#<- second one is unlocking the camera during a conversation

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon zero dawn (remastered) | naltuk 2/?

[kathlare]

a call to connect

Lando Norris x Amelie Dayman

Summary: Lando Norris finds himself facing an unexpected challenge during the filming of a McLaren campaign for Mental Health Day.

Wordcount: 1.1 k

Warnings: none

full masterlist // request over here!

October 10th, 2024 - London, United Kingdom

The morning sun filtered through the pristine glass walls of the McLaren Technology Centre, casting soft reflections on the polished floors. Lando Norris leaned against a sleek counter in the media suite, fidgeting with the cuffs of his team polo. Around him, the McLaren media team buzzed with energy, organizing cameras, reviewing scripts, and prepping for the Mental Health Day campaign video they were set to film.

Lando ran a hand through his messy hair, his nerves tingling slightly. He wasn’t nervous about being on camera—he was used to that by now—but the topic at hand was heavier than the usual fun, lighthearted media content. Mental health was something close to his heart, especially after years of navigating the highs and lows of being in Formula 1.

—Right, Lando,— said Hannah, one of the lead producers on the McLaren media team, as she approached him with a clipboard. —We’re keeping it simple for this. The idea is to encourage people to check in on someone they care about. You’ll call someone, tell them you were just thinking about them, and have a casual chat. It’s meant to show how little gestures like this can make a big difference.—

Lando blinked at her. —Wait, you want me to call someone? Like… on the phone?—

Hannah laughed at his expression. —Yes, Lando, that’s the point. It’s genuine and unscripted. Just be yourself.—

He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. —I hate calling people. Can’t I just text them instead?—

The team burst into laughter, a few playful jabs thrown his way about his aversion to phone calls.

—No texting,— Hannah replied firmly but with a grin. —It has to be a call. And you’re going to be great. Who you call is entirely up to you, someone who matters to you.—

Lando hesitated for a moment, his mind immediately jumping to one person. Amelie. They hadn’t spoken much today—her tour schedule was brutal, and she was currently preparing for a show in Pennsylvania. But he knew she’d pick up for him, no matter how busy she was.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, quickly unlocking it and scrolling through his contacts. His thumb hovered over her name for a moment. Amelie.

It felt almost too easy to dial her number. After all, this was someone he’d known for years—someone who’d been a friend long before they’d started something more. Their relationship was built on a foundation of shared laughter, teasing, and mutual respect. But ever since they’d started dating seriously again, after what felt like a lifetime of missed connections, the chemistry between them was undeniable. Their conversations were never dull, always charged with that undercurrent of flirtation, even if they were just talking about the most mundane things.

He tapped the call button before he could second-guess himself, leaning back against the counter as the phone rang. The sound of it echoed around the room, but Lando barely noticed, too focused on hearing her voice.

Amelie’s voicemail picked up after a couple of rings, and Lando groaned, about to hang up, but before he could, he heard a familiar, soft chuckle on the other end.

—You’re early, Lan,— Amelie’s voice came through, warm and laced with an affectionate amusement.

Lando grinned, his heart skipping a beat. —I was just thinking about you, Ames,— he said, leaning further back, his eyes glancing at the camera crew who were trying to pretend they weren’t watching intently. He knew they were waiting for him to perform, but he didn’t feel like he was acting. It was just Amelie, after all.

—Really?— she replied, the hint of surprise in her tone as she adjusted herself in what Lando assumed was her dressing room. —You’re sweet. I was just about to go on stage, but I’ve got a few minutes. What’s up?—

—Nah, nothing, just thought I’d call and see how you’re doing, you know?— he replied, his voice teasing. —I miss you. How’s the show prep going?—

Amelie’s laugh filled his ear, and he could practically picture her, hands resting on her hips as she took a breath, preparing to go out and perform. —It’s hectic, as usual. You know how it is. But I��m good, Lan. How are you?—

He could hear the slight tremor of a smile in her voice. The kind of smile that made him feel warm, no matter how far apart they were.

—Same old, same old,— Lando responded, half-focused on the call and half-conscious of the team still working around him. He could feel their eyes on him. But this wasn’t a performance; this was real, and the way Amelie made him feel was never scripted.

—You miss me, huh?— she asked, a teasing edge to her words. —I bet you just called because you wanted to hear my voice before your day gets busy again.—

Lando smiled widely, knowing she knew him too well. —Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to talk to you. You know how it is. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to just chat. We need to fix that.—

—Well, when I’m back, we’ll make up for all this time apart, I promise,— Amelie said, the energy of her voice softening a little, but there was that warmth that always seemed to sneak into her words when she talked to him.

The camera crew could hear her, too. A couple of them exchanged soft smiles, clearly enjoying the authenticity of the moment. Even though Lando had been in the public eye for years, it was clear to everyone around him how important Amelie was.

—I’ll hold you to that, Ames,— Lando teased, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. His gaze flitted around the room, but all he really wanted was to stay in the conversation. The world outside of this little bubble they’d created didn’t matter. It was just him and Amelie, even if she was a thousand miles away.

—You better,— she chuckled. He could hear the sound of someone calling her from behind, and there was a shift in the tone of her voice as she turned away from whatever was going on backstage. —Alright, Lan, I’m gonna have to cut this short. Someone just reminded me that I’ve got five minutes before I need to get on stage.—

Lando’s smile faded into a gentle frown. He hated hearing that their conversation had to end, especially when he’d just gotten a glimpse of her voice, but he knew the drill. Her world was always in motion, and he didn’t mind. He was used to the hectic pace of her life, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss her when she was caught up in it all.

—Alright, Ames,— he said, his voice softening as he leaned against the counter again. —Go do your thing. I’ll be cheering for you, obviously. You’ve got this.—

—You’re cute, Lan,— she teased, the playful tone coming through once more. —You really do miss me, huh?—

—Of course, I do, you know I do,— Lando replied, his grin returning. He let the words linger, teasing but also honest, the depth of his feelings always there when they spoke like this.

Amelie’s voice softened just a touch, as though she were savoring the moment. —I miss you, too, more than I’ve been able to say, but I’ll see you soon, yeah? I’ll send you a text after the show, and we’ll catch up properly, I promise.—

Lando’s heart did a little flip at the way she said "soon." He couldn’t wait for that. He never could.

—I’m holding you to it,— he said, his voice low but playful. He leaned forward, feeling a bit of anticipation in his chest. —You better call me, Ames. I’m counting on it.—

Amelie let out a little laugh, and Lando could practically hear the way she was smiling, a genuine, radiant smile that made him feel like the luckiest guy alive.

—Alright, alright, you sweet talker. See you soon, Lan.—

Before Lando could get another word in, the sound of someone in the background calling her name again interrupted their conversation.

—Alright, that’s my cue. Love you, Lan.—

The words took Lando by surprise for a moment, catching him off guard, though they weren't new. She'd always been affectionate in her own way, and they'd shared this kind of intimacy long before their official relationship. But hearing it now, with the kind of care that came with knowing each other as they did, it felt like everything he’d hoped for, everything they’d come through together.

His voice caught slightly as he said, —Love you too, Ames. Have a good show.—

The line went quiet for a moment, and then he heard the click of her phone hanging up.

Lando stared at the phone in his hand, feeling a mixture of pride and yearning. He didn’t need the cameras to tell him how lucky he was. The way Amelie had spoken to him, the way their relationship had unfolded—it was something real, something grounded in the shared history of their friendship and that undeniable spark that had always been there.

As he pocketed his phone, the buzz of activity around him became louder. But for just a moment, he was lost in his thoughts, picturing Amelie on stage, doing what she loved. And, in some way, it felt like a promise—a promise that, no matter how far apart they were, they’d always find their way back to each other.

He smiled, already looking forward to the next time they’d be in the same place.

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

liked by ameliedayman, l4nation, and others

mclaren: A call can make all the difference. Pick up the phone. 📞Whether it’s checking in with a friend, family member or colleague, your voice can be someone’s lifeline. 🧡

View all 2,453 comments

mclarenfanatic_22: Lando’s call to Amelie??? This is the most genuine thing I’ve seen all week 🥹💖 Just love how real they are! → ameliefan_93: @mclarenfanatic_22 I can’t get over how sweet and natural that call was 😭 It’s like watching two people who actually care for each other.

racefan_01: Lando being the one to encourage us to check in on others is a vibe! It’s the little things that make a difference.

mclaren_superfan: “I miss you too, more than I’ve been able to say” – cue my heart breaking into pieces 💔 → f1_heartbreak_2025: @mclaren_superfan Same! That part hit so hard. I can feel the emotion through the screen. 😭

alexperezfan: We need more content like this. The world’s chaotic, but simple calls like this are what really make us feel connected. 🧡

itsyourbdaybutterfly: I’m crying. Lando calling Amelie?? I KNOW this hit differently. They’ve always had that energy 💫 → lanamielovers: @itsyourbdaybutterfly SAME. The way he said "I miss you" hit different 😭 Like, this is real real.

xomadison: Aww, this is SO wholesome. 💖 And can we talk about how Lando was so nervous about making the call? LOL a man after my own heart! → lando_and_amie: @xomadison lol literally!! Like he races F1 cars but a simple phone call has him shook 😂

florida_nicole: Amelie and Lando are the BEST friends-turned-relationship energy I’ve ever seen. Give us more content like this! 😭💖

f1girlie: HE CALLED HER. Can we please talk about how this was just a casual phone call, and yet it felt like the most emotional thing on the planet? They are so in love, I can’t take it. 💕 → landamielovers_: @f1girlie I legit thought I was watching a rom-com, like the tension was real 😂

f1fever: I’m officially obsessed with Lando’s mental health awareness era. He’s out here spreading love and supporting friends 💚 → caringforlando: @f1fever honestly, this is bigger than just a campaign. He’s showing how simple actions can make such a difference.

melodysweets: This campaign was so powerful. The message is simple, but meaningful. Checking in on someone can literally save their day. 💕

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[sissylittlefeather]

Your Love's Been a Long Time Coming: Chapter 2

A/N: Second installment of the Elvis x OC Vivian Choquette series! We pick up in 1961 during the filming of Blue Hawaii. I really hope you all stay on board for this one. I have the next 4ish chapters planned out and there's some fun stuff coming...

Need to catch up? Here's my Masterlist.

As always, thank you for your help and encouragement, bestie @ccab!

Warnings: Still pretty tame, kissing, cussing, alcohol use, references to sex/oral sex, fist fighting

Word count: ~2k

"Hello again..."

******

"Hi..."

"Oh, you two know each other?"

"Yeah we met in..."

"Germany." She finishes the sentence for him because he doesn't seem to be capable of it. He's still in awe of her. She hasn't changed much since the last time he saw her and he's still spellbound.

"Good. That should make this easy then." The director turns away from the conversation and leaves them to get reacquainted.

"I-I I didn't know you were an actress?" He tries not to visibly cringe when his nerves make him stutter. She gives him a half smile.

"Yeah, I'm just starting out really. This is my first movie role."

"And you're the lead?"

"You're the lead. I'm just your girlfriend." I wish. He thinks, but doesn't say it out loud.

"Well, still, good for you."

"Thanks... so listen."

"Hmm?" He shifts a little as someone walks behind him and forces him closer to her. She looks up at him and he notices how her eyes are the same color as the ocean when it's deep.

"Let's not make this awkward, okay?"

"Oh, of course not." He nods reassuringly.

"We can be... friends." His heart sinks a little. Friends. That's all she wants.

"Sure. Friends sounds good." It doesn't sound good at all, but he'll settle for friends if that's what it takes to be around her.

"Elvis! Come meet some of the other cast members." The director calls from across the room. Elvis nods at Vivian.

"I'll see you around. I gotta..."

"Yeah. Go, Mr. Movie Star." She pats his shoulder lightly and a shiver runs all the way down his spine. He hopes he'll be able to keep it together around her for the whole movie.

******

"CUT. VIVIAN! THAT'S STILL WRONG." The director is yelling from his place behind the cameras. Elvis stands and watches as she struggles to do what she needs to do. He can tell that she's getting more and more frustrated as the takes go on and on. For some reason, she can't seem to wrap her head around the necessary lines. Elvis is dying to try to help her, but it's not the time or the place. She looks at her feet and shakes her hands and he knows she's trying not to cry. Every time the director yells at her, she gets more flustered.

"OKAY. AGAIN."

They try the scene again and Elvis holds his breath, begging God to help her get it right.

But she doesn't. She misses it again.

"CUT. Alright. That's enough for today." They've been trying to get the scene all day long and the director is done. Elvis hangs his head as the director stomps over to Vivian. He can't really hear what he's saying, but when she starts crying and begging, he takes a couple steps closer.

"Please, please let me try again tomorrow. Please don't do this to me. Please."

"I'm not wasting another day of filming. We're replacing you. We have another actress ready to go. You're fired."

"No! Please!"

"Okay. You're not completely fired. You can have a non-speaking part." The director turns and walks away from her. Vivian looks around at everyone watching and takes off running away from the set.

"Viv! Wait!" Elvis calls out to her and tries to follow her. He loses her somewhere in the trailers though and isn't exactly sure where she's gone. When he finds her trailer, he knocks on the door, but he doesn't hear any noise inside. He waits for a few minutes and then turns to walk away. Thats when he hears something hit the door and break. He knocks on the door louder this time.

"Viv, let me in!"

"Go away!" He decides to try the door. It's unlocked, so he opens it and slips inside.

CRASH

He ducks quickly as something hits the wall above his head and breaks.

"Viv! What the hell?!"

"I need another glass." He looks at her sitting on the couch with a bottle of vodka clutched to her. "Or maybe I don't."

She takes a pull straight from the bottle and grimaces.

"Vivian." He walks over and sits down next to her. She offers him the bottle and he declines.

"I got fired."

"I know. Are you okay?" She looks at him and laughs.

"I feel like you're always asking me that. I'll answer the same way I did last time. Do I look okay?" She takes another swig from the vodka bottle.

"No. You don't." He grabs the bottle when she gets it back to her lap and sets it on the coffee table.

"Hey..." She goes to reach for it and he pulls her to him, holding her with her head on his shoulder.

"No, that's enough." Even he's surprised by his command of the situation, but he knows more alcohol is the last thing she needs. He's not sure how much was in the bottle to start, but there's only about a third of it left. Her body quakes as she begins to cry again.

"I p-promised my stepdad I would make this acting thing work out."

"Why does he care?"

"He's tired of the burden I've become since I'm not married. He said he never dreamed I'd still be around." A wave of rage washes over Elvis. He's never met the man, but he imagines punching him if he did.

"Honey, it's not your fault you're not married." She sits up.

"Well I know that. Tell him!" She settles back into his shoulder. "Kinda is my fault though because I won't just marry anyone."

"Oh?" He dismisses the fleeting thought of proposing just to give her a way out.

"No. I want to be madly in love when I get married. I want to be so in love that we can't stand to be apart from each other for another minute." She sits up again and turns to him with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I want to positively burn for my husband and I want him on fire for me. You know?"

He nods as his heart races. Could she love him like that?

"I know exactly what you mean." He whispers.

Just then, she grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him into her, pressing her lips to his. He melts into her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him. She opens her mouth and slides her tongue into his and the passion mounts as their tongues take turns dipping into the other's mouth. He can feel her hands against his chest and she whimpers a little. He pulls back and looks into her deep-ocean eyes and then leans in and kisses her cheek, down to her jawline, and then on down to her neck. She snakes her arms around his shoulders and pulls him with her as she lays back on the couch. He rearranges so that he's on top of her, rolling his hips into hers.

Is this it? Is this how they begin? His mind is racing as they continue to kiss deeply.

"Elvis, stop."

"What?" He backs away breathlessly and looks into her face.

"Are you in love with me?" His heart skips a beat. Is he?

"I-I-I..."

"Because I need you to know that this would just be sex. I'm really drunk and sad and I'm just not... I don't want to give you the wrong idea."

"How drunk?"

"That was a new bottle of vodka." When she says it, he notices how heavy her eyelids are and that her words are a little fuzzy around the edges. He feels like someone has knocked the wind out of him. Sitting up, he runs his hand through his hair and closes his eyes.

"You are, aren't you?" She asks him calmly.

"I didn't say that."

"Then why did you stop?"

"You're too drunk. I don't even know if you want this." She laughs and he looks down at her sadly.

"Oh, trust me. I want it."

"Well, I don't. Not like this." She sits up and glares at him.

"Then why the hell are you here, Elvis?!"

"I don't know."

"Fine. Get out, then." He stands up, grabbing the bottle of vodka as he does. He tries to head for the door, but she yanks the bottle away from him "Goodbye, Elvis."

Deeply discouraged, he walks out the door and down the steps to go back to the hotel. Is he in love with her?

******

The next day, he's sitting around with the guys during a break. They've brought in the new actress to play his girlfriend and she's great, but he wishes they'd given Vivian another chance. He looks up just as she walks by to sit with another actress about twenty yards away.

"You see her?" Joe asks the group of guys with a wry smile.

"Vivian?" Elvis asks confused.

"Yeah. She's got a hell of a mouth on her." He laughs raucously and pushes one of the other guys.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Joe?" Elvis feels himself start to seethe, hoping Joe isn't talking about what he thinks he's talking about.

"She came to my room last night. She gives great h-" Without another thought, Elvis is on top of him, throwing punches. The idea of him with Vivian makes him see red. And then him here talking that way about her pushes him over the edge. All the guys jump and holler, trying to pull them apart.

"Elvis, stop!!" It's Vivian's voice that cuts through the rest of the noise and gets to him. He drops Joe and stumbles backwards, breathing heavily. Blood drips from his nose where Joe landed a good defensive blow. "God. Men. Come with me."

She drags Elvis to a chair and makes him sit down. Then, she disappears for a bit. He considers getting up, as mad as he is, but he stays put until she comes back with some wet napkins to clean up his nose.

"What the hell were you thinking? You... with Joe?!"

