#flavor swap au

[quibbs126]

I made a second flavor swapped Cookie thing, this time with seamoon

I again just needed something to draw. I was originally planning to draw berry flavored Dark Cacao, possibly with Dark Choco, but I couldn’t figure out what to draw them doing. I mean I could have just done head drawings, but the first one had an actual pose/scene going on, and so I wanted there to be an actual pose. Then I started thinking about maybe drawing a swap seamoon kiss

I was trying to figure out what other Legendaries I could swap them out with, and I thought of Fire Spirit and Wind Archer (or more accurately, their elements), and I was wondering if that might have some Icarus elements to it, and I got excited with that and other potential ideas and went for it

I was thinking of fire for Moonlight with the idea that the Wizards was using fire as their basis of research rather than the night sky. I haven’t entirely figured out whether Moonlight would be representative of the sun (would work for the Icarus idea), or if she was born out of the core of a volcano. I’m leaning more towards the latter though. As for Sea Fairy, I thought that the sky would be a suitable substitute for the sea, as they’re both large parts of the world and have various creatures associated with them. And again, possible association with fire/the sun. And possibly also because firewind

I definitely took more liberties with their designs than I did last time. It was likely in part because I was more focused on the elements than the specific characters these swaps were based on. Sea Fairy was more a mix of Wind Archer and Sugar Swan, with the design being more Sugar Swan and the colors more Wind Archer. I may be a known griper of Sugar Swan Cookie’s design, but she does have a deity look to her

The first thing I thought to do with Moonlight was to have her hair floating upwards, since she’s made of fire, and also it’d look good for the drawing. I didn’t draw her hat because I originally had forgotten about it, and then I thought that the hat would interfere with the hair. I did keep the bottom part though, and I guess it’s like some sort of tiara now. I think it looks good. I also added a cape because Fire Spirit has one, with it taking the place of her bottom half frills

I’ll be honest, some of these changes were just because I didn’t want to draw certain parts of the character, like Sea Fairy’s coral and such. I don’t think it looks too bad though

Yeah I guess I might make this a series then? I just make flavor swapped Cookies doing stuff? It’s not that bad a concept, and maybe it frees up my creative space from the perpetual fankid struggles. Also it could be better practice for posing and drawing characters together. I just have to be careful when swapping some Cookies though

(By the way I still want to draw berry Dark Cacao, but I still don’t know what to draw him doing, so you know. If you have ideas. Dark Choco can be in there too)

[elizakai]

cotton candy flavored :3

[nonbinaryphantom]

sorry i got attached to my roleswap au danny he’s so cringefail he needs to be studied under a microscope

[nerosdayinanime]

drawing my au sabitos- this ones swap au :)

I only really have 1 full scene for this au- and it started from me thinking him & Shinjuro both being depressed drinking buddies, lamenting about their deceased dark-haired beauties

When Sabito became a pillar he turned the water estate into a sort of training hub for all breath of water users, to try and help more people to mastery. He pretty regularly spars with people in his downtime, makes comments and tries coaching people from the sidelines very often

Most people are kinda weirded out by him- hes aggressive and stern, very snarky, but he never takes off the mask and it makes him look perpetually sad- sometimes he has this air of melancholy around him, listless, the mask fits in better when hes in those moods. But aside that hes usually very kind and genuinely tries to look out for the skayers under his roof, very hospitable as long as they stay out his shit.

So hes very well received, but no one has seen his face- ever. They have all kinds of rumors and theories about why he wears it, what his face looks like, what the mask is even supposed to mean. Some of the more daring(/disrespectful/immature) inahbitants try to sneak a look in the mornings before he puts it on- but he's always wide awake, sightless blue eyes of the mask staring them down from an inch away the moment they open it

Anyways, one day he's out in the yard sparring with a higher ranked slayer in front of a group doing their own training and whatnot too- theyre both intensely into it, movements hard to keep track of and training swords clashing so loud it echos in the area. The slayer accidentally aims at his mask, the mood changes with a sudden pressure in the air when Sabito deflects the swing and reaches towards them in a flash- a harsh grip in their hair and yanking them so theyre centimeters from his face

"Don't touch the fucking mask."

