#and although i know all i already said before i'm still beating myself up for smth that can be different a next time

[anonymous-existences]

Chapter 3: New Faces, New Job, New Everything.

Continuation to Chapter 1 and 2.

Danny stares at Dante in absolute shock, Red Hood? RED HOOD?? OF ALL PEOPLE. Dante had to meet the rumored and probably the most violent of the Vigilantes. And Red Hood being a literal Crime Lord makes this worse.

"He had a fat ass to be hone-" Dante Blurted with a smirk but Danny cuts him off, "No, No. Shut up. I don't wanna hear your- or my- wait no. YOU'RE gay shenanigans." Danny pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to process the whole story.

"Let me get this.. straight-... You ... Ugh.... Ancients save me. YOU. MET. RED HOOD. AFTER. Beating up... Someone in his HAUNT?? And what do you mean he's a revenant? I thought frostbite said those were the "rare cases" of semi-halfas" Danny tries to clear up all the information in his head through just yelling it out.

"Yep." Dante popping the "P" and does not elaborate on anything else but a simple 'yep'.

"Kill me fully- wait... No. Jazz wouldn't want that." Danny reminded himself and took a deep breathe.

"I am so Clockwork." Danny spoke out.

"Oh come on! I'm in physical probation! I defended someone from getting bad things happen to them—" Danny cut him off.

"You can say "Fucked up shit" you know stop physically censoring yourself." Danny just stared at Dante with a judgemental face. Dante gasped dramatically like he's offended by that statement.

"OH WOW. It's not like I'm trying to 'Censor' myself because you're a traumatized 13 year old kid and I'm an adult given the responsibility of YOU cuz I love you like my brother." Dante states emphasizing every word.

"You sound like a drag queen." Danny blurts out

"I look better in pink anyways." Dante smirked smugly and Danny just frowned and sighed as Dante Ruffled his hair Mischievously.

"Don't you have a job interview today?" Danny grabbed his hand and gently places it away from his poor hair.

"I already got hired. They said I fit the job." Dante sounded very proud of himself before Danny blurts out "I think they hired you on the spot because you're Eye Candy."

Dante was stunned and thought about it for a moment.

Hmm.

"Yeah I suppose but that doesn't matter now, I have a normal job and people doesn't seem to be bothered by me at all so it's very good." Danny imagined that if Dante had a tail he'd be wagging it and Danny didn't like that mental image of a fucking CATBOY DAN- "UUUUUGHH! I hate that." He drags his palm on his face dramatically.

"And you Danny. Is coming with me to work. I am not leaving you in the apartment because. I will list it.

1. Someone might break in and you're not safe.

2. You might kill that someone either through ghost or through your tendencies to grab that goddamn creep stick and hit without hesitation.

3. I am not letting you play DOOMED for 7 hours straight, But I will let you play Minecraft.

4. You or well, We. Tend to roam away from home when we are bored, in this case you do. And ding ding ding we're in Gotham.

5. If you ever got into any danger. I would not worry if you're okay. I would worry if you killed someone first.

That's your list."

Dante started Loud and Clear.

"Fine but I get to bring both my phone and headphones with my switch." Danny Complied with a deal making Dante smile triumphantly, "Fine with me Twerp, and you better behave at the cafe." He chuckles and Pats Danny's Head Gently but still mischievously.

Danny also giggled, Danny's chest felt warm. And his core buzzed in familiar happiness as Dante and Danny Pressed their foreheads into each other before Dante pats Danny's shoulder and stands back up with a groan.

"Let's go kid, get ready now." Dante stretched his body and cracks some of his "old bones" as Danny heads to his bedroom and takes his sling bag and puts his 'neccesities' inside with a smile.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Tim heard about a new Cafe opening nearby Gotham U, although at first he was suspicious of how so many people are already visiting it and even the lines reach outside. He soon found out why. One of their workers was rumored to be apparently "eye candy" or whatever they called people who are very attractive.

This worker was the main Barista and he apparently makes the drinks Infront of the people and he was good at it.

That got Tim even more curious, How attractive does someone have to be that people of all genders are lining up on a new store as if a celebrity is inside. And so he decided to wait in line like any other student as to not direct any attention to himself because that would be utterly humiliating for him.

He waited.....

And waited....

And kept Waiting and Waiting....

Until finally, what felt like an eternity he finally got to order His Coffee.

It seems the rumors are true, the bartender is indeed attractive. Tim got even more curious about how the big man seemed to have canine sharp teeth, oddly pale complexion that almost looks... Purple? And Lazarus Green Water with Red Rims.

"An Americano with two shots please.." He states to the Cashier, "And name please?" The Cashier asks again.

"Timothy." He calmly tells her as she writes it down to a receipt and hands it to the orders That the "Eye Candy" Man and Another Worker was Making.

Tim sat on a nearby table. It was the only table that happened to be empty. Except a 13 years old kid just sitting there playing... Minecraft? Okay-.

The kid stared at Tim, Tim stares back. 'He looks like adoption Bait.' Tim thinks to himself then suddenly he slowly feels weird, as if he's being judged intensely, Unfortunately and possibly even worse than how Damian judges him.

"You look like an overworked 9-5 office worker that has no paid vacations or time off for a student." the kid suddenly speaks out and it felt as though Tim had just been shot with a non-existent arrow of truth.

"Wha-" Tim tries to ask but the kid interrupts him before he could even start, "you should really get some sleep and maybe lessen your intake of Coffee... Ah right. Name's Danny by the way. Sorry. You just started staring at me so I couldn't help but state my opinion." The kid, or well... Danny said as he went back to playing Minecraft on his switch.

"I- it's... It's fine. I know I need sleep... All college students do- it's normal." Timothy just sighs and nods subtly, knowing full well this random kid is right.

Goddamit, the kid acts like Damian a bit too- and he has the typical black hair blue eyes appearance, possibly an orphan attitude. Tim continues to have a subtle Life Crisis in his head.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

'Such a weird person.' Danny thought to himself and chuckled softly.

He continues to play Minecraft with Tucker and Sam to Pass his time and so he doesn't go all deppreso mid-daylight. The amount of people entering the cafe was still... Concerning at the very least, now that the customers have heard Dante's voice... They started to call him the "Everything in one Package." Which was way worse than "Eye Candy" to be honest.

'Vlad would be confused and shocked.... I wonder how Ellie is doing.. hopefully not too bad....' Danny hums to himself as he made a gravesite ingame for Jazz to remember her by.

It has become tradition for these teens to make jazz a gravesite whenever they start a new world and they always made sure it's beautiful and colorful in a way Jazz would have liked it.

Danny smiled as he finished up the ingame Gravesite.

Although it hurts to see and do this every time, he still loves it because then he has something to remind him of her existence.

Her precious Existence as he likes to call it.

"I miss her so much..." He mutters to himself.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

"I'm so... Tired." Dante was plopped onto the couch lazily.

"I am scared to be an adult like you..." Danny just stared at Dante as he Begrudgingly sat back up from the couch to stretch his body and head to the kitchen to cook.

"I met a random older student today, we kinda talked. He called me adoption bait which was funny because technically I am considering V l a d." Danny laughed.

"Adoption Bait my ass, who would want to adopt a little messy homeless looking goblin." Dante just chuckled smugly and Danny Pouts. " I am not a homeless looking kid" he tries to defend himself "that's the thing you're most concerned about in my sentence?" Dante tucked his hair back into a tight Ponytail and let's it flow naturally like fire.

"I know I'm a goblin, it's just how I am." Danny proudly says and pats his chest and puffs it out with pride.

"Ofcourse you do... Ah right. Kiddo I have a surprise for you tomorrow. So make sure to get enough sleep today alright?" Dante kneels down to Danny's Height to speak to him properly.

Danny thinks for a second, "Sure! I like surprises!" Danny giggled nodded profusely in excitement.

"Good." Dante smiled softly, he loves it when Danny is happy. His core loves when Danny is also happy. A happy Danny is a happy Dante.

He wishes this could go on forever. Just Danny smiling and not screaming for his life in his nightmares.

My Arm is cold from writing this <33

Enjoy though.

[farmergirldulce]

Winter Sapling [Ryis x Farmer One-Shot]

There's not enough love for the underrated King Ryis, so I'm here to oblige with a fluffy one shot for all you Ryis lovers out there! (Myself included although I'm gonna romance March first, Ryis is definitely next save lmao)

This is pretty much a continuation of his 4-heart event, so slight spoilers ahead!

You can also read this on my AO3!

Enjoy~! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

♡ ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗♡

Ryis never felt this way before.

He isn't sure when he started to think about you often. Maybe it's the way you knew your way around a hammer? Perhaps it was the sound you'd make when he makes you laugh? Or maybe just how your eyes sparkle whenever you pay attention to his demonstrations of carpentry? After what seemed like an eternity of sleepless nights, he has come to this answer:

He's in love with you, and he has no clue what to do about it.

He's contemplating on talking to March about how he feels to see if he has any advice, but he's almost certain he's too busy or doesn't care for "playing matchmaker between his best friend and a thorn in his side". So he makes the decision to just let nature take its course and find out for himself whether or not you reciprocate what he feels.

♡ ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗♡

It's now winter, in the first year of your arrival.

Ryis is now beating himself up for letting himself bottle in his feelings for you for this long.

Maybe (Y/N) started to like someone else by now? There's no way they'd be into me... right?

These are the thoughts that roam in his mind as he exits the carpenter shop that cloudy, cold evening. As he's walking through the already fallen tundra, he looks to his left to see a familiar figure standing in the area where the hawthorn sapling was planted seasons ago and he feels his heart skip a beat.

It's you.

You're dressed in an cream-colored sherpa jacket donned in gloves as white as the lightly falling snow, black joggers, and cream-colored snow boots. You're not wearing a hat so Ryis notices speckles of frost in your hair, your cheeks and nose adorned in a slight red hue.

He's behind the wall now to get a closer look at you, entranced the moment he saw you take a breath and start singing a hushed little tune to the sapling you're squatting in front of. The melody is blended together almost immaculately, your head swaying to the rhythm you're presenting. At that moment, Ryis is absolutely breathless.

My God, they're so beautiful...

The lullaby ends and clumsily, Ryis accidentally steps on a twig as he inches closer to your location, causing you to whip your hear around the noise and Ryis to flinch. He curses himself.

Since when did I become a stalker?! Go talk to her, idiot...

He turns around the corner like he just arrived, playing it cool and taking a gulp before approaching.

"Oh! It's you Ryis. Evening~!" You chirp, greeting the young man.

He smiles, hands in his pockets.

"Hey, (Y/N)! What are you doing out here so late? It's freezing out here..."

"I know." You nod in agreement. "I just remembered I haven't checked on the sapling this week and I wanted to see how it's coming along! Gotta make sure this tree will be ready for the Mistrian bluebirds, ya know?"

He can't help but stifle a chuckle after hearing what you said.

So cute....

"I think it will still be quite a while before we see them, but I'm glad you've been keeping an eye on it this whole time. You're such a hard worker, and I admire that."

He freezes, mentally cringing at what he just said. If that was his way of telling you he likes you, he wasn't satisfied.

"Hm?" You inquire, peering into him closer, causing his shoulders to tense up. "But you've been working your butt off, too! You're still working on the birdhouse, right?"

He nods, looking down at his feet and shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. It's still a work-in-progress, though. I'm not stopping until those birds have a wonderful place to come home to!"

Then, all of a sudden, you enclose the space between you two and grab his shoulders. He can't help but stare into your bright eyes in shock as you give him the smile he knows damn well he loves.

"You gotta give yourself some credit, Ryis. You've done wonderfully on this project so far!"

It's taking every fiber in his body for him to keep himself from just kissing you right then and there. Maybe then he'd be able to show you instead of tell you how much you mean to him. Your face is so close, too. He can almost feel the heat coming from your breath as you exhale breaths past your soft-looking lips...

"Ryis? You okay?"

Your voice brings him back to reality and he snaps out of it.

"Huh? OH, yeah, I'm good! Just kinda tired."

"Oh okay... you should get some sleep soon then, yeah?"

"Mhm."

But even after the suggestion, you both just stand there in silence, still enveloped in each other's company. Then, Ryis takes a deep breath and starts to say something:

"(Y/N)... I think I li-"

And just like that, almost on queue, the snow starts to fall heavier, a snow storm beginning.

"Ah! I seem to have misread the weather forecast!" You say loudly, the snow drowning your voice.

Then, Ryis turns to the shop. He grabs your hand.

"This way! Let's get to shelter!"

He leads you to the carpenter shop, ignoring the fact he just grabbed your hand and just guiding you to safety.

♡ ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗♡

You close the door behind you and Ryis takes off his boots, jacket, and blue scarf, at the door. He walks to the fireplace and grabs the pack of matches nearby.

"You can leave your boots and jacket there. After I get the fire going, I can make us hot chocolates. Sounds good?"

Your ears perk up.

"Oh, that sounds lovely! Would you like some help?"

Then, suddenly you sneeze. He blesses you, and politely refuses your offer, insisting you have a seat and take in the cozy warmth of the fire.

"No, that's okay! You just get comfortable and stay warm, okay?"

"Kay."

As he's in the kitchen making the hot chocolate, you curl up and get comfy by the armrest on the left side of the couch in the living room. While you're waiting you take a look around the room you're in. You can't help but feel like you're at home with the similar vibes the shop cabin has compared to your farm. You yawn, starting to get sleepy, truely making yourself at home.

You jolt and keep yourself from dozing off on Ryis and Landen's couch when you hear his footsteps with his socks on coming from the kitchen to where you are.

"Sorry about the wait. It'll be worth it though." Ryis chides with a wink.

"Hehe, no worries!" You giggle unworryingly, pretending you weren't falling asleep. "Thank you."

You grab the hot ruby red cup from Ryis' hand and blow at the steam across the top. He takes a seat next to you with his own cup in his hands, you two just inches from each other, shoulder to shoulder. You almost feel your heart skip a beat by the close proximity.

You take a slow sip of the piping hot beverage, careful not to burn your tongue. It's a nearly perfect balance of sweet and bitter with a hint of creaminess. It also tastes a bit familiar.

"Did you get some pointers from Darcy?" You ask, a cheeky little smirk forming across your lips.

He laughs.

"You got me. She let me borrow the recipe and I've been practicing. Gotta learn some things before my uncle gets too old to cook for himself."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" You chirp, although not to your surprise.

Ryis has always been a gentleman and an overall pleasant guy. That's what makes him so charming to you. You keep in mind if he gets a significant other, you're sure they'd be lucky to have him.

You know you'd be lucky.

He chortles in slight embarrassment, his cheeks getting red and his eyes averting yours.

"Y-You think so?"

"Yep!"

"Haha, cool, cool..."

What Ryis might never admit to you is he has actually been practicing his culinary skills to impress you. With the help of Darcy and Reina, he hopes one day if you decide to go out with him he'd cook you a nice dinner to make you feel special, like you deserve.

There goes the silence again. However, there's nothing awkward about it as you both sip the hot chocolates peacefully as you hear the wood crackling from the fireplace. While he isn't looking, you find yourself looking at him drinking from his ceramic cup, his eyes closed. It makes you wonder if you both will have snow days like this again, and you feel like you wouldn't mind spending time with him like this again.

After you're both done, he gets up and takes both cups to the sink. Then, he sits back down next to you again in the same spot he was before. He looked outside the window to see it was still snowing pretty bad.

"If it doesn't let up, you're more than welcome to stay the night here! I'm sure my uncle wouldn't mind." He suggests kindly.

You yawn again, rubbing your eyes.

"But where would I sleep? Do you have another room here?"

"You can stay in my room."

You start to blush, then Ryis realizes what he blurted out and blushes, stammering.

"I-I'd sleep here on the couch, of course!" He clarifies, flustered by the misunderstanding. As much as he would love to cuddle next to you in the same bed, he wouldn't dare make you feel uncomfortable.

"O-Oh, I see..." You sigh mixed in both relief and slight disappointment.

Before your fatigue wins the battle, you remember something. Ryis was about to say something to you before the blizzard.

"Hey Ryis?"

"What's up?"

"Before it started snowing really bad, I think you were going to say something. Do you remember what it was?"

He's silent, starting to sweat. He can feel a knot forming at the pit of his stomach.

Oh boy, here we go...

He takes some time to gather his thoughts before he says the following:

"Yeah, I remember. I wanted to tell you for some time now, but I wasn't ready to say it... until now."

Not looking at you still, he takes your hand and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before he says the line that could change your relationship with him forever.

"I like you, (Y/N). As in, I want to get to know you better. I want to have more moments like this with you. I would like to date you, if you'll have me."

As he awaits your response, he bites his lip in anticipation. Unfortunately...

Snooore...

You're fast asleep, your head falling on his shoulder. He sighs.

Well, at least I tried.

However, he's not that disappointed he didn't get your answer. In fact, he's happy to see how peaceful you look asleep on his shoulder and he can't bear to wake you from your slumber. He tells himself to be patient and he'll know some other day how you feel for him in return. But right now, he doesn't want the next day to come, because he feels like he could stay like this forever.

Soon, his own fatigue starts to kick in. He turns his head to yours and plants a kiss on your head before he intertwines his fingers with your fingers on your hand and he falls asleep, head resting on yours.

