#ah it’s really hard sitting with people you feel like you have to prove something to

[psuedosugu]

thinking about suguru with a witch-hunted reader.

“she’s a witch, she has to be!”

“she’s unholy, impure.”

“that girl, she has the devil in her.”

-regular whispers you heard from the inhabitants of the remote village you lived in, their judgmental gazes piercing into you, as they sensed your cursed energy, as they sensed that something was wrong with you.

you learnt to stay indifferent to their words, or at least to look the part, but you would be lying if you said it didn’t get to you sometimes. you often dreamed of leaving for the city, but you had little money and life would be hard, perhaps one day, though.

perhaps their observations weren’t of zero substance, though. while it might not have been particularly demonic, there was something unnatural about you. since the age of 8, you had seen these……things….lurking in the corners and in the dark. they were horrifying, and they only grew more hideous as you grew older.

then, at about 14, you realize that you had this strange connection to the world, particularly the oxygen around you. as you learnt how to harness your powers, you were able to create wind with nothing but your hands, and as your power grew, you realized you could do so much more, condensing air enough to lift, slice, and squeeze items, it was beautiful, but dangerous. you couldn’t let anyone know about your abilities, you couldn’t prove them right.

you slipped up though, of course you did, you couldn’t keep this part of you locked away forever. they had their proof now, they had their warrant to lock you away, planning to burn you on the steak for all to see, for all to celebrate the death of the witch. they didn’t really think it would be that easy, did they?

you killed them, the day of your execution. you killed the executioners and the onlookers, leaving only few to run away. you looked around at the chaos you had created, dead bodies limped everywhere. you were alone, so what now? you grabbed your belongings, stole some money (the townspeople were dead, its not like they would miss it, anyways), and set off on a bus ride, determined to make yourself a life. this was a new beginning, you thought, you were leaving everything behind.

this proved to be harder than you thought, though. with the money you had pocketed, you were able to stay some cheap motel at first, so atleast you weren’t sleeping on the streets, but your money wouldn’t last forever. you resorted to bussing tables at an old diner. the pay wasn’t great though, and you found yourself feeling isolated. you had no one to help you here, you were foreign and alone.

the day you got kicked out of your motel room, you were sitting in a park, unsure what to do, when a strange man approached you. he was tall, with long hair half up, half down, and a strange aura to him. “are you [first-name] [last-name]?” he asked with a kind voice. you eyed the man with distrust, but nodded anyways.

“ah,” he said, “ive heard so much about you. i suppose i should introduce myself. im suguru geto.” he smiled. suguru had heard the hushed bickering of a curse user, one who wiped out a whole village in self defense. he found you intriguing, and a perfect addition to his cause, his mission to eradicate all non-sorcerers, or monkeys, as he called them. “…what do you mean, ‘you’ve heard about me?” you stammered out, eyes slightly widening. he ignored your question, instead asking “do you have a place to stay, miss [last-name]?” you shake your head no.

“well, you can come with me if you’d like. i have a place you can stay, with other curse users.” of course he didn’t tell you the fine print yet, he needed to rope you in first.

you messed around with the words ‘curse user’ in your mind. so thats what people like me were called? you also played around with the idea of trusting this man. he came out from nowhere, and his offer sounded too good to be true, but you couldn’t wave away the comforting feeling he radiated. he was like you, and things couldn’t get much worse than how they were now, you thought, so that settled it.

you went with the strange man, unsure of what would happen to you. little did you know, you would be getting sucked into a life-altering decision.

pt 2 is coming eventually guys dw!!

[rzyraffek]

This is my first time doing an ask, but I was wondering if I could request an ftm/ftnb reader x slasher fic (any character you think would fit/any character you want to add) where the reader has trouble breathing in the winter/cold and wearing their binder just makes it worse and their whole body is sore due to going up and down stairs so much so they can't keep up with the slashers longer strides and has to run after them.

Like, if the reader and the slashers were at the zoo or somewhere outside and the reader just started to take SUPER deep breaths just to be able to breathe normally or just to get air; especially after walking up or down stairs or hills.

And at one point the reader just gets tired of having to take so many deep breaths so they just go the the bathroom and take off their and layer two jackets over their shirt since they didn't bring an extra bra.

And like about 20 minutes later, reader STILL has to take super deep breaths just to actually breathe and having to run after the slashers just to be able to walk next to them; but with how sore reader is, they can't keep up with their partner and often has to take 3-minute breaks just to be able to catch their breath.

Remember binder users! You should wear them only up to 6hours daily! Dont ruin your ribcage!! I use to wear binder so yeah, I get it.

Anyways👹ofc i will write this!

So bacially, ftm s/o struggles with breathing due to binder and weather! You didn't specified which slashers so I will just go with flow on this one!

Slashers with s/o that struggles with breathing due to binder

Micheal Myers

Don't worry dude is used to noises of people choking to death lol

But fr dude gets a bit worried? He doesn't like how sometimes s/o has to take breaks just to breathe

If you guys are in rush and s/o has to take a break dude will just "hell nah fuck this" and pick s/o up

Micheal really doesn't care about gender or sex. Your a dude? 👍. There's no need to 'prove it' or look certain way for him to belive you

Brahms Heelshire

Dude fr will set a timer on his phone so s/o won't 'overdose' binder 😭

Erm honey you are starting to hyperventilate, its time for a break dont you think?

Brahms acually did his homework and read bunch of articles about binders and now he understands way more😊👍

Darling remember to exercise before and after you wear it so it less uncomfy

Finds s/o very cute and squishes them too hard sometimes

Billy Lenz

????

The fuck?Are you suffocating or something? *judges*

What feels worse? Wearing binder a bit too tight or billy sitting on your chest while your trying to sleep?

Bro doesn't understand what is "gender dysphoria" and tired to hide s/o binder once cuz he didnt trust it

Lucky for you Billy doesn't go outside, so you don't have to worry about him getting lost walking faster than you

What are pronouns?

Jason Voorhees

Oh Jason you big baby

Jason just feels bad, cuz he knows that s/o feels less cool without the binder but baby you cant breathe😭

Of course he will wait for s/o and he won't rush them at all!

Will try to convince s/o to not wear binder so often. Jason sees you as a perfect boufriend weather you wear it or no

Genuinely worried about s/o health

Asa Emory

Ah creature, why would you think that wearing binder for whole day was a good idea?

Dude is smart, he already knew what binders are!

He is aware that trans people often struggle with dysphoria and he can't just be like "dont wear a binder lol" so he tries to calming explain that nono honey you are a man even if you don't have a flat chest i love you

If he finds out that s/o whats a top surgery, Asa went "Alr bet" and then your bank account blew up

Funfact! If s/o was openly trans before they met Asa... dude was convinced that s/o just has severe asthma 😭 he was like ??? Uh do you have your inhalator with you?? Or like is it temporary???

👽guys I ate good chicken today. With sauce

Also im not sure if its good? I kinda forgot how to write entering stuff😭😰

[ughtyrell]

Anti social Oliver Quick

Oliver is just really not interested in making friends. He is in fact against it but doesn't want to make a big fuss about it so he decides to just seem very boring and plain. Hoping to seem very nerdy and unpopular so people wouldn't even want to approach him.

He has some precautions to ensure this goal. Such as his wardrobe. Perfectly plain yet ugly enough to put people off. His quiet attitude that makes him easy to ignore and careful constructed awkwardness that makes the few who try not want to do so again. His ideal mask that will make people leave him alone.

So why is this rich pretty boy so eager and determined to be his friend?

It starts with Oliver helping Felix with his bike, just something Oliver decided to do on a whim because he was having a particularly nice day and was in a good mood. What was the harm in helping the poor looking sod sitting at the side of the path?

Apparently the harm is he gets a borderline stalker from it. A harmless stalker itself because the other boy acts like a kid who isn't used to not getting what he wants and pouts about it endlessly. But he's starting to feel harassed.

Maybe it actually started when Oliver denied Felix's invitation to sit with him and his friends at the pub. Somewhere Oliver decided to wander to that evening because again, he was having a nice day and thought, why not go enjoy a drink by himself? He doesn't mind going to places in public alone because he enjoys his own selfs company plenty and doesn't feel embarrassed to do so at places where it's socially expected to go with at least one other.

He doesn't expect to see the random boy from earlier, definitely didn't expect to be waved over by said boy. Which he lets happen because Oliver finds it will be easier to do so than rudely ignore them and deal with Felix and/or his group actively disliking him for a slight from the weird loner boy. He can politely listen to what Felix wants for a moment and then leave, disappear from sight and soon out of mind forever.

And that's exactly what he did. Listened to Felix tell the others how he "saved" Felix earlier and awkwardly nod and smiled along. It's was what he did next that baffled Felix. When asked if he was with anyone Oliver told the truth, no he wasn't. When invited to come sit, which was the obvious and expected thing to say yes to, Oliver declined with a simple polite, "ah thanks but no thank you." And then turned around and made it back to the bar to order himself a drink.

It was a complete insult to Felix's pride and ego, it left Felix feeling incredulous and irritated but also...thrilled. He had to investigate more and see what's wrong with this Oliver Quick who could just brush Felix catton off like that. He must be either mental or faking it, which makes Felix either really rather fascinated or want to prove Oliver to be a fake for his own peace of mind.

So Felix begins his attempts to charm Oliver into a friendship. Should be easy because Felix is easy to like and if someone doesn't like Felix then they're either lying or something is wrong with them not him.

Except it isn't easy and nor does Oliver not like Felix. He knows because he asked. He asked after Oliver continued to brush off Felix's attempts to sway Oliver into joining him for a drink, or a conversation or a friendship. Oliver said no, he doesn't not like Felix, he doesn't know Felix enough to not like him.

And when Felix asked then why does he continue to ignore and decline to be Felix's friend. Oliver says the worst thing anyone has ever said to Felix ever.

" I just don't want to Felix."

It's horrible and Felix can tell Oliver is being 100% truthful, not even intending to be hurtful about it but that just makes it worse.

When Felix tells Farleigh about it later, Farleigh laughs so hard at Felix he almost makes himself sick. Next time he sees Oliver he laughs some more and tells Oliver how he's the first person to ever knock Felix down a peg and good job. Oliver just says a curt thanks and leaves because while it's true he doesn't have anything against Felix, he actually is not a fan of Farleigh Start.

(Wouldn't it be funny though, if Oliver warms up to Farleigh first instead of Felix? Farleigh thinks yes and makes sure to rub it in his face whenever he can. He doesn't ever mention how this soothes something deep inside himself to be preferred first over Felix.)

