#Gotta wonder how many people did know...

[trashpuppyy]

i got @wolfbeestudio's plushies and they're super cute!! i love them so much ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ i also drew a little fanart of crossy and killy, they sit together on my desk (cross looks constantly pissed at killer, canon accurate)

they have awesome designs and r so fun to play with and make little stories... you should totally buy one for yourself if you can ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

also killer cat in bow (as is custom to initiate a new killer plush) + bow version of drawing!! and also the inspiration pic for art!!!

thank you for the plushies wolfbee, i really love your work :3

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Love how you can tell how many Zelda games people have played/know about based on their takes. Like "Oh but Breath of the Wild is the first mainline Zelda game where you can jump on command with a dedicated jump button"

Do they mean nothing to you?

[icanseethefuture333]

PAC 18+: how to walk ‘em like a dog 🦮🎀🐆

“Back to the kitty, ‘cus she kinda pretty

Couldn’t stop lookin’ at her ti-ti-ti— face!

Me and cat mama rolled into the distant fog

Little did she know, I’m a nasty dog.”

Pile 1:

Shufflemancy -

Pussy Talk by City Girls ft. Doja Cat

Kehlani by Jordan Adetunji

The Zone by The Weeknd

Ten of Cups, Six of Cups, Five of Swords, Make An Altar, Chanting, Use Your Hands, Camera, Mirror, & The Grim Reaper

Hey pile,1 😝. The person who wishes for you to walk them like a dog admires you so much, they might even over romanticize you in their head, to them, you fulfill their fantasies. They think about you in different positions and wonder how your hands feel on them 😮‍💨. They get hard/wet just by the thought of you alone. I believe you show that to this person as well, you could tease them often or like to give them a show whenever you walk past them. “P*ssy talented it do cartwheels and he pay cus he like how that part feels, p*ssy give speeches, heart felt, say the p*ssy really talk like it Garfield (it do)��� 😅 oh god, I think this person is obsessed with the sounds your bodies make during sex, they are heavily infatuated with you. “I like the way your body is, is that too obvious? Okay I like your confidence, oh that’s what good karma, like kehlani is, bad just like kehlani is.” This person desires to be fair in the bedroom, they want to cum with you, pile 1. This might be someone you’ve known since childhood, your first love, or an ex that you met when you were young. You could be playful and mischievous in the bedroom, but also like to take the lead. Switch vibes are prominent in this pile. You and your person like to give and take. You could be a brat and they want to be your brat tamer. If you follow each other, this person has been watching your stories on social media, I feel like you post risqué photos for them and wonder if it’s working 👀 trust me it has, cus they have been getting it off to your pictures in secret 🤫… This person definitely worships your body and your beauty.

Full reading on my patreon

Pile 2:

Shufflemancy -

Goodies by Ciara ft. Petey Pablo

Slumber Party by Ashnikko ft. Princess Nokia

Bimbo Doll by Tila Tsoli ft. BJ Lips

King of Wands, King of Cups, Knight of Cups, Watch A Movie, Massage, Rest, Talking, Keys on a Ring, & Love Call

I love how hyper feminine my pile 2 is 🎀! You guys are so popular and have so many options in your dating life. People think that you are so cute but in a tempting way. Do you dress y2k, mcbling, or coquette? Whatever your style might be, people think it looks so hot on you. You could attract both girls and guys with your looks, especially older guys. “You may look at me and think that I’m just a young girl but I’m not just a young girl. Baby this is what I’m lookin for - sexy, independent, gotta spend it type for gettin his dough. I’m not being too dramatic that’s just how I gotta have it. I bet you want the goodies, bet you thought about it.” You know your worth and don’t settle for less, despite your sweet appearance you know you give people a run for their money. People even wish to give you their money. Are you a sugar baby? If not, you should become one, you’d be very successful. I have a feeling you have people wrapped around your pretty finger. Others desire to spoil you with gifts and money. Dare I say I see this pile being with both a woman and a man (maybe even at the same time?)👀. “Me and your girlfriend playin’ dress up in my house, I gave your girlfriend c*nnilingus on my couch. She cute, kawaii, hentai boobies that excite me. I think she really likes me, ask politely, can I - woo ooh ooh (slumber party).” Two people wish to initate things with you but you have total control over the situation. Your features really entice people, you could have doe eyes, big lips, nice boobs, and a cute butt. When you talk, this person(s) doesn’t know where to focus their eyes, they get so nervous around you and have to control themselves from getting too intense with the conversation. They also really wish to hear you dirty talk to them. Your voice is a a major turn on to this peoples, it’s giving phone sex operator level of skill lol. As I was typing “hear”, I accidentally spelled “head” so they definitely want to see your lips on their d*ck/p*ssy as well😚.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 3:

Shufflemancy -

Get On Your Knees by Nicki Minaj ft. Ariana Grande

Distraction by Kehlani

Rocket by Beyoncé

Eight of Pentacles, Seven of Wands (reversed), Nine of Cups, Sex, Abundance Planning, Deep Breathing, The Sword and The Rose, Not Today, & Clock

PHEW 😮‍💨 don’t hurt em now, pile 3. This is my dominant pile. You guys know how to take charge in the bedroom. This person wants to be at your mercy. I’m talking having you on top and riding them as hard as you can or them getting on their knees to beg at your feet. This person actually wants to be walked like a dog lol. They are very submissive and like pain. I feel like you know this as well 😂! You have so much control over them and they want you to know you run this relationship. I feel you and this person are already together or have a thing going on, if not I see things progressing sexually pretty fast. This might be a tinder date situation. “Get on your knees, get on your knees, baby just get on your knees. Say pretty please, pretty please, pretty please. Baby just say pretty please” you could like to use this person as a stress reliever. The sex would be slow and intense. “Do me a favor, pick me up, take me out later. Don't worry about no paper cus I got much stacked up for nights like this” I see that you’re a hard working person and don’t have time to be in a committed relationship but value trust, loyalty, and honesty. This person provides that safe space for you and allows you to express your flaws in peace. You don’t have to be perfect and fake a smile like you usually have to do in professional settings. I see that this person really wishes to be with you in a romantic way but doesn’t want to rush or force things on you if they know you have other responsibilities to tend to. It’s reminding me of Nani and David from Lilo & Stitch. David had a huge crush on Nani but due to her focusing on needing to be there for Lilo and being a provider, she didn’t have time to acknowledge his feelings until later she was settled in her career. I see that you are grateful towards this person and attracted to their emotional intelligence.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 4:

Shufflemancy -

Blah Blah Blah by Kesha ft. 3OH!3

Please me by Cardi B ft. Bruno Mars

Dip It Low by Christina Milian

The Chariot, Seven of Swords, Ten of Wands, Pleasure, Flow Like Water, Hydrate, Addiction, Date, & The Phoenix

Heyyy, pile 4 😉. I see that this person got you down bad lol but not to worry since the feeling is mutual. I feel that you came on to this person before they even did. You could be an extrovert while this person is an introvert. They’re very reserved and are careful with how they express themselves. You might flirt with this person while they’re on the job or when they’re focusing in class. They like to pretend they are disinterested in your advances to see how much you’re willing to keep going after them. It could stroke their ego a little bit knowing someone as “cute” as you likes them (I heard an emphasis on the word “cute”). You could be feeling confused on whether or not they like you back and it results in you feeling pouty about the situation. This connection could be relatively new but this person is wanting to explore how things go! This person could want to tease you a lot or perhaps even degrade 🫠. They might like to talk shit playfully just to get under your skin. For some reason I feel like this person likes to make you mad 💀 they can be really annoying. They like when you tell them to shut up or put them in their place. If you yelled at them even and kissed this person the next, they would live for that shit. They’re kinda toxic honestly 😂. “blah, bl-bl-blah, blah, blah. Coming out'cha mouth with'cha blah, blah, blah. Zip your lip like a padlock (Yeah) and meet me in the back with the Jack at the jukebox (back, back). I don't really care where you live at, just turn around, boy, let me hit that. Don't be a little bitch with your chit chat just show me where your d*ck’s at”. This person really enjoys your banter and despite being so hard on you they really only have a soft spot for you, I heard “that’s my baby” 🥹☺️. Pile 4, you must have a great ass as well 🍑. This person looks at your physique when you’re not looking, they really want to know what it feels like to have your body pressed against them. “Please me, baby. Turn around and just tease me, baby. You know what I want and what I need, baby. (Let me hear you say) Please” this person’s energy is honestly all over the place 💀 they’re just so horny lol. This person wants you *london accent* BAD, man.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 5:

Shufflemancy -

Lolly by Maejor ft. Justin Bieber & Juicy J

Walk Like This by FLO

Promiscuous by Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland

Seven of Pentacles, Page of Cups, The Star (reversed), Plan A Meal, Nourish Your Temple, Music, Love, Passion, & Photograph

Ooo wee, pile 5🫣🤭, when I say this person has a biiiiig 📦 for you. This person has very masculine energy, almost giving fuckboy/frat guy vibes 😂. They could be very fit and muscular with a nice smile, they know they’re fine and attract a lot of people towards them. There could be a height difference between you and this person. Their attraction to you is because of the stereotypical phrase “idk you’re just different”. They don’t have the exact reasons why they’re into you but they do like your creativity, mannerisms, and shy demeanor. This person could have a corruption kink 💀. They could want to see you break out of that good girl / good boy routine and try something new and risky. You and this person know of each other but don’t seem to be very close, perhaps they are in your friend circle or you guys are just acquaintances. They often have dirty thoughts of you giving them head and seeing how much you can take of them. This person could wine and dine you first before wanting to go down on you. “Order what you want, girl, it ain't no problem. I'ma tell the waitress that my baby need a bottle. Order what you want, said it ain't no problem. Got a piece of candy and it's all for you. She say she love my lolly. She wanna make it pop. She say she love my lolly. She wanna kiss the top”. They like sex that’s really rough and nasty, if it’s not messy and loud they’re not into it 😭. I see that they’re into positions like 69, cowgirl, and missionary. They’re big on seeing your face during sex, they get really cheeky about the good work they’re doing and would want to pin your hands down so you can beg for more. I do see jewelry and this person wearing chains🙂‍↔️. This person would be more so walking you like a dog but you have them on a leash in the sense you keep them coming back. They could have you walking funny after you’re done 🤭 you might be really sore the next day as well. “There's a reason I walk like this (I walk). My baby, he be lovin' on this (Oh yeah). When he do it, he be workin' that shit (Oh yeah) And every night he got me wantin' more of it”. You might feel confident and pleased after having sex with this person and can feel a sense of relief.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 6:

Shufflemancy -

Play With It by Tommy Genesis

Who Am I (What's My Name?) by Snoop Dogg

Girls Need Love by Summer Walker

The Fool (reversed), The Sun, Five of Cups (reversed), Write a Gratitude List, Take a Walk, Clean Your Space, Family, Not Enough, Ax, & Healing Heart

Pile 6, you still not over your ex, huh 😔? It’s ok, no judgment here, baby 🫶. I see you and your ex still have an attachment together, things might be on and off or you don’t really know where the direction of this relationship is headed towards. I see that you are a very caring person and because of miscommunication, you and this person seem to never be on the right foot. It’s possible some of you who picked this pile have a baby with this person or will get pregnant (please use protection if this isn’t what you want!). I see a lot of fertility going on in this pile, you and this person could prefer to make love or have sex as if you’re making a baby lol. This person could have a breeding kink? They get turned on by the idea of you being pregnant with their child. Whenever you wear sundresses that is also sexy to them. I feel like your body is so tea, pile 6. Either you’re really thick and curvy or your body is just gorgeous to people, especially your sp. This person fantasizes about doing it raw while you touch yourself in front of them. “Play wit' the p*ssy, wanna play wit' the p*ssy. Come get a hooky, baby, come get a hooky. I wanna fuck you, baby, I wanna fuck you. If we not fuckin', baby, come get it poppin'”. This person is scared to fully pursue because you seem to be in a place of healing in your life and doesn’t want to add to that. There is another person that is new coming who also wishes to take your ex’s spot 👀 Oop! I feel like this will be their friend who will make passes at you and this will make your sp really jealous lol. In the bedroom, their jealousy could make them more dominant and want to take control. There is a lot about wanting to hear you moan or scream their name. They can be very vocal too i'm getting a lot about hissing so maybe they hiss whenever you get their spot? PHEW- They could want to fuck you doggy style while they spank your ass. “She want the nigga with the biggest nuts, and guess what? He is I and I am him. Slim with the tilted brim, what's my motherfuckin' name? Snoop Doggy Dogg (The bomb). Snoop Doggy Dogg Snoop Doggy Dogg (The bomb)” they can be really boastful after sex if they get you to cum and you can get annoyed by this lol. You might tell your person “it wasn’t even allat🙄” and they’ll tease you cus they know it was 😋. I see this person providing you with aftercare and massaging your back and feet. Even though you might not be together at the moment, this person really values you as a person and knows their place.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 7:

Shufflemancy -

Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home) by Usher

JT Coming by JT

Huff n Puff by Red Velvet

Page of Swords, Knight of Wands (reversed), The Emperor, Be Still, Energy Work, Sync with the Moon, The Snake, Lightning, & Separation

Alright this is giving my queer pile 🥰, very androgynous energy all around here 😎. Regardless of what your gender might be, both you and this person are independent and like to have things a certain way. You could have met them through a dating app or while on a date with another person (Crazy work but ok 😂). I'm getting maybe someone is a bartender or works at some place where they have to socialize a lot. You and your sp are very flirtatious towards the other but someone gets super shy when it comes to compliments. This is for a select few of you but some of you might be transgender? Perhaps you are a trans man/woman and this person is cisgender. You might be nervous to be too flirty with them in case they might reject you but honestly i'm getting go for it baby, life is too short to be worrying about those things (just remember to be safe is all 🫶🏽). This person will be very polite and respectful towards you so just allow yourself to unwind when you go out with this person. "I ain't gotta do a lot of flexing (Uh-huh). Shorty, you already know what it is. Ha, and girl, tonight we gonna do a lot of sexin', yeah. Can't nobody do your body like this." They could be very forward and direct when it comes to communication they do not like beating around the bush, i'm getting someone likes to man spread a lot or you will notice that they sit with their legs open. Laaaawd when I tell you this person has a big 🍆 or owns one, they will have that shit ready for you LOLLL. This person gives big dick energy they're just very secure with themselves and how they carry on. You might feel insecure about some things and ask them "does this bother you?" or "do you find this attractive?" and they're gonna be like "yah" to everything. THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN GIVE A VERBAL RESPONSE TBH they just might nod their head or whatever and look at you like "is we fuckin' or what 😏🎶?". To them, these questions don't make sense like for example they would think "why wouldn't I like hip dips?" or "facial harmony? what the hell does that even mean? I don't care about that, I care about you." So if you are someone who compares themselves to people on the internet truuuust when I say this person is not chronically online to understand any of that shit. They like what they see and they just want to give it to you and more. "It's been a while since you gave, ho, it's time to give it up (Give it up). Like a bitch with a fresh BBL, you can't sit with us (Nah). Fine motherfucker, white boys say I rock (Hah). I gotta stay protected 'cause y'all stay on my c*ck. My new whip beautiful, I call it p*ssy whip. It was a gift, my nigga friends say he p*ssy whipped." Your sp might be older as well or very mature for their age.

Full reading on patreon

Pile 8:

Shufflemancy -

SHY GUY by Tinashe

Good For You by Selena Gomez ft. A$ap Rocky

Unfold by Alina Baraz

Seven of Swords, Five of Pentacles, The Star, Journal, Look for Fairies, Movement, Hammer, The Dragonfly, & Self-Indulgence

Aww this is my soft pile 🛌. I see that you guys are very spiritual and dreamy. You might fantasize a lot about this person. For some of you, you might even be manifesting them. I see that the feelings you have towards this person are very tender and loving. I see that this person is very flighty and doesn’t wish to have such a big commitment. This person you are interested could have ghosted you or there’s something wrong with your communication. Maybe you and this person have different time zones or a conflict of schedule. There’s something about the person not being there for you. “Shy guy, always sayin' it's the wrong time. Even though you know it feels right. Love don't fit into your timeline (La, la, la, la). Shy guy, always sayin' it's the wrong time. Even though you know it feels right. Love don't fit into your timeline. Shy guy (Guy, guy, guy, guy, guy)” I believe you are being too kind to this person and need to detach and allow them to chase you. Focusing on yourself and seeing other people will allow this person to show up for you and be the person that you need. Now is the time for you to be self indulgent and take care of yourself. Some of you should practice healing in the bedroom and should learn about what makes you feel good sexually. Perhaps exploring with new partners will help you find new things that provide pleasure. I see that you are very submissive or lean towards more vanilla. Try to vocalize what makes you feel good to your partner and be more assertive. Your energy reminds me of Jhené Aiko’s song “P*$$y Fairy”, very sensual but delicate. To this person if you were to show them your new found confidence, they will crumble to their knees and will feel stunned. They might ask you questions like “where did you learn this baby???” Or “have you been having fun without me?”. They really love how you taste 😳 this sp wants to pull your dress/skirt up or pants off and just go to town. Their favorite thing is when you’re all dolled up and getting ready to go out. “Gonna wear that dress you like, skin-tight. Do my hair up real, real nice. And syncopate my skin to your heart beating. Cause I just wanna look good for you, good for you. I just wanna look good for you, good for you. Let me show you how proud I am to be yours.” I’m seeing that they admire your facial expressions during sex for to them it’s too cute, something about makeup smudging? Things can get really messy 👀

Full reading on patreon

Pile 9:

Shufflemancy -

Come Alive by Jackson Wang

Earned It by The Weeknd

Swim by Chase Atlantic

Eight of Wands, Death, The Hanged One, Dance, Look to the Stars, Sound Healing, The Grim Reaper, Ascending, & Healthy Choices

When I tell you this pile is NASTYYY. It’s honestly crazy how much this person wants to match your freak, pile 9. Definitely saved best for last. The sex almost feels cinematic in a way. Something about this person just gives main character vibes that is so seductive you can’t turn your eyes away from them. I believe your relationship with this person could have progressed pretty fast. For some of you, you could have kissed or even had sex after the first date. While I also see that this is a friends with benefits situation (does someone have a contract?!). You could find them mysterious or wish to get to know them on a more interpersonal level. You could feel that these things are more surface level in terms of attraction and don’t want the intimacy to only be superficial. I see that this sp is charming and prefers to disclose things little by little. “I come alive. You start me up a million times. And I'm terrified. That you could leave me crying.” So this person could be afraid of opening up to you because they are nervous about getting their heart broken. They might have previously gotten out of a relationship and they are learning how to trust in a partner again. Your sp could be afraid of rejection and that's why they are disorganized in terms of how they want to pursue you. Providing this person with assurance will help them gain courage, also pile 9, make sure to do what's healthy for you, try not to overly devote your time to this person. I see that communicating with your partner and talking about how you have been feeling will want to open up more and trust you. Something about wearing lingerie in the bedroom is a major turn on for this person. Taking control and guiding this person will help allow them to let their guard down. "Cause girl, you're perfect (girl, you're perfect). You're always worth it (always worth it). And you deserve it (and you deserve it). The way you work it (the way you work it). 'Cause girl, you earned it, yeah (earned it). Girl, you earned it, yeah". Your sp would be over the moon for you.

Full reading on patreon

[impish-baby]

More dad survivor x zombie reader + an old friend :) (tw: dead animal, guns, emetophobia, threats of harm)

"Aw, sugar.." The dead bird is the farthest thing from appetizing but you look so darn happy offering it to him, how's he supposed to say no?

"You're the sweetest, daddy will eat it later, ok?" That at least seems to be satisfactory enough for now, as you drop the poor thing down onto the park table.

The playground has long been abandoned, left in disarray since the apocalypse hit, that doesnt stop Hank from finding it absolutely adorable when you try to climb up a slide. Nearly gives him a heart attack though.

"Baby, come on, you're gonna hurt yourself." He wonders if you remember being little and playing here, your memory isn't the best when it comes to some things but you sure seem to recall what it takes to give him gray hairs. "I know you think it's fun, but your old man really couldn't handle it if you got scratched up while you're messing around."

You get hurt so easily now a days, he's basically toddler proofed the house all over again and yet you still find a way to bang yourself up when he's not around, that's why he's taken to tying you up when he can't keep an eye on you.

When you do finally decide to slide back down, Hank immediately sweeps you up into his arms with a soft chuckle. "Alright, alright, I think you've had enough outside time for today, we should be headin' home."

It would've been a good day, a great one even, if he didn't catch the glittering of a silver barrel from the corner of his eye.

"Shit-" Hank has never been more greatful that he was holding you, because you lunge automatically for the stranger and likewise closer to the gun. "No, sweetheart, shhh..shh..calm down.." God, he'd love it if you listened, it's hard to pull out his own pistol while trying to wrangle you into staying put.

