#in an opening and closing image you want to show change you want to dramatically contrast where the character is at

[queerfables]

My two cents on Aziraphale's "I forgive you" is that he was straightforwardly lashing out. He knows how little Crowley wants to be forgiven. He knows because Crowley just told him. Crowley rejects forgiveness so absolutely that he rejects Aziraphale right along with it. It's the whole fight in a microcosm: Aziraphale standing there offering forgiveness and Crowley saying, I don't want it.

So maybe the words are Aziraphale showing he finally understands Crowley. He knows now that "I forgive you" is the very worst thing he could say to Crowley. That's why he says it. That's how he means it.

[horrorxweasley]

gojo and fem reader are best friends with a heavy sexual relationship— like so bad that when Satoru sees his bestie all his blood rushes to his cock. add a lil jealousy to that to spice it up

More than friends

Satoru Gojo x Fem! Reader

Warnings: SMUT 18+, MDNI, Jealous Sex, Oral (male receiving), Choking, Dom/Sub, Bondage/Restraints

Word Count: 2,638K

Summary: Y/N and Satoru are best friends….with benefits. None of their other friends know this, so when they all go out to the mall and Geto starts flirting with Y/N, Gojo gets heated and wants to show her who she belongs to.

A/N: I LOVE THIS IDEA THANKS FOR THE REQUEST ANON!!!! Hope you enjoy :))

Masterlist

Taglist

Ko-fi

It was a nice bright and sunny day in Tokyo, and it was a weekend which meant one thing. No school! Y/N, Gojo, Geto and Shoko were out on a trip to the mall for a well deserved break from school. The four had been friends since their first year at Jujitsu High, Y/N was a transfer student at the time but soon found her peace with these crazy three. 

Y/N and Shoko were leading the way, laughing at whatever they were talking about. It was good to get a bit of girl time while Gojo and Geto struggled behind carrying you and Shoko’s bags. There weren’t that many, you’re convinced they're just being dramatic. 

Gojo and Geto didn’t mind really, they were just putting it on. Part of their “cool guy” personalities you know? Gojo couldn’t concentrate on anything other than staring at you anyways, he could feel the blood rushing to his cock just from the sight of you. He had to quickly cover his crotch with the bags he was carrying, suppressing a blush. As you and Gojo had been secretly fucking behind closed doors for quite some time. Not dating, no, just fucking. Sometimes Gojo would often dream that you two were actually dating, he would love to show you off, spoil you, kiss you freely without fear of getting caught. He often wondered if you felt the same way. 

“Guys! That new ramen bar is open just down to the right!” Y/N yells back at the boys “Lets go try it!”. Ramen was always your favourite, you would eat it 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner if you could. “Yeah sure, I'm getting quite hungry myself anyways, what about you Satoru?” Geto asks, “Yeah I'm down” Gojo smiles looking straight at you. 

The four of you were sitting in the booth at the new Ramen place. Get was sitting next to you, Gojo across from you and Shoko next to him. Normally you sat next to Gojo but he decided he wanted to look at you as he ate this time round. 

“My my Y/N, not often I get to sit next to such a pretty lady such as yourself” Geto purred next to you, playfully flirting due to the change in normal seating arrangement. You almost choke on your ramen as he says this stifling a laugh clearly knowing that he was being playful. 

“I could say the same for you, sitting next to such a handsome strong man” You smirked leaning onto his shoulder. Both of you are smiling and chuckling slightly. Shoko laughed along with you as well, you knew she had a thing for Geto but at least she wasn’t jealous of your playful flirting. 

Gojo on the other hand was faking a smile as he continued to eat his ramen. He knew it was just a joke but hearing you talk that way to another man, never mind that man being Geto of all people, stuck something inside of him that made him unbelievably jealous. If his eyes weren’t such a bright blue you couldn't have sworn they would turn red with rage. Geto put his arm around you kissing you on the head laughing. This image continued to play in Gojos mind for the rest of the day. 

Once you had all finished eating your ramen til you were so full you could barely move. You all agreed it was time for you all to head back to your apartments. Geto and Shoko lived in the opposite direction as you and Gojos apartments. So half way back you both said your goodbyes to each other.

“Goodbye beautiful” Geto winked, blowing you a kiss. You pretended to catch the kiss and put it in your pocket “Bye Suguruuuu” you sang. Then you hug Shoko goodbye before turning round and beginning the silent walk home with Gojo by your side. 

Once you got back to your apartment, you were expecting to turn round to say goodbye to Gojo but instead found him following you into your home. Although you weren’t expecting this it wasn’t at all unusual for Gojo to join you in your home after a day out. So you let him follow you in without a question. 

