#WHAT HAPPENED TO IT ALL BEING IN THE LONG RUN? WHAT ABOUT THINKING ABOUT MIRI AS A TEENAGER

[cptnghoulowl]

Me watching episode 10 of Buddy Daddies:

I did this to myself. I should've known. Ofc this shit happens in a show with a name as stupid as BUDDY DADDIES. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT PA WORKS WHY WOULD YOU TAKE MY HEART AND SOUL AWAY PIECE BY PIECE DO YOU WANT ME TO LOSE IT FINALLY DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT FUCKKKKKKKK

GIVE US BACK MIRIIIIII

[agnesmontague]

buddy daddies theory: rei's mission

gonna drop this into the main tag before any canon can nerf me but i had the theory in the group chat earlier that rei has been on an undercover mission this entire time to keep tabs on kazuki, and miri has been an unforeseen factor in his plan

we don't know how or why kazuki came to live with rei; presumably this happened after his wife died, but who set him up to live with rei, and why? were they partners before the wife's death, or did they only come to know each other afterwards? until we get more solid answers to these questions i had the idea that someone sent kazuki to live with rei--the rich boy, the son of the boss--because rei was tasked with keeping an eye on kazuki for whatever reason.

there are small indications throughout the show that rei really doesn't know much about kazuki at all; this goes both ways, as shown in the "i won't ask." "i wouldn't tell." conversation, but rei always is shown to react whenever kazuki reveals info about himself:

[ep 4]

[ep 6]

i think it's very likely that rei is collecting some kind of intel on kazuki as he goes, possibly to report back to headquarters, which would be ironic considering getting intimate with his marks to get info is exactly what we see kazuki doing in ep 1.

this is also why i don't think these two had known each other or even met until after kazuki's wife passed away. they don't give the impression of having worked together for a long time, or at least, they have known each other just long enough to work up a rapport but not enough to actually talk about themselves. which is fascinating considering how much of a married couple they seem to be already, but that's another topic for another day...

another thing i've seen pointed out is that rei doesn't seem too happy at the end of ep6 despite witnessing miri and kazuki being all sweet and lovey-dovey together:

this could just be a humorous moment--kazuki's overreacting again, or rei also wants to be miri's favorite dad and is jealous--but it's been speculated that rei could also be going through some complex emotions here: it was never supposed to become this complicated. starting a family was never really in the cards for him, but rei is an inveterate collector of strays and got attached to miri just as quickly as kazuki did. and now here we are.

finally, this would serve to rather neatly explain why rei's father's organization seems to be "calling rei back" in the 3rd trailer:

my running theory is that kazuki and rei were both part of the same organization, but kazuki did something to "betray" or otherwise run counter to the org's principles, thus getting his wife killed. this killing was his "warning", after which he would have come to meet rei:

now, if rei isn't careful with his newfound family, the organization would target them as well. it would be rei this time who would be getting the "warning", if he got too attached to miri and/or kazuki, who was meant to be his mark all along.

truth be told i'm still not 100% on the pulse of where PA Works seems to be going with these two; we really have no idea how much they want to focus on kazuki and rei as a duo (not even necessarily as a romantic ship, but as a team) as opposed to them naturally just becoming parents to miri. but here's hoping that they've got something juicy in store.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies OP Analysis and Speculation Post - SPOILERS!

I want to talk about the stuff in the Buddy Daddies OP, specifically about some of the none Kazuki, Rei, and Miri focused imagery. So here is a post filled with some speculation and even a bit of flower language!

First up, we have these two women. They could just be women meant to represent the women Kazuki might sleep with for his job or see in the Red Light District. But they might be more important than that. One has long brown hair like Miri's mother, though Kazuki’s previous lover also has long brown hair too, so she is a possibility as well. For all we know, it could be both of them here. It’s hard to say.

Next, we have Miri's daycare teacher and class! I like how we see some diversity with the teacher being heavier. You can't see it here, but her interactions with the kids makes me think that she will be a very sweet character. We also get to see the kids' personalities. Cute!

It seems like the girl with the green and white stripped sweater is going to be more high level energy like Miri (and they will bond quickly), while the girl in the pink sweater looks a little more low-energy. The boy looks like he’ll be loud and abrasive, likely because he is the only boy in the daycare class (from what we can see here).

In Ep. 2, Miri states that her mother is a singer. So, the lady in the red dress is likely her mother. There is also a quick flash of a woman with brown eyes crying. I'm thinking that may be her mother too? Perhaps she holds some remorse with Miri (like with how she has or likely has not, been caring for her) or something painful in her past (issues with men, etc.).

This eye could possibly belong to another character though.

In the OP we get a scene of Kazuki's back, it zooms in on it, there is a flash of light, and then we get this image. It makes me believe that this was Kazuki's previous partner (the pregnant woman we saw in Ep 1). She is surrounded by hydrangeas, which have many meanings, especially in Japan.

Here are some of the meanings associated with hydrangeas in Japan (link to the source in the comments). Since they change color, the flowers in general are associated with being fickle, infidelity, and uncertainty. Kazuki was said to being "running from love" and is a womanizer, so this would fit. 

But, different colors of hydrangeas have different meanings. Blue = patient love, Pink = an energetic woman, white = tolerance. We see all of those colors in the image with the woman and umbrella. Pink hydrangeas are often given on Mother's Day as well, and we know from Ep. 1 that Kazuki’s previous lover/partner was pregnant.

According to that Japanese site, many ppl associate hydrangeas with positive things too, like good friends and a family unit. The lady holding the umbrella in the OP is likely Kazuki's previous lover, and the crying eye may be hers. The money he has Kyu set aside is likely for her too. What exactly that means and what exactly happened that broke this family unit apart is still unclear, though I have some ideas and possibilities.

There is also an image of an adult hand holding a child's hand. The most likely assumption is that it is Kazuki holding Miri's hand. But, perhaps it might be Kazuki holding the hand of the child we see his lover being pregnant with or Miri holding a different adult's hand. 

Some ideas I have for what happened with Kazuki’s previous family:

1. Kazuki was unfaithful and that destroyed the family. This would fit the womanizing aspect and his need to “run from love,” but it wouldn’t fit with what we saw in the flashback. He looked happy and dedicated to his previous partner, and the money he is sending is likely going to her or his child. He is very dedicated about that, so...I don’t think this would be a possibility, because it doesn’t fit his personality and what we’ve been shown of him and his past experience of loving her.

2. Either the child or the woman died. I don’t think they both died, since Kazuki is sending money to someone, either the wife, child, or both (in the sense of childcare money). But, a death could really mess up a person and cause a family to break apart.

3. The flashback we get of Kazuki with his previous partner were before he ended up in his current job of being a hitman. When he got involved in this line of business, he realized that it was too dangerous for a family and child to be involved, so he ran from it for their safety, while still providing monetary support. 

Out of the three options, I lean the most towards 2 or 3. I think 1 is the most unlikely. But, 3 would likely cause the most confrontational drama with Miri in the picture now. 2 would be heartbreaking, but something I wouldn’t mind the series exploring. What do you all think?

And since we are ending this post on a bit of a heartbreaking/heavy topic. Have this sweet image from the ED:

[bonny-kookoo]

Strong Girl 🔞☁️❤️🎀

🍧 Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

🍧 Genre: Good Girl AU!, slice of Life AU, non-Idol AU, smut

🍧 Warnings: DD/LG themes, so much love it's gross istg, a home accident if that makes you uncomfortable but we aint having a full on world's end dw, hero! Reader, no other way to put it, Koo is so proud, so so proud, showers her in kisses yes please, nsfw themes because it's me what did yall think this was gonna be, finger sucking (forgive me lord for I have sinned-), reader being cute, injuries (mentioned and described), praise kink, oral (oral f. rec.), size kink, strength kink, manhandling, subspace, Dom! Jungkook, Sub!Reader, protected sex because you won’t ever catch me slip HAH!

🍧 Summary: Jungkook is not just your boyfriend- he's your absolute hero, your knight in shining armor, your protector and personal simpBodyguard when he needs to. But sometimes, even little girls can be heroes. And they always get rewarded, in the end.

This is part of the Good Girl Universe! (But can be enjoyed on its own)

Good Girl || Sweet Girl || Smart Girl || Brave Girl || Pretty Girl || Charming Girl || Enticing Girl || Bad Girl || Tempting Girl  || Strong Girl

Taglist: @sweetenedcooky @ggukkieland @btsismybias22 @darkgvk @daddypkj @flowerprincess24 @crazylittlemay @zeharilisharaban @teresaisla @tangledsparkles @dammit-jjk

The first time you said it, it made his heart beat faster.

It was on your way home from grocery shopping, a small bag in your hand as Jungkook held your hand, walking silently. You and him had been slowly but surely become a couple like the one's you always dreamt of being when you were younger- the one that fought sometimes, yes, but would ultimately be together at the end of the day, doing simple tasks such as what you did just now. Jungkook somehow made even boring things such as buying mere groceries interesting, not just by making fun of other customer's outfits, but also by explaining things you didn't know. He loved that he somehow made your eyes light up in wonder whenever he told you about a certain dish he could try out with a vegetable you've never tasted before. Or that awkward moment you said you hated brocolli, just so he could correct you and explain to you that no, you've eaten it a lot actually- he was just really good at making food taste how you liked it. He felt proud when you told him, with magic in your eyes, that he was incredible.

Because when you said it, he really felt like he was.

It all happened so suddenly, you didn't even notice yourself slip out of fear and shock- and even Jungkook didn't notice at first. A stray dog had walked up to you, but, contrary to all those cheesy movies where you'd pet it and it would be on its way quick after, it turned out to be not a stray at all; because the man that owned the big dog was desperately trying to catch up to it, leash in his hand- collar still attached to the hook.

Jungkook had never reacted so quickly in his life before, as he pushed you behind him, sucessfully shielding you from the violently barking saint bernard in front of him. You held onto his jacket in complete terror, mind filling with nothing but the loud barks as you were sure this was a nightmare. Don't get it wrong, you loved dogs- but this one wasn't so sweet.

"I'm so sorry!" The man yelled, slipping the collar back around his dog's neck, making it a bit tighter to make sure his pet was secure this time. "He just slipped out, are you two okay?" He said, and Jungkooks voice spoke out, calm, but firm in its tone.

"We're good, but please make sure to boy a harness or something, sir." He said, and the man apologized again, hurrying on his way while the dog still pulled violently and untamed at the leash.

"Baby? He's gone, you can let go now." Jungkook says with the hint of a smile in his voice, one that quickly vanished however once he feels you sniffling against the fabric of his jacket, as your head shook in denial. "Sweetheart I can't check up on you if you hide like this." He explains calmly, glad that your apartment building was already in sight. He knew that you had probably slipped, and he was unsure how to deal with that in public; it wasn't like he was ashamed of it, but he knew that others would judge you quick and easy, and he didn't want to push you into such a bad situation. "Can Kookie check up on you, baby? You're worrying me." He says, and at that, you slowly let go of the fabric, as he turns around. His heart clenches at the sight, tear stained cheeks and nose all red already. He quats down in front of you for a second as he rubs your arms comfortingly. "There we go, everything's fine, yeah?" You nodded after a moment, but refused to speak. "That was scary, wasn't it?" He asked, and you nodded, still quiet. "Let's go home, okay? We can continue that puzzle we've started yesterday, alright? And Miri is waiting, too!" He said, and at that, you nodded more excitedly, even though you still seemed timid.

But you still held his hand tightly, only letting go once you were in the safety of your own home- calling him your hero with a quiet voice he almost didn't catch.

Jungkook really enjoyed both sides of you.

Just like he did now, searching for the right puzzle pieces to place, silently watching your innocent, concentrated face. In a way, it was healing for him; since he never truly had a good childhood himself, this was somehow like a chance to enjoy all of these things he missed with you- a fact that made all of these experiences even more special to him. "Baby, I don't think that fits there." He chuckled, correcting your placement of a piece that didn't fit the edges of the picture it was trying to build. You huffed, before yawning, eyes glossing over with sleep. "Hm, this one is hard, isn't it?" He asked, running his hand over your head before pushing some hair behind your ear. "I think my baby needs to recharge her batteries, hm?" He asked, but you shook your head after a moment, making him raise his brow in question. "Oh really? Miri, what do you think?" He asked, the dog immediately skipping over, excited to be given attention so suddenly. She immediately went to sniff your face, making you giggle. "See! I knew she'd agree with me!" He said, and you laughed full on when the dog went to lick your cheek. "Alright then, Miri, off!" He called out, the dog immediately stopping her actions at the sound of his voice. Jungkook had been unsure on how to train a puppy at first, but overall, he'd done a pretty good job at keeping her fierce temper under control.

Even throughout her violent phase of chewing on pretty much every fucking thing.

So after making sure you were comfortable on the couch, he simply sat down at the puzzle laid out on the living room floor to continue silently. However, shuffling could be heard as he look towards the couch, where you'd previously been laid down on; your tired form talking towards him with eyes barely open. He chuckled when you simply flopped down close to him on the floor with your blanket, head on his thigh as you sighed in comfort. It was second nature to him almost, the way his hand immediately found your head, gently stroking your hair as you drifted off.

Days like this were nice, he decided.

Typically when you came home, Jungkook would greet you at least with a call. Today however, you heard nothing; something that immediately set something off inside you.

Searching for him wasn't a long process- after unleashing Miri into the apartment, you went straight into the bedroom where he's usually be if he's not feeling too well. And sure enough, there he was- weirdly pale and visibly uncomfortable, even in his sleep. Squatting down in front of the bed, you gently felt his forehead, just to simply detect that he was slightly sweating, but had no fever whatsoever. "Koo?" You asked, and he stirred a little, opening his eyes, a little red looking.

"You're home? I didn't even hear you." He said, before he ran a hand over his face. "Sorry, I think I'm coming down with something." He explained, and you nodded, simply telling him to lay back down and take it easy. You made a mental note to maybe cook something light since he never really had much of an appetite when he was sick.

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?" You asked, brows furrowed as you noticed how chilly it was inside the apartment, despite the heater being set pretty high. Jungkook simply groaned, too tired to move much as he asked you to please close the curtains. You followed his request, worried figure dissapearing out of the bedroom.

However, something didn't sit well with you.

Maybe it was a simple gut feeling, but when the night slowly crept over the town, and you were slowly growing mildly dizzy yourself, you decided to make sure that your suspicions were correct, slowly walking towards the heater in the living room. It was chilly, but the heater was set to full power. And somehow, after looking at Miri whining in her bed, aimlessly pacing around, it seemed to click inside your head.

Jungkook had been home all day since last evening.

The apartment was cold, the heater's on.

Miri was already looking just as bad- and your own headache told you that this was exactly what you thought it was.

You instantly shot up from the couch, knocking your knee into the edge of the table which made you fall- the edge of the table ripping at your skin on your arm, painfully scratching it open. But it was as if you didn't feel it. Ripping the bedroom door open clumsily, you immediately opened the window, turning the heater off, before you went to wake Jungkook- or at least, try. "Kookie! Jungkook, wake up, come on!" You begged, shaking his shoulder as he slowly somehow came to his senses. He wasn't really awake- but he wasnt unconscous either. "Fuck.." You whispered under your breath, grabbing his phone and calling an ambulance- the dispatcher telling you to try and get him outside or to a place with fresh air.

But this was Jeon-I-love-working-out-Jungkook.

There was no way you could carry him all those stairs.

So you ran out the door, uncaring to close it, and knocked at your neighbours door- a familiar face looking at you with surprise. "Y/N?" He asked, visibly stunned to see you; teary eyed, with a bleeding arm, and clearly distressed.

"Namjoon, I think we have a gas leak in our apartment.. Jung-Jungkookie- they said I should get him outside but he's too heavy-" You pressed out, last words a little unclear as you finally broke. Namjoon simply went inside to grab his shoes and keys, before he closed the door, running towards your apartment, where he instantly grabbed Jungkooks arms, trying to somehow get him on his back.

"Jesus christ how much does he fucking weigh-" He swore under his breath, until he got a somewhat secure hold on the younger boy, walking out the door while you grabbed the dog, running after the two with the puppy in your arms.

Outside, the ambulance had just arrived, immediately attending to the both of you.

Seems like you owe Namjoon twice now.

Jungkook woke up with stinging smells and bright lights around him, some birds chirping outside the opened window. His arm felt heavy, fingers tingling slightly, and as his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings, he saw the cause of it.

You, with a bandaged arm, sleeping with your hands grasping his in your slumber.

He gently moved his arm, waking you, as you sleepily looked up at him, eyes suddenly widening as they glistened- a tell-tale sign that you were going to cry. "Thank god!" You said, head burying itself into his chest as he chuckled, a little confused on what was actually happening.

"What happened?" He said, partially also referring to your arm clad in white cloth, his inked hand gently touching it.

"We had a gas leak in our apartment." You explained, sniffling. "At first I thought you were just not feeling well, but then I started to feel unwell too, and Miri.." You went on, his hand running over your head to soothe you a little, noticing how you were getting wound up again. "And then I- I checked online and thought better be safe but you were sleeping, and you looked so bad so I called an ambulance and they said I should get you outside and I really tried-" You explained, and even though it hurt him to see your tears, he couldn't help but chuckle at that in amusement.

"Baby, you tried to carry me?" He asked, and you nodded. "My strong girl!" He teased, full on laughing when you playfully hit his arm to make him stop, a small smile on your lips. "But I highly doubt you got me even out of bed baby." He said, and a familiar voice chimed in from the door of his hospital room.

"No, but she was smart enough to get someone who could." Namjoon explained, casual clothes telling you that he wasn't there for work purpose. "I'm seriously questioning your body though. How the hell do you look like a yoga instructor but weigh as much as a professional wrestler?" Namjoon teased, making Jungkook groan in annoyance.

"Oh my god, now I owe him twice!" He said, playfully exagerating his reaction to the fact that Namjoon had helped them for the second time by now. "Please someone lay me back in my bed, I wanna die!" He said, and you hit his chest.

"No!" You said. "You're ready to leave me and Miri like that?" You said, playfully pouting as you turned away from him.

"Oh baby no, I take it back- nooo, look at me!" He whined out, making grabby hands for your just-out-of-reach sweater you wore, Namjoon laughing as he watched the scene unfold.

