#she vacuums but ONLY the living room when the vacuum can do every room - including bathroom and kitchenn(which I do when I vacuum)

[strawbabycowboy]

i feel like im going crazy . im abt to start working full 40 hr weeks and my sister is not working anything rlly close to that. and yet i still do the brunt of the housework .

[thewillofdeez]

Mihawk vs The Seals

Summary: Every year, hundreds of seals return to Kuraigana Island to mate, including Mihawk's nemesis. His name is Neil.

Characters: Mihawk, Zoro, Perona, Neil the Seal as I imagine him in the One Piece Universe

Warnings: Some minor language, bittersweet mood. It's not crack, but it's almost crack. Crack-lite, if you will.

Note: Listen. It's extremely important to me that you know three things before you read this.

1) I haven't written anything substantial in several months. I was hoping to get The Warlord and the Revolutionary final chapters up today, but this happened instead.

2) I have been heavily on Neil the Seal TikTok.

3) This is my first day taking Adderall. I wrote this in 3.5 hours, starting with nothing more than a very vague concept. I guess that means it's working.

Take that all for what you will. Should I have published this? Maybe not. But here we are.

It was another day on Kuraigana Island for Mihawk, Zoro, and Perona. The two young pirates had been living with Mihawk for only a few months. Spring was slowly starting to reach the island, the weather beginning to warm ever so slightly. The three pirates sat down at the breakfast table, when Mihawk heard it: A loud, emotional braying sound from outside. He sighed heavily, placing his coffee cup on the table. Zoro and Perona exchanged a look.

“What,” Zoro said slowly, “The ever-loving hell was that?”

“That is the worst sound I’ve ever heard,” Perona added. “Like a vacuum cleaner sucking up a small elephant.”

“The seals are back,” Mihawk stated plainly, already feeling a headache coming on.

“The…seals?” Perona asked tentatively.

Mihawk sipped his coffee and sighed. “Every year around 300 seals come to this island to mate. For the next two weeks or so, the beach behind the castle will be their mating grounds.”

Perona’s eyes lit up, and she floated quickly to the window to look outside. A number of large, gray-ish blue seals were already beginning to gather on the beach. “EEEE they’re so cute!”

"They’re not cute,” Mihawk shot back, “They’re a menace. They’re loud, they take over the whole castle grounds, and they shit everywhere . Once they leave I have to have a company come in and rake the beach like a giant litterbox, and I have to spray down the bridge and patio every day. It’s a nightmare. A loud, smelly, destructive nightmare”

Zoro was trying not to chuckle at his mentor’s annoyance at seals of all things. “Can’t you, like, do anything about it?”

"Of course not,” Mihawk replied curtly. “They’re wild animals, I have no control over them. However, I did try slicing one up to send a message my first year here. They didn’t care. Then I just felt bad about killing it. I ate nothing but seal meat for weeks. Got a nice rug out of it though.”

Zoro laughed at the absurdity of the situation, and Mihawk narrowed his eyes. “You laugh now, Roronoa, but you won’t be when it’s 3am and you can’t sleep because there’s a seal orgy happening outside your window.” Mihawk drained his coffee cup and stood. “Both of you, come. We need to check the seal-proofing on the castle before we begin training for the day.”

“Seal-proofing?” Perona asked, floating behind him.

“Yes, I’ve boarded up several of the lower entrances because if I don’t they will get inside the castle. The last thing I want is to come downstairs to find a pile of seals sleeping in the living room. Again.”

Zoro and Perona followed Mihawk outside. Numerous seals were gathered, mostly on the beach, but some were beginning to flop their way up the paths, and some were swimming in the lake. Mihawk walked confidently through the fray, watching his step as he went. Perona eyed them cautiously. They were much larger up close, and distinctly less cute. “Mihawk,” Perona asked cautiously as one brayed loudly at her, “Are they, ya know, dangerous?”

“For someone like you, perhaps,” he replied calmly, though irritation still laced his words. “They can be quite territorial, but generally if you keep your distance and don’t bother them, they won’t bother you. I recommend flying a little higher than you normally might to avoid any trouble.” Perona immediately obeyed, floating an extra few feet off the ground.

The three made their way around the perimeter of the castle, checking various entrances to ensure Mihawk’s make-shift seal proofing was holding up, and making repairs where it wasn’t. Upon the path, a seal blocked their way. It was easily the largest Zoro and Perona had seen so far, its enormous body marred with the scars of many years in the ocean. Mihawk stood before it, narrowing his golden eyes and crossing his arms. “Hello, Neil.” The seal brayed loudly in response, flecks of saliva misting the three pirates.

Mihawk only continued to glare as he wiped his face with his sleeve. “Move,” he demanded. Neil barked in defiance, rolling over onto his back in a move Mihawk could only presume was seal for “fuck you, make me.”

“You, uh…you named the seal?” Zoro asked hesitantly, again trying to hold in his laughter to not make Mihawk any angrier than he already was.

“Yes, I’ve named several of the more annoying ones. This is Neil. He’s my nemesis. I hate him and he hates me.”

Zoro placed a hand over his mouth, turning his back to keep in his laughter, but he couldn’t do it. He let out a loud guffaw, bracing his hands on his knees as he laughed. “Neil the seal?! You gave him a rhyming name? And he’s your nemesis ?!” Neil let out a bark too, it almost sounded like laughing.

Mihawk’s face grew red. “Neil, move!” he demanded. As the seal let out a series of short, mocking barks it finally obeyed, moving off the path and towards the beach, satisfied that it had thoroughly humiliated Mihawk enough for one day. Mihawk took a deep breath and continued down the path.

“Watch your step, Zoro,” Mihawk stated as they walked, without even looking at the young man behind him. Before Zoro had a chance to ask why, he felt his boot land in something squishy.

“Ugh, dammit,” Zoro lamented, pulling his boot from the glob of seal poo Neil had left behind with a thwack .

“Haha!” Perona taunted in a sing-song voice, “You stepped in seal poo!”

Zoro grumbled, trying to wipe the bulk of the mess from his boots in the dirt. “It’s gonna be a long two weeks.”

And boy was it! Mihawk hadn’t been exaggerating about the noise. It was exceptionally loud, to the point where they were all constantly exhausted from lack of sleep. Perona even attempted to sound-proof her room by stacking her plushies in front of the windows, but despite her rather impressive collection, no amount of plushies was enough to keep the noise at bay with the room’s enormous, gothic windows.

Zoro and Mihawk’s training was often interrupted by the seals flopping along between them, paying absolutely no mind to the two men and their large, sharp swords. One day they attempted to move their training inside to the dungeons, only to find that a dozen seals had broken Mihawk’s barrier, and were now mating loudly. Between chasing the seals outside and cleaning up the mess the animals had made, they got no training done that day. As they cleaned and mopped, Mihawk could have sworn he heard Zoro grumble something about “never wanting to see a seal dick again.”

And then there was Neil. Though Zoro had laughed when Mihawk confidently declared Neil his nemesis, the giant seal did seem to find a perverse joy in tormenting Mihawk, personally. As Mihawk defiantly took his afternoon tea and daily cigarette out on the patio, despite the noise and the smell (a holdover from his younger days, and one of the few simple pleasures in his life), Neil would flop his enormous body up the stairs and honk directly at the swordsman, one time knocking over the small table and sending his teacup shattering on the ground before flopping away, letting out short, loud honks that Mihawk was positive was laughter. Perona tried her best to glue the teacup back together, but it was rather leaky and had to be discarded.

Neil also enjoyed standing directly outside of Mihawk’s window and bellowing at night, and occasionally charging directly at him. Mihawk was strong, but he wasn’t indestructible, and one thousand pounds of seal would certainly hurt him. Then of course, there were the daily “gifts” Neil left on the front doorstep. They appeared in the morning after breakfast, so Mihawk had no evidence that it was Neil, but he knew deep down that it was him.

One day, roughly two weeks from the day they began appearing on the island, the seals began leaving, their mating for the season done. Mihawk sat outside with his afternoon tea and his cigarette, not making the same mistake of placing the teacup on the table twice, lest Neil see it as an invitation. Zoro stepped outside, leaning over the bannister as the seals began slipping into the sea.

“How do you do this every year?” Zoro asked genuinely. “I’m exhausted after dealing with it once.”

Mihawk shrugged as he took a drag on his cigarette. “It’s only for two weeks out of the year. It’s annoying certainly, but it’s a small price to pay for the otherwise silence and isolation of living here.”

After a moment of silence, Mihawk chuckled, a noise Zoro rarely heard from the man. “You know, one time I was getting ready to set out to sea for a Warlord meeting. A mandatory one, another one of those ‘show up or you’ll lose your position’ things. I got to my boat and Neil was there, lying on deck, sound asleep. I tried to get him to move, but he wouldn’t.”

Zoro grinned. Mihawk so rarely told him anything about himself or his past. He was automatically intrigued, always curious to know more about his mentor, even if he’d never openly admit it. “How’d that turn out?”

Mihawk grinned right back, as if they were sharing an understanding. “I took a picture and mailed it to Sengoku. No note, just the picture. Didn’t hear a word back from him. Showed up at the next meeting like nothing happened, but Sengoku later gave me the same picture back, framed. He’d thought it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen: a powerful Warlord of the Sea, trapped on his private island by a giant seal.”

Zoro laughed softly. Something about the idea of the Fleet Admiral gifting one of his Warlords a ridiculous seal picture seemed absurd to him. But he’d seen the picture on the mantle, he knew it was real. Then, Mihawk spoke again. “He’s getting old.”

Zoro turned to him. “You mean Neil?”

Mihawk nodded. “I don’t know how old he is, but he looks more and more worse for wear every time I see him. I’d wager it’ll be another year or two before I don’t see him anymore. Or perhaps this will be the last time.”

Mihawk looked out in the distance, as Zoro took in the man before him. He could never be quite sure with Mihawk, but he felt that there was a certain sadness in his mentor’s voice.

“You kind of enjoy it, don’t you?” Zoro offered. “The back and forth between you and him. He keeps things interesting when there’s no one else around.”

Mihawk shrugged and put out his cigarette. “I won’t deny that I find him entertaining, even as he annoys the hell out of me. Animals are remarkable creatures. So human-like in so many ways, and yet not at the same time. I know he’s just a dumb mammal, but….”

Zoro only nodded, understanding what Mihawk was saying. He thought back to the Kung-Fu Dugongs in Alabasta, who took so strongly to Luffy after he bested them in a fight. He thought about the South Bird in Jaya that he enjoyed bothering by trying to get it to look in directions other than South. He thought of the Humandrills here on Kuraigana, who, now that he had bested them in battle once, had become some of his favorite sparring partners. And he thought of Chopper who, despite his Human-Human Fruit, was still at the end of the day, a reindeer. Animals really were remarkable.

A loud honking sound broke Zoro from his thoughts. Neil was flopping his way up the stairs, and landed at Mihawk’s feet, looking up at him. Mihawk looked down with a raised eyebrow. “I suppose you’re leaving?” Mihawk said. Neil only honked in affirmation. Mihawk nodded. “Well. Stay safe out there. You’re just about the size of a perfect snack for a Sea King. Basically a blubbery jelly bean.” Neil let out a series of those short, braying honks that sounded like laughter. He locked eyes with Mihawk for a moment before flopping his way back down the stairs. Mihawk rose and stood beside Zoro, and together they watched as Neil got in the water and, with one last look towards the castle, swam away.

Several months passed, and it was business as usual for Mihawk, Zoro, and Perona. As Mihawk and Zoro worked in the garden, beginning the process of harvesting the year’s yield, Perona floated up to them excitedly. “Guys! Come to the beach!”

“I don’t have time for a swim,” Mihawk said curtly as he plucked some tomatoes from a vine.

“Ugh, what? No! Just…just shut up and come with me!” She turned and floated away, clearly expecting the men to drop everything and follow her. Mihawk looked to Zoro, who only shrugged and rose to his feet, dropping his gloves in the dirt. Mihawk sighed and begrudgingly did the same.

The two swordsmen followed Perona, who kept looking behind to make sure they were following, though not nearly fast enough for her. And when Mihawk crested the hill and looked out at the beach below him, his eyes widened in surprise to see Neil there, honking loudly in greeting. And not just Neil - with him were six seal pups, perhaps a few months old.

Perona squealed in delight, doing flips in the air. “Aren’t they cute?!” Mihawk could only chuckle as he approached his old nemesis.

Neil brayed happily, bouncing on his flippers and pushing the small seals with his snout towards Mihawk, who crossed his arms and chuckled. “You wanted me to meet your children, huh?” Neil honked in affirmation.

Mihawk, Zoro, and Perona sat down on the beach, allowing the seal pups to approach them. He wouldn’t say it, but they were actually quite cute. “Congratulations, Neil,” Mihawk said, his lips upturning in a slight grin. “Shall I fetch you a cigar and some whiskey to celebrate?”

That loud, honking laugh again. The one Mihawk had grown so accustomed to over his time living at the castle, the one that made Mihawk confident that even if Neil couldn’t speak the language of humans, he certainly understood every word they said.

Neil watched as the pups sniffed around the humans, eventually deeming them safe enough to accept pets, and one even crawled into Zoro’s lap for a nap, as if he’d found a kindred spirit in the green-haired swordsman. Then, satisfied, Neil let out one last bray, before turning and flopping his way back into the water. Mihawk rose quickly, going after him, not even caring that the surf was covering his boots. “Neil! Stop! I’m not a babysitter! I already have two children I don’t want, I don’t need more!”

Neil only turned and looked directly at Mihawk, and in that moment, Mihawk understood: this was Neil’s last journey to Kuraigana Island. He wasn’t coming back. Whatever may have happened to the mother, Neil was leaving his pups in the care of someone he trusted. They were still too small to make it in the wild on their own, and Neil wanted to give them the best chance at survival and a safe haven to return to, just as he had been doing for so many years.

Mihawk nodded and approached Neil, who was still looking up at him with glossy, black eyes. For the first time, Mihawk noticed a cloudiness in the seal’s eyes: cataracts. For how long had Neil had this problem and Mihawk hadn’t even noticed? Could he have taken him to a veterinarian? Could he have gotten him help if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with their cat-and-mouse game? Mihawk felt a pang in his chest as he reached out and placed a calloused hand gently on Neil’s head, petting him gently.

“I’ll take care of them,” he said, trying to hide the hoarseness appearing in his voice. “As long as they’re on this island, they will be safe.” Neil blinked and honked lowly, something Mihawk could only interpret as “thank you.” And with that, Neil flopped into the sea and swam away, leaving Mihawk standing on the shore with Zoro, Perona, and the pups.

Mihawk allowed himself a minute to mourn his odd friend, then turned and walked back to where Zoro and Perona sat with the seal pups. It was clear the two younger pirates understood what had just happened, and Perona had silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

“So what now?” she asked quietly, gently stroking the seal pup before her.

Mihawk sighed, picking up one of the pups and holding it out in front of him. It looked quite like Neil, but had a smattering of light gray spots on its fur. Its glossy black eyes looked at him with curiosity and it cocked its head to the side, taking in the man before it, before immediately peeing. The swordsman could only laugh softly. This was definitely Neil’s child.

He placed the seal gently on the ground, and it happily bounced over to its siblings. “Well,” he said, “I’m going to go change my clothes. Then, I suppose, we’re going fishing. We have six new mouths to feed after all.”

Zoro and Perona smiled, Perona wiping the tears from her face. They rose and followed Mihawk, and the six seal pups flopped along cheerily behind them, ready to explore their new home.

[sentientgolfball]

Ghoul Files: Cirrus

Welcome to my little series of ghoul character sheets. The Files are basically little living documents of how I headcanon/characterize each ghoul. I've made one for every ghoul (yes every ghoul) and I'll be slowly uploading them alphabetically by era just for the hell of it.

Masterpost

Check out her design here !

Name: Cirrus

Element: Air

Pronouns: she/her 

Powers: Can create gusts of wind, summon small storms, manipulate air pressure, create vacuums by pulling air out of places (yes this includes living creatures), use airflow to lift small objects, she can’t fly but if she jumps off a high place she can float down. 

Love language (giving): Gift giving. She has crow brain. She sees a cool rock or a neat piece of metal and she’s grabbing it and affectionately handing it to one of her packmates. 

Love language (receiving): Words of affirmation and acts of service. She’s so soft when someone says sweet little things to her and takes time out of their day to do something for her. 

Pairings: She’s the closest with Cumulus. If they’re not with the pack, it is rare to see one without the other. She also likes to hang out with Mountain. She likes the way he keeps her grounded. Aether is her other go to ghoul. Sometimes she doesn’t want to be the one in charge, the one responsible, and he’s always more than willing to hold her for a while. 

Influential Others: Zephyr means the world to her. They were her mentor when she was still new. Even in the present, she still goes to Zephyr when she’s really struggling. She still feels like she can’t fill their shoes, but they’re her number one fan. 

Kinds of People Liked: She likes honest people in all degrees. People who tell the truth, but also people who are upfront with what they want or need. She doesn’t want to play guessing games. Also sickeningly sweet people. She finds their natural affection so endearing. 

Kinds of People Disliked: People who seem to have a stick permanently up their ass. She gets very annoyed very quickly with people who can’t allow themselves to relax or take it easy. She sees red when people like that crank it up a notch and shame others for finding joy in small or strange ways. 

Time in the Pits: She was the leader of her flock in the Pits. Cumulus was her mate, they’ve been bound together for centuries. She kept them safe, kept them alive. It wasn’t a gigantic flock, but it wasn’t small either. She has plenty of scars from challenges to her position, but she never lost a fight. She truly believed she was the best thing for her flock, that no one could do it like her. She was fair with punishments, tried to keep hunting and scouting equal between all members. She wasn't horribly ambitious, not willing to throw her flock into senseless fights just for more territory. However, she was fierce when she needed to be. Her greatest accomplishment was killing a quintessence ghoul that tried to use her flock for food. 

Sense of Humor: Physical/slapstick. She has to stifle a laugh when she sees people fall down the stairs or accidentally run into something. She’ll ask if you’re okay and genuinely mean it, but the moment she knows everything is fine and no one’s actually hurt she’s gonna need a minute. 

Basic Nature: She cares and will be there for those she’s close with even if she’s not great with her words, but she’s also not afraid to snap and be blunt if she needs to be. She can be really physically affectionate and a little sentimental and it sometimes makes people forget she’s a natural leader. When she speaks you listen. 

Compulsions/Habits: She has to have a nest of blankets in order to fall asleep. She will meticulously create a nest if she’s not sleeping in her own room for the night before she turns in. She also tends to bite when she’s grooming one of her packmates, she’s used to preening feathers it’s not her fault. She self isolates whenever she has a migraine. She’ll only call on someone when it gets bad enough for her to begrudgingly take painkillers. 

Fears: Tight spaces. She’s very claustrophobic. She also has a fear of failure. Failure in the Pits meant someone getting hurt or worse. While obviously that’s not the case Topside it’s something she can’t shake. 

Attitude Towards Own Body: She’s content with no strong opinions. However, when she dresses up she likes to flaunt cause she knows she looks good. 

Sees Self As: Strong enough to shoulder everything thrown at her. 

Hobbies: Exercising! She likes to lift and do cardio. She also does yoga with Mountain. Falconry. She’s made great friends with the falcons that reside on the Ministry rooftops. She’s trained them to act as her eyes for the places she can’t always see. She loves them to death. 

Pastimes: She likes to do word puzzles. She also lets Cumulus and Aurora essentially play dress up with her. She likes it when they do her makeup and hair cause she is not the type to do it herself. 

Collections: Bones. She has so many bones and no one knows where she keeps getting more. 

Reading Materials Preferred: She enjoys reading books about mythology. The stories that have survived through all of human history fascinate her. 

Most Prized Possession: Her keytar. It was given to her by Zephyr. It was the thing that essentially brought her Topside. It’s what keeps her close to all the ghouls. Since Zephyr can’t play it anymore because of their condition she sees it as letting a part of them still make music. 

Favorite Colors: gold

Favorite Foods: She likes foods that aren’t super heavy but still have plenty of flavor. Her favorite thing to eat are those little tortilla pinwheel roll ups. She likes how she can swap out ingredients for variety while still having it be simple and easy to make. 

General Likes: making collages, picnics, fireflies, sitting outside during storms 

General Dislikes: Getting her feathers soaked, cold weather, having her quiet time disturbed, carpeted floors 

Is Seen By Others As: An affectionate person with a big heart but also a little intimidating. 

Typical First Impression: Lioness. She’s going to eat me whole and leave nothing behind. Those scars tell a story and it can’t be a good one. 

Morning Routine: She eats breakfast with the pack before going to relieve the ghoul who was on night watch. Her job allows her to go all over the Ministry, so she makes it a point to visit each packmate throughout the day. 

Evening Routine: She always walks back to the den with Mountain since he’s always working late in the greenhouse. She showers before cuddling up with the other ghoulettes in the common area while they wait for dinner to be finished. She works on whatever sudoku or word puzzle book she currently has as a way to wind down before bed. That or she decides to go see who’s willing to take a strap for a few hours. It’s important to relieve stress before going to sleep. 

Strongest Character Trait: Her patience. She may snap here or there to keep everyone on track, but it takes a lot for her to get there. She prefers a softer approach and usually, that works, so that’s why it’s terrifying when she has to remind whoever why she was a pack leader in the Pits for so long. 

Weakest Character Trait: She’s a perfectionist for herself. She holds herself to impossibly high standards and gets frustrated when she doesn’t meet them. It’s actually something she and Dew have in common, but unlike him, she doesn’t freeze and go cold when it happens. She explodes. She’s less affectionate and energetic. She has to take a moment to herself to settle, she won’t even let Cumulus see her like that. She cries until her throat is raw. Once she’s calmed down, though, she finds her and buries herself in her. 

Mental/Emotional Blocks: Ghouls by themselves are matriarchal. In the Pits it’s the ghoulettes who are in charge of packs/flocks/schools/hordes. However when the silly humans of the Ministry got involved they decided that fire ghouls are the ‘leaders’ since they hold the same element as the Morning Star. This is purely for bureaucracy and means nothing outside of ghoul/clergy meetings. Cirrus didn’t like this. When she was first summoned her and Dew would butt heads a lot. Sometimes she still gets pissy when he has to go to Clergy meetings and she can’t do anything except remind him of the things the ghouls need. She freaks out. It’s not that she doesn’t trust him to mention everything he needs to do, but it just stresses her out because she’s not directly involved. 

Chores/other job: When not on tour, she patrols the grounds of the Ministry. She perches on the bell towers and watches. She connects to the air to feel for any disturbances. She sends her falcons out. If she finds any trespassers she hunts them down and brings them before Papa so he can decide what to do with them. 

Long Term Goals: She and Ifrit actually share a plan to convince Papa to get permission from the Clergy to allow them to start up small self-defense classes. When she began getting to know the humans of the Ministry after she was summoned she learned many of them come from horrible situations. She showed a few of her favorites how to get someone on the floor. When Ifrit found out the two started to hatch the plan together. 

Present Problems: She is a bit stressed about the growth of the church. Not because she doesn’t enjoy the new people and ghouls, but because she may be asked to leave on an assistance trip like Sunshine. Would she come back when the new branch was established? Yes, but the idea of not being surrounded by other ghouls all the time freaks her out. That and she’d worry too much about what was happening back at home. 

One-Line Characterization: Cirrus is a natural leader who helps keep the pack organized. 

