#so… bird app huh?

[dovalore]

daily doodles 31st october - 6th november

[gomzdrawfr]

ok so I was doing fruit tier list after watching RTgames' video and decided to do cod ship tier list (something that was trending on the bird app before)

LINK HERE

Im tagging a few peeps to do it if you wanna!! if not its fine hehe

@justasmolbard @warenai @tapioca-milktea1978 @kaar-ne @tiggerriot @jgvfhl

reminder to all this is all for fun and people can have different opinions, don't be a prick :p

[haruminyuu]

Twitter ver

[ratatatastic]

oh another insane ekky quote has hit the towers huh

[muirmarie]

my twitter acct got hacked by someone in India 🙃🙃🙃

the bird app flagged them logging in on a new device in India as suspicious, but still allowed them to change the password and email address within three minutes of said suspicious login lmao 🙃🙃🙃🙃

ANYWHO I filed a report, but given that 5 people still work at twitter, we'll see what happens!!!

but if you're still on the bird app and get any dms from me, PLEASE don't click on any links!!!!

[ghosting-fox]

man i just wanna post my silly doodles somewhere in peace please

[ajdrawshq]

SO. NOVEMBER 19TH/20TH HUH.

[redflagshipwriter]

Fast Car Chapter One (of four)

Masterpost

Danny hit the brakes hard and veered into a bicycle lane with a very Fenton sort of style and disregard for physics. He dodged the gunman in the carpool lane. He stuck his tongue out as he passed and then steered back into the right lane once he’d cleared the pedestrian. 

It turned out that Gotham rewarded the sort of drivers forged in the crucible of the Fenton tactical GAV, which was great. Jazz had gotten a job as a barista for her third year at Gotham U, so he had inherited the car that she had used as a delivery driver. She’d even somehow managed to pay the taxes on it despite the restraining orders that most government offices had on the Fenton family.

Jazz had been a pizza girl, but Danny wasn’t willing to work the late nights. He worked for three different rideshare companies. It was.. Well. It was a terrible way to make a living, if he was honest. It was wretched. But it worked! Until the car crapped out on him, this was a viable option to feed himself while he was enrolled full time at the university. He was available to drive early in the mornings and for a few peak hours on the weekends.

Danny brought an order of 17 coffees to a warehouse with serious ‘murders will happen here today’ vibes and whistled as he left. People in murder warehouses actually tipped pretty well. Worker solidarity or something. He left the early birds to enjoy their 3 am drinks and then idly checked the app to see if there was anyone else waiting for a ride or delivery. 

“Victor,” he read, and took a glance at the address. It was close! He snagged the request and turned on some bubblegum pop to enhance the ride over. 

He saw a man standing outside, haunting a storefront with metal shutters pulled down. Must be the guy! Danny pulled over, checked the app, and then furrowed his eyebrows. Huh. Seemed wrong. He fixed his face before he looked back over. 

In the app, Victor didn’t look especially young or fit. In person, he was easily over 6 feet tall and lugged a huge bulky bag like it weighed nothing. 

He also had a giant ugly motorcycle helmet with the vague impression of a caveman brow ridge built into it. Danny hid his judgmental thoughts and rolled down the window to chirp, “Hi! Victor?”

“That’s me.” Victor sounded like he was auditioning for the Deft Punks, electronics grinding out his voice to a silly robot autotune. Danny hid the way his lips wanted to tremble. You can’t laugh at clients. “Can I put this in the trunk?”

Danny hated that. “Go for it.” He opened the trunk with the button and hid his real thoughts. He didn’t like people using the trunk. Why not just put it in the backseat like a normal person? There was enough room for a person and a bag there.

‘Is there enough room for this guy, actually?’ Danny wondered, looking Victor up and down subtly. Were his shoulders padded or was he actually built like that? Bizarre. 

He had the sense that Victor was tense.

‘Ah., fuck. He caught me checking out his shoulders.’

Danny cleared his throat and whipped his face forwards again. “Normally I say to sit in the backseat, but I'm not sure that's enough room for your legs. Either is fine.” 

Victor took him up on the front seat option and readjusted the passenger seat back with a casual ease. 

Danny waited a moment.

Victor cocked his head at him.

“Seatbelt,” Danny prompted.

There was a long moment. Victor silently buckled his seatbelt. 

“Awesome.” Danny put on his turn signals and pulled out. He went slower than he preferred. He’d learned the hard way that most passengers didn’t like his driving. It was great for cutting time off when he was delivering food, but no good for nervous cargo like poor Victor here. The poor guy was so anxious that he kept his emotional support helmet on when a passenger in a car. 

Danny thoughtfully drove the speed limit and let Victor change music.

They didn’t have much to talk about. Danny didn’t mind much either way. He liked quiet rides and he liked chatting alright.

“Stop the car two blocks early,” Victor said. He pointed. “There’s fine.”

Obligingly Danny guided the car to a stop and shifted to park. He jumped out of the car. “I’ll grab your bag!” He called over his shoulder. He popped open the trunk and lifted Victor’s bag with a winning smile that said ‘I deserve a good tip.’

Victor had moved to the back of the car faster than Danny expected. He paused. He looked weirdly stiff. “Thanks.” He took the bag. “...Here’s your tip.”

“Have a wonderful day!” Danny said, pretending not to be interested in how much money it was. He waved Victor goodbye and pulled out. As soon as he was a block away he counted the bills. “Fuck yeah,” he hissed. Victor tipped like a crime boss. He stuffed them into his wallet and made a mental note of the account. He’d definitely try to accept requests from him in future.

He gave two more rides before he could go back to his shitty apartment and get ready for classes. Danny parked in the little underground garage near his place where he paid a monthly fee and jogged to his place. He got his bag and left on foot.

He had a pretty normal day. The only hiccup was that it was kind of hard to focus on his lectures when he could faintly hear what had to be every TV on campus playing the same news bulletin. Danny did his best to block it out, grimacing. Having advanced senses really sucked sometimes. If he heard the breaking news jingle one more time, he might cry. 

By the time he was free he felt pushed to his limit. He went back to his place and turned off all his electronics for some peace of mind. 

The next morning felt better. He turned on the tab that said he was available for work at 3 am and ended up bringing a huge delivery of breakfast materials to the same police station that he’d left Victor at yesterday. Danny hummed as he jogged up the concrete steps with three bulging bags of baked goods and coffee grounds. He handed them to a weary-eyed receptionist and accepted his tip without looking at it. He considered cracking a joke about them being busy and decided it was better not to.

He was still an illegal entity, after all. His parents were covering for him, but scrutiny was not his friend. He didn’t want any interaction with the police or the rogue band of detective freakazoids that ran this crime town.

Back in the car, he checked his tip. Danny clicked his tongue and made a disgusted sound. He hated cops. Cheap! There was nothing worse than being cheap.

His next customer tried to rob him at gunpoint as soon as he got in the car. Danny wrestled the gun away from him and ate it while the guy watched. “Just try and report me to the app,” Danny sneered between crunches of metal. It tasted like shit and the guy probably hadn’t washed his hands, so like, yuck. But it was a choice he was making for the intimidation factor, not because it was yummy.

‘Bet my iron intake is good now.’ Danny held out his hand. “My tip,” he said, and did not unlock the car door until the shaking wannabe carjacker had given him three dollars American money. Hell yeah. “Have a good morning.”

He went into the app and canceled the ride. There was another request waiting, so he drove to it. It wasn’t the name that the app’s request had shown, but- “Good morning, Victor!” Danny waved. “Call from a friend’s app this time?”

Victor stared at him dumbly. At least, that was Danny’s best guess of what was going on inside the helmet. “Yes.” He eventually said.

Cool, cool. Very weird. But he was an ok guy and he tipped well. “Hop in,” Danny said, and unlocked the car.

[eclairsnme]

♡ POV: Being The Itoshi Brother’s Elder Sister ♡

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4

More trouble and very dilf (prick) boss and yandere kaiser!!

tags: idol!you, crack comedy, reunion, familial love, sfw, somewhat of a brat (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎), lack of common sense, dilf boss, kaiser is giving me psycho killer mannn (✦థ ｪ థ), red flags!!

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

A few years ago,

You picked up the phone and read a message.

It’s a punishing journey here.

It was from Sae, your younger brother.

After reading the message, you flipped the phone to your manager.

You could not be bothered to reply to him as... well, you are in a middle of a scandal.

A rival company is trying to sue you for plagiarising their music.

I mean like ew? (¬､¬)

You debuted in the music industry one year ago and had already gathered a massive fanbase and caused a wave in the industry.

Many were hailing you as the pop star of the century. Recognised not only domestically but also worldwide.

The songs were written by you and with the collaboration of acclaimed song producers.

When all of your songs dominated the Billboard chart, you solidified your status as the youngest and most celebrated star of this era.

You know what they always say, behind every success has its own trials and tribulations, and yeah you were now experiencing that exact phenomenon — a scandalous scandal, a bad suing kind.

The rival company had been trying to produce their very own pop star using you as the manual, however, it was to no avail. Obviously.

You snorted at that. No one could compete with you, naturally.

Therefore, they had to resort to underhand tactics. Such as, wrongly accusing you of plagiarism without any ounce of evidence and trying to sue you to boot?

Huh! The audacity.

More absurdly, he annouced all that mumbo jumbo on the stupid bird app! That hellhole of an app.

It goes without saying that the news spread quickly like lighting speed! Both fans and haters became aware of it and rumors and negative comments began to circulate rapidly. They really popped off there.

What else popped off? Keyboard warriors. They came and showed the heck up. They have never typed their opinions so quickly.

Before you could defend yourself from such an outlandish claim, they had already painted you a bad reputation. You cracked a displeased smile.

It appears that your followers and supporters have left you abruptly and without any hesitation.

And they call themselves loyal fans. You pouted. People’s minds sure do sway rather quickly. That bandwagon sure has lots of passengers.

Today, a crowd gathered outside your studio to protest against what they perceive as your "sinister" conduct.

How very rude!

Prior to your debut, you had anticipated that your first scandal would involve a dating rumour with a super hot man. However, the current scandal being circulated is merely a laughable joke and not the kind you had expected.

The music you made was definitely yours last you checked. It was unquestionably from this absolutely talented brain of yours.

“Pest,” you grumbled.

Oh and what a pest he definitely is. Actually, he was more disgusting than those creepy crawlies. He had a greasy face, greasy hair and an incredibly bad breath.

You shivered. Yucky.

“That bastard!” The boss of your company slammed the table.

Your boss was a tall and well-dressed individual in his mid twenties. He was an efficient and smart, young man that had personally scouted you and propelled your career (well, that is a little too much credit to him but yeh yeh).

This company had a few B-listers if you squint... hard enough. You were his first pop star and damn, you exceeded all his expectations. Not to toot your own horn, but yes you are quite literally The Best.

After learning of the absurdity, he was absolutely furious. He was frothing in the mouth like how baristas froth them age-old milk. You found it quite funny to see his handsome face contort to such comedy.

You hid your giggle behind your hand.

He stopped and knelt down in front of you, "I understand that this situation is difficult for you right now, but I assure you that we will find a solution and overcome this obstacle together."

Even the dumbest person would know that refuting the so-called "claims" was a simple task. However, the bigger issue at hand is the individuals who have already turned their backs on you. Unfortunately, you are currently considered the most disliked public figure.

Can you believe that? Me!

To that, you grunted and took a heavy whiff of the musky meeting room.

Gain back their support?

You suddenly stood up, causing your boss to fall back onto his buttocks.

An idea crossed your little noggin. Your idea is truly exceptional, with a level of creativity that is almost unparalleled. Some people might even dare ask, "From that brain of yours?"

A true visionary of the century you would say. You snickered to your own delight.

“What’s going on?” Your boss asked in confusion.

“I know just the way to make him eat his shit!” You bellowed, lightly brushing the nonexistent dust from your Miu Miu garb.

Oh yes, eat shit he will. Bet, his shit would be the best-tasting shit he will ever consume.

-

Present day

You, the top idol, stood in front of the screen fake crying your heart out for your dear little brother.

“Do you not love me anymore?!” You dramatically placed your hand over your face, wiping away the fake tears.

Rin covered his ears at that infamous phrase coming from you.

As the situation “escalates”, even Rin’s teammates started to catch on to your act. As in, they actually fell for your poorly executed acting.

“Oi, Rin your sister is calling for you! You bastard of a little brother making her cry,” his teammates and Karasu collectively shouted at him, accusingly.

This was too much for Rin to handle, the embarrassment was too excruciating. He was so close to believing that you were not his sister. Heck, did you hear his internal thoughts? Because he could vaguely hear you crying louder. He shuddered.

To Rin, this was the equivalent of having his mom unexpectedly appear in the classroom and announcing every speck of mole on his body to everyone. Yet again, he shuddered.

You, on the other hand, were just about to tease him more when Mr Manager tapped on your shoulder.

“Your next schedule is in an hour, you need to get ready.”

Ah, talk about getting blue balled. You frowned. You were just about to have fun with Rin.

"Schedule? I thought I was done for today?" You gave him a look of disapproval, with your lips tightly pressed together.

"I-it's the meeting with the boss!" He spread his arms wide in disbelief, brows downturned and mouth gaping like a goldfish.

"That person would not mind," you turned away from the screen and shrugged your shoulders, "no big deal missing one or two meetings."

"You mean, multiple (all) meetings?"

Wow, talk about being unnecessarily observant. You rolled your eyes. If your eyes could roll to the back of your skull that will be great.

So, your boss has this thing where you have to meet him and then goes on to lecture you on your bad public image blah blah blah. A broken record. That is what he is. He needs to learn how to shut up.

"Please you need to attend the meeting or else," your manager took a deep breath, "he will be really angry at me. Since he also specifically mentioned the severity of your behaviour this time around."

"Andddd?" You nonchalantly glance over, not sure why you should care.

Your boss sure is a pain in the buttocks. You can handle yourself well without him. What about the severity of your behaviour this time around? This was not your first rodeo.

"Wait!" You yanked the collar of his shirt, "What do you mean by the severity of my behaviour this time around."

He miserably clutch onto his shirt to ensure he would not die to accidental asphyxiation.

"T-he paps!" He released himself from your grip and whispered into your ears, "They took a photo of you smooching a man! Boss was super - and I mean super duperrr - angry! Since this morning, he has been attempting to hide the entire situation from the public."

Smooch? The only thing you smooched was...

Oh!

Oh?

OH!

Ohhh?

OH!

So, someone did catch you getting first base with that German guy.

"Smooch?" Anri gasped, a little too loudly. Actually, loud enough for the entire Blue Lock facility to hear.

Smooch? The Blue Lock players repeated after Anri.

Anri clasped her mouth shut.

Erm oops. (Ŏ艸Ŏ)

Turns out, the screen was still on for everyone to witness.

"End of today's entertainment — hope everyone feels motivated by the special appearance of the wonderful idol," with a click of a button, Ego had the screen turned off to the disgruntlement of the players behind the screen and to the joy of Rin.

"W-we have to go!" Panic filled Mr Manager's voice as he tried to drag you out of the room.

"But my Rin!"

"You are welcome here anytime," Ego interjected.

"Really?" Your teal eyes lid up.

"Reward for work and work for reward. It is widely acknowledged that when individuals receive recognition for their diligent efforts, they tend to exhibit improved performance and exhibit a more optimistic outlook. As a result, it is imperative to provide incentives that are based on performance. By the way, I must take a moment to express my genuine gratitude for your presence here today, Miss."

You blinked at his response, "I don't know what you just said, but I will be back for my little brother, Go-go!"

Ego briefly reflects on his nickname and then lets a faint smile appear on his face, "Hope to see you very soon too."

"Ah, the boss is already calling me! We have to go!"

"Bye-bye, big melon woman!" You did not forget your manners, as you made your way out.

Anri shyly waved back at you.

Damn, I really want big boobs.

-

His sharp eyes met yours.

You gulped.

You felt like a deer caught in the headlight. It was just a smooch — a very normal German etiquette. No biggie. Right?

Your boss held a photograph of what you believe is the source of this man's frustration.

You took the photograph out of his hands, "I spy with my little eyes a man and an exceptionally drop-dead knockout woman engaged in - you know what? This is actually a really good photo! We could hang it-"

"For goodness sake!"

"-on the wall."

He ruffled his neatly tousled coif into a slightly messy one.

"It is just an old friend," You fidgeted with the ends of your dress.

"Friends do not eat out each other's face!" He exasperated, loosening his tie.

"I-"

"I don't think you get it. This photo shows very clearly, the nation's biggest star and the German prodigy footballer exchanging salivas! This is big big news! And it will be a scandal if people catch wind that you are going around smooching high profile people! What would people think of you? We have been through so many ups and downs together but this is your first relationship scandal. I can already imagine the looks of your fans-"

"Aren't you being a tad bit dramatic? Isn't it normal for a pretty girl like me to have relationships?"

"You are an idol!" He shouted, a little too loud that you flinched, "And what is this thing that your Manager told me? Regarding your desire for a boyfriend, please keep in mind that as an idol, you have a certain image to uphold."

You stood up and slammed the table, a little too hard — you felt your palm throb underneath. You took angry steps towards him and placed your still throbbing palm on his face ever so not gently.

He stared into your teal eyes and you saw the big gulp he took.

Taking another step closer till your head was right beneath his chin, you stared up at him and squeezed his cheeks with all your might. He groaned and grabbed your wrist.

"What is that for!" He softly clasped onto his tender, reddened cheeks. You harrumphed back at him.

"HA! Idol this idol that." You snorted, "what if he is actually my boyfriend? Have you thought of that? Plus, my fans are mature enough to understand. We've practically grown up together. Don't be delusional, old pal!"

Ah, I am really digging my grave.

"You know very well-" You eyed him sharply, his mouth clammed shut.

"Kaiser and I are super in love and so what if some paps caught us? Is it really possible for someone like me, a young and attractive woman, to remain celibate forever? I am certainly not a nun." You let your mouth run, nervously.

Wow, my grave has been dug real deeeep, very spacious if I say so myself.

To be honest, you were not even too sure what you were even saying. Your boss was being such a prick. Prickly prick. Ugh.

"When did you even meet that guy with your full schedule?" He asked, hands still on your wrist.

"Our love needs no words. Whence our eye meets, we are in love," You physically cringed at your words. Seeing the goosebumps rising from your boss's arms, you were not the only one who thought so it seems.

Great. Just great.

"Let us set this straight. So you are telling me that you are in a relationship with that football player?"

"Why do you act so surprised? C'mon, I have two fine brothers who are also football players. What can I say? I just love a man who can treat the ball right. It is all bound to be. Therefore this is no scandalous scandal you should be worried about."

He releases your hands and stuffs his hands inside the pocket of his suit, reaching for the cigarette pack. He let out a deep breath and then proceeded to light a cigarette. With a shaky breath, he exhaled the thick smoke, his head throbbing from pent-up exhaustion and frustration.

You almost felt sorry for him, almost.

"Sooner or later, the news will explode. I will have a statement prepared for the media. Get ready."

Oh jolly, will you look? My grave is the size of an Olympic pool! How spacious. Sorry, big man.

Your boss was a good man that cared for you. But sometimes it gets overbearing. Very red flag. Do you think maybe that's why he's still single? I mean, he's got a lot going for him - eligible bachelor, CEO, and let's be real, he's pretty good-looking. But there's gotta be a reason, right?

Ladies, if you need a man you can call me.

ヾ(о-ω･)ﾉ⌒★

-

Kaiser smiled to himself.

The brightness of his phone deepened his smile into one of a Cheshire cat.

On his phone was a picture of you helplessly holding onto him as he savoured your lips.

"Aren't we cute together?" He said to no one in particular as he caresses the rose tattoo on his neck.

Oh, how the world so nicely revolves around him that fate has brought you back to him.

It would be wonderful if you could be in his embrace at this moment.

He puts down the phone and closed his eyes.

Be patient. Mein göttin.

-

"You should go back to sleep," Sae's soothing voice nearly put you to sleep as you struggled to stay awake.

You heard rustlings on the other end of the call, pretty sure he was in the middle of his training.

Oops.

"I made a fool out of myself today!" You lamented, snuggling deeper into your silky covers.

"Aren't you always a fool? What did you do this time? Lo siento. Estoy hablando con mi hermana-" You could hear another feint voice conversating with him. Must be his teammates. You yawned.

"- I am sure it is nothing too serious as always. You are tired, go sleep," Sae returned to the conversation.

"It is really really bad..." you spoke softly, rubbing your face onto the silk.

"Did you kill someone?"

"My boss looked like he almost died but no," You stretched your aching body, "I think I just got myself a boyfriend, more like I just told my boss a big lie that is about to be publicised...That guy is not even my boyfriend and when he hears of this garbage - oh boy is he definitely going to have a heart attack. I am in big trouble."

"You dug your own grave," Sae said, cooly.

"I know right, the grave is swimming pool sized."

"Who is the unlucky guy?"

"Kaiser Mikel?" You attempted to recall his surname.

Sae paused for a second before he replied, "Michael. Michael Kaiser?"

"Oh, you know him?"

"I do. He is a... good player. Sister, how did you even get involve with him?" This time, Sae sounded genuinely curious very unlike his usual disinterested self.

"You see," you hugged your bolster tightly, "some bugger quote on quote took a photo of us exchanging salivas."

"Excuse me?" Sae choked, "Exchanging salivas? Mierda-" You could imagine your brother's incredulous yet icked face right now. Well, he wanted to know and you delivered. ｢(◔ω◔「)三

"You heard me right."

"I wish I did not just hear that. But Kaiser and you?" Sae did not fail to exaggerate the last part almost in a manner you did not enjoy.

"Why did that sound like you are mocking me?" You grumbled underneath your soft duvet.

"I don't think that guy will mind being your boyfriend if that helps," Sae shook his head thinking about the German prodigy.

"Really?" you exclaimed, your eyes sparkling with sleepy excitement.

“Yeah. He- Dame un momento. I have to go now. I'll send you a text message. Go to sleep now," he paused briefly, "and have a good night."

There the phone line goes. Silence.

As if Sae had actually cast a sleeping spell on you, your head sank back onto the plush pillow and you succumb to silky sheets pulling you into a dreamy languor.

A boyfriend sounds nice... right?

-

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The sound of incessant phone ringing filled your room, grumbling under the sheets, you unwillingly pick up the phone.

"Who is it?" You drawled on every word in a drowsy stupor.

"Guten morgen, mein engel!"

You ended the call.

