#but the few remaining plants you have now have to work even harder to make water too

[needle-noggins]

What if Noman's Land/Gunsmoke was a planet with water when the SEEDS ships started their expedition but it dried up while they were on the way

i mean, we know the planet once had water, right? that's the reason why the canyons exist.

[obsessivevoidkitten]

Love Stings

Yandere Male Aqrabuamelu (scorpion man) x Chubby Female Reader (CW: Violent Noncon, oviposition, paralytic venom, reader gets stung, stalking, stalking, scratching, biting, claiming bites, crying, mild scent kink, blood, mild blood kink, Stockholm syndrome, kidnapping, escape attempt, general yandere behavior) Word Count: 4.7k (This was commissioned at the end of September. It is hard for me to write afab reader. Don't worry though, I do not accept payment until I am done or almost done. The customer wished to remain anon. I hope everyone likes it.)

To most people, the wastelands of Treregar were just that, wastelands. Harsh sunlight, miles of seemingly endless sand, with water sources few and far between. Nothing but the hardiest flora and fauna could survive there for any significant length of time. Let alone thrive indefinitely.

But you were not most people. You were a scientist. And to scientists, the wastes were a gold mine of research potential. Some of the strangest creatures and plants called this place home. And with the country now open to outsiders, researchers wanted to make a breakthrough there. You were in search of biological samples that could have medicinal properties.

But the wilder parts of this country were very dangerous. Especially the desert wastes. There were even reports of explorers and scientists going missing and of large chitinous beasts prowling the sands. But you were not going to be deterred by a few tall tales. The others had probably fallen prey to the harsh environment if anything.

Still... it didn't hurt to have a couple bodyguards. You had arranged an escort of a couple fairly priced and reliable mercenaries, two large men by the names of Mr. Whitley and Mr. Matthews, to accompany you while you procured samples for study.

You also came with fully stocked packs and kept to a region near a small river. You didn't believe in letting stories run your life, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks either.

The first thing you did on your arrival, after setting up a base camp with your escorts, was starting your task by taking samples of the river water and the muck at the bottom. There was a good possibility of finding new microbes that could be of interest.

The water was crystal clear, perhaps the purest you had ever seen, and there were no signs of anything dangerous. The biggest danger was the heat. Despite the water submerging your legs and wetting your arms whenever you collected a sample the heat was still stifling.

But you had known what you were signing up for when you started all this and it would only get harder as you started collecting samples outside of the water.

When you collected plant and insect specimens from the fertile banks of the river you had to keep wiping the sweat from your brow. You kept the samples preserved in a specially cooled container that would allow you to study them at length later when you were back home.

Once you had all that you had gathered that day packed away, you ate alone in your tent, Mr. Whitley and Mr. Matthews were not exactly the best company, but that was okay. It wasn’t their companionship that they were being paid for.

When you had finished your meal, if you could even call one unit of mystery field rations a meal, you decided that it would be a good idea to go to bed early. Tomorrow’s adventure would be deeper into the wastes and you would need all the rest you could manage. It was going to be a bit rough on you. You were used to working in laboratory conditions not out in the field. But you knew what you were getting yourself into.

Whitley and Matthews guarded the camp in shifts, but even under their protection you couldn’t shake the feeling like you were being watched as you settled into an uneasy sleep.

On day two of the expedition, after eating another bland ration for breakfast and refilling your water supplies, you found something before you even set out. Odd tracks outside your camp, a good bit away but they were still close enough to creep you out a bit. Whatever had made them was not small.

But you had protection from any threats and you were handy with the knife you kept in your belt at all times. And whatever had made the tracks was gone now. You put it out of your mind and pushed onward.

As the cooler morning hours passed, you were really suffering as you had to start your trek into the desert proper. The organisms suited to such a brutal environment were what you were really interested in. Far more so than what lived in the relatively cool waters.

The sun beat down upon you with all the heat it could manage but still you trudged on. Miles and miles of sand. Stopping only to diligently take new samples and record field notes any time you encountered something new and promising.

You and your guards were overheated, exhausted, and aching. But it would surely be worth it for the scientific knowledge gained by your collective suffering. You all had finally started the long march back to camp when you could have sworn you felt like you were being watched. Whitley must have noticed something off as well as he stopped your trek home to look around. But the worry was discarded when in the distance a giant wall of sand materialized as if from nowhere, It rushed towards you like a great red tidal wave.

A sudden sandstorm.

It was upon you and your escorts in a thrice, you could see nothing at all in front of you as looking up for even a moment would invite the angry sands to scratch at your delicate eyes. From all your studies on the region in your preparation for this trip you had found sandstorms to be very rare this time of year. Your luck was astoundingly terrible.

All you could do in this situation was stay low to the ground, wait it out, and hope that you and your body guards didn’t get blown away. You also prayed that they both had the good sense to not try to walk in this mess. That would only welcome disaster. Trying to stumble about in this weather was a guaranteed method to find yourself lost and stranded in the desert.

On and on the storm raged, sand scraping and biting into any exposed flesh, until finally the whirling winds gradually declined before subsiding altogether. Leaving no trace of what had just transpired except scratches on your arms and legs and the ebbing adrenaline leaving your system rendering you shaky on your feet.

You were sore and stiff from laying in the same position so long. You took a good look around you only to discover that disaster had indeed been welcomed. Neither Whitley or Matthews were anywhere in your sight. Idiots. They were large men, not easily slipped up by the storm and rolled down a hill as you were. The weather couldn’t have pushed them very far. They clearly decided to keep trying to travel despite the obvious foolishness.

Well… they were not exactly getting paid for their brain power. But they were paid to keep you safe. To guard you. And they couldn’t exactly do that if they were determined to be idiots who wandered away from you!

When you made your report they were certainly getting docked for this.

Assuming that you all met back up. You probably would. Eventually. If they lacked a compass like you did then they could just head east until they hit the river and then travel up until they hit the camp. If they didn’t have one they would have to wait a little while and see what direction the sun headed in.

The direction the sun sets actually changes a bit throughout the year, but the autumn equinox had only just transpired so it would certainly set at the most west that it was possible for it to set.

You hoped those two knew that. Surely they did.

Right then you had to focus on yourself though. Without those two you were far more vulnerable. You were not really worried about the wildlife or anything such as that, but if you became injured or something all alone then you would be screwed. Something as simple as a sprained ankle could mean your death out in this blistering environment if you were left exposed to the elements long enough.

You shouldn’t have ventured so far from camp. Your body was aching with exhaustion. You were a bit on the chubby side and your body was not used to being pushed so hard. You perked up when you saw a large figure of a man standing in the distance walking in the same general direction as you were.

“WHITLEY! HEY, OVER HERE!!”

He evidently heard you as he turned around to face your direction and started walking towards you. As you got closer you could tell that other than a few abrasions from the storm he did not seem to be in bad shape.

“I am glad I found you”

You wanted to tell him he would not have had to worry about finding one another if he had just stayed put but you thought better of it and held your tongue.

“I think something may be watching us, I don’t know. I just have an uneasiness and feel like the air has shifted with a barely noticeable scent. I lost my sword in the storm.”

“Then… we better hurry back to camp… Maybe Matthews will be there…”

“Right.”

You noticed he had undone his dagger from his belt and was holding it close, ready to lash out if something attacked the two of you. He may not have had his longer blade but you knew he was still deadly with that one. He would surely protect yo-

The sand in front of you shifted, and from it sprung a beast of colossal size. Hard black chitinous plating gleamed in the sunlight, covering a monstrous form from top to bottom. It was a hulking beast with a human shaped torso on top of the body of a massive scorpion.

Whitley, to his credit, didn’t hesitate. He dodged the tail that struck at him with terrifying speed. He jumped up high and slammed his combat knife into the chitin covered chest of the beast. His blade was deflected as if by plate armor. The tail struck again at an angle Whitley couldn’t dodge in time and his arm was impaled by a wickedly sharp stinger. He twitched in pain for a moment then went limp before being pushed aside by the clawed arm of the scorpion half of the great beast before you.

Then the thing turned its gaze to you. Unblinking, glossy, entirely black eyes stared you down. If eyes were the windows into one’s soul then those eyes let you look into the soul of a demon.

Hopeless though it may be with the speed of the monstrosity you did the only thing your fear stricken brain could think of. You ran.

You ran and you didn’t look back. Cruel though it may have been, you found yourself thinking that maybe it would let you go since it had already taken down Mr. Whitley. Many predatory beasts did not take down more than what they needed.

But the scorpion hybrid wasn’t after food. Humans were not in his diet. No, he was after something much better than a meal. He was after a mate. A nice wet cunt to stuff full of his eggs.

When Kurnugi first caught your scent in the wind a couple days ago he was instantly intrigued, he had never smelled something quite so enticing before. He had to investigate. Though a few miles away he sniffed out your camp and watched for a while.

He didn’t really like the thought of humans in his territory but he stopped himself from attacking and scaring you all away because of you. Your smell was nice, sure, but now that he had seen you he knew he had to know more. You looked so delightfully fragile and soft. He wanted to watch you a bit longer before deciding what to do with you all.

Kurnugi observed you as you went about your tasks at the river. Delicate hands carefully tending to samples. He did not understand why you were doing it, but he liked the thought of those careful little human hands tending to his dick.

At first the scorpion man thought that perhaps the two large males with you were mates of yours but concluded that wasn’t the case as they never shared your nest, never physically touched you, and hardly verbally communicated with you. They seemed to just guard you and keep a lookout.

But they had been unable to spot Kurnugi given how well he stuck to the shadows, used sand to submerge himself partially, and carefully remained downwind of his quarry.

The longer he watched the more he realized how good a mate you would make. Too weak to ever oppose or escape him and he could tell by the way you collected and analyzed your little samples that you must be very intelligent. And you were just so much softer than anything he had ever encountered in this rugged environment. Surely if you were in a place as brutal as this then you’d need much better and dedicated protection than the ones you seemed to call Whitley and Matthews.

Kurnugi was much larger and stronger than any two humans, of course, no matter how well built they were. But they had long metal blades that may be able to get between his natural armor plates. Better to stalk your group for a while and wait for a moment of weakness.

He discreetly followed your party as you traveled away from your base camp and readied himself to attack when he noticed how tired all of you looked. Then the sandstorm struck.

Even a desert evolved being such as a mighty aqrabuamelu would not travel during a sandstorm.

When it passed he could tell by the scents he detected that your group was split up. This was even better. First he went after Matthews, then incapacitated Whitley before your very eyes. He had made sure not to kill them. No, they would surely be taken and bred by other desert creatures. There were many that loved humans.

And then there was you. It was cute how you thought you could escape from him so easily. He allowed you to try, watching in amusement as your tired chubby legs did their best to carry you away from him.

And then he rushed towards you, he closed the distance in surprisingly few seconds and stabbed your soft rear with the tip of his stinger. He was careful not to stab too deeply, but it was still pretty painful. You thrashed for a few seconds before crumpling to the sand.

The venom had paralyzed you, no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get your limbs to cooperate at all. You could still feel everything though. The sand on your face, the tears about to burst from your eyes. You were certain death was what awaited you.

Instead the scorpion simply bent over to gently scoop you up in his humanoid arms. He held you close and buried his nose in your neck to revel in the intoxicating smell of his new mate, now finally in his possession.

The amorous aqrabuamelu rushed off to his den, holding you tightly to his hard body as he did so. He was excited to get you acclimated to your new home, and to his cock. He was sure after his displays of strength that he would have you moaning for his eggs in no time. Luckily his home wasn’t too far.

The entire trip he happily talked in a chittery voice to you, though you had absolutely no idea what he was saying. He sounded extremely excited though and rubbed your back soothingly as he spoke.

When he came to the entrance to his abode and scuttled into the cave in such a hurry that he almost tripped over himself. He placed you, all nice and paralyzed for him, on his raised pile of bedding and made short work of your clothing. Every inch of skin from your soft human breasts to your inviting pussy were laid bare under his hungry gaze.

He pulled you to the edge of his nest over to where he was standing. He gripped your thighs with his large hands and slowly spread your legs, as if unwrapping a precious gift. Savoring the moment before it was entirely open.

The venom was still coursing effectively through your veins, offering you no recourse. You could only stare into the terrifying red eyes of this abomination as he looked at you and drooled. His intent with you becoming all the more evident as his engorged cock protruded fully from the genital slit at the meeting of his scorpion and humanoid body segments.

There was no way something like that could enter a human without some degree of pain.

Seeing it you wanted to scream. To kick and fight. But you were a prisoner in your own body. All the struggle you could force out of your body were choked cries and grunts of fear.

The scorpion caressed your sides in a gesture meant to be comforting to his scared little mate, but any touch from him only brought about more terror.

He crouched down at the edge of the bed so that his head was level with your crotch. He inhaled the scent deeply before licking the outer folds of your sex.

"Mmmm~"

You could feel it in your entire body as he hummed loudly in contentment. Your flavor was better than he could have imagined.

Your cunt was wetter than it had ever been before. A fact that made you all the more frustrated and angry at yourself. It was bad enough you couldn't get your body to move.

Kurnugi was making out with your entrance, gripping your hips painfully and drawing blood as he lost himself in thoughts about you carrying his spawn.

He enjoyed every heavenly drop of your juices, mixing in a heavy amount of his saliva into you so that you were as lubricated as possible.

He decided you were as ready as you could be and rose up to press his cock against you.

Kurnugi rubbed the tip of his strange inhuman prick against your pussy, grinding against it. He let out a low moan as he plunged into you all at once, unable to hold himself back from doing so any longer. The paralytic you had been drugged with must have started to wear off by that point because as he shoved himself into you you were finally able to scream a bit and grip the bedding beneath you.

The length was insane but the worst part was the thickness. It was like it was trying to rip you open. He gave you time to adjust before he began his thrusting, but there was just no getting adjusted to that type of size in such a short amount of time without a lot more preparation.

You flinched and gasped in pain as he began slowly moving in and out of you.

The scent and sight of the bit of your blood that mixed with your fluids and smeared on his cock only seemed to excite him and he increased the pace, the outline of his cock plainly visible under the skin of your belly. He used one of his hands to rub at the outline as it moved back and forth inside of you, effectively giving himself a handjob while he bred you.

He lowered his head to your chest and ferally bit and licked at your breasts. Instinct demanding he marked and claimed what was, by all laws of the desert, his property.

After what seemed like an eternity you finally had acclimated to the size of the man taking you and began feeling less pain with flashes of pleasure. Chasing those brief flashes, you weakly grinded into each thrust from the scorpion.

Kurnigi’s roaming mouth had found your neck and was sucking and nipping at your soft skin there as if his life depended on it.

The stimulation was only feeling better as the two of you continued, your cries of fear and pain having long since been replaced by weak lusty moans and shivers of delight. You came a couple times and by the third you were completely fucked out. You had never orgasmed so hard in your life and were barely aware of anything other than that nice feeling between your shaky legs.

Kurnugi finally hit his climax as well and bit your neck hard as he did so, injecting something into your neck to leave a permanent claiming mark on you. You flinched in pain but it receded quickly, you were too out of it to really care what he did to you at that point.

Until you felt him cum into you. Your eyes went wide at the sensation as you felt relatively large round masses being pumped deeply into you.

Eggs.

You were shocked and disgusted, but there was nothing to be done about it then. You let the aqrabuamelu lick your various scratches and bite wounds clean before tucking you in with blankets so you could sleep while he made a meal.

He was so jubilant that his pregnant little mate was cozy in his nest while he took care of you. He had a nice home, a large territory, and now a soft mate to dote on and stuff full of his big prick whenever he needed to. Life was perfect.

THREE MONTHS LATER:

It had been around three months since you had been abducted. And it was hours since you had run away from the monstrosity that had kidnapped you. His name was Kurnugi, you had learned, managing very limited communication with the brute. He had finally let his guard down, finally trusted you since you had never been anything but compliant since you had been with him, and he had finally left you alone to go hunt for a longer period of time.

You did not waste the opportunity, it was clear that your bodyguards had not managed to leave the desert, probably succumbing to exposure. Either that or no one had cared to send a search party to look for you thinking you were a lost cause. So it was up to you to rescue yourself.

Once more your legs burned with a familiar exhaustion. Kurnugi was a skilled hunter that moved fast. Once he returned to his den he would begin tracking you immediately. If you were going to succeed then you had to get as much distance between yourself and that cave as you could possibly manage. It didn’t help that you were pregnant with his many eggs. It surely made travel more difficult.

As you made your way up the river you considered walking in it to hide your scent, but you decided against it. The wind was blowing your scent in the direction that you were fleeing from so it wouldn’t help you at all. The slog through the water would only slow you down. And that was the last thing that you needed right then.

The last thing other than suddenly finding yourself laying with your back against the hot sand and looking up with an absolutely outraged Kurnugi looking down at you with a malicious grin on his face.

How had he snuck up on you so silently?

You had expected to be immediately paralyzed by one of his stings, but the scorpion had other things in mind. He wasn’t just angry. He was hurt. You had tried to leave him the first opportunity you had. Had he not proven himself against lesser males to be a strong mate? Had he not provided food and water and shared his home with you? Had he not given you a nice belly full of eggs as any mate would desire?

The aqrabuamelu clearly had to show you your place. He had been too gentle with you. Not done enough to prove that you were, beyond any whisper of a doubt, his property.

And in that vein of thinking he did not bother with his venom, no, he wanted you to have the full ability of movement and still be just as utterly powerless to do anything to avoid him using you as he saw fit.

He pushed you over onto the ground and flipped you so that you were facing the sand with your ass up. Then, right in the middle of the desert, he ripped off the pants he had made for you out of leather and plant fibers.

Kurnugi crouched so that his cock was level with your cunt, his strong hands gripping your hips so hard that they would undoubtedly be bruised. You cried out and struggled just as pathetically as he had predicted that you would.

“Please! Please NO!!! I’ll behave! I-I’ll never leave again. KURNUGI PLEA-”

Your words became a pained shriek as he interrupted them by ramming his entire dick straight into you. No prep at all. He understood your cries for mercy and carried on anyway.

Each thrust into you was slow, powerful, and deliberate, driving your face into the sand as his nails bit into your flesh.

You were right about one thing. You’d never try to leave him again after this. He was going to fuck it into your brain so you’d have no chance of forgetting.

Tears dripped down your face, wicked away by the thirsty air and ground. Your legs shook and you would have collapsed were it not for the strong hands propping you up. Your abused cunt felt like it was being torn apart.

Kurnugi was once more excited by the scent of your blood and began pulling you back and forth over his prick like you were just a cock sleeve built for his pleasure. All you could do was sob and take it and try not to puke.

With a final slam he came in you hard. No eggs this time, since you were already full of them, just fluid that thankfully soothed your insides, if only a bit.

The anger of the aqrabuamelu was finally quelled and he panted with his throbbing cock still twitching and pumping cum into you. He picked you up and renewed the bite mark he had left on you. He did not have to since it was permanent, but he wanted to so you’d remember you were branded property.

Luckily the pain from the bite had been swallowed up by the disorientation and pain from the rape.

A small comfort.

Kurnugi picked you up effortlessly and cradled you close to him.

You couldn’t quite tell what he had said, but you knew it was meant to be soothing. He rubbed your back and chittered sweetly in that foreign language of his. Evidently happy to have that nasty business out of the way and content in the knowledge that you wouldn’t be trying that again.

7 MONTHS LATER:

You couldn’t wait for the eggs inside you to hatch. Kurnugi had assured you that you would be a great parent and since the eggs absorb the DNA of the parent they are deposited in he was confident that they would be the cutest babies in the entire world.

