#the all black phase never died

[themoonunderstoodmydadjokes]

✨ Momma’s night out ✨

[mikkouille]

I've embarked myself into too much video game story it's all over now

[ashlinxsloves]

-AARON HOTCHNER HEADCANONS-

The promised hcs for our favourite hot dilf Aaron Hotchner 🤭 I hope you guys like them, it's gonna be a little lengthy and I've divided them between Basic, SFW Dating and NSFW.. Minors please don't interact with the nsfw content.

–Basic–

Hotch would be the type of guy who listens to classical music around the team, but once he's alone in his personal car, he has a whole collection of CDs in his glove box of his favourite bands and albums (The Beatles, etc.)

He'd also listen to audiobooks during long drives home. The genre can vary between the classics or just a light novel.

A huge overpacker. He packs the essentials during cases, but if the trip is personal, he packs almost everything – sunscreen, mosquito repellent, a map, extra batteries, a flashlight, etc. You'll never know if it might come in handy

Dad instincts are strong af, will know something is wrong before it happens

Wakes up at the crack of dawn. Became a habit after working so long in the BAU

Hotch is overall a light sleeper. Mostly because of emergencies or sudden calls from the BAU

The king of overworking. Before Haley died, he used to work so much that he got nosebleeds. He does it less now and spends more time with Jack than with paperwork.

Likes his coffee black with two teaspoons of sugar. He doesn't like it too sweet but isn't bitter either.

He most probably had a secret rockstar phase in his teens. Crazy shoulder-length hair, studded belts, band tees and EYELINER. Stopped after he became a junior in high school though.

Used to blame himself for failing to save the victims during his early years in the field. He tries to remember every person he failed to save in the past and compensate by saving more while being calm and tactful.

Spends a lot of time with Jack during the weekends. He's trying to make up for lost time after being so busy with his job than being a father. They would go on road trips, and theme parks and would do a whole lot just to see his son smile.

Hotch would unironically start drinking apple or pineapple juice after Jack just asked him to. Just for no reason at all.

He gets horrible migraines because of staying up late and not getting enough rest.

-SFW Dating-

When the two of you just started dating, he wasn't 100% sure of it because 1. your age gap (reader would be in her mid-20s) and 2. The fraternization rule in the Bureau.

The both of you kept the whole thing a secret for about four months until the team figured it out on a random Tuesday.

"I- I mean it was pretty obvious from how Hotch was hovering over you all the time and the ways his stoic face softens when he addresses you. Not to forget the way his pupils dilate-" "That's enough Reid."

When you were gonna meet Jack for the first time, you were quite nervous about it, but Aaron reassured you that he'd love you (and the little dude did).

Hotch would try to take you on dates, but it was kind of hard with your hectic schedules.

So it would usually be movie nights at his place along with some takeout dinner after putting Jack to bed.

It took Hotch a while to open up to you, but you were there to support him and he was worth the wait.

Picks you up for work and drives you home even if you told him that it was okay and you had your own car, he insisted on driving you home and seeing you get there safely.

Brings you coffee and something sweet from the cafe. It's his way of telling you he cares about you without the team teasing you after he goes into his office.

He would start to think irrationally after finding out you got hurt during a case. He wouldn't be able to think straight on the way to the hospital and blurted a mumbled 'I love you' while putting pressure onto your wound.

When you sleep over at his place, he loves seeing you wear his old college T-shirts.

Hotch thinks about Haley a lot and feels guilty for it, but you understand that she was his first love and he peppers you with soft kisses to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart... I know I shouldn't be thinking about what could have been and focus on what is.. I'll do better, I promise.."

Calls you to his office sternly as if you were in trouble but in reality, he just wants you for himself in the office for a little while.

His heart clenched yet light when Jack asked him if you were going to be his new mommy.

Pet names would be rare when it comes to him. What really matters is when he calls you by your name. But the occasional 'Sweetheart' and 'Darling' might slip out.

He shows you his unserious side. It was a whole 180 for you and it made you fall for him even more. He's an adorable dork.

Even if the two of you are dating, there's a fine line between being together behind closed doors and pure professionalism. Hotch is still your superior and there wouldn't be any special treatment even if you were his significant other.

But when he realizes he gets too rough with you he will apologize in private after the case.

His love language is quality time, so he tries to be around you and Jack as much as he can.

Cheesy pickup lines to try and make you laugh during a hard day. Only in private though.

Knows what to do when you're on your period. He'll bring a heating pad, warm fuzzy blankets, your favourite snacks and painkillers.

NSFW UNDER THE CUT MINORS DNI!!!

-NSFW Dating-

• The sex is incredible. Hotch knows all the right places to hit and how to give you a godly amount of orgasms.

• He starts out slow, letting you get used to the stretch and how much he's filling you up. You can practically feel his cock in your throat from how full you feel.

• Gentle feather-like kisses on your forehead, telling you how good you feel around him while starting to move his hips at a quicker pace.

• From slow, gentle thrusts, it changes into something more primal and rough. As if he were lashing out all his frustrations from work into your tight, little pussy, trying to fuck you into next week.

• And he does it well. He fucks you senseless until you're coming on his cock multiple times before he finishes and spills his cum into the condom he's wearing.

• He just loves fucking you in the missionary position, because he sees how your face contorts in pleasure.

• The first time the two of you slept together was at your place after a really stressful case and the two of you had a drink too many.

• Obviously, Hotch was still a bit sober but you were out of it. He wouldn't do anything without your consent, but you had dragged him into your bedroom and things got heated.

• Bruised your cervix one too many times. The two of you rarely have any sex but if you do, you go all out. He apologises with an amazing bath and breakfast in bed.

• Amazing aftercare. He'll take care of you after the both of you are done, even if he's tired. He'd always clean you up, get you a glass of water and press soft kisses on your shoulders. Cuddling and whispered confessions under messy sheets.

• Not a big fan of having sex in public spaces. He needs privacy when he's trying to fuck and pleasure you.

• But he does know about the dirty fantasies you have about getting fucked on his desk. He's seen the books read and articles you look up. Not like you could've hidden it from him anyway.

• He fulfills those fantasies to the best of his capabilities when no one's left in the office and it's just the two of you. He looks through the last of his files, calls you to his office and closes the door.

• His tie was loose, sleeves rolled up, revealing his forearms. His hair was slightly dishevelled as if he ran his fingers through them multiple times.

• Hotch makes you suck his cock until you're gagging, being a little rougher on you. Then he got you splayed on his desk, pushing your pencil skirt up and ripping your stockings by the crotch area.

• When he noticed how wet you got, he smirked, moving the gussets of your panties to the side. He then flicked your sensitive clit, making you whimper as slick gushed out your weeping hole.

• “You like this, don't you, sweetheart? Lying on my desk, messing up my paperwork with your slutty pussy?”

• He's not the type to degrade you, but if you really wanted to he would. But he wouldn't go too far with the insults.

• He's a switch. Since he's usually dominant in most of his everyday life, Hotch lets you take over once in a while.

• Loves going down on you. He likes loosening your tight hole with his mouth and savours the taste of your essence on his tongue.

• Hotch goes weak when you go down on him even if he doesn't ask you to. Praises and soft grunts.

• Isn't the type to be loud. Mostly pants and let's out soft groans when your pussy convulses around his shaft.

• Loves hearing you whine his name and complain how deep he is.

• Once he saw you looking at a site involving different positions, but the one that piqued his interest the most was the mating press.

• Was curious and wanted to try it with you. Hotch was too riled up to put on a condom that night and filled you up to the brim, having you pressed into the mattress, your calves over his shoulders as he buried himself deeper, hitting so many new places that it made you see white.

That's all for now, I hope you liked it 🤭🤭🤭

[koriangguk]

✧ vegas temptation

✧ synopsis: Falling victim to yet another failed situationship, you're consumed by dread. Maybe love is something you aren't destined to experience in this lifetime? Or maybe you just need a little getaway and a friend who'll accompany the series of impulsive decisions this would entail. Thankfully, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

✧ genre: fake dating au, heavy on smut with a sprinkle of angst

✧warnings: cream play, nipple play, hickeys, different positions, protected/unprotected sex, public nudity (?), tongue-fuck, fingering, denied orgasm, overstimulation, ice play, vibrator play, rope play, candle burns (?) ✧recommended artists: Chase Atlantic, The Weeknd, Daniel Di Angelo, Doja Cat

Everyone knows heartbreak is a pain in the ass, but an intriguing one at that.

It pulls on your heartstrings and fuels the desperate longing to feel whole again. Releasing a tide of emotions that follow suit as your consciousness drowns under the shattering pieces of broken promises, white lies and everything in between. 

But, nothing compares to the ego that awakens within you as you enter a phase of recovery, embarking on the infamous villain arc. One that is flamed with rage and hunger for revenge. 

Because, let's be honest, a good heart can only take you so far until everything comes crashing down again. Before you are back at square one, like clockwork, slaving after hours just to receive the bare minimum. 

So, fuck that and fuck Kim Jaewon. Stupid cunt. 

Honestly, if it wasn’t for Jungkook and his Black Amex you wouldn’t even bother brushing your hair, let alone worry about which lacey lingerie you should pack for a week in Vegas. 

The Entertainment Capital of the World. 

Well, it certainly would be entertaining to put two best friends into a couple’s suite and hope that nothing happens. But, as Jungkook’s dilated pupils watched you swallow your feelings with another shot of tequila it didn’t really seem like he was the one betting on that deal. Quite the opposite actually. 

“Honestly, screw him, y/n.” he muttered, running his fingers through those dark locks as the two of you waited for your flight at the boujee business lounge. 

In contrast to his trust fund upbringing, you felt like the biggest elephant in the room venturing into the wrong tax bracket. So, the potential side effects of the alcohol running down your esophagus were primarily to calm the nerves of sticking out like a sore thumb, and only slightly to forget your ex. 

“Have you been listening at all? I kind of already did.” your lips pursed in annoyance, words barely stringing together. 

You weren't annoyed at Jungkook, per se, more so at yourself for letting it get this far. For intoxicating your system at the crack of dawn, as at least twenty pairs of eyes watched the two of you bicker. But, come on, surely it was 5 pm somewhere. Listen, when everything is already going wrong, how damaging could another bad decision be? Especially, in the form of a liquid. So, please, everyone keep your judgement to yourself. 

“Well, then that might just be the problem.” 

“Huh?” your gaze furrowed, brows knitted with confusion. 

“You’re fucking the wrong guys, y/n.” Jungkook whispered with a sly grin. 

“Right. And you, I’m assuming would have been my Mr. Right, of course.” you scoffed, jabbing your finger into his chest before looking back up at his heavy gaze. 

“Give me a week and we'll see.” he teased, using his foot to pull on your chair, bringing your tipsy form closer until inches were separating your parted lips from his. 

Playful would have been the best word to describe your relationship with Jungkook. You never crossed the line between friends and lovers but were in very close proximity to doing so. So, when you poured your heart out, crying on his shoulder the night Jaewon’s cheating scandal broke out like wildfire, a part of Jungkook was pleased by the news despite how selfish it might have looked. 

Simply put, he was never a fan of your boyfriends. How could he be when the mere sight of another man beside you triggered every cell in his body, charging a visceral reaction that was forced to be suppressed, kept on the low because you were never his to be territorial of. 

Never his to be taken care of. To be loved. Oh, if only you knew how badly he wanted it. How badly he wanted you. 

Only, you did know. Because, like a sickening aftertaste, the tension between the two of you always lingered. But he kept his distance, and you played on with the denial. Praying for each other’s downfall, you hoped that the other would finally cave in, and say the three words that would change the trajectory of your relationship forever. 

But, as time went on, his fetish for your love only grew stronger and an innocent crush matured into a craving. One that could no longer be suppressed no matter how much you tried to push it away. To push him away. 

Jaewon was your last straw. The breaking point that made you question whether you were destined to be loved in this lifetime. And although he caused you pain, you didn’t know if you should thank your ex or curse his whole bloodline, because now that he was gone there was no point in denying that Jungkook and you were more than just friends. 

Lathering the shea butter on your damp skin, your vision was hazy, body seemingly recovering from the hot shower. But, after that 15-hour flight surrounded by multiple throw-ups and diaper changes, a scrub-down was a must. So, there you were standing in front of the full-sized mirror in the pink pyjama set your mom gifted you specifically for this trip. Whatever that meant.  

See, Jungkook had a way with words. It was his charm. His sensual demeanour could have an innocent bystander wrapped around his finger with one plea. A practical skill that most likely fueled your mother’s spending on the silk fabric, but one that you have yet to fall victim to. 

His mind games were strong, but your stubbornness was stronger. He didn’t mind, actually, kind of adored it. The dominant side of you, the way you could shut him up with one glare. It made loving you so much more thrilling, worth fighting for every sigh, every eye roll, every sneer. 

“Stop looking at me like that.” you blurted at the man's reflection as his palms rested on the top of the doorframe, darkened orbs bluntly eying your body from top to bottom. 

“Like what?” Jungkook grinned, nibbling on his lip rings.

“Like you want something.” you whispered with a furrowed gaze, spraying some leave-in conditioner into your detangled hair. 

“Hmm … but, I do want something.” he teased, inching closer before you felt his bare chest hit your back, veiny hands holding onto your waist. 

“I bet. I made rules you know? In case you thought I’d give in so easily.” you murmured, turning to face him as your fingers slightly tugged on the towel wrapped around his hips. 

“Is that so?” he chuckled softly, eyes flickering down to your plump lips. 

“Mhhm,” you nodded, feeling his hands slowly travel up your top as your own intertwined behind his neck. 

“Did I break any already?” he rasped into your ear, teeth grazing against the soft skin. 

Your mouth curled into a mischievous sneer as you whispered, “Just one.” 

However, before he could respond, your fist was already gripping the chains on his neck, gently pulling him toward the king-sized bed that was covered in rose petals and a complimentary note from the hotel. 

Happy honeymoon, lovebirds!

Loosening his towel, Jungkook watched as you straddled his lap, pressing your hands onto his chest before innocently glancing up at his parted lips. You could have sworn a drool dripped down his mouth, but it might’ve just been your ego flying through the roof as you felt his racing heartbeat.   

“May I?” you teased, slowly rocking your hips against the friction beneath you. 

“By all means, love.” he purred, tracing his hands back onto your thighs before flinching at your sudden slap. 

“Hands off, Jeon. Rule number one.” you giggled at the sudden change in his demeanour. The way his furrowed gaze searched for the audacity that could’ve potentially justified the words that came out of your mouth. 