Room description: She has a queen-sized bed, but it’s only ever used when she has company. She has a nest of pillows, blankets, and soft things in the corner of her room where she sleeps. It’s pretty clean, but the floor is littered with her and Cumulus’ feathers. She has no light in her room beside the windows, she doesn’t feel the need since ghouls have good dark vision. She has a small TV in her room for nights when she’d rather stay in. She has a potted gladiolus on her desk. 

Summoning: She spilled a lot of blood when she was summoned. She came out of the circle swinging and screaming. Omega had to hold her down until she gave up trying to attack. She was convinced they were going to kill her. She calmed down significantly when Zephyr showed up. Seeing another air ghoul made her realize she wasn’t going to die, but she was now terrified for her pack back in the Pits. It took her a while to warm up to the other ghouls, so she stayed glued to Cumulus and Zephyr for months. She was scared. She had attacked and been attacked by ghouls of all elements in the Pits. Her curiosity about humans did, however, break her out of her shell and led to her getting to know her new packmates. 

NSFW

Favorite position: She likes her partners bent over for her. Also under her, but honestly she just kinda lets the situation unfold before deciding what she’s in the mood for. 

Dom/sub: Dom. She’s a bit of a pleasure dom, definitely going to wring multiple orgasms from her partner. She will get her partner to whimper. She is pretty damn close to being a stone top, but she has her moments where she’d rather receive. 

Risk: She kind of likes to push boundaries. Obviously she’ll stop if told, but she likes to see how far she can get. She’ll draw blood. She’ll corner someone behind some crates with crew members only 5 feet away. She’ll leave her door unlocked, maybe cracked open if she’s really feeling it. 

Kinks: Power play. She goes crazy for having her partner beg and having total control over them. Marking, she is going to cover her partner. Orgasm denial and edging, but this kinda pairs with the power play. Temperature play. Loves to see how her element can be used. 

Aftercare: Very intimate. She’s going to praise her partner while she gives them soft kisses. Going to dress them in her clothes if they’ll fit, if not she’s going to wrap them in her biggest, softest blanket and lay on top of them. If they wanna shower she’ll use her shampoo and body wash so they smell like her. 

Noise level: She’s decently loud, a good mix of talking and noises. However, she is going to make sure her partner can be heard down the hall. 

Surprise: She very much enjoys it when her partner challenges her. If you want her to be mean and manhandle you then all you have to do is challenge her control. She likes fighting (and winning) that control. She doesn’t mind when her partner gives in right away, but oh boy, if you want to really get her going challenge her.

[ratsoh-writes]

Can you give us some fun facts about your pets?

Ooooo

Ok jess, this hoe:

Jess is my baby, my darling, my sweet ugly girl. I do have cute pictures of her, but they are far and in between. This vacuum bag hairball is the most unphotogenic creature known to man. And she coughs like a 40 year old man. And she has allergies so she sneezes everywhere, and she has brilliant aim if she’s near your face

She’s black, and she loves the sun, so she likes to fry herself outside every morning. And she comes back in smelling like a mixture of ass and roadkill. And naturally this is when she wants my cuddles the most

For some reason the sound of squeaky toys gives her eargasms so hard that she screams and howls her little rat heart out at them. Rubber duckies are the bane of her existence

This rat was found behind a dumpster (literally), but middle class family life has softened that boney dog butt of hers. She can no longer tolerate the cold hard ground of fake wood floors. She knows how to sit, but will hover her butt over the ground when on hard floor. She actually sits on carpet though. And even though her food is in the tiled laundry room, she likes to grab a mouthful of kibble, walk all across the house, and bring it to the living room just to eat it on carpet. Oh and she tries to bury her treats in my room for some reason.

Now Mario: this slut:

As the only boy in the household, Mario is unapologetically my moms favorite. But to be fair, he’s a slut, but only for her. He’s a loyal boy. His favorite past times include barking at nothing, pissing on every square inch of the backyard, and biting at my moms ankles every time she walks down the hall

He must’ve failed doggy language classes or something, because when he wants attention, he doesn’t whine cutely like jess, or snort like Jake (my late beagle, love you boo), he growls. He hikes his little tiny crusty grandma dog teeth up and does his best growl. I rate it as horrifying as spam sizzling on a frying pan, so not much. (And no, these growls are purely affectionate, he’s never actually bitten anyone or been aggressive, he’s a coward lol)

When we have the freeloaders do their trick routine, he gets mad if we don’t let him go first, and if jess is doing her tricks too slow he’ll straight up body slam her away and do it for her. He’s got golden child syndrome and can’t handle not being in the spotlight

He’s super possessive of my mom, and anytime anyone touches her when she’s at her office chair, he growls and barks. Unless it’s my uncle. He’s terrified of that guy. My uncle only calls him George and so he answers to that as a second name too.

[kadavernagh]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Zane's beautiful house PARTIES: Regan, Zane, and Jade SUMMARY: Zane is a vampire. Regan is moving in with him. Jade has some thoughts about that. CONTENT: Medical blood

“I can start by just showing you your room?” And then maybe close the door behind her to take a moment to wonder how in the world he’d gotten himself into this situation. 

It was an impressive estate for Oldtown, the two-story home that included an expansive front yard, even if it didn’t look particularly well tended to. Zane really lived here alone? And on a nurse’s salary? None of it mattered very much to Regan. Her criteria for a new place to live in were simple: she had not previously lived there, and she would not be alone when Farraige na Buanachta tried to vacuum her into its depths. The pit came for her in the dark; it came when she could not predict it like a death; it came with the undeniable force of a scream.

With a bag in each hand, Regan spurred herself down the front walkway before she started to feel the tar between her toes. This would fix it all.

She cautiously set the bags down on the front doorstep (they had her necessities: bones), and rang the bell. It was something Regan should have anticipated, the knife sliding under her epidermis and probing around beneath her skin the second Zane approached. It happened around Metzli, and Leila, so of course it happened around Zane, too. It wasn’t until she learned more from Jade that she had language to pair with it (however inexact and inarticulate that language was). Undead. Vampire. 

And… oh, this was going to be a problem, wasn’t it? Not only the constant shaving of her flesh from this sensation, but the fact Jade was on the way with more of her things. Regan gulped, any eagerness in her eyes dimming at the realization as she looked at Zane. What could she say to back out now? No, this could be salvaged. “Hello. I’m here to move in, as discussed. Oh, uh, I own more than this, by the way,” she gestured to the bones, “my bone partner is bringing a car with the rest soon.” And Zane could not be there when Jade arrived. “Hey, why don’t you show me around? I can have her deposit my things here.” Regan nudged Zane inside his own house, hopping in after him. She paused. Then she stuck her arms back out and grabbed the bags, not willing to leave them behind. “Take your time. Show me every groove and furrow. Do you have any perfume? Cologne? We should put that on, both of us, as a bonding activity.” Though Regan doubted that would throw Jade off the scent.

—

There was a definite need for Zane to learn how to set boundaries. Not setting them had first led to an array of newly turned vampires showing up at his doorstep thanks to Emilio and now, a doctor that had seemed much too interested in him being a vampire was moving in. It should have been easy to tell her that he wasn’t looking for a permanent roommate, that the house was already occupied and most importantly, that Regan was… eccentric in a way that unnerved him a bit. But no, for Zane the easy way had been to crumple like a soggy piece of paper and let Regan move in. 

It was probably a bad sign that she looked just as skeptical about this idea as he did when the door swung open. “Of course,” Zane replied on autopilot, even as his stomach twisted at the mention of ‘the rest’. How much was the rest? Was Doctor Kavanagh bringing the entire contents of an apartment? Before he could spiral into the thought, Regan was ushering him inside and asking about… perfume? To know the workings of her mind probably necessitated a very specific PhD but Zane was completely at a loss. “Strong smells kinda… give me a headache?” he tried, still stuck on the ‘bonding activity’ part of her reasoning. Zane knew very well that doctors tended to be odd but… 

“I can start by just showing you your room?” And then maybe close the door behind her to take a moment to wonder how in the world he’d gotten himself into this situation. 

—

Despite the ‘cadaveristic torpor’ of it all, Regan did truly like Zane. In her opinion, a bond had been forged between them when they defaced Halloween decorations together in the name of accuracy. If she could keep him away from Jade, this had the potential to work out. If only he moved a little faster. Regan was practically shuttling ahead of him as he took her through a sensibly decorated front hall that emptied into what was likely one of Oldtown’s biggest dying– living rooms. “I don’t care for it either. It covers up smells I appreciate much more. But we don’t have to wear it for long, only during… um, initiation. Orientation! This is like orientation? Did you have one of those when you went to–” Regan clipped the question. Why was she thinking about college? How many years had that been? It felt like she’d reached beyond Ireland’s fog and plucked someone else’s memory from the clear skies on the other side. “Forget that. Oh, my room? I don’t need that now. I will choose it later.”

Zane led her upstairs anyway, which seemed like an unusual way to begin a tour, but Regan wouldn’t judge. Jade might have done the same; she had no respect for linearity. As they passed by what looked like a bathroom, Regan stopped following Zane and veered into the room to poke around. That mirror was not going to last long. Neither was the shower pane. “Where is the cologne?” She asked Zane, once he realized he’d lost her, and turned back. 

—

Yeah, his new roommate (how? why?) was definitely acting stranger than usual. Regan seemed nervous, really nervous, which didn’t fit with what Zane had seen of her so far. The way she’d handled the worker at the Halloween store, heck, even the way she’d handled moving herself in here had been decisive. Her being awkward just wasn’t sitting right. Was she regretting the decision to move in with a vampire, maybe? She’d known about all that beforehand so it didn’t make sense that she would have asked in the first place. Well, none of this made sense, especially not this hyperfixation on cologne. “We just played some name games and went over the syllabus?” he answered before she was rescinding that question entirely and moving onto choosing her own room. Oh, no. 

Zane was vaguely aware that Regan was not paying attention as he pointed out rooms, trying to explain which were taken and where his own room was and great, she was gone. “Regan?” Worry colored his words - he hadn’t managed to prep all of the current inhabitants on this new development and it didn’t seem too out of character for Regan to pop into someone’s bedroom. Thankfully, she’d only diverged into the bathroom and Zane sighed, joining her in the doorway. “Next to the sink,” he answered, regretting it instantly. “But maybe we skip it for now?” It wasn’t surprising that his hesitant suggestion went ignored - if only he could bring some of his authority from work into his personal life. Maybe if he could, this whole nightmare could have been avoided and his eyes wouldn’t currently be burning from what was frankly an obscene amount of cologne. “I don’t think you’re supposed to use that much…”

—

The cloud covering the bathroom smelled of fresh citrus – the vague kind that various bottled scents employed, not quite orange, not quite lime. It tickled Regan’s nose, and it would have obscured any important scents during an autopsy (which made it a no-go in Regan’s book, even though she was no longer an ME). But it could work. It had to. Because– “Come here. You’re the one who needs it more than I.” Zane could wonder if Regan was calling him fragrant. She didn’t care. She sprayed the bottle near Zane’s face a few times, satisfied that the scent would cling to his pores, probably for the next several days. 

“What else is it prudent for me to know? Is there a designated area in the yard where I should be leaving dead animals?” Regan set the bottle back on the bathroom counter with a gentle clack. “How about the garden? It will be well-fertilized.” 

Her Jade senses were tingling. They were not as exact as her ability to detect death or other fae (or as literal), but she had developed a knack for predicting Jade’s proximity over time. She’d be here with the rest of Regan’s things, soon, and– Regan cast a glance at Zane, pressing her lips together. How long could she really expect to keep Jade from figuring this out? She’d be over all the time. 

Regan inhaled a deep breath of cologne. Even through the remaining mist of the fragrance, she could feel Zane pulling at each tiny hair on her skin. Jade would be no different. This… this would not work. And she couldn’t put Zane at risk (risk?) just so she could have a decent, like-minded roommate. She was selfish, but not that selfish. Backing out now would be an insult to Zane’s hospitality, though, and she couldn’t tell him that he was the issue. So Regan would be the issue. She could be kind like that. 

“New plan.” Regan clapped her hands together, louder than intended. “I think they should be inside, instead, the dead animals. Which one is your bedroom? I assume it is the biggest. There should be space in there, yes?” Her nose itched again. Her whole face tickled. Her sinuses. And– Regan sneezed, a high-pitched slice through the air that made the bathroom mirror crack right down the center. Maybe she hadn’t needed to say the bit about the dead animals after all.

—

At least he didn’t need to breathe. His eyes still hurt and the whole house would probably smell for days but Zane was trying really hard to focus on the positives right now. Like how he was positive that this had been a mistake and maybe Regan needed a psych eval? Was she having an early midlife crisis? With the job change and moving and whatever smell issue she was currently having, Zane really did wonder if she needed a different kind of healthcare professional than a nurse. “Thanks…”

Wiping some of the excess cologne off with the back of his hand, Zane struggled to keep up with the change of subject. “We don’t really get a lot of… dead animals but… sure, backyard sounds as good of a place as any. So, should we check out the rest of the house or-” He winced at the sudden clap and then again at the words that followed and somehow, this was getting worse. “Inside? My bedroom isn’t actually the biggest but I don’t think that’s a good idea, Regan, with the smell and the-”

That… wasn’t a normal sneeze. His brain felt rattled, a high pitch buzz lingering in his ears as Zane stared at the newly formed crack in the mirror. “What…” Even through the buzzing, Zane heard the tell-tale sign of gravel crunching under tires in the driveway. Sure, okay. One crisis at a time. See how much stuff Regan has brought over, then question Regan about how her sneezes seem supersonic. Then have a discussion about dead animals inside the house… Zane felt tired in a way he hadn’t felt since becoming undead. “I’ll go open the door for them,” he said hoarsely, moving to escape from the smog of cologne and the sight of the cracked bathroom mirror. 

—

As the two of them stared at the cracked mirror– oops– it was quiet enough that Regan heard wheels crunching over gravel. That had to be Jade. And for the first time ever, she wished Jade wasn’t here right now. What was she going to assume about Zane? Zane, who dedicated his life to helping humans, just like Jade herself.

It was probably better to confess she had caused the cracked mirror now, rather than pretend it was a coincidence that it paired with her sneeze. She had (barely exercised) manners. She could apologize. And, right, having Zane agree this is a bad idea was the goal. So it all worked out. “Sorry! Always unfortunate when that happens. I have seasonal allergies. I recall you indicating you lack any emotional attachment with your lightbulbs, so that won’t be a problem, will it?” Jade was still a problem, though. Only right now. Not in any other context. 

“You know what, maybe I should get the door. I like…doors.” Regan said to an empty bathroom. Oh. Bás síoraí. Regan rocketed down the staircase after Zane and a heavy trail of cologne, but he was already practically at the door (fast– he must have worked out a lot, or his nursely duties involved a lot of literal heavy lifting). 

“Wait, don’t get the–” Door. That was already opening.

—

Being supportive was one of the things Jade was the GOAT of. Like, she was a self-proclaimed hype woman, so it was no shocker she was trying her best to help Regan navigate her new life as… banshee lite. (Regan might coin a better term). Jade wanted nothing more than for Regan to realize there were things other than banshee duty. That, just like Meztli, she could carve her own path too. Which, at the moment, included finding new roommates. Yup. Cause Regan wanted to get out of their… her cabin. And that was so cool and chill, and she was definitely not taking it personal. Like, duh, why would she wanna live with Jade (warm, great hair, amazing kisser) when she could choose a total stranger (cold, probably bald, better keep their mouth far, far away) instead? The latter obviously sounded way more adventurous anyway.

Jade would be supportive, she wanted her lady to thrive, so she offered to drive some of Regan’s stuff to her new apartment. It was kinda exciting, once she got over the whole…rejection of it all. (And did she ask Regan to live with her elsewhere instead? Not at all, why was that relevant?). Plus, she was hoping Regan’s roomie was at least interesting and cool. Jade was also looking forward to chatting them up, to make sure they treated Regan right. They better not give her funny looks just cause of her hobbies or interests. She needed Regan to be in the second best hands possible. 

The taxidermied head she’d bought that guy on the internet stuck out from the first box Jade grabbed once she climbed out of the car. She didn’t even have to ring the doorbell to hear shuffling inside. Someone was already approaching to answer the door (interesting!). She peeked from over the box when the door swung open, the megawatt smile she had on her face slowly dying out. Hazel eyes flickered to the man standing in front of her, the roommate, and realized something wasn’t right. Actually, forget that, something was straight up wrong. And just… Jade’s spirits deflated when her skin thrummed in that telltale way. Now hold on a minute…

Why was Regan chilling with a vampire? Actually, scratch that, did she even know? She had to feel it too, right? “Um. Hello, um,” she stammered, and when had she ever used hello before? Mouth dry, she looked out for Regan, who was coming up behind the man. Jade’s eyebrows pinched in a way Regan would be able to identify. What’s going on? Maybe she didn’t actually feel it. She wouldn’t blame her, the smells coming out of the house were hitting Jade like a truck. Or anyway, maybe the whole Ireland vacay ruined Regan’s death radar. (A couple instances that contradicted her idea popped into her head). Her eyes darted back to the vampire. Nope, wait, she knew what happened. They like, probably arranged this over the internet, duh. And of course, he was helpless against Regan’s disarming charm. And Regan had been clueless to his nature. Yup. She liked that scenario. It was messy for sure, but like… there was a way out of it. Except… except what if, that was how this guy lured all his victims? Maybe he acted as a sweet himbo on the internet and then bam, secured his next blood bag.  

Jade wanted to barge in, snatch Regan away and pretend this meeting never happened. Keep his filthy fangs away from her sweet blood. (Cause fae had sweet blood, alright? Not cause… she wasn’t into that) (Unless Regan…). Right, they’d get out of there and have a serious discussion about adding an undead filter next time she searched for roomies. And then, obviously, she’d return to end him. Some other time cause like, she’d left all her stakes in her other jacket and all. (She conveniently tried not to think of the emergency stake she carried in her belt). Great plan.  

Jade didn’t move. And the box she was carrying didn’t weigh enough to make her uncomfortable (she was even planning on holding it with one hand, give Regan a little show. Not anymore!). So she stood there, blinking like an idiot. Regan wanted roomies, and she wanted to find herself, and she’d lost so much that Jade only wanted Regan to thrive and… there was a knot in her throat. Cause this felt like a lose-lose situation. She counted to five, a shaky exhale escaped her lips. 

Was she gonna play dumb for the chance Regan secured a room in this admittedly very nice house? This was a vampire who could lose control at any moment. And Regan would be there with her naturally enticing neck, in immediate danger. But also… Well, Regan didn’t want to be in the cabin (with her) anymore so she didn’t wanna extend that torture… Jade’s eyes danced between the two people in front of her, unsure. Unsure was pretty much all she felt these days. Not that anybody had to know her business. “Wow… I think the fumes of that scent got into my brain cause like” she shook her head, pretending that had been the reason for her daze. “And I thought I liked citrus scents. Anyway, hi! I’m Jade,” and any smile of hers was a good smile, but there was a twinkle in her eyes that was definitely missing in this one. 

—

Alright, so they were both odd. The nameless… what was the phrase Regan had used, bone partner? - was watching Zane like she’d been expecting someone completely different, the smile on her face visibly fading. Geez, alright. Was it maybe the cologne? Was that part of some inside joke, Regan messing with this woman by way of copious amounts of cologne? If so, Zane didn’t quite understand why he had to be dragged into it. “Hi,” he returned hesitantly, eyes shifting down to the dead eyed gaze looking up at him from the box in the newcomer’s hands. 

Zane huffed out a laugh, spurred mostly by desperation over this situation, and that was a mistake because the aforementioned fumes attacked his senses again. “Yes, the cologne… That was… well, Regan can tell you what that’s about later. I’m honestly not really sure. Uh, come in.” Sidestepping to let Jade and her box of taxidermy enter, Zane craned his neck to try and catch a glimpse of what had been brought along. Only things that seemed to fit in a normal car. Zane wouldn’t have been surprised to see an actual moving truck out in the driveway. One thing to be thankful for. 

“So… yeah. I’m Zane. Regan’s new roommate. Apparently.” 

—

Regan stumbled up behind Zane, her heart tripping over itself. She pushed her bags back outside on the doorstep. What was that about wishing Jade wasn’t here at the moment? Scratch that. Her body told her it had been a lie. Maybe it was Zane she didn’t want right here, except it was his house, which was problematic. Why was wanting so complicated? Couldn’t everything just be what it was? Fate-mandated? Once upon a time, she did not need to consider wanting, because it was questioning fate. Now she didn’t even know what to eat for breakfast because she questioned everything including her Greek yogurt.

“Hello!” Regan exhaled all of the breath remaining in her lungs and waited for Jade to say something (actually, had she overhead a hello from Jade before? weird). But Jade had confusion written all over her precious face like she got the wrong food order (as a recipient – Jade was an ace at delivery, obviously). Something was wrong. And Regan leaped toward the safe assumption that was not particularly safe: the cologne hadn’t worked. Jade knew what Zane was. And she knew Regan knew. That was what her eyes were asking, right? Why? How? What? “Um, this is Zane… he lives here. That is probably apparent.” 

Jade was in… some kind of trace. A staring spell. Regan cocked her head. Did Jade get seizures? No, that would have come up between the ‘allergies’ and gastrointestinal issues, both induced by her parents. She sidled up to Jade, nudging her shoulder (gently) and setting a hand on the box to help, though she’d never known Jade to need help carrying anything. “Thanks for bringing things over,” she said, mostly fishing for a response of some kind more than the need to say anything. When Jade introduced herself Regan almost wished she hadn’t. She could hear it, that calculatedness behind her tone. Jade was mapping this out. She was planning. She was probably thinking about her crossbow, or maybe a short-ranged option, in case Zane… what? Attacked for no reason? “He works at the hospital,” Regan said pointedly, “he is a nurse.” And no threat. “Helping patients, saving lives? All in a day’s work for Zane. He is a hernia among men. Uh, hero. Upon discharge, his patients surely think ‘wow, that nurse seemed remarkably well-adjusted, even though he was a pushover.’ They probably tell their families about Zane. Who is a nurse. At the hospital.”

Any prejudices Jade held were melting away, Regan was certain! But she was still uneasy about this. She leaned in on Jade’s shoulder, happy to be near the taxidermy, too, and looked toward Zane like this was a completely normal exchange. “Aren’t you, Zane? A nurse? Do I have that right?”

Time to go.

“Jade, a stór, I was just telling Zane about how I break mirrors. Glass everywhere. I am terrible to live with.” Her eyes flashed toward Jade again, desperate for her to play along (was it playing, really?) and probably not for the reason Jade assumed. Regan thought she could have lived with Zane, but she didn’t think Jade could live with her living with Zane. And what would that mean for Za– no. She batted that line of thinking away; she was skilled at doing that. It didn’t matter. She was going to egress from this roommate situation. “And not only mirrors, you know. Do you have fine china? Get rid of it. Glass cups? That will not work. Once, my snoring broke a window.” There was more, but Zane already indicated not caring about his lightbulbs, and he could probably see in the dark, anyway.

“And what if I am allergic to your cologne? You use so much of it.”

—

Zane. The vampire’s name was Zane and Jade already wanted to forget about it. And actually, Regan almost made it possible, as she moved (or was pulled) into Jade’s gravity. There was a nudge, a hand reaching under the box, fingers brushing, and for a beat all Jade could feel and see was right in front of her. Citrus scent forgotten. Her eyes got lost in Regan’s, only dipping to her mouth when she heard the ‘thank you’. Then they sparkled, in anticipation. So… did she get a kiss, or? Nope! Cause Zane was still here, it turned out, as Regan so kindly decided to remind her. In his house or whatever. The small reverie between them popped abruptly, like a balloon, and the citrus wafted to her nose again. Zane. 