He was so wonderful to you. He doted on you and helped take you for walks when you were restless. He caught or foraged and then prepared all of your meals. He cuddled you close and kissed your swollen belly and made every effort to cheer you up when you were feeling down.

And you were sweet to him too, you learned how to craft things from the leather and fibers he made so you made him little trinkets that he either wore or decorated the den with. And you always greeted him by kissing him softly whenever he came home.

Things were a lot easier now that you could communicate.

And now that you understood that you could never go anywhere without him and to try to do so would be very hurtful for the both of you.

But why would you ever want to do something like that?

[feeder86]

SNAP!

SNAP!

“Ow! Shit! What the hell…?” Joel shouted, turning around to see what had hit him hard on his backside. He could feel the skin on his rear stinging. Whatever it was that had smacked him, his ass hurt like hell! But as he looked around, he couldn’t see anyone there in the moonlit garden. “Shit!” he moaned again, rubbing his butt, hardly believing that it was still hurting so much.

“What’s the matter?” Harry drunkenly asked, walking into the garden himself, chuckling from his friend’s unknown misfortune. “Ow! SHIT!” he blasted himself a moment later. “Who the fuck was that?”

“Argh! Fuck me!” blasted Danny, as he too followed them both. Joel could just make him out, standing there on the path, rubbing his own rear. “What the fuck is going on?” He ripped his cell phone from his pocket, letting the screen light up and cast a dim glow on the garden as the boys all came together, back on the path. 

There, standing in front of them, was an older, stern-looking woman, staring up angrily. She held a walking stick in her hand and the boys immediately knew that that was clearly the source of their current discomfort.

“What the hell are you doing, old woman?” Harry grumbled, still rubbing his ass. “That fucking hurt y’know!”

“Don’t you talk to me like that!” the woman shot back, pointing the stick up at his face, so close that he went cross-eyed from following its swift movement. “You’re trespassing! I’ve seen you boys here every night this week; drunk on beer and taking a shortcut through my garden; trampling through all my plants!”

“This is assault, you know that?” Danny shot back, incensed by the pain he still felt. “You’re a fucking danger! Old hags like you should be in a nursing home!”

His head spinning from the beer, Joel put a hand on his buddy’s broad back,seeing that he was going a little far. The old lady was quite right after all, they weren’t supposed to be there in her garden.

“I was married to a jumped-up, arrogant pig, just like you three,” the woman began, still managing to make eye contact with all of them, even with Danny’s cell phone shining in her face. “He thought that the world should revolve around him too; that no one else mattered but him,” the lady continued, showing them all her contempt and disgust. “He was under the impression that his good looks were all he needed in life. And just like you three, he didn’t have any manners or respect for women either.” She paused; the garden becoming eerily quiet. “You’ll get what you deserve though. The way you treat people in life always has consequences.”

“Whatever!” Danny huffed, continuing to charge through the garden to jump the fence at the other end. “Come on guys. Just ignore her,” he called back to them both.

“You’ll see!” the old woman cried with a voice dripping with satisfaction. “Maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, or ten years from now, but one day everyone will see what arrogant pigs you really are.

Joel heard Harry begin to follow on. Feeling a pit of guilt about upsetting the old lady, he waited a moment longer. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, before turning and following the other two; climbing the fence and making that shortcut back to the frat house.

Over the following years, Joel looked back fondly on his time in college. He’d worked hard and played harder. But it had also got him to where he needed to be in life: a good job, with plenty of travel opportunities; perfect for someone with few aspirations to ever settle down. Back in the day, he would have said that Danny was a closer friend to him than Harry. However, it was only Harry that he remained in contact with these days. Sometimes that was just the way life worked out.

“There you are, you handsome bastard!” Harry cried; his face lighting up as soon as he saw Joel arriving at the wedding venue. “Have you ever seen a prettier face on a guy than this one here?” he joked to those around him as he embraced Joel for the first time since his stag party a couple of months earlier.

“How are you feeling? Nervous?” Joel asked his friend. He stepped back, feeling that something was different when he hugged Harry. “What’s this?” he asked, reaching a hand out to rub a small paunch that seemed to be sprouting from Harry’s middle. “Have you been stress eating?” he joked, finding it incomprehensible that fitness-obsessed Harry would ever carry a few extra pounds on his athletic frame.

Harry laughed, but immediately changed the subject, clearly embarrassed about his new shape. Joel looked on as his buddy nervously paced up and down, checking on things before his bride would be arriving. His suit was surprisingly ill-fitting. The pants were snug around his butt cheeks and Joel wasn’t altogether convinced that the top button was in place underneath the guy’s belt. It was clearly a fresh gain, for Harry had shown no signs of getting a little chunky at the stag party when he’d raved all night without a shirt on. In fact, even when his stunning bride arrived, walking down the aisle, her eyes were not filled with the loving adoration that most would expect. Instead, she frowned, seeming to silently scold Harry as she looked down at the tight stretch of his shirt buttons.

Joel’s attention soon started to wander as the day went on. Harry had clearly started early that morning, building his courage before the ceremony. So when the beers and champagne flowed later on, it was clear that he was struggling a little more than most. The chief bridesmaid was ridiculously sexy and as Joel made enquiring eyes over in her direction, he was pleased to see that the interest appeared to be mutual. There weren’t many people that Joel knew at the wedding, and aside from the guys he’d met at the stag party, he’d turned his charm up to full blast in order to make friends. But that bridesmaid was still looking over at him, getting Joel so aroused that he didn’t even notice a gluttonous Harry making his fifth tour of the buffet. The sex, when they eventually made it that far, was pretty decent for a one-night fling, and Joel lay back in bed feeling more than satisfied; content to stay there the entire night and enjoy a second round in the morning.

“It was a good wedding yesterday,” Joel rambled after they came. It was still too early in the morning to just take off; feeling that he needed to hang around for at least twenty minutes so that it didn’t seem rude. “I think they’ll be very happy together.”

The bridesmaid huffed sceptically. “Ya think?” she asked, as if she knew something Joel didn’t. Then, when Joel looked at her curiously, she rolled her eyes and told him everything. “Harry and I slept together a couple of nights ago. He told me he’d always had a thing for me and that he couldn’t get married without having me first… We were both drunk. He came in less than three minutes. It really wasn’t good!”

“Harry cheated?” Joel asked, completely shocked. He could hardly believe it. Then again, he’d been so turned on when he’d spotted this girl only yesterday. He couldn’t imagine having to stare at her for years and years and never getting to have any fun with her. It was the whole reason why Joel never did relationships, and he made thoroughly sure that everyone knew it. “Does anyone know that you two..?” he began asking.

“No. I’ve not told anyone. It doesn’t exactly make me look good, does it? Sleeping with my best friend’s husband!” She sighed and held her face in her hands.

Joel was soon putting his pants back on and making his escape. He slipped back into his own room and freshened up before heading down for breakfast in the hotel. It was still early and not many had made it down as yet. However, there was Harry, still dressed in his tight pants and shirt from the night before, greedily feasting from one of the many plates of food he’d brought back to his table.

“Hey, buddy!” Joel cried, slipping his hands onto Harry’s shoulders as if to massage him. “What’re you doing up so early? And where’s your wife?” he laughed, trying his best to forget about the guy’s infidelity. 

Harry didn’t answer. He only ate.

“Is everything alright with you two?” Joel asked, setting aside his usual boyish bravado whilst he spoke to Harry now. The revelation of Harry’s cheating had unnerved him.

“I woke up feeling really hungry,” Harry replied between mouthfuls. “Has the fresh bacon come out yet?” he asked, looking up at the buffet tables. “They said it was coming.”

Joel could see several greasy plates, already emptied and waiting to be collected from Harry’s table. “Dude, it’s the morning after your wedding. Why are you worrying about bacon?”

“Is the bacon ready, or not?” Harry demanded aggressively.

“Harry!” Joel gasped in shock. “What the fuck is going on with you?”

Seeming to realise he’d overstepped, Harry looked ashamed, dropped his fork and put his hand to his surprisingly sweaty forehead. “Joel, I don’t know what’s happening to me!” he mumbled. “I did something, and now…”

Harry suddenly looked like he was fighting something inside of himself. His body jerked forwards slightly and it seemed almost as if something was trying to climb out of his throat. That was when it happened. He snorted quietly, as if making an impression of a baby pig. Immediately, the tension in his face seemed to retreat and he snorted twice more, just a little louder, before picking up his fork again and setting back to the copious amount of food still on his plate.

Joel suddenly found that his heart was racing. It wasn’t the fact that Harry had just done something so strange; it was the fact that he had done something that was actually unsettlingly familiar…

Eight years earlier, it had been the boys’ final weeks in college. Despite the beautiful sunshine that had arrived, everyone had grown strangely serious, studying and spending every last minute thinking about their final projects. Everyone, that was, apart from Danny. He’d always been the party-boy; the bad influence, always getting himself into trouble. But now the guy had seemed to drop off the face of the Earth. Perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising, given that everyone Joel knew had come to him and asked if he’d heard from Danny since it had all kicked off after the final football game of the season. There had been a huge party and, just like the other boys, Danny had become very drunk, very quickly.

“I hope he’s ashamed of himself,” Emma stated snootily. “Doing that to Jemma just before her final exams! It’s unforgivable.” 

Joel tried not to take sides or nod in any way that might signal to Emma that he agreed with her. After all, Danny was his best friend. He’d made a mistake, getting so drunk and kissing Harriet like that. But we’re all human. Mistakes are what we’re best at. 

“He’s not replied to any of my messages since last Tuesday,” Joel explained, trying to reframe the situation and let Emma see that he was currently more concerned about Danny’s safety than he was about Jemma’s broken heart. “Even his mom hasn’t heard from him since the weekend.”

“Hopefully he’s dead in a ditch somewhere!” Emma snapped unsympathetically, refusing to be drawn into the building crisis. Then she strutted away from Joel as if he too was contaminated by Danny’s deceit. 

Joel tried not to let the worry overtake him. The guy in the dormroom next to Danny had reported hearing him going in and out at strange times. However, Danny hadn’t ever been in when Joel had tried to reach him. Either that, or he simply hadn’t opened the door.

“I need to get into my friend’s room,” Joel explained to the lady at the desk, flashing his devilishly handsome smile, whilst maintaining the doe-eyed look of concern. Even at that age, Joel was more than aware that his good looks were going to get him further in life than any college degree could “No one has heard from him in days. His mom is calling me up every couple of hours.”

“Oh, dear!” the lady replied, rising to her feet. “Well, it’s not really allowed. But this clearly isn’t a normal situation. I suppose, if I came with you, it should be okay…” she pondered aloud, stepping out from behind the desk, ready to follow Joel wherever he was leading her and trying her best not to stare at his cute little butt as she trotted on behind him.

The smell of stale sweat and old beer hit the nostrils hard as soon as Danny’s door was opened. Both of them recoiled a little as they entered the dark space, where the curtains had clearly been drawn for many days. Joel’s finger slid over the greasy light switch, illuminating the large body of the Quarterback sprawled, face down and naked over the bed. 

Joel’s feet kicked through empty food cartons and beer bottles as he rushed over to check if Danny was okay. He pushed his hand against the guy’s broad back, surprised at how hot and almost feverish the skin felt to the touch. Breathing just fine, Joel knew that his buddy was most likely on the verge of one hell of a hangover. Perhaps he should have been more weirded out that his friend’s naked, meaty butt was on show, but Joel had seen Danny without his clothes on so many times before: in the changing rooms, or when he was irredemably drunk or high and letting his exhibitionist side out.

“I think we should open the window,” the lady suggested, holding her finger over her nose and looking like she had no intention of doing it herself; or even touching anything in the dirty room.

Feeling obliged to her for getting him inside, Joel immediately followed her suggestion. “I can look after him from here,” he offered, seeing how uncomfortable she was. “I think he might have just had a little bit too much to drink.”

“I think you need to pick your friends more wisely,” the lady whispered to Joel. She was looking over at Danny’s hunched over form; his naked rear pointing directly in her direction as he let rip in his sleep.

“I will,” Joel smiled, determined to remain polite but desperately wanting to get her out so that he could speak to Danny properly and find out what on earth was going on with him. He followed her to the door, closing it behind her, even though the smell of the room was really quite potent.

The mess all over the floor was unreal, like Danny had invited a hundred people over to party in his tiny bedroom.

“Danny! Come on, wake up!” Joel called to him, shaking the football player by the shoulder. He was so hot to the touch, with a thin layer of sweat all over him. “I need to check that you’re okay. Where the hell have you been?”

Danny suddenly stirred and slowly flopped over onto his front. His body on show, Joel instinctively jumped straight off the bed, thinking for a moment that this wasn’t Danny after all. Sitting beneath his mighty pecs was a rather large and distended gut, bloated to the extreme. Danny was groaning and reached his hand to hold it, like it was still expanding and hurting him.

“What the hell have you eaten?” Joel demanded, his eyes wide in shock.

“Everything!” a groggy Danny replied.

“Danny, look at your stomach!” Joel implored him, demanding that he snap out of his stupor. “Have you taken something?”

Despite shaking his head, Danny didn’t even open his eyes. Whilst rubbing his belly, his other hand went straight to his dick, stroking it up and down, even with Joel there in front of him. 

That was when Joel heard it: the oinking sounds coming from Danny’s throat. Combined with the stomach rubs he was giving himself, it was as if Danny was making the sounds in order to help himself get off.

“Danny, stop!” Joel demanded, trying to rip Danny’s arm away from his dick. But Danny was strong and holding on tight.

“She did it,” Danny murmured. “This is what she wanted. She said.”

“Who did?” Joel asked, watching as Danny appeared to get closer and closer to coming with quite remarkable speed.

“That woman in the garden. She cursed us.” Danny mumbled, his voice getting deeper and deeper as the inevitable was approaching. “She’s turning me into a…” he tried, before the oinking sounded out once again. Huge jets erupted from his dick, landing all over the duvet and even on the sleeve of Joel’s jacket.

“Danny! What the fuck!” Joel shouted, filled with rage and anger now. But all he could see was his bloated friend, grinning with his eyes still closed tight and a look of contentment spreading over him. “That’s not cool!” Joel spat, trying not to look at the semen on his sleeve in fear that he might start gagging. The stench of the room wasn’t helping either. “Fine!” he stated at last. “If you don’t want my help, I’m just going to leave you like this.” 

Joel knew he wasn’t making an empty threat. Why did Danny deserve his help when he’d got himself into a state like this?

“I’m going now,” he announced, hoping that Danny would rouse, even a little, to say something to him.

But Danny was silent and already falling blissfully back to sleep. As Joel left the room, he had no idea that he would actually never see his friend again.

“Harry,” Joel whispered quietly, sitting at the breakfast table with his buddy the morning after his wedding. “Do you remember that time in college when…” Joel began speculatively. 

Harry’s face suddenly turned deadly serious, as if he too had been thinking about exactly the same thing. “Danny,” he mumbled; a name that had not passed his lips in years. He stood, as if in a sudden panic. “I’ve got to go!” he mumbled. “I can’t let this…” 

The kitchen doors swung open and a steaming tray of fresh bacon was making its way to the buffet. Harry’s face calmed, grabbing his plate and rushing over to fill it up; forgetting everything.

Joel left with an uneasy feeling after the wedding and, against his usual policy, he took the bridesmaid’s phone number and asked her to let him know if things were okay with the newlyweds. He certainly wasn’t expecting to hear from her less than two weeks later, informing Joel that it was over. Just like that, Harry’s wife had left him, packing her bags and abandoning the apartment that they had lived in together to move back in with her mother.

It was a long drive to get there, but the feeling of dread at the pit of Joel’s stomach was almost too much for him to bear. He’d thought so much about the similarities between what had happened to Harry and Danny, enough to entertain the possibility that curses could actually come true. Perhaps it was the fact that the sting of the walking stick hitting his butt still twinged occasionally. As if the impact of it was sitting just beneath his skin after all these years. He had to see Harry. He had to rid himself of these doubts and worries in his mind. There was no choice in the matter.

Joel couldn’t get into the apartment block; there was no answer when he buzzed through or tried to call Danny’s cell phone. It was only when he caught the door as someone was leaving that he managed to enter and creep up to Harry’s floor. He knocked on the door, getting no response and feeling the strangest sense of deja vu.

“Hi,” Joel smiled at the middle aged lady who answered the door across the hall. He leaned himself into the doorframe and plastered his face with the boyish smile that always got him what he wanted with the ladies. “I’m supposed to be staying with my buddy, Harry, tonight,” he lied, pointing at the apartment door behind him. “I think he must have forgotten what time I was arriving though!” he sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically and widening his smile even more still. “I don’t suppose you know whether any of the neighbors keep a spare for that apartment, do they?”

The lady, who had already been beaming at him, nodded emphatically. “It’s Joel, isn’t it?” she asked. “I remember you from the wedding!”

Pretending to remember her, Joel nodded and told her how great it was to see her again. Most people he met seemed to remember him. And so it was that, within no time at all, he was holding the spare key in his hands, bracing himself for what he might find behind Harry’s closed door.

The first thing that hit Joel was the empty space inside the apartment. It was immediately obvious that there had, until very recently, been a lot more furniture inside. The sofas were gone, with piles of papers and junk sitting in stacks around the space. There was a faint sound of heavy breathing coming from somewhere, but the lack of furniture seemed to disorintate Joel as he explored, looking for his friend. Finally, he swung open a door and found the tiny kitchen space. It was an absolute mess, with a large, stout and barely dressed man asleep on the tiled floor; his head propped back against the cupboards. It seemed as if Harry had been to the supermarket only that day, for one of the paper bags remained intact on the floor. The others, however, seemed to have been ripped to shreds the moment Harry had returned. The floor was covered with the evidence of it all; his mouth smeared with bits of everything; an ill-fitting t-shirt stained and stretched beyond anything that would have been acceptable to wear outside of the apartment.

Harry’s gut was monstrous, his belly button deep and highly visible. Still, he looked strong and broad, even intimidating considering the sheer mass of him. How much had he actually eaten to grow so enormous in such a short time? No wonder his marriage was over. He barely resembled the slightly overweight man he had been only a couple of weeks earlier. He’d fallen asleep with his right hand resting inside his overstretched boxers, giving the impression that he’d masturbated before he’d finally lost consciousness. What an absolute mess!

Joel poked at his friend until he started to rouse. “Get up,” he ordered, trying to hide his irritation that Harry had got himself into this state. “I’m here to look after you,” he stated, suddenly realising that this was never going to be a flying visit. There was no point in trying to ask what was going; no hope of getting any sense out of the man.  “Go get yourself a shower and I’ll clean up in here.”

Harry barely seemed to register Joel’s presence as unusual. He rose to his feet clumsily, causing more crumbs and packaging to rain down on the already daunting floor that Joel would have to tidy. He stumbled, almost drunkenly into the door, then strutted, as if unsure of how to carry his own body weight, back into the lounge and disappeared into the bathroom.

“I never told you how bad it was last time I saw Danny,” Joel admitted a couple of hours later, having carried a chair from the bedroom for his buddy to sit on and opting for a short stool for himself. “At least, not the full details,” he admitted, feeling the same sense of shame he had carried with him for years now. How could he have ever abandoned a friend like that? “But, whatever you seem to be experiencing, I think he was going through the same thing. Whatever this is, he wasn’t able to control it either,” Joel stressed, trying to keep Harry’s eyes focused on him. “You’re the only other person in the world who could possibly understand what I’m about to say, but… I think this is all happening because of that night. The old woman in the garden.”

