#GR Raven

[hydraix]

Jekyll with the drip uniform✨

[dark-raven-feathers]

A villain whose entire motive is stealing money to fund their school’s entire art department

[summerlimeismethebrony]

I have experienced aa4 and 5 since starting this AU! Here’s some things related to that!

Apollo and Cassandra

Cass settled as an Asiatic cheetah

Athena and Algirdas

Algis settled as a tufted titmouse

(yes it’s really called that)

Also: Kay as Simon’s new detective! I have thoughts on this!

I have a whole story arc planned for how Kay settled and decided to become a detective, and Simon needs a new one after… y’know.

Their gimmicks are complimentary, there’s a post talking about it here: x, and I think they’d have a fun dynamic.

Also I like them both a lot and want them to hang out. They deserve it. And I may have gotten attached to their ship. Go read A Study into the Relations between Raptors and Corvids. It rules

Kay’s Corbett is an American bobtail (domestic cat), and Simon’s Ermengarde is a green tree python

[yeoslattes]

How We Live In Tokyo

Genre: Smut, TFATF: Tokyo Drift AU!

Word Count: 5.8k

Pairings: street racer Matz!Hwa x street racer fem! reader

Summary: You were notoriously once known as the drift princess, but now you're Hwa's girl. In attempt to reclaim your title, you race, pissing off Seonghwa in the process. You are also Hwa's number one cheerleader.

Warnings: Hwa comes off as a meanie during certain parts, VERY minimal description of reader, Hongjoong openly flirts with reader (his bffs girl...), Hwa confesses, possessive Hwa, weed use, high sex, manhandling, ruined orgasm, oral m+f receiving, eating it through the panties..., lots of spit, spanking, mentions of Hongjoong fucking you by Hwa, Hwa is low-key into it, choking, just rough asf, reader cries during sex, deepthroating, creampie (unprotected sex asf), use of sir like once, basically Seonghwa fucks you stupid, very minimal subspace by reader, aftercare

A/N: She's here, for my first smut after a while it's not too shabby. I'm an over thinker so I kept reviewing and editing just making sure I was happy with the final product. Also I based the reader's car off Suki's pink car in 2003 movie, just cause I thought it'd be perfect for her. I hope you guys enjoy this Hwa as much as I did!

“Ready! Set! GO!” You swing the red cloth in your hand down, the cars beside you rev noisily. Smoke from the tire burnout goes up in the air engulfing you in a heavy cloud, and just like that the first racers of tonight were off. This was one of your favorite parts of the night life in Tokyo, the races. You never intended to become a car girl, but after a couple flings here and there got you into nighttime racing, the rush and thrill it brought you was simply euphoric. The crowd cheers loudly, flip phones out recording and taking pictures, you jump in the air waving your hands cheering over the loud music and screams. 

While everyone was focused on the race at hand your eyes scanned the scenery for the only man that mattered to you, however he was nowhere in sight. You walked over to your pink Supra S2000 and leaned against the door. Your manicured hand ran over the sleek paint, you smiled at how smooth the finish felt beneath your fingertips. This car was your baby, everything was thought out and hand picked. Rolling around in a ride like your own had never made you feel anything less than superior. You were also Hwa’s girl and that in itself said enough. 

As if manifested by thought, the loud exhaust causes heads to turn, the familiar midnight blue body and chrome accents on the 350Z were unmistakable. Your eyes lingered on the white lettered decal spelling ‘MATZ’ on the upper windshield, you smirked slightly as he pulled up next to you. People cheered when Hwa stepped out, clad in a long fur coat and a muscle tee underneath, he looked delectable. Despite the layers, the large letters in black ink decorating his neck were perfectly on display. 

He greets his racing partner Hongjoong and the notorious KQ Fellaz who had also built an impeccable reputation amongst the Tokyo racing scene. He smiles at you as soon as he spots you. The glimmer of his grills catch the fluorescent lights of the crowded parking garage. “Hey.” He grumbles lowly in your ear, pulling you into him and pressing a searing kiss on your glossy lips. He looked down at you, long strands of raven black hair falling over his eyes. “You look good babe.” He compliments, long fingers coming up to tap on the hoops that were slightly hidden behind the layers of your hair. You smiled up at him, your legs suddenly feeling like jelly under his stare. 

The arm wrapped around your shoulder drops as he turns around to look at the S2000 you were resting your weight on. He walks around it, a singular hand running over the paint. He lifts the hood up, whistling when he sees the engine, “V8 is looking good babe.” He closes the hood after admiring, “Thanks, can’t wait to take her out on a spin tonight.” At your words Hwa’s face drops, his small grin being replaced by a disapproving expression. “Not tonight baby.” You huff in annoyance, see before you and Hwa had gotten together, you were one of the best female racers in this particular part of Tokyo. Every Friday night you’d come out to the streets and race against other girls and even guys. More often than not you’d end up winning. Slowly, you built up a reputation for yourself, even earning the nickname ‘drift princess’ in the process. But that was before Hwa came in and dethroned all the top racers and drifters, ending your streak as well. Eventually, you fell for him, and while he looked stoic and rude on the outside he was a sweetie behind closed doors. His charm was all you needed to become enthralled in him, needless to say you became his princess; you were Hwa’s girl as everyone knew. You ate that title up every single time, however, the singular con about being his one and only was that in fear of you getting hurt, Seonghwa didn’t let you race anymore, not against the good ones at least. He’d always let you go against the newbies, those who were still getting the hang of the Tokyo streets and drifts. 

“Seonghwa.” You begin in a begging tone, but he put his ring clad hand up, silencing you. You rolled your eyes, brooding against the Barbie pink car that was begging for a race. You watched as he went back to where Hongjoong stood conversing in a group.

A frown replaces the big smile you had just minutes ago.

You look around, hoping to find someone that’d wanna take you up on a race, even if Seonghwa had said no. Majority of the seasoned drivers were men, and due to their fragile egos, they wouldn’t dare race against you in fear that you might actually beat them and they’d never be able to live it down. 

You huff in annoyance, and pull your car door open, slipping into the pink leather seats. Your mini skirt is short enough that you feel the cool leather against the plumpness of your ass. You shake your own tan fur coat off, flipping your long hair over your shoulder to give your moistened skin some air. Rummaging through your glove compartment filled with body spray and lipgloss, you pull out a roll of bubble gum, shoving a fat piece in your mouth.

As you reapply gloss and fix your hair in the mirror a female voice catches your attention, “hey,” you looked up at your friend who was polishing the car door just a few minutes ago. She nods in the direction of Matz.

Your eyes turn into slivers when you see 2 girls chatting with Seonghwa and Hongjoong. Hongjoong has his arm around the slimmer girl, he gives her a cheshire cat like smile and you could almost see her swoon, but that’s not who you were worried about. Seonghwa, is leaning against his car, arms crossed, talking to the girl in front of him. Her dainty hand comes up to touch the fur sleeve of his coat, she says something with a big smile that causes Hwa to cackle loudly. She wears a low cut halter top and a mini skirt slightly longer than yours, but the expanse of her legs made it look like a belt around her waist. 

You rolled your eyes and stepped out of the car. You walk over to them, a big smile adorning your face, “hey baby.” You say in a sultry voice, your hand comes up Hwa’s arm and you proceed, “Who’s our new friend?” You turn to look at her, popping the pink bubble gum in your mouth. 

You can audibly hear Hwa sigh, he leans into your ear so only you can hear, “play nice.” He whispers, his cold hand resting against the warm skin of your waist. You continue to look at her, and she smirks, “who are you?” You chuckle loudly at her words, catching the attention of the people that were around. Seonghwa lets out an airy laugh looking back at Hongjoong as if to say ‘are you seeing this right now’ to which his best friend just raises his eyebrows and chuckles, fully invested in the face off. “I’m his girlfriend. Who are you?” People are starting to gather around, you step closer to her and feel Hwa’s hand squeeze your side as a warning but you ignore him. There’s a look of realization in her eyes and her face relaxes, “ahh,” she starts, “you must be the so-called drift princess.” Her faux friendly expression drops into a stoic one, “Where I’m from there are no nicknames. You’re either good or absolute shit.” She spits. 

Your heart hammers in your chest but you ignore it, “Is that a threat? Cause I bet you I can give you a run for your money.” At this point you’re so close to her you can see the glitter lining the underside of her eye. “If I lose, I’ll leave but if I win…” She pauses momentarily, looking behind you at Seonghwa, who stands arms crossed against his car, a serious look adorning his pretty features. He hated where this was going. “If I win I’ll have him.” You chuckle and so does Hwa, making the girl in front of you cock an eyebrow up in confusion at his reaction. “I hope you pick something else.” You say shifting your weight from one leg to the other. Her eyes wander to your right, “oof didn’t think the puppy had a designated owner but that’s fine. I’ll take your car.” People around you gasp and ‘ooh’ at her request. When you tongue your cheek, she feigns a pout knowing she’d hit the spot. “Deal, see you in 10.” She whips around and walks off somewhere. 

Before you can take a step, Seonghwa grabs your arm tightly, spinning you around to face him. “You must be out of your fucking mind. You bet off the car you’ve worked so fucking hard on?” He scoffs, his tongue pressed against his cheek in annoyance, “you’re fucking unbelievable.” He groans, your arms cross at your chest, resting underneath your tits, causing Seonghwa to glance down for a split second. “Oh but if it was you it’d make it okay?” You leave him with his words in his mouth, walking away before he even got the chance to get a syllable out.

Hongjoong laughs loudly at your attitude and Seonghwa’s distress, he slaps his friends back in amusement. “She’s giving you a run for your money huh Hwa?” He says. The annoyed man shoots his blonde friend a glare, resting his hands on his hips he throws his head back and huffs out a breath. 

You stand on standby waiting to get the okay from your girls as they check your car before the race. Your teeth toy with your bottom lip, nervousness settling in your tummy.

You hop in your ride and turn it on, the loud engine causing people to whistle. You might’ve been old to the game but the pre race jitters were very much real. Your opponent on the other hand seemed relaxed. Your hands are clammy on the wheel but with deep breaths you manage to bring the bile rising up your throat down. Hwa stands front row and you can see him through your windshield, he stares at you before whispering something to Yunho who was part of the KQ Fellaz. The tall and slender man draws his eyes to you as Seonghwa is in his ear, and he nods agreeing with whatever your boyfriend was saying. Hwa finishes and stands still in his spot, his jaw ticks, clearly upset at what was about to happen in just mere seconds. 

A girl in low rise jeans and a skimpy top comes between both cars, your foot presses on the gas, your car sputtering loudly. “Ready! Set! GO!” The pretty girl lifts her hand up and just like that your foot slams onto the pedal. You feel it before you see it as you zoom down the spacious garage. With your opponent already a couple feet ahead of you, your heart hammers in your chest, body running on pure adrenaline.

A tight turn is up ahead and you maneuver the wheel and use the e-brake to perfectly drift around until you’re heading straight again. She on the other hand turns slightly too wide slowing her down by a couple of seconds allowing you to zoom past her. The girl is hot on your ass but you keep her at bay not allowing her to get the upper hand. Her pretty face contorts in frustration as she struggles to make any moves. 

This is when you start to relax and it’s like you had never stopped racing. Your mind becomes so aware of your surroundings and what you were feeling. From the way your new wheels felt smooth on the cement, to the low vibrations shaking through you; this was euphoria. 

Your eyebrows knit together in pure concentration as you accelerate. You hit another tight turn, performing the drift that many struggled with effortlessly. Right before the parking garage ramp that spirals upward into the main street, you keep going straight. With a heavy foot you press on the gas, giving it all you got, you can see the exit of the garage and the final drift that everyone always anticipated. 

As you neared it you turned the wheel and pulled on the e-brake, successfully drifting up the ramp till you made it out, the hoard of people eagerly waiting. At the sight of the pink lights adorning the underside of your car, Seonghwa relaxes. You had fucking done it. Your wheels skid loudly as you slow down to park your car.

People high five you and jump on the hood celebrating what had basically been your comeback after so long. You hopped out the car, pulling your slutty skirt down and jumping on Hwa. His hands wrap around your waist, stuffing his face into your neck, taking in your sweet perfume. “Good job baby.” He whispers in that deep voice of his. “You’re so fucking hot you know that?” He says pulling you into a sloppy kiss. The girl who had raced you parks her car and hops out storming over to you. “That wasn’t fair.” She argues, “you are either good or absolute shit.” You shrug, reciting her words back to her. She grits her teeth and storms off, disappearing into the mass of people. You feign a pout and roll your eyes. As people start to head back down into the garage, Seonghwa pulls you into him. “Bad girl.” His words shoot straight to your pussy, a heat wave rolling over your body.

Another Friday rolls around, it'd been precisely one week since you won your first race back. It was already 11 PM but the streets of Tokyo were calling your name. Tonight’s outfit consisted of a low rise pleated miniskirt and a long sleeve crop top. You looked in the mirror, enjoying how your belly button jewelry dangled and glimmered under the warm lights of your room. Tonight would be special since Matz had gotten challenged by two random guys who wanted to claim territory. If there was one thing you loved to do on a night that Hwa would be racing was look pretty and sit like a good girl in the passenger seat of his car while he raced. I’ll be there soon baby, you sent Hwa a message through your pink flip phone hoping that he wouldn’t be too distracted to read it. 

Singular strands of your hair stick to your glossy lips as you cruise down the somewhat empty roads, the wind blows through your hair and you sing along quietly to the Nelly Furtado CD Hwa had gifted you. It wasn’t long before you were pulling up into the infamous garage. If there were alot of people last Friday, they had tripled today, of course just for Matz. You pulled into the spot next to Hwa, your loud exhaust catching his attention. He went from talking with Hongjoong to looking at you. He smiled at your car, still not over how perfectly the pink decked out car suited you. 

You killed the engine and hopped out, already feeling the eyes running over the expanse of your body, Hongjoong and Hwa included. If there was one thing about Hongjoong was that he did not care. Yes, Seonghwa was his best buddy, but he made sure to let Seonghwa know just how delectable you were with no shame. Still, in other ways he was respectful of his best friend’s relationship but he loved to take peeks anytime he could. 

You walk over to your boyfriend who instead of the iconic big fur coat wore baggy cargos and a muscle tee, his arms on full display. “Hey baby.” You say pressing a kiss on his cheek, you smile at the slight residue of your lips on his cheek. He grabs your chin and kisses you, you try to pull back but the suffocating grip on your face keeps you in place. His tongue toys with yours, and he sucks your bottom lip into his mouth before letting go with a final bite. When you pull away he grins at your flushed face and how he had basically eaten all the lip gloss off. 

“Hey Hongjoong.” You pant loudly, greeting the other man who had seen the entire exchange in front of him, he nods his head up at you, “drift princess has made a comeback huh?” He teases, you nod sheepishly. “Maybe next time you’ll take me up on a race?” You ask with big eyes and he smiles, “is that a challenge?” He asks, cocking his brow up, “of course.” He lets out an airy laugh, “that’s if Hwa lets you.” He teases, before walking towards his car. You turn to look back at Hwa who’s grip has tightened around you.

“Hongjoong is up first. Are you gonna be a good girl and cheer for him baby?” Seonghwa says leaning down so you could hear him. You nod and clap excitedly when you see Hongjoong’s car by the start line. As soon as Hongjoong takes off you and Seonghwa run towards the finish line, you both wait, watching through the small flip phone screens as people document the race. You cheer loudly when you notice Hongjoong’s car is ahead. In no time he is skidding up the ramp, drifting into the big pit. He had won! Hwa claps and whistles loudly at his partner's success, now it was up to him to win the second one to maintain the best of the best title. 

You follow your boyfriend down to the garage and hop into the 350Z, you inhale the fresh car scent mixed with his cologne. “Ready baby?” You ask him, he grips your hand and kisses it, “always.” 

