#decided to try out some new things to render here and there

[scarapanna]

Goodbye

[paarksunghoon]

resignation (6)

SUMMARY: For the last six years, you’ve dedicated your career to ensuring Park Sunghoon never misses a day of work in his life. But you’re tired of endless days that seem to blend together, and seeing him living his fun, luxurious lifestyle makes you think about what else you might be missing out on. When Sunghoon finds your resignation letter on his desk, he does everything in his power to convince you to stay.

NOTES: life comes at ya fast…updates will come as I have more inspo and time to write. :) this is unedited

WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER: cunnilingus, slight coercion (but is it really if she wants it?).

SERIES PLAYLIST + SERIES MASTERLIST

***

Midweek comes around slower than you’d like and it feels as though your days are dragging on the more you try to tie up loose ends and review resumes of potential candidates. 

Sunghoon has agreed to transfer some of the responsibilities onto the secretaries for the time being. They’ll be responsible for attending meetings in-office and other tasks that can be taken off of your plate as you focus on what’s at hand. 

“Are you any closer to finding me a new assistant?”

He asks this at least once every few hours. He’ll do it when he hears you typing away on your keyboard or when you’ve neglected to hear him call you from the door. Sunghoon says it with a smile that looks too playful for your liking. 

“Not any closer than I was since the last time you asked me.” 

“Shame. But perfection takes time, doesn't it?”

You roll your eyes. “Come in and close the door, will you? It’s hot as shit outside and you’re letting all of my cold air out.” 

“Maintenance is working on fixing the air conditioning in the main areas. My office isn’t as cold as yours, I’ll say that.”

“Maintenance likes me better.”

“Nuh uh.” 

You look up from your monitor. “What are you, a child?”

“Maybe.” You roll your eyes again and focus back on your work. “Any candidates I should know about?”

“Are you asking me because you’re interested or because you’re bored?”

“Is there any difference?”

“Yes. You either care about who’s going to take over my position once I’m gone, or you enjoy watching me suffer by being in my presence.” 

“The latter, actually. You’re cute when you’re angry at me.” You scowl at him. “See? Cute.” 

“I’m not cute.”

“You say that, and yet you are.” 

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re really cute, especially with my hand between your legs.” Your face grows hot and Sunghoon grins when he realizes he’s rendered you speechless. 

“If you aren’t going to be of any help, might as well go back to your office and do your job.” 

Sunghoon puts both hands up. “Alright, alright. I did come here with the intention of an update, though. Heeseung mentioned you’ve made some progress when I saw him earlier this morning.” 

“Some. I’ve been getting hundreds and hundreds of applications, and it’s getting hard to sift through all of them.”

“What kind of things are you looking for?” 

“Experience, mostly. Someone who meets half of these qualifications and won’t be an ass about it.”

“Got any contenders?” 

“I haven’t met with anyone yet, so I can’t be so sure right now. I’m in correspondence with some to meet at the office next week for an initial interview before I decide.”

“How many interviews?”

“Three. One introduction, a second so they can see the office, and a third with you.”

“With me?”

You roll your eyes. “Yes, you. I need you to like your assistant.” 

“The way I like you?”

You near your throat. 

“I surely hope not.” 

“You don’t have to worry about that. I just need an assistant who can handle the job and not complain about it too much.” 

“That’s the goal.”

“Who are you meeting with next week?” 

“Cho Miyeon’s coming on Monday morning and Kang Taehyun will be coming the same afternoon.”

“Yang Jungwon on Tuesday too, huh?” Sunghoon peers over your shoulder and stares at your calendar. “You’ve got a busy week.”

“I’m doing my best. My workload is being shared while I look for my replacement, so it’s not too bad. Don’t get any ideas and add things on my docket, though.”

“Well…”

You sigh. “Sunghoon, please. I’m trying to be diligent and do right by you, but you’re making me want to quit on the spot.” 

“Hear me out at least, okay?” 

Sunghoon sits on the edge of your desk and sees the top button of your blouse unbuttoned. It’s not enough for him to see your bra underneath, but his mouth runs dry thinking about it. 

“It’s our turn to choose a restaurant for the next quarterly dinner party. As you know, it’s important because we as a company build internal connections and reward those who work under us with an all expenses paid meal.”

“Plus quarterly bonuses from the respective employers.”

He nods. “Yes, plus the bonuses. Anyway, I’ve booked a reservation at a highly rated Spanish place that serves tapas style for tonight. Cool, huh?” 

“You cannot seriously expect me to drop my plans to work.” 

“You don’t have plans.”

“Okay, fair point. But Pochi, Sunghoon. And I don’t want to work!”

“We won’t be out until late into the evening, if you’re worried about feeding her. We’ll leave the office early and I’ll have you home before nine. And you won’t be working. Not really.” 

“Asking me to try food for a work event is considered work.”

“Just come with me, okay? If you like it, we’ll host the party there. If not, we try another one on the list.”

“What list?”

Sunghoon merely smiles but he doesn’t explain further. “Don’t worry about it. Get yourself hungry and we’ll leave at five.”

“You, leaving work at five…”

“Early, I know.” Sunghoon laughs. “So what do you say?”

“I say you want me to ignore all of my tasks and distract me with food. Why can’t you go with another assistant who actually gives a shit about this party?”

“Because I care about your opinion, not theirs.” 

“I don’t have time to entertain this when it’s not on my immediate priority list. You can bring Jongseong to dinner, for all I care. He’ll appreciate that more than me.” 

Before you know it, he’s on the floor and turning your chair to face him. 

“Sunghoon!” 

He situates himself between your legs and spreads them apart by pushing your knees away. His fingertips gently touch your skin and inch up the skirt you’re wearing, pushing the fabric up your thigh. Your resolve seems to crumble when you see him like this and look around hastily. 

“W-What are you doing?” 

Sunghoon doesn’t speak. He looks at you and smiles like he knows something you don’t.

“My window is open,” you say in a haste, trying to push his hands away from your legs. 

Sunghoon merely laughs and leans down to press a kiss to the inside of your knee while maintaining eye contact. You sit frozen in your chair as you watch him stand, eyes trained on his semi-hard cock outlined in his trousers. He makes no fuss and faces the windows to close the blinds before turning back to look at you.

“Better?” 

All you can do is nod. Sunghoon drinks you in with his eyes. His gaze starts at the bottom of your heels until you feel his stare drag up your body, locked in on the flesh of your collarbones until his eyes meet yours. It’s hard to keep eye contact with him when he’s looking at you like that, never mind the fact that the outline of his dick is practically at eye level. 

He brings his hand to his mouth and rubs his jaw, huffing something you can’t quite make out. He then resumes his positions on his knees and this time, you don’t complain when Sunghoon pries your legs apart. 

“Can I try to convince you?” he asks in a sultry tone. His voice might as well be made of soft velvet and you find yourself nodding. “Yeah? Can I have my way with you right here?” 

Sunghoon has his answer when you widen your legs before him and parts his mouth like he’s in awe. He observed the way your skirt rides up your thighs even more, then shifts his gaze to your covered cunt. Sunghoon looks like he might as well be high; his gaze is hyper focused between your legs and his well you panties mold to the shape of your cunt. 

His bottom lip becomes wet with his saliva and you’re almost positive that Sunghoon would start drooling the longer he looks at you. His hands delicately hold your ankles in place when you brush your thumb against the corner of your mouth. 

“You’re drooling.” Sunghoon looks up at you.

“I can’t help it,” he says, kissing the pad of your thumb. “You’re so perfect down here.” 

Your cheeks flush for the umpteenth time. Sunghoon’s hands move from your ankles to gently caress the outer skin of your calves before he brings one hand to push your skirt until it sits just below your waist. You lift your hips to help him and settle back down in your chair at a steep slouch. 

Sunghoon holds you there and you feel as if you’re being presented on a platter. Still unused to being like this in front of him, you resist the urge to close your legs to prevent yourself from being even more flushed than you already are. He pushes his face between your legs and gives one, long kiss to your covered slit. 

“So perfect.” Sunghoon mumbles against you, and you suck in a quick breath. He sticks his tongue out to taste the wet slick soaking from the fabric. “That’s really good.” 

Never in a million years would you have ever guessed how good Sunghoon looks on his knees. He’s brash and confident, proud and stoic. The ease in which Sunghoon fell to his knees knowing he’d see what you hide between your legs makes you feel like you’re on top of the world. Sunghoon, who stands down for no one, kneels on his knees for you. 

He pulls your body down and brings his tongue all over your covered cunt. The surface of his tongue makes you clench against him and buck your hips. Sunghoon chases after it, pushing against you harder than merely grazing like he was previously. He licks a confident stripe and laps at your panties like a kitten drinking milk. 

His ginormous hands and caresses your outer thigh like he’s trying to make you relaxed and unashamed of the pleasure he wants to give you. You’re reminiscent of how you felt the morning Sunghoon’s hands were on you for the first time—nervous, excited, and extremely horny. 

When Sunghoon pulls your panties to the side to reveal your lap to him, he groans and his warm breath makes a shove run down your spine. He admires the way your pussy clenches in front of him and kisses your naked slit like he’s trying to reassure you.

“Relax, love. It’s just me.”

“Kind of hard to relax.” 

“Why?” Sunghoon kisses your slit once more and you sigh in contentment.

“I’m not used to people looking at me like this.” 

He looks up. “Get used to me between your legs.” 

When you deal with Sunghoon’s demands during working hours, you’re a force to be reckoned with. He’s stubborn and loves to fight back until you frustratingly give up or until you’ve backed him into a corner. You’re used to his hotheaded tendencies and never back down if you can help it.

But Sunghoon’s hands keep you locked before him so gently that it makes you think you’ve got nothing to worry about. His fingers caress your skin in a way that makes you tingle with excitement and lust, and it’s been a while since you’ve felt this way about anyone. 

He can feel your body respond to him when you loosen the tightness in your hips and let your legs fall beside him. Sunghoon’s mouth kisses your outer lips and avoids your clit, but the feeling is all the same when you haven’t been in this position in years. He takes his time, moving his plush and moistened lips across your skin like he’s mapping out every inch of you.

Sunghoon’s head moves to your inner thigh and his hair brushes your skin. His eyes remained closed as if to savor the taste of your body. You can’t seem to look at anything but him like you’re afraid he’ll disappear if you close your eyes and allow yourself to lose yourself in his touch.

Feeling so exposed is out of your comfort zone. You feel completely naked in front of him despite wearing a blouse and a skirt, technically. The sheer act of intimacy, even if Sunghoon walks away from you forever after he’s done kissing you between your legs, still feels like more than a mere hookup like your previous experiences. 

Sunghoon is still fully dressed and you wonder if he’s as hard as he was before kneeling. Your mind races when he switches legs and kisses all the way to the inner portion of your knee, dabbing gentle pecks that makes your heart race much faster than you would’ve ever anticipated. 

He must know by now you’re as inexperienced as a woman your age could be. It’s never for the lack of trying; men leave you disappointed and the pool of new lovers falls short when you aren’t the type of person to lose yourself in strangers who will never love you back. Sunghoon touches you like he’s more than somebody you’ve worked with for the last six years. It scares and excites you all at once. 

His breath ghosts over your cunt before he sticks his tongue out to lick a fat stripe. It feels like the entire surface of his tongue covers the entirety without a single inch being undiscovered by his mouth, and the sensation makes your toes curl in your heels. It’s enough to make your back arch slightly. Sunghoon watches you and puts both of his hands at the side of your hips to keep you steady before him. 

Sunghoon takes his time and doesn’t rush it like you think he will. He sounded so desperate to get you to agree to come with him to dinner tonight. You were sure he’d get on both hands and knees like a dog to beckon you to come. The sense of urgency seems to have been tossed out the window when he closed the blinds. Despite being in your office and hearing faint sounds of the copy printed from outside the doors, you feel like it’s just the two of you existing in the same space. 

His tongue moves up and down your slit slowly. Sunghoon’s eyelashes are long and dark, fluttering against his cheek with every pass. You wonder if this is what he looks like when you’re kissing him. It’s unfair how sexy he looks when his tongue is coated in your slick and when he’s sighing against your pussy like this is a meal that has finally satisfied his craving. 

“You’re so wet,” he murmurs against you the second he pushes his tongue past your folds. The vibrations continue to add to your pleasure and you buck your hips against his face. 

“S-Stop talking.”

He chuckles. “I think you like it when I talk to you like this.”

You shake your head stubbornly. Sunghoon hums like he doesn’t believe you. His fingers dig into your hips to pull you closer to his face instantly, latching onto your cunt with the urgency you anticipated beforehand. He shoves his tongue deep inside of you to the point where you grip the handles of your chair until your knuckles feel sore. Your palms have grown sweaty and you fear you’re losing your grip on both the chair and your sanity. 

He looks up at you before taking one hand and putting it in his hair. It’s like a foreign instinct takes over. Your hand grips his hair until you’re holding his head in place. His eyes flicker back to yours before focusing on lapping up your wetness, no doubt coating the lower half of his face in it. 

There’s no real method he’s adhering to. It’s messy and growing louder by the second with his saliva mixing in with your juices. Sunghoon slurps you up like he’s trying to taste all of you at once and flexes his jaw to accommodate shoving his tongue inside of your folds and thrusting. 

Your legs eventually wrap around his shoulders and Sunghoon can feel your heel digging into his suit jacket. He doesn’t mind. You’re sure this encourages him to fuck you like this harder because his tongue moves in circles inside of you when your thighs keep his head locked in place. His dark brown eyes open to look right at you and the moans you’ve been holding in escape. 

Sunghoon moans against you too. Your whimpers and short breath sent the blood straight to his cock, but he knows this isn’t the time nor the place to make you moan the way he wants you to. He’ll take what he can get, but that single, deep moan that came from his tongue bouncing over your clit makes him think it would be worth it for everybody to hear you come.

He looks so good with your thighs suffocating his face. Sunghoon doesn’t complain, he just puts his hands on your thighs and squeezes you to keep them there. Your hips start to chase his mouth when you feel your orgasm building and when Sunghoon sees your chest heaving off of the chair, he keeps his steady position and flicks his tongue across your swollen bud. 

You don’t even realize your hips are rolling against his mouth until you come against Sunghoon’s tongue. He doesn’t give you a second to breathe as he laps it up, opening his mouth as best as he can with your legs still wrapped around his face. He moans when he tastes all you have to offer and bucks his hips to grind against the tightness of his slacks when he sees your eyes wired shut and mouth gaping. 

The grip on his hair loosens when your body relaxes and so does the grip on your legs. Your breath feels much heavier than before and when you open your eyes, Sunghoon’s looking at you with a drunken smile on his face. Your cheeks instantly heat up and you try to pry your legs back down, but he keeps you steady there and moves his head to kiss you on each thigh.

“You look so pretty when you come.”

“S-Sunghoon…”

“Yeah, love?” 

You blush harder. “You’re just…” 

“I’m just what?” 

You avoid eye contact. “You looked really hot.” 

He laughs and you feel his eyes still staring at you. Sunghoon lets go of your legs and helps settle them back down on the ground before pushing your panties back in its proper place. He wipes his chin with the back of his hand and sits on the back of his knees to help you regain balance and sit upright in your chair as you fix your skirt in an attempt to look decent. 

“You did so well for me,” he says, pushing upwards to kiss you. Your taste lingers on his lips. Sunghoon braces himself on your thighs and his palms feel comforting. 

“I-I can’t believe I let you do that in my office.”

“Such a rebel, hm?” Sunghoon chuckles between kisses before pulling back to look at you. “Did that convince you to come with me tonight?” 

You nod shyly. “I don’t want you to think I’m the type of girl who can be bribed by sex, though.”

“I don’t think that of you. Matter of fact, I know I had you reeled in when I told you I’d take care of the details.” 

“Hmph.”

“I ate you out because I wanted to.”

Sunghoon kisses you again before standing up. The sheer size of it makes your mouth water and you see the small, wet stain left by his precum. He watches you with fascination and watches your hand reach out with hesitation, pulling back before you’ll do something you might regret. 

He doesn’t force you to touch him, nor does he ask you to do anything in return. You watch him with hooded eyes and the sight of you looking up at him while he stands will fuel his dreams for days to come. 

“You’re hard.” 

“That I am.”

“All that from eating me out?”

He laughs. “You underestimate how much I’m attracted to you.”

Your eyes flicker up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. So much that I ate your cute little pussy in your office.” 

You swat the side of his thigh and look away from him. “I…My pussy isn’t cute.”

“So cute and so tight. Felt it with my fingers and I felt it again with my tongue. Can’t help but wonder what it’ll feel like with my dick.” 

“Sunghoon!” 

“Too soon?” The blush on your face gives your desire away, but he laughs and backs off. 

“I have a pair of fresh slacks in my office. Let’s finish the rest of today and then we’ll head over for dinner, yeah?”

You raise your eyebrow. “You’re gonna walk out of my office while you’re hard?” 

“It’s like, two inches from yours.” 

“People could see.”

“Aw, are you worried about me?”

You huff. “Let people see how hard you get for me, for all I care.” 

Sunghoon smirks. “Atta girl. I think I just might.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Just how you like me to be.”

You don’t argue with him. You both know he’s right. He eventually makes his way to the front door and is about to leave before he comes back around your desk. Sunghoon takes you by surprise and leans down to kiss your lips once more before wordlessly exiting your office.

