#I thought I posted this already apologies for the delay

[polyamorousmood]

when you tell ur gf that u have a crush and then shit tells u she also has a crush and its like an elementary school sleepover talking about the people you like

this is THE CUTEST THING!!!!

I know we're not supposed to admit to these sorts of things in the far future year of 2023 (😜), but I full-on squeeed like a fangirl upon reading this. It sounds like such a perfect life~ I'm really glad you're out there living it 💟🥰💟

[one-half-guy]

🌹 ^-^

What was he doing? He was supposed to be hunting down the responsible for transforming his world into the literal hell he grew up in, he was bestowed with this miraculous opportunity to change the past with his hands... He should not waste it... But here he was, sitting by a lake with a stick with string in hand, "fishing" as the big cat called it. He was wasting time! Precious time!

The fic? So, do you remember that ask you had about Big and Silver getting along? The idea stuck in, by now I'm calling "Big in Sonic '06"

[changbinsboiledegg]

Hi!! I love your writing and I was wondering if you could do skz reactions to another member walking in on them and their gf doing the dirty? 😅

lmao sure anon. Digital footprint go brrr (thank you for the request ily 🫶)

Fem! Reader X SKZ. MDNI. MDNI. MDNI.

Warnings: Smut, ofc. Kinda explicit?, Unprotected or protected seggs, I didn't specify, swearing, implied vaginal, edging, cum mentions???, Overstimulation, teasing. Am I forgetting any?

Note: I'm not very good with smut BUT this is just a reaction post. I can do better probably. Also, I included some humorous shit because I got nervous. lol. Hope y'all enjoy :)

MDNI!!! Also if smut makes you uncomfy, pls skip (obviously).

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Chan

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle it anymore, baby girl?” Chan teased, pinning you down against the bed as he snapped his hips into yours, eliciting a loud moan that became muffled when he moved a hand over your mouth.

You were almost on the ledge of release and he as well.

You almost didn’t notice the door opening in the midst of all of the pleasure between you two.

“Oh my god!”

You and Chan both ceased any form of intimacy and quickly scrambled to cover yourselves as Jeongin covered his eyes and turned around.

“Jesus, Jeongin! What do you want?!” Chan sounded frustrated at being interrupted.

“I heard a cry, I thought something was wrong!” Jeongin’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Chan glanced at you, then back at Jeongin.

“Please, just… get out for a while…”

With that, Jeongin left without a second prompt.

Lee Know

Minho was teasing the entire time as you begged for him to just insert himself inside of you.

And he did. Slowly guiding himself into your wetness, thrusting once, and then pulling out. You whined, beginning to get frustrated. Minho smirked at this, rubbing the tip against your aching clit.

“Fucking hell! Just please—“

“Hey, Minho! Do you still have my—“ Jisung stopped, immediately going wide eyed and dropping his phone.

“I’m so sorry! I just— I didn’t see anything! Promise!” Jisung frantically apologized, leaving the room.

You exchanged an embarrassed glance with Minho, frozen in place before Jisung came in again, his hand over his eyes as he fumbled for his phone.

“Saw nothing! Just getting my phone!”

Changbin

You already came— twice. But Changbin had no mercy. He loved seeing you cum.

And he wanted to make you cum again.

“You can do it. I know you can.” Changbin gently spread your clenched thighs open again as they shook from your previous orgasm.

“Fuck, Changbin—“ You squirmed, gripping the bed sheets as he positioned himself over your entrance.

“Say the safe word and I will stop.” Changbin cooed, waiting for a response.

However, you didn’t say anything. You wanted to cum again. Right as he slid himself inside of you again, the door swung open.

“Oh.” It took Seungmin a few seconds to process what was going on. Seeing you quivering was enough to make him instantly leave the room, forgetting to shut the door in his embarrassment.

You looked at Changbin and said the safe word.

Hyunjin

Hyunjin was gentle every step of the way from the moment you started. He made sure not to grip your hips too tight or thrust too fast or hard unless you asked.

But you hadn’t asked, wanting it to be just as special as he did.

“You’re so pretty like this.” Hyunjin breathlessly complimented you, meaning every word he said. You stifled back a moan, knowing you needed to be quiet during this, especially since the other members were still there, lingering.

You squeezed your eyes shut, on the brink of orgasm but it was delayed and stopped when Hyunjin frantically got off and covered both of you up.

You almost took the blanket off before realizing Felix was standing in the doorway, hand covering his mouth.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes, a bit irritated.

“You act like you’ve never seen two people have—“

“I’m leaving! I am leaving!” Felix cut him off, shutting the door behind him but accidentally slamming it in the process.

“Sorry!” His faint voice called back through the door.

Han

It was your first time with him, although it was a little awkward at first, the more you explored each others bodies, the more comfortable you got with each other.

“I love you.” Jisung whispered in your ear, guiding your hips as you rode him on the edge of the bed. You bit your lip to muffle the moans that left your mouth, feeling your legs shaking the longer you rode.

“I love you too.” You managed to gasp out. Jisung smiled breathlessly before pressing his lips against your neck, softly sucking on the skin between his lips.

You quietly whimpered and gasped, feeling yourself letting go.

“Seriously? Now? Come on!” Minho’s voice halted you to a stop as you widened your eyes, not wanting to look back at him.

“Privacy please!” Jisung stammered out, grabbing a pillow and attempted to cover your backside with it. Minho was already on his way out, pausing at the door.

“You better be using protection!” Then he left. You and Jisung were horrified for a few seconds before laughing off the embarrassment.

Felix

“I am all yours tonight.” Felix leaned back, watching you as you undressed yourself. You walked over to him, straddling him with a smirk.

“And I, am all yours.” You gently pushed him to where he was flat on his back. You leaned down to kiss him, slow at first, then each kiss after progressively became more and more desperate as you helped him undress as well.

“Ready?”

“Yes.” Felix mumbled, taking in a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to see you be the one to take control. You kissed his jaw and down to his neck as he worked his fingers around the clasp of your bra.

You helped him, momentarily pausing and tossing it to the floor beside the bed. Felix’ hands roamed your body, grasping and rubbing any part he could reach before rolling you on your back and spreading your legs apart.

You turned your head, seeing Hyunjin walking in. He didn’t seem to notice you and Felix until his eyes landed on your bra.

“Hyunjin?” You muttered, feeling the panic set in. Felix didn’t see him yet, being more focused on you.

“Hyunjin? What does he—”

Hyunjin gasped loudly and quickly rushed outside of the room, causing Felix’ head to snap in his direction.

“Oh my god!”

Seungmin

His hands roamed your chest, trailing down to your stomach and stopping on your thighs, rubbing his hands against them as his lips were pressed to your neck. Seungmin’s hands inched up towards the top of your thighs before maneuvering a hand between your legs, feeling the damp cloth.

“Already?” Seungmin teased, his breath was warm against your neck as you softly moaned, slightly bucking your hips against his hand.

Seungmin pulled his face back, glancing down, then into your eyes. “Wet and needy. Patience is a virtue, you know.”

You whined, throwing your head back. “I am needy! I need you now!”

You didn’t say anything in specific, but he knew what you meant. Seungmin smirked, pulling the cloth down your thighs, taking them off and exposing to him just how wet you were.

On instinct, you parted your legs and leaned back on your elbows as Seungmin placed his hand back where it was, only this time there wasn’t a barrier.

“More?”

“Seung—”

A scream erupted, coming from the doorway where a shocked Changbin stood. His scream was so loud that you scream as well, startled as you closed your legs together. Seungmin got up to block you, still dressed, unlike you.

“Changbin, what the hell?”

Changbin quickly turned around, mumbling to himself as he shut the door behind him.

I.N

Jeongin hovered over you, both of you still dressed, but just as needy for each other as you made out on the couch. Your lips messily clashed with his as his hand made it’s way up your shirt and towards your the hem of your bra.

Your hand moved down his chest and stopping on his stomach while your other hand gripped the back of his shoulder. He began to grind his hips against yours when you wrapped your legs around his waist.

The other members were outside and weren’t expected to be back inside for another hour. Jeongin wasn’t particularly worried about getting caught as long as he— and you, were quiet and quick.

You lifted his shirt to remove it. Jeongin removed his lips from yours momentarily and sat up, helping you remove it. He then did the same to you, removing your shirt and leaving you in your bra.

Right as he was about to press his lips against yours again, the sound of collective chattering interrupted you both and soon the whole group entered. No one was prepared for what they just saw.

You and Jeongin scrambled for your shirts, slipping them back on.

“Oh my god! That’s what the rooms are for!” Chan’s eyes were glued to the floor. In fact, none of the other members were actually looking at you and Jeongin.

They were as flushed as you were, only slightly less.

“On the couch too?” Minho sighed as Jeongin ran to his room, pulling you with him.

Before the door closed, you heard Hyunjin say, “Guess we have to get the couch cleaned again.”

Note 2: Does nobody know how to lock a door???? be so fucking fr now. LMAO

[hamiltonaf]

Oh my god I’m so excited to see your requests are open I wanted to request something for the lovely Daniel ricciardo being more handsy with reader while on the paddock and him getting interviewed about it later since the fans have been posting pictures of their intimate moments and him kind of joking in a “how could I not?” Type of way? Thank you

PDA | Daniel Ricciardo

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x Female Reader

Word Count: 907

Warnings: None

A/N: Hello loves ! Firstly, apologies for the delay in writing requests as I had a lot going on. If you’ve sent in a request, I’m working on it, just bear with me :) Hope you babes enjoy. Thanks anon for requesting .xx

The Monza GP was a special race weekend for Daniel, besides his home race. With his Italian roots, it’s his second home so indirectly another home race.

This special race weekend had inspired him I guess you could say for our relationship to be full on public. For the many months we’ve been together, I’ve made my few appearances in the paddock and sometimes alongside Daniel but rarely. I quite enjoy our relationship being private, but I guess if he’s happier with us being public then so be it.

Besides the rare ‘papped’ pictures of us together - which left some people to question on numerous occasions if we’re still together - we don’t even have posts of each other on our socials. It’s always the private but not secret kind of story posts…I guess that all ends now.

I only managed to arrive in Monza on race day, no pressure. Note the sarcasm. As soon as we jumped out of the car, I suddenly felt sick at the thought of all eyes on us.

Daniel noticed I zoned out, he then snapped his fingers in front of me, “Babe are you okay ?” He asked concerned. “Yeah I’m okay” I forced a smile. He grabbed a hold of my hand and I guess he noticed the clamminess. “Are you sure you’re okay ?” He furrowed his brows. “You look nervous” he added. “I’m not gonna lie…I am” I admitted with a sigh.

“Nervous about what love ?” He asked concerned. “I’m not used to attention in public” I said as I looked everywhere but him. He then grabbed a hold of my face to look at him, “Just relax. I’m with you every step of the way… I just want to show you off to the world without hiding it anymore. I want to love you publicly and not hide it anymore - not gonna lie, it’s also kind of getting hard for me to resist touching you” he smirked.

After laughing along with him, it helped a lot with easing my nerves. Thank god for sunglasses as well. As long as I had them on, the nerves didn’t exist. We walked in the paddock hand in hand, nothing major.

Up until it was time for Daniel to leave the garage, he surprised me by engulfing me in a hug and leaving a kiss on my cheek. “Good luck babe and be safe” I said softly to him before he left. I failed to realise that being a new wag means being watched at all times.

I don’t know what had gotten over me, a boost of confidence and a moment of being proud for Daniel’s great race finish had me returning the favour of engulfing Daniel in a hug and leaving a kiss on his cheek. He then lifted me up and spun me around. In that moment it felt like we were the only ones in that garage and everyone else was muted.

Before we knew it, he had to quickly leave to attend to post-race interviews. I waited patiently in his drivers room and decided to waste some time on my socials. As I was scrolling, a video was already uploaded of one of Daniel’s interviews. Out of curiosity I decided to play it.

“So Daniel, incredible result in the Alpha Tauri today ! Brilliant drive, where did that come from or perhaps should I say who helped with that ?” Natalie teased. He immediately started blushing and looked away, it was so cute to watch. “Welllll” he trailed. “Oh come on, tell us how (Y/N) motivated you today. You guys make a lovely couple and I have to ask since everyone can’t stop talking about how cute you both are, you can’t seem to leave her can you ?” Natalie joked.

“How can I not, have you guys seen her ? She just makes me so happy and she’s one of my biggest cheerleaders. I’m a really lucky guy and I just wanted her to be apart of my special weekend. Today’s result was all so I could see that reaction from her” he smiled proudly. “You mean this one ?” Natalie asked as she then showed him the array of pictures that were taken of us today. “Paddock favourite already. Well, thank you for your time and hopefully we’ll see you both at the next race weekend. Cheers !” Natalie said lastly. “Of course ! Cheers guys” Daniel said lastly before the interview ended. “Handsome guy” he said from behind me.

“Oh my god ! Dan you scared me” I said as I placed a hand on my chest. “Sorry love, let’s get going” he said as he held his hand out for me to hold. With our fingers entwined, we walked through the paddock to the car. Fans and photographers around had taken pictures, I didn’t mind since I was comfortable at this point.

Once we got into the car, I broke the silence “You really did a hard launch today” I smiled. “That wasn’t a hard launch for me” he pouted. “What was missing ?” I furrowed my brows. “This” he said as he cupped my cheeks and pulled me in for a sweet kiss. So much for thinking we were alone, I quickly broke away when I heard screaming from fangirls. “Well, that really was a hard launch” I said as I felt the heat flush my cheeks.

[turquoizxe]

𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Hobart “Hobie” Brown x Spider!Fem!Reader

Author’s Note: I just want to sincerely apologize for the delay in this post, as I have been traveling out of my hometown the past few days. However, my favorite punk is still my current brain rot lmao. The second installation is already in progress, and hopefully as I have planned, it will be out by the date I posted below( after the conclusion of the first chapter). Thank you all for for love you showed on the series announcement! As I have stated in my earlier post, I haven’t written a fan fiction in over two years, dealing with school and other things in life. Please express your thoughts throughout the series and comment! I was a little nervous because I’ve never written anyone from the UK, especially with such a thick accent. Please, share your thoughts. Thank you for your understanding, and you may begin reading.

With Love,

— Turquoizxe.

Installation (1/5) : ‘Dodgy’ 

Rating ― Mature (17+)

➝ Hobie has been distancing himself quite a bit lately. You feel froggy enough to follow him and enter the world, to what is known to be the Spiderverse. He seems to enjoy your brave gesture, but he quickly realizes why you weren’t invited to join the club.

𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 ―fluff, heavily plot based, meeting existing ATSV Characters…

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 ― ATSV SPOILERS! Minor use of language and swearing, romantic tension, minor acts of violence, Hobie’s teasing, Miguel being himself, Beef w/ Jessica Drew…

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 ― 3.6k

Dodgy;  can be a synonym for dangerous, bad or untrustworthy

As much as you kept to yourself, it was hard to imagine that you would make any friends outside of your suite mates. Your eyes were always harassing a piece of literature, involved in extracurricular activities, and keeping track of random facts no one would need in their everyday lives. Nothing short of the perfect student.

"[Name], this is the fifth time you’ve been in my office in two weeks-”

“Okay, four if you don’t count the rant about my psychology professor.”

You were always an academic achiever, graduating with honors and holding the title of salutatorian in your class. Being accepted into your dream school, earning enough scholarships to cover most of your tuition.

Yet, here you were, looking for ways to save your grades with finals around the corner. Had it been a year ago, you wouldn’t have to worry. That was until you were bit by a radioactive spider the one time you decided to skip studying and attend the most underwhelming frat party that your suite was raving about.

“You’re on the verge of losing your scholarships. $25,000 a year on the line, and you tell me all the time about how hard to your parents are working to cover the rest of your tuition.”

And you knew you couldn’t afford to stay if you didn’t work your ass off to pull through. You didn’t think being spider-woman could be so stressful. Patrols have gotten more hectic, and the late nights have been affecting your attention span in class, and even less energy to do your work. It felt so easy in the beginning, and everything was good until it wasn’t.

You felt a sting on your cheek, your tears sliding past your injury from patrol, and you felt yourself become small as you placed your face in your hands, wondering how something you’ve worked so hard for is a letter grade away from being lost.

Your counselor heaves a heavy sigh, sliding tissues across their desk to you. In just a few weeks you went from acquaintances to friends.

“Look, you’re a great kid, we didn’t have this issue your freshmen year. I know it only gets tougher from here, but you can’t fight this on your own. It’s never too late to accept help.” They started typing on their computer, ringing up your transcript and current grades for the semester. A sudden swish of wind flows through the office, following the trills of birds off in the distance your counselor scoffs at the noise and walks over to close the window. They return back to their seat, muttering intelligible, the only word you could pick up, ‘spiderwoman’.

“What about spiderwoman?”

“Oh! I just kinda thought how weird it was for another spiderman to show up when we already have a hero. Funny, I didn’t know there could be multip-”

“There’s a spider-man?”

You stammered. You felt a heat in your body, another superhero here that you weren’t even sure about.

“As much as you know about everything, I thought you would hear about the spotting of a spider-man in the city. They seem to stick close to campus.”

“Any proof?”

“No. Just words, but if there’s one spider-person, why not two?”

You could feel your blood course through your veins from the new information. It was just you, unless your old mentor, Peter, came to visit. You were knocked out of your thoughts when your name was called.

“As of now, you have a 2.0,″ your counselor stated. “Your classes seem more work oriented, and out of your five classes, you only have two finals.”

You slowly looked up from your lap.

“I’ve read the syllabus, taken notes of what to study for and what to work on. It’s just-”, you stammer, not able to give them the honest truth.

“See? You already took the steps to better yourself, don’t stress, and pace yourself, you have a month left kid.”

You let out a small chuckle. More than 20 missing assignments shouldn’t be too bad to juggle, right?

You were lying to yourself, you were going to suffer, but for a positive outcome, you didn’t mind. You got yourself together, sniffling softly as you packed your things.

“I don’t wanna kick you out, but I do have to meet with the Dean-”

“You mean your lov-”

You were cut short by a small stuffed animal flying towards you, your reflexes doing you justice before the soft material made contact with your face, slamming the door, gaining a small audience as eyes turned to you.

“Sorry everyone.”

Now, for the real fun to begin, you can at least spend some time with a special someone before your academic weapon tendencies are in full force.

The night you met him, it felt like one of those nightmares that would be impossible to wake from. To you, it was a dream.

His aura, and appearance on that stage. You were enamored with his attitude. His thick accent, strumming his guitar as his eyes bored into yours. This was one of the few times you didn’t mind that you skipped class for.

After the concert, you went to refill your water bottle before your walk back to your apartment in the damning heat. You saw him, drenched in sweat, guitar on his back, hunched over, and visibly upset that the water fountain was not doing it’s job. He looks in your direction, his expression making you anxious. Yet, you were still willing to help. You essentially escorted him to your dorm, where the water system was in a decent condition. He had pretty strong opinions about the education system and society in general, though you did appreciate his intellect.

“It’s a load of tosh for ya’ to pay so much for a piece of rubbish.” 

The ways he seemed so sure of himself more often than not made you intrigued, and he was more than happy to indulge you, being nearly distracted from the fact that Satan decided to sit his bare ass cheeks on the Earth that day. He gave you his number, and from then on, he would come see you whenever you both had the time, which was rough, considering the current mess that was your life. He was the only person you felt cared enough to step you out of your comfort zone. 

The night walks on campus, your medusa piercing that he compliments all the time.

“It accentuates your features. Peng ting you are, yeah?”

Your eyebrows furrowed, a deep chuckle erupting from his throat

“Means you’re hot.”

He gets it. He gets you. And sometimes, you thought that maybe what you were feeling would never go away when you’re with him. Your hangouts were more often casual, leading to more intimate moments, mentioning him to your family, and him teaching you how to play his guitar. You began to feel it linger, when you knew you both didn’t want to say goodnight.

The immediate thought of it also breaks you.

You’ve felt that he’s been dodging you and your attempts to reach out as of late. It’s been weeks since you’ve last seen Hobie, and this time, he initiates to meet. It’s late in the night, and he’s late. You couldn’t remember the last time you were this mad at him, or if you ever got upset with him at all. You didn’t like how he started to drift away with no explanation, and instead of anger, you were filled with worry, wondering if the time you were spending together was beginning to put a strain on him. You paced around your living room, muttering words and contemplating sending an annoyingly long paragraph of a text that would make it seem like you were dumping him.

“S’mitten for me, are you love?”

You looked up at your window, the tall brit leaning on the emergency stairs, making himself at home as you pulled away.

“In your dreams, Brown.”