Hongjoong peers in through the passenger side window, you buckle in as he talks to his best friend, paying no mind to what they were discussing. When he finishes he taps the edge of the window and sends you his infamous cheeky smile and a wink. 

You sit quietly, sucking in a breath and getting ready for the ride. Hwa exits the garage, and that’s when it becomes too real. One thing about Seonghwa was that he always preferred racing in the streets rather than the garage that almost every race took place in. You place a hand over your chest, feeling your blood pumping muscle thrumming beneath your fingers. At the sound of you sucking in another sharp breath Seonghwa turns his gaze to you. “Scared?” He asks, a teasing smirk playing at his lips. You purse your lips swallowing thickly, nodding. “It’s usually more dangerous Hwa, I hate when you do this.” You say, voice barely above a whisper. 

“Dangerous…” He scoffs, “That’s what I said last week when you raced and you still went against my word. So, sit, look pretty and hold on tight or get the fuck out.” He had gotten you there, regardless, there was no way to ever argue with Park Seonghwa. So, you shut your mouth up and look down at your fiddling hands.

The starter is another girl, she swings her bra up in the air and when it drops Seonghwa takes off. The g-force alone pulls you back into the seat, your hands grip the door handle and your seat, ironically your fear only grew. He hollers loudly already having a great advantage to his opponent, your body turns with the car as he drifts. You stared at his pretty features, his perfect skin and long nose bridge accompanied by his pink and plump lips. He’s too busy looking for the guy through his mirrors to really pay attention to anything else, the air blows violently into the car, your hair a mess now. The longer you sit in the car, the more you start to relax, the cool breeze in your face relieving your anxiety. 

Seonghwa startles you when he grumbles loudly, he hits the steering wheel out of frustration, his opponent had passed him. You weren’t too familiar with the path Hwa was taking, perhaps racing here once or twice before and if you remembered correctly he was more than halfway done. 

“Hold on!” He yells, he presses the red button beneath his thumb, immediately you are pulled back from the sudden acceleration. His 350Z zoomed by the guy in the other car and already you could see where the finish line was. Hwa keeps the man at bay as he rides his ass. As if it were clockwork the crowd of people disperse to make room for the infamous Park Seonghwa. He crosses the threshold into the pit of people, the car coming to a noisy stop. He cheers and you cheer along with him “I fucking love you.” He yells, you feel everything go in slow motion at that moment, the faces of the people cheering him on outside become a blur, it almost felt like you had ascended. “W-what?” you say in confusion, “I fucking love you. I am in love with you.” He says, smiling widely at you. 

Like a tradition, people hit the roof and hood of the car congratulating him on another victory. He pulls you into a heated kiss and when you pull away you lean into his ear. “I love you too Hwa.” He hops out of the car and you follow suit, instantly, he wraps his arms around you and lifts you up. Hongjoong comes up and gives him a hug, “we are still the best of the fucking best.” Hwa’s best friend yells.

The rest of the night you had spent velcroed to Seonghwa’s side, celebrating the win and watching other races go on. By 2am you were ready to call it a night. That's when Hwa pulls you aside, “wanna spend the night?” He asks tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. You nod eagerly, “we can get high and do whatever we want.” He whispers only for you to hear. His hands softly caress yours. “I’ll see you there baby.”

The drive to Matz’s garage is about 10 minutes, you pull in and park in the spot Seonghwa had reserved for just you.

The garage was Seonghwa’s and Hongjoong’s working space, it was scattered with car parts as well as half built vehicles. You stepped out of your pink mobile and headed up the metal stairs, your boots stomping loudly, sending vibrations up the railing. Hwa stands at the door and lets you in.

You stepped into the warm apartment, fully expecting Hongjoong to be there but instead it's quiet. “Where’s Joong?” You wonder, not wanting to impose on his personal space and most definitely not wanting him there if you and Hwa got to it. “Found some girl at the race tonight so he won’t be here.” 

As always Hwa hands you an oversized shirt, it was a routine any time you stayed at his. Given that your clothes weren’t always the most comfortable, he’d always have an oversized tee on deck just for you. You strip in front of him, already feeling his gaze burning holes into your supple skin. You sigh gleefully at the feeling of the tight clothes being off your body. 

Seonghwa sparks the blunt, his slender fingers bring it up to his lips, he takes a long drag and hands it to you. “I don’t know if I should.” You say quietly, weed just wasn’t your thing like it was Hwa’s. “It’s indica this time baby. You’re here with me, it’ll be okay.” You take the burning blunt from him and raise it up to your lips, praying that you wouldn’t end up panicking like the first time you had smoked with him. Your eyes close softly, as the smoke rushes into your lungs, affecting all your senses.

You hold the smoke in for a couple seconds, handing it back to your lover. Seonghwa takes 2 long hits, relaxing into the couch you two were on. Your eyes linger on  him, you could see his eyes drooping slightly from the marijuana. His limbs are loosely splayed on the couch, blunt hanging loosely between his pointer and thumb. Without much thought you reach for the burning plant and take another hit, that was enough to have you feeling like you were melting into the couch. You didn’t know how, but Hwa always managed to finish the blunt, this time was no different. 

“I’m pretty high right now.” He mumbles thoughtlessly slouching down even further. As the minutes tick by you feel yourself get more and more intoxicated. You felt tingles run up and down your arms and legs and your eyes felt heavy. Seonghwa drapes his fluffy blanket over the both of you when he notices your body starting to shiver. Normally, you’d be freaking out but for some reason you felt fine, just high. Seonghwa lays his head on your lap, eyes on the TV. You looked down at him watching his eyes slowly blink as he focused on Finding Nemo. The chills had subsided, if anything you felt warm now, even warmer as you felt Hwa’s hand trailing up and down your bare thigh. 

He grins slightly when he feels your thighs twitch beneath him. He kept this up for what felt like ages, never getting close to where you really needed him. Seonghwa shifts down, the full weight of his head now resting on your left thigh. You lean your head back on the couch when he runs his hand between your legs this time. He fully reaches your hot heat. “H-Hwa…” You whimper weakly, you pout when he looks up at you. He sits up, one leg pulled in and the other one resting on the floor. He presses his lips against yours, his hands gripping your face. Nothing was neat about the kiss, it was filled with hunger and lust. His spit coats your chin now and you moan when his tongue snakes between your parted lips. He roughly pulls you onto his lap, large hands going directly to rest on your ass. You pulled away momentarily, to mumble a quick “I love you Hwa.” He pauses his actions, fingers brushing messy hair strands away from your face, “I love you too baby.”

Seonghwa grunts when you grind down forcefully on him, he pushes you off him roughly, and drags you into his room. You bask in his sheets, his scent completely engulfing you, you felt like you were drowning in him. “Been wanting to fuck you ever since I saw you in that stupid slutty outfit of yours.” He tugs his shirt off you. Immediately his lips latch onto one of your buds while his free hand toys with your other tit. You felt like you were floating and in a way he felt so far yet so close. All your senses were on overdrive thanks to the weed. “Seonghwa please.” His hands wrap around the back of your knees to flip you onto your belly, 

His hand comes down heavy on your plush ass. Hwa smiles sinisterly at the red hand print forming, he feels himself twitch in his pants. He delivers a couple more slaps, “don’t think I have forgotten how you’ve been flirting with Hongjoong.” You lift your head up to protest but he shoves you back down and you let out a yelp. “What a slut. My best friend? Really?” He grits out as he works on the button of his pants.

You can’t push down the tears that sting your eyes, despite his words you knew he knew you’d only ever pick him, he just wanted to pick on you. 

You rest tummy down one cheek pressed against the mattress, “Hongjoongie keeps messing wi-.” You’re cut off by Hwa’s hand landing on your already abused skin. “Don’t try to make it his fault.” He grits, leaning his torso to get closer to your ear, “but honestly if I was him I’d wanna wreck you too.” A wave of arousal crashes over your body, shooting straight south. 

 Hwa pauses, watching the way your thighs pressed together. You sniffle, tears rolling freely now out of frustration. “Are you fucking crying?” Seonghwa says brushing your hair away from your eyes. He scoffs, “no way you’re fucking crying.” Seonghwa clicks his tongue in disapproval.

“It’s okay baby, maybe one day I’ll feel nice and let him fuck you too. Would you like that?” He teases, flipping you back onto your back. You shake your head ‘no’. He spreads your legs open and toys with your sensitive bud that your panties outline. “No? Because you’re soaked right now.” Without slipping the dampened undergarment  off he leans down and flattens his tongue against your cunt, soiling the fabric even further with his spit. 

Hwa works his long tongue languidly against you making you writhe in his grasp. “H-hwa.” You moan attempting to shove your hips against his face. The grip he has around your thighs prevents you from doing so. He presses harder against you and loosens his grip allowing you to fuck yourself on his pretty face. You groan, involuntarily grinding against him desperately trying to chase your high. “Cum baby cum.” He sounds muffled, the weed heightening every sensation has you teetering on the brink of your orgasm rather quickly. Right before you fall over the edge he pulls away; waves of what could've been your orgasm roll through you but fade as quickly as they came leaving you unsatisfied. 

You groan in annoyance, tears pooling in your eyes yet again. “You’re leaking from both ends now, that’s new.” Seonghwa says as he cups your chin, he leans down so his droopy eyes are directly in front of your teary ones. “There's no reason to cry so stop before I give a reason to.” His words make the tears actually roll down your face this time and he grins at the sight.

He flips you back onto your belly, “all fours baby.” As high as you were, you did your best to move into the requested position, your limbs moving slowly due to your impaired motor skills. He pulls your underwear down, sniffling slightly. You can feel his cockhead prodding at your sopping hole, you whine, wiggling your hips back against him. His large hands come to your shoulder blades to hold you down while he pushes in. You gasp at the intrusion, the stretch so delicious you squirm back to get more. “Stay still.” he grumbles annoyingly. He fucks into you hard, his hips being unforgiven against the globes of your ass. You keep shifting to which Seonghwa stops and places a hand on your lower back to deepen your arch. “Don’t move.” He keeps you there, his thrusts are deep and forceful, hitting that spongy spot deliciously. 

Your mouth is agape but there’s no sound coming out. “God- fuck Hwa,” you pant, tongue lolling out of your mouth and your eyes rolling back to your skull. “Feels good huh baby” He grunts, his own pants and groans filling the room, “so fucking perfect- you’re perfect.” He whines desperately, rutting into your wet pussy, you fight for air, your gasps sounding high pitched every time you sucked in air. 

He pulls out, “Get up quickly.” He commands, grabbing you by the arm, he manhandles you on your knees. “Open.” Your mouth drops open, tongue out ready for whatever he had to give you. Seonghwa wastes no time shoving his cock down your throat. You relax as much as you can, spit pooling in your mouth and falling onto your chest in thick ropes. Through the slits of your eyes you can see Seonghwa looking down on you with heavy eyes, the ‘Matz’ scribbled across his neck stretching beautifully as he throws his head back. Spit bubbles at the corners of your mouth and he grabs your head and shoves his dick desperately as far as he could until you are fighting to pull away.

You push back, resting your ass on your heels, fighting to catch your breath. “Good fucking girl baby. Cmon get up so I can’t fuck my load into you.” Hwa says, slightly out of breath. You lay back on the bed, hips hanging slightly off the bed, he slips right back in. Your spit mixed with your wetness, allows his cock to enter your walls smoothly. Your back arches off the bed as he fucks you hard, his hands push down on your waist once more to pin you down. 

The fat head of his cock hits your spot again. Everything feels far away now, but your orgasm is fast approaching. “You’re fucked d-dumb aren’t you. Does my dick do that to you?” He asks, his tongue running over his pink lips, “look at you can’t even fucking answer me.” Seonghwa’s hand wraps around your throat tightly while his free one toys with your clit, stimulating you to the brink of your orgasm, a couple more strokes and your legs begin quaking on his shoulders, “Fuck Hwa, sir too muc- I can’t.” You cry out, bringing your arms that suddenly feel so heavy to push him off but instead he wraps his hands around your wrists and presses them into the bed, “it’s o-okay baby. I’m almost there.” Sweat drops are now falling on you. He slows down his thrusts, he grinds himself into your cervix that sends him over the edge. His hips still and he groans loudly emptying his load into you. You whine, weakly trying to get him off, but still relishing in your postorgasmic bliss. He pulls out watching the way you weakly curl into yourself, his spunk seeping out of you and he can't help but smirk. 

“Don’t float away from me yet baby.” He says tapping your cheek. He slips the same shirt you had on earlier over your head and wipes you down. Slipping on some sweats and an old shirt he tucks himself in bed with you. Your eyes are now closed, the cloudiness of your high slowly dissipating but still, you felt exhausted. You slowly blinked, now realizing that Hwa had turned off the lights and you sleepily admired the way the neon purple lights from the signs outside illuminated the room.

“Hwa?” You ask into the darkness. “Hm?” He responds, not moving from his spot, “I might’ve agreed to another race next weekend.” You say sheepishly, he rolls his eyes in the dark, and you can feel the disappointment and annoyance radiating off him, “you’re in big trouble.”

[marvelobsessed134]

can you write a hot smut of current day Nikki

Where the reader is Tommy Lee's daughter

And she has a crush on Nikki

She keeps trying to find a way to get with Nikki without Tommy knowing about it

One day Nikki comes over to visit Tommy

The reader and Nikki eyeing each other when Tommy isn't looking

Nikki ends up staying the night when Tommy goes out on a date with Brittany

The reader and Nikki go up to the bedroom and get it on

Sneaking around

Pairings: Current!Nikki Sixx x Fem!reader

A/n: random note I feel like Brittany would be such a fun step mom lol

Warnings: smut, age gap (reader is 22 and Nikki is 63), daddy kink, rough sex, squirting, and I think that’s it let me know if I missed anything.

Summary: you try to find ways to get with your dads best friend.

Nikki Sixx.

That’s who you’ve always had a crush on. Your dads best friend. He’s so much older than you, but so much wiser. And he’s so sexy. The way he plays his bass gets you going.

But he’s your dads best friend. It’s forbidden. However you’re always trying to find ways to get with him. Unfortunately it hasn’t been successful since the only time Nikki’s around is when he’s hanging around your dad or step mom.

Like today, where he came over to talk about the tour the bands going to be embarking on. You’re sitting in the living room with the tv off as you purposefully eavesdrop on their conversation. You just love the sound of the bassist’s voice. Then, you got thirsty so you walked into the kitchen/dining room where Tommy and Nikki were talking.

You went into the kitchen to get a glass of water and looked over at Nikki. Your dad was distracted by a TikTok-ever the man child (in a good way of course)-the raven haired man was looking at you. You didn’t miss the way his dark green eyes looked you up and down. You were only wearing shorts and tight tank top. But he looks away as soon as the drummer looks up from his phone.

~time skip~

Nikki decides to stay the night and keep you company while Tommy and Brittany go on a date. They won’t be back till the morning doing god knows what.

So, you find yourself sitting on the couch next to Nikki watching a random action movie that you don’t even know what’s going on because you’re too busy thinking about the fact that you’re alone with the bassist.

Suddenly you felt his calloused fingers on your thigh before slowly moving upwards. You stiffened, not knowing what to do now that you’re in this situation. Nikki leaned in to whisper in your ear, “Finally I’ve got you all alone.”

You shivered at that, your pussy throbbing. You could feel him breathing down your neck, causing goosebumps to arise. “Tell me you want this too. Tell me you want this as much as I do.” The older man rasped.

You gulped and said a meek little, “Yes.” And so, he grabbed your face and kissed you passionately. You turned towards him and wrapped your arms around his neck as his large hands went to your waist.

“Mmm lay down babygirl.” You did as he said, pulled your shirt off in the process revealing the fact you weren’t wearing a bra. He immediately went to massage your breasts, being absolutely entranced by them.