Other survivors aren't very common in town, most people left after the first few months.

"You gonna let that thing go so I can shoot it?" He recognizes that voice, and it makes Hank's heart sink into a pit in his stomach. "I ain't.. Hank?" A familiar face is rare, a friendly familiar face is nearly unheard of.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot, just step back for a minute, alright?" When Hank glances over, he wasn't expecting Bo to be emptying his stomach onto the cement.

"I- Fuck-" The man retches again, dryheaving. "You.. God, the kid.." An honorary uncle, Bo knew you since the day you where born, he didn't see the day that was meant to be your last.

"I know," You stopped struggling once you heard his voice, eyes wide as you simply whine to be let down. "You're gonna have to wait, be patient, hun." That never was your strong suit. "The grown ups need to talk."

"Hank.. man, you gotta let them go.." There's tears in Bo's eyes as he takes a cautious step forward. "They're dead. There aren't any ifs or buts, that's a corpse. You can't-"

"That is my child," He's been a sinner for a long time, if it comes down to it, shooting his brother will be one of his worst. "My baby, what kind of father am I to hurt them?"

"A merciful one!" There are days you wake up confused and scared, you cry for hours or at least your body tries to. "They aren't a person anymore, Hank, they aren't themselves. You're fucking lucky they haven't bitten you yet!"

"I'd welcome it if they did." He's thought about it, that first night when you went cold in his arms and many more after that. "You pull that trigger and that's it, a life without my kid isn't worth living."

"Dammit," Hank almost collapses in relief as the gun is holstered, putting his away as well. "You're still an idiot, huh? Figures.."

Bo approaches slowly, never taking his eyes off your still form. All you do is smile and try to reach out for a hug, but he cringes away with a look of disgust.

Hank's heart breaks as you tuck your teary face against his neck. He doesn't know how to explain in a way you'd still understand, all he can is press a kiss to your forehead and shush your sniffles.

[dakotalun]

"Oops" | Eddie Munson

pairing: Eddie Munson X Fem Reader

summary: Part 1--Eddie "accidentally" sends a tasteful pic to his best friend.

warnings: mutual pining, pet names (sweetheart), strong language, description of naked Eddie

word count: 3.4k

Part 2

a/n: went a little crazy at 3am the other night and wrote this. Part two will be up later this week!! Luv y'all <3

*******NOT MY GIF, CREDIT TO OWNERS*******

Eddie is your best friend of many years, the two of you being inseparable from the moment you met. So when you got a text from him tonight you don’t think much of it, figuring it was just a dumb meme he saw or a random thing from today.

What you didn’t expect to see was a picture of Eddie standing in his bathroom, towel slung over his shoulders with a prominent boner happening.

His hair is wet as if he just got out of the shower and hadn’t bothered to dry it yet. The long dark brown locks stick to his neck and chest in a way that can only be described as godly. The tattoos on his skin are glistening but covered by the towel around his neck and as you move your eyes downward the path of hair that leads to his dick is delicious.

And talking about his dick it is, mag-fucking-nificent! The way that it hangs there, the tip swollen and red, leaking the smallest bit of precum. It has your mouth watering.

You nearly choked on your own spit when you saw it. Never in a million years did you think that Eddie would be sending you of all people nudes. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t wonder what he was packing but you never really indulged in those thoughts, until now. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the screen, memorizing every little detail in the photo.

Eddie sends another text but you’re too distracted to see what it is. Then a stream of texts start flooding in from him.

‘SHIT!’

‘I DID NOT NMEAN TO SNED YIU THAT!’

‘IGNORE THE PICTUREA’

‘HOW THE HELL DO I DELETE THE PIC?!?!?!’

‘GOD I AM SOSOSOSOSOSOSSOO SOORRY!!’

You giggle at his frantic typing, noting all the typos. Curiosity gets the better of you and you scroll up a little to see what he had said after he sent the picture. You’re eyes go wide at the words displayed on your screen.

‘Couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you. Jerked off twice while in the shower and I’m still hard. Wish you were here with me right now ;)’

You had no clue who this was really meant for but if it was meant for you you would 100 percent be on your way to him right now. The bottom half of the picture stares back at you as your eyes acan over the text again and again. You can’t deny the small hint of wetness that you feel on your underwear while looking at the two.

Twice? He came twice and is still hard. Whoever he thought about must be really hot if he can go 3 rounds without breaking a sweat. Could he go more?

Your thoughts were interrupted by your phone receiving a call, from none other than Eddie himself. You sit up in bed and pull your knees towards you as you answer his call.

“Sweetheart I am so so so sorry I sent you that. It was clearly meant for someone else. If I had known it was your contact that I was on I would have never sent that at all. I want you to know that I don’t go around sending nudes to everyone or anything, I’m not a slut I was just-”

“Eddie it’s fine. No need to apologize. I figured it wasn’t meant for me anyways.” It pains you a little at the thought that someone else was supposed to receive that message from your best friend.

“I’m still sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?” His voice sounds smooth like spreading butter onto fresh pancakes.

“Hmm,” You fake thinking about what you want even though you know exactly what it is you want, “You’ve gotta tell me who that text was really meant for.” Silence. For a whole minute there is just silence on Eddie’s end, you’d think he was dead if it weren’t for the fast pace of his breathing.

“Sweetheart,” The nickname is not helping the situation you have going on right now, “You don’t mean that. Can’t I just take you to breakfast or buy you a new outfit?”

“Nope.” You respond popping the ‘p’ as you say it. “Either tell me who it was meant for or I send it to the groupchat.” You were bluffing. You couldn’t let the others see him like that, that was for your eyes only. Not that anyone needed to know that.

“You wouldn’t dare,” His voice turned deep and threatening.

“Try. Me.” You challenge back.

Eddie groans, “Fine. You win,” A smile spreads across your face, “It was meant for Callie. This girl in my chem class, we’ve been talking for a little bit.”

You’re a mix of emotions right now; happy that Eddie found someone he’s interested in and took his shot, confused because he never told you about it, sad because you thought he trusted you with things like that, and slightly jealous because you want to be the one Eddie sent nudes to, purposefully.

“Sweetheart? You still there?” You completely forget that you’re still on the phone with Eddie until he says something.

“Uh yeah yeah I’m here. I’m um happy for you Ed. Glad you found someone. Look I gotta go to sleep, big test tomorrow, talk later. Bye.” You hang up before he can say anything else. 

Why did you feel this way about all this? You shouldn’t be thinking of Eddie in this way, he was your best friend. Best friends don’t think about going down on each other, or the way it would feel to have his cock inside you, or the moans he would release when he finally cums in you.

You shake it off and lay back down, setting your phone on your nightstand to charge. You try for half an hour to fall asleep but your mind can’t stop thinking about that damn picture. So you unlock your phone and go back to your messages with Eddie, looking to see if he deleted the picture or not. And to your luck it was the latter, the picture and text below still there for your viewing pleasure.

You’re still horny from the initial thought of him so it doesn’t take long for your hand to wander under your shorts and underwear to your clit. The thought that your fingers were his and the way he would whisper in your ear egging you on to finish.

The images of him jerking himself off in the shower flood you, his hand on the cold tiles, water hitting his back as he fists his cock, rubbing it slowly at first but becoming impatient and going faster until he cums all over the wall and his hand.

The image of his face when he does and the moans that would leave his mouth is what throws you over the edge yourself. Wishing it were him between your legs pulling it from you not your own fingers. Finally your body is tired enough to let you go to sleep, dreaming of Eddie once more.

---

You’re sitting with Eddie and the rest of Hellfire at lunch a week later. Neither of you have talked about what happened that night, both too embarrassed to say anything.

Things were normal though, Eddie would pick you up and drop you off to and from school. You’d talk on the phone every night about whatever happened that day that the other wasn’t there for. You liked the thought that the text didn’t hinder your friendship but you can’t help but be a little jealous about Eddie fucking someone else. It’s not like you were expecting him to confess his hidden undying love for you the next day but the realization that Eddie really did send you that accidentally; hurt.

The freshman are talking about some video game coming out when Eddie lean over to you.

“Whatcha’ thinking about?” There’s a smile on his face, one that you always loved seeing.

“Nothing,” You go back to eating your fruit.

“Alrighty then. Hey I was wondering what time you wanted to come over tonight?”

Your eyes grow wide, mind going back to the text, “Why?”

“Um it’s Wednesday. Horror movie marathon night, remember?” His head cocks to the side a little, his hair falling into his face. It reminds you of a dog questioning what it’s owner has in their hand.

“Oh right yeah. Um I don’t know if I can make it tonight.” That was a lie, you had nothing going on. But being in the trailer alone with Eddie after knowing what he looks like naked is not what you need right now.

“Awe come on! I rented Scream, Saw, and Halloween for tonight. You can’t make me watch them all alone,” He lowers his voice and leans closer, “What if I need protection from the bad guys?” His big doe eyes large and pleading with you.

You roll your eyes and push his face away from you, “Ugh fine. I’ll be there, how’s 8?”

“Perfect! I’ll order the pizzas, do you think you could make those amazing cookies for us?”

“You mean for you?”

“No. I mean for us, I would never eat all the cookies myself.”

“You did like 3 weeks ago! There were 30 cookies there and I had none of them.” You stare at him as he thinks back to then.

“Nope don’t remember which means it didn’t happen. So will you?” There are those puppy dog eyes again.

“Whatever but I swear if you eat all of them again I’ll castrate you.”

Eddie’s hands fly to his groin, protecting it from your threat. “Ouch, sweetheart. Didn’t know you hated my dick that much.”

I don’t. Just hate that it’s not mine. You thought, but you just rolled your eyes and continued on eating lunch until the bell rang.

---

Eddie rushed around his room looking for his favorite shirt when you showed up for movie night. You let yourself in, per usual and set the cookies down on the coffee table before heading to Eddie’s room. He was squating in front of his closet when you come in, you don’t announce yourself just stand there staring at his back.

He got a few new tattoos since last summer, two of which on his back. A skull and crossbones along with a knife wrapped in barbed wire. You haven’t seen them in person yet, it still being too cold to sit out in the sun. But looking at them now was a pleasure, the detail popping out as his muscles flex.

Eddie huffs and stands, defeated about not finding the shirt he wanted. He turns around and finds you standing in his doorway.

“Jesus! Why didn’t you say you were here?” His hand is over his heart as he catches his breath from the unintentional jump scare.

“I texted you like 20 minutes ago that I was on my way. Figured you knew I’d be here soon,” You say as you enter his room fully to sit on his bed.

“I did not see the text, I was in the shower,” The mention of this brought back memories of the photo, and what you did whilst looking at it, “Anyways pizza should be here soon and I’ve got beers and soda in the fridge.”

Eddie walks around you to his dresser, grabbing a random shirt and throwing it on. You’re sad at the loss of his bare skin but quickly shake the thought away. You get up from his bed and head to his living room, Eddie following in toe.

“So what are we watching first? I’ve seen Scream a few times but the other two I haven’t seen,” Eddie remarks as he grabs two beers from the fridge, opening them before handing you one.

You mumble a thanks before taking a sip, the bitter liquid coating your tastebuds. “I’ve seen Scream and Saw but not Halloween. Heard good things about it though, at least that’s what Robin said, Steve had other opinions.”

“Lemme guess pretty boy hated it and wished he never saw it?” Eddie laughs as he sets up Halloween on the tv.

“Yeah pretty much,” You laugh along. The thought of your friend sitting there watching the movie curled up in a blanket next to Robin bringing a smile to your face.

Eddie finishes setting up the movie and walks back the kitchen. He grabs a bag of chips and some dip before returning to your side on the couch. He opens the chips and pops one in his mouth, crunching it loudly.

You smile at the normalcy of everything right now, it’s as if nothing ever happened between the two of you. Which if we’re being honest nothing really did happen, Eddie just sent you a nude on accident. It’s not like you kissed or anything. Not that you’d hate it if you did.

You snack on the chips and dip with him while waiting for the pizza to show up, never starting the movie without it. The two of you talk about nothing in particular while you sit there. Eddie tells you about the upcoming DnD campaign he’s been working on.

His eyes lighting up and hands flying around erratically as he explains what he planned, the animation in his character brings an even bigger smile to your face.

Just as Eddie concludes his explanation, inviting you to come sit in and watch it at the end, the doorbell rings notifying the both of you that the pizza was here and it was now time for movie night to begin.

Eddie pays the guy and happily walks over to the couch and sets the food on the table in front of the two of you, he can’t even wait til the movie starts playing to begin eating. You laugh at him as he opens and closes his mouth quickly trying to cool the hot pizza in his mouth, you just hit play and start watching the movie.

The pizza is gone, same with half the bag of chips and the cookies. Eddie actually let you eat  a few of them before he scarfed down the others. You’re nearing the end of Scream, the third and final movie of the night when you look at your phone for the time. 12:25 stares back at you, you groan knowing that your parents are going to kill you for coming home so late on a school night.

Eddie hears you and turns to see why you made that noise. You just wave him off and go back to watching the movie, watching as Skeet Ulrich gets shot for the final time in the head. A few minutes later the credits roll and Eddie turns off the tv, letting the trailer fade into silence.

“Wanna tell me what that groaning was about?” Eddie asks turning to face you completely.

“Nothing, just didn’t realize that it had gotten so late. Parents are gonna kill me if I go home at this hour.”

“So just stay here,” He says with no hesitation, “You still have a few clothes here after last movie night. They’re just siting in my drawer.”

You think about it for a minute. You and Eddie have had sleepovers in the past, nothing special about them, just two people sharing a bed, occasionally cuddling because of the small size of it. But now the thought of it made you nervous, having him so close to you, so near yet not being able to touch him. It killed you, but it’s better than going back home right now and having your mom and dad rip you a new one.

“Alright, I’m gonna need to shower though. Coach had us run the mile today at practice and I still feel disgusting.”

“Yeah no problem, you go ahead and shower, I’ll clean up here.” He stands and starts clearing the trash from the table. You get up too and head into his bathroom, but no matter how hot the water is or how long you stand under it you can't get the thought of the picture and the words under it out of your mind.

He was right here, jerking off to the thought of someone. You scold yourself for thinking about him like that, again. But you couldn’t help it.

Recently you’ve thought about him more and more; his smile, the dimples that show when he’s really happy, how animatedly he talks, the way his hair is always unkempt but still looks so damn soft. You thought about him in ways you never did before seeing that picture; his arms, his muscles, his hands, his rings. Everything about him turned you on and you needed it to go away.

Eddie finished up cleaning and sat down on his bed, beer in hand while he took out his metal lunchbox for a joint. You walk into his room, towel wrapped around yourself, hair dripping wet from the shower. He stops his actions to just stare at you, the same way you did earlier that night.

“Uh could I borrow some clothes? I don’t have anything to sleep in,” You say wrapping your arms under your boobs, pushing them up ever so slightly.

Eddie clears his throat, “Yeah, sure.” He gets up and walks over to his dresser, rummaging through it to look for something you can wear tonight. He pulls out a pair on your underwear that you “left” there a while back and one of his Hellfire shirts. You denied his offer of some pants, saying they would be way to big on you and you’d rather just sleep in the shirt.

Eddie’s mind went straight to the gutter at that thought, you sleeping next to him, in just his Hellfire shirt and a pair of underwear he stole from you. His dick was growing hard just thinking about it. He quickly got back to looking for his joint and lighting it upon it’s appearance. He took a few hits while you changed in the bathroom, his mind slowly fogging over.

You return, hair still slightly wet with the towel in your hand. You toss it into his hamper before laying on his bed, grabbing his beer and taking a sip. You lay back and close your eyes, letting the serenity of this moment wash over you. Eddie offers you a hit but you decline, being that you don’t ever mix weed and booze together.

He finishes the joint while you finish his beer. The two of you just sitting there with the light sound of whatever record Eddie has playing. Your thoughts are quiet for the most part, just soaking in the time with your best friend, until you think of something. A question you’ve been meaning to ask for a little bit.

“Eddie?”

“Hmm?” He responds head leaning back onto the wall where a headboard should be.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, hit me.” You reach your hand out and hit him in the thigh.

“Ouch! Not literally, I meant with the question, sweetheart.”

“I know,” You giggle.

“Brat,” He mumbles back.

“Anyways, I was gonna ask -and you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to it’s just something I’ve been thinking about- but did you really not know it was me you were sending that picture to?” The words lay heavy on your tongue as you say them aloud. You’ve been thinking about this for a while, it’s hard not to.

How did he not know it was you he was texting, your name was right there at the top of the screen. And if he was sending it to someone else how could he not double-check to make sure he wasn’t sending it to someone like Wayne or Robin.

He’s quiet for a moment, thinking about the best way to tell you that, yes he did know it was you he was sending it to. And yes he knew it was stupid but he wanted to try something to see if you felt the same way about him that he does you. Eddie’s loved you for about a year and a half now, never saying anything to anyone in fear of running your friendship.

But that night he was watching a show and one of the characters did this thing where they pretended to send a text to someone “they didn’t mean to”, to see how they’d respond. He thought that maybe this was an easy way of figuring out how you felt about him. But when you didn’t respond to his photo or texts he got scared and called you. Needing to clarify what he sent, and why.

Eddie Taglist: @ali-r3n @dixontardis

[cherbii]

TOGETHER AGAIN | Ryomen Sukuna

summary -> who knew you’d see your long, lost lover in the midst of Shibuya

warnings -> language, violence, attempted murder, SMUT! p in v, creāmpie, fingering, multiple orgasms, rough sex, high key lovey dovey Sukuna. mdni

Shibuya, at night was cold, though it used to be years back before Shibuya was, well Shibuya. Now the city glowed and was warm from all the electronic billboards and screens plastered on every building, casting flickering hues of purple and blue on the dark tar of the roads.

You weren't supposed to be here, but hours prior, sitting in your chambers did your servant tell you what someone under the name of 'Mahito' planned to do-kill sorcerers.

You decided to join, or at the very least, be present. And you thought that being a special grade curse user would set of alarm bells, you surprisingly went undetected and not disturbed, except for the occasional push and shove, as you meandered your way through the large crowds of city goers, all dressed in tacky, Halloween costumes.

The crowds of Shibuya moved in herds, with an occasional gaggle of obnoxious teenagers that laughed loudly, taking up most of the pathway to leave barely any space for a single person to move. Still, you moved forward, eyes shifting from the large buildings, to the glowing billboards, to the groups of people walking around you.

After a long while, that had felt like forever with how slow you were being pushed forward, you finally reached Shibuya Crossing.

You had yet to find any sorcerer or curse user.

The crossing was alive with people, a wave of bodies moving in unison with the crosswalks, lights flickering, and cars honking their horns impatiently. The only thing you were doing was walking, but you felt like you were being squished between bodies, shoved left and right with loud apologies from strangers.

You didn't blame them either, since the crossing was incredibly busy, with many more joining the throngs of people every minute. You walked until you reached the subway station, it was still alive with movement. It didn't help that Shibuya was the busiest city in Japan, and one of the busiest cities in the world. So it didn't surprise you when the underground station was packed with people, going to wherever they needed to go.

You slowly made your way through them, your mind still on finding Mahito. You wondered if this was a waste of your time. You crossed cities to be here, and still, nothing. With a long sigh you found a bench, and sat on it.

There was a person sitting on it already, a man, no younger than 40, who was ridiculously dressed as a scarecrow. Upon noticing your arrival he sat up. "Hey, girl. What's a pretty thing like you doing in a subway. Should be out modelling."

You felt like you had the urge to slaughter the man, though you kept your composure. Just the way he addressed you, pissed you off instantly, but you couldn't do anything.

The man sat up straight, his long legs spread, as he leaned forward, trying to make conversation with you. His eyes looked you up and down, making your skin crawl.

"Thank you." You curtly and politely replied, folding your hands in your lap.

The man smiled, his lips curling back, revealing a set of yellowing teeth that was stained with god knows what. The man continued to speak, his eyes trailing down your body. "I mean it. You're so pretty. You ever modeled?"

You felt your yukata tug, the pale fabric now between his slender fingers rolling the material. You clicked your tongue, pulling it out from his grip. "No, I haven't."

For a split second, the man frowned, as if he were thrown off that you had snatched it away, though quickly a smile was formed. "Awh, c'mon. Don't you think your body is good enough for modeling? I mean, you've got a pretty face, no doubt. I know there are magazines that take pretty girls like you."

The man licked his lips, as if he were about to say something dirty after. The man continued, moving closer to your body.

"You just gotta, show them what they wanna see, y'know? It'll be easy. I mean, with a body like that, you won't have trouble getting hired."

His hand moved up your thigh, and it took every ounce of you not to snap his arm like a twig. The mans fingers trailed up your thigh, inching closer to the edge of your skirt, before you slapped his hand away, the sound resounding in the near quiet station.