He walks up to you, his lanky frame hovering over you so expectantly. You looked down at your feet, almost embarrassed of your newfound feelings, and you feel even more giddy when he stands close to you. He knew that you liked him, but teasing you was his second favorite pastime besides hanging out with you. You walked away to your kitchen, grabbing an energy drink for the both of you. Silence did not exist when you were together, and the awkwardness of it all was not helping. He bit his lip, his teeth caught in his piercing. He knew he was in trouble.

“I know you’re upset.”

“Hobs, you were supposed to be here 2 hours ago, I understand being busy but I thought you were seriously hurt or something”, you exclaimed, turning away from him. Showing up late was a recurring issue with him, and you’ve had just about enough.

“Oh don’t get cheeky now. You’ve been neglectin’ your studies. A bit daft if you ask me.”

You’re eye twitched at his use of his slang, sometimes you didn’t always need him to explain to know that what he was saying had negative connotations.

“That’s none of your concern, it’s you I’m worried about.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he smirks. There wouldn’t be a point in arguing with him about this, handing him his drink, turning on your television, starting the episode of your favorite series where you had both left off.

You sat farther away from him than usual, occasionally glancing in his direction, and unfortunately, he was staring right back at you, even more intense.

“I don’t bite, unless ya’ ask,” he teases, softly patting a seat closer to him, and you oblige. It wasn’t like you weren’t happy to see him, and he chuckles at your annoyed compliance. It was becoming an awkward staring contest, and you quickly lost track of the media playing on your screen. You open your mouth, just out of curiosity.

“So, how’s life treating you?”

“Fighting fascists, new piercings, performin’, ” he looks over to you, taking another sip of his drink, awaiting for a life update on your part. You bit your lip, anxiety getting the best of you. Despite the closer proximity, you still felt to far away from him. He sighs, using his leg to move your body to face him. You quiver, tears threatening to spill from your face once again, but you still looked up.

He looked at you, seeming nonchalant, but you still felt the worry in his aura.

“I know you want me to squash it, but it’s obvious s’omething bigger is bothering you,” he softly speaks, his thumb circling into your knee. “You act as if you’re scared of somethin’— of someone.”

Hobie scoots closer to you, using guiding your chin to make you look at him directly for the first time tonight.

“Talk t’me.”

You shake away from him, that feeling in the pit of your stomach only becoming more intense.

“I can’t tell you everything, Hobs.”

“But you can tell me anythin’, yeah?”

You look up, his face was close to you now, not realizing that you were nothing leaning into each other the more you spoke. His hand, slowly sliding to your hips, slowly stroking your stretch marks that your shirt wasn’t covering. You looked into his eyes, a small smile showing.

“There she is,” he exaggerates, giving you a soft squeeze, and you let out a giggle. The moment was yet again, cut short by that annoying ass beep from his wristwatch, that has interrupted your meaningful conversations countless times. Hobie curses from under his breath, backing away from you, the light illuminating his flawless features. And just like that, the moment has passed. His eyes look up to you, disproval in your expression, and you knew what was coming next, so you did it for him.

“Just go.”

Hobie let out a deep sigh before apologizing for what felt like the thousandth time, knowing he would do this the next time you make an attempt to make time for each other.

But this time, you were going to figure out why.

—

As soon as he had left, your senses went off. And this was the last time you were going to ignore them.

You had quickly went off into your room after he left, frantically throwing around your belongings to find your suit before Hobie got too far from you. You had followed him, all the way to an one of the abandoned buildings on campus that was currently under renovation. You stood behind a slab of concrete, peeking from the side, watching as he walked through a portal as if it were just another day.

But you saw, and now you knew. Your suspicions proved you right once again.

You flicked your wrist, webbing into the portal before it closed in on you.

And now, there you were, caught by Hobie after catching your ankle so you wouldn’t plunge to certain death after following him through his portal, seeking nothing but a dark abyss before you, seeming bottomless.

You turned towards him, a smirk plastered across his face.

“I fuckin’ knew it.”

You webbed free from his grip, finding ground. You looked at his appearance, and now you knew why he wore such familiar colors. Your suit hugged your body, adorned in your favorite colors, riddled with black accents. Hobie looked you up and down, whistling in admiration, while you took in your surroundings. HQ did not look like this at all when you first arrived.

“Place look familiar?”

You had brushed yourself off, taking in the countless people that had suits similar to yours. The unique design of the interior, and many, many, familiar faces.

“The Spiderverse.”

“Hey I call it the same thing!”

You turned in the direction of the speaker, a young boy standing in front of you. He had a black suit, red accents riddled across, two other spider men following behind you, staring at you in admiration.

“I’m Miles!”

You were still floored by all that had occurred in just a few moments. Slowly, you raised your hand, waving to the kid, smiling at him.

“Hi Miles, I’m [Name].”

“Oh, Hobie! Did we get a new recruit?”

A spider woman in a white suit walked up behind him, her pink hair flowing, and eyes that could manipulate a way to your heart.

“I’m Gwen, and this one here Is Pavitr!” Both greet themselves which such joy to see you. You almost felt as if you were back home, introducing yourself to who seemed to be Hobie’s colleagues. You expected him to be upset with you for following him, or keeping your identity as spiderwoman a secret, or vice versa. Yet, he’s seeing you in a new light, a personality that didn’t exist in your world. You would only ever smile like this if it was truly something or someone you cared about. You both would know that.

“Alright kids, follow me!”

The voice felt all too familiar, the oozing confidence in her demands making you cringe instantly, and you turn to see no other than Jessica Drew herself. You stared blankly, a sigh of irritation, your bubbly personality disappearing almost instantly.

“Jessica..”

She started at you, her face turning into a small scowl before turning back around, motioning the group of teens to follow her, but not before throwing a day pass in your direction. It was hard for them to pay attention when they were too focused on your sudden change of demeanor. Hobie walked beside you, brushing against your hand to catch your attention.

“What’s the tea with you two, ey?”

Your side eye is critical when you look towards him, signaling that you didn’t want to talk about it. He grunts before shrugging it off, still walking close to you. You watched Miles as he introduced himself to everyone, completely enamored with his surroundings. All that you could conclude from this, is that he was new. But while he was looking at everyone else, they were all looking at you. You heard the mutters and whispers amongst them as the HQ went into a deafening silence. You could feel Hobie���s gaze on you, sliding his arm around your waist for comfort.

“Piss off. Go back to what you were doin’.”

Quickly, they did what they were told, but you could still hear the voices of some conversing about you. And Hobie could hear it too.

“I didn’t think they’d let her come back.”

“Maybe they caught her sneaking in, they did say she never gave her watch back.”

He looks to your side, still silent as he watches your body tense up from their words. Maybe he wasn’t the only one acting dodgy.

You look ahead, looking at the lair that belongs to the man you used to call your boss. You felt Hobie release his grip from you to catch up with Miles, watching closely as he walked around him, fidgeting with materials and grabbing small objects. The young teen seemed stressed about something, making you just as anxious. You heard him expressing his frustrations about not having a watch, Hobie suggesting to Miles that he make his own.

You had forgotten how big this room was, and you wished it was longer by the time you got to the main event. He descended from his pad, multiple screens could be seen, one of which you could see showed your last conversation with Hobie at your apartment. Miles and Gwen walked up to him, Miles eager to introduce himself, holding a small box of food. Hobie held you back, watching you stare at the sight before you in amazement.

The moment quickly dissipated once you saw the Miguel everyone knew, his violence showing its face rather quickly, throwing an item in Miles direction. With quick reaction, your web caught onto the object, throwing it to a forgotten corner, showing yourself to him. He chuckled, his expression gleamed with frustrations and anger.

“I knew you would be here.”

“Your favorite disappointment could never miss out on a good time.”

Glaring at one another, everyone could feel the tension, so thick it was possible to cut it with a knife. Hobie watched from afar, reading for whatever should come next. That is until you felt the joyous cries of a child, turning to see a grown man in a pink robe. Instantly, you felt a wave of tears washing over you, Peter calling your name as soon as you ran into his arms.

“I missed you kid.”

Miles shared the excitement, walking up to Peter, also capturing him in an embrace. Miles looked at you in awe once more, wondering how you knew him.

“He was my mentor.”

“That’s crazy, me too!”

You heard Miguel groan, echoing throughout the room, Peter ignoring him, and telling you and Miles to do the same. You once again here the coos of a child, looking in the direction, a baby crawling across the wall. You excitedly exclaim with Miles, “You had a baby!”

Peter laughs sheepishly, yelling for his daughter, telling her to make sure she kept her day pass on, clearly in her own world.

Once again, the atmosphere changed dramatically, Miguel stepping down from his pad, Miles following, both engaging in a rather lengthy conversation about canon events. That’s when you started to shake, Gwen and Hobie looking at you with worry. Still, you held your ground, listening to Miguel explain the Spiderverse to Miles, the timelines, and the unfortunate events that occurs to just about every Spider-person. You saw the young teen grow anxious, beginning to mention his dad, and how he becomes captain in just a few days. Miles grows impatient and restless, and arguing that he shouldn’t sit here and let his father die. Miles looked to his colleagues, searching for confirmation. They all looked away, proving the timeline to be correct. Miguel turns toward you, motioning Miles to look in your direction.

“Your friend here believed the same thing.”

You felt everyone’s eyes on you, feeling as small as Miguel once made you feel. You looked at Miles, ready to hang onto every word you as you began to open your mouth to speak, but you looked away.

“Go on, tell him, [Name].”

You sucked up your sniffles, having to relive that memory constantly felt dehumanizing.

“I….I had a friend, who believed the same thing you did. She wanted to be able to save her parents, to be able to do both, and live the perfect life.”

You felt your chest tighten, yet urged yourself to continue.

“I ended up getting her killed, and destroyed her Universe.”

You heard Miles let out a gasp, you looked to Hobie, his eyes wide, and you couldn’t decipher his emotion. Miles turned back to Miguel, demanding that he be returned home. He refused, locking him in. They had all began to walk away, apologizing that it had to end like this. Well, not on your watch, but it seems that Hobie beat you to it.

A flash of light, knocking everything and everyone on their ass, you chuckled at the gesture. Miles was still in shock, quickly recovering, running off into the headquarters. Miguel runs after the kid, everyone following behind. You felt a arm wrap around your waist, a portal opening. Before pulling you both through, Hobie declaring his standing with the league.

“And for the record, I quit.”

—

You were back in the comfort of your own home, dressed in your lounge clothes, while your suit in the washer. Hobie had flew you home, as there was no reason to hide it anymore. Now, it was an uncomfortable silence, the two of you haven’t spoke since you left the headquarters. Hobie was getting ready to head out, his back turned to you, but not until you made yourself clear.

“We can’t come back from this.”

You looked up, his eyes staring back at you as he turned to you. The moon illuminated his smile, responding casually.

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

And then he was gone, and you didn’t know when he would be back.

Or if he ever would be.

Installation (2/5) : ‘Piss Off’ — Released!

‘Just For You’ Masterlist for previous/future installations

-

ᴛᴀɢꜱ!

@darkphantommagazine

@von-studios

@vickyzangels​

@roseluxxx​

@cupcakekiss

[devildomsoup]

I was reading your "Silly little headcannons" and saw that you said that Barbatos "Will cradle MC like a little baby when he is stressed or just missed them." Which, for one, is so adorable I love that so much!!! If you haven't already, if you could just do a short fluffy fic with that scenario I would be delighted! 🥰 Thank you very much for hearing me out!

Hold Me Close to Your Heart

Genre: Fluff

Character: Barbatos

MC: gender neutral they/them

Type: Oneshot

A/N I wanted to post this way sooner than this but exams are sadly occupying a lot of my time right now.

Barbatos was not having a good day. So far it had actually been nothing but awful.

It started with one of the Little. Ds breaking an expensive vase. Then it turned out that the spices Barbatos had ordered would be delayed. On top of that, someone had decided to eat all the treats for an upcoming meeting. To make it all worse they were all out of sugar because a Little. D dropped the container with it. The sugar was all over the floor which meant that not only did Barbatos need to head out and buy new sugar he also had to clean the entire kitchen floor.  

His shopping trip was also awful. 

For some reason, the entire Devildom had decided that they needed to go grocery shopping that day. The checkout line was stupidly wrong and there were at least 5 demons who tried to skip the line. When Barbatos finally got out of the store it started to rain and because of all the bags, he was crying he couldn’t hold an umbrella resulting in him coming home soaking wet. 

But the worst thing had to be what happened at the castle while he was away.

Solomon had somehow managed to get into the castle's kitchen and decided to cook one of his abominations. Making yet another mess for Barbatos to clean up.

It was safe to say that Barbatos was feeling just a little bit stressed. But the stoic demon of course did not show it. Not even a slightly furrowed eyebrow could be seen on his face. But on the inside, he was screaming bloody murder. Sadly, he could not do much else than clean the mess, change his clothes and continue fulfilling his duties. 

Evening came and so did more trouble. The universe just did not want Barbatos to have it easy. 

A tired sigh escaped his lips as he placed the last fork in the drawer where it belonged. He was more than happy with the day coming to an end. Barbatos rubbed his temples, turned off the lights and walked out of the kitchen. As Barbatos made his way through the many halls of the castle he came across his Young Master.

"Good evening Young Master.”

“Good evening Barbatos it seems like you have a guest waiting at the pavilion.”

That was strange, he was not exciting anyone, but Barbatos made his way to the garden where the pavilion was, nonetheless. The halls were eerily quiet and the only sound you could hear was the quiet clicks of Barbatos’ shoes. As he reached the garden, he could not help but wonder who this so-called guest was. Had he really forgotten something so important as a guest visiting? Surely that could not be true.

Arriving at the pavilion Barbatos stopped dead in his tracks as he saw someone he did not expect. Sitting there was MC. No wonder he could not recall having gusts, MC had never said they were going to be here.

“Surprise,” MC said sheepishly, not quite sure how to interpret Barbatos.

“Uhm… Luke and I made too many cookies, so I thought I would drop by and give some to you and Diavolo. When I arrived Diavolo grabbed a bunch of cookies for himself and then told me to wait here,” MC explained, gesturing towards the box of decorated cookies beside them. 

Barbatos quietly walked over to MC and sat down beside them.

“Hope I didn’t arrive at a bad time. I can leave if it is,” MC spoke, still unsure of what Barbatos’ actions meant.

Barbatos did not say anything, instead, he just pulled Mc onto his lap and warped his arms around them holding them close to his chest. 

"Barbatos?”

“My apologies. That was unbecoming of me to do,” Barbatos responded, starting to let go of MC.

“It’s okay.”

After hearing that Barbatos tightened his grip, he pulled MC closer to his chest. Nothing in the 3 realms could make him let go of them now. This was all he needed right now. Everything else was unimportant; the only thing that mattered was MC. Barbatos removed his gloves so he could enjoy the warm feeling of MC’s skin better. There was something so comforting about the warmth of a human. Sure, some demons were warmer than a volcano but the earth from a human was special. Even when Mc was cold their body still emitted a certain warmth. Maybe that warmth was just the feeling of comfort that spread through Barbatos’ body whenever he got to hold MC.  

A small evening breeze travelled through Barbatos’ hair making MC tuck a few stray strands behind his ear. It was strange Barbatos always made sure to keep his composure yet when it was just him and MC, he lost it. The face that usually only wore a service smile or a neutral expression was now filled with our adoration and joy. The eyes that were usually cold and calculating were now looking ever so gently at MC like they were the most prized jewel in all of the 3 realms. 

How Barbatos had longed for this moment. Always thinking of how nice it would be to simply wrap his arms around MC and hold them close. After having such an awful day there really was nothing better than that.

Looking at MC he noticed how their eyes were beginning to close and before Barbtost knew it Mc had drifted off to sleep in his arms. Barbtos did not mind at all. It meant they felt comfortable enough in his arms to lower their guard. 

“Sleep tight, you are safe in my arms.”

[wannaeatramyeon]

Helloooo I just wanted to say I absolutely love your writing! I always look forward to your posts, they just make my day! When I‘m feeling down they cheer me up and when I‘m in high spirits they make me even happier. So keep up the good work :3

Btw I‘d also like to request the Lookism boys reacting to them accidentically hurting their S/O (especially Jake and Goo, I just love them) 🥹

If you don‘t want to it’s fine! I also just wanted to tell you I really appreciate your writing🫶🏻 Thx!

~Your fan

Hi Anon! SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I know it's been a while. Thank you so much for your kind words omg 🥹 your words are also a wonderful pickmeup for me too. I will work harder to keep making the most of this fixation with these silly boys 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️ And don't worry, as long as I keep putting out bullshit for Lookism, there will always be some Jake and Goo cos they are my faaaaaves.

Accidentally hurting S/O: Goo, Jake, Gun, Samuel, Vin

Neither of you ever go full force in your spars together. The intent was to improve, not maim.

However, seeing a gap in your defensive stance, their right fist jabs out. Quick as lightning, hitting you in the ribcage.

Which you usually would be able to tank, except.

Fucking liver shot.

All your focus and drive is knocked out with that one hit. You're breathless, trying desperately to stay standing-

Goo x Reader

"Princess?"

Goo raises his eyebrows, a smirk gracing his features. It's not the first time you've manipulated him and then punched him as soon as he was within reach. No chance is he falling for it again.

At the sound of your whimpers, and pathetic sight of you head down, clutching your side, Goo finally backs down.

Surely he didn't hit you that hard, right? He thought you were much sturdier than that especially with all the trash talk coming out of your mouth.

"Cupcake, you ok?" The mirth isn't entirely gone from his voice, but he tilts your face up towards him and gasps at the tears in your eyes.

"My little baby! Did I hurt you?" his fingers come up to wipe the tears from your cheeks, "I didn't know you were so weak. Such a delicate little flower, my buttercup. I didn't even try, and you couldn't withstand that? My sweet darling."

Your tears dry quickly when you hear his words. More gloating than concern. "You asshole, that was a cheap shot."

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, sweetheart."

"Asshole," you repeat as he cackles like a hyena.

"C'mon," Goo gives you a loud obnoxious smooch on the forehead for your troubles, "Let your Goo bear look after you today."

Jake Kim x Reader

Jake realised the impact before you did. Already too late for his fist to change course and resulting in your face crumpling up in pain.

"Shit!" his hands come up, gingerly assessing the area and eyes frantically searching yours, "Y/N, are you ok?"

"No," you squeak out and Jake has never felt such panic before. Is that his life flashing before his eyes?

And then when your eyes well up with tears, lip starting to quiver, Jake feels his soul departing his body.

Shitshitshit-

The apologies tumble out.

Of course, you can't blame him. Accidents are a natural byproduct of sparring. Jake suffered a sprained ankle not too long ago, and you still can't bend your left middle finger fully.

You regain your breath as his hands rove all over to check for any other injuries. Needing to touch you and feel that you're still fine.

"Jake?" You interrupt his worried movements.

"Hmm?"

Probably an inopportune moment, yet even through the pain, it warms your heart seeing how much Jake cares about you. "Love you."

Oh. Jake wasn't expecting that. That's what you give him after a liver shot? You really are too adorable for words.

With a soft smile, he tells you he loves you too.

Gun Park x Reader

Clearly unimpressed, Gun watches you.

With anyone else, he would have called them pathetic, worthless and a waste of his time.

But with you, it's not time wasted. He would rather be with you, than not at all. Which he finds difficult to admit. That fact at complete odds with his drive and his self. A personal weakness he is willing to overlook.

From the offset, Gun could see there was zero possibility of you becoming his masterpiece. Simply put, you didn't have the body nor talent nor skill. When you first asked him to start sparring with you though, he acquiesced. Frankly, has he ever even said no to you.

You chance a peek at your boyfriend. Already you are expecting a look of disappointment, instead you see his retreating back, leaving you alone.

Tears spring to your eyes and you drop your head in shame. Damn, this hurts. You're no match for Gun, no match for most people really. Still, you've been trying to improve.

As you wallow, a blanket is wrapped around your shoulders. In the blink of an eye, Gun hoists you into an effortless bridal carry, calling you an idiot.

You know his words have no bite, his actions speak far louder.

Arms wrapping around his neck, the pain subsides as you nuzzle him.

Samuel Seo x Reader

Samuel feels it in his superiority complex first, always bubbling away and too deeply ingrained for anything else.

Incapacitating an opponent, dominating them, proving that he is better.

Followed quickly by fuck. This isn't an opponent. Not really. It's you.

"Y/N?" he holds you by the shoulders and you lean into it, your legs too weak to hold you up.

Samuel's eyes cloud with worry when you let out a feeble groan.

"Come on," he picks you up, maneuvering you into a fireman's lift with grace and you with anything but. Ass in the air, hair flopping down, still feeling waves of pain.

