#(more in depth than I actually already have)

[greeenchrysanthemums]

Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 4: Bitter Bonds.

Gem is the commander of the Wintertide royal army, Grian is the leader of a resistance hell bent on taking the crown down no matter the cost. It was only natural that they would become enemies.

Beginning -> previous -> next (tba)

Read on ao3 ❀ here ❀

CW: manipulation, dubious morality, and overall poor behavior from Grian.

Words: 5,045

Pov: Grian

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“You told me that all you were doing during the festival was meeting with that Crestian man!” Pearl hissed, her hands fisted in the front of Grian’s shirt.  Her large, silver and white wolf-dog, Tilly, growled at her side, snapping at Grian’s ankles but never actually biting.

The hold lifted him off of the ground, the tips of his talons just barely scraping the cobbled ground of the alleyway behind the M&E Tinkering Shop in downtown Capital, where he had some business to attend to. Not that he ever made it inside to take care of said business, though. She had grabbed him and dragged him into the shadows before he could so much as think of setting a talon on the threshold. 

“Joel has a name, you know.” Grian said in leu of an answer. Pearl shook him and pulled his face closer to her own, her warm breath smelling of mead where it fanned across his face. If it were anyone else manhandling him in such a way, he would have clawed their eyes out in an instant for daring to treat him like this, but because it was Pearl he let it slide for now. The two of them went way back, after all. He could hardly maim an old friend

“I don’t care about his bloody name, the point is that you lied to me!” She growled.

“I did not lie to you. I never said I would or wouldn’t be talking to Gem during the festival. If anything, I withheld the truth.” Grian defended himself. And it was true! He didn’t intend to run into her on that specific night, but it worked out nicely in the end.

“As if that is any better!” She snapped, dropping him roughly and turning away to run a hand through her long, mousey curls. “Do you have any idea how messy this is going to be now that she is involved?”

“I am failing to see why this is such a big deal, Pearl. She was already involved, all I did was make her a little more aware of things.” Grian argued, readjusting his crooked cloak and fixing her with an annoyed look.

“She may have already been involved, but now you’ve brought her closer than she ever needed to be. She’ll either ruin our entire plan or she’ll end up dead.” Pearl said. She had the edge of her thumb in her mouth, teeth tearing at the cuticle as she stared into the distance, deep in thought. Tilly remained hunched at his feet, her ruby red eyes training on him as she growled. Grian eyed both of them wearily.

“Believe it or not, I have no intention of letting Gem die, she has a vital part to play in all of this. It was always part of the plan to inform her of something stirring in the shadows. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you would be so passionate about her involvement.” Grian admitted. “I didn’t realize that the two of you were so…close.”

“We’re not!” She snapped at him, baring her teeth with a snarl. Tilly growled louder and gave him a short bark. Grian had always found it endearing that the old dog mirrored her owner's emotions so much, but he was inclined to like it a little less when she pointed those deadly teeth at him.

“You could have fooled me,” Grian said, raising his eyebrows at her, unamused. “You need to tell me immediately if you have something more going on with the commander than I know off. As far as I remembered, you were just pretending to be on her good side to smuggle information out to us. If that’s changed, you’re a liability and you're out.”

“There is nothing between us. I could care less about her,” Pearl said immediately. There was uncertainty in her voice, doubt in her eyes. There was a kind of guilt lingering in their depths as well. 

“Then why are you so bothered by all of this?” Grian asked, crossing his arms and turning his chin up to her.

“Because! This makes my job so much more difficult.” Pearl snarled before sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers, “I will have to work twice as hard to keep her off of my tail now that she’s going to be looking for suspicious behavior. At the very least, I would have liked a little bit of a warning before you went and pulled a stunt like this. I did not need to be blindsided by the information and hear of it through Gem herself instead of from you, someone I am supposed to trust.”

“So you’ll have to do a little bit more work, you knew what you signed up for with the resistance. It’s not as though she suspects you of anything currently, does she?” Grian stated smugly, spreading his arms out with a smirk.

“No, she doesn’t.” Pearl bit out, a vicious anger dripping from her mouth like froth from the maw of a snarling wolf. Tilly’s lips pulled back as she bared her teeth at him a second time, appearing just moments away from pouncing. He spared the dog barely a glance, knowing with certainty that she wouldn’t attack him.

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” Grian asked dismissively.

“Yes.” She spat, still glaring at him, her hands clenched into fists.

“Great. Now, do you mind letting me do what I came here to do?” He asked somewhat sarcastically before turning and heading inside. Just as he suspected she would, she followed after him despite not needing to, still seething as she did so. 

Pearl whistled and pointed at the ground just outside of the shop's entrance and Tilly obeyed the command, curling up in the dirt with her tail tucked around her old body. The dog’s angry eyes followed Grian until he disappeared from view, her ears flickering with annoyance.

He didn’t blame Pearl for being angry, she had every right to be, after all. He knew that it was foolish to involve Gem without informing her, but giving the commander the warning sooner rather than later had worked in their favour anyway, so it was not as though it was a big deal in the end. The streets may now be filled to the brim with guards that could catch them any moment, which meant they had to be extra careful when traversing the capital, but that made snooping around the castle so much easier!

Gem had tried her best to divide Wintertide’s forces evenly, but there were only so many knights at her disposal, and many of them were not nearly as well trained as he was sure she would like them to be, all of them far too complacent and lazy in wake of the tense peace times. They had already been able to get people inside without anyone being any wiser of it. The move had been an overall positive for the movement.

And, besides, now that he had done it, he was pleased with how Pearl had reacted. He had suspected for quite some time now that the relationship between the two women wasn’t the purely transactional one Pearl tried to make it out to be. He had his suspicions that the younger woman had let herself grow attached somewhere along the way, and this was all the confirmation that he needed to prove just that. 

He would now have to keep a close eye on her, limit how much information she was privy to. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but he would have to make do with it. She was a valuable player in his game, he could not simply drop her like he had threatened to. He was smart enough to realize that he needed her.

The dimly lit inside of the shop was neither small nor spacious. It was the perfect medium size to house the cobbled front counter, rows of shelves against the walls, and barrels upon barrels full of scrap metal and wood, as well as some toy weapons thrown into the mix. Knick knacks of all varieties ranging from clocks to toys and music boxes all lined the hand crafted and well worn shelves.

Birds, dragons, and other flying creatures made of carefully woven precious metals were hanging from thin chains attached to the support frames in the ceiling, their jewel eyes reflecting back the dim light from the lanterns that mixed in with the ornate animals. Pearl had to duck to avoid hitting her head on some of the more low hanging ones. 

Soot and woodchips messied the floors and the counter, showing that the broom leaning against the wall at the entrance was for little more than display. There were a few customers milling about, looking on the shelves and in the barrels for what might fit their fancy, but the people Grian was seeking were nowhere in sight.

However, they were inside no more than a few minutes before a loud bang met their ears and hot air rushed towards them to singe their faces and the tips of their hair as something exploded in the back room, answering the mystery of their whereabouts in an instant.

The door behind the counter was blasted open, banging against the wall with enough force to shake the foundation of the building. Black smoke billowed out of the doorway and customers rushed out of the building with exclamations of panic. Moments later, a tall, spindly man with a mustache stumbled out of the back room coughing up a storm, his red leather apron and the clothes underneath it both thoroughly covered in black grime.

“Oh, Mumbo, when will you learn to not explode your projects?” Grian taunted as he stepped closer to his friend, his lips quirking into a genuine half-smile. The taller man pulled his soot stained goggles up and set them on top of his blown back hair. 

“Grian!” Mumbo exclaimed between coughs before ambling over to the avian and pulling him up into a hug. “We thought you were going to be coming ‘round later than this, mate! Thought I had some time to work on this before you got here.”

“I decided to come a little early.” He replied, patting Mumbo’s back. He was set down back onto his feet just as a man a little shorter than Mumbo stumbled out of the still smoking room, his usually snow white hair turned an ashy grey colour, his own leather apron and green tunic equally covered in muck. His goggles were already pushed up and must have not been covering his eyes when the explosion went off, because even his eyelids were stained black.

“Oh snappers, you’re early, boss. Sorry about the smoke.” Etho said apologetically as he made his way over to a pulley that sat against the right hand wall. He pulled on it, hand over hand, and slowly a hatch opened in the ceiling and the smoke began to clear out.