A couple of days later, Jungkook and you were sitting in your home again- with the pipes fixed, and plans of moving into a different apartment. For some reason, you didn't truly trust the apartment anymore- but maybe that would settle after a while.

"Hm.." Jungkook mumbled, looking at you as if checking for something, until he moved from his place on the couch, sitting up from his previously laying position. Without many words, he moved you onto his lap, his back resting against the couch, as he held you in place on his thighs. "You know everything's fixed right?" He asked, and you nodded- but he knew you simply answered to reassure him, not yourself. "Baby, I promise we can think about moving if you're really not comfortable- but let's settle down first, yeah?" He said, and you sighed.

"I know its stupid-" You began, but he quickly placed his pointer and ring finger to your lips, effectively shutting you up. You already knew that he'd argue that you weren't stupid, and you knew that- sometimes phrases like these just slipped out. So you playfully snapped after his fingers, making him shoot you a dark glance; a glint in his eyes that told you clearly that he was definitely up to play with you.

"Hm, did they never tell you to not bite the hand that feeds you?" He said, voice deep as he suddenly, and without warning, pulled you closer by your thighs, the abrupt movement forcing you to brace yourself against his chest with your hands, face inches away from his. "Or the hand that gets you off, in our case." He added, making you blush from his words.

You should be used to this by now, but somehow, as weird as it sounded, being together with Jungkook was never the same as the time before. He always found ways to make things different- either by taking it slow, or by introducing you to kinks and fantasies you never even knew were a thing. He loved excitement, loved to try out new things, even if sometimes they would turn out to be something he or you didn't enjoy. Somehow, he always managed to steer things around even if that happened however, turning an awkward situation into a sweet memory in the blink of an eye.

He groaned out lowly when you took his hand again, never breaking eye contact with him while you slowly guided his hand towards your lips- Jungkook instantly taking the hint, as he pushed his first two fingers between your lips, pushing down your tongue;

oh what a sight to see.

Both of his hands wandered towards your neck, never putting pressure- simply touching, holding you, and enjoying just how sweet you were being just for him. He loved these moments with you, these reminders that no matter how useless he felt whenever something didn't go his way, for you, he was always a hero. A knight in shining armor, your Master-

He could feel his pants getting uncomfortable at the thought of those words tumbling from your lips.

He'd probably introduce you to that someday else, because in that moment, he was way too impatient to think clear enough. He'd probably miss important clues that were sometimes so small that he himself wondered how he saw them- because you were dangerously submissive to him. He knew that if he asked, you'd do anything.

Even if you didn't like it.

"Hm.. I wonder if my baby can ride me this time?" He hummed, and you nodded, making him grin as he searched behind him for his hidden condoms in the couch- something you found quite funny at first, but by now you've gotten used to it. "Fuck." He groaned, noticing that there was no contraceptive hidden like it usually was.

"Thats a bad word, kookie." You playfully said, teasing him as he grabbed your behind quite roughly, raising his brow as his jaw clenched.

"Oh I'll make you scream out some bad words." He said, before standing up, throwing you over his shoulder in a manner that seemed to practiced to be simply winged out of nowhere. After all, this wasn't just a one time thing- he loved showing off his strength over you, and you loved it just as much in return.

Your body hitting the matress, Jungkook immediately grabbed your thighs again, pulling you to the edge of the bed where he already kneeled- placing your legs over his shoulders after almost rushing to get your clothes off. There was no gentle touching, no foreplay, he simply dived right in, pitch black eyes darkly watching you as you squirmed, back arching off the mattress every now and then in pleasure once he added the first two fingers into the game he was playing. "No smart words now, hm?" He hummed from his spot between your legs, amusement clear on his face at the sight of your trembling body. "But I'm not gonna let you suffer tonight, baby." He said, licking his lips before crawling over your body, hand reaching for the bedside table where he knew he had condoms stored in. "Take it as-" He said, while shedding his clothes before wrapping his length in the clear protection. "As a reward." He said. "For being my personal guardian angel." He said sweetly, before leaning down to connect his lips with yours. What was an innocent gesture at first, turned heated quite quick however; you would've never guessed, but Jungkook was a pretty messy kisser- open mouthed and tongue running over your lips, all while he guided his length inside you.

One thing Jungkook loved, was just how utterly small you looked underneath him. Not just that- but the way he could feel his own dick move inside you underneath his inked hand placed on your lower belly made him growl deeply as he rolled his hips in a forward motion, eyes fixed on the view he had of your cunt swallowing him as if it was nothing.

You were his.

For a long time, he didn't quite get the hype about saying that your partner belonged to you. For him, that was stupid- you couldn't 'own' a person, so why say that? But nowadays, he finally understood that no, this wasn't about ownership. It was about being able to simply have situations like these; moments of pure emotions and nothing else, with a person so devoted to yourself that you felt as if your entire life had their name.

He was yours.

Because even if he took on a more dominant role in the relationship, and a leading force in the bedroom, you had him in your hands at the end of the day. He was so utterly in love with you it sometimes hurt him to even think about it; the way you looked at him with so much adoration made him melt, the way you touched him with so much care made him feel so loved. He'd glady give his life to you if he had to choose between you and him.

"So sweet, just look at you." He mused, out of breath as he smiled, leaning over you again before kneading your soft breasts with his hands, kissing the delicate skin sweetly as he picked up his pace. "All mine, aren't you?" He said, and you nodded, mewling out something he didn't quite catch- but that was okay. "Gonna fuck you stupid, pretty girl-" He huffed out, biting the skin on your shoulder as he grew more and more sloppy. "Come on baby, cream on my cock," He grunted out, making you squirm- and open your mouth in a silent scream as Jungkooks hand found its way between your bodies, viciously moving his fingers over your most sensitive spot. The quick movement and the pressure of his length inside you finally made you come undone, hands desperately reaching for his arms as if that could save you. The orgasm you experienced made your vision bright, and unbeknownst to you, Jungkook came quickly after, panting to catch his breath, before he discarded the condom.

It took a moment for you to come back around, but when you did, the first thing you noticed was, that you were practically laying across his chest- his hand gently running up and down your arm, kisses being place on the top of your head as he bathed you in praise. "You're so sweet.." He hummed, before he noticed your eyes on him. "Welcome back princess." He grinned cockily, before placing a kiss ontop of your nose. "Come on baby, lets get you washed up and into bed, yeah?" He said, and you simply nodded.

Too tired to talk, and too comfortable in his arms to really move on your own. But that was fine.

He loved carrying you around anyways.

"You know.." Jungkook said, while you were both at the table, eating dinner. "I know I said I was uncomfortable with you calling me daddy, and I still stand by that." He said, and you nodded, unsure where he was going.

"I mean, yeah, you've said that but what does that have to do with-"

Suddenly, he leaned forwards after finishing his plate, eyes sparkling mischieviously. "I wouldn't mind hearing you call me 'Master' though." He hummed out.

And you choked on your fries.

[calliecat93]

Hi Callie! In your opinion, what are the top ten best Mccoy centric episodes in TOS? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, thanks for reading anyways! ❤️

Ooh, good question! This is a little hard because McCoy, compared to Kirk and Spock, didn’t get a lot of centric episodes. Actually I think he only really got like… two out of 79 episodes (depending on how you view it). But he DOES have a large prescence in others, so let me see here…

1. The Empath Technically it’s a Triumvirate episode, but this has McCoy’s best moment in the entire show. Like if you want to understand McCoy’s character, this is the episode that you turn to. I already blabbed about why once so I’ll let that go into it for me.

2. For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky: While some of the execution is a bit iffy, this is still a realy excellent episode. Mainly because DeForest Kelley plays McCoy here with everything that he has and just nails everything, McCoy’s sadness, loneliness, and invevat le fate of dying in a year, masterfully. The episode would be NOWHERE near as good if not for De Kelley.

3. The Man Trap: This and the last one are the only two McCoy-centric episodes, at least that I recall. This one often gets overlooked since it’s first so I think that the emotional impact gets lost. But God McCoy in this episode is just outright tragic. I wrote a whole post about it because it felt so unfair that it was overlooked because there is SO MUCH there. Also mrke amazing De Kelley acting

4. All Our Yesterdays: While McCoy does spend a good chunk of it passed out from hypothermia, he is freakin’ excellent in this episode. He’s not only hilarious (“He means it’s cold!”, De’s delivery made me burst out laughing) but when he’s finally awake, he’s just freakin’ awesome. He put himself at GREAT risk to snap Spock out of his mental state and then went ‘screw it’ and tried to find the portal home cause he wants his life back, with or without Spock (but preferably with Spock). He’s just great~!

5. Return to Tomorrow: This whole episode is super underrated. It’s the one where the alien beings posess Kirk, Spock, and Lady of the Week’s bodies. McCoy is the ONLY rational person in the episode and the one who has to deal with the majority of the problem. He has to both worry about everyone’s minds in the orbs and what the aliens do to their human bodies and is VERY concerned throughout. It also demonstrates how devkted to his profession and oath that he is. He even outright risks Kirk dying for good, as painful as it is for him, because it would mean allowing another to die and like Hell is he doing that. Seriously, this one is so freakin’ overlooked.

6. Bread and Circuses/The Immunity Syndrome/The Tholian Web: Yeah three way tie cause they all have one thing in common: they feature his complicated relationship with Spock. The first one I wrote a whole meta about already. It’s a Spones analysis, but it reflects why McCoy himself is great in this episode along with all hos geneal grumpy snark throughout. Oh and the ending with him throwing a mattess at a guy… and he wins IIRC. Best underrated comedy moment EVER. With the second, he’s not at all happy with Spock being picked over him to examine the amoeba and that Spock may die. Their whole interaction in the hangar, McCoy waiting until the doors close to wish Spock luck, Spock’s seeming final words, and of course “Shut up Spock! We’re rescuing you!”. The last one of course has Kirk gone and McCoy is angry, grieving, and stressed with everyone losing their minds and Spcok pressuring him to fix it all at the same time and he takes it out on Spock. Then they see Kirk’s final message and we all know what happens after. All three do such a great job showing how much McCoy cares about Spock and showcasing how great they really are together, and not even just the shippy sense. Only reason they’re at six is because of how closely tied to Spock he is in those episodes instead of being the central character, but he IS still central in them and showcase some of his best moments. So I hope I got my point across XD

7. A Private Little War: The episode’s message is kind of… questionable. But ignoring thay, McCoy is the real freakin’ hero of this story. It’s only because of him that Kirk survived and he’s more than willing to contront him on his questionable decision making. Which is the very thing that Kirk brought him for to begin with. It’s one of the best episode to show how much he cares about Kirk and the lengths he’ll go for him. Oh and he kept Spock from dying along with Chapel and M’Benga. Thank God he has competent medical staff who can do the job without him XD

8. Journey to Babel: Okay yes this is a Spock episode, but McCoy is VERY prominent throughout. He’s both hilarious in the cold opening and we all remember his reaction to Spock’s ‘teddy bear’ XD. But he managed to conduct a VERY risky surgery that put Spock and Sarek at great risk if he screwed up. A surgery he’s never really conducted. And during a battle that causes frequent rattling to boot. He succeeded and the episode appropriately rewards him by allowing him the final word. It’s not only oen of the best episodes showing why he’s the CMO, but he’s just freakin’ great the whole episode.

9. Amok Time: Again it’s a Spock episode, but I repeat what I said about Return to Tomorrow: McCoy is the real hero. He’s the one who recognizes that something is horribly wrong, puts up with zero excuses, actually usus logic to get Spock to comply, and of course it was him who saved both Kirk and Spock’s sorry butts. They’d both likely be dead had McCoy not been there. He may have had the least screentime of the three, but he damn wel made up for it.

10. Operation: Annahilate: It has one of the saddest but strongest McCoy scenes. Through the whole episode he’s super protectice of Spock, running various tests to get rid of the parasites and trying to keep Kirk’s kid nephew alive all at the same time. Then he gets made by Kirk and Spock to risk blinding the latter… and DOES blind him. Then his face when the test result revelaed that he didn’t need to use an jntense light and being outright unresponsive when Kirk calls him later… just ouch. It’s one of those moments I wish it had gone more in depth, but upseide is we have haply McCoy by the end. Want proof of how much he cares for Spock and others? Here you go

And he has really good scenes in other episodes despite varying levels of prominence (Miri, Space Seed, The Galileo Seven, This Side of Pradise, The City on the Edge of Forever, Mirror, Mirror, Friday’s Child, The Ultimate Computer, Spock’s Brain… no seriosuly he’s the biggest bright spot in that and for certain S3 episodes tbh). It’s a HUGE shame that he was treated like the third wheel both in series and the films, and even now gets the raw end of the deal in popular media. But I hope that this was a satisfactory list Anon. Sorry it got all wordy and long, I can’t help myself sometimes XD

(Image Source)

[oligbia]

Birthday Boy

Mirio X Reader

NSFW, Fem!Reader

for mirio's birthday event

A/N: I will say, i'm not huge on this one. It was really rambly at the start but idk i kinda liked it. I do like the slight fem!dom vibe i had. Idk, my straight smut still isn't good but it'll get better with practice. as always with anything- feedback is much appreciated <3

Mirio was the light of your life. He was the most beautiful sculpture, muscles toned and carved from a fine marble, each scar on his body telling a story. He had a soul that radiated love. He wanted everyone around him to feel loved- and you always felt loved with him. Everyday he loved you was like an adventure. He kept you on your toes, but would never let you down. He showered you in love and praises. He snuggled you in the morning, kissed you goodbye before work, caressed your hand during dinner, and held you close at night. You knew how much he loved you- but you wanted to make sure he knew how much you loved him.

With the summer heat of mid-July, you find yourself inside a lot more. This, however, presented you the perfect opportunity to think on what you would do for your precious boy’s birthday! You had asked Mirio a few different times what he planned to do or what he wanted, and most of the time he would wave you off with a “Just spending time with you is the best gift, Sunshine!”, but that wasn’t good enough to you. But, enough planning and one online shopping order later, and you had finally figured out the best gift.

It started with a dinner out, as most of your dates did. You had made reservations for a lovely, upscale type place. It was honestly very much out of you and Mirio’s comfort zones, but when Mirio saw you wearing such a nice evening gown, he was sold. The way the fabric draped over your body, hugging your curves, just about drove him up the wall. He looked good himself, of course. His light grey button-up and suspenders gave him a classy look, the way the sleeves were rolled up to his sleeves was downright sexy. Easy enough to say, the two of you made for an attractive couple. Mirio swore up and down you looked much better than him, complementing your dress over and over. What he didn’t know, however, was that he hadn’t even seen the best part.

After such an extravagant dinner, Mirio opened the door to your shared apartment. He smiled as he held your hips gently, placing a gentle kiss on your lips. He tasted like sunshine and champagne. “Thank you for the dinner plans, sweetheart. It was an amazing birthday.”

Your hands fell from his neck to his shoulders as you looked up into his eyes. “Don’t thank me yet Miri’ I have another present for you.” You smirked at him as he smiled back down at you, clueless as always.

“Does this plan include snuggle time?”

You squirmed from his grasp. “Maybe, just. . .go wait in bed for me and I’ll be there in a second, okay?”

Mirio looked puzzled but nodded. You watched as he headed down the hall for the bedroom, whistling some song the two of you listened to on the way home. Once you knew he was gone, you grabbed the package you had been hiding from him in the coat closet. Taking it to the bathroom, you removed the contents and shimmed out of your gown.

The outfit you bought online was the best damn thing you had ever seen. It was a beautiful bra and panty set that had a print resembling Mirio’s own hero costume. It hugged your hips and pushed your breasts together in such a way you looked so sexy it was sinfully, so sinful it would make a nun wet.

When you approached the bedroom, Mirio was hanging something up in your shared closet, back facing you. You cleared your throat to gather his attention. You wished you had a camera to capture the way he looked at you, you really did. His eyes blew wide as he bit his bottom lip.

“Holy fuck, baby-” Mirio practically lunged at you, nearly tripping over the chest at the end of your bed in the process. His hands wandered up and down your sides, fingers caressing the skin of your stomach.

“Happy Birthday, Lemillion,”

“Oh it is a happy birthday for sure- Oh my god.” His hands took rest on your waist, pulling you into him as he kissed you in a feverish rush. You couldn’t help the giggles that fell from your lips when his hands began to wander to the plush of your ass. His kisses were sloppy, sucking on your bottom lip now and then. His kisses migrated down to your jawline and to your neck. He left open mouth kisses along your neck, groaning as he grabbed at your ass with his large hands.

“You look...so pretty... Just for me, princess,” he spoke between kisses. Your hands wandered into his hair, tugging at it. Your combined moans float around the room like music. His hands wander back to your waist as he pulls you back onto the bed with him. Pulling his head back from your collarbones, he pouts.

“Baby, it's your birthday, let me make you feel good please?” You wandered onto his lap, straddling his waist. Your hands wandered under his shirt, you lifted it up over his head and discarded it on the floor.

You swore his eyes turned to hearts with the total awe and lust he looked at you with when he nodded. To him, you were a goddess amongst mere mortals. He was fully prepared to bow at your feet and worship you. He would idolize you in your entirety, praising every inch of your body. Having you on top of him like this, eyes looking down at him was enough to convince him he had been sent to heaven. When your hands held his face, lips grazing across his jawline and throat, he felt like he was being touched by god herself. Each kiss you left on his collarbones and jawline felt like little blessings.

After abusing his neck and collarbones, leaving a plethora of lipstick stains and bruises, you pull back. “Miri’ baby, can I take these off please,” Your hands tug on his belt loops as you lean close to his ear, “I really want to ride your cock. Is that okay? Do you want me to ride that cock?”

Mirio nodded quickly. “I think that would be good...yes, please…I want you to,”

You giggled, “If the birthday boy insists-”

Mirio lifted his hips off the bed, letting you pull his pants off. They fell to his ankles, boxers following soon after. His member sprang out, precum leaking from the tip. Your hand took as much of it as you could, palming it. Mirio groaned, eyes shutting from your touch. Your own arousal was apparent against Mirio’s thigh.

“All this over me touching you?” You asked him, still handling his dick with your hands, running them up and down the length.