Who… wait, he worked where? “The hospital… the…” she repeated like her ears were failing her. (Like that ever happened). Zane the vampire was a nurse. He worked at the hospital. You know, where people bled? Where there was a blood bank and… geez. Did this guy hide in plain sight, at a place with his own all-you-can-eat buffet? Oh, she hated this. Her belly agreed. It knotted in ways she’d forgotten. This was so sick and twisted. Alarms were definitely going off in Jade’s head now. “Oh wow, that’s like, so brave. Being a nurse, I’m guessing you love those night shifts, huh?” she blurted out to cover her racing thoughts. They were so loud, it wouldn’t surprise her if the guy could hear them with his enhanced hearing. Regan called Zane a hernia, which, everybody knew (of course), was one of the highest compliments Regan could offer. Wow. Despite what Jade had recently learned, Regan believed in him. So, like…how well did Regan know hunky Zane then? (That’s right, she could see the pecs) (She was a slayer, not blind). The ramble had felt so specific though, like Regan was trying to cover her bases. Trying to appease Jade without being upfront about it. Did she know? And still, went and agreed to meet up with him? And still wanted the room? (Over living with her bone partner?)

There was no time for the hurt Jade felt to travel from her heart to her eyes cause more words were coming. Regan was speaking, and despite everything, she would never ever wanna miss a word coming out of her favorite lips. (Mmm… nope. Second favorite). “You don’t sn…” Jade cut herself off, noticing the glint behind Regan’s eyes. Alrighty, she felt like a pancake, being flipped from side to side in the pan that was life. Wait so, Regan didn’t want this place? Was this… reverse psychology? Where she convinced herself she didn’t want something but she totally did? (It sure brought back some fond memories). But good grief, thinking was like, so overrated. Her head was starting to hurt. Okay, cool, cool, she was totally following now. The right corner of Regan’s mouth was twitching, which meant she didn’t approve of this place anymore, for whatever reason, and whew, she didn’t have to ask Jade twice for her to try to give her a hand. (Or a leg, or…) 

“Right!” she nodded enthusiastically at Zane for the first time. “I’ve never met a worse roomie than her. Yup, that’s why I… I’ve been trying to kick her out of my place, you know?” she chortled, and, had she not been in front of a vampire, Jade would’ve slapped his muscular shoulder. Instead, she used her free hand for better things, like reaching for Regan’s waist. Her gaze immediately flickered to her side, finding Regan’s despite the taxidermied head trying to get in the way. “She’s so loud, trust me, I mean, who’d wanna live with… her?” and yup, they had a ton to discuss once they escaped Zane’s overbearing hospitality and his passion for citrus scents, but the uncertainty didn’t erase the smitten look on Jade’s face. Or didn’t stop the warmth spreading in her chest. Where was her kiss, actually. They were due for a kiss. They had been in the same room for more than two minutes, the math wasn’t mathing. “You’d get nothing done, lemme tell ya…” she licked her lips, tearing her gaze away from the prize and back to Zane. “Like, even if you don’t care about all the glass she’s gonna break, which, oh buddy, you should. If you’re a nurse, you need lots of time for work and stuff, don’t you? She’s not gonna make it happen for you. She’s super clingy. And, oh…yup! Her nose… so beautiful, but so sensitive. We don’t want allergies.” 

— 

What? No, seriously, what was happening? Zane tried to pick it apart one detail at a time - the weirdly charged tension between the two that made him want to leave his own home to give them privacy, the strange amount of attention Regan was drawing to his job, the way Jade seemed to not like him in the slightest and finally, the literal worst sales pitch for any roommate ever. Which Jade was now doubling down on and Zane’s headache felt equal parts due to the cologne and the whiplash of this situation. Even if he was the type of person to cut into conversations (he wasn’t) that wasn’t an option here - Zane was literally speechless. 

The part about Regan, with an apparently beautiful nose, being clingy was the last bit of nonsense he could handle. “Okay! Alright, sorry, can we just-” Zane waved his hands, as if that might possibly make the whole situation magically end. “What is going on here? Like, actually, what is going on? Why is stuff breaking? What’s with the awful roommate stuff? Why did you get so intense about the cologne?” he demanded, mildly hysterical at this point, gaze moving from Jade to Regan, not caring which of them provided an explanation. “I want to help, Regan, I really do but this is just…” With a sigh of defeat, Zane retreated into the house with a shake of his head, the end point of his hospitality reached. 

—

If Regan needed any further confirmation Jade knew what Zane was (she didn’t need it) then the comment about night shifts would have done it. Because ‘vampires’ liked the night, didn’t they? Like bats. Not that Zane appeared to have much in common with those little, flying mammals (though maybe his eyes were a little small). 

Jade was practically grinding her distaste between her teeth. This was the type of anger that was hard for her to bite back, probably bridled only by confusion and Regan being right there. When Regan had asked how it felt for Jade, being around the not-quite-dead, she hadn’t described it as unpleasant. So… was Jade’s discomfort based only in distrust? She certainly hated learning that Zane worked at the hospital; Regan had thought it would make him out to be a positive example. Great rot, had she missed the mark, which was embarrassing considering she had a high-acuity mental map of all things Jade that she’d charted over the last year. She had failed to predict how negatively Jade was going to respond to this. How was that possible?

But Jade’s eyes twinkled like beautiful gleaming spleens when they met Regan’s. Were they on the same wavelength again? Regan felt like she’d fallen off a balance beam; it was difficult not to question all of her other assumptions. But… yes. The small huff meant Jade was preparing to say something important. Regan was going to be correct again. She had this. She could continue to tout her status as an expert on her bone partner, which was a point of pride rivaling her MD. She nudged herself closer to Jade, careful not to bump her and risk everything being dropped. That was another challenge, but they could overcome it (not the possibility of the box toppling over… the lack of bumping).

All was well again. Jade picked up on the act. And she was a stellar actress, right up there with Bill Nye (if he were to act). She could tell Zane that yes, things break frequently around Regan, and then Zane could decide he was emotionally attached to his lightbulbs after all, and she and Jade would go… back to the cabin? Regan hid her sinking frown. 

It was good Jade was holding everything because Regan would have dropped it when Jade started talking.

Worse… roomie? Regan deflated entirely. Kick her out? Jade was following her lead, her act. Regan knew that. She was also aware that Jade had never come close to ‘kicking her out’; Regan was the one who was clawing to be somewhere else. But… those were words she had never anticipated hearing come from Jade’s mouth (which had never failed Regan before). Her arm flopped off the box, and she was only faintly aware of the hand around her waist. Even the taxidermied beaver head did little jostle her out of whatever this was. Something she hadn’t been panged by for a long time.

Who’d wanna live with… her?

Regan melted more, enough that maybe she should be put into one of those boxes, too. Did Jade really think she was clingy? Did she care about the glass? Had she been harboring this since her roommate’s figurines shattered? Maybe they had been Jade’s figurines the whole time and she lied out of politeness. “Yeah, um… clingy,” Regan agreed flatly to Zane, “like putrescine on a rug. And I do. Break everything. As I explained.” The beautiful nose comment slid right by her. Jade might have been unhappy about all the time Regan was spending on her laptop in the human simulation program. And– had she been too needy? Too obvious in her pining when Jade had late nights or busy days? What were the other problems? Because there had to be other ones. The raccoon she’d left by the stairs the other day? The wings? It always came back to the wings. 

The cologne made nausea swirl in her belly now, appropriately acidic for a citrus scent. Jade’s scent – which normally brought blood to the surface of her cheeks –  might have been enough to elicit nausea in its own right now, too. What is going on, Zane wanted to know. A reasonable question because Zane was reasonable. Regan wasn’t certain she knew either. She had missed so much. Did she know Jade at all? 

Regan cleared her throat, putting some distance between her and Jade. “I am bad to live with, zero out of five scars on Yell,” she said slowly, “I am better to die with. So you should find a different roommate. A high quality one, such as yourself.” It was rare that Regan spoke this way – most self-depreciation never made it out of her skull. Now it screamed. “I am aimless, disfigured, and overconfident in my knowledge of those I reside with. I am nauseated and do not know why, because I am constantly confused. I am a leanbh.” Regan turned away, arms crossed, gaze grazing Jade’s for an unbearable second then shooting off into the distance.

Zane was gone. Even if she hadn’t heard the confident slam of the door, she would have felt those pinpricks receding into the house. Regan only tilted her head back when it sank in that it was over – she and Zane would not be roommates, because Jade would not have liked him. But there was something more there, wasn’t there? She had worried about Zane’s safety. The silence that followed grated on her almost as badly, because she and Jade should have been filling it. Jade never knew silence; Regan thought it an insult.

With a sigh, Regan turned back to Jade, her eyes dancing around to avoid direct contact. She busied herself with one of the bags of bones she’d intended to fill the house with.

“It, uh, smelled in there. Inhospitable.” You sure said that quickly. 

“Thanks for playing along.” Was it playing? 

“Anyway, we should move all of this back into the car.” You should, because I will break it. 

“We return to the cabin, yes?” 

No, the word rang through Regan’s skull, and she was not sure if she heard it in her own voice, or Jade’s.

[numberonecameraman]

📢 Champions

When the Pokémon World Tournament happened a while ago, I was assigned to follow the contestants to get footage of them for the media. Never in my life have I met so many stuck-up, inconsiderate, and selfish people. I could talk about most of them for hours, so I’ll try to be brief.

Red was fine. He was extremely quiet, to the point he only said five words to me in almost a week of shadowing him. “Cool hat. I like it.” He also didn’t do much. He spent most of his days in the green room staring absentmindedly at a wall or playing with his Pokémon. Fine on paper, but the higher ups hated my footage since it wouldn’t make “good TV”. Not necessarily his fault but I associate the memory with him.

Blue… Imagine the most annoying teenager you’ve ever met times 10. I’m sure Blue could be a fine person in a vacuum, but since he was an “esteemed guest” at the PWT, he could essentially do whatever he wanted. I’ve never seen anyone eat as much as he did. He also loved being on camera. Every other second he would be pulling a stupid pose or asking me to record him during a practice battle. Just a pain to be around, overall.

Lance. The first words he said to me were, “Are you a fan of the Dragon Type?” That’s all he talked about to everyone and anyone he met for five days. Every second I spent with him was agony. The best part was when he challenged me to a battle right before he left and Laguna sweeped his team with Ice Beam, including his ““invincible”” Dragonite. Needless to say, he didn’t do as much bragging after that.

Steven is Lance with an off button. He loves rocks, he’s practically obsessed with them. The day we met he showed me his entire collection, which I have to admit was pretty cool. But after that, he rarely brought it up! He mostly kept to himself after that and even tried to have normal conversations with me. He also lives like a minimalist. He brought two bags to the event, one of which was entirely filled of duplicates of his standard suit. How he can afford those, I have no idea.

Wallace acted as though everywhere he went was the Nimbasa Music Theatre. Everything had to be a performance. Whether it was ordering food, talking to people, or signing autographs, every action was done with a dramatic flair. He also never stayed still for more than a few minutes. His catchphrase was, “You there [Me]! Let’s go someplace fun!”, even if it was 40 feet down the road. In his defense, a couple of them were pretty fun like the Marine Tube.

Cynthia and I seemed to share a “Let’s get this over with” attitude so we hit it off pretty well. However, despite getting along with her, I essentially became her answering machine. She would never make a decision without my input and it got old really fast. Her “body guard” Garchomp also took some getting used to. She’s a massive softie, but I think I still have rashes from her impromptu “hugs”.

I have mixed feelings on Alder. On one hand, he shot my dream of being Pokémon League Champion into the void. On the other hand, he seemed like a good person. He cared about my feelings and offered to talk with me about the Champion thing. Though that was more of a curse than a blessing. He loves to talk. A simple conversation about the weather can last up to 30 minutes. His jokes are terrible too. I want to like him, but never will.

Iris seemed like a repeat of the Blue situation at first. She was loud, bratty, and really irritating. But, as time went on, she calmed down and was genuinely fun to be around. She was incredibly mature but wasn’t afraid to be herself. Her team was awesome to see in battle too. If it weren’t for the horrendous first impression, she’d be my favorite Champion. Maybe I have a soft spot for kids.

That’s all the Champions I’ve met. I know there are others, but I can’t speak on them. From what I’ve seen, Diantha seems like a snob, the Alola League Champion is a boxer so I don’t know what to expect, Leon’s probably really stuck up, and I assume Geeta acts like my boss, which means I hate her by proxy.

[cyberphuck]

Collars Dot Com Ch 2: The Hammer of Thor

(Back to Chapter One) I shut the lid on the washer, started the cycle, then leaned against it as it filled. To the left the dryer thumped steadily, sounding like a particularly monotonous wedding night.

I'd changed the sheets on the bed, stuffed my bachelor-smelling comforter in the washer, gathered up the long-neglected laundry pile, dragged the comforter back out of the washer in favor of washing the clothes first, scrubbed the bathroom, sanitized the kitchen, vacuumed the living room, collected six thousand sticky coffee mugs and empty soda cans from my desk, wiped down every flat surface, and nearly thrown up twice.

I sat down on the arm of the couch, putting a hand over my eyes to try and keep them from falling out of my skull. I smelled like bleach wipes and hangover sweat and the coffee I'd spilled down the front of my shirt two hours ago and all I really wanted was to lay facedown in bed and sleep until rigor mortis set in.

Some time between changing the pillow cases and gagging on bile, I'd opened the DoorDash app on my phone and ordered two bottles of Gatorade, two containers of fruit salad, and two more bottles of Gatorade in case the first two and the vitamin C from the fruit weren't enough to purge the tequila and idiocy from my body.

I did stupid things when I was drunk. That's what had ended my last relationship, hadn't it? I'd gone out for drinks with some of the guys from work, ended up doing jello shots with a bunch of college girls, and sent a picture of my dick to everyone on my contact list-- including my sister-- with the caption 'THE HAMMER OF THOR!'

I'd woken up the next morning with a variety of responses waiting for me. From my boss, 'you're lucky you're the only one I can rely on to turn in scripts on time,' and from Alyssa: 'I'm tired of your immature bullshit.'

My sister had sent a thumbs-up emoji.

It wasn't the first time Alyssa and me had gotten in an argument over how I spent my free time, and I thought an apology and giving her some space to cool off would keep things rattling along. Instead she dropped her copy of my apartment key in my mailbox, changed her relationship status on Facebook, and posted several memes about finding her flame and not letting anyone hold her back anymore.

Then lockdown had started, my entire department had been sent home to work remotely, all of my meals came from no-contact DoorDash deliveries, and if I wanted to hang out and drink with the guys from work, I had to do it over Zoom. I hadn't realized how much I'd relied on visits from Alyssa to motivate me to give a shit about what my apartment looked like until...

Well, until about 2pm today.

This was going to be the kick in the ass that I needed, I decided. I wasn't gonna keep the Pet I'd ordered, but I wasn't going to mix alcohol and online shopping again, either, and I was gonna clean up after myself and have people over again. Or better yet, go out. See people. Meet people. Shave every day.

Someone hit the buzzer in the downstairs lobby. I got up to hit the unlock button by the front door, got another whiff of stale coffee, and jogged into my bedroom to try to find a clean shirt so I didn't look like a complete slob for the DoorDash guy. I tossed the dirty shirt into the laundry corner, stopped, picked it up and put it into the hamper, and pulled on an ancient band tee, the screen printing long since faded away into nothing. By the time I emerged from the bedroom, DoorDash was already knocking.

Usually I only knew my order had arrived by the swish of a plastic bag being dumped on my mat and the driver's footsteps as he walked off. But I had to sign something, I guess. They'd used to make you sign for stuff, before. I turned the deadbolt and opened the door.

There was a boy standing there.

Blond hair, big eyes, freckles and a pretty mouth that was currently occupied by some kind of black rubber gag. Behind him was a man with a moving dolly stacked high with boxes labeled 'COLLARS.COM.' Behind him was pretty much every single one of my neighbors, all out to grab their mail and pick up their newspapers and check the hallway for werewolves at once.

Fuck.

"Delivery," the man said, looking supremely bored. "For--"

"Yeah, uh, yeah, come in," I said quickly, backing out of the doorway and holding the door wide. The boy stepped through first, then his chaperone with the dolly, and I thought about how I was going to have to either find a new apartment or somehow keep living in this one without ever making eye contact with any of my neighbors ever again.

The man set the dolly upright and plucked a chunky black device from his belt, shoving it at me. "Just use the pen to sign," he said, indicating a thin plastic stylus swinging from the device by a tether.

"Right, uh, so, there was kind of a--" I began weakly, trying to give the device back.

"Hit 'enter,'" the man said. The boy had been wearing a sort of black smock, tied at the back, and his chaperone was taking it off. The black pants came off too, and the boy was very much wearing absolutely nothing underneath them.

"This was-- I can't--" I tried again.

"Arms out," the man said to the boy, holding up his phone to take a picture. "Alright, turn." He glanced at me. "Press the pen down harder if it isn't doing it," he said.

"There has been," I said slowly and firmly, "a mistake."

The man looked at me. I looked back at him.

"Are you Brian Stink?" he asked.

"It's 'Stynch,'" I said automatically. "Listen, I bought all this by accident, I didn't really mean to--"

"The return policy is on the website," the man interrupted. "Can you sign the thing? I've got other deliveries."

"But I can't." A misshapen silence popped between us; I'd been expecting him to cut me off again. "I can't, uh, take him, really."

"I can't put him back in the van," the man said. "I've already sent Proof of Delivery to the dispatcher, and I can't just stick him back there while I finish all my other deliveries. By the time I got him back to the hub, all the handlers'd be gone for the day. Sign," he enunciated, "the thing."

"Alright, fine, fuck," I sighed, scribbling something approximate to my signature on the heavy device and watching it struggle to accept my name with technology from 1992. I slapped it back into the man's hand, trying to show my severe annoyance with him. He wasn't phased. "I'll see you again tomorrow when you come to pick him up," I told him.

"I'm off tomorrow." He yanked the dolly out from underneath the tower of shipping boxes and turned to let himself out. "Enjoy your purchase and have a nice day."

I glared at the closed door for a while, entertaining all my fantasies of letting his employers know I was Very Offended and that they had better do something to make up for it, and receiving an email from the CEO begging for my forgiveness.

Maybe even a phone call. We're so sorry. We're so sorry. The mean delivery driver has been reprimanded and fired-- no, that was too cruel, not with the economy the way it was. He probably had a family to feed. We have sat him down and told him he has been a Very Bad Boy. Yeah.

I locked the deadbolt. And the horse you rode in on, I thought viciously, turned around, and remembered there was an extremely undressed Pet standing next to my shoe rack. The room congealed around me a little, going from the hot soup of righteous anger to the greasy leftovers of what the fuck am I going to do now in an instant.

God, he looked good.

I had been expecting him to be a little plainer than the profile picture I'd glimpsed in a drunken haze the night before. Nobody was supposed to look as perfect as their headshots, that's what Photoshop was for. But there he was, smooth and blemishless, the same buttery curls, the sprinkling of freckles like cinnamon on a macchiato. The mouth, which was still stoppered by the rubber gag whose straps were beginning to leave red marks in his cheeks. He swallowed awkwardly around it and looked at me.

I stepped forward, reaching behind his head and feeling for a clasp. The strap was stiff and new, the price tag still stuck across the cheap plastic. "This thing smells like a used tire shop," I muttered, picking the tag off and undoing the buckle. "Probably tastes like one too."

I pulled the gag out of his mouth. It was a couple inches long, wet and slick where it'd been pressing against his tongue. I wrinkled my nose at it and set it on top of the boxes. They could take that back, too. "How long have you had that thing in your mouth? Do you want a glass of water?"

The boy's mouth puckered; he wiped saliva off his chin with the back of his hand. "Yes, please."

I went to the kitchen, took down a glass, turned on the tap and let in run until it was cold. My coffee mugs were still piled in the sink, looking at me accusingly with sticky eyes. I ignored them and returned to the living room to find the boy standing just where I'd left him.

"Here." I put the glass in his hands. "Come on and sit on the couch."

I discovered, then, that it was possible for someone to sensually drink a glass of plain tap water. The movement of his throat and the sound of his swallowing was almost obscene. Maybe it was just because he was naked, or because I knew what he was for, but the lovely pink mouth was definitely in the lead for 'reasons I was about to make decisions with my dick.' I knew, when I reached out, that just touching his mouth wouldn't be enough. I promised myself I just wanted to feel the shape of it, his lips against the ball of my thumb, but I had wanted that mouth since I saw it on the website, had clicked yes and yes and  yes because I hadn't cared what I'd have to pay to get it. I cupped my palm against his cheek and he leaned into it, looking at me, and I was pushing forward without looking at the price.

I kissed him because I wanted to feel the softness of his lips, the texture of them against my tongue, the sweet sound as we parted. There was a little hesitation when he opened his mouth to mine, as if he wasn't quite sure of it, like the sensation of my tongue against his was new for him. I held him still with a hand against the nape of his neck, where the finest curls of his hair tickled against my fingers, and let him get used to what it felt like to be kissed by me.

By the time I let him go, his breath had gone a little short and there was color in his cheeks and down his neck to his collarbone. His lips were still slightly parted, and I slid my thumb into his mouth. He made a soft sound as I pressed down on his tongue and bottom lip. He made that sound again when I pulled him forward for another kiss, and he slipped off the couch and down to his knees in front of me before I could even form an image of what I wanted.

Now he was looking up at me through his eyelashes and wetting his upper lip with his tongue. I took his chin in my hand because-- I don't know, I wanted to look at him, wanted to stay in the moment of anticipation forever, but with my other hand I took out my stiffening cock for him because I wanted it in his mouth.

He took the head between his lips, delicately, like kissing the first bite of a ripe peach, tongueing the flesh. He took the shaft in his hand and drew upward and I felt a throb of pleasure, my cock bobbing when he pulled away. He looked up at me again and I watched him take me into his mouth in one long, delicious slide, lips and tongue working as he sucked. He lifted his head, taking in a breath, then down again and I could feel myself in the back of his throat. Another shudder of pleasure, releasing in a groan.

I leaned my head back, listening to the sound of his mouth on my cock and riding each rise in tension, each a little bit stronger, a little bit longer than the last. I held my breath to make the pleasure hit deeper, letting it out when I was coming close to the edge. My back and thighs were tensing, wanting to thrust upwards; it began as a soft rhythm, then grew more and more insistent until I braced a hand against the back of his head to fuck his mouth.

I twisted my fingers into his hair, fucking into the friction I wanted, faster and harder, trying to come up short before I climaxed but tumbling over the edge anyway, coming hard with a hoarse, cracked groan.

I felt him swallow twice, then wrap his fingers around my aching cock and pull slowly upwards. I sucked in a breath, wincing, and put out a hand to stop him before he yanked my organs out of my body. "Enough," I panted. "Enough. I'm done, I'm good." He let me go. I took a few more steadying breaths, blinking up at the ceiling,  and alternated saying "god" and "fuck" a half dozen times until I was able to think clearly again. It might have been several hours. I don't know. When I finally pulled myself together, I looked down at him still kneeling there.

"So," I said. "What's your name?"

He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "My name is Ren." Kofi - Donate - AO3

[frizzle-tales]

“He did?” However, Jiyeon wasn’t even sure why she was surprised - of course Taehyung wouldn’t give her the opportunity to have a day off and just chat with his friend. There was always something that rained down her parade. “Yes, that is fine…” She tried her hardest to not show any disappointment.

At Namjoon’s comment, Jiyeon looked down at her plate. “I… I guess Taehyung is just worried, me being here, in a rural home, by myself…” She lied, starting to get better at telling them.

