#you guys are not prepared for what i have in mind in the next verse

[asmodeauxx]

snippet of the animation so far

pretty proud of it so far😋😋

[adoremexxs]

OKOK this took me a lot of courage to request tbh since like idk it just seems embarrassing, anyways could you maybe do an Aizetsu x reader who looks very intimidating but is actually a big softie😔? Also I genuinely don’t mind if you don’t do this and ik you have a lot of requests now and with school coming up and etc so make sure to take some breaks 👿👿

it is not embarrassing! this idea is so cute! and thank you for being so considerate 😭 i start school in a few days and my life is usually busy so i’ll try to do all the requests i can. and i didn’t know if u wanted it modern, demon verse or whtv so i just chose modern if you don’t mind. i also rushed to do this bc i’m so busy.

Aizetsu was terrified of you when you first came to his class.

You were incredibly intimidating and you scared him!

He’s 6’4 and built and yet he is scared of you! It’s actually common for him to be scared of people. But you had him shaking in his boots.

Whenever you were assigned to sit next to HIM, oh boy. He was petrified and wanted to hide from you.

You sat down next to him. You didn’t really talk. You were shy, especially with going to a new school. Aizetsu had been fumbling with his necklaces and earrings, anything he could readjust and make himself look more presentable to you.

But you ended up talking to him because you guys had to be partners for a project.

Aizetsu realized that you were so terrifying sweet.

You always gave him praise.

“Good job, Aizetsu.” “Wow, you’re incredibly smart.” “You look amazing today, Aizetsu.” “Oh! You like bunnies? Me too. I wish I could see your pet bunny!” “Gosh, your eyes are gorgeous today.” “But then again, they already are gorgeous.”

What he didn’t realize is that you were flirting with him a bit. You realized that Aizetsu SUCKS at picking up hints.

Like you want to go out with him. He’s gorgeous. He’s quiet, gorgeous, tall, tan, blue eyes, his hair is GORGEOUS, everything about him is perfect. And you want him! And you get what you want!

You just had to plan it perfectly.

.

.

.

You started giving gifts to him. At first…Aizetsu thought you were trying to kill him or like bribe him into doing something for you…

He still thinks this whenever you give him gifts.

Then you started complimenting him. Now Aizetsu definitely thinks you are trying to bribe him. You’re way too intimidating to actually like him! Right?

You started to scare him even more though that’s not what you were trying to do.

Eventually you just gave him a note because your attempts sucked! And he refused to believe that you actually liked him he just couldn’t tell.

So you told him to meet you under the cherry blossom tree giving yandere simulator.

.

.

.

Aizetsu thought you were going to put him up. He legitimately had prepared himself to get beat up.

What he didn’t expect was you to shove flowers in his face. Aizetsu was incredibly surprised.

“U-Uhm…(Y/N)? What’s this?”

You were all shy now, fumbling with anything you could.

“Flowers…For you.”

Aizetsu was so surprised. He didn’t mean to accidentally shed a few tears but he did.

“Listen, I like you so much, Aizetsu. I tried to praise you, compliment you, give you gifts. I enjoy your presence and everything. I want to be with you. Show you how love feels. I know that you haven’t had a good life, I’ve heard from people. I want to make you feel loved and I want to spoil you with affection and anything you want. So please, Aizetsu, go out with me!”

Oh jeez. Your whole face was redder than Sekido’s eyes. You were flustered. Scared. Until Aizetsu hugged you so tightly, wetting your shoulder with his tears.

“Of course, (Y/N)! I’m so dense! I’m so sorry! I’m so so so so sorry!” He sobs into your shoulder, “Of course, I’ll go out with you!”

I think we all know what happened later.

You took him on a nice and romantic date! Duh! Karaku was so jealous!

[cffeelia]

discography | chapt. 1

I NEED U — k. seokjin

in which bangtan writes their music about you, all 7 chasing you until someone steals your heart.

chapter summary: the group is preparing to launch the first part of their next musical project; the most beautiful moment in life, pt. 1. however, seokjin is dedicated to making one of the songs about you, hoping you’ll understand him and be his once again.

no warnings this chapter !! kind of an angsty vibe but dw girl the smut is coming.

previous chapter here (this is the first chapter stupid)

“hyung? no way, look namjoon he’s sleeping at the desk.”

hoseok and namjoon opened to door to seokjins dorm to find him asleep at his desk, pen discarded onto the floor and drool falling down onto his notebook. it was 1am, it’s not unusual for the guys to be up this late, especially with a comeback on the horizon, but seokjin wasn’t the type to stress himself out as much as the others about lyrics and song production.

“holy shit, he’s really going through it with this girl.” namjoon read over the lyrics he was writing:

“i need you girl,

why do i need you even though i know i’m going to get hurt?

you’re beautiful, too cold.

i need you girl.

just say you wanna breakup instead, that would be better

girl, say it wasn’t love

i don’t have that kind of courage

give me one last percent

so that i won’t go back anymore”

just by skimming the bridge, namjoon knew they had to do something with this.

two nights later, jimin held a piece of paper with that same bridge on it. he belted the final verse for the sixteenth time before looking back to namjoon from the recording booth window.

“better now?”

“that’s what i’m telling you jimin, you needed more emotion. it’s perfect.”

feeling relieved, he immediately dropped his headphones, walking straight from the booth to the studio door.

“goodnight hyung, don’t overwork yourself again.”

namjoon hummed in reply, knowing that’s exactly what he was planning to do.

jimin bumped into his oldest member while taking the elevator up to his dorm. it’s still unusual for jin to be up this late, he knew what was on his mind.

in the unusually silent elevator, jimin spoke up quietly.

“are you okay?”

seokjin turned to look jimin in the eyes, nodding rapidly before resuming his thoughts.

he wasn’t in any way, how could you leave him like this? did he even have a reason to be so fucking pissed?

his mind ran wild, not even paying attention to jimins conversation while he pictured you in all your glory.

your deep eyes that lead straight to your once our soul, everything about you, it was all his. why aren’t you in his dorm again? oh, right.

he shook his head as to not think of you anymore, you who was hundreds of miles away, fast asleep in a college dorm room.

if only he knew you weren’t. if only he knew you were still thinking of him, of the two of you. if this was any normal night, you would’ve been wide awake, head on seokjin’s chest while he cracked jokes like it wasn’t 1 in the morning. he would lay your hair flat with his palm, pressing an occasional kiss into your freshly shampooed hair. you’d feel the vibrations of his voice softly lulling you to sleep. he would talk your ear off, only closing his eyes once he propped himself slightly up to see you sound asleep, your face so beautiful and relaxed.

it’s not like you wanted to end things off, if you could choose, you would’ve married seokjin, but that’s not how things work. you’d met him working as a manager for his group in their late trainee and early debut days.

the boys were all sweethearts, but something about seokjin was special. the way he wrapped a blanket around you when you fell asleep managing late night rehearsals, or always started the coffee machine for you in the staff rooms before music bank performances, he was just too nice. the two of you got closer, eventually forming a weird type of relation-situationship. in the mornings, jin wake up early to make breakfast for you at your place. he would try his hardest to cuddle you into your mattress and convince you to just stay in bed with him all day, spoiling you with kisses everywhere, but you eventually would have to help him get ready, and be out of your apartment by 5am. you were expected to be at the bighit building at 6:30am, and wake the boys up as soon as you clocked in, so as long as nobody snitched that you were sleeping with jin, you’d be fine.

but company relationships are taboo, and shortly after bangtan released their third album, skool luv affair, a coworker knocked on your door to be met by jin, messy hair, sweat sticking it to his forehead. it took one look at his swollen lips, and lack of a shirt to connect the dots. you begged her not to report you, and she didn’t, she reported your lover. you had the chance to give up your spot as manager to her in exchange for her silence, but would be met with backlash from seokjin if you did.

some sacrifices have to be made, and you had to break things off with seokjin only a week after resigning from your position.

small fights happened between you two before about the fact that jin was risking his career to be with you, too many times now had someone interrupted you during your elevator make out sessions.

never anything too serious, but the last one is what ended your relationship.

“so what you’re just gonna be unemployed because you want to? what’s the truth ____, you know you can tell me!” he screamed.

“why does it even matter, seokjin? it’s not like it’s any of your business!”

this argument in particular started when you brought up going back to college and getting a degree since you quit your job as bts’ manager. jin playfully disagreed, asking you to stay with him, but something in you wasn’t having it. why couldn’t you just live your own life without his questions?

“can’t i ever do something that I want to without you breathing down my neck about it?”

“well fuck, then im sorry i don’t want my girlfriend abandoning me after i’ve sacrificed my own god damn career for her.” he said sarcastically, “like come on, can’t you ever do something for me?”

this was your final straw. you inhaled, trying to find the urge not to sock him in his handsome ass face.

“kim seokjin i am not your girlfriend” you warned.

“then will you be?”

“after all of this shit, no. not if i’m gonna have you fucking controlling me all this time. matter of fact, i’m going back to college, get out of my apartment.”

“no you’re not.” seokjin immediately went after you as you went to slam your bedroom door in his face. he barely got through the crack before you almost slammed it on him.

“____, can we please talk about this. i’m sorry, you don’t have to be my girlfriend just don’t make sudden decisions like this.”

“there’s nothing sudden about this seokjin! what am i supposed to do, work at a gas station so you can just come over and eat my food and fuck me?” tears threatened to fall from your eyes, it’s like your mouth was betraying you. you didn’t want to leave jin, you didn’t want to leave anyone. not bighit, not bangtan, and especially not your once shared apartment.

“i’m not saying that, just please, think about it. i love you babe.”

“don’t babe me! i’m never gonna make a living and get out of this damn city if i don’t get a valid education! i can’t just be a fucking manager for the rest of my life. i have ambitions too you know.” you spat back

“____.” jin called your name with so much love. so much every nerve and muscle in your body tensed as your resisted the urge to grab him and cry into his arms.

“jin, go away.” you pushed him out of your room, leaving him to sit against the other side, listening to you as you sobbed silently, only breaking the silence ever now and then to sniffle.

he silently let his tears fall from the other side of your door, after thirty minutes your apartment door slammed, but not before your bedroom door opened, you wanted to kiss him at least one more time. it was too late, you opened your lips to be met with a harsh gust of wind from your apartment door slamming shut.

the sound of the heavy door closing broke you, breaking out into full on sobs.

two days later, you pulled yourself together and let your thoughts rot in your empty apartment. for the first time in those two days, you left your apartment and drove all the way to your childhood town, an hour away in busan.

you ignored all of your emotions, putting your nervous system on airplane mode as you pulled into the cafe parking lot.

after ordering a small pastry and drink, you opened your laptop and started searching for universities.

you settled on one in daegu, daegu arts university.

you’ve always been fascinated by theatre, but never had the opportunity to pursue your dreams, as your family never considered it a legitimate career. you’ve not heard from your parents or brother in almost a year now, once they found out you were lying about attending college in seoul.

maybe that’s why you never gave jin any closure, it just runs in your blood.

months pass, and before you know it. you’re moving into your dorm room on campus, hanging out posters of your favorite tv shows and artists. part of you wants to show jin, but you know it’s too late to turn back now. so instead, you opened your laptop and got to work making new friends in an online chat room.

things were going great, you’d met another theatre major who also had a passion for music. before long, you all were trading you favorite artists left and right.

0_0: haiii!! i’m sullyoon , theatre major. super into idol groups, looking for new friends to rehearse with!

c0nversequeen: sullyoon!! nice to meet you, i’m ____. not so much into idol groups, but definelty into theatre. would love to rehearse and trade music artists with you <3

you bit the inside of your cheeks as the person typed back a response. before long, the awkwardness had faded.

conversation went from her favorite cafes in daegu, to newer idol groups she was loving.

c0nversequeen: i’ve heard great things about twice! i’m interested in western music tho. used to be into idols a ton… i managed one a year ago x_x

0_0: no way!!!!?! i don’t think you’re allowed to disclose who, but i’ll get it out of you one day! i’ve heard of britney spears before and beyoncé but i’m still more of an idol fan. recently i’ve taken a liking to a boy group, we should check out a cafe and stream some of their newer music!

a hangout already? campus life was going great. this was a refreshing new start for you and you were loving it.

sullyoon invited two of her friends. jisung, an art major, and ophelia, a music major. the friends seemed to be really into the boy group that sullyoon mentioned, the four of you were heading to a music store before the cafe to buy new cds.

you put the group onto your favorite paramore songs, jisung actually bought their latest cd. however, everton but you bought another group’s cd:

Bangtan Sonyeondan: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1.

the hangout went smoothly, you got your new friend’s numbers and went home content at about 6pm. as soon as you got back to your dorm, you opened your laptop to search up bts’ latest album. ‘you’re just checking on old friends’ you told yourself, knowing what your intention was. you opened apple music and clicked on the only track you remembered because of its english lyrics: “i need u”.

it wasn’t long before the dots clicked, and by the end of the song, the credits gave it all away.

“Lyrics: RM, Suga, j-hope, Jin, PD “Hitman” bang”

you closed your laptop, your jaw shot to the floor as you tried to make sense of what you just heard.

jin wrote a fucking song about you? there’s no way. you tried to sleep it off, but had the worst and most pleasant nightmare of your life, being woken to the sound of jin’s angelic voice as you read a text “omg! bts on tour… we’re going to seoul!”

you were saved by your own alarm for the first time in your life, wiping sweat from your hairline as you reached to your phone to silence the alarm.

you had no time to go back to sleep, and for the first time that semester, you didn’t rush out of the door. instead, you left earlier, heading to the dorms across campus.

you pounded lightly on sullyoon’s door to find her surprisingly attentive.

“need something?” she piped up

“yea. i need to tell you about the group i managed.”

after school that day, you opened up to someone about you and jin for the first time ever. about how you felt attached to bts somehow, how you always ended up involved with them in someway. the cd’s, daegu being yoongi’s hometown, seokjin’s song about you, it’s like a sign from the universe.

you almost cried from all of sullyoon’s support, but her advice was what you pondered the entire night before bed.

“you should call him! i’m sure he misses you, what’s the worst that could happen, ____. it’s barely been a year and he clearly loves you and thinks of you still.”

next chapter here

[modanisgf]

15. SUNFLOWER (WRITTEN)

y/n hated being a vigilante. she constantly thought about how much better her life would be if she never got bit.

like currently, instead of swinging around seoul trying to stop something that was anything but human she would be with danielle enjoying herself. but unfortunately, life never seemed to go her way as she had to excuse herself from her date with her girlfriend to save the city once again.

it seemed like the world hated her as her hero work got more intense after she started dating dani, and y/n dreaded the day she found out. it was getting more obvious as time went on, y/n constantly having to leave hangouts early and spider-woman showing up on the news.

one time when lesserafim was on break, y/n was living with her parents and her brother again. her and danielle had an outing planned, they had to postpone it because y/n’s parents ‘wanted her to help them’ with building a shed but when she called sunoo he had something different to say.

“sunoo?” danielle called, the boy answering immediately after.

“what’s up danielle?” he said.

“do you know where y/n is?”

“oh she’s not home right now, something about getting groceries.” sunoo said finally, making danielle’s heart drop.

“oh alright thank you.” she said quickly before hanging up.

she knew it now, y/n was hiding something from her.

it wasn’t just coincidences that she could just dismiss anymore, it was something big. if even her family didn’t know, what the hell was she hiding? danielle decided to not ask about it or hint at anything for a bit hoping that maybe y/n’s parents just asked her to go get them.

she was just reaching, right?

all of this led up to now, when you had to leave again promising danielle that you would go on a proper date next time.

“do you pinky promise?” she had asked.

“i pinky promise.” you said interlocking her pinky with yours.

and then you were off, on your way to fight another villain that didn’t seem real. another thing that had happened once you became more popular was the rise of paranormal activities. more and more unnatural things continued to happen to the citizens of seoul and especially you.

you knew all spider-mans were typically different in terms of extra abilities, but the persona you related to the most as of now is miles morales.

just a week ago, you were mid fight and when you prepared to attack electricity was all around your arm seemingly enhancing your damage. the guy you were fighting passed out after one more hit making you stare at your hands in awe. was that really you?

due most of your time being devoted to getting most of your information about the spiderverse from online or in comic books, you near instantly noticed this power related to miles morales your favorite spider-man.

okay maybe yunjin was right you are a nerd but it’s okay, being one helped you survive the hell that is being spiderman.

but speaking in terms of the present, right now you were fighting something like the prowler. though you refused to actually call it the prowler because you were afraid. afraid you had the same fate as the other spidermans.

you didn’t what you would do if you found out one of your family members was behind there, that would mean you were hurting your family. yunjin constantly told you it wouldn’t be your fault but the thought still lingered in your mind.

you never accepted things easily, and one day it would come to bite you in the ass but for now.

you just had to make it through the day.

