#that moment when I maintained a poker face was my best acting yet

[blessphemy]

was seeing some tumblr post about wage stagnation and cost of living increase

you know I was feeling a little bit of “should I be ashamed?” about myself for not sticking with 1 job for more than 2 years (a combination of circumstances, the fields I’ve worked in, mergers, etc) and not having a Career but then I remembered that in the process of my skipping around I have on two occasions doubled my prior salary (not an exaggeration) so like

[yanderederee]

Im Rooting for You..!

April24th, 2004

a/n: no trigger warnings!! Mostly fluffy!! <333 this was my first attempt at Baji removing his nerd disguise, but it got buried and I forgot ab it!

Before… › here! › After!

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

“Say.. Baji,” you said, almost in a whisper.

You’ve been tutoring Baji for about three months now. He was doing well, well enough that he could get by without your paid support. Yet…

Even knowing this, you wanted to stay by his side, and know more about him.

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t attracted to Baji. He was gentle, considerate, dutiful, passionate — well, that aside…

You just weren’t ready to part ways. Not yet, at least.

There was just one thing bothering you.

These three months, you felt as though there was a huge part of Baji you still hadn’t met yet. Like he was only showing you a mask of a person.

You wanted to see who Baji Keisuke really was. Behind the thick rim glasses, behind the suppressed persona he claimed to be.

“Why… don’t you drop the act, around me..?” You asked, forced and meek.

You tried to maintain an aura of composure. Baji could sense that.

He picked up on your little mannerisms so easily now. The glasses actually ended up being a blessing, he was soon to realize. You could never tell when he stared at you, or read him quite right.

They kept you curious. He liked that growing curiosity of yours, and wasn’t sure if he was ready to give in so easily.

“What act?” He feigned jokingly, maintaining his composure without neglecting his handwriting over the latest study packet.

You gave your best glare, which only came off as a pout, crossing your arms passive aggressively. “Fine.” You sighed sarcastically, heaving yourself from your seat.

He realized quickly you were packing up for the day. “If you’re going to keep pretending around me, then keep it that way. I’m leaving. ”

What did you mean by that? What the hell made you so mad all of a sudden?

“Leave? I still don’t understand h—“ he tried to weave his way back into your usual groove, but you looked back at him with a somewhat… hurt expression, stopping all brain function he had.

The hell were you looking at him like that for?

“Baji.. I’ve done by duty as a tutor. If…. If that’s all I will be to you, then I …” you said shakily, having to pause a moment to maintain your poise composure.

“If you’re worried about how I’ll react to knowing the real you, please, stop. I want to be your friend. A real friend to you. I don’t want to keep pretending like I don’t notice the way you act differently around me.”

Your face was getting warmer and warmer, the more embarrassing things you were saying.

You weren’t planning to spill your heart out, this type of honesty was beyond your comfort, so why couldn’t you stop?

“Whoever you turn out to be, I would proudly stand beside you. S-so,”

“Wait,” Baji stopped you, voice stern and face completely hidden from view.

Baji knew why he’d kept who he really was from you for so long. He wasn’t a coward, he wasn’t hiding behind a mask because he thought you were shallow enough to shun him.

He was hiding because as soon as you got wrapped up in Toman, your life could be at risk.

Having no way to fight or protect yourself, being associated with Toman would only make you a walking target. Being involved with a gang was unpredictable. Some real sick fucks roamed these streets.

There’s no telling what one miscalculation would result in your inevitable pain.

Emma, Mikey’s own sister, had been held at knifepoint more than once. Attacks against her have been made more than Baji even knew. But no matter what, Mikey was always there to protect her and ensure her safety.

Could Baji say the same? He wasn’t sure if that was a promise he could keep. Baji is protective by nature, but throwing you into that life without giving you fair warning would be cowardly.

It was easier to end what wasn’t meant to continue.

“It doesn’t matter if you accept me or not.” He felt himself fall into poker face, acting harshly neutral. “I won’t let you throw yourself in my life just cause it seems fun. Our crowds don’t walk the same streets, y/n.” He hissed, hardened eyes hiding behind the thick rims.

Baji has never used this tone with you before.

You were bound to be scared of him now, (right?).

“I respect how smart you are, but you’re looking to get yourself killed. I won’t be apart of it.” He said finally, his things gathered and stature towering over you when he walked past you and out the door.

You didn’t even get a word in before he was slamming the door behind him.

It hurt to swallow, but he kept telling himself that he was doing the right thing, keeping you at arms length.

He wasn’t smart. He didn’t stop Kazutora before he made that irreversible mistake— to shoulder so much guilt. Baji hasn’t noticed that the bike shop Kazutora led him to was Shin’s shop. If he was just a little smarter and noticed that obvious thing, he could have saved Shin—- saved Kazutora!

… This is how he saves you, right?

This was fine, this was the intended outcome. Baji could self study from now on.

To hide this gnawing guilt, he buried it deep, deep, deep down.

Toman has a fight tonight after all.

The perfect stress relief.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯✦

Chifuyu had always wanted to be a wingman, and after he realized Baji’s crush on you, he was eager to spring into action. You were innocent and cute, opinionated yet kind. Quick witted and perceptive. Chifuyu knew you were struggling to keep your patience with Baji.

That’s why, when Baji made his dramatic exit, Chifuyu’s snooping-self quickly snuck in to evaluate the damage. And just as he’d guessed, you were left flabbergasted and flooded with frustrated tears.

“P-please wait! Before you judge him too harshly, let me speak!” He stammered. He’d never spoke more than a few pleasantries to you before now, yet there he was, desperately trying to make a case in Baji’s defense.

It took a little explaining, but without giving too much of the situation away, Chifuyu had managed to get you to agree to follow him. He promised on his life that he was trust worthy, and honestly, you believed him.

So that’s how you found yourself in audience of a bunch of thugs gathered for mischief just ahead of you. A long row of motorbikes rangling the boys into formation.

You weren’t sure where to spot Baji, his dead give away glasses being no where in sight. Still, Chifuyu promised that if you kept your eye out for his own blonde bowl cut, you’d spot Baji not far behind.

Before you could get a proper gander, you noticed two thugs from each opposing side came to the middle of the parking lot to speak, before ultimately calling for war.

You had guessed Baji was associated with some kind of shady pass time, as he did have a very intimidating presence, and he often boasting about his excellent skill of martial arts. To think he would put it to use like this was… <3

As you stood watching the scene unfold, you took a moment to consider if your lack of shock at the situation playing out should concern you or not. Were you more desensitized, or impressed….

You were taken out of that train of thought when a deafening roar almost shook the ground you stood. A scream that loud could only be made by a rage filled monster. And rage filled it was, Baji Keisuke’s patience had finally ran out, unable to swallow back that guilt he pushed so far deep. All the vulnerable sides of him he accidentally let you see—- revealed in those rare moment of gentle hand touches and kindness you gave him unconditionally.

He knew Your gentle hands would become soiled before long. His bruised knuckles would start to stain you.

Forgetting about you was for your best interest.

His hair was uncontainable, hair-tie snapping before the fight had even begun. His eyes were piercing and sharp, ferocious and merciless to anyone who met his gaze.

He stood out like a wild beast amongst helpless prey.

Baji wielded a wicked grin that took up most of his face, screaming out insult after curse as his fists broke skin and bone alike. He was ferocious. Unstoppable and feral.

It was normal to run in fear of such a creature, yet you….<33

“Hey hey hey! What’ve we got here?” Sing-songed a delinquent who did not share the same black and gold uniform your classmates had on.

No one noticed this interaction at first, but your shrill shriek seemed to alert others tenfold. It was an unspoken rule that if there’s a girl’s scream, you intervene.

“I don’t recognize that school uniform, what’re you spyin around us for huh? Want in on the action?” The delinquent held you in place between your collar and the wall behind you, his grip harsh enough to rip some of the cloth.

Any do-gooder would easily have stepped in to put the sicko in his place, for pulling an uninvolved girl into a beef like this one, but no one dared move.

Because there was a sick, cold, heavy air that swept the parking lot. A nauseous feeling that made any man back down. Everyone felt it. And Toman knew damn well to get the Hell out of Baji Keisuke’s way.

Chifuyu let out a yelp when he noticed he had pretty much made you a hostage, putting you directly in harms way. But you wanted to see who the real Baji Keisuke was so badly, and Chifuyu didn’t mean for it to turn out like this— and no amount of reason would spare Chifuyu from the beating he was sure to receive once Baji learned the truth of how you ended up here in the first place.

But with having no further context, Baji’s intense rage was fueled with worry for your safety. ‘Why the hell is she here? Did she follow me or something?’

Baji spat, dead focus not leaving your squirming form. The way you squirmed in the offenders grasp seriously made him feel like puking. The way your eyes desperately darted around to look for him broke his heart. So helpless, so scared… Any bit of restraint he had left suddenly no longer existed.

“Baldys got a death wish, eeeehhhhh?!” Baji graveled his most intimidating roar as the distance became shorter and shorter, reaching your side at sound-breaking speed.

Before the bold delinquent who had a hold on you could react, he was already being slung backwards. Gravity corrected you quickly, and you hissed when your knees met the ground below. Baji’s attention was solely focused on killing this stupid sack of shit.

Chifuyu came following after, helping you to your feet as you stare in awe. “C-come on, let’s get you somewhere safe-“ he tried guiding you toward an escape route, but you refused.

You remained rooted in place while you watched Baji wail on the poor guy. The force of his punches shook the offending delinquent’s whole body, head to toe. Punch after punch, his fists grew bloody.

Minutes passed, and the man before you had long lost consciousness. Still, Baji’s assault remained uninterrupted.

Surely he had lost feeling in his hands by now. The skin on his fist couldn’t even be identified as skin anymore, painted and dripping red.

You knew that when that block head was lost in thought, like he was now, you could never get his attention with words.

When you would study together, and he’d all but forgotten your presence, the only way to get his attention…

So, unfaltering, you laid one hand along the back of the blood stained monster protecting you. Without fear, you gently wrapped your other hand around his wrist. Immediately he froze.

The night was silent. Your lone whisper broke the tense atmosphere. “Baji,”

Finally getting his attention, Baji slowly turned his head to look you face to face. Eye to eye.. as though it really was for the first time.

Damn the ‘love at first sight‘ troupe. Baji called bullshit since preschool. But there was no better way to describe the unfamiliar feeling growing in his stomach.

Your expression was angel-like. Smile as kind as the heavens, moved with emotion. Looking him in the eye for the first time was also sending you into a vulnerable state. It was so pleasant feeling.

Baji couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, couldn’t think. You were literally stealing the breath out of his lungs.

Were you getting closer? Why did it feel like one side of his face was being cradled? Wait, were you—-

Your body moved on it’s own, unable to restrain yourself, until the very last second.

Baji could feel the gentle sigh of your breath against his lips, any sudden movement could mean life or death. He took a sharp breath in, but by the time he gathered his bearings, you weren’t kissing him like he thought you might, not on the lips at least.

Your lips gently rested on his sweat and blood stained forehead.

You parted, created distance shyly, and tried to glare at Baji. But it was impossible.

“I like the way you fight. Give it your all, Keisuke. You have to do well on tomorrow’s test, s-so try not to hit your head too much.” You quickly lectured, softly punching his shoulder, before awkwardly backing away. Grossly aware of your surroundings now, having All eyes on you was not a good feeling.

“U-um, anyway..! I’ll be rooting for you, s-so don’t lose!”

Baji hated thinking about his future.

But god. Damn.

He did know one thing.

You would be the death of him.

[ukai-simp-services]

please can you write more nsfw kenma content? whatever you want omg and of course do it when u feel like it n u have time <3 love ur writing have a nice day

a/n: thanks for the request love!! i rlly hope this isn't too mediocre, i fr tried. enjoy <3

nasty

warnings: nsfw, cursing, humiliating, degrading, slight bdsm, name calling

  if there’s one thing you've learned about your boyfriend from the past year of dating him, it was that he tended to have a bit of a personality shift the moment he entered the ‘bedroom’. 

  many, including yourself, knew kenma as a more reserved individual. he didn't yell much, unless provoked - and he only really spoke up if he felt the situation called for it. to a normal acquaintance of kenma, he was just socially awkward and shy. 

  but those who truly knew him; being you and kuroo - you both knew kenma had a way of saying things. the guy simply had a lot on his mind, but he only chose to say the things that were relevant. he even seemed to have a bit of a temper at times, but he always meant well. 

  there’s one thing that only you got to know though, something that you'd like to think nobody else ever got to witness first hand. you saw a side to kenma that was reserved for you and only you. it was a feral; almost animalistic side. to put it more frankly, he was just straight up nasty. 

  lewd, vulgar, dirty - all words could be used to describe your ‘introverted’ boyfriend when he was in a sexual state of mind. he liked to own you in the bedroom, and sometimes even be owned. 

  three slow slaps were placed onto your clit, making your back arch in pleasure. kenma wouldn’t stop taunting you; wouldn't stop delaying your orgasm, and it almost had you in tears.

  “kenma, p-please. i need-”  

  “did i ask you what you needed? do you really think i fucking care?” a malicious look glistened in his eyes, eyes that were burning into yours. you knew by this look that it was his game and he would play however he wanted. 

  you bit your lip and nodded, submitting to his cruel game. he gave you a smirk in response, subtly letting you know he was proud of your obedience.

  without warning, kenma rutted two digits into your sloppy wet core; curling his fingers upwards to massage your insides. naturally, your back arched in response - tugging at the tight handcuffs that held you captive to the bed. kenma brought a hand to your cheeks, squishing them between his fingers.

  “hey, behave slut.” he spat down at you. 

  “s-sorry sir.” your cheeks flushed pink at the name kenma gave you.

  he chuckled at your state of submission, going to sit back on his knees as he continued his harsh pace inside your tight walls. his thumb found its home on your clit, rubbing hard circles into the flesh. you felt the familiar daze of an orgasm approaching you again - and you knew kenma felt it too. you weren't surprised when his two fingers left your core, but also disappointed in hopes that he would've just let you finish. yet, you kept your composure the best you could; no whining and no complaining. 

  your facade quickly fell when kenma stuck his two slick-covered fingers into his mouth, sticking out his tongue slightly to lap up the juices that had dripped down his palm. your eyes became hooded with lust, nipples hardening at the sight in front of you. kenma knew exactly what to do to make you weak and how to do it.

  “you taste amazing kitten, too bad it's not all about you tonight.” kenma teased in a low voice as his face inched closer to yours. 

  your cheeks heated up, cat-like yellow eyes bored into yours. you wanted nothing more than to reach your lips up to his and kiss him, tasting yourself on his tongue - and you almost did, but he quickly pulled away. 

  the taunting man leaned back to pull off the remaining boxers and sweats he wore, cock bouncing up and pressing against his lower abdomen. your eyes trailed over his slim - yet toned body. you almost drooled at the sight of him. he was never very girthy but he had quite a few inches on him to make up for it. 

  a small part of kenma became self-conscious at your gaze on his body, but the feral part of him wanted to shove his cock right into your gaping mouth with no remorse. though, he decided he'd much rather feel your walls tonight. with a firm grip on your plush thighs, your legs were forcibly pulled apart; cold air brushed over your wet folds. kenma began his teasing by rubbing the base of his cock against your clit, the action alone had you nursing your bottom lip between your teeth. 

  kenma noticed your subtle gesture and knew right away that you were holding back your moans - and you were well aware that would only prolong kenma’s torturous game. 

  the boy’s lust-filled eyes locked with yours the second he began grinding his dick down on your clit with more force and pressure. you tried to maintain the  sensual gaze locked between you two as best as you could, but the sensation from the friction had you gasping for air and your head tossing back. a mocking laugh from your boyfriend pulled you out of your daze; your head shooting up immediately at the noise. 

  “you're so fucking sensitive, my dick isn't even inside you yet and you’re already squirming for me.” he leaned in closer to your face, brought a hand to your right breast and tugged at its perked nipple with his thumb and his pointer finger; making you yelp in response. 

  “please kenma. please, i've been so fucking good.” you begged; tears forming at the rims of your eyes. kenma refused to let go of your nipple and his rough grinding hadn't ceased either. 

  “good girls don't act this desperate, but cockwhores do. and you will be treated exactly how you act, get that?” he squeezed the bud that remained squished in-between his fingers for affirmation.

  “y-yes, sorry sir. i won't do it again.” you let out a shaky breath and blinked away the tears that had formed from a mixture of frustration and pleasure. you loved this kind of foreplay with your boyfriend, but that didn't make it any less agonizing each time you engaged in it.

  kenma removed the tight grip of his fingers from your nipple and slowed his harsh humping in a response to your cooperating words; also beginning to line up his length with your entrance. 

  a simple “good.” was all he needed to say before he was slamming his cock inside your tight entrance all at once. he didn't even need to have a huge dick to make your cunt throb in both pain and pleasure; the initial force of his member being plunged within you had you screaming at the top of your lungs. he had managed to push the tip of his head all the way up to meet your cervix in just one single thrust. 

  you choked out a “kenma” ending it with a loud moan and he knew to keep going. he controlled the pace of his thrusts to be quick and hard, bruising the inside of your pussy with each snap of his hips. 

  “you're so fucking tight. can barely fit this big cock inside of you, huh?” kenma shamed you through gritted teeth. 

  you struggled to form words; as his cock was slamming against you in such a way that your brain felt like it was melting. 

  “answer when you're being spoken to, bitch.” kenma ceased all movement; pulling his cock out of you almost fully, only the head remained inside of you.

  you felt your core clench around the small amount of cock kenma had left inside you, it made you almost want to scream in his face.

  “y-yes, i can barely fit you inside of me, sir.” you licked your lips; dry from heavy breathing. you hoped to god that he would continue. 

  “good, that's good.” kenma spoke breathlessly; all this fucking around was really getting to him too. oh well, maybe if you weren't so disobedient he could just continue on and fuck you properly. with those final words, he pushed his length back into you all at once, a lewd squelching noise sounded from the action.

  kenma leaned his body forward, some strands of hair fell out of his low bun and lightly tickled your collarbones - you always thought he looked so attractive in this position. he rested one hand next to your head and the other one came up to your face. you gave him a puzzled look, thinking he was moving to cup your cheek. your mind was quickly changed when he brought his ring and middle finger to your lips, pressing against them to force an entrance. you obliged his actions, parting your lips slightly to let his slender fingers into your mouth. he was quick to push his long digits further down your tongue, practically touching the back of your throat. 

  you gagged at the sudden feeling of his finger pads pressing down on the area between the end of your tongue and beginning of your throat; the sensation had your mouth filling with saliva. it took you a second to adjust to the feeling of your mouth being so full of his lean fingers  - all while your cunt was being slammed into by an equally as slender member. 

  you knew kenma was getting impatient for you to begin sucking on his digits, you could tell by the narrowing of his golden eyes - and the last thing you wanted to do was to tick him off when you felt yourself getting so close to an orgasm. you easily complied; letting your tongue circle around his fingers with a slow, sensual rhythm. your eyes never left his, keeping your best poker face on as he slammed into your guts and you salivated on his fingers. 

  the sadistic man found himself growing weak at the sight of your lust-filled eyes and the feeling of your mouth around his fingers - he felt you begin sucking them further into your mouth. he kept on his dominant persona as best as he could, despite the aching feeling of an orgasm building in his stomach. 

  “you’re so dirty, sucking on my fingers like they're my cock.” his breathing had become noticeably rigged, but his eyes kept the same hooded, dazed-out look that they had from the start. 

  you moaned around his fingers in response, drool was now dripping down your chin as well as his hand. kenma almost pulled his fingers out from their current spot so he could hear you as he fucked you through an orgasm - but he decided he'd rather see you cum with his fingers in your mouth. 

  your breathing became irregular, as kenma’s fingers were restricting you from being able to inhale and exhale regularly. it was when he began pumping the digits in and out of your throat that you felt the coil in your stomach begin to break. 

  the jangle from handcuffs being tugged at was heard as your body began writhing under your boyfriend. your muffled moans vibrating around kenma’s skilled fingers gave him the signal that he needed to hear to fuck your cunt harder and faster than he already was. 

  “you're gonna cum, yeah? you're gonna milk my dick?” kenma felt himself slowly losing his own composure, he was gonna cum any minute now. 

  “mmfm yesh...” the words leaving your mouth were far from coherent, courtesy of kenma’s fingers. you soon found yourself doing exactly what he said, velvety walls gripping at his lean cock like a vice. your orgasm was violent, it ripped through you with such a force that kenma had to gently use his body to hold down yours. it hit you like a fucking wave, you had been denied of it for so long that it came crashing into you with no mercy. 

  you screaming around his fingers and yanking at the cold metal handcuffs around your wrists practically threw kenma into an orgasm of his own. although not as violent, his body twitched above you as he moaned loudly into your ear; the way he knew you liked it. 

  both of you rode out your orgasms together, bodies twitching and chests rising and falling rapidly. before flopping his body onto yours, kenma removed his long fingers from your mouth slowly; thick strings of spit attached to your lips were following after them. 

  “so hot...you're so hot.” kenma mumbled breathlessly before letting his chest fall on top of yours and his head falling into the crook of your neck.

  you chuckled, “so are you, very hot actually.” you lifted your palm up to meet the top of his head; softly smoothing his disheveled hair down. kenma’s softer personality was rising to the surface again and his sadistic side was fading along with the intense aftermath of your orgasm. 

  he mumbled a “nuh-uh.” into your skin, you argued his statement. 

  “’m tired y/n. do you think we can rest for a little bit before cleaning up?” kenma nuzzled his face deeper into your skin to further convince you. you laughed at how his breath tickled your skin and unintentionally wiggled under him. the action made the handcuffs still attached to your limbs jingle, reminding you that they were still there. 

  “i’ll rest with you as much as you want, as long as you get these damn cuffs off me first.” 

  kenma peeked up at your arms, nodding before reaching over to his nightstand to grab the small keys to the handcuffs.

  “deal.” 

[msmarvelouswinchester]

Irresistibly Yours

Chapter 4 - My Apologies

Summary - Y/N Y/L/N moves to NYC in hopes for a fresh start after a nasty breakup. There she meets her neighbor, the cynical lawyer, Dean Winchester. A love-hate relationship starts evolving between them ever since they met in the elevator one morning but a desperate situation and a string of lies forces the two friendly rivals to go on a date or rather a fake date. Will sparks fly between them when Dean gets to know Y/N real and up close? Will Y/N finally find her Prince Charming in the grumpy, workaholic, divorce lawyer?

Pairing - Lawyer!Dean Winchester x Y/N

Warning - None

WC - 2551

Square Filled - Fluff ( @girl-next-door-writes's Make Me Feel Bingo); Neighbours AU ( @anyfandomfluffbingo )

A/N - A new chapter! Hope you enjoy reading this!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Beta'd by @miss-nerd95 <33

Series Masterlist Masterlist

Click. Click. Click.

Adjusting her glasses on the nose, Y/N toyed around with the pen in hand, blankly staring at the kitchen wall. The empty sheet of paper sat there on the table, glaring at her. It was a bit old-school, considering her laptop was lying only a small distance away but this was how she preferred to work on her novel. It had nothing to do with her laziness.

The fear of another rejection was weighing heavily on her and she was really close to giving up on her dream of being an actually published writer. However, after her little pep talk to herself last night, she had this new indomitable spirit ignited inside her. Though that spirit was fading away with every passing minute now.

Y/N dropped the pen on the table with a huff, its metallic body hitting the wooden surface of the table as she got up to make herself a cup of coffee. Now, she might not want to admit it, but her novel wasn't the only thing that was troubling her.

A stranger’s callous comments should never hurt so much but when Dean called her stupid or rather a brainless idiot, for some reason, Y/N took it to the heart. She had then come to the conclusion that he was an ass and it was futile to even try and start a healthy relationship, but the bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter in front of her changed every perception of him yet again.

Ms. L/N, I didn't have any intentions of humiliating you. I'm really sorry. I hope you accept this small token of apology.

Walking up to the counter, Y/N picked up the small, white card and read the handwritten apology for the hundredth time that day. She didn't know if she should be impressed at his tacky methods of apologies or be annoyed at him for wrecking her mental sanity. Shaking off her thoughts, she was just about to dive back right into her writing when the coffee machine beeped.

“This is not gonna work.” She sighed, pouring one cup of the warm liquid and bringing it close to her lips. After finishing her drink, she decided to go out on a walk to clear her head but just as she stepped out of her house, she heard soft pitter patters of feet out in the hallway before a small figure of a hazel-eyed girl came into her sight.

Y/N tilted her head in confusion as the little girl ran in the halls. She looked around for her parents, but didn't see anyone else.

“Hey, pretty girl. What are you doing out here all alone?” She called out to the girl, making her stop in her tracks and look at Y/N.

“Daddy says not to talk to strangers.” She said while she cautiously approached the woman anyway.

“Where's your Dad?" She smiled softly, " I'm Y/N. See now you know me.”

“Daddy's-”

“I told you to stay inside, babygirl.” Y/N’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the all too familiar voice of her ridiculously handsome neighbor before the tall figure of the man himself appeared in front of her. His eyes were focused on the little girl as he walked up to her. Dean crouched down to her height, hands gently placed on her shoulders. “Never go anywhere alone again. Alright?”

Does he have a daughter?

But she had never seen the girl before. Y/N was in awe as she saw the grumpy facade fade away when he talked with her. She realised that there were so many things about Dean that she truly didn't know. Maybe she had, after all, misjudged him on some petty conflicts.

“At least your kid was within the building.” Y/N said.

“Ms. L/N.” Dean regarded and turned to look at her. He shuffled on his feet which made Y/N raise a curious brow.

“Hello, Mr. Winchester.” A look of guilt with an underlying hurt flashed in his eyes when she didn't acknowledge him by his first name. He was very sure his effort at a decent apology had been appalling and it made him wince, thinking of the awfully cringy card he had curated by his own hand to convey his regrets.

“She is pwetty.” The girl tapped his knee, attracting his attention while looking at Y/N.

“Y-yeah.” Heat crept up Y/N’s neck when she heard Dean agree with the kid. A moment of awkward silence passed as Dean looked back up at the woman, this time his gaze not faltering making the woman’s cheeks warm up even more. “She is pretty, baby.”

“You are prettier. Look at you! You look absolutely stunning in that dress and hair!” Y/N jumped in deciding to not make the situation more awkward. She hoped that Dean was maintaining his usual poker face, but instead, the corner of his lips tugged up in a little smile as the girl diverted her attention to Y/N.

“Uncle De did my hair.” She said proudly and Y/N stared at Dean. Uncle De? Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought of him to be such a gentle soul. She now remembered that the last time she saw Dean, he had told her about meeting up with his brother.

“He did an excellent job, I see.” The woman said as Dean got up and stood up straight. “What's your name, pretty girl?” She looked up at Dean, as he nodded his head.

“Ava.” She muttered.

“So Ava, remember next time to not go anywhere without Uncle De’s permission. Promise?” Y/N said and walked up closer to the two humans as Ava nodded her head agreeing to her proposition, all the while Dean’s eyes trailed along the woman's every movement. He was the best in his profession and he excelled at reading his client's body languages to figure out conflict, but Y/N was like a puzzle to him right now so he decided to take matters in his own hands.

“I hope you liked the flowers.” There it was, subtle, but at least he owned up to his apology. Y/N observed him for a moment, watching as he was nervously wringing his hands together. He seemed nervous around her. This wasn't the Dean Winchester she had come to know in the last few, quite unfortunate encounters.

“I did.” Y/N wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. He tightly held Ava’s hand to not let her out of his sight.

“De-” she pouted, “Uncle De!” The said man looked down at his niece.

“Stay put for a moment, babygirl. Uncle De needs to talk to this lovely young lady. Then we can go and get ice cream, like I had promised.” He said, before looking up at Y/N. “Listen, I'm sorry for what happened that day. I did not-” Sighing, Dean said before he was unceremoniously cut off by his phone vibrating in his pocket.