“You’re fucking with me, right?” he groaned, jerking his head back. 

“No?” a small pout worked its way over your innocent face, eyes fluttering. 

“Baby, please.” 

Was he begging? Or were your knees buckling from the fatigue? Whatever. Keep focus, y/n. 

“I warned you, Koo.” you winked, brushing your lips over his before a knock on the door interrupted the little moment. 

“Room service!” a man’s voice echoed from the corridor. 

I guess the sight of Jungkook’s sculpted chest completely hazed your mind as you struggled to recover even the slightest recollection of ordering food. 

“Coming!” you yelled out, planting a kiss on the tip of his nose until his hold on your waist tightened. 

“No, stay.” he murmured, voice laced with desperation. 

“I have to open the door, Jeon, that's kind of how it works.” 

“I like you here.” he grinned, tugging on your bottom lip before leaving a soft spank on your ass. And, as you glanced back at his heaving chest you feared that rule number one was going to be short-lived. 

“Do you like it? They didn’t have Carbonara but I thought shrimp fettuccine would have sufficed,” you said with slight hesitation which shortly dissipated as you watched him empty the dish clean.  

“Trust me, y/n. You being here has already made me a happy man. Everything else is just a cherry on top.” Jungkook smiled, rubbing his tattooed hand along his jaw before reaching for the last plate cover.

“Honestly, I wanted to thank y-,” your words were interrupted by his sudden whine. 

“No dessert?” his brow arched slightly. 

“Oh. Shoot, sorry. I … I didn’t think you’d want any.” your words came out as a stutter, eyes frantically searching for the phone. 

“Mhmm, but I would kill for some cheesecake.” he sighed with a pout, loosening the buttons on his shirt. 

Changing out of the cotton fabric that covered his cucumber-scented body roughly five minutes ago, Jungkook decided to parade the same pyjama set as you. And, now that the two of you were matching, it was clear what your mom’s mission was all along. 

“Yeah, okay, let me just call them b-” 

“No need.” 

“Huh? So, you don’t want dessert?” 

“I do.” he teased, keeping his voice low and calm. 

“Okay, let���s cut back on the riddles, Jeon. Do I call or not?”

But, there was no answer. Instead, he simply excused himself from the table before walking towards the red couch, patting the seat next to him. 

“Come here, y/n.” his voice lowered to a rumble, darkened orbs filled with nothing but lust. 

“Why?”

“If I can’t touch you let me at least taste you.” 

Your heart skipped a beat. Hands fidgeting with the rings on your fingers. 

“I beg your finest pardon?” you scoffed from pure disbelief, folding your arms over your chest. 

“Baby, you have at max three seconds to walk your fine self over here before I grab you myself.” 

“Was that a threat?” you glared at his sly expression, hooded gaze colliding with yours. 

“One …” his tone demanded a response. 

But, you didn’t move. Not even an inch. Aggravating the tension. 

“Two …” 

Who does he think he is? Grab you myself. Claw machine sounding ass. 

“Three …” 

You chuckled, giving him the nastiest eye roll before your muscles tensed up, seeing his 5’8 gym rat physique actually get up. 

“Okay! Alright! I’m coming.” you blurted in sheer panic, fixing your bottoms before doing the walk of shame toward his pleased self. 

Reaching out his hand, you pushed it away, reminding him of the deal. 

“Right here, love.” Jungkook grinned, marking his chest as a target for your landing. 

What a tease. 

“You know what, Koo. Fine. If you want to play games, let’s play a game.” you hissed with a wink, stripping out of the silk fabric before dropping it on his lap.  

“Fucking hell.” a growl escaped his parted lips as his eyes raked over your glistening skin, admiring every inch, every crevice of your body. 

He was needy, but you were too busy rummaging through the mini-fridge to notice how desperately he longed for your attention. 

“Perfect!” you exclaimed, shaking a bottle of whipped cream before straddling his lap once again. Except this time, in your black lingerie. One that was initially reserved for Jaewon’s eyes only until he decided to fuck you over. Now, the privilege was all Jungkook’s. 

“Y/n.” he breathed out heavily, creased forehead resting on yours. 

And, as you pressed your thumb against his chin, your index finger slid along his bottom lip, feeling his tongue lick the cream off your skin. 

“Just like that, baby.” you gave him a tiny nod of reassurance, glancing up at his doe-eyed gaze. 

Fuck, submissiveness never looked this good. 

“Y/n, please.” he whimpered, hands hovering over your skin before you finally gave in, intertwining your fingers with his. 

Unclasping your bra, you let his veiny hands rest on your perky breasts, decorating your hardened nipples with his special treat. 

“Taste me,” you purred, tugging on his bottom lip as his mouth opened in a half-moan. 

He was wasted. Big time. 

“You sure?” he had to double-check, searching your lustful gaze for approval. 

“I am. Enjoy your dessert, Jeon.” the words simply rolled off your tongue, like you’ve been meaning to say them all along. And, as you ran your fingers through his messy hair, slightly tugging on the ends, the built-up need within you slowly inched up, begging for his touch. 

Cupping your breasts in his burning palms, he peppered your skin with sloppy kisses, teeth grazing against the pinks of your sensitive nipples before biting down on the flesh. 

“Fuck” you hissed with your head jerked back. 

Sucking off the creamy delight that painted your swollen tits, his pierced tongue licked its way up to your parted mouth, marking your neck with purple hues of possession. 

“Koo,” you rasped against his ear, shamelessly rocking your hips back and forth as you felt the knot in your stomach tighten. 

“I know, baby.” he muttered, gently lifting your frail body before pinning it against the armrest of the red couch. 

Giving a little shake to the whipping cream that dropped from your hands, Jungkook levelled his face to yours, drawing a line down your stomach. And, as he watched you arch your back from the cold sensation, a spark of temptation danced in his darkened eyes, cheeks flushed from the sinful whimpers that escaped your parted lips until the warmth of his tongue eased the pain. 

Moving down the center line, his fingertips traced your ribs, a faint outline of which poked with each breath you took. In and out, your diaphragm was working overtime, trying to keep up with the suffocating demand. One that only fueled Jungkook’s cravings, as he tugged onto the black lace of your lingerie. 

“Compliments to the chef,” he whispered teasingly, gaze softening at the arousal that had your panties all drenched. 

“Jeon, stop staring, this is so embarrassing.” you whined, voice muffled by the pillow that covered your rosy cheeks as you desperately attempted to close your legs and simply vanish. 

“It’s not my fault someone forgot to order dessert.” he grinned, pulling you closer as his hold on your thighs tightened, before hooking your ankles over his bare shoulders. “Now, please. Let a man eat.”

Admiring your sleeping features, Jungkook cuddled into your chest, planting soft kisses on your marked neck before dozing off inside your arms until the buzzing of your phone startled him right out of REM. 

No Caller ID

“Y/n?” a man’s hesitant voice echoed in his ear. 

“She’s sleeping.” Jungkook muttered, gently stroking your knuckles with his thumb. 

“Who is this? Jungkook, is that you?” Jaewon exclaimed, evidently more on edge than before. 

“What do you want?” 

“Can I talk to, y/n?” 

“As I just said, she’s sleeping.” Jungkook’s tone was low, aggravated by the need to repeat himself.

“Well, can you wake her up?” 

“She seemed quite worn out after the fifth round, so I probably shouldn’t.” a grin curled his lips as you rested your head on his heaving chest, completely naive to the unfolded event. 

“What?” 

“Lose the number, Jaewon.” Jungkook gritted through his teeth, ending the call before tossing your phone on the edge of the bed. 

Feeling the warmth of the sun rays peeking through the silk curtains, you stretched your sore body, patting the mattress next to you before noticing Jungkook’s absence. 

“Mmhm?” you pouted, reaching for your phone to check the time. 

There’s no way you slept through breakfast and he didn’t wake you. Based on your history of ‘hangryness’ and emotional breakdowns that followed suit he should know better. 

7:45 am 

“Jungkook?” you called out, covering yourself with the sheer nightgown before knocking on the bathroom door, waiting for a response. 

Nothing. 

“Jeon?” you called again, this time scanning the living room. Everything looked frozen in time, left untouched from the night before — the empty bottle of wine and the stained glass marked with your red lipstick. But still, no trace of Jungkook.

Going back into the bedroom, you quickly brushed your teeth and changed into a baby blue sundress, opening up the blinds to let in the natural light.

“Shit!” you yelped, widened eyes staring at Jungkook’s sculpted back. 

Sliding the door just enough to pass by, you felt the goosebumps spread across your body as the morning breeze danced around your bare skin. 

“Oh, I thought you quit.” you gasped, brows knitted with confusion as you looked over his broad shoulders, the smell of cigarettes lingering between you two. 

“Yeah, well, I thought you cut ties with Jaewon. So … I guess we’re both disappointed.” Jungkook exhaled sharply, turning his head halfway to take in another puff. 

Something was off, he seemed distant, cold to the touch. 

“What? What are you talking about?” you asked, hands fidgeting with the straps of your dress. 

“He called last night.” 

“Why? Is he okay?” 

And, that’s when he erupted. Back pressed against the railing, his body turned to face your timid form, before muttering, “Do you care?”

“Well, no? But … if we stopped talking and you suddenly called I would want to know why,” you hesitated with the explanation, analyzing the way his forehead creased with each word.  

“Mmhm, except I never treated you like a scrumbag, did I?” Jungkook swallowed, rubbing his tattooed hand along his flexed jaw. 

“True, but you never pursued me either.” you snapped back, arms crossed over your burning chest. 

“This is a prank, isn’t it?” he scoffed maniacally, eyes twitching from disbelief. 

“I’m dead serious, Jeon. Why did you keep your distance if you wanted me so badly?”

He didn’t answer. Letting the two of you stare at each other for a split second, before finally taking a step forward, following your pace as your back hit the glass door. Leaning his hands on either side of your head, his broad shoulders hovered over you.

If this was his attempt at scaring you or somehow making you feel beneath him, it was not working. Because, as his face levelled with yours, your gaze furrowed, never breaking eye contact. Standing firm on what you said. 

“Y/n, I kept my distance because I wanted you so bad.” 

“Kind of dumb, don’t you think?” you pouted with a slight head tilt. 

By now, Jungkook was ready to combust. The adrenaline running through his veins prepared to set off his fight or flight response at any given moment. 

“Okay. Fine. How about I pursue myself into your ass, hmm?” he growled, tone demanding a response. 

“I'd looove to see you try.” you teased, eyes fluttering with innocence. 

“On the bed.” 

“Excuse me?” you scoffed, tongue poking the side of your cheek. 

“You heard me. Chop chop, baby girl.” Jungkook rasped against your ear, nibbling on the soft skin as a final warning. 

To be honest you really didn’t know what you were getting yourself into until his fingers ran down your spine, hands tightening their hold on your hips as his growing boner pressed against the arch of your ass. 

Fuck, he was serious. 

“From now on, I’ll be so close you’d have to scrub my scent off you,” he sneered, gently sliding his two digits over your folds, fingertips coated with your wetness as you remained on all fours. 

“Koo,” you whimpered, tugging on your bottom lip.

Parting your throbbing cunt, his pierced tongue licked your clit, thumb rubbing it in small circles before your moans grew louder. More desperate. More needy. Hazy mind unable to fathom the calmness you radiated just a few minutes ago. 

“Hold on.” he whispered, reaching for his wallet to grab a strip of condoms before ripping one open with his gritted teeth. 

“Tell me if this is dumb enough for you.” Jungkook teased, mouth sliding along your tensed jaw as he rubbed his erection against your clit, resisting the urge to fill you up right then and there. 

It was clear that your words irked him but he had to remain calm enough to not hurt you, forcing his annoyance to cool off with a verbal mock. 

And, as he slowly pushed himself in, whimpers escaped your parted lips, hands gathering up the white sheets into knots, feeling his cock stretch its way in against the warmth of your walls. Cautious of his pace, he needed you to adjust, pulling in and out until there was enough lubrication for the growing friction to feel good, painless.

“Koo,” you whined again, gasping for air as his lips left a trail of open-mouthed kisses down your back. 

“Just like that, baby. You’re doing so good.” Jungkook reassured, softening his hooded gaze upon hearing your sweet sounds. The ones that poisoned his thoughts and invaded his dreams all those countless nights. 

Clenching your clit on his throbbing length, his vision grew in and out of focus, hissing at the tingling sensation. 

“Fuuuck, y/n.” he moaned, fingers digging into your ass, before jerking his head back. 

Picking up his pace, Jungkook went faster and harder. Slamming himself into you, until his twitching tip touched the surface of your cervix, making your toes curl in ecstasy, as a trail of juices ran down your trembling thighs. 

“Jeon, I'm gonna faint.” you cried out, feeling your throat tighten, lungs stripped away from air.

“Just a little longer, baby.” he muttered, chest heaving up from exhaustion. 

He was close. Very close. So, as your walls clenched around him for the sixth time, he could have sworn his dick melted. Became part of your anatomy, no longer attached to his person. Surrendered with a white flag. 

“Y/n, look at me.” he urged breathlessly, snapping the rubber off his sensitive dick before giving it a few more pumps, squirting his cum onto your displayed tongue, completely exasperating in the process.  

“So,” you swallowed obediently, “now that you've pursued my ass you'll quit smoking, right?” your doe-eyed gaze glanced up at his darkened orbs that watched you lick the dripping cum off his tip as you sat on your knees. Aware of his response, you brushed your lips against his, inviting his tongue inside before his burning body collided with yours, smiling into the deep kiss. 

“Well, technically, I didn't go near your ass. Not many girls like that.” Jungkook teased, tucking a few curls behind your ear.  

“Many girls, huh? How many?” you murmured, tracing the tattoos on his arm as your bodies laid skin to skin, staring at the white ceiling. 

“About five.” he answered, a bit too quickly for your liking. 

“Five? You man whore.” you scoffed with disgust, quickly retracting your hand from his. 

“Sometimes six, depending on which video loads first.” his nose scrunched in a tiny giggle once he saw your mouth drop, expression left dumbfounded as the dots in your head began to connect. 

So, that's what kept him busy all this time. Porn? Phenomenal. 

“Next time, I'll just stay curious.” you sighed, half disappointed yet, also relieved. He might’ve just lied straight to your face but sometimes, it's better to simply pick your battles, choosing to live in blissful ignorance than the chaos of reality. Whatever his reality entails.

[halflifebutawesome]

BEHOLD! FOR THE SECOND TIME, THE GBVRAI LINEUP! now with another weird old dude!

waves my hands around vaguely I wanted to make a nicer looking lineup and more coherent post actually explaining the au. I've now made 2 gbvrai lineups but never a plain old hlvrai lineup. Whatever.