The man looked shocked, seemingly taken off guard. He stared at his hand blankly, as if he didn't expect you to be the type to slap him. His eyes flicked to you, narrowing slightly, though his facade of a smile quickly was placed back on to mask his annoyance. The man quickly shook his head, and forced a chuckle.

"C'mon. I ain't got no bad intentions, girl. I was just trying to give you some advice. I was just trying to say that—.” His fingers trailed up your thigh once again, his fingers crawling like spiders, the tips of his nails digging in your skin hard, to the point it was uncomfortable.

Your hand flew out to his, your fingers gripping it, his skin fizzled and sizzled as you allowed for your curse technique to work. "I'd advise you to keep your hands to yourself from how."

The man let out a sharp cry of pain, his fingers trembling in your grip as he began to sweat profusely. If it wasn't for all the people around, he probably would've cursed you out, but instead he just stared at your hand in disbelief, feeling his skin melted under your hands.

With a sigh, you let go of his hand, before folding your hands back into your lap. The man ripped his hand back, gasping to see that there was no physical damage to his skin, in fact it looked the same, but he felt a searing burn to it. He didn't believe what he was seeing, or what he was feeling, but he got the message clear loud and clear.

The man quickly got up, muttering to himself under his breath, as he walked away, throwing side glances at you every so often as he left.

"My, that was impressive." A soft, male voice said from behind you. The voice was light and sweet, but had a sarcastic undertone to it. Upon hearing it, you felt a shiver up your back, even though it was a relatively cool night. When you looked behind you, someone was slowly approaching you, their hands in their pockets.

You noticed his hair before anything else, it was a pale mint colour, then was his raggedy outfit, then his stitches, and at last, his silver, blind eye. "So you're Mahito?" You asked, looking up at the man.

The man titled his head to the side, the corners of his lips curling upwards into a smile as if he were impressed. His hands were still in his pockets, as he slowly strutted over to you. His eyes scanned you from the top of your head to your feet as he stood in front of you, his smile only getting wider.

"In the flesh."

You hum. "So, where are the other curses and the sorcerers?"

Mahito grinned, though his smile didn't reach his eyes. He shook his head, as if he were about to tell you what he did was some funny inside joke, though quickly he cleared his throat and shook off the smile.

"Oh, you know." Mahito took a few steps forward till he was standing beside you, his eyes flicking to yours momentarily before looking over the people around the station. "Busy, fighting one another. It's such a hassle, don't you think? I mean, I'm just so strong that there aren't any sorcerers fighting me! Though that Gojo guy is definitely trying to find me."

You had heard of him, Gojo Satoru, his name brought dread to curses.

Mahito shrugged. "Wonder why the others haven't tried to find me, maybe they're dead," he grinned. "I did cast a veil, but oh well—."

Just as Mahito finished speaking, an object whizzed past your head, barely missing it, before it dug into the wall— a nail. "Shit, I missed. Megumi, a little help over here?" A girl yelled, before preparing to hit another nail over.

"Spoke too soon, there's they are! Precious sorcerers." Mahito sighed, not looking over to where the nail had been thrown. Mahito groaned audibly, shaking his head as if he were a disappointed teacher, which in a way, he was.

He clicked his tongue in fake annoyance, leaning close to your ear to murmur under his breath, to make sure the sorcerer didn't hear him.

"Such a buzzkill." He slid off, before taking on a full blown sprint, away from the sorcerers and disappearing into the crowds, his touch turning the people nearby into ugly things, skin melting into hideous rolls.

The two were stunned to see the people around them melt into disgusting masses of flesh, screams, cries, and panic was thrown around by the crowds of people. The sorcerers just stood in horror, watching people's skin peel off and deform.

Mahito was having the time of his life, grinning ear to ear, and giggling as he ran through the crowds of people.

Sorcerers who you hadn't seen before went after Mahito, leaving you with the girl, and boy who you assumed was 'Megumi’z

Something sharp and cold hit and dug into your neck, like a pin prick. You reached a hand around and pulled the object out of your neck—it was another nail, then it combusted, fazing right through you.

You turned your head to face the girl with a glare at the fact you had been interrupted again, and you held the nail in your hand, examining it.

They had to be the ones who tried and failed to catch Mahito, and they had tried to kill you too even though it didn't work. Megumi watched, though his lips were still in a straight line.

The girl clenched her jaw, her lips slightly parted, as if she were confused how you weren't dead.

"What? It didn't even do damage..." the girl mumbled.

Megumi growled in anger, "Shit, where's Nanami?" Megumi clicked his tongue, his fists shaking as he let his hand hang by his side. He began to turn his head, searching through the people who were running, trying to find the person he had mentioned.

The girl looked just as frustrated, her fists clenched as her nails dug into her palms. She let out a loud huff, her lips curling down into a frown. The girl raised her hammer, and hit more nails at you, and even though they did little to no damage, you still pranced around avoiding them.

"Finally, someone who can have a little fun!" You cheer, stepping out from the bench.

The girl was definitely frustrated now, even more than she had been before. The fact you were doing something the exact opposite of what she wanted pissed her off. The girl let out a scoff, looking over to Megumi.

Megumi sighed under his breath, his jaw clenched, and his eyes flicked between you and his partner. His fists clenched at his side, his nails digging into his palms. He seemed to be doing his best to keep his patience.

You planted your foot on the ground before speeding off to the two. The duo quickly got into a defensive position, their eyes not leaving you. Megumi moved to stand in front of the girl.

The girl moved her hammer, ready to hit you as you approached. You struck out a hand, letting it glow red before a jet of manipulated acid shot out, forming a shape of a spear before plummeting it to the two.

Megumi grabbed the girls wrist and tugged her aside, using his free hand to block the acid with a burst of water, a burst of smoke filled in the space around the area.

The girl grunted, staring at you through the clearing smoke. She looked frustrated. Megumi had a cool and calmer look on his face, the only thing showing any kind of feeling being the sweat dripping down the side of his cheek.

The other people, though terrified, were in your way. The people who were in the way began to notice and move, though most were having trouble getting themselves out of the way in time.

Those who did move ran to safety, most of the people in the station were scattering away. Leaving a rather large open space in between the group of fighters, and the still panicked citizens.

The only downside was the large number of civilians being in the crossfire of this fight.

You let add a noise of annoyance, before putting your thumbs together, hands open, mumbling your curse technique. Thick waves of acid out, the pearly liquid engulfing the civilians, devouring their bodies until they were nothing.

The duo couldn't believe what they were seeing. Megumi stared at the puddle of sludge that the people's bodies had become, his lips in a straight line from shock. The girl looked shocked, but not as much as Megumi, her eyes darted from you to the civilians you had slain with the wave of acid.

Megumi clasped his hands together, yelling, "Demon dogs!" before a large wolf like a dog, both white and black in colour jumped out from behind him, barrelling towards you.

Megumi was quick with whatever he was doing, as the large wolf quickly sprung into action and charged forward, running at you. It didn't seem like it slowed down even when it had to leap over a pile of acid.

The dog was fast, and was on you in seconds, not allowing you much time to react. You sent another wave of acid towards the dog. The dog tried to dodge and weave through the acid, though it had no success. The large dog was hit, its legs melting under the acid, as it's body was reduced to a pile of goo.

The girl stared down at the puddle of dog with a shocked expression, not sure how you'd managed to melt a shikigami with such ease.

"Bye, bye!" You exclaimed, before raising a fist, forming a thought acidic bubble around you before it collapsed, having you nowhere to be seen. Megumi let out a curse under his breath as you were gone, not sure where you had gone after that show of power.

The girl gritted her teeth with her lips in a flat line, looking around frantically to see if she could identify your next move.

Somewhere else in Shibuya, on the side of a building, did you emerge from an acidic rip. You had the vantage point, and the view of Shibuya at night, with everything lit up and the people scrambling around in chaos, was beautiful.

The sky, however was unusually pitch black, a veil. Where you stood, there was already chaos, you could tell by the damaged buildings and property. There were cracks and holes in the roads, with a lot of buildings being half broken. The veil above was dark, not a sign of light other than the stars peeking around it.

You strolled down the streets, distantly hearing noise. The noise was quiet, sounding like murmurs and cries, until the faint sound of fighting reached your ears. The sound was definitely getting closer, and the longer you walked, the clearer it got. There was fighting going on somewhere near.

You rounded a corner, and the fighting seemed to be getting closer. If you continued walking, you would be approaching the fight.

The further you walked, the stronger the stench of blood and death got. The more you walked, the more the buildings melted into a heap of nothingness. It seemed it was either you climb the mess, or turn around, so naturally, you began to climb.

It felt like this area was completely destroyed, with nothing but rubble for miles.

You began to climb the debris, using your cursed technique as an extra grip for your feet. The only issue was the fact it was difficult to climb, with the pieces of building falling, or giving no grip. The noise of chaos got louder on the other side, now you reached the peak, looking down at a large number of people fighting two, and upon squinting, you recognised one.

Your cursed technique bubble under your feet, burning away a smooth path for you as you climbed down, heading straight for the white and partly red haired woman. "Uraume? Is that you?"

Uraume was currently occupied with fighting off two students, who were trying their best to fight back. When Uraume heard your voice, her head turned around, eyes wide, then a smile tugged at her lips. She spoke up, though she didn't look away from the students. "Is that you, my Lady?"

"Yes, what a pleasant surprise," you replied, small smile gracing your face as though you didn't walk straight through a fight. You looked over to the other curse user, his long, raven hair flowing in the wind as he sent shikigami after shikigami to the six other sorcerers. "Need any help?"

Uraume let out a small laugh, her lips curling upward in a small smile as she looked you up and down. She seemed to be quite happy to hear your voice, and in her time of need. At your question, Uraume shook her head, a confident look placed on her face. "I can handle these students."

You just hummed. "Alright, I'll go see what's happening over there."

Uraume nodded, keeping her focus on her own opponents before you had moved off. The chaos down below was overwhelming, with the sounds of explosions, fighting and cursing echoed.

For this man, you didn't ask if you needed help, instead shooting a web of acid, the liquid solidifying as it shot through the air, wrapping around two students who were fighting side by side—an overly large panda, and a boy who's eyes were shut closed, odd.

You ran over, narrowly avoiding getting sucked into a dark abyss caused by none other than the other curse user as slimes, ugly shikigami's shot out and attacked the other students. Your next target was a girl with blue hair.

She had a long sword in her hand, swinging it boldly when she heard you bearing towards her. "Two can play at that game, girl." You chuckled, forming an acidic sword.

The girl watched you for a while before taking notice of your appearance. She kept her composure, though a nervous feeling bubbled up in her stomach. The girl was a little hesitant, but readied her blade anyway, her eyes narrowed at you.

Your sword blade clinked against hers. The girl grit her teeth slightly, her blade clashing against yours. She wasn't exactly a great sword fighter, though she held her composure as she glared at you.

The force of her swing was quite powerful. She seemed to take you seriously, not underestimating like other people may have. Her foot stepped forward, trying to shove you away, before shoving her sword in an upwards motion.

Your sword went flying, dissolving into a puddle which burned a hole in the ground. You clicked your tongue. "I've gotten weak." You murmured, allowing for her sword to fade through you, the metal melting from the acid you covered yourself with.

The girl cursed under her breath, quickly pulling her sword back and taking a few steps away. The girl stared in disbelief, but shook off the feeling. She had never seen anything like that, that was for sure.

You let the acidic barrier drop, spinning to face the girl. "Acid, is acid." You muttered, striking out a hand to touch the girl. She lets out a noise of surprise, her stomach feeling sore.

You were going to manipulate her stomach acid, let it harden and turn to sharps, piercing her, before you felt an inkling to raise your acidic barrier up, right before something that resembled a blood spike shot right through you. Obviously, you felt nothing, but couldn't help look at the perpetrator.

A man, with a tattooed nose, and pinned up hair stood, palms pressed against each other, shooting out a long, red beam. He seemed to be a curse user as well, though he was attacking you. Had he turned on curse users's beliefs?

The man grunted, shaking his head, as he kept his palms pressed against one another to keep firing his blood technique at you. He was focused, eyebrows furrowed, as his lips pulled back into a grimace, making him look even more intimidating.

"Hm, I pity you," you said, forming an acidic bubble around you, teleporting you to roght behind the man. "You're still weak, even for a special grade." You reached a hand out, quickly latching it onto him before changing the form and matter of his stomach acid.

The man cursed, his breath hitching as he tried to fight back. He wasn't ready at all to face the feeling of something being messed with his stomach, his insides felt like it was in fire. The man gasped, groaning, as he stared at you, with his eyes wide in horror. He didn't feel himself melt, but he could feel something horrible happening inside of him.

"Let's see, do you think you're going to heaven or hell?" You asked, flexing your fingers, making his stomach acid harden and grow sharp.

The man's face contorted in pain, his knees buckling as he fell forward to the ground. The man couldn't even try to answer you, the pain of manipulation of his cursed energy was a feeling no other curse or sorcerer could experience.

His head smacked against the ground, as his body jolted, as if he were seizing. You let it turn into a spear head, gradually growing and piercing his organs until the tip made a dent in his skin. The man stared at his chest, his eyes watering as more tears began to drop from his eyes. His vision blurred, and he couldn’t the difference between his tears or blood or the veil or even his manipulation.

He stared at the dent in his chest before raising his eyes to meet yours, as he wheezed, the tips of his fingers trembling. The man let out a small, pained laugh, wheezing through the pain, before a small smile tugged at his lips. Through the pain in his stomach, he had no idea why, but he found you incredibly impressive.

Though you found him boring, this wasn't fun, you thought. So instead you removed your hand, leaving the man hurt, but not dead, not yet anyway, and decided to target someone else. Your eyes landed on two poeple fighting side by side, a girl with glasses and forest green hair, twirling a large sword and fighting off shikigamis, and a boy, who's hair was a blush pink.

The duo was fighting a horde of shikigamis, and seemed to be doing it with ease. The girl swung the sword around with a rather graceful finesse. While the man's fists were balled, throwing punch after punch, and using his hands to grab and flick aside or break the shikigamis when they came too close.

Both seemed to be doing great, not noticing you at all in the midst of the battlefield, which was to your advantage. Uraume's offer was perfect, as well as very convenient. With all the chaos it was unlikely to get the chance again.

You found yourself grinning, as you looked over to Uraume, giving a small nod. You formed acid under your feet, using it to slide to the girl before shooting a tentacle of acid to her sword, melting the metal.

The girl gasped, jumping back as the tentacles of acid shot out, melting her sword. She didn't see that coming, looking down at her now melted sword in disbelief, as she stared at where you suddenly were now standing.

She clenched her fists, but remained calm as she stepped into a defensive position, even if she was without a weapon for now. The girl wasn't about to give up this fight, despite the odds being against her.

The boy noticed, his eyes flicking from Uraume to you, his eyes widening at the scene. The boy let out an annoyed groan, punching more shikigamis to a pulp with ease in frustration. His fists were red, bruised and bleeding, but that seemed to drive him to hit harder.

Uraume was shooting ice daggers at the boy. The boy had managed to block out the first few, but the last few hit his arms. He winced at each hit, his skin getting slightly cut, just nothing major.

The boy grit his teeth in frustration, letting out a loud huff as he focused his gaze on Uraume, his own eyes narrowing further. The girl had no time to react to the sudden tentacle of acid, and it came crashing down on her.

She felt the warm, hot liquid on her skin and let out a sharp cry of pain, her skin sizzling as it burnt. She tried to jump out of the way, but her movements were stiff. The acid kept raining down, burning a hole in the ground.

The girl's skin turned red at first, then it quickly melted, the acid having melted through her clothes, and eating at her skin, the liquid burning into her flesh and muscle as the girl let out a painful cry.

She was still alive, somehow, coughing and wheezing, as she tried desperately to keep herself together. The boy clenched his fists, clenching his teeth together as he watched, his eyes wide. He wanted to jump in, but soon felt ice envelope him, now having him stationary in the cold, frozen cube.

The boy tried to fight the ice, his limbs trembling from the cold seeping into his bloodstream, but it was futile. He felt his legs, arms and fingers turning numb as he let out painful grunts, his breath turning visible.

The other curse user with the flowing black hair grumbled under his breath, before changing out another shikigami, a shimmering dragon, before it picked him up and took him elsewhere.

Uraume scoffed, wiping her cold lips before turning to you. "You did very well, My Lady." You heard Uraume, letting a small smirk tug at your lips. You had killed with ease, without even really getting hurt. It was satisfying to say the least.

You had to admit, the fight was fun too, as well as seeing the other curse users get frustrated. "Thank you, Uraume, you did good as well."

However, what you two failed to notice was on each side of the cheeks of the pinkette boy, two slits opened, revealing a pair of red eyes, both staring at you.

Something strummed in the boy's chest, something intense, a voice boomed and roared in his head, demanding to be free. The boy's eyes opened wide, staring directly at you. The more he looked at you, the more he felt something, an odd, intense feeling bubble up in his chest.

The veins in his arms and on his neck could be seen, as he began to tremble from the intense feeling in his chest.

The voice growled, before mumbling "enchain", spontaneously switching forms. The boy gasped as his form changed, large scars appearing over his body as well as his hair and eyes. His teeth grew into sharp canines, and his nails turned black, almost like claws. He let out an inhuman growl, his chest heaving as he seemed to get even taller and muscular.

The ice block melted instantly, revealing the monster of a man you loved, though not in true form, but still as equally terrifying. His huffs turned to laughs, then a malicious chuckle that boomed, causing your attention to turn, a small gasp leaving your lips.

No, it can't be.

Your Ryomen had been killed and chopped up.

Uraume instantly dropped to her knees, bowing at the king. "Master Sukuna, I'm sorry." She murmured.

Sukuna's chuckles died down. "You're forgiven." He muttered, brushing her off, before his scarlet eyes were on you again. It was almost easy to miss the way his eyes widened, or his jaw lax, or the way his frown shallowed.

Sukuna's eyes fell on you, his gaze was heavy as he stared at you. Sukuna wasn't a soft man, he was rough and he was cruel, but even he could feel something well in his chest as he stared. He hadn't seen you in so long. He felt something, a warm, heavy, intense feeling in his chest that he couldn't put his finger on. What was he feeling?

You blinked. "Ryo...?" You whispered, bringing your fingers to your lips.

Sukuna's breath hitched in his throat as he heard you call his name. He had missed you. He was in shock, his lips parting as he just watched your every move. He couldn't really process seeing you again after so long. He felt his lips slightly quiver in surprise, a thousand more emotions welling up in his chest as he tried to form words. Sukuna took slow steps towards you, as he was just taking in your appearance now.

He was trying so hard not to let his feelings get the better of him, though that was hard as he came to stop a few feet away from you. Sukuna had millions of unspoken words that filled his head, he kept staring at you quietly.

Something surged within you, causing you to bounce over to him and throwing your arms around his still large frame, laughter bubbling from you. "It's you! It's you! It's you!"

Sukuna felt his breath hitch in his breath as you threw yourself onto him, your arms around him in a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around you instinctively, his breath hitching again as he buried his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling your scent deeply.

The others who were trapped in ice could only watch in horror, they didn't know what was more terrifying; the King of Curses, or the King of Curses being nice.

Sukuna could just barely feel his hands trembling against the fabric of your clothes. He was trying to hide it, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was shaking from the adrenaline and emotions in his chest.

You couldn't fend off the tears that pebbled at your eyelashes as you leant back to look at your lover. "I missed you so, so, so much, Ryo."

Sukuna's whole demeanor felt soft and tender as you looked at him. He was vulnerable, though he tried his hardest to conceal it. He had missed you too, he missed you so much that it had hurt these few months apart.

He gently held your chin, his thumb wiping a stray tear from the corner of your eye as he couldn't stop looking at you. He was still in disbelief you were here, in front of him. Sukuna quickly pulled you back to him, his fingers curling into the fabric of your clothes as he held you closely, not wanting to let you go. Sukuna held you against him, his grip tightening as he gently nuzzled his face into your neck. He couldn't believe you were here in his arms again, after so much time he spent wondering if he would ever see you again.

"I missed you too brat, so much." He muttered against your skin, his breath warm against your neck. His large hands roamed up and down your back, his hands trailing up to gently place his hand on the back of your head, fingers threading through your hair.

Sukuna had missed so much in these few centuries. He had missed holding you like this even though he didn't do it often with you, he missed the small moments spent together when you were alone, he missed your sweet smile and laugh, everything.

The King of Curses was weak at the moment, he had been through much, but seeing you like this made him feel almost whole again.

You untangled yourself from him. "How are you even alive? I thought..."

Sukuna looked down at you, he had missed your small form. He had missed looking down at you, the corners of his lips tugged up as he heard your question. He gently held you at arms length, his large hands still on your shoulders.

"It's a long story," he sighed. He gently tucked a strand of loose hair behind your ear, his fingertips brushing your cheek in the process before his hand moved to the nape of your neck.