Harry nodded slowly, as if only just comprehending. He sat without a shirt on; his giant butt contained, at least for now, inside straining material that dug sharply into his hips. “She said we were…” Harry started, before Joel stopped him. He didn’t need to hear it.

“I think we need to go back. I think we need to find her. If she’s still alive that is.” He rubbed his forehead, hardly believing that he was saying this. It was all insane madness. Where had his rational brain vanished to? Nevertheless, it was the only course of action he could think of. “First thing in the morning, I’m taking you to that house. And we’re not returning until we have some proper answers.”

Joel made good on his promise, getting Harry out of the apartment bright and early the next day. It hadn’t been easy either; Joel had re-entered the apartment at six in the morning, having crashed in his car for the night as there hadn’t even been a sofa, or comfy chair for him to take inside. Immediately, he had heard the sounds of Harry gorging himself on whatever was left in the kitchen that Joel had spent so long cleaning the night before. He’d been furious and his harsh tone seemed to be the only thing that finally got Harry moving. They’d stopped very briefly for Joel to head quickly into a mall and buy something a little less fitted for Harry. The sight of his big ass crack had turned Joel’s stomach that morning, and there was simply no way he was prepared to let the guy out of the car until that gut of his was covered up.

Harry seemed to drift in and out of full awareness. For ten minutes, he could be bright and clear; explaining vividly why his marriage had so quickly broken down due to the strange urges he’d been experiencing. At these times, he appeared completely self-aware and disgusted with himself. Then, after this period ended, he seemed to become more animalistic. His urges built until he was growling for Joel to stop and let him buy more food. He’d rub his belly and stroke his dick, complaining bitterly that he couldn’t climax without feeling his belly stretching with food. Joel had yelled at him to put his dick away, fearing that those around them would see. It also made Harry sweat quite considerably. Joel could see the shimmer on the guy’s skin and tried not to retch as he imagined the sweat building under Harry’s armpits and within the folds of skin; all of it soaking into his car upholstery. He put his foot down, driving onwards at a steady pace and making good progress by midday. 

At long last, the two men were pulling up outside the house that they had known so many years ago. There had been so many familiar places on the way in through the city; Joel’s mind singing with nostalgia. If only he was here under more pleasant circumstances.

“Maybe you should wait in the car?” Joel suggested, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a handful of protein bars to distract the glutton whilst he slipped out and locked him inside; knowing that Harry was a little too spaced out to find the unlocking button and that he had at least three minutes before the car alarm would sound. The knowledge of that made him move with a little more haste into the garden and up the stairs to the front door. 

The garden still looked the same as it had back then: well tended and functional, vegetables and fruits growing in most of the spaces. He rang the bell, surprised at how fast his heart was beating. Despite knowing for quite some time that he was coming here, the reality of it only seemed to hit him at that moment, as he waited for someone to answer the door to him.

“Hello!” Joel called out after some time had passed without any response. “My name is Joel Rogerson. I used to go to college here a few years ago,” he tried, not wanting to have come all this way for nothing.

Suddenly there was movement from inside and Joel’s heart quickened again. Someone was coming to the door, one slow step at a time. He braced himself, swallowing hard and trying to look smart for reasons that he could not entirely explain to himself. When the door opened, Joel’s jaw dropped. Standing there was the one person he had least expected to see in the entire world; a face he had not looked upon in many years, but one that he strangely recognised with ease. Unmistakable, it was old buddy, Danny. His face was altered, swollen with fat that had enveloped his entire neck and shrunk his eyes back into his head. He was also shirtless; wide, with an enormous, apron-like gut falling lower than his crotch and a belly button that looked deeper than any Joel had ever seen. He couldn’t imagine the audacity and lack of pride Danny had to come to the door looking like he had.

“No shit!” Danny scoffed, gazing a little down at his old friend, standing there on the porch. “I remember you,” he chuckled, as if he had lived an entire lifetime since their old college days. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same question,” Joel replied, caught, almost speechless, at the sight of the monstrously large man Danny had become. Easily surpassing five hundred pounds, Danny loomed large and wide, yet his shoulders appeared strong and masculine, but for the sagging nipples that dripped from his broad chest.

Suddenly, Danny became more interested and his nose twitched, sniffing at the scent he was picking up from Joel. “Who have you brought with you?” he demanded; seemingly excited. He stepped out of the house and gazed into the street, just as Joel’s car alarm burst into life; Harry inside, tearing at Joel’s backpack in the hope of finding more snacks.

Sighing, Joel unlocked the car with a click and Harry immediately climbed out. Amazingly, Danny was charging across the street to meet him; the fat wobbling and the skin folds on his enormous back on show for all to see. He embraced Harry with a genuine delight that he hadn’t shown Joel, guiding him into the house eagerly.

“So, what’s happening to him then?” Joel asked a short while later, once Danny had set Harry up with a large stack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that he was already making fast progress with. The whole house was a mess and the kitchen dirtier still. Joel couldn’t imagine accepting any food that came out of it, but Harry didn’t seem to even notice.

“The curse,” Danny chuckled, watching Harry gorging from across the room, like a proud father. “I’m guessing Harry cheated on someone, just like I did. Then, snap! The curse activates… But I’m sure you already worked that out.”

“It’s true then,” Joel sighed, losing all hope of this being one large and unfortunate coincidence.

“Of course it is!” Danny chuckled, unable to tear his eyes away from Harry as he attacked the stack of sandwiches with nothing but pure gluttony. His eyes seemed to sparkle with delight, or worse, nostalgia.

“Is this how it happened to you?” Joel asked, setting aside his own guilt for abandoning Danny all those years ago.

“Pretty much!” Danny nodded, smirking as Harry seemed to speed up with his eating. “The food’s not even important. The curse is what is making him fat, not the calories. But it’s still fun to watch, eh?” he smiled, nodding briefly at Joel.

“How do we stop it?” Joel asked with a little impatience.

“You don’t,” Danny replied, suddenly short-tempered. “I came here, trying to find the old lady who did this. She let me stay here; said she needed a good, strong fat boy to look after her garden whilst she’s away. That’s how I ended up staying here. She grows things in the garden; special things that draw power from the soli; something can only be found in this area.” He looked at Joel, sensing his disbelief. “I don’t know how it works. “I just do as I’m told. I live here, rent-free, and have a little security guard job that keeps me in food,” he grinned, patting the monstrous tank of belly fat he had amassed. “She’ll be so pleased when I tell her Harry has shown up here at long last as well.”

“He’s not staying here,” Joel stated with absolute conviction, realising that Danny had altered beyond anything he recognised now. He was no friend; not any more. “He’s not going to end up like you have. I’ll make sure of that.”

Danny simply smirked at Joel’s challenge and called over to Harry as he watched the man snaffle the last of the bread. “Did you enjoy that?” he teased patronisingly, as if speaking to a child. He raised himself slowly and Joel tried hard not to look at the enormous ass on the man; each glute pumped full of fat, yet remaining strong and capable. “I’ve left out another little treat for you,” he went on, heading to the pantry and returning with a large carton of ice cream. He handed it to Harry, and chose to sit next to him now, deliberately goading Joel as he slipped his fat arm over his old friend, as if claiming him for his own. “You get that down you. You’ll feel better then… I promise.”

As much as Joel had wanted them both to leave, he knew his best hope of getting in touch with the old lady who had created the curse was to hang around and pick from what he could in the house. He’d pretended to need the bathroom, knowing he wouldn’t be missed downstairs, then slowly went on the hunt for anything that might help him. He wouldn’t be missed downstairs, given how infatuated the enormous Danny seemed to be with watching Harry eat.

There were three bedrooms in the house. Danny’s one was obvious straight away. His bed had become a giant pit, sinking in the middle and smelling of stale sweat. Empty snack wrappers and cartons filled the space in much the same way they had the last time Joel had gone in his dorm room and it was obvious, by the simplest of glances, that this was the room of a very obese man. Joel had hoped to find something in the other rooms, but they were nothing but dusty, soulless spaces, devoid of anything interesting whatsoever. Still he tried, lifting the mattresses and searching behind the wardrobes for anything that might help him track down the old lady who had once lived here; something he knew Danny would never help him do.

“That’s it, Piggy!” Danny cried from downstairs, accompanied by loud, deep moans from Harry. “Get every last drop down!”

Joel raced down, wondering what on earth Danny was inflicting upon Harry and kicking himself for having left him alone in the first place. He arrived in the living room just as Harry ejaculated all over his now naked body. His dick was very firmly in Danny’s fist, even as the fat man held a giant gallon bottle of milk over his open mouth. “What are you doing?” Joel demanded. “Leave him alone!”

Danny smiled at Harry, then leant in for a kiss, which Harry gladly accepted and returned; their tongues fusing together as Joel could only watch on. Then, rising to his feet, Danny’s smile faded and he looked grim-faced at Joel. All of a sudden, Joel felt himself being grabbed by his t-shirt and pushed back over the sweaty sofa; his chin held by Danny’s arm and the rest of him pinned against the enormous man’s mass. At that moment, Danny’s part time job as a security guard seemed to make perfect sense. Joel hadn’t even seen it coming and he squirmed, finding it hard to catch his breath.

“You’re killing my mood,” Danny growled at him. “All I’m doing is playing with the pig.”

“Harry… Harry,” Joel gasped, trying to look up at his friend, only inches away from him; sitting on the sofa where he had been laid out flat by the gigantic fat man. “Get him off me!”

Danny chuckled, looking across at Harry himself. “Keep eating, Fat Boy!” he teased. “Grow nice and fat for me!”

To Joel’s astonishment, Harry did exactly as he was told, picking up more of the food Danny had brought in and feeding himself without a single concern about Joel’s ongoing attack.

“He’s mine now!” Danny declared. “But thank you for bringing him to me. You can go home now.”

Harry!” Joel tried one last time; practically begging for him to get up off his ass and get Danny away from him. “Please!”

“You think you’re so much better than us, don’t you?” Danny growled. “But there were three little piggies who were cursed that night, remember…”

Seeing that Harry was not coming to his aid, Joel stared hard into Danny’s eyes; his gaze stern and defiant. “I’m nothing like you!” he growled with all the energy he had left in him.

Danny seemed to lower his face down to him and Joel tried to shrink away as he felt the disgusting guy’s hot breath on his face. “Here piggy, piggy, piggy!” Danny whispered in an almost inaudible tone.

Joel felt like he was about to pass out. The room seemed to go dark and he had the strangest feeling of suddenly being outside of his own body. Someone, somewhere, had started oinking like a pig.

When the room came back into focus again, Danny was stood again, with a naked Harry and his stout little belly standing by his side. They were both laughing, very clearly, at him; as if he had just done something he wasn’t even aware of.

Joel rubbed his face and rose properly to his feet, surprised by how dizzy he felt. He grabbed at Harry’s newly bought clothes, empty and discarded on the floor and held them out to him. “Harry, get dressed!” he demanded, feeling physically afraid to stay here any longer. “Come with me now.”

The two men were laughing at him still; as if every word that came out of his mouth was gibberish.

“I mean it, Harry! We have to leave!”

Finally, with no other idea of what to do, Joel threw the clothes down and headed straight for the door. He didn’t look back as his car engine roared into life. He’d done it again; taken the easy option, just as he had eight years earlier. And in doing so, he’d just kissed any hope of saving Harry goodbye.

Joel’s experience played on his mind for months. He felt irritable and impatient with people. He now knew for certain that a curse lived within him, like a parasite waiting for the order to eat him up from the inside. There was no one in the entire world who could know what it was like to live like that; there was no one who would believe him if he tried to explain it. Joel had never really considered marriage and starting a family, but now he felt like those options no longer existed for him anyway. Why open up to someone properly when the temptation to cheat could have such disastrous consequences? Why start a family when his whole life could suddenly fall apart, like Harry’s had?

Going back to his old life was never going to work, and Joel knew it. He needed a fresh start; to get away and make new experiences for himself. Working for a global company, there were occasionally opportunities for someone to make a big leap, just like Joel needed now. When the Gold Coast position came up, it felt like it was meant to be. Joel could easily see himself living in Australia. He’d always been a keen surfer and the lifestyle out there seemed to match entirely with his personality. As such, he didn’t waste any time in submitting an application; already starting to plan his big move.

“May the best candidate win!” Sarah smiled as she passed Joel in the corridor. “I hear you’re going for the transfer too?”

Joel raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew that other people had the option to try out for the new job, but he hadn’t heard anyone else expressing an interest. If he was honest, he wouldn’t have minded all that much if someone else did go for it, but not Sarah. She had one of those formidable personalities: smart, alert and highly capable. She seemed to give off exactly the sort of energy and ethos the company liked best; it was clear to anyone who met her that she was climbing the ranks at rapid speed.

“How come you want to transfer to the Gold Coast?” Joel asked, trying not to let his longing for the job shine through. “I thought you’d want to be heading your way to head office and really start making a name for yourself?” he tried, hoping his words might make Sarah rethink.

“Oh, absolutely!” Sarah nodded. “But this job will be amazing for me, at least for a few months, don’t you think? Just imagine the experience I’ll get!” she beamed.

Joel bit his tongue. Sarah was willing to ruin this opportunity for him just to boost her CV. He could tell that she already knew she had the job, and why wouldn’t she? Everyone seemed to think the sun shone out of her ass. But she didn’t know how much Joel needed this move, and he doubted very much that an ambitious girl like her would even care if he ever tried to explain it to her.

It wasn’t Joel’s finest moment, but as he saw Sarah’s application form sitting there on their line-manager’s desk whilst she was out to lunch, he did the only thing he felt he could do to take back some sort of control in his life. Sifting through the papers, he took out the optional personal statement where Sarah always seemed to excel. He read it through, shaking his head. He’d spent hours trying to sell himself on his application, yet Sarah’s words were all so much better than his. Hell, if he was choosing, there’s no way he would give the job to anyone else after reading this. It was instinct: scrunching the personal statement into a ball and quickly scurrying out of the office, knowing that he had definitely given himself a much better chance: a last hope. There would be plenty more opportunities for the likes of Sarah. But, right now, Joel had to put himself first. He deserved this after all he had been through recently.

It was the Friday of that week when it happened. The clock ticked to midday and Joel suddenly felt an almighty, thunderous slap on his butt. He was sitting down at his desk at the time and he jumped up shouting a loud expletive. Everyone looked up at him from their computers, some scowling and sheltering their phones to protect customers from hearing any more unprofessional workplace language. 

Joel didn’t care. He rubbed his ass, wondering what the fuck had hit him like a sharp, stinging cane travelling at a hundred miles an hour. Had no one else heard the loud SNAP as it had connected with him?

He sat back down, still grumbling as the busy office continued on regardless.

“Are you all right?” asked one of Joel’s colleagues. “You were in the bathroom for like, half an hour.”

Joel shook his head. “Was I?” he asked, squinting to see the time on his computer. It was almost the end of the day and he was nowhere near done with everything he needed to do. He rubbed his forehead, feeling how sweaty and warm he felt. “Have they turned the heat up or something?”

Surveying him from a distance, Joel’s colleague felt confident in her diagnosis. “I think you’re coming down with something,” she declared, before insisting that he went home a little early.

Although Joel remembered agreeing to leave work, it was gone eight in the evening before he found himself finally getting into his apartment. He felt so hungry, deciding that he was going to grab something and then head straight to bed in order to shake off whatever this strange funk was.

Joel was woken by a knock at his door. He looked around, seeing he’d drifted off on his couch and he slowly got himself up. He brushed his hand through his hair, still feeling that he had a temperature. He almost forgot what he was getting up for, until he heard the knock again; louder and more impatient.

“Hey there!” smiled Freya, leaning seductively against the doorframe. “Did I interrupt a workout?” she teased, seeming to appreciate the sweaty sheen on him and the way Joel’s t-shirt was clinging to his toned chest. 

Joel knew what Freya wanted. She only ever came round when she was bored and horny. Then, most of the time, being the gentleman that he was, joel would sort her out and have some fun along the way. As occasional fuck-buddies went, Freya was a smoking hot choice. Her hand slipped onto his shoulders and they began smooching right there on the doorstep.

Freya must have peeked during their kiss, for she pulled out of the kiss suddenly. “Jeez, Joel! Your apartment is a mess!” she laughed. “I’ve never seen it like this!”

Joel knew he hadn’t hoovered since last weekend and he shrugged, not wanting to turn around and look when he was holding Freya’s beautiful hips in his hands.  “Shall we go straight to the bedroom then?” he asked.

Freya smiled back at him, glad that their foreplay time was getting shorter and shorter these days. They both had an itch to scratch, so why waste time?

Twenty minutes later, Joel had never felt more embarrassed in his life as he came out of his bedroom, trying to convince Freya to stay a little longer. He’d never had these issues before. He was young, fit and very accomplished in the bedroom. These sorts of things didn’t happen to guys like him.

Freya didn’t seem to have any patience and actually seemed deeply offended. No matter what she had done, where she had put Joel’s dick, or how much effort she put in, Joel just wasn’t getting hard with her. “Maybe we could try again tomorrow?” Joel asked, keen not to lose his occasional bed companion, or for her to spread the word that he hadn’t been able to get it up. But Freya was not stopping for a chat. She’d made her frustration quite plain in the bedroom and, within a moment, Joel found himself alone, looking down at his dick, wondering what the hell had just happened. Whatever lurgy he was suffering from today, he wasn’t feeling at all himself.

“Joel? Where are you, buddy? It’s gone 9am.”

Joel shook his head and tried to make sense of why his boss was calling him. He looked across at the clock on the wall. It was twenty past nine, but he had no idea whether that was morning or night. It certainly couldn’t be Monday morning, surely?

Sensing his grogginess, Joel’s boss blundered on, filling the silent void where Joel was still trying to think of what to say. “Angela said you looked like you were coming down with the flu on Friday before you left? I’m guessing you haven’t had much of a weekend?”

“No,” Joel replied, rubbing his sweaty face, finally ready to believe that he was actually late for work. “I’ve been pretty spaced out. I don’t know what’s wrong. It’s like some sort of fever. I didn’t even realise it was Monday already.”

“Joel, it’s absolutely fine,” his boss replied; her voice full of understanding and concern. “Five years you’ve worked here and never taken a sick day. I was starting to think you were super-human or something. Please look after yourself, go see a doctor and give me a call when you think you’ll be ready to come back in.”

“Thanks,” Joel mumbled, already losing track of what his boss was saying: too much information all in one go.

“When you come back, I’ll want to talk to you about your application for the transfer too,” she went on. “You were by far the strongest candidate with your personal statement. Even Sarah failed to sell herself on her application form. I’ll be sorry to see you go.”

“You mean, I got it?” Joel asked, suddenly brought back to life by the news. 

“We’ll talk about it when you’re feeling better,” his boss chuckled. “But, yes. Well done, Joel. You did it!”

After putting the phone down, Joel felt a burst of energy and clarity that he hadn’t experienced in some time. He’d got the job! Even Sarah hadn’t been able to outdo him this time!

But then Joel’s smile faded. He began to think back to the week before, when he had slipped out part of Sarah’s application and kept it. He’d got the job by cheating; he knew that. And if no one had noticed before the midday deadline last Friday, her application would have been seriously weakened. But, he’d cheated, Joel’s mind kept on reminding him, and Sarah had suffered for it. He remembered the weird thwack he’d felt on his butt that lunchtime, bringing back that awful memory of the night he, Harry and Danny had been caught in the old lady’s garden, back in college. That was the last time he’d experienced pain like that before. He’d cheated, his mind repeated. Like a selfish pig.

