#deeply relatable content
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My only take away from that galex video was them making George read out a comment calling Alex hot and two minutes later George going “I haven’t seen a single picture recently where you look good” in the most casual sibling core insult I’ve ever heard
#this is not an insult to anyone it made me chuckle#it was like listening to my own brother#deeply relatable content#George quotes
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Oh I am being FED TODAY FOLKS!!!
Graceland short film!! The return of my fav boy, Mike Warren!!
youtube




And the trailer for Aaron's new show Earth Abides!?!
youtube
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR ME SPECIFICALLY!!




#is this whump related? to me it is lol#my fav whump actor! new content! new aaront content! new whump potential! woohoo#i am LIVING right now!!!!#nextland#aaron tveit#graceland#mike warren#earth abides#mod post#if youre new to my blog and dont know about tveit obsession yet....im deeply sorry
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Speaking of Earthspark Starscream being an antagonist, I also hope we see more conflict between the Malto siblings. I used to babysit as a teen and I've never seen a family with lots of kids that didn't have serious sibling rivalry, kids acting out in a bid to get attention, etc. Individually I like each Malto kid, but as a collective they have less personality clashes than, like, G1 My Little Ponies (who bullied ponies for "having no feelings" and accused each other of ruining tape decks before Learning Not To), and that's a shame. Because interpersonal conflicts are interesting.
I hope Thrash gets a chance to achieve Cheetor-levels of rebellion, b/c I was rewatching Beast Wars recently and boy Cheetor really got into trouble on the regular.
#earthspark#Transformers#Beast Wars#I just don't know what they are going to do with that many kid-characters if they're all happy and content all the time#(except when in physical danger)#I think it makes them harder to relate to#being a kid means sometimes you will be deeply unhappy over things you have no control over#even if you have the most loving family
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No like, be lucky it didn't happen. I didn't wanna be annoying toward any of my moots for that--
I had to make sure I don't interrupt or annoy no one in the server or any group chat. That's why I'm not that active in the server- don't wanna annoy any of you, again. Sorry for being annoying
#i gotta stop apologizing but everything makes me feel bad and guilty if i accidentally made any of you uncomfortable#pls let me know if i have to take down any post related to the au. worried I'll make people upset with my boring content#if i offended or scare you with my lazy AU i deeply apologize for that. sorry
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So I have been suffering with the knowledge that I will never ever be satisfied with anything and always want more and I think I've always imagined that one day I would find the thing that finally did it. Like I meet one person or do one more exciting thing or get the right job in the right city and finally I would be happy and it would all be over and I'd never be overwhelmed with that sickening hunger again.
And I am making peace with the fact that this won't happen. I think the happiness comes with accepting the hunger as a part of me. And it's not a bad part! That's the urge that makes me do something with my life! If I lose it, I will just be complacent and boring and let everything pass me by.
It's about contentment within discontentment. Being satisfied with the fact that you are unsatisfied.
#weirdly enough this is another thing i have learned from steveo#really cannot understand the value of his content for people who constantly have a bug in their brain making them do dumb shit#i did not expect to relate so deeply to a guy who was launched into the air inside a porta potty but nonetheless#*cannot underESTIMATE the value i meant. not understand
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has anyone else been getting a shit ton of asks lately from random accounts claiming to be from gaza and asking to spread their gofundmes or whatever??? bc i'm assuming at least 99% of them are scams and it's getting real annoying
#every time i open my tumblr there's a new one it's obnoxious#even if they are real i'm sorry i'm deleting them find someone else#for deeply personal reasons the situation going on in palestine and israel rn is a subject i choose to actively avoid#like all related tags and content are blocked to the best of my ability and i do not talk about it#stop sending me these asks please and thank you
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mysme is doing wonders for my mental health i miss you so much my defender of justice 707 my love my star my planet the light of my life the bfest bf to ever bf the earth
#teenager me got good taste. my twenty something ass is falling again for this man i love him#truly good for mental health at the cost of non peaceful night sleep? what a deal. i love you mysme#the fandom is dead but coming back to this game is the best choice i ever made this year so far#i love you mysme. take me back to 2016 again except dont that year was shit but i do miss you a lot#ESPECIALLY YOU!!! CHOI TWINS!!!!! SAEYOUNGIE!!! SAERANAH!!!!! I WUV YOU TWO!!!!!!!#saeyoung especially dear god if a man does not love you as much and as deeply and as multi dimensional LITERALLY as seven is he even worth#ah i love him#ALSO ZEN GOD i used to go aw he is so sweet and cute now im loving him a whole lot. gimme hourglasses pretty boy. and i love ur rants go of#his calls in seven's route day 8 forgot what time is the best. my guy i want u as my older bro#yoosung is so cute. his whining about uni life is so relatable. my introverted gacha game addicted ass get you lil guy#AND JAEHEE GOOD LORD JAEHEE.#as a teenager? she is cool. now? im screaming she is stronger than me anD#quitting her corporate job?? to open?? a coffee shop?? with me???? that's like. peak ideal marriage happy end there tf. CHERITZ.#cheritz i also wanna lie down in lingerie. on the bed with her too. CHERITZ GIMME THE CG#except cheritz no longer give mysme new content except for home screen which is gracious already#anw this is not about the game company MYSME!!!! I MISS YOU!!! THE FANDOM IS LONG DEAD!!! BUT!!!#SEVEN O SEVEN IS ETERNAL!!!! god he is branrotting me like he never did before the grip is insane#im laughing im crying saeyoung i love you#babblings#cant believe im returning to this blog just for this
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🕸️ Arachne - which god do you turn to to learn to face your fears?
(also thank you so much for the kind words on your reblog! it means a lot!)
hi hi!! thank you for the ask! love your blog, super excited to see a new face here, especially a poseidon worshipper!!! as for your question, it's a great one. i try to call on the theoi for their appropriate domains -- if i have a fear that might relate best to one of their epithets, i'll call them first. that being said: by and large, i probably call on apollon and aphrodite the most to help me learn to face my fears. i'm especially fond of apollon's healing and evil averting aspects when i'm having a tough time with my mental health; more or less same for aphrodite. i like the epithets paean, akesios (apollon) and apotrophia (aphrodite) especially for this. i take a lot of courage from the story of apollon slaying the python. if he can fight a dragon and carve out a place for himself, then i can face whatever mortal thing is troubling me. (i know myths aren't literal, but we can still draw inspiration from the stories) i also find that athena especially really helps me face my academic fears. i can be a little intimidated to approach her due to internalized shame about whatever's going on, but she always, always comes through for me. i like to use her epithet mentore especially when i need her guidance on this kinda stuff. so much love in my heart for pallas athene <3 thank you again for the ask!!!! i hope you have a lovely day, and may the theoi watch over you and bless you <3 (original post if anyone else wants to send asks)
#my post#my asks#thank you again for this ask!!#and seriously love your blog. super excited to have another recon mutual#and i think poseidon is often an underappreciated theoi in the modern sphere#so im deeply grateful to have more worship related content for him#funnily enough im working on building my kharis with him more lately. im pretty landlocked so i've never had a much of a chance to say hi#but im enjoying worshipping him quite a lot#anyway i have rambled in the tags too#gods bless you feel free to dm me anytime
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me: I’m fine
me, 10 seconds later: the Greywaren mind meld was sooo stupid and the worst part of it is that device Could have been implemented without it feeling like a total cop out if it was say, characters having an actual argument/conflict in some type of dream space, alternate version of reality each others memories etc. if we were actually tracking them through all that and not just “they were wanted…” as the resolution … the actuality of it was just lazy.
#and I disrespect it even more w the context it was probably not the planned storyline and actually a response to fans being annoying.#feels very ‘well if some of you are going to complain about any interesting conflict I guess I’ll remove any of that from the storyline the#fuck you.’#(I have other longstanding feelings about how she would clearly hate certain fan takes so much but then still be clearly influenced by them#/ write in response. I think that impacted late trc a little and then definitely late td3)#s speaks#fandom wank#don’t get me wrong the stans telling her she hated Adam for writing him the way she did in MI and/or begging her not to make Pynch fight#were so. I’m deeply judgmental of them#you don’t want your otp to fight and have angst I can not relate#and my issues w the Adam content in td3 are about the arc resolution lacking + lack of page time to explore the arc + narrative framing#it’s not about anything being ‘ooc’ for him all his freak behavior is perfectly in character I just wish it was given it’s due#but like. this is not a fun type of petty writing to me#first of all I’m pretty sure in this case the fans with stupid takes actually liked this ending it’s the rest of us who have to suffer#although. do think there was a silver lining in a fandom sense where this caused some retroactive appreciation for messy conflicts in#previous books
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TRAGIC: local guy keeps almost writing "zoro" instead of the name of the character they're actually writing about
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do you guys ever think about the mci.
#oh boy six a.m.! ( ooc )#|| absolutely fucking haunted by the senseless violence.#|| both fandom and the novels ageing them up makes me insane esp the latter.#|| i wanna do a writeup on like. how to me it ties in to both proliferation of true crime / serial killing as an Interest#|| and a natural understandable desperation for reclaiming power in fiction that nevertheless rings false to me.#|| it's both theatre of safety and like. an again very relatable desperation to me.#|| to be like 'those kids could've fought back' or 'they'll get their revenge in the afterlife'.#|| it's gratifying and soothing because tackling the fact that a bunch of children died for a man's entertainment/struggle/research is like#|| harrowing.#|| and fiction is there to provide a release from that.#|| but the way serial killing / true crime fandom and fiction and real life attitudes towards real crimes play into each other#|| intrigues me.#|| i wanna be a fnaf fandom anthropologist.#|| i have nothing against individuals i genuinely wanna study this place like a biome.#|| like to what degree is the target child audience engaging with this specific flavor of fan content.#|| and is it having an impact.#|| without blame because adults aren't responsible for what children read on the internet ( within reason ).#|| i'm just deeply curious to know if there's any overlap between child fans who play the games and buy merch#|| and older fans who play up the child autonomy/revenge aspects of the story.#|| ( BC LEMME BE CLEAR SCOTT WROTE THOSE. THEY'RE IN THE GAMES. AND BOOKS. )
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i understand people dont gaf, bu
#i do feel very bad whenever i see the defense of fic as a weapon against evil IPs that are contributing to trans people loss of rights#i've been wanting to write about this for such a long time; but it feels like i dont even know enough english to be this raw about it all#it's disheartening to see that theres such a failing in understanding that the system in which this IP profits (thus; funding the death-mac#with the fact no one is willing to let go of their teen-obsession or childhood endearment in order to move on#like yeah. death politics or something like that but u enable a system that relies on people not having the chance to live past 40#like is it worth it? does it even matter? do u care for anyone that isnt dming u or existing?#is your comfort more important than sticking up for people that you supposedly care about?#awful awful things going on. i hate logging on here and seeing content related to that bcs i had a Phase when i was deeply in mania#alas liberalism always shows its claws! paws up i guess
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rafayel's lemurian behavior hc's!!
cw.: NSFW. 1.8k w. raf is mentioned more like a scary sea creature than like a pretty merman, this might have some ooc content for lemurians, mentions of sex, heat, raf has two dicks... ops... mentions of oviposition. not really monsterfucking but i'll tag it just in case.
note: "bloom will you ever shut the fuck up about lemurians? no. no i will not.
He's overprotective. Lemurians, as social as they are around their own species, can be quite territorial when it comes to their mates. Rafayel is all over you as soon as he views something as a threat. Thomas greeting you at an art exhibition? There’s a hand slipping to your waist and he glares at his manager over your shoulder. The poor college student that works at the cafe you two like smiled at you while you ordered your favorite drink? He’s clinging and nuzzling to you with a pout. A stray cat meowed at you for more pets? Oh he might as well pass out.