When did you fall asleep? You were having such a nice conversation with your brother too.

As you glance towards the window, you notice that the sun has barely even risen. Feeling lethargic, you let out a groan while still in bed.

Five more minutes...

Your dark lashes fluttered shut as you inhaled the fresh scent of cedar from your sheets. You sank softly into the mattress as sleep slowly envelopes you-

Ring. Ring. Ring.

You moaned softly.

"Five more minutes..." You spoke quietly to the spirits in your room.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Five just five-"

Ring. RIng. RIng.

Your eyes snapped open, half awake and half annoyed.

"What is it?" Mouth still dry as you tried to sound as harsh as possible to the rude morning caller, but it came out sounding like a meek, saddened mouse.

"Is mein liebling still sleepy?" The timbre of the caller's voice sent chills down your spine.

You know this voice! You rubbed your sleepy eyes and cleared your dry throat, "Kaiser?"

"Yes, Liebling." He purred.

Your bare arms prickled, sending you chills.

You were still sleeping, right?

"Er- wwie komme ich zu Cologne (*how do i get to Cologne)?" You spouted a random German phrase you so happen to remember from your travels.

"You are very cute," he lightly chuckled.

Oh damn, maybe you were half asleep but that was a pretty nice-sounding chuckle. Still, you did not understand what he just said.

"Someone reached out to me and said you are very much in love with me and that we are in a loving relationship," he continued softly, clearly enunciating each and every word you did not understand, "I am very very flattered, Liebling."

You feigned laughter in response, not sure what you are laughing at but he was laughing too so you are safe.

"Yes, it is a joyous occasion," Kaiser laughed in tune with yours.

Seriously, what is this man saying? You thought to yourself between laughs.

☆〜（ゝ。∂）the end (for now) ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

sike! Extras!

Sae is very unimpressed by Kaiser's courting of his sister. He does not know much outside of soccer but he sure as hell knows that Kaiser's method was, to say the very least, strange. He just hopes the German fella does not hurt his sister. That would be extremely troublesome.

<thank you, darlings for your endless love of reading this! My heart is full SMOOCH SMOOCH ଘ(੭ºัᴗºั)━☆ﾟ*:.>

<also, how would you react if you met someone like Kaiser irl, because girlfriend he is screaming red flag to me>

[karasukarei]

Daily Questions 1 - Sakura Haruka

Everyday while the anime is airing, the official twitter account posts a daily question that the characters will answer, and these are VOICED. Unfortunately the bird app won't let me embed the videos here directly, so the most I can do is link to them ^^;

There's a group of seven questions that are cycled through that week's character:

If you have 500 yen, how would you use it?

If you could travel to somewhere in Japan for a holiday, where would you go?

What's your favourite condiment?

What do you think about before you sleep?

What would you eat for your last meal?

Recently, was there something that made you a little happy?

If someone of the opposite gender asks you for your contact number, what would you do?

These are Sakura's answers:

Buy three curry breads from Saboten (t/n: this is the bakery in ep 1).

So- Somewhere where I can go for a good walk. (t/n: yes I included his stutter)

Ketchup. The ketchup on omurice is the best.

Image training for fights. (t/n: this is like shadowboxing, but in the head)

Wh- Why last meal. I've never thought of it before.

At the meat shop... when i bought a croquette they gave me freebies... (t/n: this isn't meatshop like a butcher, it's a shop that sells cooked meat; think of it as a corollary to a shop that specialises in yakitori, fried food, etc.)

Hu-HUH?! What are you going to do with it!?

For all other translations, see this post!

[trickzyfox]

So, Tumblr huh.

I lost everything from the stupid bird app because of the billionaire being bitchy so here i am

Take this Stormbringer doodle as a startup to this account

[staridust]

★ DO NOT USE/REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. NO MINORS.

Reposting from Bird App, starting with the most recent colored pieces:

Jack’s Birthday post ft. Artemis.

Sleeping in for once, huh? On your birthday too?

Oh, starlight…

Patience while I get used to tumblr, I do not know how to use this quiiiite yet. THERE’S SO MANY FEATURES… oh me oh my… I feel like a curious little lost puppy

[ichorai]

hell, yeah ; roman roy ; part three (m).

pairing ; roman roy x f!reader

synopsis ; pain was an old friend for the both of you.

words ; 14.4k

themes ; fluff, angst, drama, slowburn, suggestive, childhood friends to lovers

warnings / includes ; depictions of mental and physical abuse, talks of sexual misconduct (cruises incidents), mentions of death, a lot of sexual/suicidal jokes and general foul language, a lot of business talk, roman’s implied demisexuality, kendall is Losing it this chappie, fucked up family dynamics, imaginary dead cats & real dead sisters <3

a/n ; tumblr is being a bitch and not letting me turn off beta editor so :) what was originally going to be one massive chapter of s3 is now going to be broken down in shorter pieces!

series masterlist. main masterlist.

“Logan Roy was personally and fully aware of the crimes committed aboard Brightstar Cruises,” said the news reporter. “Kendall Roy says his father paid millions of dollars to hide and cover up criminal activity at the cruise line.”

You shut the tablet off, pinching the space between your brows as you drew out a deep exhale. 

“This is fucking insane,” Roman muttered under his breath as he scrolled through Twitter, under his brother’s trending hashtag. “He’s gone off the rocks.”

Leaning forward, you asked the twins, “You guys don’t think he’s telling the truth, right?”

Rome shot you a quizzical glance. “Kendall doesn’t know how to tell the truth. It’s against his biological nature.” After a moment, he let out a high-pitched, “But…”

“What?” asked Shiv.

“I may not be team Kenny here, but, uh… Dad isn’t exactly unsqueezable right now,” he said. His eyes met yours. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering if Kendall just fucked us over. Again. I mean, obviously I didn’t want him to be the scapegoat for cruises but this is—this is just something else entirely.” Then you nudged Shiv. “What about you?”

The woman screwed her lips into a purse. “I’m thinking we just need to back Dad right now. But… what am I actually thinking?” She lowered her voice to a whisper you could only barely hear. “I’m thinking, ‘Is he toast?’”

Her brows pulled together, wondering if she should’ve divulged that information to either of you. 

“Yeah,” you said, clearing your throat. “I think there might be a chance that he could be burnt.”

The three of you stood in silence. Roman closed the stupid bird app before he could see another edit of his brother to a Lana Del Rey song, and slid his phone into his pocket. 

It was then that Hugo and Gerri strode up, expressions grim. A Kendall-shaped bomb was dropped on them, and they were all scrambling to get things together whilst Logan stared angrily out of a window.

“Hi. Listen, I’m drowning in calls,” said Hugo. “I just want to deny, you know, any kind of speculation. So, uh, I’m just checking—we’re all good if I say, for a starter, that he never hurt anyone and he never touched anyone personally?”

Roman scowled, as if it was a ludicrous question to even take into consideration, and Gerri answered on everybody’s behalf. “You can reassure on that, Hugo.”

A second later, Logan’s voice rang out from across the room. “Did you know?” he asked. “Connor? Roman? Shiv? Did you know?”

Apprehensive, the siblings crept closer to their father, who still had his back turned to them. You crossed your arms and listened on from behind Roman.

“Did you know he was going to do that?” he queried once they were all close by. “I was wondering.”

“Obviously not, dad,” Rome said.

A muscle in Logan’s jaw twitched. “Uh-huh.”

Roman scratched at the back of his head. “Kendall’s mentally ill. He’s insane.” He needs help, he wanted to say, but wisely bit down on his tongue before it could slip.

There was a long moment of silence. Shiv eyes darted from her father to her husband. 

Finally, Logan turned to face his children. “Everyone. Gather up! Battle stations—let’s go.”

The small group rounded around a table with Logan at the very head. It was Gerri who started with a proposal, all heads turned to listen to her.

“I suggest I call the DOJ, and we right away let them know how horrified we were to learn of these allegations. We can tell them we intend to form a special committee and we can inform them which white shoe law firms we are considering to thoroughly investigate and promptly report back their findings,” said the woman.

Shiv watched her godmother with mild unease. She was a woman to look up to, she was competition, she was better than anyone else here, and she was an accomplice. Then, her eyes darted to you, your fingers silently drumming along the table’s surface. There was no doubt Logan would be forced to announce his successor soon. Would you be competition for the throne, as well? You’d certainly make for a formidable CEO.

“Do we cooperate?” asked Logan.

There was a brief moment of puzzled silence.

Gerri’s brows furrowed as she replied, “With the government? Uh, yeah. I think we’re gonna have to cooperate. I mean, we were under pressure already—”

“Unless we don’t,” Roman cut in.

“That’s ridiculous. Not cooperating would be like shining the fucking spotlight right onto us. This is a public company—we tanked privatization in Turkey,” you vehemently protested.

To that, Gerri agreed. “We don’t know what they have or what they might get. There’s only one real play here.”

“What if I don’t want to pull down my panties so fast?” grumbled Logan.

“Then we pull up the draw-bridge. The story would be that he’s exploiting these poor women—and that’s very sad. Twitter would tear him apart. You were grooming him for the top and, wow, would you look at that? He relapsed, and he blew it,” Roman said. Both you and Shiv exchanged worried, distasteful glances. “He’s a bitter fuck-up that needs to be psychiatrically evaluated. Of course, you’re the big baddie, so everybody jumped on board.”

Brows cinching, Shiv asked, “What about these papers he says he has?”

“Uh… fake. Or stolen, if they even exist. Are we even worried about these papers? We’ll go after him for corporate theft, then,” he spouted off. “This is—you know—not a nice thing to say about your son, but maybe chop him up into a million pieces and throw him into the Hudson? 

You destroy Kendall, it falls apart.”

It was strange to think, just twenty-four hours ago, the two brothers were quite amicable with each other. As brotherly as people like them could be, at least. Now they were on opposite sides of the chessboard, waiting for the play.

Frank and Karl started listing off a couple stats, and Shiv sat forward in her seat.

“Kendall’s changed the game,” she said. “Noncooperation now, it wouldn’t—it’s just too hot out there. I think it’s very high risk.”

“Everything’s high risk if you’re a pussy,” Roman said, picking at his nails.

You frowned. “If we don’t cooperate, it’ll just make us look all the more guilty.”

And what if we are? The brief thought crossed your mind. What if everything Kendall said was true?

“If I stop picking at scabs and saying sorry, who knows where we’ll end up. Admissions of wrongdoing—that’s billions out the door,” Logan said. 

His words made your expression falter just a little bit. 

“Get the raisin,” your godfather told Hugo, referring to the American president. “Let’s go to the top.”

The planes heading back to New York were readied soon after. Just as you stepped out of the car that took you to the tarmac, your phone began to buzz in your pocket. To your relief, Roman was busy chattering to Gerri, and you were able to step away from the group to pull your phone out.

Kendall’s contact name stared right back up at you. You sucked at your teeth in thought, before swiftly answering.

“Hello?”

He sang your name then, in a pitch too high for his caliber. 

“What do you want?”

“What do I want?” he parroted. “I want you in, Y/N. You’ve got a premium spot right by my side, in the new company I’m going to build. You’re the glue, dude. You are.”

A shifty glance back at Roman and Shiv, Logan and Gerri. You took a few steps closer to the plane. 

“Is it true?”

“What?”

“What you said on TV. That Logan knew about cruises and paid it off.”

A brief pause.

“Obviously,” he said. “Obviously it’s true. I’d never lie to you, Y/N. You’re like—you’re like a sister to me, you know?”

“Have you called Shiv? Offered her a place, too? Roman?”

A longer silence. 

“No,” he finally said.

It was a lie, you knew it clear as day. But you didn’t know exactly which part of it was a lie.

“I can’t trust you,” you murmured into the phone, shifting the device in your palms. Roman’s eyes were now on you. He waved, and you waved back, shooting him a thumbs up when he gestured to the plane. “You understand that, right? I can’t trust you, as much as I want to.”

Before he could respond, you abruptly hung up, and quickly shoved your phone back into your pocket to jog to the rest of the group.

“Who were you talking to?” Roman asked once you caught up with him, mildly suspicious.

“Karolina,” you quickly lied. “She wanted to know what the play was.”

“Mmh. Right.” He nudged his shoulder into yours. “We’ll be okay.”

“I’m not so sure.”

Roman’s eyes searched yours, but you averted them when his dad approached the group. His sunglasses were perched high on the bridge of his nose—you could see your worried reflection in them. He asked for a lawyer: a good one, preferably a woman.

Lisa came to mind, one of the most reputable lawyers in the country, conveniently a friend of Shiv’s. 

“Shiv, Roman, Gerri, Y/N—you’ll all go back to manage New York,” said your godfather. “No need for me to go running back like a slapped girl. Looks weak.”

Pursing your lips, you offered him a nod. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Good,” he said, patting your cheek affectionately. Once, then twice, then his hand fell back down to his side. He used to do that when you were a young child, sporting pigtails and scraped knees. “Good.”

Then, he ruffled Roman’s hair. “Fuck off down there, Tumbledown Dick.”

And with that, the two of you, along with Shiv and Gerri, boarded the plane.

“As I step back temporarily…” began Logan, surveying Karl, Frank, Hugo, and Tom in front of him, “who do we like as CEO?”

They stared at him blankly. 

“I don’t give a fuck,” Logan huffed in exasperation. “It’s name plates. Come on! Brain dump. Speak, and let a hundred flowers bloom.”

Unsurprisingly, Frank and Karl didn’t hesitate to offer themselves up first. Tom watched the older men apprehensively. The two were quick to be pushed to the side, and Logan snapped his fingers.

“Who else?”

“I mean, I imagine you’re looking at a kid. Or Gerri,” said Frank. 

“Yeah. Yes. I’d like a kid, obviously. So—Shiv or Roman. But we’d love a woman. So, Shiv or Gerri. But I’d like experience. Which would be Roman or Gerri.”

Leaning forward in his seat, Hugo cleared his throat. “Well, there’s one obvious person who’s got all three of those. Y/N, she’s young, she’s a woman, and she’s experienced. A perfect candidate.”

Silence stretched thin between the men. Logan tilted his head in thought. Tom quietly excused himself to run to the bathroom.

On the plane heading to New York, Shiv’s phone began to ring, and she excused herself to the back where neither you, Roman, or Gerri could hear her. Gerri pushed her glasses further up her nose as she studied a text message on her phone. Silent, she gestured to the two of you to take a look. 

A message from Frank. They were picking a new CEO, right then and there.

When Shiv came back quiet as a mouse, Roman started up a bitchy catfight with his sister for not sharing with the group.

“How come Frank called you and how come you told them?” Shiv asked her godmother. 

Gerri shrugged. “I’m just a very straightforward person, Shiv.”

“What’d you hear?”

She glanced at her phone once more. “Just that there’s a number of names in contention.”

“All of us, probably,” you said with a mild grimace.

Roman slung his arm over your shoulders, jostling you ever so slightly. “Care to make it interesting? Throw a bit of money on the table?”

“I’m already pretty fuckin’ interested,” Shiv replied, nose wrinkling. “I think I’m good.” With that, she turned to her side to look out the window.

Drawing in a shallow breath, you loosely intertwined your hand with Roman’s. “You think you’d be ready to take on the mantle if you got the job?” you quietly asked him.

“Fuck, yeah. It should be me, right? I’m the most logical option.”

You stared at him for a moment, wondering how much of what he’d just said was utter bullshit. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

Roman tapped your nose twice and you fixed him with an exasperated look. “Like you don’t agree with me. But you do, right?”

“I don’t know, Ro. I don’t think what Kendall pulled means you should suddenly be crowned king,” you muttered. “I don’t think any of us should.”

When you eventually passed out beside Roman, your legs thrown over his, he waved a hand in front of your face, just making sure you were actually asleep. As gently as he could, Roman slid away from your legs to get up and set them back down on his seat. He bent at the waist to kiss your forehead and you murmured something in your sleep, but thankfully didn’t stir anymore than that.

He made a bee-line for the plane’s bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Then, he called his father.

“Oh, Romulus,” Logan’s voice buzzed through once he answered after the second ring.

“Hiya, Dad. Can I just—can I speak to you for a moment? You free?”

“Sure.”

Roman leaned his weight against the sink. “Well, um, it’s already getting out what you’re thinking about so… I just wanted to throw a couple things in the ol’ lobster pot.” 

“Mhm.”

Squinting at his warped reflection, Roman said, “I think it should be me. It’s my time. I can do it, I want it, and I think I can pull it off.”

A long silence. 

Roman scratched at the back of his head, a bout of nerves suddenly scratching within his chest. “Uhm, yeah, I think it should be me. But… if you don’t think I’m ready, which, uh, totally valid, I would completely understand, and I’m not saying I’d agree with that, but, you know—maybe it could be Y/N. She’s… she’s a good, fresh face for the company. She’s good at this shit. All the corporate managing shit. And if—if she doesn’t work, Gerri is a prime contender, too. A couple years under her, then maybe… maybe it could be me.” He cleared his throat and drummed his fingers along the faucet. “And, listen, I know you’ve been sweet on Shiv. I love her like a brother, seriously, but I just don’t think that it’s time for her, you know? For whatever reason it ain’t Romey time, then, uh… maybe it’s crony time.” 

He winced. 

“Mmhm,” was all Logan said.

“I hope I haven’t, uh, overstepped here.”

On the other end of the line, Logan smiled. “Nope. Thank you, son.”

“Okay. Alright. I’d love it, but, uh, you know, I’d understand if—I do want it, though. No hard feelings if, uh…” He was rambling. Logan never liked it when he did that. One time when he was thirteen, Logan gripped his cheeks so tightly that it ached and snarled out a warning that if he heard another uhm come out of him, he’d toss him to the fucking wolves. Good times. “Yeah. Love you, Dad. Bye.”

“Uh-uh,” Logan said, and hung up first. He locked eyes with Frank. “Roman’s out.”

When the plane landed, Shiv got a call from Logan.

“What?” asked Roman. “What’d he say?”

“He wants me to go get Lisa to be his lawyer,” she said. “He told me to tell you guys to wait airport adjacent, though. He might need someone to fly to Boston for investors.”

You frowned. “Fuck. I thought I’d be able to go home for a bit.”

Shiv arched a brow. “You’re more than welcome to. But, you know, Dad wouldn’t like that very much.”

That kept the rest of your complaints quiet.

Once the four of you disembarked the plane, Shiv took a car to head after Lisa, and the three of you were taken to a fancy hotel nearby. 

Gerri got her own room right beside yours, and she told you to shoot her a message if anything of importance came up. You gave her a half-hearted smile and a nod. You were rooting for her, really.

Roman took a step in the direction of your room despite having his own across the hall, shooting Gerri a smirk and a salute before she could make her way in. “If you hear the bed rocking through the walls, that’s us having wild, passionate sex. Feel free to drop in if you want.”

Rolling her eyes, Gerri shut the door in Roman’s face.

The hotel was large and spacious, and you were quick to shed your outer layers, sinking onto the bed with a groan. 

“I miss home,” you said when Roman kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie. “I’ve been held hostage in a different country and then stuck on a fucking yacht with the most dysfunctional family for way too long. I wanna go home.”

He laid down beside you. He couldn’t really understand how you were feeling. His house was mostly empty and lacked any true life. It didn’t actually feel like his home.

“Yeah, I’m fucking exhausted.” he said nonetheless. Then he tugged you closer and pressed his nose against the side of your head. “But I’m not too tired, if you catch my drift.”

“I’m not having sex with you in a random hotel with Gerri next door,” you deadpanned, though there was a slight laugh to your voice.

Roman snapped his fingers. “Would you prefer to have her here, watching? You little sicko.”

Finally, you laughed, and shoved him away. “I’m tired, Ro. I’m gonna go take a shower and knock out.”

“Hm. Can I join?”

“You tell me,” you said, knowing that Roman wasn’t ready for that just yet.

The two of you stared at each other for a few seconds. Roman shrugged. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

You kissed his cheek quickly, before pushing off of the bed. 

A steamy shower later, you stepped out of the bathroom in the comfier clothes you made sure to pack. Roman sidled past you to wash himself up next, but not without pinching your side on the way. He shut the door and locked it before you could retaliate.

You waited until you heard the spray of the shower start up. 

Only then did you grab your phone, dialing Logan’s number. You hoped he was still awake. 

To your relief, he picked up after the third ring.

“Hi, Uncle Logan.”

“Hello, dear. You and Romulus are doing well in the hotel, I hope?”

You sat down on the edge of the bed. “Yeah! Yes, he’s just in the shower right now. So, I just wanted to clarify some things.”

“Go on.”

It felt as if there was a heavy weight on your chest. “I just… I know that you’re in the middle of picking a new CEO, and I know I probably look like a pretty good option to get the company out of hot water right now. But…” You exhaled softly. “I love you, Uncle Logan, but I don’t love this company. And I—I just don’t want to be the face of it.”

You drew your knees up to your abdomen and wrapped an arm around them. 

“Mhm,” Logan said.

“I hope that doesn’t, uh, hinder your perception of me in any way, but… yeah. I don’t want it. I’m perfectly happy with the job I have now. And—if you ask me, I think Gerri is the best person for this role.”

“Hm. Thank you, Y/N. I appreciate your honesty.”

Well… that was certainly a better response than you anticipated. You half-expected him to get angry and cuss you out.

You bit down on the inside of your cheek. Did you do the right thing?

“Bye, Uncle Logan.”

“Sleep well.”

With that, the call ended. 

Five minutes later, you got a text message from Gerri. Two words, and that was it.

It’s me, it said.

Another one pinged through a minute later. 

Shiv blew it with Lisa.

Your brows raised. Roman was certainly going to have a field day once you told him.

You shot her a reply. 

Congrats, Gerri. I’m glad it’s you.

The next day, Shiv was nowhere to be seen. She wasn’t answering her phone, and she’d turned off her location. Logan was beyond furious, yelling through the phone at both you and Roman to keep a watchful eye on Gerri and to try and find Shiv. Once the call ended, the two of you gave each other meaningful glances. There was only one place Shiv would go after she felt slighted. 

She’d gone to confront Kendall. Maybe to scope out what he was doing for Logan. Or maybe just for herself. You didn’t quite know her motif just yet.

“So… we’re going to Kendall?” Roman asked you.

“That’s where she’d be,” you replied. “But let’s not… tell your dad yet.”

“Sounds good with me,” he snorted. “He’d have a fucking heart attack.”

Before the two of you got into the car, Roman mumbled something about not wanting to turn up empty-handed, and bought a box of a dozen fresh cinnamon rolls from the airport. 

