#i made home on a whim here so it looks a bit weird

[vinestaff]

smile and please everybody :D

no text version:

[sinofwriting]

Claiming - Max Verstappen (Dark Fic)

Words: 2,231 Summary: In a world where F1 drivers can claim someone as a wife while at a race, here is Max’s version. Note(s): DARK FIC, NSFW. Reader is essentially kidnapped. I’d like to thank lovey on Ko-fi for commissioning this. I had a lot of fun writing this and oh boy did it take a turn I wasn’t expecting. Takes place in 2023. Also, once again thank you to 🦢 anon for this idea and all your thoughts! Claiming wouldn’t be a thing without you.

Charles’ Version

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Since a month ago the emotion she’s felt most is confusion. From the moment a security guard and an FIA official escorted her from the grandstands to the Red Bull garage, to Max Verstappen’s drivers room. From him gently grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it, to the conference room where the FIA official explained things to her and god, she felt like she had only heard every three words, to now.

Max is the source of all her confusion, because he is confusing. He’s aggressive and dominant on track. So clearly hates press and events he’s forced to go to. If he likes you, he likes to make you laugh and make sure you're happy. He’s attentive in a way she didn’t know was possible.

As soon as they were in Monaco after the race, after he claimed her, and she fiddles with the heavy diamond ring on her finger at the thought, he had taken her to the grocery store, claiming that his fridge and pantry were empty since he’d just come home from a triple header. She hadn’t realized then but as they walked through the grocery store he had watched her closely. Watched what shelves she paused at, what brands and items she put in the cart versus the ones she made small faces at. Making a note of them all.

It wasn’t until a few days later when someone came by to drop off groceries and she saw all that all the groceries were things and brands she likes that she started to realized that it’s quietness in the grocery store, him following behind her, hadn’t been him giving her a bit of space, some grace, but rather him making notes of what she likes.

She’s unable to hide anything from him, which is even more confusing, because he doesn’t know her. Had chosen her seemingly on a whim. When she was told why she got taken his driver’s room by the FIA official, she had thought it was some sort of prank, a joke, but as three different binders had been laid out in front of her and proof of everything had been shown to her, had proved that she had been claimed, that she was now married to Max Verstappen the odd, weird, confusing reality had sunk in.

She had honestly figured as she laid awake next to Max that night that she would be just kept at his place for quick relief. Asked to undress and roll or bend over whenever he needed a quick easy fuck along with someone to keep his place clean and cooked meals in the fridge. She hadn’t expected for him to not even touch her like that.

He did however like to look at her like that. Eyes darkening, just a little narrowed as his jaw would sometimes twitch, deep breaths through his nose. But he never touched her like that which made her more confused because he did touch her.

He kissed her hand in greeting, put his hand on her lower back, would sling an arm around her waist, put his arm over her shoulders. He’d make their legs intertwine in bed or practically blanket her with his body when he didn’t have her cuddling into him, head resting on his t-shirt covered chest. Max hadn’t even tried kissing her on the lips despite clearly wanting to with the way he would sometimes stare at them as she talked.

Max Verstappen is confusing.

—

Max knows that he was supposed to claim a wife much sooner than he did. He could have done so the day of his first win, when they pulled him aside and told him that he could. He knows that’s what they wanted. They wanted him to claim a wife, to calm down, to bring a little less negative press to the sport. Luckily it was up to him to decide and there was no way in fucking hell he was claiming a wife. He made that clear in his celebrations with the team and his private words to people about how the FIA could fuck off.

He was also lucky that Red Bull backed his decision. He was their first driver since Mark Webber to get to claim a wife, the youngest in the history of the sport. The FIA couldn’t pressure him into it or punish him for not claiming anyone yet, but they could try and flaunt options for him to choose from. And they did. They did every year at nearly every race until finally the start of the 2022 season happened and there was a number one on his car.

That didn’t mean they stopped during the 2022 season, it was just significantly less than before. And now in 2023, just a few races away from winning his third championship, they hadn’t bothered him at all. The end of Monza marked them never being able to bother him again, he thinks as he watches his wife look at the clothes he had delivered for her. His now three championship trophies somewhat framing her with how she stands in front of the large couch.

They were all in her sizes, some from brands that she already had clothes from and other’s from more luxury brands that he had to be familiar with. She liked the one a lot, her fingers kept going back to the two tops from there, rubbing the fabric. He’ll have to take her to their store after COTA, he muses. The heat in Qatar had been too much for his poor wife and it had even got the better of him.

“Do you like them?” He asks, wrapping his arms around her from behind, relishing in the sharp inhale she gives, the slight sped up breathing. “I do. They are all really nice.” He presses a kiss to the top of her head, making a note to not buy her anymore hoodies, or at least buy them for himself and wear them a few times. She had worn so many of his, he figured she’d want one or two of her own, but the hoodie was the only thing her eyes and fingers had not returned to. “Good. I have some jewelry coming for you tomorrow as well.” “Oh, thank you, Max.” “Of course, vrouw.” He smirks at the way her body shivers at the Dutch word for wife.

—

It’s been nearly three months since Monza, since Max claimed her, since she became his wife. Which means it’s been three months since the last time she got off, six months since she last had sex. The sex part she can deal with, but she doesn’t think she’s gone this long without masturbating since she learned what it was and started doing it. And it feels like it’s killing her.

Because Max… Max is handsome. She’s seen tweets and things about how Max is ugly and she can’t even begin to comprehend that. He has some of the bluest eyes she’s ever seen, a nice jaw just barely covered with facial hair, slightly pouty lips and god it kills her that she hasn’t kissed them yet, kissed the freckle that rests on his top left lip. He has broad shoulders, strong arms, large hands, fingers that make her thighs press together when they tap against her hips or press into her. And his thighs. Every time she sees them, whether it’s in shorts or boxers, she can feel herself clench around nothing.

Maybe he wouldn’t affect her so much if he didn’t so clearly want her back. But he does. His eyes more and more frequently watching her, want simmering in them. And he’s never been shy about his morning wood, but instead of tilting his hips away from her, scooting away, or just adjusting her so it’s not pressed against her, now he stays. Lets her choose to move away when she feels him against her.

She never moves away, not until they absolutely have to get up.

She’s reached her limit, however. She constantly feels turned on, a warmth always burning inside of her, sometimes getting stoked to burn a little hotter and she fears that if she doesn’t get off in the next few hours she will jump Max. It’s tempting to just get to it, just lay down and fuck herself quickly, but that won’t leave her satisfied. She needs more than one quick orgasm to satisfy herself and she’s in luck because Max is leaving the house, having been invited to a paddle match.

She accepts the kiss on the cheek he gives her, wishing him good luck and then waits by the front door for a few minutes before turning and nearly rushing to the bedroom. Her arms somehow get tangled in her tank top as she pulls it off and her fingers fumble with her pajama pants and underwear as she tries to push them down. It takes longer than she wants, but finally she’s undressed. There’s an urge to fall onto the bed, but she forces it away, forces herself to take a deep breath as she goes to their closet.

Going to one of her shoe boxes, she lifts the lid, breath shaky as her fingers touch the lace of a La Perla balconette. She had never spent more than seventy dollars on a bra before Max, had privately thought people who spent more than a hundred dollars on scraps of lace and fabric were crazy but as she feels this against her fingers, she understands why people spend so much.

Her fingers are surprisingly steady as she puts on the balconette and matching panties. As she looks at herself in the mirror, hands rubbing at the body, her breath catches. She looked good, hot even. The lace against her skin making her blood rush.

She’s nearly back into the bedroom when she spots the shirt that Max had been wearing to sleep in last night. It’s just barely hanging on the edge of the hamper, about to fall on the floor. Before she can stop herself, she snags it and throws it on, breathing in the familiar and nice smell of Max.

Laying on the bed, she runs her hands over her body, eyes fluttering shut as they go under her shirt. Her breath catches as they trail over her stomach, fingers pausing at the waistband of her panties before moving back. They trace over the lace details of her top, breath catching when the tips of her fingers catch on her pebbled nipples. Moaning as she twists and pulls at them lightly, thighs pressing together.

She continues to play with her breasts, enjoying the feel of them and the lace in her hands. Drawing moans and whines from herself as she squeezes them, pinching and twisting her nipples, grazing her nipples with the tip of her finger. She’s aching for more, her panties damp. Her dominant hand leaves her breast, fingers just about to slip into her panties and there’s a hand clamping around her wrist.

Her eyes fly open, a gasp leaving her. “Max.” Her other hand drops away from her breast. His grip on her wrist tightens, eyes darker than she’s ever seen them. Her name comes out in a near growl. Her tongue darts out, swiping across her bottom lip and Max’s eyes fall to them at the motion and she breaks. “Please. Max, please.” “Please what?” She takes a shaky breath, “Touch me, kiss me. Please, Max.”

It’s like she blinks and he’s on top of her, his hand no longer gripping her wrist but instead gripping at her hip as he kisses her. She moans at the roughness of it, not even noticing him adjusting her until he’s fully in between her legs, one of them hitched around his waist. She only notices when he grinds their hips together, the friction making her break the kiss, panting as her fingers rake over his back.

“Max. Please.” “What vrouw? Am I not kissing you?” He presses a kiss to her neck, over the flutter of her pulse. “Touching you?” He rolls his hips into hers. She throws her head back at the contact. “I want,” a whine leaves her as he dips his head, running his tongue over her still lace covered nipple. “Fuck, Max.” His hand still gripping her at her hip tightens its hold and she hopes he leaves bruises. “What do you want?” “I want,” She nearly loses her train of thought again when grinds into her again. “Want you to fuck me. Please, Max, want you so bad.” He groans, head resting on her chest as he gives a slightly stuttered thrust.

The slight loss of control makes her moan, her other leg moving to wrap around him, encouraging him to grind against her. She wants him. She wants him to touch her everywhere, not leave a single place that hasn’t felt his touch. She wants to feel his breath against her lips, his teeth sinking into her skin. She wants the press of bruises as he holds her tighter than maybe he should. She wants him sinking into her over and over again even though she hasn’t felt it once yet. She wants and wants and she doesn’t think that doing this once, twice, a hundred, a thousand times, will satisfy that want.

[cavegirlpoems]

I see we're talking about XP!

@thydungeongal and @imsobadatnicknames2 have interesting posts up, and now it's my turn to throw my thoughts out there. SO. I think of XP as the game itself offering you a little bribe. Do the things the game wantss you to be doing, and the game gives you an XP to say thank you. Get enough XP, and you're reward is greater a permanent bump in power, meaning greater ability to exert your will over the world and therefore greater agency. (Systems like Fate Points, Willpower, Inspiration etc work the same, except the increased agency is a temporary one-time thing, not permanent, so at times I'll lump them in).

So. Let's talk about a few different systems and how they handle this.

Let's start at the very begining (a very good place to begin). In the very early editions of D&D - back when Elf was a class - you got XP for treasure. Every gold coin you got out of a dungeon (or equivallent value of other treasure) was 1 XP. This worked well; the game wanted you to go into a dungeon and explore it for treasure, while trying not to die. If you succeeded, you got XP, which made you better at doing that so you could do it again in a more dangerous dungeon. And because treasure is XP, and treasure weighs you down, getting it out is a meaningful activity. Hell, many of these games measure weight and encumbrance on a scale of 'how many coins' to drive this home. It was a good loop. Early D&D has many faults (like the weird racism in the MM) but the xp system is something it absolutely nailed.

Next up, let's look at classic vampire the masquerade. At the end of each session, you get 1 xp just for being there, and then another if your character learned something, if you portrayed your character well, and if your character was 'heroic'. So, what's classic VtM rewarding? Ultimately, it rewards the player for being the kind of player the game wants. If you get into character, engage with the game world, and act like an interesting protagonist, you get rewarded for it. It's a bit fuzzy, and at the GM's discretion, but its very up-front with what it wants to incentivise. It was the 90s, they were still working out how to be a narrative-driven game, but you can see where they were going with it.

OK, now lets look at something a bit weirder; monsterhearts. The main source of XP here will be Moves. Rather than a bolted-on rewards mechanic, each game mechanic you engage with might grant you xp. You can use your strings on another PC to bribe them with XP when you want them to do something. Lots of abilities just give you an XP for doing a thing, such as a Ghost ability that gives you XP for spying on somebody, or aa Fae ability that gives other players XP when they promise you things. Here, XP is baked into the game, but its very up front about being a bribe. Act the way the game wants, or go along with other players' machinations, and you get rewarded for it. And, critically, XP is just one part of a wider game-economy of incentives and metacurrencies; it links in with strings and harm and +1forward in interesting and intricate ways that push the game forward. Monsterhearts is a well designed game, and you should study it.

Finally, let's look at how D&D 5e does it, as a What Not To Do! We have two different options. The first is XP for combat. When you use violence to defeat something, you get XP for it. Under this option, the only way to mechanically improve your character is by killing things. So, we can conclude that D&D is a game that wants you to engage in constant violence. The other option is 'milestone XP'. IE: you level up at the GM's whim, when they feel like it. What does this reward? Fucking nothing. Or, at best, you're rewarded for following the railroad and reaching pre-planned plot moments in a pre-scripted story. You either have no agency in the matter, or are rewarded for subsuming your agency to the will of the GM. (This pattern continues with inspiration rewards, which are given 'when the GM is entertained by you'. Fucking dire.) "Oh!" the 5e fandom says "But a good GM can write a list of achievements that will trigger milestone XP". And yes, they can, but that's not how the text of the game presents it. That's a house rule. That's the GM doing game design to add a new, better, mechanic to the game to fix its failings. Is it any wonder, then, that the 5e fandom puts so mucn weight on the GM's shoulders, and has such a weird semi-antagonistic relationship between GM and player? Is it any wonder that absolutely brutal railroading (and the resulting backlash of disruptive play) is so rife over there? Look at how the incentive structures are built? It's either killing forever or GM-as-god-king! Anyway, yeah. Consider what you reward with XP, because that will become what your game wants. And if you're hacking a game, one of the most efficient hacks is to change what you get XP for and suddenly the game will pivot to something very different.

[whimsi-clown]

What's the Best Way to Start a Story? Ah, yes. Death.

Part 1 of the Reverse lsekai Disney Villains x Modern Reader AU

(That I made on a whim)

Warning: Lots of Curse Words and a bit OOC

In a series of unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how you view things) events, your eccentric rich bitch of an employer had just died.

Sad, I know. But they had it coming. Sorta.

Nobody really liked them. They were, to put it bluntly, an asshole of the highest degree, and they didn't have any living relatives or descendants.

As such, with you being the only person in existence who still stuck by them, gave a shit about them, and had the balls to deal with all of their bullshit, they decided to leave you with their inheritance.

From their large plot of land to their unrealistically big ass mansion with a private beach close by, along with everything inside of it. Money included.

It was all yours for the taking, and you were all too eager to accept.

At this point, you had everything you needed to live the life of your dreams. A large plot of land, a mansion, a near infinite amount of money.

Now, all you needed left in this big and lonely mansion...

Was companionship...

...

Yea, no. We'll skip that for now.

So, with that in mind, after setting down the remaining boxes of your belongings that you had just brought in, you decided to stroll through the halls of the place, eager to familiarize yourself with your new home.

Your eyes perking in interest as you spot a door that you had never seen before, curiously entering it with a new wave of excitement as to what you could find (or possibly sell) on the other side.

Nothing could ruin this day for you!

.

.

.

.

.

Something has just ruined this day for you.

You groaned, dragging your hands down your face as 12 of the most iconic Disney Villains settled on the set of couches before you with crossed arms, disgruntled expressions, and glares aimed your way.

Maleficent sat on the lone couch to your left, while Grimhilde, the evil queen, sat on the other couch to your right, both looking at you with displeased glares.

