#that water took me like 2 hours you guys better appreciate it

[remxedmoon]

there’s an island off the coast of bambouche.

you used to like this view, you think. now it just gives you a headache.

you keep looking anyway.

(greyscale version + sketches below)

hey guys. do you ever think about how close bambouche was to the island. do you think people in bambouche used to know how to use the stars as a map. do you think bonnie would try to look for the island when they look at the ocean in postgame. do you guys. do you. d—*GETS PULLED OFFSTAGE BY A COMICALLY LONG CANE*

also for the record this is intended to be postgame!! i gave them the pillow hat :333. btw this was. deceptively hard to draw???? i spent 5 hours on this. even with my looser painting style i still fall victim to perfectionism… agonies… anyways!!! hope you enjoy!

[lorre-verie]

₊˚ʚ ᗢ. ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴏʀ ᴅᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴛ. ᴛᴡᴏ ₊˚✧ ﾟ.

the unfortunate pair: ao’nung x fem! sully! reader

chapter summary: ao’nung is doing his best to hide his discomfort by someone else getting closer to you, and you’re hiding a couple of secrets yourself 🤭

warnings: cussing, jealousy, the teeniest TINIEST microscopic pinch of possessiveness ever (u can see it if u squint rlly hard)

word count: 3.9k

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | masterlist

“I dare you to say one more thing about my swimming, you pompous ass,” you glared at Ao’nung as he moved through the water with obnoxious ease.

His self-satisfied smirk made you want to vomit. “Challenge accepted,” he cocked his head back to look down at you. 

It had been 5 days since you fainted, enough time for you to recover and enough time for you and your family to get acquainted with how things worked around Awa’atlu.

Your family was definitely concerned, your father was on the brink of calling Norm here to check up on you, but you insisted it was a one time thing. After all, it was probably just because you spent so many sickening days on your ikran.

Today Tsireya, Rotxo, and the tall blue frog had taken you and your siblings swimming to get you guys accustomed to the water, but he just wouldn’t leave you alone.

“Your tiny weak tail can barely support your movement, your body is rigid, your hair is all messy,” he went on and on about things that weren’t even related to your swimming, and you were this close to choking him out in front of his sister.

You were all floating in the middle of a reef, Tsireya and Rotxo were helping your siblings swim faster while the blue frog was berating your every move because he didn’t have anything better to do. 

As he kept going on about the most minuscule things in your appearance and habits, the corners of your lips turned up as you’d found a way to make him shut up, at least for a little while.

The only good thing about his unabating whining was that it went long enough for you to formulate a good response by the time he finished. 

“Your fingers flail around like you’re trying to conjure up a magic spell while you swim,” and as he paused, you’d found your moment to strike. 

“Wow, Ao’nung!” you batted your eyelashes, pretending to be appreciative.

“It sure sounds like you’ve been staring at me for a while now. Tell me again why you were paying such obsessively close attention to my every move?” your sweet smile concealed the way your eyes narrowed wickedly, watching him choke on his sentence. 

“That’s, that’s not..” he tried to explain himself, but you swam away to your siblings triumphantly, finally having gotten him off your back for at least an hour or two. 

“Having fun with your true love, sister?” Lo’ak chirped as you passed him in the water, his smile way too wide to be genuine.

You made a small gagging motion before Tsireya popped out in the water in front of him, and you heard her say softly, “Lo’ak? Did you get that?”

His brain malfunctioned, as he could only stammer out a “Yeah, yeah, I uhm, I got it.”

Your mouth curved into a cheeky smile that mirrored his. “I dunno, are you having fun with yours?” you dipped your head under the water to swim away, and as you did so you saw his submerged hand flip you off, causing your smile to grow wider.

Your twin brother was swimming laps on his own along the surface like a pro, and while he took a break you decided to surprise him. He stopped his motions, taking deep breaths with his back to you. 

You snuck up to him carefully, trying to make it seem like you were simply one with the waves underneath the ocean.

“BOO!” you slammed your hands onto his back, and the most laughable, unexpectedly shrill shout came from his mouth. 

“Y/N!” he scolded, his voice cracking. “That was,” you laughed in between your words, “That was awesome– Oh my gosh–”

He scowled at you, clearing his throat as he noticed the rest of his siblings and the metkayinans staring at him, also holding in their laughs. 

“Bro, you scream like a girl!” Lo’ak yelled. “Yeah, and you like a girl!” Neteyam rolled his eyes, amused by the flush creeping up Lo’ak’s cheeks, him whipping around to see if Tsireya had caught onto that.

Neteyam sighed, looking at you who was still laughing lightly. “To what do I owe this surprise visit from my favourite sister?” he emphasised the word “favourite” as if he was being sarcastic (he totally wasn’t). 

“Nothing much. Just wanted to know what you thought of our new home so far.” The words came off bitter on your tongue. You wanted to spit them out and wish them farewell, to never see them again. 

He exhaled sharply, “Huh. Well, it’s alright. But I suspect you’re adjusting well, hm?” he gave you a smirk, looking at Ao’nung who was talking to Rotxo behind you.

You turned to look in his direction, observing the pompous ass frog (Ao’nung). Your eyebrows scrunched together, eyes peering at his more relaxed posture.

You could only see the side of his face from here, but it was enough to see the clear difference when he talked to you versus when he talked to literally almost anyone else.

His shoulders were square, posture straight, and he exuded a natural sort of confidence, and not the assface kind. He gestured with his hands while speaking, your own fingers twitching when it dawned on you much larger his hands were. 

He maintained eye contact, listening attentively to what Rotxo had to say and nodding or smiling in response. He seemed genuinely interested in what his friend was saying, and your mind wandered, wondering what it would be like to be able to talk to him in the same manner.

You gulped subconsciously before turning around, meeting eyes with a smirking Neteyam. “...He looks like a disfigured frog,” were the words you vomited out. 

“Yeah, well you kinda have crushes on the strangest looking people.” he said with a teasing tone, an angry splash of water hitting him in the face right after.

“I do not have a crush on that idiot. He infuriates me!” you continued to vent to Neteyam about the frog’s condescending and foul behaviour the past few days, your frustration spilling out in a torrent of words. your brother only responding in satirical ‘mhm’s, ‘yeah’s, and ‘ok’s.

You were too invested in your ranting to feel the abnormal movement in the water, a small tap on your shoulder making your body freeze. You turned around and there he was, looking at you quizzically with a hint of a smirk on his face. Your brother (that skxawng) let out a low whistle before quickly disappearing into the water, leaving you all by your lonesome. 

“I suppose you enjoy talking about me then, little forest imp?” he smugly crossed his arms, enjoying watching you try to regain your composure. “Just shut up,” you huffed before swimming away as fast and as far as your arms and legs could take you.

You had to admit that as annoying as he was, Ao’nung always being there to make fun of you served as good fun for the day. But then again, on days that would have been perfectly fine on their own, he was a little piece of shit. 

Today was the day you would learn how to bond with and ride the ilu, something you and Kiri were both equally as excited about.

You stood next to her in the warm light of the day, the beautiful water engulfing your body waist-deep. 

Your siblings were all standing (Tuk clutching onto Neteyam like her life depended on it) in a circle around Ao’nung who was clicking his tongue, summoning a few ilu to assist us for the day.

“If you want to live here,” he made it a point to glance at you before saying his next statement, “you have to ride.”

Kiri groaned next to you, and you turned your head confusedly, “What’s up?” She gave you an unsmiling look, something close to pity in her eyes. “It’s nothing, just don't worry about it,” she waved you off, averting her attention to one of the ilu that had caught her eye.

Tsireya tread through the water to stand next to her older brother, using her finger to count the amount of omaticayans and the metkayinans to assign us into pairs.

“Alright, I will decide the pairs if that is okay with all of you?” she looked towards everyone, each person giving her a little nod of agreement.

“Okay!” she smiled. “Neteyam can be with Ao’nung,” you saw Neteyam roll his eyes, Ao’nung turning to look at his sister with accusatory eyes. Tsireya pretended not to notice, simply 

“Rotxo can be with Lo’ak,” who both seemed a little downcast at this (clearly they were expecting to be paired with someone else). 

“I will help Kiri and Tuk…” Tsireya’s eyes fell on you. “And Y/N can be with Veyä.” 

You tilted your head, the name unfamiliar to your ears. Who’s Veyä? I don’t see anyone else here, you thought to yourself as you looked at your twin, but his eyes didn’t meet yours, instead pointed behind you. 

You felt a sudden rush of a strange type of warmth as someone's hand landed softly on your bare shoulder, your body tensing in response.

“I apologise, where are my manners?” a female voice sounded from beside you, removing her hand from your shoulder. As you set your gaze upon her, you felt a sudden flutter in your chest. The woman before you was undeniably beautiful, and you found yourself momentarily lost in her captivating features. 

She was about Neteyam’s height, maybe a little shorter, and the smile on her face was cheshire-like. Short locks of dark curly hair fell in front of the right side of her face, the left side of her hair woven into tiny braids leading back into a tight ponytail.

“My name is Veyä Te Tiva Iyrr'ite,” she introduced herself, bowing her head slightly, yet her eyes never left yours. “I will help you with your ilu training,” she smiled. Your cheeks grew warm as you summoned the courage to introduce yourself to her. 

“My name is Y/N te Suli Neytiri’ite,” as the words left your mouth, you couldn’t help but notice the subtle curve of her lips and the gentle sparkle in her eyes.

However, what you didn’t notice was that a few feet away, a certain disfigured frog tensed up as he watched your interaction with Veyä, his jaw clenching in place when she kissed the back of your hand. 

“You know, brother, if you want to be paired with her, you could just say so,” Tsireya giggled from behind him, never seeing this side of her brother before. “No, it’s fine,” he said through gritted teeth. 

Veyä clicked her tongue, summoning who you assumed to be the ilu she rode most often.

“Come, Y/N. There is so much I want to show you,” she extended a hand. You took it reluctantly, hoisting yourself up onto the ilu and sitting as comfortably as you could behind her. 

She reached behind her back, taking your hands and guiding them around her slender waist. “You’re going to want to hang on tight for this,” she said, you being unable to respond because of the closeness. She took your silence as an ‘i’m ready.’ and you both took off into the sea, another ilu trailing closely behind. 

“That was painful to watch, dude.” Lo’ak chimed in behind Ao’nung, slapping his back.

He turned around, eyes shooting daggers into Lo’ak’s soul. He merely shrugged and trudged away in the water, unfazed by the frog’s hostility. 

“That’s it, just lean into it,” she offered gentle encouragement and reassurance, her hands pressing firmly on your back to fix your posture as you sat on the ilu. You relaxed under her expert guidance, feeling more confident with each passing moment. 

“You got it. Now try going for a spin,” she clapped, an exuberant smile on her face.

You inhaled, here goes nothing. You urged the creature to go, and you took off into the water. Fighting the pressure of the water pushing against your body you leaned forward as Veyä instructed, and you felt the pressure flow around your head, making it much easier for you to see. 

You took the time to admire the beauty of the underwater terrain before resurfacing, shaking the water out your hair. The urge to cough appeared in your chest, followed by a sharp pain as Veyä swam to you on her ilu.

You ducked your head behind the head of your ilu; out of her line of sight, coughing uncontrollably. You could taste the unmistakable metallic tang of blood when you closed your mouth, making your heart stop momentarily out of fear.

There was a small dissipating amount of your blood on the surface of the water, the redness contrasting greatly with the deep blue colour of the sea, the sight making your heart race.

“Y/N? Is something the matter?” Veyä asked you. You forced a thin lipped smile, shaking your head.

“No, I was just clearing my throat,” you swallowed, feeling the warm liquid disappear down your throat. Fear gnawed at your heart, but you dismissed it and started a casual conversation with Veyä, asking about what she liked to do in her free time.

The next day, during the point when it was always the hottest, Kiri led you to a little island where your brothers and the three amigos waited.

“Oh wow, how nice of you to finally join us, Y/N!” Lo’ak marvelled in mock surprise, squatting on the rough rocky floor. “We’ve been waiting for like an hour.”

Neteyam flicked his forehead, muttering something along the lines of “you seemed to really enjoy that hour, alone with your girlfriend” before Lo’ak hushed him quickly.

You gave an apologetic look to Tsireya and Rotxo. “Sorry, I was spending time with a friend and I lost track of time,” you said softly, Tsireya and Rotxo assuring you it was no big deal. 

Ao’nung snorted next to them, whether he was annoyed or amused you couldn’t decipher. “Yeah right, a ‘friend’” he put his hands up in quotation marks, making you wonder where he learned that from (there were certainly no quotation marks in na’vi).

Anyhow, you gave him your best stfu glare before sitting down in the only vacant spot, which conveniently was right next to Ao’nung. 

You felt the warmth of the rock on your legs as Tsireya started to explain how to best breathe, making you feel a little ridiculous as if you hadn’t even been born yet.

Nonetheless, you did as she said.

Inhale through the nose, inflate the stomach, hold, and let go.

“pfft,” the frog watched you, his eyes judging your every move. You took a deep breath in, a fiery flame lighting up in your abdomen as you remembered what Veyä had said to you previously that day.

You blow a breath out before tilting your head in his direction condescendingly. “Ao’nung,” you sigh, giving him a look of sympathy. 

“I know that everything I do is captivating, but I’m not sure that I’m ready for a stalker just yet,” you smile sinisterly, watching his nonexistent eyebrows rise, your response unexpected.

The rest of the group ignored you both, either sighing, smiling brightly (Tsireya) or rolling their eyes, not wanting to get involved in your antics. “There they go again,” Neteyam huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Captivating? That’s a really strange way to pronounce vomit-inducing,” he lifted his chin up, leaning back to allow his arms to support his upper body.

“Mmm okay, so what? I can’t breathe right or something?” you gave him an eye roll, straightening your back. “Your words, not mine, forest imp.” 

“Then teach me, you intolerable shit piñata,” you said, the last words leaving your mouth in english.

Kiri and Lo’ak covered their mouths to keep themselves from bursting out into laughter, your older brother shaking his head but unable to stop the small smirk that crept up onto his face.

Tsireya and Rotxo shrugged, not really caring what you meant. But Ao’nung? Boy, was he dumbfounded.

“What?” 

“I said, you’re an intolerable shit piñata.”

“...What is s- ..shi…shit?” he sputtered, struggling to make the word sound how you said it. “You should be more concerned about what a piñata is,” you smiled grimly, taking in a deep breath, imagining an Ao’nung shaped pinata filled with….you know.

“Tell me what it means, Y/N,” he urged you, the smallest hint of desperation in his voice. Your lips parted at hearing him call you your name for once. It was always forest imp or some other crude amalgamate of sloppily stuck together words.

“Well if you’re so desperate,” you turned your body towards him, a fake smile plastered on your face. “Teach me how to do this properly, and then I’ll tell you what it means.”

He paused as if to consider, before giving you a slight nod.

You readied yourself, taking in a deep breath and closing your eyes. The air flowed through your airway, resting in your lungs. “No,” you felt a warm hand press on your stomach, and your breath hitched.

His touch was gentle, yet firm, and the warmth of his palm seeped into your skin, spreading a comforting yet alien sensation throughout your body.

“Try again,” he said softly, the sound of his voice like this running a shiver down your spine. You tried not to make it obvious you were flustered, pursing your lips together. 

You inhaled again, your shoulders rising with the inflation of your chest. His hands lifted up from your stomach, one of his fingers grazing your top before they landed on your shoulders.

“Don’t move your shoulders,” his voice was tender, a big difference from his usual sharp tone. “Try again, inflate the stomach and not the chest,” he instructed. 

His hands felt like cushy pads on your shoulders, and you struggled to not melt into the strangely comfortable contact. You did as he instructed, feeling your stomach get bigger as you inhaled.

“Good, now hold it for as long as you can,” he said, his hands still on your shoulders for unexplainable reasons.

Neteyam and Lo’ak glowered at your position, the metkayinan boy staring deeply at your face as you kept your eyes shut. “Who does that guy think he is?” Lo’ak hissed silently. 

“He’s getting so touchy with her all of a sudden. In front of us, too,” Neteyam agreed, though he had an inkling that Ao’nung knew they were imagining his sudden, violent death.

Kiri sat there unbothered, choosing not to pay any mind to you both and instead imagining the hundred other things she could be doing. 

“Lo’ak, focus,” Tsireya clapped her hands in front of Lo’ak to get his attention. “Right, sorry,” he rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, continuing with the breathing exercise. 

You felt your lungs burning, finally exhaling to relieve the pain, your eyes adjusting to the light when you finally opened them. “That was….” Ao’nung paused, taking his hands off your shoulders. 

They still felt warm. 

“It was alright,” he said nonchalantly. “You need more practice though,” he stood up, walking to the shore of the tiny island, clicking to summon his ilu with you looking at him in confusion.

“Well? Are you going to come along or are you just going to stand there and look dumb?” 

You quickly got up, hurrying to try and summon an ilu by making similar clicking noises, Ao’nung laughing at your attempt. An ilu got your point, in the end.

He took you to a spot closer to Awa’atlu, a shell in his hands as he floated in front of you in the water.

“I’m going to let this shell sink, and you’re going to take it from the bottom of the sea floor and bring it back up to me,” he explained. 

You nodded, not thinking much of the activity. He smirked, dropping the shell into the sea with a plop!

“Okay, go fetch.” 

Your eyes narrowed, realising that this wasn’t really an activity suited for two na’vi, but rather a na’vi and their 'companion'.

“You never wanted to help me did you?” you groaned, about to swim away from the assface. The sudden tug of your hand in his stopped you.

He gave you an eye roll. “This is a normal practice, calm down. Adults use it to train younger children. But in your case, you haven’t even been born yet,” he joked, amused by your scowl as you settled down, returning to your former position and shaking his hand off yours. 

After submerging his head briefly in the water, he suggested, “On second thought, perhaps we should find a shallower area. This might be too deep for you.” 

“I can do it,” you said confidently. You wanted to prove to him you were not to be underestimated. 

“Are you sure? It's pretty far.” he says, the tiniest pinch of concern leaving his lips, but you were too focused on taking a deep breath in to notice. Without answering him, you dive into the water, the coolness enveloping you.

You search with your eyes for the shell, using your arms to propel you deeper into the water. And there it is, resting on the bottom of the sea floor, the purple shell glistening in all its glory, practically whispering into your ear for you to save it. 

As you descended, you felt the pressure building in your ears, equalising it with a quick pinch of your nose. You made a grab for the purple shell, but as you got closer, you realised that it was just out of reach. You kicked your legs harshly against the water and reached out again, but your lungs started to burn, your vision blurring. 

Despite your body's signals screaming at you to resurface, you fought to stay down, desperate to retrieve the shell. You tried again, grasping at empty water, your movements becoming sluggish and your arms feeling heavier by the second. 

You felt your consciousness starting to fade, but you pushed on stubbornly, determined to succeed. Eventually, though, your body succumbed to the lack of air, and you passed out in the water, sinking to the bottom, the shell just out of reach.

“Where is she?” Ao’nung muttered to himself, deciding to submerge his head in the water again.

His eyes widened in a panic when he couldn’t see you swimming up to him and without a second thought, he dove down to find you. His eyes landed upon your unconscious body, and he quickly scooped you up in his arms, bringing you up to the surface.

BONUS (wonder what Veyä told reader that spurred her to continue her daily dose of insulting ao'nung instead of ignoring him?):

“Veyä, good morning. Was there a specific reason you called me over here?” you gave her a small smile, sitting on the sand next to her. 

“Not really, just wanted to clear up something.” she chuckled a little, head turning to look at you. “Tsireya called me over yesterday to help you with the ilu because she said and I quote, ‘my brother needs to stop being a coward’”

Huh? Huh??????

“Wait so– The sudden intimacy and the kissing the back of my hand thing, that was to make Ao’nung feel jealous?” you asked her, shell shocked. 

“Not really, I do that to almost every pretty girl I see,” she winked at you, taking pleasure in seeing your ears flush purple. 

“He’s a lucky man, that one.” Veyä stood up, offering you her hand.

“What? We’re not together. We won’t ever be together. Ever. Yuck. I don’t know why everyone keeps thinking that,” you took her hand, pulling yourself up.

“Well then, you might be surprised by what Eywa has planned out for the two of you.”

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | masterlist

P.S I’M EYWA 

i wanted to get this out asap so i don’t lose my relevance 💔 and because i wanted to. thank u guys so much for all the love you showed part 1, i hope that this part is just as satisfactory 💗💗💗💗💗 i really did want to make Veyä a more rounded out character rather than just a temporary plot device, but i decided it wouldn’t mesh well with what i had planned for the rest of the story. I hope she made u giggle in your heart at the very least!

Taglist: @eywas-heir @elegantkidfansoul @yeosxxx @whoreforpomegranates @fanboyluvr @thecrazyswamp @shkudss @stvrligghtt @ratchetprime211 @dearstell @littlecrisisworld @itssomeonereading @goodiesinthecloset21 @ilovejakesullysdick @larkkyoris @opalescentblog @lovedbychoi @plzfeedmebread @holysaladapricothero

note: usernames in red are the ones I couldn't tag, so sorry 😭

[amoristt]

a/n: yaaay back with part 2 hehehe. im glad you guys r enjoying it so far! i have big plans for this series

- as always comments/reblogs are appreciated! - want to support me? heres my kofi!

The Accused | Simon "Ghost" Riley/Reader, Pt 2

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The hours that followed Ghost leaving you to your own were brutal. It took a few long moments to collect yourself, all tears and trembling hands, but eventually, your legs found the strength to haul your body up to your feet. Your mind replays the last couple minutes on loop tauntingly.

If Ghost hadn't caught you in time, you'd be nothing but a broken egg on the pavement below. Your brain tried to think about what it would have felt like if you had plummeted without haste, but your body reminded you angrily how it felt to hit the wall on your way down. Surely, deep bruises of purple and blue would climb like vines up the side of your frame. Your body would make sure to ache, to remind you of the damage you'd inflicted onto it.

Damaged, but alive.

It feels odd being alive, now. You really had made your choice, fully accepted the gravity of your life cut short. Perhaps it was cowardly. But, ultimately, you knew that it would have been the better outcome between death and eternal imprisonment.

Still, guilt eats away at you. The image of Ghost's eyes through his mask haunts you- that primal fear in those beautiful eyes engraved in the back of your brain. If he hadn't been as fast- if he'd hesitated for even a second, you'd have slipped right through his fingers. You'd have dropped all the way down to the unforgiving concrete and ceased to be right in front of him. It hurts you- the thought of him grieving you like that. Surely he would have hated you for it.

When night came (rather quickly), you took your chance to escape. Wherever point 'A' was, it wasn't so nearby you couldn't scurry down those five flights of stairs and dart into the darkness. You ran from bush to bush, building to building, and even through a knee-deep marsh. You were grateful that this October was warm, but you would be lying to say you appreciated the bugs. Mosquitos ate away at your skin despite your efforts to battle them away.

You'd only been a few miles away from base, so it wasn't long before you were skirting along the trees, staring at the mile-high electric fences surrounding the fort you'd become so familiar with. The base you and Ghost had been staying at was a nice one- with all the fixings and even single-person 'homes'. They were small, one-bedroom trailer-looking flats with all the basic necessities, but compared to the places you'd slept before they may have well as been your own little personal heaven. Warm water and an AC unit-they'd spoiled you and your fellow soldiers. You remember on your first night, cuddled up under the blankets on your very own bed, praying they'd keep you stationed here for the rest of your military days.

But, now, here you were, creeping along the greenery, feeling more foe than friend. From outside, you could see military vehicles parking for the night and soldiers standing guard. Sneaking up on your own base, your own friends, you really did feel like a spy. You linger outside, wondering what to do.

Then it hits you.

And you know exactly where to go.

You disappear back into the trees. It's barely another mile out, but with just the moon overheard to guide you, you struggle to find your way. You pass by trees and boulders of every size, before you enter a small clearing, and tucked all the way to the side is exactly what you were looking for. A dingy half-finished shed engulfed by the canopy of trees and shadows.

And god, there he is, standing there and waiting for you.

In this light, Ghost really does look like he could be a monster. His mask nearly glows. Half covered by murky shadows, dotted by the glowing streaks of the moon passing through the leaves overhead, he stands and waits for you. Like he knew you were coming.

And he was right. Because here you were.

You snap a twig on accident and his body visibly tenses as he searches for the source, but when his eyes find your figure in the darkness it only takes a second for him to realize it's you.

"Been a while since I've been here," you start. He moves to the side as you pass him. The door opens with a dull creak.

"I'm glad we both had the same idea." Ghost grunts.

"You're telling me. I had to ditch my phone and everything, so if you weren't here I'd have no way of contacting you. And y'know what, that's two phones in two months. Talk about bad luck." You sigh.

"Never did find you're old one, hm? Not good, soldier."

"Oh, I'm sure it's lost in the ocean or blown to bits by now."

Ghost scoffs. "Hope so. Get inside."

When you'd first been stationed at his base, boredom often ate away at you until it felt like you'd go crazy. Ghost had been off on his own mission, the few friends you did have at that time never left the base of their own volition. But you, on the other hand, craved exploration. So you found yourself wandering the perimeter around the base, thinking about nothing and everything. That's when you discovered the beat-up old shed. At that time it was nothing more than a caved-in roof, rain-soaked flooring, and a broken window. Over the course of a couple weeks, you began to work to fix it up, glad to have something to focus on during your between-missions time.

When Ghost had returned to base during Christmas, and he realized that you too had no home to return to for the holidays, he began to join you.

Over that Christmas, you both turned it into somewhere you could both go to talk and occasionally share a few drinks. That was when you'd truly bonded with him. That was when he'd finally started letting you in willingly.

Dirt flecks off the frame of the door as you step inside, and it's just as dusty as you remember. Two chairs sit in the center with patchy blankets serving as cushions. An uneven table sits between them, one leg broken half off but supported by water-logged books stacked atop each other.

The moon filters in through the cracked window and paints the brown walls a beautiful blue.

Ghost sits with a grunt, kicking his feet out and sighing. It invites you, calls you in to shut the door behind you and settle beside him. So, you do. The chair creaks underneath your weight and you breathe out the frustrations of the day, gone into the air. For the first time that day, your guard lowers.

You just... breathe.

"What a nightmare this is." You sigh.

Ghost shrugs. "No one knows what 't think. They know something's not right."

A pang of relief visibly flushes through you, cut short when he shakes his head.

"Don't get too excited." He says quietly.

"...And why's that?"

"Graves called in his shadows." Ghost taps his finger against the table, lingering, picking and choosing his next words while you feel anxiety start to bubble within you. When he speaks again, it's forlorn. "He isn't exactly pushing for 'em to bring you in alive."

The weight of your heart dropping could have burst straight through the chair you sat on. It settles into your gut like an awful stone. A dull, pained chuckle escapes you.

"I knew he didn't like me, but damn."

Ghost shakes his head. "He's panicking. Thinks you can tell us where the missiles are."

"Missiles?" You ask, eyebrows raised in concern.

It must have struck him then, that Ghost hadn't yet updated you on the situation arising off-air. And judging by the way he tenses and leans forward in his chair, it must be pretty grim.

"Hassan... He's got our missiles. Three of 'em." As Ghost speaks with newfound hesitation and urgency, you can feel your nerves lighting up with each syllable. "We can't find the damn things. They get out... 'Lot of people will die."

"Jesus Christ." You wipe your palms down your face, eyebrows knit together. "How the hell did he get our missiles?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. 'Pparently there's some messages and photos of you chatting with one of Hassan's men. That you might know a thing or two on where to find 'em."

"I haven't talked to anyone that wasn't our own." You groan. "God, what the fuck. And pictures?"

"From what I heard. They haven't shown 'em to us. Refuse to, actually." Ghost leans back in his chair, eyeing you like he's holding something back. "Like I said, no one knows what to think."

You stare down at your lap. Though you already know the answer, you find yourself asking anyways, with an uneven voice.

"...You trust me, right...?"

"God's sake." He scoffs, and you regret asking at all.

"I just have to be sure. Pictures can be convincing-"

"Pictures none of us have even laid eyes on. You think I'd be here right now if I didn't believe you?"

Guilt eats away at you, eyes downcast. "I know. I'm sorry. I just... I can't wrap my head around why of all people it had to be me."

"We'll find out. Shepherd won't give us hardly any information, and anything he does give us is... vague." Ghost is choosy with his words. "...Shepherd found and turned the evidence in himself, supposedly."

You feel an actual strike of nausea pulse through you.

"There's no way Shepherd would frame me." Though you try to say it with an even tone, your voice exposes your lack of confidence in your General. You suck in a breath when there's no reply. "Ghost..?"

Ghost doesn't answer, but his eyes do flick to yours. A silent, cautious confirmation.

You swallow. Hard.

"But... But what good could come of this? I mean up until now I've been an exemplary soldier. Like, not to brag here, but I graduated at the fucking top of my squad and I damn well aced every test they threw at me."

"I know all this." Ghost chimes. "Everyone knows all of this. I don't know what the big plan is. I don't even know if there is a big plan. I just know something isn't right."

There's a pause, and his eyes soften.

"I know you wouldn't do this."

Tears well at the waterlines of your eyes and you struggle to hold them back. With the military against you, Shadow's snapping at your heels at every chance they could get, and now faced with the chance that your own fucking general would frame you, you're completely unsure of what to do next. Ghost leans over the table and sets a firm hand on your shoulder.

