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anonymous-rendezvous · 7 months

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Dancing in Red

❤️ Vox Akuma x GN!Reader

✦ — Written by Mod S 👿. Beta Read and Edited by Mod I ✨.

✧ — Contains: Established Relationship, fluff, NSFW 🔞, semi vanilla, light dirty talk, & multiple rounds

✦ — Word count: 13k+ | Ao3

Intimate moments with your demon lover, Vox Akuma, weren’t far between. Him being as affectionate of an individual as he is. The two of you have been dating for a while, yet you haven’t tried taking anything further in your relationship. That may change when you ask to visit his home for the first time.

Mod S 👿: There needs to be more soft Vox, so I’ve taken matters into my own hands. Enjoy this 13k mountain of softness and smut.

Reference for his room, and we semi-reference the first few minutes of his first date scenario.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

The trees and scenery around you passed in a blur as you drove down the long road. “Come on, me.” Your grip tightened around the steering wheel. “Don’t be so nervous. Your boyfriend has invited you over to his house for the first time. No need to panic.” It took a few moments before your own words seemed to process in your head. “Oh god–” Your eyes widened and your breath caught in your throat. “I’m going over to his house for the first time!” Quickly and carefully, you pull over to the side of the road, putting the car into park so you could get your breathing under control. Once you start to calm down, you can’t help but chuckle at yourself. Putting the car back into drive, you continued on your way.

Although slightly ridiculous, you felt valid in your feelings of nervousness.

Vox Akuma, voice demon and clan leader of the former Akuma clan, was your boyfriend. As fierce as he is as a demon, he still manages to maintain an incredibly soft and comforting demeanor. Always the first to give encouraging words to those he cares about. When you think about it, it was truly inevitable that you’d fallen for him all those months ago.

The previous times the two of you had spent time together, it was either out in public or in the comfort of your own home. When you had questioned him about it, the demon had explained that he’d wanted you to be comfortable and feel safe when you were together. As a result, you had never visited his home before; waiting till he knew you’d be comfortable. It hadn’t been until last week when you breached the subject that he knew for sure. Asking if he would be okay with you finally gracing his home. Vox seemed ecstatic at the idea, giving you a designated hour and everything. Said he needed time to make his house as welcoming as possible for you. The concept was incredibly sweet, which only caused the butterflies in your stomach to double.

You took in one final deep breath as you watched his house come into view. Even from a distance, you could tell the building was very intricate on the outside. A large garden encompassing the front with a lovely bench placed on his front porch. It was very traditional Japanese in appearance. Which made sense, of course, with him originally hailing from Japan. Though you still couldn’t help but think it was immensely fitting. Parking your vehicle in the driveway, you text Vox about your arrival. Sliding your phone back into your pocket and exit the car, locking it as you make your way up to the front door.

As you approach the door, your hand raises, fully prepared to knock when the door suddenly opens. Your eyes widen slightly as you watch your demon lover casually lean against the door frame; almost like he had been waiting for you. A gentle smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, eyes dancing with delight. “Hello love, I hope the drive here wasn’t too hectic.” His voice was deep and smooth like always, but there was a sweetness in his tone that he reserved only for you. Vox opens the door wider, stepping aside so you have room to enter his home.

The surprise melts away quickly as you offer him a smile, shaking your head fondly. “It was a pleasant drive, actually. The forest on the way here is very pretty.” You stepped inside as you spoke. After shutting the door, he helped you remove your coat, hanging it on the coatrack beside the door. Slipping your shoes off before setting them away, out of the way next to the door as he responds.

“I’m glad it wasn’t a hassle. I admit, one reason I was hesitant to invite you is because my home is fairly out of the way.” He reached out to place his hand gently on your arm, silently asking you to follow him. You give him another smile in silent acceptance, allowing him to guide you further into his home as you continue to converse.

“Well, since you make the effort to come all the way to my house, I should make the effort to come to see you as well. It’s a two-way street Vox.” He smiled at you so warmly that you swear you felt the heat radiate onto your face. Or maybe that was just you getting flustered. Unable to hold his gaze, you look away bashfully. Vox can’t help but chuckle at your reaction. He had merely smiled at you and you were already embarrassed. ‘Utterly adorable,’ he thought to himself.

However, instead of teasing you about it, as he typically would, he just leads you to his living room. As this was your first time here, you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander, taking in all the furniture and decor. It wasn’t long before you noticed that he had two mugs, presumably with tea, sitting out on the coffee table. Ready for both your enjoyment as they steamed lightly. What truly caught your eye, though, was the controllers next to them.

Unable to help yourself, you playfully roll your eyes. “I didn’t think you were gonna invite me over just to kick my ass, babe.” Your lips twitch as you attempt not to smile, keeping your fax seriousness. “That’s pretty ruthless.”

Vox pauses before chuckling, shifting his hand from your arm to lightly pat your shoulder. “It’s only me kicking your ass if you suck today~,” He only laughs harder as you turn to pout at him.

“You’re lucky I like you.” You grumble, lightly smacking his arm.

“Yes, I’m very lucky indeed.” He leaned over to plant a small peck on your temple. His giggling picks back up when you make a sound equivalent to a keyboard smashing. With an embarrassed huff, you quickly stride toward the couch and drop down on it. God, he can be so infuriating. This can’t be good for your heart. As you reach for one mug, Vox takes a seat beside you, making himself comfortable. He picks up his mug, taking a drink before speaking again. “Don’t worry about being bad at any of the games we’re playing.” He takes another sip before looking over at you with a teasing smirk. “If I really wanted to teach you a lesson, I’d have put in ‘Smash’.” He sets his mug back down on the table before picking up the controllers.

Setting your mug down, you accept the controller he offers to you. “If you did, I would think I had done something wrong.” Both of you laugh at that. As he gets the system set up, you take the opportunity to settle further into the couch. With a tilt of your head, you watch him for a moment before asking, “So… what are we playing? We rarely play co-op games.”

Before he could answer, the game popped up on the screen. ‘Clubhouse Games’. A decent collection of some classic games. Vox leans back with you, slightly scooting closer to you as he did. “I’ll let you pick the games. I just want you to have fun while you're over here.” You couldn’t help the way your expression softens, yet another smile tugging at your lips. He was so sweet. Even when he teases you, he wants to make sure that you were still having a good time. Not that this was abnormal behavior for your boyfriend. No matter how much he teased, taunted, or egged on those he was close to, he never wanted to push to a point where any of you were genuinely not enjoying yourselves. Not for the first time, the nagging thought prodded at your subconscious that you had yet to find a way to repay him for all the kindness he has shared with you.

Though knowing the demon as you do, he’d likely say your company was repayment enough. Some way or another, you would still find a way to return his love in full.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Time passes quickly as the two of you have fun. Neither of you realize how late it was getting; the room getting darker as evening crept around the corner. Your only indication of the time is when your phone alarm sounds, causing the two of you to pause. You finish stretching before leaning down to retrieve your phone. Sitting in the same position for so long has started to cause your back to ache. It’s only when reading the time on the alarm that you realize how late it’s gotten. “Oh, crap…” You had set an alarm reminder for when you should probably leave. You still had a work-related project to finish. Even though there was still a lot of time before it was due to turn in, you wanted to finish it quickly so you could spend your time on other things. Turning off the alarm, you couldn’t help but feel this sinking sensation in your heart. ‘I… I don’t want to leave yet…’ you thought with a sigh. A warm hand resting on your shoulder snaps you out of your thoughts.

“Everything okay, love? Is it for something important?” His golden eyes were warm, yet you could tell he was thinking the same as you. Vox didn’t want you to leave either, which only made the decision to leave harder.

“It’s fine. I had set that for a work thingy. So I should… probably go soon. I still gotta cook something for dinner and then–” The more you thought about work, the tenser you got. You had so much to do and, jeez, you just did not want to do it. Not today. Why did you constantly try to make yourself as busy as possible?

Vox could feel the way your shoulders tensed beneath his hand. Shifting his hand from your shoulder to your arm, he began rubbing gentle circles with his thumb. “My dear, you know better than anyone that I can make you dinner. Not an issue at all. Plus, if I’m being frank with you…” He pauses for a moment before continuing, “I don’t want you to depart just yet. And,” he brought his other hand up to caress your chin, gently coaxing you to look at him, “I don’t think you want to either.”

Your lips trembled slightly as a lump formed in your throat. Exhaling, you avert your eyes from him. “Your way too good at reading me,” you sigh, albeit fondly, “but yeah I… I don’t wanna go. Not yet. I mean, I gotta milk how comfy your furniture is before I leave.” You joke in hopes of stopping the butterflies ever-rising in your stomach from how naturally romantic he is. His gaze was already fairly intense on a normal basis – maybe that just comes with being a demon – but it always caused you to feel a mixture of emotions.

Vox smiles and removes his hands from you, turning to collect your mugs. As he stands from the couch, he lingers, tilting his head as he looks over at you. “You know,” He seems to hesitate for a second, wetting his lips before continuing, “I wouldn’t mind you staying the night. Like I said earlier, my house is fairly out of the way. I don’t want you stressing yourself while driving so far when it’s pitch black.” There's a slight shift in his expression. His eyes lidded as his lips quirked in a faint smirk. “My bed is enormous enough for two.” His tone shifted with his last sentence. If you had thought longer on it, you likely would have caught on to the implications of his words. Yet, you were too worried about inconveniencing him to pick up on it.

“Oh Vox, I couldn’t–I don’t want to–” He gently interrupts before you could speak any further.

“Love, it’s okay. If it was inconvenient, I would just drive you home myself. I’m okay with you staying in my home.” Mouth opening and closing a few times, you can’t think of a solid argument. You huff, unable to stop yourself from pouting up at him. The demon chuckled at your expression, eyes filled with love. “If you’d like–” he gestures towards the corridor– “you can go rummage through my closet for some clothes to sleep in. I’ll get started on a quick meal for us.” Still unable to verbally respond, you give him a nod before scurrying your way to his room.

Though not even a second later, you re-entered the room. “Umm… which one is your room?” The laughter that pulled from Vox was boisterous. Once he gives you the directions, you make a hasty retreat.

As soon as you reach the room, you can’t help but stare in awe. It was a very beautiful, somewhat traditional, room. The floor was covered in a nice dark wood that reflected the few beams of sunlight that managed to sneak in with the setting sun. Your eyes can’t help but travel to the slightly elevated part of the room where a large pristinely made bed sat, tatami mats covering the surrounding floor, sliding doors able to hide the area from view. Taking a deep breath, you noted the scent of lavender and leather was much more prominent here than throughout the rest of the house. The sophisticated state of his room caused you to feel a twang of embarrassment over the times he’d seen your room in its occasional hazardous state.

Shaking the thought away, you maneuver your way toward Vox’s closet and drawers. Finding a fair-sized red hoodie and some shorts that were adjustable by a drawstring you could wear. Moving to his bathroom, you quickly change your clothes. Folding up your clothes, you set them aside on the counter before moving on to wash up. Once finished, you head back out to meet Vox in his dining room, where he was already serving the two of you dinner.

Sensing your arrival, golden eyes flicker up to greet you. However, it takes him a solid moment and a double-take before he fully takes you in. His eyes slowly trail over your body. Seeing you in his clothes affected him in a way he hadn’t truly prepared for. It wasn’t even in a lustful way. Seeing you move around his home, in his clothes as he prepared a meal for you… it felt so utterly domestic and his heart swelled with love. ‘Someday,’ he told himself, pushing those thoughts back for now. But someday? He would love nothing more than to make this permanent.

Blinking himself out of the slight daze he’d fallen into, he realized you were still standing in the doorway, shifting on your feet. His staring made you feel a bit embarrassed. With a soft chuckle, he gestured you into the room with a smile. “Sorry, love, you just look really cute in my clothes.” For a second, you could have sworn his expression changed. Yet, once you blinked, it was back to his gentle smile.

Clearing your throat, you finally move further into the room and take a seat before ducking your head to hide your sheepish expression. “U–um, the food looks really good, Vox.” The demon's smile grew at your praise as he took his seat across from you. “Thank you for the meal. Let’s eat!”

The pair of you eat silently at first, enjoying the food. Yet it’s not long before you start looking around, as though looking for something. Vox notices this, cocking a brow at you. “Something the matter, love?”

“Nothing wrong, just,” you sit back fully in your seat with a confused tilt of your head. “I’ve been here a couple of hours. Is Onigiri out today?”

Vox makes a sound of understanding before explaining, “Oh no, he’s actually gone home this month. Spending more time with his wife.”

“Aww, that makes sense.” You can’t help but smile at your next thought. “At least he gets a break from you, then.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” He scowls at you, except you can see the corners of his lips twitching. “In reality, I’m the one getting a break from him!” Your bright laughter fills the room.

The tension you had been feeling before faded as the pair of you have a pleasant conversation, enjoying your meal. Once finished, you help Vox with the dishes before moving back to the living room and reclaiming your spot on the couch. He joins you not a moment after, flicking through Netflix for something to watch. You let him pick what to put on as you leaned into his side. You were positioned somewhat awkwardly; feeling unsure about fully cuddling into him. You don’t know if it was because of your embarrassment or just wanting to be considerate and not cling to him if he needed to get up. Ultimately, you didn’t have to worry about it for too long. Feeling the weight of Vox’s arm shift around you, his hand lightly clasping the shoulder not already pressed against him. When you don't pull away, he pulls you further into his side, allowing you to feel just how warm he is. Releasing a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, you all but melt into his side. Basking in his warmth. Feeling extremely satisfied, Vox can’t help but press a light kiss on your head. The hand still on your shoulder runs soothingly over the fabric of the sweater– his sweater.

“You know,” your gaze shifts to find him already watching you, “you do look good in my sweater.”

“Mmm, it is very comfy. I might just steal it from you.” You joke; though you are a little tempted by the thought.

“Cheeky brat.” He mutterers with a fond roll of his eyes.

The two of you remain like that for a while. Snuggled against each other, silently taking comfort in each other's presence. Gradually, you can feel your attention shift from the TV to the demon beside you. Looking up at him slowly, you take in every feature of his face as his focus remains on the TV. Your mind drifts back to thinking of ways you could potentially thank him for loving you as he does. It might seem silly, and you know he would gently scold you for thinking you needed to replay him for such a thing. But you wanted to. The only problem is that there isn't anything you could physically do right at this moment.

Or at least that’s what you thought until an idea popped into your head.

Of the two of you, it was normally Vox who instigated physical affection. It wasn’t that you didn't want to; it was just that your embarrassment and nervousness more often than not overruled your wants of affection. Except tonight, you wanted to change that.

Feeling the heat of your gaze on him, he turned his head to meet your eyes. “Is something wrong, love?” As he spoke, you couldn’t help but let your gaze trail from his golden eyes down to his lips. Vox caught onto that immediately. Testing the waters, he intentionally wets his lips and feels incredibly amused as he watches you grow more flustered. The corners of his mouth twitch in a smile, bringing you back up to his eyes.

“Uh–umm, well I–” You cleared your throat, your attention subconsciously trailing back towards his lips. This time, his lips fully curl into a smile. The hand on your shoulder shifts down to your waist. The motion makes you feel even more bashful.

It’s not as if you haven't kissed before. You’ve done it multiple times. When he visits you. When you separate for the evening. Sometimes he’ll just be feeling affectionate and give you a random peck while the two of you are spending time with each other.

Except, this time, it felt different.

Raising one hand, you gently place it on his chest. The house was silent aside from the comforting white noise of the TV and the sound of your pulse rushing through your ears. Sitting up slightly, you slowly start inching your face closer to his. It’s clear what you want to do, and he’s not pushing you away. Except it seemed like he still wanted to tease you just a bit more. His eyes remained open, staying fixated on you. The expression on his face says, ‘ask me,’ which only causes you to feel more flustered. “Are you…” your voice is barely above a whisper, soft breath fanning against his lips. “Are you gonna close your eyes?” The words are shaky as they leave your mouth. You could feel his laughter more than hear it with the hand you still had resting on his chest.

“Not until you ask me, sweetheart.” His eyes are half-lidded as he peered at you. His gaze filled with love, but once again, that certain emotion you still couldn’t quite pinpoint. The look he’d given you multiple times throughout the day. More prominent now than ever.

He was messing with you again, the tease. You can’t help it when your lips purse into a small pout, but huffing in resignation nonetheless. “May I kiss you… please?” Pushing your face closer with the last word, hoping to entice him out of teasing you further. Your half-lidded gaze pleaded with him to finally let you connect your lips.

Vox chuckles, reaching a hand up to caress your cheek. His voice lowering an octave as he spoke softer. “Of course you can, darling.”

Finally, with permission, you softly plant your lips onto his with the lightest touch, closing the distance. You were still feeling a bit hesitant; not usually the lead in kisses. Vox, however, was calming you down with the circular motions his thumb was making along your cheek. Feeling a bit bolder, you push your lips a little firmer against his. Tilting your head to deepen the kiss as your hand slid up from his chest to his neck. Vox kissed back with the same enthusiasm, yet you could tell that he was fully letting you control the kiss. His motions do not pursue anything more than what you initiate. And you’re grateful for that.

Pulling back after a moment, you drink in the much-needed air, feeling a bit breathless. A mix of embarrassment and intoxication flutters in your chest over just how nice Vox’s lips felt against yours. With your hands still on him, you could feel the way he was also breathing a bit heavier than before. You dare to glance at your boyfriend's expression, only to find his intense gaze already focused on you. Neither of you dared to move. Hands remain firmly on the other, not wanting to pull away fully. A collective thought rang through both of your minds.

‘I want more.’

Moving forward once more, you felt more confident in kissing him this time. He let out a deep sigh of contentment as he moved the hand on your cheek down so that both of his hands rested on your waist. Pulling you closer to him as he fully turned towards you, wanting you pressed against his chest. You also made an effort to get closer as the kiss grew more heated. Both your hands moved to caress his face. Wanting, needing his lips to be connected to yours. It became a priority higher than breathing. Yet you still didn’t feel like you were close enough. Shifting your weight around, you moved your legs, so you were in his lap; effectively straddling him. Being in such a daze, it had yet to dawn on you that you were now making out – Vox’s tongue making itself at home in your mouth.

However, you're abruptly broken from your subconscious state when a whine tears itself from your throat. Frantically pulling away, you cover your mouth as you stare wide-eyed at your boyfriend before darting around the room in a flustered panic. Desperately thinking of an explanation before you heard Vox chuckle, your gaze was drawn back to him. His cheeks were a light dusting of pink, and his lips were moist and red from your previous make out. When you locked eyes with him, you caught sight of that emotion again. And finally, the dots connect and you swallow hard. Lust.