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taglist (open): @haerinsloverr @kaypanaq @idkwhatim-doinghere101 @pandafuriosa60 @thefckghost @haerinkisser @amesification @nnewjeansstuff

[aishangotome]

Minamoto No Yoritomo: Chapter 1

(Gathering my magical power, I'll break the bond with Tamamo... and definitely open my own pharmacy!)

Thinking of the ordinary and lovable daily life, Yoshino encouraged herself and looked straight ahead.

Yoshino: Nice to meet you! Everyone.

Yoritomo: Alright. Good determination.

Yoritomo's eyes shone brightly, gathering the moonlight.

Yoritomo: Of course, what happened today must be kept secret. If you have any problems living in the Imperial Palace, tell these guys here.

Tamamo: I'd like you to introduce us again. I already know your name, but you were quite busy earlier.

Yoritomo: Alright. You too, remember it well, Yoshino.

Yoshino: Y-Yes.

Yoritomo: This tall guy with droopy eyes is my vassal and the muscle of the Kamakura shogunate, Morinaga Adachi.

Yoshino: ...Muscle?

Morinaga: That expression is a bit confusing, but... I actually go out to battle and command soldiers a lot.

(His demeanor is gentle, but what he does feels like a warrior.)

Yoritomo: Next, also a vassal. The glasses guy, Kagetoki Kajiwara.

Kagetoki: As Yoritomo-sama's vassal, I mainly handle domestic affairs and the management of vassals.

Kagetoki: It is also my duty to eliminate incompetent people from the shogunate. Be careful.

(Just as he looks, he seems a little scary...)

(...But, he was called the glasses guy, so that's okay.)

Yoritomo: Finally, this is Shigehira Taira, who I'm allied with. His role is...

Shigehira: The common sense guy!

Shigehira bit back before Yoritomo-sama could continue.

Shigehira: Listening to this, couldn't you introduce me a little better?

(His face is so well-proportioned that it's hard to approach, but seeing him talk, he's quite emotional.)

(Hm? Come to think of it, 'Taira'...)

Yoshino: Shigehira-san, are you from the Taira clan?

Shigehira: What, is that bad?

Yoshino: N-No, it's not bad, but...

Flustered by his grumpy reply, Yoshino glanced between Yoritomo-sama and Shigehira-san.

(The Genji and Taira clans were supposed to be opposed to each other, right?)

Even I, who am not well-versed in politics, know that Yoritomo-sama, the leader of the Genji clan, defeated the Taira clan in battle.

Shigehira: Right now, I'm just under Yoritomo-sama's umbrella. I don't have any obligation to explain more than that, right?

Yoshino: I understand...

(There seems to be some circumstances, but it seems like he doesn't want me to pry.)

Yoritomo: And I am the shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. Well, I don't need to explain, do I?

Morinaga: Yoritomo-sama is the black-hearted one, isn't he?

(Morinaga-san also says quite a lot with a smile...)

Yoritomo: Don't praise me. I'll get embarrassed.

Yoritomo-sama brushed off Morinaga-san's words without looking angry.

Yoritomo: That's all for the introductions. For today, I'll show you to your rooms.

Yoritomo: Tomorrow, we'll talk about the future. Alright? Yoshino, Tamamo.

(He speaks like someone used to giving orders.)

(Thinking about it again... I was meeting with an incredibly important person.)

Yoshino: Yes...! Thank you for the room.

Now that the crisis has passed, I'm not sure how to act towards Yoritomo-sama.

Tamamo: I can't wait for the feeling of a futon after a long time. Have them prepare a comfortable one.

Tamamo: Also, for breakfast, I want grilled fish and inari sushi.

Yoshino: Hey, Tamamo!

(As expected of a yokai...! Unlike me, he has no hesitation.)

Tamamo is calm despite my panic.

Yoritomo: You're a more brazen beast than I thought.

Kagetoki: Why not just let him sleep in the grass?

Kagetoki: If he has his own fur, that should be enough for a futon.

(Harsh... Kagetoki-san and Tamamo don't seem to get along.)

Tamamo: Kagetoki. You're often called a sneaky glasses guy, aren't you?

Yoshino: Sneaky glasses guy!?

(That was an amazing insult!)

Kagetoki: Unfortunately, tonight is the first time I've had the experience of being called that.

Kagetoki: But I wouldn't mind sewing your mouth shut and making it the last.

(Oh no, Kagetoki-san isn't backing down either...!)

As I watched nervously, Morinaga-san burst out laughing.

Morinaga: Tamamo... You're funny. You're great.

Kagetoki: You're laughing too much, fluffy muscle man.

Shigehira: Hey. Seriously, stop this pointless bickering.

(Huh? But...)

Yoshino: Shigehira-san's shoulders are trembling a little too...

Shigehira: ...It's your imagination! Your eyes are playing tricks on you.

Clearing his throat, Shigehira-san flatly denied it.

(Is that so...? I feel like he was trying to hold back laughter.)

Shigehira: More importantly, I want to go home now.

Yoritomo: Well, it's time for the kid to go to bed. Kagetoki, put Shigehira to bed.

Shigehira: Who's a kid, who is!

Morinaga: Don't get mad, Shigehira. If you sleep early, you'll grow taller.

Morinaga-san patted Shigehira-san's head.

Shigehira: S-Stop it! Just because you're a little tall...

Shigehira: In general, it's not very convincing coming from someone who stays up late gambling.

Morinaga: You're so young, Shigehira. I grow my body through sleep and my brain through gambling.

Shigehira: ...Liar!

(I can't tell if these people get along or not.)

Wondering, I coughed softly.

Yoshino: Just listening to the conversation, it's hard to believe it's between the shogun and his close aides.

Morinaga: You'll get used to it soon.

Yoshino: I hope so...

(They seem to be quite unique individuals. Not all samurai are like this, are they?)

Kagetoki: Now... It's true that I'd like to rest soon. We've been moving around unnecessarily tonight.

Morinaga: That's right. ...Well then, good night, Yoritomo-sama.

Yoritomo: Ah. See you tomorrow.

Kagetoki-san and the other two bowed their heads slightly to Yoritomo-sama.

Yoshino: You all don't live in the Imperial Palace?

Kagetoki: Of course not. Since you don't seem to understand, let me tell you...

Kagetoki: You should remember that it's a special thing for you to live in the Imperial Palace.

Yoshino: Is that so...?

Yoshino: Oh no, I'm getting even more nervous.

(I'm already unsure how to behave...)

Yoritomo: There's no need to be reserved.

As he said this in an arrogant voice, he casually pulled my arm...

(Ah...)

Yoritomo: After all, I intend for you to be 'especially' useful.

I was involuntarily captivated by his sharp eyes that were so close.

(What a forceful person... Even if he is the shogun...)

I try to maintain my composure and search for words to respond.

--CHOICES--

I'll do my best...

I'm dreading it

Yoritomo-sama, please

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

Yoshino: Y-Yoritomo-sama... Please don't forget your promise to protect me and Tamamo.

Yoritomo: Excellent. The stronger your spirit, the more fun it is to tame you.

Yoritomo-sama laughed loudly and suddenly released me.

Yoritomo: Come. I'll gladly welcome you to this Imperial Palace.

Yoshino: Thank you...

(Sigh... If I'm this flustered now, will I be okay in the future?)

After greeting the other three, I followed Yoritomo-sama through the heavy gate.

My heart began to pound with the anticipation of the turbulent days to come.

(If I had known before coming to Kamakura that I would be living in the same building as the shogun, what would I have thought?)

(Yeah... I probably wouldn't have believed it.)

That day, I slept soundly in the room I was given... Perhaps because I was tired, I didn't have any dreams.

-

The next morning--

I was summoned along with Tamamo and visited Yoritomo-sama's room.

Next to Yoritomo-sama, Kagetoki-san was standing by, his glasses glinting coldly.

Yoshino: ...Yoritomo-sama, what did you say just now?

Yoritomo: I said, I'm appointing you as my personal attendant.

Yoritomo: From now on, when I leave the Imperial Palace for official duties, you'll accompany me.

(You're joking, right!?)

(Being an attendant means taking care of personal needs, right?)

While I'm confused, Tamamo laughs cheerfully next to me.

Tamamo: Oh, am I an attendant too, Yoritomo?

Kagetoki: You stand out too much. Besides, you have no intention of listening to anyone anyway.

Tamamo: You're quick to figure out my personality in one night, Kagetoki.

Kagetoki: Don't make careless remarks when you had no intention of hiding it in the first place.

Yoritomo: Tamamo is considered my guest. You can do as you please, but don't cause any trouble, okay?

Tamamo: I can't promise that.

(Certainly, if Tamamo pretended to be an attendant, it would be strange no matter how you look at it...)

Yoshino: Wait a minute! I'm just a pharmacist, you know?

I raise my voice as much as I can and try to protest.

Kagetoki: It can't be helped. We need to strengthen Yoritomo-sama's personal protection in preparation for Yoshitsune's attack.

Kagetoki: Military force can be suppressed with military force, but magic power cannot be prevented.

Tamamo: I see, so that's why Yoshino is needed.

(Needed...)

Yoshino: So, being an attendant is just a name, and in reality, I'm a bodyguard?

Yoritomo: That's right.

Yoritomo: Tamamo, can she still use your ability to steal magic power even if Yoshino is away from you?

Tamamo: Yes. There's no problem.

Yoritomo: Good.

Yoritomo: Yoshino, you're lucky. You can gain valuable experience.

(Not good at all!)

Yoshino: I don't know any etiquette, and it's absolutely impossible for me to be an attendant to someone as important as the shogun.

Yoritomo: You don't need to do anything. Just walk behind me and sit next to me.

Yoritomo: It's a simple job that even a monkey could do. Or are you less than a monkey?

Yoshino: Less than a monkey!?

(What a way to put it...)

Just as I was about to retort, the sliding door slid open.

Morinaga: Yoritomo-sama, it's almost time for you to go out. ...Oh.

Morinaga: Yoshino, Tamamo, good morning.

Yoshino: Ah, good morning, Morinaga-san.

I was given a refreshing smile that blew away the tense atmosphere, and I returned the greeting.

Yoritomo: You came at just the right time, Morinaga.

Yoritomo: Carry this woman outside. I intend to take her with me, but she's not very obedient.

Morinaga: Oh...

(Morinaga-san...?)

Yoshino: I believe you're a good person, Morinaga-san!

Tilting his head, Morinaga-san put his hands together apologetically.

Morinaga: I'm sorry, Yoshino. I'll buy you your favorite sweets at the market next time.

Yoshino: It's not a matter of sweets... Wah!?

Before I knew it, he quickly approached and lifted me up effortlessly, causing my vision to shake.

(So high!)

Yoshino: Put me down...

Morinaga: Don't struggle, don't struggle. It's only scary at first.

Yoshino: I'm even more scared now!

Yoritomo: Let's hurry. If we're late, it'll mess up the rest of the schedule.

Kagetoki: Have a safe trip, Yoritomo-sama.

Tamamo: Yoshino, I'm counting on you for souvenirs.

Yoshino: How can you say such carefree things!?

(What about my will!?)

I protested as much as I could while being carried like luggage, but...

-

(This is what it's come to.)

After crossing the border on horseback for a while, we transferred to an oxcart that had come to pick us up.

(This is the first time I've ridden in an oxcart... but)

I don't seem to have the luxury of enjoying it right now.

Yoritomo: Hey, how long are you going to keep pouting? You're troublesome.

Yoshino: I'm not pouting, I'm nervous.

I retorted while feeling the rattling vibrations under my butt.

Yoritomo-sama, sitting across from me, had a look on his face that said he didn't care at all.

Yoritomo: Oh, is that so?

(Since I'm going through this because of Yoritomo-sama, he could at least be a little more sympathetic.)

(He probably thinks it's natural for a commoner like me to obey him.)

I took a small breath to try to regain my composure.

Yoshino: By the way, where is this oxcart headed?

Yoritomo: It's one of the countries under my umbrella. I've been invited to a banquet.

Yoshino: A banquet? Is that official business?

I blinked in surprise at his answer.

Yoritomo: What? You have a problem with that?

Yoshino: No... It's just that, since you're going out of your way to travel far when you might be targeted...

Yoshino: I thought it must be a very important job...

Yoritomo: Well, that's too bad for you.

I stared at Yoritomo-sama, who shrugged his shoulders, in disbelief.

(I did say I would cooperate with the Kamakura shogunate, but I never thought I would be dragged to a banquet.)

Yoritomo: You're a stubborn woman. Just give it up already.

I was showered with amused laughter, and I couldn't help but purse my lips...

Yoritomo: Ha, you have such an easy-to-read face.

(Huh?)

Yoritomo-sama leaned forward with a mischievous smile.

Creak... the wooden floor creaked faintly.

Yoshino: Y-Yoritomo-sama?

(So close.)

I involuntarily stepped back and my back hit the wall.

Yoritomo: Where are you trying to escape to?

Yoshino: Ah...

Yoritomo-sama's hand rested on the wall, cutting off my escape route.

Yoshino: What are you doing...?

Yoritomo: Who knows?

Yoritomo: How should I make a woman who's not interested in my orders obey me, I wonder?

(What does that mean...?)

His sweet, poisonous voice gradually seeped into my ears.

Yoritomo-sama looked down at me, who was holding my breath slightly, with amusement.

Yoshino: Make me obey... I'm troubled by you saying such selfish things!

Yoritomo: Selfish things, huh? Let me tell you, my intentions are the shogunate's decisions.

Yoshino: That's...

Yoritomo: Give up, there are fates you can't escape. After all, sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

Yoritomo: Your feelings and the shogunate's decision. It's obvious which one I'll choose, isn't it?

Yoritomo: If you say you don't understand... I'll teach your body. From now on, thoroughly.

(Ah...)

My heartbeat quickened, unable to stop the slight fever stirred up by his words and gaze.

As I lost my words, the oxcart shook suddenly.

(Whoa!)

Yoritomo: Have we arrived?

Strong arms easily caught my shoulders as I stumbled.

Yoritomo: Too bad, huh? I'll continue this later.

Yoritomo-sama stood up, screwing his smiling gaze into my eyes once more.

(I was completely teased...!)

Yoshino: Stop it already. Do you enjoy teasing people?

Yoritomo: It's quite fun to see you get so worked up.

(This person really has a terrible personality.)

I thought angrily as I also stood up.

Following Yoritomo-sama, I got off the oxcart and...

-

(What is this...!)

A large crowd of people lined up on both sides of the road, bowing their heads towards us.

The samurai at the front stared at Yoritomo-sama with a tense expression.

Samurai: Yoritomo-sama, welcome.

Yoritomo: It's been a while. I'm glad to see you're well.

(Ah... His attitude is already different.)

His face, pasted with a perfect smile, looks like a completely different person from a while ago.

Samurai: I'm honored. We have prepared a seat for you to rest from your long journey. Please, this way.

Yoritomo: Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.

Yoritomo-sama walked proudly through the center of the bowing people.

(He really feels like a person in power.)

(Is it okay for me to follow him...?)

Yoritomo-sama turned around as if reading my hesitation, and even that movement seemed calculated, with the sleeves of his kimono fluttering beautifully.

Yoritomo: Come, Yoshino.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 2

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[daitranscripts]

Under Her Skin Pt. 6

Shrine of Dumat

Under Her Skin Masterpost First: Vicinius Previous: Listening In

The party arrives at the Shrine of Dumat.

PC: So this is the shrine Corypheus his from Calpernia.

Party comments:

Blackwall: Let’s hope he doesn’t decide to visit while we’re inside.

Dorian: There are similar places in Tevinter. Notice how you feel it in the back of your mind. There’s power here—or was.

Cassandra: It is far, far too quiet.

Cole: This is a sad place, filled with old pain. People spoke here, and something listened, until it didn’t.

Vivienne: A shrine to one of the Old Gods. Few still exist.

Sera: Shrines are bad. Who here doesn’t know that?

Iron Bull: Seems deserted… but they always seem deserted.