Samuel faintly recalls his packed calendar for the rest of his day. Meetings upon meetings. Calls and face-to-faces with vendors and investors and corporate fucks who can barely form a thought between them without a brainstorming meeting and a presentation.

"Ughhh Sammy I feel like shit," you gurgle from behind him, and that is all it takes for him to wipe his schedule clean.

None of it matters.

He'll be spending the rest of the day with you instead.

Vin Jin x Reader

Vin nudges you with his foot, "Get up."

In the end, your legs had crumpled beneath you until you're flat on the floor, hands clutched to your throbbing side.

At your lack of response, Vin tries again. "Get up you pussy."

Vin is Vin. An asshole to the end.

"Go away," your voice is weak, barely reaching his ears.

He squats down and squints through his shades, trying to get a closer look at what the hell is wrong with you. He barely even touched you.

"Yeesh, are you really this weak? You're no fun."

You can't bring yourself to say anything to that, just throwing a glare at him. So venomous that you hope it penetrates those stupid sunglasses and into his soul.

"Whatever, if this is what we're doing now." As if he wasn't the cause of your predicament, Vin lets out a melodramatic sigh and lies down beside you.

"You're such a loser," he says, even as he shuffles close, carefully positioning your head on his shoulder and pulling your body to his.

[amerricanartwork]

I saw your lilypad art post, and I got curious: why do you enjoy lilypad? it's not a common RW ship, so I'd be interesting to hear what about it you enjoy!

Hear me out, guys... I must explain myself before I get onto the Lilypad essay.

I made that original comment because, at the time, I wanted to just get the aforementioned headcanons out as soon as possible. Understand, my reluctance wasn't because I didn't want to talk about Lilypad, but rather the exact opposite: I had so many feelings about it, yet had put so little effort into expressing them in a coherent, presentable format that I just knew it'd distract me for the next week or two if I let it rent too much space in my conscious thoughts. But now that little comment has left me with several people asking me to share those thoughts, and, both thankfully and unfortunately, I simply can't resist indulging in thoughts about the characters I love—!

Keep in mind, I haven’t finished Saint campaign yet, and even then I’ve found like less than half the broadcasts in Spearmaster campaign yet, so there’s likely some extra canon info I may be missing that could add to or change some of what I say here. I also apologize if some of what I write here seems really out-of-character. I try not to let my passion for my little headcanons and scenarios make me disregard the canon, but even so, I might slip and think up some weird things occasionally. Nonetheless, I feel like I’ve got enough of the picture to start confidently enjoying this ship, so I’ll talk about it anyway! 

As always, feel free to add to these ideas if you can! Without further delay, enjoy this 3381-word essay, with a few initial headcanons sprinkled in, on why I adore Lilypad!

Oh, and just in case, if you couldn’t already tell, major Hunter campaign spoilers below.

Quetzalli on Loving Lilypad

I’m gonna start this out with a preface: I can generally find the appeal in a lot of different ships and the art other fans make for them, but for me to ship something enough to actively draw it and make my own headcanons about it and such (outside of, perhaps, gifts for other people), it usually has to contain a variety of “ship tropes” that I personally fancy. Many of my most-favorite ship tropes tend to be the ones that aren’t just cute, but that carry narrative significance and seem poetic in some way, usually because they can facilitate character arcs in the involved characters. The more of these a ship has, or the more ship tropes I can portray it with without it seeming too out-of-character, and the more I like those specific tropes, the better. This principle is a major reason why I’ve gravitated towards Artimand as my main slugcat ship, but for now, I’m going to focus on which of these I see in Lilypad — in canon content, other fan-portrayals, and my personal headcanons — that, as opposed to other iterator ships, has currently won me over.

I’m gonna describe the main general things I like seeing in this ship. Some of them are more due to fandom portrayals than what’s in the canon, but they all play a big role in my current love for Lilypad. 

Synergy

I’ll begin with how I really appreciate just how much synergy Looks to the Moon and No Significant Harassment are shown to have, at least in fan content! I always like seeing pairings where the characters aren’t just romantic, but also work really well together as a team or even just as friends. After all, just because the characters may be romantically in love doesn’t mean they must only show it in explicitly romantic ways. To me, Lilypad strikes me as a relationship where Sig and Moon would make an amazing team in many aspects of their lives, whether it's collaborating on projects, sharing their interests, or trying to maintain order in the rest of their group. And their compliment is just really sweet to me, though I’ll get to that later.

A Shoulder to Lean On/The Lady

One of my favorite ship tropes is “character with a lot of weight on their shoulder who finally gets to lift it off and be ‘normal’ for once when around the other”. I’ve always found it sweet when characters like this, especially ones who are normally very selfless, finally get a chance to indulge and enjoy themselves for once! And once again, this is another thing I imagine in Artimand too, and you could project this onto Trafficlights given Suns’s implied high status, but I think it works especially with Lilypad, given Moon’s role as group senior means she objectively has a lot to manage all the time with no permanent escape from it. Even beyond the whole Five Pebbles rot drama, Moon probably had a lot on her plate just in terms of maintaining order between the rest of the group and setting a good example to the younger generations, especially as the group expanded over time, not to mention trying to find the solution herself. Combine this with how I picture her to be the kind of person who cares a lot about her image as a “proper” and  “dignified” leader, and someone who often sacrifices her own desires to promote the group’s welfare, I just find it really soft for her to have someone to lean on, metaphorically (and in a worm-off-the-string scenario, literally), and who better to go to than her best teammate, who knows the power of a good laugh and will stop at nothing to have fun with those he loves? Not to mention, since I headcanon Sig as slightly younger than Moon (2nd gen, specifically), I just find it rather cute in an ironic sense that the older, more serious Moon is soft around the younger, far more chaotic Sig, especially as Moon would go through the realization that she actually kinda likes this little troublemaker! 

This also comes back to something I mentioned in the tags of that beepsnort post, which is that one of my other favorite ship tropes is “guy who loves/is good at making people laugh x girl who has a REALLY weird/embarrassing laugh”, and that just works so well with Lilypad! It’s admittedly a very headcanon-based thing for me, but given how I’ve already explained my perception of Moon as very proper and serious, I imagine one of the best ways Sig takes the weight off her shoulders is by being the only person who can consistently make her laugh so hard! And with the beepsnort headcanon it’s even cuter, because of course Moon would be super embarrassed every time she even so much as gives a half-chuckle at one of his jokes, because Sig is relentless when it comes to getting the giggles out of her, and he won’t stop until she’s rolling and shaking on the floor of her chamber, her beepy-snorts filling the room! My GODDD I love this trope so much, and for beings who are inherently such workaholics, I think getting to genuinely relax and have fun for a bit, once she gets over the initial shock and embarrassment, would be something Moon would really come to value.

Inverses Attract/The Tramp

I’ve mentioned it in my last Artimand headcanons post, but one of my absolute all-time favorite ship tropes is the classic “opposites attract”, although I prefer the name “inverses attract”. As I like to portray it, the trope not only involves characters who are opposites personality-wise, but those being opposites of the same core aspect, and ultimately helping balance each other out by offering the other half of the equation to each other (hence the name “inverses”). The trope I just wrote about above is how Sig helps Moon to relax and have fun, but as I try to do with all ships, how does it work the other way too? Well, I really like to imagine Sig learning to be more openly serious and dedicated! Don’t get me wrong, Sig is a hard worker (it’s pretty much the nature of all iterators), but given he seems to pretty strongly reject the quest for the Triple Affirmative, I imagine the next problem would be in him finding a new purpose to strive for. And what better new purpose than in standing by and protecting the group senior he thinks he just might wanna be more than friends with?

It already works because Moon, of course, would work to keep Sig in check and make sure he doesn’t go too overboard with his shenanigans. But just imagine how inspired he’d grow over time seeing Moon work so hard to keep the group together and keep them striving for their purpose, even if he doesn’t agree with it. I imagine it’s why Sig’s methods are still rather controlled rather than purely chaotic, and there’s a reason to his rebellion. Thanks to Moon, rather than slaving away at a seemingly impossible solution until his mind collapses with his structure, he’ll use his talents to, at the very least, keep the local group together as long as possible, because even if they’ll all be gone one day, that doesn’t mean they have to go alone!

It’s why I’m also labeling these two tropes together as “the Lady and the Tramp”, yet another ship dynamic that gets me every time! It’s a specific instance of “inverses attract” where the noble, proper lady finds a taste of freedom and courage from the dangerously charming tramp, who from her finds a new sense of purpose and honor! And in my opinion, Lilypad is most definitely the best opportunity for this dynamic among Rain World ships!

The Fated Couple

Slow-burn couples seem to be pretty popular in many fandoms, but what about a really slow-burn? There’s something just so romantic to me about the idea that Moon and Sig, from the moment they met, have always just clicked so perfectly, and have been by each other’s side so constantly ever since, to the point it seems practically inevitable to everyone (except them of course) that they’ll eventually get together romantically. Of course, there are two main roadblocks to their romance being 1.) their whole objective and purpose for being created is kind-of fundamentally opposed to strong attachments like love (I mean, if Karma 3 is Companionship, wouldn’t romantic love be considered the worst example of that?), and 2.) even if they did reject this purpose, being massive immovable structures with the only humanoid part stuck deep inside a box, a budding romance seemingly couldn’t really go anywhere anyway. In fact, because of these roadblocks much of my Lilypad imaginings take place in the ever-popular “worm-off-the-string” scenario, especially since the next couple of reasons for why I like the ship play a lot into the themes I like to incorporate in this story concept. 

However, these issues towards such a romance are also what make it so sweet in the end! Just think of Moon, alone in her chamber, beginning to worry about how she’s actually kinda sorta, maybe, hypothetically, possibly, just a little bit starting to like the carefree and charismatic Gen 2 in the local group as even more than just a work partner and a dear friend, but oh no, that’s indulging in a Karmic Sin, and as group senior she can’t just throw away their purpose like that and set such a bad example to the rest! What’s she gonna do?? And then on the other side, Sig puzzling in his chamber, pining so hard for the group senior yet seemingly unable to confess, because, even disregarding Karma 3 and the fact that giant immobile calculators aren’t about to be snuggling any time soon, why would someone as perfect and powerful as her want someone like him, so dismissive of their core purpose and unorthodox in his methods? Is there even a point in having these feelings at all, when they might very well end up simply fading to dust along with the rest of his structure?

Maybe, they both think, it’d be better to just keep these feelings to themselves and quietly love from a distance. That is, until…

Moon’s Collapse and the Slag Reset Keys

The fourth reason is, of course, the most steeped in canon. It goes back a bit to the “shoulder to lean on” concept, but even aside from that, there is something just so romantic about this on both sides.

Firstly, from Moon’s perspective. There’s no doubt that the collapse must have been very traumatic for Looks to the Moon physically, but I like to think about just how much it’d affect her emotionally, too. I mean, being so painfully destroyed by your own brother, with seemingly nothing that can be done to stop it and no one to help you? And then consider how lonely it must have been in her final moments. The only comfort she does get is from Spearmaster’s visit, and even then she sends him off to go deliver her final words, which has still got to be really depressing. And finally, think about how betrayed she must have felt, trying so hard throughout her operation to help her citizens and the local group and be kind to everyone, only to have it be repaid like this, forced to collapse in on herself, being buried under her own body, unfathomable pain all around, and with not a soul to help her.

So then, think about just how shocking and heartwarming (literally, if you think about it) it must be when that lovable Gen 2, always so playful and carefree normally, is the one to give her a second chance and being her back when all hope seems lost, and using such a unique delivery method no less! I mean COME ON, Sig literally brought her back to life, how could one NOT fall in love with someone who did that for them? It links back to the “shoulder to lean on” idea, in that, for once, someone finally looked out for Moon and gave back to her for all the kindness she gave to the world. Think about this as the moment she truly realizes she’s in love with No Significant Harassment, and how tragic it’d be knowing now, it’s too late to say it. But, even so, if he’s willing to go this far to make sure she’s okay, then maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance her love at least wasn’t alone.

Now, my thoughts about this from No Significant Harassment’s side (which also kinda turned into a mini NSH appreciation paragraph that links back to the earlier Inverses Attract and Lady and the Tramp segment), I think it’s very poetic to see him going out of his way to take his messenger concept, originally used for no more than a trivial prank and at most a very experimental and unfinished alternative communication method, and turning it into a noble last-ditch effort to rescue the one he loves. It doesn’t just clearly show how much he cares for Moon that he worked to save her when no one else did (and if that’s because the odds of being able to do anything seemed very low to the rest of them, that makes it even more sweet) I think it shows off a lot of Sig’s character beyond just being a jokester. Like, I’d seen this kind of personality for Sig in the fandom content before, but this action and the other broadcasts are what first made me truly realize not just that it is based in canon, but that, more importantly he’s not just stupid or unfocused, he’s rebellious. He doesn’t joke around because he just doesn’t care, it’s because he’s independent, he’s got other places he wants to go and plans that don’t fit into what most of his peers are used to. He makes light of the world because he sees what others don’t, and it’s honestly pretty frickin’ funny how blind others can be most of the time (case-in-point: him making a slugcat from a messenger, which no one else thought to do because those creatures seemed too “dull” and “primitive” to ever be capable of such a thing). So think about how significant it must be when he’s openly taking something seriously. This is where that dynamic of the Tramp, and how Sig would benefit from this relationship is really highlighted. I just adore it when the easygoing, carefree character finally finds purpose in their lover, and springs into serious action like they never were before! And it makes sense too given what I said about them not getting together before: seeing Moon collapse would show him directly that even beings as durable as iterators don’t last forever, so if he’s got these feelings for Moon, he’s got to make a move while there’s still a chance! And what better way to show his love than to bring her back when all hope seems lost? Which brings me to the final aspects I’ll talk about here, first of which is…

True Love’s Kiss

Yes, you read that right. The real reason I love the slag reset keys as a plot element so much is not just because it shows Sig’s secret strength of character, not just because it finally gives reward to Moon’s kindness, but because it is a real fairytale come true! 

I know this sounds crazy and probably totally unrelated to Rain World, but think about it! You guys have probably seen Snow White and Sleeping Beauty before, or at least one of the two? Isn’t the whole trope that the beautiful princess, fairest maiden in the land, gets cursed through some means or another to die (or in Aurora’s case, fall into an indefinite sleep), which is only undone when the strong and brave prince, riding upon his noble steed, awakens the princess by giving her true love’s kiss? I already love both those movies on their own for various other reasons, but after my description, is this starting to sound familiar in another way?

I mean, with everything I’ve said about Moon in this post so far, there’s no doubt you could perceive her as the “fair princess”, who through unfortunate circumstances is put to a premature and indefinite death. And there’s no doubt Sig fills the role of the brave prince by working to save her with the slag reset keys, which in this metaphor are undoubtedly the “true love’s kiss” that ultimately conquers all, always longed for, and finally delivered! And hey, given Hunter is the one to carry the keys to Moon, a small yet courageous beast who stops at nothing to meet his goals, Sig even has his own “noble steed”! And even if Hunter is technically the one to actually deliver the green neuron, and the death the “princess” succumbs to wasn’t out of genuine malice towards her, I think the sentiment is still there and the parallel is close enough! 

But yes, as strange as it may sound, the fairytale parallel is the main reason Lilypad resonates with me so much! Those classic fairytale-esque romance tropes and that poetic storytelling found in Disney’s first feature-length animated films has always been dear to my heart, and is even more so now that I’m older and can truly appreciate the beauty of them. So now, even in my fandom experiences, ships that win my appreciation over all others are often those that manage to embody those classic romance tropes and themes as best as possible, and frankly, even Artimand loses ever-so-slightly to Lilypad in this regard! Or, as I also enjoy calling them, “Lifeline”, for reasons that are probably obvious now. 

And it’s even better when you consider…

Some Things Never Change

Another trope I’ve recently begun to love is the idea that some phenomena in the world never truly disappear, but simply manifest in different ways, sometimes unexpected ones. And given the whole Triple Affirmative quest and the Ancients’ mass ascension philosophy, this idea is something I especially love seeing in Rain World content. Even the canon events show this idea, but think about how wonderfully it would work with Lilypad beyond just the slag reset keys, especially taking up that “worm off the string” iterator AU concept some have explored in this fandom already.

Just think about how sweet it would be when Moon and Sig, operating primarily through their puppets now, get to finally hug and kiss and be with each other so directly now! Think of the way Sig would speak to Moon about how, even after her collapse, she's still somehow beautiful as ever, and Moon returning with how even all the trouble the group has faced hasn't put a dent in his charm! And it's even sweeter when you consider it’s against everything their creators stood for! Think of Moon, after everything she’s been through and how much she’s probably changed at this point, now willing to give some of these “worldly attachments” a chance, because you can never truly get rid of them, but she knows better than anyone that you won’t be around to experience them forever, so why not enjoy it while you’ve got the chance? And it’d make sense too, not just for her own benefit, but for Pebbles and the rest of the group’s sake too! She’s always strove to set a good example for them, and since their original quest has left them with nothing but pain and trauma, why not show them that maybe all these attachments aren’t so bad after all?

I just think it’d be really interesting to see Moon joining Sig in that rejection of the Triple Affirmative, and what better way to do that than by finally embracing that love they’ve felt for each other for so long? Because love never truly dies, it just appears in new people. And maybe they don’t have to spend their whole lives as grand iterators, the vast infinitely-advanced mechanical deities who embody perfection in almost every way. Maybe, even just for a bit, they can just be people, falling in love just as their creators did all over again!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

And with that, I think I’m FINALLY done here. HOLY COW, this is easily my longest post yet, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint! Part of the reason it took so long was because I was trying to find the perfect way to express all these ideas without it just spilling out onto the page in some weird half-coherent mess. But eventually I just said “ah screw it, let’s just ramble about this ship and see where it goes!” and my god, did it go far! And I still managed to somewhat organize it, so yay!

But aside from that, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who asked for my thoughts on Lilypad, and everyone who made it to the bottom of this essay! I’ve never really gotten a chance to openly ramble about one of my favorite ships to the rest of the fandom like this, so seeing that some fans, even if it’s ultimately not a huge amount, actually wanted me to do it was such a welcome surprise!

I hope you all enjoyed the drawings and the art! I’ll be around in case someone wants me to write another ship essay or something! And who knows, it’s likely I’ll find more reasons I like Lilypad as time goes on and I see more fan-content and find the rest of those broadcasts! But at least this was a starting point! 

Expect more LIlypad content to come in the future, but until now, thanks again for the opportunity!

[maislovebot]

Top 10 bsd characters oral scenarios: Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Hello! Here’s the Ryu chapter! I did everything yesterday but I guess I forgot to hit publish or something?? Sorry about that, as an apology I’ll be posting the Chuuya chapter today as well:)

Contains: afab reader, no pronouns, face-sitting, overstim, kinda ooc, nipple play I think, orgasm delay, teasing, kinda angsty but like what do you expect it’s Aku, Rashoumon but like sexually, she’s used as light bondage

Check the original post out on ao3! (same user)

“ Can you come home? I want you. ”

“What?”

You were enjoying your day in some mall, spoiling yourself just a little. Of course, it would’ve been nice to invite your lovely boyfriend, Akutagawa, but he was busy with something involving the Port Mafia, he didn’t go into detail. He probably felt like saving you from the gory details. He was even kind enough to supply you with a fair amount of money, silently sliding it into your hand when you were about to leave. It’s crazy how much money he makes because of his jobs at the Port Mafia, and he’s only a part of the command unit.

Your day at the mall was cut short when you received a call from the one and only Akutagawa, and you assumed it had something to do with the money he gave you until you picked up the phone.

“Huh? I thought you had a job today.”

“I finished it early. I need you right now.”

You stood for a few seconds, confused and now slightly turned on. Understanding all too well what he wanted, you complied with his wishes.

“Alright, I’ll be there in about an hour, I have to check out at the store I’m at, and the drive is 45 minutes.”

Silence stood on the other line, then a short “hurry.” Was said before Akutagawa hung up abruptly.

Now that whatever Akutagawa was planning was on the schedule for tonight, you wanted to get home as soon as you could, bouncing your leg in line, waiting.

‘ Finally, that line was so long. ’

You fiddled with your keys, trying to get inside of your car, the desperate way you searched through your keys and wallet making it harder for you to actually get into the car.

‘ God, finally. ’ Once you made it into your car, you shifted uncomfortably in your seat.

‘ Damn it Ryuu, why’d you have to be so demanding when I’m so far away? ’ you kept thinking about whatever it was he wanted to do, and it made you more and more needy, picturing whatever it was he wanted you to do to you.

With you taking a considerable amount of shortcuts and speeding a bit more than what was ethical, you made it back in record time. Only 45 minutes.

