#so i took a reference and went FINE I'LL DO IT MYSELF

[hayaku14]

GUYS I'M BEGGING

SHINICHI ON A SKATEBOARD

PLEASE

[another-lost-mc]

kisses on the battlefield | solomon x reader

cw: sfw. hurt/comfort. descriptions of canon-typical violence. light angst with a happy ending. gn!reader (referred to as mc, they/them pronouns). wc: 1.7k+

“No, I won't go,” Solomon argued with Diavolo, a large map on the table between them. He was already on edge from the looming danger waiting for them all on the horizon; he wasn't convinced you would be safe if he left you now. He looked to Barbatos for support, but the demon's unreadable expression made him feel even worse about this plan.

You were assigned leadership over the group of witches and wizards sent by the Sorcerer’s Society. You shared an apprehensive look with him as you crossed paths outside the tent. You both wanted to linger, to stay and share one more farewell (in addition to the hurried moments you shared earlier that day), but there wasn't anymore time.

Solomon practically threw his hands up in the air and spun on his heel so he could follow you, Diavolo's orders be damned. He knew the human sorcerers were responsible for defending the eastern quadrant—he'd find you and keep you safe. That was his intention, until Barbatos blocked his way and Diavolo called his name behind him.

Solomon snarled in frustration as he turned back to the demon prince. "The reapers don't need me. Let me pass."

But Barbatos was unmoving, and Diavolo shook his head. “The reapers need your help repairing the damage to the seal that allowed this to happen. We need to stop the hostile force here, before the three realms descend into chaos. Your pacts should give you the additional reinforcements you need.”

With a few exceptions, of course—Asmodeus and Barbatos were both needed elsewhere, and Solomon knew he wouldn't be able to summon them.

Solomon gritted his teeth. "Fine, then I'll bring MC with me. They can assist with repairing the seal." And I can keep an eye on them myself.

Diavolo sighed heavily, and Solomon saw something vulnerable in his eyes, something that looked like regret. “MC is too important to our defenses. The human sorcerers need someone to lead them that they can trust in your place. They're also the only one capable of empowering the Avatars of Sin to bolster our ranks, should we need them to."

Diavolo understood Solomon’s hesitancy. He had a similar conversation with you, privately, before Solomon arrived. You were equally torn about being separated from him and facing the unknown dangers alone. You took less convincing to go along with Diavolo's plan—you knew this was the best course of action, even if you didn't like it.

Unfortunately, there was no guarantee Diavolo could make to you that Solomon would return unscathed while he assisted the reapers with their task. Likewise, there was no promise Diavolo could make to Solomon that even if he returned, you would be unharmed.

“You have my word that I will do everything in my power to keep MC safe,” Diavolo told him seriously. It was the best the demon prince could offer to appease Solomon's doubts, but the oath tasted like ash on his tongue.

Barbatos glanced at Diavolo knowingly behind the sorcerer's back, and the unspoken truth hung between them: Solomon would become their enemy too, should they fail to protect you.

Solomon realized he had little choice. He told himself that he would do this for you, because you deserved better than a future torn apart by war and death. He uttered a curse under his breath and glared venomously at Diavolo before he disappeared.

Solomon and the reapers finally sealed the magical tear that allowed the eldritch beasts to invade from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. He went to the battlefield to find you as soon as Thirteen assured him that their task was complete.

He expected to find you on the eastern front with the other sorcerers, but all he found there was the aftermath of carnage. The ground was broken and scorched by flame and it ran wet with odd, inky-black blood. He realized quickly that the largest battle must've been fought here and his blood froze in his veins.

He finally stumbled on some lingering demons and human sorcerers that were helping evacuate the remaining survivors. As soon as they mentioned a healers' camp set up near RAD, he teleported immediately to the Devildom.

Solomon recognized the battle-weary faces of his demon and angel and human acquaintances when he arrived, but he couldn't bear to stop until he found you.

His heart clenched with equal parts hope and worry when he finally spotted Asmodeus and Simeon speaking together near one of the tents. They both greeted him with relieved expressions despite their dirtied faces and ripped clothing, stained with mud and gore.

"It's good to see you," Simeon said, clasping his shoulder.

Solomon didn't have time for pleasantries. "I just arrived. Where's MC?"

Asmo shook his head. "They're fine. Lucifer and Mammon took them to one of the tents back there," he said, pointing to a small cluster of tents close to the RAD building.

Solomon tried to push past him, but Asmo grabbed his arm. He didn't flinch when Solomon bared his teeth angrily at him. "Let me go."

"Wait," Asmo urged him quietly. "MC's mostly unharmed, but Solomon it was—it was bad."

Icy dread flooded his body all over again. "Tell me."

Diavolo snapped the would-be assassin's neck in his grasp before he flung the limp corpse aside. Not far from him, Barbatos eviscerated an enemy with a slash from the glinting dagger in his hand.

"I don't like this," Lucifer muttered at his side. Diavolo nodded and peered around. The demon army was anxiously waiting, but the invasion they anticipated was nowhere to be seen. He trusted Thirteen's information that the dark, otherworldly threat had broken through the realms' defenses, so where—?

"My lord," Barbatos breathed, staring at something behind him in the distance.

Diavolo turned as a bright red flare shot into the dark sky. Another flare followed, and another, and another after that, until the sky was littered with dozens of fiery wisps of magic. It was a signal to warn the other defensive positions that the intruders were spotted, and they all came from the east.

The wind carried the shrill, foreign language of nightmare creatures as small portals appeared across the battlefield and the monstrous entities charged through and finally began their attack.

In an instant, another large, dark portal opened above the area where you and your fellow sorcerers were stationed. The ground shook as something shot from the portal and engulfed the eastern battlefield in purple flames and black smoke.

Oh, no.

Lucifer grunted at Diavolo's side and suddenly disappeared as the power of your pact summoned him to you. Barbatos was already redirecting forces to aid the human defenders, but Diavolo felt dread pool in his stomach. He took off in flight and slashed at everything in his path, hoping they weren't too late.

Solomon paused outside your tent when he heard Mammon's familiar voice within; he sounded exasperated.

"I don't care whatcha say, Satan says you gotta rest," the Greed demon lectured you.

"Mammon, I promise, I'm okay—"

The ice in Solomon's heart cracked when he finally heard your voice.

You were alive.

"Yeah, we'll see 'bout that. How many fingers am I holdin' up?"

"...three?"

Mammon scoffed. "Lucky guess."

Solomon couldn't wait anymore. He pulled the flap aside and poked his head inside the tent. Mammon was holding three fingers in front of your face, and you were trying to push his hand away. Your face lit up with recognition when they both looked to see who had arrived.

"Look, your boyfriend can talk some sense into ya. I'll see about getting you somethin' to eat." Mammon paused when he was passing Solomon on his way out and leaned towards him. "MC got hit by some type of curse, they were real dizzy for a while. Satan thinks it's worn off, but they need to take it easy. Got it?"

Solomon stared at you but nodded slowly. As soon as Mammon left the tent, he stepped towards your cot in something like a trance. He sat on the edge of the bed and glanced down when you grabbed both his hands in yours.

"I am so happy to see you," you breathed. Your smile trembled and tears dotted your lash line.

Solomon held your hands for a moment before he rested them on your lap and cupped your cheeks instead. He cradled your face in his hands so gently. He didn't know what to say. Words failed him—he was overwhelmed by the possibility of losing you earlier, and now by the relief you were here really here.

His eyes roamed your face desperately, drinking in the sight of you—a battle-worn version of you, perhaps—but in this moment, you were everything to him. He didn't know how to put his feelings for you into words, so he leaned forward and kissed you instead.

You made a surprised noise against his lips, but your fingers grasped weakly at the tattered sleeves of his coat and you drew him even closer. It was less of a kiss and more of a desperate press of your chapped lips against his, but you felt his warm breath fan across your skin and savoured the familiar taste of him on your tongue. It was comforting proof that he was alive—that you both were.

Solomon's body trembled so much it shook the rackety bed you were in, and he broke the kiss with a sob. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, the words raspy with so many emotions. "I never should've left you."

You shook your head and the corners of your lips twitched upward. "I'm grateful that I had such a good teacher," you joked, but it sounded flat to your ears when your tired voice betrayed you.

He leaned forward and buried another sob into the crook of your neck. He crushed your body to his and he hoped the salty tears on your skin and his arms wrapped tightly around you conveyed everything he felt for you—

—he won't ever leave you, and nothing in the three realms or beyond will ever hurt you ever again—

—but all his strangled voice could manage to croak out was a broken, "I love you."

You closed your eyes and smoothed your fingers through his hair, damp with sweat and dirty from the battlefield. His arms squeezed you even tighter, and you smiled despite the tears rolling down your cheeks. "I love you too."

read more: solomon masterlist | obey me! masterlist

[passionateseadruid]

Snake king’s bride 7

Holiday Havoc part 1 of 2

CW: Swearing, religious topics, Violence, one mention of dub-con and more

Summary:

This chapter was brought to you by spite and Lucifer’s slutty waist and sluttier child bearing hips. Man needs to close his FUCKING LEGS!

Notes:

HEY REALLY QUICK IMPORTAINT NOTE: So in this chapter there's gonna be a lot of references to religion and a surprise and ONE mention of Dubcon at the end. If you are uncomfortable feel free to skip this chapter. If you want to skip the chapter but you want to see the surprise I’ll leave a note at the end.   Also sorry this took so long to get out, I was having a hard time getting inspiration for this and then my computer broke. And on top of that a good 30 minutes of work was Deleted! Fuck ao3

It's been a few weeks since you've met Fizzarolli. He hasn't Been able to find anything but you're hopeful because you'll actually get to see him again at the end of the week for the kings annual holiday party. To top it all off you haven't bought a single present for anyone (plus you're not even sure who it's appropriate to buy presents for).

But none of that is what you were concerned with right now. No, right now you have to convince the short blond idiot in front of you not to wear a green tree print tux embroidered top to bottom in tinsel, lights, and other decorations.

"First of all, you are NOT coming with me to my parents dinner-"

"Of course I am! I have to introduce myself to my new in-laws." He cuts you off playfully sticking out his forked tongue.

"I figured you'd overstep again." You sighed. "If that's the case then secondly you cannot wear that to this dinner. All of my brothers are gonna be there, plus Lilian is gonna be there. I want to make a good impression so that you don't kill them."

"Okay fine. What do you want me to wear?" He sighed. Under his happy exterior he was fairly nervous.

You went into his closet and looked through his clothes. "We also need to set up some ground rules. My entire family is veryreligious and while I'm no Mother Teresa I still don't want them to worry about me."

"Teresa was such a goodie two shoes. I observed her when she was alive and she was even more virtuous than anyone else makes her out to be." He sighed and looked toward the ground for a moment. "She... reminds me of someone I knew back in heaven. Or she did, but the angel I knew... changed"

"Really? You don't talk about your past much."

"...You said you had ground rules for me." Lucifer avoided your eyes as he changed the subject.

"Firstly, don't tell them anything about you being the devil; or about heaven or hell; oh or about our situation. Secondly, don't mention Charlie; I don't want them freaking out about you being billions of years older than me, or about the fact that you have a daughter whose old enough to be my sister."

"She's actually old enough to be your great grandma."

"And you don't find any problem with this relationship."

"Darling look I know that we're an... ahem... unusual couple but I can't go on without you. I'll do anything to have you." He cups your chin and forces a kiss.

"Rule three, you are not allowed to be overly sexual. I have four brothers and three of them have kids so no groping me and no talking about how you wanna diddle my holes in my sleep."

"That's disgusting, I wouldn't do that to you." He defended against your accusation. 

"Okay we should probably go over each of my family members and their jobs. I hope we'll have enough time to go over this and get them presents."

"Don't worry! We'll just give each of them $10,000."

"Hells currency isn't going to be valuable on earth.

"I know. But for all your protests towards my affection you sure seem to forget who I am. I'm the Devil darling. I have pretty much every politician in my pocket. Here check this out!" He pulled you away from the clothes and into a side room off of his bedroom. Never a good thing to have. He shows you a room that's mostly filled with carnival games. "Here I'll spin this wheel, you take a dart and throw it at them. Whoever it lands on I'll go have a little chat with."

"How about you do that and I'll go pick out something for you to wear." This was just too weird. "If you're absolutely serious we'll need 14 grand."

////////////////////////////////////////

About an hour later you two were sitting in the kitchen going over your family members. He wore the red sweater with a big duck plastered on the front and black pants you'd picked out. It was annoying having him matching your red sweater and floor length black skirt but nothing could be done about it considering the only other option was letting him dress like an idiot.

"Okay so my Mom’s name is Janice, she likes crafts. Dad's name is Dalton and he and my oldest brother Austin like to weld and woodwork. Austin is divorced and has only one girl, her name is Monika. Don't worry she's probably not gonna want to talk to anyone let alone you. My next oldest brother is Peter who's married to Margaret and they has twin boys named Christopher and Evan. Everyone calls Christopher CC though, since he likes that the best. The twins and their dad like rollercoasters and the batfam. Dallas is the brother I'm closest with and he is the epitome of middle child, very class clown type. He has two kids a boy names James and a girl named Missy. He lost his wife last year so don't don't bring it up okay? And finally my spoiled brother Michael. He's the youngest son, my mom's pride and joy. The golden boy, her favorite. Him and his Fiancée got married this summer in July. She despises me so whatever you do bite your tongue and be as nice as you can to her okay? The last thing I need is for Maggie to start crying."

"Golden boy Michael hits a bit to close to home for me." Lucifer looked away from you. Just anywhere away from your figure.

'Oh like that isn't your fault.' You thought, thankful that he couldn't read your mind. "Got all that?"

"Yep." He motions to a notepad that he wrote it all down on. "Quick question. What's the "BatFam"?"

"Bat family. Like Batman and all his robins. Here I should have a picture on my old phone of them last year trick or treating. Peter was Batman, Margaret was cat woman, Evan was Nightwing AKA Dick Grayson, and CC was the fifth robin, Damien Wayne."

"What about your old roommate?"

"Lilian moved in with her uncle when we were 14. He worked a lot to provide for her so she was left alone most holidays. I invited her over one year and she basically became part of the family. Are you ready to go? The fudge I made yesterday has probably settled by now."

"Yeah, let's go." He held out his hand. You took the fudge in your hands instead. He frowned and opened the portal. You both stepped through and found yourselves at your parents house. Lucifer knocked on the door and 

"Auntie!" James shouted from behind the CC who'd opened the door.

"Hi auntie!" CC smiled as the two boys hugged you.

"Hi boys! Let me get inside and put the fudge down." You smiled warmly, not noticing the short man behind you seething. Yes Lucifer knew how childish it was to be jealous of two young boys, and your nephews at that, but he couldn't help it. You smiled so warmly at them and you gave them the attention he so desperately craved.

You two walked in with the boys in toe. 

"How's my favorite baby sister?" Dallas asked as you set the fudge down on the counter and he picked you up to twirl you from behind. "Better not be doing the Devil’s Tango with that deviant." He teased quietly so only you heard him.

You giggled. "I'm doing fine."

"You better be! Do you know how worried we were when Lilian told us you ran away with your fiancé! None of us even knew you were engaged! Why didn't you tell us?" Austin pulled you out of Dallas's hold and squeezed your shoulders protectively.

"Her and I had a bit of a spur of the moment engagement. I mean if it feels right and they’re the one, why not tie the knot." Lucifer put his arm around your waist. "Hi, call me Lucy. Lucy Magne." He held out his other hand for either of your brothers to take. Austin takes his hand and his eyes widens when he feels the Devils cold black hand.

"Sorry. It's a skin condition. Very rare. Not hereditary."

"Uh huh." Austin looked suspiciously at him.

"Bestie!" Lilian runs up to you.

"Lilian hi! I- oof!” You were cut off by her hug.

"Why didn't you tell me you got a sugar daddy?" She whispered.

"A what?!" You blushed.

"Come on I'm not dumb. A man shows up in a clean white suit and asks about all the things you like. He says he wants to provide for you. It's so obvious it's painful."

"Well it's not as simple as that." You tried to explain but you were pulled away by your parents.

"Sweetheart! Where have you been? So much has happened in these past four months." Your mom hugged you. "I'm sorry mom. Things just happened and my life got kinda hectic."

"You're not pregnant are you?" She asked.

"What? No."

"Then why did you drop out of college? You practically fell off the face of the earth. You're only 19, you should live your life. You don't need to grow up so quickly. We already have 5 grandchildren, you don't need to rush into marriage and family life. You should enjoy being young."

"I know mom." 'But I don't really have a choice.' "Him and I aren't rushing in to anything like that though. He's just… passionate about me and kinda… clingy."

"Come on Janice. We raised our girl right. She knows not to run around with degenerates." Your father came up to you both and squeezed your mother’s shoulder reassuringly. "Hi pumpkin." He turned to you.

"Hi dad." You two hugged each other. He led you over to the dining table and sat you down next to Lucifer who was arm wrestling with Monika.

"Why you going easy on me, old man? Just cause I'm a girl?"

"Haha… hah…" He chuckled awkwardly. "Who is she Goliath? I wasn't going easy on her." He whispered to you.

You looked at Monika. "Suplex him next." You smiled towards her as Lucifer's face fell. "It's nice to see you off your phone for once Monika."

"I guess I'm in a holiday mood since it's nearly Christmas." Everyone eventually came over to the table to eat.

////////////////////////////////////////

After about an hour of talking with your siblings you heard crying coming from the playroom your parents built decades ago.

"Is anyone hurt? Did the bookshelf fall down on someone? Did the curtain rod smack someone on the head?"

"Your freaky Fiancé made Missy cry." Evan pointed at you accusingly as James held the tot in his arms.

"What did you do?" You asked Furiously.

"Nothing." He held his arms up defensively. "It was just some light teasing."

"He said the goat man was gonna eat me!" Missy sniffled. 

"What goat man?" You rubbed her cheeks, whipping her tears away.

"Krampus." James answered.

"I didn’t say he was gonna eat her. I said Krampus beats naughty children who don't share with their siblings." Lucifer explained.

"I didn't even want the stuffed moose that badly. I swear I didn’t Auntie."

You shushed James and turned to the Devil. "What is wrong with you?! Why would you think that’s okay to say to CHILDREN?!"

"Honey I-"

You ran your hand through your hair. "You know what? I want you out. I’ll see you tomorrow but right now I need to be alone."

"What…?" His eyes widened.

"Leave. You've caused enough commotion for my family. My brother Austin thinks you're a creep. My mom, Dallas, and Lilian all think you're a deviant. And now you're traumatizing my niece and Nephews."

He left out the back door and you explained the situation to your parents afterwards.

////////////////////////////////////////

"Okay seriously this guy’s bad news sis." Michael persuaded as you two sat on the couch. It's been almost an hour and things are starting to die down. You and your youngest older brother sat in the kitchen talking by the island. "Look I know we've never been super close but you're my favorite sister and I worry about you. Without you, I'd be the one they shirk responsibility of watching the kids onto."

You rolled your eyes. 'Of course.' "So what do you suggest I do now?"

"Dump him. It's not like you need to get married. I mean, come on. You? A wife? HA! No, you're not the marriage type."

"I suppose. The only problem is that I can't get this stupid ring off." You look away. He goes to the cabinet and pulls out some vinegar. He grabs your hand and pours a bit on your ring but it won't come off. He pulled and pulled but it still wouldn't come off.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY BRIDE?!" A distorted voice came from the Fireplace in the living room. Out stepped Lucifer back in his white suit with his top hat. His red horns popped out of his head, fire sprouting between them. Just like at the ball; only this time he sprouted a tail. He grabbed you and pulled you toward the fireplace.

"NO! LET ME GO!" You thrashed in his hold. In a Last ditch Effort you grabbed the crucifix hanging on the wall and said, "Matthew 10:14 Begone Satan!"

"Ow! First of all it only works if you say the whole thing. Secondly IM NOT HIM!!" He slapped the cross out of your hand and slapped you to the floor. "AND FINALLY YOU REMEMBER WHAT I SAID WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU EVER BROUGHT UP THAT BOOK AGAIN. HOW ABOUT I KILL YOUR FAMILY INSTEAD SO YOU LEARN NOT TO FUCK WITH ME- Ah!" You two were cut off by a shot ringing out throughout the house and your dad holding a smoking shotgun in the doorway. "FUCK YOU! THAT’S GONNA BRUISE LIKE A BITCH TOMORROW!!"

"NO NO NO, PLEASE PLEASE. I'll do anything you want but please don't hurt my family." You clung to his striped vest as hot, fat tears ran down your face. 

His cheeks flushed at the sight of you sobbing, begging on the ground. He bit his lip as he fantasized about all the things he could do to you here and now.

"Stop! His skin is turning red! You're making him angrier!" Michael called.

"Shut up you horse-shit eater! Ah!" He cried as your mom rushed in and sprayed him with holy water. A few places on him started to blister like a burn. A few on his right horn and arm and one on the shell of his ear.

"PLEASE! ILL DO ANYTHING!" You begged, wrapping your arms around his small waist.

"I'll spare them if you vow to never contact them again. And I get to do whatever I want to you tonight."

"Deal!"

