#and she asked me to delete our correspondence so i did so if she or like anyone else faked messages between us to make me look bad

[missgryffin]

big, /big/ sigh. 

Hi, friends. This is not a post I ever thought I'd make, but since I've been dealing with some behind-the-scenes harassment and another author has posted a tangent of false statements about me, I feel compelled to at least set the record straight and tell you my side.

After @maraudersftw voluntarily stepped in to take over @jilyawards, she tapped me to help with redesigning the JA blog and making the graphics to accompany all the typical posts. Claudia retained sole access to the Awards Google account, was the only person actively running the blog/answering asks, and was the only one keeping up with processing nominations. Neither of us would be voting. I was also intending to decline certain nominations if others made them. All of this was communicated to the author in question.

The only goal here was to move forward with the Jily Awards in as healing and empathetic way possible for everyone. I gave my opinion regarding the decision to not have the dark!James trope in the Awards, yes—as did many others—but it was not my final call to make. Much, much consideration went into that decision, and I stand by it fully. (If anyone wants to discuss my thoughts on that further, I am more than happy to chat over DM.)

When the decision was finalized, I informed an author who has a work that would not be eligible, as the work was and currently remains tagged for "dark!Jily," "Death Eater Lily," and "evil Lily Evans." Obviously, this is a tough conversation to have. We both were affected by the reckoning over dark!Jily/DE James this past spring, and though I knew she would disagree with the decision, I expected to have a civil conversation and hoped to reach a point of understanding.

I discussed our rationale at length, as did Claudia. We explained repeatedly that this was not a "punishment." This is the Jily Awards equivalent of the prior conversation and agreement to tag dark fanfic as "dark!Jily" so as to remove it from the "Jily" tag, where many members of the community voiced valid concerns over being unable to avoid content they found triggering and deeply offensive, despite their best efforts to do so. All of this was communicated to the author in question.

Several hours later, the work in question was updated, along with a corresponding Tumblr post, stating that multiple dark!Jily fan fictions were eligible in the Awards and tagging the Jily Awards Tumblr account, bringing the advertisement to our attention. I confronted the author about this post and requested she take down the misrepresenting language. To date, she has not done so. I shared the conversation with Claudia, and great care went into drafting a post that would correct any misunderstanding without singling out the author (which would have been embarrassing and unnecessary). All of this was communicated to the author in question.

Not long after that, more public/internet harassment started, and I blocked the author in question. Yesterday, on Halloween (the last day of Jily Awards eligibility), the author in question posted the first chapter of a long-hyped, non-dark, Muggle AU story. Unable to reach me otherwise, the story opened with an Author's Note that was a message directed at me. A few hours later, the story was deleted. Had the story remained up, it would have obviously been eligible for the Awards, so why it was deleted remains unclear.

The subsequent behavior of the author in question led to the decision to halt the Awards.

Friends, I am the first one to advocate for DLDR. I dabbled in the DE!James trope, even if my James was really an undercover good guy all along. I believe that fiction does not equal reality, and that creators have every right to explore dark themes and tropes within fiction. I do not, and have never, judged, shamed, or ridiculed any author or reader for engaging with dark fic. I have said all of this before. But I ALSO believe in being a good community member. Community requires listening. Community requires compromise. When people come to you and say, This trope is actually deeply offensive and triggering to me and others, and here's why, ignoring that and continuing to blast that content into community/gen spaces where they can't avoid it (like the Awards) isn't just irresponsible, it's downright cruel.

It's okay to write content that's not for everyone. (I do.) It's okay to have gen fandom Tumblr events that celebrate a ship and exclude fringe content that is not representative of that ship as it's canonically known and sought. It's okay to have gen fandom Tumblr events that celebrate a ship and exclude fringe content that fandom members have expressly stated causes offense and hurt. That is not censorship—that's having a party and setting a menu that's considerate of known dietary restrictions. ***It's not personal. It's a simple respect of community boundaries.*** And maybe boundaries for triggering topics were not always brought up or addressed in prior Awards, but we all know they were brought up after last year's, and under Claudia's leadership and with my help and support, they damn well were going to be respected now.

All of this was communicated to the author in question.

The insinuation that I was trying to "remove the competition" or however it was phrased is so unhinged it's honestly laughable. This is about so, so much more than just getting a cute little Canva-designed card with your name on it. (That's the part that's simply meant to be fun.) It goes without saying, but had the Awards continued, I would have had no qualms about removing myself and my stories from consideration entirely. The engagement I get from readers enjoying stories with me is more than enough; any nomination nod or cute little Canva-designed card, while of course much appreciated, is the icing on top.

I understand that I'm the current target of a lot of vitriolic anger because I was the messenger. I've obviously taken measures to digitally protect myself, including turning off asks entirely. If you actually believe what the author in question said about me, I don't care to hear about it. If you don't like me, I don't care to hear about it. I'm here to write and vibe about Jily.

Maybe the fandom—fractured and traumatized as it is—wasn't ready for this. We wanted to try.

post script: To tHe pErsOn I knOw is rEadiNg tHis riGHt nOw:

[the-stray-storyteller]

Rebel

Since I did not write anything new recently here are some scenes from that WIP I was planning to publish.

(Warning : The last one has mentions of drugs and abuse)

My Name:

Then came the roll call. I never understood why they did that. They had numerous assassins loyal to them and a ninety feet high fence generating enough electricity to kill ten elephants and the force field kept us from escaping.

“May-05!” A gruff voice announced. I raised my hand without a word, making them aware of my presence.

May-05? It’s not my roll number or my rank, it’s my name. May-05. The first thing they do in the Facility is take away your identity, delete any record that has your name on it from birth certificates to your playschool attendance. Then they give you another name or three alphabets, a dash, and two numbers that correspond with your birthday.

Remembering Can Hurt:

“Don’t do this,” I muttered under my breath to myself. 

Fun fact. The reason assassins over here went mental was because they remembered the names and faces of the people they killed. They went mental because they decided to be alone with their thoughts for a minute. They went mental because they tried to treat the weapon made by the Facility as a human. They had tried to forgive themselves for the lives they had taken like a human would forgive themselves if they made a mistake.

“Oh no! I killed someone. But in due time I will forgive myself” 

It doesn’t work like that. It haunts you.

Training the Kid:

“Hold the gun with both hands,” it took all my willpower not to strangle Feb-01. He had been convinced that he could shoot a gun with one hand.

“You do it with one.”

“I have been training and using one since I can remember,” I grabbed his left hand and placed it on the gun. His stance was horrible. I had to fix it for the hundredth time, instructing him to move his arms higher, push his shoulders back and to keep his legs apart.

“Now shoot and remember the target is the giant red dot, right there,” I waved my hand over the target, “and not the grass or the building or the air around us,” my voice was sickly sweet to my own ears, making my mind cringe. I saw the flash before hearing the bang. I could tell the boy missed before the bullet reached its target. 

I moved forward and crouched down in front of the target. Smiled as sweetly and sarcastically as possible.

“This my friend is neither red nor a dot,” I pointed at the blue ring a couple inches away from the red dot, “would you like me to define what red is or maybe you need me to define dot.” “It’s closer than the rest,” he seemed proud of his own work.

“Closer doesn’t mean dead and the Facility wants dead,”

Feb-01 tried to frown but ended up pouting. He turned his head away from me, dropping the gun.

Lesbian Assassins Trying To Flirt:

Mar-15 spoke when it was only the five of us left.

“Overrides were sabotaged so were the shipment of bombs.” I felt calculating blue eyes on me.

“She didn’t know about the overrides until tonight,” Dec-20 took my side, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“What now?” the leader asked, his icy glare still on me.

“The power core, we could take out the core,” Jan-30 suggested. We all looked at our fellow teenager bewildered, his idea was possible but also deranged. I could see everyone’s minds running, calculating the possibilities and outcomes of various situations. Nov-12 was the first one to break.

“We don’t have time for this now, we have got to go,” Nov-12 stressed. He jerked his head towards the exit and started to walk away. Mar-15 and Jan-30 followed. Dec-20 looked at me and smiled.

“I thought and still think your short hair looks cute, almost cut off mine because of that.” My jaw tightened my head not knowing how to respond to a compliment. Of course, there are chances that it wasn’t a compliment.

“It's better longer.” I wasn’t sure if she heard my suggestion since she had already disappeared into the shadows.

Hemophobia (the needle one not the blood):

“I need to speak with May-05,” I turned my head to see Nov-12 standing at the entrance of the gym. I headed towards him warily after a nod of assent from the acrobat.

“They are doing another inoculation for the first batch, room 12-A” 

“What?” I strained to keep my voice neutral but it came out as a gasp. During the first few years in the Facility, they had injected us with serums, drugs, hallucinogens, and a lot of other things. Experiments to see how the HS2 works and how it affects our reaction and also enhancements. I never liked those tests, I hated needles. The thought of something passing through my skin and entering my body and then pushing a liquid into my bloodstream, sent shivers down my spine, bile up my throat and then my stomach would decide to jump into a whirlpool in the middle of a hurricane.

[penhive]

Assorted Drabble

The Maid

The maid in our house was wearing a see- through nighty. I could see her curvy body, with v-shaped hips, bubbling breasts and a surge of eroticism aroused in me. I wanted to badly fuck her but I do not have the courage to ask her.

The Friend

I was having a pending loan of 2000 Rupees and I was wondering how to pay it. I was very worried. Then to my luck my friend Manoj in the US had a mother who passed away. He to my luck came to Kerala to bury the beloved mother and I was able to ask him 2000 Rupees and he gave me 2500 Rupees.

My Wife

My wife came out of the bathroom wearing only the top of her Kurti (Indian dress worn by women) and I could see the shapely thighs buxomely standing out and I felt my whole body burning with lust. Many a time, I have tried coaxing her sex but she has not obliged. I am ravenously sex hungry.

The Bathing Scene

As I was passing alongside the road, there was a canal and in it I saw women bathing semi-nude. A hot wave of lust rose in my body and I shuddered with the lust pangs of gratification.

My lover

Two years back, I had a lover from Cochin. All of a sudden she stopped corresponding. I felt worried and conversed with my colleague and he told me to delete all messages and cut her off. I did so. I was worried whether her husband had found out. Every day I read the obituary column seeking to find out whether she had been murdered. By grace nothing of that sort has happened.

[nsfwflint]

Set Dressing

At long last, this piece has life. My first (and probably only) piece to ever break 10k. While I think this might be the hottest thing I've ever written, I really hope you all feel the same. Enjoy!

“Hold!”

With an exasperated sigh, you carefully hand your camera to your assistant. A cold breeze rolls over the rooftop as you slowly walk towards the uninvited guest. You take care not to startle them too much in order to avoid any accidents. As you cautiously inch towards them, you quietly hold your breath. Suddenly, they turn to you. Their dark eyes peer into your soul before quickly flying off, leaving a single black feather fluttering to the ground. With a deep exhale, you turn back to the jankiest set you’ve ever used for a photoshoot and see one of the models’ heads follow the crow as she watches it fly off.

“Man, I hate crows.” You mutter to yourself as you walk back towards your assistant.

“Don’t crows usually fly in a flock? I don’t like that we only had a single crow, it’s creepy.” Ken shudders.

“It’s a murder of crows. They’re probably too busy fighting with cats at a dumpster somewhere.” You joke.

While your assistant looks at you with a confused stare, you hear a small chuckle nearby. Remembering why you’re up here, you turn to the reason you’re on the rooftop to begin with. Turning to the two models, you give them a friendly smile. The one with lighter brown hair smiles back at you, as the one with long black hair continues to distractedly wander around the rooftop looking at random things.

“Sorry about that girls. Ken’s not really the fun type. Let’s continue shall we.” You say, giving the girls a playful wink as Ken hands you your camera.

“We have names, you know. I’m Seungyeon and this is Bora.” The one with shoulder length hair says.

“I know you have names; I just didn’t know what they were.” You admit.

You turn back to the pair of beautiful women in front of you and resume taking pictures. This is without a doubt the most confusing photoshoot you’ve done in your entire career. With everything being thrown together at the last moment, the entire situation is just a mess. The only thing all companies involved told you was “crop tops on rooftops.” So here you are in the beginning of winter, doing a photoshoot on the top of your building only a few feet away from your rooftop apartment because you couldn’t get any other location in such short notice.

Seungyeon’s dark leather jacket does nothing to cover her lethal curves. Her delicious cleavage peeking through, you desperately wish that you were the black sports bra tightly hugging her chest. Although you’d also settle for the black mesh shorts clinging to her sculpted thighs. With a confident smile, Seungyeon brushes a strand of her shoulder length light brown hair behind her ear.

“All right, that’s good for now Seungyeon. The companies wanted you to be more on the serious side, but don’t worry. That last one was an amazing smile.” You say, making a mental note to take that shot out for yourself later.

As Seungyeon nods and walks away from the small portion you have sectioned off as the set, you think you see a faint blush creep upon her cheeks. Before you can say anything else, Bora steps confidently into the set and blows you away. The intense presence she’s showing now is wildly different than the one she had a few minutes ago wandering around like a toddler. Now she’s standing here with a fatally sexy gaze in a pure white outfit the complete opposite of Seungyeon’s. Almost as if nature is responding to Bora’s whims, a soft wind blows her long black hair as her white blazer billows behind her. A tight white crop top clings to her sizable tits for dear life as it simultaneously reveals her toned stomach. Her white pants hide her legs, but you suspect her thighs are just as delectable as Seungyeon’s.

“Fantastic. All right, now together. That’s it, pose just like that.” You say, motioning for Seungyeon to join Bora on the set.

The two women pose as you shower their bodies in a barrage of camera flashes, you can’t help but admire their incredible bodies. While their outfits accentuate their figures, the color schemes provide a stark contrast, which you suppose is the point of the shoot. As your camera hungrily tries to capture every part of the scene in front of you, you realize the two beauties are similar with how everything about them just screams sexual charisma. The air of confidence they have is so intense, it’s almost suffocating. You can feel the absolute self-assurance they have in their sexuality even through the lens. For a quick second you get distracted and wonder how many men they have wrapped around their fingers. As you begin to lose yourself in taking pictures of the beautiful women, your assistant calls your name and snaps you back to reality.

“What?” You ask crankily.

“I have to leave now. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Oh, is it that time already?” You ask, looking at your watch. “I guess it is. Yeah, I’ll be fine. Have a good night Ken.”

Ken nods politely before gathering his stuff and leaving. You take a few more pictures before deciding that you have enough for the day. As you plug the camera’s memory card into your nearby laptop, you turn back to the women.

“All right girls. You’re done for now. I’m going to go through the photos if you want to join me, maybe tell me which ones you like and dislike.” You say as you sit down at the nearby table.

“Whose apartment is that anyway?” Bora asks, pointing at the small room nearby.

“Mine.” You reply as you scroll through the hundreds of pictures you’ve taken.

“I see.” Bora mutters thoughtfully.

“So, what do you look for when you look for which ones to send back?” Seungyeon asks, sitting down next to you.

“Well, the first thing I do is go and delete all the ones that are no good. Shots with blinking or other accidents like that. Then I go through whatever correspondence I’ve received from the company telling me what they’re aiming for and compare what I have to what they’re looking for. After that it’s all just personal preference honestly.”

“I see.” Seungyeon nods as she leans closer to you to see the screen better.

As she stares at the screen, Seungyeon puts her arm on your shoulder. You swallow nervously as you try to ignore her breast lightly pressing against your arm. Glancing out of the corner of your eye, you see her gaze focused intently on the countless pictures on the computer screen. Seungyeon turns to you, and after a moment of brief but intense eye contact, blushes and pulls away from you slightly.

“So, this photoshoot was pretty last minute. What is it for anyway, if you don’t mind my asking?” You ask, trying to distract yourself.

“It’s a teaser for our upcoming collaboration.” Bora responds absentmindedly, looking at the nearby birds again.

“Bora! That’s supposed to be a secret!” Seungyeon exclaims.

“Is it? I don’t really think so. He’ll find out sooner or later anyway. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to leak the news or anything, right oppa?” Bora says as she sits next to you, leaning forward and exposing her heavenly cleavage.

“It’s not my news to tell, so I definitely don’t plan on it. Besides, part of being a photographer in this industry is keeping secrets like this.” You answer quickly.

Feeling your face grow hot as you’re surrounded by the two beauties, you nervously glance around and suddenly realize that it’s only the three of you on the rooftop.

“Where did all your staff go? You had managers and stylists here a little bit ago.” You ask anxiously.

“Yeah. We don’t have anything else scheduled though and they were going to give us free time anyway, we just convinced them to leave early.” Seungyeon says as she takes over scrolling through the pictures.

“Ah I see.”

“Bora, I’m looking at these and they’re really good, but I think maybe we can get some better ones if we do some changes, don’t you think?” Seungyeon turns to Bora with a twinkle in her eye.

“I totally agree. We should make those changes and have our new friend take some more.” Bora nods.

“Yeah I can do that.”

You stand up and start readying your camera as the girls return towards the set.

“Are you guys going to call your stylists back or wha- “

The question comes to a screeching halt as your voice dies in your throat when you turn to see the two gorgeous women have stripped down completely. A gentle breeze caresses every delicate curve of their bodies. It must have been a cold breeze, because both sets of nipples are now puffy and erect. Blood rushes throughout your body as you stare at every part on display. Two giant racks of delectable breasts that you want to dive into, four pillowy thighs that you could die between, two beautiful pussies you’d penetrate in a heartbeat and two perfectly toned stomachs to bridge them all together. You feel your penis rapidly stiffen in your pants as your eyes wander up and down their magnificent bodies.

“I uh,” you clear your throat nervously, trying to focus your mind enough to form a coherent sentence. “I don’t think this is a good idea. We could all get into a lot of trouble for this.”

“I think it’s fine. Don’t you Seungyeon?” Bora asks with a mischievous smile.

“Absolutely. I mean it’d be crazy to say no, right? How often would a highly skilled and talented professional photographer be able to take pictures of two gorgeous women in the nude?” Seungyeon agrees playfully.

You’re sure that they could get any photographer to take photos like that of them any day of the week. You know that they’re just buttering you up to do their bidding. The problem is that it is working. Because as manipulative as it is, Seungyeon is right. While they might be able to get it done any time they want, when would be the next time that you’d be able to take pictures like that? Gulping nervously, you bring your camera up to your face and start frantically snapping pictures. You don’t know when they’ll tell you to stop so you want to capture as many as you can.

“Good boy. Now what do you say we give him the photoshoot of a lifetime?” Bora asks Seungyeon.

“I’d say that we wouldn’t be very good models if we didn’t.” Seungyeon nods thoughtfully.

The two women start posing, eagerly showing off their spectacular bodies for you. Even if you didn’t have the camera to immortalize this moment, there’s no way you’ll ever forget this. With every click of the camera, you engrain the image of every one of their immaculate curves into your brain forever. You couldn’t be more thankful as the rosy sunset begins to fall upon you, further accenting the already beautiful view. A series of never-ending flashes illuminate their perfect figures, the camera almost as hungry for their bodies as you are. Your cock is so erect that it’s starting to hurt with how hard it’s pressing against your jeans.

What starts as generic poses quickly turns even more erotic as Bora pulls Seungyeon’s body against hers. As both of their sizable chests press against each other, you desperately wish you could dive in and taste every inch of their delicious breasts. You lick your lips as you watch Bora’s hand travel down Seungyeon’s flawless skin and start squeezing her perfect ass. Your cock throbs in your pants as you capture a picture of the most intense eye contact you’ve ever seen. The eye contact between Bora and Seungyeon is so fiery and lustful that you wonder if you’d survive being on the receiving end of it. After several seconds, Bora finally breaks eye contact and turns to you.

“Make sure to capture every second.” She says with a teasing smile.

Before you can reply that you already are, Bora turns back and aggressively sticks her tongue into Seungyeon’s mouth. Soft whimpers escape from Seungyeon as Bora swirls her tongue around her mouth. Bora’s fingers slowly creep off of Seungyeon’s ass to in between Seungyeon’s thighs. Seungyeon’s moans gradually get louder as Bora starts stroking her pussy. Watching their tongues entwine and rub against each other, you desperately want to join in. As you continue taking in the scene unfolding in front of you, you can no longer stop yourself. While you somehow manage to continue taking pictures with one hand, the other slips down your waist band. Watching the two gorgeous women engage in their passionate kiss, you slowly start stroking your cock in your pants. Finally, Bora breaks away from the kiss with another moan from Seungyeon.

“It’s starting to get a little cold. Maybe we should move to a more suitable indoor location. Good thing there’s an apartment nearby, right?” Bora teases.

With no other words needing to be spoken, you quickly run over to your apartment and unlock the door. No sooner is the door open than the girls sprint inside. For a brief second, the inner professional in you wants to break down the rest of your equipment and set it up inside. Thankfully you quickly realize how much time and mood that would kill and you follow them inside. Barely inside the small space you call your living room, Bora and Seungyeon have immediately resumed their lustful kiss. Seungyeon’s hands squeeze Bora’s ass as Bora vigorously gropes Seungyeon’s tits. You quickly return to the situation you were just in, taking pictures with one hand and stroking your cock inside your pants with the other.

One of Bora’s hands slowly slides down and begins stroking Seungyeon’s pussy again. Despite already being extremely lustful, somehow their kiss gets even more intense. Their tongues swirling around each other rapidly, they slowly sink to their knees. Seungyeon yelps as Bora sticks two fingers inside her cunt. Bora slowly pulls her fingers out until just her fingertips are inside Seungyeon before pushing them back in. Between their entwining tongues and her moans, drool starts to fall from the corner of Seungyeon’s mouth.

Bora gradually speeds up her fingers as Seungyeon’s hands leave Bora’s ass and move to her arms. Seungyeon grips Bora’s shoulders roughly as fluids from her pussy drip onto Bora’s fingers. The faster Bora thrusts her fingers into Seungyeon, the more her palm loudly slaps against Seungyeon’s pussy. Seungyeon’s loud moans fill the room and you begin to wonder how soundproof your apartment is. You suddenly realize how hard you’re stroking your cock to this titillating scene and make a conscious effort to slow down.

Finally, Bora breaks the kiss one last time as she withdraws her fingers from Seungyeon’s pussy. Seeing Seungyeon’s current state arouses you in a way you’ve never felt before. It’s abundantly clear that Bora has hit all the right spots and flipped some sort of switch in Seungyeon. Her sexual confidence fading away, Seungyeon pants heavily as she tries to catch her breath. As you stare at the moaning mess that she’s become, your dick throbs violently in your hand. Bora looks over to you and gives you a mischievous smile.

“Oh my. Look at how hard he’s gotten, Seungyeon. It must be really difficult for him to focus on our pictures like that. We should help him with that.” She teases.

At the apparent thought of being able to control you, Seungyeon’s confidence returns as she and Bora slowly crawl towards you. As the two naked women make their way over to you, your dick twitches in your pants. You take your hand out of your pants just before they arrive. As soon as they reach you, Seungyeon’s confidence has fully returned and she aggressively tears your pants down. Your erect dick springs out and they both have a brief moment of astonishment before looking up at you and smiling.

“I didn’t realize you were this hard.” Seungyeon says as she stares at your shaft.

“I knew he was packing from seeing his pants during the photoshoot earlier, but I didn’t know it was this impressive either.” Bora nods.