“Fuck baby.” He twister a nipple between his fingers. You let out a soft sigh as you arched your back. The bassist slid his hands down your torso before reaching your shorts and unbuttoning them, slowly pulling down the zipper.

After he pulled them off, he noticed the very obvious wet patch on your panties. He smirked. It was a dangerous look, especially paired with his black hair and goatee, and the dark look in his eyes. It made you a little nervous. But all that went away when he started kissing the inside of your thighs and slowly pulling down your underwear.

Blowing his hot breath onto your pussy, making your brain short circuit.

“I know what you want baby. What do we say?” His tone was teasing.

“Please. Please daddy.” And fuck if that didn’t turn him on…

He dived in and ate you out like he was a starving animal. You gripped his hair as you cried and moaned, squirming when he started sucking on your clit.

“Oh!!!!” You screamed. The pleasure was overwhelming and you felt like you were about to pass out. Nikki continued his assault before you squirted all over his face.

“Holy fuck!” He shouted. You gasped as you tried to regain your breath.

You tugged on his shirt and he pulled it over his head revealing his beautifully tattooed torso. Fuck, all of his tattoos are hot.

You ran your hands over them as he unbuckled his belt. Then the older man lined his cock up to your entrance and pushed into you tight, wet hole.

“Mmm Nikki…” you moaned, clutching onto his shoulders.

“That’s not my name baby.”

“Daddy.” You corrected yourself and he rewarded you by a kiss on the lips. Then he began to thrust into you with a such force that if you weren’t holding onto him for dear life you’d have fallen off the couch.

“Good girl.” The bassist groaned. The two of you were moaning like crazy.

“Fuck, what would your parents think if they saw this. If they saw their sweet daughter getting pounded by her dads best friend like the slut she is.” Nikki yelled.

“I-I don’t know- ah!” You squealed in pleasure when you clenched around him and squirted around his cock once again.

Suddenly Nikki pulled out of you and jerked himself till he finished on your stomach.

He flopped onto the couch and said, “Come on, let’s get in the shower for round two.”

[staylovesmiley]

request 👉👈: Han as a pirate crew member falls in love with The captain's (Chans) younger sister(also a crew member,doctor of the ship)and how they sneak around chan to see eachother, tooth rotting fluff

(please)

author’s note; I really hope I did your request justice~ I know you said tooth rotting fluff but I couldn’t help but thrown in some angst near the end with this prompt hehe-

If you want to be tagged in any future skz reqs or reqs of other groups I write for pls see here

ᯓᡣ𐭩Pairing; Han Jisung x Female!Reader

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ᯓᡣ𐭩Warnings; fluff, angst, reader is Chan’s little sister, implied sexual relationship between reader and Han, fluff could have been more tooth rotting pls forgive me-, threats of s*icide (kind of? Putting this here just in case), illness, and murderous Chan oops-

Neither of them had intended for things to end up like this, but neither could be truly saddened by the out either.

It started as just him being clumsy, the raven haired man often ending up in the little room she used to treat the crew of various injuries and ailments.

Y/n, ever the diligent doctor, though she only achieved the title since the man she was under apprenticeship with had fallen ill himself and succumb to the sickness while they were still at sea. Her brother wasn’t so fond of the idea of putting her in a position where she was at risk of the same fate treating the sick constantly, but she had insisted that this was her way of being able to contribute more to the crew and after weeks of pleading with the captain he finally allowed it.

Ah yes, Captain Bang’s little sister. She had joined the crew along with her brother under the previous captain’s charge as they were orphans. When the old man finally kicked the bucket and handed over the title to the young Christopher Bang, he had half a mind to drop his beloved little sister off at a convent where she would be safe away from the life of pirating they had always known, but upon seeing her tearful eyes at the thought of being separated from him he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

She was the only woman on board, and the first thing the young captain would tell anyone who set foot on his ship was that she was off limits. No one was to make a pass at her, one lingering glance and your eyes would be gouged out he would say with a smirk that let you think he was merely teasing though the look in his eyes said he was serious.

Han Jisung had no intentions of falling for her, though he had always found her beauty to rival that of the finest jewels, he knew better than to enter those waters under the heavily watchful eye of her older brother, his captain.

But one day after he had cut his palm something nasty while helping out in the kitchens he had been escorted to where the young maiden did her duties. She had welcomed him in with a smile like sunshine and a voice so soft it felt like he was dreaming. Gentle hands worked on his wounds carefully as she kept up small talk to distract the pirate.

It wasn’t the first time he would find himself being tended to by her delicate hands, he was just so clumsy after all.

From a sprained ankle or wrist to splinters or even a mild concussion at one point, y/n took care of it all with a warm smile and gentle care as to not harm him any further.

“You know, I’m beginning to think you just want an excuse to come and see me.” She teased one evening after the crew had all gone to sleep and the raven haired man ended up knocking on the door to her private quarters with a mild case of sea sickness. “Would that…would it be so wrong of me to admit that it could be the case?” He spoke just above a whisper as she looked through a trunk for something to soothe his sore stomach.

Her hands froze on the bottle of tonic. “Is that so?” She said softly, slowly moving back over to the young pirate with the bottle after a moment to regain her composure and attempt to mask the glee she felt at his confession. “And if it is?” His eyes locked with hers, hand moving to grip her wrist lightly where she held the bottle up to his lips. “A-A sip of this should help calm your-“ before she could finish her instructions, Jisung had moved the tonic away and brought his free hand to cup her cheek gently.

“H-Han we can’t-“ she spoke softly, eyes wide as she knew how protective her brother could be. “Just once, please y/n…just one kiss is all I ask.” Her resolve withered rapidly as soft brown eyes gazed deeply into her own, filled with desire and longing she had never witnessed before but had always craved. Silently she nodded in acceptance, letting him pull her to him slowly until their lips brushed against each other softly.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the contact, though it was barely there, and she took the initiative to close the rest of the distance and press her lips to his firmly. It was a bit clumsy, laced with inexperience as neither party had ever shared a kiss with anyone before, but it didn’t stop the butterflies that erupted in either of their chests as her hands found their way to play with the hairs at the back of his neck and his fell to rest gently on her waist.

Once they pulled away for air, a silent promise was muttered that they would never speak of this to another soul, and that was how it began.

It continued just the same, mysterious ailments and injuries plaguing the young crew mate and causing him to have to visit the young physician often. Because of his clumsy and over exaggerated nature no one seemed to be the wiser to the truth of their meetings.

That was until one afternoon while working in the kitchen, first mate Lee Minho happened to slip and land awfully on his hip causing it to pop out of place. He limped his way to y/n’s little office on the ship, stubbornly refusing the help of the crew to get there and when he pushed open the door he was glad it was only he who was there to witness what was behind it.

There, on the cot she laid underneath one of the crew, someone he considered closest to him, Han Jisung. The two of them had pulled away from each other at the sound but it was obvious by the way his shirt was untucked and the first few buttons on her blouse were undone what the situation had been.

Y/n sat up so quickly she almost bumped heads with the man on top of her, the both of them scrambling away from each other and frantically trying to explain away what he had witnessed. “Save it, I saw nothing here. Now, miss y/n, please assist me in getting my hip back into place?” Minho closed the door behind him, moving to lean against the small desk in the room as both Jisung and Y/n looked from the intruder to each other. “Well- I don’t have all day and I’m in an awful lot of pain standing here.”

As if snapped back to reality she went into action, helping her brother’s first mate get his joints sorted before giving him something for the pain. “Please get some rest, Minho.” She spoke softly, giving him an anxious smile. “I will, and you need to learn to be more careful…had it been anyone else that walked through that door and this would have been a different story.” With wide eyes the couple nodded in understanding and Han moved to help the elder crew mate out of the office and back to the bunk room below.

They continued like that for months, meeting now under the security of moonlight while the rest of the ship was deep in slumber, the pair would lay together in her private quarters on the other side of the ship from the captain and crew. As the pale light shown through the single window down onto their naked forms, Jisung would trace slow shapes on her skin as they spoke of what life could be like if they didn’t have to hide their love. Jisung always made sure to leave just before she drifted asleep, whispering apologies and how he wished he could stay till morning but unless they wanted to be found out he needed to return below deck to the rest of the crew before they woke for the morning chores.

Just as autumn began, a chill settling in the salty sea air, the crew began to fall ill one by one. A fever would settle into their bones and though most recovered after a week or so of care and rest, there were few fatalities among them that had those fortunate enough to not fall ill hoping and praying that it wouldn’t be them next.

Y/n was in her office, taking stock of her supplies as she heard the door swing open and yet another sick crew mate dropped onto the cot in the corner of the room. As she stood to make her way over and examine the pirate, her movements froze upon seeing the identity of her newest patient. Her lover, Han Jisung, lay clammy and shivering on the cot and her hand flew to cover her mouth with a gasp.

Minho and another crew mate, Seo Changbin, had brought him there and while Changbin regarded her reaction curiously, Minho sent her a look that told her she had better compose herself and do her job. Y/n quickly covered the lower part of her face with her handkerchief and tied it into place before getting to work.

She had Minho boil a pot of water and once it was brought to her she worked to calm the chills that wracked the body in front of her, administering some of the medicine that had seemed to help those of the crew who had recovered. Working late into the night, y/n tried her dammdest to bring Jisung’s fever down but to no avail.

As the days went on and he didn’t seem to be getting any better, Captain Bang found his sister waiting for him in his cabin on morning with fear and desperation evident in her expression. “Brother, please…can we dock at the nearest town so that I can find him a doctor- a real doctor, please.” She begged, clutching onto his forearm tightly as she looked into his eyes with her own full of sadness he hadn’t seen there since when he had threatened to separate from her all those years ago.

Shaking his head, he was firm in his decision. “You know I can’t do that, y/n. That town isn’t very keen on pirates and we are likely to be captured the second we are within their waters.” Tears brimmed in her eyes as she continued to plead with the captain, suspicion beginning to rise in her brother at the rate of her desperation.

“Over the course of this illness you haven’t once begged for the life of another crew mate like this. Pray tell, what is so special about Han Jisung?” He tone was taunting and cold, his dismissive demeanor causing desperation and fear for the wellbeing of her lover to boil into anger and frustration at being disregarded by her older brother. “We have a strong crew still, if he is to perish then we will mourn him but it is just the way of our life.” With a wave of his hand he motioned for her to leave and drop the subject and the motion seemed to snap something within her.

“His life be meaningless to you but he is all I hold dear in this world, brother- please.” This seemed to pique his interest and he turned to face her once again. “Y/n what are you saying…” With a new set determination and anger coursing through her she stood her ground. “Christopher I am telling you that I love him.”

The captain only let out a dark chuckle, shaking his head. “So the rumors I have heard are true, is that we’re he has been sneaking off to in the evenings? Several crew members have reported him absent at bunk checks several nights now…he’s been going to meet with you, hasn’t he?” Taking a deep breath, now seeing the rage in her brothers eyes at the blatant disregard for the rules he had set in place as captain, she regretted admitting her feelings to him.

“If this is true then he’d better pray the illness takes him before I can get my hands on him.” He said lowly while staring towards the door as if his gaze could pierce through the wood and across the ship to set the sick man ablaze in the bed he rest in. “Christopher please- I’m a grown woman. I know you care for me but if you wish to show me that you will spare him.”

Christopher only shook his head, grabbing one of his pistols from his desk before making his way to the door. “Better to put him out of his misery now and spare anyone else from catching his fever.” Y/n eyes widened and she began pulling frantically at her brothers arms and coat. “Christopher please! Please don’t do this-“ fresh tears sprang to her eyes as she used all the strength she could muster to stop him. “If you end his life I- I will go overboard. I’d rather be without life than without my beloved!” Her screams halted him where his hand pulled at the door.

At the realization that she was serious, seeing the fire burning in her eyes he sighed, running his free hand through his curly dark brown hair before going to set his pistol back on his desk. “I can’t dock at the next town, I’m sorry. You’ll have to pray he makes it through without.”

Nodding, y/n would accept this now if it was only a small victory to spare the life of the one she held dear from certain death as now it was all she could control before making her way back to the office to check on his condition.

It was a long week of praying and working throughout the night to keep his fever under control but all the lack of sleep she received during was made worth it when the fever finally broke and Jisung recovered well, as if the secret of their love was what was holding him back from healing, plaguing the both of their souls and preventing treatment from being effective.

As he fully regained consciousness, y/n explained to him what had happened, tears rolling down her cheeks as she recalled how terrifying her brother had been in that moment and how horribly she had feared for his life.

“Hey, y/n, my love….it’s over, I’m not going anywhere.” His soft, heart shaped smile seemed to calm her instantly and she quickly launched herself at the pirate causing laughter to erupt from his chest as he held onto her tightly. “I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you…” she mumbled into his chest as she clung to him tightly, as if he would disappear should she let go. “Like I said…I’m not going anywhere.”

[ferigrieving]

kiss me (until my lips fall off).

⊹ ࣪ ˖ kiss me until my lips fall off / kiss me until i start to rot

⤷ masterlist ; requests open

your copy of dracula was well worn. its cover had irreparable water damage, peeling in the corners, and a concerning amount of tabs sticking out of its side. it was well worn, post-it notes on every other page, and indecipherable annotations crammed in every open space. 

tokoyami had looked at you like you were holding a bomb when you had handed him the book, convinced that the manuscript for the original was in your hands with the state it was in.

now he found himself at his desk, pouring over the book, while you lounged on his bed, idly flipping through a FRUiTS magazine.

“have you seen my quill, love?” the boy across from you inquired, rummaging through his drawers to no avail. 

“mm. i ate it, sorry.” you giggled, rolling over and placing the magazine back where it belongs.

he raised a brow at you. “haha. real funny.” he huffed, continuing looking through his drawers, mumbling something about always replacing things. 

rolling your eyes, you reached under the bed and rummaged around, pulling out one of the many things you had hidden a multitude of his things. with the tip of your wing, you dropped it in front of him, not without a light shove to the shoulder.

with a click of his beak, he thanked you, turning and dipping it into his near-empty inkwell. you made a mental note to buy a new one when you went out.

you watched tokoyami with amusement as he meticulously flipped through the pages of your battered book, careful not to rip or tear anything, as if that would make any difference. his furrowed brow and intense focus were a stark contrast to how you laid on his bed, borderline falling asleep. 

you had read thru this issue more times than you could count, and you decided watching him struggle with the book was more than enough to keep you entertained.

as fought to decipher what exactly was going on in your annotations, you couldn't help but admire the way his silhouette was illuminated by the soft glow of his many candles. 

the room felt cosy, and you figured it would only seem that way to the two of you, and maybe that one bird pro-hero you had forgotten the name of. his bed resembled that exactly of a bird’s nest, except it was made with pillows, stolen stuffed animals, and layers and layers of comforters.

feathers were jammed between each and every pillow, ranging in size and colour, but most were that of either his, or yours, a result of being too lazy to clean them up after moulting. in the corners of the bed, stuffed animals of various shapes and sizes were nestled, the only pop of colour in the entire room. among them were different birds of prey, but a majority were either ravens, or crows, meticulously arranged as if they were guarding the two of you as you slept.

“hey,” he started. “have you read wuthering heights?”

tokoyami knew the answer. of course he did. he had watched you attempt to read it during lunch, and put it down after ten pages. you had told him that you didnt have the brain capacity right for it at the moment. he never saw you pick it up again.

“...yeah.”

“you have not. otherwise you would have rambled about it in excruciating detail by now.” he tapped his quill against the table, huffing. “i was thinking we could go to the library to check another book like it. one that takes less brain power, of course.”

“on a date? how sweet.” you grinned, sitting up and tucking your knees to your chest.