Sukuna could feel his emotions swelling again. He wanted to hold you in his hold again, or kiss you. So many things he had missed, he was like a starved man who was just offered a meal. His thumb gently ran over your cheek as he kept his scarlet eyes on your form, just taking you in again after all this time.

"All these foolish sorcerers, they're in my way," Sukuna murmured, a finger tapping his chin. "All the better." He shrugged, before bringing his fingers together and chanting out his domain expansion. You and Sukuna were sucked into the domain, rendering you two alone.

Uraume managed to escape the inky globe that was now hovering in Shibuya.

Your shoes were submerged in the same waters of Sukuna's domain, just below the hill of skulls.

He was say on his thrown at the very top of the hill of bones. Sukuna let out a soft chuckle as his domain swallowed the area, the two of you ending up alone together. He was in the same domain again, his territory of skulls and a lake of blood.

Sukuna sat on his throne, looking down at you with a small smirk on his lips He beckoned for you, his gaze fixated on you. The only thing he wanted right now was this, you. "Come here, brat." Sukuna was a man of few words, especially in private. But he wanted, needed you by his side for now. The only thing he wanted to do was see you, touch you... and possibly take you back to the palace with him.

He wanted this, he needed this.

You began your ascent to him, stepping on mandibles and maxilla's, eagerly wading to your lover. Sukuna's eyes remained on you, watching your every step upwards towards him. He held his hands together, waiting for you to approach the throne. He couldn't hide his smile as his lips tugged back, seeing you walk towards him. It felt like a dream to him, that after months you were finally approaching him again. It felt like forever.

When you reached the top, Sukuna wasted no time to pull you by your yukata, sending you crashing onto his lap. His head was instantly back to your neck. You helped when you felt his tongue dart out, then his teeth. "Ryo, what the hell?"

Sukuna let out a small chuckle as you complained, but he only placed his lips against the crook of your neck, a small huff leaving him. "I just want to remind myself how you taste. You have no idea how much I missed you, brat. You're going to get me addicted again." Sukuna's voice was almost a growl.

You brought a hand to his hair and gently pulled back, wanting to see his face. "What's got you so eager?"

Sukuna let out an almost growl, glowering at you. "All these centuries, I haven't seen you. Why wait for more time to pass? I'm only getting older." He latched a hand to your neck before sliding it up, to your jaw, where he turned and struck out his forefinger, shoving it past your lips.

Sukuna's fingers threaded through your hair gently, allowing you to move his head back. Sukuna had missed your gentle touch, his eyes narrowing at your question. He wanted to keep you close, never wanting you out of his sight ever again.

Being in his domain expansion, having you in his hold so he could just touch you, see you right in front of him, was heavenly for the King of Curses. It had been months and he had missed you more than he had imagined he would.

His finger gently ran across the inside of your mouth, his scarlet eyes boring into you. He felt that intense, warm feeling in his chest again, his fingers trembling gently against your jaw.

Sukuna slithered his finger deeper into your mouth, nail scratching your throat. "I've wrecked homes, torn villages to shreds. Gutted morons and pests, yet none give me the thrill of seeing you at my mercy." He purred, bringing his free hand to the folds of your dress, and tugging at the seams.

Sukuna ran his eyes over your form, taking you in. He pressed his finger against the back of your throat, his nail scratching it while his other hand tugged at the seams of your clothes, trying to get the fabric to move more so he could see more of your waist.

Sukuna's eyes flicked down to your cleavage, feeling his breath hitch as he huffed. He wanted your damn clothes gone, just seeing it only irritated him more.

He had missed feeling you in his hold. He missed you against his chest, his large hands roaming over your body. Sukuna wanted to mark you. He wanted to leave marks all over you, making every other sorcerer know that you belonged to him and him alone.

He wanted to ruin you.

Sukuna grunted, your dress not coming off, so he would use the one thing he thought of. You whimpered as you felt flames kiss your skin, before your yukata was in ashes, presenting you almost bare, bar your underwear. Sukuna let out a pleased grunt as he watched your dress disintegrate into ash. He wanted to see more, and you in next to nothing was amazing.

He took a minute to admire your half-naked form, running his fingers along your skin, taking advantage of the skin-to-skin contact he had missed for months with a hum.

You choked on his finger, squirming in his lap. It was unfair how he was fully clothed, you thought. Sukuna could smell your arousal, could sense it, but he was fine with it. He'd get to that in due time. He wasn't going to move fast.

As you squirmed in his lap, his hand moved to your thighs, his fingers digging his nails into the skin there to hold you still, his thumb tracing small circles on your inner thighs. Sukuna's own clothing felt constricting. He wanted you. He wanted you here and now, to feel you against him, for you to belong with him.

His grip on your inner thighs tightened, as his lips pressed against your collarbone, kissing it and sucking harshly. Sukuna wanted to leave his mark on your skin, to claim you as his own.

You reached your hands to between the two of you, digging them under the cream coloured fabric of his kimono, trying to pull it free. Slowly, the fabric peeled back to reveal his rippling, inked muscles. It wasn't enough, eagerly you tugged further down the kimono, pulling at the cloth around Sukuna's waist until he too was bare; rock hard and leaking, achingly thick and blissfully long.

You blinked up at him, giving him your best pleading expression, even with his finger far in your mouth, just needing to be filled by him.

Sukuna saw how you looked up at him, seeing your expression. What a sight it was as he kept his own large finger moving inside your mouth. He wanted you, so badly, he wanted to completely take you.

Sukana removed his finger from your mouth, a trail of saliva connecting from it to your lips. His large hands fell on your waist, lifting you a bit. Noticing how you immediately reacted to that, his lips pulled into a smirk as he watched your expression

"Please, Ryo? Need you to be inside me." You begged, fruitlessly jutting your hips, earning faint pleasure between your legs, though it would never suffice.

Sukuna felt himself twitch in anticipation as your words, a low growl escaping his throat. That's what he had missed the most, hearing you like that, hearing you beg for his touch. He grabbed your hips, pinning them down.

He wanted to break you, make you forget anything apart from him, but he wasn't going to move fast. He took his time, he wanted to take you slow, make it last long and just relish the feeling of you being back in his arms. "Are you so impatient for me, brat?" He cooed

Sukuna gently traced his fingertips along the lace fabric of your underwear, his eyes looking up to meet yours. A smirk tugged at his lips as he ran his fingertips over you, teasing you.

"Yes. Just, please? I need this as much as you do." You whined, shooting a hand to your underwear and shoving it to the side, now presenting your dripping cunt.

Sukana let out a low, pleased growl. He loved how you were so eager for him, it was satisfying. He watched you impatiently as you pleaded, his smirk still on his lips. "So eager for me, huh?" Sukana taunted, knowing the answer as his fingers traced small shapes against your inner thighs, his nails scratching the skin. "You think you can take me? It's only one cock, yet you still struggle. Maybe I need to stretch that pussy." Sukuna huffed, bringing two, thick digits to your hole.

So in a blink of an eye, he plunged his fingers inside, not giving you any prep before hand. You let out a loud moan, it echoed through the domain, fingers curling around the fabric on Sukuna's shoulders. "Oh, my god!" Sukuna began to piston his fingers, scissoring the two as he thrusted them into your pulsating hole.

Sukana let out a small groan, just how he remembered, you weren't quiet even a little. Not that he minded, he loved it.

He groaned, his eyes fixated on you as he watched your expression. All the noises you made filled his head, he wanted to listen to you, all night. He wanted to break you, claim you, and make you his again. He curled his fingers, hitting that one spot inside you, that had your toes curl and your mind fog up.

Sukuna's eyes flicked up at your reaction, a pleased, low chuckle escaped his lips as he curled his fingers. He knew that spot, knew it well. After all, it's not like this was his first time doing this to you.

He wanted to hear you beg for more, he loved it. He pressed his fingers against it again, enjoying the way your chest heaved, making more noises for him as the two of you sat on the throne. Sukuna smirked at the faces you made, bringing a hand to your breasts, second mouth forming on his palm, before his lips wrapped around your sensitive nub.

Your sensitive body seemed to react so quickly to Sukana's every move, and he loved everything about it. This was his kingdom, and you were currently his queen, in front of him, in his lap, and all his. Not to mention the small moans he heard leaving you, the way your nails dug into his skin, driving him nearly insane over you.

Sukana's lips wrapped around your sensitive nipple, his cursed energy wrapping around you as his tongue moved in soft, but precise circles over it. He was working you well, making you whine and moan for him in the quiet domain, filling the silence with your sounds of pleasure, a chorus to his ears as it bounced off the walls of his domain. The small moans and noises you made were music to his ears. Sukana wanted you to feel good, to feel him take over you, and the way you arched into his lips showed he was doing just

"P-Please, Ryo? Can't wait anymore, need to feel you..."

Sukana almost smirked, almost. Hearing you beg him, call his name like that. It drove him insane, and he needed to give in. He moved, picking you up, and moving you out of his lap so he could stand, pinning you against the throne.

He stood before you, holding you against the throne as he looked down at you, his hands on your waist. "Fine, brat. I'll give you what you want," Sukuna clicked his tongue, moving his hips until his throbbing, red tip was aligned with your entrance. "But don't say it's too much."

In one, fluid movement, he thrusted himself in. His cock stretched your cunt beyond its limits, and what was scary is this wasn't the biggest he could be.

He grunted softly, his eyes falling close for a brief moment as he savored the feeling of you around him. He loved this. He loved the feeling of you, the way you felt around him, the way you were his. Sukana held your waist, his fingers pressed into your skin there as he looked you over. He couldn't believe he had you back, like this too.

Sukuna was merciless. Pounding away into you like there was no tomorrow, causing the throne to shift on the bones and skulls. All you could do was take the bullying between your legs, screaming his name, nails clawing at his shoulders. "Oh, fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Love your cock, so much, my lord!"

His title that fell from your lips sent a shiver through him. If anyone knew you had him wrapped around your finger, he'd be a dead man. He huffed and grunted into your ear, breath hot on your skin. "Such a filthy mouth you have, my lady."

You whined, staring up at your lover with teary eyes, mouth agape and blabbering sweet nothings.

Sukuna loved seeing you be so submissive, to him, calling him your lord, your king. He would only let that slide with you. His lips met your neck, kissing and biting at the skin there, leaving marks behind.

The way you felt around him was addicting, and having you beg for him made it better. He had missed this feeling, this pleasure, with you for so long he wanted to savor it. Sukana wanted this to last as much as he could, to make you feel good, and to take you here in his domain.

Sukana's lips traveled up from your neck, to your lips, as he pressed his own against yours in a searing kiss, he moved his tongue over your lips, licking them. He wanted to taste you in every sense he could.

Sukana swallowed all the noises you were making, each noise of yours just added to his enjoyment. He wanted more, more of you. Sukana let his tongue slip into your mouth, exploring and tasting you completely.

The bones of his throne dug into your shoulders, and the buck horns of it dug into your shin. It only added to the pleasure, your nails scratching at his skin, everything did. Sukana wanted to feel it all, the way you felt and sounded as he took you.

Sukana grunted into your mouth, his tongue pressing against yours, his hands now moving to your thighs, and he lifted you up from the throne, using it for leverage, as his hands moved just enough to grip you thighs so he could start moving you again.

He wanted to feel every bit of you, and he didn't want to let you go. He couldn't, so he pushed more, wanting it all. Sukana wanted you to be his in every sense of the word, and now was not the exception. He wanted you to be his, his queen, his lover, his.

He wanted you to call his name, to moan it, scream it, anything. He wanted to ruin you, break you, and claim you as his and his. He wanted to claim and break you all, make you forget anything other than him, anything else.

The moans that left your lips sounded so sweet to him, even sweeter than honey. This was what he had missed, the pleasure the two of you shared, and the feeling of the two of you melting into each other. Sukana wanted to break you, ruin you, make you his for the next days, weeks, months, or years. Sukana was making you feel so good your mind turned to a mess.

You felt everything as he took you. How he moved you, the throne digging into your back, his large hands on your body, making you feel the heat coming off of him. Sukana's lips on yours as he claimed your mouth, his tongue pushing into your mouth, his grunts of pleasure right against you.

Your mind turned to a mess every time Sukana moved, and every moment. It was almost hard to form words with him, but he was perfect.

Sukuna loved the way you moved with him, how you tried to take him as he moved, how you tried to make him feel good too in return. Sukana groaned into your mouth at the feeling of your nails digging into his skin. He loved every second of it, enjoying taking you, breaking you for him.

The feeling of the coil in your tummy tightening was driving him insane, it had been so long since he remembered those signs or saw them from you, but now he was so glad it was back like that.

His movements only got more intense, wanting to see you fall over the edge. Sukana could feel yourself start to tighten around him, the way you would squeeze him in response and it only made him push more. He was desperate for you, wanting to feel and watch you break as you reached your orgasm with him, coating his fat cock with your cum, crying out as you did, while he stuffed you full of his.

He groaned into your mouth, panting and grunting as he moved his lips to your neck again, suckling on the skin there. He wanted to mark you as his, so everyone would know who you belonged to, to him.

There was no one else you belonged to, that would make his blood boil. You belonged to him and nothing would change that.

Your body fell limp, breathing into Sukuna's mouth as you were well worn. Sukana held you up as you went limp, only holding you more. He wasn't done yet but he let you relax for the moment while he looked at you, his fingers gently roaming over your body for the moment, his chest heaving as he also tried to catch his breath.

He still loved to simply hold you and touch you however he could. His lips moved back to your neck, kissing and sucking the skin there, adding more marks from his lips, marks to show you were his.

"Ryo...do we have to go back?"

Sukana did not like the thought of having to go back. It was nice being in the domain just with you, being able to hold you and make you his. But he knew this wasn't permanent. Sukana moved his lips from your skin, bringing his fingers under your chin to tilt you to look up at him. “Yes, unfortunately I don’t have full control over this brat so sooner or later I’ll be turning back. But trust I’ll find away to be with you again.”

But that wouldn't always be an option, he knew he would have to go back eventually. For now he savored the moment of having you in his hold, being able to touch you and hold you against him.

And even if it was for a few minutes more, you had your Ryo back.

[alchemistc]

Technically a continuation of the make them communicate series I keep getting more inspo for.

two-way contract

"I need some advice," he says, the moment they're settled, and Tommy stares forlornly at the slab of salmon that is definitely not going to be the right temperature in however many minutes. It takes him a moment to register what he's being asked, and it takes a concerted effort to keep his cool once he draws a conclusion.

Evan has a roster, Tommy knows. A specific set of people he reaches out to for specific areas of expertise, and Tommy, for all that they've been working on things, has never been a part of that.

He thinks of hearing that Evan admired him, once upon a time, and wonders if the Tommy hearing that had ever considered he might one day shift into the roster. It's not a promotion he's entirely prepared for. He hasn't trained for this.

"Okay," Tommy says.

"So there's... this guy," Evan says, and the irritation hits Tommy's spine before he can stop it. Not a call-up, after all.

He's trying to work through this stupid urge to be Everything All The Time for Evan, but it's work. It's still work.

"Is this guy ...handsome?" Strike two for the both of them. Straight to the flirt. Or, if Evan's feeling snippy, a direct line to the jealousy and accusations.

Evans brow furrows in confusion. "Tommy, what does his attractiveness have to do with -?" He veers. "I have to start again or I'm gonna lose my train of thought."

Strike three before Tommy's even learned This Guys name.

"There's a guy, from 137," Evan starts again. "You can eat, this is gonna take a minute."

Christ, add a 3-6-4 double-play by the opposition to the list.

The warmth hits his spine as Evan lays out the absolute stupidest turf war known to man, and the fellow firefighter who keeps flirting with him at scenes they both show up at.

"Like I'm free game, Tommy. Like every civil servant in the city isn't well aware I'm dating that crazy pilot from 217?"

"That's what they call me now?"

"So not the point, Tommy."

Evan drops Tommy's name like an endearment, like a sacrament, like an expletive. Tommy's never appreciated his name before he heard Evan Buckley use it like a prayer.

Crazy Pilot isn't the worst thing he's ever been called. He doesn't see anyone else out here attempting to get closer to Those Batshit Freaks At The 118. They might have a point.

"What... do you need my advice for?"

Evan rolls his eyes. "Tommy." A plea, this time. "I don't know how to let a dude down gently. Not on purpose, anyway."

("Oh, TK thought I was asking him out," on a random Tuesday morning while Tommy was doing his best work right around Evan's belly button.

"Can you please stop bringing up all the men you didn't know you wanted to fuck while there's a perfectly serviceable one right here?"

"You're more than serviceable, Tommy.")

He's been trying to stop seeing everything as a test, too, and that little nugget is rearing it's ugly head at the moment.

It takes him a long moment to realize Evan's framed this whole thing in a way that blazed right fucking past Tommy's jealousy issues.

"What did Maddie say?"

Evan's brow creases. "I haven't talked to her about it."

Oh.

Fuck.

He's gotta get past the giddy feeling bubbling up before he blows this. They can talk about that later.

"Is gentle the right move, here?" Evan blinks. "If you're sure he knows about me, maybe tossing the code of conduct with a highlighted sexual harassment section through his window one night is a better move."

"I know you're being facetious but the only reason I'm not doing that is because he'd find something flattering about me knowing where he lives."

The surge of protectiveness isn't new, but it feels like a new branch has grown off that tree. Not the point. Not the issue. But it's there all the same. "So he's been aggressive about it."

"He sent me flowers at work."

Better than home.

"C shift thought they were from you until I threw them in the trash."

Worse than home, actually.

Tommy doesn't have a solution. Tommy has the reminder of a man who'd clocked him in his late twenties before he'd figured himself out and scared Tommy into dating women for half a decade.

"I don't know if gentle is the right move," Evan says, and Tommy knows they aren't getting to dinner for a while. "I just know if the rumor mill gets hold of this they're gonna start calling you Crazy Cuck instead and then I'm gonna break my hand on their face."

Tommy snorts a sip of wine through his nose when he fails to hold back a laugh

[katiascraft]

“If I define her I limit her” | CL16

Parings: Charles Leclerc x Actrees!Gf!Reader.

Summary: you go together to the Gladiator || premier because your best friend Paul Mescal invited you. You didn’t expect Charles being so sweet talking about you on interviews.

Word count: +1k.

Warnings: none! Just fluff and more fluff. Not a native English speaker so there could be (so many) errors. Not proofread.

Author’s note: I HAD TO DO IT. so I was inspired not only by Charles looking breathtakingly beautiful but from Chino Darin I LOVE THAT MAN 🫦 now I gotta go back to study UNLIVE ME Don’t forget to like, reblog, comment! And follow me so we can be friends :3 (and drink mate together!)

MASTERLIST

You were so excited to assist at the premier of the movie your fav person alive aka your bestie aka paul mescal was starring in. He invented the ferrari boys alongside you. Everything was so elegant - you were lucky enough to be wearing a high fashion valentino black dress - you felt a little intimidated like every time you stepped on a red carpet. Of course, you are an actress but still couldn't get used to this side that is part of your job.

Charles holded your hand gently at the red carpet while you were walking into the people circulating there. Behind you were Carlos and rebecca. But when you say Gracie - paul´s girlfriend - you part ways to say hi. Unfortunately Charles couldn't go with you because a reporter asked him and Carlos to join for a brief interview.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Looking good as ever i can see” the reporter said causing charles to giggle a little.

“What can I say ? We sweat all year so it's good to smell good once in a while,” Charles said, making the reporter laugh along with carlos. He asked a few generic questions about the break until the last three races of the championships and the invitation and expectations for the movie.

“So Charles, what's your favorite thing about london?” the reporter asked, making Charles smile but he didn't have to think about it.

“To be honest, my wife” he said grinning, making Carlos giggle a little looking at him. He has love written all over his face.

“How romantic, is she your wife already?” The reporter moved the microphone closer thinking he had breaking news. Charles laughed, nodding.

“I mean , not yet but she will, of course” he answered nervously and blushing like a little kid in love. That's the effect you had on him.

“How wonderful it is for you to say your favorite thing about London is your girlfriend. How would you define her as a person or professional?” the reporter was just as in love with him probably as you were.

“Oh well, if i define her i limit her to be honest. She is amazing at everything she does. As a person and as a professional” Charles answered without thinking. He couldn't define you, how could he? You were this huge force that made him feel things he didn't even know he could feel. You were so powerful in his eyes. Magical. He couldn't define you because defying you would be an actual crime. You're bigger than everything.

“Oh mate” Carlos expressed, making Charles giggle.

“What a lovebird, did y/n come with you?” the reporter continued.

“yeah yeah i don't know exactly where she is now but somewhere around here. We were invited thanks to her to be honest,” Charles explained.

“Lets see if we can find her in a minute.so carlos…” the interviewer followed with some questions around Carlos now. Charles listened to him but his mind was on you. He looked around looking for you just to see you. He spotted you after a few minutes talking lively with Grace and he smiled to himself. You looked so beautiful and happy.