[riddle-me-ri]

Riddler boys with an s/o in college who is really smart, but has anxiety and feels like a total screw up and a failure. And reader just wants Riddler to comfort them and help to stop the feelings of drowning and pressure. No, I’m not projecting, and you can’t prove that I am.

a/n: You can’t hide from me anon, I know when someone is projecting when I see it. Especially because I do it too! And this is the exact type of feelings and thoughts that I deal with on a regular basis both when I was in college and even now out of school. So if it helps, I’m projecting too lmao, also although I love him I skipped hush (dcau) eddie cause again, I felt these get a wee repetitive lmao

The Riddlers with an Anxious College Student S/O

Arkhamverse Riddler:

First of all, he’s like…the last person to go to for comfort.

Not only because he’s busy but…he rarely handles his own emotions in a healthy way…

But no matter how much he ignores you…it’s distracting having you all fidgety and self-loathing…

Edward will give you something to do to try and take your mind off of it. 

Yes, that’s right…he’s allowing you to help him…

To be in his workshop, with him, quite a privilege really! You’ll probably learn much more from him than any college course!

Almost tries to talk you out of college altogether. 

You know he’s trying and it does mean a lot to know he trusts you enough to be in his workshop. 

Besides…if the Riddler himself trusts you and thinks you’re smart enough…then you must be!

Reevesverse/Dano Riddler: 

Ah, yeah…he recalled not having the best time in college either. 

Edward went in and got out doing the bare minimum just so he could get a decent job

(so much for that, he bemoans)

You’re so much more than any institution, or grades, or anything like that. 

You’re brilliant, intuitive, and perceptive!

He’s quick to comfort you although you may need to tell him how. 

He’ll offer to hold you and rock you back and forth while rubbing your back

Or he’ll let you bend his ear and just vent your emotions and frustrations, he’s learned that sometimes helps. 

Whatever you need him to do, he’ll do it. 

Gotham Riddler: 

Oh gosh, oh dear…

Unlike Dano Riddler, I have a feeling this Eddie absolutely thrived at university. 

Atleast the educational aspects anyhow. 

But he’s familiar with the feeling of not being good enough, no matter how hard you try. 

He takes you in his arms and begins whispering sweet affirmations in your ear. 

You’re enough, you’re more than enough. You’re the best thing that’s happened to him.

Perhaps you’re just burned out, he notices the bags under your eyes. 

And if you’re struggling you can always come to him for help, regardless of the subject. 

Edward knows how amazing you are, but even amazing people need help every once in awhile. 

BTAS Riddler:

Edward is instantly there for you. 

He holds your hands or shoulders and rubs them with his hands, trying to soothe your nerves. 

He hates to see you this upset, but he can understand reaching a boiling point with your own emotions. 

Eddie lets you let it all out, all your anxieties.

He will likely ask you what you need, if you need advice, comfort, or just his presence. 

He will gladly oblige to whatever you choose. 

Like Gotham Riddler, he’ll offer to help you with your school work

He’ll comfort you with kisses and embraces.

He will sit by your side until you’ve calmed down and will be ready with something to take your mind off your anxieties.  

Zero Year/Cappullo Riddler: 

Again, not exactly the first guy I’d go to for comfort or reassurance. 

Edward will just shrug, not entirely sure why you care what your professors or peers think. 

If anyone’s thoughts should count, it’s his. 

You should feel worthy of yourself because he tolerates you…

That’s him being nice, I told you he’s not the best at this. 

Ed gets confused when you don’t continue the bait to banter. 

He sighs when he sees the absolutely crestfallen look on your face. 

It takes everything he can, but he tells you that you’re special…to him especially…

It takes a certain someone to put up with him, your tenacity, your brightness…that’s all you. 

TWOJAR Riddler: 

Edward honestly doesn’t understand why you choose to go anyway. 

You could easily learn whatever you need to know from him, instead of some dull professor. 

He thinks it’s strange that you let something trivial as school get to you, it’s not like it’s going to last forever, unless you insist of going to get a better degree. 

He tries, he honestly does, but again he just doesn’t understand the big deal. 

You’re clearly smart, you got into that school anyway, and you impress him time and time again. 

Him, you know, The Riddler? You have nothing to prove…this pressure you feel from school is temporary. 

Edward isn’t the best with words of comfort, but somehow the effort he tried to put in is enough to make you feel a little better. 

Gotham City Sirens Riddler: 

Edward was curious why your mind seemed to be somewhere else. 

You also began second-guessing yourself, which wasn’t like you. 

When you admit your insecurities and how you’ve been struggling with your self-worth from college. 

Edward’s perplexed. Really? College courses? 

Why do you care? College is a means to an end. 

You’re obviously really intelligent, almost on par with him.

You often helped him think outside of the box on his more obscure cases.

He didn’t just allow anyone to be his assistant, or to aid him on cases. 

Maybe, he should tell you that more often, but when he tells you it definitely makes you feel warm inside. 

Telltale Riddler: 

Likely frowned upon you attending a university anyway.

But I can see this Edward using it as a means to distract you from interfering with his work.

Also another Ed not to go to for comfort, lmao. 

Doesn’t understand why you put so much pressure on yourself when it’s not necessary. 

Especially for some meager classes. 

He leaves you alone to grovel for a bit, assuming it will pass eventually like such emotions do…

But he realizes that your moping silence is more distracting than when you’re trying to get his attention with affection. 

Edward reassures you that you’re just enough how you are, if you weren’t you wouldn’t be with him now would you?

The comment surprises you, but makes you perk up nonetheless.

Young Justice Riddler: 

Bless him, Eddie gets upset because you’re upset. 

Man is panicking slightly but tries his best to hold it together. 

When you let him in on the growing, heavy pressure building up, and how you feel like a failure…

Eddie’s heart cracks for you. You can’t be serious?

You’re more than enough, you’re not a failure, are you kidding? You’re the glue that holds the team together! You have the best plans!

Screw that school, they’re not worth your attention! 

B-But maybe, you could also be burned out? It’s been a while but, he’s been to school…

Edward nervously offers to help you with your school work, but enforces that it doesn’t have to be like a date or anything. 

His endearing comments and efforts are enough to ease your insecurities, especially in favor to help him with his.

[pretty-little-howtown]

Mimic

Astarion x Bard!Reader

Genre: fluff

Word count: 1.0k

gn reader

You arrived back at camp having finally defeated the Goblin leaders. You sat down in your tent relaxing, knowing you had limited time before the teiflings came to visit no doubt to throw a celebration party.

You sat up on your bed roll with the tent flap flowing gently in the wind. You took a deep breath holing your hand just below your rips feeling your diaphragm. You relaxed your breath with a low controlled him. You focused on you sounds you’d heard that day from the footsteps of your companions to the voices of the goblins milling about when you first entered the sanctum.

Your mind zoomed in on the most intresting voice you’ve had the pleasure of hearing since the day you met. You rescaled his quips throughout the day. There were so many tones and subtleties to his dulcet tones you couldn’t wait to unravel.

The voices of your other companions weren’t that hard to recreate. They were so easy for you to replicate you would often sit in your tent whispering things in Gale’s voice without much of a thought. You would chuckle to yourself at how easy it was to mimic their voices. To replicate their tones inside of you mind and repat things they had said while in the road of in camp.

Astarion’s however, proved to be more difficult. You had practiced night after night. You hung in the vampire’s every word hoping to crack the code. You were alway close but they was something about his voice that alluded you.

You took another deep breath this time pressing down gently on your diaphragm. You left out a slow sigh changing to pitch ever so slightly until you hit just the right note. With this in mind you tried saying one of his quips from the day, ahudsting the cadence with each word.

You prepared yourself for another fruitless attempt when you surprised yourself with how Astarion-like you had sounded. To make sure it wasn’t a fluke you picked his favourite phrase. You slowed the pace of your words replicating the rhythm and mixing it with his tone of voice.

“Hello darling,” you wrapped your lips around the words, accentuating the syllables. Making sure to draw out each one.

You paused eyes wide and mouth open. You left out a small laugh reeling from the fact you had finally gotten it right. You said it one more time just to be sure and like a child let out a few kicks of excitement.

You stood up and got out of your tent giddy and ready to make preparations for the teiflings’ arrival.

Astarion sat in the sunlight reading his book watching you rush around the camp moving things out of the way and organising the stacks of books they had collected over the last couples days.

He chuckled as he saw you uncork wines smelling them and splitting them into two groups. One was significantly smaller than the other and he had no doubt in his mind that you were keeping the best for yourself.

He’d been watching you’d do the better part of an hour, with the only mildly annoying pep in your step.

He looked back down at his book turning the page when a shadow blocked his sun. He sighed and looked up from the page only to see Gale stood in front of him. That was all it took for Astarion’s mood to sour.

“It’s lovely to hear you take some initiative,” Gale began. “I really didn’t think you would want the teifling refugees to be anywhere near our camp tonight but I stand corrected.” Astarion looked in with a slight grimace of his face.

“What on earth are you talking about?” his face twisting in disgust even further.

“Ah you may pretend now but I heard you making lists of the food that needed preparing. It’s good to see you open up to new people.” Gale walked away leave Astarion stunned. He couldn’t even begin to understand what he had just heard. Making lists? Him!

The party was in full swing as you milled about socialising with everyone who came to visit. They each give you their thanks and their gratitude. It almost flaws you. You never thought you’d be helping people in such a tangible way. You never thought you’d be adventuring on the Sword Coast wiping out goblin hoards and saving refugees.

You had to excuse yourself from your conversation with Zevlor to get yourself another drink. You wouldn’t be able to take the thanks without blurting out how surprised you even were that you managed to kill the leaders. Especially considering you had never held a sword in your life before you crash landed in the nautaloid.

You walked over to your tent grabbing the one you had stashed earlier. As you ducked out of your tent again you noticed Astarion looking intently in your direction. You walked towards him with deliberate steps occasionally glancing at the rest of the party.

When you got to his tent you greeted him, without thinking, with his favourite phrase in his exact voice. You watched shock cloud his face as he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“I was going to ask why Gale believed I had been making preparation for this dull party but it seems my question has been answered.” He remarked. How were you able to do that?

You chuckled at his reaction apologising for mimicking his voice without thinking.

“I think we all know if I was planning the party things wouldn’t be so incredibly dreary.” He smirked, quick to resume his mask of emotions for you. “Tell me, how did you manage that? I’m surprised you have any magic left after today.”

You explained it was nothing to do with magic just a hidden talent of yours. You couldn’t help yourself as you finally managed to mimic his voice after trying for so long.

“Well, I would love to hear more. Perhaps later tonight, when everyone else is asleep and it will be just you and me.” Astarion smirked at the information, his plan was already falling into place and he hadn’t yet lifted a finger.

A/N: it’s 3am, I’ve only just recovered from the first migraine I’ve had in years but I had to get this out of my head. I have not proof read this and probably won’t until tomorrow evening. But either way I hope you enjoyed. I’ve just started playing the game and I’m absolutely loving it so far !

I can write 1k words of Astarion fanfic in a night but apparently 3k word of the essay I need to write for my degree eludes me.