He showers you with gifts. Rafayel is obsessed with you alright. This is also related to how jelly he can get! Someone hit on you? You wake up with a pretty box with some kind of new jewelry by the door of your apartment. And they’re always one of a kind, too. No one’ll ever wear the same pair of earrings, bracelet, anklet you do, Rafayel commissions it all from the best jewelers he knows.
^ This is a very personal hc but i think that before you entered Rafayel’s life, he lowkey hated the fact his tears turned into pearls for the simple fact it can get messy and it was harder to hide his shame and weakness. After you showed so much interest in them though, Rafayel didn’t bother to kick the shiny pearls under the couch or bed or throw them away. In fact, he starts to collect them in tiny bottles and makes jewelry out of it. His favorite is the anklet he gifted you, a simple silver chain with two tiny pearls as pendants.
He's constantly nuzzling you. Lemurians have amazing senses even out of water and his sense of smell wouldn’t be any different. Rafayel LOVES the way you smell naturally. No cologne, no lotion. Just your skin. If you two are cuddling, he’s 100% with his head buried on your neck while breathing deeply and drowning on the scent. Lemurians are super touchy with their mates so just let him be and he’ll be overjoyed. You can even hear a happy chirp or two escaping him if you pay enough attention.
He insists on dragging you to the ocean. There are two things Rafayel adores– you and soaking underwater. If you agree to spend some quality time with him on the open ocean, he is overjoyed. You’re terrified of deep waters? Don’t worry!! Trust him!! He’ll help you float around, webbed hands always ghosting your waist and lower back to ground and comfort you while he swims under you happily.
His true form is comically huge. I’m talking about like. 7 feet. He loooooves to wrap himself around you like a snake and keep you close like you’re his personal heater. OR! He floats on his back and lets you lie on top of him like a seal and its baby. You just look so tiny compared to him… he can’t help but want some snuggles.
Still on the anatomy topic, his skin is inhumanely pale. Living in the deep, there isn’t much sunlight nor does he need it so he is naturally very pale. It’s more like… kind of translucent, you can’t see his organs like some fish but you can clearly see his bluish veins. His teeth are super sharp and strong, too. Biologically, it’s for hunting, since it helps with cracking clams and other stuff open. Nowadays? He just torments you with them, of course! I believe Rafayel is a biter. A soft one, but he definitely nips on your skin if he’s upset or wants your attention.
^ Since i mentioned his teeth, it’s also valid to mention his mouth is also huge. It looks normal when he has it closed or when he’s talking but once he yawns, your eyes jump open. A thin membrane, where his cheeks would be, stretches his mouth much further than what would be considered natural and makes his shiny teeth noticeable. If it’s hard to visualize, think of it as the buccal flap some reptiles have!
He gives you his scales. Once, when you two were at the beach, you complimented how they looked under the sunset light, the purples and blues shining against the last bits of natural light beautifully, without much thought. Poor you just didn’t know this is a way of courting in lemurian culture and ohhhhh Rafayel’s brain MELTED. He couldn’t even react, stupid fish just nodded and looked away with a shy pout.
^ After that, he regularly gives you the older scales that shed from his tail. Please keep them all safe somewhere, it makes his stomach flip with joy.
He hisses. Not at you, never, but you’ve caught his pupils turning into slits and a snake like hiss coming out of his mouth while he’s on the phone with a random collector once or twice now.
He has a terrible temper during his heat. Lemurians go into heat in early spring, when the waters are slightly warmer, and Rafayel is no exception. The week before the heat actually kicks in, he’s super stressed. He gets petty, gives Thomas an attitude and threatens to burn his whole studio down and then, as soon as you’re by his side, his eyes are already spilling delicate pearls. His skin is hot and sweaty like it usually is during ebb day and all he wants is to soak in his tub or sea.
Which leads to the next topic! Can’t find him in his studio? Call his name at the beach! He’s curled onto his own tail underwater all hot and bothered but he’ll come crawling for you in a second… and drag you with him. Don’t know how to swim? And who said you’re leaving his grasp? Can’t hold your breath? Just kiss him! He just needs you close and it’s not like you can move anyway. His tail wraps around your legs like a predator ready to strike and he is babbling in lemurian while nuzzling on your cheek and chirping.
He courts you! During the week before his heat, his gifts are even more overwhelming. Oh look! He just finished a portrait of you! And here’s a new pair of pearl earrings, please use it. Don’t forget the delicate necklace with his initials. Oh and- you get the point. Underwater though? He will blow bubbles to make you laugh and sing you the sweetest lemurian love songs. You’re already his, he knows that, but his instincts act quicker than what his brain can think right now. It’s cute, really. He acts all confident and pretends he has some self control left in his body just so you can clap and praise him.
Some think lemurians have venom glands, but it is a myth! Lemurian mating is mostly romantic and they are bound to a mate for a lifetime, it’s not just with the intention of reproducing. So, they don’t have the need to hold down or paralyze their mates completely. That doesn’t mean you’re safe from his sharp teeth, though. He can hardly think for himself, have some mercy. Rafayel just needs a trigger to sink his teeth on your shoulder blade. You smell good? Bite. You barely have time to struggle and scold him before he’s already lapping at your bloody skin as an apology.
As for his actual heat, if you really insist, he’ll have sex with you in his studio– doesn’t matter where. But if you don’t mind and trust him, please, please, let him have his way with you in the water. He’s too desperate to breathe the land’s sticky and heavy air. Asks you a million times if you’re actually sure and that he can’t really hold back once you let him touch you. And if you consent? Say goodbye to rational Raf.
Now, i want to mention his anatomy once again to clear a few things up. His tail has a slit where his cock, in his human form, would be. The scales around it are softer, slimy and the slit produces a LOT of slick when he’s aroused. And where are his cocks? Inside, of course! Dooooon’t be shy, finger him for a bit and his cocks will come out in a second, standing tall and proud against his lower stomach.
^ Lemurians have hemipenis. Some animals have double reproductive organs for the sake of their species, if one of them is damaged, there’s still the other one for breeding. Lemurians, on the other hand, have a ‘smaller’ dick that’s more human looking and is used for pleasure and penetrative sex, while the other, found under the first one, is bigger, longer, ridged and it’s exclusively for breeding and burying his eggs inside you.
^ His ‘human’ cock isn’t exactly small, honestly, nothing about Rafayel’s true form is. I’d say it’s close to 7.68 inches (19,5 cm) when fully hard. It’s really pretty too! Just looks like his human form dick, maybe the base is kinda bluish and there are a few soft scales here and there but that’s it. Now, about the other one…it’s big. 12.5 inches (31 cm) okay… don’t worry though. He produces so much slick it won’t hurt much. I wouldn’t say it is pretty, it’s… uncommon! Interesting! But not pretty. It’s tinted in a nice deep blue that gets lighter on the tip and the base is pretty scaly. Not only is it big but it is very thick too. It’s an ovipositor, it has to have enough space for his eggs without squeezing them too much.
^ Since i mentioned eggs, it’s good to mention that i don’t think they’re big… It does cause some discomfort at first because your womb will consider it as foreign body once they all snug inside you but I don't think it’s enough to cause pain. The shells are squishy, slimy and translucent and they’re the size of a date. Around 3-6 eggs i think… though not all of them are fertilized.
^ And on the fertilized eggs topic, I don't think Rafayel is able to actually impregnate you in this form. Your body just isn’t made to bear eggs and conclude the fertilization process. He does like to try though! And it’s not like his dumbed down brain can process any of this right now. Also, don’t worry, the eggs will come out of you naturally. After a few days without getting any nutrients, they turn into mush inside you and come out of you mixed with your discharge.
^ That does not mean Rafayel can’t get you pregnant though! If you actually want children, his human form works just fine.
After his heat, which usually lasts a week, he is super clingy. He knows you’re not pregnant and doesn’t need this much doting but he’s just so happy you put up with all his needs. He showers you, lets you rest, kisses any and all bruises and bites he may have left… anything for his bride.
⊹ ࣪reblogs are very much appreciated. thank you for reading!(*´▽`*)
#.littleapplle's pastries#love and deepspace#lads#lads fluff#love and deepspace x reader#lads x reader#lads rafayel#lnds x reader#lnds#lnds rafayel#rafayel x reader#rafayel x you#rafayel x mc#rafayel x y/n#love and deepspace rafayel#rafayel love and deepspace#rafayel fluff#rafayel qi#rafayel smut#lads smut#lnds smut#love and deepspace smut
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LET ME IN YOUR OCEAN, SWIM
𐙚⋆.˚ - Pairings: Blade, Dan Heng, Anaxa, Phainon, Mydei (seperate) x Fem!Reader 𐙚⋆.˚ - Warnings: Multiple Orgasms/Several rounds, Pussy eating, Fingering, Pet names, PnV, Creampies, filthy tbh, rough sex, dirty talk, praise?, degrading? spitting, cockwarming, marking? choking kinda ? aphrodisiac usage in Anaxas (all I could think of?) 𐙚⋆.˚ - Words: 5.1k
𐙚⋆.˚ - A/n: This content is 18+ MNDI. I hope you enjoy it! Requests are open!! I want it to be known as well all of my fics are written with a plus sized reader in mind - but that doesn't mean you can't read it with a different body type! I do not mention hair textures/color same with skin tones. I do try to be as inclusive as possible. Not proofread either. 𐙚⋆.˚ - Notice: You can filter your content in the event it is not for you, under blog settings if any of tags used you will not see content relating to this. MINORS, AGELESS, BLANK BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED. UPDATE YOUR PROFILE BEFORE INTERACTING OR FOLLOWING.

You weren’t sure how it started, maybe it was the teasing brush of his fingers under the dinner table, or the way he’d whispered filth into your ear in passing, voice rich with promise. But now, your wrists were bound behind your back, the leather biting softly into your skin as you straddled Blade’s lap. His cock sat heavy and full inside you, stretching you so deeply it ached, in the most delicious, maddening way.
He reclined like a king on his throne, arms tucked lazily behind his head, chest bare and gleaming with a faint sheen of sweat. Those sunset hues raked over your trembling body, half-lidded and brimming with heat. That smirk, gods, that wicked smirk, curled at the corners of his mouth like he already knew just how wrecked you’d be by the end of the night.
“Go on then, baby,” he rasped, his voice rolling like thunder low in his chest.
“Been whining for my cock all day. Let’s see you work for it. take what you need. Such a greedy little thing," Blade taunts, voice a low rasp against your ear. "So desperate for my cock, you don't care about anything else."
Your legs were already trembling from the relentless grind, thighs aching as you tried to keep pace, to stay steady. The stretch of him inside you was near overwhelming, and every motion, every slow, downward grind of your hips sent waves of pleasure rippling up your spine. You moaned softly, breath stuttering as your walls clenched around him.
His gaze darkened.
“There you go,” he murmured, finally reaching up, fingertips skimming up your sides before curling around the soft weight of your breast. He thumbed your nipple, circling it slowly, then pinching just enough to make you gasp.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Just like that. Such a good girl when you're desperate for me.”
You whimpered as your hips stuttered, sinking down onto him again with a wet slap. He was so deep it felt like he was in your throat, and the drag of him inside your soaked cunt sent sparks dancing across your vision.
“You’re not getting help until I feel you fall apart,” he growled, tightening his grip on your tit as he sat up slightly, nipping your collarbone with his teeth. “And even then… fuck. I might just keep watching. You look so fucking perfect like this. Fucked-out. Shaking. Begging.” His voice rasped, laced with a lustful tone.
Blade’s hand left your chest just long enough to reach beside the bed, fingers curling around his phone. He flicked open the camera, switching to video mode without missing a beat. “Yeah... I need to remember this,” he muttered as he hit record, holding it up to capture your flushed, ruined expression. “Don’t stop, baby. Show me how hungry you are.”
