#I'll decide if I watch it depending on this pool

[fakescenariosbeforesleepblog]

Could you pretend you love me? Pt. 2

Soap x Fem Reader

This mission turned into a competition between you and Johnny to see who can pretend better, your little Emma is enjoying too much this false family time.

Warning: Spelling and grammatical errors. Long chapter, but it's romantic, I hope you like it.

You went to pick Emma from school, it was a free week, so she would be with you and Johnny. She was so excited, looking through the window all the new places in her new neighborhood.

- Emma, I want you to be a good girl please.

- For sure! Y/n Can we go to the beach and the park later? Oh look! There's a lot of trees! I want to climb too!

- I think so, everything depends on you, if you're good we will visit all those places today.

- Oh yessss! Y/n, is that the house!? Oh look! There he is!!!

Johnny was in the garden of the house, shirtless, you never thought about what he would look like naked, until then, he certainly has a good abdomen, you've seen his arms a thousand times but they looked stronger than ever today, he was watering the plants and grass. As soon as he saw your car, he ran to put his t-shirt, you parked and the little Emma ran out of the car.

- Johnny!!!!

He smiled at her and kneeled, Emma jumped on his arms and both hugged each other, they really looked like Father and daughter.

- Heyyy Emma! You're finally here! Welcome home!!!

You were staring at them, the warm feeling and those strange sensations in your stomach appeared again so you simply decided to look at somewhere else.

- Why didn't you go with y/n to pick me up?

- Well, y/n didn't tell me, she said she would go to the grocery store. But the next time I'll go, I promise. Ok?

- Pinky promise?

- pinky promise

You blushed, you thought he wouldn't like to go, that's why you said that. The three of you were walking to the house when your enemy appeared, he was walking his dog and a little kid was accompanying him.

- hey! Johnny, y/n, wait!!

Soap and you looked at each other, he gave you a short nod.

- Oh hi Jeff, what's up?

- I came to see you, I want to invite you to a pool party this weekend, at my house, take it as a welcoming party, I insist.

- Pool party?.

Emma appeared behind you with a bright smile.

-Oh, so you must be the famous Emma, no?

- Yes sir, nice to meet you.

- Emma, I want you to meet my son, this is Dylan, and the dog is sparky.

«Hi Dylan, I like your dog» «Hi Emma. Do you want to pet it?»

The two children started their own conversation, you were looking at them, mostly to Emma, you never saw her so happy before, since she's under your watch, you've been trying to be there for her, helping and trying to make her happy, and she was, but never like this.

Johnny and Jeff also had their own conversation, so you were just observing interaction, you analyzed, and started to think about what Soap told you In the meeting room the day the mission was announced.

Certainly, Ghost couldn't have a conversation with this man without breaking his bones, Price wouldn't focus with Emma running around the house and well... Maybe Gaz was the other option, but Soap is playing his role so well, you hate to admit but that's the truth.

After a few minutes, your neighbor left and the three of you went inside the house. Emma was fascinated with her new room and technically with the entire house, your apartment is not so fancy as this house.

Johnny and you were planning the next phase of the mission, put trackers, microphones, hidden cameras. You couldn't avoid it, you decided to talk.

- Soap...

- hmm?

- I... I just wanted to say you were right.

- right about what?

- About this, you're doing a great job...

- Ahh, that, well, Thanks y/n, I told you I would make you reconsider your words.

«You could do it better y/n»

Both looked behind, Emma was in the doorframe observing both of you. Soap couldn't resist it, he laughed.

- what? What is it so funny?

- Just... Y/n, Emma just has less than one day and she already notices you don't give a credible actuation.

You scoffed, What? These two think you're not doing a good job?

- What? Are you serious?

- Y/n, I'm a kid and we're easy to fool, and honestly, you don't look very in love with my daddy.

Emma crossed her arms pretending to be offended, Johnny didn't say anything, he was quiet trying to content his laughing.

- Emma, I'm very capable.

Emma simply neglected with the head. Johnny couldn't handle it anymore, he laughed, you punched him, and he continued laughing.

- okay, okay, I'm Sorry Y/n, but Emma is right, you act cold and distant, I know I'm not your type but Could you pretend you love me? You know, lovey dovey?

You were red like a tomato, furious but also embarrassed.

- what do you know about what I like? You will see Soap Mactavish, I'll show you how lovely I can be. You will see too Emma, I'll be the best wife and mom for this family! .

Later you prepared sandwiches and snacks, then you and your family went to the beach, a picnic, volleyball and Emma taking photos with her Instax camera that you gave her a few months ago.

At the park, Emma was playing while Soap and you were sitting on the bench, talking.

- She's amazing.

- Hmm?

- Emma, she's an adorable girl, you're doing a great job.

- I try my best, but yes, she's an amazing daughter.

- Can... Can I ask what happened to her parents?

- A car accident. Emma broke her arm, but her mom... She received all the impact and died instantly. Her father voluntarily gave me Emma's custody, he said he wasn't ready to raise her alone.

- She's better with you. A man who doesn't have the balls to take care of his children, doesn't deserve kids like Emma.

You smiled proudly, observing your little daughter, Soap was watching you, a lock of hair fell and he put it behind your ear, he wouldn't dare to say it loud but he thought you looked beautiful, like a princess, the way your hair fell over your shoulder, your dress and your eyes, everything about you was causing him strong feelings, you interrupted his thoughts.

- So... Mr. Blackwood, is your wife pretending better now?

- Ahh, maybe, I mean... A 10% better.

- Oh really? What do I have to do to make it more credible? Bring you serenade?

- perhaps that could help.

- Alright.

You stood up and started to sing and dance in a silly way, while Emma was taking more photos and Soap was laughing, he really wasn't expecting to see you singing for him.

«I, I'm so in love with you, Whatever you want to do Is all right with me 'Cause you make me feel so brand new, And I want to spend my life with you (...)»

It was a beautiful afternoon, on the way back home the three of you were talking, playing and having fun. It felt real, there was a connection.

Days passed quickly and the pool party day arrived too soon, you and Soap were revising the mission and information that could be useful, also information about your fake marriage, just in case someone asked.

Emma was more than ready to leave, Johnny was too, both were just waiting for you, once you were ready you went downstairs, you were beautiful, you were wearing a light blue dress, your hair in a ponytail, exposing your long neck, very beautiful.

No one said nothing but the way Soap looked at you gave you goosebumps. The party was nice and fancy, you met some neighbors, names that you will investigate later just In case, Johnny was working on putting the trackers and microphones while Emma... Well, Emma was having fun, after all she's just a kid.

The meal time started, everybody was sitting and eating, one of them asked you something you never thought would be important or necessary until now.

«So, John, Y/n, How did you meet?»

- Ah...

- My parents meet in a bar.

Both looked at Emma, she was eating, her view was on her food, she continued talking.

- My daddy tried to invite a drink to my mom but she rejected him. Then tried to invite her to dance but once more, she rejected him. My daddy really wanted to talk with her but she was rejecting him every time. The same night, later, it was karaoke, my daddy was too brave because he's a terrible singer but he said to himself «I need this girl». So he stood up and sang to her, my mom blushed but at the end she finally accepted, my dad always tells me that story, he says my mom looked like an angel that night.

«Awww, your daughter really knows the story of how you meet»

- Yeah, what can I say? I love to tell her about how her mommy stole my heart. She still leaves me breathless.

You blushed and kissed his cheek too close to his lips, you didn't know why you did it but it was late to regret it also you were trying to be a good wife.

«and what was the song you sang for y/n, Johnny?»

- it was... 'are you gonna be my girl', and well... After all, she's my girl.

The conversation continued, all was going well, the mission was going well, In fact, it was going really good, you wondered if you needed to worry or if the enemy was simply too stupid to notice you were acting.

Both of you walked around the house putting all those microphones and cameras, trackers under the cars.

Before leaving you went to the bathroom and asked Johnny to look for Emma, he was looking for her when a woman interrupted his searching.

«Johnny?» «Sophie? Oh god, hi...»

Both were talking when Emma saw him, she felt jealous, Soap is not her real father, but she wouldn't let that woman steal his attention. She hide her shoes and walked barefoot to them.

- Daddy? I can't find my shoes.

Johnny paled and the woman, Sophie, looked at both, she was shocked.

- Is... Are you... Ahh, is she your daughter?

- Ahh... Yes, Sophie, this is Emma, my daughter, Honey, this is my friend Sophie.

- Hi Sophie.

- Hi, oh Johnny When did you marry? Congratulations...

Emma saw the anger in that woman's eyes, but apparently it wasn't enough for her to see Johnny's daughter, Emma ran to look for you.

You went out of the bathroom and Emma was quick to hold your hand taking you where Johnny was.

- Emma where are your shoes? Johnny, I told you to... Oh, sorry.

- Nothing to apologize, Y/n, this is my friend Sophie. Sophie, this is my wife.

You and her observed each other head to toe, you didn't understand why you were feeling jealous, it was a tense moment.

- Nice to meet you, Sophie.

- Same, you're lucky, Johnny is someone very special and charming...

- I know, that's what I like about my husband...

You looked at Soap smiling and kissed his cheek once again.

- Darling, we have to go, Emma is very tired, I'll go to look for her shoes while you say goodbye.

You didn't look at the woman, simply left them there while you were helping Emma, who magically found her shoes before you started to look for them. Once at home, Soap was intrigued by your reaction, he wouldn't sleep until you explained to him what happened there.

Emma was asleep while you were in the kitchen, working, investigating all the guests of the party and observing the cameras.

- Ah... What happened today?

- We went to a pool party and planted cameras and stuff like that.

- ha-ha, you know what I'm trying to say.

- Umm, no, I don't.

- You kissed me almost on the lips, then you... I don't know, you acted jealous when you saw me with Sophie.

- I was merely... Playing my part.

- y/n, that's not... You weren't faking it.

- Why would I be jealous of that girl? You said it a few days ago, you're not my type, I don't have reasons to be jealous of her, and even if you were my type i... I wouldn't be jealous because at the moment you belong to me, you're my husband, and my husband wouldn't look at that pretty girl with long legs, big butt and small waist...

- So, indeed you were jealous.

- SOAP! I'm not! Could you please stop that, we have work to do, ok?

He simply nodded and sat in front of you, both working in silence, the next day Emma went back to the school, both pretending to be okay in front of her but the elephant in the room was getting bigger. Both were talking only for the necessary, one of you needed to do something to fix this but as the two of you have their pride and also a personality hard to handle, it looked impossible.

You were in Emma's room, folding the clean laundry, when Johnny knocked, you didn't say a word, he just put a CD and some photos, in Emma's bed.

- Emma asked me to print some photos of her week with us, she said it is a gift for you.

- And the CD?

- That's mine, take it as my way to apologize, I didn't mean to make you angry. I was just trying to understand what happened that day.

He left the room and you sat on the bed, thinking about it, you were jealous, but why? You still don't know, or... You're still trying to fool yourself.

You saw the photos, Emma really captured the moments together, then, the CD, it has a note written «Songs that remind me of you».

What's going on between you and him?.

[master-sass-blast]

Let's Call it a Draw Between Us -Chapter One: Defeat.

Author's Note (uploading multiple works tonight, so I'm slapping this on all the fics I'm posting):

Uh... hi.

It's been a very long time. Longer than I'd hoped for, but suffice to say, this year hasn't gone according to plan.

In sum, I had a mental breakdown in Spring, got diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in July, my husband totaled his car in September, I was sick for the whole month of October, my husband found a new (used) car... and then hit a deer at the end of November, and the insurance company ruled that it was totaled because the repair costs would be worth more than the value of the car.

Yeah.

There's been other shit, too, but part of what I've learned with the new diagnosis is that my body does not regulate or cope with stress well -which I sort of already knew, but it's to a vaster extent than I'd known. Essentially, this past year has just taken me out at the knees, and it will probably take my body a while to regulate and function well again.

I still want to write and post fics, but I now have a lot of anxiety around not being able to write and post fics (along with other things that my befuckened body interferes with), which is just... a lot. And frustrating.

I'm not throwing in the towel. But I also can't promise any sort of posting schedule moving forward. Right now, my body and brain are just too unpredictable, and I have to make sure I'm taking care of my basic needs (like eat and hygiene and sleeping, it's literally that difficult to deal with) so that I'm physically okay.

Thank you all for being so patient. I hope to see you more regularly in the coming New Year, but if not, know that I'm okay and still kicking, but that my body's just kicking back for the time being.

Much love and best of wishes to you all for the New Year!

Summary: Sevika pines. She drinks. Then she competes in some arm wrestling and makes some very sapphic eye contact.

She loses, loses again, and then she wins.

Or maybe she wins all three times. It depends on your point of view.

(Basically just a very self-indulgent fic that spawned from an idea about Sevika and a big, buff Reader that I'll probably never get around to writing in full, so I wrote this as a way of honoring that idea.)

Pairing(s): Sevika/Reader.

Rating: M for some sensual themes and making out.

Word Count: 10.1k. Whoops.

You drive her to drink.

Speaking of… Sevika leans against the bar and snaps her fingers at Thieram. “Whisky, neat. Half a glass.” She narrows her eyes when he raises his eyebrows at her, then scoffs and goes back to staring across the room once he jumps to. Idiot.

She hadn’t expected much out of you after she first met you. Properly met you, that is. Technically, her first introduction to you had been in an underground fighting ring stocked by Stillwater’s hardier, more opportunistic patrons. You’d made quick work of the other prisoners, but Silco had wanted a proper evaluation before deciding whether or not to scoop you up, so in she’d gone. She’d socked you in the jaw, you’d suplexed her through a shitty wooden table. Good times.

She hasn’t had any complaints about you. You’re quiet, compliant. You don’t get drunk on the job, and you don’t start fights with the rest of the crew.

But that seems to be about it. You don’t really hang out with anyone else. You’ll talk to her every now and then, but otherwise you keep to yourself. You don’t play cards with the others, shoot pool, or share drinks. No swapping of stories, or exchanging inside jokes. From what she can tell, you keep to yourself like a hermit in an invisible cave.

Like a shadow, she reflects as you hang back in your usual spot (towards the back of the bar, tucked into darkness, where no one bothers you). If you’re not watching it, you forget it’s there.

She’d thought that was it. She’s seen plenty of people leave Stillwater and fall into violence, or inebriation, or withdrawn sullenness. She figured you were a tragic statistic –yet another to add to Zaun’s tally.

And then…

Her upper lips curls when Jinx comes bounding down the stairs. She tracks the blue-haired sprite across the bar, over to where you’re sitting, then scoffs when you greet Jinx with a small smile before glaring down at her glass.

It’s like watching a flower unfurl after weeks of frost. You smile and open up towards the sun of Jinx’s exuberance like you’ve been doing it your whole life, like there’s nothing more natural to you than beaming at Silco’s brat. And, sure, Jinx is a kid and she’s kind of cute, for a demented gremlin. But she’s still Jinx.

Sevika scowls down into her whiskey. Fucking psycho kid.

You’d called it kismet when she’d asked why you tolerate Silco’s batty brat. You’d lost your baby sister when you’d gone into prison, Jinx had lost Vi after the factory explosion, and then, years later, the universe had brought you two together and balanced everything back out, or fucking whatever.

She supposes it’s a decent arrangement. Jinx isn’t nearly as vicious and off kilter with you around, and you get all soft, and mushy, and happy, and pretty–

Sevika motions to Thieram to top her glass up again. Fuck me.

You’re protective of Jinx, too. Not that the brat can’t handle herself (Sevika has her new arm to prove that). But, she can still remember the night Finn’s gang had crowded into the Last Drop. They’d been obnoxious, and overbearing, and more than a little sloshed. Jacen, one of Finn’s “good buddies,” had slapped Jinx across the ass as a joke.

He’d done it in front of Silco. He was a dead man regardless.

Before anyone –even Jinx–could react, though, you’d lurched out of your chair, grabbed the sledgehammer you keep with you in lieu of a knife or a gun, and taken two long strides across the bar. “Jacen!”

Sevika’s core clenches at the memory. She lets out a harsh breath, then gulps down half her drink.

The crimson, glittering spray of blood through the air had been beautiful. Like gems cascading through the air. Jacen’s face had caved in on one side from where you drove the head of the hammer all but through it. He’d dropped to the floor in a heap, unmoving.

“Anyone else want to have a go?”

She’d gotten herself off to the thought of it that very night. The fury in your eyes, the decisive, powerful movements of your body, the splatter of blood. She’d climaxed harder than she had in a long time.

The whiskey burns her throat –expected and grounding.

She takes it without coughing or gasping. She’s been an expert for decades. Her jaw works as she finishes swallowing, and then she turns her head so she can watch you again.

You’re listening and nodding while Jinx rambles. There’s a certain attentiveness to your expression. Maybe it’s the angle of your eyebrows, or the soft, lax look of your jaw, or the brightness in your eyes. Whatever it is, it’s a total abandonment from both the harsh, dominating fury she’s seen from you, and the skittish, withdrawn apathy.

Something soft and needy aches beneath her ribs as she watches you with Jinx. Sevika grits her teeth and exhales with practiced languor. I’ve gone fucking soft.

Sevika doesn’t consider herself possessive. She visits the brothel far too regularly, and has more than a handful of casual “situationships” with different ladies around Zaun to be possessive. She’s not monogamous, at least. She doesn’t think of other people as property. The children of Zaun don’t have the luxury of such affluent detachment.