Joel felt his heart sink like an anchor plunging into icy seawater; yet it began beating faster than he had ever felt it before. He shifted from this way to that, not knowing where to go. He eventually found himself in the bathroom, feeling the sudden urge to pour cold water over his face to try and keep his mind focused. It was the first time he’d noticed that he was still naked after getting frisky with Freya. Had that been Friday night? Saturday? Time had gotten away from him. Then, in the reflection, he saw it for the first time. The masking of his abs with a budding layer of fat. It had surreptiously built, thickening his waistline as Joel twisted to see if what he was actually seeing was true. He looked like he’d gained twenty pounds in a single weekend. “No, no, no, no!” he panicked, twisting further to see his small, tight buns also looking thicker and beefier. Then he pushed his face into the mirror, observing the start of a small chin under his handsome jawline. “No! Fuck!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. It was all so unfair! This was all happening because of fucking Sarah? Where the fuck was the justice in that?

Joel needed to do something. He could explain! He probably still had Sarah’s personal statement scrunched up in his pocket somewhere. He could take it to his boss and confess to what he had done. It didn’t have to be too late! 

But just as soon as this thought came to him, Joel suddenly felt a sharp pain attacking his stomach. With his fingers, he gripped the edges of the sink and lowered his head, growling with discomfort. It almost seemed like his insides were being rearranged, his stomach tying itself in knots. Joel tried to push against the unpleasantness, to squeeze it back from wherever it came from. But there was a feeling, like something trying to creep its way up his throat. He opened his eyes and looked at his reflection in the mirror to see what it was as he couldn’t hold onto it anymore. “Oink, oink!” he heard himself snort. The feeling of relief was instantaneous. “Oink, oink!” he cried again, not fighting the urge this time; the pressure in his stomach decreasing dramatically.

Within a few more seconds, the episode seemed to be over. He gazed at his body once more, surprised to see that his little paunch had appeared to gain a few more pounds again. He was getting love handles, curving out to the sides! Yet, there it was: the erection that had so evaded him during his evening with Freya. Pumped full of blood, it tingled with wild sexual energy, like he had never felt before. His train of thought lost, Joel put his hand to it and fell even further.

Joel couldn’t remember going out for supplies, but he cringed as he saw how he had dressed himself. Having planned to go to the gym on Saturday morning, his tight shorts, fitted sleeveless t-shirt and trainers were the only things he had left out for himself. Now they all seemed to fit horrifyingly badly. In the last couple of days, his stomach had been swelling up, becoming like a small tire around his waist. He’d developed love handles like he’d never seen before, soft and doughy to the touch, whilst his belly button had seemed to deepen with each passing hour. He gazed in horror at himself, seeing how he had the appearance of a man who had no comprehension of how dreadful he looked; his fleshy stomach peeking out below his t-shirt, his underwear and shorts not quite large enough to cover his rear; a sweaty ass crack on display for all to see. Had he bumped into someone he knew as well? He couldn’t quite remember properly. All his memories seemed shrouded in a fog. He’d offended someone. There had been shouting. Now there was cake, or chocolate sauce, or something along those lines, all smeared around his face.

How long had it been since the curse had activated? All sense of time was lost and Joel seemed incapable of remaining level-headed for more than a few minutes at a time. He now understood why Harry had been behaving in the way that he had. He couldn’t imagine the mental effort it must have taken for him to recite his wedding vows after this had all started. 

But what about Danny? How had he done it? He may not have been anything like the guy Joel remembered, but he didn’t seem to have the same difficulties with staying lucid. He even had a job! Was that because he wasn’t trying to fight it anymore?

As he thought, Joel suddenly realised his hand was in his pants, tugging at his dick; his other hand sliding across the fresh fat in his middle. He growled angrily in frustration that he barely seemed able to do anything for more than two minutes before he was gorging himself on something, or trying to pleasure his body in other ways. He needed to work past this stage and quickly. He needed his mind back and to end the mental exertion of fighting this.

“I’m giving into this curse. I surrender,” Joel told himself in the mirror, looking straight into his own eyes as if speaking to the curse within. “You win!” he told it. “I’m a…” he hesitated, finding it hard to say the word. “I’m a pig!”

Afterwards, Joel couldn’t remember a thing. He seemed to have skipped days and days. He looked at his body, all bloated with pounds and pounds of even more fat. He’d developed a gut, fleshier nipples and a rounded double chin. His ass appeared to have doubled in width; his thighs fleshy but strong. There wouldn’t be a thing in his whole apartment that would conver his body now and yet, there were larger pants and t-shirts waiting in parcels that he didn’t remember ordering. 

Joel pinched and grabbed at the flesh, feeling his hardness throbbing as he did so. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he didn’t need to worry about work anymore and there was a nagging feeling that he would have to leave his apartment soon. Had something happened? He chuckled at the vague memories that passed through his mind. He would need to find somewhere else to go…

“Well, well, well!” Danny sniggered as Joel let himself into the house near their old college campus. “What have we here?” he chirped, standing up and admiring the changed form of Joel.

It had taken so much training for Joel to handle the long journey up here, but he’d managed it at long last. His mind had needed sharpening, his attention span building up once more. He’d spent hours choosing to be on all fours, gorging himself in order to support the transition. He had stuffed himself beyond feeling full and masturbated more times than he ever had as a teenager. But it had all been for the best. He felt, for the most part, alert once again; remembering most, if not all, of his days. He matched Danny’s stare and held it confidently, letting the guy know that he wasn’t about to be pushed around by him again. He grinned, snorting like a pig and then watched as Danny lost a little of his own composure, leaning forwards slightly and echoing the sounds, whether he meant to or not.

“Where’s the othe pig?” Joel asked; his dick hard and excited to see the transformation. Already he was kicking off his shoes and removing his shirt, letting Danny know that he was here to stay.

“Upstairs, sleeping,” Danny reluctantly replied. “He’s still pushing against it. At least, some part of him is,” he explained. “Jeez! Fuck, Joel! You got fat!” he then suddenly excliamed, seeing Joel’s enormous gut and sounding rather jealous.

“I triggered the curse three months ago,” Joel smirked, tapping his large gut and enjoying the wobble of the softest underside of it.

“Like fuck you only triggered the curse three months ago,” Danny shot back. “Bullshit! Even Harry isn’t as big as you yet.”

“Well that will need to change, won’t it?” Joel laughed with pride. “That old lady had cursed three fat pigs; not two. He’s going to have to catch up now I’m back here. He can’t keep fighting against this forever.” 

Joel deliberately sat himself down in Danny’s chair, resting his large butt and sighing in appreciation of being off his feet. Danny, the former quarterback may have been the biggest now, but he wouldn’t always hold that title; Joel knew that with absolute certainty. 

“What do you think you can do to get Harry fattening faster than I have?” Danny grunted, seeming put out by the insinuation that he hadn’t been doing a good enough job with their mutual friend.

“You’ll soon see,” Joel smiled, rubbing his large gut and feeling it expand with the confidence he felt in embracing his new personality. What a life this would be; living here, rent-free, with two other fat guys. He jiggled his gut to catch Danny’s attention, knowing that he’d have sex on tap with both of the horny pigs that lived here. Then, just like that, the enormous man  came striding over to rub and caress Joel’s gut, as if it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Even with all his bravado, Danny was a slave to the fat, every bit as much as Joel was.

“Where’s good for pizza around here?” Joel asked. He put his sweaty feet up on the table knocking over everything that had been left on there. Then he spread his legs as Danny slipped his hands into Joel’s sweatpants and began tugging him off. “I’m absolutely starving!” 

[mvrtaiswriting]

Run your mouth x Armin Artlert. ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :

this is a revisited (and better) version of my old work. enjoy!

gender neutral reader. pronoun "they" used.

warnings: angst (it ends well), suggestive, intoxication (weed). alternative au

feel free to reblog, like, and leave a comment. i would very much appreciate it. if you enjoy my works, click here to read more or buy me a coffee.

“Why didn’t you not say anything?!”

“You need to stop letting people speak to you like that, Armin. God, even one of Connie’s ‘yo mama’ type of joke would have been a more decent comeback!”

Those words rolled down your tongue before you could realise it, planting one dagger after the other right where Armin was hurting the most. Yet, Armin's gaze escaped yours one more time that day, looking at everything else but you. Letting himself crash against the sofa of his living room, he finally sighed.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter.”

Armin finally spit out, biting his bottom lip. Another sigh escaped his lips as you watched him run his fingers through his hair, a few blonde strands falling over his forehead. All he wanted to do was leaving everything that happened behind and avoid another conflict. Specially with you.

“Fine.”

Was all you managed to say, rushing towards the door and putting your jacket on. The warmth on your cheeks was getting harder to ignore and you just couldn't allow yourself to lash out at Armin again. Maybe Armin didn't care - maybe he was able to leave it all behind. But you weren't, and if those words didn't hurt him, they definitely hurt you. There was nothing in this word that could justify his complete lack of reaction, the complete silence you were met with every time you tried to talk things through.

After all, this was a tale as old as time. Since you had known him, you had seen him react. Not when Bertholdt took his book out of his hands and set fire to him when you were in middle school, not when Annie almost punched him but you intervened instead - ending up in a fight and then in an hospital room with 5 stitches on your chin as a consequence. The two of you had met in primary school, when you were still taller than him and his hair was longer than yours - and you always took care of one another. The memory of Armin's little finger putting a plaster on your scarred knee on the playground was still vivid in your mind - you've never parted way since.

It was so hard now to grasp onto this dear memories. All you could see was a grown man not standing up for himself, a true believer of always being the biggest person instead of flipping someone off - even if that meant overlooking the worst episodes of one's life. Adrenaline was still pumping in your veins from earlier on that morning, that pervasive sense of frustration still all over you as if you had to fight back, as if you were the one who was insulted. You were fuming - you were mad at him for being so passive about life, you were mad at the world for being so disgustingly cruel.

Armin’s blue eyes remained locked on you the whole time, meticulously following your movements as you roamed through the room to pick up your things. You were gone before he could say something, before he could swallow the lump in his throat and actually come up with something that would make you stay. Yet, before he could come up with something, you stormed out of his apartment, neither of you speaking one more word. It was only when he realised you were distant enough that Armin finally let himself go, a frustrated scream finally making its way out, emptying his lungs and lifting an heavy weight from his shoulders.

There were so many things Armin should have said - maybe he should have thanked you for standing up for him, for always stepping up even if it didn't matter, even if he didn't deserve it. He knew you could see right through him; he knew that you could how much all the hatred collected through the years had cracked his seemingly unbreakable shield - you knew there was hurt underneath his shell of indifference.

Maybe he should have told you that he hated himself for all those times he had put you in danger, by allowing you to step up - or maybe he should have just told you that he was working on his avoidant tendencies. Maybe, just maybe, he should have confronted you and tell you that yes, he hated being involved in stupid arguments but he would turn the world upside down for you.

-

When Jean asked him to come over, Armin didn’t think about it twice: he really needed an excuse to shut down his brain.

The familiar, stinging smell of weed, typical of Jean's and Connie's apartment tingled Armin's nose even before knocking on his friend's door. Jean was quick to open the door, leading Armin to the living room where the rest of the group had already started their session.

Sitting on the floor, Armin took place next to Eren. Despite Jean's invite to a 'boys-only' night, Armin couldn't help but quickly scan the room, hoping to find you there. There was radio-silence between the two of you - and he hated it. Quickly reaching his pockets, Armin grabbed his phone and scrolled quickly through his notifications - not a call, not a text. Not from you at least.

“Someone told me you had a rough day.”

Eren's raspy voice called Armin back to reality. Armin only nodded in response, before his friend passed him the already light up joint he was holding in his hands.

“Are they okay?”

Armin asked, taking a long drag from the joint between his long fingers and leaning his body against the sofa, shoulders and head resting on the seating’s pillow. As he breathed the smoke in, Armin realised you must have talked to Mikasa about what happened.

Eren nodded silently, knowing well enough how worried Armin was for you.

“They’re with Sasha and Mikasa, they’ll join us later.”

Eren added, only receiving a weak nod from Armin in response.

Riding off the slowly building up high, Armin let his mind wonder. How could he be stupid enough to let you walk away? Was he testing his luck even further? How hard could it be to realise the luck that he must have had during all those years - in which you never left his side. Always showering him with love, and care, and so much affection - and all he managed to was being a damsel in distress. Never man enough to stand up for himself, or for you. How could he even dare to dream of you, how could he even bring himself to think you could love him the way he loved you - and deserve it. If love was to be earned, Armin wasn't sure if he'd ever deserve yours.

Armin finished his joint without even realising it, smashing its remains against the ashtray as he slowly started to feel his body become lighter and his mind quieter, highness rushing over his body as he finally felt calm for the first time that day. The rest of his friends were a mess, Connie laughing his lungs out while having meaningless conversation with Jean. He enjoyed the peaceful chaos of the moment, finding himself laughing at one of Connie’s ‘deez nuts’ jokes without even realising it.

When you finally arrived at Jean's apartment, followed by Sasha and Mikasa, Armin had already smoked one more joint with Connie - yet, this didn't hinder his senses. Simply hearing you greet the rest of the group made him sit up straight, his eyes quickly scanning the room hoping to catch a glimpse of you. When you finally entered his visual field, he couldn't help but stare for a moment. Locking his blue eyes on you, he looked at you in religious silent as he observed every movement your body made. Not a word left his lips - he couldn't bring himself to say a word. A wave of unexpected emotions had rushed over him and all he could do was admire you, finally being able to maintain eye contact with you for the first time that day.

Letting out a big sigh, you were quick to notice the state Armin was in. His eyes were half-lidded, the blue of his iris emphasised by the redness of the rest of his eyes. You slowly kneed next to him, scanning his face looking for any trace of lucidity.

"You're beautiful."

Armin finally spoke. Your faces were only a few centimetres apart while you made sure he was okay, so close to him he could feel your warm breath tickling the skin of his face.

"Shut up."

Was all that you said as a soft smile adorned your lips, finally sitting next to him. Even when sitting down, he still managed to be a little taller than you. You let your head rest on his shoulder, and he instinctively adjusted himself to ensure you were comfortable enough.

"I mean it. and.."

Armin paused, taking a deep breath. He wasn't lucid, but he wasn't absent-minded either. He just was high enough to have the courage to speak up about his feelings.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't."

You replied, letting out a sigh. Snuggling closer to Armin, you guided Armin's arm around you, engulfing yourself into his embrace. Armin was quick to tighten the grip on you, letting his long fingers reach your hips and holding you tighter.

"I wish I was a better man."

Armin spoke again. His words felt sharper than ever this time, piercing right through you. The last thing you wanted was to make him feel as if he wasn't enough - all your life you tried to make him understand his worth.

"You're the best man I know."

You replied, making Armin giggle. Your replies were always quicker than his, always sharper - and he loved that. Armin watched as you reached for his hand, playing with his fingers. Snuggling closer to him, you let your head rest on the crook of his neck - your breathing gently itching his soft spot, constantly sending shivers down his spine. Armin remained silent for a while - he was feeling your body in ways he had only dreamt of, his senses being completely overwhelmed. Yet, it was your words that echoed in his head - was he hallucinating? Are these words that every friend would say to another?

Shifting from your position to sit down properly and take a hit from the joint Connie passed you, Armin was quick to wrap his arm around your waist, trapping you in his embrace once again. Your back was now resting against his chest, your bodies perfectly fitting together like a puzzle-piece. That was the quickest reflex Armin has ever had in his life. Where were you going? He didn't want you to leave his arms. Not tonight. Not ever.

Laughing at his reaction, you allowed him to hold you closer, melting under his touch. His hands wondered down your hips again and every stupid fibre of your body ached for more, your skin almost burning every time Armin's fingers grazed you, even by accident. If only Armin had known about this - about all the times your mind went dumb at the sole idea of him touching you. If only Armin knew how much you loved him, and cared for him. If only Armin knew the only reason you were so mad at him was his blindness to the way you ached for him, realising just how wonderful he was.

Taking the joint from Connie, you were quick to take a hit. Armin's eyes were once again fixed on you, as he watched the way your lips wrapped around the joint's filter - dying to have a taste of them. Armin shook his head, trying to think straight - but he just couldn't. The higher he got, the more the thought of you crowded his mind. Your lips had him so obviously hypnotised, making his mind wonder off again; flashback of you kissing when you were 12 because you wanted to be each other's first kiss was everything he could think of. The way it felt, the softness of your lips, the sweet innocence of a typical, awkward first kiss. Too many times he had asked himself how would it feel to kiss you now that the innocence was gone, now that he touched himself under the shower just thinking of you.

Worried about Armin's sudden silence, you shook his shoulder only lightly, in hope to get him back to reality.

"Are you okay? Wanna hit?" Armin looked at you for a second, processing your question and analysing the scene he was watching. You were standing only a few centimetres away from his face once again, your lips were burning red because of the heated filter you smoked from. His heart was beating quickly and suddenly that was all he could hear. Flashback of you kissing running through his mind once again, the dirtiest scenarios he imagined you in flooding his mind and running just before his eyes.

"Fuck that."

Armin said, before grabbing your waist and pulling you into a desperate, passionate kiss. His grip felt unusually strong and firm on your skin, his touch loosing its usual kindness as he locked his lips on yours as he slid his tongue into your mouth, desperate to have a taste of you. Although surprised at first, you were quick to reciprocate the kiss, letting your hand reach his jaw and almost pulling him on top of you.

Jean and Eren cheered for Armin, echoing some stupid choirs as the two of you ended up making out on the floor. Breaking the kiss due to a shortness of breath, you rested your forehead against Armin's. Staring at you, he left a soft kiss on the tip of your nose praying you won't notice the redness of his cheeks.

"Damn it Artlert.."

"So you do know how to run your mouth, uh?" you teased, leaving a quick kiss on his lips.

"I have a few more tricks I can show you."

[shy-urban-hobbit]

Alpha!Lambert and Omega!Aiden ficlet.

Post heat, Aiden isn't the only one to receive aftercare and Lambert gets confused.

Lambert was having a hard time remembering when he last felt this exhausted. It had been the first heat Aiden had shared with him since they’d decided to give a serious relationship a try , not that they’d ever done this when they could still be classed as friends with benefits. Before the start of the week Lambert didn’t think he’d ever known the Omega when he wasn’t on suppressants, and he’d put it his all into being the Alpha Vesemir had raised him to be in this situation, making sure Aiden’s every need was met (“Every need, Pup. Not just those involving the bedroom”) and ensuring that he was worthy of the trust the other was placing in him. It had been worth it – by God, it had been worth it - but he was paying for it now.

Besides the obvious almost constant bouts of sex it had been five days of trying to coax food and liquids into Aiden when his heat was at its peak and the Omega could barely string a sentence together (those days had also included having to help him to and from the bathroom more than once), making sure he was comfortable when the stronger than normal surge of hormones thanks to the lack of suppressants sent his body temperature absolutely haywire and his nest was soaked in his own sweat before they’d even started, soothing him when his body was simply just too sore and exhausted to take another knot but was begging for it anyway and trying to help Aiden alleviate the emptiness he was so desperate to be rid of with various toys when Lambert’s own body fell to exhaustion in that regard (he was an Alpha yes, but he wasn’t a machine. He had his limits even with the addictive pheromones Aiden was giving off).