After the breakfast, she cleared the table and went to work on the tasks Taehyung had left for her. The first task was to dust and vacuum the whole home, including attic, so Jiyeon started from there.

“Wow.” She whispered at the sight of the part of Taehyung’s home that she didn’t get to see yet - after walking up the stairs she found three medium sized bedrooms, along with one large bathroom.

It was obvious that these rooms haven’t been used in a long time. Why did Taehyung live in such a large family oriented home by himself? Jiyeon didn’t really have time to think about these things, not wanting to waste any time. So she dusted and vacuumed, before following with mopping.

It was easily at least a few hours later when Jiyeon emptied the bucket and placed the broom back in its place, before she continued on the other things.

But as time passed by, Jiyeon started to feel anxiety build up in her chest - what if Namjoon wouldn’t come over again to babysit? What if this was an one time thing and they would never have the opportunity again to be alone? What if this was her only chance of getting out?

“To my understanding, the shipment should be arriving around seven. If not, there is probably some sort of delay, however, if it still didn’t arrive in an hour, don’t go looking for it. It might’ve been intercepted.” Namjoon spoke, noticing how the girl seemed to linger at the doorway. “Call me if anything else is up, goodbye.” Namjoon hung up, glancing over at Jiyeon.

“Jiyeon? You wouldn’t be eavesdropping, would you now?” Namjoon chuckled, half-joking.

“N-no!” Jiyeon stammered. “No, no, it’s not that…” She took a deep breath, before stepping forward, growing nervous with every step that she took forward.

How was she going to break the news to Namjoon? That Taehyung was a psychopath, who had murdered people and kidnapped her… It would be too much to take in, so she knew she had to choose her words carefully.

“Your phone… Could I please borrow it?” Jiyeon started, shifting on her feet. “I… I need to make a call.” She wondered if this was a good idea at all, but she was already too far to backpedal now. “Theres… there is something I know about Taehyung, and I think he needs help, he isn’t who you think he is. I know you have been friends for a while… but he has some dark secrets and… and, he needs help, to stop, we can help him, if we call the police right now.”

— 🎙

"Why do you want my phone?" Namjoon cocked his head to the side, playing along. Finally, it was happening. Jiyeon was disobeying his dear friend's rules. "What's wrong with Taehyung? Jiyeon, if he really needs help, you have to tell me."

The man didn’t hand his phone to her. Instead he slipped it into his back pocket, waiting for the young woman’s answer to his questions, hopefully containing his amusement. 

“Is he in trouble?” Namjoon took a step closer. “Has he done something terrible?”

Meanwhile, Taehyung was able to wiggle himself out of work nearly an hour early. He was close to driving straight home, having an overwhelming urge to see her again. To hear the sweet sound of her voice. 

Although, as he drove down the city’s streets and noticed a few boutique shops, he compelled himself to pull over. 

—

At last, the door to Taehyung’s come crept open and he walked inside. 

For a minute, something felt.. strange. It was unexpectedly quite. He anticipated the TV to be playing, or perhaps some music, but there was none of that.

The man peeled off his jacket, putting it in the closet along with something else before venturing further into his home. There, he noticed the pair he left behind idling in the living room.

“What’s this?” Taehyung grinned, crossing his arms. “Why do you look so tense, Jiyeonnie? Did you not finish the list I made for you? Tsk, I’m disappointed.. You had 8 whole hours.” He walked further into the room, catching a certain look in his friend’s eyes. 

“Or ... Did you perhaps fuck up another way, hm?” He looked to the man he had acting as a babysitter. “Namjoon?”

Finally, the guest spoke up, letting his sadistic smirk grow on his lips for the first time since meeting the young woman. “Oh, don’t I have something to tell you. Isn’t that right, Jiyeon?”

[anekamrp]

A moment in time

VR has a unique ability to preserve and emphasise elements of the human condition. What does it mean when reality is uploaded into a digital form? Why should a moment be immortalised in VR? And what? At first, I explored ideas of making the irreversible reversible, defying the laws of nature by healing something to its original state. Think, a break room, where the plates, vases and glasses can be broken infinity with no consequence. But does this make us appreciate the fragility of things? I didn't really think so.

I tried to expand upon this idea to instead explore the more meaningful possibilities.

I thought of hair, not only is it a personal preference and beauty standard, but many believe the hair holds memories, a symbolic and material representation of the life you have lived up until this point. Once it is cut, you have no choice but to love it, accept it or wait for time to give it back. My partner's little sister just celebrated her 14th birthday, an age that for me was very formative. I thought I could bypass the permanence of a haircut by documenting it in VR as a time capsule for her when she becomes an adult. Although, I asked her and she had already booked a hair appointment, so I decided to try and go for something more universal, with a wider audience in mind.

"A moment in time" makes me think of the nature of memory. As a nostalgic person, I am constantly going over memories in my mind. As I get older, I find it harder and harder to recall much of anything. There is a theory that every time you remember something in your life, you are actually just recalling the last time you remembered it. In other words, memories indefinitely deteriorate and become a corrupted version of themselves. Something I believe every person would do if given the choice would be to go back in time, even just for a day, and experience what it was like to be a baby. You don't exist today as the person you are in a vacuum, you are a culmination of every day you have lived, including the days that you were a baby.

In this VR experience, I propose to make an artistic, symbolic and immersive reproduction of your first birthday. I plan to omit faces and figures, a representation of an unknowing infant, but to also make the experience universal in which the participant can mentally fill in the blanks. I hope to include simple interactive elements, mostly soundscape but also material such as eating cake.

I am not against 3D modelling elements that may come from programs such as quill or open brush, but I tried to keep the environment design as simple as possible so I could translate it as realistically as possible. My first instinct is to shoot the video in VR180, and then adding special effect in premiere/after effects.

My main concern is learning to create interactive elements in VR180 video, but I have simple ideas such as audio and visual effect trigger points that I am tentatively confident I will be able to execute. These elements will take place within a narrative that is as long as the adults are singing happy birthday to you, and cake is being cut and passed around.

Examples of childhood and babies in VR:

Baby Hands (2018) - https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/2442843265745901/

This experience is magical and optimistic, an exploration of the unknown as rather the limitlessness of a child's mind.

[violetfairydust]

Trivia about my fic What Sees Us in the Dark that no one asked for. Here is the link to the fic on tumblr. I do spoil some things.

After I finished writing the fic, weird things started happening. We see and hear things that aren't there. Not to the extent in the fic, but we started seeing flies at the house and at my mom's new job

I had an anxiety attack writing this fic, particularly the scene with Stiles' dream about seeing the shadow figure and his following reaction

That is because, in real life, that happened to me

Every event in this fic happened to me and my family

That is the the reason I wanted to include the line "You wouldn't believe us if we told you." It can sound outlandish, but all of this happened

Some things I did dramatize, like Derek coming out to find the TV on and it's playing Poltergeist. Poltergeist was not on TV

The TV turning on seconds after it was turned off is not dramatization. And this is an old TV. I think my parents got it in the 90s, so it's not some Smart TV that malfunctioned

The events are condensed to a year in the fic when in real life, bar the ouija board scene, this happened over a span of 20 years

The ouija board incident happened to my mom and a family friend about 15 years before I was born, but I wanted to use it to show how dangerous they can be

I changed the order of events. In real life, the impression on the bed was first. I did have a dream about people being possessed and contorting at the neck (it was actually Teen Wolf characters in the dream) and I did have a scratch when I woke up. That was the last event and it was after we moved out

I did drop a ring. Just like the fic, it appeared on the floor as if someone placed it there. It was in plain sight a good 4 feet from where I dropped it. We would have seen it. The only difference is that we didn't find it for almost 4 years

Also for dramatization, I made the flies dead. In our house they were alive. My grandfather had to vacuum all these flies about 3 times a day for 4 days. My mom said there were about 80 flies total in the room at one time. Most of them were in the windows, some were just flying around. They never flew out of that room even though the door was open

I slipped in inside jokes. Just like Derek says, when my mom walked into the room, she said it was like Amityville Horror. Stiles also refers to the guest room as "the fly room." My family still calls it this

There were some things I cut from the outline. The most disturbing was I was having horrible nightmares. My family really isn't religious, but with my grandmother being a former Catholic we have holy water. I would cleanse my room with holy water and that seemed to make everything worse

Some of the things that happened were not at the apartment we lived in at the time, but I added them because I thought they were creepy. Like Derek feeling someone sit next to him on the bed. We lived in a different state at that time

I hated going into the hallway in the middle of the night. I hated being out of my room in general. And I hated the left corner in my room and the closets closest to the door, so those elements influenced the fic as well

Even a year after moving out, I still have dreams about possession, but when I use holy water to cleanse the bedroom, it works now

My mental health and overall mood has improved greatly since we left

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Nyx

Nyx is a primordial goddess and the Greek personification of Night - the mother of Hypnos, Thanatos, Nemesis, and many more. She's a mysterious figure in their mythos as there's little surviving info about her cult. What is known, however, is that she was portrayed as beautiful, powerful, and feared by Zeus himself.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena, Hades Pt. 2, Poseidon, Ares, Hestia, Nyx

Lucifer 

What happens when you take a being born from the darkness and place them in a realm of eternal night…?

The answer came when the MC first stepped out of the portal. Everyone in the room was wholly expecting a normal-looking, confused human they could get up to speed, however…

The MC's skin suddenly darkened until it was as black as a shadow, their clothes levitated around them as if they were defying gravity, and glimmering speckles dotted their skin like twinkling stars.

Even their eyes turned a pure, glowing white without irises or pupils… Like two crowning stars locked into a body made from the shimmering night sky...

They weren't human. At the time, Lucifer wasn't even sure he could say what they were... Breathtaking, certainly, but there was something else about them that he couldn't place… something… foreboding...

Diavolo must have had the same unease because Barbatos was put in charge of monitoring them. The butler would send reports to them both and the results would range from benign to nerve-racking...

They kept their distance from his brothers and most people, but their power seemed immense... Barbs would report seeing them making small items float or summoning a meteor shower from their fingertips!

Lucifer ended up actually tasting their powers only once. When they stepped in to protect Beel and Luke and he went to attack them…

The whole House began to shake and the candles of the tomb started going out one by one as the air grew intolerably heavy... He could have sworn he saw a vortex of… something... swirling at their feet...

He backed off immediately and Beel and Luke got off with a warning, mostly because he was trying not to look utterly petrified...

He's never met a more beautiful and dangerous creature in his life… Pact mark or no, this is probably the only person the firstborn will admit he never wants to have to fight because he'd lose, big time.

Mammon

He was expecting to find a human when he walked into the Student Council room, not an alien!!

Mammon was seriously scared of the MC when they first met because he legitimately believed they were an extraterrestrial sent to probe him!!... Or whatever else those scary movies say aliens do, lay eggs in his stomach?

He straight up avoided them like the plague until the Goldie incident more or less bound them together. But even then there was a distance between them he just couldn't place…

Naturally, it bothers a demon a bit if their master doesn't seem to like them, so he eventually cornered them one day to force them to tell him why they'd been running off!

As it turned out, the MC actually knew as little about their new form everybody else! They had been perfectly normal in the human world, but for some reason the Devildom supercharged them! They could tell that they were powerful, but had no idea how to control themselves yet and it scared them...

So Mammon became their first unofficial "coach." Not that he knew how to train them or anything, but he was the first person supportive enough to even try to help them learn their new powers.

It led to some… interesting misadventures. Like when the MC unexpectedly burst every water pipe in the House or when they got a little too frustrated and ripped the kitchen apart with an accidental twister, but hey, Mammon was always there for them at least.

Of course, because he's who he is, he's not above asking the MC to help him with his schemes for "training purposes…" Infiltration is more fun if you're weightless, after all!

Speaking of weightless… His favorite way to float is when the MC gets excited and hugs him. They can't help but levitate them both off the ground when they're that happy and it makes the whole hug that much sweeter.

Leviathan 

It's… it's like he's in his very own Magical Girl anime!!! Uh, "I'm a Demon and this is My New Life with a Magic Starchild!!"-or something like that. 🤷‍♀️

He didn't even think their transformation was real when he first saw it! He really thought it was an elaborate body art cosplay but then their "freckles" rearranged themselves when he frightened them, so it had to be real!!

He'll declare that they're probably (literally) the coolest thing on the planet. They have the looks of an epic fantasy character plus insane powers to boot! 

…though uh… they may need a training arc or two to learn how to control them… 😅

Since their powers are apparently tied to their emotions, Levi's seen them do a whole bunch of stuff that's not entirely on purpose... Like, they can make things float when they're happy and push everything down when they're sad. 

So once he showed them one of those "tragic ending" animes for fun, but they cried so hard that they increased gravity and accidentally sent his bathtub crashing into the basement…

The worst of it is when they're mad, though. He made the mistake of making them play a rage game once and they ended up shattering all the glass in his room! His aquarium wall and Henry's fishtank included!!

They were able to make a zero G sphere of water in order to save Henry's life, but the cleanup was brutal… They were super sorry, but Levi took most of the blame himself anyway.

Honestly, he'd have been more mad but their body is clearly not something they can control just yet. Plus, it's so cool that he can put up with a little destruction anyway, you know?

Satan

Well, isn't that an interesting phenomenon?

Meeting a demigod is exciting enough, but one who reacted to the Devildom like that? It was pretty much unheard of!

Though he'd hate to admit it, Satan stalked the MC just as closely as Barbatos for a little while... But only because he was a little unsure of how to approach them…

They kept to themselves and their powers seemed "a little" unpredictable (see Levi's orphaned bathtub). Thankfully, Mammon ended up recommending the MC to him since Satan's one of the smartest guys around.

Satan made a better coach than Mammon, anyway. He was far more knowledgeable and actually able to hypothesize the strength their powers, which came in handy because uh… well…

Look. The whole realm 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' over their appearance but they're all fools - no morons - for not noticing what potential the MC actually has. Satan was positive that the MC is the most powerful being in the Devildom, without question.

They had a complete control over gravity, atmospheric pressure, and even astronomical bodies… If they wanted to, they could literally pluck a planet out of orbit and send it careening into who knows what!

Want more terrifying? They could create near-matterless vacuums at the palms of their hands with the potential to suffocate, crush, or rip apart basically anything they wanted with implosive force….

Does he even need to spell out why that's utterly horrifying??

At least the MC seemed to be a genuinely nice person who wanted to control their powers better… Their emotions often got in the way but they tried their best.

He likes the MC a lot, but he'd be lying if he said that they didn’t also terrify him… They may have been pretty normal in the human world, but give them endless night and they may as well be a god...

Asmodeus 

Oh… My… Father!!! They're GORGEOUS!!!!

From the moment their transformation completed, Asmo had never seen anything like them! He said that they were like a living droplet of the night sky!

They were magnificent!! They were radiant!!! He was posting pictures of them before they had even said their first sentence!!

So Asmo was pretty much patient zero for any and all rumors and hype about the MC after that... Apparently someone like them only visits the Devildom every one, maybe two, centuries so everybody was bound to get talking.

Thankfully, the MC's habit of ducking out of the House kept them from becoming a full on sideshow. Unfortunately, however, Asmodeus was relentless!

He'd beg them to try modeling or make videos with him because of their unique look! He'd lay on the praises, but it was a little... much. It wasn't until Mammon finally stepped that he backed off a bit.

Asmo sometimes forgets that not everyone puts as much emphasis on looks as he does... Though he meant well, he hadn't realized that the MC maybe wouldn't appreciate him making such a big deal out of their appearance change. Pretty as it was, it was still involuntary to them...

Of course, after they told him this he cooled off and stopped putting them out there so publicly but even still he could hardly keep his eyes off of them... unless he was looking in a mirror, of course. 😘

A fun fact about the MC: when they blush, their skin makes a pink nebula. And thanks to his antics, Asmo has seen their lively pink cheeks many, many times… 🤭

Beelzebub 

Belphie would like them, wouldn't he...?

Beel's first reaction upon seeing the MC was genuine sadness, as seeing the stars with his twin brother still gone often brought him… 

The sadness didn't last too long at least because Beel tried his best to see the MC more like a person than a work of art or an oddity. Sure, they looked different - like really different - but they still laughed, cried, and ate like everybody else so they couldn't be that different.

Though then again, most people don't end up floating in midair when they laugh… Eh, oh well. It's not like those little details bother him. 🤷‍♀️

He always remained certain that Belphie would like the MC so he told them a lot about him. Since his twin loved stargazing, it'd only be natural that he'd like someone who looked like the stars, right?

Aside from the occasional tangent about his brother, Beel would also help the MC with their training by letting them help him with his training!

Controlling gravity can be pretty nifty for strength/resistance exercises, so there would be days where Beel would just pull a Dragon Ball and walk around at 1.5 or 2 times Earth's gravity thanks to having the MC on his back!

Sure, lifting a glass of milk becane so difficult that he literally broke a sweat from trying, but he felt like he can juggle motorcycles afterwards so who's complaining? Not him!

Belphegor 

……

………….

Was it some kind of joke?

The MC was not human. There was no way in heaven or hell that whatever he lured to the attic was supposed to be a human!!

Really, everything about the MC and their situation seemed directly designed to throw a monkey wrench into his plans...

One: They weren't human so how was he supposed to ruin Diavolo's dream? Two: They were clearly some kind of magical being so they could likely defend themselves…

But third ans most embarrassing of all... he honestly, genuinely, has never seen a more amazing person in his life. Blame it on his soft spot for the stars, but the moment the MC step up to his prison bars, he was smitten...

And. He. HATED IT!

Look, as much as he loved the night sky, he wasn't about to let some random non-human derail his anger! He was stronger than that!

He managed to hold onto his bitterness just long enough to make a halfhearted attempt on their life after they got the door open, but uh…

His brothers found Belphie when he fell through a newly-made hole in the ceiling... Said hole was made when his body slammed to the ground hard enough to crash through the attic floor... 😣

If the damage they caused wasn't enough to change his mind (which it was), then their distress when they thought they might have hurt him certainly did. Even their tears looked like stardust...

After far too long, Belphie got over his denial and began to properly love MC. If he liked stargazing before, he adored it now because he never even has to get out of bed! He can just roll over and follow the "stars" on the MC's body!

Unfortunately, that same love means it also takes a lot to ditch him if they get sick of being his personal night's sky… The brothers have found him floated up and sleeping on the ceiling on numerous occasions so the mortal can get some fresh air (clever MC)...

[ratmonky]

Dividing a Plaything

Word Count: 9.2k

Warnings: dub-con, cheating, gaslighting, manipulation, dacryphilia, unhealthy relationships

AO3 Link

A gift to my two lovely friends, @bacterialheaven & @anti-interesting​  

With the holidays coming up, the train station was more crowded than it usually was. You didn’t mind hearing the loud and continuous chatter of the people around you, it made you feel less lonely and more included as you waited for the arrival of the train your boyfriend’s brother had taken.

Your boyfriend, Todo had invited his brother over to his place for a simple dinner where the two of you would be meeting for the first time. You couldn’t hide your excitement because Todo spoke highly of his brother, telling you how they spent years of their life and endured so many hardships together.

Todo had been having a rough time at work and seeing a familiar face could cheer him up. He didn’t have anyone other than you and his brother after all. He needed to be with people he treasured.

You had only recently moved in with him after a year of dating because his line of work prevented him from visiting you. Although you were fine with seeing him once in a while whenever he wasn’t busy, he wanted to spend every second of his life with you.

He had convinced you rather easily, telling you about how a woman your age shouldn’t live alone in the city. He told you how your life would be easier if the two of you lived together, shared a bed together, enjoyed meals together, bathed together, and of course, paid the bills together.

In the end, he was right, life was easier when you were together. You liked how much you could trust him and how protective he was when it came to you. When the two of you first met, it had been at a rescheduled Takada-chan concert when the previous one was canceled due to heavy rain. You had gone to the show after winning a ticket in a giveaway and halfway through the concert found yourself being harassed by some creep.

It was then, you heard a clap that was louder than any other clap at the concert and found yourself on the other side of the show. Dumbfounded, your eyes had scouted the entire room to see a muscular-built guy drag the creep who had been harassing you out.

You followed them out, thank this mysterious guy, and asked him if you could show your gratitude by buying him some Takada-chan merchandise.

The rest? History.

“Tokyo Train C arriving at Kyoto B.”

Quickly getting up from your seat, you headed towards the gate Todo’s brother would be arriving from.

You didn’t know what Yuuji looked like but Todo had told you that his brother knew exactly what you looked like from the pictures he would send him. Somehow, you could guess Yuuji’s appearance. Since he was Todo’s younger brother, he probably looked like a copy of him, perhaps shorter and had a smaller build and-

“Ah.” Some pink-haired guy stood in front of you. “You’re Todo’s girlfriend, right?”

There was a moment of silence as you stared up and down at him. “Yuuji Todo?”

He looked nothing like your Todo.

“Nuh-uh,” he chuckled. “It’s Yuuji Itadori.”

Again, silence.

“You’re not his brother?” you hesitantly asked.

“No,” he said, looking at you with the same confused expression that was plastered on your face. “Did he tell you I was his brother?”

“Yeah,” you sighed, shaking your head slightly with a blush. “I’m sorry about the-”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s like a brother to me anyway. He introduces me as his brother to everyone.” Yuuji offered you a gorgeous smile before reaching his hand out to you. “Let’s take it from the beginning.”

You took his hand and mirrored his smile. “I’m (name), Aoi’s girlfriend.”

“Yuuji Itadori, Todo’s brother.” A chuckle.

The two of you shared a laugh and continued shaking hands but it didn’t feel awkward. His grip on your hand was gentle and soft, you didn’t even notice his thumb caressing your skin.

“I hope you’re hungry,” you said, finally retrieving your hand and turning around on your heels to lead the way.

“You can’t imagine, I’m so tired too.” Yuuji stretched his arms over his head as he matched your steps.