But she wants you. It’s like this thing that sits beneath her ribs and crawls around inside her. It’s restless, and writhing, and it gnaws on her bones like a feral dog in the dark corner of an alley. It keeps her up at night with racing thoughts, vivid hopes, and half-formed “what ifs.”

It also keeps her up at night because, more often than not, she winds up masturbating to the thought of you –like some starstruck, gods-damned teenager.

She’s not used to wanting –not for companionship, at least. She wants her freedom, wants her equality, wants Zaun to stand strong against those fucking Piltie pigs… but that’s about Zaun. There’s a certain degree of detachment there. It’s not about Sevika personally, the woman who is renowned at the Gardens, beats everyone’s ass in cards, and can drink any citizen of Zaun under the table. The woman who got blown up and survived, lost an arm and came back stronger, and practically rules the Undercity with a steel spine and a –literal–iron fist.

She doesn’t want for company. Any attention she wants, she can easily get. She doesn’t stay up half the night yearning for anyone, much less a… lover? Companion? Affection?

Sevika knocks back the rest of her drink, but the burning in her throat pales in comparison to the ache in her chest. Janna, kill me. Put me out of my fucking misery.

She wants you. She wants to get her hands on you, get you underneath her (or on top of her, she’s not picky), and crack you open. She wants to drink you down, watch all that rage and goodness and steeliness and softness pour out. She wants to find its source and let it all wash over her. She wants it –needs it–for herself.

She wants it to be hers, even in part. She wants to bask in everything you keep held back by your silent, stoic mask.

There’s a headache forming behind her left eye. Probably from clenching her teeth; ever since the scars on her face crystalized, the muscles on the left side of her jaw have been more sensitive to strain.

She’s not used to this –this, this insipid, endless pining. It’s been going on for months now, and she’s just about ready to put a fork in her eye just to make it fucking end.

She barks at Thieram to get her another glass. Drink until you feel nothing. Zaun’s oldest remedy. She leans heavily against the bartop, then groans beneath her breath. Might as well buy the whole bottle. Against good sense, she resumes watching you. Warmth spreads through her chest when you grin at Jinx, and she bites the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling.

“Y’know, somehow, I don’t think she’s going to figure out you like her just from you staring at her like a creep through a window.”

Sevika tenses, then glares at Ran as they sit down on the barstool next to hers. She picks up her refilled glass with her left hand and lifts it to her lips. “Fuck off. Nobody asked you.”

Ran stays where they are –a credit to their courage, at least. They smirk, then glance across the bar, to where you’re sitting, before returning their knowing, smug gaze to Sevika. “It’d be easier if you talked to her.”

“Shut. Up.”

“I’m just trying to save you the eyestrain.” They grin, thin and sharp, when Sevika flips them off, then lean against the wooden countertop. “Seriously, though. Why not ask her out?”

Sevika scowls and focuses on her whiskey glass, which is suddenly very interesting. “S’not that simple.”

“Why not?”

Sevika nearly kicks them off the stool and onto the floor (just for starters), but when she catches a look at Ran’s face and realizes they’re not teasing, she sighs and scrubs her face with her right hand. “I… I don’t know what she’d say.”

“Since when is that a problem for you?” Ran asks, face twisting with equal parts mirth and disbelief. When Sevika rolls her eyes, they shove her shoulder lightly. “It’s not like you ever have to work for it.” They pause, then smirk devilishly. “Maybe it’s weakened your game. Is that it?”

Sevika glares at them, then kicks Ran in the shin when they start snickering. “I’m gonna smother you in your sleep. And for your information, you giggling bastard, that’s not the problem.” When Ran swallows their smile and motions for her to continue (while rubbing at their shin), she huffs. “I –I don’t know if she likes women.”

Ran’s visible eyebrow arches. “You’ve seen her.”

“...Duh.”

“She likes women.” When Sevika grimaces, Ran narrows their eyes. “You think otherwise?”

“I don’t think she likes anybody,” Sevika admits; doing so is somehow both a relief and condemning all in one. “You’ve seen her around people. She’s not exactly interested.”

“Not everyone likes a girl in their lap the way you do.”

��That’s not the point,” Sevika snarls under her breath as she rolls her eyes.

“Then what is?”

It’s not easy to articulate. Sure, it’s an unspoken, universally acknowledged truth in Zaun, but that doesn’t mean anyone ever says it.

People go into Stillwater, and they come out –if they come out at all–different. Broken. You spent most of your life in that shithole –spent most of your teenage years there–at the anti-mercy of the wardens and other prisoners. It only stands to reason that any part of you inclined towards a relationship –or sex, or human contact–got snuffed out by the need to survive.

She feels bad for you, sometimes. Only when it’s too quiet, and she doesn’t have anything to do, and she’s not drunk and-or high enough to keep her thoughts from wandering to the dark, traitorously soft corners of her mind. She can almost see the child you started as –fiery, but so soft and good and kind–and it all got stomped out by the assholes ruling above them.

Sevika forces herself to loosen her death grip on the glass. Breaking it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but she hates picking shards out of the grooves of her mechanical fingers. “You haven’t seen her around Silver. She touched her shoulder–” she nods at you subtly “–without warning. I thought she was gonna break Silver’s fingers.”

“That’s Silver,” Ran says with a derisive curl of their upper lip. “She wouldn’t know the meaning of ‘boundaries’ if it rammed itself up her ass.”

They’re not wrong; the young woman’s brazen attitude is one of the things Sevika likes about Silver –albeit in small doses.

“She doesn’t talk to anyone,” Sevika murmurs, pathetic by her own standards. She’s worn down enough, though, to speak plainly. “She doesn’t go to any of the brothels, or take anyone home –and, yes, I’ve asked. She hates being touched, or being near anyone.” She presses her lips together to keep a pitiful smile back –she’d never forgive herself–then downs more whiskey. The burn of the liquor grounds her, brings her back to normalcy. “I don’t think she’s interested.”

Ran nods minutely, mulling the evidence over. They watch you for a minute, hawkish in their scrutiny. “She sits with Jinx.”

“Jinx,” Sevika grits out (both because it’s Jinx, and because of the implication of Ran’s observation), “is a kid.”

“She is,” they agree, unfazed. “But, clearly, she’s not entirely opposed to all human contact.”

Like I don’t fucking know that. Sevika clenches her teeth together to keep from snapping. She’s observed the same damn thing, and it’s what keeps that whining, consuming, itching ember of hope burning in her chest.

Ran watches Sevika for a moment, then continues when she doesn’t say anything. “She sits with you.”

“That’s different,” Sevika says on reflex.

“I don’t think it is,” they press. “She never sits with anyone else. It’s either on her own, with Jinx, if she’s here, or with you.”

“I–”

“It’s not like she’s in it for playing cards,” Ran continues, staring Sevika down when she tries to argue. “And she doesn’t drink much, either.” They prop one elbow against the bartop. “Frankly, if you’re not here, then she isn’t. She only bothers hanging around if you’re here.”

“That’s–”

“She talks to you a lot, too,” Ran drawls, tone both teasing and reflective. “The rest of us are lucky to get a word or two from her, but she’ll talk the whole night with you.”

“I’m–”

“She lets you touch her, too. I’ve even seen her touch your shoulder in return.”

“If you interrupt me again–”

“Quit moping,” Ran says, voice flat and final. “Ask her out, or get over it.”

There’s a lot she could say to that. First of all, no one accuses her of moping. But she tucks it away for later; she doesn’t want to start kicking Ran’s ass in front of everyone, because that means the trigger point for said ass kicking will inevitably become common knowledge. Her feelings are nobody’s business but hers. Second of all, no one but Silco tells her what to do, and that’s only for work. She is the only damn master of her personal life, thank you very fucking much. Third, she knows for a fact that Ran spent nearly two years pining for one of Silco’s assassins, so they’ve got zero room to talk shit.

Sevika downs the rest of her drink, then motions for a third refill. “She’s not interested.”

Ran stares at her for a moment. Then, they scoff and shake their head. “You’re an idiot.”

Sevika glares harshly at them–

The door to Silco’s office creaks open, then thumps shut, followed by the man himself quietly descending the staircase to the bar floor. “Jinx.” He finishes buttoning his trench coat shut. “Pack up your things. We’re going home.”

“What?” Jinx’s face screws into the picture of teenage consternation. The baby fat on her cheeks makes her look younger still. “But–”

“It’s alright.” You quickly and neatly arrange her blueprints and drawings into a single stack, then hand them to the blue-haired youngster. “We can talk later, okay?”

Envy curls in Sevika’s gut when Jinx hugs you and you reciprocate with one arm. She turns away and hides her scowl behind her glass. Fucking brat.

Silco addresses the rest of his crew, “I trust that you’re all competent enough to avoid burning the place to the ground?” He arches his good eyebrow, then smirks when a mix of serious answers and half-drunk jokes rise up from the crowd. “Good enough.” He turns to face Sevika and tosses her a key. “You decide when the bar closes.”

She catches the key with her right hand, then flips Petrichor off with her left when they start grumbling under their breath about Sevika being in charge. She raises her glass to Silco in lieu of a spoken fair well, then knocks the rest of it back when he leaves out the rear with Jinx in tow. “Fucking finally. Theo! Put something good on for a change.”

“Are you having another?”

Sevika looks down as Silver –one of Silco’s personal spies–materializes at her side. She eyes the younger woman –her tight dress, high ponytail, and alluring make up–then looks away. Not with you. “Probably not. Best to take it easy.”

“Since when?” Ran mutters under their breath.

Sevika subtly kicks their stool, then looks down when Silver situates herself between her legs.

“You sure?” Silver pouts –which does stir something in Sevika, given Silver’s plush lips and deep-colored lipstick, but it’s not the something that she wants tonight. Silver bats her eyelashes a little, then smiles coyly. “Could be fun.”

Sevika bites back a scowl; she doesn’t want to put Silver off permanently –not yet, anyway. She wracks her brain for some sort of believable excuse that even Silver would accept–

As fortune would have it, one falls into her lap.

“–pretty sure I hit three-fifty yesterday–”

A collective chorus of groans alerts Sevika to the newest problem –chiefly, that Arik is bragging about his “gym gains.” Again.

Nevermind that she could break him over her knee like a fucking twig.

“It’s taken a lot of dedication and hard work.” Arik stretches and flexes, preening while everyone else rolls their eyes. “I don’t want to brag, but I’m probably the strongest member in the crew.”

Sevika arches one eyebrow in judgment; it’s ludicrous, considering that he’s ignoring her, the bouncers, Leon and Boris, and Lock, Silco’s mountainous, tattooed henchman that works security at the Shimmer plants. Why do we even put up with you?

Theo barks out a laugh. “Fat fucking chance, dickwad. No way in hell you’re the strongest person here. Pretty sure Miss Silver could knock you on your ass.”

“I’d take that bet,” Silver chimes in, twirling a lock of her straight, powder purple hair around her finger.

Arik pouts, looking like a spoiled teenager. “Oh, yeah? Who’s strongest, then? You?”

“No.” Theo shakes his head. “I don’t have delusions of grandeur like you. Nah, it’s probably…” He looks around the bar, eyeing the bouncers, then Sevika, before twisting in his seat so he can see the back of the bar. “Actually, it’s probably Mouse, here.”

It takes you a moment to register the nickname foisted upon you by the rest of the crew. You lift your head, blink a few times, then straighten up. “What?”

“Cuntface here–” Theo jerks his thumb over his shoulder at Arik, who sputters and wheezes like a dying engine “–thinks he’s the strongest person in the crew. I wagered that title would probably go to you.”

“Oh.” You look around at everyone, then nod. “Okay.”

Arik huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “There’s –there’s no way to prove that! Size isn’t everything!”

Sevika bites back a smirk as every single woman in the bar glances at each other and rolls their eyes.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Theo sneers at Arik. “Look at her, and look at you. It’s not going to be much of a competition.”

“You can’t prove that!” Arik insists, expression petulant.

Theo swivels in his seat to face you again. “Can you knock him out to shut him the fuck up?”

“No one’s doing that,” Sevika pipes up when everyone starts chattering and laughing excitedly. When people start grousing, she levels the room with a hard, final glare. “We’re not paying to get blood out of the floorboards. Again. If you all want to be idiots and knock the shit out of each other, you do it on your own time and floors, where I don’t have to clean up after your fucking mess.”

There’s a lull, and for a moment it seems like that’ll be it–

Silver perks up. “What about arm wrestling?”

“Hey,” Ran drawls, eyes lighting up. “That could work.”

“Anything to get this moron to shut the fuck up,” Theo grumbles.

Arik pouts, but says nothing.

When she realizes everyone is looking for her –presumably for permission, not that anyone’s ever bothered asking before–Sevika waves one hand dismissively. “Knock yourselves out.”

You watch as a table is cleared and Theo all but shoves Arik into a chair. When everyone looks expectantly at you, you shoot a wide-eyed, somewhat panicked glance her way.

Sevika offers you a half smile, then shrugs as if to say ‘it’s your choice.’

You shrug back, then sigh before standing. You stride over to the awaiting table and sit opposite a very grumpy, red-faced Arik.

Sevika shifts on her stool so she has a better view. Heat unfurls in her core as you prop one elbow against the table. She watches the way the thick muscles in your arm and forearm ripple with each movement. Damn.

Arik shifts in his seat. His eyelid twitches as he eyes your arm and hand. “I– I don’t know–”

“Take her fucking hand,” Theo growls.

Arik swallows hard, then props his elbow on the table and takes hold of your hand.

“On go,” Ran declares –they’ve left the bar and now stand beside the table. “Three… two… one… go!”

It’s not even a competition. If anything, it’s almost pathetic.

Arik tenses his arm –then squeaks when you push his hand down so fast he nearly falls out of his chair. The back of his hand hits the wooden surface of the table with a dull thonk. He lets out an angry snarl, yanks his hand away, then lurches to his feet and storms off with such force that his chair topples to the floor.

Everyone else cheers and claps as the front door of The Last Drop slams shut behind Arik.

“Fucking finally,” Theo mutters before running one hand through his curly hair. He looks at you and smiles appreciatively. “Thanks for shutting him up. Want a drink?”

You lean back and away. “I –I’m good, thanks.”

“That wasn’t even a challenge, though!” Silver pipes up, pouting.

“We already knew it wouldn’t be,” Theo fires back drily.

“But,” Ran interjects with a wry edge to their voice, “if we’re really trying to figure out who’s strongest…” 

Sevika presses her lips into a thin line when they turn and look directly at her. Don’t you fucking dare.

“Do you think you could beat Sev?”

Traitor.

You look at her, then lean back in your seat and grin. “Oh, yeah. Easy.”

Sevika feels her brows rise up, and she grins back despite being annoyed with Ran literal seconds ago. “Really? That’s the stance you want to take?”

“I mean…” You shrug and smirk. “It’s the truth.” You raise one eyebrow as buzzed laughter and inebriated runs through the gang. “What, you're too scared to test it?”

Them’s fighting words. Sevika cocks her head to the side, smirks right back, then shoves off her barstool and stalks over to the table.

Your eyes light up as she sits down across from you. You lean forward, prop one elbow on the tabletop, and grin. “It’s nothing personal, Sev.”

The crooked angle of your grin makes her heart flutter in a delightful, squirmy manner. She swallows hard, forces down the childish feelings of elation, and props one elbow on the table without dropping your gaze. She smirks, and revels in the way your eyes dance in the bar lighting. “Nothing personal, sweetheart,” she fires back, making sure her voice comes out lower and huskier.

Your grin broadens. You clasp her hand and squeeze tight while Theo counts down…

“Three, two, one–”

Oh shit.

It’s like shoving against a wall. Granted, Sevika’s shoved, kicked, and punched a number of walls in her day. She’s left her mark –even broken a few–on nearly all of them. She likes to think that she’s a reasonably strong, generally indestructible motherfucker.

You watch her for a few moments, expression placid –save for the smug, wicked, coy, sexy smirk on your lips. You let her try for a little longer, then inhale sharply and blink rapidly. “Wait, did we start already?”

“Fuck you,” Sevika grits out without any real malice.

You grin, showing a brilliant, alluring flash of teeth –and then you push.

“Shit.” Sevika strains against your arm.

To her credit, she feels your own arm waver slightly; to your credit, you brace your muscles, and it’s like pushing against a wall again.

She grits her teeth and tries to up the ante again. She curses when it doesn’t work, then grunts when you push her arm down another fraction of an inch.

“You okay, baby?” You grin when everyone else laughs (it’s a mix of delight and shock). “It’s okay if you need to tap.”

She grins back. Right now, she doesn’t care if she loses. Frankly, if you keep flirting with her like this, she’s the real winner in this scenario. “Keep it up, baby. We’ll see who taps.”

It’s a lost cause. You take your sweet time, push her hand down smooth and slow, and talk a lot of smack all the while.

She’s got less than an inch between the table top and the back of her right hand, now. You’re not even actively pushing, more just keeping her pinned at that point. She grunts, then laughs when your arm doesn’t budge. “Come on, you cunt. Just fucking finish it!”

You laugh in return and wink. “You’re getting tired in your old age, Sev.”

She grins. “Say that again and we’ll take this out back, bitch.”

You wink –then shove the back of her hand down against the table.

The crowd clustered around the table breaks into cheers.

Sevika can’t find it in herself to give a shit. Yeah, she lost, people are teasing her for it, whatever. She’ll kick their asses later, if she feels like it. Right now, you’re laughing, and smiling at her, and she technically got to hold your hand. That’s all she really cares about.

“What about the other one?”