You bite your tears back, refusing to let him witness you cry again. Twice in one day was just too much on your already shattered ego.

"What do I do?" Your voice betrays you, uneven and breaking.

Ghost stands up and sighs. "You aren't doing anything. You're staying here."

"For real?" You frown up at him, pawing at your eyes angrily. The sight of him preparing to leave makes your stomach churn- the thought of being alone in this shed all night slinking into your mind. "I can't just sit here and do nothing-"

"That's exactly what you're gonna do. Get some rest, tonight." Ghost doesn't even give you the chance to argue, already pulling the door open. You gape at him from your chair with wet eyes. You see the way he lingers, see the way he considers stepping back inside, but his resolve remains firm. For just a brief moment, he turns to look at you from outside.

You sit on the chair, bringing your knees up to your chest. Sounds from all directions reach your waiting ears as you take a final glance at him.

"I'll be back in the morning." He offers. The door shuts, and darkness encases you.

Shrouded in pitch black, listening to the sound of his footsteps growing further and further away, you fear tears sting your eyes once more. All alone, you let them slip down your cheeks.

You'd never felt so alone.

[wwhatevenisthis]

# # TRIGGER WARNING, PET DEATH

-

TLDR: My house rabbit Sam passed away today (7th Dec 2023). I am utterly heartbroken, and on top of it all I still have to pay for his £1500 vet bills and his cremation.

I have an important announcement to make. My 9 year old house rabbit, Sam, crossed the rainbow bridge today. He passed away at home, comfortably in his blankets.

I went to feed him his food and medication at 12pm today, and I noticed he was breathing fast. I tried to give him some of his syringe food and water, but it was running out of his mouth. I stopped giving it him and noticed he was trying to breathe through his mouth and he was struggling. I was home alone, but I rang the vets anyway even though I knew I had no lift to get there. They said that I could send them a video of what his breathing was like to see if I needed to bring him in. I sent them some videos, and then held him close and gave him many cuddles and kisses, holding him close and telling him how much of a good boy he was. An hour passed, and I couldn't stand waiting any longer. I rang the vets back and said I wanted to bring him in, and I would ring my mum so I could take him in as soon as possible. I placed him back in his pen, gave him some head pats, and he started trying to move his head and his front end to get comfy. I left the room at 1:48pm to get all my things ready for the vets. I came back at 1:52pm, and Sam had passed away, wrapped in his blankets, in his comfy pen. He had waited for me to leave the room before he crossed the rainbow bridge. I tried to see if I could save him; I even tried bunny CPR on him. But he was gone. I held him close and cried, telling him how brave he was and how much I loved him.

Almost everyone in our family said goodbye. My mum came home shortly after with the dog, and she and I cried together. My brother told Sam to go play with Monty (my previous house rabbit who passed in October 2022) over the rainbow bridge. We even let Elsa (my other house rabbit and Sam's companion) see Sam one last time; she sniffed him and nudged him, but then started to freak out and got really stressed, so we had to put her back in her own pen. (She is doing better now, but I think she knows what has happened and is just as upset).

We eventually took Sam to the vets around 3pm, so we could get them to cremate him. All the vets there were really kind and sympathetic, and chalked it up to that the little guy just couldn't keep fighting any longer, even though he had been so strong before. They all told me how much of a good job I did trying to help Sam, with me getting up every 2 hours for the last 2 and a half weeks to feed him and make sure he was okay. They gave me some of his fur, let me give him some final head scritches and kisses, and I said one last goodbye to my little trooper.

My heart is in pieces tonight. He brought so much joy into mine and my family's life, and everyone who had met him utterly adored him. I adopted him in January 2023, and even though I knew him for just under a year, he has helped me stay positive and given me so much happiness and many fond memories. He has left pawprints on my heart, and I will never forget him. I am currently with Elsa, giving her all my love as I know she will need it after losing her best friend.

I am still having to pay for Sam's £1500 vet bills even after his passing as well as his cremation, and I have very little savings left.

I have been selling my things on E🅱️ay here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/whatevenisthis

to help cover the cost, and I have set up a G0FundMe here

https://gofund.me/f3133dda

for people who would like to donate to help me out. Any and all help would be vastly appreciated, no matter how small. If you don't want to use the G0FundMe link, please I am also taking donations through PaypaI here

https://www.paypal.me/SBettney

Thank you all, and please give your pets some cuddles tonight, for me and for Sam. 🐇💜

[dollsonmain]

omg

Another chaotic day, but chaotic in a different way.

She added even more tasks to my morning which I don't appreciate. I already struggle to get anything done.

Right when I discovered that the reason the floor in the cooler has been sticky is because someone spilled a whole gallon of milk in there and never told anyone, which of course I was told to clean up because I work there, and it was horrible because it already was stinky and clumpy, and I only had like 20 minutes left before it was time to go, a customer dropped a Monster and it exploded covering two whole panels of products.

The milk spill was in THE most inconvenient place in that furniture will have to be moved, the 20 foot floor mat will have to be pulled out and hosed down, then let to dry, and I physically just fucking can't especially in only a half an hour.

And the Monster Mangler was so sorry. He was like "Um..... I'll pay for that uh..." and I was like "Nah, man, that sort of thing happens." He didn't break anything, he just made everything sticky.

Then she gave me Tasks and I tried to find the sausage patties, looked right at the box, and didn't see it because it was well past Eat Time but I didn't get eat time because I was only scheduled 5 hours today, and both my blood sugar and pressure were dropping and I saw something entirely different in that box. I saw bread rolls.

I'm actually still not convinced that box isn't full of bread rolls.

So I don't know.

And like... The whole cooler needs to be dumped out and hosed down. It's disgusting in there. There's stinky milk, there's mold, there's soda spilled, there's Monster...

And she's like Ok do Task when I had like 10 minutes left which is when I should be counting my drawer and doing my dishes, and Task, which I guess I'm the official sandwich maker now and I do not like that I hate making food and it's such a pain because I have to take the gloves on and off to ring up customers and I get stuck in the gloves because my hands sweat.

I think I need to take some simple cotton gloves to wear under the work gloves maybe. I do have a bunch of those somewhere.

And it's just the same shit you can buy at Walmart and put together yourself and you're just paying like 400%. Because I made it.

Like....

You get one sub roll, 3 thin slices of cheap turkey sandwich meat, and 2 slices of even cheaper American cheese for $5.

The "Cold Cut Sub" is literally a sub roll, 2 slices of Oscar Mayer Bologna, and 2 slices of American cheese.

...

And I just.... I hate making this shit.

But that's apparently my job, now, even though I didn't retake the food handler's course and didn't apply for sandwich lady.

It was already half an hour past when I was supposed to leave, and I still had to tally my drawer, which I couldn't because I couldn't count anymore, because the sugar.

And I also don't get to pee which is bad because of my kidneys. Which is isn't that I'm not allowed to go pee it's just that I don't get a chance. I'm the only one on the floor. So it'd been from about 5:30 since That Guy was able to drive me to work this morning, until like.... noon, until I got to pee and that didn't smell great which is a bad sign. I have to monitor the smell of my pee for kidney infection smells.

I'm chugging water rn to flush everything out.

And it EXTRA sucks because I wanted to go to town this weekend to go to Goodwill and get a keychain bracelet thing or a lanyard for the store key so I can better keep track of it until I give it back to Manager when she gets back from her trip week after next, but I can't do that because That Guy took the car for the weekend. He'll be home Sunday.

So.

I can't do that until Sunday evening or Monday after work at least.

I have fewer hours next week. I guess in case no one else is in the store to give me a chance to go eat at lunch time. Manager said her sister will try to be there when I get there in the morning but there's no guarantee, and the way she's setting things up it sounds like she half expects her sister to not show up at all. Their dad, the owner, tends to show up around my lunch time but doesn't get on the floor. He does admin stuff in the office while he has his breakfast.

Multiple of my fingernails split so I have to cut them all off again.

I'm so.

I'm

tired

[rip-quizilla]

Your Leather, My Lace ~ Part 4: My Pain, Your Thrill

*This fic was co-written by curlyfry23, whom you can find on AO3 here

Pairing: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Rockstar!fem!Reader

Summary: The next band you show up to see calls themselves Corroded Coffin. Maybe Eddie will be there...

Word Count: 5.7k

Tags for Entire Fic (from AO3): Enemies to Lovers, Rival Bands, Tension While Singing, Leather, 80's Rock References, Song Lyrics, Slow Burn, Sexual Tension, Thinly Veiled Hex Girls Inspiration, Eddie Munson Lives, 1991, Porn with Feelings, Shameless Smut, Mutual Masturbation, Hate to Love, Oral Sex, Consensual Sex, Smut, Eddie Munson Has No Sense of Personal Space, Cunnilingus, Nipple Licking, Catholic Guilt, brat!reader, Dom/sub Undertones, light degradation, Car Sex, The Lord of the Rings References

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

You woke the next day in your hotel room, having rested better than you could remember in the recent weeks. Up until this week, every night had consisted of insomniatic episodes where you’d sleep for a few hours, wake for a few more, then catch maybe an hour or two of shuteye before the sun was up. Nerves tended to affect your sleep schedule more than you wished they would, and Battle of the Bands was the time of year that your nerves were through the roof.

Last night, however…

You had a newfound appreciation for the effect that a good sex life can have on a person’s stress levels.

Checking the time on your bedside clock- 9:45 AM- you decided to fix yourself a cup of coffee before calling Lana and Denise. You needed to coordinate a time for band practice since your first performance was tomorrow night, but you knew Lana liked to sleep as late as possible most mornings so you’d wait until 10 for that. As you measured out little granules of instant coffee into a mug you’d found in one of the kitchenette cabinets, your mind wandered back to last night, and the dark-haired devil you’d spent the evening with. 

Eddie had been uncharacteristically quiet when you parted ways last night. Before your “extracurriculars” in the back of his van, his mouth was running 60 mph, never slowing, always ready with a comeback or some quip that made you feel equal parts irritation and amusement. Afterwards, however, his only communication with you had dwindled down to short, terse responses. Head nods. Gentle forehead kisses. “Are you heading home after this?” Head nod. “Thank you for tonight, I had fun.” “Me too.” Forehead kiss. “Drive safe, okay?” Head nod. “You too.” “Good night.” “Night.”

As you watched your cup of tap water rotating in the microwave, your thoughts spiraled into a funnel of endless questions that went nowhere good- had he been putting on an act the whole time? Did he pretend to be actually interested in you just to get in your pants? Was his silence just a lack of interest now that he’d gotten what he wanted from you? What if-

The sudden beeping of the microwave interrupted your stream of consciousness, jerking you back into reality. No, you told yourself, removing the steaming cup and pouring it into the mug of dollar store instant coffee. Even if all he’d wanted was a one night stand, that’s all I wanted in the first place, right? If Eddie wanted nothing more than one night of messing around in the back of his van, all the better. No strings attached. Get it together, Pinocchio. 

You walked into the bathroom, staring yourself down as you took your first sip of the mediocre brew. Hair askew, oversized flannel (a stolen relic from one of your early boyfriends) reaching just high enough on your thighs to cover your panties- you came to the conclusion that any guy would be lucky to wake up next to you. You were hot as hell. Your skin looked  better after a good night’s sleep than any other time of the day, and you almost never went to bed with pants on- what’s not to love? 

You narrowed your eyes at your thighs, inhaling sharply when you realized that there were slight purplish bruises where Eddie had pressed his fingers into your skin hard enough to leave his mark. 

He wasn’t going to let you forget about him that easily, it seemed. 

You sighed heavily, ignoring the way your stomach seemed to tie itself into a knot when you thought about the way he’d gripped your thighs like he could find salvation itself between them. How his tongue had lapped at your pussy and savored your taste like fine wine. The way he’d made the most beautiful sounds when you tugged on those dark chocolate curls…

Stop! Jesus, you were pathetic. He wasn’t thinking about you this way right now. At most, you might cross his mind the next time he decides to have a wank. You’d become a figment of his sexual fantasies, fuel to help him reach his climax, that girl who reminded him of Galadriel and knew enough to quote her while she straddled him in the back of his van.

Shit. Now I’m imagining him jacking off to me. Great. Awesome. Good job forgetting about him, me. 

***

That evening, you once again found yourself at a venue downtown scoping out the competition. You’d been to this bar before- you remembered playing it last year, though it’d had a different name then. Name changes weren’t uncommon for the bars around here. Some were old as dirt, owned by the same grumpy old dude who’d opened the place in the ‘70’s, others changed management every five or so years. Either way, every halfway-decent place with a stage and a liquor license always cashed in on the tourism money brought in by Indie Battle each year. 

You’d arrived later in the evening, having spent the whole day practicing your set with the girls until your fingers were just about ready to fall off. You were confident that your song choices for your first performance were going to kill tomorrow night; more confident than you remembered being either of the past two years that Next Hex had competed. 

This was going to be the year- you could feel it in your bones. 

Since you’d arrived late, the first band playing was already halfway through their set. Predictably, the bar was full so you would have to stand while the bands were playing. You made sure to bend your ear to the way each instrument and voice sounded while you ordered your drink at the bar. Making mental notes about everything from the moments where the singing was flat to any imbalances between instruments, you found a steel column to lean against as you began sipping from your drink. You were 100% focused on the band in front of you.

Definitely NOT looking around in hopes that a familiar face might waltz up to you and strike up a conversation. 

Definitely NOT hoping that familiar face be accompanied by curly brown hair and a silver ring on each finger. 

Definitely NOT disappointed that said face was nowhere to be found.

Once the band onstage took their final bow, you were halfway through your drink and feeling thoroughly alone in the crowd… which was fine, since watching live music was totally not required to be a social activity. You could enjoy it on your own, just like you always had before this week. No banter or flirtations necessary.

You force yourself to take a calming breath while the band scurried offstage. Head in the game, dude, you reminded yourself, remember why you’re here. You’re not here to make friends, you’re here to win. You’re here to be a rockstar. You’re here to prove wrong every asshole who ever doubted how bad you fucking want this. 

Downing the rest of your drink with newfound resolve, you discarded your empty glass on a nearby table and pulled your moleskin out of your bag. You turned to a blank page, clicked your ballpoint pen, and prepared to jot down notes on the next band taking the stage. 

“Hello Indianapolis!”

Your heart leaped into your throat. That voice-

“It’s our first Battle of the Bands here, sooo… go easy on us. If we suck, at least wait until the third song to boo us off the stage.”

It can’t be.

“We’re Corroded Coffin, and we’re about to make sure you never forget that name.”

It was like time stood still, the whole bar frozen around you as you slowly looked up at the stage. You were hoping you were wrong, that the person that voice belonged to was a stranger whom you’d never seen nor spoken to, and this was all your imagination. 

But you should’ve known better. Your luck had never been good enough for that to be the case. 

Standing up on that stage, red Warlock guitar in hand, staring directly at you, was Eddie Munson. 

Everything was dead-silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as Eddie held your gaze with an emotion behind his eyes that you couldn’t place if you tried. He held your eye contact until his lips hit the microphone, and you heard him inhale before letting out at the top of his lungs-

“All abooooaaaaard!”

The opening notes of Crazy Train rang out into the bar, causing patrons to start nodding their heads to the familiar beat. You weren’t listening, though. You were going numb.

You were so stupid. So incredibly stupid.

You’d told him the first time you met that you were competing. He continued to pursue you regardless, even though you’d told him- you’d told him- that you were trying to avoid distractions. Every time you’d run into him had been a performance for Indie Battle- you hadn’t been observant enough to see that as anything other than a coincidence. You hadn’t ever asked him why he kept showing up at Battle gigs, hadn’t ever considered that he could’ve been there for the same reasons you were- to scope out the competition. And oh, he’d scoped it out alright. For pete’s sake, you’d even had a conversation where he admitted he played guitar, and you hadn’t thought to ask him if he was even in a band, much less competing with one!

You were fuming. He’d played you. He kept this information to himself on purpose, and now he was in your head. You’d let the competition- a potential rival- get into your head, and now here he was, belting out Ozzy lyrics while he stared you dead in the eye.

“I’ve watched all the dropouts who make their own rules,”

You were listening now. You’d be damned if you let this guy use you, lie to you, then have the audacity to actually be a competitor in this competition. So you channeled your rage into something that felt familiar.

You started a pro/con list. 

***

Okay. He did have the audacity.

Corroded Coffin was new to the competition, but these guys knew their sound. Your pro/con list was very pro-heavy, which was troublesome for you. 

Pros: impressive wide vocal range, original songs are full of catchy chord progressions, talented drummer, charisma onstage, logo would look good on a t-shirt, experienced stage presence.

Cons: Band doesn’t have a clear brand- outfits don’t match, look still belongs in a garage, lyrics in originals are good but basic.

The fact that they had original songs to show at all was something that already set them ahead of Next Hex- none of you wanted to be a cover band for the rest of your careers, but nothing you’d been able to write was good enough to compete with. Denise had written a few catchy songs, but her style was more poppy than what would fit the vibe that you had so carefully curated for Next Hex. Sure, you were open to covering some pop songs, but only after you’d gone in and totally re-arranged them to be undoubtedly metal. You were already one of the only all-female groups that was competing; if the three of you stood on that stage and started churning out nothing but spunky girl-group songs, they’d never see you as equals. You’d have lost the competition the moment you finalized your setlist.

So, until one of you wrote an original song that could hold its own among the Metal hits that inspired you, Next Hex was stuck doing covers. Granted, they were badass covers, but they were still borrowed material.

You were disappointed that this guy had not only managed to pull one over on you, but his band was also the most impressive one you’d seen by far since arriving. For their first year here, you could already tell they were going to be a fan favorite by the looks of this crowd.

Shit. 

You’d been doing a very good job of avoiding eye contact with Eddie for the past four songs, but now that they were a ways into the finale of the five-song set allotted to them, you chanced a look in his direction. You regretted it instantly.

His eyes had obviously been waiting for you to look at him. Those smoldering, dark brown eyes looked black in the red stage lights, framed by sweat-drenched curly rockstar hair. You hated how at home he looked on the stage- he was captivating, in his element as he growled sultry lyrics into the microphone. The way his eyes bore directly into yours, you felt certain he was singing to you specifically.

“I hear you calling and it's needles and pins,

I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name-”

Your eyebrows shot up involuntarily; the lyrics were already pretty risque on their own, but coupled with the intensity with which he was staring you down… it gave you a jolt to say the least. When Eddie saw that reaction, he somehow found a way to make you even angrier than you’d already been-

He winked. 

That was it. You were finding him after this show. You were going to make him explain himself, and you were going to give him a piece of your mind.

***

You’d played this bar before, so you knew exactly which door to wait outside of after Corroded Coffin had finished their set. 

When the cold metal door slammed open, the first to exit was a curly haired guy hauling two guitar cases as he held the door open with one foot. When he saw you leaning leisurely against the brick wall, arms and ankles crossed and exuding nonchalance, he shot you a pained smile. 

He nodded to the door that threatened to close on him and the guitars. “Help me out and grab the door, would you?”

You stared at him, deadpan with a bored expression on your face. Once it became obvious that you weren’t moving a goddamn inch, the guy averted his eyes and squeezed through the door, leaving one guitar case on the ground to keep the door propped open. “Sheesh,” he muttered, “suit yourself, bitch.” 

You waited, watching as he opened the back of Eddie’s van parked on the curb and placed the one guitar case in the trunk. A moment passed before the door swung open once again, this time revealing a blur of wild dark hair that shone amber under the lamplight- it was like a knife to the gut how much you’d loved that same lamplight twenty-four hours ago. 

“Gareth, my baby is not a fucking doorstop, man-” 

Eddie’s tirade was cut short when he saw you waiting by the door. His eyes didn’t seem surprised to see you, but they did widen a bit when they landed on your face. Maybe it had something to do with the waves of pure, undiluted rage that were emulating off of you. 

Whatever seeing you like this made him think, he got over it quickly. Instantly, his normal bravado was back, smirk painted across his face and a leather-jacketed arm rising to lean over you against the wall. He cocked his head flirtatiously, and you were one misstep away from breaking his nose.

“Hey, Galadriel.”

SLAP.

You smacked him across the face without hesitation.

You saw the other guy- Gareth, apparently- stop in his tracks, eyes widening at your sudden outburst, before making a beeline for the door. You overheard his voice say to someone, “Do NOT go out there.” before the door clicked shut. 

Eddie’s hand cradled the sensitive skin of his cheek, narrowing his eyes at you incredulously. “What the fuck?!” 

“‘What the fuck’ me? I should be asking you that, what the fuck are you playing at, Munson?” You practically screamed at him. “You had every opportunity to tell me that you were competing against me in the Battle and you fucking lied to me!” 

Eddie shoved his hands in his pockets, donning a bored expression to mask the pain while he glanced around at everything but you. “I never lied, princess, you just never asked.”

You huffed out a laugh. He was infuriating. “So how should I have worded our first conversation then, huh? ‘Hi, I’m here for Battle of the Bands! Are you here for Battle of the Bands? Wow, you are? Golly gee, ain’t that swell!’”

“Not my fault you never asked the right questions!” Eddie was smiling now, shaking his head at you and obviously furious that you had actually hit him. He’d had a feeling you’d be angry, but never thought you’d resort to fisticuffs. “What’s it matter, anyway? It was just a fling, right? You didn’t want more after that, did you? What about your blood pact with your Hex Sisters, or whatever the fuck- ‘no distractions,’ wasn’t it?”

Fuck this guy. 

“It’s Next Hex,” you growled, giving him a shove backward to give yourself room to take a step. He backed up, struggling to stand his ground when up against a force like yourself. “Remember our fucking band name, Munson, because it’s our songs you’ll be playing on a shitty old guitar twenty years from now when you’re a washed-up has-been who gives guitar lessons to little shit kids who want to be me when they grow up!”

Eddie was silent, stunned by your long- and thorough- tirade. After a moment, the corner of his mouth curled back up into its default position, and god, you wanted to smack him again.

“Did you practice that in the mirror this morning?” 

“Fuck you!” You marched past him, arms crossed defensively over your chest, which was burning with a rage that you knew wasn’t going away until you saw Eddie Munson booted from the competition, dejectedly loading his shit up in his van and driving back home, ruing the day he made an enemy out of you, and thinking Maybe I’ll try again next year. 

You were barely out of his eyesight before he called out, “Until tomorrow night, princess!”

You threw up a middle finger before turning the corner, officially out of his line of vision.

Oh, you’d see him tomorrow night alright. You wanted him to see you on that stage, putting all of your practice to the test and doing exactly what you came here to do.

You wanted him to see you in your prime tomorrow night, and you wanted it to scare him so shitless it sent him running for the hills. 

***

The following morning, Eddie awoke feeling the opposite of well-rested, and the first thing he wanted after his night of tossing, turning, and sporadic sleeping was a cigarette.

He rolled out of the scratchy motel sheets as quietly as he could, taking care not to make too much noise so he didn’t wake Gareth, currently drooling all over his pillow. Eddie tugged on a pair of jeans, strewn on the edge of his bed last night, along with his lighter and box of cigarettes from his jacket pocket before he slipped out the door onto the sidewalk out front. 

The pull-out couch had been empty, so as expected, Eddie was greeted by the sight of a pajamaed Jeff seated in a plastic patio chair, mass-market paperback in his hand. Eddie pulled out a cigarette and his lighter, settling into the other chair once he inhaled his first dose of nicotine for the day. 

The two remained comfortably silent sitting there, Eddie enjoying his smoke and Jeff reading his book. He loved this about their relationship- Eddie never felt the need to fill the silence with anything, because he knew Jeff was more than happy to simply occupy his time with a book. He never expected more of Eddie than his company, and that was one of the things Eddie liked most about-

“So who was that girl last night?”

Damn. Well, so much for comfortable silence.

Eddie sighed, blowing smoke out with a little more exasperation than one might hear in a normal exhale. He looked over at Jeff, expecting to see some sort of smirk, maybe smugness- the sort of shitty grin that guys gave each other when the topic of girls came up. But instead, Jeff was still engrossed in his book, as if he hadn’t asked the question at all.

Eying the bassist warily, Eddie conceded. “I’d been running into her at a couple of shows since we got here… we messed around in the back of my van.” 

A pause. Jeff kept his eyes on his paperback.

“And she slapped you in the face because…?”

Eddie hung his head in defeat. “Because she’s in one of the bands competing and I didn’t tell her I was too.” 

Jeff nodded, that final piece of the puzzle clicking into place. Eddie waited for a reply- some sort of judgment, some reprimand for his mistake- but none came. 

Eddie rubbed his cheek, frustrated and still feeling the ghost of the sting from her slap and guilty enough that he still needed to explain himself. “It’s not like she asked me if I was competing, it didn’t come up!”

Jeff looked up at Eddie poignantly, eyebrows raised and lips stretched into a disapproving line. 

“Whatever, man.” Eddie said, taking a long drag from his cigarette and shaking his head as if his lingering guilt could be flung away if he shook hard enough. 

Jeff chuckled, laying his book face-down on his thigh to keep the place. “Don’t take it out on me,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised his eyebrows up at Eddie. “You’re the one who decided to take a shit where he eats.”

Eddie grimaced. “That phrase is fucking gross.”

“Well, it’s what you did, what did you think would happen?” Jeff shrugged, eyes back on his paperback.

Eddie was silent. The truth was, he hadn’t been thinking. He’d been feeling. He’d been making decisions with his dick ever since he saw the vampire-queen earlier in the week, and she’d been standing there looking the way she did and flirting the way she had and god… damn, he hadn’t been thinking at all, had he? 

And then to top it all off- it turned out she was witty. She had the same taste in music. She’d quoted Tolkein with her tits out. By all means, she was the kind of girl that he should have been asking out to dinner, not eating out in the back of his van.

Not that Eddie was complaining.

But he’d blown it big time, and for what reason? Eddie was a liar. And now he had no chance with her in Hell. 

He stared out at the busy street beyond the motel parking lot, vacant eyes cataloging his mistakes with all the others he had filed away over the course of his life, and took a long drag from his cigarette. After a moment, he flicked the smoldering stub to the sidewalk and put it out under the sole of his sneaker. 

“Enjoy your book, Jeff.” Eddie muttered, followed by the sound of the door closing as he returned to their stuffy motel room. 

Jeff looked at the closed door, smiling to himself. Eddie had always been dramatic, ever since middle school. It was one of his most dependable traits, made him a charismatic frontman in the band as well as an amazing Dungeon Master (though it had been a while since they’d played). Jeff knew the drama was masking the guilt that Eddie’s heart of gold was feeling for messing with that poor girl. Eddie wasn’t a player, never had been- he wasn’t the type to manipulate a lady without feeling remorse for it. 

Leaning back leisurely to resume his reading, Jeff wondered in the back of his mind what might happen the next time Eddie and the angry girl crossed paths. How would Eddie handle himself?

***

Eddie had no clue what to do with himself.

On the outside, he was sure he looked aloof, calm, suave, collected- an arm draped over the bar sticky with spilled shots and multi-purpose cleaner. But on the inside? He knew that any minute you would be walking out on that stage and the anticipation was killing him. 

Walking into this venue, he’d been wondering how he would feel when he saw you up there, and a part of him had wondered if he’d be nervous. What if your band sucked? What if you were better than him? 

Eddie shook his head, clearing that last thought from his brain. What was the matter with him? He hadn’t felt this way when he went to see any of the other bands. 

You never slept with the other bands, dickhead. He thought to himself. 

It took him a second, alongside half a glass of the cheapest beer on tap, but Eddie came to the conclusion that he was actually quite excited to see you perform. 

Your interests collided in so many ways that he could see from just a handful of conversations, but it was enough that he was eager to know what sort of music you would make. What would you sound like? It hadn’t occurred to Eddie that you might sing lead in your band like he did- what if you had a horrible voice? What if it was good? Was any one woman allowed to look like you and sound like an angel? She’d be a fucking siren, that wasn’t fair. What if-

Eddie’s train of thought was cut short when the lights dimmed to red onstage. He silenced his thoughts as his raging heartbeat took over, watching three figures walk onstage. One walked over to a drum set while the other two made their way to stand at the front of the stage, each in front of their own mic stand. Eddie wasn’t close to the stage by any means, but even he could see from where he stood that the girl holding a blood-red guitar was you. 

The crowd around him began to cheer, eager for the show they’d been promised. Eddie’s eyes drank in the sight of you, committing to memory every curve hugged by your wine-red dress. Bathed in crimson light, he was reminded of how ethereal you had looked that night in his van just a couple of days ago- only now, the angel had fallen. You’d gone from sorceress to temptress, lips painted red as the blood of innocents with platform boots formidable enough to seriously injure with a well-aimed kick. 

You looked like the queen of the damned, and Eddie couldn’t look away. 

There was a lull in the applause as the anticipation came to its climax. The mic kicked on, sensitive enough for everyone to hear a single, controlled breath escape your lips before the sound of your guitar ripped through the silence. 

Eddie, along with the rest of the room, recognized the familiar opening of Heart’s Barracuda immediately. They all watched with rapt attention, seemingly waiting to catch some mistake in a song everyone knew so well. To everyone’s pleasant surprise, however, every note was spot-on. Eddie’s excitement wavered the longer he listened, and upon hearing your lead vocals- his motivations for listening changed from anticipation to competition.