*Demons spawn as they enter, appearing throughout the temple. Eventually, the PC finds a memory crystal.

Corypheus: Awake, in a world twisted into perversion and ruin. Awake, only to discover the light of wisdom has gone black. Samson has failed, but Calpernia stands ready.

Party comments:

Varric: Another memory crystal. We’ve found Corypheus’s diary.

Solas: More memory crystals. Let us hope Corypheus enjoys hearing himself speak.

Iron Bull: More crystals… and a bad guy who likes to talk to himself. This should be good.

Sera: Is that Cory-friggy? Who like their own voice enough to do this?

Vivienne: It seems Corypheus has been collecting his thoughts.

Cole: The stones trap the words, like a mind. He wanted someone to listen.

Cassandra: These are more memory crystals. Corypheus was recording his thoughts?

They continue through the shrine, continuing to find crystals.

Corypheus: I recited the old verses. How easily they come, even after so long a slumber. Yet I still do not feel the presence of Dumat—hear no whispers, no commands. Silence has fallen.

Corypheus: Calpernia prepares to set foot in the place where regret dwells, to bring it into the light. She cannot know what must be done, cannot understand. In time, she will forgive.

Corypheus: How does this age stand such desolation? They sing to a “Maker” who answers no prayers. Once I have ascended, I will be their answer. I will be their light.

Corypheus: A slave girl who burned with potential, ignored by all save myself. Her master did not see it. No one saw it. This world has gone craven and blind.

Corypheus: Did the others never return from the Black City? There s no record even of our names! We a re vilified by legend. They spit on our deeds and claim we brought darkness into the world. We discovered the darkness. We claimed it as out own, let it permeate our being. If the others have not returned, they are lost. I am alone in my glory.

Corypheus (Dalish PC): The Anchor is lost. An elf dares claim it. Corypheus (Qunari PC): The Anchor has been stolen. By a beast of strange blood. Corypheus (dwarf PC): The Anchor has been stolen. By a child of the Stone, no less. Corypheus (human mage PC): The Anchor is gone, taken by a mage of lesser gifts. Corypheus (human non-mage PC): The Anchor has been stolen, by a stripling.

Corypheus: I shall descend on this Haven with fire and fury and take it back. Let us see what manner of “Herald” this age has bred.

Next: The Pencil Sketch

[waddlewaddlewaddlewaddle]

Over my head (Miguel ‘o’ Hara x Reader)

Pairing: Miguel x f reader

Summary: y/n is a kind hearted nurse who’s life gets turned upside down as she get fired from one the most prestigious hospitals in NYC , desperate , she start filing job applications wherever. Coincidentally a stressed Miguel is looking for a nurse due to a big amount of spider people getting injured due to the surprisingly large amount of anomalies happening in the spider verse. What could go wrong is these two meet?

Themes: ✎slow burn ( I think)

Mutual pining

✎office romance (¿)

Hidden romance

✎Smut available as story progresses.

Dom Miguel x sub/bratty reader

✎Stubborn, Ill tempered Miguel.

✎ Angelic reader .

It girl reader.

✎I try to be as accurate as possible.

English is not my first language so bare with me.

✎badass stoic x sweet empath.

Og spanish speaker so be prepared for steamy dialogue :3

See master list for previous or future chapters

Chapter 1: pilot.

Everything was going great , really it was , you finally managed to become independent and move out, managed to get an amazing job with your hard worked degree, and lastly you were earning enough to get by and pay your student loans.

Until one fateful night you clocked in for your shift as a critical care nurse with your cute violet scrubs , one thing your coworkers really admired about you was your honest heart and true willingness to take care of those whose been injured tragically in a blink of an eye. You took your job very seriously and really put your soul into every stitch and intubation. So was the case when a powerful politician from your city arrive after a failed assassination attempt, you and your team managed to stabilize him and all procedures in the ICU went well.

In terms of post care you medicated him according to doctors order, you didn't go a gram over his pain medication and he seemed to be recovering quickly and well. Things started to go side ways when you had to leave work early since a friend of yours, Gigi got blackout drunk after a break up in a sketchy part of town. Not being able to handle the thought of all the things that could happen to her ;you left your patient to a newbie , trusting him to take good care of your patient (big mistake).

After leaving Gigi in her home , you called to get the rest of your day off so you could enjoy a well deserved break and catch up on some series you've left behind .The next morning you arrived to the hospital and quickly noticed your coworkers heads turning in your directos  staring at you with a wide gaze. You thought nothing of it and went to check on your patient room to see how all went last night. As soon as you entered the room you saw some iv drips on the floor , pillows and a mattress thrown to oblivion and most importantly your patient going bat shit crazy assaulting the newbie you left him in charge of , in the meanwhile some other nurses try to get him off the poor guy who was just trying to do you a favor.

Next thing you know you're rushing to the locked medicine room to later show your ID to enter the room so you can  quickly insert the tranquilizer in a  syringe to have ready . After locking up the place  you sprint back to room number #13 hoping no one is gravely injured, soon you open the door to then tip toe on ceramic tiles as you attempt to knock out the source of all the chaos.

To your bad luck the newbies eyes looking at the politicians back betrays you and in the blink of an eye you're the one that's being chocked on.

-“DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM! GIVE ME SOME MORE OF THAT GOOD SHIT AND ILL BE ON MY FUCKING WAY.ITS NOT THAT BLOODY HARD.”- After the patient yelled this out everything clicked in your mind , the newbie nurse must have given him a heavy dose leaving him now in some sort of withdrawal.  But for the moment all you have to think about is how to get out of this alive , the pressure on your neck starts to make your vision hazy before you black out you throw the syringe to a nurse nearby and the next thing you see is black.

A few minutes later you flutter your eyes open and find yourself in a separate room with the newbie nurse standing by your side.

-“Y/n , how are you? I'm so sorry for how thing turned out, turns out the patient had prior history of substance abuse that wasn't on the chart and he somehow convinced me he was in indescribable pain so I switched up the medicine to dia morphine.- Said the ditzy nurse as he looked at the ground with shame.”

-“You did what?!”- You yelled out sitting straight.

・゜゜・．

Meanwhile in spider society headquarters things seemed to be going rough...

Lately there's been far to many anomalies, taking more spider men than normal to complete missions while also getting more injured than never.

Some spider man were returning so beat up that they couldn't return to their own universe , leaving some altruistic spider people to patch up their injuries to the best of their abilities and bring them home.

-“Miguel , we need to get some sort of medical assistance up in here. You can't keep asking Lyla to guess is someone is in a comma or just concussed. God forbid I start pushing out this baby due to the stress I'm suffering.”- Stated Jessica drew while walking back and forth in Miguel's office.

-“They're spider people they have to get used to a scratch or too.”- mumbled Miguel while looking through his screens for any new anomalies.

-“Miguel i know it's tough to find someone to confide in but please , you're the leader of this organization for a reason , think of their families and partners they'll start to worry , they shouldn't get used to their  loved one coming home with a lip busted open just cause their boss doesn't want to Pay for their health care.”

Spiderman 2099 proceeds to squeeze his eyes with force refusing to accept that all the recent events and getting out of his hands while squeezing the bridge of his nose but with a final exhale he decided to do what's right.

-“Don't worry about it , I'll get to it as soon as possible.”- he replied trying to give Jessica some reassurance

・゜゜・．

-“I assume you know why you’re here y/n.”- Said the hospitals director, in her office as you sat down in front of her , unable to lift your face following the series of catastrophic events.-“I think you and I both know you've made a mistake , but you and I both know you've contributed a lot to this hospital”- said the blond haired director as she stood up started walking around the room.-“What happened yesterday was partially your fault but mainly not , my dear friend ,your patient;  has a little addiction that's harmful to nobody. The newbie giving him dia morphine was the next step for him to level up his addiction. He's tried some other shit before but nothing as good as the pain killer administered to him the day of the events. So taking all things Into consideration i leave you two options

Voluntary resignation or...”- as the words exited the directors mouth you felt your whole world fall to the ground everything you worked for poof , gone in a blink of an eye.- “Or continuing administering dia morphine and other requested pain killers to my friend safely while creating fake patient charts to justify the use of  said drugs to the board of directors.”

இ

After signing in your resignation you cried all the way home on the subway not caring who was watching, how did your life turn out like this? You couldn't blame Gigi, she didn't know all of this was gonna happen.

As soon as you arrived to your apartment you took out a bucket of stratichella ice cream and started applying for jobs right away online.

After almost a week with no luck you started to get desperate. The last job offer that was left was one where you checked all the requirements the down side is they were looking for a male nurse. But as you re read the requirements to decided sure they would change their minds as soon as as they saw your qualifications.

Requirements.

-Registered nurse.

-3+ Years of experience.

-Certified specialist in critical care.

- Motivated and hard working.

-Skillful and diligent.

-Time availability.

-Works well under pressure.

-Age: 23- 30 years old.

-Good physical and mental health.

-No criminal history.

-male

Company: Spid-so.co

Employer: Michael 'o' hare.

Email for inquiries: Lylalovesbunnie999@spidso.com

[stellamancer]

niku niku niku!!!! i am dropping by with a few things i find pretty bc april is so very pretty to me! 🍞🌻💭🌷☀️🫧✨🌱💗🍓 how are you?? i hope the month is lovely to you 🥺

i also come back with a curious sel question 🤓 a more technical writing one but, what is your anchor point to writing a character like gojo or deku (or bakugo)? what part of them do you like exploring and what quality of theirs stays the same to you across any universe you put them in? 🥺

I AM OKIE. very full from the breakfast i just ate (some steamed shrimp dumplings hehe). i hope you are well lil selsel. i know you have been a very busy girl lately. LMAO

please be prepared for my very long answer. because i will be addressing all three.

let's start with deku since i think he's the most straightforward. i'm actually not entirely what you mean by anchor point but in terms of what i like to explore with writing deku. it's like. this is honestly all on a very... hypothetical scale since my one deku fic is. well not like this (in fact i read it last night and you know it's about three years old now and the bits of my writing i think have changed... lmao).

anyway. i'm getting off track. for deku i like... i really like to explore how adamant he is about... helping people LMAOOO. with the exception of one wip. deku is very dedicated to helping reader in some shape or form (in that other wip is more that the reader is working to save HIM). but as much as i love writing how sweet and kind he is, i do actually like giving him a change to quip a little. he's a smart lil guy.

but the one thing i like to have (generally) be consistent is that earnest goodness that basically defines deku. it doesn't always have to be at the forefront, and it might even be buried but. you know. so i like writing fics where that gets to be highlighted.

next. bakugou. it's a little hard to talk about bakugou because i, despite what you might think, have not really thought of many fic ideas for him. it's really just my kitchen adventure neighbors series and the one shot i will maybe finish one day 'surface of the sun' and they're actually pretty similar in terms of theme. i guess i have those emotional support bkg drabbles too. but those i've really just wrote on a whim.

i think, and i suppose i said this with deku and i will say this with gojo, it's very important to keep the core of the character in mind when you write them in any au. for bakugou specifically it's his roundabout way of being kind. he's not straightforward in his kindness like deku, but a little more... harsh about it. i suppose. like deku will get you lunch and smile at you and say he hopes you like it (but knows you will because he knows it's your favorite) bakugou on the other hand might just shove it at you and tell you to just eat it LMAOO. which is probably a very general way of saying it.

with bakugou there's a balance you have to maintain: his actually legitimate good heart and his attitude. bakugou seems mean at a glance, but he's really just harsh. which also seems like the same thing. that being said, if you make him too soft then... it feels like something's missing, but make him too harsh and he's just outright mean. i think. i'm not sure bakugou is more willow's expertise LMAO (willer do NOT LOOK AT ME TALKING ABOUT BKG)

and finally gojo.

it's hard to say with gojo. i think also because i approach writing from a scenic standpoint (so i see scenes a little less than character traits). i think similarly to deku, outside of infinite loop!verse which i regard a bit similarly to the emotional support bkg drabbles. I guess i like writing being a menace but not like. in a mean way? idk. but when i think of the like... non infinite loop!verse fics i've written/have planned i think that similar to deku there's a desire to help people but he's not as... straight forward about it and there's a bit of serving his own goals too. haha. he's nice as nice about things as deku.

similar to like. bkg. whenever i write gojo i have to try and keep a balance. but just replace harshness with frivolity. LMAOOO. that's why i've said to you before that i think that if you write gojo you can write bkg, because i take a similar approach to both. too nice is just not gojo and too frivolous is not gojo either. i think there's also a bit more of a complicated blend with gojo especially when you take to account other factors. for that reason for one of the aus it was kind of hard to figure out how to write him but i think i figured it out.

....damn i yapped a lot. i don't even know if i actually answered your questions LMAOOO.

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Carpe Diem - Chapter 10

Pairing: Sketchbook (Kaisa/Johanna)

Summary: Carpe diem: one of the five latim mottos of the arcadist, or neoclassical movement. Literally translates to "seize the day"

Picking up where Locus Amoenus left off, this fic follows the lives of Kaisa and Johanna for a couple weeks as their feelings grow and develop. Updated weekly.

Notes: Hey, guys! Sorry for having skipped last week. In my defense, it wasn’t a cliffhanger. Anyway, I hope you guys are still up for this story!  Btw "Pasargada" in the first paragraph is a reference to the poem "Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada" (I'm leaving for Pasárgada, in English). It's just supposed to represent an idealized place, but I like to pop Brazilian lit references bc why not :)

Read it on ao3 or read the first installment on this verse or read the second installment on this verse  

When Johanna drove back home, much later into the evening after having spent a lovely afternoon with Kaisa, saying she was on cloud nine felt like it fell flat in comparison to her feelings. She was in heaven. She was in Pasargada. She was in Ancient Greece, about to deliver an offering to Aphrodite in thanksgiving for blessing her with her beloved. Cloud nine was nothing compared to how she felt. 

So, of course, she had had to share it. Edmund hadn’t been home when she arrived, making her assume he was working on his professor’s project. She could have texted him the news, but this felt like something that was too big to deliver over text. This deserved drumrolls and pomp, and she wanted to make sure she could see his face when she told him. That being the situation, she decided to do the next best thing and pay her best friend a visit, both to gossip and to let him know he would still be hearing a lot about Kaisa, but under very different circumstances now.

Alfred lived in a student accommodation which was also inside the campus, a short walk away from Johanna’s house. The flat was shared between him and two other alumni, a Weather Sciences graduate who was doing a masters in fire sciences and another one that frankly, nobody could figure out what he did. Johanna had been there enough times to show up uninvited, and as the door had been unlocked when she arrived, she allowed herself in.

“Guys?” She announced herself by saying. “It’s Johanna. Is Alfred here?”

“In the kitchen, Jo!” Came his voice through the wall that separated the entrance corridor, which had the doors to each of their bedrooms, from the communal area, which consisted of a living room and an attached kitchen. When she walked in there, the three of them were in the process of making dinner.

In the back of her mind, Johanna thought that there would definitely not be dinner for her that night. Even if she hadn’t eaten her fill for the day from the spread Kaisa had made them, she was far too giddy to be able to eat anything else. It felt like tiny explosions of fireworks inside her belly.

“Good night, you three!” She said, a little breathlessly and accompanied by a happy wave. It was enough to make Alfred stop chopping a tomato and lift his eyebrows at her. He knew her well enough to pick up on the sudden bright mood. “How do you do?”

“Well enough, thanks.” Answered the guy whose major nobody knew, as he was putting something in the oven. He had long, curly brown hair that fell over his face and made it hard to distinguish his features. The other one, who kept his black hair tied back in a neat bun, offered her a smile and a ‘same here’. 

“Would you guys mind if I talked to Al for a minute?”

There was no need to ask, of course. Alfred had already stopped his salad preparations and was wiping his hands to go give her attention, but the other guys were nice and Johanna didn’t want to disturb their meal prep. Both assented, and Johanna let her friend guide her to his room where they could have more privacy.

Alfred’s bedroom was impeccably neat, exactly like she imagined the inside of his mind must be like. There was not a single book out of place, and not a single crease on his duvet. Until she unceremoniously sat on it, that is, and she almost felt bad for it. Her spirits were lifted too high for any guilt to register on her mind. After closing the door behind them, he sat down on his desk’s chair and made her retell, word by word, exactly what had happened.

Even if she’d tried to do it to the best of her ability, her mind was too convoluted with chart topping amounts of adrenaline and oxytocin for a single coherent thought to come to her, so she often had to take back a sentence after she realized she’d forgotten to mention something that came before it, or had to repeat the same point in the story twice to make sure it was accurate enough for him to get a crystal clear image of what had happened.