One of Vox’s hands shifted from your waist to your thigh. Sliding ever so slowly inwards towards a very dangerous place causing you to shiver. In anticipation – and panic. Your eyes dart towards the spot as one of your hands jumps to stop him. Immediately, his hand froze in place, and his expression shifted to concern. Removing his hands from you completely, he meets your gaze while apologetically asking, “I’m sorry love, am I moving too fast?” Except you can’t retain eye contact, dipping your head toward your chest. He moved his head forward to try to catch your eyes with his, hoping to get a read of your expression. It didn’t help much though, as you’d shut your eyes tightly. Too embarrassed to look at him.

“U–um yes, but no–I mean–” Your eyes open only to fixate on your hands as you fidget with them between your bodies. With a sigh, you try to swallow around the lump that had formed in your throat. Yet it still doesn’t stop your words from coming out a bit wobbly. “I’ve–uhh, never done anything like this before, so umm..”

Vox looked a bit confused, raising an eyebrow in question. “You’ve never made out with someone before?”

“Umm no, not that! I–uh, I’ve never…” You huffed at your inability to speak properly and quickly blurted out your next words. “I’ve never had sex before.” You were met with silence. The only sounds filling the room was your combined breathing and the no longer comforting white noise of the TV. Your eyes shut once more as you braced yourself for something. Anything.

Realistically, you knew Vox wasn’t going to make fun of, or degrade, you for being a virgin. Except your anxiety was begging to convince you he’d be disappointed. I mean, he’s a 400-year-old demon. It’s practically inevitable that he’s had partners before that were way better at this than you. You just didn’t want him to have a bad time. You heard a huff from him and almost deflated on the spot. Yet you weren’t expecting what came out of his mouth next.

“Darling, look at me…” Vox gently raises his hands to hold your face, guiding your head to look directly at him. Blinking your eyes open, your breath nearly hitching in surprise. You feel a swell of emotions build up within you at the sheer amount of love you see in his eyes. “I know what your brain is doing. I am not disappointed that you have no experience.” He rubbed your cheeks with his thumbs and you put your hands on top of his, wanting the comforting feeling to stay. “I just wish you had told me a bit sooner. We could have had a whole conversation about what to do when you felt ready. If you ever feel ready.” He shrugged his shoulders as he continued. “If sex was not something you wanted, it would not make or break our relationship. I am more than capable of taking care of my own needs.” He laughed lightly, trying to lift your mood.

You take in a shaky breath, trying to calm your emotions. Though your eyes well with tears, you smile at him. He was so perfect for you and to you. Who knew a demon could be a better partner than most humans you’ve met. “I’m sorry, I really should have told you earlier...” Your eyes drift away for a second as you collect your thoughts. “I guess I just felt slightly embarrassed. Especially since I wouldn’t know where to start asking… I’ve never really had anyone I could talk with about it before.” The last part is spoken more so to yourself.

“It’s alright, love. Remember, you can talk to me about anything. There are no stupid questions in this matter.” He shifted the both of you slightly. “Here, lay back with me. We can just chill for the rest of the night.” He starts to remove his hands from your face. But, with your hands still covering his, you swiftly keep hold of them. Vox looks back at you with confusion, tilting his head slightly to express his feelings.

You can feel a lump in your throat but are determined in your feelings, wanting to be honest with him. “Vox, I–” The way your heart pounded so fast in your chest, you swear Vox could hear it himself “I’m ready now,” He looked at you seriously, pulling his hands away to place them on your shoulders.

“Are you sure? Don’t feel like you have to just because we got heated earlier.”

“I’m sure, I promise.” You tilt your head, pressing a kiss on the palm of his hand as your eyes remain locked with his. “I’ve been thinking about it for a hot minute, but like I said earlier… I just… I didn’t know how to ask.” Vox didn’t say anything else, but you could see the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed. He lets you go so he can reach over and turn off the TV. You were about to ask what he was doing, but squeaked suddenly when you felt his large hands on your ass. You’d all but forgotten that you were in his lap. He stands from the couch, causing your arms and legs to wrap around him in paranoia. He can’t help but chuckle at your cute reaction. The demon starts walking down the hall, taking the same route you did earlier, and it only takes you a second to realize he was taking you to his bedroom. You could feel heat begin to well up in your stomach.

Vox set you down as soon as he entered his room, closing his door behind the both of you. “Sit on the bed, love. I have a few things to say before we do anything further.” Confusion washed over your face, but you did as you were told. Moving across his room and past the sliding doors before making yourself comfortable on his plush bed. There's a subtle tension in your body as you watch him remove his suit jacket and put it on a dresser before rolling up the sleeves of his maroon dress shirt. Not really understanding why; you felt the heat between your legs flare up as you watched him, causing you to clench your thighs together.

The demon then proceeded to make his way toward you, sitting so close to you that his thigh brushed against yours. His hand rests on your shoulder before sliding down your arm to turn you slightly toward him. These soft touches weren’t helping your already hormonal brain from imagining all the things his hands could do to you. However, you take a deep breath and try to remain as calm as possible as he begins to speak once more.

“Alright, first things first, love. I need you to tell me how much you know about safe words and the color system.”

“Uh,” your mouth shuts as you think it over. “Well, I know safe words are meant to be like a hard stop. The color system is like the traffic lights, right?” Vox nods his head at your words.

“Yes.” His tone was firm but still caring. “These are verbal ways for the Dom, or person leading, to gauge how their partner is doing without having to break out of a scene. Green is an ‘I’m okay’ or ‘I’m good to continue’. Orange works for a variety of things, but it still stands for ‘slow down, check in’.” He brings the hand on your arm up to your head, softly petting your hair, wanting you to be as comfortable as possible as he continues. “And as you said, red and safe words are for all play to come to an immediate stop. Aftercare should be immediately initiated, and at some point, there should be a discussion about what went wrong.” His free hand reaches up to caress your face. “Never hesitate to say red, or to use your safe word. Understood?” Immediately, you nod.

“Now,” he continues, “because this is your first time I will be taking the position of Dom.” Your mouth opened at that, however, you quickly shut it again. Untimely it would be for the best; knowledge from the internet does not equivocate experience in real life. “And because we haven’t had a chance to talk about this more in-depth beforehand, we’ll just stick to the color system for now. We will discuss safe words in the future. Now, Darling, do you know what a non-verbal queue is?”

“Well,” your head tilts to the side in thought, “I assume it’s a non-verbal… safe word?”

Vox smiles and places a kiss on your forehead. “Exactly love. It’s one of the best ways for you to communicate with me just in case–” he pulls back just enough for you to see a mischievous smirk curling at his lips– “I fuck you so good that you can’t speak.” You can’t help the immediate reaction of sputtering at his wording, your eyes widening as you try to look anywhere but at him. Even when explaining serious things, he just can’t seem to hold back from teasing you – the motherfucker. After a moment, Vox cleared his throat, steering you both back on topic. “Usually it's a certain number of taps with two or three fingers. At least that’s the most common one. You could also tell me to watch for a pattern, such as you clenching and un-clenching your fist, or you could blink rapidly.” Vox glided his hand from your hair, this time moving to hold your hand. The feel of his big palm enveloping yours was a desired comfort. “What would you like to use, my dear?”

Taking a moment to think about it, your free hand subconsciously begins tracing the structure of his hand wrapped around your own. Still a bit unsure, you sit up straight and hold up your hand, your fingers mimicking what you were saying. “I’ll hold up three fingers and tap you three times. Is anywhere on the body alright or should it be more specific?” You were still a bit nervous, your voice wavering at your last word. Though Vox answers you with another kiss on your forehead.

“That’s perfect, love. Now with that out of the way…” He releases your hand and moves it to rest on your back. You’re not confused for long, as he repositions himself before softly urging your body to lie back, sinking into the soft sheets beneath you. His body hovers over yours as one hand presses firmly on the mattress beside your head and the other slides out from under your back, making way to the buttons on his shirt. “I’d really like to indulge in your body and show you the pleasures you’ve been pining for.” The demon licks his lips sinfully slow, maintaining eye contact with you as he does, desire fully prevalent in his eyes.

You almost feel yourself explode on the spot, averting your eyes quickly as if his gaze itself would eat you up if you kept looking. This didn’t help how horny you already were. If your thighs were pressed together any tighter, you swear your legs would fuse into one. He finished unbuttoning his shirt with ease, chest becoming exposed to you fully. Your hands twitched forward before hesitating with embarrassment. Vox noticed this, his deep chuckle sending shivers down your spine.

“It’s okay, you can touch me, baby.” His hands guided yours to his pecs, letting you feel the warmth of his skin and the quick beating of his heart. Enraptured, your hands moved over his chest with a feather-like touch, drawing out a satisfied hum from him. He lowered his face closer to yours, causing you to grip his chest as he drew closer before he captured your lips in a kiss. Lips moving against each other in such a way that drew a soft sigh from you. When he tried to pull back, you could help but follow, causing him to smile. “You have no clue what you do to me, love…” Vox’s words came out in a low whisper, almost breathless, before he kissed you again.

Releasing another satisfied sigh against his lips, returning the kiss with just as much vigor. The smacking of your lips together only adds to the intensity, his tongue wasting no time in entering your mouth. Vox tasted immaculate to you – unsure if this was a normal demon trait or simply just your extreme attraction to him. Sliding your hands from his chest to his back, you pull him in closer; needing him closer. This drove another airy laugh from him as his hands finally graced you with a more intimate touch. One reached under his hoodie you were wearing, making its way to your bare chest. The other tugged at your shorts, to which you lifted your hips just enough for him to pull them down.

In between the passionate moving of your lips and tongues, Vox spoke up, his tone husky. “You can be a bit more greedy, love.” The hand on your chest fondled you, his fingers gracing your nipple. You let out a sharp gasp, hands balling into fists against his back. He leaned closer to your ear, breath tickling you with the warmth. “I want you to show how much you want me. I may be leading this, but this is your first time.” He follows his words with kisses down your neck, occasionally leaving nips that make you whine.

‘This man is way too good at riling me up, jeez.’ Your hands moved from his back to the front of his shirt, wanting it off so you could see all of his torso. He seemed to get the signal as you felt him smirk on your neck. He pulled back from you entirely, sitting back on his knees as he lets his shirt slide off his shoulders. You take this opportunity to remove his your hoodie, having some slight difficulty as your eyes are glued to his motions. ‘Why does him taking off his shirt look so hot?!’ You take a deep breath as you get the hoodie off; only your underwear remains.

Vox takes you in as you lay before him, completely intoxicated by your entire being. Every little noise you’d make when he touched you, the way your eyes fixated on him anytime he did something. It was truly a wonder you hadn’t noticed the bulge in his pants. To be fair, he could practically feel your shyness radiating off you, preventing you from making any bolder moves. But he’d help you overcome that. He shifts forward for his hips to press and grind into you, smirking when he hears you gasp. Vox slid one of his hands to grasp the underside of your thigh, drawing it up to press the apex of your sexes even closer together. You reach a hand up to tangle in the base of Vox’s hair, slightly tugging at the strands as your hips twitch forward with his guidance. He laughs teasingly at your reaction, continuing to rub his hips against you as his bulge glides against your most sensitive parts, causing you to moan and gasp. It felt so different. So new. This was unlike anything you’ve ever done in an attempt to pleasure yourself. Physically feeling another person against you was way better than anything you’d imagined or could have tried to replicate.

Vox leans down to attend to your neck again, biting and sucking with the intention of leaving hickeys. Finally, you decided to take his advice and be greedier. Slowly, you start to push back against him, rutting your hips in time with his rubbing. The friction causes him to groan in satisfaction as you let out your own pleasurable sigh. Taking your free hand, you slide it down his chest, making way to the hem of his white dress trousers. You were in your underwear, so it would only be fair for him to match you. With slow movements, you unbuttoned and unzipped him, your hand skimming over his bulge as you do so.

Letting out a breathy moan of his name as he bit down harder at your boldness. “Vox–” You palmed at him, curiosity taking the majority of your thoughts. You wanted to taste him. If you could even fit him in your mouth, that is. He felt pretty large, and you had never attempted to try on anything before; much too embarrassed. He pulls back from your now surely hickey-ridden neck and hisses through his teeth. His eyes clouded with want, the hand on your thigh tightening its grip, lips parted slightly and bruised from putting his lips to work on you.

Taking this opportunity, you raise your other hand, pulling at his waistline. You can tell he’s about to speak, but still, you quickly verbalize what’s been in your mind since your hands slid down him. “May I, umm… suck you off? Please?” You bite your lip harshly, surprised that you even got that out of your mouth. And seemingly you caught your boyfriend off guard as well.

Vox was frozen in place for a hot minute, almost like he was fully processing what you had just asked. After it was processed, he took a sudden breath as he appeared to forcefully cease his movements. Almost like he was holding himself back from saying something – or, more accurately put, doing something. You swear you saw his eyes go from the beautiful gold you know to a flash of pink. You almost thought about totally backpedaling your statement, ‘I think I accidentally awakened a beast–’ Except before you could blurt anything out, Vox finally released his breath with a verbal ‘Hah’, before leaning back down to give you a gentle kiss on the forehead. Confusing you even more than before.

He brings a hand up to smooth over the top of your head, pushing your hair back. “Not this time, love. Maybe next time we do this. I want you to experience the pleasure, and I’ll take mine from seeing you feel good.” You gulped hard, but nodded in understanding. You were honestly a bit disappointed, but you fully understood where he was coming from. This is your first time, after all, and he didn’t want you to lift a finger while he spoils you.

You’re snapped out of your thoughts by Vox thumbing at your bottom lip, your eyes shifting back to his face quickly. He releases another breath and smirks at your reaction, his eyes looking mischievous as you once more notice a bit of the pink hue return to his eyes. “You’ve given me a good idea, though, love. How about I return the favor of you wanting to serve me–” Vox placed his other hand on your empty thigh, hands creeping up slowly to drag down your underwear as he moved his head down to kiss your chest– “by giving you some much-deserved service to your most precious places.” You trembled at the way his voice deepened, hands gripping tightly at the sheets below.

“I–I think I would like that very much…” You glanced away shyly, lifting your hips slightly to help him with his motions. “But… um, you might need to hold me down. I don’t want to kick you…” You knew how your body would react, at least somewhat from the times you’d touched yourself. Though you don’t doubt it’ll be ten times more effective with someone else’s touch.

Hearing a growl, your eyes snap back down to Vox, startled by the sudden sound. You were not mentally prepared for what came out of his mouth next. “Darling, you have no idea how much I would love to do that. You make it so hard to hold back, fuck.” You ascended on the spot, making your body go comically limp as you inhaled sharply. Vox openly laughed at your reaction, bringing his head back up to be face-to-face with you. “Are you alright, love? Am I teasing you too much?”

Shaking your head a bit, you pouted in his direction. “No, it’s just… god, your voice is so stupidly hot! I didn’t think the title ‘Voice Demon’ was literal.” You threw your hands up in exaggeration and huff. “I… I just need to get used to you talking like that, 'cause I know you. You’re not gonna shut up.”

Vox chuckles and you can feel his fingers tracing circles on your thighs. “It gets a reaction out of you, darling. Of course, I’m not gonna stop.” You lightly punch him in the arm, and he lets out his little gremlin laugh before speaking again. “Come now, let’s not stall anymore. I’m supposed to be giving you a memorable first time, love.” Once again, he moves his way down your body, leaving kisses and small bites with his fangs to reignite the fire in your body. Letting out small pants, your hands making their way back to his hair.

Vox makes his way in between your legs, licking his lips as he peaks up at you. His hands spread your thighs apart and up, putting you in a prime position to be eaten as his grip becomes firmer. Without even testing it, you knew if you even attempted to move at all, you wouldn’t be going anywhere, his hands tightly pushing on you. “Is my grip hurting you at all?”

“N–No, this is honestly perfect. Can I, um, can I keep my hands in your hair?” Vox's expression shifts back into one of lust at your question before leaning in and darting his tongue over your sex, making you gasp at the sudden contact.

“Please do.” His words came out more akin to a purr, causing you to shudder at the heat of his breath on you. “Don’t hesitate to pull and grip at it as well. I’ll be trying my best to make you squirm, love.” He punctuates his sentence by pressing a kiss to your thigh.

Biting your lip, your hands react to his words by tightening their grip on his hair slightly. He latched his mouth onto you and you can't help the way your body shudders as his tongue starts to flick and prod against you. Breathing out his name as your head falls back against the pillows and you moan. He can feel your thighs begin to tremble as he picks up the pace, getting into a steady rhythm with his mouth. Fuck, he’d love to sink his teeth into your thighs. Coat them in bruises and bite marks, a reminder that he was the one to bring you this pleasure. ‘Another time,’ he thinks to himself. Another time, he’d allow himself to act upon his wants; for now, this was about what you wanted. You felt like you were on cloud nine. The sensation was entirely new to you. And quite frankly, you couldn’t get enough. As your hands gripped his hair tighter, you eased your hips into him, wanting his mouth to be as close to you as possible.

Vox groaned against you, encouraging your movements. The deep rumble of his voice only made the pleasure increase. He kept his eyes on you, feeling his cock twitch at your expressions and how unashamed you were being with your voice. God, he wanted to break you. Wanted to show you the full extent of his desires. But shushes those thoughts, mentally shaking his head at himself. ‘Another time,’ he reminded himself once more. Vox was fully intent on making this about you. Showing you all the things he wants to do would have to come later on. ‘And what an exciting thing to look forward to.’

He pulls back for a moment and you whine at the lack of contact. Picking up your head to look directly at your boyfriend, desperation written across your face. Vox lets out a long breath, his nails slightly digging into your thighs. “You taste so fucking good, love. Can I make you cum like this?”

You wasted no time in responding, nodding your head vigorously. “Yes! Please please please, make me cum. I need it–I need your mouth–” You would have felt embarrassed over the words you just unabashedly moaned out if it weren’t for you feeling so overwhelmingly turned on. Enjoying Vox’s mouth so much more than you probably should’ve, but right now you just wanted the ecstasy to return, wanted to ride the high of this new feeling until you came. Luckily for you, the demon wasted no time in engulfing you with his mouth again, twisting and prodding his tongue twice as fast as before.

You both moaned without shame as Vox continued his actions, picking up the pace. He growled and groaned into you, making sure to leave no inch of you untouched by his mouth. Your legs kicked in the air, and your body reacted to the build of pleasure by trying to clamp your thighs close. Vox wouldn’t let you, however, his hands keeping you firmly in place as he kept you spread.

“Vo–Vox–oh god! Please, I’m gonna–!” Your eyes started to water as you felt Vox give you the last push you needed, his mouth moving rougher. He watched as your back arched and you let out a euphoric moan, gripping his hair tightly and tugging on it. He swallowed all of you, only making you whimper from the continued pleasure as his tongue slowly lapped you up. Refusing to let even a drop of your taste escape him.