It may not yet be the time to make it official, but like a sapling in the winter, it's only a matter of time before this love grows into something worth living for. [END]

♡ ╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗♡

Landen returns to the carpenter's shop from the inn late at night at around 1 am.

"My, what a storm... Good thing it's slowing down."

Then to his surprise, he sees his nephew Ryis and the farmer, sleeping on the couch sitting next to each other.

He smiles, figuring they were waiting out the storm.

He goes into the linen closet to grab a blanket and carefully covers the both of them. Then he leaves, turning off the light and going upstairs for the night.

[bixiaoshi]

.

[onsraas]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞

┊luke castellan x daughter of aphrodite!reader — angst-fluff

summary: although the daughter of aphrodite tries, the feeling of love won't come other than from the person who not only seems oblivious, but also lacks the reciprocation of the love she so wildly desires. but, is that right?

warnings: use of y/n, 1st person, like one cuss word, (some poor writing tbh) — not proofread !!

wc: 1.3k

a/n: hello, I'm back with my take on why an "i love you, too." is more important than a bare "i love you." — also, can you notice the big fat crush I have rn through this? lmao.

ps. reblogs helps a whole lot.

photo credits | masterlist | navigation | request

My chest feels empty with the lack of a heart. I can feel it beating in my chest yet somehow the sense of emptiness remains there as I kiss this boy.

I can't remember his name, I don't even remeber if he said it or not, to be honest. But when his hands reach for my waist I try to help myself from gagging. I don't like the feeling of his hands on me.

Not as much as I like Luke's.

He's never touched me romantically, and yet his hand on my thigh trying to calm me down, his shaking hand in mine looking for comfort, his arms wrapped around me, lifting be from the ground after I told him big news, it all comes back to me before I feel a hand tug me backwards, tearing me away from the stranger I'd been kissing, who I now realise is Mark, a son of Ares.

"What is going on in here?" The voice behind me makes me shiver with recognition.

"What does it look like, dude? Leave." Mark says. He attempts to reach for my arm but I snatch it away.

Before either of them can say anything else, I turn to look at the person behind me: Luke. His face is contorted in an angry frown, glaring at Mark as if he'd just killed a kitten.

"What is it, Luke?" I say, my voice sounds annoyed, but although I'm looking at Luke, is not him whom I'm annoyed at. It's me. The fact that I had been imagining Luke kissing me while kissing someone else makes me think I'm stupid enough to not realize the truth: it's never gonna happen.

Luke's gaze softens when he looks at me, but still keeping the look of superiority. "You shouldn't be here. It's dark and you're very deep into the woods." He pauses and looks at me, but whatever he's looking for he doesn't find it. "We should get back."

"Okay," I agree. I think both of them were expecting me to put more of a fight because they look at me in confusion...or anger on Mark's side could be.

I pay Mark's insults no mind as I follow the path that will lead us back to the camp, Luke beside me.

Eventually we stop hearing Mark altogether and Luke finally says something. "Not a good one, huh?"

I shrug. My heart is overwhelmed with the sense of dread and the need to tear it out of my chest becomes more powerful with each step.

Why do I feel like this is my mother is the goddess of love? Why do I feel like this when everyone fights to get the bare minimum from me: a child of Aphrodite?

Could it be because the only person whom I really want looks at me with a shine that lacks of love?

Because every night I go to sleep I think about the stars and how they are my only companion when I see him look at someone else with the look I want all for myself.

I think about the stars whispering in my ear how I'm still dumb enough to not give up on the idea. What they don't realize, though, is that he's the one not letting me go.

He doesn't know my heart is his but still he won't drop it for it to break completely.

"Hey," Luke's hand on my shoulder stops me on my track, making me flinch a little. "What is going on?" His voice makes me want to break down and cry from how soft it is.

He is looking me right in the eye, and I can't help but notice that he's already invading my personal space with his closeness. "Nothing is going on, okay? Can we just...walk in silence?" 

"No, we can't." I don't think he's ever talked to me this serious. "Not until you stop pushing me away." 

I'm dumbfounded. "Wait, what?" My voice sounds weird to my own ears. "What are you talking about? I'm not pushing you away, Luke." 

"Yes, you are, y/n, and you've been for the last year." His eyes reflect nothing but hurt, probably remembering how this last year has gone for both of us. "You think I don't realise? You think I don't realise how you do anything to stay away from me? And my only question is: why?" 

He is closer to me than he's ever been and I can only focus on his intense blue eyes staring back at me. "That is none of your bussiness." I somehow get it out, still my voice sound breathier than normal.

I could get it out now, try to make the damage the least painful as possible, but my selfish heart tells me I can't make it better if a lose him.

"I think it is. Now, either you say it, or I'm going to say it myself." Still, I don't say a word. He leans impossibly closer, and my breath hitches when I feel his hand slightly touching mine, as if waiting for and invitation. 

Fuck it. "You think you know, everything about me, Luke, well you don't. The answer to your question is the only thing you should have noticed and it's yet the only thing you see to have no clue about. The only reason I've been avoiding you, and doing anything to stay away from you is because..." I pause, trying to gather my thoughts. "It is because I love you, Luke. I have loved you from the very moment I met you all those years ago."

Luke looks at me as if a just grew a third head. Yet, somehow, I can for the first time feel my heart. 

"Why were you kissing mark then?" He asks.

I scoff. "None of them matter, I've only ever done it because I wanted to stay away from you, Luke."

"Away from me? Why would you wanna make that?"

Is he serious? "You're just making fun of me at this point." I attempt to leave, but I fail when Luke grabs my arm, keeping me from leaving. 

"I would never make fun of you." His voice is soft as silk. "I truly want to know."

I sigh. "I know you don't feel the same, Luke. That's okay. Just...please, don't become a stranger." 

"I would never." He takes my hand in his, bringing us closer, or noses touching. I could lean a little and our lips would touch, but I won't unless he asks me to. "Can I kiss you now?" 

When people said they felt butterflies I'd never undestood. Sure, I'd felt nervous, yet the feeling of butterflies fluttering in my stomach right now was so strong I wanted to vomit. I decide to nod instead.

His lips are soft in mine. One of my hands is occupied in his, while the other moves to wrap around his neck. 

The kiss is sweet at first, two people showing affection through the art of kissing. But when Luke's tongue gets access inside my mouth I feel like we are both making up for all the times we wanted to do it but couldn't, for all the years of waiting, and for the time we need to catch up.

His hand leaves mine only to get bothe his hands in my waist, tugging me closer to him, closing any possible gap there could be between our bodies. 

His hands are everywhere in my body and when his hands find the bare skin underneath my shirt I break the kiss, searching for his eyes. "Was that too fast?" He asks with pure panic.

I smile and shake my head before I wrap my arms around him, hiding my face in the crook of his neck, while he does the same. 

"I love you, too." He says leaving a soft kiss in my neck. 

And there a realise that the emptiness is long gone.

[slayfics]

Explosive Tendencies a slow burn fanfic about the readers developing relationship with Katsuki Bakugo.

Chapter four: You study with Katsuki.

Chapter links

With the completion of the internships, the end-of-term tests were coming up. You sat at your desk studying but couldn't help but wonder how your classmates were doing.

Everyone had gone into a frenzy in class about meeting up to study and being prepared. Multiple students had planned to go over to Momo's since she was at the top of the class. But since you weren't explicitly invited, you didn't want to show up. You still hadn't really connected too much with your other classmates.

You also overheard Eijiro and Katsuki make plans to study at a diner today. Fuck it I'll show up there, you thought. Katsuki did kind of owe you for fixing his hair anyway. Worst case if they seemed super irritated by it you could play it off as if you were just going to that diner regardless. That seemed a lot easier than randomly showing up at Momo's house considering you hadn't even spoken to her much yet.

You made your way over to the diner and almost as soon as you entered you were greeted with an overly enthusiastic "Hey!" that made you jump.

Eijiro had spotted you right away and waved at you to come over. Katsuki turned around with his usual annoyed expression to see who Eijiro had so openly invited to their table.

"Oh it's you," Katsuki mumbled.

"Hey, how's the studying going?" You asked, making your way over to their table.

"Uh, not so good," Eijiro laughed. "Bakugo's trying his best but I think I'm hopeless. Sit down and join us!" He said, smiling at you.

You reluctantly sat down next to Eijiro feeling a bit anxious. Aside from the times Katuski had snuck into your room, this was the first time you had spent outside of the classroom with any of your classmates.

"I'm kind of surprised you're not at Yaoyorozu's with everyone else," Eijiro stated.

"I wasn't really invited, and I didn't want to just invite myself like everyone else," You replied.

"You had no problem inviting yourself here," Katsuki said, looking up at you from his book.

You felt frozen, guess you didn't pull off pretending to just accidentally come to the same diner.

"Ah don't be so mean Bakugo, maybe they can help me. I know you are at your wits end with me," Eijiro said, laughing.

"Yeah whatever," Katsuki grumbled.

"Now that I think about it, I guess I really haven't seen you hang out with the others much," Eijiro stated curiously.

You're face flushed at his words, was it really that obvious that you hadn't befriended anyone in your class? "I uh.. well..." You stuttered trying to figure out how to answer him.

"Hey dumb ass, are you going to chat their ear off all day or are we going to study?" Katsuki barked at him.

"Right! Let's get back to it then," Eijiro said, focusing back on his book.

The three of you studied for almost the whole day. It surprised you to see how intelligent Katsuki was, his delivery was always harsh though. He'd get frustrated easily when Eijiro couldn't pick up on something right away, but you were able to explain in a calmer manner and that seemed to help.

Although, it did still take Eijiro an extended amount of time to fully understand concepts. With the sun going down you three decided it was time to finish up.

"Wow, ok I feel prepared for the written test now! I'm just worried about the test exercises," Eijiro said.

"It'll be fine shitty hair, you worry too much. You'll both do fine, and I’ll finally be able to show everyone how worthless that nerd Deku is and how much better I am than that Icyhot bastard," Katsuki replied.

You sighed, “Bakugo I already told you- I’m pretty sure everyone knows you would have beat Todoroki regardless of him using both sides or not.”

“Hm?” Eijiro looked at you both curiously. “Told him before? You two have hung out before?” He asked.

Your face flushed at Eijiro’s correct assumption and you weren’t sure how to respond. It seemed a little suspicious to say the truth- that Katsuki had snuck into your room three times now.

“Don’t be so nosy dumb ass,” Katsuki grumbled at him.

“Oh right-! Sorry! Anyway… Maybe the test exercise will be a team exercise and we'll get paired together or something! After today I'd say the three of us make a good team," Eijiro said smiling.

You smiled back at him unsure of how to respond to so much positivity. Katsuki just rolled his eyes at Eijrio.

It was striking how night and day it was between Eijiro's cheery demeanor and Katsuki's quick temper.

Tags: @unofficialmuilover @anon-mouse223

[talaok]

Close your eyes

Pairing: Din Djarin x reader

Summary: After a few months of living in your new cabin on Nevarro, Din confesses to you he's ready to take the next step.

warnings: smut| oral sex (f receiving) and baby-making sex

[I know his name isn't Din but I couldn't bring myself to call him Djarin, sorry]

"he's getting really good at it" you sighed happily.

You and Din sat on the porch of the new cabin Greef Karga had granted you.

The air smelled fresh, the sky was beautiful as the sun set, and your head rested on Din's shoulder while his arm kept you close.

Grogu was "playing" with the frogs inhabiting the pond right in front of the house, although I'm not sure the frogs would have called it that.

Everything was alright.

After all this time, these fights, these adventures, everything was fine, actually, more than fine.

It was perfect.

"he is" he agreed, his thumb stoking your side "but he still needs training"

You scoffed "Please, he could beat you with a flick of his hand"

He laughed "he wishes"

"don't worry" you pretended to reassure him "There's no shame in being the least strong of the family"

"least strong?"

"weakest sounded mean" You bit down a smirk

"You think you could take me?"

"I know I could take you"

" Sweetheart, there's only one way you can take me," he said "and even for that you needed training"

you felt heat rise to your cheeks at the remark, and it was as if you could see the smug grin tugging at his lips even through the helmet.

"Don't flatter yourself mando" You placed a hand on his chest "there's many ways I can take you" you explained "What you're thinking of is just the one you like the most"

His hold on your side got tighter "I sure do like it"

"do you?" you mocked, raising a brow " Would have never guessed it" you giggled, hearing him chuckle also.

Your eyes trailed to the sun behind him, its light almost completely engulfed by the horizon.

"it's getting late," you said "The kid needs to go to sleep" You got up, walking to Grogu.

He didn't offer much resistance today, and you were able to pick him up with just an annoyed coo.

"say goodnight to Daddy" You stopped in front of the entrance, facing him towards Din.

He emitted the cutest sound you've ever heard, and as always, your heart warmed.

" 'night kid" he waved in return, before you stepped into the house.

In the few months you'd been living here you had managed to already make it a home.

Pictures and memories filled each shelf and empty space on the wall.

Grogu's room was small, but not any less full.

Din had built him a course where he could jump from the floor to the wall and to the ceiling thanks to some wooden panels.

The kid loved it. What was hard most times, was making him stop.

"alright" you smiled, setting him down into the crib Din had created for him "It's time to go to sleep sweetpea" You kissed his forehead, earning a happy coo "Sweet dreams" you whispered, glancing at him once more before turning to the door.

You almost gasped as you saw Din standing there, casually leaning on the side of it.

You shook your head, laughing a bit as you followed him outside, closing the door behind you.

"you scared me" you scolded him

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he said, stoking your cheek.

He paused for a second, like he was hesitant, before speaking again.

"you're really good with him," he said

"I know"

"I mean... you're good with kids"

"thank you?"

He let out a breathy laugh, 

"he seems happy"

"well he's got a family" you smiled "We all do"

"right, but don't you think he's a bit..."

"What?"

"lonely?"

your mouth gaped open

"You mean...?"

"Maybe he needs someone his age to interact with"

"like a brother?" you intertwined your hands behind his neck, "you think we should give little Grogu a brother?" you grinned, not able to hide your excitement

You could hear his breathing from underneath the helmet.

he was nervous.

"would you like that?"

you paused, stunned at the fact he even had to ask.

"I would" you smiled so wide your cheeks hurt "I would really like that baby"

He let go of a sigh of relief, and you wondered for a moment, how long he'd been worrying about this.

He gripped your waist, his hands loving yet hard.

"then we better get to work" he smiled, not giving you any warning before picking you up.

A little squeak fled your throat as you grabbed onto him.

"Eager much?"

"you have no idea" he purred, kicking the bedroom door open and closed in one swift motion.

He sat on the bed and you ended up in his lap.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart" 

You were just waiting to hear that.

It was such a simple sentence, and yet it meant so much.

It was the symbol of trust and passion, but most importantly, of love.

It was his way of saying he would trust you over anything, and your way of saying it back.

You closed your eyes, the world going pitch black once more.

You heard a familiar sound, and then something hit the ground, 

his helmet.

Seconds passed, but the anticipation was so strong your skin felt on fire, and then, like water in the desert, came his lips on yours.

He kissed you sweetly, a way of thanking you, of loving you, and you kissed him back with everything you could.

Your hands went to his face, stoking and palming all you couldn't normally feel, while he was holding yours between his fingers like you were about to slip away.

"You're beautiful" he breathed, leaning back ever so slightly, 

"you too" you smiled, making him laugh.

"you can't see me"

"I can feel you," you said "I know you're handsome"

He kissed you again

"I love you"

"I love you too" you promised, but were quickly cut off by your own gasp as he quite literally manhandled you so your back was on the bed.

"maybe give me a warning next time?" you chuckled, as you felt his hand on your thighs.

He was kneeling in front of you.

"oh but I like the pretty sounds you make" he kissed your skin

"do you?"

"I do" he kissed you again, his trail getting closer to the hem of your skirt "I like them a lot" another peck "Although I do like some other sounds you make better"

"Like what?" you asked playfully

He grabbed the end of your skirt "Like the ones you make when you're desperate for me" 

"desperate?"

"yes, desperate" he murmured, pulling your skirt off.

Your mouth opened but you forced the gasp climbing your throat back from where it came from, making him chuckle.

"I'm never desperate"

You couldn't see it, but you could feel the smug smirk on his lips.

"Are you now, sweetheart?" he mocked, his fingers grazing your panties and making you hold your breath.

"I actually seem to recall many times where you were the one begging"

touché, he thought

"That's because you tease" he explained, his torturous fingers still just dancing on where you needed him the most.

"so you're telling me that I stopped touching you right now you'd be fine with it?" the bastard asked.

"Din..." 

"What?" he kissed your clothed cunt "You wouldn't be desperate would you?"

you sighed, frustrated "No, just-"

"What, baby, what is it?"

"don't stop"

"why?"

God, you hated him so much.

You'd never taken back something so quickly, but he was able to do that. That taunting asshole.

"Because I need you" you confessed "Please"

He smirked "There she is"

You didn't even have time to breathe that your panties were off of you.

He spread your legs, and you had to bite your lips in anticipation as he gripped your thighs.

"you're so wet baby" he groaned, his breath fanning against your core.

"I wonder why, you bastard" 

"Easy there" he kissed your clit, making you gasp "Wouldn't want me to stop," 

"Baby-"

he didn't let you finish as he finally dove in, his tongue tasting all of you before he started focusing on your clit.

"Oh my god" you whined, already a mess.