“It’s no problem.” Grian said, dusting himself off to clear away the bits of soot Mumbo had gotten on him.

Mumbo scanned the room to make sure everyone but them was cleared out before going over to the front door and locking it, waving a hand at them to follow him towards the back door. “Well, let's get to it then.”

“We’re not going to explode, as well, if we go in there, are we?” Pearl jested. Mumbo’s cheeks turned red and Etho laughed.

“No, you should be perfectly safe. It was just a little explosion anyway.” Etho replied.

“Just a little explosion, he says,” Pearl said absently with a roll of her eyes as she followed Mumbo into the back. Grian followed behind them, pulling his hood down as he went. It was pretty hot in the little shop.

Mumbo Jumbo and Etho Lab, one of Grian’s oldest friends and a Wintertide royal knight turned traitor, both of whom just so happened to be two of Grian’s most valuable resistance members. Though Etho’s inside intel has long since become obsolete, and he was now a wanted criminal who was hiding from the law in plain sight, the knowledge on explosives and combat he possessed from his time in the war was invaluable when combined with Mumbo’s keen skill for creating machines and weaponry. The two of them made a hell of a team.

The two men weren’t the most serious people he had ever met. In fact, they were both a bit laid back and goofy most of the time, and that had initially made him hesitant to pair them together in the start, but they always got the job done when push came to shove. That was all that mattered to Grian in the end. 

In the center of the back room was a long, wooden table covered in the scraps of something large, the abused oak scratched up and decorated in scorch marks. Evidently, the scraps were the cause of the mysterious explosion, smoke still coming off of them in black and grey swirls.

There was a stone hearth against the left wall, the dying embers flickering in shades of yellow and orange. Bags and barrels full of who knows what, as well as half finished projects, littered the ground and spilled off of the large shelf that covered the entire back wall.

“Alright then, let's cut right to the chase,” Grian started, “Pearl pawned it off to you two, so where is it?” 

“It’s just over here,” Etho said, walking over to a part of the expansive shelf that was occupied entirely by books. He pulled out a large, black, leather bound book with ornate royal purple detailing on the cover and spine. The front was damaged, the design that was meant to adorn it scratched off, but he knew that it was like that before his resistance member's took possession of the book. It was an intentional defacing that had to have been done centuries ago.

“In the bookcase? A little on the nose, don’t you think?” Grian said, equal parts amused and peeved.

“Well, people would assume we’d hide it, would they not? The bookcase would be the last place they think to look. Hiding in plain sight has worked out for me this far.” Etho said, the corners of his eyes scrunching up in a way that suggested he was smiling as he passed the book off to the avian.

“I can’t argue with that.” Grian barked out a laugh as he pulled the book carefully out of Etho’s grasp, delicately flipping through the aged pages that felt as though they would fall apart if he wasn't careful.

“I’m still not sure what that is or why you made me steal that dusty old thing, but it better have been worth all the effort I put into it. I have a bruise the size of Bigb’s famous cookies on my arsecheek.” Pearl said from where she was standing leant against the center table with her arms crossed.

“I also don’t understand why we had to take it after the fact. It made our jobs that night a lot harder, you know, having to worry about some dusty old book and get our task done at the same time.” Mumbo piped up as he tinkered on a new gadget on the blackened table surface, ignoring the smoking husk.

“This, my dear allies, is a grimoire. A highly valuable one at that.” Grian grinned, a deeply satisfied smiling splitting his face. “And I had Pearl hand it off to you because she is an outsider that close to someone inside of the castle. If they noticed it missing, which they miraculously haven’t as of now, she would be one of their main suspects and it would be found immediately if they searched her belongings. 

“You two, however, are nowhere on the kingdom’s radar outside of being the cause of more than a dozen noise complaints. That’s another reason I waited a few days to come here, so that it would be less likely for anyone to be looking for me, and they would be less likely to trace the book's disappearance to you.”

“So you knew that they would suspect me first and didn’t think to give me a heads up on that either?” Pearl asked, that angry upturn to her lips returning. It disturbed him just a bit how similar she and Tilly looked some of the time. It brought to mind the old magic tales about mages melding their souls together with a beast in order to strengthen their magic. He had no doubt that in another world, the two of them would have gladly joined their souls into one.

“We’ve been over this, you knew it was a risk when you agreed to be a mole. There's no need to be angry about it now.” Grian said, waving his hand at her as he continued to search for the page he was looking for.

“But, wait, a grimoire? As in, for magic?” Etho asked, wringing his gloved hands together nervously.

“Yes, Etho, for magic,” Grian said, raising his eyes to give the man a semi-manic grin.

“What use could you possibly have for that? No one in our ranks knows any magic.” Pearl stated suspiciously. Mumbo gave him a grim, knowing look and notedly avoided his eyes.

“Let’s not worry about that at this moment.” Grian said, snapping the book closed and tucking it away in the waistband of his trousers. “So, tell me, is everything coming along nicely?”

Etho still looked unsure as he shuffled over to the table to stand by Mumbo’s side, and Pearl looked annoyed more than she did angry now, so that was an improvement. Mumbo rubbed his sooty forehead and sighed.

“Everything is going according to plan for the most part,” Mumbo said. Grian waited for the ‘but’ that sat on the tip of the mustached man’s tongue. “The explosives are still unpredictable, though. There's no telling if they will work how we intend. They could cause more damage or less damage than we are anticipating.”

Mumbo gestured towards Etho, who nodded and went back over to the back wall, retrieving a rolled up tube of paper from the uppermost left part of the shelf before coming back and handing them to his partner. Mumbo unrolled the first and spread it out across the table, brushing loose debris and thick soot out of the way to avoid soiling the parchment too badly. 

“And how are we planning to counter that?” Grian asked. He hopped up to hold onto the back of Mumbo’s chair, his talons latching onto the semi-splintered wood as he peered over his shoulder at the map of the castle grounds the other man pulled out.

“In the event that it causes more damage, that will work in our favour, so we don’t have to worry about that too much. If it does less, then we’ve planted a series of explosives here” He pointed to the garden walls, “and here” He traced his finger over towards the far side of the stables.

“These are spots in the wall that we found are exceptionally weak and shouldn’t need as much force as other parts to destroy, so no matter how much damage the blasts cost we’ll be able to break in regardless. They aren’t the most defendable spots within the inner walls, though, and thus are not our first picks for entry points, which is why they've been relegated to back up. “ Etho picked up where Mumbo left off, lazily scratching at the scarred skin at the edge of his empty eye socket as he did so.

“Perfect, good work, you two.” Grian said, eyes scanning over the map and taking in all of the bold Xs that littered the surface, all indicative of explosives they’ve planted inside of the castle walls and beneath the ground where they would be undetectable.

“What of casualties?” Pearl asked suddenly. All three men looked up at her tilted head and pinched expression. “This sounds like a lot of destruction.”

“We hope to end the fighting before the innocents have the chance to get involved. That’s why we’re employing the help of Coral Crest, so that we can overwhelm them quickly and effectively. The explosions also will not touch the castle itself, and they will be set off when the least amount of people are likely to be out and about. That’s why you were asked to observe schedules over the years, we’re going to use that to avoid as many casualties as possible.” Grian soothed. It seemed to quell some of Pearl’s worries as her wrinkled brow smoothed out and she nodded before looking away.

“Have you heard from Cleo lately?” Etho asked to break the sudden tension.

“I have not, no.” Grian admitted, “Have they been trying to contact me?”

Etho nodded, “She needs to talk to you about the sword production, and they had a question for you about arrow tips or something like that. I wasn’t paying much attention, to be honest. We’re all also getting pretty antsy for news about the next group meeting.”

“The next meeting should be within the next few days or by the end of the coming fortnight. I’ll be sure to get into contact with Cleo before that; thank you for informing me of the matter.” Grian said before hopping off the back of Mumbo’s chair and landing on the ground with light feet. “Is that all there is to discuss today? Do any of you have anything to add or ask of me?”

“Just one more thing!” Mambo said before jumping to his feet and rushing over to one of the barrels. He rooted around in it before producing a handful of smoke bombs like the one he had used on Gem the day of the festival. They always made sure to have them stocked up for Grian; they were his favorite playthings.

“Thank you, I had almost forgotten to ask about them.” Grian said, gladly accepting them with a smile.