He was over the moon for her, as expected. Johanna was sure Kaisa would eventually get a ‘hurt Johanna and you’re dead’ speech, but it was much more likely that this would come from her cousin rather than Alfred. His style of support was much more like helping Johanna overanalyse their interactions than making sure Kaisa knew she’d regret it if she messed up. It was something she was grateful for, of course, but unfortunately it meant that he was armed with a lot of realism to cut through Johanna’s haze.

Which meant that he’d noticed the lack of usage of the ‘g’ word in Johanna and Kaisa’s conversations.

“Isn’t it kind of obvious, though?” Johanna asked when he pointed it out. “We both made it clear we like each other a lot. Doesn’t this make us automatically girlfriends?”

The look Alfred gave her told her he knew damn well she was trying to convince herself through wishful thinking.

“From the girl who asked to hold your hand and then didn’t make a single move until you spelled your feelings out for her? No. I think this situation calls for being stark clear, Jo.”

When she arrived back home, still thinking about Alfred’s advice, Edmund had already come back and settled with a book on their couch. His pretend annoyance when Johanna walked up to him and said she needed to talk to him faded as soon as he noticed where the conversation was going. As soon as she mentioned Kaisa with a besotted schoolgirl voice, he sat up and told her to sit down by his side, clearly hanging on her every word.

All things considered, he did a great job of pretending to be nonchalant and only mildly invested in their relationship, offering her nothing but brief well wishes before announcing he was still very tired from the night before and going to bed. Johanna wasn’t fooled for a second. Deny as he might, Ed was a softie at heart, and she rolled her eyes lovingly as he walked away to his room. Maybe ‘pretends to be cold, is actually a dork’ was just her type of person.

Johanna had only just decided that a cup of tea was what she needed for the heaviness of somnolence to begin to fall over her when her phone whistled with a text.

Kaisa 🐈‍⬛🔮

…So apparently Tildy and Frida had placed a bet on when we’d get together.

Doing her best not to allow her kettle to drip water before she placed the lid on it, Johanna barked a laugh. A wave of affection for Kaisa’s family washed over her as she quickly typed a response.

omg that’s so Them 

I bet Tildy won

Kaisa wasn’t typing for long before the answer came.

Tildy won.

Now she’s bragging about ‘believing in me’ or something. I’m never going to tell her the first move wasn’t mine.

Give urself some credit! Johanna typed, you told me you had been wanting to show me her garden that time. pretty good flirt, if you ask me

The typing sign was off for a considerable couple of seconds, which Johanna took as her typical baffled silence.

I was FLIRTING??????

Oh, good God.

She really did have some work ahead of her.

                                                      ………

Even though they very much wanted to, it was impractical for them to meet on Sunday. Johanna had a group project to work on, and Kaisa, as always, was getting desperate about all that she still had to study. It didn’t stop them from texting all throughout the day, however, and they kept sending each other little nothings that had brought them joy (with the exception of the text Kaisa had sent her asking why she was getting bizarre threats from her cousin).

It was on Monday that they did meet. Johanna had just left a lecture, and Kaisa had arrived early for hers so they could eat together in the cafeteria. The sun was at its peak when they met in the humanities garden, and Johanna felt static energy all around her when she saw Kaisa approaching her with a coy smile and rosy cheeks.

“Hey!” Closing the space between them with eager steps, Johanna pulled her into a hug as soon as she was in arms length. She felt Kaisa’s arms sneaking around her middle as well as the smile on her face when she buried it in Johanna’s shoulders, and scented lavender on her hair. “I missed you. You look beautiful.”

Two months ago, Kaisa would have rolled her eyes and pointed out how they had seen each other the day before yesterday. She would have looked the other way if any couple was being as sappy in front of her, and considered herself too busy and focused on more important things to waste her time similarly.

That Kaisa was probably dead in a ditch at that point.

“Why do you say that?” She asked and didn’t move away from Johanna, not even an inch. She’d done her best to reign it in when picking her clothes for college, catching herself wanting to dress up as if she was going on a date. She supposed she was, but she was pretty sure she’d heard those romance movies that Tildy enjoyed so much saying it did no good to overdo your attempts to impress someone. It only made you look desperate.

But then again, she was currently clinging to Johanna like a koala, so she wasn’t sure she was doing too well on the desperation front.

“Because it’s true, and it’s true everyday, and I’m tired of limiting the amount of times I say it to you.” When she stepped back - minimally, their arms were still around each other, but looser now - Johanna was smiling and gazing into her eyes like she wanted to try and drown in them. “I thought you were the prettiest person I’ve ever seen since the first time I laid my eyes on you. I still can’t believe my luck that you let me be near you.”

If Kaisa had been blushing before, the way she felt like she had been for the whole weekend, now her face was burning up. What the fuck. People should <em>not</em> be allowed to talk like that in public. How was she expected to know how to deal with this?

“You sound like a medieval troubadour poet.” She said, trying and failing not to smile. Aware of Johanna’s eyes on her, she looked down at the grass as if it held the secrets that would save her from acting like a ridiculous teenager in love.

“Well, did they get the girl?”

“No, they usually died at the wars of reconquest first.” 

For a moment, Kaisa was afraid she should have thought of something smooth and flirty to answer instead of blunt honesty, her worries were put to rest by Johanna’s twinkling laughter. 

“Sucks for them, but I already consider myself more successful than their lot.” Her eyes were sparking with satisfaction when Kaisa dared to look back. “Shall we go? You must be starving after your long trip all the way here.”

After they untangled themselves from each other’s arms, Kaisa curtsied before her. “You know I would hike through the harshest terrains to get a glimpse of you, my lady.”

Though she scrunched her nose playfully, Johanna’s face gave away her delight as she hooked her arm through the one that Kaisa had offered her.

“Very on brand of you to try and outdo me, Don Quijote.”

“Don Quijote was insane, Anna.”

“And you aren’t?”

Gladly allowing herself to be defeated, Kaisa chuckled and pretended she wasn’t seeing the way Johanna was looking at her with so much open fondness through the corner of her eye. There had to be a limit of happiness you could feel at once without spontaneously combusting, right?

Something told her that she would go a good length of time testing that theory in the future.

                                                        ………

“Listen, I’m not questioning you, I just don’t get it!” 

They had just finished eating the somewhat questionable food that was offered in the nearest cafeteria, and technically it was time for Johanna to go home and study and for Kaisa to head to her lecture, but they loathed the idea to leave each other. Johanna had already suggested that Kaisa went to her house after the lecture so they could be together a little longer and she could drop her off at home, but it still felt like they were glued to their chairs, both unwilling and unable to separate from one another for any amount of time.

“I mean, what’s the philosophy behind it if you don’t eat any other animal, but do fish meat? What have they done? Have they sinned against you?”

“Yes.” Kaisa answered, her hands flat on her lap and her back straight as she kept her face the most serious she possibly could. “Fish do not blink. I don’t trust them. Therefore, they are sinners and deserve death by my fork.”

Johanna buried her face in her hands and laughed, taking Kaisa with her when she could no longer keep up the bit. She herself had considered turning vegan many times, especially since she began living with Edmund, but she knew she didn’t have the resolution to commit to it just yet. Kaisa, though, was nothing if not committed. In fact, Johanna was willing to place a bet on her only eating fish solely so she could make that joke.

“Okay, Kai, you win.” She said after taking one last sip out of her water bottle. “I subscribe to your brand of fishtianity.”

She bowed her head solemnly. “Welcome, new convert.” When she rightened her posture again, there was a teasing lopsided smile on her lips. “We’re going to have to find something else for you to call me now, though. ‘Kai’ is what Frida calls me and now it’s kind of… weird.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. I’m going to be straight with you, ‘sisterly’ is not how I picture our relationship being from now on.”

“Anna, that’s the least straight you could possibly be.”

It was a good thing she had finished her drink, otherwise she would have choked.

As she watched Kaisa look at her with a mischievous sort of satisfaction in her eyes, Johanna briefly wondered if she had been aware of this very issue when she gave her a nickname different from that which her family and friends called her by, but dispelled that thought when she remembered how very much unaware Kaisa had been when making moves on her. In that aspect, the girl really seemed as thick as the books she read.

Which brought her to the matter she’d been mulling over since talking to Alfred.

The conversation had given her the perfect hook to pop the ‘what are we’ question. Even if a loud cafeteria wasn’t the place she would have preferred that to happen, it was a quick and easy chance to end the dilemma that had been troubling her. She was just analyzing whether it would be too sappy to hit Kaisa with ‘can I call you mine, then?’, and whether Kaisa would even understand it as not being a joke, when a voice she didn’t recognize spoke from behind her.

“Kaisa, oh thank goodness, I have been looking for you everywhere!”

Johanna turned her head to see where that had come from, but not before she saw Kaisa’s eyebrows rise up in amusement.

“Well, in the new century we have this thing called ‘cellphones’ that we can use to talk to people. They really are quite magical, though I know elderly people like yourself can have some trouble with them.”

The tall woman squinted at Kaisa, her wild grey hair falling over her face.

“Didn’t know the humanities people were allowed to use them, that’s all.” She answered, sarcasm dripping from her words. “From the way you lot speak, I thought you were still sending pigeons to each other.”

Johanna’s presence was noticed by the newcomer when she snorted. Her eyes immediately softened when she noticed someone else was accompanying Kaisa.

“Oh, hello.” She said, looking like she didn’t exactly know what to do. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Johanna greeted her back politely, quite confused but willing to try to fit in on that unexpected situation. Across from her in the booth, Kaisa sighed.

“Johanna, this is Victoria. She’s the asshole friend I told you about.”

Victoria’s eyes shined with recognition when Kaisa said her name. She stepped closer, and offered her her hand. Assuming that this was just how she greeted people, Johanna gave her hers for a handshake.

“Ah, so you’re the Johanna I’ve heard so much about!” She said cheerfully despite Kaisa’s clear warning glare. “A true shame your situation, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been burdened with being on the receiving end of this creep’s affection.”

“Victoria.” Kaisa hissed. “If you’re done, could you please just tell me why you’re looking for me?”

The woman blinked, and the spark in her eyes was replaced by a cloud of concern as she was reminded of her message. She bit the inside of her cheek and fiddled with her labcoat’s hem.

“Oh, that.” There was a stiffness to her voice now. “I’m sorry, maybe we should talk about that alone.”

Kaisa frowned. Victoria wasn’t usually one for seriousness. She only carried things like a burden when their weight hid a true importance, and the only time she could remember seeing her look truly austere was when comforting Kaisa after they met, when she had been crying in a hidden nook. Besides, she’d just confessed to Johanna for her, which, mind you, was concerning since Victoria had not opened Kaisa’s messages since the prior week and had no way of knowing they were actually on the same page now. Her saying they needed privacy wasn’t a good bearing.

"It's okay.” Kaisa found herself saying anyway. “I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s okay if Anna hears it.”

Still standing up beside their table, Victoria glanced at Johanna so quickly it was almost imperceptible, not quite sure about that affirmation.

“If you say so.” She reached into her labcoat’s pocket and picked up a small metal device. Kaisa recognized it as being one she’d shown her in her lab once, a small recorder Victoria had built herself so she could easily record experiments without a bigger gadget holding her down or having to bring her phone into the lab. There was also something about resisting ‘extreme weather events’, but she hadn’t been paying that much attention. “But I warn you that it’s upsetting.”

She placed the device in her hands, and sat down in front of her, by Johanna’s side in the booth. Both of them watched Kaisa closely and with concern, as she ignored the drumming of her heart and brought the machine close to her ear, finally pressing play.

[dailyaudiobible]

2/5/2023 DAB Transcript

Exodus 21:22-23:13, Matthew 24:1-28, Psalm 29:1-11, Proverbs 7:6-23

Today is the fifth day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it is great to be here with you today as we greet a…a shiny, sparkly week out in front of us. A busy week it will be indeed, for us, later this afternoon, and all through this evening and all night, we will be journeying to the land of the Bible, from the rolling hills of Tennessee, all the way over to Tel Aviv, where we will be preparing to begin our 2023 tour of the land of the Bible. And that will indeed, be a community experience. There will certainly be a couple of buses of us there, but we will be talking about what we’re doing and where we’re going and how we’re getting along and what's up and posting pictures on social media, of what we’re doing and where we are. And then, later, about a week from now, we’ll have a live broadcast. Once we…once we make it to the Galilee, we’ll be doing that. So, we’ll be talking about all this stuff as we go. I'm just, I’ve got all these like jitters, you know, like am I forgetting something, do I have everything packed, am I ready because it’s not like you can just run down the street to the local whatever store to get what you need. So, thank you for your prayers. And we’re looking forward to that. But that's not until later, and so, this is now, and let us take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We’ve got ourselves a brand-new week here, we’ll read from the EHV, the Evangelical Heritage Version this week. And of course, picking up right where we left off yesterday, Exodus chapter 21 verse 22, through 23 verse 13.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for this brand-new, shiny week. We thank You for resets, we thank You that Your and mercies are new every morning, and that every day is a reset. We thank You for Your kindness and Your patience with us, as we continue to grow and mature. And Father, as this week is a week of traveling, and…and…and immersing ourselves in the land of the Bible, we pray for all of those who will be boarding planes and traveling far, and we pray for ourselves. We have to do the same thing, tonight. So, Holy Spirit, come cover in and among us, over all of the details, over all of the logistics, over all of the moving parts, as we navigate to another part of the world and immerse ourselves in the places that the Bible happened. We ask that You would change us, that this would mark us, that this would change us, irreversibly that we would never see the Bible the same again. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray into all of these coming days. Whether we are in the land or whether we are there, virtually as a community together, make this an important part of our journey, an important part of our year, an important part of our understanding of the Scriptures. We pray in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Good day, Daily Audio Bible community, my brothers and sisters. This is Kacey, the Single-Minded Plumber. I’m feeling inadequate, as a father. A lot of you guys know, when I first started listening and calling in, I was an alcoholic, my wife was an alcoholic. We were alcoholics for almost a decade raising children. And I was just hoping that some of you guys might help me pray to be a better father. Feeling lacking as a parent. And there is so much that I can’t do, that I can’t defend for the kids. I am just not good enough. But I know someone who is and I’m hoping you’ll ask the Lord if He could help me be a better parent. But I help, my brave boy Bradley, feel included in my family. And that my son Derek isn’t so mad a lot of the time, cause he sees me mad, lot of the time. And my daughters, Hannah and Heaven, don’t pursue gender dysphoria, cutting. Thank you, guys, I love you.

Good evening, this is Pray without Ceasing in Atlanta. Today is January 31st. I am finishing up the January 21st prayer and encouragement. I just wanted to reiterate for the others, who like me, missing and pray with and for the callers who cry and rejoice with the callers. And sometimes we just shake our heads because we have no words. We don’t’ always call in to let our family know that we are praying but we do call to God, the God of all possibility, on your behalf. And often we get to pray more than once when we hear someone else praying for you. So, I just wanted to let it be known that though you may not hear us, we are on the other side praying for you and thinking of you and caring about you and loving you from a distance. But we are here, we stand with Rosie, Great to be Free in Jesus, as she prays for the children. We stand with Sparky and Beloved as they pray for the parents. We pray for Duane, I mean, Duane from Wisconsin. And Valiant Val as she encourages us. We pray with Jonathan from Denver, as he prays for the students. So, we’re here, we’re not calling, we’re not, you know, recording, but we’re with you. Anonymous on Purpose, I’m with you. I’m praying for you. Amen. Love you guys.

I’m calling from Melbourne, Australia and I’d like to say, God bless you to all the DABers. Love listening to the word of God and hearing your testimonies and praying for the people who call. I’d like you to share with me please and pray for a Christian friend of mine who’s desperate at the moment. She’s a solo mum and the other day she walked into her garage and found her 28-year-old son ready to hang himself. He had a prepared noose. And she got there just in time. We really need prayer for her. Things are really quite desperate. I told her I was gonna ring you. She is a DABer herself. And so, I just know that with combined prayer it makes a difference. And God bless you all, thank you so much. The boy’s name is …

Hi, I’m calling to ask for prayer for my grandson Willem. He has autism, he’s non-verbal. He’s in the psychiatric hospital right now. But he’s going to start a new living situation on Friday, the 3rd of February. And I’m asking for prayer for God’s protection for his safety. For God to manifest His presence and His love to Willem. He’s not able to communicate well. And in this living situation isn’t successful, the next step is a facility two hours away. I love my grandson very much. I actually would like to have him here with me but that’s not a choice that’s available to me right now. So, please pray for Willem. I do pray for all of you every day. And I’m very thankful for the DAB. Thank you.