He was drawn out of the light doze which had become his default when resting by purring next to him signalling that Aiden was now awake. The scent of his heat was even weaker than it had been that morning, it was definitely coming to an end, if it hadn’t already. Lambert felt him lightly run a hand slowly up and down his back, lingering at his neck and shoulders. He made a noise of displeasure, presumably at Lambert’s lack of reaction before the Alpha felt him shift so he was now sitting up and resume his stroking with more intent than before. Lambert gave a low rumble as he started groping around in the mess of blankets and cushions on the bed which made up the remains of Aiden’s nest before the other gently grabbed his wrist.

“If you’re feeling around for anything along the lines of toys or lube, I’m not after that. Heat ended while I was napping.”

Lambert furrowed his brow in confusion, “Then, what?”

“Babe, you’re currently packing way more than one knot right now and they’re almost all in your back and shoulders. I was just going to work some of them out for you…if you want me to?”

Lambert made a noise of consent; he was never one to turn down one of Aiden’s massages when the Omega offered. At least he wasn’t usually, until he felt the other lift a leg to straddle the small of his back. He turned his head to look back at him “You sure you’re not too sore for that to be comfortable?” He asked, eyes falling pointedly between Aiden’s now spread legs as he hovered over him.

Aiden rolled his eyes but answered anyway, giving the Alpha a fond smile, “I’m sore yes, but it’s a good sore.” He kissed the tip of Lambert’s nose, “Relax, it’s not like we haven’t had marathon sex before.”

“Yeah, but that was hours, not days.”

“And from what I remember of the past few days, you were incredibly attentive. Seriously Lambert, I’m fine.” He planted his ass on the swell of Lambert’s own with an unspoken finality before setting to work.

“’M  supposed to take care of you.” Lambert slurred as Aiden’s ministrations made it harder and harder to stay awake.

He heard the Omega snort from his perch as he focused his attention on Lambert’s bicep, “You’ve just spent the last week solid taking care of me, now it’s my turn.”

He felt Aiden’s weight shift as he bent to press a kiss to Lambert’s shoulder blade, “I want to take care of you too, Lambert. Will you let me?”

Lambert couldn’t describe the noise he made in response as he drifted further, but it seemed to make his omega happy if the little purr he got in response was any indication.

“Don’t keep fighting it.” Aiden’s voice sounded very far away, “I’ve got you, sleep if you need to.”

 

He didn’t know how long it was before he felt someone gently shaking him awake, only that enough time had passed for it to be almost dark outside.

“Aid’n?”

“Hey, Pup. You looked real peaceful there but we should probably do something about the fact you’ve not eaten yet today, yeah?”

“What time is it?” Lambert asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a fist in the way that Aiden always claimed was adorable.

“Not late. You want to eat first or get clean?”

Lambert took a second to think about it before answering, “Clean, I think.”

Aiden nodded, “Alright. You stay here and focus on rejoining the land of the living and I’ll be back in a minute.” He pressed a quick kiss to Lambert’s lips before disappearing out the door.

Lambert twisted around experimentally, his muscles still ached but it was duller than it had been earlier, and he was feeling more like himself after a few hours uninterrupted sleep even if he was still tired. Aiden was right about the needing to eat though. He scrolled through his phone while he waited for Aiden to come back from whatever he was doing, checking his emails and sending a text to Geralt and Eskel informing them that they were ok to start coming over again now that Aiden’s heat was over and he’d see them over the next few days at some point.

Aiden wordlessly poked his head back around the door with a small smile and held a hand out for Lambert.

Lambert stared at the sight that greeted him. Aiden had forgone lighting the scented candles on account of them making Lambert sneeze, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d drawn Lambert a bubble bath. Nobody in his entire life had ever drawn him a bubble bath. The steam rising up through the white foam looked far more enticing than it had any right to, as did the bottle of Lambert’s favourite beer perched on the corner of the tub. The smell of cedarwood greeted his nose and he groaned as the near scalding water met tired muscles.

“Not too hot?”

Lambert shook his head no, “S’perfect.”

He all but purred as Aiden washed him, starting with his hair and then gently working a soft washcloth over his body. He was half tempted to drag Aiden into the tub with him but the other man was like a god damn cat when it came to water – absolutely hated getting wet unless it was on his terms.

“Ok. Relax here while I sort us some clean bedding and then we’ll eat. Sound good?”

“Hmmm.” Lambert hummed as he let his eyes slip closed, scrunching his nose when Aiden flicked water at his face.

“Absolutely no falling asleep in here.”

Lambert barely acknowledged the knock at the door, assuming it was the food Aiden had mentioned ordering while Lambert was finishing up in the bathroom. It didn’t surprise him when he entered the living room carrying two pizza boxes – pizza was very much a staple of their diet with them both having such busy schedules – what did surprise him was the logo on the boxes.

“You hate the pizza’s from there.” It was true, Aiden always bitched about how they were too greasy for his taste, so Lambert usually only ordered from there when he was home alone.

“But you don’t.” Aiden answered casually, handing Lambert his usual order of double pepperoni before lifting the lid on his own vegetarian.

“Why though?”

“Mmm?” Aiden replied, half distracted trying to snap a string of cheese still stuck to the slice he’d just taken a bite of.

“The massage, my favourite pizza place, the fucking pampering in the bath earlier. It’s fucking great.” He added hastily at Aiden’s deliberately blank look, “Just…why?”

Aiden set his food down as he turned his entire body to face Lambert, “I already told you. Because I want to look after and care for my partner, same as you. I don’t know what your past experiences have been like, but I like to think this caring thing is a two-way street.”

“S’different for you though.”

He saw Aiden stiffen, “How? How is it different for me? And if you say it’s because I’m an Omega I’m slapping you round the face with this pizza slice.”

“I don’t need it.” Lambert mumbled, becoming very interested in a grease puddle on one of the pepperoni slices.

“Yes, you do.” Aiden sighed in a tone that gave no room for argument as he scootched closer so their knees were touching, “I’m not blind, Lambert. I saw how knackered you were this afternoon, and parts of it  are fuzzy but I know you didn’t need to do half the shit you did for me during my heat but you did it - god knows there’s plenty of other Alpha’s who would’ve only been there for when I needed a knot and left me to ride out the rest of it on my own. It exhausted you as much as it did me, probably more-so. So do us both a favour, don’t give me the Macho Alpha bullshit and let me love on you, ok?”

Lambert could only nod.

Aiden grinned, “Good. Now eat your god-awful pizza and then we can get you back to bed.”

[mimisempai]

Not the same goodbye anymore

Summary

Aziraphale and Crowley have said goodbye many times in the past, but today, as he watches the Bentley drive away, the angel realises that now every goodbye will be different.

Notes

50 Types of Kisses - Writing Prompts

Kiss #46: A lingering kiss before a (long) trip apart.

On Ao3

Rating G -  902 words

Crowley glanced at his watch and sighed. There was no point in putting it off, it was time for him to go.

He said quietly, "Angel..."

Aziraphale nodded and replied, "Say no more, it's time for you to go, isn't it?"

They stood up at the same time and walked side by side to the door of the bookshop.

The demon turned to the angel and, taking her face between his hands, said softly, "The longer I delay, the harder it will be. Don't be sad, it's only a few days, you won't even have time to miss me".

Aziraphale replied in a slightly wry tone, "I know, you're only leaving for three days and yet it feels like a trip around the world."

Crowley stroked the angel's cheek with his thumb and replied softly, "I know, Angel, believe me, I know. I feel like I'm going away for a long time too."

Aziraphale had done his best not to show the melancholy he had felt at the thought of the demon's absence. He had told himself that he should be happy that Crowley was so passionate about his work at the planetarium.

It was just for some days.

They'd been apart for much longer, with no certainty of seeing each other again, which was not the case now.

But despite all this good reasoning, now that Crowley was about to leave in a few seconds, the angel found it hard to put up a front.

He wanted to put his hand over his mouth to stop the words coming out, but Crowley still held his face in his hands and the Angel's mouth was running faster than his brain so he couldn't help but blurt out, "Will you miss me?"

The demon gave a small smile and replied in a low voice, "I miss you already, Angel.

Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the angel's in a tender kiss. 

When he tried to pull away a fraction of a second later, he could not because Aziraphale's hands had caught his face and were pressing against him to make the kiss last. The demon didn't struggle, of course, and the kiss lasted a few more seconds.

When they finally broke apart, Crowley ran his thumb over the Angel's lips and said sheepishly, "I really have to go now, Angel.

Aziraphale, his throat tightening, nodded and walked out with the demon to accompany him to the car. 

Once in front of the Bentley, Crowley planted a light kiss on the Angel's temple before getting behind the wheel. 

Aziraphale waved at him through the window and, seeing his sad little smile, the demon couldn't resist and rolled down the window.

Poking his head out, he said to the angel with a half-smile on his lips, "One last one for the road?”  

Smiling, Aziraphale leaned over and, after one last kiss on the demon's lips, said softly, "Have a good time, my love."

They looked at each other in silence for a few moments before the Bentley decided to take matters into its own hands and sped away.

Aziraphale, chuckling slightly, followed the car with his eyes until it disappeared around the corner.

"Hard to let him go, isn't it?"

The angel, who didn't really have the heart to deflect, replied softly to Nina, who had just arrived beside him, "You have no idea." 

Nina nudged him with her shoulder and replied, "Oh, I think I have a little idea, you know, when Maggie decides to go on one of her trips in search of rare records. I may know she'll be back, I may know it'll only be for a short time, this little place she's got here..." 

Nina tapped her chest before continuing, "remains empty, and the emptiness is felt until she's back. So, knowing your story, I can imagine... how it is for you."

Aziraphale nodded without answering, for Nina couldn't have described what he was feeling more accurately. 

But at the same time, today was different from all the times he'd watched Crowley leave, not knowing when or if he'd see him again, not being able to say how he felt, never knowing how the demon felt.

Everything was different.

Crowley loved him and he loved Crowley.

They both knew it.

He knew that Crowley would be back in three days.

He knew the demon would miss him, just as he had made no secret of the fact that he would miss the demon.

So, sure, that little void Nina was talking about was there, in his chest, but it was bearable because he knew Crowley would be back soon to fill it again.

So instead of focusing on that void, he decided to focus on the perspective of the demon's return.

He turned to Nina and asked with a smile on his face, "So, Nina, what sweet treats are you serving at the cafe today?"

Nina threw on that little smile she always had when she understood a situation, put her arm around Aziraphale and led him to the coffee shop, giving him a detailed list of the day's pastries.

Three days later, when she saw the Bentley parked outside the bookshop, she thought that it was unlikely that the bookseller would be coming in for a pastry today, as he probably didn't need any comfort food.

His beloved was back.

The emptiness would be filled again.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable kisses series : here

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here

Ineffable Growing Love - Series post S2

Part 1 Story 1-99

Part 2 Story 100-?

[obxone]

Assumptions (Part 10)

Rewritten/Edited. ~1.46k words.

Master Page

Two days of no Rafe come and go, and the worry grows. You have asked Sarah, but she remained innocent of knowing anything. Even Wheezie had denied any knowledge of what had caused his mood shift.

But tonight, the distance seems to end when Rafe shows up on your doorstep asking to stay the night. That charming smile is back on his handsome face, and he seems to have worked through his troubles.

“Shirt off, Rafe!” You giggle, reaching for the hem of his polo. He watches you, his eyes glassy from too many drinks. His shirt is soaking wet from the rainstorm outside, and you know a Rafe-sized puddle of rainwater is already on the tiled floor.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you are trying to fuck me right now,” he teases, lips brushing yours, and you laugh, shoving at his grabby hands.

“No, I’m trying to save my mother’s floors!”

“Uh-huh.”

You reach for the hem again, but he slaps your hands away, making you laugh harder. “Baby!”

“You are trying to seduce me,” he teases before pulling you against him. His head nuzzles into the curve of your neck. Lips warm against your skin. "Calling me Baby and shit."

You groan, noting the pool of rainwater underneath your feet, confirming your early thoughts. You will have to mop it up once Rafe finally caves into your request.

“Please, Baby, this is not going to help your cause to win her over.”

He chuckles against your lips before reaching down and pulling his shirt over his head. You grab it out of his hands before he can toss it to the floor.

“Pants too.”

“Oh, so you are trying to seduce me.” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully, and you laugh, pressing your fingers to your lips. “That is okay because I can’t wait to fuck you either.”

You toss your head back in a laugh before reaching to help him undo the button of his pants when he stumbles a little.

“You are so drunk right now. How many drinks did you have tonight? How did you even get here?”

“Lost count of the drinks,” he says, ducking his head to plant kisses across your face. “And Topper.”

A loud smack of his lips fills the room as he plants a sloppy kiss on your lips. A sense of pride fills him and makes you blush.

“Nice,” you giggle and take his pants before grasping his hand in your free one to lead him to your bedroom. You gently push him inside before tossing his clothes into your dryer and turning it on. You pass your room with the mop in hand to clean up the mess to see him yet again looking at your extensive book collection. His soaking wet hair shoved back from his face, and that allows you to get a good look at the concentration in his features.

After getting the water moped up, and the mop put away, you close your bedroom door behind you and lean against it. Rafe is on your bed, a romance novel that you had been reading when he arrived in his hands. If you had known he was coming, you would have tucked it away, but it is too late now. You clear your throat, and he grins, warm blue eyes flickering to you.

“What are the tabs for?” he asks, fingering a few that stick out of the top of the book.

“My favorite parts.”

He hums before opening to one. You watch him as his eyebrows knit together while he reads the passage. He clears his throat, and you know what kind of scene he is reading. He closes the book and smirks at you.

“Is this the kind of thing you are into, Baby?”

“Which part did you read?” You ask, nearing him. You kneel beside him and reach for the book, but he holds it out of your reach. A sly smile takes over his lips, and you know you are about to pay for what he read.

“Choking, is it?”

“Oh my god,” you laugh and press your face to his chest. He tosses the book onto your nightstand, and his arms wrap around you to haul you closer to him. You look up at him, bottom lip caught between your teeth as you blush. “That is not what that is marked for.”

“Then what was it?” He asks. A playful look on his face. "Because I could have been fulfilling that dirty little kink all this time."

You shiver at the thought of Rafe doing that to you, and he smirks, knowing you are picturing it. Your lips part to explain, but no sound leaves you. You blush hotter and have to tear your gaze away from him when his eyes darken as he thinks about it too.

"Say the word, Baby."

"Do you want to know the reason or not?" You ask, your sass getting the better of you as you scramble to get control of the situation.

He gestures for you to continue while settling back against your pillows.

You clear your throat. “It is because they both realize at that moment; they would do anything for each other. A simple please from her makes him realize that he would go to the ends of the earth for her because he loves her, and she feels the exact same.” You unconsciously reach out to trace the tip of your index finger over the bow of his lips.

He studies you, and you blush hotter.

“I know, it’s silly romance novel bullshit.” You start to pull away, but his arms tighten around you.

“It’s not silly,” he says, his voice even, and you shiver at the look in his eyes. His fingers trace down your spine, and your skin tingles even with the thin barrier of his t-shirt between you. You begin to say that you both should go to bed, but he does not let you speak. “I would do the same thing for you.”

You blush, and he dips his head to capture your lips in a kiss. You kiss him back, a sigh of contentment escaping your lips, and he chuckles, ending the kiss. His nose brushed against yours.

"I missed you, Rafe."

“I love you.”

“Oh.”

He notices your hesitation, and he frowns a little, his finger lightly smoothing your hair behind your ears so he can see your face.

“Rafe…” You sigh, dropping your forehead to rest against his chin. You can admit that you are starting to enjoy being with him, but at the end of the day, he is still Rafe Motherfucking Cameron, and there is a lot that you still need to work through together.

“I know,” he says, his voice soothing despite the war you know is raging inside him. “I have put you through a lot in past years.”

“You have.” You look up at him. A small smile on your lips. “But we are repairing the damage little by little.”

He grins, a bit of mischief in his eyes now. “I can still choke you if you want.”

You laugh and start to move off him, but he moves, pinning you under him as his mouth claims yours.

“Do you think I am going to let you escape this bed that easy?” He asks, his nose brushing down the length of your neck as his hands slide under the hem of your nightshirt. “After you tried to seduce me right when I got here,” his teeth graze your collarbone, fingers teasing the underside of your breast. “And let it slip that you like to be choked during sex.”

You laugh again, and he chuckles against your shoulder. Your fingers comb through his hair.

“Not a chance,” he murmurs, sliding your shirt up and off.

He begins to press open-mouth kisses along your torso. You bite your lip, watching him, hands trailing over his face and through his hair.

You could feel a surge of confidence rising in you. Did you love Rafe? No. But you did trust him? Maybe. Besides, you can admit that you are beginning to enjoy your time with him more and more. He is different in how he treats you. He had proven so when his demons came to play two days ago, and instead of lashing out, he stayed away. The lack of communication had stung, but you understood it a little more now that he is back. You could not make sense of it, but you did appreciate it. You know he will enjoy it, and it would not hurt to try it out.

"Rafe?"

"Hmm?"

“Choke me,” you whisper, and his eyes flash up to yours, widening at the look on your face. “I trust you.”

Part XI

[glittering-moonlillie]

Love at First Sight (Damian Wayne x reader)

Word Count: 1,199

Summary: While the rest of his family are off trying to fend off Gotham from a deadly attack, Damian is forced to keep the civilians calm and save them from the carnage imposed by Joker. High off a victory, Damian bumps into a mysterious someone and immediately feels an unwanted connection.

Warnings: Slight Barbara slander(?)

Gotham was ablaze. The shadowy night contrasted with the passionate crimson flames burning into the sky, buildings slowly caving in on top of each other. The people were in a panic, running into the streets with the few belongings they could grasp, most of which being pets or little trinkets. It had been a while since Gotham was this terribly under attack, making it harder for Damian and the rest of his family to take control of the situation. 

Chaos bloomed around Damian like a sickening flower. Batman had told him that he was in charge of keeping the civilians in line and making sure they were away from any harm to come their way. Normally, this would be a job for his older brother Tim, but his father had thought that it would be a good growing opportunity for himself; although Damian was not fond of this idea, he knew better than to complain. 

The voice of Oracle came through his comm system. “Robin, there’s a burning building about to collapse on the far east of Crime alley with a family of four. You need to get there now,”

Damian let out a small hum of confirmation before grappling his way to the falling building. He jumped, following the direction he fired the hook. As his body flew through the air, the youngest Robin couldn’t help but feel a sense of freedom - he felt accomplished, like he had a purpose, and with purpose comes control; a control that Damian desperately desired to cling onto in his hectic life. 

If his name were Robin, he deserved to fly like one. 

By the time Damian got to the designated location, the top half of the building had mostly fallen apart. Smoke rose from the building at a dangerous level. The screams of children pierced the air, and as Damian got closer, he realized that it was the family. They were wedged in the staircase of the building, fire surrounding them and effectively preventing them from reaching safety. Without another word, Damian ran over to the building, using his cape as protection from the smoke. 

Damian’s mind raced, trying to think of the most operative way of saving all four members of the family. As he assessed, there were really only two options: either through the burning window or down through the ablaze living room and out the door. Both options, admittedly, were terrible and would require immense agility from the family, and judging that they took in copious amounts of carbon monoxide already, they wouldn’t have the speed needed to get out through the door, even with his help.

“Oh dear Lord, please help us, Robin!” The older woman had said, her voice weak and grainy. A subtle warm and bubbling feeling arose in Damian’s chest at the words, but he managed to push it down before he could actually assess it. He planted himself down on the remaining staircase, silently thanking his father for his fireproof suit. 

“The only way out is through the window and out onto the street. I’ll grab you guys one by one and grapple us down to safety.” Robin said. 