They each bite their lips seductively as they look up into your eyes. Your dick twitches from the sexual charisma dripping off of their bodies. With a smile they both turn their attention to your throbbing erection.

Every time you think these girls have shown you heaven, they up the ante. The sight of the two beautiful women kneeling before you drives you crazy and your cock twitches in anticipation. They gently blow onto your dick and revel in your expressions. Their breathing lightly tickles your shaft as they take their time to tease you. You must have finally made a face they like because they both start licking the sides of your cock. Realizing the chance in front of you, you position the camera overhead and click the button; the bright flash illuminating the two women licking your shaft. As they pepper your dick with kisses, you place the camera down on a nearby table and let yourself get lost in the pleasure.

You let out a soft groan as Seungyeon and Bora’s tongues travel along your throbbing cock. Their soft tongues glide up and down your shaft, gripping it tightly. A trail of warm spit trails behind their tongues as Seungyeon’s head moves towards your tip and Bora’s moves toward your balls. Bora is the first to arrive as she plants soft kisses at the base of your dick before moving to your sack. You barely have time to register the sensation of her tongue rubbing against your balls before Seungyeon takes your tip into her mouth. Her soft tongue wraps around your tip, the moist cavern of her mouth constricting as she sucks on your cock. The immense pleasure catches you off guard and you stagger backwards slightly, catching your balance on the nearby table; almost knocking your camera off of it. Displeased by the difference in reactions, you can feel Bora’s lips frown against your dick as she slowly kisses and licks her way back up to your shaft.

“Oh fuck.” You grunt as you tighten your grip on the table.

As Seungyeon continues to messily slurp on your tip, Bora slides her tongue up and down the underside of your shaft. Clearly not wanting to wait for her turn, Bora lightly pushes Seungyeon aside and your tip leaves Seungyeon’s mouth with an audible pop. Bora instantly seizes the opportunity she made for herself, practically inhaling you as she takes your dick into her mouth. Seungyeon frowns, but you’re barely able to see it before Bora starts sucking so hard that your vision blurs. Her head rapidly bobs up and down, the moist walls of her mouth constricting and pressuring your dick. You can feel Bora’s warm drool drowning your dick in pleasure as Bora continues to aggressively suck and slurp on your cock.

“Holy shit Bora.” You moan as you stagger again.

“That’s not fair! I wasn’t finished with him!” Seungyeon whines as she pulls Bora off of your cock.

“Well, you were hogging the good stuff.” Bora retorts.

You’re surprised at their grade school argument when you realize what you might miss out on if they keep arguing.

“Listen, we’re all here now to have a good time. If we want this to work, we all need to work together.” You say, desperately trying to keep them from arguing.

“He’s absolutely right Seungyeon. We need to work together.” Bora nods before winking at Seungyeon.

“Exactly, let’s show him just how well we can do that.” Seungyeon smiles.

With a smug confidence, they both raise themselves slightly before they sandwich their tits around your cock. You’ve never gotten a titfuck before, but you’ve heard it is the softest thing ever. As you find yourself buried between mountains of pillowy flesh, you have to say you agree. Bora and Seungyeon smirk as you feel the warmth of their heavenly breasts slowly enveloping your shaft. The tip of your dick barely peeking out of their wondrous valleys, they slowly start rubbing their tits up and down your shaft.

You feel their stiff nipples rub against your shaft every few strokes or so as they continue squishing their breasts against your dick. The soft sensation of their silky skin pressing against your shaft slowly starts pushing you to your limits. Just when you think it couldn’t possibly feel any better, Bora gives you a seductive smile before slowly spitting onto your cock. A long strand of spit glistens as it descends onto your tip. Your tip twitches at the sight of Bora’s spit pooling into their combined cleavage. One thing that is quickly becoming apparent is that Bora is a master of the art of the tease. Everything she does is deliberate and measured, from her sultry gazes to the slow speed of her tits stroking against your penis.

Seungyeon on the other hand, doesn’t seem to care about teasing you at all. While she goes along with Bora’s slower strokes, you can tell that Seungyeon doesn’t like it. Giving you the same intense gaze as Bora, you can see in Seungyeon’s eyes that she just wants to get you off as fast as possible. Which makes you conflicted; as much as you don’t want to be teased, you still want this to last as long as possible. However, you quickly find yourself freed from idle thought as Seungyeon takes her turn to spit on your dick. Their perfect breasts find themselves slipping and stroking your cock faster than before now that it’s covered with spit.

“Fuck baby, that feels so good.” You moan under your breath.

“I know.” Bora and Seungyeon reply simultaneously before frowning at each other.

“Clearly he meant me, with how slow you’re trying to make us go.” Seungyeon says.

“I can guarantee that I’m making him feel better than you are.” Bora sneers.

“Who were you calling baby?” They ask at the same time, turning to look at you.

The only thing you manage to reply with is a blank stare. Because you honestly don’t know. While you’re afraid that it might ruin everything, your silence thankfully has the opposite effect. You can see the competitive fire in their eyes intensify and their titfuck increases to breakneck speeds. Their sizable breasts now slick from their spit, their slippery strokes quickly push you to your limit. As they squeeze their tits closer together, you lose yourself in the pleasure of their soft skin. While they’re clearly competing for some form of your affection, the only thing you’re able to think of is the heavenly ecstasy as your tip peeks through the valley of their giant breasts.

Just when you think you couldn’t possibly feel any better, the girls prove you wrong once again. As if planned, both of them lean down and start licking the tip of your dick. Their warm tongues dance around your cock, swirling and stroking around your tip. It doesn’t take long before their tongues start rubbing against each other as well as your dick. Their breasts continue to squeeze against your shaft, rapidly stroking it up and down. The spit from their mouths pours over your tip as they massage it with their tongues.

"Fuck. Fuck, just like that. You both feel so good."

As you watch their efforts to please you intensify, you wonder if your moans even register in their ears. Their pillow breasts continue to rapidly push up and down your shaft, aided by the saliva dripping into their cleavage. The warmth of their soft tongues drives you further to the edge as they dance and swirl around the tip of your dick. Bora and Seungyeon begin taking turns between sucking your cock and spitting on it. The tender flesh of their mouths drives you to an ecstasy you didn't know existed. If this is how good their breasts feel, how amazing will actual sex with them be? The thought is quickly interrupted as Seungyeon gives your dick an audible slurp before releasing your tip from her mouth with a loud pop. Their soft tits continue to aggressively push against your cock. Just when you wonder how much longer you’ll be able to endure their heavenly tits, you feel a familiar tightness in your balls as your tip begins to swell.

“I’m going to- “

Thick streams of cum erupt out of your tip before you can even finish your sentence. The orgasmic bliss is so overwhelmingly intense, your eyes close involuntarily. When you finally open your eyes again, the sight of Bora and Seungyeon is burned into your brain. As the tip of your cock peeks out of their combined cleavage, your seed is plastered onto their faces as well as the top of their heavenly tits. The intense eye contact of the girls is replaced by looks of surprise as they’re shocked by the amount of cum you unloaded onto their bodies.

“Everybody needs to clean up.” Seungyeon muses, staring at your sticky semen caking their bodies.

“One second.” You mutter before turning to the nearby table.

Your heart skips a nervous beat when you notice your camera is now halfway off the opposite edge of the table. All of your staggering and pulling on the table to keep your balance through the immense pleasure must have made your camera shake all the way across the table. Quickly getting your bearings so you don’t kill too much time, you reach over and manage to grab your camera without moving your legs. Aiming downwards, a bright light flashes quickly and the scene of two women sandwiching your dick between your tits and covered in your cum is forever immortalized. You turn and place the camera back down as you pant heavily in an attempt to recover quickly. After kindly giving you the time to take the picture, Seungyeon leans in and licks the cum off of Bora’s tits, slowly making her way up Bora’s neck. Right as Seungyeon licks the last bit off of Bora’s cheek, Bora takes her turn lapping your semen off of Seungyeon’s body.

“That’s no fair, that’s mine.” Seungyeon frowns.

“Is that so? You can have it then.”

With your cum still pooled on her tongue, Bora leans in and sticks her tongue into Seungyeon’s mouth again. As their tongues rub and circle against each other, you can see faint traces of your cum pouring from Bora’s mouth into Seungyeon’s and back. While you were worried about not being able to continue after cumming, their lustful cum swapping kiss has eased all your concerns. You’ve never wanted anything more than to fill their bodies to the absolute brink with your cum. Bora pulls away from the kiss and smirks as your cock throbs violently in their collective cleavage.

“Look at how hard he is again already. I know how much you want to fuck him, so I’ll let you have him first.” Bora chuckles.

“W-what? I don’t know what you mean.” Seungyeon stutters slightly.

“It’s written all over your face. It’s much better to just be honest.” Bora says as she slips two of her fingers back inside Seungyeon’s pussy.

Bora’s fingering is more intense than the last time, her palm loudly slapping against Seungyeon’s silky flesh. Seungyeon slinks backwards, her arms holding her up as Bora continues to thrust her fingers in and out of Seungyeon’s cunt. You slowly stroke your cock and watch as glistening juices splash out of Seungyeon’s pussy. After a few moments of nonstop intense fingering, Bora finally slides her fingers out of Seungyeon.

"Show him your ass." Bora commands.

Seungyeon immediately drops on all fours, her voluptuous ass presented to you in glorious fashion. It seems like she's compliant with every order that would bring her the sexual satisfaction she's craving right now. She turns around and stares into your eyes, silently begging you to fuck the shit out of her. Bora gives both of you another satisfied smirk as she sees the lustful eye contact between you and Seungyeon.

“See? He wants you too. Just tell him what you want, Seungyeon.” Bora teases, her voice dripping with sultry provocation.

“Please, fuck me with your hard cock. I need you to fuck me and fill me with your cum.” Seungyeon begs needily.

As you stare into her eyes, you can tell it isn’t just generic dirty talk and placating. You can see the hunger in her gaze, her body trembling as it craves your cock. Sweet juices visibly drip down her thighs as she desperately pleads for you to fuck her. Her eyes cloud with a lust so powerful you can feel it in the air. Everything about the situation told you what she was saying was true. Seungyeon didn’t just want your cock inside her, she needed it. Which is perfect, because you need to be inside her just as bad. Kneeling behind her entrance, you slowly rub your tip up and down against her wet pussy. Your tip becomes drenched with her fluids as she lets out a series of whimpering moans.

“Please stop teasing me. I need you inside me so bad. Just fuck me until I pass out.” Seungyeon pleads.

While you want to tease her all night, the fact remains that you’re craving her body as much as she’s craving yours. You slowly slide your tip inside her cunt, the intense pressure from her walls almost forces you to almost cum right away. The two of you share a pleasured exhale as you stop inserting your dick to allow both of your time to adjust. Staring into the wanton lust in her eyes, you forget the world around you. While this definitely isn’t going to be gentle love making, you still want time to get used to each other. After all, it doesn’t do anyone any good if you both cum too fast.

“That’s a good girl. See how much better it is when you’re honest?” Bora says with a mischievous smile.

Reality comes crashing back to you as Bora pushes you forward, your dick suddenly plunging into the deepest parts of Seungyeon’s pussy. Seungyeon takes you all the way to the hilt, your tip slamming against the entrance to her womb as her plump ass ripples against you. Her velvety walls devour your cock with an intense heat and it takes every fiber of your body not to cum immediately. Seungyeon lets out a deafening moan that shows she’s just as caught off guard by the sudden pleasure as you are.

“What the fuck Bora?” Seungyeon snaps as she tries to catch her breath.

“You guys need to speed it up a little. We only have tonight and I want to make sure I get my turn.” Bora replies matter-of-factly.

Before Seungyeon can protest anymore, the intoxicating heat of her cunt squeezing your dick flips a switch inside you. Initially willing to start slow in order to savor the experience, you quickly find yourself growing obsessed wtih the velvety flesh constricting your cock. Seungyeon’s eyes widen as your hips start thrusting as if they have a mind of their own. Small moans start making their way out of her mouth as you lose yourself in her body with every thrust. Your frantic slams into her cunt grow increasingly more aggressive. The tip of your dick rams into the deepest part of her velvety pussy.

“Oh fuck. That’s it, just like that. Keep fucking me just like that.” Seungyeon moans, her lustful screams filling your small apartment.

You’re thankful that she likes the way you’re fucking her, because you no longer have any control over your body. Her silky walls tighten around your cock, tightly gripping you as you pierce into the depths of her heavenly flesh. You find yourself consumed by lust, an overwhelming hunger on your skin that tells you that you need to be inside of her. The sight of her voluptuous ass cheeks heaving and rippling with every thrust only intensifies that urge even more. Seungyeon’s lustful moans pierce your ears as her ass crashes against your waist.

Seungyeon’s face quickly contorts from ecstasy, overcome by the pleasure you’re both drowning in. Her whiny moans flow endlessly, her mouth open so long she starts to drool. Losing yourselves into your mutual lust, Seungyeon starts throwing her hips back, timing her own thrusts to match your own. The sight of her ass cheeks jiggling wildly triggers something inside of you. You raise your hand and deliver a hard slap to her ass, her cheek rippling against your palm.

"Oh FUCK yes. Slap me harder daddy." Seungyeon screams.

You briefly pause your thrusts as Seungyeon turns to look at you. A second of silence passes as you stare at each other, both of you bewildered by what just came out of her mouth.

"Oh he likes that." Bora giggles.

"What? I-" You try to defend yourself as words escape you.

"Please I saw your face when she said it. Don't bother denying it." Bora teases.

While you want to deny it, you know you can't. You've never had someone call you that before, but as soon as the words escaped Seungyeon, it woke something inside of you. You do want her to call you that again, but you aren't sure how to tell her. Thankfully Seungyeon solves that problem for you.

"Hurry up and fuck my pussy daddy." Seungyeon moans.

Never one to deny the request of a beautiful woman, you immediately plunge your cock into her depths again. Your violent thrusts quickly return as the heat of her cunt radiates along your shaft. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Bora masturbating nearby. Her fingers circle her clit as she watches your dick piston away inside her friend. The sight makes your dick throb, but your focus is quickly redirected as Seungyeon throws her hips back again. Equal parts thankful and upset that Seungyeon took your focus off Bora, you decide to discipline her for it.

Raising your hand, you bring it down and aggressively slap her ass, this time harder than before. Her ass ripples delightfully against your palm. You give her ass a rough squeeze as you continue to pound away at her wet cunt. Her silky ass cheeks jiggling against your fingertips fuels your never ending lust for her even more. As Seungyeon’s whimpers and moans overload your ears, you give her ass another firm slap. Seeing that her voluptuous cheeks are beginning to grow red, you start to worry until Seungyeon moans again.

"FUCK yes. Just like that. Fucking ruin my pussy daddy." Seungyeon screams, her velvety walls gripping your shaft tighter with every slap.

You lose yourself in the heat of her velvety cunt, frantically slamming your dick away at her womb. Seungyeon’s supple ass jiggles against your palms as you continue to give her cheeks hard slaps. Slick fluids drip from her cunt as your hands repeatedly strike her ass. Her pussy clenches tighter around your shaft with every slap. Alternating which ass cheek you slap drives both of you to the brink of ecstasy.

"Do you like when I slap your ass like this?" You growl, relishing her soft skin rippling against your fingers as you strike her ass.

"Yes. It feels so good." Seungyeon moans.

"Yes what?"

"Yes daddy I do. Please keep fucking me." Seungyeon groans as she frantically throws her hips back against you.

"Why should I?" You ask in a harsh voice, somehow managing to stop your thrusts again.

“Because I've been a bad girl. I've been a bad girl and need to be punished." Seungyeon whines, squirming desperately on your dick.

"Then I guess I need to punish you." You grunt as you give her ass another rough smack.

Your aggressive pounding quickly returns as you slam your dick inside Seungyeon. Her slick walls vigorously grip your cock, lustfully tugging on your shaft with every thrust. As you piston your dick inside her cunt, you continue to meet her ass cheeks with a barrage of smacks and squeezes. Another sound catches your and you turn to see Bora again. You lock eyes with Bora as she furiously masturbates while watching you rail on Seungyeon. Bora’s fingers rapidly go in and out of her pussy as she squeezes and fondles her own tits with her free hand. Both of their moans mingle together as all of you continue your journey to ecstasy.

"Fuck her just like that. Don't stop." Bora moans as she fingers her pussy with an intense vigor.

Bora’s commands are almost hypnotic. Even if you wanted to stop, you wouldn't be able to. Her voice is so sensual and alluring that you don't think any mortal could refuse her. But thankfully you're planning on continuing what you were doing anyway. You continue relentlessly piercing your dick into Seungyeon, her silky skin crashing against your body.

"God you're so fucking good." Seungyeon gasps between moans.

"Do you like how he fucks you?" Bora asks in a tone that's half teasing, half curiosity.

"YES. He's better than anyone else I've ever fucked." Seungyeon screams as you time your thrusts with her answers.

“Talking about other partners while you’re being fucked? Aren’t you a little slut.” Bora chuckles.

“Yes, I’m a slut. I’m a dirty slut and I need to be punished.” Seungyeon moans, her walls eagerly constricting your dick.

"She said it herself. Daddy's little whore needs to be punished. Keep pounding that tight little pussy." Bora says, somehow managing a demanding tone while moaning.

Despite the fact that you definitely didn't need Bora to tell you that, you follow her orders and continue your violent thrusting into Seungyeon. Seungyeon’s perfect ass jiggles rapidly as your bodies continue to crash against each other with a frantic rhythm. As your dick penetrates into her depths, you wonder how you'll ever have satisfying sex again after this. The heat of Seungyeon’s walls pulls you back to reality.

Seungyeon’s slick warmth pulsates along your shaft. Every thrust inside feels like a dream that you never want to wake up from. Before tonight you never would have described sex as a reality altering event, but that's exactly what sex with Seungyeon is. The sensual curves of her tanned skin ripple against your animalistic thrusts, fueling the never ending hunger you've developed for Seungyeon’s body.

“God you’re so fucking tight Seungyeon. Do you like being punished like this?” You grunt, your cock aggressively slamming in and out of her tight snatch.

“Yes, you feel so good when you punish me. Please punish me daddy.” Seungyeon begs as she thrusts her hips back against you.

“You heard the girl. Hit her.” Bora orders you, failing to hide the moans in her own voice as she continues to rapidly finger herself.

As you raise your hand again, you notice that both Seungyeon’s ass cheeks and your palms are both bright red. Having a small bit of mercy, you decide to ease up. However if you're only going to do one more slap, you're going to make it a good one. You raise both hands before bringing them both down on her ass cheeks harder than you have all night. Seungyeon’s body ripples wildly against you as her arms slip. With Seungyeon now resting on her elbows, you find yourself slightly deeper than before. Seungyeon feels it too, unleashing a moan so loud her others seem like whispers.

"Oh fuck." Seungyeon screams, her lustful shrieks piercing your ears.

Your fingers dig into her silky flesh, roughly squeezing Seungyeon’s ass as you ram your dick against her womb. Her soft skin slips between the cracks of your fingers, bright red from your assault on her ass. Moans from all three of you meld into an erotic harmony that just enhances the experience even more. As your dick pierces and scrapes Seungyeon’s velvety cavern, you end up squeezing her ass so hard your knuckles turn white. With every wild thrust, her voluptuous ass ripples against your skin. While you could savor this sensation forever, your hands grab her hips so you can watch her plump ass jiggle freely. Which is exactly what it does. Her supple cheeks heave and undulate wildly as you violently pump your cock in and out of her tight cunt.

“God you’re so fucking amazing Seungyeon. You feel so incredible.” You grunt, aggressively slamming your cock inside her.

Gripping Seungyeon’s hips, you vigorously ram your dick against her womb. As you piston in her cunt, you notice her sizable tits heaving and jiggling from behind. A part of her body that you were lusting for earlier, but have uncharacteristically ignored since you started. You lick your lips at the thought of indulging yourself in her breasts. Without warning, you pull your cock out of Seungyeon’s cunt and flip her over.

"Get on your back," You growl.

Seungyeon quickly obliges, laying on her back as you dive on top of her. In the maybe thirty seconds your dick was out of her pussy, you immediately start craving the heat of her tight cavern. You aggressively slam your dick back into her depths. If you're missing the feeling of being inside Seungyeon after not even a minute, how will you ever adjust to life after tonight?

Seungyeon’s moans begin to overwhelm every other sound in the apartment again. Her giant breasts heave up and down, bouncing wildly as your tip continues to violently kiss the entrance of her womb. You take the moment to savor the sight before you. Seungyeon’s perfect sweat-glistening body crashing and rippling as you plunge your dick as deep as you possibly can inside her. Your dick starts to throb and you know you'll be reaching the end soon.

"I'm going to cum soon Seungyeon." You groan through your primal thrusts.

"Me too. Keep fucking me just like this. I want to cum all over your dick daddy." Seungyeon’s erotic screams bounce off the walls.

Seungyeon’s moans stop as Bora suddenly straddles her face. You’re so surprised by her appearance that you temporarily stop thrusting. As Seungyeon’s walls constrict and pulsate along your shaft, the only thing you can do is stare at Bora, surprised.

“Well, you guys were having all the fun and I didn’t want to be left out.” Bora shrugs as she starts grinding her pussy along Seungyeon’s mouth.

As if turned on by Bora’s cunt on her face, Seungyeon’s walls clamp around your dick. The intense pleasure reminding you why you’re here, your hips begin thrusting with a mind of their own again. Your dick hungers for the velvety grip of her walls, relentlessly pounding away at Seungyeon’s womb. The sensation of her body trembling and rippling against yours is a feeling you’ll end up craving for the rest of your life. Despite being muffled by Bora’s cunt, you can still hear Seungyeon’s moans as you aggressively pierce into her depths.

Bora’s moans raise an octave as you watch Seungyeon’s tongue attack Bora’s folds. Seungyeon’s cunt tightens as she continues to lick and nibble on every part of Bora’s pussy. Watching Bora writhe in pleasure on Seungyeon’s face intensifies your thrusts. The sight of Bora sensually running her hand through her hair in tandem with her erotic moans is one of the sexiest things you’ve seen. Seungyeon’s tongue must have hit the spot as Bora releases a pleasured squeal. Bora’s hands reach down, swatting away your own as she takes her turn to squeeze Seungyeon’s tits. Her palms cover Seungyeon’s nipples, her fingers sinking into Seungyeon’s flesh as Bora grinds and rubs her cunt into Seungyeon’s face.

Watching Bora fondle Seungyeon’s tits makes your animalistic pounding continue to achieve an ecstasy you've never felt before. Seungyeon’s body glistening with sweat as it ripples and crashes against your cock is the hottest thing you've ever laid eyes on. Every thrust makes you more addicted to Seungyeon. Every second you spend slamming your dick inside her fuels your lustful madness. Finally the most mind blowing sex you've ever had approaches its finale as your balls tense. A thought crosses your mind and you immediately meet Bora’s eyes.

"Get off of her. I want to see her face when I cum inside her." You demand.

Bora gives you a smile, apparently satisfied with your commanding tone. Lifting her cunt off of Seungyeon’s face, Bora moves to the side and watches you. Seungyeon’s relentless moans immediately return. You somehow manage to restrain yourself and stop thrusting. Seungyeon looks at you, her eyes a mixture of confusion and begging.

"Why did you stop?" Seungyeon whines.

"I want you to beg me for it."