His face scrunched up as he stared at his phone screen. Sucking in a deep breath, he let the phone ring until the caller reached the voicemail. He chewed on his plump, pink lip when his phone lit up with a voice message. Y/N had an instinct he was avoiding someone, maybe an ex. Dean must have had some girlfriends.

“I'm sorry, I was saying-” the phone rang again and Dean was so close to throwing the little device against the wall.

“I think you should take that, which seems important. And I would leave you with your work things. I was going out for a walk anyway. Have a good day, Winchester.” Y/N said and walked right past the man.

“Hold up!” Y/N stopped walking before turning around to face the lawyer. “I never had the intention of hurting you.”

“Then you know the story wrong.” She said, shrugging

“Well if we study closely, the scarecrow was actually very intelligent but he never realised it.” Dean shrugged.

“So you're saying that I act stupid.” This time Y/N wasn't offended but she liked watching him squirm.

“N-no I didn't mean that-” He struggled to come up with yet another apology. “Can we drop the subject of the scarecrow? Let's just pretend the story doesn't exist in this context.” Y/N chuckled at the poor man, making him shake his head lightly.

“It's okay, Dean. Go, get the kid some ice cream.” She smiled.

“Join me for a drink sometime.” Dean blurted out without thinking. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he stared at Y/N, trying to gauge her reaction.

“I never pegged you for a guy to ask me for a drink.” She raised a brow at him.

“The card and flowers were pretty lame, I agree…but I do owe you a drink, or maybe a coffee, whatever you prefer.” He said. He knew his method of apologising was crappy but at that moment it was the best he could come up with. Dean never was a man of many words and he sucked at expressing his feelings so it was near impossible for him to think of anything better than this, but now he realised it would have been much better if he would have just knocked on her door.

“Sure.” Y/N nodded.

“How does tomorrow sound? Ava will be back with my brother by then. As you can see I kind of have my hands full right now.” He smiled. Y/N pondered over the sudden change in her hot neighbour’s behaviour. If this was the way Dean chose to open up to her, then so be it.

“Tomorrow sounds good,” she smiled back.

“G-great then!” Heat crept up his neck as he looked at Ava, a bit flustered. He didn't know what her deal was but she always rendered him speechless or stumbled on his own words, trying to form a good comeback. Y/N had an effect on him that neither Jo nor Lisa had ever had on him. Her perky attitude made him want to spend any time he got with her. They were poles apart but Dean found a sense of familiarity in her.

“I won't hold back you two any longer.” Crouching in front of the girl and ruffling her brown hair, Y/N said, “Don't settle with anything less than a triple scoop.”

“Don't give her any ideas,” Dean teasingly warned, “I have no idea how to deal with a kid on a sugar rush.”

“Then don't shy away from asking for a little help. I had to babysit my cousin's kids many times. I know a thing or two about babysitting,” Y/N said.

“I'll definitely take you up on that if things get out of hand.” He said, “See you tomorrow night. Have a good day, Ms. L/N.” He grabbed Ava’s hands tightly, pulling her close as he started to walk towards the elevator. Y/N shook her head, an amused laugh leaving her lips. Some things never change.

“I think the cupcakes worked their magic!” Dean teased, sharing a laugh with Y/N over a glass of Manhattan. This was the first time she had ever seen him laugh. Apparently, he was a happy drunk.

“Some roots of jasmine, rose thorns, a pinch of pearl dust and voila! You have the friendship potion,” She barely made it through with a straight face before bursting out in fits of laughter.

“I had a feeling that there was some kind of sorcery involved.” He said, signalling for another glass for both of them.

“This one’s on me,” Y/N said, making Dean scrunch up his face in an adorable pout.

“No it's not. I'm payin’, I was the one who asked you out.” His eyes immediately widened when he realised what slipped out through his mouth. “Not like an ‘asking out’ asking out. This is-” Dean waved at the space between them “-just a gesture of goodwill.”

“You're adorable.” Y/N giggled.

“What?”

“I know this isn't a date. Just two friends hanging out on a Sunday night.” She shook her head, chuckling as the man picked up his refilled glass and took a sip.

Even if Y/N said it was platonic, the ungodly amount of time she had spent in front of her closet to pick out a perfect outfit would definitely make her rethink her answer. She had skimmed through her closet, trying to find the dress that said ‘just friends’ but to her all the dresses she owned screamed ‘I want you to fuck me’.

Nevertheless, she had settled on a simple pair of blue jeans and a crop top. But she had felt seriously underdressed when she knocked on Dean's door and it had opened to reveal the man in a jeans t-shirt and black slacks, staring at her with a smile on his face.

“Well duh! My first impression of you kinda sucked.” Y/N said.

“I did warm up to ya, didn't I?” Dean chuckled. “Another round?”

“Nuh-uh. Sparkling water for me. I don't want to show up at work tomorrow puking my guts out. And that while nursing a painful hangover? No thanks” She laughed.

“You're no fun!” He chuckled with her.

“I am no fun? What about you, Mr. Turn-down-the-volume?” She said as the bartender pushed a glass of water towards her and poured out another to the man.

“You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?” He shook his head.

“Never.”

A moment of silence passed as Y/N looked across the nightclub buzzing with people just like any other Sunday night. She never thought Dean would be the person to even know about nightclubs around the city but guess she didn't know him that well.

“You wanna head back home? I can walk with you to your place, be all gentlemanly,” he smirked. She liked this drunk version of Dean. He was happier, far more cheesy and funnier than his workaholic version.

“Of course. It's not like we live in the same apartment,” she teased. “Hey, you wanna hit the dance floor before we go back?”

His eyes widened at her sudden question. “No, I don't dance.” He shook his head furiously, clearly stating that dancing was definitely not on his agenda.

“Oh come on, don't be shy.” She said.

“Nope.”

“Fine! You are no fun!” She rolled her eyes, “Let's get outta here then.”

The walk back to their apartment was filled with drunken giggles and cheesy banter. “I had a fun time tonight. Apologies accepted.” Y/N said, unlocking the door to her home.

“Glad to know that. I couldn't have lived knowing you hate me,” Dean teased, “I had a good time as well. I really needed a break from work.”

“So you do accept that you work too much?”

“Agree to disagree.” He shrugged, leaning against the doorway, “Night, Y/N.”

She walked up to the man and pecked his cheek, making his eyes go wide at the sudden affection. He swallowed hard as she stared up at him with hooded eyes. Patting his arms lightly, she said, “Night, Dean, see you in the morning.”

“Only if you're running late.”

Chapter 5

Feedback is highly appreciated!

Let me know if you want to be tagged in this series!

[kumkaniudaku]

Understanding

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17

Recommended Listening: Understanding x Xscape, Purple Emoji (ft. J. Cole) x Ty Dolla $ign, My World x Asian

Word Count: 2,137 

If you were going to win an award that afternoon, it’d be for attire, not confidence. Your expertly crafted golf outfit was the only thing willing your feet forward once you parked your car in front of Senior’s golf course.

Black women and men dressed like modern Jet magazine ads waltzed in and out of the clubhouse while you scanned the area for your party. You’d been to your fair share of golf courses, but none as exquisite as The National. Marble accents complemented modern brass finishes and unbeatable views of the city. The desire to take photos for your father was almost too much to shake, but you managed to play it cool. Acting out of place was surely some type of faux pas for the wealthy.

Across the way, Senior sat at the bar sipping a glass of water while thumbing through a newspaper. His furrowed brow was identical to Yahya’s whenever he was knee-deep in work or a good book. The mental comparison made you smile before ushering in a tinge of sadness. For two people so undeniably similar, they were miles apart physically and mentally.

You navigated through groups of young and old alike on the way to the bar.

“You made it on time,” Senior spoke without looking up from a story on education budget cuts.

“I made it with time to spare.”

“You don’t get praise for doing what’s right.”

“Think of how much better things would be if we did.”

Senior paused his reading to take a deep breath and shake his head. You mentally berated yourself for overstepping so soon. Not even five minutes into the outing and you had already committed an avoidable infraction

Yahya I prolonged the unbearable silence as he continued to read through another article, reading each line painstakingly slow while you watched in agony.

“I apologize. That was unnecessary.”

“I’ll ask you again,” he spoke, finally looking away from the newspaper to study your face. “Let’s leave the character right here. We’re here for a purpose, so grab your clubs and follow me to the first hole. I hope your game is as good as you are at running your mouth.” Taking his retort in stride, you quickly grabbed your set of clubs and followed with no objections. “After you.”

Senior found himself immediately impressed though he wouldn’t verbalize his feelings. He watched you breeze through each hole with near expert precision, opening a series of questions at hole 5 during casual small talk.

“Where’d you say you were from again?”

“A tiny town in South Carolina that you probably wouldn’t know.”

“Try me,” he answered while taking stock of his position on the fairway.

“Anderson, South Carolina. Home of Larry Nance and the great Chadwick Boseman.”

“Can’t forget James Kennedy, Young Lady.”

You cocked your head back in surprise. “What you know about Radio? I mean outside of what the movie says?”

Senior remained quiet long enough to take a hard swing. The loud “whiff” of his driver slicing through crisp, clean air didn’t match the stroke’s output. Both of you watch the golf ball sail high into the air before making a landing well short of the intended destination. Senior shook his head at the miscalculation before turning to answer your question.

“Black folks from all over are connected, even without all that Snapgram and Facebook foolishness.”

“I could argue it’s helped, right? How else would you be able to share your granddaughter’s first steps with the whole family?”

“In photo albums. You might not remember those, but they did us just fine.”

“Yeah, but it’s instantaneous conversation and information. Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Maybe instantaneous conversation is the problem. We aren’t making enough time to stop and really think about what we’re saying to each other.”

“Mm.” You let the conversation naturally taper before following Senior to his golf cart. The rolling hills provided enough scenery to keep you interested while you sorted the words in your head.

“I think we may have started off on the wrong foot.” You spoke once the cart came to a full stop. Senior trailed behind in silence, gathering a new club while watching you examine the other golfers in the area.

“You’re rather observant.”

You chuckled and plucked a club from your bag. “I’ve been told. Yahya calls me Eagle Eye when I catch something he’s already talked about ten minutes ago.”

“It’s what his Big Mama used to call his Pop-Pop for the same thing. That man was notoriously late to the punchline.” The nostalgia in Yahya I’s voice caught you off guard though he didn’t see your minor fumble. Something in his retelling appealed to your sense of compassion in a way that you considered long gone when it came to him.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. You have an issue with my presence that we should discuss. Because I can assure you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Bold,” Senior responded with a sarcastic laugh. He gestured to nothing in particular as you squared up to take a swing and nodded. “And direct. Continue.”

You took a moment to hit a line drive toward the green in the distance, using the movement as an outlet for the unexpected nerves churning your stomach. Both of you quietly watch the golf ball for its final resting place before you turned to speak.

“You are extremely hard to please, and it is literally ruining your family. Yahya does everything in his power, and, excuse my French, you don’t seem to give a fuck. Why is that?”

“What makes you think that my love isn’t what makes me push him to be the best that he can? It may not be the fluff and frills you’re used to in your home, but it’s what he needs to get him to his potential.”

“Did it help you?”

Senior mistakenly allowed a quick moment of confusion to take over his features. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“You tell me. When’s the last time you enjoyed a laugh with your family or felt like you could just...be? You’re carrying a weight that is crushing the people around you, and you don’t even see it.”

“You don’t…” Senior caught his words and bottled them behind his lips. He took a deep breath as he approached his golf ball and took a half-hearted swing. Noticing his misstep, he shook his head. “I’m from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My father, Yahya’s Pop-Pop, moved my mother and me to a shotgun shack to find work when things weren’t quite shaking out back home. He was in and out of trouble and such. Couldn’t get right, but he had a natural knack for building and design.”

A nearby group of golfers erupted into laughter, helping to break up some tension.

“So architecture’s been in the family for a while,” you asked. Yahya I curled the corner of his lips into a far-off smile.

“A long, long time. It got us out of that shack when my siblings came along and into a house with our own rooms and a backyard. But, my father was a hard man. Hard to please, you know,” he laughed, making a reference to your earlier words. “He wanted the best from me, and he made damn sure he got it. I needed that to get my head out of the clouds.”

“You also needed some reassurance.”

“Perhaps. But, what’s done is done. I look at what I’ve built with no complaints, especially when it comes to my boys. I couldn’t be more proud of the men they’ve become.”

Senior’s proud smile almost looked foreign on his face. You’d never seen more than an indifferent expression or the slight twinge of anger smoldering behind his eyes.

Leaning on your club, you kept your eyes forward to gaze out over the course.

“Yahya would love to hear that. I don’t know if you know this, but he is desperately searching for your approval. There is not enough praise from me or anyone else that could replace knowing that you’re proud of him. Yet, as much as he would like to tell you these things himself, he’s afraid that you’ll think less of him for being vulnerable.”

“I could never think less of the boy. Tough love is still love.”

“Maybe for you,” you added, shrugging. “But, what good is continuing this cycle if it’s hurting the children you claim to love and the grandchildren after them?”

Senior dropped his head in thought before looking up with an unreadable expression. “Deuce will be fine. He’s all the best parts of his mother. I...I’m confident he’ll figure out fatherhood on his own despite my shortcomings. We raised him well.”

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping -”

“That has never stopped you before, young lady.” His light-hearted chuckle invited you to follow suit.

“Fair point,” you laughed. “So, let me cut to the chase. Allowing Yahya to just ‘figure things out’ is a passive existence. Yahya says you’re constantly reminding him to take things into his own hands. Sounds like you should take your own advice. Be the parts of your father that you needed at 33.”

Instead of acknowledging your advice, Senior twirled his club in his hand on the way to the golf cart. He maintained an impenetrable poker face that even the most skilled readers couldn’t interpret. You silently hoped that at least some of your words had made it through his thick skull, but you chose to let the discussion meet a natural end.

As he started the cart, Senior turned to you and smiled. “How the hell you learn to swing like that? I know it wasn’t in Anderson.”

“Hey, we play a little golf here and there!”

“Where? Out in the woods?”

“No, out in the Bayou like you did.”

A small smirk crept across your face as Yahya I chuckled at your joke. He sounded identical to Yahya, full of mirth and beautiful melodies.

“The ole Bayou,” he repeated in a thick accent. “You ain’t seen a place more beautiful in your life.”

“Maybe Yahya and I could visit one day.”

He quickly looked over and shrugged. “Maybe. For now, you focus on defending this lead. I think I’m getting back into my rhythm.”

Senior couldn’t make a convincing comeback, but he did show glimpses of a softer, more personable disposition. He cracked jokes on occasion and asked questions that turned the conversation from a therapy session to banter between associates. Your mind traveled to the possibility of civil family dinners or vacations during the ride home. Though it seemed silly to create imaginary scenarios after one conversation, you couldn’t help the urge to see a better future.

Your happiness helped you float into your shared apartment, making Yahya smile when he caught a glimpse of your wide grin and short skirt.

“Damn, girl,” he hollered from the couch with Leche cradled in his arms. “If Tiger was out there cheeked up like that, I might’ve paid a little more attention to the golf network.”

“Oh, really?”

Your raised eyebrow made Yahya kiss his teeth once he caught on to the joke. “You know what I meant. Where you been anyway?”

“Oh, I was just out doing a little golfing...with your dad.”

“Right. That was today, huh?”

Even Yahya’s best attempt at feigning interest, his question came out in a flat drone typically used on annoying coworkers. You dropped your purse and keys against a nearby barstool on the way to his spot on the couch.

“It was today. I think we had a good time,” you answered as you slid your arms around his neck from behind, placing a gentle kiss behind his ear. “He didn’t yell at me.”

“You must’ve kissed his ass the entire time.”

“No. We talked about how great I am at golf. I mean, I kicked his ass.”

“Good on you, baby girl. Bring honor to our house.” In a surprise maneuver, Yahya pulled you over the couch and into the space beside him. “Is that all?”

Silence blanketed the room, allowing the college basketball game in the background to have center stage. You considered your options carefully, weighing the pros of a potential argument against a peaceful Saturday indoors. Yahya turned his attention back to the television as he waited for a response.

“Did you hear me, baby? He didn’t say anything rude to you, did he?”

“No!” You blurted. Taking a deep breath, you slowly slid the remote off the coffee table and pressed the power button. Yahya blinked twice at his reflection on the black television screen before turning to you for answers. Your fingers danced across his thighs to interlock with his long digits.

“I think...I think we need to have a real talk about your dad.”

----

A/N: I hope this is better late than never. Only two more chapters left! Really striving to have those to y’all by the end of the month.

Let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged!

@earthformelanin @mufasathatniggatho @hidden-treasures21@justanotherloveaffair @jozigrrl @essaysbyciara @chaneajoyyy@determinednot2fall @honey-lamb-k @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @walkrightuptothesun @ghostfacekill-monger @trillistb@shaekingshitup @purplehairgawdess @xo-goldengirl@steampunkprincess147 @twistedcharismaaa @fandomfavesss@bugngiz @lifelover4u @ljstraightnochaser @l-auteuse @itsjustyazz@energy-innerg @lahuttor @sagittariusroyalty@chrisgalore @grandadchadwick​ @blowmymbackout​@supersizemeplz​ @just-peachee​ @itskikilove​ @eyeknowmywrites​ @aanairb​ @blackburnbook​ @leahnicole1219​ @lovedersha​ @cant-decide-at-this-moment​ @jasmindaughteroftheworld​

[whumprincess]

Dark Timeline: Burnt Sugar

Word Count: 2361 words

CW: Lady/Female Whumpee, Catgirl Whumpee, Cruel Whumper, Fantasy Whump, Dehumanization, Healing, Branding, Slapping, Swearing, Corrupted Friend, Reference to previous torture (declawing)

The moment Sugar’s hands were freed from her shackles, Eri’s fingers were already firmly wrapped around her frail wrist. 

“LET GO OF ME!” Her voice was shrill as she wildly tried to pull away from her captor, but it was to no avail. He was several feet taller than her, not to mention much stronger. There was a time when she could have bested him using her claws and magic, however even in his arrogance, the king knew this. All it took was for her to land one scratch on his pretty cheek during her capture for him to call for her declawing. After that an anti-magic collar was locked around her neck, effectively taking away her last form of defense. She felt weak, but she would be damned if she just let him do what he wanted!    

Eri’s gaze remained fixed ahead of him as he simply tightened his grasp and jerked the tabaxi along behind him. Each step he took lead them closer to a table on the other side of the dungeon. When he was close enough, he threw her onto the floor with an annoyed huff. He knew better than to under-estimate her agility and gingerly began securing straps around her wrists. This girl didn’t know what was good for her. If she just behaved he wouldn’t be pushed to such extreme measures. Even now, knowing resisting him was futile she continued to defy him. He wished she would use common sense and obey, but part of him knew that was optimistic. After all, even when they travelled together as adventurers, she always did act like a dumb animal.

“You bring this on yourself.” He stated coldly before standing up straight.

She clumsily failed to catch herself on her mutilated hands as she was tossed against the concrete. The impact aggravated her countless other injuries causing her to let out a sharp hiss. She attempted to scramble to her feet, but by then she was already fastened in place, forcing her to maintain her position on her knees.

“Fuck you, Eri-!” She was cut off by a harsh backhand.

“It’s been months and you still haven’t learned to call me Your Majesty.”

“Because that’s stupid!” Another slap on the same cheek and she could already feel the tender beginnings of a bruise.

“You haven’t learned your place…” He slowly started to make his way towards a nearby fireplace.

Her eyes widened when she noticed he wasn’t reaching for the fire poker, his usual weapon of choice.

“I’ve been too lenient with you.” His red eyes burned with malice as he held up a brand. “I’ve let you think you’re human for too long…” He set the rod down on the floor, ensuring the tip was resting in the flames, before making his way back over to the half-feline. “You really were always more like a pet…” He gave her long, snow-white hair a slow, deliberate stroke before crouching down and flicking the bell hanging off her collar, “…right down to always wearing bells all the time.”

“SHUT UP!” Her fangs snapped at Eri’s fingers, but he pulled away just in time. The other side of her face pricked as she sustained yet another smack.  

“Keep that up and I won’t let you speak at all.”

Sugar’s heart skipped a beat at the threat. For about the first month of her imprisonment she was forced to wear a gag to prevent her from spellcasting. As humiliating as her collar was, the day she received it was also the day she was permitted to speak freely again. Everything about this Eri was unfair! Back when they were in the same party, he might’ve been egotistical and pompous, but not cruel… never cruel!

“Come on Eri, this isn’t you!” She tried to appeal to her friend, but he was nowhere to be found as he turned his back to her.

“Of course it’s me!” He violently seized the prepared brand and stomped his way back to the pathetic girl. He held the scorching hot metal just above her right hand, delaying the agony. He couldn’t help but derive satisfaction from the way her entire body writhed to move away from him; the way she uselessly pulled back her wrists over and over again, serving nothing other than to make them raw and red against her restraints; the way her mismatched blue and grey eyes begged him for mercy without a hint of defiance. Yes, this was how it was meant to be, he was certain of it. He was superior to her in every way and if she was capable of this level of fear he could train her to never leave his side. “And this is you.”

A mangled screech escaped Sugar’s throat as her entire body began to convulse. The tears she had tried to hold back spilled onto her face, stinging her already sore cheeks. She was reduced to a wreck of incomprehensible sobs as she tried to withdraw her abused hand, only managing to burn a different area.

“Tsk, that won’t do.” Eri lifted the metal off her skin and leaned down to inspect the now imperfect feather design. “You’ve ruined it, what do you have to say for yourself?” He stared at her severely, but it was no use. She was too caught up in the pain to even hear him. “Inexcusable.” He exhaled before putting his hand on top of her burned one.

In an instant, there was a cool, soothing sensation washing over her singed skin. Her tears turned from ones of pain to those of relief as she opened her eyes to look at Eri. She gave him a small, hopeful smile; thankful that he returned to his senses.

“I said, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“H-Huh?”

“The brand, you ruined it.”

“I… W-what?” She looked down to her hand, noticing that the mark had vanished. “I-It’s…”

“Yes, I’ve removed it because you refused to stay still.”

“I- I don’t get it…”

Eri sighed before grabbing the brand again and bringing it back to the fireplace to reheat. “Of course you don’t, you stupid cat.” He tapped his boot impatiently, “You do realize it needs to be perfect, don’t you?”

She blinked in confusion before frantically shaking her head, “N-No! I-I don’t need it at all!”

“Of course you do!” he growled. “How else will you remember you’re my pet?”

“Eri, that’s crazy!”

Outraged by her continued insubordination, he hastily returned the reignited brand to her flesh. Her screams echoed throughout the chamber as he pressed the metal down firmer than before. Even amidst her struggling her hand was pinned to the table; he would not permit her to spoil his handiwork again. This time he was irritated with all her racket, she always had to make so much damn noise. There was no way she wasn’t over-reacting, of course she wanted to make him feel guilty for doing what’s necessary, when it should be her apologizing for making everything so difficult!

Recklessly he tossed aside the brand in order to appraise his results. He roughly grabbed her hand and turned it in all directions, “This one’s crooked!”

The explosion of heat that was reintroduced to her hand was worse than before as it was compounded with the crushing pressure of unrelenting iron. She choked on her own tears, unable to voice any of the pleading thoughts racing through her head. His careless fingers pulled her blistering skin in such a way she thought it might fall off. She could do nothing but howl for an unforgiving king and lost friend.

She knew better than to trust the comfort that soon followed this torment, but she tried to leverage her opportunity nonetheless. “P-please…” She whispered, not fully recovered yet, “N-no more…”

“It’s too late for that.” He sneered, already preparing to repeat the process. “I can’t trust you.”

“B-But you can!” She exclaimed, eager to try and convince him. “I-I want to help you! I want nothing more than-” She cut herself off… asking for her friend back would only make him angrier, but she knew he was in there somewhere! “Than for you to be okay!”

“I AM MORE THAN OKAY!” He bellowed, leaving the tool in the fire while he grabbed a fistful of her hair. Effortlessly, he wrenched her gaze upwards, “I am the King- your King! I have everything I have ever wanted! It’s you- you’re my problem!”

She couldn’t stop tears from forming as she stared at a face so contorted by rage, she could barely recognize it. “Then w-why…” She paused to find her voice. “Why do you keep me around?! It’s not worth it! Just let me go!”

“You’re right.” He unhanded her with a look of disgust before seizing the brand for a third time. He rotated it slowly in his grip. “You’re not worth it…”

Eri approached with a calculating precision that was somehow more terrifying than his unbridled ire. With each of his excruciatingly slow steps, she couldn’t help but try to pull her hands away. She hated the small whimpers that fell out of her mouth with each fraught attempt; the rough leather of her bonds only biting harder into her already aching wrists. By the time he was looming over her, she shut her eyes, forcing tears out as she anticipated pain. However, a deceptively gentle finger urged her chin upwards. Against, her better judgement, she listened to the persistent song of hope lulling her that she would see a familiar companion. She was filled with regret when the only thing glowing hotter than the metal in his hands was the wickedness in his eyes.

“…yet.” He took his time lowering the brand to the back of her hand, finding the way she squirmed both amusing and curious. As much as he enjoyed witnessing her show of fear, did he not make himself clear that the mark needed to be flawless? Something wasn’t getting through to her… That’s when he realized: if he were dealing with any intelligent person they would hold still, but that wasn’t the case with this poor creature. Abruptly changing his course of action, he held the metal up to her face, “Ruin this one and I’ll brand your cheek instead.”

The stern threat coupled with the overwhelming stench of iron made her nauseous and lightheaded. She reflexively pulled back to escape the heat wafting onto her already hot cheek and whined when it chased after her.  

“Understand?”

His condescending question made her want nothing more than to mess up this stupid design, so he would be wasting his precious kingly time. Her spite must’ve been apparent though, because before she knew it, she could feel her skin start to burn from the proximity of the brand.

“Understand?”  

Unable to contain her panic, she acknowledged him with a feverish, “M-mhm!” Eri was never one to back down on his word and this version of him wasn’t partial to providing mercy, as evident by her missing knuckles.

“Good.” He removed the weapon and reached out towards her with his free hand. Her flinching made him chuckle as he tenderly caressed the soft fur of her leopard ears. Letting his touch wander, he twirled a lock of her hair around his index finger. He was very much enjoying this moment of obedience; that was until he noticed her scowl. He gave a heavy sigh… still so much work to be done. “Now then, pet…” He firmly reminded the tabaxi of her place as he drew back, her strands of hair gracefully tumbling off him. “Hold still for your King.”

Sugar shot him a hateful glare as she tried to still her quivering hands. The healing he provided after the previous couple attempts made it possible for her to remain conscious, but her body remembered the impending anguish. She pushed down as hard as she could against the table, bracing for impact. Her frenzied heartbeat rang throughout her ears as the white-hot iron dangled above her awaiting flesh.

“Ready?”

“Fuck you, Eri.”

He brought down the brand with the entirety of his wrath and she wailed with the entirety of her grief. Her stomach churned from the weight of it all as a rush of wooziness promised to take away the scalding pain. Noticing her skin pale the king viciously pulled at her tresses.

“Your Majesty.”

Sugar could only respond with despairing cries as her eyelids fluttered open.

“Say it.”

The hellfire searing deep into her skin urged her to speak. It dragged those revolting words from the bottom of her strained throat to the tip of her tongue. Among her weeping she hoarsely begged, “Y-Your M-majesty…”

“Louder!”

The bones in her hands began to crack as he applied more force with his demand. “YOUR MAJESTY!” Her desperation filled the room as she looked up at him with flooded eyes.

“Better.” He haphazardly threw aside the brand while roughly releasing his hold on her hair. He leaned down to examine his latest work, but her persistent trembling was interfering. “I told you to hold still.”

Sugar gasped for breath through her uncontrollable sobbing. She tried with every ounce of her power to cease shaking, but only managed to further upset herself when she was unsuccessful. “I-I c-can’t!”