He was holding you firmly as your whole body begged to move.

"fuck baby, please" you moaned loudly, as he kept going unfazed.

It felt like a fire had started inside your body, and once his fingers grazed your hole, a bucket of gasoline spread it everywhere.

"din!" you cried once he pushed them in, your hand going to grip his hair.

"That's right, say my name sweetheart" he murmured as he pumped his digits in and out of you.

A filthy sound spread through the room, and you were shutting your eyes so forcefully you were seeing white dots.

"fuck, din" you breathed, feeling yourself get closer as he sucked your clit so perfectly.

His fingers curled inside of you, hitting your spot and making you cry, but his mouth didn't stop, licking and worshipping all of you.

"c'mon sweet girl, come for me, I know you're close" he murmured "I can feel it," he said, before resuming his work somehow even more intensely.

Shocks of pleasure kept coursing through you, but as he curled his fingers one more time, you were sent over the edge, your orgasm washing over you powerfully as you gripped his locks for dear life.

Who cares if you hurt him. He caused this.

"shit" You let out a breath, once you were done and he leaned away.

"You're so beautiful when you come honey," he said, taking your hand still on his head and kissing it softly " I wish you could see it" he murmured, leaning away.

You whined, reaching for him through the dark behind your eyelids "Where did you go?"

"I'm here baby" You heard some noises and then a louder one.

He had taken his suit off.

When you felt him again, he was holding your waist. Not for long, however, as his hands quickly started exploring your body, spreading goosebumps with his touch.

Then finally, you felt his digits infiltrate under your shirt, and in a moment, you were fully naked.

Next, his lips were on you, on your jaw, your neck, your collarbones, all painted with the sweetest of tiny pecks as he kept caressing your body.

One of your hands went to his back, keeping him close, while the other trailed down his bare chest longing for his manhood.

"please baby" you whined "I know I said I wasn't desperate before but I take it all back" you laughed softly "Please, I need you"

"You need me?" he kissed your mouth, and you nodded 

"I do"

"I do too" he purred, kissing you again before positioning himself at your entrance.

"you ready?"

"please"

And just like that, he thrusted into you.

You moaned far too loudly as he groaned.

For as many times as you'd felt him, you could never quite get used to it, he still stretched you in the best way.

"god" he growled "you feel so good sweetheart" he started moving "You're perfect" 

There were so many things you wanted to say, but his dick hitting you so deep was causing troubles to the communicating part of your brain.

"I can't believe you're mine" he spoke, "that you want this"

"of course I do" you moaned " I want to be yours Din" you cried "only yours"

The bed was creaking underneath you, and his thrusts were soft and sweet, but god if they weren't deep.

"I want to have your kid" 

"you do?" his breath fanned over your mouth

"I do, Din" you promised "I want to have another mini-you that will help you make me go mad" you laughed "I want to have a bigger family" you breathed "to be yours, forever"

He couldn't do anything but kiss you, hoping that at least one percent of his adoration for you passed through.

"I love you more than anything y/n" he said "and I want to give you my kid" he swore "to see in them all I see in you" he continued, as his thrust continued undaunted "and to grant them the best mother one could ask for"

You smiled widely, feeling tears prick your eyes.

"then do, baby" You intertwined your hands behind his neck, bringing his lips to yours "give me your kid"

[elizaditton]

Too Small To Be Afraid (Chapter 16)

Cover / Master Post / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

A/N & T/W: Hey guys, just as a heads up I wanted to let you know that this chapter contains an intrusive daydream of Kaylin's that may be uncomfortable or traumatic for some of my readers. It deals with food and the idea of humans and pertheans eating together. I wanted to convey how this makes Kaylin uncomfortable without making my readers uncomfortable. I've thought a lot about what I've written and I don't believe I've crossed any lines, but for those like me who like G/t but struggle with the idea of food or sharing a meal in that context (and of course, the fears associated with that), the content may be uncomfortable to read. I just want to make it clear that my content does not and never will contain fetish material. My writing will always be safe for work content as I strive to please God in all I do. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

- - - - - - - - - -

It was only about a month ago that Dad and I packed our bags and moved half way across Koronia, and now it's already Rosan. At first, I wasn't expecting much from my dad's hometown, but I've been blown away with how much has happened since we arrived in Chancelor. I wasn't expecting to be forced into attending a deskmate school, and I certainly wasn't thinking I'd ever become friends with a perthean. I always worried about what would happen if a perthean found out about my fear, but never in a million years would I have ever predicted that one would actually want to help me overcome it!

Derrick and I have met up after school a few times now, and although these meetups have been helping me a little, I'm still not sure what my deskmate has in mind for us in the long run. Surely there's more to this than practicing eye contact and learning how to step onto a perthean's palm without falling over.

I think through what could possibly be next as Brittney and I make the trek from the cafeteria back to the pickup area.

"I really wish we could all just have our lunch together, you know?" Brittney says with a huff, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?! What makes you say that?" I ask, my heart skipping a beat at her suggestion as I desperately try to keep my mind from forming any pictures of sharing a lunch table with pertheans.

"It's just... we'd have so much more time to hang out as a group if we had our lunch together! Since this school is so focused on getting humans and pertheans to get along, you'd think they'd want us to have meals together, right?"

I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess what Brittney's saying makes sense. I was surprised when I first found out I wouldn't be sharing Physical Education or lunch periods with my deskmate, but in my relief, I decided not to question it. I suppose separating for P.E. makes sense since it's not a good idea to mix humans and pertheans for strenuous activities like exercise, but what about lunch period?

"Come to think of it," I start, a part of me curious to know and another part of me fearing the answer, "why do we separate for lunch period, anyway?"

Brittney's eyes narrow as she looks away, her lips pouting.

"It's all that Steven's fault!" she says.

I blink. "Steven? Who's Steven?"

"Soaring Steven, back in the twenties. Lunch period was shared here until he had his deskmate throw him across the cafeteria to see if one of their friends could catch him. Landed in a girl's soup and even broke some bones in the process," Brittney says.

I shudder at the realization that humans are light enough to pertheans to be thrown across a room by them. Not only that, but we're small enough to swim in their soup, too! I'm relieved that I don't have to suffer through a shared lunch period with my deskmate, but I can't stop myself from shaking at the idea.

I turn from side to side only to realize that I'm surrounded by mountains of colossal foods stacked much taller than I am with no way of escape. I spin around to face a wall of green fabric that I trace up, up, and up to my deskmate's enormous face. He ravenously gorges himself on nearly half of the sandwich in his hand—tearing off a hunk bigger than me—and thoughtfully chews his meal, his eyes locked with mine. My legs tremble beneath me as I stumble backwards, my eyes darting anywhere but the sight in front of me. This isn't happening.

As I continue to inch away from the perthean in front of me one of my feet makes contact with a thick metal prong, causing me to let out a yelp as I fall flat on my back. Lightheaded and out of breath, I sit up and discover the object was one of the tines on a huge fork.

A massive digit rests under my chin and leads my gaze back to the tall perthean boy in front of me. He gulps down the rest of his sandwich while his big blue eyes scrutinize my fallen form.

"Kaylin," he chuckles. "You're so... tiny, you know that?"

I stare into those massive blue orbs of his as blood rushes to my cheeks, making my ears hot. Anxiety floods my nervous system leaving me incapable of doing anything but quiver where I sit.

Tiny...?

"Anyway," Brittney says, interrupting my thoughts again, "after that incident... the school decided it would be best for deskmates to have 'less time for shenanigans' or something like that. If you ask me, they shouldn't have punished the whole school for a couple of students' idiocy!"

I stare down at my quaking hands. Tears prick the edges of my glazed eyes, and one or two trail down my face. I try to steady my breathing, but my lungs begin to take in more and more air at an increasing rate.

"Hey," Brittney says, turning to me. "Kaylin, are you—"

WHAM!

Something crashes into Brittney and I, interrupting our conversation and sending us both to the floor along with the contents of our open bookbags.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Brittney says, dusting herself off as she sits up.

"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't—" utters a boy on the floor in front of us. He coughs, lowering the tone of his voice. "I mean, it was an accident."

Brittney sighs. "That's okay. Here, let me help you with your books."

"Th-that won't be necessary." The boy says, brushing his black hair away from his green eyes before scrambling to pick up his books.

I rub my head, which throbs from the impact with the boy. I blink a few times, staring at him. He's familiar to me, but I'm not sure why.

"Hey, wait a minute," I start, remembering my encounter with that boy from my apartment last week. "Aren't you—"

The boy looks to me, eyes wide, and shakes his head vigorously. He grabs the rest of his books from the floor and stands, running off to the balcony without another word.

"Ugh! Rude! And hasn't he ever heard of a bookbag?" Brittney grumbles. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, picking up Brittney's Algebra textbook and passing it to her.

"The nerve of that guy! 'That won't be necessary...' just who does he think he is bumping into people and then running off like that?"

As Brittney passes me my Koronian and Biology textbooks, I can't help but wonder why Sam was in such a hurry to get away from us. He's run away from me twice now, which I find a little odd. And why wasn't he wearing his glasses? He probably could have avoided bumping into us if he had worn them.

"Hey, what's this?" Brittney says, picking up my sketchbook and flipping through the pages.

My heart sinks heavily in my chest. I've never let anyone look through my sketchbook before! Most of the drawings in there are unfinished sketches, many of which I never ended up being happy with, and none of which I feel too excited about sharing. But as Brittney flips through the pages, her eyes widen in awe with every new piece of artwork she lays eyes on.

"You made these? They're incredible!" Brittney exclaims.

"They're not that great, really." I say, reaching for the sketchbook.

Just as I'm about to take the book away from Brittney, she lets out a big gasp and turns the interior toward me. On the pages are two nearly completed sketches of Captain Tristen and Merlot from Stranded, respectively. They're old drawings, and not ones I'm particularly proud of. My insides convulse and cringe as I'm met with the sight of improper foreshortening and all sorts of rushed, sloppy details.

"You draw Stranded?! You know this is my favorite show ever, right?!"

Brittney babbles on elatedly and at a rate I find myself straining to keep up with. I can hardly make out what she's saying, but from what I can tell she's gushing about some recent revelations about Merlot and how she was able to predict them in her fanfic.

"Anyway, here! See? This is my cover!" Brittney says, pulling out her phone and swiping to Splosion. She shoves her phone into my hands to reveal the cover for 'Jack And Merlot: A Frame Of Mind,' which consists of a crude doodle of the titular duo holding hands.

"Oh, um... cute!" I respond, my mind still struggling to process what she's going on about.

"Do you think you could draw me a new cover?" Brittney blurts out, her hands clenched excitedly.

"I-I don't know... wouldn't it be put online for anyone to see?" I ask, the idea of strangers seeing my art making my insides flip.

"Well, yeah, but they don't have to know who drew it unless you want them to!" Brittney responds, folding her hands together and pleading with her big brown eyes. "Come on! Pleaaase? Your art is so good!"

I think for a moment as I look into Brittney's unrelenting puppy eyes. I guess it wouldn't hurt to draw her a picture for her story, especially if no one has to know I'm the artist.

"Sure," I finally answer.

"Yippee!" Brittney exclaims, jumping up and down like a little kid.

"Come on," I say, handing Brittney's phone back to her and taking back my sketchbook. "We're going to be late for sixth period!"

"Oh! Right!"

Brittney turns and hurries down the hall to the balcony. Before following after her, I quickly flip through my sketchbook and land on a page with a finished sketch of a perthean boy and a human girl laughing together under a cherry tree. My cheeks redden when I lay eyes on it and my insides flip around again. I let out a sigh, relieved that Brittney didn't get this far into the book.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So!" Brittney exclaims from the balcony, her hands secured on the railing as she beams up at my deskmate. "Your birthday! What do you have planned?!"

Derrick rubs the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "I didn't exactly plan anything."

"Come on," Brittney says, "there has to be something you'd like to do on your special day! Can't you think of anything?"

Derrick places a hand under his chin and closes his eyes, thinking for a moment. "Well, I won't be home until around five, since I have... an appointment."

Kevin looks up from his phone. "You made an appointment on your birthday? What for?"

"I— well, yeah. It's a... doctor's appointment. I forgot to reschedule," my deskmate says, glancing in my direction. "But if you guys want to come over to my house at 5:30 or so, we could hang out? Maybe play some games?"

"I'm in!" Brittney hollers, pumping her fist in the air.

"Sure," Kevin answers, his eyes once again glued to his phone. "Need us to bring anything?"

"You could bring some games if you have any, but other than that nothing comes to mind," Derrick says.

Brittney turns to me, her eyes wide with excitement. "You're coming too, right Kaylin?!"

The world begins to spin as the others' eyes all turn to me. Me? Go to a perthean's house? No way! The enormous classrooms at school are hard enough for me to deal with as it is, but an entire house? I don't think I could handle it! The sheer scale of everyday items would overwhelm me for sure!

"I... don't know," I say. "I think my dad needs me home for... something." I mentally kick myself for not being able to think of any kind of real excuse.

"I'm sure your dad won't mind!" Brittney reasons. "After all, birthdays only come once a year!"

I look around at the group. Brittney's grinning with her hands pressed together, gazing at me expectantly. Derrick gives me a knowing smile, his brows upturned. And then my eyes fall on Kevin. His narrowed brown eyes look void of any life as he stares me down from above. My gut twists and turns as the weight of his stare presses down on me.

I can't go to this party. No way. Not if he's coming. How did Derrick manage to become friends with this guy, anyway? Was it just because of Brittney? And why is Brittney even with this guy? They're complete opposites! My fear may include all pertheans, but it's pertheans like Kevin that really terrify me!

"Kaylin?" Brittney says, pulling me from my thoughts. "What do you say?"

"I-I'll talk to my dad," I stutter. "But I really think he needs me for... that thing."

"Great! See you all there!" Brittney spins around with her arms stretched wide and heads for the door. I don't think she registered what it was I said at all.

"Hang on there, princess," Kevin says, causing Brittney to come to a halt and turn back around.

Princess? I never expected a guy like Kevin to call his girlfriend something so sappy!

"Yes, my prince?" Brittney answers, clasping her hands together as she flutters her eyelashes.

"If you're going to Derrick's place, you might as well come with me. You can't get there by train, you know," Kevin says.

"I guess you're right," Brittney giggles.

Kevin looks over his shoulder, presumably to see if any teachers are nearby, and then offers his open palm to Brittney who runs and leaps into it with a loud 'wheee!' The way she flew into his hand without a second thought makes me think about how I can barely even walk onto Derrick's open palm without struggling and stumbling. How does she make it look so easy?

"Shh!" Kevin hushes his girlfriend. "I'm not supposed to pick you up this way in here!"

"Sorry," Brittney says, her lip protruding in a pout.

"See you later," Kevin says to Derrick before walking off, mumbling something to Brittney about how he doesn't want to get in trouble 'again.' I guess I'll have to ask Brittney what that means later.

Derrick looks at me and laughs.

"What?" I ask.

"I'd like to see you jump into my hand like that," he says.

My face reddens, and I immediately avert my gaze. "D-don't be ridiculous! What those two did was dangerous!"

"I know, I know," Derrick says. "It's just that..."

His unfinished phrase hangs in the air for a moment, causing me to wonder what it is he means to say. I look back at my deskmate, his gaze fixed on me. What emotion is filling his eyes I can't say, but what I do know is that something has to be weighing on his mind.

"It's just that what?" I finally ask.

"Nothing," Derrick says, shaking his head. "I'll see you out back."

With that, he turns away, leaving the balcony behind him as he heads down the hall. My heart sinks in my chest. What isn't he saying?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I heave a sigh as I close the door behind me. I feel bad we didn't cancel our meetup for today, considering it's Derrick's birthday and all.

"Hey," he says with a smile, approaching the balcony and placing his hand on top of it. It's sort of become routine for me to walk onto his hand at the start of our meet ups, not that I've gotten any better at it.

"Hey," I answer as I approach his open palm.

The size of his hand still manages to freak me out, but at least I'm not as averse to it as I was when he first started helping me with my fear. After a bit of wobbling and struggling, I manage to position myself in the center of my deskmate's palm and sit down.

"Sorry for making you come out here on your birthday," I say with my head down as I nervously twiddle my thumbs. "I know there's other things you'd rather be doing right now."

"Aw, come on, you know that's not true!" Derrick beams at me from above. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing right now than helping out a friend."

I smile back at him, though his words don't reassure me completely.

"Now," he starts as he moves beside the balcony and gently sits down, "since you've been improving so much this week with both eye contact and with walking onto my hand, I thought we'd try something new. If you're up for it, that is."

"Something new?" I ask, my gut immediately beginning to twist. "Like what?"

"Would you be up for trying shoulder etiquette?"

"Shoulder etiquette?"

"Yeah! I'd place you on my shoulder, and you'd stand there," Derrick explains. "It's a formal form of etiquette that even the teachers use, so we can practice it during school as well."

My mind flashes back to orientation day, when I saw most of the school staff going around in pairs like that. I remember Derrick had asked me that day if I wanted to try standing on his shoulder, and I coldly turned him down. A weight fills my chest as I think about all the ways I was unkind to Derrick before we became friends.

"Okay," I say, "we can try it."

