor to have me executed for failing to live up to his expectations?”

“Maybe,” A-Jue said. “And perhaps the Emperor has incentivized others to try to make you fail.”

Having people try to kill a stand-in would be a very effective way to see how those same people would try to kill you. It wasn’t a bad plan, not really, but Meng Yao really didn’t appreciate it when it was aimed at him.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Meng Yao said. “I will not fail. I will succeed, and so thoroughly that even the Emperor will be unable to deny my success – he enjoys being thought of as someone who rewards merit, and killing me would just be seen as petty. He won’t do it. I have my brain, my talent, my competence – I won’t let him.”

Assuming, of course, that he survived until Wen Ruohan’s return.

“You have me, too,” A-Jue said.

It was a nice sentiment, Meng Yao thought, and patted A-Jue on the shoulder, and A-Jue didn’t even flinch this time. He didn’t expect that A-Jue really meant it, of course – A-Jue was a guard of the inner hall, and to get that sort of position he had to be loyal to Wen Ruohan first and foremost – but it was nice of him to say it regardless.

Meng Yao wondered, briefly, if now was a good time to let his hand linger on A-Jue’s shoulder, to turn the contact into a caress. He didn’t think he’d even need to order A-Jue to his bed at this point, although he’d be more than willing to do so if A-Jue liked things like that – he was moderately sure that A-Jue sincerely liked him, and that there was more to that liking than mere friendliness or even the stirrings of loyalty. If he asked, or even just indicated interest, A-Jue would probably come to him entirely of his own volition.

And yet…

Meng Yao removed his hand, turning the conversation forcefully to some other subject, much to A-Jue’s evident relief. He was too busy, he told himself. There was no time to spend on dalliances.

And anyway –

He’d had his fill of sharing with Wen Ruohan.