Sevika blinks a few times, then frowns, confused. She looks up at Theo. “Huh?”

“Her other arm.” He’s talking to you, but he turns and gestures to her mech arm. “What about that one?”

“Uh…” Trepidation flashes across your face as you eye her prosthetic. You cringe and lean back in your chair. “I doubt it.”

It’s fair; her mech arm is reinforced, has motors that work the joints the way her muscles used to, and it’s heavy as shit. She’s crushed bones with her mechanical hand, just by clenching her hand into a fist.

But, still. In for a penny, stupid ways of flirting –all that shit.

She props her metal elbow on the table, resulting in a muted thud.

The table quakes beneath the weight of her arm.

She grins in a way that she hopes is taunting and enticing. She holds up her left hand and waggles her fingers. “You scared, sweetheart?”

Your eyes flash. You run your tongue along the inside of your lower lip. You brace your forearms against the table as you eye her metal hand. You hesitate, pressing your lips together, then say, “Just don’t crush my hand.”

“Nah.” She shakes her head. She’s not out for revenge.

Your shoulders relax. You cock your head from side to side, stretching your neck, then put your left elbow on the table and clasp her mechanical hand. “Bring it on. Sweetheart.”

It’s a more even match; she’d certainly hope so, given the fucking mechanical arm.

There’s a vein popping out on the side of your neck. Your face is pinched, expression one of intense focus and strain. The muscles in your arm and forearm stand out in full, glorious relief, defined and rippling as you fight against the force of her arm.

Her arm isn’t shaking this time, at least; such are the merits of steel reinforcement bars. But she’s not moving your hand, either. Sevika growls. The motors in her arm whir as she pushes harder.

You grunt and shove back. You bare your teeth. Your gaze is locked on where your two hands are joined. Your hands trembles from the sheer force of your exertion–

And then her hand lowers an inch.

Everyone else gasps. Exclamations and expletives roll through the bar.

“Fifty gold pieces says Mouse does it,” Theo says. 

“Bullshit,” Ran fires back. “She’ll get tired, first.”

Kharim pulls out a pad of paper and a pencil. “That’s fifty on Mouse, so far. Do I hear one hundred?”

“I’ll put twenty on Sev,” Silver says with a sweet smile.

“Really?” Sevika grunts as she pushes harder against your hand. “Only twenty?”

You let out a breathless, strained laugh –then push her hand down further.

“Who’s got another fifty on Mouse?” Kharim asks.

Too late, she realizes her prosthetic arm is actually working against her, in this situation. She has to work against the weight of the mech arm –which you can use to your advantage, naturally. The built in mechanical safeties are hosing her, too. Her arm is designed such that, at certain angles or certain levels of exertion, the gears and motors will give to whatever she’s working against. It prevents damage to the internal mechanisms and bending the internal support structures. It’s invaluable for the longevity of her prosthetic, but it also means she can’t mindlessly strain against your hand like she could with her right arm. Her only hope is that her left arm can outmatch yours in raw strength.

Normally, she’d go all in on that bet. Normally –unless her opponent was doped to the gills on Shimmer–there wouldn’t even be enough force in the picture for the failsafes to override the locking mechanisms.

You growl, teeth bared in a glorious snarl, and shove her metal hand lower.

She can’t even find it in herself to be mad. One, she’s not some mealy-mouthed bitch who needs to be the strongest person in the room at all times; she, unlike some people (Arik), is confident in herself and her abilities. Two, it’s frankly impressive. It’s an unrepentant display of raw strength, and she’s not above respecting it. Three…

It’s hot.

She’s torn between focusing on resisting you and watching the muscles in your arm flex. Her mild buzz isn’t helping, either. In hindsight, should’ve stopped with the second glass. It’s taking far too much focus not to just gawk, to grin and simper like an idiot, and she likes to think she still has her pride –which is also why she’s not just giving up. After all, she has her pride. Sevika growls when you force her hand lower, then doubles down and pushes back. Maybe not for much longer, with how this is going. Fuck.

You grit your teeth. There’s sweat glistening along your hairline (which might be her only other saving grace, since her mech arm can’t get tired). You snarl, then grip her hand tighter.

Sevika swears when her arm suddenly jerks downward. She nearly topples out of her chair, saved only by managing to plant her feet beneath the table. She catches herself, blinks–

It’s over.

You shove her metal knuckles against the table with a thud –hard enough that the wood dents inward where her steel knuckle guard hits the surface.

The crowd goes nuts, loses their minds, whatever. If she’s being honest, she’s really not paying attention to it. A distant fragment of her brain registers the squaring of bets, exchanging of coin, but–

You’re still holding her hand.

A larger, deeply buried part of her is furious that she doesn’t have better sensory input on her left hand. She can detect pressure and temperature, rudimentary shit, but she can’t feel the calluses on your palm, or the precise texture of your skin. She can’t really gauge how thick your hand is in hers.

You’re still panting, somewhat dazed as you stare down at your joined hands. Slowly, your eyes trace up the line of her mech arm, up to her face, where you take in her stunned expression. You swallow, quick, then grin.

You’re breathing hard. Your skin glistens faintly with warmth. Your hair looks tousled, slightly sweat trapped. And your grin practically glows.

It’s the closest she’s ever been to seeing what you look like after sex. Sevika can feel her mind filing every single detail of how you look away for future masturbatory reference. She grins back, slow and a bit dazzled. “Shit.”

You let out a soft, quiet laugh. You drop her gaze for a moment, but when you look back up your eyes shine unabated joy.

You’re not looking away. You’re not pulling away. You’re not letting go of her hand.

Do it, a voice that sounds irritatingly like Ran’s whispers in her mind. Do it, you fucking coward. Sevika licks her lips, then leans forward, hoping that she comes across as conspiratorial and collected. “I–”

“Aw, don’t feel too bad, Sev.”

The sudden intrusion feels more like an assault. Fake, sweet perfume cloys at her nose. There’s arms around her neck, and unwanted weight in her lap.

Silver’s face looms into view. She peers down through her lashes, lips posed in a perfect, alluring pout. “It’s not–”

Whatever else Silver says goes in one ear and out the other. She’s looking over the smaller woman’s shoulder, instead.

You pull your hand back across the table. Your smile slips away, and your shoulders bunch up ever so slightly. Back to the usual mask of the careful, quiet mouse.

Godsdammit. Sevika shoves Silver out of her lap and stands with a snarl. “Fuck off.” She stomps away and up the stairs, to where Silco’s office and a few private rooms are. “Everyone, out! Tonight’s done!” She ignores the groans and jeers following her, storms into Silco’s office, and slams the door shut behind her so hard that it rattles in its setting.

Silco’s office is mercifully dark. Quiet.

Sevika collapses onto the quilted velvet couch tucked into the corner of the office. She drops her head into her hands and scrubs at her face. Janna’s left fucking tit, that was a disaster. She sits up, only to slump against the couch like a dejected teenager. This is never going to work out.

If she was anyone else, she might cry –out of sheer frustration, if nothing else. Since she’s not anyone else, she helps herself to a cigar from Silco’s stash.

She only gets as far as rummaging through his desk for the cutter. (Jinx must have absconded with it. Again.) Something in her hindbrain makes her go still; an old, well-tested instinct that says ‘something isn’t right.’

Sevika freezes. Her eyes scan the darkness for any signs of intruders, or one of Jinx’s traps. She strains her ears; aside from the faint, scuttling noises of stray pests, it’s silent.

Too silent.

There should be more talk coming from downstairs; she hadn’t really expected everyone to listen to her when she ordered them all to clear out. There should be music playing, people arguing, clacks from the balls on the pool table. At the very least, there should be complaining and the noises of a final clear down.

She’d half-expected Silver to follow her upstairs. Or maybe Ran, at least. But there’s no sounds of someone climbing upstairs, or Silver’s high-pitched voices, or even creaking floorboards in the hall outside.

Sevika pulls out a knife she keeps tucked in a sheath hidden behind the waistband of her pants. She creeps forward, deadly silent, until she reaches the door of Silco’s office. She gingerly places her right hand on the doorknob, until it’s completely encapsulated by her grip, then slowly turns the handle. Once the latch is fully retracted, she tucks herself behind the door and inches it open. She waits for a beat, then another, then peers around the corner.

The bar is empty.

Now that the door’s open, she can hear the sounds of someone rummaging around the main bar floor. There’s no conversation, though; it’s too quiet to be the usual crew, for another matter.

Sevika stalks down the hall. She quietly, efficiently clears each room before she passes it, until she reaches the end of the outer wall, where the balcony begins. She tucks herself into the shadows, then peers around the corner.

You’re down on the bar floor, putting the remaining chairs up on the tables.

Sevika watches you for a moment, somewhat dumbfounded. Where the fuck is everyone else? She blinks, until her brain finally processes that The Last Drop has not been broken into by assassins or other hooligans, then steps around the corner and into the full light of the bar. She taps the railing of the balcony with her metal hand to alert you to her presence. When you look up, she gestures around aimlessly. “Where’d they go?”

You look around, then back up at her and shrug with one shoulder. “You said to get out.”

“Doesn’t mean they’d actually listen.”

Your gaze cuts away from hers. You duck your head, then go back to putting up the chairs. “Might’ve pushed ‘em. Enforced the order.” You give a one shouldered shrug. “Thought you wanted ‘em gone.”

Sevika grunts and nods. Fair enough. At least, now, she doesn’t have to deal with Silver lingering around. For lack of knowing what else to do, she watches you as you continue tidying things up for the night. “We don’t pay you to do that.”

You shrug; your back’s to her, now, as you work your way around a circular table. “Doesn’t really matter. Thieram deserves a night off, every now and then.”

There’s not much point in loitering on the balcony and staring at you like a mooning idiot. She strides across the length of the balcony, tromps down the stairs, then crosses the distance to the table you’re working in three strong steps. She grabs one of the remaining chairs, flips it upside down with ease, then hooks the seat of the chair on the table top.

You go still for a moment. You watch her, gaze following her every movement, until you relax again and resume working. “‘M sorry ‘bout earlier.”

She nearly trips over the chair she’s picking up. Sevika stalls, blinks, then sets the chair back on the floor and levels you with an incredulous, confused stare. “What?”

“For kicking your ass.” The corner of your mouth briefly ticks up in a self-satisfied smirk, but it washes away to true contrition. “Wasn’t trying to humiliate you ‘n front of everyone.”

“I–” She pinches the bridge of her nose. Can’t imagine where that narrative came from. “I’m not. You didn’t.” She hangs the chair from the table, then scoffs, indignant. “Fuck’s sake, I’m not Arik.”

You smirk, but stay still as you watch her for a few moments. “You were mad about something.”

“I was mad at Silver,” Sevika grouses, careful to avoid making eye contact. And her lousy sense of timing.

You let her get the last few chairs, opting instead to grab a tray and collect stray glasses and empty beer bottles. “You two okay?”

She snorts. “We’re not involved enough to be ‘okay’ or otherwise. We’ve fucked before. End of story.”

“...Did she do something to you?”

The tight, lethal quietness in your voice gets her attention. She straightens up, meets your gaze, and shakes her head. “No. She just gets on my nerves now and then, s’all.”

You grunt, understanding, then add a couple more glasses to your tray before carrying the lot over to the bar.

Sevika grabs a couple stray, half-empty bottles of whiskey, tequila, and vodka, then follows partially in your wake. She stops at the bar counter, watching as you round the end so you can dispose of the beer bottles and set the used glasses in the sink. She sets the half-consumed bottles on the counter, then leans against the neon light-edged lip while she watches you. “Gotta say, it was pretty impressive.” She smirks when you half-turn, brows lightly drawn together, then waggles her metal fingers. “Figured I’d have you licked.”

You snort, then shake your head. “Might’ve.” You set the last of the glasses in the sink, then drop the beer bottles in the recycling can. “Probably would’ve if we’d gone longer. You’d have me beat on stamina.”

She can’t stop her automatic, teasing, too sultry for its own good reply. “Oh, I doubt that.”

You do a quick double take.You stare at her over your shoulders, eyes the size of dinner plates. Then, your lips press together before quirking upwards in a shy smile. You laugh softly. “Yeah, well, your mechanics would’ve won, in the end.” You toss the last of the bottles into the recycling can, then turn and step to the bar. “Figured it was just best to–” you draw your fingers across your neck in a quick slash and click your tongue “–cut things quick, override the locking mechanisms.”

“Smart,” Sevika purrs.

You lick your lips, then grin. You eye her for a moment, shifting from foot to foot –then, you grab the remaining bottles and crouch so you can stow them beneath the bar counter. “Course, helps that you’re shit at arm wrestling, too.”

“Excuse me?” she laughs, caught off guard and bemused. “Run that by me again?”

“You’re shit at arm wrestling.” You chuckle as you stand. “Your form’s terrible. Makes you easy to beat, even if I wasn’t stronger than you.”

She grins wide, exhilarated. Fighting words. “Oh, is that how it is?”

You plant your palms against the bartop. “‘S how it seems to me.” You smirk –which grows into a smile as she looks you over–then prop your right arm against the counter. “I could show you a couple tricks. Improve your odds a bit.”

She takes the bait like the happiest, dumbest fish that ever lived and sets her right elbow atop the counter. “Teach me your ways, oh wise one.”

“Right off the bat–” You reach forward and adjust the angle of her arm. “‘S really not about raw power. I mean, it helps, but angles are a lot more important.” Your hands slide along the length of her arm, adjusting things until you’re satisfied with how she’s positioned. You nod to yourself, then move to her wrist. You hold her right hand with both of yours. “Gotta think about how you’re holding your hand, too. Too many people wind up pushing with their forearms. Means that they got their hands at the wrong angle, most of the time. You want to be pushing with your upper arm and shoulder.”

“Whatever you say, coach,” she drawls, layering on the sarcasm to –hopefully–hide how breathless she is.

You snort, then lower your left hand and grip her right hand with yours –assume the position. “Alright. Try now.”

She does –not with as much vigor as she used in the initial match, but she still puts decent effort into it. Her eyebrows spike high when she feels less strain than earlier. “Shit.”

You flash her a lopsided grin. “See? Knowing what you’re doing helps.”

“Bite me.”

You fake a grimace. “Not until you shower first. I don’t know where you’ve been.”

“You implying something?”

“I’ve seen how many people you can beat up in a week, Sev.”

She chuckles, then shrugs in concession. “Fair enough.” She grips your hand tighter and smirks wickedly before shoving against your hand, hard. “Hope you’re ready to join the list–”

You grunt –then brace against her onslaught and force her hand the other way.

“Shit!” Sevika strains against your hand, but it’s veritably useless as you slowly push her hand downward (at least you have to work harder for it, this time). “Son of a bitch –motherfucker!”

“Still stronger than you,” you fire back as you finally pin the back of her hand against the bartop. You smile, impish and sweet. “But that was a good try.” You grin when she glowers at you, then toss your head back and laugh when she flips you off with her left hand.

She can’t think of a retort; the wrestling tugged your shirt off kilter, and your laugh exposed something new –fresh, smooth ink along the side of your neck, previously hidden by your collar. She stares, tracing the way the tendrils of the flowers curve around your neck and down your clavicle before disappearing under your shirt. “That’s new.”

You look down at her, blinking rapidly, then crane your neck to look down when she gestures loosely at your chest. “Oh. Yeah.” You shrug with the opposite shoulder. “Wanted to do something for myself. Cover up some of the shit I got inside.” You hesitate, then swallow hard and ask. “Do –do you wanna see the rest of it?”

“Sure.” The meaning of your offer doesn’t really hit until you let go of her hand so you can start unbuttoning your top. Sevika locks her knees to keep from toppling over as all the blood rushes Southward from her head. Janna, help me.

Mercifully, you only undo the top three buttons on your shirt. Unmercifully, that gives you enough leeway to push the right side of your shirt down over your shoulder, revealing more of your chest and your neck.

Oh, and the tattoo.

It’s pretty. It’s a good piece, too, done by someone who knew what they were doing. The design is a dense cluster of flowers that fans up the side of your neck and down over your collarbone.

“That’s real pretty,” Sevika ekes out, voice gone to gravel. She reaches up to touch it, but catches herself before her hand leaves the bar. Don’t startle her. “Do you mind?”

It takes you a moment, but you look down when she gestures with her flesh hand. “Oh.” You let out a soft, trembling breath. Your throat flexes as you swallow. “Yeah –go for it.”

Everything that follows feels like a dream. The world seems to take on a warm, golden hue that overpowers the glaring neon lights and the dark shadow of night outside. It feels like she’s moving through molasses, achingly slow as she lifts her hand towards your neck.

Your skin is unbelievably soft beneath her fingertips. The lines of ink stretch slightly as she traces down your neck and over your shoulder.

“This okay?” Sevika murmurs.

“Yeah.”

Something about your heavy, trembling exhale makes her look up.

You’re staring down at her with wide, dark eyes. Your lips are parted, and you’re practically panting despite standing still.

But you’re not pulling away. You’re not shaking. If anything, you’re practically melting beneath her hand. And your gaze is locked on her face –practically zeroed in on her mouth…

Oh.

She owes Ran a drink. Or another kick in the shin. Maybe both.

This, however, is at least more familiar territory –so long as she plays her cards right.

Various options flit through her mind, but they all desiccate before they reach her tongue. She quickly finds herself locking up instead as she tries to figure out what the fuck to say. Shitshitshitshitshit–

(She’s never been more grateful that you kicked everyone out. Ran would never let her live this down.)

“Ask her out, or get over it.”