He slammed his free hand down on your ass with a sharp smack, the sting radiating through your body and making your walls flutter around him. The sheer force of it knocked you forward, a sharp gasp falling from your lips as your forehead dropped to his shoulder.
“Please, Blade,” you choked out, voice thin and high. “I can’t, too much.. please”
His eyes flicked up, full of smug amusement, his phone still recording. “Is that right?” he mused, tongue flicking over his lower lip. “Didn’t you say you needed it so bad earlier you’d do anything for me?” He clicked his tongue, slipping the phone aside. “Tired already, and I’ve barely touched you.”
He set the device down, then reached around and untied the binds at your wrists with deliberate slowness. The moment they fell free, he gripped your hips hard and flipped you with practiced ease, pinning you beneath him before you could even gasp.
The loss of control made your breath catch.
“Brace yourself,” he murmured against your throat, his cock still buried to the hilt inside you, pulsing with anticipation. “You’ve had your chance to ride me, now it’s my turn to ruin you.”
His mouth found yours, devouring you with a kiss that tasted like lust and triumph. One hand laced with yours above your head, the other gripping your thigh and hitching it up, opening you wide. He pulled back just enough to meet your dazed gaze, his voice low and reverent:
“You’re not walking tomorrow, doll. But gods help me, I want you wrecked.”
A smirk curled at his lips as his hands came to grip your waist. Holding your body in place as he began a relentless pace.
The headboard slammed against the wall as your cries grew louder, the room thick with the sound of skin meeting skin, breathless moans, and his low groans right in your ear.
It was going to be a rather long night.
—

You’d only meant to assist in a simple energy-enhancing elixir. That was the assignment. But one misstep in measurement, a droplet too much of a rare herb with latent aphrodisiac properties, and now the air in the alchemy room felt thick, like molten honey clinging to your skin, every breath laced with heat and desire.
Your body trembled, flushed from the inside out, and you barely had the clarity to steady yourself as Anaxa pressed you over his cluttered desk. The wood was cool against your feverish skin, but the relief was fleeting, especially when his hands found your thighs, stroking upward with an excruciating slowness.
"You're burning up," he murmured, his voice deeper than usual, heavy with restraint and want. His palms were rough from handling vials and tools, but they moved over your soft skin reverently, memorizing every inch. When he lifted your leg and placed it on the desk, spreading you open further, a shaky breath escaped your lips.
Then his fingers found your slick folds, parting them to slide between with maddening ease.
“Fuck,” he rasped, dipping one finger inside you with a slow, deliberate curl. “You’re dripping, sweetheart. I barely touched you.”
He watched your back arch, his eyes hooded, devouring the sight of you writhing under his touch. “So wet for me already… so ready. You're like a flower trembling open under the sun’s first kiss.”
“Anaxa…” you whimpered, turning your flushed face toward him, eyes glassy with need. “Please. It’s too much, I need you. I feel like I’m on fire.”
A low, pleased chuckle rumbled in his chest as he leaned over you, pressing a kiss to the back of your shoulder. “My love,” he purred, “the last thing I want to do is hurt you. Let me take care of you. Yeah?”
His fingers moved with more purpose now, two sinking inside and scissoring open, brushing expertly against that spongy spot that made your thighs tremble and toes curl. Your breath hitched, nails digging into the wood of his desk.
“There we go,” he coaxed, his voice velvet and grit. “That’s it, thats my good girl. Just like that.”
When he slid his fingers free, glistening with your arousal, he brought them to your lips with a smirk. “Taste yourself for me, yeah?”
You sucked his fingers in without hesitation, your tongue swirling around them eagerly, and the dark look in his eyes nearly made your knees buckle.
As you suckled, he undid his belt with one hand, pushing down his trousers. His cock sprang free,thick, flushed, and already leaking. He hissed through his teeth at the sight of you, lips wrapped around his fingers while your hips subtly rolled against the air in anticipation.
“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he growled, guiding your hips into position. “Ready for me?”
You nodded, whimpering your assent, but that wasn’t enough for him.
“Say it.” he breathed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at you.
“I’m ready, Anaxa. Please. I need you inside me.” You cried out, the desperation dripped off your voice in waves.
And just like that, he snapped.
He lined himself up, the thick head of his cock brushing your soaked entrance before slowly, deliberately, pushing into you. Inch by inch, stretching you open, dragging a guttural moan from deep in his chest,and a strangled cry from your lips.
“Oh, fuck, yes,” you gasped, forehead pressed against the desk, legs trembling.
Anaxa groaned, head tilting back. “You’re so fucking tight. Gods, the way you grip me, like your cunt was made for me.”
His thumb returned to your clit, drawing tight, deliberate circles that had your walls fluttering around him, clutching him deeper. His other hand wrapped firmly around your waist, pulling your hips back against every hard thrust.
The room echoed with wet, obscene sounds,the slap of skin, your mewls and moans, the throb of shared desire amplified by the lingering effects of the potion. Your body felt electric, every thrust sending sparks up your spine, your nerves raw and alive.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he growled into your ear, his breath hot against your skin. “To feel me like this? Deep and hard, filling every inch of your needy little hole?”
“Y-Yes,” you cried, voice trembling. “I wanted you. I've always wanted you, Anaxa..”
He groaned as your walls clenched around him again, his grip on your hips tightening. “Fuck, don’t do that, baby. You’re gonna make me come, and I’m not done with you.” He leaned forward, chest pressing against your back, lips brushing your ear.
“It’d be a shame to end this now, wouldn’t it? When we’ve barely scratched the surface of what I want to do to you.”
His cock throbbed inside you, thick and pulsing, and his movements slowed,just slightly,enough to drag out every second, every breathless moan. His fingers didn’t stop moving on your clit, and it was too much. You were unraveling. “Anaxa,I'm-!”
“Let go for me,” he murmured, voice like smoke. “Come on, doll. Let me feel you fall apart.”
And when your climax crashed into you it was violent, soul-shaking, you cried out his name like a prayer. He followed you moments later with a strangled groan, grinding deep as he spilled inside you, breath catching in his throat.
The room was still, again. Heavy with the scent of sex and alchemical oils. Your chest heaved as you lay against the desk, limbs trembling, heart pounding in your throat.
Anaxa brushed your hair gently from your face, pressing a lingering kiss to your temple. “Are you alright?” he murmured, voice quiet now, low with concern.
You nodded, lips parted as you caught your breath. “Yeah, I just didn’t think today’s lesson would turn into that.” you laughed a bit as you tried to catch your breath.
He chuckled softly, as he rested his head against your shoulder. “We’ll call it an experiment in practical alchemy.”
You snorted weakly, unable to help the smile tugging at your lips, even as your legs refused to stop shaking.
—

Mydei had lost so much, too much. The grief, the blood, the burdens he bore had hollowed parts of him, left him starved for something warm, something anchoring. And that anchor was you. He clung to you like salvation, like he’d drift into the abyss without your body pressed to his. At night, he was never far, always buried deep inside you, cockwarming with his face nestled into the crook of your neck, your scent his lullaby, your cunt his comfort.
One arm slung possessively around your waist, the other lazily cupping your breasts as he whispered soft, broken things against your skin.
But this? This was different.
This was worship.
Because Mydei would never kneel for anyone. Never bow. Never submit. Yet now, here he was, on his knees before you, his mouth hot and hungry between your thighs as you sat like a goddess on his throne. Yours now, it seemed. The power shift made your skin tingle, made your core throb. It made his mouth water.
Your thighs were thrown over his broad shoulders, heels digging into the tense muscles of his back as he devoured you like he’d been starved for days. His tongue was relentless, slick and deep, lapping up your arousal with obscene enthusiasm. The room echoed with the wet, messy sounds of him feasting on you, slurps and growls and the occasional gasped praise, incoherent and ragged: “fuck, so sweet.. s’perfect.. can’t get enough..”
Your head lolled back against the velvet lining of the throne, your body arching, quivering beneath his mouth. Every drag of his tongue, every suck on your clit made your back bow, your hands fly to his hair. You gripped his golden strands tight, guiding him with desperate, breathy pleas.
"Mydei.. please, feels so fucking good," you moaned, voice cracking as pleasure shot up your spine. Your hips bucked forward when he sucked harder, sharp and unrelenting on that aching bundle of nerves.
He groaned, almost feral, his fingers bruising into your thighs as they trembled around his head. "Gods, Princess, look at you. Trembling from just my mouth. Let me hear those sounds. I need them."
The words were muffled, smothered by your slick and his determination. But you heard them. Felt them. Your fingers tugged tighter as you rolled your hips against his face. He moaned again, the vibration sending shockwaves through you.
And then, you gasped. Sharp, high-pitched, your whole body twitching when two of his fingers slid inside your fluttering, dripping hole. They curled just right, just so, and your thighs clenched around his head like a vice.
"Yeah, right there, Mydei! fuck, don’t stop," you begged, voice cracking, eyes rolling back into your skull.
He couldn’t hear you anymore, not really. His head was spinning. Your taste coated his tongue, your scent filled his lungs, your cunt clenched around his fingers so tight it made his cock throb and twitch helplessly in his pants. He hadn’t meant to finish. He really hadn’t.
But when you cried out his name, when your slick gushed around his fingers and your thighs spasmed against his ears, he came. With a guttral goran, shamefully untouched, his release soaking into the fabric of his pants as he fucked you through your orgasm with tongue and fingers with a desperate need to drown in you.
He was panting when he looked up at you. His cheeks flushed, chin wet, lips red and swollen. His eyes were glassy, ruined, drunk on you. And when your gaze met his, just as hazy, just as fucked out. He let out a soft, breathless laugh.
“Well,” he murmured, voice hoarse and reverent, “suppose we can finish this properly once I get out of these damn pants.”
His cheek rested lazily against your thigh, one hand still cradling it, thumb stroking the soft skin there. “C’mon, princess. Let’s get cleaned up.”
But neither of you moved. Not yet. You stayed like that tangled, flushed, trembling lost in the afterglow, in each other.
—

Phainon’s tongue drags up your slit again, slow and deliberate, like he’s savoring the last taste before a kill. His nose brushes your clit, and you twitch under him with a broken gasp. Your thighs try to close, but his arms keep them locked open, biceps flexed, forearms solid as stone. He’s already pulled two orgasms out of you. You’ve cried, begged, sobbed his name, and he’s still hungry.
Your voice is hoarse. “Phai.. please..”
“Please what, baby?” His voice is dark, taunting. He curls his fingers again. “Please don’t stop? Please ruin me? Tell me what you want. Come on baby wanna hear ya”
You don’t answer, your voice dying on your tongue as he curled his fingers just right making your mind go blank.
“Didn’t fuckin’ think so.” He grins, teeth dragging lightly across the crease of your thigh. “You’ve got more for me. I know your body better than you do.”
“Mmm,” he hums. “You said you wanted to come again. So I’m making sure you do. Gotta get this pussy ready.”
“For what?” you gasp.
He pulls his mouth away just long enough to meet your gaze. His lips are shiny, chin soaked. His eyes burn straight through you, “For me.”
You try to pull away, but he drags you right back into his mouth. His fingers dig into the plush of your thighs hard enough to bruise, pulling you down like he’s drowning in you. His mouth latches onto your clit again, tongue flicking in a brutal rhythm that makes your vision blur.
“Pussy’s so fuckin’ good, baby. I could stay down here forever.”
You try to catch your breath, chest heaving. “You already have. I can’t feel my legs.” You breathed out, although it sounded more like a laugh.
He chuckles against your skin, licking back up with an almost lazy motion. “Then you’ll stop runnin’ from me.”