As soon as you lock the door behind you, Gojo drops your bags (you forgot he was carrying) and pins you to the door. Your eyes widen as he does this, “Toru?” you begin to talk but Gojo cuts you off with his hand over your mouth, a whine leaving you as he does this. 

“What was that all about back there with Suguru huh? You're just gonna whore yourself out to anyone now?” He growls. 

“I-it was just for show Toru, we don’t actually feel that way for each other”

“Is that right? Seemed pretty convincing to me” He was clearly angry and hurt.

“Why do you even care, it's not like we’re dating”

“Oh i wanna change that real fucking soon darling, but first i’m gonna fuck you”

Gojo’s lips crashed down onto yours before you could even protest. The sweet taste of him coating your lips causes you to melt into the kiss. He had one hand on the back of your neck, the other on your waist as he pinned you to the door with his body. Your hands were laying on his muscular chest, gripping onto his t-shirt. 

Gojo forced his tongue into your mouth, shoving it so far down your throat you gag a little bit. That noise drives him even more crazy. You feel your knees buckle from beneath you and Gojo takes advantage of this, lifting you up easily as if you were nothing. His hands rested under your ass as your legs wrapped around his waist as you made out. 

Gojo growled and moaned into your mouth as he could feel your heat just resting over his crotch. All these noises coming from your best friend were sending you into a place you've never been before, your panties were so incredibly wet they could probably rip in half. 

The soft feeling of the bed hit your back as Gojo threw you, instantly climbing on top of you only breaking your kiss to take a breath every now and then. “Fuck Y/N, y’make me go crazy” Gojo moans onto your mouth. You could feel his hard cock through his trousers pushing down onto you, it hurt slightly due to how big he was, but it was a pain you craved when he wasn’t around. 

His touch felt like lightning against your skin as he pulled your shirt over your head, almost ripping it with desperation. Skillfully taking your bra off with one hand discarding all of your clothing onto the floor. Leaving you and only you, naked and vulnerable, just how Gojo liked you. Gojo stands up from the bed and knowing your place you stand lying down. 

“Fuck look at you” he laughs “you’re fucking beautiful you know that?” 

His sincerity almost made you tear up as you watched his bright blue eyes swim all over your naked form. 

“And you’re all fucking mine, you got that whore?” his eyes darken as his jealousy over earlier today begins to front. 

Gojo walks over to the drawer in your bedroom where you keep all of your toys. He skims the contents for a few minutes before pulling out a stretcher bar and handcuffs. The stretcher bar clips on to your ankles to keep your legs spread wide open. Gojo approaches you with the restraints smirking darkly at you. He forces your legs apart and straps you into the stretcher bar, then trails his hand up your body making you shiver before handcuffing you. You stare up at Gojo, his bright eyes glowing in the dimly lit room. 

“Who owns you?” 

“Y-you do ‘Toru” 

“Good girl” he purrs

He begins to strip from his clothes. Starting with his shirt, pulling it over his head, his muscles flexing as he does so. Gojo was fit, really fit, his abs were so defined it had you drooling. Then his trousers, he brought his fingers down to the zip and slowly pulled it down, he knew what he was doing, he was teasing you. You whine at his teasing and he chuckles in response. He drops his trousers and all that's left is his boxers, his hard cock begging to be released from behind the fabric. 

“Take them off…please” you say, squeezing your legs together trying to get some sort of friction from the sight before you.

“So impatient” he laughs

His boxers fall to the floor releasing his cock, it hits his lower stomach with a slap. You moan at the sight, the tip of his cock, red and dripping with precum. 

“Gonna be a good girl f’me and suck my cock?” 

All you can do is nod your head, not wanting to waste time on words, you needed him and you needed him now. Gojo laughs at your patheticness and walks over to the bed. He pulls you to the edge, hanging your head over the side of the bed, at the perfect height for him to shove his cock down your throat. 

“Go on, open that pretty little mouth for me” 

As soon as you do, Gojo thrusts into your mouth, slowly pushing until you take all of him. You can feel his tip hit the back of your throat and you gag. Gojo moans loudly at this, your warm mouth feels so good around him. It had been weeks since you last hooked up and you were both desperate for any type of action making you sensitive for each movement. 

“Oh my - fuck Y/N you take my cock so fucking well in that pretty mouth of yours” 

He grabs onto the sides of your head, grasping your hair slightly to help him thrust into your mouth. The wet noises of your spit covering him echoes around the room. You manage to tap Gojos leg to indicate to him that you needed air. He pulled out of you, letting go of your head. 

“Awww was that too much for you to handle, needed a breath of fresh air did you?”