“Useless.” Eri remarked, immobilizing her hand by trapping her fingers underneath his palm against the table. He scrutinized the feather pattern and, despite her incessant bawling, managed to reach a conclusion, “It’s perfect”. He stood up to regard the suffering girl with distain, “Now you won’t forget who owns you.”

She wanted nothing more than to tell him she would never be his no matter what he did to her, but her wrecked body wouldn’t allow it. Every time she attempted, nothing but sputters came out. Through hazy vision she watched as Eri gave her one final scowl before turning to leave the dungeon. Exhaustion prevented her from trying to get the last word in as her heavy lids began to close. “I won’t lose…” she told herself as she rested her head on the table keeping her bound.

[prayedtoyou]

congrats on 100!! my prompt is destiel, accidental marriage + wingfic, up to you whether you want explicit or not ^^

thank you for the request, anon!! here you go ~

marriage: take one (ao3)

Dean wakes with the worst headache he’s ever experienced. He’s pretty damn sure it didn’t hurt this much when he was clawed to shreds by hellhounds or when he crawled out of hell or the numerous times he’s been shot, stabbed, electrocuted, knocked out, and killed. His entire skull is throbbing like his brain is still throwing a rager as wild as the night before.

The night before, of course, is almost a complete blackout. It was Sam’s brilliant fucking idea to vacation in Vegas during a lull in monster hunting and while Dean had been a little on the fence about it, Cas was on board, telling the brothers he needed lessons in gambling. Dean figured, what the hell, and packed up to drive them all the way there. And now, he is filled with nothing but pain and regret.

He hasn’t even opened his eyes yet and it’s still way too bright for his head to tolerate. He has no idea where he is, but he’s fairly sure he’s naked and laying on a lumpy mattress with rough sheets and a thick comforter covering him just from neck to waist. Motel, his brain supplies him with. You’re in a motel.

That would make sense, except Sam wanted to splurge on a four star hotel because we’re vacationing, Dean, live a little. They got a 1,300 square foot suite with three bedrooms on the 26th floor of a casino hotel. Their beds were queen size pillow-top mattresses with towels folded into swans and their mini-fridge was filled with alcohol and there is absolutely no reason why he should be on a lumpy bed with scratchy sheets and listening to an AC cough and whir out half-warm air.

There’s movement on the bed. Fuck, of course, he probably found some broad and wanted to get her alone and checked in to some dingy room for the night when he should have been spending time with his brother and . . . best friend. Who he wanted to talk to about not being best friends anymore.

Or, rather, still being best friends, but more in the I love you and want to kiss you way.

He’s gotta find Cas. Who knows who the hell he hooked up with and whether or not Cas knows about it. He doesn’t want to give him the wrong idea right before confessing to years of repressed pining. He didn’t want to hook up with anyone last night, less it be Cas himself. He remembers the beginning of the night starting out at the casino downstairs from their hotel suite and teaching Cas how to play Texas hold ‘em and laughing at Cas for not understanding what a poker face was and telling Dean that cheating and lying were wrong. Dean moved Cas on to the slots and spent more time staring at his profile from the machine next to him than actually pulling the lever.

He had this whole plan. Show Cas a good time on their first night in the city, get drunk and win a little money, and then go to breakfast the next morning for Bloody Mary’s and maybe a long conversation about their relationship. He did not plan to bang a rando.

He probably didn’t even bang her. He was definitely too drunk last night, there’s no way he could have gotten it up. Not that it would matter if Cas found out. How could he even explain that? Yeah, I’m totally in love with you, nevermind that faceless girl I hooked up with last night. But don’t worry, I had whiskey dick so we probably didn’t have sex.

That conversation is going to go super well.

The body next to his rustles around a little more and groans low. Really low. Like, lower than most guys he knows. Something tickles against Dean’s neck.

“Dean?” the body rasps, followed by a short coughing fit.

Oh shit.

Oh shit.

That is not just some girl or a random body. That’s Cas next to him in bed. Angel of the fucking Lord, Cas.

Dean squints his eyes open and scratches at his neck. He’s hotter than hell, no doubt sweating out everything he drank last night thanks to the broken AC and the July heat and that heavy as hell blanket over him.

“Cas?” The light is becoming a little more bearable but his sight is blurry. The blanket is black as the night and Dean spots Cas’s dark head of hair poking out from under it. “What the hell happened last night?”

Cas shifts and his face becomes visible. He’s squinting even harder than usual. “I . . . I don’t know. I just remember drinking and—” His brows furrow. “You told me something. It was important. Why can’t I remember?”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Dean did not want to tell Cas while he was drunk for many reasons, but this one being numero uno. He doesn’t know what he said or how Cas responded or what was decided.

But you woke up with him, didn’t you?

Dean rubs his eyes long and hard, like maybe that will bring back the memories. “That’s what alcohol does, it makes you forget.”

Cas pauses, and then the blanket is pulled up. “Dean, we don’t have any clothes on.”

He shouldn’t, but he pulls his hand away from his eyes to peak one open. Lo and behold, Cas is also wearing a birthday suit. Mostly everything is hidden, save for the curve of his ass. He’s a belly sleeper, of course he is.

And to top it all off, that black blanket that was tickling his neck is less blanket and more wings. Sharp yet soft dark feathers that move and breathe with Cas, hot and heavy and huge. He reaches up to run his fingers through the fluff in front of his face.

A small sound escapes Cas’s mouth. Not quite a moan, but louder than a sigh. Dean glances at him.

“They must have come out last night,” Cas explains. “It takes a great deal of effort to keep them hidden and sometimes, when I lose control, they appear.”

That sort of makes sense. Cas almost looks embarrassed about it.

“Did we . . . last night?”

Cas blinks a few times. “I don’t think so. It’s to my knowledge that humans have difficulty maintaining an erection and achieving orgasm while intoxicated. But it looks as if we may have . . . tried.”

“Fuck,” Dean whispers. He scrubs a hand down his face.

Cas’s face drops from confused to emotionless. “I understand this is not ideal.” His voice is hard as he avoids Dean’s eyes. “I’ll get dressed.”

Cas pulls himself up and  sits at the edge of the bed, his wings folding up and around his body like he’s trying to hide. His wings are massive, no doubt they could take up the entire room if he spread them out. Still, he looks so small and fragile.

“Cas . . .” Dean reaches out to the hand closest to him and grasps it. Cas tries to shake off his hand, but Dean tightens his grip to get his attention. “That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s fine, Dean.” Cas reaches over with his left hand to remove Dean’s hold on him and stops. Stares at their hands for a long moment. Tilts his head.

“Cas?”

Cas looks back at Dean, eyes wide, and holds up his left hand. A thin silver band is attached to his ring finger.

“I think we got married.”

+ + +

Sam found the incident hilarious. When Dean and Cas located most of their clothes (Cas was still missing a sock and Dean had lost his watch somewhere along the way) and Cas regained enough composure to put his wings away, they awkwardly made their way back to the hotel room and told Sam the news. Sam had laughed about it for nearly five minutes straight. Dean had gone red in the face and locked himself in his room for the rest of the day.

Cas didn’t take it so well. Dean had barely spoken to him since he announced their new marriage status and avoided him as much as possible. Even when they got back to the bunker, Dean spent most of his time either chasing anything that smelled even remotely like a hunt or keeping to himself in his room.

Not that Cas didn’t try. They might never know what happened that night in Vegas, but Cas would be damned if they didn’t at least talk about it. Most of his attempts were met with grunts or shakes of the head.

He didn’t want to ask Dean if he wants an annulment but he didn’t want to stay legally married to someone who won’t talk to him. He had waited for the day that he and Dean might become something more, and now that they are way more than Cas ever dreamed of, Dean wants nothing to do with him.

So he waited. He was patient and kind whenever he saw Dean. He spent a lot of time in the kitchen and library because Dean was bound to pass through one of those rooms at least daily. Instead of talking about what happened, he asked Dean how he slept, if he was having a good day, what he was cooking.

Dean’s grunts turned into actual answers after a few days. He still couldn't hold a whole conversion, but he started meeting Cas’s eyes. Sometimes he would look down at the ring Cas hadn’t taken off yet.

Dean catches Cas in the hallway sometime after midnight about two weeks after returning home. Cas is freshly showered, still in a robe and slippers, hair damp.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been talking to you,” Dean says. “This whole thing has just been really . . . confusing. I just needed time to think.”

Cas isn’t sure how to respond, so he nods instead. The only thing he’s been confused about is the way Dean distanced himself afterward. His feelings for Dean haven’t changed.

“I was really hoping that when we finally got together, we could actually remember it and it wouldn’t feel like such a mistake.”

The word squeezes Cas’s heart tight. “Was it? A mistake?”

Dean’s hand finds Cas’s, and he runs his thumb over the ring. “More like a happy accident.”

Cas tilts his head. He was under the impression that ‘happy accidents’ are what people call their unplanned pregnancies.

“Sure, it didn’t happen the way that we wanted and we can’t remember anything, but I’ve been in love with you for years. I was planning on telling you while we were in Vegas so that maybe we could be more than just friends.”

Cas’s eyes widened at the idea. With the way Dean had been acting since their accidental marriage, he figured that Dean regretted the whole ordeal. He figured Dean wanted to undo it and forget it ever happened. There’s a phrase Dean had said to him right when they passed the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign: What happens here, stays here, got it?

“Mission accomplished, I guess,” Dean awkwardly chuckles. He rubs at the back of his neck. “If it were up to me, I’d say let’s just stay married. But that’s just what I want. What do you want, Cas?”

What the hell does he want? He wants everything. He wants the boyfriend experience and the date nights and the tangle of limbs and the cooking breakfast together. He wants to ask Dean to marry him with a grand gesture that they’ll both tell strangers about for years to come. He wants to marry Dean in a suit with their friends and family and take pictures to hang on the walls of the bunker. He wants to do everything right.

He’s not sure how to articulate all of that to Dean, so he takes it one step at a time. First order of business: “I want a divorce.”

Dean’s face falls. He pulls his hand away from Cas’s gently and stares at Cas’s shoulder instead of meeting his eyes. “Right. Okay, we can . . . do that.”

Dean’s getting the wrong idea. That’s not what Cas intended. He steps forward and pulls Dean’s chin down just enough to press their mouths together. Dean hesitates before kissing him back, but when he does, it’s more than Cas ever imagined.

This is what he wants. This first kiss, their first date, their first time in bed. He’s sure they did those things in Vegas, or some drunken version of them, but he wants them for real. He knows they did those things, but he wants to experience them for the first time and remember for the rest of his life.

He pulls away to look at the surprise in Dean’s expression. “I want a divorce. And then I want to marry you all over again.”

tag list ~

@sweatercas @queenvee08 @curly-cue-scamp @cottondean @flowersforcas @letsgobethegoodguys @sorrycas

[jasonbehrs]

i wanna read every word, chapter 3 + epilogue

by airauralintensity (aka me, jasonbehrs!)

“Have you ever fallen in love with someone you’ve never met?” “Uh, do you mean like we’ve-been-doing-long-distance-slash-online-dating or like I’ve-been-crushing-on-the-cute-barista-at-the-library-cafe?” “Ummm, more like I’ve-read-their-poems-and-sure-they’re-very-talented-but-their-handwriting-alone-makes-me-smile.” “… That’s oddly specific.”

fandom: kpop, super junior characters: eunhyuk, ryeowook; guest appearances by the rest of sj-m and yesung ship: eunwook genre: romantic comedy themes: alternate endings, strangers to lovers, handwriting, identity reveal setting: college chapter: 3+4/4 word count: 5.8k

read it below or on ffnet, aff, wattpad

~~~

He and Ryeowook haven't hung out alone before, but he's sure this won't be awkward. Their only real link may have just been Yesung, but Hyukjae likes to think he successfully ingrained himself into that entire friend group in time. He tells himself that he and Ryeowook would have had a solo hangout at some point. Ryeowook's crush situation just expedited it.

They had agreed to meet at the quad but didn't specify anything beyond that, so Hyukjae chooses a bench with high visibility so that Ryeowook could find him easily. He crosses his legs and balances a laptop over one knee and a notebook over the other, figuring he could get some work in while waiting.

Not long after, the other plops himself right next to him and pulls out his own work without even saying hi.

Hyukjae keeps his face down as he smiles to himself. So Ryeowook's feeling just as apprehensive about this as he is.

Something about that realisation makes him brave enough to break the ice. "Ah, my favourite person under 5'2". How do you do?" he snarks without pausing his typing.

In response, Ryeowook uses a single finger to tip Hyukjae's notebook onto the ground without remorse.

"Okay, I deserved that," Hyukjae admits with a chuckle as he bends to pick the notebook off the ground and put it away. "So… did you bring one of the love notes?" he asks once it's apparent they didn't really have anything else yet to talk about aside from that.

"Of course!" Ryeowook rummages through his bag and pulls out what Hyukjae can only presume is the poem scrapbook he's heard the others talk about.

"Um, is there a problem?" Hyukjae asks as he eyes how Ryeowook holds the book to his chest with both hands, making no move to hand it over.

After a long moment, Ryeowook looks at him with hard eyes and a blush on his cheek. "You have to promise me you'll be careful with it. Like, if you want to look at one more closely, then tell me, and I'll take it out for you. Actually, you'll have to clean your hands first, too; I'm worried about oils. I'm pretty sure I have wet cloths somewhere in this bag…"

Hyukjae has heard the others call the scrapbook "a little extra." He privately agrees, but seeing the way Ryeowook is so protective over the thing makes him think perhaps Ryeowook himself is, in fact, a lot of extra.

He wisely leaves those thoughts unvoiced and instead motions for Ryeowook to hurry up. The other hesitantly hands over the book, and Hyukjae makes a big show of settling it calmly on his lap.

It would have been funnier if Ryeowook hadn't legitimately sighed with relief at his action.

Hyukjae lets it go; and with more interest than he expected from himself, he opens to the first page.

"Where did you get these?!" he yelps before he could help it.

"What? Why are you yelling? What!?"

Hyukjae can only distantly hear the other, however, as he is far more preoccupied with the absolute whiplash of recognising his own handwriting in the scrapbook. Page after page is filled with his rejected songwriting assignments, now forever immortalised thanks to Ryeowook's tender care.

Ryeowook flicks him in the forehead, and he struggles to collect himself. "Um, I mean. Um. Wow! This looks like an impressive collection," he stutters out awkwardly. "And, uh, actually! I don't think you ever told me the whole story?" he blabbers, knowing full well he actually has heard the whole story but needing to redirect Ryeowook's attention towards anything other than him right now.

So he sits there and lets Ryeowook gush over Poem Person, identifying that he is slightly uncomfortable with the knowledge that said person is actually him.

Sassy, doting, health-nut Ryeowook is wistfully waxing poetic over him, over his words, over his handwriting (a concept so baffling he actually has to stifle a chuckle in real life lest he hint to Ryeowook he is not actually paying attention).

He nods absentmindedly and offers encouraging smiles at what he hopes at the right places, but his mind is more concerned with figuring out: What the fuck is he gonna do?

~I think I must be broken somewhere. Since when did I start not welcoming even myself?~

The answer, apparently, is string Ryeowook along.

Ryeowook may have initially been hesitant about getting Hyukjae's help; but now that he has it, he has bolstered his efforts to track down and meet Poem Person. Hyukjae is astounded at his forward and creative ideas, stuff like signing up to audit the class one day or even straight up coveringthe chair in chalk so that he could easily spot the person walking around campus.

"Honestly, I need a sidekick, someone to help me pull these things off," Ryeowook explains one day while they're brainstorming over lunch.

Well, Ryeowook's brainstorming.

"I'm also kinda hoping you'll be close enough to the student to act like a wingman when we finally do meet. First impressions are everything, you know."

Hyukjae, for his part, is busy trying to maintain his poker face.

He didn't come clean to Ryeowook in the quad that day because he didn't want the awkwardness. Hyukjae was not mentally ready to hear that his brand new friend had been harbouring a crush on and had been engaging in borderline-stalker behaviour over little ol' him, and he suspects Ryeowook wouldn't have taken the news very well in the moment either.

Now though, he's just trying to maintain the status quo.

It's no secret that Ryeowook had built up an idea of what Poem Person is like in his head. What's the harm in letting him have a little crush on a figment of his imagination?

So yes, he continues to plot with Ryeowook, he continues to bother Donghae by tossing scrap assignments at him in class, he continues the whole ruse.

The harm, as Hyukjae is quick to discover, is that he grossly miscalculated the effect the lie would have on him.

It starts with a text.

Are we still on for tomorrow at 2?

yep. the student union still good?

Yep, see ya there

"Who are you texting?" Siwon asks as he plops beside Hyukjae on their apartment couch, his attention mostly trained on his own phone.

"Huh? Oh, just Ryeowook. I told you about him; I'm helping him meet this guy he has a crush on."

Siwon raises an eyebrow but doesn't look up from his phone. "Oh? You were smiling at that phone like someone agreed to go on a date with you."

Hyukjae stiffens. "I was not."

That makes Siwon look up. Hyukjae valiantly meets his gaze, but he breaks eye contact just a moment later.

"... Right."

Curiously, fear follows shortly after.

Hyukjae doesn't even notice it at first. It was too subtle compared to the overwhelming confidence he gets from being around Ryeowook. With the way the other talks about him, to him, without knowing it's him… it's a heady feeling. (Case in point: The day before a modern dance midterm, Ryeowook texted him a photo of a recent Hyukjae original along with a copious amount of heart-eye emojis, and Hyukjae felt so energised that his professor pulled him to the side after his performance and concernedly asked him point-blank if he had started taking steroids.)

Ryeowook doesn't just see the best in him. He guesses at Hyukjae's flaws and turns them into superpowers. He paints an image of Hyukjae in colours that he wasn't even aware existed. It's an instant ego boost.

It isn't long, however, until Hyukjae stops hearing musings and starts hearing expectations. Ryeowook believes in a vibrant, exciting, romantic persona; someone smart and adventurous who can enable him to be as silly as he has the potential to be.

Since when was Hyukjae any of those things?

He isn't afraid of Ryeowook's wrath when the jig is eventually up, no. Wrath he could handle; wrath he deserves. Instead, he is afraid of the disappointment, the unimpressed "Oh." that Ryeowook couldn't help but let slip once he processes the truth. Hyukjae wouldn't be able to handle seeing the light in Ryeowook's eyes—the light that used to be reserved for him even if the other didn't know it—dim.

And finally comes realisation.

"Don't you think you're being a little unfair?" Hyukjae asks him one evening. They got to-go meals from the dining hall and moved as far west as they could without leaving the campus entirely. The sun is due to set any minute now, and they wanted the best seats possible.

"What do you mean?" Ryeowook asks with furrowed brows still trained on the skyline.

"You've spent so much time thinking about this guy, analysing his mood and habits and whatever. You'll meet him for the first time, but it won't really be the first time for you, you know? You'll know all this stuff about him already whereas you're a complete stranger to him. That's gotta be, like, a power imbalance or something, right? That's not fair to either of you. You've mentioned before that you don't necessarily want to date Poem Person, but that's not even a good basis for being friends with him."

Ryeowook glances at him from the corner of his eye and smirks. "If Mi were here, he'd have a lot to say right now."

Hyukjae chuckles as he lets the other change the subject. "He'd actually have only one thing to say, and I don't want to hear it."

Ryeowook hums but doesn't say anything else, attention still mostly on the sun's slow descent to the horizon. Hyukjae would have liked an answer, but he gets it. He just sprung all that on the other without any preamble, and Ryeowook probably needs time to think. Hyukjae isn't entirely sure what he wanted to hear anyway.

Ryeowook doesn't speak again until the sky finally begins to bleed red, a threatening promise for the end of the day. "You have a point, of course. I'll constantly be comparing the person he is to the person I made him out to be, even when I don't mean to, but… Something tells me that won't matter as much in the long run." He chuckles, low and with disbelief. "I couldn't tell you why; but I feel like even if I told him the whole story, even if the first things I ever say to him are the questionable antics I've engaged in just to meet him, he wouldn't run away."

And he would be right, of course. Look at where Hyukjae is now.

"You're thinking too highly of him," Hyukjae says. He means it as a way to distract from the mortifying ordeal of being known, but it comes out bitter without his permission.

Ryeowook smirks. "Is that what this is about? Are you jealous? Ooooh, are you lonely?" he teases. "Don't worry, I pay back my debts. Just tell me as soon as someone catches your attention. I can't promise forever, but I can promise a first date, for sure." He winks.

There is a long moment between when the sky finally turns black and when the streetlights flicker to life, one conveniently spotlighting the pair with its glow. It mocks Hyukjae with its inevitability.

~This night blesses the day we meet. The moon is open in the sky, and the stars smile.~

"Hyung, I'm bored."

"Okay."

"Entertain me."

"In a minute, I'm reading something for class."

"What's it about?"

"The cultural impact of Black youth on the interfaces of music and body expression in early 1970s New York City."

He appreciates Ryeowook's offer to swing by and keep him company while he studies in one of the many lounges strewn about academic campus, but he'd appreciate it a lot more if Ryeowook would actually let him study.

Ryeowook blinks. "I understood all of those words individually."

Hyukjae drags a hand down his tired face. "I'm basically in the same boat, so please? I'll do whatever you wanna do as long as I can make it to the third page of this article today. I really need to participate in tomorrow's seminar or else I'll have to take a make-up quiz."

"Fiiine," Ryeowook whines, but he thankfully starts scrolling through his phone in silence.

After a few minutes of quality reading, Hyukjae hears Ryeowook rummaging around, so he languidly raises his eyes to see how the other is choosing to preoccupy himself.

He shoots up out of his seat, barely taking the time to set his laptop down properly in his haste. "What are you doing with that!"

Ryeowook looks up from where he is crouched besides Hyukjae's open bookbag, holding a notebook in his hand. "Oh, did you need this?"

"For what? No. What?" Hyukjae spouts in rapid fire, thrown-off by how Ryeowook responded to his question with one of his own.

Ryeowook's eyes light up. "Excellent! I thought you needed this for your homework," he comments as he lets himself fall backwards onto his butt. "I was just gonna read your handwriting while I waited. I can't believe I never thought to check yours out before. I've basically gone through everyone else's in the friend group."

Hyukjae could kick himself for letting such a good excuse slip right out of his hands, but the room seems to have gone in slow motion as Ryeowook proceeds to open up the notebook to a random page. Like a man possessed, Hyukjae dives straight for Ryeowook's lap, successfully knocking the notebook out of the other's grasp in the process.

…

"Hi," he says over his shoulder when the silence has gone on for too long. Ryeowook raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

Hyukjae chuckles awkwardly while he manoeuvers himself out of Ryeowook's lap with as much grace as a baby deer on ice. He quickly snatches up his notebook while Ryeowook is still prone and simply observing his movements, and then he doesn't know what to do next.

Ryeowook takes over from here, standing up calmly and striding right into Hyukjae's personal space. Despite having several centimetres on the other, Hyukjae cannot help but feel small under the other's assessing gaze. "There is clearly something in that notebook you don't want me to see."

Hyukjae eyes the room, trying to calculate his odds. "Yes," he hesitantly confirms.

Ryeowook narrows his eyes. "Is it about me?" he asks with an edge to his voice.

"No." The half-truth comes out much quicker, thankfully.

Ryeowook purses his lips then nods. He takes two steps back, and Hyukjae almost does something silly like reach for his waist to keep him nearby. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to let you finish your homework without intruding on your privacy. In return, you'll buy me boba and bring me a notebook I can read the next time we meet."

Hyukjae sighs with relief and readily agrees to those terms.

A few days later, he confidently hands over Siwon's old notebook from their shared Psych 101 class and a medium taro boba.

Ryeowook opens up to the first page then laughs in Hyukjae's face, high and bright. "This is your notebook?" he manages to ask through his cackles. "No wonder you didn't want me seeing it. You must have known I was going to make fun of you."

"Why? Why?" Hyukjae demands, affronted. It may not have been his handwriting, but still.

"It's like your handwriting is Jekyll, and you're Hyde. I look at this, and I don't see you at all."

Hyukjae looks over Ryeowook's shoulder to see what he's working with, and he can't help but agree. Siwon's handwriting is neat, consistent, and in perfect lines straight across the page. Rich kids and their calligraphy classes, dammit.

Nevertheless, he tries to salvage the situation. "Come on, you know I'm a neat person."

Ryeowook snorts, but he nods his head in agreement. "That may be true; but if someone had to write a list of things about you, 'neat' wouldn't even make it in the top 50."

"Can you think of 50 things about me?" Hyukjae teases as he slinks back around to Ryeowook's front, effortlessly plucking the notebook out of the other's hands in the process.

Ryeowook crosses his newly freed arms in front of his chest and smirks. "Yep. 1 would be that you're a brat, and 50 would be that your feet smell."

"Yah! My shoes don't breathe!" Hyukjae whines. "I want 50 nice things," he continues above Ryeowook's snickers.

"Oof, that'll be tough. How about just 5, and you get to pick what movie we watch next?" Ryeowook haggles.

Hyukjae rolls his eyes but agrees. He'll take what he can get.

"1: You're not half-bad at impressions. 2: You like strawberry and chocolate, but only as separate flavours," Ryeowook starts, counting off on his fingers as he goes. "3: You're great at charades. 4: Everybody likes you because 5: you know exactly what to be, do, or say when the situation calls for it. You're not just flexible as a dancer, but as a person, and it's the best thing about you."

Hyukjae doesn't fight the toothy grin that stretches wide across his face. "You think so?"

Ryeowook nods very seriously, but there is an undeniable glimmer in his eyes. "Absolutely. With a lack of other suitable candidates, it's your best quality by default."

~I don't know why you keep staying with me. I lack so much for you, and I'm sorry about that.~

It would be easier to stop being in love with Ryeowook if the other didn't actually seem to value his company and insights.

There are days when they've hung out and talked about anything and everything but the song lyrics, when Ryeowook will bake Hyukjae strawberry scones and give him meaningful feedback on his choreography. They're both witty but in different ways, so they're always cracking up; and in those moments, he can't help but imagine he's already told the truth, that Ryeowook has already accepted him, and that this is what they could look like together.

But then he looks into Ryeowook's eyes and the warmth he sees there burns at a different temperature than the warmth he feels, and Hyukjae is painfully reminded that is not the case.

He can only take so much.

Despite knowing in his gut that it's the absolute wrong call to make, Hyukjae retreats. Stuck between yearning for Ryeowook yet fearing facing him and being frustrated with himself for equivocating on what to do, it's easier to just not do anything at all. He cancels more, begs off group hangouts, throws himself into his dance rehearsals. He even attempts going to the gym once just to keep his mind occupied and off of the problem.

Honestly, life could get better.

As he presses 'ignore' on the nth call he's received from Ryeowook that week, he offhandedly notices that blowing the other off feels way worse than lying in the first place. Let's see him spin that into a positive.

Hyukjae's doing great on his passive, brooding agenda until a few weeks later when he accidentally looks up from where he was perusing just as Henry enters the music library. By virtue of the youngest's classical performance degree, the two of them share the most colleagues and classes of any pair in the group.

He is honestly lucky it took so long.

He offers a stiff nod in acknowledgement and hopes that that's that, but Henry wanders over to his aisle with too much nonchalance to have not been intentional.

He doesn't leave Hyukjae in suspense for too long. "Ryeowook-hyung won't stop baking, you know."

"Huh?" Hyukjae asks dumbly, thrown completely off-guard from the unexpected comment.

"Seriously, he won't stop. You could get drunk off the stench of vanilla extract permanently in the air of the apartment."

Hyukjae realises with regret that he's never had a good opportunity to hang with the group at Ryeowook and Mi's apartment. "Oh. That's good, I guess."

"It would be better if we were allowed to eat any of it," Henry says, flicking through the records in front of him. Hyukjae almost believes it's a fake, idle action, but sometimes Henry nods and writes something down on his phone after inspecting an album.

"Yeah, it would be," Hyukjae offers at last for lack of anything better to say. Despite the stilted and tense atmosphere, he feels compelled to continue the conversation.

Henry nods again, but Hyukjae could tell that's for him. "I think he's saving it for someone that he expects to come by, but who else would come aside from any of us, you know?"

It is unclear if Henry includes Hyukjae in that 'us,' but Hyukjae doesn't dwell on it. Something much more pressing is on his mind. "What kind of stuff is he baking?" he asks, very afraid of the answer.

"He's been experimenting. Caramel chip cookies, cinnamon-lemon cupcakes, strawberry scones… But you know him. It's all low-fat, protein-enhanced flour shit; pretty sure he'd get kicked out of the nutrition program if it weren't," Henry says with a chuckle, but Hyukjae can't bring himself to laugh along.

Those all sound perfectly delicious, and something worse than vanity tells him that that's on purpose. The thought fills Hyukjae with so much more guilt that tears press against his eyes.

"Um, t-thanks, but I gotta—I gotta go," he stutters out through unmoving lips. What it is he's thanking Henry for, he has no clue; but he's far more preoccupied with exiting stage left from this scene as soon as humanly possible. "It was good to see you again," he adds as a reflex, already two steps further down but still facing Henry.

Henry raises his head from the jewel cases just as Hyukjae reaches the end of the aisle, and the slight smile he gives is so loaded with patronisation, pity, and perception that Hyukjae turns on his heel and runs.

~Longing is a beautiful pain I thought I could endure.~

After a whole class of not paying attention to a single minute—instead, wondering if maybe he should just get out with it, all of it: the deception, his feelings—Hyukjae leaves to find Ryeowook waiting right outside the door for him to exit.

"You don't normally get up this early," he comments in surprise, walking up to the other before he could help himself.

Ryeowook shrugs. "Well, I needed to talk to you, and I realised I didn't know enough about you. I don't know where you live, where you normally like to hang out; all I knew for sure is that you had class in this room at this time, so… Anyway, can we talk?"

Hyukjae's immediate instinct is to come up with an excuse, any excuse—he spent a whole class thinking about what he would do next time he faced Ryeowook but still hadn't settled on an answer—but Ryeowook reads his hesitation for what it is and makes the decision for him.

"Actually, we're going to talk whether you want to or not! Starting with: why have you been avoiding the group, avoiding me!" he yells. Hyukjae winces from Ryeowook's harsh words and high tone but can't bring himself to say or do anything more to stop the tirade. He's in no position to ask for leniency.

"I turned it over and over in my head, and I realised: I didn't even do anything! Are you mad at me because I didn't take enough time to get to know you? Are you tired of helping me? Why are you—you should have used your words and said something—whatever it was that was bothering you!—instead of just ignoring me like that!"

Hyukjae only notices that Ryeowook's volume and impassioned speech is attracting attention from other students and faculty in the hallway because he's avoiding the other's gaze, but he knows Ryeowook would be embarrassed about it later.

He hurriedly ushers them back inside Bomnal 235 despite Ryeowook's protests. The other angrily shrugs off Hyukjae's touch as soon as possible and stomps to the rear right quadrant of the room to sit, crossing his arms and legs in one fluid movement and pouting cutely.

Well, Hyukjae would think it was cute if he noticed it. His attention is instead captured by Ryeowook's choice of seating. If Ryeowook practiced the same seats code of conduct, then…

Without really thinking about it, he moves up and slides into his own seat, exactly behind Ryeowook's. He can tell the other is surprised he doesn't sit next to him, but Hyukjae focuses instead on the half-baked plan that formed in the time it took to ascend the stairs.

Ryeowook is petulantly turned towards the front, sure that he's said his piece already and waiting for Hyukjae to talk. Instead, he feels something light and crunchy hit the back of his head. "Yah!" he yelps, turning to glare at the offender, who is steadfastly scrawling something down on his notebook.

"You're doing it again. You're ignoring me instead of talking to me. If you're just gonna sit there and do homework, I'm gonna lea—YAH!" He's cut off by another bunched up piece of paper hurtling right for him, which he angrily swats away in mid-air. "What are you doing!?" he demands, but Hyukjae just throws another wad of paper at his desk instead, his aim perfectly allowing the paper to land right next to where Ryeowook's notebook would have been if he were in class... almost like he's done it dozens of times before.

Ryeowook frowns and picks up the most recent paper and smooths it open before gasping.

He would recognise this handwriting anywhere.

Unfolding my only crumpled wish You and I are in it

He quickly lifts his eyes back to Hyukjae, who refuses to meet his gaze even as he throws another wad of paper at Ryeowook's desk. Ryeowook picks up the first one that bounced off the back of his head and scrambles to find the second one which he had swatted away.

In this very short moment I'm just following my feelings

With trembling fingers, he finally opens the first one, which reads, "Didn't you say you'd recognise my handwriting anywhere?"

He looked up with cloudy eyes to see his desk slowly being overrun with scraps of paper and Hyukjae continuing to write on. Ryeowook slowly walks up to the paper pile and begins opening them one by one.

I'm sorry it turned out this way.

On each paper is a single sentence,

Honestly, I thought you were a lot of extra.

a confession, sometimes, or a timeline.

The sun set, that streetlight flicked on, and I knew it for sure.

As he reads the pages in no certain order,

You thought so highly of me, I was flattered and burdened all at once.

he literally pieces together Hyukjae's story,

What else was I supposed to do except throw them on his desk and annoy him?

from when he first realised the truth

It was so embarrassing to see all my rejected song lyrics immortalised forever by your hands.

to why he had avoided the other.

I didn't mean to hurt you, but I didn't want you to hurt me either.

As he continues reading, Ryeowook couldn't help but feel there is something missing, something that ties the whole narrative together. Alas, even after he finishes all the pieces on his desk, he couldn't figure out what.

Far past the point of anger and instead seeking to simply, finally understand, he looks to Hyukjae, who finally meets his gaze.

Without Hyukjae's constant scratching at his notebook paper, the classroom is loudly silent. He underhand tosses one final wad of paper to Ryeowook, and Ryeowook reads the intention in the action and catches it easily. He opens it up to read a final set of lyrics.

I still can't say the words Those words that make my voice run dry I love you more than anyone else

Ryeowook couldn't breathe. "You love me?" he asks with trembling lips, voice no louder than a whisper but reaching Hyukjae all the same.

Hyukjae slouches into his seat, hands outstretched and anxiously tapping his pen on the table. He keeps his head turned to the side when he nods. "I couldn't help it."

"And you lied to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Were you ever gonna tell me?'"

Hyukjae snaps into an upright position. "I wanted to!" He looks Ryeowook in the eye, trying to express as much sincerity as possible. "By god, I wanted to. But the way you talked about Poem Person… That's the guy you deserve. He wouldn't have led you on for weeks because he's a coward," he spits out.

"But he did."

"But he shouldn't have."

"But he's telling me now."

"But he wasted your time!"

"Why are you talking about yourself like that; he's you!"

"You didn't know that until five minutes ago!"

Ryeowook takes a moment, and Hyukjae forces himself to match the lowered state of tension that results. "It's not so hard to believe, now that I know the truth," the other says after a beat.

Hyukjae doesn't know how to respond to that, so he doesn't. Ryeowook rolls his eyes. "You've heard me go on and on about your impulsiveness and emotional depth and whatever." He gestures to the pile of papers in front of him. "That's what this all seems like to me."

"I can't possibly have been what you expected, what you were hoping for," Hyukjae argues, trying to force the situation into a boiling point. He just laid himself bare in front of the person he's in love with, and none of his worst-case scenarios have come to fruition yet.

"I was hoping to meet the person with the lazy H's and the perpetually rose-coloured glasses, that's it," Ryeowook maintains calmly, but Hyukjae doesn't feel calm at all. He just keeps tapping, and Ryeowook sighs. "What I expected doesn't even matter. I knew there was a real person behind those notes, someone who came with all the complexities being a person entails. All my daydreams were just that; and even if every single one of them were wrong, and for some reason I couldn't handle that disappointment, that's on me. How I reacted to finally meeting you was not your responsibility."

"Are you?"

"What?"

Here it comes. "Are you disappointed?"

"Hyukjae."

The soft tone of Ryeowook's voice makes his heart clench, and Hyukjae shuts his eyes in self-preservation.

His anxiously tapping hand is stopped later by an equally soft touch, and he looks up in shock.

He hesitates to recognise the warmth he finds in Ryeowook's kind, earnest eyes. It's different from what he's seen before, but he doesn't want to categorise it any further than that. Has he imagined this temperature so much that it doesn't look out of place?

Ryeowook can see the moment Hyukjae focuses on him again, and he brings his other hand to squeeze both of Hyukjae's in turn.

"How could I be?" he asks, and he means it.

~I'll hold your two hands and confess, I pinky promise. Thank you for coming to me.~

EPILOGUE

Mi hums to himself as he turns the key to the lock of his apartment front door, arms laden with grocery bags…

… Which he allows to drop to the floor in shock as soon as he catches sight of the couple making out on the couch.

Ryeowook and Hyukjae break apart at the noise, heavily panting and cheeks flushed. Neither of them stop staring at him, and he cannot stop staring back.

Mi has so many thoughts running through his head, like Since when has that been a thing? and I can never sit on that couch again, but the one that comes out is, "What about Poem Person?"

If possible, Ryeowook and Hyukjae's cheeks flush even further, and Mi's incredulity slowly makes way for glee as he expects their response.

The caught pair turn to each other, communicating hurriedly through eye contact and muscle twitches alone before facing Mi again.

"Um, well, long story short…" Ryeowook begins.

"It was me," Hyukjae finishes.

Mi can't help it as he begins crying real, happy tears.

The gender has finally been confirmed.

~This happiness I noticed can be our starting point.~