This is Road Toad. I was raised in a home where appearances were valued, where we never admitted to any wrongdoing, where we judged people of standards other than that of the Bible. Even though it is a Christian home. I struggle to overcome this, yet today. However, this weekend, my wife and I were in a public place. And I probably was not even consciously aware of what I was doing but looking at beautiful women. One of those women, saw me looking at her and looked at my wife and laughed. My wife is overweight. She’s a wonderful woman. She’s a Godly woman. I am the one who pails in her light. I regret this. I feel shamed this morning as I think about this and tell you. I struggle to not to even do this because, as I said, in our family, we didn’t want to admit, we ever done wrong. Don’t want to be looked at in that light. But I need prayer folks. And I listen to your prayers, and I listen to your words, and I know our nickname’s give us anonymity. So, would you pray for us please?

[travllingbunny]

I can't stop thinking about the Mockingjay/The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes parallels, and the meanings of "The Hanging Tree". When she first sings the song, we get a long analysis of it from Katniss' POV, finishing with this:

"The phrase Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free is the most troubling because at first you think he’s talking about when he told her to flee, presumably to safety. But then you wonder if he meant for her to run to him. To death. In the final stanza, it’s clear that that’s what he was waiting for. His lover, with her rope necklace, hanging dead next to him in the tree.

I used to think the murderer was the creepiest guy imaginable. Now, with a couple of trips to the Hunger Games under my belt, I decide not to judge him without knowing more details. Maybe his lover was already sentenced to death and he was trying to make it easier. To let her know he’d be waiting. Or maybe he thought the place he was leaving her was really worse than death. Didn’t I want to kill Peeta with that syringe to save him from the Capitol? Was that really my only option? Probably not, but I couldn’t think of another at the time."

This was, of course, huge foreshadowing for what indeed does happen to Peeta when he is hijacked. Mockingjay was my favorite novel in the original trilogy (and Mockingjay part 1 my favorite THG film) and the hijacking storyline is one of the big reasons.

Peeta is indeed given a fate "worse than death" when he is turned into a "mutt". He is referred to as "mutt" many times in the book. We - and Katniss - were prepared to think something horrible was done to him, but did not expect that he would be turned into an unrecognizable psychological mutant-monster, who tries to kill the girl he loves and who loves him, a monster filled with violence and cynicism who believes her to be a monster trying to kill him, an absolutely ruthless killer, a heartless minx who just pretended to love him and toyed with him and another guy for her own amusement, and all the worst things you can imagine.

Which all now sounds incredibly familiar after reading TBOSAS. Hijacked Peeta is basically Coriolanus Snow hunting Lucy Gray in the woods. There's absolutely no doubt that Snow personally came up with the scenario for Peeta's hijacking.

During that scene in TBOSAS, Snow hears Lucy Gray singing that last verse of "The Hanging Tree". Among his not-very-coherent thoughts at the moment, since he is in the midst of completely losing it, he thinks it's her playing games with him, telling him she knows about Sejanus. But throughout the book or at least in Chapter 3, and especially towards the end, he has repeatedly misunderstood her and things she told him, over and over. He also thought she was trying to kill him with the snake she left with the shawl he had given her, but whether or not she even left the snake, it turns out she definitely was not trying to kill him, since the snake was not venomous. Playing some sort of a mind game really doesn't seem like something she would really do at such a moment, and if this was really her singing, then it's the last thing we ever heard Lucy Gray Baird say.

When I went back and re-read Katniss' quote, the line "maybe he thought the place he was leaving her was really worse than death" made it click for me.

There is a mention of what a fate worse than death would be in TBOSAS, too, at the beginning of Chapter 3, when Snow fears what Capitol may have done to Lucy Gray, rather than just send her to District 12, and he thinks she may have been "imprisoned, killed, or turned into an Avox. Or worse, sent to a life of experimentation in Dr Gaul's lab of horrors". Again, being turned into a mutt - mutant-monster is singled out as the worst fate possible.

At the end of Chapter 3, we find out that Snow's time in District 12 and so much of what happened had been intentionally set up by Dr. Gaul as a part of his "education". In a a way, he was a part of her experiment, which helped turn him from a pretty normal human (entitled, selfish, over-ambitious, but human and with some good impulses too) to a complete monster, utterly evil and emotionally dead inside. While the people who loved him died (or presumably died) because of him, he survived and became Dr. Gaul's favorite mutt.

[venomous--fics]

Anon Requested: Could you imagine dating Eddie Brock/Venom and then bringing them home to meet your father & mother figure Peter B. Parker and MJ? Like- maybe the reader is a spider-person aswell, who is/was Peter's mentee/unofficially adopted kid, like- the awkward tension. (Especially if this is a universe where Peter knows Venom's identity, but Eddie doesn't know Peter is spider-man)

Pairing: Eddie Brock/Venom x Spider!Person Reader

A/N: Day 15!! Halfway through October already? Shucks. Also this prompt had too much comedy potential for me to not write it ASAP. I hope you enjoy it! Also Spider-verse!Eddie/Venom has been on my mind since I saw the movie. I think they'd look neat in that style. I could draw them myself, but I would not do the idea justice I don't think--

"All I'm saying is-"

"Knock knock!" You called, opening the door, "I brought a very special guest, but you knew that."

Peter looked at the door, "Whose the guest?"

You threw open the door, "Ta-Da!"

You stepped out of the way and gestured to your "special guest," who was really just your boyfriend, Eddie Brock. Mj knew that, Peter knew that, however, Peter had no idea what the guys name was. He just put two and two together with your texts and shrugged it off as, 'Oh, the boyfriend introduction. Great.'

Peter stared at Eddie, no emotion or, in fact, any lights on upstairs. It's like the film reel just stopped turning.

Mj didn't get it, nudging Peter's arm, "Hey, don't stare. You're going to give the poor guy the creeps."

Peter looked at Mj, and then back to Eddie, rinse and repeat, "Really?"

"What?" She replied.

Peter looked at you, "Really?"

"What?" You echoed Mj's confusion.

"This guy?"

Eddie stepped over and held his hand out, "I'm sorry- Forgot to introduce myself."

Peter didn't have much of a choice, so he took the other man's hand. It didn't feel right, but it had to be done.

"I'm Eddie Brock. I work at the Daily Bugle-"

"I'm aware." Peter said flatly, immediately catching himself, "Ah, I just...Mean. Big fan...Your biggest fan."

"And where are my manners!" You half shouted, sliding over, "I'm so sorry. This is my dad, Peter, and this is my mother, Mj! Uhm, Uh, this is Eddie. He just said that- I- Anyone want something to drink?" You slinked away into the kitchen.

"This is awkward." Peter sighed, getting up from his chair, "I'll go help with the drinks- Make yourself comfortable. Not too comfortable though."

Eddie stood as still as a post. He's never been invited to meet anyone's parents, so he wasn't too sure if making himself comfortable was really a good idea.

Peter walked into the kitchen, nearly bumping into you as you prepared a few glasses of lemonade.

"Can you at least pretend to like him?" You were begging but you refused to look at him, "Please? I really like him."

"Does it have to be him?"

"Yes. It does. He's really nice."

"I'd beg to differ." Peter scoffed.

"You say that like you know him."

"You're saying you don't?" Peter scratched his face, "Really? No, uh, no bells or whistles? Hairs don't stand on end? Nothing?"

"No." You sighed, "Should I?"

"You aren't connecting any dots?"

"No, did you hit your head again? Do you need an icepack?"

"I'm being serious."

"I am too."

You grabbed the tray with the cups and walked back to the table. You sat down next to Eddie and he aided you in passing out the cups. Him and Mj were getting along, which you knew they would, since naturally she gets along with everyone. You just hoped that Peter would at least attempt to do the same. It would mean so much to you if he did.

Peter came back out and sat across from Eddie, continuing the blank stare. He really wasn't meaning to, but he couldn't help it. Like, how the hell does this happen. You and Him were literally beating the snot out of this guy like two days ago. Peter's secretly hightailing this guy to see what his problem was.

And now he's in his home. At his table. Enjoying everyone company but his. Peter was certain that Eddie had ulterior motives, because why else would he be here. Eddie probably wanted to watch Peter's world burn- Probably. Maybe Eddie figured out Peter's whole identity thing, and this is payback.

Eddie, on the other hand could not, for the life of him, figure out why Peter was just staring at him. It was making his skin crawl. Of course, Eddie wasn't going to say anything, seeing as this was very important to you. He didn't hate Peter, mostly because he didn't know the guy until now. Yet, despite that, Peter seemed to have a pretty good idea of who he thought Eddie was.

Eddie knew first impressions were everything, and he absolutely sucked at them. What the hell was he supposed to do in this situation? His coping mechanisms said to crack a joke, but the other voice in his head just said to eat everyone, except you, and go home. Obviously, that was not a viable option. There was an odd nagging feeling throughout the whole thought process.

"I enjoy reading your stuff in the papers." Mj said, trying to ease the extremely obvious tension.

"I'm glad you like it." Eddie replied, "I'm still new to the company- Uh, but I hope to do my own photography. I just have to keep pestering my boss until he gets sick of me."

"You should see some of his pictures," You added, "They're all so great! I was thinking of having him teach me so that way we could work together!"

Eddie really liked the idea of working with you, you were great to hang out with so why not be work buddies too. It just made sense to him. Oh, he thought, maybe that's what was bugging Peter. He was probably just jealous, and maybe felt replaced. Eddie figured that he'd have to make it up to him- Maybe not today, but maybe he'd invite Peter out to brunch or something.

It all made sense to Eddie now. Of course he's jealous! He was used to being the only guy around, and now he had to share the attention. For a moment, Eddie was worried that he had already done something wrong.

"I'm really glad I got to meet you guys." Eddie said, "You seem like wonderful people."

In that moment, despite every bit of knowledge that Peter knew to be true, he saw that look in your eyes that he's only seen one other time... And he knew, he had maybe misjudged, well not misjudged, but hell he's trying to feel guilty here- Perhaps he was jumping the gun. Maybe Peter had to separate alien from host- Oh, now there's an idea.

"We plan on visiting more," You said, "Since you mentioned that the basement needed some work."

"You two really don't mind?" Mj said, "I'd hate to-"

"Ma, please. We'd love to! Besides, I think looking around and doing some work here would be good for us." You reassured her, "We gotta get house ideas from somewhere, right?"

Peter let out a rather high pitched yelp, thinking that it happened in his head. You three looked at him, all concerned, Eddie more nervous than worried, though.

"Oh, did I do that? Out loud?" Peter asked, "Yikes. Sorry, you said house ideas- Which means that you'd- Oh boy, live together and I guess I panicked." He tried to nervously laugh it off, "Wow, I really did not mean to do that. Out loud. For everyone to totally hear."

This guy is a nutjob.

Eddie scratched his neck, looking over at the clock. Has it really been that long already?

Peter continued to laugh as he got out of his chair, "I think I hear my phone ringing."

You looked down at the table, seeing that his phone wasn't doing anything at all.

"It's not, but alright."

"It could be. It might."

You stood up and took care of the empty cups, "Eddie and I have plans tonight, so we'd better get going anyways."

"How exciting." Mj said as she too got up to give Eddie a quick hug, "I do hope to see you two again!"

"Definitely." You smiled, giving her a hug, "We can make dinner plans once I'm done with unpacking my stuff at his place if that's cool-"

Peter let out another yell, again, garnering all the unwanted attention that follows. He began laughing again, "Oops, there I go doing it again. Maybe I should get that checked out."

"Does he normally do this?" Eddie asked quietly.

Mj chuckled, waving you two towards the door, "He's just being himself."

You walked over to Peter and gave him a hug, "See you later, dad."

It bugged him to send you off with that guy, but it's not like there was much he could do about it now. He hugged back, "See ya around, kiddo. Don't be a stranger."

You walked to the door, waiting for Eddie, who was saying his goodbye to Peter. Shaking his hand once more, thanking him for his time, you know, the works. The nagging feeling continued until Peter caught on.

"You alright?" Peter asked, "I didn't ruin anything, did I?"

"Oh, no, no." Eddie replied, "I- Sorry, I just have this weird feeling."

The next words out of Eddie's mouth were said in a lower tone, but were said out of curiousity and not out of malice or even knowing anything.

"Do I know you from somewhere? It feels like we've met before."

[itsmajel]

Majel Reads - January 2022

Marvel - Spidypool

[What is this?]

- - - - - - - - - -

A Spider in the Pool verse by Ajayd

Tale As Old As Time, Song As Old As Rhyme

Peter Parker gradually falls for Wade's dubious charms. They have a lot of hang ups and kinks to negotiate, but with sex this hot, Peter can't help wanting more. Erotica with significant plot and relationship development.

[Explicit] [78,800] [Read on AO3 here]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Spideypool navigate their relationship, their sex life, and the Avengers.

[Explicit] [35,690] [Read on AO3 here]

A Lover That Won't Blow My Cover

Horrifying events leave Peter and Wade traumatized and struggling to lean on each other. The Avengers try to help, but only Peter and Wade can really save themselves.

COMPLETE. NOT NECESSARY TO READ EARLIER INSTALLMENTS.

[Explicit] [69,638] [Read on AO3 here]

The Best One Is the Last One

After a messy breakup and months apart, Deadpool and Spideman get another chance at happiness. It might be meant to be, but even fate can use a little help from the Avengers.

COMPLETE AND POSTED. Not necessary to read earlier installments if you don't mind not knowing how everyone got so friendly.

[Explicit] [53,478] [Read on AO3 here]

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Freefall by Wilt

( @wiltkingart)

It's been a long time since Peter took off his mask in front of someone he loved, cracked a nervous smile and said, “This is me”. He swore to himself he'd never do it again, and he's been making a good run of it by spending more time as Spiderman than Peter Parker for the past few years. But for some reason, being Spiderman also means spending a lot of time around Deadpool. And, like clockwork, that same old turmoil comes creeping back again.

[Explicit] [37,557] [Read on AO3 here]

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Oral over Water by MsCaptainWinchester (rons_pigwidgeon) (@mscaptainwinchester)

Peter is on a flight to his first international conference and nervous as hell about it. When the hot, flirty guy next to him offers him a blow job as stress relief, he has a hard time saying no.

[Explicit] [4,272] [Read on AO3 here]

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Day 3: Serious Inquiries Only by MsCaptainWinchester (rons_pigwidgeon)

 I’m an out-of-work mercenary trying to make my way through this cruel world by any means necessary—any legal means, that is. Fun fact: prison is the worst. 0 out of 10 stars. Would not go back. Would not recommend to a friend.

To that end, I am offering my services as a strictly platonic companion for social functions, be it work holiday party, Christmas with the family, Hanukkah dinner with that uncle you hate, whatever. I am prepared to act as a serious significant other with an elaborate backstory of your choosing to ward off unwanted suitors, uncomfortable questions from your friends, torment judgmental relatives, or all of the above. Pricing dependent on the situation and the complexity of my backstory. Will work for food, Christmas cookies, or Spider-Man memorabilia.

Serious inquiries only.

[General Audiences] [2,403] [Read on AO3 here]

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He Was a Punk, Pete Did Tabletop Roleplay by MsCaptainWinchester (rons_pigwidgeon)

Peter should have known that he would be a pariah coming to the reunion three weeks out from being named seventh on the Forbes’ 30 Tech Up-and-Comers Under 30 list. Even Flash had tried to strike up a conversation in the buffet line, and he’d pushed Peter into a bush sophomore year of college. He's starting to regret coming, but then...

"Deadpool?"

[Explicit] [7,515] [Read on AO3 here]

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One Last Run by MsCaptainWinchester (rons_pigwidgeon)

Peter was almost in the clear. Just one more run and he would be able to live life on his own terms, taking care of May and doing whatever he wanted. He might even be the first omega from his territory to go to the college, only open to omegas for the last few years. He just had to make it through one final run.

[Explicit] [33,311] [Read on AO3 here]

- - - - - - - - - -

The Weight Of The Whole World At Your Fingertips by glyphsbowtie

One night, Deadpool sees Spider-Man's face and then kisses him, sparking something unbreakable between them.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker meets Wade Wilson on Tinder, unaware of the fact that he already knows Wade very intimately indeed.