The drive there was quiet and tense. Roman began anxiously drumming his fingers on the car seat, then moved to doing it on your thigh and you didn’t bother stopping him. You pulled out your phone and shot Shiv a text, though you were nearly certain she wasn’t going to answer.

Everyone’s looking for you. I hope you know what you’re doing.

Once you got to Kendall’s base—which was just his ex-wife Rava’s house, because he had nowhere else to set up—Jess was the one to greet the two of you on the lower levels.

“Kendall’s a bit busy at the moment, but he’s told me to just send the two of you up.”

“Thanks, Jess,” you told her, not unkindly. Sometimes you felt bad for the woman. She was bright and intelligent and a hard-worker, and it was clear that she had so much potential. It was a shame she was glued to Kendall’s side.

An elevator ride later, the two of you stepped into Rava’s living room. And, to none of your surprise, Shiv was right there on one of the clean grey couches.

“Oh, wow. Lookie, lookie. Alright, okay,” deadpanned Roman. “How come you’re not answering your phone?”

Shiv lifted one of her shoulders nonchalantly. “I’ve had it off. No agenda.”

“Right. No agenda.”

“How is he?” she asked.

“Fine. Worried about you,” you said. You took a seat on the couch across from her and Roman took to wandering around, touching just about every single piece of decoration he came across. 

The red-head narrowed her eyes at you. “So, uh, how are you feeling about Gerri as CEO?”

“Great. I think she was the best choice.”

“Uh-huh. And you didn’t want it for yourself?”

“No.” There was no hesitation to your answer.

“Right.” Shiv laughed as if she didn’t believe you. “Of course you didn’t.”

Roman’s lips twitched as he leaned against the backrest of the couch, leering over his sister. “What’s your fucking game? What are you even doing here?”

“Why? What are you guys doing here?” she shot back.

“Here looking for you,” said Rome. 

“Sure.”

Rolling his eyes, Roman haughtily said, “As far as you know, that’s the fucking truth.”

Before anyone could say anything else, there were echoing footsteps down the hall, and Kendall appeared, a silly smile plastered across his face.

“Here he comes,” said Roman. “The attention whore.”

“Hey, Rome. Y/N.” He stood in front of his brother, glancing back and forth between you and him. “How are you guys doing?”

Tilting his head, Roman replied, “Great. Thanks for asking. It’s just been a really—great few days. You know, being a hostage held at gunpoint, and then my brother decided to fuck the family company over on a whim. It’s been great. How about you?”

“I’ve been good!” said Kendall, propping his hands up on his hips. “Certain amount of regret, but you know—pretty cleansed.”

 It took all you had in you not to heave out a grand sigh. “Cleansed,” you mumbled. “You could’ve just gone on a spa retreat for that. Didn’t have to pull all this shit. I think a clay mask would do you good.”

Kendall shot you a mildly amused look. “I needed to do this. And yeah—I still meant every word of what I said to you.”

You frowned. He was clearly alluding to the phone call where he was offering you a spot with him. “Right. Oh, and, uh—Ro brought you those cinnamon rolls from the airport.”

“That’s so sweet. That’s kind. Thanks, Rome,” said Kendall, glancing at the blue little box on the table.

“Shut up. Just eat ‘em or don’t,” Roman said, standing behind the couch and patting your shoulders. You reached over and rubbed his hand.

Finally, Kendall rubbed his palms together and addressed all three of you. “Look, guys, can we start on a clean slate? You didn’t like how I handled things with Dad. Sure. Whatever, I’m sorry. But that’s for me and him. Here’s the thing… he’s over, so let’s work together to take the company over and help him move on out.”

Roman wrinkled his nose. “Uhm… well, I’m just here to spy on Shiv, so—”

“And I’m just here to get you to back down,” Shiv told her older brother.

The four of you fell silent when a group of Kendall’s busy worker-bees crowded into the living room, holding stacks of files and papers and binders.

Shiv blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to tell you how much of an asshole you are, but can we do it somewhere we don’t have to fold in Rava’s dog-walker?”

“Yeah. Sorry, yeah. Follow me. Uh—we can go into her room. Sophie’s room.”

Roman helped you up off the couch and snorted, “I’m surprised he remembered his kid’s name. Uh, which one was she? Right! Sophie. Or was it Sophia?”

The two of you snickered under your breath, and filed into the room behind Kendall and Shiv.

“Don’t touch any of her shit,” said the oldest out of the four.

Of course, Roman reached out and brushed his hand along all the little toys and trinkets lining her desk and drawers. You were the last in the room, and you didn’t even get the chance to reach out and shut the door behind you before Kendall was rubbing his hands together.

“Okay. So… uh, it’s pretty simple, really. Let’s gang up on dad and take him down.”

“Well, fuck. At least wait until the door’s closed,” you said, just before kicking it shut. Patting Roman’s shoulder, you took a seat near the foot of Sophie’s bed while Shiv made her way to the very top.

Kendall grinned sheepishly, though you could see the apprehension in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you come to us before?” Shiv asked. “Because look—it’s a real fucking mess now.”

You thought back to the yacht. How Kendall was offered up as the sacrificial lamb, unexpectedly. Of course he’d have no time to confer with any of you.

The grin on his face seemed to taper away. “It came together in my head a bit late. And, you know—I mean, I knew what I was gonna do, but…”

Roman’s brows furrowed. “That was spontaneous?”

“Well, I spoke with a lawyer—”

“Oh, wow! He spoke with a lawyer?” Roman parroted in a mocking tone. 

“But they advised against it. I don’t wanna rehash it all but—I was effectively acting alone.”

The words made Roman roll his eyes so far into the back of his head it was a wonder he couldn’t see his brain. “Right. A spontaneous, heartfelt out-pouring of thoroughly lawyered emotion.”

“You guys can think whatever you want, in the end, of me. My offer still stands.” His eyes were on Shiv, then on you. 

You drummed your nails against Sophie’s soft blanket. “Kendall… you can’t just expect us to drop everything and trust you blindly. Do you understand how much we’d be risking? You have to give us something to work with here.”

Scoffing, Shiv said, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m here to get him to back down.”

“On Dad’s behalf,” Roman added. Was it a question or a statement?

Kendall nodded twice. “Right. Uh-huh. So if I say that I won’t back down and I’m not interested in negotiating any deals, you’d just call him and tell him to take a hike?”

Before anybody could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, and Jess’ head popped through.

“He’s here,” said Jess.

“What? Who?” asked Roman.

“Con. Yeah, send him in,” Kendall said. The grin was back on his face.

Roman laughed under his breath. “Right. Thought I heard a clown car pulling up.”

“Ideally I’d like to make a media appearance. All of us,” Kendall told the three of you. 

Immediately, he was met with noises of protest and sour faces. 

“Sweet,” Roman droned. “Are we gonna be wearing costumes that you have designed, asshole?”

“Yeah. That’s not happening,” Shiv chimed.

More hesitantly, you added on, “That sounds like an awful idea, Kendall. No offense.”

The door opened again, and Connor came in with a wide smile. He greeted Kendall with a hug, then swung his gaze to the rest of you.

“Pop’s looking for you guys, you know,” he said. He sat down beside you and rubbed your shoulder comfortingly. “You okay? You look tired.”

“Could be better, Con. Could be better.” You spared him a half-hearted smile, then shrugged.

Shiv leaned back against the headboard. “We’re here on his behalf.”

Connor laughed, and sent his half-sister an amused glance. “Oh, sure, honey. Me too. All about Dad. That’s why we’re all here.”

Bored, Roman began wandering around the room, glancing and poking around in Sophie’s walk-in closet. He pulled out a frilly pink t-shirt and held it up to his chest. “You think this color suits me?”

“Put that back,” Kendall admonished dismissively, but didn’t bother to take it away from him. Instead, he continued right on with the topic of conversation, taking a seat on an ottoman. “Okay, can we just—can we turn off the devices and get into this? If this shit was just epiphenomenal, maybe it could be ridden out. But these incidents are symptomatic of a foundational sickness within our father and this company.”

Roman snorted. “Hmm, don’t he use that tongue prettier than a twenty-dollar whore?”

Chuckling, Shiv tilted her head. “So what’s your point?”

“My point is… the milk is going sour. You know, the great whites from politics to culture, they’re rolling off the stage. It’s our time.”

“You mean us?” Roman asked, giggling. “The multi-fucking-ethnic transgender alliance of twenty-something year-olds we got here?”

You shot the man an incredulous look. “Kendall, you’re a rich, middle-aged white man. I’m sorry if your image doesn’t exactly scream woke extravaganza.”

He waved the two of you away. “Okay, listen. Big picture, we’re at the end of the long American century. Our company is a declining empire inside of a declining empire. People are killing themselves with guns or dope so fast that we’re losing pace. We’re, uh, we’re fat-fingered fucks and we can only live on cream. US supremacy is waning—”

“Why is that a bad thing?” you cut in, nose wrinkling. 

Kendall held his hand out, as if to gesture at you to keep quiet. “What I think is, within that context, we can become omni-national and reposition. Because actually, we’re not tied to anything culturally or physically. So, we’re actually in a great position to leapfrog tech. Information is going to be more precious than water. Combine all our news operations, and become the global news information hub.”

You winced. It was a bad idea. A terrible idea. It reminded you of the Pierce acquisition but just… a hundred times worse. And what the hell does omni-national even mean?

“Amazon is twenty years old, and Gates is an old geezer. Detoxify our brand, and we can go supersonic.”

Silence. Utter silence. 

You and Roman stared at each other, as if trying to reassure each other how bullshit everything he was saying sounded.

“What do you say?” Kendall asked. “Are we interested?”

Roman hummed. “Mmh. There’s just something about betraying our father that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“He’s a central player in a rotten cabal that has basically eaten the heart out of American democracy—”

“Rotten Cabal is a good name for a band,” Roman chimed.

“Dad’s not on trial for that, though, Ken,” said Shiv. 

Hotly, Kendall defended, “Maybe he should be.”

“If he didn’t do it, it would’ve been someone else making the same dollar off the same shit,” said Roman. 

Leaning his weight onto his knees, Kendall turned to look back at his brother. “Yeah, maybe. Maybe we’re all irrelevant. Maybe there’s always going to be death camps and maybe the planet is going to fry, and there’s nothing we can do. Or maybe… maybe people make a difference. I don’t know. Do you think human beings matter, Rome?”

The conflict danced across Roman’s eyes clear as day. It disappeared quickly once he crossed his arms and said, “I’m just gonna say it now—I’m a spy and I’m gonna go back and tell him everything. I’m with Dad, so… fuck you.”

Kendall frowned. “Fine. Fine. I actually don’t give a fuck. I can perfectly well do this alone. I’m actually just trying to be open-hearted and invite you in here. I mean, it’d actually probably be simpler to go alone, but I want to offer you guys a fucking ticket to the escape pod.”

“Nice fucking guy, huh?” Rome chortled.

Finally, the ball dropped. “You’re happy he went over your head and put in Gerri?” 

Roman’s expression fell. You knew he’d wanted the job. “I think Gerri is a good choice.” Shiv laughed, and Roman defensively spat out, “What?”

“Defend Dad all you want, but Gerri can look after herself.”

“Yeah, I know that, I’m not defending Gerri, I just—”

Shiv sat up straighter. “You can’t hide under the covers with Mommy.”

Roman shifted back a step. “Oh, fuck off, Siobhan.”

“No, no, let’s talk about it. You always need someone to hold your fucking hand. You use Gerri as protection, and then you run off to Y/N every time something just barely inconveniences you. You just love showing your pee-pee to everyone but someday, you know, you’re actually gonna have to fuck something.”

His nose twitched. “Fuck you. Bitch.” With that, he made his way to the door and stormed out of the room.

You and Connor both called after him, but he was already gone. 

“Okay… that was… that was low, Shiv,” said Con, frowning. 

“That was an overreaction!” she exclaimed.

Huffing, Connor shook his head. “Can we just try to keep things nice? Yeah?” He patted your shoulder again. “I’ll go check on him.” 

“It’s not my fault he’s got a sex thing,” Shiv laughed. “Was I too harsh?”

“You kidding? He loves it. He’s probably out there jerking off, wearing my ex-wife’s panties.”

You buried your face in your hands, pulling exasperatedly. “You guys are fucking assholes. You’re fucking two-faced, Shiv, and Kendall, you’re just… you’re just using us. Fuck. “Media appearance”? Give me a fucking break.”

With that, you stood up from the bed and made your way out of the room. Worry scratched away at your chest for Roman. You stepped into the living room, expecting to see him lingering around there, but you heard Connor’s voice echoing down the hall. He was standing in front of the closed bathroom door, a hand on the gilded doorknob, the other rapping against the wood lightly.

“Rome?” he asked. “You okay?” 

“Go away,” his muffled voice replied from the other side.

You stepped forward, right next to Connor. “Hey, Romeo?”

There was a pause. Then the door swung open.

“Hi,” you said, mustering up a tired grin. 

“Hi,” he said. Roman tried his best to mirror your smile, but failed miserably.

“You okay, Rome?” Connor asked again.

He shrugged, scratching at the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just needed to piss. Am I not allowed to do that?”

Finally, you ambled another step forward and enveloped Roman into a tight hug. “What Shiv said isn’t true, you know. I’m the one that ran to you this time.”

Roman mumbled something into your shoulder, but you didn’t quite catch it. Maybe it was an off-handed thanks. At least, that’s what you hoped he said.

Connor smiled at the two of you with a huff, clapping a hand on each of your shoulders. “Maybe it’s time to head back. I don’t think we’re done discussing things. Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

With that, you let go of Roman and nudged him back in the direction of Sophie’s bedroom. 

As soon as he made his way back in, Shiv met his gaze with a half-beam, half-grimace etched across her features. “Sorry,” she said. She didn’t really sound all that sorry.

“For what? I went to the bathroom,” Roman dismissively replied. “I don’t give a shit. You whore.”

Shiv smiled, and he grinned back. Haughtily, he snatched up your hand and crowded you into sitting down on the loveseat with him. He swung a leg up to throw over your thighs and you traced aimless circles along his shin. 

“Here’s how I see this,” Kendall started up, “Dad is complicated. But he did, or he let, bad stuff happen. Yeah? And now it’s a part of us and our sickness, and we have to take responsibility because we knew. This is our chance to pay our dues and wash our hands for absolution.

You narrowed your eyes. Knew? 

Thinking along the same lines as you, Shiv snorted out a derisive sound. “Okay, well… I didn’t know.”

“Sure, whatever, but—yeah, you did,” Kendall said. 

“No, obviously we didn’t know,” Shiv exclaimed. “Did you guys know?”

“No,” you were quick to say. “What kind of question is that?”

Roman leaned further back into the seat. “No, we didn’t know.”

Incredulous, Kendall rounded his gaze onto the two of you. “The fucking pipeline of sad dancers who got used and abused and promised some Hollywood bullshit? We all fucking knew.” 

Brows cinching together, Roman acquiesced by saying, “Yeah, well, I kinda knew about… you know, that there was some—but I didn’t know about any of the actual fucking… the fucking shit that went down. I really didn’t.”

“Come on, guys,” Connor said. “We knew.”

“Maybe you guys did,” you protested. “But I didn’t fucking know. I was a kid! We were kids!”

“But we still fucking knew! Okay? And I—I don’t like all this fucking bullshit!” Kendall propped his hands on his hips, staring down at his siblings.

“What did we fucking know?” Roman asked. 

“Yeah!” 

Leaning closer to his sister, Connor said, “Listen, I’m obviously not saying that you guys are responsible. But, come on. The guys, Dad, Mo—the wolf pack.”

“We knew,” Kendall parroted. “All those jokes and the weird vibes to the women and to the grubby fat-asses who took the cruises. The blind eyes and the pay-offs and the hush-hush about Dad’s pals or foreign workers who got crushed like—like meat in a fucking grinder with zero training! And, you know, no, it wasn’t our fault. And if you want to pretend that your shit doesn’t stink, be my guest, but we fucking knew.”

Solemn, Connor nodded. “We knew what those guys in Dad’s study were laughing about.”

Hotly, you said, “How many times do I have to say it? I didn’t know that the dancers were being sexually harassed! That—that fucking workers were being grilled under terrible work conditions! And I sure as hell didn’t know anything about these million-dollar pay-offs you love to parade around without actually showing us.”

Shiv drew in a breath. “We didn’t know what they were laughing about.”

“Don’t get in the pool with Mo?” Connor asked. “Remember that?”

“Well, yeah, that just sounds like fucking common sense,” you replied. “It was all so… grey. There were so many rumors. I just—I didn’t know if what Mo did actually happened or just a part of a huge fucking joke.”

“Yeah. And I didn’t get in the pool with any of those creeps,” said Shiv.

Kendall nodded, “Yeah, because he let those creeps run cruises.”

“No, Kendall, because I was fifteen!” Shiv finally asserted. “Y/N said it before—we were kids! Y/N was barely fourteen! We were hardly ever around them, and when we were, they were talking about shit we didn’t understand, and we didn’t want to understand. Because we were teenagers, and they were creepy old men that constantly told us about how mature we were for our age. Obviously we didn’t know what they were talking about, because we didn’t even want to know.”

Waving his sister’s words away, Kendall stressed, “Well, you know now, right?”

“Of course I fucking know now, that’s why we’re here in the first place!” Shiv yelled.

A beat of silence. 

Kendall’s shoulders squared. “This is all a sidebar. Okay? All I’m asking is for us to move forward from a position of truth.” 

“Are we excluded from this kingdom of heaven unless we accept the one true truth?” Shiv asked.

His phone dinged with a text message, and Kendall reached down to pull it out of his pocket. His kids were here.

“Look, I just wanna go hug my kids. Okay? I’ll be right back.” He started back out, making his way to the door. “We don’t even need to get into this. This is just sideshit.”

Once he was gone, Roman’s hand rested against the side of your face, gently pulling your head down to rest against his shoulder.

“We were kids,” you mumbled tiredly. Blurry memories of leering, smoking men and jaunty laughter crossed your mind. “How could I have known?”

Roman hummed, but he said nothing more.

“So… where are we at?” Shiv asked. Her question seemed to be directed at anyone in particular, but her eyes were on you.

“I don’t know. I don’t trust him. He clearly doesn’t trust us,” you said, pursing your lips.

Roman nodded. “We’re just hearing him out—then we report. It’s simple, Siobhan.”

“Right. Yeah. We gotta protect Dad… because if we knifed him now, he’d just bleed out, so…”

Roman reared his head back. “Hm. I don’t know about that.”

“Well, it’s just true. It’s a statement of fact.”

“Is it, though?” Roman wrinkled his nose. “It’s not necessarily true. This is Dad. He’s like fucking—fucking Moby Dick. He could take us all down with his back riddled with harpoons.”

Scoffing, Shiv arched a brow. “Yeah? You think he can take on all of us? If we back Ken, he’s toast. I’m not saying we should do it—we just need to decide what the fuck we’re gonna do because this is our moment.”

Finally, Roman’s features softened. He gave you a nudge. “What do you think?”

You bit down on the inside of your cheek. “If all of us back Kendall, that’d spook Karl and Frank onto our side. Gerri, maybe. The board… they’ll be split at first, but I think most of them would be swayed with enough convincing. I don’t know. It’s hard to gauge.”

“It’s very hard to imagine him surviving if we allied,” Connor agreed.

“Yeah. Sure, it’s his board, but it’s a lot of fresh blood. A lot of fear. I think if we pulled a pin today, and tomorrow, we got a spooked board. We could win.”

Tilting your head, you asked her, “I’m confused, do you or do you not want to back Kendall?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On you guys!”

Roman shook his head. “My only concern with stabbing Dad in the back—it might actually kill him.”

You thought back to how scared and worried the two of you were when Logan was in the hospital. Certainly not something you wanted to relive.

It was then that the door opened once again, and Kendall stepped in. “So—where are we?”

“Okay. Let’s say you win, and take Dad out. I don’t see us coming through in the proxy battle. Shareholders don’t like confusion—they’ll pull out the moment they realize the condom ripped. How does the family stay in control?” Shiv asked.

“We give Dad the revolver, show him to the office, proxy battle is over,” Kendall stated matter-of-factly. “Sandy and Stewy will back down. I’ve spoken with them.”

“Busy fucking bee,” Roman snorted.

Bobbing his head, Kendall said, “If Dad went fast enough, we’d have a settlement. Look, guys, I don’t know what I think about Dad. Uh… I love him, I hate him—I’ll outsource it to my therapist. But he was going to send me to jail, you know. He’d do the same to you, Rome. Con. Shiv, I don’t know. Maybe. Don’t you guys see that? Y/N—he’ll… he’ll fucking throw you to the sharks if he needed to. I mean, how many years have you been scurrying around doing all of the yardwork for him?”

You met Kendall’s intense gaze, but you remained silent.

It was Roman who spoke instead: “Well, what would the shape of this new fucking reality be, anyway? Us leapfrogging Amazon?”

“Oh, yeah. We’re looking at 323 BC, naturally. Alexander’s dead. I take Asia, Rome takes Egypt, Shiv takes Europe, Y/N has the Americas, North and South. Con—the rest of the world.”

Connor smiled. “Thanks.”

“Separate divisions. I could oversee us as CEO on paper as we shift to these spheres of influence and evaluate what the core is. We move forward—”

A migraine began to pulse in Roman’s temple and he rubbed his head gingerly. “You’re overseeing us?”

A second of silence. “I’d offer my leadership initially as a—as a necessary part of a transformation process, yes.”

“You’d do that for us?” Roman mocked in a baby-voice. “Oh, you’re so generous! Thanks, Ken!”

“No! In your position, it just doesn’t work,” Shiv protested.

“It’s a stretch,” winced Connor in agreement.

“Stretch?” Roman scoffed. “It’s a fucking scrotum over a timpani drum!”

Shiv straightened her posture. “If I were to back you against Dad, I would need to take over.”

Both you and Rome made noises of surprise.

“What? Woah!” Roman chuckled and you drew in a cold inhale through your teeth.

“Shiv, I’m sorry, there’s absolutely no way you’d be able to steer us out of this mess—” you began.

“What? And you could?”

“Yes!” you exclaimed, thinking back to the phone call you had with Logan in the hotel. “But I’m not going to. I don’t want the fucking top job. I’m looking at this from a neutral perspective, okay? You wouldn’t work.”

Kendall nodded vehemently. “You don’t have the experience, Shiv. It wouldn’t be possible. I wish it was, but it isn’t.”