On the main couch sat Ursula, Cruela De Vil, Dr. Facilier and Jafar. All sharing the same disgruntled expression, like they have better things to do than be in this predicament.

And those who decided to stand behind the couch were Hades, Captain Hook, Shan Yu, and Gaston. All of them with their arm crossed.

Finally, seated on the carpeted floor before the couches are Scar and Oogie Boogie. Who looked bored out of their minds.

You let out yet another groan.

How did you end up in this situation again??

Ah, right. The mysterious room.

For those of you who are wondering, here's what went down literal hours ago.

You had entered what looked like an old storage room, flicked the light switch on, and discovered that it was filled to the brim with various antiques and junk.

Looking around, you felt like a kid in a candy store, discovering the various curious objects that your former employer collected, lining each shelf.

Everything was so interesting (and sellable) to you.

But what stood out to you the most, though, was an assortment of random items set up on a row of pedestals.

A staff broken in half, a shattered mirror, an unlit greek looking torch lying on its side, a dusty lamp, a tarnished silver hook, a vintage hunting rifle, an old scattered deck of tarot cards, a weird wavy looking sword (a quick google search informed you that it was a serrated jagged jian), a lion skull (not even gonna question how your employer got their hands on these ethically), a gold nautilus shell necklace, an exotic black and white fur coat of some animal (again, not gonna question how they were ethically acquired), and finally a set of red hand carved dices.

With a wide shit eating grin and dollar signs in your eyes, you decided on the spot that these would definitely sell for a large amount of money and decided to take a picture of them to post online.

However, before you could take the shot, you realized something.

No one would buy any of this junk if you sell them as they looked now, like junk!

So, with a new goal in mind, you quickly set out to grab whatever cleaning materials you could find.

And when you came back, you glued together the two broken parts of the staff, put back the pieces of the shattered mirror back in place, set the unlit greek torch up, rubbed the dust off of the lamp, polished the silver hook, cleaned the vintage hunting rifle, stacked and rearanged the deck of tarot cards, sharpened the weird wavy sword, dusted the lion skull, washed the gold nautilus shell pendant in soapy water, and brushed the exotic fur coat.

When all was done, you stood back with your hands on your hips, a prideful grin stretching across your face at having cleaned all of the useless junk before you.

If only you had the same amount of energy and enthusiasm when it comes to cleaning the rest of your house.

You were about to take a picture again when you realized you weren't completely done. There was still one item left.

The pair of red dice.

You stared down at the dices in contemplation. For some reason, something about them didn't seem to sit right with you.

One dice had a six facing up, while the other had a five. Making it an eleven in total.

You grabbed the dices, shaking them around in the palm of your hand and without much of a thought, threw them onto its pedestal. Watching as it rolled on the surface before stopping, both dices landed on a one.

Snake eyes.

All of a sudden, the lights in the room started to flicker and turn off completely, leaving you in the dark.

You cursed under your breath as you were about to turn the flashlight on your phone when you noticed that the dices were glowing green, like one of those shitty glow in the dark star stickers you had as a kid.

Suddenly, the dices weren't the only thing glowing as the fur coat was glowing white, followed by the shell pendant glowing gold, the lion skull glowing green, the sword glowing a dull blue, the tarot deck glowing purple, the hunting rifle glowing red, the hook glowing gold as well, the lamp glowing red too, the torch glowing blue which also lit up in blue flames on it's own, the mirror glowing purple, and finally the staff glowing green.

Each of the items slowly hovered in the air, wind seeming to pick up around you despite the lack of windows, and then suddenly a burst of green smoke spread throughout the room, temporarily blinding you as you coughed into your fist.

You swatted your hands around to clear the smoke, rubbing your teary eyes when a sound caught your attention. Not just any sound, it was the sound of a person, no, people! It was the sound of people!

When the smoke finally cleared, you were greeted by the sight of a dogpile of people, all groaning and moaning in pain, some muttering curses under their breaths as they struggled to get up from their current positions.

"Get off of me, you fools!"

A comanding feminine voice exclaimed.

"Ugh, you first, I can feel you stepping on my tail."

Another masculine voice grumbled.

"Ugh, get your slimey apendeges off of me, woman!"

Another masculine voice exclaimed in disgust.

"For the last time. It's not slime, you narcissistic oaf, it's mucus!"

Yet another feminine voice retorted.

"She's actually right, ya know? It's mucus, not slime. Had to learn that the hard way."

Yet another masculine voice says, agreeing with the person who spoke before them.

Whilst they were still arguing with one another, you figured now would be a great time to escape, slowly backing away, careful not to make a sound when you flinch as your back hits something sturdy and warm.

With a nervous gulp, you slowly crained your neck up only to see a tall gray skinned man with shark like teeth and blue flames for hair, looking down at you with a wide toothy grin.

"Hey there, nice to meet cha', you goin' somewhere, babes?"

The gray man asked in a casual tone, a hint of a threat hidden beneath it. Before you could respond, you yelped in surprise as you were suddenly grabbed by the back collar of your shirt and lifted a few feet away from the ground.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?~"

You froze as you were suddenly face to face with a big talking sack, your face growing pale when you noticed a centipede crawling out of its open stitched mouth.

The thing before you seemed to notice this, grinning even wider as they brought you closer to its face.

"What's wrong, little one? You feeling ssscaareeddd?~"

A snake had just slithered out of its mouth like a tongue and hissed at you as it trailed off the word 'scared'. Which made you scream as you kicked at his face in response, causing the thing to drop you as it held its face in pain.

"UGH! YOU LITTLE-"

The commotion seemed to finally catch the others' attention, finally registering your presence.

Before you could run off and escape, though, a tendril of black smoke wrapped around you, restricting your movement as it pulled you closer to the blue flame headed guy who merely chuckled as you thrashed around in his grip, successfully getting your arms out before trying to tug and yank the rest of the smokey tendrils off of you.

"Hey, fellas, I think I found the culprit to our little... Heh, predicament..."

The blue flame haired guy announced as he pulled you closer to him and grabbed ahold of your cheeks with one hand, forcing you to face the rest of the group.

The rest of them then approached, crowding around and glaring down at you.

"So you're the reason why we're in this mess... Speak. Why have you brought us here?"

The beautiful woman before you asked, no, commanded. Her pose is regal and sophisticated even as she looks down on you. She wore a golden crown atop her head, with a purple velvet dress and a black cape.

Your face morphed in confusion as you stared up at her, practically scanning her features.

For some reason, you feel like you've met her before.

You turn to the others as well, scanning them from head to toe.

A tall mean looking lady with greenish skin and black horns, a grumpy arabian guy dressed in red and black, a big intimidating asian dude, a woman with melanie martinez's hair but if she were emo, a guy that looks like a himbo, a fat drag queen with tentacles and light purplish skin, twinkish looking man with a fancy hat dressed in all red, twinkish looking man with a fancy hat no. 2 dressed in all purple, and a literal fucking lion.

After staring at the crowd before you, you turned your head back to properly look at the other three you had just met. The fat sack of creepy crawlies, the shark teethed flame head, and the literal fucking queen.

Stupid. That's what you currently felt. Not scared, not happy. Stupid.

How could you not recognize the people before you?? They were your literal childhood before you grew out of them. Gods, you felt so dumb for not realizing it sooner!

They were all Disney Villains!

Noticing that you seemed disappointed about something rather than fearful of their presence, the villains turned to one another with looks of confusion. Not used to this kind of reaction.

Hades, who still held you hostage decided to shake you out of whatever it is you were so hung up about.

"Oy, kid. You still with us? Kinda rude to just space out on people ya know?"

He asked, successfully snapping you out of your momentary internal berating.

"I... I know you guys..."

You muttered out loud, still in disbelief of the situation.

This caused the villains to smirk and perk up a little smugly, their ego rising at the thought of being recognized by someone they deemed lesser than then. Especially a certain muscle head.

"Ah yes, of course you've heard about the great Gasto-"

"You're all disney villains!"

You unintentionally cut off him off, your eyes widening as you clamped your mouth shut with your hands in realization of your mistake.

The villains were also caught off guard, not by your interruption, but by your statement.

"Disney... Villains?..."

Shan Yu slowly repeated, confusion evident in his tone.

You kept your mouth clamped shut, refusing to respond until a silver hook was pressed against your neck.

"You better spill, little one, or I'll slice through that pretty little neck of yours, and you don't want that now, do you?"

Captain Hook threatened, pressing his hook closer to your neck, nearly breaking the skin.

That was what led to all of you gathered in the living room, after begging asking to be released so you could explain to them, glancing at each disney villain from Maleficent to Oogie Boogie.

When Oogie Boogie noticed that you had glanced down at him, he sent you an eerie grin that made shivers crawl down your spine.

Out of all the Disney Villains present, He unsettled you the most.

The other's existence was reasonable and made sense to you.

Evil human beings of higher power and capabilities? Fine. A literal dark fae, an octupus lady, and a greek god? Good. A talking lion? Amazing. But a literal walking, talking, sack of bugs?

Burn it to the ground.

You take in a deep breath, exhaling through your nose in an effort to stay calm (spoiler alert it is not working) as you face the group of animated evil doers come to life with an uneasy smile.

"So... What would you like to know first?"

End of Part 1

Next Part

[givemequeen]

Accidental Confessions: Pedro Pascal x reader

request: What about a Pedro Pascal friends to lovers? He just seems like such a great friend. It would be cute to see an angsty/fluffy friends to lovers. a/n: I’m back bitches? pairing: Pedro Pascal x reader summary: you go to a party with Pedro and accidentally let something slip. warnings: sexy time. slight oral (female receiving). honestly just normal sexy stuff. oh! unprotected sex (remember to wrap it before you tap it, lads) word count: 5409

You stepped into the party already anxious, your hands were slightly shaking as you made your way around the room overfilled with strangers. Pedro had invited you to some fancy actor party of his and you had regrettably agreed. The last thing you wanted to do right now was fake smile at a bunch of people you didn’t know. It would’ve been so much better if you had just stayed home in bed watching TV. 

You shook the thought out of your head, no, you were here for your friend. He invited you specifically. He wants you here.

As you silently chastised yourself for wishing you weren’t here, you found yourself at the bar. The bartender – a young man with healthy, bouncing curls down to his shoulders whose smile revealed two small dimples on each cheek – asked you what you wanted as he prepared a drink for a girl in a stunning dress.

Pedro hadn’t exactly told you what to wear, just something “formal”, so you had landed on a long, thin, silver dress with spaghetti straps that you had bought on a whim. Thankfully, you seemed to fit in with the rest of the people. Though they did seem much more put together than you did.

You told the bartender your order – lemon vodka – and sat on one of the stools. You were about to take your phone out of your small purse when the lady that was sat next to you spoke. She called out your name and you shot up. 

“Is it you?” she said with a dashing smile. Her teeth were perfectly straight and extremely white. She had a tan and a nose that you could ski on. 

“Yeah?” you said, a bit unsure. 

“It’s wonderful meeting you.” She stuck her hand out, of course she had a perfect manicure. 

“Thanks, you too.” You shook her hand; thankful you had at least attempted to paint your nails a colour to match your dress. “I don’t mean to be rude but who are you?” 

She laughed – obviously a perfect laugh, no snorting or high-pitched squeals – and told you her name. “I’ve worked with Pedro.” 

You cringed at the way she said his name. “Oh.” You said with a slightly pang of jealousy. “So, how do you know me?”

“Are you kidding? He talks about you all the time, sweetheart.” She laughed, completely taking you back. “So how long have you two been together?” 

Just as you were about to open your mouth to tell her you guys weren’t together and what a ridiculous suggestion that was, the bartender handed you your drink. You smiled at him and politely took a sip before turning to the woman and again. 

However, this time, Pedro was stood right next to her. 

“Pedro!” you said, a smile light up your face. You stood up, set your drink on the bar, and gave him a hug. His strong, large, warm hands rested on your hips as you tucked your head in his neck and pressed yourself against his warm skin. He smelled perfect. Like the cologne you had seen in his bathroom one too many times and like him. Like his skin and his sweat and morning mist and almonds. 

You stood back before it got too weird. You felt hyperaware of his hands on your hips and how he had kept them there. “I was just talking to-” you turned to face the lady but she was gone. “Oh, she must’ve left.”

“Leah? Yeah we worked together last year, I told you about it.” He smiled and you nearly melted right there. That gorgeous smile that revealed a dimple in his right cheek and crinkled his eyes. “You look gorgeous.” He said as he took a step back and took you in. You spun around in order to give him a full view. “Absolutely perfect.”

“So do you, ver handsome.” You took a sip of your drink in order to hide your blush. 

“Come, I want you to meet some people.” You nodded and allowed Pedro to grab your hand and lead you through the masses of people. You spent the next three hours going from group to group. You knew some of the actors, either personally - well more like from some other party Pedro had invited you to - or because you had seen them in some show or movie. You politely listened to whatever they had to say and then kissed everyone goodbye before moving on to the next group. 

Though sometimes what the actors were saying was interesting, the thing that took your attention away the most was Pedro. Whenever he laughed, he would clap his hand on his chest and lean backwards. You couldn’t stop paying attention to the heat coming from his hand when he would place in on your lower back as he guided you to the next group. 

It was around eleven o’clock when you stepped outside from some air. Pedro had offered to fill up your drink but you refused as you were starting to feel a little light headed. So, instead, he went to get you both a snack and a glass of water. 

You were standing in the apartment’s balcony, it was pretty high up but it had the most breath-taking view of the city. All around you lights from different buildings and streets winked up at you. You took a deep breath in and gripped the railing of the balcony. You were alone and did not hear when Pedro came out. 

“Hey there.” He said, he was holding a bowl of peanuts and a glass of water. “I already had some water; I hope you don’t mind sharing.” He grinned sheepishly. 

“Of course I don’t mind, silly.” You smiled and took the glass. “Thank you.” You said as you popped a peanut into your mouth. 

You sat down on one of the outdoor sofas and, sighing, lifted your legs so they laid across Pedro’s lap. You both quietly munched on the snack and stared at the sky. Pedro moved your dress out of the way, lifting the hem until your knees. He began drawing on your leg and you nearly groaned out loud at how good his touch felt. 

“So, how long are you in New York for?” you finally asked. You always dreaded this answer, he wasn’t here for long, always in one country or another filming. 

Of course, you were happy for him. He was doing what he had always dreamed of doing but a small – or large – part of you was selfish and wanted him to stay in New York so you could see him every day. 

“For a while.” He said. You look up at him and smiled. 

“Really? No show to shoot? No premier or award show to attend?” you tried to hide your excitement but failed miserably. 

“No.” he laughed. “I’m all yours.” He said as his finger glided up and down your leg. 

“Awesome.” You said, unsure what else to say. I wish you were all mine… 

“Hmm?”

“What?” you echoed looking up at him. 

“What did you just say?” he asked, arching an eyebrow, his hand had frozen highway up your shin. 

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” You sat up, pulling your legs away from him. “Fuck, did I say “I wish you were all mine” out loud? Fuck.” you thought. You probably had had more to drink than you had initially thought. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. 

“Yes, anyway I better get going.” You quickly stood up and before he had the chance to follow, you dashed inside. “Thanks for inviting me.” 

Quickly, you made your way through the crowds of people, carefully avoiding those you knew were chatterboxes, and left the apartment. You looked behind you and nervously began pressing the call button for the elevator. As soon as it opened, you darted inside and began repeatedly pressing the close button. 

Soon enough, the elevator reached the reception and you bolted across it. You waved goodbye to the concierge who had helped you earlier last night and quickly glanced over your shoulder as you stepped outside. Pedro was nowhere to be seen and you weren’t sure whether to be disappointed or relived. You hailed a taxi down, but they all zoomed past you, either busy or completely ignoring you. 

“Hey.” You heard Pedro call your name from behind. “Where are you running off to?” he tapped your shoulder and you spun around. 