Only then you noticed the huge backpack he had with him. Todo had told you that Yuuji was only coming over for dinner and hopefully that was true. Nevertheless, you regretted not cleaning the place more thoroughly.

~~~

As soon as you opened the door to your apartment and stepped inside, Todo appeared out of nowhere to greet you. A quick kiss on your forehead and then walking past you, he grabbed Yuuji’s hand with a loud clap. The two of them hugged and were busy talking while you made your way to the kitchen to lift the aluminum foil you had put over the dishes to keep them warm.

“Aaah, Fushiguro got a girlfriend? That speechless guy too? I guess it’s only you left now.” Todo was practically yelling when he walked inside the living room. “I heard Mechamaru, no, Kokichi got a girl too.”

“Woah, I wonder how he managed to get a girlfriend.” Yuuji sounded astonished.

“Um, dinner-”

“Probably one of those sorcerer dating websites.” Todo sat on the couch and redirected his attention towards the television.

“Wait, there are websites for that?” Yuuji plopped down onto the couch next to Todo, ignoring you as well. “Is that how you met, (name)?”

“Aoi?” Your meek voice went unheard.

“No, we met at a Takada-chan concert.”

“Takada-chan has fangirls too?” Yuuji snorted, “I didn’t know.”

“(name) had won a ticket through a giveaway, she wasn’t exactly a fan but she joins me whenever I go to Takada-chan’s shows or meet and greets.” Todo smiled to himself, he was such a lucky guy to have an amenable girlfriend like you.

“Does she even like Takada-chan?”

“Not one bit,” Todo replied. “But she likes me.”

Indeed you liked him, he was your hero after all. He had saved you from a creep and as your first-ever boyfriend, Todo was perfect.

He bought you clothes he knew you would like because he had seen Takada-chan wearing them in his favorite photoshoots and he took you everywhere with him. At Takada-chan concerts he kept you close, close enough to be able to hump you while watching Takada-chan and hide it from anyone else’s view.

You were happy to be with him and give him the affection he needed. Although at times he could make you flustered with the way he groped you in public when other guys looked at you, you knew it was just because he loved you so much. He simply couldn’t keep his hands to himself and he was possessive. That was all.

“Aoi.” You tried calling out to him again to no avail. You knew they weren’t going to hear your voice so you walked around the counter and into the living room. Putting your hand on Todo’s shoulder you cut his sentence midway through.

“Yes?” he asked, turning to look at you with a warm smile that never failed to make you flustered.

“D-dinner.”

The two of them had forgotten all about dinner but with your reminder, they got up from the couch to follow you into the kitchen.

Dinner was more than the same, Todo and Yuuji chatted while you listened.

“So what grade sorcerer are you, (name)?” Yuuji asked, reaching for a glass of water.

Both you and Todo looked at each other and laughed. “I’m not a sorcerer,” you said. “I’m just a civilian.”

“She can see curses though,” Todo elaborated.

“I thought you told him about this since you said you talk about me with him all the time.” You were giggling as you took a napkin to pat on your mouth.

“We never had the chance.” Todo put down his cutlery and grabbed his plate before leaving the table to get seconds.

“Yeah.”

“Then what sorta stuff did you guys talk about me?” you asked, still a joyful smile plastered on your lips.

The other two, on the other hand, stopped smiling. They looked at each other and Todo was the one to give you an answer.

“Just about how much I love you.” He was back on his seat and pressed a kiss on your forehead.

You blushed faintly, “You’re lying~”

The mood between the two guys changed after that.

After dinner, while you were rolling up the sleeves of your shirt to do the dishes, Yuuji offered to help. You rinsed the dishes and he placed them in the dishwasher until only the large bowls were left. You were planning to wash them by hand since they wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher.

“How did you and Aoi become such good friends?” you asked while he closed the dishwasher.

“We bonded over our love for the same type of women.” Leaning back on the counter, Yuuji watched you wash the rest of the dishes by hand.

“So, Takada-chan?” you chuckled.

“I wouldn’t say her specifically.” He was about to say something else when Todo draped an arm over his shoulder.

“Yuuji and I have the same taste in women.” Todo grinned, his eyes went in between you and Yuuji a couple of times before he said something that made both of you blush. “That’s why he’s probably attracted to you.”

“Aoi!”

“Todo!”

Both of you yelled at Todo in unison and your boyfriend pouted, raising a brow slowly. “I was just saying!”

Rolling your eyes, you returned your attention to washing the rest of the dishes.

“Oh, Yuuji is staying over so I came here to ask about the clean sheets, where did you put them?” Todo asked the thing you knew he would. You kind of wished he had told you Yuuji would be staying over the night a couple of days ago, the whole apartment was dirty.

“They’re inside the vacuum sealer bags under the bed,” you replied and quickly added. “Uhh, take the green ones though! The white ones are too thick for this time of the year.”

“Yeah, I figured!” Todo left Yuuji’s side and walked past you with a quick pat on your back, thanking you for the dinner.

“I’m sorry for crashing here,” Yuuji said suddenly.

You shook your head softly, “It’s not my house, and don’t apologize please, it makes me happy to see Aoi happy. He doesn’t have many friends.”

“He doesn’t?”

“I’ve been to his class reunions and his classmates weren’t quite fond of him.” You frowned at the thought of the unpleasant memories of Todo’s classmates treating him like he wasn’t there.

Yuuji hummed in thought, “I’d say they’re hard to get along with, they don’t like me either. Todo and I didn’t get along at first either, you can’t make friends with him unless you actually try to make friends with him.”

At that moment, you understood why Todo called Yuuji his brother. Their bond was stronger than blood.

Finally done with the dishes, you patted your hands dry and turned to face Yuuji completely.

“What’s Aoi’s type of woman?” You were hesitant about asking this, perhaps the description was the complete opposite of you. “What kind of woman does he like?”

“Tall women with big ass,” Yuuji didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Oh,” you forced out a chuckle. “I don’t think I exactly fit the description.”

“Maybe,” he said but then offered you a gentle smile. “But having a type doesn’t mean he’d only be attracted to those kinda women. I mean, you’re pretty and I’m sure you’re more than his type. I’d call you his perfect match, not many people can tolerate him you know.”

You were about to thank him for trying to consult you but Todo appeared between the two of you after a loud clap.

“Brother,” Todo sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s the one for me.”

Blushing at the way your boyfriend emphasized the words, you jokingly hit him on the chest. “You’re too much.”

“Shall we go to the living room?” Todo suggested as he grabbed beers from the fridge. “It’s way too cramped in here.”

Nodding, Yuuji followed after Todo and walked past you but not without pressing himself against you. It could have been an accident but the pause was too long, his hand as he walked past you caressed your waist and back as well.

No, you were overreacting. You didn’t want to upset Todo. You were definitely overthinking this.

In the living room, the two of them were talking when you sat beside Todo. You tried joining their conversation whenever you managed to follow the topic but most of the time you were sitting quietly, leaning against your boyfriend while sipping on a beer.

It wasn’t long until you got a little too bored and excused yourself to bed.

After you left, silence fell in the living room for half an hour or longer. At least it was long enough for them to be sure you weren’t awake.

“She’s prettier than the pictures,” Yuuji said, chugging the last bit of his beer. “She’s also cuter than you described her to be.”

“You should see her when she’s talking about stuff she likes, she gets all excited and it’s adorable.” Todo reached for the remote control and turned the volume up enough to suppress their voices.

“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind.” Yuuji put his empty beer bottle on the table.

Todo grabbed both of their beer bottles and went to the kitchen to get more beer. “So, what do you think, brother?” he asked after plopping down on the couch next to him.

Yuuji took the beer he was holding out to him and nodded languidly as if trying to consider his words. “She’s… she’s really my type.”

Todo clinked his beer bottle with his best friend’s and chuckled softly, “I told you we had the same taste in women.”

~~~

In the morning, you woke up earlier than your boyfriend and spent a longer time than usual trying to escape from his strong embrace. Eventually, you slipped out of his arms. Although if it was any other day, you would enjoy cuddling with him until it was all toasty in bed, you had a guest in your home.

Changing your clothes, you opened the door of your room as quietly as you could to make your way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. You tried peeking into the living room to see if Yuuji was still sleeping but the delicious smell of coffee gave you the answer.

You walked into the kitchen to find Yuuji cooking breakfast. He didn’t notice your presence continued rolling the omelet to make it thicker.

“G-good morning,” you said, wrapping your arms around yourself.

Yuuji whipped his head around and flashed you a gorgeous smile. “Good morning! Sorry, if I woke you up.”

“N-no.” You blushed faintly at the intensity of his stare. “I woke up myself.”

“Ah, I hope you don’t mind me using your kitchen. Todo said it was fine but-”

“I don’t mind it!” you said hurriedly, “I don’t wake up to prepared breakfast that often so I can’t complain.”

He returned his attention to the thick omelet and nodded. “Hopefully, my cooking will be to your liking then.”

“I’m sure it is!” You put your hands on the counter and jumped at the same time as you hoisted yourself up to sit on the counter. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

There was a comfortable silence between the two of you after that. You quietly watched him cook, the way his biceps would tighten each time he shook the pan to fold the omelet and his focused eyes were hypnotizing.

He was glancing at you at times when he did something impressive, smiling. You found it a little weird but didn’t say anything regarding his behavior.

“Good morning!”

Todo entered the kitchen, yawning and with messy hair.

Both of you said it back.

He gave you a peck on the lips before grabbing a coffee mug. “What should we do tonight?”

You gave yourself a moment to think. Perhaps you could eat takeout today, it had been a while since you had a lazy night with Todo. Or perhaps drink wine and get in the tub together. You opened your mouth to give your answer but Yuuji spoke instead of you.

“I was thinking of eating beef and watching tonight’s football match.”

Todo smiled, humming happily as he took a sip from his coffee. “Sounds great.” Noticing your stare, he raised a brow. “You don’t want beef?”

You shook your head, not wanting to say anything while Yuuji was there but as expected of your considerate boyfriend, he leaned forward so you could whisper in his ear.

Hesitantly you spoke. “I thought Itadori was only staying the night.”

“Oh, no. Brother is staying over for the whole week. We’re gonna investigate a curse together.”

Your eyes widened, he hadn’t mentioned anything about this to you. However, you could never say anything against it.

~~~

“This one’s my favorite,” Todo said, showing a picture of you to Yuuji. “She’s wearing Takada-chan’s limited edition dress here.”

“Yeah, you sent this to me a long time ago.” In the picture, you were hiking the skirt of the dress up to reveal your bare thighs and pussy with a blushed face.

“Did I?” Todo stared at his phone and smiled at the picture dreamily. “I send so many pictures of her to you that I sometimes forget which ones I haven’t sent yet.”

“Well, I don’t mind receiving them twice.” Yuuji took out his phone to check his own photo gallery. He scrolled down to the album folders and opened the hidden file. He was greeted by a ton of pictures of you, mostly taken by yourself. Each one of them you were awkwardly posing to show off your naked body. In some pictures you had lingerie but those weren’t quite his favorite.

“Look.” Todo pointed at his own phone. On the screen, there was another picture of you. In the picture, you were on top of your boyfriend, it was possibly taken mid-sex. Your bare chest was illuminated by the flash of the camera and your eyes were closed as you were balancing yourself on your hands that were resting on Todo’s stomach, you looked lost in pleasure.

“I don’t have that one.” Yuuji immediately could tell he hadn’t gotten this specific picture.

“Ah, I’ll send it to you.”

~~~

“She likes it when you…”

~~~

“Oh, her weak point is…”

~~~

“You know,” Todo started, wrapping his arms around you once you changed out of your work clothes and into a Takada-chan merch shirt. “I think Yuuji likes you.”

The guy mentioned was running a last-minute errand downtown, the two of you were alone in your room.

You let out an awkward laugh and leaned back on his chest. “Well, I like him too since he’s your closest friend.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he whispered into your ear, lips brushing against the skin.

“W-what?” You turned your head away from his lips but he leaned down to kiss your neck, not letting you escape.

“I told you we have the same taste in women. He definitely is attracted to you, I can tell.” He pressed his lips on your pulse point, giving you enticing kisses.

You couldn’t hear his words, too focused on his lips instead.

Smiling into your skin, Todo slid his hands up your sides to cup your tits over your shirt. He gave them an encouraging squeeze and you immediately arched into his touch, pressing your ass onto him. “I think you’re attracted to him too, hmm?”

You didn’t answer.

“(name),” he uttered oh so softly before lolling his tongue out of his mouth to drag the wet muscle up from your neck to your jaw. He pressed his lips on the shell of your ear, his hot breath hitting on your skin. “You like Yuuji.”

“Yes.” You could feel him grow larger behind you, he was in the mood.

When you finally gave him the response he had been waiting for, Todo lifted you up to carry you towards the end of the bed.  

A moan escaped your lips when he pushed you face down onto the mattress and pulled your shorts down along with your panties.

“You’re so cute, you know that?” He pushed two fingers inside of you, with how wet you were, his thick digits easily went inside. Twirling them around, he smiled to himself as he pulled them back to thrust inside softly, dragging the pads on his fingers in a specific way to drive you crazy.

Clutching on the bedsheets, you lifted your ass up, begging for more. “Aoi…”

“What is it?” He could tease you all day.

Wiggling your hips, you groaned in frustration while he continued moving his fingers agonizingly slowly inside your wet pussy.

“Use your words.”

You flushed, “I want you.”

“You want what?” He added another finger to the mix, thrusting inside sluggishly despite how wildly your walls were pulsating around his digits. It took him a great among of self-restraint to not pounce on you right now, fucking you frenziedly to feel your insides throb like that around him.

“I want your…” Ah, so embarrassing. “I want your dick.”

Luckily, Todo was more than willing to provide.

He pulled down the front of his pants with one hand while continuing to move his fingers. When he finally pulled out his fingers and pressed the tip of his cock on your entrance you were mewling him to hurry up.

Snapping his hips forward, Todo gave you what you wanted. He was only halfway inside but you were already screaming into the mattress. You could never get used to his size. He was too big for you.

Todo proceeded to push his hips forward slowly until his entire length was inside your pussy. He stilled momentarily to let you get used to his size as usual before tentatively pulling his hips back to surge them forward in a sudden motion.

You moaned audibly, clutching the bedsheets tighter.

He pulled back and thrust in your pussy with a loud clap continuously, the pace didn’t falter once but it was the force of his thrusts that made your eyes tear up and punched the air out of your lungs.

Todo grabbed you by your hips to pull you towards his hips at the same time he was snapping them forward. Moaning at the sounds of your skins clapping on each other, he put his foot on the bed to put more strength behind his thrusts.

His balls were slapping against your skin harshly and he could go a lot deeper in this position. It wasn’t long until his cock throbbed because of your gummy walls clenching around him.

Pulling out of you, Todo flipped you over and held his cock over your face. “Open your mouth.”

Obediently you lifted yourself up from the bed using your elbows to take the tip of his cock inside your mouth.

Todo’s hand around his cock moved faster than your eyes could follow and when his cock started twitching he groaned softly. Soon after you felt him releasing his seed into your mouth.

You swallowed his cum and gently licked the tip to clean it.

“Can’t you try sucking it for once?” he asked sheepishly, eyes hazy with lust as he was looking down at you.

“It’s too big.” Was your reply. It was mostly, you weren’t confident enough to take his cock in your mouth but it wasn’t impossible.

“Won’t you try it?” He placed his hand on your cheek, thumb caressing the skin.

How could you say no to that…

You were about to get in a comfortable position when the doorbell chimed, making both of you jolt.

Yuuji was back.

“Brother,” he sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly, “Why did you have to arrive just as things were getting good?”

“We’ll do it once he leaves Kyoto,” you said, smiling. “I promise.”

Todo smiled down at you and leaned down to kiss you. “You better keep your promise.”

The moment he kissed you, the doorbell chimed once again but this time repeatedly. Giving you a small peck on your lips, Todo tucked himself back in his pants as he walked out of the bedroom to open the door for Yuuji.

You joined them only after you managed to catch your breath.

The dinner was uneventful, the boys cooked the beef and you made some garnish.

After dinner, you prepared some snacks for them to watch during the football match and although you were planning to go take a bath to leave them alone, Todo insisted that you stayed.

That was how you ended up on the couch, staring at the television with a blank expression. You didn’t understand much from the football match they were watching but it didn’t stop you from settling to Todo’s side with his arm over your shoulder.

Feeling his warmth was enough to lull you to sleep if it wasn’t for the narrator’s mundane voices or Yuuji’s excited voice explaining Todo about the opposite team’s players and some other stuff you couldn’t keep up. As your eyelids got heavier and it was impossible to keep them open anymore, you felt your boyfriend’s hand going inside the front of your shirt to cup your tit.

Your eyes immediately snapped open as you jolted awake, eyes wide and in panic.

Todo glanced down at you momentarily with a smirk before returning his attention to Yuuji who was still busy explaining to him about one of the goalkeepers. You gasped and wanted to tell him that his friend was going to see what he was doing but he shut you up once he gave your tit a generous squeeze.

Flushing, you covered your face with a hand, hoping that the guy next to your boyfriend wouldn’t see you like this.

“I’m gonna grab another beer,” Yuuji said, getting up from the couch. “You guys want anything-” His eyes landed on your blushing face and then to the large hand that was groping your tit under the shirt. His own cheeks flushed slightly as he averted his gaze.

“I don’t need anything,” Todo said, the smile in his voice was noticeable. “Do you want anything, (name)?”

You shook your head slowly, you were getting dizzy from embarrassment and also from excitement of being seen like this by Yuuji.

Yuuji nodded and went to the kitchen to grab a beer for himself. When he came back he continued his explanation about the opposite team to Todo, ignoring your mewls and gasps whenever your boyfriend rolled your nipple between his knuckles or pinched them.

Todo pulled his hand away only after the football match had ended, by that time you were a total mess.

“We should go to bed,” Todo said, lifting you up. “(name) doesn’t feel well.”

Yuuji didn’t comment on anything as Todo carried you back to your room, wishing his friend goodnight.

In the bedroom, Todo didn’t waste any seconds to strip you out of your clothes, the excitement of knowing that his friend could be jerking off in the living room was enough to make him cum in his pants but he held back.

“You’re the worst,” you whimpered but it broke into a moan when he took your sensitive nipple in his mouth. Wrapping your arms around his head, you pulled him towards yourself, wanting more. “I hate you.”

He bit your nipple, making you writhe in pain. “Do you mean that?” he asked as he pulled himself away from you.

“Nooo~” you whined. “I love you.”

“You must love Yuuji too,” he said, pushing his fingers inside your pussy. “You’ve gotten so wet. It was because he was watching, right?”

“I don’t know.” You wanted to deny it but he was telling the truth, he had to be. Todo knew you the best, better than you knew yourself. “M-maybe.”

The strings that were holding Todo back snapped one by one. "You were being so loud, you might as well have just gotten on your knees and begged for his attention. You should've moaned his name and begged him to fuck you like a whore on that couch."

“Don’t say that!”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” He pulled his pants down and flipped you over to your stomach to shove his entire length inside you impatiently. “Be more honest, will you?”

You shamelessly moaned out loud, arching your back.

“You want Yuuji to fuck you like this, don’t you?” He snapped his hips forward punching the air out of your lungs.