"Elvis, I told you I was drunk and sad. You said no, so I found someone else." He feels another wave of rage rush through him.

"Just like that, huh? I really don't mean anything to you."

"You said you weren't in love with me. I told you we could be friends. That means you're going to have to be okay with me being with other guys. But if you're in love with me-"

"I'm not." It feels like a lie, but he wants it to be true.

"Good. Then, get over it." She says it softly as she finishes with his nose and pats his cheek gently. Then, she puts a hand on each arm of the chair and leans in close to him. "Listen, I like you a lot, Elvis. You're a great guy and it's probably a good thing you said no because I could fall in love with you. But I've seen you with girls. I know you have several on the hook right now. We can never be more than friends for that reason alone. I need someone on fire for me and no one else. Can you understand that?"

He looks down at his hands in his lap where bruises are starting to form. It's true, he does have a steady rotation of girls. And he has no way to make her believe that he would stop all that if they got together. Even he's not sure he could be true forever. But he'd certainly try, for her. Still, why would she ever trust him?

"Friends?" He looks up into her deep-water eyes again.

"Friends." She takes one of his bruised hands and kisses his knuckles gently. He actively ignores the way his heart skips when she does.

"With benefits?" He smiles coyly and she puts her hand on his forehead and pushes it backwards.

"We'll see..."

******

Until next time... thoughts?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!):

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @deltafalax @jhoneybees @everythingelvispresley @returntopresley

[atinystraynstay]

Life Goes On - Park Jimin

Synopsis: It was finally happening. Jimin would be leaving for the military in a few weeks. The boys have worked hard to make the enlistment process seamless for themselves and the fans, but that doesn't mean you are ready.

Pairing: idol! Park Jimin x reader Genre: Flufffffff Word Count: 2.1k Note: BTS was the first k-pop group I got into, all thanks to a college friend who was obsessed at the time. I still remember her sending me Spring Day as a recommend and listening to it on repeat all winter break. They were a huge source of happiness, especially during the pandemic. Watching each member go has been tough, but I am excited for the day that OT7 is back in 2025. 💜

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

It was a calm Friday night. Probably the last Friday night we would get like this. The world outside had a particular stillness to it, almost as if nobody else existed besides us.

The only source of light in the living room came from the fairy lights strung around the apartment. I had suggested to Jimin that we decorate our shared space early seeing as he would soon be joining his six friends, his six brothers in military service. We weren't sure how much more time we would have together, so we wanted to create joyful holiday memories before the rush of preparing for enlistment fully began. I wanted to give Jimin a chance to enjoy the holiday season with friends and family before the goodbyes start.

We were laying on our couch. Our bodies were positioned so Jimin's back rested against the arm of the couch, my body resting against his back and sitting in between his legs. His right hand rested gently on my hip, running up and down lazily. His touch left me feeling hypnotized like I was putty in his hands. A dark green blanket was draped over our bodies, keeping us warm. Some holiday movie was playing in the background, but I was not even paying attention. Hence the popcorn bowl was only half empty. I was trying my best to savor the feeling of being this close to Jimin, what it was like to feel his body warmth against mine, to feel his presence next to me.

A soft ding brought me back to reality. I glanced over to my right, away from the TV, when I saw Jimin raise his cellphone with his left hand. I instantly recognized the app responsible for the notification. Weverse.

"It's posted," Jimin whispered. I could sense his body trying to sit up a bit straighter. I followed suit, allowing him to adjust his posture before gently leaning against him again. He had moved his phone so it was in front of the both of us. His phone was already unlocked due to his camera recognizing his face. The notification push is already open for the two of us to read.

I could feel my heart sink a bit. I knew this was coming. We already talked about it. Why was I so nervous?

Hello. This is BIGHIT MUSIC.

We would like to inform our fans that RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have initiated the military enlistment process.

All of us have been aware of the plan for a while. There have been numerous, lengthy conversations since 2020 about what would happen, what life would be like, what the boys wanted for themselves before and after enlistment, and everything in between. The protocol all the boys would follow made sense. Jin was going to go first, seeing as he was the oldest and had the shortest amount of time. J-Hope decided that he would go second, just wanting to get it over with to get back on stage sooner. Yoongi would go third, seeing as his military service would be the longest period as a civil servant. He wanted to stay on track with rejoining the group in 2025. The other four wanted to go in together, to be able to support each other and say goodbye rather than leaving one person left behind. Three years ago, the plan seemed like it was so far away. But the plan was now in action and the rest of the world knew it.

The boys have been able to pursue projects they had only dreamed of. They had gotten the chance of a lifetime to take control and make decisions for each of themselves. And I was beyond proud of them all, especially Jimin. It was just now happening too quickly for my liking. I felt like I was losing time now.

What was my plan? What was I going to do? 18 months without Jimin, without my source of happiness and laughter in this sometimes dark world. Everyone seemed to know what they were meant to do, but what about me? "Babe? Y/n?"

I blinked a couple of times after registering that Jimin was calling out to me. I looked down to see the phone had been removed from in front of me, now sitting next to the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. I felt a hand cradle my cheek, turning it gently to the side until I met those deep brown eyes. I tried offering a light smile but knew that it was all an act. My glossy eyes a dead giveaway.

"Angel, what's going on in your mind? Talk to me." "I don't want you to go. Like I know you have to. We've talked about it basically over the last three years, but that doesn't mean I want you to go."

Jimin frowned. I felt him gently push on my body, indicating he wanted me to shift. My frown deepened as I turned to sit forward, my legs hitting the wooden floor. Shivers shot up my spine from the contact with the cold floor. Jimin remained sitting in the same position, his body against the corner and arm of the couch. However, this time, his hands were extended towards me. I shifted my body slightly, to face him, but also slipped my hands into his. His warm touch. That brought a smile at my gesture. He slipped his fingers in between mine before giving my hand three tiny squeezes, our little way of saying 'I love you' without having to verbally say it. It worked in situations where we were out in public, unable to hear each other, or for times like this when speaking might be too difficult.

"I don't want to go either, baby. I really don't. The thought of leaving you for a short while pains me, but it's something that has to be done."

I nodded my head, listening to his words. I didn't even realize at this point that a few tears had slipped down my cheeks.

"18 months just seems like such a long time. So much can happen in a year and a half." "And I look forward to hearing about every single moment, every second when I see you again. Or if it is something you absolutely cannot wait to tell me, you know you can write me a letter. I always loved your handwriting."

His thumb gently caressed the back of my hand. My eyes were trained down at our interlocked hands. I watched the way his thumb gently moved across my knuckles. Three tiny squeezes.

"And you won't be completely alone, you know."

I picked my head up, turning it slightly. What was he talking about? His eyes widened in return to my expression. "You didn't think I came up with a plan for us?"

"We never talked about it, Jimin. We always talked about what you and the boys needed and wanted before and after enlistment. That was the sole focus."

"But you're my focus," he whispered. He leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to my cheek, a lingering kiss. My head naturally tilted towards his lips, one more tear falling as I just soaked in the moment. Who knows how many more kisses I would be able to receive from Jimin. Now that the world knew of his intention to enlist, we were waiting anxiously for the report-for-duty date. "Stay right there."

Jimin slowly leaned away from me. He then slowly detached himself before he got up and started walking in the direction of the Christmas tree. In a few weeks, we had planned to throw a Christmas party not just for us, but for RM, V, and Jungkook to celebrate one last holiday season before leaving us for a little bit. The tree would soon be lined up with gifts for each of the boys and from them. Jimin glanced back towards me, winking which caused me to giggle a bit. He soon tucked himself between the wall and the tree to retrieve something from the back. What was he up to?

I wiped my tears, not wanting to bring any more somber energy into our evening. While yes I was sad about having to depart from my beloved for a bit, tonight and the days to come were about making Jimin feel comfortable. It was tearing him apart inside at the possibility of missing important family time.

Soon, Jimin reemerged with a white bag that had red ribbons holding it together. He held the gift bag in one hand before coming back to sit right beside me. His free hand wrapped around my shoulders, placing the gift bag right in my lap. "No such thing as an early present. Merry Christmas, my love," he whispered. His lips pressed into the side of my head.

My eyes widened in surprised as I took the gift bag into both of my hands. Using my left hand to stabilize it, my right hand began to take out the tissue paper. It was white, matching the exterior of the bag, but had gold mixed into it. The tissue paper was discarded onto the floor by our feet. Inside was a brown book with black pages. Black pages? How was I supposed to read that?

Very carefully, I took the book out of the bag. I set the bag beside me to place the book in my lap. On the front was a brown cover with a star cutout. I assume you can place a photo that you like in the front. The book was closed due to black straps of leather that were tied into a bow. I slowly undid the bow, freeing the pages of the book to be flipped. The book wasn't a traditional book. The pages opened like an accordion.

I placed the cover by the one end of the coffee table, seeing it stretch all the way to the other end. "Jimin, what is this?" I asked softly. The pages were currently blank.

I heard that heavenly laughter behind me. Soon, arms were wrapped around my stomach and pulled me back in. My hands gently rested on top of his arms, his chin resting on my shoulder. "It's a photo album. It's not just for you, it's for us. You can fill it with whatever you want as a way to keep me in the loop on all the adventures you'll have while I'm away. I want to be present in your life as much as possible. I know I won't get much time to be here physically, but I figured this would be the next best thing. You can take photos of yourself, what you see, put in flowers that you want pressed - whatever you want to show me when I get back. And then, when I come home, we'll sit right here on the couch and look through it all." His lips pressed against my shoulder as I stared at the photo album.

"And then, of course, my parents will always welcome you in with open arms. I'm convinced they get more excited about having you visit than they do with me," he laughed. "So if you feel the urge to be around family, my family is ready to step up to the plate. Or even if you want them to come visit you, they are more than happy to do so."

"It's just going to be so weird without any of you guys around here," I sighed. "Well, don't worry. Jin is going to be back soon, so you won't be too lonely for long. I know he'll make sure you are fed, you are happy, and you won't have a moment of silence again until I arrive home."

Staying in Jimin's arms, I smiled brightly. "You really have thought of everything, huh?"

Jimin nodded proudly. His arms gave me a gentle squeeze before reconnecting his lips to my cheek. "I tried to! I know life is going to go on while I'm away. And I want you to be able to live it all. You can do that for me, right?"

This time, I nodded my head before turning my head to press my forehead gently against his. "Of course. I'll take all the photos in the world and be waiting for you to come home," I whispered to him. He seemed satisfied with my response as he soon pressed his lips gently against mine. I melted into his warm embrace.

I have a plan now.

[comingyourlugubriousness]

I wrote this a long time ago for Twst SMAU. Some lore on how Ghost King! Idia and Mario!Yume meet! I have a general plot planned, but right now I'm working on Ghost Marriage lore so I'm not sure when I'll get around to it! I have lots of fun with this au though! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

Enjoy! Writing under the cute!

Title: Ghost King Join's the Party!

Length: 6.5k words

“Whe he he!~ It’s finally finished!” Idia giggled, his sinister laughter echoing throughout the dark, cold dungeon. 

“This is gonna be the one for sure, no way he gets out of this one!” He assured himself, and himself alone as there was no other soul in the room with him. His ghostly underlings were all at their posts; awaiting the expected arrival of one, said Yuuta Midori. Idia sighed, his brows furrowing at the thought of his rival. 

During their last encounter Yuuta had “beaten” him…that part wasn’t…really uncommon. Yuuta interrupting his plans was a constant plague on his life to the point where he was genuinely worried about the amount of free time Yuuta had. But, even though Idia never won their encounters in a literary sense he had always gotten what he needed to do.

Sure, Yuuta may have stopped him from summoning an undead army, but he had gotten away with the necromantic book he needed with the spell. So in a way he was the true “winner” in their game. That is until last time….

Absent-mindedly, he touched the top of his head. A place where his family’s crown was supposed to be sitting.

“How annoying…freaking goodie goodie…” He grumbled to himself. Idia got careless with their last encounter. When trying to steal those parts for his machines he ended up losing his crown. 

“It wasn’t my fault!” He groaned aloud, drearily pacing back and forth as he talked to himself. 

“Those Toads wouldn’t sell anything to me! Just because I had some “terrifying and scary Boo's” with me.” He put finger quotes and rolled his eyes as hard as he could. 

“So what if they scared a few people!?” He shrugged. “I needed the parts way more than them!” He pointed at himself indignantly, as if he was having an intense debate with someone.”They weren’t utilizing the parts to their full potential! Just letting them rust away in a corner because they were too STUPID to see its value!” He growled, the long blue flames of his hair blazing a harsh red for a second as he kicked a loose rock on the floor.

 Idia yelped as it actually kinda of hurt his foot…

“But would that wannabe anti-hero with a mom complex hear me out?! Noooooo of course not!~ Cuz I’m just the gross, creepy, shut-in who lives with dead people!!” He complained dramatically, hopping up and down on one foot until the pain subsided. Idia’s voice simply echoed off the empty walls of his family's old castle dungeon. Only the slight jangling of chains in the wind through the cracks in the walls responded back to him…He stood there for a few moments soaking in the lonely silence as his face went passive and expressionless. 

It was fine…he was used to it by now…

Idia sighed, feeling ashamed that he was once again getting himself so worked up in a conversation by himself. How pathetic…

“Well…I guess it doesn’t matter. Once I capture that wannabe hero, I’ll make him give me back my crown.” He grinned widely at the idea, his sharp teeth on full display.

“We just have to-Hm?” He stopped, hearing a notification sound from his tablet. He lifted his cloak, sticking his hand through it to the pocket dimension inside and pulling out of his tablet. Unlocking it to check his security cameras feeds.

“What the-?!” Idia’s brows furrowed and he leaned forward; hunching close to the screen. 

There he saw a chaotic scene; dozens of his Boo subjects all scattering around, panicked expressions on their faces. They all flitted about, desperately finding places to hide and disappearing into old furniture. Through the blurs of barely transparent ghosts he could see the rooms of his family’s castle were a wreck, more so than usual, as if battles had taken place. Remnants of his puzzles and traps that he had so strategically placed were either rendered obsolete or smashed to smithereens. 

Did Yuuta do this?? It usually took him longer to solve Idia’s traps and he NEVER scared any of his subjects like this, usually they did the scaring!

Idia watched as one Boo ran right into one of his security cameras cracking the lens. What was his name…? Herbert? Idia wasn’t sure. He was never good at recognizing all their faces and remembering their names… it was always Ortho who…

His train of thought was interrupted as someone stepped in the camera frame. 

Due to the crack in the camera lens, Idia couldn’t make out any details, but he saw the Boo shriek and scrambled to get away. A blurred motion approaching the camera was the last thing he saw before it was busted. The camera feed going offline. 

Idia winced and sneered in annoyance thinking about how he’d have to replace that camera now. Though he felt himself beginning to sweat as he cycled through the other camera feeds, trying to identify or even catch a glimpse of his intruder. But he never could, they were always just out of sight of the camera angles or moving too fast for him to get a clear picture. Just a red blur? He swallowed hard; he couldn’t help but notice that the cameras he was following were getting closer and closer to his current location.

“Gah, geez what’s with this horror movie atmosphere!” He bemoaned, growling in frustration as another camera was destroyed, just one room away from the dungeon he was currently standing in. A few seconds later he heard a bang from outside the door. 

“Wha-! O-oh forget this!” He said, closing his tablet and stuffing it in his cloak. 

“N-n-nothing w-wrong with a strategic retreat! H-hehe?” he said to himself, laughing, nervously as he hurried to gather his tools and keys.

*THUMP*

He jumped in place and failed to hold back a high pitched shriek, his tools falling around his feet; as the heavy wooden dungeon door entrance was suddenly struck.

“O-Oh! Oh, shit!” Idia looked around frantically. The banging on the door continued relentlessly. It wouldn’t hold forever. 

Usually he would just phase through the walls to escape, but that was impossible here. The dungeon was designed to imprison even ghosts. He could try to take this threat head on, but without his crown his powers were so nerfed he could BARELY use them to fight. He let out a nervous noise, stepping around his trap's trigger, and cramming himself into a corner of one of the dungeon cells, crudely kicking an ancient skeleton aside as he did. 

With one final *thunk* the dungeon door fell off its hinge, a cloud of dust puffing up and a deafening bang reverberated off the old stone walls. Idia cautiously peeked from his hiding spot, looking to see this new enemy…

-

.

“Whoa~!” Yume yelped as they fell through the door. A small ‘oof’ escaping them as they tripped on the door.

“Oww…” They groaned into the hard wood where they face planted. Maybe they used a little too much force on that last swing? They thought, clumsily stumbling to their feet. They gently dusted themselves off, taking extra care to clean their monogrammed hat. Yu went to adjust their glasses only to realize they weren’t on their face.

“Ah, my glasses!” They panicked for a second looking around the dark room until they found them only a few feet away. They sighed in relief, putting them back on and taking stock of their surroundings. 

Yume glanced around the room, which looked to be a dungeon of sorts. A majority of the area was shrouded in shadows; only a bit of light coming from dull torches of blue flames. They could hear the slight jingling of chains as the cold air drifted through the room. Yume grimaced, their knees buckling for a second at the idea of exploring this creepy place. 

Ugh! They should have gotten a flashlight like Yuuta told them. They jogged in place for a moment to calm their nerves.  I’ll be okay, just some dumb little creep, I can take him! His puzzles weren’t even that difficult! Yume took a deep breath to calm down. Their face settling into one of determination.They would be fine, they just had to keep their guard up. 

With that thought in mind they grabbed the handle of their hammer, pulling it from where it was wedged into the door. The old sturdy wood splintered under the head of the iron hammer head and they made a small noise of effort as they lifted the blunt weapon over their shoulder.

“Eek-!” An unknown noise echoed in the chamber.