"NO!" Several members of your family shout. He envelopes your hand as a fiery illusion overtakes both of your hands and he pulls you into the fireplace.

Notes:

Yep, your dad has a shotgun now! Yay?j

[killer-nightmare0]

Part 2 enjoy little nightmares!

Lucifer looked at Charlie before continuing to stare down alastor. "What's wrong with the little dove?" He asked Charlie eyes not leaving where you were sitting except for the occasional flicker to make sure alastor hadn't moved to go after you. Charlie looks confused but then realizes who he is referring to. "OH y/n? They just are extremely shy I would have thought you would know that by now dad. You've seen them around the hotel before." Lucifer hums in acknowledgement, but he can't help but think there is more to you than just being shy. He took his eyes off your seat and alastor for a split second only to realize alastor was missing. He frantically looks around the foyer for any sign of him only for him to appear right before his very face. "Why hello lucifer what brings you to the hotel this afternoon?" Alastor grumbles out frustrated that he came in ruining his chance to find out who was on his doe's mind. Lucifer looks directly at alastor attempting to not start a fight for Charlie's sake. "Do I need a reason to vist MY daughter?" Lucifer putting a heavy emphasis on the word my. Alastor just continued to look down on the 6ft tall king of hell with his signature smile feigning ignorance. He saw lucifer looking at HIS doe earlier and he won't allow it. Wait no your not his he doesn't realize why he thinks such things. Maybe it's just due to him wanting your soul. Yeah. That's what he'll chalk it up to. "No you don't obviously, you just normally don't come over unannounced/uninvited". Now it was Charlie's turn to stare in disbelief. Alastor had just insulted lucifer her father to his face telling him he was essentially unwelcome In her hotel. The nerve. Before she could say anything she was cut off by lucifer himself. " I need no invitation to visit MY daughter you tacky radio host. Not that the reasoning for my vist matters however I will enlighten you. I wanted to see how the little dove has been settling in. Making sure they aren't causing my dear daughter any trouble." Charlie awed at her dad being so kind although part of it was a lie. But he was the sin of pride itself, the king of hell there was no way he would just come out and say that he was interested in meeting them. Alastor rolled his eyes before speaking. "The little doe is doing just fine." He said straining through his teeth. He kept his smile per usual however he wasn't going to just let someone walk over him regardless of who he is. "Well seeing as the reason for your visit had been remedied I guess you'll be off." He began to push lucifer towards the door hopefully so he would leave and he could go and see how the doe was doing. However before alastor could get lucifer out of the door the small 6ft man in front of him decided to turn into a snake and slither back into the foyer. Looking alastor dead in his face he as he began to speak. "How am I to take your word for it I need to meet the dove myself. After all I should know all of my subjects shouldn't i?" He looks at alastor thinking he corned him but alastor had another thing up his sleeve. "Well if you wish to know all of your subjects why not start with the vee's I'm sure they would be oh so great full for a vist from the king himself." Alastor smirked to himself he would kill 2 birds with one stone. Get lucifer off his back and give the vee's trouble. What more could the man ask for. Until lucifer opened his mouth once more. "I do unfortunately know of the vee's already however the little dove is staying with my daughter and I need to make sure she will be safe." A smug grin crossed his face as he knew alastor had been bested this time. Alastor sighed "oh well I guess it can't be helped then why don't you have a seat and I'll send angel up to retrieve the darling doe." Alastor sends a look to angel telling him to go. Angel rolled his eyes and flips alastor off as he climbed the banister in order to reach your room. While angel went to go get you lucifer and alastor sat in the foye awaiting the arrival of the "little doe/little dove"

TBC

[lovegalor333]

fresh start

part four (chapter 10-12) previous part • next part

word count: 6.9k

content warnings: vomit

Lily

Time was moving fast in my first semester in Connecticut. August had flown by in a whirlwind of classes, new friends, finding my feet at work and navigating mine and Paiges clandestine meetings.

As September dwindled on we debated telling our nearest and dearest hoping to be able to spend more time together outside of our cars and closed bedroom doors. We ultimately decided to keep things under wraps a little longer, the reason going unspoken but the truth was, how could we explain us to others when we hadn't even defined us to us?

I could confidently say that Paige was the only person I was entertaining and I intended to keep it that way. I couldn't speak for the blue eyed girl but I was equally confident that I was the only person she was entertaining. I mean it would be hard for her to have anyone else in her life, between training, classes and work commitments she barely had time to just be and when she did, she was tucked away in a corner of Storrs with me.

We spent most evenings buckled in our cars, taking turns to be the passenger and driver. Paige enjoyed being behind the wheel so I took the role of passenger princess most of the time but I didn't mind. Getting to watch Paige do the simplest of tasks like driving brought me so much contentment.

We frequented the Fro-Yo store we went to on our first date - which Paige now refused to call a date because of its simplicity and spontaneity.

"I want a re-do." She had said when I mentioned our first date on our first return to the store. "Why?" I questioned, not seeing an issue with the frozen yogurt store being part of our history. "Because you deserve more." She told me and promised a 'proper' first date.

I didn't care where I was with Paige just being with her was more than enough.

While our roommates were out, we bunkered down in our apartments watching movies and sharing our favourite TV shows, silently slipping out before anyone returned home and caught us tangled together.

Kelsey was definitely getting suspicious of my actions but I'd been able to play it off, blaming work and an ungodly amount of 'library sessions'. Lucky for me, she had picked up a job which meant more of her time was occupied meaning she was less focused on my whereabouts.

Paige and I still managed to spend time with each other around our friends, it just meant no PDA but that didn't stop the stolen glances and covert touches shared.

"Do you have to leave?" Paige dramatically wined, her bottom lip poking out and eyes hooded making her look like a sad puppy.

"Yes, P." I say peeling myself off the girl that was spread out on her bed, me tucked perfectly into her side like we were two pieces of a puzzle that were made to be connected.

"The girls will be back any second and I have dinner plans with Hannah and Kels." I remind her.

"Fine." She says feigning annoyance.

Paige had texted me to come over after Azzi, Nika, Ice, KK and Ines had left for late Friday classes and I immediately complied. Time with Paige, after a long week of studying and writing up notes for Marcus to turn into articles, was just what I had needed to shut off.

"But I'll see you tomorrow right? You're coming to the party?" Paige asks and I nod my head as I stretch out my hands for Paige to take and I pull her up from her bed.

There was a party on campus tomorrow in one of the frat houses and apparently it wasn't to be missed.

"We're having pre drinks here, come with the girls." She tells me referring to my roommates.

"Sure." I say melting into Paiges arms as she hugged me goodbye.

Before I had the chance to make my escape, the apartment door clicked open and a series of voices filled the once quiet space.

Paige and I quickly released each other from our grips and sent one another a panicked look, the girls were home and what excuse did we have for being together?

Paiges bedroom door was open and anyone in the living room could see directly in and that's exactly what Azzi did.

"Oh hey Lily! What are you doing here?" She greeted, joining me and Paige in her room.

"Hey Azzi!" I replied racking my brain for an answer to her question.

Paige stayed awkwardly silent by my side, thanks P.

We both watched as Azzi looked between us and then to Paiges bed which was a bundle of blankets with a clear mould of where our bodies laid just minutes ago. Her eyebrows raised in a knowing way and she smiled before turning and walking out, back to the living room.

"Well if she didn't already, I think Azzi knows." I laugh turning to Paige.

She pulls me out of the view of the door, "I trust Azzi." She says pressing a short quick kiss to my lips, neither of us daring to deepen it incase another one of her roommates walked in.

I managed to leave Paiges apartment with no more questions asked and left her to explain to Azzi what she'd interpreted.

Saturday slipped quietly away in a mix of alone time and relaxed small talk with my roommates. We were all lounging around our living room, each occupying a corner of the couch, phones in hand.

Kelsey was playing TikToks out loud occasionally turning her phone to the rest of us when there was a video we 'needed to see'.

I was texting Paige, us both excited about seeing each other later on that night. After a talk with her best friend, it was concluded that Azzi did in fact know that there was something going on between us. She had noticed Paige slipping out of the apartment at random times, not returning for hours and her sudden uninsterest to do things she would usually never say no to. Paige reiterated that she trusted Azzi and if she did, I did too.

are you going to tell kelsey?

idk

i feel pretty bad, with our pact and all

kelseys cool

im sure she'd understand

im just too irresistible to keep a promise like that

ha ha.

im not sure what id even tell her

wdym?

well the pact was to stay single

im not your girlfriend?

oh

dont be like that

like what?

dont make me feel bad for questioning what we are

we're getting to know each other like we said

you suggested it

i know, im enjoying it

you also agreed

me too

like a lot

lets talk about this when we're together

ok

I felt bad saying that I wasn't Paiges girlfriend so bluntly but it was the truth and it didn't mean I wasn't committed to her and only her because I was. Clarity on the situation would be nice but Paige was right, we were still getting to know each other at my suggestion to do so.

Yesterday marked one month since we'd met so it made sense that we were still taking things slow but something in me deep down felt like I'd known Paige longer than four weeks.

I was pulled from my thoughts as Madison asked everyone what they planned on wearing to the party and the discussion quickly escalated into a full blown planning session. Outfits, hair and makeup all being a topic.

Paige

"Well she's right. She's not your girlfriend." Azzi said matter-of-factly from her place at the end of my bed.

I had shown my best friend the texts between me and Lily hoping for some good ol' Azzi wisdom.

"I know that but it still hurt to read it. Do you think she's talking to other people?" I ask propping myself up on my elbow so I could look at my friend properly.

"From what you've told me, I don't think she has the time! Y'all spend all your free time together." She pointed out and she was right, if Lily wasn't with me she was either in class or at work and I knew that for a fact because I frequently drove her there wanting to spent as much time with the girl as possible.

"Do you want her to be your girlfriend?"

I hadn't thought about it but I supposed I did, I was just extremely aware what it would come with. Not just a million questions from our friends but also the media and I had a college career to think about it. I knew being with Lily officially wouldn't jeopardise my basketball in anyway but the pressure of a public relationship was something I'd never dealt with before and if I was honest, it scared me.

"Eventually, yes." I admit now fully sitting up on my bed.

"OK, so if you know where it's headed, don't stress the journey Paige."

"I want her to know I'm serious though."

"Then tell her, it's that simple."

Azzi was right, she always was, unfortunately.

Azzi and I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing the apartment for our arranged pre drinks. We did a Target run for supplies and picked up a crazy amount of liquor.

"A party on campus means no DD." Azzi triumphed as we packed several crates of beer and bottles of spirits into my trunk.

If we were ever out drinking off campus, a few of the team always stayed sober to ensure we would make it home safe but that didn't need to happen tonight, the party was in walking distance.

"Music to my ears." I say as we climb back into the car.

"So you're going to let loose for once?"

I almost always volunteered to be a DD, mainly to save myself from deathly hangovers the next morning but also because drunk Paige got very messy, very quickly especially when cameras were around and my teammates had a love of livestreaming.

"Dirty Shirleys all night." I smirked beginning our short drive back to campus to begin getting ready.

I also think a little dutch courage wouldn't go amiss when it came to telling Lily that I was locked in when it came to us.

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊✧˚ · .

Lily

For the first time since meeting her, I was nervous to see Paige. Our text conversation earlier in the day weighed heavy on my mind. She wanted to talk about us when we saw each other but I'm not sure a frat house party was the best setting for such a loaded topic. Even though she had reassured me that she was enjoying what we had going on - whatever it was - there was still a voice in the back of my mind that told me I wasn't good enough for Paige.

"Lils, are you ready?" Madison asked peeking her head into my bedroom as I spritzed my favourite perfume on my wrists and collarbones.

"Yep! Coming now." I replied, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, my phone, wallet and keys nestled perfectly inside.

I checked my outfit one last time in my full length mirror, I had gone for a simple black mini skirt and white baby tee with some black boots and an oversized leather jacket, before joining my roommates in the living room.

"You guys look amazing!" I complemented seeing my friends fully ready for tonight's party.

"Says you!" Hannah responds, "Paige is going to be like a dog with a bone!"

I look to Kelsey as she says this to gauge her reaction. I had told Paige I would tell her about us but hadn't had the chance to yet. I didn't want to disappoint her at my lack of loyalty to our pact, our friendship meant a lot to me.

"I'm sure Paige has lots of bones." I say trying to play off Hannahs comment but just voicing that made me recoil. The thought of Paige with anyone else the way I'd been with her made me want to hurl.

"And she'd be crazy to not choose you. You're for sure the juiciest." Kelsey quips playfully smacking my ass and we all laugh.

My friends relaxed demeanour about the topic of me and Paige put my anxious thoughts at ease.

"OK, enough with the bone metaphors, lets go!" Madison piped up, leading us out of the door.

Kelsey and I walked together behind Hannah and Madison as we made our way across campus to the girls' apartment for pre drinks.

"What's up?" She asks, nudging me gently. I'd not said a word so far, trying to work out the right ones.

"So..." I begin, "I've kinda been hanging out with Paige a lot recently."

She gasps dramatically, hands over her chest, "Really? I would have never guessed."

I look at her seriously, has it been that obvious?

"Are you mad?"

"Mad? About how long it's taken you to tell me? Yes."

"But our pact...our bracelets...I don't want you to think-"

"Girl, those bracelets cost me like $2, don't sweat it." She says placing a reassuring hand on my arm.

"Really?"

"Really. Besides, I don't know who I was fooling telling myself I'd be single an entire semester. I'm already so bored, I got a job!" She laughs.

"This wasn't my intention, it just kind of happened naturally and the more time we spend together, the more I'm realising how much I actually like Paige." I confess.

"OK lover girl, you've got a lot to catch me up on tomorrow!" She says as we reach our destination.

We take the elevator to Paiges floor, my roommates following behind me as I navigate us to the front door brandishing a number 9 and open it, letting us into the apartment.

"You can tell shes done this before." Kelsey comments and I turn around giving her a cheeky smirk.

"Hey girly pops!" KK greets us as we step inside, taking her time to hug us all.

Azzi and Ice are soon at our sides too, shot glasses in there hands, extended in our direction, "Shots on entry!" Ice announces and I take the small glass and swallow its content.

My eyes scan the room seeing the rest of the team. Jana, Caroline and Kayla are pouring drinks in the kitchen. Ines, Amari, Nika, Aubrey and Aaliyah are huddled around the table focused on some sort of drinking game that involved guessing what number one of them was thinking of. The others were scattered around engrossed in conversation. Everyone was in the living room apart from Paige.

"She's in her room." KK says into my ear as if reading my mind, "You know where that is."

"Thanks KK." I say to the girl as I make my way to Paiges bedroom.

It seems like Paige and I had been quite naive in thinking our movements had gone unnoticed.

"Hello, little miss unsocial." I smile leaning against the door frame.

Paiges head flicks up from her phone in a swift movement at the sound of my voice.

"Hello, little miss..." She looks me up and down and I blush under her gaze. "...hottie. Come here." She motions for me to join her as she stands up from the edge of her bed and I do.

She pulls me into a hug, both her arms slipping around my waist and mine going around her neck, her lips press to my neck and I melt at the sensation.

Suddenly any nerves I had about seeing Paige had disappeared and I don't know why they were there in first place because she has this way of making me feel like nothing bad exists in the world.

"Who are you looking so good for?" She asks, her voice low and husky.

"Oh, I don't know. There's this girl I'm getting to know." I say referencing our earlier texts, hoping to probe Paige into a conversation.

My hopes are answered with her response.

"Lily, I want to tell you that you're the only girl I'm getting to know. You're the only girl I want to know." She tells me, her hands moving from my waist to hold both of mine. Her words were rushed but no less clear and her signature, intense eye contact told me it was genuine.

A smile spread on my face as I processed what Paige had just said.

"P-"

"If you're talking to other people, that's fine." She cuts me off.

"P, you're the only girl I want to know too. Since you shook my hand in the gym, that first day we met, you've been the only girl."

"So you're not talking to anyone else?"

I laugh, "No, I'm not."

"Good because I lied, it wouldn't be fine." She says truthfully and I laugh again at her serious expression.

"How many drinks have you had?" I ask her smiling, now that I'm looking in her eyes, it's clear she's had a few.

"Two, maybe three. I was kinda nervous." She admits, breaking her eyes away from mine and looking down.

"You don't have to be nervous with me." I say lifting her face, my hand staying on her jaw, "I'm all in." I declare before leaning in and connecting our lips. She kisses me back passionately, her hands finding my hips and digging in pulling me closer to her, our bodies pressing against each other.

"All in." She says breathlessly as we break away and we both take each other in for a moment, big smiles of both our faces.

"Ever had a Dirty Shirley?" She asks smirking.

"Never."

"Oh, let me introduce you."

She grabs my hand and leads me out of her bedroom.

Our moment alone made me forget that everyone was just a room away and multiple sets of eyes fell on us as we emerged hand in hand in the living room. Paige didn't seem to notice or care as she continued to lead me to the kitchen.

I locked eyes with Kelsey who was stood beside Azzi, both girls grinning cheesily, and she shot me an exaggerated wink.

Gone were the days of sneaking around.

An ungodly amount of alcohol was consumed in the girls apartment in preparation for the party and it was safe to say we were beginning to feel the effects.

"Can you walk straight and stop bumping into me!" Ice barged KK away from her as we made our way to the frat house.

"I am walking straight!" KK argued but from my view from behind the girls, it was clear she was not at all walking straight.

"OK kids, stop arguing." Kayla fake scolds, pushing herself in between Ice and KK in a attempt to stop them bickering.

I laugh at the girls and the seemingly mundane moment but being here, with them, means the world to me after losing my old friends in the worst way possible.

"You good?" Paige asks me, her arm rested comfortably over my shoulders.

I hum in response and nod my head.

"Why you so quiet then pretty girl?"

"Trying to make sure I can walk in a straight line! Those Dirty Shirleys got me good!" I laughed.

"You know I've got the best taste!" Paige bragged and the once distant sound of music grew closer as we turned a corner.

"Well, I mean yeah, you do have the best taste." I joke motioning down at myself cockily.

"Damn right." Paige agrees, removing her arm from my shoulder and slipping her hand into mine as we enter the frat house.

The house was absolutely packed with people in every room and the music was so loud I could feel the bass in my chest.

"Drinks!" Jana ordered pointing over to the makeshift bar - a kitchen island laden with various different glass bottles, stacks of red solo cups and buckets of ice.

Paige poured us what she called 'Dirty Shirleys on the go' because they didn't have her usual ingredients but she refused to drink anything else.

Most of the girls dispersed in different directions once we each had drinks in our hands but I stayed with Paige, Azzi and Aubrey and we found ourselves next in line to play beer pong.

Paige

Lily and I had taken the L in beer pong and were being forced to drink a concoction of everyones drink mixed together as our forfeit.

"Ugh! That tastes like shit!" She exclaimed, her words slurred as she swallowed down the cocktail, her face screwed up in disgust.

"I'm not doing it." I prostest, my words equally as slurred as Lilys and I cross my arms over my chest refusing to take the cup from Azzi.

"Stop being a sore loser Bueckers!" Aubrey chimed in.

"I'm not! I just don't want to throw up." The mix of shots, multiple Dirty Shirleys and now beer was already enough to make my stomach churn.

"P, there's no way I just did that and you're not going to." Lily chimes in now, hands on her hips, staring me down.

"You're really going to let your girl do that by herself?" Azzi smirks knowing that will get the better of me.

"No...hand it over." I say defeated, taking the cup from Azzi and downing the liquid inside.

"That's fucking nasty!"

"Here, wash it down with that." Lily says handing me my original cup containing my favourite drink.

The sweetness of the Shirley Temple counteracted the harshness of the alcohol mix.

"This is my favourite song!" Lily did a small jump on the spot before disappearing off into the crowd of college kids to make her way closer to the booming speakers.

I followed after the petite girl, knowing how drunk she was and not wanting her to be alone in a frat house full of random people.

It didn't take me long to catch up with her and I admired the girl from afar - who somehow already had another drink in her hand. She moved effortlessly, her hips swaying to the rhythm of the music, her hands held above her head as she sang along to the lyrics.

"Come here!" She called over the music beckoning me to come closer.

I take the few steps needed to close the space between us and Lily latches onto my waist, still dancing until our bodies are moving as one.

We stayed dancing, our hands all over each other as if we're not surrounded by a fuck tonne of other people. People that probably know who I am. People that definitely have social media and could post about what they were witnessing, but I didn't care. Lily was mine and I was hers and I didn't care who knew.

Our moment came to an abrupt halt when Lily stopped moving and shot me a panicked look, "What's wrong?" I ask confused.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

I grab her hand and quickly manoeuvre us out of the crowded room and into the front yard. There's a trash can on the lawn and Lily rushes to it, bending over the barrel and throwing up. I hold back her hair to keep it out of the firing line.

She looks up at me with watery eyes, "I think I had one too many Dirty Shirleys." She murmurs, hands resting of the edge of the trash can to steady herself.

"And the rest." I joke still holding her hair back, out of her face.

"Home?" I sympathetically ask the defeated girl and she nods.

I sit Lily on the porch steps while I go back into the party to let everyone know we're leaving. Kelsey was preoccupied with someone I recognised from the soccer team and Ice reassured me that her and the other girls would make sure she made it home safely.