[moonlightspencie]

never thought i’d meet you here

Part 3 of ‘the sweetest con’

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: flashback chapter!!

<- PART TWO

Thinking back, I should have known she would be nothing but trouble for me. Her first day was enough to prove she would bring something very unique to the table. I certainly didn’t expect it to fully captivate me.

I heard a knock at the door, looking up to see a new face.

“Agent Hotchner?”

Her voice was quiet, but without the presence of nerves I’d usually hear in a stranger. Especially somebody who knew they were coming into the unit against my better wishes.

“Yes,” I stood, “You’re Agent Y/N, I presume?”

She smiled, walking further into the room and reaching out a hand.

“I am. It’s good to finally meet you,” she said, shaking my hand. “I know you’re probably a bit on edge considering I’m coming in without your say-so. I will say, however, that regardless of what Strauss says, if you feel that I’m not right for the team then I will gracefully bow out. She can’t really tell you no if I make the decision, right?”

She laughed, though I couldn’t quite tell if she was really joking or trying to catch me in some type of trap.

“I’m sorry?”

She finally dropped the hand that I didn’t realize was still holding onto her.

“I’ve known Strauss for a while, she’s kind of been a mentor of sorts. But that also means I know she’s always up your ass and that she’s kind of throwing me at you right now. I want you to know that you can still have the final say about me being here.”

“I appreciate that.”

She smiled again. “Great. So, have you had the chance to look over my file? Otherwise, I can give you the rundown.”

“I have looked it over, yes,” I said, a little rattled by just how forward she was. I moved to sit behind my desk, inviting her to sit down as well. “I’m impressed, I won’t lie. You’ve accomplished quite a lot for someone who joined the bureau two years ago.”

“Erin may be a hard-ass but she’s told me what I need to do to be a good agent, and frankly, it’s worked,” she said, then sighed softly. “I also grew up in a family that valued hard work. I try to operate on the mindset that I can learn to accomplish anything if I put in the work.”

“I’m glad to hear it. The BAU operates a little differently than most of the units here.”

“I’m aware. Trust me, I’ve done my homework on what this unit works to accomplish, and how it gets done. Even when it goes outside of the lines of what the higher-ups want,” she said, a small smile betraying her.

I found myself smiling back. “I’m sure you’ve gotten an earful about me.”

“Not enough to make me dislike you. If anything, hearing that you’re able to piss her off that often only makes me like you more.”

I let out a chuckle, appreciating the honesty, though still not used to it spilling out so easily from somebody I don’t know.

“Well, if you’re ready, I’d like to introduce you to the team,” I said, standing.

What I didn’t say was that I knew they’d love her. I couldn’t have been more right. She settled into the flow of the team as easily as if she’d been there the whole time. It probably helped that she was coming in around the same time as Elle, so they could support one another as new agents. She made fast friends with Reid, helping him to feel seen as a young agent. Obviously Morgan was fast to flirt, but even Gideon took her in quickly.

The thing that shocked me about her presence on the team is that of all the people she could focus on being friends with, she set her sights on me.

“Hotch,” she called out from the elevator, stopping me from opening the doors do the bullpen. “News on baby Hotchner?”

I laughed. Since he was born, she asked for daily updates as if much would change from day to day.

“Same as yesterday. Crying, sleeping, pooping, and eating.”

“Don’t forget the smiling. I’ve seen that kid a few times now, and he’s always smiling,” she noted.

“See? You don’t even have to ask, you already know,” I said, opening the door for her.

She walked ahead. “What if something changes? Then I’ll be behind the times”

“Right,” I nodded. “Haley says thank you for the new blanket, by the way.”

“Of course. The second I found out she was pregnant I started on the knitting. Every baby I know gets a little handmade present.”

“It’s still very kind,” I affirmed, then turned towards my office. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” she waved, immediately running over to talk to the group that sat around Reid’s desk.

It was well over a year later when I realized I might have a problem on my hands. Between her knowing me well enough to spot when I was down, and the fact that I didn’t want to talk about it outright, her usual kindness was laid on thick. It wouldn’t usually phase me for her to bring me a coffee or give me a hug.

For some reason, though, on one cold day the coffee she brought tasted extra sweet and the hug she gave me was warmer than ever.

My heart started beating harder.

I panicked, quickly putting distance between us when she let go. Physically, I stood back behind my desk. Mentally, I tried to ignore it all the best I could for months.

Then, in the middle of a suspension and a possible job transfer, Haley got a call. I’d already been suspicious that something was happening behind my back. It certainly didn’t help when I answered the phone, and the caller hung up only for a call to immediately go to her personal cell. It didn’t take much to figure out what was happening from that point on. I pushed it off for the time being, booking it to Milwaukee with Prentiss in tow.

“What are you doing here?” Y/N asked me immediately, concern on her face. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but—“

“It’s a long story.”

“Last I heard, Haley wanted you to transfer.”

“She does.”

“Then, again, what are you doing here?”

I sighed. “I can’t leave this team.”

“We’re talking about this later, you know?”

I smirked. “I know.”

She grilled me for everything when we finally talked that night, but ultimately supported my decision. It felt like a weight off my shoulders to have someone affirm my choice, even if she thought it was kind of stupid on the marriage front.

Now that I see it for what it is, that might have been the moment I realized I couldn’t run from what I felt for her. I knew I had to get over it, but denial was doing nothing. She’d somehow worked her way into being an essential part of my life. Worse, she started making a home in my heart that I really should have torn down as soon as possible.

NEXT PART ->

[sparring-spirals]

I need to yell about fcg and *specifically* this great post that you wrote ( https://www.tumblr.com/sparring-spirals/747570433506902016/okay-after-some-sleep-back-on-my-bullshit-lets ) because it made me realize that I really, truly hope Laura will remember she took off her circlet moments before the bang and Imogen had the chance to hear that fcg was at peace with this decision, not because they were trying to be a martyr, but because they had a true chance to save their friends, knowing full well that detonating *would* be a sacrifice because their life *did* matter.

(I hope sending asks is okay, sorry to barge in like this)

Ahw, hell yeah, glad the post hit hard, recontextualizing it in my head helped a lot with chewing through my feelings about. All of this. I'm always okay with asks!! As long as folks are aware I am not necessarily going to agree with every ask that comes in, and more critically, sometimes I disappear off the face of the Earth for a while, dont answer asks, and then feel too embarassed about answering them so much later/get asks about something I didnt watch, go "ah ill answer when i watch it" and then. Well.

(To the various people who sent the total 12 asks that have been sitting in my box for over a year now. I am. So sorry.)

Honestly, I didnt even think about the possibility that Imogen might have heard it, goddamn. Fascinating. I was fully bracing myself for Bell's Hells just- never knowing, and them having to grapple with it. Which. Takes me out at the knees, tbh. I hesitate to speculate on it too much when the episode is going to come out Thursday and probably prove me wrong, but. God, there's no world where the Bell's Hells would instinctively know that F.C.G had made the call with that attitude, and fuck, that puts all of it into a different light, clearly.

I'm a little apprehensive and tbh deeply curious to see how the Bell's Hells take this- the depth of the loss, the sudden nature of it, the victory against Otohan probably not even feeling that way. Maybe wanting to honor F.C.G's sacrifice but. Probably. And understandably. Angry at them for making that call, but he's not. Even there for them to be angry at. So what then? So what then? They can have all these feelings and have all these questions about why he did it, about what he was thinking, and he's not there to answer them, and that's the issue.

If Imogen did hear his last thoughts, this elevates it into a different kind of heartbreaking, but probably still easier overall. The world where they don't know. Is. A more tricky one to navigate, for sure.

But also if I'm being honest. I am not opposed to how the cast would have the Bell's Hells experience and explore that scenario. So i mean. I mean. I hope so too. But if Imogen didnt. Consider me buckled in for whatever happens.

[storytellers-and-co]

Tansui's Adventures - #16, After Golem

Beat the golem. Check. Save a man who wanted to change the world for the better? Check. See the white-haired lad who Tansui had come to consider an ally? Check. Get another vision and promptly pass out upon seeing him? Also check. 

In all fairness it might’ve also been the injuries he had sustained during that fight - partially dislocated shoulder hurt, even when one was accustomed to pain and injuries and high on adrenaline.

So, the moment of not feeling anything but emotions as moments from the white haired man’s past was being delivered - not much, just enough to show he was determined to prove himself to… someone. Louisox? With how many problems Ul’dah had, surely he’d have chances to do so. A clear flirt, too - at least in a tasteful way. Or maybe it had more to do with his looks, with how the ladies swooned. 

Ah. Thaumaturges guild was visited too, with that mask on - if only briefly. Tansui really should head back there after all this and-

A groan escaped from the little Au’ra, as the rays of sun got into his eyes. Covering them with the dirtied sleeve, the tiny thaumaturge let out a whine - only to realize they had been laid against a stone to sit against. 

“We really need to stop meeting like this,” the familiar voice of the rogue chuckled, close - sounded like he had walked over and bent down. Tansui opened one of their eyes to take a look - only to see the man offering his staff back. Tansui must’ve dropped it… “People will start to talk. Then again, you seem to always be in the middle of the situations I am investigating, so mayhap I should start following you about?”

Tansui took their staff back, letting out a disgruntled sound. Please no.

“Oh? Is my company that unpleasant?”

Tansui narrowed their eyes… and then gently bonked the man on his head with the staff. Ignoring the laughter from the rogue, Tansui took a look around - the workers were banged up, but otherwise alive, and Wystan… Wystan was gone. 

“Ah, if you’re wondering about your friend, he had to flee. Unfortunately, Lord Lolorito is not one to leave loose ends… Which means your involvement in dismantling his trap must go unmentioned, just for your own safety,” rogue mentioned, getting up from the crouch - and offering his hand for Tansui to help the mage back up. 

“But where are my manners - Thancred Waters, at your service… is what I’d like to say, but I have business elsewhere, so I cannot linger long.”

Tansui patted the dirt off of his shirt while listening, wincing as hand touched on the injured shoulder - something that caught the mans… Thancreds, attention. “Oh, you’re hurt? Here let me-”

Before Thancred could touch Tansui however, the Au’ra caught his hand. Not hard, just to get his attention briefly - before turning it a bit, and wrote with their finger against Thancreds wrist, spelling their name. T-A-N-S-U-I.

“Tansui… your name?”

Tansui nodded in response, giving a bit of a grin. It wasn’t always easy, trying to communicate with people when you couldn’t talk.

“Well, it is a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance. Still, that shoulder needs to be looked at, so if you would hold still just a moment…”

Within the next ten minutes, Tansui’s shoulder was reset, an order to take it easy was placed on him, and a suggestion to go visit Momodi was given.

You know what… it had been far too long since Tansui had left the safety of the city. Maybe it was time to head back in for a bit, just so he could heal from this ordeal….