You can only nod as you are gasping for air, normally you can take him no problem but the angle means you are being suffocated by his balls each time he thrust into you fully. Gojo flipped you back round onto the bed properly and climbed on top of you. He quickly smashed his lips against yours, he could taste himself on your tongue. The vibrations from his groans shaking through your whole body. Complete euphoria is what you were feeling, it felt like you were on cloud nine. 

“M’gonna fuck you now, m’gonna fuck you til you can’t even think straight, teach you a lesson” he growled into your ear sending shivers down your spine. 

Gojo pulls at your thighs, his fingers digging into your skin most likely leaving bruises, bruises that would show others who you belong to. He swipes the tip of his cock through your folds, lubing himself up before he slams into your hole. 

“Nhhhhgg FUCK TORU” 

You weren’t expecting him to be so rough, he’s normally always so gentle…….you liked it. His cock moulded perfectly with your insides, it was like you were made for him. Gojo was big, very big and with just how rough he was benign you could already tell he was bruising your cervix, walking would definitely be a challenge tomorrow. 

Your mind was so foggy as he pounded into you, it was hard to think of anything other than him. Your eyes rolling into the back of your head now and then, almost dipping out of consciousness with Gojos hand round your throat, pressing at just the right pressure. One of Gojo’s favourite sights was his hand round your throat. He could see that you were unable to think straight, he was fucking the thoughts out of you and he loved it. He loved how much dominance he had over you and how you just fully submitted and let him use you. 

“Not thinking about him are you huh? It’s not his cock deep inside of you is it?” 

He really was jealous of you and Geto flirting earlier. Even though you and Gojo weren’t officially dating, you could see it in his eyes at the ramen restaurant and now you could feel it with how he was fucking you. If this is how he reacted to you flirting with other guys then you need to start doing it more often.

“From this day forward you’re my fuck toy and only mine. Got it?” he growled, not even slowing his pace. 

“Y-yes T-toru, on-ly yours OH MY GOD” you screamed the last part as you felt his thumb start to draw circles on your clit, stimulating you fully pushing you closer and closer to an orgasm. The pure overstimulation from touch and the fact that you were completely helpless under him, unable to move any of your body was sending you over the edge. 

“Mmmmnnghh fuck, s’fucking tight just f’me, can feel you getting closer. You gonna cum?”

“Ye-s yes m’gonna cum please let me cum” you begged, which was music to Gojo’s ears. 

“Go on then, cum for me, cum all over my cock before I fill you up” 

It didn’t take long after his words before you reached your orgasm and came, squirting all over him, soaking his lower body and the bed beneath you. You really should’ve put a towel down. 

The feeling of your pussy pulsing as you came also sent Gojo over the edge, with a loud groan, his body tightened as he released all of his cum inside of you coating your pussy. 

He slowed right down riding out both of your highs slowly and gently, before coming to a complete stop. He collapsed on top of you, both of your breathing so heavy no words were exchanged for a good few minutes. 

After a while, Gojo rolls off of you, breaks you free from the restraints and lies down beside you, laying on his arm and eyes closed. 

“That felt so good” he breathed

“Are you really that jealous of me and Suguru FAKE flirting?” you asked cocking your head to the side to look at him. Gojos eyes opened to meet yours. He had been battling the fact that he had absolutely fallen in love with you over the time that you have been hooking up. He was dreadfully terrified of confessing incase he lost you completely. 

“I- uhm” he started and propped himself up on his hand. 

“I have a confession…..a few weeks into us starting to hook up here and there, I- uhh- I began to develop feelings for you” He was avoiding eye contact scared in case he was met with not only rejection but a lost friendship.

Your eyes opened wide, you  couldn't believe it, Gojo had actually developed feelings for you?. This whole time you were absolutely in love with your best friend and finally he admitted that he too felt the same way. It felt like you were dreaming again. 

Panicked by your long silence, Gojo spoke again.

“Y/N i’m sorry if i’ve ruined everything I just hmmmppff” 

You cut him off with crashing your lips onto his, your hands resting on his sweating muscled chest. A smile spread right across your mouth. Gojo melted into your kiss, his heartbeat slowing down the anxiety leaving his body as he got your message. 

Glad that you both felt the same way you both fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms. Smiles permanently spread across your faces. You were finally his and he was finally yours. 

taglist: @writing-wh0re

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

What It Is to "See" in Trigun

"You can really lose yourself in that blue sky... Ah... There I go again. Rem... It's silly, isn't it... that I'm still thinking about... how I want to show it to you."

The theme of sight, showing, and eyes comes up quite a lot in Trigun. This isn't exactly an in-depth analysis, more just an examination of what "seeing" really is, at least in the context of this manga.

A notable recurring thing that happens in many of Knives' scenes is the obscuring of eyes and faces, either others (Vash, usually) or his own.