“No problem, mate.” Mambo replied cheerfully. His eyes were serious, though, as he pulled away from Grian, gaze drifting down to where he had tucked the book away with weariness. Grian met his eyes and smiled. Whether it was a reassuring smile or a dismissive one, who was to say.

With that Grian shook both men’s hands, bidding them warm farewells before he was off, leaving the shop with a promise to be in contact again soon. Pearl and Tilly followed hot on his heels as he traveled through the city before stopping just at the forest's edge.

“You better keep me better informed in the future, Grian. I don’t like being used like that.” Pearl warned. She glared at him over her shoulder, blue eyes appearing almost crimson in the waning light, far too wolf-like for his liking.

“Of course, Pearl.” He said simply. She huffed at him before turning to face forward and stalking back into the city, a growling Tilly at her side as her red cloak swayed from side to side.

He watched her go until she melted into the crowd, a cold feeling burning in his stomach where the book was resting and creeping up towards his throat. Once she was entirely out of sight, he pivoted and made his way into the thickets, wishing he could fly to get home quicker. His talon’s ached from being on them for so long.

As he walked through the forest a second pair of footsteps joined his own nimble ones, crushing the leaves and snapped branches under heavy boots, a cane thudding against the ground in beat with each step. An echoey meow filled the air and Jellie trotted up to walk beside him, her tiny legs moving fast to keep pace as she occasionally rubbed her cold head against his leg.

“Couldn’t wait for me to make it back to the hideout?” Grian asked, tilting his head up and back to meet Scar’s unnaturally green eyes. The man grinned at him, the smile all teeth and sinister, sharp edges.

“Do you finally have it?” Scar asked in place of answering Grian’s question. Grian didn’t answer and instead stopped in the middle of the forest to pull the book free and hold it out to him. Scar snatched it away with overeager hands, pulling Grian off balance in his haste to have the book in his possession. 

Grian huffed and righted himself, crossing his arms. “Are you going to be able to use it? I hope we didn’t cut it too close, getting it to you this late.”

“This is perfect, little bird,” Scar said, running his fingers down the front of the book before snapping his fingers, causing it to disappear with a flourish of pale flames. “If anything, this might have been too soon to snatch it out from under their noses. They are sure to notice it is missing, if they haven’t already… In any case, I’ve long ago mastered the art of quick learning. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me and this little book.”

“Who is to say I was worried?” Grian asked before continuing on his way to the hideout. Jellie meowed at him and he leant down to allow her to hop onto his thin shoulders. Why she liked to perch there was beyond him, but he supposed he could relate to finding a nice perch, as uncomfortable or unconventional as some of them may actually be.

“I can see it written all over your face. Things are progressing so fast after years of slow build up and you’re not used to the pace. You’re worried about the little things and what could go wrong.” Scar said, slinking up next to him, walking with one arm folded behind his back and his torso bent at the waist so that he could meet Grian’s eyes, that infuriating, smug smile pulling his lips up.

“I have nothing to worry about,” Grian said, avoiding Scar’s eyes.

“Oh, but you do, don’t you? Pearl could turn traitor any day-”

“No, she won’t. If Pearl is anything, she’s loyal.” Grian snapped, cutting the other off. Scar stood up straight, his face sarcastically questioning.

“But you aren’t the only one she is loyal to, are you?” Scar asked with an air of faux naivety. Grian stayed silent, knowing the other was right. True as it may be, though, he knew Pearl wouldn’t betray them. She wouldn’t dare to. “And besides, she isn’t the only one you are worried about. The Crestians' also have uncertain loyalties, they could just be using us for their own gain. Not to mention our man on the inside… What has he been up to lately?”

“He’s the last person I’m worried about,” Grian stated, ignoring the taunting words about the people of Coral Crest. He knew they were probably just using the resistance as a means to an end to finally defeat their long-time enemies, but he wasn’t worried about it. They would all fall into the roles he’s picked out for them eventually. “He’s done everything I’ve asked of him with no hesitation. He’s pulling strings behind the scenes as we speak.”

“Humans really are so single minded. Once they’ve set their hearts to something they can see nothing else.” Scar said cryptically as they reached the entrance of the hideout. “I would be more cautious of this fact in the future if you really want this plan to come to fruition.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Grian said, entering the hidden cave, holding onto Jellie’s back to make sure she didn’t fall as he dipped down. 

“You really are the most amusing being I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting in my lifetime.” Scar said, his words tinged with childlike joy.

“And you are the most annoying.” Grian retorted with a huff. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go over these plans before the next meeting. You run along and get to work on learning that spell.”

Before he could move further into the cave, Scar’s hand grabbed his wrist in a tight grip, pulling him back to meet his eyes. Jellie jumped off of his shoulder with a startled cry, circling the two of them while her tail flickered back and forth. Scar maintained that easy smile of his, but there was clear annoyance in his cold eyes, which seemed to shift in colour just the faintest bit.

“You would do well to listen to what others have to say once in a while, you know.” Scar said, deceitfully calm and sweet.

Grian met his eyes with equally cold ones before wrenching his wrist away and stepping back. There was a tense silence in the cramped cave that could be cut with the swipe of a taloned hand. The air felt colder than it had before.

“This plan has both of our interests at heart, it wouldn’t do us well to fight this far into things. Don’t forget what's in it for you,” Grian snapped, straightening his sleeve where it had ridden up at the rough handling. The tense silence lasted a little longer before Scar’s strained smile smoothed out.

“Right, of course. I’ll go ahead and get to work; you do the same.” Scar said, words still sickeningly sweet like a mouthful of sugar.

Grian said nothing more, and neither did Scar, as the taller man continued on into the cave while Grian remained put, the rhythmic sound of his cane tapping on stone slowly getting fainter and fainter.

He gripped his own wrist in the same spot Scar had, the pressure slowly increasing, his nails digging onto the soft skin as he bit into his lip. He couldn’t afford to fall apart and start fights with his most valuable players like this so close to his dreams finally coming true. He wasn’t worried, he wasn’t.

Everything was going to work out fine, he desperately told himself. He would make sure it did.

Things couldn't end up the same way they had all those years ago.

[ryllen]

Sobbing, instead of studying I translated more of doujin page from the same artist, linking 2 more, with (shorter) summary,

this one is about trey who actually acts normal not because he wants normality, but because he feels like he has to be normal (like trauma after getting riddle into trouble), but then jade sense that side of him, and somewhat be like, it's okay not to be normal and it release tensions from trey's shoulders fhsdh when they started dating, trey kept finding himself in trouble that jade brought upon them (schoolmates suddenly wants to get into battle because they have some kind of beef on jade) when cater said, u like normal right? why are u going out with him? trey said, i don't actually dislike it (the trouble) (yea because he is actually not normal)

when azul said, jade why are u going out with trey, he seems too normal? jade be like, no he is not normal at all, trey knows there's someone behind the bench (i hope someone saved them after fshd but then there were ants, ants go for dead bodies, is he ded for real? fshdh BUT WAIT, it was raining, ANTS WON'T COME OUT WHEN IT RAINS, hey! hey!!! AUTHOR!!) but he still gave jade the umbrella calmly in conclusion, TOTES NOT NORMAL! Jade said.

--

this one is about riddle becoming best friend with jade, and their unique relationship also bits of riddle realizing jade has feeling for trey and bits of floyd just started to think he likes riddle, and they all help each other (yippie!)

the writing is also in depth & brilliant, but i especially love page 61-64 where jade gave reasoning to trey not to tied himself forever on the trauma of putting riddle into trouble back then that he deserves to be happy himself when trey said "i wish i can do something for riddle" jade replied "riddle wasn't someone that only you could save." "of course it doesn't have to be me." "riddle is a strong person who can find happiness on his own if given the chance." "please be happy too"

RIGHT AT MY KOKORO.

[haven-gum-rockrose]

Gettingbnostalgic for that one skk au I ha based on the lesbians from that one original story I never finished

Anyway. Have Dazai, the Angel, upset that the partner he now outranks isn't calling him Angel now like his othe subordinates.

Also peep no bandages! This is basically pm dazai

[neversetyoufree]

On a more serious note about Domi and Noé and blood drinking, I do think there's something really interesting with how seeing memories (and the lack thereof) kinda symbolizes the state of genuine understanding and emotional intimacy between them.