[Explicit] [51,153] [Read on AO3 here]

- - - - - - - - - -

( All summaries are the official summaries of the author. Stats and infos as according to hosting site or information given by the author. If any of the authors that have been tagged don’t want to be tagged, or if any of you know the tumblr names of the ones I haven’t tagged please let me know!)

Looking for more reading inspiration? Check out my fic rec tag here on tumblr, this month reading list masterpost for what I’ve read in other fandoms this month, my all-time reading list masterpost for more of this fandom or just check out my AO3 bookmarks.

[qissu]

Todo x Chubby Male Reader “College Camboy” AU

⚠️ Tags: Nsfw, Smut with plot, Spanking, vibrators, Verse Todo

Word count: 3k

Don’t let the horny consume you :)

You're in your 2nd year and third semester of college, and as the third child in a family of six, you've had to put in a lot of effort to obtain what you want; no more hand-me-downs, worn apparel, and so on.

Realizing that your dream college was out of range, you resorted to alternative options, such as being a camboy.

During your freshman year of college, you gained 490k subscribers on  CCB ( Chubby cam boys ).

Throughout freshman year, you promised your followers that if you reached 300k subscribers, you would go live with a random subscriber and have sex on live.

While you were at your 11 a.m. lecture, notifications from the CCB app began to flood in, indicating that the winner for the upcoming live had been declared.

"You must be pretty well-known."

You nod in agreement to your classmates response as you quickly move your phone towards your chest.

"The midterm final will be next week, so make sure you and your partner are completing their responsibilities." As everyone left, your professor began to erase the board.

You felt a strong grip on your shoulder as you were walking towards the study area in the next building.

"I'm sorry for being late; I will not disappoint you when it comes to the midterm." Todo gained your attention as he stood there, staring at you and waiting for you to respond.

"You apologized the day before and the day before that!" With your notebook, you slap him across the face.

"In the mornings, I'm usually busier."

"So why sign up for an 11 a.m. class when an afternoon one is available?" He doesn't say anything, but he continues to trail behind you as you approach the next building.

Todo was the only person who came up to you and started a conversation with you during your freshman year, and the first line out of his mouth was him asking you out. He would ask every semester, and you would say no. He never let it get to him and always respected your wishes.

You were distracted by your phone after you arrived at the study area, trying to find the subscriber who had won; they didn't have a social media presence, but you had communicated with them in chat.

"I'm curious as to what they're like." Not knowing you spoke out loud Todo responds.

"Who?"

"Uh...someone I'm supposed to meet," You say. In response, you give an awkward smile.

He kept silent as you continued to stare at your phone.

When your phone's alarm went off, you grabbed your belongings and headed to your next class. "Todo, I'll see you Monday!" You rush away without waiting for a response.

When your classes were finished for the day, you headed home to prepare for tonight's event, which included setting up your cameras and getting dressed in the attire that the subscriber had sent ahead of time.

"What exactly is this? Is it simply a shirt?" It seemed strange, but you didn't seem to mind. They had the choice to have you wear anything and yet they sent a plain shirt.

When you put the shirt on, you notice how loosely it fits, and your imagination slips to what the subscriber looks like.

As the time strikes 8 p.m., you take a seat and begin the livestream.

"Hey guys, it's me, camboy/n. Ever since I had a small following, I promised you guys this livestream, and here we are."

You stood there watching as the chat room flooded with questions and comments. "In response to your concerns about my safety, I hired two bodyguards just in case. This person will not know where I live because they will be escorted by those bodyguards."

You felt a surge of nervousness sweep over you as you read chat, closing your eyes and attempting to control your breathing.

"We're here." As they knock on the front door, a bodyguard shouted out.

You swiftly rise and walk out of the room to the front door, where you eventually open the door. As the men stepped in, you noticed the subscriber and how he had a pillow casing over his head.

“Did he come willingly? I said to have him where a blindfold, not make it look like your kidnapping him.” 

Before they glance at you, they gaze at each other. "He specifically requested that he be brought in in this manner."

When you looked over at him, you noticed that his head was slanted downward.

Is he sure he wants to be here? As they escorted him into your room, you thought to yourself, he seemed out of place.

The two men went out to stand guard by the door once he was seated. You stood in the center of the room in front of him, removing the pillow casing.

“Todo?!” You raise his chin to make sure you're not hallucinating.

"What are you doing here?! "How did you find out about it?"  As you asked, you were panicking.

"I knew you'd freak out if I told you I'm the subscriber," he admits. You moved toward the camera as he spoke, preparing to stop the stream, but he pulls you back, and once your body is close enough, he guides you onto his lap.

"I won't tell anyone; I can keep a secret.  I've been following and subscribed since freshman year."

His expression softens as you look at him. "After this, we can be friends again; I just did not want someone else to win the challenge." His hand slid up and under your shirt, up your thighs.

"I promise I'll make you feel good; we can do whatever you want as long as you don't remove your shirt."

You forgot you were wearing a long shirt. "What made you want me to put this on?"

While under the shirt, he spoke as his thumb played with your tip. "Knowing you're getting fucked while wearing my clothes makes me horny."

His hands were rough, but delicate, caressing the tip before lightly squeezing it. "I want us to take our time because I know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He drew your face closer to him with his other hand, kissing your lips before sucking on your bottom lip; you didn't know where to put your hands, so you grasped his clothes, moaning out as your dick hardened in his hands.

“Don’t tell me you cum easily, hold it in for me...pretty please?” 

Todo has a tough exterior, but on the inside was merely someone who wanted to shower all of his love on the person he cared about. Seeing him in a new light rapidly transformed your perception of him. 

You felt like you were using him deep down, but you didn't want this moment to end. "I was enraged every time I watched your livestreams; I wanted to be with you all the time, making you feel safe while I fucked you, watching my dick get pushed out your ass from all my cum as you pleaded for more."

His lips traveled from yours to your ear, his bare teeth tugging at the skin. "But, right now, with you, this moment is much more special." Before sucking on your ear, his lips twisted into a grin.

Chat began to blow up as you focused on each other.

When you realized you were repressing your orgasm, Todo took his hands away from your dick. He gets to his feet while still holding you by the waist. You had a list of things you wanted to do first, but you were easily sidetracked and aroused.

You couldn't take your gaze away from his body as he removed his shirt and pants. "It makes me happy that you enjoy what you see; I'm not sure how I'd feel if you didn't." He stroked the back of his head shyly.

You shove him down onto the bed, he instantly sits up as you go on your knees, wanting to reclaim control. "Don't be afraid to moan; it'll arouse me even more.”

You firmly press your lips against his dick with one hand. Keeping your attention on todo while licking from the bottom up and applying kisses along the way.

Veins on his chest and near his dick began to expand. "I wouldn't expect anything less because it's so big."

Todo whimpered out as he tried to match your eyes but ended up staring at the ceiling.

Your mouth devoured his dick, twisting your tongue on his tip and pressing your hands against it.

You felt his body quiver, you hollow your cheeks and tightened your mouth around his dick. 

"Aaah fuck, I can't take it any longer." Todo gripped the back of your head, thrusting further down your throat, giving in to the ecstasy. As his balls slapped against your chin, his hips began to move on their own.

His body lifted up after a few more seconds, you could feel his dick stutter in your mouth as cum slowly spilled out.

He possessed a warrior's body, but he couldn't stop himself from quickly orgasming.

"You big baby, I know you're capable of more." You muttered out with a mouthful of dick and cum.

You firmly grasped his balls with your hand, providing pressure while sliding your lips from tip to balls as his dick rested against your forehead, you tenderly sucked and nibbled on his balls.

As he attempted and failed to hold back, Todo was overcome with pleasure. As cum oozes out and runs down from the tip, followed by low grunts.

"You must have been holding back, good boy," you said. When Todo looked down, he was embarrassed to see cum covering one of your eyes and running down your forehead.

“I’m sorry.”

In reaction to his response, you shake your head from side to side. "Don't worry about it; it felt good, right?"

You rose from your knees and walked over to the far corner of the room, returning with a spatula. Todo looked at you, puzzled.

"You did say I could do whatever I wanted to you...don't worry...it's clean."   As you smack the spatula against your palm, you smirk at him.

As you get closer to him, you tell him to turn around. "After this, I promise I'll let you have your way with me." He agreed with a shake of his head. You could tell he was nervous because his ass began to stiffen.

“Are you going to be a good boy? Or do you prefer to be naughty?” 

His body lifted up in response to you spanking him on his left ass check. "It hurts, but it feels amazing." He murmured under his breath, his face buried against the pillow.

"Does it really turn you on? You fucking masochist." Even though his ass was bruised, you continued to spank him until you noticed cum trickling from his dick.

"Oh todo...you're such a pain pervert, do you have a weak dick that you can't keep it in?"

"When I'm talking to you, answer!" You resumed spanking him, enjoying the tightening of his ass muscles and the stifled moans.

Only stopping when his ass is thoroughly bruised, you put lube on the end of it.

"Let me know if you're uncomfortable with what I'm going to do."

The bedsheets began to tremble under his tight grip as you pressed the end of the spatula into his ass. He began to grind on the spatula as his ass opened up more and more. "Aaah...don't stop."

You were taken aback by how relaxed he was about it and how much enjoyment he was having.

You began to play with his dick as you pushed the end deeper and continued.

Noticing that the spatula couldn’t go any further You remove it.

You watch as his ass pulsates for more while in the air.

You started to doubt whether you could satisfy him considering your dick isn't as big as his, and while you were concentrating on that, he pulled you onto the bed, pushing you back as he hovered over you.

His dick on the verge of slapping you across the face. He grabbed your dick without mentioning anything and hovered his ass over it before slamming down.

Both of you jolt forward. "You can't be so reckless!" You're going to break it!"

"I couldn't help it; you were taking long."

He lifted his body up, using your shoulders for support as he slammed down on it.

More than yours, his body yearned for a good fuck. Because of how fast he was going, it slipped out a few times.

You pulled him into your arms as sweat shimmered down his chest. Showing chat your dick exiting and entering by pulling his ass cheeks apart.

His body was desperate for your cum.

"It's fine to take your time; It's not going anywhere."

Todo soon learned how much more pleasure there is when you let it build up after following your advice. It was 10 times better for todo as you both orgasmed.

"Wait, don't move till it's all inside of me." You paused for a few seconds, letting his insides pulsated around you.

When you get up, he arches his back and pushes it all out. You pull a camera closer as he does.

"Right now, this is heaven."

You insert your finger into his ass, fingering your cum out. Todo greedily grinded against your finger, so you added another.

"Even after all of that, Todo, you're still a greedy slut." Before putting the camera back, you grin at it.

“Even so you still were a naughty boy, and naughty boys get punished.”

You return with chains after walking out of frame from the camera. "What is that for?" He asked.

"You'll see."  You chuckle as you guide him to the chair and bind his hands and legs.

"Chat, this is what happens when you don't listen."

You move out of the way, revealing Todo's physique for all to view in the livestream. You were holding a fleshlight in one hand and a vibrator in the other when he looked at you.

"If you cum this time, I'm not going to give you what you really want." You turn towards chat, lifting the shirt and bending over. “You’ll be a good boy and complete your punishment right?”

He shook his head quickly up and down. Turning towards him, you place the vibrator under his balls and tape it in place. His body jolted up as you turned it on.

He watched as you poured oil into the fleshlight, massaging the inside of it before hovering it over his dick, his dick hardening once again.

He was adamant about suppressing his urge to orgasm.

Only stroking the tip with it, he lifted the chair slightly with his toes, his stomach contracting every few seconds.

"Too much for you?" "Are you going to cry?" 

You noticed his hands moving, as if he was trying to stop you from trying to make him cum.

“Y/n!” He shouted your name till his voice became uncontrollable whimpers, pleading with you.

"If you can last another 60 seconds, I'll stop." As you pressed the fleshlight all the way down his dick, your hand movement became faster.

"I- I can't take it!"  He snapped the chains as his hips jolted up, and you instantly placed your mouth over his dick. It didn't occur to you that he would cum as much. As you swallowed floods of cum you started to choke seconds later.

Todo leaned against the chair, his head down, releasing the last of his moans.

"You're trying to make me become tired so I can't perform during anal...and my coach calls me a monster," he says.

He stood up after a minute, seizing you by the shoulders.

"You're only hurting yourself y/n, my dick will continue to harden.  It'll be you pleading with me to stop cumming."

Todo pushed you down onto the bed by pressing his chest against yours. Without realizing it, you're spreading your legs open by force.

You were nervous because he appeared to be a different person. "Don't be worried; I'll look after you." On the inside of your thighs, Todo planted kisses.

He drew you closer and smacked his dick against your stomach before grasping the tip and pressing it in your ass. He made slow strokes with only the tip.

Even though the tip was just in, his dick was thick enough for you but not for him.

He pushed his dick deeper inside, barely a little, with one hand entangled with yours and the other around your throat.

“It's best if I loosen you up now because it's so warm and tight."

Chat watched as his ass muscles tightened with each deep stroke, sweat dripping from his body onto you. It was just you and him at the moment, and you craved more.

You grab his ass and sink your nails in deeper, feeling his balls slap against you with every stroke.

“W- why are you staring at me like that?”

“Is it too soon to say I’m in love with you?”

You suddenly tensed your insides in response to his remark. Todo watched as your eyes began to drift backwards and your mouth began to hang wide.

He wasn't having sex with you merely to have sex with you; it seemed more intimate as he watched you enjoy yourself.

With each deep stroke, he began to speed up, slamming the bed frame against the wall.

As you approached your orgasm, Cum began to coat his dick. As you let it all out, it felt as if your mind expanded. You tighten your grasp on his ass.

Todo didn't stop there; he raised your legs, bringing them closer together, watching his own dick enter and exit with each stroke.

"I love you, I love you," he whispers. He muttered something, but you weren't paying attention while having another orgasm.

You push his dick out, allowing streams of cum to pour down your ass and onto the sheets.

"This won't do; I'm not even close to being done."

Todo lifts your legs near your ear, swallowing his cum.

You won't be able to feel the friction generated by his dick if you have too much cum inside. This was something he did every time and never failed to do.

He had you begging him to stop, but he had stamina and wanted payback for what you had done before. Chat watched as you were mercilessly fucked and pleaded, the stream never stopped, even when you both orgasmed and fell asleep.

As chat continued to go off, your and his body was drenched in sweat; throughout the night, you surpassed 300k subscribers, gaining 200k overnight.

[storiesforallfandoms]

she’s a baddie ~ machine gun kelly

word count: 1846

request?: yes!

“Hi! I have a request for mgk (if your requests are open still) but I was thinking maybe something like colson’s girlfriend is a total badass and like has a bunch of tattoos and maybe is a rapper herself and he is kind of just gushing over her and tells everyone he can about how cool she is? <3″

description: in which he loves to gush about his badass rapper girlfriend at every opportunity

pairing: machine gun kelly x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two)

The minute he walked into the studio and saw her, Colson was in love.

Dom had asked Colson to be on a song with him and a long time friend of his, a fellow rapper named (Y/N). Colson agreed - he always loved to work with Dom and he loved to meet new people to collaborate with.

He wasn’t sure what he expected of (Y/N), but it definitely was not what he actually got.

(Y/N) was in the booth recording her verse. Already, her rapping abilities were for beyond even Colson’s. He was extremely impressed with her lyrics. As for her appearance: she was wearing a pair of tight, ripped jeans, a white button up dress shirt that was completely open with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the sports bra she was wearing underneath.

With all that skin exposed, Colson could see that she was nearly completely covered in tattoos. Her arms were covered in tattoo sleeves, all the way down to her hands and even fingers. There was an undercarriage tattoo poking out from under her sports bra, and another poking out from her waistband around her hip. She even had one on her neck!

She radiated badass energy, and Colson was drawn to her.

Dom looked up from where he was sat and got up to hug Colson. “Hey mate! Just in time, (Y/N) is finished her verse!”

(Y/N) had stopped rapping when she noticed the commotion outside. She was looking at Dom and Colson, as if waiting for them to tell her what to do.

“(Y/N), come meet Kells!” Dom called.

She walked out from the booth and smiled at Colson. “Nice to meet you. Dom talks so highly of you, and I’m a bit of a fan.”

Colson smiled and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too. Dom’s talked you up to me a lot, too. You definitely live up to the hype.”