[brighter-by-the-daly]

Rachel Daly x Reader

Part Three: Dashed Hopes

You loved bunking with Mary, she was always so full of life - dragging you into TikToks one after the other, playing pranks and joking around; she didn’t realise she was giving you so much confidence the more you hung out with her. Laying on your beds she was busy editing your latest dance when Rachel knocked on the door. Rolling over to face the window so you didn’t have to look at her she showed Mary something on her phone “I thought we could do this?” she asked quietly “oh me and (y/n) just recorded this one soz” her voice a little blunt but Mary was often like that so you didn’t know if it was intentional or not. “Ah, okay” Rachel replied sounding disappointed as she left the room. The atmosphere was nothing like what was portrayed on their accounts last tournament but I suppose she only has herself to blame for that. Everyone on the team knew by now what she had done and they all sided with you, she wasn’t outkast but there was definitely an eerie atmosphere around camp whenever she was in the room. You tried really hard not to feel guilty, if you hadn’t of told people what really happened then you would be miserable and living a lie, watching her live her best life while pretending you broke up with her and that wouldn’t have been fair on you.

Sitting with the other newbies at dinner one evening you chatted about your experience so far. Ebony had been called up to replace an injury and had had your back since Rachel left, she was your best friend in Houston and knew every gorey detail of your break up. Having her on the team made you feel a whole lot more settled and knowing for sure that someone had your back 100%. Ebony scoffed as the defender come striker approached your table and asked if you can try and get on for the sake of the team. She had tried to talk to you in the past few days but you were still too angry to give her the time of day, Rachel nodded understandably and walked away to sit by herself to eat dinner. You couldn’t help the guilt rising and decided to approach her, rolling your eyes at your own conscience making you a push over. “Look, this is my first senior call up and I’m gonna do what I need to do to cement my place on this team. I’m not gonna let you ruin this for me so I’ll be civil but I’m not gonna pretend I like you.” Rachel nodded and put her hands up like she accepted the very tiny olive branch you were offering.

Another day of training you were paired together, someone clearly thought you needed to work with each other which you guess is a feasible assumption. Hitting each other with the pads was quite therapeutic until he sleeve rose up uncovering your matching tattoo still in full view on her arm. You’d had yours covered a week after she left with the Houston H hand sign. “Thought you would have covered that by now” you said pointing at the Roman numerals of your Dash shirt number. Rachel shook her head “my tattoos are my story and you’re part of it whether you like it or not” she shrugged. Bit of a weird reply but you didn’t argue. “I bet Becky loves that!” you said in jest. “She doesn’t know what it’s for” she shrugged again, clearly not enjoying this interaction. You didn’t know that she had booked to get it covered but couldn’t go through with it before camp, Jordan informed you of this later in the day when you mentioned it.

During all the training sessions before the tournament started you did what you were told to do and kept your head down, whatever you were doing was impressing the boss as you worked your way into the starting line up and into Rachel’s usual position. She was benched. It was like the ultimate karma and it felt amazing but it became routine at the 70 minute mark for her to replace you as a super sub. Game after game she was chasing after you for lead goal scorer, trying desperately to prove her worth to Sarina and the team. As soon as she caught up with you, the next game came around and you ploughed through the rankings again. Managing your first hattrick in the Group 16 game you proudly walked away with the match ball; Sarina had allowed you to play all 90 minutes and Rachel came on to replace Russo this time and assisted your last goal. She didn’t mean to, she went for goal but you got in the way and made it yours. Sneaky behaviour but it’s all team work until it came to her - she wasn’t about to take away your last chance of a hattrick! Walking around the field with the team to clap the travelling fans you borrowed a sharpie from one of them and made your way around the squad asking them to sign your ball. There was one signature left to get and you can guess who it was!

Slowing down your pace to catch Rachel at the back of the group with Millie who walked off as she watched you approach. “Can you sign this please?” throwing her the ball and sharpie. “I don’t think I should, you stole my goal” she said with a forced smile, “I think it’s a fair trade - you stole my wedding, I steal your goal” you shrugged with a cheeky smile. Rachel laughed and agreed with you, “in fact, I think you owe me a few more” you nudged her gently. “Don’t get cocky now!” she said with seriousness. “Far too late for that, I’m going for golden boot!” catching the ball she threw back at you with her scribble on. “Yeah? Well I’m gonna give you a run for your money!” she grabbed your shoulders from behind. “I’m not threatened by you old lady, enjoy your last World Cup yeah” turning around you winked before jogging off backwards, making the ‘I’m watching you’ sign as you went and revelling in the fact you have so many more tournaments to look forward to while her time is nearly up.

Part Four

[whalientaegi]

here's your perfect | kth. I

➸summary : "The only person who can help you to endure your pain is your soulmate" -But you find it hard to believe that now. Not when he's sitting right across the table from you, his face devoid of any emotion. You think if you really are as strong as you believed. 

➸ pairing : taehyung x reader

➸ genre : soulmate!au, idol!tae, s2f2l!au, angst, fluff 

➸ rating : PG-15

➸ word count : 5.6k

➸ warnings : swearing, anxiety, slight depression 

➸ playlist : carried away(love to love) by surf mesa, madison beer, blue and grey piano cover , bts v - sweet night piano cover

Chapter one 

A soulmate is someone whose soul is fated to match your own. 

They say that one's soul is only completed when they meet their soulmate. Someone who will accept you with your flaws. Someone who is fated to love you. 

"They will help you to endure your pain." 

Some legends say that it's like looking at your own reflection. Some legends claim that it's like finding the other half of your soul. Some believe that a piece of our soul is with our soulmates, that when you finally meet, it's like finding your own soul.

Soulmates have always been a startling thing. No one really knows the mystery of our souls. Even after countless studies and researches, people still cannot fathom the real equation of the existence of soulmates. It's something peolple have left on the plans of the universe .

___________________________________________

As long as Kim Taehyung can remember, he has always longed to meet his soulmate. 

"They will be able to read you like an open book, Taehyung-ah. They will love you exactly the way you want to be loved." He remembers his grandmother saying this to him, he remembers the way his heart used to ache with longing, with hope.

Taehyung can't remember the exact moment he stopped believing those words. But he remembered when he fell in love for the first time. Remembered the rush of emotions he felt. For him to be in love means being free. Free to love anyone, anywhere. For him, love should be unchained, unbound. 

"You fall in love too easily," Jimin stated one day. He knows that. Love comes easily to him. But it also burns him way too easily. 

The thing is, he is ready to endure the burn. He is ready to go through the pleasant pain of falling in love again and again. But he can't fall in love under conditions. He can't force his emotions. If he regrets anything, that is how he lost control over some parts of his life, how he is sometimes forced to change things about his life. But he will not force himself to love someone, wouldn't lose control over who he loves. Not to anyone. 

___________________________________________

Sometimes you think that you might never belong anywhere. 

You don't like lingering in your past. You're way past those old memories. Have made so many good memories to replace them with. Have people who have helped you, made you feel that you belong there. But that doesn't mean you don't feel alone, that you are not enough. No matter how many people are around you, you've always felt alone. 

It's not about how people made you feel anymore. It's just how you started to feel somehow. No matter how much time you spend with your family and friends, the loneliness doesn't go away.

"You know it might be because of your soulmate? Sometimes our feelings reflect on our soulmates," Asfan said one day while you were helping him at the animal shelter, "I mean they might be feeling lonely. And that's reflecting on you. Or maybe you are feeling lonely because you haven't met them yet?" 

You can't remember the exact moment when you started believing these words. That your soulmate is the person you belong with. They will see you exactly the way you are and still love you. That they will be the only person to whom you will never have to prove that you are enough. You don't believe in love at first sight, don't believe that you can love someone without knowing them. But you believe that your soulmate will want to love you exactly the way you want to love them.

_______________________________

30th December. 

The sound of a door opening snaps you out of your haze. You turn your head toward the door, two young girls enter the cafe, their faces stuffed in their scarves. A gush of cold air enters with them. Even though you are sitting in the corner, far away from the door, the cold still hits you, making you shiver.

You found this cafe when you were exploring your new neighborhood. It's tucked into a corner. Most people probably don't know this place is even here. You wouldn't have either if it wasn't for your tendency of exploring every single corner of every neighborhood you've ever lived in. 

The cafe is mostly deserted at this time of the day. There's a soft indie song playing on the radio. The anchor on the TV is saying something about the birthday projects of some idols. But you tune all of them off, try to focus on the design on your sketchbook in front of you. A slow, satisfied smile stretches on your face. You nod your head to yourself and close the sketchbook book, put it into your bag, then proceed to pay for your coffee. 

You let out a shiver as you step out of the cafe, pulling your coat tightly over your body. Even though the sky is clearer than most days today, you still can't feel your fingertips. The weather has worsened in the few months you've been here. Seoul has its own charm in winter, especially if it's covered with snow. 

You start walking toward your apartment, making a mental note to drop by the convenience store again, when your phone buzzes with a text. You pull it out from your pocket. Yung Sung has shared a news article to your group chat, asking if it was still OK to have the photoshoot on the scheduled date. You frown at your phone as you read the whole article. Apparently there's a storm coming the next week in Gangwon-do, exactly the same day as your shooting schedule. Your phone buzzes again, someone said that they were going to talk to the management. You let out a sigh, lips pull into a small pout. You were really looking forward to this shoot.

When you moved to South Korea, you didn't know what to expect. When your boss told you that you were being promoted and transferred to South Korea's headquarters, you were over the moon. All these years of hard work finally paid off. Even though it was a different country, it felt so important to move here, a strange sense was telling you that it's going to be worth it. And the opportunity was great, new experiences, new place, new everything. On top of that, your best friend is here and you missed her so much. 

What you didn't expect was the cold unsettling feeling, which feels like it is growing intensely as the days go on. 

Entering your apartment, you flick the switch of your hallway. It's been a few months since you moved here. You have finally settled in. You've tried to make the apartment look as homely as possible. But it is still lacking the warmth you feel at your own place back at home, or the familiarity that your parents home provides. It's like the loneliness has intensified ten times more.

You think it's a little embarrassing. You are an adult after all, have been living alone since college. But somehow you feel more lonely after moving here. But it's ok, you think as you get started to prepare your dinner. It's just been a couple of months. It'll be fine. Just have to adjust to being alone in an unknown country. 

___________________________________________

"Well, well, well, Happy New Year, kids!!" Kanika exclaims as soon as she opens the door.

You grin at her as she walks toward the table. "Late happy new year," Cameron mutters beside you, not looking up from his laptop. 

Kanika rolls her eyes as she leans against the table."It's just been a few days since new year's day, Cameron, don't kill the vibe," Kanika hisses.

"Is there any news about the shooting schedule?" Yung Sung asks Kanika.

"Yeah. They wouldn't postpone it. Said that the storm is supposed to hit in the evening anyway. It's not gonna take long to shoot so we just have to wrap up before the storm hits." 