Licking his lips, Vox could feel the way your thighs trembled in his hands from the aftershocks, and eventually, he pulled back. Sitting up, he gently helped guide your shaking legs down as you caught your breath. Your hands dropped down from his hair, reaching up shakily to push your hair out of your face. Even after a few moments, you could still feel yourself throb in aftershocks, and you swallowed hard. Your throat was dry from how hard you had been panting and moaning. “Holy fuck…”

Vox repositions himself above you, letting out a quiet laugh at your words. Reaching up, you wrap your arms around his neck, wanting to keep physical contact with him. You lightly tug him down with your arms so his chest makes contact with yours. Still taking deep breaths as your heart was continually beating wildly in your chest. Though the thing that surprised you most was that you were still very, very horny.

“I assume by that reaction, I don’t need to ask if that was good. Right, love?” All you could do was nod, averting your eyes from his. He couldn’t help but find the way you pout extremely cute.

“I… umm, I don’t know what came over me. God, I said such embarrassing things!” You take your arms off his neck, covering your face, which causes him to laugh.

“My darling, it’s totally fine.” One of his hands moves to play with a lock of your hair. “When you moan like that, telling me what you want–” A deep groan rumbles in his chest, cutting off his sentence. “Well, frankly, it is incredibly sexy. Just hearing the way you enjoy yourself almost made me cum.”

With how flustered you are, it takes a moment for you to fully register what he said. Once you do, your arms slowly move from your face before your eyes widen and you sit up quickly, causing him to recoil a bit as he sits back. “You haven't cum yet?”

He shakes his head calmly as he gives you a gentle smile. Your eyes trail down his body, gulping a bit as your eyes land on his hard cock. He follows your gaze before leaning forward and kissing your cheek before trailing his mouth closer to your ear. “I know you said you were ready, but I wanna ask again. I’ve already made you cum tonight, so if you're done, I will fully respect your decision. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Swallowing hard, you tilt your head to meet his eyes. “I do want to do this, Vox. I want to give you my body, I want to give you all my first…” You reach out to grasp his biceps, pulling him with you as you lower yourself back onto the bed. “...and even though it’s my first time, I want you to feel good, too.”

The look Vox gave you caused your heartbeat to race again. You let out a startled squeak that grows into laughter when he suddenly leans down and starts attacking your face and ears with kisses. He has so much love for you that he can’t even put it into words at the moment. He pulls back from you after one last peck on your lips, smiling brightly at hearing your giggles. “I’m very honored that you're so sure to give this old demon your first. Let’s get you prepped then, love.”

You tilted your head a bit, intrigued, as you watch him lean over and open his nightstand drawer. The first thing he pulls out is a roll of condoms; ripping one off from the pack and setting it away from the others. His hand reaches back into the drawer and proceeds to pull out a bottle of lube before closing the drawer with the back of his hand. Vox picked the condom packet back up and returned to his position over you. He muffles a laugh when he notices your curious expression, but couldn’t hide the amused tone of his voice. “What’s with those eyes, darling? You look a bit confused.”

You clear your throat before biting your lip in embarrassment. You hadn’t realized you were staring so intently. “Oh–umm, sorry. Guess I was just surprised, more so about the lube than the condom. Don't condoms come... lubricated?” The pitch of your voice raises as your sentence finishes, visually unsure of your words.

Vox blinked owlishly at you for a second before chuckling. “They do, but my dear, it’s never a bad idea to use more. Besides, spit doesn't make for the best lube, so trust me, this’ll make the… heh, fucking, a lot smoother.”

You huffed at the way he worded the last part, squinting your eyes at him. “Did you have to phrase it like that?” He chuckled, looking right through your mock annoyance.

“Of course, darling. If I know it’ll fluster you, I have to say it.” He doesn’t even attempt to hide his mischievous smile. “You like it~.” Vox laughs as he feels your hand lightly hit his arm, followed by a loud ‘shut up!’ directed at him. He leans forward, catching you off guard once more as he wraps his arms around you. Your embarrassed state was the perfect distraction for him as he captured your lips in a deep kiss. Your eyes widen for only a split second before fluttering closed as you reach your hands up to gently caress his face. Before you part, you can hear the snap of the lube bottle opening, and then the sudden feeling of a cold, slick finger circling over your hole.

Jerking in his hold, squeaking at the sudden feeling. “Holy shit, that’s cold!” swearing as you instinctively tense. Vox, however, is quick to distract you; peppering kisses along your neck and shoulders while easing his finger into you. Your eyes flutter, one of your hands reaching out to firmly grip his wrist.

“Don’t worry, love, just getting you ready. You’re being very good for me, baby.” The way he whispered in your ear caused you to have a full body shiver; your breaths picking up for what felt like the thousandth time tonight. You mentally smacked yourself for questioning the lube. The coldness was no longer a problem, a newfound pleasure rushing through your body. Touching yourself had never felt like this. ‘The internet actually wasn’t lying.’ You would have laughed at that thought, but, at that moment, Vox added another one of his large fingers. Sliding them deep inside you and moving them in and out slowly to stretch you for his length.

“Darling, if your head isn’t too empty right now, could you open the condom? Your body is being so obedient for me.” Your breath hitches at the way he practically purrs those words. “You're just about ready.” Nodding your head, you let out a breathless ‘yes’. Reaching over, hand shakily patting the wooden surface before finally feeling the plastic beneath your fingers. Grasping the condom, you do your best to carefully tear the plastic from the slot; removing the condom from the packaging and, with a trembling hand, presenting it to him. Vox takes it with his free hand while simultaneously sliding his fingers out of you.

“Goood. Now just give me a moment, love.” You watch your boyfriend in wonder as he quickly and flawlessly puts on the condom. He hovers over you not even a second after, his hands guiding your legs around his hips.

You chuckled almost breathlessly and decide to try to get one last quip out before your thoughts would inevitably turn to mush. “Wow, that was fast. Almost like you’ve done this before.”

“My dear, when you’re 400 years old, you get good at certain things.” There is a heat to the way he stares at you through his lashes, his voice dropping an octave with his next words “Now, let me show you my years of experience firsthand.” All the confidence you had to try to tease him vanished. With your hands gripping his forearms, you let your gaze travel down to his cock, where it rested in between your legs. It felt easier to watch the way your bodies pressed together than to look into his eyes. Though the way his length rubbed against you made you gulp, you were extremely thankful for the prep beforehand, as it would make the process of him sliding inside you much easier.

Vox lifted your chin with his fingers, so it forced your eyes to meet his. “Color, dear?”

Your voice was already out of breath as you responded, “Green.”

He smiles as his thumb soothes your lower lip. “I’ll go slowly, love. You’ll still need time to adjust to me once I’m inside. Take deep breaths and if you need to, claw and grip me as hard as you need. If it’s too much, you need to tell me.” He places a soft kiss on your lips before pulling back to look into your eyes. “Do you understand, darling?”

You nod slowly, soaking in every syllable that comes out of his mouth. You respond with a firm ‘Yes’ and are already bracing yourself as you tighten your grip on his arms. He smiles and before he fully settles against you, grabs a pillow. Gently urging you to lift your back before setting it under your hips. You assume it’s for your comfort, or at least that’s what you’ve heard. You don’t have much time to ponder further on it as you feel Vox push against you, his hand guiding his cock into you slowly. Your mouth opens, except no sound comes out as you feel yourself clench down on him. This differed significantly from his fingers. Hell, this was a completely different feeling from any of the toys you had ever used. Feeling the way he stretched you, the way his cock twitched; it was all your mind was preoccupied with as your head fell back from the pleasure.

Vox let out a deep groan as he pushed into you, eyes darting back and forth from your expression to his cock disappearing inside you. Your borderline painful grip on him only fueled him on, yet the sliver of rationale he had took over for a moment. He stopped about halfway, causing you to look up at him, lips parted as you pant.

You gulp hard before asking, “W–why’d you stop?” The hands you had on his forearms subconsciously loosened, thinking that maybe something was wrong. You’re surprised, however, when he brings a hand up to caress your cheek, able to feel the heat of your skin against his palm.

“I just wanna make sure you’re alright, love. Am I hurting you? Your breathing is too hard. Take slow, deep breaths.”

“O–oh! I’m okay, I promise. I just–it feels… it feels so good.” You do your best to even out your breathing after answering and he smiles at you, pecking your forehead.

“That’s perfect, darling. I’m gonna go all the way in, so prepare yourself.” And as he said, Vox shifts his hips forward slowly until his hips are flush against your skin. Biting your lip hard as you feel a whine build in your throat at the feeling of him fully seated inside you. It’s only now that you’ve finally realized what the pillow under your hips was for. The elevation of your hips helped him reach deeper inside, while also supporting your hips.

“Oh fuck–” Every word from your mouth was drawn out. Tightening your legs around his waist and pulling him in further resulting in pleasing reactions from both of you. Your arms slide around his neck as you meet his eyes, your own eyes misty from just the initial pleasure. “Vox, please move. I’m ready, please.”

Vox didn’t say anything in return, just slid his hands down your body to your hips, gripping them firmly. He thrust once, eliciting a loud moan from you before moving again. Picking up a constant pace and pushing your hips into the pillow and mattress. Every movement spurred a moan or whimper from you, your hands tangling in his hair, needing something to hold on to. The lube made the sound of your skin connecting echo loudly in both your ears, only driving him to move faster in you.

Vox leaned his body forward, wanting to engulf you in his scent–his entire being. His rough grip on your hips moved to your thighs, pushing them back as he leaned forward. He wanted to be deeper, wanted to hear more of your sweet moans that were stirring up the heat inside him. His mouth latched onto your neck. Taking up any unmarked skin with his fangs to leave visible reminders of his love along your body. The whine you let out was music to his ears. The way your hips rolled upwards into him was euphoria. He loved every ounce of your being, and having sex with you was now just another way he could express his love to you.

As he continued to kiss and bite at your neck, you couldn’t help but drown in the feeling. The myriad of sounds coming from your mouth likely would have embarrassed you at any other time, but you were currently too far gone to care anymore. You pulled his head in closer and spread your legs further for him, wanting to take in every inch of his cock. You understand now why people say they could get addicted to this. The ecstasy you were feeling was unparalleled. You moaned out his name as he sunk in deeper between your spread thighs, his nails digging into the skin to show his approval.

He pulled back from your neck but refused to let himself go far. His mouth leaves a trail of kisses and bites down your exposed chest, taking extra care to lick and flick at your nipples. You called out his name more frequently, realizing it seemed to rile him up even more. The coupled feeling of Vox’s cock pushing fully in and out of you, and constant attention to your upper half, had your head spinning. Your stomach began to feel tight, and you felt his rhythm start to waver as he went faster.

“V–Vox, I’m gonna cum!” Your hands slide from their grip on his hair to his back, nails digging in from the immense pleasure. He pulls his head away to look at you, lips swollen and pink from their work on you. The pink that you had seen earlier in his eyes was fully visible now. His expression is half-lidded and just as twisted in pleasure as yours. Yet, even with all of Vox’s visible pleasure and the way his hips rud into yours, he slows to a stop, causing you to let out a high whine.

“Baby,” you drew out the word, voice breathy as you spoke, “why’d you stop? We’re both sooo close…” Vox lets out a breathy laugh, and kisses your forehead, pulling back with a smirk on his stupidly attractive face.

“I’m sorry, love. I just had an idea.” He moves his hands off your thighs and places them next to your head. The way he looks hovering above you truly does not help your delayed orgasm. “I was just thinking about how–” he cuts himself off with a groan, clearly lost in his imagery before he continues, “beautiful you’d look riding me. I’d love to see you bouncing on top of me. Of course, only if you are willing.”

You swallow hard, your voice sounding a bit hoarse from all your moaning. “D–does that mean I’ll be taking control?” You wouldn’t lie, you’d had random thoughts about what it’d be like. But those were just passing thoughts. Topping isn’t just about physically being on top, it’s about knowing how to give pleasure and take the lead. It is a very appealing idea, but could you top Vox? You didn’t feel nearly as confident as Vox currently appeared.

Seeming to feel the anxiety radiating off of you, Vox clarifies, “No, love. Being on top of me doesn’t mean you’ll have control.” One of his hands rubs soothing circles over one of your hips. “Unless you want to try taking control. I will not force you to, though. We can just change positions.”

Averting your eyes from him, you take a moment to think it over. On one hand, it’d be good to get experience from it, but on the other… your lack of experience with all of this could cause you to overthink your actions. You know he wouldn’t be upset with you and would likely give you tips if you wanted to, but you still wanted him to get some pleasure from this. After weighing your options, you shake your head and meet his eyes again. “I would like to change positions, but I don’t think changing roles would be good right now. We… We can test it another time.”

He nods and gives you a light peck on the cheek. “Alright, darling. Let me lay back, then you can get on top of me.” Vox slowly pulls out of you, causing you to let out a deep sigh from the sudden emptiness. As you reposition yourself to sit on your knees to wait, Vox grabs himself a fresh pillow, placing it behind his head as he fully lays down. He looks at you with a soft smile and holds his arms out to welcome you to him. The second you are given the okay, you're already crawling over and straddling his waist, his hands resting on your hips as soon as you do. “Color?”

“Green. So, so green.” This causes you both to laugh.

“Go slow as you sink down on me. It’ll feel better that way, I promise.” Vox massages his hands into your hips, eyes filling with anticipation as he watches you closely.

You give a small nod and look down at his cock resting between your legs, still hard, if not harder, than before. Feeling a shiver run down your spine at the sight, you inhale deeply before you take a hold of his length. He lets out a pleased hum at the contact and you gently guide him inside you as you sink down. The new angle and already built-up tension made your hips twitch and your body shake, the ecstasy coming back from the contact.

Vox kept you steady with his hands, lifting his hips to help ease the process. Once his hips were flush against your skin, you both let out soft groans as he lowered his hips back onto the plush bed. Placing your palms on his chest, you give an experimental grind of your hips as you watch your own motions. The demon gripped you tighter, letting out a hiss through his teeth, his eyes fixated on your expression of pleasure.

“Go ahead, love.” Your attention snaps back to his face. “You don’t need to hesitate.” You hold his gaze for a moment before you nod, lifting your hips before pushing them back down to sink onto his length.

Your mouth falls open, eyelids fluttering at the new angle. A pleasurable shudder coursed through you at how much deeper he felt from this position. You could tell he enjoyed it as well; urging your hips up with his hands, needing the sinking feeling again. You start a steady rhythm, letting out hot breaths and moans as his cock pushes deep inside you. The sound of skin meeting skin resonated through the room, coupled with the heavy panting coming from both of you. Balling your hands into fists, your mouth hangs open as you bounce on top of him with vigor. Your moans only get louder as the tightening feeling in your stomach comes faster than before.

“Fu–fuck…Vox, I’m so close again. I–oh–I’m gonna cum!” Your words come out shaky and breathless, as you leaned forward, sliding your hands onto the bed to pick up the pace easier. Vox moved his hands to your ass, groping and digging his nails in as he looked up at your ecstasy-ridden face just inches from his.

“I’m close as well, baby. God, I wanna watch you cum–” He gasps, before groaning in pleasure. “Please cum. Cum for me, sweet thing.” Shifting to get enough balance, he ruts his hips up into you, matching your greedy pace with his own. Vox could feel you tighten around him, trying desperately to reach that peak. He let out a low, gruff sigh, his eyes fixated on you as you moaned out his name. God, the way you moaned his name, like he was the only thing you ever needed, the only thing you’ve ever wanted.

You gripped and pulled at the sheets under your hands, your pace becoming erratic as you finally reach your climax. Burying your face in the crook of Vox’s neck, you let out a cry of pleasure as your body shakes from its second orgasm. Vox, with just a few more thrusts, presses your ass down on him further, reaching his orgasm as well. You shudder from the guttural moan he lets out, and the way his hands grip you, making you stay close. After a moment of collecting yourselves, you lift your head up to look at your boyfriend. You open your mouth to say something, but Vox is quicker, capturing your lips with his. He puts his hand behind your head, kissing you like he’d been waiting to feel your lips for years. You pull back after the impromptu make-out session and look at him in slight confusion.

“What was that for?” You tilt your head slightly to accentuate your question, but he just gives you a lazy smile and strokes your hair.

“I just really love you, darling.” He tries to maintain eye contact with you, but you refuse and sit up, a big pout on your face.

“Vox, please, you being so sweet shouldn’t be hot.” The demon just chuckles and sits up as well, keeping you in his lap as his arms wrap around you.

“Oh? Then maybe I should switch to being more down-bad?” The sweet smile on his face changes to a devious smirk as he moves his face closer to yours.

“I–That’s it. I’m done for. K.O.’ed” You cover your face with your hands. Bad idea, cause it just gives your boyfriend the element of surprise.

With a mischievous look, Vox smugly, purposefully, rolls his hips. “You’re done for? Oh no, that’s such a shame~”

The squeak that came out of your mouth surprised you, drawing your hands down to cover your mouth. With a muffled voice, you try to scold him, “H–Hey! Don’t move too much, I'm sensitive–”

Vox just chuckles and rolls his hips again, making you whine out his name. You were adorable, and he only wanted to mess with you more every time you reacted to his teasing. He shifted closer, lips ghosting your ear, his hot breath fanning against you as he spoke low. “Lift your hips for a moment, darling. I need to change this condom.”

He stroked your thighs as you lifted your hips, letting out a breathy moan as you did. His cock slid out of you with ease, and Vox’s hands went from your thighs to his cock. Even after just finishing, he was still so hard. As he removed the used condom, you lean over and quickly grab another wrapper from the nightstand. Vox chuckles at your enthusiasm, glad he could rile you up again with just a roll of his hips. You both moved quickly; him tying the used condom and throwing it aside as you got a new one out and ready. As soon as you handed it to him, he tugged it on, making sure it was properly secure before you straddled him once again.

“Come on sweet thing, let me inside you again.” The demon’s large hands gripped your hips as you let him guide you down on his cock again. Both let out a shuddering breath at how sensitive you each still were. He wasted no time; not even a moment after you’ve fully sunk down on him does he start thrusting into you again.

You grip his wrist tightly, wanting him to keep guiding you as you desperately try to keep pace with him. Your eyes watering from the overstimulation, and your throat was becoming dry again from your panting and moaning. Your legs felt like jelly, and you could tell you were gonna be sore in the morning, but that didn’t stop you from grinding down onto Vox. His nails dug into your hips, the slapping of his thrust getting sloppy as he felt you clench around him again, ready for another orgasm. Your words came out almost unintelligible, and your tone was desperate as you told him you were going to cum again. “V–Vox! I–!”

With him feeling just as sensitive, he was already right at the edge, ready to cum again. “I know, sweet thing. I’m right there with you.” He quickened his pace.

It only took a few more thrusts before you doubled over onto his chest, moaning loudly as his hips pushed up into you. Reaching your peaks together, hips stuttering as you breathed heavily. Bodies covered in sweat from the multiple orgasms. Vox looked down at you, your head buried in his chest as you tried to get your breathing under control. He moved one hand from your hip to your head, resting it there.