“Come on, you’re a busted flush! I’m the only person who can reform!”

“You’re too divisive,” Kendall said. Shiv’s lips parted in offense. “I mean, I don’t see you this way, but people see you as the token woman, wonk, woke, snowflake. I don’t think that, but the market does.”

“Jesus Christ,” you mumbled, pinching the space between your brows.

“What? That’s bullshit!” she bit out, volume raising a notch.

Snickering beneath his breath, Roman said, “It’s true, I just spoke to the market. That’s exactly what they think.”

“Guys, listen. We’d get new directors, and a clean broom. And then we can figure out how to split the spoils.”

Shiv pursed her lips. “I have some calls to make,” she finally said, getting up from the bed. “But this stays in here, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” Roman said.

“Yeah,” both you and Connor mumbled.

With that, she left the room.

Roman slipped away from you, saying something about taking his own call. You watched him go curiously, though you were already pretty certain he was going to call Gerri for her opinion, seeing as she was CEO now. With a nod to Kendall and Connor, you excused yourself to go to the bathroom.

You strode down the hall and shut the door behind you. The mirror above the sink’s reflection stared back at you, nearly unrecognizable. You looked so tired. Clothes wrinkled, hair disheveled, eyebags dark. All you wanted to do was go home and crawl into your own bed.

You sniffed, though you weren’t crying. You wanted to cry, though. A cry-session sounded really nice right about now. You blinked once, then twice. No tears, still.

Dejected, you went about your business, before rinsing your hands clean and stepping out to the rest of the siblings gathered in the living room now, all standing around a white box of donuts.

“Someone ordered dessert?” you asked with a mild laugh, quirking a brow at Roman. 

“Wasn’t me,” he said, jerking his head to Connor, who had a card in his hand.

“Dad sent donuts. Perfectly innocent, safe-to-eat donuts,” the oldest of the group announced. He lifted up the card. “He wants us all to have a nice tea party.”

Shiv glanced around shiftily. “What the fuck? Ken—did you tell him?”

“Shiv, come on,” he replied. “Why would I tell him?”

“To make him distrust us and force us to back you?” you offered, peering over at the donuts. Connor reached over to take out a glazed chocolate one from the center.

“I wouldn’t eat that,” Shiv told his brother. 

Incredulous, Connor said, “You really think he’d send poisoned donuts to the house of his grandchildren?”

“Yeah, I’m, like, ninety-eight percent sure those aren’t poisoned,” Roman chimed. 

Kendall shook his head. “Okay, guys. These aren’t relevant—”

“Oh, no. No, no, no, these are really relevant donuts,” Roman protested.

Ignoring him, Kendall held up his phone. “Do we wanna? Guys—are we in? I’ll make the call right now. We can say it tonight. It’ll be over. New dawn.”

A terse silence settled over the rest of you.

“Con, stop staring at the fucking donuts, man. Focus!”

With that, the eldest sibling dropped the card on top of the donuts. “I’m out,” he said.

Kendall’s eye seemed to twitch. “Alright, then. You’re irrelevant, anyway.”

“Hey, fuck you.”

“Go on. Leave. You’re not wanted. You’re not wanted, Connor! Leave!”

“Don’t be fucking mean, Kendall,” you snapped. 

Roman shook his head. “Yeah, as if he hasn’t heard that enough already.”

“I just don’t wanna destroy Dad. I’m a national figure. It’s not right to kill one’s father.”

“Yeah, you’re a prick!”

You shot Connor an apologetic glance, but he simply shook his head, gathered his jacket, and took his leave.

Kendall then rounded on his younger brother. “Roman. Come on, man. Let’s do this.”

“Uhm… pass.”

“Pass? Why?”

Roman pulled a sour face, as if he’d just licked a lemon. “A number of reasons, really.”

“Like what? You think I can’t win? Dude—we can win this together. We’ll fucking win! There’s enough for us all, Rome.”

“I told you. I’m with Dad. I always have been.”

Shaking his head, Kendall spat out, “You’re a fucking moron.”

“Don’t call him that!” You bristled. He sounded just like his father. 

Kendall looked to his sister. “Forget them, Shiv.”

“I’m with Dad,” she said, plainly. Roman laughed, and Kendall’s expression fell.

“Why?” he asked.

She crossed her arms and shrugged. “Why? I don’t need to tell you.”

“Yes, you fucking do! Is it the goddamn donuts? Have you been spooked by fucking donuts? That’s pathetic, Shiv! Why? You owe me an explanation!”

Shiv tossed her head back and laughed at the irony. “Oh, yeah! Because you’ve always been so careful to keep me informed.”

“What is it? You don’t believe me?” he asked. “Obviously, you believe me! So you’re literally doing the wrong thing over the right thing here?”

Her eyes were intense on her brother. Exhaling lowly, Shiv said, “I can see that you’re angry, but don’t project your disappointment onto me. I should go.”

“Is it cowardice or avarice? I just wanna know,” Kendall called out. “Is it because you won’t take over? Is that it? Good luck with sleeping on that, Shiv.”

“Fuck you, plastic Jesus.”

“You’re a fucking twat.”

“I was the one you wanted. Rome and Connor don’t even matter to you,” she said.

“Yeah, because you’re the fucking token girl! Girls count double now, didn’t you know?”

“No, I know.” There was a crack in her voice. “I fucking know.”

“It’s only your teats that give you any value! You’re calling it wrong, Shiv. You’re fucking over the victims. I hope you know that! Well done, you dipshit!”

She shot you and Roman narrowed glances, before sauntering out of Rava’s apartment.

Finally, Kendall turned to you. His last hope. He stepped closer to you, until he was just in front of you. “Y/N, just listen. You—we could make this work. You’d be the fucking—the fucking glue. The brains. You’re good at this. You know people, you have connections. It could work. You don’t need them.”

“I don’t trust you,” you whispered. 

And there it was. There were the tears. Stinging the corner of your eyes and just barely blurring your vision. Only this time, you didn’t want to cry. Not in front of Kendall. 

Kendall took your hands loosely, and you couldn’t find it in you to pull away just yet. Roman watched on with part caution, part disgust. 

“Remember—remember when we were kids and I told you that I would be leading the company one day? That you could be there with me? Remember that? And you made me swear to give you all the fucking strawberry popsicles you wanted. You could have it all, Y/N. It’s so fucking close.”

You remembered. Of course you did. “I don’t know, Kendall. I don’t remember.” Swallowing, you pulled your hands away from his. “You’ll just use me, Kendall. You’ll just use me and then toss me to the side.”

“That’s what Dad is doing to you right now. I’m not like him. I won’t do that.”

Your expression hardened and you wiped away the tears. “I can’t back you.”

For a moment, you wondered if Kendall was going to scream.

“Fine,” he said, eerily quiet. “You’re an asshole. Both of you.”

Roman took your hand and began to tug you to the elevator.

“You’re all pricks. Fucking idiots. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing!”

He kept calling you and his siblings a variety of colorful insults, but they all blurred into white noise when Roman hurried you into the elevator, his arm wound around your waist.

“Home?” you asked. You were so, very tired.

He nodded. “Home.”

“Will you stay over?”

He kissed your head, chaste and barely there. “Yeah. Sure.”

The company’s annual shareholding meeting started early in the morning. It’d been a few weeks since the eventful night at Rava’s place, and you’d been swamped with work ever since then. Shiv had been promoted to President of Domestic Operations—which was just a fancy title that meant little to nothing—and shortly after, the FBI had raided the company building.

Yeah. All sunshine and rainbows at Waystar right about now.

A vote would completely be slanted away from the Roys, and that only left them with the option of negotiation with Stewy and Sandi.

“We’re gonna lose the company,” said Shiv, hands propped on her hips. “We’re going to lose the fucking company today.”

The rest of you were sitting around on the couches, waiting for Logan to arrive. He was late, as he often was nowadays.

Roman tugged at the lapels of your dark blue pantsuit, wrangling your attention back to him. He offered you a wry smile. “Say, if I lose my job here, do you think I could find work behind a cash register at Target?”

“Haven’t you heard? All those jobs are being taken up by broke college students with at least two bachelor's degrees under their belt,” you dryly replied. He barked out something akin to a laugh. Since he was straightening out your suit for you, you reached out to fix his loosely-knotted tie. Once you were done, you patted his cheek fondly and pulled your hands away. 

It was then that Logan came ambling through the entrance, clutching a dark cane in one hand and Kerry right behind him. 

“There he is. The big beast,” Roman said. “Ready to kick ass with his ass-kicking boot.”

“You heard?” Shiv queried him, without bothering to even say hello. “You know where we’re at?”

Logan stared at his daughter for a good few seconds. “Uh-huh,” he finally said, stoutly. Then, he looked to senior management. “Karl? Gerri?”

The man shrugged. “Uh… I guess we have to delay the vote. Squeeze Sandy and Stewy’s airtime. Run the long versions of the speeches. ”

Gerri spoke up, “I emailed a list of assigned shareholders for last minute persuasion.”

“Good, good. Yes,” Logan said. He sounded winded.

Brows furrowing, Shiv incredulously asked, “That’s it? There’s nothing else we can do?” There was an anxious lilt to her voice.

“What about the Raisin?” Logan asked. The president.

Shiv, Tom, and Cyd scrambled to answer for him, and he barked out a few more orders, before taking a seat.

Gerri’s phone began to ring, and her eyes widened when she checked the caller ID. “It’s Stewy Hosseini,” she said. “Should I take it?”

Wordless, Logan nodded once. 

The call was short, but brief. Gerri’s eyes were narrowed and calculating when she hung up.

“They want to meet up,” she announced. “They have thoughts.”

Head tilting, Roman asked, “Thoughts? What kind of thoughts?”

“Ideas for a deal space around a settlement,” Gerri told the group.

“Fucking A! That’s great!” exclaimed Roman, before he was cut off by his father.

“Why have they suddenly decided to settle?” he asked, voice low.

Shiv replied, “Well, because they know it’s the smartest move?”

“Or they’ve had bad news,” Logan said. “What do they know that we don’t?”

You bit down on the inside of your cheek. “Well—we’d find out when we speak to them.”

Logan shook his head. “No. I’m not doing a tap dance. Shiv, Karl, Gerri, Y/N, Romulus—go and report back.”

Lifting a hand, Frank offered, “I think that’s smart. Yeah. But, uhm, Gerri should be out front helming, so should I go?”

“We nail you to the cross, Frank, alright?” Logan dismissed. “Let Sandy do the soft shoe. He’s wriggling. Let’s screw them out.”

The hotel you were meeting them at was lavish and over-the-top—you expected nothing less from Sandy and Stewy. 

Inside the elevator up, Roman queried, “Does Sandy really have syphilis? What if he has sores all over his body? What if his groin’s all eaten away and the top half of him just falls off?”

“That’s disgusting, Rome,” you said, wrinkling your nose.

He stuck his tongue out at you. “You’re disgusting, fuck-face,” he shot back, childishly.

Gerri hummed. “I think we started that syphilis rumor.”

Raising a brow, you exchanged a look with Roman, neither of you all that surprised. Gerri was a cutthroat, cold-stoned bitch (in Roman’s words), and she’s definitely done worse than starting up a few nasty rumors.

“Late stage symptom is dementia, I believe,” said Karl, tucking his phone away into his back pocket.

Roman laughed. “You been doing some late night, panicky googling, Karl?”

With that, the elevator doors slid open, and the group filed out down the hall. A hotel employee showed you into one of the larger suites, where Sandy, Sandi, and Stewy were situated amongst plush seats. 

“Hey,” Sandi greeted with a cautious smile. “Thanks for coming. My father is very excited to see you all.”

You glanced at her father, who was slumped over on a wheelchair and silent. It seemed his condition had worsened much more than you expected. You took a seat beside Gerri, and Shiv stiffly eased down next to you. Roman lingered behind, far too restless to sit.

“Look,” said Stewy, pulling your attention away from the older man to him, “after careful consideration, if we can make a deal here, we’re willing to agree to a standstill. No takeover. Provided we lead on deal-making options moving forward, we’ll accede to a continuation of combined Chairman and CEO roles, so that’d be all yours.”

“I think that sounds reasonable,” said Gerri. 

“And the three board seats?” Stewy asked. His eyes darted from the siblings, to you, to Gerri and Karl.

Nodding, Shiv said, “Including yours? We can do that right now—I have my dad’s authorization to go there.”

“Would you be willing to sign off on this?” you asked. Stewy’s gaze met yours, mildly amused. “We’d like something physical to hold onto.”

Sandi then leaned forward when her father began to mumble under his breath, too quiet for you to decipher from where you were sitting. 

“He wants our costs covered,” Sandi finally said. That was reasonable. Then, she added, “And… veto right over any Roy family member ever taking over as CEO.”

Your brows furrowed. Gerri seemed just as taken aback by this condition as you were. 

“Stewy?” she asked, hoping he’d give some sort of clarification.

“That’s what the man said,” Stewy replied languidly. “It’s a very important protection for us.”

Wincing, Roman scratched at the back of his head. “I feel like I just have to put it out there and say it, since there’s a eighty-five billion dollar baby on the table here… how do I know he’s not your… meat puppet?”

The term made you think of Kendall before he’d waged war on his own father. 

Sandi smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I just do what my dad tells me, like you guys.”

“You mind if we take a beat?” Gerri asked, standing up. You stood with her, following her to the next room. Stewy said something snarky, but you consciously chose not to listen.

Karl ducked his head and whispered, “Well, I mean, other than the new proposal, it’s a very, very attractive prospect.”

Shiv frowned and incredulously bit out, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing to discuss. It fucks us and it’s designed to humiliate dad!”

“It’s all just optics,” Gerri defended. “I’m not sure it’d even stand up.”

“You could probably work around it if it ever came to it!” Karl piped in.

“Uhm, with all due respect, Gerri—get bent,” said Roman. 

Shaking her head, she reasoned, “I know it’s humiliating, and I’m sure your dad would agree, but given where we’re at, I have to check in with him. Sorry, excuse me.”

With that, she stepped away to call Logan.

“Is she gonna fuck us?” Shiv asked. 

Roman pulled a face. “No. I don’t know.”

“Logan’s not going to say yes,” you murmured. “He wouldn’t allow it. It’s pride over everything, no?”

Shiv shot you a sharp look, but she didn’t say anything. From farther away, Gerri hung up the phone and made her way back to Stewy.

“We will meet your costs, but… no veto,” she told them. Of course—Logan wouldn’t refuse to be the first to bend the knee.

Sandy began murmuring again, and Sandi leaned in to listen. 

“We need the veto,” she said once she backed away.

“Is there no alternative shape here?” Gerri queried, shaking her head.

Growing frustrated, Shiv said, “Come on, Sandi. We all want this to work.”

With one final lean-in, Sandi nodded her head at her father’s mumbled words.

“We’re gonna go have a think. But, uhm… it’d be a shame if all this hard work is destroyed over a small detail,” she finally concluded. “Thanks for coming to see us.”

You blew out a breath and scratched at the back of your head—a habit that you seemed to pick up from Roman.

The two of you began walking out, and Gerri caught up, just a step behind. “Sorry, about back there—”

“About what? Trying to fuck me over to consolidate your position?” 

“No. It just seemed to make sense. Business-wise.”

Roman shot her a glance over his shoulder. “Throwing me overboard to drown? You picked your prince, Gerri, don’t fuck it up now.” He began to walk faster, and you gave her an apologetic shrug. 

“We got this in the bag, Gerri. Don’t—don’t worry about Roman.” 

She patted your shoulder with a reassured smile. “I can count on you to keep him in line, right?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

With one final nod, you jogged ahead to catch up with Roman, linking your arm with his. 

“Hey, stompy,” you greeted, bumping your hip into his. “Stop pouting. Gerri was just trying to broker a deal. It’s not her fault they suddenly wanted a veto right.”

“I know. I’m just fucking—worried that I’m making the wrong choices all the time.”

“Yeah. But you’re doing okay. We’ll be fine. Everything’s going to blow over in a few months, just watch.”

The corner of Roman’s lips tilted into a lopsided smile, and hummed out that hyena-laugh of his. “You are so fucking fake. Y’know what the fucking Gen-Z’ers are calling it now? Toxic positivity. That’s what you are. A barrel of toxic, radioactive, neon-yellow smiley emojis. I love it. Never change.”

He kissed your cheek then, sounding out an obnoxious ‘mwah!’ before tugging you into the elevator.

By the time you rejoined Logan, Karolina, and Tom (hell, even Greg was there), Gerri’s phone began to ring again.

“It’s Sandi.”

“Which one?” Connor asked.

“The one that can talk,” Gerri deadpanned. She gave Logan a confirming glance, before answering it. Her expression rippled with incredulity and apprehension. “Uh… are you sure about that? Alright, but—seriously?”

With one final sigh, she hung up the call.

“They have one more proviso,” she told the group. “They want to take away the private jets.”

“What? No!” Roman protested.

“They said it’s elitist and out of touch.”

A frown crossed his face. “Duh-doy, but—no. They’re just trying to humiliate him.” He gestured to his father, who was slumped in a chair, eyes staring aimlessly at the ground.

“Was it real or were they just basting the turkey?” asked Karl.

“I don’t think Sandy’s the kind to be pulling a prank on us, Karl,” you said, pinching the space between your brows. “It’s gotta be real.”

Gesturing emphatically, Shiv said, “Let’s just eat it, Dad. You can tell them to fuck off later.”

“Yeah, we can just offer to cut personal use, or put on a mileage cap,” offered Karl.

“No!” Roman protested once more. “We give them this—first they come for the PJs and we say nothing, then they come for the outsized compensation payments, you know? This is—no. This is bullshit. They’ll back down, they won’t blow it over this. Right?”

He looked at you, and you lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. They’re fishing for something here, but we still have to take them seriously.”

“Dad?” Roman asked.

The older man was silent for a long time.

“Hm.” He paused, glancing around. His eyes were glazed over. “I need to piss.”

“Oh,” said Shiv, uncertain. “Do you… do you need some help, or should I reach out and call—?”

Logan ignored her, and pointed at Tom. “You.” He loosely gestured at the rest of you. “Stay.”

“You want to make a decision now, before you go? Dad?” Shiv called out after him, but he was already walking away.

“Is he—is he okay?” you whispered into Roman’s ear. “He doesn’t look too good.”

Roman pulled a sour face. “He’s fine. He looks fine. Why, you think something’s wrong with him?”

“Well, I don’t know, he’s just acting so weird. This is—this is a big fucking deal and he’s been shrugging it off like it’s chopped liver.” At Roman’s worried look, you gripped his arm and squeezed comfortingly. “I mean, I don’t know, though. Maybe he’s okay.”

Nearly fifteen minutes later, you were about to eat your own words. 

Logan was most certainly not okay. When he came back, he was out of breath, and his eyes were unfocused.

“What’s it gonna be, Logan?” Gerri asked. “We need an answer.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What do you think? Yes or no?”

A staggered exhale and a wild look around. “Fuck ‘em,” he finally spat out.

Shock spilled over the group. Shiv made noises of protest.

“Fuck ‘em!” he repeated, gruffer this time.

“I—are you sure, Dad? That’s… you sure you wanna do this?” Shiv asked.

His breathing was getting heavier and heavier. It was clear to you that business was the last thing Logan should be thinking about right now. You stepped forward, concern splayed over your features.

“Uncle Logan, are you okay?” you asked, under your breath. He didn’t give you an answer, but you took his arm to slowly lead him to a seat. It didn’t go past your notice that he was sweltering hot and trembling quite a bit—you could feel the heat and the quaking through the fabric of his suit. 

Despite the fact that he was in no state of mind to be negotiating, Gerri and Shiv pushed him. “Do you know something, or…? That’s a big call you’re making.”

“Pills!” Logan hissed to Colin, who came forward immediately.

“I just gave you some, sir. You need something else? Tylenol?”

Logan nodded, mumbling incoherently beneath his breath.

The rest of the group discussed what the next steps were, and a part of you wanted to join and offer your input, but you stayed by Logan’s side. 

When Colin returned with the Tylenol, you furrowed your brows and told him, “He’s, uhm, he’s really hot. Like—feels like he’s burning up. Can we—do we need to go get him a medic, or…?”

“I’m fine,” he said, waving away your words. But then he smiled at you, and that was the most surprising thing of all. “Thank you, dear.”

“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“What’s going on with the Raisin?” he asked.

Gerri, overhearing, stepped closer with cinched brows. “I’m sorry, with—with the President?”

“Can we get Ravenhead on air?” Logan queried. “Call Michelle-Anne. Tell her to get the SEC to shut this meeting down.”

It was clear that Logan was spouting out utter nonsense, and you exchanged several confused looks with the rest of the group. 

“Okay… we’ll look into that,” said Karl.

“I need a piss,” Logan announced once more. Hadn’t he gone just a few minutes ago? “Where is he?” 

Tom pointed at himself. “Who, me? Again? Yeah? Sure—okay.”

Greg, who had just returned from sending off a note to Frank on stage, came bounding back to the group, sweat and hair slightly disheveled. “You guys going off to the bathroom?” he asked Logan and Tom.

Logan stared at his grand-nephew incredulously. “What fucking business is it of yours?”

You and Roman glanced at each other. “Jesus. You were right. He’s off his rocker,” Roman whispered. 

A few minutes later, Logan staggered back with Tom helping him, and Shiv came forward to ask if he was alright. To everybody’s surprise, Logan called his daughter Marcia, and then started rambling on about a speech he was meant to give.

Tom came up to the rest of the group. “Hey, uh, hey everybody—Logan’s not really himself right now.”

Shiv rushed back after phoning Kerry. “He’s got a fucking UTI.”

“That explains it,” you said, glancing back at Logan, still murmuring something to a nodding Colin. 

“Well, is that—I mean, no, it isn’t. It’s not that fucking serious, is it?” Roman asked. He was worried, you could see it clear as day. 

“At his age? That can make you crazy!” said Connor. “Reagan had one and nearly nuked Belgium.”

“What?” Shiv asked, incredulous. “How long has he been like this? What the fuck?”

Brows furrowing, Gerri chimed in, “Was he like this when he risked the whole company?”

“Nobody hears about this,” Shiv warned, voice steely. “What do we do?”

“Get a doctor,” you said, as if it were obvious. 

“Can’t we just get him some cranberry juice and ask him about the deal again?” Roman asked.

Tom shook his head. “He was just asking for Caroline.” 

“Oh,” said Roman, mock-pouting. “Aw. He misses mom.”