“I can’t, I can’t take it” you stammer, thighs trembling.
“You will,” he growls, pausing only to spit on your pussy before slapping your clit with the flat of his tongue. “You will, baby. Give me another. I wanna feel you fucking break on my tongue.”
As if his voice was like the law, your orgasm hits like a crashing wave. You cry out, your whole body shaking under his mouth as you soak his chin. He moans into you, licking you through every twitch and clench, groaning as if he’s the one coming.
By the time he pulls back, his face is wrecked. Lips swollen, chin shiny, eyes glazed with hunger. His chest rises and falls with heavy breaths. He looks high. Feral.
Then you see it, the bulge straining hard against his sweatpants, twitching. Leaking.
“Get on your stomach,” he says suddenly. Your muscles are barely functioning. “Phai..”
“I’ll move you if I have to princess, come on.” He spoke as he pats your thigh with a chuckle.
You roll over slow, weak, trembling. He pushes your back down with one hand, keeping your ass raised. He peels down his sweats, cock springing free. It was thick and veiny, already beeding with precum at the tip. He runs it through your folds, dragging it up and down your overstimulated pussy with a groan.
“You feel that?” he murmurs, voice like gravel. “So fuckin’ wet. So ready for me.”
You scream into the pillow, arms shaking. The stretch is insane, unforgiving. He gives you no time to adjust, already pounding into you with deep, brutal thrusts, hips slapping hard against your ass.
You moan weakly, trying to gather yourself, but your body is boneless. He lines himself up and sinks slowly inch by inch, each achingly blissful inch. The stretch is too much, no, it was perfect. You whimper, nails digging into his shoulders. “You’re too big..”
“You always say that,” he groans, voice frayed as he bottoms out. “Still take every inch like a good fuckin’ girl.” He pulls back and slams into you hard. You cry out, body jolting, already sensitive and raw.
“You feel that?” he growls in your ear, hips slamming against yours again. “Feel how deep I am? This pussy knows me.”
“Take it. All of it,” he growls, one hand fisted in your hair, the other gripping your hip. “You asked for this. You said you wanted me to fuck you dumb, remember?” You nod desperately, choking on moans.
“You love it,” he sneers, dragging his cock out to the tip before slamming back in, right to the hilt. “This tight little cunt’s fuckin’ made for me. You come on my face, you take my cock, and you beg for more.” Your fingers claw the sheets as his hand leaves your hip to deliver a sharp slap to your ass, the sting making your eyes tear.
“Fuck.. Baby, you sound so pretty when you cry. Makes me wanna ruin you all over again.”
You sob into the mattress, but it’s not from pain. It’s too much, deliciously so.
“You hear that?” he pants. “That sloppy little sound? That’s how hungry your pussy is for me. Sucking me in like you never want me to leave.” He leans over you now, chest to your back, his voice hot and dangerous in your ear.
“Tell me it’s mine.” You moan, barely audible.
“Louder.” He growled. He wanted to hear you.
“It’s yours, Phai Ah-yours.” You cried out as your breath hitched in your throat.
“Say it while I’m buried in you.” He thrusts deep again, cock grinding right into your sweet spot. You cry out, voice cracking. “It’s yours! All yours, fuck! don’t stop!”
He groans, dragging his teeth along your neck. “That’s it, baby. My fuckin’ girl.”
He flips you over with no warning, manhandling you like you weigh nothing. Now you’re beneath him, his body caging yours, sweat dripping from his brow as he slides back in, deep and slow this time. His eyes never leave your face.
“You good?” he asks quietly, breathing rough against your cheek. He knew he was being a bit rough. You nod, tears still in your eyes. “Please, keep going.”
He kisses your lips messy, tongue curling into your mouth—before he starts fucking you again. Harder now. Purposeful. Like he’s chasing something. Like he wants to fuck his name into your bones.
His hand finds your throat, thumb under your jaw. Not squeezing. Just claiming. “You take it so good,” he grits out, watching your tits bounce with each thrust. “You were made for me.”
Your mind was a mess, head thrown back, your words barely coherent. Just babbles of his name, singing it like it was prayer. And fuck was it music to his ears.
He lowers his mouth to your neck, biting hard, marking you. His thrusts grow messy, erratic. You feel him twitch inside you, hips jerking. “I’m gonna come,” he pants, voice nearly desperate. “You want it? You want me to fill you up?”
You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. “Yes! fuck, yes, Phai! Fill me up Ngh!”
His thrusts become erratic, rough, deep. He slams into you one final time and holds there, cock pulsing as he spills into you. He shudders, mouth open against your shoulder, panting like he’s just been dragged back from the edge
His groan is broken, guttural, as he buries himself to the hilt and spills inside you. You feel it, hot, thick, deep and your own orgasm rips through you again, triggered by the sound of his moan and the stretch of his cock pulsing inside your fluttering walls.
“You fuckin’ ruin me,” he growls, voice cracked, almost pained. “Every time.” You’re both still for a moment, bodies twitching, sweat clinging to your skin. He brushes your hair back from your face, eyes still wild but softer now.
“You good?” he murmurs, voice low. You nod slowly, dazed. “Yeah..Just, Holy shit. What got into you?” A crooked grin tugs at his lips. “Don’t fall asleep yet.” You blink up at him, eyebrows lifting. “Why?” you ask breathlessly.
“Because you’re not done,” he says, shifting his hips. “And neither am I.”
—

Dan Heng was hot tempered, questionably hostile at times, but when it came to you? He was always a blushing mess. With you, he turned shy, uncertain, his confidence unraveling under the weight of his affection. The first time you mentioned wanting to be intimate, he had blinked at you like you’d spoken in an entirely foreign tongue. His hands clenched in his lap, ears tinged with scarlet, eyes darting to anywhere but your face.
It wasn’t reluctance. He wanted you. You could see it in the way his gaze lingered on your lips too long, in the way he sometimes flinched when your hand brushed his, like the contact physically startled him.
He just didn’t know what to do with the need burning under his skin. But with time, with whispered encouragement and soft patience, Dan Heng shed his nervousness like molten armor.
And once he did, he became devastating.
He knew every single thing that made you tick, every single nook and cranny of your body. That alone made him dangerous. Your body, your sounds, the way your eyes fluttered when he kissed just under your jaw, the delicate shiver that ran down your spine when his breath warmed your ear.
He’d approach you quietly, sometimes catching you off guard with how fast he’d close the distance. Strong arms slipping around your waist from behind, the rough heat of his palms pressing into your skin, his lips brushing your neck just so, where your pulse fluttered beneath your skin, quickening the ache that curled low in your belly. That subtle spot where the softness of his mouth made your knees tremble, and your breath hitched, trembling with need.
More than his hands, more than his mouth, it was his voice gravelly and warm that ruined you most.
“Look at you,” he whispered one night, voice thick with desire as he settled between your thighs, the subtle musk of his skin mixing with the sweet, salty tang of your arousal. His fingers ghosted up your inner thigh, brushing over the delicate skin until you trembled under the featherlight touch. “Such a pretty little dove. Dripping wet, and I’ve barely even touched you.”
Your cheeks heated with embarrassment and anticipation, your panties clinging damply to your folds, the slight pressure already unbearable. He hadn’t even removed them yet, but the slick heat pooling between your legs begged for more. His eyes locked onto yours, dark and full of hungry promise.
“Use your words, my little dragon,” he murmured, breath fanning over your skin, warm and intoxicating. “Tell me what you want.”
You squirmed beneath him, thighs trembling. “Jus’ wan’ you, Danny.. want you to touch me.”
He smiled a slow, wicked curve that sent shivers crawling down your spine, and leaned in to press a heated kiss to the corner of your mouth. The taste of him is rich and addictive. “Good girl.”
The words settled inside you like fire.
His hands slid beneath your shirt, fingers tracing the curve of your ribs, sending sparks wherever he touched. Slowly, reverently, he peeled away your clothes, the faint rustle of fabric the only sound in the quiet room. His palms warmed your skin, kneading your breasts as his mouth descended, lips sealing around your nipple. His tongue flicked and teased, gentle but insistent, and a soft sigh escaped you, fingers threading into his thick, silky hair.
He lingered there, worshiping your body like a sacred offering, his breath hot and ragged against your skin.
Then, moving downward, he left a trail of wet, hungry kisses—a path of fire across your belly, the soft pulse of his tongue tracing your hip bones. His hands gripped your thighs firmly, holding you open as he lowered his mouth to your slick folds. The taste of you, sweet and salty, filled his senses, intoxicating and pure. His tongue circled your clit with slow and deliberate flicks, while his fingers spread your lips wider, exposing every inch to his skilled touch.
A moan tumbled from your throat, raw and unguarded, your hips arching involuntarily toward him. His groan vibrated through the room, a low rumble of satisfaction as he savored your response, his mouth and hands worshiping your trembling body.
You writhed beneath him, hips grinding softly against his mouth, desperate for more. He encouraged it, his voice thick with need as he whispered your name, coaxing every shudder, every gasp.
He didn’t stop until your legs shook and your breath came in ragged gasps, your body unraveling under his devotion.
Only then did he rise, lips pressing tender kisses to yours, the lingering taste of your essence on his tongue making him dizzy with desire. His hands cradled your face, thumbs brushing over your cheeks as he murmured, “So beautiful. So good for me.”
You kissed him back, soft and needy.
Without warning, you felt the heavy heat of him pressing against your entrance, thick and pulsing. He slid inside you inch by inch, slow and deliberate, watching your face for every flicker of pleasure and hesitation. Your hands clung to his broad shoulders, your breath catching as he filled you completely—deep, hot, and endless.
He stayed still, letting you adjust, savoring the way your body clung to his.
“You’re taking me so well, my love,” he whispered, voice rough with emotion. “So tight around me... like you were made for me.”
His movements began slowly and measured and so very deep. Languid thrusts that sent delicious fire rippling through you. Every drag of his cock inside your warm, slick walls made you gasp, your breath hitching in time with the slow, agonizing rhythm. His mouth was everywhere, licking your neck, nipping at your collarbone, and planting bruising kisses on your shoulder.
His hands gripped your hips, holding you steady as he pulled you flush against him. The scent of sweat and sex filled the room with a heady, intimate perfume that bound you to him.
“You feel so good,” he groaned, his voice cracking with need. “Can’t get enough of you. I want to stay inside you forever.”
His praise tumbled from his lips in a torrent now, each word a caress against your skin as he stirred you from within. “So soft. So perfect. I love you.” His voice was raw, vulnerable, bared to you entirely.
You cupped his face between your palms, brushing your lips over his in a messy, desperate kiss.
“I love you too,” you whispered, voice trembling with emotion. “More than I know how to say.”
Dan Heng’s hips moved faster, harder, every thrust sending sparks of pleasure exploding through your nerves. You were tangled together, body and soul, riding the edge of bliss. His fingers slid between your bodies, finding your clit and rubbing slow, steady circles that sent waves crashing over you.
“Come for me,” he urged, breath hot against your ear. “Show me how much you love me.”
Your release shattered over you in a torrent of heat and sound, your body clamping down on him as your cries echoed through the room. Dan Heng’s own growl of your name was rough and desperate, his hips stuttering before he spilled deep inside you, trembling and spent.
He didn’t pull away.
Wrapped around you, the two of you caught in the quiet afterglow, skin slick and sticky, breaths mingling in the dim light. His face was buried in your neck, fingers tracing lazy patterns over your back. The scent of sex and sweat and something infinitely tender surrounded you.
“I don’t know how to say everything I feel for you,” he murmured against your skin. “But when I’m like this, with you, I hope it’s enough.”
You kissed the damp curls at his nape, fingers threading through his hair.
“It is,” you whispered. “It always is.”
I hope you enjoyed! Requests are open.