Yume whipped their head around towards the direction of the noise, but all they could see was darkness. Their first instinct was to call out, but they hesitated for a moment. Was it an enemy? Or…maybe someone who needed help? They bit their lip unsure if they should speak…

“Hellooo? Is someone there?” They called out, their voice echoing across the chamber. They felt slightly silly at how much they sounded like a dumb horror movie victim. But if someone was here then…well…it’s not like they hadn’t heard Yu come in.

Yume waited a few seconds, but got no response. They let out a breath through their nose…guess I have to do this the hard way. With that final thought, Yu tightened their grip on their hammer as they slowly and methodically began searching the room .

-

Idia held his hands over his mouth. Shit that was close!! He hadn’t meant to make that noise! He scolded himself for acting like a dumb protag in horror movies, the very ones he always rolled his eyes at!

 ‘C’mon think, Idia think, you're better than those idiot normie throw away characters!’ He swallowed hard, finding it difficult to focus as he heard the intruder stepping around in and opening doors in the other cells. Each time getting closer and closer to his current location.. He couldn’t run away, the enchantment on the dungeon walls prevented even ghosts from phasing through them and if he tried to run through the open entrance they would definitely see him!

The footsteps came closer.

He could try to fight but without his crown he was severely underleveled! He didn’t know the stats of this intruder yet, but if what he saw on the camera was any indication they were not just some random noob! He could easily get K.O’d if he wasn’t careful!

The creak of the cell door next to his opened.

Gah-! He was running out of time he-! Idia felt himself start to hyperventilate. 

The footsteps were right outside the cell. 

He hated this, why couldn’t people just leave him alone!? Is what he was doing really such a crime?! He just wanted to be left alone! Why couldn’t they leave him alone? He wished he was anywhere else, he wished Ortho was here, he wished he could just disappear from the face of this earth for good! 

Idia heard the door to the cell creak open and he gasped. Blinking away the tears and instinctually cowering and covering his face to hide. His bloodline powers activated automatically, making him invisible where he stood.

He held his breath as the intruder stepped around the cell, he could hear them, walking around towards each corner carefully until they got to his. They were so close, Idia could tell without even seeing them. Cautiously, he peeked through his fingers, trying to see this interloper up close…

Big brown eyes stared directly at him and he almost screamed in shock, but caught himself as he realized they couldn’t actually see him. He felt his face heat up in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact regardless.

He moved his fingers aside just a bit to see them more fully.

Idia wasn’t sure what he expected, maybe a huge monster or a large buff dude but…instead this person was actually rather short…? Glasses resting on their rosy round cheeks, wavy curls framing a soft face, and a small pout their plump lips as they carefully examined the corner he was hiding in. Huh? Who…? His eyes trailed down, catching a familiar attire

Short overalls and a monogrammed hat? Yuuta wore something like this though in a different way…was this person…related to him in some way? Did he send them? Idia thoughts raced, his curiosity starting to overtake his anxiety. 

If that was the case then…it's possible that they weren’t that much stronger than Yuuta… maybe they were even more of a scardy cat then him? At the thought a mischievous sharp tooth grin split on his face as he got an idea. A way to get this nuisance out of his hair AND avoid a fight with some NPC of unknown lvl. He just had to do what Boo’s did best.

As the person turned away from the corner, stepping over something and kneeling down to examine the entrance to the cell, Idia saw his chance. 

Idia released his breath, making himself visible and with all the remaining strength he had left called upon his power to shift into his ghostly form. He felt his figure grow, his wispy cloak merging with his body.  His tongue lolled out of his mouth as his mouth unhinged, displaying his rows of razor sharp teeth, his face twisting and distorting in an unsettling nightmarish visage. He loomed over his capture, now turned victim. Idia took a deep breath as he prepared himself to let out an unholy scream and hopefully scared them to death.

 He took a step forward, getting closer and closer, waiting for just the right moment…

**Click** 

Idia looked down with wide eyes, seeing the trigger of the trap release. Oh n-

Idia couldn’t even finish his thought as the trapped sprung and he yelped as metal sheets on the floor quickly folded up around him, locking him in a metal box. He couldn’t even scream as the small area encased him, forcing him to fold his body like a tetris piece just to fit.

“AHH-! WHAT THE FUCK!” He heard the intruder scream, then a loud metal thunk hit the trap. 

“S-shit!” Idia choked out, finding it hard to breathe. The trap wasn’t made for someone his size in mind. He tried to shift his knees to sit in a better position. 

This was fine, this was completely fine! He just had to get the remote from his pocket to release the trap. With great effort he shimmied his hand to his pocket to find…

…It empty?

“…!”

SHIT! HE MUST HAVE LEFT IT SOMEWHERE ON THE FLOOR! He had thought he would have more time to prepare before Yuuta came!

“No no nononono!” He whined and began hyperventilating again as he tried to kick and pound at the trap. Unfortunately, it was working perfectly as intended, leaving him with no hope of escaping on his own. What was he going to do?! It could be days before one of his subjects found him?!

A few seconds later three hesitant knocks on the container broke him out of his panic. 

-

“Umh…H-hello? I-is someone in there?” Yume asked carefully, their hand on their chest to calm their still racing heart. What the fuck just happened? One second the cell was empty and then they heard a horrible loud noise? And now this metal box was here?? And it was making noises?! Where did it come from?? Did it fall from the ceiling…?

There was no response from the box. So, reluctantly, Yume leaned forward and cautiously knocked again; pressing their ear to the side of the container. A few seconds passed but this time they did manage to get a response.

“H-help…!” A feeble male voice choked out. If Yume wasn’t literally pressed up against the box they definitely wouldn’t be able to hear it. Yume gasped, placing their palm against the box.

“Help?! Who are you?! Are you okay? How can I help?!” They asked in rapid fire, their instinct to aid beginning to take over. Yu automatically grabbed their hammer, thinking maybe they could just smash the trap, but then they noticed. The spot they hit earlier didn’t even have a dent…Even if they pounded away at this thing all day; it might not budge...

“The trap is too sturdy-! I don’t think I can break it!” Yume explained. They squished their cheek up against the box; now able to hear the labored breathing of whoever was inside. Yume frowned, their worry for this person increasing with every second.

“H-Hey, it's okay, it’s okay! We’ll figure this out…!” They said, trying to calm the person. An unsure noise came from inside. 

“I mean it!” They tried to reassure them again. “I heard that this guy always has an out for these kinds of things, there must be a way to free you? A-A key somewhere or-!” They did a quick once over of the cell but found nothing. Then the prisoner piped up.

“R-r-re-remote…!” His voice stuttered. 

A remote? Yume thought, then like a lightbulb they remembered. A remote! Yume reached into their pocket, pulling out the strange device they had found earlier in one of the rooms upstairs. They didn’t know what it was then, but thought it seemed important. Definitely a key item! Maybe the Ghost King had dropped it and misplaced it? HA! What a total idiot!

“Hang on! I’m gonna try something!” They said, taking a few steps back.

“H-hurry…!” The voice pleaded.

Yume held the device out at arms length, leaning slightly away, and pressed their thumb down on the almost comically large red button.

A satisfying *click*, sounded. Something inside the trap whirled and the metal plating shifted rapidly as the coffin-like trap began to unfold itself. The top of the box popped open like a trapped door. A cartoonish spring noise sounded, and the person screamed as they were quickly and forcefully ejected upwards out of the trap.

“Whoa-!” Yume’s eyes followed the motion, holding on to their hat as a blur of blue flew up past them.

-

Idia let out a shriek as he was ejected into the air. After being tumbled around in the trap he was completely disoriented, he couldn’t tell up from down; the whole world was LITERALLY spinning. Were his traps always this messed up? A few moments later he felt a moment of equilibrium, before gravity overtook, sending him plummeting down.

He was falling? Time almost seemed to slow down around him. Since he’d inherited his crown it was a sensation he’d forgotten…Was he going to die?  The thought crossed his mind matter of factly before the panic set in. N-No he couldn’t, he still had so much to do-! He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as he fell, faster and faster. Idia pinched his eyes shut and tried to brace himself for the cold unforgiving stone floor…

.

.

.

“Gotcha!” Yume grunted, their small arms wrapping around the prisoner. Even as they caught him the force of the fall was a little too much for them and they both fell to the floor. Yume let out a groan as they fell flat on their butt. The person bouncing on their lap as Yu’s own body cushioned most of the fall. It knocked the wind out of Yume so they tried to take a few deep breaths. 

“Ack!” Yume wheezed as they were suddenly squeezed in a tight hold. Long arms wrapped around their waist as the trembling prisoner clinged to them like a lifeline. Wisps of blue overtook their vision as the person buried themselves in Yume’s shoulder. They felt small panicked breaths hitting their neck as the person hyperventilated.

The sudden closeness started Yume and they were a little embarrassed, but they set that aside, their practiced heroic persona taking over. 

“Hey hey, shh… it's okay…” They cooed, gently rubbing the prisoners back. Yume tried to pull them back a bit so he wasn't sitting directly on their lap. But, he  flinched at the contact, letting out a small whimper. He clutched the back of Yume’s hoodie more intensely, bunching up the fabric. 

Yume sighed, but relented, tentatively setting their arms around the person.

“Okay okay, you don’t have to let go.” They murmured softly, it wasn’t the first time they had to comfort a panicking victim, but usually it was only children who clingged to them like this. Though this person was clearly not a child, their tall frame almost completely enveloped Yume. If it wasn’t for how thin they were, Yume might have been knocked flat on the ground. Absent-mindedly they moved their hands around his waist. Actually, they were REALLY THIN! Yume’s brows pinched up in worry.

-

Idia was beside himself, he couldn’t think straight. It wasn’t the first time he had a panic attack like this, but this was one of the worse he’d had in awhile. Ironically, the only thing keeping him together right now was the very person who caused his composure to crumble in the first place. He hadn’t meant to cling to them, sure, it was a natural instinct when falling but… then he felt it…

The warmth of another living person…he had almost forgotten what it was like. Idia shivered as soft warm palms rubbed his back.

“...How long have you been here?” The intruder asked, sounding concerned.

How long? How long had he been here? In this castle; a glorified prison for his cursed family?  He wasn’t thinking straight, a part of him knew that wasn’t what they meant but…

“Forever…” The words just came out.

 “...I-I-’ve-” Idia struggled to speak, cringing at his own voice and giving up the thought halfway, choosing instead to steal more warmth from this person and burying his face in their neck. He caught a whiff of a fruity smell he couldn’t identify, but strangely it calmed him. 

The stranger didn’t seem to mind, in fact they held him closer, a hand soothingly patting his head.

“Shh…it’s alright, I’ll protect you… '' They said the words softly, but with conviction. Even in Idia’s skeptical mind it sounded reassuring. Though, it was the next words that really got to him.

“You're not alone anymore.” The person whispered to him as if it was a promise. 

Idia tensed, the words making him freeze in place. His brain jump started as he suddenly registered EVERYTHING that was happening. Where he was, who he was with, the position he was in. The scenario and sensations overwhelmed him, making him hyper aware of every stimuli in the room.

What the hell was he doing? 

At the thought he pushed the intruder away, scrambling away from them.

They let out a noise of surprise at the sudden shove.

“G-get away-!” Idia choked out, all at once the warmth from before left him, sharpening his focus. Idia crawled away until his back hit the cell bars and he anxiously gripped one. Uncomfortably pushing himself into the cold steel to get as physically far away from this person as possible. NO ONE had ever made him drop his guard like that? Was it some kind of weird power?  In his mind they were even more dangerous now then when they were just some OP freak with a hammer. 

-

The push knocked Yume to the floor. They grunt in pain as they felt their elbows skinned against unforgiving stone. They recovered quickly. 

“Ow! Hey! That hurt!”  They growled, giving into their first instinct to get angry. They were only trying to help this person and this is what they get. Geez! 

“What’s your fucking issue?!” Yume shouted as they sat up to glare at the person, puffing up their cheeks at him. Though their anger dissipated once they set eyes on this person; vaguely registering that this was the first time they could see him clearly. 

Bright golden eyes trembling with fear met Yume’s. A glint of sharp teeth peaked from his mouth, nervously biting thin blue lips. His pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness. The illusion only became more prominent due to the actual flames of long blue hair; cascading wildly around his shoulders and back; framing his mature angular face.  

Yume blinked twice, taking in the appearance of this person, a person who just a few seconds ago was sitting in their lap. Their face heated up now at the idea.

“Oh…You’re…” Yume started to say ‘beautiful’, but caught themselves, as they saw the man’s shoulders hike. Yu trailed off…losing their nerve to say what they wanted. They took a moment to collect themselves, clearing their throat..

“-You're safe.” Yu said, firmly, trying to sound as reassuring as possible; thought still a nervous laugh escaped them. “Y’know what, here let's uhm, start over!” They said kindly, shifting to sit on their knees. They clear their throat again, their nerves suddenly spiking  as they realized they were meeting a stranger.

“ H-hi, I’m Yume Ume! Part Time Hero! ” They tried to smile, voice a little too loud and gungho; as they awkwardly put their hand out for him to shake. He jumped at the loud volume of their voice and tried to lean back even more at the quick movement. Eyes shifting back and forth at Yume’s hand, and expression, skeptically.  He made no move to shake their hand, but raised an eyebrow at their introduction.

-

“Part time Hero”, that was the way Yuuta introduced themselves to people sometimes, too. Idia didn’t say anything but made note of it. A more pressing concern plaguing his mind right now.

“U-Uhmm…” He started speaking, cringing at his own stutter.

 “A-aren’t y-you….g-gonna to attack m-me? O-or s-something” Idia muttered, he knew he should try and put on his villain persona, but his head was pounding. He felt so weak, he must have used too much of his power… 

Yume’s eyebrows hiked up in surprise. 

“Huh?!” They were confused for a second, so he shifted his eyes to their hammer lying in arms reach. They followed his gaze.  “Oh! Oh no! No!” They said quickly, pushing the hammer away. It slid further across the floor, clunking loudly till it hit the wall.

“That’s not for you! That’s only for bad guys!” They said, holding their hands up in a placating gesture. Idia paused, his eyes widening and jaw going slack as he realized…

This person…this Yume…had no idea who he was.

“What’s your name?” They asked, further proving his assumption. 

“O-oh! I..umh…” It’s been a long time since he introduced himself to anyone. Part of him understood, why would anyone want the name of some freak like him. Even the moniker of ‘Ghost King’ was given to him.  Nobody, not even his subjects called him by his real name anymore…no one did, not since Ortho… He shook off the thought, not trying to go down that train of thought.

“M-my n-name-i-ts uh-!” He hesitated, bringing his knees to his chest and fiddling with his fingers. Unsure if he should tell them… In the end he decided it wouldn’t be worth the trouble of keeping up a lie.

“I-Idia j-just…Idia.” He whispered, peeking up at them through his bangs. Yume smiled at him.

“Idia…” They repeated, giving a little nod of approval. “That’s a nice name!” They said so sincerely it made Idia’s stomach churn a bit. Even so his face still heated up at the compliment, he wasn’t used to them. They went on, leaning into him a bit.

“Listen Idia, my brother, Yuuta! He sent me here to stop something the Ghost King was planning, I’ve searched this place to to bottom, but I still can’t find him, I don’t think he’s here so-”

“Wait-! YUUTA IS YOUR BROTHER?!” He asked in disbelief, leaning into them as well. Yume leaned back not expecting him to suddenly raise his voice.

“Yeah…have you met him?” They asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“O-oh n-not I-I’ve just uhh…h-heard of him…! Y-yeah, talk f-from the dungeon g-guards ehehe…” He lied, chuckling nervously, pushing his index finger together to stim.Yume frowned looking at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You… must have been trapped here for a while, huh?” Then their brows furrowed. “No wonder you look so thin and pale! That guy is gonna pay!” Yume said seriously, bawling up their fists till they shook. 

Idia let out a quiet noise as if he had been stabbed; any confidence he had plummeted to the floor and shattered, and he hunched in on himself.

“I c-can’t help how I look…!” He grumbled gloomily. Honestly, he had been called much worse by others, but for some reason the comments from Yume stung extra hard. He didn’t try to dwell on why.

“Ah-! Nono-! I didn’t mean-!” They tried, but Idia interrupted them.

“H-how do you plan on beating the Ghost king anyway!?” He asked,  looking at them curiously. This whole thing was a big epic fail, definitely one for his cringe comp. But maybe he could get some useful information from someone so close to his nemesis.

“O-oh well!” Yume pushed up their glasses. “ Yuuta told me the last time they fought, he managed to steal the Ghost King’s crown. We didn’t know much about it or how it worked. So, I was worried it might be dangerous, y’know?” They gave a small shrug. 

“Like, bro I love you. But you can’t just take freaky villain shit without knowing what it is!” They explained, and gestured their hand out as if it was an obvious conclusion. “Like that thing could be cursed for all we know!” They said, throwing their arms up dramatically. 

Idia’s eyes widened and how close to the mark they were, but he didn’t say anything.

“Anywho,  I took it upon myself to do a little research on the crown so my brother gave it to me and-”

“YOU HAVE MY CROWN!” Idia blurted, forgetting himself for a moment and scrambling closer to them; scanning Yume up and down to find it. Their posture turned a bit sheepish, seeming to be nervous at suddenly having Idia’s full attention.

“Oh no not on me I- '' Yume paused, Idia’s words catching up with them. 

“Your crown?” They repeated, tilting their head and looking at Idia with narrow eyes. Idia let out a noise of shock, only now realizing what he had said as well.

“O-oh! I meant- W-what I meant is um-” He stumbled over his words, bawling his hands to his chest. Unable to come up with a lie to cover it. HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID! He internally screamed at himself. 

“Wait a second…yellow eyes…and blue flames….” Yume said, their eyes carefully scanning over his features, he could practically see the gears turning in their head…

GAH, THIS WAS IT HE WAS SO DONE FOR! GAME, SET, MATCH! Idia’s eyes darted around, back once again in trying to find a way out of this situation. But there was nothing he could do, even if he ran they would definitely catch him.