Fiddling with your keys yet again, you were cut off by Akutagawa opening the door for you and pulling you inside hastily.

“Took you long enough.” Akutagawa commented, noticing how you were lightly rubbing your thighs together. You wanted to give some snarky response, but you were cut off by Akutagawa grabbing your hair and leaning into you, kissing you rather roughly.

You were embarrassed because you hadn’t even gotten a chance to shut the door yet, and you pushed it shut with your foot.

You pulled back, already desperate for air from how vigorous Akutagawa was with his kissing. You pulling away didn’t deter Akutagawa for even a second, and he instead brought his lips down to your neck and began kissing and licking at it intently.

“Aa—Ryuu—what’s gotten into y—ah!” You were cut off by him licking at your sensitive spot, and him lightly groping you. Noticing your reaction, he paused and asked if you were alright.

“Is this not okay?”

“No—it’s fine, it’s just.. this is different. You never act like this.”

“I finished work early so I wanted to spend some time with you.”

You have a puzzled look, then a small moan from Akutagawa reuniting his lips with your neck, slowly trailing down to the tops of your breasts, while bringing his right hand down to grasp your bottoms and underwear at the same time, pulling them down just enough for you to be on full display, this made the blood rush to your cheeks while you questioned him.

“And you being done with work early caused this? I mean, I’m not complaining but it’s different.”

He gave a sigh “can we talk about this later? I just want you right now. We can talk about work after.”

You looked at him and nodded. “Alright, but let’s at least get up the stairs before we go any farther.”

Akutagawa nodded, and pulled you up the stairs by your wrist and then walked to the closest room with a soft surface that he could lay on, which happened to be your front room.

He laid down on your couch, luckily it was fairly large, it could fit the both of you.

“Could you sit on my face?”

Your eyes widened, and Akutagawa rephrased his question.

“Would you be fine with sitting on my face?”

You laughed a little, and Akutagawa looked at you rather blankly.

“Well that was blunt.”

“I’m blunt.”

You nodded, “that you are.”

Akutagawa looked at you expectantly, awaiting your answer. “Well?”

You said nothing, and instead pulled your bottoms down, completely stepping out of them. You smiled then straddled his hips and leaned down, quickly giving a small and quick kiss to his neck, not wanting to make him wait much longer, he was clearly a little desperate after all.

“Of course I will.” You spoke into his collar bones. You moved yourself upwards until you hovered just too high for his mouth to reach. Akutagawa didn’t sit and wait, and instead pulled your hips down till your heat was touching the outside of his lips.

Akutagawa opened his mouth and darted his tongue out straight to your clit, licking a circle on it.

You gave a barely audible groan, and immediately ground your hips down onto his tongue, increasing the amount of friction on your clit, causing you to repeat the process over and over again. Akutagawa gave a cute small moan under you due to the slightly suffocating feeling that arose from you grinding yourself onto him. How was he already driving you crazy from just one small lick? I guess you had been waiting for this for almost an hour, and he went straight to your clit with no precautions. Akutagawa kept licking at your clit before eventually beginning to suck on it. As of right now, Akutagawa was gripping the couch harshly, although it was fruitless due to the fact there weren’t really any blankets to grip onto.

You being so desperate for release in the car made your orgasm arrive pretty quick, and you wanted to try and warn Akutagawa.

“I’m clo—se..!” With this warning, Akutagawa paused the movement of his tongue, and sat there silently.

“What? Why’d you stop??” You whined, trying to grind down on Akutagawa, but he grabbed your hips and pulled you down onto his upper chest.

“Beg for it.” He said, staring straight into your eyes. You sat there silently, not really wanting to get rid of your dignity so easily.

“Come on. I know you can do it.” Akutagawa repeated his command yet again with a straight face, although it was a little difficult to take him seriously with the bottom half of his face being covered in your precum. Akutagawa noticed this, and wiped it off, closing his eyes and covering his face in the process, clearly a little embarrassed. While his mouth was covered, he coughed once or twice before asking again, now having a dry face.

“Just ask me and I promise I’ll keep going.”

Feeling your orgasm just sitting there in your stomach, not going anywhere, you grew desperate and whined quietly before giving into his requests.

“Please, let me cum. Please.” Your begging almost came out as a whisper, and Akutagawa was clearly not satisfied.

“You can do better than that.”

You looked away from him, considering just doing what he wanted. You were still stuck in place, considering how Akutagawa’s patience was running rather thin, he moved his hands up to grip on your thighs tightly, his nails digging into your skin just a little.

What finally got you to give in was when he quickly moved you back up to the top of his face and kissed your clit, your sensitivity running wild, even the slightest bit of stimulation made you jerk your hips down into him, and beg like he wanted without even realizing it.

“Please! I-I wanna cum so bad, I wanna cum all over your face! Please, please..” you begged, feeling yourself beginning to tear up from the overwhelming need to cum, barely even acknowledging how lewd your statement was.

Akutagawa noticed this, and took your begging into account, deciding that he was now satisfied. Without another word, he moved his tongue between your folds, and sucked at your clit, still holding your thighs tightly.

“God, I’m—” you couldn’t even finish your sentence before you came, expecting to be able to calm down, you were shocked when he kept going, continuing to suck on your clit with absolutely zero shame.

“Ahnn.. why’re you still g-going?” You pleaded, and Akutagawa gave a muffled moan yet again, not responding to your question. The overstimulation was pleasurable right now, but at the rate Akutagawa was going, you were sure it would start to hurt at least a little bit very soon. What changed however, was Akutagawa’s grip on your left thigh was completely removed when he brought his index and middle finger to your hole and spread your precum quickly and slid inside of you. He rested his fingers inside allowing you to get used to the feeling, contrary to his lips that kept working on your clit. Already knowing what he was waiting for, you nodded your head letting him know he was fine to move if he so pleased. When he thrusted his fingers slowly, he sped up his work with his mouth, the contrasting feeling driving you to your next orgasm.

It was far too much, and you tried to pull yourself off of Akutagawa, but he quickly grabbed your thighs, removing his left hand from your hole in the process. Muffled under you, you heard him ask, “just a little more? Can’t you last a little longer?”

“Yes, I’ll try.” You said, grinding down onto his face slightly.

“Perfect. Just tell me to stop if it gets too much.”

Without another word, Akutagawa brought his tongue up to your hole, and grabbed the innermost part of your thigh to pull you down as far as he could, and slowly thrusted his tongue inside of you. Your eyes shot open much wider than before and you grabbed the top of the couch tightly, trying to ground yourself. Encouraged by this response, Akutagawa sped up the movements of his tongue. The feeling of your walls surrounding the small amount of his tongue he could bring inside of you made him buck into the air just a little, and he brought his left hand down to his hard on, gently palming himself. He felt a little ashamed of what he was doing, but he was desperate at this point. In order to make up for his dominant hand no longer holding you down, he lifted his head up so he could thrust his tongue impossibly deeper into your hole. You simultaneously ground your hips down onto his mouth, only increasing the intensity of his actions.

You could feel the familiar feeling of release yet again, and you warned Akutagawa.

“Please.. I’m close. Make me cum, please! Don’t—don’t stop!” Akutagawa nodded as much as he could under you, and you sighed with relief. What caught you off guard, however, was Akutagawa urgently pulling you off of him and resting you on his chest. You wanted to whine because he pulled you off after he promised , but you were met with a fit of coughs from Akutagawa, and you frowned slightly.

“Ugh—I apologize. I know you were close.”

“It’s fine. You’re clearly worn out, let’s just lay down for now.”

Akutagawa shook his head, and pulled himself up so he could lean against the back of the couch, and beckoned you to sit on top of him. Hesitantly, you complied, not wanting to take too much out of him.

“I’m gonna make you cum. I won’t let you stop until you come one more time.”

“Ryuu.. you really don’t have to.”

“I will.”

You sighed, knowing this was a battle you couldn’t win. You sat atop his lap, straddling him, making sure to not put too much weight onto him. Akutagawa grabbed at the hem of your shirt, and gave you a is this okay? look. You nodded, and to emphasize it, you pulled the shirt off yourself, leaving you in your bra.

Akutagawa reached his left hand to your back and unhooked the back of your bra with his hand, and watched it fall down your shoulders. You lifted your arms, and you were now completely naked, opposite to Akutagawa, with the only thing he wasn’t wearing being shoes. But he’s still wearing socks, of course.

At least he understood this, and decided that the jacket shouldn’t just be for show. He mumbled Rashoumon , and suddenly your hands were being held up, only not getting tired because they were being held up by his jacket. You jumped, and looked at him playfully.

“You could’ve warned me first! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”

“I assumed you’d be used to it by now.”

You shook your head, looking into his eyes and smirking just a little.

“Well, come on, if I can’t use my hands you better put that mouth of yours to good use. Again .”

Akutagawa decided to ignore your teasing and complied, reaching his mouth towards your chest, and taking one of your nipples into his mouth, licking around the tip of it. He slowly moved his right hand to your other nipple, pulling on it gently. After a few seconds, he brought his left hand down to your crotch, and entered you yet again. This time however, he went much faster, thrusting into you quickly.

You let out a loud moan and all the stimulation and brought your head down to the side of his head, closing your eyes tightly.

“G-god, Ryuu, you feel s-so good..” in response he hummed, and the vibrations against your burning skin made you jerk your hips forward. This made Akutagawa’s fingers pull out of you to just the tip, so he quickly thrusted them back in before moving his thumb to your clit. You tried to pull your hands forward to grip onto Akutagawa, but you were unable to pull your hands out of Rashoumon’s grasp.

“P-please, Ryuu, lemme hold you!” You cried out before Akutagawa looked away from you for a split second, and released Rashoumon from you, and you instantly grabbed Akutagawa’s shoulders so tightly he was sure you would leave some bruises behind, not that he cared.

You pulled your head back, and looked at Akutagawa, only to be met by his eyes staring right into yours. It looked so intense, so intimate, that it drove you over the edge, making you cum one last time.

You shook a little as you came, and Akutagawa pulled away from your nipples and kept fingering you slowly, helping you ride out your high. Once you were calmed down, he pulled out of you, and you whimpered quietly from the friction.

You breathed heavily for roughly thirty seconds, with your eyes shut tightly. Once you had caught your breath, you opened your eyes and looked at Akutagawa and smiled.

“That was nice. You did so well.”

Akutagawa looked away, embarrassed, before coughing a few times into his sleeve.

“Glad you liked it,” you stared at him. “Just one problem though.”

Akutagawa raised an eyebrow, and questioned you.

“And what might that be?”

You leaned down, and kissed Akutagawa intensely, grabbing the back of his head gently. After a few moments, Akutagawa reached back and grabbed your hand, trying to pull it away. You moved your hand and pulled away.

“I didn’t get to help you at all.”

Akutagawa instantly understood what you meant, and looked at you blankly.

“You don’t have to help me. Seeing you like this is enough to keep me content.”

You sighed playfully, and slid down onto the ground, reaching your hand under his jacket, you gently caressed his knee over his pants. Akutagawa’s eyes widened just a little, and he shifted from the uncomfortable tightness in his slacks.

“I want to help you out. Please?” You asked while slowly trailing your hand up until it met his belt. You teasingly grabbed the buckle, beginning to undo it.

“We can take as many breaks as you need. I just want to please you.” You looked into his eyes, and Akutagawa loosely grabbed your hair and moved his hand down himself to get the belt undone faster.

“ Do as you wish . ”

Poor guy doesn’t have the stamina to go for longD: I think his foreplay makes up for it though

Wc - 2.7k

Chuuya chapter will be released today!

[strawberryblue-blog]

please do the fc barcelona boys (fermin, lamine, hector, pedri, marc) with a volleyball player gf plsspslpssplsps im on my knees begging

Volleyball player girlfriend

—FC Barcelona.

summary: How would they react to having a girlfriend who plays volleyball?

warnings: none. cute, soft.

#SEXYNOTE: I apologize for the delay. I've already started classes again and i'm picking up the pace.

I hope the person who asked for this enjoyed it. Thank you very much, love you 💝

Fermin Lopez.

He was very surprised when you told him you play volleyball, it's a sport he really likes so he would go to see you every game. Even if he has training or concentration he will do his best to come and watch you play.

He will want you to teach him all about the sport, he will listen attentively and try to play with you. He is very supportive and proud that you are so good and especially that you don't give up when you lose.

On the volleyball court, he follows you with his eyes every move you make. The determination in his eyes and the grace with which you move around the court fills you with admiration. Every point in your favor is a shared victory that strengthens the connection between you, making you appreciate your passion for the game even more.

Lamine Yamal.

He was so happy that you invited him to a game as a first date. He loves any sport and watching you play volleyball was like a crush for him. He loves that you are as passionate about something as he is about football.

He would take you to every practice, he would even stay and watch you for support. He would go to your games, buy your jersey, bet on your team, be your number one fan and be proud of your talent and skill.

As he watch the volleyball game, Lamine feel a mixture of nerves and excitement. Every time you serve well or defend skillfully, he experiences a surge of joy for you. The intensity of the match seems to mirror your own emotions, creating a unique bond between the sport and the connection you share with him.

Hector Fort.

He would be so excited to go to your games, he would be in number one fan mode. He loves to support you no matter how much you have to travel to other places, if he has the day off he will definitely drive to you.

He is not a good player but he would play with you all afternoon even if you kicked his ass. You guys have fun playing, watching games, supporting each other. He loves that you have a passion like he does and that you both can enjoy each other in every sport.

As he immerses himself in the world of volleyball, he becomes your most fervent spectator. Every time you connect with the ball, he feels a special throbbing in his heart. The emotion and effort you put into every play not only fills him with pride but also reinforces the complicity you share.

Pedri Gonzalez.

Actually that's how you met, he went to a game with the boys and it was like love at first sight, apart from the talent and good attitude you had on the field.

He's just another fan, he always tries to encourage you, he goes to every game or watches them on TV, he wears your jersey, he would come to see you with his whole family. He is a proud boyfriend and admires you for your warmth and discipline.

From the stands, he watches in admiration as his girlfriend rises to the challenge on the court. Every serve, every block, every point, awakens in him a mixture of emotion and unconditional support. His attention is reflected in your every move, creating a special bond between his love for the sport and you.

Marc Guiu.

He thought it was so cool when you told him you played volleyball. He had never met anyone who would play any other sport besides football and he really found it interesting.

He would play with you and be very competitive, he knows that way you can train better and get better. He would definitely go to your games, wear your jerseys and be the proud boyfriend posting pictures and everything about you playing and cheering you on.

He is always in the stands, watching in admiration as his girlfriend dominates the volleyball court. Every graceful move and every powerful attack awakens in him an irrepressible pride. His support reflected in every serve and the joy in his eyes as he celebrates a point make you feel lucky to have him by your side.

[oursecretescape]

Forgotten

words: 7.5k

genre: angst

If my fate is to disappear like this, then this is my last letter - Let go xx TW: Mentions of anxiety, panick attack. Trad: anjinho = little angel. a/n: Hello, my babies. This story is the translation of ''Forgotten'' that I recently posted. I tried to make it as angsty as possible, hope I have achieved my goal. My apologies before hand for any grammar erros. English is not my first language. I suggest you all read it along with the saddest song you like. Well... with all that being said, I wish you a happy reading (or sad? lmao. dunno). Tell me later what y'all thought. ♥

"Hey! We'll be there soon. Sorry for the delay. Today's rehearsal took longer than expected. We're leaving now."

Received at 5 in the afternoon.

I take a quick glance at the clock, and it shows eight in the evening. A heavy sigh escapes my lips as I feel my heart drumming slowly in my chest, each beat amplifying my growing sense of unease.

I get up from the couch and reach for the umbrella swaying gently in the wind coming from the window. I shut my eyes and take a deep breath, attempting to manage the sudden surge of fear and despair growing in my chest. My heart is racing, and my mind is in overdrive. A sense of mortality and suffocation, all rolled up into a single emotion: anxiety.

I sit down, sliding along the corridor wall. I try to control my breathing while attempting to steady the pounding of my heart. I think that dying in the hallway of a building would be so pointless and dull that it makes me laugh. A laugh, strained and devoid of emotion, but functional.

Heart rate normalizing. Labored, but controlled breathing. Mind stabilized.

I feel my face wet with tears. I wipe them away with trembling hands. When did I start crying? I rise from the floor, swaying a little. I take another deep breath and press the elevator button.

Dad always said that thinking of ridiculous things in difficult moments would help distract me. He was right, as he always was.

The cold, damp breeze of Seoul's streets warmed my soul. Its black skies, like darkness, covered with thick clouds, carried heavy raindrops that, upon impact, met my umbrella, creating beautiful melodies. It was comforting to hear the drops hitting the hard concrete; they reminded me that I wasn't crying alone.

It was thundering when I arrived at the destination. Bright streaks in the sky made the monument even gloomier. I found it ironic how everything matched my feelings. As I entered through the doors, I could already hear muffled cries. Sadness and suffering permeated the air, leaving me melancholic.

After a few more steps, I could see the person I love the most in the world greeting me with a beautiful smile. His eyes were shining like true rays of sunshine. I sit in front of him, sliding my fingers where his name rests. Lee Joon-Ho.

"Dad, I miss you so much," I say aloud, my voice cracking with emotion. "It's been incredibly lonely without you here. You have no idea how much I long for your company," I said, feeling the salty taste of tears. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring my friends to meet you like I promised. They're all caught up with their own lives, you know how it is. But don't worry, I'll bring them next time when they're less busy," I chuckle, with no emotion.

I hear footsteps behind me. I stand up excitedly, my heart pounding, but this time as a sign of comfort. They didn't forget. I feel my face stretch into a small smile, which is quickly dissolved.

"Hello, young lady. Good evening," the guard gives me a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need to ask you not to linger too long on your visit today. The rain caused some minor leaks, and we'll have to close a little earlier."

"Oh okay, I understand," I responded in a whisper.

"I'm sorry. You have 10 minutes. I'll leave you alone," he said, bowing and leaving promptly.

I turn again, sitting on the floor.

"Dad, today I have to leave a little earlier. But don't worry, I'll be back soon," I feel the tears fall like the drops falling from the sky. "I love you so much," I say between sobs. "I miss you."

I stand up in desperation, running out the door, feeling the drops fall freely on my body, without the protection of the umbrella. It was as if I was washing away all the bad feelings flowing from my being.

Arriving home, I take a hot shower and change into comfortable clothes. The room were in dense darkness. It was just the rain and me. And my cat, who was rubbing against my leg, lay on my lap."

I feel my chest inflate with comfort at the presence of the little being and smile at the gesture.

With the phone in hand, I try to distract my restless mind. I see the Twitter icon and feel my heart pounding as if I shouldn't do this, but I do it anyway. The blue screen shining amidst the darkness of the room soon turns into white, leaving my vision blurred. I switch to dark mode and continue scrolling through my feed.

Within a few seconds, I see something that breaks my heart even more. Among the bursts of excitement from Armys, there are videos of the boys, my boys, having fun in a restaurant with her. They forgot about the visitation day because of her. Again, the reason why I was put aside is her.

Knocks on the door make me forget the feelings of jealousy and anger that burned in my body like fire. I hesitated to remove the furry creature from my lap, as it seemed so comfortable. With a little effort, I get up and walk to the door. Upon opening it, I see Adora's face in a comforting smile. Seeing a friendly face, I feel my tears fall freely on my face once again. She immediately drops the bags she was carrying and envelops me in a loving hug.

I can't say for how long we hugged. What I can say is that it was exactly what I needed at that moment. I feel my chest getting lighter as if all the bad feelings had been carried away by the embrace, and I feel grateful to Adora for that.

Slowly I pull away, and I can see her smile return twice as big.

"Better?" she asks, making me nod.

I step aside, and she enters, placing the food bags on the coffee table. I close the door and follow her.

"What did you bring?" I ask curiously, making her laugh.

"I knew food would cheer you up," she laughs. "I brought a lot of junk food. Sweet and savory cookies, ice cream, sweet and sour pork, hamburgers, and sodas."

"Soda?" I wonder. "Since when do you like fizzy drinks? You always said they gave you gas," I hold back a laugh.

"The soda is for you. For me," she reaches into the bag, pulling out two green bottles of soju. "I brought alcohol," she says sticking her tongue out as she shakes the bottles.

I smile at her little dance, but seeing her gummy smile reminds me of him. I feel the sadness wanting to return when I remember the videos, but I cast aside any bad feelings as I grab the ice cream container.

"I didn't want to bring it up, but I'm really sorry I wasn't there. You know how it is at BigHit. I couldn't leave the production until the work was finished," she explains, and I smile.

"It's okay. I understand," I whisper. "The important thing is that you're here now."

"About the boys..." she starts to say, but I quickly cut her off.