[ID: Two panels from Trigun Maximum Volume 7. One is of young Knives, his hand obscuring most of his face. His thumb is bleeding from where he's bitten it, and it streaks blood next to his open left eye. The other is also of young Knives, his face shadowed dramatically. His right eye is closed and crying. His left is wide open, ringed in darkness and blood from where his thumb has trailed down his face. End ID.]

The obscuring of one eye in the scene where Knives decides to crash the ships makes it so he only looks through one of his eyes - or, like he is only seeing one perspective, or one side to things. Knives, in his fear and anger, blinds himself to seeing anything other than what he already expects. In the second image, he is torn between a closed crying eye and a wide open one, dragging blood down the side of his face. He chooses the path of blood over tears, and refuses to change this from this point on.

[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum Volume 13. A younger Legato leans over with a stricken expression. His right eye is obscured by his hair as tears spill from his right. End ID.]

As a bonus note, Legato's hair often conceals that same eye that Knives has obscured on himself, perhaps a visual representation of not only him also seeing only one path forward, but also that his path is one of devotion to Knives. Elendira's hair does much the same.

We also have the cult known as the Eye of Michael - "Eye", which counter to its name, actually blinds its disciples into again, only seeing one perspective - looking through only one eye. Half of Chapel's face is frequently shadowed. In the "shoot" scene, only Wolfwood's left eye is fully visible - as, even though he makes a definite point, he himself is genuinely rather hopeless at this point, only seeing one path and one perspective.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Maximum Volume 2. From a slightly overhead perspective, Wolfwood pulls the gun Vash is holding and aims it at his own head. Only his left eye is visible. End ID.]

It's why it's pretty significant that we start to see both his eyes in Volumes 9 and 10, and why I think it matters that he died with his eyes open.

Livio and Razlo are interesting in this regard too. Split between the two eyes, Livio with his obscured right eye and Razlo with his exposed left. When Livio cuts his hair, his eye becomes more visible, like something of a balancing - but it doesn't end there. Throughout the fight against Elendira, when the two are working together, both their eyes can be seen. They even do a switch, with Razlo being shown on the right, and Livio on the left, as if to show, through their conversation, that they have learned to see each other's perspectives better, and work as a team - they have learned to "see through each other's eyes".

[ID: Two panels from Trigun Maximum Volume 13. The first is Razlo shown from the right, eye wide and grinning as he rushes forwards. The second is Livio shown from the left, sweating in exertion. End ID.]

Speaking of seeing through other's eyes, we have Hoppered and Meryl's unwilling vision of Vash's memories, which, while incredibly traumatic, also gave them a new perspective they otherwise couldn't have had. This moment is actually key for Meryl to understand Vash as a person on a deeper level, to communicate what she knows about him to others, and to understand why he felt like he had to do everything alone... so that she could make it clear that he no longer had to.

Meryl and Vash, in particular, share in that painful past, and have come to the same conclusion about it - things take time to heal, but it's always worth it to try, and to work with others to bring a brighter world about.

This "seeing the world through another's eyes" is a running theme all throughout the story, and it's the reason for the first quote at the beginning of this write-up.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Maximum Volume 7. Young Vash stares, eyes wide, as Rem cries and says to him, "Let's see the world together, let's walk through it together. Because the world... I swear, it's not just full of worthless people." End ID.]

Vash doesn't just want Rem to see the beautiful blue sky, he wants to see it with her, because that was what he needed when he was a young kid, fresh from the trauma of discovering Tesla, and unable to see the good in the world all alone. He needed another perspective, someone who could show him something other than hopelessness and fear. Instead, he had to force himself to search for it alone.

When he wants to show Rem that blue sky, it's because he wants to show her he's found something worthwhile and good. Just like she promised. It's not all awful.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Maximum Volume 10. Amidst two panels of Vash's outstretched hand and Wolfwood falling towards him, on a white background, he thinks "That's why, after everything's been said and done, I wanted to see tomorrow with him. Isn't that right... Wolfwood?" End ID.]

When he wants to "see" tomorrow with Wolfwood, it's a promise of sticking together and of continuing to offset each other's perspectives - they trust each other to be their other set of eyes that makes seeing the hope in the world, and other pathways and options and interpretations different from their own just that much easier. Vash sees a future and a hope outside of fighting Knives through Wolfwood, something he previously could not do.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Maximum Volume 14. Ethereal looking feathers fall over a crowd of civilians, who look upwards at them with varying expressions of shock and curiosity. End ID.]

And when the Plants share their memories with humans, and the humans respond with tears, it's the ultimate culmination of what it is to "see" in Trigun - to see is to understand another's story and their personal plight.

To see is to understand is to hope for the better for yourself and for others, and that puts you on the path to slowly but surely healing. To making a change for the better, to finding that light in the dark. That blank ticket.