Derrick nods and lifts the hand I'm in up to his shoulder. My core tightens and my heart thrashes about within me as the distance between us gets smaller and smaller. As I find myself nearing the crook of his neck, I begin to feel heat radiating from his body like a space heater. He's so warm! My insides do a somersault, and my cheeks redden as I release a shuddering breath. I don't think I've ever been this close to anyone before, let alone a perthean!

I slowly rise from my place in Derrick's palm, carefully maneuvering past his fingers and onto his shoulder. I nearly slip once or twice as I struggle to maintain my balance, but manage to secure myself by grabbing onto the collar of the white button up he's wearing under his blazer.

"How are you doing?" He asks, removing his hand and leaving me stranded on his shoulder.

My eyes can't help but wander downward until I'm gazing helplessly at the hard concrete below us. Even though my deskmate is sitting down, I'm still so high above the ground! A fall from this height would certainly kill me! I let out a yelp and slam my eyes shut, gripping the collar of Derrick's shirt more tightly lest I slip and fall to my death!

"Hm, not good?" Derrick asks. "I suppose it takes some getting used to. Just hold onto me, you'll be fine."

"Mhm," I hum as I try to keep myself from trembling. If my legs continue to quake like this, I'll slip for sure! I have no idea how the teachers or the other students at school manage to go around like this!

"So, while you're getting adjusted..." Derrick begins, "is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"Um..." I think for a moment. "You're turning eighteen, right?"

"Right. Just two more years and I'll be an adult."

"How has preadulthood treated you so far? Do you feel prepared for adulthood?" I ask.

Derrick hums, thinking through my question. "Well, I guess it beats being a teenager. I still can't drive, but I'd say I can cook, clean, and budget decently enough to live on my own if I wanted to. I'll probably wait until university to move out, though. What about you?"

"I've learned a lot from my dad. He's a good teacher. He taught me nearly everything I know about being a preadult. Cooking, cleaning, budgeting... although he's not very good at home repair..."

"Did your mom teach you anything?"

My heart plummets to the ground, and my guts twist and turn tightly within me.

"I... well, my mom died when I was only six. It's just my dad and me."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Derrick apologizes.

"No, it's okay. I'm over it. It was a long time ago," I sigh.

I bite the inside of my cheek, unsure of whether I'm being honest or not. It's been years since my mom passed, but I've always longed for her to be a part of my life. I wonder all the time what might have been if only she hadn't...

"You know, I guess my mom did teach me something," I say, letting my mind go to the past. "I remember when I was a little girl, I'd watch her make different pieces of artwork. I was so fascinated with how she was able to draw such fine details and pick such beautiful colors to paint with. I have a memory of her sitting down with me and teaching me how to draw different flowers. Pansies, bluebells, rotizelles... and although I'm still not very good with flowers, she did instill in me a love for art."

"I remember you said you liked to draw when we first met, and I've seen a few of the doodles in your notes," Derrick chuckles. "I have yet to see a finished piece from you, though. Especially since you're always hiding your drawings."

My face gets really hot really quickly as my mind turns back to the sketchbook I brought with me to school. "A-actually," I stutter, "there's... something I wanted to show you."

"Something you want to show me? Really?" Derrick asks, surprised. "Am I finally going to see one of your drawings?"

"I-I— well," I stammer, embarrassed, not really knowing what to say. Is what I'm about to do really a good idea?

I reach into my bookbag and feel around for my sketchbook. Pulling it out, I turn to the page with my finished sketch of the two of us laughing under a cherry tree and look it over for a moment.

'It's hideous!' I can already hear my deskmate say. 'Is that supposed to be us? What an ugly art style!'

"Kaylin?" Derrick asks after a long silence.

"I— um...! H-here, I... made this for you," I sputter. "For your birthday!"

I grip the collar of Derrick's shirt with one hand, and with the other I stretch out as far as I'm able and present my sketchbook to him.

"For... me?" Derrick asks, taking the sketchbook in between his thumb and forefinger.

Silence fills the air as my deskmate stares down the human-sized book in between his fingers. My heart pounds and pounds while my insides swarm with butterflies! What will he think? What will he say?! I almost wish I never brought this up! I'm sure he'll think it's a pathetic gift! I knew my art wasn't good enough to be shown to anyone, so why did I ever think it would be a good idea to make this dumb drawing for his birthday?

Derrick gasps. "Wow, I don't know what to say."

I try my hardest to slow down my breathing, but it's no use. My whole body shakes as I brace for the impact of whatever criticism is about to come my way. He hates it, doesn't he?

"Kaylin, you drew this? This is amazing!" my deskmate exclaims.

"I'm sorry! I knew it wouldn't be good enough!" I say, only to blink a few times in confusion. Do my ears deceive me? "Wait, what did you say?"

"This is amazing! Is this what I think it is?" Derrick asks.

"I-it's... you and me," I answer, "under that cherry tree we saw the other day."

Derrick continues looking the drawing over. "Wow," he says again.

"I-I can send you a photo of it, if you want," I suggest.

"That would be great!" he says, handing the sketchbook back to me. "After all, I'm sure you wanted to keep your book."

I put my sketchbook away and quickly open up my phone to send a picture I took of the drawing to Derrick. Once I send it, his phone buzzes almost instantly, and he unlocks it to view what I sent.

"Thank you, Kaylin," he says, gazing at the drawing once more. "Really. It's a wonderful gift."

A warmth fills my heart, soothing any remaining anxieties I had about the drawing and leaving me with a grin that stretches from ear to ear.

Time continues on in the blink of an eye, and before we know it, we've already reached our usual time of departure.

"Well," Derrick says, carefully standing up from his spot beside the balcony, "I guess we better get going."

My heart races and my eyes widen as he stands to his full height. I look beneath me at the ground below and watch as it gets farther and farther away. If the distance to the ground when he was sitting wasn't enough to kill me, this distance will surely do the job! My vision doubles as the scenery around me spins and my insides churn and convulse! I grab onto the collar of Derrick's shirt with a death grip, lest I topple down toward the unforgiving concrete below!

"Sorry," Derrick says. "I tried to be more careful, since you're on my shoulder."

"N-no, you're fine, it's just that... I feel like I..." I trail off, unsure of how to describe what's going on inside of me.

"You feel like you're going to fall?"

"Y-yeah," I murmur, trembling where I stand on my deskmate's shoulder.

"Don't worry," Derrick says, pressing a hand against my little frame and gently pinning me against the side of his neck. "I'll keep you safe."

Is this... a hug?!

I blush. Hard. My trembling increases as I'm wedged between Derrick's hand and his neck. What do I do?! I can't move! I can't escape! I begin to breathe in and out at a rapid pace, shuddering more and more with each exhalation.

After a few seconds, Derrick removes his hand, releasing me from what had to be the most frightening embrace I've ever been on the receiving end of!

"Hey, listen," he says. "About earlier... you really don't have to come over if you don't feel like you're ready. I understand that the idea of visiting a house twenty times bigger than what you're used to is likely overwhelming to you, especially if other pertheans are involved. But, in case you do want to come, I thought I'd ask anyway—would you like to come over?"

"Um, yeah! Sure," I say, Derrick's words going in one ear and out the other as I try to calm myself down.

"Wait, really?" He asks. "You'll come over?"

"Sure," I say. "I just... need a moment." I try to steady my breathing again using the techniques I learned in therapy as a kid, still not registering what it was Derrick just asked me.

"Alright, well, we should get going then," my deskmate says, walking away from our spot behind the school and heading toward the sidewalk beyond the school grounds.

I'll have every opportunity to think through what just happened when I get home.

[firelxdykatara]

you go on and on about people already hating on the show (which, fair, we haven't seen it yet, although from things being cut to wanting to appeal to got viewers i understand where the sentiment is coming from), but you are doing the same thing on the other end of the spectrum. why are you so hellbent on defending a show you also haven't seen yet? and bryke leaving the project is not really a sign for good things to come, since they also left shyamalan's production

First of all, Bryke leaving was amazing news for the project, and it was the first time that I found myself feeling actual optimism for the live action since it was announced. And secondly, they were very positive about the movie before the waves of criticism hit and they fucked off to throw Shyamalan under the bus about it and pretend it had nothing to do with them. They were Executive Producers on that shitshow and it's amazing to me that they managed to escape with so little accountability, despite the mess they made of the world of Avatar in all subsequent canonical materials (the comics and LoK in particular).

Thirdly, I'm not actually 'doing the same thing', because what I'm doing is pointing out how ridiculous the over-the-top criticisms thus far have been--what I have not been doing is making up my own idea of what the show will contain and reacting to it as if it has already come out and proven me correct.

In fact, I've said multiple times that I don't know if the show will be good, or if it will handle the story beats and character arcs it chose to alter well--I'm just not willing to completely write it off sight-unseen based on some out of context quotes pulled from an interview I didn't read. (In fact, I did read the interview, and I came out of it thinking that the biggest stumbling block to my personal enjoyment of the show may well be just how closely they attempted to stick to the source material. Albert Kim is a lot more reverent of it than I feel it actually deserves. But I'm still feeling optimistic!)

That said, the biggest reason I'm being so doggedly optimistic about the show is that I really want it to be good--at this point, not just to spite Bryke (though that's part of it), but also because there are so many people of color involved in the show now (not just the cast, but the show runners/writers/directors too!) and I want this to ultimately be a feather in all of their caps that could launch them to full and bright careers in the future. (Especially the kids!)

But my optimism is based on hopes for what could be in the future, not assumptions on what will be based on some very vague interview responses, and that's the difference between me and the haters.

[dualityvn]

Slightly tears up, before motioning for Keith to step even closer

"Oh, flowerboy

I may not be able to touch you more than I already have for today, I'm sorry. But let it be so you will be forced to hear me clearly.

Tenebris will never scare me away. Hell, even when confronted with him, I chose to face my fears and speak my mind. Sure, I could have probably found a way to get him to switch back. Yet I wanted him to know the truth. I didn't want him to doubt for a second longer my intentions towards you. And yes it was a silly idea, it could have gone terribly bad, but I don't regret it one bit. You may not care right now much, but I do. I want one day for tenebris to actually approve of me being in a relationship with you. And I won't stop until he is finally forced to acknowledge my efforts in this connection with you and my love for you in the future. It's a silly notion, but one that forces me to try harder every time.

For you deserve to be with someone who will one day cast away any doubts you have and love you for you. And although I don't know Tenebris that much and he scares the living hell out of me, I know I can trust him that should I ever be truly unfit for you, he'll either beat some sense to me or force us apart until I realize my mistakes and come back to you. Because Keith Madden, us being together is inevitable. All paths that I can take right now, no matter how different, will always lead me back to you.

And I'm not sure, for me it sounds way too easy to put the blame all on tenebris. What if those people you did meet just weren't the ones? If the foundations between two people were so strong as you believe, would they easily be as broken as they are as of now? Tenebris scared the living hell out of me as well, probably in the worst situation he has ever done so far judging by the context, yet I'm still sitting here with you. I'm standing right next to you, chest to chest, even though for all I know he could come out at any time. Why do you think that is?

You're so silly and oblivious, flower boy. I could have literally run away while you were waiting for me, I could have made an excuse and left. You wouldn't have done anything, and we both know it. So, why do you think, I'm placing my own life right between your hands? Why am I allowing myself to be this vulnerable with you, knowing full well where it led me in the past?

Because I already trust you, silly. I trust your words, I trust your every action. I trust you, Keith Madden. Maybe more than myself at times. Why else would I even move into your guys' house despite Tenebris. Even though, we barely have placed a label and undoubtedly have gone on zero dates. Naivety? Perhaps. And maybe it's really too soon to give my trust to you this freely, but something deep down tells me I won't regret this.

And if there is one thing I know, it's that my gut feeling has never been wrong. It won't start being wrong about a guy who is so kind, sweet, understanding towards me, even when I majorly fuck up. A man who spends hours making sure his plants are properly cared for and makes a list of every single thing I dislike or like. The type of guy that reads books in his spare time somehow without getting bored while also somehow tolerating the horrible puns I make.

So no, Keith Madden, I fear you're stuck with me for the foreseeable and unforeseeable future. And maybe it's about time, you start getting used to it. I'm unfortunately staying right where I am, next to you. Through thick and thin. There's nothing you can do that will push me away, and I will gladly spend all my remaining days on earth repeating those words until you believe them as the truth, all on your own."

"I- I don't know what to say. For a while, I thought you were coming around and helping out because you wanted to make up for what you said before. I mean... I was really hoping you felt this way, but I thought it was false hope. But... but I do want to be together! And go on dates. I would've asked sooner, I just wasn't sure. I didn't want to rush you." - Keith

[stratossphere]

whiskey | v.v

you and ville have been drinking whiskey all night, and everyone knows that whiskey elicits honestly and talkativeness.

warnings: everyone is drunk, smut, oral (both receiving), fingering, light choking, unprotected sex, bam is painfully unobservant

word count: 6.3k

— —

Whiskey was a mistake. Every single time, without fail, it was a mistake.

"Y/n doesn't shut the fuck up when she drinks whiskey. Might be good for her."

Those words from Bam had been how you had ended up in the rare form you were in by this point, and although it was too late to be seriously worried about it, you still knew that you were going to regret the third of Mige’s Jameson that you had put away throughout the night.

Oh. And the fact that your whiskey talkativeness was rearing its head in the form of talking Ville's ear off on Mige's balcony. It's a good thing he was into existential bullshit.

"—so if that ever happens to me, I'll shoot myself." You were saying, referencing how Bam had stepped completely out of the apartment and downstairs to get into another massive argument with Jenn on the phone. "If someone is so obsessed with you that you can't even have an hour of time to yourself, then you're going to end up like Kurt Cobain did because of Courtney Love."

"I don't think that's why that happened." Ville's eyes narrowed in skepticism, but you were already moving onto the next topic in your head. You were sitting up in your chair, legs crossed and leaning slightly over Ville's armrest of his chair where he was lying down with his hands clasped over his chest. He'd already passed his wild, energy-crazed portion of your night of drinking, and was now in a lull as he listened and half-responded to your thoughtless babbling.

"Do you like Nirvana, by the way? I kind of hate them." It was something you kept to yourself, because Nirvana was apparently like some god-send from heaven above or something according to everyone else in the world, but Ville seemed like a good person to bring it up to. The both of you had similar taste in music, anyway.

"On a bad day when I'm feeling like a piece of shit, yes." He responded, tilting his head more in your direction where he had been subconsciously leaning away due to how close you were to his chair. You didn't blame him, but drunk you was way too fucked up to notice it anyway.

"Do you think Courtney Love killed Kurt Cobain?" Bam said yes, you said no. It was often a topic of conversation once booze and music entered the same conversation, and it was also a question you brought up with new people to gauge their opinions as well. Ville paused for a second in thought.

"No. I'm sure she drove him to put the gun in his mouth, though." He concurred with your theory, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips when you gasped in agreement. "I've heard they were very sexually compatible but hated each other outside of it. A good blowjob can only distract you from insanity for so long."

How very crudely philosophical.

You laughed at that sentence for a good while before composing yourself enough to respond to his theory.

"You really think so?" You vastly disagreed with that theory, in all honesty. It seemed that way until you were actually in the situation, and if someone was crazy enough, nothing mattered. He hummed.

"Oh, I know so. I've had a lot of crazy girlfriends." He reminded you, referencing all of the horror stories he'd told you and Bam about girls cutting off his hair in his sleep, beating him up, and all sorts of other horrible shit. "You're telling me if someone gave you such good head that you could've considered yourself addicted, you wouldn't do a little overlooking of certain behaviors?"

"I'd have to see what 'good head' feels like. I've only gotten mediocre at best." See? Definitely a thing you wouldn't have said to someone I didn't know very well whilst sober. Especially not Ville, who you found yourself having a harder and harder time behaving yourself around everytime you saw him. He tutted.

"That's unfair. Everyone should get to experience good head in their life." There was a hint of suggestive nature in his tone, and you swallowed your moment of slight shock by dancing around his innuendo with innocence in your voice.

"What qualifies as a good blowjob to you?" Okay, so maybe you were setting yourself up for the chain of events that he was so clearly hinting at. His gaze hadn’t left yours this entire time, and he didn’t exactly seem shy on the conversation topic. But that was no one's business but his and your own.

"Well, as a rule of thumb, you should always lick before you suck." He began, holding out a finger to signal that was the first of several criteria. "Second, you should have pretty eyes. I like it when someone looks at me while they're sucking my cock."

You hoped he didn't notice the shift of your legs in your seat so that you could press your thighs together. What the fuck did he expect, saying things like that?

"What counts as pretty eyes?" You could've said his own, because goddamn were they hard to look away from, but you held your tongue in favor of chasing the bait he was so clearly putting out. He reached out then, taking your chin between his fingers and holding your gaze intensely.

"Your eyes are very beautiful." He said, his eyes flitting from yours down to your lips. You leaned a little further towards his chair, your hand now fully on his armrest with your fingers touching his arm as you held his gaze in a state of aroused intoxication. He never let go of your chin. "Do you know what I want?"

You nodded dumbly, voice coming out hoarse when you replied. "Yeah."

"Are you going to give it to me?"

You refrained from answering for fear you’d let something along the lines of I'll give you whatever the hell you want slip instead of just saying yes again. He took this as a sign, dipping his head and then touching his lips to yours for the first time. Your breath caught in your throat as his hand moved from your chin down to your own hand, which he took before moving to press your palm into the straining crotch of his jeans.