“He’s gone mad,” Shiv blew out. 

“Well, we don’t actually know when he got this way. We don’t!” Roman said. 

“No, no, I think he’s been piss-mad for quite some time,” Tom interjected, glancing back at Logan. “Shiv, do you think—should you overrule him? Go back to Sandy and Stewy and say we’ve changed our minds?”

You sucked in a deep breath. “Logan’ll be furious.”

“How can he be furious when he can’t even tell me apart from his wife?” Shiv shot back. 

Haughtily, you told her, “I’m saying when he’s gotten through it, he’ll be angry that you went over his back—!”

Before you could finish, Hugo came running up. “Guys—he insists that he still has to give his speech.” He hurried off when Logan called his name. Or, a garbled version of it.

“Can he give his speech?” Karolina asked. 

“What? The demented fucking piss-mad King of England?” Roman responded with a scoff. 

“He could say anything up there. No fucking way,” Shiv asserted. “I say we drop it. Right?”

“But at the very least, he should be onstage,” persisted Gerri.

Karl nodded along. “It would be great to get the body up there.”

“Right. Like a human fucking spectacle,” you said, cocking your head. “You don’t think people would find it weird that he’s up there and not saying anything?”

“Okay, we’ll just push it as late as we can, and maybe if we can just get him on stage, that’d be enough?” Shiv proposed.

Connor laughed. “Oh, yeah, maybe send him up through a trapdoor surrounded by dry ice.”

“Where is this doctor, anyway?” Gerri asked.

With no time for anyone to reply, Hugo hustled back to the group, expression twisted with uncertainty. “Uhm… he’s concerned there is a dead cat under his chair.”

Everybody blinked, clueless. 

“Great,” said Shiv. “That’s great.”

“Well, is there anything under his chair?” Gerri whispered, ducking her head to check herself. 

You stared at your godfather from afar, watching as he vehemently gestured down below his seat. 

“He says that, uh, he doesn’t want Rose to see it,” said Hugo. “And he wants Colin to take it out.”

Rose. The name sounded familiar, something you’ve surely heard in passing, but you couldn’t quite place who she was.

Clearly, Roman was beginning to grow more and more agitated, and he gritted out, “Fine. Have Colin take it out. Jesus Christ.”

Finally, Kerry arrived, hurrying to grab her bag, mumbling something about doctors and pills and secrecy. As if to make it even worse, Kendall appeared out of nowhere, and Shiv let out a long and loud string of curses.

“Great—hey, who invited you?” Roman sneered at his older brother.

Kendall ignored him. “What the fuck is going on? He’s squashing the fucking deal?”

“It’s fine! It’s fucking fine—we got it under control,” Roman vehemently pressed, though it didn’t sound too convincing with Logan in the back yelling for the cat to be carried away. The cat that didn’t, in fact, exist.

“You have to turn this around right now!” Kendall yelled. 

“We’re figuring it out,” Shiv told him.

Logan screeched again and grumbled incoherently, shifting on his chair.

“What—what the fuck is going on with him?” asked Kendall.

“The doctor’s coming, Ken,” you tried to reassure him, but he shook his head.

“No, no, I want to know what’s wrong with him!”

Colin hurried away with an empty box—supposedly holding the dead cat. A part of you wondered if this dead cat was a distant memory from Logan’s past. Maybe he was trapped in a fragment of time he could never quite move on from.

“What is that?” Kendall took a few steps to follow after Colin, but halted to look back at his siblings in utter confusion. “Guys, what—?”

“Can you just leave, please?” Roman hissed. “That is an imaginary cat, now can you please fuck off?”

Raising his voice, Kendall addressed the entire group, voice stricken and strained, “Listen to me very carefully. This is you throwing it away. You think they’re bluffing? They’re not fucking bluffing! And you’re putting everything I have fought and bled for on the fucking edge and I am not gonna let that happen! Do you understand me?”

“You’re not welcome here,” Shiv said, cold. “You have no right to be here.”

“Fucking fix it!” he yelled. Kendall sounded like his father.

“You may go! You’re excused!” Roman told him. “Thank you very much for your concern, please go.”

You and Connor stayed silent, watching the other three scream at each other.

“Go! You’re fucking delusional!” shouted Roman. “There’s a fucking delusional man leaving here!”

Kendall began to walk away, but not without screaming back, “Figure out a fucking doctor or I’m calling mine!”

“Thank you so much for your concern, like you give a flying shit!” Roman spat back. “You probably slipped him something, Putin! You piece of shit! Fuck off!” 

It was a game of tug-of-war, and both sides were backing into a cliff’s edge.

Roman was taking out his frustrations and his fear onto his brother, and you stepped forward, placing a hand on his chest.

“Hey, Rome, that’s enough. He’s—he’s leaving, okay? Bye, Kendall.” You brushed a stray strand of his hair away from his forehead. “It’s fine. You need to… you need to take a beat.”

Roman pulled a pained expression, his features crumpling under the weight of stress. He nodded several times, before crossing his arms and walking off to get himself a swig of water. 

When the doctor finally arrived, you pointed him towards Logan, quickly explaining what he’s been like for the past half an hour. He nodded and got to work, pulling out a few medical instruments to check up on Logan.

“So—how is he?” Shiv asked the doctor.

“I’ll put him on some fluids to hydrate him—it should be pretty quick.”

“Will he definitely be okay?” Roman asked

The doctor didn’t have the chance to reply when Shiv cut in, “But how quick, exactly?”

“Well… he’s not a cup of instant noodles.”

“Sure, but can we speed it up? Like a—a blood bag or an adrenaline shot?”

Roman scowled. “Geez, take it easy. You wanna give him a fucking Tabasco suppository?”

“Fuck you! It’s what he’d want,” Shiv defensively replied.

“Fuck you, too. The main thing is that we look after him, okay?” Roman slung an arm over your waist and you leaned into him with a sigh. 

“Obviously, I agree.”

“Oh, do you, though? Sounded like you want to jumpstart our father like he’s a fucking pick-up truck!” Roman uneasily glanced at Logan, who’d fallen asleep on the chair. “Shit. Can you guys call us when he’s less… scary?”

With that, Roman dragged you away from the group. You could still feel Shiv’s angry eyes burning into your back.

“Where are we going?”

“Bathroom.”

“And do you want me to aim your penis for you?” you asked, laughing slightly. “Why are you making me come with you?”

Roman shot you a loose grin. “I could come up with twenty different sex jokes with what you just said. But I’m not going to, because I’m a gentleman.”

“He says, as he shoves me into the men’s bathroom,” you scoffed, before striding in and locking the door behind you. “I hope you’re not looking for a quickie here. I don’t think it’s very sanitary.”

Laughing nervously, Roman’s grip on your hand left so it could curl over your hip, tugging you close. 

“You don’t want a little distraction? Just give me five minutes,” he mumbled. His head dipped forward to kiss the junction between your neck and your shoulder. 

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not,” you whispered, so low that Roman only barely heard it.

In truth, he didn’t know, either.

“Besides, I don’t think we’d have the time, anyway. The floor is fucking lava out there,” you murmured. “Also, I wouldn’t want our first time together to be in a bathroom at a shareholder’s meeting.”

Roman smiled, almost shy, almost disbelieving. “First time? Wow. Is this your way of telling me you want to have sex with me?”

“As if you wouldn’t throw yourself on your knees begging for it,” you bit back, wrinkling your nose affectionately. Then, you cupped his face and kissed the side of his nose, leaving a faint mark of lip tint against his skin. You smiled at that. “You’re cute, Romeo. But I know you. If you wanted to have sex, you’d be dry-humping me against the sink as soon as we stepped foot in here. What is it you actually want to talk about?”

Roman blew out a heavy sigh. His hands fell away from you as he hoisted himself up onto the sink and leaned against the pristine mirror. “I wanted to come clean to you. No secrets right? During the plane ride back to New York, I called Dad. I told him I wanted the top job, but I also told him that… that you and Gerri would be my second choices if he didn’t think I was ready. I just—I wanted to know if you maybe gave him a call, too?”

There was a moment of silence.

“I did.” You bit down on the inside of your cheek. “I told him that I didn’t want it.”

“Oh.”

“And I told him that Gerri would be my choice.”

Roman’s eyes met yours. They twitched with incredulity. “And you didn’t—you didn’t mention me anywhere in there?”

“I didn’t.”

“Wow. Great fucking friend you are.”

“Rome—”

“You chose the croney over me?”

Your features hardened. “Rome. Fuck, I just… I told him I didn’t want it because I didn’t want to be marked as the token figure that roped the company out of hot water. And I don’t want that for you, either. Don’t you get it? Not to mention it’d ruin your relationship with your siblings.”

“So you just—you don’t think it’d ever be me?” Something in his voice broke.

“It could be,” you admitted. “But I don’t want it to. Not now, at least.”

There was a longer silence. Roman pulled at his face tiredly. 

You opened your mouth again, but he waved you away. “I know, I know, you didn’t offer me up because you love me and you’re trying to protect me. Thanks, fuck-face.”

He hopped off from the sink, cradling the back of your head so he could give you a chaste kiss on the forehead.

“You still up for that quickie?” you tried to joke, nudging him with a half-hearted smile.

“Sorry, I’m saving myself for Marcia. Nothing like fucking your father’s leftovers, I’d say.”

The two of you laughed and linked arms, unlocking the bathroom door to walk out and make your way back to the group.

It seemed that the two of you came back at the perfect time, because Shiv was worriedly telling everyone, “His moans are getting louder.”

“Okay, but can he do that on stage?” Hugo questioned.

“Is it a wheel-on and wave situation?” 

“Fuck, no. We’re not gonna make the piss-mad bear dance with fucking cattle prods!” Roman angrily put out. “We need to be looking after him.”

Shiv propped her hands up on her hips. “So he’s not gonna do his speech? Is that it, though? Do we just—does that mean we go down? We’d fucking give up?” She hurriedly turned and asked one of the analysts what the stats on the vote were. “God, okay. I think we should just go back to Sandy and Stewy and try to save the deal.”

“No, no. You can’t. Dad said no deal,” Roman reminded her. 

“Dad didn’t say shit, Rome!”

“He said no deal! Are you fucking deaf?”

“No, he didn’t! His urethra had wrestled control over his brain! I could at least talk to them, right? If we go to the vote, we’d probably… we’d lose. Karl? Frank? Tom?”

They all babbled incoherently—mostly in agreement. 

“Y/N?”

You pursed your lips. “Yeah. I think you should try.”

“Rome? You back this?”

Roman pinched the space between his brows. Sucking in a deep breath, he said, “Go on, yeah. Go fuck it up, you moron.”

With that, Shiv rushed away, pulling out her phone to give them a call.

Before the shareholder meeting ended, the President called and the group had Roman answer, since Logan was currently… unavailable. He was extremely upset with Logan and said that he wouldn’t be running for another term, which was a major blowback for the company, since he was the stilt to Waystar’s political survival.

It was safe to say that things were going to shit.

Then Shiv called to say that she’d finessed four seats out of the board, which was a good fucking deal, so—maybe things weren’t all that shit.

Roman wasn’t happy with going against Logan’s wishes, but he frustratedly nodded. “We’re good. We’re all good. Hold the voting.”

Everyone cheered and sighed in relief. 

When Logan came to, Gerri filled him in with all the details. He didn’t like what Shiv did, not at all, despite her defensive arguments that she’d saved the company. He yelled at her then, and everyone was quiet for a moment.

But Logan smiled at you, and patted Roman’s shoulder minutes later. He was fine, right? Things were fine.

Things were going to be okay.

[604to647]

Safest with You - Ch. 3 (The Drycleaner)

3.2K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: You listen to a sign from the universe and it leads you to Din.

Warnings: Some pining and then more fluff 💕 although Reader is a bit of menace as she straight up ogles Din like a piece of meat 😂, brief mention of female masturbation, reader is described as shorter than Din, first use of pet name “Pretty Bird”.

A/N: The series is slow but sometimes falling in love be like that. I pinned a series masterlist, so you can always jump to the smutty one shots that happen later in the timeline when these two are in an established relationship if you need a fix. The fact that Din boxes is 100% attributed to @djarinsbeskar's Boxer!Din AU which was the very first Din fic AU I ever read on Tumblr and remains one of my favourites and one I revisit often; making Din a former boxer/owner of a boxing gym is my small but humble homage to Rachel's genius. Also from that same AU is this piece of art from one of my favourite artists, @kate-komics that I think about often also. Thank you both for the inspiration!

“He bought you books?!?”

“Well, technically, he bought us all books.”

The whole table laughs; your friends were delighted when you handed out the books, but they’re entralled at the background story that comes with.

“And he didn’t leave you his number or anything?”

“No! Told the cashier he didn’t want to want me to feel ‘obligated’.”

“It’s okay, babe.  We’ll find him,” nods Katie, whipping out her phone. 

Bea starts typing on her phone as well, “Right.  He said his name is Din?  How do you spell that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it short for something?”

“I don’t know.”

“How old is he?”

“I don’t know.  40s?  He’s greying,” you picture Din’s soft curls and bury your face in your hands, “it looks so fucking good on him.” 

“Where does he work?”

“I don’t know.  Not downtown.”

“Well, what does he do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Babe. What do you know?”

“I know his coffee order is Ice Quad Expresso in a Venti cup with extra ice and six shots.”

“Ok, so we know he probably has a heart condition.”

Everyone bursts out laughing.  Your friends have good reason to be so enthusiastic – it’s been ages since someone has caught your eye.  You don’t date a lot, and that’s always been your preference.  You have a picky temperament to begin with, but the truth is, you’re happy and at peace with the way your life is now after years of hard work.  There simply hasn’t been room or a need for a partner, and your friends don’t push you to date (except Jen who always reminds you that there’s a guy at her firm she wants to set you up with, but even that’s more in good fun than anything).  But right now, you look flushed and besotted over this stranger; positively smitten.  They love it for you.

After a few minutes, no one has found anything on social media, any dating apps or Google – admittedly, there wasn’t much (anything?) to go on, but you’ve seen these girls work internet detective miracles before.

Oh well. 

You sigh, “I need to get drunk and forget him.  Or painfully obsess over every detail I can remember.”

And you all cheers to that.

---

Huh.

A week later on the Saturday, you’re out running errands, and you find yourself standing in front of your drycleaner which has unexpectedly closed.  A handwritten sign in the window reads: “Emergency Closure.  Reopening to be announced.”

The drycleaner’s is supposed to be your first stop of the day and you don’t really feel like carting your dirty clothes with you to run the rest of your errands.  Moreover, you’ll need a few of the items in the coming weeks.  You take out your phone to look up other drycleaners in the area when something in your mind clicks: Peli’s Drycleaning on 14th.  You search it and see it actually exists, and has a pretty good rating to boot.  But, it’s sort of out of your way, not really in the same area you’re in at all.

You shouldn’t go.

Should you go?

And what if you do?  Do you… ask about Din?  That’s weird. 

But you’ve been thinking about him non-stop all week: daydreaming about his soft smile during your work commute, remembering the flex of his strong hand covering yours as you answer emails, getting lost in thoughts of his big brown eyes while out walking the dog.  You flush at the memory of touching yourself in bed while recalling his deep and rich voice.  Every attempt to forget your handsome Quad Ice over the past week has utterly failed.

Eff it. What are the chances that you unexpectedly need a new drycleaner, and it happens to be the only thing tangentially related to Din that you know? Maybe the universe is trying to help you out.

Before you can characteristically overthink it, you flag down a cab and give the driver the address you looked up; your heart pounds the entire ride over.

When you step into drycleaner’s, a little bell above the door jingles to signal your arrival, and a short woman with a huge amount of curly dark hair appears from the back.  You think she might be Peli, but you can’t be sure; she gives you a huge smile and gestures to take in your clothes.  Finding her to be super friendly and chatty, the two of you make easy small talk as she neatly lists out your items by hand on her notepad.  When she gets to the coffee stained skirt, she lets out a low whistle, “Oof.  Been there, done that!” she quips.  You decide this is probably the best opening you’ll get, “Actually, that coffee stain is probably why I’m here.  Someone saw it and recommended your place.”  Peli raises her eyebrow as you press on, “His name is Din, he said he’s a friend of the owner?”

This gets her attention; the woman stops what she’s doing and studies you with great interest.  Her face breaks out into an impossibly wide smile and she exclaims loudly, “Din sent you, eh?  And he said we were friends?”  she lets out a deep belly laugh, “Babysat him when he was a kid, but yep we’re friends. Ha!  Hi, I’m Peli!”  She shakes your hand as you introduce yourself. “He said to mention his name and you would try harder not to lose my clothes,” you joke. 

“That scamp!” chortles Peli, “Don’t worry!  We’ll take good care of you!  You know… because of Din.” She rolls her eyes good naturedly.

“Of course.  Because of Din,” you grin back, “So…does he send a lot of… people who need drycleaning, your way?”

“Nope!  You’re the first!  And honestly, now that I think about it, why hasn’t he been sending me more business?”

You figure it’s now or never, “Do you know where I could find him?”

If possible, Peli brightens even more at your question, “Oh yeah, for sure!  At this time of day, he’ll be at his gym.  It’s about 2 blocks that way,” she points in the direction for you, “can’t miss it!  Big sign that says ‘Mando’s Gym’.”

Peli finishes taking down your information for the clothes and lets you know when everything can be ready.  You give her an enthusiastic thanks; when opening the door to leave, you have a moment of hesitation, but looking back, you find Peli already pointing in the direction of the gym.  You give her a smiling nod and head that way.

---

Peli was right.  You can’t miss the sign; it sits atop of a standalone three story building that’s set further back on its lot.  The front area of the lot looks like it might have once been a driveway of sorts, but is now used as a parking lot; a handful of parked cars lets you know the gym is fairly busy today.  The front of the building has giant windows that look like garage doors and makes you think that the building might have once been a mechanic repair shop; from the little of what you can see inside, you think the gym occupies the first floor of the building and possibly the second.  The big set of garage door windows are separated in the middle by an entry way that you walk through, slightly nervous.  Once inside, you see a reception but currently no one behind the small desk; instead, you peek around the partition wall behind the desk and see that the space opens up to a clean, spacious room that has about 8-10 people working out on various machines and punching bags lining the walls, all leading to a larger group of people clustering near the boxing ring centered at the back of the room.

You’re making your way towards the back, scanning over the group looking for Din when you spot him, right in the middle of the ring.  He’s got his gloved hands up, blocking part of his head, but you can still tell it’s him; when you hear him shouting encouraging words to his sparring partner, his familiar voice sends a shiver up your spine.  He’s wearing a sweat drenched grey t-shirt and his hair is messy and wet from his work out, but he looks even better than you remember.

Actually, he looks fucking delicious.  From this angle you can see the cut of his jawline and how it tightens as his grunts and pants.  His arms are flexed from his forearms up to his biceps, and are so muscular they’re straining hard against his shirt sleeves.  You must be straight up ogling him because you don’t even realize when Din notices you; you’re too busy looking at his legs and admiring how his thighs fill out his navy blue shorts so snugly.  You only look up when those same legs start walking in your direction and come to a stop at the edge of the ring.  Din is leaning towards you against the rope with a heart-stopping smile, “It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me,” you grin, repeating back his words to you from the bookstore.

Din thinks he must be dreaming, or maybe he’s been knocked in the head one too many times today.  He had just paused the fight to show Jimmy the new combination again, when he looked over to see the prettiest sight.  You, standing in his gym, soft and dainty, with a wide eye expression on your face.  You’re looking in his direction, but when you don’t make eye contact with him immediately, Din allows himself the smug thought that you might be liking what you see and puffs his chest out a little before making his way over to you.

Now you’re looking at him with that same pretty smile that he hasn’t been able to get out of his head for the last week, and he can’t wait to talk to you again, “Are you okay to wait for 5 minutes?  We’re just finishing up this training session.”

You nod agreeably, “Sure, I can wait.”  There’s a bench running along the right side of the ring where you take a seat to better enjoy the show.  You’ve never seen boxing up close before, so you don’t know what to expect, but you find yourself mesmerized by everything Din is doing in the ring.  All his movements are intentional and graceful; he’s in total control of every motion he makes: ducking, blocking, punching.  His muscles are all flexed and his shirt stretches tight, barely containing them as if Din himself is an extension of the explosive power harnessed in his fists.  The legs that you were drooling over earlier are quick and agile; it’s true you don’t know his age but his sparring partner looks to be in his mid-20s and Din is having no problem out maneuvering him.

As he circles the other fighter, you think you spy some ink on a flash of some exposed skin and the idea of exploring what’s underneath Din’s shirt has you swallowing hard.  In short, you can’t take your eyes off of him. 

The 5 minutes is action packed and over before you know it.  In one continuous smooth motion, Din ducks under the rope, jumps down and grabs a fresh towel from a stack on the other end of the bench you’re sitting on before sliding over to sit next to you.  He looks at you almost bashfully as he towels off his hair and wipes the sweat from his brow and neck.  You think you could get used to seeing him like this: cheeks pink from exercise, bright eyes glued to yours and a grin so wide it reveals a deep dimple in his right cheek that you’re discovering for the first time.  He’s taking your breath away and you haven’t even been back in his presence for more than 10 minutes.

“What brings you to this part of town today, pretty bird?”

If anyone else had bestowed a pet name on you so soon after having met, you would have immediately gotten the ick, but the endearment rolling off Din’s tongue sounds so natural and sweet, it has you melting, “Some handsome guy bought me a thick stack of books and then made it nearly impossible for me to thank him.  Tracked him down to this gym.”

“Handsome guy, eh?”

“Yep.  Real handsome.  And sweet.  You know anyone around here like that?” you tease.

Handsome.  You think he’s handsome. Din thinks his heart is in danger of no longer fitting in his chest.  He holds his hand up to his brow, as if to shield his eyes from the light, and mines looking around gym in an exaggerated manner, “Nope.  Just a bunch of smelly, sweaty ruffians.  Owner’s a handsome guy though, maybe you’re looking for him,” he says, eyes twinkling.

“You own this gym?”

“Sure do.  Used to be my dad’s.”

“Well, he would be proud of you and what you’ve done here, Din.  It looks great.”  You mean it, and you look around the gym with a renewed sense of awe now that you know Din is the one responsible for its operations.

Din’s not sure how you knew the exact thing to say to make his heart swell, but he knows without a doubt that you’re being genuine and he is reminded again of your kind nature. 