I get back to Lily and she's exactly where I left her, her head rested on the porch beam, eyes closed. Even though she was extremely drunk and had just thrown up she still looked angelic as ever with the moonlight reflecting on her face, lighting up her features.

I felt bad disturbing her but we had to get home, my apartment was closest so we headed there. I kept my hand securely round her waist as I lead us away from the party.

"Do you feel like you're going to be sick again?" I ask Lily as we enter my apartment, the remnants of our pre drinks still scattered across the living room.

"No, I think I'm good now." She says softly.

I take her into my bathroom, "Stay there." I tell her and she salutes me.

I go into my bedroom and find a t-shirt and shorts for her to wear.

When I return to the bathroom, Lily's perched on the vanity attempting to remove her makeup with whatever she found, her mascara is smudged around her eyes making her resemble a panda and I laugh.

"Some help would be nice." She says handing me the cotton pad soaked in makeup remover.

I take it and she opens her legs, giving me space to move into so I can reach her. Her hands rest on my shoulders as I drag the cotton round across her face removing the last of her makeup.

"There, all done." I say placing the dirty cotton rounds down.

"Thank you Paigey." Lily coos, her hands moving from my shoulders to cup my face, "You're so pretty." She says, her eyes locked onto mine, "Have I ever told you that?"

"You've mentioned it." I smile at the drunk girl from the space inbetween her legs.

"And I mean it, you're like the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

"You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen, Lily Kent." I tell her, my hands now rested on her thighs.

"Even when I'm throwing up?" She pouts.

"Even when you're throwing up." I assure her.

I leave Lily to change into my clothes and I undress myself before getting into bed.

"I think you're just a little bit taller than me." She says emerging from the bathroom my clothes, that fit me perfectly, hanging oversized on her small frame.

"You look cute, now come get in bed." I tell her opening my arms for her to fit into like she has done so many times before.

"At least take me on a date first, Bueckers." She jokes climbing into bed next to me, her head instinctively finding my chest and arm falling over my stomach.

"Oh, I plan on." I say before pressing a kiss to Lily's head, "I'm all in."

"All in." She replies sleepily.

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊✧˚ · .

Paige

Basketball season was fast approaching. The one month countdown to our first game was on so it was safe to say my schedule was busy. Between training, workouts, classes and work, I barely had time to do anything else. But I wasn't complaining.

I had worked hard over the summer getting as fit and healthy as possible to ensure I'd have an injury free junior year and I felt positive about it as it neared.

Now that everyone knew about me and Lily, it was easy for us to spend time with each other. If she wasn't at my apartment, I was at hers. She'd often sit in on the end of sessions so we could grab lunch together afterwards. I'd meet her after classes and we'd walk home or to the library. Sleepovers we a regular occurrence too, in fact it felt more normal when Lily was snuggled into me than when she wasn't.

Everyone in real life had grown accustomed to me and Lily but we kept things pretty lowkey on social media, never addressing the situation. We'd post a random Instagram story together here and there and we'd both appeared in each others photo dumps over the past few weeks. Lily and I decided this was best for now, she had made it clear that she didn't want to be at the mercy of my one million plus followers and I understood that perfectly. The internet had a funny way of jumping to conclusions and creating rumours and drama out of nothing and I would do everything I could to protect Lily from that.

Of course people had figured something was going on between us pretty quickly, between the minimal photos posted, Instagram comments and infamous Tiktok lives, it was hard to conceal what was really going on. But ultimately, we had nothing to hide, just our peace to protect. Our relationship was private, not a secret and that suited us.

It was Wednesday evening, I had just finished training and checked my phone before leaving the facilities to head home, Lily had text me letting me know that she was wrapping up her day working with the soccer team. They had played a match today and Lily was needed for post match interviews and behind the scenes content during the game.

Selfishly, I was jealous that Lily worked with other teams and not just mine but I knew how much she loved soccer and there was nothing better than seeing Lily happy.

I texted Lily back telling her I'd pick her up from the soccer field and I got in my car and drove the few minutes it took to get there.

"Hi pretty girl." I beamed as Lily climbed into my passenger seat. Any tiredness or irritability that had built up throughout the day completely diminished at the site of the brown haired girl.

"Hi P." She smiled back leaning her body over the centre console and kissing me.

I will never get bored of that.

"How was your day?" I asked as I began the short drive back to the apartments.

"It was good! I've missed watching soccer so it was fun to be with the team today - they're all so nice too. I like them a lot!" Lily said clearly happy at how her day had gone.

"Not as much as you like me, I hope." I joke with her and quickly glance in her direction to find her brown eyes already focused on me.

"Paige Bueckers, there isn't anyone in the entire state of Connecticut that I like as much as you." She says extending her arm to rest her hand on my thigh.

I smile at the simple sign of affection and switch to driving with one hand so I can link my other with Lilys.

"So who have I got to worry about in other states?"

"Oh I don't know, Billie Eilish is walking around somewhere in LA just waiting for me to step foot in California." She jokes.

"Is she your celebrity crush?" I ask realising we've never had this conversation.

"She was." She says simply.

"What happened?"

"I met you." She replies shooting me a small smile, eyes hooded as she looks up from her slouched position.

"Lily Kent, are you flirting with me?" I ask smirking, bringing the car to a halt outside my apartment block.

"It doesn't work when you point it out Paige." She huffs, rolling her eyes at me.

"Oh my bad, my bad!" I say in exaggerated apology, "Go again." I encourage.

She looks as if she about to argue but she doesn't.

"I met you." She repeats, the same hooded eyes looking up at me and this time instead of saying anything, I grab her face with both hands and press my lips to hers.

Lily giggles into the kiss before deepening it, her hand finding the back of my neck.

My phone, still connected to my cars bluetooth, abruptly brought us back to reality as my ringtone blasted through the speakers. Glancing at my car's display screen, I could see it was KK calling.

"Hey whats up?"

"Where are you?"

"Outside the apartment, in my car."

"Perfect! Stay there, I'm coming and we're going to Target to get Tru Fru!"

Before I could even argue with KK, I heard the door close letting me know she had already left the apartment.

"Looks like we're going to Target." I say to Lily and she seemed pretty content with our impromptu trip.

We had nothing planned for the evening, like most nights, we were just going to watch TV and have dinner together and maybe (almost definitely), Lily would end up staying over.

KK bundled into the back seat of my car and proceeded to rant the whole way to Target about how much she craved Trü Frü and how she needed every flavour and how once we got back into the car with our haul she is going to livestream a tatsetest.

Lily

KK, Paige and I had enough Trü Frü in our hands to feed the entirety of UConn.

"This has got to be enough!" Paige exclaimed as she struggled to balance the multiple tubs and packets making me laugh and then in turn I also stuggled to balance my load.

We should have got a cart.

"This is for sure enough, KK." I agreed with Paige.

"Wait, one more Piña Colada packet! Ice will like those." She says opening the large freezer with one hand and grabbing yet another pack of the frozen, chocolate covered fruit.

We carefully made out way to the checkouts each of us doing our best not to drop anything. KK paid, of course, and we left the store with three bags full of the frozen treats.

Getting back into the car, we took our respective seats, Paige in the drivers seat, me in the passenger and KK in the back.

"Y'all cool if we do some taste tests on live?" KK asked peeking her face between me and Paige, elbows rested on the console.

Paige looked to me with raised brows as if to say 'your call' and I nodded, I didn't mind.

I had been in a few of the girls' livestreams since becoming friends with them but I'd always remained pretty silent, almost like a background character. There had of course been questions about me and Paige but as a group, we ignored them and let everyone wonder.

"Here." KK hands me her phone, the live button waiting to be pressed and I prop it up on Paiges dashboard.

Paige leans over and starts the livestream and it doesn't take long for the viewer count to reach the hundreds and comments to come flying in.

The camera pointed slightly more in Paiges direction with her being almost centre of the frame and KK over her left shoulder, I sat half out of the shot, leaning in.

KK addressed her live and introduced me, "This is Lily y'all. You've seen her before." She says and I send a small wave to the camera, "Hi." And I watch as comment after comment comes in.

"Be nice." Paige interjects pointing her finger at the screen.

'hi lily!'

'how do you know the team?'

'so pretty'

'PAIGE'

'ok boom'

'her and paige for sure dating'

KK starts of her taste test and hands us each a piece of the chocolate covered fruit. We start with strawberry - my personal favourite - before making our way through five different flavours. We rank them from best to worst, bickering every now and then when we didn't agree with each other.

"Theres no way you're putting raspberry above blueberry." Paige shook her head in disbelief and I looked at KK in shock, "Yes we are."

"We already allowed you to put peach at number three when it should have been four." KK continues defending our opinion.

"I can't believe you're not backing me here, you love blueberries!" Paige says looking at me.

I hold my hands up in defence, I do love blueberries, "But raspberries are better."

"Unbelievable." She huffs knowing shes outnumbered.

I laugh and reach out a sympathetic hand and place it on Paiges shoulder, "It's OK to be wrong babe." I say and as the words leave my mouth, realisation hits and all three of our heads snap towards the propped up phone.

As if we're frozen, we all stare at the live stream and the influx of comments.

'OMG'

'yall heard that too?'

'BABE?'

'i knew it!'

'damn lily is lucky'

KK is the first to speak, "Alright..." She says bringing herself forward to be inline with me and Paige, "not too much on my girls now." She reaches out and grabs her phone bringing it close to her face so its just her in the frame, "Love y'all! Bye live!" And she ends the stream.

"I'm so sorry!" I blurt slapping a hand over my mouth. I look at Paige and her expression is hard to read until she breaks a smile and bursts out laughing, "It's fine, Lily." She says pulling me into a hug over the console.

"It's just force of habit." I say referring to the pet name.

"It's fine," She says again, this time looking into my eyes, "everyone's going to find out eventually, you're just...speeding up the process." She jokes, squeezing my hand in reassurance.

"Y'all sorry to break it you but you are not slick. You didn't fool anyone with your sneaking around so I doubt you're fooling anyone else, especially with those IG comments." KK remarks from the backseat and Paige and I laugh.

The devil works hard but fan pages work harder. By the time we're back at the girls' apartment, not only had all of my roommates sent me screen recordings of my slip up but Azzi and Nika had practically knocked us over as we walked through the door.

"Y'all couldn't be lowkey if you tried." Nika laughed as we all sat on the couches, KK proudly packing her Trü Frü into the freezer.

"We're starting to realise that." I say looking towards Paige who sat slouched behind me.

"I don't think there'll be much backlash," Azzi says, "people want you together at this point!" She continues to scroll through her phone, "Look." She turns her screen towards me and Paige and an edit of us to Taylor Swift - False God played.

Clips had been taken from livestreams, including tonight's, videos from our stories and even a few moments from the open training when Marcus and I interviewed Paige and they had been edited together with a screenshot of mine or Paiges comments on each other posts appearing every few seconds.

I blushed watching the short video and turned to Paige with red cheeks. Her hand had been toying with the hem of my shirt and her fingers gently grazing across the bottom of my back, she extended her arm out and wrapped it around my waist pulling me to her. My back was flush with her chest and I was completely encased in her arms now, "Looks like they love you already." She says into my ear before pressing a kiss to my temple.

"I hope so." I say back genuinely wanting to be liked by Paige's fans.

"They'll see how happy you make me and they'll have no choice to love you." She says pushing us up off the couch so we're standing.

We both had had long days and it was getting late and I could tell Paige was tired so it came as no surprise to me when she asked if I wanted to order Chipotle and watch Greys Anatomy.

"What are you doing on Saturday?" Paige asks as we brush our teeth, getting ready for bed.

With a mouthful of toothpaste, I shrug my shoulders.

"Well don't make any plans." I look at her confused, "I'm taking you on a date." She says proudly.

I spit the toothpaste out of my mouth and grin up at the blonde haired girl, "Really?"

"Yes, really and its a surprise so no questions." She tells me and I pout.

"Don't give me that face pretty girl." She says as she takes my hand and leads me back to her bedroom.

"But how will I know what to wear." I protest.

"You always look good, it doesn't matter." She says far to casually for my liking.

"How about a clue?" I prod giving Paige my best pout and fluttering eyelashes combo.

"How about you come lay down and watch Greys with me? This is one of my favourite episodes." She says from her place on her bed where she was laying, one hand behind her head and the other outstretched to me.

I give in and shuffle myself over to Paige and lay next to her. Her arm instinctively wraps around me and pulls me closer, so close I can smell the minty toothpaste she just used.

As we watch the episode I can see why it's one of Paiges favourites.

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊✧˚ · .

[the-fiction-witch]

It's Dr Dawkins!

Media The Artful Dodger

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader

Rating Adorable

Requested: I love this story and your writing! Do you think you could write one about Y/n being blind or deaf?

I followed the lead of sound and feel, My cane in my gloved grip as I slowly moved it in a circle shape in front of me through the dust of Port Victory, the sound of the silver tip as it moved through the dirt, and the little force or pressure the wooden handle applied back, The heat of the day bore down on me as my face hid under the soft lace. I counted the steps I took and made sure to listen to that of horseshoes, and voices to ensure I was where I was supposed to be.

I heard the silver tip clink and I felt the pressure of the hit, to my left I pulled it back and did so again hearing the same and feeling the same, I moved it up slightly hearing the silver tip rub against the wood. And I smiled.

"Good Afternoon Miss Y/l/n!" I heard yelled into my left ear,

"Good, Afternoon, Mrs Artland." I answered, Mrs Artland always was one to... overcompensate.

"How. can. I. help. you. today!" She shouted slowly so close I could feel the heat of her breath on my face,

"Just the usual please," I asked as politely as I could, It's times like this I am thrilled I wear a vale so I may make any facial expressions I like without offending anyone. She did as always and helped me to pick out the items I needed even if at times I had to debate her, but slowly I added the various items to my basket.

"That all!?"

"Yes, Thank you Mrs Artland."

"You need a gentleman to walk you home Miss Y/l/n?"

"No thank you, I got here myself I can get home myself, I assure you I am quite capable."

"You sure miss?"

"I'm sure, thank you." I nodded,

I ensured my basket was on my arm and turned myself until the silver tip hit the same wooden cart stand but on my right now, so I stepped on and made sure to follow the route in my mind making sure my little points of reference were checked until the silver tip hit into the usual device and I heard a sweet bell to my right.

Home again.

I reached out my hand and my gloved hands met the smooth wooden door and I ran my hand over the cold brass feeling the debossed letters 'Y/l/n'

So I pushed open the door and headed inside, I almost didn't need my cane but I kept it as I slipped my hat and vale off and headed inside using my mental map to go to the kitchen and begin to unpack my basket.

But I soon heard steps rush down the stairs and into the room.

"Miss Y/l/n!" Marcy complained, "Miss Y/l/n please, you mustn't do that! It's not safe miss." she said as she took my basket for me doing it herself,

"I just fancied a walk to town and I know we-"

"I know Miss but please, we needed things you should have rang and I'd have gone. It isn't safe for you to go walking into town alone Miss."

"I got there and back just fine didn't I?"

"Yes, but bad things could so easily happen. Please just go and sit down miss."

I sighed but went and sat in my usual chair by the fire, even if I was hot from the day's walk in the sun I liked to sit in my chair by the fire listening to it crackle and hop, hearing the hisses and whines as things burnt, feeling the dancing heat upon my skin. I slipped off my gloves and sat my cane in its place leaning on the arm to simply enjoy the changing dancing shadows.

I heard her footsteps approach my chair, "Now? shall I make you a pot of tea miss?"

"I'm alright for the moment Marcy, I might make some later,"

"Miss, I'd much prefer to make it for you." She said as she went to the kitchen not giving me much of a choice soon enough returning with the tea tray that she sat on the table "Just call if you need me, Miss,"

"I will Marcy." I nodded, and I heard her head off into the house, I sighed a moment, Fantastic I'll have lukewarm over-steeped tea when I do want it later.

But I let time melt away for a while enjoying the fire running my fingers across my chair texture until I heard the door knock.

I sat up to go and get it but,

"No! please stay Miss." Marcy told me as she went to the door,

I sighed but stayed in my chair enjoying the fire a while more trying to listen but I heard nothing that could help me once the door opened, I then heard footsteps on my floor I heard Marcy's and another with her, tender heel first steps with a heavy leather sound on the wood, the shift of fabric and small sounds I couldn't place.

I didn't know who now stood in my living room as it wasn't like Marcy to not announce someone for me, and I hadn't been expecting anyone, but I'm sure if given a few guesses I could make assumptions as to who it was.

"Someone with you Marcy?"

"Yes miss," she said sheepishly,

"I see," I chuckled, "And It's a secret is it?"

"He asked me not to tell you miss."

"He did, did he? Well, that's a hint." I laughed,

I think I knew as really only one person would ask such a thing of Marcy,

"He uhh he says you have to guess miss."

"I see." I nodded so I sat up a little perching myself on the edge of the chair and I held out my hand.

Soon enough a hand took mine, his hands warm, his skin callus, dry as if just washed with soap and dried off moments before this, short dirty nails, slender fingers, thin wrists, I found the frayed edge of a shirt worn so much it was no longer soft cotton, I even found stitches my own repair work, I found the long and roomy sleeves with a strong arm below it, I found a sharp shoulder which forced a sound of out him a small chuckle, I found the soft tie around his neck and his collar above it, I felt his smooth skin on his neck even giving his adam's apple a joke which he struggled to silence his laughs too, Both my hands cradled his face feeling his warm smooth skin, tracing the lines across his face, how everything sat where I knew it should, the picture in my mind melting with what laid before my hands, my fingertips gracing his fluffy hair. I already knew my answer but I took the time to stroke his face to hold him in my hands and learn his every crack and crevis, I felt him smile the corners of his lips twitching, and his cheeks hardened as he smiled, I felt around his mouth was a little abrasive not as smooth as the rest of him, he had shaved in the last two days giving his skin that roughness from the blades work, then again if I knew anything about the man in front of me, he could have shaved two days ago or two months ago and the grow back would have still been about this. I'd never known a twenty-eight-year-old man to be so lacking in the facial hair department then again he made up for it.

"Can you guess who?" He whispered almost so quietly I could barely determine his voice but I knew long before his word, who sat in front of me.

"It's Dr Dawkins." I gleamed,

"Well done," He smiled, "You guessed right, you get a prize," he smirked flirtatiously moving to take my hand in his and then he moved to press a soft kiss to my forehead. "So how is my little flittermouse?" He asked as he moved away doing various things I'm sure,

"Fine, just fine." I smiled

"Good, Glad to hear it."

"How are you?"

"Aww, I'm fine flittermouse." He cooed, "Marcy's gone." He whispered,

"Ohh good, She made me tea."

"That was nice of her," he said sitting on the ottoman for my chair as usual, so he could sit in front of me and he could hold my hands,

"she made it twenty minutes ago."

"Oh... Seems worthless."

"It is," I pouted, "I swear she doesn't trust me to boil bloody water."

He chuckled, "Well it's just you and me now, You can boil all the water you want." he said, "So long as you are careful."

I sighed, "Jack! I'm a grown woman I can boil water without you or Marcy's supervision."

"I know you can, I know. But I'm allowed to still worry about you," he said trying to make the tea from the pot but I took it and did so myself slowly of course,

"I'm not a bloody cripple."

"I know you're not. you're the smartest woman I've ever met, that doens't mean I don't still worry over you." He said taking my hands in his, "Hey, you know how much I worry over my little flittermouse when I'm not here." He cooed stroking his nose on mine, "You are incredible, but that doesn't mean you can't ask for help every once in a while."

"I know Jack."

"That's my girl," He smiled, "Now, I got you a present."

"A present?"

"I did, something very special for you." He smiled as he left my hands,

"It's not my birthday or anything for a while yet Jack,"

"I know, can't I just get you presents?"

"I suppose, what is it?"

"I need to borrow this." He said stealing the cushion that had always sat on my chair behind me,

"Why?"

"Just. Patience." He warned, and a few moments later he sat back down, "Okay, here we are." he smiled gently taking my hand as he handed over the cushion now with a new case, I always had the cushion to support my chair with a silk cover on it as I liked the feeling of it, but now that cover was gone replaced by a cotton one, but this cotton had padding with thread forming crisscrossing lines all over the cushion,

"It's very soft," I smiled

"Turn it over," he said

So I did as he told me turning it over and feeling the same padded cotton but this was different, this side of the cover had small sewn-on hearts, each one made of a different fabric with thread surrounding it, each heart a fabric with a different texture, silk, satin, organza, cord, chiffon, lace. Sixteen in total in a grid design. I felt like crying, as this could not have been bought he must have taken the idea to the town tailor and had it made for me each heart a new texture, something I could run my hands over and feel the intricacy, the beauty, all the various textures and design elements. All without needing to see.

"You like it?"

"Ohh Jack... It's beautiful,"

"I wanted to get you something you know is beautiful not something I describe to you. I thought you'd like it."

"I love it so much! Thank you!"

"You're welcome my little flittermouse." He cooed giving my lips a tiny kiss, "Anything for my sweet fiance," He cooed "Now, shall I make you a new pot of tea?"

"Yes Please Jack,"

"Coming right up." 