He rubbed his thigh against your still clothed folds, “I could say the same thing to you, hm?” Mirio chuckled as a moan slipped from your lips. You shot him a passive-aggressive ‘it's my turn to top,’ look, which only made him chuckle more. His giggles were stopped, however, when you started pumping his cock, his face turning red as his erection grew.

“That's a good boy,” You whispered, pumping his length. “Good boys get their birthday gifts, right?”

Mirio hummed in agreement as a slacked jaw moan escaped from his lips. He practically whimpered when you moved your hand off of his now fully erect member. You slipped your panties off, your pussy absolutely dripping. You ran your folds against his member, teasing him as your juices dripped onto him. He squirmed at the feeling, his breath hitching.

“Ready birthday boy?”

Mirio nodded, “Please...please get on baby,”

“Since you asked so nicely,” You lowered yourself down onto his length. Mirio was very much blessed in length and width. No matter how many times he had fucked you, filled you to the absolute brim, you still were never ready for the stretch his cock gave you. Moans and whimpers of gratitude fell from both of you when you finally bottomed out.

You began to grind against him, his cock filling you over and over. Mirio was simply overwhelmed by the way your pussy sucked him in, closing around his clock with every bounce on your body. The way your breasts were bouncing in front of his face, tits spilling over the bra with his logo on it left him speechless.

“B-baby please, you feel so good,” Mirio was nothing more than a mess of grunts and moans as he panted.

Your moans were fucking pornographic as you bounced on his dick, his length hitting your g-spot and filling you over and over again.

The both of you were so close, you could feel Mirio’s dick twitched as your bounces grew quicker and sloppier.

“Baby, baby- i’m gonna cum soon, keep bouncing like that,”

“Cum for me, sweetheart. It’s your birthday, you can cum in me- fuck Mirio. . .please cum in me. Please-”

You came before him, your juices covering his dick. Wet sounds echoed between the two of you as he grabbed your hips, ramming you more harshly onto his dick, lifting you back off. Mirio never meant to be rough with you, but it always just kind of happened. You moaned, your puffy folds still sensitive. A few more bounces and Mirio came inside you. His thick, white ropes covering your walls as a moan fell from his lips.

He pulled you into a long kiss. He pulled back, kissing your nose with a smile. Your hands moved the hair from his sweaty forehead. He looked at you with the same puppy dog eyes as he did every time he saw you. You rested your head against his chest, snuggling up against him.

“Good birthday?”

“Oh, the absolute best. Thank you, Sunshine. I love you so, so, much”

[sweetestlamb]

Mostrami Amore.

Summary: Cha-young tries to move on from a certain mafia boss. 

Author’s Note: Thank for to everyone who sent in prompts for Chayenzo, it resulted in this mess. I don’t have much to say, I considered making this into a multi- chaptered story but honestly I don’t have time for another ongoing story so if this seems rushed it was a little, I wrote it in one go today. Hope you enjoy this, I stuck in some of my favorite crack ship because I am weak and obsessed. Happy reading! 

p.s takes place after final episode but han seo lives because this is my world and I get to play God. 

Another postcard.

Their delivery becomes sporadic and she’s embarrassed at the giddiness that washes over her each time a new square is sent miles across a wide stretch of ocean, the view on the card most likely lackluster in comparison to the true rendering of Malta. She has spent many hours on her laptop searching for images of the small paradisiac island, yearning to see what he sees and feel just a tad bit closer to him. Most of her life has been spent in solitude with only her work acquaintances filling the void at times, so she expected herself to be more equipped to deal with his disappearance and subsequent absence. But nothing prepares her for those moments at the coffee shop, when she finds herself smiling across a table only to realize there is no miniature espresso cup in the hand of a very dangerous Italian Korean mafia member grinning back at her. 

The smile melts off her face and she swallows the bitter cool sludge in her cup, the beverage tasting exactly as he had described it without him there. 

Nights are the hardest, loneliness coils around her like a snake. 

There was never any other fate for them, she knew that when Vincenzo murdered all their enemies this was their only real outcome. He would always be a fugitive on the run and she an accomplice if he were captured and questioned, it was in both of their best interests if he vanished from the face of the planet. But knowing that does nothing to qualm the ever present feeling of isolation that clings to her skin as she sits alone on her couch, downing makgeolli at a vicious pace. Trying to wash his taste from her mouth, that kiss on loop in her mind and the phantom grip of his hand on her neck. 

It’s those treacherous nights without the plaza members that have become a second family to her and Han Seo following her like the lost puppy he is calling her “Noona” so freely and frequently until she forgets her own name, that she allows herself to feel exactly what she’s feelings. 

Heartbroken. 

Desperate. 

Lonely. 

Rage. 

The last one she hides like a dirty secret in the closet of her heart, she knew what she was signing up for. She has no legitimate reason to be angry, or so she tries to reason with herself. But. This was the same man who had bypassed the security of one of the richest men in Korea and ultimately killed him without leaving a trace. She had watched him do despicable things, blackmailing, threatening, seducing, and murdering others as he saw fit and yet, he hadn’t used any of those dastardly ways to see her. That chance meeting at the art gallery had been the last she had seen of him, Then a few weeks later another postcard with the same message she had boldly uttered at the airport, it feels insufficient after having him in her arms again. She knew in that moment that they would never be enough again. She hadn’t even argued when Mr. Nam claimed he would leave this one on his table instead, she merely nodded and walked away to peruse the new sexual assault case she has taken recently. 

It gets harder and harder to hear Han Seo regaling the wonders of his “hyung”,  her anger boiling deep below the surface like magma waiting to explode and transform into something tangible and destructive. 

“He told me that he has a room for me too. I wonder when he’ll let us visit.” 

She nods absently, staring out the window at the sunlight twinkling in through the blinds but then his words register and the gears in her head churn before running the sentence back through to carefully process them. 

“He---what? You spoke to Vincenzo?” 

The human puppy pouts his lips before tilting his head and dealing a hard blow to her ego and her heart, “Yeah, he sends me letters. I got so scared the first time! He said the letter would self-destruct after I read it and I really thought that was true and I dived across the room to escape but I bumped my head on the table and then...” 

He sent Han Seo letters.  

She had received the same fucking postcard for months on end with the same message she had said to him, and he had time to write Han Seo letters. He hadn’t sent her even one in the time he had been gone. 

“That fucking bastard!”  She explodes interrupting Han Seo’s recount of his near death experience and he looks wide- eyed and taken back by her outburst, she almost soothes him before another wave of anger rushes through her veins. She had accepted the bare minimum because she thought this was all he could give her but it seemed she was being too naïve. He was Vincenzo Cassano after all, he could make anything happen. She had seen it with her own two eyes. If he wasn’t reaching out to her maybe that was a message and she was too blind to see it. 

“Noona? Are you okay?” Han Seo looks absolutely terrified, eyes huge and quivering. She doesn’t bother answering, grabbing her cup of lukewarm coffee and stomping out of the office ignoring Mr. Nam’s calls behind her. She’s tired of being an idiot. 

She throws herself into forgetting him, the same way he seems to have forgotten her despite his words to her that fateful night on the stairs. 

I thought about you everyday. 

Actions speak louder than words and she is done accepting his crumbs. She has never needed anyone, had even accepted when her own father wanted nothing to do with her; she has basically been prepping for this moment her entire life. 

So she goes shopping with Miri, buying gadgets that she has no idea how to use but that the other girl makes sound like things that she definitely needs such as a new home security system, her break in still fresh in her mind. She grins at the pretty smile on the other girl’s round face as she explains the specification of the machines around them and she can see why Han Seo has such a huge crush on the girl, the pretty blush that blossoms on the other girl’s cheek after stating the fact out loud is adorable and she pinches said cheek much to her chagrin. 

“You should worry about your own love life.” Miri teases but the words sting like acid on her skin and she turns away to hide the grimace on her face, but she’s not fast enough and the other girl catches her wrist halting her movement. 

“What? What’s wrong? Did something happen to Mr. Cassano?” Miri whispers the last part, looking around to make sure that nobody overhears them. 

She forces herself to stifle her emotions, trapping them in the back of her mind refusing to let him have this kind of affect on her. 

“I wouldn’t know.” She tries for a emotionless tone but even she can hear the bitterness in her own voice and Miri’s eyes fill with pity and it makes her sick to her stomach, “Don’t. I am going to be fine. Let’s just go.” 

They don’t utter single word in the car ride home. 

After that it becomes painfully obvious that everyone in the plaza thinks something is wrong with her and are teaming up to make her feel better. It’s the packed lunches that keep showing up on her desk without fail, her clothes being steamed and pressed for free, the way that they won’t allow her to be alone and there are countless spontaneous family game nights all ending with her drunk and being carried home. 

Tonight Mr. Tak is the unlucky volunteer, dragging her limp body in her father’s house and she thinks of all the times that they drank here together and a certain person was the one hauling her body to bed complaining and grumbling but that distractingly fond smile on his face that he only ever seemed to shoot her way. Her heart thumped loudly as he loomed over her and leaned in close, getting her hopes up only to brush her hair behind her ears and softly tell her, “Go to sleep now,” and she had never been obedient all her teachers could testify to that but when he looked at her like that she was powerless to do anything else but listen. 

“I miss him.” The traitorous words fall from her lips and vanish into the inky darkness of the night. 

A deep sigh from the left of her, “We know.” 

She feels vulnerable, the worst thing about having a weakness is other’s noticing too. She hates how weak she feels. 

“I am going to forget him.” 

The body supporting most of her weight tenses under her arm and she waits for his response, they all love Vincenzo- he had become their unexpected hero and leader in many ways. They would always take his side, she knows that. 

“If that’s what you need to do to be happy. Then, do it. Loving a man like Vincenzo isn’t easy.” 

She turns to look at him in genuine shock. 

“What? You thought I would tell you to keep waiting with no end in sight? You should know by now, you mean a lot to us too. Your happiness is important to us too, we’re a family.” 

“But we’re the Cassano family,” she challenges unable to accept that they could love her without Vincenzo attached, but Mr. Tak shrugs at the clarification, “We can be the Hong Family too.”

She feels her eyes swimming. 

“I should go inside.” 

She feels sober and more awake than ever, she stays up all night twirling the long strands of her hair in between her fingers. 

Thinking. 

Variety is the spice of life. 

She doesn’t know where she’s heard that but it’s those sage words that are the catalyst for her spontaneous decision. 

“Same as always? Silky with some body?” Her stylist peers into her eyes through the wide mirror and she hears herself say, “No I want a cut and some color.” Yu-jin raises one pretty tweezed brow but nods after a moment’s pause, “Okay. How short are you thinking?” 

And that’s how she starts her day with long thick hair that grazes her lower back and ends it with a short bob that tickles her neck. It feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulder, metaphorically and literally and she loves the face that she sees in the mirror, her eyes looking brighter than they have in months. She feels more alive, like a snake shedding its skin and becoming a newer and fresher version of itself. 

“Your hair?” That becomes the running theme for her day, shocked gaping mouths and hands reaching out for the hair that was once there.  She merely smirks at their palpable surprise, especially Seol-jin who doesn’t recognize her from behind. 

“I haven’t seen a pretty lady like you aro--Oh Ms. Hong! I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you, I am so sorry please excuse me!” The interpretative dancer bolts away leaving her to watch him bemused, she skips to Jipuragi with a pep in her step laughing loudly when Mr. Nam drops his coffee upon seeing her and the brown liquid goes flying and douses him in a sticky hot mess. 

It’s an entertaining day to say the least. 

Moments later when he’s finished cleaning himself up and changing into the cheetah print track suit that he insisted to keeping in the office, he mentions that a new postcard has arrived. She nods at the information, looking at her laptop and it’s only seconds later that she finally looks up and sees that he’s waiting for her response. She doesn’t have one. 

Forcing a tight smile on her face she replies, “Oh that’s great. Just put it with the others.” 

He does. 

But she can feel his eyes on her, his concern heavy and tangible in the air. 

She pretends not to notice and keeps clicking away on her laptop, only glancing over at the card once or twice. But it’s only out of habit. 

Nothing more. 

She starts going on dates with random men. Men she meets in coffee shops, on the streets, in bars, hell one time even the bookstore. She never meets the same man twice and they never get what they want but it does make her feel desirable and that’s all she’s looking for. 

“Where are you going?” Han Seo asks her curiously, Miri by his side as she struts out the plaza new perfume on her skin. 

“On a date. I’ll see you both later.” They both gape at her and can only watch with wide eyes as she sashays away, heels clicking with every step. 

Word spreads like wildfire and no one takes it harder than Mr. An, who calls her a “jezebel” and cries at the front of the law firm for hours, she has to step over him to go get lunch shaking him off when he latches on to her ankles. 

The others just look at her with sad eyes, filled with both understanding and disappointment. 

Much to her surprise the lunch boxes keep coming and her clothes are still pressed and starched to perfection though. 

She also starts taking self defense classes, Korea is much more dangerous than she had first suspected and she has to be able to protect herself because nobody is coming to save her.  Not anymore. 

It becomes a great outlet for her built up anger and her instructor praises her for being a fast learner. She grins and nods before flipping him and twisting his arm around his own neck in a modified sleeper hold. When he taps on her arm she squeezes tighter instead of letting go and he goes limp for a moment before she comes back to herself and releases him hastily with a quick apology, “Sorry!”

He rubs his neck, panting for air and she feels guilty, there's a tinge of that but most of all she feels powerful, more so than she has for a long time. 

It’s crazy but she finds herself asking him for drinks after class and even crazier is that he agrees even with her marks still there on his skin, the area bruised and red. He looks at her like she’s challenge that he wants to conquer, she lets him believe that’s possible. It’s only a bit of fun anyway, she has no plans for anything serious. 

Drinks turn into a drunken cab ride home with his hand on her thigh, hot through the thin material of her tights and they don’t feel right- too small and not rough enough but she’s moving on and she has no time to reminisce. 

There hasn’t even been a postcard lately. Message, loud and clear. 

When she shoves the keys into her door, he’s glued to her body leaving wet kisses on the long column of her neck and she tries to suppress the nausea that swims in her stomach, everything feels wrong and she hates herself for feeling that way. Why shouldn’t she fuck whoever she wants? He is probably doing the same thing, everyday on his beautiful private island. Kissing women that aren’t her and whispering dirty Italian words into their ears as he rocks back and forth, nary a thought of that Korean woman he knew once upon a time. 

Fuck him. 

She rocks back into the purposeful grind of the hips behind her, feeling the hardness that digs into the soft flesh of her ass and finally the door opens and they both tumble in haphazardly and he thrusts a hand under her loose shirt fingering at her breasts before a dark figure moves far too quickly in her peripheral and she hears her date cry out in pain. 

She almost faints at the familiar sight of the one person she never expected to see, the hard glint of his cold eyes as he twists the same hand that had just been fondling her chest. The grip looks painful, the wrist contorted in an unnatural manner. 

“What the fuck? You have a boyfriend?!” Her instructor cries out, voice high pitched falling to his knees as Vincenzo kicks his feet out from under him. 

She rolls her eyes, of course he would come now when she is trying (and failing) to get over him. 

Vindictively she answers the question, ‘No.” 

But that makes Vincenzo twist the wrist in his grip even tighter and she can see the bones breaking so she takes pity on the poor man, he didn’t sign up for a murderous mafia leader after all. 

“Just let him go. You have no right to do any of this.” 

He doesn’t listen right away and absently she wonders if she’ll need to test out her new moves on him, it would be satisfying to deck him square in the face. She dreams of that as often as she dreams of their reunion. Her feelings are...complicated to say the least. 

Then with a grunt, he throws the other man away like he’s trash and growls out, “Get out of here before I kill you.” 

She tries not be get turned on by that. But it’s a hard sell, her body already getting revved up. He’s telling the truth. 

The man wastes no time, jumping to his feet and bolting out the door without one backwards glance. Asshole, he was really just leaving her with a clearly unstable and dangerous man. 

“We need to talk.” Vincenzo squeezes out between clenched teeth, and her blood runs cold but she stares him dead in the eyes tired of this game they’ve been playing, if he’s here to end things she wants to know. 

“Okay. Then talk.” 

She looks insanely beautiful, with her hair cropped so short bringing his eyes to the tantalizing length of her neck. His eyes close in on a spot of moisture on her neck, he feels his blood boiling imagining that bastard touching any part of her.  She’s glaring right back at him, her chest rising and falling and he can’t help but check her out, it’s been months since he saw her in person the photo of her doing aerial yoga above his bed couldn’t compare to the tempest that is Cha-young in real life. 

The flat plane of her belly is on display under the white crop top loosely stretched across her chest which leads down to her slim hips and legs wrapped in white spandex, leaving very little to the imagination not that he hasn’t imagined her in far less many, many times. Too many times to count. Spilling across the silk adorning his king sized bed with only her name on his lips. 

She looks fucking hot. 

That makes it even more frustrating because he can still clearly see that bastard wrapped around her like a snake and his hands going up her shirt---he has to take a deep breath before he breaks something. Or chases that asshole to break his face. 

There’s so much he wants to say to her, so much he owes her. 

I missed you. 

I love you. 

Come with me. 

“Who the hell was that?” He says this instead then watches her eyes glint over into nothing but pure murderous rage. Wrong move. But he couldn’t help it, green eyed raged taking away his decision making abilities. 

“That’s all you have to say? Get out.” 

He wasn’t expecting rose petals and trumpets when he returned but he definitely wasn’t expecting this, her cold glare or another man in his spot. He thought she would wait for him, just as he had done for her. 

“Are you serious right now?” He counters, flabbergasted. 

“Deadly. Get out.” 

He clenches his fist, and then stomps out. Turning back but only to watch the door slam in his face. 

What the hell. 

It had only taken a letter from Han Seo to get him on boat that would take him to an open field and hours later he was soaring through the skies on a hot air balloon, on his way back to Korea. It was insane and he barely had time to explain to his family but Luca nodded at him like this was the only choice and told him that he would take care of everything, and he trusted those words more than he had ever trusted anything in his life.

“Vai a prendere la tua donna( go get your woman).” 

He had nodded, gruffly patting the other man on his shoulder before hopping over into the waiting boat. 

But he wasn’t so certain anymore that Cha-young was his. 