Sevika swallows hard. Go big or go home. Not like the world’s gonna end if she says ‘no.’ She clears her throat. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re really fucking attractive?”

“I–” Your eyes go wide as you sputter. Your gaze flicks between her eyes and her mouth. “Not –no. Not really.”

“Shame,” Sevika drawls. She traces her thumb down the stem of one of the flowers inked into your neck, then looks back up at you. “You’d think they’d have eyes. I’ve noticed since the first time we met.”

You snort, equanimity somewhat restored. “What, in an illegal prison fight club soaked in the blood of others?”

She smirks and winks at you. “You made it work.”

You draw your lower lip between your teeth as you smile. You duck your head bashfully, then brace your forearms against the countertop –which puts you closer to her height. “I hope you won’t be offended if I say that I didn’t notice you ‘like that’ from the start.”

Her gut drops. “Oh?”

You shake your head, gaze still glued on the countertop. “I was, uh, a little concerned with surviving –making sure you didn’t knock my teeth out with your metal fist, that sort of thing.” You let out a little laugh, then look at her. “But I noticed later.”

Warmth blooms in her chest and abdomen. She grins, soft and slow. “Really?” Her grin grows when you smile shyly and nod. “Well, shit. Lucky me.” She strokes her thumb along your tattoo again; satisfaction curls in her stomach when you shiver.

“I–” You lick your lips and look at her eyes, then her lips, then back up, then back down again, then back up again. “I don’t…” Your gaze locks onto her lips when she smirks; your pupils blow wide, and you let out a ragged, heavy breath. “I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

Heady elation blooms in her chest and quickly spreads through her body. “That,” she murmurs as she slides her fingers beneath your chin and leans in, “sounds great to me.”

Your lips are soft against hers. Hesitant. You freeze, scarcely even breathing.

But you’re not pulling away –or panicking–so she decides to stay the course. She presses her lips a bit more firmly against yours, then smirks when you let out a quiet moan and angle your head towards hers. There we go. After a few moments, she breaks the kiss and pulls back incrementally to assess your interest level.

You’re trembling. There’s a faint glow of sweat on your forehead. Your breaths come ragged and fast, chest rising and falling heavily. Your eyelids are half-lidded, pupils blown so wide that your eyes nearly look black.

Before she can do anything, you lean in and kiss her again; this time, it’s her turn to moan against your mouth.

It’s clumsy. It’s easy to tell that you don’t have much –if any–experience in this department. But your unabashed eagerness more than makes up for lacking finesse.

Sevika gently grasps your jaw with her right hand, guiding you through the series of kisses that follow. She carefully angles your head as she pleases, and pulls back intermittently to both catch her breath and see what you’ll do. When you keep following her lead, she decides to nip at your lower lip –just to see if it’ll draw you out of your shell more.

You let out a throaty growl when her teeth graze your lower lip –and then you pull away.

A mix of disappointment and fear flash through her stomach –but it all drains away when you vault over the counter and land next to her. She smirks as you crowd into her space, but frown when genuine trepidation settles over your face. “What?”

Your brows pinch together. “I–” You clear your throat when your voice cracks. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do with my hands.”

Oh. That’s all. She smiles, lax and confident, then places her hands on your broad shoulders. “Touch me, sweetheart.”

“Where?”

She slides her hands down your chiseled arms, then takes your hands and places them on her hips. “Anywhere.”

You’re too still at first –nerves driven by inexperience. But you loosen up when she nips at your lower lip again. You draw in a guttural breath, then squeeze her hips tighter when she curls her fingers into your waist. You press closer to her when she slides her tongue against yours. When she slides her right hand up the back of your neck and tugs at the soft hair at your nape, you growl, then slide your hands around her ass and squeeze.

Finally. Sevika moans softly and arches against you. She wraps her right arm around the back of your neck, so she can keep you close, and rests her left hand on your hip. She plunders your mouth with her tongue, then moans again when you grope her ass more firmly. She hooks one metal finger through one of the belt loops on your pants and tugs you closer –then gasps when you shove against the bar.

You crowd against her, kissing her fiercely, eagerly. Your hands cup her ass and lift, forcing her onto the balls of her feet so you have better access to her.

Surprise flits up her spine. She’s not used to being in this position; most women come to her to be manhandled, not the other way around. But she can see the appeal of it; there’s a certain giddiness in the gut that accompanies it, like the hang time from jumping across rooftops.

The kiss devolves into something artless and hungry. The two of you meet each other in the middle, pressed against each other like teenagers in a closet.

She’s starting to get into that state where she feels like she’s melting into you, and vice versa. The bar, the faint drone of passersby always present in the Lanes, the buzz of the neon lights that wrap around the bartop, the arm wrestling match less than an hour ago –all of it’s gone, blurred into background coloration like splotches on one of those fancy, impression-type paintings, for which Pilties drop the equivalent of a Trencher’s life earnings (and then some). There’s that familiar, ravenous ache in her cunt. She ought to ask you back to her place; The Last Drop hardly seems poignant enough for your first time. But the notion of stopping your eager exploration of her body is downright offensive –especially when your open mouth catches her jaw and sends arousal curling through her gut.

You pause when she tips her head back. A few ragged pants fan across the sensitized, blood-hot skin of her neck. You swallow, then clear your throat. “I –is this–”

“Yes.” She curls her right hand around the back of your neck, then gently presses your forward until you lean the rest of the way in and press your lips against her throat. Her eyelids flutter as you trail soft, closed mouth kisses over the hollow of her throat. She moans softly, and her fingers curl into your short hair. Fuck. She waits for a bit, letting you explore, but pipes up again when she feels you growing more hesitant –nerves winning out over exploration. “Use your tongue.” She shudders when you lick beneath her jaw. “Attagirl.”

The praise does something for you. You moan into her skin, then repeat the motion again. You swirl your tongue against her throat, mimicking the way the two of you had kissed seconds before.

“That’s it,” Sevika encourages you, eyes rolling back in her head. She rolls her hips against you, then groans when you press closer, neatly pinning her against the bar. “Good girl.”

You whine, loud and broken, then lift. You half lay her out on the bar, then support the rest of her by locking your arms just beneath her ass. You bend over her and bury your face in her neck, devouring her like a starved stray.

Sevika locks her ankles behind your back. She clutches at the back of your shirt with her right hand, and braces herself against the bartop with her left arm. She’s in the perfect position to grind against you, so that’s just what she does.

A small, idle fragment of her mind notes just how great this is. Yes, she enjoys having her way with women –and she’ll get to you soon enough–but there’s something to be said for receiving. It’s a new spin on “being eaten alive,” and she’s never been happier to be dinner.

She slides her fingers into your hair when your mouth trails lower, towards her clavicle. “Good girl.” She gasps, then tightens her grip on your hair when you drag your teeth over her collarbone. “That’s it –good girl, good girl–”

You moan and grind your hips against hers–

Something crashes in the alleyway outside. There’s a loud slam, followed by the crystalline crack of shattering glasses. An enraged, muffled shout ensues, followed by more heavy thudding.

You both freeze.

She recovers first. A few minutes of hearing proves it’s just a couple of angry drunks going at it –she can hear slurred, if muffled, arguing and grunting that accompanies being punched. Idiots. She turns back to you–

You’re completely stiff. Your eyes are wide, gaze flicking around the bar. You’ve gone from holding her to gripping the edge of the bar top.

Sevika winces faintly when she hears your knuckles crack. She opens her mouth to reassure you–

Another thud makes you flinch –and then you press down against her.

Sevika grunts. She tries to sit up, only for you to push her back down. She stops struggling when you use your arm to cover the top of her head. What the–

There’s something so deeply protective about the gesture that it makes her brain short circuit. You’re literally covering her with your body, as though the ceiling’s about to collapse on top of the both of you.

It’s sweet. It’s also bewildering because nothing bad is fucking happening. It’s just drunks in the alley; they’ll probably pass out long before they could ever beat each other to death.

Sevika gingerly splays her fingers against your back, between your shoulder blades. She murmurs your name, but gets no response –not even a glance of recognition. Her stomach drops when another round of shouting makes you flinch. She feels your chest push against hers as your breathing speeds up –and okay, that’s enough, time to divert things. She says your name, louder this time, then carefully cups the side of your face with her right hand. “Hey, baby. It’s okay. Just look at me, alright?”

You jolt when her thumb sweeps across your cheek. You do look down at her, though, and let out a shaky breath when you meet her gaze.

She revels, just for a moment, in how quickly you melt again under her attention. You’re still tense –you haven’t let up your death grip on the bar top–but your shoulders loosen up and your breathing slows a bit. You swallow hard, then lean every so slightly into her touch.

Focus. She can already feel herself getting sucked back into dreamy, brainless bliss. Focus, focus, focus. She blinks hard, then clears her throat. “Hey. Let’s get out of here, yeah? My place is quieter.” She pushes up on her left arm so the counter isn’t digging into her back. “More comfortable.”

“Oh.” Your eyes go wide. “Uh–”

Sevika swallows a grimace. Shit. Maybe Ran was right; she’s rusty, too eager, and now she’s pushing too fast. “It’s okay if you don’t–”

“No, no,” you cut her off. “We can –I just–” You set her down, then lick your lips as you rock from foot to foot. “My bed’s probably bigger.” You shrug and shove your hands in your pants pockets. “That’s all.”

Only several years of playing cards keeps her from sagging in relief. She nods, trying to process as panic flashes and ebbs, then takes a moment to study you. She notes the tightness in your shoulders, the way you’ve got your head ducked, and presses her lips together faintly. “I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

Your eyes flash, and you step closer to her. “It’s not,” you growl, “an issue of want.” You swallow, then let out a self-deprecating laugh –which, fortunately, prompts you to relax a little. “I just won’t know what I’m doing, s’all.”

“I can work with that.” Sevika closes the distance between the two of you, gripping your hips when you bend down and kiss her again. She savors the feeling of your lips for a moment, then pulls away and grins up at you. “Lead the way, sweetheart.”

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Talk shop Tuesday question coming at you (sorry if you've already been asked this before 👉👈🥺) : so, when you think of a fic plot, at what point do you think of the Pedro Boy/love interest to go along with it? Do you ever change that character as the idea develops?

Hi Rae!! Hope your Tuesday has been good to you! This is a great question, and one I haven't been asked, so thank you for sending it in!

It's actually sort of hard to say which comes first for me, the character of the plot. I think it usually starts with the character - I'll be sitting there daydreaming about a specific character, picking out details about them that stick out to me or things about their canon story that I wish I could change, and then I'll start thinking about ways to highlight those details or make those changes. With Point of No Return, for example, I was thinking about what Ezra's life before the Green could have been like, and who or what he was talking about when he said "no love too intimidating", and then I drove by an old farmhouse on my way home, et voila. The farm and the old flame came along due to the fact that I wanted to give those things to Ezra specifically.

OR I'll be listening to music or watching a movie/show or reading something that makes me think of a character, and I'll see where that leads me. Like with A Clumsy Romance. I was thinking about the Before Trilogy (because those movies are stamped on the inside of my brain and I wouldn't have it any other way) and - Before Sunrise, especially - just made me think of Nico because its this very ephemeral, romantic take on love.

In a way the love interest character, whether its a Reader insert or an OC, also comes rolled into the plot idea. I'll choose a profession or backstory or main character trait for them based on what I think would work best in terms of the story or in terms of who/what I think would work well with the chosen Pedro character. Many moons ago I wrote way more OC love interests than Reader inserts, but every now and then I still like dipping my toes back into the OC pool if I have a VERY clear and defined idea of who this character is. Like with Clara in PONR. I also have a very chaotic wip (I call it chaotic because the thing is currently in more pieces than an unassembled IKEA bookshelf) featuring an OC named Emma who will hopefully turn up sometime this year soon, and she is very much Emma in my mind, like she's a whole fully formed person in there.

RECENTLY HOWEVER! For the first time that I can remember! I started getting ideas for a new story, but the starring role is a toss up between 2 characters. I have the sort of overarching main idea (it's a monster story! a dark one!) but depending on who I decide to go with, it could kind of stray into a few different directions. So I feel like I have more musing to do with that one before it takes flight.

TLDR: I'm not in charge, really. The characters show up and say "This is what we're doing. Make it happen, bitch."

Thanks again for this!!

Talk Shop Tuesday

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 14

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 2903

Warnings: None

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks. Also, sorry it's taken so long - this chapter was really hard for me to get the motivation to write and I don't know why :(

Chapter Songs: The Bitch is Back Wolves

****

Hangman

"Good morning, aviators. This is your Captain speaking," Maverick greeted jovially. "Today's demonstration begins as a free-for-all. Man against man. Your goal is to be the last pilot standing."

"What's the prize if we win?" Fanboy asked cheerfully as Payback fell into line with Phoenix.

"That depends."

"On what?"

Hangman could practically see the mischievous smile gracing the Captain's face when Maverick said, "You'll see. I'll be watching from the outskirts. Good luck out there."

Hangman clipped on his mask and pulled up high into the sky, using the sun to hide his position. Rooster and Phoenix seemingly had the same idea.  

"Looks like the band is almost back together, lady and gentlemen," Hangman quipped, grinning. "What do you say we take care of these guys and put on a real show for the people below?"

"Are you calling us second-rate pilots, Seresin?" Omaha asked, choosing Yale as his target. 

"No, of course not. I'm just calling you second to us."

"Let's get 'em boys!" Harvard declared, banking to the right when Coyote chased after him. Hangman dove down to help his friend, aiming from above. Phoenix and Rooster followed suit, but rather than going after Hangman, they surprisingly went after others. Rooster assisted Omaha in taking out Yale, who nearly escaped if Harvard hadn't accidentally cut him off, giving Omaha the shot. To the shock of Hangman, Payback lost next, but only because Phoenix had it out for him since he owed her money.

"Gonna get you back for that!" Payback declared while he left the area to circle and watch the remainder of the dogfight.

Phoenix chuckled. "Should've paid up when you had the chance."

"No, I shouldn't have played against you and Princess in pool."

"That was your first mistake. Your second was thinking you could beat us after we won three rounds prior."

"She's got us there," Fanboy admitted. While they continued to bicker with Phoenix, Hangman scanned the area and zeroed in on the closest enemy to him: Harvard. With the aviator wholly distracted by trying to knock out Omaha as revenge for getting Yale, Hangman saw the opportunity and took it, coming at him from above. Harvard narrowly escaped being locked onto but swerved directly into the path of Rooster, who held nothing back and got a lock on him immediately. Annoyed that Rooster had taken his "kill," Hangman thought about going for him next, but Fritz tried beating him to it. Rooster desperately tried to evade, and Hangman, not going to let another person get his kill, decided to go for Fritz instead. Rooster must've noticed because he appeared to strategically fly a pattern that helped him avoid being shot down but gave Hangman the perfect aim. He didn't hesitate.

"That's a kill!" Jake declared happily, feeling a little too much joy at the sound of the lock alert.

"Make that two; you're out, Omaha," Phoenix said.

"And then there were four," Coyote remarked.

"Speak for yourself. Bradshaw, your ass is-"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Princess speaking," Juliette interrupted coolly. "There's been a change in plans."

Rooster groaned. "Jules, for the love of God, tell me you're not flying with Maverick right now."

"I wouldn't let her if she tried," Maverick chimed in, "but no, she's not with me."

Juliette scoffed, but Hangman could hear her amusement. "First of all, rude. I love going up in jets, but even I have my limits. Besides, I can barely keep food down while sitting down on a stationary object. I don't want to know what it would be like in a jet. Second, I'm not putting the twins in danger. Third, like I said, there's been a change in plans. Rooster, Hangman, Phoenix, Coyote, you're the last four standing. You are now a team. Your mission is to take out the enemy, who currently resides in an F-35. Fourth gen against fifth gen. Time to prove it's not the plane but the pilot that wins battles. Anyone want to make bets?"

"I knew Mav wasn't up here for no reason! And sure, what the hell? It's the four of us against him," Coyote said, falling into attack position as number four with Rooster leading the way. 

"Let's say a hundred push-ups? Or do we want to do two hundred for old times' sake?"

"Because it's Mav, I think I might actually go with the hundred."

"Hundred it is. Good luck aviators. You're going to need it."

"Why do I feel like she knows something we don't?" Coyote mused.

"Because it's Princess, and she probably does," Hangman replied, searching the horizon and radar for the Captain. It took another thirty seconds before he spotted him. "Straight ahead!"

"Why is he cruising like that? He's going awfully slow," Phoenix observed from her position as Dagger Three.

"Should we be worried about him?"

"Not sure I'm the one you should be worried about right now."

"Jules, cue the music," a new but all-too-familiar voice instructed, followed by the crackled audio of Elton John's "The Bitch is Back." Hangman's heart nearly stopped, and it had nothing to do with the F-35- not Maverick's- that blew fast and furious between him and Rooster from below. The latter, along with Phoenix and Coyote, scattered, but all Hangman could do was look up and watch as the newcomer shot to 9,000 feet, flipped the plane over in one fluid motion, and locked onto Coyote, who had made the unfortunate mistake of flying underneath her.

"That's a kill!" Ghost chirped, zipping down toward her next closest target, which happened to be Rooster. "Bradshaw, you're next. This is for all the times you woke me up at Top Gun."

"I told you I was sorry! Multiple times!" Rooster protested, swerving from side to side to avoid her. Phoenix tried coming to his rescue, but by then, Maverick had arrived on the scene and foiled her plans. Unless she wanted to get taken down herself, she had to evade. With Phoenix being closer, Hangman chose to assist her. Rooster could handle himself for the time being.