Of course you were lead guitar and lead vocals, same as he was- the irony wasn’t lost on him. Sure, he had been a little bit enraptured at first- you had star quality, all of you; even he could see that. Each of you looked like some sort of rock and roll witch, and your looks were carefully curated to create those personas. Your band wasn’t just doing this for fun- it was obvious that you had put a great deal of thought into your look and sound. Now, all of the notetaking you’d been doing made sense. You were taking this competition very seriously, so when Eddie had with held the truth from you… it must have hurt you a lot more than he’d thought it would.

Eddie watched and listened intently as the first song drew to a close. The applause was thunderous, eager for more. You leaned into the mic, red lips parting around a laughing smile and waited for the cheering to recede enough for you to be heard. In a soft, low voice you asked, “Oh, you liked that one, huh?” 

The crowd erupted, feeding your fire as a deep giggle bubbled up into your mic- Eddie felt his heart involuntarily backflip at the sound of your voice. 

“Soooo…” you began again, this time sounding a bit more coy than before. “...we’ve been here a couple times before, so a few of you might know us, but either way, we’re Next Hex-” again, the crowd responded with claps, whoops and whistles. From the sound of it, there were certainly people here who remembered you from years past. Eddie listened on.

“Tonight you’ll hear some songs you love, some songs you haven’t heard in a while, and one that you probably never expected to hear at Indie Battle-” You giggled a bit through that last part, but you didn’t seem nervous from what Eddie could tell. If anything, it made him look forward to knowing which song you were referring to. He- and the rest of the audience- was playing right into your hands. It was obvious to him that you knew how to work a crowd this size, and that was an advantage that came with experience Eddie didn’t have.

“-so stick around…and let’s have a little fun.”

With that, you threw the drummer a little nod, to which she smiled- a little deviously- before counting you out into the second song of your set.

Eddie was a statue propped up against the bar for the next three songs. Arms crossed, face unreadable, and beer slowly disappearing from his glass, his brain moved a mile a minute while he watched and listened.

From what he could tell, you really only had one weakness- none of your songs were originals. For a band with such a specific look and sound that had been tailored to your specific brand, he was surprised that the only songs you chose to play belonged to other bands. However, that didn’t seem to detract from your individuality, at least for now. Even though you were covering other bands’ songs, you made them sound like they’d been written for your instruments, for your voice. You felt every lyric as if you’d written it yourself, and he could see that plain as day from where he stood in the audience. 

Your song choices were interesting. Starting with Barracuda, followed by I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett. They seemed like easy choices since your band was a girl group, but there was an edge to your covers that Eddie couldn’t put his finger on- they felt sharper, more moody. He wished he could press rewind and listen again and again to dissect exactly what you did to change up the well-known anthems. 

Then you’d surprised Eddie by pulling a KISS song out of your back pocket- adding a clever twist on Let’s Put the X in Sex  by changing the “X” to “Hex”. It was sexy and fun and all-around entertaining- the crowd ate it up . 

Your fourth song was unexpected- a mysterious, dramatic cover of The Rolling Stones’ Paint It, Black. The seamless transition from sexy to angsty was impressive- it showed range and creativity. 

Eddie was starting to see you as a real threat in this competition.

Your voice, a little breathy at this point, practically whispered into the mic as you introduced the fifth and final song of your set. 

“It’s been real fun tonight, guys,” you began, “this is our last song for tonight, so we’ve saved the best for last.”

The crowd cheered, and Eddie watched with curiosity as the bass player moved a keyboard down to her mic stand. Great, there’s another advantage they’ve got on us, Eddie thought. None of the members of Corroded Coffin played keys.

A beat of silence passed before she began to play- it was surprisingly upbeat, and Eddie struggled to place the song. It wasn't until you chimed in with your guitar that it dawned on him.

You were playing Holding Out for a Hero… Eddie only knew it from how many times he’d heard it beaten to death on the radio after Footloose had come out when he was in high school. 

It didn’t take long for Eddie to catch onto how you’d arranged the cover- all of the parts that were originally sung by a choir, you’d converted into guitar parts. It actually worked- it worked really well. 

When you started to sing the opening lines, Eddie let his eyes drift from your fingers on the frets of your instrument up to your arms, your chest, your lips- but his heart almost leapt out of his sternum when he saw your eyes staring dead at him. 

Eddie felt a wave of deja vu; he’d done the same to you when he’d spotted you in the audience the night before, stared you down so that… well, he wasn’t sure why he’d done it. Maybe he’d liked how you looked so caught off-guard when he’d stared at you? Was he an ass for liking the way that felt? 

Either way, the roles were officially reversed now. Your eyes held Eddie’s in a chokehold, and even though you were singing lyrics written to convey longing and hope, the only messages your eyes held for Eddie were rage and determination. It felt as though there wasn’t a single person in that bar besides the two of you. 

Your black nails moved expertly across the strings of your guitar, and sweat trickled down your collarbone in the red stage lights. Eddie took it all in, feeling a million things at once. Jealousy of his past self, yearning to go back to two nights ago when you’d followed him out to his van. The rush of a real competition, a rival to test his strengths against. Fear of losing, the very real possibility that Corroded Coffin would be sent packing as early as next week’s round of the competition. Regret that he’d blown his chances with you before he’d realized who you actually were. 

You were a goddamn siren, and Eddie wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to stay away from you. 

Part 5

(click here to listen to the electric guitar cover of Holding Out for a Hero that I vaguely based Next Hex's cover off of in my head while I wrote this!)

[beaker1636]

The Scavenger Hunt Pt. 2 - Confessions

AN: was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but I’m really into this story and may or may not have written almost all of it, because I think it’s absolutely adorable so you all can have a double update of it today!

“So which park are we going to, you can’t just tell me that we are going to ‘the park’,” your sister teases you, she knows which park you mean because she remembers you coming back from that walk the two of you took with a smile, telling her that he somehow liked you too, that you were going on a date together the next week.

“Backbone, we intended to go for a walk but we spent a couple hours sitting on the beach instead, watching the sun set that night. We got some weird looks, being the only people in all black on the beach, but we had a lot of fun. Wound up renting one of those paddle boat things and messing around in the lake. At some point I lost one of my sandals in the water, remember the look on your face when I came home barefoot?” you ask, looking at her in the driver's seat with a smile.

“Oh yeah, I asked you if you lost your sandals when you beat him with them. You thought I was nuts,” she laughs at the memory, continuing the drive.

“You are nuts, but yeah I did. You questioned me so hard that night, asking me if I was sure he was worth my time and everything,” you say, thinking about that night.

“To be fair, the guys before Rick we're all duds, you never were much good at picking a decent man. I didn’t want you getting hurt by an idiot again,” she admits. “Luckily he hasn’t.”

“Okay, you said that you have to guess the beach part? We are almost to that part of the park, you ready to figure out your next puzzle?” She asks you, pulling into the parking lot before she stops.

“Of course, but I have no clue where it would be…. Wait, is that Chris?” You ask her, noticing the tall man at the other end of the beach sitting there.

“Looks like it, maybe he has your next puzzle?” She asks you, both of you starting to walk across the sand towards him. Luckily with it being early spring and not the warmest there isn’t anyone else here, only the two of you.

“Hey, about time the two of you showed up. You look beautiful as always, are you ready for your next puzzle y/n?” He asks you, pulling you into a tight hug as you approach him.

“Yes, and thank you by the way, for helping with whatever the hell this is,” you say with a smile, appreciating him taking his time out of his day to do this for you.

“Of course, I am always happy to help with things, but that is all you are getting out of me. Anyways, there are 12 hidden orange shells on this beach that you have to find and bring back to me, once you do I will have your next letter and rose. You better start searching!” He says, his eyes meeting yours while he smiles.

“I know you probably can’t help, but do you want to walk with us? That way you aren’t just sitting here watching me and bored?” You ask him, a slight giggle emerging as you think of him just sitting there by himself, watching you.

“Of course, after you,” he says, starting to follow you as you begin to walk around the beach, finding a couple shells easily as you start but quickly realizing that some are going to be harder to find.

You notice a bucket laying upside down on the beach and walk over to pick it up, smiling when you find one underneath it and hand it to Chris, who has agreed to carry them all for you.

“That’s 3, only 9 more to go,” he says.

“Just because I am curious, did he hide them or did you when you came here to do this for me?” You ask Chris, continuing to walk through the sand as you keep looking. Finding another one by a tree trunk that you hand to him.

“He did, I just showed up with what he told me to bring and waited for you. All of this was set up by him, each puzzle is one he came up with for you and got together, we are just helping him with them. He did send me a list of where they all are so if you take hours to find them I can help you but so far it doesn’t seem like you are going to need my help.” He teases you, nudging your side as you pick up your fifth shell, this one was was next to a pair of sandals, the same color as the ones that you lost when you two came here the first time.

When you laugh they both look at you like you are crazy, wanting the story of why you are laughing at where the shell was.

“Okay, so what is this laugh about,” your sister asks, an amused smile on her face as she watches the joy that spreads across yours.

“Remember how I lost a sandal that day, it was a pink one. I’ve given him shit ever since that he owes me a new pair of pink flip flops, I guess he replaced them for me today,” you say with a smile. “I lost it down in the water, we had to take a couple steps to get into the paddle boat and I sank into the mud, we couldn’t find it after that.”

“I remember that, you came home with mud all over your legs that night, I didn’t know that was why. That is funny,” your sister says, taking a sip of her coffee.

You find number six quickly, having made your way to the paddle boats after reliving that memory and finding one sitting on the seat of the number that the two of you had rented that day. Number 7 was right on the edge of the beach, where you had fallen in the mud that time.

“Nice try Rick, not gonna fall in it this time,” you mumble, making Chris and Kayla laugh behind you at your words. Both of them mostly letting you do your thing while they chat behind you.

You see number 8 and let out a groan. “Ugh that little fucker, Chris, can you reach that one up in the tree? We both know that I can’t,” you ask, giving Chris a sweet smile and hoping that he will just help you with it.

“I guess, not sure if that breaks the rules or not but I can,” he says, laughing and reaching it for you, quickly adding it to the bag that he has with him to put them all in. You give him a playful shove before starting back on your mission again.

Number 9 is underneath a towel that you find down the beach a little more.

“3 left, you are getting so close y/n!” Your sister exclaims, her hand giving one of yours a squeeze, encouraging you.

Number 10 is on a log that is halfway in the water, number 11 underneath it where the log sticks up. You let out a sigh, hoping that you find number 12 soon. As much as you are enjoying this you just want to move on to the next thing, want to get this show on the road. You have never been much of a patient person so having to do a task like this, that takes a lot of time and patience is starting to annoy you.

About 15 minutes later you finally notice a sandcastle in the middle of the beach, letting out a groan as you make your way over to it and notice that the last shell is sitting on the top of it, almost like it was mocking you.

“Thank fucking god, here Chris, your final shell. Can I have my letter now?” You ask, making both of them laugh at how quick you were to ask for it, ready to read what to do next and what Ricky has to say.

Baby,

You have finished the second puzzle, you are getting closer. I know this one tested your patience a bit, but I wanted it to. That day seemed to test your patience, nothing was going how we wanted it to. Both of us leaving covered in mud, you missing a shoe, me not having the guts to ask you on that date until we made it back to your house when I was dropping you off. That day really tested both of our patience.

But when we did ride that stupid swan paddle boat I remember how much you smiled, how beautiful you looked with the smile on your face as we watched the sunset from the beach that night. How well we seemed to get along despite the challenges of the day, that despite the fact most people would have been upset about the mud, about losing a sandal, you took it in stride and still enjoyed the day, that smile never leaving your face. In fact you laughed when you fell into the mud before me trying to find your sandal, the laugh that is still my favorite sound in the world.

That night showed me who you are, how positive you are, and gave me the courage to admit I liked you finally, and breathed a breath of fresh air when you said you felt the same way.

To figure out where you are to go next the shells spell it out, arrange them into words and you will know where you are to go next. When you are done let Chris keep them, he will make sure they get back to us but you have enough to carry and worry about today.

I love you, and can’t wait for you to see what else is in store.

Rick

You look at Chris, who is handing you the bag of shells after you have read the letter out loud before you take a seat on the beach. Lay them all out in front of you as you start to move shells around, figure out different words they could possibly spell before it hits you and you move them.

“Our First Date,” you say softly, looking up at your sister and Chris who are watching you as you solve this.

“Well, tell me where we need to go,” your sister says, helping you off the beach while you brush your sand off your dress.

You turn, pulling Chris into another hug and thanking him again for his part in this while he hands you your third rose.

The tag on this one reads “I love that you love me, accept me despite all my flaws and baggage.”

[theinfinitedivides]

listening to the PS:2 soundtrack again in an attempt to bite the bullet and psyche myself up to watch both films back to back in August(? that's the goal at least, if i get to watch it earlier even better) and i have been stuck on Veera Raja Veera for an hour and a half. i have also figured out my personal ranking for all versions of the song at last and it went about as well as i would have expected. it started to get too long for the f*cking tags tho so i decided to put in this post, we'll see how it goes from here—list is in order from least liked to most liked btw

5. going to start this off by saying i'm so so sorry to Gulzar but it's something about the rhythm for me. the lyrics are lovely but the way they are lining up with the music in the Hindi version,,,,,,, or failing to in certain parts,,,,,, it's not it. it's not it. it does well in the first minute or so and then heads downhill from there, and tbh it's not his fault i think it's just the sheer amount of syllables that they have to fit in compared to the original? and with that in mind it's not going to sound the same, obviously, but what salvages it from being a complete disappointment is the way we got both Shreya Ghoshal and Kavita Krishnamurthy as a duet in this year of our Lord 2023. Kavita, who still sounds the same as she did on the Dil Se soundtrack singing Satrangi Re and the Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam soundtrack and the Devdas soundtrack and the Yaara Dildaara soundtrack and the K3G soundtrack with Bole Chudiyan and Shreya Ghoshal who is a pleasure to listen to on practically everything she touches (Bajirao Mastani and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and that aalap just before her verse with Kavita here i'm looking at you) and— *inhales* *exhales* ok. do appreciate them letting Kavita take the 'चुन चुन चुन चुन / जाली रे जाली चिंगारी' portion in the Hindi translation bc she sounded beautiful there. (she always reminded me of Lata in that regard i think, and for some inexplicable reason i've by extension connected the two of them to Zohra Sehgal in some of her roles)

favorite line — 'दुश्मन पे टूटे जब | बिजलियों का वीर' / 'dushman pe toote jab | bijilyon ka vaar'. this is one of those times where the rhythm works in their favor and works well, and it leads perfectly into the rest of the verse imo. also @ that one guy going 'योद्धा~~' / 'yodhaa~~' at the very end of the song ty for your service

3. in contrast to the rhythm problems of the Hindi the Kannada recording is very smooth? i don't know if that makes sense as someone who doesn't speak the language but it's like water. like water in a stream just one after another going over the stones in the riverbed as it passes or the waves lapping against the side of the ship or the gentle sound wind chimes make when they hit against each other in the lightest breeze—the phrasing doesn't feel forced (ty Jayant Kaikini sir) and the syllables match the music as well as the original. ofc Rakshita Suresh and Sivasri Skandaprasad have a part to play with their solos in this sounding as good as it does, despite its ranking on my list (which will be explained in the next entry), and while i expected nothing less from Rakshita after Kirunage, this is the first i'm hearing from Sivasri and she blew me away. i had to listen to it several times to be able to tell them apart, and i might still be wrong bc their voice color is very, very similar, but they took what Rahman gave them and made it their own. (is it Rakshita that starts and Sivasri that continues? i'm thinking that it alternates between them with Sivasri ending that portion)

favorite line — 'ಮಳೆಗರೆವಾಗ ಬಾಣ | ಅಡಗಳು ಎಲ್ಲಿ ತಾಣಾ' / 'malegarevaaga baana | adagalu elli thaana'. this is where the river analysis stands out to me bc this feels like putting pebbles said river into a tumbler and rolling them over and over until they come out smooth and polished and just. right. (i am using the word smooth a lot to talk about the Kannada version sksksksk but can you blame me)

3. technically Malayalam and Kannada tie for third place on here (there is no fourth place. there is 4.75th place rounded up to fifth place and that belongs to the Hindi entry as previously stated) but Malayalam has the slightest edge for me. in terms of sound/pronunciation it's the closest to the original—i know most scholars believe that Malayalam descended from Tamil and split early on, so that might have something to do with it, but it sounds like a perfect cross between the flow of Kannada and the strength of the Tamil and ugh. pair that with Srinivas featuring and Shweta Mohan taking on that solo (by herself!!! and eating that sh*t like it was a duet!!!) and Rafeeq Ahamed as the lyricist and i play it almost as often as i play the original. (i was almost half expecting to hear the extension at the end in this version, that's how good it was)

favorite line — 'കടലിൽ ചുഴലി പോലെ | തവ നൗക കളിരമ്പി' / 'kadalil chuzhali pole | thava noukakalirambi'. i am in love with what Shweta does here, especially with the latter half of the line ('... നൗക കളിരമ്പി' / 'noukakalirambi') since she just heads straight into the 'വൻകടൽ...' and for some reason that is so auditorily pleasing to me. i don't have any rational thoughts behind that that's just how it is. her aalap before her verse is also breathier/softer than Shreya's if that makes sense but it fits her perfectly

2. Telugu. holy f*ck, Telugu. you put Shankar Mahadevan (i don't think i've ever heard him sing a bad song. ever. at least not what i've heard) and Chinmayi (Tere Bina???? Mayya Mayya???? Titli???? i'm still not over any of them from her????) in the same song you make every f*cking verse rhyme almost exactly courtesy of Chandrabose if Kannada is the sound of water then Telugu is pure silk and honey and the feel of something melting in your mouth and you expect me to stay alive? the actual f*ck? admittedly i may be biased bc one of my OCs is Telugu and i have been putting Telugu covers from my Bollywood playlist on loop for inspo but uh Rahman what the f*ck. what the f*ck am i supposed to do with that kind of genius

favorite line(s) — 'సమరం శ్రుతించైరా శిఖరం స్పృశించైర' / 'samaram shruthinchaira shikharam spushinchaira' & 'విధిగా తెగించైర | విధినే వదించైర | విలయం దరించైర | విజయం వరించైర' / 'vidhigaa thegincheyraa | vidhine vadhincheyraa | vilayam dharincheyraa | vijayam varincheyraa'. the f*cking alliteration? hello? also the 'veera raja veera' at the end of this version in particular gives me full body chills bc there is someone going up with the harmonization every time there's a new line. i don't know who it is but he's (they're? could be multiple vocals) going up and i am crying shaking throwing up on the floor having a spiritual experience etc etc

and finally 1. the top spot. the place where everything has been leading through this long ass piece that i have put you to suffer through

and ykw Tamil is pretty much self-explanatory i think: we bring Shankar back as we should but this time K.S Chithra (Asoka!!! Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon!!! Bombay and Thoda Thoda from Indira/Priyanka and the live version of Jiya Jale that Rahman did in Dubai!!!) and Harini (also sang for Indira/Priyanka and featured on Varayo Thozhi from Jeans) are with him and Ilango Krishnan's lyrics take over and flatline me on the f*cking operating table. before it flatlines me however i break into goosebumps every time i hear it start, bc lbh it is impossible not to when you have the f*cking vocals coming in like 'காணீரோ? நீர் காண் | சோழ வெற்றி வாள் ஒன்றை காணீரோ? | ஓ அழகிய பூவே! செல்லுதியோ | மலரிடு போ சகி!' if you stay sane during that opening you are a liar get off my feed unfollow and block i don't want you anywhere near me for the next six years or however long it takes Mani Ratnam to make his next masterpiece. no coherent thoughts head empty MV playing on loop he and Rahman own me now they have the copyrights

favorite line (had to split everything into two blocks bc Tumblr was tryin to f*ck up my sh*t) — 'எம் தமிழ் வாழ்க வாழ்க! | வீர சோழம் வாழ்க! | நற்றமிழ் வாழ்க வாழ்க! | நல்லோர் தேசம் வாழ்க!' / 'em thamizh vaazhga vaazhga! | veera sozham vaazhga! | natramizh vaazhga vaazhga! | nallor thesam vaazhga!'. technically this isn't my favorite favorite line bc i have to do a seperate ranking for that below + it's exclusive to the Tamil version and i am trying to make this a wholistic review but. it's f*cking up there let's just say that. i think i mentioned in the tags of a different post of how i've been doing genealogy research and (in the process) tentatively confirmed the possibility of there being some South Asian descent from my dad's side, specifically Tamil or Telugu based on the stories/timeline of French occupation in the Caribbean and portions of the Indian subcontinent, and there's something in me that shifts every time we get down to the last twenty or so seconds and this hits. i don't know what it is, truly—maybe the remnants of the genes of my ancestors and their pride for their land, their language—but it's there and it's loud and if it's the right day at the right time i will start crying btw. full on sobbing like a little bitch. you didn't ask but i told you anyway

after all of *motions* that, i am also offering a bonus ranking of the section of VRV that makes me rewind every f*cking time it comes on in every language, bc it featured heavily in creating my eventual rankings and i would be remiss to not mention it. so here have this additional dive into my thought process during these trying times of hyperfixation rip

'आंधी से तेज़ | तूफ़ान से तेज़ | चुन चुन चुन चुन | जाली रे जाली चिंगारी | अंग अंग अंग अंग | लागे रे लागे अंगारे' / 'aandhi se tez | toofaan se tez | chun chun chun chun | jaali re jaali chingaari | ang ang ang ang | laagey re laagey angaare', Hindi — still at the bottom of the list here, but the inflection during the repetition ('chun chun chun chun' and 'ang ang ang ang') salvages it somewhat. nothing else to say it about it otherwise, since i already addressed Kavita's voice here earlier

'വാക്കാകെ നീ കാറ്റാക നീ | ശര ശര ശര ശരമേയ്ക | വേൽമഴ നെയ്തിട് | റ പറ പറ പറ വിറകൊൾക | പായട്ടെ പായ്വഞ്ചികൾ' / 'vaakkaaka nee kaattaaka nee | shara shara shara sharameyka | velmazha neythidu | para para para para virakolka | paayatte paayvanchikal', Malayalam — taking that third place as always, but its tied partner in the general rankings is higher up in this list for a change. i think the very last part ('പായട്ടെ പായ്വഞ്ചികൾ' / 'paayatte paayvanchikal') is what throws me off tho bc of the way they distributed the line, since on the first listen i was expecting them to go 'paayatte paayvan-chi-kal' and they chose 'paayatte pa-ay-van-chikal' instead. it's not like it decreases the overall quality of the song or anything it's just a very specific hang up i have. who knows maybe my preferred pronunciation would have f*cked with the meaning and we do not want that

'సుడిగాడ్పులా అడుగేయరా | సర సర సర సర | శరమే తనువే తాకగా | చర చర చర చర | చెలరేగాలి వేగంగా' / 'sudi gaadpulaa adugeyyaraa | sara sara sara sara | sharame thanuve thaakagaa | chara chara chara chara | chelaraegaali vegangaa', Telugu — this ties with Malayalam for third place and, much like it, my quirk is specfically with the last part ('చెలరేగాలి వేగంగా' / 'chelaregaali vegangaa'). my preferred is 'chelare-gaali ve-gan-gaa', they gave me 'chelare-gaa-li ve-gan-gaa'. again, not an issue, this is just me, i'm sure they knew what they were doing otherwise they wouldn't have recorded it like that in the first place

'ನೀ ಜ್ವಾಲೆಯು ನೀ ಗಾಳಿಯೂ | ಸರ ಸರ ಸುರಿವ | ಮಳೆಯಂತೆ ಶೂಲಗಳು | ಭರ ಭರ ಭರ ಭರನೆ | ಭೋರ್ಗರೆವ ಪಂಜುಗಳು' / 'nee jwaaleyu nee gaaliyuu | sara sara suriva | maleyanthe shoolagalu | bhara bhara bhara bharane | bhorgareva panjugalu', Kannada — there are at least two portions here that sound eerily similar to the original and that is why this version has moved up to spot two. it takes that water comparison i made and uses it to its advantage so much and it rotates in my mind like a rotisserie chicken at just at the right angle and it's just!!!! it's just!!!! God pls keep me from putting this in my mouth and biting it's too good

'கூற்றாகிச் செல்... | காற்றாகிச் செல்... | சர சர சர சரவெனவே | மழை தான் பெய்திட | பர பர பர பரவென | பாயட்டும் பாய்மரம்' / 'kootraagi sel... | kaatraagi sel... | sara sara sara saravena | velmazhai thaan peidhida | para para para paravena | paayattum paaimaram', Tamil — when this hits i blank out and come to at random intervals. cannot pinpoint the time the place etc but it happens and when it does i go f*cking feral. this one i am indeed putting in my mouth and biting bc the entire thing from 'para para...' onwards??? more alliteration more alliteration more f*cking alliteration. i remember someone making a post on here that said that certain parts of VRV sound like pearls bouncing off of the floor (was it @mizutaama? i apologize for the tag but i think that was you) and i think this is what they were referring to but my ears are that f*cking floor. i thank God every day for that

anyway mutuals (and non-mutuals who are just as obsessed about PS as i am) i'm sorry for clogging your feed with my opinions on a film i haven't even watched properly, pls feel free to roast me about my ranking choices. or agree but it doesn't really matter at this point bc even tho i could be talking out of my ass in terms of actually speaking said languages (i,,,,, do not unfortunately) i've said what i needed to say sksksksk

[kristannafever]

She Ain’t Gotta Do Much - 2

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 3032

Chapter Index

---------------------

The first day on the job was usually a clusterfuck.  Especially with office reno’s.  Most of the time the clients were never fully moved out of the work area – more like shifted out of the way – leaving him and Sven tripping over employees while they tried to get their work done because more often than not, they couldn’t just shut everything down while the reno’s took place. Which was why Kristoff was almost flabbergasted to walk into the completely empty space.  The furniture was even stacked in the middle of the floor where the cubicles had been.  

“Okay, I figure we’ll start demo on the big offices at the back, then… what, what’s with the face?”

“Huh?”  Kristoff realized he’d stopped mid stride.

Sven blinked at him. “Dammit, Kris.  I knew you weren’t paying attention!  What the fuck?!  You better not have fucked up that quote.”

His brow furrowed. “I absolutely didn’t fuck that up.”

“Well, you were clearly somewhere else when she told us she was moving the whole team the next floor up with CEO’s and all that shit while we demo and frame.”

Had she said that? Now that he thought about it, it did sound vaguely familiar.   That was why they were under such a tight deadline to get to the finishing stages.

Sven let out a slow exhale, looking at the ceiling, then back at him.  “What is with you lately?”

“Nothing.”  Kristoff trudged past him. “Let’s get to work.”

-----

It was a long day.  An excruciatingly long day.  

By the end of it, Kristoff’s arms were weary from slinging a sledgehammer and working the Sawzall, even though he did it regularly.   They were too high up to throw the construction waste down through a shoot to a bin.  All of it needed to be hauled down the service elevator which meant multiple trips down to the bin in the alley with a large wheeled tub.  Sven took the liberty of making those runs all day, leaving Kristoff with the heavy tools.

When Sven took the last load down it was two hours after they had planned to quit for the day. Kristoff was exhausted, sweat dripped down the sides of his face as he guzzled from his water bottle.  

“Didn’t expect you guys to be here so late.”

Kristoff choked on his water, thoroughly surprised.  He hadn’t heard her walk up to him.  

“Sorry, sorry.”  She chuckled, smiling her hands up in an innocent gesture.  “Didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

“It’s okay,” he offered, composing himself.  “Just startled me, that’s all.”

“Looks like you guys worked really hard.  I’m impressed.”

Kristoff knew he looked a sight.  He was absolutely covered in drywall dust, dirt and sweat.  Part of him might have cared if he wasn’t so damn tired.  

She was a vision of course. Hair done up professionally, smart suit with a white blouse and sensible black heels.  Makeup that only accentuated her natural beauty, no flashy jewellery, just some small hoop earrings and a nice watch.

“Thank you,” he replied, as Sven came back into the room with the bin.

“Ah, Boss Lady.  Hope your day was good.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Lady?  Really?”

Sven made a grand gesture of bowing.  “Apologies, Boss.  Won’t happen again.”

Her eyebrow arched delicately as she smiled.   Clearly, she was comfortable with the humour.   “You two are quitting for the day now, I hope?”

Sven smiled.  “Yes, these two grunts are all done for today, Boss.”

This was why Sven was the one to deal with clients.  He was so quick with witty banter.  Kristoff was not.  Most of the things that came out of his mouth were straightforward and to the point, which was often mistaken for being rude.  He’d been told on more than one occasion that he had a gruff demeanor.   Only the people who knew him well, knew that that wasn’t true.

Anna said, “Well, I appreciate you working with our tight schedule.   I’ll be checking in with you quite a bit these next four weeks if that isn’t too much of an issue?”

“Of course not, Boss,” Sven answered.  “I would expect you are under a certain amount of pressure to get back to your own office space and out of the big wigs upstairs.”

Anna laughed and it sounded like a melody.  Kristoff found himself smiling.

“You have no idea,” she said.  “Have a good night, gentleman.  Stop by upstairs tomorrow before you start for some coffee and pastries.”

“Will do, Boss.  Thank you.”  Sven made a gesture of bowing again, which she giggled at.