“You…you're…” Yume continued. And Idia swallowed nervously, pinching his eyes shut and preparing his mental tombstone: “Death by hammer”.

“...A SHROUD!” Yume said confidently with a look of awe on their face.

“Huh?!” Idia said dumbfounded, his body untensing. It wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.

“Yeah..?” Idia nodded.”H-how did you know?” He asked genuinely surprised. His family was considered the stuff of legends. They weren’t recorded in any historic literature; at least not traditionally. Whispers of the Shrouds only came up in myths or sometimes tales of cautions.

Yume gasped, doing an excited little dance at being correct. Then they propped their hands on their hips, looking proud that their prediction was true. 

“I KNEW IT! Well not ‘knew it’, but it all makes sense!” They began speaking passionately.

 “All the books I read about the crown mentioned a family with ghostly powers that passed down the crown from generation to generation! Some books even theorized that the bloodline had ended long ago, but they were all so ambiguous and never had definitive proof! A story that inspired so much mythology couldn’t have been based on a simple fairy tale! Gosh, I can’t believe it!” They rambled on passionately. Idia simply watched them, overwhelmed but…unable to take his eyes off them.

“Um-.” He tried, but Yume went on, speaking quickly and manically.

“And AND, you’ve been imprisoned here all this time! The Ghost King appeared only a few years ago, so that’s when he must have stolen it and learned how to unlock the secrets of your crown! By imprisoning you! AM I RIGHT?” They asked, sitting up on their knees leaning in only an inch from his face.

Idia laughed nervously, blushing at how close they were now. It took him a few seconds to process everything they said. They had really crafted this whole narrative in their head without Idia saying anything. But the scary thing was how almost accurate their theory was. Sure, they were just missing a few crucial details. But…they didn’t need to know that. 

“T-that’s right!” He lied, nodding quickly to agree with them. Yume’s mouth fell into an ‘o’ shape, and for just a second, Idia found himself having to hold back a genuine laugh at their expression. It was the same face he made when his favorite TV show theory got confirmed.

“Oh my gosh…what a conspiracy! Yuuta’s never gonna believe this!” They murmured to themself. “Like, ‘Hey bro, that thing we’re using as a paper weight at home, it's a legendary artifact of darkness from a royal family.  Hey, who would have thought; not me!” Yume said, mocking out the conversation 

“W-what, you just have it at your house-! Wh- A PAPER WEIGHT?!” He spluttered indignantly. “YOUR USING MY FAMILY CROWN AS A PAPERWEIGHT!?” 

“I mean…yeah.” Yume shrugged, tilting their head and sheepishly grinning at him. Idia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity.

“I need it back!” He said desperately, even going as far to reach over and tug a little on their sleeve. 

“A-ah okay okay, we can get it back…” Yume said, placatingly patting his hand. Their faced scrunched up in thought. “Hmm…well actually it's kinda of a long trip there and back…just going home for me is gonna be a journey in itself.” They murmured thinking to themselves for a few seconds, before their eyes widened; a creative sparkle to them.

“Oh I know! Here’s an idea!” They smiled. “You need your crown back and I need more info on the Ghost King! So, If you're willing to, I can escort you out of this place, and you can come back home with me to retrieve it!” They said.

“Hm?!” Idia’s first instinct was to grimace at the idea of leaving his land. Yume noticed his expression.

“Hear me out…!” They said, carefully placing a hand atop Idia’s. Idia noticed it, but decided not to yank his hand away to keep up appearance. The warmth was already spreading through his skin, even with his gloves on. Yume continued.

“This way we both can get what we need and besides I…well…” Yu looked away shyly. 

“I wouldn’t feel right leaving you behind-!” Idia watched their face flush a bit. 

“I mean-! S-someone who's never really been out in the world on their own! It would be hard to fend for yourself!” They flusteredly explained, looking back to him. 

“I have connections back home too, people who can help get you settled back into society…you must have been so scared and lonely…” They trailed off, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, before continuing.

“So…what do you say?” Yume asked, looking up at him through their long eyelashes, they almost looked…nervous? Idia didn’t understand why.

“Uhm…” He looked down, avoiding their gaze as he processed their words. They didn’t seem to mind; not pressuring him for a quick answer. He took a minute, running through all the possible scenarios in his head and came to a conclusion. His gut instinct was to tell them no, thank them for saving him and run off; when the “ghost was clear” pun intended. He could just return back to his castle and fortify his defenses. And apt strategy…however…This might be his best and only chance to get the crown back…and he needed it soon if his plans were ever going to come to fruition. He knew could never get it back with a full frontal attack, not with his debuff status ...but a stealth mission….that could work…he just had to play pretend, he could do that. He did that all the time as a child and even now.

Idia turned to them, doing his best to maintain eye contact. 

“O-okay…I-i'll take you up on the offer…p-please take care of me.” He stuttered, doing his best to give them a warm pleasant smile and not be “positively creepy” and “wonderfully unnerving” as he’d been told it was by his subjects. Gently, he gave the tiniest squeezed in return to Yume's hand.

Either Yume was a big weirdo or he did a halfway decent job, because they beamed at him, looking relieved.

“Great!” And they grinned, as if he had told them the best news in the world. They helped him to his feet as he shakily stood; smiling at him for a few moments longer before they seemed to remember themselves, looking away and chuckling nervously.

“Well then-!” Yume heaved up their hammer. A glint of what Idia recognized as magic sparkled for just a moment as they wound up a big swing towards a crack on the wall.

*BOOM*

 Idia jumped and let out a noise of surprise as a large section of the castle dungeon wall crumbled.

The dawn of the morning sun shone on the horizon and the birds chirped, signaling the start of a new day. It was so bright Idia had to shield his eyes and instinctively tried to take a step back into the shadows. Through the cracks of his fingers he saw Yume holding out their hand. The rays of light from the sun enveloping them and glinting off their glasses, making their warm olive skin almost seem to glow. 

Yume smiled at him with a kindness he’d never seen from a stranger…

“Let’s go!” They said cheerfully, flexing their hands for Idia to take. 

Their words broke him out of his stupor of awe and he stumbled towards them, nearly tripping over the debris, but at the last second Yu caught him, lacing their hands together to stabilize him. Idia blushed as they locked eyes, seeing nothing but pure sincerely on their face. How could they be like that with someone they just met, weren’t they embarrassed? Idia looked away, but couldn’t help but notice that somehow Yume’s palm felt warmer than the burning sun on his face. 

As they began climbing carefully down the hill of the crumbling rocks, Idia couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mess he was getting himself into.

It was fine…he just had to stick to the plan. 

No mess, no strings attached, just play pretend…that's all.

-

UI: IDIA HAS RELUCTANTLY JOINED THE PARTY!

[s-ephiroth]

pressing love petals between pages (part 2)

Sephgeal Week || Day 6 - Memory

Sephiroth muses about the past and makes an important decision

-

Sephiroth considers the little framed daisy on his desk with a little ache in his chest, wondering what he did wrong… What could have possibly gone wrong, because obviously it has to be his fault for falling into the trap of having a little hope that he could keep a piece of happiness in his life larger than faded echoes in little frames or still hidden away from the world in between the pages of his heart.

He couldn’t bring himself to go to Banora. Postponed it until he had to pass on the mission to someone else, burdening others with problems he knew he was supposed to solve.

But he couldn’t, in his weakness.

Every time he unlocks his phone, he braces himself for the pain, unable to change the wallpaper; unable to do anything but face the static image in front of him and take in those blue eyes, always shining brightly with life in a way that is contagious to him. In a way that would whisk him away to somewhat “useless” missions, even though he knows, deep inside, that he isn’t meant for the softness that was once given to him.

He’s meant to be Shinra’s killing machine and nothing more.

(Not meant to go on softer outings, gentler excuses of missions, during which he would only pretend to look at the sights, only to gaze fondly at Angeal, instead.)

Shinra wants him to go out there and put his sword to the chest or throat of the two people he cherishes the most, and… do what must be done.

(No use for conversation, for hushed whispers in the dark while a warm hand runs through his hair in soothing, slow motions.)

He regards the daisy with a blurry view of its gentle white petals, too avoidant of the tears.

This was once in my hair. When you were here.

Light bounces from the ring in his finger to the glass keeping a memory caged, as he brings the frame closer to himself; as he remembers choosing something to keep the flower in, considering the color of his desk just to be sure it would be discreet. That no one would ask invasive questions and take this away from him, somehow.

He’s supposed to fill in paperwork for a mission that he’s dreading going to, on a place he’s been to, before.

Soft, colorful light cast upon the two of them, upon the snow and through it, as the sky rained frosty tears. All the way to the north like that and during the nighttime, no less, the cold was brutal enough that they needed to bundle up, their usual uniforms absent in exchange for more practical attire.

He said something about the sky looking really nice there, while adorned in lovely pinks and playful magentas and a green that, he joked for the rest of that trip, could maybe rival that of Sephiroth’s eyes a little bit. Maybe a close second.

Sephiroth was just barely paying attention to any of those words, sticking more to the sound of them, to the way they were said; to entwined fingers without the risk of any ill meaning cameras catching them.

“Yes, it’s a really nice sky.”

But it wasn’t the sky that he was looking at as he said it, rather the way those lights played against Angeal’s cheekbone, as if they wanted to place a kiss there but didn’t have the lips to do so.

His pen hesitates a lot when filling in the mission details; what’s the point of Modeoheim if he’s not supposed to go there to bask in the utter radiance of Angeal underneath the lights? Why should he go there, if it’s only to stab his own heart?

Why, oh, why are these kinds of missions still offered to him when the whole company seems to know he would only be a liability, emotionally compromised as he is?

He considers handing yet another mission over to Zack.

It’s unfair to him, but maybe Zack could still do it. Zack wouldn’t be so avoidant, because he was just like him in his youth, and he would press on. He would try his hardest and, if all failed, at least Zack would bounce back. Changed forever by the intensity of that possible loss, never to forgive Sephiroth for it if he learns of it, but at least he would come out of it without the kinds of memories Sephiroth carried deep inside.

And yet, Sephiroth feels too guilty about it.

Shinra would expect him to push the emotion down, sweep it under the rug and pretend he feels nothing of it. Pretend it doesn’t devastate him completely.

The pen hovers over the paper. He’s allowed to make a choice here, a rare thing. It feels odd to have the option, not to be simply forced to go there and face this whole… issue between them; almost forbidden, like stolen little moments in between missions that he’s not supposed to have. Almost like… a punishment for having those brief encounters in tents and training rooms alike.

There’s a little framed flower on his desk because, as tough as Shinra tries to sell his image, resilient enough as he is to endure so much, Angeal still compared him to pretty little things.

His heart aches too much at the thought.

Banora burned down to the ground a long time ago, postponed into forgetfulness. Not even a reactor in the area to be worthy of news, of a tale or two. Not even a single effort in trying to rebuild anything.

“Oh, no. Even with the apples, it doesn’t snow like this back home,” Angeal said when he asked about it, “but the stars aren’t so bad at night either. You know what? You should visit. I should take you there, some day.”

“Maybe pick a mission in the Mideel area. It wouldn’t be so suspicious that way.”

Sephiroth writes his own name down on the paper.

If he’s to crumble down in front of Angeal like a fragile little thing, then so be it; that wouldn’t be anything new between the two of them, anyway. If Angeal’s to wilt away, Sephiroth would much prefer to at least be able to hold his hand, whether that takes him along or not.

Even if it means having to abandon Shinra.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9

Today's (7/25/2024) Episode: Raging Success

In the aftermath of her second surgery Noemi was once again forced to delay her plans to start her job with Rainy Day’s tech division.

She did her best to be OK with the circumstances, enjoying time with her family and supporting Luigi’s career, which was taking off like a rocket.

During their time in university Luigi had come to terms with Beau being the better gamer, and that continued with their transition to the pro league.

However, Luigi’s good looks and cheerful nature quickly made him a fan favorite.

Where Beau, and many of their other teammates, often struggled during post game interviews and promotional events Luigi was on fire, the enthusiasm that others sometimes found annoying in one-on-one conversation making him shine with the fans and in front of the camera.

Luigi’s mastery of programming also gave him the opportunity to win major brownie points with his boss.

While many of his fellow gamers were decent at the skill almost none had already maxed it the way he had. When he volunteered to take on the task of sprucing up the team's outdated website, management was skeptical but agreed to let him give it a try.

Luigi completed the project in record time, and even managed to charm an up-and-coming werewolf actress from Hunter’s collective into posing for fresh new banner images, both solo and with him and the rest of the team. His superiors were “over the moon” impressed with their go-getter.

His work on the website and continued success in tournaments quickly earned Luigi his next promotion.

To celebrate the couple once again left Skye with the grandparents and tried for another date night. Their evening at the movies was lots of fun for them and, thankfully, ended under the sheets instead of at the hospital!

In no time Luigi’s popularity at work was leading to endorsement deals! When a request came in to help promote one of his dad’s favorite local cooking channels Luigi eagerly agreed to the contract. There was a performance bonus attached if the campaign did well enough, and he had a plan.

His real-life live-in chef was a celebrity, and an old hand at keeping things fun and light. The father/son duo had an absolute blast with their “family night dinner and drinks” collab. Luigi’s new high-end drone, Yoshi, floated around the kitchen catching footage of banter and bottles flying wildly.

So much time staring at himself in the mirror preparing for the shoot, and on the video afterwards, had the unintended consequence of making Luigi even more self absorbed than before, skyrocketing the pride he’d always felt in his natural good looks to a whole new level.

While editing and adding transitions prior to uploading the footage Luigi realized that he was really enjoying himself. Media production was yet another way to have fun in front of the computer.

He couldn’t wait for another endorsement opportunity to roll in!

It wasn’t long before father and son were celebrating the sensational success of their episode of “TV Dinner”.

Peachy’s participation in the project brought in a much broader fanbase than Luigi could have managed on his own, and their comfortable father/son dynamic and skill in the kitchen were a huge hit with both cooking and mixology enthusiasts.

Luigi’s star was shining bright, and he couldn’t be happier. He’d never set out to be famous, but it felt right. He’d always wanted to impress his watcher and their friends and show the world just how successful he could be. Now no one could possibly deny that he was a “big deal”.

Nothing, he felt, could stop him now!

Rather than cram that huge media station into Luigi’s house I tried out the Elgato Streaming Set mod by Ravasheen.

Its not perfect (not all functionality seems to be available) but it works for most things and I really liked having Luigi do Media Production on his laptop.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[folliesandfolderols]

Writing prompts day 76

From this prompt list. If you’ve read this far, I’m not sure you need any explanation, but the short version is I hadn’t written any fiction since 2019, I set a goal to write at least 150 words/day in 2024, and this list was my way to restart. Also I abruptly decided on day 2 I would write an entire Tim/Damian story connecting all the prompts, because I am Good at Judging My Limits. /sarcasm Anyway, I finished the rough draft a while ago and am now unlocking the old entries as I edit.

Read from the beginning here, or on ao3 here.

Days 71-75 here

***

147. "Fuck, you have such a tight hold on me, you don't even know."

***

Tim pulled out every shred of his acting training and then some to get through the next hour. Damian woke up again after a 20-minute nap, made a face over having to put on the same clothes he'd worn the night before, and then kissed Tim goodbye before leaving.

On the cheek.

He didn't seem to notice anything wrong, for which Tim was grateful. Because he knew he didn't have the right to feel literally anything about Damian having slept with Jon. (There was no other real possibility for a partner, of course.) He especially didn't have the right to be outraged that Damian had allowed Jon to fuck him while saying he didn't want Tim to do the same. It wasn't as if he belonged to Tim. It wasn't as if they'd had a conversation about exclusivity. It wasn't as if Tim had even known he wanted Damian to choose only him, before he'd seen those bruises and instantly realized what had happened.

It wasn't as if Damian getting fucked by Jon took something away from Tim.

But goddamn, it felt like a violation.

Fortunately, he had work of the overt and covert varieties to keep him occupied. Everyone at the office had stopped giving him concerned looks, which was good—at least he wasn't completely losing his shit—and he was able to focus on his previously neglected projects. It was amazing what not experiencing constant emotional pain could do for a person's motivation, even with the throbbing in his ankle to replace it.

Unfortunately, he also remembered his previously developed (and since neglected) facial recognition program algorithm and couldn't stop himself from calling up the results of weeks of searching for Damian's face during the time period Tim had been avoiding him.

Damian was good. Very good. In the same time span most people would have been captured hundreds if not thousands of times by cameras. Tim found only a couple dozen matches for Damian, and two of those were false positives. That wasn't surprising, although Tim found himself smiling with involuntary pride when he reviewed the statistics.

On the other hand, it became immediately apparent that, far from spending his time rotating between several different partners, Damian had mainly focused on one. Oh, sure, there had been a few weeks when he and Nika had appeared to be spending a significant amount of time together, but they had come to an abrupt end with no further contact. But Jon was the real problem.

Tim watched, then rewatched the video feeds. Scraps of time, each of them, mere seconds in Damian's life before he got them to a more secure location, but Jon had never seen much point in subtlety when it came to Damian. In those few clips there was way more open attachment between them than Tim would've ever wanted to see.

So stop looking, dumbass, he told himself.

Instead, he played them again. Damian's eyes were so soft when he looked at Jon. He was far too wary with Tim to be the same when they were together.

Because Tim had trained him to be.

Tim swallowed against the complicated mass of hurt, fury, self-recrimination, and longing tying his throat into a knot. This was why it was stupid to want things. It was too distracting. And what if in the end you didn't get them? Stupid.

He needed to quit looking.

He pushed play again.

***

Tim was grounded from patrol because of his ankle, so he spent the nighttime hours reviewing the information Jason had added to their shared folders and listening in to the comms with a desultory ear. Weirdly, it looked like the organized crime connections Jason had uncovered revealed two similar but separate operations that converged into a single point in the Metropolis-Gotham arenas. Tim frowned, clicking through the transcripts of various interviews and interrogations Jason had conducted. It was unusual for two different organizations to cooperate at one particular juncture of operations like that. That would indicate something or someone bigger than both pulling their strings together.