Lifting your head enough to rest your chin on his chest, gaze meeting his. You both stare into the eyes of the other for a moment, seeming to soak in all that just happened. Vox spoke first, having a content smile on his face. “My love… thank you for letting me experience this with you.” He raised his hands, cupping your cheeks with both his hands. “I am extremely honored that you trust me this much to give you the pleasure you desire. I’m happy that I now have another way to show you just how much love I have for you, my sweet thing.” Vox’s voice was filled with care, and you could see in his eyes that he meant every word, saying it with his full heart.

Leaning into his hands, you smile, one of your own lifting to rest over his as your thumb rubs over his knuckles. “I’m just happy you also had a good time. That was incredible and I couldn’t be happier to give you my first. I…” You swallowed hard, looking away bashfully. “I love you, Vox.” You looked back at him when you heard his soft chuckle and he leaned his head toward you to kiss your forehead.

“I love you too, baby… so much.” He leaned his forehead to rest against yours, you both closing your eyes to soak in the moment. Remaining like that for a few moments, reveling in each other's presence, before Vox spoke up again. “Come on, love. Let’s go get cleaned up.” His voice was soft as he nuzzled his head into you softly, coaxing you into motion. “You still need your rest. You have a project to work on tomorrow.”

“Good idea, besides I don't think we both wanna be sweaty and sticky.” You lifted yourself off of him, letting out a deep breath as his softening cock slips out of you. “Will you give me motivation by cuddling me when we sleep?”

“I would cuddle you regardless, darling.” He laughs, pushing himself to the edge of the bed before getting up and properly disposing of both condoms. “But yes, I’ll give you all the affection you want and tell you just how proud I am of you.” He offers his hand to you and helps you get up when you take it. He’s frozen in place for a moment as he looks over at you. His brain conjures up other scenarios; ones where you wouldn't have to leave in the morning. Every day he could look forward to falling asleep and waking up by your side.

You tilt your head, asking if he’s okay. He just smiles; rubbing his thumb over your knuckles and envisioning a ring on your bare finger. ‘Someday,’ he reassures himself again.

“It’s nothing, love. Let’s get you cleaned up now, shall we?”

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Likes are nice and we do appreciate them. However, comments/feedback is what really motivates us to continue writing. Even just a keyboard smash or emojis are a joy to see!

We do not allow our stories to be translated or reposted/shared anywhere. The only places our stories should be found are on Ao3 or Tumblr. Nowhere else.

#vox akuma x reader #luxiem x reader #nijisanji x reader #vox akuma #luxiem #nijisanji luxiem #nijisanji vox #nijisanji en #nijisanji #x reader #gender neutral reader #gn reader #Written by Mod S 👿

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teecupangel · 2 months

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Ad Altaïr Anon

Curse ye Tumblr! Why must you prevent me from showing the image of t-posing Altair moments before being sucked into The Cube!! (it's absolutely not me being a first-time nooby asker who has never sent a link through ask ever nu-uh it's all tumblr)

maybe this link will work instead, I'm slightly better with imgur links at least :v

https://imgur.com/a/Hl2elSH

And yeah that's it! I never put one on my computer myself simply because i once tried to mod minecraft in the olden days and messed up so badly that I figured i should just leave that sort of stuff alone.

But AH, my heart! The future and doomed Desmond giving them that slight control over the grey so maybe this Desmond wouldn't have to die 😭

but also lol oh boy would Altair get lost in the sauce surfing the web! It worse than when he was alive with the apple because now he doesn't have to eat, drink, or sleep so someone has to pry him out of the web every once in a while.

(The only real modding I’ve done in a long time was for Mugen back in those days. To be honest though, my brother helped me add characters and stuff hahaha)

The “Altaïr interrupts Desmond’s game using an ‘ad’” idea and its sorta prequel sorta sequel for those curious

“We need to talk about Altaïr’s internet addiction.”

Desmond stared at Shaun’s solemn expression for a fraction of a second before he turned his attention back to the instant noodles he was having for lunch.

He didn’t really like soggy noodles.

“Desmond, this is serious.” Shaun placed his hands on the table and towered over Desmond who was hunched to make it easier to eat his noodles.

That was a bad move.

Desmond could just as easily headbutt his nose at this distance.

“I’m listening, Shaun.” Desmond replied half-heartedly before eating once more.

He didn’t understand why Shaun wanted to talk to him about Altaïr’s internet addiction. It wasn’t like Desmond could stop the man from scouring every web page available in Wikipedia in his endless pursuit of knowledge.

… not that he would want to anyway.

“Desmond, Altaïr has been using the computer 24/7. We have to keep the AC on just to make sure the computer doesn’t overheat. Together with the electricity needed for the Animus and our other devices, two of which are now fully being used by Ezio and Connor-”

Desmond slowly raised his head so Shaun would have a warning to pull away. It was still a close call, Desmond’s head almost knocking against Shaun’s nose but Shaun stood and crossed his arms while Desmond took a sip of the soup before asking, “Are you… are you trying to talk to me about our upcoming electric bill?”

“Not ‘ours’ but the building we’re ‘piggy backing’ from.” Shaun clarified, “They’ll definitely think something is up when they see the sudden spike.”

“Then isn’t this too late already?” Desmond countered lightly, “The bill’s gonna come sooner or later. Might just be better for us to book it.”

Shaun grimaced but did not deny it.

Desmond sighed before he said, “How about this. I’ll tell Altaïr to find us a new safehouse and take care of the logistics and stuff. That’ll be his punishment for skyrocketing some random business’ electric bill.”

Shaun opened his mouth, most probably to argue, so Desmond asked, “Unless you already have the next safehouse in mind?”

Shaun sighed as he said, “I’ll tell the others about it. You tell Altaïr about his punishment.”

Desmond waved his hand before lowering his head to continue eating while Shaun stormed out of the dining room, most probably to bother Rebecca.

Or complain to her.

Maybe both.

Probably both.

Desmond waited until he could no longer hear Shaun’s footsteps before turning to look at his phone that was lying next to the cup noodles.

“Congrats, Altaïr. You got what you wanted.” Desmond mumbled.

His phone’s screen lit up and showed Altaïr in front of his homescreen, arms crossed as he said, “Not yet. Not until we’ve finally settled in a more secured location.”

“More secured.” Desmond snorted, “Just say the internet is too slow for you here.”

“Hm.” Altaïr didn’t even bother to give him a proper reply.

Nor deny it.

“Well, at least wait until midnight before sending the plan to everyone.” Desmond reminded him, “Otherwise, Shaun’s going to find out this was your plan from the start.”

“I know. I’m not a fool, Desmond.” Altaïr said calmly before adding, “Eat a fruit or have salad after that.”

“I’ll eat an apple, alright.” Desmond rolled his eyes, “Please don’t repeat to me how bad it is for my body to keep eating instant noodles.”

Altaïr sighed, “Fine. I’ll leave you with your pathetic excuse for a meal then.”

“Thanks.” Desmond sarcastically said, watching as the screen of his phone turned off.

And he can finally eat in peace…

… soggy noodles.

Damn it.

#assassin's creed #teecup writes/has a plot #fic idea: assassin's creed #desmond miles #altaïr ibn la'ahad #shaun hastings #ask and answer

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greenxgloss · 1 month

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Honey To The Bee

Clyde (Electrik children)

Y/N and Clyde have feelings for each other but y/n is unsure if he’s being genuine in his confession

A/N: i haven’t written and posted in a really long time so excuse any mistakes or inconsistencies i’m way too tired to proofread i just wanted to get this out lol just an idea i had idk. sorry for being MIA and like popping in and out of tumblr so much i honestly thought i’d given up on writing lol also though i’ve been on here a while i still don’t know how to write the warnings and stuff so please bare with me

warnings?: Fem reader, mostly fluff, clyde being very slightly pervy yeah i didn’t feel the need to add smut today lol

“what’s going on between you two?” johnny asked clyde as he closed the door behind their closest friend. he blushed trying to keep a straight face. “man nothing it’s never like that with her.” he lied. he sort of has a massive crush on you and it had increased ever since you’d met.

“you act like we’re not bestfriends and roommates.” johnny said glancing over at him for a moment waiting for clyde to fill him in on something that clearly happened. but clyde just sighed, rolled his eyes and retreated to the bathroom to wash his face to cool himself down.

y/n was a block away in her car, equally as red as clyde but she has no one around to ask questions so she quickly slowed her heartbeat. he probably wasn’t even being serious she thought as she drove. he was probably playing a joke like usual. either way she wasn’t gonna let it bother her so she headed in to work.

y/n worked at a tattoo shop, designing tattoos. she loved watching the modded people walk in covered in silver, colors and ink. they were everything she wanted to be but she was too scared of doing too much and going overboard. clyde, johnny and snow always said it would suit her. they maybe didn’t say it so appropriately but that was the idea.

tonight johnnys band had a show and clyde was supposed to be going on stage to escalate the mood. he wanted y/n to do his makeup so she sat in her office looking through pinterest for inspiration after drawing up her last tattoo. “hey you busy tonight?” asked her coworker from the door. “yeah i got a gig.” she replied. “how late you gonna be out? i need you to pick something up for me.” he asked. y/n thought it over before just agreeing.

clyde was excited for the show. he’d been on stage with the band before but he wanted it to be more of a permanent position since he had to attend all their gigs because he’s their driver. y/n always felt her knees go weak when she watched him on stage. to her he looked so free and so happy and his happiness always made her happy. but he also looked really fucking hot. that’s when her feelings for him started. the first time she saw him on stage.

as she picked up her makeup bag and headed to clyde’s van outside the venue she began sweating. clyde had confessed feelings for her and though she had feelings for him too she was worried that maybe he was joking. that snow or lola told him and he was playing a trick on her. so before she was in view of the van she called snow.

“so.. clyde told me he likes me. but it didn’t feel genuine. and listen i won’t be mad but did you or lola tell him i have feelings for him?” she asked the moment the ringing stopped. “what no?! he actually told us he likes you and asked how he could ask you out.” she laughed. y/n turned red. “clyde’s a great guy so i think you should go for it. you trusting us with telling us you like him is a big deal to us we wouldnt betray that.” she informed y/n and she felt relief wash over her.

once they hung up y/n proceeded to the van. "hey you're almost late." clyde said as he opened the van. "yeah sorry i was on the phone with snow." she laughed. "do you wanna talk about earlier?" he asked. y/n stayed silent and set up her makeup. "maybe not yet." she still had to think about how it would affect the friend group. he nodded and sat back. she sat next to him and began the clown makeup she'd thought up before playing billie piper on her phone. "whats this music?" he asked quietly trying to hold still for her. "i actually dont know i found out billie pipers a musician and ive had a recent interest in 2000s pop." she said, applying the white foundation. he hummed in response.

"wouldnt this be easier?" he asked as he pulled her on his lap. she blushed, getting comfortable. "just not so much movement i assume." she joked but it made him blush. they stayed quiet for a moment while she focused but all she could think about was his hands inching down her back.

“woah watch it.” she said, pulling his hands up and he giggled and lightly gripped her making he jump slightly. she willed herself to continue his makeup when they made eye contact and she leaned in to kiss him. it was the sweetest kiss she’d ever had. though the position they were in was very compromising it felt gentle and warm dare i say wholesome?!

they pulled away and sat it a comfortable silence before giggling. “we’ll at least now i know for sure you weren’t joking earlier.” she looked away sheepishly trying to hide her fluster. “i have no idea how you thought i was messing with you. have i not been obvious?” he said, turning her head to look at him. she shrugged, thinking back to all the moment when he laid his hand on her lower back to guide her or got her a meaningful gift that only the two of them would understand or how johnny described to her the excitement clyde would suddenly have when he knew she was coming over.

“there was just so much overwhelming me. i didn’t want to put our friendship at risk.. ours or with the group.” she said sitting back up and looking at him. “well i definitely risked your makeup i have to start over.” she laughed wiping the black lipstick off his chin. “i’m definitely not mad at it. i like this type of alone time.” he let his hands rest on her thighs.

she grabbed a wet wipe and took the mess off of him, wiping gently to not irritate his skin. she’s done his makeup so many times before, sitting on his lap but it’s never felt the way it does now.

——

LAST A/N: sorry if this was short i usually make these so long that i just lose interest and never finish them so this is the best i can do right now. i’m still organizing my tumblr even after what like 3 years of being on here? welcome to all the new followers i do intend on continuing posting at least for a while lol i really enjoy interacting with anyone and i will take constructive criticism ofc :)

#Spotify #rory culkin characters #rory culkin #clyde electrick children #rory x reader #clyde x reader #i ❤️ rory culkin #i ❤️ him #billie piper #clyde electrick children fluff #clyde fluff #makeup #rory culkin makeup

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animatedjen · 2 months

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Hello! Just wanted to say, I recently finished Jedi: Fallen Order and the game has been such a good experience that it’s making me want to write once more! Absolutely in love with Cal, especially the Inquisitor Cal Kestis concept and my mind has been bombarded with so many ideas lately. Enough to make a hefty draft, and your gorgeous videos only motivated me even further! I’ve been thinking either use an OC alongside Cal or make it reader insert, although the former would be easier for me, I’ll see. I’m hoping to make it a multi chapter story but who knows when it’ll actually be done. But yeah, just wanted to say thanks for sharing your creations, they are so beautiful and motivating!

Fallen Order is so good!! Having the Inquisitors as Cal's primary enemy throughout the game - representing the opposite of Cal but also what he could've become - works really well. Trilla being Cere's former padawan only adds to that tension (I do miss her though, I really do)

I've seen both OC and reader-insert stories floating around the JFO community so I think either could work? But all my respect to writers who tackle long-form, multi-chapter projects! It helps that there's a lot of directions you can go with Inquisitor Cal... in most of them he has a bad time but still, directions.

And cool to hear my videos can be part of your motivation :) Traitor Inquisitorius started as a way to test mods and whoops, this song fits really well and wait, how many cutscenes can be reshaped around this AU?? Makes me want to do another JFO video someday since it's way, way easier to film/mod compared to Survivor. But I'll probably need a break after TI Pt2 despite how many edit ideas I'm still sitting on AHH

Happy writing!!

#asks #jedi fallen order #cal kestis #traitor inquisitorious

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justreckin · 6 months

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Thinking about Memento Mori again. Because as much as I enjoy that episode…. What are we doing with Una?

I mean, I enjoy a little bit of injury and whump for my fav as much as the next girl. And I understand the concept of introducing ticking clocks in fiction to create urgency. But the ticking clocks they chose??

First off sepsis is awful and (at least in vetmed) very difficult to treat. But it’s also infection. Something we literally just last episode learned that Una’s body will burn off?? Granted, waiting too long and having Una turn into a glow stick in the middle of a very busy sickbay would also be a bad idea, but she likely wouldn’t have to worry about “feeling like she was giving birth out of her mouth.”

But even more than that….. you don’t use plasma for surgery. Or maybe this is just a vetmed thing, so anyone with human med experience please weigh in, but you use fluids during surgery. Even with oozing, life threatening wounds, you run iv fluids throughout the surgery and for at least several hours after. Plasma comes only about 12 hours later, and even then that’s only if the patients bloods are really bad. Because, y’know, you don’t want to introduce the risk of allergic reaction to a system which has already been heavily taxed due to injury and blood loss.

Which would also be a good reason to not just randomly give a transfusion from doctor to patient. Especially since blood loss can be detrimental to a persons ability to function, which might just maybe be a really bad idea in an extreme triage situation.

So, I mean, shout out to those fanfic authors who’ve put Una in glow stick isolation for her recovery. I’d say you’re right on the money.

(Oh, and double shout out to those couple of fanfics I’ve come across that implied Una’s mods make her unaware of just how badly she’s been injured, rather than just casually reckless. Personal opinion, but way more interesting reasoning and characterization. We already know Chris is reckless as hell, we don’t need both ships parents being idiots.)

All in all, this mostly makes me laugh but also I genuinely have questions.

#it’s still one of my favorite episodes #and i really do respect the choices made #just…. medicine is one of those things i can’t not notice #but like i said #my background is animal not human #i know they’re very similar #but i’d also like to know if i’m wrong #una chin riley #memento mori #strange new worlds #episode thoughts

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cssns · 1 year

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Get to Know Your Mods

Our final mod is @ultraluckycatnd! This is also her first year as a mod so give her a warm welcome!

How long have you been a part of the CS fandom?

I've been a part of the fandom for 10 years now. I stumbled upon a Tumblr post via Pinterest after the 3A finale, and down the rabbit hole I went.

What is your favorite part about fandom?

I love the camaraderie between everyone, no matter their likes/dislikes, where they're from, what language they speak, etc. We all have a common interest, and it's amazing to me how diverse we really are.

What drew you to this event?

I've been a beta for this event for many years now and have been amazed at the content that our wonderfully talented shipmates have come up with over the years. When I was asked to join as a mod this year, I enthusiastically said yes!

Will you be participating either as a writer or artist? If so, what will you be doing?

I'm nowhere near that talented, but I will serve as beta for a few of our wonderful writers.

What do you do in your "real life?"

I'm finishing up my 18th year teaching music, all within the same school district. Currently, I am a General Music teacher at an elementary school (K-5) and 5th grade band director, as well as the flute clinician for the high school band.

What are you most looking forward to in this event?

I'm looking forward to all of the stories and art that are going to be produced. I've seen the list of ideas for the stories, and as an avid reader, I can't wait to read them all! And the art I know is going to be out of this world, helping those stories come to life.

#GTKM #CSSNS23 #ultraluckycatnd #gtkm mod interview

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 1 year

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Mod Talks #1: The Progression of Toko Fukawa.

//So, as you all no doubt have noticed, for these last few days, we’ve been having very in depth discussions about Danganronpa 3, and certain writing choices in the series that we agree with or disagree with, and it got me thinking about a new idea for a short side-series I could do on this blog.

//Introducing Mod Talks. Which basically involves me doing two things.

Me giving a comprehensive analysis and opinionated discussion on certain characters, story points or writing decisions from the main series.

Explaining my thought process on how I carried that over to Danganronpa Survivor.

//What I aim to achieve with this is that I want to hear more people’s thoughts and opinions on the topics that I carry over. I’m not necessarily looking for feedback on how I write Kodaka’s characters, or necessarily looking for comparisons. I really just want to have more in-depth discussions with the followers like we’ve been having recently.

//You might have thought that I would start this series off with an analysis on Kuripa, since I did already mention I would be making a long post exploring his backstory (or what is known of it) and my thought process behind his character and his goals. But I decided I actually wanted to start on a different note and get to Kuripa eventually later down the line.

//The main reason being that he plays a significant role in this arc, and lots of things related to his character happen in this part of the story, so I want to wait until we get to that point to discuss it further. For now though, as you can see by the title, I’ll be putting my attention on the protagonist who seems to have the last amount of time in the limelight for now: Toko Fukawa.

//And Genocide Jack as well of course.

//Because if I’m being perfectly honest, Toko losing the first weekly poll kind of made me sad. It’s not that I don’t get it, but I’m actually proud of how I’ve done Toko of all characters in this series, and I want to talk about my thoughts and feelings.