“Hi, sorry. Just gotta get home, yknow.” You smiled, trying to play it cool but Pedro saw right past your act. 

“Okay, let me accompany you.” He stood beside you and hailed a taxi down. Of course, they immediately listened to him. He opened the door for you to get in. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to. I’ll get home fine.” You said as you got in. 

“What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t take you home?” he said as he too got in. 

Reluctantly, you nodded and he gave the taxi driver your address. You spent the ride staring outside and cursing New York’s traffic. Walking or the subway would’ve taken you less and maybe you wouldn’t have been caught up by Pedro. But the subway wasn’t the safest especially with what you were wearing and your feet hurt too much to walk all the way home. 

Pedro sat silently next to you, his hand on the middle seat, and eyes glued outside. When you finally got to your place, you jumped out of the taxi and thanked Pedro. However, he too stepped outside. He paid the driver and followed you inside your apartment’s foyer. 

You couldn’t exactly slam the door in his face, so you let him in and got into the elevator. You expected this ride to be just like the taxi drive, silent and a tiny bit awkward. Pedro surprised you by hitting the emergency button - which caused the elevator to jolt to a halt - and turning to you. 

“Hey, talk to me, why did you run off? And don’t say you needed to get home.” He said, he stood completely in front of you. You glanced up and mustered a smile. 

“I- well- it’s just-” you couldn’t help but glancing down at his lips and back up at his eyes. Those deep brown eyes you could just lose yourself in. 

“Yeah? You just what?” he prompted, taking a step closer to you. You held your breath, unsure as to what to do. 

“I think you know.” You finally said, you pushed your shoulders back and held your hands together behind your back. 

“Oh? I do?” he asked, he was so close you could feel his breath fanning across your face. It smelt like mint and alcohol and you so desperately wanted to put your mouth and his. 

Gently, he cupped your cheek and you let out a breath, your hands went to his chest as his other hand went to your hips. “Please let me kiss you, I’ve been dying to kiss you.” He whispered. 

You nodded and closed your eyes, waiting for the heavenly taste of his lips. Slowly, Pedro pressed his lips against yours, you let out a sigh that sounded almost like a whine, and pulled him closer by the jacket of his suit. You moved your head to the side, allowing him more space to kiss you. 

His lips felt so extremely smooth and soft, almost like what you imagined kissing a cloud would feel like. He groaned into your mouth and that noise made you weak in the knees. Pedro let his hand drop to your waist and you both walked backwards until your back hit the elevator wall. 

He pulled you up so you could rest on the safety rail. You wrapped one leg around his waist, the dress restricting your movement, and he pressed himself against you. Now it was your turn to groan. He was clearly hard; you could feel it pressing against where you needed it the most. 

He rolled his hips and you moaned again. Taking advantage of the situation, he slipped his tongue into yours. You allowed it and let your tongue dance over his. One of his hands move to your behind, he grabbed the soft flesh there and pressed himself even harder into you. His other hand went to your leg, he pulled your dress up, feeling how smooth your legs were. 

“Fuck.” He whispered against your lips as he pulled apart for air. “I want to-” 

“Everything alright in there?” a voice called out from the intercom. 

You jumped away from Pedro, slightly pushing him away. “Erm, yes, just an accident.” You coughed and tried to fix your dress. 

“Alright.” Said the voice. Pedro hit the button again and the elevator lurched into life. 

You let your fingers glide over your lips, reminiscing on how sweet he tasted.  Pedro was now leaning against the back wall of the elevator, not staying anything, as you stood near the doors. 

Finally, they opened and you stepped into the corridor. You could hear him follow you and wait patiently as you took your keys out. Once you found them, you fumbled with them until you managed to slide them into the keyhole. You turned the key and a small click resonated. 

You turned to face him and struggled to meet his eyes. He was staring down at you, his face tense as though unsure of what to do and hands in his pockets. 

“Do you want to come in?” you asked. Smiling, he nodded and followed you in. You turned the lights on and made your way to the living room. 

“Sit. Do you want a drink?” Pedro stood by the entrance of the living room, his body leaning against the door frame, and stared at you. 

“No.”

“Oh… Do you want water? Or some food?” you said as you moved your weight from one foot to another. Your heels were killing you. 

“No.” he repeated, his voice dark and low. He pushed off the door frame and took a step towards you. 

“Oh.” You swallowed and watched in anticipation as he got closer to you. “What do you want then?” you stuttered. 

“I want you.” He said as he placed his hands on your hips again. “And you?” 

“Me too.” You quickly said before kissing him. 

Pedro groaned into your mouth and grabbed you wherever he could. Your hands were on him like metal on a magnet. He yanked you up, hands on your ass. Your heels fell off, making a loud thump when they reached the floor, but you didn’t care. 

“Careful, my dress.” You breathed. He pulled it up, nearly uncovering your ass, and squeezed your thighs. He pressed you to the wall and continued kissing you. His mouth was wonders on yours, drawing out the dirtiest of noises. 

“My room.” You said. 

Wordlessly, Pedro pulled you off the wall and started making his way to your room with you in his arms. You grabbed his shoulders and felt the muscles underneath the suit. Fuck, you couldn’t wait to tear all this extra fabric off of him. Once you reached your room he dropped you onto your bed and crawled on top of you. 

You pushed the jacket off of him as his lips attached themselves to your neck. Like a starving man, he began kissing and licking your neck. His kisses were soft and harsh at the same time, his tongue sliding over what his teeth marked. You moaned his name and begged for more. 

“Clothes.. there’s too much…” you mumbled pushing him back. He laughed and began unbuttoning his shirt. Impatiently, you pulled his shirt free from his pants and undid the buttons at the bottom. Pedro grabbed your chin and made you look up at him. 

“Patience, mi amor.” he said, a smile creeping onto his face. 

“Don’t laugh at me.” You grumbled, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“I’m not laughing.” He finished undoing all his button. “You’re so beautiful, I’m just happy.” You felt a rush of heat making its way up your neck and down your stomach. 

“Oh shut up.” You covered your face. 

Slowly, he peeled your hands away from your face and kissed you gently. “You are.” He kissed you again. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” 

He was finally done with all his buttons. You pushed the shirt off of his shoulders and sighed in delight. Your hands went to his stomach, feeling the warm skin, and kissed him right above his belly button. There was a trail of dark hair leading down into his pants and for a moment you wandered if that hair grew there just to tease you. 

He kicked off his shoes and let his shirt fall to the ground. You pushed him onto the bed and pulled your dress up, so it pooled at your hips, in order to straddle him. His hands returned to their familiar positions at your hips, and you took in his chest. 

Sure, you had seen him shirtless before whenever you went to the beach or pool – or when you drunkenly searched up shirtless photos of him with your friends – but you had never seen him laying on your bed like this, his hands on your ass and eyes on your breasts. 

“I think now it’s you who has “too much clothes”.” he said, quoting you. His fingers went to your straps, leaving your ass cold, and with a nod from you, he pushed them off your shoulders. Slowly, the dress fell and left your breasts exposed. You though, you would perhaps want to cover yourself, but something about the way he stared at them made you stand up straighter. 

He sat up, pulling you against him, and kissed your chest. He moved to one breast, planting opened mouthed kisses onto the soft skin and held the other breast with his hands. He gently squeezed and let his mouth hover about your nipple. His breath fanned over it, hardening it. You pushed forward, forcing him to make contact. 

He kissed you softly, like he had all the time in world, and gently. But you wanted more, and you want it now. You had waited too long for it to be this slow. You told him so. 

“I have waited too long for it to go too fast. I’m going to take my time.” You didn’t know what was hotter, the fact he wanted to take his time with you or the fact he had wanted this for a long time too. He kissed you harder and took your nipple between his teeth. You moaned his name and grabbed his hair, tugging on it slightly. This earned you a small groan, you did it again and he groaned your name. 

His hand squeezed your other breast, his fingers pinching and rolling your nipple. You sighed in pleasure and grinded against him. You wanted to feel him everywhere and weren’t sure how long you were going to let him “take his time” with you. He was rock hard and you were dying to see him. Completely see him. 

He moved away from your breast and swapped sides, making sure both sides of you got the same treatment. “Oh, Pedro, fuck.” You said, each moan making him go harder and faster. “Please, I need you…” 

Pedro pulled away and tugged the dress over your hips. You lifted your arms, allowing him to completely take your dress off. He threw it off the side and groaned as he took in your entire body. 

“You’re perfect.” He leaned forward and kissed your chest. You arched your back, pushing yourself towards him. He flipped you over and held himself above you. You wrapped your legs around his waist and tugged him down, wanting to feel his weight on top of you and between your legs. 

“Take your pants off.” You said, your hands fumbling with the belt. “Please.” You added after he gave you a cheeky look. 

Pedro rose and quickly took off his pants. You sat up, resting your weight on your elbows, and let your mouth fall open as you stared at his crotch. His erection was extremely obvious, it was creating a tent in his underwear. He placed his hands at his hips. 

“Wow. Okay. Come here. Now.” You pulled him towards you and kissed him, eager to get to it. 

He kissed you hard, taking your lower lip between his teeth and tugging on it. You couldn’t take it any longer, you stuck your hand between you and down his underwear and wrapped your fingers around him. He winced when you touched him and let his head fall onto your shoulder. 

“I’m sorry, did that hurt?” you went to move your hand away but he grabbed your wrist. 

“Continue.” He begged. “I’m just… really hard.” He laughed, refusing to meet your eyes. You bit your lower lip and attempted to hide the smile that was threatening to jump out. You wrapped your fingers around him again. He was thick and, you quickly discovered, long. You began stroking him and his hips began rolling, meeting you halfway. Some pre-cum leaked out of his tip, wetting your hand. You squeezed your thighs around him, eager to have him inside. 

Almost as though you had requested it, Pedro let one of his hands fall between you. He pressed his thumb against you through your underwear and began rotating it. You moaned, bucking your hips. It felt too good. 

“Please, let’s…” you didn’t have to say anything else. He laid on your side and placed his warm hand on your lower stomach. 

“Is this okay?” he asked, slowly itching downwards. 

“Yes.” 

“If you want me to stop at any time, tell me.” He said as he stared into your soul. 

“Yes.” You looked away, terrified your eyes would betray your deepest secrets. 

“Look at me.” His voice was low and husky, it made that warm feeling in your lower stomach drop lower. You turned to look at him, the hand that wasn’t on your lower stomach tucked your hair behind your ear before returning to its position holding him up. 

He kissed you gently and slowly slipped his hand under your underwear. You gasped as his finger touched you, it was barely anything but with Pedro if felt like everything. He moved his finger in small circles and watched you, entranced by the soft noises you were making. You grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. 

Gradually, he slipped a finger inside of you, just one, and kept it there. You looked at him, mouth slightly open, and nodded. He slipped another finger and curled them. You fell back, unable to support yourself, and squeezed his shoulder harder. Pedro began slipping his fingers in and out, each time he entered you he curled them. His thumb began drawing small circles just where you needed it. You closed your eyes, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment, and opened your hips, giving him all the space he could need. 

“Fuck.” You breathed as he stroked something deep inside you. 

You arched your back, pushing your breasts into the air. As though by invitation, Pedro placed his mouth around your breasts and sucked. His kisses were harder this time but you welcomed them. Your hand went to his hair, tugging and scratching his scalp. The joint pleasure coming from his hands and mouth was overwhelming. You pushed your hips onto the bed and breasts into his mouth. 

“Pedro… I’m gonna…” you moaned. He picked up his pace and helped you reach the place you had been chasing. You felt that pleasure ripple through you, erupting from between your legs and reaching all the way down to the tip of your curled toes. It then rushed all the way up and exploded out of your mouth as a series of moans, whimpers, and pleas. 

When you finally came down your chest was rapidly rising and falling, as though you had ran a marathon. Pedro had pulled his finger out from you and was holding them in front of his face. You turned to look at him, your vision slightly blurry, and watched in awe as he slipped his fingers into his mouth, licking them clean. 

You pulled him to you, urging him to rest his weight on you, and kissed him. You kissed his neck, his sweat tasted sweet. You licked a line across his jugular vein and felt his rapid heartbeat under your tongue. 

“That was really good.” You said. “Your moans drive me crazy.” 

He rolled his hips against you and you moaned again. “Mmhm, just like that. You like this?” you nodded and he did it again. “What do you want now?” 

“You.” 

“You have me.” You looked over at him and gave him a look. “C’mon, you’re gonna have to be more specific than that.” he pressed his hips against you and arched an eyebrow. 

“Well… Okay…” you looked up, not wanting to reveal how flustered he made you. 

“Yes?” he cupped your jaw and kissed you. 

“I want you in me.” You finally said. 

“Lets get rid of these then, huh?” he said, tugging at your underwear. Pedro kissed his way down your torso until he was level with your hips. He hooked a finger around the band of your underwear and pulled it over your hips, knees, and, eventually, feet. He flicked them off to the side before taking you all in. “Fuck.” He said before planting a kiss right between your legs. He licked once before kissing your inner thigh. Then, he kissed his way back up to your lips. 

“Your turn.” You said, a smile tugging at your lips. Your hands went down to his underwear and you tugged it down, making him completely bare. You glanced down and let your mouth fall open. Pedro wrapped his hand around himself and pumped it a couple times. 

“I’m on the pill.” You blurted out. 

“That’s good.” He said, smiling down at you. 

“Are you- like, clean?” 

“Yes, even though I’m an actor-” 

“And a heartthrob.” You interjected. 

“Yes, right.” He laughed as he made his way back to you. “- I don’t go sleeping around with everyone.” 

“No, yeah, right, I didn’t meant that. Just…” 

“I’m messing, I know what you meant and yes I am. You?” 

You nodded. 

You reached your hands out and placed them on his shoulders, they were broad and warm, his skin felt reassuring under your fingers. You wrapped your legs around his hips, pulling him closer. Pedro lined himself up and momentarily pushed his hips forward. You sucked in a breath and shut your eyes, your legs squeezing him. 

“Hey, relax, okay?” he kissed you gently and you nodded, relaxing your thighs. He pushed in a little more and you let out a moan. He was stretching and filling you up in all the right ways. He pushed even more and you gripped his shoulders. His head fell beside yours, his voice was sweet like honey and reaching parts of you that you didn’t know existed. His words were carefully and perfectly chosen. 

Finally, he was all the way in. He groaned and rested his weight on you. He was heavy but it felt oddly reassuring, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and sighed, causing him to inch further into you. 

“Please, Pedro, move.” You urged. 

He complied and slowly pulled himself out halfway before sliding back inside. Each movement causing you to moan his name. You arched your back, pressing your chest against his, as he picked up the pace. Your hands were desperately moving up and down his back, one slid down to his ass and you gave it a squeeze. He didn’t seem to mind so you squeezed again. This time he reacted, he pulled himself further out and slammed into you. The noise of his flesh against yours was almost deafening. 

You grabbed his hair and pulled so he turned to look at you. His eyes were half closed, and mouth half opened. You kissed him and he kissed back with a force to match his thrusts. You felt him go deeper and deeper. His hands went to your face, cupping your cheek. You squeezed your legs around him. 

“Can I go on top?” you asked, pulling your lips away from his. 

“Yes, of course.” 

You both awkwardly rolled over and gasped at the new angle. His hands went to your hips, thumbs slowly drawing circles onto the soft skin. You spread your legs and moaned as you sunk further onto him. That feeling that drove you wild was starting to build up again in your lower abdomen. 

His hands started to guide you, urging you to rock forwards and backwards. You gladly complied, moaning at how gratifying it felt. One of his hand went to your left breasts and squeezed it. You leaned towards him and kissed him. His lips were a taste you could not get enough of. His tongue danced around yours at a beautiful pace. You pulled yourself up slightly and lowered again. He gasped. You did it again. He gasped again. 