There's a complete AU explanation and individual character profiles (?) under the cut! check it out! ASK ME ABOUT IT !!! SMILES!!!!!

The basic gist of this au is that the science team, are a group of ghost hunting paranormal researchers. The Ghostbusters. You mightve heard of them. This isn't a 1 for 1 au where certain characters take the role of others, it's more just. What if the science team existed in the Ghostbusters universe. They're just the Ghostbusters now.

On a particularly odd case, they bust a ghost that seems... off. It's sentient, it's talking back, and it's psychokinetic energy is off the charts.

Thinking nothing of it, they return to the firehouse and prep the trap for containment disposal. Gordon's the new guy, so he's the unlucky dude who's been assigned the job of disposing of the traps. All the while the ghost will NOT shut up. It's weirdly powerful and seems mostly unbothered. It's name is Benry, and he's a little freak.

the ghost containment unit has been unstable for a while, overfilled with ghosts, but they have to dispose of Benry somehow, so they go ahead with it.

In this AU I'm kind of combining the Resonance Cascade with the Manhattan Crossrip (the Manhattan crossrip is the big scary ghost event that happens at the end of GB1). Basically what happens is that Benrys weirdly powerful ghostly energy, combined with an unstable ghost containment unit, tears a big rip in the fabric between the ghost realm and ours, letting all sorts of ghouls and specters free.

Imagine the Resonance Cascade, with all the aliens getting out and ravaging Black Mesa, but it's a bunch of ghosts getting out and ravaging New York. Gordon and the rest of the team have to fight their way through the ghost filled streets of NYC, and close the crossrip.

Heres some closeups and more individual info/thoughts for the gang!!

GORDON FREEMAN! The new guy. Again, this is less a direct 1 for 1 swap au kind of deal, and more just putting these guys in situations. Gordon's HEV suit, tho, I wanna talk about.

In Ghostbusters canon, they DO have a weird fucked up hazard suit. It first appears in the TRGB episode "Xmas Marks The Spot", where Egon uses it to travel into the ghost realm. I know it makes another appearance in the comics, in a way that's more HEV-esque, but I never finished the comics so idk. It's real tho.

I imagine here that the ghost containment unit is more like the reactor in half life, where it's hazardous to be around for too long, probably bcos of like. I don't know. Concentrated psychokinetic energy. Sure. In any case he needs to wear the HEV to use the containment unit.

My design here is taking the chest piece, helmet, gloves and belts and modifying them to look a little more HEV-esque.

Bennyyyy. Benrey benry beny. He's a ghost, as far as they can tell. It would be more appropriate to call him an entity of sorts.

He's not a ghost simply for the fact that he wasn't ever human. He wasn't ever a living person that died. He's some pure, really powerful, concentrate entity/being that leaked through from the ghost realm. He looks like. A guy, for the most part, but he's a mimic. Something pretending to be human. He's been around for a while, and has settled into this form. He's mostly corporeal, but can phase in and out as he pleases (noclipping) Switching from corporeal/incorporeal when it's funny.

He met Tommy when they were both a lot younger, Benry being fresh out of the ghost realm, and have been bestfriends ever since. ☝️ my au my weirdly specific tommybenny dynamic. Dw about it

TOMMY & SUNKIST!!!! Tommy has grown up around ghosts his whole life, and is pretty in-tune with them. This is proven with his bond to Sunkist, who's decidedly not a real dog, and his longtime friendship with Benry.

I gave him the goggles cos. Tommy's my fave and Ray's my fave and I think they're fun. Also cos if it WAS a 1 to 1 swap I would def have Tommy as Ray. Anyway. He's been a part of the Ghostbusters since he was little, like I said he grew up with them and around them. He's really knowledgeable about ghost types and physics. He knows all the ghost rules.

Sunkist isn't like. His dead childhood dog cos that seems. Kind of sad. Instead she's kind of a church Grimm or hell hound. An entity taking the form of a big huge dog that Tommy befriended when he was a kid, and has now kind of bonded to him. She's pretty corporeal as far as ghosts go, and can interact w the physical environment pretty well.

DARNOLD ^^ my friend darnold. Darnolds not usually super involved in the actual ghostbusting, and prefers to stay behind. He's more of the research and tech kind of guy, he studies the readings and takes measurements.

He's interested in psychokinetic energy and ghost residue and all sorts of like. Ghost sciences. Why some people stay behind, why some people just seem to die and disappear, the properties of the ghost realm and the ghosts themselves. Corporeality and degradation of personhood the longer someone's been a ghost.

When the Resonance Crossrip happens, he opts to stay behind and observe the effects of the insane amounts of ghost energy on the corporeal world.

Hes also a transfer over from the ghost engineers! That's a fun thing for me. I love the ghost engineers idc frozen empire gave me everything I wanted

FORZEN. Forzen is... the same thing as Benry. A mimic, something taking the form of a normal ghost to blend in or hide in plain sight.

He came through with the Resonance Crossrip, but obviously like. He knew Benry before (we WERE bestfriends..). He's not as powerful, which is why he wasn't able to sneak through when Benry did. He's also not super corporeal. He can only interact with the physical world if he's exerting a LOT of energy. Prone to flickering in and out of vision.

Upon coming thru the Crossrip, he kind of just. Decided to hang around the firehouse. Didn't wanna go much further, for fear of being ghostbusted and sent back into the containment unit. The source is the last place they'd look for him!

Darnold, who's holed up in the firehouse, is more than delighted to meet a ghost who's sentient and willing to cooperate to do some tests and experimentation to get never before documented results. They bond and they're cutesit. ☝️ DARZEN WIN. hi splash 👋

Dr Coomer and Dr Bubby are two of the three original founders of the Ghostbusters! They've been around for a looooong time. They're also married obviously but that's like a given.

They helped found the Ghostbusters, having met in college while both were studying parapsychology. I imagine their like. Parapsychology -> Ghostbusters pipeline was very in line with how GB1 starts, where they used to work in an academic environment before getting kicked out and founding the GB.

They're also both. Psychic. Because frozen empire has once again given me everything. Coomers got some like. Idk something that lines up with his self awareness in HLVRAI, maybe prophecy? Vauge visions of the future? Bubby has pyrokinesis. Duh.

and... Mr. Coolatta..... Tommy's dad...he was one of the founders along w Coomer and Bubby and at some point he. Died. And is now a reeeally really powerful ghost. maybe from the exposure to ghost energy or smth?

Now hes got gman powers and just kinda hangs around. Pretty corporeal and solid and. Present. For lack of a better word. But he IS a dead guy. Used to be human.

This is why Tommy kind of grew up around ghosts and knows alot about them :) Mr Coolatta is pretty benevolent, and mostly just kind of spooky and fucked up.

And that's. About it? I believe?? PLEAAASE ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS I have so many thoughts. I've been working on this for like 2 months now. Lol.

[pyrodolls]

ADMIRER! YANDERE BOY X HITMAN! READER

WARNINGS: murder, mentions of blood and poison, stalking, obsessiveness, regular yandere tendencies, reader is a hitman, reader is also a fake ass bitch, lowercase intended, gender neutral reader and no use of y/n. i do not condone yanderes irl or the themes in this fic.

A/N: hey guys so i saw people on tiktok playing yandere simulator and implementing an admirer/stalker in the game. inspiration struck and i thought i’d write something based off of that. if this is well-liked i may write another part. i’m also hoping to write more frequently cuz it’s summer now!! expect more frequent updates and some reqs to finally be written :) also, i was hoping you guys could comment or message some name ideas for our little admirer!yandere boy…

you thought you got away with it. you were hired to eliminate a student in your class, and nobody ever found out it was you. you were able to show up to school the next week, unbothered, even though the staff and students were weeping over the loss of their classmate. you were even at the late student’s funeral, standing amongst the sea of supporters dressed in black, and not a single soul knew it was you.

except for one. it was a boy that was in your class. he sat behind you, staring at the back of your head every day, hoping you’d talk to him. hoping you’d look at him. he was completely and utterly infatuated with you. he knew your entire schedule, address, interests, and more. for someone that killed people for a living, you somehow never noticed the boy that followed you everywhere you went.

he was the one that noticed your crime. he saw when you slipped a poison into your fellow classmate’s food, and watched them cough up blood for a couple minutes before they died. if a regular student witnessed what you did, they would run away and report you. but your little admirer just stood and grinned. oh, how pretty you looked with blood on your skin. you were so skilled at your job, how could he not admire your work?

he didn’t tell a single soul. he already found out about your twisted job long ago, he just never had the luck to see it in person. it didn’t phase him in the slightest. in fact, it made him want you even more. he even went home that day and ranted to his wall about what he saw. how he wanted to go up to you and compliment your skills, how mesmerizing you were when you swiftly disposed of the evidence, how strong you were to simply go on with your other classes as if nothing happened.

the week after that student’s funeral, it was deemed a self-inflicted death. there were new posters all over the walls with phrases such as: “you are loved!” or “you are not alone!” to prevent the incident from occurring again. your stalker felt overjoyed. you were getting away with it! he couldn’t be more proud of you. he decided to let you know how he felt as quickly as possible. he couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.

during your first class, you felt a tap on your shoulder. the scrawny boy behind you held up a small, folded sheet of paper with shaky hands. you took the paper and gave a fake smile to the boy. when you opened the note, you read: “meet me on the roof during lunch.”

you had to keep up your “friendly” reputation at school, so you couldn’t reject him. that’s why you reluctantly went up to the roof.

however, he was panicked. he immediately regretted his decision the moment you read his note. he couldn’t focus during his other classes because of how nervous he was.

but he couldn’t just leave you hanging, so he went up to the rooftop anyway.

“so.. what’s your na-“

“i love you!” the boy blurted out, interrupting your attempt at a kind greeting. his sudden confession left you speechless, and you had no clue how to respond.

he waited for your answer, hoping you weren’t disgusted. he stood with his hands tightly gripping his shirt, staring at the floor. he was too scared to look up at your face.

after a painfully long minute, he opened his mouth again. “i… have been watching you for a while. i am in love with you. every day, i only think of you. i kept it a secret for a while, but after i saw how you killed that studen-”

you quickly pinned him to the wall with your arm buried into his neck. “shut your mouth!” you scolded, looking around to see if anyone heard him.

“listen man, i don’t know who you are. but you’re sounding like a real fuckin’ freak, and you saw what i did. give me one good reason why i should spare your life.” you threatened.

“i’m on your side! i swear! i meant that i was amazed by what i saw! i’ve always been in love with you, but seeing what you did made me fall even harder. you looked so good with blood on your face, by the way.” he babbled, pathetically choking out praises in hopes that you would believe him.

you scoffed. “and how do i know you’re not coming up with some random bullshit so i don’t kill you?”

“i never reported you! it’s been a week and i never told a single soul what i saw. if i didn’t love you, i would’ve told someone. but i didn’t! because i really, truly love you. please give me a chance, i’ll be the best boyfriend ever! i’ll do your homework, i’ll cook and clean for you, and i know all your favorite shows and movies so i can talk to you about them!” he rambled.

as fun as that sounded, you really weren’t looking for a boyfriend at the moment. you were too busy. besides, even if you did want a boyfriend, this guy would be nowhere near your top picks.

“i don’t want a boyfriend. i don’t even know you! plus, no matter what you say, you still saw what i did. i won’t let you leave this roof alive.” you declared.

“nononono please, i’ll help you! i’ll assist you in killing people or something. i’ll do anything to prove my love. just give me a chance to be with you. listen, you can give me a month, and if you still don’t like me, you can kill me.” he proposed.

you thought about it for a moment. it didn’t sound like a bad idea. this guy’s willing to be a free, personal assistant. he could take a lot of weight off your chest if he helped with your work. and you knew a guy this scrawny could never beat you in a fight, so if anything goes wrong, you can eliminate him easily.

“you got yourself a deal, pipsqueak. you have 30 days. impress me, and maybe i’ll let you off the hook. but if you snitch on me, or if i still don’t like you by the end of the month, i’ll snap your neck.”

“so you’re giving me a chance? thank you so much! i won’t let you down.” the boy cheered.

you sighed. “you better not.”

it’s gonna be a long month.

[xmalereader]

Simon Riley x Hybrid! Male Reader

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|| Masterlist ||

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Authors Note: I’m back! I want to start off by saying thank you everyone for being patient with me and for 8k followers! I know this shot isn’t long and pretty short, but I will be working on more soon. Unfortunately, at this time I am in my Hybrid era phase for some reason ( ◠‿◠ ) sooo don’t judge me. Also the beautiful artwork below belongs to @ave661 all credit goes to them please follow them because their work is amazing!

Summary: Simon finally gets to retire and get the peace that he finally needs in life, only for Laswell to convince him to take home a hybrid companion back home as company.

Warnings: Fluff, simple plot, hybrid dog reader, Simon is a softy, nightmares, mentions of service dog, military, history, short story, animal features and characteristics.

Word Count: 1.3K

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Simon wasn’t one for retirement.

His whole life he thought that he would be protecting people until the day that he is shot dead in the field.

Only to end up retiring.

He wasn’t retiring because of his age, no. He was retiring for being tired of having to see so much pain and bloodshed, seeing it when he was only a child and going into adulthood something that he never stopped hearing or seeing in his life. He reached a point where he no longer wanted to deal with this blood shed and finally be able to sit back without having to worry about someone trying to kill him.

When Simon made the decision of leaving the special forces he knew it was the right choice that he ended up surprising Price. The same man that he met when he first joined the military, befriending the older man and trusting him with his life. He expected Price to reject his retirement request only for the man to give him his approval on the spot, knowing Simon well enough to know that he needed this break. This peace in his life.

When news spread that ‘Ghost’ was officially retiring it shocked the whole base to know that the most dangerous and intimidating man that the know will be leaving his military life behind for something normal. Price had helped him find a remote place for him to stay in the meantime until he decided to either leave and find somewhere else to call home or perhaps stay at the small house that Price was able to find him.

Simon thought that it would be an easy start until Laswell recommended that he get himself a ‘service dog’ or a ‘companion’ to keep him company. He was against the idea of having someone or something living in the same place as him and so soon, but Laswell had insisted to give it a try in order to have some company around in case he ever felt too isolated from society. Which he later caves into Laswells offer and agrees to have a companion of his own.

Simon expected someone that Laswell and Price knew that had the balls to stay with him until he got adjusted to having a normal life, only to come face to face with a very rare and calm German Shepherd Hybrid.