[night-dazai]

Hiii you ahould totally do like a romantic/fluffy s/o dancing with dazai like that scene with sigma and dazai😔🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 i wish to dance with this man😍

Dancing with the Changed Devil : 

Dazai X Reader 

This request was such a lovely and sweet one thanks i enjoyed imaging and writing this . !!😊

The party was loud and after work this was not helping you in any way. Dazai had gone into a room with Mori and the director “ 2 hours now “ you signed look at your phone once again . After defeating all villains you crave rest while the world wants to celebrate you but all you aksed was for a DAYS OFF , you did not get it . Now you sat in the party hall as all of the agency was out there eating(ranpo) , networking (Kunikida ) and the other kids running around and dancing. You smiled at them all enjoying this enev though you did not much front line work as your ability was more of a backup plan but the image of people close to you being dead haunted you for nights and thus you sat there tired and sleepless in the red gown hair loose waiting for your bf .

The director came out talking with Dazai “ yes sir of course i see it all donee~” you heard your lover's dramatic voice. After talking with him they both walked to you “ y/n if you are very tired yo-” he could not finish as the hall went dim “ now for the special show , lovers, couples all take the dance floor all yours “ the host announced. Dazai’s eyes twinkled as he swiftly grabbed your hand “y/n lets go !” his childlike enthusiasm made you smile but not move “ i am tired please” you said softly. Normally he would push you more but now he knew the stress you were under and kissed your knuckles “ lets go home Donna “ he said. Both of you left the party very early saying your byes to all of the members. 

The cab ride was quiet as both of you just started at each and out of the window “ its hurts is it time ?” you wondered holding your abdomen. Dazai noticing how you held yourself asked worried “Bella?” his hand on top of yours on your stomach “All right ?” his eyes worried. Smiling “ yeah ..think its time, “ you said making him blink twice before he got the meaning “Ahhhh~~~ lovely doll come here i will provide you warmth . “ he said opening his arms . You were sure the driver was cringing at you two but you couldn't care less and settled into his arms and went into a long slumber. 

Dazai put you on the bed and went to change his clothes. As your opened your eyes feeling your soft bed under you wonder you mumbled “ dazai?..” “ one second love “ he said from the other side and the bathroom door opened with him coming out “ i bought some pads change up i will make something warm “ he said walking into the kitchen kissing your forehead. As you were changing your mind wondered “Does he hate me for what i said there “ you thought washing your face “ but i am tired and periods no wonder i felt cranky “ you thought but the more you thought the more guilty you felt and soon you come out and sat on your bed crying in the sheets to be found by Dazai with 2 cups of coco milk .

“Y/N!” he said keeping the cups down and removing the sheets from you searching for any signs of injury “ what happened why are you crying ?” his voice filled with worry only made you sobs worse. Your hid your face in his chest as he patted your head worried but sure you were not hurt physically  “Maybe periods is soo bad ? did she fall in the bathroom, did someone say something to her in the hall…” as his mind raced all thoughts he looked down hearing your soft sorry’s. Confused he held your chin gently forcing you to look up “ why love ?” “ you ..you wanted to dance…i said noo..i am sorry i am really tired did not mean itt….i “you kept mumbling making his heart squee both in pain and love . “how did i end up with someone so cute This is not possible, “ Dazai thought and laughed making you look at him confused “Periods is messing her head “ he mumbled and before you could hear it he had you on your feet dragging you to your balcony. 

The moon was there big and bright shining on you two, he kneeled “ my dear y/n would you do the honour and dance with this undeserving man ?” his voice laced with love and passion he kissed your hands. Wiping your tears you nodded your head , your fingers intertwined his and one of his hands rested on your waist and the other pulled and guided you. His movements were soft and gentle “Love i want you and nothing you say can ever hurt me “ he whispered into your ear seeing you calm down. Both your bodies swayed to the rhythm “wait !” he suddenly paused and went back and got his phone playing the most romantic song he knew “ lets dance love “ he said. You saw the same energy in his eyes and knew he was not mad “ yes dear “ . You twirled and twisted guided by his gentle but strong hands not letting you go even for a second. As you bent back the music ended with Dazai whispering on your neck “Darling i must warn you again i don't deserve you i am a monster you know that right ?” he asked pulling you up and hugging you to his chest.

Smiling you pushed him and got on your knees making his eyes go wide “ Dazai Osamu , devil or angel, good or bad dont care. I want you , i love you and will always be with you . you dont want marriage no probs lets stay like this , you want to go forward lets go , anything you want i am at your command “ you said like a knight saying his oath to their king and as you looked up it was a heavenly scene which your eyes observed. The tall bandaged creature stood having a hand to his mouth as his chocolate brown hair swayed in the slow wind the big moon behind him he tried to hold his tears in but his brown orbs did not allow it . As he fell crying you hugged him “my my Osamu how in the world did i end up with someone soo precious as you . You won't hate me if i say not dancing our going out if i am tired right ? “ you said into his ear just to get a nod from the fragile man in your arms. 

this is how he looks when he says he wants to dance with you !!!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Nightlife 5

Warnings: dark elements to come. Proceed with caution.