“But how can you do that, won’t you drop us?” The child’s voice tremored. Robin’s eye twitches and it took him a moment before properly responding. This was the exact reason why he loathed working with civilians…

“You’ll just have to trust me. I promise I won’t let you go.” He managed a crooked smile which seemed to soothe the children’s worries enough to carry them one by one out of the window and onto the safe pavement. 

“Damn…this whole city is in chaos and you took the time to save us,” The father stated, “Thank you, Robin.” The warm feeling Damian had felt before resurfaced again, this time in force. It worsened further when the two boys he saved gave him a surprise hug. Out of habit, the youngest Robin stiffened. He failed to miss the glimmer in the boys’ eyes when they looked up at him. 

He was able to save them, and for once in his life Damian accepted the emotion he was feeling - happiness. 

A voice broke his train of thought. “Will we be okay, Robin? What if someone else comes and tries to hurt us again?”

“I…I won’t allow it. No more bad guys will harm you or your family again, I swear by it.” Damian slowly pulled away from the children before awkwardly giving them both a head pat. 

The familiar buzz of Oracle’s voice came through his comms once more. “Wow, that was pretty impressive, Robin. Maybe we should get you and Red Robin to trade places permanently.”

“If you say that again I might feel inclined to poke a hole in one of your tires,” He grumbled. “Besides, just because I do not like most people does not mean I am incapable of saving them one-on-one.” 

Anything else Oracle had said was blocked out by Damian, who was still high from his heroics; nevertheless there was still more saving to accomplish. Gunshots and screams were still the background music of this city and he wouldn’t stop until he changed it for the better. 

At least, that was his plan until he managed to bump into someone and completely lost his train of thought. It was a lapse of judgment on his part, really. He should have been paying attention to his surroundings, especially on this night. Damian turned to mutter a quick apology only to feel a rush of attraction violently hit his face. He had bumped into a girl, a girl with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. The background seemed to fade away as all he could focus on was her - her eyes, her face, her delicate hands, everything. 

It was the same for the girl; she felt everything fade into a Fourth of July night as she stared at the legendary Robin. Blood had decorated parts of his costume like splattered paint and his dark hair was a disheveled mess. Everything about him exuded confidence, as if Gotham’s siege was as easy to take care of as a load of laundry. She treated it as a sign of hope, hope for the wellbeing of herself and the city. There was something else though, something more foreign. A feeling of belonging and connection embraced them both. 

The interaction lasted only a moment, an excruciatingly short moment before everything reverted back to normal. Damian blinked away his fuzziness while the girl quickly turned to hide her blushing features. It was all so sudden, this immense feeling, that they could only run away from each other. 

Tearing away from each other felt like dragging away two magnets destined to connect. The sensation Damian was feeling completely went against everything he believed in. It was too brash, too annoyingly persistent no matter how hard he tried to push down the feeling.  It took everything in his power not to turn back and gaze at the girl. He felt the remaining control he thought he had in his life vanish in his hands.

These emotions he was feeling were too unstable, insatiable even, to be trusted...

I will probably write a part two of this that will focus on a more romantic perspective. I wasn't originally going to write out the whole family saving scene, but I ended up getting carried away (;w;). Fun Fact: This is also the first proper one shot that I have written in over a year! The writing might be rusty but hopefully the story still stands!!

[vinniesasslicker1]

Smut Tommy Thayer(Short hair era) X Eric singer (Blonde hair era)

“Aye, Thayer! You’ve got a house to go to!”

Tommy slumps and sighs.

“Already? Could you please tell the address?”

The agitated man writes the address down and slams it down on the table.

“There, now get your ass!”

Tommy flinches at the loud, harsh words and actions. He shakes his head, grabbing his tools and heading out of the worn down building. Despite how rude most of the people were, Tommy’d always try his best to be friendly. About 15 minutes pass and he gets out of the van, the rusty material taking up most of the print on it. Before he can knock on the door, it opens.

“C’mon in,”

Eric pauses for a second after getting out of the way, staring at the man intensely. Tommy smiles brightly and steps inside the warm home.

“How are you doing today, sir-

“Tommy, I see… Yeah, sure. How about we skip to where you fix my pipes- yeah?”

Tommy’s smile slowly fades at the sudden rudeness. How did Eric figure out his name? Oh, must’ve been the name tag.

“Yes, sir, would you mind showing me where the restroom is?”

Eric gestures with his fingers; for Tommy to follow him. As they make it in, Eric stares as Tommy kneels down and gets to work. Eric can’t help but feel a sudden pull towards the sexy man. He (Eric)  immediately falls into his thoughts. Thinking of how sexy the man is…Thinking of how he could win the man over… Now, falling into his questions. (Is he a top or a bottom? Does he swing that way? Does he like it rough? How tight is his-)

“Sir?”

Eric snaps out of his trance and clears his throat.

5 minutes pass as Tommy finally stands up, taking his gloves off and washing his hands.

“Okay, sir. So I didn’t necessarily have to do much work. The pipes look fine and dandy.

“Okay, thanks. How much do I owe you?”

“30 bucks will do,”

Eric hands him the money and shows him out.

“Bye, sir, have a great evening,”

“Wait a second,”

“Yes, sir?”

“Would you like a sandwich or something to take with you?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. I wouldn’t want to cause you any trouble!” Tommy chuckles gently.

“C’mon. You could use a break, right?”

“Well, I guess… Thank you!”

Tommy walks back inside and sits down on a wooden chair.

“I’m Eric,”

“Okay, that’s great! I’m Tommy.”

Eric makes his way behind Tommy as he stares down at him. Tommy’s eyes stay glued to the television. Meanwhile, Eric’s arousal heightens as his cock begins to stir in his pants, moaning things.

“Tom..”

Tommy raises a brow at the sudden nickname, turning his head towards the voice behind him. Eric takes this opportunity to lean in and kiss the younger man’s lips. Tommy jumps out of his seat and stares with wide eyes. Eric grits his teeth and grabs Tommy’s shoulders. Tommy was in shock! What was happening? Before Tommy can react, he feels kisses being planted on his neck.

“Sir, I don’t think-“

Before he can finish, soft lips are roughly pressed against his. He stiffens but he slowly melts into the kiss. Within only a few minutes, he already finds himself on all fours, face down ass up; getting fucked into the sheets. Tommy cried out and moaned. The rough thrusts on his prostate were even more harder to bear. The feel of Tommy’s wall’s surrounding his thick cock brought him closer to his orgasm since Tommy was so beautifully tight. Eric showed no mercy on his tight, virgin ass. Tommy reached down to stroke his cock, bringing himself closer to his orgasm as well. He moaned and moaned as Eric slammed into his velvety ass roughly. Tommy didn’t mind it at all. In fact, he loved it. It was indeed foreign but it wasn’t any less enjoyable. Eric pulls out and releases his hot seed on Tommy’s lower back while Tommy spurts his cum all over the sheets. Tommy’s cock begins to soften as he relaxes into the wrinkled sheets. Though, Eric remains hard.

Eric’s past questions had all been answered.

“Fuck…” Eric groans.

He collapses on top of Tommy, beginning to grope his (Tommy’s) smooth ass as if it were going somewhere.

“Get on your knees like a good boy.” He demands, getting off of Tommy.

Tommy obliges without question as he kneels in front of Eric, his cock meeting with with Tommy’s lips.

“Suck.”

That was all Tommy needed to hear. 

He had began sucking on the hard flesh, tasting himself on Eric’s thick cock as he moaned in delight. Eric started bucking his hips involuntarily, before he knew it, he was fucking Tommy’s face. Drool falling down Tommy chin as he slightly gagged at the intrusion in his throat. With one finale thrust, hot cum spills in Tommy warm mouth. Groaning, Eric pulls out of the warmth, stroking Tommy’s hair gently.

“I’ve gotta go… My boss is probably wondering where the hell I am…” He muttered as he gets up off his knees and begins putting his clothes back on.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Goodbye, pretty boy.” He coos, kissing Tommy’s lips with a surprising amount of tenderness.

Eric puts his robe on, watching Tommy step off of his porch with his things.

“You don’t mind if I hang onto your address, do ya?” Tommy asked, turning around.

Eric grins widely.

“I don’t mind at all, it’d be nice to see you again. Maybe you could take control next time…”

Tommy blushes at the thought and waves goodbye, hopping into his van and driving away. He knows there may be a possibility of a scolding from his boss but it would be worth it.

This was definitely a day to remember.

@sluttery-withoutshame

I’m a bit proud of this tbh

[dameronology]

champagne problems [e.m]

summary: after three years away from hawkins, things are falling into place for you. it's a shame that everything is not what it seems (based on the t swift song, of course)

warnings: mentions of cheating, language, she/her pronouns so this is fem reader

this started as a steve fic but it felt more natural to be eddie. but i promise i don't have a favourite. probably. maybe. we'll see. i hope u enjoy.

-jazz

You’d gotten the first train you could from Grand Central Station. Rain had started falling uncontrollably by that point, layering the morning remains of Manhattan in grey clouds; it was welcome after such a long summer. There had been a drought - the streets were dry and the plants on your balcony had died from the heat. At least that’s what you had blamed it on. Eddie had always teased you for your inability to keep a plant alive. No, you’re not babysitting Dustin, he’d said, you can’t look after a cactus, let alone a kid. 

It was hard not to smile at the thought of him. Back in Hawkins, still working at the record store and writing shitty songs about shitty things. Not much had changed for him; he was doing community college, trying to save up enough to get his own place. That had always been the plan back in high school, when you and him had dated. It only lasted two years - might as well have been a million when you were that young - but you’d been best friends even after you broke up. You’d barely left each other's side, right from your sophomore year separation, to walking the graduation stage together, to him driving you twelve-hours to New York in his van when you went to college. 

He’d made a joke then about waiting for you. It was his attempt at telling you that he was cripplingly in love with you - for real now, not just in I’ll meet you by your locker at lunch way. 

You’d met George exactly a week after that. A Columbia law-student a few years older than you with a kind smile and a flashy car, he was almost everything you could have asked for. And the difference between him and Eddie Munson was that he’d actually tried to get you; he’d brought you flowers and asked you out and been open about his feelings for you every day since. It had been hard not to fall in love with him and even harder to find a reason to break up with him. 

New York passed you in a flash as the train gained speed. Everyone else around you was asleep by that point - it was 4AM after all. They were either teenagers returning from a night out in the city or businessmen catching up on sleep before a long day at work. Either way, none of them gave you a second look; none of them noticed the glittery dress you wore under the stolen tuxedo jacket, or the discarded heels on the seat beside you. None of them knew what was going on in your life. 

Pulling a piece of scrap paper out your bag, you grabbed a pen and began to scrawl.

Dear Eddie, 

Sorry I haven’t written for a while. Things have been crazy here. 

Your friendship with Eddie had dwindled, undoubtedly. You used to call every day, then a few times a week, and then a few times a month. That was every three months now, save for the post-cards you sent each other every time you travelled - a tradition since you were twelve years old -  or the occasional letter when you just couldn’t verbalise what you really needed to say. He knew about George. He knew that he made you happy. And he hated him for it, 

Tonight was meant to be a big night. It was your third anniversary and you’d both planned big things - a fancy dinner, with a town car and a hotel for afterwards. George still tried after three years to make you happy and you hated that his efforts had been in vain. You could still recall his face as you’d walked away, sadness captured between the smell of Dom Perignon and the waiting breaths of his family in the moments leading up to what was going to be the most important question of his life. 

I handed in my last assignment a few days ago. There’s been a few offers of graduate jobs from places in Manhattan but I don’t really know what I’m doing at this point. I miss Hawkins a lot at the moment. Maybe not the town itself, or all the crazy shit that came with it, but I miss how simple things used to be. When we all used to hang out, me, you, Robin, Nancy and Steve, and just be. I didn’t have to worry about much back then, and knowing you’re all still there and life goes on without me gets to me for some reason. 

You paused for a moment, dropping your pen and staring out the window. 

You’d last seen Eddie the Christmas before the one upcoming. It had just been you travelling back for the holidays; George was busy with work, which meant keeping to yourself in your childhood bedroom for a few weeks. It was the first time in almost two years that you’d been home for Christmas without him - that meant it was the first time in two years that you and Eddie had been alone in the environment where your love had first developed.

Maybe that had been the catalyst. You could probably blame the wine too, but the blame fell on you both for that kiss. Everything that happened after was worth the guilt you felt for it; the clashing teeth, hands all over each other, bed sheets thrown aside as you pulled Eddie impossibly closer and felt at home for the first time in years. 

I think about last Christmas all the time. I think about how I should have known then that George isn’t the one for me. That was the first since I’d left Hawkins that I actually felt something again. And I’m not saying he’s bad in bed And I'm not saying I don't love him but I don't think I love him in the right way.

Coming back to New York with the shame weighing on your shoulders had been almost unbearable. Telling George was even worse; you weren't a cheater, you never had been, but it was a cold, hard fact now that you were. And he'd taken it in his stride - admitted to having his own moments of weakness early in the relationship, but it didn't matter if it doesn't mean anything, right? We'll just commit to each other from now on.

So, you'd smiled. You'd said it with your whole chest: that Eddie Munson meant nothing to you. It had just been a fling. There was no underlying feelings. No harm, no foul.

There had been whispers amongst New York's elite in the following days. Gossip spread around like wildfire.

Did you hear what she did to George? Once a cheater, always a cheater and yeah, maybe he'd done it too, but it was way before they were serious and she's crazy to risk it all for somebody Indiana nobody. Worst of all: hopefully things will change when they get married.

Marriage was the next, natural step. It had been on your mind since George's sister had told you that he'd asked for his mother's ring. It would be a big affair - his family did come from money. Like everything in New York, it was going to be structured and put together; you were going to be a puppet in the social scene's theatre. Maybe you'd get a mention in a magazine if you were lucky. It was the kind of shit that Eddie would scoff and roll his eyes at. He had done exactly that when you'd told him over the phone.

I think you knew when I told you about his mum's ring that this was all some stupid, elaborate, fucked up affair. It's my fault for letting it go on for this long. I should have told him a long time ago that I'm not cut out for this. i don't want to be a rich housewife. I don't want to spend my days worrying about what everyone else thinks of me.

You knew where you wanted to be - you knew the exact address, in fact. It was in Eddie Munson's trailer, watching some shitty movie and smoking weed and not giving a fuck about anything. That was exactly how you'd spent your last summer in Hawkins before college; that should have been the natural point for you to finally get together, but he'd been too chicken. He hated himself for it now but you knew in your hearts that the way you'd existed then was how it was supposed to be.

Breaking that reality to George had been had. It was your own fault - your own doing, courtesy of the fact you hadn't backed out years ago. Had you lead him on? Yeah, maybe. It wasn't intentional but it sometimes it was hard to know the answer to such a big question til you could see the outline of the ring in his pocket. Leaving him broken hearted in the hallway of the Waldorf Astoria wasn't how you'd wanted things to go but not much mattered when you needed things to end.

I miss you. I miss Hawkins. I'll be there sooner than you think.

You slept the rest of the journey, guilt barely subsiding even when you were miles away. America passed you by, each second bringing you closer to where you were supposed to be. Not necessarily Hawkins, but wherever Eddie Munson was.

About three stops away from yours, you made your way to the bathroom and rifled through your bag for some clean clothes. You didn't have much, given that you'd left in such a rush. Just a few shirts and loose sweatpants. One shirt in particular caught your eye; it was baggy and black, a faded Aerosmith logo on the front. It was one that Eddie had left at your house almost seven years ago. It fit you like a glove now.

You posted the letter as soon as you stepped off the train in New Jersey. It wasn't your permanent stop, but your old college room-mate had offered you a place on her couch with open arms. Just somewhere to stay for the next two days whilst you got your shit together and waited for your mum to wire you the money the ticket back to Hawkins.

The main thing was getting away from New York. There was nothing there for you anymore. Maybe there never had been.

--

The rain was still coming down when you reached Hawkins the following Thursday morning. You weren't surprised - fall was passing now into winter, bringing with it cold and wet and months of dark afternoons and grey mornings. Still, there was something fresh in the air. Probably the feeling of being away from the city after months of recycled Manhattan subway-and-hot-dogs air.

You'd taken the night train again - mostly because it was half the price, but you hadn't accounted for the fact that your quiet hometown would still be dead to the world when you arrived. The only tiny piece of hope you had was the pay-phone across the road from the station.

The dial tone only rang three times before someone answered.

"Who is this and why the fuck are you calling me at five-"

"- hey, Eddie."

There was the rustling of sheets - presumably the poor boy suddenly sitting up in bed. "Hey. Hi. Wow, I didn't expect to hear from you."

"Don't s'pose you've checked the mail recently?"

"Uh, yeah...yeah I have," he said. "I got your letter last night. I smoked a joint and was going to work out what to write back but then I fell asleep and - well, now I'm here. So I still haven't worked out what I was going to say-"

"- it's okay," you murmured. "You don't have to say anything. It was stupid. I'm gonna stay at my parents for the foreseeable future, so you don't have to like...talk to me."

"Wait, you're in Hawkins now? At the station?"

"Yeah."

"At six in the morning? In the rain?"

"It's basic geography, Eds. If it's raining there, it's also raining here."

"I'll be ten minutes."

Eddie Munson was nothing if not a man of his word, because eight minute and forty three seconds after he hung up, his van screeched to a halt outside the station. There was a thud as his boots hit the ground, paddles splashing up around his feet as he crossed the road to where you were stood by the pay-phone.

He had his arms around you in seconds, large hands splayed out on your back as he pulled you into his chest. Eddie was warm - like always - he gave the best fucking hugs. He always knew exactly what you needed.

"You're an idiot," he said. He pulled back from the hug and took your face in his hands. "You're cold and wet and I've missed you but most of all, you are an idiot."

"That's the nicest thing that's been said about me in the last four days."

He gave you a pained look. "So you broke up with George?"

"Yeah. He tried to propose to me and I dumped him."

"Why? I thought you were happy-"

"- Eds, I was never happy," you cut him off. "Especially not since last Christmas."

"Ah," he grimaced. "So I'm something to do with it?"

"Only if you want to be."

"Always," he gave you a little smile. "Look, we don't have to make any grand declarations of love right now, okay?"

You frowned.

"Wait, not like that," Eddie quickly said. "I mean...what do you think I've wanted to hear for the last three years, huh? I'm just not sure outside the train station at 5AM when we're both sleep deprived is-"

"- I love you," you said. It was firm; with your entire chest, despite the guilt weighing on it. "I'll say it again when we wake up too if you want."

"You can say it then, for sure. And the evening, and then maybe around lunch time too, and then the morning after that, and..." he trailed off, pausing. "I love you too."

"You do?"

"I do. I always have," he replied. "Even though you're keeping me stood here in the rain."

"Okay, let's go," you took Eddie's hand in yours. "You can drop me at my parents, or I can get a taxi, or-"

"- or you can just stop dancing round the question and come back to the trailer?"

The journey home was quiet and content. Nothing but the rain on the ceiling and the dulcet tones of Black Sabbath playing lowly in the background. Neither of you had much to say - it had already been said, after all. There was a lot more to talk about but just for now, you were happy.

The gratified silence continued at the trailer. Eddie moved with ease, finding you clean, dry clothes and discarding yours into the laundry. His hands felt natural on your skin; a welcome warmth after a few moments in the rain and three years in the cold. Three years. Was that really how long it had taken?

Eddie made a few quiet jokes here and there as you bumbled about him. It wasn't until you climbed underneath the covers next to him that he pulled you into his chest and finally spoke properly. He still wasn't quite sure what to say - mostly because he was certain this was a dream - but the thing with Edward Munson was that he started ninety-percent of his sentences not entirely sure where they were going.