It takes a great deal of strength to stand up and open the blinds.

***

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[fourorchid]

“Obedient Thing”

— Chapter 4 —

Description: The monotony of your day to day life as a lab assistant is suddenly interrupted upon meeting Viktor, a researcher at the academy, who has a gaze that pulls you apart and knows exactly how to piece you back together. His voice, his actions—they’re dizzying, frustrating—but madly addictive. Curiosity and happenstance seem to render you incapable of avoiding him as you come to terms with the newfound feelings he’s unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) stirred within you.

Chapter Index:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 (here)

Chapter 5

— Viktor x fem!Reader | ~3.0k—

Content Warning: masturbation (fem!reader)

**If you are not 18+, please do not interact**

Disclaimer: Chapter four is out! I wasn’t sure how I felt about this chapter when I started but it grew on me hehe. And the next part is already in the works so stay tuned! As always, I appreciate any comments or feedback, Enjoy ~

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After the first instance of agreeing to work alongside Viktor, Jayce took it upon himself to send you off to Viktor whenever he felt necessary. His reasoning for doing so being a.) his research and Viktor’s research are of the same specialty and had a decent amount of overlap, b.) he knew Viktor had a tendency to overwork himself while also being resistant to asking for help, and c.) he loved to stir the pot. And this way you couldn’t get mad at him because the ball was technically in your court. No misleading or meddling here, just an opportunity and your choice to take it. Thankfully, it’s been a very rare occurrence as you both already have a lot on your own plate; but Jayce was still smug about it.

Meanwhile, you find the pull you wish you were strong enough to refuse becoming more tangible. Like there was an actual tether connecting you to Viktor—and it was only getting shorter. You just couldn’t get him out of your head. But then, the few times you found yourself in his presence, you were borderline incredulous. You couldn’t help it nor could you make any sense of it. You were hopeless.

As you pack up your belongings and wave goodbye to Jayce after a long Friday of test trials and data recording, you notice how hungry you are. Feeling particularly accomplished with the work you did this week, you decide to treat yourself to dinner at your favorite bistro in town.

Usually, you would order it to go but you figured it might be good to dine in today. Because sometimes you just need to take yourself out to dinner. Definitely not because you recently found out that Viktor also frequents this restaurant—of course not. Just some self-care in the form of french onion soup and a hot sandwich in nice dining ambience. Obviously.

You walk through the brisk evening air towards the restaurant with your mouth watering at the thought of the meal. As you enter, the cozy atmosphere wraps around you like a blanket, soothing the chill on your skin from outside. Thankfully, it’s not too busy despite it being a Friday evening and you are able to find a small empty table in the corner of the restaurant. You browse the menu, pretending you might try something new before settling on your usual paired with a glass of white wine. While you wait for your order to arrive, an equation from today’s testing was still nagging at your conscious. You move to take out your laptop to look over it again in the meantime when, suddenly, a familiar voice floats over the clatter of the restaurant.

“Hello, Miss y/n.” His demeanor is calm as he speaks. “May I?” Viktor asks to join you. As you look up at him to respond, you notice his eyes are almost mesmerizing in the dim, warm lighting of the restaurant.

You haven’t seen Viktor in a few weeks now and you naively assumed the break would help you be less affected by his sudden appearance—you were mistaken.

“Um, sure.” You nod, pausing after you speak. Viktor lowers himself into the seat across from you. “So are you following me around now?” You quip in feigned suspicion.

“No, not stalking—simply happenstance.” His tone is lighthearted as he leans his cane against the edge of the table. “Fate, perhaps.” He adds matter-a-factly. Something about his demeanor seems slightly more playful outside of the academy building.

“Right.” You let out a small unamused laugh at the notion.

You notice the waitress approaching your table as Viktor turns to provide his order. As he talks, you note how his side profile is especially sharp. You count the moles that are dotted across his face in such a delicate and almost precise way, a few more lead down his neck meeting his collar. Seemingly random, but such a perfect addition to his complexion that you start to believe every act in his creation must’ve been intentional by nature itself. And the way his voice resonated as he spoke was so deep and rich, alluring in a way that makes one too entranced to do anything besides listen. After a moment, the waitress whisks herself back to the kitchen and Viktor returns his attention to the conversation. You do your best to hide the fact that you had been blatantly staring.

“So—a skeptic, hm?” Viktor tsks. He looks at you giving way to that all-too-familiar inspecting gaze of his. “You don’t believe in fate then, Miss y/n?” He adds, amused.

“I don’t have enough evidence to come to a conclusion.” You explain flatly.

He raises an eyebrow at your response, clearly intrigued. "That is fair. I suppose nothing is really certain until you can prove it empirically, hm?" He leans back in his chair, his gaze stays on you as he continues. “Are you this analytical in all aspects of your life?” Viktor wears a nearly imperceptible grin as he points out your deflection.

You are caught off guard by Viktor’s ability to—once again—see right through you. “No, I just enjoy opposing you.” Your tone is sarcastic and almost childish as you respond.

“Do not threaten me with a good time, Miss y/n.” Despite his joking demeanor, his words have an edge that makes your stomach flip and your face become warmer. He gives you a knowing look.

After a pause, you cut through the tension as you begin to speak. “Why do you look at me like that?”

“And how is it that I look at you?” Viktor replies, unaware.

“Like you’ve got me all figured out.” You roll your eyes, acting as though frustration was to blame for your cheeks reddening.

“Well, that is because it’s not very difficult to decipher what you feel judging by how you look at me.” He speaks in a controlled manner, pretending to be indifferent to the fact that you are hanging on to his every word.

Intuition tells you it’s a trap. But it is a trap that is so incredibly tempting to fall into.

“And how do I look at you?” You take the bait.

Viktor breathes out a short hum before answering. "With curiosity—but there is something else there. Something deeper.” He pauses before deciding what word to choose.

“You look at me with a kind of...hunger."

His gaze becomes more intense as his words hang in the air between you. He leans forward on the table, his voice dropping to a low, rough cadence.

"It is okay to have an appetite, you know."

Before you can attempt to answer, the waitress returns with your orders in tow. The interruption is a welcome one, giving you a moment to compose yourself as the food is placed on the table.

Viktor pulls back a few inches, a small smirk forming on his face.

"It appears that fate is giving us a breather." He looks at you.

“It seems so.” You say, more tense than before.

The waitress leaves you both to your meal and you find yourself wishing she would come back, wanting any distraction that could act as a buffer between yourself and the man sat across from you.

You take a second to regroup, deciding to focus on the food in front of you instead. You want to deny Viktor’s observation but you are at a loss. As you both begin to eat, the clattering utensils and soft chatter of the restaurant around you fills the break in conversation. You find yourself staring mostly at your plate as you feel Viktor’s eyes trained on you. Observing. Calculating. You try to give him nothing to work with but as you are starting to gather, he is rather adept at reading between the lines. His voice drags your attention up from your meal as he speaks.

“You are awfully quiet, Miss y/n.” He notes.

You swallow as you take your napkin to your lips before speaking. “Would you prefer I talk with my mouth full?” You snip back.

Viktor nods. “A fair point.” He takes a second, looking up as he thinks before continuing his answer.

“I suppose I would rather your mouth be used differently, yes.”

His expression darkens ever so slightly as the words fall from his lips; coated in filthy insinuation but spoken so casually—almost unassuming if you weren’t paying attention. Every nerve in your body catches fire at his response. You clear your throat, hoping to collect yourself before you speak.

“You know—I don’t think I’m the only one with an appetite.” You mock Viktor’s choice word from earlier through clenched teeth. You try to pivot the spotlight onto him but the attempt was shaky at best.

He quirks an eyebrow at your statement. He sets his fork down to clasp his hands in front of himself on the table as though he were about to negotiate a deal.

"I never said you were." He concedes.

You take a sip from your wine glass, the dryness coats your throat as Viktor continues.

“Though, I am not sure you can keep up with mine." He purrs the taunt in a low rumble. You choke a bit at the implication.

“You seem to have a habit of assuming things about me.” Your tone is biting and sharp as you respond. You take another spoonful of your food to distract yourself from the feelings swirling in your stomach.

He chuckles, clearly enjoying this back-and-forth you two are having.

"Well, to my credit, I think I have hit the mark a few times."

His gaze locks on yours as he continues.

"But by all means—let's prove me wrong then."

His voice drops, his tone taking on a sinful quality.

Your confidence wavers at the challenge. Viktor is rather forward but the words he chooses leave too much—or perhaps too little—to the imagination. It’s arousing and frustrating all at the same time. You don’t back down, but your heart thumps in your ears as you counter.

“And how do you suppose we do that?” You hold eye contact as you provoke Viktor into actually admitting what he’s implying. To your surprise—he does exactly that.

“Simple.” He begins, leaning forward. His voice is barely above a whisper, sending a chill down your spine.

“I’d take you right here, on this table.”

He leans back, his eyes never leaving yours. His disposition is cool and composed despite the fever of his answer. You try not to let Viktor’s words have power over you but it’s too late. Heat concentrates in your abdomen at the explicit image he had painted. You glance around the restaurant, suddenly reminded of the public setting you were in.

“Oh really? In front of everyone here?” You choke out a half-baked objection, finding the notion entirely absurd.

His gaze is fixed on you as he listens, unfazed.

"You are right, that would be quite the public display." He admits. His eyes trace over the features of your face, ending on your lips before returning to meet your stare.

"But it still made you feel a certain way, did it not?" Viktor points out, saying what you had left unspoken.

Your body betrays you in its response, the muscles in your thighs flexing unconsciously, your breath hitching almost imperceptibly. His words swim through your head. He’s absolutely shameless, you think. A scoff flies from your throat as you shake your head in disbelief, trying to ignore the warmth spreading over every inch of your skin.

But Viktor catches it all, every micro-reaction, both conscious and subconscious. He takes your silence as your answer.

“Oh? tapping out already?” He taunts, his tone mocking concern. A soft smile perches on his face, in direct contrast to the lascivious things coming from his mouth.

You feel yourself reach a boiling point. “And, pray tell, what makes you so sure you can deliver? You spit out, your voice tight as you question Viktor’s abilities in a pitiful attempt to punch up.

A low chuckle escapes him, his confidence unshaken by your challenge. He leans forward a fraction more, the space between you becoming increasingly intimate.

"I do not make promises I can't keep, Miss y/n." He responds simply, his gaze never wavering from yours.

You aren’t sure if it’s the sirenesque nature of his voice or the sincerity held in his stare, but his statement rings entirely genuine to you—even in the heat of the current moment. You’re not sure if this quells the sensation pooling in your gut or feeds it.

Then, as if reprieve granted by the universe itself, the waitress returns to ask if you both had finished your meal. Suddenly, you remember that oxygen exists and that you should probably breathe some of it.

“Yes, thank you.” You move to fetch your wallet but Viktor beats you to it. Before you can object she flits away with his card to get the bill.

“I can pay for my own meal.” You say weakly. Your mind has reached its threshold for clever banter. And it’s not like Viktor seemed to follow typical social convention when he was talking to you either.

“I know you can.” Viktor replies, stern but theres a softness in it as he smiles gently. Like he was appreciating your determination in defying him but also not denying your autonomy. It had you entirely disarmed.

“I don’t intend on being indebted to you.” You hiss, the words come out as a slight insult to Viktor’s character—something you didn’t really believe but couldn’t help yourself from saying.

“I do not do debts, Miss y/n.” Viktor replies simply, his voice steady and firm. And you know it’s true. But at this point, you were so drunk off him, you might fall for anything.

You nod, accepting his answer without argument. Once the bill with Viktor’s card returned, you both stand up and begin pulling your coats on to leave. Viktor finishes himself and moves to help you, holding the coat open behind you as you push your arms through the sleeves. You don’t even object. The proximity has you so warm now, you find you might need to actually take the coat off instead. The smell of his cologne fills your senses, it’s clean but distinctly masculine. Before pulling away, he leans over your shoulder, his breath tickles your cheek as he speaks in a low, almost whisper.

“If you are still hungry, Miss y/n, you know where to find me.”

To punctuate his point, his hand grazes your waist with intention before pulling away. You shiver at his words and barely-there touch. Your entire being thrums with need like you’ve never known.

You both leave the restaurant, heading your separate ways. The friction from your legs as they rub together while you walk is torturous, even for the short distance it takes to get back to your apartment. You can feel how worked up he had gotten you from just his words alone.

You don’t know much about Viktor, but what you have learned so far are two things.

One, control comes naturally to him. It’s not a matter of force—it’s innate, effortless. A calm, calculated sort of power. Intimidating—teasing, even—but not unkind.

And two, you are in denial. The way it made you feel was exhilarating in the most unexpected but impossible-to-ignore way. So much so that you’ve been pushing back on it with all your might out of discomfort, possibly fear as well.

There was a point in your life up to now where you believed if you didn’t call something by name, it had no real power. A ridiculous notion—but it had gotten you this far.

But feelings—feelings like those you were experiencing right now—were real, named or not. Spoken or not. Understood or not. And what you felt was something that threatened to be acted upon or else it would become maddening.

And with each passing second, you start to care less about it making sense.

You close the door to your apartment behind you. Immediately, you take yourself to your bed, not even shedding your clothes to lay down as you reached lower beneath the hem of your skirt. With no abandon, you begin to satiate the burning inside of you.

Your fingers reach to the heat already pooled there, coating yourself in the evidence of what he could do to you. Your fingers trace the sensitive spot that sends a bolt of unrestrained pleasure through you. You repeat the motion, moving faster. You feel yourself get close already, but you pull back. You want to draw it out—like he would.

After a moment, you grow impatient, and you lead your hand to your entrance. You feel yourself buzzing with a new kind of need, plunging one finger in to start, then another. You draw them in out slowly at first, taking the time to savor the idea. But you crave more as the hunger inside you screams his name. You even let the word slip past your lips while you tremble in a desperate and pitiful attempt to feel the real thing as your fingers reach as deep as they can go. They move hard and fast in and out of you, almost as if you weren’t in control of it. You are so close—so close, the pace you keep yourself to is unbearable, overstimulating; but nowhere near enough. You whine and writhe as you keep yourself on the edge.

Eventually, you can’t take it anymore. The coil he had helped build inside you suddenly snaps of your own doing. You shake violently as your release ripples through you in hot, heavy waves. As small whimpers and moans escape you, his voice, his actions, that knowing gaze—they are all seared into your memory. And you have found yourself in complete and utter surrender.

What else was there to do besides submit?

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

[callmelitlesunshine]

r u s s e l l a d l e r.

+ little bonus under the cut. HALF-NAKED BODY.

So, more than a month i worked with a new Adler model. I was very interested in porting models from blender to daz, but it seemed to me very very hard. but i decided to try with a big support of my friends! and here it is the result!

there is still a lot of things i need to work on, but the most percent is done! and i wanted to try make some renders, because i wanted to see how everything is turn out! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

Taglist [in/out]: @that1avian @gerdi-mitchell @mutantthedark @adlerdaduck @carlosoliveiraa @adlerboi

@tommyarashikage @alexxmason @hehehuhu490 @violetflavia @courtana

@iamcautiouslyoptimistic @sergeiravenov @pricescigar @ladysouthpaw1213

@drug-overdose @guigz1-coldwar @kings-out-of-pocket-hell @lordskellington003

@fw-priyanshu @kylezkie4adler @davrinsgriffons

[selene-writes]

You-Me-Us

AHHHH Hey guys! There's lots of Logan craze on here thought I would try writing. Should this be a series? Its short and there's lot of places to go from here.

You had known Logan for fifteen years—technically, that had been your entire life, or at least as much of it as you could remember. Your earliest memory was of his face peering down at you with a mixture of concern and relief. You were in some sort of ruined laboratory, your body aching with a pain you couldn’t fully comprehend. You didn’t even know your own name at the time. Instead, you went by Artemis, a name you had chosen for yourself, though Logan often called you "bub."

Like Logan, you were a mutant, endowed with the gift of regeneration. This ability made it impossible to determine your exact age. In addition to your regenerative powers, you possessed the unique ability to manipulate atoms. This rare skill granted you control over all elements, a power that made you incredibly unique and powerful.

You had both decided to stick together, united in your quest to uncover the truth about who you were and why you had ended up there. It was evident that something significant had happened to both of you, something that had rendered you both invincible. Despite the mysteries that surrounded your origins, the bond between you and Logan only grew throughout time.

As time passed, the nature of your relationship evolved in ways neither of you had anticipated. Somehow, amidst the chaos and the search for answers, you had found yourselves tumbling into bed with each other. While the physical connection had become a part of your lives, nothing had fundamentally changed, and you never talked about it.

Even as you navigated your complicated relationship, your focus remained on the shared mission: to piece together the truth about your past and understand the full extent of your powers. 

Everything happened so quickly. You and Logan were in the middle of your usual routine—hitting various bars and grifting people for money. It was a familiar pattern, one that had become almost comforting in its predictability. But that night, things took an unexpected turn.

A teenager—no older than seventeen—had sneaked into the back of your car. Her name was Rogue, and despite your initial reluctance, you and Logan ended up arguing about what to do with her. Logan, ever the soft-hearted one despite his gruff exterior, eventually agreed to give her a ride, though it was clear he would have done so regardless of your persuasion.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control. Out of nowhere—a caveman-like brute—attacked you. Logan was momentarily knocked out in the chaos, leaving you and Rogue vulnerable. The man’s strength was overwhelming, and before you could react, he hurled you against a tree. The impact was brutal, and you felt a jarring “crack” as your head struck the trunk.