You look back to see Din looking at you with a soft expression and before you let yourself get lost in his eyes, you force yourself to pull it together, “Oh Din!  I can’t believe I didn’t say this right away: Thank you!! Thank you for the books.  It was so incredibly unexpected and sweet!  My friends also say thank you – a few of the books you bought were for them.”

“You’re very welcome.  Have you enjoyed the books?”

You’re warmed by how thoughtful Din is, and you let him know the books are turning out to be great and you and your friends can’t believe how long you’ll have to wait for the next instalment to come out.

“Do you have plans to read tonight, or would you happen to be free?”

Even though you had been hoping that Din would ask you out, your heart leaps into your throat now that it’s happening.  “I think I should be!  If I finish up this list of errands I’m supposed to get to today, that is.  Giving Peli my drycleaning was only the first item,” you lament. 

“Peli!  Is that how you found me?  Clever girl.”

You beam at Din’s praise.  You realize you haven’t explained how you knew where he was, “As luck would have it, my regular drycleaner was unexpectedly closed.  Nearly derailed my whole errand day until I remembered you mentioning you had a friend who ran a drycleaning business.  Something else I need to thank you for.”

“I’m glad I could help.  Well, if you have a bunch of errands you have to finish before you can go out with me tonight, I’m going to scoot you out of here right now so you don’t cancel. Scoot!”  Din adds a silly shooing motion with his hands as he says this, so you know he’s not seriously trying to get rid of you.  You giggle, but nod, eager to get on with your tasks so that your date with Din might come sooner.

Din asks you if you need a ride, but you tell him you’ll be fine and jokingly scoff, “Hey!  I don’t want you putting off your work and then backing out either, mister.”

“Not a chance,” grins Din.

As you walk together towards the front of the gym, Din lets you know how much he’s been thinking about you,  “I’m really glad you came to here today.  I was about to camp out everyday at the coffeeshop in the morning and then that bookstore in the afternoon until I found you again.”

“Who would have looked after the gym if you did that?”

Din looks around at the gym; some of the boxers and staff that had been watching the two of you look away quickly and pretend to busy themselves to avoid being caught staring.  “Shoot.  This place probably would have burned down.  Looks like you just saved the gym.”

You can’t help but giggle again and Din feels a growing sense of pride in being able to make you laugh.  “How about tonight I take you out to dinner as a thank you?”

Giving him an incredulous look, you answer, “I should be taking you out to dinner to thank you.”

“I don’t think so, pretty bird.”

The pet name shoots straight to your core again. 

Din stretches himself up to his full height and looks down at you with mock stern expression, cocking his eyebrow.

You can’t say you’re at all intimidated even though he towers over you; you’ve long since felt that Din’s company spelled safety.  But to play along, you counter by looking up at him with your biggest pleading eyes.  Din is instantly disarmed and knows in this moment that he will never be able to refuse you anything.

He suggests a compromise, “How about we go for dinner and fight about the check there?”

“Ok.  But just so you know, I’m not used to losing,” you challenge playfully.

“Me neither.” Din tilts his head slightly to draw your attention to the wall you’re standing next to.  It’s the other side of the divider wall you rounded when you came in, and you see that it’s covered with awards, certificates, and articles lauding Din’s boxing accomplishments.

Amazed, you skim over the honours and achievements, “This is you?  Wow – you’re incredible Din!  …9 times weight division champion? Oh man, now I don’t know if I can take you.”

“I bet you could,” from the look on Din’s face, you’re sure that the double meaning is meant as a tease, but you can’t help squirming a little.

Blushing, you relent, “Ok, you can pay for dinner.  But I still have to thank you for the books.”

Din is finding your persistence on this point to be adorable, “Your ‘thanks’ is enough.  No need to feel like you owe me; it was a gift.”

“I know.  I just have an outrageous sense of reciprocity.  I really do want to find a way to thank you somehow.”  You reach up and put your hand on Din’s shoulder to hold yourself steady as you lift up onto your toes and kiss him on the cheek.  Despite having just gone who knows how many rounds in the ring, he smells incredible and you can’t help but linger your lips on his cheek.  You exhale softly and hold Din’s gaze as you slowly lower down to your normal height.

Din looks as affected as you feel, “Remind me to buy you some more books.”

Both of you laugh, now giddy about the prospect of seeing each other again in a few hours.  You exchange numbers and Din promises to text you later with the address of the restaurant he’ll meet you at tonight.

Heading down the street, heart aflutter and fingers trembling with excitement, you take out your phone and text the group chat: I found him.

[justagamerandaweeb]

Sun-Kissed - Modern AU! Iguro & Giyuu x Reader

A beach chapter? How original! This is a rather interesting ship. Didn't see that much fan art of them when I was trying to find a cover for a modern setting.

Btw, I tried to edit the cover of this chapter, and just, it's not gonna work.

They still look sexy tho.

You wiped your eyes and looked around to see that Iguro and Giyuu were still asleep. Iguro was sleeping on the bed next to you, while Giyuu slept on the couch.

You opened your phone to see that it was 4:45 AM. You yawned as you grabbed your headphones and opened your phone to watch videos to kill time. Minutes go by as you watched the brainrot that was contained on your phone, when suddenly something clicked in your head.

You swtiched your app to the calander to see what day it was, and see that you have a note on your phone that said, in all caps, "BEACH DAYYYY!!!!"

Oh shit... I forgot today was beach day. What time did we say we were gonna go? You clicked on the day and saw that it ranged from 12 to 2:15 PM. Oh fuck. Should I just sleep right now, or should I wait until we get in the car? You thought as you were tapping the side of your phone, thinking about what you should do.

You then felt the sudden urge to pee as you thought to yourself, Crap, just when I was thinking about going back to sleep. Well, it's better than pissing myself in my sleep... You thought as you took the comforter off of you and got out of the bed.

You were sneaking around the room quietly as you were very slowly walking to the bathroom door. You grabbed the doorknob and thought, Please don't squeak... As you softly twisted it, and slowly pushed the door open, only to find out that it didn't make a single sound.

You let out a soft sigh of relief as you softly closed the door and turned on the lights, making you squint your eyes for a split second. You then took your panties off and sat down on the toilet to use the bathroom.

Man, I feel so much better now. You thought as you flushed the toilet and washed your hands. You turned off the lights and left the bathroom and carefully went back to the bed.

You laid back down and closed your eyes as you were about to go to sleep, in case you need those extra hours of sleep when y'all go to the beach.

9:15 AM.

As you were sleeping, your nose started to sniff as you felt the taste of fish in your mouth, and so you began to wake up. "H-Huh? Who's cooking?" you said as you wiped your mouth from the drool that was running down your chin. "Who do you think, dumbass? Tomioka is cooking us some breakfast right now before we go, so get up." Iguro said with a towel in one arm, and a shirt, and swimming trunks in the other.

"Good morning to you too, Iguro," you said stretching your body while sitting down, and Iguro scoffed at you while going to the bathroom. You look outside to see a beautiful blue sky, and a bird's view of a city with cars passing from the highway. Man, I always forget how beautiful Japan could be.

"Hey, (Y/N)," you heard Giyuu call your name, and you turned your head and said, "Yeah?"

"What's your favorite drink to have for breakfast?" he asks you while cooking. You scratched your head and yawned as you said, "'Scuse me, um... I rarely eat breakfast, but usually, when I do, I drink (F/D) with my breakfast." you said to him and he hummed in acknowledgment.

"What are you even cooking, by the way? Smells amazing." you said walking up behind him, trying to peek under his shoulder. "Just some grilled fish and steamed rice, nothing special, really." he says as he puts the lid on the pan that was filled with rice, and lowers the heat to let it simmer.

He softly sighs as he sits down at the table and turns on the TV. You sat down with him and pat his back as you said, "Why do you look so glum, chum? Today is beach day! Shouldn't you be excited?" you said with a smile on your face, and he looked at you with an unamused expression on his face. "We go to the beach at least once or twice a year, and they have been mediocre. I'm using that word in the negative sense, by the way."

"And why do you think that? Is it because you don't know how to have fun? You just sit under the umbrella the entire time we're there and just poker face. Besides, I know you feel lonely whenever you watch us have fun. Am I wrong?" you said side-eying him.

He avoids making eye contact with you as he makes a groan of guilt, accepting the fact that he does exactly what you said. You patted his arm as you said, "Don't worry, I'm gonna fix that for you. Once we get to the beach, I'm gonna make you have some fun." you said, smiling at him.

He softly smirks at you before he heard the sound of the fish sizzling as he says, "Crap." he quickly stood up and speed walked to the kitchen as he takes the fork and flips the fish on the other side. As he did this, Iguro came out of the bathroom wearing a shirt, and black and white striped swimming trunks.

"Where's your swimming clothes?" Iguro bluntly asked you with a hint of venom in his voice. "It's in my luggage. Why should I take a shower now, when I can eat first, then shower?"

"So what you're saying is that you would rather smell like a bum, than smell hygienic when we go to the beach? Is that what I'm hearing from you?" Iguro said to you while he dried his hair with the towel. You clicked your tongue as you said, "Well fuck you too then, dickhead. Fine, I'll take a fucking shower." you said as you stood up off the chair and went to your luggage to take your one-piece swimsuit, and a shirt out.

As you grabbed a towel, you heard the sound of Giyuu talking to Iguro saying, "She's just hungry, Iguro. You shouldn't bash her for trying to eat before taking a shower." and Iguro scoffs as he said, "Shut up, you barely even talk, so who are you to butt in what were talking about?"

You closed your luggage and went to the bathroom and took off your pajamas, and panties. You went inside the bathtub and turned on the shower and began to clean yourself. You softly smiled as you realized that Giyuu was defending you, and thought to yourself, I'm gonna make sure he's gonna have lots of fun.

You turned off the shower and got out as you grabbed your towel and dried yourself off. Once you were done with that, you put your one-piece on, and then your shirt, which was a white graphic tee. You then grabbed your toothbrush which was in the toothbrush holder, and put toothpaste on it to brush your teeth.

You put mouthwash in your mouth, feeling the burning sensation on your tongue as you sloshed it around your mouth for 30 seconds, and spit it out. You picked up your clothes on the floor and left the bathroom to put your clothes in your bag.

You then turned around to see there was a plate of your breakfast in the spot where you were sitting. Iguro and Giyuu were already eating so you pulled the chair back, sat down, and ate with them.

You look at the TV that is talking about the weather to see that the temperature is gonna be 27°C by the time it reaches 1:30. "Do we have any sunscreen?" you ask as you take a bite of your rice. Giyuu raises his hand as he says, "It's in my luggage. Once we are ready to go, I'll grab it." he said chewing his rice. You hummed as you three continued eating your breakfast while watching the news.

You put your fork on the plate as you took a sip of (F/D) and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Honestly, you didn't think Giyuu was capable of cooking something that good. You got out of the chair and stretched as you said, "What time is it?"

Giyuu takes his phone out and says, "9:37." you hummed as you responded, "Has it really been that long? I thought it would be longer," you said before yawning and said, "When are we gonna leave again?"

"Guess we'll know when they knock on the door," Iguro said with his arms crossed. You hummed again as you walked to the couch and said, "Well, I'm just gonna take a nap for the next few hours, are any of you gonna wake me up when we go?"

Iguro ignored your request while Giyuu looked at you, but remained silent. You let out a sigh as you took out your phone and set an alarm on your phone, and sat it next to you on the table lamp. You laid your head on your hand as you closed your eyes and took a nap.

"She's kind of dumb taking a nap where we could be leaving right now, you know that, right?" Iguro said to Giyuu and he didn't respond to him. Instead, he stood up off the chair, and sat down next to also take a nap. Iguro sighed as he thought, Guess I have no choice but to wake them up. He said to himself as he continued to watch the TV.

1:15 PM.

As Iguro was watching the TV, he heard the sound of the door knocking and thought, That's our cue. He turned off the TV and turned around to see you both sleeping together as your head was on his shoulder, and his arm was around your waist. He scoffs as he walks up to both of you, and shakes you both for you to wake up.

You both yawned as you said, "Is it already time? How long were we asleep?" you said, wiping your eyes, as Giyuu did the same. "It's 1:15. Our friends just knocked on the door, so get up and let's go," he said as he grabbed all three of your flip-flops.

He puts his on, and you put yours on. They were a (P/C), mixed with a (S/C) polka-dot pattern. Giyuu unzips his luggage to take out the spray can of sunscreen. Iguro opens the door to see Kyojuro and Uzui standing in front of him. Kyojuro tilts his body and waves at you.

"You guys ready? Mitsuri can barely contain her excitement, she wants to leave now." Uzui said, tilting the top half of his body to the side so he can talk to y'all. "Yeah, we're ready. And I don't blame her, I'm just as excited too, as a matter of fact!" you said, joyfully.

Kyojuro laughed as he said, "Well then, let's not waste time! To our cars!" and walked off. You, Iguro, and Giyuu followed them as Giyuu closed the door and locked it.

1:33 PM, Odaiba Beach.

You got out of the car and was about to immediately run to the beach, when suddenly you felt Sanemi grab you by the back of your swimsuit. "Where do you think you're going? You're helping us too to set up, right?"

"What, why?" you asked him, confused, as he rebuked you saying, "Because the last time we went to the beach, you did jack shit helping us! Shit, even Shinobu helped us set up and she's the smallest one here! So c'mon, don't make me have to drag your ass like a child to help us too."

You pouted at him as he says to you in a threatening manner, "Don't fucking test me, I will smack that expression off your fucking face." and you immediately dropped it. "Now, help us set up," he said as he grabbed a huge umbrella out of the trunk of Uzui's truck.

"Here, the least you can do is find a good spot to put this up." Sanemi said as he put the umbrella in your hands and said, "Now go." he said as you started to walk to the beach. You scoffed as you thought, "I did jack shit last year." Please. If anything I DID do something to set up the beach. Like... Uh... Fuck, I hate admitting he's right sometimes, the fuck did I even do other than swim?

You looked around and thought, This looks like a good spot. As you opened up the umbrella, and jammed the rod to the ground. You were about to sit down, but then you would get sand on your behind, so decided to help out some more.

You walked passed Mitsuri, who also had a big umbrella in her hands. You looked behind her and said, "Do you need help, or?" and she looked back and smiled at you as she said, "No, but thank you for asking!"

Okay... You thought clapping your hands together. You went back to the truck and Giyuu says, "Hey, (Y/N), help me carry this cooler." he said as he grabbed the handle on the other side. You grabbed and you both lifted it up as he said, "Okay, move back, carefully."

As you were walking back, you said to him, "Man, this is a little heavy, doncha think?" he nodded in agreement. "Uzui wants us to have a fun time, so I guess we could use a couple of drinks in the meantime. Not that I drink, personally."

You hummed at his statement as you both sat the cooler down between the two umbrellas you and Mitsuri set up. You let out a little puff and said, "Okay, now what? Is that it, or is there one more thing we should do?"

"Well, Uzui thought it would be a great idea to play football here, so I guess that's something we're gonna do before we swim," he said as he walked back to the truck.

You tilted your head to the side like a curious dog as you followed him and said to him, "Football? Like, American Football?"

"If I were to guess, yes." he said as he grabbed his, and your towel. He then grabs your hand, which makes you flinch a little, but he quickly lets go of you as he says, "Oh, sorry. I don't know why I grabbed your hand. Maybe it was just on impulse." he said, having the faintest blush on his face.

He was about to walk away, when your body moved on its own as you grabbed his hand. He then looks back and sees that your hand is held onto his. He then looked at you, and you avoided eye contact with him, as you too had a very faint blush. He cracks a soft smirk on his face before it quickly disappears and continues to walk.

As you were both walking, you were still stuck on the fact that Uzui wanted to play American Football at the beach, you didn't know that Japan even liked American Football.

You both went under the umbrella and rolled each other's towels on the sand floor. Giyuu closed his eyes and let out a big exhale and looked at the people having fun on the beach.

You followed suit as you laid your head on your knees. As you were looking at the ocean, the next words Giyuu was about to say, is something you thought you would never hear him say. "I'm... I'm glad you're here with me."

Your mouth softly drops and your eyes widen when you hear him so nonchalantly say that. But, it made your entire body warm and fuzzy. "Why do you say that?" you said, side-eyeing him.

"Just... You've been a good friend to me. The others may have been too, but, you always been with me. We mostly go our separate ways, but you just follow me wherever I go. I just... I can't really thank you enough." he said as the blush on his face started to get more visible, and so did yours.

A smile started to form on your face as you scooted closer to him, and layed your head on his shoulder. He softly smiles as he wraps his arm around your waist and lays his head against yours.

"Well, look at you two love birds!" you heard Uzui say. "Trying to make the others feel single and disappointed in themselves for not having a significant other," he chuckles, "Kind of a scummy move you two, not gonna lie."

"We're not together, you idiot! We're just really tired, that's all!" you shouted him, all while having a red blush on your face. "Yeah right, and I'm physically disabled. But besides that, we're gonna play some football. I understand that the girls might not be interested, but you down, Giyuu?" You look at him as he says, "I guess I could give it a shot."

"Alright! Now since you, and the others are probably new to this, I'll make a brief summary of what to do when playing. So c'mon, let's get dirty, yeah?" he said tossing the football, and catching it.

He stands up and takes his shirt off, whixh caught you by surpise as he grabs the can of sprayable suncreen on him, popped the cap open, and sprayed it all over his chest, abdomen, arms, legs, and neck.

He extends the can towards you as he says, "Can you spary some on my back, and rub it?" and you nod as you stand up, grab the can, and he turns around as he rubs the marks he sprayed on.

You sprayed the sunscreen on his back, put the can down, and rubbed your hands on his back so you could spread the sunscreen all over. He then says, "That's enough." and you stopped immediately. He rolls his shoulders as he says, "Thank you." before he softly pats your head and goes to Uzui to tell him how football works.

Meanwhile, you picked the can back up and sprayed it on your arms, legs, and neck. You then rubbed all over yourself, put your phone on your towel, and proceeded to go to the girls.

You see Shinobu, Mitsuri, and Kanao splashing water at each other while Muichiro is deep in the water with only the bottom half of his face reaching the surface.

"Hey guys!" you said to them, and the three of them looked at you, and Mitsuri was the first to move toward you and hug you.

You giggled as she let go of you and said, "How are you doing on this beautiful day, (Y/N)? Are you glad that we're finally at the beach?" she said in her ever-so joyous tone.

"I'm doing good so far, and yeah, I guess I am. Even though we come here every year, It still gets me excited." you said, smiling at her.

"That's good. But, since you're here..." she puts both of her hands on your shoulders and gets closer to you, making you softly blush.

Your inner bisexual was panicking as she was close to your face as she whispered to you, "We're gonna play a little game..."

You swallowed your spit as you asked her, "Okay... What's the game called?"

"It's called..." She then goes under the water and goes around you as you feel her separate your legs and pick you up, resulting in your sitting on her shoulders. "Chicken fight!"

You were taken by surprise at how easily Mitsuri picked you up by her shoulders. "We're gonna fight each other until one of us falls, and the other becomes the victor! So Muichiro, carry Shinobu!"

Muichiro succumbs to the water as he went under, and picked up Shinobu. Kanao watches as she started to copy Muichiro, and shrinking herself into the water until her top half was peeking out.

"You guys ready?" Mitsuri said, and you responded, "As ready as we'll ever be. I can speak for you two, right?"

"In this scenario, yes." Shinobu said, while Muichiro looked unbothered by all of this.

"Okay. Ready... Fight!" Mitsuri shouted out as you and Shinobu locked hands with each other, both at a stalemate at who's gonna push off who.

Your body was tilting to the left, almost as if your were about to fall, but then you pursed your lips as you tensed your legs and every amount of strength you had to balance yourself back up.

Muichiro and Mitsuri were both circling around as you and Shinobu were doing a stare-down, both of determined that one of you would end up victorious.

You reached towards Shinobu, she was about to reflect your hand, thinking to her self that she had a plan to dodge your hands, and pull you so you would fall.

But then you did a evil smirk as you went under her arms, and tickled her armpits. She did a laugh and you thought to yourself, dramatically, Forgive me for what I'm about to do to you, Shinobu, but this is the only way it could end.

You then pushed her, and then she lost her balance as she backflops into the water, dragging Muichiro in the process. You cheered to yourself as Mitsuri said, "Woo-hoo! We won!"

Shinobu shook her head and coughed as she said, "No fair! You cheated because you tickled my armpits, and you know how ticklish I am there!" she said, with a pouting expression on her face.

"Silly Shinobu, in war, you should always take advantage of your enemies weaknesses." you said as Mitsuri lowered herself into the water to safely put you down.

"Oh. So what if I--" she then pounces on you, and you both went underwater, catching you completely off guard. You both resurfaced and coughed as Shinobu says, "What if I just did that all of a sudden? Is that me taking advantage of you?"

You moved your wet hair away from your eyes as you said, "In this scenario, yes." you said smiling at her.

Wow, that was pretty fun to watch!" you heard a feminine voice say. All five of you turned around to see three other people.

One had long white hair, and blue eyes, the second had long black hair that covered the left side of her face, and only shown her right eye. And the last one had a surpisingly tone body, much like Muichiro, had chin length black hair with red-pink ends.

"Hi, my name is Daki. Or Ume, whichever you prefer." she puts her arm on the other girl's shoulder and says, "This is Nakime," she then points at the pale skinned man, "and that is Enmu."

"Hi..." Nakime quietly said while Enmu said, "Hello, you beautiful people. It's a nice day to have a nice swim while socializing with your friends, is it not?"

All five of you were staring at him like you didn't even know him. Give or take you didn't, but after the way he spoke, you didn't want to hear what would come out of his mouth.

Scratch that, all five of you don't even want to acknowledge his existance.

"And this is why, Enmu, we barely take you anywhere." Daki bluntly said to Enmu, as she facepalms herself. She trilled as she says, "Please ignore him, he's always like this whenever we take him to public places."

"Noted." you said.

"I'll keep that in mind." and Shinobu.

"Gotcha." and Mitsuri.

"Mm." and Kanao.

"...wait, what are we talking about?" and Muichiro. Kinda.

"So, are you guys the only ones here, or..." you asked Daki as she replies, "Oh no, I've got more friends that came with us. My brothers even here too, see?" she said as she turned around and pointed at the group of Daki's and your friends playing football.

You see Uzui throw the ball to Kyojuro and he was about to catch it, until it was intercepted with a man that was wearing pink and blue swimming trunks. Once he landed on his feet, he quickly ran as the others were trying to block your friends from catching him.