Note: I know what you’re thinking, why the fuck are you doing this? Well, you wanted bouncer Lee and I did too. Also, short!reader, not sorry.

Walking home from the library, you find yourself checking over your shoulder. Each set of headlights has you envisioning the bronze corvette, every shadow of a passerby appears first as Lee's broad silhouette. Your eventual arrival is a relief, but not for long.

You look at your phone as it vibrates. You clutched it the whole way home. You see Lee's message floating below the time. 

"Sup?" Raquel asks as she lazes on the couch.

"Oh, just studying," you answer as you take off your shoes, "feel better."

"Feel like shit," she answers without looking up from her cellphone. "Want some pizza? Was gonna order from Guillaume's."

"Hm, not really hungry," you shrug and your bag slips down to your elbow.

"Fine," she replies glumly, "guess I'll just get a small."

Your phone buzzes again and you quickly forget her disappointment. You flit by the couch and pause at the end. Should you tell her about Lee? She knows more about guys than you.

Your embarrassment gets the better of you. It's obvious you're stupid about boys but admitting it is too much. Besides, she's your roommate, not your friend. Her 'friends' were nowhere to be found when she was drunk at the club.

Your kick yourself back into step and retreat to your room. You shut the door and throw your bag on the bed. You open your messages and skim Lee's texts. Asking how studying went, how you're doing. 

You type in a response, not much different than what you told Raquel. You set your phone on your desk and change into a pair of pj's: polka dot shorts and matching tee. You grab your cell and hop on the bed, dragging your bag closer to take out your laptop.

You turn on the 00s teen drama you ever been binging in passing as your phone rumbles in your hand. You lau back against your pillows. 

'Lazy night, I like it.'

'Class tomorrow. Should settle down.'

You send your evasive reply and turn your attention to the dramatic argument between the sophomores played by thirtysomethings. It isn't long before another text shakes your phone.

'Too bad. Was hoping for a call.'

You stare at the message. You want to say no but you don't want to be rude. You don't answer as you languish in indecision. 

A new text comes in before you can come up with a response. 

'Just a short call. To say goodnight. I had such a nice time today.'

Shit. You don't know how he's persuasive even through text. The walls close in as you desperately search for an easy way to let him down. You got nothing.

'Alright.'

You regret your acquiescence as soon as you hit send. You blow out a heavy breath and look up at the ceiling. You could've just said you're going to sleep, you could lie. No, you've never been good at that.

Your phone chimes with the usual melody of a video call coming in. Huh? You assumed he meant phone call, not seeing you. Oh geez.

You sit up and hit pause on your laptop. You fumble to answer the call and the image of yourself in the corner shows only the top left portion of your face. You pull the phone back and center yourself in the small box, only then taking in the sight of the man that takes up the bulk of the screen.

Lee smiles at you through the camera, "hey, little darling, don't you look cozy."

You blink and give a nervous chuckle, more a rattle in your throat. You gulp as you notice the bareness of his shoulders. Eek. He can't be…

"Like the color of that shirt, can I get a look at all of ya?"

"Um, I don't know," you adjust your grip on the phone, "I…"

"Come on, I'm sure ya look scrumptious, sweet thing."

You tug on your lip. Your head is empty. Painfully so as your heart hammers in your chest. Facing him through a lens is somehow just intimidating as in the flesh.

“Errr,” you glance around cluelessly.

“Go on,” he urges, “just wanna see ya.”

You clamp your mouth shut as an icy wave rolls over you. It’s okay. It’s no big deal. Just your pajamas.

You climb off the bed, jostling the phone and you set it on the desk, leaning it against a book as you back up. You squint at your image in the frame as Lee hums in approval. He adjusts his phone, giving a small peek of the hair along the top of his chest.

“You look delicious,” he purrs, “ain’t you so cute.”

“Thanks,” you reach for the phone and quickly focus the camera on your face.

“The way you lookin’ right now, makes me wanna come over and… snuggle ya,” he smirks, “you’re such a sweet girl, huh?”

You don’t know what to say. You rub your lips together nervously and tug on your ear. He groans again, the image on his end shifting subtly.

“Or you could come over here, hm?” He drawls, “sneak up here, climb in next to me…” his voice grits as the camera shakes, the image of him blurring. “Wouldn’t you like that, sweetheart, you could get on top–” he drones as the angle changes and you see how his shoulder moves, his arm in a steady motion. Oh my, what is he doing?