"No, it's fine. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you need to, Cassie. You know that. Keeping it all inside will only make it worse. You know you can trust me. Vent it out. I'm here," she holds my hand.

I close my eyes, nodding. I search within myself for the strength to let out everything I'm feeling. Everything that's hurting me. I bite my lower lip and open my eyes. It's going to be okay.

"It's been some time since my friendship with the boys started cooling off," I begin, feeling her squeeze my hand in comfort. "You know I met Tae before he became famous, and he's the one who introduced me to the rest of the boys. Since then, we've had a very strong friendship. We weren't always together, especially with the tours and my work, but we were close, like a real family. No matter how long we went without seeing each other, nothing changed, until recently," I sigh. "Park Ji-Hye showed up about 2 months ago, a few weeks before my dad passed away. She auditioned for the dancer position and passed the test," Adora nods.

"Yeah, I saw her audition," she says.

"So, since that day, I saw her getting closer and closer to the boys. They were always talking about how cool and funny she is, and, you know, I was happy for them. A new friendship is always good, especially for them, who are famous and always have to be careful with opportunists. But it never crossed my mind that she would take the place I had in their lives," I smile sadly. "They started visiting me much less. Calling me much less. Inviting me to the dorm or out much less. Until the day I literally became nothing to them," I look at Adora, whose face is red with anger.

"These..." I interrupted her.

"You don't want to lose your job, right?" I ask, laughing. "And you can't blame them either. She became their official dancer, which means wherever they go, she's with them," I shrug. "She's with them all the time, and that surely made them closer to her. Even more than me," I feel my eyes welling up. "I don't want to lose them, but I feel like I already did."

"Hey," she shakes me. "Calm down, breathe. I know they messed up. And they messed up badly, but it doesn't mean they've forgotten about you," Adora says, trying to comfort me.

"They forgot me the day my dad died, Adora. I'll never forget that. I feel like on that day, I died twice. I remember calling them in desperation, crying, not knowing what to do, feeling like my world was falling apart," I pause as I feel all the emotions returning. "And they said they were coming, but they never showed up," I continued after a few seconds of silence. "After that, they sent me a message explaining that Park Ji-Hye had gotten hurt dancing and they were with her at the hospital," Adora nods.

"Yeah, I remember. She just fell on her butt, but she made a scene like she broke her back. Everyone was freaking out at the company, even Bang PD. But in the end, it was just drama," she laments.

"After that, they didn't even visit me. Not even once," I laughed with no emotion. "Right after, they forgot my birthday. I understand that I wasn't excited at all because of my dad, but it wouldn't hurt to receive some supportive or congratulatory messages from them. I was so upset that I sent some sad texts. In less than thirty minutes, they were knocking on my door. We cried a lot, but I felt like a part of me had come back to life and that everything was going to be okay," I sarcastically laughed. "I couldn't have been more wrong, could I?" I asked.

"Cassie..."

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. After today, I finally understood," I grab a spoon. "They found someone better than me. Someone who can be with them all the time and help them when they need it. I'm just sad that person isn't me. Not anymore," I shove the spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, to prevent the tears stuck in my throat from coming out.

For the rest of the night, Adora didn't bring up the subject again, and I was grateful for that.

A random movie played on TV, but my mind was far away. I looked to the side and saw Adora sleeping with her mouth open. A piece of cookie rested on her cheek while her hand lay above her head. I silently chuckled, covering us and then turning off the TV.

A distant ringing sound caught my attention. I tapped around the couch until I found the phone under the cushion. My eyes automatically closed from the sudden contact with the bright screen, but just as they closed, they widened.

After the first notification, thousands started to show up. My heart throbbed in my chest as my body was flooded with nervousness.

"Min PD: Cassie, please tell me you're there."

"Joonie: Please respond. We're sorry. It wasn't our intention not to show up..." The message appeared cut off because I hadn't unlocked the phone yet.

"Hobierto: Believe us, Cassie. Please, we know you're awake. Answer us."

"Jinnie: Cassandra, we would never do anything to hurt you. Please let us explain."

"Mochi: Answer the phone."

After that message, a group call popped up on the screen. I stared at it, battling the urge to answer. I sighed deeply and threw the phone back onto the couch because no matter how much I wanted to talk to them, I was still hurt. I didn't want to answer and end up fighting. Saying things without thinking and ending up in a worse situation. The best thing to do now was to rest.

I made myself comfortable on the bed we had arranged on the floor, and put the pillow over my head to block out the notifications. When I didn't see any changes, I pressed the power button on my phone and confirmed it right away. I lay back down and took a deep breath. Tomorrow is a new day. Everything will be okay. ——————————————————

It wasn't even dawn when I heard knock after knock. Disoriented, I got up, searching for where the noise was coming from until my feet led me to the front door. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall and got irritated to see it was six past two in the morning.

I swung the door open, ready to argue with whoever had woken me up so early after going to bed so late, but I lost my voice when I saw the seven people I loved most staring at me ty forlornly.

I felt two arms embrace me tightly, followed by two more until I lost count. Desperate whispers for forgiveness echoed in my ear, making me feel loved... until a certain moment. Memories of what had happened the night before made me wake up from the sleep I didn't know I was in. Slowly, I distanced myself from the seven, able to see the tears streaming down some of their faces and sadness emanating from the others.

"Cassie..." Jimin starts. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't our intention to leave you alone in such a difficult time. Please, believe us."

"We didn't come here to lie to you, Cassandra..." Namjoon says. "It really wasn't our intention. I know this is going to sound completely wrong, but we made a promise to Ji-Hye. We promised to take her out to celebrate her birthday since she's far from her family and would probably celebrate alone," I try to hide a grimace.

They couldn't miss her birthday, but could miss mine.

"As soon as we finished eating, we were going to come straight here. And we really were, Cas, really. But the company called saying we had to go there to finalize the last details for the album. It was then that we sent several messages in the group, but you didn't see any."

"That's why we're here," Taehyung says, interrupting Namjoon. "Cassie, listen to me. You're one of the most important people in my life. Sorry if lately my actions haven't shown that, but please, please, Cas, don't be mad at us. I couldn't bear to know that you're upset because of me," he whispers.

"Go to the dorms tonight. Let's talk about this calmly," Hoseok suggests.

I remain silent for a few minutes.

"Come on, please. Hum? Hum?'' Tae shakes my arm. ''You'll go, right? Say yes," he asks.

"Okay," I sigh deeply. "I'll go."

I feel arms wrapping around my body again, and I relax, enjoying the contact. This time, the hug lasted only a few seconds. The boys said goodbye, saying they needed to be at the company in a few hours. 

"Tonight at 7. We'll be waiting for you," Yoongi said and then left. 

I closed the door, trying to contain my excitement and the obvious smile on my face. As I turned to go back to bed, I was startled to see only Adora's head peeking out from behind the couch. She had a radiant smile on her face as she looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Shut up," I say, making her laugh. ——————————————————

I look at the clock on the wall. It's 8:07 in the evening. Damn, I was late. I could already hear Adora's voice slowly emerging in my mind, saying that I should have listened to her and picked out my outfit earlier. Shaking my head, I focus on finishing getting ready. The last thing I needed right now was a lecture from my own mind.

I hear knocks and the doorbell ringing repeatedly.

"Shit," I mutter as I hop over to the door.

I try to put on my sock while walking to the door, but my unfailing plan soon becomes fallible when I trip over my own hand and fall on the floor. The knocks and the doorbell grow louder, and I feel irritation creeping in. "ALRIGHT, I'M COMING," I yell and pick myself up.

I walk back to the door with a pout and my hair completely tousled, covering my face. I take a deep breath, fix my hair, put on a fake smile, and finally open the door. As I see the seven people I love most in the world looking at me with confused faces, I feel my smile turn genuine, and the earlier irritation vanish as if it had never existed.

"Is everything okay? Why didn't you come?" I hear Taehyung ask as he scrutinizes me from head to toe."

"What happened? Something serious?" Seokjin asks, and I shake my head.

"No, guys, sorry. I almost died trying to choose a good outfit to wear and ended up running late, sorry," I explained laughing.

''What do you mean you almost died?" Jungkook asks as I watch their faces turn into a grimace."

"It was nothing, really," I reassure, taking a quick glance at Jungkook, who was holding back his laugh.

He knew it. I am sure he did.

"Are you sure you didn't... you know... fall on your ass?" he smirks. "I'm sure I heard a huge..."'' 

"Hobi," I said excitedly, "What do you have there?" I pointed to the bags he was carrying while Jungkook laughed.

That little prick.

''Food," he says, shaking the bags. ''We know how much you love eating''.

I chuckle and make way for them to enter. In a few minutes, the food was already on the coffee table, and an improvised bed was set up on the living room floor. I change into more comfortable clothes and join them.

"Look, before we start, we want you to know how sorry we are," Yoongi says.

"Yes... Sorry for not being there on the visitation's day," Jimin adds. "If there's anything you want to say, anything that's bothering you, please let us know. We'll fix it all, Cassie. ''he holds my hand.'' We want things to go back to how they used to be."

"We're here for you, Cas," Jin finishes, and I smile weakly.

I pause for a moment, feeling that it still wasn't the right time. So, I just sigh and shake my head.

"It's okay, guys. Really," I open with a smile. "Let's just watch this movie already. I'm dying to see who'll be the first one to cry and shake in fear like a little kitten." I say, trying to change the subject, and smirk when I realize it worked.

"I am sure it won't be me," Hoseok says with confidence. "Cause you know..." he shows off his muscles. "I'm a man," he pauses for a minute.

It doesn't take long until Hoseok's laughter fills the room, making everyone laugh.

"Who listens to him talking like this, doesn't even think the Gladiator sandal outside belongs to him," Jungkook says, making Hoseok look at him flabbergasted.

''Hey, what do you mean by that?'' he asks shookedt. ''It's fashionable''

"Yeah, Hobi. Sure is," Yoongi says, patting his shoulder.

''Why I don't believe you are being honest?'' Hoseok asks putting his finger under his chain. ''I'm going to expose you on Twitter. Or should I say X?''

''What? Are you into Xvideos?'' Namjoon asks as he returns. 

Everybody stops and looks at him. When did he even leave to begin with?

"What were you doing, Joonie?" I ask, smirking at him. "Were you in the bathroom?" he nods as the rest of the boys laugh.

''Now we know why you are thinking naughtiness'' Jimin says.

Namjoon's face turns red as he shakes his hands nervously. He tries to sit down on the couch but somehow ends up falling on the ground. We can see his cellphone flying around the living room as he throws his arms in the air in an attempt to regain his balance, but it doesn't work, as expected.

''No need to be nervous, Joonie'' I say. ''Everybody masturbates once in a while.''

''Do we?'' Yoongi looks at me suspiciously.

"I mean," I chuckle nervously. "How did we even get to this conversation? Let's just watch the movie for God's sake."

"Nah, nah. Don't you try coming up with excuses," Tae says abruptly. "What do you mean by that? Are you dating someone?" Jungkook seems to be having fun as he opens a beer can.

''What? Me? Dating?'' I laugh. ''Not even close. But I can't say the same about Jungkook, can I?'' he chokes.

''Uh? What you on about?'' he asks as he cleans his mouth. ‘’Seven days a week, huh?’’ he burst into laughter. He pauses for a minute before smirking. "Hm, why's that, baby girl?" he says, leaning in my direction. "Are you jealous?" he asks, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Do you want me to…" he bites his lower lip. "You know," he says putting his finger on my lips. I can already feel the cringeness and second-hand embarrassment traveling throughout my body as the rest of the boys laugh. This prick. ‘’You really need to get out from twitter,’’ I say, shoving him away. ‘’The next step is to put up a black and white profile picture and call yourself a webdom’’ He raises both of his middle fingers in my direction before turning his attention back to the beer can. ‘’Are you guys done? Can I finally play this damn movie?’’ Yoongi asks, making everybody nod.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for them to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay overnight. They had to leave very early the next day due to their schedule. 

I hesitated to get up; I didn't want to accompany them to the door out of sheer laziness, and feeling Taehyung shaking me with his foot made me even more sluggish.

"If you keep doing that, I swear I'll fall asleep," I say, making him huff.

"Come on, sloth imitation. Take us to the door," Jimin says, but gives up when he sees Jungkook lying next to me.

"Jungkook, I'm sure you really like your video game, right?" Seokjin asks, and in a jump, Jungkook gets up.

"Are you really not taking us to the door?" Yoongi asks, and I remain silent. "Okay then."

When I open my eyes to see what he was going to do, I feel an arm gather and squeeze my legs while a hand starts tickling my feet furiously.

"JESUS!" I scream in surprise.

I heard laughter as I fought for my life. The strange feeling that tickling brought made me confused if I was laughing because I found it funny or if it was fear messing up my nervous system. The laughter increased as I writhed and screamed for help.

"YOONGI, YOU JERK!" I said without realizing that I was actually yelling.

"Weren't you sleepy?" Yoongi asks. "So, I'm trying to help you."

"WAIT UNTIL I GET UP, YOU PIECE OF BROWN SUGAR, I'M GOING TO END YOU."

"Are you going to take us to the door?" he asks.

"OKAY, OKAY, I'LL TAKE YOU, JUST STOP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD," I yell.

I feel my body calm down and my brain start functioning again as the tickling ceases. I looked at Yoongi who was laughing while sniffing his hand.

"Ew, you have smelly feet," he says, and I get up.

"Come here, you little jerk," I chase after him as he runs away mocking me.

After a few seconds, I could already feel that the 70% of water in my body had evaporated and the air in my lungs was scarce. When did my body become so sedentary?

"Idiot," I curse Yoongi who laughs. "I hate you."

"I love you too, beautiful thing," I hear him say.

Finally, I accompany them to the door. After a lazy farewell, I see them about to leave, but a click in my mind makes me stop them.

"As you know, I graduated from college, but since it was at the time when my father died, I didn't have any enthusiasm to celebrate. Adora recommended that I have a celebration the day after tomorrow night, since it's the weekend. Just to not let it go unnoticed. So... you guys are invited."

"We'll be here, don't worry," Namjoon says, and I smile nodding.

We say goodbye again, and this time, I see them leave. Seeing the elevator door close, I go back inside the house. The smile on my face never leaves me for a second, and finally, after so long, I could feel that things would really be okay.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Thanks to Adora, everything was organized on time. The food was ordered since neither she nor I wanted anyone to die from food poisoning. The time we ended up in the hospital the day we cooked for each other was enough. No need to repeat the dose.

I check the time on my phone and see it's 8pm. They would arrive at any moment, so I sit next to Adora on the couch to chat until then.

☂ ☂

Some time passed, and the boys still hadn't arrived. I look at the time again and see that it's 9:46. I try not to think the worst and choose to believe they would be here soon.

☂ ☂

I sigh deeply at seeing what time it is: 11:14. I try to ignore Adora's pitying look and get up from the couch. I suppress the tears once again. I am tired of crying. And more than ever, I realize that they don't deserve my tears.

"Cassandra..." Adora calls me, and I look at her. "I'm sure there's an explanation for this. Something must have happened at the company, and they couldn't let us know." I shake my head.

Something inside me told me that wasn't it, and I decided to trust my intuition.

"Adora, can you take me to the dorm?," I ask softly. "I don't think I'll have the courage to go alone," I weakly smile, and she nods.

"Of course, my love. Of course..." ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The car journey lasted less than I wished. My mind was constantly clouded by memories, anxiety making the painful memories hurt twice as much. I laughed in disbelief. I wondered what I had done wrong to deserve this.

"Thank you for bringing me," I look at Adora. "And thank you for always being by my side in difficult times. If I felt supported and loved, be sure that it's all because of you. You're an amazing person, Adora, and I hope you know that." she smiles.

"Regardless of what happens there, remember that you are enough. Not for them, but for yourself. Don't belittle yourself for them, Cassie, and don't let the love you feel for them speak louder than your self-love. If you survived two hellish months without their presence, be sure that you can live your life and be immensely happy in the future without them. I guarantee you that," I feel her hand squeezing mine for comfort, and I smile. "I'll be waiting for you here," I nod.

I get out of the car, feeling Adora's words take effect. I walk bravely towards the towering building, ignoring every feeling of nostalgia trying to invade me. I couldn't lose focus now.

Arriving on their dorm's floor, I feel my heart skip a beat. I pause for a moment and try to put my thoughts and feelings in order. Seeing no result, I lean against the wall and try in every way to avoid a panic attack that was about to come. As if it were a heavenly help, I feel my phone vibrate. With trembling hands, I pick it up and see a message from Adora.

"Don't forget, you are strong and capable. And never for a moment think you are alone, because I'm here for you."

I clutch my phone tightly. Adora is right. I am strong and I am capable. I can do this because regardless of what happens, I will be okay.

I take a deep breath, gathering all the strength and courage from my being, and knock on the door. I freeze when I realize what I've done, but I quickly compose myself. I will be okay.

A few seconds passed and no one answered, so I knocked again. But just like the first time, there was no response. After the third attempt, I decide to enter. Typing the password on the door, I entered the dormitory.

Upon realizing that there was no one in the main hall, the pounding of my heart calmed down. I begin to walk through the dormitory, recalling every good moment I had with my boys. I feel the sadness emanating in my chest once again.

I really didn't want to lose them.

As I walked down the corridor, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. I started walking with firm steps, but I felt my legs waver when I heard a female voice among their voices. It was her.

"Jungkook-oppa, you're so silly," I hear her delicate laughter, feeling jealousy burning in my chest.

It should be me there.

"The silly you love," I hear Jungkook reply.

I could hear the happiness in his voice. It was as if they didn't need anyone else at the moment but her. And that made me hate her, but my own mind scolded me. She is not worthy of my hatred. She is as innocent as I am in this story. She did nothing to hurt me, so why would I hate her?

"Hinnie," I hear Hoseok's voice.

Hinnie...

"Try it and tell me what you think."

There was a moment of pause until applause and sounds of appreciation were made.

"It's amazing, oppa," she says. "You really keep improving in the kitchen every day."

Unable to bear it anymore, I think of simply turning around and leaving, but something catches my attention. And it was precisely there, in that moment, that I regretted staying.

"Why do I feel like we're forgetting something?" I hear Taehyung say, and I feel my body tremble.

Once again, there was a pause until someone shouted.

"Shit, really," Jimin said. "We forgot to take the drinks out of the freezer."

I feel my heart break, as if that were possible. I let out a disbelieving laugh and finally come out from where I was hiding.

"And try more of this," Hoseok suddenly stops. "Cassie..."

I hear the sound of something falling to the ground. Soon, everyone was staring at me wide-eyed. I repress the urge to laugh. I realize how messy my whole body was the moment I wanted to laugh and not cry.

"Oh no," Jimin says, as if remembering something. "The party."

With that said, everyone becomes even more desperate. Seeing them approaching, I panic.

"Don't come near,"

They quickly stop. I see them not knowing what to do. And it wasn't just them. I end up getting disoriented with so much pressure. Where did my courage go when I needed it most?

"Um... what's going on?" she asks, and I close my eyes.

It's not her fault. It's not her fault...

"Ji-Hye, could you leave us alone for a moment?" Namjoon asks.

"Yes, of course. It's time for me to leave anyway," she gets up. "I'll see you later," she says bowing both to them and to me.

After she left, silence hung in the air. I tried to hold back my laughter, but when I saw everyone's confused faces, I knew I had failed. When I noticed that no one was going to say anything, I took the initiative.

"Do you know what's more disappointing? It's that I really thought this time would be different," I shrug. "I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Cas..."

"Do you remember when you asked me if I had something to say, Jinnie? If something was hurting me? Well, I do, and I hope I won't be interrupted."

With no response, I continue.

"I feel like I died. It's been a while since I am just surviving," I start. "The fact that you didn't come to the visitation isn't the part that hurts the most, it's that you weren't there when my father passed away. I remember how desperate I was, and the only people I could think of were you. But you weren't there. Damn, you didn't even call." I whisper as tears fall freely down my face. "When I found myself alone in the hospital, realizing that the person who adopted me and chose me to love had died, that was my first death. The person who loved me, who looked beyond language or race barriers, and who taught me everything I know had suddenly left, without even giving me a chance to say goodbye. Do you know how I felt? Devastated."

I pause for a moment. Melancholy takes over my body as I recall all the feelings I felt that day, and for a moment, I allow myself to cry all I needed. I sob so much that I thought I might choke. Without caring about looks or pity, I just allowed myself, knowing that everything would be okay.

"When I called the only people I thought I could count on, and they told me they were coming, I didn't feel so alone," I let out a humorless laugh. "Until I realized that those people never arrived. The people who always said they would be there for me weren't there when I needed them the most. That was my second death," I look at Jin. "Don't say these things to anybody if they are not coming from your heart. Don't hurt anyone else by saying you have their backs or that you will always be there for them when in reality it's not the truth."