She seems different. Colder almost, she leaves whenever I mention your name and she goes on dates now. I think she’s moving on hyung, what are you going to do? 

Those words had been the scariest thing he had never seen. Scarier than every gun that had ever been pointed at his head. He thought what they had was something special, something that could stand the test of time and distance. He stared at the huge pile of letters on his bedside, all addressed to her. He had written one everyday since they had been separated, but each time he was too much of a coward to send it. In those letters he could say things that he could never say to her face, things like how much he ached without her by his side and how her smile was the only thing that kept him going. In those letters he could regal the ways he loved her, and how deeply she had been branded into his soul, every atom of his body belonged to her and her alone.  He would kill for her, die for her, anything she needed or merely wanted he would provide it, all she needed to do was ask. 

He could only share those feelings in the letters. 

He walks for hours, until he ends up at his old apartment the familiar door greeting him and he sticks his hand in his pocket before he remembers that he gave the key away, with a sigh he starts to walk away before the door creaks open and he hears a voice he hasn’t heard in months. 

“Hyung!” 

A warmth spreads across his back as a solid weight almost knocks him off his feet. He reaches one arm around his body, awkwardly slapping the face that is pressing into his collar. 

“You really chose to stay here.” 

He feels the nod on his shoulder, “Of course. It made me feel closer to you hyung, I missed you.” 

He grunts in response, before turning around and tugging the younger man into a real hug. He had missed the annoying little leech too, he had missed everyone. 

They are still in each other’s embrace for a moment before Han Seo pulls away, sympathy etched deep on his face. 

“She wasn’t happy to see you.” 

“There was someone else there.” He hates the words even as they leave his mouth and Han Seo winces, looking pained for him before tugging him into the small apartment. Everything is just like he left it.  He looks around in awe. 

“I’m sorry hyung. What are you going to do?”

That’s the golden question, he pondered it all the way here and he’s no closer to knowing the answer to that. Usually she is the one that makes the move, she has always been the brave one between them. He back steps and says things he doesn’t mean and she sees through him and smashes down all his walls. That’s how this has always worked. 

“I don’t know. Maybe I should just leave her alone. Let her be happy.” 

A loud scoff reaches his ears, “Sure. Is that why you sailed across sharked infested waters and trusted a hot air balloon company run my former thugs?”

He smarts at the sarcastic reply and glares before flicking the cheeky brat on his nose, "I liked you better when you were stupid you know. Now you're a little smart ass."

The younger man looks even more youthful as he grins back at him, rubbing at his nose before shrugging.  "I learned from the best."

He has no rebuttal for that so he tries to flick him again, giving chase when he darts off.

It feels good to be home.

He warns Han Seo not to tell anyone that he's here least they give away his location.

So he's not surprised the next day to find the cavalry at his doorstep hands filled to the brim with containers of food. There are tears, mostly from Mr. Nam who won't stop screaming his name and pinching his cheeks to see if he's real and Mr. An who wraps around him like a koala despite his very detailed threats. It's all chaos and so familiar that his heart aches but her absence is like a hole in his chest. Nobody mentions her but they all keep looking at the door, so it's obvious that she was invited but chose not to come.

Because she didn't want to see him.

"You're here to win her back right?" He doesn't know who even utters the words but when he glances up they are all looking at him expectantly.

He didn't know that was what he was indeed here for thought that she would happily welcome him back and they could pick up where they left off but she's made it clear that this won't be the case. This will be the most important fight of his life.

"Yes. I'm here for Cha-young."

He gets enthusiastic thumbs up and a loud giggle from the Yeon-Jin  and Cheol-Wook’s adorable baby, her little hands too uncoordinated to do a thumbs up but she waves excitedly  feeding off the energy around her.

He wonders how Cha-young would look with a baby in her arms, their baby it's a dangerous thought. But one that he can't get out of his mind once he thinks it.

They stay until midnight, forcing him to eat and drink too much soju until he passes out to dreams filled with a round Cha-young, belly swollen and protruding from her body. 

It doesn't take much to learn her schedule(Mr. Nam hands him a laminated copy) and he has to put on a disguise but he enters the shop seconds after her, hearing her order that god awful sewer water she's so fond of.

"An espresso for me." He leans in too close, almost brushing her shoulder and she jolts at the sound of his voice, turning to stare at him as if she's a mirage.

"You're still here?" She whispers and then shakes her head and looks away as if she's hadn't meant to say the words aloud.

It hurts him that she thought he would leave without telling her but he can't blame her, he has been anything but consistent. Instead of answering, he leans forward to hand his credit card to the cashier who glances between them suspiciously before accepting the card.

Their orders are ready in seconds and he follows her as she walks to their table, butterflies in his stomach at the familiar sight.

She turns to him with a glare, "It's just the only available table."

He moves to pull out her chair and she starts at him tight lipped before sitting down. She's in a tight black suit today, two long slits on the side of her pants going all the way up to her thighs. He gulps down his drink to get rid of the drool pooling in his mouth.

"You're upset with me."

She stares at him like he's the biggest idiot on the planet, it's not a look he receives often but she's always the outlier in his otherwise organized life.

"Astute observation." She quips back, sucking loudly at her coffee.

"Why?"

He considered how to go about breeching this subject and in the end had decided on going straight to the source, he had been under the impression that this was working for them.

Her face morphs into a person he hasn't seen for a long time, the Cha-young that would berate him and make him angry enough to curse in Italian.

"Do you think this little of me?"

He's completely lost, "What do you mean? What did I do that was so wrong? Wrong enough for you to cheat on me!" He's panting now, his voice has gotten loud enough to catch people's attention he can feel them watching their table, nosy and invested.

"Cheat on you?"

Cold as ice, her voice is. It almost makes him shiver.

"How could I possibly cheat on you? We're not together. You send me the same postcard with the same message every few months. I have no idea what you're doing in Malta, who you're with. You can't even be bothered to send me a letter, do you think this is a relationship? You think it's enough to pop up like this every once in a blue moon? You've told me nothing about how you feel about me but I'm supposed to be satisfied with whatever you throw my way?"

If he wasn't sitting down his legs would have already given out he's certain about that. Her voice is deadly quiet each word landing and chipping away at his confidence.

"I'm doing the best I can! You knew it would be like this after everything was over, why are you blaming me now? How about you, I don't know how you feel either!"

"I love you! Anyone with eyes can see that, I told you that at the airport too. And again when I took a bullet for you, you didn't think that meant I loved you? I was willing to die for you."

Shit.

It's not at all how he expected them to confess their love for each other, it's hard to believe the words that are coming out of her mouth as she bares her teeth at him.

"So why are you doing this? Why are there other men?"

Why aren't I enough? He wants to say but he's scared of her answer, terrified that she'll say that she can't do this anymore. That he just isn’t enough anymore. 

She stares at him long and hard.

Waiting for something. But he doesn't know what.

"You haven't changed at all. You're still a coward, I'm not interested in guessing anymore. I’m done playing this game.” 

She stands up and walks away, leaving her unfinished coffee on the table.

Unwanted just like him.

She doesn't see him for days and she accepts that her words had done their damage, she had cried until she fell asleep that night. Waking up with swollen red eyes that no amount of concealer would save but thankfully no one commented on her state.

She goes through her day on autopilot and before she knows it she's back home, ready to face her night alone  again. She pushes the door open, half praying he'll be waiting for her but her hopes shattered when she turns on the lights and finds no one.

"It's better this way." She lies to herself, pouring herself an obscene glass of soju. She's going to need plenty of alcohol to get through this pain.

Her head is woozy and heavy when she hears a sound, suddenly alert she stills in her chair before rushing over to get a frying pan walking on the tips of her toes she prowls closer to the clicking sound, finding herself at the window peering at a long lost friend. Placing the frying pan on her window sill she pry opens the window, screeching when the audacious bird flies inside landing on her table as if he belongs there.

"Hey Inzaghi! Get your dirty bird feet off my table!"

He looks at her nonchalantly, making himself comfortable on said table and she sighs before shutting the window and drunkenly swaying over to him.

"What are you even doing there? Do you want to be my bird now, I won't be a very good owner. I won't remember to feed you. I barely remember to feed myself."

Despite being a bird he finds a way to roll his eyes at her before standing up and only then does she notice something on his leg. She looks at him cautiously before moving closer and untying the paper on his leg, the pigeon barely reacts before flying over to her couch. She sighs in annoyance, she's going to have to clean everything after this bird leaves.

She unwinds the string holding the paper together, unrolling the paper scroll. There is a message written inside: the rooftop. 9 pm.

Glancing at her clock the time shines at her.

7:34pm.

"This could be a trap."

It very much could be, she has enemies now. It was a small price to pay for taking down Babel but she's always looking over her shoulders now, so this note could easily be someone luring her to hurt her or get back at Vincenzo.

Inzaghi coos loudly at her as if he can hear her thoughts. This time he finds a way to look exasperated.

She stumbles off to her room.

She needs time to think.

"So she told you that she loved you and you didn't say it back?"

"I was shocked. She was growling at me and looked ready to kill me at the same time." He reasons back, trying to show his hyung his point of view. The younger man doesn't look even a little bit convinced by his logic.

"Okay and? That sounds perfectly normal for you too. You should have shot someone and wrote it back in their blood on the table."

He recoils in disgust at the suggestion, "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you actually insane, why the fuck would I do that?"

Han Seo stares deadpan in return.

He puts up a hand trying to stop whatever response he has, "Don't say it."

It doesn't work.

"Pig's blood. Don't forget I saw it all, I've never seen Ms. Hong look so excited before. You're both crazy."

Well, that had been different. It was an old tradition, she simply had an appreciation for the classics.

"And I bet you're defending her right now in your mind. Noona is just like you, that's why you're made for each other. She's the gasoline to your fire."

"You know that would just make an even larger fire right?"

"Yes. I'm smart now remember? I know what I said."

He sighs falling into the comfortable familiarity of the couch, a spring digging into his thigh.

"Why didn't you say it back?" His stills at the barely whispered question, his chest constricting as he recalls the passionate confession. He had frozen, like he'd always known she was the brave one between them. Always doing the unexpected and the time was no different, her words had knocked him off his feet.

"Because I was scared."

Han Seo huffs at his honesty. He doesn't know where the words are coming from but he's tired of keeping it all in.

"Because if anything happens to her it'll break me, I thought it would be better if I kept her at a distance. I thought this was enough. I thought this would be easier. When I think about her I want to drop everything and just be with her and that...was too dangerous. I had to keep my distance."

There's a pregnant pause, just the sound of their breathing filling the void.

"Was it?"

"What?"

"Easier. Is this better? Enough?"

He thinks about Cha-young getting married to a faceless man, exchanging vows and sealing it with a kiss, happy and in love on their honeymoon wanton moans and screams from their room, learning that they're having a baby and her round and glowing with someone else's child smiling brightly as she rubs her belly and it's too much. He wants to smash it all into little pieces.

"No. It's not enough. I need her, without her nothing is enough."

"That's what you should have said to her. Don't glare at me I'm right, but I have an idea. I saw it in an American cartoon."

And that's how he lets his younger brother convince him to send a note to Cha-young using Inzaghi, the pigeon had shown up one night and he'd been so happy he almost kissed the bird.

"How will he know where Cha Young lives?" He asks skeptical even as he ties the note to the birds leg.

"I showed him a picture of her house. According to the cartoon, birds just know.” 

He stares at the younger man, wondering why he's listening to this ridiculous plan.

"This is stupid. I should just text her, Inzaghi is never going to deliver this. He's just a regular pigeon." 

"This is more romantic." He answers matter of fact.

"How is a pigeon delivering a message in anyway romantic?" He challenges already knowing from the shit eating grin he won’t like the response. 

"The same way pig blood was." The brat counters and he doesn't get a chance to respond before Han Seo picks Inzaghi up and throws him out the window, "In the name of love!" He only barely stops himself from bashing his head into the wall, the younger man has to wrestle him to the ground.

It's stupid. They did all of this for nothing the cool breeze makes him pull his coat tighter around his body, exposed to the weather on the open space of the rooftop.

He checks his watch, 9:48.

She's not coming and the worst part is that he doesn't know if it's because that damn bird never delivered his message or if it's because she really doesn't want anything to do with him. The burden of not knowing hurts more than anything.

Expelling the air in his lungs he walks back to the single door that leads off the roof, twisting the doorknob in his hand and pulling it open.

Meeting the shocked face of one Cha-young.

They both just stare at each other before he speaks, "You came."

He can't believe it. Inzaghi had actually delivered the note, somehow the pigeon had found her house and she was here. He almost pinches himself to see if he'd passed out on the roof and this was just a dream.

"I didn't know Inzaghi was a carrier pigeon." She futilely tries to change the subject and he takes a step back, gathering the tattered pieces of his courage. The same courage that had propelled him to kiss her all those months ago on the stairs.

"I'm so happy you're here. I waited for you."

She stares at him like he has two heads before blushing, and avoiding his eyes.

"Come with me." He extends his hands and tries not to be too hurt when she bypasses it and steps around him instead.

At least she was here.

With a quick swipe of his hand he sends the message to his accomplices.

Now.

The lights come on, fairy lights decorating the roof top in a heavenly glow. She spins around in wonder, eyes nearly as bright she's so beautiful it's almost painful to look at her.

Then the music starts.

The soft notes filling the space.

When I walk down a road I don't know well....

She looks around in wonder, staring back at him she can’t believe what’s happening. 

Then the letters start falling from the sky, all the letters he had written to her alone and missing her thousands of miles away. His plaza family smiles down at him, throwing letters from a higher building.

Cha-young stares up at the sky in surprise, hundreds of letters landing all around her.

It had taken a few days for Luca to send them all over and then another day to get the guts to do this, there was no turning back now. He had never willingly made himself vulnerable to anyone else, but according to Han Seo it was the only way he was going to win her back. 

“She just wants to know that you love her too. Show her.” 

He watches anxiously as she picks up a letter, stroking lightly at her own name on the front looking at him with stunned wet eyes. 

“You wrote me a letter.” Her voice is revere and awe that he doesn’t deserve, not after everything he has put her through in the sake of protecting himself but he’s too elated to see her looking at him like that again, like he’s someone important to her. 

“182. For each day we were apart. I told you I thought about you everyday, and every time I did I wrote you a letter.” 

She stares at the letter in her hand, gently ripping it open and devouring the words on the page. Nerves shoot up and down his body as he watches her read his most private thoughts about her, her expressive face for once empty of emotions as she silently reads the letter. 

He waits. 

Breathless and terrified. 

“Why didn’t you ever send them? They were mine so why did you keep them?” He hears an edge in her voice that makes him wonder if she’s only talking about the letters. 

“Cha-young, I don’t think you understand.” 

She breathes out loudly, stomping over to him until they are inches apart and he has no choice but to look into the deep pool of her eyes. 

“I don’t! I don’t understand anything, I thought you had found someone else in Malta and the postcards were just your way of being nice. I thought you didn’t feel the same way I did, you were sending Han Seo letters but you wouldn’t do the same for me. What was I supposed to think? Why didn’t you try to help me understand, you were gone for six months!” 

There’s so much wrong with everything she said, how could he find anyone else when his heart beats for her? How could he forget her when everything he did reminded him of her, he saw her every night in his dreams. But he doesn’t make the same mistake this time, he says what’s important. 

“I feel the same way. I love you Cha-young. I thought this was better for you, that this could be enough. But I was wrong, I missed you every minute of every--” 

“Come home with me.” 

He stops, stares, gapes and then stares some more. 

“What? I wasn’t finished confessing though.” Actually offended that she interrupted his planned speech. He was about to recite one of his favorite Italian love poems for her and then ask her to dance. 

She rolls her eyes dragging him towards the door, “Don’t you think we’ve wasted enough time? It’s been six months and you have been here for too long, you have to go soon.” 

She’s right, he has a flight in two days for an identity he borrowed for his escape. 

“Listen to her, just go back to her place and have a good night!” That sounds like Cheol-Wook and then they all erupt into applause and start cheering and hollering, chanting their names and then to his embarrassment they start chanting, “Go have sex! Go have sex!” complete with the monks banging on their drums and he doesn’t think he will ever live down this moment, especially when he sees Miri capturing it on the new video camera he had gifted her. 

He flips them off as an eager Cha-young pulls him away their laughter following them all the way. 

The car ride is too long on the way over and she wonders how quickly she can undress them both as soon as they reach, there is simply no time to waste. 

But once they get to the doorstep he suddenly freezes, tugging her backwards into his chest. 

“This looks familiar doesn’t it?” His voice is dark and smoky and she immediately knows what he’s referring to, and she refuses to give him any reaction. 

“Are you seriously doing this right now?” 

“You let someone else touch you. Here.” He runs a hand up her neck, briefly squeezing, “And here,” she gasps at his hands suddenly on her breast, squeezing harshly at the tender flesh. 

“So what are you going to do about it?” She knows that she’s playing with fire, but that is their foundation. She has never aimed to cool him off or tone him down, she sees the dark side inside of him and loves it, encourages it and feeds on it herself allowing it to bring her darkness out too. 

He kicks the door open, shoving her side and she delights at the rough treatment. She hopes that she is filled with his bruises tomorrow. 

She doesn’t wait for his next move, pulling her shirt up and over her head before tugging off her skirt leaving herself in a barely there lace panties and a matching lace bra that is translucent, her nipples peeking through the sheer material. He stares at her transfixed, his hunger evident in his eyes and in the tent forming in his tight dress pants. 

“Take those off.” She commands and he smirks before obeying, peeling the pants off his thighs standing in his button down shirt and tight boxer briefs that leave nothing to her imagination, every delicious inch of him visible. She steps forward bringing their bodies in contact, before thrusting her hand inside the opening of his briefs. He feels hard and smooth, liquid pooling at the tip and she twists her hand collecting it to ease her slow strokes up and down. His voice hitches as she fingers his balls and without warning she tugs his boxers off, leaving him bare to her eyes. 

Mesmerized by the unencumbered sight of him, she drops to her knees using her hand to guide him to her eagerly waiting mouth. 