“You like that?” you said. 

He kissed you harder and began lifting his hips to meet you halfway. As though this was a dance you had practiced for many hours in order to perfect, the two of you fell into a comfortable rhythm. His hand squeezed, tongue licked, hips bucked. It was perfect but it couldn’t last long. 

“I think I’m close.” He said, almost apologetic. 

“Please cum in me.” You begged, surprised at how pathetic you sounded. 

In one quick motion, Pedro spun you around, holding you tight against his chest as he did so. He grabbed your hands and pinned them over your head with just one of his and resumed the thrusting of his hips. Then, his other hand settled between the two of you and his thumb began rapidly circling your clit. 

You moaned and moved, chest pressed against his, legs wrapped around him and quickly squeezed. His movements were becoming irregular and sloppy. 

“Fuck, you’re so gorgeous. I’ve been staring at you all night in that dress. You’re - shit - fucking perfect.” He said as he pounded into you one last time before grunting in pleasure. 

Just then, the overwhelming feeling that had been building itself deep inside of you toppled over. 

“Don’t stop.” You said as you felt him slow down. 

Pedro listened and bucked his hips hard. You pushed your shoulders into the bed, hands tightly gripping his hair, and let yourself enjoy the pleasure. You rolled your hips against him, hyper aware of the warmth shooting into you. You collapsed into the bed, chest heaving even faster that before. 

Pedro collapsed onto you, his weight comfortably crushing you. You stroked his hair as he nuzzled his face into your neck. 

“Was that also really good?” his voice was muffled. 

“Even more.” You said, happily sighing. Pedro pulled away from you as you whined in protest, him leaving your body felt like a betrayal. You were left empty, cold, and bare.

“Gotta get you cleaned up, mi amor.” He laughed. 

He walked into the bathroom and you grinned at the sight. He had an amazing ass. Fuck, you couldn’t look away. You rolled over in the bed to get a better view. Your smiled grew even more when he turned around, his boner not fully gone yet. 

“Damn.” You said. 

“Thanks?” He plopped down on the bed with a towel in hand and helped you get cleaned up. 

Then, you slid under the duvet. He clicked into placed behind you, his arms wrapping around you and dwarfing you. He pressed a kiss to your shoulder and let his fingers dance over your thigh. And into the darkness, he spoke your name. 

“I don’t know what that meant to you…” He began. “But that was special to me. I’ve honestly been wanting to do that for a long while.” 

You froze as though remaining as still as possible would also freeze the moment, like any sound would shatter this dream and forcibly pull you back to a cruel and lonely reality.

“And, erm, you?” he nervously asked when you remained silent. 

You rolled around and stared up at him. “Me too, Pedro. I really like you and not just as a friend.” You smiled and kissed him. 

He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you on top of him. You gasped when you felt something poking your butt. 

“Put that away!” 

“You don’t want a round two?” he smirked. 

“Pedro!”

[fictionalcharactersaremypassion]

I've Got Somebody To Love

“Ay, lover, get up. We’re going out for breakfast.” 

It was decided on a whim. Ian sometimes makes remarks about doing couple-y things with Mickey. It’s just not his thing. He’s more than satisfied staying home, eating pizza bagels and watching a shitty movie. 

But he’s far more open now. He’ll go out to a shitty diner so they can eat overly salty food while the waiter tries to make small talk that he’ll ignore, just so Ian can be happy. And he’ll do it because he loves him. Plain and simple. 

“What?” Ian pushes himself up, rubbing his bleary eyes. 

“You deaf or somethin’?” Mickey swats at his foot still under the blanket. “We’re going out for breakfast. No pop tarts for us today.” 

“Why?” 

“My God-do I need a fucking reason to take my husband out?” Mickey is in the midst of grabbing a shirt, and if that shirt so happens to be Ian’s, well so fucking what? He shoots Ian a look of exasperated disbelief. “Jesus...” 

“No,” Ian is a little more awake and he props himself up by his elbows. He stares curiously at Mickey. “But you do hate mornings. And people.” 

“Yeah, well. I’m doing it for you. Said you wanted to do that sometimes. Get your ass up and let’s move.” 

Ian’s grin is blinding. His eyes are all big and doe-y like fucking bambi. Mickey’d be lying if he said it doesn’t make his damn heart beat a little harder. “You know I love you, right?” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Mickey grumbles, going into the bathroom to slather toothpaste on his toothbrush. He tries to suppress his own smile, though he’s more than sure Ian’s already seen it. “If you’re not ready in ten, I’m leaving without you.” 

Ian stretches his arms, just laying there for another minute or two. “I was having a really good dream, you know,” he hums. 

“Oh, yeah?” Mickey says when he’s done in there, his clothes already thrown on. 

Ian catches him by the loop in his jeans, and pulls Mickey a little closer. He peeks up at him through his eyelashes, his voice going low. “Fucking mind-blowing blow job.” 

Mickey grins, holding onto Ian’s chin. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. And maybe I'll get something mind-blowing from you too someday."

His words set in and Mickey shoves him away, laughing. “You’re a fucking dick.” 

Ian’s laughing too, rolling onto his back again. “You should’ve seen your goddamn face.” 

“Fuck you, man,” Mickey says when he calms down, shaking his head. “Ay, you’re laughing now but not you won’t be later when all you’ve got to touch your dick is your left hand.” 

Ian just raises a lazy arm to flip him off. 

Mickey shuts the door behind him, plopping down on the couch to wait. While he does that, he glances out the window, immediately wrinkling his nose at the sight across at the other side of the building. The couple’s blinds are open, allowing him to see them attempting some kind of yoga position. Thank fuck Ian never actually made him attend that stupid fucking yoga class this place offered. 

Yeah, he’s definitely not doing whatever the hell they're doing. 

What are they doing? Mickey gets up to peer closer. They’re making a box shape, he realizes with his eyebrows furrowed. Or a square? Either way, it’s weird as hell, them all stretched out and held onto each other’s ankles like that. 

Jesus, he could write a fucking book on all the weird ass shit that goes on in this place. 

“You ready?” Ian’s out now, running both hands through his hair. It’s grown out a bit since they’ve been here, not like how Mickey’s had been when he broke out of prison, but he’s got a couple pieces of longer hair like he did back when Svet and Yev were still in the picture. 

“Yeah,” Mickey turns around, and feels warmth pool in his stomach. 

There’s a familiar red and gray checkered flannel he’s wearing over a brown t-shirt. His jeans are dark too, just like Mickey’s. Overall, he looks almost strikingly similar to his fifteen year self, without the fringe, plus his freckles are much lighter now. 

And holy fuck does he look good. Ian’s fiddling with his phone, unaware that Mickey’s blatantly staring. At least for a moment. 

“What?” He says, puzzled. 

And well, at one point back when he was under Terry’s thumb, scared out of his fucking mind and hating himself for who he really was, Mickey would’ve shot back something in response just to get the attention off him. 

Now, he doesn’t have to. 

It kind of hits him right then and there too, even though he’s been open to showing Ian how much he loves him for a while now. 

He doesn’t have to hide it anymore. 

He’ll never have to go through anymore of his life pretending he doesn’t find Ian fucking Gallagher attractive or some shit. And it’s really fucking great. 

Mickey smiles softly, standing in front of him, holding onto a fistful of the flannel. Ian’s hand comes around to rest on the back of his shoulder, and they just stay like that. “You look really fucking good, man.” 

“Okay,” Ian says, amused. 

“M’serious,” Mickey murmurs. “Reminds me of some kid I used to like back in the day.” 

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Some freckly, alien looking fucker. Real annoying.” 

Ian laughs softly, kissing Mickey sweetly. “I could probably say the same about the bastard I have to live with.” 

“Go easy on that bastard. It ain’t easy to live with your ginger ass,” Mickey teases. 

Ian swats at his ass when they let go of each other. “At least I wipe the toilet seat,” he shrugs, grinning when Mickey rolls his eyes. 

“For the love of God, we were in fucking prison!” 

“That’s no reason to leave piss on it!” 

If that couple across the way ever unties themselves, they would see the two of them making gestures with their arms, seemingly yelling until Ian pushes Mickey against the window for a searing kiss. 

Breakfast would have to wait. 

[sociopathicartist]

Heya! I was wondering if u could do a headcanon of how Sans would act to being at disneyland with his S/O for the first time??

hey! thank you for requesting these, this was light-hearted and fun:) i’ve never been to disneyland before so forgive me if some of my stuff wasn’t correct, i’m going off of what i see online.

UT Sans Disneyland headcanons.

Being at Disneyland didn’t appeal much to Sans at first. Why? Standing in 2-hour lines for a ride and seeing characters from movies he didn’t get to watch growing up just wasn’t a very appealing idea to him, at the least, he could only see himself going if Papyrus wanted him to.

So when you suggested the idea on a random whim one night in bed, it took a bit of convincing to get him to go with you. It was a good portion of money that the both of you’d be spending, and he just wasn’t sure if the price would be worth it for the experience.

But eventually, your pleas got to him, and he finally gave in.

➭ road trip

Sans surprisingly did enjoy the drive down to disneyland.

He drove the whole way there for you. Since you took care of him in many other aspects of your domestic life, so when it came to things like cooking or driving, he always jumped the gun and made sure it wasn’t a task of yours.

He kept playing eye-spy the entire way down with you, stopping at the gas station for snacks (a lot more often than he should have), and jamming out to some tunes with you on the radio. He didn’t want you to be bored on the drive there, and his hand somehow kept sneaking its way over to your thigh and mindlessly rubbing up and down without any further motives while you two talked.

➭ hanging out at the hotel

You didn’t ask him, but you were pretty sure that Sans’ favorite part of the whole trip was getting to stay in one of the resort hotels. He always loved staying in the hotels when you went anywhere, which evened out since you also loved doing the same with him, but he was enthralled with the rooms. Why was there disneyland on the headboard of the bed? Why was the carpet fireworks? Why was this bed so damn comfortable? He probably could have sunk into the mattress and stayed there the whole time if you hadn’t pried him away from his all-famous napping sessions.

He also really liked just collapsing on the bed after being outside all day, and if you got within an arm-length radius of him you’d be pulled down onto the bed, trapped with him, and most likely not to be seen again until morning.

‘uh-oh, seems you’re stuck here with me now.’

‘Sansss, don’t do this again, I have to get showered off and changed.’

‘tough, my bones are locking up around you, can’t let you go, babe.’

➭ going around the park

Surprisingly despite his doubts, Sans actually had a lot of fun on the disney rides. He obviously wasn’t a big fan of the lines you both had to wait in and despite the looks you got from other people around you, he kept clinging to you like velcro the entire wait while you both talked to pass the time. You couldn’t blame him, even though he didn’t have skin and the heat didn’t really bother him, he didn’t like standing still for so long without doing anything.

He wasn’t too big of a fan of getting photos with some of the characters, (you could have sworn that he was a bit shy about it), but he did put on some silly mickey mouse ears and snag some fun pictures with you for whatever princesses or mascots you wanted to see. It was just a little bit harder for him to relate to wanting to see the characters that much since he didn’t watch these movies growing up in the underground, but he did love seeing you happy about it.

➭ snacks and food

This may be a huuuge shock, but Sans really liked the snacks and meals. Despite his ick for the expensive price tags, he was almost always dragging you to get snacks with him every time he saw something he could eat. These snacks were just so weird and a bit cool to him, food wasn't mickey mouse shaped or disney movie themed back at home.

‘baby, babe, try this.’

‘Sans, isn’t that your fourth one? Do you want to go get something else to munch on instead?’

‘ehehe, i know something else i’d like to munch on.’

He also really liked the themed dinners, it was pretty cool being able to see characters come out and walk around the tables while you both ate. Needless to say, this man was pretty satisfied with your meal options during your trip.

➭ souvenirs

Sans did find quite a few things he wanted to bring back for Papyrus and your other friends, mostly just cute little trinkets or figures. He did take fondly to some of the more sci-fi stuff they had there, and he couldn’t help but grab some stuff he liked that he swore he’d be able to find a place for back at home in your shared bedroom.

He wasn’t a big fan of the themed shirts, but with some convincing, you both got a matching pyjama set that you said you’d make him wear with you since he held up a doll of stitch and said that it looked identical to you.

‘babe, you can’t deny that the resemblance is uncanny.’

‘Sans, I love you, but it’s time to put the stitch doll down.’

‘i guess you’re right, humans aren’t blue anyway.’

[wonderwomanfantasy]

Hi, it's your favorite anon, Vash getting jealous of other flowers and remarking his partner as soon as possible sounds nice (is his pollen as hard to get rid of as glitter? imagine it stuck in their hair). Now tell me about Knives.

wow I'm so glad you asked about knives completely unprompted hehe but first, you did ask about Vash and the flower thing so let me expand:

Imagine Vash taking you to a sanctuary, watching as you run through the field in amazement, you've never seen plants and flowers like this, and for a while, Vash is just so happy that he got to be there as you saw this all for the first time. the look on your face is priceless and he's just happy you're happy.

then he gets this weird feeling in his chest when he sees you touching and smelling the flowers, getting your face close to the petals, and smelling them. It reminds him of when you go down on him. He knows its crazy to get jealous that you're smelling a flower but then he sees you have pollen on your fingers and he has half a mind to fuck you right there out in the open, pressing your body down into the flower bed and reminding everyone here (he means the flowers) who you belong to. and to be clear when Vash says that you belong to him, he also means that he belongs to you, which is why you don't see him running around flirting with all the flora now do you?

he would never do that tho...pin you down and fuck you in public I mean. he's still a little insecure when it comes to sex, he's hesitant to ask for it let alone ask for it in such an open place like this, but when the two of you get home he will pin you to the bed and ask if you like his flower just as much as the others.

as for the pollen... it's a nightmare, it's fine and sticky and ends up all over you, it's hell trying to scrape that shit off, made even worse by the fact that Vash looks so genuinely hurt when you try to clean it off. that he won't say anything but he'll just look at you with those big sad puppy dog eyes and now you feel guilty for trying to get clean in the first place.

Some men leave Love bites, Vash doesn't tell you when some of his pollen is stuck In your hair. He feels so dirty when he sees it too. because no one else even realizes what it is, but he does and he knows how it got there. it makes his heart beat faster.



Now Knives:

while Knives can do the same things with his flower as Vash, he absolutely refuses to bottom, you will be taking his cock and that's final. his vines are also different, they're spiked like rose thorns and bite into your skin when they wrap around you.

if you're lucky and Knives is head over heels in love with you or something (he is and you can't change my mind) the thorns might dull themselves a little bit, just enough that they dimple your skin where they press into you but they won't actually cut,

He also uses the vines attached to him to be a lot meaner than Vash. Vash holds you close to his body, Knives uses his vines to manhandle you into the position he wants and then whips you with them if you aren't being good for him.

even if he is in love with you, or whatever, he's still sadistic in the bedroom and is so ready to remind you that you are a pathetic human and he is the superior being here, you should be the one worshiping him and bowing to his every whim. he's also much, much stronger than you and is more than willing to remind you of that fact.

he's so keen to remind you that he isn't human, he doesn't get tired the way that you do, he could fuck you until you pass out from exhaustion and then go for a six-mile run. it's never quick when Knives decides he wants to fuck you, hell he probably took the whole day off just to fit you into his busy schedule.

Just like Vash, he leaves you covered in pollen, unlike Vash, he will verbally protest if you try to take any of it off. you work in a facility with dozens of plants, and human-plant hybrids, what if one of them gets the wrong idea and thinks that you're for the taking? absolutely not. Knives is as aloof as he is possessive. he may not get to see you often and he is cold even at the best of times but that doesn't mean that you don't belong to him.

---

thank you again, Anon.