"Bam's going to be down there for a minute and everyone else is passed out." He reassured at your uneasy glance through the glass door that led into the kitchen of Mige's apartment. "You'll be fine."

You rubbed your palm against his hard-on, earning a low groan from deep in his chest as he kept his hand over yours the entire time. You then shifted to get his jeans undone, impatience taking over as you rushed to get him to where you wanted him.

Once you had gotten the button and zipper open, he helped to get his jeans down just enough to free his cock, which was already hard and leaking as it hit his stomach. He let out a small breath of relief at the ease of pressure, but it quickly shook and died in his mouth when you reached out and wrapped your hand around him.

As you began to stroke his cock slowly, using his precum to slick your hand, you slid off of your chair and down onto your knees, encouraging one of his hands into your hair. As he watched like a hawk, you replaced your hand with your tongue, running the tip along the vein that went up the underside of his cock and listening to the way he exhaled shakily.

"Fuck. Good girl." He groaned, hand tightening in your hair as you continued to lick across and around his tip, focusing on his slit and pulling a low-toned moan from his lips in the process. When you continued to only tongue at his tip, his grip on your hair pulled you back. "Don't play with it, sweetheart."

You allowed him to push your head back down, taking him into your mouth with your cheeks hollowed out as you sucked at every inch that pushed past your lips. With his words echoing in your head, your eyes then flitted up to his, holding his gaze where he was already looking down at you with a coy glimmer. He moaned again at the sight.

"You look so beautiful sucking cock." He breathed as he took his free hand and cupped your cheek, his voice almost unintelligible over the sounds of you choking as he continued to push your head down so that he was hitting the back of your throat.

You keened at the praise, leaning into his touch as much as you could with him still in your mouth. You wanted him to keep talking, because every word out of his mouth was so sinfully baritone, but you wanted to hear him moan more, so you continued to suck him down while you ran your tongue along the underside of his cock.

However, just as you were getting really into it, you were suddenly being pulled away by the hand in your hair, forcing you to pop off of his cock with your mouth still open as you tilted your head up in his direction with a whine of protest. His hand moved out of your hair and back to your chin before he ran his thumb over your lip to collect the spit that had been beginning to drip down your chin.

"Bam just came back inside." He looked completely unbothered by the situation, but you felt panic rising in your chest when Bam neared the glass door right behind you only a mere second after Ville had finished tucking himself back into his pants and pulling his shirt over the open zipper.

"Dude. Birth control makes Jenn a vicious bitch. I don't care if we have pregnancy scares at this point." He was complaining as soon as he had the door open, completely oblivious to the scene he had missed by less than a minute. You had quickly dropped down to sit on the ground with your back against your chair due to the fact that you didn't have enough time to climb back up, but he just looked towards you without a hint of recognition. "Aren't you on birth control? How come she's a fucking psycho and you're not?"

"Well, yeah, but it makes you like, super horny sometimes, so maybe she just misses your dick or something.” You supplied, silently praying your voice didn't sound as hoarse as it felt when you tried to speak in put-together sentences.

Your words were more for innuendo towards Ville than anything, but they still rang true.

"Whatever. I'm going to crash before this whiskey fucking knocks me out on my feet." He grumbled, shaking his head and turning back towards the door. "Have you two been up here the whole time?"

"Yes. You were right about her and the whiskey." Ville muttered, casting a side glance at you before snickering when you smacked his shoulder at his insult. Bam chuckled at that before motioning inside.

"Is it cool if I take the bed? Last stunt I did fucked up my back." In his early twenties and already complaining about his back. Although, the stunt he was referring to had looked pretty painful, but still. "One of you can have the other side whenever you come to bed."

"Have sweet dreams and don't let the bedbugs bite!" You sang as he finally pulled the door back open, earning a middle finger from him before he slammed the door behind him and disappeared back into the house.

That left you and Ville.

"Well? What now?" Ville looked down at you, releasing the hold he'd had on his shirt hem and leaning back slightly in his seat. You glanced down at his still-unzipped fly with a racing heart.

"Let me finish." You requested, getting back up onto your knees and then resting your chin on the chair's armrest just inches from his fingers. He chuckled, reaching out to brush stray strands of hair back that had fallen into your face.

"No."

"What? Why not?" You whined, your voice coming out muffled as he ran his thumb across your lips and pushed slightly. You were consciously aware that he was purposely spreading your spit all over your mouth, but you let him because you were afraid if he stopped touching you now that he wouldn't start again.

"Because I said so. Don't whine." He then motioned for you to get back into your chair, which you did with only a minor frown on your face before you were sitting with your legs crossed facing him, which was exactly how all of this had started in the first place.

"You know, you're a bossy fucker when you drink whiskey." You pointed out sourly, resting your elbow on the arm of your chair and then dropping your chin into your palm. He chuckled at that as he re-zipped his pants, sitting up once he was finished and turning to mimic your position with his elbow on his armrest.

"Do you want me to eat your pussy or not? Because that's why I stopped you." He said boldly, his words coming out so calm and collected that your soft gasp was audible over his voice. You just stared at him for a second, because Jesus Christ, before nodding slowly. His lips curled at your response (or lack thereof). "Take off your pants."

"But Bam—"

"—is probably passed out by now." He finished for you, urging you on with his eyes as you began to work at the button and zipper of your own jeans. "If he comes out and sees, then he sees. We'll survive."

You’d survive, sure, but you weren’t sure you were very keen on the idea of Bam seeing his best friend with his idol's head between her legs. That would make for one hell of a conversation.

As you finished getting your jeans (and underwear, seeing as you weren’t exactly feeling patient) off, Ville moved off of his chair and onto yours, sliding down onto his stomach and waiting until you had gotten your underwear off from around your ankle before his hands were on your hips and he was yanking you down further on the chair.

"Keep your mouth shut though, yeah? Don't want to goad him right back out here." He said as his lips ghosted at your inner thigh, eyes just visible enough in the low lighting of the night to see the cocky look that clouded them. God. If he wasn't so handsome...

"You're really playing it up here, Elvis." You said dryly as he pushed your legs open further, a soft grin on your face as you tried not to let on how eager you were on the inside. He quirked his eyebrows.

"We'll see about that."

The first touch of his tongue to your clit made electricity shoot throughout your entire body. You inhaled sharply, immediately arching into his touch to get more just as he dragged his tongue from your entrance all the way back up to your clit.

"Shit." You whined softly, your whiskey-heightened senses thrumming at the feeling of his hand kneading the skin of your thigh while the very tip of his tongue dragged over your clit in shapes that you couldn't make out.

As his hand began to wander up your stomach, massaging your skin gently and just feeling you in general, you grabbed his wrist and led it under your shirt, a whine escaping your lips when he took the hint and let his fingers find your nipple, rubbing over it before pinching softly.

His tongue continued to lap at your clit, going just slow enough to where you were rolling your hips in a silent plead for more but at the same time fast enough to where you were beginning to bite back on your snark towards him telling you to keep your mouth shut.

You couldn't help but grab a handful of his hair, pulling slightly as small gasps and moans began to fall from your lips faster than you could consciously hold them back. A flame suddenly ignited in his eyes, and he pulled back.

"Be gentle and sit still." He warned, still staring at you whilst he pulled his hand from your shirt and readjusted himself slightly. You let out a huff of protest at him stopping, only to be silenced when you watched him give you a challenging look before he spat on your pussy and then dove right back in with an open mouth.

Jesus fucking Christ, he was ruining you for everyone else. And he only made it worse when you suddenly felt him slip two fingers into you. You really couldn't stop the full-blown moan that came from deep in your throat as he began to curl his fingers inside of you.

"Oh. Fuck, keep doing that. Oh my—Ville." At that exact moment, you finally understood his theory about good head and how it could make you ignore red flags. There was a lot you would let him put you through if it meant that you could have this whenever you wanted it.

He hummed in response to your babbling, hand only tightening on your thigh as he began to suck harshly at your clit, the added stimulation from his mouth and his merciless fingers making your vision feel like it was going to static while you writhed against his touch. You knew he had said to hold still, but you couldn't physically control yourself by that point.

Booze made you sensitive. No matter what kind, it always did. So, despite your best intentions, you were nearing your climax within a few minutes of his mouth/fingers combination. Your fingers had worked their way back into his hair, and although they weren't pulling due to his previous warning, you were touching as much as you could, your fingertips brushing his cheek every-so-often

Ville seemed to be able to tell, and as he continued to suck your clit, his tongue resumed swirling in tandem, pulling sounds out of you that you hadn't even known you knew how to make as the heat between your thighs extended to pulse through every inch of your body. Your leg that was over his shoulder shook as you unconsciously pressed your heel into his shoulder blade, the fabric of his black t-shirt bunching up as a result and exposing the pale skin of his back. Fuck, he was beautiful. You would obviously never say that out loud to him, but Christ.

"Don't stop. M' gonna cum." You groaned, back arching off of the chair as the hand that wasn't in his hair gripped your armrest tight enough to make your knuckles go white. He seemed to press his fingers even deeper into you then, hitting that sweet spot inside you that sent a sharp, completely different level of pleasure through you. "Fuck! Too much!"

"Shh. You can take it." He encouraged, breaking away only for a second to speak before he began to suck open-mouthed kisses to your clit just above his fingers. Everything felt overwhelming, and you had to reach up and press your knuckles forcefully to your lips in a desperate attempt to muffle the noise coming from your mouth in a steady, loud stream. "Cum on my tongue for me, love."

You didn't need to be told twice.

Your leg was shaking harshly by that point, and it only got worse as you came, your fingers pulling at his hair as you lost all sense of control while your hips pushed up towards his mouth and fingers. If he wanted to be mad about having his hair pulled, he was going to wait until you were done with one of the strongest orgasms you’d ever had in your life.

His name was a hoarse cry on your lips as he continued to fuck you with his fingers through your climax, only stopping and pulling his mouth away when you were physically pushing his head away due to a looming swell of overstimulation.

"No more. No more." You said breathlessly, falling back in the chair with no energy left to hold yourself up as you gasped to bring some air into your lungs. You could hear him chuckling as he slowly pulled his fingers out of you, but you couldn't open your eyes to look at him, instead just letting your hand fall out of his hair to rest on your stomach.

"Fuck, you're loud." Ville teased, making my face burn in embarrassment as you finally reopened your eyes just in time to see him wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. You kicked him gently when he sat up, a frown on your face as he began to slip your underwear back on for me.

"Shut up." You grumbled. Despite your kicking him, Ville pushed your leg out of the way once he'd gotten your underwear back over your hips and leaned down over you, settling rested between your knees before he was kissing your pout away. You deepened the kiss, hand coming up to cup his cheek as his tongue slipped past your lips.

When you finally broke apart, Ville gently rolled you so that you were sharing the chair, you partially curled into his chest as he reached over to grab his cigarettes and lighter off of the floor.

"Now. Do you see why you might let a future partner cut off a few pieces of your hair from time to time?" Ville concluded his lesson to you full circle as he lit a cigarette, smiling in the face of your laughter as you let out a sigh of defeat.

"Okay, yeah. Maybe a little bit." You caved, the tinge of his cigarette smoke reaching your senses as he exhaled softly through his nose. You watched like a hawk as his free hand moved to your hip, his fingertips slipping under the fabric of your waistband to massage softly as he tsked. "Thank you for the display."

"Oh, anytime. I have a vast range of displays I'm willing to share." He teased, sucking his cigarette smoke from his mouth up into his nose before handing the cigarette over to you. "Your leg is shaking."

"Yeah, I fucking wonder why." You muttered, dropping your head against his shoulder as you took a drag off of his cigarette. "You know, you're beating a lot of stereotypes."

Here you went again with whiskey talk.

"Oh, do share." He snorted, sounding very amused at your words. You shrugged, readjusting slightly so that one of your legs was resting over his knee and so that (more inconspicuously) he had more access to your skin.

"Rockstars are infamous for being all talk. Two pump chumps who only want head and won't give it." You said like it was obvious (because hello, it kind of was), throwing a hand in the air as you did so. You’d fucked with guys 'in a band' a couple times before, and not once had you been impressed. Well, not until now, that is. "Well, I guess I don’t know if you’re a two pump chump or not, but still.”

“You’re welcome to find out.” He said suggestively, stretching out further before pulling your leg higher up over his with his hand under the bend of your knee. Despite the fact that he had just finished eating you out, you felt your heart jolt at the minute contact.

“Bam could still be awake.” You pointed out, your voice barely above a whisper as you handed him his cigarette back with your eyes glued to his hand where he had moved it to rest on your thigh.

“I don’t give a shit. You’re too beautiful not to fuck.” His thumb was brushing back and forth on your inner thigh, and you tried to clear the buzzing feeling that wasn't from alcohol out of your head as you watched him move higher and higher.

Your voice was caught in your throat just as it had been ever since he'd first put his hands on you tonight. You tilted your head up to look at him fully, lips parted slightly as you inhaled his soft breath of Marlboro smoke. It only took your eyes meeting for him to lean down and close the gap between you, his lips meeting yours strongly enough to push your head back as his hand settled at your very inner thigh.

"Let's go in."

You and Ville were lip-locked the entire way into the apartment and through the kitchen to the living room, his hands all over you while you held onto your pants that had been discarded outside before you were collapsing down onto the couch together. Both bedroom doors were shut, and there wasn't sound coming from the other side of either of them, so you were assured that you were in the clear as you once again undid Ville's jeans from where you were sitting in his lap.

"You have to be quiet this time. Mige'll kill me if he finds out I was fucking on his new couch." He said against your lips, his voice trailing off into a groan when you pulled his cock out of the confines of his jeans. You gave him a look to show that you weren’t impressed with his implication that you didn't know how to shut up when you really needed to, starting to stroke his cock and watching the way his head fell back gently against the wall as he let out a heavy sigh.

"I could say the same to you. I'm the one on top." If looks could kill, he would've been dead with the way you glared at him when he started laughing.

"Just because you're on top doesn't mean you're doing the fucking." He warned firmly, a hand cementing itself around your wrist where you were still stroking his cock as if reminding you that his grip on you (both physically and metaphorically) still remained. "Don't get fucking cocky."

"Then fucking—" Just as you were about to get cocky, he suddenly reached out and wrapped a hand around your throat, squeezing just enough to where you didn't have enough air left to snap what you’d been about to say at him as he held your gaze steadily.

"Be quiet." He barely raised his voice at all, but for some reason you closed your mouth then (not that you really could've said anything with his hand on your throat), your eyes still flaming in his direction despite your silence. He then pulled you forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. "Good girl."

You refrained from giving any sign to how much those words affected you.

He continued to rest his hand at your throat (albeit a little looser now) as he reached down with his free hand to push your underwear to the side, his middle finger sliding through your pussy while he groaned at the sight.

"What, you like being shut up? Is that why you're so wet even though you have a fucking attitude?" He mocked, brushing your hand fully away from his cock before taking it in his own hand and then rubbing the head against your clit. You inhaled sharply, basically melting against his hand and lifting your hips slightly as you waited for him to make a move. When you didn't speak, he smirked. "Mm. That's what I thought."

When he finally pressed the tip of his cock into you, you let out a mixed sigh of relief and pleasure, immediately sinking down onto him until your ass was flush with his hips and he was fully seated inside of you. You both took a second, Ville's hand tightening just slightly on your throat as he let out a breath and closed his eyes.

As you slowly began to grind down on his cock, his hand tightened even more, and then he seemed to find himself; his free hand cementing itself on your hip as he encouraged your movement.

Your heart was racing. Despite the booze, which usually mellowed you out considerably, the threat of getting caught by one of the other people in the apartment loomed over your heads, and the lack of air supply to your head was starting to get to your senses.

Ville's face looked like something out of a Playgirl for goths. His eyeliner, which was heavily packed on from the promotional shoot he'd done with Bam earlier that day, had smeared all around his eyes, which were shut tight while his lips remained slightly parted in a silent moan. You wished you could’ve taken a picture. You certainly took a mental one that was going in the spank bank for later.

You continued to roll your hips forward, the tip of his cock hitting you in just the right way to where you were a little thankful that his hand was limiting how much noise you could really make. Usually you had a pretty easy time controlling your own voice, but there was just something about Ville. Actually several things about him, if you were being honest.

"Fuck, you take it so well. You're so fucking beautiful." Suddenly viridian eyes were back on yours, and you let out a breathless moan at his praise as his hand on your hip slid down to grip your ass.

With one hand resting on his chest, the other came up to circle around his wrist, holding on tightly as you felt him begin to thrust up to meet you. The living room was completely silent, so all that could be heard was both of your ragged breathing, and the sound of skin on skin as you jointly began to pick up your pace.

Suddenly, his hand dropped from your throat, and you let out a gasp of surprise as both of his hands gripped your hips, solidifying you in a tight hold as he began to piston his cock into you from underneath. The change of position and pace made your head spin, and you let out a breathy whine as you went unsteady when he was no longer there for support.

Seeing this, Ville encouraged you further forward until your chest was pressed into him, groaning when one of your arms circled around his neck while your fingers laced into his hair. You could smell a hint of his cologne due to how close you now were, and it made your head spin even more.

"Just like that. M' gonna cum." You moaned in his ear, feeling your hips starting to ache with how hard he was holding them and feeling another twinge of arousal at the thought of waking up with bruises the next morning.