~~~

A/N (6.14.2021): Wow, hasn't this been a ride! Eternal thanks everyone for reading and commenting; thanks Dorcas for your support; and thanks Amy for being my sanity check.  If you hadn't already noticed, SJ lyrics were abound in the fic, whether in section breaks, narration, or dialogue! Were you able to recognise all of the songs? :D

Also, now that you've read the whole story, I'd love to know: Did you notice that neither Eunhyuk nor Ryeowook ever feel guilt for their brands of dishonesty? As written, do the chapters progress in such a way that it is sensible—maybe even natural—despite the lack of it?

If you did notice, did that impact your reading experience at all? If you didn't, does knowing now change anything? And ultimately, in a story whose crux is deception, is guilt necessary for redemption?

Share your thoughts in a review, comment, PM, DM, whatever!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #307

“you lie so much, you believe yourself”

How long has it been since you kissed someone? Like, two years or so. What level are you on Farmville? Never played it. What are you looking forward to in the next year? I hope Covid just withers away, dammit. I truly, truly hope this vaccine is effective. And that people start wearing their GODDAMN masks. Do you use a lot of emoticons? Not really nowadays. Would you ever climb a mountain? No. Even if my legs were capable of handling that, I'd be too afraid of an avalanche. Colons or equal signs for your smiley face’s eyes? Colons. When was the last time you swam in a lake? A looooong time ago. If you could have anything right now, what would you want? It'd be great to chill at Sara's house honestly, I miss that. What’s your relationship status? Single and I think finally starting to truly accept I need to be right now. I wouldn't want to date myself in my current position, so I shouldn't expect anyone else to. When was the last time someone asked you your age? On my birthday when I mentioned in group therapy that I was trying to make it an especially good day about myself. When was the last time you danced? Very, very poorly with Sara years ago lmao. Has anyone ever tried to physically fight you? Someone snatched my arm and yanked me down to look her in the eyes in HS because she was a jealous bitch back then telling lies, but idk if her intention was to actually try to start a physical fight. Are you avoiding someone? No. What’s your favorite primary color? Red. What do you have pierced? Just my ears and bottom lip now. :/ I want morrrreeee. I'm forever tilted that so many of my piercings closed when I was hospitalized. What is your favorite dog breed? I find pugs to be very cute, but I do not support their breeding whatsoever so would never buy one. Besides them, I have a definite bias towards beagles. In your honest opinion, what is the scariest sea creature you know? Fucking Christ, giant squids. Terrifying. Do you believe there is just one love for everyone, or…? No. There are way, way, WAY too many people on this planet for that. What natural disaster scares you the most? Tornados. What outrageous career could you see yourself wanting to do? Define an "outrageous" career... but I can't visualize myself doing anything very unordinary. In what way would you want to help change the world? I truly hope I can make some considerable amount of contributions to natural conservation and animal education. When driving down the road looking for an address do you turn the radio low? I don't drive, but I know I would, considering I can't concentrate on driving if the radio is on anyway. What do you think of when you look at the stars? How little I and my problems really are. It gives me perspective. If you could say ONE THING to the president, what would it be? Well, Biden just got into office, so I can't really say yet. We'll see what he does. What Disney princess are you most like? Personality wise, I mean. Uh. I'unno. Maybe Snow White because animals? haha Do you believe in astrology? Not in the slightest. Do you look into people’s eyes when you talk to them? I try to, anyway, but I tend to find it very uncomfortable, and I never know if I'm offering too little or too much. So I have trouble maintaining it, especially with people I don't know. You can have one of the following two things: trust or love. Pick one. Trust. What do you think is the most important thing in this life is? Hm, that's a deep one. Perhaps the understanding that you are just as important as the next person and that we should work as one to make this one life that we know of worthwhile. Make the world better than when you entered it. What is your favorite shade of blue? Pastel blue. I just like pastels in general. When's the last time you bought something just because? I don't buy things "just because." If I actually have money to spend, I use it with motivation behind it. What Ozzy lyric describes you best? WHOA NOW HUNNY you are asking the WRONG person because I can just about name his entire discography so there are waaaay too many song lyrics to dig through and pick one for myself. Probably something from "Dreamer," after a short moment's consideration. When was the last time you went for a walk without a specific destination in mind? Not since Sara and I walked down the path near her house. We didn't plan on when we would turn around to go back. Do you daydream? Only all the time. What was your last daydream about? Ha, thanks to that other question, visiting Sara again. It'd be nice, but yeah, financial limitations and corona. Ever won the lottery? Bitch I wish. What was the most important decision you made that screwed up your life the most? Ugh... I'd say putting all my self-worth, happiness, and source of peace into one person was pretty big but also fucking stupid. What is love really about? Don't ask a romantic this and expect a non-essay, haha. But to keep it as short as possible, it's about mutual care, the desire to grow together, trust, openness, the peace to be vulnerable with the other... It's about a lot. It's such a deep, beautiful feeling. What's the most you ever made in a year? lol Do you have an online diary? Only through surveys, really. What's the biggest pot you've won in poker? I haven't played poker since I was a kiddo, so idr. What Metallica lyric most describes your life? Who wrote this and knows my favorite bands????? Like damn. There's a good handful of the sadder songs I relate to; I did some brief digging through ones I know I relate to, and perhaps the one I feel closest is within "The Unforgiven II": "The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true. If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you." Aaaand now I'm gonna go binge Metallica 'cuz it's been too long, thanks. How many concerts have you been to? Just one. :/ Which one was your favorite? I've only seen Alice Cooper, and it was great. What's the most illegal thing you've done? Pirated stuff, oops. Ever get busted by the cops? What for? No. How many pairs of rollerblades do/did you own? I doubt I have any anymore. Ever wear out a CD? What was it? Ahaha... There is some scratching on my mom's copy of Ozzmosis thanks to me playing it so much on my old CD player. Ever have a tornado in your town? Well my city is pretty damn big, so yes, in some spots. I don't think my immediate proximity has ever seen one, though. If you HAD to pick ONE song to listen to for the rest of your life, and that would be the only song you ever heard, what would it be? I would absolutely need something motivating if that was the case, so most likely "Life Won't Wait" by Ozzy Osbourne. That song touches me so deeply and gives me the courage to do what I can to tackle life and try not to waste it. I know, I'm doing a great job at that. Ever heard of Shinedown? Hell yeah; I was actually listening to them in the car earlier. What does your lawn furniture consist of? We have nothing out there. Ever live off of canned soup and ramen noodles for weeks at a time? Er, no. But when I got my tongue pierced, I had to survive off of popsicles and... I somehow forgot the main thing I ate???? How?????? But anyway it was something that didn't involve much or any chewing, either. I actually lost a little bit of weight in that week or so because eating solids was impossible, and I didn't enjoy "eating" liquids either. That piercing (snake eyes, btw) was soooo so cute tho. I really wish it hadn't started to damage my teeth, or else I'd still have it. What musical group/artist do you love, but hide from other people? I used to be kinda embarrassed by artists like Melanie Martinez when you compare her music to my adoration of metal, but at my age now, I don't give a damn. I like what I like and won't hide it. What is the first meal you remember eating? ... Does anyone actually remember this??? What's in your keepsake box/scrapbook? Good God, a lot. I haven't looked in it in a very, very long time though. It brings a usually painful nostalgia. What did you score on your SATs? I don't even remember if I took them. I THINK I took the ACT instead? I don't even know the difference. When was the last time you saw a rainbow? Hm. Been a while. It's not like I'm out of the house a lot, especially nowadays with quarantine. What colors is your lava lamp? I wish I had a lava lamp, they're rad and really relaxing. What's the strangest thing you've ever hung on the wall? Nothing, really. Can you name every place you've ever had sex? I mean I can but I'm not going to. What's the most important thing you ever lost and never found again? My favorite childhood cat Charcoal. He was an outdoor and intact male, so it was very normal for him to eventually vanish to rove. Please keep your cats indoors. What forms of birth control have you used? The pill and, uh, having "barriers." How many webpages have you created, and can you still find them all? I made Wetpaint sites for my two RP mobs back in the day, but the site has since been completely revised, so no, they don't exist anymore. I checked outta curiosity I think last year. How many people are in your family portrait? We don't even have a proper family portrait. Ever punched a wall? No. When's the last time you really lost your temper? In some argument with Mom I don't remember. Ever thought you (or a girlfriend) were pregnant, but it was a false alarm? I had massive anxiety over it once, but it was irrational and even I knew that. Not that anxiety cares. If 97 is yes, were you glad or sad? I was very glad when my period came lmao. What was the last conversation you had with someone before they died? When I saw my grandma for the last time, I just let her know that I loved her and that she was so, so strong, and she was. No one could believe how long she warded death off when she finally stopped chemo. What do your drinking glasses look like? We have some more unique cups and mugs, but the majority of them are just plain, slightly angular glasses, some short, some tall. How many bottles/containers are in your medicine cabinet? Oh wow, a lot. We're covered for most potential problems. How many funerals have you been to? Uhhh I think one. Maybe even none, just wakes. What was the last bug you killed and what did you use? An ant, I think? I just used my fingers. How many computers in your household? There are three laptops, but no desktop computers. Ever help to solve a crime? There was one occasion years ago when our neighbor's window was busted overnight and cops came to us to ask for any evidence we might have had, but we didn't have any. Idk what came of it. Ever get pulled over by the cops and get away without a ticket? I've never been pulled over. What was your first legal alcoholic drink? I think it was a margarita, but possibly a daquiri. Ever get published by one of those poetry groups? I fucking wish. I've tried, but to no avail. What's the furthest distance you've moved? Not very far at all. Just to the neighboring town. How many friends from high school/college do you still talk to? Only a few now and then. Girt is the only one I have real conversations with, though. What's the most expensive things your parents ever bought you? Probably the laptop I have right now, but idk. I've never asked how much things they've bought me cost, it seems rude somehow. What's the most expensive thing you've bought? The upcoming revamp of my tattoo. Deposit was $100, and then it's probably going to be another $300-400. I can't afford it all myself; as my birthday gift, Mom is helping me pay for it, but I've got most of it covered thanks to Christmas and birthday money. How many times did you intentionally start to commit suicide? Start to do it? Well, I was trying to run for sharp objects to do it twice, but on each occasion, someone held me back 'cuz they knew I was about to do something rash, so I didn't get very far, thankfully. The only time I fully went through with an attempt was my OD. Ever spent the night in the "loony bin?" How fucking disrespectful to call it that, but whatever. If you put all the instances together, I've been in psych hospitals for around a couple months, maybe more. What is your favorite cover song? Disturbed's cover of "Sound of Silence" is absolutely unbeatable. I'd just about call it a cold hard fact. What's your inspiration? Other's success stories, music, art in general, etc. What's the longest relationship you've been in? Over 3 1/2 years. Did you ever drop out of school? I dropped out of college three times, yikes. Three times is enough; even if I think I want to, I'm never going back. That is just way too much money to keep throwing down the drain, and there's clearly a pattern. Ever raise a child that wasn't your own for more than 3 months? I've never raised a kid period. Strangest medical procedure ever performed on you? Look up what a pilonidal cyst is and know I had one surgically removed. Pretty strange and uncomf. Song that has changed your attitude recently? None, really. What's something that you say a lot to be mean? ... Why would I try to be mean??? Who told you they loved you last? Me mum. Ever had a pet frog? Not technically, no, but as kids, my sister, neighbor, and I saved hundreds, maybe thousands of tadpole eggs from a ditch that was inevitably going to dry out. We transferred them all to a kiddie pool and let them grow naturally, hopping out and into the world whenever they were ready. I wouldn't call them "pets." Your worst enemy? IT'S NO SURPRIIIISE TO MEEEE I AAAAMMM MY OWN WORST ENEMYYYYY Do you believe in karma? No, but I wish it was a thing. What was the last hurtful thing you said to someone? I'm not sure. I certainly try to avoid doing so. Do you love someone enough you'd die for them? There's multiple people. The last song you listened to? I wasn't joking when I said I was gonna go on a Metallica spree, haha. "Of Wolf and Man" is on rn. Your most favorite memory as a kid? Too many, man. If you had the choice to work or not, would you work? Yes. I need something to do that benefits others in one way or another. Ever TRULY wanted to kill someone? I can't say for sure, if I'm being totally transparent. When I found out about Jason's gf after me, I can say with certainty I wanted her dead beyond dead, but I don't know if I wanted to kill her, per se. Just to clarify, no, I don't wish any negativity upon her now. I was certifiably insane before and certainly don't think I am anymore, so... Marvel or DC? I don't care. Do you watch anime subbed or dubbed? Both. I prefer dubbed, BUT only if the voice acting isn't insufferable. I like dubbed just because for me, it's very distracting to have to keep looking down at subtitles. How often do you exercise? I don't... I'm still waiting for Mom to move into her actual room versus the living room couch so I can do WiiFit with some privacy. I'm too uncomfortable to exercise in front of anyone. What is your favorite book series? Warriors will forever have a very special place in my heart. What is your favorite OTP? I will probably ship Rhett and Link for my entire life. Their friendship is truly incredible and so so SOOOOOOO cute. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character? I've never seen the series, actually.

[greekgeek21]

The Codependency Competition Ch. 3

Hey guys! I just want to mention that I'm actually doing ok with my updating schedule! Like, somebody document this rare occasion! Ok, that's it. Comment, like, and follow. Happy reading! Thanks to my amazing beta, JJ, this story doesn't suck!

- your author

ΩΩΩ

With just a simple text telling Percy she was going home, Annabeth left. Percy had practice until 4:00, so she had decided that it would be best to just go home. That way she can get SOME homework done before Percy is able to distract her.

When she got home, which is the Jackson-Blofis apartment, she headed straight to her desk in her room (well, technically, it's hers and Percy's, since they share a room). With only 45 minutes left until practice ended, she needed to rush in order to get enough done.

She chose to start with English, her hardest subject, so that she could just get it over with.

Meanwhile, at the school, Percy's team was laughing at him, hysterically.

"What–what did you do to get that girl to hate you so much?!" Mike asked once Percy had pulled himself out of the pool.

"She doesn't hate me," Percy frowned, wiping himself off with a towel.

His friends shared a look, "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever," Percy sighed and then smiled, "Five extra laps for that!"

Sometimes, being the captain has its perks!

After that, nobody dared mention the encounter, at least not to his face. In fact, it seemed like the team was putting an extra effort into their work today. It made it seem like practice flew by, to the point that their couch needed to remind Percy that it was two minutes until 4:00.

"Oh! Everybody out! Practice is over!" he exclaimed, rushing to the locker room to shower.

By the time he had showered, left, and finally reached his apartment complex, it was 4:20.

He was in a rush to get home for his scheduled Annabeth-time. To some, this might sound idiotic, but to someone who only gets so much time to spend with his girlfriend, it's completely normal. When Percy was allowed to acknowledge Annabeth as his girlfriend, he became pretty clingy.

When he barged into the apartment, Annabeth was just finishing up her last problem on her Math homework. She was only able to finish English and Math during her alone-time.

As soon as she heard the door slam open, she turned her chair around and grew a small smile on her face. Like clockwork, Percy went straight to their room and ran right to her. In his excitement, he just went on instinct and lifted his girlfriend up into his arms, giving her a big, deep kiss on the lips.

At first, Annabeth gasped and didn't respond, but eventually, when she realized Percy wasn't going to stop, she started to move her lips against his. Without even realizing it, they had started to drift towards their bed. Before they knew it, Percy was leaning up against the headboard with Annabeth straddling him and kissing down his neck.

They probably would've kept on doing this for hours if Paul hadn't decided to come home at that moment, "Percy! Annabeth! I'm home!"

With a sigh, Annabeth pushed off of Percy and just leaned her head against his chest, "That was nice."

Percy, with a content grin, said, "Yeah. I miss you being my girlfriend. Why can't we just call this whole thing off?"

"I miss you, too, but we can't stop now. There is no way that Leo was right!" she responded.

"Fine, but it's just getting kinda boring now. At first, it was fun, but now it just makes me have the urge to jump you every time I see you," Percy admitted shamelessly.

Annabeth started to roll her eyes, but then she had an idea, and her features changed completely.

Percy, noticing the change, realized what was going on. That look was her 'I have an idea' look. You can never know what to expect from that look.

"Annabeth. You have that look on your face again. What's your idea?" he asked.

"What if–what if we spice things up a bit?" she muttered, looking up at him.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, skeptical.

"We can turn this whole challenge into a competition. Whoever breaks first loses," Annabeth answered.

Percy thought about it for a second, and then realized that this could work. It would let them still prove Leo wrong...while creating a competition for him and Annabeth. Their relationship can't really survive without something for them to win.

"Ok, deal. We start tomorrow at school," Percy said, nodding his head and gaining a look of determination.

Annabeth smiled, "Oh, I'm so going to kick your ass."

"Sure you are," Percy countered.

"I sure am!" she defended, her pride flaring up.

"Ok," Percy said simply and leaned in for a kiss to silence her.

"Mmph," Annabeth tried to struggle against his hold, but it was no use.

Percy was on a mission to enjoy his Annabeth-time, and that meant spending it doing whatever he wanted. And right now, he wants to kiss his girlfriend. Sure, they would need to emerge before Paul decided to go looking for them, but for now, they could spend a little bit longer doing this.

ΩΩΩ

The next day, Percy and Annabeth were both silent on the way to school. They had unconsciously decided to go into competitive-mode as soon as they had woken up. The only proof from that morning that showed they were dating was a quick peck on the lips after breakfast.

Convinced she had to make the first move, Annabeth had worn a large sweatshirt over her shirt today. Instead of wearing a scandalous shit, like some girls might do, she decided to wear a white, cropped tank top under her cropped, sea green crochet shirt. It has always been Percy's favorite, partly because it was the color of his eyes, and partly because it was what she wore on their first official date. To top it off, she had a secret weapon to add once she had revealed her outfit.

Percy and his friends were, as per usual, clumped around his locker, and Annabeth and her friends were standing on the other side of the hallway around some of their lockers. Percy and Annabeth were both trying to act like they were actually listening to the conversations, but in reality they were trying to not-so-discreetly keep an eye on the other.

"Oh! And then there's something I forgot to mention: People think you and Annabeth Chase hate each other!" Kelsey exclaimed, getting really close to Percy.

"Huh?" Percy said, finally zoning into what his friends were talking about.

"Yeah, apparently there's a rumor going around that she pushed you into a pool, and now people think you hate each other," she replied.

"Well, it isn't a rumor. That girl definitely pushed him in!" Chloe confirmed.

"That bitch! I'll destroy her, Percy! I will!" Kelsey said, looking up at him with eager eyes.