//This discussion will be going over her history, and how she has changed as a person from when she was a lonely young kid, and now in Survivor as an adult mother.

//I also want to hear yours, so don’t hesitate to give feedback. Like I said, the main purpose is to discuss thoughts, feelings and opinions with you guys, because I’ve come to find that I really enjoy it.

//Let’s get started.

Toko in THH.

//The first question I think people would like to know with my discussion is what my opinion of Toko is in the canon games. So I’ll start with Danganronpa 1, when she’s first introduced, and I’ll just be straight up with everyone...

//I didn’t like her AT ALL.

//Frankly, Toko was my second least favourite character in that game, and one of the worst in the series for me for a long while.

//To me, the only thing in Danganronpa 1 that Toko was involved with in any significant way was the Genocide Jack twist in Case 2. Everything else she did in this first game was pointless and annoying. And not even having Genocide Jack as an additional character in the roster saved her.

//Talking about them both individually, Toko on her own had a lot of things wrong with her. She had multiple negative personality traits that to me made her extremely unlikeable, the main one’s being that she lashes out at anyone regardless of what they say to her, she’s generally rude and nasty to people for little to no reason, and she’s also insanely dirty minded and her words make me really fucking uncomfortable.

//On top of this, her whole thing about falling in love with Byakuya and dedicating herself to him got really old, really fast, and I was not about it. Following Chapter 2, to make things worse, it basically became her whole character: Byakuya’s sole follower, who he treated like shit. And aside from that, there really wasn’t much else.

//Genocide Jack on the other hand is a bit more fleshed out, since she’s got much more personality than Toko. However, she suffers from the complete reverse problem, since she has TOO MUCH of it.

//Those who read the blog’s story might notice that the amount of times that Genocide Jack appears in the main story over Toko is severely minimal, and I’ll say right now the reason for that is because I don’t really know what to DO with her. There’s so much to unpack, and since GJ is just pure craziness, it’s really hard to fit her into any sort of social situation.

//On top of that, Toko is also incredibly hypocritical, and not in the good kind of way. She explains at intervals in DR1 that she does honestly want to make friends. However, every time anyone (Hina being our prime example) tries to compliment her or be genuinely nice, she pushes them away and shoves words in their mouth. All the while feeling sorry for herself.

//I know that this is probably the point and she’s written this way for a reason, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I most certainly DON’T. It’s not like I don’t think self-deprecating characters in media and games shouldn’t exist, but this is an inhuman level of self-loathing.

//Given her backstory, it’s clear Toko had a major fear or rejection, which explains why she acts the way it does. What it DOESN’T explain, is why she continues to pursue Byakuya for a LONG TIME even after DR1 ends; who as a reminder, rejects her CONSTANTLY.

//I don’t attribute my dislike for Toko to being poor character writing however. There are few holes in her overall backstory and it’s not like her attitude goes unexplained. However, even explaining it, while it does make it more well-rounded, doesn’t make her a character that I can sympathize with.

//With that in mind though, I’d like to start talking about my thinking process when it comes to Toko’s backstory, and a lot of elements that happen within it.

Toko’s Backstory and the Existence of Genocide Jack.

//One of the interesting things about Toko’s backstory compared to every other DR backstory we know of is that her’s actually can be traced back to the moment she was born.

//I’ll try and lay it all out as best as I can, but right from the get go, I’ll say that Toko’s past and the life she’s lived before she first met Makoto and the others in DR1 was just as unstable and messy as she is herself.

//When Toko was born, she was born at the same time as another child in the hospital. This other child was born with a severe medical incapacity, that ended up taking it’s life the very same day.

//This kind of situation isn’t necessarily uncommon in the real world, however, another aspect was discovered about the situation, being that the two women who gave birth to the two girls had both slept with Toko’s father. And due to a mix up with the hospital involving this, the professional’s were not able to figure out which mother was the one that gave birth to Toko, and which one gave birth to her late half-sister.

//When Toko explains this to Komaru in UDG, Komaru points out that a blood test may have been able to resolve the issue. While this is correct, Toko affirms that both mother’s declined the exam. As a result of this decision, Toko ended up living with a father and two mothers.

//The normal expected decision to not taking the blood test would usually be to not live with the guilt that your child could have died. This however, is not the case, and Toko very quickly came to realize this; in reality, both mother’s WANTED their child to be the one that died, not the reverse.

//It’s never explicitly stated why, but the obvious conclusion to reach, and the one that I go for with Survivor, is to do with Toko’s father. Neither of Toko’s mother’s were aware at the time that their two girls had the same father, until the day of the birth. Thereby, the child that they were carrying had the DNA of a man who had cheated on them.

//However, based on the way that Toko talks about her parents, and her specific phrasing when she explains her childhood to Komaru, I don’t think that’s really the case. I came to think about this from Weeby Newz’s character analysis of Toko, hence why I used the screenshot above, so let me reiterate her point.

//For one thing, Toko explicitly states that her father wasn’t married, or even in a real relationship, with either of the two women. At least not to her knowledge. It’s also important to note that Toko’s specific words about the supposed “affair” are “They also discovered that both women had slept with the same man”

//“Slept” i.e. not SLEEPING with. In my eyes, the more likely scenario was that Toko’s father had a one-time fling with both women, and accidently got them both pregnant.

//And as much as that sounds like a reach, it’s also important to note that the conversation in that exact same scene starts like this:

Toko: It’s my mothers fault that she was born inside me. I never thought of them as my real mother’s, not even once. Komaru: Wait, “them” as your “mothers?” Don’t you mean your mother and father? Toko: I’m a novelist, I wouldn’t misspeak like that. I said “them” and I meant it.

//And it’s important to keep this in mind, because it explains my writing process for Toko’s father.

//For those who might have missed it, one of the chapters of “The Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora” Toko opens up to Komaru, Leon, Sayaka and Makoto about how her life with her parents really was, and why it’s making her determined to rescue Akeru from the same childhood.

//In said chapter, it shows the birth of Genocide Jack, at the hands of Toko’s mothers constant abuse. In said chapter, when Genocide Jack is finally born, both of Toko’s mothers succumb to the serial killer, being her first victims and only FEMALE victims.

//Toko’s father on the other hand, is not only spared, but after Toko runs away from home, he decides to take the fall for her. This is my way of saying that Toko’s dad is not the piece of shit that Toko’s mother’s were. He’s still a bad parent for not sticking up for his daughter, but it’s also important to note that he didn’t want the situation he was in just as much as Toko or the mother’s did.

//In context, the only reason why Toko was even living with two mother’s in the first place is for legal reasons. And if the scenario of them both accidently getting pregnant is true, it also explains why they were such awful mothers, since it implies they were both, for lack of better words, hussies, who’s lifestyle’s would be severely interrupted by the burden of a child.

//Putting more focus on Toko’s mother’s however, this same line, Toko practically confirms that it’s because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother’s is what gave her second personality life. Hence the existence of the chapter where Toko opens up to her friends and classmates.

//If someone is not born with Dissociative Identity Disorder like Toko has, usually an alter would be created as a coping mechanism to abuse and trauma. And from my perspective, this is the exact cast for Genocide Jack. It’s already pretty clear from Toko’s personality alone that she’s had to put up with a lot of emotional abuse and bullying, but to have a split personality, the trauma has to be EXTREMELY severe. Undergoing something like this causes your brain to form barriers that allow a distinct identity to develop and the individual to cope with the trauma by repressing the more distressing details of it.

//And as stated multiple times already, it’s very clear that neither of Toko’s mothers were kind to her even slightly. One of the things she mentions in UDG is that she was once locked in a closet for three days, without any food or water, which developed in her a severe fear of the dark. Going by that same logic, I also attributed Toko’s fear and dislike of taking baths back to the abuse of her mothers, and came up with the idea (which again is mentioned directly in the chapter where she exposes her past to her friends) that her mother’s would scald her arms with hot showers.

//However, Toko’s life with her parents wasn’t the only issue. Her life outside of home was equally as bad since, as I mentioned, she had to deal with a lot of bullying and abuse from other people too. For example, the time she was framed for a theft she didn’t commit, and as punishment, was tied to a jungle gym with a garden hose.

//Hence why throughout all of it, Toko’s most valued companion and the one that was taken hostage in UDG was her pet stinkbug Kameko. Since Toko figured the bug didn’t judge her for being herself, like everyone else did.

//The next important part of Toko’s backstory is the story with her first love. It’s important because it explains, at the same time, how both Toko and Genocide Jack got their Ultimate Talents.

//The full story is that Toko met and fell in love with a boy in elementary school, who was the only person she ever felt comfortable talking to. When she finds out that he and his family are moving away to a different part of Japan out of her reach, she gives him a sendoff by sending him a love letter confessing her feelings.

//The result of this was said boy revealing that he actually hated how much Toko used to talk to him, and that he was ridiculed for it often, deciding to get back at Toko by pinning her love letter to the bulletin board to shame her, giving her even MORE emotional trauma to deal with.

//When this happened, one of Toko’s teacher who had read Toko’s love letter reassured her by telling her that she had a real talent for writing. This teacher’s words are what prompted Toko to pursue a career as a writer.

//At the same time, once learning of Toko’s rejection, Genocide Jack chased the boy all the way to his knew home, and murdered him, thus marking the beginning of Genocide Jack’s killing spree, murdering any boy she came across that she thought was attractive. She confirms this in her own FTE’s.

//There’s a lot to unpack with each aspect of her full backstory, and this isn’t even all of it. Even after Genocide Jack’s birth leading up to becoming an Ultimate, there’s so much more emotional abuse and trauma that this girl went through and was forced to overcome.

//In a later section of this analysis, I will explain a little bit more about how all of this ties into Toko’s character for Survivor, namely her role as a parent herself, but now I want to move onto the most integral part of the discussion, where Toko was arguably at her pinnacle.

The Unspoken Theme of Ultra Despair Girls.

//One of the things about Danganronpa that is consistent throughout the series is that each game has a different main theme. Usually along the lines of “Ideal A VS Ideal B” And I’ll quickly walk through them.

//Danganronpa 1 obviously has the sole theme of Hope VS Despair. And that theme has become a staple of the entire Danganronpa series, arguably being the series most important.

//Hope and Despair are two sides of the same coin, in many senses. Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire about a result and despair is defined as the lack of hope, or lack of such a feeling of expectation and desire about a result.

//If hope is associated with an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, when we hope we are essentially concentrating on a result. If that result doesn’t occur, then we may fall into despair, which is the lack of the expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. We cannot have hope without despair. They go together. If you can feel hope, then it is equally possible to feel despair.

//This is best represented in the dynamic between Trigger Happy Havoc’s main protagonist and main antagonist - Makoto Naegi and Junko Enoshima. A boy who believes his one redeeming quality is his overwhelming optimism, and a girl who’s a natural genius talent with many redeeming qualities, but applies it to literally watching the world burn.

//Danganronpa 2 also plays with the idea of Hope and Despair, but it also has another theme that plays very well on the game, especially at the finale. A Terrible Past VS a Better Future.

//It ties into DR1′s theme of the battle between Hope and Despair by elaborating on what comes after it. The moment that defines this is Hajime’s final decision to abandon his past actions and face it’s consequences, while fighting to redeem himself and live a better future for him and his friends.

//Given their past actions as Junko’s terrorist cohorts that were wiped from their memories, this is how they choose to deal with it.

//V3 is a lot more complicated, because there are actually two running themes across the whole game, all of which are different from the typical Hope Vs Despair dynamic: Truth against Lies, and Logic VS Belief.

//The first idea is best represented through the main protagonist, Shuichi Saihara, and his arch-rival, Kokichi Ouma. Kokichi being a consistent liar and Shuichi being a detective who fights for the truth. The penultimate conclusion to this theme is that Truth VS Lies does NOT constitute to Good VS Evil. Sometimes a lie can be a white lie designed to protect people, while finding the truth can lead to a terrible outcome (i.e. Shuichi’s backstory exposing a man for a crime done to avenge his family.) Shuichi even states in the game “Some lies can lead the world to hope...Some truths can lead the world to despair...So I don't think anyone can really say which is more right in the end.”

//Logic VS Belief meanwhile. is best represented in characters like V3′s deuteragonist, Kaito Momota, who doesn’t base his assumptions off anything other than his own assurance and faith in the people around him. While this is narrow-minded at a glance, Kaito repeatedly proves that his assumptions and belief are well-placed. Not always of course, but often enough that Shuichi considers his belief’s when it comes to his accusations. On the other hand, there are characters like Angie Yonaga and again, Kokichi Ouma, who’s assumptions are grounded more in logic and facts, sometimes making them overlook the bigger picture at hand, but also the only sure basis for a grounded conclusion.

//It’s never explicitly stated, but the way I see things with the spinoff game, and what ties it back to Toko, is that Ultra Despair Girls has it’s own secondary theme to the typical Hope VS Despair

//And that is...Companionship VS Solitude.

//And going further with that, Trust VS Betrayal.

//Elaborating on both for a moment, here’s how I see it. Both Toko and Komaru at the start of Ultra Despair Girls are both in a poor position, and neither really know how to cope. Toko has barely changed from the horrible person she was in DR1, while Komaru starts off as a weak-willed, vulnerable girl.

//By the end of the game, Toko’s attitude has drastically changed, and she opens up to Komaru in a way she never did to Makoto or anyone else before her, and Komaru becomes a much stronger person, both physically and mentally, going from being the one receiving the rousing speeches to the one giving them (like she does for the adults in the secret encampment.)

//And the obvious conclusion to reach is that the development of both these characters can be attributed to one another. Komaru is made a more responsible and down to earth person, taking matters into her own hands and resolving the problem in her own way thanks to Toko’s influence on her. At the same time, Toko, an extremely pessimistic person with little faith in her fellow human, is made to become the voice of reason for Komaru, simply because she NEEDS it.

//And despite their bumps along the way, and how they don’t start off as friends and work together more as allies than anything, the companionship between these two girls is the one and only reason they were even able to Survive the demon hunting game.

//The PARALLEL to this, is Monaca and the Warriors of Hope. Who if you think about it, have the EXACT REVERSE DYNAMIC.

//When UDG starts off, you see as the game progresses just how close these kids are to one another right from the get go, having been through a similar experience to the girls in working together to overcome a shitty situation that they all have been through.

//And for most of the game, their friendship seems strong and genuine, but then you get to the conclusion of the first boss fight against Masaru. Where his defeat against the girls results in him being pulled under and out of sight by the masked Monokuma kids; a scene that obviously reminds Toko of an execution.

//And as the game progresses, this continues happening, and when it does, the other kids really hardly bat an eye, and try to move on. But the more it happens, the more concerned they begin to grow, Nagisa especially who even tries to resolve the situation, strongly desiring to protect the dream he and the other kids share.

//At least that’s what he believes, only to find out that Monaca has been playing him and the other Warriors from the start, never truly intending to be their friend, or helping them create the paradise she promised she would.

//In comparison to Komaru and Toko’s strengthening bond, the Warrior’s who seem to have a strong bond at the start, weaken as a result of Monaca’s secret betrayal. Something I believe goes overlooked often by most people.

//Another thing that people can see from this, is that by the end of the game, Toko has gained every trait she needs to pass as a true Danganronpa deuteragonist, fitting the same traits and actions as the others before her (and no, slapping Komaru to knock some sense back into her doesn’t count as part of it). Doing what all of them did at some point, and rescuing the main character from a truly awful situation.

//Who was it that not only rescued Makoto from the garbage heap, but also kept his spirits raised when things started to look bleak? Kyoko.

//Who was it that restored formality to the group and saved Hajime from falling in Despair forever in DR2? Chiaki.

//Who were the one’s who rescued Shuichi when he gave in and tried to hide from facing the truth? Kaede and Kaito.

//And who was it that saved Komaru from the burden placed on her that she didn’t deserve? Toko.

//Before this point, Toko would not have ever been able to fit that role, but by the end of Ultra Despair Girls, she’s become attuned to being by this girls side, and being the moral compass she needs. And she is GOOD at it. And it’s only BECAUSE she’s grown to care for Komaru, putting herself on the line for her sake, that she is able to do this.

//Toko has lived a life of abuse, bullying, betrayal, doubt, sadness, and unjustness. But none of that matters when someone who truly cares about her is falling into Despair. Meeting Komaru, while she wouldn’t openly admit it even after the fact, was the best thing that could have ever happened to Toko.

//And meeting Toko was the best thing that ever happened to Komaru as well.

Toko in Survivor. How has she changed?

//Now we’ll actually get into my own personal thought process for Toko in this blog. How much she has developed PAST the last time we saw her in Ultra Despair Girls and DR3. And there are three main things to focus in on here:

Her progressing relationship with Komaru.

Her role as a mother.

Her change in lifestyle.

//Keeping in mind what I said about Komaru and Toko having changed and developed one another plays a big role in their characters from the start of Survivor, and how much they’ve changed in the 8 year timegap.

//On Komaru’s side, she’s obviously become a much more confident and eager person. Someone who screamed and cried while fighting for her life back in Towa City, now greets fights with open arms and ready trigger finger. She’s no longer afraid of the threats she faces, and now with Toko by her side, is actively ready to stand against them.

//Toko’s changes are obviously a lot more integral. She doesn’t stutter her words or needlessly blame others anymore, always thinking about the situation at hand before she starts putting words in each other’s mouths. And while she still cares for Byakuya, she no longer idolizes him in the way she did, nor does she have any dreams of pursuing a life with him, instead sticking with Komaru and trying to sort herself out. Even Byakuya admits by this point in time, Toko has become a woman worthy of his attention. Which is why it was so nice to write that one segment of Into the Ocean where they teamed up together, just the two of them.

//I also believe that Toko and Komaru would have started to develop feelings for each other during the timegap. Most people would think it a little odd that they decide to get married almost immediately after confessing to one another, but to me, it’s not that strange.

//They would have had a lot of time to spend together, and they would clearly recognize their love for each other. After all, if you think about it, Toko and Komaru’s dynamic is basically the EXACT SAME as Makoto and Kyoko’s. The Naegi siblings have a lot in common, as you might expect, with both of them being strong-willed people at the core, as well as one’s who have the power to inspire hope in others, but also each having a fair share of inferiority complexes. Toko and Kyoko on the other hand, are more down to earth and logical, and balance their respective partners out.

//And if one of them can grow to care for each other beyond a point that canonically is implied to be more than a friendship, why can’t the other?

//Toko hasn’t completely changed of course. There’s still a lot about her that remains relatively the same from the canon games, mainly that she’s still quick to frustrate, and still isn’t immediately trusting of anyone she meets, however being more willing to give them a chance to prove her wrong.

//But the primary way in which Komaru has influenced Toko is simply by being a genuine friend, partner and companion, teaching Toko how to be more confident in herself, as well as overcoming all of her past trauma’s, slowly but surely. This in turn, would have led to Toko living a much healthier lifestyle than the one she had before, and as of Into the Ocean, it certainly shows.