"Don't. Not until I say." He was breathless, but his voice still held strength as he stared you down while he continued his bruising pace. You were still rolling your hips along with his thrusts, but you were losing more and more control by the minute, and by that point any of your movements were basically guided by his hands.

Holding back an orgasm while he continued to fuck you ruthlessly was easier said than done, and you moaned and gasped repeatedly as your head fell to his shoulder so that you could muffle your voice against his skin. His cock was hitting your sweet spot that his fingers had previously been at over and over again, and each push of his hips just made your throat feel more raw as your voice continued to rise in your throat and muffle against his shoulder.

"I'm not gonna—I can't—" You couldn't even form complete sentences as you tried to warn him that you were losing the last bit of control you still had, so overwhelmed with pleasure that you could barely move and control parts of your body. He shushed you softly.

"It's okay. Cum." He finally gave his permission, and with less than a few more thrusts you were cumming, your nails digging into both his chest and partially his scalp as you buried your face as deep in his neck as you could to muffle the long moan that welled up in your chest.

Seconds after you hit your climax he was following suit, his grip on your hips strengthening considerably as he let out a deep groan and spilled inside of you. Part of you was mentally slapping yourself for letting a guy you’d only met a couple of times cum in you, but you’d just discussed the fact that you were on birth control, and you were too fucked out to care, so you ignored the thought.

Ville's harsh thrusts faded into slow drags of his cock inside you before he finally slowed to a stop once your legs, which had already been shaking before, began to shake hard. You didn't take your head off of his shoulder quite yet, still trying to catch your breath that wouldn't seem to come to you while his hands slowly loosened their grip on you.

"Still alive?" He hummed, rousing you gently with a shake of his shoulder. You blew out a breath as you finally sat back up, running a hand through your hair where it had been falling in your face and shaking your head.

"Fucking christ." You muttered, feeling your body thrum all over again at the fucked-out, satiated smile on his face as he watched you slowly come fully back down to earth. "That was good."

"It was." He agreed, that same look on his face as he kissed you again, softer this time than he had been before. There was still a slight taste of yourself on his lips from earlier, and you couldn't help but grin into the kiss at the thought. As you broke apart, Ville's hand massaged your leg softly where you were still straddling him. "Are you going to end up sleeping with Bam Bam, then?"

You finally pulled off of him, making a slight face that mirrored his own as you sat back. You had a couple minutes before his cum started to seep back out of you, so for the time being yoy stayed where you were.

"Yeah. Someone's gotta keep him from puking all over Mige's guest bed." You snickered, knowing Bam was probably passed out with his shoes still on on top of the covers in the other room. "You can come too, if you don't want to sleep on this tiny ass couch."

Whiskey, whiskey, whiskey.

"Okay." In the midst of you mentally slapping myself for inviting Ville into your (and Bam's) bed, you barely heard him agree, but when it registered, you looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" You knew Bam and Ville got along pretty well, but you really didn't think it was that well. You guessed whiskey also made Ville make bad decisions he would regret in the morning. Bam would've been creaming his pants if he'd known that Ville Valo himself was getting ready to crawl into his bed.

"Why not. My head hangs off." He explained vaguely, motioning to the couch underneath you. You laughed a little bit at that but accepted that he was coming along, getting off of him and looking around until you found your pants where you had dropped them on the floor.

Ville went straight to the room that Bam was asleep in while you went into the bathroom, taking some time to get cleaned up and sober up a little bit before splashing some cold water on your face and returning to the hall that led to the guest room.

When you pushed the door open where it was cracked and stepped into the room, you were met with the sight of Ville pushing Bam out of the center of the bed with his foot whilst smoking a cigarette. You couldn't help but laugh, and he only looked over at you with mild irritation.

"He's not fucking moving." He complained, motioning towards a comatose Bam. You waved Ville off, shutting the door behind you before stepping around to the side of the bed and leaning down so that you were at Bam level. You then dug your elbow directly into his side, pushing forcefully at the same time.

"Move over, dickhead." You snapped, turning to grin in satisfaction at Ville when Bam let out a very drunken groan and rolled right over to the other side of the bed. You then laid down in bed in the middle, motioning Ville in after you. "He literally does not wake up unless you shoot him when he drinks whiskey."

Ville snorted at that before pulling off his shirt and dropping it to the floor after he had put his cigarette out, the room too dark to see where he'd left it before he was dropping down on the bed beside you.

As he got comfortable beside you in bed, you could feel your booze-coma starting to creep in, and you knew that no matter how close you were in bed together (which was very close, mind you), you were too tired to care. Your feet were touching Bam's, and you were shoved right up against Ville with your arms tangled together and his head against yours, but you were already having a hard time keeping your eyes open, so you just accepted your fate. You would worry about repercussions for your actions in the morning when your hangover set in.

You fell asleep with Ville's breath fanning softly against your cheek and Bam's ass pressed into your side, whiskey doing most of the work to make you comfortable as you silently hoped that Mige didn't decide to take any pictures should he come in the next morning.

[kurikive]

please! — 63. hospitals... ugh.

jungwon and hanni were sitting in y/n's hospital room, watching over her until she woke up. the doctors said she would be fine after a few more days of rest. still, hanni was worrying over the unthinkable worst scenarios.

what if she never wakes up? i should have dated her sooner, now we won't have any time left together. god, i'm such a dumbass.

jungwon was busy texting his brother, who's a lawyer, about the situation with haruto and filing a restraining order. fortunately, taeyoung had recorded the whole situation on his phone as soon as he saw danger.

it was a few hours after the fight, and y/n was finally regaining consciousness. the first thing she noticed was the unfamiliar scenery and odd atmospheric sounds. the second thing she noticed was the strange position she woke up in and the weird clothes she wore.

the third thing she noticed, now with her eyes almost fully open and a bit of a grasp on the situation, was hanni.

don't tell me it was all a dream.

"what the fuck?" was the first words she said after hours of unconsciousness, immediately grabbing the attention of the two in front of her.

"y/n? are you awake?" jungwon stood up from his seat to walk up to the bed.

"dude..." y/n blinked a couple times, "what the fuck happened?"

"you idiot!" hanni exclaimed, "i thought you were gonna die!" jungwon looked her way, she had her hands covering her mouth in shock.

"okay, don't be dramatic, hanni. the doctors said she'd wake up soon."

"is no one gonna tell me what happened?"

"you got knocked out." jungwon explained.

"like, drunk? again? wait, why are you fine?" y/n raised an eyebrow in confusion. "no, dumbass. haruto punched you in the face and you went down." y/n gasped.

"that bitch..." she remembered what had last happened, rage returning at the thought of the boy's face. but she also recalled what happened before, turning her eyes from the ceiling to hanni.

"wait," she started, "so you're still my girlfriend?"

"yes, stupid. we had just become official and you get in a fist fight in day one." y/n smiled at the thought, "well, did i look cool?"

"no."

"you wanna see the video?" jungwon enthusiastically took his phone back out. "oh my god, yes. show me."

the boy started playing the recording taeyoung sent on the groupchat, also containing other moments y/n missed out on while she was unconscious, like hanni running to her aid, yeonjun actually beating the shit out of haruto, jungwon cursing out his ass, and the very satisfying painful groans of haruto.

"damn, y'all fucked him up." y/n said, impressed at the teamwork.

"it was your revenge." jungwon smiled empathetically.

y/n shrugged dissatisfied, "well, yeah, but i kinda wanted to do it myself."

"i don't know why you thought you could take him. he's like ten feet tall." hanni said.

y/n shifted into a more comfortable position, sitting up a bit taller. jungwon supported her back, just in case. "i guess i just really wanted to punch him at the moment. i was so mad."

jungwon shook his head while scoffing, "you really didn't have to, i already had the evidence to file a restraining order." y/n gasped, "you're really gonna do it?" she said in excitement.

jungwon nodded, "so you're basically here for no reason. well, the reason being you're stupid." the other laughed.

"where are the others?" she asked.

"uh... well, yeonjun is in another room getting his wounds treated, some of the others went home, others are waiting outside and dana went to tell her uncle at the restaurant what happened." the boy explained and the girl sighed.

"well, at least we got rid of him!"

silence dominated the room for a few seconds until jungwon spoke, "you look so fucking stupid right now." in between laughs he opened his phone's camera to take pictures of the girl on the bed.

laughing as well, y/n started to pose while sitting. hanni smiled in adoration, or was it amusement? who knows, all that matters is that she cried a bit. although no one really noticed until a sniff was heard.

y/n turned her head to the other girl, "are you cryin-" she didn't get to finish her sentence before hanni walked up to her and hugged her. jungwon took one last photo.

"you're so stupid." she said in between little soft sobs. "don't do that ever again."

y/n stay still while she thought, "but what if you get robbed?" she asked genuinely, making hanni hug her harder while she laughed. "shut up." only then y/n hugged her back and laughed with her.

the shorter pulled away and y/n looked back to jungwon, "so when do i get out?"

all of y/n's friends sat in her room, the doctors said she would be fine in a day or two. "and then jungwon started kicking him too!" said yeonjun, recalling the events of the night before.

y/n looked at the boy beside her, "i'm so proud of you. you learned from the best, me." she pat his back while staring at him with pride.

jungwon looked back and frowned, staring her up and down, "you were the one that got beat up, asshole." he scoffed, "you're literally in the hospital right now."

"shut the fuck up." y/n stopped and glared at him. "anyways, when i get out of here the party better still be a plan." she said.

dana who was standing by the door frame smirked. "you thought i'd let it not happen?"

masterlist | next

— y/n is most definitely not immune to pretty girls, and hanni is very pretty. she begs for one chance, but when it's given, what will she do?

## taglist ! @lcv3lies @yourwife @haerpins @rosielover69 @luvkait @lizseos @gojosrug @xuimhao @captivq @yumtooki @ahnneyong @seeju @sserajeans @phamminji @llluvbluy @sserafimez @misumiausworld @lostamoeba @archerheejin @skisk1 @giginings @falling-intoo-deep @jenaissantesworld @txtbrainrot @luvrsxt ...

[alchemistdefective]

"Ha… Phew…"

That was… what was it, the fifth round?

Flandre was right on top of herself, or to be more specific, 'herself'. The other being Eri, shapeshifted into a mirror image of the person he's making love to.

If the shapeshifter hasn't managed to impersonate Flan completely before all this, he certainly pretty much did now. After all, how could he not, after the both of them going at it for a while?

"You're… really good in this, aren't you?… Flan?"

"It's my own body I'm dealing with, why wouldn't I be? You're really good in mimicking my sweet spots yourself."

"Is it really a surprise, considering what we've been through? You can thank Sakuya for helping find them out and apply it on myself too."

But… that's not important. In fact, they… actually haven't done much sexual things, aside for going for a few rounds before the both of them started to talk to each other late at night.

The bed was an entire mess, with fluids both dripping down their nether regions.

If Flan were to comment, this was much less intensive and… to put it bluntly, also less pleasing compared to when Seiga impersonated her, so the crown for 'best Flan to have sex with' would go to her. Seiga made her feel more confident of herself, the things she could actually do if she were serious… in other words, the peak of how 'Flandre Scarlet' could go.

Still, this was fine too!

"… You know, I'm envious of you, Eri. You've got… everything. You're an idol with fans, friends who love you, a special soulmate, a normal life… well, 'normal-ish'. It's everything I ever wanted, and more. While I'm… I'm just a vampire whom everyone hates."

"Ha… It's funny you say that, because I'm envious of you, Flan."

"… Eh?"

Eri rose up from the bed, looking at the vampire in the eye with a smile, before giving her a hug, not minding their nude bodies with their fluids touching each other one bit.

"You've seen through my memories, haven't you? Other than my fans and friends… I don't really have anyone else in my family. My mom's always busy with studies, my sister's at work… and I'm always pushing myself to the point where I couldn't sleep. If I stopped, my life would just come crashing down."

"But you… you have Sakuya, your sister, Meiling… Even if I have been in your body for a very short period of time, the amount of support you get from your own family makes me… extremely envious. They will always be there to pick you up if you fall, and no matter what happens… they will always love you too."

"And you have plenty of friends too, those who hold you dear. Seiga, Remilia, Nyalter, Eliza, Annette, Reimu, just to name a few… Just how many people are by your side, Flan? We're with you all the way."

"But…"

"And none of this 'better Flan' nonsense, alright? Seiga and I would stop you before you open your mouth. You're already beating me in bed, so that's already one point for you."

And so, Flandre couldn't help but give a chuckle before gently pushing him back down.

"Hee hee, speaking of bed, how about another round? We're still far from done!"

"Flan, I'm not actually a vampire, I can't even keep you even if I tried… But… just give me a moment to let my body rest a bit…-"

"Eh?~ Boooring. Maybe I'll call Seiga in instead. But if she decides to give one of us a penis, I swear to the devil…-"

It was pretty much said in good gesture as the both of them let out a good laugh.

… Although they might want to clean up before the hermit gets back.

……

Maybe after a while longer. Who knows, Seiga might want to jump in or something.

[sunshinekindof]

I kind of miss you

I felt terrible. It was the middle of the work week, and I had already managed to get sick. My throat was sore and my voice was hoarse and I couldn't stop coughing. My mood was lower than ever. Plus, I haven't seen Timothee in almost a week. We were going to meet with him a few days ago, but he constantly postponed our meeting, referring to the large number of work and working meetings. At first I was understanding about this, but today I was especially sensitive. I felt weak and all I wanted was to wrap myself in a blanket and snuggle up to my boyfriend. I know I acted like a little girl, but I didn't care.

Thank God it was already the end of the day, and I was free. I took the day off tomorrow and called Timothee. What if he's already was free, and we can finally see each other? I was able to get through to him only on the second attempt.

"Hey you" he said. He was in a good mood.

"Hi Tim. Will I see you today? It's been a while and I kind of miss you"

“I have one more meeting but I think it will take about an hour, after which I am all yours, my love”

"Really? Are you sure you can do it?" I asked hopefully.

“Yes, my love, I promise. I'm sorry, I gotta go, see you soon"

Before I could answer, he had already hung up.

Well, now my mood is clearly better. Just an hour, and I will be warm and in the arms of a loved one. From one thought, my mood became better and better.

Before I went home, I went to the pharmacy. While I was buying medicine for myself, my phone rang and the name of the person I needed so much right now was displayed on the phone screen.

"Hey baby, are you free?" I asked and heard there was music playing in the background.

“My love, listen...I'm sorry, but can I see you tomorrow? I'm really sorry, but this meeting is very important and I only need one evening and tomorrow I'm all yours. Promise"

My heart skipped a beat at his words. Seriously? Again?

“Tim, look, I don’t want to distract you, but maybe you can come to my place later? It doesn't matter how late it is. I will wait for you. Everything is fine, but I would not like to be alone today, ”I asked, although I already knew in advance what he would answer me. This has already happened. Timothee was so engrossed in his work that we didn't see each other for about a month.

“No, baby, go to bed, don't wait for me. I will be late. I want you to get enough sleep."

Yes, I thought, of course. He just did not know that I had not slept normally for 2 nights. I didn't want to tell him, but still... So, okay, I told myself, it's time to be a big girl and not be so needy. You can handle everything on your own.

"Yeah ok. I'll see you another time" I said and turned off my phone. I didn't want to listen to what he had to say. I've heard it 1000 times already. I didn't blame Timothee. I knew what I agreed to when we started dating, but still, like a stupid girl, I hoped for a miracle. We all want a miracle sometimes, right?

But we live in the real world, so I took a taxi and drove home. The drive home took me about an hour.

When I entered the apartment, I immediately smelled my favorite food. What? When I entered the kitchen, I saw Timothee cutting vegetables.

" Timothee? What's happening?" Seriously what?

When he heard my voice, he turned around and looked at me with a smile. But as soon as he saw me, the joy in his eyes immediately changed to excitement.

"Oh, baby, how are you feeling yourself?" he asked me.

"I'm...great," I said, but was caught in a lie when I started coughing loudly.

"Yeah, I see," Timothee said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Timothee, what are you doing here? You said that…" 

“I know what I said and I'm sorry about that,” he interrupted me, “I was in a meeting, but your voice seemed strange to me, so when you hung up, I started calling you again, but your phone was unavailable. Then I called you at work, in case you were still there and I could pick you up, but you weren't there anymore. Your colleague answered my call and said that you had already left and that you had been feeling unwell all day. That's why I left early to take care of my girl."

I didn't want to cry, but my eyes were starting to fill with tears.

"Tim, you shouldn’t..."

“Of course you should. I'm sorry baby" he said and hugged me, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"God, you're hot" Timothy said and looked at me

"Thank you?" I smiled

“I'm serious, you have a fever. How long have you been feeling unwell?” he asked seriously

I lowered my eyes to the floor and replied, "Well ... since yesterday .."

"And you went to work?"

“I couldn’t leave, I have deadlines”

“And you didn’t tell me that you feel bad,” he began to scold me

"I didn't want you to worry"

“But what about the talk that we are partners and …” he continued, but when a tear rolled down my cheek, he immediately fell silent. God, I've become so sensitive that it's annoying

"I'm sorry"

“No, forgive me. I love you. Will you let me take care of you" he asked gently and pressed his lips to mine for a moment, but I immediately recoiled

"Don't kiss me, you'll get sick"

"Try to stop me and see what happens" he said and pressed his lips against mine again. I missed him so much that this time I did not resist. As he backed away from me, I whispered, “Thank you. I missed you"

“And I missed you. So much. Now go wash your hands, dinner is almost ready" said Timothee and turned me towards the bathroom.