“i suppose it is.” he quipped, standing up and making his way over to you. “you’ve been laying in bed all day, love. my legs are going numb.”

he tucked into bed beside you, laying his head on your lap and playing with the tips of your feathers. “do i now?” you wrap your wings around his body in some sort of makeshift cocoon, making up for the blanket you were hogging.

you loved these moments of affection between you two. you pressed a kiss on his forehead, and he responded with a grumble, pressing his face into your stomach. tokoyami lay there with you for a solid ten minutes before glancing at the clock.

“love,” he sighed.” “we should probably get dressed, lest we wish to not make it to the library before it closes.”

“that means i’d have to get up!” 

“a horrific possibility.” he hummed.” “we could always go tomorrow, if you are feeling lazy.” he stood up, stretching and ruffling his feathers. “however, we both know that neither of us will be awake before noon tomorrow, so lets just go now, okay?”

you pout, removing your wings as some sort of punishment as you turn away from him.

he raised a brow. “what an injustice. i offer to go on a date with you, and you refuse to get out of bed. im going to have to resort to violence it seems.

in one swift move, he pinned you down on his bed, an indistinguishable smile on his face. “i suppose ill have to drag you to the library.”

“nooo…!” you whined, thrashing playfully.

he giggled, kissing the side of your jaw. “oh, dont be so overdramatic, dear. its just a couple of books, and perhaps some food afterwards. is that so bad?” he gave you another kiss, and another, and another, until your whole face was tingly from the feeling of his beak against your skin.

“are ya’ gonna treat me to dinner, fumi’?”

“thats not even a question, of course i will, my love. now come on, we have a library to go to.” he hummed, pulling you up along side him. “lets get dressed, then we can go on our date.” hopping to his feet, he opened his closet, sorting through until he found something suitable.

“love, where is my vest?”

you looked away from him, buttoning up your dress shirt as you pointedly ignore the vest wrapped around your body.

he smiled, chuckling as he nudged you in the stomach. “where did you even find that?” without waiting for a response, he grabbed one of your vests that you had left in his room the day prior and pulled it on over his band tee.

you’re wearing borderline the exact same outfit, as always. “so, are you ready?”

he grabbed his keys off his desk, and shoved them in his pocket. without saying another word, he pulled you out of bed once more, and began to tug you out the door. “lets go, my darling.”

tokoyami, pulling you down the street, thumb rubbing over the back of your palm. “do you wanna fly, my love?” you grinned.

with one large flap of your wings  you propelled yourself up into the air with tokoyami in your grasp. he could fly too, and you often launched him into the air after you like some sort of rocket launcher. the sight of the city below you two was always breathtaking. you could never get tired from seeing the world so high up.

tokoyami, of course, was holding onto you for dear life. flying was all fun and games right up until the moment when it wasnt.

this time, he held on tight, the wind whipping through his feather, his face buried in your neck. all he could smell was the strawberry of your perfume. he was content like this, holding onto you for his life, as the two of you approached the library.

as you landed, pulling him onto the ground with you, tokoyami’s knees wobbled. he clutched your shoulder for dear life, not trusting in his body to stay upright and not embarrass him.

“you’re  a nightmare, love. i swear, one of these days–” he started, walking through the library entrance after you. “one of these days, what? “

he glanced away, muttering something about ‘one of these days im going to have a stroke.” 

he let go of your hand for the first time since leaving, and led you through the shelved. he paused occasionally, skimming his fingers over the dust jackets. “you never did tell me what you were looking for.” he commented idly.

“anything but wuthering heights, maybe a little life. i heard shoji talk about it over lunch.”

he chuckled, running his fingers over a shelf dedicated to fantasy. “of course you’d pick one of the most depressing books to read over spring break. you’re such a romantic.”

“love you too, fumi’.”

he shook his head, a small smile on his face. “i love you too, dearest.”

he finally stopped at the gothic lit section, and you watched his eyes light up. tokoyami walked  along the section, examining each book. he pulled a few books from the shelf, and began flipping through one. “the picture of dorian grey. i’ve been meaning to pick this up.

he flipped through a few more, and added another few books to the ever growing stack he and dark shadow held. the bird was not pleased about it, and cawed something about ‘children’s books’.

you rolled your eyes, and took some of the books from the bird, placing them gently in the basket you held. tokoyami had something of a frown on his face, trying to take the books back from you. “i can carry them just fine myself, love.”

“yeah, but then you wont be able to get more, dumbass.”

he stared at you in shock, placing his hand over his chest in mock hurt. “how rude. is this how you show your love for me? calling me names?”

“blah blah blah, i dont wanna fuckin’ here it, fumi’!” you grin, taking a seat at one of the many tables littered around the library. tokoyami set his books down at the table, and crossed his arms. he stepped behind you, wrapping his arms around you and placing a kiss on your neck. his head rested on your shoulder. tokoyami seemed unwilling to let you go, and you weren’t inclined to fight him.

“i love you, evem if you dont listen to me. and take my books. and call me names.”

“i love you too, bird brain. now, lets go check out, yeah?”

tokoyami grumbled something unintelligible underneath his breath, but nodded anyways. he released his hands from your waist slowly, and grabbed the cart of books. 

“did you forget your card again..?”

he scoffed as you led him towards the front desk, placing the books down at the counter. “me? never.” tokoyami reached into his pocket, averting his gaze when he realised he had in fact, forgotten his card.

“i swear you do this deliberately.” you commented from beside him, already pulling out your card.”

“i dont, i promise!” he defended himself, feathers bristling at the accusation.

“yeah, yeah. whatever man.” you roll your eyes and scan all the books, handing it back to your boyfriend to place in his tote bag.

he grumbled, mock offended. “i know, im horrible. im the worst.” tokoyami waited impatiently as you sorted through the books. he was beginning to become restless, rocking back and forth on his heels, dark shadow whining and tugging on your wings.

“mhm, sure. is there anythin’ else you wanna do while we’re out, fumi’?” you hummed, holding the door open for him as he left. the sun had set, casting the buildings across from you in bright hues of orange. “anything but fly home.” tokoyami huffed, purposefully stepping on your toes. 

“can’t make any promises, love.”

“ah, you’re a horrible person.”

“love you too.”

keeping your silent promise, you walked through the streets of musutafu, one hand on your tote bag, and the other intertwined with your boyfriend’s. he had awfully cold hands for a warm blooded animal. you were planning on beelining straight to the dorms and curling up in tokoyami’s room to read, but god forbid you dont get a sweet treat when you can.

you found yourself in front of an array of pastries, all catching your eye in their own unique way. you werent particularly picky when it game to baked goods, as long as it was good. asking your boyfriend was no help either, he was like an eightball with only two answers. “i have no idea,” and “whatever looks good to you, my love.”

“just a dozen brownies, please, ma’am?” you smiled, placing the yen on the tray and taking the box gently. you watched tokoyami reach into his pocket to presumably pay, but it was clear that he not only had forgotten his library card, but his whole wallet.

he took your hand once more outside of the local cafe you had just visited, dark shadow opening the box of brownies and shoving them in his beak. “so good,” he mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate.”

“stop talking when you have food in your mouth, weirdo!” you smacked him with your wings playfully, sticking your tongue out at him in fake disgust.

he rolled his eyes, waving a brownie in your face. “you want one, darling?”

“well, i was saving those for when we got back home, but someone decided to get a head start. not gonna name names though.”

“stop complaining ! i know for a fact you want one.”

“i do! but if– if i eat them now, i wont have any later..” you pouted, taking the brownie and placing it back in the box neatly.

“seriously, love. i cant believe youre passing up an opportunity to eat something sweet.” he tutted, taking the brownie he had offered to you and swallowing it whole. “what kind of monster are you?”

“a terrible, terrible, one, that only an aspiring pro-hero can tame…”

he stood up on his tip-toes, bumping his beak against your cheek in a ‘kiss’. “unfortunately, i have come to love this dreaded monster.”

you find yourself close to the dorms, and without warning, you pick tokoyami up like a sack of potatoes and launch yourself up into the air, giggling as you shot through his window and landed in a heap on his bedroom floor.

as always, tokoyami was not particularly fond of your behaviour. he was muttering something along the lines of ‘god, kill me now.’ and ‘why did i even agree to this relationship.’ 

after a few minutes, he sat up, and gave his best attempt at a scowl as you could get with a face like his. “do you derive some form of sick, twisted delight by doing that?”

“...a little.”

he sighed and shook his head. he knew better to argue by now. all that mattered were that the brownies were in one piece. he got to his feet, dusting himself off before offering a hand to help you up. “the things i do for love.”

“aww, you love me? how sweet.” you crooned, placing your hands together and twirling him around.

“of course i love you, dear.” he said, taking your hand and lifting up to his beak, pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles.. “its horrible.”

tokoyami tugs you closer, slinging his arms around your waist and pulling you down onto the rug. he placed another kiss on your forehead, “absolutely horrible.”

he sighed, burying his head in the crook of your neck. “why did i ever agree to date you? i was so normal before you, y’know.”

“youre literally like the least normal person i know, fumikage.”

he gave you a pointed look, “and you think youre normal, dear? youre anything but normal. youre… insane.”

“hey. i never said anythin’ about myself now.” you hummed, feeling yourself become drowsy from how comfortable it was laying in each others arms. it was oddly comfortable on your boyfriend’s floor. “i think… ill just fall asleep here. forget the books.” you felt yourself get lifted up by the waist, getting hauled over to tokoyami’s bed and flopping you down like a ragdoll. “we can start the book later, my love.” he shifted around a little, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you close.

it was quiet, for a moment, a comfortable silence you’d grown to love. 

“dear?”

“yes, love?”

“...stay here?” tokoyami inquired, voice barely above a whisper. you mumbled an ‘mhm.’ against his neck, he was so warm.

you were fighting a battle against sleep and loosing. “read to me, fumi’.” you murmured.

you felt him nod, moving your wings out of the way to reach over to his desk and grab your copy of dracula. he flipped through the pages once more, searching for the handmade bookmark you had given to him on valentine’s day. his voice was soft, the monotonous hum lulling you into a deeper sleep.

not even five minutes had past before he felt your wings go limp, and when he looked up from his book, he found you passed out on his lap, a bit of drool seeping our your mouth. gross.

he gently closed the book and put it back where it belonged, and rolled over, wrapping his arms around you once more. 

in nothing but the soft glow of the moonlight, tokoyami watched as you drifted off into a peaceful sleep, breathing steady and serene. with a smile, he leaned down to brush a stray locke of hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear gently. 

carefully, he adjusted his position, making sure not to ruffle your feathers as he held you close. your warmth was intoxicating. he felt like he couldnt get enough of you.

with a contented sigh, he closed his eyes, allowing himself tosuccumb to the soothing rhythm of your breathing, knowing as long as you were by his side, he was exactly where he belonged.

[mrsshabana]

𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

꒦꒷‧₊ Summary You've been anxious to see the vampire again after that first night. And when he comes, you learn just how binding your pact with him is. Your life will never be the same. ꒦꒷‧₊ Content Gyutaro x female!reader, modern au, vampires, blood, violence, corpses, biting ꒦꒷‧₊ Note 1.6k words

✧:･ﾟ→ Chapter One

Each shift after your encounter with the vampire was filled with anxiety. You would come in to work, hoping you wouldn’t see him but knowing that it was inevitable. Each day that passed without seeing him your anxiety grew more and more. Would he come today? Would he come tomorrow? 

Well today was your lucky day, because there he is. As soon as you walk into the examination room you see the vampire curiously examining your tools. Scalpels, knives, bone saws, siphons. He looks up at you through his lashes, vibrant red orbs glaring at you. 

He looks a lot different than before. Though still dead so to speak, his skin still pale and lifeless but he looks a lot healthier than before. Not so skinny and emaciated, he actually looks muscular under the black hoodie he’s wearing. 

“Why do you look so surprised?” he growls, “You should have been expecting me.”

“I-I was um,” you stutter and put your things down at the desk, “I didn’t know which day you’d come.”

“Hm,” he hums, walking around the room. Eyeing you up and down. 

“I never got your name,” your voice quivers as you attempt to make casual conversation in this not so casual situation. 

“Gyutaro,” he states bluntly.

“Gyutaro? That’s a nice name,” you smile slightly, trying to hide your fear. “I’m -”

“I already know your name, Y/N,” he cuts you off, scoffing as if he’s annoyed by your attempt to introduce yourself, “Can we just get to the point already? I’m not here to be your friend. I’m here for you to keep up your end of the deal.”

“Right, sorry…” you apologize and quickly put on your gloves before heading into the back room where the cold lockers are. He promptly follows you, keeping his predatory gaze locked onto you. You can feel his stare drilling holes into your back.

The two of you enter the room, the cold temperature causing goosebumps on your skin. You look over the lockers, comparing dates until you find the most recent one. Pulling the handle, you open the locker to slide the body out. Revealing the corpse of a woman in her mid 50’s who passed away only 8-12 hours ago. Then you prepare your tools and begin to siphon the blood out of the corpse, filling up the same bucket as before. 

Gyutaro stands behind you, watching you with a judgmental gaze. The scent of blood fills his nostrils but he’s able to control himself this time. 

Once the bucket is mostly full you present it to him with shaky hands, nervous that he may go ravenous as he did last time. But he stands there unphased, with his arms crossed - looking down at you with a raised brow. 

“This isn’t good enough,” he rasps.

“Wh-what do you mean?” you furrow your brows in confusion, looking into the bucket to see what's wrong. But the blood looks perfectly normal to you. 

“This blood isn’t fresh.”

“Well yeah, I have to take it from corpses. It usually takes at least a few hours for the bodies to get to me,” you whimper, feeling afraid of how he will react. 

“That’s not my problem,” he steps closer to you, “It’s yours.”

“B-But you liked the blood I gave you last time,” your eyes begin to water.

He scowls and raises his voice, “That was my first meal! I was desperate for anything,  I was starving…” he looks down as if he had a sad memory but he quickly snaps out of it and gets in your face again, “Would you want to eat stale food every day? Yeah, I didn't think so. So you better find me some fresh blood or else.”

“But I can’t get fresh blood! I have no way of doing something like that,” your tears slowly begin to fall down your cheeks. 

“You know what happens to humans who break a pact with a vampire?”

“N-No… what?” you sniffle.

“Let’s find out,” he grins and puts his cold hand on your shoulder. Opening his mouth, showing his deadly fangs. 

“Ok ok!” you panic, “I’ll get you fresh blood!” You desperately agree, not wanting to find out what the consequences are of breaking a pact with him. You have no idea how you will manage to get fresh blood, but it doesn’t seem like you have much of a choice. 

“Good,” he smirks and steps away from you. Though he does take the blood bucket from your hands, placing a finger inside then putting it in his mouth to get a taste. 

“Ngh, that’s disgusting,” he coughs, “I’d only drink this if I was on the verge of death.”

You wipe the tears from your eyes and clean up the area. Putting the body back in the locker and cleaning your siphon before you go back to the examination room with the vampire. 

He looks at you expectantly. 

“What? I-I can’t get fresh blood for you that fast! I don’t even know how I’ll do it without, well… killing someone,” the thought of having to kill another human being almost brings you to tears. 

“It’s not my problem that you’re completely incompetent,” he rolls his eyes, “You owe me fresh blood, and your first payment is now.”

Panicked, you look around the room. Trying to find anything to help you out of this predicament. It’s 11:42 pm, how the hell are you supposed to come up with fresh blood? It’s not like you can just walk up to a blood bank and ask for it. Let alone go to the extreme of killing someone. But you got yourself into this mess, so you have to do whatever it takes to keep your end of the deal.

You squeeze your eyes tightly and move your head back, revealing your neck to him, “Fine.”

“Wh-what are you doing?” his eyes widen in surprise and his voice softens. 

“Take my blood. It’s the only option I have.”

“Are you sure…?” he takes a step closer to you, almost unable to believe you’re offering your own blood to him. 

“Yes,” you nod, “I’m sure.”