Yung Sung let out a groan. "If we don't finish this project within next week, it will crash with the BTS project. Our meeting with them is in two weeks, remember?" Cameron grumbles, still not looking up from his laptop.

"How can I forget when you keep reminding me every chance you get," Yung Sung grits out, letting out a frustrating sound. 

It is safe to say that Cameron and Yung Sung don't get along with each other. Their banters are always the source of entertainment to everyone. 

You smirk at Yung Sung and return your attention to your laptop again. You were clicking through your sketches for the 100th time when Kanika interrupted you. 

"Hey."

You look up from your laptop. Kanika is smiling down at you. "You want some coffee?" she asked, lifting one eyebrow. 

You blink at her. Her face is doing that thing where she is really trying to be subtle about something. You look back at your laptop. You've been watching the same design for an hour now. Trying not to stress about the project but somehow doing exactly that. Your stress might have reflected on your face. Right, she's trying to distract me.

"Yeah, sure." You get up and grab your jacket, following Kanika out of the room.

_______________________________

Kanika puts a cup of coffee in front of you  and takes a seat across from you at one of the tables in the canteen area. You grab the cup with both hands, trying to consume as much warmth as possible.

"Honestly, Y/N, you need to stop stressing out about these projects." Kanika is one of the few people with whom you've gotten closer with in these past few months. 

"I'm not!" you exclaim. Kanika gives you a pointed look. You don't know if it's because she's your friend or because you're working under her, sometimes she can read you like an open book.

You look down at your coffee. It might have been easier if you could just stop that nagging feeling inside your head.

"Look." You actually look at her, her voice serious."You did a great job. Everyone loved your designs. The project will go smoothly. I know you're worried because it's your first time working on a big project after moving here. But trust me, you got this. Don't let your anxiety knock off your confidence. Ok?"

You can feel your entire face heat up. "Yeah," you murmur. Even though her words somehow comforted you, that doesn't mean you can shove away your anxiety entirely. 

"Anyway, how was your new year's eve?" She asked, sipping into her coffee. "Did you go out?" 

"No…um…I still had some boxes to unpack." 

Lies. You spent that whole night rewatching your favorite old movies. Just so that you can feel some familiarity. But you weren't going to admit that to her. It really doesn't help that you haven't actually made any real friends except for Kanika since you moved here. You do hang out with some of your colleagues, but most of them were probably with families and friends that day, so you didn't want to intrude. 

Kanika smiles apologetically. "You know I would've invited you to my place if we were in town, right? I'm really so-"

"Kanika, please don't apologize," you cut her out. "It's ok! I was fine by myself."

No, you weren't. You felt even more lonely, having always spent the day with friends and family. 

"Still. It can be depressing spending New Year's day alone." 

Kanika was the first person you contacted after you were notified about your promotion. You got her email address from your company's website and emailed her. You informed her about your promotion and that you were really excited to move to South Korea and to work under her. She replied enthusiastically that she was really impressed by your profile and was excited to work with you. You've become close after that. She was the one who helped you find a decent apartment and introduce you to this new city. 

You smiled at her. She is right though. There's no point stressing over the project right now. Everything has been going smoothly about the BTS project till now. Even though there's a lot of things that can go wrong, you are sure that everyone will be able to handle that. You just hope your hard work pays off well. 

______________________________________

Is it possible to love someone else when your soulmate is around? The girl on the TV asks her crush. 

Of course it is. Some people cheat on their soulmate all the time, the same soulmate whom they promised to always love. They fall out of love. They find someone better, someone they connect to more than they do with their soulmates. It's not the 18th century anymore when it was scandalous if you are not with your soulmate. Nowadays people are cautious about who they wanna spend their life with. There are people who are waiting for their soulmate, people who are just friends with their soulmate, people who don't want their soulmate. It's not rare anymore. 

You try to focus on the drama that's playing on your TV. The laptop which is resting on your left is displaying an empty bedroom. The girl on the TV is crying, trying to reason with her crush that they can be happy together, when a voice calls out your name from the laptop. You head snaps at it. Asfandiyar's hands are stretched out, giving you the perfect view of his outfit on the screen. 

"How about this one?" 

You scan him from head to toe. His head is styled perfectly. He is wearing a light grey turtleneck and white slacks. You nod your head and mutter, "Looks good." 

He gives you a funny look. "That's it? No 'you look like a gridded pineapple'?" 

"Well, you should've told me sooner that my insults inspire you, Asfan." You bat your eyelashes at him. "I would prepare them better next time then." 

You watch as he rolls his eyes, going around to put on his watch. You pull a thread from your sweater, trying to cut it out.

"Say hi to Rue for me," you say, a slow sly grin taking over your face. He stills for a moment, looking at you with big eyes. You tilt your head, "Why? Isn't it why you are dressing up so nicely? Because she would be there at the party?" 

He looks down, smiling shyly. "What? A man can't even dress up to impress his soulmate now?" he murmurs shyly. 

You scrunch your nose,"You're so sappy." 

"Well I'm not the one who is single for her soulmate."

"I'm not single because of my soulmate! I just don't have the time to date anymore! And excuse me, you are single too." 

"I'm single because my soulmate also doesn't have time to date," He tsks as he grabs his jacket. "She's really your cousin."

"Try to talk to her today. Don't just stare at her, ok?" You laugh out loud.

"Well it's not my fault she is so pretty," He winks at you. You shake your head, whispering, "Whipped ass." Thankfully he didn't catch it.

"When are you leaving for Gangwon-do?" He asks as he puts on his coat.

"This evening." You glance at your watch. It's only 12 at noon right now. You've got plenty of time to relax. You didn't go to your office as you guys were leaving today anyway. Kanika dismissed the project members for today. You take a deep breath. It was honestly getting irritating, the useless stress you are getting. Usually when you are stressed it means you're going to give your hundred percent to your job. Your stress-work was usually your best work. 

"Hey." 

Your head snaps to your laptop. Asfan moves closer to the screen, his eyes filled with worry. "You okay? You are quieter than usual today."

There's a thing about you that drives all of your friends crazy, that is how little you share your problems with them. You can gently coax out everyone's problems but wouldn't tell them yours until it's too late, either because of the fear of rejection or because of judgment. 

You look at Asfan's concerning eyes and almost tell him about your struggles, about that nagging feeling you've been feeling since you moved here. But you stop yourself. There's no point telling him. You didn't want anyone to feel that you are not adjusting here. 

You are usually a very calm and happy person, granted that you are always stressed about your work, but optimism runs in your blood. That's why this whole situation is irritating you more, because the more stressed and alone you feel the more depressed you become. 

Asfan calls out your name gently again, his head tilted, face showing more concern than before. He has been your friend for years now. You know that he wouldn't judge you. But you didn't want him to worry about you. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," you force out a laugh,"I'm just tired."

Asfan eyes you with worry. You know he didn't buy your excuse, but still he nods his head. "Get some rest. Tell me how the shooting goes. And be careful."

"Always am. Have fun."

Asfan waves his hand as you disconnect the video call. He was right. You do need some rest. Maybe taking a nap wouldn't be so bad. 

___________________________________________

"Fuck, it's so cold," Haneul swears as the two of you make your way to the house. The weather has worsened so much in a few hours that it's almost impossible to step out of the building. You guys move around the crowd of tourists and locals, quickly walking toward the shooting location. 

There's a small island in Gangwon-do which is famous for the hanok village. The old traditional houses aka the hanok were matching the traditional vibes of the outfits of the photoshoot. It was originally planned that the shooting would take place in the garden area of the small village. But because of the weather, you guys had to make a last minute change. 

"It was a bad idea," you snap as you step inside the house. "We should've canceled the photoshoot." You were getting frustrated as the minutes went by. "Honestly, what was the point if we had to shoot indoors anyways? It was quite obvious we can't shoot outside in this weather," you grit out.

"At least they've let us use the hanok," Haneul says hopefully. The official management team of the village have given you guys permission to shoot inside the hanok. 

"And why are there so many people outside? It's kind of dangerous to be out there in this weather," you demand. 

"Most of them are locals. They have to open their business every morning, you know," Haneul explains. 

Of course you know that. You know you are getting irritated for no reason. You don't know if you should blame it on the headache that you've gotten up with this morning or the fact that your heart keeps jumping every now and then for no reason whatsoever. Guilt consumes your heart, knowing that the way you are lashing on people isn't acceptable. You let out a sigh, trying to get rid of your frustration. Haneul pats your back sympathetically, "Just a few more hours than we'll be safe in our hotel rooms." 

Haneul, one of the fashion stylists of your company, is the most optimistic creature you've ever come across. 

You two make your way to the center of the house. Most of the people with you are from the production section. The photographer is talking with Yung Sung. In the center the models are getting ready to begin the last bit of the shooting. You can see the stylists in the corner with some other models, trying to fix their outfits. As for the designers, there were just you, Yung Sung and Hwan.

Hwan bows to you when he spots you. You bow back and make your way toward him.

"How's it going?" You ask him. 

"If you are talking about the shooting then it's going great. Almost over actually. But if you are talking about the weather then I think I'm gonna die today," Hwan says merrily.

Even though you roll your eyes, there's a playful smile on your face. You look out of the big window, which is giving you the perfect view of the garden outside.

"It's taking longer than we thought it would, the shooting," you mutter, eyeing the dark clouds through the window.

"Yeah. It's like the weather has slowed down everything," Hwan says as he too looks out of the window. "Where did you disappear to by the way? Haneul was gone too," Hwan asks as he sips into his third cup of coffee of today. 

"Kanika called. There was a production problem with the BTS project. We were just trying to sort it out. Hey, did you know-" 

You stop abruptly and spin around. A shiver runs down your whole body. You frantically look around. You can feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. You take a step forward and try to find something that must've caused it. 

"What?" Hwan looks at you and then where you are looking. 

"What…what was that?" 

"What was what?"

"Didn't you feel that?" Your heart has started to beat faster. Your hand automatically goes to your chest, feeling the fast rhythm. "Like…like someone is there?" You swear you felt it. But it's not a presence, not really. It was more like a weird tug. 

"Where?" You can hear the confusion in his  voice. 

"I don't know. Like someone was right here behind me?" 

You look at Hwan. He's looking around, eyes big with confusion. "Could it be a ghost? This place is kinda old," He whispers, his eyes are darting toward the whole room comically. His frantic expression somehow eases your internal panic. 

You open your mouth to tease him when a staff member of the village comes into the room. He looks troubled, his eyes scanning the whole room. When he spots Chan Soo, your project leader, he makes his way toward him. He reaches Chan Soo and says something to him quietly. Chan Soo looks like he's really trying not to panic. 

"Did something happen?" You wonder. Hwan shrugs, looking as confused as you feel. 

When the staff member leaves, Chan Soo makes his way toward you guys. When he is closer Hwan asks him, "What's going on?" 