[thatdogmagic]

That whole thing in March (and July, and August, and), part 2

I'm glad most people aren't up to speed on this. I'm sorry for any confusion. I've tried to put in the basic context of a lot of this but if you're not deep-diving tumblr nonsense you're going to have missed a lot of it. If you did, just be grateful and go about your day; you have my blessing to tl;dr straight out of here.

For the people who know, and stayed: I'm addressing it now because it is demonstrably costing me, personally and professionally, to stay quiet. It hasn't risen to the point of monetary damages that require a lawyer's intervention, but if it does, I have lines out to a couple people to hire. I'm taking this seriously, which is part of why it took so much time to get around to posting.

The other reason I waited is because I had hoped interest in this would fade out/people would be able to read the posts and see them for what they are. But then the site went live, logs got involved, and Ependa (not me) received this in her discord DMs:

That is roughly when I noticed I'd been dropped by a handful mutuals, and I finally looked into what was being said about me, exactly.

I thought I'd had some idea of how bad it was, but I didn't. I was not prepared for what I actually read. I promise you: no one is. Seeing a tidal wave of outright lies about yourself and the person you love, especially when it gets that personal, and is so clearly meant to estrange and humiliate, like.

It's hard to even know where to begin. That last bit makes it particularly difficult to decide what I should actually address or talk about. As a result, this post has been written and re-written several times over the last few months, and it was only recently that I settled on anything.

What I've decided is I'll be doing my best to refrain from addressing the personal/intimate attacks, though some are unavoidable. Make no mistake: those attacks exist only to waste my time and to maximize harm. They're meant to make me engage (and probably, to some extent, drive a wedge between Ependa and I), and follow a long and sustained pattern of Jackal acting out every time she had to take 'no' for an answer.

So, fine. I'm doing this. But I'm doing it on my terms, for my sake, Ependa's sake, and for the sake of a site that I would've found a way to commission one way or another. Because I just want a place for me and my peers to post our queer werewolf art and stories, and I want to eventually help turn it into a fundraising vehicle for our various projects.

I don't care if my name is on it (it is in fact not; Werewolves Versus is not my brand, it's Angela's), I don't care if the only person to ever closely collab with me again on my own personal work is Ependa, and no one else. I don't even care if I get props for commissioning it. I just want the thing to exist, for me and for others, and I don't want the people who use it to catch stupid accusations of 'o so ur working with the psycho transphobe??' because it happens to be in some way tied to me.

So let's start with the factual statements that can be made about the project side of this:

Jackal claim to have started a studio with myself, TrashasaurusRex, and Ependa. The reality, however, is, 'I invited people to a discord server in June-July of 2023, where a studio got talked about on voicechat but no paperwork was ever filed.

There was no studio. There was a *theoretical* studio, but nothing concrete. It didn't have a name. The *site* had a working name (the Mercantile, based on something from one of *my* stories), but that's the extent of it. The steps that would have made us an official studio had not been taken. I know, because I had to keep asking about it.

There was no attached LLC. It's referred to as 'an LLC' in posts because it does not have an actual name. I never put my signature on anything that looked even remotely like an official document. So, if an LLC does exist, and my name/signature appears on any official paperwork that's 'on record' in the state of Georgia, I mean. I don't need to be a lawyer to know there's a problem there.

Jackal claims to have liquidated the studio. That's more creative writing: there was nothing to liquidate. It's just a big word meant to make 'we deleted a discord server and some comic pages scraped together over a few months' sound official. And the server still exists in part, clearly, because it's currently being used to farm Content.

I was the one who commissioned Angela for the site and made all the arrangements. Starting out, I was the sole investor, and would have still been the primary investor once the bill was paid in full. I had also talked about buyout clauses in case we ever got around to *actual* official paperwork. Me leaving with the site was always understood to be an option on the table, in case things went sour.

I left the original idea for the studio/site ('sapphic-specific monsterfuckers') to the others. Nothing is stopping them from commissioning their own site, or building up an actual studio with an actual name under an actual LLC.

It would've been very welcome if all the vague admin work they claim to have done had actually *been* done. Unfortunately, that 'work' amounted primarily to things like being asked to find legal rep, and months later getting only so far as an answer that amounted to 'well my mom knows a lawyer who works for Disney.' That's not a part of the log that will ever get posted, though.

I am the only person in the group with a substantial 'proof of admin work' paper trail on this project. I have my own bank statements, I have the agreement with Angela, I have multiple written documents for meeting plans - many with their original save dates - and I have the paperwork I had started with a payment vendor. The most Jackal has is, allegedly, the paper trail their dad generated to withdraw/transfer the money they were going to use for their part of the investment. If there was anything else, it never got mentioned.

There was no 'gatekeeping the sitebuilder.' Angela asked that the actual, contractual business agreement be made with me exclusively to keep things simpler for her. I informed everyone of this early on. Further, no one was barred from attending my meetings with her, or reaching out to her. At any time, any one of them could have reached her using multiple methods. They knew who she was and she was not hard to find. Further, Angela was kept in the loop every step of the way, even as things started to break apart. She knew I'd be suspending payments when arguments over missed deadlines started to heat up, and I was no longer certain about the group's future. This is something she'll corroborate.

In spite of all this, Jackal and Trish were both still invited to make use of the site when it launched. That offer's obviously rescinded at this point, but I made it in good faith when I said it. It was one of the last things sent to the server and one of the few things I kept in a text file.

For anyone who made it this far into reading this (thank you for that btw), I want you to look at this list and really take it in.

If there are already this many holes in what was posted, please imagine how many holes can be punched in all the other claims being made. Especially where it comes to intimacy. I won't repeat much of it, save this: there was a whole 'Dogblud was into me and was flirting with me' thread to this, in which Jackal took great pains to mock Ependa for just standing around like a dumbass (their words) as I flirted with Jackal in front of her.

Which I shouldn't have to demonstrate is false, to anyone. I shouldn't have to say that throughout the time I was allegedly "flirting" with "my boss" (news to me that I had a 'boss,' btw, suggests I had to pay $5k for the privilege of being an employee?), I was spending the vast majority of my time with Ependa. And we talked, constantly, about everything that was happening. She always had final say on how I did/didn't behave in VC and in that server, and was in fact very much present when I had to tell Jackal I would not engage in on-site ERP, silly or serious, without Ependa's approval or say-so. It is not my fault Jackal chose not to hear that.

They *did*, however, hear me talk about how Ependa and I expressed ourselves with each other. Heard me say that we use Phoebe and Lacey as proxies sometimes, understanding that they're not literally projections of ourselves, just characters with some significance to how we became a couple. In the posts they made about my conduct, by their own admission, they chose to remove that from its proper context, and superimpose it on to the professional arrangement we made with each other to write/draw sapphic comics with our respective characters.

Like, that was the whole premise of the site, sapphic monsterfucking; we had long discussed using the 'star power' of our characters to sell it, since our audiences had an investment. The note about Phoebe and Lacey was quite literally the backbone of the rule we had for porn scenarios depicting them, re: 'never one without the other,' so it's weird to see that turned around to prove there was rampant flirting on my end.

Aside, but, that Jackal has to paint herself as the boss in the situation is interesting. Because-- and I'm not rearranging what she's saying here, or remixing it, I'm taking at face value what's being implied.

Her being the boss implies that Ependa and I agreed to an 'employer/employee' relationship with terms that were never discussed with us. Primarily, that any discussion of 'we will be talking about our characters fucking/fucking around one another/(the usual porn comic nonsense goes here)' would be interpreted as flirtation, when that was literally part of the job we were signing up for. That we were, in fact, being weirdly entrapped?? in more of an intimate relationship with this person than a working 'we are collaborating on a project' relationship.

I'm not pointing this out to be dramatic, or raise additional allegations. The vibe was meant to be loose because of the type of business we were talking about. I'm pointing this out to say that Jackal's lies are pervasive enough to self-contradict, often, about *a lot* of things, even to the point of painting themselves in an even more unflattering light than I ever could.

So, no, if she chooses to keep this going, I'm not going to waste my time swatting down every little thing she has said, or will say; I won't go out of my way to give proof of each and every lie being false, or give my side of the story each and every time some piece of the log has been stitched together to prove with 1000% certainty that I kill babies with slingshots or whatever else it is that's being said about me on any given day.

...

All this, because they took it really personally that I tried to move on with the investment I made, with money I earned over ten years of working full time on a 12a-8a shift, holidays included.

I shouldn't have to say this, but I don't owe that investment to anyone, least of all someone with whom I was fundamentally incompatible, on a working level, and with whom no formal agreement was ever signed.

I don't owe Jackal the keys to that site because she invited me to a discord server one day. I don't owe it to Jackal to drop the site entirely, and wave goodbye to $5k of a meager life savings, simply because we followed in the footsteps of so many other artists: ruining our entire friendship by trying and failing to work together on a professional level, without necessary guard rails, because we were arrogant enough to think 'with us, it'll be different!'

It's the same story with HaliteaTiger, at the end of the day.

Yes, I will be addressing the logs, and yes, I do own what I said. I'm not going to pretend that wasn't me or that what I said was appropriate or excusable. But I will say that the story presented is very conveniently slanted, ignoring nearly 3000 pages of ongoing context. Which did happen to include many, many discussions about where I was at in terms of aggressive meltdowns, with everyone involved, long before we ever worked together. I never lied to anyone about that, or hold it against them if it turns out to be too much.

End of the day, they were just as keen as I was to willfully ignore all the warning signs, spoken and unspoken. That the fit wasn't right, that this thing or that thing was *off*, that this was already showing signs of faltering because (xyz thing).

Which is really the thesis of this story. It's going to keep being the thesis by the time I'm done writing all of it out. Everyone involved, myself included, was so caught up in the opportunity we all saw in each other that we all mutually ignored multiple red flags, and got burned by that. As is often the case.

The finer points of all that are for another post. This one, I'd prefer to keep more or less contained.

[laughroditee]

Your Ghost | Part 3 - Three of Swords

Pairing: Simon Riley x female OC x Johnny MacTavish (as a ghost) Content Warnings: SMUT, minor injury, foul language, grief, reference to alcohol abuse, reference to attempted self-waterboarding, implied attempted self-harm, depression, despair, survivor’s guilt, implied suicidal ideation (no details), consensual possession, unprotected piv sex (pls use protection irl), MMF threesome (sort of?), mildly dubious consent (I tried to lessen this as much as possible), angst, crying, angst/comfort, heartbreak, emotional sex, butchering of the Scottish language. Word Count: 5.1k

18+ for smut. MDNI!

Part 1 // Previous Part // A03

Mood music:

Simon’s eyes widened, and he dropped me like I burned him, my ass hitting the floor hard enough that I knew I would be dealing with the pain for a while.  He took several steps backward, staring at me in disbelief.

Shifting the weight off of my bruised bum, I whimpered, cursing under my breath.

”Ye alright, lass?”  Johnny knelt by me, ghost hands hovering around my arms as if he wanted to help me up.

“Yeah,” I said.  “Guess I won’t be sending anyone any butt pictures for a while.”

“If ye can make jokes, you’ll be just fine.”  Despite saying that, he still looked worried.  “He’s not usually like this, Evangeline, I promise ye.”

I nodded.  While I believed him, it didn’t make the situation easy to stomach.  “I get it, he’s grieving.  Or more like actively avoiding it,” I muttered.  My eyes flicked up to the man in question where he stood, still half naked and covered in scars, with that wild skull mask on his face, his eyes wide.

Johnny put his hand on my shoulder and spoke through me again.  Being used like a ventriloquist dummy felt slightly like vomiting, though marginally less unpleasant.  Still, compulsion felt very weird.  “Simon, this is Evangeline, my li’l American kinswoman.  Take care of ‘er, yeah?”  

Even though I could only see the skin around Simon’s eyes, it visibly paled.

Johnny was having too much fun to cede control of my vocals just yet, though.  “Och, yer lookin’ a wee bit peely wally, love.  Maybe ye should stop fuckin’ drownin’ yerself in drink, ya bawbag!”

“This is fuckin’ mad,” Simon said, sinking onto the sofa and staring at us.  Rather, at me specifically, since Johnny was a ghost and couldn’t be seen by anyone but me for whatever reason.  How lucky.  Simon reached up and pulled off his balaclava, revealing a dazed oval-shaped face peppered with scars and about three days' worth of stubble.  His short, sandy blonde hair went every which way on his head, fair lashes blinking absently over his dark, glassy eyes.  He looked like his world had just been turned upside down again, or maybe he was considering the possibility that he was losing his mind.  Both were valid thoughts, to be fair.

With Johnny’s hands on me, I could sense a mixture of emotions coming from him as he looked at his boyfriend, ranging from love and relief at seeing Simon’s face to worry at seeing how much the alcohol messed him up.  His emotional tone shifted back to “nag,” but before he could say anything else, I scooted away, breaking contact.

“STOP USING MY MOUTH WITHOUT MY PERMISSION TO YELL AT YOUR BOYFRIEND!”

Johnny had the nerve to roll his eyes.  “Fine, can I please borrow yer mouth to yell at my boyfriend?”

“No, it feels weird.  I'll do it for you.  Just tell me what you want to say.” He then proceeded to say a string of words that were definitely not English, and I wasn't sure I could even replicate the sounds by myself; I was never good with accents.  “You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?”

The bastard grinned. “Och, aye.  I just want a chance to use that pretty li’l mouth of yours again, hen.”

“That sounds all sorts of wrong.”

“Not wrong if everyone consents.”

“Johnny!”

“What?  At least make him tell you where he’s hidin’ his drink.  If he hasn’t pissed it all away already.”

“You are so bossy!  Was he always this bossy?”  I directed the question toward Simon, and the weird atmosphere made me forget to be afraid of him.  It was challenging to stay scared of him when he looked like a confused kid who just woke up from a nightmare.  Unfortunately for him, this nightmare was real.

“I prefer the term ‘persistent,’ lass,” Johnny said.

“Maybe we should work on getting Simon sober,” I suggested to Johnny as I pushed myself to my feet, wincing slightly.  Though I knew I’d be fine in the long run, it didn’t change the fact that I had been hauled into the air and then dropped on my ass like a sack of potatoes by a man more than a foot taller than me and probably ten times as strong.  To say I was mildly apprehensive about being here would be an understatement.  I approached the sofa warily, edging toward Simon slowly as if he were a wounded animal.  Which… the comparison wasn’t too far off.  “Can I get you some water, Simon?”

He just stared at me.

Alrighty then.  “Johnny?  Show me where the glasses are?”

“Copy that,” he said, leading the way through the kitchen and stopping before the designated cabinet.

Ignoring the feel of Simon's eyes on me, I moved through his kitchen to grab a glass.  “The floor is sticky,” I observed.  Small puddles of drying alcohol decorated the ground like forgotten watercolor paintings of amber hues.

“Had a spill,” Simon explained simply, raking a large hand over his face.

“Spill my arse,” Johnny spat.  “He was waterboarding himself.  Pouring bourbon over his fucking face with that bloody mask on.  Yer oot yer face ya twat!” he yelled at his boyfriend, though Simon couldn’t hear him.

Water filled the glass as I turned to Simon, my face horrified.  “You were waterboarding yourself?  With bourbon?”

Simon stared back at me with a suspicious, bewildered look, which may have been funny if not for the context.  The expression melted into a sullen frown; it was all I needed as confirmation.  He looked like he wanted to ask me how I knew.

“Johnny told me,” I explained without waiting for him to ask.  I came back and handed him the glass of water.  “Here.  Drink up.”

Accepting the glass numbly, Simon kept his eyes on me, examining me in a way that was downright uncomfortable for a person who doesn't like to be perceived.  I was relieved when he glanced around me, presumably trying to see his late lover.  “He’s talkin’ shite again, is he?”

I scoffed fondly.  “Isn’t he always?”

Simon grunted.

Johnny came to sit next to Simon on the sofa, leaving me to stand over them both.  “Make him drink it,” he murmured as he stared at his boyfriend.  I could feel the pain and yearning radiating off of him, and it was enough to make me turn away.

Simon was still staring at me when I looked at him again.

“He wants you to drink the water, Simon,” I said gently, gesturing to the glass in his hand.  

He dutifully drank the water, looking around the room again.  “Where…?”

“Where is he?”

Simon nodded.

“He’s next to you on the couch over here.”  I pointed to where Johnny sat beside a tartan pillow with a Scottish flag.  Johnny stared intently at him as if willing his boyfriend to be able to see him.

Simon’s eyes searched the seat, but with no hint of recognition, he didn’t know exactly where he was.

Covering his pain with a smirk, Johnny said, “Tell ‘im to stop starin’ at my cock.”

“I’d rather not tell him that, actually, thank you.”

Unfortunately, that got Simon’s attention.  “Tell me what?”

“Fucking Johnny…,” I sighed.

The mischief-maker laughed while Simon waited for me to deliver the message. 

“Fine, he said to ‘stop staring at his cock.’”

Two seconds passed before Simon let out a single, loud laugh, a startled smile on his face that said that, until this moment, he had been so sure he would never be able to smile again.  “He would say that, wouldn’t he?”  He looked back to the spot next to him with unbridled affection.  “Fuckin’ wanker.”

Johnny chuckled, the sound muted by an underlying melancholy.  It made me wish that I could do something more for him.  For both of them.  Of all the people to ask for help, Johnny had to get stuck with me.  I wondered if there were other blood ties he could have followed, maybe to a more skilled person than myself.  A love this strong had to go somewhere, right?

And then an idea took me.  It was a stupid idea, of course, and I didn't know if it would work, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like it could be the only thing I could contribute.  Kneeling by where Johnny sat on the couch, I rested my elbow on the cushion with my hand up, almost like I was threatening to arm wrestle Simon. 

Johnny smirked.  “Afraid yer gonna be a wee bit disappointed with the results there, chum.”

I returned his smirk.  “No, I want to try something.  Put your hand here,” I told him, gesturing to my hand and wiggling my fingers.

Looking curious, Johnny obliged and played along, placing his hand on mine.  It passed right through, making him frown.

“Hmm, try thinking like you’re putting on a glove,” I suggested, not that I knew what I was doing.   

“Alright,” he said.  While Johnny concentrated a little more, I focused on opening up my hand metaphysically until I could feel his presence filling the space.  It was cold and alien — feeling someone else’s spirit inside me — and I shivered.

Pushing the physical sensation aside, I reached my other hand out to Simon.  “Your turn.”

His wary gaze had a calculating edge, which I was beginning to understand was Simon’s default mode, at least around strangers. 

“Take my hand.  I just want to try something.”  When he didn’t move, I added, “Johnny’s cooperating with me.”  I may or may not have sounded mildly tart when I said it.

Callused skin engulfed mine as Simon smothered my hand with his, and I brought it to the hand Johnny was occupying.  Next to me, Johnny’s breath caught in his throat.

“I can feel that,” he whispered, and all at once, I was filled with an overwhelming maelstrom of his emotions.  The pain of loss, the guilt over dying, the sheer yearning for life and love pouring out of him caused me to pull back, gasping, and I pushed Johnny’s spirit out of me.

Both men looked at me as I tried to catch my breath, my eyes blinking away tears.  “S-sorry…. That was a little overwhelming.”  But, my God, to be loved that much.  To be loved the way these two love each other, I could only hope to be that lucky one day.

“Ye alright?”

“What happened?”  They spoke at once, waiting for me to answer.  

“I’m alright,” I told Johnny.  Taking a deep breath, I turned to Simon and said, “I had Johnny try to possess my hand.” At his eyebrow raise, I rushed to say, “It worked though!”  Shifting so that I was sitting instead of kneeling, I leaned forward toward Simon.  “He felt you, Simon.  Johnny could feel you through my hand.”  I waited for that to sink in, watching the emotions pass through his eyes like a kaleidoscope until he had to look away.  “With his spirit touching mine, I could feel everything that Johnny felt, emotionally speaking.”  Glancing at Johnny showed me that he wasn’t surprised.  Maybe it was a two-way connection.  “Everything kind of bled together, and it was a lot all at once, so I pushed him out.”

Johnny and I watched Simon process the information. His eyes stared down at the empty hand that previously held mine, balling it into a fist and opening it again.

“Can I…?” he asked hesitantly, pointedly not looking at me.

“Can we try again?” Johnny asked, knowing what his boyfriend wanted.

“We can try again if you want.  Johnny wants to try again,” I tell Simon.

“He does?” Simon asked, finally looking at me, his eyes flicking to the empty couch cushion where he knew his boyfriend’s spirit was.

I was about to answer when Johnny asked, “And what do you want, Evangeline?” 

I looked back at him in surprise.  “What do I want?” I repeated for Simon’s sake.  “I just want to help.”

“Why?”  Simon’s low voice was guarded but curious.  “It’s hardly your business, is it?”

“You’re right, it’s not.”  I met his examining gaze with an open one of my own.  “I’m a stranger here.  I don’t know either of you or what you were like together.”  The memory of Johnny’s emotions was so fresh inside me that the thought brought a fresh wave of feeling.  “I just know that if I loved someone the way Johnny loves you… I would want to be able to tell them.  I would want that chance to say goodbye.”  My voice broke on the last word as I looked into Simon’s eyes.  “Wouldn’t you want that?”

He frowned bitterly.  “You can’t save people from their pain.”