You started going your way after a little chat with Gracie and found charles and carlos along with rebecca on a corner waiting for you. You walked across the carpet straight to them. When Charles saw you coming his face lightened up in adoration.

“Hey gang, let's go” you said happily, taking Charles hand in yours. So you found your way into the carpet. Flashes met you when you entered the photo section. You posed with Charles smiling for the cameras. Everyone screaming your names for your attention so they could get a picture of you. You still got nervous with this. But having him next to you just made everything better. You felt more relaxed. More secure and confident.

When you finished the photo section another round of reporters was set. This time you knew you couldn't escape. A reporter a few feet away from you called you so you looked at Charles to check if he wanted to join or wait but he confidently followed you along.

“Good evening guys, how are you feeling about tonight?” she asked firstly. You smiled. Charles let you answer he knew you were the star tonight. And also, this was not his element.

“We're excited. I'm anxious to watch the movie already. I know it's gonna be amazing” you said sweetly gently stroking charles hand with you to calm your nerves and his. It's probably the first time you are being interviewed together.

“y/n i dont know if you heard but charles” she started talking to you but then directed to charles “ you mentioned she was your wife and couldn't define her because i quote if i define her i limit her. She is just amazing in everything she does. y/n what do you have to say?” she asked you. You looked at Charles in a sweet simple surprise but flustered. Your thoughts all over the place and your cheeks turned red.

“Oh wow, what can I say? I have the best husband in the world that's for sure” you said proudly making him giggle. “And I can say I love him and I'm so glad he's here with me. But I couldn't define him either. He is everything and more to me” your answer made charles smile so proudly and fondly. His eyes went crystal looking at you. He was so in love with you. Just as you were. He was the love of your life and you loved that you could be yourself with him with no filters and this life that was as complicated as his.

“Oh wow, such lovebirds! You guys need to win couple of the year!” she said excitedly, making you both giggle and thanked her to start walking again.

“Babe you really said that? I want to cry, you can't be so cute. I love you with every fiber on my body. Stop being so perfect it should be a crime” you made him laugh looking at you so enamored.

“Of course, cherie. You are the most amazing person I know and I admire you so much. Im proud of you” he said to lean over you and kissed you gently.

“I love you charlie. You're the best that ever happened to me” you responded in his lips and giggled.

You will need to fix your lipstick before the next interview.

[a-hazbin-reader]

OK SO WHAT ABOUT ALASTOR X FEM READER EXCEPT READER DOESNT KNOW HOW TO REACT TO HIS CHIVALRY

So this takes place before they start dating and the beginning of the relationship. Reader basically has never met a guy who has chivalry(or is respectful) like ALASTOR, so when Alastor’s mannerisms come out, reader just looks at him like “wtf are you doing?” BUT NOT IN A MEAN WAY, more like in a confused way because they’re from a time where chivalry isn’t as popular(especially to women in general) and reader was raised to be tough(but it’s still nice to get treated like a lady). So whenever alastor acts like that reader just gets awkward and shy.

IM ASKING FOR THIS CUZ LIKE THE GUYS NOW HAVE NO RESPECT OR CHIVALRY like alastor😔😒 (ik not ALL guys but most guys now and days are jackasses)

Hnnng I fucking love this ✨️

Alastor X Reader Headcanons

✅️Romantic

❌️Platonic

TW: Harassment, Men being nasty

Description: ☝️⬆️

Back when you were alive, men never did the sort of things that Alastor does unless they wanted to get laid

Most of the men you knew had tendencies to act like frat boys or old perverts

Only having one goal in mind and if they got rejected then they got fucking nasty as hell with you

On top of that, you didn't have the luxury of growing up to be soft and helpless like some people

You had to be strong and look out for yourself, you rarely looked to others for help

Not even your own family

Some people didn't even look at you as a woman, just as some tough badass who didn't need anyone's helping hand

At least you hoped that how they looked at you

Not that you would've rejected the offer if anyone actually tried to help you out, everyone needs a hand now and then

The only people who ever offered any sort of help were horny guys who offered to help you let off some steam with them

Fuck off

But Alastor grew up in a very different time than you and his way of treating you always gave you whiplash

He would never dream of asking you to fuck within the first few days of knowing each other, or even the first month wtf kind of animals have men turned into??

You don't even wanna know, Alastor

His little pet names alone made you flustered but his actions??? A whole other monster in itself

When you first met him this crazy guy kissed your hand like you were in some regency movie

You were so shy afterwards that you couldn't look him in the eyes, your cheeks hot and pink

One time, Alastor actually took off his coat and put it over a puddle for you step on

Didn't you just beat up some guy for ripping it???

You could've just stepped over the puddle in the first place??? Why did you do that??

"I did what any proper gentleman would do for a lady such as yourself, Y/N..!"

You gotta look away at that point or else he would see how hot your face is getting, feeling flustered

Alastor actually asked you to dance to a song that wasn't meant for grinding and sweating on each other??

You blush and mumble something about not knowing how to dance to music like this and instead of making fun of you Alastor teaches you how

He's a wonderful dancer and leads the entire time, not letting you make a fool of yourself in front of everyone

You've never felt your heart do skip so many beats before

You're trying to ignore what some random lecherous demon is saying about your body and the things he would do to it??

Guess what-

"Now that is not the way to start a proper conversation with a lady of Y/N's status, or any lady for that matter."

Alastor scares him off for you and won't even accept your thanks in return, making your legs wobbly

Once your suffering with feelings for Alastor then every little thing he does makes you turn into a gooey puddle

It doesn't stop when he's suddenly courting you, only getting worse with each romantic act

He brings you flowers, dedicates entire broadcasts to you, asks you to take evening strolls with him

He does all this and never even expects a parting kiss from you, simply happy to be in your presence

When/why the fuck did men stop acting like this?? This is so much better than how they were back when you were alive-

You get flustered just at the sight of him now, wondering just how he's going to make you swoon today

Alastor is slowly getting you accustomed to how he believes you should always be treated, happy that you're no longer confused by his actions

This motherfucker just Pavlov-ed you into falling for him

This was so fun to write!! I hope I did a good enough job!!

[rafeslvbug]

florida kilos!readers first birthday!! she probably has never celebrated before and i could see her forgetting about it

you’re humming softly to the radio, braiding your hair, socked feet tucked under your legs in the passenger seat of rafe’s car. he’s driving back home from a meeting with barry, hand on your lower thigh while he taps the wheel with his fingers to the beat of the song.

one of your many mundane activities, that seem to be the ones you most enjoy. simple silence with rafe, songs in the background like a soundtrack to your life.

you frown, however, when his hand leaves your thigh to turn the dial down on the volume, ears trying to chase the fading sound.

“hm why’d you turn the volume down?” you asked, looking up at him and abandoning the braid, which now came loose against your cardigan.

“nothin’ i was just wonderin’…” he starts, indicating as he turns left off the main road.

“wondering?” you repeat after him, dragging out the word in hopes he’ll finish his sentence.

“i don’t even know when your birthday is, seems like a basic thing every boyfriend should know. it’s gotta be coming up soon no?” he glances at you before returning his eyes to the road and his hand to your thigh, squeezing it softly.

brows knitted, you tried to recall the last time you even celebrated your birthday. it had been so long, with time you even forgot the date, mixing it up with the ones before or after. “well i think it was…no- wait- no yeah it was! it was last week saturday!” you exclaim, happy for once you could actually remember the date, you’d often got weird looks for struggling to figure it out.

but the look on rafe’s face you couldn’t decipher - you had gotten the date pretty quickly so why did he look so shook? he pulled the car over to the nearest stop, and you looked out the window, even more lost as to what he was doing. “why’d you stop the car?” you asked, the picture of innocence and unawareness, which only fuelled rafe’s bewilderment.

“last week saturday? your birthday was last week saturday?” he repeats, enunciating the “last” like it was some crucial point.

you nod cautiously, unsure of what was going on as you answered, “yeah..why?”

“why? baby, a birthday is important! ya didn’t think to tell me it was your birthday?” he asks, appearing almost offended that you hadn’t told him, and even more so when you shrug.

“how was i supposed to tell you? i didn’t even remember myself?” you ask, cocking your head to the side and chuckling at his behaviour, because he was the one being odd.

“how do you not remember your birthday?”

“i dunno, i don’t really celebrate it…i stopped when i was like five or sumthin’. didn’t everyone?”

rafe’s jaw goes slack as he shakes his head, “no..i still celebrate mine.”

you snort, giggling, “what you get yourself a cake every year an’ blow out the candles?”

“yeah! i throw a big ass party too, get cards an’ money an’- you never did this?”

you frown, shaking your head. “no. must be a rich people thing..” you muse.

“nuh-uh, baby, this is a normal people thing.”

“oh well, never did it.” you shrug, hands returning to pick up the loose ends of your braid to redo it.

“do you wanna do it?” rafe asks, dipping his head to look at you while one of his hands cover yours and steal it away from the braid.

you glance up at him, “you gonna make me do it anyways?”

he chuckles, shrugs and nods. “pretty much.”

“well..can it just be us then? no one else,” you ask softly. you hated rafe’s friends, and really only knew barry on the cut.

“yeah, course baby, just us,” rafe agrees, triumphant as he starts the car up again.

-

you weren’t even sure when rafe had managed to do it.

he had taken you out for your birthday, to an arcade because he said that everyone should get to experience wasting their money on rigged machines.

it didn’t stop him from getting annoyed when the claw dropped the stuffed animal for the seventh time. on the bright side, he got it on the tenth time, so you sat in the car on the way home with a blue bunny half the size of you.

and you had to agree, it was one of the best experiences of your life. losing to all the machines, and somehow not caring that it was money down the drain.

because it wasn’t.

it was money spent on what was the best day of your life. (it was also rafe’s money)

you hadn’t seen him slip away at all though. the entire time he held your hand through the purple led lights and crowds of teens.

so you weren’t sure how the house was fully decorated when you came home.

“surprise, baby,” he beamed when he flicked the light on to reveal the living room, dressed head to toe in your favourite colour, balloons with a big 19 and a cost you couldn’t comprehend.

stunned, was a mild way to describe how you felt. it was an overwhelming type of love - for rafe. whatever coursed through you had rooted you to the spot, your eyes flicking between each grand feature and back to rafe.

the cake on the table was nothing compared to the cupcake you’d get given at school, nineteen candles spiralling up the three tiers of pink rather than one.

the table was stacked with cards, from god knows who, maybe it was just rafe.

you barely had time to register the rest before he was gently guiding you towards the couch. you glanced over your shoulder at him.

“you did this? when?”

he shrugged coyly, sitting you down.

“it’s custom to open the cards first,” is all he said as he pushed the stack towards you.

you giggled when you picked the first up, scrawled in his handwriting and you still didn’t know when he found the time to do this.

the card was written from him, and in it a fifty which he wouldn’t let you give back because it was ‘birthday money’ and everyone got birthday money apparently.

the next eighteen cards were similarly written in his handwriting, but cosplayed as other people like the grandma who’d give you too much money or the cousin who’d conveniently give you a gift card to your favourite clothes store. you didn’t believe any of that was true because of the grin on rafe’s face, but you accepted it anyways.

you blew out each of the candles, but only after rafe sung happy birthday and took an embarrassing video of you, as he insisted everyone did this and even pulled up a video of his thirteenth birthday just to prove it to you.

he then brought out the stack of nineteen presents, making you open them all even when you said it was too much. in the end, you had headphones, more clothes, cds to add to the already large collection and even more things.

but there was still one more.

rafe disappeared to the other room, calling out, “ya sure your eyes are closed? don’t wanna ruin the surprise!”

you squeezed them shut even tighter before answering, “‘m sure!”

“‘kay, open them then.”

your lips were parted in shock, a small gasp escaping you when you saw the little, sleepy bundle in rafe’s arms.

black fur, pointed ears and in dire need of a haircut but it only made him look more cuddly ; the puppy he held was about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

“rafe..you got a puppy?”

he chuckles, nodding while he carefully transfers the tired thing into your arms. “d’you like it? he’s small now, but he’ll get bigger. the guy at the shelter said german shepherds were good for security an’ shit, so i’ll get him trained an’ he can be your lil’ bodyguard,” he said proudly, crouching down to be infront of you on the couch.

you laughed at his behaviour, setting the dog down on the couch, and leaning forward to wrap your arms around his neck in a tight hug.

“thank you rafe- not just for the dog. for everything,” you mumble into his neck, his arms coming around you and holding you in return.

“happy to do it baby.”

you pull away, tilting your head down to look at him properly. “i’m serious rafe, i really am grateful.”

he presses a kiss to your forehead, “i know you are, i’m serious too. happy late birthday angel.”

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Jade Leech - Shore Celebrant Vignette

"The light I had been continuously chasing"

[Ultramarine City – Part in Plaza]

Grim: Ooh, there's a ton of souvenirs being sold over there, too.

Rook: You're right. We should go take a look.

Jade: There is a fascinating store that isn't in an easily spotted location, as well. I can point it out as we near it.

Malleus: A fascinating store? I wonder if they carry more unusual items. How exciting.

Riddle: When Jade says "fascinating," I feel a little― no, very uneasy… However, I'm also interested.

1. I'm excited!

Jade: Oh my, I had no idea you were looking forward to it that much. I am elated, of course, but now I am feeling the pressure. Jade: I do hope it will strike your fancy as well, [Yuu]-san.

2. I'm nervous…

Jade: No need to be so frightened. This is just a lovely little town with such bright and cheerful people, no? Jade: I'm sure there aren't any items there with any kind of shady origins. Most likely…

Riddle: Have you gone to that shop with Azul or Floyd?

Jade: Not at all. Those two were not interested whatsoever, and passed by the store without stopping.

Jade: And that was merely because, according to the flyer plastered on the storefront, they source their wares directly from merfolk…

Jade: Some of their available merchandise include items such as fortune-telling seaweed, or instruments and accessory cases made out of shells.

Jade: I've heard they even raise seahorses with anemones on their heads.

Jade: None of that is all that unusual for us merfolk. So that is why they had no interest in going inside.

Jade: However, I'm sure it is filled to the brim with objects land-dwellers like yourselves would have never seen before. I do hope you will enjoy it.

Rook: Oui! Just hearing about it is quickening my pulse.

Grim: Hey, do they got anything to eat, though? I wanna eat all the delish stuff they got from under the sea!

Jade: It did seem like they sold what would be considered standard fare for merfolk, so I'm sure they'll have something of the like. For example…

???: Woah, hey… Is that you, Jade-kun!?

Jade: Oh my, if it isn't you…! I'm afraid it has been some time.

Jade: Yes, I'm Jade Leech. Thank you for everything you did for me back then.

1. Do you guys know each other?

Jade: Indeed. I had previously attended a training camp for merfolk who would come to the surface world… Jade: He was one of the people working there. He had his work cut out for him while looking after us.

2. Who is this guy…?

Jade: Are you aware of the training camp specifically created for merfolk who would come to the surface world? Jade: He was one of the people working there. He took very good care of us there.

Jade: I must say, I was not expecting to run into you here at Ultramarine City… Are you on vacation?

Training School Staff: Actually, I'm working. Well, I say that, but we've got no merfolk attending our little school right now.

Training School Staff: I'm just scouting out some new places in Ultramarine City to help in our walking course.

Jade: I see. If you were to showcase many beautiful locations, there may be more interest within the merfolk community to come to land.

Training School Staff: That's right. I'm gonna come up with a plan so amazing that it'll even get you from back then excited.

Rook: "From back then"…?

Training School Staff: Ah, whoops. I gotta get back to work.

Training School Staff: I'm glad you're enjoying yourself on land, Jade-kun. Tell the other two I say hi!

Jade: Of course, I'll let them know. Goodbye.

Jade: Sorry to keep you all waiting. The shop I'd like to show you is over this way. Let's head there now.

Grim: Yeah! Let's go already!!

[Ultramarine City – Sunshine Bay Restaurant]

[everyone chats away]

Jade: Oh also, we ran into one of the staff members from the land acculturation camp during our excursion at the Part in Plaza today.

Georgina: My, my, all the way in Ultramarine City? What an unexpected coincidence.

Jade: Indeed. He said he was glad I was enjoying myself on land.

Georgina: I see… It seems the staff there did so much to take care of you while you were there.

Georgina: Even when my husband and I would need to come to land for work, neither Jade-san nor Floyd-san would want to come with us at all…

Georgina: So there were times when we thought you would return to the sea without any interest of staying on land.

Jade: I had no idea you thought that way… This is the first I've heard of this.

Rook: The staff member we met earlier did allude to a little something from your past…

Rook: It seems to me like you didn't have much interest to the surface world when you were younger, Jade-kun.

Georgina: That's true. At the very least, it looked as if he could enjoy himself plenty under the sea without coming to the surface.

Jade: Yes, that is true. I was quite content there.

Georgina: Back then, even his teachers would report that he was doing well, with no issues.

Georgina: He would constantly be praised on his classroom etiquette, grades, and the way he presented himself…

Georgina: Which is why I was surprised one when his homeroom teacher relayed to me that "Jade-kun hasn't come to school" one day.

Jade: Ah, that was in middle school, yes.

Riddle: You mean to say you were absent from school without authorization?

Jade: That wasn't the case. I had no intention of missing classes whatsoever.

Jade: However, this situation was due to an unavoidable circumstance. That's because…

Jade: I had gone missing for three days straight.

Rook/Riddle: WHAT!?

[Ultramarine City – Sunshine Bay Restaurant]

Jade: However, this situation was due to an unavoidable circumstance. That's because…

Jade: I had gone missing for three days straight.

Rook/Riddle: WHAT!?

Riddle: Well, I assume since you're here with us now that you were able to make it home safely…

Rook: I can't just let you say that you went missing and not ask anything. …Were you caught up in some sort of incident?

Jade: …It happened a few years ago.

Jade: I went missing the day after a terrible storm. I do recall that I was quite excited that morning.

Riddle: Why's that?

Jade: Oftentimes after a rain or thunderstorm, it becomes much easier to find strange and unusual items milling about.

Jade: So while I was off wandering, I had finally found something interesting. There was an object floating in the cold, dark water.

Jade: It was giving off a faint light, shining red, blue, green in a continuous rhythmic pattern…

Jade: My younger self was completely taken in by it with one look… And so I chased after the light as it drifted further and further away from me.

Rook: To see little Jade-kun chasing after a small light within the dark depths of the ocean…

Rook: Ohh, how brave he must have been. Just imagining it brings a smile to my lips and a tug on my heartstrings.

Jade: Indeed. It's hard to say just how long my sweet, innocent baby self swam for…

Jade: My tailfin was starting to feel heavier and sluggish, and just as I was about to give up on the impossible task I had set myself…

Jade: The light I had been continuously chasing had finally appeared right before me!

Riddle: Finally, the story is getting somewhere. What happened next?

Jade: I reached out my arm as far as it would go, and just I grasped that light…

Jade: The world suddenly started spinning around me.

Jade: I had gotten caught in a whirlpool.

Jade: It was a location known to be dangerous waters that we were told not to go anywhere near…

Jade: But because I was so focused on capturing that strange light, I had ended up in such a dangerous place before I had realized it.

Jade: Goodness, how terrifying it is to possess such youthful impetuousness…

Riddle: That's not the point here, now, is it?

Riddle: For you to be caught in a whirlpool up in those northern seas… I've read in textbooks that those were the primary causes of shipwrecks in that area.

Riddle: And yet despite that you were able to find your way home unharmed… It seems you somehow have the devil's luck.

Jade: Oh no, I was not completely unharmed, not at all!

Jade: I ended up in a stretch of ocean in which I could not get even a single tiny fish to come near, and for three days and three nights, I wandered with an empty stomach…

Jade: By the time I finally made my way back to more familiar waters… I was completely despaired, thinking it was all over.

Rook: Le misérable! That must have been such a frightful experience.

Jade: Yes, I still cannot forget it to this day. When I think of the look on my mother's face as she waited for me out front of our home…

Rook: Your mother's face?

Rook: Do you mean... She looked completely worn out because you had disappeared?

Georgina: Yes, indeed. I had been so, so worried… Right, Jade-san?

Jade: …Back then, my mother simply smiled, saying, "You've finally come home…"

Jade: Before squeezing my whole body EXTREMELY TIGHTLY…

Jade: Her embrace was so tight that it would make even Floyd's squeezing taunts seem adorable.

Rook/Riddle: Well, that's…

Rook: It must have been a very warm embrace.

Jade: Absolutely. Every single bone in my body cracked.

Georgina: Mhmhm. I simply could not contain my joy when I saw my beloved son home safe for the first time in days.

Riddle: On top of breaking curfew without prior notification, he also hadn't come home for three days.

Riddle: If we consider those circumstances, it's only natural that he would have received such a severe punishment.

Georgina: Oh, it seems like things are a little more rigid in your household, Riddle-san.