"We have to leave. Now. The storm is hitting earlier than they thought. And they -" 

"What! But the storm was supposed to hit tonight!" Hwan whines.

"Do you think it's my fault?" Chan Soo snaps hotly. It was clear that he isn't really thrilled about it either. "Anyway, we have to leave now. They are going to force the tourists to leave in a few hours. We have to leave too."

"But we are not done with the shooting yet," you point out.

"It's ok, it'll be enough for now. If it's not then we'll figure it out" Chan Soo says impatiently. "Now, everyone," He addresses everyone loudly and explains the situation.

In the next hour you all are almost ready to leave. Some people are still cleaning up the set up when Chan Soo says,"Why don't you guys go ahead?" Pointing at you, Yung Sung and Haneul. "I'll come with the rest of them. Go."

You guys nod and make your way to the front door. Haneul opens the front door and you are welcome by a gush of cold air. Yung Sung swears under her breath. The sky is covered with dark clouds. The cold is way too much to handle. It looks like the storm will start any minute. But it doesn't faze you at all.  

All you can feel is a warm fuzziness. The nagging feeling that has been bugging you for months now intensifies ten times more. Haneul says something about finding the car and takes off. 

You look over at the place where people are still gathered, probably trying to get out of here. You feel it again, the sensation making your hair stand on end again. You feel a strange pull, it's like an invisible thread pulling you somewhere.

"Did you feel that?" You ask Yung Sung, feeling the beat of your heart quickening.  

"Feel what?" 

"That thing," you touch the back of your neck. "Is it because of the storm?" 

"What? Are you feeling cold?" Yung Sung asks. 

That's when you feel the pull again. You realize that it's coming from the lawn. People are still crowded there, trying to get out or go somewhere safe. You unconsciously take a step toward them, but Yung Sung grabs your hand. "Y/N-ssi, where are you going?" 

You shake your head no, murmuring a quiet, "I'll be right back." You start walking toward the lawn. You can hear Yung Sung calling you. But you ignore her. 

You quick walk into the middle of the lawn. Your heart is beating way too fast now. Your breaths are coming quickly. You look around almost frantically. People are making their way beside you. Nothing is happening out of sort. Am I going mad? You think to yourself. Has the nagging feeling been a warning that I'm going crazy? 

You run your hand through your hair and let out a frustrating breath. You look everywhere again. Something must be wrong, otherwise why would you feel this way? People are giving you funny looks. Of course they are, they can probably see you panicking. 

You let out another frustrating breath. Yung Sung might be right, this might be happening because of the storm. You shake your head and start to go over where Yung Sung is. 

Two things happen at once. Suddenly there is a booming sound of thunder and you feel a presence from behind you this time. You still for a moment, feeling the quick beating of your heart. For a moment you feel like you are stuck in that place. You take a long breath, close your eyes and try to feel that presence again. There's an overwhelming sensation building inside you. But then you open your eyes, take another long breath and slowly turn around. Your heart is beating painfully now. 

You fully turn around and your eyes immediately land on….him. Then you finally meet his eyes.

And Oh. 

He can't be more than twenty feet ahead of you. But you can feel his warmth from where you stand. The nagging feeling finally stops and it's like it has melted into your heart. It's like something inside you finally settles. Your heart skips a beat and then starts beating with a new rhythm. 

You can't see his face because of his mask. But his eyes. His eyes bore into yours. It's warm. And dark. Like the night sky. His shoulders are tensed. Something warms your heart. It's him. It's finally him. Your soulmate.

The sky breaks and the rain starts pouring. The raindrops are harsh on your skin. The coldness is numbing your surroundings. People are rushing to find a shelter. But all you feel is the warmth. 

Neither of you are moving. Your breathing is coming slowly now. You can visibly see him relaxing, as if his breathing is coming to normal too. You cautiously take a step toward him, when someone tries to walk past you and knocks into you. You lose your balance and almost fall over but the stranger grabs your hand to steady you. 

"So sorry. Are you OK?" The stranger asks.

You snap out of your haze. You realize that it has started to rain. You nod your head at the stranger, mutter a " fine". You immediately look around where your soulmate was standing. But he is gone. Lost into the crowd. 

You panic for a second. You look around, trying to find him. But suddenly someone grabs your arm. You jump at the sudden touch, haven't realized how cold it actually is.

"Y/N-ssi, what are you doing?" Yung Sung asks. She's holding an umbrella over her head. "Come on, our car is here. You can't just run off in the rain!" 

And suddenly there's a hand dragging you somewhere. You numbly follow her. Your mind is covered in haziness. You can't function what just happened. Seems like you can't even open your mouth to say something. 

It's when you are safely inside the car with everyone else when things start coming back to you. Your breathing hitches, eyes going big, the shock of what happened finally settles into you. All these years when you've been waiting for this moment to happen, waiting for him to show up, but it happened when you least expected it, when meeting him was the least of your worries. Is this what everyone meant when they say that your soulmates will appear at any random moment of your life? That you will feel their presence before you set your eyes upon them? 

The panic you were feeling a few moments ago melts into a giddy feeling. You slowly smile to yourself. Things around you have started to clear up a bit. Everyone is talking in hush voices. It's raining so heavily that you can't even see anything outside the car. Someone has draped a jacket on your shoulder, your clothes wet and sticking to your body. You don't need to look into the mirror to know that your hair is a mess. 

But all that matters is the happiness you feel right now. You can't help the smile on your face, have to purse your lips to keep the laughter from coming out. You hide your face on your shoulder and look outside the car's window. You wish that you could always remember this moment, that you never forget the moment when you saw those dark eyes for the very first time.

___________________________________________

The rain is pouring more heavily now. Even though the heater is on, the cold doesn't entirely go away. You sit by the window of your hotel room, legs pulled up to your chest, your face rests on your knees. As your emotions are not jumbled up like it was before, you feel calm now.

You've always loved the rain. You don't know what's about it that draws you toward it. Maybe it was the smell of wet earth, or maybe the sound or maybe the cool breeze. But it always had a calming effect on you. A quiet peacefulness. 

And of course. 

Of course, he showed up when it's raining, you think, letting out a quiet chuckle.

Because clearly if the rain calms you down, then your soulmate will come to you drenched in rain too. It makes so much sense right now. And you are nothing if not hopelessly romantic. So even though it was cliche, way too dramatic even for you, your inner romantic is very happy.

You don't think you'll ever be able to describe how peaceful you feel right now. The pure happiness has warmed up your entire body,   making your heart feel soft. And every time you close your eyes, you see those eyes and it's like your heart settles down every time. 

You hug your knees closer to yourself and let out a content sigh. You finally understand why it felt so important to move to Seoul.

___________________________________________

The harsh air greets you like a splash of cold water as you step out of the hotel the next morning. You shudder, pulling your scarf more tightly around your neck. It's not raining anymore, but the air is misty. You walk closely behind Yung Sung and Haneul.

If it wasn't for this shitty weather, you would've explored the town. But you guys have to leave for Seoul first thing in the morning. 

The three of you make your way toward the car. Yung Sung and Haneul talk animatedly about some upcoming movies. But your eyes scan every face you can find. You didn't get much sleep last night. The excitement and giddiness have kept you awake most of the night. You look at your left, trying to find him.

Chan Soo stands right in front of the car, his hands on his hips. "Get in," he grumbles, clearly not happy about the weather. 

Yung Sung and Haneul hurriedly get into the car. But you look back and search the crowd once again. You can't cast out the hope that's blooming inside your heart. You know it's highly unlikely that he's going to be just outside your hotel. 

But still. 

Chan Soo calls out your name. You look back and he gestures for you to get into the car. You let out a small sigh, nod and make your way to the car, feeling crestfallen.

Misery creeps into your heart, but you quickly put it aside. You know that he will show up again. The hope that has developed into you overnight dims a little, because you might have been wishing that you will see him in the morning. 

But you are nothing but optimistic. You take a deep breath, the heaviness that you've felt inside your heart for the past few months is gone now, replaced by pure content. 

And as far as finding him again is concerned, as you've met him already, then you will meet him again soon. Right?

[thatnonb1ny-cvmslut]

hhhhhhh damn you, now all I can think about is being publicly used as my holes get stretched and filled with more and more cum 🥵 I'd be soooo embarrassed too, being exposed like that, face red as you make me take all of it, but still unable to stop, moaning pathetically as my pussy is denied and my ass is stretched. My favorite scenario is being held close against someone's chest who whispers into my ear what a perfect slut I am for them, so eager, so pathetic, but in a cute way! while strangers fondle and grope me, finger my mouth and fuck me 🥺👉👈

Oh damn me now is it? Damn the one who gave you a days worth of horny thoughts and daydreams of firm hands gripping your soft body. Of arms holding you tight so you can only feel helpless but safe as your pussy is denied of cock, but fingers and lips alike can take turns using you.

Absolutely damn me for this! I am damnable and indeed here to instigate more throbbing tdicks and pussy!

I'll take your fantasy with me and mild it into something you'll ache for through the day as I've proved I can.

It's time to head out for our date, and before heading out the inspection to make sure you're not wearing any underwear, a pair of easy to tear off shorts and a light crop top that barely fits. I'm planning on showing you off and tempting as many people today as possible.

Our destination? The local open air market of course!

There are plenty of people about and many stare at your body as I lead you with an arm around your waist, hand slipping into your hemline to tease your hips and ass as we make our way to the furthest stall that has a nice little tasting area for their crafted sweets nestled near the trees and far enough to sit out slightly out of sight.

I have you sit on my lap as the morning dew still lingers to the seat and tables, my bulge growing as my hands settle on your hips, slowly grinding your ass on my lap.

"Really? Here?" You ask flustered but moving your hips with my hands. I smirk and whisper in your ear "We're being watched and I'm gonna give them a show, so be my good little slut and get ready." I warn you as I push your hemline down, reach to unzip my fly and pull my throbbing cock out.

"H-hey..hhhold oonnmmf" you try and protest as a whine escapes while my cock searches for your asshole, gliding across your pussy as a tease and to use your flowing wetness as lube. You help by spreading and lifting your ass soni can rest my tip on your hole.

The vendor comes to check on us suddenly as you put your body weight on me and my cock pushes into your asshole, and a moan escapes your lips "Excuse me folks are you..oh..oh ok I'll.." "Don't look away sir! They like being watched, and they'll gladly service you if you're willing." I slowly grind your hips and feel your asshole clench as you whimper a soft "..please let me service you.."

The vendor stutters some and takes a deep breath as he sets the "out to lunch" sign and comes back to kneel on front of us. Watching intently as I start bouncing you harder on my cock. "hhnnffuck ohfuuck ohgodplease look at me" you whine and moan as you beg the vendor creeps closer, eyes fixed on your stretched asshole and your leaking pussy.