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𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 | Joel Miller x reader
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part one– summary | Two strangers and their internal loneliness attract like magnets. Joel is at a loss, stuck—and you are alone, terrified. In the forced, shared space you find that distraction was the easiest way to cope.
content warning | dddne — DUBCON (this is an ongoing theme for a while), coercion, selective mutism on readers behalf, graphic depictions of violence, injury tw, not quite kidnapping/stockholm but reader has nowhere to go, brief mentions of pregnancy (like literally one line), mentions of starvation due to food scarcity but appearances isn't deeply described, mentions of sa and other relating themes, mean!joel, girthy age gap (reader is 20, joel is 54), joel is riddled with guilt but what's new amirite, oral (m receiving), unprotected piv and creampies, if i missed anything please let me know!
author's note: guys this has been sitting in my drafts finished for almost a year and this new picture has sparked a fucking fire in my docs over this series (another one? yeah i know), this is probably the heaviest thing (for me) i have ever written? so just, be warned. i don't have a timeline for this, i'm literally just vibing it out as i am with most fics lately and if you see a tag you don't like. don't read. you're responsible for the work you consume. a full list of triggers/warning can be found on the masterlist.
word count —10k
part two | part three | strangers masterlist

“She’s a stray, look at her.”
Two pairs of eyes stare back, across the dimly lit room. You’re curled up in the chair, thick leather coat lined with wool draping your shoulders and your toes curled around the edge of the seat, hands balled up near your chest as you savor the warmth.
It was the first time in a month that you’ve seen a fire—sure, you’ve tried to build one. But, you never quite got it and usually ended up burning yourself in the process and added onto the litany of other scars left as memories and reminders on your skin.
Survival—while you weren’t good at it, you did what you had to. Pure, primal instinct. Find shelter, find food, get safe. Don’t die.
Your nose was bloody, lips chapped and cracking, running on a few hours of sleep over the last several days. Place to place, you had to keep running. If you didn’t, they would catch you, surely.
Your muscles ache as they had a moment to relax, legs sore from walking miles and miles, the lingering cuts and scabs that hadn’t healed from your own clumsiness and a mix of being at the end of a blade of a man with too much pride to allow you to damper the moment.
You licked your lips and your eyes flitted away, staring out the window and counting the string of illuminated, plastic orbs hanging on the house across from the one you were currently being interrogated in—the men were still looking at you. Your outer stoic expression hid away the trembling fear you kept inside. They were waiting for you to speak.
That never came.
“You got a name?”
You shake your head, eyes quickly averting in a different direction.
The two men were similar in build—tall and stocky, large and filled out bodies built of muscle and years of hard labor, older based on the grays littering their well-kempt hair and trimmed beards. One has hair that curls just beyond his ears, a warmer brown than the other mans.
They both pull the same expression—complete and utter confusion.
Nearly identical. Oh, they’re brothers.
If not, they sure did bicker like it.
“She’s pullin’ our fuckin’ leg, Tommy.”
Your ears perk up, assigning the name to a face. He seemed softer than the other man, less weathered and guilt-ridden. It wasn’t like you knew anything about these men, but you’ve learned to identify as much as you could within a couple looks.
Figure them out.
What do they want? What can you give them?
Tommy rounds the table separating you from him, a safe, protective distance as he presses his palm into the chair pushed under the table, fingers curling around the top.
“Listen, you’ve gotta give us something.” Tommy explains, “Given the shape of you, I’m tryin’ to avoid the whole vetting process we go through. We don’t take kindly to raiders or tricks or people looking to cause trouble.”
“We ain’t even got space for her—”
Tommy holds his hand up to the other man, eyes still locked on you.
“Look at me,” His voice is solid, demanding.
But, he’s not yelling. You turn meekly, gripping for the jacket when it slips from your shoulders. Your clothes were torn, jagged edges barely hanging on in some places. Garments soiled and unwashed for weeks and god—you fucking reek. You can smell it, you know they can smell it.
You were a stray feral cat that had scurried up to their doorstep and passed out from exhaustion and while one was attempting to take pity, the other was ready to crush your skull under the weight of his boot.
“Can you talk?” He asks, eyebrows raising slightly in question.
Your tongue rolls against the front of your teeth and you switch your gaze between the two men before shaking your head, a barely noticeable gesture if they hadn’t been staring you down.
You were being truthful—you couldn’t speak. It wasn’t like you’d had your tongue cut out and were ridden with the choice, but quiet has been the only thing that has ever brought you peace.
Familiar phrases echo loudly in your mind.
Don’t speak, be a good girl.
Seen, not heard.
Speak and I will rip your fucking tongue out.
So, no—you can’t talk.
“We’ve got families comin’ in—men and women that are willing to be a hell of a lot more cooperative than this—”
“Joel,” Tommy warns with a voice that shakes the room, causing you to jerk in response and this time he is holding his hand out to you, palm raised as if to ease you down, “we can give her a fair chance, just like we do the others. Grab a piece of paper and pencil,” He points toward a desk tucked against a far wall and Joel's heavy boot stomps follow Tommy’s orders before he’s returning, slapping the items back down on the table and taking a similar stance to Tommy.
You were sandwiched between the two men as they surrounded you, shaking as you took the pencil in your hand and gripped it, fumbling for the paper as you used your fingertips to drag it close.
“Where did you come from?” Tommy asks.
You remember the dark room, chains and screams—blood-curdling screams. One meal a day, if you are good. Constant pacing in the halls, a building in the city holding a much darker secret in the quarantine zone you had been kidnapped and forced to take home in.
Bad place, you write in sloppy handwriting.
Tommy leans to look and his brow furrows, subverting toward Joel who shakes his head at you.
“No—state, city. Anything. Bad place ain’t gonna cut it, kid.”
Kid.
They’ve never called you a kid before.
Men like him—he wasn’t them, but they all start to look the same after a while.
Salt Lake? Old QZ in the city.
Joel knows that place had crumbled years ago and quarantine zones were nearly non-existent now. Taken up by people trying to start anew, much like Jackson, but more often than not it was raiders—the filthy kind of people who took without asking and killed first, asked questions never.
He couldn’t blame them, but the handful of years in Jackson has taught him a new approach. It wasn’t his favorite, but it allowed him to sleep easier at night, usually.
“You left on your own?” Joel asks, speaking before Tommy could, likely ready to ask the same question. His insipid tone makes your skin crawl.
You chewed at your bottom lip and your eyelashes touched your cheeks in a flurry of blinks as you scribbled out the one word onto the paper.
Escaped.
The alarm is immediate, Joel’s head snapping up as you push the paper toward the middle of the table and allow the pencil to roll with it.
“Tommy, can I speak to you for a minute?” Joel’s voice is harsh, not nearly the question he posed it as.
Tommy rolls his shoulders and walks around the back of your chair, following Joel into the hallway, hushed voices shocking the tension back into your body as you curl into yourself, crossing your arms over your chest and allowing your eyes to scan the room.
Memorize, categorize—this was one of the men’s houses, of whom you weren’t sure for the moment.
But, it was stocked with personal items and supplies, a bassinet shoved away in the living room and as you turned that way you noticed a pair of eyes peek around the doorframe leading that way.
A girl, young—not much younger than yourself but she is noticeably more child-like, curious.
Her shoes squeak against the hardwood startling you both and suddenly Joel is reentering the room and directing his voice toward her.
“Go on home,” He speaks to her, his expression washed-out and tired, “don’t linger ‘round here, kiddo.”
“I’m the one who found her,” She seems to take an angle of defense, coming into view. Clothes that hung off her body, not well-fitting and clearly second hand but more intact than your own, “I was on watchtower duty with Dina—”
“Ellie, this doesn’t concern you.”
Ellie rolls her eyes, walking closer regardless of Joel’s words and tossing a knife on the table.
Your knife—the black-handled switchblade closed shut. It still had old, dried blood caked on the handle. It could have been your own, but that was just a lucky guess. That thing had been your lifeline for weeks, moments away from a terrible night of near starvation or a desperate attack on you, it helped keep you safe.
You instinctively reach for it but Joel is quick—unnaturally, as he curls it into his hand and gives you a look of warning.
“This,” He holds it up, the switchblade dwarfed between his large, calloused fingers, “ain’t yours.”
Your lips pull into a thin line, eyes falling to the floor.
Tommy’s tongue clicks against his cheek as he rounds the corner, fingers rubbing at his chin as he paces, his face deep in thought and contemplation as he back steps toward the edge of the table near you, leaning into it and crossing one foot over the other. His hands are tucked away in his pockets.
“That place you escaped—” He looks up toward Joel briefly before his gaze lands on you again, “they gonna come lookin?”
You could tell the truth—you weren’t sure.
You weren’t the only girl that was locked away in the central tower of that city, the only person who was being used so inhumanely for the needs of others in the most heinous of ways.
Selfish, sick and demented, men who got off on that desperate need for power and control.
So, instead and out of self-preservation, you lie.
Shaking your head, Tommy takes a small breath and nods.
“Alright—I’m trustin’ you. Still, we’ll beef up security for a bit, and add a few extra patrols. You need a place to stay and we’re gonna give you that. But, we got rules.”
“Rule number one–you earn this,” Joel holds up the knife again before it’s tucked away in his pocket for safekeeping. Your eyes drag toward his pocket, staring daggers into the material.
“You earn your keep—I’m going to give you some time to settle, but eventually we’re going to assign you to a station. You work or you leave, there’s no other way about it.” Tommy continues, “And while I’m more inclined to give you a space of your own, we’re all full up singles and giving you a townhome…well, I’m not so sure that is the best idea.”
You weren’t going to argue—not that you had the will to speak up for yourself now, not when both of their presence were so oppressive. You nod obediently and look over at Joel who is still lingering, like an ugly guard dog ready to bare his teeth at a moment’s notice.
“I’d keep you here, but with my situation I’m not putting anything at risk,” Tommy says and you suddenly realize that this was his home. You weren’t that slow-witted. He had a family, something you were never familiar with.
But, you understood.
“So, you’ll be staying with Joel.”
It clearly wasn’t his choice, based on the way his teeth clench, jaw flexing as he crossed his arms, fabric stretching over broad shoulders and thick, muscled biceps. His piercing gaze makes you shrink into your chair, if that were possible.
Your nose scrunches slightly, in a faint show of disgust but you quickly collect yourself.
“I’m also gonna suggest you see our doctor, get those bruises checked out. Make sure you don’t have any broken bones and they can stitch up any—”
It forces you into a panic, heart beating rapidly in your chest as the jacket drops from your shoulders, fingers reaching out to wrap around Tommy’s wrist—and, like you had suspected, Joel is quick to grab at your own wrist, ready to tackle you to the ground. It wouldn’t take much given your size difference—he was just...massive, threatening in a way you've never felt. Joel could snap you like a twig, but his restraint is there.
Tommy notices the panic in your eyes—you weren’t trying to attack. You were attempting to communicate in a moment of worry, he nodded and waved Joel off, prying your hand from his arm gently and placing it against your knee.
“Alright, no doctor.” Tommy settles, “For now.”
You slump back and blink away the burning sting of tears that filed your eyes.
“Get her settled in,” He tells Joel, “make sure she eats.”
Joel doesn’t nod, but he moves, backing out of your way and giving you space.
You move slowly, shaking the jacket off your shoulders before Tommy is shaking his head and grabbing hold of the lapel, pulling it back up. You jerky slightly, averting your body from his sudden touch.
“Sorry–just…keep it,” Tommy tells you—it was a look of pure pity, his eyes softening around the naturally hard edges, “I’ll have my wife go searching for some clothes tomorrow, get you out of those and into something clean and better fitting.”
You follow behind Joel to the door, a careful distance as you linger, bracing yourself for the cold crunch of snow under your bare feet.