His flavor explodes on her tongue and she swallows more, grabbing his hips to drag him deeper into her mouth until she can feel him in her throat, but even after her eyes start to burn and she feels herself choking she doesn’t stop, bobbing up and down hungrily, sloppy wet sounds filling the room in a filthy symphony. At first he lets her control the movement, pliant in her hands but as she increases her speed and suction he starts groaning and huffing loudly and then she feels his hand on the back of her hand, keeping her in place and when she looks up at him he looks wrecked. Eyes dazed and his face red and flushed, she ingrains that image in her mind, for when he’s gone and all she has are her toys. 

She stares back defiantly before he draws himself out of her mouth, a single line of spit connecting them and then he thrusts back into her mouth roughly and she opens her mouth wider to accept the abuse, loving every second of it even as a her throat aches. He sets a frantic pace, his balls slamming against her chin and she doesn’t realize at first that his grunts have transformed into words, too much blood rushing to her head. 

“Mine. Mine, nobody can---ah fuck! Nobody can see you like this. Only me. You’re mine.” 

He fucks her mouth like it’s his to use and do what he pleases, and she’s wetter than she’s ever been listening to him claim her verbally and with the wet push of his dick in her mouth. 

She starts grinding on the floor like a cat in heat and without preamble he grabs her under her armpits and lifts her like she weighs nothing, his dick sliding free from her hot mouth, “I want to make you scream.” He says this like a declaration of love and she throws herself at him, kissing the words off his lips. His tongue swirls in her mouth and she wonders if he can taste himself in her. It makes her hotter and she grinds her barely covered pussy onto his naked length, groaning at the friction even though the thin layer separating them. 

He tosses her onto the bed and she doesn’t even remember them walking, his tongue and his wondering fingers had completely distracted her. 

She lays sprawled across the bed as he stares at her, like she’s feast he can’t wait to devour. 

“Nobody has been in here.” She doesn’t know if he’s asking a question or making a statement, but she feels that his jealousy is real. Seeing her with someone else had done something to him, guilt washes over her. If she had seen him with someone else she would have lost her mind too. 

“Nobody. I never brought anyone home before, that guy was a mistake. I was just hurt and missing you. I’m sorry.” 

He had abandoned her for six months and she didn’t owe him anything but his pain is her pain and they are stronger now, everything has been said. 

“Good.” 

Then he rips her panties away and buries his face between her legs, prying her wide open with his hands and lapping at her with his searing hot tongue. Immediately he has his wish and she screams, loud enough to fill the entire room. 

“Already screaming amore? It’s going to be a long night, I want to make you hoarse.”  

She doesn’t get a moment to respond before he’s back to licking and sucking at her most sacred part, fingers deep inside her as he thrusts and strokes alongside his tongue, his fingers and tongue moving in tandem and she tries to stifle the scream but a particularly deep fuck makes the sound erupt from her throat and her head feels dizzy from the overwhelming sensation. 

He has boundless energy it seems, as time drags by and she feels her body tightening up as he systemically destroys her, he never takes a break or pauses, slurping up all the liquid that drips from her and the sounds of him swallowing are beyond erotic. When a hand runs up her stomach and squeezes at a bouncing breast she can’t contain her moans of pleasure, crying out as his fingers pinching the tight bud of her nipple. 

“Please.” 

He coos in her, “So pretty when you beg.” Then he sticks his tongue as far as it can go and she hears the rush of blood in her head as her body shakes apart and her release gushes from her body, twitching when he laps it all up her oversensitive body recoiling from the overstimulation. 

She has never come like that before, most men have never put in the work necessary to make her come and she wasn’t one to fake it so her experiences with sex with someone else were few and far in between. 

This feels like nirvana. 

“You still with me amore?” The bastard looks so smug, looming above her naked arms on the side of her head, and she had no idea when he took his shirt off. 

“I can’t feel like my legs.” 

He chuckles loudly at the statement, grinning growing wider. 

“Well I can assure you that they’re still there and they will look great wrapped around my waist.” 

Raising to his challenge, although her body is still buzzing she wraps her legs around his waist, they feel like jelly but she finds the strength to follow through with her movement. 

“I was right they do look great.” 

“Well this would look great in me.” She counters, grabbing at his thick ruddy red dick jutting from his body and he rocks into her hand before knocking her hand away and taking himself in his hand. 

“Do we need a condom?” He asks her, looking like he is ready to stop at nay minute if she tells him that they do. 

“No.” 

She has been on birth control since she was a teen and there’s been no one for her since she met him, and she trusts that it’s been the same for him. 

“Thank goodness, I want to feel everything.” He barely finishes his sentence before he’s easing into her, slow and steady. She lets him continue for a moment before she tightens her legs around his waist and pulls him in roughly, as deep as she can get him in this position. “Fuck, you’re so impatient.” 

“Shut up and fuck me already.” 

He grumbles at her calling her bossy, but she sighs when he draws out and slams back in with a quick snap of his hips. 

“Yes just like that!” 

He takes direction very well, repeating the motion until the bed starts to creak from their movements, he pistons in and out of her gone all semblance of gentle or slow, they have teetered into a speed that can only be defined as “break neck” and she feels her body sliding up the mattress as he pounds into her over and over again, she latches onto his neck eager to leave a branding mark on him and he groans at the suction, grinding harder into her and gripping her ass to force her to meet his vicious thrusts. 

Absently she feels him peeling her bra from her body, the only remaining item of clothing that has survived their coupling and she knows exactly when he sees the scar. The grotesque knitting of skin that had left a permanent scar on her shoulder, she almost covers it up but when she peels her eyes open he is staring at her mesmerized. 

“Don’t look.” 

He leans down to kiss it, the softest more precious kiss she has ever received in her life. 

He peppers more kisses all over, then strokes at it with a single finger. 

“I should have realized, this was your confession. I was an idiot. I will never be that stupid again, I love you so much. I would do anything for you. Anything.” 

He puts her legs on her shoulder, nearly bending her in half before resuming his thrusts but they are less frenzied now, it feels like lovemaking. Her eyes prickle when he kisses her scar with every downward thrust, whispering, “Beautiful, so beautiful. Every inch of you.” 

She cries out. 

With every thrust he kisses her scar, making her feel lightheaded and naked. 

When he moves them into a new position, her back to his front giving him better access to her scar, she loses herself as he whispers sweet nothings into her ears and litters the spot with warm kisses. 

She falls off the edge with his lips on her scar and him deep inside her, warm bursts filling her up before leaking out onto the bed sheets. 

“Today’s our last day.” 

Waking up next to him is torture, she tries not to ingrain that in her mind but it’s too late it’s already there. He blinks away the sleep in his eyes at her words and then nods solemnly in agreement. 

“Yes for this visit. But I’ll always come back for you.” 

She smiles brightly, “Don’t keep me waiting for too long.” 

They don’t leave the bed except to get breakfast and that ends with her laid across the kitchen table getting taken from behind after teasing him. He can’t seem to keep his hands off her new hair, twisting the short strands in his hands and yanking on them. She catches him looking at her heatedly more than once. 

Then they wind up in the shower, trying to clean up and getting dirtier instead, his hands tight in her hair and around her waist as he hoists her up to pound her into the wall. Making up for lost time. 

They get messages from their entire family, Vincenzo showing her a message from Han Seo asking if he’s going to be an uncle soon. She promises to embarrass him in front of Miri very, very soon. 

Both pretend they don’t feel the day fading away, bringing them closer to their goodbye. 

Tomorrow he will be gone again, but there’s no guessing now. She knows what she means to him now and that’s more than enough. 

She wakes up to an empty bed and a ticket to Malta, the ball is in her court. 

[jaedreaminn]

My Snack

Pairings: Reader x Jaemin ♡

Genre: Fluff, Crack.

Word Count: 2.6k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stupid. That's what you call yourself (Jaemin too and your parents and your friends and your neighbour and the lady down the street) on a regular basis.

There standing in front of you laughing his ass off was your best friend, Na Jaemin. You were standing in the middle of your school courtyard, covered from head to toe in your long awaited lunch- spaghetti. Such a pity.

It wasn't your fault that the loud sounds from Renjun and Haechan trying their best to taunt the other were distracting, or the fact that Jeno was near them trying to befriend a cat (where had it even come from) who kept hissing at him and was this close to scratching him had caught your attention, so you could help but slightly worry or the fact that the youngest two devils, Chenle and Jisung had brought a fake can of worms and were dumping them in Haechan's satchel and the thought of how Haechan (who hates any form of insects) would react was playing in your brain. Maybe it was also the way Jaemin had smiled at the two 'Angelic Devil's' as he liked to call them but then noticed your arrival and winked and blew a kiss towards your direction like the flirt he was, was what made you trip on your own feet. Launching your favourite dish of spaghetti high into the air and land straight on your head a second later. Nope, no you definitely didn't trip because of a kiss. It was the other thing distracting you, and it was gravities fault the plate fell back onto your head.

Somehow, you couldn't seem to get mad at the fact that Jaemin was laughing at you instead of helping you because of how his eyes lit up when he laughed and how his low chuckles calmed you.

So instead you did what anybody else would do in that situation. You stood there stuck to the ground and pouted.

Looking at your sulking state Jaemin beamed at you and made his way towards your spaghetti covered self taking off bits of it off your hair.

“You know,” he said his infamous smirk playing on his chapped but pretty lips “I get that your stubborn, but I didn't think you'd go that far t- OW!” As realisation on what he was saying dawned on you a punch to his gut was all you needed to shut him up. Maybe not. “You know what you said and now-ow ooowwwww ow ow ow OK I'll shut Ow OOW UP!” You glared at him as you threw a series of punches his way to make sure he shuts up. Plus, he was a dramatic ass, and you knew none of your punches ever hurt him.

“I know what you're going to say,” you said and Jaemin opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could “Don't you dare say that” you cut him off, venom in your voice and Jaemin knew better than to anger you more than he already had.

“Oh well,” Jaemin sighed in defeat as he wiped the sauce off your face. How romantic. “Lunch is coming to an end, and you need to get changed. So I'll buy you a sandwich from the cafeteria and sneak it to you during Maths” and he smiled. Cute you thought, in a platonic many years of friendship way of course.

You simply nodded and made your way towards your locker where your spare change of clothes was when you had a thought which made you smirk in victory crossed your head. You immediately turned on your heels and yelled in a devilishly sweet voice “Jaemin-ahh”

He looked at you confused and so did the rest of your friends who didn't do anything to help and just laughed at you and go back to the bickering.

“You're the first person to approach me,” you said, and you could practically see the screws turning in Jaemins head “You know what I said.” you said in a sickeningly sweet tone and Jaemins jaw dropped as low as Felix's jaw when he realised he's terribly screwed in the year-end UNO tournament, and Jaemin stood there dumbfounded finally realising what's happening.

“You know what this means” you sang out more than said as you waved at him and sent him a wink and a flying kiss, turning on your heels and skipping away. You liked to think that maybe after years of watching the master flirt you've learnt a good amount to have actually made Jaemin blush.

You definitely weren't affected by what you said AT ALL. If anyone said you tripped a bit more with each skip you took they were as blind as your principal Lee Soo Man.

Jaemin on the other hand did. He really did blush as you walked away.

Jeno walked up to the now shyly smiling Jaemin “So what did y/n say?”

Jaemin didn't answer staring off into the distance, so Jeno pinched him making him yelp and glared at the boy who glared back, and let's be honest no one wants to be caught in a glare down with Jeno so Jaemin simply sighed and said “She said she's a snack” and Jeno raises an eyebrow as if asking Jaemin to go on not convinced that just all she had said.

“So I obviously denied it and y/n being stubborn as she is said that guys would like her even if she's covered from head to toe in actual food” by now everyone was carefully listening to the conversation.

“I told her she's delusional”

“Then” Jisungs soft voice asked anticipating what was to happen next.

Jaemin sighed and looked at the floor “She bet that she would do it and the first person to approach her when she's covered from head to toe in food is the person she's going to date” there was a one-second pause.

And then the loud laughter coming from their group made a lot of heads turn. Chenle fell to the ground laughing, dragging poor Jisung who he was earlier leaning on with him too. Hyuck had tears in his eyes and was holding onto Jeno who was doing the same all while hysterically laughing. Renjun tried and failed not to laugh and instead tried to comfort Jaemin but his red face and watery eyes weren't exactly subtle.

However, between Renjun’s laughing or chocking no one could tell he managed to get out a “That's why the great flirt Na Jaemin was flustered” and somehow the laughs got louder. Jaemin just stood there turning all shades of pink and red.

Finally, when the laughter calmed down a bit Haechan looked at the pouting Jaemin “Aww poor Nana got himself into a mess again here let me give you some candy to cheer you up” and reached into his satchel. Jisung and Chenle sat up straight looking at Haechan in anticipation and Renjun and Jeno also looked.

Haechan on the other hand was clueless and was just trying to pull out candy from his never ending stash of candy when “It should be right- AAAAAAHHHHH!” The bag flew five kilometres away from the way Heachan launched it across the ground upon seeing this 'slimy legless wiggling poop insects' as he likes to call them in his bag.

Chenle and Jisung immediately snickered and gave each other a high five giving themselves away as the culprits to Haechan who was glaring daggers at them. They realised that they were discovered when Heachan yelled and charged at them ready to strangle both, so they started running away from the very VERY angry Haechan yelling all sorts of profanities at them.

This time Renjun didn't hold back his laughter instead, he laughed so hard he fell on his but causing the demonic duo to stop and laugh but run as soon as they realise Haechan is still trying to murder them.

Jeno shook his head at the sight and smiled. He then turned and walked towards Jaemin who was zoning out again.

“So....” Jeno started and Jaemin looked at him “You and y/n are dating now?”

Jaemin sighed.

Jeno tripped and fell onto the floor.

Jisung had crashed into Jeno.

He was laughing at Chenle who had tripped over the Renjun who was laughing his ass off on the grass and fell face flat while running away from Hyuck.

Haechan couldn't stop himself from running.

He tripped over Jeno and Jisung too.

Everyone was on the floor.

There was lots of shouting.

And laughing.

And Jaemin answered Jeno's question as this all took place in sequence like Domino's.

He whispered a quite 'yes' and walked away.

No one noticed.

Everyone was now on the floor all tangled up yelling at each other to get up first.

No one noticed Jaemin's smile as he walked away either.

...

You got your promised sandwich in your shared math class with Jaemin. You felt a little too bold today, so you sent another wink and flying kiss his way.

You may have also overly enjoyed his flustered face, so you held his hand as you walked to your next shared class P.E. and you may have smiled in triumph when Jaemins cheeks turned pink and he got all shy.

You also may have been a little too bold so when no one was looking you kissed his hand and then skipped away. And maybe that felt a little more than Platonic to you.

That's the thing it was always maybe, you never had a definite choice of words because you were always confused, so it was always maybe.

School soon ended, and you waited for the only person who walks home with you because you go the same way- Jaemin. You knew that he would be late. He always was. Every Wednesday. He shared his last class with Oh Miri, and he always helps her pack up and carries her things for her to her locker. It's because he obviously likes her. And you think they'll be a cute couple and you'll be happy if Jaemin finally asks her out. You really will be happy for him. Really.

You bid goodbye to Renjun and Chenle as they both head home. You said bye to Jeno too as you pass the turf where he has his practices. You see Haechan at the gate and wave bye to him too. Jisung and you talk about a new way to prank Renjun this time before he too has to leave.

You frown now and look at the time on your phone, was Jaemin latter than usual? Turns out he wasn't late and the low voice that whispered “missed me?” which startled you a bit, confirmed it. You turned around to come face to face with Jaemins smile that you are convinced produces light because of how bright it was.

“So...babe, how was your day?” Jaemin asked cheeky smile on his face. You shook your head and chuckled slightly as you answered him “It was good Nana you can stop joking around now”.

You saw Jaemins smile falter for a second. Or maybe you just imagined that. Nope, no definitely did not imagine that because now he was full on pouting.

“You're already breaking up with me y/n? But I thought we loved each other” he said using his sad baby voice.

You roll your eyes at his antics and held onto his arm ready to drag him “Come on Nana we need to go home”

“Aww but today's our first day! Shouldn't I get a first kiss!” Jaemin protested still not moving as you tried to pull him. Thank god you were facing another direction so he couldn't see how much that made your face heat up and how flustered it made you. You knew he was only joking. Right. His tone didn't sound the least bit serious. You're just imagining things.

You gave him, what you hoped sounded like a small laugh instead of a strangled one “Seriously stop kidding I'm pretty sure it won't help with your Oh Miri situation”

It was weird to see Jaemin so confused, but maybe it was because he was confused about how you knew about his crush when he hasn't told anyone yet.

“What situation with Oh Miri...?” Jaemin asked still confused. Still keeping up the act huh.

“Oh please, I know you like her and chill I'll help you out if you want. I don't really see any reason for you to hide your crush on her. She's really sweet and you two would make a cute couple and if you keep up this act it might be misleading to her considering she's still around and will think you're taken” you kept in rambling but stopped when you saw Jaemins blank expressionless face.

The atmosphere felt awkward, so you said a “yea...” to kind of end your entire ramble and to cut through the sudden silence.

“Oh” was all that Jaemin said.

“Yep”

“So I win?”

“Huh?”

“I win don't I?”

“What?”

“The bet”

“Bet…?”

“You didn't date me, you owe me” Jaemin simply said shrugging.

Then realisation dawned on you, you bet him that you would date the first person that came up to you.

You sighed in defeat “Fine you win. Where do I treat you this time”?

“Not just treat me” Jaemin shook his head “Take me out on a date where you of course pay” he smiled that stupid smile of his and your jaw dropped.

“If you think about it you're losing without actually loosing” he smiled.

And you kept looking at him in shock. But what about Oh Miri...?

“See you didn't date me” he fake pouted “But I wanted to date you and since I won the bet and could ask for whatever I'm asking you to date me” Jaemin smiled his mischievous smile.

”I-” you started but couldn't form a single sentence.

“It's okay I know my genius left you speechless.” he said putting his hand on your head and leaning on it.

“I got a free meal and a girlfriend because you can't win bets” he smirked and ran for it because now you snapped out of your dazed moment and were ready to jump him.

Jerk played you like a guitar.

“THIS IS CHEATING” you yelled as you chased him all the way home.

You did catch up to him enough to throw your pencil case at his head. He whined. You smiled. He smiled. Things went good.

You went on that date. The two of you were official now.