[peachypinkygloss]

Rm ×yn smut plss

Swan Lake

pairing: dom!namjoon x sub/fem!reader

genre: smut, established relationship

word count: 2.2k

warnings: buff bf namjoon 👀, reader calls him namu 🥺, daddy kink (i had to, it's namjoon, come on), unprotected sex, fingering, brief handjob, size kink, praising.

He watched you feeding the white swans with a big smile on your face, throwing them handfuls of birdseed. The birds rushed for the food, their beaks dipping into the water. You giggled as you observe them swimming through the lake and Namjoon couldn't help but find you adorable, smiling like a kid.

You had insisted on passing by a store and buying food for the swans before going home. He gave in to your whims, as always. He could never refuse anything to his girlfriend. It was a Sunday morning, so there was pretty much nobody other than you two in the park.

You were crouched down before the lake, your skirt rising slightly on your thighs as you threw the last bit of birdseed to the swans. "Oh, no! Namu, there's no more food for the swans..."

He chuckled as he approached you, handing you his hand for you to take. "That means we have to head home, now, sweetheart." You sighed and took his hand in yours, standing up. You were pouting, still looking at the birds eating the last seeds. "Don't make that face, we'll come back tomorrow if you want."

He cupped your face, bringing your lips to his. He kissed you softly and you placed your hands on his biceps, holding on his big muscles. He backed away to let the both of you breathe. "Yeah..." You quietly agreed.

"Come on." He led you to the car as the snow crunched under your shoes, snowflakes melting as they fell on your cheeks.

You were his angel, his princess who he needed to take good care of because otherwise, who else would? Quite frankly, he never thought someone like you would end up with someone like him, but here you are, being the best girlfriend in the universe.

Namjoon likes small things, it's no surprise his heart chose you.

"It's so cold!" You whined while you crossed your arms over your chest, your hands running up and down to warm you up.

"I told you, baby, skirts are not made to be worn during winter." You scoffed at him, arriving at the car. Your fuzzy socks weren't keeping you warm, but to you, fashion first and comfort second. "Why don't we heat up a bit at the back before going home, hm?" Namjoon asked and opened the driver's back door.

You raised your eyebrows at him, immediately catching the hidden meaning of his proposition. "You have weird ideas, Namu..." You snickered, entering the car as he sent you a smirk. The car was already heated up since Namjoon activated the remote start of the vehicle. He joined you inside, shutting the door. "What are we gonna do, smart man?" You teased him.

"Well, first, I'm gonna warm you up." He smiled, showing you his cute dimples. He patted his thigh, inviting you to sit on his lap. You were about to move closer when he stopped you. "You have to remove your panties, sweetheart."

You bit down on your bottom lip, questioning him with furrowed eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, skin to skin contact is much more efficient, princess. You should know that." He looked at you seriously and you couldn't hold in your laugh. He was right, you couldn't contradict him.

"Of course, how silly am I..." You lifted up your hips from the seat and slipped your fingers under the band of your underwear, sliding them down your legs. Namjoon watched you doing it, eyes shining with desire.

You took the garment in your hand and shoved it against his chest, an amused smile crowning your lips. He happily stole it from you, tucking your panties in the back pocket of his jeans. You then straddled his lap, Namjoon's big hands settling down on your naked thighs, dangerously slipping under your skirt.

Your clit pulsated from the sexual tension between you and your boyfriend, wanting nothing more than his touch on your femininity. "I'm gonna heat you up, baby, don't worry." He sent you a grin as you felt his rough digits tickling your inner thighs. Goosebumps ran all over your skin when you looked into Namjoon's dilated pupils, his tongue darting out to moisturize his plump lips.

You moaned out as he traced his finger along your pussy lips, pulling them apart. With the wetness he collected, he gently flickered his forefinger on your bud of nerves, sending a wave of pleasure through your whole body. You slid your arms around his neck and brought his lips onto yours, giving him open-mouthed kisses. Your tongues played together, his own fighting for dominance as you gladly let him had it.

You unzipped your puffy jacket, incapable of keeping it any longer, already hot. You hurriedly removed Namjoon's coat as well, whining as his hand came back in contact with your pussy after.

This time, he pushed his middle finger inside of you, eliciting a little gasp from you. He chuckled, feeling your arousal coating his finger, dripping down on his hand. "Sweetheart can't handle one finger? You're so wet, I would've thought differently..." You clenched your pussy at his words and he totally felt it, making him grin. "I gotta work harder..." He said in a low voice, his eyes following the movements of his wrist, finger pumping in and out of you.

Namjoon placed his thumb on your clitoris, moving it in slow circular motions while his other hand palmed your ass cheek. "My God, Namjoon..." The call of his name ended in a breathy moan, your eyes fluttering shut as you threw your head back.

You could have one other finger, you were sure, but he liked teasing. A lot. He could spend hours preparing you out, giving you orgasms after orgasms because your pussy has to adjust to the size of his cock.

You began to roll your hips against his hand, riding his finger as your chest was going up and down faster. "I'm pretty sure you can add another one, Namu." You complained, moving your hips at the pace of his hand.

"Yeah?" He squeezed the flesh of your thigh, looking at you with an amused and lustful gaze. You nodded while your eyes remained close, focusing on that knot tightening in your belly. "Then ask nicely."

You frowned and pouted at his words, but you executed yourself anyway. "Please, daddy, I really need more. Want your fingers, please."

He chuckled, loving how you submitted to him so easily, how you so obediently followed his order. You were needy, always needy. He plugged a second finger into your heat, wet sounds echoing in the car as he pushed your juices around. "Mmh, yeah, you need it desperately, don't you, princess?" He said in a low voice, his plush lips staring at you viciously.

You moved up and down his digits as Namjoon formed a little hook in you, brushing right on your sensitive spot. "Yes, I do... Need daddy's fingers..." You mumbled under your breath, locking your arms around his neck tighter, your boobs squished against his firm chest.

His thumb pressed harder on your bud, moving in circles faster while he scissored your insides with his two fingers. You moaned loudly, the knot twisting and twisting til it couldn't no more. You gripped Namjoon's hair tightly and he pumped you harder, hitting your spot relentlessly.

You whined into his ear as you bucked your hips, staying still for a moment before your knot exploded and you came all over Namjoon's fingers. You rolled your hips lazily while he thrusted slowly inside of you, driving you down off your high. Your legs and arms trembled as you crashed your mouth on his, making-out with him as a way of saying thank you for the awesome orgasm he just gave you.

"Good job, baby, good job..." You hummed against his chest, cheek pressed on his pecs. He slipped out his fingers from you, his other hand soothing you by caressing your back in circles. "You must be ready now, what do you think?"

"Uh-huh..." You agreed, levelling yourself from Namjoon's body.

Your eyes travelled down to his crotch, erection trapped under many layers of clothes. You reached for his belt, passing the leather material through the metal loop. You unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers, tugging down on it as he raised up his hips for you.

You sneaked a hand under his boxers and he hissed when your warm palm met his hardness. You ran your fingers slowly on his cock, biting down on your lip as you looked into his eyes. You couldn't wait longer anymore, so you lowered his briefs as well, joining his pants on his mid-thighs.

Namjoon groaned as he watched you turn around on his lap, presenting your ass to him. His big hands immediately came to knead your ass cheeks and he pushed you down toward his pulsating cock.

He guided his erection to your hole with one hand at the base, swiping his tip smoothly between your folds which made him sucked air through his teeth. He spread your cum on his shaft by pumping himself a couple of times and he noticed the impatience glinting in your eyes so he entered you carefully.

You both moaned out in unison at the intrusion of Namjoon's dick in your cunt, but he slid in so easily, nothing refraining him from penetrating you. You were holding yourself up on his muscly thighs, nails sinking into his skin as he bottomed out inside of you.

"So tight, baby... Such a great pussy, fuck." At this point, you were wondering if it wasn't just his cock that was too big for you. He gripped your hips tightly, definitely leaving bruises. "Bounce on my cock, sweetheart. You can do it."

"I can do it..." You repeated Namjoon's words, which gave you the energy to start rolling your hips on his, his manly hands still secured on you.

The car's windows were now foggy and you were very hot. Sweat was forming at the nape of your neck, making your hair all wet and sticky. You were panting heavily and so was Namjoon.

"Shit... yeah, there we go, baby." He purred, guiding your movements as his cock brushed heavenly against your sensitive walls.

You rode his cock faster, but your legs were tired. Though, you weren't going to end this because of your wobbly legs. Namjoon helped you from behind, slapping his dick in your soppy cunt when your hips bounced back down on his lap.

He smacked your ass, making the flesh jiggled as he slowly took the lead. He let you move up and down, the sound of skin slapping against skin invading the binnacle, but he started to thrust into you more often.

"Mph-!" You whined as Namjoon sunk his feet into the ground, lifting his hips up to meet the mess that was your pussy repeatedly. "Ah, Joonie!" Your mouth spilled out little 'uh, uh, uh's' while he pounded into you, balls slapping against your throbbing clit.

"Yeah, I hear you, princess... It's good, isn't it?" He grunted, his eyes looking down at the way your ass bounced around each time his thighs raised up. His eyebrows were furrowed, focusing on his high, chasing it to finally get his release.

"Mhm! Really- really good..." You said between moans, contracting your walls around Namjoon's fat cock, which made him throw his head backwards. You tried to steady yourself as best as you could on his knees, but it was tricky with him slamming his erection into your wet cunt.

Your hole began to quiver, the assault of his dick making you see stars and little clouds. If someone could make you cum twice in a row, it was certainly your boyfriend and his fat dick.

Your clit was pulsating, throbbing as his tip brushed against the magic spot inside of you. Your fingers gripped harder on his knees, holding on him for dear life. "Namjoon, my clit, please..." He listened to you and shifted his hand from your hip to the sensitive bud between your legs.

He flickered it rapidly with his middle finger, pressing on it to make you reach your high. You moaned out loudly, your second orgasm hitting you even harder than the first one, your legs shaking as your arousal dripped down on Namjoon's dick.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" The contraction of your walls around him was his last straw, shooting his cum into you. He splattered your insides white of his seeds, moaning and thrusting his dick slowly to milk himself dry.

He whimpered quietly as he rested against the leather seats of his car, his chest raising up and down. You sighed contently, moving your hips up to let his cock slide out of you. It was covered in both of your cum and the smell of sex was really strong now that you got down off your high.

You turned around again to be met with a tired Namjoon and you giggled softly. You placed shaky hands on each side of his face and he sent you a lazy smirk as you leaned down to peck his plush lips.

You traced a heart on the window beside you in the fog, little droplets of water dripping down the glass. Namjoon watched you, smiling and holding you against his chest.

It was time to get home now.

[frostytherobot]

Alright. Because I’m thinking about Creep as a film series because they just announced more Creep in the form of THE CREEP TAPES (I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG… it’s not a movie but a TV SHOW!!!) I’m just gonna ramble a little bit about why those movies are so important to me.

First, though:

^ That’s my Creep tattoo. I got it over a year ago and show it off whenever I can.

So, onward.

I watched the first Creep movie for the first time during quarantine lockdown. It was like March of 2021? (Hold on, let me link the episode of my podcast for that.) (Yup. Don’t mind my pre-T voice.) That was like one of the loneliest times of my life. You know how it was, you were there, too. Fucking. Awful. I felt like there was just this bubble of sadness around me and nobody could get through to me. Sure, I had friends I could talk to over the internet, but that can only get you so far. Especially when they have their own lives and you can’t see them face to face.

One night, my two best college buddies and I decided we should watch it for our podcast. That was the one thing we could do that we could talk to each other consistently with, so we went for it. And, fuck. You can hear in that episode how freaked out that movie made us! We talk about human behaviors and the compulsion to kill and where that stems from, the relationship between politeness and gender roles, and lot of other related topics in that episode. It’s a smart film that knows how to suck you into the reality; you see these two men up close and personal, their odd behaviors, and the found footage formatting and intimate setting make you feel as though you are there witnessing all of this with them. As them. Those awkward moments make you cringe; watching Josef admit to stalking Aaron, catching Josef on the lies, tubby time. Oh, god, tubby time.

And then there was the ending. The moment where the camera is left in the car, you’re left in the car, and you just have to watch as Josef puts on the Peachfuzz wolf mask, flourishes his jacket, and buries that axe into Aaron’s head. The shot is static. It’s matter-of-fact, and that’s why it’s so horrifying. He’s dead. You followed this shy, awkward guy on his journey getting to know an oddball all the way to the lake, and he’s dead now. And then, the murderous oddball looks directly into the camera, and while he says Aaron’s name, he’s looking at you as he says, “That is why I love you. And that is why you will always be my favorite. Of them all.” Like he was thanking you for witnessing this event.

I felt like there was someone behind me for hours afterward. Josef had somehow gotten into my home. And that’s how it started.

Months later, we watched the second one. (Episode link here.) Of course we loved it. I loved it. It wasn’t as scary as the first one, but the intimacy and emotional connection was still there. That feeling of watching two people through their own eyes was still there. Only this time, they were trying to out-weird each other, or at least come together on a level they could both understand. The thing is, they were still misunderstanding each other. Sara is only comfortable with Josef’s Aaron’s freakiness because she thought he was lying to her when he wasn’t. The moment she starts to take it seriously is when she decides to leave, and that’s when Josef Aaron pulls out the lies and the deceit to bring her back in. And when she comes back in, that’s when she starts being genuine, letting her guard down, and that’s when she gets into trouble. She starts to believe in the watered-down version of Josef Aaron, seeing the front of softness as a vulnerability in him, and to a point, it is. But she totally disregards everything else that has happened during this day as some kind of ruse, when she should have kept those moments in mind. He’s still a killer, and dangerous, even if he plays it like he isn’t.

Sara ultimately pays the price for entertaining his whims. I guess Aaron did, too, but in a different way. While Aaron died and became a part of Josef, Sara now cannot get rid of him. He tries to kill her, and she runs, refusing his gift of death and absorption into himself, but now he follows her. She’s literally moved on, but like a ghost or a bad dog with attachment issues, he still follows her. He gave her his heart, after all.

And then I got to putting two and two together on why exactly all of this was appallingly appealing to me. I was alone. I was drifting further into this state of paradoxical nothing-pain. And suddenly, I was being welcomed into a dynamic in which I was wanted. It was an obsessive want, but I was wanted. He got me. They all did. Josef, Aaron, Sara. Suddenly I’m seeing aspects of my loneliness on screen. The slow reveal of the odd personality traits, the waiting to see the reaction. Pulling those traits back in when they’re not met with the tolerance I wish was there. The staying when I feel so uncomfortable because I want to understand. Upping the ante in an act of bonding. Feeling like I’ve found someone who’s on my wavelength, only to find they weren’t as okay with the whole me as I thought. The sudden urge to end it all. To kill the relationships. Move on, knowing they were dead, but I could still have the memories. They were getting distant. I could do it, you know. Just end it all right then.

Of course, I didn’t do that. But I felt it. I felt it a lot during that time.

I’ve not been super mentally healthy over my time being alive. I’ve been hospitalized for it. Not a fun experience, by the way. But that was another aspect that just drew me closer to Peachfuzz. He’s funny, and weird, and unstable. Always lying to appeal to the people around him because he wants them to stay, for sincere and sinister reasons. He’s terrible and lonely. I was terrible and lonely.

And there it was. Crystal clear. Los aguas milagros de corazón. I was taking comfort in a manifestation of something dark that I saw in myself. A mischievous, funny, isolated, totally fucked-in-the-head, murderous darkness. I wasn’t alone in that room anymore, and yeah, perhaps my company should’ve been something not so, well, creepy, but I thanked him for being there. I could put a face with the feeling, and the nothing-pain started going away.

He’s a friend of mine now. And I love him a lot.

[serendertothesquad]

The Ultimate Serendipity-Odd Squad Lore Post

Because you people keep asking for my entire story.