I look at each one. Their gazes were distant, as if they were reliving every moment. 

"You know, I don't want you to think I'm mad at Park Ji-Hye. Actually, quite the opposite. I was really happy when you said you met someone nice. Someone who really cared about you and genuinely wanted your friendships. I know how tough it is for you to find real friendships with all the fame, so I felt fulfilled too. I remember telling daddy excitedly, and he laughed at my excitement, happy for you and for me. Right after that, I lost him, and little by little, I lost you too, like I was meant to be alone," I smile weakly. "I am sorry if I'm being selfish, but that's how I feel. You guys forgot my birthday. Forgot the visitation days, and to top it off, you forgot my graduation party. It's like you replaced me as if I never even existed in your lives, and that really hurts. Really.''

I finish, and only then I realize they were crying with me. Some didn't have the courage to meet my gaze. We spent a few minutes without anyone saying anything. The only thing filling the air was the sound of our sniffles and sobs.

"On the day your father died," Namjoon begins. "We felt like we had lost a family member because he was, in fact, one. I am truly sorry, Cas, but for me, Park Ji-Hye's fall was an escape. I didn't want to face reality. I wouldn't know how to react to the loss of someone so special, and I also wouldn't know how to act with you," he looks at me.

"On your birthday, we thought you would like to be alone. It would be the first without your father, so we didn't know what to do, Cassie. We panicked," Jimin sighs. "But now I realize how you felt," he laughs humorlessly. "My God, I never thought I'd be such a horrible friend. What a disappointment," he whispers, covering his face with his hand.

"On visitation days," I look at Hoseok. "I confess that I clung to any opportunity not to go, Cas," he cries. "Not because I didn't love you. I love you, and I love you very much, but I never knew how to react to death. The only two times I entered a cemetery, I spent the rest of the week feeling bad, with depressive thoughts. I also couldn't let Armys worry. I didn't want their 'Sun' to lose its brightness. I am so sorry for not being able to tell you this before. I didn't want to seem selfish."

I suppress a disbelieving laugh.

"Hearing all this, I realize how futile our apologies seem," Yoongi laughs weakly. "But they are true, Cassie... I understand what Hoseok says. You know about my history with depression, don't you?" he asks, and I nod. "It's the same thing for me. If I enter a cemetery, my thoughts don't stop. Some come in a worse form, and I feel like I'm going crazy."

"We were selfish, Cas," Seokjin says. "I was. I didn't want Armys to see us sad because I knew the chaos it would be. I have no words to express how special you are to me," he pauses. "Cassie, you are my sister, my family. You weren't crying alone; I cried with you. I just couldn't show it. I knew it would be worse if I saw you cry, just like I am seeing now."

There was a moment of silence. Until his voice broke.

"I am sorry," Taehyung says. "Damn, I don't even know what to say, Cassie. You are one of the most precious people I have ever met. I remember how you stayed with us through thick and thin. I also remember how happy you were for us at the beginning, and I know the genuine happiness you felt when we received our first award. You stood by my side when my grandma passed away. How could I not be by your side too? My God," he puts his hand on his head in an act of despair. "You stayed by our side when we thought about disbanding. It was you who helped us see why we are here, who helped us find reasons to stay," he looks at me anxiously. "How could I be so selfish?"

"We thought that regardless of anything, you would always be by our side. That you would understand us, even with our deplorable attitudes. We always thought we would have you next to us, so we neglected you," Yoongi shakes his head. I feel like he answered more to Taehyung than to me. "Damn, anjinho, I'm sorry," I lower my head as I hear him call me by the nickname I loved so much.

"The fact that we started a new friendship also influenced us," Jungkook says. "We were so excited that someone, besides you, wanted a friendship without interest that without realizing it, we put aside the one that had been with us from the beginning," I hear Jungkook say muffled, as his two hands covered his face.

"We don't deserve you, Cassandra. We left you at the most difficult moment of your life, and yet you never stopped loving us," Yoongi pulls his own hair, a habit he always did when he was nervous. "We can't let you leave thinking that we don't care about you because, Cassie, that would be a complete lie. With the stress of the comeback, things only got worse. It was rehearsal, recording, agendas to fulfill, productions, trips, tours. Our minds were a mess, and Park Ji-Hye tried to help us from there. We know she's not the one to blame, and it's not your fault either. It's ours and only ours. I know this will seem like a lame excuse, but I didn't want to let you go thinking that you aren't precious to us. You are Cas. And you always will be."

I close my eyes and try to control my breathing. If before I felt bad, now I feel ten times worse. It seemed like I didn't even know them anymore. The feeling of comfort they made me feel was replaced by anguish. By sadness.

I open my eyes, and for the last time, I look at my boys. I realize that Taehyung understood my gaze.

"Cassie, please... Please don't..." Taehyung starts, but is interrupted by Seokjin.

"Don't you dare say what I think you're going to say."

"But I can't lose her, Hyung. I can't lose her," Taehyung says, crouching down.

I think about going to him, but then I retreat my body. If I do that, I know my heart will weaken, and at the moment, the only person I need to think about is myself.

"I'm sorry, hyung, but I'll be selfish," Namjoon says to Seokjin, and I look at him confused. "I don't know what your decision will be, Cassie. I'll support you, even if you choose to leave without our friendship. But I beg you... Cassandra, I implore you, try to find in yourself a little piece that doesn't want to give up on us. It doesn't have to be now. I want you to heal, and I don't care how long it takes. The only thing I ask is that you don't forget us and don't give up on us. Come back to us when you feel ready. I don't want to lose you, Cas. I..."

"I really hope you find a way to forgive us, Cassie. But understand that if you don't, we'll understand. You, more than anyone else, have every right to hate us," Yoongi says, interrupting Namjoon. "I hope you don't forget about us because, with all my heart, we won't forget about you."

I feel my heart shattering with every tear that falls on their faces. I smile weakly. I will really miss them.

I bow in a sign of respect, and as I return to my normal position, I raise my hand to my heart.

"Thank you, my boys. For all the good moments. You were a very important part of my life, which I will carry forever. I will never forget about all of you," I smile faintly. "How could I forget my first true friendships? My first loves?" I whisper.

I take a breath and smile. A true smile. A smile of gratitude.

"Regardless of what happened, you guys deserve nothing but love and happiness. Don't let anyone say otherwise. Even far away, please remember I will always be cheering for your success. And whenever you feel unloved, remember I love you. Very, very much.'' I can hear their sobs getting stronger. ''Don't think I blame you for what happened; I think I finally understand that life has its ups and downs. People come and unfortunately go," I see Taehyung desperate, trying to find something to say. I look away. I need to be strong. "I hope that every day your friendship with Park Ji-Hye grows, and that you take from all of this a lesson.''

I take a deep breath, looking at them for the last time.

''From the bottom of my heart... I wish you to be immensely happy."

In a gesture, I send thousands of kisses. I see Tae wanting to approach, so I turn around and start walking towards the exit, and this time, I don't cry. I feel the weight of sadness in my chest, but the weight of peace for having put everything I felt out was greater. And for the first time in two months, I believe it when I say that everything will be okay.

[skyward-floored]

Whumptober Day 20: Found family, Blanket

*shuffles feet*

...in my defense, I almost entirely finished this yesterday, I just wasn’t about to go trying to edit and post it at like 11:30 at night (though this note probably would have been a lot more interesting if I had lol).

Anyway. Continuation to day 17! I apologize for the delay and hope the wait was worth it 😓

Day 17

Read on ao3

Warnings: same as day 17, injuries, torture mentions, a short nightmare, just bad times for Twilight

————————————————————

Getting out was a blur.

Link forced himself to stay awake as the leader of the heroes (had he even said his name? ...If he had he couldn’t remember) carried him, but focusing on much of anything was difficult. The ever-present pain weighed him down like a heavy load, old scars and new injuries adding endless layers of suffering, and even just being carried in someone’s arms was agony.

There was the leftover burn from the magic too— though the chains that had secured him were gone, the manacles were still on his wrists and the collar was still around his neck, and they ached, his whole body still shaking from the ordeal of removing the chains.

It was a struggle not to just pass out.

But the part of him that still screamed not to trust stay on alert be prepared for him to come back was stronger. It had been honed from countless jarring awakenings, pain ripping him back from already restless sleeps, and so he stayed awake, no matter how badly he wanted to rest.

The man holding him shifted his grip as he went up some stairs, and Link felt his breath hitch as some of his injuries were nudged. The man whispered an apology, and gently squeezed one of the few spots of skin that didn’t have an open wound on it.

Link flinched anyway.

The touch immediately retreated, and Link was torn between being relieved and crying at the loss of it.

Part of him still expected them to suddenly turn on him, the kind touches becoming bruising ones, gentle hands turned to claws and knives. But... he also craved it. He desperately wanted somebody to pat him on the shoulder and hug him and run their hand through his hair, but any of the touch he’d received so far had been like torture.

He truly couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt a touch that didn’t involve pain in some way. He could barely stomach it now, no matter how well-meaning, and he hated it.

Was there anything left the Shadow hadn’t taken from him?

Voices suddenly rang down the hall, and Link stiffened, straining his ears to try and figure out who— or what they were.

One of the other heroes who’d gotten him out (the one with the Master Sword, he thought. He really needed names) called out, and soon there were unfamiliar faces and words being exchanged and questions directed at him and all he could do was close his eyes, overwhelmed by the sudden amount of people surrounding him.

How many were there?

“... got Legend pretty bad, but we beat him off and he disappeared,” a polished voice spoke, and Link twitched an ear his direction. What was he talking about? A legend?

“I’m fine,” a sharper voice cut in, and Link thought it seemed younger then the other one. “You didn’t need to use that fairy, that was our last one!”

“Well what was I supposed to do?”

“Save it for the reason we came here in the first place! He’s way more injured than I was!”

“Legend,” a softer voice spoke up, sounding exasperated, “...you were pretty bad. And you know we don’t take chances with injuries caused by the Shadow.”

A sick feeling abruptly surged over Link at the name, along with an intense hatred and fear and horror and too many emotions for his mind to handle at the moment. Link’s breath stuttered against his will, and the man holding him frowned.

“You don’t think the Shadow is still here, do you?” The small hero with the colorful tunic asked, and the voices paused.

“Probably... not,” Link croaked, and they all looked at him.

He swallowed.

“Do you know where he is?” a man in a deep blue scarf asked, and Link exhaled, gathering his strength.

“No,” Link managed to get out, and the voices stayed quiet. “Probably not. But he usually... usually powered ‘self before... fights.”

“...powered himself?” a younger voice asked in an anxious tone, and Link closed his eyes again. Hadn’t they known? Or at least figured it out based on what they’d seen?

All he was was a battery.

“Thank you Link, I’m sorry we brought it up,” the leader apologized, and Link made a noncommittal noise. “We’re almost out, hold on.”

They began moving again, and Link caught several people looking at him, though most of them stopped when they realized he’d noticed. A teenager with a stripe of pink in his hair didn’t though, and Link found himself staring, curious about the look of him. He gave him an awkward little nod, and Link tried to return it, though he wasn’t sure if he succeeded.

They were all so different, were these really heroes like him?

The Shadow had mentioned other heroes once or twice, but Link usually had no clue what he was talking about, or if he did, refused to say anything.

Besides, he was usually too busy screaming to listen anyhow.

Something bright shone out of the corner of his eye, and Link turned to look at it, his heart speeding up at the sight of a large entryway. The group hurriedly went through it, and Link was almost blinded from how bright it was after they walked through.

He blinked furiously, needing to see what was going on, and finally his eyes adjusted and he looked around in shock.

Sunlight.

Faint, barely-there, dim autumn sunlight that struggled to shine through the trees, but the sight of it nearly made Link sob.

He was outside.

He could see sunlight shining through yellow and orange leaves, eventually joined by the sound of birds and other creatures as they went along, air that wasn’t stale rushing past his face and making all his injuries hurt more but he didn’t care a bit.

He was out.

He was crying he realized, and he closed his eyes, overwhelmed by it all.

It wasn’t a trick. He’d never gotten this far the few times he’d been brought out, they were really who they said they were, they must be, and they’d gotten him out of the darkness.

Someone might’ve said something to him, but the overwhelming sensation of being outside had finally pushed Link to his limit, and he gave up on his fight to stay awake.

Darkness swept him away, it’s touch more gentle then he’d felt in a long time.

(...)

The heroes didn’t stop traveling until they were plenty far away from the oppressive ruins where they’d found Link, the trip passing in almost complete silence.

Link had passed out in Time’s arms not long after they’d finally exited, tears on his face, and Time couldn’t help but be somewhat relieved.

Watching Link remain in an almost stubborn state of alertness, ears twitching towards any sound, flinching when Time adjusted him, had been agonizing to watch. His body desperately needed rest, but he’d been stubbornly refusing it until they were out.

He’s certainly one of us, no doubt about that, Time thought with a sigh.

Sky grabbed a bedroll the moment they found a safe place to stop, and Time carefully lowered Link onto it, trying to avoid any injuries. He had several on his back, but they set him down as softly as possible, and Link didn’t wake.

“That’s really him?” Wind asked in a small voice as Warriors moved over to carefully look over all of Link’s injuries, cursing under his breath more than once.

“This is him,” Time replied quietly, trying to clean some of the blood and dirt out of Link’s hair. Now that they were out of the ruins, it was even more obvious how badly Link was in need of being cleaned up and cared for, and Time focused on not being overwhelmed by the task.

What all did he go through in there?

“What happened to him?” Legend said in a voice full of quiet horror, and Wild harshly kicked a rock into a tree.

“What didn’t?” he bit out in a fragile voice, and Sky put a hand on his arm, saying something that Time didn’t catch.

Warriors accidentally brushed a hand against Link’s collarbone then, and his eyes shot open, nearly throwing himself backwards away from the touch.

“Get away!” he snarled, voice hoarse, and Warriors immediately backed up.

“Whoa, easy,” Warriors quickly reassured, putting his hands up. “I’m only checking which of your injuries need to be cleaned so we can give you a potion. We don’t want anything healing inside them.”

Link glared at him in suspicion, but when Time moved into his line of sight, he relaxed a little.

“He’s helping, Link, I promise,” he reassured, and Link slowly relaxed, though he remained awake. Time glanced around at the other heroes as Warriors finished his examination, and saw that most of them were either looking at Link, or pointedly not looking at him as they worked on setting up camp.

It seemed none of them were quite certain how to deal with seeing one of their own in such a state.

Wild came over when he noticed Time watching them all, and he looked at Link, uncertainty on his face.

“Can I help at all?” he asked, voice stronger then it had been, and Time looked over at Warriors.

“These all need to be cleaned, and it’s not going to be easy for him,” the captain reported quietly, looking over his chest. “The faster we can get it done the better.”

“Link, we need to clean you up before we can heal you,” Time said as he knelt at his side, and Link gave him a bleary look. “It won’t be pleasant, but it needs to be done.”

Link breathed out and nodded, looking up at Time with shadows under his eyes.

“Go ahead,” he whispered.

Time gave him a faint smile, and Wild knelt beside him as they got to work.

It took a long time scrubbing all of the dirt out and disinfecting the injuries Link was coated in. They focused on cleaning the actual wounds, but Time knew Link would need the rest of himself cleaned up at some point, dirt and blood and all sorts of grime coated on his skin.

But that can wait.

Link was stiff throughout the entire process, trembling when they got to certain injuries, and trying not to cry out when they used the alcohol Warriors had provided to disinfect. The worst part was his face, which Time carefully washed up, but Link was nearly in tears by the time he finished cleaning the slice that cut right through the dark lines on his forehead.

But they finally finished, and Link sagged, his breathing shaking. Hyrule came forward then, and offered to heal him, and Link gave him a curious look.

“It’s a healing spell, it’ll be more thorough than a potion,” he explained. He faintly lit up his hands to demonstration, but Link immediately recoiled from the light.

“No, no n-no magic!” Link breathed, a flicker of terror in his eyes.

Hyrule immediately backed off, and Link’s cheeks flushed as he calmed down.

“I... I’m sorry, I-I...”

“No, I understand, that’s okay,” Hyrule said kindly, and Link swallowed and looked away, cheeks still red.

“Potions will be enough,” Time said peaceably, and Hyrule took out a few, handing them to Time. Though a fairy or healing spell would be preferable. “Take it slow, Link.”

Sky helped him carefully sit Link up, and Time helped him drink the entire red potion, slowly so as not to overwhelm his stomach. He eagerly sipped at it, and the most intense of his injuries began to knit closed, angry lines and deep gouges, and places that must be barely healed-over stab wounds—

Time exhaled, and lowered Link back to the ground as he finished, anger stirring in his chest.

The Shadow will pay for this.

“Try and get some more rest, Link. You’re safe with us,” Time said gently as he set the bottle aside, and rested a careful hand on Link’s.

He flinched, but after a long moment, slowly gripped it back. His hand shook as Time brushed his thumb over the dirtied triangles on the back, but he didn’t let go, even though Time knew holding on was hard.

You’re safe.

(...)

The next few days trickled by slowly, Link struggling to adjust to life not imprisoned in a hole being used as some sort of dark power source.

His injuries were healing, albeit slowly due to the sheer amount of them, but he was struggling more with the other scars his imprisonment had left him. He still couldn’t handle much touch, or large amounts of food, and he’d rarely sleep for long periods of time, waking up sweating and shaking from memories he hadn’t told the rest of them about yet.

Four made it his personal mission to remove the collar and bands from around his neck and wrists, since all they did was serve as a reminder for all them of the torture he’d endured.

Link wanted them off more than anyone, and he patiently sat through all of Four’s attempts at removal. The smithy finally succeeded with the help of some of Legend’s items and tools, Link nearly crying with relief at them gone, but the pale scars underneath the metal were almost worse.

They couldn’t be removed.

Time tried his best to help Link adjust, but it was hard when he could only give them the bare minimum of what he’d endured, and stubbornly tried to insist he was fine and they didn’t need to fuss over him. Even after he’d wake up gasping from a nightmare, Link would try to muffle his cries in order not to wake anyone, and couldn’t stand even a grounding hand on his shoulder.

It was at times like these Time wished Malon were here. She would know exactly how to comfort the traumatized boy they’d all found themselves with, better than Time ever could.

How do we help him, Malon? he thought one night as he studied Link’s slumbering face. His scars were harder to see in the dark, but Time knew they were there, slashed across his forehead, his chest... and his heart.

How did you ever handle me?

Time didn’t find any one answer, but as time slowly went by, Link did open up, at least a little. As they all explained more about themselves, he was willing to do so a bit too, explaining some of his journey, and telling the dark marks on his forehead actually weren’t a result of his imprisonment, though not exactly explaining what they were from.

His favorite thing to talk about was his home village though, and the longing in his voice was impossible to miss.

Time would have carried him there himself if it had been at all possible, but they were a long ways away from Ordon, and Link could barely walk across the clearing they were camped in without needing a rest. Taking him home would have to wait, as much as Time disliked it.

But in the meantime, the other heroes did their best to help Link as well, Wild figuring out what was easiest for him to eat, Warriors and Hyrule dutifully checking up on his injuries. Wind liked to tell him stories whenever he was struggling not to dwell on memories, sometimes getting Four to tell a few, and Legend even laid out his weapons and offered to let Link borrow one, until they could get him a sword of his own.

Sky often just let him hold the Master Sword, Link’s hands clutching the hilt as he sat in silence.

It seemed to comfort him, often when the rest of them couldn’t, and while Time couldn’t relate, he was glad it helped.

Time could also tell it was killing Sky not to be able to comfort Link with touch, at all, but Link was still working up to anything more then his hand being held. He would just have to do it at his own pace, as hard as it was to watch him struggle.

And things didn’t change in that regard, until all of a sudden they did.

(...)

Link closed his eyes as the tip of a blade pressed against his chin. He wouldn’t panic. This happened almost every day, and he wouldn’t panic. He wouldn’t give the Shadow the satisfaction of it.

“You’re not going to beg today?” he asked almost curiously, and Link licked his lips, tasting blood. “I might even listen, you never know.”

“I’ve never begged,” he said in a cold voice.

He wouldn’t stoop to that level, he’d sworn to himself he wouldn’t. It was one of the few ways he felt like he had a choice in the matter, and he knew it made the Shadow mad when when he remained silent.

He wouldn’t give his captor the satisfaction.

The Shadow leaned in so they were eye-to-eye, and Link stared at the crimson glow of his eyes, trying not to let his breath hitch.

“Well. Let’s see if we can change that, shall we?”