“Thank you,” Kristoff added feebly, suddenly mad that he didn’t have the charm that Sven did.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 If he thought the lobby a floor down was sleek and modern, the only way to describe the one he’d just entered, was opulent.  The same company logo adorned the front of the massive receptionist’s desk that four people sat behind.  The one on the end closest to the floor to ceiling mahogany doors to the inner offices was the blonde woman who normally worked on Anna’s floor.  As soon as she saw him her face lit up.

Ah shit, not now…

She was all eyes when they had come back to sign the contracts after they agreed to the price, looking him up and down several times, and not being subtle about it either. After their business with the Boss was finished, she’d bid them a farewell at the elevators being as flirty as humanly possible with him, and telling them to come fetch her if there was anything that they needed.

“Good morning, Sven. Good morning, Kris!”

Sven shot him a look. Kristoff’s greeting was much more enthusiastic.  

“Miss Arendelle mentioned you two might be coming up this morning for some coffee.  Let me show you to the break room.”

They followed without a word, passing suit after suit.  Most of them took notice of the two construction workers amongst their midst.   While their Carhart pants and long-sleeve t-shirts were clean since they hadn’t started work yet, they were a stark contrast to everyone around them.  He could only imagine how much more it would be after the filth they wore after a long, hard day’s work.

Entering a large break room that was packed with people, Kristoff suddenly felt claustrophobic. He noticed not one, but several men look over at their entrance and size them up with a confident smirk that told him they were glad that their collars were white.  Wasn’t the first time it had happened to him, and certainly would not be the last.

Turning his eyes down he waited for the secretary to pour them a coffee from the carafe.  She turned to him first, of course, and asked what he wanted in it.  He was perfectly capable of getting his own coffee, he had no idea why she was taking the liberty of getting it for him.

“Black is fine,” he muttered.

She handed him a coffee and he didn’t look up.

“There are a bunch of pastries over on the counter if you-”

“I’m good, thanks,” Kristoff said, and turned around abruptly and walked back the way they’d come.  He all but ran for the lobby and to the stairs. He descended quickly to the floor below where he belonged.  As soon as he walked into the dusty space, he relaxed.  

He was sitting on a turned over five-gallon pail when Sven strolled in with a coffee and two donuts about five minutes later.

He stopped in front of Kristoff and looked down at him.  “What, the, fuck?”

“Leave me alone.”  

Sven just stood there, staring at him.  “Are you okay?  Like mentally?”

Kristoff gave him a look that said to ‘fuck off’.

“Seriously, is there something going on I don’t know about?” Sven asked.

“No.”

“Then what the hell?”

“Look, you might be comfortable trapsing through an office full of a bunch of people that look down on you, but I hate it.”

Sven gave a long sigh and handed Kristoff a donut and sat on the floor across from him.  “Yeah, that office is full of douche bags for sure.”

Kristoff didn’t really want the donut but he ate it anyway since Sven had been nice enough to grab one for him.  They’d talked many times before about how different it was when they shifted their business from residential to commercial renovation.   For a lot of people, there was a clear divide between them and blue-collar men like him and Sven.  Higher educated and higher class than a lowly tradesman.  Not everyone was like that of course.  Anna certainly wasn’t.  But there were enough bad ones that it had made him harbour a little resentment towards the upper-class workers like the ones in the floor above him.

Sven chuckled.  “Should have seen some of the ladies in the room eat us up with their eyes though.”

That brought a smile to his face.  “They get tired of looking at dudes in suits.  Just like the women we date get tired of us in jeans and t-shirts.”

“Ain’t that the truth? Come on, let’s get this over with. It’s going to be a long day.”

They got to work, Kristoff telling Sven that he was going to run the cart to the bin.  His friend didn’t argue.  After about three hours of it he wished he’d just stayed on the tools. It was boring as hell standing in the elevator staring at nothing while it went up and down.  By the time lunch rolled around, it felt like the entire twelve-hour day had already passed.

The blonde secretary found her way into the construction zone as they were finishing their lunch, sitting on a pile of lumber they were going to repurpose.  

“Oh, hello there, Kris. Hi Sven.”

Sven smiled. “G’day.”

“I, oh, well, I see you are having lunch.  I was going to ask if you wanted me to grab you something but I guess I’m a few minutes too late.”

Sven turned his head to Kristoff and remained silent.  Kristoff slid his gaze to see his friend was forcing him to be civil, especially after how short he’d been with her in the morning.

“Um…” He cleared his throat. “Thanks, but we are good here.  We usually brown bag it.”

She looked confused for a moment and then seemed to understand.  “Ah, well, alright.  I’ll leave you to it then.”  She turned slightly, then paused and turned back.  “There’s a bunch of benches in the courtyard to the North of the building. If you feel like some fresh air at lunch instead of uh, in here.”

Kristoff glanced over at Sven again.  Sven’s attention was still focused on him and he was smirking.  The secretary had been talking to both of them but she had only been looking at Kristoff.

Dammit, Sven

Kristoff said, “Thank you, Miss.”

“Oh!  My name is Berkleigh!”

“Thanks then, uh, Berkleigh.”

“You are very welcome, Kris. Anything you need, you come and find me, okay?”

Kristoff only nodded and she finally left them alone.  

-----

Anna was standing there when Kristoff wheeled the empty bin back in the office after the last load of the day.  Sven had been talking to her and she was laughing again.  The corner of Kristoff’s nose twitch with impatience and he wished again he was smoother with his words around people he didn’t know well.  

“What did I miss?” he asked, putting on a smile as he parked the bin against the wall and walked over.

“Ah nothin’.”  Sven waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Just telling the Boss about that time we had to work for that airline company.  Remember?  We were more than half way through and they gave us all those change orders.”

“I remember,” Kristoff said. He remembered it anxiously instead of humorous however.  The job they had lined up after needed to be pushed back and they had almost lost the client.  They had to work fourteens for two weeks straight to get it all done.  Not unlike the time restraint on this job.  The only difference was there was nothing lined up after, which still worried Kristoff.

“Anyway,” Anna said, looking over at Kristoff with those gorgeous blue eyes.  “I was just telling Sven I can’t wait to get back down here and into a normal sized office.”

Kristoff was confused, having not been paying attention when that was discussed.  He knew she was cutting her office in two, what he did not know, was why.  He looked to Sven and his friend read his face and shot him a look with a sight widening of his eyes.

“I understand that, Boss, absolutely,” Sven said, turning to her.  “I also wouldn’t want to take the old CEO office when he moved upstairs without making it my own.”

She laughed. “Right?  Like, what the hell does someone need an office that big for? It’s hilarious.”

Kristoff nodded, like he’d known that all along instead of learning it just then.  

Sven said, “It certainly is, Boss.”

She looked at Sven. “You guys can call me Anna, you know.”  Her eyes slid over to Kristoff and appraised him.  “Not that you say much.”

Sven spoke up before Kristoff could utter a word.  “Ah, Kris is the strong silent type, don’t mind him.”

Anna laughed.  “I don’t mind either of you!  To be honest, you two are way more friendly that half the people upstairs.”  She looked directly into Kristoff’s eyes.  “Even if you don’t say much.”

As much as he tried not to, Kristoff started to blush.  

“Anyway, have a lovely evening, gentleman.  Come on up in the morning again for coffee and pastries.”

“Thank you,” Kristoff and Sven said in unison.

“Have a good night, Boss.”

Kristoff added, “Yes, have a good night.”

“You as well.”  Anna smiled over her shoulder at them then walked out of their construction zone.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 The next day he was all but accosted by the blonde secretary while he was eating his lunch on a park bench outside.   She had been mercilessly flirting with him whenever he was in her sight, and his patience was being severely tested.  She had spotted him sitting there and made a b-line over to him, which he supposed served him right for taking her suggestion to eat outside.  His stomach twisted and he repressed dropping his shoulders with the annoyance he felt to have her approach him again.

“Do you have Snap?”

What kind of greeting is that?  “I have no idea what that is.”  He didn’t, and he tired to make it clear with his tone that he didn’t care to find out.

“What about Instagram? It’s the best!”

“No.”

“Oh, you should get it! I’ll help you, just give me your phone.”

He looked around the street. Where the fuck are you, Sven?  Get off the fucking toilet already!  “It’s okay, I’m not a social media kind of guy.”

Her face turned into a pout. “Oh, come on!  It’s just Instagram.  I’ll set it up for you quickly and you can add me!”

“I, er, no thanks.”

Her disappointment looked profound, then all of the sudden, it disappeared.  “Then I’m just going to keep bugging you and bugging you until you get it.”  She smiled and turned to walk away.

Kristoff panicked at the thought of her constantly pestering him.  “Fine, fine, set it up,” he said, and then immediately regretted it.  What the hell was he doing?   He should have just let her walk away and told her to knock it off the next time she bothered him, even if his Ma would slap him silly for being rude to a lady.

Berkleigh sat on the bench beside him and waited.  Kristoff unlocked his phone and handed it to her, watching her like a hawk on what she was doing to make sure she wasn’t going to try and snoop through his photos. Not that there was anything incriminating, he just didn’t want to share them with her.  At all.

She asked what his email was and then gave him the phone back to enter all his personal information. When he gave the phone back to her to finish, Sven appeared at his other side, chewing on his sandwich and watching what was happening with interest.

“There!” she said.  “Now let’s take a photo.”

“What?  No, I don’t want-”

“Come on, just stand there and I’ll snap one of you and show you how to post it.”

Kristoff reluctantly agreed if only to get her out of his hair.  He was relieved that she wasn’t demanding to be in the picture with him. There was no way he was going to say yes to that.  He lifted his hand and smiled at his phone, feeling like a complete fucking jackass.

“Done!  Here, look, you can add filters and-”

“No.  Just, post it, or whatever.”

He watched what she did as she babbled on and on about the filters anyway, then asked what he wanted to tag the photo as – whatever the fuck that meant – which Kristoff told her impatiently not to bother with.  After a tap of her finger, his picture was then posted on his brand-new Instagram account. She started to tell him that next he needed to add a profile picture and he tried to grab his phone back, wanting more than anything to be done with this exchange.

“Hang on!  Let me add myself first!” she said, pulling the phone away from his grasp.

Right, because I asked you kindly to do so.  “I really need to get back to work.”

“One second… and… done!”

She handed him back his phone and he stuffed it in his pocket.  He mumbled a ‘thanks’ even though he wasn’t happy about anything that had just happened.

“You’re welcome! Catch you later, Kris!”

She walked away and Kristoff sat back down beside Sven.  His friend was quiet a moment.

“That was awkward as fuck, dude.  Total cringe-fest.”

Kristoff groaned and put his face in his hands.

---

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[tench]

So far Sim settlements 2 makes me consider to actually care about the faction I'm about to destroy.

(Wait all it took was the actual split within the faction, some minor characters from it going out of their way to help you and the ability to take a back sit while you see the people within the said organisation actually do shit to fix things? And it affects the plot?). I really appreciate "if we want the world to get better we have to work together despite the risk of being taken advantage of" too, would love to see more of that, preferably watered down with healthy amount of cynicism and weariness. From the factions I really like Nightingales (healers, no shit), it feels out of place in the game though, because it tries to humanise everyone (well, at least people of different factions) and actually to establish a neutral position in the conflict. Raphael you are my favourite overprotective grumpy ex-raider trying to do better, please live.

The other part of SS2 I love is that there are little quests for the cool fully voiced settlers, and they are crediting the voice actors and the quest writers within the game ❤️ Papa was a rolling stone, It came from planet X are by far my favourites.

And I must say they have some talented people who write good small characterisations. My working theory why they work so well on me is that they make the story not about something you are fixing with simple violence (like raiders stole our stuff, or gouls are living nearby), but something more loaded, like helping with hunting where you leave the beakon for people to go their thing after you done, or even just simply turning on some turrets for an old guy surviving all alone in a ghost town. I have a feeling that these people are living within this world? It is just enough depth that implies that there is something there akin to a story of one's life in there? And it is also paird with a reward like a special house of the guy who lost everything and just need a place to start a farm again. It is very comforting to build a community this way.

But again, nothing is perfect. There you have a police faction with a woman asking you to hunt and skin people.

Overall it reminds me that I could have been playing a better game, but it is the next best thing. (Also with all my bitching Fallout 4 is really pretty looking, i wish their maps weren't shit, because my topographic cretinism makes me spend literal hours in downtown area, I do not know where I am all the goddamn time)

[fxtalitygod]

V. ~Survival~

Summary: You were determined to survive, longer than anyone, even if you were set to marry him.

Genre: Historical AU, angst, mature, suggestive, arranged-marriage

Warnings: Dark themes, themes/depictions of horror, swearing/language, suggestive, mentions of child murder/adult murder, breastfeeding, pet names (Y/n called Little Flower 2-3x), Implications of child neglect, implied Stockholm Syndrome, images/depictions of dead bodies, slight misogynistic themes (if you squint).

Word Count: 4.3k

A/n: I apologize for being so late with this post, a lot is going on right now and I have had a few other writing projects that I have been working on for you guys, but I was finally able to sit down and finish this chapter. Thank you all for being patient with me, it is greatly appreciated. As a friendly reminder, my asks are open if you want to ask me any questions about this story/other works or to talk about hcs, maybe even suggestions, or to be added to the taglist for any of my series, have at it! I'm going to update my navigation soon so that it has a link that can take you to the post where I have my taglist rules. I hope that due to it being summer I will be able to post more consistently, hopefully, every Sunday if possible. For now, my upload schedule will be a bit inconsistent until I figure out some kinks. Thank you for sticking around and enjoy Part 5 of Survival!

Fun Fact: I stayed up to watch the Lunar Eclipse while writing part of this chapter, it was quite awesome!

JJK Mlist•Taglist Rules•

• Pt.I • Pt. II • Pt.III • Pt.IV • Pt. V • Pt.VI

For the first time in a long time, you felt normal. Those few hours you spent with your two little infants were the best moments out of the time you had spent at the temple. It was quiet, with no one there to disrupt your peace, not even Sukuna himself, it was just you and your children.

Yes, your attendant would walk in every once in a while, most likely on Sukuna’s orders, but she always made her visits quiet and short. She would leave you food and water to make sure you were well-nourished — you appreciated that because you knew if she hadn’t, you would’ve forgotten to eat or drink anything, too lost in admiring your children.

Sadly, it wouldn’t be this way forever, as soon as your twins were old enough to not need the nourishment from your breasts, you would go back to the normal routine around the temple; however, there would be small exceptions to watching and raising your children. Despite knowing these future events, you would enjoy the time you had with your babies.

Taking a deep breath, a long sigh following, you enjoyed the tranquility of the room. You wished this setting would last forever, but knew that it wouldn’t; however, you didn’t expect it to be disrupted this soon as an unexpected visitor made themself present.

“Had a good rest, Little Flower?”

As much as you hated that familiar teasing tone, you paid no mind to it as you didn’t want the presence of Sukuna to damper your mood. You gave a simple response, not bothering to make eye contact as you were too enamored with your twins to give him any attention.

“Not feeling very talkative today are we, Little Flower? It’s almost as if you are distracted by something or rather someone?”

Feeling a shift in bedding, you could tell that Sukuna was now leaning beside you, staring you down as you paid him no mind. You knew that this was a risky move of yours, but you would be damned if you were to miss a second of time with your children due to the likes of the twisted, two-faced man beside you.

It stayed silent for a couple minutes.

At first, you thought Sukuna had gotten the hint and would decide to leave you alone, but you should have known better. The man took your chin between his fingers, forcing you to face him; however, he was still gentle in this action, making sure to not harm you as he forced you to make eye contact.

“I apologize, I do not know what to say with such an unexpected visit,” you responded after a couple seconds of staring into his eyes.

Sukuna was only able to smirk before letting go of your face, allowing you to bring your focus back onto the infants that were curled up against your chest, trying to achieve warmth from your body.

“That seems like a valid answer, for now,” Sukuna started, pausing to examine the twins before turning his attention back to you, “Answer me this, did you know a young maiden in your village who was a seamstress? She was a couple years younger than you and I believe she would’ve been a neighbor and a close family friend of yours.”

You were a little confused by his question, but took some time to think about his description. You ransacked your mind trying to match someone to the details he had given you about this person until it finally hit you.

Your mind went back to your “wedding day” and the girl that was helping you into your ceremonial robes. You remembered that girl well, she was sixteen at the time and was practically glued to your side whenever you made your presence known around her. The same naive girl who believed a marriage with Sukuna was more of an achievement rather than a punishment.

“I do recall her, why?” you simply asked.

“She wouldn’t stop talking about you, at least for the first few minutes after the ceremony; however she had no trouble pushing the thought of you aside after I told her you were due to go into labor soon, she actually went silent for a few minutes before she started to blabber on how she would be a great wife.”

You were confused, what was he trying to prove with this story? You pondered on it, trying to think up an answer, but nothing was coming up. Why was Sukuna bringing this up now? Was he trying to stir a reaction out of you per usual? Was he trying to threaten you?

Questions kept flooding your mind until an answer finally hit you.

“It was a shame I had to kill her, she made a pretty convincing commitment about being a good wife, but her jealousy felt more of a threat towards our future heirs and if I were being honest she was getting on my nerves.”

He killed her.

The night when you went into labor, that piercing scream you heard was her. The blood that tainted Sukuna’s robes that night was her’s. You felt so on edge that night because she, the girl who practically saw you as her older sister had been murdered on her wedding night, and a part of you couldn’t help but feel like it was your fault.

Before you had the chance to snap at Sukuna for what he had done, a tanto blade appeared in front of your face.

“I noticed her slip this into her hand the moment I told her you were pregnant.”

You were quick to flick the blade away as to keep it away from your twins, worried the blade would cut them, but that wasn’t the only reason you were quick to dispose of it. A part of you didn’t want to believe that the girl you had grown up with wanted to harm you out of jealousy; moreover, you didn’t want to believe that the girl had been completely blindsided by the rumors going around the village, so much so that she lost all rationality.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“To warn you,” Sukuna quickly responded, “from this point on, you will be looked down upon in your village, maybe even your own family. From here on out everyone is out to kill you and our children…”

You looked down at your children as they began to cry, grabbing at you as they began to squirm. You tried to calm them down, but nothing was working. You attempted to adjust yourself, but something caught your eye.

There was blood on your hand.

You checked for any open wounds on your body, even inspecting your hand twice to make sure you hadn’t cut yourself with the tanto blade from earlier, but nothing; however, when you turned to examine your children, you noticed cuts and small slices littering their bodies. Out of panic, you looked over to where the blade should have landed but found nothing. You turned to look at Sukuna to see if he had grabbed it only to discover that he wasn’t there.

She was standing in his place, blade held above her head, ready to strike it down onto you and your children. Your eyes were wide in fear. You wanted to say anything but no words came out of your mouth when you went to speak some sense into her. You could only stare into her crazed eyes with fear, even when a hand made its way onto your shoulder a figure leaning in to whisper into your ear.

“Everyone is out to take what is ours Y/n.”

You gasped as you opened your eyes, sitting up immediately as you breathed heavily, trying to recover from your nightmare; however, it didn’t take long to check on your infants. You were so shaken up you examined them more times than you could count, making sure they were unscratched.

“Y/n-sama, are you alright?” your attendant asked, clearly concerned about your current state of shock.

It took you a few seconds to calm down before responding to her, giving her a simple yes so as to not give her any reason to call for someone. Now some may believe it would’ve been best for you to confide in her, but a part of you worried your children would be taken away from you.

Your attendant looked a little hesitant, clearly wanting to ask you more to make sure you were alright, but she could tell that you weren’t necessarily in the mood to talk as you had already gone in for another round of inspecting your children. She was only able to observe from afar, afraid that if she were to overstep her boundaries she would spark an adverse reaction. She decided to wait for the right time to approach you, and not necessarily question you but to at least be able to talk with you without causing you any sort of distress.

It took you a few minutes to settle down, finally feeling comfortable enough to relax, leaning back to allow a slight breather. Your attendant approached you cautiously, bringing you something to eat and drink since it had been a while since you had done so.

“Is there anything I can do for you Y/n-sama?” she asked carefully.

You only shook your head, giving her a soft smile to reassure her everything was alright. The gesture seemed to bring her a little relief as she smiled back, bowing before making her leave.

The second those doors closed, you allowed your mind to run wild. You thought back to your nightmare, still feeling distressed from the whole situation. You had no idea why you had such a horrific nightmare despite being nothing but happy these past few days, spending what quality time you could with your newborns. You were finally starting to feel a bit of normality, so why now?

You tried to convince yourself that the nightmare was another part of the exhaustion post-labor, but you knew it was not that. You tried pushing it out of your mind, you tried to forget it happened and deem it as nothing more than a nightmare, but some part of you wouldn’t allow yourself to provide that sort of relief. It invaded your mind for a solid hour until something clicked in your mind.

“Everyone is out to take what is ours, Y/n.”

Those words echoed in your head. Those words were telling you something, quite literally, about your current predicament. Those words weren’t Sukuna’s, they were yours, and you were giving yourself a warning.

If you were to somehow escape and run back to your village you would be welcomed with open arms, but your children would not, they would be taken from you and slaughtered at the elder’s command as a way to threaten the almighty, Ryomen Sukuna. Even if you tried to convince them, they wouldn’t even listen to you. They would only believe you were simply manipulated by Sukuna, nothing more.

Your children weren’t exactly safe in the temple either. There was competition among the small families in the temple. In order to impress Sukuna and to gain power among the other wives, mothers would raise their children to be the most compatible heir, even if they had to eliminate some of the competition. It is an actual survival of the fittest situation, if you aren’t careful enough and not quick enough to catch on to your possible assassin, you would wake up to find a corpse in the crib. Knowing that some of the wives already resented you, you knew your children would become subject to the one-sided rivalry.

At this point in time, you couldn’t trust anybody because no matter where you took your children there would be a knife at their neck.

Everyone was truly out to take what was yours, so you had to protect it or rather them, no matter what the cost.

You were taken out of your thoughts by the sound of the door, your attendant making her presence known. As soon as the door closed she approached you, a tea set in hand. Before she made it to your side she stopped in her footsteps, staring at something that was seemingly next to you. You turned your head to see what she was looking at only to see the previous meal she had left you earlier today.

“Y/n-sama, are you alright you haven’t touched your food from this morning, should I retrieve the doctor?” She asked, already turning on her heel to approach the door.

“No!”

Shocked and a little scared your attendant froze in her place. She stayed motionless for about a minute, fearing that she would upset you if she dared move.

You cleared your throat before the girl could get suspicious and spoke up once more.

“I apologize for my outburst, let me explain. No, I do not need the assistance of the doctor.”

“B-but Y/n-sama, I think it would be best to-”

“There is no need for the doctor, I’m perfectly fine, I simply was not hungry this morning,” you interrupted.

The girl only nodded hesitantly before making the rest of the way over to place the tea set down. She moved over the previous set before placing the current one down, pouring a cup, and handing it to you. However, she paused once more noticing your hands were full.

“Y/n-sama, I do not mean to intrude, but I believe it would be easier for you to eat if I held the twins for you,” she explained, slightly reaching over to take one of the babies.

Impulsively, you brought the twins closer to your chest, causing your attendant to pull her hands back a little. It could have been paranoia from your nightmare or the realization you had a little while ago, but you did not feel comfortable with giving your little blessings to her; however, you didn’t have much of a choice, unless you wanted to get a surprise visit from the doctor, who would most likely remove the twins from your care for a while to perform a check-up. If your children were to be removed from your care, they wouldn’t be given to your attendant or a wet nurse, but rather one of the wives, and based on your realization from earlier that was definitely not a risk you were willing to take.

Reluctantly, you began to hand over your baby boy first as your attendant reached her arms back out to hold the infant. After a minute of her holding your baby boy, you handed your girl over next. The moment your attendant had both your babies she sat down and began rocking herself back and forth.

A part of you wanted to jump up and take your children back into your arms, but you knew better than to do such an abrupt action. You only stared for a couple minutes before taking a teacup and taking a small sip of the warm beverage.

It did not take you long to finish your meal, quickly setting all the ceramics back onto the tray they were brought with. You did not hesitate to take your newborns back to the warmth of your chest as your attendant handed them back to you. You couldn’t help but smile at the little blessings as they snuggled into you and latched onto your breasts to eat.

As much as you wanted to ponder on your nightmare and your small conspiracy, you thought it best to just enjoy this moment and think about all those worries later. You softly smiled as you gazed at your beautiful twins. You would enjoy these moments of peace with your children before you had to leave the room before you had to deal with the chaos outside those doors.

One hundred, one hundred days went by where it was just you and the twins, and occasionally your attendant who came in to check up on you. You had to admit those one hundred days were the best days of your life, the only thing that could have made it better would have been your family's presence. You would've liked to have stayed in that room a little longer, but you knew that wasn't possible.

You stepped out those doors, properly dressed and slightly unbalanced. All eyes were on you and your twins, and you could not say they were one hundred percent looks of adoration. You have come to learn that during your pregnancy more of the wives had begun to grow more envious of you due to the excessive attention you had started to receive from Sukuna, so much so that he had stopped sleeping with the other wives, this being one of the reasons you would try to keep your distance from them.

"Y/n-sama, you have been requested to make your way over to Sukuna-sama's chambers. Internally sighing, you were only able to nod and advanced to the room with a slight wobble with each step, your attendant being quick to assist you before you could fall over. As you proceeded towards Sukuna's chambers, you couldn’t help but hear the whispers of gossip, no different from the day you arrived. Not all the hushed words were of ill intent, some even admiring you, but most of them held jealousy and threats.

These women were only validating your fears. You have entered the survival game, and you had to play it cautiously. No matter where you turned there would be a blade held to your neck, and not just yours but your children’s as well. Their eyes were on you, tracking your every move, trying to predict your actions so they could plot against you and your twins.

You were the prey and they were the predator.

Before you could grow even more paranoid, you were pulled into Sukuna’s quarters by your attendant. You hadn’t been in this room for one hundred days, and being in it now made you wish you could stay out of it for one hundred more. Unfortunately, that was not possible.

You watched as your attendant gave you a soft smile before making her exit, leaving the door open. You looked around the room, familiarizing yourself with the atmosphere. Nothing much had changed except for the bedding, but you just assumed that was a personal touch from one of the wives due to your absence.

Despite the small change not being that big of a deal, something about it made you feel off. You approached the bed, now noticing there was a lump in it as if someone was sleeping there, but the shape of the lump made it too small to be Sukuna. Before you could pull the sheets back, the door shut close.

“Snooping around once more, aren’t we, Little Flower,” came a sudden voice from behind you.

You jumped back slightly, holding your babies to your chest. You watched as he walked out from behind the door. Had he been there the entire time? Why was he waiting there? Questions flooded your mind as you began to worry for the safety of your children.

“I apologize, I didn’t mean to push m-” a hand covered your mouth before you could finish your statement.

“You don’t need to explain yourself; After all, you didn’t do anything wrong, she did.”

Before you could ask him what he was talking about, he pulled the bedding back to reveal a gruesome sight- a mutilated female’s body. You were quick to cover your children from the gory scene.

“Do you recognize it?” Sukuna asked with a slight bite to his tone.

What you thought had just been a nightmare was now a reality. There laid the corpse of the seamstress, the girl that admired you. Her body was disfigured, but the look of horror was still visibly etched on her face.

You could hardly stomach the sight, slightly turning your head so as to not look at the body. The twins had their heads’ buried in your chest, keeping them from viewing the scene before them. Why would he show this to you? Why would he do it now?

“Why?” You asked weakly, trying to keep the bile from climbing up your throat.

“So you do recognize her?”

You only nodded, afraid that if you opened your mouth you would regurgitate what you had eaten earlier.

“I believe that your village elders sent her out to kill you or rather what was growing inside you at the time,” the man paused looking to see your reaction to the news, “As much as I would like to kill those bastards, I have no legitimate proof, so for now they remain untouched.”

“Unless you want to do something about it.”

Your exterior seemed rather calm, but on the inside, you were fuming. Those old cowards had sent you out here to conceive children, and now they were sending people out to kill them; moreover, they had sent someone they knew was close to you to do the deed.

You couldn’t tell if it was your new motherly instincts that were making you think this way, but you wanted them to hurt like you had hurt. To see them burn and scream at your mercy would have been a delightful sight to see. At this point, Sukuna’s offer had become very tempting, but you didn’t want to stoop down to their level, to his level even.

“No,” you simply said, now looking at the body with little to no emotion, too infuriated with the recent news.

You could only hear a slight chuckle from Sukuna before he covered the body, a few staff members making their way in, taking the corpse.

Although you weren’t dismissed, you could tell Sukuna had said what he needed to say, so you turned on your heel to make your exit. Before you could walk out the door you felt a hand on your waist, effectively stopping you. You only stood there, not bothering to move another inch. You were too infuriated to be scared.

He didn’t say anything, he just held you in place as he walked up from behind. You felt his breath on the back of your neck as he leaned over your shoulder, bringing his hand around to place his palm on your daughter’s cheek, tilting her head up slightly so he could get a better look at her. It did not take him long to do the same to your son, only spending a few seconds longer to admire the infant.

You thought he was done when he pulled back, but he surprised you once more when he pulled your hair away from your neck. A poke at your head alerted you that Sukuna had placed something in your hair. Hands were placed upon your waist not too long after, turning once you around so the four-armed man could get a look at you.