"Hurry up, Hangman!" Phoenix barked, rolling to the left to get Maverick in Jake's sights. 

"Don't worry, I'm gonna take Pops out."

"I'm coming too! Hang on!" Rooster announced, suddenly coming head-on with Ghost still hot on his heels. "Phoenix, on the count of three, break left. One... two... three!"

Phoenix banked left, and Rooster locked onto Maverick at the same time the Captain managed to latch onto Phoenix. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ghost got Rooster. In the span of five seconds, three pilots had been knocked out of the competition. Now, it was only Ghost and Hangman, and for the first time, the Texan found himself genuinely concerned about winning the battle. Ghost had a bone to pick with him, and she was in a superior aircraft. Not to mention that while she may have come second at Top Gun, it was only because she'd broken some rules during the hops, from what he'd heard. When it came to flying ability and strategy, few could beat her. Hangman even questioned his ability. Of course, he wouldn't let Ghost see that.

They blasted past each other, their canopies a mere foot and a half away. Hangman swung around, scrambling after Ghost, who was rapidly gaining speed as she raced toward the hard deck. He started to lose distance between them. If that happened, it'd be impossible to get a lock on her, not to mention it'd give her the space to strategize a way to maneuver behind him. Hangman couldn't allow that. If Ghost landed on his six, he was toast.

"Come on, Ghost, stop running from me," Hangman jested. 

"Ghosts don't run," she countered. 

"Right, right, you just disappear." And leave the person wondering what the hell happened... Hangman wanted to add that last part but opted against it. He didn't mind getting under people's skin normally, but Ghost remained a different story. Her treatment of him was warranted. Of that, he had no doubt. However, Ghost hated him enough; he didn't want to add to it with his snarky comment in the air either with a competition and multi-million dollar jets at stake.

"Guys, you're getting close to the hard deck," Maverick warned, a statement Hangman found ironic coming from the Captain, considering Mav had broken it on numerous occasions.

Ghost ignored him, though, leveling out mere feet above it. Not to be outdone, Hangman followed, staying on her like a hunter to its prey. Hangman started to gain on her again, and within a few seconds, he was within range to get a lock. Ghost dodged him easily, though, almost like she was toying with him. Hangman drew closer and closer to the point Coyote asked Ghost why she was slowing down. The comment took a moment to register with Hangman, but by the time he did, it was too late. Ghost hit the brakes, went up, drifted overhead, and tried to land behind him. Thankfully, Hangman's lightning-quick reflexes kicked in, and he diverted his course to the right in an attempt to circle around her again.

"Nice try, Seresin," Ghost said, flying above him upside down. Hangman looked up at her, trying to find an escape route, but found himself hopelessly trapped between the mountains on each side of him, Ghost above him, and the hard deck below him. He braked suddenly to try and throw Ghost in front of him, but her reflexes were too quick, and she braked along with him, staying above her opponent. 

"Lieutenants, pull up! You're too close to the hard deck!" Maverick ordered, but Ghost did not relent on her position, continuing to lower her jet toward Hangman's, pushing him closer to the hard deck. Hangman realized Ghost intended to keep doing this. This is how she would knock him out of the game and win the battle.

"Ghost, I know we've had our problems but is running me into the ground really the answer?" Hangman asked with mock playfulness in a desperate attempt to transition her focus from the mission to the conversation.

It didn't work. Ghost remained directly above him and continued lowering her jet towards his, forcing him down, down, down until-

"You've hit the hard deck, Hangman. You're out," Maverick informed, causing the aviator to shake his head and angrily unclip his mask. "Everyone, head back to base. For those of us who lost, we have some push-ups to do."

"I'm going to get you for this, Ghost." Although Hangman was half-joking, he was also infuriated he'd lost. He knew the moment Ghost flew onto the scene that she'd do whatever it took to win, including pulling some dirty moves, like pressing into Hangman from above until he had nowhere to go but below the hard deck. 

"You'll have to find me first," she responded. Hangman glanced above him, then his direct surroundings, but the female pilot and her F-35 were nowhere to be seen. She definitely lived up to her callsign...

When he landed and disembarked from his jet, he dropped to the ground and began his push-ups. Not long after, Ghost strode by. She paid no attention to the line of aviators doing push-ups under the shades of their craft's wings. Instead, Ghost kept her head down. Maverick joined the group a few seconds later, but not before glancing over his shoulder at the disappearing aviator. He dropped down next to Hangman to begin his push-ups. When he hit fifty, Mav asked, "What can you tell me about Ghost?"

Hangman thought about their time at the Academy, during their training to be a pilot, their deployments, and the most recent dogfight; he couldn't help himself when he replied, "She's possessed."

"Don't you mean possessive?" Maverick grunted, lowering himself down for the sixtieth push-up.

"I know what I said."

Unless Hagnman imagined things, Mav chuckled quietly. "So, what's the story with you two?"

"I caused her backseater's death and her near death. She hasn't forgiven me for it, and I don't blame her." With most people, Hangman would've told them it was none of their business and moved on, but this was Maverick. He had too much respect for the man to do anything but tell the truth. Still, Jake didn't want to continue the discussion about it. Finishing his push-ups, he stood and abruptly changed the course of conversation, not wanting to go down memory lane with the other Daggers around. "Can we expect you at the Hard Deck tonight?"

"I'll be there."

"Good. You can meet the other Blackwood."

Maverick hovered in place and glanced up. "Charlotte's going to be there?"

How does Mav know Charlie? "No, Jackie. Ghost's older sister. Polar opposite of her sister. It's funny; she used to be the wildcard in the family, always breaking the rules. Now it's Ghost."

"When did that shift happen?"

Hangman shrugged. "She always took risks when flying, but something changed in her after the accident. Just what, I don't know. She's barely spoken to me since it happened. Listen, I'm going to head home and take a break before hitting the Hard Deck, but I'll see you there, Pops."

Before Maverick could ask any further questions about Hangman's relationship with Ghost, the Texan high-tailed it out of there, keeping a carefully controlled expression of calm and collectedness in the event he ran into anyone he knew. Luckily, he didn't, and he arrived at his truck without incident. Hangman drove back to his place and shuffled inside to shower and freshen up, not wanting to smell like jet fuel and the sweaty inside of a flight suit. He took his time since he had a few hours to kill before the meet-up. The events of the day replayed over and over in his head, and the more they did, the more a heaviness settled on his shoulders. The last time he'd flown with Ghost was the day of the accident. Flying with her today suddenly forced that awful memory to the forefront of his mind in a way he hadn't experienced in years. 

Hangman numbly shut off the water and dried off before throwing on some casual clothes and collapsing onto his bed. He pulled out his phone and opened his pictures, scrolling far, far back until he arrived at the first photo he'd been seeking: Ghost and Ghoul. It'd been of the two girls the first day they met as roommates. They'd hit it off instantly, and Ghoul- a.k.a. Lydia O'Donohue- insisted the two girls take a photo to commemorate the day. Ghost had forwarded it to Hangman, and he remembered her adding the comment: Hope your roommate is as awesome as mine!

The following photo containing the two girls was taken on Ghost's birthday. They'd convinced some senior cadets to take them off base over the weekend and milked it for everything they could. It was freezing cold out, but Ghost and Ghoul apparently felt nothing in their cute little dresses and heels. 

The next photo showed the girls staring in exasperated boredom as someone opposite them rambled on about who knows what. Hangman couldn't recall who'd been sitting with them during that moment, but he had taken the picture to commemorate their priceless, judgemental expressions. 

He flicked through some more, landing on one of the girls in black dresses beaming at the camera. It'd been their junior year, and they'd been able to leave for the long weekend to head to the lavish Jefferson Hotel, where they went to celebrate Jackie's upcoming graduation. The following two photos were from their senior year, where they attended a fancy graduation dinner at a seaside restaurant and the afterparty.

Coyote, having been Hangman's roommate, was in a lot of photos, too. He either beamed at the camera or stared longingly at Ghoul, whom he'd been in love with from the moment he'd been introduced to her. They hadn't become a couple until their senior year, though, namely because Ghoul was the female equivalent of Hangman: outgoing and unwilling to settle down. Where Hangman had slept with most of the girls at the Academy except for Annalise and Lydia, Ghoul had slept with most of the guys, save for Hangman and Coyote. 

"I respect y'all too much," Lydia had declared in her thick and sweet Georgian drawl. Still, all it took for her to drop the habits was for Coyote to drunkenly admit his feelings; the rest was history. The memory of it all still made Hangman smile, but it would always swiftly be replaced by heartache. He missed Ghoul, but he knew his pain was nothing compared to Ghost and Coyote: the former, who had clung onto her backseater's limp body in the crashing waves while waiting for the rescue chopper, and the latter, who had planned on proposing to her when they returned home.

Hangman shut off his phone and squeezed his eyes shut, hating going down memory lane like this. It's why he kept himself so busy all the time. If he kept himself occupied, his brain couldn't travel back to the dark memories and dark thoughts.

"Get it together, man," Hangman grumbled, sitting up and pushing himself off the couch. He ambled to the bathroom to make himself presentable, determined to have a good night at the Hard Deck, repeating in his head: What's past is past.

****

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @bradshawsandbridgetons @catsandgeekyandnerd @peachiicherries @multifandomcnova @fandomsstolemylife00 @bookloverhorses @mak-32 @midnightmagpiemama @luckyladycreator2 @ellamae021 @kmc1989

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14

If you're not on the tag list and want to be, just let me know :)

[jojotichakorn]

time for me to gather all my thoughts together!

out of the 15 announced series, i am - to various degrees - interested in 10, which is a pretty solid amount!

i will definitely be watching:

we are! it's yet another uni drama, but you know what? i don't give a shit. i like me a uni drama. pondphuwin are definitely the mains, with satangwinny either being a secondary couple or also mains - it is not entirely clear from the trailer. my vote is always for marcpawin, who are playing a background couple here along with aouboom. so a very solid cast for me. incredible news.

my love mix-up! i adore kieta hatsukoi, i adore fourth, i adore gemini. feels like a recipe for success to me.

wandee goodday! a bl about actual fucking adults? wow. sign me up right away please. i am not familiar with the main actors, but thor is a part of a secondary couple, and podd is also there, so that's great.

my golden blood! GAWIN as a main character? gawin with JOSS? joss is a VAMPIRE? i want it NOW. like TODAY. exciting af!

pluto! seems like a very dramatic gl with many twists and turns, i am also very excited.

the other five series i am unsure of, for different reasons:

ossan's love th. it's actually likely i will end up watching it, but i (shock horror) haven't actually seen ossan's love, and i feel like i can't say that i will or will not be watching it with as much certainty as those who have seen the original. i will definitely get to it at some point soon though. if i like the original, i'll watch the thai version too.

the trainee. at the moment, i don't feel necessarily excited for this series, so whether i watch it or not will depend on either me having enough free time when it will be coming out to just kind of casually enjoy it, or people really raving about it while it's already coming out and me deciding to spend time on it because of that.

kidnap. pretty much the same exact situation as the trainee. did not grip my attention that much, but we will see if that changes. there is, of course, also the chance that the real trailers for either of the two will change my mind. mock trailers can be a bit clumsy sometimes.

only boo. it did not particularly intrigue me and - unlike the trainee and kidnap - the leads cannot recommend me the series just by virtue of being themselves, because i don't know them. so i am even less inclined than i am with the trainee, knowing how great offgun's chemistry is, and kidnap, because... well, ohm. if something convinces me to watch this - i will. otherwise, it's a pass.

high school frenemy. is it deep platonic love or do they want to stick their tongues down each other's throats? the second i know for sure, the decision will be made. in which direction, i'm sure you can imagine.

some random thoughts:

leads of the series that are coming out right now are clearly taking a little break after this (some of them do have prior comittments for series that haven't come out yet, but from what i remember - it is all secondary/background roles). this makes sense, especially because this is just part 1 of the announcement. so, i'm waiting for whatever news we will get from neo, mark, first, khaotung, force, book, perth, and chimon later.

considering the previous point, i can only Really be mad about the noticeable lack of fluke pusit. my man is clearly in the basement. oh, and aj and jj, who are only playing a background role in one of the series. there is actually a fucking series, where the characters are twins, and they cast ONE GUY to play BOTH, when they have literal fucking twins in their casting pool. wild.

my one real complaint is that i'm getting marcpawin crumbs once again. and i don't mean to anger the gods, because crumbs are better than nothing, but when am i going to fucking get the full loaf of bread? i deserve it. they deserve it. p l e a s e. generally, they seem to still be reluctant about giving current secondary couples the main stage, because satangwinny are either mains along with pondphuwin, or potentially even secondary to them in the drama. let them shine on their own please :(

[justaprick]

november 2nd aman hotel, nyc

"the project is dead in the water, waste of fucking time to come out here and try to save it." vince muttered into the phone, ignoring the displeased looks of the other patrons at his hotel's bar. his wife tried in vain to offer assurances and reminders of other, more promising projects, that he had to look forward to but he curtly cut her off. "-they're gonna sell the rights to netflix and wash their hands of it." netflix. what a fucking joke. vince wrestled with his collar and managed to loosen the tie around his neck with just one hand. "between streaming and metoo it's a wonder movies actually get made anymore." good movies, movies that actually had some fucking artistry to them. citizen kane or apocalypse now, taxi driver, psycho, god damn he'd even settle for blue velvet.

talia started speaking again and vince motioned to the bartender for another jack and coke before noticing the redhead several stools away putting drinks back like her life depended on it. vince wasn't sure if it was trashy or hot. maybe somewhere between. he gave several noncommittal "yeah" and "mm"s into the phone's receiver but had all but checked out of the conversation in lieu of watching the stranger nearly slump out of her chair. christ, what a mess. he turned away and grabbed at the fresh drink that had been sat before him. "i don't know when i'll be home. i'll have to check the flights." he barked with annoyance.

the conversation carried on uneventfully for another five minutes before vince told his wife goodbye and he loved her and maybe they should go out for dinner when he got back home--that little indian place she liked despite it giving her gas strong enough to kill a horse. that seemed to make up for the piss poor mood he'd been in when the call began. he could always get her to forgive him. it didn't take much.

he left the bar to take a leak, standing unzipped at the urinal when the redhead walked in. did she fucking follow him? vince shook his dick and quickly put it away, shooting a look at her over his shoulder as he did so. "jesus christ.." he coughed and covered his face with an arm as a sudden wave of nausea inducing rot hit him. "what the fuck are you on?" because it was obvious from the glazed look in her eyes and drool pooling from her mouth that she had to be on something. he figured she was trying to make some cash. followed him in here for a blowjob or handy in hopes of getting a twenty to secure her next hit. she'd certainly looked like she was jonsing while sitting at the bar.

getting the feeling that she wasn't going to turn around and leave, vince decided to walk past her and leave it as someone else's problem. as he got close and the smell intensified she seemed to suddenly come out of her daze and lash out at him. vince spun quickly and just barely made it past as she fell on the spot he'd previously been standing. her hand pulled the sleeve of his dress pants and he turned to look down at her with bewilderment and disgust. he watched as she pulled his leg closer to her mouth, biting down with inhuman strength causing him to holler in pain. "fffuck!" he did the only thing that made sense---brought his free foot down on her head and stomped repeatedly, mush flying through the air and decorating the men's bathroom in reds and brows and pinks. despite pieces of her brain now being stuck to vince's face, he had to pry her grip off finger by finger and then use both hands to slide his calf out of her jaw. he fell to the floor, breathing heavy, watching the blood pool under his torn pants.

what the fuck just happened?

[annbourbon]

A bit more about me:

* I'm hard of hearing and I use hearing aids since I have memory. I hate when people keep sending me audios.

* INFJ

* I have ADHD

* I'm about 5'0 (153) yes I'm a minion 🙄💀

* My favorite color is blue

* Hydrangeas are my favorite type of flower. Just don't cut them off. I prefer pots rather than dead flowers.

* My nose is really sensitive to smells so it's super useful. Except for that time when I got covid... it was like, my worst nightmare coming true.

* I love eating, especially pizza.

* I don't like candies. Just chocolate, cakes and fruit tarts, too much sugar and I'll throw it up cuz my stomach doesn't tolerate candies or spicy things.

* I'm intolerant to lactose and garlic. people tend to joke around me saying I'm a vampire (migraines and my sun sensitivity don't make it any better to cover up this issue... shhhhh please don't say anyone okay?)

* My favorite element is air. The second one's water. I could spend hours on the tub or pool.

* I have three cats and one dog.

* I have never been in love or in a relationship for that matter.

* I love musicals: Mamma Mia, Burlesque, SIX, Hamilton, etc. (If I don't know it, I will love to know more about it.)

* I don't have tattoos or piercings. I'm too coward for that kind of pain. But I love them. They're just not for me.

* My favorite game is Mystic Messenger

* I adore my family. It's far from perfect, but is good.

* I'm self-taught at basically everything: ice-skating, cooking, fashion design, writing, hence I'm far from being perfect. But I'm trying my best.

* I'm a workaholic. Literally busy all day.

* I don't smoke or drink. Except for champagne maybe and only special occasions. I don't like alcohol that much.

* I want to study or at least read more about architecture

* I also love musical theory, photography and documentaries lol

* I'm an environmentalist

* Despite my love for cats, I have always preferred bunnies. Horses come third.

* Most of my fashion designs were created between 10 to 13 y.o. so right now I'm just adjusting them and improving them. Which is why I'm studying and reading a lot about fashion design.