“And brother,” Tommy calls out—there it was. Joel twists the knob and looks over his shoulder, “don’t go scaring her more than she already is.”
You weren’t sure if it was even possible to feel true fear anymore.
-
The walk is short, but painful. Small winces that get caught in your throat as you quicken your pace to keep up with Joel, a slight limp to your walk from the bruising on your ribs and the tinge of pain in your hips and pelvis—your body has relaxed for too long, it felt brittle.
You hurt all over, but lately, you could will it all to go numb if you tried hard enough. Disconnect, disassociate, and disappear from your own body.
Eventually, you do meet his front door and you’re enveloped with warmth in a matter of seconds, making your way inside hesitantly as Joel holds the door open. He hadn’t spoken a word since you left the other house, fingers gripping hard on the pair of gloves tucked into his left hand. You look around curiously, the house shrouded in darkness aside from the fireplace ignited and crackling in the far room to your left. Joel moves quietly behind you, placing his belongings on the kitchen counter, but the switchblade is still tucked away in his front pocket, you know that much.
He plucks at a note folded under a magnet on the fridge, reading it to himself silently.
“Come on, kiddo,” He mumbles to himself, realizing it must be from the girl—sounding exasperated as he balls up the paper and tosses it in the trash. He favored that word, but you can’t tell if it’s just a habit.
You weren’t a kid, not even close. It felt patronizing when it was aimed your way.
He eyes you carefully, sighing as he presses a hand against the kitchen counter.
“I’m settin’ you up in the basement—none of the other rooms are in good enough condition.” Joel explains, speaking to you in the most civil way he has all night, “nothin’ is off limits except my room. And Ellie’s. She’s out back but you don’t get to go snoopin’ around. Got it?”
You shrug the jacket off but hold it close to your chest, arms crossing over each other as you hug the thick material. You nod slowly.
“Really, nothing?” Joel asks.
All it takes is a look, eyes bleary and sorrowful.
“Go on,” He nods, “there’s a bed down there, a shower, a change of clothes—”
You quickly scurry off, overwhelmed by the intensity of his unwavering gaze and the sound of his voice as it becomes more and more muffled the deeper you trek down the stairs, careful steps on your torn up feet, he seems to finally give up when your feet hit the concrete floor.
It’s still warm here, but not nearly as much. A small rectangular window sits right above the old bed, a mattress on a rusted metal frame that looked like it barely had any life left in it. But, it was an actual bed. Not boxes and a bedsheet, a makeshift pillow made from your dirtied clothes to give the ache in your neck some much needed relief.
There was a small room in the corner, a bathroom that barely managed to fit the necessities you needed—but it was still something. A shower, a toilet, a sink. A mirror that you couldn’t even bother to look in, making your way around the room you find the stack of clean clothes and towels on the coffee table in front of a worn couch, threads pulling apart at the seams on the arms.
You crouch, despite the screaming protest from your body and sift through the pile. A clean shirt, a clean pair of sweats. Underwear—you haven’t had the luxury of clean undergarments in months, often finding that going without was easier. A lump burns in your throat.
You move slowly, tucking the jacket over the edges of the mirror to cover it and placing the clothes on the closed toilet seat as you struggle for a few minutes to figure out the shower, jolting at the touch of hot water when it shoots out from the spout above.
You strip carefully, shirt pulled over your head with a small wince before your fingers are dipping into the waistband of your bottoms, slipping them down your hips and allowing them to drop silently to the floor before you step out of them—the moment the water touches your skin you regret it, the dirtied water pooling at your feet.
You cry, sob under the spray of water and scrub away every inch of dirt and grime and blood from your body–it hurts, it fucking hurts but you can’t find it in you to stop. You could scrub the skin raw, open up old wounds and make the fresh ones worse, but you’ll settle for red and welted skin. A mix of re-opened gashes and cuts flushed out by the stream of water and your maniacal scrubbing, but at least you didn’t smell like the stench of your own bodily fluids and weeks of built up dirt on your skin, nights of sleeping on wet ground in the woods.
There is a moment of running your fingers through your hair that feels nice, hair still slightly matted from the lack of care but it feels cleaner, as much as you could manage before your arms gave out from exhaustion. You savor the warmth until the water runs cold, heavy footsteps above you shaking the dust from the ceilings.
Right. You’re not alone. Not anymore.
But, that didn’t bring you comfort either.
You turn off the water and reach for the towel, allowing yourself to get dressed at a careful pace—they must be Joel’s clothes, a plain white shirt that was soft to the touch but clearly worn and a pair of black sweats that had seen better days, the color warped and faded. You manage to slip the socks of your feet with one stumble, hand pressing against the sink to catch yourself.
The jacket remains hung and you flick off the light before taking space on the bed, palms pressed out against the clean, linen sheet, the comforter tucked away against the wall as you laid down, body protesting the entire way.
Eyes squeezed shut, you grit your teeth and pull the comforter over your shoulders.
You try to sleep that night, but it is futile. The light hanging above your bed flickers occasionally—every fifteen minutes to be exact, it had done it thirty two times that night.
–
It never fails—just as you feel yourself drifting off every early morning, Joel is awaking you with the sound of his heavy footsteps and a bag of food. Sometimes a tray or plate. It varied.
You’ve been here three full days now, not counting the night they had taken you in.
You hadn’t left the room, hadn’t asked for a single thing.
Joel was starting to believe that your tongue was cut out—that you were robbed of the ability to speak entirely, but he knows that isn’t the case when he watches your tongue peek out as you take a bite of the scrambled eggs he had grabbed from the town dining hall for you.
You haven’t seen an authentic plate of food in months, and with proper silverware—having half the mind to dig in with your hands before Joel passes you the fork. It was real, warm food. Your stomach growled with greed as you shoveled the food into your mouth quietly.
Joel watches you with a strange look, not with judgment but a genuine curiosity that he doesn’t act on with questions or crude statements. He waits until you're done, leaning against the door that leads to the rest of the house, only coming near when you press the plate to the floor with a soft clang.
And it continues like that for a couple days—occasional Joel will bring more than food; a book, a magazine, a set of cards. He never explicitly acknowledges the items, but he does leaves it behind. You can’t bring yourself to leave the room, in fear of what you faced outside of here. Even just a few steps into Joel’s kitchen and it made your stomach twist and the bile stir.
Sometimes the food comes in only paper bags, a few at a time and things that didn’t need to be kept cold because when Joel had to go away on patrol he couldn’t watch over you, even if he felt the need to.
He wasn’t sure if you were going to try and make a break for it, escape over the walls.
He wouldn’t stop you, wouldn’t blame you either. But, the state you're in, he can’t see you surviving more than a day. Bruises were healing, cuts were scabbed up and scarred over. He never tended to your wounds, always allowed you to do that on your own. At least, he assumed you were. You’ve learned to not scamper away as much, taking things from him with minimal contact and a small nod, sometimes allowing a small gesture of thanks with a hand on your chin that you bring downwards.
Joel only scowls his brow and looks at you confused.
“You stink.” Joel says one day, out of the blue over dinner as he watched by the doorway.
You stop chewing mid-bite and look at him.
“Have you showered at all since the first day?”
Impishly you look away toward the bathroom.
It felt selfish, to overuse the hot water and indulge in the pleasure of the heat—always used to cold showers and the bare minimum of scrubbing yourself down in thirty seconds. It was routine: in, wash, out. There was no enjoyment.
You shake your head after a while and push your plate aside, feeling your stomach turn.
“Go,” He nods as he steps toward you, swiping up the plate in his right hand and leading the way toward the bathroom, noting the way the coat was still hung over the mirror. He doesn’t comment on it, but he nods his head in the direction of the shower.
You look at him slightly unsure, “If I have to force you in there I will,” He says, but there isn’t any real bite behind, although the look in his eyes tells a different story, “there’s plenty of hot water, use it.”
But…
The word lingers in your head.
“I’ll have Ellie grab you some new clothes, somethin’ that fits better.” Joel tells you, “Just get in the goddamn shower.”
You brush past him quietly, beginning to undress yourself without warning which alarms Joel.
“Oh—well, shit. I mean after I left.” Joel turns away and his descending footsteps eventually fade and despite how hard it is to get your body to work, or even move, you shower.
-
You grab the unused towel hanging over the barely clinging metal rack nailed into the wall, wrapping it around your body securely, bare feet pressing against the ground and for the first time in a while, it doesn’t hurt. It’s sore, but it doesn’t sting as harshly as it did.
There’s a suspicious lack of clothing—your dirty ones nowhere in sight, no clean ones either. In fact, the room was practically bare of all trash and old clothing. You ignore the dull pain at your hip, a wound still on the mend and step around the corner of the doorway carefully and hear the sound of footsteps above you, the soft hum of voices until one fades, a door closing following in the wake of the newly discovered sounds.
The door is open. Joel left the door open.
You stop several feet away, staring out into the hallway, the house was dim aside from the bright glow of flames burning in the fireplace. You feel so strongly to run toward the door and slam it closed, clamber back into bed—fearful that if you left the room then this bubble of safety and protection would be broken. But, there was the small voice in the back of your mind screaming to take a step forward, and then another, until your fingers were lingering over the doorknob and pushing it open further.
You take a step out, only to be met with the chest of someone else running into your arm clutching at the towel wrapped around your body—it couldn’t be anyone but Joel, and of course, you’re right.
He’s staring at you emotionless, aside from the subtle acknowledgment that you had listened to him.
“Got you a couple sets—something to sleep in, something to wear during the day.”
He doesn’t elaborate, handing the clothes over into your empty hand. You’re halfway in the process of dropping your towel before Joel’s hand is wrapping around your wrist, forcing you to stop.
“Stop doin’ that,” Joel commands, nodding toward the bathroom behind you, peeking over your shoulder in that direction before looking back at him with wide, startled eyes, “privacy—do you understand that?” His voice is slow, almost patronizing.
Privacy wasn’t lost on you—but it had long been a foreign concept.
You nod.
“Then go, get dressed.” He reprimands, pointing down the hall, a different bathroom then you’ve seen before.
You scurry away with the clothes clutched to your chest, catching a quick glimpse of yourself in the mirror as you step inside the room—it was startling, having not seen your appearances in weeks, days and days of constant guessing, wondering how the time starved in the Wyoming forest had damaged you.
Physically, mentally, emotionally.
It had taken a toll and it was even more visible than you expected.
You looked rundown, eyes tired and sorrowful. It was pathetic. You tried not to linger for long, noting the appearance of your body and moving on—having to look back at yourself in the mirror was far worse than being attached to it.
The clothes Joel gave you were thin, fleece pajamas that felt soft to the touch and kind against your still sensitive skin. You exit the bathroom quietly and Joel is nowhere to be found in your immediate vicinity, half-expecting him to be waiting outside the bathroom door. You edge back toward the basement door before you spot him on the couch in the living room, the back of his head and broad, stocky shoulders the only glimpse of him you have.
He seems relaxed, staring off into space as he looks down.
You don’t know where the pull comes from, but it wraps around the ache in your chest and pulls you closer, toward him. The creak in the floorboard gives you away.
“Don’t sneak around,” Joel says, “makes people anxious ‘round here.”
Makes him anxious, clearly.
After a moment of silence, he extends the invitation to join him.
“If you’re cold, sit—got room if you want to sit somewhere closer to the fire.”
He did have quite the sizable living room, a couple couches and a few arm chairs surrounding the otherwise bare living space.
You can see the softness on his face under this light, his eyes drawing up to look at you while his head is still tilted down, his hands rubbing away at his stiff knuckle joints. He keeps flicking his eyes between the two—his hands, you, then back again.
If he has something he wants to ask, he doesn’t.