The whole thing between Domi and Noé, after all, is that they're best friends. They've known each other since they were little kids, and due to his isolation, Domi seems to be Noé's only true close friend before Vanitas. He tells her everything, and she knows him better than anyone else.

However, despite their closeness, there is a lot of strange tension and miscommunication between them. They're both still hung up on the death of Louis (and what happened between them in the aftermath), but they're trying as hard as they can to act as though they've moved on from him. And there's also, of course, the issue of Domi's crush.

Then, with that backdrop, we have the blood drinking, and the particular way that Noé is drawn to Dominique. To put it in her words, Noé wants Domi's blood "simply because it isn't the first time he's had it." She appeals to him because he wants to drink blood, and he can drink hers without having to look at her memories. More specifically, he's comfortable drinking her blood because he's already done it before, and thus already had a look inside her head.

When Noé bites somebody and sees their memories, it creates a profound amount of intimacy between them. He's able to target what he looks for, like he did with Amelia, but he also has the potential to see every secret somebody has ever kept—every traumatic moment that's defined their life. It gives him the opportunity to truly understand someone in a way that few others ever could. And I think the way he relates this ability to his closest companions is emblematic of his relationships with them.

Vanitas is somebody that interests Noé. A huge driving force of their relationship is Noé's desire to unravel and understand him, even though Vanitas doesn't think he wants that understanding, and their relationship to Noé biting him reflects that. Noé desperately wants to bite Vanitas, but Vani will not let him.

Conversely, with Dominique, I think Noé has been (subconsciously, at least) running from understanding for a long time, and his relationship with drinking her blood reflects that.

On a fundamental level, Noé does not understand Domi. He's utterly oblivious toward her romantic feelings for him, and in his patented "let the problems slide off as though they don't exist" way, he's spent years not processing how fucked her relationship to him and Louis still is. He's been calling himself her dear friend, completely unaware that the person he knows and loves most is suicidal.

But how does he let this happen? How does he go so long by her side without ever looking deeper and catching a glimpse of her many problems? Because it is very easy to avoid understanding someone when you tell yourself that you already know them well. Vanitas begins as a stranger, so Noé has reason to look deeper at and examine him, but it's easy to tell himself that he doesn't have that same reason for Dominique.

He "doesn't need" to seek to understand her because she's already his best friend. He already "understands" her. He doesn't look at her memories because he's already drunk her blood, and thus already been inside her head.

And once again, I'm reminded of why Noé is drawn to Domi's blood in the first place. He's able to bite her without seeing her memories, and in doing so, he's able to avoid a part of himself that he deeply dislikes. His aversion to biting new people isn't just out of respect for others' boundaries, after all, but also out of a deep-seated discomfort with his own status as Archiviste. He always introduces himself with just his first name, and he seems vaguely uncomfortable whenever someone reveals his heritage, let alone when he's called upon to use his abilities. And more than that, we know from his little post-rejection flashback in chapter 23 that he's been directly made to feel strange and deviant as a kid because of his power.

Being made to acknowledge that he's an Archiviste makes Noé feel bad about himself, and so Domi provides him an opportunity to get something he wants (blood) without being made to confront that badness. And I think the overall nature of their relationship, the way he sort of ghosts along her surface without ever looking deeper, functions in much the same way.

If he were to ever truly examine Dominique and his relationship with her, there's a lot that could cause Noé some major distress. We get a good bit of this when Misha reveals that she wishes she'd died instead of Louis, and even though there are other things contributing to his reaction, it's clear that Noé is horrified by that revelation. He hates that someone he cares about feels that way, and if he looks any deeper into her, there's a lot more anguish to come.

After all, I think Noé is yet to come to terms with his own part in the mess of the Noé/Louis/Domi triangle. Because as much as he loves Domi as her own person, and as much as he's horrified by the suggestion he'd prefer her death, I do think there's a part of him that takes her as a substitute for her brother. His flashing to the memory of drinking Louis's blood right before he asks for hers makes it pretty clear that his relationship with Domi is filling a Louis-shaped hole in his life. And there is no way that untangling the mess of "my friend thinks I want to replace her with her dead brother, and I don't, because that's horrible, but I do sometimes see her as a substitute for him" can come without considerable pain.

So once again, the way that Noé approaches Domi's blood is also the way he approaches his relationship with her as a whole. He likes to drink her blood because he can have the physical intimacy (and good-tasting blood) without being forced to confront a part of himself that makes him uncomfortable. He likes his tenuously balanced friendship with her because he can have the benefits of a wonderful best friend without being forced to confront a part of himself (how unhealthy the foundations of their relationship really are) that would cause him great discomfort.

And a lot of this, even most of it, isn't even conscious on Noé's part. He is anything but callous, and I don't think he'd avoid examining a friend's pain to protect his own heart on purpose, but he is also completely unable to confront his own traumas. Anything but the very worst of what happened with Louis, which is simply too big an anguish to ignore, glances off of him like it doesn't exist. So the same mental walls that keep him from noticing when he should be bothered by others' treatment of him also keep him from noticing what's wrong with Dominique, and he continues on in a state of perpetual ignorance.

Noé's unhealthy coping mechanisms keep him from understanding his dearest friend, but in the same way that he can only drink her blood without seeing because he's been drinking it since they were kids, he can only get away with not looking closely at her because they're already best friends.

[shifuaang]

vehemently against NATLA existing 😤 but wildly protective over and incredibly charmed by Gordon, Kiawentiio, and Dallas ❤️

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Well damn, today did not go how I expected

[roobylavender]

i don’t really agree with the idea that ra’s can be swapped out for talia in terms of damian’s upbringing and nothing would change about the story bc he’d be near exactly as abusive as morrison wrote talia to be like.. no.. that’s just misunderstanding ra’s as a character which frankly a lot of people do. ra’s is emotionally abusive but there are still specific patterns to that behavior. he wants the people at his side to genuinely believe in his vision and abide by it and act upon it, it’s far more complex than him being a physically abusive person who would brutally train a child with no remorse or regard for that child’s well being. current canon esp in the last year has led to this belief that talia grew up cold and pressured to take upon the role and be the perfect weapon but she didn’t. she and ra’s were implied to have a relatively fine relationship as she grew up and things only began to shift once bruce entered the picture and became an influence on talia and her loyalties

when the idea of losing talia to bruce began to veer into reality, ra’s became more possessive and insistent in what he wanted talia to do to ensure she would remain on his side. but even then when she ultimately left him for good to move to metropolis the retaliation that ra’s took out wasn’t on her, it was on bruce. he respected her attempts to break out and do something on her own terms, and that’s not to absolve him, i’m simply pointing out how he’s capable of respecting the people he cares about so long as they don’t go directly against him. so when you toy with the idea of ra’s killing damian’s adoptive parents (which is something i believe he would do. they’re an obstacle to his family after all) and thereby choosing to raise him on his own you have to remember that damian is ultimately a child who will possess little to no tangible worldview with respect to what ra’s is preaching (unless his parents are conveniently environmentalists and he’s a genius child which personally is a boring cop out)

so damian is this relatively unexposed kid whose parents suddenly die only for a man to present himself as his grandfather. ra’s pulls the strings to let it all show in the paperwork and damian goes home to one of his bases. and i think the first thing ra’s would do is teach damian about the world. about the way he views it but in the simplest terms understandable to a child. and he would pull damian into this world of scholarship and travel and athleticism not out of cruelty but out of love. bc there is genuine love that ra’s has for bruce and talia even if he eventually abused it. he was overjoyed when they were going to have damian. and he can still be overjoyed and engrossed in the idea of having a grandson to call his own and to teach his philosophy to even if ultimately what he would be doing is projecting his own desires onto damian. he can hope for damian to be the one person in his family who stands by him and understands him and follows him and it can be tragic bc we know his worldview is ultimately wrong and what he’s done isn’t right and damian needs to be rescued asap. but it would all be punctuated by love that would frankly be so much more interesting to explore bc the real crux of ra’s as a character is that he is incredibly proud and lonely and loving in all of the most heartbreaking and potentially unforgivable ways possible. he holds onto people too tightly without understanding why they might want to let go. and there’s no better person to explore the breaking point of that behavior through than a completely unaware damian who ends up on his doorstep and genuinely believes he’s going to live with a grandfather who loves him in all of the right ways. and love him ra’s does. just without telling damian all of the ugly truths it took to get him there

[redstrewn]

Yes to be evil but i hope we cry w how much of a bitch leanders real personality is

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

uh oh the post-psych mood crash

[hazelplaysgames]

i really liked. it's technically still Rolling, off of the wall and onto the basket case. just fun.

oh oh oh, i have an EXCUSE to talk about this now. can you believe the Grizzco brella was actually buffed in 3 from 2? the max damage went from 60 to 80. at 5 shots per second, that's now 400 damage per second! the now buffed Tenta brella, 360 per shot every 51 frames, can peak at 423. G. Brella needs ANOTHER buff in my opinion, the pellets do 15 per, why isn't it 90 instead of 80?

honestly, it's really not a huge lead in the first place, i am exaggerating a bit, but for a Grizzco weapon, i have higher standards.