“No, I can’t.  But maybe I can help them to face it instead of trying to drown it out with alcohol.”

Johnny blew out a long whistle next to me, but my eyes were still focused on Simon. We stared at each other, locked in a war of grimaces, our brows drawn down tight.  “Alright, ya numpties, set’le down,” he said.

That broke the staring contest.  I blinked.  “What the hell is a ‘numpty?’”

“He’s calling us idiots,” Simon informed me.

“Ah, fair.  So, are we going for round two?  We can go bigger this time.”

“Bigger?  Are ye sure ye want to do this, lass?” Johnny asked with a hint of concern.

“Yeah, I'm sure.  Go big or go home, right?  It's really the only thing I can do for you, and I want to do it.”

He smiled at that.  “Did I ever tell ye yer an angel Evangeline?”

“I’m definitely not an angel, Johnny,” I laughed awkwardly, but the sentiment warmed my heart.

Standing up, I took a deep breath.  “I'm ready, Johnny.  All aboard, let’s go.”  Holding my arms out in welcome, he got off the couch and stepped into my body, overlapping me as I stood there.  It didn’t happen right away.  Johnny was much bigger than me in life, so he had to concentrate on inhabiting a smaller space, filling my physical body as if filling up a glass or a glove and squishing in all of the extra.  Luckily, spirits are flexible and can fill any space if they put their minds to it.  

As I’d done earlier, I concentrated on relaxing and opening up my energetic walls, accepting his presence into me.  But let me just say that it was fucking weird.  Alternating waves of heat and chills rolled through my body as he settled inside me, my limbs jerking and twitching occasionally in a manner that probably looked like I needed an exorcist.  Not now, but maybe later.

And I could feel him, the essence of who and what he was.  Every emotion and emotional memory that passed through Johnny also passed through me; his warm, strong energy made me feel steady and safe.  He feels just like love.  And it was bittersweet.

“Well, isn’t she a wee bonnie thing?” Johnny said as he looked down at my body, moving my arms about, sliding my hands over my hips.  “Told you I’d lose my dick on the battlefield one day, LT,” his laugh made our blue eyes twinkle as we looked up at Simon, whose gaze was complicated.

Johnny and I both could read Simon’s confusion at seeing us this way, and our smile faded.  I didn’t know what I looked like with Johnny’s facial mannerisms showing through on my face — the particular way your eyebrows moved, your lips curled when you smirked, and your eyes squinted when you laughed or smiled.  From Simon’s pained expression, he clearly saw all this on my face.  That, through me, he could see Johnny.

“Ye see me, don’t you, love?” Johnny asked for confirmation as if he could read my thoughts.  Maybe he could.

“I see you,” Simon said quietly, his hands squeezing reflexively at his sides.  “I see you, Johnny.”

We smiled softly, relief flooding our system.  Every emotion was enhanced twofold with the two of us fully in here, and it was a challenge to keep from being overwhelmed and losing myself completely.  Johnny was aching with need, making my fingers itch to touch Simon, to feel his skin on mine — on ours.  I had to take a few cleansing breaths to separate his thoughts and compulsions from mine.  Possession is weird.  

And yet, he didn’t make a move; I could tell that Johnny wanted to give Simon time to adjust.  There was some kind of feeling — something that’s difficult to put into words — almost like trying to coax an abused animal with food and love but accepting that it will come on its own terms.  You leave the door open and wait for them to approach because you don’t want to scare them away.  That was the feeling I got as Simon looked down at us.  Conflict was written all over his face as he lifted his hand near our head, wanting to touch but afraid to.

“It’s alright, love, it’s just me,” Johnny said softly.  “There’s no rush.”

But I knew he was lying.  In the back of our shared consciousness lurked the oppressive shadow of time, and it was only running out. There was only this moment, and never again, not for Johnny, and my heart clenched in my chest.

Something passed through Simon’s eyes, and I wondered if he could pick up on his boyfriend’s bluff because his control slipped.  He trailed his fingers down our cheek to our jaw, tipping our head up and cupping our face like we were something precious.  “Johnny,” he whispered.  “It’s really you.”

We smirked at him, covering his hands with our own.  “Don’t go cryin’ on me now, LT,” Johnny said.

“It should have been me.”

I could feel Johnny’s anguish at hearing Simon’s tormented thoughts out loud, and our brows drew down.  “You hush yerself now, love.  There is no ‘should,’ there’s only what is.  Can’t go back and change anything.  Ye’ll have to keep moving forward.”

“No.”

“Yes,” Johnny insisted, and our hearts broke all together.

Simon shook his head.

“Ye have to.  I want ye to.”  We reached a hand up to his face, the stubble grating at our fingertips as we caressed his cheek.  “Let me be selfish, love.  I want ye to live.”

I could sense Simon's conflicting emotions as we stayed in skin contact.  Wanting to honor your lover’s last wishes while being condemned to what felt like a literal life sentence in the process was no easy thing to stomach.  He looked down at us with such a pained expression that it was difficult to look at him, but Johnny was far braver than I and wouldn’t look away.

“It’s because I love ye, Simon.  And I know ye can take it.”  He knows he can take the pain of existence without him, which is what he meant.  “Ye can move past it.”  Johnny's emotions roiled inside me, his yearning and desperation building to a breaking point. So much love. So much it was almost blinding.  

“Kiss me like yer missin’ me,” Johnny said suddenly, voice low and demanding, hands trailing down Simon's chest.

Simon’s pupils blew wide, and he responded to the demand with a “Fuckin’ hell” before his mouth came crashing down on ours, his large hands pulling our face close, his lips moving with bruising insistence against ours.  Johnny growled into the kiss at the same time that I gasped, and Simon took advantage of our open mouth by invading it with his tongue, desperate to taste every last inch of us.

As the kiss deepened, it felt like he wanted to devour us.  Simon became more frantic, his movements rougher, more urgent.  His hands roamed over our body, exploring every curve as if he was trying to savor the feel of us.  His hands slid down our hips and pulled us against his body, and — oh my god, he’s hard.

That was the exact moment that the careful hold on my metaphysical shields separating me from Johnny — tentative and unskilled though they were — shattered, and Johnny and I dissolved into one another, becoming a mass of hungry hands and mouths, desires and libido.  We pulled at Simon, and, without even breaking the kiss, he lifted us into his arms, our legs wrapping around his waist automatically as his hands went to our ass, squeezing the soft flesh roughly.  He inadvertently squeezed the bruise on our butt from earlier, and we hissed into the kiss, biting his bottom lip.

The responding growl that came out of Simon’s throat gave us chills.  Something low in our belly clenched, and we were instantly wet.  Backing us up against a wall, he kept us pinned with his body between our legs as he trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down our neck, grazing our flesh with his teeth.  

We hummed as a shiver passed through us, and our greedy hands snaked under his shirt, sliding up his sides, relishing the feel of every inch: skin, muscles, and scars indiscriminately.  Simon pulled back from the kiss to tear his shirt off, tossing it aside before giving our shirt the same treatment.  His tongue traced the length of our collarbone before sucking the skin there, the pinpricks of pain telling us that there would be marks left behind, and we were satisfied by this.  Maybe he could make us a lovely little necklace of cherry bruises to remember this day.

The air was chill without our shirt on, and Johnny’s momentary amusement at having breasts was drowned out as Simon squeezed one of them, and we moaned, “Oh, fuck.”  We felt his lips quirk up against our skin in a smile, and then he rolled his hips against us, and we saw stars.  “Bed!” we gasped, and we didn’t need to say it twice.  Still holding onto us, Simon carried us down the hall, and we could feel his heart pounding against us.  “Tha gaol agam ort, bidh mi an-còmhnaidh. Gu bràth agus gu bràth,” we breathed against his ear, and his shoulders trembled.  I love you, I always will. Forever and always.

As he laid us down on the bed, Simon seemed to register for a moment that this was not the body he knew before, but he pressed on in curious reverence, dragging our jeans off of our legs and discarding them onto the floor.

“Let us have it, LT,” Johnny said, our voice thick with desire as we unclasped our bra and threw it somewhere in the room, spilling our naked breasts to his gaze.  “I want ye to fuck us like yer life depends on it.”  

Simon’s breath caught in his throat at our words, eyes darkening as he looked down at us splayed on the bed, hands fumbling with his belt, not moving fast enough.  He shed his pants, his cock straining against his boxers, and came to cover our body with his own.  We basked in the warmth of his skin, the prickly sensation of his chest hairs on our breasts, the satisfying weight of him as he pressed us into the mattress.  Capturing our lips again, he fed at our mouth as if it would keep him alive.  We could feel his erection pressing against our thigh, hard and insistent as he ground against us, and we purred, running our hands up his broad back.

"I’ve been missin’ you, love," he whispered hoarsely, his hands roaming over our body as he kissed us again.  His hands were everywhere — running through our hair, exploring every inch of our body. We could feel his desperation, his need for us overwhelming him, and it was a heady mix of emotions that left us breathless.  

“I know, LT,” we said, “but I’m here with ye now.”  And now was all that mattered.

Simon ran his hand lightly over the front of our panties and paused, looking at us with a questioning gaze, unable to keep the longing out of his eyes.

“Please,” we whispered as we looked up at him.  Just one last time.  Though that part remained unsaid, Simon heard it in our voice.

He hooked his thumbs into our panties, dragging them down our legs slowly, his hands trembling slightly with emotion.  Trailing a finger up our slit, he watched our face as we sighed, and he gathered the wetness there before kissing us again.  Running his tongue along our bottom lip, we opened for him, and he plundered our mouth at the same time that he plunged a finger into our pussy, making us gasp.

We moaned into his mouth as he added a second finger and started to pump them in time with our heartbeat.  Threading our fingers through his short hair, he hummed against our neck, feeling our pulse jump against his tongue as he added a third finger, preparing us to take his cock.

Our body was on fire.  We squirmed beneath him, mewling as his fingers fucked into us, consumed by the intensity of it all.  But it wasn’t what we needed.  “Simon, please,” we gasped, unable to find the words to finish our sentence.

But he knew, just like always.  Withdrawing his fingers, he spread our wetness over our folds and stripped off his underwear, settling between our legs.  Because of the size difference, we found ourselves on our sides, his body curled around us slightly, our leg draped over his hip.  He dragged the tip of his dick up our slit, coating it with our wetness before pushing forward slowly, watching our face as we took him into our slickened cunt.  

Our body stretched wide around him, and we whimpered, our fingernails making half-moons on his tattooed forearm.  He paused, gathering us close to kiss our hair and whisper sweet words into our ear until we finally relaxed enough to take more of him.  And we took every fucking inch.  Once his cock was buried inside of us, he closed his eyes, and we stayed like that for a moment.  We felt impossibly full, not just physically, but our heart felt like it would burst.  He opened his eyes, and we knew from the raw emotion on his face that he felt it, too.  So much love.  

Digging his fingers into the plush of our hip to steady us, he drew back, his shaft sliding out slightly before snapping his hips and thrusting it back in, finding a slow, firm rhythm that had us moaning as we tried — and failed — not to melt.

“Sweet bloody Jesus, LT,” we said, looping our arms around his neck.

“Praying again, Johnny?” Simon murmured, a small smile touching his lips.

“Someone has to, ye bastart.”

He kissed us, increasing his pace, fucking into us harder.  Reaching down between us, he drew circles around our clit with a gentle insistence that had our toes curling.  “Come for me, love,” he said in a low rumble that did things to us, and we could feel our pleasure building, coiling like a spring deep within us.

With every thrust, we thought, I want to stay. I want to stay. I want to stay.  But we knew we couldn't.  So we let him drink us in through his skin, and we left our imprint there, another scar among many.  It hurt to feel this good, and we closed our eyes.  We wanted him, wanted to keep him forever, but we don’t have that.  It's not fair.  He was ours, and now he has to face this alone.  We didn't want to leave him.  

“Look at me,” Simon commanded softly.  “Let me see you.”

Our eyelids fluttered open again.  One look into the dark pools of his eyes, and we were drowning, and this great and terrible love broke us, and we were undone.  The orgasm that coiled deep in our belly ripped through us, and we cried out as our pussy tightened around him.  He groaned, the sound vibrating against us as he plunged his cock deep inside one final time before spilling himself into us.

We panted together, our breaths mingling as he rested his sweaty forehead against ours and finally closed his eyes.  As our heartbeats slowed, we looked up at him, a bittersweet expression on our face.

“I love ye, Simon Riley,” Johnny said softly.  We gently caressed his face with our hands. “Always will.  Don't be an arse, and take care of yerself.  Stay alive.  I'll see ye again in the end.”  

“Johnny,” Simon said as his eyes shot open, a flash of panic moving through them as he pulled his face back.  He knew it was time to say goodbye.  “Johnny,” he said again.  I could tell he wanted to say don’t go, but you can’t stop death; Simon knew that better than anyone.  “I love you,” he said, his voice breaking as he smoothed the hair out of our face.

Johnny looked up at him through my eyes and kissed him with everything he had left. When Simon pulled back, my connection with Johnny had been severed, leaving only me behind.  

I cried out in sudden pain, the psychic wound in my soul raging and raw, feeling the empty void where Johnny had been so loud and strong only seconds before.  Tears filled my eyes and poured down my cheeks as if they would never stop.

“What is it?” Simon asked with alarm, freezing above me.

“He’s gone!” I wailed, and it was like I was split open by grief, feeling Johnny’s loss so strongly despite never knowing him in life.  Being deprived of his presence, his essence, his warmth inside me left me bereft in a way I didn’t even think was possible, and I was powerless against this onslaught of feelings.  How could I feel like this when Simon, who knew and loved Johnny, was here with the pain of time and experience?

Simon stared down at my face, his expression contorted by the anguish of this second loss.  I could feel his pain like a second skin, its heavy weight oppressive and harsh.  Tears filled his eyes, and he buried his face in the crook of my neck, his arms coming tighter around me, and we wept together, trying to coax comfort out of each other as the world broke apart around us.

Only then did I realize that the final card in my initial reading, the Three of Swords, represented the three of us sharing our grief with hearts still freshly broken—three people, one heart, and a love that bleeds.

[nimbusslasher]

Slashember Day 1 - Carrie White x Fem!Reader - Halloween Party Fluff

Pairing: Carrie White x Feminine Reader WC: 978(ALMOST 1K!! WOOO!!) Type: Fluff Fandom: Slashers, Carrie (1976) Contains: Pet Names (Carrie - Care Bear or Babe, You - babe, my love, sexy ass), established relationship, speak/reference of social anxiety & panic attacks

A/N: So this was a lot of me being in an amazing mood when I wrote this, most of it was during lectures... gonna be truthful with that. But this was honestly like such a joy to write, I loved it! My little NBLW heart went crazy with this, Pleas enjoy!

"Babe! We're gonna be late!" Carrie called from outside the bathroom. "Just gimme a minute! I'm almost done! I need to get my eyeliner right! We can be fashionably late! It'll look cool!" You said, getting a highly exaggerated dramatic sigh from your girlfriend who was standing outside the door, making you giggle, and fuck up your eyeliner... again.

You threw your head back and loudly whined, it mixing with a groan due to your frustration, very annoyed from the now repeated action of trying to get this right. You were gonna have to ask for help. dammit. "Care Bear, can you come help me please?" You asked, a slight whine in your tone. You heard your girlfriend chuckle outside the door before she turned the knob to the bathroom door, checking to see if you were behind it first before opening it fully.

"Of course, My love." Carrie said lovingly as she gently took the eyeliner pen and makeup wipes from you, gently wiping off your botched attempts at the perfect eyeliner. She gently began to match the other eye with the eyeliner, almost like copying a painting, she would pause and stare at the finished eyeliner for a minute before continuing to use the eyeliner. Her smile was wide as she finished up "So cute, my love, but are you sure you wanna go? I know parties aren't really your scene, and I don't have to go. Save you the anxiety of people?" She asked, looking at you with a concerned expression, you knew it was because she loved you, you found her concern endearing.

"I'll be just fine, Care Bear, please don't worry about me so much, I already do enough of that myself...I wanna go, I don't think I've been to a party in a long long time.." you said, looking at your makeup in the mirror. It was perfect, it always was when Carrie did the eyeliner for you, if someone held a gun to your head and said 'do perfect winged eyeliner' you wouldn't live to tell the tale.

You were a little nervous, but your costume was cute, you had decided on going as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Just making sure the skirts covered at least half of your knees.

"Good, now get your sexy ass in the car!" Carrie said, her worry shaking away, being replaced by a playful mood as she gently pushed on your lower back, pushing you out of the bathroom, walking you downstairs and out the front door, turning around and locking the door after she checked that you had everything, purse, hairbrush, keys, taser- wait what? nothing.

You got into the car, shivering slightly "Damn, It's cold out." you said as your girlfriend slipped into the drivers seat, she took notice of your shiver and turned on the car, flicking on the heat, your shiver almost melting off of you in a way, replaced with a gentle, warm, homey feeling.

Carrie checked if you had your seatbelt on before putting the car into drive and pulling out of the driveway and driving the route she had memorized before you both left the house

Carrie let out a small sigh when you reached the house that was hosting the party, she parked, and turned to you "Are you sure that you wanna do this? We can always turn around and go home and cuddle, chill, eat, watch movies and stuff..." She said, a bit worried about you

"Care Bear! I will be fiiine. I'm okay! please don't worry so much, I just wanna have fun with you, It's halloween! and I'm doing something scary to honor that. Plus, you'll be there with me! I'm not alone, babe, I promise." You said, trying to reassure her "Just.. don't leave me stranded? All I really need to feel comfortable is... you." Your sweet words melted at her worry, she sighed

Carrie decided to let it go, they would have a good time! You two got out of the car, your excitement rose as you spotted some of Carrie's friends outside mingling

Carrie grabbed your hand softly, gently squeezing. She had invited you to come with her, you knew that she was worried you would be overwhelmed with the people, the noise, etc,etc. She didn't want her idea to cause you a panic attack, she would feel terrible and incredibly guilty

Carrie stuck by you the entire time, holding your drink when you weren’t drinking it, when you were in the bathroom, which is when she stood outside the door. Everyone thought your costumes were adorable, which made you very happy

After hours of mingling and eating snacks you went home, getting into the car to instantly be hit with a quick “Did you have fun? are you okay? Did everything go okay?” From Carrie, her words clashing together and smushing like clay as they came out of her mouth.

You turned to her and took her hand in yours “I’m fine, Care Bear. I couldn’t be better. I had so much fun with you tonight. I can’t wait to go home and fall asleep on the couch with you.”

This was enough to assure Carrie, she smiled and kissed the back of your hand softly, taking her key and starting the car to head home

Once you got home you both quickly hopped into some comfortable clothes, cuddling up on the couch in your pjs with some of your favorite snacks and drinks, beginning to watch “halloween” movies, specifically non-gorey ones, as Carrie said that she wants something she’s not constantly paranoid about after

“I love you so much, i’m so glad you had a great time…” Carrie said groggily after a couple hours of watching moves, as she drifted off she pulled you closer, so you turned off the movie and fell asleep too

wowww wow wow wowzie that was a lot, i literally spent 3 days working this out and fixing stuff bc i am a greedy bitch who likes to do what they want

Sooo tomorrow is Billy Loomis smut! who’s up for it? pls let me know if you’d like to be tagged!!

[metanarrates]

I'm sending you this ask because youre one of the few people I have seen critique isat and I needed to ask someone this.

There's something off about in stars and time's character writing, is there not? I can't quite put my finger on it which is why I'm so hesitant to talk about it because it might just be a me thing, but, as an example, it feels very similair as to why the magnus archive's character writing failed me too.

I just can't get myself invested in any of the characters besides maybe Loop? I simply don't consider how they may react to certain things or how they may live their lives, I'm just not interested in their internal worlds.

However, I can't quite pin down why, so I'm asking in case you felt anything similar? If not, that's fine, I know a lot of people enjoyed the game, and I'm glad for them! I just have an interest in writing, and I want to get a deeper understanding as to why some stories fail to interest some viewers when they succeed at interesting others.

Thank you for your time 😊

usual disclaimer that I ended up liking the game quite a bit and that I don't have any malice towards the author! but yes, I have been thinking myself about the different ways its character writing does and doesn't work for me too. more under the cut

there's a couple of issues as to why investment in characters might not be happening. they're pretty interlinked problems, but for the sake of at least trying to explain them clearly, I'll put them down in a list.

1. assumption of initial investment. I've referred to this in earlier posts on the game, but a huge reason why the early acts of the game did not work at all for me is that it felt like the author already expected me to have a baseline positive investment in the characters and their relationships from the beginning of the game, and since I didn't have that investment automatically it took a WHILE for me to end up actually interested in any of them. this is partially why I referred to the game's writing as "fanfictiony" - given that fanfiction is built off of a work that has already done the hard work of getting you invested, fanfiction tends to assume that you are already interested in its characters from the beginning and therefore tends not to do any of the introductory work that creates that investment.

but that introductory work is necessary in an original work of fiction if you want to make characters and relationships interesting to a viewer. a viewer has to be shown how characters are unique and how they interact with others in unique ways. and while that's not entirely absent from the game, especially in its later acts, it's also work that is hindered by some of the other pervasive writing issues. I'll get into those.

but as an endcap to this point - the game REALLY wants you to care about the party being together right from the first moment of the game. given that my only reason at that point to care is "they went on an offscreen adventure that I didn't see" it's... sort of hard to have that offscreen adventure be the main thrust of the party cohesion for the first few acts. we don't get to see the change in the party growing closer that would make their love for each other feel earned to a viewer. the relationships are static, at least until act 3. arguably part of the point of the game, but it makes it harder to get invested!