Jade: Our family is fairly hands-off.

Jade: Not only have we never had a curfew, but neither have we been scolded for not coming home for a number of days.

Riddle: Eh? Then why did she… squeeze you, Jade?

Riddle: If there is no issue with you not coming home for a few days, then I can't imagine why you would have received that sort of punishment.

[Riddle comes to a realization as Georgina smiles]

Riddle: …Ah, my apologies. It wasn't a punishment, it was an embrace.

Georgina: Well, of course, it was because his school had contacted me.

Rook: I see. So that was all due to his disappearance not staying a family matter.

Georgina: That's right. I don't mind one bit if it inconveniences me. However, it is a completely different matter if it were to cause any other person trouble.

Georgina: I don't care how they spend their own time, but the onus is on them to take care of everything themselves.

Jade: In the end, after all that, just as was said, I was "squeezed" tightly…

Jade: Add onto the fact that I had been swimming for quite a long time, and my whole body was aching all over for the next few days. I ended up resting at home from school for the next week.

Jade: When I look back on it now, it truly was quite the blunder. I was severely laughed at by Floyd, as well.

Georgina: Which then led to the two of them into another big fight, so I had to hug the both of them then.

Georgina: The both of them were quite sulky for a little while after that, but by the time Jade-san was ready to go back to school, they'd completely made up…

Georgina: The next thing I knew, those two had gone off together somewhere. Children truly are a wonder.

Riddle: How utterly unrestrained… This sort of thing would never have come about in my home. Maybe that's why I'm so incompatible with you two.

Rook: I suppose this all comes from the fact that you value your children's independence.

Rook: It seems the upbringing of the Leech family is quite similar to my own family's.

Jade: Well now, that's fascinating to know. I would love to know more about your family as well, Rook-san.

Rook: Hehe, perhaps, if the opportunity unveils itself. By the way, Jade-kun…

Rook: In the end, what was that strange light that you had found?

Jade: Well…

[Ultramarine City – Sunshine Bay Restaurant]

Rook: In the end, what was that strange light that you had found?

Jade: Well…

Jade: It was a toy ring. It was the type that was battery-run and would light up…

Jade: Perhaps it was due to having been in the water for too long, but by the time I had come to, it had broken and stopped working.

Rook: Oh là là… What a shame.

Riddle: You wandered off during school hours, trespassed in a restricted location, and worst of all, you were absent from school without permission…

Riddle: THAT IS NOT NEARLY AS BIG OF A PENALTY AS YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED FOR BREAKING SO MANY RULES!!

Jade: Is that so? What a harsh thing to say, Riddle-san.

Riddle: This falls nowhere near any levels of "harsh"! Besides, you fell into that dangerous situation merely because you weren't paying careful attention, right?

Riddle: So why is it that you couldn’t learn from what happened and try to fix your behavior?

Riddle: Even just the other day in alchemy class, you had to be stopped by the professor from mixing together a forbidden concoction.

Riddle: I truly cannot understand why you would do something you were told not to, despite having been given the proper warnings.

Jade: Perhaps it's because... it's simply human nature to want to do something especially after being told not to.

Riddle: DON'T SPLIT HAIRS! Good grief, this is why you're always…

Georgina: …...

Rook: Oh, is something the matter?

[They watch Riddle berate Jade]

Georgina: Hmhm, I'm just somewhat happy to see Jade-san with a friend who would be upfront and chide him like this.

Georgina: Thank you as well, Rook-san.

Georgina: It's not often that those around him understand him for who he is. I'm simply elated to have you look after him so kindly.

Rook: There's no need to thank me. I am just enjoying seeing how his mind works.

Georgina: Mhhm, to think he has such wonderful classmates and upperclassmen taking care of him… Jade-san is quite the lucky one.

Jade: Oh, my. Mother, you aren't trying to drag Rook-san into anything troublesome, are you?

Georgina: I was simply telling him how wonderful it was that you were able to become a student at Night Raven College.

Georgina: It seems that spending every single day like this with your fellow school mates has been quite a stimulating experience for you.

Jade: Yes, indeed.

Jade: A waylaid visitor from another world. A direbeast that was specially allowed to enroll as a student, despite his origins.

Jade: An upperclassman who is a world-renowned great mage.

Jade: A mysterious upperclassman with keen senses of observation and is quite receptable.

Jade: And finally, a hot-headed classmate who is not only at the top of our class, but also the Housewarden of Heartslabyul.

Jade: There are so many more individualistic personalities there as well that I never have the time to be bored.

Jade: There may come a day that I return to the ocean, yes…

Jade: But at the very least, I am certain that I still have a very enriching school life ahead of me, as well.

Jade: This experience will also be included among my school life memories… So, I must see tomorrow's Eternity Float be a success with everyone's help.

Jade: We will absolutely flip that boat as hard as we can, and recreate the tale.

Georgina: Well now, I am truly looking forward to tomorrow now.

Jade: Entrust it to me. I'm certain that this wedding will be one to remember.

Requested by @clove-noko.

[im-sleepdeprived]

Your page says requests are open, so I'm sorry if I missed something 🙏🏻 Could you possibly do Peter Parker (preferably TASM) and friend reader who has a pet jumping spider that she named after him (bc she's crushing bad)? I think it would be funny if she didn't know he was Spider-man. ❤️

this is actually the cutest thing ever i loved writing this😭 hope you enjoy the little blurb !! no warnings just tooth rotting fluff and some deep, deep pining !!

“Look!” You exclaimed, holding up a see-through container filled with dirt, grass, and twigs, housing your newly acquired pet.

Peter leaned down to peer into it. “He’s adorable.”

You beamed. “I know right!” You’d always had a fascination for critters, but especially arachnids. Hence the tiny jumping spider in your hands right now. Peter found it precious when you rambled on about your love for spiders, not knowing that your very best friend (and long time admirer) was, in part, one. He always felt a little special. 

He knew it was stupid, you were never talking about him. Hell, you had no clue he was Spider-Man. But still. Usually everyone was freaked out about spiders, people hated them, even him (before the bite) and yet you managed to see the beauty in them. What other people found gross and freaky you found intriguing. 

You’d been over the moon this past week since you found out there were jumping spiders finally available  (he never would’ve guessed it, but apparently they were popular pets) at your local reptile store, (you were also adamant about not getting one from a big chain store). 

“I named him after you,” you admitted a little bashfully.

“Oh?” Peter could feel his heart speed up. Maybe his secret wasn’t as well protected as he thought it was. 

“His eyes, see?” You moved the container closer to him and placed your index finger on it, tapping gently. “He’s got those two big ones in the front and these ones on the side.” More tapping from your finger. “He reminded me of you when you wear glasses,” you giggled sweetly.

Peter felt his heart soar. “Yeah?” He smiled wide. “Well I’ve gotta say I’m honored, I know how long you’ve wanted one.”

“Yeah,” you beamed. You always appreciated that Peter let you ramble on about your favorite things, no matter how weird they were. You knew it was an unconventional interest, and yet he never made you feel different or odd they were. It only made you fall that much more in love with him. 

“Did you know that the males perform special dances for the females to get them to mate with them?”

You side-eyed Peter, impressed with his knowledge. Usually you were the one hitting him with random facts. “No, actually, I didn’t know that. Could you imagine if humans did that?” You laughed.

“Well isn’t that whats going online these days? With all those dance trends and ‘thirst traps’.” He made quotation marks with his fingers on that last part, making you laugh again.

“I wonder if Spider-Man does that,” you pondered. 

“What do you mean?” Peter’s brows furrowed. 

“I mean, isn’t he part spider or something? That’s how he can climb walls and stuff, right? And isn’t it why his name is literally Spider-Man. I just wonder how many spider traits he actually possesses.”

“Not the webs, the webs are artificial.” He answered you simply, eyes going wide when he noted the curious look you gave him. “Oh! I mean—I think I heard it—READ IT! Yeah,” he cleared his throat, “I read it somewhere.” Everyday it was getting harder and harder to keep this secret from you. 

“Okay weirdo,” you chuckled. “It was between you and him.” You said suddenly.

“Me and who?” Peter asked. 

“You and Spider-Man,” you said as if it made all the sense in the world. You tapped the small box in your hands again. “I almost named little Petey here Spider-Man cause I thought it was cute.”

Peter crossed his arms and smirked at you. “Really?” He thought it was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard. If you weren’t careful, he was going to pull out his suit right now and tell you everything. Well, either that or kiss the living daylights out of you. He reallyyy wanted that last one to happen. “And why didn’t you?”

“Well Spider-Man great and all, don’t get me wrong, saving the city and all,” you made a gesture with your hands, “but you’re my best friend Pete. Of course I’d pick you.”

Peter stood shocked. Honestly, he didn’t deserve you and all your kindness. Everyone loved Spider-Man, no one really cared about Peter. No one but you apparently.

“Now,” you grinned wickedly, “wanna take Peter 2.0 out the box and see how far he can jump?”

He scoffed, “Can’t believe you even have to ask sweetheart.”

“Great,” you handed him the container,” you go first. I wanna get a picture of you and your name twin!”

Peter laughed sweetly and looked down at his ‘name twin’ lounging leisurely on his little twig. Slowly, Peter lifted the lid and placed his finger beside Peter 2.0, allowing the spider, about the size of his fingernail, to crawl onto the tip of his finger. 

He slowly lifted his wrist out the box and looked over to where you stood, camera in hand, grinning wide. “I took your camera, hope that’s okay.” You said sweetly. 

“Yeah, it fine.” he wanted to tell you you could anything of his you wanted.

“Cool,” you held the camera up and positioned the viewfinder so it was in front of your eye. “Okay…Smile in 1…2…” you squealed. 

Peter hadn’t noticed, too busy ogling at you and how beautiful you looked using his camera like that, but your jumping spider had, well….jumped. 

“Peter!” You yelled. 

“Me or him?”

You burst into giggles, Peter (human) following suit. 

[purpdrawsthings]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

special birthday post 💜

[very long yap incoming 💥]

Edit : this was supposed to be released on midnight yesterday right when it turns 20th in my country but I didn't have time so yeah, kinda upset <=[

IT'S MY BIRTHDAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the time I post this my phone will be well, closed and I will be unable to access it since it's past 9 and it'll turn back on at 7 in the morning.

This was made one day before the bday btw I did not prepare 💔

Anyways..

Todays the day I turn ▒▒ years old! Oh. Why would I tell my age? Gotta keep that a secret!

Funny fact, the 20th of April is also the same date as when the prophet of Islam Nabi Muhammad was birthed! Crazy amirite?

But anyways, I've gone through so many things. Both sad and also wonderful. Life sure is full of possibilities isn't it? I'm in a fandom about beans and suddenly I'm in a fandom about a Saturday morning cartoon mario shitpost? Never thought that would happen but it did, somehow.

The thing is, you'll never know what ever happens next! Prepared or not, you'll always be hit with the most unexpected occurrences. And that's the wonder of life! It's what keeps us interested and curious!

It's okay to change. I used to promise to myself that I would always stay in the among us fandom! But look where I am now. I used to think that I was a bad person for doing that, but now I realize that, it's okay! It's not like the end of the world happens when you leave a fandom you've been in for 3 years!

Looking back at old things may be cringe to most, but it's always nice to feel that nostalgia that you haven't felt in a while! It really shows how much you've grown for the past few years!

I used to be really terrible with animation. Like- really ass. But since 2024, my animations have started to become much better! It just takes time and patience. Thing won't always go your way and you shouldn't rush everything! [ Ironic considering that I always rush stuff 💀 ] Taking your time slowly but surely will pay out and you'll have a good result in the end!

Now those few past paragraphs I literally said earlier made no sense whatsoever considering I just talked about life but in a non rearranged order. So I'm sorry for that one 😭

But anyways, all I wanna say is, thank you. For everything. To everyone here! Involved or not, I could NOT be here if it weren't for you all! You can't BELIEVE how much it has impacted me! I sincerely love you all! 💜 <=3

Being in here for less than a year and having this much is crazy! Like I didn't know you guys liked my stuff! I'm just a silly girl who just draws that's all 💜

For the last part, I'd love to say a few words to some people that I love/admire the most 💜 [ the words I'm about to say may be a bit similar to the ones said in the Christmas special so yeah =[ ]

Neptune - You were my first friend, friendo and best friend. We don't interact a whole lot anymore but I just wanna say, you are an amazing person. You were so supportive and amazing! You always made my day back in amino. And I won't ever forget about that. You've improved so much on your art too! I'm glad to see youre improving so much on your art, and to that, thank you Nep. Thank you for being my friendo. 💜

@rr3d2y - My first friend in the SMG4 community! I WANNA HUG YOU SO BAD IRL 💔 you are seriously such a kind and wonderful person! GENUINELY LIKE YOU SO COOL!!!!! We got along with each other so well like, I didnt know you were that chill smh??? I LOVE YOU AND CHERISH YOU SO MUCH A FRIEND!!!! THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING FRIENDS WITH ME YA SILLY!! 💜❤💜❤💜❤💜❤💜

@mikchi8 - Pulls you out and hugs you and shakes you affectionately. YOU TOO MIKCHI. YOU TOO!! YEAH WE DON'T TALK A WHOLE LOT BUT GENUINELY YOU'RE A COOL PERSON!!! LOVE YA YOU FUNNI PERSON!!! 💜💜💜💜

@superluigiglitchy - I will make art of Oliver soon I'LL GET TO THERE SIDHOSHSKDKDHD 😭 PJ I love ur art and the stuff you do like- A LOT! Like that vanellope AU and also the squib! THE SILLY HIMSELF!!! No seriously how'd you make him so cute siudidjdodjdojdodhdidj /silly we don't a talk a whole much as much as we used to but I'm always interested and up for what u're cooking! Love ya ^^ ! 💜

@jmaknavigr @markboyblue - You both are so kind and sweet like JMA YOUR AXOLOTL GIFTS ARE SIYDIDHDIHDOFJF AND MARM YOUR COMPLIMENTS THEY'RE SO SIHDISHDIDHDKHDKSJS I'LL GET YOU BOTH!!!!!! MARK MY WORDSSSSS /silly /jk /nsrs /lh I'M SORRY FOR NOT HAVING ANYMORE TO SAY BUT JUST KNOW THAT I LOVE U TWO 💜💜💜💜

@tiredsmashbros @strange0-0storm @cookiepopcat @its-a-me-mango - You four have been like my main source of inspiration like HELPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!! YOU ALL ARE STILL VERY COOL TO ME. All of you fours contents are just so unique and well made?? Man that what I really strive for tbh 😭 all I wanna say is you are all creative in your own separate ways and I'll continue praise you four for that, 💥💥💥💥💜💜💜💜

@libbytwq @bear-boi-5 @coralalala64 @4thwallbreakerdraws2 - OKAY I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE FRIENDS/MUTUALS WITH ANY OF YOU. SERIOUSLY 😭. LIKE UH... HOW? You four have like, really cool stuff and people should really see that because y'all are cooking some rlly good art in that kitchen right there 💥 interacting with like all four of you has got to be one of the goofiest and silliest things. Like- sure it's not that chaotic but it can get rlly silly at times and I'm glad for that do what you four do XD 💜💜💜

@michaelscorneroftheinternet @grinnames @dorriostareyes - OH GOD YOU THREE ARE REALLY COOL TOO. Micheal and Dorrio, you boths writing are actually like top notch WHAT ARE Y'ALL COOKING UP WITH CHANGE IN SCRIPT PUT THAT GIF WHERE SOMEONE IS WRITING AND IT'S ON FIRE 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Grinnames you too I know I said this before but ur Godbox au is so interesting very excited to see how that like.. Event... Thing.... Ends =D! You three are all obviously very cool and deserve more recognition 💜💜💜

@alelathedragon - Hey uhhhhh wasn't expecting this huh? I KNOW WE HAVEN'T INTERACTED A WHOLE LOT BUT I GOTTA SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME LEND A HAND ON THE COMPETITION!!! I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT AT ALL LIKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT MY DOORSTEP ALL THE SUDDEN!! Honestly I love broken star like he's such a silly goober AND LOYBOO TOO. HE'S SUCH A CUTIE!!! Man you so cool. Yeah this is what you get for interacting with me muahahhahaa 💥💜

@eliscz @meg-girumi @theclosetcreature @fbanjex @jovialoddity @bidinonsense @h4ppysoki @dakaakula @icedbeverageenjoyer @jibrilthethingart @stargus0k @hplonesomeart @scimagic @the-masked-astro @yasmin70 @fenicearts420 @mrtophat518 @alex-dolmatescu2-0 @change-name-later - YOU ARE ALL REALLY COOL MR PUZZLES ARTISTS IN YOUR WAYS!!!!! SERIOUSLY YALLS IDEAS FOR THIS SILLY MAN ARE REALLY COOL LIKE THE WAY Y'ALL DRAW HIM, HEAD CANNONS AND THE STUFF Y'ALL DID WITH HIM, ARE ALL JUST REALLY COOL!! Will adore you all till the ends of handsome tv man 💜💜💜 /silly

And these are the list of people that I'd like to make messages to but I simply don't have the time and energy to do that so yeah 😔. Just know that I enjoy you all as equally as everybody else before this!! 💜💜💜

@opossol @shygirl4991 @theartistisme24 @art-parasi-te @fruit-sy @dictatortirah @corgibuttdraws @smp-eclair @psinkaaa @rat-n-atty

And for the last bit! A recap of alllllll of my digital drawings since I interacted online! Enjoy 💜

And that's it!.. There was supposed to be a bit where I yapped more but with my real voice but that got scrapped.. =[

Anywaysssss yeah! Thank you for whoever read this far smh ig you have a good attention span 💥💥💥💥

Have a great day every body and most importantly, happy purpday to me 💜

[imaginespazzi]

Part 4: Warning Bells

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15

I don't think I can do this again (do you remember it too?)

(In which a self-admittedly all over the place writer takes you on a bit of a rollercoaster)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Fluff, Angst, Pining (the usuals)

Words: 6.1K

TW: Swearing, Mentions of Divorce

A/N: Hi lovelies :) Guess who made a deadline again? I'm as shocked as y'all are but I do wanna just warn y'all that August is gonna be really busy for me so as much as I'm gonna try to stick to schedule, there's a pretty good chance I won't. I really appreciate y'alls feedback with live-reacts/long reviews and it's truly the motivating factor behind my writing so pretty please keep sending them. I did edit (as usual) but please let me know the most likely existent typos anyway. As always, let me know what you liked, disliked and what you wanna see next. Have a lovely rest of your week my loves <3

March 2033 

Here’s what Azzi has learned about motherhood: having kids means that there will come many times in your life, when you will look around you and wonder how the hell did I get here. It’s that thought that’s currently plaguing her as she finishes hanging up the WELCOME HOME banner on the living room wall in her ex-girlfriend’s new apartment. And when she’s talking about kids, she’s not talking about her five year old who’s currently sticking purple hearts on every surface she can find. No, she’s talking about her 6’5 teammate who she’d once “adopted” as a joke in college, but who’s basically become her surrogate child ever since they’d ended up on the same WNBA team. 

It had started as a casual conversation when Jana, as she often did, had shown up for an impromptu lunch. The topic of Paige was hard to avoid considering it was Stephie’s favorite subject, heightened by the fact that Paige was coming back soon and Stephie was far too excited to finally have her Miss Buecks back. Jana was more than happy to indulge the little girl in conversation about what Paige had been like at UConn. And if Azzi had lost herself in those memories for a moment, transported back in time to a world that had once been blooming with promise before wilting in a darkness she’d created herself, well, she’d done an excellent job not letting it show on her face. 

The real issue had started when Jana had casually let slip her idea of surprising Paige with a little welcome party. And as Stephie had started reciting all the different things they could do -because of course me and Mama will help you Aunty J, Azzi had glared at Jana, only to receive an innocent smile in return that told her everything she needed to know. She’d been set up. 

That’s how, instead of spending her Saturday curled up on her comfortable couch with a book in her hands, Azzi is here instead and in true fashion, she’s the only one actually getting anything done. Jana, who had just left about twenty minutes ago to pick Paige up, had invited some of the other girls on the team to come help out yet, something about more hands on deck. Those supposed helpful hands had spent the last hour blowing up and popping balloons and getting nothing else done.

“I can’t believe y’all have me decorating for the woman who cost me my first national championship,” Joyce laments, “I still have nightmares from that game.”

“You gotta let that hurt go Aunty Joy,” Stephie says impishly, mimicking what Jana would normally say whenever the infamous 2025 South Carolina vs UConn national championship got brought up. 

“Don’t sass me Miss Stephanie,” Joyce sticks out her tongue at the little girl, throwing a purple balloon at Stephie’s head, “hasn’t your Mama taught you that we don’t mock people’s pain.”

“Ignore her Steph,” Tessa says, bumping her former Gamecock teammate as she shares a devilish grin with Azzi’s daughter, “she’s just upset she only won one. Some of us have two.”