You’re silent as you avoid each piece of furniture all together and quietly make your way between his outstretched legs, a perfect place to tuck yourself between as you kneel.
Thank him, he deserves it.
He didn’t strike you as a shy man, but you’ve done this plenty of times before—it was really no different, but this was more of a silent offer than the usual demands you were faced with.
Joel doesn’t move right away, doesn’t even react.
Until you touch him, your hands gliding over his knees, his thighs, leaning forward to nuzzle your face against his thigh as you pull at his zipper—again, his fingers wrap around your wrist. But, no words follow. You make eye contact with him then, feeling at your most confident and bold when he looks so worried, frightened—the deep feeling of intrigue buried underneath it all.
You pull away from his grip and wrap your fingers around his waistband, pulling slowly until he moves, wordlessly he responds by using his thumbs to push his jeans far enough down that you can comfortably press your hands over the obvious bulge in his boxers—it wasn’t hard or straining, but the touch of your hand against his cock had it growing to that point quickly, his eyes downcast and half-lidded.
It was like he didn’t want to look, but couldn’t look away. You took it in stride and pulled at his boxers until you could tug his cock free of the confines, watching it spring up against his stomach—thick in every sense of the word and large, much more than any man who’s ever claimed you. Pretty, almost, if you could consider it that. He’s well-kempt and clean which was nice, unusual given the time you lived in now. More importantly, you feel your mouth watering at the prospect of taking him inside, pressing your tongue flat against the tip and swallowing him down.
That has never happened before.
You settled between his legs more comfortably, raising up on scabbed up knees and dragging your fingers delicately along the shaft and down to his balls, watching them tighten at the attention you showed before you’re leaning down to take his cock into your mouth without much of a warning. Joel shifts slightly and you ancitpate him to push you away.
But, really, you just wanted to thank him. It was the only way you’ve learned how.
He breathes out softly, the first sound you’ve heard since you touched him.
You drag your tongue from base to tip, hand pressed his cock flat against it as you circle around the tip before dipping back down, slipping back into the motions so easily it feels mind-numbing.
Your eyes flutter as you force yourself to take him as deep as possible, nearly gagging before you pull away, catching a slight glimpse of him behind bleary, wet eyes.
His own are wild, hands pressed flat against the cushion, mouth only slightly ajar. But, he won’t look at you. Only the action, your hand wrapped around his shaft, the other pressed against his thigh and he fights off that urge to touch you, tilting his head back against the couch as you continue with a sudden fervor you didn’t have before.
You bob effortlessly, taking him just near the point of impossible before you’re pulling away, repeating that until you can feel that faint throb, that familiar pulse as his balls tighten with his impending orgasm and just as he reaches for your hair, ready to pull you away, you fight against it. He comes in your mouth with a low groan, gripping onto the surface of the couch in desperation.
When the pulsing finally calms you pull away, wiping at your mouth with the back of your hand and standing slowly, adjusting your clothes where they had shifted out of place slightly before taking a silent seat on the couch beside him, laying down and curling up into yourself.
You hear the dull sounds of him readjusting his pants, zipping them, shuffling slightly as he clears his throat and suddenly there is a throw being draped over you—a soft, sherpa lined blanket that immediately bathes you in warmth.
Joel catches your gaze as you blink up at him, pausing briefly to acknowledge how lost you seem—in need of guidance. It settles in him then, dawns on his mind that this was what you were used to, wherever you had escaped from was far worse than anything he’s ever suspected. He tucks the blanket in gently and double checks the locks on the door. You’re already asleep by the time he passes by, leaning over the back of the couch to check on you.
Joel feels the guilt creep in slowly.
He should have stopped, he knows he should have. But, he didn’t.
Why? He couldn’t explain it.
The walk to his bedroom seems miles away and when he finally reaches it he’s closing the door with a dignified sigh, immediately making his way toward the en-suite bathroom and undressing his clothes—it was his second shower that day but he didn’t give a shit.
He needed a moment to reconvene in his mind…or escape.
Really, he just needed a distraction. It was selfish need.
The clothes pile up on the tile floor as he turns on the water, the stream shooting out of the shower head in quick spurts before it levels out and Joel steps inside, head first as the water soaks his hair, face, traveling down his body.
It wasn’t the first time he’s allowed his hand to travel to his cock within the privacy of this bathroom—a man with no one to keep his bed warm at night, or morning–or ever, really. He’s learned to cope, release some of the built up anger and frustration even if for a brief moment.
But, this was different. Because the only thing he could think of was you. The meek looks you offered, dumb-founded and lost, like a young gazelle lost in the woods. He can only imagine, suspect what you’ve been through, but the look you had given him while you took him into your mouth was something Joel couldn’t describe.
There was no clear acknowledgement, no hard line of yes and no. The lines were blurred and he doesn’t know why, but he was okay with it for a moment. Truly, you’d had all the power in the moment anyways—Joel was helpless under the touch of your mouth, a goner the second your hand touched his skin.
He tugs at his cock lazily and with no real purpose, knowing if he tried to come again so soon it wouldn’t happen, but for the brief moment of peace, he imagines you there, kneeling before him with the spray of water over your face and his cock buried in your mouth, puffing out your cheeks and how you would be so willing to do whatever he’d ask.
Obedience—that was the one thing that stuck out. You always listened when he spoke.
He could help you, he thinks. Heal you.
Or, he would fuck up and make it far worse.
He wasn’t sure if it was even worth the trouble.
-
The next morning you wake to the startling clang of pans behind you, shooting upright on the couch and snapping your head toward the kitchen to catch a glimpse of Joel’s back, shoulder blades stretched and outlined under the thin material of his shirt, clinging to his back snuggly. There’s a savory smell that breaches your nose–meat, potatoes, something of a near feast as you spot the few plates on the table stacked with various other foods.
Joel seems to sense your eyes, turning his body slightly to look behind him and your gaze quickly averting down, playing with a loose thread on the blanket as he plates the remaining food.
“Beginning of the month,” Joel explains, “usually the only time we get to eat like this.”
Joel swiftly decided that taking the route of pretending nothing ever happened was the easiest, brushing off the events of the previous night with a point to the seat near the kitchen island.
“C’mon, dig in,” He invites, “Ellie should be up soon and lord knows that kid doesn’t care about savin’ enough for the rest of us. Fill up while you can.”
Your footsteps are quiet and slow as you approach the island, the long sleeves tucked under your fingers mid-palm, crossing your arms over your chest as you look at the cacophony of items. Not sure where to start or end. Joel reaches for a plate and points to the items in order from left to right, plating a couple items with every nod you give him.
He was an enigma of a man—so brute and intimidating at a glance and he was when he needed to be, but this was a soft crack in a hard exterior, years of built up trauma intertwined with a rough world dependent on the strongest to survive. It had to level out at some point–and here that big strong man was, making up your plate and plopping a piece of bacon down before you impishly nod your head toward the pile of bacon.
“More?”
You nod quickly and Joel feels a subtle grin tug at his face, nodding in agreement with your choice as he gives you another piece.
You eat in silence—chewing slowly and methodically as you listen to the quiet, roving chatter of people outside, neighbors readying for their day. It was a community, a town, well-oiled and rare in this world.
“Are you done hiding down in the basement?” Joel asks eventually, peeking up from his plate as he leaned against the counter adjacent the island, “Eventually you’re gonna have to talk to Tommy, get you set up with a job.”
Right. Work. Sustenance. You had to carry your own weight.
“You can talk here, you know?” Joel tells you, “You can talk, can’t you?”
Your eyes flick away briefly, avoiding the question.
“Let me try that again,” Joel clears his throat and tosses his empty plate behind him in the sink, fingers curling around the edge of the counter beside him, “Can’t?”
You shake your head.
“Won’t?”
A jerky nod as you push your own plate away.
“I’m not tryin’ to pry or force it—jus’ think it may cause problems eventually.”
You make a motion of writing with your hand shyly, hoping he’ll understand.
Joel nods jerkily and turns to rummage through a drawer in the kitchen, filled with a miscellaneous amount of junk, finding a pad of paper and a pencil and handing it over to you.
Not scared. Of you.
Joel watches as you scribble the words down and furrows his brow.
“No, I’m not sayin’ you are—”
You scratch out the words and start a new line.
If we talked, they hit.
They?
Joel doesn’t voice the word but you see the confusion on his face.
They do nice things and we thank them. The men. If we didn’t, they would hurt us. Or kill if they were angry enough.
You scrunch your nose up slightly, looking disgruntled. Joel watches your hand shake as you continue—it didn’t help to be vague, but that fear they had instilled in you lingered like a dark, suffocating cloud.
I grew up in that place.
Bad place, Joel reminds himself. That was what you had told him and Tommy.
“People—they ain’t like that here—” Joel says, but you’re already scribbling before he can finish.
You don’t know that.
Ellie disrupts the quiet conversation with her loud entrance through the back door, looking tired as she tugged her jacket over her shoulders, pack already slung over her back.
“You’re up early,” Joel notes, preemptively handing Ellie a slice of bacon.
“Jesse wants to get an early start for the patrol since that big storm is supposed to hit tomorrow.”
Joel nods, noting how you looked between the pair curiously.
Ellie seems to notice you’re staring too, offering a casual, “Hi,” around the bacon her teeth tore into.
“Right, shoulda remembered to tell you,” Joel looks over at you, “we’ll both be gone for a few days, longer patrols with all the extra ones Tommy’s pushing at.”
“Seems pointless,” Ellie shrugs, “but…whatever.”
“You get goin’,” He tells Ellie, “I’ll catch up.”
Ellie chews at her breakfast indifferently, nodding in response as she departs, the front door closing gently behind her.
Joel gathers the dishes quietly but you feel the urge to move, helping him gather the rest of the dirty dishes and pile them into the sink. You don’t ask and he doesn’t either, but as he washes, you dry, and it feels normal.
Maybe the only normal experience you’ve had since you ended up here.
You couldn’t place your finger on him, though—Joel. One moment he was kind, talkative and curious, willing to take his time to figure out what he could about you. But, other times you felt like you were a stray dog that popped up at his doorstep and refused to leave. So, now he was forced to house you, feed you, take care of you.
So, obviously, it only made sense to take care of him.
He’d enjoyed it the first time.
Joel’s drying his hands on a towel you hand him before you’re reaching for his belt, metal clinking against metal and you tug, but you’re stopped short, his hand wrapping tightly around your wrist.
“The fuck are you doing?” Joel asks, shoving your hand away forcefully.
But, it’s the clipped, peaking anger in his tone that forces you back further.
You blink away the quickly forming tears in your eyes and retreat quickly, mouth hung open slightly in shock, frightened at the almost instantaneous shift in Joel’s voice. His face. His entire demeanor—you’ve crossed into dangerous territory, like mindless prey.
You’re amiss to the way Joel’s jaw clenches at his sudden outburst, internally shaming himself for the strain in his jeans at even just the thought of you touching him again—the willingness and eagerness of your actions, how long you’ve been conditioned into this.
He doesn’t call after you, though—only stopping by the house later that afternoon before he left to set you up with enough meals and changes of clothes to last you those three days. A knock on the door startles your timid heart, forcing you to your feet and by the time you reach the door he’s nowhere in sight. You’re thankful for that, actually. You weren’t sure if you could even look at him, fearful of the disappointment.
There was a small note folded on top of the pile placed on the floor, unfolded with a careful touch, it read—House is all yours.
Three days, all alone.
You couldn’t bring yourself to leave that basement once.
–
When Joel returns home it’s late and he’s toeing his boots off at the door the moment he steps inside and notes the lack of warmth—a fireplace unused and the door to the basement closed shut. Ellie had already wandered off with Dina for the night, one less thing he had to worry about. He was more appreciative that she’d finally broken out of her shell and actually made a few good friends.