"No! I'll deal with it!" he yelled, a little too quickly.

Kelsey pouted, but she didn't seem like she was quite done yet. No doubt she was planning on doing it anyway.

Meanwhile, Annabeth had just shut down her friend's many questions about her and the school's most popular boy.

"How can you hate him?! He's, like, the nicest guy in the school!" Nora exclaimed.

"For the last time, I DON'T HATE HIM! I just don't necessarily enjoy his company," Annabeth said.

She just couldn't bring herself to say she hated him. Even if her pride was at stake.

However, it would be a little suspicious if she didn't say ANYTHING bad about him after pushing him into a pool. Annabeth still had a cover to maintain!

Her friends seemed to finally realize she wasn't going to change her answer, so they gave up momentarily. Fortunately, Percy happened to glance over at their group right at that moment, so Annabeth took the opportunity to make the first move.

She slowly lifted her sweatshirt off, revealing her first trick. A look up, and she saw Percy's eyes widen slightly. Then, as her surprise attack, Annabeth let her hair out of its messy ponytail, leaving it to cascade down her back in her perfect blonde, princess curls.

That's what got Percy's mouth to drop. Unfortunately, he got ahold of himself before too much notice was taken. Then, his gaze hardened into its wolf glare, and he walked away.

Even if it could've had more effect, Annabeth still counted that as a win.

For Percy, he was having the realization that Annabeth had just upped the stakes. Now, he needed to retaliate with something better.

ΩΩΩ

During Greek, Percy gave Annabeth the usual glance, and then he completely ignored her presence for the rest the period. He was planning his counterattack.

Plenty of ideas came to him, but none of them seemed to out-do what Annabeth did. Her actions may seem small to ordinary viewers, but to him, they have an unimaginable effect.

Just as he was sitting down for lunch, and he had spared a glance over to Annabeth and her friends, the idea hit him like a brick to Jason's head. It was so simple, yet so perfect!

Annabeth had decided that she could enjoy some time with her mortal friends while Percy was recovering. Little did she know that he would recover faster than expected.

"Ok, seriously, we need some context for your encounter with Percy," Ethan insisted.

"Fine, I finished getting changed, he walked over to me, we talked, I pushed him into the pool. That enough for you?" Annabeth answered.

"No, but I don't think I'm going to be getting much else. You really must hate this guy if he's making you act like this," he muttered.

"I DON'T HATE HIM!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air.

Percy chose that moment to strike, "That's great, cuz' it was really starting to seem that way."

All of her friends' eyes widened, and some of their mouths even dropped, but Annabeth just kept on looking straight ahead. She would not give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her!

Percy sat down across from her, "I mean, everybody thinks you hate me. It's so weird what one little incident at the pool can cause, right?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said.

Even though she had a pretty excellent poker face, Percy could see right through it. He knew what he was doing to her, and he wanted to add to it. Percy reached his foot across the ground, under the table, to where it was just touching Annabeth's. That's what shocked a reaction out of her. Her entire body straightened, like she had just gotten shocked by one of the Grace siblings.

It all made Percy's troublemaker smirk grow larger. Normally, Annabeth would find his smirk cute, but not now. Not when she was on the other end of it.

In an attempt to redeem herself, Annabeth sharpened her glare, grabbed her tray, and left the table. She didn't say a word, just kept glaring Percy right in the eyes.

Nothing could stop Percy now, though. He was on Cloud 9! At least, for now.

When he got home, that could be a whole other story. Because somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that Annabeth was silently confirming that they were going to be discussing this later. Even if she had been in the wrong, too, he was probably going to end up being the one sleeping on the couch tonight.

In the words of Jason, Percy was majorly whipped. He would do anything to make Annabeth happy, including admitting he did something worse when he really didn't.

Anyway, he left the table soon after, but he didn't go back to his friend group. Instead, he left to wait by his next class' door.

As he got farther and farther away from the cafeteria, Percy started to get more and more worried. Knowing Annabeth, she would wait until they were alone at home, and then she would start yelling at him. And then she would act sad, whether her emotions were real or not, and to make her stop, Percy would agree to anything. It worked every time.

ΩΩΩ

Sorry if this was a little jumbled. I didn't want to waste the sudden opportunity of inspiration. I couldn't really find a good ending, so I just kinda stopped. I needed to go to sleep.

That's it! Comment, like, and follow! Happy reading!

– your author

chapter 4 :)

[crazyfreckledginger]

Warlords x Reader - "Criminal Masterminds" [Part 11]

In a world where the most powerful are the greediest, everyone has to fend for themselves. The rich stay hidden, normal citizens live their lives, unbeknownst to all the lies and secrets the most dangerous firms keep locked away. When a mercenary is sent to retrieve valuable information that is also searched for by the Oda forces and Takeda-Uesugi, paths cross, dilemmas arise, love, morals and important decisions become a threat.

A/N: Publishing a bunch of parts because I've left you guys pending for too long!

Warning: Tensionnn

"How is the job going?" he smirked.

"Stop evading the question." (Y/N) glared coldly at him.

"Just seeing how you're doing, I have to investigate the mole after all." he purred, "and I thought, what better way of doing that than by going directly to the most suspicious person in the form."

Her heart was beating fast now,  but her poker game face was strong,  thanks to the extra training she put herself through with Mitsuhide.

If she was going to fiddle with power play, she'll have to treat it like these so-called 'big shot' douchebags were: like a game.

An amused smirk appeared on her face, "have fun getting sacked, it will be much more pleasant without your existence polluting the air."

His expression darkened, his mocking manner dissipated in an instant.

"You know I'll skin whoever is feeding information to an external source, and don't doubt for a second I won't bring you down as well."

The woman wasn't going to let him control her behaviour like he used to, she's going to be fighting back. It helped a lot with her confidence that the Oda Forces secret headquarters was right there.

Sighing, she expressed "Rey already said I'm the best agent, he'd never believe the stupid lies you tell him, he knows you want to be on top because it does wonders to your ego."

Jayden stared silently at her.

"Unlike some," her eyes eyed him suggestively, "I have a job I can succeed, so bye."

The man watched as she skipped to her car, effortlessly pulling out of the parking lot and driving away, ignoring his very being.

When he faced the building again, his gazed locked with someone at the very top at the building, the shadow didn't show the face but he could tell whoever was watching him was doing so with narrowed slits.

Was it the Devil King himself?

The curtain blocked the mysterious figure as soon as he questioned it mentally.

Strange.

"Him, abbot?" a short man voiced.

"Yes, he's perfect. Keep an eye on him, we'll make our move."

****

"Oh my gosh, Kenshin, what are you doing here?" her stomach churned, that definitely scared her.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing." whilst the thought was very, his facial expression and heterochromia eyes stated differently.

"Are you sure you're okay?" her eyebrows furrowed.

"You are too sweet to worry about my wellbeing." he strode a few steps closer to her, cupping her chin in between his fingertips. Her cheeks flushed instantly.

"W-What are you doing?" she tried to shy away from him.

"Admiring you." he smiled innocently.

The woman couldn't comprehend why he was being so straightforward and... flirtatious?

It wasn't quite like Shingen but he definitely wasn't being shy about it either. It was a little unnerving.

"Why are you acting like this? We need to be careful, we might be watched." her palms pressed against Kenshin to maintain a certain distance.

"Do not worry, Sasuke and Yukimura have scouted the area before we came here." the man tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.

"Yeah and we didn't assume you would be making a move as a result." the pair turned to the familiar person the voice belonged to.

"I didn't expect you would actually put that plan to execution." Shingen's eyes widened in surprise after his vassal's interruption.

"Plan? What plan?" (Y/N) glanced between the four of them. Sasuke had yet to speak up.

The Takeda leader's mouth opened.

"Shingen, don't spread lies on me." The blond demanded.

"I don't think Lord Shingen had any intention of lying to her about this." the ninja pressed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose.

"If you tell her the truth, I will forbid Yukimura from buying you any sweet desserts." he warned the other warlord. The red head's eyes widened slightly.

"I'll buy you all the sweet desserts you want now spill!" The girl interjected.

"He sees that that Devil has taken a keen interest in you and, knowing we have a truce, he thinks the only way to make sure he can torture him is by making sure you  have an interest in him and not Nobuanaga." the man stated matter of factly.

"That's not-keep your mouth shut!! You're ruining the plan!"

"Nobuanaga isn't interested in me?! Who would give you that idea?" she frowned.

There was a moment of silence as the men stared blankly at her.

"We're only business partners."

They gave her are-you-serious looks. Kenshin chuckled.

"My methods are working."

"No-"

"You think you could win her over with the Tiger's sad ways? How much nonsense." a loud, deep voice roared in laughter.

"You all need to LEAVE, oh my days." the (H/C)'s haired lady pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Our Lord is right," an attractive lisp filled the room as, faster than lightning, a hand grasped (Y/N)'s arm and pulled her against his chest. She was met by an intensly blue eye.

"Hello lass." Masamune grinned.

"Unhand me." she ordered, yanking her limb back.

"I'm surprised you would sink so low as to play the wounded Tiger's dirty tricks. Very sad." Nobuanaga smirked.

"I wouldn't want to slice your head off in front of the lovely princess." Shingen's suddenly cold-as-stone demeanour could have been enough to cut through the now very think air. It sent a chill down her spine.

"That escalated quickly." Sasuke murmured under his breath.

"What are you doing here, Devil?" Kenshin questioned bitterly.

"I came to check on (Y/N) following the incident with Jayden later today. Masamune wanted to tag along." the raven haired man nodded to her.

"I'm okay, thank you." she offered him a smile, one which he returned before his face fell and he turned to the enemy Dragon.

"And what about you, hmm?" his red irises narrowed suspiciously.

"I wanted to return the information I collected from their firm to her so could have an idea of what is happening." The ninja replied.

"We only wanted to make sure... the information arrived safely." Kenshin added. The One-eyed Dragon raised a questioning eyebrow.

"As much as I'm, enjoying, this, we must get going." Nobuanaga patted (Y/N) on the head, much like what she was doing to her own kitten when she lost interest in their bickering. He chuckled when he caught sight of her glare at the gesture before heading towards the door.

"I suggest you all leave her alone for the night, I'm sure she wants the rest of her night to be without interruption as she relaxes." the Devil King sent her a wink. Masamune followed him out, saluting her in goodbye.

"Thank you Sasuke." she thanked him as he placed a few stapled papers on her counter top.

"It's my pleasure." he replied stoically.

"Good night my beautiful princess, I hope you have plenty of beautiful dreams of the both of us as husband and wife." Shigen delicately held her hand, placing a sweet kiss on the back of it.

"O-okay, bye." she pulled it back in surprise, cheeks burning shyly. He smirked at her reaction.

"I'm not doing that." Kenshin shook his head but patted her head affectionately before following his fellow warlord out.

"Goodnight!" she called out as the black fluffball rubbed against her hand.

"Good night." The vassal and ninja responded before closing her back door behind them.

The kitten clawed at her blouse. She scooped it up in her arms and made her way to the couch.

"Oof." the woman breathed out, letting herself fall on it, "what a day." a small mewl and tiniest weight on her stomach was the last thing she felt before drifting off into a deep slumber.

Comments, votes and feedback improve motivation, writing and publishing, so it is in your best interest to leave some! :)  

Want to be tagged? Let me know in which ever way you are the most comfortable with!

Tagging: @lumifuer @ijustwantmyshipstobehappy  @plethora-of-things @xlatinaaxx @lostnliterature @batette​ @schweeeppess​ @gearsinice @mizmahlia @tina8009 @alex--awesome--22​ @disa @caswinchester2000 @max7500 @pon-ee-reblogs @datemasamunemaiwaifu @mitsuhidethesnek @swordsmanofsweets @jadaninerowena @izra-k @cailannuesugi @towa-no-yume

[astracola]

so because a3 is still relatively new (locally at least) i wanted to do a small introduction post to introduce my muses from it! i haven’t dropped in any headcanons (yet) so this’ll just be basic early game canon or character traits i think are neat. deadass i’m out here with half the cast i don’t know why i’m like this either frankly.

AZUMA YUKISHIRO

one of the oldest members of the company, likely in his early thirties. somehow manages to “defy aging” with his makeup skills and natural beauty.

he is fully aware of how pretty he is, thank you for asking.

a big brother to all.

gentle, easygoing, and calm, even in crisis or under stress.

have you met a professional cuddler. now you have.

noted to have an alluring personality and high sex appeal, because that’s great. likes to flirt a lot, and is very direct. says things that he definitely probably shouldn’t.

not much is known about his past, even among those in the company and his own troupe (winter), he keeps it this way intentionally. it’s implied he might have once been a host, as when he left his prior work to pursue acting, his clients were devastated.

skilled at poker and similar card games.

ITARU CHIGASAKI

what’s up gamers.

prince archetype. even within the major company he works for as an elite employee, he’s well respected/regarded. feels refreshing and calming to be around.

very, very handsome. like holy shit.

“two modes”. the professional look he gives for his work and in public--and the exact mode that give him his prince-like associations, and how he is in private. his public persona is mostly facade, though his compassion and caring nature is genuine. his “true self” is a hardcore gamer and otaku, like this, he curses more frequently and comes off rude or lazy.

he likes to keep these two personas separate, understandably. with most personal relationships, he holds everyone at a distance.

he works in finances, and not much is known about his passion for acting or if he has much of one at all. regardless of this, he’s a member of the spring troupe.

he often uses gaming and internet terms in his speech, especially in his “casual/gamer” mode.

to him, mankai is where he can truly be himself.  

KAZUNARI MIYOSHI

voted most likely to quote vines irl. a literal influencer. always on top of the latest trends

a member of the summer troupe, he assumes he’s friends with everyone he meets--no questions asked, even if they come off rather abrasive. great social skills! he talks to anyone and everyone like he’s known them for years, so he’s easy to get along with.

a graphic design student, he makes the fliers for mankai. his skill is in illustration, and he has just as much passion for it as he does with acting.

you literally can NOT say he isn’t fashionable. that’s his shtick.

lowkey (but highkey) flirty with anyone he’s interested in. you know. casual.

despite his carefree attitude, he chooses his words carefully to leave those he meets with the best impression of him. he thinks so long as he befriends people, things are fine, even if a lot of those friendships are shallow at their best.

you get a nickname! and YOU get a nickname! and yo-

updates his social media daily and often. instagram, twitter, line, etc.

MASUMI USUI

a member of the spring troupe, he only joined up with mankai because he fell in love with the director in a moment of “love at first sight”. obviously, this isn’t requited. he does everything he can to try and impress her, despite having little interest in acting itself.

a bit of a “bad boy” trope, a rebel and troublemaker. he’s standoffish and rude to practically everyone else.  comes across as cold and indifferent.

good at memorization! this comes in handy with their scripts.

his parents travel abroad often, so his family life is ... questionable, he has little restrictions at home and lives a carefree lifestyle, which feeds into his indifference

has a lot of female fans AND a fanclub at school thanks to his looks. he doesnt care for that shit at all tbqh.

he flirts ... a lot ... if he’s interested in you romantically ... but so far that’s only directed AT the director herself and it’s embarrassing. lovesick puppy.

i’m so sorry for him and anyone that tries to talk to him he’s kind of a dick.

MISUMI IKARUGA

honestly the definition of “bro i am just vibing.”

hard to understand, just a generally confusing person. not much is known about him or his past! he just sort of...showed up one day, crashing in the mankai dorms and becoming a member of the summer troupe shortly after.

his physical capabilities are really impressive, up to and including scaling walls and running up to ceilings. he took to acting really easily as well, and his skill in it surprised almost everyone. his wide range in characters and how easily he shifts into them implies past experience.

constantly thinking about triangles, and collects everything in a triangle shape, eats triangle food...you know how it is. the local children have dubbed him the “triangle-alien!”

enthusiastic and eccentric are the best words to describe him.

he just kind of does whatever he feels like doing, seemingly without much thought. this includes: trespassing, and stealing stuff from others (usually food). just right out of your hands.

really good at communicating with animals! it seems they have a mutual understanding.

hardcore parkour

MUKU SAKISAKA

baby (professionally diagnosed).

his motto is deadass “do one good deed each day” he is a BABY

memorizes and treasures shoujo manga, taking the male figures as inspirations. he deeply admires princes and wants to become prince-like one day.

modest, kind, and easily flustered when it comes to praise. also a lot of anxiety? he thought one of the other summer troupe members was a ghost out to get him when it was first suggested and he really thought it was because he left a single grain of rice on his plate when he was five. he’s just like this.

persecution complex.

just really...pure...

he used to do track and field, but he wasn’t passionate about it despite being the team’s ace. he only joined because he read a manga where the protagonist was on track, so he followed in his footsteps. he only quit after an injury he sustained that forever kept him from performing at his best ever again.

can recite fairytales from memory!

SAKUYA SAKUMA

sunshine embodied, the leader of mankai’s spring troupe! he was the first member of mankai, and despite his lack of skill he’s incredibly passionate about acting. he puts all of himself in everything he does. super ambitious!! 

:) auditioned because of family issues, you know how it goes. ( he’s an orphan, and his new family was only really interested in what mankai could bring them, rather than his own interests.)

open and honest to a fault, he also tends to be a bit naive. he’s trying his best to be a little more independent, but that’s a long process. otherwise enthusiastic, easygoing, and positive, gets along well with pretty much everyone!

naturally lucky! give him your phone for gacha pulls.

skilled at remembering faces and names!

he still carries the script for romeo & julius, the first play the mankai company ever performed. he looks at it if he ever feels lonely, as the company feels like a family to him.

would really like to play a ruthless villain in the future, because that’s so different from what he actually is.

TAICHI NANAO

i assign you with “puppy”. a member of the autumn troupe, he has a very hyperactive personality! one of his biggest aspirations is to be popular and liked/noticed by others.

a prime example of this are his yo-yo skills and hyper origami, at the peak of their popularity he took to trying to master both, but by the time he had no one was interested anymore, and he felt horribly defeated.

his first dose of minor fame came from a minor acting role with his classmates, whose admiration he gained for his skill. ever since, he’s been trying to get this level of attention back ever since.

very in-the-know when it comes to the latest trends, because of this! fashion, past times, you name it.

needs recognition as a way to validate himself, to an unhealthy degree. he’s easily discouraged when met with criticism or when given a role he has little confidence in.

noisy and generally upbeat, and maintains an optimistic attitude despite his own lack of self-confidence.

TENMA SUMERAGI

essentially raised in the world of acting, he’s a former child prodigy who still stars in programs outside of the company.

because both of his parents are movie stars, and because of his own past, he has great faith in his abilities and hates to lose. high confidence to the point of being a bit egotistical.

“oresama” trope. his cocky attitude has gotten him into a bit of trouble with his fellow actors. as a result, prior to joining the mankai company, he didn’t have a lot of friends.

leader of the summer troupe, becoming a part of the troupe has forced him to learn to humble himself and learn to empathize. at the same time, he joined the company to overcome his weakness in performing in front of live audiences. in film, the mistakes can be edited, live? there’s a chance to disappoint the audience, and worse yet, his parents. he wants to overcome this fear and grow to be a better actor.

no sense of direction, despite his protests. also easily frightened when it comes to “scary things.” think of the classics: ghosts, abandoned places, etc.

really wants to play the role of a “bad guy” to expand his horizons, he’s often placed in cool or suave roles on tv.

TSUMUGI TSUKIOKA

the gentle, soft-spoken leader of the winter troupe! he’s said to take on his grandmother’s personality, often playing the mediator when it comes to conflict and holds a great desire for harmony

extremely!! empathetic!! to a fault, because of his empathy and sensibility, it seeps into his confidence, making him doubt himself and his own abilities--especially with acting. he’s not all that assertive either, as a result.

the mankai company is helping him grow, nowadays, he has a little more faith in himself, though he’s still rather shy.

dabbled in acting before back in university before reigniting the spark with mankai. he withdrew after intense criticism and watching his fellow theater students pass by him in ability, and it led to an intense falling out with a childhood friend (said friend is now also a part of the winter troupe)

psychology major and part-time tutor

really fucking good at rock paper scissors

he has a passion for gardening, thanks to his grandmother. he understands the language of flowers and often takes care of them.

[argylemnwrites]

Last Call (It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment Outtake)

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Romance (Canon Divergent from Book 2, Chapter 15)

Word Count: ~1300

Rating: PG-13 (language, sexual innuendo)

Summary: Too often customers mistake a waiter or bartender’s friendliness as something more than an attempt to earn a good tip. Drake’s observation of this behavior in action prompts a heartfelt discussion with Riley.

Author’s Note: This is an outtake from Chapter 6 of It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment, set a few days after Riley is hired at the bar, while Drake is still looking for work. It was a lot more lighthearted when it was a part of Chapter 6, but as I worked to clean it up, it kind of took on a life of its own.

This series diverges from TRR canon, where instead of waiting to discuss his relationship with Riley until their last night in NYC, leaving her a note while Liam is proposing to her, Drake tackles this topic as soon as possible after Tariq makes his statement and Riley’s name is cleared. To catch up on this series, you can find the chapters of the main storyline in my masterlist (link is located in my bio).

Drake took another sip of his whiskey as he scrolled through job postings on his phone. Nothing new, or at least nothing new where he met at least half of the qualifications. Sighing, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and downed the rest of the contents of his glass.

Glancing around the bar, he noticed that it had emptied out significantly in the past half hour. It was now after 2:00, and this was the type of bar where people tended to start their weekend revelry before moving onto louder clubs, not end their nights. It was now just Drake and a pair of men sitting about halfway down the bar. The two men appeared to be around Drake’s age, one with light hair, the other with dark. They were wearing nice suits, apparently businessmen blowing off steam after a weekend client dinner. Businessmen who were clearly into Riley, which was probably why they had stuck around so long.

Drake had suspected that they were interested in more than their scotches for a while. He wasn’t sure how to handle this. Obviously, he didn’t want to be that boyfriend, the one who acted like a jealous dick. And Riley clearly had to be friendly with them. They were paying customers. And honestly, they were flirting with her, but nothing wildly inappropriate or anything. If pressed, they would just say they were being friendly. Still, Drake was on edge. Yesterday evening had been so nice. For the last few hours before bar close, Riley had been able to park herself across the bar from him. They had chatted and joked, played some hands of poker, taste-tested different drink concoctions. The only other patrons had been five women who appeared to be in their mid-50s and every time they had needed Riley for another bottle of wine, they had apologized for interrupting her and her “cute boyfriend.” Tonight’s stragglers were not going to be so accommodating.

Drake tried to distract himself by pulling out his phone again, skimming through some news stories, but his eyes kept drifting to the left, watching the two men. His suspicions were confirmed when the darker haired man clutched Riley’s hand when she moved to pour them another round. How dare he touch her! Drake felt himself rising off his stool, ready to stalk over there and let them know just what he thought, but in a flash Riley was over by him, refilling his whiskey and mouthing, “I got this.”

So Drake sat back down, taking a few breaths to calm himself. Riley could handle herself. The last thing she needed was him barging over and causing a scene. So he sat there, waiting for it to be bar close so they could get out of there and away from these assholes. Riley, for her part returned to the other men. She stayed chatting and laughing with them as the minutes ticked down until last call. Eventually, he saw Riley print off two receipts which she handed to the men before taking a tray of dirty glasses into the back. The two men dropped their voices, quickly discussing something. Drake couldn’t pick up what they were saying, but he could guess that it was some disgusting attempt at dibs. His fears were confirmed when they abruptly stopped talking when Riley stepped out of the back, at which point the lighter-haired one asked her, “So, your place or mine?” while his friend shot him an annoyed look.

Drake rolled his eyes. The sooner they got out of here the better. But Riley seemed to have another plan.

“How about this - I’ll go home with whoever here has the best line.”

Drake grinned. This should be entertaining.

“Wait, seriously?” asked the lighter-haired one.

��Yup, let’s see what you got.”

“Alright, well I’ve got a tip for you: Come home with me; it’s the best choice you could make,” said the light-haired one with a wink.

Riley nodded, somehow maintaining her poker face as she turned to his friend, “Derrick, you’re up.”

“I don’t know, with all those drinks you gave me, it would just be the responsible thing to make sure I got home safe.”

Riley grabbed their checks, running their cards through the register, obviously messing with them just a bit more. As she brought their credit cards back to them, the one apparently named Derrick asked, “Alright, Riley - who’s it gonna be?”

“Wait, he didn’t get a shot yet,” said Riley, tilting her head towards Drake.

He quickly reeled in his grin as the two men turned to look at him. After draining his glass of whiskey, Drake pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet. “This cover me?”

“Yeah. Sorry gentlemen, but he’s our winner tonight.”

“Seriously?” Both men stared at Drake, but it was Riley who answered.

“Yup. Get home safely!” her bright smile almost openly mocking the men. The light-haired man glared and opened his mouth as if to say something, but his friend kept looking at Drake. He must have seen something in Drake’s eyes, because he bid Riley goodnight and ushered his friend out the door.

“That was quite the bold play, Liu.” said Drake, as he and Riley walked towards the subway station, waving goodnight to the manager, Cam, who had been on that evening.

“They were arrogant pricks. Everyone knows you don’t hit on someone on the clock in a service industry. I thought this might teach them a lesson.”

“Something tells me that they didn’t walk away with your intended message.”

“Probably. Still, it was kind of fun. Are you telling me you didn’t enjoy it?”

Drake shook his head, but he couldn’t quite hide a grin. Of course, Riley noticed it right away.

“I knew you liked it!”

“Fine, it was amusing as hell. That doesn’t mean I like the thought of you putting yourself at risk. You don’t know entitled like I do.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ve both had to deal with our share of entitled assholes. They weren’t going to actually do anything with you and Cam there.”

“I just don’t want to see you in another Tariq situation, Liu.”

At that, Riley grabbed his hand and tugged him to a stop. “Drake, I appreciate the thought, but I lived and worked in bars and restaurants in New York alone for seven years. Do you really think Tariq was the first man who viewed ‘No’ as a mild suggestion?”

Drake dropped his eyes to the ground, shaking his head regretfully. He wasn’t naive enough to think that Riley had only dealt with complete gentlemen before he knew her. The thought of her having to deal with such douchebags regularly was just depressing. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I know, Liu. I’m just sorry you have to deal with all that shit.” Drake turned his head up and looked her in the eyes, surprised to see a small smile across her face.

“Yeah, it sucks sometimes. Maybe that’s why I just wanted to mess with those two a little tonight, take the chance to have a little fun when men who knew I was counting on them for a tip decided it was a good idea to ask me to go home with them.”

Drake nodded, “I get it, Liu.”

“Besides, you know me well enough to know that I am not one to shy away from poking the bear.”

Drake thought back on all the shit she’d dealt to both Madeleine and Olivia throughout her time at court, “Yeah, yeah, I’m well aware.”

“Come on, it’s frickin’ late. Let’s go home, yeah?”

Drake felt like he should say more, but deep down he knew that his words wouldn’t erase years of actions from other men. All he could do now was be there for her when she needed him. “Sure, Liu. Let’s go home.”

Tags: @wickedgypsymoon @thesumofmychoices​ @cosigottahavefaith​ @thequeenofcronuts​ @thequeenchoices​ @katedrakeohd​ @carabeth​ @feartheendlesssummer

[moodring89]

Dragons & Bambi

 The above is inspiration :)

Pairing: Yoonji x Reader (F X F) Rated: M / NC-17 Genre: Gender bend!AU Warnings:  Light degrading, Possessive love, Jealousy, Anal play, Dildos, Face riding, Spankings     Summary: You were going to war against Yoonji. If she hadn’t cut and dyed her hair, she’d made for a stunning Mulan. Ah, yes. You could see it now. Yoonji – sneaking off into the middle of the night to fight on her father’s behalf, being sassed all damn day by an ancestral guardian, and getting trained rather poorly, by you, no less. No – damn it. You had to quit doing that. This is the sequel to Snow White & Bambi. I recommend reading it first, although it isn’t absolutely necessary.