Every once in a while he would have to talk himself out of clicking back to the open tab of video surveillance footage of Damian and Jon. Sometimes he even succeeded.

A tapping on the nearest window pulled him away from the computer screen while he was watching it again and cursing himself for idiocy at the same time. Damian, as Shrike, hung upside down on the other side of the pane. Tim hurriedly closed the video and hobbled to the window.

"In costume? Not very subtle," he said, shoving it open. He couldn't keep his smile completely dampened, though.

Damian slipped in, feet first, with an unnecessary but very pretty full rotation on the grappling line. "Everyone knows Batman is underwritten by WE; if someone sees, this will simply be interpreted as a consultation between mutual interests." He tapped his domino to clear the lenses. "Which it is. What are you working on?"

"The human trafficking case, actually." Tim closed the window and limped back to the computer. "Jason's uncovered some weirdness with the flow of commerce, so to speak. Check out the video for this interrogation."

He called up the footage from Jason's mask. A redheaded man with shoulders like a bulldog's and a pugnacious glare to match on his bearded face sat zip-tied to a chair in what looked like a warehouse filled with shipping containers.

Jason's voice, distorted by his mask, asked, "And where do the Russian connections start moving the women and kids?"

"What fuckin' Russians, you freak?" the man spat out, Southwest twang clear in his voice. "Fuck them, they got nothing to do with us."

Tim paused the video. "That's pretty much the response from both sides until he got to the Eastern seaboard. After that, they start spilling a little more, but I'm guessing the reaction is genuine from most of the people further west. Which makes me think there's someone running the show from our part of the country, with enough power to make Russians and Irish Mob play nice."

"Which is quite a bit of power." Damian rubbed his chin. "Maybe actual villain levels of power."

Tim smiled. Although the entire family were skilled investigators, few of them were able to draw conclusions as quickly and accurately as Bruce and himself. It was always nice to work with a brain that moved in the same direction as rapidly as his own. "Right. So now we're left asking who that is. This time."

"I can ask Jon to keep an ear out on his side," Damian said.

And just like that, any pleasure in their interaction fled, banished by mingled rage and hurt. Tim busied himself clicking randomly on various open tabs to hide his face. "Oh. Are you going to go visit him again?"

Whatever his voice did caught Damian's attention. Tim could see his head cock in inquiry in the reflection on the screen. "I hadn't planned on it, but he can be here in less than a second regardless."

"Yeah, I bet he comes fast," Tim muttered, smashing a click on the trackpad with unnecessary viciousness.

Quick as a thought, Damian reached past him and flipped the laptop shut. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not." Tim flipped the screen back open again.

It slammed shut almost before he could yank his fingers out of the way, then was gone, tossed onto a nearby sofa cushion by Damian. "Let me revise the question. Why are you angry, and why are you lying about it?"

Tim gripped the edge of the table, hard enough for the wood to make his palms sting. One deep breath. Another. Don't lose your shit for no reason. The problem was, there was a reason. It was just a bad one.

Damian circled around and leaned on the table beside his hand, one careless hip on the surface. "You changed when I mentioned Jon. Do you not want him involved with the case? He doesn't have time to work with us anyway. He would just be listening for a name and reporting it to us if he heard it."

Tim's jaw clenched around the words but couldn't quite corral them. "I bet he'd make time for you."

"Wait." Damian reached for his chin. Tim jerked it away, knowing it was petty but unable to stop himself. Damian ignored that and grasped it between his thumb and forefinger too quickly for Tim to repeat the action. He examined Tim's face, eyes narrow. "Are you seriously angry about my having spent time with Jon? He's one of my oldest friends. One of the few who exist, as a matter of fact."

"It's not you 'spending time' that pisses me off, Damian." Tim rose to go get some water and maybe cool down in the process, but Damian blocked his path.

"Then what is it? Don't run. Your avoidance of direct conflict is downright pathological sometimes."

Tim clenched his fists at his side. He wanted to deny the accusation, but it was too justified. "Okay, one, I can't run anywhere right now, and two, I don't have any right to be angry and I know that, so just let it go."

Damian reared his head back, shock making his mouth drop open the slightest bit. Tim didn't have time to enjoy the unusual effect he was having because Damian's lips immediately curled into a sneer of disbelief. "Are you angry because I slept with him? After your enthusiastic endorsement of me fucking my way through the younger superhero set? Your hypocrisy knows no bounds."

Tim shoved past him. "It's not that."

Again, Damian refused to give him space, stalking ahead of him to stand in front of the fridge, arms crossed and brow stormy. "You're going to give me a straight answer."

"Fine!" Tim threw his hands in the air. "I fucking hate that you let him fuck you! You told me before I left that you didn't like that, but clearly you found out you did like it as long as it was with him, and it's killing me inside to know you trusted him with something you weren’t willing to do with me!"

Damian, for once, seemed completely nonplussed. He stood there, unmoving and unreacting except the rapid rise and fall of his chest, and said nothing.

Tim dropped his arms again, breath labored with fury and humiliation. "Are you happy now? I know I'm being irrational and a hypocrite and I hate that too. But I don't wanna share. Fuck, you have such a tight hold on me, you don't even know."

Damian opened his mouth and closed it a few times, wordless, in the following silence. Finally, he managed to say, "I cannot know what you do not tell me."

Tim hugged his own torso, miserable with having exposed himself. "Well. Now I've told you. So you can go laugh at how pathetic I am with Jon or whatever."

"That is unfair."

They stood, frozen, for a few more moments. Damian broke first and stepped forward, his arms reaching as if to embrace Tim before he yanked them back. Tim struggled with himself, sick of his own weakness, but then he couldn't keep up the pretense of a desire for freedom any longer. He moved to lean his forehead against the armor protecting Damian's heart and said, low-voiced, "I'm sorry. I know it's ridiculous of me."

Damian stripped his gauntlet off with his teeth and fit one big hand around the back of Tim's head. "Don't apologize. It's flattering." He caressed Tim's hair, settling him. "Does this mean you wish us to stop seeing other people?"

Nice of him to assume they would both need to stop. Tim nodded into his chest, still feeling too foolish for words to come easily.

Damian's smile curved against the top of his head. "Very well. I'll explain more when I come see you again later, but I'm amenable to that as well." He drew back and kissed Tim's forehead. "Put some ice on that ankle and elevate it. I'll return after patrol."

He left before Tim could do more than blink in surprise.

"Okay, then, guess I should have meltdowns more often," he said to the empty room.

days 77-83 here

[billconrad]

Bait Car

    The 2007 reality television program Bait Car is my guilty pleasure. The show’s premise is microscopically simple: people steal a car that the police are watching, and they get caught. To do this, the police retrofit a car with remote cameras, ignition disablers, and door locks. They place the car in a high crime area and watch it (on camera) from a nearby location.

    A person walks/drives by the car and gets interested. Then they get inside and drive it away. How? The police leave the keys visible, and the doors unlocked. During their getaway, the police shut down the car and locked the doors. An arrest and interview follows. Every 30-minute episode of Bait Car has at least three incidents.

    Many cities have bait car police divisions, allowing the show to travel nationwide. From reading the news, these programs are incredibly successful with a high conviction rate. Nabbing criminals and doing something entertaining? Yes, please.

    Why was I so addicted? It was 100% real drama with real people—pure life. I loved watching excited people stealing a car while knowing they would get caught. Then, watching/listening to them invent stories about how they were not stealing the car. Amazing.

    Why? Have you ever been in a conversation and suspected/knew the person was lying? How were you so sure? You might have known the facts behind the lie, but I bet you saw the visual clues. That is Bait Car solid gold. Viewers get to see all the visual and audio tells of a lie. Raising tone, winks, breaking eye contact, fidgeting, biting lip, pauses, and shifting body posture. The show taught me to be good at identifying these traits.

    Often, the thieves are with friends, and the friends do one of two things. Encourage their friend to steal or warn them that stealing is wrong. During the drive, the thieves brag to their friends or say they are scared.

    And the interview excuses? “This is my brother’s car.” “I was only borrowing it.” “I need a second car.” “I’m picking up my kids.” “I thought this was my car.” “Nah, you got the wrong person.”

    Then, the police showed the thief a video of them stealing the car. Not even the best actor could display that level of utter shock. Some thieves break down, and others double down on their excuse. “That’s not me. I have a twin brother.”

    And who are the thieves? One would expect down-on-their-luck people. No, not on Bait Car. The police catch people from all walks of life, from hardened car thieves with multiple convictions to upstanding families. Yes, the entire family got into the car in more than one episode, and Mom/Dad drove it away. Ten-year-old car thieves? You bet! This is a level of craziness that I cannot turn away from.

    Unfortunately, the show went off the air in 2012 and was in reruns for about two years. I recall one Sunday, there was a Bait Car marathon, and I spent from eight in the morning until midnight watching it.

    I suppose raw human behavior is the appeal of reality programs. People are doing what they do and getting filmed. Alas, the show is not available for streaming. There are a few clips on YouTube, but it is not the same as spending an entire Sunday binge-watching the craziness.

    You’re the best -Bill

    August 07, 2024

  Hey, book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:

  Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.

  Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.

  Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.

  Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.

  These books are available in softcover on Amazon and in eBook format everywhere.

[m9ow]

𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

-that new girl interrupts you and vinnie during a make-out session for some very compelling questions

vinnie hacker x fem!reader

|part 2| masterlist for: attempts

.

background: you guys started dating a while before he joined the hype house. you both decided to keep it a secret, you thought it was none of people's business and he felt like his fans would be upset. you come over to the house regularly to see him, and when the cameras left or eyes were peeled away he'd sweep you off your feet.

but when a new member joins who quickly becomes interested in him, you have to watch a girl flirt with your boyfriend. right in front of you

he slams you against the wall as his lips move fast against yours, tongue dipping into your mouth in with the warmth of his saliva coating your lips as he grabs you tightly

all of this. is ruined by painfully loud knocks at the door.

vinnie scoffs against your lips as he lays one quick peck to keep you satisfied as he calls out that he's busy

"vinnie!" now you are scoffing as you recognize the voice, the stupid high pitch squeak of a voice that belongs to the new girl who can't help but constantly flirt with your boyfriend

you can't blame her for that, she doesn't know he's taken, but what you can blame her for is being a bitch to you and ignoring vinnies signals to leave him alone

"vinnie! let me innn!" she giggled like a little girl and you tossed your head back against the wall softly to take a deep breath, vinnie, who was just as annoyed as you, feels bad because just a second ago he was trying to make you feel special and now he's gotta go out and talk to another girl who, in his eyes, is like an annoying little sister.

"fuck, okay, just give me a second!" he grumbled and you knew your cue, you pushed your way out of vinnie's grip and made your way to the bathroom where you'd have to hide in the meantime

once he hears the door close he moves to the door, unlocking it just to almost get hit with it as it swings open, he feels arms around him as she squeals his name

before he can process she makes her way to his bed and lays out on it, he stands there shocked

"um, I was in the middle of something..is it important?" he asks with a sigh, she looks around almost in a way of looking for anything that could be more important than her, and he not so subtly opens the door wider to hint at her exit

"are you playing one of your video games or something?" she asks, clueless

"i-"

"you know I was thinking, what if we collab?"

"like with a tiktok?"

"no! silly! with your twitch!"

"oh, I didn't know you gamed.." he says, so painfully bored with this conversation as he flew on autopilot, just spewing out whatever his brain thought connected with what the conversation was saying.

"I'm the best! but..what if I was just there? in the stream to hang out!" she stands up and vinnies eyes light up at any sign of her leaving,

"yeah sure, I gotta get back to it tho" he mumbles as she leaves, slamming the door shut before locking it. he rushes into the bathroom to see you basically asleep on the counter.

"m' sorry about that" he slurs as he wraps his arms around you, kissing you sleepily

"I gotta say," you mumble as he picks you up, making his way to the bed

"I cant wait for that collab"

part 3

an: icons/header was from @cookiezitos because shawty was too lazy to search for photos!! anyway! thank you guys so much for the support with everything! I love you guys so much! mwa! 💞

taglist: @httpkoylinnn @kat-789 @madiafern@rafecameronsbadussy @lilly-is-crazy @iloveme-123 @offdjj @iparticipateinmultiplefandoms @piiiicastro

[captainmalewriter]

An Odd Trend

Tiktok, like any other social media platform, was known for its various trends and challenges among its user base. Trends varied widely on any given week from harmless face filters to dancing in the middle of a busy road. Needless to say, a trend can be risky and even deadly if taken too far.

Fortunately enough, some trends never take off due to lack of engagement. Unfortunately, however, one of the latest social media challenges to hit Tiktok didn't need a massive user base to take effect. Even with just two users the trend's effect will activate, and its consequences will be felt.

It was yet another slow day at the gas station for Ibrahim. As much as he enjoyed the easy money, he found himself getting bored very frequently. He took out his phone during a free moment and opened it to no new notifications. Ibrahim wasn't sure what he was expecting when he unlocked it, but he had hoped for at least something mildly interesting. He did, however, notice that his latest Tiktok had started getting attention. He opened the app and smiled at the sight of all his new followers. All he had to do was keep posting gym content. It bothered Ibrahim that most of the people engaging with his videos were men, but he knew a follower was a follower and soon he'll have enough so that he could focus solely on being a content creator.

With his dream of success in mind, Ibrahim decided to capitalize on his free time and make some more videos. He turned on the camera, ready to hit record, only to remember he had no idea what to do. He took a look around but all he saw was the same old convenience store. Ibrahim had already done himself at work so many times, he needed something fresh if he was going to go viral again.

He leaned against the counter as he began to browse the endless list of filters Tiktok had. Ibrahim had once made a recently released filter go viral. Everyone had given him the credit for starting the trend too. He was hoping he could do it again with the right filter. After scrolling for a while, Ibrahim was ready to call it quits for the day. But just before he closed out his phone, a certain thumbnail had caught his eye. It was a relatively simple design: two stick figures with a round about arrow connecting them along with the words "Me & You." Despite how plain looking the thumbnail was, something about it was indescribably intriguing. Out of sheer curiosity, Ibrahim clicked on it. Then, a little infographic about the filter popped up.

"Welcome to the Me & You challenge! Get ready to take getting to know other people to a whole new level! This filter will connect you to another person in live time. After a few seconds of conversation, just hit the button, and get ready for a once in a lifetime experience! Note: This is a beta version. We are actively fine tuning and fixing bugs as we find them. We thank you for your understanding!"

The description was straightforward enough, but Ibrahim was still confused on what exactly the filter was supposed to do. Despite the off feeling Ibrahim was getting, he decided to give it a shot anyway. He figured, after all, that the worst that could happen was his Tiktok would flop.

Ibrahim propped up his phone and hit the button to turn on the filter. He was expecting it to connect right away, but all he got was a buffering circle. As he waited, Ibrahim attended to a couple of customers that walked in. The app connected while he was busy, and he hurriedly finished helping the last customer. He picked up his phone and saw there was just some guy with a cowboy hat on the other end of the video call.

"Hey," Ibrahim said.

"What up," the other guy responded.

Their conversation ended up starting and finishing there. The two men stood around in silence, avoiding eye contact with the other.

"Do you know how this is supposed to work?" the other guy asked Ibrahim.

"No." Ibrahim answered.

Then the two waited in silence again. Luckily, a red button with a 🔄 symbol popped up not long after. Ibrahim saw the button and pushed it without hesitation. He heard a distinct clicking sound coming from his phone when he did so. Ibrahim then watched as the other guy's eyes widened and saw he did something on his end. He then heard the same clicking sound again. And with that, Ibrahim's phone flashed him with an intense bright light, causing him to kneel over to the ground.

Ibrahim was squirming in pain with his hands to his eyes. He could hear the other guy screaming too, but then he heard the call hang up. Not the Ibrahim cared, as he was busy enduring the eye pain as well as a sudden head pain.

A customer had walked in, and screamed at the sight of Ibrahim on the floor. She ran up to the counter and called out to him.

"Are you okay!?"

Ibrahim groaned as he massaged his temples. The pain was gradually going away with the coming minutes. Ibrahim then picked himself back up.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine, thanks,"

"Oh thank goodness," the woman sighed. "I was worried I'd have to call 911. But I doubt a big, strong young man like yourself would go down that easily."

"Huh? Big? Strong?"

Ibrahim looked down at his body. He began inspecting his body, all while the woman watched with a concerned look in her eyes. She looked at his name tag.

"Ibrahim, is it? Did you hit your head? I think you might have a concussion..."

"Oof... you weren't kidding, I AM big and strong! Check this out!" the store attendant shouted out as he flexed.

The man kept checking himself out, all while the woman watched. The woman kept asking him questions, and soon enough he started giving coherent answers. Then, after making sure he was mentally stable, the woman decided to flee the scene before anything else happened. The gas station attendant was then left all alone again, giving him the space to keep exploring his body.

"Oh man... I'm gonna enjoy this!!" he murmured as he lifted his shirt, taking a closer look at the goods he now owned.

***

Meanwhile, at a local city fair, a guy with a cowboy hat had fallen to the ground after his phone shined a white light into his eyes. Most the crowd ignored the young man rolling on the ground in pain. A young woman, noticing his condition, ran up to him.

"Alexis! Are you okay!?" The woman helped the guy back up to his feet. The guy nodded as he pinched the corners of his eyes. "What happened? Did you pregame or something?"

"What? No, I don't drink," the guy said with an attitude. He took his arm off her shoulder and leaned against a fence to help him keep his balance. He was still disoriented by sudden flash.

"Ha, yeah right," the woman snorted. "And I'm a backup dancer for Ariana Grande."

The guy looked up at her annoyed, but quickly changed his tone when he saw how beautiful the young lady was. Flowing black hair, clear light brown skin, and beautiful eyes. Her curvy figure was the cherry on the sundae; he was mesmerized with her.