//Toko’s redesign as of Into the Ocean sports her signature purple, but also a much brighter and happier blue in contrast to her previous designs where her clothes and outfit are much darker all around. She’s also discarded her glasses for contact lenses, and started wearing shorter skirts and leggings, showing her change in attitude and character, and how she’s a lot more self-assured, and confident in herself.

//This is the face of a woman who’s been through a lot of trauma, and through the power of love and companionship, has overcome it. That’s all it ever took.

//And then of course, there’s not only Komaru as her wife, but the newest addition to their family - Akeru. Who the girls decide to adopt as their own daughter.

//Upon finding out her true backstory, Toko gravitates almost immediately towards Akeru when she finds out just how similar the two of them are. Having both been raised by abusive mothers, and having murdered them as a result of the trauma.

//Even after her mothers died, Toko’s life did not get better. If anything, it only became worse. So when Akeru was finally saved from the clutches of Narumi Osone, Toko endeavored to make it so that Akeru didn’t go down the same path...By giving her a family and a new life that she could learn to love.

//Toko has been through some shit, but thanks to this natural progression and strength she has found, she’s able to become the exact authority figure that a young girl needs. Though she lacks in real experience, Toko goes out of her way to do whatever it takes to make sure that her girl grows up happy and healthy in the way she never could, without deflecting her own childhood trauma on this equally damaged girl.

//In a way, she’s doing for Akeru exactly what she did to Komaru. Hence why the chapter of her exposing her past to her friends is so important. Simply to emphasize just how much the girl’s suffering means to her.

Where are we now?

//To end this, I need to make a quick observation of the blog’s current events, and analyse where every main protagonist, the one’s that carry this story, are standing right now.

//First of all, most obviously, Makoto and Kuripa are both HOT MESSES right now. Not just in the wake of the death of Mukuro, but with every bad thing after bad thing that’s been thrown their way, they’ve been severely wittled down to the point where both of them are barely hanging onto sanity.

//Kuripa obviously isn’t new to this attitude or feeling, but when Makoto is at a point where he’s not only lashing out at the people who love him, but is physically assaulting the wrongdoers; something usually out of character for him, you know he’s going through some shit.

//Hajime is not much better. Obviously he’s currently in an indefinite coma while Izuru takes control of his body, but even before that he was clearly suffering at the hands of a situation out of his control, that he still wholeheartedly blames himself for.

//The actions of both Ayumu Fujimori and Nagito Komaeda he attributes back to his own incompetence, and believes that most, if not all of what the Future Foundation is currently going through, is his own fault.

//Shuichi and Kaede seem relatively fine, but it’s clear they’re both struggling with their own issues. Shuichi’s will be elaborated on, but Kaede is so severely traumatized by her past, it makes her act out stupidly, and she’s beginning to have severe doubts about herself.

//And Shuichi feels like a fish out of water, having a branch to lead but not quite sure how to take charge when it counts.

//Even Komaru isn’t quite sure what to do, and has made her own handful of stupid decisions. On top of not being there for her brother and being blissfully unaware of the Future Foundation’s fall in wake of her own family’s interests, she also gets so desperate, that she takes matters into her own hands and makes a fucking mess of things.

//I.e. blaming the entire mess on Kuripa with little to know grounds on such an action, and kidnapping and trapping Makoto for “his own safety.”

//And the amazing thing throughout all of this, is that looking at all of these protagonists and comparing to Toko...She is the ONLY ONE who has remained relatively sane throughout the entire pandemic of Despair.

//In Into the Ocean, she comes through as a mediator and protector for Komaru, Akeru and Byakuya on multiple occasions, comforting them when they’re in a difficult situation (very physically in Komaru’s case ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) and having their back, even when they try to go solo on dangerous missions.

//And in The Monster in Me, she’s the first member of the Future Foundation who defects from Komaru, her own wife’s, authoritarian methods to stop Kuripa and Katagiri, simply because she remains in her right mind and realizes that something is not right, and Kuripa isn’t the sole person to blame.

//This is the same woman who always jumped to conclusions and put words in others mouths out of her own self-loathing whenever anyone tried to have a basic conversation with her. But now she’s thinking more rationally than any of the “heroes” and seeing things for what they are, taking it on herself to sort things out and help them just as she did to Komaru back during Ultra Despair Girls.

//Toko Fukawa over the course of her life has gone from being one of the weakest-willed and traumatized heroes in Danganronpa...to easily one of it’s most confident, rational, and strongest.

#mod talks #mod #danganronpa 1 #dr1 #danganronpa ultra despair girls #drae #toko fukawa

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photogirl894 · 1 year

Text

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 15

"You've got this"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: I will give a heads up that this one does switch between two simultaneous events later on in the chapter, hopefully it doesn't get too confusing. This one's gonna be a little heavy 😅 but it's also a longer chapter to make up for the wait!

Also a huge thanks to @l-lend for her help with some things in this chapter, especially involving Rina! You're the best!! 🥰

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx

《 Chapter 14

》 Chapter 16

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: Hunter offers some advice to Rina and Echo discovers one of the Koriena Force ladies has a secret.

Inside the Aurora, Kida insisted that Kimber get into a bath, which surprised Kimber since she was so used to being on a small shuttle all the time that the idea of there being a bathtub on a ship was a shock at first. Then she remembered this technically was a leisure transport, so then it made sense. Kida said she had something that would help with her bodily pains and it would only work in a hot bath, so Kimber listened to the expert and started getting undressed behind a screen, feeling glad she had chosen to wear her civvie clothes. As the tub filled up, Kida also handed her a long silk robe to put on when she was done.

“Be careful, Kida, she might get pregnant if you see her naked,” she heard Rina say, snickering.

Kimber laughed herself and she heard Kida laugh, too. “Poor Wrecker and Omega…,” she said as she pulled her dress off. “I’ll be surprised if Hunter or even Tech do explain all of that to them.”

“Honestly, the way they thought pregnancy works was the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time. If that’s how it worked, I would have several children by now,” commented Kida.

“I would call you a name right now, but I’m gonna be nice,” said Rina.

Kimber walked out from behind the screen garbed in the robe right then.

“What name?” Kida asked Rina.

Rina took a drag of sweetblossom from her mod and then replied, “Starts with a ‘W’ and rhymes with ‘bore’.”

The Pantoran’s jaw dropped in mock offense. “You little wretch!” she cried through a chuckle, giving Rina a shove.

“Wrong word, but nice try,” Rina teased her, earning her a jab in the side from Kida.

Kimber was standing by the side of the big tub, laughing at their playfulness. While they continued their shoving match and were distracted, she took the opportunity to disrobe and climb into the tub, sinking herself into the hot water. It slightly burned at first, but then it felt soothing to her aching muscles.

Once Kida saw Kimber was in the tub, she switched the water off and then went over to a nearby cupboard. “I’m going to introduce something to you of my own invention,” she declared, moving things around in the cupboard.

“For someone who prides herself as an expert in fashion, some of the inventions you’ve shown me haven’t exactly coincided with your area of expertise,” Kimber commented.

“The eye color discs certainly could pass as fashion,” Kida retorted, “but I also pride myself as an expert in leisure…and that’s where this comes in.” She fished out a small jar full of what appeared to be small, clear, light blue rocks. She came over to the tub and gave the jar a shake. “These…are bacta salts,” she said. “Bacta that’s been refined into a solid salt form that dissolve in warm water and help soothe aches and pains rather than helping heal full injuries.”

“Are you serious?” Kimber asked, bemused. “You actually created that?”

“I’ve got a more scientific mind than I let on,” Kida admitted as she started pouring some of the salts into the water, making the water turn a faint blue.

A few seconds passed and Kimber started feeling a cool, soothing sensation throughout almost her entire body, dulling the aches she had felt not that long ago. “It’s very fast-acting!” she exclaimed.

“That’s the power of bacta,” said Rina. Then she sat down on a chair nearby and asked Kimber, “So who gave you the beating? Did you and lover boy go at it too hard?”

“Rina Caska!” Kimber cried out, mortified. Naturally, Kida was giggling next to her and Kimber lightly splashed her with water, making her squeal in surprise. “That is not what happened. We had a run-in with some Zygerrians.” Kimber decided to downplay the story a little bit so she didn’t worry the girls.

“Ugh, those creatures are terrible,” spat Kida.

Right then, Irys came into the room, carrying little Kori in one arm and holding a bottle in the baby’s mouth with the other, saying as she entered, “Didn’t you mention once that a Zygerrian tried to buy you?”

Kimber let her head fall back against the back of the tub. “Yes…and somehow, we ran into that very same one in Old Ord Mantell City.”

“You're kidding. What, was he following you or something?” inquired Rina.

“No, it was pure coincidence,” Kimber answered, relaxing a bit more as the bacta salts really started taking effect on her aching muscles.

Then Kida told her, “I would say soak in the bath for a little while and let the salts do their work. You’ll feel back to normal in no time.”

“Much appreciated, Kida,” said Kimber.

Then Kida pointed at Rina and declared, “By the way, once Irys is finished with him, you’re putting Kori down for his nap.”

Rina grumbled quietly for a second before relenting with a shrug and saying, “That’s fair.”

After that, Kida brought up that, since their time together with Kimber had been cut short back on Pantora, they hadn’t heard about any of Kimber’s adventures with the Bad Batch from before then. Humoring them, Kimber regaled them with stories of her many missions with the Clones from the months prior to Order 66 while she laid in the tub and even afterwards when she was feeling physically better and back in her clothes. It was a nice distraction to keep her from worrying too much about her boys on their current mission.

One rotation had passed until the Bad Batch returned to Ord Mantell. It was nighttime on the planet when they landed, so they figured that Kimber and the girls would most likely be resting. Hunter at least thought they should head to Cid’s and see if she was there to at least inform her of the outcome of their mission…which sadly they had failed. Thanks to a pair of rude and meddling sisters who happened to be at the facility and after the same target as them. He and Echo would go and talk to Cid and he told Wrecker, Tech and Omega that they should just stay on the ship and get some rest. As Hunter and Echo walked off the ship and made their way to Cid’s, Hunter couldn’t help but look off in the direction of the Aurora, knowing Kimber was on the ship, and he couldn’t help but hope that she was doing better.

Cid was indeed in her office at the parlor and the meeting with her wasn’t exactly pleasant. She wasn’t happy that they’d botched the job and even went so far as to scold them for “not being better than two regular girls” when it came to getting the intel she’d sent them to get. While she was displeased with them, she was gracious enough to say they could make it up to her with another job eventually, but she was tired and didn’t have anything for them at the current moment. Shortly after that, she abruptly ushered them from her office.

“Do we really want to keep working for her, Hunter?” Echo asked, annoyed, with a roll of his eyes.

Hunter sighed. “Believe me, I’m not keen on it either, but it’s the best option we’ve got,” he replied.

Echo shook his head, not entirely content with that answer, but also not in the mood to argue.

As the two of them came out from the back hallway, they were surprised to see a familiar violet-haired woman sitting at the bar with a cup and a bottle in front of her. She hadn’t been there when they first came to the parlor a few minutes prior.

She gave them a half-hearted grin. “Well, look who it is. Thought I sensed you two here,” she stated, seemingly feigning gladness at seeing them.

Right away, Hunter could sense that something was troubling her. Not only just from his enhanced senses, but just from the look on her face and the fact that she had an alcoholic drink in front of her. Something wasn’t right.

“Echo, why don’t you go on back to the ship?” he said to his companion.

Echo gave him a nod and walked away towards the door, giving Rina a light touch on the shoulder as he passed by.

Once Echo was gone, Rina asked Hunter as she poured another drink into the glass, “You up for a drink, Sarge?”

Taking a seat next to her, he answered, “Why not?”

Using the Force, Rina summoned a second cup from one of the back shelves and placed it on the bar in front of the Sergeant before pouring a drink from the bottle into it.

“What are you doing here so late?” he asked her before taking a sip of the drink.

Rina downed her glass in one gulp and told him, “I needed a drink…and despite the Aurora being a leisure ship, it wasn’t stocked with any of the good booze, so I came here.” Then she flashed him another half grin. "Boss Lady’s doing much better, by the way. Kida had some stuff that helped with her pain."

“I’m glad,” he said.

“She told us about some of your guys’ missions you went on after we left you on Toydaria months ago,” she went on. “You guys sure got into some crazy shenanigans.”

“I wouldn’t call them that, but yeah, we got some interesting missions from time to time,” he replied. There was still something uneasy in the air between him and Rina. He got the feeling she was trying to hide something, given the more stoic than normal expression on her face and her quickness to talk about something other than herself. He watched her casually pour herself another drink and then down it as quickly as the last, shaking her head afterwards and gasping lightly from the burn of the alcohol. “Rina...why are you really here?” he then asked her.

“Can’t a girl just have a drink without having a reason?” she asked, already pouring more alcohol in her cup.

As she threw her head back and swallowed another glass of the drink, he commented, “When that girl has downed three full drinks in only a couple minutes, it gives the impression there is a reason and she’s got something on her mind.”

He heard her heart rate pick up a touch as she responded, “I just like to drink, okay? I’ve got a problem, I know.” That alone indicated that he was onto her and she was trying to cover herself in a panic.

“What don’t you want to tell me?” he inquired calmly.

She threw back yet another drink and slammed the cup down on the bar. “Nothing, I’m fine!” she blurted out.

Hunter, though slightly taken aback, wanted to keep pressing her, knowing she was hiding something, but then he stopped himself. He knew he had a bad habit of doing this sometimes when he wanted to help someone. This had happened when they’d gotten Kimber back after she’d been captured on Alderaan and he could tell she wasn’t telling all of them the whole truth. He had kept pressing her and eventually, she did tell him the truth…but then Crosshair had chastised him about pressuring Kimber when she wanted him to leave well enough alone. The guilt from that was something he still carried with him, even if he never talked about it.

Instead, he finished his drink, set the cup down and stood up from his chair. "All right," he told her. Then he laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just know this, Rina: whatever it is that's bothering you, you don't have to go through it alone. If you can't tell me, then at least talk to Kimber. I know she'll help you." With that being said, he started walking away.

"I can't tell her."

He stopped in his tracks.

"I…I messed up…and I let her down, Hunter."

She didn't call him "Sarge" or "lover boy"...which meant whatever she was about to tell him was possibly worse than what he thought. He turned around to look at her, but she kept her gaze on the cup in front of her. He moved to her other side and sat in the other seat beside her. For a moment, he said nothing, waiting for her to speak, but she seemed to be battling herself on whether or not she should say anything.

“What happened?” he asked gently.

Rina heaved a heavy, dejected sigh and hung her head. “She left me in charge of the girls while she’s been with you guys…and I royally screwed up. We thought we’d be safer off Pantora, but as we were about to leave, the Imperial troopers caught up to us. They went after Lex because the police recognized her from the chase with Fennec Shand. They grabbed us and tried to take her…and that was when everything went south.”

Meanwhile, Echo continued on through Ord Mantell cautiously, since he was out in the middle of a seedy city at night. He wouldn’t have been surprised if there were some questionable characters out and about at that time lurking in the alleyways and such. His good hand hovered above his blaster just in case he had to be ready.

Luckily, he made it to the spaceport without any trouble. He was just about to get to the ship when he heard a faint sound not too far away. It sounded like a woman…crying. Concerned as well as curious, he walked in the direction of the crying. Whoever it was sounded like they were in pain. The crying seemed to be coming from the direction of the Aurora, which made Echo even more worried. Soon, he came around a corner and could hear the crying more clearly. The Aurora was docked and it seemed like the lights inside were off. He peeked around some cargo crates that were in the port and he saw the form of Lex on her knees, doubled over and sobbing. His panic spiked upon seeing her, fearing something terrible had happened.

“Lex, what’s wrong?” he asked urgently, stepping forward.

Lex’s head shot up and she gasped, having not heard Echo approach. She locked eyes with him for but a couple seconds before suddenly jumping to her feet and running away from him, startling him.

“Hey, wait!” he called out, going after her and wondering why she was running away.

Luckily, he was fast and was quick to catch up with her. Though, it wasn’t entirely easy because she herself was pretty fast, too. He managed to get right behind her in another lit alleyway.

“Lex, wait, stop!” he cried, reaching out and grabbing her gloved left hand.

As his hand grasped hers and he went to pull back to stop her, the full arm glove she wore slid down and slipped right off of her arm. She halted in her tracks, whipping around with a gasp and a terrified look in her eyes.

“No!” she cried, but it was already too late.

Echo held the leather glove loosely in his hand and his jaw fell at what he now saw. “Lex…!” he gasped.

Her arm that had been previously covered by the glove…was made of metal.

She clutched her now cybernetic arm against her chest and turned her back on him. “Karabast! You weren't supposed to see that,” she stated, her voice quivering, before moving like she was going to dart off again.

“Please, don’t run from me,” he pleaded, taking her hand.

Lex stopped and didn’t try to fight against him, her will too weakened in her despaired state. Her head dropped and her teeth clenched hard, trying to keep herself from weeping again. She couldn’t believe she’d been caught and by Echo, of all people….

Cautiously, he released his grip on her and moved around in front of her, taking in the new sight of her with a mechanical arm. His own metal arm very slightly twitched, painfully remembering how he’d come to get his. He now feared what he was about to hear from her on how she suddenly came to have one, too.

“Lex...what happened to you?” he asked, his voice soft yet full of worry.

She knew there was no getting out of this. Echo had seen her arm already and learned her secret. Plus, she knew he was a good and decent man. She supposed he could be trusted with the truth.

“It was my fault,” she said sadly.

Echo carefully led her over to a nearby bench in the alley and urged her to sit down, taking a place next to her. He said nothing, but silently indicated to her with his expression that he was willing to patiently listen to her.

Then she went on to explain, “The Empire was coming after us on Pantora, specifically me because of my involvement in the police chase, and they had us pinned down. I thought I’d found a way to get us away from them. I had been experimenting with an explosive some time before; one of my own design and I thought I could use it. I had suggested using it against the Imperials before we fled the Firestar estate, but Rina thought it was a bad idea to use it without properly testing it. I was...overconfident and assured her it would be fine. She tried to warn me and I didn't listen. When we couldn’t get away from the soldiers, I got desperate. I went to activate it...and the countdown short-circuited, making it go off before I could even lob it.”

Echo’s breath hitched in shock, imagining the pain she had to have experienced in such a situation and knowing full well what it felt like to be caught in an explosion.

She inhaled shakily. "I'm lucky to even be alive," she said. "Irys happened to know of someone in another nearby system who could help me and they gave me a new mechanical arm." She looked down at her robotic hand contemplatively, flexing the fingers in and out. "I didn't want Kimber or any of you guys to know because I didn't want anyone to worry or judge me," she then told him. After that, Lex curled her metal fingers into a fist and slammed it down onto the bench beside her, making the pain in her shoulder from it flare up, and she sharply sucked in through gritted teeth. "I'm such an idiot! I’m the weapons specialist, for stars’ sake! I should’ve known better!" she exclaimed in angry frustration.