Notes: 1. This will be the last of the Yoonji x Reader series. I loved writing it, but I’d put other ideas on hold to make this sequel, and I’d like to return to them. 2. There is a section in this story about polymorphic relationships. Yoonji is not down for it and neither is the reader, however that doesn’t reflect how I feel on the matter. Love is love and that’s it. I’ve written a polyamorous story with Yoongi x Reader x Hoseok on my ao3. It’s called SOAK. I’ll probably write more in the future. Sometimes readers will take what is written to base an opinion on the writer, but that’s not how things work. 3. Bad Dragon is real. It’s super real. I love the site. Those of you who are of age, definitely take a look. That being said, the Seadragon is real, too. 4. I edited this so fast, it probably sucks, but a promise is a promise :)   ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dragons & Bambi It had all started with War, which wasn’t real original, but most of the best laid plans weren’t…all that fucking original. How the hell were you expected to play a four way game of War? Yoonji had two decks of playing cards, apparently. Your beautiful, stormy princess liked to gamble. You could tell by the way she effortlessly listed off card games you’d never heard of. Taehyeon herself only knew how to play Uno and you were only vaguely familiar with Black Jack. Jimin couldn’t bear to be typical, claiming that she was merely out of practice, but that she wouldn’t mind relearning Poker. Right. That was the moment when it was decided that you were going to war against Yoonji. If she hadn’t cut and dyed her hair, she would have made for a stunning Mulan. Ah, yes. You could see it now. Yoonji – sneaking off into the middle of the night to fight on her father’s behalf, being sassed all damn day by an ancestral guardian, and being trained rather poorly, by you, no less. No – damn it. You had to quit doing that. Today was supposed to be spent appreciating Yoonji’s cozy studio apartment and her new sleek, black Fazioli. She’d been saving up for the piano for so long, which was why she hardly ate at lunch, and lived off of Costco sized boxes of ramen. She’d played earlier for you and your friends, all parties had been entranced by the way her delicate fingers bent into each key, each stroke graceful and precise. You had to wonder if basketball was just a hobby and this was her real passion. A discussion for another time. Things had changed since thirty minutes ago, what with how your two friends and girlfriend were now sitting on her fluffy mint carpet, emptying their purses out in some sad attempt at upping the stakes. It was Yoonji’s suggestion, of course, since she was a goddamned criminal! You would make it a point to question her about her shady past. Perhaps on a day where you’d be down with losing your girlfriend, turning her in for bounty. You honestly hadn’t been expecting this outcome and you didn’t have any cash on you. You didn’t believe in the stuff anymore, using your credit card for literally everything. Yoonji stared at you, expectantly, “Well?” You zipped up your bag, defeated, “I’ve got nothing, unless we can throw in some tampons?” “Oh, Tampax or Playtex?” Taehyeon asked, seeming genuinely curious. “She wears Always pads, because she’s too afraid to use anything else,” Yoonji mused, thoroughly enjoying the flustered look that washed over you then, like the doom had settled in deep enough to take up residence. She shook her head at your friend, “The tampons are mine and aren’t to be used as currency.” Holly, Yoonji’s toy poodle, padded its way on over into your lap. Pouting as she spoke, your girlfriend shared an idea, “Why not just offer yourself up? Winner gets to do whatever they’d like with you.” Now that – that was interesting. Any kind of scenario where you would get to piss her off was advantageous for you, since Yoonji’s retaliation was often at times an experience. “Anything they’d like with me?” you reiterated, slowly. Yoonji stared between Jimin and Taehyeon. You could tell that she wasn’t in the least bit threatened by them, “I trust your friends, unless you don’t?” Taehyeon peered over at you pitifully, a small tremble to her bottom lip that made your heart sink with a heavy, tangible guilt you had no right to be feeling. Wow, your girlfriend sucked. “Of course I trust them,” you said, immediately. You then scooted towards Taehyeon, gingerly cradling her to your chest in an attempt to comfort her. Goodness, she was adorable. You hushed her softly, “I trust you, Tae-Tae.” Jimin was all too aware of the game that you were currently playing. Not the card game that was about to commence, but the, ‘let’s make Yoonji have regrets’ mind game. She scooped up her cards once Yoonji had expertly shuffled and dealt them out evenly, which – why was that so sexy to you? Jimin decided to go ahead and try her hand at acting, “Jeongguk’s still dying for that threesome, preferably with another girl. You wouldn’t mind helping me out with that should I win, would you?” “Looks like I don’t have much of a choice,” you said, trying your best not to cackle when Yoonji’s body grew stiff from out of your peripheral. She grew quiet then. Taehyeon covered her shocked gasp behind her deck, wide-eyed, “Unnie! I was just gonna have her reorganize my closet or alphabetize my games, or maybe walk Tanie a few times. So, like, okay, I was gonna make her do all of the above, but sexual favors? How could you?” Goddamn it, Taehyeon. Stop being so fucking cute. “Well, after the humiliation he faced during the whole cafeteria debacle a few weeks back, I’m sure that he’d be thrilled to finally get to have at least one of you…” Jimin sighed for the dramatics, looking less like soft mochi and a hell of a lot more like devil’s food cake. She stared hard at Yoonji, using the thugged-out version of her Busan dialect for the occasion, “…Jeongguk would love to play with your precious baby Bambi.” Oh, ho, ho, ho, Merry fucking Christmas. Jimin just delivered. “I’d just like to be invited,” Taehyeon joked, oblivious to the tension that was slowly consuming the air in the room, suffocating those of you who were clued in on the situation. The metaphorical storm clouds were just starting to roll in, casting a shadow that loomed overhead. “Play your cards,” Yoonji said, the tone in which she spoke with uncharacteristically light, as she maintained an eerily calm demeanor. If you were being honest, it was kind of terrifying, but in a way that also made you want to straddle her hips and start kissing her pale neck – wait, no. The game started with the four of you flipping your cards down in unison. It was law of the universe, which you both loved and hated. For some reason, things always seemed to go this way. You’d anticipated a couple of different outcomes, even though War was a game of chance. It required no skill to be played, zero finesse whatsoever. You thought Jimin would have her victory or that you’d end up a few dollars richer. Maybe you’d even become Tae’s personal dog walker, but no – it never, ever truly went the way you’d like it to, and the odds were never, ever in your favor. Because Yoonji had won and if you knew your girlfriend, she wouldn’t hold you to anything, especially since she already had you, right? And she often used you however the hell she pleased, so no real excitement there. Being extra petty about it, she refused any challenges for a rematch, using the excuse of it being late, and that she was tired, even though she usually doesn’t fall asleep until four in the morning, and it was only ten in the evening. The girls left shortly after that, being chased off by Holly, until they were out the door. You stood at the center of the room, rather awkwardly, while Yoonji quietly picked her Naruto printed cards up from the floor. You’d thought things would calm down some, but the tension had only amplified the moment you two were alone. After what had felt like an eternity of unbearable silence, you’d gathered up enough courage to ask her, “Am I staying the night or am I going home, Yoonji?” To keep yourself busy, you started nervously pulling at the Lord of the Rings sheets, making them neater. It was the extra set from your place that you’d given to her upon learning that she’d only had the Lord Nermal ones. No one should have to live under those conditions. An odd sensation hit your chest when she didn’t answer you at first. It felt like a hand had reached its way in and squeezed tight around your heart, Temple of Doom style. “Staying,” she’d said, finally. It killed you that Yoonji even had to think it over. How long had it taken her to decide that she wanted you there? You already knew what you did wrong, but that hadn’t stopped you from inquiring, “What did I do? Was it the Jeongguk thing? I know you don’t really know Jimin very well yet, but she’d never make me do something like that. It was only meant as a joke.” She looked at you, seriously, “Well, I didn’t find it funny, especially when Jeongguk had actually propositioned us.” So, that was it, then. You’d managed to really upset her, which hadn’t been your full intentions. Now you felt awful. “I don’t want him that way and it’s not something that I would ever let happen, because I…” She narrowed her eyes at you, waiting for the rest of that sentence. The word ‘love’ hadn’t come up yet, but it was true. You loved Yoonji. “I thought it was pretty obvious, considering that I’m with you.” “Yeah, that’s another thing,” she said, getting up from her spot on the floor. The way she started to pace gave away to how strongly she felt about it, how important it was to her. You steeled yourself for whatever the hell it was, as she continued, “I don’t understand how your friends can just give each other away so freely. Could you lend me out? Could you watch me fuck someone else? Could you do it? Would you risk me falling for someone else?” You took a moment digesting her words, “I’m not into polyamorous relationships or spontaneous three ways. So, no…I wouldn’t risk it, and I don’t really want to share you. I don’t want to care for anyone else this way…” She’d just opened herself up to you, so it was only right that you should return the favor. “Sometimes, I feel so much for you that it scares me? I’m really not used to it. ‘Kay, like Tinkerbelle, I think my heart is too small to love more than just one.” Oh, shit. Wait. “I meant, like, liking more than just one…” You covered your face, because one, it was fucking embarrassing, and two you were so close to saying that you loved her. You loved her too much to add another person and you were a selfish being with your own jealousy issues. Yoonji had always made you feel so secure in your relationship that you never had to show it, but it was there. Holly was one or two licks away from being homeless, piano skills or not. Yoonji’s hands were cold when she placed them atop of yours, gently prying them away from your face, so that she could look at you. There was a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips, smug, “I love you, too, Bambi.” That was one way to break you completely. The words could now safely be shared between you both and she hadn’t even teased you about your ridiculous metaphor. Ah, Yoonji. You leaned into her and hid your face into the base of her neck. You could cry from the happiness, but you wouldn’t. Maybe you’d save it for tomorrow during your shower. Instead, you enjoyed the way she held you against her, slowly rocking you from one foot to the other. “I didn’t think you’d get this upset,” you sighed, somewhat shakily given all the emotions coursing through you at the moment. You smoothed your hands along her back, clinging like a koala. She smelled so fucking good, like fabric softener and that fancy brand perfume she always wore. “Really, I didn’t mean for it to go that far, but this talk had to happen.” You felt a chill run down your spine when she’d paused, chuckling dryly, “Were you trying to upset me, baby?” Too much time had passed to the point where the answer had become obvious. What was the use of denying it now? “Yes, but I regretted it the moment I realized that you were angry.” “Awe, but you got your way…” Yoonji said, slipping her fingers through your hair in soothing strokes, comforting and baiting you all at once, “…again. So, how am I expected to believe that you’re being sincere with me?” “Well, if you’d just…” believe me? There was no way out of the hole you’d just dug yourself in. You knew that – she knew that, as she gently pulled your head back so that you were staring up into two stones of onyx. Despite how soft the action had been, you knew that she’d felt tested, and that patience had been lost on her a long time ago. She commanded you, softly, “On your knees, sweetheart.” And the only reason she was soft, was because she knew that you would do it, regardless of the tone she used on you. Accomplishing this task meant you had to move slowly, due to the fact that she’d yet to release her grip on your hair. Once you were kneeling on the floor, she used her other hand to grab at the side of your face. Long, ring adorned fingers were splayed out across your cheek, roughly dragging her thumb over your bottom lip. “Open up for me.” The voice she kept using was notably rich and smooth like honey, which had its own pleasant effect on you, especially when it was obvious that Yoonji thirsted – fucking thirsted for you. You could see it in the way her drowsy catlike eyes settled on your mouth, while she waited. You parted your lips, her skin skimming past your teeth when she pushed two slim digits inside your mouth. Yoonji was all about sensation play – already hissing at the warmth she was met with, enjoying the wet velvet beneath her fingertips. Your brows creased when she pushed in deeper, her two fingers spreading around your tongue, mimicking the in and out motion of being fucked. She sighed, deeply, “Jeongguk would love this, wouldn’t he? He’d love nothing more, than to slide his cock inside your hot little mouth.” You whimpered at the husk in her tone, the implication of her words – Yoonji was still upset with you, and for that, she would be relentless. The saliva dripping down past your chin only served to spur her on, as she took a step closer, her legs pressed to your knees. The angle forced you to arch your back, small hands grappling onto the hem of her hooded sweatshirt for balance. She leered down at you, “Look at how well you take me. Are you sure you’ve never done this before? You’re making such a mess, Bambi.” You breathed through your nose, focusing more on suction, cheeks hollowed as you met each thrust of her fingers, slurping around them lewdly. Three was your limit when your jaw had started to ache and your scalp was screaming, when she gave a particularly hard tug at the roots. It was like the more you tried pleasing her, the more annoyed she’d become. “If I had a cock, I’d never stop fucking you,” she said quietly, removing her fingers from your mouth and bringing them to the curve of her lips. “The best part would be…” She slowly licked each digit clean of your saliva, pink tongue flashing, and curling. “…filling you up with my cum and if you spilt it, I’d just fuck it back into you with my fingers. I’d make you hold it in, until you’ve understood that you’re mine.” You swallowed at the lump in your throat, overwhelmed by the picture she’d painted for you. “This is going to be very difficult for you to hear and I’m sorry to have to disappoint you, but I really don’t want Jeongguk,” you said, resting your shaky hands on the tops of your thighs. “You and the fact the you’re a girl, everything…Your body is what’s attractive to me, especially your…” Your eyes stared past her lower stomach, hinting at it, because there was no cute way to say it, in your mind, anyway. Yoonji narrowed her eyes at you, sneering, “My what, baby? My pussy? It’s funny how you can’t even say it, yet you claim to love it so much…” She unbuttoned the top of her jeans, the black ones with the many tears in them. Being pleasured wasn’t Yoonji’s favorite part. There’d been truth to when she’d stated that getting you off, got her off. Whenever she came to you for release first, it was like a special occasion. You felt as the excitement pooled at the pit of your stomach, watching in silent enrapt as she started stripping down into her sports bra, and boy-shorts. Yoonji was a sight to behold. All fair skinned and delicately toned in such few places, and was softer in others. You moved onto the bed, kicking your lazy egg skippers off carelessly. The mattress shifted beneath her weight, as she joined you, your legs falling around her waist to pull her closer. ‘You can’t even say it…’ “I love your pussy,” you breathed out across her lips, bravado there and gone, as you hid into a soft kiss, teeth pulling at her lips the same way she often used against you, hoping that it would wipe her mind clear of your abrupt statement. Her breath hitched with a short laugh, as she removed the pillows from under your head, and tossed them behind her. You knew what she wanted just from that single move, that she would want you to eat your words. “Mm, you also love eating it, too,” she husked, confirming it your beliefs – gathering your hair into a knot at the top of your head, getting it out of the way. It was the small things that Yoonji did that reminded you that she was the one in control. It was how you both preferred it to be. Cupping your face for a short, soft kiss, Yoonji steadied her intense gaze on you, “…and I’m going to ride your mouth, however I want, for as long as I want.” “Come on, then…” you encouraged her, trailing your fingers down her sides and to her hips, guiding her forward. She was very careful when spreading her pale knees over your shoulders, leaning slightly so that you could pull her panties aside. The material was already soaked through with her arousal, the scent of her thick and heady – your mouth practically salivating, eager to taste her. She lowered her hips, slotting herself perfectly against your mouth, all firm and tight without any plausible escape then. The first taste was always satisfying to you, like sweetened salt on your tongue that you wanted to drink in. “Ah, fuck…” she hissed, one hand gripping your hair with the other twisted in the sheets, using both as leverage to grind down onto your tongue. You knew that it wouldn’t take much with Yoonji being so sensitive, even more so than yourself. She’d spiraled fast, coming in a myriad of shivers and filthy expletives. Yes, fuck your mouth, fuck her, and fuck you again. She hadn’t moved off your mouth, when she guided your fingers towards her dripping entrance, tilting her head back when you eased two of them into her slowly, one at a time despite how slick she already was from coming. You pumped your fingers in and out of her tight warmth, mindful of whenever she moved back against them. Her hand grew tight in your hair, “You’re so good, baby. You’re so, so, so good…” She was going to be the death of you… You moaned at the appraisal, the sound of it reverberating against her clit – her back curling, much like a cat’s, in response to the pleasure thrumming throughout her entire body. You dug your nails into her skin, knowing that anywhere you touched was bound to leave a mark, as was the curse of Yoonji’s pale skin. She groaned at the sharp sensation, as she started to undulate her hips in earnest, caught between the quickened thrusts of your fingers, and the wet strokes of your tongue. She’d chased her second orgasm, until she’d felt properly wrecked by it, trembling so hard that you had to hold her still. The guttural sound she made when you pulled your fingers from her made ache at your core, going from dull to acutely uncomfortable. She loosened her grip on your hair and leaned back, so that she wasn’t smothering you for the time being. You licked at your swollen lips, chest heaving for air. It wasn’t as though you were oblivious to the fact you’d been painfully turned on since the moment she asked you to kneel. You knew that inside your panties was an embarrassing mess. Your eyes closed, breathing out, “How do you always taste so good?” “It’s because I’m part peach and we aren’t done yet. I still want your tongue, so stick it out…” her voice was throaty and raw – doing things, doing things to you. And a part of you couldn’t believe what you were hearing, but you did as she asked, extending the muscle into a point as best as you could. Since Yoonji was taller, it was easy for her to sit up to align her soaked entrance with your tongue. She sank down, pulling at her bottom lip with her teeth at the soft, velvety intrusion. It would take much longer to do her in a third time, but you were enthusiastic. The shallow thrusts of your tongue hadn’t been enough to do her in alone, as she rubbed herself to completion. When she’d finally released, you soothed her through it, trailing the flat of your tongue against her slick, cleaning her in the same manner she so often did for you, enjoying the small jolts of her body, still over sensitized. She rolled off of you, throwing her limbs about wherever. Your girlfriend was gorgeous when she was utterly blissed out. Her skin was lightly covered in a blanket of sweat from the exertion, flushed a pretty pink from her ears down to her chest. Her nipples were painfully erect, visibly showing through the thin material of her sports bra. You wanted, but you were not permitted to have. So, you tried to focus on something else, finding that Holly was in his bed with his back turned, a paw placed on one of the keys to his mini piano, asleep. Thank god. After deciding that she wasn’t going to fall asleep easy, Yoonji tapped your arm. You looked over at her and were met with a thumbs up. Your heart was still racing from being engaged in sexual congress for what had felt like several hours with her, lips swollen and tingling as a result. You were so horrifically turned on to the point where you were half-tempted to ride one of her stuffed animals for relief. Thumbs up. “I’m gonna go shower,” she said, promptly patting the space between your legs, where you were practically throbbing. You covered your face with your arm, biting into the skin, because what the actual fuck? A slight curve of her fingers and she was firmly cupping you into her palm. Oh, my god. The way she pressed in revealed just how soaked you were, but there was no invitation sent your way, when she wordlessly abandoned you there. Was Yoonji still angry with you? At the thought of Jimin using you in a threesome that would never, ever happen? You laughed into the quiet of the room, thoroughly annoyed at the situation. It wasn’t a common thing, since Yoonji could do no wrong in your eyes, but this was just absurd. When she finally returned, her silver hair was mostly towel dried, and she was wearing her favorite black sheep pajamas, the pair that you’d secretly coveted. You’d only just managed to calm yourself down, when she slipped under the sheets. Before bed, she usually liked to enjoy the splendors of Reddit, pawing at you to look at whatever she found to be particularly hilarious, but tonight went differently. Instead, you were being engulfed by her slender limbs wrapping around you like vines. You grew still when you felt her mouth pressed hot and wet against sensitive shell of your ear, as she spoke quietly, “You lost the war, Bambi and now you’re all mine. I’ve already thought of what I’m going to do with you.” Oh, right. That happened. “Didn’t you already get what you wanted?” you asked, fighting chills when her breath fanned over your skin with every exhale. It was effortless for her to turn you on, which really wasn’t all that fair. “Like, three times?” Yoonji chuckled short, “You know I’d never let you off that easy.” “You didn’t let me get off, at all,” you grumbled, trying to push her hands away from you, when she pulled you to the wall of her chest. “You’re right, I didn’t and I’ve got news for you, baby. It’s only going to get worse, because I’m not going to fuck you,” she said, as she secured her arms around you more tightly, anticipating your frustration. “Not until I’m sure that you’re desperate for it.” You dared to ask, “Desperate for what, exactly…?” She nuzzled into you with her small nose, teasing the skin at the back of your neck, despite dropping words that were about to make you shudder, “For when I cum inside you.” What? ---------------------------------------------------- The war was ready to come to an end. You were grateful for that fact, having paid dearly along the way, always being reminded of your loss. At first, the thought of Yoonji not touching you was ridiculous. You’d thought that it would be impossible for her to adhere to such rules, but each day she’d proved you wrong, pulling back from your kisses long before they could deepen. You were allowed to get yourself off and you did – countless times, but it wasn’t the same. When would you be deemed as desperate enough? You’d even asked nicely the one day with ice-cream and Netflix prepared, but she’d dismissed you with a single look. Now, you couldn’t dance. Not at all, but that hadn’t stopped you from trying to seduce her, shyly looking away from the heavy scrutiny she’d fixed you with. Perhaps you should have worn something racier than Jimin’s cow onesie? You trailed the zipper down as your hips swayed mostly off rhythm. You hadn’t been wearing a bra beneath it, since the fabric was practically fitted to you anyway. Jimin was less curvy – still curvy, just less. The moment you were about to spread the material apart, she’d quickly grabbed your wrists, stopping you. ‘You really are the cutest, Bambi,’ she’d said, pressing a soft kiss to your nose, successfully deflating you. A few days later she’d finally told you that she ordered a couple things, special toys for your growing collection. The only thing that kept her from destroying you was time. You wondered what else you two could possibly need. Nevertheless, you waited – cursing Sunday when it had rolled around. The tension in your body was steadily building, until you felt as though you would collapse. Literally everything Yoonji did was sexy in some fucked up way or another. It could be something as simple as tying her shoelaces to slurping her ramen. Two packages had arrived the next day. You signed off on them, since Yoonji was busy with putting together a bookshelf, possibly to hold more of your things and not her own. Fixing and building things was something she did often, and was actually quite good at. You held up the boxes, showing them to her. The two were differed greatly in size, one of which had a dragon printed on it. “Your stuff came in,” you said, placing the boxes down on the couch. Holly pawed at the cardboard, confused and intrigued by its existence. “Can I take a shower or do you want my help?” She’d denied you several times already, claiming that the bookshelf was her project. “Go shower, baby,” she said, before stilling in her work, deciding on something. “You should take the smaller package with you and try it on for me.” You picked it up, finding that it was rather light. Perhaps it was clothing? You walked down the hallway and stepped inside the bathroom. Your clothes, along with two fresh towels were placed on the counter earlier. You used a pair of scissors from the sink drawer to cut through the packaging tape, feeling your way past the protective materials, and pulled out a small box. It read: Black Alloy Purple Jeweled Anal Plug? It was about two inches in height and one inch in width, so decently tiny, but you’d never worn a plug. The furthest Yoonji ever went was teasing the pad of her finger against your rim or catching you with her tongue when she sloppily ate you out. You weren’t adverse to the experience, not at all. It was simply just – new. The shower was longer than usual, as you spent a considerable amount of time washing, and rinsing the suds from your body. It’d been a full week, since Yoonji last touched you, which made you feel anxious and self-conscious all over again. You stepped out of the tub and into a towel, patting yourself dry. You skimped on lathering yourself up with lotion, when you’d only end up showering again later. It would have been better if Yoonji had assisted you with this, but there was probably a good reason why she hadn’t. Her lack of patience, her obsession with building that bookshelf, or perhaps her inability to stop once she started? You removed the plug from its plastic and inside the box was a sample packet of lube. It was a generous amount, despite its size, coating the bulbous tip of the toy and around your hole with it. Your fingers were already wet, as you slowly eased one past the tight resistance. You knew then that this was going to take awhile and it did – as you alternated between your pointer and middle fingers, releasing a shallow breath at the odd sensation. With more lube, you were able to push them both in, as you stretched yourself further with each thrust, until you felt ready for more. The cold, smooth feel of the plug made you shudder, as you teased it past your already drenched opening, and felt it catch on your rim. Pressure and warmth filled you up, when you slowly pressed the toy in all the way, the jewel nestled against your hole. You were trembling at the knees, laughing. You were honest to god laughing at how ridiculous the situation was, how such a small thing could completely destroy you. The fact that you were doing this for Yoonji as a punishment had you deliriously turned on. She’d reduced you to this state, leaving you pathetically desperate and needy – all according to her plan. You didn’t bother with getting dressed, settling for the robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It was fluffy and soft on your sensitive skin. Holly was waiting for you when you stepped into the hall, rolling over onto his back for love, which you passed up on – no matter how cute the little devil was, you weren’t about to bend down just yet. The main room was essentially the bedroom, with Yoonji’s bed against the wall with the only window in the room. And on it – sitting pretty and clearly waiting for you, looking almost twice as impatient, was your girlfriend. Judging from the unopened bags of screws and bolts on top of the written instructions, the shelf had been abandoned long ago. Probably the moment you’d turned the shower on. “I wanted to watch,” she admitted, her dark eyes following your every movement, wetting her lips like you were a meal. “The thought of what you were doing nearly drove me mad. I couldn’t even focus on that damn shelf.” You smiled, shyly, as you stepped closer, “What was in the dragon box?” “We’re going to be the proud parents of a baby fire dragon. The egg is under a heating lamp in the kitchen,” she bantered, not skipping a beat. “I’m thinking we can name it Pete, no matter what the gender, and teach our child to roast apples and sweet potatoes. We can live on a farm, sell them locally.” “Oh, yeah? I think Pete is a beautiful name for our fake dragon baby,” you said, bringing your hands to the tops of her shoulders, allowing her to pull you in closer by your hips. You were standing between her thighs, staring down at her, wondering if she could see how badly you needed her. “Bad Dragon is a company that makes very interesting toys,” she explained, while running her hands over the back of your thighs, gripping the flesh there abruptly, before she released you completely. It’d been too close to where you were already so sensitive and full from the plug. Your eyes closed for but a brief moment, trying to pay attention to her words. “There was a rather broad selection. Most of the wearable dildos were made specifically for cum play.” She drew the familiar straps of leather from behind her back, the dildo already secured. It was small in size and silver in color, shimmering with sparkles when she angled it to show you. Yoonji wasn’t into realistic textures, as you’d found out in the past. It didn’t matter to you either way, but the shape of the dildo was unusual – not human. From the base to the tip, its curves and ridges were enticing. “It’s called the Seadragon.” That made more sense to you. She then held up a bottle that contained a milky white substance. Snapping the cap opened, she poured a droplet onto her thumb. “It looks like cum and it’s sticky like it, too.” It was thick and webby when she tapped her pointer finger against it, showing you just how similarly messy it was to the real thing. You’d stayed quiet during her presentation, too hyperaware of how stimulated and sensitive you were to everything – wanting Yoonji to finally take you. Strap up and fuck you before you lose your mind. Her eyes stared up into yours then, her voice filled with heat, “Do you like it, baby? All of these fun things I bought for you?” ‘Baby’… Ugh, yes. You nodded your head in response, not trusting your voice not to sound like nonsense at the moment. “So, how do you wanna do this? You want me to dress up like Lego-ass or how about that weirdly cute bald creature who was obsessed with Frito’s magic cockring?” Gollum. Once this was all over, you were going to sit her ass down to watch the franchise from the beginning, starting with the Hobbit. You untied the front of the robe you’d borrowed and let it fall to the floor, tossing aside your previous apprehension, as you climbed onto the bed, ignoring the pressure below your tailbone. You were flat on your stomach, grabbing onto the cookie-shaped plush with the odd eyebrows. You looked over at her with all the adoration that you could muster, giving her your best look of faux-innocence, despite what was soon to come, “I wanna get fucked...” That was how Yoonji wanted this to go, right? The way her fingers curled into the sheets, almost in warning, made you continue. You bit at the side of your lip, teasingly, “I don’t want you to stop, until you’ve filled me with every last drop of your cum.” That was enough. She sighed out heavily, as though that single breath was the only thing keeping her anchored to all manners of self-control. Now it was gone. Yoonji stood up from the bed, arms crossing at her sides to pull her shirt off. Her breasts were so small that she didn’t bother with wearing a bra. Today was one of those days. You drank in the routine without shame, convinced that you’d never get sick of watching her get undressed. She discarded her panties from off the tip of her toe. “You have no idea how difficult it’s been trying to keep my hands to myself,” she said, her voice an octave away from growling. “That ridiculous dance you did the other day, even though we both know you can’t dance for shit, somehow got me wet after I’d just fucked myself in the shower.” The black leather straps cut into her pale skin, as she fastened it tightly around her slim hips. Moving out of your line of sight, she’d straddled your legs. You kicked them up, lightly knocking into her a few times, until she caught you by the ankles. Yoonji didn’t even have to verbalize for you to stop, for you to cease movement entirely. The Shooky plush in your arms had done little to prepare you for when her palms bit into your skin, the sound of impact startlingly pleasing to the both of you. Warmth radiated over your skin when she repeated the action, spanking you again. “A-Ah, Yoonji…” “I could do this all day,” she said, possessively grabbing at your ass cheeks on the third sting of her hands, spreading you wide until her eyes fell to the purple jewel against your rim – the area around it was pink, and wet still. “It looks sore, baby. Did you take your time prepping yourself? You’re practically dripping right here.” Beneath the plug, your entrance was glistening with arousal, walls clenching from just the light touch of air – at the fact that she was fixated on your most intimate places. Another firm slap made you jolt forward, even though there was no place to escape to. “Raise your hips.” She’d made enough room for you to do just that, but was unwilling to stop touching you. Black painted nails skimmed over your skin, pressing in hard until pink lines followed her every stroke up and down your sides and down the back of your legs. The bite of her nails was enough to make you beg, “Yoonji, fuck me, before I fuck myself.” “That’s not how this works, Bambi. You’re going to be patient for me,” she mused, her hand skimming down the cleft of your ass, taking the jewel between two of her fingers – watching the way your rim stretched when she’d begun pulling it out slowly. “…while I take my time introducing you to a new type of play. I’m gonna make you love it.” You felt so empty once the toy was removed, the heat you felt there gone when she leaned forward and dragged her tongue over your hole. You cried out, digging your nails into plush, “Oh, Yoonji, please…” No amount of begging was going to make her be more merciful towards you. You’d learned that lesson the hard way. Instead, she pressed the small tip of the plug back inside you, watching how well you swallowed it up, before thrusting the point of her tongue into you – wet and soft, determined to prod you as deeply as the alloy had done. She poured the milky lube over your rim, using the plug to catch it before it could ooze out, and pushed the toy back inside of you. She cursed low, “Fuck. I wish you could see yourself…” You whimpered when she started fucking you slow with it. The lube on your skin was a lot like cum, which only added to the appeal as she kept murmuring vulgarities about how good your pussy would look stuffed with it. The filthy sounds of each intrusion would have killed you, if you weren’t already dead. “It has no flavor, which is good…means it won’t muddle how you taste,” she said, teasing her tongue around the jewel, as she started tapping two of her fingers against it. Fuck. You could cry, it felt so good, but you needed to be touched where you ached the most, deeper – you needed more, but she kept avoiding the rest of your body. Bringing a hand between your thighs, you started rubbing over your clit in a familiar routine. You felt struck by the pleasure washing over you then. The extra stimulation felt so good, you could barely keep your eyes opened, snuggling further into the plush. Relief was within your grasp, soft sighs and moans flooding the suddenly quiet room. You hadn’t even noticed that Yoonji stopped what she was doing, until the slap came – the sound of it worse than the sting, when her palm met the tender flesh of your bottom. You’d already been sore from when she’d spanked you earlier. Each breath you took was shaky and uneven. Not bothering with apologies, you slowly withdrew your hand. “Not fast enough for you?” she asked, as she forcibly turned you onto your back. The sheets felt rough against your sensitive skin. The pain was a welcomed pleasure that you’d never had to openly clarify in order for her to understand. Getting Yoonji angry like this was a benefit for you. It was how you’d gotten yourself into this situation in the first place. She parted your thighs with the strength of her own and leaned so that her face was close to yours, her breath reaching your skin, “How’s this, then? You said you wanted to get fucked.” “I’m glad you finally heard me,” you breathed, sighing at how the heat and weight of her body felt so, so good, keeping you pinned to the mattress. She smirked audibly at your rebuttal. The sound was enough to send a chill down your spine, as she guided the dildo up and down between your slick folds, steadily driving you mad. A press of Yoonji’s finger forced some of the thick lube to spill out of the tip, as she continued coating you with every stroke. Punishment in its rawest form was Yoonji’s outright rejection, even though she was about to fuck you senselessly, thus giving you what you wanted, but she wouldn’t kiss you. She wouldn’t place her pretty kitten mouth where you needed it to be – on purpose. So, it would still be a win and loss, despite this entire evening being about you and your pleasure, and your new experience. She brought the curved head of the toy to your entrance and halted, allowing you to feel her there with a hand placed on your hip, holding you still. “You might be too small, baby,” she breathed, the tip of the dildo already stretching you so wide, despite how petite it was, she’d never given you more than you could withstand – her dark eyes flickering from where your bodies were connected to the furrowed expression on your face, as she started pushing into you slowly. Her hips didn’t let up, until you were filled to the brim. The added pressure against the plug inside of you was intense and made you feel deliciously full in both holes. “Fuck, Bambi…” she hissed out, teeth pulling at her bottom lip. “You always look so fucking good when you’re under me, eager to take whatever I give you, so greedy and willing to be wrecked by me.” She emphasized each word with a hard slam of her hips, making you cry out each time. “You always. Want. More.” The flat base of the dildo pressed more firmly against her swollen clit the deeper she pounded into you. Yoonji was meticulous in the way she paid close attention to how close you were by going off of the sounds you were making. She could read you very easily, familiar with all your obvious tells. The way your eyes fluttered shut, mouth parted – how soft sighs had turned into sobs. You were lost in the pleasure licking its way up your thighs, as you cupped your own breasts. She licked her lips at the action, digging her nails into the back of your legs, bending them far enough to capture a nipple into the wet heat of her mouth, sucking down hard enough to make you arch your back against it. You pulled her face to the side of your neck, gasping when you felt her teeth graze sharply over your skin. The new angle allowed her to thrust in deeper and more controlled. You were nearly there, muscles clenching tightly around both toys. “I-I’m so close,” you gasped, arms going around her neck to hold on. You fought your eyes to stay focused on the dark intensity of Yoonji’s half-lidded stare and physically trembled. Why must she be like this? She finally brushed her lips over yours, her voice broken. “I’m gonna cum.” The words were all for show, but you appreciated it. You careened in bliss and were held closely when your orgasm tore throughout your body – coupled by the liquid heat that had started to fill you. Yoonji’s cum gushing out of you as she slowed her hips, easing you through it. She drew back far enough so that she could look, the leather of the straps, and her lower stomach painted in the creamy lubricant. Each time she rocked forward, more of it came out from around the dildo that was still buried deep inside you. From the way she marveled at the mess, it was obvious that she’d found a new kink. Yoonji pulled out and watched as your raw pink walls clenched and unclenched, pushing more of the mingled release out. “That’s so fucking…” was all she managed to get out, before her fingers went to work on the straps around her hips, until it was dangling from off of one leg, quick to expose herself. She grabbed hold of your leg and brought it to the top of her shoulder in a way that was familiar to you. This was how she typically enjoyed fucking you. And Christ. You were still so sensitive. You turned slightly, so that she could fit better against you. It was then that you realized that your ass was completely covered in the thick lubricant. You could feel it as the air swept over your skin. Yoonji ran her fingers over the sticky liquid, gathering it up with her fingers, before rubbing it around the plug. The fuck… Just as she’d brought her hips forward into yours, she slid the bulb from your tender hole, and slammed it back in. Oh, fuck… Perhaps even you’d found a new a kink. She held onto your thigh, using it as leverage to firmly grind her clit against yours, the friction acute and perfect. Yoonji lolled her head to the side, somewhat lost in watching you from between sharp strands of silver hair. Each roll of her hips was aided by the fact that you were already so wet and slippery. The loud smack of skin meeting skin was absurd, as she continued riding you into the bed – all the while, driving the plug into you at the same quickening speed as her hips, reaching towards oblivion for the both of you. You curled your fingers in the sheets, throwing your head back as the pleasure coiled tightly in the pit of your stomach, threatening to come undone for the second time. Yoonji practically growled the moment she’d come, gasping your name over and over again breathlessly. It didn’t take much more after that, when a few more thrusts sent you over the edge, meeting her hips throughout the waves of pleasure claiming your body. For awhile you stayed like that, catching your breath and staring back at one another like you’d just been taken apart, and were now gradually being pieced back together again. This was the aftermath. She pressed a lingering kiss against the leg that she was holding, before placing it back down gently. Next she removed the plug, the oddly satisfying pressure gone. Min Yoonji was the type to be perfectly fine with cuddling you while covered in sweat and cum. However, you weren’t about that life. “We need to clean up,” you rasped, clearing your throat – you’d screamed so much. She’d snickered like she was proud of it, trying to act nonchalant about stifling the sound. You continued, “Us and the toys, so we can put them away, before Holly gets curious...” She complied once the logic had sunk in, but at a snail’s pace, picking everything up, and bringing it all into the bathroom. You treaded behind her softly, turning the showerhead on and tried getting it to the right temperature. She liked it to be scorching hot, the steam soon flooding the bathroom. You turned to tell her that it was ready and found that she was staring directly at you, giving you that look. The same kind of look that predators tended to give their prey just seconds before they pounced, and devoured them. Shaking your head at her, because no, no – you stepped under the spray. You sighed as you felt the tension leaving your muscles, eyes closing as you stood there allowing the water to hit your back. You hadn’t noticed that Yoonji had joined you, until you were being pressed against the cool tiles. Her hand kept you still, as the water soaked through her hair. It was her turn apparently. She nodded to you, “How was it?” You knew what she was referring to, as this was the first moment you both had to address it. How did you like anal play? How did you like being filled up with fake cum? Honestly. “I really liked it,” you confessed somewhat hushed, despite how it was amplified due to the cramped space. The moment she moved closer, you settled more against the tiles, knowing that this exchange would not be short. You laughed, weakly, “I’m so tired, Yoonji.” “Yeah, that’s nice, but I’m not really sure how to keep my hands off of you when you’re right here, all naked and wet, and open to anal play.” You wanted to argue that she’d been turned on prior to that fact. All you needed was to be in the same room as her and Yoonji was ready to have you again…and again. There was no control. You brought your head to her shoulder, perving in on her small breasts. She’d only come once, after waiting for as long as you had. Truthfully, you wouldn’t have been satisfied with just one, either. You suddenly clamped your fingers down on one of her nipples, drawing a gasp from her lungs. You weren’t very good at this, which was probably why she allowed you to reverse the positions without much apprehension. Her back bounced slightly from the impact of meeting the wall and for a second you feared for your life, when she chuckled low, crooking a finger to call you forward. In a minute. You reached up, which was ridiculous given your height, and grabbed the detachable showerhead. You turned the dial onto a more powerful setting, to where the hot water jutted out rather sharply, and you watched as she jumped when you sprayed her on the leg. “What the fuck!” she gasped, feeling the water slowly trailing upwards. “Stay still,” you said, somewhat warily, knowing that if she had it her way, you’d be filled up all over again. Besides, there was no reason to trust her, even as she nodded her head in compliance. Not even a moment later, Yoonji had already betrayed you, pulling you into a kiss that consisted of teeth and tongue. This girl…You groaned into her, turning the spray in your hand and pressed it between her thighs, letting the water hit her directly. You didn’t allow her to pull away for air, holding onto the side of her face. More sensitive when wet, you dragged her bottom lip into your mouth, tugging hard on it, until she winced. You moved the spray back and forth, when she took hold of your wrist, keeping you still – her breathing becoming harsher, her sounds more desperate. You wanted to hear her better, as you willed yourself to part with her soft lips. You caught droplets of water in their travel with your tongue, drawing hard circles into the side of her neck. “Ah, Bambi, fuck…” she moaned, sliding her slim fingers through your hair, keeping your teeth against her skin. “That feels so good. I want you to mark me…” What an odd request from Yoonji. You sucked bruises along her collarbone, painting her skin in colors of red and purple – the contrast so starkly noticeable given her skin tone. They wouldn’t be there for as long as the ones she’d left on you, but it was still satisfying. You continued down lower to her tiny breasts, your mouth big enough to cover one side completely, before going to the other – taking turns swirling your tongue around her sensitive nipples, each flick causing her hips to stutter. “I’m gonna come,” she breathed, rolling her hips against the turret of water. The hand in your hair pulled you back up to her mouth, kissing you firmly the moment she released, trembling in your arms. You immediately dropped the spray, replacing it with your thumb, so that you could rub her through it, aware of how sensitive she must be, and would need something much softer. Slow, needy kisses, as she licked into your mouth, thanking you without having to say it. Her touches burned your skin, as she dug her nails in. This too, was a new experience for you both. She was vulnerable to you, which was something you cherished. Yoonji wasn’t perfect. You knew that from the beginning, but you’d like understand her insecurities. You wanted to help her put them away the same way she tried helping you with yours. That was love to you. After rinsing off in the then lukewarm water, you put on one of her large shirts, and a pair of panties from your designated drawer that was part of her dresser. She was in a pair of shorts and a tank top, pulling at the dirty sheets, and spreading out her Lord Nermal set. You helped her remake the bed, before climbing into it. Holly jumped up, already familiar with the routine, and settled just below your toes. “Traitor,” Yoonji pouted at her dog, as she plugged in her phone to start browsing Reddit. You curled towards her, placing Shooky down into her lap, so that you had a semi-comfortable pillow. Her fingers were in your hair, lazily stroking through the strands, as she read over articles, “Wait, wait, listen to this one. ‘My girlfriend is obsessed with brand name clothing and accessories. Is there any way to make her happy without throwing down my soul? Why isn’t my dick enough for her?’ Maybe Hoseok wrote this article.” You laughed, sleepily, “That sounds like him. We should invite them over this Friday. I want to watch the Hobbit, so that you could actually know who you’re role-playing next time.” “I’ll probably hate it. The movie, the company, but yeah,” she said, moving her fingertips to the side of your neck, trailing softly. “Sounds good.” “We should invite Jimin, too.” “Seems reasonable.” “She’ll probably want her boyfriend there –” Her hand twitched upon your skin, pausing, “That isn’t gonna happen.” “You need to get over Jeon Jeongguk.” “We’re both nice and showered. So, let’s not rile me up,” she said, sparing you a glance away from her phone. That was what you lived for, though. Which was why tomorrow, you were going to send out a group text, ‘accidentally’ hitting the ‘JK’ contact on your phone. “I can practically see the fucking cogwheels turning in your head,” Yoonji accused, lightly nudging your head with her thigh. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, know that I’m capable of much worse.” It wasn’t much of a threat. It was more like, the promise of fucking you just how you wanted it. “I’m offended, to be honest,” you said, removing the plush from her lap, and throwing yourself down dramatically onto your side of the bed. “I love you, even though you lied about there being a fire dragon baby in the kitchen. I had checked and everything. My dreams of becoming cartoon Maleficent are crushed now.” She placed her phone on the nightstand, before turning the light off. “That’s what I’m here for, to crush your fucking dreams. I love you, too, baby.” Yoonji kept to herself when she slept, prone to one position and staying there throughout the entire night. However, you’d gotten so used to sleeping beside her that you were comfortable with doing more – anxiety no longer present when lying down with her. In the dark, the silence was too loud for you to fall asleep. You instinctively moved closer – just close enough to feel the warmth of her skin radiating against your own. You leaned your face up towards her, searching for that good night kiss. Despite not being able to see anything, you certainly heard her smirk, when she closed the distance, and kissed you softly. “Good night, Yoonji.” “Mmph…” ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fin~