There was some sort of intensity in Sukuna’s eyes. At the beginning you couldn’t understand why, but when you looked into the reflection in his eyes you got your answer. There was an object sticking out of your hair and you had a feeling you knew exactly what it was.

The kanzashi pin.

“It suits you,” Sukuna blurted out, a strange look on his face, a look you couldn’t decipher.

“Use it well, Little Flower, you will need it,” The man stated before grabbing your jaw and kissing you, allowing you to leave after.

The kiss was abnormally softer than normal, it still was still violating in a way, but it didn’t feel as uncomfortable. Sukuna’s strange behavior was throwing you off balance. There could’ve been many factors that were affecting his behavior whether it be the silent battle he was having with the elders, the recent birth of the twins, or the fact that he was touch starved.

You pushed the thoughts out of your mind as you left the room and made your way to the garden, wanting to familiarize your children with the area and atmosphere as they would spend most of their childhood there. The garden was where most mothers stayed with their children during their infancy to watch over them. Although it was a place for infants, there were still a lot of mothers who brought their older kids there, sometimes to do chores or to give their children a place to train.

The moment you entered the garden, all eyes were on you or rather the kanzashi pin that was placed in your hair. You could see some of the scowls and harsh glares, and you should’ve been scared, but you weren’t. Some might’ve thought that the kanzashi pin made you a bigger target, but you didn’t see it that way. The pin would show that you were now the top dog and that if anyone tried to lay a hand on you, they would suffer the repercussions.

You walked through that garden, your head held high and your back straight. It didn’t take you long to settle into an empty spot in the feild, a few of your acquaintances joining you as they cooed at the sight of your twins.

You were making a risky move in this game of survival by being so bold, but you believed that if you pulled this card at any other time, you would already be dead. You weren’t in this game to play it safe, you were here to win, and if that meant you would have to play cautiously or to make some questionable decisions, you would. If you weren’t winning for yourself, you were winning for your babies.

You were going to win for your family because you made a promise, an everlasting oath — you weren’t going to break it anytime soon.

@littlemochi @mistalli @youngbeansprout @bbylime @bangtan-forever1479 @idktbhloley @izayas-rings @o3o-aya @pyschopotatomeme @persephonehemingway @otomaniac

[f10werfae]

“Girl's” Holiday

Pairing: Husband! Chris Evans x Wife! Reader

Word count: 922

Summary: Y/n and her friends get a few visitors while on their annual girl’s holiday

(this is extremely short but I enjoyed writing it anyways🤞)

Warning: Inappropriate touching

Requests are always open!

Likes, Comments and Re-blogs are appreciated♥️

Y/n's P.O.V)

Fixing my bikini in the mirror, I tightened the straps on the underwear when I heard my best friend banging on the door.

“Oi Y/n hurry up, the tanning isn’t going to wait all day”

“Coming Bff/n!” I shouted back quickly grabbing my sunglasses and opening the door with my beach towel in my hand. Walking out of the beach resort, we walked towards the beach where our other friends were already set up with their towels.

“What took you guys so long?” F/n asked pulling her sunglasses up onto her head.

“This girl over here spent like a good hour talking to her hubby back home” Bff/n said laughing while nodding towards me, a deep blush already spreading onto my cheeks.

“What?? we jus really miss each other alright?” I said smiling at their teasing, laying down my towel and pouring sun screen all over me. Thinking back to Chris and I's call earlier, a deep blush spread all over my face, remembering his handsome face.

“You guys are so in love it’s gross” F/n said putting her sunglasses back on and laying back down, “i’m taking that as a massive compliment babes” I replied knocking her sunglasses off jokingly before laying down as well.

“Hey you guys are acting as if you guys haven’t been missing your boys too, when I know damn well I heard Bff/n over there sleep talking about her one and only Sebastian stan”

“Shut up Y/n, I can’t control my sleep talking” She replied laughing, all three of us now just taking in the warm sun of Mexico.

“What do you think those three boys are doing right now anyway? Now that they’re all staying at your house Y/n, with Chris”

“God knows, they’re probably seeing who can burp the loudest while upside down” I said laughing, thinking about the three man children we left behind back in Boston.

(Time Skip to around the afternoon)

Heading back to our separate rooms, for a deserved rest, we all said our goodbyes for now. Opening my door, I let out a sigh of relief as the air conditioning greeted me with a nice cold breeze. My new tan glowing in the afternoon sunlight, the smell of the salty water in my hair, life honestly could not be going any better.

Entering the shower, I turned on the water trying to wash off all the sand on my body and the smell of the sea. Instantly feeling warm again as soo as I got out the shower, I decided against wearing anything else other than my silk robe Chris had bought me on our honeymoon a few months ago.

I walked over to my bed, the white covers pulled back and ready for me to dive in, that was until I heard a random knock on my hotel room door.

Surely that wasn’t Bff/n or F/n, they said they were both going to nap for a bit?

I hadn’t ordered any food either?

Cursing myself I looked at the door, unfortunately this hotel had no peep holes for me to look out of. Cautiously I approached the door, not unlocking the chain but unlocking the door slightly.

“Who is it?”

I said not daring to peek out, when suddenly a large hand held the door open and had reached in to unlock the chain within seconds, not even giving me enough time to react. Before I was left face to face with him, Chris.

“YOU ASSHOLE I THOUGHT YOU WERE SOME KIDNAPPER!” I said in frustration and slight relief as I jumped onto him, causing the door behind him to close and automatically lock again.

“Yeah well I wanted it to be a surprise bub, you doin alright? cus you sure are lookin' alright” He said with that usual flirty tone in his voice, both his arms holding me up, he walked us over to the edge of the bed and sat down.

“How on Earth did you get here?” I said pulling the NASA cap off his head, running my hands through his brown hair.

“Well obviously by plane my love, but if you really mean why? Then basically, me and the guys got bored and decided to come down. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t you hunk” I replied, cupping his bearded face in my hands and smashing my lips onto his, two weeks I had missed his touch.

“now my question for you Mrs. Evans is, do you always wear this little when i’m not around” He whispered in my ear, his hands playing with the silk robe tie at the front.

“Hmm sometimes I even wear nothing, Mr. Evans” I said biting his bottom lip, feeling his hands untie the robe and pull it down over my shoulders.

“Maybe I should surprise you more often huh?” He said smirking, his rough hands smoothing over my bare skin.

“Yeah I would like that”

“i’m sure you would hun, i’m sure you would”

His hands moving up my body slowly before groping my left tit, not daring to break eye contact. “I missed you so much at home baby, even dodger was missing his momma” Chris said leaning forward, his lips pressing open mouthed kisses on my neck and collarbone.

“I missed my boys too, I promise.” I said wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Yeah, well then show me how much you missed me”

“Don’t worry hun, i’ve got a whole 5 days to show you” I whispered into his ear…

[ch4nb4ng]

Evil Roommate

pairing: leeknow x afab!reader, roommates enemies to lovers

warnings: softdom!lino, cheating (mentioned), making out, grinding, oral (f receiving), fingering penetration, cum play (?), praise

requested : yes!

word count 6.2k

summary: the new roommate was a handful. lazy, disrespectful, arrogant, and a whole bunch of other negative things. but wow, you were sexually frustrated and he, well, attractive, was an understatement.

“Can you actually like, wash your kitchen utensils when you're done using them?”

The amount of huffing and puffing you have heard from your new roommate in the past two weeks was ridiculous. If you had a dollar for every time he had gone against anything you had politely asked for, you would be rich by now, and definitely stable enough to move out and away from him.

“I will,” he mumbled, mouth stuffed with half of the carrot he was chewing on, very loudly, “can I not enjoy my food first?”

“No,” you replied without hesitation, giving the fakest of smiles in return, “you should do it before you eat.”

Another eye roll from Minho was like water off a duck’s back.

“I'd also appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me with your mouth full of food either.”

“What the fuck is your problem?”

You coughed, turning on your hills to face a very unimpressed roommate. His stare was eye shattering. Yes, he was very, no, extremely good looking. However, every single thing that made up his personality could not be more different to you. Sloppy, messy, lazy. Took no responsibility for any of his actions, especially the high pitch noises (that obviously were not his) you would hear from his room in the early hours of the morning. You would pinch your pillow together, praying extremely hard that the noise would stop, and by the time it did, you would get maybe 2, 3 hours of sleep. College was becoming tiring, not only from staying up to complete assessments, but the lewd noises you could hear from at least 2 people in his room. Your blunt attitude towards Minho’s unhygienic and disrespectful habits were definitely justified.

“What are you talking about?”

“Why do you nitpick everything I do?”

Your jaw dropped, completely dumbfounded.

“Me? Nitpicking you? Please,” you scoffed, “you don't clean up after yourself ever, you leave your dirty clothes everywhere, and don't even get me started on the fact that I barely get any sleep because of your wild sex adventures with other people that occur almost every weeknight, when you know I have to wake up early to go to class next day.”

A combination of frustration and exhaustion could be heard through the harshness of each breath. The smirk that appeared on his face was absolutely punch worthy. What on earth was there to be so cocky of?

“My wild sex adventures,” he paused taking a bite of the dreaded carrot, “please, tell me more about my wild sex adventures.”

His tongue was now obviously pressed against his cheek, a devil coated smile still very apparent on his face. The longer he was looking at you like that, the hotter your cheeks became. Pure anger began to course through you; all he had to do was sit there and look pretty. It was definitely enough for you to get the green light to slap him across the face.

“Shut the fuck up,” you hissed, “I don’t need to explain how I can hear them moaning your name every night, or the banging I hear from wall to-”

“Hmm,” he hummed, “you seem to be listening very well.”

Distracted by your anger for a brief moment, you gasped suddenly, feeling Minho’s fingertips at your sides. You turned around, swatting his hands away, giving him that slap that you felt you had earned across the face.

“Who the fuck said you could touch me?

“Did you just fucking slap me?”

“Yes I fucking did,” you spat, “what do you take me for?”

“You know what you’re right, but you walk around here with a stick up your ass. I hear you on the phone to your friends, complaining about how you don't get any action from anyone.”

You stood there in disbelief. “So you’ve been eavesdropping on my convos as well?”

“Well it’s kind of hard not to hear, you know, the walls in this house are kind of thin.”

Your jaw clenched, his eyebrows furrowed, the conversation was at a stand still.

“Can you get to the point please?”

“I sure can sweetheart,” the name sending a shiver down your spine, “if you're that sexually frustrated, go and do something about it instead of taking it out on me?”

A laugh that you didn't even know you were capable of bellowed from your chest. You stumbled back, grabbing onto stool behind the bench for support.

“Me? Sexually frustrated? Please,” you huffed, “I’m not sexually frustrated, and it definitely has nothing to do with you.”

Another scoff escaped your lips as you shuffled back to your room. Closing the door behind you, a heavy sigh came from your chest as you sat on the edge of your bed. How on earth was he able to read you like that? So well and so accurate? It was all you could think about, not to mention the fact that it was also night time simultaneously.

You let your body fall onto your bed sheets. The feeling of restlessness was consuming your body. As you crawled into bed, you looked straight into the ceiling. Why were you thinking about his words so much? Were you really taking it out on him? You shook your head, mentally slapping yourself for even considering the thought.

Minho was a lazy slob who was extremely inconsiderate of others, especially you. But why was the thought of his fingers on your sides becoming the main source of agitation.? The silence of your thoughts was deafening, but they were easily interrupted as soon as you heard the door open, a high pitched voice followed what felt like the most ludicrous creek you had ever heard. ‘I should really put some oil on the door huh?’ You paused for a couple of seconds, this time physically face palming yourself for the dumb excuse you had made to see who he had decided to bring over to accompany him tonight. Legs completely ignoring your brain, you were out of bed, hand twisting the knob and peeking a look at the poor girl that would be subjected to Minho’s torture tonight. Tip toeing out of the doorway, you kept the weight of a feather on your toes, making yourself as invisible as possible.

“Y/n?”

Your pink panther stance of attempted deception looked utterly ridiculous and not sly at all was extremely confusing to the two. You quickly relaxed into a normal stance, the fakest of smiles coming across your face as you see who it is he brought home to have his way with.

“Chaeyeon… heyyy,” you lingered, “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

You would have been happy with literally anyone else. But Chaeyeon? Chaeyeon? It’s like she was your number one arch rival. Minho knew how much you hated her, yet he still let her come over. Everything about her you could not stand, not to mention the fact that she home wrecked your last serious relationship. Even though it was a while ago, you can forgive but not forget, her face being a constant reminder of your hurtful past.

“Oh hey Y/N,” she almost signed, her amount of excitement to see you matching yours, “I didn’t know you lived here.”

The arm he had around her waist made you sick.

“There’s a lot of things you don't know about me,” you mumbled, foot swaying back and forth, eyes focused on said foot.

“Okay, so you guys have had a little reunion,” Minho interrupted. Anything would have been better to break the awkward silence than his sarcastic comments, “we’re gonna go to my room now.”

“NO!” you interjected, covering the hallway with every bit of your being, “I mean, what’s the rush huh? Changbin is coming over as well.”

You paused, Minho’s face clearly cussing you out if yelling was inappropriate at this current moment.

“Uh no thanks Y/N-”

“We should all hang out!”

The excitement coming from your voice was so inauthentic, it was hard to miss.

“Yeah! Let’s all hang out,” you walked behind them, placing a hand on each of their backs and you hurried them to the couch, “I’ll get some beers in the fridge.”

“I actually only drink vodka,” Chaeyeon yawns, obnoxiously twirling her hair, her other hand aggravatingly high on his thigh.

“Oh that’s totally fine,” you gritted through tightly clenched teeth, “we have a bottle in the fridge, I’ll grab that for you as well.”

You scuffled back over to the fridge, mentally cursing yourself as you grabbed the necessary beverages. The confusion you were giving yourself about why you were putting in so much effort to spend time with the two people you literally hated more than anything was mind baffling

“So,” you began again, passing a Corona to Minho, a glass to Chaeyeon, “how have you been finding your course so far?”

You sat the Smirnoff and Orange juice on the table. Yes, you were being nice, but not nice enough to pour the drink for this bitch.

“Oh it was so great,” she smiled, “Jisung and I were living together, it was, well, a dream really.”

The feeling of your nails became prominent in your fists as your fingers caved in. The mention of his name was enough to make you see red, let alone the idea of them being happily together. The itch of your eye begging to roll was becoming too prominent, so much that you had to get up and walk away for a second. You stood up abruptly, confusion etched into Minho’s features. You didn’t want to make this a big deal, but the fact that she continued to gloat about it, long after you stopped listening was enough to reach your breaking point.

“I think I heard my phone ringing from my room, it must be Changbin.”

“I don't think I hear anything,” Minho smirked, plastering his lips on the edge of the bottle. The way his lips wrapped around the tip of the warm glass was something you ‘accidentally’ became fixated on. You puffed your cheeks, storming to your room and somewhat aggressively shutting the door behind you. Scrambling for your phone on the bedside table, you panicked, unclear mind as you scrolled through your phone contacts. You paused, an inducing amount of oxygen filling up your lungs. It did little to calm the irritated tingling sensation in your fingers.

Changbin’s name had finally popped up on your phone after what had felt like a lifetime.

“Hello?”

His voice was husky, guilt panging your chest as you realsied you had probably woken him up from his not very often deep slumber.

“Changbin,” you gasped, “you know how much I love you right?”

“What do you need me to do?”

You snickered at his words. He had been your friend for too long to know that those words would never be said unless you needed something.

“Can you come over,” you pleaded, “Chaeyeon is here with Minho because he invited her over late at night, and I told them you were coming over?”

“Jesus Y/n,” Changbin sighed, a playful chuckle tickling your cheek, “so you want me to come over and make Minho jealous?”

“Wait no wtf,” you jumbled, “make Minho jealous? I just want you to flirt with me and Chaeyeon so she leaves.”

“Mhm yeah,” he chuckled once more, voice laced with sarcasm as he spoke, “I’ll come over, but if you don't sleep with him by the end of the night, I’m gonna be extremely disappointed.”

“Yeah okay whatever just get your ass over here now.”

And with that you abruptly ended the phone call, Changbin giving you no peace of mind. Were you this easy to read by everybody? A frustrated sigh exploded from your chest. The games your head and your heart were playing with were helping you come to no resolution. You sat on your bed, thoughts were running crazy. Now would be a really great time to just put on Netflix and curl into bed, have some snacks and fall asleep, chip trail on ur chest to be found in the morning.

You were interrupted by the very loud knock on the door. Sprinting like your life depended on it, you were relieved. Seeing Changbin’s face had never before given you so much joy.

“Changbin,” you shouted, wrapping your arms around him in a tight embrace.

“Y/n what are you doing-”

“Shut up and go along with it,” you mumbled into his chest, letting up, but still keeping your body tightly wounded against his. Minho’s jaw became clenched, or were you just imagining things?

Regardless of what it was, your brain quickly shifted to the way Chaeyeon was eyeing Changbin up and down, almost like it was the first time she had ever seen an attractive male. ‘She definitely wasn’t looking at Minho like that when he walked in’ you thought, an unconscious smirk coming to mouth. You bit down on your bottom lip, an extremely poor attempt at masking the satisfaction of your goal being achieved so easily. One step closer to kicking her out, for good, because there was no way you weren’t talking to Minho after this about making an explicit declaration of her abandonment from this house.

“Minho,” he smiled, earning a nod, “Chaeyeon,” he smirked, an almost gag spilling out of your mouth.

“Changbin,” she followed, repeating his smirk, “long time no see.”

She gulped, engulfing a large sip of alcohol into her wicked mouth.

“Let’s play a game!”

“A game,” you questioned, raising an eyebrow, “why would we play-”

“I think that’s a great idea!”

You turned to look at him, a puzzled expression still very apparent on your facial features.

“Get the vodka out from the fridge, and let’s get started.”

***

Two bottles of vodka down, and what looked like 8 bottles of Corona sitting empty on the table, the games that were being played were becoming more difficult to comprehend. Sound of giggle and laughter constantly filled the room as everyone slowly began to lose their minds to the intoxication.

“O-okay, never have I e-ever, done a sexual act in public.”

Filters of chuckles and laughter filled the room as everyone, but you took a sip.

“What?” she asked, offering you her fake sympathy, “you’ve never done anything like that before?”

“I-I mean,” you stuttered, the look of confusion was evident, “I don’t think I have-”

“Yes you have.”

All eyes were snapped open and pressing into Minho’s skull as he began to converse.

“Pfft, no I have not,” you scoffed, taking another swig. An eye roll left came from Minho, followed by a sound of what seemed to be disgust as he shot gunned his current bottle.

“Yes you have,” he nagged, playfully hitting your shoulder, “I saw you.”

Complete silence fell over the room as he words lingered in the air. You genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.The feeling of the room had suddenly changed. His eyes became soft, fixated on nothing but the way your body slumped against the rough material of the couch.

Your mind began to drift. Thoughts floating into earlier scenes of the night. The closeness of his breath fanning your neck ever so softly, palms spread across your hips. The idea of marks on you swimming into your head. God that would feel so good. Letting him grab you and throw you onto his bed. Climbing up your frame, starting from the bottom of your legs, keeping a tight grip on your inner thighs. The feeling of faint lips stealing every inch of your being, tantalisingly hitting every, single, spot, finally reaching your-

“Y/N? Y/N!”

The feeling of Changbin's shaking your shoulders definitely brought you back to reality. His hands did feel nice, but they weren’t the ones you were longing for. Your head was thrown back, disbelief filling you as your mind continued to fill the gutter.

“When?”

As you moved closer, you giggled, placing your finger tip across his knee. You let them dance, index fingers tapping away at the skin you so desperately wanted to see in this moment.

“Mr. Lee Minho, when did you see me?”

“I’m not saying it here in front of-”

“Who? Chaeyeon?”

Your prowling continued, bodies even closer as you slowly began to climb him like an inanimate object. This would have been completely awkward sober. Nothing about this was romantic in the slightest. To an outsider, or Changbin and Chaeyeon, you were right there, situated across Minho’s lap. It wasn’t quite a straddle, it was just something. They both stayed quiet, paying little attention to your animalistic act, already focused on feeling each other up. Or so you assumed, seeing as they didn’t say anything. All that was heard was the sound of the front door. You snapped your head for a quick moment, eyes scanning the emptiness the room suddenly felt.

“It was in the car.”

Minho’s words felt heavy, like he had more to say.

“The car?”

You were taken aback, face moving away from the closeness of his. Part of your brain clicked, remembering exactly what he was talking about. With Jisung. The memory of hurt was quickly forgotten as the feeling of Minho’s palms spread across your body was bringing you to life. The adrenaline came all at once. Your mind was telling you to move away, but your body was saying something else, affirming it’s position.

Minho was leaning in, barely any spaces between the two as his fingertips began to spread lower and lower, firmly gripping either side of your ass as he moved you closer. A helpless whimper escaped your lips as you felt your legs tighten, heat running down to your core, quickly. What the fuck was happening right now?

“You were on top of him,” he whispered, pulling your hips against him once more, “just like this.”

“F-fuck,” was all that managed to slip out of your lips. This was becoming difficult. So difficult to say no and move away. You knew it was the right thing to do. Things would just be awkward and you could go back to hating him. No matter how much you tried, how much you wanted to, you were powerless. Every fiber of your being was being given up to him. You leaned in closer, foreheads now touching as you looked at him. His gaze was anything but lacklustre as his jaw became tense. His body began to ache simultaneously with yours. The pressure was becoming too much.

“Do you want this?”

“What?”

A small whine escaped you at the loss of his tips gripping your body. They quickly made their way to either side of your face. Your body began to rock back and forth on it’s own. You had become desperate for any sort of friction that you could create.

“I said, do you want this?”

“Do you?”

His expression made you nervous. It was hard to read. All you could see was the black substance of his pupils enlarge, increasing in diameter by the second. Almost like a supernatural being was possessing him.

“Fuck,” you grunted, wrapping your hands around his neck to steady yourself on top of him, “you’re making it hard to say no.”

Things were already becoming hazy the longer you stayed. A huff of frustration came from him as he was giving all his effort not to give into the way you were rubbing your dampening heat against him. It was like a drug he could not refuse.

“Kiss me if you want me.”

He huffed, the edge of his lips just barely brushing against the tip of your nose.

“Kiss me, and give me the green light.”

You waited a moment, any part of your brain that wasn't concentrated solely on his palms digging into your sides trying to reason. You looked at him once more. His eyes, nose, lips. His lips.

“Fuck it.”

He was quick to work, pushing you down to lie flat against the couch. A small kiss to your lips was felt as he pulled away, lifting his arms up and throwing his shirt to the floor at Usain Bolt pace. The smirk on your face was too easy for him not to see.

“You like what you fucking see don’t you?”

“Just shut the fuck up and kiss me.”

Of course. Of course he was still that arrogant cocky motherfucker that you could not stand. The one who never cleaned up after himself. Or took too long in the shower for the hot water to run out. All of these evil perceptions you had of your roommate were disappearing as his lips were gently placed onto yours. It was a little too slow for your liking, but it was deep. Boy, was it deep. Each movement of his tongue was made with so much precision as he lowered himself onto you. His thighs were clenched, a soft groan could be heard against his lips as his groin pressed into you. Holy fuck, were you really doing this? It was so wrong. Everything in the world was saying to stop, stop this.

“Mm- wait,” you paused your hands on his chest to push him away, “wait.”

A flash of panic waved over his eyes as he quickly jumped off of you, face palming the floor.

“What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you? Are you-”

“I’m fine,” you interjected, giggling at the never been seen care and caution he had for you, “I just don’t think we should do this.”

“Oh,” was all he could say. You kept your gaze lowered; looking at him would have made you feel so guilty. The feeling of regret started to seep into your bones, but you couldn't tell: was it regret of this ever happening, or was it regret from stopping? Your head was too muddled to even attempt to comprehend what had just appended. The only sound that could be heard was your scuffed footsteps, quickly pacing back to your room and shutting the door, hard. The loudest sigh known to earth could be heard on the opposite side of the room as you let your body collapse. The ache between your legs was growing by the second; and as much as you tried to suppress the feeling of Minho’s lips on yours, fingertips dragging along your sides. No. It was much easier this way. Setting boundaries as roommates seemed to be a better idea for the long run.

But the long run was boring. You would both have to pretend that this never happened. Having other people over for sexual purposes would just be awkward now; the more you thought about it, the realisation, and the jealousy hit that you had already crossed said boundary. And maybe that’s why your feet had dragged you to the front of his bedroom door. How the fuck did you get here? You brought your knuckles to the wooden frame, door becoming slightly ajar as you gently knocked. Minho’s snapped his head around, covering himself quickly as you walked in. You cocked your eyebrow, a face of confusion apparent on your face.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” he huffed, turning back to his previous position, “what do you want?”

You wanted to just walk out. Mind your business and just leave. But it was hard, quite literally. The imprint of what you assumed to be Minho’s naked lower half painfully pressing into the sheer sheets that was covering him. He paid you no more attention, giving you all the power to initiate whatever it is you wanted to initiate. You slowly crept in beside him, nuzzling your head into the back of his neck as he groaned in annoyance.

“Y/n, what the fuck are you doing in my bed?”

“Hmm, I think I changed my mind,” you whispered, reaching around to grab him. A blunt hiss escaped Minho’s lips as your action made him turn around. He was so close to you now. So close that you could feel his breath spreading across your left cheek.

“Are you being serious right now?”

The look on his face was unimpressed to say the least.

“Yeah, I mean,” your voice was calm as your hand began to take flight, sliding down to the base of his shaft, “we’ve already crossed the line, let’s go a little further.”

“Oh yeah?” His voice was dripping with sarcasm. He grabbed you by the wrist that was currently on him, pulling it away and climbing on top of you. Both hands now leaving his side, securely attached onto both wrists as he pinned them down above your head. Nose clumsily tickling yours as he reattached his lips to yours. The feeling of his lips was much softer and calmer than before, almost like he was protecting you. Wanting to keep the moment so delicate, though the way his bare hips involuntarily grinding against your clothed core was far from it. A soft whimper came from your lips, vibrating against his. A soft chuckle was heard from Minho as he pulled away; it made you nervous. To be more specific, the way that arrogant, mischievous smirk that you knew all too well was spread across his face.

“You’re so responsive to me,” he growled, quickly planting another one on your lips before sliding down to your jaw, then your neck, stopping at your chest. Nothing needed to be said as you quickly discarded your shirt, silently thanking your past self for not wearing any underneath. Minho situated himself in front of your now bare chest, waist sitting against your heart as he took one nipple into his mouth, fingers enclosing around the other. A loud whine left your lips, back arching in reaction to him. He looked up, satisfied filling his body as you weren’t able to return his gaze, head already rolled all the way back as he continued his playful assault.

“It’s so cute,” he mumbled between kisses, “so responsive and I’ve barely done anything.”

His lips travelled down the center of your stomach, dipping dangerously closer to where you wanted him most. His continuous rhythm between kisses was immaculate. Any of the incoherent sounds you made, or the crude remarks he made were left unsaid.

“Fuck,” you hissed, painfully throbbing at the way Minho played with the waistband of your panties.

“Not fun to be teased y/n,’ he paused, making sure you were looking at him, “is it.”

A pang of guilt hit your chest for a moment. I mean, it’s not like you did it on purpose, right?

“Minho I’m-”

“Save it,” he scoffs, “whether you did it on purpose, or not, I’m not gonna let you have it so easily.”

His fingers stopped their performance across your hips, continuing a little lower than before. The smirk came to his lips once more, index finger running down your slit. The friction was fierce, but not fierce enough. You wanted, no, you needed more. All he could do was smile at your mercy.

“So fun to tease darling, but you’re gonna have to be more vocal if you want these panties off.”

“Minho please,” you whined, “for fucks sake.”

You bucked your hips forward, desperate for any more contact from the bare minimum he was giving you.

“That doesn’t sound very nice to me.”

“Minho please, please, please,” you whispered, voice becoming super weak, “fuck me, or finger me, anything please, I need to feel you.”

“Now that’s more like it,” he smiled, finally pulling your panties down. You have never lifted your hips faster in your life. The vulnerability of your naked body was somewhat confronting, but your brain was so fogged out from the immense teasing, you cared little.

“Fuck,” he gasped, spreading you effortlessly with two fingers, “you’re so wet for me, aren't you?”

The heat in your cheeks rose as you became embarrassed at his words. Minho didn’t know this, but feeling humiliated was something that could make you cum on the spot. Words intended for insult went through your ears and straight down to the core, the heat becoming like an intense fire igniting in your body as one of his hands moved along your inner thigh, the other gently beginning to circle around where you needed him most.

“Oh my god,” you gasped, “oh my god Minho please, more.” Your voice was becoming needier by the second, but the longer it went on, the less you seemed to care. His tongue was now a factor coming into play, small kitty licks lapping your clit at a suddenly fast pace. Your legs are already trembling, but Minho does more to appease, hooking his arms under and around your thighs to stop the flustered look on your face. It was confronting how quickly he was getting you to your high.

“Please,” you sighed, eyes hazed as you attempted to look down at the way his tongue was on you. The combination of him sucking on your clit, then pushing it through your entrance almost made you scream. However, the noises that came from your mouth were small, heavy pants, progressively getting louder and louder the tighter the knot in your stomach became.