[zurazakis]

ok ive finished the dlc so now i can properly say my least favourite thing about dragon age awakening is that the women feel like an afterthought & don't fit in the group at all. & i want to care about them & their banter so much. but i really don't because the game is giving me fucking nothing

[goldenlandfiascos]

what about when i go on a huge analysis late night unorganized ramble about Eva Ushiromiya in Prime and post 1986 and her character and my interpretation of the scenes and the immense guilt she feels and the possible unclear memory she has of the one [redacted] event and

[birdmenmanga]

renege when magi started off with spectacular pacing and worldbuilding and digestible and memorable political commentary and then went too abstract and tsubasa reservoir chronicle (derogatory). is anyone else mourning that or just me

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

Bad At Love

short YA romance

a boy who’s recently moved to the US when he joined a popular band through a reality show, and has a bad-boy reputation that he wants to get rid of

and an aspiring journalist who wants to dig up dirt on him to get a scholarship

after a chance encounter, they start dating over the summer for their own goals

demisexual Brazilian and pan Brazilian-American MCs

[wtfforged]

my campaign hiatus has gone on for too long so to cope ive combined my interests at their maximum potency and had some dnd-strawhats thoughts

thoughts in depth under read more... :)!

this is SO self indulgent. their designs literally did not change. but i am a firm believer that dnd doesnt have to be european high fantasy. and also one piece literally IS fantasy. no changes are necessary to fit into dnd. ive already imagined plenty of campaign/oneshot ideas inspired by one piece. so this was basically just an exercise of trying to replicate their canon abilities in dnd 5e as much as possible without totally homebrewing everything. well. aside from luffy. you just cant take away or change his stretching.

LUFFY: (human monk. drunken master subclass. outlander)

the only plain human of the crew to balance out with the fact that he still has rubber powers. obviously a monk. but drunken master subclass specifically because i think the flavor(not the fact that its about being a drunkard) and abilities both fit him really well. this line in the subclass' flavortext especially fits him: "A drunken master often enjoys playing the fool to bring gladness to the despondent or to demonstrate humility to the arrogant, but when battle is joined, the drunken master can be a maddening, masterful foe."

ZORO: (tiefling fighter. samurai subclass. bounty hunter)

a fighter with the samurai subclass is so very incredibly obvious... but i actually had a lot of fun geeking out while comparing the abilities to what he can do in canon; Fighting Spirit, Rapid Strike, and Strength Before Death especially! tiefling is also pretty on the nose for his demon pirate hunter shtick and asura form, but i thought he'd be really human-passing for a tiefling and theorized about his tail getting cut off at some point or another before joining the strawhats. initially wasnt gonna give him a feat, but i gave sanji a feat so i thought itd be unfair to not give him one as well, so sentinel fits the bill pretty well i think!

NAMI: (tabaxi rogue. arcane trickster subclass. criminal)

cat burglar -> full grown literal humanoid cat. this one is INCREDIBLY self indulgent... i love... cats... theres nothing deeper to this and no other reasoning. i took cat burglar and ran with it. can you tell that i love izutsumi dungeon meshi? rogue for the aforementioned burglar-ing as well, and the arcane trickster subclass for when she picks up climatact! the mage hand will be very useful for her pickpocketing. in the future as she levels up with timeskip, i can totally see her multiclassing into wizard as well! weather wizard!

USOPP: (lightfoot halfling artificer. artillerist subclass. urchin)

I HAD SO MUCH FUN THINKING ABOUT HIS CHARACTER SHEET. halfling's Naturally Stealthy ability lets him hide behind his crewmates since theyre (almost) all bigger than him, so its perfect for hiding behind zoro or sanji all the time. Lucky is also perfect for him, and I think Brave fits pretty well too when he puts on the sogeking mask. artillerist artificer is also very fun! tinkering and making magic items for his crew, and i think Eldritch Canon or Arcane Firearm could both be easily reflavored as kabuto or any of his inventions. for emphasizing his sniper-ness, the spell sniper feat was also necessary. i think hes my favorite of all the concepts. big ears and long nose combo is so cute to me.

SANJI: (half-elf monk. drunken master subclass. guild artisan (cook!))

race was mostly based on vibes i wont lie. squints. and that vinsmoke balogna or whatever too ig. but mostly vibes. along with the idea that i think a dwarf zeff raising him would be really funny and cute. monk is also obvious, and same subclass as luffy for mostly the same reasons. though the flavor fits him much less, i think the abilities still fit him perfectly, and this blurb specifically; "Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with the precision of a dancer." i really wanted to give him a different subclass from luffy, but i dislike all the other monk subclasses a lot and i found none of them fit him as well anyways, so to try and give them SOME differences, i gave him the crusher feat.

CHOPPER: (awakened deer(shifter statblock) cleric. life subclass. hermit)

this ones definitely a mouthful im sorry. awakened deer for obvious reasons, but due to magic instead of devil fruit stuff. when i was struggling with his race, i looked a lot at shifter because of his forms, but it occurred to me that itd be super cool if he could shift between all of the different shifter options instead of being stuck with just one to replicate his rumble balls. something like heavy point/guard point=beasthide, horn point/arm point(?maybe?)=longtooth, walk point/jumping point=swiftstride, and brain point=wildhunt. hed definitely need some kind of nerf though to balance out that homebrew... and cleric for class. duh.

ROBIN: (high elf wizard. order of scribes subclass. criminal)

robin is definitely the one i struggled the most with just because of her class. elf came pretty easily- shes very elegant and i think shed look cute with super long ears- and i landed on high elf instead of wood elf for the int-based abilities. i was really on the fence between sorcerer and wizard for her because i knew shed be a full spellcaster, but i didnt feel that any of the subclasses really fit her. i ended up going with wizard for order of the scribes since it focuses on texts and knowing everything. but also because robin with a flying talking sentient book would be crazy cool. it could also be similar to how she spawns mouths and eyes places to talk to or watch people. my "fuck it, why not. this would be rad. its my house" mindset kicked in with her i will admit. also the One with the Word ability made me cackle out loud when i read it. thats the funniest ability ever. anyways, i cant really think of a way to replicate her powers, but maybe we could just reflavor a bunch of spells to be her limbs or clutch; hold person, maximillian's earthen grasp, or evard's black tentacles. thatd probably work okay, and theres a handful of spells to replicate her ability to spawn eyes or mouths. unrelated, but i imagine nico olvia to be a drow. why? her hair is white. i am a simple man!

[lxnarphase]

BITCH, YOU KNOW I'M SEXY ᯓ★

━━ ❝ I'M NOT YOUR MOMMY, N★GGA! FIND A NEW HOBBY, N★GGA! ❞ wc. 5.4k

ᯓ ❤︎₊‧⁺...synopsis : being toji's roommate, you finally snap after another night of not being able to sleep because of his damn late-night hookups. your house, your rules.