"Please fuck me daddy. I need you to finish fucking my pussy. Hurry up and fuck the shit out of me." Seungyeon pleads.

In an ideal world, you might have been able to tease Seungyeon longer, but in reality your body quickly betrays you. No longer able to hold back your thrusts, you immediately resume pounding away at her womb. Her tight walls constrict your shaft as your dick pistons in and out of her. The velvety cavern grips and tugs your shaft. As that familiar tightness in your balls returns, you somehow manage to thrust harder than you ever have before. Your frantic slams pierce into her depths, the sounds of your bodies crashing and slapping against each other audible over Seungyeon’s moans for the first time all night.

"Beg for me to cum inside you."

"What? But I don't know-"

"Fine, I'll pull out then." You say reluctantly as you begin to withdraw your dick from her velvety walls.

Seungyeon’s eyes widen with surprise as she feels you begin to slide out of her. She instantly wraps her thick thighs around you, locking her ankles behind your back to pull you back in.

"No. No please don't. I want you to cum inside me. Please cum inside me. I need you to fill me up daddy." Seungyeon moans, begging at the top of her lungs with lustful screams.

Almost immediately after finishing her sentence, Seungyeon is struck by her own orgasm. Her body shudders violently, her hot cunt clamping around your shaft. Fluids run down your shaft as her orgasm reaches its peak. You manage to pierce into her depths with one final thrust as her orgasm rocks your body as well. The tip of your cock throbs as it slams against her womb, pouring a torrent of hot cum inside it. Your own body twitches as the last few streams of semen flood into her depths.

Both you and Seungyeon slowly recover from your orgasm. The apartment is silent apart from the heavy breathing as you both try to catch your breath. One minute passes. Then two. You don't know how long it is before you finally withdraw your cock from her cunt. Sitting on the floor with Seungyeon sprawled in front of you, you continue to take deep breaths when you suddenly feel an arm around you. Soft fingers quickly grip your shaft, giving your dick brisk strokes. Turning around, your eyes meet Bora’s as you feel her breasts pressing against your back.

"I hope you didn't forget about me. It's my turn now, and I'm nowhere near as easy as Seungyeon is. You better be ready for this." Bora says with an evil smile. If she wasn't so sexy right now, she'd be terrifying.

Despite the fact that you just had the most mind blowing sex of your life, you quickly find yourself hardening again. Soft groans escape your lips as Bora continues to tug on your dick. You have to hand it to Bora, she's an absolute master in the art of the tease. Knowing exactly when to speed up her strokes and when to come to a screeching halt. Her fingers continue their magic, skillfully building you to the point of pleasure before letting it begin to fade again.

As passionate groans escape your lips, you turn forward and look at Seungyeon again. Seungyeon lays in front of you, the only movement being her chest rising and falling from exhaustion. You look between her legs and see a thick white river slowly flowing out of her cunt. Between Bora’s masterful handjob and the sight of your cum pouring out of Seungyeon, you quickly find yourself ready for action again.

Your dick immediately misses the warmth of her hand as she spits on her palm. The warm lubrication makes an amazing handjob somehow even more incredible as Bora’s hand quickly glides up and down your shaft. She continues to alternate between fast paced strokes and her agonizingly slow pulls. Precum coats Bora’s fingers as she lightly twists her hand over your tip. Bora releases a small giggle as your dick throbs in her hand.

“If Seungyeon was awake she might be jealous of how hard you’re getting for me, you know.” Bora whispers teasingly into your ear.

“Good thing she isn’t awake then.” You groan.

“Oh ho. Maybe we should move a little so we don’t change that.” Bora whispers before playfully nibbling your ear.

Bora slowly stands up, pulling you with her with her hand never leaving your shaft.

“That’s a good boy. Over here now.” Bora whispers mischievously as she guides you across the room from behind.

You finally make it to the couch for the first time tonight when she stops you.

“This is good for now. You haven’t earned the right to sit down yet.” Bora giggles

Upon hearing that sentence, you realize she was right. Bora is definitely not going to be as easy as Seungyeon. You now understand that while you might have had control over Seungyeon, Bora is going to have complete control over you. The situation makes you shudder slightly, partially from excitement and partially from fear. Noticing your reaction, a devilish giggle makes its way past Bora’s lips as she immediately resumes her agonizing torment.

Continuing from where she left off before the move, Bora begins her rapid strokes on your cock again. Her soft breasts push against you even more, her stiff nipples poking into your back. A soft groan escapes you as her soft fingers quickly slide up and down your shaft. Bora gently blows on your ear before playfully nibbling it again. Gently pulling on your earlobe, her strokes gradually slow down again before releasing your cock entirely. She releases your ear as she brings her palm up, sensually licking her palm. Your dick twitches again as her moist grip returns on your shaft.

“Oh my. You’re throbbing an awful lot down there Mr. Photographer. Do you want to fuck me that bad?” Bora whispers, enjoying every second the hold her hellish teasing has on you.

“Yes I do.” You moan.

“Yes you do what?”

You blink a few times, perplexed by her question.

“I’m confused.” You admit.

“Well Seungyeon called you daddy, so what should you call me?” Bora asks teasingly.

Finally, it dawns on you.

“Yes I do want to fuck you that bad mommy.”

“I see. Unfortunately, you haven’t earned that yet. If you can endure this, I’ll give you your reward though.” Bora says, her happiness with the situation clearly reflected in her voice.

Her deft hand speeds up its strokes again, her wet fingers gliding up and down your shaft. The sound of her hand slapping against your waist fills the room, overpowering your shallow groans. Just when you think you might cave and blow your load, Bora’s strokes come to a screeching halt. Her fingers slowly inch their way up and down your dick, deliberate and measured to give you the perfect mix of pleasure and torture.

It doesn’t take long before Bora picks up the pace, rapidly rubbing her hand along your cock. You suddenly feel her other arm wrap around you as her fingers slowly glide up your chest. Once again, her hand slows to a crawl on your shaft. Suddenly, Bora’s fingers lightly flick one of your nipples. A surprised groan passes your lips. Apparently pleased with your reaction, Bora eagerly presses even closer against you. Your breathing quickly grows ragged from her constant change of pace.

You realize it isn’t just the change of pace that’s agonizing, it’s the change in pressure. Sometimes Bora roughly squeezes your shaft, sometimes it’s just a light slide up and down your cock. Bora has mastered the art of the tease so well, that you know this is going to be some of the best sex you’ve ever had. Her fingers continue to pinch and flick your nipples, teasing you with actions you want to do to her nipples. Picking up her speed once again, you wonder how much longer you’ll be able to hold out against her masterful handjob. Just as you fear you’re about to blow, Bora takes her hand off your cock entirely. Turning you around, she looks in your eyes with a glimmer of satisfaction.

“You didn’t cum. Good. Now we can start the real thing.” Bora smiles.

With a teasing smirk, she pushes you onto the couch. Before you even know what’s happening, Bora is immediately straddling your waist. Her pussy teasingly hovers over your cock, her moist lips lightly brushing against your tip. As much as you want to slam her down and thrust away, you know that letting Bora take control will please everyone a lot more.

“You look happy. Did you want mommy to ride you like this?” She teases

“Yes mommy I do.” You nod eagerly.

“For how long?”

“Since the second I first met you today.”

“Now, now. That’s a very naughty boy.” Bora smirks.

“Well in that case you should really punish me mommy.”

With another smile, Bora slams herself on top of you, your dick plunging into her depths. Both of you release a duet of lustful moans. While you thought Seungyeon was tight, she has nothing on Bora. Her tight walls devour your cock with such an intense heat, you have to try three times harder not to cum instantly than you did with Seungyeon. You can feel every fiber in your body clench as you struggle not to give in and explode right away. As you desperately try to control your breathing, Bora notices your condition right away once again.

“I’m impressed. Most men end up cumming right away.” Bora muses.

“Well mommy wouldn’t like that would she?” You grunt.

“No, no she wouldn’t. But I hope you’re ready. We’re going all out from the start.” Bora declares

True to her word, Bora immediately starts bouncing up and down on your dick. Her juicy thighs ripple against your own as she lustfully rides you. Your tip slams mercilessly against her womb. While Bora’s body crashes aggressively onto your cock, you can’t help but stare as her tantalizing tits bounce hypnotically. As they teasingly dance up and down in front of your face, you can’t take it anymore. Desperate to experience their taste, you lunge towards them. Before you can get there, Bora slaps her palm against your forehead and pushes you back into the couch.

“I didn’t say you could do that yet, now did I? Don’t worry if you do a good enough job, I’ll let you have your way with them.” Bora smirks.

You frown as Bora returns to her expert teasing, her wild bouncing turning into a slow grind. For extra effect, she clenches her walls around your shaft, forcing a sharp gasp out of you. Bora smirks again as she slowly pushes back and forth against your cock. While her teasing smirk kind of pisses you off, the sheer confidence of it just makes Bora that much sexier. Her grind becomes a more intense version of her handjob. Slow deliberate movements designed to build your need for pleasure without giving you any.

“That’s quite the frown. Tell you what, you can squeeze mommy���s ass. How about that?” Bora teases.

While you feel like you should say something, your need for some sort of pleasure takes precedence. Your hands immediately slap onto Bora’s ass, your fingers melting into her plump cheeks. As you fondle and squeeze her ass, she quickly returns to her aggressive thrusts on your cock. Small moans begin to leak out of Bora’s mouth. Her hot walls grip your shaft, roughly tugging on your dick with every bounce. Bora’s moans slowly begin to overpower your own as she continues to violently slam herself on your cock. You give her ass a rough slap and her cunt reacts the same way Seungyeon’s did, tightening with every smack. Not wanting to overdo it and make Bora angry, you give her another hard slap before returning to squeezing her ass.

“God you’re so good. You’re hitting all of mommy’s spots. Now I see why Seungyeon got fucked to sleep.” Bora moans, her alluring voice intoxicating your ears.

The sound of your flesh crashing against each other is barely audible as Bora’s moans escalate even more. Her violent slams onto your cock cause her whole body to ripple, her heavenly chest heaving wildly. Bora brushes her hair behind her head like she did when she was riding Seungyeon. The simple action is so amazingly erotic as it leaves her entire body on display. Alluring and sensual moans fill the air between you as you watch her body dominate your own, mesmerized by her delicious breasts. Suddenly, her aggressive bouncing comes to a stop as she plants her hands on your chest.

“Whew. Oh god. That was close. Almost got away from me there.” Bora says with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

“I thought you were enjoying it.” You frown.

“Oh I definitely was. But I can’t have either of us cumming just yet.” Bora says with the same teasing smile she’s been giving you all night.

As Bora begins her agonizingly slow grind to edge you once again, everything suddenly makes sense. Dancing and sex are both about timing and rhythm. And the reason Bora is so good is because her body has a natural talent for both. She always knows the precise moments of when to build up and when to stop. Every single thing she does is done with the maximum amount of teasing possible. And Bora absolutely knows it. As if reading your mind, Bora smirks as she slowly pushes against your cock.

Feeling bold after her crescendo of moans, your hands slowly make their way up her seductive curves. Slowly sliding up her hips and side, savoring every moment of her silky skin before reaching her breasts. Bora looks you in the eye before giving you a small nod. That’s all the permission you need as you dive into her chest. Your fingers sink into her pillowy breasts, immediately grabbing and squeezing them as hard as you can.

“Do you like the way mommy’s tits feel?” Bora moans with a seductive smile..

“Yes I do, they’re so incredible.” You grunt as she clenches her cunt around your dick again.

“Good. Now go on. Taste them like I know you’ve been wanting to.”

One of your favorite things about tonight is getting ordered to do things you were going to do anyway. You dive into Bora’s chest the way you've been wanting to all night. Your lips immediately find her stiff nipple, eagerly taking it into your mouth.

Your tongue swirls around the fleshy nub, sucking and pulling on it. The soft skin of her tits melts in your hands as you squeeze and knead them. Your fingers quickly travel to her free nipple, pinching it as you take the other between your teeth.

"Do you like the way mommy's tits taste?" Bora smiles as she looks down at you.

Not wanting to release her breast from your mouth, pulling her nipple up and down with your teeth. Bora’s sensual moans gradually increase in pitch as she aggressively bounces on your dick. Wanting some payback for her hellish edging, you thrust upward in time with her downthrust.

"Oh God. Just like that, hit right there baby." Bora shrieks.

You smile against her breast as you can finally do what you want. Swirling your tongue around her nipple, you begin your own intense thrusts. Your tip mercilessly slams against Bora’s womb. Her ass ripples against your thighs, every thrust trying to pierce deeper than the last.

With her nipple between your teeth again, you relish the sensation of her sizeable tits heaving and bouncing against your face. As if detecting your pleasure, Bora grabs the back of your head and pushes your face against her chest even more. Pushing and pulling her nipple with your teeth, you continue to pinch her free nipple. As you continue to pull on both of her nipples, Bora’s wet pussy tightly grips your dick.

"Fuck just like this. You're making mommy feel so good." Bora moans at the top of her lungs.

You’ve never understood what people meant by a siren song until you heard Bora’s sensual moans. Each lustful and erotic note drives you deeper into ecstasy and madness. Unfortunately, you finally find yourself exhausted. While you're surprised that you’d lasted this long, you quickly push the thought aside.

With the last bit of remaining strength you have, you violently slam your dick into Bora’s depths. Every animalistic thrust you throw out causes her body to bounce harder than it has all night. Her delicious thighs and perfect ass ripple wildly as your bodies crash against each other. The taste of her stiff nipple fills your mouth as her tits heave and jiggle against your lips. Your tip twitches inside her moist cavern and you know it's time.

Bora lightly punches you in the chest as you feel her velvety walls clamp around your shaft. She erotically pulls her hair back again. You finally detach yourself from her nipples, a strand of saliva glimmers in the air before breaking. As you lock eyes with her, you can see notes of something else behind her lustful gaze.

Both of you know the end is approaching. You increase the velocity of your frantic thrusts, piercing your tip into her as deep as you can. Her velvety walls clench on your shaft, overwhelming your cock with a tightness you've never experienced. Rapidfire moans blast out of Bora as she grips your shoulders.

“OH fuck. You’re so good. I’m about to cum.” Bora screams, her alluring moans driving you to your limits as well.

“Me too. I want to cum inside you.” You groan, not even attempting to get ready to cum anywhere else.

“Go ahead, cum inside mommy. Fill me all the way up.” Bora screams, her fingernails digging into your shoulders.

With one final aggressive slam, your tip pries into her depths one more time. Bora’s hot cunt tightens so much it feels like it might rip your dick off. As both of your bodies shudder violently, Bora’s climax triggers your own. Thick streams of semen erupt from your tip, a torrential flood of cum depositing directly into her womb. After one final spurt, both orgasms slowly come to an end. As Bora gingerly lifts herself off your cock, you both look down to see a white waterfall leaking from her pussy. Both of you knowing full well the only reason you came so much is because Bora edged you to hell and back.

“Go lay down next to Seungyeon.” You gesture as you go pick up your camera one last time.

Bora smiles, immediately knowing what you want. Laying down next to Seungyeon, Bora gently nudges her mid snore.

“I’m awake. What did I miss??” Seungyeon shouts as she darts awake.

“Nothing. Just taking one last picture. Spread your legs and say cheese.” You groan, sore from the two bouts of mind shattering sex.

Without any questions, Seungyeon immediately does as she’s told. Bora quickly joins her and the camera flash illuminates your apartment for the final time tonight. You take a look at the display on your camera and smile at what will be one of your all time favorite shots. The two busty beauties posing with V signs and smiles, their legs spread to reveal obscene amounts of cum dripping from their cunts. Setting your camera down, you lay down between the girls. As you feel their soft tits pressing against both your arms, you quickly crash into a deep slumber.

You wake up again the next morning after the most eventful photoshoot of your life and you scroll through the extracurricular shots. Even though you stopped taking pictures as it started getting intense, you thankfully managed to get an amazing final shot. You smile as you stare at your favorite picture of the day, the two girls covered in your cum with your dick between your tits forever immortalized. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a small note nearby.

“Dear Mr. Photographer, thank you so much for such an incredible photoshoot. In addition to all the fantastic pictures, we also had a lot of fun. Hopefully we’ll be able to use your services again. And don’t worry, we’ll definitely be recommending your services to the other members for when they come to shoot their teasers.

- Bora and Seungyeon”

Underneath the letter, you see a second smaller note, almost hidden. After a quick glance, you realize that it’s Seungyeon leaving you her personal number and asking for dinner sometime. Considering how she secretly hid it, you chuckle as you realize that Bora probably scolded Seungyeon for wanting to leave it. It amazes you how similar yet different they are. So of course, even their responses would be different. While Seungyeon apparently wants something more, the lack of follow-up tells you that Bora is completely fine with it just being a casual hook-up. Smiling to yourself, you place the notes on your desk so you’ll always be able to see them. You briefly wonder exactly what services they’ll be recommending. But having seen pictures of all the other members, you’re excited to continue working on this project.

A/N first things first, I want to give a massive shoutout to @sinsatmidnight on tumblr for beta reading this ridiculous piece. I started writing this piece last year and after so many struggles I finished it after six months. This piece is kind of a weird mix of inspiration. Original concept was going to be something completely different. But then I saw that both had super hot pictures of croptops on buildingtops. So then the prompt became "something about croptops on rooftops" Then I decided to go with the opposite theme and use the outfit from Seungyeon's rooftop croptop and then the white outfit from the Black Or White stages as inspiration. Hence why the working title for this piece was Opposites. Also for some reason I feel like I want to clarify that I came up with this idea even before their collab video came out.

[lilyrachelcassidy]

Birthday Cake

A/N: Suprise folks!!! *me laughing maniacally* The whole scenery for this fic somehow appeared in my head and I just COULDN’T let it slip away, so... My biggest inspo for that was @drawlfoy!! Remember her posting the fic where Draco and Reader work at McDonald’s and are total suckers in their job (arguing with the customers; preparing wrong orders; etc.)? Dee unfortunately, deleted this precious, but it’s stuck to my head ever since (lol lol, it’s the moment where Dee wants to get rid of something, but I kindly remind everyone it existed). Therefore I present to you the next Draco x Reader fic related to our fav fast-food rest. This time, however, they’re not working at the same workplace but... I'm going to stop here cuz I don't want to spoiler :P

**The second thing that triggered me to write this fic is the YouTube video I recently saw with a lady who orders the 'specials' appearing to be out of the menu list of McDonald’s, through the Drive-Through. She asked for a birthday cake, was laughed at a few times, but eventually got what she wanted. Applause for the attitude!!

About the fic (context, my bitches): ofc it’s the modern AU, non-magical world. Draco’s the worst boyfriend ever but always manages to turn things into their righteous place. 

Summary: The birthday is upcoming, and Draco is in a rush to think up an idea for a perfect gift. His ingenuity fails, however, and leaves Y/N very unsatisfied with a disaster that has been forged. 

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: my brain playing a total psycho, language, alcohol, sexual undertones/allusions to sex, Pansy being too much of her self... deal...

Tags: @drawlfoy @eltanin-malfoy

Such an unrestrained desire to strangle somebody you hadn't felt in a long time.

Really.

Today was your birthday, which you had been widely announcing for almost a whole month to people you might have accidentally forgotten about it. Having your boyfriend, Draco, on your mind in particular.

You doubted he would have the guts to omit your big day, though as repeatedly as he had done for a few years back. But something between foresight and the second sense of prevention told you to keep reminding him every day of the upcoming event, with a heap of birthday-themed emojis and uppercases in the messages.

Everything was planned out in your head: him picking you up from your house with the sharp-red cabriolet that he used only for special occasions; him driving the two of you to the fanciest restaurant he could find in town; him bestowing you with a nice-looking, golden necklace or a different piece of jewelry you had been suggestively pointing out in the store's exhibition; him booking up a hotel room for you two to celebrate.

Either way, that was much beyond your expectations, as it turned out. And now you were sitting in the front yard of your house, waiting for him to show up.

'If he was going to at all.' This thought invaded your mind for the last hour, try as might to subdue it. An hour you had been sitting tight, hoping it was only a delay caused by a traffic jam or other irrational explanation he could come up with. But you were deceiving yourself, you eventually presumed -- you had been checking up your phone every one minute, only to see if any message notification popped up on the screen, other than birthday wishes from friends who actually cared for you.

2.02pm: Nothing.

2.03pm: Susan 'Happy birthday bitch!'

2.04pm: Instagram notif. (Someone liked your photo, which you had posted before leaving your room, posing in front of the mirror in the best cocktail dress you could find in the wardrobe.)

2.05pm: Nothing yet again.

2.06pm: Still... Peace and quiet.

"Fuck it...Enough," you muttered under your breath, an annoying disillusionment falling like a heavy mile stone on your chest. Tears suddenly started sprinkling in your eyes at the regret, and you were very reluctant to admit that your friends were right -- Draco Malfoy was an egoistic, negligent, self-absorbed pri--

"Hi." You heard the raspy, panting voice says. "Sorry for the delay."

You blinked slowly, stupidly. You raised your head to assure yourself it was him. That his expression actually corresponded to his words and showed some kind of remorse for standing you up. But no... There he was: standing in front of you, plainly confident and unashamed, with his cocky smirk provoking you to slap him.

Oh, how much you craved to slap him right now. "Where to the fuck have you been?"

"I've tried to pick this up," he explained, simultaneously lifting up the paper bag he'd been carrying in his hand. The big, exclaiming letters 'McDonald's' with the brand's logo were printed on its exterior, and it was fully stuffed with something inside.

Not quite comprehending, you furrowed. You attempted to hide the venom in your voice, but somehow it found its way to leak out. "Couldn't you do that in advance?"

"Nope..." It was his turn to furrow, looking almost shocked with the question. And thanks to all those years of your relationship, you knew it was his piss-poor estimation of time taking over. "It was a last-minute surprise."

"Sounds like it," you commented irritably. "What's that?"

"Your birthday present, sunshine," he drawled happily, ignoring your remark. He sounded positively delighted and satisfied with himself at surprising you with that because he saw a slight crease of shock painting on your forehead. "Here you go."

You took his deposit out of his grasp, still quite unsure. What if his gift would only make a situation worse? Can it get any worse with Draco's total lack of tact? Yes. But it was only one way to find out.

Without even stealing a second glance at him, you ripped off all of the packaging that had been folded around, protecting the contents. You tried to do it carefully and without any impact of emotions revealing the way you felt inside, but your hands were shaking with rage, and you couldn't quite contain yourself. You had been highly aware you shouldn't have expected much from him, but still...

You wondered if the universe was playing against you.

There was a moment of tense silence as you struggled to deal with all the wrappings. Rather unfortunately, you wished you hadn't put so much effort in opening your so-called 'gift' because as you finally did, it only angered you more, seeing as the disappointment laughs at your face. And yes, as a matter of fact, the universe was against you today...

"Are you kidding me?" you asked in disbelief, fury reappearing in your eyes. "A birthday cake?! From McDonald's?" Ugly, little cake with the creepiest smiley face of a clown. It wasn't even fresh, you realized, when you smelled it and felt a musty reek of a freezer, it probably had been kept in. A confusing sense of sadness in your chest couldn't reach any higher at this point.

"Don't you like it?" he asked, detecting the wrath in your eyes. At that, you felt the dumbest urge to laugh and never stop. "I thought it'd be something original."