“Do you wanna cum princess?” His voice was whiny, mocking the tone you had used earlier. You nodded ferociously, knowing any attempt to speak would come out horse or just broken.

“Such a good girl,” he purred, replacing his tongue with two fingers, “but if you want to cum, you’re gonna have to beg for it once more.”

“You’re such a fucking dick,” you groaned, an attempt of grinding your center onto Minho’s fingers failing miserably, “you’re being so unfair.”

“I’m unfair?” he scoffed, beginning his digits back to a bare minimum pace, “you’re the one

who was teasing me all night. I know Changbin is like, your best friend so there was no chance you were bringing him back to fuck him. Then you start to kiss me, hard and fast may I add, AND THEN ! you aren’t sure and you leave me to pretend like nothing happened.”

There was no witty comeback you could say in response because he was right. You were the one who has done the teasing for most of the night.

“You looked so fucked out right now baby,” his tone coming back to a calming medium, “begging for me to make you cum, which I can do right now,” he paused, climbing back to your side, lifting your left leg to continue his easy access to ur clit, “or you can beg even more to have my cock inside of you. The choice is yours.” You swallowed, hard. How could he say something so filthy? Out of all the times you had heard him bring other girls over, he would never talk like this. It was always so nice and calm, full of praise and compassion. Maybe they didn’t act like cock teases and let him just have what he wanted.

“C-cock,” you mumbled, pushing your backside against his now pulsating cock, “please give your cock sir.”

“Ooo sir, I like that one, but you’re gonna have to do more if you want me to fill you up princess.”

Words were becoming extremely hard to not only facilitate in your mind, but put them on your tongue and get out to him. He knew this. He knew your were on the brink of collapsing in cum, but the torture was too entertaining for him nonetheless. Although you're frustrated with him was increasing, you couldn’t lie to yourself that the way he was using you like a sex toy was turning you on. After being up his ass so long with rules around the house and how you wanted things done, it was nice to finally let go. Submit to his rules instead of yours.

“P-please Minho, sir’ you panted, head turning to look at the sadistic face of enjoyment he was having from this, “I’ll do anything, a-anything to have your cock inside of me right now.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

“Okay then tomorrow morning, you have to make me breakfast, AND wash my dishes.”

“Seriously,” you panted, “that’s what you're thinking about right now?”

“You said anything.” He shrugged, suddenly taking his fingers away from your dripping core. A gasp of disappointment came to your lips at the loss of delicious contact. Minho sat up, ducking under your leg, and positioning himself right back to where he was previously. However, this time, he was on his knees. Although you were touching it before, you really hadn't had a chance to look at how big it was: way more than what you expected. He stroked himself a couple of times, making sure not to get carried away with himself before he pushed it between your folds, letting his pre-cum mix with your juices. He slowly descended into you. Jaws dropping simultaneously, you gasped. The way he was stretching you out did burn a little bit, but once he was fully inside, your eyes rolled to the back of your head. Minho waited until the look of slight discomfort faded from your features.

“Are you okay?”

You nodded, biting down on your bottom lip and he slowly pulled himself back out. He kept a consistent, yet slow pace as leaned in closer to you. He was now hovering over, letting his face become buried into the middle of your breasts. The feeling was so immaculate, you were desperate to cling onto something for support.

“Dig them into me,” he groaned, strangling his vocal cords, “dig your nails into my back and scratch me like your life fucking depends on it.”

Perfect. You did as he pleased, a loud moan of his name wrestling from your lips as you felt the red marks appear on his backside. The pressure from before was already building in your stomach again, and he could tell. The way you were super tight for him was one, but the way you were now clenching around him was another. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer if you kept doing that.

“Fuck,” was all you could manage to say, a deep grin plastered on his face.

“You’re close aren't you,” he cooed, attaching his lips to your neck, “talk to me baby, tell me what you're feeling.

“Mhm, yeah, fuck I’m so close baby. H-Harder.”

The pitch of your tone was becoming whinier by the second. To add to that, the way you became confused, as if Minho was a vampire, because the way he was sucking on your neck was kind of painful. Nevertheless, you relished in it, knowing too well that a very, very dark mark would replace his mouth. The idea of him showing his possession of you, knowing that he finally won you over did not make you happy, nonetheless, you were too fucked out to care.

Your legs were now pushed all the way back, pace fastening by the minute, allowing Minho to push even deeper into you. And that was it. Right there, the spot you had never even known was even there.

“Ah fuck!” Your moan was loud this time, completely unable to control anything. The smirk, in combination with the satisfied growl that left his lips was a face of pure ecstasy as he realised that he had finally hit your G-spot.

“Fuck that feels so fucking good,” Minho grumbled, “are you close? Because I think I’m gonna cum.”

It was like your stomach was an orchestra. Minho’s words were the conductor, completely controlling how close you were to your release.

“Y-yes,” you cried, “I’m gonna cum so hard right now.”

“You wanna cum baby?”

“Yeah.”

“You wanna cum right now?”

“Yes baby,” you pouted, a perplexity of sounds escaping your lips, completely out of your control.

“Cum on my cock princess,” Minho whispered through what sounded to be like pained groans, “be a good girl and cum with me inside of you.”

And there it was, like it was on queue as your body completely flopped, legs shaking and a string of lewd curse words fell from your lips. The way your pussy clenched around him was enough to make him pull out, spilling into the dip of your stomach. A loud breath of what seemed to be exhaustion fell from his lips. Your eyes were previously screwed so shut, it hurt when you opened them again, sensitive to the light.

“Fuck,” you both cursed simultaneously, making one another giggle. Minho fell to your left side, flat on his back as he invited you to scooch over next to him. Face pressed against his chest, fingers playfully dragging up and down his torso. For some reason, he felt so safe and secure at this moment. Almost forgetting how he literally just fucked you into oblivion, your eyelids become heavy. It wasn’t until Minho spoke that you were revived from your alternate state of consciousness once more.

“I didn’t know you had it in you.” His voice sounded genuinely surprised, unsure if you should be offended or not. You looked up at him, quickly pressing a kiss to his cheek. He wasn’t sure how to react, but the dark shade tinting his face right now said enough.

“Please,” you scoffed, “You did me good, but was that the best you can do?”

He ran his tongue across his bottom lip, but down on it after, “Is that a challenge?”

You said nothing, instead sitting up and pushing your legs on either side of his hips. A soft moan escaped his lips as he felt your still dripping heat sitting on the base of him.

“Why don’t you find out and see?”

[xpeachesncream]

how many drinks? | one shot (jjk)

summary: the question is - how many drinks would it take for you to sleep with your bestfriend?

pairing: jjk x reader

genre: (18+) college au, dance group au, bestfriends/bestfriends with some benefits au | fluff, smut, sprinkle of angst

words: ~12.2k

warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, kind of crack-y, dancer!jk to fulfill my needs, unprotected sex, sprinkle of dirty talk, fingering, sprinkle of a handjob, slight biting, nails digging into skin, oc almost gets taken advantage of/forced into doing things she doesn’t wanna do, rough handling, song kang is in this too because i’m also a hooch for him but he’s an ass here, alcohol consumption, intoxication, mentions of blunts/smoking, house parties, cuddling, kissing/makeout sessions, straddling, breast/nipple play, hickeys, fucking on the edge of the bed, multiple orgasms, fingering, licking/neck kisses, oral (f. receiving)

note: one shot title is taken from miguel's song ‘how many drinks’ + a couple of things--

both hoseok and jimin’s piece mentioned below are inspired by real-life pieces my old dance mentor has choreographed and taught. this is the inspiration behind hoseok’s couple piece; this is the inspiration for jimin’s piece

i’m a hooch for all three of them in this video

enjoy imagining koo and oc dancing part of their couples piece like this 🥺

"Y/N." You picked up Jungkook's call as you sat at your desk in your dorm room. You had been finishing up your bio homework until the interruption came blaring through on your headphones.

"Yes?"

"Can I nap in your room?"

"The fuck I look like? A hotel?" You snorted.

"Yeah, a 5 star at that with how good you take care of me." He tries to butter you up, causing you to roll your eyes.

"You're lucky I like you."

"Yesssssssss!" You hear him faintly exclaim on the other line. "Be there in a sec."

"You know my doors are always unlocked." Which, it was true. So many of your friends had decided to live off campus that you and your other bestfriend [and beloved suitemate] were probably the only few left on campus. And that meant people were constantly in your room, hanging out or using both of your rooms, [with permission] or the couches in the shared living room space of your suite as a place to nap. College, amirite? Why the fuck would you lose your parking spot to go back to your apartment when you have friends who lived right on campus? You weren't just good for smuggling free food from the cafeteria to your broke ass, struggling off-campus friends.

Sooner or later, you're greeted by a fluffy, black-haired Jungkook, looking like his shit must have air-dried with how wavy and voluminous it was. He swings your door open so aggressively that you jump a bit in your seat, swinging off your headphones like you weren't even expecting him. You watch as he flings himself onto your neatly made bed like he hasn't felt a bed in years.

"Ugh, yes." He moans as he belly flops onto your bed and stays in that position.

"When's your next class, you little baby?"

"In like an hour or so, I don't know." He says sleepily. "Wake me up, please?"

"Sure." You realize it's Wednesday, and he definitely has Ecology lab later at 3:00PM. You figured you'd wake him up by 2:30 just to give him enough time to groggily walk his ass back over to the science building.

You and Jungkook weren't really close before college. It was moreso that you knew of each other since high school because of mutual friends. You'd see him at parties and he'd see you, but it was never more than the casual hi and bye and small talk. Maybe the occasional comments on facebook pages and the likes on pictures on instagram. But foreel, other than that, that's as real as your friendship got for awhile. You didn't mind it though, you were good with your set of friends and he was good with his. A lot of your friends attended the same university as you two and then your groups intertwined even more. 

But, it wasn't until the past couple of months or so where you both unexpectedly got really close - simply just by talking more and being around each other more. You both had similar interests and Jungkook wasn't the most vocal in his group, but with you, he seemed to talk endlessly. He loved comics and he loved raving to you about Marvel and DC superheroes. He loved to draw, and he'd draw you things every now and then - his most recent being you as a scientist superhero saving the world from overgrown malaria-infected mosquito monsters. It was the cutest thing you had ever seen, and you tacked it against your cork board near your desk. Then, small things like that turned to bringing you food or boba, being stuck at the hip where he'd only go to a certain place on campus if you were there; texting each other inside jokes and funny ass tweets all day turned to facetime sleepover calls and then late hangouts eventually turned to actual sleepovers in your bed, where he'd drape his arm around while you both slept but it never escalated into anything more than that in bed. Although he did fucking hate your medium-sized Olaf plushie that took shelter on your bed - he'd always hike it across the room and talk about how annoying he is and how he's always taking his spot. You never understood it, really.

And then soon, it turned to small displays of affection behind closed doors, where Jungkook would hold you close. Hold your hand if you two were in the room watching a show, or movie. Small kisses exchanged. Big kisses exchanged, making out sessions. But, that was literally it. Nothing else. No sex. No pressure. Lots of unspoken feelings, obviously, but you weren't gonna be the one to bring that up. Because you were comfortable, and if anything, you didn't wanna ruin what you guys already had going.

Like, is this a friends with benefits thing? Maybe? Maybe not? It was hard to label it because it's not like you both determined so, it kind of just fell together that way. And there was really no pressure to fuck every single time you got affectionate. It was cute, sweet. And no one really knew it was like that behind doors - possibly your suitemate Kass and her boyfriend, Jimin, but that's only because you shared the dorm suite with her. Jimin was also one of Jungkook's roommates and his really good friend, so whenever they had slept over on the same night, it was pure and utter chaos. But honestly, if Kass and Jimin hadn't been around you two much, they most certainly wouldn't have the idea.

Whatever it was, it was a comfortable closeness that you both experienced and appreciated. However, the both of you were afraid of discussing what this really was, afraid it'll ruin the dynamic. The atmosphere. Having to come to terms of what it might, or might not be. Neither of you can fully admit that you like the other. Although, it got hard. People did lightly tease you two because you both always looked for each other and were stuck by the hip out on campus.

Oh, well. Bottom line is that you liked your relationship where it was at, but it doesn't mean you haven't thought about the what if's. Jungkook was insanely attractive, and it's no lie that girls swarmed him left and right on campus, but he didn't give a shit [either he didn't give a shit or he was dumb as hell?]. Okay, rewind — to be fair, he would have a fling or two, flirt once or twice. He'd tell you so and so was cute and that they've hung out or texted, but that's it. He just wasn't necessarily looking for anything cause he too enjoyed where he was at with everything.

It doesn't take long before Sleeping Beauty is snoring face down on your bed, looking like Patrick Star with the way he's sprawled out. But, you continue to do your work until it was time to wake him. You gently shake him, his puppy eyes looking back at you after being face down all nap.

"Class time."

"No." He groans. "Can't I just stay here with you?"

"No, dude. Get to class." You chuckle. "You already skipped last week."

"Yeah, but this is a new week Y/N."

"Jungkook." You almost say in a scolding manner.

"Fiiiiiiine." He whines as he shoots up and hops off from your bed. "Are you going to our party on Friday?"

"I said I'd think about it right?"

"Yeah, like on Monday. It's Wednesday."

"And I'm still thinking about it." You snort, making him pout.

"Just come for a little bit."

"Why? You know parties aren't my thing and you'll be too drunk anyways. I'll end up wanting to go right the fuck back home as soon as I step outside."

"I'd like to be drunk and have you there. It'll be more fun!" He pouts as he holds your hand and swings it back and forth.

"I mean, to be completely honest, I'll probably end up going because of Kass anyways."

"Because of Kass." He rolls his eyes. "Oooookay. Not because of you, Jungkook, no." He says sarcastically, brows furrowed.

"Ew. You're such a fucking whiner. Leave." You laugh, throwing an empty water bottle at him.

"I'm kidding." He chuckles. "Wanna grab dinner with me after practice?"

"Sure. If you pay." He groans

"Fine. I'll see you later." He puckers up his lips to blow you a kiss, which you automatically reject by giving him a look before turning your attention back to your homework. You were hoping he'd offer to go to In-n-Out because you were craving that #2 with animal fries and a neapolitan shake, plus there was a Target in the same plaza that you wanted to drag him to for new pens and clearance sale shopping. And you wouldn't even warn him about it. He would tag along, no question.

Hoseok stands in front of the mirrors in the studio, pacing back and forth as your dance group learned a couple of 8-counts from this new piece he had been brewing up. Apparently, it was supposed to be a couples piece but he wasn't sure if he was going to keep it that way. He watched to see if this would be better as a group, or if he should stick to his original plans.

Your college dance group was a small group formed by people with pure, genuine interest and love for modern hip hop choreography. Hoseok was the dance lead, with Jimin being the back up lead. The group came together, taught each other pieces, taught workshops for those interested on campus and performed at the various talent shows and productions the school had throughout the year. It was just your group's way of showcasing your talents, something you all purely enjoyed, and it was nice to see the love and support given by the audiences.

"Okay, run that from the top one more time please. We'll take break after, swear." Hoseok chuckles and gives Jimin the cue to start the song back at the starting point. Jungkook makes a funny face at you as he huffs and puffs, trying to catch his breath from the last time you went through the counts.

"Ew." You giggle, slightly pushing him aside. Miguel's How Many Drinks begins to blast through the studio speakers, Jungkook doing his best to sing along and match his tone all while focusing on his steps. Once you're done going through the counts, the music continues to play, Jungkook twirling over to you just to sing—

"Cause I ain't leavin' aloneeee, I feel like I could be honest, babe." He spins to your other side. "We both know that we're grown, that's why I wanna knooooow - how many drinks will it take you to leave with meeeeEEeeeE?"

"You can give me all the drinks in the world and I swear I still wouldn't." You snort, making him frown and click his teeth.

"Too bad that's not really how you act when I ask to sleep over, though." Silence as you stick your tongue out at him. Cause, yeah. You really do tell him to sleep over without hesitation. You loved his company, you can’t lie. "Yeah, fraudulent as hell. I never taught you that." He jokes.

"Shut up, Jungkook—"

"Okay!" Hoseok says, clapping his hands. "This'll be a couple piece. I honestly think it'll work better that way, just like I envisioned it. I'll work with the couple to clean this up before the performance, but to whoever isn't casted for this, Jimin still has a piece to teach the rest of you, so don't feel discouraged!" Hoseok chuckles a bit, giving the rest of the group a small smile. "So with that being said - Y/N, Jungkook, I want you two to do this piece."

"Ouuuuuuuu." Jimin teases you from the sidelines, causing you to put up your middle finger.

"We won’t let you down, cap." Jungkook swings his arm around you.

"I'll teach you the rest of the piece next practice so we can start polishing it up and making it clean before the talent show."

"Sounds good with me." You flatly say, even though 100%, you're pretty excited for many reasons. One, you had been wanting to do a solo or couples piece for awhile, and two, your partner was Jungkook. Your best friend, your ride or die, the dude you've spent so much time with and gave your affection to behind closed doors. It made you giddy just thinking about it, even if you'd blatantly lie to his face later on when he'd tease you. And Jungkook felt the same. You missed the way he subtly bit on his bottom lip when you were named his partner, just so he wouldn't smile too big in front of you.

After practice, you egg him on enough to agree to take you to In-N-Out, without hinting at the plan you had drafted out in your head earlier.  The plan that says you're gonna drag his ass to Target afterwards and he had no choice but to come along.

"Y/N, you liar." He groans. "You said you weren't gonna go to Target." He pouts as you follows behind you anyway.

"Kook, I literally just need to get one thing."

"What's the one thing that you couldn't get on your own time?"

"I don't know, I'll have to find out when we get in there." You giggled, causing him to groan again. "Plus, we're here already. Killing two birds with one stone."

"Ah shit, I suppose I can get some bottles for the party."

"Yeah, make yourself useful Jungkook."

"Yeah, make yourself useful Jungkook, aheh." He mocks your tone and does that really weird and ugly ass laugh that dudes always do when they try to mock girls, however, you ignore it because you've just stepped into Target and bitch, this was Disneyland to you. Heaven. Paradise.

"Hm, what are we drinking on Friday?" He says his text outloud as he follows you around the dollar section where you begin to pick up really unnecessary items that you're probably just gonna store away in or around your desk somewhere.

"Should be holy water because you all need it."

"Mmm, I don't know, I don't think they have that but we can check." He responds ever so seriously, causing you to chuckle.

"How many people are you expecting?"

"Honestly, I don't even know. We said we'd keep it to close friends only. I don't really have any friends, so that's all on them."

"Ah, makes sense as to how the entire class was invited." You fire back sarcastically. "Your upstairs neighbors are really gonna have a blast."

"They're invited too."

"You guys are so dumb." He laughs when you hit him against the chest. After walking a bit, the two of you head towards the alcohol aisle, Jungkook grabbing what his arms will allow him to grab since alcohol is a little cheaper here than other grocery stores. "Isn't there a limit as to how much alcohol you can buy?"

"I don't see anything anywhere." He hauls about 4 big bottles back to the cashiers. "Besides, I'm giving them business compared to Safeway and those other grocery stores."

"Grab the coupon at least, genuis. It could save you some money." You take off the coupons from the three bottles.

He looks down at the coupon attached to the 4th bottle. "Sign up today and get 2% cash back on every bottle you buy." He snorts after reading the coupon outloud. "More like sign up today and get 2% cash back turnt." He looks at you. "This doesn't sound like a coupon, miss. Where's the ‘get 5 dollars off’ bullshit?"

"2% cash back turnt? Really?" You furrow your brows at him and hand the coupons to the cashier. "Here. God, maybe you shouldn't be hosting parties with your roommates."

"Maybe not." He holds his bags, even grabbing onto yours as you both walk out to his car. He turns up the radio, the both of you singing along to the songs coming through. When he pulls up to the lot of Edgehill Village, he parks in someone else's marked spot only because it's technically next to your door and he doesn't anticipate to stay long. But honestly, that never goes as planned. He grabs your bag from the trunk, silently following behind you as you unlock your door to an empty suite - just as you expected. Kass was most likely at Jungkook’s, spending the night with Jimin, and you'd be alone for the night. It didn't matter to you though, the peace and quiet was always nice.

"You sure you're gonna be okay here alone?" You nod.

"Yup. It's kind of nice actually." You lean forward onto your bed since it's raised a little higher than usual with bed risers, and open up your laptop. Jungkook sets your Target bag down and wraps his arms around you from behind, planting a kiss on your cheek and on your jawline.

"You sure you don't want me to sleep over? Cuddles sound nice."

"It sounds like you want to."

"Only if you want me to." He nuzzles his head against your neck, waiting for your response.

"Kook, please." You chuckle. "If you wanna sleepover, then go ahead."

"Yesssss! I do."

"Well you need to find parking, or else the person that owns that parking spot will be highly upset."

"You got it, captain. Pull up a movie!" He says, dashing out of your room to move his car. He's most likely going to come back in another 5 minutes, being that the only free parking at this time of night is probably on the other end in the gym's lot, or somewhere on the streets [if he got lucky].

And so that 5 minutes sure does go by before Jungkook is breathing heavily when he walks into your room, duffle bag swung over his shoulder with a big, dorky ass smile on his face.

"I'm back!"

"I see." You snort, still going through the movies.

"Hey, let's run through what Hobi taught us first."

"Ugh, I'm so tired though."

"Cooooome on, just once." He pulls you by the hand, his body pressed against yours as his his other arm wraps around your waist. "Please." His puppy dog eyes look down at you, causing you to push him away because fucking hell, that shit makes you weak. Makes the pussy throb just a lil, you know? Christ.

"Only if you watch 10 Things I Hate About You."

"Sure, I don't mind." He pulls up the song on your laptop. The both of you face the mirror in front of you, careful not to hit each other since you had such limited space to fully move around. Running through it once was a full blown lie, being that you both are doing it for almost 5-6 times before you're laughing at how out of breath you already are. You're so out of it and winded by the last time around that you accidentally hit Jungkook in the face, causing him to whine and stumble off to the side.

"Oh shit!" You laugh. "I'm so sorry, Kookie!" You run over to cup his face. "Are you okay? You good?"

"Shit, Y/N. You have a heavy hand." He keeps his hand against his cheek.

"I'm sorry." You lean in to plant a kiss on his cheek, but Jungkook being Jungkook, he looks to the side to have his lips meet yours instead. He picks you up in one swift motion, your legs wrapped around his torso as he sits you on your bed, your hands still cupping his face. And honestly, you really wanted him. You've always wanted him since this whole thing started. God, he was attractive to you - every little thing about Jungkook was a fucking weakness, but you weren't gonna let up first. Not tonight. The scar on his cheek, his soft, fluffy hair, his toned body, his muscular ass arms, the way he held onto you when you both slept, the way he kissed you.

Lord, he was truly going to be the death of you.

Before the kiss could get any deeper, you smile into it and back away, keeping your gaze on the small, dazed smile Jungkook has on his face.

"Can we watch now?" You ask, subtly biting onto your bottom lip.

"Yeah, good idea."

"Actually, after all that, I need to shower first."

"Can I join?" His eyes light up.

"Sit your ass down. You can go after." You laugh as you hop off the bed, grabbing your pajamas for a quick shower. You literally take 10 minutes, walking back into your room with wet hair and an oversized shirt and shorts underneath. Although you had been completely comfortable with Jungkook, the both of you have never really seen each other fully naked like that. Whenever he slept over, you were both always fully clothed. You've seen him hop out of the shower and come in shirtless, but that's probably about it. You start to brush your teeth as he rummages through his emergency duffle bag full of shit that he holds in the trunk of his car, grabbing a fresh pair of clothes to change into after his shower. You already know his ass is gonna use your shampoo for everything because he loves the smell of it and always talks about how good your hair smells.

While waiting for him, you slip yourself under your covers and pull the laptop closer to you, scrolling through your phone aimlessly to see what's new on instagram. Which, is absolutely nothing, so you let out a dissatisfied sigh.

"Ready!" He comes in, tossing his towel aside and shutting off the lights to crawl into your bed with you.

"You smell just like me." You chuckle.

"It's great, isn't it?"

"Your hair isn't bothering you?" You run your hand through his incredibly wet hair as he shakes his head.

"No, I'll be good."

"Okay." He wraps his arm around you to pull you onto his body, the movie already off to a start. As the movie goes on, you find yourself getting sleep as both of your bodies sink deeper into the sheets, Jungkook still not letting you go. The laptop rests on his belly, while your head is on his chest, his heartbeat the one thing putting you to sleep pretty quickly. He's comfortable, just as you are. He's warm, you're warm. He's content, you're content. You drift off to sleep while he continues to watch, knowing your bodies will be pressed tightly against each other in the morning.

"Kook there's so many fucking people here. The cops are gonna come and shut this down quick." Jungkook shrugs.

"Oh well, wasn't my idea." He snorts. "Shot?!" He hands you a shot that you take with ease, feeling like you aren't drunk enough for all this shit and all these people. "Atta girl."

"Yuck, though." You slightly make a sour face as you feel the warmth trickle down your throat and into your stomach.

"Heeeey, whyyyyy do you look so FaMiliaR?" This girl asks Jungkook in a weird, flirty tone, where every other consonant goes up and down. She's obviously really fucking drunk and out of her mind because for one, she definitely goes to the same school as you two, and she has definitely been in class with Jungkook before.

"Oh uh, my name's Justin Bieber. I used to sing from time to time." He says nonchalantly with you furrowing your forehead at him because what kind of response did he just give her?! What did he just tell her? You're so embarrassed that you slowly turn on your heel and walk out of the kitchen as you hear him sing One Less Lonely Girl hella out of tune, with the girl completely smitten over his drunk ass.

"Where's Jungkookie?" Kass asks as she sits on Jimin's lap.

"Over there, pretending to be Justin Bieber apparently."

"Oh, nice. You don't come across that often." Jimin says sarcastically. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Yeah, stay here tonight, with Kookie." Kass wiggles her eyebrows, her cheek resting on top of Jimin's head. "It's not like that's anything new."

"Um, I'd rather much be back in the dorm."

"That cold, lonely place? When you could be here, in such a pretty apartment with such a pretty boy?" You shake your head at her.

"Unbelievable." You mutter. Suddenly, an incredibly tall man walks into the apartment, reaching about 6'1 and almost hitting the ceiling with his tall ass. You've never seen him before, but he walks in with Hoseok and Namjoon and for whatever reason, you can't peel your eyes off of him. "Woah, who's that?"

"Who's what?" Jungkook finally comes to your side after being Justin Bieber for a good minute or so, his eyes following yours. Who was he and why were you looking at him so intensely?

"That's Kang! You've never met him?" Jimin says, doing a slight nod to greet him as he passes by. Kang and his fine self looks up at you, a small smirk creeping up at the corner of his lips as he continues through to the kitchen behind Hoseok and Namjoon. "He's a transfer and on the basketball team."

"He's fiiiiine." You and Kass swoon over him a bit, Jungkook giving you a look.

"He's alriiiight. I've seen better."

"Shut up, no one asked you." You lightly punch him on the side, making him lightly groan while Jimin and Kass laugh. The rest of the party, you suddenly have a goal to find out more about Kang and see what he's about because you and Jungkook weren't official. You both didn't really know what this was, but one thing you knew for sure was that it wasn't anything exclusive. You wouldn't bring it up, so wouldn't Jungkook - so was this really something all that meaningful?

Whatever, you didn't wanna keep going in circles about it.

Jungkook fucking hates it though, and he's honestly really jealous that you're suddenly trying to be all cute and woo the new, tall, handsome [but he's not really that fucking handsome to Jungkook for christ's sake] basketball player. Jungkook almost wants to mock his every move and how suavé he is, almost looking like a try hard with the way he's leaning against the wall and talking to you.

Wait— he's talking to you?! You were literally right next to him 2 seconds ago.

"What the fuck?" He squints, trying to make sure he's actually looking at you.

"You're so full of shit." Jimin laughs.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why don't you just admit that you like her and stop being childish about it?"

"I don't like her. She's just my bestfriend."

"Um, okay?" Jimin snorts. "When you sleep at her place every chance you get and vice versa? When she has a ton of your shirts and hoodies in her own fucking closet? When you always get so affectionate with her in the dorm? Sure, you don't like her."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do, you've done it in front of me and Kass before but you both tried playing it off. I don't understand you two."

"Well, I don't like her. She obviously doesn't either with the way she's trying to be all up on him." Jungkook glares at you, his teeth biting the rim of the cup harshly as he brings it to his lips to take a sip.

"Whatever, I'm just saying dude. Probably better to be straight up about it than not."

"Kaaaaaaay." Jungkook responds sarcastically, trying to play off how butthurt he was right now. Cause yeah, he did fucking like you. He was just scared to admit it though because of reasons like this - the fact that you possibly didn't like him back killed him. The fact that you could possibly be using him to feel wanted, needed. It made his stomach turn.

He just really liked you, and god, did he want to be the one in your bed tonight. Whether or not that ended up in sex, whatever. He just wanted to be the one to touch you, be on you.

Meanwhile, Kang was attractive as hell and ouwee, were you feeling him tonight. You were, you really were - except, you could literally feel the holes Jungkook was burning through you from across the room. You'd occasionally glance over due to how distracting it was, Jungkook literally have no shame with eyeing you, almost glaring at you, from across the apartment.

"Is it too forward if I ask for your number already?" Kang licks his lips, his teeth lightly piercing his bottom lip as he looks down at you.