No, no, not my life story. Christ sakes, we'd be here until Gen Z'ers died off if I had to reiterate my whole life story.

No, I'm talking about my entire Odd Squad story. You know, how I got here to begin with, how I rose to fame, and how I am objectively still a god without a religion, a cult, or a religious cult. That story. You all want to hear that story.

If you're an oldie, you've probably already heard my tale at least once. If you're new here to the funny kids STEM show fandom, then damn boy howdy are you in for a wild ride.

Get a snack and a drink, pop below the break, and let's begin.

Allow me to take you back to the year 2014. I was the ripe young age of 15, finishing up my sophomore year of high school, and suffering from undiagnosed depression of the "I'm trapped in my own home" variety. We didn't have cable, and so stuff like PBS Kids, NBC Kids, and 4Kids were the only things I watched on a regular basis. In the online space, I was largely chronline to the tenth degree (and note the "largely", because, y'know...school). The Internet, and spaces like Tumblr, served as escapism, and I spent a lot of time particularly in the Wild Kratts side of things.

I had first heard of Odd Squad through PBS's own upfront, the PBS Annual Meeting, that was held in May (though the show was, as I would find out much later, officially announced back in January at that year's TCA Winter Press Tour). It was the network's first live-action show since The Electric Company reboot in 2009 that got swiftly cancelled, which was already enough to get me interested because PBS hadn't taken a chance on live-action stuff since. The premise, as well, was charming and incredibly interesting -- a secret organization that solves problems using math sounded a little saccharine and thus perfect for PBS Kids, but since it was live-action, I figured it could bring a little spice to the network in a way that not other kids shows of the modern network era (read: 2013 onwards, past the network redesign) did. The fact that PBS was willing to go all-in on the show, up to teasers, previews, even having two new games available for fans to play before its premiere, was practically the cherry on top.

Fast-forward to around September. By this point, teasers and promos were already coming out for the show that showcased Olive, Otto, Oprah and Oscar in action. And by this point, I was absolutely invested. On a whim, I decided to take my Sony camera and record a reaction video of me watching it. Was it weird? Yes, but I had no money for a laptop that wasn't a decade old and didn't run about as well as a computer from the days of yore. You make do with what you have.

Needless to say, when the first episode "Zero Effect" premiered, I was having a whale of a time. That's...pretty much all I remember. Aside from the swearing. Lots and lots of swearing.

(...Look, it was 10 years ago. My brain can only go on a decline after being fully developed. And the depression has been eating away at me for that long. When astrophysicists perfect the art of the time machine, call me.)

I uploaded it to my YouTube channel the day after the show premiered. No editing, just a straight-cut video of my reactions laid on the table. I figured, "Okay, so this would be nice to look back on and laugh, maybe."

And then, a month later, I got a PM from Joshua Kilimnik, the actor who plays Season 1's big bad Odd Todd.

Before I get into that, though, a bit of backstory for my channel is necessary.

I had made my channel in 2011, when Wild Kratts premiered. At the time, it was mostly hosting Wild Kratts content, mainly Top 10 countdowns of fan videos I stumbled across on Tumblr or elsewhere as well as Sparta Remix-related stuff. (Yeah, remember that old meme? That isn't as dead as you think it is? Yeeeeeeah.) Around the middle of 2015, it unfortunately got struck down pretty hard when PBS began to go Nintendo on it, viewed fanworks as threats to their IPs, and decided to rip down my videos from the 'Net in three easy strikes -- and with it, my entire channel. It stung, to see my relatively hard work go down the drain. I'd be lying if I said I had wanted the channel to stay up just so I can look back on it in 5 years and cringe at how juvenile it was. Christ sakes, I even had MLP stuff up there at one point. Why? Don't ask me. I wasn't even watching the show at the time. I truly got into it when Season 5 began airing.

But back to the PM. You know, back when YouTube gave you the option to PM people.

Getting the PM from Joshua, I was, naturally, suspect. Celebrity impersonators are all too common, and as I would later come to find out, Odd Squad was not exempt. I had to laugh, because an autistic nobody like me getting a PM from a child actor who was in the industry long before Odd Squad was like Ariana Grande up and inviting me to have dinner with her because I made a few comments about her diction. It's a miracle, people. Miracles that only happen to those with life-threatening illnesses or those who have done good for the community. I had neither of those. Unless you count me going to high school as doing the community a service, in which case I have one of those things.

I read the PM again. And again. And again. And something in me thought, "Maybe...just maybe...this guy is actually legitimate. Maybe he's telling the truth about the entire Season 1 cast and the show's crew members, creators included, seeing my video. I mean it's 2014, what creator wouldn't look to the Internet for first reactions on their show?"

Fuck it. iBalled. I went for it. I reached out to Joshua.

And by God's oddness-laden utopia, am I so happy I did.

We immediately hit it off, taking our conversation from YouTube DMs to Twitter DMs (no, my current Twitter is not that ancient -- my time on birdsite-now-saltyman-hellhole is a whole different story) and discussing our hobbies and what we did. Joshua confided in me that he helped disabled kids, which, honestly, is a green flag in my book off the bat as someone who is, in fact, disabled. I told him about my animal shelter work and how I loved the show.

At the same time, I had posted on Tumblr about the show. Don't ask me what the post was about -- I honestly couldn't tell you, and combing through the tag is something I'd need a hell of a lot of motivation for -- but it somehow, by some astronomical means, took off. People came in like a small trickle. It was small, but over time, we built a strong community. I didn't exactly know how big my impact on people was until I read "how I got into Odd Squad" stories and saw my name pop up enough times to the point where I could safely say I was an inspiration to more than one person.

At some point in 2015, I had created a Wiki for the show. Fandom -- or Wikia, as it was called back then -- wasn't exactly new territory for me, as I had visited other show Wikis before. However, my Odd Squad Wiki didn't take off, and someone else ended up making another one that became far more successful.

...Yeah, you're surprised, aren't you? Figures. But not even I can lay claim to everything.

When the other Wiki took off, Joshua decided to dive right into the fire and engage with the fandom directly. Now, for any big-name fandom, this is everyday normalcy. The My Little Pony fandom has fans directly engage with cast and crew members who answer their questions, for example. But for small fandoms of niche IPs -- and oh believe you me, Odd Squad was incredibly niche back then -- a cast member interacting with fans was a huge deal. The hype only increased when Joshua was named an administrator, along with a few others, myself included.

Needless to say, Joshua being involved boosted the fandom's activity exponentially, and not just due to his spectacular acting on the show. Fanfics, fanart, fan videos...it was a bustling time of fan content. I can recall some of the most notable works just off the top of my head. The fandom got to be so busy that I made a news blog just to cover every bit of news, shifting away from my Wild Kratts news coverage to focus on a different show instead. I enlisted a few old friends to help me out, converted them to be oddballs (which, I will say, was a stroke of luck), and put them on the "staff team". My aim was to create something akin to Equestria Daily, but on a smaller scale. We did editorials, episode followups, and scoured the Internet for any and every bit of Odd Squad news we could find. It became a reliable source for many, especially considering PBS's horrible track record with even the most basic of news -- cancellations, renewals, and other such announcements. Not to brag, but I like to think I did a better job than them at actually giving news to fans who deserve it. (Hell, I still do. My hunger for even small crumbs of news is very strong indeed.)

I can easily recall when Season 2 was announced. Me and my friends were ecstatic. For me, I never thought Odd Squad would get a Season 2, and the Season 1 finale -- affectionately named OINFO (don't confuse it with "O is Not For Old", that's a different rodeo; this is "O is Not For Over") -- made sure of that. Originally, it was set to air in May, before it got shifted to June to coincide with Season 2's premiere.

And even long before that, the movie being announced blew our minds. I genuinely couldn't believe this niche little IP, birthed only several months ago, was getting a movie. And not even one of those specials that PBS markets as a movie as a ratings stunt. No, no, this was a full-blown theatrical movie. With A-listers to boot! And it was a damn good movie!

(...Okay, unrelated, but man, I'm reading through all my old posts and comments on the Wiki and cringing. God, did I really type like a 10-year-old back then when I was in high school? Egh gross cringe. The "let her say fuck" was strong with me back then.)

Of course, as most actors do, Joshua largely moved on from the show as the years went on. Most long-timer fans stuck around until the end of Season 2 before either other interests caught their eye or real life just got in the way too much. A majority of these fans dropped off the face of the Earth like an introvert who suddenly disappears mid-conversation, though they still popped into the Discord server a few times and I reconnected with one or two on Twitter. Hell, some of them even made a "hey, I'm back, and here's what's up" post on Fandom that made me ask if their accounts got hacked.

As a result, when Season 3 premiered, the fandom had slowed down to a crawl. Anyone who's bore witness to it, whether an episode or a nugget of criticism, can probably guess why. (And anyone who hasn't can feel the wrath of my "trust me bro" card, thank you.) It was like I willingly leapt off of the boat, it sped away without me, and I was trapped in the middle of fuck-all nowhere with sharks. So, you know, like Open Water if it was actually good. But the point stands in that I was pretty much all alone. I couldn't crawl to anyone for the sweet release of death after seeing just how hard S&P tried to avoid The Shadow's very obvious murder attempt by way of hacking into a car to make it fall into a lake of green goo. All I could do was scream and cry into a mic, edit, upload to YouTube, and let all the unsupervised kids looking for free episodes come to me in droves.

Oh, and post to Odd News. Until I accidentally deleted the account.

By that point in time, my old friends had all left due to real life commitments, and only one, Angelica, remained. But even she drifted away, and I was stuck running it all alone. So, I made the difficult decision to let it rot, and frankly...I haven't touched it since. Largely because I left Tumblr entirely and only just now came back. On the news front, I expanded my coverage to PBS Kids as a whole network, just as I do on Twitter.

It wasn't until the back half of Season 3 premiered that the fandom slowly but surely began to grow from planted roots, and I could connect with people again. Seeing people flood the Discord server and Tumblr, sharing art and news and theories, was amazing. Not for Season 3, though -- it was because of the past two seasons. Honestly, to say there's been more talk about Otis and Odd Todd than about any other character in the entire franchise is a hell of an understatement, because it dominated pretty much 98% of the fandom.

From there, new fanworks, fanart, and other pieces of fan-created media were created, and many still continue to be created to this day. Though hyperfixations can be yoted off the cliff and die in an instant (with deepest apologies to Shroom), it's great to see a burst of activity in such a small fandom. Hell, it even got big enough to where we had a Secret Valentine's exchange a couple months back, which was a real joy because it gave me a chance to flex my writing chops even if it did leave me on the verge of a third panic attack. And...the fandom being revived did land me a solid interview for a college assignment. Which, to me, is my own equivalent of getting a dedicated panel at a convention.

But this isn't a whole entire story about fandom lore. It's a story about me.

And honestly...I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little tired with Odd Squad myself.

Between the choking responsibilities of adult life (yay work), the state of my mental and physical health (yay depression and anxiety), and the franchise being fucked over sideways to Pluto and back by numerous entities (yay TV industry), I really can't just focus on Odd Squad anymore. Now, I'll give a fair warning to you and tell you to make no mistake -- my enjoyment of the franchise will die with me and my entire bloodline if the franchise itself doesn't die first. But I've found other special interests and hyperfixations that have grabbed me more than the funny kid agent franchise has. I derive more joy from binging the 90s Frasier series, Pretty Cure, and Neighborhood Wars than I do with the funny kid agent franchise.

Now, does this mean I'm leaving the fandom? God no. To do it on the verge of the franchise's 10th anniversary would be utter blasphemy. And I do plan on weaponizing this blog for more Seren's Studies, including episode reviews and character analyses I can't do with the limited resources I have. But the drive for Odd Squad is just...no longer there for me. I did not, unfortunately, get the "Odd Squad forever" autism. I got the "childhood is hell, but okay, sure, I'll make you a functioning competent adult to a certain degree" autism.

Maybe one of these days, amidst the countless new pieces of media that keep releasing, I'll be able to rewatch Odd Squad. It's worn out its welcome nostalgia-wise, but I find it to be a pretty enjoyable view when I take off those glasses and put on the "my God is an awesome God and that's why I try to attend church every Sunday" ones. I'm still making crossover fan projects to other IPs like MLP, Super Monkey Ball, and Precure. And of course, I'll be seated for Odd Squad UK to see if it's good or not -- I'm more than happy to take the bullet for people who don't want to see it for whatever reason, just as I did for the back half of Season 3. But for now, the drive is pretty much gone.

I will admit, I'm likely missing some stuff. My memory is absolutely terrible, and I had to go fishing for a lot of stuff to refresh it (one of the reasons why this took so long to release in the first place). But this is what I can dredge up.

I'm honestly proud of the little fandom I birthed. I could work a hundred jobs in my lifetime and still say that founding the Odd Squad fandom is by far my greatest accomplishment. I've met so many amazing people, seen so many amazing things, and really, I'm hoping to see more people in the years to come. If the aim is to introduce Odd Squad to new generations of kids, teens, young adults, and adults alike, then I'm all for it. Expose them to goodness. None of that Cocomelon shit.

Thank you for reading, and to all of the people in the fandom both old and new, thank you for touching my life in ways I never thought of. If you've got any further questions about my story, send 'em my way; I'll be glad to answer 'em.

See you all in the next Seren's Studies, whenever that may be.

[captain-mj]

Trade? A femur for Part 3 of Eldritch King Köing and summoner Horangi 🥹 (sorry if this too soon after part 2. Tumblr don’t do dates😞)

I adore this series so happy you asked! :) Also, there's a pov switch half way through here with no warning. I do not have an explanation for myself but you get a peek at Koenig's thoughts.

Part 2

Horangi had more dreams. They were confusing and muddled, but he got the sense of being picked apart. Something slithered over his thoughts, looking at everything he had ever experienced or wanted to experience. And the hand cradled him again.

Horangi woke up, still half in his dream. Part of him realized it must be Koenig holding him like this. It was the only thing that made sense. He held him so gently.

Horangi tried to sit up and wake up more, but his bed did not reappear under his hand. Koenig still cradled him.

He whipped up and scrambled, falling over the edge of the hand and tumbling into something else. An infinite void of nothing. There was nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Nothing to feel. Even smell was gone and he tried to scream but there was nothing. He couldn’t even feel his own throat making the noise.

Already, everything was getting to him. Could he die here? How long would he be left there? Please, Koenig

Koenig grabbed him by his ankle. The pressure was soft but there. He felt himself lifted.

“My little tiger. Be careful. Would be a great shame if you were to be lost to me.”

Horangi felt such panic. His heart pounded but he realized he could feel that.

Gently, Koenig set him down in something soft and he pulled away for just a moment. When he returned, he was back to his little human form. Well. Little comparatively. He was still much bigger than Horangi.

“My darling, are you alright? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I am…” Horangi started before letting out a breath. “Where am i?”

“My home.”

“Ah.” He was in the Fucking DEEP. Koenig had taken him to the void. The void felt shockingly comfortable.

“Don’t worry. You are not… exposed. Nothing else can see you here. There is no void that stares back. There is just me.”

“Can i…”

“Yes, you can open your eyes. I’ve made sure everything is safe for you.” Koenig laid next to him.

Horangi opened his eyes slowly. He was in a room. A very nice one. Soft sheets under him. A giant lush bed with rose petals spread over it. It had a canopy of dark green fabric that surrounded it, but it was just sheer enough that Horangi saw that there was a room beyond this. 

“You made this for me?”

“I did. I wanted a place where we could be alone. This is the closest thing to my home i can show you.” Koenig pulled him closer and Horangi was a bit surprised that he was so gentle. 

“I see.” Horangi answered softly. Koenig held him with so much care, like he was precious and maybe it was just because his brain had not woken up from the sleep and the weird void he had been in

, but he leaned in to it. Koenig kissed along his neck, his touch tingling and fizzing against Horangi’s skin. 