You crumpled to the ground, falling into the snow. As the world around you dimmed, the last thing you saw was the silhouettes of the figures moving closer, their shapes growing more defined against the stark whiteness of the snow.

You woke with a groan, sitting up abruptly as if propelled by instinct. Your body felt as good as new, fully healed from the earlier impact. Instinctively, you scanned your surroundings, your mind racing with concern for Logan and his whereabouts.

As your eyes adjusted to the dim light, you noticed a bald man sitting in a wheelchair across the room. Despite his lack of visible movement, his voice seemed to come from all around you, resonating in your mind as much as your ears.

“There is no need to panic,” he said, his lips remaining still, not in sync with his words.

You tensed, on high alert. “How are you doing that?” you demanded, your voice edged with suspicion.

The bald man responded aloud this time, “How do we do anything? We’re mutants.”

Your frustration boiled over. “Where am I? Where is Logan?”

The man’s calm demeanor didn’t waver. “He is safe… you both are.” He began to wheel closer; his movements deliberate and smooth. “As for where you are… You are at my academy, where we help those like you. You are with… the X-Men.”

[7squidgy7]

✧.*100 follower celebration type thing*.✧

So, to celebrate 100 followers on tumblr, I decided to draw some fanart for people. This community is so sweet. Every one of these artists has inspired me in some way.

I'm really sorry for those I haven't made art for. I may make a part 2 one day for those I missed. Who knows.

This was a really nice way to try out different art styles while mixing them with my own.

Apologies for all the link later on. Want to explain the creative process a bit for those interested cause I put way too much effort into it to not mention.

Close ups below cut:

@donutfloats

Your arts so cute and soft, I love it. You have a great way of just expressing love through your art.

I was inspired by 2 of your pieces for this, the main one being the 3rd image for this post. The lambs dress is so pretty, I just knew I wanted to draw it flowy and dancing, and the second image I used is this post for the rendering style.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@aniimoni

I really like your artstyle. The monochrome colours are delightful, as with the way you do lineart. while making this, I was thinking this is the perfect style to meld with mine.

I was inspired a lot by the axe and hammer drawings in this post. As a hammer lover, I decided to combine the 2 together.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@teruuu

Something about your style is mischevios. Your rendering and lineart are just wonderful as well. You have a very distinctive style that matches mine quite well, i think.

I feel compulsion of the flesh Lamb and Narinder would give each other kisses on the hand but take a bite at the same time. They freaky like that. Based my rendering around this post and the previous draw you character here, I did. These are fun designs to draw.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@poopylumpkins

I really like your vampire au something about it really spoke to me as a afab non-binary.

Lamb deserves to wear their own clothes and something about narinder helping with their makeup convinces me he'll help out.

if you're curious, i colour picked the background and shading from this post

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@olrinarts

This was a really fun style to draw. Something about how you draw these 2 is delightful. Love yuri narinder's eyes in particular.

Rock god yuri. What more can I say these are really good designs. Showed them to my friend, and they loved them.

Decided to have them dueting, while Narinder can't sing lamb can always pick up that role.

Used this post for the background and shading colours, and this is a kinda basis for the pose.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@redcrowncafe

Really love you fic and art. I like to see the fic brought to reality through all the comics and art, which has a very pleasing look to the eye.

I have never struggled so much with an art style, fun challenge, but very different to my own.

Wanted to draw their Halloween costumes from this post. Lambert would definitely get too into the vampire costume and bite Nari at some point probably.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

@joffyworld

Just wanna say thank you so much for the reblogs and kind words. It gives me a lot of confidence in my work and is a genuine brightness in my day.

I wasn't sure what to draw you, so I thought I'd just show you a pic of my new one who waits figurine, that arrived recently. Its a little weird, I think an earlier design but cool none the less.

✧.*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*.✧

[kozachenko]

[Click for better quality]

Ok yay I'm back from my vacation yipeeeeeee. I started this drawing of Keiki before I left and I was half considering just giving up on it.... until I did a short study of facial planes and then got motivated to work on this again! I'm glad I didn't give up on it though, as I'm actually really happy with this one!

Artist's Notes;

So as I mentioned in my last post about Touhou 17, I wanted to finish this by the game's five year anniversary but with how progress was going I didn't want to rush this so I decided to take a long break from it. Mainly because of the face. For a while now I was kind of feeling like I was stagnating with my drawings, not really in the clothing but in the bodies. There was something about the way I was rendering them that I just wasn't happy with, and after talking with someone else about this issue, I realized that the reason I felt this way was because the faces were too flat and didn't match the rest of the drawing and that I needed to find a way to make the rendering of the face feel consistent with everything else. So after doing a short study of the plains of the face (I used this 3D head model from art station as a reference for my short study, please go give this person some love as they are a lifesaver) I went back into this drawing and applied what I learned here. It was only after that that I finally became motivated to finish the piece, and while it started off as just a simple character sketch like Saki and Yachie's were, the moment I added in Keiki's little fire dragon I knew I had gotten in too deep and now here we are with a full on background. OK it's not super crazy or anything, but it gets the job done and it's better than there just being an empty void behind her. It's rare moments like this when I use brushes other than the Clip Studio Default Charcoal Brush and use the Clip Studio Default Paint Brushes as well (god bless the oil paint and dry gouache clip studio brushes, they were amazing). I don't know why but painting fire has always been really fun for me, there's something oddly satisfying about it y'know? I do think that another reason for this problem was because I was drawing faces like I would in my more sketchy style that didn't mesh well with my lineless style, so I'm glad I've started remedying that.

After adding in the fire dragon I had an idea to kinda make it feel like splash art in the way the composition works... probably because I have been playing Reverse 1999 again and it has taken over my brain. I do feel like Keiki's tools get a little lost in the composition, and I didn't fully render the metal parts of them mainly because I didn't feel like they needed it, but that's just something for me to improve on later down the line.

If you guys are wondering where I went for my vacation, I went to New York and got to go to the MET and the Museum of Natural History. In both places I found Kofun period stuff and I was so happy to see it you have no idea. I remember one of the Haniwa I saw had some neat face paint under the eyes that I tried to replicate with the makeup under Keiki's eyes in my drawing, though I think I'll gave to figure out how to draw makeup on characters because this reads more like blush to me than anything. While drawing this I also looked up some references of Kofun period jewelry and really liked the stuff I found, which also meant that now she has proper Kofun earrings instead of earrings shaped like Kofun tombs. I put some of the things I referenced with a closeup of Keiki's face as well down below. I made her outfit more reminiscent of the outfit I gave her at the beginning of the year with the buttons and all, though I do want to try and draw her in some more period accurate clothing like the Haniwa I took a picture of at the Museum of Natural History. I wish I could find a way to make her handercheif look better though as I wish I made it a little bit bigger, though I think I'm saying this because I've looked at this drawing for too long lmao. Once again something to work on for when I next draw her. Also want to get better at rendering hair, as some details (like the little strands in front of her ears) kinda got unreadable due to the similarities in colour lol.

Now you may have also noticed the little cracks I added onto Keiki's face, and that's because I have fallen in love with the idea of Keiki's body being made from ceramic and that she crafted her body herself. While they aren't very visible I also tried to add some doll joints to her body, which is an idea I played around with in the past but never went to far with. I also want to get better at rendering cracks in ceramic, porcelain, etc, as I'm not sure how those read in the drawing. I also have a headcanon where the cracks in Keiki's face show up because of heightened emotions, and while Keiki is aware of this and does her best to make sure her face doesn't break off.... she will still end up with at least a few cracks during any given day, and she can often forget to repair her own body quite frequently so Mayumi has to remind her quite a lot. Mayumi even taught herself some basic sculpting techniques to help repair parts of her body that are so badly damaged to the point where Keiki can't repair them herself, i.e. if both her arms broke off, Mayumi would put them back together for her so Keiki can at least have something to repair herself with rather than nothing. I also like to imagine that if Keiki created her own body, if you took a look at Keiki from the beginning of her life she would look completely different compared to now.

BTW If you guys are wondering what a very very angry Keiki looks like....ok in order for this to make sense have any of you read volume 11 of Land of The Lustrous? Am I bringing back some memories for those of you that have? Ok good, glad we all got that mental image brewing in our minds, I'll probably draw a version of Keiki that is somewhat inspired by that one day as it's an idea I've had for a little while now. And to those who haven't gotten to that volume yet and are confused.... don't worry about it, just keep reading :)

[oakskull]

I wanna see your pony moshang 🥺🤲

ask and you shall receive!!

my drawings do come with worldbuilding rambling, terribly sorry (not sorry at all)

Side note: "windigos" are creatures in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (FiM) and I am using them here, but I am changing the name to frost spirits and changing some of their behavior, they look the same.

Design Notes:

SQH has ink stains on his mouth because non magic users write like that. He was a unicorn pre-transmigration and mourns his loss of unicorn magic and technology regularly. The world he transmigrated from is like the far future of FiM, with modern technology and the internet. (not the latest gen, I honestly remember jackshit about the lore in that movie...)

I've seen Earth pony SQH and I get the appeal. But here me out: Pony maigu ridge needs Qinghua to fly! And he's literally a flight risk!

His cutie mark is a brush and a paper airplane, because its his pen name (get it?). PIDW (mlp ver) has a level of technology more similar to SVSSS, but instead of flying swords there's trains. Im taking away xianxia flying swords and giving you trains. Ponies on swords just look too silly! they'd be unstable! (not that this whole AU isnt very silly >w<)

The Northern Kingdom in this au would be the Crystal Empire equivalent, except there is no crystal heart. The Northern desert is kept in a perpetual blizzard by the frost spirits (there is a barrier against storms around the capital created by the northern kings, redone as part of the ascension ritual but otherwise free standing) Instead of love and light protecting the kingdom, the crystal ponies use the power of incredible violence to keep the umbrums at bay.

Additionally, the crystal ponies of PIDW (mlp ver) are physically stronger, have higher base levels of magic, and are generally more cold resistant, due to living near the frost spirits for so long. They are still flesh creatures; the crystal skin is more of a replacement for their coat rather than the skin itself. Crystal ponies are also hypercarnivores, whilst regular ponies are omnivores (this isn't FiM also the horses are magic. they have basically human diets)

I also couldn't decide on a coat color for MBJ so there's two versions. I'm leaning towards the white fur for contrast reasons. And yes, I Did forget to render the crystal part of crystal pony on MBJ, thank you for noticing (lmao)

MBJ's cutiemark is the flag for the crystal empire, because he's part crystal pony, he still has a cutiemark, but all direct descendants have the same cutie mark after they absorb their ancestors power. Before this, they do not have cutiemarks, and gaining a different cutiemark means the frost spirits didn't acknowledge them as a potential decendant, and they can no longer become king.

Pre-Asension Mobei-Jun:

In PIDW (mlp ver) MBJ is a crystal pony decendant of the frost spirits which keep the Northern Desert perpetually cold. They gave the first northern king their power in the war against the umbrums (the things that made King Sombra in FiM). There's no friendship fire to chase away the frost spirits because this is PIDW (mlp ver) it's a stallion novel (pun intended); Instead, the frost spirits are sated by the constant war. There was an umbrum unicorn created to infiltrate the Crystal Empire like in FiM but they just became a regular pony instead of trying to take over and basically just created a new clan of ponies with shadow powers. MBJ's mother was part of this clan, and the abyssal shadow pony ancestry cobined with his frost spirit ancenstry gives him the ability to shadow step/ teleport through the shadows.

MBJ didn't get his pretty hair until he absorbed his ansestors power, which works similar to SVSSS canon. The previous northern kings die and pass on their power to the next generation because they are technically still frost spirits, and not really alive in the same way that regular ponies are.

SQH in an MLP style coat:

Ponies in FiM don't really... wear pants, even when it's cold. In Airplane's world they definately wore pants, and SQH will never go back (like the opposite of SVSSS LOL). In PIDW (mlp ver) ponies don't wear pants for bad porn reasons, Airplane justifies this by pulling the history card (peerless cucumber is not impressed)

Also! you can see SQH's mane better because its profile view, he's not a crystal pony, but he wheres the crystal pony hair bands as an homage to a bun without me actually having to give him one. Because ponies have ears on their head it always feels to me that a bun takes up too much visual space, thus, fancy hair bands.

Moshang flirting:

SQH can dish out flattery all day but he absolutely does Not know what to do when MBJ returns the favour (lol)

Alicorn Shang Qinghua:

In PIDW (mlp ver) I like to imagine that Airplane cut out alicorns because acending through nice things like friendship and love did not fit the vibe. Alicorns were instead like, the old gods who controled elemental stuff, like Celestia and Luna (renamed in PIDW (mlp ver)). Ponies don't control the weather or sun and moon and have less inate magic (earth pony magic, pegasus magic, and unicorn magic), instead, all the alicorns dispersed into spiritual energy that controls the elements and weather and stuff. Ponies cultivate this spiritual energy to gain a golden core of their inate energy, and eventually immortality, but they don't get the trappings of an alicorn.

So, like there aren't really any gods in SVSSS, there aren't any (living) alicorns in PIDW (mlp ver) they're more like myths than anything, and reside in the heavenly realm. I won't be getting into this AUs binghe/ heavenly demon equivalent because this is a moshang post, but Heavenly Demons are changling royalty, which have their FiM powerset on steroids and are sort of corrupted alicorns.

So alicorn SQH is bascially this AUs equivalent of God!SQH. It's not nessisarily canon to the AU but this mostly exists for me and I really like God!SQH so it basically is. Schrödinger's canon.

("Small Matters" style is a reference to the series by Coffeetailor on Ao3)

[synthaphone]

Allowing myself to go on a tangent about the nearly 26 year old virtual pet website that i am way too invested in.

So today they released the Candy Pteri. While I appreciate what they were trying to do here with it effectively having two designs that you get to choose between (The "Melted Candy Pteri" on the left is a Paint Brush wearable that can be removed to reveal the customizable base pet on the right), I think in this case, they have created two extremely boring designs when they could have easily created one strong design, or hell, even two strong designs if they wanted to do extra work.

Because with this release, we get a base Candy Pteri with no real lineart changes (like the rounded hair tufts and spines on the Candy Zafara), and an alternate design that's just... a drawing of a Marshmallow Peep™???

I would have WAY preferred a base Pteri where they did something like give it a little marshmallow dollop shape on its head and in place of the tail tuft, like my friend @darieyrie suggested. Or they could give it the Peep dot eyes and more rounded features! There's all kinds of ways you could do this concept.

I'd be less frustrated if the Peep wearable had any Pteri traits whatsoever, but its JUST a Peep that's been slightly microwaved. Which is a little funny, but even more than the Toy Poogle is just an iDog, the Candy Pteri does not have any deviation from its base inspiration at all. It's not actually an execution of the concept of "Candy Pteri thats based on a Peep" if there's no Pteri left at all!

(also are they just banking on the Just Born corporation (who make Peeps) never taking any action on this? it kind of goes beyond 'cheeky reference', its EXACTLY their product. I mean, it seems unlikely that they'll notice or bother doing anything if they do, but i don't really know why you'd risk that.) The saving graces of this design, imo, are that the pink and cream color scheme of the base pet IS pleasant (though the lineart and shading treatment aren't really my bag), and some people will enjoy the novelty of having a pet Marshmallow Peep™.

But really this is just the latest of a number of recent outfit and color releases that feel like they don't think people want Neopets. Like. This cardinal outfit that they also released today.

I love the idea of a cardinal Pteri! But this outfit literally takes away every distinguishing trait of the Pteri to make a high effort, nicely rendered, but stylistically incongruous generic cartoon cardinal????? Its not even a Neopet anymore!!! Even if I set aside my personal dislike of the overly rendered style they're using for more and more of the site assets, this wouldn't work with most of the rendering removed either, because it would still be a Pteri in pose and proportions only.

Not every new design and outfit that's come out in the past couple years has these issues and there have been a number I've really liked, and I DO think its great that the quality of the art has improved since the JumpStart era. But I would really appreciate it if the new pet colors in particular were designed a little more thoughtfully, so that they at bare minimum still resemble the species they're supposed to be outside of the rough pose and proportions. It sometimes feels like there isn't a rough draft or workshopping progress for new colors, and the members of the art team just kind of do their own thing and then the very first draft of an idea is what gets polished and released.

The current art direction for the customization aspects of the site just has me feeling like they've decided to throw out years of relatively cohesive art and world design for a strange jumble of ideas that don't really capture the appeal or feeling of Neopets to me.

[hoemainexpansion]

Chapter Eight: rev 22:20 (don't shoot the messenger): You and Satoru reminisce about the early days of your sex life before he takes you on a date.

Also on AO3

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

It’s been a few weeks since Christmas and things have been, for lack of a better term or phrase, fucking phenomenal.

Your relationship with your husband continues to get stronger everyday.

Your friends have all but accepted the new normal and are starting to seem back to where they were before everything happened.

And last but not least, it feels like your pregnancy is moving at a rapid pace. 