Simon had heard about Hybrids co existing with society, living their lives hiding from the others due to them being so different from others. It wasn’t until laws were established back in 2010 for Hybrids to be able to live a life like humans; getting jobs, owning homes and property along with getting an education. That didn’t mean that they were entirely free.

Hybrids still had their own set of strict rules. Any hybrid who showed signs of aggression towards a human would be locked away, still keeping them in check for years knowing that they didn’t have total control of their own biology, but after years the laws changed either getting harsher or lighter for them to cope with, reaching a point where hybrids were reaching extinction.

Many were taken, sold to black markets, slavery, or even used for their unique features caused many to go into hiding again or to slowly die off. Very few were protected, but in the end they all died.

The hybrid that Simon took with him wasn’t like the ones that he would see in public.

He was quiet and respectful of his boundaries, never doing anything that Simon didn’t like. He was technically a ‘service dog’ from what Laswell said, trained by her own special team and her wife in order to have Y/n help soldiers with trauma or perhaps those who feared being alone and in need of a friend.

Expect Simons situation was different, Y/n wasn’t just there to keep him company for a short period of time. Instead he was their permanently.

It took Simon some time to adjust to the hybrids existence whenever he woke up in the mornings only to come downstairs to see the hybrid cooking him breakfast other times he would find him outside tending to the ruined gardens, keeping himself busy while Simon focused on his own thing.

The two didn’t really converse with each other until two months into living together. It was the night that Y/n was woken up by the sound of Simons thrashing and heavy breathing that alerted him to rush into Simon’s room. He can smell the sweat and anxiety off of him along with hearing his soft murmurs, clearly showing signs of a nightmare.

When Y/n first met Simon he promised the man that he wouldn’t do anything he didn’t like and kept well to his promise until now. His own instincts were going off and couldn’t stand to the side and watch the man deal with his nightmare. So, he did the only thing he knew what to do.

Y/n had crawled into Simons bed, lying down in the empty spot next to him and moving himself closer to the bigger man, head against his chest as his ears lower in worry when he hears how fast his heart is beating. “Simon…” He whispers in a soft tone, glancing up at the man in distraught. “I’m here Simon, you’re not alone.” He adds on, keeping his head against his chest while his tail brushed up against his hip, causing a small gasp to escape his lips when he feels Simons hand take hold of his tail in his sleep. The soft fur on his tail quickly relaxing the man as his heavy breathing decreases.

The hybrid ears perk up as he listens to his heart beat, hearing it slow down to a proper rate. He stays in this position for the rest of the night without another nightmare occurring.

When Simon woke up that morning he was shocked to find Y/n in bed with him, curled up close to his chest. The warmth of the others mans body heat brings him a sense of comfort, instead of getting out of bed and waking up the hybrid he instead stays in bed a little longer, watching the other man sleep against him.

Simon hated the idea of having company for his first few weeks of retirement, but after getting used to Y/n’s presences in his life their are current things that Simon had grown adjusted to in his every day life. The smell of breakfast being made every morning by the hybrid became a familiar routine, finding the man on his hands and knees while he tends to the backyard digging up a few holes in order to plant new flowers or perhaps some fruit.

Simon favorite part of their day together was sitting outside on the porch as they watched the horizon. Simon would notice the way that Y/n’s ears would twitch as he listens to his surroundings taking in the familiar noise that he hears every morning. The way that his tail would wag whenever he sees kids running down the street with their bikes or scooters in hand, hearing as they would argue with each other and laugh.

The image alone brought a small smile to Simons lips.

Their bonded deepened with time to the point that the two were having regular day to day conversations. Y/n was no longer the closed off and shy hybrid that would be cautious when speaking with Simon and instead became someone who wasn’t afraid to speak up for himself or to be selfish every once an while.

Simon could say that he was grateful for Laswell convincing him to bring Y/n into his life, having him as a company whenever he came home or when the two would go out to run some simple errands, granting Simon the domestic life that he craved for whenever he was on missions and he finally has it

[ellesthots]

Fateful Beginnings

XLIII. “a terrible thing”

parts: previous / next

plot: Bruce can’t believe the softness you pull out of him—you can’t believe how fully you trust him.

pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x fem!reader

cw: 18+, fluff, jealousy, yearning, mention of sex, brief discussion of violence (martha wayne’s parent’s murder-suicide)

words: 8.4k

a/n: i think we’re all in need of some fluff right now, and it just so happens that we’re in the mutual pining phase with these lovebirds and that’s where the chapter took me <3 also omg I’ve felt so spoiled by all the comments and asks, thank you for continuously blessing my inbox with them!! love love 💞

The doorbell woke you right at noon. You opened the door to a cardboard drink carrier from DoorDash sat on your doormat, cradling a tan iced coffee from the cafe down the street. A typed note fell from the bottom when you lifted it onto the counter. 

for keeping you last night - B

Admittedly, he was halfway decent at apologies for someone who didn’t seem to have practice with them. Sleep had calmed your nerves a few levels, cooling your head enough to—begrudgingly—accept his apologies. The coffee chilling your hand made that grudge slip. Per usual, his eyes left nothing unanalyzed; he’d even managed to get the alternate milk right. Kinda terrifying, kinda cool?

As you sipped on the latte, you thought to how past partners had reacted after arguments. Ignored calls, passive aggressive texts, days without acknowledgment or apology. You nearly choked and died when you realized you’d lumped Bruce into the category ‘partner’, and discarded the coffee on the counter as if it had the power to remove him from your thoughts.

Somewhere down the line the edges of your arguments had softened. The fear of him had whittled away, yet his anger retained the vigor of a snappy punch. Your fingers danced along the marble countertop, its smoothness lending no distraction to your wandering mind. Arguing like a couple, with none of the benefits.

Your stare fixed absentmindedly on the sink. Forgiving him so easily felt like bending to the whims of your hormones; naivety’s tug whispered beratement for believing the first man to utter the words I’m sorry to you. Was the bar truly that low? Why did you feel so safe with someone so reactive, so violent as to spend every night chasing people to punch?

Your gaze dropped to the note. It was thoughtful. A butterfly or two danced around the room. Even though he was the last person you ever thought you’d feel anything other than loathing for, and it could never be set in motion, it was fun having a crush. How pretty was it to imagine him sipping his own latte across the kitchen? Or sweatpants hung low on his hips as he cooked you breakfast after staying overnight?

Thoughts could wander, even if reality could never align. Fantasy worlds where circumstances had been different, and the callousness of the world allowed you temporary effervescence through the eyes of a beautiful man you met in a big and terrible city. You’d unknowingly created an indivisible fork the night you chose to lie, and this was all you could ever be to him. 

The rest of your afternoon was spent hunched over a laptop typing up highlights from the two rallies. After Grange’s the following Tuesday, you could submit on Friday for publishing that weekend. You cast away all worry about it potentially being your last column ever, otherwise a single word wouldn’t have been written. 

You eyed your usual outfit at the top of your laundry hamper. A dress would mean heels, heels would mean pain… you grabbed a pair of black jeans and a vaguely musty sweater from the bottom drawer, and shook it until you beat the lingering scent of old out of it. 

You’d fastened your second earring and spritzed some perfume when you heard a knock. “It’s meee!” 

Mar spilled in holding a small rectangular box wrapped in shiny silver paper. She beat you to the punch. “I know you have your meeting right now, but I’m on the way to Gianna’s and had to stop by just in case.”

Your brow furrowed, mouth twitching into a grin as you took the box and began to unwrap it. It was feather-light. She joked about it being a housewarming gift, “only a month late, but better late than never”.

The Trojan logo blared at you. BareSkin Raw were the next words unveiled, and it was at precisely this point where you thought the universe was pranking you. But no: it was just Mar.

“Last time I was here I peeked around a little bit and couldn’t find any. The thought of babytrapping a billionaire is enticing, but—”

“We’re not together.”

“Even if you ‘aren’t together’,” she took the condoms from you and ripped open the box, tearing two off the pack. “You can still get pregnant.” She took your bag and rifled around for your wallet, tucking them into a side zipper pocket. 

“Technically that’s not safe storage.” You closed the top of the box and walked it to your bedside drawer, sliding it to the right of the diary you hadn’t used yet. Mar was gazing knowingly at you from the doorframe. 

“Safer than having nothing.”

As awkward as it was, she was trying. Even if looking out for you was centered around keeping your uterus uninhabited, it was something. You thanked her, running to the bathroom to put on the deodorant you’d almost forgotten.

“Want a ride?” Mar called from the kitchen. “I have an Uber out front, we could add a stop.”

“Sure.” You stepped to grab your bag as she plucked the note with a gasp. 

“For keeping you last night? You’re fucking joking.” She was positively beaming; you had a passing thought of crumpling it up and throwing it at Bruce’s chest, chastising him about the lack of forethought for what could happen if a wild Mar read it. “When will you want to talk about it with me? Marathoning so hard he gifts you coffee the next morning is crazy.”

You swerved the conversation to her budding relationship with Gianna for the drive to City Hall, though she kept trying to redirect it. 

“Where do you usually get dropped off?” You pointed Mar to the front loop, and she directed the driver to follow the other rideshares near the entry steps. She mumbled something about it reading like the Met Gala with the amount of paparazzi, and you grumbled something about how it was all because of Bruce.

She talked briefly about how he’d blown up the past few months and needed to cut you a check, but she interrupted herself. “Oh my god.”

Bruce had climbed out of his vintage Chevy and handed the key to the valet. Sneakers, dark gray slacks, black tee, and a matching leather jacket. Completely different from his sweaters and suits to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.

Mar all but shoved you out of the Uber, excitedly whispering about how she should’ve packed more than two for you, leaving no time to settle before ascending the steps and entering the foyer. 

Bruce was at the catering table chatting with the women waiting in line. Unusual. By the time you’d situated with the other press, the crowd of his admirers had tripled. When you’d fished out your notebook and pen, he had his arms wrapped around a few of them. He was talking, smiling and not shooting one look your way. Was he trying to make you jealous? 

Bruce counted the seconds of each inhale and exhale, anything to help him forget the eyes and ears hanging on his every word. His arm was going numb from being passed around so much. Half of these women were married, including the few skimming their hands along his chest and hips. 

“What happened, Mr. Wayne?” Someone was caressing his bruised hand.

He had about three seconds to conjure the most vague, lewd response and not crumble into the floor. “Played a little too rough.”

You watched as some of the group giggled at something he said, fluttered their lashes at his winks, and pursed their lips into a barely-contained grin when he’d lean in to whisper something. At one point you swore his lips touched a woman’s ear and you felt like you’d been shot.

If jealousy was his intention, it was unfortunately working. He looked undeniably hot, somehow managing an effortless cool. Had he been honest about his introversion? The sling of his arm around shoulders, the little glances he gave, the grins that flashed teeth when he leaned closer. Maybe he tried to play docile and shy, but Jesus… you followed the way his eyes dropped to their lips when they spoke, occasionally darting to their eyes before trailing down again. You tensed. That man knew exactly what he was doing. If that ‘already spoken for’ was true, his partner was made of steel. 

You couldn’t stop the swirl in your gut from feeling played. Did he think because he apologized and got you coffee he had you wrapped around his finger? Was this a subtle power play? It has to be. Your throat was tight, fixated on every touch and glance. Maybe he did have you in the palm of his hand. Everything he did was working.

The meeting began and Bruce was last into the room—alongside some of the men’s wives. A few introductions of nonsense characters, some reminders about the upcoming rallies and fundraisers, then budget talk. The budget was something you genuinely wanted to attend to, but it was impossible with your heart pounding in your ears deadening all sound. If he was so sorry, why had he marched in and flirted with every woman in the building? The minutes passed like hours.

Eventually Mr. Convoy called a brief intermission to collect his notes, and you stared Bruce down as he drew a deep breath before standing. He shook out his hands and moved through the doorway, tucking his left fist into his pocket as the first group approached him. Your eyes narrowed as you settled into the corner by the drinks, mulling over his evident anxiety. Yet he remained desperate enough to push through it to get under your skin. Did he have gum in his mouth? Who the hell? 

A group of suited men clustered in the foyer’s center, the tallest of them snickering at you. He’d talked to Bruce once or twice in the past month you’d been here. You remembered him due to how severely his sandy brown hair was gelled to his scalp. Your cheeks heated when he made a mocking kissy face and you realized he was harassing you for openly staring at the man of the hour. As your downcast eyes scoured the tiling, you mulled over the man’s name. Probably started with a G. The sound of Bruce’s laugh involuntarily placed your attention back on his tall, wide frame, the silver zipper of his jacket slipping through salon-manicured fingers, being fiddled with and jerked about like your heartstrings. 

A hand slipped underneath his jacket, rubbing between his shoulderblades. Someone ‘tripped’ and caught themselves against his abs, marveling at them as they steadied. It was just about impossible to keep his smile from fading to a grimace, a forced laugh playing it off. Overstimulation nipped at his frayed nerves. Too many voices asking too many questions, too far out of his element effectively seducing people in public. The exaggerated glances he gave, the haughty nonchalance, it was wearying. You’d better be enjoying this.

He knew you were by the catering, but hadn’t wanted to impose his presence after the night before. He chanced a glance and, sure enough, you were glaring at him. His heart skipped at how angry you looked. Had he misread it? Someone’s hand trailed up his chest now. “Something bothering you, Bruce?” He imagined it was you, his ears perking to the sound of his name and the circular motion of your fingers between his pecs. His hand moved to grab yours on instinct, fingers lacing for a single second before catching himself. The stranger bit her lip, re-grabbing his hand, misattributing the blush sweeping his face. “Your hands are so…”

You’d never seen that woman before, and you never wanted to see her again. You never again wanted to feel this tight, hot squishing sensation in your head and chest. Mr. Convoy called the meeting to resume and you hung back, not trusting your legs, except that Bruce did the same. After continuous hesitation the doors were set to shut, so you both started for them. He fell in line beside you. 

When he spoke your spine stiffened. “Trying the playboy thing.” 

Yeah, he sure is. 

“Thought you might find it funny. After our conversation yesterday.”

You stopped where you stood. He gave an apologetic smile before stepping through the door. Yesterday. Early in the a.m.. You spent the rest of the meeting feeling guilty and meek. It was so easy, too easy, to assume the worst of him. 

Pictures weren’t allowed in the building, so you heard a few of the journalists behind you game-plan leaving the conference room first to stake out the front steps. A minute to its end, as your peers crept toward the exit, you threw a text his way. 

Still accepting ride requests? 

He checked his phone under the table. 