Horangi moved closer and bared his neck for him. Teeth sank into him and he arched his back into him. “My tiger. You’re so warm. So human.” Koenig licked along his throat. 

Horangi moaned softly. “Koenig…” The words tangled on his tongue again. A desperate need to let himself be linked to Koenig like he was asked. “Why me? You said I just drew you in but it can’t just be that.” 

“My little Gemahlin. I wish to please you. That is all.” Something spread Horangi’s legs and pressed at him through his sleep pants. “No deals. I am just courting you.”

“Courting?” 

“You find roses romantic. Pleasure is inherently romantic, yes?” Koenig ghosted his mouth over Horangi’s. “I have wine too. Would you like a glass?”

Drinking this earlier may not be the best idea, but Horangi was a slave to his whims and right now he wanted to give in for a while. He nodded and Koenig fixed him a glass. 

“Hungry my darling?” Koenig handed him the wine glass and Horangi sipped it. He knew immediately it wasn’t human. The closest sensation he could compare it too was bathing in sunshine with hints of a cherry flavor. It didn’t seem that strong in terms of alcohol though. He didn’t immediately get tipsy at least like he did last time someone replaced the sacrificial wine with something a deity gave them. It made sense, they needed something a lot stronger than humans, but Koenig must’ve thought ahead. 

“A little.” Horangi responded. 

Koenig nodded and got him some food. Mostly fruits, but also something else. It looked vaguely like pancakes, but Horanig was going on the “Don’t think too hard” train. He started to eat, moaning softly as the sweet taste. 

Koenig watched him adoringly and something swiped over his chin when juice started to drip down. While he ate, Koenig started to kiss down his body before carefully undressing him. 

“Remember, teeth.” Horangi warned, worried Koenig would try to give him a blowjob… A blowjob, breakfast in bed and wine. Okay, maybe this deity knew him well. Or at least knew romance well. 

Koenig nodded and instead kissed his thighs with reverence. Worshipping him. 

His tongue licked over him slowly and it wasn’t very pleasant. Too sharp and cold. Koenig seemed to realize this and his tongue immediately became soft and warm. He lapped over him before moving to lick at his hole. Slowly, he pushed into him, splitting him open with his tongue. Horangi jerked but Koenig kept him steady. He continued to eat as he enjoyed the lovely feeling. His thighs occasionally twitched but Koenig kept him open, licking deeper and deeper into him. Horangi drank more, feeling himself get drunk on pleasure and wine. 

Koenig waited until he was done eating to add one of his tentacles, slowly fitting him with more. He was dripping with his saliva and already rather open so he took it easily. 

Horangi moaned softly as he accepted it all. He arched his back and begged for more. “Please, fuck me like you did that day.” 

“Eager, Gemahlin. I will do anything you ask.” Koenig pulled him closer and some of the wine poured on Horangi’s chest. He quickly leaned over and started to lick it off of him as he worked him open with another tentacle. The prep was slow, almost agonizing. He knew no matter what, Horangi would feel some pain. But he wanted to minimize it as much as possible. He used the slick from his tentacles, all of it dripping out of Horangi. Another tentacle wrapped around his cock to keep him stimulated. Koenig knew how humans could be. You don’t touch them for five minutes and they’re soft. 

Horangi whined into him, thrashing. Another thing Koenig noticed. Even if they wiggled away, it usually wasn’t to actually get away. The stimulation just too much for their brain. 

Part of him wanted to reach into Horangi. Change him. 

Horangi opened his eyes and looked at him. Really looked at him. Koenig knew then that the sun rose and set on Horangi’s terms. He gently, oh so gently, spread Horangi’s legs to accommodate his hips. This form was… not the best for him. The skin felt wrong, but it was the best way for Horangi to perceive him. It had the fewest boundaries. He did not like blinding or deafening Horangi. 

Horangi wailed when he pushed into him, eyes filling with tears. “So good. So good.” He held on to him, fingers digging into his shoulders. 

Koenig kissed him, pushing his tongue into his mouth. He tasted so good. So sweet and it wasn’t all just the wine.

He rolled his hips and Horangi moaned. The tight pressure of his body threatened to drive Koenig insane. He’d lead himself to madness if it meant getting to enjoy this though. As long as Horangi came out unscathed but pleased, he was just fine destroying himself for this pleasure. 

Horangi pleaded for him to go faster so Koenig did. He pressed the heel of his palm to the bulge in Horangi’s stomach, making both of them groan in pleasure. 

Horangi’s hands went searching, but they clearly came up short. “Want to touch them again.” 

“I can’t look like this and provide you access to such… sensitive parts of him.” Koenig decided to not tell Horangi how improper it was that he even let him touch there. Eldritch beings, though they did partake in sex, did often go so far. Be so caring. It represented both intimacy and vulnerability, but considering Horangi’s position, he doubted the human either knew or was capable of taking advantage of it. 

“Blindfold me.” 

Koenig followed Horangi’s commands because they came from Horangi. Of course he did. He let himself fall into Horangi. Horangi’s hands were horrifically expert at playing with the small tentacles while Koenig rocked into him, trying not to weep. How could humans bare it so easily? With every touch and squeeze of Horangi’s body, he struggled not to melt into goo. 

He wasn’t sure if it was literal or not. 

Horangi did something. Some twitch of his fingers and Koenig came first, biting into his shoulder as he pressed his little prize into the bed. His hips didn’t stop though and eventually Horangi came, holding on to him tight. They started to kiss again. 

Horangi melting into him and soon, Koenig followed suit. He did not want to look human right now and Horangi wasn’t asking it so he didn’t. 

Eventually, Horangi pushed him lightly and he got off of him, watching the muscles in his body stretch as he moved. Koenig could remake him. Fiber by fiber. Molecule by molecule. But he already knew that it would not be as good as the real thing. 

Horangi did something for him he didn’t get. It felt strangely cosmic, but if it was, Koenig would know about it. All beings would know about it. 

What a thought. It could be a universal truth. Gravity makes items pull to each other. Magnets exist. Light refracts. Koenig loves Horangi. 

He wasn’t a fool. Again, cosmic being. He knew all about Horangi’s hesitations. Although he did his best to not go through his thoughts, only peeking briefly into his memories to understand him better, he knew Horangi lied about the courting. Could smell the fear on him when he had realized turning Koenig down wouldn’t be that easy. 

And it wouldn’t. Koenig would never hurt Horangi. Never do anything that would make his human hate him. But even if he was never welcome, he’d never truly leave. He simply hoped he’d never have to change Horangi’s mind. Well, that’s incorrect. He hoped he could simply court him and he’d fall in love. 

But if he needed to use his magic, needed to change all of his thoughts until he fell in love with Koenig. Well. that’s the price that needs to be paid. Koenig didn’t need sacrifices to do something this insignificant.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three - Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six - Chapter Seven - Chapter Eight - Chapter Nine - Chapter Ten - Chapter Eleven - Chapter Twelve - Chapter Thirteen - Chapter Fourteen - Chapter Fifteen - Chapter Sixteen - Chapter Seventeen - Chapter Eighteen - Chapter Nineteen - Chapter Twenty - Chapter Twenty-One - Chapter Twenty-Two - Chapter Twenty-Three - Chapter Twenty-Four

@nightmareglitter

Chapter Twenty-Five

Nancy burst through the door and ran straight into the living room where Eddie was sitting on the floor. He was happily playing with Holly, Tews, and Mayhem. It looked like they were having a tea party. Mayhem didn't look too amused that there wasn't anything in her cup. She looked at Holly. Come on, woman, food! Nancy smiled for a moment until the image of Eddie killing Steve popped into her head, and her smile fell. Eddie looked up and grinned, but it fell as quickly as it appeared when he saw the expression on her face. He stood up.

"What happened?" Eddie asked, and everyone's eyes were on her.

Nancy let out sob and threw herself into his arms. Eddie held her into his arms and caressed the back of her head. Steve came up behind her and placed a hand on her lower back. Out the corner of her eye, she saw her mother throw herself into Ted's arms.

"What the hell happened?" Ted asked.

"He's here. Vecna. He was in that house, but he was on the other side, the Upside Down. The bastard went after Nancy. He cursed her," Karen said.

"What?!" Ted exclaimed.

"No," Nancy said, pulling away from Eddie's arms. "He didn't curse me."

"It sure as hell looked like he had," Steve said, his face pale.

"He was trying to send me a message to send El a message," Nancy said. "I'm not sure what it was. He didn't get to finish. He's going to try and reach out to me again. We're going to have to let him."

"Nope! Nope! Absolutely not!" Eddie exclaimed, looking sick.

"He's not going to kill me," Nancy said. "At least not yet."

"What makes you think that?" Max asked.

"Because I think in some weird twisted way, he's in love with me," Nancy said.

"What?!" Eddie and Steve shrieked.

"Well, I mean, I don't think this man or whatever he is is capable of it," Nancy said. "Enamored is probably the most accurate word. Anyway, we have to know what his plan is, so yes, we have to let him make contact when the time comes again."

"Isn't there another way?" Karen asked.

"I'm sorry, but it has to happen. We have to know what his plans are," Nancy said. "He already showed me a glimpse."

"And what if he's lying to you?" Lucas asked.

"He could be, but I don't think so. He thrives of other's pain. He enjoys it. And what he showed me. . . " Nancy sobbed and pressed a hand to her lips. "Four gates opening up across Hawkins until they meet in the middle to form one giant super gate. Four gates. Four chimes. Four victims."

Everyone in the room went silent as they let the information sink in.

"Holy shit," Dustin cursed. "He's creating a psychic connection with his victims to open a gate into our world. Chrissy, Fred, Patrick. . .and now. . ."

"Me, one more to go, and he opens the supergate," Max said, trembling.

"Is it possible. . . ," Nora started to say and bit her lip. "Is it possible that whoever or whatever is doing this is originally from here and is trying to get back home?"

"Shit, that's very likely," Dustin said.

"He did say he had a message for El. Maybe it's someone from the lab," Max said.

"Like another experiment?" Lucas asked, and Max nodded. "Shit."

"Okay, if we're are going to kill this fucker, how are we going to open a gate to get there?" Eddie asked. "I only see visions."

"If he's using his victims to get into our world, then it's possible that the gates are opened right where they died," Dustin said. "Which means there's a gate opened at the Bensons, at the Byers, and now at my house. We have to check it out."

"Look, I know you want to go right now, but it's late, and I'm sure you're all tired," Karen said.

"Look, Holly's fallen asleep in her tea set," Ted said.

Sure enough, Holly had curled up amongst the cups with the cats on either side while she snoozed away.

"Shit. I forgot Holly was in here," Karen said and went to pick her up, which caused her to stir. "Come on, sweetheart."

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Are we all going to die?" Holly asked.

A cold feeling washed over Nancy like someone had just poured water all over her. Everyone in the room looked at Holly. It was quite a startling thing for a little girl to say.

"Not today, sweetheart, go back to sleep," Karen said, her face pale.

"Okay," Holly said and buried her face in her mother's neck as she carried her upstairs.

"Fuck!" Eddie exclaimed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I highly doubt anyone is going to get any sleep tonight," Steve said. "I mean, except for Holly."

"And highly doubt anyone is going to want to be separated from each other," Ted sighed. "Everyone is welcome to stay here."

"Well, that means a lot coming from you, Ted," Dustin said sarcastically.

"Watch your tone, son," Ted said, without any real heat.

Sue and Charles took the guest room. Lucas, Max, Erica, and Dustin took Mike's room. Robin was happy to share the living room with her parents. Nancy, Steve, and Eddie would be sleeping in her old room. Lily and Agent Stinson would be taking shifts to watch over them. Before Nancy moved to follow her boyfriends, Max stopped her.

"Nancy, would it still be okay if I joined your little sessions?" Max asked.

"Of course, you were always welcome," Nancy said.

"What do you guys do there anyway?" Max asked.

"Well, sometimes we talk, sometimes we just sit there and enjoy each other's company. It's whatever we decide on. Sometimes, we scream, and sometimes, we break things. We go to the junkyard for that. A lot of times, it's just us venting, and we talk about what we write in our journals," Nancy said. "We even talk about our most darkest thoughts, and there's no judgment. We just make sure that we're not alone. Oh! And we also do drawing and coloring nights!"

Max stared at her thoughtfully, her arms crossed.

"You break things, huh?" Max asked, and Nancy laughed. "Can my mom come?"

"Sure, Max."

"Thanks, Nancy, goodnight," Max said and hugged her quickly before running off.

Steve was right, though. Everyone had a restful time getting to sleep. It was Dustin who had woken up first. Nancy woke up at three in the morning to find him standing in the room with his hands over his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Nancy hissed.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you guys were, you know, canoodling or not," Dustin said.

"We aren't, and we're all dressed," Nancy sighed, and he took his hands off his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I - " he started to say when Eddie's head popped up.

"Dustin, buddy? Did you have a nightmare? I think we might be able to make room," Eddie yawned sleepily.

"Okay, one, I actually did have a nightmare. Two, I am not five years old, and you guys are not my parents!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Rude. I would never tell you that you're not my parent," Eddie said and laid his head on Steve’s back, continuing to sleep completely on top of him.

Mayhem meowed and slithered out from under the blankets before jumping into Dustin's unsuspecting arms.

"We have to check out my house," Dustin said.

Of course, that was when Steve woke up. He flipped around, shuffling Eddie until he was lying on his chest.

"What's going on?" Steve mumbled sleepily.

"Dusty had a nightmare," Eddie said. "He wants to sleep with us."

"I do not - !"

"Aww, Dusty," Steve said. "Well, I think if Nance squeezes in here, then we can get you in."

"He could probably squeeze in at the foot of the bed," Eddie said.

"I do not want to sleep with my parents!" Dustin hissed.

"Hmm. I thought you said we weren't your parents," Eddie said, and Dustin slapped a hand to his face.

"It was a slip of the tongue!" Dustin whisper yelled.

"Okay, this could go on forever," Nancy said in amusement. "What were you saying about checking out your house?"

"We need to make absolutely sure that there's a gate at my house before my mom comes home from the hospital and gets accidentally sucked into the Upside Down," Dustin said.

Eddie rubbed his eyes and rolled off Steve, sitting up.

"Is that what the dream was about?" Eddie asked. "Your mom got pulled in?"

"By a demogorgon," Dustin said softly.

Nancy watched with a fond smile as Eddie rolled out of bed and pulled Dustin into a hug.

"Hey, man, Claudia's going to be okay," Eddie said. "Wayne's with her, and he'll make sure that nothing will happen to her."

"But if you really need to know, then we'll go," Steve said as he climbed out of bed.

"Eddie?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you wearing one of Nancy's nightgown?" Dustin asked.

"It's soooo soft."

"And so pink."

Once Dustin left the room, they quickly got dressed and walked downstairs. Dustin and Robin were waiting for them along with Mayhem.

"No, Mayhem, you can't go with us," Nancy said, and she meowed loudly. "You stay here and protect Tews."

Mayhem meowed loudly, flicked her tail, and left the room.

"Okay, you ready?" Steve asked.

"Shit, I forgot my backpack. It's got my radio in it," Dustin said and walked up the stairs before quickly coming back downstairs. "It feels a little heavier than usual. No matter, let's go."

They walked to the door and were about to leave when they heard Karen calling out for her daughter.

"Mom, go back to bed," Nancy said. "We're going to check on Dustin's house. We'll be back."

"I'm going with you," Karen said. "Let me get dressed."

"No, mom, stay here. Holly needs you too," Nancy said, and Karen bit her lip before nodding. "Alright, let's go."

"Hold up, I'm going with you if you're going to insist on leaving the house," Lily said as she came out of the kitchen. "I'll keep an eye out for them, Karen."