"Are you sure you want to leave everything behind in New York?"

"There's nothing for me to leave," you replied, glancing up at him. "I've never had anything there. It's always been here."

"I always figured that what happened last Christmas was just a goodbye," he continued. "A...sorry I love someone else sort of thing, you know?"

"That's not it at all, I promise," you said. "That wasn't a goodbye at all. It was...I don't know. I don't know what I thought it was going to be in the moment either but I know now it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"For real?"

"Yeah," you affirmed. "It made me realise what I actually wanted."

"Me?"

"Yes, Eddie," you couldn't help but smile. "It's you. It's always been you."

[pearl484-blog]

Rain Falls, Everybody Lies Adrien AUGreste Entry 3: Rain

Chat Noir loves the rain. He loves the danger. He loves the excitement, and he especially loves how much Catwalker hates it. Jekyll and Hyde AU

Adrien AUGreste Entry 3: Rain

This is a Jekyll and Hyde AU, and although we are going to be using the split personality models preferred by the adaptations instead of the corrupting alter-ego of the book, we will be spoiling the beginning of the book. If you have not read it, I strongly recommend it. It’s awesome, and despite it being old as heck, it accurately predicted that some people, if given the chance to remain anonymous, may choose to do increasingly terrible things so long as there are no personal consequences until they cross the line.

Alright, so I'm going to be busy Saturday, so once again, you guys will be getting an entry a few days early. It will be posted on the same day as "Well, That Went Suspiciously Well". The two are not related.

As per usual, this was not Beta'd, so if you see errors or if anything is unclear, please let me know.

Link to AO3 story. Link to Adrien AUGreste series. ~*~

Chat Noir raced across the rooftops of Paris, delighting in the threatening rumble of the thunder and marveling at the white-hot intensity of the lightning. The rain pounded at his skin, futilely trying to work through his suit’s defenses to soak him to the bone.

He was free -finally free- and even if the rain could get through his suit, it wouldn’t have stopped him. Every part of him ached with the need to move faster, push himself harder, and he didn’t resist. Not even as the roofs grew slick with inches and inches of rainfall and the jumps grew ever more dangerous and unpredictable. It felt wild. It felt uncontrollable. It felt free. 

This was what he needed right now. Not that stupid, mindless complacency Catwalker craved. Perfection? Ha! Who needed perfection when you could have the raw beauty of chaos? The mirth of laughter? The bone aching pain of tears? The catharsis of a scream? 

Distantly, Chat Noir could tell there was an akuma. Stormy Weather. Chat would bet his life on it. It seemed even Shadow Moth couldn’t stand chaos anymore, constantly repeating the same akumas again and again in the vain hopes that this time, it would work. This time he’d win. What a joke. 

Chat didn’t even waste time considering whether or not to join Ladybug. She had her other teammates. Ones who were just as important as Chat Noir. She knew what she was doing. She only really needed his Cataclysm anyways, and if he used that, he’d only have 5 minutes until he was trapped being the oh-so-perfect Catwalker again, and he wasn’t in any hurry to go back to that hand-crafted nightmare any time soon. No thank you.     

 Instead, Chat kept up his run, pulling every thoughtless, reckless, foolhardy trick he’d ever considered in one last hoorah before he’d be forced back into some dark, forbidden corner of Adrien’s mind again, gnawing on whatever neglected scraps of anger or resentment he could find until he could find a way to escape again. It had been months since he’d escaped last time, and he’d only managed it because Catwalker had despised the rain so vehemently. Deep down, Chat knew that there was always the chance that this time, this escape would be the last one, so he had to make this one count, before he disappeared into oblivion for good. 

Then, he saw her. Vesperia. The one person Chat hated more than stupid, perfect Catwalker. She had been the one who’d started it all. The one who planted the idea of making a perfect, better replacement in Adrien’s head. The one who’d made Adrien reject him. 

Vesperia was Chloe’s replacement, a sweeter, kinder, better bee. Everyone said so. That she was better than Chloe in every way. Vesperia didn’t lash out like Chloe did. Vesperia wasn’t bossy like Chloe was. It didn’t matter that Vesperia was smarter than Chloe was, or a better fighter than Chloe was. She just wasn’t as damaged as Chloe was. She was just less distracting than Chloe was, less flawed, and so everybody loved her more. Now that Vesperia was here, the only time anyone remembered Queen Bee anymore was when they were comparing her to Vesperia. 

That was probably what had happened to Chat Noir. Poor, stupid Chat Noir. Too silly, too ridiculous for anyone to want him. Too chaotic, too messy to deal with. Everybody had always preferred perfect, polished Adrien to him. No doubt that they’d do the same with Catwalker. No wonder Adrien had rejected him. No wonder Adrien had imprisoned him and threw away the key.

Chat blinked back tears, hot and heavy as he stuffed the hurt he felt bubbling up from deep inside him. No. He was not going to do this today. Not when he had just gotten free. 

Something inside him snapped, and Chat Noir moved. He rushed towards Vesperia, unseen through the thick heavy rain and shoved her off the building. Then, as she fell, he rushed to continue with his run, not even bothering to check behind him to see Vesperia’s fall. 

She’d be fine. Chat had survived dozens of falls from higher than that without so much as a scratch, and she had her top. Chat didn’t really care about which way it ended up. All that mattered to him was that feeling of relief. That finally someone else felt like he did, if only for a moment. 

Was this what Chloe felt all the time, he wondered. Was this why she always went back to hurting people? It was wrong. He knew wrong, but God, it had felt so right.   

Unfortunately, Chat’s thoughts were soon interrupted by a wire snagging his ankle and yanking it out from underneath him. He screamed as he fell; his claws uselessly flailing towards the slick roof tiles coated in thick streams of water.

When he landed, he found himself face to face with the girl that had once held his heart, and had so callously crushed it with her apathy. Ladybug. Chat Noir yowled at her, yanking at the yoyo holding her leg so he could have enough slack to curl up in a ball. 

Chat did not want to talk to her. She had hurt him. She had betrayed him. She didn’t deserve his words, and he had none to give her. 

Ladybug, for her part, seemed surprised at what she’d done. She looked so lost and confused, almost betrayed, like Chat had hurt her instead of the other way around. With a flick of her wrist, she retracted her yoyo, letting Chat go free, but Chat didn’t trust it. He knew that if he ran, she would catch him just as easily. No. He wasn’t going to do that. Not today. He curled up tighter and flashed his teeth at her, hissing. 

“Chat Noir?” Ladybug asked, her voice almost breaking as she reached her hand out towards him slowly. He flinched, and hated himself as he saw tears well up in her eyes. 

God, Chat wished he could hate her. It would make everything so much easier. He wished that he didn’t still love her, that he didn’t want to wipe away her tears and say something, anything to make her feel better. Yet at the same time, he didn’t think he was strong enough to talk to her. It felt as though even the smallest word might break him. 

They stared at each other, frozen in the rain until she broke the silence. 

“What happened to you?” she asked. 

With that, Chat Noir almost did break. He almost told her everything: how Adrien had experimented with the ring and broke himself in two; how Chat Noir was trapped in this horrible limbo of repression; how much it hurt to never be enough, to never be wanted except as the perfect puppet; how scared he was that he might one day disappear, forever lost to the perfect little nightmare that was Catwalker; how he’d hurt Vesperia and it’d felt so good, but he was sorry because he knew he shouldn’t have done that; how it hurt to feel, but it also hurt so much not to feel, and he was scared that one day, he’d give in and accept feeling nothing forever. 

He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even have time to try to make a plan to do anything. He wanted her. He needed her. Now more than ever. 

A shield slammed in front of him, forcing Chat to scramble backwards.

“Stay away from her!” Carapace yelled, Vesperia hiding right behind him. 

“Careful, Ladybug,” Ryuko said, her voice as cold as ice and unforgiving as steel. “He’s the one who pushed Vesperia off a building. You cannot let yourself be fooled by who he used to be. He cannot be trusted.”

The spell broken, Chat Noir took the chance to flee, running to the shadows to lose them. Bitterly, he cursed himself for his weakness. He should’ve known better. 

Ryuko was right. No matter who they might’ve been to Chat Noir once, Chat Noir was stupid to even think of trusting them now. They were Catwalker’s friends. Not his, and he’d been blind to let his feelings run away with him. No one would ever choose chaos over perfection. No one would even want to have silly, melodramatic Chat Noir over the perfect refined Cat Walker. 

He’d have to be strong and save himself without them. Or die trying.

[rianafying]

i feel like we don’t talk enough about what it feels like to love someone you know is not the one for you. like i fully know that you and i will never be compatible, or work, and i don’t even wish for us to work, because that would require at least one of us to change, and i know better than to wish for that. but in this moment, much more than i yearn for you, i love you. and i guess it’s like that with love. or with intense little crushes that feel like love. i wonder if the word crush was invented because it feels like being crushed underneath the weight of your desires. i wish i wished you desired me. but it’s so unlikely, i don’t want to waste my wishes on something so impossible. but i did. at 11:11 earlier today, i was walking home through the park and without thinking i wished for him. what a waste of a wish, and i take wishing very seriously. because i always wish for things more thoughtfully, and i never wish for other people. for example the last time i wished at 11:11, i wanted to wish for him but instead i wished for he strength to deal with however things turn out with him, best case scenario being he contacts me, worst case scenario being he blocks me. and this was a much better wish than the one i made today. actually it’s more than just a waste of a wish. it throws of the balance in my universe. i’ve been extremely spiritual and weird lately, and i take this stuff very seriously. signs and wishes. i just. i’m a little sad that’s all. most of the time i’m fine knowing that this is unrequited but once in a while, it just sucks, unprompted. it’s not like i learned something new, and that this new bit of information has changed my perspective. it’s the same old story, that is harder to swallow at night.

my costar says “Today you’re worried that you’re cutting yourself off from new experiences and retreating into yourself. But some bad company needs to be avoided. If other people don’t tend to your needs, can you step up for yourself?”

humans are more inclined to take risks after a car crash than after a series of psychological defeats. Slow down. Try not to reject every suggestion.

This month, you are ready to take time to regenerate, recover, and care for yourself. This is a commendable move for someone who either undervalues or overvalues what they have. Don't waste time.

The general theme of your life during this period is to learn to appreciate restrictions in your life for the structure they give you. There are many ways to let people back into your life. When you are matter-of-fact about who you are, the space between expectation and disappointment collapses. You will not fall apart right now. A few fragments might splinter off, but you'll remain whole. The deeper you seek, the more is your wonder excited. There is a space between action and reaction. In that expanse lies your power to choose a response.

Try stepping outside your comfort zone. Scaring away anyone who challenges you only reveals your possessiveness.

This month, you are ready to practice noticing signs of boredom and find ways to unplug that restore your strength. This is a commendable move for someone who will only settle for all or nothing. Know your worth.

This month, you are ready to take time to regenerate, recover, and care for yourself. This is a commendable move for someone who will only settle for all or nothing. Take time to improve your relationship to your self-esteem. Use this moment to streamline your aesthetic by getting rid of excess that no longer gives you pleasure.

You’re in a group, but you feel alone. No one seems to understand you. Maybe it's time to plant yourself somewhere new. Either way, don’t force yourself to stay in a situation that isn't feeding you.

Today you feel torn between the pressure to fit in and your love of unconventional relationships. It's good to challenge social expectations if that's what you need. Just make sure you're not doing that thing where you detach from people, and then start to believe that you're so different from everyone else. Discomfort and fear can be a signal that you're on the right track.

Your work this month is to dismantle your superiority complex. This is a big step for you, who believes every boundary was made to be broken. Stay feral.

Notice how what you think you lack makes you vulnerable.

Your vision has been clear regarding your romantic or creative life. There will be a chance opportunity that affects the fields of your natural talents. Try not to be too stubborn. Keep your eyes open.

This opportunity will see its beginnings in significant relationships where they meet with the ways you find joy. Keep an eye on projects you share with your partner, an affair, or a casual relationship becoming more serious.

Whether it’s fate or chance, now is the time to take advantage of anything that seems too good to be true.

wow this last bit is so on the nose, holy shit. i was kind of waiting for a solid sign or a push to reach out to him, this isn’t necessarily that push, but i’m definitely adding it to the list of small signs. i know he’s too good for me, yet he wanted me, yet he showed me kindness. you know, i don’t necessarily believe costar’s predictions because i don’t believe in future telling as a whole but i’ll be really happy if they’re right. i don’t want to take that leap, i have no faith. it’s too big of a jump to make. i have to be able to gauge how unrealistic it is. as cute as being delulu seems on tiktok, it’s pretty bad irl. especially when reality comes crashing down inevitably. there’s so much think about. is time running out? or do i need to be more patient. it’s always so difficult when dealing with lack of information, trying to read someone else’s mind. i have to remember it’s not about him. it’s not. it’s about my wants and needs, which will become bearable or fulfilled. i don’t want to chase someone. a love i have to beg for is not mine to keep. attention i have to fight for is not meant for me. whatever is meant for me, will not be so elusive.

as firmly as i believe that in this moment, there are times when i have doubts about the whole system. is there even such a things as meant to be, because that would mean believing in fate. who feeds fate, who influences fate. does fate think? does fate change its mind? is it weirdly too close to believing in god? as if god has anything to do with anything that happens to us. is everything random? this thought always scares me a little. i’m not my best self when u believe everything is random. but believing in fate gives it more structure, more harmony. even though it doesn’t change what happens. fate could be chaotic, and randomness could be organised, there is no way to know. what do i want and why do i want it? a lot of my recent wishes have come true. i wished to keep what i have, and for things to not get worse. things are not only not worse, they’re actually so much better? so hard to stomach the news. what i want is, for things to keep improving, not just stay where they are. slow and steady. i also want to not have so much worry in my heart. so much misery and restlessness. specifically, i want my health to improve, i want to have a clean room so i can work on my fashion collection and also have my friends over or to increase the chances of bringing my crush home, for dinner and drinks. i will be honest, i am trying to lose weight, but i’m trying to do it in a healthy way, like not starving myself, but it is hard to maintain the balance since i’m so much more familiar with spiralling rapidly into an eating disorder. i have these moments when i feel so ugly, and others when i feel pretty and they happen in a dizzyingly quick succession, but i rarely feel normal about the way i look. for the longest time it didn’t matter because i didn’t care about looking good. (even though it negatively affected my self esteem because i let myself go a little too much) but all of a sudden i do care. i want to be pretty. i want to be desirable to someone specific. which is so lame. because it’s like changing myself to be someone’s type, but so far what i’m changing is my literal health and wellbeing, fixing which is an objectively good thing to do, regardless of my reasons and intentions.

^all of that i wrote at 1am last night and now it is 2pm the next day. i’m less heartbroken more stressed about life and everything. whether im eating too much. also about my medication. one of my best friends just asked me if i wanted to go out for dinner tonight, and it’s a cheap place, but it felt like it wasn’t cheap enough? plus it’s all you can eat and i won’t be able to take advantage of that today as i’ve been trying to eat less lately. i should go on a day when im really hungry and actually want to eat a lot. also im broke, as always, so it’s hard to justify eating outside. i really need to get a job. omg now my friend wants to make dinner for me, i don’t deserve such kindness. i love my friends. there is good in the world. my faith has been restored.

it’s later in the day and i’m feeling angry and skeptical. maybe because i’m on a call w my dad. he’s literally so evil. so is my mother. now i’m just angry and worked up. it’s hard to be nice to them, it’s so unnatural, and it’s exhausting to be fake so they keep paying my tuition fees. anyway, yeah im bummed out. about a lot of things. i’m sick and im tired and im heartbroken, and i dont feel so good. i’ve been feeling pretty gross being covered in mucus all day, and also applying my meds and cling wrapping my limbs. my room isn’t getting cleaner from just wishing it. i have to actually do the cleaning. why can’t i be worthy of love and romance? why does it always end with me, alone in my room, scared of intimacy, wishing for a better life. it’s like i’m never happy, never content. how can i be? my body and brain hurt. my heart hurts. i like just one guy, after so long. and idek what i should do about it. if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. plus he’s so out of my league. like what am i even expecting will happen, it’s like having a crush on angelina jolie or something. entirely unrealistic. there is nothing there for me. i’m just so pissed at my parents actually. that is where all this negative energy is coming from. i just need to drink a lot of tea and gather my head. i wish i was perfect and my life was perfect and maybe this way, maybe my crush would want me back? idek him. i just like his face and energy and voice and vibe so far. i don’t know nearly enough about him but everything i do know has just been so good, like, how can someone be so perfect. and how could i be so far away from perfection.

it’s gonna be fine i’m gonna be fine. i was on the phone with a friend. another friend brought me dinner to my house. a delicious bowl of tofu and mushroom curry with rice. there is order and meaning to this universe. today was an emotional rollercoaster, but i’m going to be okay. hope has reentered the chat.

[threenorth]

Today's messages.

Saturn, I don't have much money to spare but every dollar is yours, I'll be flying back soon enough hopefully... I'm hoping for June. But I don't know. I can't wait to have you in my arms again, we're be dancing till the cows go moo.

Lea, I sure need a laugh the last few months have been pretty rough but I'm surviving... Some how.

Yousif, I'd ask you out but you and I are really quite busy and you don't like this long distance thing, and hopefully soon some paperwork can make it a little easier to be a little closer.

Ben, I knew from the day I met you in match 2012 that you were special. The day you hugged me I believed in love at first sight. And I still feel your butterflies in my stomach some items, but the one in my frame is one I caught.

Danny, you can video call me or message me... like i said but remember sleep is important don't fuck up your schedule mines a train wreck, at least if I go to Australia it's 3 hours different so I'll be on the money 😂.

Forrest, it's like the world dampens down and it's just a wide shot.

Quinn, you know my feelings I miss you, I also really want to kiss you harder and better than last time.

L, it's better to call and get a voice mail then someone who hangs up on you but you'll never know till you try.

Tony, I think there's a few good moments I can count on one hand and your 2 or 3 of them.

Olivia, I said I'd never leave but I guess I've had a few meltdowns and never had the time to really have time for me and try do my healing process. And now just taking each day as it comes but yknow hopefully I get this job, I'll be moving out and it would be nice if you could get a working holiday visa I'm more worried about soup and I'll need to get some injections for my allergies.

Lennon, you never left my mind or heart just everytime I saw my pain I saw you and it made me fall deeper...thanks for keeping me alive...

Summer, I feel only wiser and stronger but much the same I guess that's just living with truma but my feelings for you will never stop.

Yesterday's messages

Daytona, that's Florida I said where in Colorado so this can't be me but... I'm planning on it but sometimes life keeps getting worse and Messer, I'd send you money but you'll be sad...

R, I see you in the couples I see, I see you in the song lyrics, I see you in the movies I watch, I see you all the glimmers of my mind where you planted flowers and it's spring all year round *sneeze*

Milo, reminds me of the song the luckiest.. But I really wonder how our parrele universe self's met, I hope it's a bop.

X, I can see us adopting some strays but we can't get crazy cat lady hoarding level but enough to have like two or four (cats and dogs because no sane person in my house will have a snake)

Phoenix, in the hard times it's your love is what keeps me breathing my love for you is what keeps you alive in the hard times we call life. But these tough times, they and bad times they will past but our love remains... Infinite.

Angel, I don't need time but I do need you to help me out a little bit... I appoglized for my stupidity and you still remain... Our next significant date is march but by then I'll probably be snowed in with this new job possibly, can we make new history? Tomorrow or sometime soon... On your Sunday I have a two hour interview from 12-2 so how about 2.30?pm send me a text ?