Everyone drops dead silent at the utter malice dripping through his tone, a moment passes as Sabito realizes what he did and lets go of their hair. He gently ruffles it and straightens his back instead of posturing over them

"I deeply apologize. ...I think i should call it a day." he says in an uncharictaristically quiet voice before putting his training sword up and going to his room

NO ONE bothers him for the rest of the day, or the day after, they give him plenty of space and try their best not to prod at him or tick him off like they usually do- the slayer who was sparring w him was scared shitless and tries their damndest to stay out of his way and not piss him off again. They've never seen him genuinely angry like that- he gets pissed off and annoyed plenty, daily even, but that sudden cold fury over the near hit of his mask was terrifying to witness.

[teamfortresstwo]

Hear me out but villains / protagonist swap au . Where . Adam and Charlie get swapped .

[drabbles-of-writing]

May I recommend the Guardian Family Au by @sergeantsporks to you then? It’s a role swap between Hunter and Luz, but instead of Hunter being single child of Philip Wittebane or something like that he just has sixteen older brothers back in the human realm. It’s fun. Though there’s no actual fic written for it, and the creator has said that they are not going to do it, if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for

both of you are the real ones. I am leaving a single cool stone I found outside your doors. this knowledge will serve me greatly in the coming months

[loving-delusions]

Day 5~6: Cannibalism

the would count, right??

[nomans-land-rp]

🎲-One roll for EL Woowoo.

🎲-Aaaaaand one for Swiss Army Nai.~

Both are subject to Rachael and she prays it's nothing she's going to regret.

@splinter-sister

8. A platonic kiss!

He'd woken up to the sensation of someone nudging him awake and saying his name. Still under a blanket of sleep, Nick barely recognized Rachael's voice saying that she couldn't sleep--maybe something about a nightmare, or general restlessness? Either way, he knew the drill; for some reason, he seemed to be the one that everyone in the party bugged in the middle of the night when they had trouble sleeping. Caz said it was because of his body type and way he clung to people in his sleep that brought a sense of security and comfort, but he never really believed that.

Regardless, even though Rachael didn't outright ask to sleep with him, Nick lifted the blanket up with a groggy grunt inviting her in. After she got comfortable snuggled in next to him he put an arm around her and brought her close to his chest. With a soft kiss to the top of her head, his body relaxed again and he went back to sleep.

5. A firm kiss!

That was a disaster--why Rachael insisted he be the one to try and smooth talk their way into the establishment escaped him. A "pretty-boy face" as she put it didn't do jack shit when your attitude reflected how little you wanted to be doing what you were. What need would he have with being able to woo a human woman when he could just take what he wanted if he wanted it badly enough?

That still didn't stop the redhead from mercilessly ragging on how bad his "game" was; he was too stern, too 'constipated' looking, not 'flirty' enough--laughing at him for how awkward and stiff he looked during the whole exchange until the woman rejected him. Nai didn't care that the plain woman wasn't charmed by him; what did annoy him to no end, however, was Rachael's childish teasing and insults. None of these were important skills! It didn't aid in their survival whatsoever!! So why did it drive him insane when this red head gave him such a hard time about it?!

After a comment about his presumed "lack of any physical affection from a woman growing up", the proverbial Tomas' back broke under the weight of the straw it carried. Why it prompted him to reach out and grab the front of her shirt to pull her in, he wasn't entirely sure. Was it the topic of conversation putting the idea in his head to smash his face against hers? Nai just wanted her to shut up--and his emotional subconscious decided that the best way to do that was to yank her in and firmly press his lips against hers.

It was brief as it was sudden, Nai glaring down at Rachael with piercing blue eyes and just the faintest hint of red on the apples of his cheeks.

"Would you just shut up already?" He growled, still holding her by the front of her shirt. "Do something more useful with your mouth instead of incessantly mocking me. Or was this your way of saying you wanted to kiss me?"