ᯓ ❤︎₊‧⁺...cw : blk!fem!reader x f. toji, frenemies to lovers, smut, face-sitting + pussy eating, dumbification, degradation, praise kink, dirty talk, playful arguing, hair pulling, size kink, begging, riding, unprotected sex (do not do this in real life omfg), dom-ish reader, sub-ish toji, lots of pet names, toji being an asshole, toji gets called a 'good boy' a few times

ᯓ ❤︎₊‧⁺...lunar's notes : toji toji toji, what am i going to do with you...anyways, this was super fun and i love these two so much and i need them to go out on a date properly at some point ! if you want to be tagged for the future posts, comment on the main post here ! enjoy baddies ❤︎

you love sleep. absolutely love and cherish it, even.

every night, you follow the routine you set for yourself without fail: hot shower, slipping into some comfy PJs, in-depth skincare, brushing your teeth, and then pulling your bonnet on.

nothing is better than slipping into bed, soft sheets feeling sooo good on your skin. yes, you absolutely love sleep.

except it seems that your roommate has no respect for your need for rest, considering how many times you've had to hear the high-pitched whining of women paired with the annoying thud of the headboard against the wall.

he better not damage the wall either, because he will be the one paying for it.

you both were...sort of friends, sure, but ever since you both graduated college, toji has been doing his best to get on your nerves. constantly picking on you, teasing you, or doing stupid shit that annoys the fuck out of you. especially whenever he leaves the fucking toilet seat up in the middle of the night.

and every time he hears you squeal late at night in the bathroom before shouting his name, he can't help but laugh.

eventually, it went from him just doing things to inconvenience or mess with you to this. and you were tired.

these nightly...activities of his need to be addressed because you are not letting a man of all things be the reason you can't sleep soundly at night. this is your apartment, after all!

it's a friday night and you just know you need to talk to him before you have to hear some woman fighting for her life of toji does...whatever he does that has all these women coming in and out of your apartment like it's a damn brothel...okay, well, it was the same two women, but still!

so that's how you find yourself, pounding on his door, sleepy, tired, and irritated in your hello kitty pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt, ready to get in bed and actually sleep.

"fushiguro, open this damn door," you command, fluffy slipper tapping on the floor as you wait for him to open his door. after a minute, you hear a groan and the shuffling of sheets before the door swings open.

toji stands in the doorway, only in a pair of sweatpants that hang low on his hips with an eyebrow raised as he looks down at you. you don't care how hot he looks, you want nothing more than to wipe that look off his face, hating how smug he looks.

"whaddya want? 's she here already? told 'er not to come for another 2 hours," he mumbles, scratching at the scar on his lip. you're silent for a moment, processing what he just said. "who......no. nononono. absolutely not, tell whoever you are expecting she is not coming into my apartment."

crossing your arms, you fix him with a tough look. sure, you know you aren't the scariest thing, especially in hello kitty pants and puffy slippers, but it doesn't matter! he is going to respect your wishes or...or else!

"aww, what's wrong, doll? can't sleep," he teases, voice low and sinfully smooth as smirk finds its way onto his face. "guess ya should've invested in those headphone y'keep talkin' about so much. can't help that 'm just that good that the girlies can't keep their mouths shut."

having you in front of his bedroom door like this...it's so fucking adorable to him, you were just so cute and didn't have a single clue, did you? complaining that he and his little playthings were too loud and keeping you up was not what he expected. but, toji won't lie, he's genuinely surprised it took you so long to finally say something.

it seems his little comment struck a cord, his smirk getting bigger when your eyes get just a bit wider in disbelief. man, you were so fucking cute like this, all angry and huffy.

"okay, first of all, those headphones are NOT comfy to sleep with at night. and i'm not dropping almost $400 dollars on something so that i can accommodate for you," you argue, stepping forward and jabbing your finger into his stupidly big chest.

no, seriously, why were his pecs almost bigger than your tits?

"can you please just let me sleep for one night, or are you that sex deprived you can't go a single night without getting your dick wet?"

whatever this new side of you was, he liked it.

"aww, sounds like little princess s' mad no one's fuckin' her right. ya not gettin' fucked good, pipsqueak? haven't seen yer boy-toy around lately anyways.

"god, that's—that's none of your fucking business, fushiguro, shut up!"

"make me."

you blink.

a moment passes...and suddenly, your eyes are sharp.

ah...he might've fucked up with those two simple words.

"...you know what? i will, you annoying fuck."

catching toji off guard, you shove him back, taking advantage of him stumbling to walk inside his room as you slam the door shut behind you. a light chuckle escapes him, eyebrows raises. "so, the little kitten does have claws," he says with a grin.

his little roommate seems to have grown a pair of balls. what is she gonna do? hit him with pillows, curse him out, kick him out? pffft, if you kicked him out he would know you needed sleep, you both have been friends for too long...right?

as toji gets slightly worried he might've genuinely crossed a line (a bit too late to realize that, he realizes), you push him onto his bed, standing between his legs.

oh.

oh, he...he likes you from his angle, looking down at him with a little bit of a pout on those pretty full lips of yours as you try soooo hard to look angry and scary. but how can he be scared when his roommate, the one he's been fucking his hand for, looks so fucking cute?

curly hair a bit frizzy and messy (he's surprised you don't have your bonnet on yet), smelling like cocoa butter and that strawberry shortcake body spray that haunts him at night. and now you're in his fucking room. he'd never be able to escape it now.

fuck, every time you came close to him, he just suddenly couldn't process anything except you...he needed to get a grip.

propping himself up on his elbows, toji locks eyes with you, playing off his surprise. "what's gotten into ya, roomie? so aggressive, might have t' call shiu to come get you," he attempts to playfully poke. the tension in the room grows when you start to massage your temples, trying to calm down.

in.

out.

in.

out.

in-

"well, if lack of sleep is gettin' you all huffed up like this, i gotta couple o' ways t' tire ya out if y'need."

"oh my god, y'talk too fucking much," you grumble.

toji opens his mouth, ready to make another smart comment but he's shocked into silence when you tug your pajama pants off. there's no fucking way this is real. toji knows he has to be dreaming and knowing he'd be waking up with a wet spot in his pants if he didn't wake up soon.

and...are you wearing hello kitty boxer briefs too? god, you're such a fucking dork, it's cute and it's only making him harder in his pants.

but all of that is forgotten when you hook your fingers in the waistband of those stupid looking boxers and drag them down those pretty legs and toji gets a glimpse of your cute, pudgy tummy and...and....

fuck.

he doesn't even get a chance to think, he's so fucking hard. you're fucking half naked in his room right now and he can't tear his eyes away from how soft you look, that little patch of hair (is it shaped like a fucking heart? jesus fucking christ, you were serious about making yourself feel pretty everywhere), god, he's so fucked.

"shit. someone's eager. just couldn' wait to-"

"i'm so sick of you," you cut off, pushing him down onto the bed, crawling up his chest. you give him a look, one that he instantly understands and he smirks, giving you a nod before you continue moving until your hips hover over his face.

the smirk melts off his face when he realizes how real this is. your bare pussy is literally mere inches away from his mouth, so close he can practically taste you.

he's not gonna make it out of this alive, is he?

when you see him about to open his mouth to make another stupid comment, you move, pressing your hips down onto his face, shutting him up. "you wanna use your mouth so much, toj? i'll give you somethin' to use it on."

toji's response is just a muffled groan, his eyes fluttering a little. his hands move up to grip your thighs to steady you and also keep you on his face. he hasn't even tasted you, but shit, you smell so good.

wasting no more time, his tongue hungrily darts out, desperate to taste you. the moment he licks over your folds, he's sighing, melting into the bed. you're so soft, so sweet and he hasn't even gotten a taste from the main source. pulling you down onto his face a bit harder, toji finally swipes through your cunt and he's addicted.

"mmh, fuck," he grunts, burying his face as deep as possible. what the actual fuck are you made of, he thinks to himself. you taste so sweet, he's getting so dizzy as he starts to messily lap up all the slick dripping from your pussy. he barely pulls away from you to breathe, taking just a second to part, his hot breath fanning against the wet mess between your legs before he dives right back in, his low groans resonating against your core so nicely.

toji slurps loudly at your cunt, unable to stop himself from rolling his hips up, the friction of his sweats on his cock a sweet relief. he's so sure this is heaven, thanking whatever god there is for making you snap to this point but then you start talking.

you sigh, hips gently rocking against toji's face as your eyes open to look down your body at him. "mmn, 's better," you purr to yourself, little sweet noises of pleasure escaping you as one of your hands runs through his hair, giving him an encouraging little tug.