"Thanks, Lily," Karen said and squeezed her arm.

Nancy opened her mouth, but she didn't see a point in arguing, and she shut it quickly. The five of them quickly climbed into Steve’s car and started driving towards Dustin's house with Lily following in her own car. It was still quite dark out, which made Nancy all the more nervous. Dustin was right, though. They did need to make sure that Claudia didn't go home if there was a reason not to. When they pulled up to the house, it was already obvious. There was a red glowing light coming from the lawn. Nancy knew it was stupid that they even got out of the car. They already got their confirmation. And yet, they just had to get a closer look. There was a wide gaping hole in the middle of the Hendersons' yard, and it was covered in vines with a glowing red light in the middle. It was now where near as big as the gate that the others had described.

"Okay, it's not as big as the one we saw in Starcourt. Less mama gate and more snack size," Steve said.

"This is where Patrick died," Nancy said, and she licked her lip, suddenly aware of the wound she had received here.

"Okay. We saw it. We checked it out, and now we're going to go back to leave a message for the other two not to come here. Get back in the car," Lily said quickly. "Now!"

Steve suddenly turned toward them, his hands on his hips. One hand was curled around his bat.

"Okay, so now - "

Suddenly, a vine wrapped around his ankle and started pulling him into the gate. Nancy grabbed onto him, letting go of her shotgun and screaming as it started pulling them both in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mayhem burst out of Dustin's bag. Eddie picked up Steve’s bat, jumping in after them with Dustin and Mayhem hot on his tail. She vaguely heard Lily cursing before following them as well.

"Goddamnit!"

Chapter Twenty-Six

[2demon2slayer]

Who are the other Hashira in your Demonswap AU?

the hashira!!!!! i've been putting off answering this ask for forever because i was stuck on some stuff, but it's finally time to talk about the hashira!!!!!

so without further ado, here we go!!

Moon Hashira - Kokushibou (Tsugikuni Michikatsu)

there's something a little bit strange about this guy. he's not that old, and yet he's been around the longest out of all of the hashira. there's something a bit unnerving about him. something about the eyes, maybe...

Ice Hashira - Douma

grew up in a cult, nearly got eaten by a demon, got saved by the demon slayers, and decided to join them on a whim. he's pretty damn good at what he does despite his utter lack of care or motivation. recently, he stumbled across a girl whose family had been killed by demons, and so he decided to take her in and train her. and maybe he's kinda feeling feelings about it...

Martial Hashira - Hakuji

for a guy who doesn't use breathing techniques or a sword, this dude's kind of a badass. he just beats the shit out of demons with his bare fucking hands (or, actually with brass knuckles of some kind, but whatever) and he's still the third strongest of the hashira. crazy, yo.

Emotion Hashira - Hantengu

an absolute weirdo. a total coward. how the hell did this guy become a hashira? maybe it has something to do with his weird split-personality thing he's got going on. either way, this guy's kind of freaky

Sound Hashira - Nakime

this lady sure can play the biwa, so i heard. she works very closely with muzan-sama. word is that she's kind of his personal bodyguard of sorts. not to imply that muzan-sama would ever need a bodyguard. nakime's very... reserved, but she seems to be pretty good at what she does. her swords look kind of comical in comparison to her, but i hear she's absolutely terrifying with them in hand

Water Hashira - Managi

if he wasn't such a weirdo obsessed with ugly art pieces and "violence as an artform", maybe he'd be cooler. as is, he's pretty lame for a hashira. i've heard he makes mad bank off of these pots he makes, though. like, we're talking funding a huge part of the demon slayer corps through pots

Insect Hashira - Gyuutarou

once upon a time, this dude got saved from certain death by douma. muzan wasn't super happy when douma brought him and his sister home, but gyuutarou more than made up for it with his talent in the demon slayer corps. he's got an... interesting style of combat, relying kind of heavily on poisons and the like, but he's certainly no slouch. a bit skinny, though, if you ask me

Flower Hashira - Ume

the insect hashira's brother! she's pretty strong herself, but a lot of people think that muzan only gave her the rank of hashira because of her brother. eh, but that's probably just hearsay. she's tough! she's killed a good few demons in her time with the corps! she's a bit rude, sometimes, but she gets along fine with douma and gyuutarou, so maybe she's just... shy?

Thunder Hashira - Kaigaku

hey, look, we've got a newbie over here! this guy's only been with the corps for a very short time, and yet he's already a hashira! some people think he's a little undeserving, but he's kind of scary strong. also... a little unsettling. sort of in the same way kokushibou is. maybe it's the eyes?

[calliecwrites]

Self-Sacrifice

TooPowerfulException: program terminated.

I rubbed my eyes again, but the writing wouldn’t go away. It was there even with my eyes closed.

“What do you mean, I broke the system?”

It had all happened so quickly. On a whim, since no god deserved my worship, I’d decided to sacrifice my everything to the only being worthy of it: myself. It was meant to be a joke, really. But I’d felt a sudden rush of something, and seconds later, the world had stopped. Now there were white cracks everywhere, and janitors were sweeping up the rubble.

The one I’d spoken to leaned on his broom. He gave me a look. Those splinters he was sweeping up were the wreckage of my wardrobe. What the rest was, I had no idea. Bits of stone, dirt, something that looked like the arm of a statue – nothing that should have been anywhere near my bedroom. It was a mess in here, and in my pyjamas I didn’t look much better.

He wore dark glasses – they all did – and I could tell, somehow, that there was nothing behind them. Or maybe everything. I don’t even know what that means. But I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, not one bit.

Finally, he spoke.

“Worship is power. You know that, right?” When I didn’t answer, he sighed. “When you sacrifice to someone, your power, and the power of everyone who’s sacrificed to you, gets added to theirs.” He scratched a diagram in the dirt with the toe of his boot: boxes and arrows, all leading in to one point. “When you sacrificed to yourself, it made a loop.” He drew it in, and yes, it did.

“So?” I shrugged.

“So the power goes from you to you to you to you, adding every time! It never stops! The numbers go up and up, until – boom!” He slashed the broom through the picture, destroying everything. “Boom!”

Not to be a smart alec, but: “Shouldn’t you have thought of that?” I said.

“We never thought anyone would do something so stupid! Why would you do that?!” The janitor sighed again, and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s like ‘grass is always greener on the other side’, all over again. You have no idea how long it took to stop that one blowing up in our faces.” He shook his head. “It’s like you humans deliberately try to break things.”

“Wait, what?” I said. “You’re not human?”

He glared. “Neither are you, now, kid.”

“Uh…”

I glanced at the mirror. My reflection was weird. I’d noticed that earlier. It was so blurry I could barely make myself out as a human-shaped blob. There was nothing wrong with the mirror – everything else was sharp. Though I looked normal to my own eyes, clearly something had changed about me.

The cracks were wider now, and the white light coming through them was brighter. Everything else was fading. The janitors spoke among themselves. Eventually mine turned back to me.

“Look, we’re going to have to reset this universe,” he said. “Nothing else for it now. Hop over to another one, and don’t come back, OK? You’ve caused enough trouble in this one already.”

“There are other universes?” I said. “You mean the multiverse is real? But – I can’t just leave, even if I did know how. This is my home.”

He glared again. I think I had just dropped even lower in his estimation, if that was possible.

“You’ve literally become too powerful for this universe to contain,” he said, “you trashed the whole thing getting that way, and you don’t even know—?” He sighed. “Remind me never to try explaining things to a human. Go figure it out.” He turned away.

Powerful? I didn’t care. I wanted a coffee, and a seat, and maybe to wake up and find this was all a bad dream.

I felt something in my hand, and looked down. A cup of coffee. Had I just made that happen? It smelled wonderful, and when I took a sip, it was just right. And I wasn’t in my pyjamas anymore. What was going on?

The janitor turned back to me one last time. He pointed an accusing finger.

“Just don’t go trying this again, OK? It’ll take a while for the fix to roll out everywhere. We can’t take the whole multiverse down for maintenance all at once – Customers would notice, and then we’d really be in trouble, you know?”

I didn’t, but what was I going to say to that?

But: figure it out, he’d said. It couldn’t hurt to try. So I reached out with a sense I hadn’t known I had, and there were other universes everywhere. It was so easy I almost laughed. Stepping into any one of them would be as simple as intend, focus, and pull—

Also on Reddit.

[lonesome-witching]

Forever Starts Now

I was asked to do a sequel to Forever With You this time including the wedding. So here it is. Thank you for the prompt. It was lovely to write.

It does feel weird to not advertise myself in this bit. But prompts reopen this Friday, May 26th. Until then you can always check out my previous prompts or my ao3.

“I will admit, I had pictured your wedding differently.” 

Nancy looked up from where she was pulling at her white gown. It probably shouldn’t have been white. 

“Please mom, not this again.” She sighed as her eyes locked with her mother’s. 

“No, no. I’m not complaining.” Karen stepped further into the room. “You look good. Happy.” 

Nancy forced out a laugh. “Shocking because I feel like I’m about to have a heart attack.” 

“Second thoughts?” 

“No.” Nancy shook her head. “I want to marry her. I love her. But… God, it feels so… so final. Like once I walk down the aisle there is no going back anymore.” 

“Would that be an issue?” 

Nancy wasn’t entirely sure if her mom was trying to talk her out of this or not. “Not for me. I can’t even believe how lucky I am that she wants to spend her life with me but mom,... What if… She-” She took a breath. “She deserves better than me. I’m such a mess and what if one day she realizes that she doesn’t want to clean up after me anymore. I have all this trauma that follows me wherever I go and I keep dragging her into it. Just the other day I kept her up till 5 am, just because I was afraid to go to sleep. And she does it. She does whatever I need her to do every single time but someday she might get tired of it and then… it’ll hurt so much more if I go through with this.” 

“Sweetie.” Karen pulled her daughter into a hug. “How long have you and Robin been together?” 

“7 years.” 

“Exac- 7 years? Nancy! You told me you didn’t start dating until your junior year of college.” Karen exclaimed, pulling back. 

“That might have been a lie. But seriously mom, you didn’t suspect anything? Me and Robin were roommates.” 

“Well, 7 years then. In that time has Robin ever made any move to leave you?” 

Nancy considered the question seriously. She went over every single fight they had had. How they had argued when Robin forgot to do the dishes right after moving into their small Boston apartment together. How Nancy had lashed out when they went to a gay bar and Robin accidentally flirted with another girl several years ago. How Robin had shouted at her when Nancy pulled up her walls or gave her the silent treatment. 

But Robin had secretly done the dishes while Nancy went to the supermarket. And Robin had held her hands and assured her that she was just trying to be nice and that there was no one she could ever love like she loved Nancy. And Robin might have shouted at her but her words had always been kind and she’d spent her nights holding Nancy’s crying form. She had never run out, slammed the door behind her, went to sleep in the middle of an argument. Things that couldn’t be said about Nancy herself who preferred to run before she’d get hurt. 

“She never has.” Nancy admitted, almost ashamed of giving the idea any thought at all.

“Instead she asked you to marry her. She didn’t do that on a whim. She waited 7 years to be sure that this was the best for both of you. She knows what she’s in for and she wants to be with you every day of her life. I might not know everything about your relationship but I do know that Robin isn’t the type to run out when it gets difficult.”

“Nancy! Your wedding is starting in T minus 2 minutes. Please tell me you are ready?” Dustin yelled from the hallway. 

“Time to go.” Karen smiled at her daughter as she pulled her out of the dressing room. 

The first thing Nancy noticed wasn’t the bright bouquets of flowers her mom had picked out, despite what she had said when they were preparing the place. The first thing she noticed was Robin’s bright smile, lighting up the room. That same smile she was greeted with when she came home after a long day of fighting the patriarchy. It was an anchor, keeping her stable. It always made it easy to take the next step. If she could have she’d run to Robin, fall into her arms. She didn’t though. She stayed in check. Noticing how Steve leaned toward his best friend to whisper something in her ear that somehow made Robin smile even brighter. Nancy would ask about it later. Later when they’d be sharing their bridal suit that her own parents had insisted they’d take. 

She stopped walking when she reached Robin. “You look beautiful.” She whispered the second Nancy was in earshot. 

Just like the very first time Robin had said those words, Nancy blushed a soft shade of pink. 

“Today we are joined together to unite these two beautiful women into their holy matrimony.” Murray began his speech. Robin was snickering beside her. “Please tell me you have prepared your own vows.” 

“We have.” Nancy nodded with a smile. 

He motioned for them to start. Nancy could feel her hands starting to sweat. She could only imagine how nervous Robin must be. But when she looked up, Robin seemed as calm as ever, nodding in understanding and clearing her throat. 

“Hello, Nance.” Robin started. 

“Hi.” Nancy replied automatically. 

“Throughout these past few years you’ve changed my life. I remember being 17 and feeling like my whole life was one big error, feeling like I’d never truly be happy. And then you waltzed into my life, smooth as ever, staring me down as if I had just broken into your home and you were getting ready to shoot me. And I instantly fell in love. All it took was one look, one ‘who are you?’” Robin imitated Nancy’s voice as best she could, which wasn’t very well. “And I was hooked. So hooked I was frightened to talk to you for like a year. But then we became friends and I found an understanding in you that wasn’t just unexpected but it was so desperately needed. Since then a lot has changed. Somehow I have gotten you to fall in love with me. It must be the incessant rambling, I’m sure.”

Nancy laughed softly. 

“We went to college together. We moved in together. We build a home and we build a life. And Nancy Wheeler, it is better than anything I could have wished for. I love waking up next to you, whether it’s at 10 am, 6 am or 3am. I love holding you through our shared nights. I love spending hours debating which movie to watch just for you to fall asleep during the opening credits. I love when you complain about work almost as much as when you talk about it with pride. I love reading the first drafts of your articles. I love spending my time with you. And frankly, I can’t wait to keep doing it. I can’t wait to wake up next to you every single day of my life. Because most of all Nancy, I love you. And I vow to keep loving you till the day I die.” 

Nancy couldn’t help but blink away the tears that were forming in her eyes. “Is it my turn now?” She asked, her voice barely audible. 

“Yes.” 

“God Robin, I love you.” She breathed. “I can’t-” Her voice faltered. The instant those two words escaped her mouth, Robin’s smile vanished. 

“We don’t have to. Just say the word and we’ll pretend this never happened.” Robin had lowered her voice to a whisper. 

“Robin, I- I do want this.” She swallowed the lump in her throat, staring into those kind blue eyes that had never been more unsure. “This world isn’t kind to people like us. It isn’t kind to women in general. But Robin, when I get home and see your smile I don’t care about any of that. You make the rest of the world disappear and there is nothing I want more than to stand here with you today and declare how much I love you because Robin, my heart aches when I’m away from you and I’m convinced it shouldn’t continue doing that after being together for this long. I wish the world was different. I wish we could sign that stupid document that would bind us together legally. I wish I could take you to the office Christmas parties instead of having to pretend I’m still waiting for the right man. But you know what, fuck all of that. What we have is between us. And that’s all it has to be. And I vow to cherish every moment we get to spend together. And when one day in the near or far future the world eases up on us like you so believe, I vow to marry you again.” 

“Murray?” Robin said without looking away from Nancy. “Please tell me this is the part where I get to kiss the bride. Because I don’t know how long I can contain myself.” 

“No, no. First it’s the rings. Robin- Wait what is your middle name?” 

“No middle names.” Nancy and Robin replied in unison. 

“Okay. Robin Buckley, do you take Nancy Wheeler as your wife?” Murray asked.

“I do.” She said as Nancy slid a thin gold band around her left ring finger. 

“And do you, Nancy Wheeler, take Robin Buckley as your wife?” 

“I do.” Robin pushed the ring on Nancy’s finger with a soft sigh.

“Then by the power invested in me by your good faith, I pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss the bride.” 

Robin closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against Nancy’s.