“Lee?” You squeak in horror.

“I can’t help myself, this is what you do to me,” he growls, “the way I’ve been thinking of you all day. What if I just came there and crawled up on ya–” he nearly chokes, “tuck into you. Bet ya nice and tight–”

“Please, Lee–”

“Say it again, blossom,” he groans.

“Lee,” you beg.

“Mmmm,” his hand falls down, taking the phone with it. 

Suddenly, the screen dims but you can still see shapes through the shadows. The silhouette of his dick as he strokes it, his thick fingers squeezing tight as his voice rumbles in the air. You’re too stunned to say a word, to hit end. You just gape and watch him play with himself.

“You see what you make me do, little darling,” he snarls, “you got me–”

He chokes and spasms, rubbing his cocks as he stammers out a splintered moan. You see the eruption from his tip and hear the slickness as he spreads it up and down his length. You squeal and cover your eyes at last. You’re absolutely humiliated.

“Lee!” You exclaim as you peek through your fingers.

He sighs and fixes the camera, turning it back to his face. His skin is shiny with sweat and a lock of hair hangs down his forehead. His cheeks are ruddy and flushed from his excitement. 

“I hadta, sweet thing,” he growls, “if I didn’t,” he clears his throat, “I woulda had to come over there and do more.”

“Wh-why… Lee, I… I gotta go to sleep. Please. I got class tomorrow,” you plead.

“Mmm, such a good girl. I’ll dream of you,” he says, “hope not too much, the way you got me right now.”

“I’m sorry, I gotta be up early,” you murmur, hoping he’ll let you go. 

“It hurts, blossom, how much I want you.”

“Mhmm,” you look away from the phone, “I…good night.”

He lets out a long exhale, a thick gristle catching in his throat, “night, darlin’. Now don’t you be touching yourself. You save that for me.”

“Lee, I wouldn’t–” you bat your lashes in shock.

“I know, sweet thing, I know. I’m just teasing. You sleep tight.”

You hit end in hopes he doesn’t notice your frown. You throw the phone away from you and plunge onto the bed. You hide your head under the pillow and squeal. You can’t believe what he just did and you’re terrified of what he might do next.

[fudgelling-away]

Sans, tail me your secret

sfw, 1000 words

An innocent slice of life. You and Sans get to know each other better in the early stages of relationship.

Warnings: Intimacy (but no outright suggestive themes, nothing happens besides obvious attraction, that’s not the focus of this text) A few curse words Some tears, some drama (but it ends well, you both will be alright)

As always, your writing and drawings are more than welcome! You can write a different ending, or change how the whole scene would play out, I'd love to see it.

.... What a nice evening, you thought.

You two got ready to binge-watch the tenth season of Ancient Aliens. Almost 10 years have passed since the monsters came to the surface and Sans has been busy with going through all the old shows. It gave you an opportunity to rewatch some old classics or discover something you have previously missed.

Surrounded with snacks and blankets, you got comfortable and he was now sitting close to you on the couch. Not really paying attention to NASA's Secret Agenda, you were discreetly observing his face. So relaxed, lively. Happy.

In a sudden surge of courage and affection you coaxed him to move onto your lap.

He followed your lead seemingly without a second thought while his eyelights remained glued to the TV. You almost missed the twitch of the corner of his smile as he tried to keep a poker face, but you were getting really good at reading him those days. As he nestled in your lap, leaning with his back against your chest, an eerie feeling crept up on you. Even though his bones were thicker than your own, he seemed so fragile. It was... wrong. He was too exposed and you didn't like that at all. You embraced him gently, closing your eyes and wishing that your body could become his shield. What a nice evening.

The living room was pleasantly warm, contrasting with the snow that was faintly visible outside the windows. Fire crackling in the fireplace, the smell of burning pine wood, tea with orange slices and cloves.... What a nice–

Your eyes opened wide. With him sitting flush against you the crests of his ischium dug into your thighs – it felt insanely intimate, but you kept your composure until something poked against your abdomen. ... The fuck was that? You froze. Both his hands were in your view. He was still sitting calmly, though you could see droplets of sweat forming on his skull. When he leaned forward to reach for a cookie, something the size of a finger brushed against your belly, and suddenly all you could see was an image of a big fat rat crawling under his shorts, or a spider, or....

You jumped up with a yelp, throwing Sans off your lap, trying to catch him with your left hand and falling with him on the carpet, cookies flying through the air, crumbs everywhere. You managed to break the fall with your right forearm, still awkwardly squishing Sans to your left side.

Silence.

Only the dramatic clatter of the tin bowl against the wooden floor.