And then the blade flicked down, pain ripping across his chest. At at the same time the metal around his neck lit up like the lava on death mountain, burning into him, searing down the line where the sword had struck, and Link screamed as he felt magic bore into him and sap away every bit of his strength—

He woke up.

Link jerked upright, pain still blinding him, and he might’ve screamed but he wasn’t sure. Darkness was around him, lit only by the Shadow’s glowing eyes and he knew it had all been a dream, he hadn’t been rescued after all and he was never going to get out—

Link breathed heavily, clutching at his neck, certain he could still feel the collar, magic burning into him, feel his strength ripped away as injuries were torn into his chest—

“Link,” a soft voice said, and he heaved in another breath, hands still pressed to his neck. “Link, you’re out, you’re safe.”

He managed to raise his head, and saw Time kneeling carefully beside him, a hand outstretched in a calming gesture.

He swallowed, breathing in another shaky breath, and looked around, slowly recognizing the campsite they’d been at for the past several days. The light he’d seen was the campfire, not the Shadow’s eyes, and he felt relief start to soak through the terror.

He wasn’t there. He wasn’t back.

His breath hitched, and Time moved closer to him, offering him a hand to take if he wanted it.

Link stared at it, then began to shake, feeling suddenly overwhelmed at everything again.

He was out. He wasn’t a prisoner. He was out and safe and he’d been there for so long but he was out but he wasn’t home but he was home, brothers he never knew he had saving him and their kindness made his chest ache because he’d done nothing to deserve it and despite waking them up and slowing them down and pushing away their help they kept coming back and he’d done nothing—

A sob broke out of him as the sheer scale of everything suddenly crashed down onto him, and Time’s eye widened.

Then he leaned forward, and slowly, carefully, put an arm around him.

Link’s breath hitched with another sob, stiffening as the touch settled across his back, but as Time tried to move, he clutched at his arm, silently begging him not to let go. The touch was like fire on his back, but it soothed a part of him that he hadn’t even realized had been hurting so much.

Time hesitated as Link shuddered, then he lifted his other arm, pulling him into an actual hug, tight and warm.

That destroyed any composure Link had left, and he buried his face in Time’s shoulder, crying harder than he had in a long time. The touch all around him was awful and wonderful and agonizing and pure relief, and the sensation made him shake with how overwhelming it was.

“You’re okay,” Time whispered as Link fell to pieces in his arms. He ran a hand through his hair, and Link’s breath hitched on another sob. “You’re okay. I’ve got you, Link.”

Link had no clue as to the last time he’d received a hug, but this one, as messy and awful and painful as it was, was probably the best.

(...)

After that night, Link often found himself in a pile of heroes whenever he went to bed.

Wild would curl up at his side, Sky would end up with an arm flung out on top of him, Wind and Four by his head. Sometimes all of them would end up around him, and Link would nearly cry if he woke up and realized, falling back asleep more deeply then he had in months.

It was wonderful.

He was still struggling to get back on his own two feet, building his strength, still dealing with the fact that he’d always have the scars from his imprisonment, that he still sometimes woke up screaming in the middle of the night.

But he knew he’d have the others to support him, as hard as it was to let them. He still had moments where he’d push them away, when touch hurt instead of helped, when the thought of giving up crossed his mind, and didn’t seem like too bad of an option.

But he wouldn’t give up. Dark Link may have crushed him, but he wouldn’t be kept down, even though at times it seemed nearly impossible.

He would keep going.

And as Link leaned against Sky’s shoulder one night, Time’s arm over his shoulders, Wild and Four sitting leaned up against his feet while the others sat close by, it wasn’t nearly as hard to believe that he might be... okay.

Ordon would have to wait a bit longer, until he’d regained his strength, and could properly swing a sword, but until then...

A hand ran through his hair, and Link exhaled, the feeling of safety like a warm blanket around his shoulders.

...Link could wait.

[spiteless-xo]

i need more of ur hc content bc it has me literally sweating at the dinner table. thoughts on eren/jean and their feelings ab a daddy kink???? i must know ur ideas….

hello lovely!! 🥰 so sorry for the delay in getting to this!

also i'm sobbing rn because i wrote like half the post and then my phone glitched and i LOST EVERYTHING AHHHH anyway

daddy kink - eren & jean

jean kirstein

your approach on this is really really important. if you just casually ask him one day like, would you be ok if i called you daddy? he would immediately be like wtf absolutely not! because he associates "daddy" guys w like scumbags and he doesn't want you to think of him like that

but then one day he does a favour for you and you say 🥰 thank you, daddy! and he doesn't say anything but his brain short-circuits a lil bit... and then you notice him going out of his way to do more nice stuff for you just to hear you say it 💀

maybe you guys get into a little argument and jean is 100% in the right so you come up to him and lay your palms on his chest and look up at him w big sad eyes and you're like 🥺 im really sorry, daddy and he immediately pulls away from you with a deep, throaty fuuuckkk because that was WAYYY too hot and now he's already half-hard in his pants

by the time you say it during sex, you already know the kind of effect it has on him. you slip in a lil please, daddy -- harder! and he's going FERAL on you. fucking you into the mattress until you lose your breath and your thighs are sore from his hips pounding against you and you've got bruises all over your body from how tightly he grabbed you

and then he finally says it for the first time on his own and you know you've got him 😈 he's got his fingers buried inside of you, lips on your throat as you pull at his hair, telling him you're so close, so close, you wanna cum so bad and jean just hums against your throat like uh huh, i want you to cum real fuckin hard for me -- can you do that for daddy? and then you're clawing at his back and crying out as you cum all over his hand and he's chuckling in your ear like that's it, you're so good for daddy, baby 😭😭😭

eren jaeger

same as jean, i think this guy would hate it if you straight up asked to call him daddy. he's definitely got some issues w his own dad, so the idea of you calling him daddy makes him literally recoil in horror

but then you slip it in a couple times during sex and he pretends like he doesn't hear you but you can feel the way he grabs you a lil tighter and fucks you a little harder but if you do it too much he will cover your mouth and be like stop that 😡 but you can see the way his face gets all flushed and his eyes darken

and then one time you say it as you're cumming, daddy, fuck! and all of his resolve crumbles entirely. he buries his face in your neck as your gasping and panting and he's just fucking reeling from how hot it sounds when your voice trembles and how tight you squeeze him when you're moaning and he decides he needs more.

and you're just kinda whimpering in the aftershocks of your orgasm but he keeps going, keeps rolling his keeps, and keeps hitting that spot that has you seeing stars and he's like what was that? what did you just say? and you can't hear the lust in his voice from how fucked out you are, so your instinct is to apologize for pushing things too far but then he's like no, no, no. don't get shy on me now -- say it again.

and you're still not quite sure if he's mad at you twist your face away from him in shame, but then he grabs your chin and tilts you back to face him, looming over you as you blink up at him with teary eyes and all you can do is whimper out a quiet daddy?

and then he smiles at you, sinister, and he's like yeah? is that me? and you can only offer him a quick, desperate nod and he leans down against your ear and this time, you can hear the dark growl in his tone as he says you want daddy to take care of you? make you cum like that again? tell me exactly what you need and daddy will take reeeaaaal good care of you

[lendeah]

UNBOUND

Chapter 1: The Apprentice

series masterlist

Summary: In her final year at Blackstaff, Neri faces a pivotal moment as her mentor, Vanja, departs for Waterdeep's council matters. Enter Gale of Waterdeep, a renowed wizard and set to be Neri's new mentor. Tasked with aiding him in a mysterious research project and retrieving three Netherese stones, Neri finds herself at the center of a monumental quest that challenges not only her magical prowess but also her understanding of power, responsibility, and love.

or

Gale needs to retrieve the three Netherese stones in order to reforge the Karsus Crown, and his new apprentice Neri gets tangled in his mess.

Pairing: Gale x OFC!Reader

Tags: Slow Burn, Mentor/Protégé, but everything is healthy I promise, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Soft Gale (Baldur's Gate), Gale Needs a Hug (Baldur's Gate), Professor Gale (Baldur's Gate)

Word count: 4.4k

AO3 LINK

It's here! I have been working on this idea for weeks and I am so excited to finally write more about my favorite wizard. Also, I love dark academia genre so maybe I will add a teeny tiny bit of it for this fic. Anyway, hope you enjoy and let me know any feedback!

She glided effortlessly through the dimly lit corridors of the Academy, her footsteps echoing on the cold stone floors. She bowed her head towards a halfling who was gathering scattered stones from the ground, which had most likely fallen from a hole in the ceiling above. In the aftermath of the mindflyer attack, there was a sense of bustling activity as builders, mages, and even blacksmiths, worked to repair and strengthen the parts of the Academy that had been damaged or destroyed. While the battle in Waterdeep had not been as devastating as in Baldur's Gate, the forces of the Absolute had still attempted to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible. And with Blackstaff's impressive repository of powerful spells and artifacts, they were a prime target for their enemies.

As she walked into the large wooden doors at the end of the hallway, a sense of warmth and familiarity enveloped her.

"Vanja," Neri said, bowing her head respectfully. "I apologize for my delay."

The Blackstaff sat at her desk, surrounded by stacks of papers and books. She looked up and smiled warmly.

"Oh, Neri. It's good to see you safe and well. Please, have a seat."

Neri nodded and took a seat in front of Vanja's desk, letting out a sigh of relief. Being back in Vanja's office always felt like coming home, after so many years of visiting this very office to discuss matters with her mentor. She patiently waited for Vanja to finish signing off on a document before speaking.

"I already sorted through the books and artifacts from the tower, like you asked." Neri started, pulling out a stack of papers from her bag. "Everything is thankfully intact. We still have to-."

But Vanja waved dismissively."Thank you, my dear. But that's not what I brought you here for."

"Is something the matter?" Neri asked cautiously. She assumed that the reason for the summon was to receive an update on the progress of recovering the Academy they had entrusted her with after the attack. For weeks, she had been meticulously examining and cataloging every artifact, scroll, book, and valuable in the vault, ensuring that everything was accounted for and undamaged.

Vanja let out a deep sigh, "You are in your last year as a higher student, are you not?"

She nodded slowly, not understanding where this was going. The fact that she is a last-year student was well-known for her mentor, at least that's what she hoped after ten years under her wing.

"And have you given any thought to what you will pursue once you graduate?" Vanja continued.

Neri's mind raced with doubt as she considered confessing her true desires to her master for the umpteenth time. Coming from a long line of powerful wizards, known for their skills in Evocation, it was expected that she would follow suit and dedicate her life to this school of magic. The Thunderstaff family had served the Watervian military for generations, using their wizardry abilities to protect the city. Neri didn't dislike Evocation; in fact, she had a natural talent for it and found joy in practicing it. She had even created some interesting elemental spells of her own in the past. But there was always a nagging feeling within her, a longing for something more, for the power to conjure whatever she desired, to teleport herself anywhere she pleased. It may not have been a practical desire like evocation was, but she reveled in the thought of having everything and anything at her fingertips, molding the space around her according to her whims. Yet, she couldn't imagine going against her family's expectations and causing conflict within their already strained relationships.

"I...I'm not sure yet," Neri finally replied.

Vanja gave her a knowing look, but decided not to comment on it. "I see... Well, I have news for you that might affect the plans we had for your last-year research."

Neri's heart fluttered at those words. The final year research was crucial for Blackstaff students, a chance to make an impact on the academy's legacy, whether it be positive or negative. Neri had always envisioned making a groundbreaking discovery during this research, something that would impress even her strict family and perhaps convince them to let her follow her scholarly path. The thought of her plans being altered filled her with a sense of unease.

"What news, Vanja?" Neri asked.

The woman laid back on her chair, her fiery red hair swaying gently with the movement. "As I'm sure you're aware, the Council of Waterdeep has been putting in a great deal of effort to gather allies and resources following our clash with the Absolute. And a few weeks ago, they asked for my aid."

Neri's eyes widened in surprise. The Council hardly ever involved themselves with the affairs of the Academy, but she supposed it made sense given the circumstances.

Vanja continued, "They need my help, but I am limited in what I can do unless I take the time to focus on it. Unfortunately, being Blackstaff already demands the majority of my schedule. As your mentor, it is my responsibility to guide and support you, but that cannot be done if I am frequently absent, especially during such a crucial year as your final one."

Neri felt a knot form in her stomach. Was Vanja implying that she would no longer be her mentor? But what about their final research? Would she have to wait another year to finish her studies?

"Does this mean I won't be your apprentice anymore?" Neri asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

Vanja gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid so, my dear. The situation is dire and I must dedicate all of my remaining time and energy towards helping the Council. Of course, I will still be available to help you whenever you need it, but you will no longer be under my supervision."

Neri tried to keep her disappointment in check, but she couldn't help the sadness that washed over her. Vanja had been her mentor and friend for the past ten years, guiding her through the ups and downs of her magical education. Neri had even often entertained the thought of one day taking on the role of Blackstaff if Vanja were to choose her as her successor. She thought if she did well enough with her research, Vanja would finally see her true potential. But with these latest developments, it seemed like that dream was fading away.

"I understand," Neri said quietly.

Feeling Neri's distress, Vanja spoke up again. "Don't lose heart, my dear. You are my top student and a testament to this school's excellence. Thus, I decided to reach out to my most reliable colleagues, and one of them has agreed to be your mentor in my absence and support you with your research."

Neri's eyes widened in surprise once again.

"May I ask who the wizard is?" Neri asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

The redhead just gave her a small smile.

"Of course. It is none other than Gale of Waterdeep."

🔮

As she entered her chambers, she couldn't stop her mind from racing with the news. Gale of Waterdeep. She had heard stories about him, he was practically a legend here in Blackstaff. Some said he was one of Elminster's most talented pupils, others claimed he had been chosen by Mystra herself. But then, they also said that after Mystra left him, he went mad with grief and shut himself in a tower for an entire year. Neri wasn't sure where he had disappeared to in the past year, but now it seemed like he was back. To her, this behavior was unstable - locking oneself away for a year because of a breakup? It just didn't seem right.

But then again, she reminded herself, these were just rumors and hearsay. She couldn't judge Gale before even meeting him. If Vanja had selected him as her mentor, it implied that she had enough faith in his abilities to entrust him with her final research project.

So Neri tried to push aside her doubts and focus on the positive aspects of being Gale's apprentice. He was known for his incredible knowledge of the weave. Hells, he was chosen by the goddess of magic herself, which meant that he must've been extraordinary with the art. She also reminded herself that this was not a permanent arrangement. Once Vanja returned, she would resume her role as Neri's mentor. Until then, she would have to make the best of this situation.

She is about to enter her bedroom, breathless from walking five sets of stairs, when she catches a glimpse of another figure in the hallway.

"Leaving in the middle of the night again? Vanja won't be pleased that your tasks aren't getting completed." she said, teasingly. She had recognized him immediately - Eiruk, one of her closest friends and fellow student at Blackstaff Academy. He had a habit of disappearing in the middle of the night without telling anyone, a habit that often earned him scoldings from the Blackstaff. Neri lived next door to him, which was lucky since they were able to keep an eye on each other and make sure they didn't get into too much trouble.

Eiruk turned towards her with a cheeky smile on his face, his messy black curls falling over his green eyes. "Neri. Always up in my business."

"Well, it's not like you are especially discreet," Neri replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't help it if I have an adventurous spirit," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Neri rolled her eyes playfully. "More like a reckless one," she retorted.

Eiruk grinned, knowing she was right. He had always been the more impulsive and adventurous of the two of them, while Neri was the practical and responsible one. But somehow, their friendship worked perfectly from day one. She smiled to herself as she recalled how he had attempted to bow to her on their first meeting. They were both twenty at the time, but he had blushed like a fifteen-year-old trying to impress someone older.

"So, where were you off to this time? Searching for another priceless artifact from a shady dealer? Or is it a personal mission?" Neri asked with a smirk.

Eiruk hesitated for a moment before answering.

"You will have to wait and see," he finally said with a shrug.

Neri gave him a knowing look but decided not to press further. She knew Eiruk was keeping secrets from her, but she also respected his privacy.

"So," Eiruk said, changing the subject, "I heard Vanja called you to her office this evening. What did she want?"

Neri sighed, her expression turning sour. "She informed me that she will no longer be my mentor. The Council has requested her assistance so she must dedicate all her time to helping them."

Eiruk's eyes widened. "She's quitting her role as your mentor? But you're in tenth year!"

Neri nodded glumly. "I know. I was shocked too. But with everything happening after the clash with the Absolute, I understand why her need to focus her efforts elsewhere for now."

"That's rough," Eiruk said, putting a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "So, who's going to mentor you now?"

"Gale of Waterdeep," Neri replied. "Vanja has arranged for him to take over my training and research in her absence."

Eiruk's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "The Gale of Waterdeep? As in, one of the most powerful wizards in Faerûn? As in, Mystra's chosen?!"

Neri shrugged. "I suppose so. I don't have much information about him other than all the gossip going around. However, I never thought he held much significance anyway."

"Are you jesting?" Eiruk exclaimed. "He is one of the biggest mages in history!"

Neri shrugged again, trying to downplay the situation. "I suppose so. But I never put too much attention on his figure, to be honest."

Eiruk whistled in admiration.

"You know, it's quite an honor. Apparently, he doesn't take on many apprentices. I heard he invented the Plane Shift enchantment when he was only seventeen," Eiruk said, his voice tinged with awe.

Neri looked at him in surprise. "Wait, he invented Plane Shift? That is one of the best Conjuration enchantments. I thought he was in evocation school."

"Well, he was originally in evocation school, but he dabbled in conjuration as well," Eiruk explained. "And it turned out that he had a natural talent for it. He's rumored to have mastered every school of magic."

Neri couldn't believe what she was hearing. A wizard mastering not one, not two, but all schools of magic at once? That was unheard of. She couldn't believe her luck, or perhaps misfortune, to be under the tutelage of such a powerful and legendary wizard. She knew she was skilled, hence why Vanja took her on as a student. But Gale seemed to be on a whole other level.

"Do you think he'll be a good mentor for you?" Eiruk asked, breaking Neri out of her thoughts.

"I don't know," Neri replied honestly. "I mean, Vanja was an amazing mentor and I learned so much from her. It's hard to imagine anyone else filling her shoes."

Eiruk nodded in understanding. "But maybe it's a good thing. A fresh perspective might be beneficial for your research."

Neri couldn't argue with that logic, but she couldn't help feeling apprehensive about the change.

"Well, I better get going," Eiruk said, glancing at the starry sky through the big hallway window. "You will have to keep me updated on the Gale situation. Ugh, why are you always so lucky with mentors!" Eiruk pouted playfully before bidding her goodbye and disappearing into the dark halls of the academy.

Neri made her way to the door of her own room, feeling a bit anxious about meeting her new mentor for the first time. She wondered what kind of training he would put her through and if she would be able to live up to his expectations. She held onto hope that she would.

🔮

As she navigated the streets of Waterdeep towards the bay, Neri couldn't help but be struck by how much had changed since she last visited this part of the city. Buildings had been torn down and replaced with newer, flashier ones, and some of the magic shops she used to frequent were now gone, replaced with fancier establishments catering to the wealthy citizens of Waterdeep. Even the streets seemed more crowded and busier than she remembered. Carriages and people hurried by, paying no attention to the young wizard making her way through the West Ward. Neri felt a pang of nostalgia for the quiet, quaint streets that she used to roam as a child.

The summer rays heated her skin, and she wished she had chosen to wear something more breathable. The protection of her long-sleeved leather jacket and trousers seemed unnecessary now; she would have preferred the freedom and comfort of wearing flowy skirts and shirts in this weather. As she walked towards the pier, a gentle summer breeze brushed against her skin, causing her to let out a contented sigh. She couldn't help but imagine living here, with the peaceful sound of waves crashing against the shore.

Eventually, Neri arrived at the address Vanja had given her and paused in front of a large building near the docks. It was an impressive structure made of stone, with intricate engravings and magical symbols adorning its walls. She still didn't understand why the man had made her come here instead of visiting his old school; she was sure the resident mages would kiss the floor he stepped over.

Neri stood in front of the tower, staring up at its intimidating height and ornate design. But her eyes quickly caught sight of something peculiar – there was no door. No ring bell, no handle, nothing.

She furrowed her brow in confusion and took a few steps closer to the stone wall, looking for any sign of an entrance. She circled the base of the building but still found no entrance. It was as if the tower was impenetrable.

Neri glanced back at the address Vanja had given her to make sure she was in the right place. After checking the coordinates and confirming there were no other large structures in the area, she was certain that this was Gale's tower. But how was she supposed to enter? Did Gale forget to mention some sort of magical key or spell that would open the door?