2. a LOT of the main party character dialogue, particularly early game, is spent on either exposition or banter. and while both of those things can be characterful if done well, they also tend to be less revealing of a character's internality than other forms of dialogue. isat's writing of both tends to be rather clunky. even exposition meant to reveal character traits (ie. learning from flavor text that isabeau likes fashion) tends to feel a little forced and usually amounts only to character trivia. I'm sympathetic to this writing issue in particular because it can be HARD to write that kind of exposition in a way that feels natural, but the end result is that it's hard to get a good grasp on how the characters have unique internal lives, given how much time they spend saying things that only can carry a surface-level portrait of their internal thought processes.

3. relationship writing tends to only revolve around siffrin. given that siffrin is the protagonist, this also makes sense to a degree, but there just isn't a lot of work put into depicting the unique relationships that might exist outside of him. what makes mirabelle and bonnie's friendship different than mirabelle and isabeau's, for example? we know they're friends, but is there a lot of work done to make it feel like their dynamics are particularly engaging? it's always a lot easier to see how characters are multifaceted when you see the unique ways they relate to other people in their lives. and since everyone besides siffrin treats everyone around them very similarly (ie. mirabelle is nice to everyone, odile holds everyone at a distance) it's just harder to get a good grasp on how they think and behave.

4. we also do not see much about how their relationships with siffrin or with each other might be strained or complicated. I may have referenced this before, but it was actually disappointing to me that act 5 didn't involve the whole party falling apart from internal issues exacerbated by siffrins behavior, rather than it just being siffrin individually sabotaging their relationships with everyone. you get a LOT of character investment juice out of showing conflict. and while there is legitimate conflict in each individual relationship siffrin has with everyone, the conflict tends to only feel like it exists in certain scenes, rather than it being something that underpins every interaction in subtle ways. (bonnie and loop are the exceptions to this, mainly because both of them are frequently a little antagonistic towards siffrin.) it has the overall effect of making the relationships feel a little less complicated than they could be.

5. lack of subtlety. this game is unsubtle in the extreme when it wants you to know something, and that actively detracts from the character writing. it's the main thing that drags down siffrins character for me - I get that he's anxious and insecure and does not communicate and is self-destructive. I don't need another 10 lines of narration per scene to hammer that in for me, especially when that narration could be better spent illustrating more of the nuances of those facts. they do end up feeling pretty strongly characterized to me by the end, but I don't appreciate how often the game belabors the point that they have issues. characters often feel deeper when the audience is given a lot of room to draw their own conclusions about them. not everything needs self-reflexive commentary.

this is a problem I feel is the main issue with siffrin, but it's not unique to them. mirabelle in particular has a tendency to just say exactly what her problems are out into the world. and while it works a bit better on her, it's still just not the best way to write a character. it's fine to tell and not show, sometimes, but you need to use that tool sparingly!

those are the main pervasive issues. there are a number of smaller reasons an individual character might miss the mark somewhat for me, but these are the ones you might be feeling for the entire cast. these issues are also possibly why you and I both find loop the most interesting character - they tend to sidestep the majority of these problems!

I'll reiterate, as I've done before, that most of these problems seem to be a result of an inexperienced author trying to tackle a difficult high concept. most of these problems are the sort that would eventually get better just by sheer experience at handling character writing. there's a lot of potential in the game, which is why I ended up enjoying it a lot. but I hope this little breakdown of my critiques was illuminating to you!

[majesticwren]

this is part II of this previous smutty one-shot. That one is still a stand-alone but, after this point, it is officially a multichaper. part III to come soon. edit: part III is done. be advised, this entire project is done solely for my pleasure, I am indulging myself so much with this. the angst that it carries (because yes there will be more coming - I am very good very evil) it's the energy I crave please don't come for me and trust the process I'll feed you smut. it is edited but not proofread. enjoy. a/n: hi :) me again back at it. I didn't like the first draft of this so I finally went back in and made it a little extra poly/gay with some more chemistry between kyle and will because I needed it. thank you bye 💕

trigger warning/s: angst angst angst, poly relationship dynamics, reference to sex, reference to threesome, smut, oral f receiving, shit loads of misunderstandings and miscommunication, swearing, OFC is unhinged and is her own trigger warning.

<- part I | part III -> prequel part I -> | part II -> | part III -> | part IV -> Masterlist

Erika sat still and collected. She had already been told off a few times because she was too fidgety so, now, it became a game of control on her own subconscious and nervous system. She was releasing her frustration on biting the inside of her cheek and lips instead. It was just as bad as bouncing her knee or just generally being unable to sit still and empty handed for longer than thirty seconds, but it was better manageable when her nail technician required her absolute stillness to work.

Not that she was winning. Not at all. Her mind was too busy. But, at least, it was fun to pretend she had everything under control. Everything was fine. Erika kept repeating it to herself like a prayer. She truly believed if she did it for long enough it would have become true. Because the alternative was heaving a breakdown, and she couldn’t afford one of those. Not when it risked to jeopardize the precarious balance her life had.

She was happy. She had been happy for a very long time. She had no right to suddenly feel like her very lucky, very privileged life could be somehow tight. And yet, she couldn’t shake her the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a small box. Which was exactly why she spent every waking second feeling guilty and every sleeping moment being tormented by her subconscious painfully reminding her about everything she didn’t have.

It wasn’t fair. And not because she thought the universe was torturing her, but because she was aware she was the problem. 

She was a wild card; which was all fun and games until she got to moments of her life like that one when she decided she needed a revolution. 

When she was younger, she tended to act out. Sometimes she thought her family was too nice, so she went and created problems. Sometimes she hated being pretty and how easy life seemed to be, so she would become nasty. Sometimes people would assume she was nothing more than a pretty face, and she would think about the smartest, cruellest way to get revenge. Sometimes all Erika craved was attention and would indulge in sex, alcohol or drugs abuse to get what she wanted. It started when she was very young, some may say too young to understand the consequences of her actions. Her brother helped her out of most of the shit she found herself drowning into even before she was eighteen.

And then she met Kyle.

He had been different from any other guy or girl she had ever interacted with. She knew since the very beginning he was special to her; she was attracted to him like a moth to light. It was impossible for her to stay away. But he too became a rebellious act she did in spite of Mark when her brother noticed her interest, assumed wrong of her intentions and suggested her to stay away from Kyle because he had no intention of seeing her breaking his heart. So, she took him literally and proceeded to do exactly what Mark had asked her not to. She broke Kyle’s heart. And it took her time to understand her mistake and fix it. 

Thing was, she wasn’t a teenager anymore. She hadn’t allowed herself to act on a whim in a very long time and she wasn’t about to justify herself to risk to ruin her perfect fairytale life. 

She got to do the job of her dreams, having a career many would kill for, not only that but she was also making good money for her skill. And she got to travel the world side by side with her amazing, beautiful and talented boyfriend, making many friends along the way. It felt nothing but privilege to her. Some may had been deserved, but privilege all the same. 

The idea that she was going to possibly ruin it all was terrifying.

But, everything was fine, she reminded herself.

“So,” Regina, the girl working on her nails, sent her a curious look from the other side of the table. “You look very pretty today. I see you had your lashes done?”

“Just this morning,” Erika nodded, “and my hair too.”

“I see,” the girl’s look became suddenly cheeky. She was a proper chatter-box who lived for the scandalous gossip her clients brought to the salon. They all were. There and at the hair salon just across the way. Which was mostly pleasant and harmless, but Erika had a feeling of what was coming and didn’t have the patience to hold a conversation. “Any special occasion?”

She shrugged. “Just a little party between friends.”

“Oh?”

“My brother is coming back from Australia after a month,” Erika decided to give in a little, “we organised a small gathering for him.” 

“You are an awful lot beautiful for just a casual event.”

“Can’t change perfection, sorry darling,” Erika giggled, finding some soothe in the distraction that conversation brought.

Regina chuckled too. “And what about your dashing boyfriend? Is he gonna be there?”

Erika grinned proudly, knowing very well how pretty Kyle was and how much attention he always got. Thankfully she wasn’t the jealous type. “Of course. You might be in for a treat actually,” Erika raised her chin, basking into her own bragging. “He is around and will pick me up when I’m done.”

“Oh,” Regina shook her shoulders, all excited, “You just made my day. Girls!” she called referring to the rest of the salon, “Erika’s boyfriend is popping by!” A small burst of celebrations occurred between the girls present, someone clapped, someone tapped the work surface and a few howled, just for everyone to then cheer joyfully. Erika too, giggled to herself allowing herself to let go of some of her concerns.

Thinking about Kyle made it better. Mostly.

“You will understand what we mean as soon as you see him,” Regina hinted to the girl sitting next to Erika, who was giving everyone very suspicious looks. “I tell you these Australians are something else.”

Erika shook her head, rolling her eyes. “What can I say, eh? We are the best country in the world, after all.”

“Well, tell me about this party, girlie,” Regina continued, focusing back on the final details her nails. “Are all your famous friends going to be there?”

“No,” any trace of joy left Erika. She huffed as enthusiasm washed off her. She was just exhausted. “Just a couple,”

“Well? Cheer up, love, what’s that sudden long face for? You can’t be all done up like this and be sad. Not on my nails.”

“I’m sorry Regina,” Erika sighed, “I am just tired, it’s been a long day and I haven’t slept at all well.”

“I bet. With a guy like your boy, I’d struggle to sleep every night too.”

Erika chuckled. She knew exactly how to respond to keep that little chitchat going, just to occupy time, but she didn’t say it. She was done talking. Not because she didn’t enjoy it, only because she was done holding up a mask. Her social battery was running out so quickly and she still had to deal with the last bits to get ready for the party and the event itself.

It wasn’t like she wasn’t looking forward seeing her brother after so long. She was so happy he was coming back to the UK; she missed him so much. But the idea of a party with all their close friends was enough to make her feel exhausted already. To be precise, it was the idea of a party with Will present that made her feel completely overwhelmed. 

Will was her problem.

Her chest still ached thinking about how cold and awkward it had been between them ever since the night they spent together. He didn’t seem to have any problem with Kyle, they kept spending as much time together as they could. Which wasn’t a surprise. But with her he was a completely different guy.

They hadn’t talked since the morning after. And ever since, Will had been plainly avoiding her. If they were so unlucky to cross paths, the words they exchanged were brief and distant. No eye contact.

Saying she was heartbroken wasn’t enough. 

Erika was aware they only had sex once and no one had talked about feelings. Yet, she wasn’t prepared to be treated so awkwardly. Especially after what they had. It meant something to her. It meant something Will stayed that night and they all slept snuggled on each other. It meant something that she now knew the scent of his skin or how he snored when he was on his right side. 

Being aware of what they shared and that Will now took part of her away, even if he wasn’t willing to accept it, was the only thing she had been able to think about. And it was her burden to carry. Every time she had to remind herself how things were going to be carved a deeper hole into her chest. And at the same time there was a need, a hunger, gnawing at her bones, leaving her feeling cold. And alone.

The most shameful part of it was that she didn’t have the heart to open up with Kyle about it. For the first time, she found herself keeping secrets from him. 

She felt dirty every second and she knew Kyle was trying his best to understand her and leaving her space, although she also knew he was hurting knowing something was happening. It was a price she was willing to pay, though. She had no intention of being the reason to slip any doubt in between him and Will. 

Erika had tried to soothe whatever was going on between them in the second-best way she knew how to be close to Kyle, since she had decided not to talk with him, and that was through sex. They had a way of always finding each other when they were intimate. It created a connection that was able to reassure her and take away some of her pain. Although the thought of Will was never gone for long.

She had thought about it long and hard. For some time, she had even started to get extremely concerned, wandering whether or not she had made the biggest mistake of her life and had cheated on Kyle right in front of him. But then she pretty quickly realised that wasn’t the case. The worth Kyle had to her was unchanged, Kyle still owned her heart. Only now it also ached for someone else too. 

“Oh,” Regina cooed, “heads up,” the moment she hinted to the entrance door, the bell ringed, announcing someone’s arrival. 

Erika followed Regina’s gaze and immediately melted into a warm smile as she recognised Kyle. Her body relaxed, her skin warmed up and her spirit shone a little brighter for him. 

“Hey,” she chirped.

The salon seemed to fall into an awe. Erika was hoping it was only her impression, although she didn’t miss the awkward, timid look Kyle sent all around. The more eyes set on him he found, the more his cheeks blushed. 

He held his half empty gym bag in one hand and was still wearing his gym gear, which was composed of baggy shorts and an unmatching old hoodie he had ripped the sleeves off only so he could show his arms. It was incredible how effortless his prettiness was. He could still look so attractive even in the lowest maintenance circumstances. It was mind blowing.

“Hey baby,” his voice broke her train of thought, “you ok?”

“Your girlie here seems to be very tired,” Regina looked directly at him, sending him a challenging look, “she said you keep her up all night.”

“Pardon?” Kyle blushed violently. His pale eyes glimmered of interest as he looked back at Erika, puzzled but amused as a timid smile peeked on his lips. 

“Nothing. Ignore her, please,” Erika sent a warning glare to Regina, hoping she could behave herself.

Kyle cleared his voice and nodded, “Right. Are you almost done?” He wondered leaning in to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

Erika looked back at Regina who nodded, looking at her own work on her nails. “Almost. Ten, fifteen minutes?”

Kyle’s attention didn’t move from Erika. “Do you want me to come back?”

“No,” Regina replied instead, offering a kiss-ass grin, “stay, have a seat on out booth, we got lovely colourful magazines and fresh cucumber water! Just ask.”

To his sudden confusion, Erika chuckled, leaning her head back as she looked up at him. “You are very popular in this establishment baby, you might want to consider switching career.”

“Oh, yeah?” he wondered leaning in for another kiss, causing some of the women around them to ooh them. “And what would you have me do, ladies?”

“Just stand there and be pretty. That’s more than enough.” Erika explained. 

Kyle offered a large smile to everyone present. “I see. Well, I’ll be sitting over there where everyone can easily look at me while you finish up.”

“Thank you,” Erika cooed and looked at him as he crossed the small salon and dropped himself on the small booth by the door. 

“Will says hi, by the way,” he casually began, opening up a random magazine. 

Erika choked. 

She turned towards Regina, as if hiding away could somehow shoo off the feelings that hit her like a landslide of heavy boulders rolling above her chest. So many questions crowded her mind, but, above anything, she was outraged.

What did it mean that Will said hi? Just like that? Casually? Like nothing happened? Was that the next step? From the awkwardness of knowing they saw each other naked and had sex to the complete denial it even ever happened? Was she that forgettable? And why would Kyle just say it like that? Like it was the most normal thing in the world? Did he think nothing happened too? That night meant nothing to him? Was he truly so blind not to notice how she was hurting and how Will hadn’t talked to her in a week? 

Or did they simply just decided to continue hang out with each other without her?

The room around her felt suddenly too small to breathe. The low murmur surrounding her and the ambiance music became too loud to bear. She felt like she was falling into a black void and sit there, unable to move, was unthinkable.

“Are you ok?”

Erika ignored Regina, shaking her words with a shrug. “Yes. Can you hurry up?”

“I mean I have the last layer of polish to do,” Regina frowned, “are you not feeling well?”

“No, I am ok, thank you. Just finish up, I just remembered I have something urgent I need to do.”

Erika barely managed to sit after that. She felt uncomfortable in her clothes, under her own skin. When her nails were finally done, she had never bolted out of that place as quickly as she did. Generally, she’d indulge in some small chit-chat and a drink or their flavoured water, just as courtesy. Not that time. She didn’t even stop to give Kyle the time to get up.

“Hey,” he shouted at her as she went through the door, “Hey, Erika, hold on,” he continued and when she didn’t stop for him, he grabbed her arm, bringing her to a hold. “Baby, what’s wrong?

She hissed, shaking her head. “Nothing is wrong. Let’s just go. Mark will land in a few hours,” 

“Yes. I know. I am the one who needs to go pick him up.” Erika tried to escape his hold, but Kyle held on, his grab was gentle but solid. “Will you stop one second? What happened? What did I do?”

Her heart was squeezed between guilt and regret. Erika raised a hand to him, cupping his cheek. “Nothing.” God, she wished she could pick him up and press him into her chest, “You had done nothing wrong; I just want to go home.”

How much she wished that could be enough. She wanted to drown into his eyes and disappear.

Kyle hesitated. His eyes cruised on her face, trying to read the answers he wanted from her features. And still, he kept his tongue tied.

He knew. She was aware Kyle knew something was up. He had known since the very beginning and she knew he was smart enough to connect the dots, only he never dared to overstep. Even though she desperately needed him to shake some sense into her.

He let her go, releasing a soft huff. “Ok.” He raised his hands peacefully, “Let’s take you home.”

“I’m gonna be late,” Kyle pushed his face in the crook of her neck, brushing his lips on her collarbones. 

She released a soft giggle, bending underneath him. “Passport control always takes ages,” Erika argued, wrapping her legs around his waist and keeping him exactly where he was standing in response. “Mark can wait,” she purred, her hands were all over Kyle as she sat back on her vanity table surface, pulling him closer.

He caught her lips in a heated kiss, unable to deny her. His big hands moved on her sides and down to her thighs. As soon as his palms touched her skin, Erika purred, melting under him. He easily lifted up the soft material of the silk shift she was wearing, exposing her.

“You are so bad,” Kyle pressed his smile on her chin, “you’d let your own brother wait all alone in the airport after the longest flight ever just to have some more sex.”

“Yes,” she pouted, ready to beg if necessary, “you should take it as a compliment.”

They had been going at it ever since they came home. Everything that was supposed to be said, everything that they were supposed to talk about, that Kyle wanted to ask and Erika needed to say, was forgotten once more just so they could find their connection skin on skin. 

It was blissful. Selfish, maybe, from both parts. And yet tremendously sweet. When she was between Kyle’s arms her mind was quiet and she felt safe. There was nothing threatening to hurt them. Nothing wrong.

And she simply couldn’t let go.

They had sex already twice in the midst of getting ready but it didn’t seem like they were done. It was easy for her to forget she was supposed to concentrate on doing her makeup and let him finish to dress up to go and pick up Mark. 

Kyle followed her neck, down to her chest, kissing, licking and nibbling on her soft, sensitive skin. When he continued down her sternum, unbothered by the thin material dividing him from her direct skin, Erika understood his intention and encouraged him with a soft whimper. 

He kneeled in front of her throwing her legs over his shoulders. His hands traced to her waist, surrounding her like a belt and holding her steady. His attention was only for her as he looked up, pale blue eyes glimmering with hot lust. 

“I do not have time,” he reminded her, bending his head and pressing his lips against the inside of her thigh, “but I can’t leave you knowing you are so needy.”

“No, you can’t,” her breath was hot and heavy as she looked at him move. “God,” she dared to chuckle, pushing a hand into his hair and keeping balance with the other. “You are so pretty in between my thighs it fucking hurts.”

“Yeah?” He wondered, only pretending not to be aware of the effect he had on her. The smirk he pulled gave her a shiver. He kissed higher up on her thigh. His lips were close to her core she felt his hot breath on her exposed flesh, and yet not giving her the satisfaction yet. 

She whimpered, nodding and stretching, feeling her need to find pleasure becoming an inconvenient ache pressing on her abdomen. “Please, Kyle,”

He didn’t let her waste anymore breath. Holding her steady, he pushed his face into her, and ate her up like she was made of honey. Erika almost lost every faculty as soon as his tongue caressed her folds, and she was completely gone by the time he started sucking her flesh. A moan vibrated through his chest, sending her to another planet.

The air soon filled by the obscene noises of Kyle’s mouth wrapped around her sex, accompanied by her moans. She wasn’t even trying to keep quiet by then. 

Pleasure started to build up inside of her stomach, sending electric shivers all across her limbs. Erika barely managed to balance herself up with an arm, but she didn’t care, she craved to push her fingers deeper between his hair just to hold him. In response, he looked straight up at her. His blue eyes were astonishingly beautiful. Making eye contact in such a moment was ravaging, so powerful her skin crawled with goosebumps, as pleasure only built. 

Erika didn’t take long to reach her edge and didn’t do anything to try and hold herself. She let herself go as her pleasure took over, growing through her, tensing her muscles as shivers crawled on her skin. Kyle skilfully guided her through her pleasure, following the movement of her hips and the quickness of her breath to know when she got close reaching her orgasm and then, he gave her exactly what she wanted, exactly what she needed, accompanying her through her release. She unravelled against him, her body shaking uncontrollably between his arms, as she called his name, lost in yet again another wave of pure bliss.

She then watched him rising to his feet. They were both out of breath. Erika felt pure electricity flowing in between them and under her skin and when he cleaned his chin and mouth up with his hand, she quivered, biting down on her lower lip not to beg him for more.

She needed another shower. A freezing cold one.