You’re still excited about this baby, but damn these cravings and this fucking back pain and the fucking lactating doing a number on your shirts. You feel as though you’re a bit more temperamental than usual, but Satoru doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. He’s basically set up shop in the kitchen ready to cook you whatever you want at a moment’s notice which you appreciate.

Not only has he taken care of all of your random cravings, he’s been by your side through everything else as well, down to the most minute things. 

Planning to take a shower? He’ll get it running and heated up for you.

Want to read a book? He’ll swap out the last one so that you don’t have to go do it yourself.

Having some type of ache? He’ll drop whatever he was doing and rearrange all your pillows for you.

If you called him and asked him to come into the room just to hand you the remote control, you’re sure that he’d do it without complaint. Although, that’s probably pushing it a little too far.

He has finally been able to feel the occasional kicks and his reaction could only be described as ‘waterworks.’ But it always makes you happy to know how much this means to him. You’ve heard of some people who start off as excited about the baby, but then the closer the due date becomes, the more they start to panic and pull away, so you’re just happy that that doesn’t seem to be the case here. If anything, he’s too excited, but that just makes it an overall better experience for you. 

Your recent days have evolved into a pretty relaxing routine where you either hang out inside all day and watch tv or play games and Satoru cooks. Or, you occasionally go out to eat just to get some fresh air. But you saw a possessive side of your husband that you haven’t seen in years when a man attempted to hit on you and Satoru had to let him know that his ‘services are not wanted.’ If you’re being honest, it was kind of a turn on. 

Speaking of turn ons, you swear that this man is trying to seduce you but won’t come right out and say it. He always comes out of the shower with his towel hung as low as possible, practically to the point that it’s rendered useless. He walks around shirtless even if it’s a little too cold for that and flexes while doing mundane things. It’s Satoru coded, but it still makes you laugh internally. You want to act on it sometimes, but the bigger that you get and the more prominent that your stretch marks become, it tends to give you pause. You know that he wouldn’t give a shit about any of that, he probably desires you now more than ever, but you can’t help when your brain goes to those stupid places.

Even though the two of you haven’t had sex yet, that hasn’t stopped it from being a topic of conversation. Right now, actually. Satoru decided to finally break the ice at least discussing it and you’re not going to reject that. It may be a little awkward of a conversation, but he has a right to know. 

“What was our sex life like?” He asks you and it’s a pretty easy way to start the conversation.

“Constant,” you reply while scrolling aimlessly on your phone.

“Constant? Okay, what else?”

“”What else’ what?” 

“Was it good?”

“I’m pregnant,” you giggle, he’s so cute.

“Yeah, but sex doesn’t have to be good to get someone pregnant.” That’s fair.

“It has to be decent for you, at least,” he raises an eyebrow as soon as the words leave your mouth and you immediately feel bad for wording that so poorly. You put your phone down because this isn’t a conversation that you should half ass, “it was good, for both of us. We had sex practically everyday leading up to the week of our anniversary because with work and planning, we were just too tired. Plus, your cologne was making me very nauseous.” 

“Everyday? Hmmm,” he lays back on the bed and looks so proud. “What was our first time like?”

“It was a fucking mess,” you take a breath before continuing. “It was both of our ‘first time’ and that definitely showed.” You take a break because it was just embarrassing in your opinion. It was funny when he still had his memory and could laugh at it with you, but now it just feels silly.

“Really? Neither of us have ever been with anyone else?” 

“Not unless you have a deep, dark secret hiding in there,” you try to say in a joking tone.

“I guess I wouldn’t remember even if I did, huh?” Guess not. But you better not find out that’s the case because you’ll absolutely start setting some shit on fire. “Why was it such a mess?”

You start to laugh at yourself because considering the things that you’ve done together since, it seems fuckin ridiculous. Alright, time to embarrass yourself. “Well, when touching you for the first time, I kept pulling away because I felt like the penis had a weird texture and I didn’t like the way it felt in my hand.”

Okay, it’s official, you’ve never heard your husband laugh like this in the decade that you’ve known him. Considering the fact that you’re pregnant now, that seems like such a stupid thing and honestly, it kind of is. But hey, you were a young girl who’d never done more than kiss a boy so surely there’s some leeway there. 

When you look back at Satoru, he has tears streaming down his face like you’re headlining the comedy club. Honestly, it kind of makes you feel better.

“Okay, so, best handjob of my life to start things off? Got it.”

“Obviously,” you reply sarcastically. While you were nervous at first, you ended up moving past it because hearing him beg you to keep going unlocked something inside of you that you’ve exploited ever since. There’s just something about a beautiful, strong man whimpering that sets your confidence on fire in the best way.

“Alright, then what?” His laughs have died down but you can tell that it’s just because he’s trying to hold them back.

“You went down on me for the first time.”

“How was it?” He asks in the most dead serious tone since this conversation has started.

“Uhhh, you were impatient when trying to remove my panties and in the process ripped a strap and destroyed my For Love and Lemons garter belt somehow. I still don’t really understand what you did, but I got it for the occasion so I definitely wanted to kick you in the balls, but I didn't.” Aaaand the laughs are back. 

“Okay, aside from the property damage?” Property damage. This fucking guy.

“At first it was… weird. I kept wondering why people hyped this up so much. But then I forced myself to relax and that made the difference. You were, what can only be described as… ravenous. I had to eventually rip you off of me by your hair because it felt like you were trying to suck my soul out through my clit and you kept growling me away like a dog someone was trying to take a bone from.”

“S-Class Pussy. Got it,” he says while looking so proud. “What happened after that?”

“You were so eager that you accidentally ripped two condoms in the process of trying to put them on.”

“You did hear me say ‘S-Class Pussy’ right?” 

You sigh because this man’s silliness takes no breaks. “You asked me to do it for you, but my nails were too long. But, third times the charm,” you pause because now you’re starting to feel more nervous. Why is it that you can literally have a person inside of you but feel nervous to talk to them about it? “You ended up ‘starting things off’ and… yeah.”

“Please tell me that I wasn’t one of those guys who came immediately,” of course that’d be the part that he worries about first, but you’re not surprised.

“I think we had about a good minute or two in there before that happened,” that doesn’t quell his fears and you see it on his face right away.

“That’s lame,” is all he says about it though. Poor baby.

“It was our first time Satoru, that’s to be expected.”

“I guess,” this was literally like eight years ago and this is what he’s worried about. 

You start to laugh a little and when his eyes dart to you, you’re quick to explain that it’s not at his expense. “I’m not laughing at you. Things were painful for me at the beginning,” you see his eyes soften at that and you can’t believe how serious his emotions are regarding something that happened so long ago that he can’t even remember. “We ended up rolling so that I could get on top to try to control that, and then…” you can’t stop laughing because you were so mortified when this happened. “When I was on top, my hair ended up completely covering your face and in an attempt to move it away, I accidentally backhanded you right in the face.”

You can’t even get any additional words out because he’s back to his theatrical cackle. You’re just going to let him have this moment because you felt like shit about that until he moaned and you realized that he was into it. But even still, it was fucking loud so you know that it had to hurt and you did have some guilt regarding that for some time afterwards.

He turns to face you and grabs your hand, “it’s okay, baby. I’m not holding a grudge.”

It’s your turn to laugh now, “you barely can if you wanted to. You don’t remember anything.” These amnesia jokes are starting to become the equivalent of the Toph / blind jokes but he keeps laughing so you guess it’s okay.

“Did I at least get you off a second time?” Of course that’s where his mind goes. 

Men.

“Uhhhh… no. I was too uncomfortable.” You see a sad look gloss over his face and you feel bad because you don’t want to bring down the mood so you pivot as best you can. “But the next time we slept together? It was fantastic,” you tell him with a smirk. 

His eyes light right back up as if those were the magic words he’s been longing for. You avert your gaze and start reminiscing. It’s been awhile since you thought about these things from the early days of your relationship and it just opens up a floodgate of more memories. 

“Soooo… you gonna tell me about it?” Damn, you zoned out for a minute and forgot Satoru was here, waiting for an answer. 

“There’s not much to say. It was just… different. You especially, had done a complete 180 from our first time. Where you were completely nervous and worried about every little thing, it’s like you just knew what to do the second time and you took control.” You let your thoughts consume you again because honestly, that time was leagues better than you ever thought it could be. Oh the difference a few days can make. 

“It must’ve been good if you keep getting lost in thought about it,” he jokes but honestly, he’s right. Even still, you decide to smack him with a pillow which he promptly thanks you for, and puts it behind his head. Another pro about this man, his ability to turn everything into a positive. “Well…” he clears his throat before continuing. “If you ever wanna recreate that moment, I would gladly volunteer.” 

You love how he says ‘volunteer’ as if you were going to go find a stranger to re-create your sex life with your husband.

“Ooooohhh, are you offering to have sex with me, Mr. Gojo?” You ask in a playful tone. 

“Just saying. If you ever wanna fool around, I’m always available,” he says with a bit of pink on his cheeks. He’s fucking cute. “You know, I can’t remember much so it’s basically like I’m giving you my virginity again, so it’s a big deal.” 

He’s right. That means that you get to take complete control and reduce him to a whimpering mess. The way you feel right now is the perfect reason why you could never be put in a position of power.

“Well, thank you for the honor sir. Maybe I'll take you up on that.” 

All jokes aside, since Satoru’s been home, neither of you have initiated a conversation about sex so you’re really happy with how this played out. It was lighthearted, fun, but still a little educational. But you think you’ll wait a little bit longer before divulging the kinks that the two of you partake in unless he asks you a hyper specific question first. 

Your eyes drift back to him and you can see that his expression has shifted, making way to a more serious discussion. 

“Just so you know, I do want you. Bad. Real bad.” His admission gives you tingles in all of the right places. “But, I don’t want you to ever feel pressured. I’ll wait as long as you feel comfortable with. I just don’t want you to take my lack of initiation as a lack of desire.” 

Those are the words that you’ve been yearning for. He did just spend over a month with a woman who looks like a model and then came home to a pregnant one who’s getting bigger by the day. Even though you know you’re beautiful and you’ve always been confident, you couldn’t help but wonder if someone would consider that a downgrade. 

“Thank you for that. I wasn’t sure if—“

He immediately cuts you off because he must've sensed where that was going. “Don’t even let your mind wander to those places. You’re the only one I want, so stop.” 

This is the most serious you’ve seen him since he’s been home and it’s a turn on. Talking about sex with him makes you want to go for it. But, you’ll wait for a moment where you weren't close to tears.

“On another note, I have a question for you.” 

“Okay,” you respond hesitantly, wondering where this is going to go next. 

“Will you go on a date with me?” It’s official, you have the cutest husband in the world. 

“A date?” 

“Mmmhmm. I know we spend a lot of time together already, but we don’t go out that much. So, I was wondering if I could take my beautiful wife on a date.” 

It’s like your tears are on standby, just waiting for an opportunity to clock in. Damn hormones. 

“Yeah, I’ll go on a date with you. But don’t make it too active, I am getting bigger by the day.”

“Getting more beautiful by the day is more like it,” he says while leaning in, eventually kissing you. 

Yeah, you picked the right one.

He leans back and rests one his palms on your tummy, trying to feel the baby. It’s adorable because one of his giant hands is big enough to cover your bump and the baby herself is probably the size of a mango, which would fit in his palm with ease. 

“What do you want to do today?”

You think it over for a minute because you want to do something fun knowing that you’ve been spending most of your time in the house lately. But the last thing that you feel like doing is getting ready to go out in the world. 

“Honestly, baby, I just wanna hang out in bed today. My back hurts and I’m hungry. I’m sorry.” You apologize to him because you wouldn’t be surprised if he was getting cabin fever at this point.

“Don’t apologize. You’re growing a literal person inside of you, you’re more than entitled to your leisure days. I can make something to eat and then we can just watch tv, yeah?”

“Mmm-mm,” you nod your head to let him know that you’re not down with that, at least partially. “Let’s order food, I don’t want you to leave to spend an hour cooking.”

“Okay,” he says before giving you a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll just go get something to drink and then we can look up what to order.” 

As soon as he walks out of the room with his six foot three sexy self, you grab your phone to text Utahime. You’d send your excitement to the group chat, but he’s a part of it and you don’t want him to know how giddy you are.

You: Satoru just asked me on a date!

Utahime: Tell him you’re busy washing your hair.

Maybe she shouldn’t have been the first person you reached out to, but you still can’t help but laugh a little bit. Alright, next person. You think about texting Kento, but you have a feeling that it’ll yield a similar response. You think about texting Suguru, but you have a feeling that it’ll get back to your husband who will absolutely rub it on your face how excited you are. 

Fuck it.

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“I’m fat!”

“You’re not fat, you’re pregnant,” Utahime says in an attempt to dispel your worries. “Don’t you have maternity dresses?”

“Ugh, I do. But I wanna wear something a little nicer than that.”

“Well, where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” you toss your dress aside and take a seat next to her on your bed. “Satoru asked me on a date, but he didn’t say where. I told him to make it something lowkey because I get tired easily, but I don’t know what’s going on.”

“You know that he’s going to think that you look beautiful regardless of what you have on.” She’s not wrong, but you still wanted to get a little extra cute. “Instead of wearing a tight dress, why don’t you wear an oversized sweater with something?”

You thought of that, you’re just more nervous, all things considering. Not only has it been an eventful year, but it’s been a hectic few months and you just want things to go smoothly. But Utahime is right, you are overreacting quite a bit. 

“Where’s your loud mouth husband now?”

“Running errands with Suguru, we’re going out later.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s going on with his case?”

You sigh because that’s really been bothering you. “Truthfully, not much. We’ve been keeping in contact with the detectives, but there hasn’t really been any progress.”

You examined the cctv footage again and cross referenced it with all photos packed up in Satoru’s case files in his office, but there was no progress. Instead, you created a list of all the criminals Satoru has put away in the past few years and gave that to the detectives. Maybe they can start searching through databases and finding information that you don’t have access to.

“Is he gonna go back to work?” She asks while going through your clothes splayed across the bed.

“We don’t know ‘if’ or ‘when’ he can. He actually seems to remember most of his schooling, but not so much the actual working part. If he wanted to get back in the courtroom, he’d probably have to go through that whole process again and I don’t know if he’d want to do that. I probably wouldn’t if it were me.”

“That’d be a shame. He was good at his job.”

You do a double take at her words because this is definitely a shocking moment. “Was that a compliment towards my loud mouth husband I just heard?” 

“You better take it to the grave because he’ll never let me live it down.”

She isn’t wrong though. If he was prosecuting a case where civilians were allowed in the courtroom, you definitely showed up to watch it a few times. He’s amazing.

You just laugh her concern off because it’s probably been years since the last time you heard her say something positive about him but you know that she doesn’t actually hate him.

“If he takes you somewhere expensive, you should pick all of the most pricey things and have him pay for them.”

“Utahime, we’re married. If I charge the most expensive things to his card, it’s also going to come out of my bank account,” you respond with a laugh. It’d be a cute idea if you were in the early stages of dating and weren’t about to have an expensive addition to your family. 

“Ready for the baby?”

Honestly, you’re nervous as fuck. But, your excitement is overshadowing that. You know that you still have some time to go before the big day is here, but you’re anticipating it in all of the good ways.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Him?”

“I don’t think there’s a father in the world more ready and proud to start this journey.”

“Tch, you guys are so perfect that it’s gross,” she comes off as grumpy but you know that she means well. “Wear this one with something.” She pulls out an oversized, white, knitted sweater that’s covered in big red hearts. It’s not a bad choice.

You take the sweater and put it in your top drawer along with a pleated black skirt and a pair of black thigh highs because full tights are absolutely not going to work right now. Some red ankle boots with a thicker heel should go nicely with it. 

You take a seat at your vanity and beg Utahime to help you with your hair. Normally you’d straighten it at the most, but you wanna do it up a little bit more but unfortunately, that is not your forte. She puts heated rollers in your hair and you spend the next couple hours hanging out and getting ready while waiting for Satoru to get home.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

“Hooooneeeyyyy, I’m hooomeee!” You hear Satoru shout from the front door. You get nervous about raising your voice at all and this man could have literally every conversation just shouting. 

Utahime grabs her purse and coat and starts making her way out of your bedroom.

“Oooohhh, it appears my wife has transformed into a grumpy–” you immediately cut him off so that he can’t finish whatever was going to result in an argument. 

But that doesn’t stop your friend from responding as if he did keep talking, “can you, for just once, just once in your lifetime, for maybe like ten seconds, just shut the fuck up?” You start laughing from the other room because even though they bicker back and forth, you know that it’s not malicious. “Your wife is in there looking too good for you, waiting to go on your date. Quit being a dick.”

“Well, since we’re talking about my dick–”

“Okay! You kids are done!” Time for you to play teacher to a class of unruly students because you had a feeling where that was going and it was not necessary. “Thank you for coming over and helping me Utahime.” She gives you a hug before turning and leaving the apartment.

“You, sir, are a pain in the ass,” you tell him once you hear the front door close. He doesn’t respond which gives you pause and when you look up at him, he’s staring at you. Not in a creepy way, more in a ‘we’re barely going to make it out the front door’ kind of way. 

“You look fucking incredible,” is what he chooses to say when breaking the silence. 

Utahime was right, you were overreacting for nothing. This man is going to love you in anything. 

“Thank you, Satoru.”