You were always indecisive about your feelings and always stuck on maybe so Jaemin just made the right decision for you.

“You know you should ask me to be your girlfriend properly” you had said on your date.

“You want dramatic?”

“No-”

“I'll give you dramatic” Jaemin had replied with a smirk.

You should have known not to trust that smirk because trouble (for you) always followed it.

Trouble happened Friday morning.

There in the center of the hallway stood your boyfriend with a shit eating grin. The reason for that grin being the hallway that was entirely covered with posters of your face poorly edited onto a burger with the wordings 'My Snack' on it.

You shut your eyes and slowly inhaled and slowly exhaled through gritted teeth.

Your eyes snapped open.

“I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU JAEMIN NA”

“YOU CAN'T YOU LOVE ME” was heard at the end of the hallway form Jaemin who had already bolted.

“Then you better run cus I'm breaking your Legs!”

“Already running!” The now barely audible voice of a rapidly retreating Jaemin was heard.

Bonus:

You brought Jaemin coffee because you felt bad for attacking him.

“I can kiss you now but what more has changed” Jaemin sat pouting with his coffee in his hand after being attacked by you.

You laughed and kissed him.

[jaskiersvalley]

Heya! For your consideration: Miri didn't stop at the wolves. He fucked his way around all of the schools, I mean at least one witcher per school but we all know he didn't stop there . Also, Miri/Gux is endgame and I love the way you write them! ✨

This is such a wonderful idea! While I don't know enough about all the other schools and their characters to write Miri's Magical Menagerie, I do have another idea to offer up for you that hints and Vesemir's colourful history.

Nine Lives

It had taken Lambert a lot of courage to ask Aiden whether he wanted to winter at Kaer Morhen with him. If he was being honest with himself, he had anticipated Aiden being rather over the moon at the prospect and throwing himself at Lambert in gratitude. Needless to say, that wasn't quite what happened.

"You sure you want me there?"

"No. I invited you home with me in the hopes you'd refuse and I could feel better about myself for offering a bogus opportunity that sounded alright." Lambert rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course I want you there. I wasn't taking the piss when I said I love you."

Aiden still didn't seem convinced. "It's just, I'm a Cat. And you know how Wolves tend to hate us. Especially the older ones."

That was another grumbling point between them. Despite his youthful looks, Aiden liked to remind Lambert that he was older though he never said how much by.

"Look, -" Lambert had run out of patience, "-come with me or not, I don't care. Just make up your fucking mind."

Except he did care. Deeply. But Aiden must never know. They stared at each other, masks firmly in place to hide any hint of emotion other than annoyance. In the end Aiden broke and looked away.

"If you're sure my appearance wouldn't cause undue distress, I'd love to spend the winter with you."

"You weren't involved with the sacking, were you? So everyone will be cool with you coming." It was a bit of an assumption but Lambert had to hope.

Grinning, Aiden shook his head. "I had nothing to do with that shit show. That was the winter I spent with Guxi and Miri."

Lambert had learned a long time ago to not be jealous of Aiden's past. He had many lovers by the sounds of it but, since the two of them got together, Lambert was the only one Aiden had eyes for. That was good enough.

The fact Aiden seemed to know the way up to Kaer Morhen was only mildly disturbing. He picked forks in the road without even thinking and Lambert hadn't said anything about which road to pick.

"They really did a number on her, didn't they?" Aiden said with a low whistle when the keep came into view.

"You saw Kaer Morhen before?" The question Lambert really wanted to ask was 'am I not your first Wolf?' but that sounded foolish and petty.

Aiden cast him a sad little smile. "I've seen a lot, Pup. Don't let my dashing looks fool you."

It made Lambert want to ask just how old Aiden was. He had so many questions swirling in his mind but none of them felt like the right question to ask. So he stayed quiet and watched as Aiden seemed to grow sombre as they approached Kaer Morhen, memories of who knew how long ago coming back. He saw a hand ghost over the stones as they passed through the gates, almost wistful.

"Lambert," Eskel greeted him as he stepped into the hall, "And friend."

"Eskel, this is-"

"-Aiden," Vesemir finished from the other side of the hall. "I thought you'd died."

Lambert could only watch as Aiden marched over to Vesemir and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. "Miri, I thought the same of you. Gux was certain you'd succumbed to the aftermath. I left him in Touissant for the winter."

Head spinning, Lambert glanced helplessly to Eskel but there were no answers coming from him. At a loss, he cleared his throat.

"Guess you two know each other."

Aiden giggled, a hand still on the small of Vesemir's back. "Lamb, my darling, you didn't tell me Miri was still around. I would have brought Gux with me too - my favourite couple from a past life!"

For some reason Vesemir rolled his eyes before pinching Aiden's side. "Don't tell me you're still on that whole nine lives bullshit. Just admit that you're frozen in time. You're well beyond nine by now."

"You wound me, Miri!" Aiden clutched at his chest but was smiling. "Just because I settled for someone younger and more beautiful that you doesn't mean you have to be bitter."

Mind blank, Lambert squeaked. "What?!"

The admonishing look Vesemir sent Aiden had the Cat laughing. It didn't deter Vesemir from a stern press of his lips into a thin line. "Did you not tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

"Aiden here is one of the first Witchers ever. The mages' original trials made near enough immortal beings. That scared the shit out of them, they needed warriors who were mortal, that time would erase so, if they ever went rogue they wouldn't have to be dealt with."

Jaw slack, Lambert stared at Aiden who seemed both sheepish and proud at the same time.

"I-" There were no words. "You're-"

"Yeah," Aiden agreed softly. "Sorry."

Not quite sure what Aiden was apologising for, Lambert looked between him and Vesemir. Horror dawned on him as he thought back to the few hints at the mysterious Miri and Gux Aiden had told wild stories about, often of a sexual nature. Turning on the spot, Lambert marched towards the kitchen. He could not suffer those thoughts sober. Thankfully, Eskel joined him.

[literaryfic]

Chapters: 1/?
 Fandom: 빈센조 | Vincenzo (TV) 
Rating: Explicit
 Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong/Hong Cha Young
Characters: Hong Cha Young, Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Italian Mafia, (i know nothing about the mafia so this will be very inaccurate!!!), basically vincenzo & cha-young being mafia bosses in italy


Summary: When Vincenzo Cassano came back to Italy, no one expected to see someone by his side. Or how Cha-young and Vincenzo became the head of the Cassano family. a mafia couple au inspired by a discussion with @ourgalaxybangtan @ghostrights & @whovie-reloaded

  Vincenzo had been handling most of the family business since their adoptive father’s health had started to decline. As the consigliere of the Cassano family, he was Fabio’s most trusted man, his advisor, his lawyer but also his second-in-command.

It hadn’t been easy, all these years, to climb the ladder. He wasn’t a native, he wasn’t blood, and so not many people had welcomed him at first. That’s why he had to become ruthless, so that no one could deny his authority or even dare to try. He had killed and tortured many men, broken their minds and their bones, burned their flesh and cut off their limbs, ashes and screams trailing behind him. If he wasn’t proud of the blood on his hands, he was at least proud of his work. All the hours he’d spent training, fighting, preparing, scheming, studying, all his efforts to erase Park Joo-hyung from the face of earth had paid off. The scared, weak little kid was gone, buried with all his other victims. ‘An eye for an eye, and then some’, Vincenzo lived by that, and he would stop at nothing except killing the innocent. There was no doubt he was the best at what he did and anyone who did not respect him feared him enough to not threaten him. His success was the Cassano family’s success, yet he knew that members of his own clan would not hesitate to have him killed if they could. Two clear factions had formed in the past five years, those who supported Vincenzo as the next head of the family, and those who supported Paolo, his brother. Paolo and Vincenzo had never gotten along, and Paolo’s inferiority complex and jealousy grew deeper every time his older brother had to clean up after one of his rushed job. Paolo had a particular taste for violence. Whereas Vincenzo killed and tortured because he had to, Paolo got a kick out of hurting others, be it children, women or elders. He loved to assert his dominance, to feel almighty. Vincenzo didn’t think himself much better than him, (regardless of the reasons behind his murders, he’d probably killed way more than him), but he wanted Paolo to be punished for his sins. It was only a matter of time before some influential family members whispered plans of assassination and of ‘restoring the rightful heir’ into his ear. Paolo was an angry, frustrated man who wasn’t particularly good at his job, an easy puppet to control. He’d been watching them carefully but he knew that as long as his father was alive, no one would dare to touch him. Back then he had thought he would take care of them when it came to it, become the head of his family, and continue to rule the underworld. Then, the incident happened and everything changed. He hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks, his victims’ screams haunting his dreams. He started avoiding mirrors, his reflection taunting him. He barely ate anymore, and Fabio had reminded him to get a grip. So he had done just that. He drank himself to sleep or took sleeping pills, and he went on. He knew, however, that he could not go on like this much longer. He had to get out before he buried himself next to Park Joo-hyung and all the others whose lives he’d taken. He’d started to plan his escape secretly. He would wait until his father died, staying loyal to him as long as he was alive. When the time came, he knew Paolo would try to kill him. The power struggle between them would start as soon as the head of the family would die, but instead of destroying his opponents, Vincenzo would seize the opportunity to leave. He would go back to South Korea, get the gold and leave to an island, where he would spend the rest of his days. The death of his previous Chinese client was perfect timing. As expected, Fabio, his boss and adoptive father, had named him the next head of the family in his will. It came to no surprise to most members, but murmurs spread quickly, “Can you imagine? A foreigner, as the head of our family? What has the world become?”. After wrapping things up in Italy, Vincenzo promised himself to never return, throwing away the key to the graveyard of his sins. …. There’s no going back from this, he thinks. Vincenzo is still holding Cha-young’s face, unable to look away from her lips, still wet from the kiss. Her pink cheeks, her smeared lipstick, the freckles under her fondation. Her. Hong Cha-young. His heart is soaring in his chest, all the emotions he had desperately tried to silence erupting all at once. There was no point in denying it, he had fallen in love with her. All he could do now was break his own heart, hoping it would heal. …. He realises he can’t live without her after she gets injured. They’re trying to get more information on Jang Han-seok’s paper company, and this time they’re trying to prove that some of the transactions made to European bank accounts were bribes. They’re breaking into none other than the Minister of Economy and Finance, Cha Do-won’s house. Miri had made sure to deactivate the security system and cameras, and Vincenzo was in charge of securing the place while Cha-young searched for the secret ledger the Minister kept hidden in his office. Cha Do-won was making a speech right now, and they had assumed most of his personal security would be with him. Vincenzo had quickly incapacitated the few men around the house and Cha-young looked for the ledger. After a few minutes, she found a hidden drawer in his desk. There it was, a thick documents labelled 'Accounts’. Subtlety wasn’t one of his strong points, apparently. They were about to leave when suddenly, a dozen men started to raid the place. Vincenzo fought them off as best as he could, and he was grateful that Mr. Lee barged in to help. They thought they had them all beat, and so Vincenzo made a mistake. He turned his back to the door to look for Cha-young, who he thought was behind him. “Vincenzo!”, he heard her shout his name. He sees her across the room, about to get struck by a man. He rushes to her and knocks him out quick enough. “Oh my God”, she says, “Did you see that? I almost died! He had a knife as well, and I dodged it, and then I ran—”. She keeps rambling while they get out of the house and into their car, clearly in shock. She’s getting paler as time passes, and he only notices the blood that pooled on the seat when she tries to get out of the car. She was stabbed, but the shock and adrenaline had prevented her from feeling any pain. “Oh”, she says, looking down at her wound. Vincenzo jumps out of his seat and rips the bottom half of the T-Shirt he’s wearing. “I don’t think now’s the time for that, Darling.” Even in a life-threatening situation, Cha-young is joking around. Vincenzo’s mind stops, he feels paralysed by fear, the fear of losing her, of her dying in his car, because of him. He pushes those thoughts away as he holds the fabric to her wound. “Hold this, as hard as you can.” The rest of the car ride to the hospital is a blur of running red lights, speeding in between traffic and repeating “Hong Cha-young, stay with me.” Vincenzo had faced death everyday for the last 20 years. He had killed, had seen people kill and had almost died countless of time. “There’s no limit to fear”, he’d once said to Jang Han-seok’s informant. Only now, waiting for Cha-young’s surgery to be over, does he understand what those words truly mean. During 6 hours, Vincenzo pleads and begs God, the devil, anyone willing to listen (Don’t take her. Everyone but her). He makes empty promises (I’ll do anything. I’ll stop hurting others, I’ll disappear from her life) and meaningless threats (Don’t you dare take her. I’ll kill you, too). In the end he doesn’t know who answers his prayers, and what promises seals the deal, but Cha-young wakes up and he doesn’t care. He holds her hand, stays by her side, and vows to never leave her. He starts to plan for an escape route shortly after that. In case they can’t stay in South Korea and need to take off. First, he thinks of Malta, or another island. But they would need to go somewhere they have allies, somewhere with an easy access to emergency money and resources. Italy. He contacts Luca and sets everything up, a two bed-room apartment, two bank accounts, and everything they could ever need like cash, some guns, and a car. “Consigliere, will there be another person with you?”, Luca asks. “Hopefully it won’t come to that”, he avoids the question. He knows he promised not to come back, but some promises need to be broken out of necessity. He needed to make Cha-young was safe, at all cost. His brother’s betrayal had made it easier. He’d been caught in the crossfire of their fight against Babel, killed by Choi Myung-hee in order to frame Vincenzo. But they had proved his innocence, and sent back his corpse in Milan. After Fabio’s death, Paolo hadn’t been the best replacement, and after he was killed in South Korea, they’d put in charge one of their cousins who had neither Fabio’s experience, nor Vincenzo’s mastermind. The family was in a crisis, which didn’t go unnoticed by their rivals. Soon, business started to slow down, their clients stolen by the competition and their allies started to switch teams. Money ran low. For that reason, Vincenzo didn’t run into much opposition when he came back. Most members and people in their business thought he had killed Paolo after he’d unreasonably followed him to South Korea and tried to finish him. Paolo only left disappointment and resentment behind him, and so no one missed him much. What they had not expected, however, was for Vincenzo Cassano to come back with someone.

[alessabriel]

What could not be.

I feel like we've all been through breakups of different kinds;  love, family, friendship and school, so I had to portray this in one way or another, as when the distance is so much that you assume that there is no longer any bond between you.  It is painful to remember, to feel the nostalgia of old memories when seeing that person but that there is an invisible something in the middle of everything, which was not.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📖 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━

    What could not be.

The road was known, the dirt path oriented towards a simple bridge somewhere that danced between the solitude and the tide of people.  A special place dictated his stunned mind, a place where there were laughter and races where he could not make out the silhouettes of people.

Takemichi knew he had a bad memory, he knew it but just looking straight ahead was slapping him across the face as something he should remember.

The first person that appeared in her mind after the time jump, contrary to what she was convinced to think, had not been Tachibana Hinata but Toshiba S / or her first friend, the first person she went to in the company of her group of friends. to go eat junk food at the nearest park and with which he had cut ties once they entered middle school, with which the distance was so much that his old group never joined roads again.

How did you look?  Were you still the same smiling, kind girl with a cutting way of speaking?  Did you still like technology?  Were you still with your bad habit of scribbling in the margins of your notebooks and your friends?  Were you still wearing the same deep purple nail polish that everyone said was black but you always claimed it was purple and that they all supported you by being silly?  Did you miss the afternoons everyone spent together?

How long had they not spoken to each other?

With nostalgia running in his veins as much as the pain in his whole body, he caught the attention of his friends, even though he knew that it could only be his sentimentality speaking for him and perhaps it was only the pain born of despair for what he was not, for the lost jewel and for a lost friendship.

"S / o-san, what happened to all of us? We don't talk at all anymore" the blonde said to no one in particular without looking up from the ground, tears spilling out of sight.

The group of friends stopped in the middle of the road, a little-traveled road where no one would see them in that deplorable state and with the desire to cry out loud.  It was ridiculous.

"We wouldn't go to the same schools, it's normal" Makoto blurted out without much problem but you could still see how the mere fact of your mention affected him.

"S / o-san has a great road ahead, he should go to a good school" blurted out the brown with glasses;  Yamagishi.

"We just parted ways, Takemichi always happens" Akkun commented half in pain, no one could believe him when his gaze was glassy and how his hands shook as he helped Takuya walk.

"They go to a different school, we just cut communication" the light brown commented on the air;  Takuya hissing as his side vibrated in pain.

The conversation died the rest of the way, no one dared to utter a word for fear of crying and not precisely because of the pain of the blows but because of the friendship that ended.

Takemichi looked down when he grabbed the other arm of his childhood friend to start walking again, unaware that there was a girl with long hair carried by the wind on the bridge.

"Is something wrong Toba-chan?"  curiously questions another girl with long dark hair and taller.

You clung to the strap of your backpack tightly without losing sight of the five boys who were barely going down the path under the bridge, you knew them well and you were too desperate to know that you could do something, that you could say something but that your voice it refused to emerge, with effort and pain you looked at your partner;  Midari who had a look of sincere concern staining her face.

"It's nothing Miri, I just thought I saw someone I knew is everything"

Midari did not believe a single of your words but did not say anything about it, you were her best friend and she dedicated all the unconditional love that her being possessed to you, she would never dare to hurt you and her message was received when your hand clung to her arm .

What was it that made you lose your gaze?

(♆)

The thumping sounds had been audible from where they hung out after such distressing moments with the Mobeius trap, but it was true to say that no one could ignore them since the attack was very recent.  They would be foolish if they ignored it so taking courage they got up to go see what was happening, long before they were the screams became audible and they were precisely male screams.

They never expected to see that scene at the entrance of the alley, several guys lying on the ground bleeding and some others unconscious, the people who knocked them out were not visible yet.  .

"How will we camouflage the blood on the uniforms? This is disgusting" commented the tallest person who emerged from the darkness of the alley taking an abandoned backpack on top of a large trash can "It's all disgusting, gangs this and gangs the other thing. Fuck is so much to ask to be able to just go to a damn karaoke today or what the fuck "

Takemichi with the little light that there was could glimpse two girls;  a high and a low one that shook her pleated skirt after giving another powerful kick to one of them who was still moving, the soft whispering between his friends only let him know that they too felt known.