"Yes sir" I said with a smile. My recovery will definitely be quick.

[thewertsearch]

Asks Comp - 16/4

I literally did not know The Baby Is You was a thing. To be welcomed back into the comic like this after four months is very on brand for Homestuck.

... and wow, its outro really does match the end of this song, doesn't it? That's even funnier than if he'd snuck some of Megalovania in there.

Ooh, that's another liveblog I'll want to check out when I'm done! I've never actually seen a Worm liveblog before. Adding it to the list myself!

Nothing's really changed since I've been gone! I make a conscious effort not to do much Homestuck analysis off-blog, since I want my journey to be fully documented here.

It's good to be back! I'm looking forward to a full reread when I'm done.

Would you believe I didn't even know there was a book?

I also didn't know the movie had two (allegedly) terrible sequels, which is very funny. Neverending story indeed.

Thank you! I can't take too much credit, though - most of my tagging system has been crowdsourced from askers!

At some point, before we reach the end of the comic, I'm going to have to formalize my approach to liveblogging Homestuck's side content.

What I'll probably do is give each of them the 'lite' treatment initially, but if they turn out to be more canonical than I thought, or particularly interesting to liveblog, I'll 'zoom in', and analyze them properly. We'll see how we go!

Could you imagine the relationship dynamics in your average troll soap opera? The shipping web for a single season would make our heads explode.

It's a fun question. What sort of object symbolizes everything?

The first thing I'd try would be a star chart, Dave's magnifier and a literal planetful of Grist.

Added to the list! Not until later later on, though - I'd worry that the opinions and theories of another liveblogger could interfere with my own, especially if they're talking about it with someone who's already read it!

I would find it hard to disagree.

Do people think Act 1 is pointless?

I mean, it is the slowest Act in terms of pacing, but slow pacing isn't always a bad thing. You sort of have to take it slow when your readers have this much to get to grips with.

...okay, maybe we didn't need quite as many Sylladex mishaps as we got. But we still needed some. Homestuck has a lot to introduce you to.

I always pictured an English accent for Hass - although, interestingly, I didn't picture one for Jade. As a headcanon, I like the NZ one better.

Where did Grandpa grow up again, actually? He was raised by Fake Mark Twain, who was from Missouri - but I don't have a clue what a Missouri accent sounds like, let alone one from a century ago. I have a funny feeling that it's not the accent I'm imagining coming from Jade.

Now that's a ship I'd never have seen coming. Props to Hussie for coming up with something more controversial than my Feferi<>Equius.

All four kids, with four endgame weapons, might be able to challenge Jack's current incarnation - but they're not going to get the chance. You've hit the nail on the head - he's semi-perfect Jack for a reason.

I have several theories for Jade's prototyping, and every single one of them would make Jack even more dangerous than before. It's just barely possible to challenge him now, but things will only get worse.

Read the room, Serket!

Would Vriska have tried to negotiate? She feels like the type of person who'd rather take a beating than admit they're outclassed. Plus, I'm not sure how much she'd have to offer Aradia, who seemed entirely motivated by revenge (and, possibly, secretly motivated by timeline stuff).

All that said, I would have loved to hear Vriska trying to worm her way out of this.

I love it! Please send in the completed house, if you get the chance. That's going to look so cool with a moving meteor.

And they're both easily distractible! This feels like two people who might actually get on surprisingly well, if they were in, say, the same high school class.

It's hard to say what's a rarepair, since I don't know what ships are rare in the fandom - although I'd have a few guesses about the most common ones.

If we're going for a ship with very tenuous connections, I will submit Rose x Feferi for your appraisal. They're both fans of the Noble Circle, and their signature colors are pretty close.

You know what, I'll just review all of your ships. Tavros/Gamzee - PB&J - is pretty cute. [] I'd recommend Miracle Child for a number of reasons, but it does include a well-written Gamtav. Jack/Droog is more <> to me than it is <3. Like One Sundered Star might be influencing that? I'm not really sure. Somewhere I think I saw a Jack<>Droog. Your pre-shipping chart post isn't in the chrono; also, I'm pretty sure the A6A6I5 ask is one of mine. Gamzee/Eridan is a rarepair; I've seen it, but not often, and it's a <> in the fic I'm referencing. Kanaya<>Terezi and Feferi<>Vriska are strange enough that I've never seen them anywhere, really. [] And finally, Vriska and Tavros. These two are the textbook example of why the ashen quadrant needs to exist, and they're a perfect pair for it. [] ~LOSS (8/1/23)

I don't even know if Carapacians have moirallegiance - but those two would definitely work if they did.

Out of all my ships you flagged as rare, I think my favorite is Feferi<>Vriska. I just think they'd gel weirdly well together!

[dominijoyce]

Some Feelings About Disco Elysium

I wanna say, I've never really related to the need of wanting more represantation of your culture and/or community. I understoon the idea and why actual represantation beyond headcanon and fandom interpretation was something many people strive for and need more of. I just never personally could relate to that need - even if it revolved around cultures and communities I am a part of.

Yes, I was always happy when I saw a represantation of those like me, especially if said represantation is positive but I never felt that "I needed this".

Well at least not until playing and finishing Disco Elysium.

I do not want this to be some extremelly long personal post so I will not go in detail of the game itself but as someone who has suffered from psychosis for years now, I don't think I have ever felt so close to the protagonist of the game as I did with Harry.

While I also see Harry as plural, For the entire game I couldn't help but keep thinking how Skills [and items like Necktie] talking to Harry is quite literally how I experience everyday through my life with auditory hallucinations that incidentally do manifest as random inputs out of nowhere in my head that are impossible to locate the source from.

And the way Harry talks, the way he interracts with the world - even if you decide to only pick the most "sane" of the given dialogue options, you still may struggle heavily to be seen as "normal" by other characters in the game. That one is something heavily personal to me as well - when even at the times of me trying my best to mask, the symptoms and effects of my psychosis among other mental disorders still manage to come out and possibly freak others.

And just... In general showing Harry's struggle and him being intense and quite often not being sure what was the intention of his actions either, not knowing why he cannot put the phone down, not being able to stop what he's doing even when he knows he already failed [specifically talking of when you lose a Check but cannot back out even if technically nothing is stopping him from shutting up or not continuing to harm himself, etc.].

He is lost, yes he is a complete amnesiac so that's given but even in later stages of the game where he recovers some parts of himself and the world around him, he is still struggling and quite often openly talking of needing a break and just, stoping everything around him.

I could go on, yes but it would be repetetive of me and if you played the game you probably are able to yourself name multiple other characteristics of Harry not being "sane" no matter how hard he/player might try.

I'm listing all of those because as I mentioned, those are heavily personal and relatable things to me as well. Dare I say, except for amnesia, sometimes my daily life does just feel like playing Disco Elysium. [Although I do suffer from micro-amnesic episodes as well...]

And I didn't know I needed a protagonist like Harry Du Bois in my life, I didn't know I needed a game like Disco Elysium in my life that lets you put on the shoes of a canonically psychotic character and written in a purposefully ugly way. Not romanticising it but also being respectful and not treating Harry as a monster nor a person who will never be part of the society [the ending of the game hit way too close to my heart...]. The game doesn't beat around the bush or tries to minimize the horrors of his mind or characterize them in the way where it feels like the game's genre is meant to be fantasy instead.

The game and the writing of Disco Elysium is just... honest. Honest is a good word. It shows you both the ugliest and the prettiest and the most hurtful and the most hopeful of Harry's mind. And before playing Disco Elysium, I struggled heavily to sometimes explain the way my mind works, even to myself - to put pieces of it in place or category. But Disco Elysium made me able to and able to notice certain patterns or realize certain things of what is going on with me. I needed this game in my life, I needed this protagonist in my life and I didn't know I did until I finished it.

I suppose it is no surprise I will now consider Disco Elysium my favorite game and keep recommending it to people who can handle heavy subject the game tackles. It is also no surprise that I have already started my second playthrough of the game. The way mentality of Harry is written is just one of many other amazingly written aspects of the game. The game's story made me emotional, the game's characters made me emotional, the setting made me emotional and there is still so much content I haven't managed to explore on my first playthrough. Not to mention I cried twice or thrice during it. It is a masterpiece, I believe.

Thank you, Robert Kurvitz. Thank you, Aleksander Rostov. Thank you Helen Hindpere. Thank you for creating and writing an experience so close to mine I didn't know I needed to see represented.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 38: Operation ARMS (Part 1)

''I've never felt so lost, don't know a soul I'd trust. Wait for the winds to bring some change in. Out here alone, I'm shaken. Time stands still (stands still, stands still), I can't help but feel (can't help but feel). Throw me away, stop the wasted chasin', it's all to much to face and (have you ever felt) lost? Tried to find a way out, I couldn't let myself down, there's no goin' back now. (Lost) Thought I found my way out, I never felt this way before, my mind is lost, I'm torn. Everything feels different to me, I can't be myself. Stranger, won't you be my friend and show me thе way out? (The way out) Hope you'll see that I need help (show mе how)! Show me how to make it out!''

– Lost by Shawn Christmas (Sonic Frontiers)

xXxXxXx

''Take that!'' Sonic went for a kick, with Shadow blocking his attack with his arm.

Smirking, he grabbed Sonic's leg and swung him around before throwing him away, only for Sonic to do a backflip and safely land on his feet, his gloves scraping the ground as he braced himself. Shadow rushed towards him, but he was ready, using what appeared to be a breakdancing move to kick Shadow off his feet, then quickly pinned him down by his arms to make sure he wasn't getting up. Both hedgehogs were breathing heavily, still feeling the adrenaline surging from their fight, but also knowing that the fatigue would be kicking in soon. Sonic smirked as he looked down at Shadow, gazing into his red eyes.

''Looks like I win this time,'' he said smugly, with Shadow furrowing a brow as he stared back, clearly not pleased by his loss. Sonic chuckled lightly, getting up and extending his hand to Shadow. The dark hedgehog accepted it, getting up. ''You know, I think I'm getting much better at this 'being cornered in an area where I cannot use my speed' type of combat. Don't you think the same, Shads?''

Shadow, knowing very well that Sonic was just fishing from a compliment, folded his arms across his chest. ''The student is only as good as their teacher.''

Sonic's happy gaze turned into a half-lidded stare with a sweatdrop forming. ''Eh, is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?''

''Interpret it however you want,'' Shadow replied, walking up to the tree below which they had placed their bento boxes. Sonic just stared at him, before grinning.

''It's a compliment then!'' he said proudly. Both sat down under the tree, opening the bento boxes, with Sonic staring hungrily at his. He had to admit that hard training made him really hungry, even though he was a bit disappointed it wasn't his favorite food. Although, he had heard enough of Lucas nagging him to eat other stuff rather than just chili dogs, and he figured that a cheap bento box would be enough. He glanced at Shadow, who already opened his and was eating it in silence. ''Hope you like the lunch!''

''It is fine,'' Shadow replied without a beat, placing another batch of rice in his mouth. Sonic didn't appear to be too bothered by that response and just decided to dig in. Things were pretty silent for most of the time, with Shadow reaching out for the red and black bottle next to him. He was about to drink it when he felt weight on his shoulder, his eyes darting o the side as a frown formed on his expression.

Sonic smushed his face against Shadow's shoulder, looking at the bottle curiously. ''What are you drinking?''

Shadow, a bit irked by the sudden invasion of his private space, replied, ''It's just normal water.''

''Oh, I see.'' Sonic suddenly backed away, realizing that he got a bit too close, but didn't completely back away. ''I thought you would be drinking coffee.''

Shadow's expression remained unchanging, even though he had to admit that he was a bit amused by Sonic's assumption, ''I mainly drink coffee in the morning, and it would be a bad idea to drink it after a training session. Not to mention, I don't trust you to take it, even if accidentally, because the last thing you need is caffeine.''

Sonic paused, then chuckled. ''Yeah, you're right. I'm already full of energy, so I don't need that.''

Shadow just sighed in response, noting that, while Sonic is more than capable with keeping up with him, be it in combat or speed, he had to wonder whether he could match Sonic's infinite energy. Unlike Sonic, who was a social butterfly, ready to strike up a conversations with strangers and turn them into his friends, while Shadow grew tired and weary of just standing in a crowd, not wanting to talk more than necessary, even if it were his own teammates. He did come to acknowledge them as his friends, but that didn't mean that he was going to spend time with them in a way not related to whatever task he was asked to perform.

So, how did he end up spending so much time with Sonic, even engaging in small talk?

Shadow closed his eyes, folding his arms across his chest as he remembered how all of this had started. Sonic came several days ago to the Kageura residence, reminding Shadow of how he wanted to learn how to fight in a situation where he couldn't use his superspeed, and Shadow agreed easily. After all, it was just training to improve Sonic's combat skills, who was a quick learner and developed his own way of fighting. Once the training was done, Shadow would try to leave, but was stopped by Sonic, who would either keep him talking by asking him about specific techniques or even invite him for lunch. Shadow would get caught up in those conversations as Sonic seemed to have an infinite amount of questions and he was patient enough to answer all of them, only to realize that their conversation would slowly steer towards something more mundane, like the weather. As for the invitation for lunch, Shadow considered it a payment for the training sessions, something Sonic didn't disagree with. Since Shadow wasn't too fond off the idea of constantly eating chilli dogs, Sonic offered to buy them bento boxes at the local grocery store instead.

As a matter of fact, Shadow had noticed that Sonic wanted to spend more and more time with him, clearly happy to just be in his company, even if they were sitting in complete silence. Actually, Shadow was quite surprised that Sonic was able to keep silent for so long, but he wasn't going to complain. He would usually just lean back and just take everything in, completely relaxing. Shadow, on the other hand, had a hard time relaxing, his mind always filled by some kind of worry.

A life filled with peace is impossible for me. Shadow sighed, only to hear Sonic sigh as well.

''I should've bought another bento box,'' Sonic muttered, looking at the empty container, clearly still hungry. He rose an eyebrow when a half-eaten container was shoved under his nose, realizing that Shadow was giving it to him. ''But, aren't you hungry?''

''I'll be fine,'' Shadow replied. However, instead of just taking it, Sonic just scooted closer and placed the container over their legs.

''Well, we can share,'' he said, happily eating his part of the lunch and leaving enough for Shadow. The dark hedgehog was a bit surprised by this solution, as well as how physically close Sonic got to him, he just accepted it as a thing Sonic would do. ''You know, Knux told me that he and Lily decided to hire the Chaotix to keep an eye out for Rouge.''

''They did?'' Shadow knew about Rouge's disappearance, but this was news to him.

''Yeah. Knux did tell me that, while he is worried that Rouge might be up to something, he pointed out how she would've antagonized him already in some way,'' Sonic replied.

''Even if the Chaotix are the greatest detectives on Earth, I doubt they'll find Rouge if she doesn't want to be found,'' Shadow replied. ''But, I suppose it is a bit suspicious that she had been gone for days.''

''I just hope that nothing bad had happened to her,'' Sonic said, with Shadow giving him a curious look, only to be surprised by Sonic's following question, ''Hey, what would you do if I just disappeared one day without a trace?''

Shadow took a moment to think about it, as this was a very sudden and unexpected question. ''Considering how you're my teammate and friend, I believe that the obvious answer would be to immediately search for you…'' Shadow trailed off when he saw Sonic smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes, staring back in annoyance. ''Why are you looking at me like that?''

''Heh, you just called me your friend,'' Sonic replied, only to lean closer. ''So, do you see me like your best friend or rival-turned-friend or second best friend, considering how there is also Touka, or…''

''It is rival, teammate, friend… In that order,'' Shadow replied in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone, folding his arms across his chest. He didn't know why he was feeling so weird. He didn't really feel uncomfortable or anything, nor did he feel annoyed enough to punch Sonic for breaching his space, but he certainly felt weird. ''Why are you even asking me that?''

''I'm just happy to see you open up like this, even if you still act grumpy about it,'' Sonic replied, a wide smile on his lips. ''It's been a long time since what happened at Codex. Or, at least it feels like it has been a long time.'' Shadow lowered his head in thought, having to agree with Sonic. Even if his mind at times wandered back to the events at Codex, it always felt as if that event occurred years ago, not weeks. ''You know, I would definitely search the entire Earth and space, and even other dimensions, if you ever disappeared.''

''I'm pretty sure that you'd do the same for any of your other friends,'' Shadow replied, his eye-lids lowering as he looked back at Sonic, who just scratched his cheek.

''Yeah, true, but now you also have a confirmation of what I'd do in such situation,'' Sonic replied. He then placed the almost empty container on the grass as he leaned back against the tree, placing his hands behind his head, taking a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Shadow couldn't help but smile a little at how predictable Sonic was. In one moment, he could have a very deep and meaningful conversation, and in the next, he acted like nothing happened and took a nap.

That's so typical of you, Sonic.

xXx

It was late in the night at the Kageura household, with both Touka and Kisaki being deeply asleep. Shadow was lying on the bed next to Touka, staring at the ceiling of their attic room. He had been awake for a while now, his mind once again filled with thoughts that didn't let him sleep. Admittedly, he could handle a sleepless night, having been trained to work under extreme pressure, but looking back at things, he wondered just how necessary it was. He was leading a relatively peaceful life, with his only worries being The Eggman Empire, something that was a problem the entirety of Team Neos was dealing with, and Mephiles and Toshiro, who haven't showed up in a while. He knew that most of Team Neos was back to their daily life, not really worrying about what Dr. Eggman might be up to, as they were certain that they could handle anything he throws at them.