"No." You smirk at him, taking his phone to put your number in.

"We should kick it soon. I'd love to hang out with you and get to know you better."

"Yeah, just let me know when." You blush, until you're suddenly pulled out of your daze by a loud 'ahem,' the loudest throat-clearing you have ever heard in your life. You turn to see Jungkook making his way back over to the shots, knowing damn well he's calling you over. "See you around?" Kang winks before he tips his cup to you and gives you a single nod.

"Sure thing, cutiepie." You bite onto your bottom lip, making your way over to Jungkook at the shot station, instantly pinching his arm.

"What the fuck?"

"Nobody was calling you over." Jungkook smirks.

"Shut the fuck up, yes you were. I know that was you clearing your throat like that."

"I'm sorry, does it bother you?" He blinks cutely, tilting his head to the side. "Besides, why come over here when you're too busy with your man?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Why in the hell would I be jealous, Y/N? Do you." The words sting you, even though part of you still wants to believe that Jungkook may actually like you. All you can do is sigh and brush it off, placing your cup down in front of him as he pours himself another shot. "You sure?"

"Just give me the damn shot." You say, making it your 7th.

And the 7th turns into 8, 8 turns into 9, 9 turns into 10. And at 10, you're pretty fucking drunk even as the party is starting to die down by the time it's close to 2am. All 10 were a good combination of shots and mixed drinks.

10 drinks.

10 drinks is what it took for you to lay in Jungkook's bed at the end of the night, hands tangled in his fluffy hair as your makeout session intensifies by the minute - all due to this sexual tension, frustration, whatever the hell it was brewing between you two after all this time. The both of you are drunk as hell, and it's pretty evident with the way you can still taste the alcohol on his tongue, both sloppily touching up on each other, kisses getting wetter, clothes coming off like there's no tomorrow.

"Wait, are you sure?" Jungkook says, about to unhook your bra.

"Jungkook, god, just fuck me." You plead drunkily, the room spinning around you. He continues to unhook your bra, tossing it across the room where your other clothes lay, peppering kisses along your neck before licking up a stripe to meet your lips again. He hooks his fingers across the band of your panties, tugging them down and letting them get lost within his sheets. You take this as leverage to tug his boxer briefs down, already stroking his hardened member the moment you come into contact with it. The sad thing is that you both are so fucking drunk, you can't even appreciate the fact that you both are naked in front of each other for the first time ever.

You can't even come to terms with the fact that you both are about to fuck each other and cross that boundary completely.

But, hell, what do you care? You were drunk. You got a cute guy's number. You're getting dick at the end of the night.

"Oh shit, Y/N." He moans into your mouth as he feels you stroking him. "Need to feel you." He quickly runs his finger down your fold, slipping in two digits to pump them in and out, quickly prepping you for his dick.

"Hnnng--Kook." You bite onto your bottom lip as your eyes shut close momentarily, your head digging deeper into the pillow the more he tries to stretch you out. "Want you inside of me."

"I got you." He says. You almost whine at the loss of contact until you feel his tip poking at your entrance. He slowly continues to slip himself inside of you, Kook letting out a small groan while your mouth was left open, a soundless moan releasing before you hiss and take in all of him. He fills you up so well, so completely. He was so big that you felt full, bloated, with him being inside of you the way he was.

"Ohhhhhgod." You whimper as he starts to steady his pace, the lewd noises of his cock slipping in and out of your wet pussy filling his room - god forbid if Jimin or their other roommate Yoongi heard this right now. It would be nothing short of pornographic.

"You're so wet. Is that all for me?" He says, causing your eyes to roll to the back of your head as he begins to aggressively thrust into you.

"Y-yes." You whine.

"Say it again."

"All for you, Kook."

"I fucking thought so." He drunkily responds as one hand grips onto your hips tightly, the other in your hair as he digs his head back into the crook of your neck, his tongue messily licking near your jaw before he nibbles onto your earlobe.

"Hmmmmgggh, Jungkook. Fuck." You moan as you start to work your hips upward into his, your clit rubbing against his pelvis, causing the pleasure to pool quickly within the pit of your stomach. It causes goosebumps to pierce through the surface of your skin, your hands gripping tighter on his hair. "You're-you're gonna make me cum. Faster." You plead. He does just so, hammering into you, the sound of his hips slamming into yours bouncing off of the walls.

"Ahhh—Y/N." He groans.

"Just like that, just like that, just like that!" You repeat, your clit feeling incredibly stimulated by the way it rubs against his skin while he fucks into you. "Oh shit! Jungkook!" You moan loudly, biting his shoulder as you feel yourself trembling hard in his grip, your orgasm taking over your entire body.

"Shit, shit, shit—Y/N, Shiiiit." He says into your neck, followed by more curses and groans as you feel him coat your walls warmly. He stays inside of you until the both of you come back down to normalcy, your breathing becoming more regulated. He slowly slips himself out, plopping next to you on the bed, but doesn't welcome you into his arms.

The night goes on, the both of you sleeping on your own sides of Jungkook's bed, not really saying a word to each other. Because the both of you, although still pretty drunk, are more aware by the time it's over and it's become so clear how fucked up this got.

You were hurt. Completely hurt. Because you didn't expect Jungkook to just fucking ghost you after that night. You wanted to talk about it, maybe come to the conclusion that you two should just distance yourselves from each other to figure this out, even if it would hurt you a lot to do so.

No.

That morning, Jimin and Kass had to take you back to campus because Jungkook had darted out of his room, nowhere to be seen until later that night. The next week or so, there were no texts, no calls. No visiting your dorm, no asking to sleepover.

Nothing.

Just radio silence, white noise, if you will.

The one thing he could come up with was a stupid response to your text when you finally caved and asked what you did wrong mid-week.

Something along the lines of 'what do you want me to say, Y/N? do you want me to force myself to feel a certain way?'

Followed by a 'i'm sorry, fuck. that came out really wrong' even though you thought it came out perfectly fine. You understood loud and clear.

Even though this wasn't really an exclusive thing, or even a 'thing' if we wanna be straight up, you still couldn't help but feel like Jungkook had just dumped your ass with no explanation and you were still waiting for that explanation to come, whether it would or not. And because of this, you started to see Kang, hangout with him more often. He even took you out on a dinner date and you really enjoyed his company. He seemed genuine, caring, supportive - even if a lot of the basketball boys were the complete opposite. He was different, you liked to think.

And so you stand in front of the mirrors in the dance studio, you and Jungkook awkwardly running through the piece with Hoseok watching, confused as to why all of a sudden the two of you have this weird tension going on. It hasn't entirely ruined the couple piece, but it hasn't brought it together, either. The both of you could barely look at each other, barely get into the movements, the emotions behind the motions. Hoseok had to correct a few things, his 'pah pah pah's' echoing in the room constantly with how many times you and Jungkook had to be set straight for your sloppy steps today.

"Okay, I'm not saying it's bad, cause it's not. But can you both please act like you at least like each other or something? What's going on with you two? You aren't normally like this." Hoseok says, coming down to a crouch in front of the mirrors.

"Nothing, we'll do better. Don't worry." You brush off the entire question with your quick response. Jungkook looks at you, his hands on his hips, lightly frowning at how much you're distancing yourself even though he knows its entirely his fault for running from his feelings and not being honest with you.

"Okay, let's do it from the top." The music starts, you getting into the piece without making any eye contact with Jungkook. Even the steps that cause you to be close and near Jungkook, you look anywhere but his eyes, and your touch is light, trying your hardest not to let any feelings pass through the motion. Hoseok is a little more pleased this time around, but it still doesn't sit right with him, so he lets you two take a break while he heads to the other studio to check on Jimin and the rest of the group.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Jungkook, you don't get to ask me that." He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, not sure if he should continue on or not.

"Y/N—"

"Save it, and let's just get this over with, okay? I don't wanna be here just as much as you." Your words cut him deep because dear, you have gotten him completely misunderstood and yet, he still can't speak. He still can't talk about his feelings. He still can't save this even though he wants to, even though he loathes seeing you the way you are with Kang.

"I never said—"

"Kay, ready? Let's run this full out and make it a good one so we can call it for today." Hoseok says, clapping his hands to hype you two up somehow. The music starts and you're finally able to get into the steps. The emotions. And god, it's only because you're so hurt by your own bestfriend. You're hurt that he fucked you so good, and then dipped. You're hurt that he couldn't even face you the day after. You're hurt that after all this time, he made it seem like you still didn't matter enough - at least enough for an explanation, for some kind of reasoning, conversation, behind what just went down between the both of you. Between what has been going down between the both of you.

Besides the stupid ass responses he gave you through text.

You get so into your feelings that you don't even realize you're tearing up by the time the piece is over, and Jungkook catches it even though you face away from him as soon as the music cuts out.

"Nice, okay! That was so much better! Let's pick it up next session, yeah? We'll keep cleaning it up. Thanks guys!" Hoseok says. You immediately head towards the wall, grabbing your things to avoid any confrontation from Jungkook, but he grabs your arm as soon as you slip through the door.

"Y/N, wait. Stop."

"Let me go." You yank your arm from his grip.

"Why are you crying?" He stops in front of you, his hands placed on your arms to prevent you from moving any further.

"I'm not." You blatantly lie while you aggressively wipe away the stragglers coming down.

"Really? Just gonna lie like that?"

"Why do you care? You haven't said shit to me all week." You snap back, and Jungkook is taken aback from the tone in your voice. You remove his hands from your arms, and take one last look at him before shaking your head and walking off.

Next mistake? He doesn't come after you.

This was a waste of fucking time. If he truly cared about you, he wouldn't let you hurt like this.

You let out a deep sigh before clutching onto your things and walking back to your dorm. The walk from the gym/fitness center was damn near on the other end of campus compared to your dorm. It would be a good 10 minute walk if you really took your time. A good 10 minutes to ponder on your thoughts.

Yes, you liked Jungkook. You really liked him. Having sex with him solidified those feelings even more. How could you not have feelings for your bestfriend after all the moments you've shared? Was it your fault for assuming that? Was it your fault for walking through that door when it seemed to be completely open for you?

"Sup." Kang comes out of nowhere, pulling you out of your thoughts. He swings his arm around your shoulder, gently pulling you closer to his body.  "Just got out of practice?"

"Sure did." You give him a toothless smile. Yes, he was attractive as hell. He always will be. But, even with the time you spent together, the date he took you on, he still couldn't make you feel the way Jungkook has been able to make you feel.

"How was it?"

"Um, it was alright. Nothing new really, just cleaning up the piece before the show. You're going right?"

"Why wouldn't I?" He smiles down at you. "Listen, I don't know if you've heard, but there's another party tonight."

"A party? It's Wednesday." You snort.

"Yeah, I mean, one of the boys on the Lacrosse team is throwing it at his family house because his parents will be gone. Wanna come? I'll pick you up. We don't have to stay for long." You looked at your watch.

"What time is it at?"

"Like 9ish?" Enough time for you to shower and get a quick dinner in your belly. Why the hell not? You were caught up for the week. You didn't have any pressing assignments that were due asap.

"Sure. I'll come."

"Cool. See you later then?" He says, about to part ways with you. You simply give him a nod before walking deeper into Edgehill village. You hoped you wouldn't regret this tonight, and you really hoped he meant it when he said you two didn't have to stay for long. You drag yourself into your room, seeing Kass' door wide open, revealing her packing up her duffle bag.

"Hey, where are you headed during the middle of the week?"

"My two classes got cancelled for tomorrow so me and Jiminie are heading out for a mini getaway for our anniversary." You cross your arms and smile. "He's just gonna catch up on shit when we get back I guess." She laughs.

"That sounds cute. I hope you have loads of fun this weekend, babe."

"What are you gonna do?" Kass and Jimin were obviously aware of everything happening between you and Jungkook being that they had to be the ones to take you home. They never pressed on it though, knowing you both were still pretty upset about how things were playing out. They figured you two would eventually work it out, but until then, they would just sit back and keep their mouths shut. You two were being completely stubborn, but it wasn't their relationship to fix.

"Well, there's this party Kang wants to take me to tonight."

"The Lacrosse party? Messy." She laughs. "Be careful, but also have fun, yeah? I still don’t know if I trust him.”

"Yeah I know."

"Tell me how it goes!"

"I will." You wave her off as you head into your room and shut the door. You figured you would just grab dinner on campus to avoid spending more money than you should; after all, dinner seemed to be pretty bomb tonight. You didn't mind going alone, sometimes Namjoon would join you, asking for you to bring him a plate of food while he does the hard job of sneaking inside the cafeteria through the back door. He usually waits for you at a free table and ends up staying there to have dinner with you, updating you on how life has been, how school has been. Sometimes Hoseok would join you, too. Either way, you didn't mind if no one joined. It was nice to have dinner by yourself from time to time.

You get there on time to be able to grab some food, eat quietly and head out before the cafeteria gets way too busy for your liking. You slip into the shower and throw on a mini skirt, a crop top and a denim jacket, lightly fluffing your hair in the mirror and adding a dab of lip gloss to your lips before Kang is calling you to tell you he's outside your dorm. He's wearing something similar to your color palette, however, you don't make much out of it since this also wasn't really an exclusive thing and you sure as hell weren't going around telling people you and Kang had a thing going on.

To him, you two might be a thing. You've definitely overheard people talking about you two in passing.

To you though, you two definitely weren't. And it was a big fuck you to Jungkook for that.

The house is packed from end to end already, and you're surprised being that it has barely hit 10 minutes since the party was expected to take off. Kang is having to park down the hill, allowing you to hop onto his back for a quick piggy back ride up until you reach the front of the house. There's people already fucked up out on the lawn [you figured they fucked themselves over during their pre-game session cause that shit really happens from time to time], either laying there drunkily or yacking on a free patch of grass.

Gross.

Messy, indeed.

Some people are posted, smoking blunts and offering it to people who were passing by. You and Kang both pass up on it, the idea of not knowing where it has been not sitting right with you. You both head straight to the bottles, taking shots and downing mixed drinks to chase it with so that you can catch up with majority of the crowd. Kang has his arm around your shoulder throughout the night, keeping you close to him, even when he's getting pretty drunk. You realize he's a little more handsy than usual, a little more touchy than you expected him to be. It doesn't bother you for a minute, until he really tries to hike up your skirt while you sit on his lap. You gently shoo his hand away, playing it off while he nuzzles his head against your neck.

"Let's go upstairs, babe." He says, the pet name sounding incredibly off coming from him. Maybe you were drunk, maybe you really just weren't in the mood. It just didn't sound cute, if that even makes sense?

"Okay." You respond stupidly, not wanting to cause a scene at a lacrosse party. You intertwine your fingers with his as he leads the way up the stairs, eyeing the doors as they come into view. He leans forward towards each door, making sure it's clear before opening it. You assume he finally finds one that he's satisfied with when you catch the small smirk that grows at the corner of his lips when he turns the door knob and brings you inside. He pulls you into a deep, rough kiss, one that doesn't even allow you to breathe and process what the fuck is even going on. You can't get into it for the life of you, no matter how hard you try to back away. "Wait, wait."

"What's wrong, baby? Isn't this what you wanted?" He says, kissing down your neck as he drops his jacket to the floor. He gently pushes you onto the bed, his hands traveling up your skirt as you lay there trying to push him off.

"Wait, stop." He doesn't listen. He continues until his hands are literally hooking onto your panties, his finger swiping down your clothed folds. You try fighting him off, but he's way stronger than you. He continues to be aggressive, forcefully trying to shove your panties down until you muster up all the energy you have to finally push him off of you completely. "Stop!"

"What the fuck? I thought you wanted this?"

"Who the hell said that?"

"Are you serious? The way that you're dressed and the way that you look at me. The way you approached me at your friend's party - isn't it all because of this? Because you wanted me? Why are you backing out now?"

"Jesus, get over yourself." You stand, fixing your skirt back down. He furrows his brows at you before his hand grips your arm tightly, shoving you against the wall.

"The fuck, you can't just leave without giving me anything. I brought you here to this party."

"Let me go! You're fucking sick. No one even told you I wanted this to go down. I don't know who you think you are, but you need to get yourself together and stop assuming every pussy is yours to take." He attempts to pin you, his hand holding up both of your hands against the wall while the other tries to pull up your skirt. Someone accidentally opens the door, distracting him and giving you leverage to shove him off and get the fuck away. You dart down the steps, fixing your skirt as you head outside and away from the house.

Fuck, you're far from campus. And Kass and Jimin aren't around.

God.

You groan and run your hand through your hair as you continue to walk down the hill and into the neighborhood to get as far away as possible from that house and that gross ass dude. He was literally just like the rest of the basketball team. You've heard stories and they weren't nice. Looks like he was trained well already, and that shit was sad. What a waste. A beautiful human being with such a nasty, sick mindset. You hoped other girls hadn't fallen for his shit.

Ugh, it sends shivers down your spine. Bad shivers.

"Hello? Y/N?"

"Kook, can you come pick me up please?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. Where are you?"

"I'll drop my location. Please hurry." You say, looking back to make sure your coast was clear. You drop the pin into your text thread with Jungkook and sit on the curb until his arrival. It's getting pretty chilly out, and the denim jacket you're wearing fails to provide you with the warmth you're looking for. Sooner or later, Jungkook is pulling up, damn near hopping out before he can shift the gear into park.

"You okay? What happened?" He says, opening the door for you before rushing over to the driver's seat.

"Nothing, can we just go back to your place?" He nods silently, and doesn't press any further after hearing your tone. He watches from his peripherals how you fiddle with your fingers and constantly reach to pull your skirt down even though he doesn't think there's any other way you could pull it down even more. He watches as he parks the car on the curb in front of his apartment how you simply undo your seatbelt and hop out to walk straight into his apartment. He watches as you welcome yourself into his closet and pick out some clothes for you to change in.

You were hurt, and his blood boils thinking about who could've done this and what they could have possibly done.

I mean, no. He knows who did this, but the question was what exactly did he try?

He hears the shower turn on, then quickly get turned off after a good 5 minutes. You had stepped in for a quick body shower, using Jungkook's bodywash just to rid yourself of feeling gross. Feeling gross from being shoulder to shoulder all night long, people breathing down your neck. Kang touching you inappropriately. You slip into Jungkook's clothes, his scent wrapping around you entirely. When you head back into the room, Jungkook has his headset back on as he faces his computer, logging back onto his game of League of Legends. You silently toss your dirty clothes to the side of his room, making a mental note to grab it tomorrow morning and toss it straight into the laundry.

Straight into a fire, perhaps. But you loved those clothes so much, it was unfortunate it'd have such a horrible memory to go with it.

Jungkook slowly removes his headset again and removes himself from his game before he heads over and sits on the edge of his bed. You simply look at him, pursing your lips tightly together to prevent yourself from crying.

But he can tell.

"What happened Y/N?" The question triggers you, making you cry into your hands as he sits there, dumbfounded and worried at how he can fix this and make you feel better. "Look, you don't have to tell me all the details but please tell me how I can help. At least tell me if I need to beat Kang's ass." He says, pulling you into his arms.

"He tried to fucking take advantage of me." You mumble as you remove your face from your hands.

"He did what?" He manages to ask even though he has a hard time swallowing the lump that formed in his throat. He already assumed you had placed him in the same category as Kang even though he never intended to take advantage of you. He really took that night as something special [even drunk], and he never meant to make you feel like you were a used object. Not like Kang.

"He-he," You sniffed. "He tried to force me into having sex with him. He took me upstairs at that lacrosse guy's party or whoever the hell it even was, and he started to aggressively kiss me. And then he tried to force my panties down and touch me there, and—"

"Okay, please don't go on or else I'll literally go over there and tear his ass apart right now. I promise you." He says sternly, his jaw clenching tightly. "God, fuck. I'm so sorry Y/N. I can't apologize on his behalf but fuck, you didn't deserve that." He uses his sweater to wipe your tears.

"I don't even know why I'm crying, this shit isn't even worth it." You groaned. "It's just overwhelming to process, I guess."

"That's okay." He says, letting out a sigh as he brushes his hand through your hair and continues to wipe the stragglers falling from your eyes. "Anything I can get you right now?"

"No, I'm probably just gonna go to bed." He nods. "Thank you for picking me up."

"Of course. You know I'll always be there." He says. You slip yourself into his sheets, watching as he makes his way back to his desk. But fuck, the only thing you needed right now was him. You didn't want this distance anymore, and you just wanted to be comforted in true Jungkook fashion.

"Wait."

"Hm?" He hums as he has a hand placed on the  head of his chair while he turns to you.

"Can you just lay with me?"

"Yeah." He says, shutting off his computer before making his way over to you in the dark. You feel him slip in next to you, his arm snaking around your shoulders so he can pull you close and onto his chest. "Better?"

"Yeah." You say, shutting your eyes as you listen to his heart beat.

"Y/N."

"Yeah?"

"I never meant to take advantage of you, or make you feel like I used you that one night." Silence. "It was dumb of me, but I just— I had trouble coming to terms with my feelings. I was scared that you wouldn't feel the same way, but I thought fuck it, at least you would know, right?"

"What are you talking about, Kook?" You ask, close to a whisper.

"I'm saying that I really fucking like you, Y/N. No, that's not right." He curses himself. "I-I uh, I'm in love with you. And I don't know if I messed this up already with the way I acted, god I hope not, but you at least deserve to know that I truly do value you and that you mean alot to me. That night, even though we were pretty plastered, it meant a lot to me. It was more than just sex and I'm sure you felt that too." He waits for your response as his fingers rake through your hair. "Please say something, anything."

"I feel the same way, Jungkook. You're an idiot for running off, but I couldn't even stay mad at you. You just know how to hit my soft spots and I can never say no to it. Can never turn my back on it." He presses a kiss against the top of your head.

"Fuck, I'm really glad to hear that cause I don't know what I would have done besides cry if you rejected me." You playfully hit his chest.

"You're annoying." You jokingly say as you chuckle.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you."

"It's okay." You look up to press your lips against his before laying back down.

"And Kang better be fucking glad you're pressed against my body right now because I'm still looking to beat his ass."

"He's not even worth it." Is the last thing you say before you find yourself drifting into a deep sleep, in the comfort of Jungkook's arms.

"You two feeling okay? Nervous?" You and Jungkook shake your heads. "Good, you guys got this. You've been looking amazing during practice, the audience will love you two, no doubt. Just remember to show emotions through expressions and hit every beat sharply." Hoseok nods in unison with the both of you.

"Got it, thanks Hobi." You smile at him toothlessly. You and Jungkook patiently waited for your turn backstage, the talent show already off to a wild and fun start. So many students came by to showcase their talents - from beatboxing, open mic, freestyling [like Yoongi did], dancing, singing, you name it. It was always a fun time at the talent show, and it was always nice to see people getting love for the shit they loved to do.

"You're up next." Hoseok says. "I'll be in the front row. Kick ass and have fun!" He says as he rushes off towards the opposite end to head back out to his seat in the theater.

"Ready?" Jungkook holds out his hand for you to take.

"I think so." You playfully respond as the backstage crew is rushing out the previous talent and rushing you two in to take your places on stage. The lights pick up as soon as the music starts, Kang's big ass head already in full view for you. He's definitely not smiling, no, he has a look of pure disgust because he simply couldn't get what he wanted from you.

And boy, who's fault was that? Not yours, no sir. It was his fault for thinking he had it like that.

But anyways, you're feeling the music, you're feeling the piece because you're dancing with your bestfriend and there wasn't this grey area anymore. It was easier to get into the motions, to get into the feeling, especially when things felt right between the two of you.

And God, what else is more attractive than Jeon Jungkook hitting his 8 counts so smoothly, with just enough umph to make it pop but make it pop cleanly.

Yo, please. I beg. Send some help. You could literally melt on stage.

The moments where Jungkook has to be close to you, where he has to touch you - you let him, and you touch him with meaning. You don't stray away this time because you have no reason to. The crowd is cheering, lots of 'ou's' and 'aw's' erupting from various places in the theater.

"Pretty lady." Jungkook whispers in your ear as the move requires his hands to be placed on your hips for a quick moment. You hear him slightly singing along to the song as he parts from you, causing you to blush.

Sooner or later, the couple piece is over and the song is transitioning to Jimin's piece, you and Jungkook rushing off the stage so the next group can take their positions. Jimin wanted to test his limits, creating a piece a little different than his usual taste - Chris Brown's Came to Do begins blaring through the theater speakers. You immediately jump into Jungkook's arms once you both reach backstage, the both of you immensely happy and pumped that you got through the piece without messing up one step or beat. It went so smoothly that Hoseok was standing in the front row, clapping and cheering in typical Hoseok fashion. You intertwine your fingers with his, slipping through the side door to catch Jimin's piece on stage. You and Jungkook are cheering them on, always impressed by the shit your friends can come up with. You both loved dancing, but you couldn't even imagine coming up with your own pieces to teach people.

That night after the show, everyone heads to a nearby restaurant for dinner with everyone. You all take up almost an entire section of the restaurant, splitting two long tables to accommodate the entire group with doubled the waitresses to take your orders. You settle for water, splitting an abnormally huge and filled deep dish pizza with Jimin, Kass and Jungkook. It was a good day, a good night, everyone at the table happily eating and chatting it up over dinner. You turn down any drinks because to be honest, drinks lowkey make you queasy just from the thought of how much you drank at Jungkook's apartment, plus the added bonus of that party Kang took you to. Jungkook declines as well, knowing he has to drive you back safely.

Jimin and Kass head back to the apartment because Yoongi says he's gonna hang out with Joon And Hoseok for a bit, and they warn you and Jungkook that things may get loud so the both of you decide to really stick to the plan of bringing you back to the dorm. Jungkook does his usual routine of dropping you off first before finding parking around campus. You hop in the shower and come out in Jungkook's oversized crewneck that he left in your closet, forgoing the shorts because you certainly thing that at this point, he'd love to see you in his sweater and panties.

And he does. He smiles as he pulls you close, his hands traveling up your sweater, only to find out that you literally don't have shit on besides some cute little boyshorts. He feels himself hardening in his pants quick because he's incredibly attracted to you and everything about you, always has been, always will be.

"You did amazing tonight." He says, gently kissing your forehead.

"You did too, partner." He gives you a slightly shocked look.

"Is that all I am to you? Your dance partner?"

"Yeah, why? Were you expecting more?" You joke as you smile up at him.

"Yeah, I was."

"Oh?" He gently swoops you up into his arms, your legs wrapped tightly around his torso as he sits you on the bed, his hands resting on your thighs while you continued to hold him around the neck. "Care to tell me what you were expecting?"

"Well, you know, my best friend—" He presses a kiss against your lips, thumbs gently rubbing circles against your hips. "My girlfriend."

"Hm, say that again?" Your fingers are gently playing with the ends of his hair, your lips barely grazing his.

"My girlfriend." He says closed to a whisper, kissing you softly. The kiss deepens quick, Jungkook's tongue lining your bottom lip as his way of asking for permission to take it further. You gladly take it and let him in, your tongues instantly fighting for dominance. Your fingers travel up his hair, tugging ever so slightly just to let him know you want more. That you need more.

And he gets that.

His fingers hook onto the band of your boyshorts, tugging them down and letting them fall down your legs and onto the floor. He breaks the kiss momentarily, his brown, puppy dog eyes looking straight into yours.

"Hey." He says, brushing the hair out of your face.

"Hm?"

"I know I said the last time was special, and it was. It is." He corrects himself. "But, I wanna do right by you this time around. So, is it okay if I keep going? Are you comfortable?" He asks properly, since the two of you are both sober and perfectly coherent, aware of your surroundings and the fact that you'll be seeing each other fully naked in a few minutes.

"Yes." You respond. "Yes, I want you to keep going. I want you. This." He simply nods, bringing his lips back onto yours. His hands climb up your sweater and gently gives your breasts a good squeeze, earning a small moan from the both of you. His other hand begins to travel down to your pussy, two long fingers slowly probing your entrance and causing your breathing to hitch.

"You okay?" He asks lowly. You nod, biting onto your bottom lip as you tilt your head back and rest on your hands, no longer able to keep up with the kiss due to all the pleasure starting to pile up deep in your core. Jungkook starts of slow, his head now buried into the crook of your neck as he works his digits upward, tickling at the right spot.

"Ohhhh, Kook." You mewl as his tongue swipes across the surface of your neck, biting gently beneath your jaw. He begins to pick up the pace, the sounds of him finger fucking you filling up the room entirely.

"Fuck, you're so wet baby." He groans into your neck.

"I'm gonna cum." You whine, teeth almost piercing through your bottom lip in between your whimpers.

"Need to taste you." He removes his fingers and sinks down in between your thighs, gripping onto them and pulling you just a teensy bit more off the edge of the bed so he can get a good angle. The sight of his eyes looking up at you in between your legs is to die for, and the sight alone is enough to make you cum. But, you hold on, you ride out for a little longer - feeling Jungkook's tongue swipe in and out of your folds before he's sucking endlessly on your clit.

"Ahhh, fuck, wait, Jungkook!" He slightly smiles while eating you out, signaling that he's not stopping even if you beg him to. "Hnnng—shit!" You moan loudly as you feel yourself toppling over the edge, your body shaking in Jungkook's grip. You twitch every time he continues to suck gently on your sensitive nub, letting you ride out the rest of your high. He comes back up to your lips, the taste of your own cum lingering on it as you kiss him deeply.