(Y/N) tried to hide her smile to keep her cool status, but Colson could see the corners of her mouth tilting upwards. She put her hands in her pockets and shrugged modestly. “I’m okay I guess. Thanks though.”

“Her verse is amazing,” Dom said, bringing the attention back to him. “Just wait till you hear it when it’s finished.”

Colson sat with Dom to go over the verse he had written. (Y/N) sat behind them, distracting herself on her phone while the men worked. Every so often he would glance over his shoulder at her, hoping to catch her attention for even just a moment.

“She’s single mate, go for it,” Dom said in a low voice, but certainly not low enough that (Y/N) didn’t hear it.

Colson’s eyes widened and he quickly looked over his shoulder at her again. Her attention was still on her phone, but there was a knowing smile on her face.

When the three had finished in the studio and were preparing to go, Colson finally decided to talk to (Y/N). She was heading out the door when Colson approached her, falling into step beside her.

“Your tattoos are cool,” he said, immediately cringing at how lame the compliment was.

(Y/N) smiled brightly at him. “Thanks! They better be for how long they took and how much they cost. Yours are pretty sick too.”

“Thanks. A few of them are kind of old and I regret a little but that happens.”

“When you have as many as we do, you eventually regret one or two.”

There was an awkward silence as the two continued into the parking lot. Colson tried to wrack his brain for some way to save the conversation, but everything he came up with felt dumb or lame. He felt his heart fall to his stomach when (Y/N) pulled keys from her pocket and unlocked a car in front of them. He knew he’d eventually see her again, but he didn’t want their time to end just yet.

Before getting into her car, (Y/N) turned to Colson and put her hand out. “Give me your phone.”

He was taken back by such a direct request that his mind couldn’t comprehend what she had asked at first. “What?”

“Phone, unlock, give.”

Colson took his phone from his pocket and did as she asked. (Y/N) opened the contacts app on his phone and added her name and number, and even took a selfie of herself to set as the contact photo. She sent herself a text so she could have Colson’s number before passing the phone back to him.

“Let’s get drinks some time,” she told him before climbing into her car and starting it up. The roaring of the engine made Colson realize that even her car was badass.

He never would’ve guessed that that one encounter would’ve led to such a strong relationship between the two of them. Colson took (Y/N) up on her offer to go get drinks and, next thing he knew, he was waking up the next morning with her in his bed after deciding to be in a real relationship.

When the news hit the media, both of their fanbases exploded with excitement, saying how (Y/N) and Colson were perfect for one another. Even the tabloids couldn’t find a bad thing to say about the relationship. In fact, they constantly praised the two and complimented them whenever they were saw out together. As much as Colson hated the vultures that were paparazzi, it was hard to be as angry when they were actually saying nice things about him and the woman he loved.

And Colson couldn’t get enough of hyping his girl up. Even when she wasn’t there, all he did was talk about how cool and badass she was. It eventually got to a point that his friends would have to tell Colson that every time he mentioned (Y/N)’s name when she wasn’t around, they were going to hit him.

On the night of Dom’s album release, which featured the song that had brought Colson and (Y/N) together, Dom decided to throw a massive party to celebrate. Colson showed up with his friends, fashionably late as always. It didn’t take him long to navigate the large crowd to find his stunning girlfriend, who was wearing a skin tight black dress that hugged her body and came down to her thighs, paired with a pair of black stiletto heels and her hair pulled back in a braid. Colson couldn’t help but let his eyes wander over her body as he walked up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek, bringing her attention away from her conversation to him for just a moment.

“Sorry to steal her away,” Colson said to her conversation partner, “but I just had to tell my girlfriend how fucking stunning she looks tonight.”

A bright smile spread on (Y/N)’s face as the person she was talking to made a fake vomiting sound, but was smiling none the less.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, hot stuff,” she said with a wink. “Wanna grab a drink and I’ll be over in a minute?”

“Sounds good, baby.”

Colson kissed her head as his hand trailed from her waist to her ass, giving it a quick squeeze before walking away. (Y/N) turned and watched him go with wide eyes, but also with an amused smile on his face. He smirked to himself as he made his way to the bar.

Slim and Rook were already stood there, two empty glasses in hand but too distracted by their conversation to get refills. Colson ordered two drinks, one for himself and one for (Y/N), before looking back across the crowded room at her. An involuntary smile stretched across his face as he looked at the familiar tattoos that were peaking out from her dress.

“Bro, if you say one thing about (Y/N) I am going to punch you in the fact,” Slim said, snapping Colson out of his trance.

“What?” he said. “Dude I wasn’t going to say anything about her.”

“You have that look on your face man,” Rook pointed out. “The look that says the next thing out of your mouth is gonna be something about how badass (Y/N) is.”

The bartender passed Colson his drink and he immediately swallowed half of it. “I’m sorry for thinking my girlfriend is the coolest shit since sliced bread, but that’s how relationships are supposed to work.”

“That’s not how they’ve worked with you before,” Slim said.

“Yeah, before it was a lot of sex and PDA and eventual fighting,” Rook added.

“What I have with (Y/N) ain’t like that, guys,” Colson said. “I know I move way too fast in relationships and they all end the same way, but when I say that it was love at first sight for me with (Y/N), I mean it. I mean, look at her, how can you not love her? She’s not just another girl who wants to be all over me and gets jealous or upset when I’m gone for long because she actually understands that this is how my job works. And she likes to drink and smoke weed and party, so she’s actually fun to hang out with. On top of all that...well...just look at her! She’s smoking hot and badass as fuck. I’m sorry that I tend to talk too much about her and all, but I can’t help it. I’m really happy.”

During his speech, Colson hadn’t noticed that (Y/N) had finished with her conversation and approached the three of them. She joined the group just in time to hear how happy he was to be with her, which had managed to bring happy tears to her eyes. She tried to blink them away as to not ruin her makeup, but it was hard when Colson’s kind words were replaying in her head.

“You mean that?” she asked, causing the three men to jump and to look at her.

“Damn, you move quick girl,” Slim commented.

“How much did you hear?” Colson asked.

“Enough of it,” she responded.

Slim and Rook exchanged a glance before excusing themselves from the conversation. Colson held out (Y/N)’s drink to her and she gladly took it. She leaned into his side as he wrapped his arm around her again, fitting perfectly against him like two puzzle pieces.

“I meant every word I said,” he told her. “I think you’re the coolest chick I’ve ever met and then some. Way too good to be dating a dork like me.”

“You’re anything but a dork,” she said. “And even if you were, you’re my dork, and I can’t imagine having anyone else by my side.”

Colson smiled that adorable, goofy smile that (Y/N) loved so much. She mirrored it before leaning up to kiss his lips. His grip around her waist tightened as he held her close, never wanting to let her go.

[aminiatureworld]

Affection II

Characters: Childe, Ganyu, Kaeya, gn!reader

Word Count: 5,577

Warnings: None

Premise: Sometime we know something is impossible from the start. But still we walk towards it, even if we know it will hurt us. It’s only flirting, only a smile or a hug or some food. Even if nothing comes of it, there is nothing to regret. Even if it hurts.

In which the reader gives affection, expecting nothing in return.

Author’s Note: Evidently I’ve really missed writing these properly. I had such a great time writing, and I hope you guys enjoy these just as much as I did.

Also I’ve decided the version on Ao3 will now always be without bullet points, so if you prefer that format the link will be in the reblog.

Childe

You’d been floored by Childe pretty much since the day you two had met.

What had turned into the two of you meeting had started out a most unfavorable encounter. You’d gone to Lingju Pass, trying to survey some of the carvings of the old structure, and attempting to see the sort of methods used to construct such vast rocky complexes at the time. Unfortunately this goal had quickly turned into a goal of “don’t get caught”, as you’d found the Pass crawling with Fatui members. Though you weren’t nearly helpless, you’d also not come prepared for battle; and had spent most of the “fight” dodging around various blows while trying not to drop the expensive equipment that you’d borrowed from other Guild members.

Just as you’d come to the conclusion that the options were either drop everything and run or get thoroughly injured by a bunch of arrogant Snezhnayan soldiers there was a change in the air. The Fatui soldiers’ expression turned from one of glee to one of confusion, and then one of panic, as one by one a streak of blue began to throw them this way and that. As you regained focus of the terrain your realized that it wasn’t a streak at all but a person, a person who was wildly adept at sword play. Eventually the number of unconscious people had risen to five, and there was no one left but him and you.

“Need any help?”

The words might’ve been kind, had it not been for the smirk on the man’s face. Though you felt that the right answers would’ve probably been to scowl, you found you couldn’t, too wrapped up in the memory of this mysterious person darting this way and that, handling his water-made daggers with the grace of a ballet dancer.

“I’m Childe.” These words finally brought you back to the present.

“You’re a member of the Fatui.”

“I am.”

“Then why did you knock those guys out just now?”

“Boredom.”

You stared at Childe incredulously. Of course you’d heard his name, the man who, it was whispered, almost pulled Liyue into the sea. You’d formed a sort of mental picture of him completely divorced from the redhead now standing in front of you, bouncing slightly on his feet as he smiled cockily. He looked more like a rogue adventurer than one of the heads of a crime syndicate. Maybe that was why you found yourself infatuated, rather than afraid.

This infatuation only grew, fed by the encounters that you had with Childe. It seemed now you couldn’t avoid him, not that you wanted to. What had begun as a chance encounter multiplied into two, into four; soon enough you two had struck up a sort of friendship, one that baffled everyone else around you.

Of course you hadn’t lost all your sense, knowing quite well that the puppy love you were feeling could never be anything more. The way Childe talked about his work, about his duty to the Tsaritsa, made it very clear that he wouldn’t let a partner in his life or in his loyalties. And even if he changed his mind, why would he choose you? You were an adventurer sure, but you hadn’t even been able to properly defend yourself the first time the two of you met, and your oversight of that would’ve surely turned Childe away. Besides, Childe could probably make a partner out of anyone he wanted, if they were foolish enough. Why should that person be you?

Perhaps it was that knowledge that allowed you to be so free in your affection, spurred on by Childe’s own open nature. Hand holding, hugging, leaning one’s head on the other’s shoulder, it was the language of friendship that you two had adopted, and something that you greatly appreciated. There was something nice about a friendship in which one could be so open about caring about someone, without expecting things to go farther. Because you didn’t, you really didn’t. And though that might’ve been a bit painful, it was a small price to pay for Childe’s company.

“I’m going off to Mondstadt for a bit.”

“What?”

You drew away from Childe a bit to look into his face. The two of you were walking along the path towards Yaoguang Shoal, as Childe had taken a particular liking to the Starconches that lined its shores. Now he smiled awkwardly, squeezing your hand and shrugging his shoulders.

“I know, I know. There’s apparently this branch of the Fatui holed up there right now, and I’ve been asked to consult about something, though archons know what it is.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure, I think about two weeks? I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but the troops really must be in disarray if they need me skulking around for the next two weeks.” He let out a awkward laugh.

“I’ll miss you.” You replied, bumping your head into his shoulder and frowning. “It’s very boring without you.”

“I’m sure you’ll be perfectly capable without me.” Childe smiled, one eyebrow raised slightly. “After all, what would you do if I left someday, permanently. You’d have to find a way without me.”

“Let’s not talk about that.” You replied hurriedly, switching the conversation towards something more pleasant. Unfortunately however the words had already been said, and the damage had already been done.

It had been two weeks since Childe had left for Mondstadt, and though normally you might’ve been waiting at the city gates for his return, you found yourself on the familiar road towards Lingju. Childe’s words had been ringing in your ears for the past two weeks, and you’d found the more time passed the more you kept thinking about them.

What would you do if I left someday, permanently. Is that what Childe truly wanted? To leave? The idea made your stomach hurt, as you began once more to run all your interactions through your head, as if trying to find a flaw in the strips of memory you had of Childe. Was that what Childe truly wanted, or was it simply that he was sick of you? When he’d said “you’d have to find a way without me” did that mean he wanted to find a way without you? Perhaps you’d been too forward, too demanding. Perhaps he’d managed to realize your feelings and felt repelled by them. Had it been too much, meeting him almost everyday for some periods of time, eating lunch together and sometimes dinner. What about that time you’d invited him over to your house to play a game? Had that been too much?

You sighed, dragging yourself over the final ridge. Sitting down to take a rest you closed you eyes. You hated that your mind wandered this way, that no matter what you couldn’t help but ask yourself again and again, what had you done. What would Childe think about this sad person laying on the ground, the sad part was you couldn’t answer that question.

The sound of footsteps brought you back to the present, and you let out a suppressed groan at the figures in your line of sight.

“Don’t you guys ever get posted anywhere else?” You rolled your eyes, reaching behind your back to summon your polearm.

“You’re trespassing.” The voice that came out of the Electro Vanguard was so deep and distorted as to be hilarious.

“Lastly I checked you were neither a citizen of Liyue, nor Rex Lapis, so if anyone’s “trespassing” on public territory it’s you.” You sighed. “Oh well. Unfortunately you caught me on a day where I’m somewhat prepared.” With that you lunged towards the Hydro Legionnaire and the fight began.

Fighting when one is already frustrated is both a blessing and a curse. The fight itself was almost invigorating, the first Fatui hit the ground and with it you felt part of your worries fade away, if only for the small window of time which this fight offered. Was this why Childe fought so much? The though crossed your mind as you whirled behind the Pyro Bracer and pressed as much Electro as you dared into the back of his head, tripping him with the staff of your polearm on his way down.

Soon enough there was only you and the Electro Vanguard left. Unfortunately you were beginning to feel the other side affect of anger, that being misfocus. Being more versed in using your polearm as a sort of lightning rod your found the Vanguard much harder to deal with, more than once barely diving out of the way of the hammer he was swinging around, surprisingly light on his feet considering what the weight must be. Your anger was quickly draining, turning into something more akin to panic, and as you found yourself stumbling more and more you realized that today was really, really not your day.

The Vanguard was becoming aware of how fast you were tiring, a gravelly sort of laugh emerging from behind his mask. As you found your with you back to the slope you wondered if it was just worth it to make an escape. The Fatui swung his hammer once more, barreling towards you. Having nothing left to do you put your polearm out in front of you, hoping that your arms were strong enough not to recoil against the inevitable blow. Closing your eyes you thought of nothing, drowning in a sea of panic. If there was any coherent part of your brain it wished that you weren’t here, that you just stayed home, or swallowed you pride and gone to the gate. But it was too late now, and you were about to get hit.

However the blow never landed, instead a loud sound pierced the air. Whipping your arms open you saw the Electro Vanguard stumble, his hammer having been dropped on the ground. He was grasping towards his ankle, in which was stuck an arrow, glowing a faint aquamarine. Swearing the Fatui member glanced around, before stumbling away, dragging his weapon and his left leg behind him like dead weight.

“Some things never change, huh?”

“Childe!” You whirled towards your once again savior, face burning from embarrassment. “I took out the rest of them this time.”

“I can see that,” said Childe, surveying the area, a telltale smirk on his face, “very impressive. Although, if I may suggest, next time try to take out the Electro Vanguard first, especially since you don’t wield a weapon made for pure damage.”

“Is this turning into a teaching moment?”

“Absolutely not.” Childe laughed.

You found the sound catching, and soon a smile spread across your face as you let your polearm disappear once more. You ran up to Childe, and were about to throw you arms around his neck in a characteristic hug, when the thoughts of before came ramming back into your brain. Taking a step back you planted your arms firmly in front of you, hoping that maybe Childe hadn’t noticed what you’d been about to do.

However Childe approached you instead.

“You weren’t at the gate today.” He said coyly, lips drifting somewhere between a smirk and a frown.

“I’m sorry.” You lowered your head. “I just thought, well maybe that would be better. Since you said you might be leaving permanently and all, and since you were right when you said I’d have to figure things out without you, I don’t know, I thought maybe it’d be for the best.”

Looking up the expression on Childe’s face could only be described as one of complete disbelief. For a moment he stayed frozen in place.

“What in Teyvat do you mean I’m leaving permanently?”

“You said that! Remember… when we were going to pick sea shells you said that you were leaving.” You stepped back, cheeks flushed. “Or maybe you were just sort of sick of me or something.”

“Why would you ever think that?” Childe walked up to you, enveloping one of the hands at your side in his own and bringing it up towards him.

“I… I don’t know,” you replied, feeling very confused and very foolish, “I thought maybe that I was being too affectionate, or too clingy. I mean I know you don’t like me or anything like that. And I thought maybe that I was crossing the boundaries of our friendship.”