"You sure you good?" the woman asked.

"With you here, I've never felt better..."

"God, always the flirt huh," the woman laughed. The man joined in too.

The two then walked together to find a table. The girl led the way while the guy lagged behind. Although his infatuation with her had distracted him, he soon realized that something was horribly wrong. There were tattoos all along his arms, tattoos he didn't have before. He also noticed his nails were painted pink, and groaned in disgust at the sight of it. As he walked, he could feel something on his chest. He rubbed his chest and felt the nipple piercings he now possessed. He soon put two and two together and realized that he was in the wrong body. Ibrahim's blood boiled at the realization, but quickly cooled down when he realized... who would ever believe him? Then, he felt the loneliness start to sink in.

"Look, there's a free table!" the woman claimed the spot and called her friend over. Ibrahim leaned against the table. He had no idea what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. The woman noticed her friend was deep in thought, and reached out to hold his hand.

"Hey, thank you." she whispered.

"Hm? For what?"

"For doing this. I mean, for taking me out. I know I haven't exactly been a good friend lately, but breaking up with Kevin was not easy. I'm just- so grateful to have a friend like you, Alexis. Someone that gets how trash men are."

Ibrahim listened carefully to everything the beautiful girl had to say to him. A girl like her would've dismissed Ibrahim as some scumbag fuck boy in his old body. But with a new body, Ibrahim stood a chance unlike ever before.

"Yeah, no problem. I'm glad I could help, I just want what's best for you."

The young lady smiled, and so did Ibrahim. The two held hands with a gentle grip. Ibrahim noticed how soft his new hands were, and how well they complimented her soft hands too.

"I wish more straight guys could be like you..." she gazed into his eyes. He returned the gesture in full. Ibrahim saw the opportunity, then took his swing at it.

"Hey, I have to confess something... I think I have feelings for you..."

The girl's eyes widened at first, but she quickly shrugged it off.

"That's just the tequila talking-"

"No! I swear it isn't, I haven't had a single drink tonight!" Ibrahim pleaded with her. He technically wasn't lying, and the girl could see he was more or less sober too.

"But... I thought you were gay..."

Ibrahim closed the distance between them. He held her close to him, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Maybe... I'm feeling a little bisexual tonight..."

The two held each other close, then the two kissed- tenderly at first, then passionately as the feelings kicked in. With a straight soul in a gay body, arousal followed soon after. The two then left the fair early and proceeded to have the night of their lives.

***

Weeks had gone by since Ibrahim and Alexis became the first victims of the strange body swap filter Me & You. Although both had a rocky start having to adjust to their new lives, both men quickly found themselves right at home with their new bodies. Then as time went on, they had forgotten about ever having switched bodies in the first place. They had accepted and assimilated into their new identities without a problem.

Alexis kept up the all exercise needed to keep his new, muscular physique. But it was something he did with ease, especially considering how much he loved his new body. He took over Ibrahim's Tiktok following and even improved upon it when he gave all the gay followers what they wanted. Full body nudity and man on man action, both things Alexis provided with great joy. Ibrahim's old gym bros ditched him after he came out, but Alexis found new gym bros to grow close to (and in more ways the one).

Alexis showed off his body in front of the camera for another Tiktok, only to get interrupted by one of his gym bros coming from behind and squeezing his ass. Alexis smirked, then pulled him for a kiss on camera. Alexis loved his new body- and so did everyone else.

As for Ibrahim, although he was initially very against the idea of accepting his fate, he warned up to it after finding a special reason to stay. Ibrahim had found love in Alexis' straight girl best friend, and the two were madly in love. Despite this, Ibrahim could never get used to how queer his new body was. He began making changes gradually to make himself more comfortable in his new skin- taking out all the piercings, keeping the make up off of him, and even hitting the gym again. Some of Alexis' old circle of friends noticed he had changed, but none of them ever bothered to question it. So long as Ibrahim was happy and wasn't really bothering anyone, everyone more or less accepted their now straighter friend. All's well that ends well.

Check out part two to this series here!

[piyako]

Notice me.

Sanzu x reader / angst

i love how much this change compare to the draft. written during rainy afternoon. originally made for rin but changed just because i want it to be sanzu.

part 2 

He's not your favorite anymore.

“Here’s your coffee miss.” The waiter greeted monotonously, serving the cup gently to the table. Arms on the table and one hand supporting your cheek, you looked up to her, grateful that she doesn’t bother to act like she’s okay in front of you.

You can’t blame her though, this rainy afternoon, the peace it formed, the coldness of it and the lullaby it brings, you really can’t blame her for not wanting to work in this comforting weather. Muttering your thanks, she left you with the serenity of rain heavily pouring in May.

You unlocked your phone and dialed a number, fully expecting the other side to pick up. You know better than anyone that that person was sick and tired of your bothersome presence since who knows when, as you heard it yourself, those words he spat out in spite of you.

“What do you want?” the dial tone halted, and a voice answered. Though not quite the voice you wanted to hear. His slow and steady breathing was once a white noise you would always fall asleep to, yet it still will never be the one that you favor.

“How are you today?” you asked. Though he will never be the one to top your list, you still craved his attention. At times, when you looked around admiring things on displays, all you can think about was him.

“Not quite okay.” He answered. Ah, the man with not much words. You remember why you hated talking to him. You don’t like the way he answered everything so straightforwardly. He expected things to be done so quickly, founding no pleasure in conversing with him.

“I’m at the café near your building.” you said gazing up the skyscraper on your left, the one that you always dreaded to be at, knowing well what kind of situation you would be tangled up if you were to be there. You had enough of going up there.

Silence immersed the other line. Seconds later, you heard rustling and a conversation being concluded. Then it was quiet again.

“I’ll be there in fifteen.” He said and the call disconnected without any warning. Again, you always hated how he would do that to you. However, you also found yourself doing it to a conversation that felt tedious. You regrettably understand where he came from.

You roamed your eyes trying to distract yourself from any intrusive thoughts that might be drowning. There was a lot of people walking by the front of the café, some wearing casual, some being formal, probably working in the building you hated. Some even dressed super comfortable, probably just enjoying a stroll, which you thought would be quite inconvenient since its wet.

You smiled to yourself remembering something from your phone’s gallery. You mindlessly scrolled through your phone, searching for that one picture you took using the camera’s timer, with the same current weather. The corner of your mouth tugged upward in reflex seeing it.

As you watch it, the corner of your mouth tugged upward as immediate reaction. You were laughing so genuinely in the picture. You could even remember the way you enjoyed the harsh rain pattering on your skin. The happiness you radiated in the picture was contagious.

The more you observed the picture,  the more you realized how important the figure next to you in the picture. Bitter memories surged as you remember how happy you were just by having him next to you. The way your heart dropped a bit, it made you missed him harder. It hurt more than it should.

The way his long-bleached hair was slickened in the rain and his arms wide opened, welcoming the rain onto his skin with beam decorating his face. The way his eyes were permanently fixed on you, admiring his favorite person. You miss him badly.

The tingle of the café’s bell pulled you out of your trance. Turning around, you watched as he elegantly walked towards you.  

“Why aren’t you at work?” he asked, sitting on the chair on your opposite. Your eyes dropped to the small screen in your hand, wondering how much time could change a person. It was as if you the person sitting in front you were whole another person.

“I quit.” You clarified. With swift finger movement, you pressed the button on the side of your phone, blackening the screen. Looking at him now, his shoulders looked broader with the way he presented himself. He became much more confident, more, or less conceited, and self-centered, still trusting his king more than anything else.

His face visual changed a lot too. He had cut his hair shorter than he used to prefer as it made his face stood out more, he said. He hated that kind of attention; before. The pink bright color he opted to dye his hair stunned you at first, although you could not deny how attractive it also made him.

“You should dress warmly. It’s getting colder these days.” He spoke. Was that a concern, or was that blatant respond?

None of his word even responded to you anymore. He sounded like he knew better than you. You hated the way he worded his responses. It sounded so demanding, and you missed the person who used to just scold at you. You don’t want it anymore.

“Is she still working with you?” You knew you shouldn’t bring her up, not when he voluntarily ditched his job to meet you. He just nodded, not really meeting your gaze as he ordered his drink to the waiter who just came.

Her face had brightened up with the way she adored the man. She was giving out a smile, her eyes shaped crescent with every word the angelic man muttered to her. A totally different treatment you received earlier. As she walked away, your gaze was trained on her, kind of angry as to how she treated you.

You probably care about her more than he did.

“Can I replace her? Your assistant I mean.” you penetrated deeper. You sure was not expecting anything, but there was a small hope that just sat in the corner of your heart. You hoped that he would notice how he had neglected his relationship with you.

“You’d do a very terrible job.” He snickered. Your blood boiled.

What does he mean by that? You wondered if he acknowledged what your job was. Does he know how hectic your schedule was, and how your bosses always compliment you for your competencies? Does he ever even thought about asking you how your days went by during weekdays?

“You’re the boss. You can hire me as second assistant.” You pressed. His mouth was pressed into thin line, a sign that he had enough.

“Just stay at home. Ask me for money and enjoy life. I have tons to waste.” You sighed. He clicked his tongue as he leaned back, opting to play with his phone instead.  It was a sure move to irritate him, as you know how to push his button, courtesy of living with him for more than ten years.

The waiter came back with his espresso shots. She was giggling as he thanked her and leaving the table with dreamy eyes. You had enough of people not appreciating your presence.

“Just how much does it cost to have your time Sanzu-san?”

He flinched at the sudden formality. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he put back the cup to the table, not feeling up to it anymore.

“I’m sitting with you in a café, during my work hour. What the fuck are you implying?”

He was right. He was sitting in front of you. Goddamn you and your mouth.

But what’s a twenty-minute break to you when another person could feel his warmth more than you, who stood by his side before all of the luxury?

Sudden flash of memory surged in your head where he was clearly enjoying the intimate touches and kisses of his secretary. You had blamed no one but yourself honestly. You insisted to his co-worker to let him see Sanzu Haruchiyo during work.

Yet the sight that greeted you was leaving a permanent wound on your heart.

You decided maybe it was better to not explain anything when he decided it was not worth to be talk about with you.

“I just thought that maybe working with you could give us more time together.” You conceded.

It hurt to explain things like this to him when it should be a common sense to anyone else. Was it you? Was it because you’re not as good as anyone else that he’s treating you otherwise than he used to?

“Go for a vacation. I’ll pay for everything.” He ended as he one-shot his bitter coffee. The chair creaked loudly as he stood, leaving you without any goodbye, again.

Maybe it was your fault for not changing like he did. Maybe that was why you were clinging to the memory of him instead of accepting him the way he is now. Hence, you decided to leave him, realizing the promise he made to his secretary.

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || first meeting

series masterlist characters: xiao, albedo genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: have i read a few genshin impact x game character reader stories and impulsively decided to make one too? maybe. you can't prove anything. i don't know if this will be a series but we'll see :D

xiao's playthrough -

xiao, named as alatus on his streaming platform, has made himself known as a gaming streamer with an awkward personality and blunt words.

he's the type of streamer who wouldn't have a set type of game and would, instead, play whatever his viewers recommended.

valorant? sure, he'll try it out.

hitman? why not?

animal crossing? it's a complete 180 from the other games, but sure.

when one of his viewers recommended genshin impact, he was quick to say yes and search for the game.

once the game finishes downloading, he quickly begins the game.

once the opening cutscene passes, he compliments the overall aesthetic of the game, pointing out the smaller details such as the footprints made by his character and the sound their clothes make when they move.

as always, his expressions are quite monotone to a point where it seems nothing draws his attention towards the game.

one of his mods, however, knows xiao well enough to where he knows which character he would like.

they convince xiao that the game is worth sticking with towards the second half of chapter 1, act 1.

he doesn't understand but he trusts his mods so he promises to continue.

it takes a few hours, especially because of the grinding, but a few streams later he's finally made it.

after fighting a one-sided argument with cloud retainer, he immediately begins his trek to the wangshu inn. and yes, trek, he enjoys walking/gliding through the world of teyvat rather than fast traveling everywhere.

he walks up the stairs to the top floor of the inn, resting his hands in his lap as the cutscene begins.

"to the blind, everything may not be as it appears..."

xiao is normally stoic during games, even ones with scenes made to fluster the player and catch them off guard.

but not this time.

once xiao's character is faced with yours, he just stops. his chat is spamming messages, asking if he's okay and if he's actually emoting for once.

he just stares at your character for a good five minutes.

and trust me, at least half of his viewers clipped that.

"... who are they?"

that was his only question after those minutes of silence. never before had he been attached to a character within the first few minutes of meeting them. his mind is racing and all he can think about is how amazing your character design is and how nice your voice is and how cool your character is and--

oh right, he's streaming right now...

anyway, the more your conversation goes on, the more he loves your character.

you're just so sassy and snappy but he loves you either way.

once you turn away with your back towards the camera, he just stares.

he stares at the intricate tattoo on your exposed arm and the mask hanging off of your belt.

and then you're gone.

his face drops so quickly and his viewers are very quick to point it out. he grimaces once paimon starts talking and he's very tempted to just speed through her dialogue.

he just wants to see you again.

once he hears from verr goldet that you've never smiled (at least around her), he immediately turns to the camera and says, "we better make them smile in this game."

once he finds out about your favorite food, he's already asking his viewers if he's able to get the recipe for it.

the next time he gets to talk to you, his face just lights up once he sees your character standing on the balcony.

however, once his characters tell you about rex lapis's death, his heart sinks when he hears how sad your voice becomes, even if your tone is still as harsh as before.

he gets all sad again when the quest ends and he has to wait to unlock the next archon quest.

he ends the game there and decides to spend the last few minutes talking to his viewers.

"i'll stream genshin again soon."

his viewers all know it's only because he met you.

albedo's playthrough -

albedo often does art streams and the occasional science-y stream.

if he does games, he mainly uses them to admire the art/mechanics of the gameplay.

genshin impact was one of those games he decided to play on his own solely because of the beautiful scenary.

(and the opportunity to draw more characters).

he's definitely the player that cares about elemental reactions above all else. pretty much every character he uses is built for elemental damage instead of physical.

most of his genshin streams are him walking around teyvat and pointing out the scenary.

he was definitely excited for the dragonspine event because that meant a better view of teyvat!

what he wasn't prepared for, however, was the reveal of a new character: you.

he isn't too into looking at the updates for genshin on his own, so he didn't find out about who you were until his stream asked about it.

he decided to react to the newest updates live since his chat seemed excited to hear his input.

once he pulled up the latest update details, he spent a few minutes talking about the new subzero mechanic.

but once he scrolled down to the characters... OH BOY

he's able to keep his composure but he definitely spends longer talking about you.

he almost gasped when he saw you were the chief alchemist of mondstadt.

combine that with the fact that you rely on elemental damage instead of physical...

your honor, he's fallen hard.

he'll put a countdown on stream to when your character and event drops, even on his non-genshin streams.

speaking of those streams, on the week just before your event, his streams will all be based around you and the information he's seen on you.

his art streams will consist of you and how he thinks your attacks will work just based on the description (he purposely avoided all pictures of your attacks for this stream).

his science-y streams would probably be based on your element.

once your event drops, that's the only thing he'll stream until it's over.

your assistant used to be his favorite character to play as but they just never clicked. it's not like he hates your assistant, it's just he didn't immediately fall in love with them.

his party definitely has your assistant in it, though.

he would have normally taken his time to look around dragonspine and admire the new scenery, but he couldn't help but speed through it until he finally gets to see you onscreen.

once the cutscene officially introduces you in front of a canvas, he's internally panicking.

you like art too?! and science?! how perfect can you be?!?!?!

he will genuinely feel bad when he scares the hilichurls because he knows that that's what you were sketching.

"who are you? why did you alarm them?"

NOW HE FEELS EVEN WORSE

even when you tell him you've finished sketching, he wants to make it up to you :((

if he were able to, he would've lured more hilichurls to let you sketch more.

some people in his chat would probably spam him to skip your dialogue because it's so wordy, but that's the exact reason why he listens to it all.

he likes listening to your character ramble on, especially because you have a soothing voice.

anytime your character does their idle animation where you give life to something, he will always let it play. even if your dialogue is finished before the animation, he would not progress until it's completed.

once your character asks for help, he would immediately agree before you finished your sentence.

man just wants to spend more time with you.

he likes staring at the tattoo on your neck whenever the camera is close to you. he just thinks it's really pretty on you.

once your other nonplayable assistant begins talking, he'll skip through the dialogue. he doesn't care if it goes more in depth into this world's alchemy, he just wants to hear it from you.

"hmm, looks like the potion's ready. i'll try a little first."

"please don't..."

he doesn't want you to try it just in case it hurts you :(

anytime he is allowed to walk freely with you around, he'd definitely put his traveler character next to you for a few minutes and just let you two stare at each other.

someone asks him why he spends a few minutes doodling on his desk when you talk.

he shows them the notebook that he had been writing notes in. it's filled with little doodles of you and some more information you give on the world of alchemy.

for future streams the involve you, he'd set up another camera to show the notes and doodles he's making about you.

sometimes he'll spend a few minutes on a single section where the camera is focused on you just to recreate the picture in the notebook.

he absolutely loves whoever planned out the camera angles because of how cute you look in every one of them.

he definitely gets a bad vibe from rosaria when she hints at the fact that you may be using alchemy against him.

he will defend you and alchemy to his grave!

that one scene where you create a flower in front of you is one he will always treasure.

he makes sure someone clipped that moment just so he can draw that, make it a print, and put it on his wall.

since most of his viewers most likely consist of artists, he will encourage them to draw you and send him fanart. he will put them all on a wall and dedicate every picture that goes there to you.

"if i one day lose control... destroy mondstadt... as well as everything around it..."

"huh?"

"will you be there to stop me?"