[tales-from-exo-planet]

LYON || PATHCODES VOL. II

ACT I. “Are we only a violon d’Ingres?” Length - 4,759 Mood - disquieted, burdened Pairing - Baekhyun x Reader

Warning - Some sexual themes present

“When the deep night is coming to an end I fade like smoke I come back to you on dark nights With a dream” “She’s Dreaming” by EXO

November

“Can you hold my calls please? Yes. I will...yes please tell them I will call them back as soon as I return to the office. Yes the meeting for Fête des Lumières should be set for tomorrow...mhm...yes I expect you to be there...mhm I’ll be back. Merci au revoir…” you called into the receiver before the line clicked on the other end. Taking a deep inhale and a steady exhale, you tucked your cellphone into your inner leather blazer pocket and relaxed into the hard plastic of your tram seat with your eyes closed and waited for your stop to be announced.

But a sudden stirring within your blazer pocket, had your eyes open once again and unzipping your coat. 

“Will you still be able to make it?” Baekhyun had texted you.

You quickly responded, “on my way. Just had to push an appointment back. How is she doing?”

You bounced your knees as you waited to see the three dots appear on your screen letting you know that he was writing back.

They flashed for a moment before you were able to read his response. “You’d be so proud of her. She’s giving the therapist her attention and is listening. We’re talking now. I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

And he added a kiss emoji.

You sighed a breath of relief before pressing your slim phone back into your blazer pocket as the tram whirled through the center business district of Lyon, La Part-Dieu where your office was to the building just a couple blocks down.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Byun,” the speech therapist said as she rose from the floor where she was sitting with Yun Hee and your Baekhyun upon your entrance to therapist’s office.

From what the receptionist on the first floor said, your session was being held in the music therapist’s office which was directly across from the speech therapist’s office.

The little blue room had different instruments of all shapes and sizes neatly placed in bins along the wall. There were motivational posters and a musical scale placed on the wall as well.

You recognized the scale to be a C scale from your few but lengthy piano lessons with Baekhyun once upon a dream.

He had begun teaching Yun Hee too now that you’d purchased a baby grand. Well having little concerts for her, rather since she still hadn’t grasped the concept of “my turn, your turn.” 

It was always Yun Hee’s turn.

You were still a little out of breath after rushing up the flight of stairs to get to their session area.

Even with taking that moment to compose yourself before knocking and entering.

Baekhyun smiled a smile meant only for you the moment you appeared. 

Though you weren’t shy about kissing in public when greeting each other, a smile like the one he wore expressed the sentiment perfectly.

You smiled back at him letting your gaze linger for a moment before shifting as Yun Hee turned to see where her teacher had gone as she sat amid a xylophone, egg shakers, scarves, a bubble wand, and what appeared to be cards.

Her eyes lit up when she saw you standing there, and she promptly rose from where she sat, babbling as she reached her arms out to you, and headed in your direction, her hands grabbing fistfuls of air as she went as if she was pulling herself forward.

You were proud of the way your little trio looked.

Each of you wore a Supreme hoodie underneath a black leather jacket, dark jeans and Nike’s with some variations since you had just come from the office while Baekhyun was home with Yun Hee for today.

You were equally proud of Baekhyun that he dressed her just as you would have, with her little fairy tutu, as you called it at home, over her jeans.

You dropped to your knees and opened your arms to her, cheering her on, “come to maman!” 

Baekhyun watched from where he was cross legged on the ground, his eyes sparkling as he watched her go.

She faltered as she got closer, seeing Baekhyun in your peripheral view rising up to his knees to get her, but you caught her before she fell, whisking her up into the air and crying out, “oh! You did so well Yun Hee.”

She squealed open mouthed with delight, and you held her to your chest, kissing her head and cheeks, and hands.

“Maman vous a manqué,” you cooed against her hair, and she pressed kisses against your chin, her chubby hands reaching up to grab your cheeks to pull you closer.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the music therapist also greeted you from where she sat opposite Baekhyun.

You nodded to her, greeting her as well, “thank you so much for seeing us on such late notice. I apologize for being so late to her initial appointment. I will be able to bring her in the future and I will be on time,” you apologized immediately but both therapists shook their heads, smiling genuinely at you.

“We were just speaking with your partner about Yun Hee’s needs,” the music therapist shared.

“Jagi, I was telling them about the circumstances of her birth. Technically she is 18 months and while it’s still early to expect many words...we’ve noticed that she isn’t able to form words easily. She can...I guess I would put it that she can sing,” Baekhyun said looking down at Yun Hee who reached up to touch her father’s chin.

He turned his face into her palm, kissing her open hand.

She squealed happily, clapping her hands rapidly as she burst into a fit of giggles.

Baekhyun leaned over so that Yun Hee was looking up at him and seeing him upside down. 

You sighed as Yun Hee giggled louder until you heard Baekhyun quietly whisper to her, “내 작은 공주님, 조용히 들어주세요?”

You turned your head slightly to see Yun Hee mimicking her father’s pose, of holding one finger over both of his lips signaling that it was time to be quiet. Her eyes were wide as she watched her father and Baekhyun did his best to maintain a straight face, and set a good example though you could still be mischievous light in his eyes that he was giving every effort to restrain. 

He should have said that we are both on our best behavior, you laughed quietly to yourself but quickly covered it up by clearing your throat so as not to distract Yun Hee. 

Both therapists chuckled to themselves as they watched her and Baekhyun maintaining their poker faces before continuing.

“From what we can see, she has many gross motor and fine motor abilities which is wonderful. She recognizes her name and her parents. She understands directions and is able to identify some of her colors. She also does try to communicate in her own way as you’ve cited,” the speech therapist went on reaching out a hand to Yun Hee who grabbed on to her hand, her poker face long forgotten.

She stood from where she sat between you and Baekhyun and attempted to crawl across the small space on the padded floor to sit in the therapist’s lap but you picked her up immediately, bringing her to your lap.

“Yun Hee,” her father sang to her and she giggled as she looked up at him, putting her chubby pointer finger up to her lips.

You all laughed aloud at that.

“Yes, I’m baffled by what she understands and yet is still unable to do,” you said as Yun Hee wiggled from your lap and reached for her father who picked her up immediately.

He lifted her up in his arms, kissing her all over the way you had done. Yun Hee snuggled into his embrace, her eyes closed as she smiled and held close to her father’s neck. 

“Something I am curious about is whether you have decided to begin teaching her one language?” The music therapist asked, an answer that the speech therapist also appeared to want to hear.

You looked at Baekhyun who answered as he rocked Yun Hee who was starting to doze off.

“Well...from what we were reading that may be why there is an issue now. She hears both Korean and French at home. She is surrounded by both cultures. She has both a mémé and a halmoni. She also has an haraboji. Plus she has sam-chons from my side...I realize it will be more difficult for her…” Baekhyun bit his lip as he looked at you and you looked to both therapists who looked back at you both in a way that suggested you had nothing to feel bad about. “I realize that she may be confused because the way sounds and words are formed are different in both languages...is there something you would recommend to us?” You asked and the speech therapist spoke up.

“Well the literature does suggest that Yun Hee having a small vocabulary to begin with as she learns both languages, is very typical. Even while observing you now I can see that Baekhyun you speak both in French and Korean to Yun Hee while her mother speaks mostly French. As long as both parents are reading to Yun Hee, singing to her, talking with her and surrounding her with both languages, there is a chance she will grow to process both languages and be able to adequately use both. What is set against Yun Hee however is that she already exhibits some oral motor developmental delays...I think she has receptive language but I do not think she has strength in her mechanical expressive language which is quite different altogether,” the speech therapist mused as you all watched Yun Hee doze in her Appa’s lap.

“So what can we do at home to encourage her to make words instead of just sound?” You asked nervous that they would be unable to give you an answer. Yun Hee’s pediatric neurologist in Colorado Springs had recommended this specific Speech Language Therapist to further evaluate Yun Hee’s ongoing developmental needs as the clinic was a multidisciplinary clinic that housed physical therapists, occupational therapists, music therapists, art therapists, dance therapists and more through the week. And you hoped that by being inundated with multiple therapeutic disciplines, Yun Hee would begin to see progress. 

The therapist was right in observing her strengths and also her weaknesses. While she was a plump baby, you regretted that it wasn’t due to healthy feedings. 

As recommended by your pediatric neurologist and as also recommended by the Speech Language Therapist on the recommendations sheet you were reviewing as the session wrapped up, Yun Hee was on a very specific sensory diet to teach her how to use her mouth. 

Your mother and mother-in-law were patient with Yun Hee and her fussiness at meal time whenever they came to visit which relieved you and Baekhyun for nap time before heading back to work. 

“Whatever the physician says, follow it completely so she can get better. It’s hard now but Yun Hee will improve, you’ll see,” your mother said to you after tucking Yun Hee in for an afternoon nap just yesterday. 

Baekhyun thought the same and told you as much as you said your goodbyes to both therapists, made an appointment at the reception desk for the following therapy sessions, and carried a peaceful Yun Hee out. 

“Wait, mind her jacket,” you warned stopping Baekhyun who held Yun Hee in his arms before you walked through the doors. 

While he held her, you pulled her leather blazer, and hood up around her ears, and pulled her ear warmers down over the top of her ears. 

Baekhyun waited while you adjusted her and started bouncing his knees when Yun Hee started whimpering. 

“그건 내 공주 야. 아빠가 왔어,” he murmured against her temple as she snuffled and burrowed into his broad chest. 

“I can go home with you and make dinner and then…” you headed down the stairs ahead of them with Baekhyun trailing behind you carefully taking each step one at a time. 

“Yea that works because you need the car right?” Baekhyun asked as he caught up to you where you held the door open and took Yun Hee to put her in her car seat. 

Baekhyun hurried to the driver’s seat, his hair bouncing in the wind as he coasted around the SUV and hopped into the driver’s seat. 

“How are the preparations coming for the Festival of Lights?” Baekhyun asked, reaching for your hand once he pulled out of the parking spot and merged into traffic leaving the business district. 

You exhaled hotly.

Baekhyun squeezed your hand. 

“As much as I appreciate the Pathcodes, it’s hard to coordinate my regular schedule with community events like this. I’m looking forward to it but my stress level is mounting…” you pouted to Baekhyun and he brought your hand up to his lips, kissing the back of each knuckle after intertwining your fingers. “It’s very stressful managing all of this. The Pathcodes, my broadcasting schedule, the house, Yun Hee’s appointments, it’s so much,” Baekhyun sighed, his tone mirroring your own. 

“Can we really do this..?” You wondered aloud feeling Baekhyun flinch. “We promised each other that we would try,” he answered and remained silent for the rest of the drive, with your hand in his. 

—————————————— “Ya Yun Hee, mon petit oiseau,” Baekhyun sang dispiritedly as Yun Hee wailed and refused to eat the sweet potatoes he offered to her. 

You had just finished cleaning up the kitchen with some help from your home staff and had returned downstairs to grab your clutch purse from the kitchen counter so you could head back to the office to wrap up your list of today’s leftover to-do’s. 

You stood at your stone island reapplying your lipstick using your compact, feeling Baekhyun’s eyes on you. 

You’d changed into your heeled boots and tighter jeans, and you wore one of Baekhyun’s button downs underneath your leather jacket with your favorite lace bandeau peeking out.

Closing your compact, you turned slightly over your shoulder to catch his enamored gaze. 

You smirked, biting your lip as you took your time placing your compact and lipstick back in your clutch before slowly making your way from the island counter to where Baekhyun sat with a frustrated Yun Hee. She was currently “painting” the tray of her high chair in a smooth smear of rustic sweet potato orange and singing to herself quietly “ahh ohhh ahh eee.”

“내 사랑은 ... 가야하니?” He whined as you leaned over Yun Hee to kiss Baekhyun after kissing Yun Hee goodbye. 

He held you around your waist and pulled you into his lap, his long nimble fingers gripping your thighs as he held you there.

“Ya jagi these are my favorite jeans,” he whispered into your neck, his hand delicately cupping the back of your head as he nibbled the skin just underneath your ear.

His other hand slid up your pant leg to wind around your waist and grip your bottom. 

He gave a satisfied grunt which made you blush as you curled into his embrace, lifting your legs until he could fully hold you on his lap. By bringing yourself closer to him though, he had full access to you. 