Sanemi was about to tackle him, but the black haired man juked him, resulting ins Sanemi diving face first into the sand, but he quickly got up despite his pride being hurt.

However, Giyuu was quick enough to get close behind him as he then dived, and wrapped his arms around him, resulting in both of them falling into the sand.

"Damn, looks like they're having fun." you said after watching that play happen. "Yeah... But, y'know... boys will be boys." she said as she quickly turns around to all of you and say, "No sexism when I say that, by the way."

"None taken." Muichiro said as his head was the only thing that was visble to y'all. "Are you sitting down on the water and only keeping your head up?" you asked him and he did a simple nod, which made you trill your lips.

You felt your skin getting hot as you said to your friends, and the people you've just met, "My skin feels like it's getting burned, I'm gonna go under the umbrella now."

"Okay, careful not to get a sunburn, (Y/N)!" Mitsuri shouted at you as you look back and did a little wave at them. You went under the umbrella and sat down on your towel as you let out of sigh of relief being in the shade.

You then watched your friends, and the others playing against each other as if this was a real American Football game. Whenever they snapped a play, the other group would block the receivers to run their route.

What you thought it would be a passing play, turned out to be a running play, as the man with long spiky black hair backed up a few steps with the ball, and extended his arm backwards as a tanned man with yellow swimming trunks grabbed it and ran to the other side.

He didn't make it far as another tanned man that almost looked like him with red trunks shoulder checked him, which resulted in the runner dropping down into the sand.

"Damn, Sekido, you really gonna do Urogi like that?" the triplet said with the black and green trunks as he extended his hand to Urogi and picked him up.

"Nah, don't worry Karaku. I'll get 'em back once we play in the defensive." Urogi said as he wiped the sand off his back and stared at Sekido and he scoffed as he said, "Like hell you well."

"Fellas, fellas! I know y'all are siblings, but we got a game to win! You guys can bicker all you want about whos better at playing football later, but right now, it's game time!" the tall man with blond hair said in a joyous tone.

There is so much testosterone flowing in the air right now. This sport is too masculine for me. You thought watching them play.

Three plays later, Uzui shouted out, "Alright lads, let's take a break for the next five minutes! I know y'all thirsty after playing for this long!" and they both seperated in different groups.

Giyuu opened the cooler and grabbed a bottle of water and opened it as he sat down next to you.

"Good job out there." you said as you pat his back, but was met with the feeling of sweat on his back. You quickly wiped your hand on the towel and crossed your arms and legs together.

"Sorry my backs so sweaty. Football is a physically demanding sport. But, thank you." he said as he took a sip of the water bottle.

"I can see that." you said as you looked in the distance at Mitsuri, Muichiro, Daki, and Enmu playing chicken fight. You then look at Giyuu and say, "So, who's winning?"

He looked at you after he took a sip of water and said, "I don't know, a draw, maybe? Hey Uzui," he called out Uzui and he turned around with a soda can in his hand, "what's the score?"

"It's 14-21. We need about seven more points if we're gonna make this a draw." he said as he slurped the can of soda and swallowed his drink as he noticed you and said, "Oh, hey (Y/N), when did you get here?" and you pouted.

"So, what's the play Uzui? How are we gonna prevent them from getting a touchdown?" Kyojuro said as he gave himself a waterfall of water.

"lemme think..." he said as he was tapping his foot on the sand. "I got it. Kyojuro, you try and block off Hakuji. Except if it's a passing play, try to get behind him and try to intercept the ball once Michikatsu throws it."

"Got it."

"Iguro, you try and block Gyokko. I know he's taller than you, but you're faster and more agile."

Iguro hums in acknowledgment as he was just sitting down.

"Giyuu, do the exact same thing I told to Kyojuro, but with Aizetsu. Block him, unless if they're going for a pass, try to intercept."

"Got it." Giyuu said.

"And Sekido and Karaku, keep doing what you're doing, you two. Do whatever you can to make sure they don't get a touchdown. While I, take care of Douma."

They both had different reactions, Sekido clicked his tongue and huffed, while Karaku said, "You got it, boss."

Uzui finishes the can of soda and crushes it in his hand as he says, "Alright, you guys! Let's do this!" and claps his hands together.

Giyuu took the last sip of water out of the bottle and jammed it into the sand and stretched. "Wish us luck," he said as he stood up and walked with the others to play.

They all got into position, and prepped themselves for the play to snap. Once Michikatsu shouted out, "Hut!" they started to run their routes. Giyuu was very quick to block Aizetsu, Iguro followed Gyokko everywhere, and as for the two twins, they were doing their own thing.

Michikatsu had to make a split decision, does he throw it to someone who looks open and risk getting an interception, or does he run the ball and risk getting a turnover?

He took a deep breath, and decided to run the ball. Uzui tried to catch him, but was stopped by Douma as he wrapped his arms around his waist, spun him around and slammed him on the floor. "Hope that didn't harm you as much. It would be ashame if your group lost their most valuable asset.

Next was Iguro, but there wasn't even a chance to begin with as Michikatsu stiff-armed his face, and pushed him, resulting him in losing his balance and falling down.

Then it was Karaku and Sekido, but they both got blindsided by their younger brothers. Sekido got shoulder checked by Urogi and Karaku got speared to the side. While Aizetsu said, "Sorry." Urogi boasted at his brother's face as he laughed and said, "Hows that shit feel, huh!? Sit the fuck down, brother!"

Kyojuro tried to escape Hakuji's grasp, but it was like his arms wrapped around his waist were latched on to him. "Ah, ah, ah, who said you could tackle him?"

"Let go of me!" Kyojuro exclaimed as he was struggling to move, Hakuji responded, "No, I don't think I will, not until he makes a touchdown."

And then there was Sanemi, who was running directly behind Michikatsu. He was reaching for him and was almost close to grabbing him, but was unfortunately stopped when he felt someone's arms wrapped around his waist and collapsed to the ground.

He then heard the sound of a gravel, shaky voice say to him, "I can't allow you to tackle him, it wouldn't be fair if we had a draw." the person with black hair, blue eyes, and birthmarks on his face.

Michikatsu then slows down as he makes it to the other side of the beach, indicating that he made a touchdown. The others who were defending him cheered as they went up to him to gas him up.

Damn, they got laid out. All that planning, just to get shit on. Well, can't say they tried. You thought as you saw them getting up, or walking in shame.

Giyuu was the first to go under umbrella and sits down next to you and give you a quick glance. You were about to pat his back, but you didn't want your hand to het sweaty again so you just said to him, "Hey, at least you tried. If anything, that actually looked pretty cool to watch, honestly."

"Yeah, and if it would be even cooler if we did what we talked about." Sanemi said, wiping the sand off his body. "Speaking of which, Tomioka, where the fuck were you?"

"I was in the back. They were too quick for whatever reason." Giyuu said as Iguro responded to him, "Yeah, or you were too scared to get hit."

"You got stiff-armed and fell to the floor, I'm pretty sure your pride is shattered just like Sanemi's." Giyuu clapped back at Iguro.

Sanemi clearly heard that as he started to walk up to him and say, "The fuck you say about me?" but Kyojuro was lucky to interfere as he pushed Sanemi and Iguro away from him. "Relax, you two, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

"Bullshit! When was the last time you ever hear him say something, and don't mean it?" Sanemi shouted at Kyojuro.

"I'm sure he's just joking around. Right, Tomioka?" and Giyuu scoffs as he scoots close to you. "Hey, we're having fun at the end of the day, that's all that matters, right?" Uzui said as he patted Giyuu's head. "Why don't we go swimming? That is the main reason we even came here in the first place."

"If it'll take our minds off the fact that we lost, sure, why not?" Kyojuro said as he patted Sanemi's and Iguro's sweaty backs.

Giyuu looked at you and said, "Do you wanna swim with me?" in a somewhat shy tone. The way he asked you made your heart flitter a little so you smiled and said, "Yes."

He softly smirks and stands up as he extends his arm to you. You then grab his hand and he pulled you up, but doesn't let go of your hand.

This made You blush a little, but you still chose to have a smile on your face. You felt the little wave of water crash on your feet, it kind of tickled in a way.

You both started to walk into the ocean, your body slowly submerging in the clear blue water as you both were at chest length.

Giyuu had a poker face, while you stuck your tongue out like some sort of house pet. He then does what Muichiro did, and lowers his body down to the water until his head is the only thing staying on the surface.

Seeing that you couldn't be bothered to ask him why he was doing this, you decided to do the same thing. What you did not expect however, is how he wrapped his arm around your waist, and pulled you closer.

"Woah, Tomioka, what's going on with you? Is this your way of flirting?" You said to him, as he turned his head to the side to hide the red blush on his face, and you giggled.

"I'm not complaining, really. I think what you're trying to do is cute." you said to him, as you got closer to his face, and kissed him on the side of his head.

His head quickly turned to you as if he caught whiplash, in which case he did. It's as if his aura changed as he started stammering like a high school kid asking out their crush.

"C-Can I... um... can I kiss you...?" he asked you, all while avoiding eye contact with you. You then responded to him, "Of course you can." and showed your cheek to him.

"Actually... I want to do the other one."

"The... Other one? Oh, you mean, lip to lip?" you asked him, and he nodded. You looked back to see the other boys playing around, not bothering to acknowledge both of you, so you looked back at him and said, "Okay, but on one condition."

"I'm listening."

"Let's do it underwater. That way, the others won't know what we did. Sound good?" and he nods.

You both took a deep breath and went underwater, looked into each other's eyes, as you both wrapped your arms around each other. You both leaned your head forward and got close enough to touch lips.

You both closed your eyes as you both savored the kiss. The feeling of both of your lips touching each other made you both feel so warm inside, it was as if the water temperature changed.

Both of you were wondering how both of you were staying underwater this long all while kissing each other, but you both didn't complain. It got to the point where you both were in the lotus position, and continued kissing.

However, it didn't last long as you both resurfaced to gain some oxygen. You both made huge inhales as you were heavily panting after being in the water for a minute and 15 seconds.

You wiped your wet hair out of your face as you said, "Well... That was romantic, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... I'm glad someone like you is in my life."

"Oh..." was all you could say as your entire body felt so mushy inside. He then kisses your forehead, and hugs you as he rests his head on your shoulder.

The blush on your face started to get redder as you slowly wrapped your arms around him as well. He then kisses your collarbone, and nuzzles his face under your neck, making you feel fuzzy inside.

"T-Tomioka, we're in a public area... Shouldn't we do this somewhere more private?"

"I'm just hugging you, there's nothing suspicious about that." he said as he kissed your neck, making you groan a little.

He pulled himself back away from you, and quickly said, "Sorry." with a clearly visible blush on his face. Meanwhile, you thought to yourself, Did I really just make a sound like that when he kissed my neck? Why did I... a-and, why did it feel good...?

Giyuu, in a fit of slight panic, decided to go back to the surface, to distance himself away ftom you. His body felt light, and his heart was beating rapidly. He never thought he would experience an emotion like this before. Is he expin eriencing... love?

You felt someone touch your shoulder and you turned around to findfeelslsthat it was Iguro who tapped you. He looks at you with his eternal unamused expression on his face as he says, "The hell's going on with Tomioka? Why is he going back to sitting down? And why are you blushing?"

Your first instinct was to look left and see that Giyuu was really under the umbrella, how lost in a trance were you to not notice that? And so you decided to leave the ocean as well, making Iguro even more intrigued, yet confused.

You jogged up to Giyuu, and he looks up at you and says, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you play with the others? I've already made you uncomfortable when I... I don't want to finish that sentence."

You were about to speak, but was cut off by Iguro when you heard him say, "Oh, please do finish it, so I can tell the others how much of a loser you are." which made you jump when you heard him speak.

"The hell!? Why are you following us!? Shouldn't you be swimming with the others?"

"I was, until I saw Tomioka swimming back to the surface, and looking embarrassed while doing so. So tell me, Tomioka and (Y/N), what the hell were you two doing?"

"Why do you even want to know? You don't even care about what we do." Giyuu says, and Iguro quickly replied to him, "Because you two are getting way too comfortable being at the beach. Almost as if you two are together as a couple, so what's going on?"

"None of your business, now can you leave us alone, please?" you said to him as you were about to sit down, but then you felt Iguro grab, and squeeze your forearm.

And for some unknown reason, with no explanation at all, you let out a sound that sounded like a moan. Iguro immediately backed away as he and Giyuu was as equally as shocked as he was.

All three of you were as still as a statue as the blushes on your faces were so red, that they would be mistaken for sunburns. Iguro was the first to break the silence as he says, "What... the fuck was that?"

"U-Um... my defense mechanism...?"

"What type of defense mechanism includes you moaning!?" Iguro shouted at you, but luckily not loud enough for the others to hear him.

You shouted back at him, "I don't know! It just... happened, okay!?" you said, as your voice was cracking like a prepubescent girl.

Giyuu just sat there, not knowing what to say after you moaned. Iguro was about to walk to the others, but then you grabbed his wrist as you pleaded to him, "Please don't tell them, I'll die if you go up to them and tell them what happened!"

"I wasn't gonna tell." Iguro bluntly said to you, not sounding convincing at all. "I don't believe you if you're talking like that. How can I take you seriously when you're speaking like you don't care?"

He then grabs your wrist, and drags you as he sits you down next to Giyuu, and then next to you, now being in between both of them.

"Are you convinced now?" he said to you, with a little bit of an attitude in his voice. But you said, "Yeah..." in response to his question.

He then sighs as he says, "Look, just tell me what you two were doing, and I'll leave you alone. I won't tell, and we can keep this between us."

You looked at Giyuu, and he shrugged his shoulders and you let out a big inhale as you blurted out, "Webothkissed." and covered your face.

"What?"

You remained silent, but Giyuu said to him, "She said we both kissed." and you shouted at him, "Tomioka!" and he shrugged.

"Really? Well... good for both of you, I guess..." he said in a somewhat somber tone. "Isn't it funny that Tomioka does the bare minimum, and yet he has you now? And yet I try to give Mitsuri a fun time, and she still considers me a friend?"

You and Giyuu both look at each other, and back at him as you say, "I mean... have you ever tried telling her how you feel about her? I'm pretty sure that would resolve everything about this situation."

"Easier said than done. You know how many times I struggled to confess to her, and try to make an excuse on why I was talking to her?"

"You are quick on your feet when you do that." you muttered out as he continued, "So yeah. Like I said, it's easier said than done." he said as he did a little sniff.

You hummed as you looked at Giyuu again, and looked back to see Iguro looking at Mitsuri playing with the others. You then took him by surprise as you decided to kiss him on the side of his head.

Iguro's eyes widened as he looked at you, and under his mask, he had a red blush on his face. Was that the right move, or did I fuck up? You thought after you kissed him. Iguro rubs the back of his neck as he says, "T-Thank you..."

All three of you were just sitting down watching the others play in the ocean as Iguro and Giyuu rested their heads on your shoulders. Making you feel warm inside.

2:25 PM.

You put the umbrella back into the truck, and wiped your sweaty forehead with your towel. You went back to the beach to grab the cooler, but Iguro and Giyuu were already on that as they were both carrying it.

And since that was the last thing, you went back to Giyuu's car, and got in the passenger seat. You yawned as you pulled your phone out to see that it was 2:27, and yet you felt tired. Guess that's what happens when you swim for an hour.

You see Giyuu and Iguro putting the cooler on the trunk of the truck. They both walk back to the car as Giyuu went to the driver's seat, and Iguro sat in the back.

Giyuu puts the car in the ignition and turns it, resulting in the car turning on. He then looks at you and says, "You alright?"

"Of course I am. How about you?" you asked him as he said, "Better. What about you, Iguro? You doin' okay?" and Iguro nodded, smirking under his mask.

Giyuu puts the car in reverse, got out of the parking spot, and put the car in drive. You then look out the window, getting one more view of the beach before y'all went back to the place y'all were staying in.

2:44 PM.

Giyuu puts the car in park as he gets out of the car, and stretches. Iguro got out as he did the same thing, meanwhile you got out and yawned. "So, I take it we had a fun time?" Kyojuro said as he patted your shoulder.

"For the most part, yeah, we did." you said to him, with a smile on your face. "Fantastic! And I guess the same goes for you two, Iguro, and Tomioka?" and Iguro nodded while Giyuu gave a thumbs up.

You all started to walk to the building, slowly falling behind with the others on purpose so they didn't see you, Iguro, and Giyuu holding each other's hands.

5 minutes later.

Giyuu opened the door with the key that had the door number on it, and walked in as he let out a sigh of relief. He puts his stuff down next to his luggage and opens it as he grabs a pair of pajamas and boxers.

He keeps his towel on his shoulder as he walks into the bathroom, and closes the door. Looks like Tomioka is gonna take a shower, guess I should do the same. You thought as you went to your luggage, and picked out a few comfortable clothing.

When you stood up, you felt Iguro wrapping his arms around your waist behind you, making you blush and say, "Iguro?' He then nuzzles his chin on your shoulder. "Iguro, what are you doing?" you asked him as he responded, "I just want to hug you, that's all."

You grabbed his forearm with your free hand, and caressed it. He then started to nuzzle his nose under your neck, which made you groan a little bit. You then felt his mask touch your skin, implying that he was kissing your neck.

You softly moaned as you felt him touching your body and he quickly let you go, and backed up as he said, "Sorry."

Both of you blushed before he said, "I'll just... get my stuff." out of embarrassment. He then crouches down at his luggage and opens it up as he takes out a black and white pajama pair.

You grabbed the remote off the table, and then sat down on the couch as you turned on the TV and switched channels until one could pique your interest, and until Giyuu was out of the shower.

Iguro sat down next to you, but not too close to the point both of your skin were touching each other, but far enough to make a small gap between each other.

10 minutes later.

Both of you were immersed watching the TV, to the point where you weren't bothered by Iguro laying his head on your shoulder.

That is until you heard the bathroom door open, and see Giyuu walk out with his pair of pajamas on. Iguro quickly sat back up as you stood up off the couch and walked into the bathroom.

"Have a nice shower," Giyuu said to you before you blushed and closed the door on him. You put your pajamas on the corner end of the sink as you took off your swimming one-piece off and turned on the shower.

You waited a couple of seconds and put your hand in to see if it was warm or not. Turns out it was a little too hot, and you quickly pitched the valve down a bit.

You tested it again, and found out it was the right temperature so you went inside and took a shower.

15 minutes later.

You were about to turn the shower off, but then realized that it was about to be Iguro's turn, so you decided to leave it on.

You grabbed your towel and wrapped it around your body as you began to dry yourself off. Once you were done with that, you put on your panties, and brushed your teeth.

Once you finished brushing your teeth, you put on your pajamas and picked up your one-piece swimsuit and folded it into your forearm, same with your dry towel. You opened the door and said, "Your turn, Iguro."

He then stood up and walked right past you as he went inside the bathroom. You then sit down next to Giyuu, and he looks at you as he says, "How was your shower?"

"It was good. I feel more cleaner than before, that's for sure."

"Hm." he hummed. He then wrapped his arm around your waist, and pulled you closer to him as he kissed your forehead in the process. You crossed your legs together and laid your head on his shoulder as you both watched the TV.

You yawned as you asked him, "What time is it?" he took his phone out and said, "3:14."

"Huh, and I'm already feeling tired." you said as you wiped your eyes. "If you need to rest, I won't stop you." He said as he pets your head. You hummed ss you said, "Thanks." and closed your eyes.

Giyuu softly smiles as he softly kisses your forehead again, and continues to watch the TV. A few minutes go by when Giyuu hears the bathroom door open. He looks to his left to see Iguro coming out of the bathroom wearing his pair of pajamas.

He then sits down next to you, but decided to lay his side on the couch and perch his arm as he lays his head on his hand. His eyes trail to you sleeping on Giyuu's arm, and he scoffed as he looked back at the TV.

Six hours later, 9:14 PM.

All three of you were laying on the bed, Giyuu was on the roght side of the bed, but his back was turned against the screen door. Iguro was on the left, his back on the bed, and his head slightly tilted to the right at your direction.

And you were in the middle, sleeping soundly as your head was softly shifting around. It got to the point where you bumped your head onto Iguro's, causing him to wake up.

He softly groans as he opens his eyes to see that your face as inches away from his. His face immediately turns red at as his body felt warm and fuzzy. Him seeing your face this up close, made him realize how beautiful you are.

He moves the hair out of your face as he caresses your hair, and then your cheek. It was as if your body was like a marshmallow due to how soft it felt as Iguro was caressing your cheek.

His eyes panned down to your lips, and they had a rosy red complexion to them, that looked oddly attractive to him. His hands started to go down, slowly feeling every curve on your body.

You softly moaned at this, but you were still asleep. Iguro felt a sense of confliction, as a part if him wanted to stop, but at the same time, the other doesn't want to due to how beautiful you were, and how soft your skin was, and how curvy your body was.

His hand was on your thigh, and softly squeezes it as he felt your skin going back to its original state, despite being covered by your pajama pants.

Iguro then looks at you and sees that you were still asleep, so he quietly swallowed his spit and doubled down as he went under your top, and touches your raw skin.

You softly moaned as he thought to himself, Holy shit... I'm really doing this. My hand is touching her... her skin...

His hand was trailing around your stomach, feeling your warm skin against his hand. You let out a moan that was a little bit louder than before, but that didn't stop him.

He goes under the comforter as he takes his other hand and slowly started to roll your top up until your breasts were showing. Iguro then pulls his mask down and licked his lips as he got closer to your breasts, and wrapped his lips around one of your nipples.

You made a whimper as your arms started to move around, trying to find a head that you can wrap around and hold onto. It didn't take long for you to do that as your arms wrapped around Iguro's head and you whispered out, "T-Tomioka..."

Iguro must've thought that you we're having a dream since you were unaware that Giyuu was behind you sleeping, but he continued to suck your nipple.

His other hand was still on your right hip, and he had a lewd idea. This might get him into trouble, and you could potentially slap him once you wake up from this, but, in his mind...

He just said fuck it.

He then takes his hand, and started to go into your pajama pants, and he started to move his fingers up and down on where your bottom lips were.

You gasped, and started to whimper louder as your legs started to open, and he took advantage of it. He then makes you lay down flat on your back again, and then leave the top half of his body on top of yours as he continued to suck on your breast.

The friction of your panties, and his fingers rubbing against your slit, was slowly making you feel wet, and your body started to feel light. Your eyes slowly opened, and the first thing you see is Iguro sucking your nipple with his eyes closed, and his hand in your pajama pants, rubbing your spot.