"Is it..can I..?" The vendor reaches out to touch your wet pussy and you lurch forward almost pushing my cock out mid thrust. "Ah ah..not yet, he still mmnnf...still needs to cum first." "Please..ohfuckfuckfuck pleasetouchmycock hnnn" you whine as you rock your hips harder trying to push your pretty pussy into the vendors hand. He pulls back and watches from his place. "You heard him, not until you cum and I want to see that!" He pulls on this jeans as a good bulge starts defining itself.

"Cum hard my good little slut and he can fill your pretty pussy.." my hands let go of your hips as you slam your ass harder and faster, bringing you to a hard almost squirting orgasm. Shaking and panting you slump against me as I hold you close and whisper in your ear"that's my pretty slut..get ready now." And I motion to the vendor as he undoes his pants pulling out a nice veiny cock. He sits in front of us as I lift you off my cock and help you onto his lap and cock.

Your pussy stretches and a loud moan escapes you, little did we know a small like waiting for the vendor had formed and all eyes watch as you regain focus. You're eyes meet the crowd as you start slamming yourself hard on the vendor, nearly pushing him over. "Mmm mmore pleeeasemore watch me hhnnnggg"

The crowd moves to us as the vendor does his best to fuck you, and I invite all willing to watch. "They want you all. Who's going to help this poor vendor fuck this pretty slut today?" Have spring up. "Four.. Five.. Right.. Eight people waiting their turn." Your eyes focus again and you're surrounded by bodies, cocks and gocks lined up ready to use you as the vendor grunts hard unload rope after rope of cum inside you.

"Next players turn." I help lift you off the vendor as he slips out from under you, his cum dripping down your thigh as I motion the next person to the seat under you. I help slide them inside you and you start bouncing. "That's my pretty slut, such a good toy..seven more people then we can go." No words escape, just moans and wet slapping sounds as you lean your head back to look me in the eyes as I kiss you and stand back to film and stroke myself to full erection and wait my turn to fill your pussy with my seed.

Fucked with no breaks in between playmates, leaves you exhausted, filled so much with cum ever breath taken cause a spasm and a bit of cum to leak out. I take my seat again and with help from the vendor you're set on my cock, slowly grinding my hips as I kiss your neck and face. Pulling up the videos of each load shot into you, your pussy clenching harder and harder as you watch yourself on the phone get railed mercilessly. You start to fade and I give you a few hard deep thrusts as my eager load explodes inside you, pushing cum further into you as well as pushing it out from being so stuffed.

Moans, whimpers and whines are all you manage as I finish unloading in you and hold you panting and catching my breath with you.

"Oh fuck, you did so well today. We need to come back, right?" The vendor nods as well as the small crowd all agreeing and praising the good pretty little slut they all had fun using I'm the past few hours. The morning faces and the sun is high as we get ready to leave the market. Shaky and leaning on me as we walk slowly, cum leaking visibly from your shorts, and we notice the crowd was actually the vendors and they all wave us off eagerly calling out to us to "hurry back! We can have more fun! Here some juice to help!" Treats and presents for the pretty slut, the new object of obsession for our community open air market.

[ace-malarky]

Breathe

In which Olizaar has a perfectly understandable reaction to his future being yanked violently out of the direction he thought it was going

(pertaining to things I Have Not Yet Written in the main story of this because it's really hard to have focus when your co-writer thinks the thing is dead lmao)

~~

 Olizaar sits in the corner of the closet and has to remind himself to breathe. Maybe he’d breathe anyway, but it gives him something to focus on.

 Anything other than the fuss happening above his head.

 Distantly, he hears a dragon roar. Promithio, probably. He’d always been more vocal about – everything.

 Olizaar had thought he’d resigned himself to this reality, if not accepted it.

 The door of the closet creaks open. Olizaar tenses but it’s only Kiri poking his head in.

 The kid spots Olizaar – he hasn’t made much of an attempt to hide himself – and slips in, closing the door behind him. Mihin isn’t with him, and Olizaar is grateful for the drake’s absence. He doesn’t think he could take looking at a dragon right now.

 Kiri clears himself a space to sit at an angle to Olizaar, feet close to touching.

 Olizaar watches him, flinches at another roar, waits. Focuses on his breathing. Feels like he should be moving. He’s always moving. Olizaar never stops, normally. But here he is.

 “He wasn’t pleased when they found me, either.” Kiri offers him a lip bitten smile. “I think I made the concept too real.

 Olizaar frowns. “I didn’t intentionally do this. It was Nyssa’s cliff raptor that brought the egg out of its – whatever that was.”

 Kiri shrugs. “And I didn’t intentionally bond with Mihin, but there you go.”

 Olizaar shoots him a narrow look. “You’re different on your own.”

 Kiri hesitates, then smiles. “Fewer people make it easier.”

 “I meant without Mihin.”

 “Ah.” Kiri looks down. “Well, that…”

 “I don’t think Ishal �� well, I can’t imagine her any different. I’ve only known her after she had Mals.”

 “And now–”

 “Don’t say it.” Olizaar cuts him off, holding up a hand. “Please.” His breath catches in his throat and Olizaar coughs like that would clear it.

 “Sorry.” Kiri draws his knees up to his chest. “Maybe I’m not… I just thought…”

 Olizaar flicks a glance at him and suppresses the flicker of irritation. He’s tired of – it isn’t fair.

 Kiri shakes his head before Olizaar can say anything else, which is perhaps just as well.

 One of the dragons roars. Not Promithio, Olizaar thinks. One of the others. They don’t roar nearly as often so it’s hard to say who it is.

 “It doesn’t have to change you,” Kiri says. “But I think we change anyway. Having a dragon doesn’t make it out of nowhere, not… not really.”

 “They just make it a different sort of change, right?” Olizaar laughs, the sound bitter. “And you can’t say no.”

 “Maybe you could.”

 “That would please Promithio.”

 Kiri snorts. “He’d be affronted you didn’t want it.”

 Olizaar tilts his head back against the wall. “Contrary son of a fuck,” he says, almost fond.

 Kiri laughs.

 Olizaar smiles in his direction. “Thanks.”

 Kiri shrugs. “Anyone would’ve.”

 Olizaar snorts. “You think the best of people too easily.”

 “Isn’t it better too?”

 “Don’t you get… disillusioned by people proving you wrong?”

 Kiri tilts his head as he thinks. “People haven’t, on the whole.”

 “Maybe you’re just a good judge of character then. You can tell who’s good for you.”

 Kiri laughs. “Maybe.” He reaches out a foot to tap Olizaar’s. “That includes you, you know.”

 Olizaar wrinkles his nose. “Sure.”

 “No, listen, you can’t say my judgement is good in one breath and then doubt it in the next.”

 “I said good, not infallible.” But Olizaar is laughing, and it finally feels as though the tension releases itself.

 It’s at that moment, of course, that Ishal pokes her head around the door.

 “There you are. Kiri was supposed to bring you back.”

 “You didn’t specify after how long,” Kiri replies.

 Ishal scoffs, clearly amused. “You two have spent too much time around each other.”

 Olizaar forces a grin. “Bad influence, right?”

 “No,” Ishal says. “It’s a good thing, Oli. You always will be.”

 Olizaar avoids looking at anyone by using the moment to get to his feet.

 Kiri scrambles to his feet. “Have they…?”

 “Reached a decision?” Ishal asks. “Not exactly.”

 “What does that mean?” Olizaar asks.

 “That when the egg hatches, it will be the hatchling’s choice to be wild or bonded.”

 “That’s… insane. So I just have to not be there when it hatches.”

 “Have your eyes on a penta like mine?” Ishal reaches out as if to ruffle his hair, but Olizaar is just out of range.

 Olizaar laughs at her. “Every boy’s dream, right?”

 Kiri taps at Olizaar’s elbow. “And – listen, Promithio is – well, he’s not all bluster, but – I can stand with you, if you want.”

 Olizaar does ruffle his hair, and Kiri submits to it with a sigh and a grin. “You really are the best of us.”

 “Well–”

 “No, he’s right,” Ishal says. “Now come on. They’re waiting.”

 Olizaar steps close enough and grabs Ishal into a hug before she can instigate it. “Thanks,” he says, face pressed into her shoulder. He has to bend slightly, but it’s worth it.

 “It’s Kiri did everything,” Ishal says into his arm. “Hey, Kiri, c’mere.”

 He stutters out some kind of half-hearted excuse that doesn’t stop him stumbling in easily when Olizaar tugs him.

 “Thanks,” Olizaar says into his hair.

 “I didn’t do much,” Kiri mumbles.

 Olizaar snorts and claps him on the back as they disengage. “Sometime you’re going to have to accept a compliment, you know?”

 Ishal laughs and steps back out of the closet. “Come on.”

 “Yeah,” Olizaar says. “Yeah, we can do this.”

 Kiri bumps shoulders with him and smiles. “Just remember to breathe, right?”

 Olizaar nods, squares his shoulders. “Right.” He leads the way back up the tunnels to where the dragons wait.

[pumpkinstep]

At the edge:

The ceiling beams blurred and moved into focus, in and out, clear than murky than clear again.

Reclined in a chair, Jacob could feel how heavy his body was, how it took up space and depressed the cushions beneath him.

He could hear his father in the kitchen, he could hear muffled voices and light hearted conversation.

he didn't care. He couldn't bring himself to care about what they were saying or doing. He didn't want to be in his room, reaking if vomit and blood. Nightmares had kept him awake, cries for help that would never come haunting his thoughts.

though he'd showered recently, he still felt filthy, his skin a sticky clammy mess, he felt, a feeling he had yet to get used to.

the ceiling beams went out of focus again,  blurring into brown fuzz as he heard a door open then close again. two people left, he was vaguely aware. Finally he was alone, or so he thought.

Not long after his father left, a door formed and opened between two bookshelves. Not long after it appeared, a small form stepped inside.

Without looking he knew who it was, just by smell alone, he knew who it was. It was something animal, a musk he'd recognize anywhere. It was something akin to unwashed dog, an almost stale and greasy scent covered by something sickly sweet. It could have been chocolate at some point but now it was simply sugar, it's earthiness lost to the musk.

He ignored the intruder and kept his vision unfocused until a small hand waved over his face.

he huffed out a sigh, proving he hadn't died yet, before focusing and looking at who had stepped in.

it was Coby.

He'd never seen him like this before. Sure he's seen him in quite a bad way before, bloodied and bruised, snot running with cheeks drenched in tears, crying so hard his missing teeth were visible. Of course, for all his suffered expressions, he was silent.

Coby stood before him with messy long hair. His strawberry blonde locks grown long and curly towards the ends, hampered by grease and keeping them straighter than they usually would be. His caramel eyes, large and doe like were empty and tired, heavily accentuated by dark rings as if he'd been losing sleep or rubbing his eyes too much from distress.

Just like me....it's almost like a complete reflection, Jacob thought as he looked at him, I've seen that look before...

He shifted and lifted himself up slightly with the arms of his chair, sitting back and proper to give his guest his full attention.