He grabs your shoulders, your eyes shooting open from the sudden contact. 

“Alright,” he sighs, looking down at you. His vibrant eyes staring into yours, “It’ll be easier if you lay down.”

You take a deep breath and nod. The only place to lie down is right here on the examination table. The metal feels ice cold as you hesitantly lay atop it. The fluorescent lights buzzing above you as Gyutaro looks down at you.  This entire time he’s been cold and calculating, but this is the first time you’ve seen him look so unsure. So nervous. 

Gyutaro carefully climbs onto the examination table, hovering above you. He can hear your heart beating, so fast that he feels like he can see the blood pulsing in your neck. His eyes dilate at the thought of piercing your delicate skin with his fangs. 

Your breath hitches as he leans in. Getting closer to your neck with each second that passes. However, his movements are slow and gentle, much different than they were before. 

You can’t avoid what happens next, no matter how much you wish you could. In the end, it’s your fault that you’re in this situation in the first place. So you might as well embrace it and make it as easy as possible. Turning your head to the side, you offer your neck to him. 

Gyutaro slowly inches closer, the tip of his nose brushing against your ear - sending shivers down your spine. 

He opens his mouth and you barely feel the softness of his lips caressing your skin before the stinging pain of his fangs puncturing your skin, sinking into your flesh and penetrating your veins. 

You gasp and flinch from the initial sting, holding onto his shoulder for support. He groans deeply as your sweet blood touches his tongue, the taste more divine than anything that has ever breached his lips. He becomes lost in your saccharine nectar, losing himself in the addictive flavor of you. Without thinking he puts his hand on your waist, holding you still as he ever so slightly leans his body closer to yours. 

Your fingers and toes begin to go numb, and your heartbeat skyrockets. The sound of your pounding heart is the only thing that snaps him out of it. Resulting in him unlatching from your neck just in time before you would lose consciousness. 

The both of you pant heavily, trying to calm down from the intense experience. Gyutaro’s face goes red when he realizes how close he is to you and he quickly gets off of you, standing up beside the table.

You try to stand but you feel too light-headed to do so, Gyutaro puts a hand on your shoulder as if silently telling you to take it easy. You really don’t know how to feel at this moment. Scared? Relieved? Embarrassed? Probably a combination of all three, but you’re honestly just happy that he didn’t kill you.

“Thanks for being so gentle, Gyutaro…” you mutter.

His blush deepens, “Whatever… Just get me fresh blood by the end of the week. I can’t feed off of you every time. Your body won’t be able to handle it…”

“O-ok,” you gulp, “I’ll have it ready for you when you come back.” 

“Good,” he hands you a piece of paper with a number written down, “That’s my phone number. Just in case you need something.”

“Thanks,” you say shyly as you stash the paper in your pocket for later. 

“Just remember we aren’t friends, this is just business,” he scowls, looking back at you one last time before leaving out the window just as he had before.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Growing Pains

Part 1 (ft. Riddle and Silver) I Part 2 (ft. Trey and Kalim) I Part 3 (ft. Jade and Lilia) I Part 4 (ft. Deuce and Jamil) I Part 5 (ft. Malleus and Ruggie) | Part 6 (ft. Cater and Rook) | Part 7 (ft. Sebek and Floyd) | Part 8 (ft. Ace and Idia)

In which Gordon Ramsay-kun is isekai’d into Twisted Wonderland. Part Food Wars, part Hell’s Kitchen, all Master Chef—Night Raven College isn’t ready to take on this Michelin Star celebrity!!

This time, two stubborn rebels enter the kitchen! With Epel chasing the greatness of growing up, he gets ensnared in a scheme that Leona responsible is responsible for. Gordon’s definitely got his work cut out for him!! Can he truly connect with this strong-minded duo?

Why does Leona’s chef jacket look like it’s straining to keep his chest contained in like every fan art I see 😭 I'm happy that Epel gets to take Master Chef at the same time as his Magift Club Captain... He gets to hang out with his cool senpai one last time before I smush him into Epelsauce for pointing out L*ona's charm 🤡 (P.S. I totally believe that GR is a role model L*ona could benefit from…)

Imagine this…

Raising a saucer to his lips, Epel sipped, allowing a mildly sweet flavor to flatten across the tongue. Warmed on a low flame, the milk concoction was warm, but still thick and creamy. Nothin' beats full fat milk fresh off the farm, he noted, licking his lips.

Epel let out an excited whoop as he slammed his saucer down. "Hoo-WHEE! That's sum good stuff!!"

A groan sounded from another counter.

"Oi, frosh. Keep it down over there," Leona groused. He fiddled with his hair, sweeping back loose strands that hung free from his ponytail. The rest of his mane--and his lion ears--were uncomfortably crammed under a chef's hat.

"O-Oh, sorry!" Epel hurriedly apologized, giving a brief bow to his club captain. When he straightened again, he couldn't avoid taking note of his upperclassman's strong build.

Though the duo were in similar uniforms, Leona wore his very differently than Epel. He slouched slightly, yet the warm yellow of his jacket fit him like a glove, easily conforming to the shape of his muscled body. By comparison, Epel was smaller and far less shapely. A twinge of sadness pulled in his chest.

Standing the two side-by-side, they were like lion and kitten. One regal and confident, the other meek and weak.

Epel furiously shook his head. He smacked both of his cheeks to wake himself up. Chin up, Epel! Take this chance to learn how you can be more like Leona-senpai...!

He glanced over at the various bowls littering Leona’s workstation.

I wonder what he’s making…? It must be something cool.

The beastman hovered over them, glancing over the contents of each bowl lackadaisically. Plump blueberries, granulated sugar, extract that smelled strongly of vanilla, gelatin powder. And, of course, the star of the show: milk.

Leona grimaced, lifting the white liquid up. Milk sloshed lazily around in its bowl, lapping against his thumb. He took a cursory sniff, but didn’t look impressed.

As Leona was returning the milk back to its place, Epel jumped. "U-Um...!!"

"What, you got something to say?" Leona raised a brow. "Then spit it out."

"Well..." Epel nervously twiddled his thumbs. “That’s heavy cream... It’s rich-tasting and has high fat content, so it’s good for creamy dishes. With the sugar and the fruit, are you making a dessert of some kind? Maybe a milk pudding or something…”

“Hmmmm.”

A slow and catty glint rose to Leona’s eyes. He leaned forward, scrutinizing the humble farmer boy.

“So you’ve got a real knack for this kind of thing.”

“Eh, I guess so? I’m used to helping my family and neighbors back in Harveston with produce quality control. It comes naturally to me.”

“Great. Take care of this for me then.” Leona plunked down the bowl of blueberries in his junior’s hands. Epel blinked—but before he could protest, Leona continued. “You’ve got a real talent. It’d be a waste for you not to show it off to the Chef.”

“I don’t know…” Epel casted a curious look at their mentor, who had been observing them from a quiet corner of the kitchen. Gordon returned the gaze, as if sensing trouble afoot.

“Besides, I’m counting on you too,” Leona added, a hand on Epel’s shoulder.

His heart leapt in anticipation. “You are?!”

“Yeah. Even with my nose, I just don’t have the chops for this line of work. Must be my delicate princely constitution. That’s why I’m putting my faith in you.” Leona suddenly frowned. “Was I wrong to?”

“N-No, Leona-senpai!!” Epel hurriedly insisted. “You can definitely leave it to me! I’ll make sure the ingredients we use are the best we have!”

“That’s what I like to hear.” The lion’s smile was sly. "Okay, knock yourself out. I’m going to be taking a nap. Don’t bother me until you’ve checked everything in the pantry over… twice.”

“Aye-aye, captain!!”

With that, Leona sauntered off with a casual, self-assured swagger. Gordon was wiping his hands off on a clean dish rag when he passed. They silently met each other’s eyes, Leona passing along a triumphant smirk.

The head chef automatically got a bad feeling.

Kingscholar must have said something to him. Right, I’ll get to the bottom of this.

While Leona had pulled out a chair and hunkered down in it, Gordon made his way over to Epel. He was now eagerly inspecting a pile of sugar, seemingly picking through individual granules by sifting them around with a finger.

"What are you doing over here, my darling?" Gordon asked, his tone kept friendly—a voice he reserved for children, not arrogant adults.

“Chef!” Epel proudly saluted. “I’m making sure the ingredients are good to go!”

“That’s all fine and dandy, but why’s he sittin’ this one out?” Gordon jabbed an accusatory thumb in Leona’s direction. (He resembled a grumpy street cat.)

“I’m doing Leona-senpai’s share too!”

“You don’t think he should be responsible for looking over his own ingredients?” Gordon huffed. Or suspect that he’s blowing smoke up your ass?

“But really trusts me to do this for him.” Epel laid a hand on his chest. His expression was positively glowing, his cheeks appled. “He has confidence in my abilities!! And I trust him to guide me. Leona-senpai has never steered me wrong before!”

Gordon instantly recognized the emotion: pure admiration.

“… You look up to him, don’t you?”

“Yup!! He’s the man I wanna be! Smart, cool, brave, tall, muscly…! I’ve been chugging tons of milk in my free time to make sure I’m getting all the vitamins and minerals I need to catch up to him.”

Is that why I saw him trying to shotgun an entire gallon of milk straight from the jug?! Gordon rubbed at his aching temples.

There was a soft grunt that grounded him again.

“… But it’s not enough to just be physically strong," Epel mumbled. "I can’t just drink milk and call it a day. It’s also important to have a strong spirit too, cuz the heart's also a muscle!"

The first year offered a hopeful grin, a hand set on his bicep. “Leona-senpai has that sort of strength. If I want to be able to stand on the same level as him, I have to give it my all when it comes to training!”

A strong body and spirit…

Yet when he looked at Leona, what Gordon saw first was a broken man forsaking his future. A shell of a person. Was he able to be salvaged? To lead?

Gordon reconsidered. His perspective and Epel’s—whose judgment was clouded? Or was neither quite the full truth?

“… Thanks for that. I’m going to speak with him now. You keep up what you’re doing. Best of luck, love.”

The response he received was bright and resolute.

“Yes, Chef!”

“I bet you must think you’re bloody brilliant.”

The accusation was as stiff as cream whipped into peaks. It cut cleanly—but not quite though Leona’s wit.

He snorted, hardly budging from his recline. “The kid's good at assessing the quality of food. Why keep him back from reaching his full potential?”

“So are you. I know a food critic when I see one,” Gordon said sharply. “And don’t give me that ‘I can’t do it’ bull crap. I thought we were over this already.”

Leona’s laughter was like the roiling thunder of an approaching storm. “I work smarter, not harder, herbivore. Are you sure you’re an instructor? It sounds to me like you have some learning to do on your students.”

"I know plenty—and I know you're better than this." Gordon gestured at him.

"Afraid not," Leona purred, the sarcasm coming off of his words in lazy waves.

Rotten to the core. Spoiled from the start. Shattered, unable to be reassembled. A rebel of the savanna, impossible to tame. All the things people whispered about him behind his back and to his face.

His hand instinctively snaked to the scar that threaded his left eye. "... It's just as the rumors say, teach."

Ugly truths. Evil, harm, destruction—that's all he would ever amount to, all that he was capable of.

There’s no hope left for me. No light of another day. No tomorrows.

Leona turned away, forcing an end to the conversation. He had nothing more to say, and didn't expect anything more out of the chef either.

Then came the hands upon his shoulders, the grip like a vice. Gordon grabbed him, thrusting his face close to Leona’s.

"Don't you talk like that,” the chef hissed with a deathly quiet, “not in my kitchen.”

“Yeah? If you’re so pissed, then banish me from your kingdom,” Leona taunted. His breath was hot with anger, but he bore no claws.

Always the outcast, never the king.

“Not in your life.” Gordon released him, a slight shove back into the seat the third year occupied.

“You’ve already made your judgment of me. Why hold back on acting on it?”

With a slight glare, the chef folded his arms and stared down at him. “For one, you’re deliberately being a jackass to get out of the coursework. For another…”

Gordon nodded towards Epel’s station. “… there’s him.”

“Epel? You might as well dedicate your manpower to him. He’ll need it, the little tyke.”

“He thinks you’re someone to aspire to. But here you are, acting like you’re not.” Gordon narrowed his eyes. “You know what I think? I think the least you could do is respect the kid’s efforts by pitching in—and have some respect for yourself while you’re at it. The kid’s looking up to you. You can try to look up to yourself too, or his hopes are for nothing.”

“He chose to follow me. That decision—and its consequences—are on him.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” Gordon growled. “It’s not just him. Your entire dorm—”

“It’s different,” Leona snapped back. “We’re not the same. They’ve got futures ahead of them. They can afford to be hopelessly blinded by its light.”

Unlike me.

The silence that followed was stifling and thick. It was a reduction left too long on the stove, boiled down to concentrated, palpable self-hatred.

Gordon’s mouth was a tight line. Not a frown, not a glower. Just a neutral line.

"... You remind me of myself when I was younger. Full of vinegar and piss," he grunted at last. Gordon slapped a palm against his knee. "Used to dream of being a footballer. Then had an injury so bad it crushed those dreams before I could recognize it.

"I didn't start taking the culinary arts seriously until 19. You're 20 now, Kingscholar. If there was a chance for an arrogant little lug head like me, then there's a chance for you too. It's not too late."

"Then you're an old fool," Leona spat. To try all your life at something, only to be kicked down every time. "No sob story will ever change what we are."

Gordon faced Epel, his back to Leona. "... I've had a lot of successes. I have that success because I've had failures. I've learned from them. Our scars don't have to define us. We can become better than that. Grow from them.”

"What? Am I meant to be won over by those paltry sentiments?"

"You think whatever you damn well like," Gordon retorted. "If you need me, I'll be helping Felmier. Otherwise, waste the rest of your class time for all I care."

Then he was gone.

Leona shifted in his seat. He regarded the chef with an eerie quiet—the same kind of quietness that pervaded a lion stalking its prey. Weighing the options, assessing what he was up against.

An herbivore. Just a simple-minded, stubborn herbivore. He had been talking out of his ass, trying to act as if he knew—as if he understood him.

Annoyance curdled into a blunt anger.

“Our scars don't have to define us.”

Damn it.

“We can become better than that. Grow from them.”

Damn it...!

Leona bared his teeth, his hands curled into fists.

Familiar frustration flooded him. Helplessness, despair. And a bit of a feeling he had long since renounced.

Hope.

“... Tch.” Leona raked a hand through his hair. “Light a fire under my tail, why don’t you?”

Epel was halfway through inspecting the blueberries when one was plucked straight out of the bowl. Leona tossed it into his mouth, spearing the berry on his canines. A sweet tartness flooded his taste buds.

"... It's fine for the panna cotta," he declared languidly.

Epel startled at his senior's sudden appearance. Beside the first year, Gordon held his breath.

"L-Leona-senpai?! But I thought you were going to rest...?"

"Yeah, well. I got tired of that. Figured I might as well find something else to do to pass the time." Leona cocked his head back, his grin self-assured. "... Got room for one more?"

"I'd be happy to welcome you." Gordon stepped back, allowing Leona to claim his rightful place at an open counter. "... Good to have you back with your head in the game, Kingscholar."

"Hmph. Don't get used to it." He picked up a tool laid out on the table—an ice-cream scooper—and twirled it between dextrous fingers. “I’m a precocious child, so I’ll need an instructor that can keep me engaged.”

“You’re acting cocky for someone who was refusing to play ball a while ago.” Gordon groaned. “… Fine then. You’re on. Just for that, I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“Excuse me, Chef!” The protest came from Epel, who had abandoned the blueberries. “Please go hard on me too!! I can handle it!!”

Leona snorted. “You sure about that, squirt? You never know how mean the big, scary teacher might be.”

“Yes! I want to work together with you, Leona-senpai! Then I can become as strong as you are.”