Joyce guffaws, throwing another balloon, this time aimed at Tessa, “dude we’re supposed to be on the same team. What would Coach Staley say to you teaming with UConn people of all things to bully me?”

“She’d thank me for making sure you didn’t get a big head,” Tessa snipes back. 

Whatever response Joyce has to that quip is cut short by the doorbell ringing and Azzi feels her heartbeat quicken as Stephie lets out a squeal, dropping everything to go answer it. Things had been different since the facetime call almost two weeks ago. They’d accidentally on purpose settled into a routine where Stephie would call Paige at exactly 7 p.m. and Paige would answer on the first ring, promising to stay on the phone till the little girl fell asleep. And it would’ve been fine if that’s all it was. But then Paige started staying on the phone till after Stephie fell asleep and suddenly it was like they were back to their teenage selves, talking about everything and nothing, trying to learn every page of each other’s story all over again. 

Azzi had missed so much about Paige in the last couple of years but there was nothing she’d missed more than just talking to her best friend. She’d missed the way Paige would tell a story, going off on a million tangents in between. She’d missed the way her eyes would light up when she got to a particularly exciting part of the story, specks of gold shimmering in the blue like sunlight hitting the ocean. She’d missed the way Paige’s hands would be flying animatedly all over the place, even when she was whispering. She’d missed the way the blonde would pause halfway through to observe if Azzi was still listening, making sure all of the attention was still on her. And she’d missed the way that when it was Azzi’s turn to speak, Paige would hang onto every word like it was gospel, intently listening like she’d never forgive herself if she couldn’t recite everything Azzi had just said from memory. She’d missed the way Paige would let her emotions freely flicker across her face, because whatever happened to Azzi, Paige felt it too. 

She’d missed and missed, convinced the pain would be the end of her, until she’d tricked her mind into forgetting. And now Azzi’s beginning to realize that remembering it all again, might just be the thing that kills her. 

“Nevermind,” Stephie walks back to the room, sulking slightly, “it’s just Aunty Liyah.”

“Oh thanks Stephie babe. That makes me feel so wonderful,” Aaliyah says, walking in behind Stephie with an offended expression on her face, “and here I thought bringing cupcakes would make me popular.”

“Tell me those are store-bought Chavez. I ain’t trusting them if you made them yourselves,” Joyce says, side-eyeing the cupcakes. 

“Trust me I would never waste my precious time baking for y’all ungrateful ass-”

“Aaliyah,” Azzi shoots her younger teammate a sharp look.

“-ungrateful people,” Aaliyah corrects sheepishly, “cupcakes because y’all clearly don’t appreciate me.”

“I pre-ciate you Aunty Liyah,” Stephie says innocently, trying to get a better look at the aforementioned cupcakes, “you got the pu-ple ones right? They have to be pu-ple for Miss Buecks.”

Aaliyah bends down to Stephie’s level to show her the box of sweet treats “the perfect purple cupcakes for your Miss Buecks. How come you never wanna do nice things like this for us Stephie?”

“Because Miss Buecks is special,” Stephie retorts matter-of-factly.

“Oh so we’re not special?” Tessa asks, raising an eyebrow at Stephie.

“‘Course you are but Miss Buecks is special-er.”

And while her teammates all pretend to dramatically gasp at that, shaking their heads at Stephie, Azzi feels like someone’s squeezing her heart, twisting and twisting but never fully breaking it. She wonders if that might hurt less.

It’s another 10 minutes later when the doorbell rings again and Azzi watches her daughter’s face break into an incandescent grin, filled with hope, as she rushes to open the door because it has to be Paige this time. Azzi follows after her, trying to keep her breathing under control as anticipation clings to her nerves. Azzi’s gotten so spectacularly good at lying to herself that she tells herself this next one with ease: there’s not a single part of her that’s eager to see Paige again. 

“SURPRISE,” Stephie screams, flinging the front door open with as much strength as she can muster. She doesn’t give Paige a chance to react before she’s throwing herself against the blonde’s legs, hugging her thighs. 

It takes a second for Paige to register what’s happening, but when she does, it’s Azzi she’s looking at. Everything seems to move in slow motion as they stare at each other, the reality of the moment suddenly settling in. Paige is here. In Oakland. They’re going to be teammates; they’re going to see each other almost every day. Just like they used to. Except nothing is like it used to be and as that bitter truth comes up like bile in Azzi’s throat, she has to force herself to look away. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie calls out, tugging at the hem of Paige’s white shirt to get her attention, “do you like my surprise?”

Paige tears her eyes away from Azzi, leaning down to pick Stephie up before peppering her faces with kisses and making the younger girl squeal in delight, “best surprise ever.”

And Azzi really, really, can’t watch this. Not when it makes her want to walk over and cocoon herself in with the two of them, makes her want to pretend that she’s living in another life, one where she hadn’t thrown away the chance of a happily ever after with the girl she’d fallen in love with at fourteen, 

“Oh yeah Stephie, your surprise. Take all the credit. Not like the rest of us did anything,” Joyce rolls her eyes goodnaturedly, before pulling Paige into a one-armed hug, “welcome to the Bay Area Bueckers.”

Tessa and Aaliyah are next, both sharing warm hugs with their new teammate. Once they’ve had their turn, all eyes seem to turn to Azzi expectantly and the brunette blanches under their gaze. Other than Jana, who suddenly seems pretty heavily interested in the doorframe, the rest of her teammates don’t know about her past with Paige. So it’s only natural they’d expect her to greet Paige with all the cordiality of an old friend. 

“Y’all good?” Joyce asks slowly, looking between the two of them, “do you want me to introduce y’all or?”

“Shut up,” Azzi murmurs before drawing in a deep breath and stepping towards Paige. She tries not to fixate on the way Paige’s jaw flexes when the blonde swallows, tries not to think about all the patterns she’d once carved against that little patch of skin because she knew it drove Paige insane. The thing is Azzi can’t even really remember the last time they hugged beyond a for-the-cameras one at a game. But as she wraps her arms around Paige, the older woman’s breath tickling against her ear as she grips Azzi’s waist, it doesn’t feel that much different from how it used to be. Paige’s arms are still safe and strong and Azzi still wants to melt into them. But what’s different is that Stephie’s in between them now, tiny hands securely fastened around both of their necks. And Azzi almost, almost gives into the feeling of belonging as she whispers two simple words that mean just a little too much.

“Welcome home.”

***

Seven pairs of eyes watch as the movers move box after box after box into Paige’s apartment, until there’s more cardboard than floor visible. The three non-UConn girlies are wide-eyed as they watch the pile grow endlessly. Meanwhile Jana is laughing while Azzi tries to hide a smile behind her hands as the realization that she’d have to unpack all of her stuff hits Paige in waves, and her expression grows more and more somber. Once the movers are finally done, it’s Stephie, whose hand is still firmly clasped in Paige’s, who breaks the silence. 

“You have a lot of things Miss Buecks,” the little girl crinkles her nose, as she points out the obvious, “do you really need all of this stuff.”

“Of course I do Stephie,” Paige says indignantly and Azzi scoffs, earning her a withering glare from the blond. 

“Aight well it was nice to meet you-” Joyce starts, slowly backing away from the mess until Jana blocks her way. 

“Oh no you don’t. I told y’all we were all gonna help her move in. Call it team bonding,” the Egyptian says, her voice vaguely threatening. 

“Most of the team isn’t even here,” Aaliyah points out cautiously. 

“That’s not the point,” Jana rebukes, “alright team listen up. Here’s how this is going to go-”

“Maybe Paige should take charge. It is her apartment,” Tessa says slowly. 

“If we put Paige in charge she’ll tell us all to go home and procrastinate doing anything until after the season,” Azzi says, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. 

Paige pouts, “hey! I’m not that bad.”

“Oh you absolutely are.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“O-kay,” Jana claps, breaking apart the bickering, “it’s good to see the two of you are apparently younger than Stephie,” she holds up a hands a both Paige and Azzi start to splutter in their defense, “now as I was saying before being rudely interrupted. We’re gonna split this up. Joyce and I are gonna do the living room. Aaliyah and Tessa, y’all are gonna fix the guest room. Which leaves,” Jana smiles, and it’s only because Azzi knows her so well that she can read the menacing sparkle behind it, “Paige and Azzi to tackle the master bedroom.”

They both open their mouths to protest but are quick to get cut off by an excited Stephie, “I’mma help Mama and Miss Buecks!”

“Of course you are, why would you ever help anybody else? Clearly you don’t love us anymore. Not since your precious Miss Buecks got here,” Joyce says dramatically and while Paige smirks and the rest of the girls pretend to act mock offended, Azzi uses the distraction to sidle up to Jana. 

“What the fuck are you playing at El-Alfy,” she hisses under hear breath.

Jana shrugs innocently, “the master bedroom is the hardest because Paige has so many fucking clothes so I’m letting y’all old heads do it. Some of us are below 30 ya know.”

“Cut the bullshit,” Azzi snaps. 

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about Fudd,” Jana says airily as she starts to unpack a box, leaving Azzi muttering curses under her breath. 

“Hey-”

Azzi spins around at the soft voice, only to find herself crashing against a solid body. It’s instinct, the way Paige’s hands immediately reach out to steady her and it’s instinct, the way Azzi’s hands grab at the lapels of the blond’s shirt. Goosebumps trails up her skin as Paige's breath, hot and heavy, fans across her face. They’re too close; way too close and yet the idea of stepping away feels like a sin. Azzi gulps as her thumb accidentally brushes Paige’s collarbone and the other woman shivers under her touch. She thinks she could probably get drunk off the feeling of knowing that she can still affect Paige like that. 

“You uh-” Paige swallows, fingers squeezing involuntarily against Azzi’s hip, “you don’t have to listen to Jana. I can- I can figure it out myself.”

“N-no,” Azzi stutters and she wonders if Paige feels a high from the way she still affects Azzi too, “there’s um- you have- uh- you have a lot of stuff. I can-,” she sucks in a deep breath, “I’ll help.”

“You sure?” there’s a vulnerable edge to Paige’s tone and any resolve Azzi could ever have melts immediately. 

“I want to help,” she says softly, letting a small smile slip onto her lips. 

The smile she gets in return is bright and sparkling, just like Paige herself and Azzi’s heart lurches, pleased to be the one receiving it, pleased to be the one who’d elicited it, “Good, cause I really wanted your help.”

Azzi shakes her head, trying to ignore the warning bells blazing in her head at the fact that they’re still holding each other, “why’d you pretend you didn’t?”

“I just wanted to hear you say it first,” Paige says, biting at her bottom lip. It leaves a light mark and Azzi finds herself wanting to soothe it over with her own tongue.

She thinks it might have been easier if it was just a little harder to fall back into Paige. It shouldn’t be so simple to fall back into late night conversations, so simple to fall back into easy teasing, so simple to fall back into feeling at peace in Paige’s arms. But it is. 

“Mama, Miss Buecks,” it’s Stephie who breaks their bubble but instead of jumping away from each other like they should, they step apart only enough to let the little girl into the space between them, so she can lace her hands through both of theirs, “are you ready?”

“Before you go Paige,” Tessa calls out, holding up a clear bag of corner guards and edge protectors, “what are we doing with these?”

Paige shuffles her feet nervously, “you um- you put them on the edge of like tables and stuff.”

“Bro but they’re for people who have children?” Joyce says, giving Paige a weird look, “you have a kid we don’t know about?”

Paige’s eyes flicker to Stephie for a brief second and Azzi freezes, a warm realization tickling up her spine. Butterflies erupt in her stomach, their wings fluttering to the beat of what’s mine could have been ours. 

“Of course not. I’m just super clumsy so precautions and all that,” the blond explains, shooting Jana a glare when the taller woman barely masks a giggle, “quit procrastinating by asking all these questions and get to work.”

“Has anyone ever told you the importance of first impressions? Because I’m telling you Bueckers, using your teammates as unpaid labor the first time you meet them is not it,” Aaliyah gives Paige a pointed look. 

“This wasn’t even my idea in the first place,” Paige defends. 

“True,” Tessa nods with a sickly sweet smile, “but you’re gonna pay for the pizza anyways.”

“I’m not pay-”

“PIZZA,” Stephie squeals, “Miss Buecks you’re gonna get us Pizza?”

“Yeah Miss Buecks,” Azzi smickers, crossing her arms as Paige’s stubborn retort dies on her lips, “you gonna get us pizza?”

Paige glares at her before she’s swinging Stephie up onto her lap again. And she really needs to stop doing things like that because it’s not remotely good for Azzi’s mental health to watch the way Stephie seems to fit perfectly in Paige’s arms, “of course I am Steph, what do you want?”

The two of them are lost in their own world discussing pizza toppings as Paige starts walking over to the master bedroom, until suddenly they're both turning around, looking at Azzi with identical expressions. And the brunette feels her heart tap out this could be my everything against her ribcage. 

“You coming Azzi?”

“Mama, are you coming?”

I’d go anywhere with the two of you, Azzi thinks as she nods her head, a light skip in her step as she moves to catch up with the two of them. 

“Of course I’m coming.”

***

Less than 10 minutes into trying to unpack, Azzi realizes that she’s the only one trying to unpack anything when she looks up from where she’s been folding t-shirts -trying and failing at not breathing in their familiar scent- to find Stephie decked in a colorful cardigan that goes all the way down to her toes, her feet clad in a pair of PB4’s that must be three times the size of her own shoes. A pair of Louis Vuitton sunglasses hide almost her entire face as she strikes pose after pose and Paige diligently takes pictures of her. 

“YES Stephie,” the blond indulges, “work it girl. There you go babe, hold that pose for me. You’re a natural in front of the camera.”

Stephie giggles and Azzi feels her heart constrict. Her favorite sound in the whole world has never sounded more like a signal for danger. 

“Ahem ahem,” she coughs, narrowing her eyes at the two people in front of her, “doesn’t look like y’all are unpacking to me.”

“Mama Miss Buecks has so many pretty clothes,” Stephie gushes, completely ignoring what her mother just said. 

“They’d look even prettier folded in her closet,” Azzi says pointedly. 

Stephie pouts, “you don’t think I look pretty?”

“You look really pretty in my clothes Stephie,” Paige cuts in, tapping the little girl on the nose before she turns her gaze towards Azzi, “just like your Mama used to.”

The silk material shirt slips out of Azzi’s hand as Paige’s words drizzle around her, like the rain after a drought. It takes every little bit of strength she can muster to force herself to ignore Paige’s words and pick up another shirt to fold even if she can’t stop the rouge tint that colors her face. There’s this part of her that’s been dormant for years but every little interaction with Paige threatens to awaken it and Azzi’s scared that if she lets that happen, she’ll never be able to put it to sleep again. 

“Just- just focus on unpacking,” Azzi mutters darkly. 

She spends the next hour or so, keeping her eyes downcast, her complete focus on the task at hand. Because if she looks up, if she lets herself see the way Stephie and Paige are folding clothes together while giggling about something, if she lets herself see the way Stephie climbs onto Paige’s back so the woman can give her a piggyback to the closet to deposit the folded clothes, she thinks she could fall in love with this moment, capture it behind her eyelids and let it live there forever. But this moment doesn’t belong to Azzi. Because Paige doesn’t belong to Azzi. Not anymore. 

Azzi’s taken away from her thoughts when she feels a tiny hand wrapping around her neck from behind, Stephie’s warm body pressing against her back and just like that, all the tension in her muscles seem to dissipate. 

“What’s up sweetheart,” she asks, turning her head to press her lips against her daughter’s temple. 

“Nothing Mama,” Stephie says sweetly, “just wanted to give you a hug.”

“Sure you’re not just trying to get out of helping Miss Buecks unpack?” Azzi asks slyly, pulling Stephie from behind her, so the little girl’s lying on her lap instead. She can feel Paige’s eyes focused on the two of them and even without looking, she thinks she knows what she’d find in them if she did. 

“Of course not Mama,” Stephie grins and then squeals as Azzi begins to tickle her. 

“I think you are,” Azzi sings-songs as she continues to poke at her daughter’s stomach, reveling in the way it makes the child laugh. 

“N-no Mama stop, stop,” Stephie manages to wrench herself out from Azzi’s grip, darting to hide behind Paige’s legs, “Miss Buecks save me.”

“There’s no saving you now Stephie-bear,” Azzi roars dramatically as she picks herself off the floor, smirking at her daughter as she wriggles her fingers menacingly. 

“You know what the best way to stop someone from tickling you is Stephie?” Paige says slowly, sending the little girl a conspiratorial wink.

“Don’t you dare-” 

“You tickle them back,” Paige yells and Stephie eyes widen with excitement, “did you know your Mama’s extremely ticklish?”

“Paige no,” Azzi starts moving back, hands held in surrender. 

“You started it.”

“Yeah Mama, you started it.”

“Paige. Stephie. Ple-” Azzi cuts herself off with squeal as two sets of hands start mercilessly prodding at her ribcage. She can’t get away, not when Paige has her securely wrapped from the back and Stephie’s pressed against her front, both of them laughing maniacally. They’re a mess of limbs that’s becoming harder and harder to tell apart as the three of them topple onto Paige’s bed. And Azzi thinks maybe she doesn’t want to escape it at all. She thinks she’d like to freeze them in this moment instead. Forever. 

“Pizza’s here,” someone yells from the living room and it’s Stephie who stops first, immediately jumping off the bed at the mention of food, leaving Paige and Azzi alone. On Paige’s bed. Barely an inch of distance between them as they try to catch their breath. It’s Azzi who sits up first, smoothening the wrinkles on her shirt. And just as she’s about to stand up fully, she feels a hand circling around her wrist. 

“It’s gonna be weird being alone tonight,” Paige confesses softly and Azzi feels her breath hitch.

“Didn’t you live alone in Dallas? At least after the divorce?” she tries to keep the bitterness out of her voice at the last word, a bitterness she knows she has absolutely no right to feel. 

Paige shrugs, her shoulders brushing against Azzi’s, “I did but I knew Dallas. I don’t know this place.”

“What exactly are you asking me?” Azzi asks even though she knows. 

“I’m not asking you anything. I don’t know if I have that right anymore” Paige says softly, letting go of Azzi’s wrist as she starts to walk towards the living room, turning her head back slightly once she gets to the door, “I’m just telling you I don’t wanna be alone tonight.”

***

Damn Paige Bueckers and her vulnerable eyes and her earnest tone because Azzi would, really, really like to be enjoying her slice of pizza right now. Instead everything tastes like ashes as Paige’s unsaid plea rings in her head. There are so many reasons why Azzi absolutely shouldn’t give in, why she should grab Stephie, get into her car, drive home and never look back. This involuntary dance the two of them are starting is far too familiar to what they’d done when they were teenagers and the vivid memories of the day the music stopped and they’re feet stopped moving still haunt Azzi every time she lets herself think of it for a little too long. And she shouldn’t push herself into this fire again, not when there’s Stephie to think about, but there’s a tiny little problem. She thinks she might be addicted to burning in Paige’s flames. 

So when the pizza’s done and the house is more or less in order, and her teammates are ready to leave, looking expectantly at Azzi, she finds herself leaping into lava, “um- I think Stephie and I are gonna stay for a little bit longer.”

“We are?” Stephie asks, a huge smile stretching the length of her face as she looks up at her mother. 

“Yeah. Um- Paige’s bedroom still um- still needs some work,” Azzi tries to justify her decision, ignoring the heat of the blond’s eyes that seem to be perpetually stuck staring at her. 

Joyce raises a perplexed eyebrow, “it looked done to me.”

Paige clears her throat, “there’s definitely uh- a couple more things that need to be handled.”

“It’s almost Stephie’s bedtime. I could stay and help-” Jana begins, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.

“No,” Paige says, a little louder than necessary, “I mean you’ve already done so much for me today Jana,” she manages a smirk, “let Azzi pull her weight a little bit too ya know.”

Janna narrows her eyes but doesn’t push it. It’s oddly domestic, standing side by side with Paige bidding goodbye to their teammates, Stephie in between them happily waving at the people that are leaving. The warning bells get louder and louder; Azzi continues to do nothing to stop them. 

“Mama, how long are we staying?” Stephie asks innocently. 

“We um-” Azzi chews at her lip, finally giving into the temptation to look at Paige, “we’re gonna stay with Miss Buecks tonight so she doesn’t feel alone.”

The shrill scream that escapes Stephie’s mouth could probably break glass as she turns herself around to grab at Paige’s waist, “Miss Buecks I’m gonna stay with you! We’re gonna have a sleep-over.”

Paige laughs, kneeling down so she’s face to face with the little girl, “yeah we are.”

“Are you scared to sleep alone too Miss Buecks?” Stephie asks cautiously, cupping Paige’s face with tiny hands. 

“Just a little bit,” Paige admits, leaning into Stephie’s touch. 