"wait... no."

if people were only listening to that portion, they would still be able to hear the pout on his face.

he'll end the game there but change his stream into an impromptu art stream.

he will only be drawing you in nice situations to distract himself from the fact that there is something going on with you.

"hm? what do you mean something's wrong with (name)? i have no idea what you're talking about."

poor boy's in denial...

[genshin-impact-fics]

Streamer!Genshin Reacting to Character!(Y/N) Dying in Game

!Warning!: Major character deaths & angst

Characters: Diluc, Venti, Childe, & Zhongli

Diluc:

It was a race to get inside one of the bases of the Abyss Order to put a stop to whatever plans they were in the process of executing that could potentially put many lives in danger. Diluc was rather calm while playing though it would be a lie to say that it wasn’t a bit annoying that the route to the domain was timed

It was once inside the domain did things pick up fast as it seemed to be a fighting wave system which after beating the first two rooms there was a short scene where in the end Lisa and Amber stayed behind to hold off the incoming enemies so the rest of the group could go further. It seemed like forever doing some of the puzzles to unlock the doors to reach the next fight

In that fourth room after the defeat of hilichurls and abyss mages did suddenly a short cut scene appear to show the appearance of an Abyss Lector. As remembering how much he hated fighting this guy in the spiral abyss he already knew what he was in for; however that was until your character stepped forward with your weapon ready. Diluc was actually sad to have to leave you behind as he was hoping that you’d be one of the characters that went with him to the very end

“I think I’ve watched enough shows and movies to know what this could be leading up to.” He’d comment to his viewers as he finally reached the destination where the Abyss Herald was. Finishing the fight triggered another cutscene as the traveler’s sibling appeared and was making their small speech, asking if the lives of the “friends” the traveler made were worth losing

Diluc is watching with a straight face as he kinda expected this but the who was what he wasn’t sure about and truthfully the only one he’d be truly heartbroken about is your death, but they wouldn’t kill you now of all times right? Wrong; soon the cutscene finally came across where they had left you and you were leaning against the wall extremely injured with your weapon laying beside you. Diluc is frowning cuz he has to watch you die now

Listening to your final words as you spoke to no one Diluc would sulk in his chair a little. In the last moment before your eyes closed, if you mentioned something about not getting to tell his character your true feelings it is visible that Diluc looks like he wants to cry(but he doesn't). Once the screen showed the mission complete he’d grab the plush he had of your character and hold it looking at his camera. “Of all the characters I thought were going to die, I wasn’t ready for it to be (y/n).” At that point he’d probably call it a day from there but he’d still talk to his viewers as he probably would watch the tribute videos that fans had already made

Venti:

Everything was in chaos as it looked like archon war 2 was going to be taking place, but this time it was a war between the Abyss Order and the Archons. He was heading to Mondstadt to help and to check on you. Dvalin was flying around sending attacks at the abyss members. “Ah traveler there you are!” The sound of your voice as you landed before him; as weird as it was to see you in your archon robes was odd but you looked so good! After a short conversation you had gone flying off and it was time to get back to fighting

Things were looking good as it seemed like they were winning against the abyss order though it wasn’t over yet. It was until up in the air did a cutscene starting showing you and the traveler’s sibling fighting going at it. Venti is so captivated by how serious and cool you look fighting, but it all changed when the sibling landed a blow that caused you to fall from the sky ending up falling into the Whispering Woods

Venti couldn’t run fast enough to get to the woods to check up on you but when he did the first thing he saw was the sibling standing before you. He’s already sad and yelling at the sibling for hurting you though it seemed that now he was there the sibling went and disappeared revealing the real condition you were in. “No, no, no! This better not mean (y/n)’s dying.” He’d say in denial as he’s already starting to cry a little

“A-Ah Windblume h-haha… Sorry you have to see me like this.” Even in a moment like this you gave him such a cheesy grin until you seemed to grimace in pain. “Unfortunately it seems like… This is it for me. As long as the winds blow I will always be with you, so please watch over Mondstadt for me.” Your words were making Venti cry as it was like back in your story quest but only ten times worse. And to think it was already painful as it was your next words that did him in. “Maybe in another life we will find each other again and maybe then we can be together.”

Watching you start to glow until you turned into partials of light till nothing of you was left, Venti is devastated. The chat is crying with him as he’s saying how awful it was that his sibling had killed the love of his life! His viewers are going to send him fanart and fics to look at that was an alternative that you lived in the game

Childe:

It was a big fight with the confrontation of the Fatui Harbingers, facing off against one of the other stronger members that blocked the path to proceed to seeing the Tsaritsa. The boss’ first stage was fine; however during the second stage it seemed after losing a certain amount of health the damage that Childe was dealing significantly decreased.

It was when the cutscene started that Childe was already dreading the foul legacy form he’d be facing this time. You suddenly came out of nowhere and already in your foul legacy form yourself Childe is going crazy over how cool you look; he’s also swooning at the fact that you’ve come to his rescue. The fighting progressed until you landed a successful hit that weakened the other harbinger; however, at that same time the other harbinger managed to hit you with a powerful attack

Childe is screaming at the sight of your mask breaking while you fell to the ground. He’s so glad that his character is running over to check on you instead of the fight picking right up, but he’s already feeling the feels hit him hard cuz he hates seeing you hurt. Seeing you back to normal, the damage you sustained was really bad; then the worst thought came to his mind. “This-This better not be what I think it is,” he’s saying not looking away from the screen listening to you weakly talk

“Haha don’t give me that look sweetie, I couldn’t just let this be where your journey ends.” Hearing those words and the nickname you used for his character was sad. “To think we’d be able to travel together more, but hey… Promise you won’t stop fighting and could you look after my siblings for me.” Childe is literally crying now that the reality of the situation is clear. If he gets a choice of dialog to choose from he is going to pick the choice that says that he pinky promises

If your character smiled at the choice he wanted to smile but he’s also just sad, you were dying in his character's arms. If you had given a small love confession in the little bit of life that was in you, he’s going to ugly sob and once the fight was starting again he needs to pause by going into his bag

Immediately he goes getting his big plush of you and coming back to hug it and cleaning his tears with his sleeve before looking at the camera. “I wasn’t ready for this, my baby!” He was not expecting to be losing you; he figured that some characters would possibly die but you were the last character he thought would be killed off in the game. There’s Fs in the chat all around and the crying emote; it’s sad boi hours in this chili’s. He doesn't wanna do the fight but also he gotta avenge you so this last stage fight was for you. Afterwards he’s gonna go look at fanart and video edits

Zhongli:

After helping some of the other nations and their archon’s fend off the abyss order it was time he headed to Liyue to find you. Of course as usual it wasn’t going to be as easy as running around the harbor until he got word from Xiao that you were in Cuijue Slope. So he headed over to help you before anything seriously bad could happen to you

Getting to the open area there you were fighting against the sibling as you were even in your archon robes. Going in and interrupting the fight his sibling clearly looked annoyed and proceeded to try to get him to side with them which of course he didn’t. A Herald appeared to allow the sibling to get away which the fight with the Herald commenced

Just when Zhongli finished up the fight thinking he had won it strangely went to a cutscene as his character and you started to talk; however it was when the fallen Herald came out of nowhere about to attack his character but must to his surprise you shielded him not only taking the hit, but also using your elemental burst to finish off the enemy. Zhongli is frowning at how badly you were hurt as he already has a bad feeling this wasn’t going to end good; the traveler was helping you sit up after having fallen over

“I’m glad to see that you aren’t hurt my friend.” You said as you certainly have seen better days. “Sadly I believe my time has come… Do not be sad dear friend, I have lived many many years… As knowing you has been life changing. Though rocks change from erosion, know that no time will change how I felt about you.” Your words broke his heart as you had such a soft expression on your face as your body began to glow and before he knew it you turned into particles of light and disappeared. He probably wouldn’t cry at most maybe a tear but he is clearly upset about your passing in game and would take a break to talk to his viewers and maybe look at the fanart that surprisingly had been put out already

[mimi-cee-hq]

Laundry Days - Aran x f!reader

Summary: Three times you picked up his underwear and one time you missed doing it.

Genres, other tags: fluff, slice of life, humour, meet cute, domestic fluff, not suggestive lol, married under 25, neighbours to married lovers ;)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: manga spoiler

This is for @neoheros & @coophi's 2021 Summer Haikyuu!! Writing contest. (Okay I'm pretty shy at first so it feels a little scary to tag you two but here's my piece.) I was going for the married under 25 prompt but ended up doing neighbours to lovers too. :D

Don't mind me spreading the underrated characters agenda as well. lol.

*****

A few articles of clothing spilled out of the dryer and onto your feet. Oops. Your neighbour must have forgotten them. You should've checked first.

Your own damp clothes sat inside the washing machine next to it, waiting for their turn to enter the dryer. It wasn't possible now.

You sighed, retrieving the phone from your pocket and scrolling until you saw the name of the neighbour who lived a floor below you.

Ojiro Aran.

You were sure this was the right person after a second look at your texting history. Who'd bring the garbage to the curb, where the lawnmower was kept, and keeping the duplex's stairway clear were some of the conversations you had with him.

You had yet to meet the guy, but he seemed amicable enough.

After shooting him a text, you thought to give him a call instead. Perhaps he'd think a phone call was strange. However, your clothes were damp and you shouldn't leave them for long. Was he even home?

You sighed. Crouched down, you returned the clothes on the floor back into the machine. A scarf, several socks, and a knit hat made their way back inside. But what was this?

Underwear. Men's underwear.

You scrunched your nose as you lifted it from the cold, tile floor. Was that a hole in it?

Click.

"Sorry I just saw your text!" a tall, dark-skinned man blurted out as soon as the door was unlocked.

"Oh! It's alright! I only texted you a few minutes ago!" you quickly explained, waving your hands in front of you.

You shouldn't have done that. The underwear was hanging from your hand.

"Ummm…" Aran scratched his cheek, eyes retreating from you.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" you spat out, tossing the incriminating object to him. "It just fell out of the dryer when I opened it so I went to pick it up!"

Once in his hands, he recognized it as the one with the seam coming undone. "I… umm… should probably have thrown this one out."

"Umm… yeah… you probably should." Those words slipped off your tongue before you could catch them.

"I- I guess I'll go now," Aran said hastily.

He shut the door.

You let out a breath. That was awkward. Heat continued to linger in your body and you weren't sure who was more embarrassed by the encounter.

Wait. His clothes were still in the dryer. Did you dare ask him back?

The door slowly creaked open and Aran peeked his head into the room.

"I forgot something, didn't I?" Aran sheepishly asked.

"Yeah." The corners of your mouth lifted into a smile. "Yeah, you did."

"I'm Aran by the way."

"Y/n."

You never thought this would be how you'd meet your future husband.

*****

The office chair in your apartment was a comfortable spot for folding clothes. The webcam caught your face as you chatted with Aran whose image filled the monitor.

You smiled. Your husband was winding down after a long day with the team and decided to check up on you.

"I'm alright," you told Aran. "I miss you though."

"I literally just saw you yesterday!" he said. "I miss you too."

After that fateful yet awkward encounter with him in that laundry room two years ago, you had run into each other more frequently at the front doors of your duplex. Your classes ended at similar times four out of your five school days. You were surprised he even started a conversation with you. You wouldn't have been able to bear the embarrassment. Fast forward to a confession, a kiss and a rock-embedded ring, and you got a small, snowy wedding during winter break.

It was back to the books for you now, and you dreaded it. Chores seemed much better, easier. Plus doing them for your newly-wedded husband? You got giddy about that.

You quirked your brow, lifting a familiar piece of clothing from the basket.

"Hey, I thought you threw this one out," you mentioned to Aran, dangling his underwear in front of the camera.

"I did! That's, uh, probably a different one."

"Just how old are these?"

"Hey! Wait a moment! Are you folding clothes?"

You avoided the eyes on the screen. "Maybe."

"You have your paper due in a few days! I told you I was going to do it after flying back home."

"I know…"

Aran's eyes narrowed at you, a trademark expression of his. "You're procrastinating again, aren't you?" His tone implied disapproval.

"But I'm still being productive!"

"Y/n…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." Your foot pushed the basket away, sliding it across the floor. Maybe you could fold them after you hung up.

Aran must have read your mind. "Show me what the laundry bin looks like."

You groaned. He saw right through you. Complying, you removed the clipped webcam off the monitor and directed it at the pile of unfolded clothes.

"It better be like that when I get home."

"Alright," you said with a pout.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Must he stop you from doing chores? They were a simple reminder you were married to him, as if the gold on your finger wasn't enough to show you.

You were his wife.

A smile snuck into your lips whenever that thought crossed your mind. The honeymoon phase was a peculiar, strange, lovely stage.

Yet it was fleeting.

*****

You groaned as you stood in the middle of the bathroom. Aran's white track pants hung off the counter, the red t-shirt he got for free from first year college laid on top, and of course his underwear, which likely went through hundreds of washes, remained on the floor.

Great.

You rubbed your temples, your headache getting worse by the minute. It was Saturday morning, and Aran, who was nowhere to be seen, had left his mess behind.

I'll clean it up later, he would tell you. You knew his mother had spoiled him, always picking up after him. You understood why he was like this, but why couldn't he just start doing it now?

"Do you have this problem?" you asked your friend through your wireless headset.

"What problem?" she asked.

"Does your husband always leave laundry around on the floor?" You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Aran never picks up after himself."

She laughed. You weren't sure if it was because you were a young, amateur wife or if she understood all too well.

Knowing her, probably a bit of both.

"Okay two things."

You listened.

"One, don't say always or never. That's lying."

"I'm not lying," you snapped back at her. You began to regret asking her.

"Are you sure he never picks it up and always leaves it on the floor?"

You left no comment.

"Exactly."

"Okay fine, but that still doesn't solve the problem. If only he just did it, it would solve everything–"

"Number two," she interrupted.

You groaned at her and she gave an amused snort in return.

"If you weren't picking up his underwear, it means he's dead."

You were aghast.

"You know I'm right."

Still aghast.

"What? No husband, no mess."

"I can't believe I asked you for advice."

"But it's true."

"Ugh," was all you could utter. She had several years more of marriage experience than you, yet you didn't want to acknowledge it.

You hung up the phone after you finished deciding today's outing with her, but you hadn't addressed the issue in front of you. Your head throbbed again.

Sighing, you picked up the underwear.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and you dipped your head into the hallway. Aran shuffled grocery bags through the door and into the kitchen. He yawned, placing the milk, eggs, and other items into the fridge.

A familiar coffee brand peeked out of a bag on the floor. Right. You didn't have your coffee yet because there wasn't any left.

You wrapped your arms around Aran and relaxed against his broad back.

"I can't put the food away like this," he said with a chuckle.

"You left your clothes in the bathroom again."

"Oh shoot!" He dropped a bag and started towards the bathroom but you tightened your grip on him.

"I put them away already," you told him. His body relaxed and he caressed your arm around his waist.

The honeymoon phase was a fleeting phase, novel tasks turned mundane, but your love for him grew deeper still.

*****

Aran was away again, this time at Tokyo in preparation for the Olympics. He eagerly called you during breaks, wishing to see his favourite person – although your hands were full as well.

"I miss you," he told you, his smile displayed on the screen.

"And I miss picking up your underwear," you told him with a smirk.

Like clockwork, he narrowed his eyes at you with a comeback. "Why don't you say you miss me like a normal person?"

"Because I'm your wife. I'm special," you told him as he rolled his eyes. "I wish I could be there though."

"You wouldn't be able to spend that much time with me anyway," he said. "Besides, one of us needs to stay home."

"I know." You smiled.

"I gotta go," he said as Atsumu yelled in the background. Aran blew a kiss at you.

You snorted. How cheesy. You returned the kiss anyway.

Hearing a mischievous squeal behind you, you told him, "I gotta go too."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

After you hung up, you turned around and sighed. A soggy wet diaper sagged on the floor and the little guy jumping in the crib giggled at you as if he did the funniest thing in the world.

You rolled your eyes and smiled before picking up the diaper.

"Alright kid. Let's put a diaper back on you and wash your sheets."

*****

I hope you liked it. This is a little different from what I usually write but I hope you still enjoyed it!

I blame Aran's current concern for giving me this idea along with the person who suggested I write Aran fluff. (As well as the seasoned wife I know who told her husband, "If I wasn't picking up your underwear, it means you're dead." lolll.)

I hope you stick around my blog to check out my other works! My current work in progress is a fake dating Suna series. I can't believe we're on chapter 10!

If anyone is interested, I have a Google form for my taglist.

[hyunjilicious]

a helping hand [henry cavill] - part 3

A/n: I know it took me ages, and I'm sorry, but it's finally here!! I don't know when part 4 will be up, but I know the plot, and by the time you finish reading this, you'll know it too!! Filth is coming. Also, since I posted the first 2 parts weeks ago, under the cut you'll find a small summary of what happened so far! Ofc, I'm linking the previous parts as well! Have fun reading, sorry for taking me so long, and please, don't hesitate to tell me what you thought! (I’ll reblog it with the taglist, otherwise it doesn’t show up in the tags!)

Summary: after Henry lost it during a fit of jealousy, he sneaked into your apartment, his actions having some very different repercussions from what he initially intended. SMUT 3.9k

Warnings: please be over 18!!! mentions of smut, masturbation (male receiving), sightly/some somnophilia, stalker-ish/obsessed Henry, cum play if you squint and ofc, mentions of filming and sharing pornographic material. 18+ please!!!!

You can find part 1 here and part 2 here!

Quick recap: Henry's crush on his very sweet and younger neighbour (you lol) grew into something else when you asked him for help with taking some pictures for your onlyfans account. Following this, your relationship reached a very teasing level, which prompted Henry to take matters into his own hands, even if that meant crossing some lines. So when he found out that you and a specific man from your past were on a voice call, he just had to know what exactly was being discussed. This jealousy fit had him using his spare key to enter your apartment and eavesdrop, and this is where chapter 2 ends. Have fun reading the next part!!!