Then, Neri realized that this was probably her first test, and she had to pass it. She quickly went through every spell in her arsenal, from arcane lock to dimension door, and even remove curse, but none of them seemed to work. With a frustrated sigh, she leaned against the tower, racking her brain for any other possible solutions. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice when the air around her began to shimmer and change.

A sudden presence appeared next to her. Neri jumped back in surprise as a holographic image of a man materialized before her eyes. The man appeared youthful, his hair reaching his shoulders and a beard covering his chin. However, the edges of the image were fuzzy, preventing her from getting a clear view.

"Good evening! It seems as though you are trying to enter the private property of Gale Dekarios. Please, estate your full name a reason for the visit." The hologram said with a warm smile. He must be Gale's servant then she told herself.

She quickly composed herself and bowed respectfully.

"I- Um... My name is Neriyra Thunderstaff, and I am a tenth-year student at Blackstaff Academy. I have come here because Gale from Waterdeep has been assigned as my new mentor." Neri said, trying to sound confident despite her nerves.

The hologram nodded. "Ah yes, Miss Thunderstaff. Mr. Dekarios has been expecting you. Please follow me."

With that, the hologram turned and began floating towards the tower. Neri hesitated for a moment before following after it. As they approached, Neri noticed that there was still no visible entrance. But the hologram didn't seem bothered by this and simply continued floating until they reached a specific spot on the tower's wall.

"This is where you will enter," the hologram informed her, gesturing towards a small symbol etched into the stone, almost invisible. "Simply place your hand on this mark and state your name again."

Neri did as she was instructed and placed her hand on the mark while stating her name. To her surprise, a door suddenly materialized in front of her. It was ornately carved and glowed with a faint purple light.

"Thank you," she said to the hologram, but it had already vanished into thin air.

Neri took in a deep breath and stepped inside the tower. As she entered, she marveled at the magical energy that seemed to pulse through every inch of the place. The interior of the tower was just as impressive as the exterior - high ceilings with intricate magical symbols carved into them, and a spiral staircase that led up to the different floors. She felt a bit lost in the middle of the hall, wondering where she was supposed to go. Just then, a door on her right creaked open and something poked out. A cat? No, she realized, it was a tressym. Neri's eyes widened in surprise and wonder as she took in the sight of the creature. She had only heard about them in books and stories, but to see one in person was truly amazing.

"Ah, you must be Miss Thunderstaff. Welcome to Dekarios Tower," she said warmly. "I am Tara, Mr. Dekarios' companion."

"Nice to meet you, Tara," Neri said with a small bow.

"Come along now, Mr. Dekarios is expecting you in his study." Tara smiled at her (can tressyms smile?) and gestured for Neri to follow. They made their way up the spiral staircase, passing various rooms and corridors along the way. As they reached the top floor, Tara led Neri into a large study. And the room turned out to be nothing like she had imagined Gale Dekarios' study would be. It was...well, it was a mess. There were clothes scattered on the floor, books stacked in haphazard piles all over the place, and vials of colorful potions scattered across various tables. The desk was so full of papers that Neri wondered if the man even knew what was going on there. Neri couldn't help but stare in surprise and confusion at the mess before her. She had always pictured powerful wizards to be organized and meticulous, not living in what seemed like utter chaos.

Tara cleared her throat, snapping Neri out of her thoughts. "Mr. Dekarios is a brilliant wizard, but he's not exactly the most organized."

Neri couldn't help but chuckle at Tara's words.

"Is he here?" she asked, looking around for any sign of the man in question.

Tara motioned towards a desk in the corner of the room, where a figure sat hunched over, buried under stacks of papers and scrolls. The wizard had been so obscured by the clutter that she hadn't even noticed them when she entered. Neri took a deep breath to calm her nerves before making her way over to the desk. Sensing her presence, the man looked up startled, before a kind smile coloring his features.

"Miss Thunderstaff, I didn't expect you so soon," he greeted her as she approached.

And if she was surprised before, now she was absolutely flabbergasted. The man sitting in front of her looked nothing like the wise old wizard with a beard and wrinkles that she had pictured in her mind. In fact, he was an exact replica of the hologram she had encountered downstairs (come to think of it, that made much more sense). He also lacked the otherworldly aura she had imagined for such a powerful wizard; he just seemed... normal.

His shoulder-length brown hair was neatly pulled back into an updo, highlighting his beard and gentle brown eyes; his good looks took her aback as she gazed at him. He didn't appear much older than her either. If she saw him on the street, she would never guess that he was one of the most powerful wizards in Faerûn.

"I know, I'm not what you expected," Gale said with a sheepish smile, gesturing for Neri to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

She suddenly became aware of her open-mouthed staring and felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"I-I just...I imagined you to be older," she stammered out.

Gale chuckled. "Most people do. But age doesn't always equate to power or wisdom. I apologize for my first impression," Gale said, gesturing to the mess around him. "I've been quite busy lately."

Neri looked around again, grimacing at how scattered and disorganized everything was.

"What have you been working on, if I may ask?" she inquired curiously.

Gale leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath before answering. "Ah, well, you see, I am currently conducting some rather advanced and intricate magical research. Coincidentally, I have received a letter from Vanja singing your praises and detailing your... unique predicament. And lo and behold, I find myself in need of a wizarding expert to aid me in my endeavors."

"So, that's why you offered to be my mentor? You require my assistance with your research?"

Gale's head bobbed in agreement. "That's exactly why I think you could assist me in my studies," Gale stated, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "I'm currently focused on studying the fragmented weave of Karsus."

Neri's interest was piqued. She had always been fascinated by magical history. She leaned in her chair, eyebrows furrowed. "The Karsus weave? I thought that was ancient history."

"The Karsus weave is a highly complex and dangerous form of magic," Gale explained. "It involves tapping into the power of other planes of existence and manipulating time itself. It is said that only a handful of wizards ever mastered it, and even they could not control it completely."

Neri nodded, she knew the basics about the Netherese Empire and Karsus well enough from her lessons in magical history.

"The orbs that once rested atop his head are now scattered along the Crionthar. They hold remnants of his incredible power, and if we were to retrieve them, we could potentially unlock the secrets of safely using the Karsus Weave magic."

Neri's mind raced with the possibilities of this research. It could lead to great advancements in magic, but it also carried a significant risk. The Karsus weave was not something to be taken lightly, and Neri knew that firsthand from her studies.

But if they were successful, it would not only drastically alter her own life, but also have a major impact on the use of magic for years to come. If this accomplishment didn't solidify her position as the heir of Blackstaff, she couldn't imagine what else would.

"And what exactly do you need me for? I am just a student, after all," she prompted.

Gale leaned forward slightly, with a glint in his eye. "Well, let's just say that your reputation precedes you, Miss Thunderstaff. I have heard about your unique ability with Conjuration, both summoning and locating objects in place and time."

Neri's heart raced. Her powers of conjuration were a tightly kept secret, shared only with Vanja. To the rest of the world, she appeared to be mastering evocation school.

"Ahem... you can call me Neri, Mr. Dekarios. And I don't understand, you are one of the best mages in all of Faerûn. I believe your conjuring abilities are way better than mine."

"Well, that may be true, but I also have my own personal reasons for seeking out your assistance. However, I can't disclose all this information on your first day as my apprentice, lest you run away," Gale said, tapping his fingers on the desk in front of him.

Neri's mind raced with questions and he seemed to sense her confusion, studying her carefully.

"Of course, I understand if you don't want to participate. I will continue mentoring you this year and we can choose a lighter research theme for your final work," Gale continued. "But I assure you, the knowledge, experience, and renown gained from this research will be unlike anything else you have encountered."

Neri didn't even have to think about it. She knew this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

"I would be honored to assist you in your research, Mr. Dekarios," she said with a smile.

The amount of research I had to do about wizards in dnd is crazy. If there are any mistakes in the lore take them as creative liberties hehehe Also, my personal headcanon is Gale being messy AF in his tower, you can't convince me otherwise. Thank you for reading!

[venusscriptures]

part two of this post!

17+ !! Afab reader, oral (male receiving), creampie

It had been a couple of days since that night, the journey of being on the run taking away the privacy of a room and the time and energy to resume your nightly escapades.

Vash however, couldn’t sleep these nights without remembering how you had woken him up, and how good he felt that he thought that it was a dream, he simply couldn’t fall asleep!

It was affecting his performance, his exhaustion dulling his reflexes and spatial awareness. Meryl had taken notice to his state and eyed him, asking if he was alright. He replied with a sheepish smile and said he was, but if there was one this you knew, was that he lied like a fool getting caught when it came to his health.

After a pit stop in a town, Meryl had decided that they were to stay that night, seeing how the discomfort of the sand and vehicle was getting to them.

Meryl had once again booked the room, but you accompanied her this time, making sure that the rooms were in order. Unfortunately there were only two double rooms left, and you guys took what you could get.

Wolfwood, Meryl and Milly had already gone into their shared rooms and had begun to settle down for the night, but you had said you would take a small stroll outside, just to shake off your nerves.

Vash had watched your figure leave out the front door, just like how you left that night you gave him the sweetest wake up.

Blushing at the memory, he went up into the room, settling into his bed and facing away from Nicholas, who looked at him confused, but he shrugged it off and turned off the light, snoring nearly the moment his head hit the pillow.

After about an hour, Vash had heard the door next to their room open and close, signaling your arrival. He wondered what you had been doing out, and how he could get you to come sleep by his side.

You quietly laid down your gear down, sighing as you rolled your shoulders, grabbing your coat and sitting on the recliner, leaning back and taking off your boots. You had walked around the city, picking up bits and pieces of information about it. It seemed safe enough to stay for an extra night, that’s if Vash doesn’t attract any eyes.

Suddenly feeling parched, you got up to the door to grab a bottle of water from the vending machine you saw earlier downstairs. Opening it, you saw a distressed Vash standing there, his hair array and coat discarded, shocked at your figure before he smiled.

“Ah, did I wake you?”

You shook your head, a small smile as you walked closer to him, a blush slowly forming as you got closer to him, his eyes darting.

“No, I just returned and wanted to drink something, would you like to join me?”

You slid your hand against his waist, caressing it with your thumb. He looked to the side and shuddered, taking in a deep breath and nodding, still not looking at you. He was fidgeting, his ears red. He kind of looked cute this way.

You had booked another room for yourself, a single suddenly popping up after you had returned from your walk. The receptionist had given it to you and apologized for the delay, but you took the room key gratefully and went off to it. It was on the same floor as the others, but about 5-7 doors down.

After you told Vash, he nodded, smiling softly.

“I’m glad you can rest well now, [F/N]”

You raised your brows, smiling.

“Yet you’re not sleeping at all these days, shouldn’t you worry about yourself?”

“Ah…” He smiled sheepishly, scratching his nape in shame. He certainly couldn’t tell you the reason was because each time he closed his eyes, he had replayed you licking so gently at him.

“I’ll be okay, it’s not that bad-”

You cut him off, shaking your head and taking his arm, dragging him into your room, shutting the door and locking it behind you.

You turned around and pointed to the bed.

“Sleep. Rest, I’ll keep watch over you if you’re worried about unwanted ambushes.”

He shook his head, panic flashed across his face and a slight pang from the pits of his stomach spread all over his body, the familiar sweet scent hitting your nose.

“Oh, oh no I couldn’t, it’s your bed I don’t want to keep you up, I-Oh!”

You pulled him towards the bed, your eyes interlocked with his as you pushed him down, laying him back onto the mattress.

He gasped and brought his thighs together, gazing at you with a pleading look in his eyes, his eyebrows turned up. He felt himself throb between his legs, the sickly sweetness growing stronger than last time, making you heavy with lust.

“Vash..I want to continue what we did last time..I can’t bring myself to hold back..”

You pressed your lips against his, cupping his face in your hands and leaning over him, moving so that you straddled his hips, sighing into the kiss.

He gasped, grabbing at your pants and whimpering as he kissed back, opening his mouth for you while deepening the kiss, his moans escaping each time you slightly parted your lips.

You pulled back from it, amused as he chased the kiss. You pushed his chest back down and took off your shirt, leaving you in your bra. You slid down to in between his thighs, fondling them as he stared at your boobs, looking away shamefully before returning his eyes, biting his lip.

“Vash…I want to eat you out again..will you let me?” You whispered gently to him, your hands moving up to his sides, your hands caressing him all over.

He whined and nodded, arching his back slightly and moving his hips up so that you could slip off his pants. Having taken them off, your reaction was still the same as before. He was absolutely beautiful down here, and you could stare at it all day.

“I….thank..you..”

You looked up at him confused, and saw the blush on his face as his face was turned away from you. You had accidentally spoken your thoughts out to him.

Smiling, you leaned down to between his legs, sliding him down to in front of your face.

“Well, let me show you just how beautiful you are to me.”

You pressed a kiss on his slit, his mouth letting slip a gasp. You licked your lips and began to lick at him, closing your eyes and getting completely lost in his flavor, in his scent, in him.

He had lost count how many time he had came, his dicks long had emerged yet you let them curl around your fingers while you slurped at the vent they came from, the dual stimulation making him feel like he was high in the sky, as though he was amongst the birds in the clouds.

A particularly hard tug on your hair had you look up at him with lidded eyes, your mouth still working away at him.

He looked down at you, tears flowing down from his eyes as he sniffled, his body tensing up as he came again, a warbled moan coming out of his mouth.

You slurped up his fluids and crawled up to him, your mouth and chin dripping with his arousal. He whimpered, seeing you so delirious and messy because of him had made him more aroused. It was his scent that was coming from you, him that had you so excited, him that was under you, trembling in anticipation.

You licked off the slick around your mouth, kissing him deeply as you shifted back on top of his hips, taking off your pants and underwear, the appendages reaching up towards your warmth.

You sat above their reach, his hands holding onto your hips as his had twitched, wanting to plunge deeply into you.

You pulled away from the kiss and sat up, sliding back down to directly align yourself with him, looking at him as he watched his dicks reach up towards your hole, your wetness making it easy for them to slide around.

“Do you want me to fuck you, Vash?” You said with a sultry tone in your voice, taking his hands and raising them to fondle your breasts.

He groaned, his focus now on your tits, groping them and kneading them, obsessed with how soft and warm they felt in his hands.

“Please..I’ve been dreaming about you so much i couldn’t even sleep…I’d be so happy, I could die happy-Oh fuck”

You sunk down on him, his dicks twitching and squirming against your velvety walls, the warmth driving him insane, his moans and whimpers now silent as his lidded eyes stared up at the ceiling, his body appearing to be calm. However, inside you, he was going completely crazy, the dicks practically thrusting themselves in and out of you, the pulsing mimicking his heartbeat.

You proceeded to slide all the way down, laying down on his chest as you watched his face, amused by his reactions.

He gasped and left indents in your thighs as he gripped them tightly, finally breaking the silence and letting out a loud broken moan.

Not wanting to attract attention, you silenced him with a kiss, his eyes fluttering shut as he let out chopped moans, feeling you slide up and down his dicks. They were twirling around each other inside you, growing thicker as your hips oscillated on top of his, making you feel fuller by the second.

He whined into your lips and held the back of your head, kissing you deeper and pushing his hips up, the other arm wrapping around your waist as he started to thrust into you hurriedly, the pleasure making him impatient and unable to hold back anymore. He broke off the kiss and tucked his face in the crook of your neck, pairing each lewd gasp with a moan, his noises growing more frequent as he went faster.

His thrusts stuttered, then a final one harshly pressed into you, his dicks spasming as he came deep inside you, letting out a drawn out wail as you clenched down on him, his orgasm triggering yours suddenly. He held you tighter against him, a high pitched sob shaking him as your pussy gripped him tightly, his vision going white.

He awoke to the warm morning sun beaming down onto his face, greeting him like an old familiar friend. Feeling well-rested for the first time in a while, he grew aware to the warm mass laying on top of him, and his lack of clothing.

Remembering the events of the night before, he blushed, but kept watching your sleeping figure, your breathing calm and steady. It nearly lulled him back to sleep, but he kept watching your peaceful beauty, adoring how beautiful your skin looked in the morning sun. It looked as though your skin was glowing.

You started to shift, snuggling into him as the suns rays hit your eyes, waking you from your rest. Opening your eyes, you rubbed them and hid your face into his chest, making him lightly chuckle.

“Mornin’.”

You raised your head and smiled, pressing a small kiss on his lips.

“Mornin’ pretty.”

He could get used to this.

[lightlycareless]

Hii! I just wanted to let you know that I'm a big fan of your work!

I started of with discovering your "First it Hurts" fic on ao3, then being updated to your every post cus I look forward to every fic or hc's you make!

Also, I loved the valentines special post 💗💗 BUT IM SO CURIOUS ABOUT NAOYA'S LETTER AHH, anyways I just wanted to let yknow that I love your fics and the way you write Naoya! I hope you continue writing fics about him since there's a scarcity on Naoya fics HAHAHA, but I dont mean to pressure you! Please take your time, and I'm eagerly waiting for your new fics!

Hello!!

Awww thank you so so so much!! I'm so happy you're liking it so far!!!!! 🥺❤️ akajghajkghasgjas as well as my oneshot :>

Also, I'd like to apologize for the delay; I'm slowly working my way through requests, the main fic, and the weird schedule for my job 💀 I greatly appreciate your support and patience 🥺❤️ Also, I'll be writing Naoya fics for like, ever. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE HIM ANIMATED OMG ALL THE INSPIRATION.... gotta keep this small part of the fandom alive!!!!

Now... to the letter.... I feel like it would've gone something like this:

warnings: naoya is a prick, no surprise. but... he has feelings, just that he doesn't know what to do with them. this is the oneshot anon is referring to.

Happy reading!

Y/N.

I didn’t think letters were still written in these times, outside of elderly people and the socially inept, but I suppose that for certain occasions they are still necessary.

By the time you get this you’ll probably already have an idea of where I’m going with it, yet I’ll still write it down.

I cannot deny that you came onto my life in the most unexpected way, not necessarily the best either.

I didn’t like your siblings, and I still don’t. I think of them to be nothing but highly annoying, arrogant, especially your sister who seems to parade herself around Gojo and the privilege she had of knowing him.

Your brother is somewhat… calmer in that aspect, he tends to keep to himself, and I respect that. Everyone should be like that, you know?

But I’m not here to talk about them, of course, I’m here to talk about you.

When I heard that you were going to enroll, I wasn’t thrilled, I genuinely thought great, another nuisance was to grace the school grounds—I already had this preconceived idea of you and was more than ready on keeping it… until I finally I saw you.

I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times already, someone like you must’ve undoubtedly… but you are the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my life. Your beauty is so mesmerizing, I couldn’t believe it was real—anyone thinking otherwise is either blind, stupid, or lying. Or maybe all at the same time.

I didn’t accept those feelings at first, tried my hardest to ignore them and go back to disliking you, find a reason to hate you and move on.

But I couldn’t, and when I heard your laughter, saw your smile, or the cute way your eyes twinkled whenever you were excited about something, I knew it was impossible for me to disregard it any further.

My feelings for you had only grown more and more as time passed, and now, I find it physically impossible to contain them, but still hard to express them to you in person.

So, I resorted to this letter, which I hope will be able to accurately convey what I feel for you, if only for a fraction, until then.

What I mean to say is… If you let me, Y/N, I can show you how special you are to me.

I can give you all that you want in the world—it doesn’t matter what, whether it being money, or the stars themselves—I will not spare any expense to give you what you deserve, and I shall assess that every day of my life until my death, starting with the gifts I’ve sent you today, alongside those waiting in your dorm.

I shall call you mine. No other man will be able to lay a hand on you, and I won’t allow any other woman to do the same to me either. My eyes will solely keep to you, and you alone; I expect you to do the same.

And in turn… I don’t ask much, except that you see me the same cheerful, adorable way you see others when happy, the one that has me completely enthralled, unable to keep it off my mind for more than one second, and… accept me into your heart.

If you so decide it appropriate to get to know each other better, you know where to find me. I shall await your response.

Naoya.

As you can see, Naoya isn’t overtly romantic or good with words (I mean, the slander at the beginning lol) but he tries, as genuinely as possible—his honesty is a virtue to appreciate lol. Also, he was TREMBLING while writing this, if not crying hahaha he really almost died when he wrote you were the prettiest girl in the whole while world.

He’ll become more comfortable with it, of course, he’s a man that can’t hold himself when it comes to talking. But it’s nice to see him all shy for once 😊

Akgjakogja I’m so happy you all liked this little oneshot—I know it was quite the bomb to drop on valentine’s day, but I swear, it’s a happy ending story :>

If there’s more you want to know about that oneshot/au just let me know, I’ll be more than happy to indulge!!

Take care, and hope to see you soon!!!