“Me too,” Stephie whispers shyly, “that’s why I sneak into Mama's bed and she gives me lots and lots and lots of cuddles. Mama’s cuddles are the best,” she turns to Azzi, “Mama will you give Miss Buecks cuddles tonight too?”

“I uh-” Azzi swallows, taken aback by the question, “I thought you didn’t like sharing Mama’s cuddles?”

“I don’t,” Stephie agrees, “but I’d be okay sharing them with Miss Buecks.”

***

Azzi had planned -a loose term because really she hadn’t planned on any of this- for her and Stephie to take the guest room. Paige had been ready to give up her own room on the grounds of politeness. And Stephie was insistent that she needed to sleep in between both Mama and Miss Buecks tonight because it’s a sleepover we all have to stay together. Obviously out of the three of them, only one of them was going their way and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who that would be.  That’s how they’d ended up here, dragging chairs and pillows and blankets into the middle of the living room to create a makeshift fort. 

Azzi’s putting on the finishing touches, stringing purple fairy lights Paige had produced out of nowhere, when Stephie emerges from Paige’s bedroom where she’d gone looking for something to wear in lieu of pajamas. 

“Mama look what I found,” Stephie beams, proudly pointing at the black t-shirt she’s found that covers her whole body, “it’s you and Miss Buecks when you were littler.”

It’s their SLAM cover t-shirt and Azzi feels tears prickling at her waterline as she’s met with the picture of a younger version of the two of them. Back when they’d been so hopeful and carefree, ready to take on the world as long as they could do it together. Back when they’d been 2 in a million.

“I can’t believe you still have this,” Azzi whispers, unable to stop herself from running her fingers across the version of who they used to be. She wonders what those girls would think of them now; those girls who’d laid and bed and pinky promised forever. She thinks they’d probably be appalled at the fact that Paige and Azzi had spent eight years barely speaking. She thinks maybe they’d hate her for what she’d done. She thinks maybe she hates herself a little bit for what she’s done to them. 

Paige is leaning against the wall, her voice quiet when she speaks, “I couldn’t let it go.”

And they both know she’s not talking about the shirt. 

“Can we watch a movie?” Stephie asks, diving into the fort and peering up at the two adults. 

Paige recovers first, “yeah- yeah of course Steph,” she looks at Azzi, “do you- do you want something else to sleep in?”

“I’m good,” Azzi says, trying to inconspicuously brush away a rebellious tear. The shirt she’s wearing feels itchy against her skin but she doesn’t think she could handle wearing something of Paige’s. She scooches into the fort, leaning back against one of the pillows and Stephie’s quick to curl into her and Azzi absentmindedly rubs her hands down her daughter’s back. Paige switches on the TV, letting Stephie dictate a movie choice before letting herself into the fort, laying down on Stephie’s other side. 

“Miss Buecks come cuddle,” Stephie demands from where her head is laying on Azzi’s chest. When Paige hesitates, the younger girl takes it upon herself to pull Paige’s arms over her, making the older woman lie on her side so she can drape her hands over Stephie's stomach, accidentally brushing against Azzi’s ribcage. Stephie lets out a satisfied sigh, lying back down against Azzi, crossing her arms so she can hold Paige’s hand with one and latch onto her mother with the other. 

“Perfect.”

And it is. The sound of Stephie’s chatter slowly fading away mixed with Paige’s quiet breathing is the perfect lullaby and Azzi finds herself drifting off into the best sleep she’s had in years. 

***

Sunlight peeks in through the window and Azzi groans at the interruption. Her whole body feels a little stiff, not used to sleeping on the floor like this. A quick glance at her phone tells her it’s 7 a.m. and Azzi’s just about to let herself fall back asleep when her eyes land on the two sleeping figures next to her. Stephie’s face is buried in Paige’s neck, one arm slung over her waist. Paige, mouth slightly ajar as she sleeps, has both hands fastened on the younger, holding her tightly against her chest like she’d fight the world if someone tried to steal her from her grip. They look happy, content, at peace. And Azzi can’t breathe. 

The warning bells in her head create a cacophonous commotion that she can no longer escape. It hits her like whiplash that she can’t do this. She doesn’t know what had gotten into her last night, why she’d agreed to this, to any of this. But she can’t do this. 

“Stephie,” Azzi whispers urgently, trying to pull her daughter out of Paige’s grasp, “Stephie wake up.”

“Az?” Paige asks groggily, stirring in her sleep, “what’s going on?”

“We need to go home,” Azzi says and she can’t bear to look at Paige. 

“What?” Paige is far more awake now as she glances at her phone, “it’s 7 am Azzi. What’s the rush?"

Azzi ignores her, still trying to wake Stephie up who groans, “Mama too early.”

“Steph-”

“Azzi,” Paige’s voice is firm as she wraps her hand around Azzi’s wrist, slipping Stephie off of her, “what is going on.”

Azzi grits her teeth, “nothing’s going on. We just need to go home.”

“Azzi-”

“We shouldn’t have stayed last night Paige,” Azzi bursts out and Paige freezes. 

“Come out of the fort Azzi,” the blond says, her voice eerily calm as she stands up. Azzi follows after her, heart beating rapidly against her chest as she tries to keep the tears at bay. 

“We need to go home,” the brunette repeats, struggling to breathe, “this was a mistake,” Paige flinches and Azzi feels a knife turn in her own hurt, “we can’t do this.”

“Do what Azzi?” Paige asks exasperatedly, still trying to keep her voice low for Stephie’s sake. 

“This,” Azzi all but shrieks, throwing her hands up, “it’s too much, too quick and Stephie- Stephie’s getting attached and I can’t- I can’t let that happen.”

“Why not?” Paige argues stubbornly. 

“Because these last two weeks she couldn’t fall asleep without you on the phone. Because you’re all she talks about sometimes. Because she’s gonna want you forever,” Azzi’s voice breaks, “and she can’t have you forever.”

“Az-”

“And you’re getting attached too. I see the way you look at her and it’s amazing but it’s not- it’s not sustainable Paige. For either of you. Because you’re gonna find someone soon,” the words taste sour on Azzi’s tongue, “and you’re not gonna have time for her and missing you is going to kill her and the guilt of that is going to hurt you. I’m trying to pro-”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Paige’s voice is hard now, eyes gleaming with fire, “you’re basing all of this on a hypothetical that might not even come true. You’re not protecting anybody. You’re projecting.”

Azzi reels back, “I am not projecting.”

“Yes you are,” Paige hisses, “you’re not scared of Stephie or me getting too attached. You’re scared of yourself getting too attached.”

“Mama? Miss Buecks,” Stephie’s tired eyes look warily between the two of them, “what’s going on?”

Azzi plasters a smile on her face as she picks up her little girl, trying to pretend that the truth in Paige’s words haven’t just made her feel hollow, “we’re going home Stephie.”

“I don’t wanna go home,” Stephie fights against Azzi’s grip, looking helplessly at Paige, “Miss Buecks I wanna stay. Can I please stay?”

“You have to listen to your Mama sweetheart” Paige says softly, heartbreak written over her face as she moves to press a kiss against Stephie’s knuckles, “but I’ll see you soon okay. I promise.”

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie whimpers and Azzi has never hated herself more as she rushes out of Paige’s new house, willing herself to not look back. She buckles Stephie in the back, pretending she doesn’t see the way Paige is watching them leave from the porch, like she’d do anything to stop it. And then she drives away. 

It isn’t until she’s safely in the confines over her own room, that Azzi finally lets the tears fall. And she consoles herself with the fact that it’s okay to crack her daughter's heart, to crack Paige’s heart, to crack her own heart, if that’s the only way she can stop their hearts from breaking altogether.

[thezombieprostitute]

Royal Arrangements

Summary: Prince Rogers, heir to the throne, knows any marriage he enters into will be political. But maybe, just maybe, it could also be a happy marriage?

Warnings: Sexism (Patriarchal society). Please let me know if I missed any!

A/N: Reader is female. No other physical descriptors used.

"Are you ready for the gala?" Bucky asks Steve as he fixes his bow tie.

"Never have been, never will be," Steve sighs as he shakes his head.

"Yeah, you've never been one for all the attention."

"It's not just that. I'm tired of disappointing so many people."

"All the ladies?" Sam asks, eyebrow raised. "The ones that are trying every angle to get you into bed?"

"They seem to think I have a say in who I get married to." Steve's shoulders droop. "They're all so...optimistic."

"More like opportunistic," Bucky snorts.

"Given how many of them come after us after Steve turns 'em down, I gotta agree with Bucky on this one," Sam nods. "They can't get the crown prince so they go for his buddies."

"Well excuse me for wanting to think positively about people," Steve smirks. "It's hard not to with friends like you."

"Aww," Sam coos. "Isn't he just so sweet, Bucky?"

"Too sweet for his own good, Sam."

"Good thing he's got friends like us to protect him from the worst manipulators."

"Absolutely agree," Bucky nods.

"Okay, okay, can you stop talking like I'm not here?" Steve chuckles.

"No," the other men say in unison.

Another gala in another kingdom. Several hours of fake smiles and pretending to be dumb so as not scare away potential suitors. At least when you were an only child you didn't have travel so much to listen to inane conversation, you could remain home in Carga. Only after your half brother was born did you go from being sole heir who would have to marry a local noble to a pawn for the linking of kingdoms.

Different goals but same requirements, really. Wear the super heavy dress laden with gems and metals to show off Carga's wealth. Smile. Look pretty. Move perfectly and never say what you really want to. It made you jealous of the woman who got to tell off one of King Rogers' cousins for his bad behavior. Though you did appreciate that the King's son almost immediately told off said cousin for being the rude one. You doubt you'll see the cousin any more tonight. Probably for the best, though his fan-girls would say otherwise.

You've yet to actually be introduced to Prince Rogers of Bellin. You're certain your father would have words about that but hopefully telling him you'd been talking with other princes would help. Certainly Prince Fowler of Hoviriand seemed nice enough. As did Princes Wilson and Barnes. Hopefully your father wouldn't be too upset. You were still "doing your duty."

You hear your name called and turn to see Prince Wilson of Númetir smiling at you. "Please allow me to make the formal introductions?"

"I would greatly appreciate that, your majesty."

He gestures to Prince Rogers who is quick to heed his friend. Prince Wilson formally introduces you to Prince Rogers and you give your best curtsy. He bows slightly, just enough to be polite. You're certain he's as tired of the pageantry as you but you don't dare indicate it so openly as he has. You smile politely and nod along as the princes talk, only commenting when asked for.

Admittedly, either man would be a wonderful match for you. They both have handsome faces and charming smiles. They're both princes from powerful kingdoms. From your peripheral you can see the glares of the other women, clearly upset that you're taking the attention of two prospects.

They shouldn't worry, though. It's clear from Prince Rogers' body language that he has no interest in you. And the fact that Prince Wilson introduced you indicates he's not interested either. Perhaps they'll consider putting in a good word with Prince Barnes of Cidaur. He's a second son, sure, but still of royal pedigree that your father would tolerate.

After the gala, Steve and his father talk about the prospective matches. He knows the likelihood of a happy marriage is slim. So far only King Harald Finehair, of the northern kingdom Rhordorn, has seemed to have been fortunate enough to find real love with his Queen. But he still holds onto hope that his future wife won't make his life worse.

"I know you don't care for these kinds of events," King Rogers starts. "There was certainly a time I'd agree with you. But there's a very important reason for them." Steve slightly tilts his head in interest. "I want to make sure you don't end up married to someone who makes you miserable."

Steve's mouth goes slightly slack in surprise while his eyes widen. It's not that his father has ever been unkind to his sons, no. It's that his father was considering his son's happiness on a level almost equal to the well-being of the kingdom.

"It isn't often I have the opportunity to grant my sons a happiness that doesn't hurt the kingdom. Truly, Ari's abdication was the only time the two priorities were ever aligned," King Rogers chuckles. "Each kingdom presented offers, of course. But your reactions helped me decide to whom I should actually pay attention. Well, yours and your friends. Sam and James don't know I watch them, too. Do you recall the Princess of Carga? Sam introduced you?"

"Yes," Steve nods. "She seems nice enough."

King Rogers smiles softly. "Nice enough. Her father's kingdom will be a good ally, many nations would, and have, killed for their mines full of precious metals."

"Access means cheaper metals which means improved quality of life for the people."

"Exactly. And as the young lady didn't seem to scare you off, kept your company longer than any other, and was approved by Sam, I think it'll be a good match."

"Yes, Father," Steve nods.

"What is your honest opinion, Steven?"

Steve takes a breath. "She seems dull. Not unpleasant, not stupid just...I couldn't tell you anything about what she believes, what she's studied, nothing. But, as you said, she wasn't miserable to be around. And that counts for something."

King Rogers smirks, "just remember, Steven, a woman's education about courtly behaviors are very different from those of a man's. But I trust you to be open, receptive, and most importantly, patient with her."

"Yes, Father."

"I'll send the notice to her father tonight to begin negotiating the finer details. By this time next week you should be officially engaged."

"Yes, Father."

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @citronbun; @darsynia; @delicatebarness; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @irishhappiness; @kmc1989; @lokislady82; @ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63; @unclearblur; @zanydruid1985;

[cozymochi]

I've been really curious about your OCs for a while, and the ask regarding Silver and Cecil got me wondering, what's Nyoka's relationship with the Savanaclaw trio? I've got a faint idea about what he thinks of Leona though (he's a Leona glazer [simp/j] from what I based on that one answered ask). Sorry if this seems too much or a bother though ✌🏻

This took me a hot minute to compile but I think this is as up to date as I can muster. Featuring lore crumbs. [Majority Under Cut]

Nyoka Relationships

🍩+🫖

Ruggie + Nyoka

Ruggie sees an opportunity to make good money. Y’know, if Nyoka actually took his offers. He’s never met a cobra beastman until Nyoka, and the only thing he ever knew about them is that they live far away, they’re closed off, and RICH.

And this Nyoka guy is the richest out of them all.

Being the little opportunist that he is, Ruggie may sometimes ask Nyoka if he has any jobs he can do. The guy’s loaded, there’s gotta be something, and certainly a nice generous payment to go with it! Ruggie is willing to offer gofer services, anything for a rich up-and-coming lil’ mini celebrity.

Nyoka typically declines these propositions should they come up. He was mostly raised to be self-sufficient and pick up after himself despite his environment.

He might dig around Nyoka’s trash to see if he can scrounge up any valuables. Leona never gives a shit about tossing away perfectly fine things! So, maybe this other super rich guy does the same once in a while.

Besides, It’s not like Ruggie is scared of him to begin with. If Ruggie can handle someone as domineering and lazy as Leona every day, he can handle some stiff and possibly stingy cobra too. (Disclaimer: Only thinks Nyoka is stingy because he won’t let him do work/favors.)

The two are certainly not friends, but they have no issues either.

——

Nyoka doesn’t care for Ruggie personally, but he can understand how a scavenger is essential to pick up what’s left behind.

He mostly keeps his distance, as he would with anybody else. Ruggie is not bad company by any means if they do cross paths, but he would rather not engage. He can kind of sense that Ruggie has ulterior motives and can suss them out pretty quickly.

It should be noted that there are zero hyenas where Nyoka is from. And even outside of Sunset Savanna, hyenas don’t exactly have a great reputation. He never met any until attending NRC. Anything he does know about hyenas is from osmosis, and it is already skewed heavily against them, so he is somewhat guarded im response to that as well.

He did find it unusual that many texts at NRC about the King of Beasts mention hyenas quite a bit. Back home, they aren’t mentioned at all in legends. It’s mainly just reptiles. Curious.

The most Nyoka can do is observe his behavior and put a pin in it. He might carry a small prejudice in the back of his mind.

🐺+🫖

Jack + Nyoka

There isn’t too much to say. Jack doesn’t know Nyoka. In fact, he wasn’t even aware somebody like that was even in his own dorm to begin with for a while. Jack isn’t exactly chummy with the people in Savanaclaw, nor pays attention to what they say. Besides, talking with fists is the better alternative if any of those punks really have something to say to him.

Sometimes the sheer scope of Night Raven College and its student body continues to surprise him.

As far as Jack is aware, he’s never actually seen Nyoka. They don’t run in the same circles. If he has, he probably passed by him without noticing. Considering that Nyoka wants to mostly be missed within the dorm, this is probably ideal.

It’s possible they may eventually run into each other, but it’s hard to gauge if they would get along.

——

On the other hand, Nyoka is at least aware of Jack through osmosis since he appears to have gained some manner of infamy within the dorm. Some of the rougher guys tend to grumble and about how annoying, uppity and goodie-goodie that frosh Wolf Beastman supposedly is.

So, at some point those grumblings would reach Nyoka while he’s lingering around a corner or hear it through the walls. Gossip is not exactly of any interest to him, but he will store it in his system so he knows what to be aware of.

However, being a third-year on a completely different schedule, he and Jack do not normally cross paths at all. He doesn’t know Jack personally, therefore has not formed many strong opinions. He has seen him a few times, as Jack sticks out considerably for a freshman (both in appearance and behavior).

As of now they do not know each other directly. Out of all the main trio, this is the most distant relationship, in that there really isn’t any.

It’s not clear how they would interact. Though, it’s possible Nyoka would find Jack’s manners to just be deplorable due to his more brute way of solving conflict.

🦁+🫖

Leona + Nyoka

(Oh man not the Scar and Ushari of twst. So.)

Leona was already aware of Nyoka beforehand. If tangentially at first.

The royal family used to be in contact with the Wadjets, especially while Leona’s father was still active king, but that friendliness mostly dissolved when changes were made after some incident occurred. But, Leona was a kid when that happened and had nothing to do with him or Nyoka, so it’s mostly irrelevant.

Due to both of their statuses, they have been in attendance at the same events in Sunset Savanna over the years, but never formally met each other until attending NRC.

So when the Dark Mirror assigned Nyoka to Savanaclaw he wasn’t surprised by the choice at all.

He already knew Nyoka is a sole heir and that the Wadjets have direct ties to mining resources in their neck of Sunset Savanna. With this being a shared interest for Leona, having that person in his corner is only a net positive in due time. (Or would be anyhow if he had any say back home.)

Being the perceptive person he is, Leona knows it’s not really in Nyoka’s nature to be around others. Cobras don’t exactly run in packs.

He doesn’t give Nyoka any special treatment or anything, that’s not how this dorm works regardless of species. That being said… if the merciful dorm leader allowed him to clean out one of the junkie vacant rooms just so he could have his own burrow to coil up in, then maybe this studious guy could share some of that book-knowledge with the rest of the dorm once in a while. 😌 Everybody has their place around there.

Of course, he’ll let other students in the dorm prod the cobra, everyone needs a little roughing up every now and then. Thing is: if he bites back that’s on them.

Sometimes he finds Nyoka’s habits eyebrow raising at times, but he doesn’t comment on it. He chalks that up to him just being a cobra or something. It’s not like there’s a ton of those guys back in his neck of the savanna anyway, so what would he know?/s

That aside, It’s nice once in a while to have an actual intellectual person to test his methodical wits with on an equal playing field. Even if that field is mostly a literal impromptu game of chess when the mood strikes.

Leona almost always wins of course, but that cobra manages to keep games just interesting enough to where winning feels like an accomplishment.

——

Nyoka views Leona as Savanaclaw’s “king” just like the vast majority of the dorm does. With Leona actually being a prince he treats him accordingly right down to ONLY referring to him as “your/his highness” and bowing when in his presence. He regards him with courtesy, as one hypothetically should.

(Meanwhile, Leona just calls him “cobra.” Why not, he’s the only one in the whole dorm/school.)

Formalities aside… Nyoka idolizes Leona more than one would think.

He has a fascination with Leona that he’s drawn to like a moth to a flame. To Nyoka, every word and move from Leona is so calculated; with no energy wasted on under-stimulating or inferior matters. Even how he presents himself is an interest. He is fascinated by every single aspect of Leona to the point it almost borders on obsession. Nyoka might be distinctly inexpressive, but when around Leona’s “fire” as he puts it, his thoughts tend to fixate. At least nobody can hear what he’s thinking. There’s a certain atmosphere being in Leona’s presence, and especially when he finally lets out that ferocity.

Whatever Leona were to ask of him, he would be willing to do it so long as it keeps this proverbial “fire” burning. The last thing he would want is for Leona’s fire to burn out entirely. That would be such a shame.

Leona doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

(Where Nyoka is from, stories of the King of Beasts say his spirit appeared in fire. So maybe that has something to do with it.)

Nyoka does not go out of his way to ever seek out Leona. He only arrives when he is specifically called. Nyoka makes sure that their encounters are meaningful, mainly via their chess matches. This leaves him plenty of time of observe and be a part of those mind games that Leona takes so much pride in.

Regardless, they remain on good terms with each other. Leona is arguably the only person within the dorm that he has any modicum of actual respect towards.

Nyoka can have one uncharacteristic oddity in his mind. As a treat.