"Oh, I love it," you said sarcastically, a faint voice of hope telling you it was only a very bad joke was still lingering in your head. But it wasn't a joke.

"It's not just--" He struggled to form a coherent sentence. "I've been asking Blaise and Theo about any ideas. I told them, what you had said to me -- 'you didn't want anything fancy.' So we decided it's... something."

"Of course I didn't tell you I want anything, you dolt!" Your voice raised up almost two octaves, and the pulse sped up so fast it entailed a headache along. A neighbor from the opposite garden who was watering the flowers looked at you, startled, and eyes widened your exasperated tone. You didn’t care. "It's how it works: you don't tell other people you expect them to buy something!"

"But I'm your boyfriend. You shouldn't -- er-- feel uncomfortable to tell..."

"Exactly! As my boyfriend, you should have known!"

"Well... I didn't. If that's what's bothering you, we can...we can..."

"Stop." Listening to him and his pathetic excuses was the last thing you were going to do now. "What – why would you even – " You sputtered out, unable to process or express exactly what you were feeling. There was definitely anger and indignation. Curiosity, for another, as to why Draco would even fall for such foolish and ill-considered idea, and -- to the top of it -- hope it would make a good fit. And possibly, the last and most satisfying part, was the wicked impulse to throw the cake directly into his arrogant face, letting him taste his own medicine he had been serving you for years on each failed birthday.

"You know, for once, you could pay more effort and try doing something nice for me," you told him firmly, deflating to calm down your buzzing nerves.

"I've been tr--"

"Do you realize how much it costs me to pretend to be happy when you forget about me? Last year, I organized a big-ass party for your birthday, inviting over all of your friends and buying the best booze I could find to celebrate it properly," you said harshly and pretentiously, as you intended. "The best part is, you didn't even thank me." You stared at him, wringing your hands and expecting to perceive any trope of shame in his eyes. For the first time, you actually did.  

"Listen, about that--" he calmly attempted to cut off your monologue.

"No, you listen..." Did you really want what was upcoming next? Maybe it was about time. "Today, I decided I'm standing up for myself. So, for the last time, get out from my porch."

He bristled, the thunderstruck air hanging around him. "Because of the stupid cake?"

"What?! No! It's just... I feel like you don't give a damn about me anymore." Gulp formed in your throat, and the tears finally left your eyes at the consciousness of what was happening. "I think we both deserve some time."

Your eyes moved to his, and you almost wished you hadn't looked. He was watching you, with pursed lips and a pure mixture of every emotion: anger, sadness, resentment, pretension, dejection. The faintest of his flustered blushes appeared on his cheeks, and you suddenly wished you could hug him. "So you are putting us..." His finger pointed at him and you as if expecting clarification. "...on a break? Is that what it is?"

You were truly torn, to be honest. Becoming single on your birthday was the last wish you had for this day, but you felt a strong sense of adequacy and pride for building up the boundaries of tolerance. Besides, seeing as it was heading nowhere, it was only a matter of time that your relationship came to an end.  

Although, it hurt. A lot. "Yes."

You darted your eyes from him, not wanting to study his reaction in case it caused you to meltdown and jump to his embrace, apologizing endlessly for your words. You loved him. But you didn't regret what you had just said.

Something like a dry chuckle of disbelief escaped out of his mouth. "Is that what you really want?"

'No,' your thoughts prompted you instantly before you could even contemplate. 'I want you to say so many things you're never willing to say. But you don't know.'

So instead, you lied: "Yes."

All expressed, you spun around without peeking back and rushed into your room, already knowing there was no more sense in strives to make this day any better; all of it would bring only bad associations. It would be depressing, even more than it already was.

God, was it how the break-up pained? Because if so, you wanted to be deceased. The world spun suddenly, and you sank to your knees, shaking madly and doing your best to find your way back to your bed, located a few mere meters from you. Part of you felt numb, but your head was wide awake and alarming you that something in terms of a disaster had just happened. Because it did. The clutching in your chest was unbearable, and tears were dashing out of your eyes like a living waterfall, which made you bury your face in your hands. Never have you ever wanted to be so drunk before.

And so many questions rung up in your head at once.

Did you make a good decision? What if you are going to miss him, yet knowing you could never call? What about college -- are things about to get awkward?

No answers.

But you knew someone who would be able to reply to them.

With the blurred by tears vision, you struggled but managed to find your phone in the purse, and then clumsily scrolled through and tapped in your list of contacts before holding the phone to your ear.

Please answer, you begged. Please, please…

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Pansy's voice roared from the other side of a line, as always, enthusiastic.

"Pansy." You tried to sound less brokenly than you were, feeling marginally worse at the reminder of your birthday. "Is Daphne around?"

"Ouch, you're a really nasty bitch sometimes, you know. I'm not goin' to point out today, but since you didn't let me end my wishes, I'll note that for the future reference." You were sure she was grinning at the teasing, seeing as much as she liked that. Normally, you wouldn't mind, but... "How--"

"Pansy, please..." you sobbed out, almost desperate to have someone to consult and share emotions with. Daphne -- contrary to Pansy, who could be very judgy sometimes -- was someone you had especially on mind now. "I need to talk to her."

You heard her sigh; the kind of sigh she used to either prove her resignation or concern. But, as much as it surprised you, she suppressed her curiosity and, without a second word, obediently handed the phone over to Daphne. At least, that's what you assumed because you heard a pause and subdued mutters in the background.

"Y/N?" the milder tone spoke up, and you felt suddenly very strange as if submerged in water of relief; relief to hear the familiar voice. That released you from keeping a distant attitude, and yet again, a sadness washed over you, triggering a loud wail to come out of your mouth. "Y/N, is everything alright?"

"No..." you sniveled, unable to collect yourself together. "I-I... We br-brok-e up."

"You and Draco?" Daphne asked, astonishment evident.

You nodded but then remembered she couldn't see you nor read your expression. So instead, you forced your vocal cords to work again. "Mhm..."

"What happened?"

Restoring the story in your brain again, you told her everything, still tearfully but much more coherently this time. You avoided the details, briefly skipping from one utterance to another, as your conversations had gone, and you were very much thankful she didn't press for more information about the prospect of the situation. If it hadn't been her sporadic gasps or loud inhales of breath, you would have almost presumed she wasn't listening. However, she was, and as soon turned out, Pansy was as well.

"That's bananas!" Pansy shouted somewhere from the back as you had ended, and despite your gloom, you giggled quietly at her comment.

"Shush," Daphne tried to silence her, covering up the fact she had put you on the speaker. You didn't mind because you knew Pansy, who would definitely expect Daphne to cite the whole conversation if needed. But knowing Daphne as well, you could bet she flushed more than she would want to at that point. "So it all started because of the cake?"

"And the delay," you added. "But it's not just about that, obviously. It feels like... he completely stopped caring. And I don't want to be stuck in a relationship where everything is about sex and having fun only. Draco wasn't looking for a commitment, which..."

"Sucks,"ended this time Pansy unhesitatingly, who wasn't now screaming from the other part of a room but openly participating in the discussion.

"Yeah," you agreed.

"As for me, I think he might love you more than you know, Y/N." It was Daphne talking again, and she sounded positively convinced about her view as for someone who had hardly exchanged any word with Draco for the past few years. As if reading your thoughts, she continued. "I've observed you a lot. I know he might seem unemotional, but it's you who discovered him. That must require a lot of trust, you know."

You contemplated, and some of the memories and images from your first encounter run across your brain, try as might to suppress it: spotting each other at the party; binging some whisky shots together; flirty teasing; the very masculine scent of cologne; and then... more spicy recollections -- eager lips pressing against each other; against each others' necks; against other parts of the body; stripping off the clothes in the passionate haste...

Receiving a long moment of silence, Daphne took a second chance and asked. "And what's with you? Do you want to end it?"

It felt like standing before the oracle of truth. Therefore, you couldn't deny it in front of yourself. "No."

"So what're you still doing there?" commented Pansy impatiently, and you could imagine her rolling the eyes. "Get out and find him!"

She was right. You will.

XOXOXOXO

"I thought I'd find you here..."

No. Actually, you didn't. 

You had tracked Draco's phone with your own one with some help of an app that, as the two of you had established still in the relationship, would be a good idea in case of an emergency. That in itself proved to be more than helpful, believing that your argument may be pinned as something in terms of an emergency, right?

So having access to his location, you had found out he was in the park where he had taken you on the first date, shortly after dinner, to watch the sunset that, as he had described, 'was a typical cliche from every romantic movie.'

But you had fallen for that. So much.

You hadn't been aware the place had actually some meaning for him until now, and that... God, that he had even remembered it. Time showed, however, that it indeed did, to which your heart reacted with a happy jolting. But also with a nasty sting of nostalgia following shortly after.

Yet, that only had encouraged you to make up your mind and go looking for him, which hadn't been such a difficult task per se. He was sitting on the bench, in the shade of a tree, and hiding his a little too delicate skin from the sun rays. As soon as he had heard your voice, his gray eyes flew up to see you standing a few meters away.

"What are you doing here?" was the immediate question that tumbled out of his mouth. He arched his eyebrow, and to your surprise, he didn't even look angry or sad with you. Nothing near the edge; actually, almost something like the amusement was painting on his face.

"Aren't you mad with me?" you asked intrigued, completely forgetting about his question.

He frowned. "Why would I be?" His tone was so mild that you weren't sure if he was referring to the double meaning; but then he smirked playfully and said, "Besides, I knew you were coming."

"Wha-- How?" you asked, eyes dilating a fraction, in shock.

He smirked, pointing at his phone in an explanatory manner. After a moment, you finally figured out what he meant: the app must have registered he had been tracked and that your phone was trying to find his. At this notice, you reacted with a wave of flush, suddenly regretting your previous lie. His smile only widened at your expression. "Wanna sit? It's plenty of room here."

"Mhm..." You nodded, pleased to accept his offer, and walked over to the bench, doing your best to hide the evident embarrassment on your face. You felt strange he had taken you with such ease, seeing as merely two or three hours ago, you had burst at him like a cram-full volcano of unspoken emotions.

Draco shifted a package from his side, making more space for you to sit, and it took you a moment to realize it was a McDonald's cake from earlier. Everything started from that -- a stupid, little piece of cake which stood up between...

You shook the thought away, taking a seat next to him, close enough to smell his sandalwood cologne. "You didn't answer my question," Draco reminded you. "What's so important to make you track my phone?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" You rounded your face to him, flustrated, leaning at the backrest of a bench. "That's why I came. I wanted to apologize."

"Oh... Couldn't you call?"

You sighed. "I figured you wouldn't want to talk to me after...you know... our quarrel," you said half-despondent, half-desperate, watching your feet as if it were the most interesting thing to peer at now. "I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"I know," he said. Out of nowhere, he was gently grasping your palms which forced you to look up directly into his intense gaze. His eyes were swirling like molten silver at you. "But I should be apologizing, love. I made a mistake, okay?" His hands traveled all across to your tense shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "I know I should be more... affectionate with you. And this was...dumb. A dumb mistake. With that cake. But I'll try to be better if you give it another shot."

He looked so serious that you instantly believed him. You wanted to actually, with all force of longing, which grew up too rapidly in you when he wasn't around. Draco was a fool, you could easily say. But he was your fool, which was a thing you couldn't be more proud of.

Peeking slowly in the other direction, you asked, out of the topic, "You remembered the place?"

"Of course," he puffed jokingly, smiling. "Our first date. Officially our place from then on."

"Right..." You smiled back.

Honestly, the mere fact that he had called this spot 'yours' warmed up your heart, and you felt yourself grinning at his never-before-discovered emotionality. To assure yourself you weren't the only one caring, it was all you needed to hear.

The whole moment was intense, and now, you realized, is when you should have hugged him. Kissed him. Said something back at his sincere endearment.

But instead, spotting plastic cutlery next to your 'gift', you asked, "So what's the taste of the birthday cake?"  

And you knew he had caught the subtext of your playful inquiry. And you knew that soon you would work things out again. But, as for now...

"I thought you would never ask."

XOXOXOXO

A/N: Looooooool. Such a drama-comedy, right? And I could easily say It feels like 50% Draco-x-Reader / 50% Draco-x-BirthdayCake... But whatever (2am is working like a drunken bud, folks). Happy beginning of August :)

[cheri-translates]

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a call, Moments and Texts which have not been released in EN! 🍒

Highly recommened to read Summer Solstice Date first!

[ CALL ]

Shaw: Did I leave my “Oracle Script Calligraphy Form and Structure” book in Live House?

MC: Huh? Let me see...

Shaw: It should be on the red plastic chair. Check over that side.

MC: Found it. Do you need it now? I could ask a courier to send it to your school?

Shaw: No need. See if there’s a letter inside from someone with the surname “Wang”.

MC: The surname “Wang”... there isn’t.

Shaw: Hm, then I must have put it in another book. I’ll look for it myself later.

MC: Is the letter really important?

Shaw: A previous student of the Old Man wrote it to him. That elderly man has gone out of town to attend an academic discussion these few days, and asked me to keep it for him.

MC: Does this mean the sender is your senior?

Shaw: I guess she counts as a senior. After graduating, she headed to the undeveloped mountain region to bring education to them, and often corresponds with the Old Man through letters. The department was planning to keep her as a teacher, and the Old Man already wrote his recommendation in advance. But she said she was needed much more elsewhere.

MC: People who are willing to bring education to the mountain region are really incredible... I have a feeling that she's definitely an especially gentle and strong Big Sister!

Shaw: Gentle? The Old Man always calls her up to complain about me, then leaves her to lecture me. She always says the same things - “Teacher Shen thinks really highly of you, so don’t let him down.” Or “Don’t keep skipping literature classes just because you've memorised many books in the past.” Or “Don’t do your thesis half-heartedly. You have to go deeper into the research, and check it repeatedly...” Tch. She’s born to be a teacher.

MC: Pfft... looks like there are still people in your department who can manage you. Do you want to become a teacher in the future? You looked the part when you were a volunteer the last time.

Shaw: Nope. I’m not interested in transmitting wisdom, imparting knowledge, or resolving doubts.

MC: Really? But I found a postcard from an elementary student in your “Oracle Script Calligraphy Form and Structure” book. “Hello Big Brother Shaw, thanks for giving our class the “100 History Questions for Teens”. Let me share a piece of good news with you. I scored 90 marks in the mid-term exams...”

Shaw: Okay, that’s enough. Put the postcard back in its original position.

MC: Fine fine fine, I’ve already put it back... you felt really happy inside, didn’t you?

Shaw: Nope. I’ll have to end the call here. I have one more class. I’ll look for you once it’s done.

[ MOMENTS ]

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: Doesn’t that mean no one can hear you even if you shout yourself hoarse?

Shaw: ? You could try.

-

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: With a soundproofed room, there can also be a games room, movie room...

Shaw: We’ll start work tomorrow.

-

Shaw’s Post: Perfect soundproofing. Next time, I can practise at home.

MC: It’s just that the soundproofed room looks a little plain...

Shaw: My spray paint isn’t there for display.

[ TEXTS ]

[ First Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: ???

Shaw: ...

Shaw: Wrong person.

Shaw: ...why can’t I unsend it?

MC: Were you planning to send that to Professor Shen?

Shaw: Who else?

Shaw: Dragging me to the museum to be a conscript in the morning was enough. He still wanted to occupy my evening.

Shaw: Dream on.

MC: Why is Professor looking for you? Is it very urgent?

Shaw: Nothing much. He said that since it’s my birthday, he and his wife wanted to treat me to a meal.

Shaw: I’ve already declined.

Shaw: Okay, I’ve blocked everyone. Nobody can even think of disturbing the rest of the day.

-

[ Second Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: Did you send that the wrong person?

Shaw: ...

Shaw: Just pretend you didn’t see anything.

Shaw: No, delete it.

MC: Who is “she” referring to?

Shaw: Seems like you’re truly in high spirits.

Shaw: Hold up your phone and turn on the front camera.

Shaw: Look at who she is.

MC: The next time I look for you in school, I also want to meet your professors and seniors!

Shaw: Don’t come.

Shaw: Those guys in the department have wanted to pry into my private life since a long time ago.

Shaw: You aren’t allowed to provide them with materials.

-

[ Third Scenario ]

Shaw: I won’t be going today. Have to keep her company. I’ll have to trouble you to thank your wife on my behalf.

MC: Mm, it’s okay~

Shaw: ?

Shaw: What does this have to do with you?

Shaw: It wasn’t even meant for you.

MC: It’s so rare to see you talking so politely...

Shaw: Have you heard of “青白眼”?

[Note] I can’t find an equivalent English term for this, but it loosely translates to “direct gazes and the rolling of eyes”. The idea being conveyed is that you typically look at someone directly when your respect them, and roll your eyes if you don’t

Shaw: Different attitudes should be used when dealing with different people.

Shaw: I’ll only be polite to those who deserve my politeness.

MC: You should be a little more polite to me next time. Why do you always use imperative sentences with me...

Shaw: You sure?

Shaw: In that case, may I trouble MC to move her respectable feet, open the door gently, and allow me entrance into the residence.

Shaw: Much appreciated.

[once-upon-a-scenario]

Pretend: Overhaul/reader (Part 1)

You grew up with Chisaki Kai. Your duty is to protect and serve and care for him. You’re closer to him than anybody else in the Shie Hassaikai. The paradox is that sometimes- or maybe since forever ago- you feel as if you barely know him at all. (You still remember being overhauled.) (Part 2 coming...sometime! lol EDIT: Part 2!) Warning:  child abuse, abusive/dysfunctional relationships in general, violence, Chisaki Kai is his own warning, references to the Overhaul quirk and its gorier aspects Gosh it has been *so long* since I posted anything??? Thanks so much to anybody who’s still hanging around on this blog;;; feast your eyes on this bad boy tho, I’ve been working on it since literally last year and almost deleted it several times but couldn’t bring myself to! Here’s to hoping I actually finish it this time :,)  This fic is also on the darker side of the things I upload on this blog sooo pls do heed the warnings and read at your own risk ;-; -Mod Eve ______ “This is Kai.” The old man’s hand is warm and heavy on your shoulder. “I hope you both get along. Kai- be good to our new family.” You like the old man, the ‘’boss.’’ You haven’t been cold since he took you in. Hunger has become a temporary, rather than a constant thing, and you feel safe, there in the midst of these people with tattooed skin and sharp, strong gazes. But this boy has cold eyes. He stares at you long and hard with them as he nods, silent and unyielding. You shiver instinctively, leaning back into the shadows of the boss’ big, black coat. You do not want to get along with Kai.