This time without any hesitation. “Yes!”

~~~

“Why don’t you fuck her already?” Sukuna scoffed. “She was sitting there like a bitch in heat, begging to be fucked.”

“Stop talking vulgarly about her like that,” Yuuji pulled his pants down, ignoring Sukuna and focusing on your loud moans instead.

“You should be a man and show her that you want her.” Sukuna wouldn’t shut up though.

Yuuji spat in his palm and wrapped his hand around his cock, “Be quiet, will you?”

“You want her to be yours right?”

It became silent for a moment. The only sounds were your moans mixed up with skin clapping on skin coming from the other room.

“If you don’t act dominant, you’ll never get to have a woman for yourself. Do you always wanna have someone else’s seconds?”

Satisfied the way he got to him, Sukuna disappeared from Yuuji’s cheek, leaving the latter all alone with his thoughts.

~~

Todo was coming home late today. Meaning that you were alone with Yuuji for the time being.

You were cooking dinner for the two of you while he was in the living room watching television

Since this morning, you had been unable to look him in the eye. Things that happened yesterday wouldn’t leave your mind for a mere moment, you were embarrassed and ashamed but Yuuji seemed indifferent.

Perhaps these sorts of stuff were normal between guy friends. You didn’t know. Todo was your first boyfriend ever and this was the first time you were meeting one of his closest friends.

It could be.

“Do you need help with anything?”

You jolted in surprise and glanced over your shoulder towards him. “Um, no but thank you!”

“Hmm, okay.” Yuuji leaned back on the counter, watching you intently instead of going back to the living room.

Although you returned your attention to the food you were cooking, you could sense his stare on your body. His stare was intense, whether it was your sixth sense or not, you could tell exactly where he might be looking at your body from the way your muscles stiffened.

You didn’t want to say anything, freaking out that it might upset Todo if you confronted Yuuji. What if you became that ‘crazy girlfriend’ for Todo and he broke up with you just because you were acting like a prude?

Ignore his staring. That was all you had to do. As long as you kept your distance, you would be fine.

Argh! Last night was too much, you were going insane. This was all Todo’s fault and-

“You’re wearing something that’s similar to Takada-chan’s outfit right?” he suddenly asked.

“Y-yeah.” Oh, as always you were being paranoid for nothing. He was just staring at your dress. “Todo likes it when I wear them because-”

“And he probably only fucks you from behind.”

You dropped the spoon you were holding but Yuuji continued.

“Bull’s eye, huh?” He had a blank expression on his face. “He’s probably imagining Takada-chan since from the back he can’t see your face. Only the flashy pink and red clothes. And I can bet he makes you do your hair like hers too, I guess it looks good from the back as well.”

Dead silence filled the kitchen, you didn’t dare to lean down to pick up the spoon or turn off the stoves.

“But I guess you know about all that,” Yuuji sighed, taking a step forward towards you. “You want him to love you no matter what. Even if it means he’ll fantasize about some idol.” He took another step, you mirrored his movements and took a step back. “You’re pathetically in love with him.”

“Stop,” you pleaded, covering your ears like a kid. “Stop it!”

Yuuji turned off the stoves and gently grabbed your wrists to pull them down. “It’s not a bad thing,” he said. “Loving someone to the point you devote your entire presence to them, it’s admirable.” His eyes had this gentle look in them and you could feel the empathy through them. He had been in this position before. He knew your pain. “You love him even though he uses you for his own fantasies but Todo loves you too. I know he does because I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

Fall for it.

Your eyes teared up, lower lip trembling. “I can’t… We can’t-”

Fall for the bait.

“Todo and I have the same taste in women. He wants us to get along.”

“This isn’t how two friends get along…”

Yuuji pulled you closer to himself looking deep into your eyes. “Todo told me it was okay. He said he wanted to share you with me. He wants someone to love you as much as you love him, so won’t you let me?”

You were trembling in front of him, your glossy eyes and pouting lips were too much for him.

“Itadori-”

“Yuuji,” he said, lifting his hand to caress your cheek hesitantly. “Call me Yuuji.”

“Y-Yuuji.” You tested out his name, smiling sheepishly when he pressed his forehead against yours.

“(name),” he whispered, impatient of all this waiting because he had been yearning to have you for himself for so long. So long. “Won’t you let me kiss you already? I won’t think about anyone else, I will kiss you .”

You couldn’t say anything, your hands went to clutch on his shirt and you nodded falteringly.

He leaned down, closing the distance between your faces until his lips met yours. There were butterflies in your stomach, your heart fluttered in joy, and for the first time ever, even though he had closed his eyes, you knew Yuuji wasn’t thinking of someone else while kissing you.

His lips moved against yours experimentally, testing the waters to see what you liked. He caressed your cheek using one hand and used his other hand to press on the small of your back to bring you closer to him.

You moaned into the kiss and parted your lips.

Just as Todo said you would.

Yuuji was hungrily kissing you, pushing his tongue into your mouth to twirl it around yours and savor your taste. He softly caressed your cheek with his thumb as he moaned encouragingly to get you to kiss him back with the same enthusiasm.

However, you were too timid, barely moving your lips or kissing him back. He slid his hand from the small of your back to under the skirt of your dress to grope the supple flesh of your ass hard enough to make you moan into the kiss again.

This time you opened your mouth fully, shyly letting your tongue move with his as your grip on his shirt tightened.

Smiling into the kiss, Yuuji lifted you up with the same hand that was groping your ass and you instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck as he carried you to the living room.

The way he was holding you so tightly even when he sat on the couch with you on his lap, it was all so tender. He was holding you like you meant the world to him, fragile yet passionate.

Yuuji was feeling this way about you. Only you. Nobody else.

Your heart fluttered but your chest clenched as you hungrily kissed him back. You tasted your tears in the kiss, how pathetic. All that just from him telling you he loved you? Pathetic. Pathetic. You were so pathetic. You wondered if he found how desperately you wanted to feel loved pathetic too.

He didn’t seem to overthink like you, his hands were on your hips, pressing you against his growing bulge and kissing you with the same eagerness you kissed Todo with.

Todo.

Something within your mind revived itself, you pulled back from the kiss while more tears spilled down to your cheeks. Your hands were on his chest as you pushed yourself away from him. “No, I can’t do this. I love Todo.”

Todo?

Wasn’t he Aoi to you?

“Todo said you loved me too.” One of his hands went under your skirt and he pressed his fingers against your clothed cunt. You had completely soaked your panties and were still trying to deny the fact that you didn’t want this.

Adorable.

You whimpered when he drew a tight circle over your clothed nub.  “Yuuji, please.”

“Please what?” he raised a brow, face inanimate. “Do you really want me to stop? It’s just the two of us in here, you can be honest with me.”

A blush colored your cheeks and you looked away from him instead of giving him an answer.

He took it as a yes.

Pulling your panties to the side, he let two of his digits slide inside your slick heat. Moaning at the sensation, you covered your mouth in shame, eyes finally returning to Yuuji.

He flashed you a stunning smile. “You’re gorgeous.”

You covered your face with a hand, embarrassed out of your mind as he curled his fingers inside of you, rubbing the pad of his fingers on a sensitive spot he knew about. Your hips bucked against his hand and you whined in surprise.

Only Todo could make you feel this good. Right?

What if you stopped loving Todo because Yuuji made you feel good like him?

An enormous wave of panic washed over you.

“I-I-I changed my mind.”

“Did you?” Yuuji abruptly used the strength of his entire arm to finger fuck you.

Your mouth opened in a silent scream, both hands pressing on Yuuji’s shoulders to balance yourself as he was messing you up. “Yuuji, no!”

It was too late, you could feel the incoming wave of pleasure, your pussy was sucking his fingers deeper inside and clenching around them greedily. You were begging for something bigger and thicker.

Yuuji continued thrusting his fingers inside your cunt and started rubbing his palm against your clit for extra friction for you.

You were getting closer, the overwhelming wave of pleasure was growing bigger, threatening to leave you trembling and whimpering once he was done with you.

Then the familiar sound of a door being unlocked echoed inside the apartment.

The feeling of shame and guilt returned but you didn’t get to push yourself away from Yuuji.

“Stop,” you begged in tears, whimpering. However, your whimper soon turned into a shameless moan when you felt a tongue take a skillful lick against your folds before taking your clit in its mouth.

You looked down at Yuuji and he looked right back at you.

Your eyes landed on the hand that was fucking you. There was something, lapping at your cunt. It was a tongue. You could feel it zealously licking you.

Yuuji didn’t look aware of anything, his fingers moved all the same but what made you break down and lose the strength of your legs was the mouth embedded on his palm.

You met eyes with Todo who had just walked into the living room as your entire body shook uncontrollably and the heavenly euphoric feeling took over your senses. It was impossible to tear your eyes away from him, the sense of guilt was forgotten, you were pretending it was Todo who made you cum, not Yuuji or that thing in his hand.

Yuuji pulled his hand back and you actually caught a glimpse of a grinning mouth slowly disappearing into his skin.

No this wasn’t the time. Todo had… he had seen you like this. He was going to misunderstand.

“Aoi,” you whispered, trying to regain your strength to stand up on your legs. “Aoi, this is-” You nearly fell off from the couch but Yuuji caught you. In tears, you pushed him away and stood up, walking over to your boyfriend. “Aoi, I’m sorry he… he was the one-”

"I knew you liked Yuuji, but I didn't think you'd be this needy for him…” Todo slapped a hand on his face and dragged it down slowly, hiding his grin but keeping a serious expression. “What kind of girl are you really? You came on his fingers as soon as I walked in. Do you like being watched, is that it? Do you like messing with guys who aren't your boyfriend?”

“No!” you sobbed, hands desperately reaching out to hold his hand. “I love you, I only love you. H-he tried to use my love for you against me… It wasn’t my fault, I swear… Aoi, please, it wasn’t me. He kissed me first.”

“It wasn’t you?” Todo raised a brow, pulling his hand away. “Are you going to accuse my brother like that when you told me you loved him? DIdn’t you say you wanted to be fucked by him? You know me and Yuuji have the same type yet you still teased him with the clothes you wear around the apartment, and you let yourself get fondled in front of him mewling like a helpless kitten. What was he supposed to think?”

“I-I only love you, I swear!” You gripped onto his shirt. “Aoi, please, please, please!”

“You know our walls are thin but you still moaned and screamed all night knowing Yuuji was in the room next door." Todo’s brows furrowed, he pointed a finger at your face. "Wasn’t this what you wanted? You said you loved Yuuji, you said you wanted to be fucked by Yuuji and now you're mad because what? He kissed you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Your face was stained with tears, crying helplessly, begging for forgiveness from your boyfriend.

“Don’t apologize to me,” Todo sighed. “You need to apologize to my best friend and find a way to make it up to him."

“It’s alright, Todo,” Yuuji said, appearing behind you. “She’s right, I went overboard. Maybe I should leave and stay at a hotel for the rest of the week. I don’t wanna be a burden or cause any problems between the two of you.”

If he left now, Todo was going to hate you. He was going to break up with you for accusing his best friend- weren’t you telling the truth- no! You were accusing him.

“No, please, Yuuji.” You turned your head towards him, begging him with teary eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, please, it was all my fault. Please, I’m sorry.” Hysterically crying, you buried your face to Todo’s chest. “Please, please forgive me. Please!”

The two guys nodded at the same time and almost laughed at how your voice was breaking. Almost.

Todo put a hand on the back of your dress and pulled you away from him by gripping the fabric. “Well, I'm glad you could cry out somewhat of an apology but I told you to find a way to make it up to him."

"How am I supposed to-"

Todo abruptly leaned down, staring at you with an intimidatingly blank look on his face. “How would Takada-chan apologize?”

Your shoulders stiffened, your limbs turned to stone but you still were able to shake your head hesitantly.

“What?” Todo’s face had gotten closer. “You’re not sorry, Takada-chan? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Stop it,” you whimpered, fresh tears forming in your eyes. “I’m not Takada-chan.”

“Hey,” Yuuji said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “She said she’s sorry, I’m not hurt or anything. Don’t make her cry like that. I went overboard, I thought she liked me like you said so I should be the one to apologize.”

Todo’s features softened and he shook his head slightly as he turned to face his friend, “Ahh, I’m sorry too. It’s just that… I was sure you two would get along but she went and blew it up.”

“I’ll get along with him,” you promised, wiping your tears, smiling in despair. “Please, Aoi. I’ll even love Yuuji as much as I love you. Please. Just don’t… please don’t leave me.”

Todo let out an audible sigh, he looked distraught, shoulders shaking from what you thought was sadness but he was simply trying to hold back his laughter. “Prove it to me.”

You lifted your head, eyes wide. “Prove what? I’ll do anything you ask me to do-”

Cutting your sentence short, Todo reached out his hand to you and his other hand to his friend. Without hesitation, you put your hand in his and Yuuji did the same. Slowly, Todo brought his hands together and made the two of you hold hands. “Prove that you love Yuuji."

“I can’t let him have my body,” you said, voice breaking after getting an image of what he was implying. “My heart and body belong to you.”

“What about your mouth? My best friend likes the same things I like... and you can't make the same excuses with him that you do with me.”

Oh.

He perhaps knew the reason why you didn’t want to suck him off.

You were terrified of him looking at you, scared that he would dump you if he fucked you even once while looking at you. Although you wanted him to have eyes only for you, it wasn’t possible when his heart didn’t belong to you.

Maybe, only maybe… If both of you started being more honest with each other, you could be the person in his heart, sharing it with Yuuji rather than his favorite idol.

Todo placed a hand on your back and pushed you forward towards your bedroom. You knew what to do.

The walk to your room was awkward and silent. Yuuji’s hand was sweaty and calloused as you dragged him to the bedroom but your trembling hand fit perfectly in his hand. The two of you were a match made in heaven.

Todo followed you inside the bedroom, watched the two of you climb on the bed. You reached to the front of Yuuji’s sweats, pulling them down by hooking your fingers under the waistband.

You were so focused on your task that you hadn’t realized how badly you were shaking.

“(name),” Yuuji said softly, putting his hand over yours. “Do you remember what I said to you?”

You stared up at him for an answer.

“Todo wants someone to love you as much as you love him. Will you let me do that?” Despite your previous hysterical crying, you managed to blush at his words, the pressure on your shoulders disappeared and you got lost within his kind smile that was directed at you.

Nodding, you got on all fours while Yuuji leaned back on the mattress as you hooked a finger underneath the waistband of his boxers to peel them off to release his aching cock. Once his cock bounced free, you were distantly aware of the mattress dipping behind you.

It was Todo. After settling behind you, he hiked your skirt up and pulled your panties down.

“Focus on me,” a voice said, his warm hand lovingly caressed your cheek.

You looked at Yuuji through your clumped lashes, he was pumping his cock sluggishly while looking at you intently. All of his attention was on you, he wasn’t looking through you like Todo. He was looking at you. Only you.

In response, you leaned further down to take the tip of his cock in your mouth. He retrieved his hand from his cock and you wrapped your own hand around the base, moving it along the length with a nice firm pressure.

Bobbing your head, you took more than half of his cock in your mouth, hollowing your cheeks as you moved up and closer towards the pink tip.

“That feels good,” Yuuji groaned softly, he put a hand on the top of your head, petting it to praise you. “You’re amazing at this.”

His kind tone encouraged you to bob your head and you tried taking him deeper inside your mouth.

“Ahh, you’re so into this…” Yuuji grew harder inside of your mouth and pulled you towards him by your head, his hips bucking up in a desperate attempt to hit the back of your throat.

Behind you, Todo was dragging the tip of his cock between your folds, he was oddly quiet, possibly still upset but you still arched your back for him. You needed to prove to him how good you could make him feel. Only you could make him feel this good. Nobody else. He needed to know that.

Todo pushed the tip of his cock inside and surged his hips forward until his entire length was inside you with a low groan. You moaned around Yuuji’s cock, the vibrations coming from your throat were enough to make him grab a chunk of your hair to steady himself.

Suddenly Yuuji forced you down onto his cock until your nose was touching his pinkish pubes. With Yuuji being deep down in your throat and Todo’s cock completely stretching you out, you had thought you were being stuffed to your limit. It was all too much. You gagged and planted your hands on Yuuji’s thighs to push yourself away from his cock.

You didn’t get the chance though.

Clap.

Your jaw relaxed and your pussy clenched around nothing for barely a second but then abruptly you felt your jaw forcefully open wider around the cock in your mouth. Tearing up, you gagged roughly. The girth was thicker than before and you barely managed to blink when a large hand landed on top of your head to card his fingers through your hair.

“No teeth,” Todo warned.

Eyes widening, you stared up at your boyfriend through your lashes in panic as a pair of hands gripped your hips tightly.

“Ahh, you’re so tight,” Yuuji groaned, tentatively pulling his hips back to snap them forward.

They had switched places.

You were confused but it didn’t take you long to put the pieces together to realize it was Todo’s whatever sorcery was the cause of this.

Glaring up at Todo, you attempted to move your hips away from Yuuji but they both had you trapped between them.

Without a warning, your boyfriend started bucking his hips up into your mouth. As upset as you were, there was no way you were going to let this one slip. There was no possible way.-

“You look cuter than Takada-chan like this,” Todo whispered with a gentle smile on his lips. He was telling the truth, having your luscious lips wrapped around his cock with your tear-stained face and furrowed brows that were looking at him with anger… it was purely erotic. “Can you keep your promise for me?”

Your heart fluttered with joy, anger past forgotten, you bobbed your head. Todo hissed through his teeth, letting you move however you pleased.

Yuuji on the other hand was losing more of his composure every passing second. His hands that were gripping your sides were shaking as he decided to move again. Your walls were clamping on his cock, threatening to milk him dry each time he pulled out and thrust inside your pulsating cunt.

As he was trying to find a rhythm he liked, his instincts took over. Yuuji snapped his hips forward, balls slapping against your skin with a loud clap. His pace was irregular yet merciless. Incredibly vigorous, each thrust deep and penetrating. He let out a growl as your tight walls clenched around him after your boyfriend’s cock grazed the back of your throat.

Yuuji’s nails dug into your skin and he started fucking you almost frantically. With each snap of his hips, you took more of Todo’s cock down your throat. Tears streamed down your cheeks but pleasuring your boyfriend was more important. The pain was nothing compared to keeping your promise to Todo.

“Good girl,” he praised, wiping your tears with his thumbs, “My girl.”

Your pussy clenched at his words, making Yuuji lose himself completely at the sensation. He slammed into your cunt with amazing vigor, forcing you to take the entire length of Todo’s cock in your mouth as the tip of his cock pressed against your cervix at the same time your nose brushed against Todo’s pubes.

Both of the guys moaned while your eyes rolled back to the back of your head. You were getting completely lost in the sweet ecstasy of Yuuji’s cock ravishing your pussy and Todo’s cock was stretching your throat simultaneously.

They were both about to cum.

You felt Yuuji’s cock twitch inside of you as Todo held his hands up and waited before slowly clapping them together.

Clap!

Your jaw relaxed once again but then your walls stretched to the point of your legs giving up under you. Yuuji took Todo’s place in your mouth and came down your throat with an audible grumble. He pulled out rather quickly, letting you take a breath to swallow his cum down.

Todo slouched forward to mount you completely and grunted into your ear as he picked up from where his best friend left. He reached one of his hands under you to toy with your clit, drawing tight circles around the nub. He snapped his hips forward, nosing some of your hair out of the way to grunt into your ear. “You’re enjoying this more than I thought. I think I know why... I think you like being shared, don’t you?"

“Yes, yes, yes!” You nodded rapidly, screaming out his name.

“You love Yuuji and you love me.”

“Yes!”

“You like being shared.”

“I… I-I do!” You weren’t sure if you were saying all of these to satisfy him or you actually wanted them but it didn’t matter. You were ready to do anything and everything to keep Todo happy.

He couldn’t hold back any longer, his cock throbbed, thick spurts of his cum filled your womb and overflowed into your pussy.

Breathless, you desperately held onto Yuuji’s thighs as Todo continued fucking his cum deep inside of you. “Why’d you switch?” Yuuji asked almost like a kid that was about to throw a tantrum.

“I can’t let you cum inside her, she’s still my girl at the end of the day.” Todo’s voice was mischievous, the grin in his voice was also present.

“I was gonna pull out,” he protested.

“I’ll let you do it next time if she’s up to it.” Todo pulled out and retrieved his hands from your hips. As soon as the only thing holding you up disappeared, your body went limp like a ragdoll on the mattress. “What do you say, (name)?”

His cum oozed out from your gaping hole and onto the sheets. You opened your mouth to stutter a single word Todo wanted to hear, “O-okay.”

[youbloodymadgenius]

Ivarello (Modern!Ivar x reader) Chapter 1

Moodboard by @quantumlocked310

Ivarello’s masterpost here

A/N: This is my entry for @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie 500 Followers Fairy Tale Challenge. It's a retelling of Cinderella. Congrats again, darling 💖

A huge thank you to @mrsalwayswrite, who's a great beta reader and an even greater cheerleader 😂

A massive thank you to @quantumlocked310, @vikingstrash and @serasvictoria. Thank you for agreeing to collaborate and for sharing your talent with me. Your moodboards are beyond amazing 🤩

In this story, Sigurd is alive. Ragnar and Aslaug are dead, but Lagertha didn't kill her. I took a lot of liberties with the show, I hope you won't mind.

Unlike the tale, there will be no magic involved. Not everything will be realistic, however. It's a fayritale, after all!

Let me know if you want to be tagged 😊

Summary: Orphaned five years ago, Ivar and his brothers have been living with Lagertha ever since. Now 16 years old, he wants to attend Harald's traditional Midsummer party, but obstacles stand in his way.

Warnings: description of car crash; orphaned kids; Sigurd being Sigurd; OOC characters.

Words: 1806

Additional note: I'm afraid I'll disappoint some of you. No more newspapers... The articles defined the setting of the story. From now on, it'll be a regular fic.

Hope you enjoy it nevertheless 🙂

🛡⚔️🛡

June 2021

Ivar yawns, rubbing his eyes, when he suddenly hears the front door open. The next moment, Ubbe shouts, "Hey baby bro, we're home!"

Slightly confused, Ivar looks at the time on his computer. Stunned, he blinks repeatedly, shakes his head and checks the time again, now looking at his watch. "Guess I lost track of time," he mumbles as he realizes it's really 5:30 pm. He clears his throat. "I'm coming!"

Yawning once more, he wheels to the kitchen. Hvitserk waves at him with one hand as Ubbe greets him with a grin and Sigurd... Well, Sigurd ignores him, as usual.

"Hello boys!" Lagertha smiles as she also enters the kitchen. "Did you go to the beach this afternoon?" It's a rethorical question, since sand can be seen on the tanned skin of his brothers, shirtless and wearing only swimming shorts.

When she looks down at him, her smile becomes softer. "Ivar, you seem tired. Did you work all day long?"

He nods, glad that for once she called him by his first name and not by one of those stupid nicknames that she likes but that make his skin crawl.

"Yep," he shrugs without smiling back, "I made good progress. The new version of your website is almost done. It could probably be online by the end of the week."

His stepmom flashes him a beaming smile. "Great, thanks!"

The conversation then moves on to the subject that everyone in Kattegat has been talking about for the last few days: the midsummer party thrown by their neighbor Harald Hårfager. Every June, it is Kattegat's not-to-be-missed event, to which every resident hopes to be invited.

Lagertha is invited every year, yet rarely attends; his brothers wouldn't miss it, not in a million years; Ivar never went.

He listens with half an ear as his brothers prattle on about the upcoming party, while taking a seat at the large, wooden kitchen table on which Lagertha has just put cakes and drinks.

"What are you going to wear?"

"Do you think Marit will attend this year?"

"Hopefully the music will be better than last year."

"Can't be as bad! What was the name of that reggae band?"

For a fleeting moment, Ivar entertains the thought of attending as well. Not that he's dying to, but… Sometimes, he feels a little bit like Cinderella in this house.

Don't get him wrong, it's not that bad.

First, his stepmom is not–

Wait, wait, wait, is Lagertha technically his stepmom? He's not sure. After all, she wasn't when his parents were alive, she was just his father's first wife. Anyway, she may be his guardian now, but he sees her as his stepmom and he honestly doesn’t give a shit if it's a little weird.

Where was he? Oh yes, Cinderella.

So obviously, Lagertha is not a wicked, haughty and abusive stepmom like this Lady Tremaine of the fairytale.

Actually, even if it pisses him off to admit it, she's pretty nice, patient and composed. Does he love her? Let's not exaggerate – he doesn't. She may love him though, which is a little bit uncanny, if he's being honest. He was the favorite son of her nemesis. Shouldn't she hate him? He would, if the situation was reversed.

The truth is, when he was younger, he tried, he really tried to hate her, blaming her for everything and anything. When too much pain prevented him from sleeping, he let his imagination run wild. There, bound to his bed of suffering, he could see Lagertha cutting the brakes on his mother's car, causing her crash, causing her death.

Of course, even then, he knew deep down that Lagertha had not killed his mother; that the story he told himself was just the product of his endless nights of insomnia. But what can he say? He needed this. Because blaming Lagertha rather than admitting that his beloved mother was at fault – by being distracted, or by falling asleep, he'll never know – was easier for the heartbroken boy he was.

Anyway... So yes, Lagertha is definitely not an evil stepmother like Cinderella's.

Also, he doesn't sleep on a sorry garret, on a wretched straw bed either.

Actually, he has a very large room on the main floor, with a king-size memory foam bed, a walk-in – well, a wheel-in for his case – closet and his own, huge bathroom, fully equipped for his special needs.

Sure, the bathroom and the dressing room were already there when his parents were alive; however, the memory foam mattress had been Lagertha's idea.

Anyway... So yes, he can't exactly complain about his sleeping conditions, unlike Cinderella.

And obviously, he's not forced into servitude.

Actually, one might think so, but no, he's not. Sure, sometimes he works for his stepmom, like today. But so do his brothers. When she had taken them in, she was a powerful businesswoman, working twelve to fourteen hours a day. Once she had become their guardian, she had rearranged her working time and learned to delegate; but even so, she had often run out of time. Therefore, it had seemed normal to them – yes, even to him – to help her out, each of them according to their skills and abilities.

So, while Hvitserk almost always does the grocery shopping, while Sigurd vacuums and does the laundry, while Ubbe mows the lawn and trim the bushes, he, Ivar, runs her company's website and sometimes even does the accounting. And since he loves computers and numbers, it's not exactly a problem.