[ajjconcertat2am]

thinking about the will wood interpretation of the wednesday netflix show i havent see the show at all but i believe him with every core of my being

like not to talk out of my ass cuz i litterly have not seen the show and only have seen pictures and fanart but i also saw NO negative posts about it till the will wood one today (not saying theyre arent i just havent seeked out stuff for this show), even my sister recommended it to me. i have a bad habit of disliking popular things that are hyped up on social media even when its a show i like just because like.... sometimes fandom brain rot irks me a little and im definitely hypocritical and cringe just like every other mf on this website.

but also ive seen the adams family movie (i dont think its the OG og but the most popular one) where the camp was to 100%, all the characters were unapologetically weird, political, and goth. not only was it extremely funny camp but had a lot to say for its time, and honestly i think movies like that are becoming rarer and rarer. its so mf boomer of me to say it but with how politics are now and we (at least speaking as an American) have succumbed to the idea that corporations hold more power than the average person in politics, we also hold companies to higher degree of pr and well..... 'wokeness' and inclusion. and like dont get me wrong its so nice to not watch movies and shows with random blatant racism / racism stereotypes for no reason and theres been great shows made in recent times.... but its also like.... companies are becoming more scared to do anything wrong or bold. to be political in any manner, to make a bold statement in any manner because they arent JUST appealing to 'left wokism' (sorry idk how to decribe it better) but to the most people in a nice friendly family friendly manner. (like.... im trying to communicate the idea of lemon demons redesign ur logo like... THAT. they are appealing to everyone)

so long story short i believe will wood's review with a burning fucking passion because thats how a lot of media is turning out, especially by repurposed IPs which is a whole nother fucking annoying thing. smaller rant that intertwines, but its just like television, merch, fandom, etc etc are scared of letting something die or letting something be, both companies who search to milk every last cent..... and fandom people looking to psycho analyize every character into cardboard cut out stereotype or their personal barbie dolls to use to draw gay art and writing long paragraphs about some new netflix merged IP is so 'saphic/gay coded' etc etc its gets so fucking annoying. can we have a normal conversation about a show please like adults.

tdlr can we not spend 20 million years destroying the meaning of somethings original message, both on the sides of repurposed ips AND fandom brain rot, to make something entirely new squeky clean and gay teen romance replaying the same scene of first love over snd over again THIS ISNT ART

[scftsunshine]

verses tags

[aaroleswapau]

Do you have a pearl design?

sure do! as you all can probably tell, these are very old pftt, here's some doodles of her way back then :0]

copypasting from my old replies on twt LOL:

pearl's set up to be another prosecutor like her ma, she's still a very sweet girl but she is very antagonistic towards miles and franziska bc they're going against prosecutor maya, who she still loves very much and idolizes.

i thought it would interesting if she served as an angry little force to be reckoned with during investigations instead of being helpful in what would be considered jfa in the swap au

she does grow a lot more chiller once she grows up pftt

also, kind of been thinking of pearls and simon friendshipisms bc when i was like doing an age table of all the swap au characters in excel, i realized that they'd be the same age which is WILD lol (i mean athena and pearl are the same age too so i should've seen it coming, but still!! wild!!!)

in my heart of hearts, pearl and simon are some flavor of aroace and whatever pearl wants to do with anybody's love life doing is going to be a disaster ASKSKS sorry queen </3

[quibbs126]

Well with all my talk of flavor swapping last week I managed to actually do one, and it’s not even any of the Ancients

Honestly I don’t know if this is the direction I’m going with any sort of proper swap au. I know I said that I didn’t want to swap Hollyberry with Dark Cacao or Pure Vanilla with Golden Cheese, because I thought they were too similar, but the Hollyberry Kingdom having the Dark Cacao flavors was something that stuck in my head, and last night at dinner I was bored so I started drawing this

It’s also rasprincess I guess, because that’s what my brain went to

I am more tempted to just have that be how things are swapped though, with I suppose Elder Faerie and White Lily swapping too. And I guess the issue of swapping aesthetics could be solved with just having everyone keep their aesthetics, but now being of a different flavor. It does kind of mean they’re just recolors, but oh well

But again, I don’t know if I’m doing this for a full flavor swap au, it’s just something I drew

Back to the characters, so the Raspberry family is now licorice flavored, and Princess is chocolate

Not sure what their new names would be, since Raspberry and Licorice are just named after their base ingredients. So like, swap!Raspberry would theoretically be called Licorice Cookie and swap!Licorice would be called Raspberry Cookie. And Princess’s name I don’t think really needs to change, it’s not tied to her flavor

I suppose if I were to swap the rest of the noble families, I’d swap Blueberry for milk, and Cranberry for coffee. I feel like that fits them. Not really sure what to do for Bumbleberry, other than maybe caramel. And I also don’t know what to do with Jungleberry, Tiger Lily or Wildberry

I also changed their dough colors to better match, since Licorice has grey dough (and he’s the only licorice Cookie we know of so far) and most of the chocolate Cookies we see tend to have darker dough, with the exception of the white chocolate ones

You know I kind of get why changing dough colors when flavor swapping is a slippery slope. Because on one hand, some of those colors come from the ingredient that the Cookie is made from, like the milk Cookies being pale or the dark chocolate Cookies having a darker dough. But on the other hand, it’s usually equated to the character’s skin tone when drawing them as humans, since on most occasions the dough colors are similar to actual human skin tones. So changing a character’s dough color can be a very delicate process (sorry my mind trailed off when I was writing this and I forgot what I was trying to say. You get what I mean though; you can’t really change a character’s dough color, especially when you make it lighter, without there being some issues that come with it)

While I don’t think I have that issue so much here, it is something I might have to contend with if I keep doing flavor swaps. Especially with the proposed idea of Blueberry being milk based in this setting

But anyways, yeah just take this picture of licorice and chocolate flavored rasprincess. Does that make this also somewhat darklico coded, since they have the same flavors, I don’t know

[elizakai]

old dustberry (murderswap-?) scribbles i found :00

[mythicalartisttm]

counted out all the loz aus/ custom eras I have that I can remember

I have at least 10

What the heck

[brucewaynehater101]

Reverse Robins AU is a fun concept, but I need more of that Jason POV angst.

If Tim and Jason are swapping roles (i.e. Tim dies and Jason is the third Robin), I need that focus on Jason's early Robin years.

Bruce, who's a grieving brutal man, would scare Jason. The violence, the coldness, and (if it's your flavor) the alcoholism. Bruce finds this child and, unlike for canon Jason, doesn't show him love and care.

So why does Jason stick around? Why would Jason put up with this behavior?

Bruce reminds Jason of a gnarly combination of Willis and Catherine.

The violence, the yelling, and the fear of a father figure are reminiscent of Willis. The lack of self-care, depressive spirals, and dissociative states are a messed up way Jason can see some of his mom again. Jason gets glimpses of his parents, but only in the worst sides of Bruce.

I want to see Jason tucking in Bruce and humming songs that would comfort his mom. Similar to when Catherine would forget or be unable to prepare food, Jason would ensure Bruce ate. He would chat lightly for hours to bring Bruce back from staring at Tim's case.

If Bruce is an alcoholic in this fic, Jason would be rubbing Bruce's back as he vomits. He would watch as Bruce poured another glass knowing he can't stop him.

When Bruce goes on a rampage, when he's screaming and hollering and throwing things, Jason would be hiding in his closet. Damian probably told Jason to call him when it gets like that (Damian can get Jason out of there if he can't stop it), but why would he? It's not like anyone was there for him before. It's not like calling for help led to him actually getting the assistance he needed. Instead, it usually led to the situation becoming worse.

So, despite the parentification (that's all that Jason's known), the kid stays. Bruce needs him after all. He eventually pulls Bruce away from the ledge. He finally gets a dad that doesn't cause his hands to tremble. Damian comes around more often and teaches Jason how to protect himself. Finally, the kid is Robin and able to help people (like how he saved Bruce).

Then Tim comes back from the dead.

[darlingdarkly]

New Year, New You

Johnny “Soap” MacTavish x f!reader

Personal Trainer AU

just over 4k words

tw: dark fic, dark content, dubcon, obsessive behavior, E rated, 18+, mature themes

Part 1, 2, of 3? 4? 5? (More parts planned)

You had lucked out at the office white elephant party this year. You drew the shortest straw, which normally was a bad omen, but in this particular situation meant you got to pick the last gift, or steal the gift of your choice, assuming it hadn’t been stolen twice already and when it finally came down to the last present and you ripped open the wrapping on a candle scented as something called “Caramel Cashmere” you knew you’d be taking your pick of the lot.

You surveyed the circle with sharp eyes. Two mugs, a blanket with a kitten surrounded by pink feathers emblazoned on it, a sample tray of exotic meat sausages, a gift basket from Sephora, An assortment of flavored Schnapps nip bottles with a set of shot glasses, a pair of AirPod pros (that had already been stolen twice and were thus, out of the game), two tickets to see some standup comedian named Roy Ramheart at the Holiday Inn over the weekend and lastly a two week trial to the brand new bougie gym that opened up downtown.

You turned slowly in the middle of the circle, shitty candle in hand, eyeing each person and their presents one by one. Sharon was shaking the blanket with the feathers and kitten on it, trying to entice you with it. Mark, the gym rat, was trying to hide the two week gym trial under his crossed arms. Maureen was already unpacking the Airpods and changing the heads to one’s that would be most comfortable to her ears, everyone else looked beyond bored. You did one more rotation before stopping in front of Mark who let out an irritated huff as you held out the large beige candle to him. He snatched the candle from your hand and reluctantly held out the gym brochure.

You grabbed it and opened it, leafing through it as the rest of the office stood and began to chatter about their new gifts with heated exchange, there’d be secret swaps later no doubt. Someone turned the music back up and the circle slowly broke and dispersed into a half drunk crowd of sloppy dancing and idle chatter.

Mark came up to you, obviously upset with your steal of the gym trial. “You could’ve had the Sephora gift basket. Maybe you’d get laid a little more if you indulged in some makeup.” You looked up at him, a winning smirk on your face, unfazed by his nasty jest and looked back down at the flashy brochure. Your office bestie Nancy came over and Mark strode away, annoyed at losing out to you and failing to get under your skin.

“What was that about?” You looked up at her and rolled your eyes as she stared after him. “Sore loser.” She eyed the brochure in your hands. “I see you got Mrs. Magna’s gym trial.” You smiled and popped the trial in your purse. “So it was hers, I had a feeling.” She handed you a little red cup full of spiked punch. “Got it in the mail yesterday, she’s already gotten four of them and I was about to throw it out with the rest of the junk but then I remembered she still needed something for the white elephant thing so I saved it back, good thing too, the other option was a airmall catalog from her last business trip.”

You rolled your eyes, your boss had always been contemptuous at best, and if she held the whole of the office at foot level she held your best friend Nancy, her secretary, in the dirt. You had spent countless hours after work, drinks in hand listening to her vent about being Mrs. Magna’s doormat for forty hours a week.

You sucked down the last of the punch in your cup and regarded the hazy swirling quality the room had taken, it was time to go home. “I’m headed home, Nance. You wanna catch a ride with me?” She looked down at her feet, a look you’ve seen all too often, one that meant she’d be taking it face first again. “Gotta stay and clean up. She’s got an early board meeting in the morning and they’re having it here, so I’ve got to have this place spotless by 6:15.”

“God, does that woman ever give you a break?” She pulled you in for a hug and took your empty cup from your hands, replacing it with your purse. “Get home safe, and text me when you get there, yeah?” You smiled and nodded before turning for the door, pulling out your phone and opening up Uber.”

When you were home and locked up tight you texted Nancy, brushed your teeth and fell into bed, letting the buzz carry you to sleep.

You woke up the next morning, sour taste in your mouth and head throbbing dully. You slowly lurched from the nest of your bed and shambled into the bathroom, wincing at the brightness of the lights as you flicked them on and breathing out shakily as you shut them off again. With the little corner window casting gentle waxy rays into the space you turned on the shower and set about brushing your teeth. Bad taste gone, you climbed under the flow of steamy hot water and let the force of it all wash away your grogginess and began to feel just a bit better.

When you were out and dressed you made a light breakfast and pulled your white elephant gift from your purse. The front showed the shiny new building and the fancy letters at the top read “Baliquinox”. The brochure outlined the extent of the trial, all amenities available for the duration of the trial, including but not limited to the scheduled hot yoga, cycling and something called gravity assisted pilates. The gym also advertised a sauna, a full length Olympic sized pool, an in-house smoothie “artist”, as well as massage therapists and personal trainers on staff.

On the back of the brochure various payment plans were listed for membership packages, starting in the thousands, you immediately flipped the brochure back over to the front, two weeks was all you had, but you were going to make the most of it. If you could come up with a routine that you could do at home then you could give up the luxurities that came with the cushy admission price.

A week later you found yourself in front of the glitzy building, gym bag in hand as you stared at the shiny made up people behind the gleaming doors. Walking into the bustle of people you are met with a long white desk, there’s two people behind the counter, a fit beautiful woman and strong chiseled man, both already occupied with customers. But while the actual humans are occupied there is a row of kiosks set up with a sign above them that claims they can help you.

You walk up to one hesitantly and find that it’s actually a really simple process, you scan the barcode on the back of your brochure, type in some preliminary basic information, your name, address, email and phone number, and your free two week trial has begun. The machine spits out a laminated wristband at you. You tear it at the dotted lines, place it around your wrist and now you’re good to go. The machine wishes you a very productive workout and sends you on your way.

You walk further into the building, following a colored line on the floor that claims it will take you to the locker room. As you follow the line your eyes scan your surroundings, to your left are three glass rooms. One is currently occupied by a spin class, the next some sort of dance exercise class, the thumpy music felt through the floor in your feet but unheard to you outside of the walls, the last was a hot yoga class, you could tell by the mats on the floor and the condensation on the glass but as you were watching the instructor pressed a button on the tablet she was holding and the glass grayed out before your eyes, concealing the room from view.

You passed a room which you guessed held the pool, the sounds of echoing splashes crashed against the walls. Finally you could see the locker rooms before you, a door split off into men’s and women’s, keeping to the right you found yourself in an expansive room filled wall to wall with lockers. You came up to one with a green light on the front and pulled on the door, it opened freely and you began to change. When you had on your workout clothes you put the bag inside and shut the door, as you stepped away the light changed from green to red, signifying it had locked and you left the locker room.

You found the open gym space by following a different line on the floor. The room was split up into sections, one for machines, one for free weights, and one for cardio. Meandering into the cardio section you found a row of Peloton treadmills that stretched the length of the wall while the other side were full with cycle machines. You opted for a run to start with. There were a couple treadmills in use at the front but the ones in back were empty. You picked one by the far wall, stepping up onto it and putting your headphones in. You looked up at yourself in the mirror lined wall, taking in a deep breath before finding a song and picking a speed.

Head down and focused you let your footfalls come to the forefront of your mind, the only thing that mattered, soon the room around you faded and became unimportant. You had just broken out a sweat, head lifting and eyes opening to meet the mirrors of your own on the wall, but that wasn’t all.

Standing behind you, eyes connected with yours was a ruggedly handsome man, he stood behind you a few feet back from the treadmill and when you caught him staring he didn’t look away ashamed, just held your gaze with shockingly pale blue eyes. He wore black athletic shorts and a white shirt with the gym's name across his chest, he definitely worked here, personal trainer maybe, judging by his ripped physique. His lips turned up in a smirk and it was you who finally broke the locked gaze.

You looked down at your phone, shuffled through a few songs before checking the mirror again, he was still there. You were about to turn and speak to him when he turned on foot and headed out of the cardio section and out of sight. You stopped the machine and took a moment to take in your surroundings. There were a few more patrons in the cardio section of the gym but they didn’t seem to notice this interaction between you and the handsome stranger at all and there didn’t seem to be some kind of maintenance going on or equipment around you that was needed, warranting the long stare you’d received from the employee.

You turned back to your machine and after looking once more over your shoulder for any other disturbance you resumed your workout, picking up the pace and settling into a jog. It wasn’t five minutes later that the man was back, this time though he was strolling the area and looking, quite obviously, anywhere but you. You felt heat rising in your cheeks and somehow more exposed than before, you almost regretted this isolated treadmill towards the back of the room.

He had passed the other patrons at this point, there was no reason for him to walk back this way any further other than to speak to you. Still you felt compelled to keep your head down, like somehow you weren’t supposed to be here. He stopped behind you once more and the hair on the back of your neck pricked to points. As you made up the courage to confront him he took the first step, walking up to the side of your machine and tapping the handle arm.

Pulling one earbud out you turned the machine down to a walk, a little annoyed at the interruption but compliant and friendly as you could be. “Yes?” He flashed you a smile and gods was he handsome, tan skin, nice white teeth, he looked like he’d stepped out of a magazine, absolutely a personal trainer, but what did he want with you?

“Hi, m’name’s Johnny. I’m a personal trainer, dinnae think I’ve seen you around before.” His voice is gruff and that accent, Scottish? Maybe. Delicious whatever it is. “I’m new, first day.” He rocked back on his heels slightly, smile never faltering. “Ahh, I see. Ken I’d never seen ye before, would’ve remembered such a pretty face.” Charming as well, you couldn’t help but avert your gaze for a moment, the intensity of his presence a little faltering. When you speak your voice is a bit higher pitched than you’d wish and he knows he’s flustered you just a little.

“Yeah. Yeah, just umm.. just started my workout actually. Didn’t get very far.” You turn to go back to the machine but he reaches out and grabs your wrist and it stops you, your eyes flick back to his baby blues. “Have ye set your goals?” One eyebrow shoots up. “My goals?” That dazzling smile is back, it’s bright, nearly blinding. “Yer workout goals, cannae start yer workout without yer goals, hen. Gotta ken where yer at and where yer goin’.”

You consider this for a moment, a little off guard before stuttering forth an answer. “I’d like to work on my cardio.” It’s a simple enough answer, and seems stupid considering that’s what you were doing before he interrupted you and you thought maybe it was enough for him to leave you be, as handsome as he was you wanted to be polite but you also wanted to get back to it.

“That’s a good start bonnie. But we need to know where yer at still. Follow me.” And then he turns away, obviously expecting you to follow him. You stop the machine and stand idly for a moment, unsure what you’ll do, you probably could just go back to walking and that’d be the end of it, and maybe that’s what you should do, but you think it’d be rude, he was being nice so far and maybe he could help you set some real goals to accomplish, he is after all a personal trainer. It would be stupid to pass up his professional help. You climb off the treadmill and walk towards him, speed walking a little to catch up.

He carts you through the gym, and it feels like you’ve walked the whole length of the building, passed through a few sets of double doors, long since stopped seeing any patrons actually exercising. Now you feel like you’re in the back rooms of the gym, maybe where you’re not supposed to be. But you still follow him, keeping track of where you’ve been and how to get out if you have to, you know, just in case.

He finally opens the door to a room and pushes you in, it’s small but furnished. A single ancient treadmill pushed into one of the corners, a few scales against the far wall, charts explaining how to find your BMI and the nutrition pyramid are tacked to the wall. He shuts the door and the room takes on a warm and stuffy quality.

He starts by measuring your height. There’s a laminated ruler all the way up one wall and he pushes you up against it, kicking your feet until your heels touch the wall. You feel the strength in his hands as they bracket your hips, controlling you with just the minute movements of his wrists, caging you closer to take “the most accurate” measurements.

His breath is in your face, warm and minty as he places a finger at the tippy top of your head to pinpoint your height. You would think he’d have some sort of chart or goal sheet to jot these numbers down but he’s typing them into his phone instead, after all everything was online these days.

When he had your height he motioned for you to step on the scale, something you were a bit hesitant to do. “Don’t be fashed, bonnie. S’all part of the process.” You step up on the scale and after he takes a careful moment to be sure it’s settled he records your weight. You think it all might be over and you can go back to your workout when he says “Open.” You stare at him for a moment, dumbfounded and he waits patiently for you to comply.

“Open?” He grips you by the chin gently and taps his thumb against your lower lip, and your breath hitches at the gentle but intrusive gesture. “Open up.” You slowly part your lips and he smiles, his pretty blue eyes staring at your lips and you’re beyond flustered, thighs shifting uncomfortably. “Wider.” You do as he says, not sure how any of this is necessary but too far gone to stop now. “Good girl.”

He rocks your head from side to side, thoroughly examining your mouth, you feel his thumb apply pressure to your plush lower lip, drawing it down and you feel the saliva in your mouth gathering uncontrollably. The weight of it dips and you're backing away so as to not drool on his hand, your lower lip plopping back in place, but not before a drop of it collects on his thumb.

He looks you, unabashedly in the eye as he lifts his thumb to his lips and pushes the digit with your drool on it into his mouth. Your eyes are as big as saucers but without skipping a beat, and without recording any kind of data on that last test? Measurement? Examination of your mouth, he moves you over onto the treadmill and starts it up. He starts at a low speed and as the tread begins to move under your feet you have no choice but to move along with it.

It’s a walk, no sweat and you look over to see him watching your hips, his eyes flick up to yours and he leans forward and ups the speed. Now you’re at a light jog and you can no longer watch him directly. You hear him walking around the treadmill, alternating between being directly behind you and off to your side. He ups the speed again until you’re full on running, arms pumping as you try to keep up with the tread, you’re breathing quite heavily, chest heaving with each breath.

He turns it up again, just a notch but it’s past your limit and you’re struggling to keep up now, the heels of your feet nearly dangling over the end of the tread, you speak in between breaths, telling him you can’t keep up, it’s too fast. “Just a little more, hen. Keep goin’.” He’s behind you, you hope he’ll catch you if you come flying off the end, and just when you thought you would he comes up and hits the emergency stop and you feel the tread’s speed dwindle beneath your feet. When it stops you stand there, heart beating triple time in your chest, your arms gripping the arm rest until he comes up and makes you place them interlaced behind your head.

He says nothing while you recover, just plugs more data into his phone and when you’re better he looks up at you with cold assessing eyes, the baby blues icing over and chilling you. But then that smile resurfaces and they melt into pools of tropical blue and he speaks.

“Alright, lass. I'll do it.” And he just stands there not explaining until you ask. “Do what?” He laughs and it’s a gorgeous sound that still manages to unnerve you. “I’ll be your personal trainer.” You have a lot of questions and are about to voice them when he pulls you out of the room and has you following him again, talking the whole while.

“We’re gonna stretch your goals a bit. “Working on your cardio” isn’t exactly gonna cut it. We will work on your cardio, because trust me lass, it needs work.” You’re slightly offended at this, but he pushes right on through without soothing it. “But we are gonna get you in shape together. Dinnae worry, Johnny’s got a whole plan mapped out for ye already.” He takes you into a little cove by the front where a bunch of people are seated and drinking smoothies. This must be the smoothie artist you read about in the brochure. He walks up to the counter, bypassing the line and orders something you can hear from the table you sat down at. He’s handed two drinks and brings them over.

Handing one to you he sits across from you and when you don’t try it right off he sets authoritative eyes on you and deadpans in a no nonsense tone. “Drink.” You bring the straw to your lips and suck, which seems to please him and the fruit mixture that floats to your tongue is sweet and refreshing. “Now I want ye to do some homework for me when ye get home tonight. Two… nah. Make it three sets of sit-ups, two sets of toe touches and ten lunges.” You look at him and know that now is the time to tell him, you guess he just didn’t know or didn’t think to ask. “Johnny.” He looks up at you, eyes alight with excitement. “Yes, hen.”

“I’m only gonna be here for two weeks. I’m doing the free trial thing.” He keeps on staring like what you’ve said hasn’t registered and after a moment he adds. “And?” You thought it was clear but it seems you’ll have to go further. “I’m not sure I’ll be committing to coming back.” This is a lie. You know you can’t afford a membership and after your two weeks are up you simply couldn’t keep coming. But this seems to not matter in the slightest as he replies. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, yeah? Til’ then three sets of sit ups, two sets of toe touches and ten lunges.”

You don’t know what to say so you just nod and he smiles and despite yourself you feel almost relieved to see it. “Good. Come in tomorrow at three and we’ll get started on yer first real workout.”

“But I don’t get off work til 4.” He smiles and knocks once on the table with his knuckles. “4:30 it is then. Don’t be late.” With that he stands and walks away, leaving you with a half finished smoothie and conflicting emotions.

Later that night after you found yourself compelled to at least finish the “homework” he’d assigned and after you’d repacked your gym bag with fresh clothes and climbed into bed, the image of him pushing his thumb into his mouth filled your head until you burned in bed like a torch. His pale blue eyes, dark hair, tan skin, all very conventionally attractive aspects of his features but there was more, a more secretive darker part of you that was drawn to the way he picked you out. Took notice of you immediately and coerced you into training under him, even after he knew you might not commit.

The burn of it became too much and you grabbed for the vibrator in your nightstand, coming at the thought of those strong arms hooked around your thighs and those pale blue eyes peering up at you from the junction of your thighs. At 4:30 the next day you found yourself in front of Baliquinox, gym bag in hand and nervous.