__________ Kai is a strange boy. He looks at everybody as if he hates them- everybody except for the boss. He doesn’t talk much. He hates being touched. He scares you, a little, but you learn to stop flinching. Both of you want to please the boss, and the boss wants you to get along. So you do just that. You fold origami together (Kai sits and watches you make clumsy cranes and airplanes, occasionally speaking up to tell you that your corners are mismatched or that he thinks you’ve forgotten a step). You eat meals together (egg rolls are the only thing Kai eats any more than a few mouthfuls of so you give him yours; you’re supposed to be friends and that’s what friends do). You sleep on opposite sides of the same big, bare room (empty on Kai’s side because clutter makes him nervous, compromised on your side because he is also supposed to be considerate towards you). You grow together, centimeters adding up on top of centimeters over weeks, months, years, marking off your heights on the bedroom wall with a pen. Kai grows tall, lanky, pale and golden-eyed, all glass-cut chin and cold charisma. At some point, you get separate rooms, and then you see less of each other. He still scares you, in a sense. He’s always been weird, always kind of paranoid and mean and distant. In all your years of sharing a room and a childhood, you’ve never once touched him. You imagine his skin must feel cold. But cold or warm, cruel or kind, to all intents and purposes- you’re still family. You still offer him your egg rolls at mealtimes. When he visits your room, he tolerates the occasional mess. You can get along, you tell yourself, as the boss smiles at the both you through a wrinkled, careworn mouth. After all, you reflect, it’s not so hard. You can play pretend. _____ By the time Eri arrives, you’ve been playing pretend for far too long. She’s small- painfully so. Small and frightened as she curls into her blankets, eyes wide, lips trembling, the small horn peeking out of her long white hair like a tumor. Boss doesn’t often give direct orders; not to you and Kai, anyway. You’re aware that for children of the yakuza, you’ve both been dreadfully coddled. It’s all out of the goodness of the old man’s heart. Until the day he dies, he only ever enforces two orders on you. One, is that you get along with Kai. Two, is that you protect Eri. You remember being hungry, once upon a time. Hungry and cold with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. There’s an old throb in the pit of your stomach whenever you think of it, of the starvation and pain burning at your nerve endings from the inside out. You never asked to be abandoned. No child ever does. Rule number two isn’t really an order; you choose Eri, choose to love her and cherish her. It’s what the boss did for you. It’s what any child deserves. (You don’t like the way Kai looks at her.) _____ Kai has plans. You are aware of this. He’s smart and good at most things he puts his mind to; it’s why the yakuza respects him, and why you tend to trust his plans, even when you don’t particularly want to. The tired lines on the boss’ face bother you. It’s concerning, the way he often asks for you nowadays, calls you his study only to have you sit and play with Eri, watching the two of you as if he has something to say but doesn’t quite dare to. In the end, he only sighs and thanks you for sparing some time for his granddaughter. That’s nothing, you want to say, you’d do that any day, because the boss is your family and you’ve promised yourself to protect Eri, but the words die in your mouth. You wonder why Kai is never invited to these meetings. Then again, Kai is in charge of managing Eri’s quirk, so maybe he deserves a break from playtime. Time passes, and the white in the boss’ hair grows more pronounced. He begins to struggle, to grow more and more tired, the lines deepening in his forehead like furrows in a field. One late night, after dinner, he gazes at you calmly from over the desert- a slice of vanilla cake that he’s barely touched. His large, wrinkled hand rests gently on his granddaughter’s head. “Take care of her,” he tells you quietly. “Protect her. No matter what happens. That’s all I would ask of you.” You want to ask why he looks so grim, what it is you would need to protect her from, but the boss’ voice drifts off and he bows his head. He suddenly looks very small. “And thank you for your kindness towards Kai. You’ve done much for the boy. I fear, sometimes…” What he fears, you never learn, because he falls silent without finishing the sentence. “I will,” you reassure him, desperate to lift a bit of the burden that seems to rest on his broad, black-clad shoulders; gone are the days when you were still small enough to hide in the folds of his coat. You’ve got to be braver now, show him that all the trust and care he’s given you were not in vain. “I swear. Eri will always be safe with me. And I’ll take care of Kai, too.” This is the last conversation you have with him. ____ Kai calls you to his room the day after the boss falls unconscious. His golden eyes bore into yours and you feel the familiar chill run down your spine. “I’m in charge now,” he says, voice perfectly even behind the black mask that covers his mouth. “I hope that my position doesn’t change things between us. We’re still friends, aren’t we?” Despite all your years of friendship, you still can’t read Kai- it’s strange, to you, the way he spent the entirety of last night downstairs by the boss’ bed, but now talks about his promotion as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. Then again, he’s always had different ways of expressing himself. Though it needles at you, you remember your promise to the boss- your last promise, the only way you could ever repay him for his kindness- and convince yourself to nod. “Of course. You can count on me.” ____ Not a day after the yakuza gains a new leader, you fail the boss. Eri looks tense as Chrono leads her off, her favorite teddy clutched in one small hand, her little mouth set in a stiff, frowning line. She doesn’t know where she’s going. You don’t know, either. Not really. Kai has a plan. You must trust his plans. You tell this to yourself over and over, the uneasiness creeping into the pit of your stomach as you watch Eri’s small figure disappear around a bend in the corridor. ____ “He wants you in Eri’s room,” Chrono informs you, hours later. “She feels more comfortable with you.” What happened? The words echo in your mind as you find your way down the corridors to the large, whitewashed room where Eri sleeps with her dolls. And there she is, sitting on the bed. There are bandages around her arms and legs and tearstains on her face. What happened? Your heart’s beating so hard you can taste it, the bile bitter on your tongue as you swallow down your panic. What’s going on? But the words won’t come out. Eri looks to Chrono, and then she looks to you. She stretches out her small, bandaged arms for a hug. She still looks halfway to sobbing. And you don’t question it. Not here, not now. You just pick her up and rock her, smoothing a hand through her long, tangled hair and whispering comforting words, because it’s all going to be ok- it must be. Kai has a plan, and you’re supposed to trust him. “It’s just her quirk,” Chrono tells you, which is vague, but that’s fine; you can work with vague for now, the way you always have. You nod in understanding and keep rocking Eri. (Her small body shakes like a leaf in your arms, and though it’s summertime and the room is warm, both her hands and yours are cold as ice.) _____ Eri’s limbs are always bandaged. Whatever Kai does with her, you’re not allowed to see- and this is fine, too, because you’re not a high-ranking member, anyway. Your quirk is weak, simple telekinesis that just about corresponds to your physical strength, and without the boss, you’re just here by virtue of being Kai’s good friend. Because you are good friends, still, even if he always has you off on minor missions and only ever summons you to occasionally babysit Eri. And Eri’s limbs are always bandaged. “Sickness,” is Kai’s cryptic explanation. “A side-effect of her quirk. We’re just trying to save her from herself.” You know Eri’s quirk is dangerous. You know it caused her father’s death and her mother’s abandonment. You suppose it’s a good thing, then, if Kai’s looking for a way to get it under control. “It’s what the boss would have wanted.” And you are very good at playing pretend, have learned how to lie through your teeth since you were old enough to talk, can fool yourself as well as you fool everybody else- It’s what the boss would have wanted, you remind yourself, cradling Eri in your arms as she dozes off. You will get along with Kai, and you will do what is best for this child. Just as you were asked to. “It’s alright,” you whisper, more to yourself than to Eri. She’s already fallen asleep. _____ “See, Eri? The bird goes whoosh!” You snap your fingers with a little more flair than is strictly necessary, and the clumsy paper crane goes zooming around the room. Eri watches with wide, bright eyes and claps her hands in delight. “I wish,” she tells you later that night as you tuck her into bed, quiet and confidential, “I wish I had a nice quirk like yours.” “Thank you.” You smile in spite of yourself. “But Eri-chan, my quirk isn’t very strong, you know?” “But it’s nice,” she repeats, snuggling under the covers, only the top of her horned head peeking out. “It makes things jump and fly. I want a nice quirk like yours.” There’s a strange note in her voice- a strained, sad sound, too sad for such a small girl. It doesn’t sit right with you. There’s something you should say, but you’re not sure what it is. “You’re a good girl, Eri,” you say instead, pressing a kiss to the top of her snowy white head and wrapping your arms around her. “Go to bed now.” “Will you be back soon?” she asks, big eyes already half-closed, the lids weighed down with sleep. “You go on so many missions...” Her voice trails off into nothingness, soft and wistful, another quiet whisper dissipating into the shadows of the whitewashed bedroom. Pity claws at your heart. “I’ll be back soon,” you promise. (This is, of course, a lie.) ____ “Again, Eri?” Kai’s voice is quiet and controlled, laced with paternal disappointment as he looks down at the quivering figure before him. Eri looks at the floor. Her shoulders are shaking. “You should know better by now. Look at how you’ve inconvenienced everybody. Chrono...me...and,” he glances at you sharply. “your dearest friend.” A beat of silence, and with a patter of bare feet against the cold floor, Eri rushes forward and clings to his leg. “I’m sorry,” comes her muffled voice over and over, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I won’t run again...” You watch, and as you are prone to do in Kai’s presence, you shiver. _____ That night, as she’s drifted off to sleep, you shift the bandages on Eri’s wrist. There’s dried blood underneath. No visible wound. You’re no scholar, neither are you a fighter. You know nothing about quirk science. You know even less about Eri’s ability, or how it would affect her. Maybe, maybe this is normal; maybe this is the problem Kai is trying to fix. But there’s a part of you that remembers what it’s like to be overhauled, and that part of you grows cold as you watch the child sleep. _____ (You were about sixteen when you let Kai overhaul you. Just to see what it would feel like. Just to see what he was capable of. Friends help friends practice things like that. You remember the feeling of disintegration, of flesh being pulled from bone and muscles unraveling into strings, veins dissolving around blood which sprayed into the air and your voice dissolving from your lungs with the liquid. Just like that, gone. And just like that, whole again. Kai looked down at you, sixteen himself, eyes golden as the sun and sharp as a knife. He reached out a gloved hand to help you back up. You still have no idea what he was thinking at the time.) _____ Here is a theory: You’re rarely at headquarters because most of the time, Kai doesn’t want you there. You’re told to babysit Eri because you are a rarely-seen prize- a reward for good behavior. Good behavior is when she doesn’t scream. It’s when she doesn’t try to run away. There are a thousand different things she could be running from, but as you sit across from Kai in his office, listening as he lists off your next set of orders, you suspect that the primary one is right here in the room with you. And whatever he’s doing, he doesn’t want you to know. (When things begin to make sense is when you always end up wishing that they never did.) ___ The next time you leave headquarters, you do so with a feeling of dread. Eri watches you go, and for the first time, you recognize the look in her wide eyes as terror. (Like your family once left you, you leave her behind.) ___ This was once home. You pace the floor of your bedroom, back and forth, back and forth, hands cold, heart colder, shoulders shaking. You grew up in this room- in this place. It is home. It was home. Even as you pace, you don’t know, you have no clue, what is happening to Eri? Where is she? What is Kai doing to her? Why, why, why, You remember being overhauled, the bloodstain of your remains sprayed across these very walls. Kai doesn’t want you to know. You are supposed to get along with Kai. You are supposed to protect Eri. Your hands are clammy, ribs constricting around your lungs as you stare up at the ceiling, wondering. The room spins. Your thoughts are screaming. Boss, what have we done to Eri? _____ You strike deals in the dark, fading underbelly of Japan, gathering information and tools, goods for trading, wares the criminals of this country are desperate to get their hands on. It’s all for the sake of the Shie Hassaikai. While you pass drugs to the next sunken-eyed dealer who wants to get their hands on them, you know Eri is with Kai, and your own hands tremble until you almost drop your cargo. (One of your old clients used to tell you, back when you’d just started in the business- “You ain’t cut out for this work, kid. Better run back while you still can.” You didn’t have anywhere to run back to, and when you told him that, his yellow-toothed grin sagged.) There’s a list of solutions in your brain right now- you’re good at solutions, at formulating plans and calculating possibilities. It’s why Kai trusts you with the business side of the Shie Hassaikai. But your list right now consists of dead ends, of a thousand different scenarios that all end in Kai and his molten-sun eyes, his gloved hand reaching towards your face, his quirk coursing through you and taking you apart piece by piece, and maybe this time he won’t put you together again. Not that you’ve ever known him not to- but you are afraid of Kai, and you’ve learned to trust your fear. Sometimes it’s the only thing worth trusting. (If you want to keep Eri alive, you’ll keep playing pretend.) ____ This time, when you return, Kai is there. He asks you to dinner. “Business is going smoothly. You’re doing good work.” His mask is off; it feels like years since the last time you saw him without it, and the face beneath it has changed. The jaw is sharper, the mouth thinner. This is no longer a child’s face, if it ever was at all. Rice sticks like glue in your throat as you reply, “Thank you- you’re too kind.” You hand him your egg rolls. It comes reflexively-  he no longer needs you to feed him, and there’s no boss watching over your shoulders to ensure that you play nice with each other. For whatever reason, he accepts them. (It occurs to you that you’ve never known, and still don’t know, whether he actually likes eggs or not. Whether it’s only the rolls that he eats. Whether he eats them because he enjoys the taste or just for the satisfaction of taking something else from you.) “And you’re too formal,” he says, taking a delicate bite. He smiles, a rare expression, and you wonder if you should treasure it. (Rather, you wish he’d stop.) Dinner almost ends on a pleasant note- as pleasant as it gets with Kai nowadays- but it really ends when Chrono bursts in through the doors, announcing tensely that Eri is gone again. Kai stands. You do, too, and follow him as he silently exits the room, praying that he’ll be too late. (He’s not.) But when you hold Eri in your arms that night, soothing her as you rock her back and forth, back and forth, you listen to her whisper in your ear about a boy she met, a boy with big green eyes and freckles all over his face, a boy who held her for a moment without hurting her. The story seems to shine like a floodlight in the darkness. Somebody out there has seen Eri. Somebody out there knows. Somebody out there cares. You don’t generally depend on the charity of your fellow human beings. The Shie Hassaikai taught you better, and so did Kai. But the boss taught you something a little more than either. You rock Eri to sleep and hope beyond hope for a miracle. Let the heroes pull through. Let them save your little girl.

[tracybirds]

I can officially switch the status of Being Known from “stuck” to “WIP” again :) It’s been over a year since the last update for various reasons but I’m very excited to go back to this one and provide a new chapter!

For those new to the story, this was prompted by @kenzie-running-free in March 2020 and slightly got out of hand 😅 I’ve never stopped thinking about it and I bit the bullet and deleted the entirety of Chapter Four a few days ago and let myself rewrite it from scratch.... and it WORKED!!! (use technique with caution... scariest thing I’ve ever done.....)

Anyway...

A ‘what-if’ story based on “The Man From TB5” where the Hood recognized John in the scene when he makes himself known (instead of John stuttering).... and then he gets kidnapped :)

[Part 1] | [Part 2] | [Part 3]

-----------

Darkness bled into John’s line of vision and he scrubbed desperately at his aching eyes. Time collapsed around him as he worked, the abruptly extinguished bulb the only hint of night. And every new day seemed to bring new weariness as he jolted awake by the sudden onslaught of light which interrupted the deepest part of sleep.

Just another tactic to keep him from gathering his wits together.

This morning, if it was morning, the brightly burning bulb was coupled with the scraping sound of a breakfast tray being shoved through the small slot that had been crudely and hastily carved in the door after he’d lain in wait and brought the tray down over one of the guard’s head. He’d left the man stunned on the floor and made it all the way to the end of the corridor before another guard had grabbed him from behind and thrown him bodily back into the room.

He’d woken to security footage of a fire ravaging a building, his own family on screen.

“They’re not looking for you,” sneered the Hood as he swept from the room.

No guards came in anymore.

Two days later, he’d been savagely poked in the eye when he’d tried to look through the new slot that had been hastily added to his door.

He spent hours every day, searching for a way to send out a message, or even create another receiver. Any link to the outside world would do. But it soon became apparent that the Hood had done one thing right in giving him access to an isolated system, keeping the holomonitor he’d been provided with separate even from his own devices.

One thing right among many.

John peered at the screen with his good eye, wincing at the torn skin that pulled over bruised muscle. His head spun as he stared at the endless commands, trying to replicate the spark of life no-one had ever found before EOS.

Not even him.

And that was the rub of it all.

John didn’t know, not after all his time studying EOS and her abilities, just how she’d been born of code and logical absolutes. How she could grow and change and evaluate her own mind in a way that not only seemed human, but was unquestionably so.

He glanced at the clock he’d created from scratch, counting the oscillations in the electrical current and spitting back a digital time at him. This ‘morning’ truly did correspond with the morning, and that meant the Hood would be paying him a visit for an update.

He wasn’t sure how much more time he could stall for until things got truly desperate.

How much time he had until he had to conclude that he was truly on his own.

*                            *                            *

“Scott, the floor’s unstable there!”

“I know what I’m doing, Alan.”

“Yes, but I have the numbers,” Alan replied, his voice cracking as he spoke. He spun the holo in his hands, checking and double checking the analysis that was running under his fingertips.

“Then the numbers are wrong.”

“They can’t be!”

“Alan,” said Scott, patiently. “I need you to check the parameters over again. I’m seeing two trapped vehicles, with no sign of ground stress, both much larger than me and more importantly containing passengers. I need to get them out of there.”

“Yes, but hang on–”

“There’s no time!”

Alan watched in horror as his big brother barrelled forwards. He crouched low as he ran, grabbing at nearby pylons for support. The ground heaved beneath his feet, but still Scott moved forwards steady and sure. Always with his eyes on the scared little boy in the back seat and a gentle smile on his face.

An alert ticked over into the red.

“Jump, Scott!” he yelled, watching the model floor cave in a split second before a real sinkhole opened beneath Scott’s feet.

“Alan, what’s happening up there?” came Virgil’s urgent voice, bound for home with Gordon from their own rescue.

Alan flipped the channel, realising in his hurry he’d accidentally broadcast his message to everyone.

“He’s fine,” he said, eyes still wide as he watched Scott shakily stand on the other side of the chasm. “The floor went.”

“What?”

“He’s fine, he’s fine!”

“Didn’t you run the simulation?”

“I did,” said Alan, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. “He wouldn’t listen.”

Silence fell over the space station.

“Hey Alan, can you pilot Thunderbird One over to us? Got my hands full here.”

Scott’s voice rang out loud and clear. Five clear thermal images were standing around him, including one in his arms.

Alan fumbled for the call button.

“F.A.B. Scott.”

“I’ll talk to him, Alan,” said Virgil. His eyes were focused beyond him, but Alan could read the quiet fury beneath the clear focus on his own piloting.

“I can’t do it, Virgil,” whispered Alan. “I must have done something wrong, there must have been something he could see that I couldn’t.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” interrupted Virgil.

“He never would have done this to…”

Alan’s voice failed him.

Twenty-two thousand miles below, Virgil choked back his own distress. Gordon was chewing at his lip, staring anxiously at Alan. He leaned forward so he was in view of the holo.

“Hey, Allie,” he said. “John’s gonna be okay. And he’ll be giving Scott hell for ignoring the modelling like that soon enough.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Absolutely, I do,” said Gordon, cracking a grin. “No way, John would let Scott get away with that crap. Not even if he had to haunt him for the rest of his life in ghostly fury to do it.”

“Is he wrapping up now?” asked Virgil, eyes still pinched.

Alan looked down at the display.

“Yeah, he’s on his way home.”

“Right. EOS?”

“Virgil?” Her quiet voice was sullen and more than a little distracted.

“Got room in your processors for another task?”

EOS’s lights flashed suddenly, and Alan’s blood ran cold at the sight. Three weeks he’d been stationed on board Thunderbird Five and he still found himself walking on eggshells around EOS. Her frustration at turning up nothing in the holonet that could lead them closer to John morphed quickly from long, silent sulks to short outbursts of flying bagels and spinning gravity rings. He’d never forgotten the sight of John floating limply like a rag doll that had been torn apart one too many times by a playful, thoughtless, destructive child.

An angry EOS felt too close to losing his brother for good.

“Will it help, John?”

“It’ll keep his brother alive, and that will make it more likely for us to find him.”

“What can I do?”

“Lock Scott out of his controls, Order TB2-5711FR. Make sure Alan gets to Tracy Island before him. Redirect all calls to local authorities in the first instance, follow Protocol 24.”

“I’m not leaving,” argued Alan. “Don’t pull me from duty, I can do better.”

“No arguments.”

Alan wilted, knowing he had no choice but to follow Virgil’s instructions.

“This is done, Virgil,” said EOS, blankly.

“Thank you, EOS,” said Virgil, his manner still stiff and terse. He shifted his gaze from the open ocean in front of him to Alan, his expression softening. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Alan. If Scott takes his life into his own hands, that’s not on you. But we can’t have him in the field like that, cutting corners to get back to finding John. So, we need you down here in his place.”

“You can’t pull Scott,” said Alan, his eyes wide. “What would… well, what would Scott say?”

“We’re doing him a favour,” remarked Gordon with a sarcastic twist of his lips that made a mockery of his usual grin. “He wants to find John, we all do, but if he’s willing to risk lives and rescues to do it then he should put his energy into searching and we shouldn’t stop him.”

Alan swallowed, his eyes filling with tears that he angrily swiped away.

“Does he think we’re not looking just as hard?” he asked. “We haven’t forgotten him. Have we?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Alan,” said Virgil, firmly. “John would have our heads before we put the possibility of finding him above the certainty of ignoring people who need our help.”

“So, we keep going out there,” agreed Gordon. “And when, when Allie, Kayo and Lady P and Parker find something, and they will, we’ll be right there without a moment to lose.”

“I just don’t want him to think we’ve forgotten him.”

“John’s too smart for that,” said Gordon. “Promise you, Allie.”

*                            *                            *

He’d worked it out. Every time he did something to anger the Hood, innocent people paid for it in blood. There was no point in harming him directly, not when what the Hood wanted was inside his mind, ripe for extraction. But his heart and spirit could be broken, as a video feed periodically forced itself over his work to make him watch. Earthquakes, landslides, tidal waves, anything that would get International Rescue on the scene and off his scent.

Senseless destruction and despair epidemic across the world because he couldn’t make an AI fast enough.

But senseless destruction that he could use.

There was no doubt in his mind that his family knew the natural disasters were anything but, he could see it in the determined fury in Scott’s face, in the tense draw of Virgil’s shoulders, in the sardonic mockery in Gordon’s smile as he quietly pocketed yet another piece of equipment.

He didn’t see Alan, and he thought of his baby brother up in space often. None of his brothers had any real idea of the full extent of his contribution, no matter how grateful they were for his guidance, and he hated to know Alan would be forced into that knowledge.

He also suspected that when Alan did spill the beans, he’d find his own rotations scrutinised with a lot more care.

Still, the limited glimpses of his brothers did nothing to discourage him, and he found himself contemplating a plan of escape well into the long, cold nights.

He needed more information.

He needed access to an external holonet connection. And the only way he’d get near one was with a working AI.

Or something that could pass for a few minutes as one.

[elegant-etienne]

FFXIVWrite 2021 - Day 2 - Aberrant

CHARACTER: Houmei

WARNINGS: Garlean nonsense. Like, a lot of it.

Here are all of the internal correspondences between the Manius sisters on the dates you specified. It seems that one of them had the perspicacity to delete every document associated with her prior to the ship’s destruction, and I was unable to recover them. You may have to kick it higher up the chain to see the unavailable letters, I am uncertain if those were deleted before they ever reached their intended recipient by an administrator or if they have been locked for security reasons since then.

I am sorry for your loss, but this is where our association will end. I know you will not heed my advice, but I would recommend you discard this information and simply accept your sisters died serving the Empire. There is much about their projects that are still classified, and frankly, I’d rather not see your family suffer more losses for your poking around. Let them die in your hearts as patriots and leave it there. You have a promising career ahead of you. Use that fire in a productive way.

Best.

---

My dearest sister,

My first day on [REDACTED], working with [REDACTED], whom you may remember from our school days. Funny how we all wound up studying [REDACTED]. I wish we could have been assigned the same section, but naturally, I understand the order of these things. I am grateful our talents both serve the Empire.

It seems I’ll have a few subjects, most ordinary, not too different than your studies. We have an au ra male who was recently separated from his mate due to the usual concerns. I asked what happened to the mate, thinking perhaps she was relocated to your section, and my lead told me she had not proved an asset to the program. Whether that means she was discarded, sent to work or sent to entertain grunts elsewhere, I do not know. I couldn’t help but think you would not have made such a blunder - my lead looked at me with such disdain, like I was a stupid child for asking.

I asked how old the subject was, as the notes only said 25 - 40, and my coworker said I should check the insides of his horn for rings. Ha ha. That same coworker made some rather ribald remarks about the au ra’s physique and the dimorphism between their males and females. You weren’t kidding when you said that these scientists were socially awkward at best. I really admire their talent and their contributions, however. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with them, and play my part.

It is my sincere hope I won’t keep shoving my foot in my mouth. How are things on your end of the ship?

---

My dearest sister,

Sorry for the delay in writing. My coworkers told me it would be safe to approach the au ra subject’s tank to feed him, and he bit my finger very badly. He used some sort of Otharian technique to electrify the water and I received a nasty shock and burns. I spent two turns in the med bay. I hope after this, their playful hazing is done. Everyone certainly had their fun.

I am much recovered. But enough about me, are things on your end of the ship?

---

Dear sister,

I am fuming. [REDACTED] was hanging around the tank again, and I am starting to strongly suspect that the rest of the team engages in unsanctioned activities off the clock. When I attempted to ask [REDACTED] about it, he made a joke about how lonely and bored everyone gets.

Disgusting. Doesn’t he understand that we need to carefully control and monitor our subjects? Any additional stress or changes that go unrecorded will botch our research. Unbelievable. This project is far too expensive for this sort of nonsense. [REDACTED] would never stand for it, but I guess we do it differently here. 

Worst of all, the subject spoke to me today. Of course I understood he was technically of our same level of intelligence, but I thought he only spoke Nagxian, or Hingan or Doman - who knows, right? It all sounds the same. In any case, he was pretty lucid and docile today after his temper tantrum last sennight, but then he spoke my name. He said, calmly, “[REDACTED], you know they lied to you about what happened to my companion. And they haven’t told you what happened to the last scientist in your position.”

Eerie. He really did seem so intelligent in that moment. I can see now how our soldiers stray with these folk sometimes. He seemed so gentle, like Skylax back home.

Later, [REDACTED] laughed at me for letting him manipulate me. Of course he can speak our language. That’s part of [REDACTED].

Silly me.

---

Sis--

[REDACTED] broke off the subject’s horns in punishment today. I was disciplined for pointing out that cortisol from the stress will ruin his readings. He’s already such an unusual subject I’ve been struggling to find a baseline reading with how agitated he always is. The thing is, we are seeing manifestations of [REDACTED] but it is unlike any of our previous records. Before the incident, he seemed to have tapped into all of the subjects at once, and was making them wail frightfully. Their eyes were glowing white, and the fluid in their tanks electrified. They are going to move the other subjects to your section, I think, for everyone’s safety. I am worried they will dispose of him rather than handling his unusual manifestations, even if it is the handlers who have produced most of his negative behaviors. There has to be a better way than this. The subject has so much potential.

Long live the Empire.

[CORRESPONDENCE UNAVAILABLE.]

[CORRESPONDENCE UNAVAILABLE.]

[CORRESPONDENCE UNAVAILABLE.]

Sis-

Run the moment you see this. Meet me at the lifeboats. Go.

[my-love-jake-love]

I'll save you (MC's strange premonition 2)

*in the interrogation room*

FBI Chief: How did you meet Jake?

MC: ...

FBI Chief: What do you know about him? What did he tell you?

MC: ...

FBI Chief: who are you to him?

MC: ...

FBI Chief: why did you book a hotel room anonymously?

MC: ...

FBI Chief: SPEAK!!!

* MC is crying*

Chief FSB: well, we have plenty of time... sit here, maybe you'll change your mind…

* The FBI chief leaves the office*

FBI Chief: Is there any information about Jake on her phone?