* I used to dislike sugar as a kid. IDK what happened lol but I'm now ruined because I love sugar a bit too much. So from time to time I go on a sugar detox. It's hard AF

* I started ballet when I was 18. You can do it too.

* Blood type: A

* My Astrology:

Sun's on Taurus 🐂 ♉ with ascendant on Cancer 🦀♋ and my Moon on Capricorn ♑🐐

Questions: (I actually had a dynamic with other people but the link it's acting weird so I decided to put them here)

Are you named after anyone? Yeah my mom called me Anna because of the Beatles, "Anna Go to him"

When was the last time you cried? Around November or December last year. There was a lot of drama going on and a group of people who was really toxic to me, I finally got my shit together and moved onto something better. I haven't cried ever since and I'm happy now! <3

Do you have kids? Nope

Do you use sarcasm? Sometimes lol

What's the first thing you notice about people? The eyes if they're close, their appearance if they're a bit far, the smell, if they're passing by and I'm a bit distracted.

What's your eye color? Hazel

Scary movies or happy endings? Both. Depends on my mood, and some scary movies are actually touching and have a bit of a good/happy (maybe sometimes bittersweet) ending. Life can be a happy, and beautiful story but also hard and terrifying one. So I like both. Depending on my mood and company. I'm the kind of person who watches scary movies alone, at night and then proceeds to sleep like a baby sheep. I also love to watch scary movies when I'm angry or pissed off with/at someone or something. But I also love romantic and comedic movies... yeah it depends.

Any special talents? Ummm lol I can eat even when I'm sick or in pain. Okay I'll say, um I can learn things rather quickly: maths, chemistry, biology, dancing, sports, drawing, writing, etc. I can learn anything and become rather decent at it. Anything. Except for bread. Just no. Have you guys seen Charlie Angels? When Lucy Liu gives them muffins? Yeah that's me with any kind of bread. And I've been trying to figure it out since I was 8 y.o. so there's no hope for me lol

Where were you born? Haven't decided yet lol ok no... Mexico. I'll omit the city since a lots of creepers and stalkers have been on my life already so I'm not going to share that kind of info.

What are your hobbies? Ballet (thanks to Barbie, Tchaikovsky and my mom lolol) and ice skating

Any pets? Two cats (actually I have three cats and a dog but one of the cats is my brother's and so is the dog, so I just have a two little fellas... I'm considering buying a Cavalier King though... I've always wanted one.)

What sports do you play/have played? (Gotta go and eat something so I'll be back lol)

Chess, volleyball, basketball, soccer, ice-skate, swim, run, walk/sprint, cheerleading, rock-climbing indoors and outdoors. And other stuff. But I don't remember everything I ever did, just the most relevant ones: Volleyball practices were hard as hell. I even fainted because of it. And I'm not the kind of person who tends to faint.

Basketball was embarrassing. I'm tiny AF!! But we were forced to practice on school so whatever lol

Favorite subjects in school? I never liked school. Like, at all. But funny thing is, after I became a homeschool student (bullying from peers and teachers) I developed a healthy curiosity and started to love every single subject. So thanks mom, thanks dad!

Dream job? I don't have one. As long as I can eat and study/do everything I love and like, I'm happy. I love being creative though. If anything, I want to keep working and studying and being creative.

I'm not married but my name's... yes I'm a Bourbon. Royal family. Either you hate it or love it because, history... lol

But I'd say I'm winning the lottery on the coolest last name ever.

If you have any other question I'm happy to oblige: Send asks. But be polite. Thanks 💕

[strawberry-lemonade-kisses]

"what is that?" You peered over the reading glasses perched on your nose, stuffing the receipt you were using as a bookmawrk into the pages under you fingertips before rising from the couch to try and get a look at what your husband and sons were trying-and failing- to hide.

"oh, this?" Gyomei shoved Muichiro forward, practically throwing the 14 year old off his feet. "this is Muichiro, do you like his new hair color? Him and Genya were going to match but after bleach Genya decided to keep the yellow. It's cute right?" Gyomei was side stepping, trying not to bare his back and what he was hiding from you. The meowing and scratching was loud and the box did nothing but echo the noises.

"Mei. I'm not an idiot and your not even hiding the box fully. You suck at hiding things, Always have. How many are there?" gyomei sighed, revealing the oversized box to you as you stepped closer to get a good look. 5 kittens were huddled toger, different variations of black and white, even a grey one was among them. Their eyes were barely open, little voices loud as they put their all into crying out. It was obvious they had been abandoned, just a couple weeks old and should still be surviving off mom.

"where do you plan on keeping them and how do you plan on taking care of them?"

"Me and Muichiro are going to do it! They'll stay in our bathroom and Dad said that if we feed them evaporated milk for a few more weeks they'll be okay. We're gonna pool our money together and get a litter box, toys, and blankets to keep them warm. We're gonna make them a little box bed!" Muichiro was nodding along with everything that Genya was saying, agreeing with every detail. You looked at Gyomei who was busy wiggling his fingers in front of the kittens.

"Okay, but I am not cleaning up after them. These are living creatures boys and they need lots of care, you have to be up with them and watch them carefully. This is a lot of responsibility and I expect you to do this properly if you want to raise them." The boys were practically bouncing in place as you lectured them.

"However! we will not be keeping them all in the end. Once they are where they need to be weight and age-wise we will put them up for adoption. We can keep one maybe two depending on how you guys take care of them but we can't keep them all, we don't have the room for 5 cats. Do you understand?" Both heads of colored hair were nodding enthusiastically, Muichiro already scooping the grey one out of the box to hold against his chest. "Alright Gyomei, since you decided to get kittens along with colored hair you get to be the one to take them to get the kittens checked out. I'll drive but you have to go handle everything else." Gyomei smiled, turning around to herd the boys back out of the house.

"Thank you, honey. I promise to keep on top of this with them." U You hummed in response, having already heard this same speech before when he had 'found' a hamster in a large crate with bedding and toys.

"Right, go get in the car before I change my mind" You grabbed your keys and wallet, checking to make sure the credit card was in there before leaving to follow your family.

[harleyacoincidence]

Hello! And happy, Silly Sunday! (Which is something I just came up with because I'm bored,lol)

Today, your OCs/favorite characters will be doing something chaotic/silly!

Today, your OCs/favorite characters have decided to go and have a fun day at the fair.

Except there's a twist!

Not only have they decided to go to the fair, but they've also decided to go dressed up as their favorite characters from their favorite books/movies!

The rest is up to you!

Good luck!

And have fun!

Nice to see another ask from you! I like this idea, perhaps it should become a tradition among other writeblrs. It's good practice to write something fluffy with one's characters. For this one, I'll be using some of my OCs from an older WIP.

In terms of our cast list (featuring an author who got negative hours of sleep the previous night), we have:

Henriette Cellante

Idiot summoner of demons

Is in high school, therefore can do basic math

Has friends, surprisingly

Has assisted with a variety of murders without knowing

Enjoys the occasional chaos

Loves spending time with friends

Cisgender girl (she/her)

Ava Hollister

Henriette’s bestie (one of many)

Also is in high school

Quite popular at the school she goes to

Genuinely nice

Has not assisted with any murders (yet)

Oblivious to the existence of demons

Cisgender girl (she/her)

Olivia Hervey

Enjoys dyeing her hair

A high school student (everyone here goes to the same school)

Hangs out with Thomas and the gang frequently

Sells handmade soap (has given extras away for free to their friends)

Amazing fashion sense

Gives excellent advice

Demigirl (she/they)

Thomas Stolz

Theatre kid

Is in high school (who’s surprised at this point)

The most intentionally chaotic of the group

Prone to losing/damaging his glasses to be funny

Good with crowds

Somehow comes prepared with just the right thing for every situation despite not having the power of prophecy

Cisgender boy (he/him)

Alright, before we get into the chaos, we must decide which characters everyone dresses up as. Henriette would most likely go as the assistant of an artificer from her favourite book (I will explain this in another post). To match this, Thomas would dress as the artificer. Ava and Olivia would pick up on the theme and dress as the artificer’s sister and partner, respectively. Nobody at the fair would know who they were except for them, but this would just make the whole deal better (they love having inside jokes).

I could see everyone bringing their own money while being under the impression that nobody else had brought any. Upon finding out that the opposite was true, they’d pool their money together excitedly and proceed to go crazy with games and food.

They’d immediately go to one of those hunting games. Thomas would be the best at that, but would somehow manage to get his glasses knocked off by the gun. Olivia would have to catch them before they hit anything and shattered, since his parents are tired of replacing them.

Next would be some sort of whack-a-mole, which Henriette would absolutely crush everyone else in. She’d definitely pick up a plushie and take it with her upon winning.

Ava would have a blast with skee ball, hands down. It’s one of her favourite games.

Olivia would spend most of her tickets at a darts booth. While they wouldn’t be the champion at the fair, she would not give up until some sort of prize was hers. The poor person running the booth would be watching them for a long, long time.

After going through an assortment of other booths featuring things like ring toss, shell games, as well as guessing booths (I hate them so much), they’d just have to try some of the food offered there.

Henriette would love the lemonade and caramel apples.

Ava would enjoy the snow cones and friend cheese curds.

Olivia would definitely order cotton candy and churros.

Thomas would be the only one crazy enough to try deep fried butter and fried cookie dough. He might throw up after, depending on how much of the treats he’d eaten.

The group wouldn’t go around annoying other patrons or workers, but they would be sure to take plenty of selfies (especially around people who looked confused as to why they were dressed in costume). They might also go around in character, and if anyone gave them a weird look, they’d immediately up their acting game. Nobody who thought they were weird for a second would be safe.

Sorry that this is shorter than usual, I might update this later when I have more time. I loved this, as per usual!

[rosietrace]

Valentine's Day Event-

So Camilla x Aine?

(Details? A beach or pool date?)

A beach day w/ a bitch

Event: Rosie's 2023 valentines day event 💌❣️

Ocs: Camilla Marigold, Aine(@sakuramidnight15), Mercury Von Monarch (Mentioned)

Summary: Camilla, ever the loving girlfriend to Aine, decided to take it upon herself to have Aine experience a nice day in the beach with her girlfriend. Aka Camilla.

Ship: Camilla x Aine

Warning(s): Potential out of character moments, Camilla being a bitch

{ Apologies for any out of character moments }

[ Reblogs are recommended/encouraged ]

♜♛__________________________________♛♜

"I love you too, my beloved demigoddess."

Camilla laughed enthusiastically, keeping her sunhat in place as she stared at the clear ocean in front of her.

Aine smiled curiously, carefully watching her girlfriend so she wouldn't hurt herself. Given Camilla's occasional recklessness, the young demigoddess needed to make sure she wouldn't go into harm's way.

"Camilla, love, be careful. I wouldn't want you to get hurt while we're having such fun, after all." Aine giggled, gently following Camilla as they wandered around the beach.

Camilla grinned."No need to be like that, Aine! I'm pretty sure I can handle myself-" her sentence was soon cut off after she almost tripped on a rock. Which Aine quickly giggled at.

"You didn't see that-"

"My golden girl, I'm pretty sure I did."

"No, you didn't."

Aine chose not to continue arguing with her over something so trivial. But she ended up walking beside Camilla instead of behind her to make sure she doesn't trip and fall.

Camilla smiled softly, a faint blush on her cheeks as she gazed upon her demigoddess of a girlfriend in the sundress she bought for her.

Aine arched a brow at her."You're staring love." She teased, noticing the blush on Camilla's cheeks slowly taking over.

Camilla rolled her eyes."Nope. No, I'm not." She disagreed, crossing her arms and looking away with a fake pout.

Aine hummed, feeling satisfied that she was able to fluster Camilla.

Their conversation continued, speaking about different topics such as school, their families, etc.

Until Camilla took it upon herself to transition the conversation into venting about the latest gossip she gathered at school.

Aine wasn't particularly interested, but she liked Camilla's voice. Pair that with her neverending rambling over gossip, and it's basically heaven for the two of them.

Camilla got to ramble all she wanted about gossip, while Aine got to listen intently and relish hearing her voice for long periods.

"Ugh, it was so delusional of Elaine to just get rid of Amanda just because she was dating the football quarterback! Honestly, can you believe her? Besides, Dustin is WAY out of that shitbag's league."

The only problem Aine had was with Camilla… Being rather cruel by putting others down to justify the actions of other people whenever she rambles.

She didn't like gossip in general, to be honest.

So it's still a bit of a surprise for Aine to be in a relationship with someone who hates and adores gossip.

♜♛__________________________________♛♜

"Love, you don't need to repeat it for me. I'm already aware."

"But it wasn't my fault Mercury had a dramatic breakdown during our first cousin karaoke night!"

Aine sucked in a breath, feeling as though she'll regret what she was going to say next depending on her girlfriend's reaction.

But she said it anyway."Well, love, you… Aren't exactly great at singing." She admitted.

Camilla scoffed, offended that the love of her life would agree with her cousins about how terrible her singing voice is."I'll have you know that I'm a fantastic singer!"

Aine squinted her eyes."Really? Then prove it."

She immediately regretted saying that.

Aine, bless her soul, loved Camilla. With all her heart, despite her flaws.

But her singing voice brought deep despair within Aine with the continuous voice cracks and terribly executed high notes.

And yet she still loved Camilla, despite her bitchy attitude, her tendencies as a gossipmonger and her manipulative tactics to gather more gossip.

And even though Aine never said it out loud, she thought that Camilla looked utterly mesmerizing as the sun was setting right behind her.

"Camilla…."

"Hm-?"

Camilla's eyes widen for a moment, feeling Aine's lips pressed against her cheek for a split second or so.

"Aine…."

A gentler smile was on Camilla's face. One that was more genuine than the last.

One that made Aine fall deeper in love with her, bit by bit.

She smiled back, grasping both of Camilla's hands tightly. Gently. Lovingly.

"I love you…. You beautiful bitch."

Camilla snorted at Aine's use of the word and sent her a peck on the edge of her lips.

♜♛__________________________________♛♜

Taglist [ I'd like to hear your thoughts if possible! ]

@starry-night-rose @windbornearchon @nem0-nee @fumikomiyasaki @oseathepebble @authoruio @geminiiviolets @twsted-princess

Request by: @sakuramidnight15

I hope you like this, Sakura ^^ I did my best to write Aine as in character as possible

[darkangel0410]

Going through my drafts and found this, so I figured I'd update it and then post it:

Where do you publish your work?

Just AO3 - sometimes snippets on tumblr and discord

What medium/application/etc. do you write in or with?

Google docs because it’s easy to use and I can switch in between my phone and laptop fairly easily and it autosaves every time you touch the keys which is the best part in my humble opinion

I've also taken to using private discord servers as a wiki for my AUs and let me tell you, a+++ would recommend

Do you collaborate with others?

Sometimes! Mostly with @cokehead-zeroed these days (eventually we'll finish the frat au i swear 🙈🙈🙈)

How much editing do you do before you publish?

Some! Mostly spell and grammar check, and sometimes I'll ask a friend to give it a read through to make sure it makes sense if it's something plotty

Do you listen to music when you write?

Yes, all the time. Sometimes otp specific playlists, sometimes ones for different AUs or a general writing one. It just depends

How do you decide what to write about?

It's hard to say - sometimes there's a clear path, like I'm watching Pretty Woman and decide I want to write a Cam/Cole Pretty Woman AU. But sometimes I'll just be talking with friends and be like 'you know what I want to read? Ot3 where Jack and Quinn are vampires and Charlie's a werewolf - oh, and what if vampires were born alive in this verse????' And then I start writing it

When do you write?

Usually at night, especially in the summer - once it cools down enough to think

How often do you write?

I try to write a little bit everyday but that doesn't always work - life, the weather, everything, stuff gets in the way. So I try to do something writing related everyday: editing, writing, worldbuilding, what have you. That works better for me.

Do you take requests? Why/why not?

Sometimes! Usually if a friend asks or for their birthday

Is there any genre or type of story you want to write but are hesitant to?

Not really, tbh - I wrote in the genres I want to for the most part

Any inspirational quotes, videos, tricks, articles, etc. that help you stay motivated?

Well, if I get stuck in a story, the first thing I do is go and talk it out with another writer, that usually helps me more than any quotes or videos, tbh. If I still can’t work through the part I’m stuck at after that, I’ll switch to a different WIP and work on that one for a little bit.

Go to page 7 of your WIP, skip to the 7th line, and share 7 sentences.

Lucky you, you guys get vampire porn!! (Thom/Kent, necromancer AU):

Thom sinks back down on Kent’s cock, letting out a satisfied noise when he’s full again; he wraps his hand around his own dick and starts jerking himself off lazily, enjoying the way Kent's attention is focused entirely on the way he's using his own blood as lube.

He feels desire pool in his stomach, and mixed with Kent's need it makes him speed his hand up, already close to the edge. “Can you come when I do, baby?”

“Yes,” Kent says out loud, his fangs still down and making him lisp a little - too many teeth in a mouth not designed for it. “Thom, please, I need -”

He cuts himself off with a loud moan when Thom tightens around him, rakes the nails of his free hand down Kent's chest, using enough pressure that he leaves thin red welts.

“After I come, I'm going to untie you and you're going to clean up the mess you helped make,” Thom tells him, panting a little. “And if you do a good job, I'll let you feed from me until we're both hard again.

“Go ahead and come for me, sweetheart.”