Erika slid her hands across his bare chest, looking at the scratch marks she left on his skin with extreme pride. “I wish we could just be like this all the time.”

“What? Having sex instead of being responsible and do adult things?”

“Precisely.” She looked away hiding from him, herself and everything else. The moment he’d leave her she would have only gone back to go insane again.

Kyle smiled softly. It was like he caught a glimpse of her sadness and, cupping her face, he made her look back at him. “I wish you talked to me,” his sweet request hit her right in the middle of the chest and ripped her apart. “You know I am here for you and I will always give you what you want. But I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong.”

She froze. Erika wished she could quit being that way. She wished it was just easier; she wished she let herself accept it could be easier. Instead, she pushed him away. “Yes,” she murmured sadly, “I know.” Erika attentively got back on her feet, still feeling her legs weak underneath her.

Kyle nodded. Her closing up to him once more was clearly something that hurt him. She saw it, she knew him well enough, and just wished she could be different.

She tried. For a moment they looked at each other and she truly tried to make her thoughts and emotions into words, but the knot in her throat silenced her. Her hesitation costed her their moment because Kyle was the one who broke eye contact and let her go.

He moved across the room and in the bathroom, quickly making himself presentable before slipping into the clean t-shirt he had already put on twice before and that had been promptly removed and thrown on the floor twice over. Then, he quietly picked a pair of white sketchers and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.

Erika wanted so bad to pretend everything was ok. They just spent a couple of hours having fun, ignoring responsibilities to just fool around with each other, yet the air between them was suddenly frosty. She still faked it. She was so good at it. She pulled her stool back in front of the table and sat back down, looking at herself in the mirror. 

She was a mess. Her makeup needed to be re-done. She needed a thick mask to cover up all the hurt showing in her eyes.

“Is it Will?” Kyle finally broke the silence. “Actually, don’t answer to that. I know whatever is going on with you is connected to Will. I am not stupid.”

Erika closed her eyes and looked away, hiding from her own reflection and Kyle’s gaze in the mirror. “We don’t have time for this.”

“We do. Passport control takes ages,” Kyle reminded her. “Erika, please, it’s me. Tell me. I need to know if I did something wrong, somehow?”

“You didn’t. You never would,” Erika turned over to him, “But please, I am begging you, I can’t deal to talk about Will.”

“Did he hurt you?” His voice was suddenly so severe it scared her.

“What!?” She shook her head, “No! Of course, not.” Despite the fact that he hadn’t acknowledged her for days now and that distance between them was hurting more than she could ever say.

“Then what? What happened the other night that made you have such a change of heart? I thought you enjoyed yourself.”

“I did,” Erika needed to reassure him. Now more than ever she noticed the frustration he felt in his inability to reach her. There was something tormenting him in and now he wasn’t hiding how desperately he wanted to fix whatever was hurting her.

Erika got up and quickly moved to him. Her hands moved around his face without her even thinking about it, she needed to touch him to make contact. “I did enjoy myself. I wanted it.” Erika had to fight not to let memories flood into her mind.

“Then what is it? I left you your space and I don’t mean to overstep, but I thought you’d take a moment and then you’d look for me. But you haven’t. You are shutting me out.”

“I am not,” she knew he was right and still proceeded to deny it, “I did look for you.”

“When? You are over there and I am over here, I feel you slip away through my fingers.”

Erika took his hand and pressed it against her own chest, letting him feel her taking a deep breath. “I just did. I do it all the time.”

Kyle shook his head. “Sex isn’t enough anymore, Erika. I need to know what’s going on in your head. In your heart. I can’t take it anymore, please tell me what’s wrong. Tell me how to fix it.”

“You can’t fix it,” she shook her head, “It will pass. It doesn’t matter.”

“It clearly matters. It matters to you. It matters to me. And it matters to Will.”

Erika chuckled sarcastically, shaking her head. “Well about that I doubt.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means nothing. Kyle, please,” she huffed, trying to regulate her emotions in a way that wasn’t falling into an argument with the only person who didn’t deserve any of what she was throwing at him. “Go and pick up Mark. Let’s get through the party and then,”

“Then what? Will you talk to me then?”

“If I say yes?”

“I want to believe you.” Kyle looked up at her, defeated, “I need to believe you. But I don’t.”

“Ok, I can deal with that. What I can’t deal with is talking about Will now.”

“You will have to deal with him sooner or later, he is going to come over.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“I just don’t understand what happened. You just shut both of us out.”

“Kyle,” Erika shook her head, “please, I am begging you.”

He looked so hurt. And so precious. Erika felt the need to scream and break something. It wasn’t fair, he didn’t deserve being treated that way. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to do anything different. In her chest guilt and shame vibrated, twisting her stomach painfully.

“Right,” Kyle dropped it, “fine.” He got up and leaned in, softly kissing her forehead. 

“I am so sorry,” she whispered, looking away, trying to fight her tears and her own pain. She hated to put more weight on Kyle’s shoulders, especially since she had the impression he felt somehow responsible.

“When you are ready, I’ll be there,” he left her. “Get ready. I’ll be back soon.”

“Ok,” she whispered and watched him leave the bedroom feeling suddenly so lonely and lost.

She hated herself sometimes. She knew why she acted the way she did. She understood her ways and yet she wished she could snap her fingers and just stop being a prick. Especially with Kyle.

He left without saying goodbye and when she was left completely alone, Erika stood in the middle of her bedroom for an ungodly amount of time, just looking at nothing, spacing out into her own doubts and despair.

When she realised she was so cold she was shivering painfully, she decided it was time to get a grip. To not let her brain take over and ruin her completely, she put some music on letting the living room speakers play loud, as she hopped in the shower, hoping to wash her problems off her skin.

An hour later she had all the arrogance to lie even to herself and think she was stronger than ever. Able to tackle anything. Everything was fine. It was still her favourite prayer. 

She had decided to melt her nerves helped by a shot of tequila to get her going. Her make up was done. Her hair fixed. She looked pretty, expensive and unbothered, just like she wanted. A perfectly executed mask. She only pretended she was wearing a cute outfit she casually picked, when she had the specific plan to be looked at.

Will was going to be there and she had every intention of getting his attention, one way or the other. It became a matter of pride. If he was doing everything in his power to ignore her and pretend nothing happened, she was set to make it as difficult as humanly possible for him. She needed to win. It was easier to think it that way than sulk. She was done being passive to her own pain. She wanted answers and she would have got them by the end of the evening. 

She even had the time to get the ambiance around the apartment just right to host a small gathering and just double checked with the catering that they’d be on time to set up before their friends arrived. 

When the doorbell went off, she gasped with surprise, fooling herself she could act completely cool. Everything was fine.

She hopped across her apartment on her tippytoes, still not wearing shoes. She was hoping it could be Kyle and Mark already even though she knew it was way too early. After picking Mark up from the airport, which was a potential forty-five minutes’ drive in traffic, Kyle was supposed to drop Mark back at his own place before driving him back there. It couldn’t be them. Plus, Kyle had the keys to get in the house. But she still answered the door with the same enthusiasm and expectations. 

“Hello,” she chirped, “come on up. Fifth floor,” she explained, realising it was probably the much less exciting catering guys coming in to set up.

Erika was still fiddling with her golden hoop earrings when she opened the door, ready to welcome their hired employees with a big smile. In the background played Rich Girl, by Daryll Hall and John Oates. “Hi, welcome,” as soon as her eyes set on the person standing by the entrance, she choked. Her smile hanged on her lips, and slowly froze when she realised, she wasn’t going to welcome Kyle or her brother and neither it was the catering. 

“Will,” she frowned, her throat sealed shut. It was the first time she saw him in days. She hid behind the door, trying to hold herself up. She had been doing such a good job, she couldn’t crumble the first second they interacted. “What are you doing here?”

He had his hands dug deep into his trousers and was looking straight at the floor, doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact. “Mark’s party. I was invited, remember?” 

The monotone in his deep voice drove her insane, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to slam the door in his face or choke him out more.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. I know. I mean this early.”

He shrugged. “I can come back if you prefer,”

Erika widened the door, sliding to the side and signing him to come in. “Don’t be stupid. Kyle and Mark aren’t here yet though.” 

She did everything in her power to maintain her decorum. If she wanted to survive that evening, she needed to rise above. And yet, she already couldn’t think clearly. 

As Will entered her home, awkwardly looking around, she inhaled deeply his scent. She was taken by a primal need for her to know what perfume he was wearing. But it went deeper than that as she realised what she was looking for was the smell of his skin, bare, sweaty and marked by sex.

It was beyond her. Memories hit her stronger than ever. She felt his callous hands on her skin, his ghostly fingers traced her body, making her doubt what was reality and what was dream. She could still taste his mouth on her tongue just as clearly as she could feel his curly hair in between her fingers. Just like she was still in his arms, she could feel the pressure of his hold, or the weight of his body on hers.

It was excruciating. Unbearable. Made her want to rip her hair out and run away, never to come back. But mostly, it made her feel so small and insignificant. She wouldn’t have made it. 

She wanted him so bad it hurt in places she wasn’t aware could hurt for a person.

Will still didn’t look at her. “Do you have any booze?”

“Fridge for beer or wine, and mixers, don’t touch the bubbly. Freezer for vodka. Wine rack for more wine and tequila. Knock yourself out.” She turned around, pretending she didn’t care. Maybe she could have hidden in the bedroom until someone else arrived? 

No.

She had promised herself she’d stop being a coward and a prick and would handle the situation. And that was actually the perfect occasion to get what she wanted.

“I’m gonna finish getting ready. Mind letting the catering people in when they arrive?”

“Sure.” She heard him pop a beer open.

She wondered if he was looking at her then. She hoped he was. She was ready for a fight. She was ready to get it over with because she couldn’t take to have that awful, awkward situation hanging above her life, shaving off happiness from her current relationship. But, deep down, she was still naively hoping to get what she wanted. Which was Will.

She turned around, deciding to get to her best weapons immediately. First artillery fire. She leaned against the bedroom doorframe, looking directly at Will, ignoring how intensely he was studying every title in Kyle’s collection of pop-punk vinyl CDs. She didn’t know him to have ever been that interested in that music genre before.

“Do you like my dress, Will?” She wondered casually and watched his reaction with a dangerous, magnetic smile printed on her lips.

She watched avidly how he stiffened, raising his head and widening his shoulders, which only made her ego grow. Will didn’t move for the longest couple of seconds as his eyes traced up on the wall in front of him. He didn’t dare to look back but his eyes did move on the dozen frames patching up the wall retracting professional pictures of wrestling matches. Only the best of her work, exposed like in a gallery. Will had more than one spot on her wall. Now she was starting to understand why she liked to portray him so much.

“Don’t ignore me.”

He hissed, clearly bothered by her voice. “I am not.”

“So?”

“I dunno. Doesn’t matter what I think, does it?”

“It does if I am asking.”

He huffed and then hid behind his beer, taking two good gulps of it before just shaking his head. “Sure. You look very nice. But you know that. So, why bothering asking me?”

“How would you know? You haven’t even looked at me once.”

Will tutted and let his head fall back, releasing some of his frustration in a huff. He was still not facing her. “I am not playing your game, Erika.”

“Look at me, Will.” She ordered, summoning all her strength not to let any of her desperation show. She wanted to sound authoritative and not like a little scared girl who just wanted to be held. Somehow it made sense in her mind that that could be her best plan.

It seemed like he was willing to fight her. For a split second he held his position, without daring to move. He was holding his breath. But then, something gave in and he did turn. Not completely, as if he was still trying not to expose himself to her. But he did. And when he did, his eyes sliced through her like daggers, severe and detached. She didn’t recognise the cold in his gaze and kept stumbling in the fear that she was continuing to make mistakes.

That moment was the first that Erika realised it wasn’t only about the sex anymore. She wasn’t only looking at a man that couldn’t recognise being the same who held her so tenderly. But she also couldn’t recognise the Will she had liked and respected for so long from before. Before everything, they had been friends for a long time. Years. They shared trips, work, holidays, accommodations, moments of their lives that will always connect them. And yet, she was now cut out of it.

She was hurting so bad.

But, for the life of her, Erika didn’t dare to show an inch of it. He didn’t deserve it.

If that’s how it had to be, then she was determined to make him regret his choices.

Will shrugged. “So? What am I supposed to look at?” She was the one who was hit. But Will wasn’t done. “Let’s do this like civil adults, shall we? I am here for Kyle and Mark, let’s get through this. In a couple of days, I’ll be on the road again in Japan.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Knowing he was going to be gone fairly soon disheartened her. It didn’t seem like she was going to prove any point, let alone win at anything. And he was going away soon, maybe that was it, that was her answer. Let it go, for everyone’s sake. 

“You know what I mean.”

“No.” Erika crossed her arms, willing to appear as defensive as possible, “I do not know what you mean, William.”

The smile he whipped out was pure scorn. He took her words like a cheap shot, shaking his head. “My, my, you must be very upset. I rattle you pretty bad, don’t I? Don’t worry. You stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours and everyone lives happily ever after.”

“You are such a cunt.” Erika scoffed, raising her chin high, “I wish I never met you.”

“Oh, don’t you worry darling, the wish is mutual.” 

He went right to the jugular. His words slipped her throat. She felt something severing inside of her. Her chest was empty and squeezed, she was unable to breathe.

She closed herself in her bedroom, leaving Will alone. 

What was she supposed to do now? 

That was answer enough. Will gave her exactly what she thought she wanted, and in the meanest way he could possibly think to clear any doubt she may have had. Only, it was nothing like what she had hoped for.

She wanted a drink so bad. Somehow, she thought alcohol could fuzz her rational thoughts and soothe her. The only problem was that Will stood between her and her booze and she had no intention to look at him ever again.

Damn it. Damn him.

Erika cried in silence, huddled on the floor like a desperate little girl who couldn’t even take rejection on the chin like a champ.

She had ignored hearing Will moving around her apartment, turning on the tv and even talk loudly on the phone. It didn’t matter what he was talking about, to her it mattered the way he laughed and chattered like nothing bothered him. Then, when the catering showed up, she still ignored him when he tried to ask for direction – again acting like nothing happened between them. He even knocked on her door a couple of times, and she still didn’t respond.

By that point, Erika's only concern was to pick herself back up, fix what Will had just broken and keep pretending. For Mark. For Kyle. For herself.

By the time she had fixed her makeup for the nth time that evening, the first guests started to arrive and that was her queue to waltz out of the bedroom and be the perfect, prettiest host. She could only hope Kyle and her brother would arrive soon.

[justworthlessreblogs]

Unironically here for the tangled au I want to eat it

and so you shall feast. you have no idea how long i've been keeping this in i've wanted to talk about it so bad (it was originally gonna be a surprise fic while u all waited for finale. i thought it was gonna be 5k. it was not 5k.)

i call it the riopunzel au because rio's the rapunzel in this au. and yes he has the 70 feet of hair

why is rio rapunzel, you ask? because noir is the perfect fit for gothel. also riopunzel is a really funny pun. the pun is literally the reason this au exists in the first place. i was falling asleep one night and my brain went "hey you know what an au where rio was rapunzel would be called? riopunzel" and i went "oh my god. i have to write this down" and the rest is history

this makes ciel flynn, of course! kirarin is her real name. she's the princess of the kingdom of ichigoyama, but is currently on the run because she may or may not have stolen a certain crown

the reason she stole the crown is because she's looking for her twin brother who was kidnapped shortly after they were born. she's got this grand fantasy in her head of finally finding him and presenting him with the crown (it's her brother's. she has a matching one) and then they can all live happily ever after. mom said no we are absolutely not doing that that's too dangerous so she went Fine I'll Do It Myself and ran off. absolutely nothing is going to go wrong with this plan at all

to be fair the crown is technically her property anyways

their mom is lumiere. she's the queen, ofc. and no noir is NOT the father we are noirlumi haters in this household. i have no idea who the dad is there aren't really any canon characters i could use and i also don't want to invent an oc. so there's no dad in the picture

lumiere is understandably very protective of kirarin after losing her son, which is part of why kirarin runs off

yukari is the horse except not a horse. she's co-captain of the royal guard. lumiere sent her to track down kirarin and drag her back

akira is yukari's wife and the other co-captain. she's more of a background character but she does show up very briefly

aoi is the daughter of the noble house tategami. she plays in a street band, not that her parents know. she and ciel kinda know each other from events but never really spoke much. she only gets a cameo (sorry aoi)

himari also only gets a cameo (sorry himari) but i picture her as some sort of sweets scientist (maybe like varian from the series but with sweets instead of alchemy? and no villain arc. i haven't actually watched the show so that's all i know about him sorry if i just failed varian 101)

ichika is just a townsperson (sorry ichika)

the ciel de reve is the snuggly duckling. ciel took her alias (ciel kirahoshi, of course) from its name. it's one of her favorite places to hide out when yukari is especially hot on her trail

bibury is a server/bartender at the ciel de reve. she's a lot more well adjusted in this au! riopunzel!bibury was found and taken in by chourou around the age of 6 and got to grow up happy and healthy :)

cielbib have a situationship

chourou's granddaughter, pekorin, also helps out at the ciel de reve from time to time

chourou owns the place but since he's getting old it's pretty much bibury's tavern by now

everyone's aged up a little, the middle school gang is now 17-18 and akiyuka are 21-22. pekorin is like. 11. also everyone is human

eliso and grave are the stabbington brothers, but ciel never teamed up with them so revenge isn't a motivation. they're just in it for the money, especially grave

noir is World's Shittiest Father but what else is new

ciel's natural hair color is blonde, but she dyes it pretty regularly to disguise herself. rio's is his original civilian persona's black-blue color, but the flower makes it the pale blue color it was as julio. as in tangled canon when it's cut it reverts to that black-blue

he's referred to as julio for most of the au, because that's what noir called him. his birth name is pikario ofc

for the most part the story follows the events of the movie. it's more of an exercise in "hey wouldn't it be really funny if i put the characters in this situation"

[multifandombxxch]

PLAY TOO MUCH

requested:

Hey, can you do a plug!Taeyongx x Chubby Reader. Y/n playing too much with Taeyong's feelings cuz y'know he really likes her and whatever but y/n doesn't believe him.

Pairing: Plug! Taeyong x Chubby reader

warnings: age gap, insecurities, fatphobia, raw sex (wrap it before you tap it), S*xual Harassment, mentions of drugs.

"Bout to catch another flight (yeah)

the apple bottom make 'em wanna bite (yeah)

I just wanna have a good night

I just wanna have a good night (hold up)"

The familiar lyrics of Coi Leray's 'Players' were currently blasting through multiple speakers in my dorm parking lot.

What may be the cause of this you ask?

My roommate was having another party.

On a fucking school night.

My bedpost was banging against the wall as the bass of the speakers was quite literally shaking the whole building.

I kissed my teeth in annoyance I was trying to catch up on an episode of 'House of Dragon' for Christ's sake.

"I cannot take this anymore. I'm calling her." I grumbled.

Calling MIRAE<3...

Ring

ring

ri-

"Hey boo, wassup?" she answered

I sighed pinching the bridge of my nose "Rae I literally can't hear myself right now. The music is way too loud and it's getting late. Don't you have an 8am tomorrow? "

she groaned on the other side "Bitch I told you to come downstairs and live a little. You can't spend college cooped up in the dorm."

I rolled my eyes at that. Rae did invite me to the party but I wasn't one for loud music and crowded places plus...I wanted to avoid a specific someone.

"I'm good, thanks and you know I wanna avoid he who shall not be named. " I said.

I didn't have to say his name she knew exactly who I was referring to.

she chuckles nervously on the other side

"what?'" I question a sudden feeling of anxiety filling me.

"Imma just give it to you straight. He's here and I told him you were upstairs so he said he was gonna deal with his clients and then go up to see you."

I took the phone from my ear and stared at it like it was some foreign device.

Then I placed it back on my ear

"Bitch you did what?!"

"Oh calm down. He's literally been obsessed with you since last semester. He's damn dedicated I'll give him that and he's fine as hell." She gushes.

after a couple minutes of silence ( really just me being lost in my own thoughts ) I spoke up

"I'm nervous. I like him but what if he's just fucking around? I'm not exactly his usual type." I admit softly

"Y/n" Mirae's tone is much softer now.

I shut my eyes tightly.

I didn't need pity right now. but I couldn't help but remember the awful things that were said to me

'why do your hips bend in like that...it looks weird'

my hip dips

'you need to start working out I can see the damn rolls on your back

my back rolls

'no one is going to want someone who can't take care of themselves

my body

I didn't think I was attractive or deserving of any attention.

the attention I got from men made me feel dirty instead of wanted.

I mean...being groped by a random man at 15 wasn't something I had on my bucket list.

Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe someone wanted me for me.

change the topic from your body Y/n

"It's fine...forget about it." I quickly cover up.

"So how long ago did he say he was coming up" Nice change of topic idiot

she sucks in a breath "He actually went up about 2 minutes ago"

my eyes went wide in panic. Our room was on the third floor I had roughly a couple seconds before he kno-

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

three rapid knocks came from behind my room door.

"Oh is that him? I'm hanging up then babe." Rae rushed out before hanging up. I put the phone on my nightstand.

Christ, I didn't even have time to fix my hair or something.