“I just have to freshen up and then we can head out,” he says while grabbing your waist and starting to give you gentle kisses on your cheeks. You playfully push him away so that he can’t smear your makeup before you even make it out the door and lead him back into the bedroom so you both can finish getting ready. 

While he takes a quick shower and gets dressed, you change into your outfit as well and finally remove the curlers from your hair. Satoru was so blown away by your appearance that you completely forgot that you still had them in your hair. But it’s nice to know that he still thinks you're equally as sexy whether it’s a skin tight dress or a house robe with curlers in your hair. As you release the rollers, your hair falls into the most beautiful curls and you feel that the work was absolutely worth it. After they’re all released, you pull some hair away from both sides of your face and pin it back with a sparkly clip. You start to giggle to yourself a little because you got a similar clip for long haired Suguru a few years back and he actually wore it. It apparently got him more attention than when he just tied it back, people are fascinating. 

Satoru comes out of the bathroom and sees you sitting on the edge of the bed, zipping your boots up and just watched you like he caught you in lingerie or something. “Like what you see Mr. Gojo?” You ask in a sultry tone and you can immediately see the effect it has on him. 

He’s so hot.

“Yeah I just… ugh… have to get changed really quick.” You nod and turns to walk into the closet and walks right in the doorframe. What in the bumbling rom-com shit is this?

After a couple of minutes, he comes back out in a white button down shirt with the first couple of buttons left open that he paired with a pair of black slacks. He has a black blazer slung over his arm and lightly pushed his hair back. This man is clearly trying to seduce you. And as much as you don’t want to admit it, you’re doing the same thing.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

“So, where are we going?” You ask once you’re settled in the car and he starts to drive. Over the past few weeks, he’d been getting comfortable behind the wheel again and you’re happy for him. Especially because you hate driving with a passion. 

“I thought we’d go to dinner and then see how we feel after.” You’ll never say no to that, ever.

You hum in agreement and decide to just relax and look out the window. The weather being cold like this is your favorite time of the year. It’s been raining on and off throughout the day causing a reflection off of the sidewalk and you love it. There’s just something about a cloudy day where you can enjoy a hot drink with the moisture in the air that lifts your mood. 

While you’re watching the scenery pass by, you feel Satoru’s hand on your thigh and look over at him to see him focusing intently on the road. Once you look away, you feel him move his hand up higher, eventually slipping underneath your skirt. When you look over at him again, he’s still just staring at the road, but you know that he knows that you know what he's doing. After another minute, he starts playing with the top of your thigh high and periodically squeezing your thigh. 

How the hell are you supposed to even want to go anywhere when this is what’s going on inside your car?

“I know what you’re doing, Satoru.”

“Mmmm. What am I doing?” He asks with a smirk. This fucking guy.

“You know what you’re doing.”

“Do I?” 

Fuck him. Scratch that. Fuck this. He knows what he’s doing but you’re not going to crack so easily. Especially because you’re hungry so regardless of how much he intends to soak the seats, it’s absolutely going to wait until after you’ve had your fill and packed up a bag to bring home. 

The rest of the car ride is silent with the unspoken tension in the air being all that fills the space. You’re annoyed because you really want to go eat, but you also want him to park the car so that you can bounce on his dick like he’s a pogo stick. Ugh, decisions.

“We’re here,” thank god for that announcement because you really were about to do some debaucherous shit in this car. He parks the car and then walks around to open your door and reach his hand out to help you. If chivalry was dead, you’re certain that Satoru could bring it back to life. 

Once you get a look at the building, your heart skips a beat. This restaurant is one that Satoru took you on one of your first dates and you always loved it so he always brought you back. It got to the point where you designated it ‘your spot’ and you never came here without the other one. 

After entering the building, you approach the hostess and Satoru gives her your names before she leads you to your table. When walking through the restaurant, you feel a sense of calm wash over you which is nice considering how nervous you were about tonight. It’s been awhile since you’ve last been here seeing as Satoru hasn’t been able to come with you. But revisiting one of your favorite places together helps make things feel like they’re returning to normal. 

She walks you over to your table and Satoru pulls out your chair before taking a seat next to you. Normally when you go out to eat, he sits on the other side of the table because you hate having to turn your head so much to talk. But you have a feeling that he’s next to you so that he can go back to hand fucking your thigh under the table. 

“So, how’d you pick this place?” You ask him once the hostess walks away.

“I know that you like those restaurants where you get to cook your own food,” he responds while handing you a menu. You do like these types of places and this is your favorite. Even though you get to do most of the cooking, they do have little sides that you can order and you love it. You know that a lot of people have the ‘if I’m going to cook, I’m going to stay home’ mentality, but there’s something fun about the overall experience to you. “Do you not like this place?”

“I love this place,” you say before planting a kiss on his cheek. “You brought me here on our fourth date and ever since, we’ve never come without the other one.”

“I definitely believe that I never came without you,” he says with a smirk.

“Satoru!” You playfully smack him on the arm. You know that the past few days he’s had sex on the brain like crazy and honestly, you think it’s starting to affect you too. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll be a good boy.” You can already tell by his tone that he doesn’t mean that at all, but you’ll play along anyway.

“I’d prefer it if you were bad,” you whisper with half lidded eyes and that does the trick. A slight tint of pink appears on his cheeks and he looks away while trying to flag down a waiter for something to drink. He must have thought that you were going to let him have all the power tonight, but maybe you’ll reduce him to a begging, crying mess instead.

It really just depends how tired you are by the time you get out of here. 

Eventually he catches someone’s attention and orders basically one of everything that can be cooked along with an excessive amount of white rice because there’s never enough, in your opinion.

“So, we used to come here a lot?”

“Mmhmm. The first time you brought me here, you had a drink to calm your nerves but spilled it on the grill a little and caused a tiny fire. But it didn’t cause any damage,” you say in a calm tone as if it was just another Tuesday. 

“They still let us come back after that?”

“Yeah, you explained the situation and the waitress who was staring you down stopped that shit right after,” you explain with a tad bit more bite than intended but you can’t fucking stand when people see you with someone else and try hitting on them anyway. At least wait for them to leave the room. Damn. “Anyway, add that to the list of reasons why you don’t drink. Anyway, we used to come here about once a month on average.”

“The beginning of our relationship sounds like a mess.”

“That’s what Utahime and Kento said everytime I told them about one of our dates. But I don’t think they were awful, I thought your nerves were cute and it never deterred me. Not even when you reached out your arm to help me off a bench but slipped on the icy ground and fell right into me.”

“For fuck’s sake! Why did you stay? I couldn’t do anything right!” He seems exasperated just by himself and it’s adorable.  

You rest your hand on his thigh and lean in close to his ear to say, “but you also did a lot of things right,” before quickly biting his earlobe and pulling away.

He softly moans and then downs half of his glass of soda before starting to put food on the grill. 

Oh, what a fun night. 

For a few minutes, the two of you sit in silence and enjoy the moment while waiting for the food to cook and it’s peaceful. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Here we go.

“Sure thing, what’s up?”

“Why did Suguru call me a homewrecker?” Fucking Suguru. He’s absolutely getting kicked in the balls the next time that you see him.

“A homewrecker?” You attempt to play dumb but it’s clearly not working out well for you.

“Mmmhmm. He said it in a light-hearted manner, but when I asked him to explain, he told me to talk to you.” Really? He couldn’t even clean up his own mess.

“I think that waitress over there has a thing for you. Perhaps she’s enraptured by your beautiful blue eyes.”

“Nice try.” Asshole. “It must be something big then.”

“It’s not. More of a misunderstanding, really.” Actually, it’s probably not classified under misunderstanding but whatever. 

“Misunderstanding? For the title of homewrecker? Did I steal one of his girlfriends or something?” Process of elimination could have solved that for him.

“Well, technically, I’m the only girl that you’ve ever been with,” you respond while picking some vegetables off of the grill. He shoots you a look and you just act like you don’t notice him, you’re going to take a moment to think about how to approach this before opening that can of worms. 

You’ve avoided this topic for as long as possible because it was definitely a hurdle in the beginning of your relationship. Although what you had with Suguru can barely be described as a ‘relationship’ and you ended up choosing Satoru in the end, that didn’t really lessen his insecurities. The two are the polar opposites after all. Suguru has long black hair, dark eyes, and a more reserved personality. Whereas Satoru is loud as hell, bright white hair, piercing blue eyes and couldn't be more different if he tried. 

With you initially being interested in someone who basically shares no similar traits, it made him insecure for a while and contemplated if he needed to change his behavior. One time Satoru took you on a date to a museum because he thought it was something that his friend would do and even though it was nice, you could tell he was bored out of his mind and hated every moment of it. That made you laugh, but you preferred it when he was overly competitive at mini golf. Eventually the two of you sat down and worked these fears out, and since then, everything has been fine. But knowing the fears that he’s had since he’s been home, the last thing you wanted was to add to them but it seems you’ve come to that bridge and have no choice but to cross it.

“I went out on a couple of dates with Suguru before you asked me out,” you speak slowly to gauge his reaction but his face reveals nothing. “But calling you a ‘homewrecker’ makes it sound like you stole me away from something serious instead of the begging you did of Suguru to initiate everything.” 

He goes back to flipping things on the grill but you still can’t tell what he’s thinking. His face is usually an open book and you’re really hoping that you didn’t just undo a lot of progress you’ve made since Christmas.

“So…I begged my best friend to date his girlfriend?” 

“Well, I wasn’t his girlfriend.” He narrows his eyes and it’s in that moment that you realize that you should probably get a little bit better at not answering so vaguely all of the time. “We only went out on three dates and it was never physical, not even a kiss or anything. Not once.” You make sure to really point that out because whenever people in the past have heard about that, they side eye you and make rude comments. There’s been more than one comment you’ve overheard of someone saying they’re surprised someone like Satoru would be with you at all, let alone with you being ‘so easy.’ He along with the rest of your friend group always defended you and since then, all of you keep that to yourselves, even from new people coming in and out of your circle.

Nobody has ever passed judgment towards either Satoru or Suguru though and that’s everything wrong with society. Whatever.

Satoru just hums and goes back to cooking, finally starting to plate what’s finished and put new food on the grill in its place. You’re surprised by his reaction, he doesn’t look bothered at all. It was just a few weeks ago that he confessed that he was afraid you’d leave him, now he’s just chilling. That’s interesting. 

“Why didn’t either of you tell me sooner?” There it is.

“You didn’t handle it well back then and I didn’t want to bring those fears back up.” You run through that night with him, the one where he laid all his fears out and saw his cheery facade crack for the first time. It broke your heart and you vowed that night to never let him feel unloved. 

“The more I learn, the more surprised I am that our relationship lasted long enough for us to get married,” he says while taking a bite of his food.

“It really wasn’t as crazy as it sounds,” he rolls his eyes and if you’re being fair, he hasn’t exactly gotten the best of the best moments as of late. “I’ve also had my awkward moments and my own insecurities, but they mostly faded when things started getting more serious. But that doesn’t mean that those moments don’t still rear their ugly head.”

“Oh yeah, like what? Everything I’ve heard makes it sound like I was embarrassing myself regularly to impress you, what kind of insecurities could you have had?”

“For the first few dates, you were just really clumsy, not a bumbling idiot with that reality tv shenanigans music playing in the background and that’s to be expected. But there was a time when Utahime dragged us all to a club to celebrate the launch of her business and I got a taste of jealousy.” You hate this memory because it was one of the first times that you felt like there was a chance that your relationship wouldn’t work. 

“We don’t seem like the type of people who go to clubs, so what the hell could have happened? Did I get drunk and hit on the bartender or something?” 

You wish it was that simple. “No, you don’t drink. Never did. This was more of a me thing, you didn’t have any part in it.” 

Shoko likes to drink though, and that’s what led you to going with her to the bathroom to ‘make sure she doesn’t fall in’ as Suguru said. Once you were inside one of the stalls making sure your friend didn’t fall on the floor of a public bathroom, you heard a few women talking about how they were going to hit on Satoru now that he was separated from the girl they didn’t think was good enough for him. They especially spoke disparagingly about your looks saying that you weren’t beautiful enough and that hit you hard because whenever the two of you do get separated somewhere, you always hear women fawning over him and it would occasionally make you feel like you’re not good enough. 

You’d still prefer those moments over the blatant disrespect of people who hit on your husband when you’re right next to him. 

“I don’t think you’re not good enough for me,” he says while reaching for your hand. “If anything, I think it’s the opposite.” 

He’s so sweet.

“There was also a time where we went out to dinner and even though we were sitting on the same side of the booth and had been holding hands and kissing throughout the night, a woman still came over and asked you for your number.”

“I can’t hit a woman. But I’m kind of hoping that you did,” he sounds completely serious and you can’t blame him. He was really pissed when that happened, probably more so than you. 

“No, I didn’t start a criminal record for myself that night. But those are just a couple of reasons why I have some of my own baggage in this relationship. So stop thinking that it’s just you.” He kisses the back of your hand and you just really hope this makes him feel better. “Besides, that night was some of the best sex that we ever had.”

“Oh yeah?” He asks while licking his lips. “You wanna tell me about it?”

You lean in close to whisper, “I’d rather show you.” 

Your attempt at teasing him must have caused something to snap because before you know it, his pupils are dilated and he’s kissing you like you’re the only ones in the restaurant. He wraps one arm around your shoulders and pulls you closer while his other hand starts to make its way up your skirt and you freeze. You don’t want to get banned from one of your favorite places because your husband wanted to finger you in front of a family of four, so you push him away to make sure that things don’t go any further. But if you’re being honest, you want them to. Just not here. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here before we give everyone an impromptu demonstration of the birds and the bees.” You giggle because of course he would infuse humor into everything. “Plus, I’m desperate to get home so that I can finally have dessert.”

“Speaking of dessert, order one of those blueberry cheesecakes to go.” You may be wanting your husband, but probably not half as bad as you want a slice of anything sweet at this time. 

You’re nervous, but you’re also full of excitement. The two of you have been flirting a lot more lately, but this is the first time that it’s felt like it might actually lead somewhere. Who knows, by the time you get home, both of you might be too tired and nothing may happen. But from the lust in his half lidded gaze, you have a feeling that that’s not going to be the case. 

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

It’s a quiet ride back home and for that, you’re grateful. You’re not sure you could have said anything without stumbling over every word at this point. 

You were wondering if the fire would burn out by the time you got home, but by the way Satoru’s hand continues to slowly make its way up your skirt, that couldn’t be further from reality. He occasionally shoots a seductive look your way and any resolve that you could have had, just continues to crack piece by piece.

It’s a weird feeling because you don’t remember even feeling this nervous the first time that you slept together, it’s like all of those nerves were transferred to this situation. You were anxious to please him then and it did lead to some clumsy behavior, most of which you’ve already shared with him, but this is on a different level. 

It’s like everyday you feel like you have to come up with things to show that your marriage was good and that you don’t want him to ‘start fresh’ now that he’s basically starting over. Even though he doesn’t make you feel that way and he seems to feel the same. Maybe you should just tell all those negative thoughts to go fuck themselves and focus on the moment. You didn’t have to pull out crazy pornstar shit before, so you’re not sure why your brain makes you feel like you have to do it now, at twenty one weeks pregnant. 

As the drive goes on, you’re able to push unproductive feelings aside and just enjoy this time with your husband. That’s what he does with you and it’s probably a good mindset to adopt.

“What?” You ask once you see him sneaking glances at you again.

“What?” He responds with a smirk. 

“Don’t ‘what’ me.”

“You ‘whatted’ me first,” he even added air quotes with a free hand. 

“I ‘whatted’ you because I keep catching you staring. So… what? Is there something on my face?”

“Am I not allowed to look at my beautiful wife?”

“Not for free,” you tease.

“Ooooh, that’d be a fun roleplay,” change ‘Love on the Brain’ to ‘Sex on the Brain’ with this man.

“You couldn’t afford me,” you say and he starts to laugh.

“I think that pretty soon, you’ll be begging to pay me.” 

HA! You’re absolutely petty enough to screw yourself over to win a bet.

Before you know it, he’s turning on to your street and your building comes into view. He pulls into your parking spot, turns the car off, and gives your thigh one last squeeze before leaning over to kiss you.

It catches you off guard, but you welcome it anyway. It’s not fast and rough like you would have thought with all the teasing at the restaurant. But while it’s slower, it’s still passionate and feels like it lights your entire body on fire.

“I love you,” he says before pulling away, grabbing your bags, and walking around the car to open your door for you. 

He grabs your hand and the two of you start to make your way inside your building. Even though he’s not flashing one of those toothpaste commercial smiles, you can tell that he’s still extremely happy, just by looking at his eyes. There’s something in his expression that you haven’t seen in some time, even on the good days. It’s like he finally trusts you that he’s all you want and things are returning to normal. 

Fuck.

You love this man.

Once you get inside the elevator, he drops the bags and holds you close to his chest. He doesn’t make it overly sexual with the exception of squeezing your ass a little bit, causing you to squeak. But you’ll let him have that moment since he’s been good at keeping his hands to himself since he’s been back. 

After you make your way inside, you start your usual just got home routine and it’s surprisingly non sexual, all things considered. First he removes your coat for you and hangs it up by the door without copping a feel, but he does sneak a light kiss on your neck. Then he sits you down and removes your shoes in probably the most sensual way he ever has. He runs his hands from your inner thigh all the way down to your ankles before slowly unzipping your boots and taking them off. You kind of wish that he did it like this every time you came home.