"should i just give you my pussy every night so you let me sleep, toj," you coo at him, a smug smile on your face. he didn't even notice his eyes slipped shut, but he opens them, flickering up to meet your lidded gaze and see the pride swirling around your eyes.

has his roommate always been like this? toji doesn't remember you being so fucking sexy like this. sure, you've always been attractive, and he's definitely had a thing for you for a while. but never in his life did he think his sweetheart of a friend would be smushing his face into her soft cunt.

his response is a little nod and an increase in his tongue's movements against your sloppy pussy. his lips move to suck right at your puffy clit, and he swears nearly cums when you gasp his name and whine, pulling him even deeper by his hair.

his train of thought is completely destroyed, he can't think of anything but you, can't feel anything but you, can't see, can't smell, can't taste anything but you.

he'd kill a man if it meant being able to taste you like this every fucking day.

"ohh, tojibaby, y'look s' pretty eating my pussy...poor thing, jus' needed something to shut you up for a bit."

scratch that, he'd kill SEVERAL men if it meant hearing you sing praises like that while you grind against his mouth, practically suffocating him with your thighs.

it's addicting, the way slick is gushing out of you each time he kisses your clit before sucking on it, coating his mouth. toji knows he looks a wreck, but he doesn't care, not when he's got you on him like this.

"d'you wanna make me cum, toj?" you ask it so teasingly, tugging his hair again and making him moan. "you're makin' out with my pussy...such a good boy for me."

those two words are his undoing, a visible shift in his energy. his eyes are sharp, and he almost looks angry as he grips your thighs even harder. "yes, fuck, yeah, mama, i wanna make you cum all over my face," he growls, tongue unrelenting when it slips back inside of your cunt, a nasty wet noise filling the air as you keen. he's fucking you with his tongue so messily, like he'll die if he stops tasting you.

good boy. you called him a good boy.

the compliment made something snap in him, the need to devour you whole the only thing on his mind. he's not just a good boy, no, he's your good boy, and the thought of being yours makes a thick bead of precum to drip out of his cock and stain his sweatpants.

he's brought back when you tug his head back to look at you, that thick tongue of his slipping out of you.

"i don't want you bringing anymore fucking women in my house, fushiguro," you warn, glaring down at him. you're serious. if you see another girl come in here at 11pm, you might actually kill this man in his sleep and not in a way he'd like

"i'm so tired of hearing their annoying moans. if you need a pussy to put your stupid dick in, just ask me, you fuckin' idiot." shit, you usually never talk like this, but toji likes this side of you. the usually sweet and kind roommate he was so used to was no where to be seen, replaced with this commanding and no-nonsense woman who knew what she wanted.

he can't even deny, this side of you is such a massive turn on.

"promise you're gonna let me fuckin' sleep n' i'll cum on your pretty mouth, fushiguro. otherwise, i'm getting up and i'll call shiu and see if he wants a taste."

oh, fuck no. no way in hell is toji letting that smug bastard see you like this, best friend or not.

he desperately nods, just wanting you to let go of his hair so he can dive back into your sweet pussy, licking his lips to taste you again.

"promise, mama, no more bringing other women, jus' you, don't need nobody else but you, y'got my word."

"that's my good boy."

once you let go of his hair, toji dives right back to the task at hand like man possessed. his lips press against your clit, kissing it with little wet smacks before sucking it into his mouth. his tongue doesn't give you a break, flicking over it rapidly. your moans, god, your moans are getting so loud and so pretty, his eyes never leaving your face as he watches you get closer and closer.

"c'mon, doll, please," he begs, a whininess in his voice as he massages your thick thighs, encouraging you to ride his face until you cream all over it. "give it t' me, give me what i wan', cum all over my face, baby girl."

feeling how you start to move your hips, a sweet little 't-toji, 'm gonna cum' falling from your lips, his hands grasp your ass as he seals his mouth over your cunt, sucking and licking desperately.

he needs it.

he needs you.

needs you so fucking bad.

feeling him mutter those words against your cunt makes you gasp and choke out his name, thighs squeezing around his head. "oh, fuck, toji, 'm cummin, baby!" your hands are both in his hair as you desperately hump against his mouth, body shaking with the force of your orgasm.

he doesn't stop, he keeps his mouth on you to make sure not a drop of your sweet cum goes to waste. he can feel it spilling out of his mouth, down his chin and neck. it's so messy, just how he likes it.

he watches you, how could he even think to take his eyes off you? you're so pretty, do you even realize how your hair got puffier and messier from your sweating, how a few of those tiny curls got stuck to your skin?

"g-god, fuck, toj, hoohmygod, your mouth 's so good, nngh!"

shit, you're pretty, so fucking pretty, what the fuck? god, you even cum pretty, toji's so fucked. why didn't he get you on his face like this sooner?

feeling your tremors start to subside, toji slows his tongue, switching to little licks and then to soft kisses against your clit, keeping you grounded as you come down from your high. the fact he didn't paint the inside of his sweatpants white is a miracle, but he knows the front is wet and stained.

when he feels you relax, toji guides you off his face and down to sit on his chest. he can't help the twinkle in his eye, grinning at you proudly. the bottom half of his face is a mess, covered in his spit and your slick. you like this look on him.

"has anyone ever told you that you've got t'most addicting pussy ever?"

you huff a laugh, urging him to move up further on the bed until his back rests against the pillows. he was so annoying, and you hated how attractive it made him. “you’re too awake for my liking," you sarcastically huff, giving him a sweet little pout that makes him feel a bit more things than he probably should.

tugging his sweatpants down, you let out a little noise of surprise.

ah.

it all makes sense now. no wonder those girls sounded like they were dying.

"toji, what the actual hell is wrong with you?!"

"don't get mad at me, ma, i didn't magically make my dick this size! i just got lucky!"

"lucky?! girl, this is a curse, how the fuck did those girls fit this thing in them?!"

"they didn't."

that makes you pause. they couldn't get him all the way inside? glancing down at his cock, heavy in your hand, as he helps to get his pants completely off, you're not surprised. but you could take it, right?

...guess you need to find out.

shifting your hips, you move to swipe his cock through your slick pussy, a smug look on your face when he sharply inhales. "i'm gettin' my revenge, pretty boy, for all the sleep you made me lose. 's late, anyways, yeah? don't we need to sleep soon?"

the head of his cock catches onto your entrance, causing you both to sigh in pleasure. this would be a stretch, but you're determined by pure spite from toji and those women keeping you up at night.

while you're teasing him, toji is a breath away from losing his mind. the sight of you taking charge, hair completely fluffy now from the humidity in the room, has his cock pulsing in your soft hand. he's so sure that you're not gonna be able to take it all in. shit, he's wondering if he should stop you, tell you he's gotta prep you first or else it's gonna hurt, but you use your free hand to grab his face, making him look at you as an evil grin breaks out on your face.

"i'm gonna put you t' sleep with my pussy. uhm, something something, call that pussy nyquil," you giggle, slipping the tip of his cock inside of your wet, tight little cunt.

melting, that's the best way toji can describe the feeling of behind inside you, even if it's just the tip. "jesus," he hisses, his hands coming up to grip your hips. you're so hot inside, your tight walls are so snug around him. there's no way this tight cunt of yours is gonna be able to fit him in, there's not fucking way.

despite that, he finds himself guiding you down onto him, trying his hardest not to buck up into you. but the sensation of your soft, gummy walls squeezing him so perfectly is making it so challenging to stay still.

"fuck, mama...shit," he groans, watching as he is sucked into your warm pussy. once you get halfway, he expects you to stop, and that's usually where they all do. he was fine with that, more than fine, because he's never been inside someone so fucking tight.

but then, you raise your hips until just the tip is inside, and with a devious little giggle, you slam your hips down, gasping when you get him in all the way. damn, you realize it was a stupid idea, the stretch making you feel almost sick, but the reaction you get out of toji is worth it.

his head falls back against the headboard, and he whimpers, eyes rolling back into his skull, his lip pulled between his teeth as he tries to relearn how to think.

“i'm gonna make you cum and ‘m gonna fuck you stupid for not letting me sleep, fushiguro.” giving yourself a bit to get used to his size, you slowly started moving, seeing what angle worked best for you.

meg the stallion, i'm gonna make you proud of me, you think with a little smirk before you steady yourself with your hands on his chest and start to bounce your hips, your cute little threat only making his cock throb inside you.

"'m gonna make you regret bein' an asshole to your pretty roommate, pretty boy."

it doesn't take long for it to get messy, for it to get so fucking sloppy and noisy. each time you bring your hips down, the room is filled with a wet smack. you've really made a mess out of him, your sticky wet coating his fat cock and his lap, thick strands of it connecting you to him with each raise of your hips before you bring them right back down.

toji can't breathe, finally tilting his head back up as his eyes are glued to where his cock slips in and out of you. you're taking him, taking all of him into your sticky cunt and, shit, he thinks he might die like this.