I was still seated on my bed when I heard his deep amused voice

"Y/n I gave you enough time to prepare for me so come open the door."

My body jerked at the sudden call out. I hurriedly got off my bed and made my way to the door

I counted to three before opening it and coming face-to-face with he who shall not be named aka Lee Taeyong aka the university's plug.

He grinned as he held up a bag of my favorite snacks "Hey princess...missed me?" Funnily enough, the bag looked out of place in his hand due to his outfit. He was in a black t-shirt and some black ripped jeans. and his signature silver accessories around his neck, wrists, and fingers.

He didn't have his bag with him...weird he usually has it because it contained his "goods"

I must've been staring too long because he suddenly spoke up

"Are you gonna let me in or are you gonna let that mind of yours go places it shouldn't" he smirked

The inside of my mouth became dry and suddenly I couldn't speak. I stepped aside allowing him to walk in and put the bag on my study desk.

I closed the door and turned to him.

No surprise he was already staring at me. he always stares at me.

am I really that ugly?

he was looking me up and down while his bottom lip was caught between his teeth.

"You did all that for me?" he question gesturing to my attire

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion until I caught myself in the bathroom mirror.

embarrassment

hide...hide right the fuck now.

I completely forgot I was only in an oversized t-shirt that stopped mid-thigh...with no damn bra on.

I gasped and covered my face with both my hands.

he chuckled and I felt him coming closer to me.

suddenly he took my hands from my face.

"Stop being so cute y/n...makes me wanna fuck you more"

my breath caught in my throat.

he only found me attractive because of my body

a familiar feeling of disappointment filled me

he pulled me closer by my hands and moved his hands to grip my waist

"What's wrong cupcake?" he asked concerned.

His black hair fell in front of his face. He was too good to be true.

"Is someone bothering you again?" he grilled me his eyes suddenly turning dark

"No" I answered

"don't lie to me. You know I'd kill for you." he grunted, suddenly gripping my jaw.

he can't be serious right now

he doesn't mean that

"I am serious and I mean every. fucking. word." he said suddenly serious.

did I say that out loud?

Fuck it the worst that could happen is that he destroyed my already low self-confidence so I decided to ask.

"Do you actually like me?"

he stared at me incredulously "Y/n don't ask me stupid questions. Why would I follow you around and practically throw myself at you if I didn't like you?"

he was blunt about it but I just couldn't believe him.

my doubt must've shown on my face because he suddenly turned me around and pushed me up against the wall.

he was so close I could feel his heartbeat against my back.

"You think I'm playing with you?" he asked me

"Yes" I admitted

"There's no way you'd want me. You don't usually go for girls like me.

he pressed against me more and growled "The fuck do you mean girls like you? "

tears lined my eyes

"Fat girls...chubby ones!" I whispered

after a beat of silence from me and heavy breathing from him...he released me and stepped back.

I still faced the wall. I couldn't bring myself to look at him...I was too scared I was right.

"Y/n look at me" he spoke out.

I remained unmoving

suddenly he tugged the back of my t-shirt causing me to fall back into him.

"You think i dont want you because of your body?” He questioned….his tone soft and careful.

I nodded.

“Or you could want me just for my body….I know you would probably want to sneak around since nobody wants to be seen with me”

I could feel his heartbeat on my back.

He said nothing for a couple seconds and then….

“Should I fuck you and claim you to prove you’re wrong?” He asked bluntly

My body stilled.

“Answer me baby…I need an answer y/n. I won’t touch you if you don’t want it” he rasped out.

I nodded.

And that’s all it took for him to devour my body.

“Let me see your pussy baby” he grunted as he laid me back on the bed.

I clenched my thighs tighter together

What if he hates what he sees

All of a sudden he forced my legs open and used his index to take some of my wetness

Causing me to whimper.

He looked me in my eyes and licked it clean off his fingers.

“You taste better than I could even imagine princess” he moaned out.

Three.

I had three orgasms before he put his dick in me.

I was already a trembling mess but that didn’t stop him from fucking me senseless and giving me two more orgasms.

The blissful look on his face as he marked me everywhere and Painted my walls white with his cum was better than any artwork in any museum.

His body jerked and trembled as he whispered how beautiful and breathtaking he found me.

Slowly he rolled over and laid next to me.

After we came down from the high he realized that we didn’t use protect which I reassure him by telling him I was on the pill.

“No more playing y/n, I fucked you raw. I claimed your pussy and marked your body….tell me your mine.” He as he laid next to me.

“I’m yours” I whispered blissfully

He pecked my cheek “that’s right princess”

[imonawholedifferentlevel]

𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 - 𝐎𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ʏ/ɴ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴄᴀʀᴏʟ'ꜱ ʜᴀɪʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ꜰʟᴜꜰꜰ, ᴀɢᴇ ɢᴀᴘ, ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, ꜰʀᴇᴇ! ᴄᴀʀᴏʟ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢꜱ: ᴄᴀʀᴏʟ x ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ! ꜰᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (ᴘʟᴀᴛᴏɴɪᴄ) ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ: ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ

"Pleaseeeeee" I begged.

"No" she stated bluntly turning her head away from me.

"But your constantly carrying that 80's hairstyle it is time to maintain up with the generations-"

"Fuck off it is bizarre what ya'll are doing nowadays and what the fuck is up anyways with your baby hairs?!"She stated.

"Ok first off these are referred to as edges and second I'f you'll simply allow me fashion your hair you'll see that they may be sincerely cute" I attempted to reason however she simply rolled her eyes and popped a jawbreaker into her mouth.

I sighed and sat on our shared bed it has been some time since Carol has been released from jail after forty years of incarceration she nonetheless thinks that nothing hasn't changed.

After I myself was released I began to start my own hair business it become tough at first however it finally started to work out and it is sincerely doing really great.

"Come on Care just one time and in case you do not love it I'll positioned it again into your uninteresting little 80's hairstyle" I stated she groaned loudly and positioned the remote down earlier before crossing her arms.

"Fine!" She snapped I quick shot up from the mattress and ran into the rest room grabbing the hair components from below the cupboard and coming again into the room I set them down on the mattress and went into the kitchen to get a chair.

She sat on the chair and I started to get to work.

I swiped through my phone and smiled selecting a hairstyle for her with out announcing anything.

I parted her hair into 4 sections and I used my curling iron to begin curling her hair Carol was watching TV the entire time however everytime I moved her hair she would get an attitude and she would slap it away.

But then yelled at me after I would burned her and everytime I told her "you should have moved your head like I stated".

When I finish curling her hair I reached for my hair gel and she must have been watching what I was doing due to the fact she snapped her head to me.

"Nu uh!"

"Carol-"

"No!" She snapped.

"If you get throught this I'll take you out to eat" I stated and she quickly stopped her rambling and slumped in her chair.

"Whatever" she mumbled.

I smirked triumphantly and opened the gel I used the brush to part a few thin strands of hair and curled them with my fingers.

I then scooped a few gels in my hand and applied it on Carol's head feeling her shiver a little from the uncomfortableness.

I used a brush and brushed her hair keeping the strands of hair in the front considering the fact that Carol's hair turned was thinner and simpler to gel down than mine it didn't really took long.

I then grabbed a hair tie and tied her hair into a curly bun I then sprayed coconut hair spray into her hair for the scent.

I picked up my edge brush and used the brush side and applied some gel onto it before brushing down her baby hairs after I was finished I used a hairdryer to keep it down.

I put the hairdryer down and backed away looking at the final product I squealed and clapped my hands "you look amazing" she got up from the chair and walked into the rest room.

I appeared nervously due to the fact I could not examine her facial features however it quick vanished after I noticed the side of her lips perk up.

"It does not look so bad" she stated giving me a kiss on the cheek and I felt my face warmth up hoping she could not see it however I'm pretty sure she knew due to the smirk she had on her face.

"So do I get to do your hair more?-"

"No"

"Oh come on Carol!" I stated with a pout.

[nadinebrooks]

Here is the link to my masterlist.

How You Spend the Christmas Holidays

I just thought this was something cute to do for the holidays! I hope you are able to spend some time with family and friends. Please enjoy!

Harry: Gryffindor, halfblood, same year

"I'm going to miss you so much Ronnie." I threw my arms around Ron's neck hugging him tightly. Then I turned to Hermione pulling her tightly into me.

Today I was having to say my goodbyes to Harry, Ron, and Hermione before I headed off to the Hogwarts express to go home. I was a little jealous that the 3 of them would be spending Christmas at the Weasleys together.

My parents booked us a flight to the Bahamas for the break. They couldn't stand the snow so we spent every Christmas somewhere tropical. They promised that next year, I would be able to bring Harry, Ron, and Hermione along with us.

"Ron and I are going to head out to the library really quick." Hermione grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the portrait hole.

"But why do we have to leave them alone?" Ron questioned.

"Because Ronald-" was the last thing I heard before the entrance snapped shut.

"I can't believe that we're not spending Christmas together." Harry sadly sighed. I took his hand and lightly pulled him to the couch. I sat down and Harry snuggled up to me. Harry and I had always been pretty touchy with one another. We weren't dating or anything, but I always found myself reaching for his touch.

"I know Harry. I'm not happy about it either, but at least you'll be with Ron and Hermione."

"But I want to be with you (y/n)."

"It's only for a couple of weeks. It'll be fine."

"Are you sure you can't skip out on the trip?"

"You know the rules Harry," I mumbled. "I'm not allowed to skip out on family trips. It'll be over before you know it."

"Can I at least give you your present now?" Harry got up and headed towards the bedroom not even waiting on me to reply.

"Sure. I'll go get yours." I smiled and then headed to where I slept and then came back with a box. Inside was a broom maintenance kit and a couple of books that some famous Quidditch players had signed. Harry was beside himself when he opened the gift. He kept thanking me over and over again.

"Now for you gift." He grinned when he had finally gotten over the shock. I opened the box and inside was a moving photo of me, him, Ron, and Hermione playing outside in the snow a couple of weeks ago. We were all grinning and waving at the camera.

"Oh Harry." I threw my arms around him pulling him into a hug. "Thank you so much. Who took this?"

"You're welcome." He stammered his face bring red from the hug. That was strange. We were always touching and not once had I ever seen him blush like this before. "Colin took it that day that we all went outside the first time it snowed. I have something else for you."

The way he passed this gift over I could tell there was something delicate inside. I was so worried about breaking it that I had to make sure I slowly opened it.

Inside was a very dainty charm brace with three charms on it. There was a lightning bolt, a crown, and a lightbulb. I looked up slightly confused waiting on him to explain what each charm represented.

"The lightning bolt represents me," he pointed to his forehead. "The crown is because Weasley is our King and the lightbulb is because people refer to Hermione as the brightest witch of our age. It's so that you can always have us with you."

I sat there staring at it in awe. No one had ever given me anything like this. Nothing this thoughtful.

"Do you like it?" He nervously asked. I looked up at him and then back down at the bracelet. I carefully sat it down not to break it and leaned into Harry.

I reached over and cupped his cheek and before I could stop myself, I leaned into him pressing my lips onto his. I wasn't sure how he was going to respond but I was pleasantly surprised when he wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me into him.

Harry started kissing me harder and I instantly matched his roughness. Harry's hand reached into my skirt and grabbed my ass. I let out a little moan opening my mouth so our tongues could meet.

We were going at it for a minute and it could've lead to something much more until we heard someone come into the common room which caused us to pull apart.

"I guess that meant you liked it." Harry chucked his face bright red.

Ron: Ravenclaw, muggleborn, year above

"Sorry, it's not much." I shrugged as we walked up to my house. Her eyes widened as she took in my house. Recently, I had learned that (y/n) came from money so I was a little embarrassed to be showing her my home for the first time.

I was a little scared that she would start having second guesses about coming here. Even worse, everyone was going to be home for the break. I knew that my family could be a lot to handle.

"Please don't say sorry. It's perfect." As we walked towards the door, I noticed that the smile never left her face. "Is your house held up by magic?"

"Yes." I admitted wondering if that was going to be an issue for her. "Are Muggle houses not?"

"Not at all." She giggled. Before I even got a chance to open the front door, my mom had pulled it open and was beaming at (y/n).

"You must be (y/n)." She cried out pulling her into an unexpected hug. "I am so excited to meet you. Ron has been talking about you nonstop since he said you were coming over for the break. Please come inside and make yourself at home." I felt my face instantly heat up. Pretty much everyone knew that I liked (y/n) so I figured that by the time she left the Burrow, she would know as well. "I'm just about to start cooking dinner. Is there anything that you don't eat?"

"Well I'm good with just about everything besides (dish you don't like)." (y/n) shuttered slightly while her eyes were wandering around the kitchen. There was so much going on that she couldn't keep up. All the dishes and food flying around was normal to me, but I wonder what it was like to be in a Muggle household when tons of cooking was going on. I'd have to ask (y/n) about that. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Oh no dear." My mom shook her head beaming at (y/n). I could tell that she was really going to like her. "I've got everything under control. Ronald take her stuff upstairs. She can sleep in Ginny's room. Make sure she feels at home."

The next couple of days were absolutely amazing. We all played outside in the snow together building snowmen. There was constant teasing from the twins. Then there was Ginny and Harry telling me to just make a move on (y/n).

They said that she obviously liked me as well but I didn't believe them and I refused to make a fool of myself with an audience. She even told me about Muggle Christmas things like Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and about some elf that lives on a shelf.

The break was starting to come to an end, and I still hadn't made a move on (y/n) yet. I thought it was weird because one second we would be cuddling on the couch drinking hot chocolate but the next minute we were acting just like friends.

Hermione told me it was her way of trying to tell me that she liked me, but I wasn't having it. When Ginny told me that that she had confined in her about liking me during one of their late night talks, I decided I had to do something. So, the night before we had to return to Hogwarts, I found (y/n) playing wizard chess with the twins.

"(y/n)?" I quietly questioned. I was super nervous but this needed to be done. "Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course." She grinned standing up. "George can you play for me?" Then she walked towards me. I took her hand and gently took her hand and dragged out into the hallway. "What's up?" She questioned.

"Well you know what it means when two people stand below mistletoe?" I asked rocking back and forth on my heels.

"Yeah." She nodded slowly. "It means they're supposed to kiss." Then before I could lose all confidence, I leaned forwards and pressed my lips onto hers. At first I didn't think she was going to kiss me back, but then she did softly at first and then rougher. I was melting into the kiss. She pulled back looking slightly dazed. Her eyes flicked upwards.

"Ronald!" She scolded. "There wasn't any mistletoe."

"I know," I shrugged looking down at my feet. "I just needed an excuse to kiss you."

Draco: Slytherin, pureblood, year below

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as (y/n) shivered and pulled her large coat even tighter around her. She was one of those people who was always cold no matter what.

"Would you like to wear my extra jacket?" I offered shrugging out of it and trying to pass it to her.

"No." She shook her head, teeth chattering. "I'm fine. Keep your jacket Draco."

"No you're not (y/n)." She reluctantly took the jacket from me and shrugged into it. It was too big on her, but she looked adorable in it. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Blaise smirking at us.

Blaise knew that I had a little crush on her, but she had absolutely no idea. Well I don't think she had any idea.

"I think we should stop and get some butter beer." He suggested. "Before we head back to the school."

We had decided to come to Hosgsmead to do some Christmas shopping. There were only a couple of days left until classes ended for the term.

We entered the small pub trying to squeeze through everyone until we found an empty table. On our way to the table I did see Potter and his friends but I didn't feel like stopping to make any comments. After we claimed our table, (y/n) decided that she would go get drinks for everyone.

"Should I invite (y/n) over for Christmas holidays?" I asked Blaise when she had gotten out of earshot.

"She's never been to your house before?" Blaise questioned. "Not even for those fancy New Year's Eve balls that your parents do every year."

"Well yes, a couple of times." I said after a moment of thinking. "I think our parents introduced us to each other at one of them a couple of years ago."

"So you're thinking about inviting her over for the whole break?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "maybe you should come too so it won't be weird."

"Oh no no no." Blaise shook his head chuckling. "I refuse to be a third wheel Draco."

"But you're not going to be a third wheel Blaise. There's nothing going on so-"

"Okay and I'm back." (y/n) walked up to us carrying three large mugs of butterbeer. She passed them around to us and then sat down beside Blaise. "I wonder where Pansy is. I haven't seen her the whole time we've been here."

"The last time I saw her was in the joke shop. I think she ended up heading back to the castle." Blaise shrugged. "So what are you doing for Christmas break?"

"Well my brother is coming home from the United States. He's been studying there for the past eight months so I'm super excited to see him. But besides that, I'm going to the Malfoy's infamous New Year's Eve party, I won't be doing much of anything. What about you guys?" She looked between us taking small sips of her drink.

"Well Draco had this amazing idea that we should all go to his house for the break." Blaise answered.

"But if you don't want to that's totally fine. I understand. You said that your brother is coming home for the break so if you need to do to that then it's okay. I'll just see you when we get back." I stammered not able to stop myself. I hated the fact that she made me feel like this.

"I would love to." (y/n) gushed. "I'll go to my house for a couple of days just so I can see my brother and then I'll come to your house after I get to spend time with him."

"Yeah." I nodded smiling at Blaise surprised that he was actually okay with being with us. "That would be great."

[saspitite]

The Hint

On February 6th, 2024, a thread on KauKoBoard made by user HedoniSt0rm had been suddenly updated after going silent for nearly five years.

[24/02/06 19:13] HedoniSt0rm: Hello everyone. Sorry it's been a bit, I got busy with life and had to distance myself from online matters. I hope I didn't worry anyone, though- I know there's only like, 80 people here? So it's pretty easy to remember most everyone and notice when somebody leaves. Either way, I'm back, and with something I think you guys might like. [24/02/06 19:22] Milli_Best_Pilli: TORILLE PERKELE!! welcome back man, we missed you so much! :D you doing alright? [24/02/06 19:24] HedoniSt0rm: Doing just fine, thanks! :]. [24/02/06 19:25] notawolf: what did i miss??? hedoni's back???? talk about the second coming of christ lol [24/02/06 19:25] notawolf: in all seriousness i'm happy you're back dude. what's the thing you wanted to show us? [24/02/06 19:26] HedoniSt0rm: Glad you asked. Hope everyone still has their detective bones in them like the good ol' days, because this was an interesting encounter. Remember what I said before I left? It was the last update I made in this thread. [24/02/06 19:27] notawolf: no fucking way. [24/02/06 19:27] Milli_Best_Pilli: ...do i need to grab some popcorn [24/02/06 19:27] HedoniSt0rm: Yep. I talked to the Kauhukorppi. [24/02/06 19:28] notawolf: DUDE [24/02/06 19:28] HedoniSt0rm: Sit tight, I still have to upload all the photos to my computer- then I'll explain. [24/02/06 20:14] HedoniSt0rm: Alright, everything's done uploading and nothing got corrupted (too much). So, I had gone to a Hevisaurus concert earlier and remembered my hypothesis of potentially communicating with the Kauhukorppi. It felt a bit strange in practice, continuously taking photos while the band wasn't even playing, but I'm sure nobody noticed me amongst all the excited kids. My plan was to keep taking photos periodically until I "caught" him, and then find ways to communicate from there. Yes, it sounds extremely unplanned, but it turns out I didn't really need much of a plan at all. It turns out that the Kauhukorppi can read minds, too. Below is the first photo I had taken which captured the Kauhukorppi. What was interesting was the "..." clearly visible above his head, along with the fact that he wasn't staring into the camera like he usually does. He was definitely aware of me- but specifically aware of the fact that I was trying to get his attention...

[24/02/06 20:16] HedoniSt0rm: My suspicions that the "..." held significance ended up proving true with my second photo. He was now communicating with me directly, stating that he could "hear me"- my thoughts.

[24/02/06 20:18] HedoniSt0rm: I then asked the Kauhukorppi if I could speak with him. He stated that he would be delighted to. I'm unsure what the "just don't blink" statement specifically meant, but it was possibly referring to the photos I'd be capturing from then on.

[24/02/06 20:21] HedoniSt0rm: I began by notifying him of his presence in the real world, and how he had garnered a community online. I was surprised by his answer- he was aware of it, and even went on to say it was his "purpose" to be known.

[24/02/06 20:24] HedoniSt0rm: Upon asking for more clarification, it seems the Kauhukorppi became a bit agitated, mentioning some kind of nebulous "them".

[24/02/06 20:25] HedoniSt0rm: I took a wild guess and asked if he was referring to the Sony vs Hevisaurus incident. What I got in response was, bizarrely, silence. He had looked away again.

[24/02/06 20:28] HedoniSt0rm: I took another photo and he finally answered. It seems I surprised him.

[24/02/06 20:30] HedoniSt0rm: And then, he made a shocking offering to me. There seems to be much more we don't know about the Kauhukorppi.

[24/02/06 20:33] HedoniSt0rm: And as I asked just how much there was to uncover, the distortion of the photos began to strangely lessen, and he said this:

[24/02/06 20:35] HedoniSt0rm:

[24/02/06 20:37] HedoniSt0rm: This last photo unfortunately still has issues with excess corruption. I am not sure how to decipher the meaning left in this one, as it's too broken on my end to understand. Help would be appreciated. Thank you. I will be signing off, now. -Hedoni