"The blood comes out with cold water and we can still go to karaoke, our date will not be ruined by this stupidity"

The group of friends gathered at the entrance of the fast food place, the windows allowed us to see but you could not see inside so they were safe but nothing saved them from seeing you;  You were still the same girl from before with a poker face but they only remembered the 'date' thing and that made them feel bad, bad for not talking before and for not being good friends.

What news would there be in your life?

They felt lost in what could have been...

💫 I really like the group of friends of takemichi and I was inevitable not to write about them even if it was something ambiguous or not very well structured, in short idk byebye 💫

[momenacesage]

so,, hanseo and miri am i right. the ending never happened so take this headcanon-y / illiterate fic of thoughts as crumbs !!

okay, so, i was thinking, the reason why miri and hanseo don't get together straight away when they both realise their feelings is bc miri says no. don't get me wrong, hanseo has a lot of loyalty and love to give, and he's ready to give it to her. but she disagrees, bc she pushes him to talk through his traumas and realise where he sits in all of it. she wants him to understand himself first bc he's never had the chance to put himself first. she doesn't believe that it would be healthy with his current mental state to jump into another connection so quickly. instead, they take the time, they sit and study so that he can get better at being the chairman, she strokes his hair and protects him from his night terrors whenever he accidentally falls asleep at her place, and he talks to a third party to pinpoint who exactly he is amongst all the messes he's been forced through. she reminds him that there's a little jang hanseo sitting inside of him, in a little locked room that he's kept to himself because he doesn't want to see his true self get abused when his brother has taken everything else from him. he wanted to keep that side of him to himself, at least there was something that he could protect. honestly, going through therapy, he allows himself to realise that the idea of unlocking that room absolutely terrifies him. bc what if he retreats back into that dark place again? what if he allows himself to care for miri but he can't protect them like he couldn't protect his parents, or anyone else around him? and it takes a lot of effort to even get there.

but miri takes him aside, brushes her hand against his and tells him that she loves him for the first time. mind you, this is about a year after the events of the show, but they've been growing side by side this whole time, and when miri loves, she falls deeply. she realises now that she was so absorbed in the thrill of liking someone like vinny, after all, everyone seemed to be romantically interested in that man. but she understands that there wasn't really any truth to it. she's found it hard in the past to feel attachments or really any sort of attraction to people, living a very secular life. so that's why, when she sees these very visceral reactions to the man's looks, she honestly couldn't help but internally look at him the same way. it's like the awe that one may feel when they view a great piece of art, or an amazing scene in a film. there's always a disconnect between the viewer and the subject at hand. but it was a different matter when it came to her puppy.

she'd remembered the first time that she saw him, ducking behind pillars, looking like he was trying to be some goofy spy in that smart suit of his. he'd raise a hand to swipe away a few strands that would fall across his forehead and she couldn't help but wish that she knew what it was like to run her fingers through his hair. the attraction was like a lightning bolt that shot straight through her spine - and that was terrifying to her. so the initial times, she finds that she doesn't purposefully try to interact with the man. happy to stand and observe. miri has gotten so used to being the observer. never the participator.

that changed when he got himself sent to the hospital after being shot. the residents whispered behind palms about how the young man had saved their infamous lawyer pair, but she couldn't help but curse the italian. she knows of his prowess, she knows that he has ten times the fighting ability compared to hanseo. she would stomp back to her studio, something wild spreading across her mannerisms - utterly confusing any other resident around.

in all honesty, she's never been one for hospitals. but she makes hanseo food everyday. she doesn't trust whatever they give patients in hospitals anyway, and she knows that she has a few cooking tricks up her sleeve. they never really see each other, and she has always asked another resident to take the food to him. (a different one every time. she doesn't really know how she'd respond if anyone ever questioned her actions, especially when she's not completely sure why she's doing what she's doing either ... ) it takes a couple of days, but she slowly moves to his rhythm. taking notice of the foods that he likes, the ones that he didn't. now stopping outside of his hospital room to peer through the little window, elated at the look of sheer happiness that spreads across his puppy-dog features every time he sees a visitor with an entourage of containers for him. (maybe this is where his pet. name came from). even as things become a bit more normal, and he finds himself over in the plaza more often, the two would continue to peak glances at each other. her, wanting to see him smile like that again. him, mildly hurt that the only girl who had been playing on his mind for months had not gone to see him in the hospital. it's only after he finally asks her, and she abruptly poses whether he would like to study with her every night, does one of the other residents let miri's daily cooking habits slip.

she notices the distinct shift in his behaviour towards her, but he won't ever discuss the new nugget of knowledge till years later, and she'll get flushed and embarrassed at the fact that he's known all this time.

anyways, it takes a year and a half of talking twice a week to crack down on the deepest fears that hanseo has held onto for so long. all the residents know when it's happened bc they see the visible change. he's similar to how he's always been, but it seems like there's something lighter about him. like there's something that has been finally put to rest; the man looks like he has found a little bit of the peace that he deserves, at very last. when he visits the plaza, he's gotten rid of the stiff suits in dark colours. this rigid business attire had been his method of camouflaging into a wall of corporate faces - maybe his brother would aim a sharp object at the wrong person, one of those that he had cloned himself into looking like around him. it worked on some occasions. but this experience had taught him that these clothing decisions had become survival for him, and that was surely not a sustainable way to continue living. so most residents would stop to flick their eyes over the young man as he passes. his simple caramel turtleneck and blazer combo seeming too settled in the middle of the two extremes that the male usually fell in between.

rumour has it, the man literally dipped the apple to his eye, the woman who had waited for him to get healthy for a year and a half, the only sun he sees, nearly off of her feet when he steals their first kiss. they'd waited this long for it to occur, they may as well make it magical.

( are these crumbs okay?? hes not dead!! nope, that was false!! that never happened!!)

[donutloverxo]

Atleast we’re together

Authors note- this is a birthday gift for @miri-est-fou​ shes such an amazing friend and writer, thank you for this request. thanks to @sophiria​ for helping me edit this.

Please like, comment and reblog 💕

Please do not steal or repost my content.

Summary- You celebrate your birthday with Steve and your friends.

Warnings- smut, quarantine talk, angst, existensial crisis, fluff.

masterlist

Steve raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight creeping into the bedroom. He picked up his watch from the nightstand to look at the time, it was just a little over eight.

He rarely ever had the luxury or ability to sleep in. There was always something to do, someone to run from. They were war criminals on the run from the government.

For the past year they had been on missions all over Europe and Russia. They had been quarantined in a cabin, deep in the woods of Siberia. It was often cold but he had his girl to keep him warm.

He was protected by the serum. He wasn’t worried about himself. He was however worried for his friends and his girl.

He turned to his left to see you sleeping soundly on your stomach,  the sheets covering half your body. It was somehow more arousing than seeing you completely naked.

He could still feel your scratches on his back. He had decided to give you your first birthday gift at the stroke of midnight. Being on the run and sleeping in motels with thin walls, sex wasn't what it used to be between you two. But you made do.

He put his hand on your lower back and started stroking it. You hummed and turned to sleep on your back, exposing your pert nipples to him.

He recalled all the times you had woken him up with her mouth on him. He couldn't get you a mindblowing gift because of the financial restraints. Not that you cared much for material things. He still felt bad. It was your birthday; you deserved the world. He couldn't even find the spices to make your favorite dish. He had indeed failed as a boyfriend. Now he's just going to have to work best with what he's got.

He shifted on the bed to get between your legs. He grabbed your thighs and pulled them over his shoulders, pinning you down on your hipbones.

You always got too excited and fidgety when he ate you out.

His mouth watered when he looked at your glistening folds. He smirked to himself and dove in.

He licked a striped up your folds and heard you gasped. You looked down at him and threaded your hands in his much longer hair. He started licking slow, languid torturous strips. You opened your mouth to take in gasps of air.

He decided that was enough teasing. It was your birthday, after all.

He closed his mouth around your clit and gave it a harsh suck. You whined loudly.

He shushed you. "be quiet," he demanded. Usually, he loved hearing the sounds and moans you made. But he didn't want any comments from the others about your activities.

He licked and sucked on your clit. You chanted his name desperately as if he was the only thing you've ever known. All you could think of was him and his tongue on you.

You were sore and raw from last night's lovemaking. You were hypersensitive, which only made his assault more amazing.

You cried out and came on his tongue. He lapped at you and cleaned you up.

"That's one way to wake a girl up on her birthday," you mused.

***

Steve had asked you to sit on the porch to catch up on some reading. He was making a cake for you with Wanda and Vision.

You opened your phone and checked on your family’s social media. You used a vpn to hide your location. You wanted to make sure they were okay. There would be nothing worse than knowing they got in trouble because of you.

You wonder what they thought about you now. Will they understand why you did what you did? Or did they think you were a criminal just like everyone else. You didn’t regret not signing the accords. It was the right thing to do. You just couldn’t trust the government. If you can’t trust the people and the system supposed to protect you then who do you trust?

You missed the other Avengers and your old life. You had become a tight knit, albeit slightly dysfunctional family over the years. Then there was Tony. He must feel so alone. He was already in a bad place before the accords. He had just broken up with pepper. One of his closest friends had kept such a huge secret from him. Would he ever forgive you?

You open your youtube hoping to watch some vidoes of cute animals to lighten up.but them you came across the news. You saw how so many people are suffering around the world with little to no help. How did your society fail so bad and let down so many people? You frown when you see water droplets on your phone screen. Before you knew it you started sobbing. It was all to overwhelming.

“Doll?” Steve comes looking for you on the porch. He looks at you sobbing and takes a seat beside you. “Hey whats wrong?” he asks stroking your hair. He had asked you not to look at the news. But he’d never say I told you so.

“Everything”, you blurt out “this world has gone to shit. Whats the point? Why are we even here? I wanna go home” you clutch your phone to your chest as your tears calm down. “Running away, fighting the accords. Was it even worth it?” you wondered out loud. “No matter what we do it isn’t enough”

“You are right things are bleak right now. But it will pass. We will go home. I promise”, he says and holds your face in his hands. “I have faith in humanity. All we can do is try, try to make the world the better place and try to be better”, he smiles at you and you smile back. Steve had a way of doing that. Cheering and picking you up at your lowest moments.

“Well trying is better than doing nothing.”, you murmur.

“Yes it is. No matter what happens atleast we’re together”

“I think I can easily take on the world as long as you’re with me”, you cracked a toothy grin.

“I think I could too. I’d do anything for you. Now lets go in and cut the cake.”

Sam, Wanda and Steve were gathered around the table. Wanda put the cake on the table and lit the candles.

It was a simple cake with vanilla frosting. They had tried to draw your face on it. It had your face shape, eyes and hair. But even steves artistic skills couldn’t make up for lack of proper ingredients.

It was still the most perfect cake you had ever seen. You could tell just by looking at it that it was made with love.

“Alright yn make a wish”, Sam said smilng at you.

You smile back at him and close your eyes. You wish for everyone to be safe and to go home as soon as possible. No more alien or AI invasions would be nice as well.

You open your eyes and blow out the candles while every sings you a Happy birthday.

[bonny-kookoo]

“Sometimes, it hurts” / GG Jungkook / Angst-Fluff You’re an incredible writer btw, and I’m absolutely obsessed with the GG series! Hope your week goes well, boo - 🐙

Lazy kisses were shared as Jungkook held you close to his chest, inked hand running long your arm as you watched a movie on his laptop together. Everything was completely fine until you tenses up, squirming around. “You okay?” He asked, as you nodded. Yet he could see something was off as he watched you move your leg around, trying to ease the increasing pain of it. “Come here.” He said, making you sit up as he paused the movie, putting his laptop to the side as he placed your legs over his thighs, gentle hands trying to smooth the contracting muscles. “Only uncomfortable again or.?” He asked, and you shrugged, trying not to make a huge deal out of it.

“Sometimes, it hurts..” you mumbled, and he cooed at you, feeling worry climb up his throat. Even though it had gotten considerably better, you still required regular physiotherapy. His nightmares had gotten more rare as well, but they still happened, reigniting his fear of knowing that the world could be cruel, every day being a chance of something cutting his time with you short. To see you in pain was hurting him as well, as if you both shared a bond so deep he could share everything with you.

“Did you tell the therapist?” He asked, and you simply bit your lip, making him sigh and pull the skin from between your teeth. “First of all, what did I say about biting your lip?” He asked, and you looked a bit to the side.

“I shouldn’t do that because you can’t kiss me when my lips are hurt..” you repeated his statement from weeks ago when he’d addressed your bad habit. He nodded.

“Good Girl. Secondly, telepathy and future telling are things that belong in movies. No one can tell what’s going on there if you don’t say it.” He said, tapping your forehead as you nodded. “Let’s go for a late night walk. That’ll ease your cramps, and Miri can use the exercise. Don’t think I don’t notice you giving her treats all the time.” He said, patting your legs and gently pinching your side and making you squeal as he got up, grabbing his discarded pants to put them on again as you smiled, already searching for your socks.

[pinnochiro]

pinn reviews - final fantasy xv

a long ramble about final fantasy fifteen that sort of looks like a review, as written by someone who finished the game fifteen minutes ago and needs to get these words out of his head. spoilers inbound.

i'm a pretty big fan of video games. i don't know what my first was, but it was probably either banjo and kazooie or mario kart 64, at my cousin's house when i was very small. i think that video games as a medium are so interesting, since the fact that video games are inherently interactive changes the way that they tell any story. it's a shame that despite loving video games so much, i'm absolutely terrible at them.

i'm absolute dogshit at video games. whenever i boot up something new, i always play on easy mode because. i'm that bad. unfortunately, this means that a lot of video games are simply. impossible for me to beat. that's fine, as at the moment i live with my good friend lizz, who is certifiably Good at Video Games, and so we've been playing video games together for a little bit now. typically this means that she will actually play the majority of the game while i sit with her and watch, but occasionally i'll have a go, but she'll end up with the controller as soon as a boss fight or puzzle or a mechanic i just can't seem to grasp shows up. we recently played through the entirety of the kingdom hearts series together, and this was an absolute blast of a time. i'm glad to say that i adore kingdom hearts now, and it's become one of my hyperfixations, which you might be able to tell from my icon. but we'd finished the kingdom hearts series, and we were left to move onto something else. we'd also played final fantasy 7 remake, so in my wisdom, i suggested that we play another final fantasy game.

we looked through the ff games that were already purchased on our consoles thanks to lizz's uncle, and eventually, we decided that we should play. all of them. however to start, we were going to play final fantasy xv, 15, and work our way backwards through the mainline, single-player games.

i'd heard that xv wasn't very good, but honestly, i was still quite curious. one person who i'd been following on twitter for years was pretty obsessed with the main party members, to the point where i knew their names and what-not even though i didn't have much of an idea what the game itself was about. i remember watching a video by supereyepatchwolf a few years ago about how the game sucked, but i couldn't remember much of the details, and i knew, based on my obsession with kingdom hearts, that xv had started as a different game called final fantasy versus xiiv. i don't know all the details about versus thirteen, but i do know that it was originally helmed by the creator of my beloved kingdom hearts, mr tetsuya nomura, and that after many years, the vast majority of the game was thrown out, nomura wasn't in charge any more, and the whole thing was rewritten and reworked, which sounds like a fairly rough development cycle. but so what, i don't care about gameplay. i want to play the video game with those cute guys that i see fanart of on twitter, and lizz seemed happy enough to play through it with me.

and so we started final fantasy xv. i've been told that since the game was practically dead on arrival, they threw in a bunch of new content and reworked a lot of the early game before i got my hands on it. so my gameplay started with a scene of the four guys fighting some demon dude on fire and they're all old and grotty. whatever, that cutscene ends and we're put into a combat tutorial. that's over and we're on the road in what looks to be central america, pushing a car.

our four leading lads are noctis, the prince of the lucis empire, his best friend prompto, his bodyguard, gladio, and his chef and other things, ignis. i do quite like the main four members of the party in xv. prompto is quite easily my favourite, voiced by robbie daymond of goro akechi fame and with a bunch of fun little animations and quips that make him very likeable. he gets extremely excited at the idea of riding chocobos and has what i considered the best scene of the game, where he and noctis meet on a motel rooftop and discuss prompto's imposter syndrome, since he's only part of noctis' official retinue as his best friend. noctis is a fairly typical main protagonist, he's in love with a woman he hasn't seen in eight years and needs to go marry her or something, i don't care. gladio is a tough macho man with a mullet who wears leather jackets and wields a greatsword, and is apparently only 22, which is at least 10 years younger than i assumed. ignis is a strategist and chef, who takes on the most authoritative role and constantly tells noctis to not drive his car at night. i was not a fan of ignis at the start, but he grew on me, especially with how hard the game hit me with his personal arc. the four boys are off, driving to noctis' wedding in a different country across the desert when their car breaks down. we then run into the first issue of the game.

cindy is a mechanic. she also has her ass and tits out constantly, like your sleazy uncle's shirt with a naked woman was instead semi-alive as a video game person. she fixes your car and acts fairly sexual and it's just like. why do we have to do this. aren't we over overtly sexualised women in video games who have no reason for the way they dress other than the character designer was horny? whatever, i like women as much as the next guy, but cindy's design just. makes me feel so uncomfortable.

anyways you get to do a little driving around with the boys, until you stay the night before catching the boat to your fiance. overnight, you find out that noctis' kingdom has been basically destroyed by an invading empire called niflheim, and practically everyone noctis knows, including his father, are dead. you learn that noctis and his bride to be are also assumed dead, with noctis hearing his own death announcement on the radio. the game has a bunch of added cutscenes that are actually footage from the three-hour-long prequel movie that came out after the game, are extremely hard to follow and honestly i had no idea what i was looking at. anyways, noctis' family is dead, so it's time to do some hunting sidequests.

that brings us to the combat, i suppose. rather than the turn-based or even active turn-based combat that the series is known for, xv opts for more modern action rpg-styled combat. i was, naturally, terrible at this, but i managed to get around it with the fact that. it is almost impossible to die in this video game, provided you have enough items. the game allows you so much time to heal yourself that there's practically no way to have your entire party wipe unless you're doing absolutely terrible, and even then, your party members will probably try and heal you themselves before that happens. lizz tells me that the combat is boring, you just push the same button over and over and then you win. i do appreciate that, for someone like me who is terrible at reading enemy movements, there is a giant button that pops up on screen that tells you when to push the block button, but even then i was prone to fucking it up. whether that's the bad game design or my terrible gaming abilities is up to you to decide. anyways, the game is fairly easy but has annoying combat, your teammates limit breaks will only land about 50% of the time (or never, if you are gladio) and i was still bad at it, so i didn't have all that much fun.