Anyway... So yes, he's not a slave in this house. Unlike Cinderella.

So, yes, to sum it up, he can't really complain and he's by far not Cinderella. And he knows it.

But... Yes, there's a but...

Sometimes, he feels trapped, as poor Cinderella must have felt.

Sometimes he feels like a spectator of a life he doesn't belong to.

Sure, he doesn't have to be homeschooled – but gods, he's glad he is. The reasons for him to be continuously bullied by classmates are endless. The simplest ones being: he is a cripple, an orphan, the son of a dead mob boss, the smartest one in the whole damn school, let alone his class. Take your pick. It's no fun, no fun at all. Being home alone is preferable to that alternative.

Therefore, barely leaving the house except for medical appointments, he has no friends. He doesn't do sports either – obviously – and yeah, he lives a lonely life, filled with video games and Netflix series. And he's okay with that. Well, most of the time.

Sure, his brothers, or at least Ubbe and Hvitserk, always try to include him as much as possible. But the truth is that because of his legs, there are many, many things he just can't do.

And the other truth, the less pleasant one, is that he partially did that to himself. He cut himself off from a world that hurt him, yet he still misses this world sometimes. At times, he blames himself. Because his life, honestly, is hardly what you would call a life, is it? Not when you're sixteen.

That's why sometimes, like now, he feels this longing, almost a need, to live. To really, truly, fully live. And that's why, for a brief moment, lulled by the light chitchat of his brothers, he considers attending Harald's midsummer party.

But he knows better. This life is not for him, never has been, never will be.

And so, shaking his head, he chases the thought away and, placing his hands on his push rims, he's about to leave the kitchen while the incessant babbling of his brothers goes on.

"I can't wait."

"Don't tell me! As every year, the most beautiful girls of Kattegat will be there."

"Remember that burger food truck? Best burgers ever!"

"I've heard Y/N would be attending this year."

"There'll be booze and girls! Sounds like Valh–"

Wait. His mind goes blank.

Fuck.

What? Did he hear right?

As he replays his brother's words in his head, it's like there's an earthquake happening inside of him.

Fuck.

He stops breathing. Blinks, then clamps his eyes shut.

Fuck.

When he finally manages to draw air into his lungs, he swallows loudly before asking in a weird, high-pitched voice, his heart pounding in his chest, "What– What did you say, brother?"

Hvitserk turns his head toward him and shrugs. "I just said there'll be boo–"

"No, not you!" Ivar snaps at his brother, pointing his pointer finger at Ubbe. "You, what did you fucking say?" Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Lagertha frowning – 'no curse words in this house, boys'– and even if he barely contains an eye roll, he still mouths a quick 'sorry' at her before rewording his question, impatience coursing through him. "What did you say, dear brother? Who did you say would attend?"

Stunned, Ubbe looks at him with wide eyes. "Y/N? I said Y/N would come. That's what I heard anyway. She's Harald's niece. She was here once, right? Remember her, baby bro, huh?"

But Ivar is no longer listening, the blood draining from his face. Y/N... Y/N... Fuck. Finally. Fucking finally. After so long... He may see you again. Wow.

I'll go! I'll fucking go!

He barely contains the words, suddenly acutely aware of the deafening silence in the room, his brothers shamelessly staring at him.

With her brows furrowed and her lips turned downward in a slight frown, Lagertha takes two steps forwards before crouching down in front of him. "Are you all right, sweetie? You're a little pale."

He barely hears when Sigurd giggles, "A little pale? He's greener than an alien!"

Lagertha shoots Sigurd a dirty look and then gently cups Ivar's cheek. "Do you know her, Ivar? Do you know Y/N?"

Overwhelmed, self-conscious, freaked out, caught off-guard, he doesn't know how to respond. Should he tell the truth? Should he lie? His brothers will mock him, for sure. What is the point of telling the truth? What good would it do? On the other hand, he could really use some advice. Yeah. Sure. Advice from Sigurd. Just the thought of it is enough to make him sick. Fuck, what is he going to do?

Rushed words are out of his mouth before he can even gather his thoughts. "No. No. I don't. I mean, yes, I think I do but–" He's being pathetic and he hates it. So after a sharp intake of breath, he shakes his head and eventually replies in a flat, calm voice, the white lie rolling off his tongue. "I know her, but I thought Ubbe was talking about someone else. Sorry."

With these words, he hastily leaves the room, his eyes riveted on his knees, his heart still drumming in his chest.

Y/N. Fuck.

🛡⚔️🛡

Ivar's taglist: @waiting4inspiration @honestsycrets @lisinfleur @saldelys @gearhead66 @inforapound @readsalot73 @milkkygirls @xbellaxcarolinax @shannygoatgruff @zuxiezendler @hecohansen31 @lonewolf471 @fuckindiva @tgrrose @didiintheblog @peachyboneless @pieces-by-me @funmadnessandbadassvikings @ethereallysimple @destynelseclipsa @cocovikings23 @xceafh @mrsalwayswrite @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @pomegranates-and-blood @jadelynlace @grimeundglow @quantumlocked310 @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom

Ivarello's taglist: @not-another-viking-fanfic-blog @hashimily @prepare4trouble @supernaturalvikingwhore @funmadnessandbadassvikings

[absolutelyfizzing]

No flirting

Sam Wilson x Bucky's relative!reader

Description: Out of timeline! Reader is Bucky's great niece (his sister's granddaughter) who he found when he got to NY. She is staying in the tower for a week or so to take a sort of vacation. While she is there, she meets a certain flying man of the south and she starts to fall for him, much to her uncle's dismay.

Warnings: fluff? Sort of old fashioned Bucky, maybe a little ooc sam? I tried but idk if it went okay. This is awful writing, it was late and I don’t know how to write dialogue!

Word count- about 3000

MASTERLIST

You pulled into the parking garage of the avenger tower with a smile on your face. It had been a couple weeks since you had seen your uncle, well your grand uncle, because he had been off on a mission with Steve and the Falcon. You'd never met Sam Wilson before, only hearing about him from Bucky and Steve, but you figured he had to be pretty great to be an avenger.

You got your bag out of the trunk after you parked and began to make your way to the elevator. You had a room that remained pretty empty when you weren't there. Because of your closeness with most of the team, it had been offered to you permanently. You declined in favor of having your own place in Brooklyn and just staying at the tower whenever you needed a break from work or your friends or something. You waited patiently for the elevator doors to open on the right floor excitedly, knowing FRIDAY probably alerted Bucky you were on you way up. Your suspicions were confirmed when you were tackled in a pile of super solider as Steve and Bucky hugged you tightly. Steve had become family as well to you, just as much as Bucky was. You loved them both very much but at the moment they were squeezing the life out of you.

"Excuse me, I am a non enhanced person." You gasped out "I need air please."

At this they let you go, dopey grins on their faces.

"How is my favorite niece?" Bucky asked with a smile on his face, knowing it bothered you a little bit. You saw him as more of a friend than an uncle so being reminded that he was related to you and also was 100 and something years old was a little exhausting.

"Oh shove off. I'm great but I'd love some help getting this to my room?" You hinted while lifting your large bag.

Steve didn't hesitate to pick it up, absolutely no sign of effort on his face as he did so which frustrated you to no end.

"Thank you Steve" you chirped as he smiled kindly back at you and the three of you began to make your way to the room you would be occupying for the next week.

"So how's your mom?" Bucky questioned genuinely.

"You mean your actual niece? She's good, struggling to enjoy retirement at the moment." You smiled at the mention of your mom.

"I would have thought she would be enjoying it. Teaching always seemed like an exhausting job to me." He mentioned.

You agreed but then remembered "Says you, you've been on the job for over 80 years."

He gave you a side glare and then grumbled, "Touché"

You had arrived at your room, it was just the same as the last time you saw it besides the sheets having been changed, the room vacuumed, and the bed made. You smiled lightly. Tony was as softhearted as they come.

Steve put your bag down and they looked at you waiting for you to do something.

"Well come on! I wanna go say hi to the team!" You gushed as you grabbed their hands and started hurrying towards the living room of the floor where you knew most of the team members would be found on any given day.

As you walked in you heard multiple squeals and you were hugged by two redheads. Natasha and Wanda both loved you as you were about their age and were a little less jarring than most of the men they spent the day with. "I missed you guys." You whispered to them as the hugged you, Bucky and Steve having moved off to the couch to chat while you caught up with everyone.

"You missed us?! We have so much to tell you! What has taken you so long to come back here?!" Wanda whined a little.

"Buck wasn't around for the last couple weeks, he was away!"

"So? We are here and you're welcome any time, you know that!" Nat scolded. You knew she was right but you didn't want to intrude.

"You could never intrude." Wanda responded and you glared that she read your mind. She gave an apologetic look but you knew it was mostly fake. You were then pulled away from them by a rather large hand, when you turned around you saw the blond god who you were so fond of.

"Lady Y/N! How great to see you! So glad I was here when you were visiting." He said merrily. You wrapped him in a hug, it was a rare occasion that he was actually here when you stopped by. Other than them there was only one other person in the room, someone you presumed to be Sam Wilson. He was smiling at you already, waiting his turn to introduce himself. When you pulled away from Thor he walked over and you took a moment to admire him. He was tall and strong looking but his eyes were gentle and he looked like he gave good hugs and made people laugh. He stuck his hand out to you.

"Y/N, right? I'm Sam." He smiled. You smiled right back and shook his hand.

"No no no, no flirting." Bucky called from the couch, glaring daggers at Sam in front of you, your hand still holding onto his as you both looked over.

"Buck I didn't even do anything!" You whined, slightly embarrassed as you blushed. Sam noticed and just smiled again but let go of your hand.

"So you’re the Bionic Man's niece, yeah?" You smiled and nodded.

"Great niece, technically. My grandma is his little sister." You smiled and Bucky groaned.

"God that makes me sound so old."

"That's cause you are old!" You countered and Bucky just grumbled under his breath something about how he could still kick it with the kids.

You made eye contact with Sam again but looked away shyly and moved toward the kitchen in the common area to get yourself a cup of water. The conversation around the room buzzed and the only person who wasn't occupied was Sam as he followed you over to the kitchen.

"A shame I haven't met you before, I’ve been missing out." He smirked. He seemed a little cocky but you didn't mind. In fact you found it kind of attractive as it complimented your shy personality pretty well.

"Well don't worry I've heard all about you, Bird-Man. My relative has a grudge." You smirked as you sipped your water.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Oh he's just grumpy cause I can beat him in a fight."

"That sounds about right. I can't imagine what else he could be holding against you."

"Pretty soon he's gonna be mad at me for trying to flirt with his niece but I don't think I care much." He smirked.

Your eyes widened but you couldn't hide the smile he gave you very well.

"Oh Sam, I think he would kill us both."

"A worthwhile death." He continued.

"You're gonna have to step up your game then cause from where I'm standing, I don't wanna piss of my uncle with a vibranium arm over just anything." You challenged, wanting to see if he was serious. He smirked at you.

"Challenge accepted." He said and then he didn't leave your side for the rest of the day. This was much to the frustration of Bucky but you were an adult and he had other things he had to do anyway so he left it be besides the constant glare at the man who always seemed to be beside you. He followed you around like a lost puppy as you said hello to the avengers you hadn't seen yet, including meeting Peter for the first time. By the end of the night he was already through your shell and you were conversing with him with no effort. You could feel that this was not going to go well later but you couldn't help yourself.

"You know I'll take you up in that flying lesson sometime, sounds like fun to me." You smiled at him and he beamed back.

"That's why I offered it, I'd love an excuse to spend some more time with you."

"You don't need an excuse, you know. You could just hang out with me." You blushed and he did a little bit too. Without another word you headed to the room he had just walked you to and opened the door.

As soon as you closed it you smiled giddily and slid down the door, you could see Wanda and Nat talking to each other before looking at you. You had planned to have a sleepover the first night you were back and they had been waiting for you for like a half hour.

"Spill!" They both shouted at the same time.

You grinned before telling them about how Sam was being so sweet to you and that you were starting to get feelings for him.

"But it's only been a day, why do I already feel like this?!" You complained

"Y/N, he's been all over you all day, I'm sure he's in the same boat!" Wanda pulled you up from your spot on the floor and brought you over to the couch in your room.

"Yeah he's been following you around with puppy dog eyes. And it's really starting to piss off bucky too, as if they need another thing to hate each other over." Nat sighed.

You felt doubt start to creep in, Bucky was your family and you didn't want to go against his wishes. But Sam was so sweet and arrogant at the same time and the thought of him made your heart pick up speed.

"I'm not gonna act on it yet. I don't wanna make Buck upset over nothing. I'll wait till the end of the week and if it's still a thing I might consider talking to Sam about maybe going on a date." You said, getting quieter and quieter with every word. Both girls yelled out their excitement and began planning your outfits and actions for the next week so you could "keep him interested" in you. You went to bed exhausted but ready to take on the week of figuring out if your chemistry with the superhero was real.

The next week was torturous. Sam was just as flirtatious as he had been the first day and he got bolder and bolder as the week went on. He had asked you out a number of times, each time you responded with some non answer to try to buy more time. Bucky was getting progressively more frustrated about the flirting between you two until day 5 of your stay.

You and Sam were watching a movie together, you told yourself it was just as friends. You were on opposite ends of a couch and you could feel yourself getting more and more tired. Eventually you fell asleep during the movie and Bucky happened to walk by as you did. Sam noticed you asleep and smiled at the sight before he wrapped you in a blanket. Bucky sighed quietly and made his way to the kitchen to get water, not having been noticed by Sam yet who was too occupied with you. As Sam lifted you off the couch and began to carry you to your room, Bucky found it harder and harder to believe that the mans intentions were anything but pure. And he had never seen you so smitten. He begrudgingly decided he would not stand in the way of you two and he might even have to convince you to ask Sam out if you kept up the shy act.

The next day you awoke in your room. Not knowing how you got there you looked around. You remembered falling asleep on the couch while you were watching something with Sam. There was a note on your nightstand so you reached over to pick it up, heart rate increasing as you read the note.

"Didn't want to wake you, I hoped you slept well

- Bird Man"

You smiled as you read the note and began to make your way out of bed. You noticed there were socks on your feet even though you were sure you hadn't put them on. You almost got lightheaded at the realization that Sam put socks on you feet last night before you went to bed so that you wouldn't get cold in the night. The thought made you blush at how domestic it was but you wanted to thank him. You made your way down the hallway, still in your pajamas pants and hoodie you'd worn last night and you knew your hair was a mess. Still when you got to the kitchen and made eye contact with sam, his eyes brightened a bit and a smile came across his face. 

"Thanks for getting me to my room last night." You blushed shyly. You could feel your heart going faster and faster as you looked down at your socks.

"I would happily do that every night if it meant I got to take you out on a date." He smiled, already expecting you to avoid the implication again. You smiled at him and then glanced over at Bucky who was already looking at you. He winked and nodded and you knew what he meant.

You made eye contact with Sam, "Tomorrow night at 7, you can take me to dinner." You said while looking into your mug of coffee you had just poured. You looked up at Sam to see his reaction as his face fell neutral before he grinned. He quickly corrected his face too look like he was less excited.

"I knew I'd get you to crack eventually" he pointed out. You rolled your eyes before turning to walk toward the couch.

"I can take it back" you began before he interrupted you.

"No no, no need to do that, I have a great place in mind for dinner." He quickly said and you just smiled up at him lightly. The rest of the day was spent daydreaming about your date tomorrow.

The next night you were getting ready for your date, you had a flattering dress on and had your makeup done up, just finishing before there was a knock on your door. You checked the time and sure enough it was 7:00 sharp.

You mentally prepared yourself and took a deep breath before opening the door to reveal a fidgety Sam Wilson. The sight made you laugh a bit as he had never looked so nervous. It made you feel a bit better that he was nervous too. You took a moment to look each other over. Sam's eyes drifted south until he reached your legs and then back up to your lips. His eyes stayed there for a second before moving back up to your eyes. You had just finished gazing over his built frame that was squeezed perfectly into his suit. You nearly swooned. He had a bouquet of your favorite flowers ready which you shyly took and put into a vase in your room, thanking him quietly. There was a single moment of nerves before you broke the silence.

"You look very handsome." You smiled as you made eye contact with him, your hands fidgeting.

"I can't even believe I managed to get a date with a girl as pretty as you." Sam smirked before offering his elbow to you, which you promptly took. When you reached the elevator you both saw Bucky standing there with his arms crossed.

"Have her back by 10:30. No funny business." He glared at Sam before looking at you. "Have fun sweetheart, you know how to throw a punch if you need to." He smiled at you as Sam gulped. You gave Bucky a peck on the cheek before you and Sam both entered the elevator and it was on it's way down.

You ended up having dinner at Sam's favorite southern food restaurant in the city. More specifically, Louisiana barbecue. You loved the food and you didn't even feel pressure to eat pretty as you and Sam were having such a good time. You both were wildly overdressed but that was part of the fun. He payed for dinner and you promised to get the next one which had him smiling like a fool cause it meant you would go on another date with him.

After dinner he took you out to a dancing bar, but it wasn't fast paced or gross like many seemed to be in the city. Instead they played slower songs and it was less loud. You were grinning ear to ear as you slowly danced together, pressed together as close as you could be. At about 10:00 you began to head back to the tower. You decided to walk there because you didn't want to get home too fast and it was such a nice night out. You had never felt safer than with Sam at your side either.

When you made it back up you the residential floor of the tower, you saw Bucky sitting in the common space with a glare on. He made eye contact with you and when you smiled at him he winked and made his way to bed, not missing a chance to glower at Sam on his way by. You could feel Sam growing nervous next to you as he walked you back to your room. You turned around to face him and his hands were fidgeting. You took a deep breath to gather your courage before leaning up to him and kissing him deeply. He responded immediately and wrapped one of his hands around the back of your neck. You kissed until you had to come away to breathe and you both made eye contact. He smiled at the event that just happened and he took your hand in his before kissing it.

"I think that was the best date I've ever been on." He smiled.

"Well you're gonna have to top it next time." You smirked. He looked back at you and had a faraway look in his eyes. You said your goodbyes and you went to bed with cheeks that hurt from smiling so much.

He did indeed top it next time, and every date after that.

[remember-to-be-gentle]

Subject: BNHA, Dabi aka Touya Todoroki

Title: House Party Bully 4 (NSFW, fem reader)

Trigger Warning: Non con, pregnancy, (accidentally) induced labor, drinking, smoking (weed), obsession, possessive behavior, forced marriage, dick piercings, family trauma, voyeurism, drunk kisses, jealousy

“Avoid,” Touya said slowly, finally, “the others when you can.” It was obvious advice, especially after what his siblings had done to you, but you just nodded and laid on his bed. He glanced at you and sat down beside you. For a moment, you thought he’d rub your back or pet your hair, but he pushed you onto your side, forcing you to face away from him. “Laying on your side is better for the baby.” 

Right. Even if Touya was, arguably, better than the rest of his family, he was just like them: only after the fetus growing inside you and the things that came with it. Milk, whatever prestige fucked up rich families like these got with grandkids, and ownership over you. 

“I’ll get a job,” Touya added suddenly, “a good one, then we can move out.” 

We. The word felt like an umbilical cord around your throat, connecting you to him and the baby you didn’t want. You were choking. But you needed him. Just as much as he wanted you to need him. “Don’t worry about moving out,” you mumbled into his sheets, “I’m sure your father wouldn’t let us.” 

Touya twitched beside you. He seemed to be thinking because he was quiet for a long moment. The mattress caved closer to you. “Hey,” he said, voice soft, “you didn’t like my dad better, right?” 

Something cold washed down your body. Every muscle from your head to your toes froze and curled in on themselves. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You felt him roll over, his back nearly pressed against yours, heat soaking through your shirt with unwanted comfort. He was silent for a moment, like he’d rather drop the subject, but then pushed on to say, “You didn’t like him better when he fucked you, did you?” 

With as much ice as you could muster you replied, “I didn’t like it when either of you assaulted me.” 

That seemed to rile Touya up because the bed shook with the weight of him leaping off it. He grabbed your arm, forced you onto your back, his grip bruising. “I didn’t assault you!”

“Then what would you prefer to call it Touya?” You glared at him, the ice in your body replaced with insufferable heat. “Rape? Teaching a rat a lesson?” 

He backed off at that. “No, it was...” He bit his lip. “Forget it.” 

He made for the door and your rage washed away with panic. “Where are you going?” You may have hated him, but you needed him to keep the hungry mouths of his siblings off you. 

Touya stopped in the doorway and sighed. “I’m going out. The others won’t bother you if you stay in here.” He started to close the door behind him and stopped, one cerulean eye locking onto you. “If you need anything, you can call me.” 

You wanted to say something back, something biting and cruel, but the ugly truth was that he’d saved you and you needed him. Your throat was tight when you said, “Okay.” 

The door shut. 

You laid back on your side. How did Touya bullying you turn into this? You were both just college students and suddenly you’d been roped into his fucked up family and forced to have his fucked up baby. There was a little him inside you. The thought made you sick to your stomach, but you laid there and held onto the sheets that smelled like your captor. The safest Todoroki. What an ironic thought. It was like calling him the least poisonous snake: regardless of which one sunk their teeth into you, you weren't coming out unscathed.

At some point you must have fallen asleep because you were startled awake by your phone ringing. You were too groggy to check the ID and answered. “Hello?” Your voice was weak from disuse. 

“Did I wake you?” Ice ate your bones when you heard the voice. Deep baritone and stone cold. Enji Todoroki continued, “Sorry. I managed to pull some strings with a friend of mine to keep this quiet. Long story short,” he paused, “welcome to the family Mrs. Todoroki.” 

Every word, every reaction, every thought vanished into a vacuum, a vacuum named shock. He’d done it. Any hope of escape after the baby was born vanished just like that. You were branded with his name just as your body would never be the same after it delivered his baby. You couldn’t even muster up the strength to hang up the phone. 

“Rei and I,” Enji continued as if he hadn’t just destroyed your future, “are on our way home now. I’ve got another doctor’s appointment scheduled tomorrow.” 

You didn’t reply.

“We’ll able to find out the gender of the baby,” he said, “Rei’s eager to know but Touya might prefer the surprise. Do you have a preference?”

The blank space that held your feelings erupted. Your preference? Now he cared about your fucking preference? Fuck no. Fuck that. You screamed and hung up, throwing your phone across the room into a pile of dirty laundry. You wanted to punch Enji in his stupid face. You wanted to kick Touya in his breeding balls. You wanted to... You screamed again and this time tears streamed down your face. Defiance leaked out of you with every sob. You were trapped. 

*******************************************************************************************

For the next four and a half months it felt like Enji was keep you away from Touya. He dragged you from appointment to appointment, insisting you stay in your room. Thankfully the other three hadn't so much as knocked on your door, but that didn't ease your anxiety in the slightest.

As your belly grew rounder it became harder to attend classes without people gossiping, especially with Enji by your side. When you couldn't fit into your desk one day it hit you that you'd have to balance Touya, school, and a needy baby. Suddenly you weren't so sure you wanted to attend classes in person.

It didn't help when you could feel it, yes it because Enji had decided to withhold the baby's gender, kicking inside you. It hurt. It was like being bullied by Touya all over again. The thought made you want to cry, but you were in class and simply bit your lip. The baby kept kicking.

After you got home from school, there was a note on the kitchen counter. "Out of town for Shouto's jujutsu match. Back Monday - Enji." The house was empty. You had the Todoroki manor to yourself. Was this your chance to run, while they were all gone?

But the front door opened. Touya stumbled in with his friends behind him. He looked at you, snarled, and walked away.

Toga smiled at you. "We're having a party tonight, feel free to come and bring your friend, too!" She pointed at your swollen belly and giggled following Touya.

Shigaraki and Spinner barely nodded at you. Twice gave you a thumbs up.

So this was how Touya got away with his parties.

But still the party could be your escape. A million cars on the lawn and—

You doubled over grabbing the counter to hold yourself steady. Throbbing pain burst around belly button as the tiny Todoroki inside you reminded you of it's presence. The baby could come any day. And then where would you go? Even if you ran you'd be alone, almost due, without any of your things: including the funds needed to simply give birth. No wonder Enji was comfortable taking off: you didn't have another option to leave without endangering yourself or the baby. Fuck.

Grabbing a snack you went back to your room and went to sleep.

*******************************************************************************************

Pounding base ripped you from your dreams. Each vibration traveling down your body and making every cell electrify. A familiar headache formed behind your eyes. This was just like the party nine months ago, disorienting and loud and fuck... The base was making you sick. This needed to stop. Touya. You needed to find Touya.

Quickly you pulled out your phone and called the number that felt like signing away your soul to the devil. It rang and rang and rang. Nothing. Shit. At least you knew where Touya would be. He could stop this.

You made for the door, wobbling and waddling with that cursed ten pound weight on your stomach. Nausea made it hard to focus on where you were. You wanted to vomit. You used the walls to help keep yourself upright as you descended into the bass, cringing when it started pumping louder.

Just gotta get to the study, you thought, that's where Touya always was with his friends.

Even thought you'd lived here for what felt like the better part of your pregnancy, you hadn't had the freedom to walk around alone. It was so big and twisted and confusing, especially since you could barely move. But you could also remember when Touya dragged you to his room, the smell of liquor on his breath and weed in his clothes.