You follow him to the kitchen so that he can put the food away and you can get something to drink before going to your room. After he puts everything away, you lead him back to your bedroom and that’s when his nonchalant demeanor changed.

The second that you make it to your room, he grabs you by your hips and pulls you into a passionate, bruising kiss that completely takes your breath away. You’ve had a few short makeout sessions as of late, but nothing like this. He moves his hands further down and when he squeezes your ass, you moan, and he takes the opportunity to sneak his tongue in your mouth.

Sneaky fucker.

You reach your hands up to his shoulders and pull him even closer to you, desperate for more attention. His hands are everywhere, your waist, your hair, your neck, each touch more tantalizing than the last. 

He pulls back, just enough to break the kiss before saying, “you’re fucking hot” and walking away. 

You take a seat on the foot of the bed while you watch him to see what he’s doing. He goes over to a dresser and empties his pockets of his phone, keys, and of course, a couple Jolly Ranchers. But then he starts to walk back over to you, undoing the buttons on his shirt in the most agonizingly slow pace. 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m gonna fuck my wife,” he replies without missing a beat. 

You release a soft moan at his admission and if you weren’t wet before, you could fix a drought now. “Is that right?” Is all you can manage to get out.

“I just need you to say yes,” he says and stops unbuttoning his shirt.

It makes you happy to know that even though he wants you, desperately, based on his flirty behavior tonight, he won’t force you to do anything. He could have continued to kiss you, lay you down on the bed, get right into it and you wouldn’t have stopped him. But he wants to make sure that you’re ready for this and not just going along with it just to please him and he’s ready to stop it at a moment’s notice. 

But you have no intention of stopping anything tonight.

“Yes,” is all you say before he resumes his task of unbuttoning his shirt in the sexiest way like this is a fucking perfume commerial. 

He makes sure to keep eye contact with you the entire time and it makes you feel like he can’t get enough of you and you haven’t even done anything yet. After he reaches the last button, he slowly undoes his belt and unzips his slacks and the anticipation is bordering on sending you into a frenzy. With the way you feel right now, you’re surprised that you haven’t gotten to this point sooner. 

You lean back on the bed, resting on your elbows and decide to just enjoy the show. Saying that Satoru is beautiful and has a perfect body would be an understatement. This man looks good and he knows he does. So if he wants to perform a little striptease for you, you’re never going to stop him. 

He removes his shirt, but leaves his pants on, still completely undone, and then drops to his knees in front of you. He starts trailing kisses from your knee to up your thigh while spreading your legs and settling himself in between. You throw your head back and melt at his touch and you don’t think you’ll ever be able to go half as long without feeling him like this again.

“What are you doing?” You ask once you feel his lips pull away from you.

“I did say that I was craving dessert, didn’t I?” He cooed, knowing that you won’t deny him.

He hooks his fingers in your panties and at a leisurely pace, starts to pull them down your legs before taking them off completely. These pregnancy hormones must be doing a number on you because you don’t think you’ve ever been this wet in your life and you can tell that Satoru is loving this reaction that his touch has on you. So much so that he balls up your panties and puts them right in his pocket. He did say that being with you would be like you taking his virginity twice and he wasn’t wrong because stealing your panties was something that he did the first time you were together too.

They do say that a snow leopard never changes its spots.

He hikes your skirt up by your waist to give himself better access before completely burying himself between your thighs. You feel him start to give teasing licks in an attempt to see what you like, no doubt. He uses his fingers to part your folds before running his tongue all the way through causing you to shudder at his actions and practically cry out at the pleasure. You’ve never been so sensitive to such minimal movements and you feel like you’re going to pass out if this isn’t paced correctly. 

He looks up to see your reaction before smirking and going back to causing you to fall apart. Any shyness that you had before this started is completely out the window at the point. You’re panting heavily, moaning loudly, and grabbing his hair as if it’ll give you some sort of stability. At first you though doing so would ground you, but before you realize, you’re holding him tightly and rubbing your cunt on his face.

“Fuck yeah baby. Use me,” is all he gets out before throwing your legs over his shoulders and diving back in. With the sounds he’s letting out, you’d think that you were the one on your knees. 

Eventually he pins you down by your hips causing you to fall back on the bed and just sucks on your clit, causing you to see stars.

“Satoru! Fuck!” You can’t help but say his name like a mantra and moan in between doing so. You can’t remember the last time that you felt pleasure like this. Just as you’re about to cum, he pulls away and slaps your pussy. “Hey asshole! I was close,” you whine out.

“I know,” he smirks at the bratty behavior he’s caused. He immediately goes back to what can only be described as devouring you. It’s not a slow build up by any means. He’s fast, he’s sucking hard, and you almost feel like you’re going to pass out from the heavy breathing and begging that you’re doing. “Wanna cum, baby?”

“Please!” is all you can choke out. It feels so good that you’re surprised he was even able to edge you before you just fall off that cliff altogether. 

“Hmmm,” he says while looking up at you and running his fingers through your wet folds at a relaxed pace. “I was expecting a little bit more begging first.” Fucking tease.

“Please Satoru! Please!” You’re louder than intended, but hopefully that gets your point across. “I need it, baby! Please let me cum!”

He hums in response and resumes his earlier actions causing you to fall back and just enjoy the pleasure. He licks, he sucks, and before you know it, you’re having the most intense orgasm that you’ve ever had in your life. You practically scream Satoru’s name out and grip his hair tighter than ever before. 

“I told you that you’d be begging for me,” he chuckles while removing his shirt the rest of the way.

“Fuck you,” you breathe out, still exhausted and feeling the aftershocks of your orgasm.

“You’re going to.” He climbs on the bed between your legs and you take the opportunity to grab his hardened length over his pants. “Feel that baby? That’s all for you,” he says in that husky voice before bending down to give you a passionate, sloppy kiss. 

“Are you just gonna tease me all night or is this gonna move forward?”

He chuckles before getting close to your ear and saying, “maybe I do plan on teasing you all night. If I do, what are you gonna do about it?”

Jokes on him. “Take a shower and make you sleep on the couch.”

Oh he’s still laughing, glad to know he finds that funny. You’d think a man that just went so long lusting after his wife would have a little less self control than he does but it’s like he was reborn as daddy dom king or some shit. This would be a fun roleplay, on another day.  

He starts kissing along your jaw line and all you can think is ‘fucking finally.’ He slowly starts leaving a trail of kisses down your neck and along your collarbone before starting to remove your shirt when you freeze. 

Your hands shoot down to grab his wrists and Satoru looks at you like you’ve just grown a second head. 

“What’s wrong?” He looks completely perplexed and he does have a reason seeing as you just chastised him for moving too slow.

“You know��� it’s just… I don’t have the body that I had before,” you avert your gaze because this is a little embarrassing for you.

“So what, you’re sexier than ever,” he says it like it’s the most natural thing in the world and your heart flutters. “You were beautiful before and you only get more beautiful by the day, especially the more that you start to show.”

You release his wrists and allow him to pull your shirt off. But before he does so, he gets off the bed and grabs his button up from the floor.

“I’d like to see you completely stripped, but I want you to feel comfortable more than anything. So, how about this? Fucking you while you’re wearing my shirt is basically like seeing you in lingerie.” He starts wiggling his eyebrows in a comedic manner and you take the shirt from him. 

You sit up and take your sweater off and pull his button up on, leaving it undone. The interesting thing is that the two of you always did this a lot. While you do like to put on lingerie and other costumes to dress up for him, wearing his clothes sometimes has a stronger reaction. It’s fascinating how even with most experiences of you wiped from his brain, he still wants you in the same ways as before. 

“Fuck…. Nice,” is all he says while staring you down and licking his lips. 

You start to pull the shirt closed, “Satoru! Take the rest of your clothes off, I’m starting to feel exposed.”

He smirks and pulls his pants and boxers down at the same time before kicking them off to the side. It’s the first time in months that you’ve seen him completely bare and you’d bet money that his dick is bigger than it was before, and it was already big.

You don’t even hide the fact that you’re staring and he seems to be amused with that. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll take care of you,” he whispers in your ear and any anxiety that you had has been replaced with pure desire. 

The both of you make your way back to the head of the bed where you get comfortable, resting your head on the pillows. He spreads your legs and settles himself between them before inserting one finger, at first.

“Sorry baby, I don’t wanna make you wait, but I don’t wanna hurt you either,” he says while slowly working his finger in and out of you before adding a second one. 

That causes you to moan and your back arches off the bed and the last thing that you want is to wait any longer, “please Satoru! Just fuck me!”

He smirks and leans down to take one of your nipples in your mouth while still fingering you and you already feel close to falling apart. Every sensation is heightened now that your hormones have taken over and you feel completely weak to his touch. Even little things like his hair on your chest feels like foreplay at this point and you need him now more than ever.

He finally pulls his fingers from you and sits up, resting on his knees. He starts to slowly run his hand up and down his shaft, lubricating himself with your slick while looking right at you and it’s hot. But before you have to beg him again, he lowers himself above you, putting all his weight on his forearms by your head. He reaches one hand back down to line himself up and then starts to slowly push inside while kissing you. 

He lowers his head to rest against yours and groans. “Fuck. You’re so tight.” 

All you can do is moan in response because feeling him like this makes you wonder how you went so long without it, without him. When he’s finally all the way in, he pauses to give you the chance to adjust to his size. Where you first felt desperate for him and like you didn’t need all this prepwork, you’re grateful for it now. You lean back to catch your breath and he seizes the opportunity to start kissing all over your neck, leaving marks in his place. 

“Move,” you choke out. 

He moves back until his tip is all that remains inside and starts to thrust, quickly building a rhythm inside you. The way Satoru feels inside of you can only be described as ecstasy. He’s so thick and so long that it almost feels like you can feel him everywhere. Everytime he slams back in, your body gets covered in more goosebumps and your breath hitches. 

It’s nothing but a sea of moans, skin slapping, and squelching noises revealing how wet you are that fill the room. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down into a heated kiss and that causes him to go a little faster.

“Satoru - ngh -fuck! Don’t stop!” You can’t help but yell. The intensity of this moment takes over and feels like it’s only the two of you left in the entire world. 

“Fuck, I love you. You’re mine,” he growls out and the possessiveness only turns you on even more. He increases his pace a little more and at this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if people in other buildings heard you.

Satoru is doing everything that he can to push you over the edge from leaving kisses everywhere that he can reach to adjusting his angle to make sure that he hits your g-spot everytime. How he always managed to find it so fast will never not amaze you.

Your moans only get louder and your body suddenly feels like it’s on fire and you tear his shirt off and throw it away from you. The sight causes Satoru’s controlled demeanor to crack a bit and his thrusts grow sloppy and you can tell by how he’s shaking that he’s close.

‘Fuck, you’re so beautiful.’ ‘I’m the luckiest man in the world.’ ‘I’m gonna wreck this pussy.’ ‘You belong to me.’ Are some of the sweet nothing’s that he rasps in your ear as it seems like he’s losing control.

“I’m close,” you purred in his ear and he immediately reaches his hand down and starts to rub your clit. “Satoru!”

“I’m right behind you baby. Let go,” and you do at his command.

Your orgasm hits you harder than it ever had before and it feels like time stands still as you continue to tremble. Satoru works you through it, continuing to play with your clit and leave kisses on your neck and it feels like an earth shattering experience. You really don’t feel that you’ve ever had an experience like this before. 

Just as it feels like your senses are returning, Satoru tenses and groans, filling you with his cum. You run your hands over his body before pulling him into a kiss and he continues to fill you the entire time. You were never this turned on by it before, usually finding the act messy. But now, you’re desperate for him and everything that he can give you. 

With one final kiss, Satoru starts to pull out of you, the sensation causing you to hiss from the sensitivity, and he lays down on the bed next to you. For a couple of minutes, neither of you say anything and just enjoy the intimacy of being together in such a way.

He eventually climbs out of bed and makes his way to the bathroom and once the sink comes on, you know what he’s doing. He comes back with a warm washcloth and starts to clean you off and you love that he’s always done this for you. After he finishes, you follow him back to the bathroom so that you can pee. The last thing that you need is to have to tell your husband that you can’t have anymore sexy moments for awhile due to you getting an infection for procrastinating.

When you’re done, he’s back in bed and pulled over some of the blankets, gesturing for you to join him. Once you’re in bed with him, he pulls you close so that you can rest your head on his chest and he hums. It’s such a nice moment, being able to finally let go with him and not overthink every little thing. 

Satoru decides to be the one to break the silence by asking one question, “is now a bad time to tell you that I forgot the condom?”

His full name must be Satoru Jokes Gojo because what the fuck?

“Right now, Satoru? Really?” You ask but can’t bring yourself to actually sound upset.

“Come on! It’s not like you can get pregnant a second time, that’s why it’s funny!” He sounds so proud and you don’t want to take that from him. But this is absolutely one of those jokes that Kento would say flopped. You do your best to shoot an intimidating glare at him and he just laughs. “Go to sleep, it’s been a long day,” he says while moving his hand down to your ass.

“Why are you telling me to go to sleep but grabbing my ass?”

“It relaxes me,” you scoff and lay your head back down on his chest. You knew you were marrying a wannabe comedian when you said yes so you’re just going to let him have his moments. This is actually pretty similar to his previous behavior and it makes you happy that he’s coming into himself more.

You feel so content and like nothing can take this away from you. So, you just lay your head back down and close your eyes, allowing sleep to take you faster than you realized. 

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

[tvchi]

Veiled Intentions: The Hunt, Prt 2

Disclaimers: DO NOT COPY OR REPOST MY WORK. DO NOT TRAIN AI WITH MY WORK.

Warnings: Mature Audiences ONLY: 18+, Minors DNI- Allusion to sexual intercourse, Profanity

Pairing: black male x black female Words: 3,642k

A/N: Here is Part 2 of this series. I'm really going to try to work on getting these parts out at least once a week. Again, don't hold me to that because life be lifing!!! This part is very logistical and technical. If crime, espionage, and cerebral thrillers aren't your thing, I understand. Please scroll. While you may need these details to understand some of the premises of the story and what may happen later on, you will probably pick up on things later on.

Summary: Y/N tries to regain her composure while meeting Terry. Amused, Terry throws a wrench in her plans while running into someone who could be the key to this entire case. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rendered speechless, you look around, trying to gain your composure and decide whether you will play along. Your heart fluttered in reaction to his gaze and the warmth that emanated from his presence. Usually, you were a lioness strolling fearlessly through a den of vipers. But today, you were as timid as a fawn as his eyes roamed your body. Your brain screamed for you to say something before this became a noticeable and awkward pause. If acting like he didn't meet you at the museum was his direction, then that's the direction this would take. After all, you just bumped into each other, and you never got his name or anything else.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N Olisa." He smiled brightly at your response while you wondered whether you should have come clean to Director Moore about your encounter. You sat down at the only empty chair in the room to the left of Director Moore's desk. 

"Now that you two know each other, Olisa, I need you to brief us on what you have found on the case so far and start from the beginning so that we can get ASAC Richmond up to speed."

"Right," you started, trying to gain the resolve to forget the set of grey-blue peering at you from the right. "Well, for the past three months, I have been in the field working with other operatives on Operation Green Ledger, investigating large-scale money laundering within a network of shell companies designed to conceal stolen wealth accumulated through drug trafficking and high-priced art.

We believe that a group called the Ghost Syndicate has been partnering with art powerhouse Elysian Art Consortium (EAC) to smuggle drugs within the art purchased by some of the major gangs and cartels here in the US Several silent auctions disguised as showcases have been happening. In the area more than usual.

In 2021, Harborview Heights was home to only three art museums. Its population is about 600,000, and its average income per household is $60,000. In 2024, the number of art museums and showcases doubled even though the population has only increased by 50,000 and its average income per household, adjusted for inflation, is about $70,000."

"That's not nearly enough money to buy and sell art at that rate," Terry chimed incredulously.

"Exactly. We noticed that this was happening in more than just Harborview. It's happening in Pinehurst, Kingston Circle, and Cedarwood. These surrounding towns are only maybe within a 60-mile radius of each other. So we started looking into the interwebs to see if there was any chatter about any new players in town. After weeks of searching, SA Donovan intercepted a series of encrypted communications between the CEO of EAC and a buyer by the name of Muammar Gadaffi."

“The Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gadaffi?” Terry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the one"

"Hmm"

"Right. As I asked some of my contacts in the CIA, they assured me there has not been any chatter from that family and anyone from the US in years, especially not in art or stolen artifacts."

"SA Donovan got me into one of these showcases that our CEO talked about with the cover, Alana Thomas. While there, I noticed that most people on the guest list weren't even Harborview residents. In fact, most of them flew in from out of the country. I made a contact that night, posing as an art enthusiast and buyer for an affluent family. I asked about how to bid on pieces and when they had auctions.

"The contact let it slip that the event I was attending was, in fact, a silent auction for some of the pieces but that he didn't think I would be interested in this month's pieces and to come back next month. Then some other operative bugged the place, posing as museum patrons, chaperones for field trips, etc." I continued.

"We are hoping that Olisa's Mark would provide fruitful information given his status in the EAC. It has been five grueling months, and more bids have taken place without knowing much about how to even receive a formal invite to bid. The invitations are heavily encrypted. Apparently, the designer used to be one of our own," Director Moore let out in frustration.