"You taste so good." He says, back to twirling your nipples in between his fingers.

"Wanna feel you." You fiddle with his jeans, undoing his belt and sliding the rest down as much as you could. Jungkook gets out of his shirt and tosses it aside before helping get the sweater above your head. His eyes glow at the sight of your bare body in front of him, wanting to do nothing but please you and please you well.

"God, you're so perfect." He places kisses down your collarbone, to the surface of your breasts before quickly swirling his tongue around your perked buds. You moan as you tug down onto his boxer briefs, immediately stroking his hardened member while he tended to you. Jungkook was a fucking beauty himself - his soft hair, his perfectly toned body, his long 'thick in all the right places' dick.

"Please." You plead. "I want you inside of me." You whimper, causing Jungkook's breathing to hitch when you slightly tighten your grip at the base of his shaft. He gently pushes your hand aside to take over, lining himself up at your entrance. He inserts the tip, watching your eyes roll to the back of the head as he slowly sinks into you.

"Mmmmmgod." He moans. "So tight for me, baby. So fucking wet and tight." He repeats, close to a growl. Your moaning begins to pick up, matching the pace of his thrusting. You're still on the edge of the bed, Jungkook keeping you steady by gripping your thighs tightly. He marvels at the sight of your titties bouncing up and down with every thrust, hissing and shutting his eyes momentarily to keep himself grounded and to prevent himself from coming too quickly. Cause god, he can literally blow any second now.

"Jungggggkooook, yessssss!" You moan loudly, whining even at this point with how good he feels fucking into you at such a fast pace. You're feeling slightly sore already from him hammering into you, but nonetheless, it builds more pleasure for you and you want nothing but to reach your high again. "I-I'm coming!" Jungkook moans in unison with you when he feels your walls pulsating against his cock.

"Such a good girl for me." He says, slowing his pace. The creamy sounds of Jungkook's cock slipping inside and out is music to the both of your ears. He finally gains the courage to remove himself, sitting next to your spot on the edge of the bed and pulling you onto his lap. You swing a leg over, your hands resting on the nape of his neck while you sink yourself lower onto his length. Your mouth opens to let out a moan, but the best you can do is let out a hiss. It feels too fucking good that you can't even process it thoroughly. Jungkook pushes your lips down onto his by grabbing your neck, his other hand guiding the movement of your hips as you roll into him.

"Mmmggg—Jungkook." You whimper in between kisses. "You feel so fucking good, god. You're gonna make me cum again."

"Yeah, cum for me. Cum all over me. It's yours." He grunts, his hands guiding you to work him faster. Your movements are getting sloppier, and you feel your wetness starting to coat his pelvis. He doesn't give a fuck though, and neither do you. This shit feels too good for you to worry about the mess you're making on him.

"Cum with me please." He moans at the sound of you whispering into his ear.

"Faster, baby." He says, almost making you cry at how awfully close you are to unraveling. You tug onto his hair, your head buried deep into his neck as you try and suck onto the surface, trying to find an outlet, some kind of release, until you let go. You suck harshly as you coat his cock with your cum, leaving a purple mark right at the base of his neck. You continue to ride out your high, rolling your hips sloppily as Jungkook finally lets himself go, his moan bouncing off of your walls as his seed fills you up warmly.

You stay in your position, slowly raising your head to cup his cheeks and kiss him deeply once more.

"Fuck, I love you." He says slightly pulling away.

"I love you too." You giggle.

"Didn't actually need any drinks to do this now, did we?" Jungkook jokes, softly pinching your hip.

"Shut up."

"Damn, you both couldn't even at least try to be quiet?!" Jimin yells from outside the door.

[sometimesiwritethings]

CAMMiNG | Part 2

🌑pairing | camboy Han Jisung & asexual gn!reader 🌘genre | roommate au, self discovery and acceptance with smut 🌗word count | 2.8k 🌖includes | Jisung makes bad decisions for money again, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, exhibitionism, choking, kink gone wrong, kink-related injuries, insufficient aftercare

🌕blurb | Jisung froze with eyes wide as he processed the reality of earning nearly a hundred dollars in a single minute. Just one minute without air. He had no idea how long he could hold his breath, but surely he could last for sixty measly seconds.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 coming soon

Jisung sobbed as his fourth orgasm of the night racked through his body. His hips bucked forward in a desperate search to feel his palm through the tight fabric of his boxers. The added friction only made him whimper in exquisite agony. His toes curled as he gasped, his cock aching as he came inside his boxers like a damn teenager.

“No more, please,” he hiccupped. “I can’t take anymore.”

He wanted to curl into himself and become as small as possible. Instead, he fell back against the sheets with his back arched to show off as much of his glistening body as possible. The constant stream of pings from his laptop let Jisung know his efforts were appreciated.

His head lolled to the side to get a better view of the screen. Jisung flashed a slow grin towards the green light of his webcam. The same grin was mirrored back a few seconds later on the screen, and he loved how strangely innocent it made his features look. It clashed nicely with the layers of come coating his thighs and abs.

“You guys are going to be the death of me!” Jisung whined. He propped himself up on one elbow as he read the stream of messages begging him for another round.

The chatroom had been going wild for the past two hours. Most cam boys would set a goal of a few thousand coins for a single cumshot and be done for the night. Jisung had tried that during his second show, but being new to the site meant he could stream for hours without reaching his goal.

Setting a goal of only five hundred coins per cumshot and setting a challenge to see how many times he could orgasm in one night was a much more lucrative business model.

One glance at the time on-screen told Jisung there was no way he could coax out another round out of his abused cock. If it were just up to him and the chatroom, he’d stream until sunup. But you refused to let him stream alone and you had to be to work in less than an hour.

Jisung glanced over the laptop in hopes of catching your eye. You were slumped in his desk chair across the room, well out of the ‘splash zone’. Highlighters littered the desk as you poured over your textbook. You seemed lost to the world, but Jisung knew you were keeping a closer eye on the time than he was. You were already dressed in your work uniform so you could be out the door as soon as the after-stream cleanup was done.

“I think that’s it for tonight, boys.” Jisung stretched his toned arms as he feigned a yawn. “I’ll make sure to rest up and drink lots of water. Maybe we can get to five rounds next stream!”

He took a minute to wave goodbye, blowing kisses to the camera for a good measure. A few messages begged him to stay, while others wished him goodnight. Right as Jisung was about to exit out of the stream, a familiar username popped up in the chat.

seungtsby

don't tell me i'm too late

“Seungtsby-ah!” Jisung glanced up, nervous to see your reaction.

You didn’t even bother to look up from your textbook. Of course you didn’t. Jisung never told you about the pushy viewer who took a liking to him back when he’d streamed with Minho.

Jisung quickly switched into a private room with only Seungtsby. He took a deep breath before forcing a smile.

“Haven’t seen you in my stream for a while, hyung. How have you been?” The flirty tone was harder to force now that he knew Seungtsby was watching. As uneasy as he felt around this viewer, Jisung knew it was in his best interest to stay on Seungtsby's good side. Having you in the room helped to somewhat ease the tension. He trusted you wouldn’t let him get pushed too far this time.

seungtsby

unhappy

our show got interrupted last time

Jisung bowed his head and murmured an apology, his ears heated up at the memory of his first solo show. It had been reckless to tie himself up alone at the insistence of a single viewer. But that single viewer had promised a payment of 1,000 coins - which was a little under a hundred dollars after the camsite took its cut - for every orgasm Jisung was able to take while subdued. And a quick glance at his account the next day proved Seungtsby to be a man of his word.

Earning enough money to cover rent in one stream had helped ease Jisung's humiliation, but since then none of his streams had been as successful. Most of his viewers were small fish, donating five or ten coins at a time. Seungtsby was a whale in comparison, which was exactly why Jisung couldn't afford to lose him as a regular viewer.

seungtsby

who came on camera last time?

“Oh, that was,” Jisung swallowed the lump in his throat, “my roommate.” That got your attention. He shot you a saccharine smile when your head finally lifted out of the textbook. Your lips pressed together in a thin line before turning back to your study material. But Jisung knew you listening closely now.

seungtsby

roommate?

you should introduce me

The request might have sounded teasing and innocent from any other viewer. But Jisung knew better. It was difficult to indulge Seungtsby’s requests as a solo streamer, and he knew exactly what introducing you on-screen would lead to. Not that Jisung wasn’t dying to get you to do a show with him. This just wasn’t how he hoped it would happen.

“Aw, am I not enough for you, hyung?” Jisung pretended to pout as he shifted to get comfortable. The cold dampness of his boxers clinging to his skin made that an impossible task. “Do you not want to play with me anymore?”

seungtsby

maybe we can play again

if you make it up to me

Jisung’s heart leaped into his throat. “Anything!” He clapped his hands over his mouth in near-instant regret. He really needed to start thinking before he spoke.

seungtsby

that's what i like to hear

do you still have the collar?

“Hm, I’m not sure,” Jisung couldn’t help but tease. “One second!” He turned his back to the camera, making sure to wiggle his butt as he riffled through the drawer of his bedside table. The collar had been a gift from Minho. It had always been easier for him to indulge Seungtsby’s requests when wearing it. The collar helped him feel safe, grounded.

Jisung held it up triumphantly for the camera. It was a simple black collar from the pet store. The front of it was dotted with rhinestone hearts that shimmered in the dim lighting. “What next?” he purred.

seungtsby

put it on tight

until you can't breathe

do that for one minute and you'll be my fave again

“You want me to choke myself with the collar?”

Now Jisung had your full attention. The textbook slipped out of your hands and hit the floor with a muted thud. You shook your head, eyes narrowing into the same nasty glare that was usually reserved for when he ate the last of your leftovers without asking. At that moment, Jisung wasn’t sure who he was more scared to piss off – you or Seungtsby.

“I don’t think-” Ping.

seungtsby has donated 1,000 coins!

i'm waiting

Jisung froze with eyes wide as he processed the reality of earning nearly a hundred dollars in a single minute. Just one minute without air. He had no idea how long he could hold his breath, but surely he could last for sixty measly seconds.

He shot you an apologetic shrug before scrambling to fasten the collar around his neck. It would be fine. Jisung had complete faith you’d be right by his side if it became too much for him to handle- if for no other reason than to avoid being brought up on manslaughter charges.

“Just one minute.” Jisung held up a single finger for emphasis as if to confirm it with the camera. But it was really to keep you from leaping across the room and strangling him yourself. He took a deep breath to fill his lungs before tightening the collar until it dug into his windpipe.

Ten seconds in and Jisung realized that he’d vastly underestimated how long a minute could be.

A numbness began in his throat before spreading up his face. It made his cheeks tingle and, at first, he enjoyed the bubbly light-headed feeling that followed. Five seconds later, Jisung’s entire face prickled with a thousand needles. Tears stung the edge of his eyes.

His lungs felt as if they were on fire. His chest felt as tight and constricted as his throat. Jisung shifted and winced as his boxers rubbed against his aching cock that was now at full mast for whatever reason. The only good thing about it all was how desperate and absolutely fuckable he looked on the screen.

After thirty seconds, Jisung couldn’t handle it anymore. He tried to loosen the collar, but his clumsy fingers felt too heavy to undo the strap. He whimpered and tried to rip the collar off with no coordination. Another ping from the computer cut through Jisung’s panicked haze. He blinked back tears to focus on the screen.

seungtsby has donated 1,000 coins!

halfway there

behave

Jisung could hardly read the message. The blood rushing in his ears was deafening. His vision darkened and he dug his nails into his palms in a desperate bid to cling to consciousness. He was vaguely aware of how the mattress raced up to meet him as the rest of the world fell around him.

And then, nothing.

The next thing Jisung was aware of was being cradled against a warm body. His hands flew up to claw at his throat only to find the collar was already gone and he greedily filled his lungs. The feeling slowly returned to his face. Gentle fingers pushed his bangs back from his sweaty forehead before carding through the tangled mess of his hair.

A series of notifications from the laptop jerked Jisung back into reality, and he sprung up out of your arms so fast it made his head spin. “Did I make it the full minute?”

“That is the last thing you should be focused on right now,” you grumbled.

Jisung pushed you aside with a huff as he scrambled back to the laptop. The words seemed to float across the screen and it took every bit of his concentration to string them together into a cohesive message. He would have held his breath in anticipation if his abused lungs had allowed it, and instead settled for worrying his lip between his teeth.

seungtsby has donated 500 coins!

that's for being a good boy

seungtsby has donated 500 coins!

and that's for getting to meet your roommate

“Get bent,” you growled from over Jisung’s shoulder. Before he could even react, you reached past him to end the call and slammed the laptop shut.

Jisung let out a deep sigh and collapsed onto his side. “You could have at least let me say thank you.” He pulled his knees up to his chest, too tired to keep his eyes open for even a second more. The last of his energy had dissipated the second he no longer had to perform for the camera.

“That creep got off watching you choke yourself until you blacked out and you want to thank him for it?” The bed shifted as you stood up.

Jisung scrunched his nose and rolled over so his back was to you. He listened to your footsteps as you swept through the room, putting away the laptop and grabbing the wipes from his dresser. When you came back over and placed a hand on his shoulder, Jisung shrugged off your touch.

“Ji, come on,” you sighed. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m not mad at you, I’m just a little freaked out. For a second, I almost thought…” Your voice cracked and it sent Jisung’s heart plummeting into his stomach. “Please just- let me get you cleaned up before you pass out?” You reached out to him again and this time Jisung allowed you to roll him over on his back.

He winced as you eased the damp boxers off his hips, hissing as the cool air hit his overly sensitive dick. Somehow he was still rock solid, the slightest twitch shooting a dull ache up his spine. Jisung was grateful when you started the cleanup by wiping his face and working your way down.

This was by far his favorite part of the whole arrangement. When you first moved in, you had avoided Jisung’s every touch as if you were allergic to physical contact. And Jisung was a very touchy person. It was the only way he could really feel connected to other people.

You still did your best to avoid his little day-to-day touches, but now at least you could stand to make contact when it came to getting him cleaned up after each show. It wasn’t quite what Jisung yearned for. You were methodical and detached, almost as if you were giving a sponge bath to an old man instead of a guy like, well, Han Jisung. But it was better than nothing, and he was just happy you weren’t repulsed by him like he'd originally suspected.

“How the hell did you get this shit in your hair?”

Jisung couldn’t help but smirk. “What can I say? I’ve got strong swimmers.” His smile only widened when you muttered under your breath, your face heating up. 

Your revenge came soon enough when you roughly wiped down his sore cock.

“Be careful! You can’t manhandle my moneymaker that way!” He whimpered as he jerked his hips back against the mattress. It would be a few days before he could abuse his dick on camera again.

“So you can choke yourself half to death on camera but can’t take a wet wipe on your junk?” Jisung went rigid. You sighed again and moved down to clean his thighs. “You can’t just ignore me, Ji. We’re gonna have to talk about this at some point.”

At some point, maybe. Rehashing all the ways he kept fucking things up for himself wasn’t the most appealing end to the night. Besides, Jisung didn’t possess anywhere near enough the emotional range to have this conversation now. He barely had the energy to remain conscious, a sentiment he communicated with a noncommittal grunt.

“Whatever,” you grumbled. You stood up and gathered up the used wet wipes to throw away. “I’ve gotta get going anyways.”

“What?” Jisung managed to pry one eye open to peek up at you. He noticed your uniform and stuck his lip out in a pout when he remembered you had to work. “Oh, right. Can’t you just call in sick and stay here?” He hated how weak his voice sounded and quickly shut his eyes again to avoid seeing your reaction.

Normally you stuck around a bit longer to take care of him after a show. Of course, you'd never pampered him the same way you had after his disastrous first solo stream. But usually you'd at least run him a shower and heat up some leftovers while he washed up. Jisung wished you would stay and play with his hair until he fell asleep, just like the first night you'd taken care of him. Hell, he'd even settle for you going back over to the desk and continuing to study in silence.

Just as long as he didn’t have to be alone right now.

You let out a dry laugh. “No can do. You’re not the only one who’s gotta pay rent, ya know.” You grabbed Jisung underneath his arms and roughly hoisted him higher on the bed so his head rested on the pillows. “Just get some sleep, alright?”

You hesitated as you hovered over him. For a moment, Jisung thought you might give in and stay after all. But then you dragged the covers over his naked body before you slipped out of the room without another word.

Jisung frowned when the front door creaked open and then shut firmly behind you. Already the silence felt heavy around him, the emptiness of the apartment closing in on him. He groaned, rolling over to bury his head under the pile of pillows. When you were taking care of him, Jisung had been ready to drift off at a moment’s notice. But now the possibility of sleep was far beyond his reach.

It was going to be another one of those nights.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please like and reblog if you enjoyed the story so far, and consider following me to be notified when the next part drops~

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 coming soon

[handsomelyhiddleston]

Sticky Notes - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

It all started on the set of Ragnarok. They hadn’t even started filming yet. Table reads, choreography, costume fittings, set development…The cast, crew, and even Taika started finding little notes.

Some were specifically to certain people…

“Your laugh is contagious. Thank you for making this set so down to earth and inviting.” You slipped that into Taika’s (the director’s) fanny pack when he left it on his director’s chair.

“I know how hard you’ve been working on your fight choreography, and I just wanted to let you know you absolutely killed it today!” You left that stuck to Tessa’s (Valkyrie’s) water bottle.  

Some you posted for everyone, like “I know that you all put such amazing effort and time into bringing this movie to life and I just want you all to know that it doesn’t go unnoticed.” That note was posted above a table full of ‘easy to grab’ snacks you laid out such as protein bars, fruit snacks, pretzels, and dried fruit.

This continued well into filming. Everyone had tried to figure out who was leaving these little daily encouragements. It got to the point that Taika started calling you Casper, as in “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Every day at the start of filming he would say. “Come on guys. Let’s make Casper proud.”

Everyone had a theory. Most thought that it was actually Taika just trying to keep morale up. Taika accused Tom but took it back after some comment about the notes not sounding very British.

Your job on set was to cast extras. While you were present daily, you honestly only had to meet with Taika once or twice a day to make sure the next day’s cast extras were ready. You two fell into an easy rhythm working together and he started asking for your opinion on some other aspects of the set. One late afternoon, after an incredibly chaotic day of filming, Taika decided that he was going to scrap the entire scene and start it over.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to you, Tom, and Chris. “Today can suck it. I’ve just watched the dailies, and something just isn’t right about that scene. Meet at mine in 30 so we can get ahead of it.” A few seconds later he added, “And for the love of God, someone bring some tequila.”

You laughed at his text, jogging to the trailer you shared with the other casting director. You changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt and grabbed your keys and wallet. You jumped in your car so you could make a quick trip to the Starbucks down the street since it appeared it was going to be a long night.

“One Venti iced coffee with milk and 1 sugar, one Grande Americano hot with cream and 2 sugars, one Venti hot latte with vanilla, and one Venti hot water with two earl gray tea bags and four sugars on the side. Can I also get one of the small kid’s milk boxes?” You heard the barista repeat your order back and pulled forward and paid.

When you got to Taika’s trailer, Tom and Chris were already there.

“Oh, bless you” Taika thanked you, taking the Latte from you.

“You’re the best” Chris said, taking the lid off of the Americano so it would cool off a bit.  

“Tom, I grabbed you tea.” You handed him the hot water and two tea bags, setting the sugars and milk next to him so he could make it to his liking.

“You’re too kind” Tom graciously took the hot water from you, noting that you grabbed his favorite kind of tea.

In Taika’s trailer there was a table with a bench on each side. Chris and Tom were sat on one side, leaving a space for you to sit next to Taika.

“Anyone grab the tequila?” you laughed, dropping your keys and wallet on Taika’s counter and sitting at the table with your iced coffee.

Taika grabbed the bottle and sat it down in front of you. “You’re already two swigs behind, love.”

“Bullshit” you laughed. “Prove it. Where are the shot glasses?”

“I said swigs, not shots” Taika smirked. “We don’t have shot glasses.”

“Look at how much is missing from that bottle. I just bought it.” Hemsworth backed Taika up.

You looked at Tom, knowing he would be honest with you.

“Hey, you trust Tom more than me?” Taika pretended to be offended.

“Tom always looks out for everybody. I don’t think he’d let me get two shots drunker than you fools.” You teased Taika, poking his side and sticking your tongue out at him.

“Watch” Taika said, putting his arm around your shoulders and looking towards Tom. “How many swigs did we all take?”

Tom laughed, “I’m sorry darling, but he’s telling you the truth.”  

“Fine, fine.” You opened the bottle and took three swigs, handing it to Taika. “Catch up, then.”

Tom started thinking about the compliment you had given him as he took his third swig of Tequila. He felt flattered that you felt that way, but it also reminded him of one of the notes he had found stuck to his trailer door.

“Okay, we need to re-block this whole scene. It just did not translate from script to screen…” The four of you worked on a few line changes and mapped out a better way to execute the scene for over two hours.

There was a bit of dialogue that Taika felt was getting lost that he really just didn’t want to let go of. “We may just have to mess with this tomorrow while we’re filming.”

“Or you could have Loki say it instead of Thor.” You suggested.

“Could do.” You could tell that Taika was thinking it over.

“Here you have Thor immediately going into another hard-hitting line” you explained. “If that line comes from Loki, it makes it less likely to get lost.”

“I think that will fix this problem too” Chris started underlining other parts of the dialogue.

“What do you think?” Taika looked at Tom.

“I mean, I personally think Loki has already evolved enough at that point in the script that it suits him quite nicely.” Tom explained in a way only Tom can explain.

“I agree” you said. “You guys make Loki grow quite a bit in this film and as usual, Tom is hitting it out of the park. I’m 100% confident he will have conveyed that message to the audience by this point.”

“Thank you for your vote of confidence.” Again, Tom was flattered. However, he was growing more and more suspicious that you were Casper.

“Always” you replied, smiling at Tom as you finished your coffee.

“Let me type this up and we can table read it.” Taika grabbed the papers and went to the other side of the trailer where his computer was set up.

“While you do that, I’m going to steal your restroom for a moment.” Chris stood, throwing his empty coffee cup away and closing the bathroom door. Chris joined Taika a moment later.

“Y/n?” Tom said, kind of quietly.

“What’s up?” Your elbows were resting on the table with your chin sat on your hands.

“Can I ask you something?” Tom didn’t want to bring it up in front of anyone. He didn’t want the notes to stop, but he had to know.

Tom looked a bit serious, but you didn’t know why. “Of course.”

“Are you…” He stopped, reaching his hand into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. “Is this you?”

Your eyes went wide as Tom pulled a small stack of pink sticky notes out of his wallet, laying them down next to each other. There must have been 10 of them in total. You were touched that he actually kept them. Sometimes you felt silly leaving them for people not knowing if they appreciated them. You tried to play it off, laughing. “I thought those were from Taika?”

He pointed at one of them, reading it quietly. “I tried the tea you always drink. I don’t think it could ever replace my love of coffee, but I wanted you to know it pairs well with a good book.” He pointed to another note. “I know you paid for everyone to Uber home after our last night out. I just wanted to tell you I appreciate you. Thank you for always looking out for us.” You could feel his eyes on you as he moved his hand to a third note. “I envy your ability to capture a room. You’ve got an amazing knack for making those watching you feel whatever emotion you’re trying to convey.” When Tom’s hand moved to the fourth note, you heard Taika’s printer turn on.

“Put them away” you said, trying to stack them quickly. Chris started walking towards you and you grabbed the small stack you had gathered and put them in your pocket.

Tom put the rest back in his wallet. “What do you think?” he asked Taika about the changes he had made.

“I think tomorrow is going to be a lot fuckin’ better.” He passed the printed copies around after joining the two of you back at the table.

Tom’s line went over great, and the dialogue flowed much more smoothly. All of the other changes made the scene feel more natural. When Taika called it a night, Chris laid down on the couch refusing to go back to his own trailer.

“Can I walk you to yours?” Tom asked as you stepped out of Taika’s trailer.

The two of you walked back to your trailer in comfortable silence, tired and a little drunk. When you got to the door, you turned around and pulled the pink notes out of your pocket.

“Please don’t tell anyone?” You placed the notes in Tom’s hand.

“I didn’t plan on it” he replied, tucking them neatly back into his wallet.

“I feel silly now that someone knows it was me. Why did you keep them?” You had to ask. You assumed, at most, that people read them, smiled, and threw them away.

“Hmm…” Tom laughed humorlessly, his eyes focused on his wallet. “I think you’re doing a lot more than you realize when you leave your ‘silly’ little notes.”

His response caught you off guard. He almost sounded…sad? Serious?

“Y/n, I’ve had to work with actors and crew that have made filming a project miserable. Whether they were rude or critical or just an absolute diva, there is always someone to bring the room down.” He put his wallet away and looked you in the eyes. “I wish you knew how many of us have kept these notes. Taika has them in the glovebox of his car. The catwalk above the set is covered in notes you’ve left the crew. They’re stuck all over the mirrors in the make-up trailer so that the cast sees them first thing in the morning.”

Your eyes went wide. “What?”

Tom put his hands on each of your arms as if to ensure you were paying attention. “An encouraging word or a genuine compliment can change someone’s entire day, y/n. You have no way of knowing what life has dealt any of these people. They could be depressed or stressed out or wishing they hadn’t woken up that morning…and all of a sudden they receive a tiny bit of kindness from someone and it makes it that much easier to get through another day. Maybe even with a smile on their face.”

Tom wore a soft smile and even though you felt a bit overwhelmed, you couldn’t help but smile back. “Thank you for telling me that.” You moved towards him, pulling him into a tight hug.

“Please don’t forget it.” Tom pulled back a bit and pressed a quick kiss to your cheek. “I hope you get a good night’s sleep.”

“You, too.” You watched Tom walk away before slipping into your shared trailer.

Over the next few weeks, Tom had left you multiple green sticky notes with compliments written on them.

“You looked stunning yesterday”

“Thank you for still being a good listener when I go on rants about things you couldn’t care less about”

“Taika was bragging about you to someone on the phone. I just wanted you to know. I know sometimes you hesitate to suggest your ideas, but you shouldn’t.”

“I appreciate how much time you spend making this a better set to work on.”

“You are an incredible friend.”

You’d find at least one note a day and for every note he left you, you’d leave one for him. The two of you got quite a bit closer after he found out about your secret. You’d spend breaks on set together and often times wound up back in Taika’s trailer with him and Chris. You cuddled and flirted and shared more than a few loving glances, but you never went any further. It felt like it was turning into something more, but Tom was such a gentleman you couldn’t tell.

The note you found this morning, however, completely caught you off guard. The filming was almost done and everyone’s time on set was almost over. You had just sat down next to the director’s chair and opened your laptop. There, stuck to the screen, was a green sticky note. “Darling, would you please be mine?”

You looked up at Tom on stage only to find him already looking at you. He lifted his brow and tilted his head, waiting for your response. You couldn’t help but smile as you nodded ‘yes’.

Taika looked between you, noticing the interaction and intentionally teasing you. “Oi, what’s this then?”

Tom turned, trying to hide his grin by talking to Chris. You closed your laptop to hide the sticky note.

“Nah, I saw you two. Don’t pretend like I’m crazy.” Taika was still looking back and forth between you and Tom.

“Maybe you’re still drunk from last night” you teased, putting your laptop in its bag so you could retrieve the note later.

“Oh, sure.” He dropped it, knowing he’d bring it up tonight when you all gathered in his trailer.

The rest of the filming flew by crazy fast. You and Tom had decided that you would go stay with him in New York until the press junkets and interviews started. When the premier rolled around, you two were already publicly dating so you got to escort him down the red carpet. It had been just over a year since the two of you had started dating.

As the credits for the film started rolling, you felt like you were walking down memory lane. So many people go into making movies of this scale and watching all of the names roll by, one by one, really puts that into perspective. You’d met almost all of these people and worked closely with quite a few of them. As the credits came to an end, you saw that Taika had added an extra credit.

The last few “SPECIAL THANKS” credits were in order as listed…

“The filmmakers acknowledge the assistance of the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Grant”

“The filmmakers would like to acknowledge the Yugambeh and Bundjalung Peoples of Australia”

“The director would like to thank ‘Casper’, Ragnarok’s own personal friendly ghost”

It had been a year since you’d written one of those notes and it caught you off guard. Tom put his arm around your shoulders, pressing a kiss to your temple. “I told you.”

You and Tom mingled amongst your friends at the after party. Taika was flying. He was so happy with how it turned out and grateful for such a positive response. Everyone in the cast was telling stories from filming and catching up with their friends. By the time you two got back to your hotel room, you were blissfully tipsy and exhausted. You slipped out of your dress and threw on a baggy t-shirt before washing your face and getting ready for bed. When you left the bathroom, you saw Tom sitting on the edge of the bed in his pajamas with a soft, warm smile gracing his beautiful face. He was wearing his glasses and his hair was a mess and he could not have been more attractive if he tried.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, pulling you to stand between his legs.

“Pretty good. How about yourself?” you put your arms around his neck and pressed your lips to his.

“I think there’s only one thing that could make me happier in this moment.” He answered.

You thought he was being a bit cheeky, so you replied with, “oh, yeah? I wonder what that could be.”

Tom reached behind him on the bed and pulled out a small box with a worn, green sticky note on top of it. He didn’t say anything, letting you read it. It was the same note he had left stuck to your laptop screen. “Darling, would you please be mine?” Only now the word “forever” was written at the bottom.