instead of an active levelling system, the game will only tally your character's level ups when you either make camp or visit a hotel. camping is, in my opinion, the only saving grace of this game. each time you make camp, you get to see the characters doing fun little camping activities together and just hanging out, ignis will cook up a new meal in a dramatic fashion and everyone will compliment him and eat it off their coleman's branded plates, it's just very fun. you also get to see what pictures prompto has taken, which is one of my favourite gameplay features. prompto's passion is photography, and while i support him in this wholeheartedly, his picture taking skills are, quite frankly, awful. the game will randomly take shots while you're on the move, which leaves you with a delightful selection of awkward poses, characters hidden behind bushes, pictures taken while someone is half-dead in combat, and snaps where the natural lighting absolutely makes it impossible to tell what's going on. it's hilarious and going through prompto's collection of photos each night is honestly the best part of the game. we managed to wind up with a few shots that, even despite being scripted events, turned out absolutely terrible, and i will cherish those forever.

anyways, since noctis' father and fiance are dead, that leaves him the king of lucis. the only important person to make it out of the capital alive tells you to drive to the middle of nowhere, where he randomly springs on you. hey. go into a bunch of these dungeons and absorb a bunch of swords, this is your destiny as king and how you will defeat the empire. noctis goes, uh, alright i guess, and you're set loose again to wander around for a bit collecting the 'royal arms'. this plot point wasn't explained well but hey, whatever, we're collecting the glowy swords and that's fine.

you're introduced at some point to ardyn, the main antagonist. he's old, kind of groady and wears a fedora. he's a dick to you and talks about his automobeeel. apparently my friend miri thinks he's hot, she is wrong.

i can't remember what happens specifically but you're told that your fiance is still alive and in fantasy venice, and she's talking to the gods on your behalf to borrow their powers. there's a mission where you follow some purple trees that are electric, and you do that i guess. i enjoyed riding the chocobos around, but couldn't care much for the plot at this point. ardyn leads you to a volcano, where you fight a giant lava god. he tries to step on you and i, a denizen of the internet and with an active fear of foot fetishists, was extremely uncomfortable. noctis becomes friends with foot man and a lightning god who lived in those trees, and ardyn steals your car.

very upset by this, noctis and his gang risk everything to sneak into a military base and steal it back. because this is a video game, this works out fine.

there's a little mining city which is all about Girl Power, because all the Women run the Mining Industry like Girl Bosses, and you hang around there for a bit. because all the women are so Empowered, they wear bikinis all the time with overalls over the top. gladio decides he needs to fuck off for a bit, i have no idea what he does since i haven't played the dlc, and then he comes back with another scar. you hang out with his sixteen year old sister, who has a crush on the engaged and 20-year old noctis, and then you drive her to a lighthouse. when she's in your party, she can't really fight, but she gets a pink chocobo and i thought that was very cute. we turned out own chocobo white and lizz named him 'jones' after a mount she has in ffxiv.

eventually, you have a long boat ride over to fantasy venice. this is the part where the game stops being 'fun with a few issues in combat and a rushed and poorly told story.' the open world, which was a main feature with a bunch of little areas to find where noctis can fish, little hunting sidequests and random photo spots where prompto takes touristy photos, is now gone, and it will not return for the entire rest of the game. you can 'go back in time', but the open world was the most enjoyable part of the game, and it kind of really sucks that the main story doesn't let you have any more freedom like that.

after arriving in fantasy venice, you have a talk with fantasy hillary clinton and beg her to let your girlfriend summon a god into the middle of her city. hillary agrees, and you don't get to meet up with your fiance, because even if the game is constantly telling you how much noctis loves her, there is. barely any interactions between the two in the entire game. from what i can tell, they met when noctis was a child and they haven't seen each other in ten years but are still fantasy dog pen-pals. noctis marrying her was supposed to make an alliance or something like that, but her brother has betrayed her to the army. noctis' girlfriend is also an oracle, which means she can heal people, i guess? everyone talks about how important she is and she's constantly telling people that she needs to use her powers to help noctis but she's practically a non-entity.

as can be expected of most female love interests in a game primarily focused on men, noctis' fiance is killed while summoning a god for noctis to befriend. noct gets very mad about this, and turns super saiyan and kills the god back, but his girlfriend is dead and that's super sad you guys. there's a beautiful prerendered cutscene where she says goodbye to noctis but since we barely know her, and we've only been told over and over that they're in love without anything to actually well, show this, it didn't have much of an impact. fantasy venice is destroyed, and ignis is blinded while trying to help calm the giant raging god.

iggy's blindness and how the game makes you account for this and grow to care for him was one of the highlights, in my opinion, as well as crushingly depressing. while i'm not disabled and have no right to say if this was 'good disabled representation' or anything like that, i believe that the game handles it decently enough. the group falls apart as noctis is upset about his girlfriend, gladio is extremely mad that noctis won't care for ignis, and prompto just wants everyone to get along. there's a mission where gladio constantly yells at you passive aggressive things to noctis about how he's a cunt for running, which is obnoxious, but the character arc itself is fairly strong. when you make camp, ignis can't cook anymore, so everyone eats cup noodles in a depressing ass cutscene. ignis remains in your party for the rest of the game despite his disability, and he doesn't magically regain his sight like other fantasy media would do, which at the very least i think is good. i'm not sure what the opinion of actual disabled people is of the character, considering how often disabled characters are either turned into misery porn to make the abled audience be glad that isn't them and if ignis' arc falls into this trap, but i hope that it wasn't handled too poorly, as that would just be another terrible mark in this game's list of bad moves.

the characters eventually make it to the evil empire's capital, which is abandoned and filled with daemons. the characters learn that ardyn is super evil and taught the king of the empire how to turn humans into daemons, which has now happened to the entire city. the 'magitek suits', presumed to be enchanted armour that fights as the empire's infantry, actually house the souls of the human-turned daemons. honestly i like this as a plot point but the game handles it pretty terribly. there could have been more lead up to this, the explanation is pretty lacking, and prompto's Big Plot Twist is. terribly handled. turns out that prompto was born in the empire and was going to be one of those empty soldier daemons, but he was rescued by people belonging to noctis' empire. not that the game tells you that. instead, prompto goes 'turns out i'm one of ... them' and Does Not Elaborate. The game doesn't tell you shit, not about prompto's past, not about how he feels about this, not about how anyone else feels about this either because the other party members just go 'oh that sucks, good thing you're not evil' and the scene ends. robbie daymond tries so hard to sell these terrible, terrible lines, and it almost entirely fails, i'm so sorry prompto. fortunately because i'm a nosy ass, i read prompto's wikia page and knew the plot twist ahead of time, because i don't think i would have even registered it if i didn't.

anyways everyone in the evil empire is dead and ardyn starts talking about how he's immortal and an ancient king of noctis' country but the gods thought he sucked because he's too evil. i missed most of this because the cats got the zoomies and were dashing across the couch right in the middle of his speech so i can't tell you anything else. noctis tries to get a big magic crystal to fight him and instead. gets schlorped inside.

TEN YEARS LATER

yes then ten years actually pass while noctis is asleep. the game shows this by switching the head on noctis' character model to have a beard, but that's it, no changes in animations or whatever. the sky is permanently night and only one human civilisation remains, the rest destroyed by daemons. as a plot point, this ends up feeling. extremely worthless. why was noctis asleep for ten whole goddamn years? so we can wake up and go 'damn it sucks out here'. but it's barely even a like, incentive to fix everything, because you have a long talk with a former child you were friends with where he talks about how humanity is still going fine and everyone's okay and the world has moved on without you. it feels. pointless. when you meet up with your party members, they are exactly as you left them, only with slightly different character models. there is no change in the voice performance, the character's movements or how they talk to show that they've been without you for ten years. they barely mention it. i'm just. so confused as to why they decided that a ten year timeskip was the way to go? since nothing really changes, couldn't you have made it like, two years? one year? six months?? have the characters react a little more? something??? at least if it was only a year or so i wouldn't have to deal with the fact that noctis looks like norman reedus with his shitty facial hair now.

anyways after that there's a bunch of long and boring boss fights. you fight some dead kings for some reason, your party members get a little bit to talk about how cool they are and how much they love noctis, and then you meet up with ardyn. there's another boring boss fight and god this was only a few hours ago but it's already gone from my head. you summon the gods and the old kings to beat the shit out of him after you both go super saiyan again? there's incredible music but it feels barely earned and just kind of eh. anyways, noctis dies, which was the price of using the crystal of light or whatever the fuck. his ghost marries his fiance's ghost finally, and they smile as they look at one of prompto's pictures. you can pick any picture you want to go here, and then the credits roll, showing all of the pictures you saved of prompto's shots. showing me all the pictures at the end is honestly lovely, but it really only served to remind me of how much more fun the game was in the first half. and that's the end, of final fantasy xv.

so what did i think of the story? it's terribly cobbled together and struggles to get you to feel anything and play out all the plot beats. you feel awful for the countless employees who spent years working on the beautiful cutscenes only to have them be in this game, which sucks and the story barely gets through. there were parts that i enjoyed, mostly the thing about the daemons being people, but honestly the rest of it is a mess. it's hard to follow at the best of times and just awkward and terribly written at the worst. the ending is cheap, and it doesn't feel like you've actually accomplished anything. i left that game feeling numb and empty, sad that i'd wasted so much time to end up with such a colossal failure of a conclusion.

i had fun with the game when it was my four little guys running around doing sidequests and camping together. after the midway point of the game, there's none of that, and you're bogged down into a plot that just pushes you from point a to point b and boring overlong bossfight to boring overlong bossfight. the character moments between your party are a lot of fun, but the second you hit fantasy venice, everything is pretty much on rails and you can't do anything except what the game tells you explicitly to do.

should you play this game? no lol. if anything i've mentioned about the story interests you, you'll be better off watching a lore video or reading the wiki. if you do want to play it after all that, just don't proceed after the myrthril refining quest, it's pretty much all downhill from there. will i play the dlc? unlikely, i think lizz and i will just watch a cutscene movie of those.

this game left me feeling empty and numb and not in a fun way. i wanted, so, so hard to like this game, and it all crashed around me in a beautifully overproduced and confusingly written cascade. i love you prompto, but even your cute little freckly face and terrible photography can't save this trainwreck of a game.

tl;dr - final fantasy xv sucks. i hope that 13, our next ff game, will be better.

[valhallanrose]

Monster Miriyam Headcanons

So, to preface, Miriyam is still technically human - her monster form comes about as a contract with her patron, the King of Swords, and manifests this way because she is halfway to becoming a member of his court. She’s essentially got one foot in the realms of the arcane, the other in her/the normal world - changing or transforming means pulling magic from the realm of the Suit of Swords and rather than expressing that through spells, does so through self modification. Hence the monster form, which was inspired off the Nyx Hydra design for the King of Swords in the Arcana tarot deck. She’s met with Arcana a few times now and while some very perceptive humans read her more as Arcana-adjacent than anything else, the Arcana very much believe that she’s human regardless of what form she takes. 

Size-wise, she’s about 7’2”, not including horns (horns make it a good 7’10”). Very muscular and definitely as strong, if not stronger than you think she is based on appearance alone. Prehensile tail. 

Miriyam doesn’t break this form out without a long conversation as to what she is (only held with potential long term partners, really, casual hookups don’t usually get to a personal enough point to warrant that)

Transforming is kind of gross, honestly? Like this is some very audible crunching/popping, like when you crack your knuckles but way louder, but it’s also a very fast paced change so you don’t hear it for every long

She’s got some habits from the monster side that have quickly become noticeable when she’s wandering about as a human. 

This includes enhanced sense of smell, hearing, and sight.

Smell and hearing are particularly intense, though, to where she can pick up on a mouse running on the palace marble or tell you exactly what spices someone mixed into a dish as soon as she stepped into the kitchens. 

Sight is trickier to quantify, but the average human with 20/20 vision can see the furthest edge at 3 miles away. Miriyam’s would be somewhere in the 4-5 mile range, while night vision is about 3-4 miles (assuming clear skies and no obstacles)

Very catlike? Loves to sun herself if she can find a private spot in the daytime, will purr if you scratch behind her ears, also easily tempted by shiny things (particularly gold shiny things, her eyes get bigger than her brain at the idea of Expanding the Instinctual Hoard)

Extremely embarrassed to admit she has a not insignificant collection of gold coins and trinkets she’s collected over the years based purely on instinct - she has no idea where half of it came from

Has gone and still goes on long flights, usually to get out when her nightmares get bad. While her secondary form isn’t necessarily a secret - she used it in the Coliseum during her brief time as a gladiator, and most of the guard is aware simply for the sake of ease - she still waits until nightfall for some sense of privacy. 

Her favorite place she’s ever gone was to the Scourgelands, where she flew through the southern lights, and she’s hoping to bring a partner there one day if they’d be alright taking the fast route. 

When it comes to fighting prowess, she’s absolutely a predator - armored scales, claws, fangs, speed, strength...fuck around and you will find out and yes I do mean that double entendre 

There’s some art refs under the cut from @anonbunnyart and @lajadelmira so you get an idea of what she looks like, and then we’re going to dive into the thirst. 

In case it isn’t clear: NSFW AHEAD, MINORS DNI, also obvious monsterfucking cw 

by anonbunnyart

by lajadelmira

Still cis, still a lesbian, so she’s still attracted exclusively to women and femme-presenting nonbinary people, the pool is only narrowed based on if her partner would ride the dragon. 

Yes I’ve made that joke many times, no I’m not going to stop making it. If I don’t, just assume I’m dead

Absolutely a top and a dominant top at that, convincing her to bottom when she’s in monster form is very, very difficult and usually only comes about in niche circumstances. More on that later. 

Addendum: She’s slightly more willing to bend if you want to use your hands/mouth, but straps are damn near impossible for her to get into when she has all of you right there to pay attention to. She’s not opposed to being touched, but she’d really just rather pay attention to her partner like this. 

Personal pleasure is very much just an afterthought, and honestly, she’s okay with that

Has several ‘weak spots’ on her body that will definitely turn her to putty, no matter how tough she acts. Done in sort of a sensitivity scale from least to most. 

Horns:

It’s not that they’re sensitive, but if you grab her by the horns and tell her exactly what you want to do her/her to do to you, she’ll find it very hard to tell you no.

Loves it and will take it as encouragement if she’s going down on her partner and they grab her by the horns when she does something they like. 

Tail:

Her tail is prehensile, and she will use that to her advantage, including fucking her partner with the tip of it (which is nice if her partner likes penetration, because finding a strap to fit her in draconic form is A Whole Nightmare)

However, she will go a little apeshit if you play with the tip otherwise - particularly if you suck on it - and honestly you’ll probably get pounced

Wings:

Quick note - Miriyam usually keeps her wings tucked fairly close to her back as a sort of protective measure, and she doesn’t usually like being on her back because she doesn’t like them being pinned, but can ease into it with a partner

Loves, loves, loves it if you touch her wings - the membranes are sensitive and just running your fingers across them makes her want to purr like a kitten

Fun fact, stimulating the right spot on her wings will actually make her orgasm. (That spot is on the wing membranes closest to her back, about halfway down, and no, that’s not something Miriyam will realize until she has a partner that wants to explore her physically like that)

Territorial. Absolutely a territorial bastard. She tries to tamp it down, she really does, but some days it’s harder than others. Particularly when she can pick up the scents of other people on her partner, that really kicks up the ‘mine’ instinct even if she logically knows nothing happened and trusts her partner fully

She really likes scent marking because of this - no, she won’t piss on you, that’s just the best term I can come up with - but she has a few approaches if she’s feeling like she needs to ‘stake her claim’

Lots of roaming hands and definitely letting her mouth wander, but if not directed to a specific spot she will absolutely go for a full bite on your pulse point to really just layer the scent in there

Tucks shed scales into the pockets of her partner’s clothing (jackets, shirts, pants, etc)

Or, a good old fashioned absolute obliteration - by which I mean she’ll fuck her partner until they’re an overstimulated puddle in her lap plus an orgasm for good measure - and then taking care of them afterward 

That being said, this definitely goes both ways, she will be raring to go if you just murmur a ‘mine’ in her ear - she’ll be eager to prove that yes, she is yours, and she’s not going anywhere

When it comes to actually doing the deed...

Favorite positions (in no particular order)

Partner pinned to the wall, any position, just. Pinned to the wall

One hand around both her partner’s wrists, legs spread out over her thighs, the other hand between their thighs or otherwise roaming

I feel like I should mention here that monster Miri has a habit of filing down at least the first two claws on each hand (middle and index) if she knows sex is on the table, she’s not out here to hurt her partner like that

Seated on the edge of the bed, ideally facing a mirror, with her partner in her lap. One hand/her tail tip between their thighs, and arm around their waist, chin on their shoulder watching them in the mirror

Yeah this is definitely a favorite of monster Miri’s 

A handful of things she enjoys (all with prior consent)

Primal (predator), some painplay (ft. claws, teeth, and a very strong grip), sensation play, overstimulation

Some turn-ons

Lingerie, but the shinier the better

Gold accents in particular will really make her go AWOOGA, she jokes it’s because of the gold dragon hoard but it’s actually not far off

Dirty talk/dirty...actions?

Just manhandle her she’ll think it’s hot

Any and all of the brat fighting words 

“What are you going to do about it?”, “Make me.”, etc

Honestly the more I think about it I’m not sure there’s an off switch so much as each side of the switch being fight or fuck. Like. Miriyam is always horny like this. She can chill but why would she in the privacy of her home/when she’s with her partner

This might be. TMI. But the scale plating over the fun parts is….retractable I guess? I don’t know what word I want but they’re not always out because that feels like a hazard. And unfortunately no nips like this because those are also a hazard, but her neck, ears, lower belly, and the previously mentioned areas are all very sensitive and prime for the touching.