"You're not an idiot," Echo countered, "and no one's going to judge you. You made a mistake. We all do."

"But this mistake could've cost me my life and it put my friends...my family in danger. I even endangered Kida's son! The girls and the baby are all I have," she said back.

Calmly, he tried assuring her, "They're all okay and that's what matters. Though, sometimes that's what happens when you take risks."

In reply, she just sighed and put her head in her hands. "I was stupid...and I hate this thing!" she cried, pulling back and making a fist with her metal hand again.

Echo knew all too well the aggravation Lex was experiencing and he couldn't help but glance down at his scomp arm, as well. "That happened to me, too, you know," he said as he then held up his scomp, hoping to maybe help her feel better somewhat. "I lost my limbs in an explosion, as well."

Her head turned to look at him. "You...you did?" she asked.

He nodded before looking back down at his arm. "I was reckless and tried to get to a shuttle on a rescue mission at the Citadel, a turret blew it up and I was caught in the middle of it," he explained, the faintest memory of the explosion in the back of his mind. "Even though all my cybernetic parts were given to me by the Techno Union who captured me afterwards, I've been able to manage with them." Then he returned his steadfast gaze to her and stated, "This is something you can bounce back from, trust me."

However, she surprised him by frowning, turning away and responding, discouraged, "That's easy for you to say. You're a Clone soldier. You're supposed to be able to bounce back from things easier than other people."

Though, he didn't seem too put off by what she said and just said back "I didn't, though...I just hide it well."

Having expected him to snap back at her, Lex faced Echo again with a perplexed look, a bit surprised by his gentle and honest reply.

"Just because we Clones are bred solely to be soldiers doesn't mean we're not still human," he told her.

She swallowed a little, now feeling guilty about what she'd said to him. "I'm sorry, Echo. I didn't mean…," she started to apologize.

"I know you didn't," he kindly said before she could finish. "This is a new and frustrating change for you. Believe me, I understand completely."

Lex just stared at him for a moment, a light wave of relief overtaking her at knowing someone actually understood her and her predicament. Now, she just had so many questions she wanted to ask and things she wanted to say…and maybe Echo could give her what she needed.

Back at Cid's, Rina took another gulp of her drink, trying to keep herself together as she continued telling her tale to Hunter, "Lex had a bomb she'd been working on; an explosive of her own design that she had hoped to use. She told me she would use it on the Imps if they came after us, I told her that wasn't a good plan and she should test it before using it. She told me it would be fine and, since she's our demolitions girl, I trusted her judgment." She sighed and hung her head. "I should've fought harder against it. I should've done more."

When she reached out to take another drink, the Sergeant, however, placed his hand on her wrist and gently stopped her. "You don't need anymore," he calmly told her.

She wanted to argue with him or say something sassy back, but decided against it, not feeling like going through with it in the moment. That was probably the alcohol working. Without a word, she withdrew her hand back.

"Go on," he said.

"Like I said, the Imps got to us and tried to pin Lex down. She fought against them, but they were overpowering her as well as the rest of us," she went on. "I thought I could use the Force to get the troopers off of her, but…I couldn't do it." Her hands clenched tightly into fists. "I thought if I did that, I would expose myself as a Force user and the soldiers would've killed me. I was selfish and I panicked. I couldn't do it." Her voice then choked a little as her emotions began to well and bubble up inside her, failing her battle against them. "Because of my failure to act, Lex decided to use her explosive…which short-circuited and went off prematurely, taking Lex's left arm with it."

Hunter's eyes went wide and he reared back just a bit, shocked at this revelation. He hadn't expected her story to take such a turn.

"Seeing that happen…and then Lex lying motionless on the ground with an arm gone...I snapped," Rina stated, her voice quivering though with a touch of anger to it. "In a rage, I used the Force against the troopers that held all of us, pushing them off and away from us. We broke free and, with the rest of them dazed and distracted by the explosion, we grabbed Lex and dashed, barely making it to our ship. We were lucky Irys knew someone who was able to save Lex in time and get her a cybernetic arm." The heel of her hand made contact with the area between her eyes as she then said, "That's why Lex now has that full glove on her arm, to hide her new one. If I had just acted sooner and been a better leader; the one Kimber sees in me, I could've saved Lex…but I didn't and I failed."

Then she finally lost the fight and, to Hunter's greater astonishment, she broke down crying, burying her face in her arms on the counter.

Lex decided to ask her first question to Echo and inquired timidly as she shifted herself to fully face him, "How did you...how did you do it? Figure out how to live with your cybernetic arm?"

Echo just casually shrugged and answered her, "It wasn't easy by any means. It definitely took time, but...knowing I was stuck with it, I just had to retrain my mind to see it as just like my normal arm...only new and improved." He lifted his scomp arm and looked at it, moving it around as if carefully inspecting it. "It's now a part of me and I have to think of it as such or else I'm going to be at war with my own body and that's not going to benefit anyone." Then he looked back to her and told her, "The same goes for you, Lex. I know you hate it right now, but you can't view your arm as a hindrance or a separate piece of equipment you wear. It's a part of your physical body now; an extension of yourself. The more you reject it, the harder it's going to be for you to get used to it."

Her eyes drifted back down to her own cybernetic arm. "How can I when it's a daily reminder of my mistake; my failure?" she asked sadly. Her mind drifted back to the moment just before the explosive had gone off and how confident she had been in her abilities. She really thought she'd had it…and she couldn't have been more wrong. Now, she had a replacement arm and was in a continual state of pain, especially in her left shoulder, and she only had herself to blame.

Though, her reminiscing was interrupted as she saw Echo's hand take her own. It wasn't her flesh hand, however. He had taken hold of her metal one and her sorrowful eyes lifted to meet his caring ones.

"My arm is a daily reminder of the things I went through, too. I understand," he said to her. "You'll learn to see past your mistakes in time. You will."

Her eyes were welling up with tears, both from the physical pain in her body acting up and from being overwhelmed at Echo's kindness. Choking up, she confided in him, "It hurts...it hurts, Echo. I'm in constant pain and I can't...!" Her words cut off and they were replaced with a sob as she couldn't stop herself from crying again.

"I know...I know," he soothed her softly.

Driven by his compassion for her, he removed his good hand from her metal one and brushed away some of her tears with great tenderness and laid his hand on her cheek, slightly surprising her even more. Their eyes met for a moment and they both said nothing, the two of them experiencing a light stirring within themselves that they couldn't explain.

Then, gazing directly into her violet eyes, he stated to her with gentle intensity, "I see you, Lex. I do. I've been through what you're experiencing now. The agony will go away, I promise you."

Instinctively, Lex leaned into his hand and continued to cry quietly. Whether it was her influx of emotions or just how vulnerable she was feeling in the moment which wasn't always like her, something about Echo made her feel safe right then and his comforting touch was unknowingly what she needed.

All too soon, though, his hand left her cheek as he then said, "Let me get you something for the pain."

"No, you don't have to do that," she protested as he stood up.

"It's too late. I'm already up and I'm taking you with me," he stated, holding out a hand to her. "I'm not leaving you out here alone and I want to help you. Come with me back to the Marauder and I'll get something to relieve your pain."

Still taken aback by his genuine charity, Lex simply stared at him, her jaw hanging open just a touch. She hadn't known such kindness from a man before, not like this. Any other men she'd known were shady, untrustworthy and ofttimes had unsavory intentions. Echo was a whole different kind of man unlike any she'd ever met. Even though she'd spoken to him before during their brief downtime on Toydaria months prior, she hadn't seen this side of him. Was it because they were alone this time? Or was it that he was opening up more because of their shared trauma? She couldn't quite place how she'd never noticed him like this before…but she was noticing him now.

After a few seconds, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her up to her feet before the two of them walked together to the Marauder.

"Rina, you're not a failure," Hunter told the crying woman, placing a hand between her shoulder blades.

"Yes, I am," came her muffled reply. "Boss Lady left me in charge of the girls and expected me to protect them. I had one job and I made an absolute mess of it. She's never going to trust me again."

"I know Kimber and I know she won't blame you for any of it. That's not in her nature."

"Even so, I'm sure Lex blames me. She's barely spoken to me since it happened."

He leaned in a little closer to her ear and said in a gentle tone, "I honestly doubt Lex holds you responsible either and more than likely, she just feels embarrassed. Yes, you're the acting leader of the Koriena Force, but that doesn't mean all of their actions fall onto you. You can't hold yourself responsible for everything that happens to them, especially when they do end up suffering the consequences of their own actions."

Rina turned her head on her folded arms and looked up at him, her crying ceasing and her eyes turning red and puffy.

He continued, pulling his hand back, "Yes, what happened to Lex was terrible, but she made her choice and sometimes, for those of us who lead our own squads, we can't always protect them from everything. That's something I've had to learn the hard way, too." Then he averted his eyes down to his lap and heaved a heavy sigh. "I couldn't protect Kimber from the Zygerrians on our last mission together and she got hurt. I…I couldn't protect Crosshair…and now he's with the Empire," he said, his voice catching as he recalled when the Empire took Crosshair from them in the brig on Kamino. "I didn't fight hard enough either when they took him from us and I carry that guilt with me every day. However, he also still made his choice and I can't blame myself for that. Neither should you blame yourself for what happened to Lex."

Her head shifted slightly back into her arms and her gaze drifted, contemplating on his words.

Then he said, "Besides, if you had done what you wanted to do and used the Force on the Imperials, you would've been gunned down and then where would your squad be? You weren't acting selfishly. You kept yourself alive for your friends and for Kimber. Isn't that what matters? And how do you think Wrecker would've taken the news if that had happened to you?"

That last question was what made Rina almost burst into tears again, the thought of her big guy being sad at hearing she had been killed. She didn't want to picture his usual smiling, happy face being twisted with pain and grief.

"He's crazy about you and he would've been heartbroken if he'd lost you," Hunter said to her. "Kimber would've been devastated, too, and so would the rest of the girls and us. What you chose to do wasn't selfish. It was for the better. What Lex chose to do wasn't selfish either and, while it had awful consequences, she's alive and she'll learn from them. Both of you will learn from this. That's how you grow and improve as a leader: learn from mistakes and always strive to do better." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You hear me, Rina? You're gonna be okay."

Rina ran the back of her hand across her cheeks, wiping away the tear trails on her face. "You really think so, Sarge?" she questioned in a strained voice.

He offered an encouraging smile and replied, "I do. You're one of the toughest women I know."

She let out a small scoff. "I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only women you know."

"Fair point, but that doesn't change the fact that you're strong," he said. He grasped her shoulder a little tighter. "Don't beat yourself up, okay? What happened wasn't your fault and if Lex thinks otherwise, then you can send her to me."

That got a tiny laugh out of her as she brushed away the last of her tears from her eyes. Strangely, venting to Hunter and listening to his advice was starting to make her feel a bit better, even though she didn't imagine the night would turn out that way. Given that he was a leader, too, he knew exactly how she was feeling and what to say to help her. She figured she wouldn't feel completely better about the situation until she talked it out with Lex, but given the fact Lex hadn't really spoken to her, Rina figured she'd give her time.

"Never thought I would've sat in this bar baring my soul to you, of all people," she said.

Hunter chuckled. "I'm sure," he replied, moving his hand away.

She looked at the glass on the bar and pushed it away. "This is why I don't drink a lot," she commented. "It gets me all emotional and weepy. Not my style."

"Ah, it's nothing to be ashamed of," he said.

"It is for me. I got a reputation," she wittily replied. When he simply snickered back, she mustered up a small smile for him. "Thanks...for listening and for the things you said. I guess you're not too bad after all."

He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You're just now seeing that?" he teased back.

"Hey, don't push your luck, lover boy," she warned him, grinning as she gave him a light shove in the arm. "You know I can still mess you up."

"I haven't forgotten," he assured her. "Besides, you helped me when I needed it. I'm glad to return the favor." Then he playfully punched her shoulder. "You've got this, Rina. Kimber would be proud of you."

Rina grinned shyly at that comment, but it faded as quickly as it appeared. "Don't…don't tell her what happened to Lex," she requested. "I want it to come from me or one of the other girls and we haven't gotten around to telling her."

Hunter bowed his head and promised, "You have my word." He gestured with his head to the door of the parlor and got up from his seat. "Come on, let's get you back to the Aurora. You need to sleep off everything you drank tonight."

With a sigh, she hopped off her barstool and added, coming up next to him as they exited the building, "Yeah and hope I don't wake up with a hangover."

Echo and Lex shortly reached the Marauder and he told her to wait outside while he ran in to get the proper supplies. It didn't take long for him to return with a stim and a canister which he secured inside.

"This might hurt just a little. Keep still," he told her as he approached.

She nodded in understanding and then he injected the stim into her shoulder. She winced from the slight piercing pain of the needle, but the injection was done in a flash. In seconds, she started to feel the pain relief taking effect.

As she pulled her full glove back over her cybernetic arm, she said to him, "Echo, I...I want to thank you."

After putting the stim into a pouch, he gave her a curious look. "For what?" he inquired.

With a small, indifferent shrug, she answered, "For talking to me and for your advice. I guess I should've known you would know what I'm going through and that I could've come to you."

He grinned pleasantly. "It's okay. You can talk to me anytime and I'll help in any way I can," he said. Then he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You're not an idiot for doing what you did. You're a bright, strong and brave woman and this doesn't change that," he then reassured her. "You just got caught up in your hubris, which can happen to anyone, but you can learn from this and become stronger. I have and I know you can, too."

For a moment, Lex just found herself caught up in his words that she couldn't find anything to say back. Instead, she just nodded to him.

"You've got this. Remember that. Okay?" he said.

"Thanks," she said sweetly.

Removing his hand from her shoulder, he took a step back and stated, "I'll leave you be now and let you get some rest. See you tomorrow maybe?"

She smiled back. "Yeah...see you tomorrow."

Echo then flashed a genuine smile at Lex before making his way to his ship and to her surprise, her heart seemed to skip a beat upon seeing it and he seemed…even more handsome in that moment than she initially thought. She couldn't figure out why that was. Though, she was more than grateful for his help and comfort. It was encouraging to know there was someone who understood what she was going though and could offer the aid she needed that no one else could. Echo was a good soldier and an even better man.

"Lex?"

Hearing her name, she turned in the direction it came from and saw Rina standing a few feet away, staring at her, with Hunter right behind her.

"Rina," Lex said aloud, seeing her friend and unsure how to react.

Rina slowly approached Lex and stopped just a few steps short of her, her mouth wavering slightly as she seemed to want to say something.

The awkward silence was then broken by Lex saying, "I’m sorry."

Startled, Rina's eyebrows furrowed.

Lex went on to say to her, "You were right, I never should've used that explosive. I should’ve listened to you. I was overconfident and more than that, I was desperate. And I’m sorry I’ve been distant. My actions put us, Irys, Kida and Kori all at risk…and I thought you were mad and disappointed in me."

Rina was too stunned to speak at first. All that time, she'd really thought Lex blamed her and she couldn't believe she was hearing otherwise. Once she finally found the ability to speak again, she responded, astonished, "What? Lex, I thought you were mad at me...and blamed me for what happened."

Now it was Lex's turn to be shocked. "What are you talking about? Why would I blame you?"

Timidly, Rina told her, "Because I couldn’t protect you…and I thought I was being selfish. I thought about using the Force to get the troopers off of you when they tried to grab us, but I was afraid that I would expose myself and I hesitated. If I had just done that, you wouldn’t have had to use that explosive."

Lex's eyes widened in disbelief and she strode over to Rina, stopping just in front of her. "Rina Caska, if you had done that, they would’ve thought you were a Jedi and you would’ve been killed for sure!" she exclaimed, stunned that Rina had blamed herself.

Uncertain of what to say back, Rina just looked away.

Placing her hands on Rina's shoulders, Lex then declared firmly, giving her a light shake, "I would rather lose my arm than lose you. You hear me?"

Behind Rina, Hunter stole a hopeful look over to Echo, who had stopped and stayed in the entryway to the Marauder when he'd heard Rina call out. They both exchanged pleased grins at what Lex had said to Rina, knowing that one statement alone would help heal the rift between the two women.

All Rina could do was stare, dumbfounded, back at Lex with eyes that were starting to well up with tears again that she quickly blinked away so Lex wouldn't know she was about to cry. The reprieve of knowing Lex didn't actually blame her for everything that happened and was never mad at her lifted such a great burden from her shoulders.

Then Lex added in a softer voice, "I was able to replace my arm…but I can’t replace you. I know I've got a long road ahead of me, but I'll get through this. I've got you, the girls…and now, I've got more help here, too." She pulled her hands back and looked over her shoulder back at Echo, who bowed his head reverently. Then she turned back to Rina. "I'm gonna be okay."

"That…makes me glad to hear," Rina replied, trying to keep from getting choked up. Then she held a hand out to Lex. "So we're good?"

"Yeah, we're good," said Lex, grasping Rina's forearm in return, the two of them exchanging caring looks between them before leaving Hunter and Echo alone to return to their ship.

Hunter made his way over to the ramp where Echo was waiting for him at the top.

"I guess we arrived back at a good time. Looks like you got everything worked out with Rina," said Echo.

"I did. She was struggling with her confidence as a leader and I had a talk with her. I take it you talked to Lex?" Hunter asked, stepping onto the stairs.

With a nod, Echo explained, "I found her crying not far from the Aurora and accidentally learned her secret, but she did end up confiding in me. I did what I could for her and promised that I would continue to whenever she needs."

As he came up to the steps near the top, Hunter stated, "Well, if anyone here can help her, it's you."

"I'll do my best," said Echo.

Then Hunter grinned at him. "I saw the way she looked at you," he pointed out. "I think she likes you."

Though, Echo shook his head. "I doubt that. I think she's just happy to know someone who actually sees her and understands her."

Hunter wasn't necessarily convinced of that, but he wasn't going to press it for now. "If you say so. Let's get some rest."

With that being said, the two Clones retreated back into their ship for a good night's sleep after a surprising night of revelations for both of them.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

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tanetime · 8 months

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As part of my eternal war against nonproductivity I've decided to start journaling about what I've been up to while modding Don't Starve Together.

So - modding! I've been working on both Wyneer's mod and a new one: Winslow (and Tobin)! I've been in Sprite Hell drawing hellish sprites and that's where all my artistic energy is going.

Look at my horrible boys!

A lot of rambling (and some WIPs) about my progress on them both under the cut. (Seriously, you do not have to read this!!!)

What's going on with Wyneer's mod?

Wyneer has been getting play-tested regularly on some servers with some friend groups. Mercifully he has behaved very well: while I’ve had to fix a couple of bugs, he's been stable even in worlds with other mods enabled. Yay!