Programmer: No, just conversations with friends. She told her relatives that they had gone to New YORK. They don't even know she's texting them.

FBI Chief: hmm…

Programmer:  here, it turns out she wanted to surprise her friends, so the room was booked anonymously, here she writes so Lilly.

 FBI Chief: Do you believe that? Why would she book a room anonymously? It doesn't make sense. Only if you don't want to be overlooked by the authorities, do you? Do you still remember Lilly's video? There were MC and Jake's data…

 Programmer: Yes, but it could have been a misunderstanding. Because there is nothing about the hacker, no message, no information that they know each other.

FBI Chief: but how did Lilly and the others meet her then?

Programmer: I can't figure it out. Something is blocking access to her data. Or maybe he'd already deleted all the conversations from her phone

 Chief of the FBI: You try to recover all the messages

Programmer: But nothing happens, her phone is protected from «attack»

FBI Chief: YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT I TOLD YOU!!! I'M NOT INTERESTED IN HOW YOU DO IT. SO THAT I HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION IN MY HANDS UNTIL TOMORROW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Programmer: Yes, of course.

 * The FBI chief leaves the programmer's office*

FBI Chief: Bring in everyone who has corresponded with MC tomorrow. it is necessary to interview them too, if the MC does not tell anything, then someone will definitely let it slip.

FBI: OK!

 *At this time, all MC friends receive the same text message from Jake *

The text message read: "You may all be taken to the police station for questioning tomorrow. You all have to say that you don't know who I am and MC doesn't know who I am. You met her on the Internet. She wanted to help in the search for Hannah. This is necessary in order to save MC. Be careful when answering, do not blab. After reading the text message, after 5 minutes, your phone will turn off and clear. Don't call anyone, stay at home. You may have someone already watching you"

*everyone's phone goes dead*

Everyone except Lilly: WTF... SO WAIT, MC IN DUSKWOOD?

 *The Chief of the FBI enters the interview room*

FBI Chief: Well, what did you think? Will you answer our questions?

MC: NO!

FBI Chief: well, if you don't want it good, it will be bad. Take her to a solitary cell and let her spend the night there.

 * 8 a.m. The FBI takes everyone to the station *

* talking to Jessy*

Chief of the FBI: So Jessy… How did you meet MС?

Jessy: On the Internet, she wanted to help us find Hannah

FBI Chief: Okay, Jessy, do you know who Jake is? Or do you know if MC knows him,

JESSY: Jake? No, I don't know who he is. MS and I are best friends; she would tell me if she knew him.

FBI Chief: Hmm ... Jessy do you know where the MC is now?

Jessy: Probably in his own city. And what?

Chief of the FBI: Look at this…

* The FBI chief shows Jessy a surveillance video of MC lying unconscious. *

Jessy: MC!? What did you do with her!?

FBI Chief: now you understand that every lie you make will be disastrous for MC

Jessy: I'M TELLING YOU SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO JAKE IS! LET HER GO!!!

FBI Chief: We'll let her go if we find out she's innocent, In the meantime, you can go. Your mobile phones will remain with us    

*In this way, all were interrogated*

 *all friends gather at Jessy's*

JESSY: Did anyone know MC was here? When did she get here?"

RICHY: I didn't know. It's you we should ask, you're MC's best friend

Jessy: Yes, but she didn't tell me anything

Lilly: Now you know everything, so there's no point in hiding it from you.

Jessy: What are you talking about?

Lilly: I knew MC was coming here. She asked me not to tell you. She said it was dangerous.

JESSY: But why did she tell you? You hated each other

LILLY: Yes, but we reconciled a week ago, and I'm sure she told me because she wanted to book the room anonymously so no one would know.

Dan: Yeah… I told her to stay away from this hacker, but she didn't listen to me…

* phone rings*

RICHY: Is that the phone ringing? They didn't take it from you?

Jessy: Taken away

Cleo: The sound comes from Lilly's bag

LILLY: What? I don't have a phone

* goes and checks*

Lilly: And the truth is the phone is here. But from where? It's not my phone.

 *15 minutes ago*

Lilly: I need to get to Jessie's house faster, because it's already dark...

* collides with someone *

Lilly: LOOK AROUND!

 JESSY: Pick up the phone!

Dan: and turn it up

Lilly: Alo…

Jake: I'm... the hacker, Jake ... don't worry no one from the FBI can hear you they won't be able to pick up our connection… How's MC? Is she all right?" I'm very worried about her…

DAN: OH YOU ... GIVE ME THE PHONE HERE ... HEY YOU HEAR ME HERE!!! MC IS SUFFERING THERE BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU KNOW. I TOLD HER TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU....

Jake: But…

DAN: BUT NO, SHE SAID, HE'S GOOD, HE WON'T HURT ME. I CAN SEE HOW YOU PROTECT HER…

Jake: I…

DAN: YOU SIT THERE AND LET HER SUFFER, DON'T YOU?

* Jake is heard crying; everyone is silent*

Thomas: You said I was just such a crybaby; do you hear your hacker crying too…

JESSY: Give me the phone.

Jake: It's... all... because of me… What have I done... I ... better give up, yes I will! Then they will release the MC.

JESSY: Stop, Jake! Calm down ... MC will be fine… Yes, it's your fault too, but we need you to find Hannah.  During the interrogation, I talked to them and they said they would let her go if it turned out that she was innocent. We did everything you told us to do. So they should let her go soon.

Jake: You're just saying that to comfort me, aren't you?

JESSY : No, I'm telling the truth. Let's wait at least two days... if they don't let her go, then you'll have to give up.

Cleo: What are you saying... a lot can happen in these two days…

Phil: She's right…

Lilly: There's another side to it, if they're doing it on purpose to catch Jake. And if it's a trap, they'll catch you and MC not let you go. We can also go to jail for lying.

Richy: Lilly's right, we just have to wait…

Jessy: Did you hear everything, Jake? We'll let you know if there's any news

Jake: Okay, then we'll wait. Hide this phone so that no one can find it

Jessy: Okay, I know a place like this

Dan: If anything happens to MC, I'll find you and kill you myself, JAKE!

Jake: Don't worry, if something happens to her because of me, I won't let myself live!

*At this time in the police station, a conversation between the Programmer and the Head of the FBI*

Chief FBI: They're all repeating the same thing... it's too suspicious… Did you find anything in MC's phone?

Programmer: No, nothing new. But I found an interesting phone conversation between MC and Jessy.

But the MC didn't have that conversation. So the video shows someone in a mask attacking Jessy. I looked it up on the internet and found out that it was a "man without a face" mask from the legend of Duskwood. From their personal conversations, it is clear that a person without a face needs MC. If we can't find the hacker with MC, we can at least find Hannah!

FBI Chief: Hmm ... good idea

FBI Chief: Bring the MC to the interview room.

Chief FBI: So we'll let you go if you tell us about the man without a face

MС: I won't tell you anything! Don't even dream!

FBI Chief: Don't you want to find Hannah? This is what you wanted, isn't it?

MS: what's in it for me!? FBI

Chief: Freedom... we won't touch you again. And we'll also find Hannah

MC: Okay, if you want it so badly, I'll tell you everything if you stop "hunting" Jake!!!

FBI Chief: So you do know each other. Why do you need it? You're suffering here because of him.

MС: YES, I KNOW WHO HE IS!!! EVERYONE IS HAPPY!!! Either you stop hunting him, or I won't tell you anything.

FBI Chief: I SET THE CONDITIONS HERE!!! YOU HELP US FIND HANNAH, OR WE'LL KILL YOU!

MС: Then I choose DEATH!!!

FBI Chief: LOCK HER UP IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT!!! LET HER STARVE TO DEATH THERE!!!

* MC in solitary confinement*

MC: Jake, I won't let them hurt you. I promise.

* Jake in his hideout*

Jake: MC, I won't let them hurt you. I'll save you. I promise.

 END OF THE SECOND PART

[volkswagonblues]

(part 4/?) deleted scene from firebender’s guide: Sokka and Toph invent proto-braille

[note: going through my old drafts and realized i have a LOT of deleted scenes and materials from firebenders’s guide that got cut for pacing/plot reasons. Here’s a scene that was cut because I just could not cram any more stuff into the already long epilogue. I was very, very sad about it, because this was also the hilarious conclusion to a 90k long running gag]

“What’s that on your desk?” Zuko asked. He pointed to an open box, inside where sheets of thin metal and a tiny hammer and stylus. 

“Oh, this?” Sokka pulled out one of the sheets. “This is Wager for the Water Maiden.”

He handed it to Zuko. The sheet of metal was embossed with rows of tiny characters, and Zuko ran a hand along a row, feeling the tiny ridges and indentations under the pad of a fingertip. A small mystery was revealing itself to him.

“I just have one question,” he said. 

Sokka nodded eagerly; he looked so pleased with himself that the effort of holding it back was making him burst at the seams.

“I don’t understand...” Zuko said slowly. 

Sokka leaped up. “Let me explain—”

“It’s a writing system,” Zuko interrupted, and stifled a smile when Sokka deflated like a punctured airship. “That’s what I’m guessing. A writing system that a metalbender can read, though, there’s no reason a non-bender couldn’t. The only thing I don’t understand is, wouldn’t it be faster to use some sort of chemical etching to score the metal? Rather than embossing it dot-by-dot by hand?”

Sokka pouted. “What’s the point of inventing genius contraptions if you don’t even get the chance to explain them?

[rest under cut]

“I apologize,” Zuko said, and mock-bowed. “Please elucidate, Sifu Sokka. If you want I can pretend like that I have no idea.”

“It’s not the same,” Sokka said, still pouting, “but to answer your question, Toph says it takes too much concentration to read acid etchings, and she says they feel kinda blurry to her. Something physical and tactile creates the best experience. I experimented by just tracing the characters, but that’s too time-consuming and not worth the effort. ”

“As opposed to using dots?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m sure that completely negates the effort of copying out a whole novel by hand,” Zuko said drily, and Sokka laughed out loud.

“I don’t do it all in one go. I’m copying it in monthly instalments, and then I send it to Toph along with my letter. We’re almost done Wager now, and for our next read I think I’m going to suggest some poetry. ”

Zuko studied the sheet of metal again. The dots look indecipherable to him, not like any script that he’d ever known – which means that, in addition to coming up with the idea of using a tactile medium for transmitting writing, Sokka and Toph must have worked out a whole system of making characters correspond to these tiny dots. It must have taken months of work. Years. He never asked Toph what she did in her time between illegal bending tournaments and wandering around the Earth Kingdom, picking up random students. He never thought she’d be interested in books, or reading, or anything to do with the softer side of human emotions, certainly nothing like romance. 

But they had all changed, hadn’t they, since the end of the war? As much as Zuko felt like he could never escape it, other people had. Toph was about eighteen now, she wouldn’t be a child forever. She had the rest of her adult life to develop other interests. She would not stay a child forever.

He put the sheet of metal gently back into its box. “Incredible.”

Sokka gave him a shy, beaming smile. “Toph had the idea first, actually.  And it’s not too difficult once you get into the rhythm of copying. My handwriting is bad, but not as bad as my drawing. Making dots is easier, actually.”

“Right,” Zuko said. “Sure, that’s great and all, but what I meant was, I always suspected that Toph and her “I only write to one person a month” excuse was a lie. It’s incredible you kept it from us all this long. How long has this monthly book club been going on between you two?”

He got a punch on the arm for that: proof that Toph’s influence was spreading. 

“Oh, Aang and Suki both know about that we write regular letters,” Sokka said lightly. “It’s only you and Katara who believe that.”

“What?”

“No offence, but have you ever met yourself? She’ll never get up to anything fun if you two hear about it first.”

for more:

deleted scene 1: in which Zuko meets another firebender in the South Pole (here)

deleted scene 2: in which the boys discuss PTSD and therapy, and also Sokka is a stuff-gremlin (here)

deleted scene 3: Zuko and Iroh and their time in Ba Sing Se, and also Zuko has a feud going with his 80yo neighbour (here)

[northerngoshawk]

What is the best writing advice you've ever received and how has it changed your writing process?

So I've kinda mentioned it in this ask, but I'll just expound upon it further.

Before I joined the ATLA fandom, I wrote a oneshot for a different fandom. And this author whom I had been in correspondence with ended up reading and reviewing it. She also seemed to know how to write fiction in a professional way, so she gave constructive criticism on that oneshot.

There were a lot of things she said I could improve upon in my writing, but the one thing that had stuck with me to this very day was about the psychology of the characters.

She used the term "nail-on-the-head syndrome" to describe the effect: basically, it's the trap that fanfiction writers can fall into by writing characters as being too smart and too good at figuring out their own problems with unrealistic accuracy. Meanwhile, in real life, humans aren't like that; we don't know ourselves that well, and we often cannot understand our own complexity and nuance as people.

I think (and this is my own thoughts) that this could also be a by-product of telling and not showing; you would be telling the audience what was the problem instead of letting them use context clues and read between the lines to come to that conclusion.

Because of this piece of advice, I've reinvented my writing so that I did more showing than telling, dropping context clues to hint at the true problem while also keeping the character themselves in the dark about their true issues. Since that advice, I've now been checking over my work to make sure my characters didn't feel like omniscient gods but humans, and deleting sentences that would otherwise give that impression.

And honestly? That's probably the best advice I've ever gotten on writing characters.

[since0202]

Chapter 18: Close

Grace was waiting for the other shoe to drop all week. The pack was clearly keeping their distance and Grace didn’t have it in her to face them right away. The only person who was texting her was Quil. He told her Seth had recently joined the pack, to which Grace sadly acknowledged. He also told her that Sam was clearly pissed and was trying very hard to keep them all in line, but something felt like it was pulling them in different directions around the rez. 

SMS Text— 3:32 p.m.: Grace 

It’s me. 

It’s gotta be me that’s causing the confusion. 

SMS Text—3:34 p.m.: Quil 

Then come back. 

What’s the worst that can happen? Sam rips you a new one and we all just move on.

Problem solved. 

SMS Text—3:47 p.m.: Grace 

Not quite. 

I walked into the lion’s den. I conferred with vampires. 

They know about me and all of us. 

SMS Text—3:49 p.m. Quil

So what. 

They were bound to find out eventually. Just come back. 

SMS Text—4:01 p.m. : Grace

I will. I promise. 

Grace stared at the text message and then wrote out: “How’s Jake?” but then quickly deleted it. He wasn’t talking to her, that’s how he was. Bella hadn’t been much help either. Her correspondence with Jake was just as unreliable. They had resorted to passing notes between them using Charlie and Billy as conduits like in middle school. At least it was something. 

Paul was a fortress. He was icing her out and she knew it made him crazy. Quil reported that his anger was out of control and that he was constantly getting into fights with the new recruits. Sam was sending him out on rounds alone because he couldn’t be around the others for very long before snapping. He wouldn’t answer her texts either. Typical. 

Just get through this week, Grace told herself. She really needed to catch up at school. Spring break was fast approaching and even though they were grounded, Bella and Grace were doing their best to look forward to the time off together. 

Edward stayed in their room every night. Grace didn’t mind it though. His presence signaled that all of the weirdness that had begun since she moved here was real. She could take solace in that fact at the very least. By the end of the week, Bella was sleeping regularly, Edward tucked in by her side, as Grace stayed up late most nights, wrapping up homework and staring out into the forest to catch a glimpse of glowing yellow eyes. By Friday, she saw just one pair appear behind the treeline and it took everything in her not to wander out into the dark forest and embrace whoever was there waiting. 

“It’s Jacob,” Edward had said softly to Grace. 

“I thought so,” Grace breathed. With that, she tucked herself under her covers and tried to drift off to sleep knowing that a wolf had come back to her. It was a start. 

That Saturday morning, Grace offered to drive Bella to Newton’s for her shift so that she could have the truck. She said she was going to head to the rez, but a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach told Grace that this was a lie. She planned on just driving around aimlessly, or heading to Port Angeles to get some distance. 

As she rounded a curve in the isolated and wooded road to Newton’s with Bella, Grace suddenly slammed on the brakes. 

In the middle of the road stood Jacob. His face was set in a determined stare and Grace wasn’t sure if it held anger or contempt. Bella’s eyes were wide. 

“Pull over,” Bella said breathless. Grace did and she hopped out of the truck sprinting toward him and launching herself into his arms. Grace gripped the steering wheel tightly and kept her eyes on Jacob’s. He didn’t look at Bella at first, his eyes stayed trained on Grace, sitting placidly in the driver’s seat. And then his face cracked into an achingly endearing smile as he wrapped his arms around Bella and hugged her back. 

When they pulled back from the hug, Grace heard Bella ask what he was doing here. To her question, he looked over her shoulder, directly at Grace and said her name. A dreadful feeling dropped in the pit of her stomach. Bella looked over her shoulder at Grace and watched her for a moment before turning back to Jake to interrogate him. 

Grace weighed her options. She could bolt right now, whip the truck around and try to make it to Port Angeles or Seattle where she could get swept up in a crowd and disappear for a while. But Jacob’s gaze assured her that wherever she went, he could find her. 

Don’t be a chicken. She told herself. 

Grace popped open the driver side door and stepped down from the truck. Even as Bella continued talking to Jake, his eyes darted to Grace time and time again. 

Grace approached the pair looking on either side of the forest for an ambush, but none came. Bella had her hands shoved deep in her pockets and when Grace came up to stand next to her, she looked at Jake again, sorrowful and said “Okay.” and walked back to the truck. 

“Wait, Bella,” Grace said, turning, but Jake caught her by the arm. 

“Get in the car.” He motioned to his Rabbit waiting on the side of the road up ahead. 

“Jake what the hell,” Grace said, trying to shake her arm from him. 

“Get in the car, or I’ll put you in there myself,” He stated pure and simple. His eyes commanded something that she couldn’t quite place and she looked behind her to see Bella pulling back onto the road and passing them to head toward work. Grace let her mouth fall open in protest and then set her lips in a hard line glaring at Jake. 

“I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on,” Grace crossed her arms, stubborn as usual. Jake smiled and rolled his eyes. 

“I will. On the way. Get in the car, Grace. I don’t want to have to ask again,” Jake threatened. 

“Look at you acting all Alpha,” she said nonchalantly. But Jake was having none of it. He gave her a hard look and then just as quickly leaned down and threw her over his shoulder marching back toward his car. “Jake! Let me down!” 

“I asked nicely.” Jake said as if this was somehow a justification. Grace groaned and as he placed her in the passenger seat, buckled her in, and shut the door on her, she watched him bewildered, but grateful for the close proximity. He smelled like cedar, sweat, and something sweet. Her fingers twitched with the need to run her hand across his face, through his hair, and wrap around his arms. But she miraculously stayed still and when he loaded himself on the driver’s side, he looked to her and said, “See. Was that so hard?” 

“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” 

“How about you tell me. You’re avoiding the rez and the pack’s in disarray. You don’t see anything wrong with that?” Jacob retorted. Grace folded her hands in front of her and looked out her window. 

“I’m not avoiding anything.” Grace said quietly. 

“Bullshit,” Jake said. Grace turned to look at him. 

“What about you? I haven’t seen you in weeks. That doesn’t have to do with any guilt you’re feeling about kissing Bella is it? Didn’t want to face me either?” Grace shot back, annoyed now. 

“Are we really going to talk about who is kissing who at the moment?” Jacob returned, a teasing smile on his lips. Grace blushed profusely. “I’m just returning you to where you belong. With us.” He paused and looked over to her for a moment, “With me.”

Grace’s breath caught in her throat. Jacob continued, “We don’t work without you. And no amount of hearsay or talk of betrayal will change that.” 

“So they think I betrayed them, then?” 

“So what. They’re anger is the least of your worries. We’ve got a bigger problem on our hands.” Grace looked over him expectantly. 

“Which is?” 

“More members of the tribe are phasing. Younger and younger. I don’t want this burden to be put on anyone else,” Jake said quietly. 

“I hear you,” Grace said thinking about Seth. “I think we should work together with the Cullens to solve it.” 

“The Cullens are the one causing it!” Jacob started. 

“You don’t know that,” Grace shook her head. 

“Grace, you can’t be that stupid. They’re bloodsuckers, they pose a threat, and our blood responds to that!” 

“Jake.” Grace’s voice was level, hard, sure, “They are not a threat. The treaty defines that clearly and if you want to fight about this, I want to wait until we’re with everyone so I don’t have to take more than one beating at a time.” 

“I think you’re going to be surprised.” Jake said as he pulled into the cove of Sam and Emily’s bungalow. Grace took a deep breath and stared at the open front door. “Come on. I’ll be with you,” Jake assured her. She threw him a small smile and then pushed her door open, ready to face her fate. 

When she closed her door, announcing her arrival, she heard a whooping and whistle come from inside. A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth as she watched some members of the pack spill out the open front door. 

“Well, well, well. Look who it is!” Embry laughed. 

“If it isn’t our own Benedict Arnold,” Jared teased. Grace rolled her eyes. 

“And you?” Grace nodded to Quil. “What’s your quippy little saying?” 

“Me? I got nothing,” Quil said with a sly smile, “Except that, ooh brrr, is it getting cold out here?” 

“Subtle,” Grace said. Jacob was standing behind her, leaning on the hood of his car and thoroughly enjoying the show. Seth, Leah, and Paul came out of the house now, followed closely by Sam. Grace tightened, trying to brace herself for what was to come. 

Sam looked at her with what she could only assume was anger, but when he came down the steps toward her, his face changed. He stood in front of her now and Grace kept her head up, not wanting to retreat or back down. An Alpha was the ultimate authority, but Grace felt like she was the key to holding them all together. That had to count for something. 

“What you did was reckless, selfish, and put us all in danger,” Sam started. Grace let him continue without interjecting or trying to correct him just yet. “I can’t even begin to understand what was going through your head walking into a den full of vampires. But if you do that again, we’ll be forced to come in and get you. It took all I had to hold them back that night,” he gestured to everyone around him, but Grace’s eyes fell on one person in particular. 

Paul was clearly shuddering, trying to keep his cool and his eyes never left Grace’s. Everything in her told her that all he wanted was to either scoop her up and pull her to him or rip her to shreds...metaphorically speaking. 

“Acknowledge that you got the message,” Sam said in his Alpha voice. Grace shifted uncomfortably and behind her, she felt Jacob mirror her movements. 

“Loud and clear,” she responded. Sam nodded and gave her a withering stare before turning to head back inside. Something in Grace rose up and she couldn’t stop the words from spilling out of her mouth, “But the Cullen’s pose no threat. And Bella is my family. I’ll do what I have to to protect her.” 

Behind her, she heard Jacob give out a small laugh. She looked over her shoulder at him and requested his gaze, “What’s so funny?” 

“I can’t believe you’re defending her is all,” Jacob huffed. 

“Like I said, she’s family.”

“No, no, no, I got that.” 

“Well, some us just have stronger loyalty than others I guess. Others who get their feelings hurt because a girl who has a boyfriend doesn’t kiss them back.” As it came out of her mouth, she flinched and closed her eyes. Jacob tightened and stood up. 

“She wants to become one of them. You know what that means don’t you?” Jacob said through gritted teeth. 

“Wait, what?” Quil interjected. 

“Jake.” Grace warned. 

“She wants to become one of them. A vampire. And that means that once they bite her, all bets are off. And we do, what we’re trained for, what we’re created for,” Jake said. No one tried to stop him and Grace just listened. 