As strong as I am… Something in his chest sank. Was he truly?

Leona dispelled the doubt with a sigh. Aaah, how annoying. He’s looking at me with those big, sparkling eyes. Why are kids like this?

So fixated on the future and the people who would lead them to it.

He softened.

"... Yeah, sure. Let's just get this over with. The sooner, the better."

Gordon nodded approvingly.

Until the day where I can comfortably stand where you are… wait for me. I’ll meet you there.

[wary-taru]

Wake up call:

Based off a vine! And amazingly written below by my friend @voltsparrow ! Enjoy! :)

Finn was carefully sneaking around the Condor with Junko trailing somewhat less quietly behind him. It was the first couple of hours after sunrise. Normally everyone would be awake by now. Except, Finn had turned the ship’s morning alarm off. He had woken up way too early and instead of getting to work early as well…he had a great idea for a prank. So he woke up Junko, asked him to turn to help him deactivate the alarm, and got a camera. Finn had convinced Junko that it would be a hilarious idea to record the rest of the team when they get their ‘Wake up Call’. 

Which was just Finn yelling Wake up SleepyHead! At the top of his lungs right next to their face. And first up on the list was their newest member, Master Cyclonis. Or just Cy, if you were Piper. For him and everyone else she demanded they use her full name and title ‘or else’. 

Whatever that means. Finn rolled his eyes at the memory of the last time she corrected him. She likes to act like she isn’t just another squad-mate. I mean, SHE joined US. It’s not like we’re her subjects! So he had devised a little prank to welcome her aboard properly. In his mind, it would help her ‘Chill out’. 

The boys had just reached the door to Cyclonis’ new room. It was the spare they had wanted to give to Starling but well…Cy beat her to it. Finn crouched down and looked at Junko before whispering, “Turn on the Camera, This is gonna be sick!” He carefully opened the door to the former empress’ room. Thankfully it didn’t squeak too much. 

Finn rolled inside and then he army crawled towards the bed. He could see Cyclonis’ raven locks hanging over the side of the bed. She had really grown out her hair since she joined them. She was facing the other way so he had the perfect setup. He winked at Junko and began.

“Chi-Ka Chow.” Finn gave Junko (and the camera) his famous catchphrase and finger gun combo before turning back to Cyclonis and hollering, “WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!“

The poor mage stirred from her slumber, cupping her face in her hands and groaning out, “Ugh, what’s going on?” As she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. 

But Finn was shocked when his sister suddenly appeared from the other side of the bed! The covers sliding off of her showing her arm wrapped around Cyclonis’ waist. “What the heck, Finn?” Her hair was a frazzled mess and confused look on her face. 

OH MY G- His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the look of confusion change to one of annoyance as well as her grabbing her pillow and cocking it, ready to throw it at his head. He decided it was time to leave. 

“Hi Piper! I’m going to wake up Aerrow now-“ Finn barely finished his sentence as he had already spun around to escape Piper’s wrath as quickly as possible. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple. 

Meaning he couldn’t see Cyclonis’ look of smug satisfaction as her girlfriend defended her with her pillow cannon. Finn and Junko left quickly to wake up the rest of their teammates. And wisely deciding not to do a wake up call ever again…

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After the boys finally left Cyclonis felt the satisfaction of seeing Piper drive them off leave and be replaced by that cold feeling in her chest when she was shocked out of sleep. Her breathing started to quicken as a panic that had been deeply ingrained in her psyche took over. Her hands were shaking now and try as she might she couldn’t stop them, even as she desperately hugged herself. 

Piper immediately noticed, dropped the pillow and began to gently rub Cyclonis’ arm and back. She had experience with her girlfriends panic attacks and knew they tended to be provoked by random surprises. It had started ever since Cyclonis witnessed the demise of the Dark Ace.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. It’s okay, you are going to be okay Cy I’m right here.” Piper’s voice was soothing and calm. Cyclonis grabbed onto that feeling and turned around into her girlfriend’s embrace, letting the larger girl wrap her arms around her.

“I’m sorry, I just…can’t stop shaking. I know I’m safe, I know…but-“ She stopped talking as she couldn’t think of something else to say. But she knew Piper understood that she had no control over these episodes. The best she could hope for is that they pass quickly. And they usually do ever since she started seeing Piper.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize for anything.” The goth wrapped her trembling hands around Piper’s waist and buried her face in her neck. Letting Piper’s scent and warmth wash over her. Slowly, ever so slowly, her hands stilled and her breathing evened. Cyclonis pulled back enough to look Piper in the eye.

“T-Thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you, my love.” Cy saw her girlfriend smile so warmly that every trace of that cold feeling left her chest. Her heart now beating quickly for a different reason. 

She closed her eyes as Piper did the same, both of them leaning in to gently press their lips together in a kiss…

Safe to say, they slept in.

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

orchid

a/n: thought about splitting this one up into multiple parts, but no, you're just getting one big fic. yet again, just a daydream I had that I scribbled down, just vibes, nothing fancy. also the tiny apartment she lives in, that's just where I lived a year ago. like a ghost in the attic (also also also, I almost exclusively worked on this in the middle of the night, so if it’s not up to par with the rest of my works, I do sincerely apologise)

update: i will not write a part 2 for this story so please stop asking me! you are giving me a stomach ache 

summary: “Alright, so even though I’m not, why is it that it would be such a bad thing if I theoretically had a thing for him?”

warnings: Sirius Black x reader, modern!au, college!au, starving artist!reader, posh boy Sirius, very light enemies to lovers energy, probably extremely inaccurate country club, reader works at the country club, playing 20 questions, kissing, sexual comments and references but no actual smut in this one, alcohol consumption, a little bit of light B & E as a cute date, small tolkien reference, open ending (kinda)

word count: 6023

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“All right, listen up folks,” bellowed the short snappy figure of your boss, “it’s gonna get a lot busier starting today since a lot of the member's kids are coming home on break from boarding school and university and whatnot, so that means not only will there be more people to keep happy but also a lot of stressed-out parents who await the luxury that they are paying for. I expect you all to be on you’re A-game, is that clear?” 

“Yes, Mr Barrett,” echoed throughout the room like a choir.

“Good. Now get back to work everyone!” 

Just as the herd started to thin, Mr Barrett waved you over before you had a chance to slip out, “Y/l/n!”

Watching your work friends duck out before he could call upon them as well, you gave in to the newly formed reflex and said, “yes sir?”

Not lifting his eyes as you stepped closer, he kept them glued to the clipboard in his hand and ordered, “go restock all the bars.”

“Um, why? Didn’t Tim just do it last Monday?” 

“He did,” Mr Barrett finally glance up at you and explained sternly, clearly already being over this conversation, “and now I’m telling you to go do it again. Look, these folks' kids are coming home. So, trust me when I tell you that it needs to be fully stocked.” 

“Alright,” you exhaled and scurried out at the irked wave of his hand. 

You hadn’t been working here at the Millington club for that long, but even when you consider the fact that you had to mosey up to a bunch of insufferable rich folk, the paycheck was still a lot better than any other place you’d ever worked at, consequently making it tolerable.

Now balancing a heavy cardboard box jam-packed with various clanking liquor bottles, you made your way through the glamorous halls of the club, first making your way down towards the east side lounge. Glancing down at the clinking flasks, you couldn’t even begin to calculate how many months of rent you would have to give for even just one of these lavish drinks. 

As you entered the posh sitting room and made your way over towards the bar, a collection of rowdy voices caught your ear.

“No way, I don’t believe it.” 

“No, I’m telling you, mate,” you sat the box down on the marble countertop and glanced over to spot the young raven-haired man answering his friends, “it’s true, right there in the library.”

“What genre was it in?” one of the two young men asked. They were all three spread out on a few small queen Anne couches, clustered in the corner, as if they owned the whole establishment, “biography? That corner’s pretty private…”

“Um, I was a little too preoccupied to notice,” the cocky boy scoffed, “you know, with my head being all the way under her skirt and all.”

Kicking his feet up onto the mahogany coffee table in the middle, the bespeckled one in the group chuckled, “only you mister I lost my virginity in a threesome could just casually have that happen to him on a Tuesday afternoon.”

“Who was it with anyway?” the other one asked. 

Furrowing his brows, the man in the centre of the story genuinely didn’t seem to remember, “I think her name was Emma? Something like that.”

“Didn't your mother tell you it’s creepy to stare?” you flinched at the sudden and sneaky arrival of your co-worker’s familiar voice, uttering directly into your ear.

“Jesus fuck, Lucy! Don’t scare a girl like that! I could have dropped one of these,” you held up the expensive bottles in hand, then swiftly went back to putting them away. 

“Please don’t tell me you have a thing for him,” she ignored your annoyance, crossing her arms. 

“What?” was she referring to the brash handsome man you couldn’t rip your eyes away from just a second ago? “No! I don’t even know who he is.”

“Wait, you don’t know who that is? 

“No.”

“Seriously?”

“Nope.”

“That’s Sirius Black,” she told you as if the name alone was common knowledge, but then continued as the lightbulb over your head clearly didn’t turn on, “Orion Black’s oldest son?” still nothing, she tried one last time, “as in the Black automobile company? That super old posh one?”

“…the one that the royal family drives around in?”

“Ding, ding, ding!” she threw up her arms and continued to look at you as if you were an idiot. 

“Alright, so even though I’m not, why is it that it would be such a bad thing if I theoretically had a thing for him?”

“Because that man right there, gorgeous as he might be, is the biggest playboy on the planet. He doesn’t even know what the definition of a relationship is, let alone love. Y/n, I know you. You, my wonderful friend, is a relationship type of girl, not a casual sleep-around like it’s nothing type of girl. So, trust me when I say, don’t go there.”

“I wasn’t gonna!” you said defensively as she finally turned around and left you to your work. 

Bending down to open up a small cabinet, you kneeled on the polished hardwood floor and scurried to finish your work of restocking the bar.  

“Hey love,” you heard after only a minute had passed. Glancing up, you saw the very same man you had been so fixated upon earlier, casually leaning his forearm against the counter. He looked like he could have just stepped out of a ralph lauren ad with how impeccable his clothes were. 

Shooting up, nearly bumping your head on the way, you felt your heartbeat pick up as his dark eyes bored into you, “hi! Can I help you with anything?”

“Me and my mates over there were just about to go do something a little more fun than what this snooze fest has to offer,” he gesticulated, then added rather smoothly, “you look like you could use some fun, you should join us.”

“Sir, I can’t just leave,” you cocked your head, “I’m in the middle of my shift.”

“So, when do you get off?” he asked, but then as you simply averted your gaze, scrambling for a polite way to untangle yourself from this mess, he pushed, “oh, come on, I know you want to.”

Keeping your eyes low, you shook your head, “I’m not really supposed to socialise with members.”

“Ah,” he leaned in a little closer, lowering himself to your eye level, “you’re a real good girl, aren’t you?”

Eyes growing wide at his suggestive word choice, you blushed, “e-excuse me, sir?”

“I noticed the way you were looking at me,” his studying gaze didn’t waver for a second. 

“Oh, that wasn’t-“

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell if you won’t.” He then leaned in even closer, “hey,” nearly whispering into your ear and effectively sending shivers down your spine, “if it fits your schedule better, we could just go into the billiard room right now…”

“Why would we-“

“My friends can stand by the door if you’re nervous,” he interrupted once more, reaching up to push a lock of your hair behind your ear, “no one will bother us, promise.”

Completely stunned by his bold proposal, it took you a few seconds to decline, “sir. I-… I’m gonna go back to work now…” then slowly picked up the now empty cardboard box and exited the room, leaving Sirius alone to pick up the pieces. 

“She’s new… I want her.” 

That was all Sirius had uttered to his friends before making his way over to hit on the new girl, occupied restocking the bar. 

Now standing there, alone and blinking hard, not understanding why his usual charm hadn’t worked on you, he heard his friends come up behind him.

“How did it go? You meeting her in the bathroom or what?” 

“She turned me down…” he was still frozen, staring out the door you’d disappeared through, with a stunned smile on his lips and a determent glint in his eyes. His words didn’t sound unhappy, simply surprised and even a little amused. 

“That’s nice, good for your health to be turned down by a pretty face such as hers. Also means you are in fact human after all,” Remus pulled out his box of cigarettes and swiftly tugged one into the corner of his lips to lite it, “so, that’s nice to know…” noticing the look in Sirius’s eye, “come on,” he wrapped an arm around his neck, “we’ll just go out tonight. Get you nice and pussy drunk. That’ll make you forget her in no time, promise.” 

“Funny seeing you here,” you didn’t even bother to look up as the slightly familiar voice found your ears. 

“Yeah,” you kept your eyes on the list in your hand just a little longer, “it’s almost like I work here or something.”

Finally glancing up, you met the intoxicatingly dark eyes of none other than Sirius Black, “you’re funny…”

“So,” you started moving along, not letting his bugging hold you back from executing your work, “is there anything I can do for you, sir?”

His long legs made it a piece of cake for him to follow along with you, “go out with me.”

Stopping your stride, you sighed, “Mr Black-”

“Please, call me Sirius,” he interrupted you with all the charm in the world.

“Mr Black, excuse me for being blunt but when will you get the hint?”

“Y/n, hey!”

This dude really doesn’t quit. 

“You know my name now,” you couldn’t stop your eyes from rolling even if you wanted to. 

“Yeah, well I asked around a bit about you. That was just one of the many tantalising facts I learned about you,” he winked, and you tried your best to ignore the butterflies that cheap trick had successfully sent fluttering throughout your stomach. 

Moving to leave the room, he swiftly blocked the door, making you see nothing but his annoying smirk, “seriously dude, what will it take for you to just leave me alone?”

“Go out with me,” he shrugged lightly and crossed his arms. 

“No.”

“Why not?”

Feeling like you might explode if he didn’t get out of the way, you exclaimed, “because I’m not I’m not gonna sleep with you!” your eyes grew a bit wider at the proclamation you’d let slip out.

“Oh really?” he simply smiled, clearly just taking it as another challenge. 

Squeezing your eyes shut, you hoped that the conversation would get less uncomfortable if you couldn’t see his jaw-dropping visage anymore, “yeah, I’ve heard what people say about you.”

Completely loving it, he clearly took that as a good thing, “really?”

“Yeah, well it’s like a fucking ghost story around here, so I didn’t have much of a choice. You’re just that kind of guy and that’s fine! But you just need to know, all that charm, it won’t work on me, so you might as well just turn around now. I am not just gonna be another notch in your belt, another hot new little thing for you to pass the time with, okay?”

Eyes still shut, you thought for a second he had left with how long he took to answer you, “okay, fine.” 

“Fine?” you finally blinked your eyes open.

“Fine,” he smiled, “I won’t sleep with you.” 

“Great!” you threw up your arms and moved to exit the room, though he stepped in front of you again, leaning down to be at your height.  

“I mean, it’s probably gonna be really hard for you to resist after the date I’ve got planned out, but sure, if you don’t want to.” 

Gnawing the corner of your bottom lip for but a moment, you gave out, “if I say yes to go on a date with you, one date, will you leave me alone?” 

Face only inches from your own, his smile grew wider as he agreed, “deal.”

“Mr Black! Welcome back, sir,” not only the security guard but also an older gentleman in a crisp suit had greeted you both at the entrance of the unusually vacated museum, “enjoy your evening.”

“Thank you, Henderson,” Sirius politely shook his hand before planting it on the small of your back, guiding you further inside. 

Glaring up at him as if he was an alien, he finally questioned your gaze, “what?”

“What are we doing in here?” you spoke in a near whisper, “the museum closed like 2 hours ago.”

“Yeah, well,” he shrugged, climbing the big stone steps that lead up towards the first exhibit, “my family’s a big donator to this place, so I just pulled a few strings.”

Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you simply followed him into the first breathtaking room and breathed out, “okay…”

Even if the company was somewhat challenging, you couldn’t deny how the beauty hung up all around you made the evening at least tolerable. Your little art heart was too weak not to swoon at the sight of all the impressionistic pieces that were on display in this season's unique exhibit. Iconic pieces you could have only dreamed about studying this close. 

After a surprisingly long while where Sirius miraculously shut up and simply let you roam and relish in the paintings, you took a deep breath and decided to actually make the smallest of efforts to test if your companion did in fact have any more depth than a teaspoon. 

“So,” you started as he settled in beside you, his dark eyes washing over the landscape in front of you, “you’re home from uni for a bit?”

“Yep,” he buried his hands in the pockets of his black trousers, “oxford.”

You felt so strong for not just bolting in the opposite direction. “You’re an oxford man?” you scoffed, “should have figured…”

“Like my father was and his father before him,” he added rather coldly, sounding like this was a rehearsed reply that pained him to recite. 

“What do you study?”

“Business,” he kept his answer short. 

“Oh yeah?” you glanced over, trying to break through and see if his outsides matched his insides, “is it fun?” 

Brows furrowing, he turned to meet your gaze, “what does that have to do with it?”

“You don’t enjoy your major?”

“It’s just,” he inhaled deeply, uncomfortably trying to end this specific chat, “school, you know?”

“No, I actually don’t,” you informed him, slowly moving towards the next painting. 

“No?” he followed. 

“I don’t go to school,” you informed. 

“You don’t?” 

“No.”

“Oh, okay…” he averted his gaze, but still felt the need to explain his confusion, “I knew you liked art, so I just kinda assumed that you went to school for that or something…”

“Why bother paying a ridiculous amount of money in order to learn about something that I’m already really good at? No one is gonna deny me the right to create art just because I don’t have some fancy degree in it. If it’s a masterpiece, then it’s a masterpiece.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” you could tell how foreign your words were to him, “so that’s what you do for a living? You paint?” 

“It doesn’t pay the bills, but that’s not really the point now is it?” you reflected with a small smile, “just because it’s what I do doesn’t mean I earn a large profit from it, if any at all.”

For a moment, he just went quiet, staring at the many paintings with a slightly glossed-over look in his eyes. You were trying to catch his glances, read what it was that was going on inside that head of his, but your timid attempt at finding a new topic to blossom suddenly became the most effortless task in the world the second that he casually rolled his sleeves all the way up to his elbows.

“Wait, you have tattoos?” tumbled out of you as soon as you spotted the ink. 

“Yeah,” he gave a small shrug. 

“How did I not know that?” you asked, sounding genuinely interested. 

“Guess my pretty face was just a bit too distracting for you to notice,” he winked, regaining a bit of his usual confidence, “do you have any?”

“Yeah, a few. Though they’re just some stick-and-poke ones one of my friends gave me.”

“Aw, my first tattoo was a stick-and-poke one! I was 15 and it was at boarding school in the bathroom,” he remembered fondly. 

“Oh yeah? Your parents must have loved that,” you chuckled. 

“Oh, they don’t know.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, well, clothing can hide a lot and they only really see me a handful of days out of the year anyways, so… what they don’t know won’t hurt them.” 

Maybe he wasn’t so terrible after all… After finding a sliver of common ground, the rest of the conversation just flowed after that, making the remainder of the evening not just tolerable, but even enjoyable. 

Nearing the end of the tour, you felt his shoulder lightly bump yours, “you like it?” ripping you out of the trance the art piece in front of you had induced. 

“I mean, it’s a Monet,” you gestured towards it, finding his question a bit silly, “I think it’s physically impossible not to like it.”

“Darling, I wasn’t talking about the painting,” he clarified, smiling warmly down at you.

“Oh,” you looked up at him and couldn’t help but be blatantly honest, even if it meant that you had been wrong, “yeah, I guess it wasn’t half bad…” then cast your vision back on the painted pond and added as casually as you could muster, “but we are so not doing anything like this next time.”

“Next time?” 

“I swear to god,” you sighed, shutting your eyes, “if you don’t shut up in less than two seconds, I won’t hesitate to change my mind. You were just starting to grow on me.”

“Yes, ma’am, wouldn’t dream of it, I’m just standing here, looking at the art,” you heard him smile and peeped your eyes open to find him boldly still staring at you. 

“You sure we’re allowed to be up here?” Sirius asked, following you up the last bit of the clinking metal staircase in the seemingly abandoned factory you’d without context dragged him into. 

“Oh, don’t tell me that you're scared,” you playfully glanced over your shoulder at him, “doesn’t your daddy’s lawyer always bail you out of all the shady fun you and your friends get into?”

“Who exactly do you think we are?” he scoffed lightly, though didn’t deny your claim.  

“So, you’ve never committed a petty crime before? A party animal like you?”

“I have never done anything wrong in my entire life,” he shot back sarcastically. 

“Right you haven’t,” you chuckled, trying without success to bust open the rusty door, putting all your weight into it, “give me a hand, would you?” you requested breathlessly, his frame quickly following your command, stepping right up beside you, readying his shoulder and waiting for your go, “okay, one, two, three!” you both gave it a big shove, making it fly open and reveal not only the factory’s small, flat rooftop but also the most breathtaking view of the city’s skyline and the rabidly disappearing sun. 

Seemingly not impressed by the dingy surroundings, Sirius grumbled, “now do I get to know what we are doing tonight?”

“No sense of adventure…” you sighed teasingly, “I’m not telling you, you’ll have to find out yourself,” you sauntered over towards the small ledge by the section of the roof that sunk down a bit and had a bunch of vents and things. Taking a seat, you gestured to the cold concrete beside you and said, “now, sit.”

“You want me to sit?” he eyed the dirty surface mistrustingly. 

“Yeah,” you smiled, patting the spot with your fingers, “come on, you can sit on my jacket if you’re such a wuss.”

“Oh my god, fine, I’ll sit down,” he moved towards you, “just keep your jacket. Don’t want you to freeze to death.”

“You don’t? That’s reassuring to know,” you jested as he carefully took a seat beside you, dangling his long legs over the edge. 

“So… this is your big plan?” he asked, completely unimpressed, “sit on a filthy rooftop together?”

“Don’t mock when you don’t even know what it is yet,” you raised a defensive hand and then proposed confidently, “now, ask me a question.”

Furrowing his dark brows, he bit his lip in order not to stifle a laugh, “a question?”

“Yeah, you’ve got 20, so use them wisely,” you explained the childish game. 

“Oh my god…” he groaned as he caught on, although still played along, “okay, is it a thing?”

“Yes.”

His pristine hair blew in the wind as his eyes scanned the city below for clues, “is it big?”

“No.”

“Am I physically close to it?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see it?”

“No.”

“Okay, so it’s small and close by, but I can’t see it…” he recited underneath his breath, “is it, fuck, I don’t know,” he grumbled, both completely over the game yet also way too invested to just quit immediately, “your phone in your pocket?”

“Good one, but no!”

“Fuck, I don’t know! Am I even close?”

“You are closer than you might think.”

“Can I just get a little bit more of a hint?” he pouted in your direction. 

“Fine, it is within a meter of you.”

Head whipping around confused, “um, that’s literally just you. Is it you? Are you really calling yourself a thing right now?”

“No!” you snapped, slightly offended that he’d even think that, “just use your imagination for fuck sake. Don’t they teach you that at boarding school and fancy universities?”

Letting out a long exhale, he just kinda zones out a moment, genially scrambling for the answer and scanning every visible inch of you. “…I truly don’t know,” he then squinted his eyes at you, “was this some sort of test? Did I fail it?”

“No, calm down,” you pulled your backpack around to the front, ripping the biggest compartment open and fishing out a bottle of bargain beer for the both of you, “here,” you handed him one.

“What is this, a price for losing?” 

“No, that was the thing,” you placed the corner of the bottle’s cap up against the hard edge below you and gave it a swift tap, effectively popping it off and sending a lava flow of bubbles soaring down the dark glass and soaking your hand. 

“This was it?” he hesitated, but eventually mimicked your manoeuvre to open the lacklustre beverage. 

“Yep,” making the last letter pop as you raised the bottle up towards your lips. 

“You’re terrible at twenty questions,” he chuckled, taking a small sip. 

“You’re the one who couldn’t figure the answer out!”

“Yeah, because there was no way I was ever going to be able to figure that out! You can’t just be like Bilbo and ask for a person to guess what’s in your pocket, it has to be something the other person would be able to figure out.”

“That’s never how I played it, but if you wanna go again, play by your rules, then go right ahead, I’ll guess this time.” 

After the last of the beers, you’d brought with you were a thing of the past, after several rounds of that child-like play had flown by, the harsh chime of his phone interrupted your guessing of what you were pretty sure was the small spire visible in the horizon before you. 

Like a reflex, he fished it out of his pocket, and you watched as the soft smile quietly vanished from his features as if it had never been there to begin with, snuffed out and forgotten like last season’s fashion. It hadn’t been the first time you’d witnessed his phone be a mood killer, it happened at least once whenever he had been in your presence. 

“What is it?” you asked, tossing the game to the side to make room for the growing concern you simply couldn’t ignore any longer. 

“It’s nothing,” you watched his face twitch slightly as he read the message that plainly bothered him. Taking a deep breath, he tugged it away in his jacket and circled back to the quickly forgotten game, “you, um, still have 4 more questions till you run out-”

“Sirius,” you cut him off, determined to figure out what was troubling him, “who was that?” not giving you an answer, he simply averted his gaze. “I’m not gonna tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about. Who do you think I know that I could spill all of your deep dark secrets to? My neighbour Mary who’s about 90? Oh yeah, she would have a field day, if she actually remembers to put her hearing aid in,” you joked, in an effort to get him to relax and open up, “come on, you can tell me.”

After a good long moment of him thoroughly biting his inner cheek, he finally spoke, “it was my dad. He wanted to remind me that I’m supposed to start sitting in on meetings beginning by tomorrow. Start doing my part for the family business and finally grow up. He wants me to follow in his footsteps. And I know that it must sound fascinating, running a huge company like that, but it truly isn’t. It’s just a bunch of long boring meetings with boring money-hungry people talking about boring numbers. It has absolutely nothing to do with the cars themself.”

“And that’s not what you want?” you asked softly. 

“That’s not the point,” he uttered, sounding downright exhausted. 

“Isn’t it? Do you want to follow in his footsteps?”

Staring out into nothing, he slowly let the truth slip out past his lips, “no...” the tiny word instantly hitting him like a truck, “fuck. I’ve never actually said that out loud before… I don’t wanna do that… I don’t know what it is that I want to do, but I sure as hell know it isn’t that. I don’t wanna become another soulless businessman like my father.”

“Can I ask you something?” you asked him gently. 

“Sure.”

“Why are you still studying business if you know that’s not what you wanna do?”

Exhaling heavily, “because I think what scares me even more than this future they’ve got all mapped out for me is the unknown. I don’t know what will happen if I hop off the train, but at least I know what it looks like inside and I know where it’s headed.”

Without giving it a second thought, you reached out and took his hand in yours. 

“You’ll get off. Might not be today, but someday you will.”

A soft smile spread across his lips as the stressful thoughts slowly melted away with the aid of your touch and he turned his attention back to the date. “I gotta admit, this wasn’t at all what I expected.”

“What did you think? That I was gonna take you to dinner at a michelin restaurant? Some day you will learn that money can’t buy you everything. I mean, just look at that view,” you nodded towards the blushing skies above, the sun now nearly disappeared down behind the many roofs of the city. 

“Yeah,” he breathed, not taking his eyes off of you for a second, “it’s beautiful.”

Not soon thereafter, when the dark night started to bloom and the date was due to end, you took him up on his adorably chivalrous offer and let him walk you back home. However, when you reached the outside of your building, he wasn’t the only one anymore that wasn’t ready to part ways yet. When you fumbled with the keys and he eagerly asked, “could I maybe walk you all the way in to your front door?” all you did was nod, because right now in this very moment, just one more minute of his charm was all you desired. 

“Just what floor did you say you lived on?” he puffed from behind you once you’d reached the third floor of the old apartment building. 

“I didn’t,” if you’d told him that you lived on the fifth floor, right underneath the roof in a tiny shoebox of an apartment, he properly wouldn’t have dared to climb the steep stairs with you. “And just because you're walking me to my door doesn’t mean you get to come inside, okay?”

“Got it.”

Even though he looked to be in phenomenal shape, you still noticed his attempt to hide how much of a tole this trek really was for him.

Once you finally reached the small dark door to your home, out of sight and out of mind down a narrow hallway, creaking it open, his eyes widened at the sight of your tiny apartment, “oh my god, that’s your apartment?” he didn’t even have to poke his head inside to be able to view every single millimetre, seeing as the whole flat in its entirety was probably the size of his bathroom. 

“That’s my apartment,” you confirmed, not finding the size as jarring as he did. 

“Is it even legal to live up here? Aren’t these attic rooms for storage or something?”

“They used to be, but now I promise it's totally above board.”

After letting out a small chuckle, he then took one last long look at you standing in the doorway, smiling warmly down at you, “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Yeah, me too,” you smiled, and when he then turned to take his leave, you stopped him, “hey Sirius?” still close, he turned around, “can I-, could I maybe-…”

Taking a step closer to you, he stared down at you and uttered, “what?”

“…can I kiss you?”

Not hesitating for even a second, probably just in case you would change your mind, Sirius bent down and boldly kissed you. The feel of his soft lips pressed against yours and his tongue confidently asking for entrance surprisingly didn’t increase your nerves, it minimised them. It felt oddly comfortable. Like you’d already done it a thousand times before. 

“Goodnight,” he breathed out, lingering just a little longer.

“Night.”

The persistent knocks at your door finally came to a screeching halt as you swung it open and revealed the unexpected figure of Sirius. 

“I need to talk to you,” he insisted, sounding out of breath, probably having sprinted up the stairs. 

Furrowing your brows at the less-than-warm greeting, you asked, “Sirius? What are you doing here? It’s 11 o'clock at night,” pushing past you, the small stumble he took as he crossed over the threshold didn’t manage to escape your perception, “hey, what’s going on?”

“Everything’s going on!” he bellowed, making you quickly close the door behind him and cross your fingers that the walls in your building weren’t as thin as you feared if he was going to continue at this dramatic volume. 

Whirling around to plant his unfocused eyes on you, you saw right through him and asked, “are you seriously drunk right now?”

Fully ignoring your question, he sank down onto your small couch and spoke wearily, staring out into your dimly lit home, “you messed everything up.”

“Excuse me,” you crossed your arms and closed your light robe a bit more to cover your less then modest pyjamas up, on the verge of just ripping the door open again so that you could kick him out, “I haven't done anything-”

“You messed up everything!” his unsteady eyes finally met your glare, “everything was just fine before I met you, there was a plan, a good plan,” he gesticulated with his right hand, “I didn’t see any problem with the plan till you had to show up and turn it all upside down,” you felt your heart start to sink as his intoxicated words impacted, “you ruined it all. You ruined me. For the first time in my life, the world is a truly terrifying place. It’s never been that way till you showed up,” you noticed his clenched jaw begin to quiver, “you are like a bright light, showing me just how dark my life actually is. I didn't ask for that perspective! I was perfectly fine just wandering around in the dark!”

“Sirius,” you reeled back, completely stunned by the tornado that had just interrupted your evening routine, “what are you-”

“You scare the shit out of me, Y/n,” he exclaimed, cutting your question off before it could fully form, “no girl has ever done that, except for you. Fuck, I love you! That terrifies me!” he sank down even further, nearly laying down at this point, overwhelmed by the storm brewing between his ears, “but what scares me even more is the thought of losing you.”