"fuck, fuck, mama, c'mon, don' do this t' me, relax, please, fuckin' strangling my cock, oh my god—"

he's whining, it's so cute. who knew you could get toji fushiguro, mr. tough guy, to crumble under you like this so easily? it's so wet and gushy, the sound of your thick body smacking back down on his only making his insides twist in pleasure. he can feel how fucking wet you are, dripping down his cock, down his balls, it's so unfair.

"tojiii, talk t' me," you coo at him, your sweet voice bringing him back. "don't tell me my pussy's making you dumb already, jus' started."

you did, you're literally fucking him dumb, and he doesn't know what to do or what to say, but hearing you say his name like that in-between moans as you bounce your hips up and down his throbbing shaft has his babbling in an instant.

"god, this cunt 's perfect, baby, s' fucking perfect."

“yeah? y’like my pussy, toj? like my pretty cunt creaming on you?” you roll your hips, a pretty moan leaving you when his tip nudges against that soft spot perfectly. “f-fuck, you really are big...poor thing, no one could get it in all the way? am, mh, am i the first t’ take this fat cock t’ the hilt, tojibaby?”

you lean forward, hands moving from his chest to around his neck as you roll your hips, swiveling them in ways that have him gushing precum all over the insides of your cunt. the squelches your cunt makes with each roll is so fucking sinful and so nasty.

"y-yeah, mama, she feels s' good around me, all tight and warm, milking my cock like it's made just for you."

god, you smell so good...he can still smell your perfume and the sweet blueberry scent of your leave-in. you smell so sweet and taste so sweet too, he's so fucking lucky to have you fucking him like this. toji's hands move from your hips to your ass, helping you fuck yourself on his dick, groaning your name.

"god, you're the first to take it all, y'got me so fucking deep in that sloppy lil' cunt that y'can feel me in your stomach."

you giggle between moans, pressing your forehead against his. "y'so cute, toji, such a good boy f' me, yeah? feels so much better knowin' you can just tell me if you need me to put you to sleep, right?"

he groans, nodding as his eyes flutter closed again. "y-yeah, yes, baby, feels s' much better," he admits, breathless as he starts to get close. he can feel you getting tighter, getting wetter, and he'll be damned if he cums before you do.

"aww, listen t' you," you say with a little whine, your dominant mask starting to ebb away as you start to grow weaker and weaker. it's starting to feel good, really good, to the point where you can't think either, and you don't know how much more of this you can do. "m-my pretty boy, my good boy, f-fuckin' me s...s-so good..."

the moment he picks up the whininess in your voice, toji is alert, looking into your eyes to find that the pleasure is finally catching up to you, too. "yeah? yeah, mama? she's feelin' good? fuck, 'm gonna fuckin' fill you up, baby, gotta cream this pretty pussy so deep that she feels it f' days," he grunts, mouth open as he pants against your lips.

they look so pretty, he wonders if you taste like that lip balm you always carry, if your tongue is as sweet as you are, if your plump lips are as soft as they look. the thought of them pressing against his is what breaks him, and he's so embarrassed at the noise he makes before leaning back against the pillows and planting his feet into the mattress.

"i gotta fuck you, gotta fuck you good, 'm sorry, 'm so sorry, baby, promise i'll let you sleep, promise i'll be good for ya, okay? mm, fuck, c'mon, let toji make it better, gonna kiss your cunt with my cock and make it up t' ya."

toji fucks into your hole desperately, groaning at the loud wet plaps of his hips smacking against yours. your moans, god, your moans, they're so pretty, you're so pretty. he can see your tits bouncing against the fabric of the shirt you have on, and he curses, so fucking mad he didn't have you take it off. but he doesn't care, not right now, not when he sees how gorgeous you look.

he's so fucking prideful when he sees how poofed out your hair is, bouncing with each thrust up into you. "y're so fucking pretty, c'mere."

one of his hands grabs you by the back of the head and smushes his lips against yours, hungry as he licks over them before shoving his stupidly thick tongue inside your mouth. the kiss is just as messy as the rest of you, and the pitiful little moan you give has him reeling.

"i-i'm, 'm gonna cum, toj," you whisper against his mouth, nails biting into his shoulders as you do your best to match his pace. you're gonna cum, he's gonna make you cum, you're about to cum all over his fucking dick, jesus christ.

"fuck, you're so hot, so cute, mama, my pretty girl. need ya t' cum, dolly, can y'do that for me? please, baby, cum on me, make a mess s' i can fill you up an' apologize like i promised," he rambles before kissing you again, biting your lip before running his tongue over it.

it's so close, you can taste it. it's so unfair how big his cock is, how you can feel every vein and throb of it inside of you, how you can feel his hot precum smudging all over your velvety walls.

the realization that he's inside you raw has you moaning so sweetly, and your pussy is gripping him for dear life as you dig your nails into his shoulders even more, head falling forward. "t-toji, 'm, 'm gonna—f-fuck!"

you're cumming, you're cumming on him, and it feels so fucking good. you're creaming all over his lap, and your crying and moaning his name so sweetly he feels like he's gonna pass out. "baby, babyyy, no, lemme see, lemme see you cum," he begs, the hand in your hair tilting your head back up and the view he gets has his hips stuttering inside you.

your eyes are unfocused, long lashes wet from tears as you pant and whimper for him, all for him. and when you make eye contact with him, he feels your gummy walls squeeze him so tight.

"oh, fuck, yes, mama, jus' like that. keep cummin' on me, keep goin', 'm so close, gonna cum, gonna cum in this pretty pussy s' fuckin' deep you feel it in your tummy," toji babbles before he's losing himself too, pressing your head against his chest as he fucks into you, savoring your overstimulated cries for him. "'s gonna go deep, so fuckin' deep an' i'm gonna fuckin' eat it outta you, just like y-you fuckin' deserve—!"

with a pathetic sounding groan of your name, he's giving one, two, three, four hard, deep thrusts, moaning as he pumps his thick load into you, feeling your oversensitive pussy milking him dry. "g-good boy, g'fucking boy, tojiii," you whimper, moving from his chest to pepper kisses all over his face, moaning softly as you feel his hot cum coating your walls.

his mind is so blissfully blank that he doesn't even realize he's shaking a little bit from how hard he just came. cooing happily at him, you cup his cheeks, trying to bring him back down to you. "come back t' me tojiiii, don't die on me, roomie!"

still reeling from his insanely intense orgasm, manages a little chuckle, his hand moving from your ass to under your shirt, stroking your back. "'m here, 'm here, promise...i just...shit. ya fuckin' drained me, girly. what the hell are you?"

you laugh, kissing the corner of his mouth before nestling under his chin to catch your breath. "I'm your damn friend who happens to be the roommate you have been tormenting by not letting me sleep, dumbass."

"heh. fair point."

you both stay like this for a bit, just resting a little and trying to catch your breath. except...toji's eyes feel a little heavy, and he feels himself drifting away. "there you goooo," you coo, hand running through his hair. "told ya i'd put you to sleep."

"yeah, yeah, you were right," he grumbles and opens an eye, hand coming up to pinch your cheek. "jus' a lil' nap, okay? we still gotta get you cleaned up. after all, i promised i'd clean my cum outta ya, right?"

"my god, toji, you are nasty."

"but you like ittttt."

you couldn't stop yourself from laughing because, yes, you did. you liked it a lot.

soon, the room falls quiet as toji's breathing falls into rhythm with yours, the rise and fall of his chest steady and slow. his mind is still a bit dazed, and he can't help but get a little flustered as he realizes how badly he's wrapped around your little finger. the thought is only further confirmed when he feels his heart squeeze just a bit when he notices you fell asleep on his chest.

he wraps his arms around you in a gentle embrace, huffing to himself. yeah, so what he was whipped, he finally got you in his arms, so he sees it as a win.

as sleep finally starts to creep up on him, he presses a little kiss to your forehead, leaning back against the pillows and shutting his eyes. just a little nap, and then he'll get you cleaned up and make sure you accept his apology for everything he's put you through.

...he just hopes you won't be too grumpy when you realize you fell asleep without your bonnet on.

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