"Well, I've been formally invited as a plus one to the silent auction in two weeks. I seemed to impress one of the higher-ups at a company party last week. Adrian, my Mark, is curating the event and handling the guest list. I sent a copy over. So far, more than half of those people are major players in cartels worldwide. I am close to getting a handle on how first contact is made between the art dealers for EAC and the buyers. The key encryption on their computers changes every 18 hours."

Terry nods slowly, lips pursed in contemplation. His breathing slows, eyes trained on you as if he anticipated your next words. Your eyes go down to his big hands. They were strong and defined. The slight calluses on his fingertips and various small, healing scars on his knuckles told you he wasn't just pushing papers in his office. His fingernails were neatly trimmed and clean, tapping the arms of the seat he occupied. He stopped tapping when he noticed that you stopped speaking and were staring at his hands. You cleared your throat to relieve the tension that was building up in your chest.

"I'm assuming you are here with information about increased activity from the cartels," you said.

"No. I'm here because we need to wrap this up as quickly as possible. There's something big coming up the pipeline and we will need all hands on deck. We are asking everyone to clear their desks. The timeline is four months."

You laugh. "It took three to get an invite and look at the guest list. This is grade-A cyber encryption. There's no way we can wrap this in four months!" You look at Director Moore, eyes wide, and plead for help. 

"Olisa, ASAC Richmond will help you in this endeavor. We know that you are making some headway, but we are going to need all the help we can get if we are to meet the deadline. Please share the rest of your intel and show him around." 

"From operative to babysitter and secretary. My how the 'best and brightest' have fallen." Terry chuckles as he peers at you intently.

"And when you're done being a smart ass, make sure he has a copy of the case files."

You purse your lips in annoyance and then pull them into a tightly lined smile. 

"Yessir," you say. You turn to Terry, sitting in the chair, legs agape and elbows pressed against the arms of the seat. Your eyes were drawn to how muscular his legs were. Even underneath those suit pants, you could tell that he was well-toned. Quickly reverting your eyes to his face, you said, "Follow Me."

He rose from his seat, his build towering your frame. You two left the director's office and headed down the stairs. You started introducing him to everyone you passed by name, title, and what role they played in the case.

He greeted every last one with a congenial, dashing smile that reached his eyes and a "nice to meet you" or an "I'll try not to bother you too much, I promise." Once you finished introducing him to Brooke and apologizing for her lewd remarks, you stopped by the office with his placard beside the door you spotted while you were walking him over to Brooke.

"And this is you. SA Hilt will be coming over shortly with a copy of those case files you wanted, and if you need anything else, SA Donovan will be more than happy to assist you," you concluded, turning to face the door.

"What if I want you to assist me?" he asked sharply.

"Excuse me?" you replied, half-turned.

"You told me about everyone else you're pawning me off to. But what if I need you?" That flash of grey seized you once more, threatening to hold you hostage until an acceptable answer shot up from your mouth.

"I'm not sure in what situation you would need me."

"I can think of a couple of situations," he said mischievously. With your brow furrowing from his surprising lewdness, you turned around fully to face him.

 "From my understanding, we are attacking this from different angles. I'm supposed to stay with the Mark and I supposed you'd be posing as one of the buyers. Until the last 48 hours leading up to the auction, I'm not sure why you would need me."

"Well, for one," he started, folding his arms across his chest, "it seems like you know this case inside out and have been working this case since day one. Something stored in you may be the key to how we can get it; you just can't place it yet. Not sure how much you know about me," he stood and strolled towards you, eyes fixed on yours, "but I've been told that I'm pretty good at getting things that I want." Your body quivered at the heat of his gaze. 

"So advancing on operatives in the field, then showing up at their site pretending not to know them is how you get what you want?" you asked heatedly. The corners of his lips curled.

"Well, actually, this is our first time being introduced. You marched off before I could tell you my name."  His reply was swift, as though he anticipated the question. You assessed him, still trying to figure out his angle. 

"As I said, the other operatives will be here with you. I'm mostly in the field. I was here to collect some things before reporting to my post as assistant professor." He looked at you intently for a moment. Then, his demeanor changed to that of indifference.

"I'll walk you out."

"No need. Besides, I'm the one that knows my way around."

"Are things always this difficult with you?"

"Difficult," you said with a raised brow bordering on annoyance.

"Yes. Difficult," he repeated.

"I'm not sure what you mean, sir, but the only difficult thing about me at this present moment is the energy I would need to conjure to deal with an outsider coming into an investigation I spent months on and asking me not only to speed up my timeline but also calling me 'difficult' in the process," you replied poignantly. As you finished, he looked at you rather amused. "Is something funny?" 

He turned and walked behind his desk. Looking at the files on his desk and shuffling them around, he said, "Yeah, but I don't think HR would share my sense of humor. I'll keep it to myself, but I think I'm changing my opinion on 'difficult.' You wear it well."

His eyes hadn't left his desk once. Your face stalled, not knowing if you preferred the heat of his gaze or the coldness of his nonchalance wrapped in a sultry yet suggestive tone. "I guess I'll just find you. Thank you, SA Olisa." 

The finality in his tone urged you to move towards the door and out of his office. You weren't sure what was happening, but you needed to get a hold of yourself to see if you were going to last the next three months under this man. 

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

TERRY

I watched her walk through the glass doors of the empty office, her curvy frame gliding down the hall. I never thought I would see her again let alone standing in Director Moore's Box. If I'm anything, it's intrigued.

I wanted to know her story, how she wound up here, how she could dissociate from her marks after an assignment was over, why this case meant so much to her, or why she couldn't look me in the eyes for more than three seconds at a time. I wondered whether the latter was partly because she felt that same rush of electricity I felt when we touched yesterday.

I pushed thoughts of Y/N aside as I began to look at the files in this case. A lot was riding on this, and I needed to give this all of my attention. A knock came to the door.

"Come in," I said without looking up.

"Would you like anything for lunch, sir? A couple of us are ordering." SA Brooke Donovan said with a bright smile.

"It's lunch already? I didn't realize."

"Well, technically, it's 2:00. But we just now decided on where everyone wanted to eat from."

I chuckled. "Okay, then I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okaaaaaaay, Sir," she replied with a bright, spirited smile." Whatever you want."

I chuckled. Brooke was definitely the one who brought light to everyone's dark days. I am also well aware of my effect on people, especially women. 

I worked through lunch and almost dinner reviewing the case files, looking for anything that was missed that could be a potential angle to work while everyone went through the other obvious roads. I even set up a case board inside my office to track all the information I gathered.

We needed to attack all fronts, but no one was posing as the transport. No delineation of the route taken to deliver the product since only the supplier knew where the product was stored. That would be the critical area of interception.

Another angle would be forcing a route change by making all parties involved aware that they were being watched. As I pondered these notions, my stomach growled. Heeding that warning, I stood up, packed my things, and headed out of the office in search of food.

Out of the Box and walking out of the campus's main library, I smelled her before I saw her.

Her long, toned legs walked down the aisle, a book in one hand and a cup in the other. The heels she wore made her calves and ass look like every man's dream. Her skirt fit snugly around her curves, stopping just below her knees. Her bell-sleeved blouse had a keyhole slit in the back that revealed her warm, mahogany skin. I watched her for a minute, moving to a desk in the corner of the library next to another self of books.

She moved intently, searching while removing several books and stacking them in her arms. Everything she did was poetic. The way she moved her locs out of her face, the way she placed the books she wasn't going to take with a single push of her index finger, the way she tilted her head upward as if making a mental note to revisit a topic later, all of it made me wonder.

I wondered what she thought about when no one required her to think about anything, what frightened her, what her favorite restaurant was, and what made her toes curl in heated passion. I haven't had a chance to contemplate hoisting a woman up by her legs and to drink from her well in a long while. Come to think of it, too long. Looking at her now, passions I forgot were there slowly rose, forming a tent in my slacks.

She placed them down on the counter at the front, where she exchanged pleasantries with the librarian, after which the librarian scanned the books and tucked them away underneath the counter. She strode to the front, and my feet followed, drawn.

When I finally reached the door, she was down the steps where some light-skinned dude was waiting on her. They embraced, and his hands trailed down to her lower back, then her ass, as he kissed her. A fire lit in my chest, my eyes glued to his hands. Then he opened the door to the car and let her climb inside. 

As he shut the door, he turned and seemed to look at me. Still far off from the tall steps, I'm not sure how much he saw of my face, but pride settled into my feet like lead and wouldn't permit me to move. We stared briefly at each other, and I watched him walk to the driver's seat and drive off.

I'm not sure what is drawing me to this woman or what about her makes me want to break every finger on that man's hands for touching her, but I knew that the timeline on this case had just moved up.

I spent the next few days between the Box and my rental, visiting all the different sites of the case. I felt at home on the road because it allowed me to think out loud, from the most far-fetched ideas to the safest ones.

It also let me think about what I would do about my obvious attraction to Y/N. She's been running through my head lately, especially about how committed she is to her cover and the Mark. From how things looked the other night, he's familiar with her in ways that made me seeth wrathfully. While there was absolutely no place for an office romance, my body yearned for the weight and warmth of her. Whatever small disdain she has for me and my orders should deter me. Yet it does nothing but make me wonder what she sounds like, shouting expletives as I fill her with my girth.

God knows I love a good brat. He also knows I'm tired of going from home to home with no intent of lying my head in any one place. Not feeling safe enough to believe that I can have something permanent. Something good.  Something that would stay with me as I aged.

Many of my cohorts share this sentiment, but some strive for 'happily ever after' anyhow. I then started to wonder what 'happily ever after' would look like for me. Who would be sitting beside me? Who would be in the back seat? What would home look like? What would it smell like? The last question or thought crashed into me with a strong wave. Would it quiet my mind if I gained all these things, and would the nightmares go away? 

Quickly unlocking the safe of my mind and placing those intricate thoughts back in their place, I parked at the library's side entrance. I hopped out of the Mustang, grabbing my briefcase from the passenger's side. I made my way towards the steps.

"Excuse me," I heard. I turned slightly and saw him. "I was wondering if you worked here."

I studied him carefully, trying to decipher whether his question was rhetorical or genuine. When I didn't answer, he continued to speak.

"I've never seen you before, so I was wondering whether you worked here."

"Lots of people come through here. It is a university."

"Yea. That's true. It is a university. But most new people tend to be students, and it's heading towards the end of the semester. I also used to go here, and I know most of the people who work in this building. I've never seen your face before." That piqued your interest even further. There was little doubt that he had seen your face, or most of it, the other night. 

"Well outside of the fact that there are over 300 graduate school programs, other agencies and programs utilize the university's libraries of work or research and are allowed day passes for a small fee. But you went here, so you knew that. So unless you work security around here or a cop, I'm unsure what you want from me."

"A grad student can afford a whip like that?" He whistled as his eyes ran the length of my car. "You must be paying tuition out-of-pocket."

I looked at my watch in feigned annoyance. "I'm late, so do you have a question for me, Officer?"

"Oh, I'm not a cop."

"No?" he moved closer to him, "You move like one."

His eyes never left mine as he spoke calmly. "Nah. I'm not a cop. I just have something precious inside. There's a lot of history there. Its beauty was meant to be displayed for all to see, but that doesn't mean that there aren't people looking to possess it for themselves."

"Okay, now I'm confused. Are you in security or art history?" I said sarcastically. I wanted to know how deep his obsession with Y/N ran and what lengths he would go to keep her.

He chuckled with an air of arrogance. "You can say it's a bit of both. I've always been fascinated by how curators can showcase the most priceless pieces of human history while being confident that no one will walk out the front door with them. By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't throw it. Do you stop everyone you don't recognize coming into the building or just the ones built like me?"

"Only the ones with that look in their eye," he said, almost sneering. 

"Hmm. Not just what that look is."

"You know, the one that longs for more. For something they can't have"

"Oh, that one. Well, I've never had to steal anything. I either earned it or paid for it."

"Is that right"

"Yes. That's right. Oh, and I think that curators rest in knowing that their pieces are insured and protected by the police force. This is a pretty safe campus in a properly policed city. Unless…”

"Unless?"

"Unless, somehow, your valuable item has free will and can choose to walk out with whoever it chooses to. I really am late. It was very…interesting meeting you," I said with a slight grin and trotted up the steps with gleeful ease, knowing that the game clock had officially started.

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

Check out Part 1 if you haven't already! Please hit the comments with your feedback, give suggestions on what you'd like to see, and let me know who you like and don't. Talk TO ME!!! Part 3 coming soon.

Tags: @thecapodomme @writers-of-tmblr @melaninpov @spaceslutsworld @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @mymusicbias @the-black-label @master-builder42 @miraculously-dumb-bitch @megamindsecretlair @hopefulromantic1 @tranquilfandomer @thadelightfulone @vivalaorgasm @hotgrlcece @planetblaque @blackgurlnhermoods @andriaharris @theblacklewinsky @kumkaniudaku @lovelyflames @girlbeblogging @toiadeenovels @longpause-awkwardsmile @sweettea-and-honeybutter @sirenmouths @almostelectroniccheesecake @liquorlaughslove @meleekabenjamin @19jammmy @thoseprettywords @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @stellarxfresh

[porschas-palette]

I SAW THE ANIMANIACS IN CONCERT UK LIVE SHOW!!!

I made this fanart for Randy and Rob (as well as stickers of the characters), I gave it to them and THEY LOVED IT!!!

I also wrote a note for each of them saying how awesome the show and they are, here are the doodles I made for those notes

They gave me a signed poster and SIGNED MY ANIMANIACS BAG!!!!

Bonus recycling the traditional assets I made into a mini A5 collage.

It was one of the best days of my entire life!!! Thank you everyone who made this concert and TV show possible! Truly a dream come true 🫶

(Keep reading to see the art progress if you want! 👀)

And so it begins, they announce the UK show, I'm jaw dropped, and my family buy us tickets as a birthday gift for me yippeeeee <3

Then I had a few weeks until the show, a pencil in my hand, and a dream. I decided to make fanart to give to them after the show, but what inspiration could I possibly use-

Genius!

(As you can see I tried my best to de-code the headline Randy was covering up ON PURPOUS, I gave up and made something up myself, I even tried to make it rhyme in tune with the Variety Speak song (which took way longer than it should have 💀). At the show he did reveal the headline which gave me closure at the time... but unfortunately I forgot what it said since I was trying not to cry from joy, so I guess it will forever be a mystery 😔)

I also tried to replicate the theatre stage from VERY limited reference photos and tried to predict what the stage irl was gonna look like, I was kinda close 👀. I eventually scrapped the zoomed out stage for 2 reasons: 1) The characters I drew wouldn't be as clearly visible when printed (especially the lab mice), and 2) by the time I got to rendering I was running out of time and had under 1 week to finish it.

Anyways I drew the characters/assets traditionally since it's the most comfortable for me and it's my whole thing 😎, mixed media aah moment. I scanned the final images onto the computer (the scale was smaller than A5 btw, I like drawing small) And then I locked in rendering the final image.

And boom I printed the images onto photo paper for the first time and nothing went wrong right?...right? 👁👁

Oh boy I hope you like reading my retelling of a paniced artist.

(So I had only 8 sheets of photo paper. I did 1 test print in case something went wrong but it was perfect, so perfect that I could save paper and print out one more- oh wait no no...I misspelled so many words...oops. Ok quick edit and boom we're so back, 2 prints done and ready to package into a little bag (with stickers made from A4 sheets of sticker paper I had to cut out with a craft knife). The day of the concert arrives, I check everything, I decide to add notes into the bags just incase I freeze up and forget how to communicate with them... hang on what is this smudge? Why wont it come off, WHY IS IT GETTING WORSE?!?! Oh god EMERGENCY NEW PRINT, I try do it quickly from my phone, It starts printing just fine- ERROR THE PRINTER HALF ARSED THE PRINT...WHYYYYYYY, QUICKLY SET UP MY LAPTOP, I HAVE TO GO IN A FEW MINUTES, HURRY UP AND PRINT, IT TAKES FOREVERRRRR AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, lunch break, It finished finally phew. Carefully packaged up and off to london I went, and the rest is history. I started with 8 sheets of photo paper...now I have 3 left 💀)

Anyways that smudged photo wasn't that bad and to some unnoticeable, but for me as gifting standards it was unacceptable, so I kept it and framed it and its going on my wall with the signed print :)

If you made it this far, thanks for listening to my progress it means a lot! Here, you get a virtual dinosaur sticker 🦖 <3 (Patb ref ofc)

[one-sunny]

Wrong time | Waiter

Sanji x F!Reader, Modern AU series, Artist!Reader

08: When you move to a new town, you don’t expect to run into your high school sweetheart. Old feelings begin to arise and you are suddenly faced with the complexity of relationships, communication, and the struggle for true connection.

Warning: 18+ only. use of cigarettes, toxic relationships, toxic behaviors, mentally/ emotionally abusive behaviors, gaslighting, destructive behaviors, miscommunications, complex feelings, jealousy, anxiety, loneliness, some reader x other characters (fwb), slow burn, angst

Sanji couldn’t sleep.

His mind was a battlefield of all of his wrong doings. Harsh words and careless actions akin to swords and arrows. The bodies on the field were hazy and unrecognizable, but a part of Sanji knew that they were all different versions of him.

Of the Sanji who never did any wrong, at least in his mother’s eyes.