“I know what she wants. And I’m working on it.” Grace said quietly. 

“You really are something you know,” Paul said suddenly from the porch. “Who’s side are you on again?” 

“I’m not on a side, Paul,” Grace turned back toward him. 

“Oh really? Because it seems pretty clear from where I’m standing whose side you’re on,” he spat back. 

“Well you’re wrong,” Grace said calmly. Paul shuddered and banged his fist on the porch railing. “Anyone else?” Grace looked to each member around her. No one made eye contact. Except for Leah. Grace could clearly interpret how she was feeling. Grace nodded at her once, acknowledging her hurt and moved on. “Okay.” As she spun around to look back at Jake, she heard an explosion behind her. Paul bounded toward the forest and all Grace could make out was a blur shaking fur and anger. 

“Jared,” Sam said over his shoulder. And in a flash, Jared was after him. 

“So that’s still a problem, then,” Grace sighed. 

“You need to talk to him. Alone. He’s been a real mess lately,” Quil said. 

“Jesus.” Grace muttered under her breath. All at once, Grace was overcome with exhaustion as she looked towards the woods. There was no way she could recast at this moment. 

“Let me take you home,” Jake said softly behind her, placing a warm hand on her back. Grace nodded and turned back toward the car. 

Jake stayed quiet on the drive back and Grace let herself nod off. When they got back to her house, Jake helped her out of the car and got her inside. Charlie must have been called to the station because his car wasn’t there. Instead of letting her walk up the stairs, Jake muttered “Screw this” and scooped her up under her legs and cradled her. Grace was too tired to protest. When he gently placed her on her bed, Grace put an arm over her eyes to block out the sun. 

“Are you okay?” Jake said, concerned. 

“Mmhmm, just tired.” Grace mumbled. 

Jake gently removed her shoes and let them fall to the floor with a soft thud. His breathing picked up as he gazed up the length of her body laying on the bed. The sunlight had peeked around from the clouds and washed over her in golden afternoon light. Jacob clenched his hands into fists and told himself to leave, but watching the gentle rise and fall of her breath and the soft light glittering across her black hair he found it hard to obey. He sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her drift off to sleep. 

And when that didn’t feel close enough, he placed a hand on her calf and watched her for longer. And as the sun started to get low in the afternoon, he found himself next to her, draping an arm across her body, his head bowed toward her shoulder. He had missed this: being this close to her filled something in him that he couldn’t explain. Her warmth echoed his own and when he was close to her like this, the rest of his life seemed clear. He saw flashes of her constantly whenever she was near enough to him to feel her warmth. These flashes felt like shadows of a life they had lived so many times together, but all of the images were brand new. 

He reveled in these moments where he remembered her in a way he had yet to experience: beside him, holding his hand, dressed in white lace; clutched to him in a rainstorm and throwing her head back and laughing; under him, breathless and sweet and wanting. He let those images guide him toward sleep, holding fast to Grace and burying his face in the crook between her shoulder and neck.

When Grace woke up, she felt immensely warm. Her body was draped across Jake and in the darkness she could just make out his broad shape. He was on his back, both arms wrapped around her with his head leaning down toward hers. Grace’s leg was draped over him, her head resting comfortably on his chest with her hand wrapped up around the side of his neck. She lifted her head to look up at his sleeping face and smiled for a quick moment before she realized where she was. 

She sat up and gently shook him, muttering a soft, “Jake.” He opened his eyes slowly and when sleep finally left him, he got up with a grumbly “Oh.” and made his way toward the window. 

“I’ll see you soon,” he whispered to her before he jumped out of the window and took off toward the forest. Grace placed a hand on her neck to feel the rush of warmth leave her and stayed perfectly still staring out toward the forest for a long time. 

[kustovshik]

Talking.

This post is informative in connection with a dispute that one of the parties decided to make absurd. If you don't want to get involved, just skip it. I don't force anyone to look into it or read it.

Kust is in touch. As many people have noticed, there was a small(not small now) conflict between me and a couple of other people, which could have already been eliminated, but was brought to total clowning. Names/nicknames named in this post will not be in order to avoid any negative towards those people. Also, no correspondence will be shown here, although they will be mentioned. If someone asks , I'm ready to go and personally collect all the screenshots of the two conversations, without losing any moments.

As a person in some way responsible for the current situation, I have a desire to illuminate everything from the side of my vision of things.

The conflict conditionally began three days ago. Let's call the person who initially had a small argument with me a certain person "A".

Well. in March. March 24th. We can assume that almost 5 months ago I published a post: https://kustovshik.tumblr.com/post/613504425335586816/i-want-to-be-in-fiars-stomach-he-looks-like-a

Many people remember it, I hope. I'll attach an old screenshot here just in case.

The whole conflict initially started because of the double meaning of the context behind the work itself. The problem, I was told, was the tags. Namely, in the tag highlighted in the screenshot above: ‘safe vore(or is it?)’.

This tag was originally put up there not because I didn't know what type of vore to call it, but specifically so that people themselves would sit and think: what do they want to see in my drawing. Simply put, a drawing with an open context. And it seems like no one has had any problems with it for few months.

That's what person A didn't like. I was told in a very unpleasant way for me personally that the person was very offended by this use of tags. And other problems with how they don't like 'fatal vore'. It was also suggested to me that I don't know about how fatal can be quite a painful experience for some.

I admit. My answer was quite abrupt. I can't deny it, and I won't, because that's the kind of person I am. My language is harsh on words and expressions. Instead of a thousand words and a selection of expressions, I usually tell people everything openly, or I am ready to openly indicate that something is wrong. Also, I fully admit that I have problems controlling my emotions, which makes it difficult for me to establish contact with strangers. I grew up in a different mindset, which is why I have a different view of many things. It's like putting two people who know the same language, but from different parts of the world, next to each other and forcing them to express their position on some moral principles or other things, and then wonder why their answers are different. A very exaggerated and crude comparison, but that how it looks like.

Why did I respond harshly? I am a rather rude person, and I do not like when people come to me in private messages, starting to talk about how bad they are feeling, because of things that can be safely ignored or blocked by them, so that there are no problems.

My first fatal mistake was when I decided to answer to "A". Afterwards, I talked to a couple of my friends and got cold feet. And then I apologized, trying to come to some compromise, adding the tag 'open ending' so that no one would be confused. But it seems that this was not enough, because “A” continued to say how it’s bad from what she found, even if not quite fatal stuff. Refusing to compromise in any way, as I suggested.

After that, we parted with apologies to each other, and neither of us wrote to each other again. I honestly thought it was over.

Now, before I go on to the man who has been driving me mad for the past two days, I will make a pure assumption and try to explain my indignation in a different way...

Out of human interest, I went through the 'safe vore' tag. Noted an interesting feature. Both tags had quite a lot of posts there. Namely, tags are 'safe vore' AND 'fatal vore'. Why did my post cause the problem? Have no idea.

Then another point became incomprehensible to me. How did a person get to this post at all? It would be difficult to find it through search, but you can: there is a lot of content by tag. I flipped the feed down from the second account for a long time and didn't come across my own post.

Then, in my little investigation, I looked into Tumblr's alerts. Likes, reblogs, well, you understand in short. And noticed it.

This is the first appearance of "A" in my notifications.

Hence, I dare to assume that "A" came across one of the reblogs of this post: https://kustovshik.tumblr.com/post/616227708116025344/a-new-player-has-joined-the-game And then "A" went to my blog, along the way ignoring the description specially written for such people at the very top of the blog, and came across my two-meaning post.

But after that, I had a rhetorical question: Why go to the blog of a person who has this written in the description, and hope that there will not be a fatal vore?

Of course, this theory is based only on my assumptions. But I think this scenario is quite real.

Thus, we can say that I have every right to be angry at the indignation expressed in my direction, because it is not my fault that the person ignored my preferences, scrolled down my blog page and started complaining.

Back to reality.

As you can understand, " A " shared our conversation with their friend, who the next day suddenly came to me with a long message about his position, offering help that was not needed.

Even then, I began to suspect that this person(let's call him "B") was somehow connected with "A". Moreover, the reason for the visit was the same for both of them.

I have already mentioned that I am an irritable and rather rude person. I was already stressed enough by the appearance of "A" and the consequences of my reflections that occurred after what I thought was an end to the conflict. And the repeated mention of the situation has already infuriated me.

I fully admit that I reacted very sharply to the "B" message. I had reasons for this that the other side chose not to consider.

Well. After receiving the message I gave sharp response expressing extreme dissatisfaction, but without insults to "B". Was there passive-aggressive speech? Yes. Were words said that I am not obliged to monitor the health of people who do not concern me? Yes. Do I have the right to think so? Yes. Does this fall under the moral code? It depends on the person's personal worldview.

Yes, I was rude due to the fact that on the second day I was exhausted and angry about this situation. I wanted to end this conflict and repeatedly asked both of them to block me and remain neutral. In addition, I tried to somehow explain that we are people of different mentalities and grew up with different life standards, so in this situation we see this conflict differently. Yes, in a rough way, but I tried to explain it.

I received a ton of direct insults, was accused of narcissism and high self-esteem, as well as refusing to take care of other people's problems. In addition, I received lines like, quote: "...but let me see you talk like you did to me or anyone else simply trying to converse with you over a serious topic and I will not hesitate to have your content and eventually your account removed from this site.".

Isn't this a direct threat?

I understand that passive-aggressive speech itself can offend someone. But you can't call it an insult. Passive-aggression is a hidden way of expressing negative feelings and emotions to a person. This is not an insult. But, Yes, I admit that this is a very harsh and rude way of communicating.

That's just after such an exchange of pleasantries, I snapped. 3 days of unquenchable conflict, when one side refused to listen to the other, at the same time. There were attempts on my part to end the conflict. There was one repeated request to block and disperse, so as not to inflame everything to the point of absurdity.

"Want to stay safe with your own preferences? "Please, God, don't touch me, that's all. Block me already and we will live in peace. "- This was the message of my answers. It's sad, but instead of just ending the conflict, I got the brand of a person with a capitalist mindset, the brand of a bitch-whiner, and other other charms.

And I swear that I was ready to just leave all this and stop responding to such outbursts in my direction, banal blocking "B", if they can’t themselves do it.

As here I get a notification with a post where this person changed my art / tags and basically uploaded the changed image to his blog, hiding behind good intentions. "B" did not receive permission for such actions. Even with an indication of authorship. I am most outraged by such actions at the moment.

Better look on the two images compared to each other. 

And after that, everyone wants me to try to understand how bad I was and how poor they are, that from a simple argument that could have ended without even starting, it turned into an absurd clowning with offended people, insults and changing someone else's drawings and whole character reaction. Just a note. Fiar is not so nice, he’s a wild monster leech and he just grumbles about everything as much as he don’t understands why some people willing to let him eat them. He’ll never say something as “I’ll keep you safe”.  

There it is. The comedy of a three days.

This post is for informational purposes only. Namely, how I see this situation.

All I want now is for "B" to delete the post, and for both sides to banal block each other, so that we never meet again.

I refuse to apologize to "B" for their latest act of outraging my drawing by completely distorting the meaning from a neutral drawing to something that only "B" and their friend like. In conclusion I can say, that I do not call myself a good one in that confrontation. I did some terrible mistakes while talking to both of those people. But it’s not only I’m here being on the bad side. People are not black and white. 

After this I’ll not respond to any of the continuation of that conflict anymore. I’m tired of this.

[mprjanedoe]

Hi there folks. I really did not intend to make this blog a regular update situation. I intended for the information to be out there for those to read and that really be the end of it. But a number of noteworthy things have happened and I feel they are worth talking about.

Please repost this if you see this.

Nothing in this post is legal advice directed to anyone or from anyone. I am not a lawyer. I know lawyers, I have spoken with lawyers, I am reading what lawyers have to say – but this is not legal advice.

I am here expressing my opinion on this situation and how it has been handled.

At no point in talking about this, in any correspondence on this blog, my twitter, or my Instagram, has my intent been malicious. I am not talking about all of this with the intention of saying any of it to harm Michael, or any members of Steam Powered Giraffe. And I would venture to say that Bunny and David, when they’ve spoken about what Michael’s done, also had no intention of harming Michael by speaking about this. It is a pervasive and toxic myth that the vast majority of people who would ever speak out about abuse have something to gain from doing so. I have absolutely nothing to gain from this. Even in my personal life – non-anonymously, I have nothing to gain from this. I am putting myself at risk of retaliation in various forms. I am doing this because I care about the people Michael harmed, myself included – and they all, we all, deserve the respect and dignity of people knowing what happened in our path to healing and recovery from the lasting harm caused by Michael.

I was informed by multiple people, publicly, and privately/anonymously that Michael has threatened legal action against Steam Powered Giraffe LLC and has used the word “libel” to describe what legal action he may choose to take. This is likely the reason Bunny chose to delete her tweets about Michael. I have been asked to remove the public conversation around this. I am not going to do so. The person who publicly mentioned this to me deserves no negative attention for doing so. The access fans and supporters get to SPG when becoming patrons is merely a paywall.

So let’s talk about Michael’s response, and let’s talk about libel. Libel is the legal term for written defamation of character. The legal definition of defamation is as such: “Generally, defamation is a false and unprivileged statement of fact that is harmful to someone's reputation, and published "with fault," meaning as a result of negligence or malice. Libel is a written defamation.”

Steam Powered Giraffe has mentioned on public posts on Patreon that Michael has “denied everything”. Steam Powered Giraffe has mentioned on public posts on Patreon, verbatim: “The evidence is far from unfounded. It's all damning and there is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The evidence is overwhelming.” (sic)

I do not know who all has reached out to Steam Powered Giraffe’s members and what they have all come forward with about what Michael has done. I only know what I have experienced, what I have personally witnessed (in person, and online/over the phone), and what I have been told (and shown, in photos, texts, chatlogs, etc) from other victims. I have no reason to believe Steam Powered Giraffe is hyperbolizing, exaggerating, or making anything up about the situation. I also have made no hyperbole or exaggeration. To my knowledge, there is a significant amount of evidence and a significant number of victims to prove that Michael has caused the harm that has been spoken about. There is no indication that Steam Powered Giraffe has posted anything that is not true about him in this situation. That in and of itself, nullifies the idea that there is libel occurring.

In addition to this – as I said earlier, I have nothing to gain from this. I am at risk of more harm in this. Steam Powered Giraffe as an entity also has nothing to gain from this. From what they’ve said, it appears they have not been working with Michael for a while, and while I imagine some sort of legal residual financial situation for royalties will have to remain in place, what I cannot imagine is that Steam Powered Giraffe is paying Michael so much in royalties that they would lie or seek to tarnish his image just to find a way not to pay him. Steam Powered Giraffe is also at risk for talking about him, and it is a financial risk to put their reputation on the line for being associated with him for a number of years to talk about this.

In my opinion, Michael’s threat is at best, an empty one, and at worst, a foolish one. Legal action of any kind is expensive. From what I’ve read, a libel/defamation lawsuit can cost on average $15,000, over a process of at the least $1,000 a month to pursue. Not to mention Michael is not in the US anymore, and we’re in the middle of a pandemic where legal cases are not as easy to just initiate and process. In addition to this, much of what Michael has done, that I can personally state I know there is proof of, was and is illegal. Statutory rape, possession and distribution of illegal drugs, providing alcohol to minors – all of these things were and are illegal. To initiate a process where Steam Powered Giraffe would be in a position to present the burden of proof of what he’s done, would be a significant risk to “open up a can of worms”, so to speak. It would not be in Michael’s best interest financially or personally to pursue legal action against Steam Powered Giraffe LLC or anyone talking about the things he has done.

It is not uncommon for perpetrators of abuse to threaten legal action in an attempt to silence victims and those who would bring their actions to light. In the case of directly attempting to silence victims, there are laws called Anti SLAPP laws. SLAPP stands for “A strategic lawsuit against public participation is a lawsuit intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. In the typical SLAPP, the plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. “ These laws and these types of lawsuits typically are talking about domestic violence cases wherein an abusive spouse threatens legal action to try to prevent a victim from seeking help and talking about the abuse they’ve experienced or are experiencing. This does not apply directly here, but it is an indicator that these behaviors from abusive people are not necessarily a rare occurrence.

I have some grievances about how Steam Powered Giraffe – namely David and Bunny, are handling this situation. Is it reasonable for the Bennetts to make sure to cover their brand and their *assets*? Absolutely. But not everything is black and white. I believe that not enough is being done by David and Bunny to appropriately make it known the harm Michael has caused. This is a morality issue, and I know not everyone has the same morals as I do, but I would hope with the things David and Bunny appear to stand for, that they would care more about Michael’s victims than Michael’s threats or the potential at Steam Powered Giraffe being looked at negatively by being associated with Michael. Here’s the thing – Michael’s harm cannot be divorced from his associated with Steam Powered Giraffe, and Steam Powered Giraffe handling this appropriate and respectfully would make people who care about things like this respect and admire SPG more. Currently, it feels as though SPG is more committed to doing the absolute bare minimum and focusing the rest of their attention on protecting themselves from a perceived threat as opposed to caring about the severity of the situation and doing their part to help the victims.

David said, in a tweet on July 3rd: (I have not checked to see if this tweet is still up) “I’d trade everything with Steam Powered. Giraffe if it meant I could go back in time and stop Mike from joining the band in 2009, so he might not hurt anyone”

David said on a tweet on June 30th “I feel sick having hired him for gigs in 2017, knowing this all now” and in another tweet “To know what he was actually doing sickens me”

Bunny has also stated a number of emotional and remorseful things which have mostly since been deleted:

She stated that she “almost couldn’t” love him anymore (in the past) because of “the sheer panic attacks” she got “around him and fans”

She said “I know the band wasn’t harboring an abuser knowingly or anything like that, but it’s hard not to feel like I was. I will be asking myself that for. The rest of my life. I should’ve said something. I should of stood my ground. We had nothing to go off of except an irate fan and a girl who didn’t want to press charges or do anything about it”

Bunny also said – presumably on behalf of SPG as a whole: “We’re talking, we’re listening, and we’re horrified at the accusations against Mike”

She also said “I can’t express my disgust. I can’t express the rage and hurt I have inside of me boiling up” and “I will fucking tear down this band and burn it to the ground if that gets the fucking bile out of my mouth” and “I’m watching this bastion of hope we created be sordid by someone we let in… gave the benefit of doubt to… MULTIPLE TIMES. I don’t know if SPF will ever be the same for me – every guitar lick… every phat beat he wrote. Tainted.”

David said in a tweet “We stand with the victims who have come forward to us privately, publicly, and those that haven’t.”

Bunny said “This is something that will haunt for years. I’m personally energized to spend the remainder of my life contrary to what Mike and people like Mike do. When the world heals and touring begins again, know that if you take advantage of our audience, we will be there with other performers like us to hold you accountable. And our audience. And your audience.”

On July 12th, Bunny said “The best part of this is that Steve and Mike get away scot free. They don’t get their comeuppance. I dunno if “vengeance” is the way to live life, but I know for a fact the next decade is going to be spent finding my own happiness in truth and loyalty.” “Mike has denied it all, even in the fact of damning evidence. We gave him the benefit of doubt too, and we contacted his family. No regrets, no justice in the slightest. And there are still people singing his praises”. She goes on: “Trying to describe my feelings on Steve and Mike’s behavior and how for years I’ve defended them… all the while being lied to is… heartbreaking to say the least. I know things are confusing, but you can’t make this shit up”

On the specifics of Michael’s behavior: “Mike’s stuff is so much worse. I was afraid Mike’s underage grooming habits would be somehow lessened or forgotten in the wake of Steve’s behavior back in the day… which while deplorable, have at least been owned up to.” “Stringing together tweets is the worst way to address all this, but I suppose a video about it or something down the line is called for. Right now I’m far too upset and rattled to reflect on it all. I don’t know how SPG will be salvaged from all this”.

Why am I repeating all of this? I want it to be cleared that David and Bunny expressed remorse, disgust, regret, anger, grief, shame in all of this. I see that. I acknowledge that. And in seeing these statements, I trusted them to handle this in the best way they could manage. But it also needs to be acknowledged that there has been a harmful failure on their part in how they’ve responded beyond these tweets. I am not the expert on how best to handle horrible situations like this, but as both a victim and an ally to other victims and a person who has been a fan of SPG before, I think I know enough to say that not enough has been done, and inaction in and of itself causes harm as well.

I’d also like to address the unfortunate situation that David and Bunny maintain they had no prior knowledge of Michael’s behavior. Here’s the thing: while I 100% believe they did not know all of the details of all of the harm Michael caused, there were definitive patterns and red flags and there needs to be actual accountability around this. Bunny said that the band gave Michael the benefit of doubt multiple times. She also said that Michael was caught and reprimanded for kissing a teenage fan in 2011. If my math is correct, at the time Michael would’ve been 25 and the fan was 17. That’s nearly a decade of difference, despite the fan being almost 18. On top of this, this was a fan and a minor and not only is there a power dynamic at play with age but also setting and influence. Bunny also mentioned Michael had been reprimanded for being “too friendly” around fans as young as 14. As an adult in my 20s, if I had a peer and friend my age who had a pattern of getting friendly with teenagers and minors of any age, that would be a huge red flag. Let ALONE a bandmate, a coworker or sorts – or technically a contractor level employee. I would see anyone like that as a liability I could not take the risk of associating with, and as a likely dangerous man to be around. That was an entire decade ago, and nothing was done beyond a slap of the wrist. On top of this, as someone who was Michael’s friend, I went to multiple Steam Powered Giraffe shows to support him. I also was apart of online fan communities as well. I saw how visible he was with his predatory “friendliness” towards young fans, and I saw fans gossip about his friends and give them a sort of adjacent celebrity status as well. While I was young and being manipulated myself and not in a position to prevent harm – I am saying this to state that I witnessed the public visibility of Michael’s predatory behavior. I take issue with the claim that there were no signs and that no one could’ve prevented this sooner. I’ve seen some fans say that Michael would’ve “always been this way” and found ways to harm other people had he not been in Steam Powered Giraffe. While this could be true, it cannot be denied that being apart of a successful band like Steam Powered Giraffe that gained a cult status online and in the local scene and had a significant YEARS of DAILY exposure in a family setting to minors, cultivating a fandom of a significant amount of younger fans, giving Michael the upper hand of minor celebrity and influence, travel, etc, cannot be divorced from this situation. This is not inherently Bunny or David’s fault. But it is a factor in the breadth of harm Michael was able to do, and it is a factor in knowing there were opportunities for him to have had the resources he gained and used to cause harm pulled from him much sooner than now, when he has already removed himself from the band as it stands.

The past is the past. It cannot be changed. As David and Bunny both lamented that they’d go back and stop things if they could’ve, well yes, to a degree, there were opportunities to prevent further harm, but it’s too late now. Now is the time to make things right, and to prevent the potential for further harm.

Currently – there is absolutely not enough publicly visible and available information on the harm Michael has caused on Steam Powered Giraffe’s social media presence. This is made worse by the fact that consistent promo and every day band stuff creates a wider and wider gap between the leftover posts about Michael’s abuse on Twitter, Facebook, and Patreon. It is now becoming a game of chance whether a fan of Steam Powered Giraffe will know what Michael has done. I have seen numerous posts and tweets from fans asking what happened, saying they are confused and in the dark. It has been less than 3 weeks since Bunny first tweeted about this, and it cannot fade to memory.