Tagging: lets see, @cokehead-zeroed @frostbeees @trevordrysdale @streetlights-all-turn-blue @coricomile @colubrina and @007waffles007 (even tho she's on vaycay 😂😂)

[runswithwolvves]

TMNT 2003xImage Comics: Red

It's been a hot minute since I've posted anything here. Came up with this on the fly and have been re-dabbing in the muse. Watched the ROTTMNT movie so that influenced a little of the angst and feels, along with the concept from the Image Comics series. However, this drabble is in the 2003 television series if that makes sense. Not sure if I'll elaborate more on this concept or just leave it as a bit of crumbs for those of you looking for something to snack on. Hopefully I'll decide soon, but that depends on how I feel. Constructive critisism --as I'm always looking to improve-- is welcome and encouraged. Just simple likes, reblogs and notes are of course appreciated! Anyway, thought I'd make sure nobody thought I was a little troll or dead. Read and enjoy!

Red… One of the three primary colors of the color wheel. The most intense and widest range of meaning across the entire spectrum. It is both a warning and a comfort; safe and dangerous. It represents both love and anger. Passion and aggression. It is the most common color found in nature, not only the color of the very liquid of life --blood-- but also the universal draw of attention in plants, animals and insects. It is the color of health, wellness, energy, strength, power, ambition and sexuality.

Red initiates an intense instinct to take action and commands the attention of all who see it.

The sensation is often so powerful that when the color is overused, it can be overstimulating to the brain.

It is the color of both all things good and evil.

Looking upon the dark crimson pooling upon the polished white and charcoal granite floor, what used to be the sight of a vibrant life was now a dreadful, naseating image of a dying light…

The thick, warm fluid stained everything it touched and cast a rosy hue reflected by the streams of dawn entering the broken glass of the roof.

The prefaced battle had been long, agonizing and traumatic, but it had finally come to an end and a history of death, revenge and pain was over.

Four of five hearts had come seeking closure and to balance the debt of life that had been taken by the dying figure laying prone upon the ground before them and oozing the brilliant red blood.

That balance was being delicately leveled, but not at the cost they had expected.

Upon striking the floor in a heavy heap and thunderous thrumb, driving a trio of blades deeper and cutting wider into flesh and bone, the menicing thorny helmet tumbled off with a rattle and screech across the ground. The head that lay beneath was not human, but neither were the quartet of vengeful warriors now surrounding the once looming figure.

Scarred emerald flesh, terrapin head with humanoid features stared up at them: the left eye socket was empty and married by the damage done to remove said eye and the right was also scarred, but the golden amber iris remained.

It was as if the last piece of a shattered looking glass reflecting their faces back at them.

Older, grown… but still the same missing piece of their family tapestry.

Time itself seemed to freeze as the blood within the three other terrapin mutants and their rodent father ran cold and their hearts were ripped from their chests and shredded before their very eyes…

The harmonized and collective gasp of horror echoed over the wheezing, wet and choking breaths…

The Hamato Master and line of remaining students stared down at the face of his beloved second-born…

The Foot Master gazed dileriously up at the platrom-salted muzzle of his devoted father…

There was no determination between a flurry of action or a lapsed awareness of consciousness, but the blink of an eye was slower than the time that seemed to pass between the separation of the family and the coming together.

Words failed…

Responses and reactions seized…

Hands tried to hold the wound, but the pressure squeezed out more blood around the tempered steel weapons, painting ten hands and numerous digits with semi-permenant splotches of crimson…

Tears freely flowed in streams and soaked any fabric and fur around the eyes, as well as cheeks, chins, jaws, robes and tunics…

The strange span of peace between warring clans now made perfect sense, as did the mysterious rumors of monster under the armor.

Yet the rumors weren't correct.

There had never been a monster under the iconic, spike-laiden suit since the previous battle. There had only been a young man… a brother… a son… A being of such passion, strength, love and determination that would forever remain unrivaled. Not human and yet not fully turtle perhaps, but no beast of mythical cruelty and malice. No monster… No demon… No devil…

Only a golden heart forced into a position of shadow to correct the mistakes of the past and the very emotions his chosen color represented.

The Shredder had been killed in their last battle with him. However, to begin the process of peace and truce between not only the Foot and the Hamato Clans, but also the criminal underground as a whole, his slayer had doned his identity and used the reputation of burtal power and fear to tame the discontent.

Raphael had tapped into the darkness of his mortal enemy to save the lives of his family, friends and the people of his home… New York City.

He'd sacrificed himself for something so much bigger…

It broke his heart to have put this burden upon his family --more specifically his own father and eldest brother-- but he had seen no other way… He had tried time and again since becoming the actual monster of the tale to conceive an equally successful and yet less painful or traumatic surrender, but had come up with none…

He wouldn't ask them to forgive him. He didn't really deserve it, but he certainly held nothing against them.

"R-r… Raphael… My beautiful son… Not this way…"

Raph couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Splinter cry. He'd never heard that broken, breathy voice before. It brought an ache worse than the hole presently through his chest. Yet, the soft, warm touch of the Master's hands to either side of his face could never be forgotten. So tender… so peaceful…

How he'd longed to feel it since disappearing from his father's side…

"Why…?"

"How…?"

"Don't go… Not again…"

The only ache that hurt worse than seeing and hearing his father cry was hearing and seeing his brothers break down.

He had always strived to protect them from pain, physical and emotional. It had been his personal duty to be their protector, the supporter and the one who made them feel safe and secure. He wasn't supposed to be the cause of their suffering, not that it hadn't been a shaky and imperfect story as they'd grown up, but he really had tried.

Even now, he saw this pain as something survivable and while it would leave scars, they would heal and have a better life to follow. They could grow old and die happy… Maybe they could find love and raise new generations of Hamato…

That was all he'd ever really hoped for.

"Missed ya… Love ya…"

[leftperfectionmoon]

“it's time to let go”

• pairing: sirius black x fem!reader

• prompt: based on this playlist

• genre: angst

• summary: sirius is the boy that reader has been meeting in her dreams every night. but now it's time to bid farewell as his time with her has ended.

• word count: 802

• warning: attachment issues (let me know if you find any more)

oneshots masterlist taglist

requests are open, feel free to ask!

Heavy sobs rake from (Y/N)'s chest as she slowly slides down against her bedroom door ignoring the desperate knocks and pleas coming from the other side of it.

“No, Sirius! I know why you're here!” She cries, shaking her head.

“Then you know I don't have much time. Is this how you wish to say goodbye to me?” He calls.

“I don't want a goodbye!” (Y/N) screams, now hugging her knees close to her body.

Silence engulfs them both as Sirius hears her crying and hissing. He listens to her quiet series of negative remarks and her low consolation to herself that this might be a nightmare and that she needs to wake up.

“Darling, please, just open the door. I don't want this to be your last memory of me,” he speaks up with a hoarse voice after he gives up on knocking.

(Y/N) clutches her head hard as she tries to get a hold of her emotions. She imagines waking up in a dream and seeing this lifeless, colorless room without Sirius in it. She watches herself as she sits on her bed and reminisces the light and joy that his presence brought within those walls. She has forgotten how her life used to be before his arrival.

She slowly pulls herself up and turns around to unlock the door.

Sirius stands there with a pained smile.

“Please, don't leave me,” she whimpers, moving closer to him.

“I'm not leaving you, love. I'll always be with you,” he chuckles and touches her temples softly with his fingers, “ In here.”

“But I want you to be here, in front of me, the way you are right now,” she begs, clutching his wrists, willing to never let go.

“I'm sorry, darling” he whispers and a pool of tears starts to appear in his eyes as he pulls her closer, “This is hard, but it's time to let go. I'm not real. You need to be happy with someone who is real.”

“Don't say that. Please, don't say that,” her face contorts in a pitiful frown as her lower lip starts to quiver with the burden of pain, “You are real to me. You make me happy. I don't want anyone else.”

“It's not up to you or me to decide, (Y/N). I was only here to help you feel something when you couldn't. And now you've grown stronger, smarter, and happier since then, and I'm so proud of the person you've become” he tells her, cupping her face with both hands and wiping the tears from her face, “I know you'll be fine.”

“No, no, no, no! It was you! You don't understand. I'm happy because of you. I'm doing fine because of you. How do you know I'll be fine if you won't be here?” She breaks down sobbing again as she holds onto him for her dear life.

“I will be here, my love, I will always be. I will always watch over you and that's why I'm certain that you're going to be alright,” he assures with a kiss to her head while rubbing her back to soothe her.

She slowly pulls away and looks half-heartedly at him with her tear-stained cheeks that appear puffed up as she tries to contain her cries.

“You're wrong. I love you. And that's why I won't be fine. I fell in love with you and now you're leaving. I will never be fine.”

“Believe me, darling, there's nothing in this world that I love more than I love you but you cannot hold onto me forever. You will never be happy if you keep dwelling on your dreams, dwelling on me. Your happiness shouldn't be dependent on the stories that you love because you deserve so much more than that. You deserve real happiness in your real world.”

This time the tears start to roll down his cheek and she has to wipe it away.

“I want you to stay,” she weeps.

“I know,” he breaths and raises her hand to press his warm lips to her knuckles, “Now, smile for me.”

“Please,” he pleads again when she doesn't listen.

(Y/N) forces a smile followed by a muffled sob and then grins naturally sucking in a sharp breath.

“Well, (Y/N) (Y/L/N), it was an honor getting to know you,” he chimes, returning her grin, “Maybe this time I'll see you in my dreams.”

He throws her a cheeky smile that makes her giggle as he steps forward to place a kiss on her forehead.

(Y/N) closes her eyes shut and waits to feel his lips but she never feels them. When she opens her eyes she finds herself laying on her bed alone with her head on a tear-soaked pillow.

💌 a/n: hey everyone! thank you so much for reading! requests are open, so if you have any requests let me know. hope you're having a lovely day!

[latte-fairytaekwoon]

Personal Training (Choi Jongho + Song Mingi) Rated

Pairing: Dilf! Choi Jongho × Younger! Reader (Female) × Dilf! Song Mingi

Genre: Smut, Slight Angst, Fluff.

Summary: Wanting to get closer to her P.T for so long, who would have thought it would take his friend to be able to break the tension between them?

Word Count: 4.6+K

Warnings: Age differences (but still within legal boundaries), public sex, thigh riding, oral (male and female receiving), face fucking, orgasm denial, slight size kink, slight degradation, brief mention of the word 'daddy', unprotected sex (always use protection), creampie, threesome, Dom! Jongho, Dom! Mingi, Sub! Reader.

Taglist: @galaxteez @multidreams-and-desires @little-precious-baby @yunhofingers @yunhoiseyecandy @brie02 @deja-vux @daniblogs164 @couchpotatoaniki @a-soft-hornytiny

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"Oh god no."

The muscular male let out a long and exhausted sigh as he watched the perky and enthusiastic trainee wave at him as she poked her head at the entrance door to the gym. His athletic friend next to him heard his exhaustion and looked to see what the source of the trouble was.

"Who's that Jongho?" He pointed to the girl who was letting herself inside the gym, hassling a little when her bag got caught as the door was closing.

"That's Y/N, the newest person I'm training. You know? The one I told you about?"

The light bulb went off in his friend's head, recalling Jongho mentioning bits and pieces of information about the new trainee that enlisted his help. He looked back at the young woman, assessing her briefly with his eyes.

"She's cute."

Jongho shook his head as he picked up the weight he had dropped when he heard the excited voice call out to him.

"Yeah I know Mingi. Too cute." He grumbled.

The lively girl ran up to her P.T and the stranger that she had never seen before, but one look at him and she was just as mesmerized by him like she was with her trainer. He was taller than Jongho and although not as bulky as him, he still had a handful of muscles that were making her weak.

"So what are we working on today?"

Jongho gave her a puzzled look.

"Ummm we're not scheduled to train today Y/N. Remember? It's sort of a holiday, hence why the gym is empty." He reminded her, although it didn't surprise him that she'd show up just to see him.

"If we're not supposed to be here, then why are you here?" She counteracted his statement, arms crossing over her chest as her foot tapped against the floor mat.

Jongho looked over to Mingi, who looked like he was about to burst out laughing, lips pursed tightly to keep from making a sound.

"Me and my friend were actually just leaving now Y/N, so it was really pointless for you to come. Just go out, have fun with friends. Have a little cheat day if you even want." He tried everything to get the girl to leave, hoping she'd get convinced. He thought he made good progress when she slumped her bag over her shoulder, but he was wrong. Y/N wasn't about to let him go that easily.

"Then may I join you two? I don't have any plans for the day and I'd just...really like to spend some time with you today Coach." She bit her lip at him, hoping he'd get the hint.

Jongho's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets, his friend turning around to take a sip of his water bottle as he slowly walked away from the pair, smirking to himself at how funny the situation was. Clearing his throat, Jongho stood up straighter and looked Y/N in the eye.

"I'm- I'm sorry Y/N, I think that it'll be best for you to go now."

He turned around and began picking up his stuff, trying to ignore the fact she was not only still standing behind him, but was actually coming closer to him.

"Do you not think I'm pretty coach? Am I not attractive enough for you? Have you never thought about me in that way.....even once?" He could hear the heartbreak in her voice, positive that if he turned to look at her, a childish pout would be plastered on her features. Indeed, as he glanced briefly back at her, her bottom lip was slightly quivering.

"I think you're very beautiful Y/N, but thinking about you in that way, much less getting into a relationship with one of my trainees is very unprofessional. So I think it's best if we keep our ties strictly business related. Plus..... I'm way older than you."

She shook her head at that,

"So? I don't mind the age difference and it could stay a secret between us if you'd like." She took his hand in her own, squeezing them as if her life depended on it, her eyes begging him to finally say yes.

"Y/N I..... I'm sorry. I can't."

Pulling his hand away, Jongho quickly gathered his stuff before rushing past her to make his way to the showers, leaving the helpless girl there stunned and with a hollow feeling. She looked at his figure that disappears with a heartfelt longing. She couldn't understand why he was so cold to her. There's no way he wasn't attracted to her, she'd caught him staring at her one too many times while she did squats and there was even that time where he nearly kissed her as he helped her do crunches. So why did he avoid her as if she had the plague. She didn't realize that she wasn't completely alone until she felt a figure looming behind her.

"Tsk tsk tsk. What a shame to leave such a pretty and young woman like that when she's practically throwing herself at you. He always was rather dense and stoic you know."

Placing his hands gently on her shoulders, Mingi rubbed his thumbs on the top of them, a slight smile tugging at one of the corner's of his lips.

"If I were him, I wouldn't hesitate to say yes to someone like you."

Y/N shuddered slightly when she felt his lips press against her ear.

"I'm not Jongho, but if you wanna forget about him for a few minutes, I'll be in the male sauna room. If you're interested of course." Even though she couldn't see his face, Y/N could practically feel his lascivious smile bearing down on her smaller figure, and it made her press her thighs together. Patting her on the bum with a firm grip, Y/N inadvertently exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding in as she watched Mingi send her a flirty wink before making his way down the hall and out of her sight. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip as she pondered over Mingi's words. She wasn't going to deny that he wasn't attractive. He was devilishly handsome, not to mention tall as hell and the size difference between them was making her soak her panties even more. And she had absolutely nothing else to do......

What was the worse that could happen?

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Hearing the door open then close immediately, Mingi smiled at the figure that had just came in, her body covered by the small towel tucked around her chest. Looking her up and down, Mingi not so subtly grazed over the bulge that was already poking out from underneath the towel tied around his waist.

"So you actually came. I'm actually quite surprised."

Patting his lap, he beckoned for her to come over and place herself on top of it, which she obediently did with no hesitation. When she sat down, the knot at the front of the towel came loose, nearly falling down, but luckily she caught it just in time before anything peaked out.

"Oh come now little one, don't be shy. Why don't you show me that pretty body of yours?" Mingi lifted his hands to her waist, smoothing out the cotton fabric that was keeping him from gazing upon her bare figure.

Lifting herself up just slightly, Y/N slowly peeled the towel off herself, letting it drop to the floor before perching herself back on top of Mingi's thick thighs.

"Oh geez. You're even more stunning than I imagined. Absolutely breathtaking."

Y/N closed her eyes as she let Mingi wander his large hands across her bare body. She felt embarrassed about being unable to contain her soft, murmured shaky breaths as he cupped both breasts in his palms and massaged them amply. She shuddered when his thumbs brushed back and forth across her nipples, highly sensitive to any touch placed on them. Mingi of course knew this and thus decided to take advantage of it. He tweaked and pinched at her tiny buds, enjoying the tiny shrills she was voicing out.

"If you're already like this with my hands on your chest, how will you be when I play with that pussy of yours my little one?"

Y/N emitted a long groan, her already aroused core secreting more slick that was pooling on the towel underneath her. She didn't think that nickname would affect her so much, but it was definitely doing something.

"Like being called that? Like being reminded that I'm not only taller but also much older than you doll?" And he hit on another one of her weaknesses, turning her into absolutely putty, even more so as his hand came down to brush against her mound.

"You really are something else doll. Jongho told me several things about you. Showing up in skimpy workout clothes just so he'd look at you, purposefully bending over so he'd check out your ass. Even asking him for help during stretching just so he'd lay his hands on you. By the looks of it, you're just a little slut that wants to get fucked so badly."

Y/N whined as his fingers came down to work on her clit, swirling around it in a slow and gentle pace.

"You're so dirty you even accepted to get fucked by your crush's best friend because you're that desperate." Mingi shook his head with a fake disappointment. His fingers started to go a little faster, rubbing fervently across her little button. Y/N's breathing started to quicken as well, her hips grinding against Mingi's thigh to the rhythm he moved his fingers on her clit.