Completely stunned, you found your body slowly dropping down upon the mattress of your bed, sitting there at a complete loss for words, flabbergasted as you watched his low groans and curses gradually fade away until you picked up on how his breaths had slowed, and his lids had grown heavy, exhaustion snuffing him out like a flame.

Curled up on the windowsill, backlit by the morning sun, you raised your eyes from the sketchbook balanced on your bent knees, to reference the dark-haired man still passed out on your tiny couch. 

Even after you’d not so silently riffled through your pantry this morning, checking to see if you had any resemblance of a hangover cure hidden away in there, he still slept like a baby, through all the crinkly bags and accidentally dropped containers. 

Though now, as you weren’t really making any noise at all, simply emanating the silent scratching of your pen against paper, you saw him stir, inhaling sharply as he awoke.

“Morning sleepy head,” you tried to be mindful of your volume, the light wince your tone evoked from him clearly affirmed your suspicion of the horrible state the night before had put him in. 

Craning his neck to look at you, he sat up, squinting in confusion as the bright morning light washed over him, “Y/n, what, um,” his voice sounded like it had been through a meatgrinder, “what am I doing here?” 

“You don’t remember?” you sat the sketchbook down beside you but kept your seat in the window, merely shifted a bit. 

“I-… Did something happen?” his palm lifted up to shield his mouth in worry, “did we-”

“Oh my god, no,” you got what he was hinting at and quickly cut in to correct him before your cheeks had a chance to turn an even brighter shade of red, “you showed up here last night, completely wasted.”

“Oh…”

“Yelled at me for a little bit and then you kinda just passed out.”

“Fuck…” he sighed, jaw clenching from guilt, “Y/n, I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be,” you crossed your arms tightly across your chest, “what even happened last night? Were you just at some club and randomly decided to come and shout at me a bit?”

“I wasn’t out,” he shook his head, still not meeting your eye, “I was at this stupid party with my family, some fundraiser I think, and became maybe a bit too pissed and got into an argument with my dad,” taking a deep breath in, he spoke, “I told him that I’m dropping out of school and that I don’t want to take over the company.”

“Oh…” it nearly came out as a whisper. 

Taking shelter behind his hands, he lightly ran them down his face, “I’m really sorry,” he said earnestly, “I shouldn’t have bombarded you like that. I don’t remember what I said, but you don’t deserve any of it.”

Every word he had uttered the night before still played on a loop inside your mind, “…none of it?”

“No,” he finally met your gaze, “not one.”

Your churning stomach tried to prevent the words from flowing out, but your now fully bloomed feelings eventually prevailed as you found yourself asking him softly, “not even the part where you told me you love me?” 

© 2023 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[sitpwgs]

books read in 2024!

books read so far: 81/100

— gr: http://goodreads.com/cossettereads — sg: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/cossettereads

as always, askbox + dms are open if have any questions or would like to chat about books! 🤍

⊹ indicates any (new) favorites of the month! previous months are under the cut!

july ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) firekeeper's daughter by angeline boulley (audiobook) ⊹ 2) born to run by bruce springsteen (audiobook) 3) it had to be you by eliza jane brazier 4) the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald (reread; annotated) 5) death on the nile by agatha christie (audiobook) 6) blue sisters by coco mellors (arc) ⊹ 7) juniper and thorn by ava reid (audiobook) 8) the villain edit by laurie devore ⊹

january ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) beach read by emily henry (reread) 2) on palestine by noam chomsky & ilan pappé 3) valley verified by kyla zhao (gifted) 4) the wind at my back: resilience, grace, and other gifts from my mentor, raven wilkinson by misty copeland & susan fales-hill (gifted) 5) check please: year one by ngozi ukazu (reread) 6) check please: year two by ngozi ukazu (reread) 7) check please: year three by ngozi ukazu (reread) 8) check please: year four by ngozi ukazu (reread) 9) raiders of the lost heart by jo segura (gifted) 10) the frame-up by gwenda bond (arc) 11) everything i never told you by celeste ng ⊹ 12) forgive me not by jennifer baker (gifted) 13) ever after always by chloe liese (gifted) 14) the summer of bitter and sweet by jen ferguson (gifted) 15) the lily of ludgate hill by mimi matthews (gifted) 16) last call at the local by sarah grunder ruiz (gifted) ⊹ 17) the sun and the void by gabriela romero-lacruz (gifted) 18) a line in the dark by malinda lo (gifted) 19) biting the hand: growing up asian in black and white america by julia lee (gifted) 20) play it as it lays by joan didion

february ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) mister hockey by lia riley * 2) collide by bal khabra (arc) * 3) a curious beginning by deanna raybourn (gifted) 4) breaking the ice by k.r. collins * 5) if only you by chloe liese (gifted) * 6) anxious people by frederik backman ⊹ 7) the catch by amy lea (gifted) 8) weekends with you by alexandra paige (arc) 9) happily never after by lynn painter (arc) 10) klara and the sun by kazuo ishiguro 11) good material by dolly alderton 12) in the event this doesn't fall apart by shannon lee barry 13) the night ends with fire (arc) by k.x. song 14) the good, the bad, and the aunties (arc) by jesse q. sutanto 15) where sleeping girls lie (arc) by faridah àbíké-íyímídé 16) sophomore surge by k.r. collins * 17) lighting the lamp by k.r. collins * 18) glove save and a beauty by k.r. collins * 19) home ice advantage by k.r. collins * 20) power play by k.r. collins * 21) grounded by k.r. collins * 22) line chemistry by k.r. collins *

march ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) happy medium by sarah adler (arc) 2) a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab (audiobook) 3) expiration dates by rebecca serle (arc) 4) divine rivals by rebecca ross (book club) 5) the siren by katherine st. john (gifted) 6) light in gaza edited by jehad abusalim 7) how to end a love story by yulin kuang (arc) // reviewed here 8) rising from the deep: the seattle kraken, a tenacious push for expansion, and the emerald city's sports revival by geoff baker 9) les misérables by victor hugo (reread)

april ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) the goodbye cat by hiro arikawa (reread) 2) the traveling cat chronicles by hiro arikawa (reread) 3) this is me trying by racquel marie (arc) 4) kill her twice by stacey lee (arc) 5) the pairing by casey mcquiston (arc) 6) swiped by l.m. chilton (arc) 7) lies and weddings by kevin kwan (arc) 8) the odyssey by homer (audiobook)

may ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

1) this summer will be different by carley fortune (arc) 2) the viscount who loved me by julia quinn (reread) 3) romancing mister bridgerton by julia quinn (reread) 4) the iliad by homer (narrated by audra mcdonald) (audiobook) 5) a novel love story by ashley poston (arc) 6) when he was wicked by julia quinn (reread) 7) a banh mi for two by trinity nguyen (arc) 8) the secret garden by frances hodgson burnett (audiobook)

june ⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ

1) lessons in chemistry by bonnie garmus 2) the phantom of the opera by gaston leroux (audiobook) 3) you, with a view by jessica joyce 4) s. by j.j. abrams & doug dorst 5) the hunchback of the notre dame (audiobook) A

[mostlyvoid-partiallyflowers]

Okay I just speedran The Sunshine Court in like 12 hours. I will be rereading it soonly and giving more coherent thoughts but here’s my main takeaways:

- Thought #1: Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck this book exists. I am on the floor I’m so fucking excited.

Spoilers below the cut

- I absolutely love that we get both Jean and Jeremy POVs. It’s great especially because Jean is an oblivious and traumatized and if we just see things through his eyes we would never get to see Jeremy PINING like an absolute icon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s about the pining, the waiting, the yearning. I’m simple man, I like my books gay, angsty, and with tension you could cut with a knife. This delivers on all accounts.

- I love getting to see the end of tkm from Jean’s perspective. Getting to see him watch the Foxes v Ravens game was incredible. I’m a very big fan.

- Renee and Jean time! Renee giving Jean her cross necklace. I’m in tears, I’m dead, I’m on the floor. It’s not the right time for us 😭. Excuse me? I’m unwell.

- Kevin Day, queen of my heart! Getting to see how someone other than Neil canonically sees Kevin is an absolute treat for me. Jean’s weakness for beautiful men has become known. Me too Jean, me too.

- Jeremy, light of my life, I can’t believe you’re rich. At least your family sucks because I don’t think I could take it if your family was wealthy and nice.

- Jeremy + Jean meeting for the first time. Jeremy trying and failing to play with a yo-yo. I’d die for you. They are ADHD 🤝 Autism solidarity me thinks.

- Montana has a pro Exy team which is not at all plausible but I’ll let it slide because one Montana mention for the win and two the team is called the Rustics which is absolutely what we’d call a pro sports team if we had one. The only reason Montanan’s at large would commit to indoor lacrosse is that Kayleigh Day was Irish and so solidarity.

- Laila and Cat, my beloveds. The description of their apartment has me yearning for the same. They have a bay window with a window seat okay. That’s like in my top three desires for a home.

- Carboard cutout dog with a classic Nora pet name. I’ll love Mister B forever. I love how Jeremy keeps moving him around. I love how Jean hates it.

- Trans characters! Poly characters! Nonbinary characters! Nora, my birthday has come a little late but damn this was a gift!

- I am absolutely pronouncing Jean wrong in my head probably 70% of the time.

- I’m so fucking angry at the Ravens. My blood is boiling and I want to cry. Jean deserved better, Kevin deserved better, Riko deserved better. All the Ravens deserved better. I want to put Tetsugi Moriyama into a blender and feed him to the crows.

- Jean was 16. I’m absolutely incandescent with rage.

- Jeremy is so patient with Jean and I will forever love him for that.

- This book was a lot shorter time frame than I was expecting, mainly because I keep forgetting there’s going to be another one.

- The food control but is driving me crazy. It makes me so fucking mad. Let my boy eat. I want him to be happy.

- Jeremy has seen Jean looking 👀 ummmmmm hello? “More exclusively than you do, I think.” I’m on the floor.

- Laila buying Jean a sex toy?!? Oh my god. What would she even get him? I feel like he deserves a vibrating cock ring or something fun like that. That way service top™️ Jeremy Knox can use it on him when they finally get together.

- I love seeing Neil from Jean’s perspective. It’s funny how different he is from my perspective and Jean’s/everyone else’s. I’ve spent so much time thinking about him from Andrew’s pov that it’s weird seeing him through anyone else’s. Everyone is like this scrappy irritating son of bitch is gonna get what’s coming to him, and Andrew is like, well I can’t not fuck him.

- The second Jean mentions Drake to Neil. And then Neil immediately calls a hit out on Gr@yson. Neil, you will always be famous to me.

- Jean-Yves! I hope he starts using his full name again at some point.

- Elodie :(((((( I can imagine what Jean’s going through and I am so afraid for him. If he keeps pushing all these feelings down he’s going to break sooner or later, but probably sooner.

- Jeremy’s unconditional support of Jean has my whole heart. Jean has friends now. I’m crying.

[n1ght-sh4d3]

Ref Sheet Group 1

UPDATE

~Jobs~

GD: Reaper

PR: BSRS Leader

DM: Scientist

LM: Gardener

RL: Royal Guard General

DaM: Scientist

SD: Reaper

GR: Dream's Apprentice

RD: Reaper

BP: Artist

~Parents~

GD: Geno x Reaper

PR: Ink x Dream

DM: Fell x Sci

LM: Ren x Paci

RL: Splat x Lucid

DaM: Fell x Sci

SD: Geno x Reaper

GR: Ink x Dream

RD: Geno x Reaper

BP: Ink x Blue

~Ships~

Due x Palette x Goth

Dante x Rurik x Lotus

Grisaille x Sorell

Raven x Blueprint

[minyardapologist]

Now. If you want to get comparative here. Lucas is the Trojans’ Aaron character through his relationship with his brother. If we let Gr*yson be the parallel/antichrist version of Andrew, I think their relationship is fairly similar in the sense of losing your brother, who was the last one truly there for you, who you want so deeply to bond with and depend on and to trust that they’ll stay, and yet the cruelness of the world (Andrew’s long-lasting abuse and the worldview he created out of that; Gr*yson’s indoctrination by the Ravens into being a careless abuser) rips the two of you apart even after finding each other again. And the one person on this earth you wanted to love you cannot love you in the way that you needed.

The pivotal difference is that Aaron and Andrew found each other again eventually, through the screaming and pain and blood and loss and the violent but unquestionable love, while Gr*yson couldn’t overcome the cruelty with which he inflicted on others and his brother, and paid with his life.

[coconox]

"little" silly and biased theory i think that noctis, like vera, wanted gr skk to be cerberus' skk

in rozen's secrets she has thought so much about wanting our skk to be cerbys skk she straight up came up w a method of hypothetically transferring them to cerberus

i think it also kinda lines up w the fact that vera doesnt really trust murray as much as she does w skk. now ofc it could just be the whole "everyone loves mc" trope, but it was stated somewhere in main story abt how vera still doesnt really trust murray due to him being so secretive and leaving many ppl in the dark abt his intentions, plus vera always ran into dead ends when trying to dig up any sort of secrets in regards to murray (i kinda think this is sort of a protective measure vera went through to ensure nothing bad would happen to noctis or 21 if murray became cerberus' skk, but thats more of a hc and i have no evidence to back that up lol)

while yes cerberus does listen to murray, it doesnt always mean theyll 100% trust him like they do w skk. i think the fact that murray is also a remote skk leaves some sort of emotional disconnect btwn him and cerberus. whereas w our skk, who is always on field, has a bit more connection (both physically and emotionally lol 💀) w cerberus purely from just being able to fight alongside them and being the go-to skk for m.i.n.d. connection if anything goes south

another small thing i'd also like to add is the fact that skk was the only one able to give buddy nicknames shows how much 21 grew to trust skk, considering in most of ex05 21 refused to acknowledge/cooperate w skk unless vera tells her to

there was also chaos unsnarled, where 21 was practically unphased from skk m.i.n.d. linking w her out of nowhere, compared to ex05 where she kinda hated the fact that they had to connect to her at the beginning.

now back to noctis, back in chapter 10 (we are now in chapter 24 as of the making of this post) noctis brings up skk in a convo w bianca

this is very much a huge stretch, but his remark on "but now that commandant is leading a team of... trash" seems a bit of a /hj to me. while yeah its a jab at how cerberus likes to poke fun at gray raven, it also feels like hes saying it w a bit of envy? his earlier remark abt how skk treats him (i.e. most likely in a kind/friendly way) is smth he wishes he could have, noting how cold and ruthless a lot of purifying force members tend to be. should also be noted how he stated our skk and not his skk, again reinforcing the small disconnect cerberus has w their actual skk i mentioned earlier.

timeskip to ex05, where cerberus works alongside our skk. to them it would almost feel like a trial run for if skk was in cerby rather than gr.

again, i could very much be exaggerating his excitement and dissect the "of course, i'm very friendly" line using his dorm lines as further evidence, but i'll leave out as much spoilers abt noctis' er story+general content released in sands of wrath as possible for this post. for the first bit of interaction btwn skk and noctis, he appeared to be VERY responsive to a lot of skk's remarks, essentially not containing his excitement of meeting AND working directly w skk. theres also the fact that despite vera pulling a /j w the whole "humor skk while im not talking" comment, again, it feels more like a /hj moment. i do think vera wants noctis and 21 to open up to/get along w skk as well, considering skk is like a breath of fresh air in terms of how the majority of ppl react to cerberus' presence/treat cerberus in general.

from vera wanting to kidnap skk, to 21 considering skk as more than her companion, to nocti considering skk as his partner, i think the lack of mentioning murray while praising skk speaks volumes over which skk they prefer/genuinely want. now again, this could be a whole "everyone loves mc" trope w the added bonus of murray only being mentioned if lee is around/the subject in question, but this is just a silly game theory,, ok mayyybe hc territory, idk im bored and impatiently waiting for sands of wrath HGJDKFGHK

also this was totally an excuse to further build on my skk oc lore LOL /hj