It is unfair and grotesque for fans of all ages, including children and parents of children, to unknowingly hold Michael dear in their hearts as an admirable, safe, kindhearted person – without knowing what he has done. It is unfair to not let people decide for themselves whether they still look up to him, whether they still admire him, whether they still support him. Michael’s victims cannot safely have a platform to speak openly about his violence without harming themselves by being exposed to backlash and being triggered by repeated exposure to their traumas out in the open. However, Michael’s victims deserve to have their voices heard, their grievances aired, and deserve to get some slight respite after years of abuse at least knowing that what they suffered is no longer a secret and people are not *unknowingly* offering praise and fame to someone who has done such disgusting and lastingly harmful things.

Bunny expressed that Steve and Michael got off “scot free” and that there was “no justice”. I am not advocating that SPG or myself or any of Michael’s victims be the ones to make any attempt at giving Michael consequences for his actions or enacting justice. However, Bunny and David can do things to make the burden of harm lighter.

Here is what I believe can and should be done, at the least, to do the right thing in this situation:

-SPG needs to make public statement(s) about Michael’s harmful actions on ALL public social media. Not just Patreon and not just the statements that have already been made. These statements should not be deleted.

-Michael’s likeness should be removed from all SPG’s media, within the realm of whatever royalties or residual contractual obligations will allow

-SPG should take a moratorium on normal fandom posts: promotion posts, art prompts, casual band updates on band specific pages. Every promo post, every art prompt, every band announcement will detract further and bury the information if not given the space and respect to allow the information to be seen and processed. The moratorium should at the very least last a week, if not more.

-I and Michael’s victims that I know would appreciate the original statement of harm reposted on Steam Powered Giraffe’s social media.  I remind David and Bunny that doing so does not make them legally liable for MY statement, and some fans who have read this statement have also directly encouraged SPG to repost. David and Bunny’s words cannot properly convey the direct harm caused to Michael’s victims. The victims deserve to be heard directly. Using Steam Powered Giraffe’s platform to make this known, the same platform that helped enable Michael to cause harm, is a respectful course of action.

-I also encourage David and Bunny to reflect on their role in allowing Michael to “get away scot free” in this. I have no specifics of personal accountability to ask of them, but I do encourage them to not focus on guilt or shame that cannot be fixed, but to really process this and do what they can to learn and grow from this and not allow the chance of letting harm occur again.

I know this was an extremely long post, and if you stuck through it all, thank you.

I hope that actions are taken in the right direction, and I hope I will have less commentary to offer on the situation in the future so I can focus on healing.  

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Subterfuge

Part 8/finale in Getaway Series

Warnings: nonconsensual sex (vaginal ntercourse, violence), angst, general assholery.

This is dark!(nomad)Steve and explicit. 18+ only. PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS. I mean it, I’m not gonna tell you again.

Summary: The reader makes her move.

Note: Alright, so this is the final part of this series and I’m shocked that I’ve finished it bc I was struggling boo. But here ya go. I hope you all are ready and I dunno if you’ll like it, but this is the end.

Anyways, let me know what you think as always with a reblog and/or some feedback. Love ya <3

...

You watched your mother as she set the casserole dish in the middle of the table. She hadn’t said much to you since your arrival. She avoided it as she distracted herself with the family dinner. Your sister sat across from you, she meant to say something but had yet to find the gull. 

Your father was the only who was unfazed by your presence. Never the talkative type, he at least looked away from his book for more than two seconds to acknowledge you. He greeted you with a hug and asked after your day. 

The tension of thoughts unspoken kept you silent too. You waited at the table and resisted the habitual urge to take your phone out. That would only be a reminder. Of how terribly everything could go. Your last hope were the texts you quickly erased upon reading. The emails deleted within minutes of receiving them.

Tony Stark had a plan and it all hinged on you. And Steve. Agents were in place to descend on your apartment the moment you sent the code word but their target had been absent for almost five days. Just like his presence, it made you anxious. He had been away for longer before. You should be relieved to be free of him, but you knew it was only temporary.

Your mother served everyone before she sat. You twirled your fork but even the savoury aroma of her family recipe couldn’t rile your appetite. You may not know when Steve would show up next, but you knew the end was imminent. All you had to do was send the word. One word and he was done.

“So, honey,” Your mother’s voice was hesitant. “How have you been?”

“Working,” You replied. “You know, the same old.”

The sound of cutlery against the plates filled the silence that followed. 

“And how’s Nick?” Gia asked suddenly. You looked up to her grin and narrowed your eyes.

“I wouldn’t know,” You said. 

“Gia,” Your mom warned.

“Oh come on, the last time we saw her, her ex was tryna fight her new boytoy.” Gia trilled. “Our family can be dramatic but that was--”

“He’s not--Nick is just...Nick.” You interjected. “Jesus, I came here to be with all of you and you’re treating me like some...pariah. Should I have worn a scarlet letter for our dinner?”

“We’re worried,” Your mother intoned. “We don’t know this Nick very well and after what happened with Ethan--”

“Ethan hates me. He has every right to.” You snarled. “What do you want me to say? He was right, I’m a slut.”

“Language,” Your mother reproached.

“I’m an adult! I’ll use whatever language suited to the situation.” You dropped your fork and crossed your arms. “Why aren’t you saying anything to Gia as she dates a man nearly two decades older than her, hmm?”

“We love you, we just want to make sure you’re okay,” Your mother protested.

“Then leave her alone,” Your father spoke up as he swallowed a mouthful of casserole. “Pete’s sake, she’s told you a dozen times. Let her make her own mistakes. Judgin’ her’s not gonna do her any favours.”

You blinked and looked to your dad as he leaned back in his chair. 

“This Nick boy causes any trouble, I’ll deal with him myself.” He shook his head. “Just like I dealt with Ethan.”

“What?” You lifted a brow. “What does that mean?”

“I had a talk with him after the barbecue. Told him to leave you alone. He’s angry. Hurt. But I told him it’s no sense hounding you and making you both more miserable than you already are.” He sighed. “It will pass. All of it.” He looked to your mother pointedly. “So let it pass and be nice.”

You mother sniffed and stared at the table. Gia glared at you over her plate and you tapped your fingers along the wood. You nodded and slowly stood.

“I’m not hungry.” You said. “Besides, I didn’t come here to eat. I came here to spend time with you. I thought, stupidly, that we could be friendly.” You stepped out from between the chair and table. “I love you. All of you. I just think I need some time.”

“Honey,” Your mother stood, “Please--”

“I’ve got work tomorrow,” You neared her and forced your arms around her. “I’ll see you.” 

You let go of her and patted your sister’s arm as she sulked in her chair. Your father stood and hugged you in turn. He clung to you a moment before he held you at arm’s length. His wrinkles deepened as he considered you.

“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” He said.

“I’ll try, dad,” You slowly parted from him and his hand fell from your shoulder. “Bye.”

You grabbed your coat and jacket at the door and looked back into the dining room. Your dad watched as you opened the door and disappeared out onto the street. Well, there wasn’t as much at stake as you thought.

-

‘Dear Mom, Dad, Gia, or whoever finds this letter,

If I'm missing or dead, I want this to be a record of why. If this man gets the best of me, I want there to be a chance that someone might get him.’

Your hand hovered over the paper as you thought. The small book light lit your words as you sat in the dark. The mattress was lumpy, its time on the floor had worsened its springs. You flicked your pen against your lip and bit the cap. Slowly, you pressed the ballpoint to the paper again.

‘It happened up north, on vacation with my friends, Kaya, Camile, Milani, and Corette, as well as my sister, Gia. They do not know what happened but they can confirm that they left me alone for several hours to visit the beach. During which I was accosted and assaulted by the fugitive known as Steve Rogers. He was bleeding and left me bleeding in turn.

I returned at the end of the week to the apartment I shared with my boyfriend, Ethan. For a few weeks, my life was the same as it was. But then he appeared again, broke into my apartment, and assaulted both me and Ethan. He made Ethan watch as he raped me and this led to the end of that relationship.

Thereafter, living on my own and without witness, I was visited almost weekly by Steve Rogers. He introduced himself to those I knew as Nick and coerced me into hiding his identity. If you capture him, you will find footage of at least one of his assaults on his phone. You will also find that he once more assaulted Ethan at one of my family’s events.

You will also note my correspondence with Stark Industries. They can provide you with a full transcript as I have erased all evidence on my end to keep myself safe. If they have failed to aid me in capturing the fugitive, then this letter will be of use to you. I only hope that he is caught before he can do this to someone else.

In the event that this letter is read, I want my family to know that I love them. I am sorry I didn’t tell them the truth but it was for their own safety.’

You leaned back against the pillow and re-read the letter. You shivered and folded it up carefully. Your last testament. All that would remain of you should this all go to shit. You got up and tucked folded the paper up so that it fit behind the upholstery of your jewelry box. When Steve arrived, you’d text your mother your hiding spot. You only prayed Steve didn’t discover it first.

-

It was your day off. You didn’t sleep and so you showered and dressed early. Unsure of when the bell would toll, you determined to make what could be your last day to yourself entirely self-indulgent.

You spent an hour in the bookstore. It was ages since you visited the familiar aisles, browsed old titles and new. You still hadn’t read the last haul of books you’d taken home with you. You weren’t sure you ever would but the smell of paperback comforted you. It reminded you of a time before; the alphabetized spines were the only order in your chaotic life.

You paid for a collection of Poe’s stories and made your way to the cafe next door. Many of the bookstore’s patrons ended up here. It was bustling that day but many took their coffee to go. You ordered a tea and sat in the corner, a round-backed armchair with another beside it. Empty.

It was easy to feel lonely these days. With a secret you couldn’t share with anyone; a torment you faced on your own. You left your tea to cool on the small table between the chairs and opened the book. Many of these tales you’d read before but each time you read them, they felt new again, though the sense of horror was nothing compared to that you faced outside the pages.

“You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded –with what caution –with what foresight –with what dissimulation I went to work!”

You began to slump in your chair as you read the descent into madness, the almost inhuman insanity did not seem so fantastical anymore. Perhaps, Poe’s horror wasn’t fictional, but a reflection of the depths of humanity. Of how low one could sink when their soul is corrupted.

A shadow moved beside you and a cup was placed next to yours. The book fell closed around your finger as you let it rest in your lap. You stared over at your villain. Steve sat down heavily and smirked over at you.

“Is this what you do with your free time?” He asked as he ran his hands along his thighs, smoothing the wrinkles from the worn denim. 

You pulled your finger from the pages without marking your place and set the small volume behind your cup. You took your tea and sipped as you looked around the cafe. “It’s what I’m doing today.”

“It’s been a while,” He remarked as he picked up his own cup and cradled it just above his lap. “Do you think this will save you?”

You turned and squinted at him. You drank again. The tea was lukewarm and acidic. “Save me?” 

“All these people,” He glanced around. “Do you think that will stop me?”

“I know it won’t,” You replied and took another gulp before setting aside the dregs to cool entirely. “So what are you waiting for?”

He laughed and raised his mug to his lips. He drank the dark coffee and placed his mug next to yours. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“And neither do you,” You countered. 

“I don’t,” He said as he leaned over the arm of his chair. “And let me assure you, I’ve dealt with people far more formidable than you, girl.”

You nodded. This was what he did. He enjoyed it; taunting you. “I’m sure you have.” You examined the lines of your palm. You itched to grab your phone but could not make it so obvious. “Where have you been, anyway?”

“Doing my valiant duty. Saving the people who need saving.” He said smugly. “You know, the ones I was outlawed from helping. This world seems to have forgotten that without me, they’d be in ruins.”

“Is that how you make it okay in your head?” You looked at him. “Hmm? This?”

“This is what I’m owed. You. A single life for the millions I’ve saved.” He reached over and touched your arm, his fingers danced along your shoulder. “I’m fucking hard already.” He pulled away and pushed himself to his feet. “Meet me in the mens’.”

He turned and strutted away as you watched him. His broad shoulders disappeared down the narrow hallway that led to the facilities. You sighed and grabbed the book of horror stories from the table. 

You stared at the cover, the silhouette of a raven. A bad omen; a harbinger of warfare, of death. You grabbed your purse and replaced the book on the table. You didn’t need horror stories; you were living one of your own.

The walk along the hallway seemed longer than six steps. The clinking and steaming of the cafe kitchen disguised your footsteps. You passed the ladies’ and stopped in front of the mens’. You didn’t knock but stepped inside with resignation. 

Was this the climax of your story? How then should the denouement bring you lower?

Steve reached over your head and pushed the door closed as you entered. His hand slipped down and turned the lock with a loud click. He grabbed your arm and yanked you away from the door as he turned you to face the small sink.  You dropped your purse as you gripped the porcelain.

You looked in the mirror at yourself as he let go and hastily undid his fly. “Come on,” He tugged your shirt up and grabbed the waist of your jeans. 

You flicked open your fly as he shoved your pants past your ass. The heat of his body surrounded you. You looked up. Your eyes weren’t yours. They were dark and haunted. Your features were marred by shadows. You felt hollow as his hand brushed against you and he pushed your shoulders forward.

You closed your eyes as he entered you. It hurt. You were dry and he was impatient. It took him a few thrusts to reach his limit. His hand went to the back of your neck as you shuddered and grasped the sides of the sink. He crushed your hips against the porcelain as his hushed grunts floated above you.

“Fuck,” He swore as he slipped his hand around your front. He felt between your folds and rubbed your clit. “I should’ve come yesterday.”

You bit your lip as you hung your head forward. You kept your eyes shut as each thrust came harder than the last. The cold porcelain grew slick beneath your palms. You slid forward, your face closer to the mirror. His hand crept around your neck and your back arched as his fingers tightened at your throat.

Your breath whisked from you as the sounds of the cafe crept in beneath the door. You felt yourself slicken around his cock. Your body worked against you. His flesh slapped loudly against your ass. You couldn’t stifle the heat as it flowed through you.

You gasped as he sped up. Your hands slipped as his left your neck. He caught your arms and held them back as he fucked you. 

“Open your eyes.” He growled. You shook your head and he jolted into you painfully and stopped. “I said open your eyes, girl.”

Your jaw set and you slowly opened your eyes. His blue eyes were cavernous as they stared back at you in the mirror. He began to move again. Your body rebelled and continued its ascent. You breathed through your nose, trying to muffle your pleasure as he ripped it from your flesh. You squeaked and trembled as you came. He watched, pleased at your surrender.

He pulled you away from the sink. He dropped your arms and wrapped his around your middle as he rutted into you. You reached back to touch his thighs, pleading wordlessly for him to slow down as each thrust sent a ripple through you. 

He jerked against you and spasmed as he threw his head back. He hissed as he came and rocked his hips slowly as he spilled inside you. You were weak as he released you and you stumbled forward as he pulled out. 

He chuckled as you caught yourself on the sink and his cum dripped down onto your panties and jeans. He edged you out of his way as he grabbed a paper towel and turned the faucet. You took some toilet paper and turned away from him as he cleaned himself up. You tried to do the same but still felt dirty when you were done.

“I’ll be out there,” He said as he zipped his fly up. “There’s an alarm on the fire escape so let’s not play games.”

“Alright,” You grumbled if only to get him to leave.

The locked clicked and the door opened and closed. You wiped off your panties and jeans as best as you could and pulled them up. You locked the door and grabbed your purse off the tile. You dug around and found your phone buried in the mess. 

You leaned against the wall as you typed in the single word. You stared at it as your thumb hovered over ‘send’. Once it went through, you had less than an hour before agents descended on your apartment. You sent the second, the one for your mother and shoved your phone away. 

However this ended, Steve would no longer be your personal scourge.

-

The car ride was silent. It always was with him. It was better that way. The only words he had for you were cruel. You kept your eyes forward and watched the road through the windshield. Play it cool. This was the hardest part. The anxiety. The impatience. For your doom or his.

Your building was a spectre against the grey sky. A storm was moving in. You got out and he followed. The usual smack on your ass. You pulled out your keys as he pushed himself against you. He was hard again.

“We’ll have some fun on your day off,” He teased as you unlocked the door. “Better than your books.”

You stayed quiet. He didn’t expect an answer. He knew you wouldn’t. This routine had become too familiar. Too rehearsed. Too easy.

You led him up the stairs. With each, your heart beat just a little quicker. The keys jingled in your hand and you realized your were shaking. You stopped in front of your door to gather yourself and find the right key on the ring. He leaned against the wall and ran a finger down your side.

“You’re...excited,” He mused. “I can hear your heart racing.”

You looked over at him, the key poised just before the lock. “You can?”

“Yeah. I hear a lot, you know? Your heart, the blood flowing through your veins, your breath before it rises,” He smirked and you slid the key into the bolt and turned. “Serum gave me a lot more than muscles, didn’t it?”

He flicked your chin playfully and drew away. You held back your retort and stepped inside. Your apartment was as you left it, not a single speck of dust missing. You blinked as you entered the small living room. A furtive glance to the windows. 

Did they get your message? Were they really coming?

Steve walked around the room as he stretched his arms above him. You watched him as he strolled around the small space. He neared the window and looked out, his figure a wraith against the grim sky. He twisted the plastic rod and the blinds closed.

He turned back to you and his hands went to his hips. That classic stance you’d seen on posters. Captain America. The saviour of the world. He laughed.

“You’re heart is still going,” He slowly inched across the room. “Faster now. Fuck, you’re gonna have a fit, girl.”

You swallowed, your mouth dry as you gripped your purse. You looked down and saw your phone through the open zipper. You couldn’t just pull it out and check. You hadn’t felt a vibration. 

He neared, his shoes decisive against the hardwood. He was like a hawk circling. You looked up and backed away as he came closer.

“You really think Tony Stark would believe some small town girl?” Steve grinned and your chest clenched. “Hmm? You think you’re some spy with your code words and your covert messages? Your plan to have them storm your pathetic apartment?”

Your lips parted in shock as if you’d been slapped. No… Your flesh turned to stone as you met the wall and pressed yourself to it. 

“I’ve faced real spies. Let me tell you, Hydra was a lot more intimidating but I tossed them on their asses. But you, you think you can bring me down?” He chuckled as his hand came up to grip your chin. “What do you think I could do to you?”

Tears rose along your lower lids and your lip trembled. You should’ve known. It was too easy. Another trick. A bug on your phone; your computer, too. He knew it all and you were too desperate to think. Stupid.

“Think of what I’ve already done,” He leaned in so that his nose was almost touching yours. “Of what I’m going to do now.” He pressed his forehead to yours. “It’s over, girl. Just like you wanted it.”

He pulled away, his hands balled as he glared down at you. His chest rose and fell as his jaw ticked. You wiped away the tears before they could fall and sniffed. You stood straight as you looked back at him defiantly.

“Fine,” You declared. “Then end it.”

You were stunned as his fist met your jaw. Your stumbled back and your head hit the wall. You slid down slowly as your legs turned to jelly and the room faded slowly before your eyes. You gripped your pounding skull as the strength drained from you. You looked up at Steve as he loomed over you and your vision swam with stars.

“You really thought you could get away from me?” He knelt as your eyes began to roll back, his voice floated in your ears and into the void. 

-

When you awoke, the world was moving. When you awoke, you were shocked. Were you really alive or was this the purgatory you’d always denied? Your head lolled and you stared at the driver of the car. No, you were still painfully alive.

Steve’s features were limned in sunlight. It was either a new day or a new place. His blue eyes bore into the winding highway ahead. Your jaw ached terribly and your head felt like it was full of cement. You babbled weakly.

Your hands were tied together. Your ankles too. The seat belt was buckled around you and kept you from sliding down the seat.

“I really thought I might’ve killed you,” He said. “I hit you a bit harder than I meant to.”

You grumbled. No words would come.

“That’d be too easy. I’ve been too easy on you and you didn’t appreciate it at all. I let you stay in your shit hole apartment, let you see your family, let you live your life when it’s not your life. It’s mine.” The steering wheel groaned as he gripped it tighter. “You’re mine.”

You mumbled and felt the sting of tears as the world closed in on you.

“It’s all over now, girl,” Your eyes closed again. “You don’t even know how good you had it.”

His words were scribbled across your dreams as you sank back into unconsciousness. You dozed and woke at intervals. He allowed you a drink of water from a bottle and a piss on the side of the road. You barely recalled the stops as your world was clouded in shock and pain.

You were shaken awake for the last time. Your door was open and Steve felt along your jaw roughly. 

“It’s not broken.” He stated and unbuckled the seat belt. “See, another thing to be thankful for.”

“Steve,” You rasped. “Please…”

“Please, shut up,” He spat and pulled you out of the car. “Come on, hop, bunny.”

He tugged you forward and you were forced to hop on your bound feet. There was a farmhouse just ahead; long-abandoned and slanted. The fields were overgrown with weeds. This was where he’d leave you. 

“Just get it over with,” Your words were clumsy through your swollen jaw.

He didn’t reply and continued to drag you towards the barn. He slid the door open enough to angle you through. He led you to the corner where a pile of rotted boards rested. He let go of you and you wobbled on your feet as he began to move the rubble.

Beneath was a small hatch. This was tornado country. These vaults were built decades ago to keep families safe when the sirens sounded. Except the hatch was more than the usual wooden door; it was metal, shiny and new, a bolt on its face.

He took a key out and unlocked the hatch. He turned and bent to pick you up. He slung you over his shoulder and your head spun. He slowly carried you down the steps. He put you back on your feet and you wavered. 

The light from above lit the shadows. There were shelves along the far wall, illegible packets and cans lined the middle shelf. A bed sat a foot from the shelves against the wall; a metal frame with a thin mattress. A toilet was attached to the wall along with a small sink. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling.

Steve untied your hands and your feet. He stood and shoved you towards the middle of the room. You caught yourself on the bed frame and turned back.

“Welcome home,” His smile was sinister in the dim. 

“No,” You gasped and neared him. He pushed you back easily and you fell on your ass. “Please, don’t do this. Just kill me, please.”

“Kill you? I never wanted that,” He scoffed and turned to set his foot on the bottom step. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to check on you. Now and then.”

He started to climb the steps and you got up unsteadily. As he reached the top, you grabbed onto the stairs and tried to come up after him.

“I’ll throw you back down,” He warned as he pulled on the steps and slowly raised them. You clung to them as he tried to wriggle them away from you. “You’ll be worse off if I break something.”

“Steve, you can’t--” Slivers embedded in your skin as he yanked the steps free from you and raised them up after him.

“Now, now, girl,” He knelt and looked through the hatch at you. “Is there anything I can’t do?” He slowly lifted the door as he spoke. “Don’t you worry, I’ll keep an eye on the family for you.” He taunted as he slowly closed the door, the light draining away inch by inch. “Be good and I’ll let you know.”

He dropped the door entirely and it clanged shut. The lock turned and you were left in darkness. Tears rolled down your eyes and light sparked in your blurred vision. The light bulb crackled to life above you, a small beacon in the pit. You could hear him moving the boards back onto the hatch.

You turned blindly and fell onto the bed. You were poked by the corner of a familiar shape. You sat up and grabbed the book from atop the thin blanket. The silhouette of the raven shone beneath the wire. The book fell open as your sight came clearer through the tears. The world clearer through the dark. The scraping and steps above faded away.

“Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe.”