"It kinda irks me to know I'm just a replacement for Jongho......" He let out an amused scoff as he suddenly halted all movements on her clit.

"Guess I'll have to fuck you so damn hard so you forget he even exists."

Y/N gasped when she was suddenly pulled off his lap so he could turn her to face him. Y/N's face turned a bright crimson color when Mingi pulled the towel off his waist, his cock springing free and standing erect. She couldn't stop staring. There was no mild way to put it: Mingi was huge. Bigger than anything she'd seen or taken in any of her holes. It scared yet thrilled her to think that cock would be in her at any moment. Mingi clasped a hand on her chin, making her turn her gaze back to his face.

"Glad to know you're drooling over my cock. "

Taking hold of her waist once again, Mingi guided her so she would be sitting right on top of his right thigh. He exhaled deeply when he felt her wet folds come in contact with his bare skin. He couldn't wait to feel her come undone all over them. Giving her ass cheeks a tiny squeeze, he dropped one hand down to strike against one of them.

"Don't just sit there little one. Rut yourself on my thigh like a bitch in heat." He ordered her.

Steadying her hands on top of his broad shoulders, Y/N began to grind her hips down onto his thigh. Mingi's thighs were extremely thick, toned, and the muscles were absolutely amazing for riding. Everytime she'd push herself up, Mingi would make sure to flex his thigh so that her bundle of nerves would be more stimulated. She kept a nice and easy pace so far, feeling bliss at rubbing her core all over his thigh. Mingi didn't seem too pleased though.

"Come on darling. I know you can do better than that."

Taking it as a challenge, Y/N gripped tighter onto his shoulders as started moving faster. She shut her eyes as her mouth began heaving out harsh pants. She rode Mingi's thighs as if it was the last thing she was going to do. His hands which were on her hips decided to take control, moving her down as they wanted her to. Mingi forced her even faster on his skin, his eyes fixed on seeing how her folds were coating the top of his thighs with her slick. And he could tell she preferred him guiding her pace, her breathing had hitched and become more intense when he took over her.

"Oh? Are you going to cum already?" Mingi chuckled when he noticed she started whimpering.

"I- yes." Y/N admitted shyly, her hands dropping from Mingi's shoulders to his chest, palms pressed against the top of his pecs.

"Damn. How horny and needy were you that you're about to come undone this fast?" Mingi teased her, to which Y/N pouted.

"Very."

Of course she was, Mingi thought. She came all the way over just to see if Jongho would fulfill her fantasy and fuck her, so no doubt she was horny since she left her house. Luckily for her, Mingi was a very giving individual.

"Then go ahead little one. Cum all over daddy's thigh."

Y/N let out a sharp and high pitched cry as she started to cum all over Mingi's thigh. He held her in place, continuing to rubbed his thigh against her clit to further heighten the sensation of her climax. Leaning his face forward, he placed tiny kisses in between her breasts as she started to recover from high she went through. With her back turned and Mingi's face buried in her chest, neither one of them noticed the door opening until the one coming in slammed it close behind him in am angry manner.

"What the fuck?!"

Both of them turned to see a very furious Jongho standing there, fists clenching and unclenching as he took in the state the two people in front of him were in. While Y/N looked horrified to see him there, Mingi had a shit eating grin plastered on his face as he gripped the girl closer to him.

"Nice to see you Jongho. Came to watch the show?" Mingi snickered.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with her Mingi? You're taking advantage of her!" Jongho accused in an indignant manner.

Mingi raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not taking advantage of her when she herself came to me willingly. Honestly I'm just doing what she wanted you to do to her."

Jongho widened his eyes at that.

"Wait what are you-"

"Come on! Stop acting dense man. You know she's been wanting you to fuck her since the day she met you, yet you barely even bat an eyelash at her. So I'm giving her what you won't and she's not complaining."

Lifting her up, Mingi turned her to face Jongho, setting her back on his lap as he made sure to spread her legs so his friend could see the mess that had already been made in between her thighs. Although he tried to look away, being faced with his trainees nude figure had an immediate effect on him, which his friend obviously noticed.

"Just look at her lust filled face, look at her wet pussy begging to be fucked and tell me- No.... tell her you still don't want her."

Jongho looked up to find Y/N staring at him with pleading eyes, her bottom lip caught in her teeth. He started to have an internal conflict with his mind and body, one reminding him to stop and turn around right then while the other screamed at him to just give in.

"So what'll it be Jongho? Are you really gonna leave this beautiful girl, who's lusting for you, just like that?" Mingi spoke up again.

Before Jongho could say anything, Y/N's voice finally piped up.

"Please Coach. Just this once? Don't you want to fuck me?"

Jongho stifled back a groan at her persistence, his resolve was growing even weaker, more so when he saw Mingi lean in and start kissing across Y/N's neck. He pressed his lips against her, murmuring something which she seemed to agree with. Next thing Jongho knew, Y/N got off Mingi's lap and went over to him, getting on her knees in front of him as her hands reached for the towel that was girded at his hips.

"Wait- what are you?"

"Just let her be man. She just wants to show you how much she wants you."

Jongho gulped when he felt Y/N's hand wrap around his base. Looking up at him, she started to pump her hand up and down his shaft, her thumb circling around his tip so his precum could help in easing the handjob she was giving him. Y/N hummed as her eyes fell from Jongho's face to his cock. He was so thick, thicker than Mingi, although not as long as his friend. Nevertheless, he was packing a lot and his size made her mouth water. She began thinking about how far it could reach in her mouth. Itching to find out, she brought the head to her lips, tongue dipping into the slit before swirling around it to coat it with her spit.

"Fucking hell.." Jongho gasped, hands coming out to cup her jaw as she eased her mouth down his length, not stopping until she gagged when she felt him hit the back of her mouth, surprisingly not just the man in front of her, but his friend who was anxiously watching in the back.

Y/N closed her eyes and hummed as she pulled off his length before sinking it back inside her. Every time she stuffed him back in, she made she to give his length a long suck that made Jongho moan out in ecstasy. He couldn't deny it, he was enjoying it. Enjoying watching as his hot, young trainee was slurping around his cock, head bobbing as her tongue stroked all over him, making sure that not one inch of him was left dry or unsucked. Her cheeks were stuffed with all of him, tongue too busy occupied with making him feel good. Too good in fact. Before Y/N could even realize it, Jongho was pulling her off him. He chuckled lowly when he heard her disappointed whine as he made her stand up again.

"As much as I would have enjoyed watching you swallow me, I think I'd prefer to cum inside that little hole of yours. If it's all right with you of course." Jongho smiled so innocently at her, thumb grazing over her upper lip as he pushed her back to sit down on the upper deck of the sauna, right next to Mingi. He moved her so she laying right in between them, parting her legs so he could drop his head to hover right above her mound.

"I know someone who would be more than willing to have you swallow his cum though." Jongho signaled towards Mingi, who shifts himself so his cock could be right in front of her face. He smirked at her surprised face, slapping each of her cheeks with his tip.

"That is if she can even make me cum." Mingi challenged, sparking the competitive side of Y/N.

"Trust me, you'll be spilling yourself in her before you even know it." Jongho assured him.

Y/N parted her lips and moaned as Mingi engulfed her wet heat with his long dick. He gave a few experimental thrusts, wanting her to get comfortable before he got rough about it. He loved playing that game, starting off sweet and gentle before face fucking his lovers until they were a complete and utter mess around him. He rested his fingers on the sides of her cheek, carefully guiding her movements so she could suck him as he liked. He was caught off guard when she suddenly moaned loudly around him, the vibrations being felt all over his lower half.

"Jongho can you at least give a warning?" Mingi had looked over to see Jongho already burying his face in Y/N's heat.

"Nope. I prefer the surprise factor." He winked over at him.

Parting her wet lips, Jongho licked a long stripe along her slit before laying his tongue flat against her little button. Alternating between flicking his wet muscle on her clit and then tugging it forward with his lips as they lightly nibbled on it, Jongho's ears were attentive as he tried to listen to any sound coming from her mouth that were currently muffled by Mingi's cock. But her body reactions were enough to let him know she was enjoying it, given how she'd grind her hips up closer to his face.

"Someone is enjoying getting eaten out." Jongho smirked as continued suckling onto her clit.

"Yeah so much that she can't concentrated on sucking me off."

Deciding that it was time to get her attention back, Mingi gripped her jaw as he pushed his entire length until she was choking around him, holding it there before pulling out. Y/N had just enough time to take a deep breath before he was plunging his cock back inside. She was spurting out garbled whines, drool starting to trim down the sides of her lips and falling on the sides of her cheeks. She was so stuffed with Mingi's cock while Jongho ate her out to the fullest and it only fueled the growing arousal piling up inside her. She concentrated on relaxing her jaw and slurping around the cock lodged in her throat while simultaneously trying to enjoy as her coach's mouth worked on her core, expertly bringing her closer and closer to the edge with each swipe of his tongue. Feeling Mingi's dick twitch, she herself was about to spill over when Jongho dipped his tongue at her entrance, nose pressed down agains her clit.

"Fuck! I'm gonna cum- cum inside that pretty mouth of yours."

Without any further words, only shaky grunts, Mingi held her face in place as he furiously rutted his hips up, pumping his cum into her mouth which she gulped back with no problem. Once he came down from his high, he pulled out his softening dick, a line of spit being drawn as he removed his cock. Her lips were swollen and covered with a mixture of her saliva and his cum, making her look even more irresistible, especially when her bottom lip was poking out, presumably due to the fact the man between her legs had detached his lips from her heat a few seconds ago, denying her from the orgasm that she was just about to have. With a frown plastered on, she looked down at Jongho, who was sitting up and climbing in between her body.

"Don't give me that look you little vixen. It's only serving to make me want to fuck you even harder." He admitted, lips ghosting over her own.

"So why don't you?" Y/N questioned him, to which Jongho responded by pulling both of her legs and resting them on his shoulders. Taking hold of his dick, he rubbed his bulbous tip along her reddened clit before slapping it a couple times.

"Think I won't?"

Pushing in with one quick thrust, Jongho's immensely thick cock started working her open, walls stretching out to accommodate the intrusion of his member. Y/N could feel him so deep inside her, she was sure if she be able to, she'd probably feel him on her lower abdomen. She could already feel him rearranging her organs from how hard he was pounding into her, it would be a miracle if she'd even be able to walk afterwards. When she tried to close her eyes and drop her head to just succumb to the feeling, she felt Jongho's hand clasp around her chin and hold her face up so she could look at him.

"Don't shut your eyes. I want to see every expression you make as I fuck your tiny pussy. After all, isn't this what you wanted?"

Y/N cried out louder when his pace got faster and harsher. She tried desperately hard to keep looking at him but it was unbearable, especially when her inner thighs were starting to get sore.

"Wanted me to fuck you? Are you happy you finally got what you wanted?"

She could only manage to respond with groans and pants. Their heated and sweaty bodies began sticking to each other, the loud slapping of skin resonating through the room. Jongho kept his eyes fixed on her, staring with fiery intensity at her. He kept driving his cock into her, pounding so deep that he'd be able to break her if he wanted to. But he was content with watching her slowly come undone by him, her shaky breaths and trembling thighs signaling him that she was on the verge of exploding all around him.

"Awww you're gonna cum already? Are you that easy? Or is it cause your finally getting fucked by a real man that you're coming undone so fast?"

Y/N whimpered and started writhing underneath him, tears pooling at the sides of her eyes as the knot in her stomach was seconds away from breaking loose. Jongho's hands gripped down on her thighs to keep him steady as his hips continued slamming against hers. His fingers dug into her soft skin, threatening to leave bruises from how strong he was clutching at her. His face continued to look smug and full of pride as he looked at how worn out his trainee was looking. He'd never outwardly admit it, but he enjoyed seeing her disheveled appearance after working her so hard and push her limits. Only now that feeling was intensified by the fact his dick was getting wet by her juices.

"Cum all over me then. Cum all over my fat cock you little vixen." He ordered her, eyes filled with lust and desire to see her break in front of him.

Unable to keep her eyes open anymore, Y/N scrunched her eyes shut and blood rushing to her head as her walls contracted around Jongho's cock, clinging to him as a flood of release was spilling all over him. Her palms were heavy pressed onto the wood deck under her, laying flat as she began to unwind from her orgasm. Just a minute later after savoring her reaction, Jongho's hips jerked sporadically as he started emptying himself inside her. Keeping himself lodged in her warmth, he slowed down his thrusts, making sure to pump all of his essence inside her before gently pulling out of her. Both of them released hisses at the sting and emptiness of not being connected anymore. Jongho looked in fascination as the brim of her hole was still leaking out his white, milky cum, a sense of pride washing over him at seeing a part of him be plastered into her body.

"You ok?"

Y/N let out a tired groan as Jongho helped her sit back up.

"I don't think I can walk." She wrapped a hand around her stomach, already feeling a burn on the muscles. Jongho giggled at her, pulling her against him as he kissed the top of her head

"If you want, I can take you off the schedule until you recover properly." He offered.

"And not see you?" She raised an eyebrow.

Poking her nose, Jongho shook his head.

"Silly silly girl. Obviously I'll come over to check up on you."

Y/N's face brightened up with a smile as she realized what he meant. A loud and exaggerated clearing of a throat broke them out of their little world.

"Well since obviously I'm not needed here anymore, I'll just take my leave now."

Picking up his towel and wrapping it around him again, Mingi went over to the door to give them privacy, but not before making sure of something.

"Just be sure to invite me once in a while to join you both."

[bi-bard]

You Signed Up for This - Writing Challenge Masterlist

This is a masterlist for my writing challenge for Maisie Peters' album "You Signed Up for This"

Each imagine is based on a different song from that album.

Unlike my last writing challenge, I won't be using a random number generator, I'll just be writing the imagines in order.

I hope that you enjoy!

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1. You Signed Up for This

I Know I'll Get Better, I'm Just Not Better Yet Dean Forester (Gilmore Girls) X Reader (Y/n) realizes that Rory is truly the golden apple of Stars Hollow. However, (Y/n) didn't realize that she would influence so many parts of their personal life.

2. I'm Trying (Not Friends)

But One of Us Has Gotta Try to Keep a Promise Oliver Queen (Arrow) X Reader (Y/n) and Felicity were best friends while Oliver and (Y/n) were together. Now, (Y/n) finds a wall between them once Oliver and Felicity confess their feelings for each other. All they want is answers.

3. John Hughes Movie

'Cause if You Don't Want Me, Then You're Not the One Dean Winchester (Supernatural) X Reader After years of watching the same pattern, (Y/n) realizes that Dean isn't going to choose them. At least, that's the conclusion that (Y/n) draws.

4. Outdoor Pool

And You Only Kissed Me Once; Nothing Changed at All Jess Mariano (Gilmore Girls) X Reader (Y/n) is ecstatic to finally be the first choice. To not come second to anyone else. If only that were the truth of the situation.

5. Love Him I Don't

Guess That Was My Stubborn Season Lonnie Machin (Arrow) X Reader (Y/n) discovers the truth about Lonnie's job and life. Sadly, that's not just something that can be smoothed over with kind words and a kiss.

6. Psycho

Playing a Perfect Patrick Bateman Bruce Wayne (Gotham) X Reader After all that he had through, it took a lot for Bruce to find a group of friends of his own. However, did he care about who had to step on in order to get them to stay?

7. Boy

And I Can Do Better Than This Sam Winchester (Supernatural) X Reader (Season 6) After losing his soul, Sam makes a giant mistake. Once he's back to himself, he realizes that it may not be as easy to fix as he had hoped.

8. Hollow

You Left Me Hollow Barry Allen (The Flash) X Reader (Y/n) had dedicated their life to protecting Central City. However, after a rift is formed between them and Barry, (Y/n) realizes the only way to fill the void is find a new place to save. Somewhere that didn't have The Flash plastered on every window.

9. Villain

I'm Your Villain Ray Palmer (DC's Legends of Tomorrow) X Reader When a perfect thing goes wrong, (Y/n) is understandably upset. They just wanted to take the time to heal and find their rhythm back. Ray doesn't quite understand that.

10. Brooklyn

If You Wanna Take Her Out, You're Gonna Have to Ask Me First Bela Talbot (Supernatural) X Reader Sam and Dean find out that their sibling is hiding a relationship about them. Naturally, the brothers step forward to be protective of (Y/n).

11. Elvis Song

I'm In Over My Head Lance Sweets (Bones) X Reader Fear can be a strong motivator. Lance can also be very persuasive. Sometimes good doesn't mean too good to be true.

12. Talking to Strangers

Talking to Strangers About You Temperance Brennan (Bones) X Reader (Y/n) realizes through a talk with Angela that they aren't the only one rambling about lucky they feel in their current relationship.

13. Volcano

Thought I'd be a Cool Girl but Turns Out I'm Livid Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf) X Reader Break-ups can be incredibly messy or clean. It all depends on how both parties act. Lydia decided that the clean route was too boring and (Y/n) is pissed.

14. Tough Act

But I Hope I'm One Tough Act to Follow Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) X Reader There's a collection of books written by a young author named (Y/n) (Y/l/n). However, the books were only published after (Y/n) had passed away. Who was this person so dedicated to keeping (Y/n)'s memory alive?

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Masterlist

What I Write For

Request Guidelines

Some Original Characters

folklore/evermore Writing Challenge (and Masterlist)