He ignites the fireplace, looking over his shoulder every few seconds waiting, wondering if you were waiting in anticipation—those curious eyes tracking every movement he made. He’d picked up some dessert from the mess hall on the way to his house, selfishly wanting to keep it for himself but he feels that tug, that push to extend the olive branch.
He needed to clear up this…confusion. Try—he could try, at least.
“Sorry, I actually didn’t want you to suck my dick.”
“I enjoyed it but we shouldn’t do that again.”
“I know it’s wrong, but I didn’t want to stop you.”
Joel knows he sounds ridiculous in his head, but he was at a loss.
He’d stopped you because it was wrong–but not because he didn’t want you to.
Joel doesn’t even consider the idea that you may already be asleep for the night, pulling out the small box of dessert and a fresh pair of clothes he’d picked up alongside the food when he checked his horse back in at the stable, picking up a few other spare supplies.
You hear him before you see him when he opens the door, those heavy boot steps thunk, thunk, thunk against the floor and you lie still, staring at him meekly as he approaches the couch adjacent to the bed in a near corner, resting the items on the table and taking a seat silently.
“You hungry?” He asks casually and your stomach growls on command despite your unwillingness to move, blanket tucked under your chin.
He can see you shake your head slightly, easy to miss if he wasn’t staring you down.
“We need to talk,” Joel says, your eyes jolting to him suddenly, “about the other night.”
He jerks his head over, silently asking you to join him on the couch—he’s leaned back but not comfortable, his hands resting in his lap, much like the position you caught him in that night.
When you don’t move, he sighs. A deep, soft sound that has you turning over in bed to face the wall.
“I’m not asking.”
Heavy footsteps follow, the sounder closer and closer, his boots scuffing against the ground before they stop and you can feel him at your back, the whole of the bed shifting as he rests a hand on a decorative knob of the arched bed frame, creaking under his weight.
“Sit up,” He says again, “come on.”
There’s an irritation in his tone that tells you he isn’t leaving until you do, pushing up slowly and crawling to the side with your hands. The last lingering wound stings as you move, a gash on your lower back, toward your hip that you had haphazardly sewn up a few weeks ago with some sewing thread and a needle. It still hadn’t healed like the rest of your wounds. The last remaining physical memory of that time, aside from the scars.
Joel tilts his head to the side and back, noticing as you squeeze your eyes shut in pain and irritation.
“You’re still hurtin’,” It's a statement, he knows it—he can see it on your face.
You shake your head unconvincingly.
“Let me see.”
You shake again, backing into a corner but Joel is quick, he follows and leans down, pulling at the edge of your shirt that was already riding up your back, noting the red and fussed up wound by your hip—it was infected, there was no doubt in his mind.
“Does it hurt?” He asks now, “Don’t lie to me.”
Your eyes lock for a long, lingering moment before you nod, shifting away from his touch as it presses featherlight against the skin.
“I got some supplies upstairs,” He tells you absently, eyes examining the festering wound, “you need that cleaned and stitched up properly before you end up septic.”
Not that it sounded like too bad of a prospect anymore, you square yourself away as he retreats without another word, his figured disappearing out of sight as he turned the corner outside of the basement, your eyes following the sound of his footsteps and noticing the soft rustle of dust above—it took a while for you to realize his room was above yours at first.
He’s back swiftly, a trove of supplies in one arm and a wooden chair in the other, hauling them like they weighed nothing, sleeves already rolled up at his elbows. The chair skirts the ground, squealing loudly as Joel brings it near the edge of the bed and motions for you to turn around and face the wall.
Again, not asking.
With shaky hands and fingers you move, slowly until you back meets Joel’s fingers at your shoulder, curled up into a fist and pressing gently into your skin.
“Lift your shirt,” You grab the edges, ready to strip it over your head before Joel grabs your bicep and stops you, “—that’s—that’s fine, alright? Just hold it there.”
Joel slowly cuts away the old thread and removes the old stitching with a careful hand. You bite at your bottom lip until it draws blood. It unsettles Joel with how quiet you are, even now. Not a word or a single sound or expression of pain, just white knuckles gripping the shirt bunched under your chest and your head tucked down as you shake with a silent cry.
“Stop movin’,” He says brutishly, cleaning up the wound with an antiseptic that makes you squirm away slightly, “I’m almost finished.”
He cleans, re-stitches and covers up the wound with minimal effort, like he’s done this a million times before. And you hear the shake of a pill bottle behind you, whipping your head around quickly.
“S’just antibiotics,” Joel explains, “we picked away at a pharmacy a few months back that had a decent supply,” He pours one into his hand before it rolls to his fingers and he’s handing it off to you—as he suspects, you eye it wearily, “look, your choice. I got enough here to clear that up within a week or you can continue to suffer, not my problem.”
Reluctantly, you take the pill from him and dry swallow it down with a small, nearly silent wince.
There was no reason to trust Joel, but you did.
At some point between the walk from your bed to the table, Joel realizes he’d bypassed the entire reason he had come down here–to talk. About it. That instance you were both dancing around, the one he’d fended off the second time with a barking, heavy voice.
His lingering presence is hard to ignore and you grip the edge of the bed, standing on your own two feet with his back turned to you.
He’d helped you again. Maybe you wanted to thank him.
Or you just wanted a distraction from the pain, the creeping loneliness.
He’s so distracted he doesn’t hear your footsteps approach him, a newly found vigor as you pull at his forearm and turn him with a sudden strength Joel wasn’t expecting, sending him tumbling on his heels to the couch. He sees it in your eyes then, the task you’re focused on, already undressed from the waist down, the length of the shirt reaching a few centimeters short of mid–thigh to cover your naked down as you climb onto his lap and Joel allows it.
He doesn’t yell or scream, there is no apprehensiveness there. Not now.
He could sit in your eyes—this was coping with whatever you couldn’t bring yourself to face, unspoken trust that you didn’t want to voice. This was a distraction for him too.
He could fight this off, but Joel never considered himself a great man. Or, really even a decent one. And, as you work at his belt, he finds his hands joining your own, struggling for a moment before he’s yanking the leather from the belt loops and unbuttoning his jeans as you pull at his zipper, lifting slightly off his lap as he pushes his jeans down to his calves—there was a beauty to how easily your bodies worked against each other, your push to his pull.
Wordless, he knew what you wanted. And you knew exactly what to give him.
He was like the bad men, but wholly different.
The wonder and admiration in his eyes told you so, even if they were quickly clouded by desire and lust, his face suddenly stoic as you grab at his cock, tugging it to full hardness within seconds before you’re dragging the tip of his cock down the center of your cunt before sinking down harshly—and the hands stilled at his sides finally act.
He’s careful of the wound on your hip, dragging his fingers over your ass and to your thighs, fingers curling around the back of your bent knees to pull and tug you in, groaning quietly into the thick, thready material of your top as you curl into him.
He couldn’t bear the idea of looking at you, watching you as you moved so eagerly against his cock, soft breaths at his ears that made him wanton for the sounds you couldn’t make, the terrible vocal paralysis like a vice anytime someone looked in your direction, especially him. Your palms press into the wall behind him, dull fingertips clawing at chipped paint as you bounced your hips fiercely, quick and efficient in the process. It was clear you’ve done this before—detached and just a means to an end, a device of pleasure.
And Joel uses it, selfishly. One hand falling to the back of your neck to curl you in further, the other at your ass as he squeezes, guiding your hips down to the sharp, pointed thrust of his own movements and Joel can already feel that familiar cole in his groin—days of staving of his own need for release from the sheer amount of guilt he felt over this, somehow ending up here again.
Using you—and maybe you could admit it yourself, it was just as much a distraction for you as for him, but the sudden warmth in your chest is startling. You could come like this, the drag of his cock hitting so deep inside of you with every thrust that your visions starts to white—a mix of delirium and pure euphoria, the gasp that leaves your mouth is broken and barely audible but Joel can hear it, feeling you tip over that cliff with a hand tangled in his hair, needing an anchor and finding that it was him in that moment.
But, you don’t stop either. Working through the crest of your orgasm with a reflexive squeeze of your cunt as you came apart and pulled him in, his balls tightening in warning as they slapped against your cunt with each drop of your hips and Joel tries to warn you, pushes gently at your hips but you don’t move—won’t. And he comes inside of you with a muffled, tired grunt as he pants into your shirt.
Whatever mutual agreement was made had become void.
“Get off,” He says after a beat, but doesn’t push.
You listen, moving off of him and turning away immediately, arms tucked around your middle as you eyed the fresh clothes and still uneaten slice of dessert, one that Joel had offered to share.
A peace offering, an act of forgiveness. But, that was all shattered and swept away now.
“You stupid, girl?” Joel asks suddenly, turning to him at the harsh words and finding him re-dressed, brow drawn in as he snatches his belt in his right hand, gripping it tight. “That your master plan, here?”
You’re confused and Joel’s eyes drag to your legs, unseen but you can feel his cum dripping down your thighs, pushing out of your cunt as it pulses from the comedown of your own orgasm.
“Gettin’ knocked up and hopin’ that a baby will keep you safe here?”
You were safe nowhere and you knew that.
Joel had no idea, but you couldn’t even begin to explain how wrong he was.
Babies, even the prospect of that idea made your skin crawl.
So, with frustration evident on his face and already anticipating your answer, you shake your head.
“You try that shit again and I’ll—”
You brow raises in anticipation and Joel opens his mouth slightly before he clenches his jaw.
“Knew it was a fuckin’ mistake taking you in.”
And it feels like a gut punch, but he was right.
Joel tosses the pill bottle on the table and you watch as it lands, rolls before hitting the floor and stopping just at your bare toes.
He departs with a deep scowl, door slamming behind him and you wait, count the steps until you hear his footsteps above the basement and you wander over toward the table.
The remnants of the items he’d brought with the intentions of a one-sided conversation, a lecture, really.
It was pointless now.
Opening the container to the uneaten dessert, you sniffed it testingly before swiping a single finger over the icing on top, pressing the sweet, sugar cream against your tongue and letting your eyes drift closed at the flavor, giving yourself a few seconds to enjoy and savor before you’re ripping into the thing with your bare hands, a fuck you the peace offering Joel was trying for.
There was no peace to be had. You would never find peace here, either.
A new emotion floods your body—not anger or rage, but jealousy, greed. You wanted him, and deep within, you knew he wanted you too. Even if just in a primal way, a means to distract.
And in your sudden, newfound boldness and curiosity you linger toward the kitchen in a fresh change of clothes for that night, snatching up the notepad Joel had left out from your previous conversation before scribbling the rest of that out and ripping off a jagged piece of paper.
It was a thank you.
Flipping it over, you continue the message.
There is no plan. I trust you.
You fold the paper up and wander down the hall, counting the steps until you land at a closed door, one that you can only assume and hope is Joel’s and slip the paper under the gap at the bottom of the door.
There was a chance, the anticipation that Joel could convince Tommy to strand you out into the forest again, forced back into harsh survival, but something tells you Joel doesn’t have it in him, not anymore.
Joel catches the sight of your departing shadow as he retreats toward his bed, the paper flying across the floor with the sudden draft and landing right at his feet, he picks it up and readies to trash it without a thought before he catches sight of that simple phrase.
thank you – no plan —
Joel pauses, reading over the final set of words with a dangerous tug in his heart.
I trust you.
That tug was guilt and the creeping sensation of doom.
Trust. You.
He’s really fucked up now.

divider creds: @/cafekitsune
#joel miller#joel miller smut#joel miller x reader#joel miller x you#joel miller x y/n#the last of us#tlou#pedro pascal#pedro pascal characters#joel miller fanfiction#joel miller fic#the last of us fanfiction#tlou fanfiction#the last of us fic#my writing
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