He'd been terrifying then. An unknowable monster that plagued your school life. Now, he was still a monster, but one you were beginning to understand—no matter how much you didn't want to.

You understood that Touya was a result of his toxic family. You understood that Touya would likely never have normal romantic relationships. You understood that you were now parts of both these things. You understood that none of this was your fault and you didn't deserve any of it. And nothing would change in understanding your situation.

You pressed on, breathing hard, and stopped. God you wanted to sit and sleep, but the bass was an ache in your bones that kept biting you awake. You didn't have the energy for this. You checked where you were and nearly sobbed. Big chocolate doors with ornate handles. The study.

You burst through the doors. The smell of weed hit you before anything, making you double over coughing. Enji’s study was exactly how you remembered it, though the potent smell of weed this time was far worse. It was like your body couldn’t handle even the thought of it, your stomach churning, bile lapping at your esophagus. Voices fluttered through the room overlapping and swelling until you could pull out Touya's, talking excitedly. He cut himself and then started again, "There she is." His words were slurred, messy. He’d been drinking. 

He whipped around, nearly falling over his legs to get to you. A hiccup raked up his body and he burst into giggles. “She’s here,” he said again, “she came all the way down here to see me. Are you enjoying the party, babe?” Touya wrapped you in a foul smelling hug, burying his face in your hair. 

Despite how uncomfortable you were, you couldn’t help noticing how he seemed to be avoiding your bloated stomach. “Turn off the music,” you said, “its giving me a headache.” 

“But the party,” Touya whined in your ear. 

“You and your friends can smoke and drink, I don’t care, but the music has to stop. Its driving me crazy.” 

Whatever happy attitude Touya wore vanished. He dropped his arms from around you leaving you cold. “Its driving you crazy?” He backed you up against the wall, his face inches from yours, a snarl across his mouth. “Do you have any idea how I’ve felt? I’m the one who knocked you up and I barely even see you. We live in the same fucking house! You belong to me and yet you let Fuyu and Natsu suck on your tits like it was their baby inside you.” His blue eyes were fire, boring into you. “The baby isn’t dad’s or my siblings. Its mine,” his fire died out in a moment, head hanging low, the tips of his hair tickling your nose, “even if I didn’t want it.” 

Your mouth fell open. This was his scheme, his plan, to knock you up, keep you at his side and he didn’t even want it? “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Tears exploded out of your eyes, your nose swelling. “You took my freedom, my life, and you didn’t even want it?” Your voice broke into a shriek, “You bullied me every fucking day because you have a fucking crush on me and—and—.” You burst into sobs, whatever thoughts you had died on your tongue. 

Touya stared at you, his eyebrows narrowed. You thought he was going to yell at you, tell you it was your fault for making him like you in the first place. “You know,” his voice was rough, deep, “I always liked it when you yelled at me.” And then his mouth was on yours, teeth against teeth and tongue sloppily trying to enter your mouth. 

You tried to push him off, anger flaring in your chest like a wildfire, but Touya was bigger and stronger. Even drunk and high he was powerful. Another reminder of the night he’d assaulted you. Another reminder that the Todorokis could lord over you however they pleased. 

One of his friends started laughing. “I’ve never seen Touya get this worked up,” it sounded like Spinner, “wonder how far he’ll go.” 

Touya pulled back, spit connecting your mouths. His chest heaved and so did yours as you both took in oxygen. He turned around, smiled. “You just want to see my dick.” 

The others laughed in that way stoners did when they weren’t sure what was happening but they were still enjoying themselves. “C’mon,” Shigaraki laughed, “whip it out, Toga said you got a new piercing.” 

“Gotta get hard first,” Touya laughed. He dragged you to the automan and pushed you onto your back, your head just a foot from where the others sat smoking. The smile on his face vanished when your shirt rode up over your swollen stomach, your belly button flat against the stretched out skin. Slowly he put his hand on your stomach, feeling how taut it was and froze when the baby kicked. 

He met your eyes. “I—.”

“C’mon Touya,” Toga groaned, her mouth stretched into a hungry smile, “show us how you knocked her up.” They all laughed at that. Of all of them, you would have thought that Toga would be on your side, at least telling them off, but she seemed just as into your torture as the rest of them. 

Touya snapped out of whatever thought he was in, smiling that doped out smile again. He wrapped your legs around his waist and bucked into your clothed cunt. 

A high pitched shriek left your mouth. It was just humping and yet your body was reacting to it like Touya had just pinched your clit. The fiery rage inside you turned into a different type of heat. “Please,” you grabbed Touya’s shirt, “don’t do this.” 

He kissed your cheek. “I’m just giving my friends a show,” he smiled cruelly, “rat.” He bucked again and this time you bit your tongue to keep from crying out. "Ah-ah," Touya whined, "you're not allowed to hold back. We're putting on a show." He dug his tongue into your mouth again, careful to make sure you had nothing to hold back your cries except for him.

He roughly bucked against you again, his flat stomach rubbing over your swollen one. His friends cooed and cawed as he humped you through your clothes, his cock growing stiff and swollen in his pants. Touya grunted into your mouth and then pulled off gasping. "Fuck, I want to be inside." He stepped away, clawing at his pants to free himself. 

You tried to get up, run away, but his friends pinned you down, held you for him. 

Touya didn’t seem to notice the assist, too distracted trying to unhook one of the piercings from his zipper. When he finally managed to free himself, you saw the prince albert piercing you’d felt the first time and new ones along the bottom. Near the base of his cock was the beginnings of a jacob’s ladder. 

He crossed back over to you and yanked off your pants with your panties following close behind. He stared at your exposed entrance, a soft drunk giggle escaping his lips. “I don’t think I got a good enough look at this last time.” He kissed your clit and just as quickly bit into it making you shriek. “God,” he groaned, “you’re pretty.” He aligned himself with your entrance and pushed in. 

A hiss left his mouth, his hands gripping the automan tightly. “Fuuuuuuuck, you weren’t this tight last time.” 

“Last time,” your voice nearly broke, “I wasn’t heavily pregnant.” 

He smirked at you, “That must be the secret to good sex then.” Touya didn't wait for you to adjust, sliding all the way out and back in, his piercings dragging roughly against your walls. A low groan rippled out of his throat. He hunkered down above you, practically tucking himself into you with his head buried in your neck and stomach against yours. He kept up that rough pace as his friends smoked and laughed. 

You winched when the baby started kicking again. 

Touya froze. He’d felt it, too. He lifted himself up, keeping his cock firmly inside you, and ran his hands over your belly. You couldn’t decipher the look on his face. “Hey, calm down,” he said, “Daddy’s right here, there’s no need to freak out. Don’t be so selfish with Mommy’s cunt.” 

He started up his rhythm again, rougher and deeper. You shrieked when he hit your cervix and then did it again, taking your cries as encouragement. “Stop it,” you begged, pulling at his shirt, “don’t do that you’re gonna—.”

“Gonna make you cum,” Touya chuckled as if he’d finished your sentence for you. He lifted your legs over his shoulders, practically shoving your already impregnated form into a mating press. Each thrust had your heavy belly bouncing, your swollen tits leaking, your throat raw from crying. It should have been uncomfortable and terrible but the ugly truth was Touya knew how to fuck you well, from the first time he’d assaulted you to now, he felt good. 

He was better than his father. 

Touya growled as he started pumping faster, ramming your cervix harder and harder until—

You screamed. This wasn’t you cumming, this was something different, something old and terrible that had your entire body shaking and flexing at once. Hot fluid poured out of you and onto the automan, splashing the front of Touya’s jeans and shirt. 

He froze, that careless smile wiped away in less than a second. “What was that?”

“Holy shit,” Shigaraki muttered, “I think you broke her water.” And then he burst into laughter. Everyone was laughing, everyone except you and Touya. 

“No,” he whined, “nonononononono. Please don’t, no.” He pulled out of you and tried to cover your entrance but it wasn’t done leaking. “I’m not ready for a baby. I’m not ready to be a father. I don’t want... I didn’t...” He locked eyes with you, fear coloring the blue color of his eyes. Of every expression you’d seen him wear, fear was not one of them: until now. He looked at you like you could do something about it, like you could just hold it in and wait until tomorrow, but the baby was coming and it hurt. 

You screamed again and the stoners stopped laughing. 

“Bro,” Toga said, “I think she’s actually, like, y’know.” 

Touya collapsed on his hands and knees, tears flowing down his face. His chest caved and expanded as he panted. “No,” he kept crying. He crawled across the floor to his phone, quickly opening it and dialing a number. You could barely hear the exchange over your pain, a deep and terrible tearing, but you did hear Touya say, “I didn’t mean to. Dad, please, help me.”

You don’t know how long you laid there curled on your side, sobbing in pain, but the study doors burst open, Enji reeking of cold night air in just a button down and slacks. He looked between you and Touya, sighed, and scooped you off the automan. “We’re going to the hospital, you’re gonna be fine.” 

You did not feel like you’d be fine. 

Touya had sloppily redressed himself, still crying. He followed Enji out into the car. He climbed into the passenger seat while Enji buckled you up in the back. You grit your teeth to keep from screaming again. 

Enji shook the car as he climbed into the driver’s seat and peeled away from the Todoroki mansion. “I warned you,” he growled at his son, “that you needed to be delicate with her and what did you do? You tried to fuck her to impress your friends.”

“I’m sorry,” Touya sobbed. 

“You could have given her, or your baby an infection or worse,” he growled, “don’t do it again next time.”

You tried not to think about that last comment. 

The hospital was quick and efficient, taking you into the delivery room. Your mind was blank as they talked about contractions and potential complications. And then you were holding someone’s hand and screaming like you’d never screamed before, in more pain than you’d ever experienced in your life, for more hours than you thought possible in a day. 

When it was done, a nurse dumped your newborn on your chest, a tiny little lump of flesh so red he matched his hair. His father’s hair. His grandfather’s hair. A baby boy. A nurse said something about a name but all you could do was lay there and watch as the baby opened his cerulean eyes and began to wail.

[milkybonya]

In THE DaRk

order 004 for anon: large coconut milk tea (In THE DaRk by BOBBy) with regular tapioca pearls and fresh taro

Warnings: food mentions

Pairing: idol!Hui x delivery worker!reader

Summary: you deliver food to cube ent. and end up becoming friends with Hui, an idol who's at the peak of his career... but he finds himself falling for you even as his songs rise on the charts :")

Word count: like maybe 3k?

[a/n]: i love this request because i love this song and writing it while listening to the song on loop in the dark of my room just made me so happy? also i put wayyyy more effort into this than necessary and it turned out super long >.< i'm so sorry anonnie i hope you like itttt ahhh

Shine, you shine on my existence

Sure, Hui was an idol with a life of his own - especially now, during Shine promotions, that his group, PENTAGON, was blowing up. Yet he never failed to make time for you, because you were the light of his life.

As a hardworking idol who was always cooped up in his studio and skipping meals, his members encouraged him to at least order food. He was reluctant but eventually agreed, not wanting to make them worry.

That's where you came in: a delivery worker at a local restaurant not too far from Cube entertainment, Hui's company. A lot of people ordered from your restaurant to Cube, so you weren't surprised when a new order flashed on the iPad screen at your workplace.

"We've got another delivery, [y/n]," the worker at the front told you with a smile, walking to the back to tell the cooks what to prepare.

You tapped your feet against the ground, awaiting the order. Once it was prepared, you carefully placed it in your delivery bag, fastened it to your bike and off you went, wearing a helmet of course.

The gentle breeze was enough to cheer you up and give you energy, despite the scene around you being full of traffic and slightly bleak.

Once you arrived, the guards let you in without even checking your workplace ID this time, recognizing you as a trusted delivery person.

You made your way up to the floor listed on the order, roaming through countless hallways until you finally found the right room. Judging by the area and the doors, it seemed to be full of studios.

The person who ordered this must be working hard, you thought to yourself.

Suddenly, you got an urge to leave a note, wishing the person well. You took out a scrap piece of paper and a pen that you always had handy, your heart racing and your hands shaking at the thought of doing this. You were excited at the idea of the person being happy to see such a cheerful note...

I hope you enjoy this meal and that it gives you enough energy to keep working hard :) Go for it!

After neatly placing the food and note at the door, you knocked and walked away, not wanting to bother the person. Even though you didn't turn your back, you heard the door open a few seconds later.

"Thank you!" a voice echoed through the hall.

You turned quickly to say ‘you’re welcome’ in response and caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a young idol hard at work. His hair was messy and he had dark circles under his eyes, but his mismatches clothes and bright smile were quite cute.

You thought that would be the last you’d see of him, but from that day onwards, he always ordered food from your restaurant at the same time: 2:09pm. Why so specific? You weren’t sure, but that’s how it was, and you being the only delivery worker at your restaurant meant that it would always be you taking the food to him.

The second time you went, you were surprised to see a note waiting on the door for you.

Thank you for your cheerful message... I’ll do my best to work harder!

It made you smile and you decided to leave another note with his order, this time just asking him what his favourite side dishes were so you could tell the cooks to put more of those in next time. Instead of him leaving a note for you with the response, though, Hui decided to text you this time so he wouldn't have to wait for you to make another delivery before you could see his response.

Unknown: This is Hui! Ah, I ordered food from you at 2:09pm? I'm not really picky on side dishes, but one of my members likes kimchi, so could you make sure to leave more of that for me?

You: sure, of course! but how did you get my number?

Hardworking Hui: Ah, sorry! It was on the app since you're the delivery worker... for me to contact you in case you get lost? I'm sorry!

You: No, that's okay! i just wanted to be sure ^^

So after that day, you made sure Hui always got extra kimchi with his order. He would always greet you at the door of his studio, quickly asking about your day and how you were doing. Truthfully, he actually wanted to ask you to come inside so he could talk with you some more, because the two of you would always get an interesting conversation going before you declared you had to leave.

Since he was too shy to ask you in person, he texted you, instead.

Hardworking Hui: could you get the rest of the day off after delivering my order today?

You: why?

Hardworking Hui: so you can eat with me? if that's okay? or just take an hour off!

You: ...

You: Only if you pay for my food :P

Hardworking Hui: deal

So that day, you asked your manager for the hour off from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. She agreed, knowing that you always work hard and deserve a break.

Showing up to Hui's studio with his usual order and some food for yourself in your hands, you knocked a little nervously this time, knowing that this wouldn't just be a delivery, but a whole... hang out? Type of thing?

Hui had made sure to clean his studio to the best of his ability, making sure that there was another comfy chair for you to sit on and that the room didn't smell bad or anything. He lit a couple of candles and vacuumed the place so there would be no dust. When you knocked on the door, he jumped out of his seat with excitement, immediately opening it.

"Hi! Come in," he said, holding the door open so you could step inside. Seeing the cosy, dimly lit space left you in awe.

"It's so cool to see where you've been working away for all this time," you said, sitting down on a chair and putting the food down.

"Yeah... sometimes I get tired of it, but it's home," Hui said, sitting on his studio chair and opening up the food.

"Ah... where's the kimchi?" Hui asked, pointing at all the dishes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I told the cook to include my favourite side dish too, but he must have just replaced the kimchi with this instead, I'm so sorry!"

Hui laughed, shaking his head.

"It's completely fine!" he said, handing you your favourite side dish.

As the two of you began eating, you were able to get to know each other more as you spoke and asked each other questions. Even though it was a little silly asking for each other's favourite colours and seasons, it was a lot of fun, and the two of you turned out to have a lot in common.

Tears are erased by my emotions / Add, add colour to the world

After that day, you weren't just a delivery worker for Hui, and he wasn't just a customer to you. The two of you became close friends, attending the concerts of your favourite artists together. Hui would joke and say that he was attending for work reasons, trying to gain musical inspiration, while you had no real reason to be there. You'd slap his shoulder lightly, telling him to watch his words while he'd laugh at your reaction.

Even though his work was stressful at times, it was days like those that seemed to make him cry in reverse, if that was even possible? You showed up and turned his world around, adding colour onto his black and white canvas.

His members even told him that he seemed more cheerful and energetic despite still working hard in the studio, and Hui even told you that his songwriting process seemed to be running more smoothly.

"I'm so glad we became friends," he told you, leaning his head on your shoulder one day as the two of you sat on a park bench. You smiled, strongly agreeing with him in your own heart.

But do you remember when I mentioned Shine promotions at the beginning of this? Well, let's skip forward to that point.

By then, you had seen Hui and his group perform quite a few times, whether it was at concerts, music shows or even on the TV at your home. You were incredibly proud of him and wanted nothing but for him to succeed.

Every time Hui found you in the crowd at any of his live performances, he'd feel some kind of crazy adrenaline rush as all of his tiredness just seemed to magically disappear. He'd perform as if rent was due just because you gave him the energy to do so.

"Was [y/n] watching us again?" Hyunggu asked backstage after another performance for Shine ended safely.

"Yeah, I saw them there!" Hongseok confirmed.

"Plus, you can tell by the way Hui is acting," Yuto laughed, nodding towards Hui who was frantically texting you asking you if you'd left completely.

You told him you were still at the venue, and he begged you to come backstage. When you arrived, you greeted all of the Pentaboys, who adored you almost as much as Hui did, before joining Hui at his makeup table. You greeted the makeup artist too, out of respect, before asking Hui why he needed to see you so urgently.

"We might win today... I just wanted you to be by my side as good luck," he explained, a clearly worried expression on his face.

It was a shock to you that despite Shine doing so well on the charts, Pentagon still had not gotten their first win, but you knew they were an amazing group, regardless.

What you doing now? What's your plan now?

You placed your hand on top of Hui's, which rested on his own thigh.

"Hui, I know you haven't been getting all the wins you've been expecting, but we can't deny that this song is absolutely a bop and you have all been killing it!" you told him with a smile.

You couldn't tell whether or not your words had any sort of effect on him because he was looking down, but you hoped they at least didn't make him feel worse.

The rest of the Pentaboys cheered hearing your words though, feeling energized at your honest observation.

Hui was looking down because his stomach was tied in knots at the feeling of your hand on his. It was something he'd never felt before... butterflies? He tried to shrug it off but he couldn't stop wondering about your intentions... did you place your hand over his for a reason? What were you trying to tell him? What were you planning?

Inside my brain, after making a place for you / You make it impossible for me to sleep

That night, Hui still couldn't stop thinking about your simple gesture. You didn't mean anything by it, right? It was just a friend comforting a friend... the two of you had been friends for a while now, so why was he thinking into this so much?

As feelings of sleepiness took over, he drowsily wondered what it would be like to hold your hand rather than to just have his hand underneath yours. What would it be like to be held by you?

-

The next day, with more promotions ahead, you made sure to send Hui a text of good luck. You wouldn't be able to watch from the live audience that day, since you had work and deliveries to carry out, but you still wanted him to know that you were thinking of him.

Hui couldn't stop staring at your message of good luck for the whole day, pressing his finger on the heart emoji that you added at the end of your message.

"Hui hyung, are you reading something?" Wooseok asked the leader, sitting beside him on the sofa in the waiting room.

"Huh? N-no," Hui quickly said with a laugh, tucking his phone away.

"You've been staring at your phone all day... what is it, is it a fun webtoon?"

"No, no! Don't worry about it," Hui laughed, ruffling the tall boy's hair.

Wooseok whined, yelling about how the stylist just did his hair. Meanwhile, Hui's heart was racing. Why had he been staring at your text message all day?

You: I'm thinking of you today, Hui! Go get em, good luck <3

Are you thinking of me in this dawn? / I wish there was a continuous portal from my room to yours

Again, that night, Hui couldn't stop thinking about you. This time, it was about the message you'd sent him. He still had it open and was staring at it. He wondered if, when you said you were thinking of him, did that mean you were thinking of him right then and there too? At the same time when he was thinking about you?

Were your sleepless thoughts filled with him, just like his were filled with you-?

Ring ring. Ring ring.

Shit.

He'd been staring at your text and holding his phone so tightly that he accidentally pressed the call icon next to your name.

"Hello?" you answered sleepily. It was 3am and you had been asleep.

"H-hello? [y/n]?"

"Yes, Hui, what is it?"

"I uh..."

He desperately tried to think of an excuse for calling you, any reason-

"I wish there was a portal that went directly from my room to yours."

Really, Hui? Was that the best thing you could think of?

His heart raced and he smiled as he heard your laugh on the other end. He didn't realize he'd balled his other hand into a fist until your laughter made him calm down.

"What are you saying, Hui?"

"I miss you..." he mumbled.

Despite being sleepy, his words still made you nervous. Your heart raced and you wondered what he was trying to tell you.

"I m-miss you too," you croaked out.

"Really?" Hui asked you, sitting up in bed.

"Yeah, really," you said, laughing. It wasn't a lie, either. You'd been watching all of his performances on your phone that day while working, almost falling off your bike because you were that invested. In him.

"Do you wanna meet up now?"

"Now?" you spluttered.

"Yeah... by the Han River?"

You paused for a while before answering.

"Let's do it."

Even if I breathe in the cold air / It feels sweet, so sweet

"AHHH IT'S SO COOOOLD!" Hui yelled into the night air, rubbing his arms and running around in circles beside you.

"Here, take my coat," you said, but instead just wrapping your arms around him.

Hui tensed up, wondering if your arm that was wrapped around his chest could feel his heartbeat.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked.

"Providing you with warmth," you said.

You also felt butterflies stirring within you, realizing that maybe you saw Hui as more than just a friend. Yet you shrugged it off, telling yourself that Hui was an idol and you were just a delivery worker.

You can't know my pathetic feelings / Even if I've confessed a hundred times inside my brain / I'm invisible to you

Hui stayed quiet, closing his eyes tightly and enjoying the feeling of being in your arms on this cold night. He knew this embrace wouldn't last and that maybe it wouldn't happen again, because in his mind, he was invisible to you. Just a friend who you goofed around with, but all of your jokes made his heart rush.

The two of you ran around the grassy banks of Han River together, laughing into the night and chasing each other like kids. Each time Hui caught up to you, he'd wrap his small frame around you so tightly that it made you lose your breath. You told yourself it was just because you were running so hard, but it was definitely something else.

As the sun was beginning to rise and the two of you were finally in your homes, trying to get some sleep, Hui imagined what it would be like to confess to you. What if he confessed right there and then when you hugged him by the Han River? What if he told you how much he likes you and... what if you felt the same? What if you cupped his cheeks in your hands and kissed him right there as the river reflected the starlight from the sky...? What if Hui would drop his phone in shock but would kiss you back more passionately?

No, Hui. No.

If I ever want you to feel the same / That must be greedy, that'd probably be a chance to peek into heaven / 'Cause you are angel

There was no way any of that would ever happen. There was no way you would ever like him back, at least for Hui. You were way too good for him, an angel on this planet full of demons and sinners.

Little did he know that you were also squinting at the sun, struggling to get some sleep as you thought of the way Hui would press his face into your chest every time he caught up to you at the Han River as you chased each other for fun. His bright smile and gentle laughter made your heart feel like the Han River itself, gently flowing along but filled with such a refreshing feeling.

After another week of intense Shine promotions, Hui feeling all sorts of emotions as Shine continued to soar while his feelings for you also grew, it became unbearable. The two of you would talk late into the night, whether it was sending texts because Hui was busy working or whether it was phone calls. Hui thought about you every second of every day and always missed you a ton.

Please know that I like you / I just want to be there for the rest of your life

Hui asked you to meet him in his studio one evening, as he knew your work schedule and knew that you were free. You agreed, slightly confused as to how he was making time to meet with you despite being so busy.

"Hui, I'm here!" you sang, opening the door to his studio and finding him sitting there in his chair, looking especially cute as his hair was slightly ruffled and he wore a big, comfy hoodie.

"[y/n], I have to tell you something," he said, with a slightly sad smile.

"Yeah, what is it?"

You grew worried, but decided not to make a fuss over anything just yet.

"So, for some time now.... well, of course we've been good friends, and I don't want this to ruin that if you don't feel the same..."

He sighed mid-sentence.

"Gosh, I don't know why I'm rambling," he said with a laugh.

You instinctively laughed along.

"Well, [y/n]. I like you... a lot. I know it's pathetic for me to feel this way when I don't even deserve you, but-"

"You like me?" you cut him off.

Hui nodded in response, looking slightly red now.

Nervous and absolutely bewildered, you starting laughing to yourself, making Hui worry if he'd said something wrong.

"Hui, I... I like you too, what the hell?! And here I was thinking I was pathetic!"

"You're not pathetic at all!" Hui said, grinning widely and bright red in the face upon hearing your answer to his confession.

Both of you nervously smiled at each other for some time before Hui broke the silence.

"I know... it may be hard to date me... well no, it will be hard to date me since I'm an idol, but I promise I'll give this my everything. It's a given, because of how much I like you and how lucky I am for you to even date me-"

"I never said I was dating you," you joked.

"What?" Hui asked in shock.

"I'm joking! Hui, it's okay. We'll get through these difficulties together, whatever they may be," you said, holding half of his face in your right hand, stroking his cheek with your thumb.

Hui leaned into your touch, closing his eyes.

"You're right," he said, before turning his face and pressing his lips to your hand.