“No” you sighed, waving your arms around, desperate to get your point across. But it was mostly useless, nothing even remotely decent would ever manage to penetrate Steve’s thick skull. He was a dumbass with a heart of gold, so you couldn’t even blame him for messing things up on purpose, you just learned the hard way not to take his advice under any circumstance. “No, Steve. I won’t do that. Not a chance!”

“Hun-” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as a smirk showed up on his lips, “When have I ever been wrong?”

“Really!?” you giggled and then sighed, “Listen, I gotta go to the bathroom and you’d better forget about this topic by the time I come back”

“Wait, wait. Ok, fine. Scratch that” Steve laughed, stopping you from getting up, “When have I ever been wrong on purpose?”

“Listen, I know you’re just trying to help” you smiled, “But I don’t think your experience in seducing girls with daddy issues benefits my situation in any kind of way”

“‘Course it does! I can give you some perspective!”

“Perspective on what?” you mocked, playfully frowning at him through the screen on your laptop, “You and Henry have nothing in common”

“The dick for one” Steve joked but when he saw you roll your eyes, he became serious, “I’m just tryin to help you hook up with the guy! That’s all”

“See!?” you laughed, already exasperated by the conversation, “I’m not trying to hook up with him, I want something more…”

Your sentence was cut short by the sound of a door closing. Your blood ran cold and your hands froze, eyes staring blankly into the camera.

“Y/n?” Steve asked with worry, “What’s wrong?”

“Wait here” you mumbled, pushing the laptop off of you and rushing to the door of your bedroom. You pressed your ear against it, and listened closely, the sound of a lock being turned chilling you to your bones. With shaky hands, you stumbled your way back to your bed, and looked into the camera, directly at a somewhat already worried Steve. “I gotta go-”

“Wait-” Steve tried to ask, “Are you-”

“Yeah, I’m fine, talk to you later” you hurriedly mumbled before ending the call. Your fingers flew across the screen of your phone, finding Henry’s name and pressing the green button in the blink of an eye.

And had he not been this utterly stupid and reckless, none of this would have happened. His impulsivity got the best of him, and panic rushed through his veins when he heard you were about to head to the bathroom. Pressure did him no good, and the first thing that came to mind at that point was to bolt out of there, knowing there was absolutely no way to explain what he was doing in your apartment. But his shaky hands were of no help, and the dexterity he earlier proved himself capable of was nowhere to be found. However, he didn’t care. He just stormed out, happy to finally breathe again as soon as he was out of your apartment - but when his phone vibrated in his pocket, he felt like dying all over again.

With your heart beating inside your throat, you grabbed your bedside lamp into your free hand, and curled yourself into a ball in the corner of your room, opposite to the door, the sound of the ongoing call being the only thing you heard over the loud buzz in your ears.

“Yeah?” Henry’s voice rang loudly when he finally answered, making you all but jump with fright.

Had you paid more attention, you’d have noticed he too sounded out of breath, but you were too out of it to tell. All you could think about was the psycho what was at your door.

“Henry-” you cried, voice shaky as the intake of air was no longer satisfying. You were hyperventilating, sweating from every pore, scared out of your mind.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice more stern now. “Y/n? Are you ok?”

“Yeah- yeah…” you said on autopilot, mind on standby. “No…” You whimpered, “Henry, can you- I think someone is trying to break into my house, I-”

“What!?” he gasped, “I’m sure no one-”

“Henry!” you cried into the phone, “Can you please look through your peephole? Please?”

He sounded confused, but you didn’t have to ask him twice. You heard a bit of shuffling before his voice reached your ears again, “There’s no one there, there’s no one at your door, you can relax”

“No-” you whimpered, unable to calm down, “Henry, please-!”

“I’m coming over right now,” he said.

“No! No, what if they’re still in the hallway?”

“There’s no one there, love” Henry tried to reassure you. When you heard him unlock the door of his apartment your heart stopped, but after that, everything was quiet. 

“Are you ok?” you muttered, wiping your nose with your sleeve.

“Yes, love. I’m fine” Henry lightly chuckled, “I’m at your door, can you open up?”

“No” you scoffed, “What if someone got in?”

“No one got in” he tried to explain, but your adrenaline soaked brain refused to comply.

“Henry, take the spare key I gave you” you suggested, “And grab a knife”

Seeing how affected and terrified you were, Henry didn’t argue with you anymore. In a matter of seconds, you heard the door of your apartment being unlocked, Henry assuring you through the phone that it was him. When he walked inside, you remained hidden in your spot. He checked the kitchen and the living room, coming up to finally enter the bedroom. When your eyes landed on his massive frame, you breathed out relieved and rushed to him, throwing yourself into his arms. There was no other place on Earth you felt as safe as you did when he was holding you.

“Shh, you’re ok, you’re good” Henry cooed, cradling you to his chest, “I got you, baby, ok? I’m here”

But there was no stopping you. You broke down entirely, holding onto him as your legs gave in, turning into a mess. Henry carried you to the bed, sitting you down and allowing you to calm down at your own pace.

“I’m here, ok?” he asked again, rubbing your back, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Y/n, you know that. You’re safe, I got you”

It was impossible to tell just how long it took you to fully calm down, but it was safe to say that it would have taken hours longer had Henry not been there with you. When you were finally able to properly breathe again and hold a conversation, you looked up at him, big doe eyes hoping to convince him without too much of a fuss. “Can you stay here with me, please? I can’t be alone right now”

With nothing but sympathy in his eyes, Henry leaned down and kissed your forehead, “Don’t you think it would be better if we went over to my place instead?”

“No” you shook your head, “And leave the apartment unattended? I don’t think that’s a good idea”

His heart broke. Being his usual, impulsive self, Henry managed to break you down and terrify you to your core. As much as he wanted to reassure you everything would be fine, he couldn’t. He couldn’t just tell you it was him who broke into your apartment in the middle of a jealousy breakdown. So, he settled for the second best option, and really, he couldn’t complain.

It was late in the afternoon on a Sunday, no locksmith on the clock. Seeing how you’d have to wait until the next morning, he was more than happy to spend that time with you.

As time started to pass, you also started to relax. 

The day slowly wilted a way, as both you and Henry made yourselves busy around your apartment. He wasted a couple of hours installing games on your school laptop as you took a bath, he then cooked you dinner, and by the time the night rolled around, you were your usual bubbly self again. And after watching and laughing your hearts out at Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets, sleep started to creep up on you.

Henry placed one of your kitchen chairs under the doorknob before turning to give you a massive hug, “No one can get in, darling. I promise”

“Thank god you live across the hall” you confessed, snaking your arms under his hoodie as you gathered yourself as close to him as possible. “What would I have done otherwise?”

“You don’t have to worry about that” Henry kissed your forehead, “I’ll always be here when you need me”

And in that moment, right there, stopping yourself from kissing him turned out to be the most difficult thing you ever had to do. Instead, you settled for his cheek, before hiding your face against his shoulder. “I’ll always be here for you too”

“Thank you, angel” Henry breathed out.

There really was nothing on this earth you loved more than this man. 

Getting ready to go to sleep, you changed in your pajamas, while all Henry did was take off his hoodie. With your toothbrush lodged between your teeth, you lingered in the door frame, watching the muscles of his back flex as he bent down and put his phone down to charge.

Toothpaste and drool could very well have dribbled down your chin as you stood and gawked, only releasing you were staring when Henry turned around and a smile made its way up his lips. “Yes?” he laughed, but all you did was look him up and down, before returning to the bathroom with a shake of your head.

“Oh, Y/n?” Henry called again, following you, “Where can I find a blanket or some sheets?”

First you squinted, but then you decided it would be best if you just finished brushing your teeth before anything else. After rinsing your mouth, you turned to look at him, utterly unamused. “What for?”

“So I don’t have to sleep on leather?”

“You’re sleeping with me” you rolled your eyes, grabbing his elbow and dragging him into the bathroom so he could get ready for bed too. “Not up for discussion”

“Ok” Henry chuckled, looking at you in the mirror. “But I snore”

As if that would make you reconsider. You walked away and into your room, settling under the covers, without another word. About 10 minutes later, Henry joined you.

He fit in like a piece of puzzle and you didn’t even try to keep yourself from cuddling into his side. Sinking his head down between the multitude of pillows on your bed, you giggled, crawling on top of him. Without thinking too much about it, you kissed your way down his neck, peppering tens of kisses against his naked chest. You felt his heartbeat under your palm as he breathed in and out slowly, smiling down at you as he enjoyed the view.

“Thanks for doing this for me” you mumbled, rubbing your hand up and down his chiseled abdomen.

“Really, Y/n” Henry said, wrapping his arms around you, “There’s no need to thank me. Plus, you think I’m not enjoying this?”

“Oh shut up” you giggled. The amount of small talk that followed turned out to be exactly what you needed in order to allow your eyes to peacefully close. Despite the events of earlier in the evening, you now felt safer than ever before.

It was just a matter of time until soft snores started escaping past your lips, your chest rising and falling every so softly as you drifted out of consciousness.

But Henry’s mind was nowhere near relaxed enough to drift off. No. You were too close to him, too innocent and vulnerable for him to just let this moment pass. The way you had just thrown one of your legs over his lap drove him insane - your bare thigh too accessible to him.

At first, he just tested the waters. A peck to the top of your head, and a small caress against the back of your hand. You were completely out, and that accentuated his need further.

Slowly moving his free arm down his body, Henry brushed his fingers over his clothed member, grunting out loud when he felt the sensibility in his tip. He bit into his bottom lip out of need to keep quiet, teasing himself just a little as he struggled to decide how to go about things. With the way you were laying right now, it was next to impossible for him to free himself without moving you. And even though at the beginning he tried to avoid that, when you stirred in your sleep, your body rubbing up against his, he lost all kinds of patience.

As softly as he could, Henry pushed your leg back, just a little. Even in your sleep, you craved his touch, as when you felt movement, you involuntarily shuffled closer, but much to his relief, your legs remained on the mattress.

Eagerness controlled his actions as he pushed his pants down his thighs, propping his hips up with difficulty. When his underwear was pulled down and his cock sprung free, Henry hissed with unmatched satisfaction. With his hand wrapped around his base and his eyes on you, he swallowed thickly, his heart beating out of his chest with a demented sense of bliss.

"My baby-" Henry cooed, rubbing his lips across your hairline as he started stroking his cock.

His movements were slow but not calculated in any way. His brain was occupied, forcing his hand to work on muscle memory. But still, he teased himself, rubbing his thumb across his slit just like he liked to think you would. 

The fear of getting caught was at an all time high as you stirred again. He froze for a second, "That's my good girl-" Henry whispered, looking down at your sleeping frame. As much as he wanted you to take an active part in this, he knew better than to risk it. 

It was getting more and more difficult to breathe, his back sweating profusely as he pumped himself closer to the edge. His hips bucked, causing the bed frame to creak. Instantly, he stilled, eyes on you, but all you did was rub your cheek against his chest, completely unaware of your surroundings.

"I'm so close for you, my darling" Henry groaned, his throat paper dry as the words left his lips. All he could hear was his own breathing and the unmistakable perverse sound of slapping skin, but still, even above all of that, you kept on peacefully snoring. 

The arm Henry looped around your frame was now traveling lower, his palm exploring your side until he reached your ass. He softly gripped a handful of your bum, squeezing hard enough to make up for the struggle of not allowing himself to finish too early. But it was reckless and maybe he shouldn't have done so, as his touch all but woke you up. 

Still overwhelmed with sleep, you barely pushed yourself up, eyes closed as you slightly changed your position. You were now laying higher up his body, your head almost falling off his shoulder. Your breathing tickled the side of his neck as you snaked your arm up and looped it around his frame. Biting down hard on his bottom hip, Henry felt ridiculous amounts of blood rush to the tip of his cock as you refused to settle already.

Rubbing the tip of your nose across his jugular, still mostly out but not fully, you peaked your eyes open, “Henry-?”

“Y- yeah?” he swallowed thickly, freezing in his spot.

“Why’re you awake?” you mumbled.

“Just woke up- had a weird dream, that’s all”

You believed the lie without an ounce of doubt, “Wanna talk about it?”

“Yes” he whispered, “But in the morning. Sorry I woke you up, go back to sleep, darling”

“Ok” you sighed, kissed his bare shoulder and allowed yourself to drift off again.

Henry licked his lips in a haze, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as sweat worked his entire body. God, how he regretted getting himself in his position, but his cock was full on hard, all but leaking at the tip, not so patiently waiting to receive any kind of attention again. He sucked in a deep breath, eyes on you to make sure you were asleep. 

His heart skipped a beat as your mouth popped open, but your light snores came as the strongest form of reassurance, and he resumed his work. The anxiety of getting caught fueled him, and the heels of his feet dug into the mattress, his hips bucking upwards as he furiously pumped his cock.

It was all getting too much. He was close. Henry threw his head back trying to suppress a moan, but he miserably failed. A choked back wail escaped his now dry lips as his whole body tensed. He squeezed you closer, his fingers lewdly digging into the sweet flesh of your ass. He was crossing many lines but that didn't stop him. He didn't see things clear anymore. His chest heaved, rushing up and down as he fisted his cock, biting into his lower lip as he watched your peaceful expression. 

It was pure, dumb luck that he managed to spot a pack of napkins laying on the night stand mere seconds before he came. His juices eagerly ran down his shaft as he flew through his orgasm, his saviour napkin proving almost useless. 

Coming down from his high, he all but managed to calm down, but his mind was still set. He would never get enough of you. And no matter how many times he'd cum, he'd still be down to go again. You had that power over him.

"Fuck…" Henry panted. And in the blur of the moment he created, he didn't even stop to process his thoughts. Gathering the few droplets of cum that landed on his stomach, he brought his hand up to your face, his thumb rubbing across your lips. 

In that moment, then and there, when you unconsciously wrapped your lips around his finger, he almost lost it all over again. 

"Holy-" he cried again, kissing your forehead. As eager and willing as he was to keep going, Henry stopped himself. He tucked the napkins next to the foot of the bed, pulled his pants back up his hips and settled under the covers. 

Sleep didn't come easy, but he eventually drifted off. Unfortunately, the clock had almost struck 3am by the time he closed his eyes, and no later than 6:15, your alarm went off.

"No" you protested, wiggling around in search of your phone. "No school- no, thank you"

Eyes closed and cheek squished into the pillow, Henry raised his arm and found the phone with ease, handing it to you without a word.

Squinting under the bright light of the screen, you dismissed the alarm and snuggled back into Henry's chest, his arms wrapping around your body in an instant.

And as heavenly as this felt, it only lasted for about 5 minutes, until your alarm went off again. 

"Just turn it off" Henry laughed, kissing your forehead, "I'll wake you up after I make breakfast"

"You don't have to" you protested, throwing in a whine or two as you curled yourself around him.

"I want to"

"No"

"Y/n…"

"Ok fine" you sighed, "Thank you"

"No need darling" Henry chuckled and stood up. He once again pecked the top of your head and then he was gone. About one second and a half later, you were asleep again, only to complain when Henry woke you up.

"It's 7" he stated, gathering the blanket in his arms and allowing the cold air to reach your body.

"Give it back" you cried.

"Is that how it's gonna be?" Henry threatened, and despite his dominating tone, you still refused to take him seriously. When you hid your face between the pillows, he deeply sighed, but satisfaction was still audible in his tone. "Fine then"

Taking you completely by surprise, Henry bent down and gathered you in his arms, throwing you over his shoulder with absolute ease.

"Henry-" you yelled, "The fuck-"

"Not gonna be late, Y/n" Henry laughed, "Not on my watch"

"God" you giggled along and allowed yourself to be carried to the kitchen. 

As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, a delicious smell reached your nose. It was probably the first real breakfast you'd had in weeks, so you weren't going to complain anymore. Fresh coffee, toast, avocado, pancakes, hard boiled eggs and a multitude of veggies and fruit awaited on the table.

"I didn't even know I had all this food in my house"

"You didn't-" Henry shook his head, sitting down beside you, "Grabbed them from my place"

"You shouldn't have, but thank you"

"No need" he assured you, "Dig in"

When you were done, and right before you headed to the bathroom to get ready, you turned to him again. "Do you know the number of any locksmiths? I really wanna change the locks"

Following a quick Google search, Henry found a multitude of ads, and after choosing the most trustworthy looking one, he dialed the number as you patiently waited beside him.

Everything seemed to go perfectly well, until he frowned, "No, today pl- [...] No, I'm not locked out of my- [...] You sure-? Ok, ok fine. Ok, tomorrow, first thing, ok, thanks"

"They can't come today?" you pouted as soon as he hung up.

"No, I'm sorry" Henry shook his head, and seeing the disappointment plastered on your face, he spoke up again. "I can stay one more night, if you want to. I'll sleep in the living room-"

"What? No" you scoffed, "It's not that…"

"What is it then?" he questioned, starting to get worried.

You hesitated. "Its no-"

"Don't tell me it's nothing" Henry commanded, pointing a finger at you. A smile appeared at the corner of your lips as you rolled your eyes.

"Ok, fine. I just- I just had to film today for the- you know… That's all, but I can do it some other day"

Henry didn't answer until a smirk tilted the corner of his lips upwards. "Or I could help you?"

"Help me?" you gawked.

"Yeah" he nonchalantly shrugged, "Helped you once before, didn't I?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah" he smiled, "Only if you me want to, of course"

Your knees weakened and your heart was beating in all the wrong ways, so all you managed to do was giggle and shake your head in disbelief. "Well, yeah... I want to"

How were you going to tell him that the video was supposed to be of you fucking yourself with a baby pink dildo? And how exactly was he going to help? You had a long day ahead of you and the ridiculous amounts of school work you had to get done in the meantime didn't allow you to give these questions any kind of priority. All you wanted was for the evening to come around already even if you sweated profusely just at the thought of what was to come.