"what do you want?" he asked, feeling his voice come like gravel in his throat.

When was it the last time he'd spoke to anyone? It had been a while, he reasoned, since hed seen anyone since the nightmares started.

The small teen, barely tall enough to reach Jacob's chest when standing next to eachother, pulled a small chalk board from his hoodie pocket and began to write.

He looked hesitant, his lettering slow and unsure and, just when jacob was about to get impatient, he turned it around.

[Do you have rope?]

Jacob read the question, then read it again, turning the words over in his mind as he slowly looked up at Coby who flinched under, what the strawberry blonde felt was, his contemptuous gaze.

"What do you need it for?" Jacob finally asked, narrowing his eyes a little at him, only adding to his intimidating appearance.

Coby fidgeted with his board, suddenly looking away and pulling into himself at the question.

Ah....so I was right...he knows I know this isn't just a normal request... Jacob thought, resting his head on a hand whilst propped by an elbow. He would wait, he had the time. How he answered, he figured, would determine how he'd respond.

To him, they were not in his father's livingroom, instead, it was a cliff. He saw the boy standing at the precipice and with every fibre of his being he was begging for Jacob to push him.

He heard him loud and clear, even if he hadn't really made his intentions clear, he understood. He didn't have a right to pull him away, and while regret made him want to reach his hand out to pull him in to his arms and change his mind, he knew he couldn't make that choice.

Not after what he'd done to the young man.

silence grew like wild black berries and just when it became almost unbearable, the sound of chalk on board broke it.

[it's for plants. I want to hang up some plants in my room. very heavy ones.] the board read when he finally finished.

"plants, huh...real heavy ones too? I didn't know you liked plants but...who am I to judge." Jacob rasped, stuffing a hand into his own hoodie pocket before removing a thick and sturdy rope from within.

Having used magic to summon the loosely wound bundle, he was confident it wouldn't rip under any circumstances.

"You better find a good tall sturdy place to hang them. you don't want anything to break...it's a little disappointing to lose a pot if whatever it's hanging from breaks." he said, keeping his tone uninterested and casual while he held the bundle out.

Coby stared at it then reached out to take it, recoiling at first as if it were a snake that was about to strike before snatching it up.

"you should show me your plants the next time I'm over." Jacob said with a yawn.

Coby slowly nodded as he stared down at the rope in his hand. soon he awkwardly turned and left, not bothering to thank Jacob for his help as he did so. He didn't mind, he knew that was probably the last time they'd ever see each other again.

However he had a feeling he wouldn't go through with it. He was a coward and had plenty of people who would knock his door down to check on him in times like this. He wasn't worried...not entirely.

He had the thought to call him back or follow him, to give into his guilt but he found himself glued to his chair with the knowledge he'd done enough and now it was time to let go.

even if he wanted to make him stay, he had to trust his friend and have hope.

It was all he could afford to do.

at least that's what he told himself as the door closed and he was alone once more.

since then, he was kept busy with his own troubles and his straining relationship with his father. He wouldn't learn of the outcome until years later.

when he heard the news, all the guilt he'd felt bubbled up and presented itself as hot bile that flooded his mouth and burned his throat.

tears stung his eyes as no loss had struck him as harshly as this.

While everyone spoke of suicide. he knew deep in his heart that the real word they should be using was murder.

@thealphapigeon @ghostiebloo

[decepti-thots]

"I'll fill the graveyards until I have you" 11, 12, & 15 pretty please

(The fic.)

You know it continually surprises me (in a wonderful way!) that people remember that fic. It's such a weird thing and a rarepair to boot but I had been wanting to write something like it for ages.

11: What do you like best about this fic? I felt like I pretty much nailed my internal Getaway perspective. Which had proved to be harder than I expected! I'd never really written a character with that particular type of… performative grandiosity, I guess? And I realised when I sat down to write it that I had to think pretty hard about how he would think to himself, as opposed to what he would say to others. But the little things- the way he casually thinks about changing Rodimus' frame without thinking to ask before deciding this is a good idea, stuff like that- they wound up coming through pretty well I think.

12: What do you like least about this fic? I always felt like it ended pretty abruptly. Really, it wanted to be a longer fic, but it was that or it didn't get done- I had to write it in one sitting so I could keep on at it for the kinktober event I was pushing myself to do. Ah well.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic? In writing it I realised that my read on the Getaway-Rodimus relationship is that the way Getaway responds to Rodimus is really dependent on the circumstances they meet in; I was really interested to see how quickly I settled into them having a dynamic that was in a lot of ways the mirror image to what they had in canon like. Huh. Yes, this feels plausible to me, actually. Destined to end extremely badly, but plausible.

[shctupmeg]

Morty waited for Summer to have delivered her gift and wandered off to bother the family butler before approaching Meg in turn. He didn't want his sister to be around when his almost girlfriend opened his gift, because she would have probably made a comment to embarrass him or something worse.

Before sitting down next to the girl, he rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans, trying to dry them. He felt like an idiot for being so nervous, but he couldn't help it. They had been going on dates for a while now and nothing had happened to make him think that things weren't going well. All the facts showed that they were going great. And yet he couldn't stop feeling like he had to constantly prove himself to her.

"H-Hi," he greeted timidly, his lips curling in a soft smile as he took the spot next to Meg, hesitating just a moment before scooting a little closer, so that their sides were touching. "I...Y-You've given me so many presents, an-and this is nothing in comparison, b-but I still hope that you'll like it."

He held out a small ring box, covered in a velvety, dark pink material. Inside, there was a pair of earrings, shaped like teddy bears and made with a stone very similar to amber but pink in colour. They looked sturdy and flashy and yet they were almost as light as feathers.

"I-I saw them at this alien bazaar an-and...uh, they made me think of you. T-The vendor told me tha-that the stone they are made of, i-it's supposed to bring luck and happiness t-to people with a bright soul. An-And that told me that they were perfect for you."

@countlessrealities

"Hi morty." She greeted him with nothing giddy excitement in her voice. Sure they had been going out for awhile now but she still couldn't help but act in a similar way she had when she first developed this crush on him. If anything the pure romantic chemistry between them only made her nerves that much stronger.

She supposed her nervous and awkward behavior would never go away. The girl gazed at him in clear admiration of the boy. Running her fingers nervously through her wavy locks as she did so.

She laughed at his words but with this being meg it was very unlikely she was doing so at his expense. Shown by her waving hand. "Oh come on it's nothing. It only makes sense that once I gained some wealth I'd wanna spend a lot of it on those I care about and I really care about you." Not only cause they were dating but because they had developed a friendship before that.

Her eyes lit up once she opened her gift. "Ah morty!" She exclaimed with pure excitement and joy in her tone. Taking out her diamond studs she replaced them with the little pink bears. "I actually was about to buy a pair like these but the ones you got me are like so much better." Reaching forward she let her hand rest on top of his. A soft kiss was placed upon his lips. "You know me really well. This was such a thoughtful gift and I really appreciate it." I appreciate you.

"You really think that highly of me?" She knew morty kept on trying to make it clear how highly he viewed her. That he had nothing but nice things to say. It wasn't that she didn't believe he was being sincere. More than years of people telling her she was less than made it hard for her to believe. Lucky for them both his words were finally sinking in. Maybe because of his constant assurance and therapy was certainly helping her on her healing journey. "Thank you." She gives his hand a squeeze. "Merry christmas morty."

[satans-codpiece]

Okay so I proved myself wrong, about me saying I'm dropping everything I'm doing to read your stuff. I found out about Eleven Years Chpt. 5 in the morning and had to go to work RIP. Needless to say I was very distracted and as soon as I got home I got ON IT-

Bit of a shame for my wireplay obsessed ass you didn't go a bit harder on that but GOd it was still hell of a ride. Reader getting handsy after the fucking and Ram not handling it well™ was.... oooooof. I'm so normal-

I guess since I got on the EY hype train, mind if I just, go nuts a little more??? I could be biased here cuz Ramram, but HOW did you actually, genuinely make me feel sad for the captor in a Stockholm syndrome scenario????? HELLO???? What wizardry did you pull to do that??????? Like yeah Ram kidnapped reader and is lowkey torturing them without fully realizing it, but he's so awfully genuine with everything else????????????

And just. Okay slightly late to the party but in chpt. 4, the conversation about Ram being afraid of touch both to not accidentally harm reader AND the reputation of his model is just....... When I read that, my reaction could only be described as going absolutely fucking feral. Bro do not EVER worry about characterization again because jeSUS CHRIST-

I actually ended up showing that set of paragraphs to a friend that isn't in this fandom much (likes a different hero a whole lot and is loosely aware of everyone else, kind of like me actually lol) aaaaand their reaction was pretty much the same as mine-

And to not ignore what you replied with my last anon ask bc lordy I'd feel bad: ... I mean.... if you wanna build up to a big piv scene.... *glosses over your WIP list* I can see Hanakaki going there pretty easily, without all the painful emotional mindfuckery that comes with kidnapping...

LMAO I feel like Blizz employees (the creative art-related team, to be more accurate) are not really allowed to interact with fandom so their ideas don't get influenced by fanon and therefore the company does not get accused of stealing ideas or whatever. BUT, here's a funny idea... since these people write fanfiction that is actually canon... Can you imagine someone writing out their dirtiest fantasies and said writing having to be actually archived at Blizz because intellectual property LOOOOOL-

soBBING THAN K YOU this was such a delight to open my inbox to!!!

hehehe for what it's worth, if I do end up writing the prequel there will be a bigger focus on wireplay (given that it's before he's made any modifications to himself) :3c

but ah I'm so glad you sympathized with Ramattra because that's exactly what I wanted!! He's done something awful- is doing something awful- but he's doing it because he loves you so much. Everything he's done, he's done because he's had a hard life and you were one of so few good things he's had. I really wanted the reader (ie the real people not the stand in character) to have... complicated feelings about this version of Ramattra.

and ;_; thank you... being OOC is truly just my nightmare of writing, I need my blorbos to be perfectly canon-aligned (or explicitly AU'd) or I'll die.

but in particular fjdshg yes! When Ramattra was actually striving for peace, he had to work against such heavy biases against him simply because of his model (both the vendor in Nepal and Nameless make comments on him being an r-7000 as soon as he meets them), so he must be acutely aware that he is treated differently than other omnics.

HAHAHA it's SO funny of all my WIPs you mention hanahaki... because 1) Hanahaki is actually like 4 paragraphs from being done and 2) there isn't a shred of nsfw in it! I wrote it just to write some angsty pre-relationship stuff, but ultimately just is emotional porn, nothing physical.

Ah that's probably to some degree true! I'd love to see someone working w Blizz just. sit on all their nsfw fics and works until they quit and be like. 'haha yeah i JUST made all these. definitely not under contract w Blizz dont worry about it :>' [piles of concept Ramattra porn fall out of their jacket]