Meet you around back in five.

The meeting ended, Bruce waded through his many fans, and you skirted to the back. Cool metal across your palm reminded you that it all had to end just as it began to feel routine. The chilly night air blew in your face as the heavy door clicked shut behind you. Next week’s meeting would be the last opportunity to be driven home by him; the last time home would be Gotham, and not thousands of miles’ distance. Unless he ever found himself adventuring southern Washington, you’d never see him again, either.

When he pulled up you pretended to peer in the backseat, wanting to play off your earlier frustration. An apology, coffee, and trying to entertain you in the most bland environment in existence? The lively, social man of ten minutes ago had been whittled down to something more subdued. The drain of the evening was splashed across the subtle lines in his face. 

You slipped into the heavy leather seat and gestured behind you. “Surprised it isn’t full of your admirers.” Your senses heightened knowing this was one of three last times you’d ever be in his presence. When he laughed under his breath, you felt it like a beam of light in your chest. 

“What’s my grade?” He put the car in gear and headed down the alleyway as you finished buckling. Wanting to ensure he wasn’t overstepping, he shot cautious glances your way. He hoped the car was dark enough it wouldn’t show his blush.

“Not sure I can be unbiased after you bribed me with that coffee.” 

Just hearing your voice turned him scarlet. “Tried to match the color to when we crossed paths.”

“You nailed it.”

Tires gliding over potholes and crunchy gravel patches studded the silence of the next few blocks. Bruce was doing a very diligent job of taking you straight home; sometimes he swerved down side roads but tonight he stayed a strict path. You felt the apology hanging over him. It reminded you of how Walter acted when he’d broken into some human food. Ears back, posture drawn-in and hesitant. He caught you glancing at him.

“You seemed upset.” His voice was soft. So much softer than with everyone at City Hall. 

Flashes of their hands across his chest and neck while he leaned in to make them laugh made you shift in the seat, the leather crinkling. White lies were fine, right? It seemed better than admitting debilitating jealousy. “I had a headache.” 

“Should be back soon if you need ibuprofen.” 

“Nah, it’s all good.” You waved your hand and it slapped against your thigh. 

His hands tightened around the wheel, and so did your gut. He always had something on his tongue when he did that. And now you were thinking about his mouth… 

“You’re right about the playboy angle. I think that’s the clearest direction.”

Still thinking… you swallowed. “Pretty different to how you usually act.” 

“Enduring it will be a whole other thing.” Alongside a begrudging nod, he rolled his eyes and grit his teeth. It was imperative his jaw stopped moving. As jealous as the playboy facade made you, you weren’t mad at how it made him even more visible, situated like a painting for your viewing pleasure. 

“You didn’t have any fun with it?” 

The half-second he thought it was you, maybe. The rest of the evening was a painful blur. “Not really.” 

The car tucked into the alleyway. 

“Here.”

Your foot tapped against the carpeted interior. In hindsight—once you were gridlocked to the confines of rurality—would you hate yourself for leaving right now? Probably. “You said there’s places outside of city limits to drive?” 

“You don’t want to go home?”

“I’m up for some racing.”

“Let me know when you want me to drop you off.”

The ride was quiet. Bruce, of course, knew every back road away from prying eyes, making the sirens, shouts, and car horns a distant memory. When buildings morphed to trees, your shoulders relaxed. He noticed.

“Lot of pine trees in Washington?”

“Some.” Your nose made a print against the glass, straining through the glare. “A lot of Douglas Fir. Cedar.” 

“Do you mind gravel roads?” He didn’t want to jostle you too much if not. You grinned at him and his body surged a streak of warmth.

“Prefer them.” You glanced around the interior. “Sure you want to scratch up the paint?”

You heard him smile; he laughed via a particularly jaunty exhale through his nose. “Nothing some Sharpie can’t fix.”

You looked out the passenger window so he wouldn’t see your smirk. The weirdest rich person. 

“Prefer them?” 

You couldn’t resist peeking at him, and his brow was scrunched. “Most people don’t, which means it’s likely really pretty.”

“No one wants to see something pretty.” 

You nudged him, biting your tongue. He could barely contain his relief at your apparent forgiveness. 

The trees thickened, and the road turned bumpy. You rolled down the window and leaned your head out, basking in the smell of pine needles and fresh air. 

“Careful, rock could hit you.”

You stuck your arm out, the cold breeze chilling it immediately. It’d been so long since you’d driven like this. Years, maybe. Your dad was always so busy with work, your mom so exhausted; having to scrimp and save pennies for copayments, past dues on maxed out credit cards. For the better part of the past decade, the car had been reserved for medical appointments and grocery trips exclusively. The only time you got to feel the breeze on your skin in anything reminiscent of a forest was on lone bike rides, but you were usually too sad to immerse yourself in them. 

He hung a left at the fork in the road, too late to hit the usual right while distracted by watching you. Fingers dancing in the wind, hair ruffling. He accelerated, toeing the speed limit of dense gravel. A soft yelp radiated from your side—looking like a dog with their ears flapping in the wind, you were laughing. Your face was the happiest he’d ever seen it. A light expanded in his chest. Gorgeous. 

“Shit,” the gravel turned to dirt, the wheels slipping hard into a vat of mud; in a blink you felt a wall in front of you—his outstretched arm across your chest kept you from rocketing forward. You tumbled against Bruce as he turned into the skid, the thick seatbelt keeping you from spilling sideways into his lap. Both of you sat motionless, and he pulled both hands back to the wheel. Your torso rumbled like you were laughing.

“What fancy contraption do you have to yank us out?” You pushed yourself up and ran a frigid hand over windswept hair. Probably had a button in the trunk which unfurled a hook to yank the vehicle back to safety. Maybe a mega-drone would fly over from Wayne Tower and pull the car by the roof with a magnet. 

He waited for you to face him. “I’ll get out and push.” 

“Push?!” 

His smile wrinkled his eyes as he hopped out, a sticky slop sound slapping his shoes. You thought he was so froofy. Worried about paint jobs, staining designer clothing, unable to shove a car out of a rut. He heaved his weight in a strong, deliberate push, and the car moved. Then slid back. 

“Here, I’ll get out.” You unbuckled. 

“What?” He couldn’t hear over the wind hissing through trees. 

You fell flat on your hands and knees into a foot and a half of thick mud. “Holy shit.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. This is fucking deep.” You managed to wrangle out an arm but your knees were locked in place. 

You heard the schlorp, schlorp sound of his approach. How were you supposed to get a car out of something like this? “I forgot you’re supposed to turn right back there.” He held out his hand. He fell to his knees when he underestimated how stuck you were.

You pushed up off his shoulder, the heel of your palm shoving him deeper. Your other hand tracked mud across his back, the slick of the leather making you fall forward again, slung halfway over his back. His elbow buckled as his hands dug further into the pit. You slid onto your back, your hair soaking with mud so dense you struggled to lift your head.

He managed onto his feet again, once more grabbing your hand—this time with more of an angle for leverage—and pulled. You hardly moved, trying to grip his arm for support. “You’re gonna have to take off that jacket unless you want to leave me here.”

He obliged, your eyes trailing down his muscled arms now outstretched for you to enjoy. This time was more successful, but the un-shlucking made you rocket toward him. You fell against the hood of his car, no, against him against the hood of the car. You caked the entire front of his body in mud.

“Might have to call Alfred,” you panted, grasping for the antenna to your left for balance. He locked eyes with you a moment, a beautiful, fleeting moment, before you watched them flick toward the sky. You rolled onto your back and followed his gaze. 

Stars. Not very clear, but better than the foggy clouds that hung over the city. You moved to stand before tossing another look his way. His eyes glimmered as they roamed the sky as if he’d never seen them before. You let your back fall gently against the hood, shoulder-to-shoulder. 

“Can’t see them very well in the city, huh?”

Bruce shook his head, mesmerized. A long pause, which you reveled in. He was so caught up he couldn’t see you admiring his sudden youthfulness. “Is this how bright they are in Washington?”

He had no idea how adorable that question was, and it filled your body with extraordinary warmth. He looked like a child who’d just seen the ocean for the first time, awestruck by the endless horizon. The word Washington sounded so foreign in his voice. It was like he was born to exist firmly in Gotham and nowhere beyond. Like a prison. You looked back to the sky, the edges of each star blurred and hazy. 

“Actually, like ten times brighter there.”

Bruce’s head snapped to you, brow furrowed. He looked like he’d just been insulted. “You’re joking.” 

“I think you’d pass out if you saw the sky there.” There were still so many trees, and some light pollution from downtown. What the hell would he do if you brought him to the middle of an empty, rural field on a clear night? You’d never thought it was particularly beautiful. It was just… normal. 

“Guess I take it for granted.” Your eyes followed his jaw up to his eyelashes, really seeing him. He didn’t notice, already turned back to admire the blurry stars again. You sighed. One more week. You’d been so terrified of him that first night. The second too. Now you just might start counting every second of his eye contact. 

Your nose crinkled, a tease cropping up with the memory. “You’re wrong, by the way. You do use bribes.”

That furrowed brow and those blue eyes again. If only those agains could tumble in forever. “When?”

“At the initial interview.” 

His nose scrunched, momentarily moving up to his eyes. “No way.”

“You asked what I wanted for my silence.” Your lips quirked into a grin. He was gorgeous like this; so unassuming, unintimidating. 

He rifled through the memory, and you watched the gears turn. His face set with disappointment. “Guess you’re right.”

“The only reason I stayed was to piss you off.” You laughed, his eyes never leaving you. 

“It worked.” He grinned. “Maybe if you hadn’t, the car wouldn’t be stuck.”

“Then we wouldn’t be having this riveting conversation.”

A quick, sharp laugh escaped him. His eyes flicked down, and he fiddled with muddy fingers. When they met yours again they were hesitant, but hopeful. “What you said yesterday helped. About my… brain.” He said the word carefully, still grappling with what it meant beneath the euphemism. 

“About still being you?” 

Bruce looked away, sighing through his nose as he nodded. “I’m able to patrol as usual. Maintain public responsibilities. Doesn’t seem to be life-ruining. Yet.”

You grinned, relieved to see him on a path to acceptance, relieved to see him sitting here with you at all. “I’m glad.” You paused, letting it linger. “It doesn’t erase you, or make you worse.” 

His shifting eyes landed briefly on yours before returning to the stars, the combination of the wind and endless sky making the world big enough for his confessions to get lost. “… My mom was in and out of Arkham.” His words hung between you and the blustery wind. 

“Was that hard growing up?” You figured it was, but any way you could coax an emotion out of him felt meaningful. The way he clung to your hug and kept even Alfred at arm’s length made you hypothesize that he wasn’t used to speaking it aloud. Shoving feelings deeper and deeper until the distractions caused enough dissociation to remove the sting. 

“I didn’t know about it then. Learned about it with the rest of the world.” His teeth clenched, the angled corner of his jaw flexing tightly. Vague memories of Wayne Family Secrets across your family’s television two years ago reminded you that Bruce had been caught up in the killer’s antics. 

“Around the time of the flood, right?”

He nodded again. His jaw moved as if his lips might part to speak, but he hesitated. Sensing his discomfort, you turned your attention back to the hazy stars. Wind whipped through the tops of trees, creating a faint high-pitched whistle in the silence. You spoke at the same time, cutting the other off. 

“You can talk about it if you want.”

”Her mom killed her dad.” 

You cast a sideways glance at each other and looked again to the sky. His voice dulled. “Then herself.” 

The hands clasped across your waist dug into your stomach. It wasn’t a wonder why he was so worried about his attempt. Seemed like every generation was touched by it. “I’m sorry.” 

He could tell that you meant it by how it sat in his stomach. He hated to hear those words, but not from you. For possibly the first time ever, he responded with “Thanks.” He watched a star twinkle like an ornament behind the top of a tree, still keeping his attention to his periphery. 

“Makes sense, I guess.” His lips pulled into a sardonic grin. Your attention pulled to it like a physical force, grim or not. “I am half Arkham.” 

In the meager amount of research you’d done to prepare for the actual interview you did with him, you’d discovered his mother’s ties to Arkham; Martha Arkham, the granddaughter of the asylum’s founders. One of the questions you’d nearly written down was why he didn’t do more with its fundraising; now you were grateful pen hadn’t hit paper. 

You were focused on the few clouds floating above when a gentle nudge tapped your shoulder. Your eyes met his unwavering blue. “I didn’t forget last night.” The car evaporated from under your back, suspending you in the air weightlessly. “I really didn’t mean to scare you, but I know that I did. I’m sorry.” 

He was so good at saying what you needed. How were his eyes that blue, his lashes that lush, voice so full. His apology sat with you the same way a slurpee did on arid, hundred-degree days in the valley. Ropes of sugary sweet, revitalizing in that specific, intoxicating way that kept you coming back despite the brain freeze and inevitable crash. 

You mused on whether or not he tasted like cherry cola too. 

“Just don’t trap me in your car in the middle of the night again.” 

“I know, I’m sorry. It was wrong.” You’d meant it to be a bit of a playful jab, and your eyes flashed slightly when he took it soberly. 

”Not in the suit is fine, but.” You teased him when you felt his growing earnestness, nudging him. “I’m joking.”

His expression remained unchanged, though it mellowed. “You don’t need to play it off.” 

A joke about how perceptive he was for someone who didn’t get out much stalled on the tip of your tongue. His worn features were too genuine. 

“Thank you.” You wanted to acknowledge all of the effort, that wavering pain in his eyes at sitting in this. It was easy to see how brutal it was on him, the isolation you imagined plagued his youth. How hard opening up was for him, seeming to go against his wiring like breaking one’s own bones. You longed to scoop him into your arms or lap, running soothing fingers through his hair until the pain melted out of his cells. 

When you couldn’t come up with a better word for the chasing apologies, the city hall antics, the coffee, the continuous acknowledgement, the life stories, and the I’m not used to this confessions, you settled on the simplest descriptor. “It means a lot that you’re trying.” 

His eyes lingered on yours for a second. He felt his heartbeat in the back of his throat. He wouldn’t. He swung his body up, clearing his voice on the upswing. “Let’s push.”

He schlopped his way to the front of the car, digging his heels into the mud for grip. You joined him, buzzing from stargazing, the weight of your muddy hair straining your back. You gripped the front bumper and followed his count, shoving the weight of your hips into your palms. The front wheels slipped up half a foot, then plopped back into place. 

You teased him when he paused to inspect the wheel placement. “C’mon dude, I’m pulling all the weight here.” His eyes darted to yours with a friendly sneer. On his count, you jammed all your weight into it, your feet slipping against the mud. This one was longer, and you shoved, shoved, pressed, pushed... the wheels crept back, nearly pushing out of the original divet. 

Bruce grunted to your right, and you made the mistake of seeing his clenched, focused expression. His eyes were squeezed closed, and threads of sweat glistened on his temples. Your focus slipped along with your grip, and the burden you’d lifted fell onto him. He groaned when it hit, the car losing an inch of ground, and you scrambled to regain footing with it echoing your thoughts. He was so fucking hot, jesus. 

Pressing, shoving, slamming, straining… the wheels unstuck and began to glide through shallower sludge. The ringing in your ears intensified when he shouted above the wind to let go and stood with his hands over his head, exposing the bottom half of his abs. You looked away, feeling perverted.

“Whew,” you focused on the sound of his footsteps rather than how out of breath he was. “Want to head back?”

A joke fell out of you before you realized the implications. “You’ll have to shower at mine to make it even.”

He shrugged. “If you want.”

And so you found yourself unlocking the door to your apartment ten minutes later, after he sped through side streets and took turns you were sure he wouldn’t make, making you squeal with a rush each time. When you got in the garage elevator, you mentally checked that you’d put away the condoms, that you had enough clean towels, that you weren’t out of detergent, that you had clothes he could borrow. And tried not to think about how he’d be naked in your bedroom bath.

With robotic monotony, pretending you were prepping the bathroom for a regular shower with yourself, you pulled out a towel and your baggiest hoodie and sweats, hoping it would be comfortable enough for him. You eyed your fruity body wash, curiously thinking ahead to how it might smell on him. 

Bruce asked if you needed any help from where he stood in the kitchen. When you said no, he paused, then asked if you had any pints of ice cream he could ‘borrow’. You teasingly lectured him about the meaning of the word from your hands and knees on the shower floor, pulling the odd hairs that were stuck in the drain to discard them.

He opened the freezer and noted a few pints, the most notable of them the single chocolate one: ‘Phish Food’. Marshmallow, caramel, and fudge. You hadn’t given him the OK yet, but his earlier attempt to cheer you up had been unsuccessful and he’d drenched you in mud. He opened a drawer and shut it loud enough for you to hear, grabbing the ice cream and slapping it onto the counter, untouched. “Never had this one, wow.” 

“That’s not the chocolate one, is it?”

His eyes trailed around the room to the dining area that had been reinstated. Absently, he continued to tease. “Can’t hear you.” He grinned. “But the marshmallow is really good.”

”Marshmallow?!”

He took a spoon from the door and tapped it along the rim of the cardboard as if he were scraping out the dregs. “Almost finished actually.”

You appeared in the doorway a second later looking disheveled. “Are you for—” Your eyes caught on his spoon resting on the outside of the ice cream, not even the plastic removed. “Ohh my god.” Biting your lip to reign in a smile, you swiped it off the counter and grabbed the spoon from his hand. 

“Didn’t know you were so serious about marshmallows.”

You groaned at the prank and slugged him in the arm on the way to the freezer. “You’re insufferable.” Even if he didn’t hear the lilt in your voice, from your side profile he could see the delight on your face. Good. One less moment hurting.

“Shower’s ready if you want to go first.”

Could go together. He blinked. “I’m the one who took the wrong turn, go ahead.”

“I’m the one who even wanted to go driving if we’re getting into it.” 

Bruce held out his hands in concession, walking past you to the shower. You shouted after him that you left an outfit on the counter for him, with towels in the cupboard. After a minute you heard the water turn on, and it took massive restraint not to sit on your bed and stare at the door to the bathroom. Until you remembered you could do that with your journal, pretending to do something. 

You grabbed a towel and laid it out on the mattress so you didn’t soak your bed with mud. Sat cross-legged, you pulled out the journal and a pen and suppressed a startle response when your eyes laid upon the condoms. The black ink swirled and sloped around the paper edges indiscriminately as the minutes passed. You threw some random sentences on there in case he glanced over at it when he got out, and heard the shower shut off soon after. Your face heated, and the scribbling intensified. 

Rustling of clothing, then the door opened. His eyes flashed when he saw you on the bed. His first thought was lewd, and it took two breaths to sate it. You did the same seeing his wet hair smoothed through by your hairbrush, the dew of the shower peppering his cheekbones. How in just two strides he could have you pinned to the bed. In his mind it was the other way around. 

“I like that body wash.” He’d slathered it over himself without thinking, then became extremely aware it smelled like you. He’d stood for a full minute breathing it in, pondering the ethics of buying the same one so he could always smell it. He rinsed it off when the haze began to lift and he started feeling like a fucking weirdo.

“There’s this fancy boutique called ‘Target’ that sells it if you’re ever in the area.”

He rolled his eyes and folded up his towel. “Funny.” He eyed the laundry hamper in the far corner and crossed your room to get it. The few strides where he passed your bed caught your breath in your chest. He looked back at you, smirking. His face looked cut from stone. “It’s where Alfred gets the Breyer’s.”

God how your heart pounded. Like a peripheral shadow, your mind seeing things that weren’t there. If you were any less certain of the dynamics at play, you might’ve thought he was flirting. That maybe both of you were. As it stood he walked past the bed and into the kitchen, speaking lazily. “Which ice cream can you part with?” So casual, comfortable. Like he lives here. It was fucking sexy. If only he’d christen your apartment.

His fingers tapped mindlessly on the freezer handle, turning over the jokes in his mind like a Rubik’s cube. Were they too offputting? He meant to put you at ease after being scared of him the night before, but was it overbearing? Unsettling? You waltzed into the kitchen, caked with mud, and yanked open the freezer to hand him PB S’more. The tips of his fingers vibrated where yours had grazed. 

“It’ll change your life.”

Initially, the shower was wonderful. The water soothed your cool, dirty skin, and your body felt light knowing he’d just taken one. That his hands had touched the knob you just did. That his hands had opened the same sliding door. Past that, the shower was excruciating. 

Water hitting the drying mud had reactivated it, making it heavy on your hair and, if anything, making it even more impossible to get out of your strands. It clumped and stuck no matter how you fussed with it, and you were left with an agonizing choice: have Bruce come help you, or force Mar to come over the next day (if she could), meaning indefinite time with heavy, smelly hair all over your pillows, clothes… fuck.

“Bruce?”

His heart leapt out of his chest and the spoon clattered to the ground. You called out again. “Can you help?” Your voice was too calm, and his fingers felt too warm, too cold, then disappeared altogether as he approached the bathroom door. He kept his eyes tilted to the ceiling as he pushed it open, holding his breath. He did his best not to let his mind wander on what you wanted. 

“Can you rinse my hair? The mud’s stuck.” 

Bruce pulled up his sleeves and got to work, his hands running on autopilot or they wouldn’t move at all. Every skim of his hand against your back, shoulders, ears, even feeling the slip of your wet hair through his fingers spurred a riot. You smelled like passionfruit and citrus, and your skin was petal-soft. As his fingertips brushed your neck he wondered if you might ever feel the same way. Was every touch searing against your skin? Every breath measured and silent, your thoughts liquid smoke being this close? 

He’d more than managed to remove the chunks of dirt, rinsing the length of your hair entirely clean. His hands hesitated above your scalp as he calculated if you’d want him to finish. The intimacy of this was so sweet; he’d never washed hair besides his own before, and it tucked into him a tenderness he never thought himself capable of. 

Just as he was about to pull his hands away, he bit his cheek and tried to sound as casual (not terrified) as he could muster. “Want me to wash the rest?”

Maybe it was the steam, but you felt the heat of his breath waft against exposed skin. Your face was hot as the Sahara, stiff and still as a statue; your knuckles paled clenching the sopping towel wrapped around you. You nodded because if you spoke, your yes would’ve come out like a whine. Tilting your head back, he grabbed the shampoo bottle and slathered it across his palms, gently working it into your hair. You shut your eyes to savor the sensation of his fingertips delicately raking along your scalp, tickling up your spine. “That feels really good.”

“Does it?” Breathy, barely a whisper, almost certain you couldn’t hear it above the water hitting the floor. Your shoulders dropped when he moved to massage behind your ears. The firmer he pressed, the more your shoulders rolled forward. 

“That’s even better.”

Dramatic for such a simple thing, he might’ve fought to acknowledge it if it hadn’t ripped through him so forcefully; nothing compared to the high of pleasing you. It filled a cavernous well in his chest with a buoyancy that almost knocked the wind out of him. 

He hadn’t realized his hands hadn’t moved, and resumed too quickly; you startled when he recommenced working the shampoo, and he flinched like his nervous system had a string tied to yours. He hoped for your sake it wouldn’t work in reverse the next time he panicked. If doing this was any less soothing, he could’ve tested the theory right then.

Your breathing struggled to cooperate, confused between I want his hands to devour me and I could fall asleep right here, right now. Your eyes that had flashed open fluttered shut, and your breathing shallowed through your mouth. Cutting off your senses one by one until all you felt were his strong, deft hands across your skin. You tucked your lower lip under your teeth and held your breath as he traced the back of your head, the crown of your hair, ooh, up to your temples… allowing a small inhale through your nose brought the sudsy aroma to the background, rendering your thoughts cloudlike, misty. 

Your neck had gone from stiff to slack over the past two minutes—he certainly wasn’t counting—to the point it bobbled with the movement of his palms. Your hands shifted on the towel, the tension in your knuckles lessening. Your guard was down further than he’d ever seen it, seemingly melting into his touch. His heart jammed against his ribs. 

The shampoo was mostly gone, only the odd bubble slipping through your strands. Not wanting to interrupt your zen, he gently squeezed out the length of your hair and reached for the conditioner. As he expected, you didn’t even notice when he soaked your hair with it. He rinsed his hands before going back to your scalp with long combing motions, circling behind your ears and temples as he waited to rinse. 

Just when he thought he’d heard a snore, your weight fell fully into his hands. He rushed to support your back—one hand between your shoulders, the other fisting your towel to keep it from falling. Your conditioned hair swung back and stuck to his cheek when you gasped awake, grasping for the shower handle to steady yourself. 

“You fell asleep while I finished your hair.” 

You righted yourself and assumed control of your towel; your thoughts darted around the steamy bathroom, grateful that he hadn’t taken advantage of a slipped wardrobe. Your hand moved back to your hair, thick with conditioner. You didn’t recall him finishing the shampoo, let alone… your cheeks heated, self-consciousness creeping up your spine where his massage left fireworks. “Thanks.” 

His cue to exit. He mumbled something about it being no problem, and walked out to the kitchen. His hands flexed at his sides to either shake out the memory or encode it, he couldn’t tell. He stood in the kitchen while you finished up, feeling caged, like his body was in a mismeasured wetsuit. He glanced out the window to see if the signal was lit, and he couldn’t make anything out. Cars zigzagged below, people shouted, horns honked, ambulances skirted curbs, and the sky was dark night. He was never indoors when the sky looked like that. 

He caught himself eyeing the fridge, wondering what he might be able to fix for the both of you. His dizzy gaze flitted to the floor between his feet. His face tightened into a tense knot, knuckles going white as he gripped the counter’s edge. He’d liked that too much. Washing someone’s hair. Washing your hair. 

Bruce crossed his legs and faced the ceiling now, his shoulders dropping into the softness of the evening. He could make dinner for you both, enjoy some polite conversation, and—he uncrossed his legs, antsy and anxious, and surveyed your apartment. He went still with the brush of thick cotton on his skin. He didn’t do this. Never wanted this. Never even thought about it. It didn’t fit, and even if it did, it couldn’t. 

He winced when his vision snagged on the note. The shred of paper swayed against his breath as he held it. Did you appreciate it? Did you want more of them? Shards of glass danced in his throat and heat stung his face; he set it down as quickly as he had picked it up. 

Washing your hair, getting you coffee, spending nights inside, redecorating a room just in case you wanted to come over, not to mention… it might’ve been easier if this was a passing fixation; something told him this was a cigarette half-pressed into the tray, lingering and domineering. Maybe he could snuff it out, but the stench likely already filled the room and baked into the fabrics. Didn’t mean he had to sit in it and breathe it in, though.

You wiped the sleep from your eyes and wrapped your hair in a towel. You pulled on sweats and a tee, lotioning up your arms and slathering moisturizer on your heated face. Your hair was grateful for his assistance, but were you? You were supposed to be severing, creating distance between the both of you. You didn’t think that included nearly drowning in the shower half-naked while he massaged you to sleep. But… your fucking soul had relaxed for the first time in years when he touched you. 

You squinted. No, the first time since the night Miller attacked. In his arms for the first time. When everything was finally quiet. The room went still with the implication, soured by the impending trip home for the last time. You bit your cheek.

He grabbed a grocery bag and stuffed his muddy clothes inside. When his body tried to reject the notion of leaving, he reminded himself it wasn’t for lack of wanting, it was due to it. He frustrated his logic and patience, retelling himself that your life was quaint, punctuated by normal things like a normal person, and it would be a bad thing for him to interrupt that. A terrible thing.

Missing the click of the bathroom door opening, he turned toward your doorway when you stepped out; your face clean and bright, a towel wrapped in a short spiral atop your head. The light hit your cheekbones and his bag slipped to the floor. He sucked in a tight breath and cleared his throat, slingshot out of the weeds back into the clouds. 

There was nothing he could do about his legs walking to the fridge, or his question about what you had to eat; nor his clarification that he didn’t want something for him, he wanted to make something for, um, the both of you, and no, he was hungry too, and while he cooked you could pick a show, and it really wasn’t a problem at all, he never got to cook enough with Alfred around, don’t even worry about it. Damn. There was just something about being in service of you. 

And there he was, straight from this morning’s musings: situated at your stovetop fixing you something—you hadn’t had sex, which you were sure was hidden somewhere in your earlier daydream, but you had been close in a way that strangely didn’t feel too far off.

You peered at him while he cooked and felt a pull to feel embarrassed about the off-brand noodles and cheap marinara. Dressed in tattered black clothing and doing absolutely nothing a typical rich guy did, it was easy to forget that he was a billionaire, and at some level used to opulence. He cracked open the dollar marinara without a second glance, and you twiddled your thumbs. 

He was dangerous. Violent. Isolated. A man with so much power he could destroy you however he wanted and get away with it. Get praised for it, even. He could buy, bully, or hurt anyone into anything, yet here you were visualizing him with a halo. Dangerous, you reminded yourself as your eyes followed him grabbing the wooden spoon to fold the sauce in. Violent, it continued, desperate to protect, though you’d never felt more protected than in Bruce’s presence. 

“How much do you want?” He looked over his shoulder and you could’ve melted into a puddle. Maybe he’d earned a bit of that mesmerizing halo. 

You ate wordlessly, save an initial thanks and yeah. The way his eyes shifted you couldn’t tell if he actually wanted to be there, so you didn’t push your presence onto him with conversation. Bruce already felt like enough of an intruder, so he waited for you to initiate. It seemed like you wanted some silence. You both kept it, until you noticed he looked lost in thought.

You set aside the few noodles sticking to the edges of the bowl. He had finished his minutes ago, vacillating between the eating speed of a mouse and a vacuum dependent on the meal. Note: he likes spaghetti. “What’s up?”

His tone was tentative. “Can we talk about Oz?”

[starsluver]

Random Facts About the Slytherin Boys

Part 1

Mattheo Riddle

In the first year, no one believed that he was related to Voldemort. mainly because no one thought he'd have a child

He also fluently speaks Spanish since he was raised by his mother (ngl I believe that Mattheo is either Guatemalan, Mexican, Colombian, or Puerto Rican) cause his father didn't want anything to do with him until he got older

Had a side part phase for most of his first through fourth year because his mom liked it until his fifth year where he learned how to take care of his natural hair and he takes VERY big pride in it, he literally spends all his money and time on it and REFUSES to let anyone touch it.

He got the scar on his eyebrow from trying to give himself a slit eyebrow in his third year because he'd thought he'd look cool but ended up with a scar and his mom yelling at him but tells everyone he got it from a fight

He got the scar on his nose in his sixth year from banging his nose on a sink but tells everyone that he got from a fight with a guy from racenclaw (Theo's the only one that knows the truth)

Secretly a theatre kid

Has the messiest hand writing, literally no one can read it.

Silver Tooth Kid activities !!!!!!

He had perfect grades until 5th year when he started slacking off cause his dad would always pressure him to get good grades

had a THICK Spanish accent and was kind of used to get made fun of for it. He barely speaks it around people which is pretty much why most people completely forget he's Latino

Made friends with Blaise, Enzo, Theo, and Draco in that exact order

Blaise thought Mattheo looked like he was gonna cry when his mom dropped him off at the train station first year. so he and Mattheo played on his Nintendo DS the whole train ride

Enzo soon met Mattheo in their second year after Blaise introduced them.

Afterward, Enzo introduced Theo to Mattheo that same year. They bonded over the fact no one else understood what they were saying and that they had deadbeat dads

"Blaise, what are they saying?"

"Don't know but at least they're getting along!"

His middle name is Andrés

He grew up with two cats and a dog. He had a ginger cat named Garfield who died from obesity because Mattheo wouldn't stop feeding him table scraps. He currently still has a black cat who he named Loki until later on finding out it was a girl because she got pregnant and had kittens, renames her Kali (inspired by Kali Uchis 😛) he currently has a pitbull named Dodger

He met Draco through Blaise again

"why do you talk like that?"

"why does your face look like that?" In a HEAVY Spanish accent

Used to bite people he didn't like

Sassiest 1st year

He was so obsessed with death note in his third year that he'd put the names of people he didn't like in the book hoping they'd just randomly drop dead. (They didn't)

He had a crush on Padma Patil since his FIRST YEAR TO HIS SIXTH YEAR. And even thought of asking her to the yule ball until he realized she was going with Ron. He beat Ron up as soon as he found out and told him to stay away from his girlfriend. (He never even had a conversation with her)

Theodore Nott

He was SUCH a cute 1st year. All the older girls would tell him how cute he was and he thought he was sooooo cool.

Didn't know English until his second or third year and barely anyone understood what he was saying.

Enzo met Theo when he saw Theo alone on the train ride. Enzo showed Theo his Pokemon collection cause neither of them understood each other and Enzo was basically his only friend at the time.

"anch'io ho quella carta!"

"🤨🤨🤨"

Eventually Enzo introduced him to Blaise and Mattheo. Where him and Mattheo bonded the most

"è un tale sollievo che qualcuno mi capisca!"

"¿que es eso güey?"

Theo met Draco long after through Lorenzo again

"why can't anyone here speak proper English?!?"

"il furetto,"

"Ki sa l menm ap pale de?" (I feel like Blaise is Haitian on his mom's side idk why but I'll explain it in the next part!)

"pinche guëro"

He was named after his father and had two middle names. Niccolo and Brando (the real ones know)

He grew up in the country side of Italy and was a VERY energetic child

He started smoking after a random 5th year asked if he wanted a hit in his 1st year

Perfect grades and handwriting

He's secretly friends with Neville and Luna because they secretly sell weed on the side but also the fact that he was also a loner and refuses to let any of his friends bully them.

Had a crush on Ginny and thought of asking her to the yule ball until Mattheo told him she was dating Dean Thomas (he cried himself to sleep)

[xruiiii-blog]

Recognize ur bat :)✨🦇 ✨(Prince Phantom lore explaining)

warning: character death mentioned.

This is the <original> Phantom, our charming young prince🤴 he’s human with demon blood. The demon part of him could be both a blessing and a curse, depending on how he uses that power. At this point he cannot fully control this power yet. Whenever he feels upset or forced to react with strong emotions, his quintessence power takes over and he turns into this⬇️

black hair, white irises(sometimes darker skin too). He will become either more aggressive or isolated depending on the mood he’s in. You can say they are not the same person essentially just two souls living in the same body. Phantom has not yet embraces this power fully. When he first realizes this character lives inside him, he’s actually scared and being quite defensive. He thinks that power, that “person”, is not him. Afraid that the other one will eventually took over his body and life and everything that belongs to him.

So this happened:

It’s just a phase. Eventually he will comes to this acceptance and realizes that’s not anybody but himself that he’s fighting against. The darker side of him that’s not there to replace him but to help him, to do what’s necessary, to make them both stronger.

Only Mountain knows about this or knows exactly what’s going on with Phantom. He’s the only person who sees them both as Phantom but also can differentiate them and treats them separately. Guiding them at the same time. Mountain spends time observing and tries to understand. He’s Phantom’s knight after all. People will think that oh the prince sometimes acts different or throwing tantrums like all kids do, or a bit weird with this one. Mountain knows they are actually two very different kids. (and sometimes things can be a bit messy too…)

… when Mountain died (the comic), that’s when Phantom starting to gradually embrace that power(without himself realizing ofc). He tried so hard to let go that human sentimentality. However, a part of him will never forget. Growing up and change is inevitable, just wishing time can slow down its pace before he had to blend among the stars. No longer stops for anyone.

[cozzzynook]

Touya as a hero would probably still end up with his quirk hurting him so he keeps it low profile that it is hurting him even with the support gear.

In this au Touya never became Dabi and when he burned on Sekoto Peak he was found by people who lived in a nearby village. He didn’t tell them his identity when he came to and only went back home when he was fully healed.

He learns what his mother did to Shouto and sees that nothing changed while he was away.

It crushes him.

So much so he retreats into himself.

He doesn’t acknowledge the warm attempts of his siblings to reconnect. He remains polite and even tolerates Shouto being near him which was a surprise none of the todoroki children saw coming.

Nothing seemed to phase Touya not even his fathers attempts at asking him what happened. He simply blocked everything and everyone out.

He trained his power in secret and learned to build his flames to a manageable degree. He enrolls into U.A without his father knowing until he sees him leaving one morning for school. No amount of questions phase Touya as he simply locks his dad out his room.

That night Enji cried for the smile that died on Sekoto Peak.

If only he had come when he was wanted then things would be different.

Life was different when Touya came back. Shouto no longer lived a separate life from his siblings and Touya was top of his class. He was seen as remarkable for using so little of his quirk while training to become a pro hero.

He ended up spending every internship under the watchful gaze of best jeanist and Aizawa. He was aiming to be an underground hero like Aizawa but he needed Best Jeanist so he could receive the necessary credits.

Time flew by as he focused on his studies and soon he was a licensed hero.

He did it. He finally did it.

He wasn’t a failure, he was worth existing. He was worthy of being loved and alive.

So why didn’t he feel like it?

He was twenty three now in the top twenty. He preferred staying there even if he could aim higher. Even with his support gear after all these years his fire still took a toll on his health.

Touya kept that information between himself and a private doctor on the lower side of the city. He figured he’d be alright since most hero’s steered clear of the area but his luck ran short when he saw pro-hero Hawks.

Touya felt his chest tighten and his vision shake as he turned a bit too fast and started walking the other direction. He was halfway home when he felt the familiar pain. His vision blurred and his body grew painfully cold.

After the fire Touya was given medicine to keep his body from overheating, essentially bringing forth more of his mothers quirk causing his fire to shut down and let the ice in his veins run rampant. His body was suited for the cold so his organs wouldn’t shut down. But it did cause irreversible nerve damage and brought to light his weak immune system.

Trembling from the chill, Touya felt his hands shake and his fingers lock. He was still a crier at heart and right now he felt himself sniffle as the water curled his lashes. But before he could shed them his body gave out and the world grew red and gold then black.

He comes to in a bundle of blankets and with something soft tickling his cheek. With no energy to move Touya lays in the soft cocoon before a hand with sharp talons he notes, touches his forehead and he groans.

“Oh! Nova you’re awake. Don’t worry its me, Hawks. No one saw you I made sure of it. Oh wait hehe, sorry I forgot to mention I was following you..Not to be a stalker or anything! I just noticed you didn’t look well..”

“Not being a stalked I promise!”

Hawks looks even more nervous than before until he grabs a glass of water and helps Touya drink. He mumbles a weak, “thank you,” to the winged hero before shivering.

“Oh are you cold again? I hope you don’t mind but when I laid next to you it helped.”

Hawks laid next to him and his wings really did add to the winged mans already high temperature. “Its kinda funny. My quirk makes me hot but yours freezes you.”

Touya said nothing as he slowly warmed up. Hawks once again ruined the silence, “I saw the burns on your wrists and the quirk aides on your wrists..how long has your quirk hurt you?”

Touya held in a breath before trying to get up, Hawks was much stronger than he looked.

“You can’t keep going if this is what it does to you.”

“Fuck you.”

There was silence before Hawks pulled him closer, “is hurting your body really worth being a hero?”

“What else is there?”

Hawks said nothing as Touya stared into nothing, his chilling anger fading to empty sadness.

“I don’t have anything else..this is all I have to prove my creation wasn’t a mistake…”

“but it’s still not enough..i’m..its not enough.”

Hawks said nothing as he watched Nova silently cry with a broken smile.

He noticed Nova when he first debuted and since he’s had a crush on him. He knew from the beginning something wasn’t right but that didn’t stop his feelings. If anything it fueled them more.

Resting his forehead against Nova’s tear stained cheek Hawks wing presses further into Nova, “Find it with me.”

“Lets find our existence outside of hero work, together.”

The tears poured from Nova’s eyes faster and his smile slowly lowered until only his eyebrows were lifted as his head turned to the side of the pillow and cried.

For the first time in a long time, since the day he became a real pro to the fire on Sekoto Peak to the day he learned his body rejected his quirk.

𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮.

𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.

𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦.

[endcant]

when i was a teenager on tumblr in 2012-2013 i briefly had a moment when i was obsessed with dennys’s trashy and liminal nature and i collected weird and horrific dennys stories. dennys was inherently funny to me. and so when dennys made their own cursed shitposting blog i was pissed that dennys stole the posting about dennys game from me, and i deleted all my posts about the restaurant chain. i remember the last night of true dennys based joy was not long after the dennys blog went up but i hadnt quit the dennysposting game yet. my bedroom had flooded and so i was sitting in the kitchen and reading asks about food poisoning and roaches and such to occupy my time til my room went back to normal. but it never went back to normal. my room became the home of black mold and fungus, where i coexisted with the toxic spores and unceremoniously scraped ear-shaped mushrooms off my wall for about 5 years until i moved out in mid 2018. after the dennys jig was up, i pivoted hard into my vaporwave phase and also spent a bit less time on tumblr in general due to spending more time on fandom-specific sites. i also was spending more of my time at home laying in bed lowkey hallucinating and highkey believing i was a dead person. this was quite confusing because at that point science had come to the conclusion that black mold couldnt produce enough toxic spores at once to cause a person to experience serious psychological symptoms. so of course this meant to me, a toxin-addled teenager, that the hallucinations and such i was experiencing were not explained by science and thus potentially real. this disturbed me when i had the time to worry about it, which only became a major issue for my quality of life after i graduated high school and all i did was work at a coffee shop and play minecraft in my mold room. it wasn’t until after i moved out in 2018 that i found out that scientists reversed their opinion on mold toxins again in like 2017 or something. now its widely acknowledged that that shit makes people have all manner of mental symptoms. at the time though i was fairly willing to accept that the powers that be forgot to take me out of my body after i died. i felt a bit bad for spreading so much shit talk about denny’s back in the day since the better dennys in my town was incredibly accommodating to the massive amount of allergies in my family, but the other dennys functionally across the street from it served such horrible food that the impression could not be overcome.

[ellestra]

Beyond the Wasteland of Vengeance

I just watched Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and I loved it. It was hard at times as this is a harsh world and the rule of prequels tells us who has to die. But it was so worth it. We already know this is story of hope in the end. We know how Furiosa's Fury Road ends. It's starts with the same unrelenting determination (like the way she makes sure no one could tell of her home).

The cast is great (even if Chris Hemsworth fake face is somewhat distracting) but I think the most impressive was Alyla Browne who is Furiosa much longer than I expected for a film marketing Anya Taylor-Joy so heavily. She has some of the most badass parts (if you thought you hated Immortan Joe's sons before... well, thinking of their deaths is even more satisfying now). She is also made look so alike Anya that I initially missed the moment they switched.

But Immortan Joe and his band of monsters are just background creeps showing the decay of the world in general. The main villain is the one who took everything she loved from Furiosa. And didn't even remember half of it because he destroyed so many lives hers was nothing special. The one who set her on this path.

There is something sad about Dementus. You can almost feel, not compassion, but at least pity. You can see glimpses of a person he used to be before children died and you see how the end of the world destroyed him. It's like the voiceovers at the beginning describe what happened to his mind and soul when everything fell apart.

He's embodiment of that rot (and him going through white to red to black phases makes it even more clear). And he destroys everything he touches. At least the lords of Citadel, Bullet Farm and Gas Town built something. Something horrible and cruel but something. He can only destroy. He thinks finding Abundance will save him but he will only destroy that too. As I said, allegory.