At this point, I'm the only one who is concered about this stuff. Maybe I should follow their example and not put too much thought into it… No… I don't think that will ever be possible. He turned to his side, his eye-lids lowering as a familiar face appeared in his mind, followed by that weird feeling. To live life freely… I'm not like you Sonic.

Shadow took a deep breath, trying to relax and finally drift off to sleep. But then, he heard it. A creak.

Follow your instincts.

Shadow knew that the creak could mean nothing. Maybe it was just the house making noises or they had pests, but when he heard more creaks, he got up and walked over to the hatch. He pressed his ear against it, listening intently, only for his eyes to widen when those creaks turned into actual steps.

Someone is inside. Shadow had to fight his instinct of getting down and confronting the intruder, or rather, intruders, by himself. He could hear some muffled whispering, sounding like someone was searching for something… or someone. He reached for the hatch, opening it only slightly, hoping that whoever was below him didn't notice it. Being able to see well in the dark, he could spot multiple figures in dark uniforms, all of them holding weapons as they searched through the house. Two of them barged into Kisaki's room, and Shadow could hear her cry out in fear as she woke up, only to be told to not move or she will be arrested. Gritting his teeth, he quickly closed the hatch, grabbing his air shoes and Touka's sneakers, and walked up to the bed, placing his hand on Touka's shoulder.

''Touka, Touka!'' Shadow whispered in an urgent tone, his voice a mere hiss as he shook her awake. He felt his heart beat rapidly, as he knew that they needed to get out of the house. ''Wake up!''

''Sh-Shadow?'' Touka opened her eyes, staring at Shadow drowsily. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. ''Wh-What's wrong?''

''Put your sneakers on. We need to get out of here,'' Shadow told her, tossing her sneakers to her, while he quickly put his air shoes on. Touka still stared at him in complete confusion, her brain trying to process what was going on, only for both of them to get startled when they heard a cry and someone shouting from downstairs.

''Where are they?!''

Touka and Shadow stared at each other for a moment, completely frozen, only for both of them to quickly put on their shoes and grabbing their respective AR Visor without a word. Shadow then grabbed Touka's hand, and both of them vanished in a flash of light.

They appeared in what Touka recognized as the neighbor's backyard, both of them hiding behind the house. They looked towards their own house, spotting several black vans in the oddly dim-lighted street, with a group of people, all in dark militaristic uniforms and masks and carrying weapons, observing their house, with the other group searching through it.

''What do we do?'' Touka whispered, shivering a little due to her PJs consisting of a black T-shirt and shorts, the night being quite chilly. ''Kisaki is still inside.''

''They have already caught her,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He knew well that he should've gone back to fight off whoever these people were and get Kisaki, but he hesitated, aware that it was too late and that his priority was to keep Touka safe. However, he also wanted to get closer in hopes to get some information in regards to why they wanted him and Touka.

''Let's get closer.'' Shadow glanced to Touka, who lowered herself to his height, whispering into his ear and pointing towards the nearby bushes that were closer to their house. He nodded, but noted how they needed a moment of distraction, because they could still be noticed. Their moment of distraction arrived only a few seconds later, when the group that was inside the house dragged a cuffed Kisaki towards one of their vans.

''Let me go!'' Kisaki shouted at them, clearly fighting back. ''You have absolutely no reason to be here!''

''Shut up!'' the leader of the group yelled at her, clearly angry that she was shouting in the middle of the night and fearing that the neighbors would hear them. ''You know well why you're being arrested. Hiding government property is no small offense.''

''I haven't been hiding anything. We had an agreemed and I've been keeping my end of it to the best of my ability,'' Kisaki hissed, glaring daggers at the man. ''I have no idea where they are, but I hope they're somewhere safe. Any place would be better than with your people. They're just kids, for God's sake!''

''They aren't 'kids','' the man stated angrily. ''They are dangerous military weapons and we are going to bring them back where they belong – both the girl and the Irregular.''

Shadow could feel his hands shaking in fury as he understood who those people who broke into his house were. He was now certain that they were associated with the scientists at the Codex Research Facility, here to force Touka and him back to their former lives. He thought had he had finally escaped his past, having put it behind him after their encounter with Mephiles and Toshiro, but now it came back, breaking down the door and trying to drag them back. Now, all he wanted was to blast whoever those people were into oblivion.

''Shadow…'' Shadow turned to Touka, who stared furiously at the scene before them. She too was shaking, understanding the situation they were in.

''Touka, what do you want to do?'' Shadow asked her. He was ready for some kind of battle plan, only for Touka's response to surprise him.

''We can't leave and we can't fight,'' she said, as if reading Shadow's mind. She saw his stunned expression, adding, ''If we leave, I'm certain that they will probably go after the rest of Team Neos in order to find us. If we fight, we'll put Kisaki into danger.''

''So, you want to surrender?'' Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow.

''No, but knowing these people, they will stop at nothing to get both of us,'' Touka replied, lowering her head. ''I'm sorry.''

''For what?'' Shadow asked, but before Touka could answer, he added, ''Whatever you want to do, I will be by your side, every step.''

''Thank you, Shadow.'' Touka smiled, quickly hugging her younger brother, much to his surprise. They then turned towards the group, quickly rushing out of their hiding spot, as they spotted Kisaki being dragged into a van. ''Stop!''

The military squad suddenly turned towards them, pointing their guns at the two, with Touka and Shadow skidding to a halt, just staring back, not daring to move at all.

''Touka, Shadow! Don't!'' Kisaki cried out, only for the woman who was guarding her punching her in the stomach to keep her quiet.

''Kisaki!'' Touka cried out as Kisaki doubled over due to the pain, and then turned to the leader. ''Let her go! I know you want me and Shadow!''

''Huh, so you know why we're here? This should make things easier,'' the leader replied, frowning at the two. ''Admittedly, we were supposed to bring only you two back, but Kisaki Kageura hadn't followed her agreement either…''

''If you don't leave her alone, we assure you that we will fight back,'' Shadow replied. ''Do you want to risk the lives of your men?''

The leader glared at the dark hedgehog apprehensively. He understood his own mission. He was just supposed to bring Touka and Shadow back to HQ with minimum fuss, while Kisaki was supposed to get a warning to make sure she keeps silent about the whole ordeal. He was also told that Shadow was an incredibly powerful and dangerous Irregular, so forcing him to come with them wouldn't be easy. He decided to take the diplomatic approach.

''If you two come with us, we will leave Kisaki Kageura alone, so long as she keeps silent about this situation and your existence,'' the leader said, with Shadow glaring daggers at him, gritting his teeth. Kisaki was horrified to hear that, her eyes widening even more when she heard Touka's response.

''Fine, we'll go,'' she said, her expression matching Shadow's scowl. The leader smirked, gesturing to his men to free Kisaki, and then pointed towards a van, indicating that Shadow and Touka should enter it.

The Codex siblings exchanged glances, noting how the rest of the squad had their guns pointed at them, and they walked into the back of the van, followed by a woman who extended her hand to Touka.

''Your AR Visor,'' she said in a stern tone, with Touka reluctantly reach for the AR Visor around her neck before giving it to her. She wondered if she would ever get it back, as this was her only way of communicating with her friends, only to realize that this is probably what they wanted to prevent her from doing. Then, she and Shadow sat on the bench in the back of the van, followed by two more squad members, looking like criminals who were being led to jail.

Kisaki just stared at the black van as the doors closed and it drove away, feeling her heart shattering completely. She didn't even notice when the hand cuffs were taken off her hands, nor did she care when they all left. She fell on her knees in devastation, her eyes watering as she stared at the empty street, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

She wanted to scream, but could produce no sound.

xXx

Sonic tapped with his foot impatiently at the usual meeting spot. He tapped on his AR Visor, which showed him a holographic screen of the time. It was only a couple of minutes past his agreed time to meet up with Shadow for their training session, but Shadow was late. Except, Shadow was never late. Sonic knew that, if there was an agreed time, Shadow would be already there, waiting for him.

''So much for The Fastest Thing Alive arriving on time for a meeting.''

''Hey, only because I'm fast doesn't mean that I can't be late for a couple of seconds. Look, I brought us lunch!''

Sonic waited for another minute, trying to calm down and ignore the sense of panic he felt. Maybe Shadow was late because he got caught up in something. That was a possibility. Sonic decided to call him, but he couldn't reach him. He figured that Shadow was just being Shadow, either busy or just didn't want to answer the call for some reason. So, he called Touka, knowing that she was the one who'd usually answer. However, to his shock, the number was blocked.

''Wait, this is not supposed to happen,'' Sonic said, raising an eyebrow. ''Usually, Touka would answer the call.'' He shook his head, lowering it and placing his hand on his chin. ''Something doesn't make sense here. Maybe I should go to their house.''

Sonic then sped off towards the Kageura household, hoping that nothing bad had happened. When he arrived there, he quickly knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open it. ''Hello? Anybody there?''

To his joy, someone opened the door. It was Kisaki, and Sonic was about to ask her about Shadow and Touka's whereabouts, only to notice the bags under her red and puffy eyes. She looked like she was crying the whole night. ''Uh, Kisaki… Are you okay? Where are Shadow and Touka?''

''Who are you?'' Kisaki asked in a curt and very unfriendly tone, surprising Sonic.

''It's me… Sonic the Hedgehog? You know, Shadow's friend?'' Sonic said, now confused by the reaction.

''There is no one living here by that name. Please don't come here bothering me anymore,'' Kisaki replied, slamming the door in his face.

Sonic was startled by the sudden slam, but was more intrigued by what Kisaki said, or rather, the fact that she lied straight in his face. He knew that something was wrong, judging by her demeanor and he decided to slowly back away from the house and back on the street.

Something is wrong. Sonic walked down the street, noticing a peculiar black van parked across Kisaki's house with it's windows tinted. He had been in this street before, this was his neighborhood after all, but he never saw a car like this parked here. Not to mention, it looked similar to the van that was parked down the street from his and Lucas' house. Suspicious.

Sonic then quickly sped off down the street, only to make a huge U-turn through the neighborhood's backyards, climbing over walls and fences until he made his way to the back of the Kageura house, where he knew that no one could see him from the street. He stopped below a window, and threw a pebble at it, followed by another, followed by another… Fortunately for him, Kisaki actually opened the window to see what was going on before Sonic could accidentally break it, allowing Sonic to swiftly climb inside, leaving the former stunned.

''Listen, I know that you're lying for some reason. I made sure that no one would see me coming here. Where are Shadow and Touka?'' Sonic asked, now more serious. Kisaki was actually surprised by how bold he was, but given how they were in the privacy of her home, she yielded.

''They're… They're gone,'' she said in a defeated tone. ''They were taken away by people who knew about their past and connection to the Codex Research Facility. I- I thought w-we had a deal and t-they just…''

''Hey, maybe you should sit down. Should I get you a glass of water?'' Sonic asked in a gentle tone, pointing at the couch. Kisaki nodded, with Sonic quickly rushing into the kitchen and then rushing out with a glass of water for her.

''I should be the one offering you this,'' Kisaki said, with Sonic sitting down next to her.

''It's no problem, but I need to know, who exactly took them away,'' he told her, understanding the severity of the situation. Kisaki drank the water greedily, then took a deep breath, her head lowered.

''It is a military organization known as ARMS. I honestly didn't know about their existence until last night, they broke into the house and told me who they are and why they wanted Touka and Shadow,'' Kisaki replied. ''You see, in my contract as a former worker at the Codex Research Facility, I was told to never speak of anything that happened and keep Touka in the dark. But after she regained her memories and Shadow returned, I had to tell both of them what had happened. From what I remember, nobody at Codex, or ARMS. for that matter, knew where Prof. Sakamoto had hidden Shadow. Now that he is back, they believed I kept him hidden, and from what I understood, it seems that they want to revive Project Shadow, by finally getting the chance to use the two as weapons.''

''That's bad,'' Sonic said, giving Kisaki a determined look. ''We need to do something about it!''

''No, you can't. This is not the same as you and the rest of Team Neos fighting Dr. Eggman. ARMS is a military organization whose actions are sanctioned by the government. You can't just fight against them,'' Kisaki protested.

''But, we can't just let Shadow and Touka be taken away by this ARMS organization,'' Sonic protested. ''They hated being at the Codex Research Facility.''

''I don't know what to tell you, but if you go against them, you're poking a hornet's nest, Sonic,'' Kisaki replied. ''I too wish that this hadn't happened, but I'm completely powerless here. Even the papers naming me Touka's guardian won't work in this case. They'll just erase everything.''

''Maybe you can't do anything about this, but I'm sure that I can,'' Sonic replied. ''I won't let Shadow nor Touka down. You can leave this to me and the rest of Team Neos.''

''Be careful, though. I'm sure that that ARMS will be keeping an eye on you and your friends, just like they're doing with me,'' Kisaki said, glancing towards the window.

''Yeah, I noticed the same van in my street. I also tried to call Shadow and Touka, but they wouldn't respond, and Touka's number is unreachable,'' Sonic replied. He then grinned. ''Don't worry, we'll get them back.''

Kisaki nodded, watching Sonic leave the same way he came in. The blue hedgehog then sped off towards his house, spotting the same black van driving up and down their street, as if they were lost. Frowning, he rushed into the house, where he startled Lucas, who was watching TV.

''Huh, Sonic? What are you doing at home so early? I thought you said you had another sparring match with Shadow,'' Lucas said.

''We have a problem. I was just talking to Kisaki and it turns out that Shadow and Touka were taken by a military organization called ARMS because they want to use these two as their personal weapons,'' Sonic explained.

''Woah, wait, what?!'' Lucas was shocked by this sudden revelation, trying to process what Sonic had just told him. Sonic then pointed at the window.

''Not only that, but ARMS is watching us. There was a black van at Kisaki's place and there is another driving down our street,'' he said, with Lucas glancing at the window. Just as Sonic said, there was a black van with tinted windows passing their house. Lucas frowned.

''I have seen it, but I thought they were just lost,'' he replied.

''So, what do we do? I want to get Shadow and Touka back, but I won't lie, Kisaki was right that this situation is different than beating up Eggman,'' Sonic said, folding his arms. ''I also don't want to sit around doing nothing.''

''I don't think we have to worry too much about Touka and Shadow. We both know that they can handle themselves in a dangerous situation,'' Lucas said, with Sonic nodding in agreement. ''However, I think we should tell the rest of Team Neos what happened.''

''Gotcha! I'll call Tails-'' Sonic tapped on his AR Visor, but Lucas stopped him.

''Wait a second, I don't think you should do that,'' Lucas replied.

''Why not?'' Sonic gave him a confused look.

''I may have watched too many spy movies, but it is possible that, if they're keeping an eye on us, they might also be tracing our calls,'' Lucas said. ''We'll get in trouble if they find out that we're talking about Touka and Shadow.''

''Now that you mention it, when I wanted to talk to Kisaki, she lied to me and told me that she doesn't know me nor that Shadow and Touka ever lived with her. It is as if ARMS wants to erase their existence,'' Sonic said. Lucas nodded in acknowledgement.

''That's why we'll have to be smart about this, and I think I know just the thing,'' he said, tapping on his AR Visor and opening a holographic screen with of their group chat, with a holographic keyboard appearing below it. He then started typing.

'''Hey, guys, I've been playing a modded SA2 and for some reason, Maria and Terios vanished from the game. I thought at first that they were taken by G.U.N., but I think it may have just been a glitch. Warren, do you think you could help me fix that?''' Sonic read the message, then glanced at Lucas with a confused look on his expression. ''Who is Terios?''

''So, here's a bit of lore on the history of this game. Back when Sonic Adventure 2 was still in development and Shadow's design wasn't finalized, he was a hedgehog named Terios. I had figured that, if this message is traced, Shadow's actual name might act like a trigger word. However, this way, people who are not familiar with it will think I'm just talking about some random character. After all, Sonic Adventure 2 came out more than two decades ago, and if the scientist at Codex couldn't figure out that Shadow was based on his namesake video game counterpart, then I doubt they'll figure out this message,'' Lucas replied.

''Got it!'' Sonic replied, only to see more messages popping up on screen.

Warren: 'Uh, sure I can help you with that. I'll be over in a bit.'

Minami: 'Woah, what mod are you guys talking about? I've never heard about this! I'm coming over to check it out!'

Makoto: 'Well, if Minami's coming, could we come too? I'm also curious.'

Lily: 'Does it have multiplayer? Maybe I could help you add one!'

''Heh, seems like everyone is coming over,'' Sonic said, while Lucas facepalmed, much to the hedgehog's surprise. ''What's wrong?''

''Goddamnit, I didn't plan for everyone to come over. What if ARMS gets suspicious of the gathering?'' Lucas replied.

''What should they get suspicious of? It's just a bunch of friends coming together and playing a video game. Would they really arrest us for that?'' Sonic asked, with Lucas looking not too convinced. ''Relax! At least this way we can tell everyone what's going on.''

''I just hope that this won't go wrong,'' Lucas said, sighing.

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