“I don’t like you? I’ve liked you since almost the first day we’ve met!”

“Not like that! I mean, like like, you know? As in… well, as in I… I love you.” You let your voice peter out.

“I love you too!” Childe let out. Shaking his head he smiled widely. “That’s what I’m trying to say. I’ve liked you since almost the first time we’ve met. I wasn’t trying to shoo you away.”

“What?” Your brain was short circuiting. Something had gone terribly wrong. You’d definitely been knocked out at some point, and was now hallucinating. There was no way Childe liked you, loved you. He could love anyone, why would he love you.

Childe stepped closer, moving so that your foreheads were almost pressed together.

“May I?” He whispered, voice almost shy. You nodded, a just as small “yes” escaping your lips before Childe cut off your ability to say anything more. It was a short kiss, sweet and chaste, and yet you felt everything around you suddenly come into sharp, almost lucid clarity. You weren’t dreaming. This was happening. This was Childe and he liked you. Childe like you. He liked you, he really liked you.

“Why?” You let out, when the two of you separated. Thankfully Childe remained close to you, being without his presence now would’ve been quite lonely.

“Why what?”

“Why me? I’m not, I don’t know, I can’t even knock out an Electro Vanguard without help.”

Childe let out a laugh, lovely as music.

“I don’t know,” he replied, eyes sparkling, “because you’re you. And I like you.”

And all of a sudden you found that that was enough.

 Ganyu

The days that you accompanied Ganyu on her various errands were the ones in which you were most aware that you were on a level utterly below her.

Of course humans could never really measure up to adepti, after all they made the world and humans simply lived in it. Still in terms of humans, well you weren’t exactly pushing exceptional. If Ganyu represented all that was exceptional about the adepti, well then you represented the average human who didn’t like their job and overall went about their day as unnoticeable as an ant on the road.

Of course Ganyu never acted in a way that would betray the imbalance between the two of you. Indeed Ganyu was nothing if not kind, sweet, and utterly without a semblance of hierarchy. It was one of the things that you adored about her, the straightforward honesty she carried with her, and the way that she appeared not to judge living beings on a scale, even if that was the right of those who were higher and didn’t have to worry about said scale.

“Can you carry this for me?” Ganyu’s voice was soft and somewhat hesitant. You smiled widely, knowing that Ganyu simply had difficulty asking other people for help.

“Of course I can!” Scooping up the package that was stretched out towards you, you saw Ganyu let out a short sigh of relief.

“Thank you.”

“Of course! I’m always happy to help you. Where are we taking this?”

“Over to the funeral parlor. It seems that there are some tiles in here that are being used for a specific ritual. Hu Tao said that the family wanted it, I hope she doesn’t actually mean she pushed them towards it.” Ganyu let out a soft sigh. “She once suggested advertising for cremation. Somehow I feel that won’t exactly be welcomed by the people.”

“No one likes to be reminded of their own mortality. Ah, but Hu Tao is doing her best, and if these tiles end up being insulators, I suppose we can’t do much about it. I’ll make sure not to drop them anyways. Getting on Hu Tao’s bad side feels like asking for a prank.”

“You’re probably right.” Ganyu chuckled.

You blushed slightly, loving the way her laugh sounded, soft and open. You knew Ganyu struggled sometimes; she admitted to you herself that it was very difficult to live an existence defined by liminality. Was she an adeptus? Was she a human? She was neither, and yet both would claim her and call her other. In understanding this Ganyu had retreated into herself. Perhaps that’s why her laugh meant so much.

As you strolled down the docks an angry voice cut through the air.

“Qixing!”

Both of you turning around you saw Bolai, heaving slightly, teetering his way towards you. His face was stormy, and for a moment you wondered if someone had stolen something. His words when he caught up however revealed a very different motivation.

“I demand justice!”

“What for?” Ganyu asked, voice deadly serious once more.

“What for? For what Huixin said in regards to me! For the Liyue Qixing complying with disgusting rumors as to the ways in which I conduct my business and my finances. As to the way that you promised to help me then turned on me!”

“I see…” Ganyu sighed as you wracked your brain, trying to remember what she’d told you about the time that she and the traveler ran around trying to detangle various examples of tax fraud. “Have you considered putting up a formal complaint?” Ganyu meanwhile was still trying to keep professional, something that you admired her for.

“How am I supposed to trust the Qixing after what happened? No! I demand compensation now!”

“Sir, I’m sure you’re quite upset, but there’s no need to act in such a way. If you wish to clear your name, then we can meet in private and review the testimony and documents we received. If not, then I’m afraid there is nothing I can do for you. I’m very sorry.”

Ganyu turned back towards the direction in which you two had been previously walking. Evidently too agitated to think properly Bolai let out a strangled cry.

“We’re not finished yet!” Reaching out, he seemed to be attempting to turn Ganyu around by the shoulder. Having been standing there unthinking you now moved to block the action, knowing that Bolai didn’t really mean anything by it, but not trusting the man who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. Bolai’s hand instead smacked into the box in your hands, which slipped from your grip and fell to the floor in a great crash.

Time seemed to slow down somewhat after this, as Bolai stepped backwards and Ganyu turned around, face one of evident horror at the scene. You felt your face begin to burn as you looked at the unassuming box, which now looked a little bit the worse for wear.

“What…” Ganyu trailed off. Bolai waved his hands about in a panicked sort of way.

“That wasn’t me! That wasn’t my fault! It was this person they… I don’t know what they were thinking, getting in the way like that. How idiotic! This is nothing but a mess, a disgrace!”

Normally you wouldn’t pay Bolai’s words any mind, but now they seemed to pierce right through, as you realized all the trouble you’d just caused Ganyu. Glancing over towards her you found you could neither look her in the eyes nor stay where you were.

“I-I’m sorry!” You stammered. Moving to pick up the box you found your hand hesitating. Fearing that you’d just make things worse you pulled yourself and dashed in the opposite direction, speeding up the docks and towards the outskirts of the city.

Normally the view from Mount Tianheng was one that stole your breath away. Today however the mountain seemed completely uninteresting, especially when compared to the thoughts racing in your head.

How had you gotten here, how had you messed up so much? Ganyu didn’t need your posturing, your attempt to help. She was an adeptus for Morax’s sake! And who were you? Someone who couldn’t even carry a box from Point A to Point B. And now you’d just caused more trouble for Ganyu, when she already had so much to do.

“I’m such a failure.” You groaned into your palms.

“You aren’t!” You lifted your head at the soft exclamation, already knowing who the voice belonged to. Ganyu sidled up to the ledge of the mountain silently, fidgeting with her hands. “May I sit next to you?”

“Of course.” You replied, grateful that Ganyu was even talking to you. Smiling softly the Qixing Emissary let out a soft sigh.

“I love the view of the city from here.” She spoke softly, eyes on the horizon.

“I do too.”

“There’s something so lovely about watching everyone go about their day, isn’t there? To see the people work in harmony to bring prosperity and peace to the city of Liyue. To see how everyone continues on the legacy of Rex Lapis.”

“That’s a lot to see.” You joked, still feeling a little uncomfortable, as if Ganyu might in a minute get up and leave.

“But can’t you see it?” Ganyu’s voice was earnest and her eyes shined. “It’s wonderful how people do it, how they continue to make this city thrive, to keep the contracts of Morax alive and within living memory.”

“Perhaps it’s just harder for humans to judge it themselves?”

“Perhaps.” Ganyu’s expression shifted into something, almost shy, not quite melancholic. “Just like how you’re finding it difficult to forgive yourself.”

“I’m so sorry Ganyu. I don’t know what I was thinking! I just… I just, wasn’t thinking.”

“You were trying to be kind.” Ganyu replied, something almost akin to blush coating her cheeks. “And I have to thank you for that.”

“But I just caused more trouble…”

“You were trying to be kind,” Ganyu repeated, “like I said, you’re finding it difficult to forgive yourself. But you have to. You didn’t truly do anything that needs forgiveness.”

“But I was doing it for completely selfish reasons!” You blurted out, embarrassment and doubt turning into the words you never wanted to utter. “It’s because I like you, and not just because I was trying to be nice. But because, because maybe I wanted to do something for you, and then maybe I’d be good enough maybe.” Realizing how odd that just sounded you turned your head away. For a moment your words hung in the air, and the longer the silence continued the longer you thought about how utterly selfish you were.

“Thank you.” There was a smile in Ganyu’s voice, and as you turned your head once more you could see it plastered across her face.

“For what?”

“For telling me you like me.”

“But… but isn’t it just burdening you? After all I’m not good enough for you.”

“You are!” Ganyu’s voice was firm. “You’re absolutely good enough for me. And what you did, you call it selfishness, but I don’t understand that. Being kind to people you like isn’t selfish, even if you like them. Because this time you were genuinely helping me. Besides, if that’s selfish then I’ve also been terribly selfish.”

“How?”

“By asking you to accompany me everywhere. Because maybe, maybe I like you too.”

For a moment you wondered if you hadn’t accidentally slipped off the cliff, so weightless did you feel. A bit lightheaded you leaned forward.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Ganyu smiled nervously. Reaching out she took your hand in hers.

The two of you watched the sun set over the city of contracts mostly in silence. Every once in a while there would be a spurt of conversation, but mostly there was nothing but the sounds of the birds and the cicadas, and the pounding of two hearts, hearts both a bit ragged from the events of the day.

For what a day it had been. And how wonderfully it had ended.

 Kaeya

If you could use anything as justification for your crush on Kaeya, he did flirt with you. Unfortunately he also flirted with everyone else in Mondstadt.

“How’s my favorite knight of Favonius?” Kaeya’s cocky voice was clear as a bell, and for a moment your heart flipped as the handsome knight came into view, smile as lovely as it had been the day before.

“Blessed by the presence of our beloved cavalry captain.” You replied in a singsong voice.

The first time Kaeya had used that line on you it felt like your soul had left your body and your heart had run a marathon. Unfortunately you’d heard him use practically the same line on Rosaria the next day, his favorite mysterious nun, robbing you of your fantasy in which Kaeya had any interest for you.

Your banter however was not without genuine feeling. You were utterly infatuated with Kaeya, having fallen for the handsome knight about two weeks into your own training. Originally having been an adventurer you’d joined the knights relatively recently after a series of Abyss attacks on the City of Freedom. As such Kaeya had by then already occupied an exalted position among the ranks, and the hours of being trained, teased, and flirted at by the mysterious cavalry captain had been enough to throw you head over heels.

Not that you’d ever expect things to develop more than they already had. Having a crush on the flirtiest man in Mondstadt did mean that you were praised every once in a while, but it also meant that the praise meant little more than empty words, and that there was always someone else who had heard them. Not that you begrudged those people, not knowing them or not caring. It was Kaeya’s right to be as he was, flirty and irreverent; and you’d never ask him to change that part of himself, or any other.

To do so would be to change the person you’d grown to love.

You trotted up the steps of the Favonius headquarters, opening the door with a slight “oof” before stepping into the cool building. Today was going to be a quiet sort of day for the knights, and you’d been assigned to pick up a few books from Jean’s office to be recorded by Lisa before being sent off to the Church. Going to open the door you paused at the voices inside.

“– saying it’s nothing.”

“And I’m saying that it’s becoming a distraction. I don’t want to control your actions Kaeya, but this pining has been slowing down your work, and we need you as one of our most crucial members to be on top of things.”

“I’m not pining.”

“What do you mean you aren’t pining,” Jean let out a snort, “as if it’s not obvious to everyone around you. Look, I’m not saying you have to break things off –”

“Good, because they haven’t even begun.”

“Then maybe that’s part of your problem. Maybe if you told them you liked them then you’d be able to get back on track.”

“I’m doing my best.”

“You aren’t doing anything. And that’s the problem.”

You didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, having made your way over to the library as to make sure that you were get caught, and to cool your head in regards to what you’d just heard.

So Kaeya liked someone. You shouldn’t’ve really been surprised. Kaeya was a wonderful person; intelligent, good with a weapon, polite, handsome. What person wouldn’t fall in love with him? And when everyone’s in love with you, well, it was unsurprising that eventually Kaeya would find someone who he loved back just as much. Then, why did it hurt?

You fought the urge to wrack your brain for the people Kaeya spoke most about, finding the act beneath you. Still, your mind wandered. Perhaps it was Rosaria after all, or maybe it was only because you remembered her. Perhaps it was the sword smith who came twice monthly to check up on the weaponry. Or perhaps it was the tailor, who could sew anything with the utmost care. Or perhaps it was a musician, or an archivist, or another knight. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Your head swam and you found your eyes stinging. Now wasn’t the time to cry, not when you needed to honor your appointment with Jean, not when you were somewhere where any one of your colleagues might discover you. Not where Kaeya might walk in any minute and realize what you’d done. This thought finally brought you out of the spiral of your mind. Making sure that any tears that might’ve escaped were wiped away you took a deep breath, steadying yourself before you walked out of the library and into Jean’s office.

Evidently you must’ve looked much worse than you thought, for Jean took one look at you and ordered you home, grumbling about how much trouble there had been recently. You thanked her half-heartedly before making your way out of the Headquarters, heart heavy as lead. At least work would’ve been a welcome distraction.

Arriving home you saw what Jean meant. Though you weren’t particularly teary, your face had taken on an ashen pallor that made it look like you’d either just gotten a shock, fainted, or had suddenly contracted consumption. Letting out a sigh you collapsed on the couch of your apartment. You knew you should probably do something, should eat or work on some extra work or something. But right now you didn’t want to do any of that. You just wanted to forget.

The knock that sounded at your door was extremely unwelcome, and you bit back bitter words as you made your way over to the door. Any protest however was silenced at the sight of Kaeya, hair slightly tussled, expression opaque, on your doorstep.

“Kaeya.” You meant to sound more peppy, but the action felt too tiring. “What’re you doing here?”

“Making sure that you’re alright. Jean told me that you looked unwell, and we can’t have our best knight getting sick, now can we?”

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

You went to turn around, when Kaeya reached over and place his hand on your forehead. Freezing you let out a sound somewhere between a strangled cry and a shriek. Kaeya didn’t react to this however, or the red quickly spreading across the bridge of your nose. Instead he let out a sigh, before smiling, something which also caused your heart to seize up.

“Not running a fever. I’m glad. Do you know what’s wrong by any chance?”

“Yes. No! I mean, I think, I, I just need rest.”

“You can tell me if something’s wrong. I might not be able to help, but I can try. Consider it the duty of the Cavalry Captain. Have to keep up appearances, even among the ranks.”

“Really Kaeya, I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.” Kaeya’s eye seemed to pierce through your soul. “You seem… upset, exhausted. Please, let me help.”

“I can’t…” Your voice cracked and you turned your head away, mortified by your inability to control yourself.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Kaeya’s voice was filled with sudden worry. “Is someone doing something to you?”

“No! No one is. I just can’t because, because it’d be selfish.”

“What do you mean?” Kaeya’s tone had become utterly perplexed, and for a moment you felt the crazy urge to laugh. As if it wasn’t painfully obvious why you couldn’t. This was so tiring. You were so tired.

“Because it’s not fair of me to take away your happiness just because of my own feelings.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I heard you talking to Jean,” you explain, face burning, “she said that you liked someone. Or maybe you did, I don’t remember. Anyways you like someone and it’s not fair of that to hurt me, I have no right to your feelings. But, but it hurts, it really, really hurts.”

The silence when you finished was miserable. You weren’t even looking up at Kaeya, not wanting to see the destruction of a friendship you valued so much.

“Have you considered that the person I’m so infatuated with might be you?”

When you looked up you caught a wave of emotions, similar in strength to the ones currently going through you, plastered over Kaeya’s face. Happiness, sadness, regret, relief; all these things danced in his eyes. In that moment you loved him even more for it, for knowing that he understood, and that he too couldn’t hide the affects of having someone you loved so close and yet so far.

Saying nothing you walked over and slowly stretched your hand out. Kaeya took the hand in his, and you reveled in the small intimacy, in his calloused fingers enveloping yours.

“I’m not good enough.” You pointed out, voice soft.

“You aren’t the one who decides who I love.” Kaeya replied, voice firm. “To me there is no one else worthy in the world. Only you. And I hope that I can be the same for you, that I can be worthy.”

“Yes. Oh yes.”

For Kaeya was more than simply worthy. He was the one you loved the most, as well as the one who’d now made you the happiest person you could ever dream of.