Ben, you want me to talk to you but you don't pick up the phone, and I'm blocked on your social medias, you know I will always reply and I'm sorry I asked for what I asked, I said time and time again...and yes maybe next time I'll watch my mouth... You teach me many things but sometimes I look at the moon and think what am I supposed to be learning this time. Where's the sliver lining, and even when it hurts to hear you rip me apart before your birthday at least you still have gave me what I needed...

Anyway, the apartment I'm looking at in Australia is a little expensive and I might need to find another person to live in the apartment unless some how you and I start getting back to...

Logan, I don't know if I'd say you feel safe but you feel warm like chocolate in the soul or coffee on a cold day or rainbow after the rain, but maybe your just everything beuiutful.

Ethan, there's gonna be better kisses then that last but there's still a few firsts that I kept for you.

Grey, a million cats... Yeah Mayne not the cost might be a little to expensive. But I can do a few. But I have something better then pets to grow old with.

Eliah,

Soon... Kind of... Weer delayed.

Somethings keep getting in my way... Money and ergh... Shit.

Elijah, in the night before this was posted I had an odd dream with someone I dated once she was 5'11 her name was Louise, but she felt more like you I think my body is connected thru wrong body to the wrong person but it wasn't a dance we were how do you say.. .horazstsl tango.

I haven't seen her in bonks (years)

So I do not know why I had this odd dream but I woke up out of it like most of my gravy dreams.

Anway, off to sleep it's 1am.

Have a great thursday.

Xo

R

P.S

Feel free to call tommrow I might be at the supermarket or I'm just reading somethings I printed for my interview Monday.

[eywaseclipse]

Growing Pains Chapter 1: The Stains of War

Characters:  Omatikaya!reader, Jake, Neytiri, Kiri, Tuk, Lo’ak, Neteyam, Mo’at, my character’s parents Peyral and Taktu

Synopsis: You and Neteyam have been in each other’s lives for 15 years. Growing up together learning the ways of your people, and navigating through the war against the sky people. Although mighty warriors, even the toughest hearts may break over time.

Warnings: Just violence against the Na’vi, a little angst

Word Count: 3k

You sigh to yourself as you bring your oils from your pouch, and onto your skin. Lightly massaging onto your body, you close your eyes focusing on the scent of the elixir Kiri helped you make. The musky sweet aroma of Lionberry fills your nose with delight as you take the remaining liquid and rub into deep into your scalp feeling immediate relief, the strain of this week’s training lifted. You finish your bathing routine by exfoliating and cleansing the rest of your body, as you ascend out of the water.  You bring your hand woven cloth to dry your skin as you string your garments back on. With your glass bottles secured in your pouch, you make your way to the thick of the forest to meet Kiri who desired to harvest more herbs from the flora and fauna of your home. You weave your way through the jungle as you hear the hum of the insects invade your ears. It’s when you see the spirits of the sacred tree, you know you’re at the spot. In front of you is a sleeping Kiri, laying among the grass as the atokirina float around her gently. You are careful to avoid bumping into the spirits, as you bend down to wake the sleeping girl. “Kiri.” You shake her body lightly, nothing. You chuckle to yourself, and shake her slightly harder this time. “Kiri, hey!” Her ears suddenly twitch as she gasps with surprise. Her wide amber eyes meet yours as she rises to sit. “Manga hey y/n!” You laugh at her disorientation, and give her a small pinch. “I was doing that thing again wasn’t I?” She blushes shyly to you. “Yeah, you were.” You reply lightheartedly. Ever since children it was revealed that Kiri’s connection to Eywa itself was quite mysterious, although your families would have guessed as any other, that Kiri possessed a special link to the very network around you all. “Come on Kiri, let’s go and find your medicinal plants so we can help your grandmother with the healing balms for the raid next week.” She silently nods, as she leads the way to the plants twirling around the leaves feeling their stems. You only laugh, as she smiles to you gleaming with joy, both of you enjoying each other’s presence among the flora and fauna of Pandora. 

Escaping the stains of war for several hours, you watch Kiri intently, as she gathers herbs into her healing pouch cutting leaves and extracting sap into small vials and bottles. You hum your song cord as she works intently feeling the heat from the day caress your skin lightly. “Which one is that?” You ask her. She holds up several thick looking leaves, “this one is the Paywll water plant. When extracted the sap is used for its healing properties to treat cuts, burns, stab wounds, rashes and whatnot.” She simply states. You nod your head as you begin to cut off a few chubby leaves yourself, knowing that this plant also offers relief from indigestion and reproductive cycle pain. As you’re in the middle of your harvest, Kiri’s neck comm sparks to life. “Babygirl- I mean Starling This is Devil Dog. We spotted an airship just 10 clicks out from your pos. I need you home now.” Your eyes immediately snap to each other, filled with equal worry. Kiri brings her fingers to her neck as she replies as calmly as possible. “This is Starling, with Panther. Heading out.” “Copy that. Panther, send me your coordinates.” You press your own neck comm to the channel Kiri and Jake share, as you give your location to your leader. You grab Kiri’s arm as you make your way back home, stringing your bow and arrow ready just in case. “Kiri stay behind me we need to be quick, it’s almost eclipse.” She nods to you nervously, “Okay y/n.” As you both hurriedly make your way back to your clan, your heart pounds in your chest. The sky people have never done their scouting ops this close to your hunting grounds before. Something is off, you feel in your gut. You and Kiri leap from branch to branch, twisting your bodies through the vines, desperate to get back home with minimal lecturing from your parents when you suddenly hear a twig snap. Your ears perk up in the direction from the source of the sound, as you sniff the air to get a track. “Kiri stand behind me.” You say lowly. She senses your urgency, and does as you say. Both of you slowly walking, towards the source you hear Kiri unsheathe her dagger when a sudden noise invades your ears. “Y/n! Kiri!” You hiss, as Kiri yelps with fear, now seeing the form in front of you. “Neteyam!? What the hell are you doing here? How did you find us?” You screech with insistence. He raises his hands in the air silently begging you not to shoot him with your arrow, as you quickly lower your weapon, heaving with adrenaline. “Dad and I were scouting the sky people ship, when you gave your coordinates. He sent me to get you guys.” Of course. You think to yourself. Toruk Makto’s faith in you lacking, sending his mighty warrior after the girls. “I suppose I was not a good enough escort to bring home the Omatikaya’s teen Jesus.” You huff with irritation. Kiri can only roll her eyes as Neteyam grabs your arm harshly. “Enough, y/n it’s not like that. Let’s go.” You hiss one more time for good measure as your tail flicks with hurt and defeat. Did your leader truly not trust you enough as a warrior to perform the simple task of bringing his daughter home safely? You think to yourself. 

Your ears now pinned in shame, the three of you hastily turn to return to the clan. “Kiri, y/n, hurry up! Those scouters were only 10 clicks out from-Agh!” A sudden yelp from Neteyam rips into the forest, as the sky lights up with rounds of ammunition. “Kiri duck!” You scream. Avatar recoms flood your vision as they circle in on the three of you, holding their AR’s in the air. “Weapons down!” A sharp tug to your kuru causes you to squeal in pain as you feel a firm boot kick your knees causing them to buckle to the ground, as they cuff your hands harshly. Kiri screams in agony as they tug her braid and harshly grab her fingers. “Kiri!” Neteyam screams out. “Shut the hell up!” One of the Avatars yell at the eldest Sully. You look to him, as he’s held in a painful headlock unable to escape their bigger forms. “Well well well, look what we have here.” One of them taunts you. Neteyam’s eyes silently beg you not to do anything stupid, as you nervously swallow, when suddenly your ears perk up to a familiar yip. You slowly turn to Kiri who’s already looking to you, then back to Neteyam. He nods his head slightly, as you brace for impact. “This is Jag-47 we have eyes on some juvenile Na’vi, over.” One of the male recoms reports to what you assume is his superior. “Look at this one Z-Dog, it’s a halfbreed.” He says grabbing Kiri’s bound hand in the air. With your heart pounding in your throat, you attempt to lunge forward as Neteyam and you beg them not to hurt her. “No don’t!” You scream. Just as the male recom reacts, an arrow zips into the air striking him through the left eye. “Contact made!” The others scream. You duck down as quickly as possible, avoiding the rounds of fire now lighting up the night sky. “Na’vi!” The female squad member announces. Just as she reloads her magazine another arrow zips into the air and into her gut, as she screeches in pain. “Y/n!” You hear the familiar voice. Knowing your cue, Kiri you and Neteyam all bite down into the alien’s flesh as hard as you can, then reaching for their gas canisters. Successfully stunning them, you three run for cover, as your parents and the war party shoot their weapons into the Avatar bodies. “Come on! This way!” Neteyam shouts behind him. You and Kiri run side by side, making a run for it as you slam into a bigger form. “Y/n!” You look up to see your mother, as she grips the sides of your shoulders. “Mother!” You shout with relief. Your head now spinning, and heart racing with adrenaline your mother cuts you loose and embraces you in a tight hug. Tears begin to prick your eyes, as relief now floods through your body. “Thank you Great Mother, thank you!” She sighs into your hair. She makes her way over to Neteyam and Kiri, cutting them loose and bringing them in for a hug, as you hear the war party force the small group of Avatars to concede. With so few being left, you hear them retreat back into their aircraft and ascend into the night sky. “We’re clear!” You hear Jake announce. The war party makes their way to you, with Neytiri and your father being among them. “Ma’ite.” Your father squeezes you in a hug. Neytiri and Jake check on Neteyam and Kiri while your parents check for any signs of wounds. “Daughter, you have been shot.” Your mother says as calmly as possible laced with fear. Your brows furrow with confusion, as you look down to where she worriedly points. Blood starts to seep out of the side of your stomach, thankfully missing any vital organs. Neteyam rushes to your side, as he clutches your skin with urgency. Kiri makes haste and brings out her medical pouch with a cloth to stop the bleeding, as she wraps your waist in gauze. “We gotta go.” Jake interrupts. “It’s not safe here. Neteyam help y/n please.” Neteyam nods his head, as he helps lift you onto your father’s direhorse. With the rest of the war party, you make your way home, suddenly feeling lightheaded from the effects of the adrenaline wearing off along with the blood loss.

Once back to your clan, you feel your father grip your arm to hoist you down from the beast, as you slide off slumping into your father’s body. A hiss escapes your mouth, as you feel your wound get tugged harshly. Your father’s brows furrow with instant guilt as he tries to dismount you as comfortably as possible. “I am sorry daughter.” You wince in pain biting your lip. “It’s okay.” With Neteyam now rushing to where you both stand, he helps grab the other side of your arm, bringing you to his grandmother’s tent. “My dad is debriefing the ambush, I got her.” Your father reluctantly nods, as he makes his way to your mother overlooking the scene, to meet with the rest of the warriors. You lean into Neteyam’s body limping your way to your Tsahìk’s tent, the lightheadedness starting to get to you. You enter the tent with Kiri and Tuk quickly assisting their grandmother for your arrival. “Grandmother!” Neteyam shouts with worry. The elder turns to your entry, and beckons you over to her mats. As gracefully as possible, you lay down heaving with pain. Kiri hovers over you undressing your now soaked gauze. You hiss in pain as the wound meets the cold air. Mo’at now handing Tuk a bowl of steaming liquid. “Have her drink this.” She instructs. Tuk happily replies “Okay.” As she makes her way over to you. “Here drink y/n.” She brings the bowl to your mouth, as you attempt to sit up. With a hand to your back you feel Neteyam guiding you, so you’re able to drink the healing tonic. You loudly slurp the contents of the liquid wincing at its pungent unpleasant taste. “Agh.” You huff. Kiri just laughs, as Mo’at brings her tools over to where you’re sitting. “Y/n you require stitches. I need to sterilize the needle, and then we will begin stitching the wound. You are very lucky. The bullet has gone through clean.” Your stomach drops, but you nod your head as you watch your Tsahìk prepare her needle over the fire. The flap to the tent suddenly whips open, as you turn your head to the source. “Lo’ak.” You hoarsely say. You reach out to your friend as he examines the room seeing your blood soaked gauze on the ground. “Shit y/n, they got you good huh?” He smirks, trying to lighten up the mood. Neteyam hisses at his younger brother, not returning the amusement. “Lo’ak!” He reprimands, but Lo’ak and you just shake your heads. Your attention now turns back to Mo’at as she readies her tools. “Kiri wipe her stomach with the antiseptic tonic, I will begin to stitch her back up, on my count.” Kiri nods her head and gets the vials of liquids over, as she soaks a cloth kneeling next to you. “I’m sorry, y/n this might sting.” She meets your worried eyes. You hastily nod, as she brings the cloth onto your skin as gently as possible. Wincing in pain, your eyes squeeze shut as you feel Neteyam’s grip on your shoulder for support. “Alright, all done.” Mo’at simply nods her head, and brings the needle to the fire one last time. Neteyam makes his way to the other side of you, eyes meeting yours, as he brings his hand into yours. “Y/n squeeze as hard as you need to, okay?” You don’t have the energy for a sarcastic remark, you barely have the energy to respond at all. You weakly nod your head, as Mo’at brings the needle to your flesh, instantly hissing in pain. “Neteyam lay her down please! You must not move child, remain as still as possible!” She instructs with frustration. Neteyam brings your body down to the mat as flat as possible, as your breath begins to quicken with anxiety. The needle makes contact with your skin once again, setting your flesh on fire as you bite your tongue so hard you feel blood enter your mouth. 

After what feels like hours have passed, you finally hear Mo’at set her tools down, as Kiri replaces her and wraps your body one last time with a stronger gauze. Your body feels weak from blood loss, and the adrenaline now gone. You feel yourself going in and out of consciousness hearing the distant voices of those around you. “Grandmother what did you give her?” “It is only a natural sedative, it will ease her pain. She needs rest.” “There’s too many people in here!” “The mighty warrior protects his woman.” “OUT!” Your eyelids are heavy, as your feeble attempts to open them are met with a blurry figure hovering over you. You blink several times as the form begins to come into focus. “Nete?” You croak out. “Hey syulang flower.” Neteyam chuckles. “You haven’t called me that since we were kids y/n.” Your head turns to the eldest brother, cranking your neck up to meet your eyes with his. “Guess it’s the effects of Mo’at’s tonic then.” You joke. But Neteyam doesn’t laugh. Your brows furrow with confusion as you look to his now dark expression. “Neteyam what is it?” You inquire. An awkward silence fills the room, when he sighs taking in a deep breath. “You could’ve died today. You know that right?” You stare at him hard, as you try to find the strength to respond. “I know.” You muster up. “Yeah well it sure as hell seems like you don’t.” Your eyes shoot straight towards him. You couldn’t have possibly heard that right. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” You attempt to sit up, only to feel a tug on your side, causing a hiss. “Ah!” You weakly squeal. Neteyam immediately rushes to your side grabbing a pillow to set behind you. “Fuck, y/n look at you. This should not have happened.” He huffs with irritation. “Neteyam you act as if I did this on purpose. I was escorting your sister home, we were ambushed.” You stress the last word. He shakes his head. “You were trekking in the part of the forest that has had previous sky people sightings. You should’ve known better than to take Kiri there.” “Take her there? Take her there Neteyam? I was meeting her there so she wouldn’t do something stupid! I was asked to escort her yesterday by your mother! Where is this coming from!?” You shout with irritation. He sharply looks to the ground, avoiding eye contact with you, as your tail sways with anger. “Answer me!” You yell. “I thought I lost you.” His watery eyes now meet yours, as you gasp with surprise. You quietly gaze into one another, contemplating a response, but for now you grab his hand and hold it yours rubbing your thumb across his. You bring your forehead to his as you sigh, “Neteyam, we’re not kids anymore.” 

[nilouthoughts]

Bitcoin

I can humbly admit that before taking this course I didn’t know much about cryptocurrency let alone Bitcoin and the power it holds. In this case, by power, I mean quite a few things: the power of being independent of central authority, the power of its accessibility and liquidity, the power of user anonymity and transparency but most importantly, the power, more so the influence it holds through its environmental impact. When I searched for ‘pros and cons of Bitcoin’, a lot of the news articles that discussed Bitcoin and cryptocurrency failed to emphasize just how serious the environmental impact of this currency is; the non-virtual side receives far less attention. 

To further elaborate on the features that make Bitcoin attractive, advantages such as accessibility and liquidity allow for easy transfer of currency between two parties. This is advantageous to those living in different countries as transfers can be done within minutes. Furthermore, Bitcoin users are identified by numerical codes with multiple public keys meaning that they can never be traced back to the user. This being said, there is full transparency with transactions and transaction history cannot be tampered with but personal information remains protected due to blockchain technology. Blockchain technology stores data in ‘blocks’ and links them together to form a chain. It works as a network of decentralized and distributed data meaning the users share ownership and management of the network through computer nodes (Forbes, 2022). Blockchain technology is what essentially provides Bitcoin users with the immutability, transparency and independence that they enjoy. Finally, Bitcoin is free from centralized authority and therefore your currency is unable to be frozen/seized by the government and the price isn’t linked to government policies. According to the majority of sources I went through, this is the most attractive feature of Bitcoin. 

Alongside all these great features, there remain some negative aspects of Bitcoin that cannot go undiscussed. Bitcoin’s volatility remains one of the big ones: the creator of Bitcoin, who remains anonymous, made it so that there are only 21 million coins exist. In a process called Bitcoin mining, a Bitcoin is rewarded to a computer that can solve complicated equations and algorithms. As more Bitcoin is mined, the algorithms get harder and harder, and now, to mine Bitcoin, one must have special computers to be able to handle the intense processing power that is needed to get Bitcoin. The other side of having no government regulation/central authority is that there is no legal protection. Additionally, transactions are irreversible—if you send Bitcoin to the wrong recipient or the incorrect amount, there is no protection or way to reverse the transaction. Although cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly popular, as more currencies are created as well as more places are accepting it as currency, there remains the issue of limited usage. 

All of this being said, the biggest downside to Bitcoin remains the most significant aspect of it: its environmental impact. As I mentioned, Bitcoin mining and transactions require strong processing power and special computers, and a lot of this mining and maintenance occurs in Southwest China. One paper explains how almost half of the world's Bitcoin mining is situated there as the power is cheap, less taxed and supplied by coal-fired plants (and hydroelectricity). This being said, whether it is done in China or anywhere else in the world, bottom line is that the maintenance of this currency is actively contributing to the degradation of the environment. One bitcoin transaction requires the energy consumption of more than 700,000 swipes of a Visa card. 

Defendants of Bitcoin argue that the advantages of Bitcoin and the broader impacts it could have on society are worth the environmental impact, even going as far as to compare the carbon footprint of smartphones and computers to typewriters and telegrams. This argument believes that technological advancement is so important for humanity that society must accept the downside. To this I respond with: Knowing what we know now about the state of our planet and the irreversible damage that has been done so far, should we not use our knowledge to act more cautiously and intelligently? Others argue that mining is increasingly being done with renewable energy but then again, who is monitoring this? What regulation is needed to ensure environmentally conscious practices? When posed with the argument, Bitcoin is not a viable currency because it requires an unsustainable amount of energy to process each transaction, I support this stance because, as mentioned, despite the advantages of this currency, the environmental impact is far too significant to simply sweep under the rug. While observing the features that draw us to Bitcoin, I suggest we take it to the drawing board and further explore and work towards meeting those needs however, the current state of Bitcoin mining and maintenance is not it. 

Sources this conversation was drawn from, and that I suggest you check out: