#hes like a really sad rubber toy i want to throw at a wall to see how it deforms

[babblingeccentric]

the reason my sanji posting is so good is because i kind of hate him. i want to beat him up so he goes on a journey of self discovery and becomes a better person. and also because its funny

[randynova]

♡𝓜𝔂 𝓦𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷♡

𝓖𝓾𝓷 𝔁 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦: 𝐴𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝐺𝑢𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝐺𝑜𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑖𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔(𝑠):𝐹𝑒𝑚!𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑓𝑓, 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡(𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝)! 𝐺𝑢𝑛

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

“Why couldn’t this have waited until another day?” Gun muttered, unbuttoning his shirt, letting it slide off his taut frame, and neatly folding it, placing it onto the roof of his car. He was glad he hadn't put his jacket on, having left it in his passenger seat. “I can’t dirty my clothes again, [Name] will be mad if I get blood on it.” He rolled his broad shoulders until they released a satisfying crack, his thick muscles bulging as he stretched his arms across his scarred chest. Gun peered at a nearby store, the digital clock displaying in big white numbers, ‘7:45 PM’. He groaned, his lips curling into a scowl whilst his arms fell to his side. He didn’t have enough time to deal with this.

“Hmm, and it’s almost time for our date. Fuck.” Gun whispered to himself. He clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes at the man across from him. He removed his shades and revealed his dark gaze, placing his favorite accessory to his side as well. “I’ll make this quick, Goo. I have more important places to be.”

Goo laughed, grinning in his spot as he balanced a pole in his hands. He rolled his eyes, arching a brow at his partner. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, Gun, maybe if you didn’t spend all your time by [Name]’s side, we could have dealt with this matter much earlier. That girl has you wrapped around her pretty little finger, huh?”

“Shut it,” Gun said, already racing towards the blonde and thrusting his fist, knuckles colliding with metal. Upon the cold sensation meeting his skin, he wanted to absolutely kill Goo and rip him to shreds. This would take longer than he wanted, wasting his already precious, short time. He backed off, having a considerable distance between the two, stretching his fingers a few times before clenching them again. He growled, spitting venomously,  “You just like picking fights.” 

“You did too. Before you met her, y’know,” Goo tutted, waving his finger in the air. He scoffed, voice low, “Who would’ve thought? Gun going soft for a girl. Psh, pathetic. Never thought I’d live to see the day...” The blonde trailed off, his face becoming stoic, his mind wandering. You truly had to be someone exceptional if you managed to have a guy like Gun to fall for you. He always wondered who you were, how you looked like, what you did, but Gun had kept you a secret from the world of crime. He hid almost every known trace abou you and tied every loose end that implicated you existed. No one knew who you were and no one could find you — unless Gun allowed them to. 

Goo found it so irritating how he was unable to know the girl who made such a notorious gangster go soft. 

He only met you once and that was by pure sheer luck; dropping by unexpectedly at one of Gun's apartments, only to be met with the sight of you. Seeing how Gun reacted, he knew you were supposed to be kept hush-hush. But boy, did he have a field day the next time he saw the man.

Goo had to meet you again. Or at least, know you more.

Only when Gun’s fist connected with Goo’s face did the man snap out of his thoughts, the impact of such force throwing him a few feet backwards. He dug his feet into the floor, a high-pitched screech coming from his shoes as the rubber burned against the pavement. With his sleeve, Goo wiped his cheek, seeing a speck of blood staining his clothes. Goo chuckled, standing up straight with a grin, “If I can remember right, you told me you got Eli Jang in trouble for basically the same thing. What was her name again? Heather?”

Goo blocked the upcoming attack, his pole raised and crossed above his face. He pushed Gun back with an effortless swing of the pole. He tilted his head and scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “How is [Name] any different from Heather? What does she have on you?”

Gun twisted his neck gently until he heard a crack, looking back at Goo as he hissed with venom, “Nothing.”

“Let me think, let me think….” Goo hummed, racking his mind for any possibility that someone like Gun would stay with a woman longer than one night. His face lit up and he broke out into a wide grin, pointing a finger at Gun. “Aha! You got the poor girl knocked up, right?! See, I always tell you to wear protection! Just couldn’t keep it in your pants, hm? Shaaame.” 

“Ugh, fuck no. I don’t want kids and neither does she. We made that clear at the beginning," Gun said with a sneer, annoyed beyond comprehension at Goo's antics. 

“Awe, I really thought she held something over you. How about this: I’ll stop fighting you if you tell me why you’re still with such a pretty girl like [Name]? Deal?" Goo offered, slinging the pole onto his shoulder. His eyes darkened as he spat maliciously, knowing each word would wind and rile Gun's emotions. "She deserves better than a perverted gangster, you both know that.”

Gun stayed silent, the corners of his lips tugging down into a frown. Goo’s last words struck a chord in him, sending a pang through his heart upon hearing an insecurity he’ll never admit to. Of course. Everyone told you to stay away from a man like Gun. People kept telling you you will only get hurt in the end, that a better man will come along and sweep you off your feet if you just waited, or you could always do better than him. But you never listened. You stayed by his side, even when the whole world looked down on you two. Even for months, he tried convincing himself he felt nothing for you, but after a while, he finally accepted that someone managed to tear down his walls and enter his hollow, cold heart — you. 

You were just a different kind of girl - no- a different kind of woman. A special woman he had the pleasure of meeting. One he wouldn’t dare let go of now that he has the privilege of calling you ‘mine’. And by any god out there, he won’t be a stupid fool to lose you.

Gun sighed. “I tell you and you’ll put this stupid fight behind us, right?”

Goo placed a hand over his chest, replying shortly, “You have my word.~”

“[Name] is just that special person you meet once in your life. One you know you can’t let go of because there isn’t another like her. Simple as that.”

“What?! Ugh, don’t be boring! Tell me more!”

“You asked why I  stayed with her and I told you.”

“Yeah, but I expected a story, not some sad attempt at an old man’s wise words.”

A low guttural sound rumbled in Gun’s throat, his eye twitching. “Maybe when I’m in a better mood I’ll tell you, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with my woman.”

Goo groaned and tossed his pole to the side, rolling his eyes and grumbling, "Fiiine, but you owe me a story. "

"Whatever—damnit," Gun looked at the clock once again and his face contorted into one of pure irate. "I'm late."

'8:12 PM'

✦✦✦ ✦✦✦

Your head rested on your hand, balancing a glass of wine between your fingers, twirling the cup as the liquid swished around. Your eyes were looking down on the glory of Gangdong, the shimmering, blinding lights of the city mesmerizing you. The city always looked beautiful at this time of night. You just wished you could enjoy it with the person you cherished. A sigh leaves your lips and you look away, eyes trailing to the other tables over the balcony. 

The lingering eyes of many strange men didn't faze you anymore, the two burly boys surrounding your table always making them avert their gaze as fast as it landed. A courtesy of your boyfriend, who was at least thirteen minutes late, who insisted on you needing to be guarded at all times. You knew if he were here, no one would dare to even breathe in your direction, let alone glance. 

The cool air pricked your skin and a shiver passed through your body, reminding you of where you were. For a man as smart as him, Gun tended to neglect keeping the season in mind when planning your dates. Nonetheless, you were happy he went out of his way to take you out on such a busy schedule. 

You jumped in your seat, snapping out of your thoughts. A jacket was wrapped around your frame, warmth immediately enveloping you as the fabric made contact with your bare skin. You looked up and smiled. 

Gun stood behind you, towering over your sitting form as he made sure you were nice and covered. His coat basically swallowed you whole. A small stuffed animal was tucked under his arm, it’s fluffy fur peeking out. He walked over to take his seat, pulling the chair out, and wasting no time to slip in. He waved to the guards and they nodded, beginning to clear the scene of people.

“Sorry I’m late, [Name],” Gun started, taking the stuffie out from underneath his arm and presenting it to you. Oh, how adorable. "I brought you a gift as an apology."

A small brown otter sat in his palms, barely taking up Gun's hands. It’s beady, plastic eyes looked straight at you, a little smile stitched onto its snout. A snort left you. The sight of such a well-dressed, intimidating man carrying such an adorable toy was  amusing. "Really now? Just a cute toy, Gun?"

Gun sighed and sat up a bit from his chair, leaning over the table, and cupping your face as he planted a gentle kiss on your cheek. As quick as it started, Gun's lips left and he was seated once again. You pout. "Don't give me that look, [Name]. We can do more at home if you want but not here."

"It's not wrong to be disappointed in no kiss on the mouth after not seeing your boyfriend for such a long time. Don't you think I deserve it?"

Gun smirked, placing his shades on the table and taking your hand, intertwining your fingers together. He gave a light squeeze and you didn't miss a beat as you squeezed his coarse hand back. The way you pursed your lips and looked at him with such glossy, innocent eyes made his heart swell. With such a pretty, cute face, it was hard to say no to you. "Hmm, maybe. But Olly told me you crossed paths with Hostel A." Gun spoke, slipping his hands from yours and picking up his dinnerware, quickly cutting the savory meat into pieces. He didn't hesitate to put a piece up to your mouth, a hand underneath so as to not have the juice leak. "I was told you nearly broke the Uncles' bones and Big Daddy himself."

Your face scrunched up and you scoffed, shaking your head. You placed the stuffed animal to the side, petting it. "Figured those assholes wouldn’t tell you everything. The ‘uncles’ wouldn’t leave me alone and I thought Olly was another one of those bastards,” you snap, sitting back in your seat with a scowl. “How was I supposed to know he was trying to help when he dresses like that? I thought he was trying to assault me for God’s sake!”

Gun placed down his fork on his plate and his face twisted into one of fury, eyes turning cold and rigid as all the warmth disappeared whilst his lips curled back into a nasty frown. You almost thought his infamous scowl was directed towards you, but you knew better. You dear boyfriend wouldn't dare lay a single finger on you if it didn't bring you pleasure. "They what?" 

You smiled softly, placing your hand over his as it clenched into a fist. With your small attempt at trying to soothe him by rubbing small circles, you spoke with a bit of hesitation, "Ah, yeah. They kept trying to get my number and wouldn't let me leave the booth I was in. I had no other choice than to use the training you taught me. Since I never met Olly, I really thought he was just another one of them and I reacted before thinking, making me attack him too."

Gun scoffed, shaking his head as he listened to your explanation with disbelief, every word fueling his rage of someone daring to hit on his woman. Every fiber in Gun's body screamed, wanting to feel their skin underneath his fists as he pounded them into oblivion. But the only thing stopping him was his date with you. For now, he'll put his anger aside to be with you and keep you happy. Who knows how long he'll be gone and when he'll see you again. The man has to make every second count. 

Yet, he couldn’t let this go unpunished.

"Fuck." Gun leans closer to you and sits on the edge of his chair. Placing his hand over yours, he slips his fingers to grasp your palm, and lifts your hand to his lips, pressing tender kisses against your knuckles. His thumb grazing softly across your fingers and his eyes flutter shut. You couldn't help but stare in awe, never quite seeing him like this.

So careful with you, so gentle, you were surprised he wasn't seething in his seat and threatening to break their heads open. Gun opens his eyes and looks up at you, shaking in his seat. “I promise I’ll have those fuckers begging on their knees for your forgiveness. They should know better than to treat a woman with such rudeness and disrespect. Shit, I’ll go right now. I’ll beat them till-”

Your sweet laugh reaches his ears, cutting him off from his little speech. You lean in and pull in his hand to your lips, pressing a tender peck to his coarse knuckles. Gun felt his heart race and skip a beat at the sight, shock crossing his features. You look up, looking at your boyfriend with mirthful eyes. “As much fun as that sounds, I'd rather you stay here. Please? I want to spend as much time with you before you go back to work.”

The man stayed silent for a few seconds, taking in your words. He looked away, clicking his tongue before he broke out into a small smile, a blush blooming across his cheeks and the tip of his ears burning a bright red. “Of course, [Name]. Though, you could’ve just said you like spending time with me.”

Giggling, you lower your hands and shake your head. “Gun, of course I like spending time with you. You’re my favorite person and I love you after all.” Your voice said those three words with such fondness, it’s as if the man was in a dream. 

If your words from before didn’t send Gun over the edge, your proclamation of love surely did now. He looked down, grinning like an idiot, showing a soft, bashful side he’s never revealed to anyone before. He swore his heart would jump out of his throat from how fast it was pounding against his ribcage. Gun grasped your hand tightly and sighed blissfully, Gently, he spoke, gazing at you with loving eyes, “I love you too.”

You smiled.

The tension in the air grew to be too much and both of you found it unbearable, wanting to do what both of you have been waiting for for weeks.

Both of you sat up and leaned over the table, closing the gap between you two as your lips interlocked, slipping together like if you were made for eachother. The kiss sparked and fed the fire both of you held in your hearts, burning brighter with every moment you spent at one another’s side. Gun couldn’t help but smile against your mouth.

As much as he hated being apart from you for so long, moments like these made the long hours worth it. If working so much meant he could provide for you, then he wouldn't mind doing it for the rest of his life if you had a roof over your head and a nice, warm meal at night.

Afterall, you were his woman.

And he loved you.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

©𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚊 || 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚍 || 𝚗𝚘 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚎𝚝𝚌. 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 .

✦✦✦✦✦✦

[angel-shaw]

Sam + Darlin head canons

So this other person on YouTube and I where talking about our Sam headcanons and I would love you put their YouTube name but I can’t find the comment thread :( if I do find it I’ll try and add them/put it in the comments. So some of these might be inspired by someone else (idk who said what head canon).

A little bit of context for a few of them. I have an OC for Darlin who is a guy,if some of these seem gendered I apologize. I might make a separate post for my OC’s for each listener later .

• Sam was gifted an old radio form William after he turned

• He and Darlin’ dance in his kitchen

• Darlin’ can not dance (in that way, I think they would be able to pole dance for some reason)

• They apologize a lot because they step on his feet often

• Darlin really like holding Sam from behind

• I think Darlin is taller than Sam (Maybe like a few inches)

• Darlin’ is really good with cars

• When Darlin fist moved they found a junk yard and spent a lot of their free time there because they hated being home

• Well they where hiding in the junk yard they made a mini hideout that they would sleep in rather than going home

• They found an old motorcycle that they really wanted

• They took up odd jobs to get the money to get the tools (that they couldn’t find in the junkyard) they needed to fix it

• Well they had a steady income because of all the jobs they worked they old bought what they absolutely needed food wise and put money aside for the parts and gave the rest to their siblings for food,clothes, or sometimes toys

• They have a small rubber duck that they keep in their fridge (it has moved to Sam’s recently)

• One time when Sam was at Darlin’s he saw rats run across the floor and freaked out a little

• He was going to ask why there where rat in their apartment (he could also hear them in the walls but didn’t think they could get into the actual apartments) but when he got off of their couch to ask he saw them feeding one

• He was told it was how a few of the residents communicated because they all hated confrontation/talking to people

• A different time he saw the door open well he and Darlin’ where cooking and a small child Maybe 6-7 peeked inside and took money out of a drawer and left a note in its place.

• Before he said anything though,Darlin’ garbed his hand to signal that it was ok

•. After the kid left Darlin’ said that the kids family struggled to make rent (even though it was really cheap do to the poor quality of the place) due to the parents drug/alcohol problems so he told the kids that they could take the money he left in the drawer (it was all the money they had made after they payed rent themselves and got some food)

• Well it was kinda sad Sam felt so much love for Darlin’ in that moment

SLIGHT INVERSION SPOILER (ITS NOTHING TO BAD I PROMISE)

• So I don’t think Sam when on the pack run because when Darlin’ ran up to same after the ward feel Sam made a comment on Darlin’s wolf form. “So that’s what you look like as a wolf huh?” I believe it was if not exactly it’s close

• Going off of that Sam spent the time with Angle, Babe, and sweetheart

• At first it was just him and babe in the room because Angle went with David of see the pack off and Sweetheart was trying to find more candy

• Babe made pleasant small talk until the others got back

• When they did they all sat down they started depateing on the game they where going to play

• Whichever game they did decide on never finished because Angle vetted up flipping the board/throwing the cards at Babe who kept cheating

• It was fun and Sam enjoyed himself with them

• He was quickly added to their group chat

• So now he get notifications from said group chat and most of the time is a FNAF song being sung and he occasionally joins in

• Sam and Darlin’ go to the store together a lot now because it always seems Darlin is out of food

•Sam doesn’t mind going with them but hasn’t realized that Darlin’ deliberately waits to shop till Sam is free

• Darlin shops at a small grocery store that’s family owned

• Darlin used to work at there and took up some hours to get money after the came back from Washington

•They sometimes get discounts because they know the owners and their kids

• The owners have invited Sam and them for dinner before

•I like to think Darlin’ is really really good with kids and will go out of their way to make sure every kid they meet is taken care of and loved

• This includes the kids in the pack

• When they first got back they really wanted to check up on the kids but couldn’t because of everything and they felt really bad

• When they finally did get to see the kids it was the second or third pack meeting they went to

• Sam has seen Darlin’ play with the play with the kids and finds it sweet

So thats what I remember rn, but I never listened to Fred and bright eyes story,but they still are Sam’s progeny and I like imagine if them as kids (I know they technically aren’t but hear me out)

Fred and Bright eyes are like 10 -14 years old and when darlin met them they felt bad because they never would grow up physically (or would extremely slowly but i Beloit the first one)

• They now get the kids gifts anytime they can, and we’ll Sam says they don’t need sugar Darlin’ always picks up their favorite snacks and candies when they go the the store

• It took a while for Bright to trust them and it took a little less time for Fred to not be scared of them

• Once they got used to Darlin Sam would find them curled up on the couch sleeping with a show on in the background

• He took a few pictures because it was adorable

Anyway that really all I can think of rn I’ll probably post some story’s or something later :)

Have a wonderful day ❤️

[oftenderweapons]

Love Talk - Hoseok

Pairing: Hoseok x reader (nicknamed Giggles)

Wordcount: 8.6k words

Genre: smut (smutty smut), fluff, a teensy bit of angst

Rating: 18+

Hello my precious flowers! As I promised earlier, here I am, posting Hoseok’s Love Talk. This is intended for a mature audience. Please, beware.

I’ll recap real quickly Hobi and Giggles stiuation: they have been messing around for three months, the scenario takes place right after Hoseok comes back from Japan, after Where, When and How, where he explicitly said that he had stuff to discuss with her. Well, he is smitten. 

Scratch that. 

He is whipped and in love. 

Let’s move on to TRIGGER WARNINGS: Well well well, the two are online shopping. In an erotic online shop. Expect a lot of toys.�� Quickie, Oral sex (male receiving), mentions of squirting, clit sucker, vibrators, g-spot vibrators, wands, anal plugs and dildos, vibrating cock-ring, mentions of strap-on, vaginal beads and ben-wa balls, cocksleeves, masturbation, voyeurism, blindfolds, nipple clamps, restraints, tickler, flogger, oral cockwarming, (Sugar daddy hoseok? whipped hoseok?)

Wordcount is 8.6k.

You can vote for the next theme at the link in my bio :)

And here is my masterlist, enjoy!

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

I’m getting at yours, will you wait for me?

Your phone blipped and you picked it up, expecting it to be your mom or a friend. 

It was Hoseok. 

You replied quickly. 

You’re early. I thought I would see you tomorrow.

I need to see you.

It’s late, are you sure? I can wait. 

I can’t

He double texted. You paused the film, looking around your messy apartment. God, I gotta fix this.

I’ll be there in twenty. I’m omw

You started rushing around the house like a maniac, trying to get rid of empty food containers and general messiness, throwing your dirty laundry in the washing machine, trying to make the bed in the process of getting decently dressed. 

When you heard the doorbell you ran to the intercom, opening the door and waiting for him at the entrance. He knew how to get in anyway. 

When he appeared from the elevator you gave him a big smile and he almost ran to you, hugging you tight, breathing you in. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Your arms wrapped around his neck, fingers disappearing at his nape, under his hat. 

“I missed you so much, Giggles.” He kissed your cheek, his palm landing on the small of your back. 

“Let’s go in, yes?” You suggested as he waddled towards the door, still latching onto you. “I’m sorry if it’s a mess, I didn’t expect you to stop by.”

“It’s okay as long as the bed is free. It’s not like I came here to check your apartment.” He nibbled on your jaw, already trying to get you going, heading towards the bedroom. 

“Hobi, I—” You hesitated.

“Sorry, baby. I was being inconsiderate.” He parted from you, his hands gripping your waist gently. “How was your day?”

“Tough. Tiring.”

“Mh. Poor baby.” He caressed your cheek and headed for the sofa.

“What about you?” You asked, opposing him as he tried to sit the both of you down.

“It’s been a long day. I’m a bit tired. Don’t you want to sit?” He looked at you with a pout on his lips, brow furrowed, voice whiny. 

You placed your hands on his shoulder, massaging them gently. “I’m not opposed to some pillow talk.”

He looked at you, licking his lip. “You sure? We don’t have to… You know.”

“Hobi.” You whined. 

“You want me, baby?” He asked, voice tender and needy. “I’ve missed you so much, Giggles.” He kissed your lips chastely. “I’ve missed you so, so much.” And with that he wrapped himself around you as you started backing up towards the bedroom. 

Your hands went immediately in his soft, thick hair, pushing his lips towards yours. “Hoseok.”

He spoke against your lips. “What is it, sweetheart? Tell me what you want, sweetie.”

You were entering the room and soon he was laying you on the sheets. It wasn’t the first time. Nor the second. You had probably lost count sometime after your third week together.

And were you supposed to count them in terms of sessions or orgasms? Or rounds? You were confused. And you didn’t care. Sometimes it was so good you lost count of how many he’d given you in just one night, go figure since the beginning of your relationship. 

“A quick one?” He asked.

“Anything you want.” You replied as he laid you down, kissing you until you were both breathless. He unbuckled his belt with nimble fingers, not even bothering to undress completely, lust making him even more impatient than usual. 

In the meanwhile you kicked off your shorts, hips lifting to get rid of the fabric, meeting his hips in the motion and dragging against his hardening cock. “Panties off?”

“Want me to slip them to the side?” He murmured against your neck. “Want me to rip them off you, naughty girl?”

You giggled and he looked at you, completely amused. “That’s my Giggles.” He kissed you deliriously, peppering small presses of lips to your face and neck. “Take those panties off, Giggles. You know how impatient I get.”

The garment came off, Hoseok laughing when he noticed it was stuck around your ankle. “Leave it. I got you.” He kissed you wildly, his head spinning, spiraling out of control.

“Take off your jeans, Hobi.” You half begged, your hand already moving between your thighs, prepping yourself for him. 

He stroked himself while fixing you on the pillows, at the center of the bed. “You ready, ____?”

Your body shivered at the sound of your name. You both had your shirts on, the fact absolutely unsurprising. “Come. Want you inside.”

He laid on top of you, his weight propped on his elbow as his forearm cradled your head. With his other hand he caressed your side, from waist to knee, massaging the flesh of your hip in the process, linking your leg around his waist. “I’ve wanted you so bad, baby.” He growled softly against the shell of your ear, substituting your hand with his. “Top drawer?” he asked. 

“Yup. Got them before you came back.” You murmured. 

“Good girl. So smart.” He threw himself towards the bedside table, opening the drawer and fumbling around until he felt the foil package under his fingers. “There we go.”

Sitting back on his heels he gave you quite the show, tearing the small square with his teeth and making a slow, careful work of wrapping his beautiful cock in rubber. 

Your mouth watered as he took off his shirt. He wanted to feel your nails against his bare spine. And no, he didn’t care about you still wearing your shirt. All he needed was your eyes on him. Laying down again, he pressed a small kiss to your nose. “Are you wet enough, sweetie?” He asked, moving his lips to your earlobe. “Need help?”

You bit your lip, knowing that some lube would make it easier for the both of you. You nodded shyly. 

“It’s been a while, better make it safe and slippery.” Again he fumbled with the drawer, the pink bottle of strawberry flavoured lube finding his hand almost immediately. It was the one he had gifted you. “Wow, it was a really smart move of me.” He said, thinking of when he had sent you the package. “Karma is really a wonderful thing.”

You giggled. “Hobi, quick.” You reminded him. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He laid down on his belly, his face right between your thighs as he observed the dollop of liquid fall right on top of your folds and slither down to your entrance. 

“Fuck.” He whispered darkly, spreading it with the flat digit of his thumb. “I feel like licking you.” He said, the inviting, fruity scent tempting his tongue. 

“Later. I want you inside, Hoseok.” You whined, almost upset. 

“No, no, no. Why is my sweetheart getting sad, uh?” He regained his position, his svelte body looming over yours as he kissed your frown away. “Here.” He said, dragging his tip up and down your slit, covering himself in wetness. “Now, Giggles?”

You nodded eagerly. 

He slid in with one smooth stroke, your mouth opening in a rising cry. “I don’t know how long I’ll last.” He warned you kindly. “I need you to touch yourself for me, sweetie.” He licked a teasing stripe up your neck. “Cross your legs behind my back.”

You did as you were told, eyes closing at the deeper stimulation. 

He didn’t even pretend to keep it slow and easy. He started ramming into you with sharp jabs, his mouth covering you in the sweetest praises. 

“No rubber toy could ever be like you, Giggles. I missed you so fucking much. This sweet, little tight pussy all around me, milking me. Fuck.” He pushed into you particularly hard, your inner walls contracting around him. Your fingers worked your clit rapidly, not even bothering to arouse, but simply to please. You wasted no time, engaging your kegels to give him the tightness that always made him go crazy, your abs crunching in the process, strengthening your grip around him. It made him go faster and harder, which made you get tighter, and the whole process escalated quickly to a breathtaking climax that caught him somewhere between a whine and a groan, head rolling backward and then snapping forward, to the dampness of your shirt, between your breasts. 

He himself was dripping with sweat, his own body incredulous at the high he’d just experienced, so liberating and relieving. He had never known anything like this. 

And he had never even fucked you raw. Which made him wonder how could he ever resist you once there was going to be no latex separating the two of you. 

You were also lost in pleasure, searching for his mouth once his ecstasy subdued and yours took over, squeezing his still sensitive cock. “Hoseok,” you whined gently, his lips caressing your chastely, your breath soothing his upper lip, which he kept worrying in an attempt to tone down his moans.

He felt like he needed to say it. I love you, Giggles. I love you and I’m so scared of it, ____. “Are you feeling okay, Giggles?”

You nodded, smiling sleepily. 

“Shower.” He called, making you open your eyes as he tried to drag your heavy body up and on your feet.

The shower was a quiet, tender ordeal. Your hands ran down his body in reverent strokes, to soothe, rather than arouse. You washed his hair, massaging his scalp and he did the same to you, playfully asking you to kneel down so he could wash your hair properly. 

You managed to get out of the bathroom, your body warm and fuzzy from the water and the lotion you’d put on as you got ready for bed. He immediately found some spare comfy shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. 

He stopped when you looked at him surprised. 

Of course it wasn’t his first time staying over, but you felt like tonight was something more. Maybe it was because of the intimate, caring way he had treated you during your aftercare. 

“Oh— Do you need me to go?” He asked, terrified that you would deny him.

You shook your head. “I’m just surprised. I assumed you were busy tomorrow.”

“I sort of am. But I’m free in the morning and I though it was worth it staying and stop by the dorms on my way to the studio.” He shrugged, his collarbones appearing from his thin white shirt. “I also wanted to talk to you.” He mumbled in a pout. “You know, about… uhm— what I sent you from Japan.”

Oh. The toys. “We can talk about that when you’re less tired.”

He made a disappointed oh. But he was quick to hide it with a smile. “Then we could discuss it another time.”

You backtracked quickly. “No, it’s okay. I was just worried for you.”

“You said you were tired earlier.” He opposed readily, but you placed your hands on his cheeks, tracing his lovely cheekbones with your thumbs. 

“I want to talk about it too. I just want us to be ready and awake enough for this.” You reasoned. 

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot.” He said, pressing his forehead to yours, nuzzling your nose with yours in eskimo kisses. “I got a plan. Can I borrow your laptop?” He asked, parting from you only slightly, keeping you in the circle of his arms but arching away from you to see your whole face clearly. 

You nodded. “Let me fetch it for you.” You motioned for him to climb in bed and came back shortly after, computer in hand. You sat down beside him at the head of the bed, and as soon as you unlocked your pc he threw himself over your lap, grabbing it and bringing it towards him. 

“As I explored for your… gift, I discovered a few things. I thought maybe we could discuss them together.” He spoke plainly, absolutely chill about this conversation. 

“Just make sure you go incognito or it would truly be embarrassing to deal with the cookies.” You suggested with a smirk.

He winked and followed your instructions, stopping only a few seconds, his brow creasing as he tried remembering the url of the online shop. 

As soon as he remembered, he typed it in, immediately finding the desired page. “Before we get into this, I must tell you that our sex is absolutely perfect as it is. No need to get any of this stuff. I just want to discuss. Experiment, if you may call it so.”

You nodded and kissed his shoulder, bringing his arm around your shoulders and burrowing into his side. “Let’s talk. Honestly I’m curious too.”

He grinned, “That’s good. Well. I assume you like me taking control.” He considered. 

“Absolutely yes. I like it when you take control and get rough. When you manhandle me a bit.”

He nodded. 

“I like it when you take what you want. You get whiny and moany and you look so incredibly hot and wild and I’d give anything to make you look like that for me.” You explained. “And I like it when you go hard on me. When you torment me a little.”

He held you tighter. “Anything else?”

You thought about your previous encounters. What did you want to do again? What had gone wrong?

“I like you touching me. Fingering me.” 

He kissed your temple, praising your honesty and openness, but also your lack of fear, “I know you had mixed feelings about squirting?” He asked for your confirmation.

“Yes, mostly because of all the mess that follows.” You murmured. “And I felt a little lost afterwards. Like I was too confused to understand what was happening. It made me panic, sort of.”

Hoseok nodded again, kissing your cheek. “We can just avoid that altogether.”

You bit your lip nervously. “Maybe we could just approach it more calmly, slowly, so I can get comfortable in it.” You blushed. As if you needed to be shy around Hoseok…

“Okay.” He smiled, just with his lips, gentle and kind, reassuring. “Oral?”

“Yes.” You said, smiling big and hiding in his neck. 

He chuckled. “Nasty girl. Loves having my tongue all over that pussy...”

“Hobi.” You reprimanded him playfully. 

“Come on, I’m only speaking the truth here.” He mumbled with a pout, almost grumpy.

You punched his chest lightly. “Still no need to point that out. Rude,”

He bent down to your ear, tickling you in the process. “You love it just as much as I love your pretty mouth and tongue hugging my cock.” He snarled and bit your earlobe.

You eyed him as he took some distance from you. “You’re a devil. And you had promised me a week of oral when you came back. Just oral. You’ve already broken that promise.”

Hosek kissed your brow. “Well, you have a toy for that now, uh?” He tipped your chin upwards with his index finger, kissing you square on the lip. 

“It’s not you.” You lamented, tongue teasing his lips in the process.

“That’s fucking right. Poor baby. That’s not me.” He threw himself at your lips, sucking your lower one before you let his tongue slither in and claim your whole mouth.

When you parted, you were both breathless and you already felt the need to grind against his thigh. 

“Naughty.” He chastised. “Stay put. We gotta talk about this.”

He showed you the screen of your laptop, an online adult store popping up. 

“Are you serious?” You turned towards him, but his expression was inscrutable. 

“I thought we could have some fun.” He explained, almost dubious. “As I said we don’t have to, but I’ve never done this before and I must say I’m curious. I trust you. I want to try this stuff with you” — pause — “Well, some of it, at least.”

You cocked your head to the side. “We’ve never talked about your exes...” You considered. 

His lips curled. “I thought it was irrelevant. Anyways I’ve had a relationship. Before debut. And I’ve had a few flings and friends with benefits afterwards. No feelings."

Just like you. Except this time the feelings were there. Not that you knew about them, though. Your relationship — relationship? — with Hoseok was exclusively friendly and carnal. 

But that's what lovers are…. 

You shushed your brain. We are no lovers. Good sex and some laughs. That's it. Except it wasn't. Because he was slowly getting under your skin and your and his recent trip were an awful wake up call to your feelings. 

Hoseok continued. "I think I’ve been with maybe… Eight people? Definitely less than ten. But it wasn’t like we could discuss this stuff. Or we had time for the talk and the actual experimenting.” He thought some more. “It was like we only had time to cover basic stuff, so I couldn’t really one-up the game. If I can with you, well… I’d love to treat you right.” He explained. 

“Then let’s venture in this.” You exclaimed, excited. You looked at the laptop and noticed the navigation bar pointing out several categories. 

“Let’s start from the top, yeah?” He asked, clicking on the first link. 

You found yourself facing a lengthy list of subcategories. “Woah. It’s a lot.” You breathed out. 

“I know we just got you something, but I’d like to know if there’s anything you really like, that you already have or that you’d like to try out.” He explained, waiting for you to take control. 

You looked at him with a playful gleam in your eyes. “I liked what you got me. I don’t really have toys. I used to have a small toy, a good reliable one, but I haven’t been using it in ages. Literally. I don’t even know if it works anymore.” You clicked on the tag “vibrator, checking out the different types. 

“Wow, women have all these options. The ones for men are so boring!” He complained, looking at the list. 

You avoided rabbits. You found them sort of boring and too much for you. “Oh, these!” 

“What’s that?” He asked, head cocked to the side as he tried to understand. 

“I think it’s something new. I’ve never seen something quite like this before.” The article resembled a leaf, the upper side shaped with something like a mountain crest running across it. Scrolling through the description you understood. “Basically you keep the flat side on the palm of your hand, and the one with the edge between your legs. The rise should follow the slit.”

“Oh, cool. I would have never guessed.” He studied the object with fascination. “Is that something that interests you?”

“Not really. That one is more for grinders. People who prefer a “wider” stimulation, so to say. It works better for people who tend to enjoy staying on their bellies” you blushed. 

“Oh, okay. Right. You prefer staying on your back, usually.” He reminded himself. 

You nodded. “And usually I’m not a grinder. I’m a bit too lazy for that.” You giggled. 

His whole soul vibrated at the sound. He was so happy. Serene. Peaceful. He had never felt quite like this before with anyone else but the guys. And his family, of course. A bunch of close friends, but that’s it. 

“Look!” You said, scrolling down the shopping page. “It looks so pretty!” You clicked on it, eager to get a closer look. “It looks so… OH! Look, it’s so soft!” You found yourself starry eyed, staring at the small object. 

“It’s a vibrator, right? Oh, squishy! Do girls like squishy?” He asked, confused. 

“Some of us do. I do!” You exclaimed. The toy was a pastel green number, shaped like a bullet, but lightly slimmer on the middle and thicker on the head. What marvelled you was the texture: the silicone surface was covered in lamellae, while the head was extremely squishable, soft, which meant definitely delicate and teasing on the skin. 

“Wanna get it?” 

You turned, surprised. “Are you for real?”

He shrugged, one arm draped around your shoulders, hand toying with your hair. “Why not. We could put it in the cart and then choose at the end what we want to actually get.”

You pouted, not completely convinced, looking at him with a suspicious glance. “Okay.” You murmured. 

He beamed up. “Then add it, Giggles. What’s next?”

“Well, I think I’m not a huge fan of vibrators. Kind of lame. They’re often too powerful for my taste. And quite unrealistic, if I must be honest.” You shrugged. “I prefer something that actually resembles a man. I don’t know why. I just do.” You looked at him with an apologetic expression. 

“Don’t do that face. No need to be sorry for that. We’ll just work harder to look for something that actually works for you. More fun!” He cheered, picking up your mood. 

You smiled back at him, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to bite the apples of his cheeks as he grinned. 

“What about internal vibrators?” He asked, now again serious and interested. 

“Like, g-spot stimulators?”You furrowed your brow.

“Let’s see.” He clicked on the alternative you suggested and as you scrolled the twenty or so items, you noticed that most of them were dildo- or wand-shaped. 

“That’s most definitely not it.” He said, mumbling out loud. He turned towards you for confirmation. “Unless you like them.” He precisated. 

“Nope.” You said, popping the p. 

He grabbed your face with one hand, squishing your cheeks between his thumb and the rest of his hand. “You’re so cute.”

Blushing, you hid into him, disappearing under his chin. “Can we please focus on the task at hand.” You questioned with a squeaky voice. 

“So, no g-spot stimulators. Oh, you’re gonna love this one. Pastel and squishy!” He said, excitement filling his voice. 

You turned your face but kept your position under his head, against his breastbone. “That’s a vibrating egg.” You noted. “Indeed pastel. But I don’t think it’s very squishy.”

“It looks squishy.”

“I think it’s less squishable than the bullet.”

“Yeah, right. Still, it looks squishy.” He said, puffing out his chest.

“And you can control it through a remote.” You noticed.

His chest got suddenly very still, only his heartbeat rattling it, no sign of breathing. He hooked one finger under your chin and made you meet his stare. “Yes or no?” He asked. 

You knew he was begging for a yes. He was truly incapable of wearing a poker face. “Why not?” You smiled shyly. “But just for your information, no, I won’t let you use it on me in public.”

His lips puckered a little but he simply replied: “Fine.”

“Until I get the hang of it.” You specified. 

And just like that he was a happy little squirrel again, cheeks puffy and oh-so biteable.

“Honestly though, I would look for something a little bit more practical. Like yeah, pastel is cute— Wait, that one.” You stopped him, pointing at the screen. “That looks really you.”

“What?”

The vibrator was a sleek, black number with a classy, glossy finish at the base. “It looks like something that you would choose. A bit less tacky than the hot pink silicone stuff. Maybe it’s too expensive though, especially considering that we’re not even sure we’ll use this.”

“Well, better safe than sorry. And yes, hot pink is definitely a big no no. Plus it matches my faux leather trousers.” He put it in the cart and moved on. 

“See. We call that a win-win.” You joked, teasing his collarbone with your mouth. “Stop right there, gentleman.” You gave a small slap to his hand. “Look at that— Wow.” You cheered once the page uploaded. “I’d say I wanna try this one.”

“Isn’t that… Oh, Giggles, you really are the naughtiest.” He chuckled as you read the details. 

“I want it.” You whispered.

“You got it.” He added it to the cart straight away, without second thought. 

You turned towards him with your mouth wide, completely shocked. “Really?”

“Were you joking?” He asked. 

“No, but I thought you would oppose.” You replied.

“Why would I?” He shrugged. “If I get to put a vibrator inside you and control it with a remote, I don’t see why you wouldn’t get to put a cockring on me and control it with a remote. This is a win-win.” He explained, his voice doing those cute ups and downs that he always did when complaining.

“Well, I don’t oppose. I’m glad you’re this open. Really.” You kissed his jaw. “Thank you for your trust, Hobi.”

“It’s okay, sweetie.” Truth is, he would never deny you something that made you go dreamy eyes and mellow voice. He knew you went crazy when you managed to turn him into a brainless, pliant, loud puddle of desire and submission. Considering how strict he was to you, you were surprised — to say the least — that he had such a talent for submission, but again you would do anything to show him how important, unique and precious he is to you, which includes doting on him every now and then, taking care of him and assuming full control over him. He always relaxed so nicely against you, letting you do literally anything to him. The thought that now you could make him cum over and over with your mouth, your hands and now toys too while wearing the vibrating egg inside you was a sudden, very pleasant revelation. 

You needed it now.

Once more you felt your inner thighs get slick and you subtly tried to get rid of it, tucking your hand between your legs. 

Hoseok didn't seem to notice, he simply hugged you closer. He might be too scared to say it, but the least he could do was to show it. 

"Wand or thruster?" He asked, his hand lingering over the touchpad. 

"Mh… I'm not a fan of wands either. I'm sort of curious about thrusters, but… I don't know, I've got you. Not like that I have to choose between a man and a toy, but honestly, it's not something I wanna do without you. I think I just prefer dildos. Or clit suckers. And you just got me one so I don’t really see a point in looking that up."

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. If you want we can look just for fun.” He kissed the top of you head. 

Well, he was getting quite affectionate. He already was, normally, but this was getting strange. Not a bad strange, of course. Rather, it made you think that maybe there was something in him that you hadn’t quite spotted yet, which seems quite absurd after almost three months of… dating? Messing around? Whatever. 

 “Uh— ” He seemed nervous. “What about this?” The small cursor moving to the “vibrating butt plugs” section. 

You cocked your head to the side with an indecisive pout. “Isn’t there a section of regular ones?”

He was a little taken aback, but then he realised: “Right. No vibrators.”

It was your turn to shrug. “No, it’s just that I’ve never done that before. I guess I’d like to start from something basic and then, eventually one-up.” You locked eyes with him and he felt the suffocating need to kiss you. 

He did, diving down into you, his lips pecking yours with a nodding motion. “You’re so fucking fantastic, Giggles. Let’s see if we can find something that can satisfy you.”

He put the computer on your lap, letting you take control. “Do as if I weren’t here. Really.”

Difficult task. Especially since his semi was poking your side. You bit your lip, trying to hold yourself back from starting something. Shaking your head at yourself, you opened the page. You started browsing quickly, wincing at the questionable, flashy-coloured ones, some of them the overly popular “jewelled” number. Your glance stopped at a reasonably sized glass number. 

“They say it’s better to start from silicone. Glass is quite hard to handle for beginners.” He murmured behind you. 

You turned, smiling at him. “Thank you for the pointer, sweetie.”

Sweet lord, he blushed .

You turned, trying not to show how smitten his reaction got you. “Oh, this one has a removable vibrator. And look, suitable for beginners.” You turned excitedly. 

“You know where the cart button is, darling.” He said, all cool and chill. 

Sucking your lip in, you tucked your chin in your chest, all shy, and then you turned and bit his wondrous jawline. “Stop acting like this.”

“Is it getting you hot? Me spoiling you rotten?” He teased, catching your jaw and biting your lower lip. 

“What if I said yes.” You brushed your hip against him, making him growl minaciously. 

“Stay focused.” He barked. 

You blushed and obeyed, turning your eyes back to the screen. As you kept strolling you noticed a tuft of white fur appear on the screen. “Is that— ?”

“Yeah.” He replied. 

You opened the page, curious. The idea of feeling soft fur on such a delicate part of your body sent a shiver down your spine. 

“You like it, ____?” He asked, voice so low that it transmitted as a rumbling ricocheting from his torso to yours.

“I don’t know.” You licked you lips. “I think I need time to understand this one. How I feel about it, I mean.” You realised it attracted you, mostly in terms of the sensation it would potentially arise. “How do you feel about it?”

“I’m neutral about that. Not that my opinion matters. Just, don’t think about me. I’ll just follow your lead. Your body your rules, Giggles.” He held you closer to him. You were practically melting into each other by now. 

You decided you might as well get into a more comfortable position. Tapping your hand against his thigh you invited him to open his legs, lifting yourself enough to settle between his knees, leaning into him. His arms immediately snaked around your waist, your head tilting to the side to let him see the screen. It all happened so easily, naturally, quietly that you started questioning yourself just how familiar your bodies were with each other. 

Moving on, you decided to change category. “I’m just looking.” You said, almost apologetic. 

“Show me what you like.” He asked you, his attitude so stern that it sounded more like an order than a request. 

His breath caressed your nape gently as you waited for the page to upload. “Okay. Uhm. Mine is a bit like this one.”

“Clit sucker? Is that what you’re into, Giggles?” He asked, no judgement, just plain curiosity. 

You nodded. “I mean, i have just one, but if I had to choose others, I would go for small, practical ones. Simple, low maintenance.” You kept scrolling. “Here’s the one you got me!” You noticed, trying to ignore the price written just below. “This one is cute. But maybe a bit too showy.” You said, pointing at one that reminded a flamingo, shaped like some sort of rubber duck, but coloured in pink. “And it needs to have a good grip, for the hand. The worst is when you’re almost there and it slips from your hands. A ruined orgasm is the worst. I mean, some people like edging and ruined orgasms, but when you’re going solo and you’re just frustrated and want to cum and crash in bed after a long day, you don’t want stuff like that to happen.” You explained. Yes, you often came back home frustrated and tired and just in need of an orgasm and eight hours of sleep. 

“I’ll remember that next time.” He said, trying to keep himself from telling you that he could move in and make sure to be home everyday by the time you came back, ready to pleasure you every time you craved the high. 

You caught his hand and kissed his knuckles. 

He exhaled, shifting almost imperceptibly to ease the pressure on his crotch. 

“Actually nothing really sparks my attention. They all look pretty lame.” You scrunched your nose. “The one I was interested in is out of stock. And they’re all pretty much like the one I have and the one you got me. No big deal.”

You went back to the main list. Next on the list were dildos. Again, you scrunched your nose. “I won’t even look at the realistic ones. They make me cringe.” You laughed embarrassedly, looking at the next subcategory, “I exclude anal ones because I think it’s a soft limit for now. We’ll see how it goes with the bullet and then I’ll decide.” You moved the cursor to the following voice in the list. “Double dildo? Hell no. Unless you…?”

You turned towards Hoseok, who had his eyes half closed, lost in his head. 

“Hobi?” You called. 

“Yeah?” He said as he snapped out of it. 

“Double dildo. Thoughts?” You asked.

His brow furrowed. “No. I mean, maybe not yet.” He clarified. “Let’s start slow.”

“Are we excluding strap-ons too? Just asking.” You asked for confirmation. 

He thought about it for a second. “Yeah. I think so. For now. We’ll see, I guess? I’m not necessarily opposed to it, but it’s something I have to work up to, if I ever get there. Though, I must say I’m not exactly comfortable at the thought.”

You caressed his thigh gently. “It’s okay. I just wanted to ask. Tell you I’m okay with it just in case you ever want to try. No pressure.” You turned to kiss any part of him that was close to you. You met his bicep and laid a sweet peck there.

“Thank you, baby.” His hand climbed under the hem of your shirt, his cute nose nuzzling into your hair.

“I’m sort of curious about glass dildos…” You clicked on the link and your eyes actually struggled taking in all the beautiful instruments. You started scrolling slowly, a pair of vibrant blue glass eggs catching your attention. “Wow.” The description mentioned the advantages of pyrex glass as a safe, easy-to-clean, antibacterial material, as long as it doesn’t fall and chip. The eggs, one smaller and one bigger, depending on skills and training, were recommended for intermediate to average users, however the warning didn’t scare you. You were pretty sure your kegels were already fine considering that you had received ben-wa balls from your best friend for your birthday, after she told you how amazing they felt and how they had improved her intimate life. 

Selfishly you added the glass accessories to your saved items and kept shopping. The dildos looked more intimidating, their shapes definitely adventurous and daring, to say the least. Some of them were absolutely fascinating, like a lovely purple one made of a series of spheres molten together that grew bigger to the base and smaller to the tip. However, they were all quite small in shape, and most importantly they had no give, no squish factor, which is our usual go-to in terms of feel. Of course they were interesting for the possible temperature play, but you reserved that for the spheres. And the plug.

You skipped the ben-wa balls. 

“Why?” Hoseok asked. 

“I forgot to mention I already have them. It’s something I’ve been using for a few months. I don’t think they’re actually a toy. I’ve always considered that more of a health product. Just like, I don’t know. Lube. Or tampons.” You explained.

“So you have a clit sucker and ben-wa balls?” He sounded almost incredulous. 

“Yeah.” You stated, marvelled at him being so surprised by it. 

He ran his lips around the shell of your ear. “Is that why you’re always so damn tight around me, little bird?”

You abandoned your body back against his, your posture getting looser at his shameless flirting. “I make sure I work them out to keep healthy. And to keep tight, no matter how hard you fuck me.” You told him, perfectly knowing that no amount of intercourse would ever cause irreversible stretching to your inner walls — only giving birth and aging could — but still indulging in his fantasies. “Let’s see if we can find something for you.”

He held your hand as you clicked on the first category for men. 

“Cock sleeves?” You asked.

He took a deep breath. “Those are like the ones you got me.”

“Yeah, the brand is the same. They’re pretty popular, apparently. And they had the best reviews.” You explained. 

"I think I'm okay here. I mean, we can move on to the next. I mean, I explored a little and I think the only toys I could be into are cockrings." He explained, a bit shy. "And the small eggs you gave me, of course. Which are quite extraordinary." He chuckled and you felt his chest shake behind you. 

Such intimacy was new and so intense it was like the blinding sunlight of a summer's midday. "I do remember you quite losing your mind for those." 

You remembered him whining on the screen of your computer during your video call last week, his forearm propping him up on the desk, his torso and head bent over, completely collapsed over his lap as he came, screaming your name, moaning about how much he missed your touch, your cunt, your kisses. Similarly, on the other side, you were sitting on your sofa, legs spread wide as you cried out his name, hips thrusting up, thinking about his cock and trying to ignore how different it felt from the toy that was actually pleasing you. 

"It was nice." He kissed your nape. "But only because we were apart." His hand under your shirt stared climbing to your chest, the ghost of his digits teasing not even the skin, but rather the air lingering over it. The barely-there feeling stirred goosebumps over your belly. "I don't want anything but you. All the time" He kissed you again. "And I don't want a fake pussy." The tip of his tongue skimmed the back of your ear. "I want yours." 

You moaned. "Are you sure you don't want to check them out?" Hands lingering over the touchpad. "Not even pumps?" 

"Why, when you suck me so good." His hand was at your chest now, toying with the full curve of your breast before palming it gently, squeezing it just enough to arouse rather than hurt. 

You arched your back, offering him even more of your flesh. "I love feeling you in my mouth. You get so loud when I suck you."

"Don't you love me crying out for you, uh? So cruel." He teased your nipple, rolling it between his fingertips. 

"I love hearing how well I please you." You replied, your hand running up the inside of his thigh and reaching his hard on. "Do you need a pause from our shopping?" 

"What are you suggesting?" He murmured against your ear. 

"Let me show you."

"But the next part is the one I really wanted to browse with you." He said in his typical complaining tone. Damn it, you love how he sounds like a cute, bratty baby when he tries to convince you to do it his way. 

"You wanna check the BDSM section or cum in my mouth, Hobi?" You asked, all set on making it hard for him to turn you down. 

"Can't we browse the BDSM section and then I cum in your mouth?" He whined. 

You shrugged. "Fine. But get your hand out of my shirt, mister, or I won't be able to focus." You said, gentle and shy. 

He smiled. So cute. Taking his hand off, he put it on the touchpad, substituting you. "Let's start easy." He said, opening the link leading to another list. "Blindfolds?" 

"Yes." You replied. "As long as we take it easy." Again, a part of you imagined how it would be to feel him without seeing him, noticing all the small sounds and little touches he would give you without knowing his visual cues that gave away what to expect next. 

"Cool. I wanted to try it too." He commented briefly. 

"On yourself?" You asked back, unabashed. 

"Yeah, why not. We're here to discover new things aren't we?" 

You nodded. "Why are you scrolling down?" You asked as he moved to the next point in the list. 

"You'll see, Giggles. Don't be impatient, little bird." He chastised. 

Sweet mercy, he was getting you hot. Again. 

"Nipple clamps?" He asked again. 

"Mh, kinda neutral about them. Your hands are good enough. We'll see."

"I must say I'd love seeing them on you. But it's all up to you." Now he was back to his comforting touchy persona. You noticed the immense variety of ways he touches you and you were extremely eager to discover them all. That's what the blindfold is for. "I don't see me wearing them myself, though."

"Yeah, I don't see you wearing them either." You replied, head cocked to the side as you tried imagining the scene. It felt wrong. 

"Does my little bird want to try restraints?" He questioned and from the tone of his voice you knew there was no way to say no to that. 

You nodded so hard you almost smashed your head into his chest. 

"Then we can just buy a nice beginner set and add pieces as we get more skilled with this." He reasoned. 

"You plan on getting skilled on this?" You asked, almost terrified, not because you were opposed to the idea, but rather because he already had you in the palm of his hand as it was, no need to add mind-blowing accessories to his cocky, dark and dominant persona. 

He made you turn towards him. "It depends on you, Giggles. We'll try. Baby steps. See where this goes."

Your brain short-circuited. Being tied up, begging, at his mercy. Could you handle it?

Hell, yes.

"Hobi, please." You begged, your hand wandering again around his thighs and lap. 

"Do you wanna try that, Giggles? Your wrist tied to the bedpost, blindfolded, all mine to explore?" He described, almost too detailed. 

"Please, Hobi." You begged again. 

"I said, do you want it, little bird? Answer me." He inquired, his voice strict and commanding. 

"Yes, Hoseok, please." You replied, whining, your hand already trying to cup his balls through his shorts as you turned to face him fully, moving the laptop out of the way. 

However, he grabbed your wrist. 

"I want you too, ____, but I just want you to see another couple things. I promise it won't take long, baby." He couldn't stand to see you pout, see you furrow your brow as he denied you, even for the smallest instant. "I'll pick the set for you, yeah?" 

You nodded, pressing yourself into him as he selected his item of choice and added it to the cart. "There we go, sweet thing. Now let's check if you like these."

Confidently and quickly he went through a series of links and clicks, the page opening on a series of object that were halfway between cute and intimidating. 

The intimidating part was the dark colours and the leather. Leather everywhere. And the thin sticks. Riding crops and canes. Fuck. “Not these, yet. But I though that maybe my little bird would like feathers, uh? Are you ticklish, Giggles?”

You squirmed in yout seat. You nodded. 

“Yes or no, Giggles?”

“Yes, Hoseok.” You moaned. 

“Then look at this one. It’s called Birdie. Don’t you find it fitting, little bird?” He said, his attitude almost torturing. 

“Will you use that with the blindfold?” You asked, kissing his jaw, then the underside of it, biting and sucking until a slight blush turned into a light bruise.

“Are you marking me, Giggles?”

You moaned, ignoring his question and moving your lips downwards, at the base of his neck. 

“Naughty girl.” He teased, chuckling. “I would use it with a blindfold, yes. Until you get too impatient to stay still — because I know you would — and I get to tie you up and make you cry for me.” His fingers gripped your soft waist, kneading it hard and quick, making you jolt and detach from his neck, bending with a squeal in a fit of laughter. 

His smug smirk looked truly sadistic as he tortured you. “Does this turn you on, ____. Is this what you like, little bird. Dammit, those giggles. It gets me so turned on to see you happy and squealing, baby.” He said, his dirty words making wetness pool between your legs. 

“Hobi, stop.” You managed to whine in between two attacks. “Please.”

“That’s my good girl, so well-mannered.” He said, stopping. “Sit still, baby. I need to show ou another thing.”

And with that he inserted a name in the shop search bar, the page immediately opening on one product. 

You shivered. 

“I promise I’ll make you feel so good with it, Giggles. I will be the fucking best.” He pleaded. “I’ll take it easy and learn for you.” He kissed the side of your face. 

Could you do that for him?

Yes, you would.

“Yes.” You said, trusting him blindly. That was the moment you knew.

You were falling for this man.

You would never let anyone with something like that in a ten foot radius from you. 

But you would let Hoseok. Maybe you would even want him to.

“Will you let me, ____?” He asked, just to be sure. 

“Yes.” You repeated, looking him in the eye. 

And just like that he added the flogger to the cart. 

“Turn around, Giggles. Open that pretty mouth for me.” He said, now finally satisfied with his selected items.

You turned, looking up at him as you settled your face between his legs, brushing your nose and lips against his crotch. 

He dipped his hand under the waistband, offering himself to you. “Easy, tiger.” He said, teasing the seam of your lips with the tip, smearing precum over them. “Open up and keep it there. No fancy business.”

You opened your mouth and nodded, trying to show him obedience through your reverent stare. 

He grabbed his shaft and pushed the velvet head of his cock in your mouth. 

As soon as you felt the taste of him you began moaning, salivating enough that your tongue started massaging him gently.

“No fancy business, ____.” He reminded you, this time as a warning. 

You completely zoned out, focusing only on staying put and breathing through your nose. He filled your mouth perfectly, and was so still that you could feel his heartbeat on your tongue. 

In the meantime he kept clicking on the touchpad, adding an impermeable blanket that you could use when getting messy, something he was thinking about when you mentioned your squirting cons.

Typing on your computer, he added the final details to the shipment, using his incognito name and credit card to make sure nobody would identify him as the buyer. That’s where seven years of a successful career and worldwide fame led him.

He tried not to think about it, focusing only on the surprised face you will make when you open up your giftbox together. As soon as “order confirmed” appeared he smashed the laptop closed as delicately as his impatience allowed him, moving the computer on the bedside table. 

He looked at you, his cock in your mouth, eyes closed as you used him like a pacifier, perfectly serene and undisturbed. So pretty and peaceful. It was almost a shame to disturb you. 

Opening his legs wider, he inadvertently gave a small thrust, making you open your eyes. He put his hands on your cheeks, caressing your cheekbones with his thumbs and carding your hair with his fingers. 

He adores you. 

Looking at him, confused, you parted from him, your mouth now free to speak. 

“What about the laptop? Did you save it for later?” You asked, your brain too focused on not fucking him to put two and two together. 

“Easy. I bought them all.” He said, matter of factly.

“You— what?” It must have been expensive. You knew it. 

“I got money, might as well enjoy it.” He shrugged. “I’ve had more pricey carts, don’t worry.”

You frowned. 

“I said don’t worry. Say thank you and be good, Giggles.”

This man will end you. Might as well show him how grateful you were. 

Opening your mouth, you grabbed his dick, licking him up from base to tip, pushing it against your lower lip as you pouted: “Thank you, Hobi.”

“You’re wel— fuck.” He groaned as you swallowed him whole.

“Fuck, Giggles. I had promised you one week of oral when you came back.” He said, panting, throwing his head back with a loud thump against the bedpost. 

Bobbing your head a couple times, you made sure he was a brainless mess before you released him with a loud pop. “You can start from tomorrow morning.”

[mamabearcatfanfics]

Instinct - Chapter 5

I’m posting this a little early, but I need to take my youngest to the park, attend the Inuyasha Book Club meeting, do laundry ready for the school week and finish writing other things, and I didn’t want it to get forgotten in the general Sunday madness!

You can read it on AO3, or continue on below 😘

Kagome did her best not to panic as the ambulance door slammed shut. She tried to listen to the slow deep voice of the paramedic explaining what he was doing, slightly muffled by the surgical mask he’d donned as soon as Inuyasha had laid her down on the bed and jumped down out of the ambulance. The paramedics hands were steady, his voice calm, and she tried to focus on watching him as he wrote down numbers on a chart and twisted dials on equipment .

Mama’s hand reached out to stroke her leg over the white sheet that had been pulled up to her waist, and Kagome closed her eyes, concentrating on the familiarity of Mama’s soothing voice and touch in the jarring interior of the brightly lit ambulance. But she felt adrift without him.

Strange as it may seem, she’d come to take comfort in the predictability of Inuyasha’s abrasive personality. It had taken her a while, but over the emotionally charged months that they’d spent together, eating, sleeping, laughing, fighting, she’d worked out that it was all a front. It was hardly surprising really, that he would build up emotional armour in response to his hard and lonely childhood. But he’d begun to gradually let that front slip as the trust between them built, at first offering grudging friendship, and now she hoped, something more.

Over these last few days as he’d cared for her, he’d allowed his true personality to shine through, and he’d become her lifeline, her one point of stablity in the pervasive fog of pain and fever. Inuyasha had promised he’d follow, and he never broke his promises. That was the only thing holding her together. Because she’d heard the second paramedic say the name of the place where they were going – the hospital where her father had died.

 She’d been seven – a happy little girl with no concept of how cruel life could be. Her father was late coming home from work, and all she’d been concerned about was whether he’d arrive home in time to read her a bed time story, because he did the voices better than Mama. But the familiar sound of his key turning in the lock never came. An unfamiliar knock on the front door at that time of night was jarring, breaking the usual evening family routine. It had surprised them all.

 When Mama opened the door, instead of her father’s smiling face there had been police, their faces sombre. They said there had been an accident. Mama was crying. Grandpa had stroked Mama’s arm while she stood behind them, unsure of what was going on. She tried her best to cling to Mama’s waist, but Mama’s stomach was now so full of her yet to be born baby brother that she couldn’t make her arms meet. The kind police lady had tried to take her hand, but she didn’t want a stranger, she wanted Mama and Papa. Mama never cried and Kagome was terrified.

 The police had driven them to the hospital, and she’d sat on the back seat, squashed in between Mama and Jiji, holding their hands tightly, the city lights going past in a blur. She hadn’t known what to think, what to say. There had to have been some kind of mistake that would be cleared up when they got there.

 They were told that they’d only be allowed in the ICU ward for a few minutes. The ward had felt alien, like another planet, the large open space filled with machines and curtains and beeps and whispers. Strangers with masks passed by them, with shoes that squeaked on the grey rubber flooring. The room stank of bleach, reminding her of when Mama had to clean up after Buyo’s little accidents when he was a kitten.

 Jiji had held her hand tightly as they walked past other patients, telling her softly that she must be careful not to touch anything, and that she had to be brave. She wanted to be brave, wanted Jiji to be proud, but she was scared, more scared than she’d ever been.

 And then they’d stopped at a bed at the end of the ward. She hadn’t wanted to believe that man in the bed was her father. He was completely unrecognisable, his chest and one arm covered in dressings and bandages, with more bandages wrapped around his head. He had tubes coming out of one arm, and a plastic mask with tubes coming out of it over his face. He wasn’t wearing the clothes he’d left the house in that morning, or the watch Mama had got him for his birthday.

 Mama’s shaking fingers had reached out to stroke the man’s unbandaged hand, so softly, like she was worried he would break more if she wasn’t careful. But that couldn’t be right. Her Papa was strong. Strong enough to throw her high into the air at the park. Strong enough to pick up Mama and whirl her around the kitchen until she giggled. Strong enough to help Jiji lift heavy things onto high shelves in the store room that she couldn’t even move.

 She’d told her mother quietly but clearly that the police had made a mistake, and they should go home. This was some other little girl’s Papa, and her Papa would be home any minute, wondering where his dinner was.

 Then her ears were filled with the frightening sound of her Mama’s anguished voice calling out Papa’s name. Nurses came running, drawn by the sudden beeps and alarms of the machines near the bed. Jiji had picked her up and taken her out of the way as she cried out for Mama, taken her back through the big room and down a narrow corridor.

 She’d sat with Jiji in a waiting room that smelt like sadness, with a tv that only showed one channel. There was a toybox, but the toys were all for babies. She flicked through a half filled colouring book that sat on a little table for something to do while they waited for Mama, but the crayons in the plastic tub next to it were all broken, with most of the pretty colours missing.

 It wasn’t Mama that came to get them, but a doctor. He’d asked them to follow him to a little room close by, refusing to answer Jiji’s questions until they’d gone inside and he’d shut the door. It was a small depressing space, with faded artwork hanging askew on the wall, empty apart from a few chairs and a table with a box of tissues on it. Mama was already there, crumpled in on herself like crushed paper, her face buried in her arms to muffle the sound of her crying.

 The doctor had said he was sorry, but there was nothing they could do – Papa’s injuries from the car accident had been too severe. The words had whooshed over her like an icy breeze. She didn’t want them to be true, and she’d frantically looked at Mama and Jiji’s faces in turn, wanting one of them to say that the doctor was wrong. How could those words be true, when he’d patted her on the head just this morning, and told her to do her best at school? Told her that he hoped she’d have a good day, and he’d see her tonight?

 But Mama was still crying, her hands reaching out blindly for them both. Jiji had turned and collapsed onto the chair next to Mama, his own face ashen. Then he’d picked her up and rocked her on his lap, even though he usually said she was getting too big to be cuddled like a baby now that she was almost a big sister.

Shocked tears had begun to pour down her cheeks, even as she felt Jiji’s tears dripping on to her neck, and Mama’s soft hands pulling her legs to rest on the small amount of lap she had left, stroking her softly as she tried to comfort her with broken words. And then she knew it was true. Papa was gone. It had been an accident, but that accident had taken her Papa away as surely as if someone had killed him on purpose.

Now they were going back to that same hospital ten years later, and she didn’t know how she felt about that. Part of her felt like that same petrified little girl, stepping into an unknown world. It was so hard to focus. Her mind was swimming, the constant fight for air was making her feel panicky, like she needed to run away. And her chest hurt so much lying down. She tugged on the paramedic’s arm weakly, trying to sit up.

“Is your pain worse when you’re laying on your back?” he asked, making adjustments to the bed when she nodded. “Sorry about that – I didn’t quite get the bed set up properly before your boyfriend carried you in. We’re nearly at the hospital Kagome-san. Deep breaths – let the oxygen mask help you.” Her brain tucked the word ‘boyfriend’ away to think about later, when she wasn’t struggling to breathe.

The ambulance pulled to a stop and the back doors opened. Someone helped Mama step down, and she was startled when the paramedic clicked a safety belt across her waist and her bed started to move, jolting her slightly as the legs extended to the ground and locked into place. Everything was a blur.

Large sliding doors swished open and she was wheeled into a small room, unable to see everything from her position on the bed. A nurse was taking her temperature, taking her blood pressure, talking to Mama and the paramedics, asking her questions, but she couldn’t answer, her breath wheezing behind the mask on her face.

The urge to run grew even greater, so much so that she half sat up and tried to swing her legs off the bed, but the belt still around her waist held her back. The nurse tried to restrain her arms gently, telling her to be calm, that she was safe. But she didn’t feel safe at all! She wanted to leave. A feeling of claustrophobia swept over her as she struggled to free her arms, her chest heaving as her body tried to breathe and cough at the same time. And then his voice cut through the static fogging her brain.

“Kagome. It’s gonna be okay sweet girl. Deep breaths, remember?”

People were arguing in the background, commenting on Inuyasha’s lack of mask and shoes, and Mama was saying something, trying to smooth things over, but none of that mattered to Kagome. He’d promised he’d be there and he was. Her hand shot out to grasp his fingers tightly, and she lay back weakly on the pillow, no longer struggling to run.

“Inuyasha…”

“Promised I’d be here didn’t I?” Kagome nodded, taking in gasps of air behind the mask, squeezing his fingers, her eyes locked on his. Inuyasha stroked his thumb over her wrist. “You gonna be good and take your medicine?”

“Please don’t leave again”, she wheezed, her eyes filling with sudden tears.

“Keh. Wasn’t plannin’ on it.” His other hand reached up to smooth her fringe back, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his face and voice a point of calm as the medical professionals bustled around her. “Just lay quietly, that’s my good girl. I’m here, and I’m not goin’ anywhere else.”

💕

Inuyasha’s nose twitched behind the surgical mask they’d insisted he wear. Even though he disliked the feel of it against his face, it actually blocked out some of the scents that had irritated him so much when he first arrived, making him feel like he constantly needed to sneeze. Besides, they’d said if he wanted to stay in the hospital room at Kagome’s side it was essential, so he put up with it.

Mama had tied the strings on the mask on for him, over the top of his bandana, and had somehow found some hospital slippers for him to slip onto his feet, because apparently him being barefoot was also an issue. They were now both sitting beside Kagome’s bed, watching her as she slept.

His heart was full of gratitide. Thankful for Mama, who had made it clear to the healers that he was family and she wanted him to stay. Thankful that she had somehow found a way to explain things to him without making him feeling totally useless and stupid. Thankful for the medicine that was allowing Kagome to finally sleep, a proper sleep for the first time in days.

She’d been asleep for a few hours now. The nurse kept coming in and poking and prodding her, making him want to snarl at them to leave her be, but her eyes remained closed, her breathing still congested, but steady. Her face was still pale under the breathing mask, but it had finally lost that expression of constant pain and panic that had made him feel frantic over the last few days.

He really hadn’t paid much attention as Mama had spoken to the doctor after they’d got the results of all the tests. The phrase ‘viral pneumonia’ meant virtually nothing to him, but they’d said that Kagome was responding to the medication, and would probably start feeling better in a few days, seeing she was young and healthy, providing she took her medicine and allowed her body to rest and heal.

Before they’d given her the sleeping medicine, a nurse had come in to show Kagome how to cough effectively to help get rid of all the mucous in her lungs, and to show him and Mama how they could help her. Kagome had told the nurse proudly that Inuyasha had already been doing that for her, her eyes glowing as she gazed at him, and he’d felt his heart swell and his cheeks flush as all three women gazed at him approvingly.

He’d quelled his sudden urge to smash the window and leap out of it to avoid the sudden unwanted attention, but only just. He understood it would cause problems for Kagome and Mama and it wasn’t worth the momentary reprieve from the embarrassment. He was proud to think that what had come to him instinctually had actually been helpful, but that didn’t mean he wanted people talking about it, and looking at him.

“Inuyasha?” Mama’s voice was gentle and quiet, and had lost that sharp edge of panic that it had contained ever since he’d come through the well and told her that Kagome was ill, and he was glad.

“Mmm?” he replied, his eyes never leaving Kagome’s sleeping face.

“Now that Kagome is resting comfortably, I was thinking of getting something to eat from the cafeteria downstairs before it closes. Will you stay here with her for me? I could bring something back for you to eat if you like?”

“Course I’ll stay.” He thought for a moment. “Do ya think they’d have ramen? Or those po-ta-to crunchy things in the crinkly bag?” Mama stood, reaching for her handbag with one hand and stroking his shoulder affectionately with the other.

“I’ll see what I can do. I won’t be long. Don’t go roaming around the hospital while I’m gone, okay?”

“Feh. I'm not goin' anywhere. Why would I leave Kagome unprotected like that when she’s asleep?” He reached his hand out to stroke Kagome’s fingers resting on top of the blanket, so softly, like he was worried she would break if he wasn’t careful. Mama made a small sound behind him, and he turned his head curiously. The paper mask on his face seemed to be messing with his senses, because Mama’s scent seemed to be both sad and happy all at once.

“I’m so glad she has you Inuyasha” she said quietly, with a little hitch in her voice. And with that she turned quickly, moving out of the room and down the corridor.

“I’m glad I have you too.” Kagome’s voice was still raspy, but her eyes were clear, and he could see her smile beneath the plastic mask.

“Oi. You’re meant to be sleepin’. Quit talkin’ and close your eyes.”

“I’m awake now.” She tried to pull herself upwards, reaching for the strap that hung over the bed, but Inuyasha was too fast. In moments he’d helped her sit up, letting her lean forward against his strong arm while he tucked pillows behind her back like he’d seen the nurse do earlier.

“Thank you Inuyasha. Thank you for looking after me.” Her fingers stroked his hand, then twined their fingers together, her thumb caressing his wrist. She was looking at him with so much emotion in her eyes, he could hardly stand it.

Out of habit, all the usual words to push any contact away popped reflectively into his mind, but they stuck in his throat, and he swallowed them down. He didn’t need them anymore. Not with her. Not with Kagome. He tipped his head forward so their foreheads were resting against each other.

“I’ll always look after you my sweet girl, because you are precious to me”, he said softly, his fingers squeezing hers. But then he pulled back, grinning behind the paper mask, his eyes teasing. “That don’t mean you can slack off when you’re better though. You’ll have done more than enough layin’ around by then.”

Her sudden giggles turned into coughs, and it was second nature by now to help her, easing her mask off her face so she could cough up the phlegm. Even her cough sounded easier since she’d had that special medicine that went through the breathing mask.

He’d made the right decision, bringing her back through the well to her mother. If she’d stayed in his time, like she wanted to, he wasn’t sure she would have made it. His gut churned at the thought making him feel sick to his stomach, and he pushed the horrible images that came to mind away quickly, not wanting to waste his time on them. Kagome was right in front of him, and was going to recover. She was okay. Everything was going to be okay. He breathed out a sigh of relief, but she’d already noticed the fleeting change in his expression. She always noticed.

“Inuyasha?”

He stroked her cheek, taking the chance to feel the soft skin under his fingers before he had to put the medicine mask back on her face, and shook his head.

“Ain’t important.”

“Yes it is, if it makes you look like that! What’s wrong?”

He sighed, dropping his hand down to caress her fingers, unable to look at her face.

“You could’a died Kagome. If you were livin’ with me in my time with this sickness, with no way back through the well, you probably would have. And I wouldn’a been able to do a damn thing about it!”

He drew in a ragged breath, his heart beating fast, his youkai instincts rising at the thought of what he was about to say, snarling at him, but he pushed them back. This wasn’t about him. It was about Kagome’s safety, and he would always put her first. He stared at her hands as he gathered his courage to say what he wanted to say; they were so much smaller than his own. He couldn’t risk her.

“Kagome… when all of this is over, when we’ve found all the shards and beaten Naraku, I… I think it would be best for you if-“

“Don’t you dare!” she said, her eyes incredulous. “Don’t you dare say that I should stay apart from you! When I promised to stay by your side Inuyasha, did you think I didn’t mean forever? Did you think they were just pretty words?!”

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut tight. “No, but… I nearly lost it when I thought you were gonna die Kagome, and I-.”

“News flash Inuyasha! People die in this time too! Look at my mother – her and Papa were so happy together, and he died. Modern medicine couldn’t save him even though we loved him and needed him. Does that mean everyone should keep apart from the people they love? Should we both be unhappy just because something bad might happen? Huh?!”

Inuyasha worriedly tried to soothe her with his hands, stroking her shoulders but she shrugged him off, her eyes snapping even as she took deep gulping breaths of air.

“No! It means the exact opposite! We should hold onto people we love so tightly, because we never know when they might be taken away. We should cherish every moment! I love you Inuyasha! And if you think I will let you push me away-“

Another coughing fit stopped her tirade, and he rubbed her back, getting ready to place the mask back over her face. The machine next to the bed began to beep faster, irritating him. She pushed his hand away, and he growled.

“For fucks sake, just hold on, would ya? I know ya wanna yell at me, but you can’t do that if ya can’t breathe stupid!” he huffed, securing the mask back over her face. “Just concentrate on taking deep breaths. That’s it. That’s my good girl.” Kagome’s eyes filled with tears, and he brushed them away gently with his thumbs, but more kept coming, and he gazed at her with a heartbroken expression, blinking away tears of his own.

“I didn’t mean to make you sad Kagome. It’s just… watchin’ you be so sick – I’ve never been so scared. It made me realise that I couldn’t lose you. I just couldn’t. And I thought, if there was some way that I could prevent that sickness happenin’ again, even though it would hurt me so much to let you go, I just…” He gulped, unable to go any further, swallowing his own emotions as he brushed his thumbs on her cheeks.

She closed her eyes breathing deeply for a few moments. “Being apart from you would hurt me more than anything else”, she whispered, panting as she spoke. “Please don’t pull away from me now, not when we’re so much closer. Please.”

He whined at the heartbroken tone in her voice, desperate to fix it. Mama’s voice spoke softly behind them.

“Kagome is right you know. No one knows how much time we’ll be given with those we love. It’s very easy to take that time for granted.” She moved quietly into the room, sitting down on the chair next to Inuyasha. Her voice was serious, but not sad.

“But it sounds like you two won’t ever do that. And it also sounds like you still have time to be able to make decisions about what happens after your quest, however long it takes. But whatever happens, it’s important to make those decisions together.”

Inuyasha sighed and nodded, dropping his hands away from Kagome’s face to grasp her hands in his. He wished he didn’t have the stupid paper mask on so he could kiss her fingers.

“Alright”, he muttered gruffly, sniffing quietly. “One thing at a time, wench. Let’s just get you better first, huh?”

Kagome gave him a watery smile, almost hidden by the breathing mask. She squeezed his fingers tightly, as if to show him she wouldn’t be letting him go in a hurry.

“Alright.”

💕

Inuyasha walked slowly and carefully along the thin dirt track, worn through the grass by years of villagers footsteps between the village and the Bone-Eaters Well. He leaned forward a little, not wanting to dislodge his sleeping cargo.

It had been just over a week since he’d carried Kagome back through the well in that desperate dash from Kaede’s isolation hut, and today was the first time he'd brought her back to his time. She’d only been out of hospital for two days, and even though her health was much improved, she still got out of breath easily and tired quickly.

She’d had a short visit to school this morning, just enough to see her teachers and pick up assignments for her subjects. Her mother had taken her, and he’d waited at the shrine at their insistence, sitting in the branches of Goshinboku and fretting about being apart from her.

All his senses were constantly attuned to her now – smelling her scent to make sure the illness wasn’t returning, listening to her heartbeat and breathing, needing to be close by so he could see that she was okay and reach out and touch her. He knew he was smothering her a little, but he couldn’t help it. Last night he’d sat outside the bathroom while she soaked in the tub, on alert just in case she dozed off in the water, and she’d almost tripped over him when she came out.

She’d understood his constant monitoring of her to some extent, but she was beginning to get a little exasperated at him. He was pretty sure if he kept it up, there’d be a solid string of ‘osuwari’ commands in his immediate future. But he couldn’t help it – she’d been so ill and still wasn’t quite recovered and probably wouldn’t be back to her full stamina for some weeks yet, and it brought out every protective instinct he had.

When Kagome and Mama had returned from school, Kagome had the bright idea of coming back to see the others, to show them she was okay. Her mother had agreed that a quick visit should be fine under Inuyasha’s watchful eye, even though he’d wanted to veto it, but he’d been helpless against Kagome’s pleading. It seemed he was turning into a spineless lap dog every time Kagome turned those persuasive blue eyes his way, and he wasn’t entirely upset about it.

Even though Inuyasha had been popping backwards and forwards through the well daily to keep everyone informed about Kagome’s progress, her arrival had provoked much excitement. Her friends had been delighted to see the physical proof that Kagome was on the mend.

Kirara and Shippou had burst out of Kaede’s hut the moment they sensed her drawing near, Kirara winding herself around Kagome’s ankles in greeting, and Shippou bouncing about more like frog than a fox. It was only Inuyasha’s warning growl that he would take Kagome home again if he couldn’t be calm around her that had settled the tiny kit down.

Kaede had welcomed them both into her home with warm smiles and the offer of tea. Sango had pounced on Kagome with a delighted hug, eager to talk and reconnect with her best friend, and Miroku was there with a grin and a brotherly pat on her shoulder, pleased to see her looking so much better.

They had visited with everyone at Kaede’s hut for an hour, Kagome chatting happily with everyone, but the moment she had yawned Inuyasha had been insistent on taking her home again.

Shippou had clung to her tearfully, but she’d assured him that Inuyasha would bring her back again tomorrow, and she’d stay longer. Her promise of a treat had probably helped dry his tears also, Inuyasha thought. He snorted. Shippou was nothing if not predictable.

A gradual increase in the speed of Kagome’s heartbeat had him looking over his shoulder as she stirred back to wakefullness, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. He watched her yawn out of the corner of his eye, and smiled as she rested her chin on his shoulder, pressing her soft cheek against his.

“Oh look, how pretty!” she said quietly, mindful that her mouth was very close to his sensitive ears. “Do you think we can stop for a little while?” She pointed over to the grassy meadow near the well, which was currently filled with pink and purple cosmos flowers, swaying in the gentle breeze, and dozens of butterflies flitting about in the bright sunshine.

“I dunno”, he grumbled. “You’ve already been out all morning. This has been a busy day for you – ya only got outta bed for the first time the day before yesterday.”

“Please Inu? I promise I’ll be good! It’s so cloudy in Tokyo at the moment, and the weather report said it was going to rain this afternoon. It would be nice to sit in the sun for a little while, and I’m sure it would be good for me!” she wheedled in a pleading tone.

He sighed. “Okay, just for a bit then.” The phrase ‘whipped’ came to mind, but when she reached up to gently stroke his ear as a thank you, he found he didn’t care in the slightest.

Walking over to a particularly lush patch of grass, half in and half out of the sunshine, he eased her down off his back and they both sat down. Inuyasha sat up straight with his arms braced so Kagome could lean on him as a back rest.

It really was a beautiful day – birds chirping, clouds drifting far above in a sapphire blue sky. A pair of dark swallowtail butterflies fluttered directly overhead, and he tipped his head back to watch them, the iridescent colours in their wings flashing in the sunlight. A thought crossed his mind that he would never have really sat down to enjoy a grassy meadow like this before meeting Kagome. His mind would have been on where his next meal was coming from, his eyes, ears and nose vigilant to catch any traces of other youkai entering his forest. But now all his senses were trained on her.

He focused for a moment on the warm weight of her leaning against him, the regular movement of the muscles in her back as she breathed in and out. There was still a slight wheeziness to her breathing, but nothing like it had been before. The sun went behind a cloud and she shivered slightly.

“You’re not cold are ya? Cause I can take you back through the well right now if ya are”, he fussed.

“Stop it will you? Mother hen!” Kagome elbowed him hard in the ribs, and he grunted, clutching his side and pretending to be mortally wounded as he flopped down to lay on his back in the grass next to her. He squinted as the sun came back out from behind the clouds suddenly, and she shaded his eyes from the bright sunlight with her hand as she giggled. “Let me just enjoy the sunshine for a little while longer. I’m perfectly fine. It’s nice sitting outside after being in bed for nearly a week.”

She leaned over him to cast his face in shadow, her hands either side of his shoulders and a bright grin on her face. The light behind her gave her dark hair a radiant halo, picking out iridescent blue highlights much like the butterflies’ wings, and her clear blue eyes were more luminous than the skies above. He stared up at her, a rush of emotion welling up, filling his heart. She was so beautiful, inside and out. This girl. His sweet girl.

Reaching up he cupped her cheek, and she turned her head to place a soft kiss in his palm. Even though he’d hated that she’d been ill, they were so much closer now. All his barriers had fallen away – he was an open book to her now, and he wanted to be.

“Kagome… you know I’m not good with words, but-“. Her finger pressed down on his lips.

“Don’t use your words then” she whispered. “You’re much better at showing than talking Inuyasha, you always have been. Show me what you want to tell me.”

“C’mere then wench.” His clawed fingers curled around the red tie of her school uniform shirt, gently tugging her downwards to press his lips softly to hers.

She whimpered, her voice and her scent conveying to him just how much she wanted this too. It seemed like they had been dancing around their feelings forever, but there had never been the time or space to allow it to happen, with constant interruptions. But right now, nothing was going to stop him showing her the things he was never able to say, the emotions he’d tried to hide up until now, the absolute wealth of adoration that he held in his heart for her.

The first touch of their lips was intoxicating to him, and his mouth moved hungrily, savouring their connection. Her lips were soft and sweet, just like he’d always imagined them to be, and he couldn’t resist sucking gently on her bottom lip, fangs scraping slightly as he slid the tip of his tongue over the plump pink flesh. He almost pulled back in surprise when her own tongue tentatively met his. His youki rose as her scent spiked, and he eagerly deepened the kiss, growling his approval, unable to hold back any longer.

Kagome traced the contours of his face with her fingertips as they kissed, and he took her hand in his, entwining their fingers. He reveled in the weight of her over him, their racing hearts almost beating in tandem. With his fervent kisses he desperately tried to convey the depth of his feelings, and she responded in kind, her own lips eager as his.

Stroking her hair with his free hand, his claws grazing against her skin now and again, Inuyasha sighed against her lips, knowing that he would have to pull back soon, as much as they both wanted to keep this going. She was still recovering, and her breathing was becoming erratic. He would not rush this. They had time now, time to let this happen gradually, at their own pace.

He pulled back from the kiss, grinning at her little whine of discontent even as she panted for breath, and he soothed her by pressing soft kisses along her jawline, then nuzzled his nose into her neck, inhaling the heady scent of her as he struggled to get his own breathing and libido under control.

“You okay?” he whispered, using his hand to gently lay her head down on his chest, combing his fingers through her dark hair.

“Wow”, she panted.“Just gotta… catch my breath. We’re gonna do that again, right?”

He chuckled. “Definitely, if I have any say in it.”

They lay there together in the sunshine, holding each other close. Time didn’t seem to matter. Nothing mattered, apart from the feel of her lying safe against his chest, her heart beating strongly against his. He pressed his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent. The contented rumble in his chest made Kagome grin, turning her head to rest her chin against his chest.

“I love that sound”, she smiled, gazing into his eyes. “I love how it makes me feel, like nothing bad could ever happen when I’m in your arms.”

“Damn straight.” He swallowed, taking a deep breath. “Cause… cause you’re mine Kagome, and I protect what’s mine.”

Her smile widened, rivaling the sun in it’s brightness. “And you’re mine Inuyasha, and don’t you forget it.” She yawned widely, her eyes blinking, and he reached up to cradle her cheek.

“Sounds like you need a nap wench-o-mine.” She smiled sleepily.

“I am a little tired. What a good thing you’re so comfy”, she teased, poking at his stomach with her fingers and rubbing her cheek against his chest.

“Oi! What am I now, a futon?” he chuckled. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, snuggling in to get comfortable.

“Shhh, futon’s don’t talk.”

“Are ya sure you don’t want me to take you back through the well?” he asked with concern. “It’s gettin’ later in the afternoon, and your bed’s probably better for ya right now.”

“Nope. Nothing could be better for me than being right here with you. Now shush.”

He listened as her breathing settled and her heartbeat slowed to a steady resting pace. The shade of the tree moved over them, and he wrapped his arms around her, the voluminous sleeves of his fire rat acting as a protective blanket as she slept contentedly in his arms.

He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her; he’d never really understood what she could see in him that he’d never been able to see himself. All he knew was that he would thank the Kami every damn day that she’d somehow come into his life, against all odds, and he would freely give her his heart and soul. Would continue to protect her with his life as they fought this battle against Naraku together.

He was still worried about what might happen after the jewel was purified, but for now, he was content to let the future look after itself. Because how could his future be anything but bright, with Kagome by his side.

[vannahfanfics]

Mama Mina

Category: Friendship Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Denki Kaminari, Mina Ashido

Hey, everyone! Here’s another story for @bnhabookclub‘s weekly SFW prompt, “You can’t ignore me forever!” Enjoy! :)

Denki’s lips were drawn up in a cheerless pout as he lay sideways on his bed, repeatedly bouncing a ball against his opposite wall. With languid, practiced motions that were more muscle memory than actual attentive efforts, he flicked his wrist to lob the ball at the same spot on the wall he had been for the last hour. He watched with dull lidded eyes as the squishy rubber toy sailed across the width of the bedroom, struck the smooth painted surface, dove down at a forty-five-degree angle to bounce once on the polished wooden floor strewn with dirty socks and worn tee-shirts, then returned to his waiting hand. Shwip. Thunk. Thwock. Slap. The sounds echoed, just as depressing and lifeless as the ambiance.

“Stupid,” he muttered aloud as he hurled the ball across the room once more. “Absolutely useless. What’re you even here for, Denki?” The ball slammed into the wall as he subconsciously applied more force to the throw; in turn, its arc changed dramatically and crashed into his face instead of his hand. The ball ricocheted off his nose to collide with his desk lamp, causing it to spin wildly around and knock into the plastic cup holding his writing utensils. He cursed as he rolled onto his back with both his hands tenderly holding his bruised face, trying to ignore the added insult of his pencils and pens sliding over the desk and clattering to the floor. In the background of that and his groans, he could hear the rubber ball bouncing and then rolling over the wood to come to rest somewhere under his bed. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

Denki usually tried to stay positive. He really did. That was his thing, after all, being the plucky optimist. He had drained his supply of sanguinity, however; the cistern was as dry as a desert, not a drop of confidence to be found. How could he be self-assured, after making an absolute fool of himself in the third round of the Sports Festival? It had taken literal seconds for Ibara Shiozaki to obliterate him in their one-on-one battle. Denki had never suffered such a grievous insult in his life. Of course, it wasn’t her fault. It was all his stupid fault.

He pushed the balls of his palms into his eyes, trying to force the tears that were brimming there from leaking out. He failed miserably at that as well. The salty liquid rolled down his flushing cheeks to bead on his chin, then drip down and absorb into the collar of his tee-shirt.

“Ungh… Goddammit,” he sniffed and rolled onto his belly to shove his face into his pillow. In the back of his mind, he thought suffocating himself was preferable to the uncomfortable twisting in his gut and the stinging in his eyes. Unfortunately, the fabric of his pillow was much too breathable. The world is against me. Without removing his face from the cushiony construct, he slipped halfway off the bed to grope blindly around for the rubber ball. Continuously chunking it relieved some of his nervous energy, at least.

He stopped when someone knocked loudly and insistently on his bedroom door.

“Denki!” Mina’s high-pitched voice was still loud even bleeding through the wood. She rattled the doorknob experimentally to find it locked. “Denki, lemme in! Let’s talk.” What the hell is she doing here?! “Me and Eiji and Hanta are all here to hang out. Your mom called us!” Of course she did… he thought sourly. “Hanta’s setting his PlayStation up downstairs! Come on! Let’s go play!”

He removed his face from the plush pillow to shout, “Dun wanna!” He scowled when the pink-skinned girl jiggled the metal knob again, more persistently this time.

“Denki, come on, you’ve been moping in here all day. It doesn’t do any good to sulk like this! Come onnnn! Let’s talk it out!” Denki snorted derisively and threw himself on his side, facing the wall and pouting childishly. If he were in a healthy state of mind, he might appreciate her kind gesture; however, incensed as he was, he could only be petulantly exasperated by her insistence. She continued to bleat invitational prattle before his doorway, and he decided not to waste the energy on responding. If I ignore her, she’ll go away. “Denki. Denki. Denki.” She began relentlessly chanting his name and punctuating each shout with a rattle of the knob. Grumbling unflattering words under his breath, he wrapped the pillow around his ears. The breathable fabric didn’t muffle nearly as much sound as he wished. “Denki. Denki. Denki. Denki. Denki. Denki.” He curled up so that his knees touched his chest.

Go away, he snarled in his mind. I don’t want to talk about how stupid I am. Leave me alone!

“Denki, you can’t ignore me forever! DenkiDenkiDenkiDenkiDenkiDen-”

“Fuck! Okay, I’m coming, just cut it out! Sheesh,” he yelled and threw himself off the bed. Somehow the angry motion was coordinated, and he landed on the flats of his bare feet. His stomps were purposeful and thundering as he stalked open to the door to unlock it and throw it open. “What?” he hissed at the smiling, bubbly girl, chest heaving and cheeks flushed with misdirected self-loathing.

“Denki, are you sad?”

“No! I’m not sad! Now, will you leave me alone?!” he huffed and went to shut the door in her face. In his heart of hearts, he knew that wasn’t right, but Goddammit, the last thing he wanted to do was talk about it. Sometimes a man just needed to brood in peace. Her pink hand flew up to slam against the wood, demonstrating surprising strength as it stopped it in its tracks.

“I think you’re lying.”

“So what if I am?!” Instantaneously, his cheeks flushed a rose color. Dammit, that isn’t what I wanted to say! Her face deadly serious and those black-and-gold eyes boring into the quivering depths of his soul, Mina leaned into the doorway. Denki gulped and subconsciously leaned back in the face of such unwavering resolve.

“I’m coming in,” she asserted simply. Denki deflated with a whine and trudged away from the door to throw himself face-down back on the bed. His groan of acknowledgment was muffled by that annoyingly breathable fabric of his pillow. He heard the soft scrapes of her socks over his floor. They were followed by the gentle click of the door behind her. Denki hugged his pillow as he moped over how rapidly the situation spiraled out of control; it was just par for the course for him, he supposed. Silly, stupid Denki with no spine-

“Denki. You know that none of us think any less of you for what happened at the Sports Festival, right?” He visibly cringed as she heartlessly jabbed at the core of his depression. Snorting, he rolled on his side such that his back was to her. Morosely, he curled his thin body around the pillow.

“Yeah, right. You guys probably thought it was hilarious. She wiped the floor with me.” His bottom lip wobbled pitifully just talking about it. It had been so humiliating. Finally, he thought he had his chance to show that he wasn’t just the dumb guy that fried his brain and mumbled “Yayyyyy,” but he had blown it in the most mortifying way. Kyoka was probably sniggering into her hand while she gossiped about him to Momo-

“Well, Hanta-”

“He was up against Todoroki, and he even got a good shot in,” he countered matter-of-factly. Angrily, he squeezed the plush body of the pillow but had not the raw strength to tear it to little shreds of fabric and cotton like he wanted to. “Stop lyin’ to me. You can say it. I’m useless and stu-”

“You are not stupid!” He jumped violently as her voice cracked like a whip in the relatively quiet bedroom. He yelped like a wounded dog when she wrenched him onto his back by the shoulder. Like it was a shield, he kept the pillow hugged to his body and stared owlishly up at the fuming girl. Her pink lips pressed into a thin line, and her fingers clenched into her hips. “So what if you’re not Bakugo or Todoroki or even Midoriya? You still earned your way into this hero course!” she scolded him. He just vehemently nodded along. Frankly, he was a little terrified she would whap him upside his head if he continued with the self-pity. Her face softened slightly, and she bent over him to ruffle his blonde-and-black hair affectionately. “You have your own merits, and believe it or not, we all know them. You’re loyal and care a lot about your friends.” She smiled brightly down at him as he blushed shyly. “Sure, it didn’t work out this time, but you’ve still got so much time to prove what you’re made of. Stop saying you’re stupid or useless, because you’re not. None of us think that.”

“Really?” he asked her with big, round eyes, and she nodded firmly.

“Pinky-swear!” she grinned and held up her pinky finger emphatically. “Not even Kyoka,” she added with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows, which made him gulp and flush further. Still hugging the pillow but not as tightly, he sat up from the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had to admit, even though she had just basically reprimanded him like a stern mother, he felt loads better. He smiled warmly when she grabbed his hand and looped her pinky with his.

“Thanks, Mina.”

“No problem!” He chuckled, and she stepped away when he slung his legs around to hop of the bed. She stood on her tip-toes to muss up his already wild hair again. “Now get yourself dressed and come get some breakfast. Your mom said you haven’t eaten anything.”

“Mina, it’s like… two in the afternoon.”

“Brunch, then! Regardless, food! You need sustenance!” she insisted and jabbed him in his belly with her index fingers a few times. He squirmed at the tickling prods and skittered away from her to his closet.

“Yes, Mom!” he snorted, finally dropping the pillow to begin rifling through the closet for a suitable tee shirt. Mina hummed contentedly and strolled to the door, kicking aside a few of his discarded socks and underwear towards his dirty clothes hamper.

“Yup, that’s me. Mama Mina! If you’re not downstairs in five minutes, I’m coming back up to drag you by the ear,” she warned as she stepped out of the door.

“I’m coming! Promise!” he laughed, and she flashed him a teasing wink before shutting the door behind her. Amused, he stared at the wooden entryway for a few seconds, just smiling admiringly. “Mama Mina,” he huffed under his breath and shook his head before wrenching his shirt off and tossing it across the room into the hamper. The smile never fell from his face the entire time he was getting ready.

It just felt really nice to know he had someone looking after him.

“All right! Time to kick some ass, Denki Kaminari!” he told himself with a devilish smile. He cracked his knuckles and his neck, then did a couple pre-game stretches. He then all but bolted out of his bedroom and down the stairs. His friends greeted him with a chorus of “hello’s.” He snatched up a bag of Doritos from the kitchen counter and vaulted over the back of the couch, snatching up a controller and sticking out his tongue confidently.

“’Sup, guys? Ready to looooose?”

“As if!” Hanta cried and shoved him in the side of the head. “You’re the one who’s going down!”

“How do I play this game, Mina?” Eijirou frowned at the flickering screen.

“Just shoot the zombies, Eiji.”

“Shoot the zombies,” the redhead repeated unsurely under his breath and squinted at the television. Denki shoved a handful of nacho chips in his mouth and rolled onto his belly, legs still slung over the back of the couch, before holding the bag out to Mina. She took it graciously and patted him on the top of his head, making him smile widely.

I have really, really good friends.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

Tag List: @deliathedork @sadistiks @simplybakugou

[little-droid]

LittleDroid's Long Overdue Animorphs Re-Read: Book 1 – The Invasion - Part 1

My name is Jake. That's my first name, obviously. I can't tell you my last name. It would be too dangerous. The Controllers are everywhere. Everywhere. And if they knew my full name, they could find me and my friends, and then . . . well, let's just say I don't want them to find me. What they do to people who resist them is too horrible to think about.

If there's one thing that sticks in my mind about the Animorphs books, it's this framing device. Each book is written in the first person, from the point of view of one of the main characters telling us how they can't give away too many details, in case the bad guys find them. Each one opens with one character giving their name and telling you it's far too dangerous to give you any more identifying information. As a kid reading these, it was compelling. A little part of me always wondered if the stories were true, and the books were a convenient ploy on behalf of the Animorphs to get the word out.

Jake tells us he can't reveal who he is, or where he lives, and that his life was normal up to one Friday night at the mall.

The book introduces the main cast quickly, and doesn't waste any time toying around establishing their characters. Everyone jumps off the pages right from the get go. There's Marco, Jake's cynical and sarcastic best friend who thinks he's suaver than he really is. There's Tobias, a bit of a dreamer who gets bullied at school for being weird and having a rough home life. There's Rachel, Jake's cousin, who's fashionable, tough and an amateur gymnast. There's Cassie, who's quiet, earthy and an animal lover (and who Jake has a crush on that he refuses to do anything about!).

We don't get a huge sense of who Jake is as a person just yet. Part of that is these books are short and this one has a lot of introductory material to cover. Part of it is Jake falls into the standard 'everyman' character trope. He's serious, dependable, and we find out he recently didn't make the basketball team. Aww.

Before we get into the story properly, I want to say I'm impressed with the cast diversity in this series. Cassie is black. Marco is Hispanic. We find out later that Jake is Jewish. And while there's no explicitly queer characters on paper (there are two characters later who are confirmed by Word of God to be in a queer relationship), I imagine this has more to do with the limitations of children's publishing in the late nineties rather than a lack of intent on the part of the authors.

Especially in a sci-fi series, it's too easy to fall into the trope of space adventures being a thing for cishet white boys. Kudos to Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant for writing something a wide range of kids could recognise themselves in.

Our characters decide to walk home together from the mall and take a short cut through an abandoned construction site they've all been told they're not allowed inside. They banter back and forth, Rachel teasing Jake for implying the girls need looking after on the way home, Cassie smoothing things over. Tobias spots a brilliant light shooting across the sky.

I looked at Tobias and he looked back at me. We both knew what we thought it was, but we didn't want to say it. Marco and Rachel would have laughed, we figured.

But Cassie just blurted it right out. "It's a flying saucer!"

The kids stand stunned. They nervously debate just what the hell is going on and whether they should run before they find up, right up until the ship lands ten feet away from them. The ship is described as "about three or four times as big as our minivan" and has structural damage as if it's been in a fight.

It's Tobias who attempts to communicate first, and everyone receives a response they can only hear in their minds.

Tobias tried again. "Please, come out. We won't hurt you."

‹I know.›

Telepathic aliens? Nine year old me thought this was amazing. Heck, thirty year old me still thinks this is amazing. I blame nostalgia.

The spacecraft opens and we get our first glimpse of an Andalite. These are our 'good guy' aliens, and look like a blue and tan deer centaur with a scythe bladed scorpion tail, no mouth and an extra set of eyes on stalks on top of their heads. Five stars for quality alien design. No Star Trek style rubber foreheads here.

This did also contribute to the nightmare of costume design that was the not-anywhere-near-stellar Nickelodeon adaptation, but we don't talk about that.

The next section is fairly exposition heavy, which is to be expected. This is the introductory book in a long series. There's a lot of groundwork to lay before the real meat of the plot gets going.

The Andalite is dying, and explains that he's here because Earth is in the midst of a covert invasion by a parasitic race called the Yeerks. Grey slug aliens that crawl into the heads of other sapient creatures and take over control of their brains. Evil space cordyceps. The Andalites have been fighting back against them and their takeover, but they were massively outgunned and lost the battle in orbit. They were able to get a message back to their home planet for reinforcements, but those could take over a year to arrive.

Without anyone else to turn to, the Andalite asks Jake to retrieve a blue box from his ship. Jake also finds a little holographic picture of the Andalite's family in his ship and contemplates how sad it is he's dying so far from home, which upset nine year old me greatly.

The Andalite offers to give the kids a piece of technology to help them hold out against the Yeerk invasion until help arrives: the power to physically transform into any animal they can touch.

No one is thrilled about this. Marco points out “this whole thing is nuts”, which becomes a bit of a catchphrase for him over the rest of the series. He's who you count on to point out when things are getting ridiculous. It's Cassie who agrees first, but before the others can get on board, Yeerk ships appear overhead.

Out of time, they each touch one side of the blue box.

‹Go now,› the Andalite said. ‹Only remember this - never remain in animal form for more than two of your Earth hours. Never! That is the greatest danger of the morphing! If you stay longer than two hours you will be trapped, unable to return to human form.›

Aside from the antagonists, the two hour time limit becomes one of the main sources of tension in the series. Having a countdown on being forced to morph back to human complicates their missions and adds a layer of logistics that ramps up the tension in almost every book to come.

Speaking of antagonists, it's at this point we're introduced to our main villain: Visser Three. The only Andalite to ever be taken over by a Yeerk, and the only enemy also capable of morphing.

I would like to go on record here to say I adore Visser Three. He's a first class graduate of the Disney school of maniacal villainy, with honours in pompousness and chewing the scenery. He's the epitome of petty, vicious egomaniacs. He's Darth Vader on deer legs.

Enemy ships descend. The kids flee and hide. Tobias lingers for a moment beside the dying Andalite before being sent running. The rest of the plot exposition happens while the kids are crouched behind a half-built wall, praying they don't breath loud enough to get caught.

Visser Three disembarks from his Blade ship along with his hordes of underlings. We're introduced to two more alien species, both controlled by the Yeerks. Hork-Bajir: huge bipedal raptor-esque creatures covered in blades from top to toe. And Taxxons: ten foot long centipedes with jelly-like, red eyes, and a voracious appetite for any living thing they can devour.

From the get go, you get the sense this isn't ever going to be a series where the odds are on our protagonists' side. The Yeerk forces are overwhelming and relentless. No-one is considering making a dashing stand against evil and hoping good will save the day. The kids are terrified. It's all they can do to stay hidden and hope they'll get out alive.

Visser Three gloats over the fallen Andalite, taunting him about how his ship has been completely destroyed and no-one else is left. We learn the good Andalite's name, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, and that he's a Prince, some kind of military hero. He doesn't rise to Visser Three's taunting, and we're treated to the first of the Visser's many classic villain speeches.

‹What do you want with these Humans?› the Andalite asked. ‹You have your Taxxon allies. You have your Hork-Bajir slaves. And other slaves from other worlds. Why these people?›

‹Because there are so many, and they are so weak,› Visser Three sneered. ‹Billions of bodies! And they have no idea what's happening. With this many hosts we can spread throughout the universe, unstoppable! Billions of us. We'll have to build a thousand new Yeerk pools just to raise Yeerks for half this number of bodies. Face it, Andalite, you have fought well and bravely. But you have lost.›

Elfangor's response to this is to whack Visser Three with his tail blade and gouge a chunk out of his shoulder, and honestly? Good for him. Unfortunately Visser Three retaliates by having his ship disintegrate Elfangor's space pod, morphs into a monster that can only be described as a gargantuan mouth on tree trunk legs and eats Elfangor alive.

Yep, you read that right. See, up until this point, nine year old me was still convinced they were somehow going to save the alien and have an alien friend to go with them on space adventures. That's how adventure books work, right? Nine year old me quickly had to learn this series wasn't going to pull its punches. At all. Nine year old me had some growing up to do.

Nerves get the better of Marco after listening to psychic screams of an alien he just met being chewed into kibble, and he throws up, inadvertently giving away their hiding spot. Cue searchlights and armed soldiers. The kids run, splitting up to scrape a marginally better change of some of them getting away. Jake stumbles into an empty building and only manages to escape by literally tripping over a homeless man who the Yeerks murder in his stead. It's not explicit in the text, and Jake hopes the man gets away, but the Yeerks are bringing the heads back for identification. I think it's safe to say that guy is dead.

Jake keeps running and doesn't look back.

[faeriecxrcle]

silence [Michael Langdon x Reader]

warnings: blood, graphic death description, desecration of remains, smut, rough sex, oral sex

******

The explosion knocks you out for a brief few seconds, your eyes squinting open to a blur of figures and flames, a ringing in your ears.

You sit up slowly, muscles protesting against every movement. Your vision becomes clearer and you see Michael across the room from you, sprawled on the floor, hands caressing the head of Ms.Mead next to him. A tear runs down your face as you feel his pain.

Then you hear scrambling-

“Madison!”

You turn to find her standing there holding a gun to him.

Instinctively you lurch forward to stand between them but a force throws you back into the wall, “Don’t you fucking dare, Madison,” you growl, pushing against the invisible force.

Michael looks to you and back to Madison, a glance that tells you to stand down.

“Sorry about your little toy, bitch,” she sneers. And she fires, and all you can do is watch. You scream as blood splatters, Michael falling back into the wall behind him. His body, now practically lifeless slides down into a thick puddle of deep red.

It’s over as quick as it began. You let yourself fall to the floor, exaggerating the cries that pour out. 

Let them think you’re weak. Let them think you’re a broken woman.

You listen to their soft murmurs. And you almost break your act when you see Myrtle touch what’s yours, ripping beautiful hairs from his scalp.

She crouches down in front of Mallory, handing the hairs to her, “A personal item, remember dear, focus on it, use it to locate a time and place in Michael’s life.” Your eyes narrow at the words, leaning in closer, trying to hear more.

Mallory nods, “Shed the ego, disengage from this realm, place myself there,” She stands and everyone else follows, “ And say the words, Temporis Infinitum,” a small smile on her lips, doe eyes wide.

“That’s our girl,” Myrtle breathes in relief.

Cordelia approaches Michael’s unconscious body, staring down at him, “Bullets alone won’t kill him, he’s become too powerful,” she turns back to the witches before her, “We have to find a place to cast the spell before he wakes up.”

“I’ll hold him off for as long as I can,” Madison states, no room for argument. Cordelia reaches out and cups her face with her hands, a soft, sad smile on her face. Madison smiles back, “Go,” she orders, “Go!”

They move to leave but Cordelia pauses and looks to you, hesitating on leaving you alone with Madison. You stare back, tears trickling down the skin of your cheeks.

“I’ll deal with her too, just go Cordelia,” Madison shouts.

Cordelia gives you one last look and then she’s gone, joining the rest of them.

In an instant the facade drops. You stand tall, head held high, a smirk on your face, “I don’t need magic to kill you, bitch,” you move closer to her.

Madison’s eyes widen, flicking between you and Michael, unsure who to keep watch on. The decision is neither when the sudden appearance of a flaming body falls from the above, distracting her for just a split second. Enough time to knock the gun from her hands and punch her in the nose with a satisfying crunch.

She falls to the floor, skull bouncing, and you jump on her, straddling her body between your legs.

She tries to push you away, oh she tries, but your rage is burning so hot within, that nothing could defeat it.

You wrap your hands around her throat and begin choking her. Her eyes widen and she gasps for breath, her hands trying to pry yours off.

You laugh, leaning down close to her face, “I’m sorry Madison, does this feel oddly familiar?” You press down harder and you’re so lost in the kill that you barley register the crunch of her throat, her body going limp beneath you.

It’s only a gentle touch of your hair that snaps you out of it.

“She’s dead, my love,” Michael murmurs into your ear.

You release your hold and turn to him, eyes wide. He holds your face between his hands and wipes away the tears on your cheeks, kissing your forehead gently.

He takes a deep breath and stands holding his hand out for you. Smiling you take it and he pulls you up into him, chin resting atop of your head, “Let’s kill them all,” he growls into your hair.

You smile into his chest, and you want to, you really do. You want to bathe in their blood and hear their screams as you pull their beating hearts from their chests, but you know that’ll have to wait.

You pull back, looking up at him, and shake your head, and for a moment you see a glimpse of betrayal in his eyes and he looks away from you.

You reach up, placing your palms on his cheeks, “Look at me Michael,” his gaze falls back to you, “They’re going to kill you.”

His mouth opens, as if to argue back, but you interrupt before he gets the chance, “We need a bath tub, now.” You grab his hand, beginning your journey to the bedroom you both resided in during your stay.

He doesn’t argue, and it hits you just how much trust Michael holds for you, “How do you know what to do?” intrigue in his voice.

You snort, “I was bored at this fucking school all the time,  what else was there to do but read?”

“What are they planning?”

“Time travel spell,” You pause, “They’re going to kill you at your lowest, your weakest moment,” You hiss in disgust.

Marie Laveau suddenly stands before you blocking your path, Michael pushes you behind him.

“You will not pass,” Marie seethes, looking him up and down. He moves towards her but his movement is blocked by an invisible force.

Marie taunts him, “Dealing with the HBIC now,” bringing her face to his.

“You really think your stupid voodoo spells can stop me?” He mocks, head tilting. In the blink of an eye his arm is shoved entirely up into her chest, and you can’t help the gasp of satisfaction that leaves your mouth.

“Is that all you’ve got?” He purrs. You bite your lip to hold in your moan at his show of power.

“Not exactly,” She stutters looking to the space behind you both. A sharp sting slices across your back as you turn, narrowly avoiding impalement from the knife Coco wields.  

You grab and twist her arm, the wound on your back burning in defiance, the knife plunging into her own stomach. She falls to her knees, blood trickling from her lips, her hands shakily hovering over the handle of the knife.

“Normally that would work,” he tears Marie’s beating heart from her chest with a squelch, looking down on Coco. You watch as Marie gasps her last breath before she collapses in a heap. Dead. “But we’re nothing like normal,” he smirks, lifting the heart to his mouth and tearing out a chunk slowly, relishing in his kill. Coco’s eyes widen, mouth dropping at the sight, more blood falling down her chin. Michael swallows, sinfully licking his lips, and with a flick of his wrist, her neck snaps.

He offers you a smouldering look, and you try to ignore the painful ache in between your legs, heat rising in your cheeks. You knock the heart from his hand and it falls to the floor with a splatter.

“You need to stop doing shit like that cause it’s a big fucking distraction and I’m trying to save your life here,” you grab his arm and continue pulling him along.

You hear him snort softly.

“Now where’s the fun in that,” he murmurs as you reach the bedroom.

Across from the bed sits the tub, pale white and claw footed. You run over to it and switch on the taps, roughly placing the plug in the drain, waiting for the water to rise. You fall to your knees beside the tub, head resting on the edge and take a deep breath. You can still sense Mallory's weakening spiritual presence that lets you know she’s not cast the spell yet, if she’s even able to. This calms you down.

You hear footsteps approaching, and Michael crouches beside you, pressing his warm body against yours.

“Why am I not doing this?” His lips brushing your ear making you shiver.

“Because, if they come here I will not be able to protect you alone,” You turn to him, his face still so close that your noses brush, “I’ll need your help with this too.”

He kisses you softly, and you can taste the blood on his lips as your tongue brushes his. He pulls back slightly, his mouth still only just brushing yours, “I’ll bring you back,” he whispers, grabbing your hands, determination in his eyes, “I won’t lose anyone else.”

You nod, “I know.”

He kisses your forehead and stands, pulling you up with him.

“It’s ready,” he looks to the bath.

You take a shaky breath, and lift your leg to climb in; Michael holds your hand the entire time, even once you lay back into the water.  

He flicks his other hand and the water stops running.

It’s silent save your breathing.

Then you feel it, Cordelia’s life force fluttering out of the world, and Mallory’s surging to take its place, her spirit suddenly leaving this realm.

Your eyes widen, “Now Michael!”

He pulls the knife out, slicing your palm, and you gasp at the brief sting. He cuts his own with barely a grimace, and he joins your hands together, gripping tightly. Your eyes roll to the back of your head at the contact, feeling Michael’s power flooding you.

“Temporis Infinitum,” you chant, your body sinking into the water, ready to face what’s to come.  

******

You follow Mallory’s spirit, it’s almost like a cord pulling you along and when she’s found her destination it snaps like a rubber band.

Your eyes open to a bright sunny street.

You squint, adjusting to the sudden brightness, looking around and trying to figure out where you are. It feels oddly familiar.

You let the gut feeling in the bottom of your stomach take over and lead you where you need to go, taking you further up the empty street. You try to pinpoint Mallory’s exact location, as you do, but with no luck you let out a frustrated sigh, and glance across the road.

It makes you stop dead in your tracks.

Murder House.

The sound of a door slamming breaks you out of your daze, and you turn to see a glimpse of golden hair shimmering in the sunlight, leaving the neighbouring house.

Your mouth drops at his demeanour, completely different from how he is now; he seems vulnerable and small, even with how tall he is. Tears decorate his face, eyes red and lips swollen. This must be his lowest moment you realise. His pale yellow shirt and grey jogging bottoms practically hang off his lanky body...and he has no shoes. You feel a tear trickle down your face at the sight but you wipe it away quickly.

He’s crossing the street to where you stand, and he sees you.

It makes him falter.

Then a car hits him.

You let out an ear piercing screech, hands covering your mouth in shock as you watch his body roll and tumble under the wheels. It makes you feel sick to your stomach.

He lays there, body twitching, small whimpers and cries coming out of his bloody mouth. You’re over there in an instant, cradling his face, head placed into your lap, “You’re okay, darling,” you sniffle, wiping your leaking nose with the back of your hand, “It’s gonna be okay.”

He looks up at you with his wide blue eyes, and your heart clenches.

You hear the revving of a car and you force yourself to tear your eyes away from his broken gaze. You look up to see the Range Rover stationary in the road, taunting you almost.

You scan the vehicle and it reeks of Mallory’s presence. Searing hot rage pulses through your veins, and you raise your hand.

The car begins reversing.

Yet you persist, you feel blood leak from your nose and onto your lips as the power surges through your body. Higher and higher until the car stops, and instead moves forward unnaturally as if it’s gliding on its wheels. And then it does something you weren’t expecting.

It explodes.

You throw yourself across Michael’s body, casting a shield around you both, and you wait, until you can no longer hear metal falling to the ground.

Once silent you look up. The car sits in a fiery blaze, and Mallory’s spirit has completely disappeared.

You look back down to Michael.

One of his arms are extended, his palm facing the car, and it clicks in your mind that he was helping you. He groans and his arm drops to the ground, his head turning back to face you, weaker than before.

“You’re not going to die,” You stroke his hair gently.

More tears flow from his eyes, “Who... are you?” He gargles, fresh blood spilling from his lips.

“It’s okay,” you coo, “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to help.”

“Okay,” he whimpers.

You bring both your hands up to hover over his body and take a deep breath. With clear intent in your mind you feel the waves of magic pouring from your palms. You watch as his wounds heal, and his bones crack back into place. He suddenly gasps and sits up; body now fully healed.

“Who are you?” he grips onto your hands, eagerly looking up at you with wide innocent eyes.

You smile and stand, “A friend,” still holding on, “We’ll meet again Michael.”

******

You surge out of the water with a gasp, blood running from your eyes and nostrils. Michael’s hand still tightly grips your own and he wraps his free arm around your shoulders bringing your head to his chest.

“I did it,” You choke out, laughing.

He kisses your wet hair, “I’m proud of you, my love.”

You hum, enjoying the warmth of his body, the water now turned cold, “Let’s get you out of there,” he stands, never letting go of your hand. He helps you out of the tub, your clothes clinging to your body uncomfortably, water dripping to the floor.

“There’s still two of them alive,” he informs you, hand stroking your damp cheek.

You nod, “Let’s kill them,” looking up a him with a fiery stare.

His eyes darken, a smirk painting his lips as he takes a deep breath of satisfaction.

******

You choke out a laugh at the sight before you; Mallory unconscious and floating in the tub of water, and Myrtle frantically trying to wake her up, shaking her like a rag doll.

Michael steps into the room, “We were always going to win,” a sadistic smile on his face.

`The redhead pauses her movements, looking up at both of you, taking in your wet clothes and hair, “Guess we’re fucked,” she mutters to herself.

You widely grin, and turn to Michael, “Honey, I’m feeling rather cold,” you shiver and pout, arms wrapping around your body.

He looks to you, head tilting, “Well we can’t have that.”

He raises his arm, and with the click of his fingers, flames engulf Myrtle instantly. Her body falling to ash before you.

“That’s better,” you sigh in contentment.

You enter the room further, looking upon Mallory’s delicate form, stepping carelessly through Myrtle’s ashes.

Michael follows behind you.

You both stop and stand in front of the tub and you have to refrain yourself from  ripping her throat out.

Michael crouches beside the tub, staring at Mallory the entire time. You blink and the next thing you know his hand is inside her chest, squirming it’s way up through her lungs and wrapping around her heart.

She wakes with a sharp gasp, her eyes wide with shock.

Slowly you walk around the tub, hand stroking the edge, and you lean over her weak body. Michael looks across her to you, pupils blown out, and you can feel the pleasure pulsing through his veins.

A cry averts your gaze to Mallory.

You hush at her, hand cupping her cheek, wiping the blood from her lips, “Look at us,” you order, and you turn her head to Michael. He offers her a beautiful smile. You turn her back to you, “I want the last thing you see to be us,” you hiss, “I want you to die knowing you’ve failed.”

Her eyes widen, staring up at you, and she can only gurgle and whimper in reply.

“We’ve won,” Michael purrs, and he must clench his hand as her eyes roll to the back of her head, ready to pass out, “Shame you won’t be joining us in our new world.”

He yanks his arm back, revealing her heart wrapped in the palm of his hand, blood pumping from its arteries and down his arm.

It hits you hard, and you fall to the floor, the powers engulfing you. You’re sure you pass out for a moment, because when you open your eyes, Michael is  suddenly there crouching over you, a hand stroking your cheek. He doesn’t look concerned, he looks...proud.

He sits you up and holds his other hand out to you; in his palm sits Mallory’s heart. An offering.

“We’ll rule this world together,” his voice a deep growl.

You take a bite.

Blood drips down your lips and chin, and you hum in pleasure, eyes rolling back, and closing. You swallow the flesh but before you can lick your lips clean, Michael has his hand in your hair, pulling you into a rough kiss, “My fucking queen.”

You moan as he yanks your head back, his tongue trailing up from your chin to your mouth, nipping on your bottom lip. You pull back and smirk, raising your palm effectively throwing him off you. He lands on his back, in the pile of ash, eyes wide, staring up at you.

You stand and begin removing your drenched clothes, practically tearing them off yourself, all whilst staring Michael in the eye. He sits up on his elbows, biting his own lip, eyes darkening by the second.

You walk over to him, cat like and predatory, watching his gaze rake over every inch of your bare form. You stop once you’re standing over him, his eyes dropping to your swollen and slick centre.

Falling to your knees, you straddle his hips, your mouth hovering over his own, teasing. He groans, and for a split moment you feel bad for making him wait, but then he’s flipping you both over and it’s gone, “Someone’s inpatient,” you comment and he bites your neck to shut you up.

You hiss, head falling back, allowing him more access, “And someone,” he murmurs into your throat, licking the blood that’s escaping your wound, “miss supreme,” he mocks, hand gliding up, caressing your soft breasts, until it rests upon your throat, “is being a fucking tease,” he squeezes and you whimper.

He presses his lower body in between your legs, and you can feel the pressure of his hardness against your swollen clit. Your hips buck back instinctively, reaching out for some sort of relief, yet the moment you do Michael pulls away.

You can feel the ashes sticking to your back as you writhe trying to follow his movement.

“Patience, dearest,” he says into the shell of your ear, breath tickling you.

You roll your eyes at him in annoyance and he must have seen because he snorts softly.

“Even though you are being a brat,” he softly pushes at your legs, directing you to open them wider, “I do believe that you deserve a treat.”

He moves down, his lips hovering over your stomach, hot breath making your muscles twitch. He kisses the skin softly and your hips jerk at the touch, eyes tearing up at the ache pulsing at your centre.

He takes a small ounce of mercy on you, his tongue pressing against your clit in one hard lick, your head throwing back, a yelp emitting from your throat.

Your breathing is harsh already at that one touch, “Please,” you find yourself begging, looking down at him. His eyes soften and he leans back down, tongue swiping gently at your opening. His invisible hold on your wrists suddenly disappears, and you push your fingers into his silky hair, pressing him into your centre harder. He groans as you tug and pull, the vibrations making you thrust against his mouth harder and his lips suckle at your clit greedily, lapping up any wetness that trickles from you.

He pulls back and in the next moment you’re being flipped over on all fours, and you find yourself cursing, your thighs rubbing themselves together to relieve some sort of pressure that almost had you cumming. Your eyes tear up at the loss of his mouth. You hear the rustling of fabric behind you and you turn to find him pulling off his clothes, his trousers the last to fall from his hips, revealing his hard flushed cock, damp at the tip, and ready to fuck you into the floor. You open your legs up, and you can feel your wetness dripping down your thighs, inviting him in.

“The first time you cum as my queen,” He palms his cock, spreading his pre-cum all over, “I want to be inside you.”

Your cheeks flush at his words, biting your bottom lip, and you can only nod, taking a deep breath that’s cut off as he shoves himself inside you in one quick movement.

You hear him groan as your pussy pulses around him and adjusts, “I’ll never get bored of this,” he sighs, thrusting again, “How fucking wet and warm you are around me.”

You let out a high pitched cry as he speeds up, his hands clenching your hips tightly. You push your hands harder into the floor, slipping under the ash, trying to stay up with his harsh fucking.  

“Look,” He suddenly shoves your face down into it, and you accidentally breathe making you cough and choke, your eyes watering. He lifts your head, allowing you a moment and once you’ve stopped choking he pushes you back down again, not even pausing in his thrusts. “Look at what we did together,” his voice breathy and low, “Revel in it my queen.”

You find your hands gripping the ash beneath you and without even thinking about it you grab a handful and rub it into your face, licking it with your tongue with a groan, your pussy pulsing. Michael fucks you even faster and he pulls you up by your throat again, shoving his tongue into your mouth, sharing the ash with him, “Filthy slut,” he hisses and you laugh, biting his lip so hard that he bleeds.

He pulls out suddenly, and you whimper at the loss, but then he’s pushing you onto your back, shoving himself back inside you again without a moment to think.

His nails press hard into your thigh, leaving deep scratches in their wake and you open your legs further, head thrown back.

He pins your wrists above you, one hand holding them tightly together, back curving upwards at the position, your breasts bouncing with every thrust. He leans down, mouth wrapping around one of your nipples and sucks harshly, and you hiss. The pain spreads through into pleasure making your clit tingle in response, your hiss turning into a moan.  

He releases it with one last lick, looks at you, a smirk on his face, and thrusts into you even harder than you thought possible.

You can feel it rising in the bottom of your stomach, your hips bucking back at his mindlessly, desperation increasing.

You whimpers become louder and louder, and he bites the unmarked side of your neck “Fuck, yes Michael!” You practically growl, and you cum, your back bending sharply as the pleasure floods your veins. Your mouth stays open in a silent scream and Michael continues driving himself into you, his mind lost on the tightness wrapped around his cock, working you through the wave of orgasms.

He grunts loudly, a feral noise ripping through his throat and you feel his cock throbbing inside you, his completion filling you up.

You sigh in satisfaction, coming down from your high, Michael’s head resting on your chest, his mouth kissing your flesh mindlessly, his breathing harsh and heavy.

He carefully pulls himself out and flops over beside you.

And you both just breathe, staring at the ceiling above you.

“You hear that,” you whisper.

“I don’t hear anything,” he sighs into your shoulder, nuzzling.

You smile, “I know, it’s beautiful isn’t it?”

And he laughs.

[thegapbetweenmoments]

I had a dog when I first moved to the neighborhood.

People used to ask me what his breed was, but I didn’t really know. He was a one of a kind, good looking, dumbass mutt.

And I loved him.

I used to sit outside when the weather got warm and just throw the ball for him. He would book it down the dirt road every time the ball left my hand, like he thought it was something precious that needed to be saved before it could disappear forever.

As the years went on, though, I got worse at making time to go do that, and slowly he lost his ability to bolt after the ball the way he did when he was younger. Eventually, we both had to be content just sitting on the porch and gazing at the stars as they crept into the dimming skyline.

The saddest day of my life so far was when we had to put him down. I cried for hours just wishing that I could go throw the ball for him one more time.

When I left the vet that day, I left with one fewer friend in this world, and I wondered if I’d ever be the same.

I walked outside that night and held the ball in my hand, looking at all of the little chew marks that my dog had left over the years, and for a little while I couldn’t figure out what I was feeling anymore.

For one moment, I was just plain sad, knowing that I could never get my buddy back to play fetch.

For another, I was enraged, thinking to myself that it was my fault. If I’d just taken better care of him, or spent more money to save him, he could be with me right now.

I finally settled on numbness, though, when I had cried myself down to being unable to feel anything at all. I thought in that moment that maybe, people weren’t meant to just keep feeling things at full strength all of the time.

I sat there, ball in hand, until everything was pitch black out and I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face.

I tapped my finger tips along the patio furniture and wall until I found the door again and stepped inside, turning the lights on.

In that moment, I had a tiny blip of a moment in which I thought I saw my dog, running across the yard like he did when we would play fetch.

I ran after him and tried to figure out where he went. I called out to him in vain, and then I saw a raccoon run out from the bushes.

A racoon? Really?

I was so desperate to see my dog again that I almost settled for some raccoon that had probably just made its way through my trash. I felt silly and lonely, which only made me rage out once more.

I threw the ball as hard as I could at the raccoon, bouncing it off of the nearby fence so that it rolled all the way into the street.

I could see its silhouette just outside of where my house’s outside light could reach, so I walked over to grab it.

Why was I grabbing an old ball? The ball meant nothing. It was just a chewed up dog toy.

Nevertheless, I walked over, and began to lean down so that I could grab it.

As my fingers wrapped around the rough rubber ball, I wondered if a new dog would like the toy the same way that my dog had liked it. Would it be fair of me to make a new dog play with an old, chewed up toy? Would it be fair to my dog for me to move on and get a new companion?

I decided that the only thing left to do tonight was sleep, so I brought the ball back inside with me and set it down on my nightstand, where it stayed for half of a year.

In that time, I didn’t get a new dog. I didn’t even think about getting a new dog. How could I do that to the memory of the dog I’d already had? It wasn’t right, and I wasn’t going to do it.

Eventually, I got to the point where even seeing the ball on my nightstand was too much, so I put the ball into a drawer that I never used, and I let it just fade out of my memory.

After another year or so, I found a new job. A better job. One that would really help me go places in life and do the things that I really wanted to do.

So naturally, I wanted to dress to impress when I got there. First impressions are vital, and I wanted to make the best impression that anyone in this workplace had ever seen.

In the drawer where I kept some of my best dress socks, however, I found the ball one more time, and tears immediately began to well in my eyes. 

It didn’t matter that it’d already been a year and a half, or that I’d really tried everything I possibly could to just move on. One look at that old ball was all that it took for me to sit there with only ten minutes to go before work, wishing that I had my dog back for just one more day.

I called my boss and let him know that I’d have to call in sick. Little did I know that he’d later use this as justification for firing me, but that really wasn’t important. I needed to figure out what I was doing with this ball.

I finally decided that it had to be time.

I hopped in my car and drove to the nearest animal shelter, and brought the ball in with me.

I walked up to each cage, thinking that one of the puppies, or one of the spry ones would just jump right out at me and inspire me, but then I came up to his pen.

His information said that he was twelve years old, and that he liked to just lie down next to people while they sat in their chairs. He was old, and it showed, from his tired eyes to his slow walk.

He wasn’t any of the things that I thought I wanted in a dog, but I decided to do what I thought I needed to: I held the ball out for him.

To my surprise, he got up and waddled over to me as fast as his old legs would let him walk. He sniffed the ball for a good, long time, and he slowly licked my hand one time.

He wasn’t the same as my dog, but he was the best dog that I could ask him to be, so I took him home that day.

He and I were good to each other, and I made sure I gave him time to do his favorite things, like sunbathing and slow walks through the wooded paths.

People would ask me what breed he was, but I really didn’t know. He was a one of a kind, caring, restful dog.

And just like before, I loved him.

[shslkarutaqueen-blog]

45 Chara Dev Questions!

a la Tom Ham, ft. too much babbling.

Original Questions

1. Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

Tomoka has 4 sisters! One older and three younger, to be specific. If you’ve looked through her photo album you probably know they all kinda look the same, though they do grown into some differences when they get older. Tomo is the only one who never grows past 5′2″ eventually. It’s sad. She’s closest with her older sister, Makoto, a bartender. Makoto fought constantly with their parents, and after a long time struggling with her time as the family heir, she broke off ties and moved out on her own. As the two oldest, Tomo and Mako have seen each other through a lot of their hardships, and Tomo sympathized with Mako while Mako served as Tomo’s encouragement. They spend more time with each other these days than with any of their other family members. Kasumi is the next youngest sister, the middle child! She’s the current family heir, as Tomo dumped that responsibility onto her after she left the family as well. While the two aren’t at odds with one another, there is some minor tension between the two since they’re less close and don’t share a mutual understanding on... well pretty much anything. Next down the line is Misaki. She’s very close with Kasumi, the two call each other Zuzu and Kiki. Misaki is very high-spirited, and Kasumi finds herself often in the position of her protector.

The youngest is Kimiko! She’s mysterious and spooky... not exactly close with any of the sisters, but quite cool and collected for her age, and arguably close with their father. I hope u enjoyed that text wall for question #1.

2. What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

??? Hamazoe (whoops!). Tomo doesn’t know either of her parents very well, as she’s lived with her grandparents for most of her childhood and currently lives alone. She holds some resentment toward them for being Garbage, but not nearly as much as Mako, who has a very personal feud. Although she doesn’t know that much about what her mother does, Tomo is aware that she used to be an olympic gold medalist, and feels somewhat sorry for her knowing she gave up her dream life to marry into the Hamazoe family and have 5 hecking kids. 

3. What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Where Tomo has a bit of sympathy for her mother, she has absolutely none for her father. Again, it’s not direct animosity, but she holds a strong “Tch, Whatever” attitude towards the two for skipping out on raising their own children. ??? Hamazoe (whoops x2!) is from a long line of ambitious businessmen, and pushes the children (mostly through his parents, who actually take care of them) to be ambitious and follow extremely specific goals. He’s not all bad, but he has a severe lack of understanding as to how to raise and deal with kids.  Both parents are actually fairly coddling toward Tomo, as she didn’t exactly have a formal breakoff like Mako, and they’re hesitant to burn bridges with another daughter (do they feel guilty, or do they not want bad press? who knows...). Ever since Tomo moved out, they’ve been sending her checks to help support herself, which she ‘begrudgingly’ accepts. Neither of them showed up to her Queen match! She’s a little upset over that. Just a bit.

4. Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

Not exactly? Mako having her falling out with the fam did trigger what eventually made Tomo Grow A Pair, so to say. Before then she was very domestic and abiding. Then she realized. Oh wait fuck this I don’t have to listen to other people. Eventually learned to stand up to her Grandmother and her verbal abuse etc. Ta da! Her fam is probably all aware of this.

(^^ Her potential despair fever personality was going to be this, essentially) 

As far as in-game? Well... the whole dying thing definitely had an impact on her! In what way? Hey... I won’t spoil ; } (jk not much changed but she’s a bit shook and her ridiculous self-confidence is currently butting heads with delightful depression)        

5. On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Candy, Duh. Her outfits almost never have pockets, but she will make sure to carry this one thing no matter what. Similar to how she keeps thing in her sleeves, she tends to squirrel away whatever she needs in her socks, waistband, bra, you name it. Pre-doubt she always carries at least a little money on her at all times.

6. Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Cats! Also, I like to think she has dreams about idols and movies-- the kind of things she doesn’t like to talk about, but secretly loves. Historical dramas, tea in a garden, herself on a stage singing. How fun!

7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Her recurring nightmare is facing off with the Meijin! He’s seriously scary! It always ends either just before she’s about to lose or right after a climactic monologue. The monologue is extra scary. Words.

8. Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Nope! And she’s not looking to try it out. Toucan Dan says No Guns No Funs.

9. Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Heck yea! She was the heir to a rich family and then ditched it to live on her own as a teen. Admittedly, she gets money from her parents still to pay rent, but she’s nowhere near livin’ on the ritz anymore. She hangs onto some nice things, like her favorite kimonos, and buys as expensive food as she’s able, but otherwise doesn’t do amazingly for herself.

10. Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

More, I suppose? Either is fine, but less definitely has casual connotations to it. Tomo’s certainly not shy about showing skin. Being in a kimono and hakama definitely sets her in ‘game mode’, and gives her a +10 boost to confidence (hence why she feels best wearing it to all trials, as well as when she practices in order to get ‘serious’).

11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

Off the top of my head I’d have to say when she faced the meijin the day after her queen match. He asked her to a play a game for ‘fun’ knowing the two can’t face each other for any official ranking purposes, and his playing style absolutely pulled the floor out from under her. He’s a master of manipulation, smart as she’s ever met, and knows exactly how to push at people to get them out of their element- which is a lot to say for Tomo considering her play syle is almost the exact opposite, yet he still broke through. She still shudders thinking about him to this day.

12. In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Generally speaking Tomo is calm nearly all the time! She was amazingly serene (in her own way) during her final match against the former queen, however. Despite the way she jokes around and how brash she can be, Tomo is amazing at keeping herself genuinely collected on the inside. To truly rile her is a feat, though she loves to play around and pretend to get upset.

13. Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Not really! She’s not a fan of blood, for sure, but it doesn’t shake her, nor is it a phobia or squick to any extent. It’s gross, but as previously mentioned, she doesn’t let that kind of stuff get to her. Whatever the circumstance is, she’ll take it objectively as it comes.

14. Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Naaames. Not that she’s too bad at remembering people in general, but she’s used to verbal association. It probably helps that she likes to call people by their first names and nicknames! Or is that what makes it easier? Hmm...

15. Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

It’s not her main focus in life by any means, though she has ‘’’’Refined Tastes’’’’’ so money is obviously important to, um, purchase those. She’s more materialistic than money-grubbing for certain. She likes to Have things. Though she’s also pretty good at sharing! Kind of. Er.

16. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

Ooh... Success is very, very important to Tomoka... A big struggle for her is what success means and when she’s attained it. It’s a driving force behind the whole reason she left home, feeling like she needed to make something of herself, all on her own. 

In this way... I guess success and happiness can kind of complicate one another for her sometimes? Happiness is also important, as is probably obvious just from her fun-loving YOLO attitude. She’s finding a balance. Not very well, but, y’know.

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

When she was a kid they had all kinds of stuff to play with (nothing electronic, though), but she got the most enjoyment out of a rubber ball just by throwing it around and chasing after it. She got in trouble at one point with her little sisters for breaking a lantern in the garden while roughhousing, and their grandparents were like... hey.... time to cool it. Whoops.

18. Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

Ambition for sure. The first thing Tomo looks for in other people is whether they stick up for themselves and whether they act on their beliefs. She’s pretty generous as to how far this extends, but generally you can assume she’s not about weak-willed folks. Wisdom is something she respects, but doesn’t find necessary. She won’t admit it, but she’s kind of envious (and maybe fearful) of people who are smart, especially if they’re on the clever side of things.

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

Would u trust this teen in any way to do anything right in a relationship. For one thing, she’s very self-interested, so it’s easy for her to not take into account her partner’s needs. She’s also very fickle, and can get distracted easily by things outside of relationships, especially since she’s not super romantically-inclined. In this universe.... well, she hasn’t had a proper relationship yet, so who’s to say what else could happen given the way she’s developing!

20. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

Hmmm... well, I think Tomo likes to pick out others’ flaws to help inflate her ego, but she definitely also has a tiny chamber deep, deep in the pit of her where she files everything she sees in others she wishes she could be like, and locks it away for 300 years under 50 layers of malibu and taiyaki. One might not suspect it, but she’s very self-flagellating behind the control she’s trained into herself.

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

Her first response is to blame others if she can, but she likes to be objective when possible. If the situation is right, she’ll own up to making a mistake. This is less likely if she somehow manages to get frustrated or has to admit it to someone she seriously dislikes, though.

22. What does your character like in other people?

Guts! Balls! Chutzpah! She just likes people who are honest and upfront about what they’re doing. People who take life in simple stokes, and don’t try to get too crafty. Vanillas. People with Honor. That being says, there isn’t too much she dislikes in others outside of key negative traits, and it takes a lot make her dislike someone, as she’s very accepting of people as long as they’re doing what they want to do. That’s just Friends tho ! ;Y

23. What does your character dislike in other people?

Dependency. Well, she’s okay with follower-types as long as they follow along with the kind of things she likes (Thanks). She’s also not fond of things like people who complain about X but do nothing to make X change. Obviously she’s also not keen on otaku types. Nerds are her Bane.

24. How quick is your character to trust someone else?

It can take some time, but again, she’s not one to find much to object to in others. As long as someone proves they’re being ‘real’ whatever that means to them, she finds that as admirable proof of Heart. Morality isn’t especially Tomo’s thing, so she can get very case-by-case, but otherwise she plays it loose. She likes to believe in unspoken understands, as amazingly faulty as that is.

25. How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

Even if she’s close with someone, she won’t hide if she’s suspicious of them (unless that somehow goes behind gal code! yikes!). Objectivist etc etc she just plays things how they come. She won’t hold suspicion close to her heart. If it turns out to be true, then it’s usually as simple as taking a step back to square one.

26. How does your character behave around children?

Well! Tomo’s not the best with kids for sure, but she doesn’t mind them. Having 3 baby sisters separated by a decent age gap does that to a gal. Being equipped with candy usually helps. Don’t trust your kids with her, though-- if she has to entertain them, she might get them up to some serious Monkey Business. A bad influence.

27. How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

She takes it HEAD-ON. Go all out or go home. She’ll only back down from a fight if there’s a reeeeallly good reason. Simple as that. She’s very good at keeping her cool, however, despite being so trigger-happy so to speak.

28. How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

If someone is ready to have a beatdown she’s fuckin there for it. Generally speaking, though she’s respectful of not fighting with someone if they aren’t up for it. She’ll attack people of her own volition if she wants, but doesn’t like to resort to this too much, because it lends itself to poor emotional control. She’s always up for friendly fisticuffs, however! Or rival fisticuffs. Or enemy fisticuffs. She just likes sparring with people, for whatever weird obsession she has.

29. What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

Tomo’s always wanted to be an IDOL or a PRINCESS, and uh. Well, not quite making the mark there. Then again, she’s really not sure what she wants to to with her life outside of short-term and silly goals. 

30. What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Rotten food is a biggie. Smells really get to her, since it’s not something she’s trained to block out, and man that stuff gets a visceral reaction out of you. Non-physical objects of disgust, though? Mmm... stuff mentioned in early questions... bad attitudes (the irony), but outside of little stuff, not much???

31. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Challenging someone to Karuta. Haha. She also feels very comfortable at social events, especially clubs. She loves her sister’s bar (even tho ur fucking 16 kid!!!!!! have a juicy juice!!!! sit down!!).

32. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

Doing anything that requires tactical thinking... having to be lead by someone else... but also generally working in a team is not her favorite. Surprisingly, even though she’s super social and outgoing, she hates being in teams. School is also Yuck Brain Cooties.

33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Unless someone’s really managed to dig at her core insecurities, she handles it quite well. She’s all about becoming a better her, but she recognizes that she lacks talent in most walks of life, and has a hard time improving at anything even when she gives a serious effort.

34. Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

At this stage in her life I think Tomo is prone to falling back on comfortable methods. If she’s in a pretty calm scenario, especially with others she likes, she’s willing to try out different stuff, but if she’s alone or gets frustrated, she can get caught in a loop that keeps going until she breaks.

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

Friendllly~~ Suuuuuper casual, my guys! She’s quick to assume people are friends with her if she finds them alright, so she warms up to them in a buddy-buddy way quickly whether they like it or not. She teases often and plays around, too!

36. How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Ignore Ignore Ignore Block Report Mute. She avoids bad vibes at all costs first and foremost. Otherwise, she can’t help but get condescending when facing them, and tries to make a wall out of her opinions. Not today, fiend.

37. Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Ooof. These are kinda closely related for her? Honor takes the lead by a hair, but she’s also about being the number one, the big boss, a leader, so if that falls then she’s taken a pretty big blow to her honor. Staying true to oneself regardless of circumstances is the most important, though.

38. Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Shuffle tf out my dude. If she can’t, or it’s a volatile threat, then Smash. And uh. Well, we know how that worked out.

39. Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

Nop... her cats might nip at her sometimes when she gets too grabby, but she doesn’t really care.

40. How does your character treat people in service jobs?

She can get a little pushy... she doesn’t mean to come off as rude, but... let’s say she expects a lot from them? If she’s at a ramen stand and it’s taking a while to get it ready she won’t be shy about whining how hungry she is out loud. Tomo’s a little stuck in the rich kid/queenly ‘they’re a servant’ headset.

41. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Earn! You gotta Werq It. Now, that’s not to say she isn’t hypocritical at times and feels she deserves things despite being a lazy ol bag o bones, but...

42. Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Oh gosh... uh... I don’t think so? She’s been very closed into her family most of her life, and otherwise very self-sufficient (or has tried to be self-sufficient). She wouldn’t look to anyone outside of her family let alone within it to be a parental figure.

43. Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

Same as the last question pretty much. Outside of any remaining ties to her family, she hates being dependent on other people or people being completely dependent on her, so she tries not to do this, or at the very least make major figures out of them in her life.

44. How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

Easy if it’s friends! Easy if she’s drunk. Otherwise she’s a stubborn mule who thrives on rival-like relationships, so admitting it so easily is not on her agenda. Also, not exactly skilled at romantic affection, this tot.

45. What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

Tomo is very superstitious! She jokes about it, but she’s also very genuinely worried about ghosts and spirits! She hopes she can have a peaceful afterlife, or be able to haunt someone into the ground if they do her wrong in death. While she’s usually scared of running out of time to be alive, she goes back and forth on whether she’s scared of the afterlife or feels optimistic about it. Very importantly, also, she doesn’t want to be forgotten!

[sunrise-stealer-blog]

Prologue: Entrapment

The only light within the musty chamber was that of a flickering lightbulb, embedded in a socket dangling precariously from an exposed cable.

Stone walls surrounded him, covered in a film of grimy water. He would've concluded with absolute certainty that he was underground, in some sort of cave system, had the circumstances of his captivity not been as peculiar as they were.

A sturdy steel door stood behind him, riveted, maybe about half an inch thick. It was the only way in or out of this cell, he immediately discerned.

An uncomfortable-looking cot was held in place by chains fastened to the wall. On the other side, a toilet and a sink, the cracks in their porcelain filled with muck. The only other furnishing within the quarters was a small wooden table standing on uneven legs, with a chair to match.

He quickly patted himself down. Most of his weapons were gone, but he had still managed to hold onto something: a spear-tipped boot knife, its black blade about three inches in length. It was better than nothing.

"It will do you no good in a prison without wardens."

He turned around to face his captor, peering at him through a rectangular window in the door. He wore the face - or rather, the charred, grayed remains of one - of a former foe of his mentor's.

Instinct screamed to plunge the knife through the grate, right into his head. Training refuted, pointing out his arm could be easily broken if he put it through the spyhole, and suggested that throwing the knife was a better option. Experience demanded he stay put: all that would achieve would be wasting a perfectly good tool.

As experience dictated, he did. He spun the knife in his hand before driving it into the wood of the table.

"You are no more threatening to me than a mewling kitten, child," the entity said.

The inmate released his hot grip on the handle, anger at his helplessness dissipating somewhat. "That wasn't for your sake. It was for mine."

"So you say. Appreciate, then, that I allowed you to keep one of your precious little toys."

"Hah. Sure. Whatever floats your boat."

"Always defiant," the captor paced around outside, his gaze lingering towards parts unknown. "Befitting a Trickster, really. But you see, in your thirst for rebellion, did you ever stop to consider the consequences?"

His fingers wrapped against the dagger's rubber grip once more. He knew what was coming. Preparation, however, wouldn't make it any less painful.

"Think of all the happy families that will come undone," the jailer said, poisonous. "The slates that have been wiped clean. Will you rob them of their happiness, simply because of some misguided sense of righteousness?"

The blow was struck but no matter how deep it cut, Joker was a fighter: "Better the agonizing truth," he snarled, "than to live out a deception."

"Oh?" The grayed husk raised what would've been an eyebrow, once upon a time. "I suppose that is your decision to make?"

"That's..." Joker faltered.

"This world..." the entity gestured. "...has no need for Phantom Thieves, nor does it call for dogs of war. That's twice you're made obsolete. Could it be jealousy, that your history wasn't undone?"

He was trying to get under his skin, Joker knew. It was working.

"What a sad, sad man you are. Victim to a wretched past, and after you struggle so much to regain your future, it's stolen once more from you. How utterly ironic, that a Thief were to be robbed thus."

The prisoner brings a hand up to his face. He can still hear...those chilling moans...the smell of decay...his handgun clattering against marble...

He shakes off the nightmarish memories seared into his very being, instead glaring resolute at the creature on the other side of the door.

"You try to find purpose in an endless, futile sequence: battlefield after battlefield, mission after mission. Fighting for people who will never, could never even know your name or your deeds."

"Not in it for glory. I just don't want others to experience the horrors I did. That's all."

"Right, so then you drag your so-called 'friends' into the fray? How selfish, but now they can rest. You can rest, and yet you reject it. Are you perhaps addicted to the thrill of battle?" the entity mocked.

"You're wrong. I can't stop because there's things worth fighting for. For the friends that rely on me. For those who have nobody who will stand up for them. And for those who we've lost-"

"I, too, have known loss," it interrupted, clenching its gloved fist. "That's what this world is all about. You could take back everything you've lost, and have so, so much more... yet you reject it, and I see you have no intention of changing your tune. But no matter. Your punishment will teach you the depravity of your sin."

"Can't wait," Joker quipped defiantly.

The human-thing's lip curled upwards, vicious. "This prison is similar to that Velvet Room you're acquaintanced with. A place between dreams, reality, mind, matter... but it does not connect to the collective unconscious of man, no."

His captor's dull eyes narrowed, lifeless skin wrinkling around them.

"This connects...to you. To the millions, billions, numberless 'yous'."

"So now we're speaking in riddles?" Joker did his best to appear unflappable. The creature released a hoarse chuckle, sinister.

"You know full well what I'm talking about, and I can see the fear in you. You're familiar with one of the 'disasters', are you not? Your sentence will prove enlightening to us both. You shall see your unforgivable faults, and my scientific curiosity regarding this... phenomenon will be sated. Mutual benefit, yes?"

"...You're twisted." Joker spat.

Then, it laughed. A grating noise, like iron dragged across glass. The former Trickster felt his stomach churn.

"No, no! How wrong you are. I am but a merciful God," it replied. "The knife? My little courtesy to you...should you decide to end it all."

The humanoid creature claiming to be a deity turned his back to him: "Farewell, Phantom Thief. Taste the lives that could've been but are forever beyond your grasp, and know despair."

The view-hatch slammed shut, closed by some unseen force. Joker remained motionless, staring at the unmovable steel slab separating him from the rest of this illusory prison.

Then he smirked.

"Some God," he muttered to himself as he made his way to the cot, knowing full well what awaited him when he closed his eyes. His knife, now free from the surface it had been embedded onto, spun in his palm.

Instinct wanted to run and hide. Training told him he was the only man for the job. Experience...experience knew it was going to hurt. Again.

But this time? This time, he had the upper hand.

Time to close his eyes.

Time for another game.

And so, he experienced a life that was his, yet wasn't...