Of the Sanji once deeply in love.

Of the Sanji who stood on his own and knew himself strong.

And the one currently at war was the Sanji of hope. The one that held on to a single shred of his dignity to keep him from completely collapsing at Vera’s feet to do what ever she asked of him. To stand on his own as he once knew how to. And yet, that version of himself was losing. It was battered, beaten, and stained bloody by a bright red that wasn’t natural.

The bright red that plagued his mind.

The bright red that held a deep seated scowl, focused on what Sanji would never admit was his source of hope. The bright red that had what he so craved. The bright red that heated his skin until it burnt him alive and filled him with a burst of adrenaline that made Sanji want to kick through his own front door.

And that thought drives a blade through the Sanji of hope. Because why would he be considering such a thing if Vera had been wrong? Why would he be so troubled if her words didn’t hold any truth? Sanji felt like a shell of a man as he witnessed the battle in an out of body experience.

The battle against his bloodied body of hope.

Bright red.

Bright red.

He can’t give in. He can’t. Not yet.

Sanji felt himself being rocketed forwards, pressing into the deep wounds of that horrid bright red to stop the flow. He had to hold on, just for a moment. Just until he knew for absolutely certainty. He had to try to maintain a shred of himself. He couldn’t allow part of him to die so easily. He wasn’t lost without her. He could do this without Vera.

Stepping through the Baratie’s doors filled Sanji with a sense of hope. Purpose.

But that was effectively squashed as the day droned on. As his mind was elsewhere and he burnt his palm on a pan. As he sliced his fingers while chopping an onion, something he could do in his sleep, and rendering it contaminated. And that mistake filled distraction meant only one thing for the blonde chef…

Waiter duty.

Sanji was fed up with the day. After being yelled at by Zeff, cursed at by an elderly woman with an expired coupon, and having food thrown all over the restaurant by a rowdy toddler… he was exhausted. Ready to get one of his final tables over with so he can go home and crawl into bed. Sanji was almost certain that the exhaustion tugging at his mind would outweigh the mental battle.

That is, until catching sight of a certain red head at his table. Because sitting amongst her was Ussop, the human vacuum himself, a moss headed menace, and his ex-girlfriend.

And Sanji decided in that moment that the universe must hate him.

He casts a panicked look towards the other wait staff, debating on switching with another waitress, when Luffy perks up. “Sanji! Hey!” His hands are waving above his head and catching the attention of the nearby patron.

So Sanji swallows up his pride and stalks over, waving Luffy off. He takes a deep breath, “Welcome to the-“

“What are you doing out here? I was looking forward to eating your food?” Luffy speaks with no social awareness.

Sanji grits his teeth, “The wait staff needed help.”

Zoro holds a smirk, “And they wanted to get you out of the kitchen that bad, huh?”

“Don’t start moss-“

“Okay, how about we order our drinks?” Nami calls above everyone, offering Sanji a sympathetic look. She notes the wrap on his palm and the bandage on his finger. His precious chef hands.

Sanji goes around the table, eyes focused on his little note book that he didn’t even truly need. But still, the scribbled words were a good distraction for him. Especially when he hears your voice above all of the noise. He feels your attention on him, sitting at the end of the table and the closest to him by far.

But he is off before he can allow himself to make eye contact.

He takes a moment to breathe as he prepares the five drinks, half tempted to give Zoro the wrong drink, but ultimately decides against it. That could be an argument for another time. The glasses are placed on a tray and Sanji is waltzing expertly towards the table.

Placing the drinks down, he nearly chokes when your fingers brush in the hand off. It was so aggravating. The goosebumps erupting up his arm. He was suddenly thankful for the long sleeves that normally made him sweat.

Sanji was counting down the minutes- the seconds- before the end of his shift as he scribbled down the obnoxiously large order. Luffy and Zoro must have just gotten out of the gym, their already large appetite increased tenfold. And he is off before any questions can be asked or any conversation can be started.

He places the ticket and suddenly takes a new interest in rolling the silverware. It was a task he normally hated, but it was just repetitive and mindless enough for him to not care about that. So he sits down with some of the other staff.

Something he comes to regret as Patty levels his eyes on him. “What’s gotten you so jumpy, boy.”

Sanji wrinkles his nose at the question, “Nothin’.”

“No it ain’t.” He crosses his arms over broad chest. “You’re a crap cook, but you don’t ever burn yourself. Or cut yourself. Or look this miserable when the old geezer demotes you to waiter duty.”

“Geez, thanks.” Sanji mutters, carelessly tossing a fork and steak knife together to roll.

“Thought that table was your friends?”

“Some of them.” Sanji dismisses the notion.

“Right, the green haired guy.” Patty nods knowingly, before his head tips in thought. “But that other girl,” He notes the way Sanji bristles, nearly dropping a fork. “She’s new.”

Sanji tries to appear nonchalant, “Yep.”

Patty narrows his eyes, “You have beef with her or somethin’?” Sanji scoffs in response and Patty is quick to interrupt. “Right, not with a lady.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“What? She reject your sorry self?”

“No.” Sanji’s jaw locks.

But the other chef seems to enjoy the reaction he pulls from the young guy. “Well she is awful pretty. Think she would be interested in an older guy?”

“Not you, that’s for sure.” His teeth grit together.

“Never know until I try.” Patty slowly stands and Sanji’s head snaps to attention, hand flying out to block his path.

“Stop.”

“Oh? You have some kind of claim?”

“Patty-“

“You finally trade in that witch for someone-“

“Shut up!” Sanji slams his hand against the table, pain shooting through the burn in his palm. He catches a few looks for the outburst but it prompts Patty to sit back down. “She’s my ex-girlfriend, okay? Things are complicated right now.” He grits, before his eyes narrow. “And I don’t ever want to hear you speak a word about Vera or we’re taking this crap outside.”

Then he is off to check on the food.

After being yelled at by Zeff to just run the food, Sanji is back at the table and passing out plate after plate. He delicately places the grilled chicken breast before you, something you would undoubtedly hate because of the maple in the glaze, then juggles plates to make room for Luffy’s various dishes.

Before he leaves the table side, he watches as your nose scrunches around a bite of chicken. For some reason, satisfaction flood through him. He still knows you. Better than you know yourself, apparently.

With a huff, he returns to rolling silverware. There would be countless tasks to do in the kitchen in preparation of closing time, but Sanji wasn’t kitchen staff today. Zeff made that clear. So instead he focuses on his menial task.

Roll after roll.

Check on his tables.

Fork after fork.

Cash the rude couple out.

Knife after knife.

Mere pennies as his tip.

Until everything was used up.

And he notices your drinks are due for a refill.

With a water pitcher in hand, he moves over to the table of his friends, noting their smiling faces. Plates were almost empty meaning that he could go home soon. His eyes focus on filling cups. Around the table. Five water cups. Until he is finally pouring the chilled liquid into your glass and avoiding your eye.

Yet he can’t avoid the sudden bright glow.

He doesn’t mean to look, really. It’s not any of his business. But he catches the text popping up on your phone anyways.

yeah yeah i’m waiting on you

but i’m getting impatient

He didn’t even need to see the contact name, because the bright red hair in the pictures was enough. It was plenty. It was that stupid, bright red that was haunting him.

“Sanji!” Your gasp pulls him back to reality as you jump up, invading his space and making it hard to breathe.

All eyes are on Sanji. And that’s when he realizes he had overfilled your cup, allowing it to spill onto the table and in your lap, judging by the wet stain on your pants. You look confused. Everyone looks confused.

“I-I’m sorry.” Sanji scrambles his apologies and gathers up napkins to clean his mess. You realize he’s frantic. You’re telling him it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. And he hates that you’re being so kind.

In his rushed toss of napkins, he realizes the water almost got to your phone. Maybe he should have kept going. Drowned the device to kill out the messages that caused his distraction.

No. None of this was your fault.

Suddenly, the wounds reopen and bleed that nasty, bright red that Sanji found himself hating so deeply. The lifeline- that hope- that he clung to was slipping through his fingers. His resolve, that shred of dignity, was flickering away with the life force of that Sanji of hope.

And Sanji was struck by the thought that he can’t do this on his own. He needs something to fill the aching hole that losing a part of himself left behind. A hole that only one person could fill…

He forces his feet forwards, before he collapsed into himself in the middle of the dining hall. Before he allowed himself to succumb. Before the next Sanji to join the battlefield was himself entirely instead of just a part of him.

Unsure if there is even breath in his lungs, he bursts into the employee bathroom, avoiding the mirror hanging over the sink. He didn’t need to look at himself. He needed to make the call before he lost himself entirely.

“Come on, come on.” The steady ringing of the phone seemed to be slower than normal. Impatience. Foot tapping against old tile. Then, the line connects and Sanji breathes a sigh of relief. “Vera.”

Series Masterlist | Chapter 09

Taglist: @thekatisspooky @teacarby @zoecelestine @vespidphoenix

[starryeyedstray]

connorkus wishing you a very happy 2025~! my art ramblings below the cut as per usual

so my goal was to finish this drawing before the end of jan 1st in my time zone and ehehe that certainly did NOT happen. it's like 10am jan 2nd here ahahahah. but hey it's still jan 1st somewhere!!!!

i spent like 15+ hours on this piece and like 70% of that time was redrawing markus. i swear i have the hardest time drawing that guy. i miss drawing ladies. i used to them all the time. maybe that's why i got north down in one try. connor took like three tries. and then markus... i went through like 8 renditions of him. i hope he turned out okay. i've been staring at this piece for so long i've lost all objectivity.

y'all it really is a new year because i actually put my clean line art in a separate layer instead of what i normally do and spend an abnormally long time cleaning up my rough sketch. this led to veryyyyyy thin line art which it is not my usual style. i think it turned out okay??? i think in future pieces might change up the line weight cause i love my tapers but i was just too lazy to rethicken all the lines on the clean line art layer jskdfjksdjfkdsjfl.

i wasn't planning on doing a full colored piece because of the time constraints but i decided to put in some matte colors cause i wanted them to be color coordinated and i was like oh it looks a bit weird and flat maybe i'll render just a litt-- oops i rendered the whole thing ehehehe. tbh, i'm still trying to figure how i want to render and color things. i feel like i always like the plain lineart more than the colored version. i think that will be a goal for this year is figuring out how to color. right now like 50% satisfied with the how i render so hoping to get it closer to 100% by year's end.

btw, no one is allowed to compliment my fabric textures bc i literally cheated cause i just got a picture of fabric texture, set the layer to grain merge, and then added highlights. i was not gonna render out norths sparkly dress by hand that's for fucking sure lmao.

also, idk what cosmic void they're standing in. i just wanted a really soft glowy background without having to render out anything detailed. so uhm let's just pretend that they're standing in front of some sort of light display.

for listening to my ramblings enjoy these rough sketch layers~

happy new year <333

[wizardofahz]

The Paradox of Sophie Devereaux

Fandom: Leverage: Redemption Compilation: Moments in the Life of Leverage Fam A/N: Harry holds Sophie in such high regard that I think it'd be funny if he found out how bad of an actress she was once upon a time.

"I couldn't help but notice the Shakespeare reference in your dating profile," Harry tells Sophie one day. "It's a shame you didn't go into acting. I know you've mentioned directing, but with your talents, it would have been a mighty fine treat to see you on stage."

Parker lets out a snorting laugh.

"Yeah, you'd think so, wouldn't you," Eliot says with a pained grimace.

"Oh, stop it," Sophie protests. "It was a long time ago."

Harry glances between the three of them. "I don't understand."

"She did try acting," Eliot explains before Sophie can nip this whole thing in the bud. He shakes his head. "Worst actress I'd ever seen."

Years ago, the comment would've stung. Now Sophie can take some teasing, but the thought of Harry witnessing her earlier attempts at acting still makes her cringe.

Luckily, the whole concept seems entirely alien to Harry. "Now I find that very difficult to believe," he says.

Unluckily, Parker decides to give a demonstration.

"uUnSex me HEre," she says in a ghastly voice, sashaying awkwardly.

Sophie steps forward to divert everyone's attention away from her. "Again, that was a long time ago. We need not speak of it anymore."

Harry frowns, bewilderment apparent in every one of his features. "I thought you were already a grifter before you all met."

"I was," Sophie says, trying to preserve her dignity. "Best one they'd ever seen."

"Eventually," Eliot says. "Nate brought us to one of her plays to recruit her. He didn't even put it up for a vote, and I still tried to vote no."

Neither of them had ever told her that, but Sophie supposes she can't be surprised. Still, Eliot is going to be making her a lot of tea in the near future.

"Eventually," Sophie quotes, rolling her eyes. "It was one day."

"Oh yeah," Breanna says as a distant memory resurfaces. "When I was a kid, I think Hardison also said something about people rooting for the Nazis in The Sound of Music." She grimaces. "Which, in this day and age, sounds really, really bad."

How utterly mortifying. "Hardison told you about that?"

At least Breanna had forgotten by the time they actually met in Panama. Now to make her forget again.

"He used to tell us everything," Breanna explains. "Y'know, trying to be the cool big brother. Like, y'all were cool, but he was the most put together of you all. Nate was the alcoholic mastermind, Sophie the grifter who couldn't act, Parker was a cool thief but also kinda crazy, and Eliot the cowboy was actually just a horse girl."

Eliot growls. "A what?"

"A horse girl," Breanna repeats easily. "You know, like, a girl that's crazy about horses."

"Damn it, Hardison," Eliot growls. "I'm gonna kill him."

With the new topic, Sophie is ready to breathe a sigh of relief. But then Harry Wilson---bless his heart---does not let it go.

"I'm sorry, I still don't understand," Harry says. "Is this another one of those inside jokes?"

In spite of everything, Sophie is relieved and a little touched that Harry's high regard for her renders the whole concept unbelievable.

Breanna starts typing on her laptop. "I wonder if there's anything online. You can find all sorts of bootlegged theater performances on the internet if you know where to look."

"Absolutely not," Sophie says adamantly. "Hardison assured me that everything has been scrubbed from the internet."

Or so he had said. Knowing him, he might have kept backup copies for his personal amusement. She may very well have to con them from him in the future.

"I think this will just be one of those things I accept I'll never understand," Harry says.

Thank goodness.

[idlenight-art]

WIP when its actually Wednesday.

Specifically waited to post this so it would tic over to wednesday, btw. For once.

Tagged by @sidesteppostinghours (their post here).

I'm mostly using this to post an assortment of things I otherwise wouldn't have been compelled to do so late.

@b33tlejules requested for Maelstrom design progress on the new design. Sorry for getting to this so late, I forgor. (also consider yourself tagged for wip wednesday 🫵).

It's a long one so strap in:

The original idea, when the inevitable urge to improve on the (frankly lackluster) previous design came knocking on my door, was to do something with old diving suits. This was to stay in the theme of the Mysterious suit tag that was canon to River since his inception.

An idea I quickly abandoned not even 2 doodles in.

I quickly landed on the Hydroid Deluxe Skin (from hit video game Warframe) as a design and aesthetic I wanted. And maybe try to have some kind of homage to the last suit. Thus, the first doodles in my sketchbook:

As you can see, I was trying out shapes for the helmet that were maybe a little too similar to the Hydroid skin. Though the main body elements that stuck in the final design came together quickly.

I digitalised a sketch I liked, cleaned out some details. Covered his crotch (but that tang away). Decided he should have a cape. After not having a cape since his proto-river days.

I mean. you can't be a pirate without some kind of cool jacket.

For about a week, the design sat at this stage (not shown are the several color combinations I went trough for the main body to get there).

It was good. But it looked too much like Hydroid (deluxe edition) Warframe to me.

So what did I do to fix this?

Take a different warframe for helmet inspiration. Of Course.

Say hello to Sevagoth Lucifuge helmet (pictured in the middle), but a little to the left. I know Sevagoth's design philospophy is surrounded by the idea of "ghost ship" - so it's no wonder I looked at the alternate lucifuge helmet and said "that looks like a seashell to me". It's not rendered as such in game, but it has the shape. And the point bits I could easily imagine as harpoons.

I didn't quite like the face of the helmet - besides it being pointy - and changed it in a way I liked. But the eyepatch was too funny not to include, considering River does lose his eye to Argent. I even kept it on the same side because while River loses his own right eye, it's more fun for the eyepatch to be on the wrong side. Where people might assume he has a blind-spot. He does now, but not on that side :)

After the helmet - and more color palette debates - came even more color palette debates. For the Cape(tm) specifically.

I was fighting for my life in the trenches. Nothing was quite hitting.

But as I was bemoaning about my artistic woes to my friends, @cigarettesandinevitablebetrayal came with the genius idea of mixing in the teal and white in the cape, to make it look more like water. (also hi cigs, consider yourself tagged for wip wednesday)

I mean. Fucking look at that. Doesn't it slap? It goes so fucking hard. This is when I truly fell in love with the design.

After that it was beating photoshop into a pulp trying to make a nice ref sheet. And the rest is history or whatever.

Thanks for getting this far, as a favor to me, kill the guy calling yourself cringe in your head. That's what I did while convincing myself to write this post.

ANYWAY. wow. If your name isn't Jules or Cigs and thus haven't been tagged yet, you're tagged now. Right here. Bam. @heartbreakincident, @vahingoniloinenlapsi, @ehlihr, @reverendlazarus.