“Mm Baekhyun not in front of Yun Hee!” You moaned against his ear but he only nuzzled you back as he whispered, “you shouldn’t have sat down jagi.” “Baekhyun!” You gasped as he reached his hand that wasn’t supporting your behind to pull his button down apart where it was clasped at the center of your breastbone. 

“Say it again,” he murmured only for you to hear, his eyes drifting from yours to the skin he revealed above your bandeau. 

He parted his lips slightly, releasing a puff of hot air against your skin. 

You moaned at the sudden sensation and gripped his shoulders for balance. 

He breathed another hot puff of air before bringing his lips to your skin, giving you a soft kiss that gave way to sucking and nibbling. 

“Baekhyun,” you murmured actually pushing against his broad chest weakly. “I….I have. I...I have to g-go...oh!” You writhed against him, your fingers ascending up to the base of his neck and further to his substantial tangle of sleep untidy locks. 

You felt him smiling against you and leaning backwards after he kissed your open panting lips and shifted so that you’d have to stand. 

You twisted in your stance, frustrated that his titillation ended without complete fulfillment and also in slight embarrassment because you were sure that the staff were just in the other room. 

But Baekhyun’s blazing smile eradicated all other thoughts. 

“Now you can go safely jagi,” he murmured, licking his lips as he watched you finger your blooming, puffy, aching love bite. 

“This will protect me hm?” You asked hearing Yun Hee vocalizing quietly to herself as she slapped the tray. 

“It protects my heart...which you have and it wards off all evil. I can’t be too careful...especially with you going out looking like that…” he bit his lip, dragging his teeth as he drawled the extent of his phrase, his eyes scaling you. 

“Oh my King,” you whispered closing your eyes as you leaned forward to kiss him once more enjoying the wet pop your lips made as they released each other. 

“Mm jagi…” he murmured, his tone rising as you pressed a chaste kiss against his neck allowing him to inhale your perfume once again before stepping away giving him full view of your backside as you went. 

“I’ll be back later…” you called hearing Yun Hee sing you out. “Ahh ahh!” The drive back from the office was quick in the twilight hours of the morning but every minute seemed to last an hour until you were pulling into your drive. After gathering your clutch you hurried to the front door, fishing for your keys as you flew up the steps turning once to wave at your groundskeeper as he welcomed you home. 

“Your violon d’Ingres has to be the way you reflect the light of the sun no matter the time of day. Une merveille! Même les iris tremblent et vous saluent!” He exclaimed from the iris bulbs he had been looking after. 

You and Baekhyun had decided to employ staff to help maintain the grounds and your home throughout the week. 

The day staff consisting of a butler and a nursemaid came from 10am to 4pm during the days when both you and Baekhyun were home with Yun Hee. Your butler, an older woman who took tremendous pride in maintaining your home, extended her time overnight when either yourself or Baekhyun were away. It was still difficult getting used to having people around when you were so used to the tranquil universe of your flat.

Sometimes when you stayed out too late to drive home, you took a bus back to your old place for which you still held the key, leaving your car at the office. You’d send Baekhyun a text to let him know where you were and he would face time you immediately as you trudged up the steps.

“Ya jagi it’s dangerous going alone at night. Couldn’t you have come home earlier?” He would complain but the moment you were in the door and lying on your old bed, he would lie down as well and whisper, “Yun Hee and I will miss you this morning. Come home safely for breakfast jagi,” he’d purr into the phone and you’d blow kisses at each other before propping the phone up on your pillows as you drifted off to sleep together.

Those trips out to your old flat didn’t happen as often now that you’d hired your former intern for a full time position as well as another intern.

You three made quite the team and it couldn’t have happened at a better time with the way Pathcodes was soon to expand once again in celebration of its successive second year.

“Baekhyun…” you called as you passed through tour tranquil foyer upon closing the front doors behind you. 

Sometimes he was awake in the kitchen having breakfast with your butler and nursemaid, chatting them up while they waited for Yun Hee to wake up. Other times he was on the phone with Jongdae as he prepared to fly out once more.

But when you went deeper into your home you saw that he was still sleeping. “So much for finishing what we started,” you sighed to yourself as you peeled off your jeans and shrugged out of your leather jacket.

You kept on the bandeau, and pulled on your robe and a pair of his Supreme sweatpants he had been wearing when you left before ducking back out of your bedroom to let him rest. Tiptoeing lightly, you hurried down the hall to Yun Hee’s suite.

“Good morning my sweet baby,” you whispered as you brought your daughter to your chest.

She squirmed in your arms, her thick arms and legs wriggling against as she shifted so that she could see your face. You bounced a little as you cooed and smiled at her, blowing wet raspberries against her dewy plump cheeks, delighting in the way she squealed aloud.

Her eyes dancing with the light of her father’s, she urged herself forward pulling at the soft fabric of your open robe so that she could kiss your cheek.

“Thank you my sweet baby, thank you,” you whispered snuggling her close, feeling her soft puffs of air against your cheek, as you stopped swaying from side to side to stand in place.

The light of the rising sun illuminated your tranquil scene. 

It shone on you and your precious baby girl, enveloping you in a warm beam of light as you both stood quietly holding each other close giggling as she continued to try to give you wet kisses.

Ever since you arrived at what Baekhyun proudly called “your manor” you spent each morning sunning with your little princess, relishing the bonding time spent more and more without your tiny girl needing her oxygen tank.

But you couldn’t bear to throw the tank away, just in case.

Just in case.

The long term projection of her safety and holistic health was never far from your thoughts. Each new tidbit of diagnostic information plagued your thoughts when you laid her down to sleep each night.

Baekhyun teased you jokingly but you knew he was slowly beginning to worry about the sudden strictness of your diet and cleaning routine when you weren’t fully invested in work or engaged with Yun Hee.

While you hadn’t spoken to anyone about it, you felt that it was your fault.

There was something you hadn’t done right.

You didn’t exercise enough.

You didn’t mind your vitamins.

You had been too carefree during your pregnancy.

And look at what you had done.

Look at your sweet baby girl.

“I’m just trying to lose the baby weight,” you’d say as he whined about your gradual slimming down. 

“Ya, but jagiya...” Baekhyun would occasionally protest, seizing hold of your waist when you were finally still, naked except for your silken panties you wore for him that Baekhyun gifted to you some time ago during that same weekend of his birthday when you first arrived at the house.

“Baekhyun it's your birthday...why are you suddenly giving me a gift?” You asked, very suspicious of the smirk he gave which was quiet on his lips as if the gesture required no explanation. 

“Don’t act like you don’t know jagi,” his eyes teased as he stood for a moment more taking you in as you held up the silken undergarments with the tips of your fingers.

He languidly moved from his post against your closed bedroom door, approaching you as if he was primed to pounce at any moment.

Unconsciously you braced yourself against the edge of the sink, hearing the slight crunch and crinkle of the wrapping paper and gift bag from which the silken panties had been unearthed.

Baekhyun moved in front of you, pressing his cheek against yours as he pressed his lips to the curve of your ear so he spoke directly into the canal.

You gasped at his hands that caught your thighs, the pads of his fingers pressing themselves against your skin and then relieving you of the pressure. The steady pulse of his touch making your heart race.

Your lips remained apart in surprise as he glided his open palms against your bare skin feeling every goose bump rise as if propelling his path upwards until he met your plump bum. 

“It's my present to me. It's my birthday and I want cake...” You moaned as he squeezed the supple mass, pressing his nails delicately into the skin.The same whine you emitted at his purposeful touch he too echoed as he watched you from behind...the burning light of his eyes ensnaring your gaze in the vanity mirror as he lowered himself until his face met your posterior.

You flushed as he slid his palms along your hips, pulling you back so that he could press his nose against the downy soft skin.

He took in a sharp primal inhale of air between his teeth, opening his mouth slightly after licking his lips. 

“Jagiya, I like my cake like this,” he murmured kissing your right cheek fully.

You tittered at the string of spittle connecting his lips to your bare bum.

But Baekhyun didn’t even wipe his mouth.

He let his eyes glide slowly between focusing on yours to sliding down the curve of your spine until they rested back on your bum.

You felt your knees give slightly as he opened his mouth against your skin, his teeth grazing you territorially.

You gasped in sudden exasperated want, the central nerve between the tops of your thighs spreading its signal to every nerve along your spine. You felt him everywhere and from everywhere. And though it was delicious it was terribly frustrating as you wanted to concentrate solely on the way he was suddenly pressing his teeth into you claiming you, again.

Mind over matter.

“This is mine,” he growled against you and you nodded into the air above and around you thankful for the firm planting of your feet beneath you. 

If he went on, and he would, you couldn’t hold yourself up any longer.

But even in the eventual bliss that followed that moment it did nothing to assuage the growing dread that you felt growing inside your gut.

You couldn’t push it aside even as Baekhyun consumed your senses.

You realized as he came into you, as he expertly tapped into every nerve, humming with you and goading you on, not ceasing his assault until you were both thoroughly delivered, spent, panting, and crying, that he wanted you to exist in a perpetual state of domestic bliss.

He wanted you to be alone with him when you were in your sacred place.

Grinning, wildly from ear to ear or purring quietly as a cat.

He wanted your home to be a sanctuary.

He wanted your laughter.

Your smiles.

No more worry.

No more fear.

And you obliged him.

You were his sunshine in the daytime hours and when his eyes were closed, you went into your twilight.

You remained there alone, petrified as you watched every horrible possibility flash before your stricken eyes.

Baekhyun’s soft puling and whimpering which used to sound so close was now so far away.

As if he existed in another universe, as if your body remained with him and you traveled into your own solitary purgatory.

When you returned to him in the morning you were exhausted and sometimes slightly envious of the carefree slack of his jaw as he whispered, “good morning.”

Was it still good?

You couldn’t know until you found her blinking happily up at you just as her father did.

It was almost as if she was echoing him, “good morning”

[aceofwands]

it wants to give us the exciting parts and the emotional pay off without actually doing any of the work, is the best way I can think to explain it Ria hateblogs Discovery: Episode 7 “[Poorly Written Time Travel] Magic to Make[s] the Sanest [Wo]Man Go Mad”

liveblogged to @kendradaynes

we had entirely 'last time on Discovery' before the intro credits, like not even a teaser ...

kendradaynes... That's an unusual choice

aceofwands I thought so too!

it was just Mudd being left behind on the Klingon ship. probs cause Mudd is gonna show up (we saw in the teaser last week). seems an odd choice too, like it was only a couple episodes ago, we haven't forgotten what they did???

close up of Michael's face, giving a personal log

oh lord

already paused it to write an awful line of dialogue down: "despite my fears, I seem to have found my place on this discovery"

discovery of WHAT

the dialogue is so bad Shin, so bad

kendradaynes..... What? That is...That makes angsty teenage fic seem well written

aceofwands: she's talking about the ship's settled into routine ... which ... what? aren't they in the middle of a war?!!!!!!!!

and about how she's made a friend in Tilly, and how she's taken comfort in her work

and how "this ship has become the most important weapon in the Federation's arsenal"

and I can't even

it doesn't even feel like they're at war! the way they go around on this shiny ship and talk about how it's settled into routine?????? 

kendradaynes... I want to send them all of DS9 s7 and Voyager's Year of Hell 2 parter and maybe Enterprise season 3 to show WHY THAT WOULDN'T WORK

aceofwands: Stamet's wacky drive piloting ability has "Given him access not just to unseen parts of space but his personality as well" and like ... that's a worry! WHY IS NO ONE WORRIED ABOUT THIS

kendradaynes THAT IS NOT A GOOD THING GET THAT MAN TO A PSYCHOLOGIST

aceofwands I keep pausing this ONE PERSONAL LOG

she confesses she finds some members of the crew more interesting than others (lol what others, they feel even more like background characters than any of the other shows somehow???) and it's her talking to Voq-Tyler

(people online have been debating how it's too obvious that he's Voq, but I don't have any faith in these writers not doing the really fucking obvious)

"Lt Tyler has suffered so much and still maintains such dignity and kindness" I really really hope he actually is Voq like wow I want them to be this bad at writing (and nothing I've seen so far makes me think they're any good at it)

“I fear my personal history interferes with my ability to forge relationships. I am among the others yet also apart." I can't get over this, it's like bad self-insert fan fic (I'm not even 5 mins in lol, I'd better let her finish her stupid log and stop pausing it lol)

oh lord, she's facing one of her greatest challenges so far ... they're having a party

they're ... playing ... beer ... pong ... on Star Trek

this is like a gross noisy college frat party ... on Star Trek ...

why is Michael not wearing casual clothes ...

kendradaynes... #weneedtheorville

aceofwands Orville's party in Pria had more dignity??? which y'know, the show is full of dick jokes

oh it's okay though, Tyler is giving a speech

wait did he just point to a guy who's "sacrificed for us" who had some sort of disability? I went back - there's a guy sitting on what I think is supposed to be a futuristic wheelchair I guess?

how did we get from It's Only a Paper Moon to this?

kendradaynes There are also... Very few disabling things that can't be at least partially cured by the 23rd century

aceofwands yeeeeah my thoughts exactly. but it was unclear and part of a dramatic speech so

Tilly left Michael and Tyler alone together at the party, but they were asked to report to the bridge

I still don’t know why everyone loves Tilly ... she doesn't seem like a cadet, unless you count the AOS crew as cadets ... again, everyone's too 2017

ummmmmmm. so Michael and Tyler were walking along the corridor. when she bumped into Stamets and knocked a container of whatsits over. and he hugged her and asked why she's apologising for a random moment that makes life so gloriously unpredictable and WHY IS NO ONE CONCERNED FOR HIM

kendradaynes... That makes sense. He sounds high

aceofwands ohthe Doctor has just shown up in this conversation out of nowhere. "I deeply apologise for my partner, lately he's been acting ... different"

WHY ARE YOU HERE IN THIS RANDOM CORRIDOR DOC! YOU WEREN'T WALKING BESIDES STAMETS??? WHY DID YOU TURN UP JUST TO BE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION

(I keep pausing it, I'm only 7 mins in, I might uh ... stop pausing it and try to keep up lol)

kendradaynes There are so many plot holes in this show

aceofwands they made a cybernetic augment for his arm?? 

then they asked what the deal between Michael and Tyler is ... and I just ... why is this show ... so ... clumsy? there is no nuance, no subtlety, it’s like they have to hit us over the head with everything like MICHAEL AND TYLER LIKE EACH OTHER OKAY AUDIENCE, DO YOU GET IT?

kendradaynes Honestly it feels like 18 year old self-insert fanfiction

aceofwands cut to the bridge. Saru and Lorca found an unidentified signal ... its some sort of biological space organism

which Michael knows a lot about

kendradaynes Of course. Because she knows everything

aceofwands protocol requires them to take care of it, because it's endangered, which is nice because actual Star Trek things

and um what

kendradaynes I hate her, jsyk

aceofwands they just beamed it into the cargo bay???????????????????

IT LIVES IN SPACE

IN VACUUM

HOW WOULD IT SURVIVE IN ATMOSPHERE AND GRAVITY???

kendradaynes welp that thing would be dead

aceofwands OMG IT HAS A DEMOGORGON FACE 

 some dude in a helmet hitched a ride inside its mouth and used it to get on board

its killed a bunch of people, but Michael escaped

oh its Mudd, to no one's surprise

kendradaynes Of course. Because self insert

aceofwands "did you really think you could leave me in a Klingon prison and suffer no repercussions?"

what have they done to his character

good fucking grief

kendradaynes*sigh*

aceofwands he's come here to find out why the Discovery is special, and is talking about how he's gonna sell it to the Klingons, but "not this time". so Mudd's causing a time travel loop. exploding their ship. the Discovery is blowing up. but now it's back to the party

this sucks

usually I LOVE time loop episodes

they're usually so fun! but this show is boring and dumb

oh man ... if you're gonna repeat scenes ... THIS IS THE BEST YOU'VE GOT???? them walking along a corridor talking

OH LOL it's Stamets. he's the only one who recognises the time loop. and everyone thinks he's crazy! "I need all of you blasted people to start listening"

why is this episode not about Stamets talking to someone?

why wouldn’t they listen to him???

Michael's all "oooooh how did Stamets know what it was going to be???"

.....had to pause it. Michael requested being in charge of the operation. Lorca: "I don't give a damn, I just want it done". then Tyler requested being in charge for security. and Lorca: "I still don't give a damn"

this. is. not. Star. Trek.

seriously

when there was a time loop on Next Gen and they started realising they HELD A FUCKING STAFF MEETING! and they realised through the poker game, which was clever! and everything about that was more fun and impressive than this shit has been in the first 15 mins!

the spore drive just activated, and they're all like 'why is this happening?". but obvs Mudd's in engineering

Tyler and Michael are threatening him with phasers, but haven't shot him on sight. oh they finally did. but there was a forcefield. Mudd's trying to figure out how the drive works. 

Michael: "You are mad."

Mudd: "No, I'm Mudd."

WHY

I wish the idiots who wrote this garbage would get stuck in a time loop and forced to watch this awful episode over and over until they figured out how to stop it from being so bad

then he yelled at them to tell him how to work it AND STAMETS WAS BEHIND HIM AND SHOT HIM IN THE BACK. and said: "As days go, this was a weird one" which is hilarious

except that I'm not even 20 mins in and somehow bored?

how can they make time loops boring?

they keep saying different things???? in the scenes????

is it a time loop or isn't it?

do they know or don't they?

this doesn't make sense!

kendradaynes That's... not how a timeloop works. It only changes when they realise it

aceofwands yeah it's clearly trying to jump to the parts later on, cause Stamets implies that they've looped many times already. but instead - as usual - it just comes across as .. confused? muddled? like it's not really a time loop because they clearly know it's a loop enough to change what they say, but not enough to realise they're looping???

kendradaynes Yeah that's not how time loops are meant to work and I'm mildly vexed

aceofwands Mudd has got Lorca to come down with him "I really can't take it from the top again Lorca"

ummmm Mudd's talking about how he's explained this to Lorca before, but needs his help to access part of the ship ... if he's aware they're looping then ... why is he so bad at ... I don't even know .... [I stopped being able to explain everything wrong with this episode’s plot around this point]

this episode is a primer in How Not To Write Time Travel

Stamets is explaining how he thinks he's outside of the loop: "it's getting really hard to keep it straight" lol

he needs Michael to talk to Tyler but they're about to loop, and Stamets wants her to tell him something so she'll trust him straight away next loop. and she did??? and he made a sad face and said he was sorry

don't make me have feelings with your decent acting Anthony Rapp

but also do they not have protocols for time travel or like anything else to share???

"now is usually around the time he kills the Captain" - can we stay in that when we fix the loop lol

"you kill a Starfleet captain they lock you up for ever" ummm do they really

LOL WE'RE GETTING ALL THE LOOPS WHERE MUDD KILLS LORCA AND IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY SATISFYING WATCHING HIM DIE

HE'S EATING A SANDWICH AND HAD LORCA BEAMED TO SPACE

53 TIMES LOL

AHAHAHAHAHAHHAA

OKAY

ACTUALLY HILARIOUS PART

loop back to the party: Michael and Tilly talking. Stamets appears, taps Tilly, "I just spotted the hottest guy over there and apparently, he's in a band! Have fun!" (she was explaining earlier how she used to be into soldiers but is lately into musicians, cause that's what passes for character development on this awful show)

genuinely made me laugh

Michael's secret is that she's never been in love ... which we knew from the way she acted earlier in the episode??? not even a secret

HIS DIALOGUE IS DIFFERENT

THIS ISN'T HOW TIME LOOPS WORK

oh that was enough for Stamets to prove he was telling the truth ... and she now has to talk to Tyler about mudd?? idk it's super unclear why this is happening or what they're hoping to achieve ?????

honestly this episode is a terrible muddled mess

...................had to pause it again

to explain this scene

I'm leaving out so much and you're probably confused (I'm watching it and I'm confused)

she blew her chance to talk to Tyler because she likes him, which Stamets points out, and she says she's out of her element, so he says 'dance with me, for science, so I can see what I'm working with ... 'and like .... helping Michael talk to the guy she likes .... .... so they can save the ship from a time loop ... is the worst idea for a Star Trek episode I've ever heard. and I've watched Threshold

stupid space lizards make more sense than this plot

she's wondering how people make connections

and Stamets is explaining how Dr Culber and he got together

because the Doc was humming terrible opera

I ... I ... this

I can't Shin

you'll have to watch this dumb show with me if you want to make sense of it

I have to go back and attempt

no I'll just type out this conversation

see if it makes any sense to you

kendradaynes This sounds like it's impossible to make sense of even while watching

aceofwands 

"Hugh and I fell in love after I told him to get lost." 

"That doesn't make any sense." 

"Love isn't logical." (they're slow dancing while this happens) 

"I was in a wonderful cafe on Alpha Centauri when three seats down comes this hideous humming. Have you ever heard someone try to hum Casselian opera?" 

"I can't say that I have." 

"Well I told him to stifle it or sit somewhere else. Instead, he sat right next to me. And he's been there ever since." [Michael looks as confused as I am] 

"After such a rude exchange. Why would he do that?"  

"I told him how I really felt. And he did the same. And we liked that about each other." 

"I'm good at honesty." 

"Never hide who you really are. That's the way relationships work."

... ............... I have no words for how little this scene makes sense. that is not how relationships work???? that is a terrible way for them to get together???? and most importantly WHY ARE THEY SLOW DANCING (hint because they realised having them stand around the corridors was fucking boring probably)

kendradaynes THAT IS NOT HOW RELATIONSHIPS WORK

aceofwands I KNOW RIGHT

THEY'RE OUT OF TIME ALREADY? NO WAY IT HAS BEEN HALF AN HOUR

lol Michael is pulling Tyler away to dance in this time loop, the lighting is very purple with lots of close ups of their hands on each other

had to pause it again I am dying of bad laughter at the nonsense

they're dancing and it's kinda sweet and they've got an almost hint at a sexy vibe .... and then Burnham goes "So I hear you were locked up in a Klingon prison cell with Harry Mudd"

whyyyy are they not having a staff meeting about this?

I mean I know Lorca is a jerk and all. but this approach makes ZERO SENSE! she's telling him the whole truth, while they dance ... Stamets is watching and looking bemused .... 

Tyler is like "why would he think I'd trust you?"

"Because I like you. And he thinks you like me too."

and he's like 'oh ... tonight's gotten weird but also very interesting'

WHY DO NONE OF THEM ACT LIKE REAL PEOPLE?

like ... how is it that Shakespearean, larger than life characters in previous series somehow feel more real and genuine????? these people just SOUND LIKE THEY'RE IN A TV SHOW????? like it sounds like TV dialogue!

I can't explain it

"if time really is repeating, this won't matter" and he kisses her. of course. 

maybe less dancing more saving the ship?

they're talking while dancing "he used to brag about robbing a Betazoid bank" 

!"a non equilibrial matter state" - a time crystal, which she learned about at the Vulcan science academy. which they haven't been able to perfect, but a 4 dimensional being must have perfected it, according to Burnham

good thing she knew all of this ??????????

IT'S SO BADLY WRITTEN SHIN

WHAT THE FUCK

there's no figuring anything out!

they just already know!!!!!! 

cut back to the bridge, wondering where Michael and Tyler are. Mudd appears, playing music

hahahahaha the computer addressed him as Captain Mudd: "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually tired of gloating"

he's found a weaponised dark matter ball in Lorca's stash of dangerous shit. and he's blabbing on about it "and if any of you were planning on being heroes - including you, random communications officer man" LOL (the guy just ran up to try to stop him) "you'll find there's very little I don't know."

Tyler and Michael burst out onto the bridge for some reason ????

tried to shoot Mudd, the forcefield is still there ... he chucked the dark matter at Tyler .... who dissolved .... 

Mudd: "well that was new"

why would they listen to him? Michael you KNOW IT'S A TIME LOOP

STAMETS WHAT ARE YOU DOING

WHAT

THE

FUCK

he told him to stop, because he can't watch Mudd kill any more people

I PAUSED IT UNTIL I STOPPED FEELING CONFUSED BUT I DON'T THINK I WILL EVER STOP BEING CONFUSED

why

would

he

tell

Mudd

what kind of plan .... 

why did ....

why

why

why

kendradaynes Is your brain broken?

aceofwands yes

Stamets gave himself to Mudd????? even though he knew it was a time loop?why would he do that?

Michael has figured out the space whale has a ship in its belly .... with Mudd's crystal energy source in it ..... 

how .... does Michael know about Stella ???? I can't explain this episode to you any more Shin ... you'd have to watch this nonsense for yourself

she has come to sacrifice herself .... because the Klingons want her more than the ship

"you'll get a lot for this ship, but what would I be worth to them?"

"what's in it for you?" "Lt Tyler" "Lt Tyler is dead" "Not for long" ... and then she ATE A DARK MATTER BALL .... to force him to reset the timeline .... 

NO

NO NO NO NO

HOW DOES STAMETS KNOW

WE DIDN'T SEE HIM AGAIN AFTER HE WENT OFF WITH MUDD

SO HOW DID HE KNOW TO TELL MICHAEL HER OWN PLAN

or are we supposed to believe she remembers?

this episode MAKES NO SENSE

has Stamets finally told the Captain? why is he on the bridge

yes ... she did tell them .... everyone there knows and Mudd's confused

Lorca greeted him "Captain Mudd, your chair" - offers his chair

he realised Stamets was "passing on notes"

"don't try to con a con man" "I'm not, I'm negotiating with a business man"

"why would a Federation Captain do that?" "I will not have a repeat of the Boran [sp?] [his past ship]"

this episode is complete rubbish

he's leading Michael and Stamets off to the transporter room to meet the Klingons

lol Stamets has found out about his wife Stella. they found out he's been running from Stella, not to her lol

this episode would have been clever if the time loop wasn't so poorly done!

they rewired the captain's chair to send the message to Stella and her father .... who's come to get him lol

why ... why are they even doing this? they're so obsessed with making a new Star Trek series, why keep bringing in old characters for no reason?

Michael and Tyler waiting for a turbolift, Stamets told them both that in a previous timeline they danced .... they're super awkward

OH LORD

"What I'm feeling is complicated, and strange" "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere”

STOP TELLING US YOUR FEELINGS MICHAEL

I actually think they're really cute? I would usually like so many of these characters! but wow the plots are so. bad.

and it's so clumsy!

holy crap that was bad

oh lord, Saru in the next ep, they're on a planet, there are Klingons and the Admrial being tortured

wow. that's over. and took me ages to watch because I had to stop it so often lol

I have watched a lot of time travel episodes in my decades as a Trekkie (and on other sci fi shows) and that has got to be worst I’ve ever seen! It was SO confusingly done!

they just have no internal consistency!

you have Mudd getting revenge and Stamets working against him ... really really poorly ... 

and all of their solutions to the problems just made no sense???

Stamets giving himself up to Mudd???

and then the final solution of them all working together ... it wasn't like in the Next Gen episode I keep thinking of, where they eventually realise they're looping and find the message in Data and it feels like they worked together to solve it

it feels like this show ... cuts corners

it wants to give us the exciting parts and the emotional pay off without actually doing any of the work, is the best way I can think to explain it

it was ... choppy and confused

that sums the show up to be honest.

they went on and on about how they’re telling a big serialised story, but it isn’t even? we’ve had these weird interlude episodes with Sarek and now Mudd where stuff just happens just because? and they keep TELLING us they’re fighting a war but it doesn’t feel like they’re in one! 

if they’re going to do serialised season long arcs then they need to do way way better, like I just binge watched 9 episodes of Stranger Things yesterday! I know what a good serial narrative looks like and this is not it!

and if they’re going to do episodic then they need to do way way better

the plot of this was just confused nonsense that was weirdly focused around Michael and Tyler’s relationship more than anything else ... it just feels like they’re mashing a bunch of random rubbish together and hoping it works, rather than like a carefully crafted story on either an episodic OR a serial level!

and now I’m just thinking about how much I want to go watch some fun time loop episodes - like man, give me SG1 stuck in a time loop doing stupid shit any day, at least that was fun AND made sense