Furiosa is his opposite because she doesn't let the cruelty of the world destroy her like this. She doesn't let the rot take hold of her and use her to spread. She never trusts the monsters surrounding her and she doesn't believe any of their promises. There is no safety in just letting them do that one thing. The cruelty will not end and will not be just that one thing.

I loved how she never stopped fighting. Not during her kidnapping. Not during her imprisonment. And then she found a way to escape one into another and then escape that one too. Using the very way those men wanted to poses her to plan her escape. Even when she loses her way home (figuratively and literally) to have her revenge it doesn't last. Even if she needed help in to follow her dream.

It's hard to trust in this world because a single act of kindness may cost you everything. But not everyone is evil. Even in Wasteland she finds someone who actually gives her help she needs. Someone she wishes to share her goal with. This films actually did "not all men" and it was great because it was earned but also because it helped explain why she would trust Max eventually. She already knew there are ones you can trust.

I tried to be pretty generic so far but behind this cut are SPOILERS for the very end (even though I don't say what it actually is - you can watch it yourself).

That ending was perfect both as foreshadowing who she will become but also as a callback to the beginning of the movie. Dementus tried to make her his daughter and use her to replace his children but she rejected him completely. Even if that was just swapping one monster for a bunch of even worse ones. And here at the ends he gloats about turning her into his daughter anyway. One in spirit anyway.

That like him she becomes creature of revenge and cruelty that nothing will ever satiate. Someone so obsessed with vengeance she will never stop even when the other side just want to leave (the mirroring of all the time he chased his prey and her chasing him was pretty nice). He thinks his death would just seal the deal because his suffering will never be great enough to soothe her pain.

You know, your standard - you will become like me spiel a villain does in moment like these. And lesser movies have heroes let villain go to prove them wrong (and then he tries to kill the hero anyway so the hero can have “my life was in danger” excuse to kill them anyway).

And she does lets him live but she doesn’t let him win. Once again she rejects him just like she did as a child. She remakes him into a symbol of her new purpose. She creates life out of a rotten man who did nothing but destroy lives of those around him. She makes him suffer for all the suffering he caused but that suffering is to build something new. And to create hope and future for those who have been abused by men like him.

And just like he asked she made it epic but as one last “fuck you” to him trying to control her story no one knows (well, almost no one). It’s epic and it’s a secret.

There is also something poetic that Furiosa eventually took over the Citadel - something he wanted so badly and never achieved. It retroactively made ending of Mad Max: Fury Road even better. And since it only took few days of them being gone he’s probably still there as she remakes it into the new Green Place.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

arcane s2 - review

okay so now that i have given my two cents on caitvi and i've had enough time to digest s2 of arcane, what do i think about the rest of it?

overall, i have mixed feelings about it. i didn't hate it but i feel like a lot of the themes and ideas were poorly executed, especially compared to s1.

(huge spoilers to arcane below!)

but let me start with the positives:

the animation OBVIOUSLY. huge props to the animators, s1 was already phenomenonal and s2 lived up to the hype, animation-wise. the fight scenes especially were just *mwah* chef's kiss.

the character designs were great. caitlyn looks a lot prettier with the middle parting. vi's emo phase is really hot. jinx's designs in the alternate universe and the finale were iconic. jayce's beard and disheveled look was just chef's kiss. jesus viktor was hot as fuck.

the voice actors did an amazing job obviously, and i didn't expect anything less from them.

jayce's and viktor's relationship was so good despite not having all that much screentime when you think about it. they interact in the beginning when viktor wakes up from his hex-coma and then reunite and fight and make up in the final few episodes. but because of their relationship that was built up in the first season, it all worked out smoothly and made for a very natural progression in their relationship.

jinx's redemption was pretty good. not the BEST but it was carried out well enough, especially in just 9 episodes. i didn't feel like it was rushed or undeserved. her sacrifice in the end was heartbreaking but it felt natural and not shoehorned in for some added angst.

and now for the negatives:

1. the pacing was really bad, in my opinion. they had only 9 episodes but they stuffed in so many subplots into this season that it felt overwhelming.

maybe i'm just stupid but i couldn't keep up with half of the stuff that was going on and some parts of the finale didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

like the whole storyline with mel and ambessa and the black rose was a blur to me. i honestly don't know what happened in the end after ambessa dies.

the whole deal with singed and vander and whatnot was also really murky. like i get the overall premise but it was really hard for me to grasp every single detail.

maybe this is just a me problem and i'm too dumb to follow more than two storylines at the same time. but s1 already had a lot going on and it was still a tad bit easier to follow.

s2 was just crammed with a whole bunch of different characters pursuing different goals and facing different obstacles, 9 episodes weren't enough to give all of it a satisfying conclusion. and as a result, some of the arcs felt rushed and unfinished.

like what happened to the whole found family thing with sevika, jinx and isha? they were beginning to get closer and form a good relationship but then suddenly, sevika is pushed out of the image and we never see how she reacts to jinx and isha's death.

2. while i don't think that caitvi is abusive, i still don't think the ship was great. it was just super rushed and there is a grain of truth to what caitvi antis are saying.

like yeah, caitlyn being an enforcer and seeing nothing wrong with it was.. questionable. wasn't the whole point of s1 that enforcers were ruining the lives of the people in zaun? wasn't police brutality and classism the main theme of this series? how come vi's parents were killed by enforcers and she was unfairly imprisoned for years by enforcers, but somehow she ends up dating an enforcer?

before s2 came out, i expected caitlyn to give up her job after realizing how corrupt it was. i thought that would be the natural progression of her arc, especially since she's seen how much the people of the undercity has suffered at the hands of enforcers. but nope, she keeps her job and it's never addressed in the end.

i don't think that caitlyn hitting vi once out of frustration and once out of necessity makes her a domestic abuser. but i do think it's kind of icky for vi to end up in a relationship with an enforcer, and for the show to frame it in a semi-positive manner. it's not entirely romanticized but the problems with it aren't really addressed either.

3. i feel like the themes of classism wasn't as well addressed in this season as it was in the first one. the first season had a strong message and it stuck to it. the second season was all over the place and then suddenly, there's viktor and the whole glorious evolution or whatever, and the conflict between piltover and zaun is pushed aside.

i like that sevika becomes part of the council in the end but is she the only one representing the undercity? is one person enough to speak for all these people in zaun? at least it's true to real life, i guess.

overall, i felt like the message was a lot more murky in this season. this ties to my first complaint because while s1 had a lot of storylines too, they followed a common theme. war, classism, and how privilege and the lack thereof affects people. s2's storylines are just all over the place and none of them seem to follow a theme. at least some of them could have been discarded.

4. i briefly mentioned this before but the fact that jinx stops experiencing her hallucinations never made sense to me. especially after she accidentally killed silco, shouldn't they get worse? it is implied that she has schizophrenia and c-ptsd so i really don't understand how silco's death suddenly got rid of most of her symptoms.

she still sees and hears the hallucinations from time to time and her mental state is definitely far from stable, but it was still such a huge jump from her psychotic breakdown in the s1 finale.

so yeah, these are my thoughts about arcane s2. there were more pros than cons but the cons still outweigh the pros, simply because of how much impact they had on the plot.

i'm generally not one to demand more seasons or episodes out of a series where the writers have already told the story they wanted to tell, but arcane s2 was so rushed and so filled to the brim with different characters and storylines, i couldn't help but feel like it would have benefited from having more episodes to play everything out more slowly.

i still liked this series a lot and i enjoyed watching it, but i'm not blind to its flaws and i try not to be biased.

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

After Jason comes back from the dead publicly, Gotham has split opinions. There are those who don't believe the story of him having studied abroad and just having felt uncomfortable in the spotlight that comes with being under the care of Bruce Wayne.

They absolutely believe that he died though.

"His whole personality changed! Look at all these old photos and videos in which he's smiling and laughing!"

"I was a classmate of his back in Gotham Academy, let me tell you, this guy is not the same kid that talked passionately about why a certain subject isn't boring. It looks like he entered his teenage angst phase and never grew out of it"

Then there are others who believe the cover up story and dunk on the people who believe he was dead.

"Ordinary people don't just come back from the dead! Superheroes, sure! But regular folks? Nah!"

"The new attitude can be easily explained by him having a falling out with his family. It totally checks out! Bruce Wayne is giving no comments about him and none of them interact with Jason publicly!"

"Ohh, I haven't considered the "Black Sheep" theory yet, but it makes so much sense!"

This whole debate about "Jason Todd died" and "Jason Todd DIDN'T die" becomes Gotham's Yanny or Laurel

[writteninlunarlight-years]

Hiya! Could you do a one-shot of Alastor x fem! reader who is like Art the clown (from the terrifier movies, all hallows eve and the ninth circle)?

Perhaps they met when Alastor first got to hell and reader wanted to kill him at first but due to his old fashioned ways (the courting and such) along with him being quite sadistic when it comes to killing, she became more curious about him and it led to a relationship?

How would their relationship be? Would it become more of a one sided thing? Would she try to harm him after he comes back from his seven year absence? I’d love to see your interpretation on this!

~ 🕷️

Terrify Me~

(Anon, I promise I did not forget you! I have never seen these movies and call myself a horror fanatic! So I watched them all as I had the time to try and be better at this writing! I hope you enjoy and stay hydrated!) TW: Torture, Death, assault, Suggestive, Sad, Comfort

Hell was far more entertaining than back up on the earth, though yes, it sucked dying to those damn cops. This was where it was at. You had free reign to torture and torment those around you; the good deal was that people didn’t die permanently as long as you used the right tools. This led to such an easy time finding prey to stalk. It also allowed you to develop incredible powers as people begged and pleaded with you for deals on being free from torment. 

You were a terrifying creature, a black-and-white marionette doll with no voice box. Your movements and attention to detail got you through your life in hell. You were sadistic and cruel to whoever became your prey for the time you spent stalking them, hunting them, and slowly driving your enemy mad. You were so good at the job that people recognized you as an Overlord before even discussing it with you. Of course, who would dare get in your line of sight less you make them the next target? 

You didn’t care about hell’s silly hierarchy or games; you only cared about getting your fill. Your mind was on the prize of listening to beautiful screams and cries. Like a masterful puppet pulling strings, your looks did not portray your abilities all that well. You may have looked like the prey, but you were the top predator. You were deadly, mind, body, and soul.

Years had passed of your reign as the queen of torture till a new man arrived on the scene. Alastor, the radio demon, died not too long after your rise to fame and began to make waves in the underworld as he broadcasted screams of the damned and tortured. His show quickly became one of your favorites, and you would play it as you killed and murdered innocent demonic souls, hoping to make a deal with you for safety. 

Eventually, though, your love and passion for the radio demon's show turned to disgust and hate as he began to take your place in the world of torturing the damned. You had found a new prey to stalk, and it was someone who was equally matched. 

Your stalk began small, with just hushed whispers and knowledge of the man you wished to end. You found photos and some video of him, but it was grainy and distorted. He was a handsome man. He would be so beautiful strung up. As you thought of many ways to torture and abuse him, the next phase of your plan was in order.

Though you were an ‘overlord,’ you never attended meetings. However, you did start when it came to hunting Alastor. Watching his every move and emotion, you saw he was good at mimicking and faking just like you. Yet you had to say you were just that much better at it. When you two first officially met, you could visibly see the disdain on his face when you couldn’t speak. Like many powerful beings, Alastor puts weight on words, something you have no control over, always giving you the upper hand. 

You found every excuse to be around and speak to the man. Eager to move on to stage three of your plan to capture and torment this soul. Actively seeking Alastor out, you began to carry a notepad to speak with him. Small conversations that would sometimes run long. You enjoyed his voice, at least. You thought it would sound lovely, screaming in pain and agony. 

Though you had these sick, twisted thoughts about Alastor, you couldn’t help but be curious about the other feelings he elicited. You wanted to hear him sing, watch him smile, and enjoy his murder. His many good qualities interested you even more. You even sought medical help in the man before you as you didn’t understand these stirrings you had around him and him alone.

As the final plan commenced where you would capture and torture him, you were caught off guard by a single black rose being placed before you. Looking at it and holding it gently, you felt your undead heart flutter. This situation happened many times over and over.

You would go to kill or capture Alastor, and right there, every time you would execute your plan, he would have a trinket or doo dad for you to keep as your own. He began to touch you gently, shoulders, face, sides. Things started to shift in you; you were being courted, and it wasn’t until you experienced this love that you realized it happened: Alastor had you under his spell. 

Your plans of killing Alastor were long gone; now, you just wanted to have the joy of torturing others together. Come a year of your stupid game; you were now officially Alastor's partner in crime. It was charming how he always let you get the first stab and helped you stalk and scare others. He even taught you how to cook and kill the dead sinners. Things were well between you two, so well that domestic life began to become a norm for two sadistic sinners. Yet it all changed one day suddenly. You had been out on a kill someone you and Alastor had stalked for months. However, when you returned covered in blood and a dead body in tow, Alastor was nowhere to be found. You waited a year in that small home you two made, and he never appeared.

After seven long years, you returned to the top of the food chain; you were vicious and cold-hearted. Bloodthirsty. You allowed yourself to be blindsided by a man who couldn’t even say goodbye. Anger consumed you as the years passed, and you became known as the terrifier. You were deadly on a much larger scale than your first time on the scene. You were always longing for Alastor just to come back home. You were longing openly to all that you would kill him and make him pay.

While on the town killing, you heard a familiar buzz. Your blood ran cold as the familiar sound flooded your senses. Running to the old home, you two shared the life long forgotten: you hoped so badly to see him standing there as he once did. Would you kill him? Let him live? Fall into his arms again?

As you entered the house, he wasn’t there. It was still empty, still intact, the same as you left it six years ago. Sighing, you left and walked to the nearest brothel to kill some easy dirtbags. That's when you saw the shadow. Was this a game? Some sick, twisted game to make you think Alastor had come back for you.

Following the shadow, you grew more rabid and curious. Eventually, you found yourself atop a hill where the Hazbin Hotel sat. Walking in, it was silent; it was late at night, and you assumed everyone was asleep. Stepping further into the forbidden territory, you looked around cautiously. It was homey and bright, too bright for your liking, yet some of the decor looked like what you saw in your old home with Alastor.

You felt the presence before you heard it, and suddenly, a bright smile overtook your face. He was here; he was back. Seeing before you Alastor, the radio demon, your lost love, you took a step towards him, afraid it was fake. You don’t know what emotion overtook you the most. You wanted to tear him apart, yet seeing him there, everything felt so surreal. His smile, for once, was authentic, and as he opened his arms out for you and you rushed in, you heard the faintest, “Oh, how you still terrify me…”