I’ve mostly been pulling back from finishing his remaining unfinished assets to focus on bug-fixing and balancing him and his masks. He’s not quite at a spot I’m happy with yet, but I feel close enough that I’ve started adding in the mask missing from the beta version of his mod – Radiant Face!

Ray has a lot of work to be done still (he has triple the amount of sprites of a normal mask – which is why he got held back to begin with!) but I’m very happy with him so far.

I’ve set up a pipeline for adding new masks to Wyneer’s mod, which has been a huge help.

However, I’ve been taking a break from Wyneer recently to work on a certain somebody...

What's going on with Winslow's mod?

I started working on Winslow (and Tobin) a few weeks ago, but very recently I’ve been WORKING working on him.

I decided to begin with his sprites – as I usually tell people to start with that but never actually do myself – and he’s coming along great! Once his face and chest sprites are done he’ll be able to pass convincingly as a finished character in motion. (Right now he only passes in screenshots.)

While I’ve actually gotten the functionality to swap between Winslow and Tobin working, I’m waiting on Winslow’s sprites to be completely finished before I start on Tobin’s art. A lot of their assets are going to be very similar and it will be easier to keep consistency between them this way.

Other than coding, I've mostly been doing concept art.

Making Winslow real has predictably led to his perks getting adjusted or outright removed in places; I made Winslow himself back in 2020, but only decided to mod him in back when I made Tobin in October of last year. Tobin already had perks and quirks, but Winslow didn’t! So I made up some stuff that sounded appropriate and forgot about it.

‘Appropriate’ doesn’t always mean ‘feasible’ - sometimes it doesn’t even mean ‘fun’ - so now I am trying to wrangle the nebulous idea of who he is into a tool* who accomplishes a task that feels rewarding.

(*Admittedly Winslow is already kind of a tool.)

The main gimmick of his character is of course that he can turn into a character who is much stronger than himself, but I want there to be a reason for him to be himself sometimes.

Still, he does have some perks from his ref sheet that made it in, and some have begun to get added to his mod already.

Once him and Tobin are done, I'd like to swerve to adding in his finalised items and refining the concepts for some new ones, as Tobin needs those items for his own perks to function.

I also thought of a cool gameplay hook to go with Winslow and Tobin's ability to swap between one another, but I'm still ironing out the details and this post is long enough.

That's all!

#tane t art #tane t doodles #misadventures in modding #don't starve #dst mod #dsc oc #my ocs #wyneer #radiant face #tony winslow

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yeehawbvby · 2 years

Text

Falling Away With You | Ch. 14

Sebastian x F! Reader and M. Rasmodius x F!Reader

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Chapter Summary: Y/N does some serious thinking while drunk uwu

Author’s Note: n/a

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

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“I’m coming in!” Sam warns us from the other side of the door, before stumbling in.

Seb and I look up from our respective computers to see Sam struggling to hold a pile of bags on top of his cooler, his skateboard under his arm.

“Why didn’t you put things in the cooler?” Sebastian asks.

“The ice is in there.”

“How much ice did you get?!”

After carefully fumbling the snacks and beers onto the Solarian-designated table, Sam sets the cooler on the ground between Seb and I. He kicks it open and there’s a half-melted bag of ice inside.

A moment of silence.

“How is it already melted?” Seb asks, totally baffled.

“The freezer at Pierre’s is broken, and this bag was the last he had.”

“Wait, there’s plenty of room for the stuff though,” I think aloud. “I still don’t get why you didn’t just toss it in there so make the way back here easier.”

“I didn’t want anything to get wet.”

Himboism at its finest.

Facepalming, Seb exclaims, “It’s all going to get wet you dipshit, we’re taking it to a fuckin’ pool!”

“Alright, why didn’t one of you just bring these things then?!” Sam pouts, “Considering you’re so willing to critique...”

I groan. “Fair enough.”

“Oh my god, Is that ToonTown?!” Sam asks, excitedly leaning over my back and caging me in. I look up, and his eyes are bright with excitement.

“Mhm,” I hum proudly, finishing up a cog battle. “I was gonna play MapleStory, but xxRunescapeDaddy420 over there wouldn’t let me.” I glare at Seb.

“I don’t want that Maple Garbage on my PC.”

“Why can’t MapleStory and RuneScape coexist? Why are you making it a competition?!”

“My PC, my rules.”

“You don’t even use this PC.”

“‘You don’t even use this PC’ shut the fuck up.”

“Make me!”

“No! Nope! Please don’t make her,” Sam rapidly begs. “Not while I’m here.”

“Bro?” I look up at him, wincing.

“Come on, you know how Sebby is! He was totally gonna make that dirty.”

We both look at Seb, who’s devilishly chuckling as he works. “He’s not wrong, darling.”

“Gross,” I fib. I’d actually love to know how he’d shut me up. “You wanna get in here?” I ask Sam, motioning towards the computer.

“Yoba, yes.” I stand up and he eagerly replaces my spot, making a beeline out of Loopy Lane and towards the nearest trolley.

I slot myself into the space between Sebastian’s back and the wall, wrapping my arms over his shoulders and tippy-toeing to place my head on top of his. He tilts down to kiss my forearm, not once stopping programming.

“Holy shit, you’re cold,” he murmurs. I nod. His basement is always cold, somehow. “Here,” he shimmies me off, then shimmies his hoodie off too. “Put this on.” I gladly toss the fabric over my head, thanking him, and resume my place – practically latched onto him.

I indulge myself in both watching Seb’s long fingers type, and inspecting the keyboard beneath them. I’ve been wondering about his build since the night we had phone sex. It definitely sounds modded, now that I’m hearing it in-person — maybe with foam, but I can’t tell. He uses black pudding keycaps, a coiled cable, and what looks like an aluminum case… He knows his shit.

My dorky ass is swooning.

I hold off on judging him further via analyzing his case and hardware, and bring my attention back up to the screen. He’s gotten so much done in such little time. I have no idea how this shit works, but I can tell he’s skilled at his craft.

“Can you teach me how to do this stuff sometime?”

“Nerd,” Sam absentmindedly calls out, his gaze still focused on his screen.

“Fuck you,” Seb and I simultaneously quip. Aw, we’re cute. Sam audibly groans.

Sebastian stops typing and tilts his head up to view me. “You’d really want to learn how to code?”

“Fuck yeah, your job’s so cool. I wanna be cool.”

“Fucking nerd.” He smiles bashfully. He wraps me into a side hug, giving my hip a brief squeeze that makes me all tingly. “Of course I’ll teach you. Not right now, though.”

“Obviously,” I cheekily roll my eyes.

I steal my scrunchie back from Seb’s lap – I guess that’s where it landed when it fell out of his hair, earlier – and toss my hair half-up into a messy bun.

Next, I put the drinks into the cooler since Sam neglected the poor things. Stealing a package of potato chips from one of the grocery bags, I pull a stool over to the man’s station. For the next few hours, Sam and I take turns destroying kids and fellow nostalgics in the addicting mini-games we grew up with.

__________________

When the three of us arrived at the bathhouse, it was already pretty late. Seb’s last module was a bit rushed, which in turn brought up a few errors that needed fixing. Sam had to be contained. To quell the beast, I sat atop his back as he laid face-down on Seb’s bed. If I hadn’t done that, he would’ve kept bugging Seb to hurry up, only slowing us down further.

There’s a ton of bugs out, so I got eaten alive by mosquitos during the walk. I also don’t have a swimsuit, and am too unwilling to deal with more bites to go home and grab one, so I’m just rocking my shorts and bra for the swim.

When I emerge from the locker room with my tee and Seb’s hoodie in hand, I dart for the bevs. A hard lemonade sounds perfect after today.

I turn, confused by the lack of a ruckus happening around me, and find that the guys are sitting at the water’s edge just… staring . Sam’s eyes look like they’re gonna bulge out of his skull, that poor boy. Seb, on the other hand, looks as calm as ever as he unabashedly investigates my body.

“For fuck’s sake. Have you absolute virgins never seen a girl in sportswear before?” I’m laughing, but in reality, all this attention is overwhelming and I don’t like it.

I hop over the side of the pool, bypassing the steps in order to hide in the water as soon as possible. Once I’m firmly planted against the wall and next to Seb’s dangling legs, I start chugging my drink.

Simultaneously, they answer me. “Never,” Seb pipes with a wink and a sip, as Sam mumbles, “You’re different, I dunno.”

Seb is still wearing a shirt – a plain white tee. I’m about to question it, but then I remember his scars, and assume Sam probably doesn’t know they’re there. I shouldn’t ask.

“I only have, like, another hour to hang,” Sam sighs as he dips the rest of his body into the water. His fluorescent pink shorts seem to glow from the surface. “Jodi and her damn curfews.”

“I should’ve known she’d be batshit,” I mumble. “First time I met her – the first time! – she invited me in and ranted about being lonely and hating housework for almost an hour.”

“Yeesh. Sorry.”

I wave him off, then whisper, zoning out on the opposite side of the room, “At least she’s hot…”

“Dude, what?!” Sam snaps his head towards me in disgust, as I snicker into another sip.

Sebastian’s cracking up beside me, his free hand weaving through my hair to tug out some spare knots from the bun I had in it earlier. I duck under the surface for a sec, hoping wet hair could be easier to work with than the rat’s nest that was on my head before. “She’s not wrong, dude.”

“Dude!” Sam groans. He starts chugging the beer in his hand as if to wash this conversation away.

“When she brought me inside that day, I thought, ‘Wow. This is how porns usually start,’” I egg on.

“Oh, you’re still speaking?” Ooo, Sassy Sam! I like it!

“I wonder if Yoba knows one of their worshippers is a MILF.”

“I hate you,” Sam breathes.

Before he can finish, Seb adds, “I’d hate-fuck her.”

“SO MUCH,” the blonde finishes.

Seb and I are both losing our shit, when we’re hit with a wave of overly-salted and mildly chlorinated water. We deserved that.

The next bit of time is uneventful. Mostly just Sam talking about his plans for their alleged band, while I sleepily and tipsily listen on. Sam wants to name themselves The Pelicans, but Seb thinks it’s too basic. Abby, who apparently will be on drums, likes the name Goblin Destroyer, but Sam and Seb both don’t like that one. I thought it was neat. Seb didn’t have any ideas that fit their vibe, naturally coming up with things that were far too edgy for the alt/indie rock sound they’re aiming for.

I got up to grab us another round at one point, and so did Seb, but that’s it as far as movement goes. Not much swimming for the ~swimmies and sippies~.

Once it’s time for Sam to leave, Seb and I offer to walk him home, but he insists it’s okay since he has his board. He leaves the drinks for us, too. A kind-hearted move, considering how much we tortured him over having a bangin’ mom.

A cozy silence takes over once the pitter-pattering of Sam’s footsteps in the changing room fades away. Seb’s still avoiding the water, now laying on his side at the edge rather than with his feet in. I’m still planted in front of him, and he hasn’t stopped touching me – my hair, my shoulders, my earrings – this whole time. I take solace knowing he’s as touch-starved as I am.

Melting into his gentle head scratches, I mumble, “This feels so nice.” I close my eyes. Oof, shouldn’t close those. Feels too spinny. But then again, this is so comfy…

“Don’t fall asleep in there,” Seb warns.

“I’ll do m’darndest,” I retort as I open my lids back up.

He chuckles, and I tilt backward to get a better view. Fuck, he’s so hot.

“You’re literally,” I slur, “soooo fuckingggg hottttt, dude.”

A blush coats his skin, but he teases me anyway. “Oh man, she’s affectionate-drunk already.”

“I don’t need t’be drunk to think you're smonking hot!” At this moment, I’m oblivious to all the speech errors I’m making. I’m brimming with determination, desperately pleading my case.

“Just how often do you think about how hot I am, (y/n)?” He’s got that mischievous glint in his eye that I love.

Not caring, I take the bait, turning around fully before declaring my answer. “ Almost constantly.”

He tantalizingly hums. “Careful. You’re stroking the hell out of my ego. You know that, right?”

I nod confidently. “Mhmmm.” After putting down my empty bottle, I float to the side a little bit, getting myself closer to his face. “Not the only thing of yours that I can stroke,” I wink, shooting finger guns at him.

“You’re not stroking anything while you’re like this,” he snorts. “How are you such a lightweight?”

“Fuck you, I’m not a lightweight.”

“Whatever you say, little one.”

“What if I walked around calling you tall guys ‘big ones,’ how would y’feel?”

“Indifferent.”

“That’s a load’a bullshit!”

“It’s not! Most men like being referred to as big.” He winks. Ugh. “Toxic masculinity, or whatever, ya know?”

Seb takes off his shirt and slips into the pool next to me, leaning his elbow on the edge and his head onto his arm. Too distracted to continue our previous conversation, I reach out to touch the scars lining his ribs and tummy. He reactively jolts a little before settling into my touch.

“I’m really glad none of these are new,” I barely whisper. “I want you t’be happy.”

He takes my wandering hand in his and kisses the back of my palm, hiding his smile behind it. “You’ve helped, y’know.”

I beam, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You’ve changed my perspective on a lot of things, (y/l/n),” he rambles. “I’ve been finding myself grinning a lot lately, for no reason. Probably because of you. Maybe.”

I wade my way into his torso, embracing him. In my drunken stupor, I almost accidentally tell Seb that I love him. It’s gotta be more impulsive than anything, right? I’m not already that crazy about him, right? It’s just ‘cause I’m drunk. Right? …Maybe?

Fuck.

I keep quiet as I contemplate my feelings. He takes notice. “You alright, darling?”

I hum with pleasure, “If you keep calling me that , I will be.”

“Oh no.”

I giggle into his shoulder, fully latching onto him with the water’s assistance. Koala-style.

“Sebastian, what are we?”

“What are you on about now?” he giggles, palming my hamstrings.

“Like, we’re obvioushly not just friends anymore,” I drawl.

He shrugs beneath me, and I move my upper body back to see his face. That stupid, perfect, slim, ivory, smooth, pretty face. Goddamn, he’s so beautiful.

“Well,” he smirks, moving some stray wet hairs out of my face. “I would love for you to be my girlfriend, (y/n), but your bouquet isn’t ready yet.” He kisses me softly, then mutters against my lips, “You deserve the whole shabang if we’re going to make anything official.”

“Whatever.” I replace myself back into his neck, trailing a few smooches from his shoulder to where I end up settling. “It’s a dumb tradition…” I grumble.

“You love it.”

“...Sure. But I’m impatient.”

Seb laughs quietly, cupping his hand to the back of my head and running his fingers through my hair.

Mmm.

Everything is so fuzzy. Everything except for Sebastian…

God, I really am an affectionate drunk. I feel so mushy. It’s kinda pitiable, actually.

I wonder how his surname would sound with my name? (Y/n) Byrne… not bad. I’ve heard worse.

I’d thank Yoba if I could that Seb didn’t add Demetrius’ last name to his other one, like his mom did. That would be a mouthful. Sebastian Oliver Byrne-DuBois. It’s got a nice ring to it, but at what cost?

Fuck, I’m thinking about taking his last fucking name meanwhile I’m not even his girlfriend yet. He didn’t seem like he was asking me to be, a second ago. Well. At least not now . It’s nice to think about…

Hold on. What did he mean my bouquet isn’t ready? Has he actually been planning something?

“Wait,” I suspiciously squeak. “D’you have a bouquet for me?”

He nods, his pearly whites on full display. “I’d prefer to give it to you while you’re sober, you know.”

“Sounds like a deal, mishter,” I slur, pulling him in for some snogging.

__________________

The day after those shenanigans, I have very little memory of what happened at the bathhouse. My last cohesive thoughts, other than the vague feeling that I physically attached myself to Seb somehow, are of Sam rambling about band names.

The day after that , I show up to the lake in the mountains right before Sebastian arrives. We’ve been meeting up here more often, moreso on the days we can’t “properly” hang out – like, when I’m doing some extra farmwork, or spending time down in the mines.

Rather than a cigarette, Seb has an orange creamsicle sticking out of his mouth. As he approaches our spot, I notice another in his hand, and he tosses it over to me. We fill each other in on our days as we snack, genuine curiosity of what the other person did fueling the conversation from both ends.

Seb’s been working with a small startup to make a game, and he coded a really fun combat mechanic for it all afternoon. Gonna be some sorta life simulator, about a small town with a haunted chocolate shop. Bias towards Sebastian aside, I’m gonna play the shit outta that whenever they’re finished with it.

While he was working on that, I was pulling weeds and planting some fruit trees outside of the cave on my land. Figured it would be fitting to put fruit there, since the cave itself is filled with fruit bats. The rest of my day was spent fishing, in order to fulfill the errand posted on Pierre’s bulletin board. Haley wanted a super cucumber, claiming it was a “girl’s only” request and that we “know what it’s for.” Country girls make do, I guess.

Once Seb and I are caught up, the ambient sounds of summer wash over us. We’re sitting against each other, and against a tree, silently, keeping our eyes peeled for frogs within the ferns and moss that line the lake.

“Oh!” he whisper-yells, breaking the silence.

“Y’find one?!”

“No!” he smiles. “I just, I have something for you, and I was waiting for the right time to give it to you. I feel like now is good.”

“Oh?”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.” He plants a kiss on top of my head and jogs to his house.

I wait patiently, wondering what he could possibly want to give me. Usually, sharing food and cool gems is our way of gifting one another. Something about this feels different though.

When he’s back, he has something protected under his hoodie. He changed – he was in a pullover, but now, it’s a zip-up.

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant!” I gasp through giggles, eyes on the bulging object atop his stomach.

He rubs the designated area. “She’s a miracle,” he grins.

I study Seb’s face, eager to find out what’s really hidden under there.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Mhm,” I nod, curiosity coursing through my veins.

Cheeks puffed up and full of nerves, he exhales, before unzipping his sweatshirt to reveal a bouquet.

It’s not just made of foraged flowers, though, like the ones on display at Pierre’s. The blossoms are all fake – sculpted, or glass blown, maybe? – and contained within a baby blue, crushed velvet-covered vase.

The flowers, designed to resemble spider lilies, are a creamy, translucent, white, with a subtle prismatic sheen to them. Each piece is masterfully crafted and adorned with minerals: small frozen tears hanging off the stems like morning dew, spears of quartz sticking out to mimic decorative leaves, the tiniest little pearls I’ve ever seen sprinkled within the petals as pollen… I’ve never seen anything like it.

Completely at a loss for words, I carefully take the proposal from him. I’m in awe, not just at the gesture behind it, but at how absolutely perfect this thing is.

“I designed it myself. Commissioned a friend in the city to actually make it,” he explains, fidgeting with his sleeve.

“You’re shitting me,” I grin. “It’s so beautiful, holy shit.”

“I’m glad you think so,” he utters. “Uh… do you accept it?”

“Oh!” I was so lost in how stunning this is, in how dope it is that he had this handcrafted just for me, that I forgot he’s literally asking me to be his girlfriend right now. “Of course I do, dummy,” I chirp, shoving myself into his chest.

His heartbeat is fierce, just like my own.

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