"I-I... Iguro...?"

He slowly opens his eyes as he slowly takes his hand out of your pants, and stopped sucking your nipple and says, "(Y/N)..."

From your peripherals, you see Giyuu sitting up. He then wipes his eyes as he turns his head and says, "Why are you two still... awake...?" and notices you two in what you're both doing.

"T-Tomioka... It's not what it... looks like..." you said with a dark red blush on your face as Iguro sat up off of you, and you pulled your shirt down.

"I thought you were... h-he... I-I was..." You were stammering and stuttering as you couldn't form an excuse after what Giyuu had seen. A part of you was disgusted with yourself because a part of you liked Iguro touching you while you were sleeping. If there were a way to make yourself vanish, you would not hesitate to do so.

But, what you thought would be Giyuu having a breakdown and lashing on you, turned out to be an entirely different outcome. You felt him wrap both of his arms around your waist, and back as he pulled you closer to him to the point where you both we're face to face.

"Tomioka, what are you--" you got interrupted by him as he kissed your lips, and wrapped his tongue against yours. Iguro's eyes widened in surprise as he thought Giyuu was gonna get angry and kick his ass. But, he was relieved that wasn't the case.

Giyuu, while kissing you, pinned you down on the bed as his kissing started to become more rougher. Your hands were on his chest, trying to make more space for both of you, but he dropped on top of you, making your efforts futile.

Drool started to run down your cheeks as your brain slowly started to become scrambled. The way he was controlling you, made your mind go blank. Eventually he stopped kissing you as he says, "Why did you start the fun without me? I've always wanted to do this with you for so long."

He then rolled your top back up again, but instead of sucking on your nipples, he decided to pinch and twist them, making you feel more vulnerable than you already are.

He started to lick on your neck, which gave your entire body shiver, and your legs tingle. He then whispered to you, "You want this?" and you nodded, but says to you, in a husk tone, "Don't nod, I want an actual answer."

And so you whimpered out, "Y-Yes, Tomioka... I want this... I want you... Both of you..."

Whatever shame you had left in this moment, was completely out of the room. Giyuu softly smirks at you and says, "Good." before he sits up and starts to take his top off to reveal his muscular body.

He then does the same to you, and throws both of your pajamas tops on the floor, both of you almost naked as your breasts are at full display. He then fondles your breasts, which made you release a moan from your mouth.

His face got closer to yours as he kisses you again, which made you moan yet again. You wrapped your arms around him as you tilted your head to the left, and his to the right, making the kiss deeper.

As Iguro was watching this, he felt something below his waist get tighter and tighter as he continued watching this unfold. He looks down to see a bulge coming out of his pants as he thought, Fuck... I'm getting hard just from watching this... It's not fair if Tomioka can do all this, and all I get is to suck on her nipple, and rub her spot. I want to have more from her...

Giyuu stops kissing you, and fondling your breasts as he says, "Take them off." You nodded as Giyuu them nacks away from you, and you took off your pants, and threw them on the floor. Giyuu softly spoke to you, "I said, take them off." and so you closed your eyes as you grabbed the rim of your panties, and pulled them down to your legs, and shook it off as it fell to the floor.

You were fully naked in front of Iguro and Giyuu. The moonlight coming through the screen door as you cover yourself from embarrassment, heavily blushing, while your spot was wet.

"Wow..." Iguro said as he got a clear look at you. He was about to crawl up to you, but Giyuu stopped him as he says, "You take left, I take right."

You heard him say that as you asked him, "What do you mean? What are you gonna do to me?" You nervously asked them as they got close to you, and they laid next to you on both sides. "We're gonna make you feel special." Giyuu said as he began to suck your right nipple, Iguro says, "Enjoy it while it last." before he started to suck your left.

Your legs became completely open as Iguro and Giyuu were holding your thighs individually. The feeling of both of your nipples being sucked, made you feel so fuzzy inside. It didn't help either that your slit was becoming more drenched in its own juices.

Giyuu looked down, and took advantage as he takes his fingers, and started to move them left and right, teasing you as he stimulates your wet insides.

Your breath was trembling as you whimpered, "T-Tomioka..." and laid your head down on the pillow. Your eyes were closed as you slowly became a moaning mess, your body felt so hot, and yet so light, it's as if they were torturing you and you were slowly going to heaven due to the amount of pleasure you were feeling.

Every single one of their actions sent a wave of electricity through your body. Your sensitive lips slowly moistened at the feeling of Giyuu's fingers, your hips instinctively bucking down for more of that pleasuring feeling all while both of your hands gently nudged both of their heads into your breasts. "Please... I need you both... Stop teasing and just fuck me."

Giyuu stops as he says, "That's all you had to say, (Y/N). Don't worry, we'll make sure you feel really good after this." he said as he got up off of you, and started to take his pants off, and revealed a thick bulge coming from his boxers.

This made your slit throb a little from the site, and so he grabbed the rim, and pulled them down to reveal his thick, and long shaft. You swallowed your spit as you almost salivated from the sight of it alone.

Shortly after, Iguro does the same, although he wasn't as long as he was, but he was just as girthy as him.

"Get on your hands and knees," Giyuu said to you, and you complied, propping yourself as you turned your body horizontally.

You then felt his hand caress your ass, and softly smacked it, making you let out a sound that sounded like a yelp. He then takes his index and middle finger and starts to lick them as he says, "I need to make sure you're well lubricated for this. Even though you're already soaking." and inserts his fingers inside you, which makes your entire body weak as the top half on your body shrunk and it looked like as if you were bowing down to Iguro.

If you were this stimulated from his fingers, you could only imagine what it would feel like with his rod inside you. You then feel Iguro's hands touch your head and so he makes you look at his erect shaft in front of your face.

Without saying anything, you closed your eyes, and opened your mouth, with that gesture alone, gave him the approval to do it. He softly grips your hair, props himself, and slowly inserts his rod inside your mouth.

He was only using the tip in your mouth as he didn't want to hurt you or make you retch. You moaned, sending vibrations on his shaft as he stifled a moan from escaping his mouth.

Giyuu takes his fingers out, and opens and closes them to see your lines of juices stretching. He then licked his fingers and got a sense of what you taste like. He hummed in satisfaction as he propped himself up and lined his length to your wet slit.

He started to move his tip up and down, making you whimper as he said to you, "Are you ready?" you looked back to him and nodded as he then chuckled and slowly inserted himself inside you.

Your walls were slowly being filled inch by inch by his shaft all while you were sucking off Iguro. Speaking of him, he started to softly thrust his hips into your mouth, but not rough enough to make you gag.

Giyuu softly moaned as he felt you throbbing around him, and tighten around him. It's as if you were practically begging him to wreck you once he was fully inside you. But, he'll get to that eventually.

Once his pelvis came into contact your ass, he wasted no time, and softly started to thrust his hips. You let out the moan that also sounded like a whimper, as you felt his shaft slowly going in and out of you. With every thrust he did, his hips coiled. He was holding back from pounding your ass until it turned red.

Meanwhile, Iguro was drunk from pleasure from the feeling of your warm, wet mouth around him. The feeling of your tongue on the bottom of his shaft felt so slippery, that it felt like you had no teeth whatsoever.

She's so tight... Giyuu thought as he started to thrust a little bit faster, enough to make mini ripples from your skin.

Iguro started to pat your head and said to you, "Who's a good girl? You are." and that made your body feel mushy. "You're doing a great job sucking my cock like that. If you need oxygen, just let me know, okay?" and you nodded.

You then wrapped your arms around his waist as you pulled him closer to you, and you started to bob your head, taking every inch of him inside your mouth. This took Iguro by surprise, but he couldn't speak as he was in bliss of you deepthroating him.

Giyuu then puts his hands on your hips as he started to thrust his hips more faster, and rougher, making you moan even harder, and your body weaker as he hits your spot.

You clenched your eyes closed as you tried to distract the pleasure fogging your mind by sucking Iguro off, but then you felt him hit the back of your throat, and you violently coughed. Iguro backed away from you as you said to Giyuu, "W-Wait! T-Tomioka!" Thankfully he stopped as he said to you, "What, am I too rough?"

"A little, b-but it feels good though... I-I was wondering... if we could do a different position...?" You said as Giyuu responded, "I know one we could do." and then he took his shaft out.

He then turned your body around until your back was on the bed, and your legs were wide open. He then pulls you closer to him as he slammed his hips into yours, inserting his entire shaft back inside you as you arched your back, and neck.

You were a moaning mess as his thrusting was so rough and fast, it made your entire body feel tense, in a good way of course. Iguro then wrapped his hands around your neck as he put his shaft inside your mouth, and thrust his hips.

Your eyes were rolling back as Iguro was skull-fucking your throat, and Giyuu was fucking your tight cunt. Your legs frantically trembling, your toes curling, and your knuckles turning white as both of them were using you like a cocksleeve.

My mind... it feels like it's gone blank... I can't think of anything at this moment... you thought as you were being completely pounded on both sides.

The lewd sounds that your slit was making sounded like water that was being repeatedly smashed as your thighs were creating ripples from his thrusting.

You gagged a few times as you felt Iguro's shaft go in your throat and he looked to see the bulge in your throat disappear and reappear with every thrust.

It got to the point where you felt a knot in your stomach forming, and you began to whimper. Your eyes clenched as you felt it getting tighter and tighter until you felt Giyuu hit your spot, and you pet out a muffled scream that sounded like a moan as you creamed all over his shaft.

He looks down and says, "Wow... Did it feel that good, (Y/N)?" and you gave him a shaky thumbs up. He smirked before he went back to thrusting his hips.

Drool was running down your cheek as Iguro was in his own world fucking your throat. His body was sweaty, his bangs were sticking to his forehead, and his breathing was very heavy.

Giyuu's breathing also started to get louder as he started to feel himself twitching. His thrusting started to feel more sloppy as he was loosening his grip on your sweaty hips.  "F-Fuck..." he grunted as he started to go all out on thrusting you. Your thighs constantly rippling, your breasts bouncing with every thrust he did, and your arms and legs shaking as he hit your spot.

Iguro started to feel the same as his legs began to shake as he was getting close to his arrival. He then felt his shaft twitching as he stopped thrusting his hips, and let out a husk-sounding moan as he felt himself spurt his seed into your mouth.

You cringed from the texture of it, but still chose to swallow it as you felt him becoming soft in your mouth. He then moved his hips back and the sound of a little pop was made as the tip escaped your lips.

Shortly after, Giyuu clenched his eyes and teeth as he pulled out of you, and started to pump his shaft, resulting in him shooting his spunk onto your body. His breath was trembling after he got done relieving himself onto your body. And after that was done, Iguro went to the kitchen and got three paper towels to clean you up.

Iguro gave him one and he folded it up as he cleaned your abused slit until it was dry. Iguro cleaned the spunk off your stomach and breasts with the second paper towel, and then cleaned your face with the third.

Giyuu gave him his paper towel and Iguro threw them away as he walked back to the bed and laid down. Giyuu then picks you up, and puts you under the cover as he lays back down next to you, and rests his head on your shoulder.

"Night..." Giyuu softly said as he kissed your neck, and went to sleep. Iguro does the same as he kisses your cheek, and your neck as he puts his hand on your stomach.

You look at both of them as you think to yourself, My throat, and legs hurt... but, it felt really good... but, I don't know if I can walk tomorrow, so I hope Giyuu will carry me. You then kissed both of their heads as you closed your eyes and went to sleep.

___________________________________________

03-24-24 - Well, that's another story in the books! I felt like I went a little crazy on the smut here, but that's just me. I hope you enjoyed this, next story I'm gonna write is gonna be another remake of an old story from my other book.

Catch you guys next time, love y'all.

👋✌️❤️.

[littlemisstfc]

How The Bayverse Failed Optimus Prime

Hello, hola, こんにちは。

Welp, it’s been eighty four years since I have written a Transformers essay for Tumblr, huh? I do deeply apologize for my months-long hiatus on this funky T app. I was busy being a gaslighting, gatekeeping girlboss in the wilds of the bird app and that funny video app I think the kids call Taki Taki. Huh. What an odd name for an app. 🧐

Wait, what am I talking about? Wait, I remember. Anyways…

Oh, sweet little Bayverse, my dear archnemesis. Everyone and their mothers have the universal opinion of all opinions: the Bayverse is fundamentally flawed. Even if you hold nostalgic opinions about this franchise, by all means more power to you, you cannot deny that it’s a film series that is basically an 12 year old edgelord’s wet dream. Loud, obnoxious, filled with every horrible stereotype of the human race imaginable (from women to people of color to people with common sense), and lacks an understanding of what made Transformers special. If this movie was a person, it would call me a slur. 😭 But that’s a discussion for another day, and I’ve already made a video about the misogyny of the Bayverse if you’re curious. Check that out in your spare time! 👍🏽

In a nutshell, the Bayverse movies are not good, and there’s no better representation of why the movies lack a basic understanding of the franchise it was adapted from than a character that is essentially a childhood icon for many people:

Optimus Prime.

Everyone and their mothers hold a universal opinion that is sadly present: this man is a maniac who basically says, “GIVE ME YOUR HEAD.” However, Imma about to say something that not only caused a flame war when I brought it up a while back on Twitter, but reflects how the portrayal of Optimus in the movies is flawed in insidious ways:

Optimus is the victim of bad character writing as well as the lack of understanding his core personality. Thus, as a result, this resulted in the, “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho phenomenon” that demonized his visible mental health issues. He was a traumatized individual affected by the tragedies he had to endure throughout his entire life, and the movies did not do his hidden character arc justice. Come along with me on this journey of understanding Bayverse Optimus as a person, not as a demonic caricature that is unfortunately common in the fandom.

3, 2, 1, PINGU.

A Tale of a Bot: The Long Road to A Broken Mind

Optimus’ current personality and outlook on life in general is a result of having a life filled with betrayals and tragedy. Having been orphaned at a young age after the Fallen has killed off the lineage of the Primes, he was taken in by Sentinel Prime as a pupil. Having worked with other Autobots in revitalizing Cybertron into a hospitable world, he was selected by Sentinel to lead the Autobots. At the same time, his true heritage was revealed. However, feeling overwhelmed by the responsibilities of his prestigious family history, Optimus turned down Sentinel’s offer. He accepted the responsibility of co-leading Cybertron with his childhood ish friend Megatron, as he is the fair to the latter’s firmness. However, throughout their rule, they clashed multiple times over multiple scenarios such as the arrival of enemy invaders and the discovery of a relic. This was mostly fueled by Megatron’s own resentment and jealousy towards his co leader due to Optimus’ Prime heritage. The boiling point that exploded into war was Megatron and his followers ambushing Prime and his companions while on a trip to Metrotitan. Thus, along with the apparent death of Sentinel through the latter’s ship being shot by Starscream, this drives Optimus in adopting a rage induced mindset towards Megatron. The one he grew up, the one he confided in, the one that he adored so much, the one who has betrayed his trust all for a vain and arrogant quest for the ultimate power. It lays the framework for Optimus’ jaded, yet hopeful outlook on life, something that the movies at least did a job in conveying. It’s also helped by Peter Cullen giving it his all as usual in conveying his sadness buried underneath his stoic demeanor. Thus, along with a few more shenanigans in the comics, this is where the first two movies started.

I appreciate the comics existing, because they took the time to actually develop Optimus’ personality and his mental state as seen in the film series. We see him as a hopeful, naive bot who hopes that one day, Megatron can change his mind and Cybertron will be alive once again. Unfortunately…the one predictable aspect of life is its unpredictability, and god dammit…it reared its ugly head as all hell breaks loose after a certain old bot returned in Dark of The Moon. Dark of The Moon is the true outlier among a sea of mediocrity and awfulness, for the best element it got right: how Sentinel’s betrayal deeply affected Optimus in the long run. This is someone who raised him when he had nothing, someone he deeply loves as a father, someone he trusted whole heartedly. And how does Sentinel repays Optimus’ loyalty and adoration for him in DOTM? Tricking him and the others into leading him to the Allspark, since UH OH he is a Decepticon spy all along, killed the Hit Me With Everything You Got robot, helping Megatron invade Chicago, and planting Seeds in order to revive Cybertron by killing Earth. Optimus saw his mentor going down a path similar to Megatron, which essentially broke his idealistic viewpoint into devastating shards that could never be put together again. I find his confrontation with Sentinel after defeating him in battle very compelling, because you could feel the heartbreak, the anger, and…the disappointment that his mentor is not the the man that he loved as a father. It was Sentinel’s choice to go to the Dark Side, it was Sentinel’s bed to lie on,

Sure, the day was eventually saved in the end. However, everything that Optimus knew and all the people he loved is gone officially. He got his main band of amigos, that’s good. However…he is basically alone in dealing with his thoughts. The universe is a cruel mistress, and it keeps putting our Flamin Hot Cheetos boyo through the ringer.

We get to Age of Extinction, years after the Battle of Chicago. Now on the run thanks to the American government being the American government, he has no one. His friends are also in hiding, Autobots are fugitives in the planet they sought refuge in, and humans are willing to turn him into the authorities. This drives his mental state into something even worse as it is, as years of trauma and stress has finally caught up to him. Like, dude legit needs some weed to soothe his nerves and it is HAUNTING. Reduced to a broken, traumatized man in the safety of a barn, he is left with major trust issues. However, one day, a kind human by the name of Cade Yeagar did the unthinkable: he didn’t turn in Optimus to the authorities. Instead, he chose to repair our Flamin Hot King out of the kindness of his heart once he realizes that Optimus is no ordinary car. Even with the pressures of his family’s financial situation, Cade still chose to help Prime. This is the first step to breaking the first wall of Optimus’ mental state: his trust issues. For a movie infamous for being one of the worst movies in Transformers history, it does a surprisingly excellent job in portraying Optimus’ and Cade’s relationship in a natural progression. They’re both bird of a feather; they’re both tired fathers raising a rebellious teenager while also trying to make it in this crazy ass world. Thus, with Cade still helping him even when his life is in danger multiple times, Optimsu learns to open up to other people for the first time in probably centuries. He reconnects with his teammates, he begins to regain his faith in humanity and the universe, and he opens his spark again to love. By the end of the movie, Cade became the person that Megatron and Sentinel had failed to be, someone who is actually similar to Optimus’ other close friend Elita One. 

Soon, The Last Knight arrived and things got worse for him. Subjected to brutal torture at the hands of Quintessa, who tried to force him to love her as a mother, he reached the breaking point of his sanity. An empty shell of his former self, a representation of everything that he went through, the painful reminder how he felt about himself for so long…true, he was rescued by Cade and regained his grip on sanity in order to save the day. However, it means that he’ll have to carry the scars of the single most traumatic moment of his life so far… honestly, say what you want about The Last Knight. However, through this one hidden gem underneath a pile of mediocrity, lies a character that suffered for so long to find the love and happiness he desperately wanted, that suffered for the liberation of his people, that suffered because his lineage ensures that he couldn’t find happiness possibly for a long time…

But an Autobot has no tears, and therefore he suffers so much more.

So, riddle me this, dear TORB Nation: how does the movie portray a genuinely compelling character arc that reveals another side to Optimus Prime?

BLOWING UP SHIT AND BODIES BODIES BODIES ON THE MOTHERFUCKING FLOOR, AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The movies not only twisted such a character arc into simply nothing more than, “Optimus angy,” but it’s genuinely disgusting that his visible mental issues was thrown under the bus because heaven forbid, we have an emotionally complex protagonist. They don’t understand who Optimus Prime is. Optimus Prime is someone who pushes through his sorrows and chooses to remain a kind person in spite of said trauma. However, the movies twisted his character into another angry badass robot, never highlighting his kindness, It only highlighted his sadness. I cannot believe that Imma about make this comparison (mostly because one of these outcomes is arguably better than Bayverse in all ways), but fuck it. I need to say it:

EVEN MOTHERFUCKING TRANSFORMERS PRIME KNEW TO SHOWCASE THIS VULNERABLE SIDE OF OPTIMUS THAN THE BAYVERSE EVER DID.

Like, TFP Optimus is a pretty brick with no personality trait other than Badass Stoic Optimus that plagued the 2010s. Still, still, still, it made sure to highlight his vulnerability in a respectful and careful manner. Said respectful and caring manner is barely there except for hidden bits from time to time due to the lame ass, “Primes don’t party” logic and moments that personally grind my gears, but that’s a story for another day.

Anyways, my point is that Michael Bay would rather focus on style than substance when he’s not busy terrorizing women. Even if you’re an apologist for him, it resulted in the movies being broken for better or for worse. Mostly worst. Because of the movies being broken, it continues to do an even worse job in The Last Knight, as it focuses on the same stupid shit as usual and throws Optimus under the bus as usual. He isn’t given time to breathe, time to fully flesh out his personality and state of mind in a caring and graceful manner. Like…this honestly upsets me just as much as the disgusting elements of the Bayverse as a whole.

This Optimus Prime is someone who was me when I reached my breaking point in the lowest moments of my life. I understood where he was coming from, I understood his pain and anger because of all the heavy shit he went through. For a long time, he has a special place in my heart as I got older because he represents who I was in a time of my life where I was just as vulnerable and broken as him. So, don’t ya’ll (especially those on Twitter) ever fucking say he is a psycho because to me, that shows the ugly side of your personality. He was me, he was a character that came in a point in my life that helped me through difficulties in my life. He is a character that has the most bastardization of any character I adore in fiction, because of the insidious nature of the movies he was in for a decade. 

Bayverse Optimus Prime is more than the “GIVE ME YOUR FACE” guy. He is a character with hidden LAYERS that is done dirty by the Bayverse movies. I will continue to repeat this statement: He is more than, “GIVE ME YOUR FACE.” 

Conclusion: Why Are Y'all Booing Me? I have a third eye.

I have to put up with this “Bayverse Optimus is a psycho” bullshit for YEARS, I deserve to be a feral gremlin DAMMIT. After a long time of seeing one of my favorite iterations of Optimus Prime be reduced as a funny murder guy by the non Tumblr fandom, because of the Bayverse movies bastardizing his character, I have to put my foot down. If y’all can’t see my viewpoint, that’s fine. However, I’ll continue to be a passionate fan of this Optimus Prime and gatekeep him from the fans who demonize my boyo into nothing but a caricature. He is the big titty goddess in this household with so much more going for him. I’ll never stop to be his ace attorney for as long as I live, because he was someone who was me. Someone who opened the doors to introducing me to one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. He was the light in my darkest hour…

Anyways, good night Tri State Area. Pingu.