He scrambled away from you with such pain in his wide-open eyesockets that you thought he was about to cry, but there was no chance to console him. He shortcutted out of the room. He just wanted a fucking chocolate cookie. You felt a wave of dread surging through your body in a sickening way. You felt like the worst trash on earth. Calm down. At least one of you can't freak out. You are going to laugh about it later, it's okay. Breathe. You climbed the stairs on shaky legs and quietly knocked on his door.

“Sans? Are you there?”

No response.

“Knock, knock?” you whined miserably. “Babe, I'm so sorry, please let me explain.”

You began to wonder if he had teleported to his room at all, and not somewhere else. You sat down by the door and took out your phone. Your hands were shaking so much that writing a message was a real challenge.

You:

Sans. I am extremely sorry. My reaction was involuntary, caused by surprise and nothing more. I am so disappointed in myself for hurting you like this. Your expression will haunt me till the day I die. Rest assured I am punished. I was simply surprised because…

dont tell him about the rat

...because I still have no idea what you touched me with. I don't know your body that well yet. I'm sorry that my reaction was so spectacular. Read. You sighed with relief and waited.

Sans:

heh it was quite spectacular wasn't it

You:

I'm so sorry Will you come back and talk?

Sans: and risk being yeeted across the floor? fat chance, buddy

You: I'm so sorry... After a bit of back and forth, some more grovelling and some heartfelt promises, Sans opened the door. You sat up hopefully, but slouched again when you saw his serious expression. His usual grin looked more like an uneasy grimace.

“it's my tail” he grumbled so quietly you almost didn't catch that.

“Your... tail? Your tail moves?”

“i move it. it doesn’t have a mind of its own.”

“Why did you move it?” You asked stupidly and mentally slapped yourself in the face.

Exasperation flashed through his face briefly as he rolled his eyelights.

“i didn't– buddy, pal, it’s short but it’s still a tail and functions like one. when i bend or reach, it reacts to balance me, however ridiculous that sounds.”

He remained silent for a moment and you dared not to speak. His eyesockets narrowed slightly.

“yours doesn't, huh?”

“No! I don't really have one, mine is just a couple of fused vertebrae.”

“mine isn't fused.”

You wanted to ask if you could see it, but even though you bit your tongue Sans read your face like an open book.

“tsch. you've got some nerve.”

You groaned, curling up on the floor in front of him.

“I am so sorry...”

“i will remember to let myself react wildly the moment your body surprises me,” You heard his ominous voice above you. He hummed thoughtfully and a smirk slowly crept on his face. “yeah. i will flail and scream. heh.”

“Sans...”

“now, my tea’s getting cold” he walked past you calmly, his voice finally relaxed again. “and i believe you’ve got crumbs to sweep up. c'mon.”

[gaysindistress]

Sad girl - eighteen

summary: James has an interesting new business proposal and one hell of a condition to deal with.

pairing: Mob!Bucky Barnes x Reader

warnings: cursing, Bucky’s smartass, angst, guns, violence, Walker has decided that he wants to be Joe Goldberg

word count: 2.2k

a/n: there are some POV shifts in this part but I tried to make it obvious with dividers so it wasn’t too confusing. Anyways, there’s one part left!

part 17 | series masterlist

Taglist: @missvelvetsstuff @angelsincident @spencerreidisagorgman @goldensunflowe-r   @i-have-no-life-charlie @esposadomd @iateall-yourcookies  @littlelizardlizzie @alana4610 @kandis-mom @beware-my-thorns @ozwriterchick @reader-without-a-story @unaxv @wh0reforbucknasty @cjand10  @vickie5446 @katymae12344 @openup-yourmind @callsign-athena

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on google/Pinterest

The Stark Estate is always the looming house on the hill as the SUV approaches the large iron gates. The brick mansion is mostly covered in vines and plants, much to Pepper’s dismay. Anthony thought it gave the 20s-built house character and a homey feel so the vines were left along with the ridiculous amount of landscaping that lined the driveway. Bucky resists the urge to roll his eyes at the blatant display of wealth as the SUV rolls down the driveway to the main house. Scott is the one to meet the men, standing with his arms crossed in front of him. The SUV slows to a stop beside him and Bucky gets out of the driver’s seat. 

“The others in position,” Scott asks him as Bucky adjusts his black jean jacket to conceal his holster and gun better. 

“Yep, yours?”

Scott nods while the two walk into the house. While Pepper may not have any say about the outside, she took full advantage of changing every little detail inside to fit her taste. White and marble covered every inch of the 20,000 square foot home, a stark difference from the industrial and wood feel of Bucky’s house. It reeked of cold indifference as they walked up the same stairs Doll nearly cracked with anger that day. Scott pushes open the heavy doors, letting the other man enter the room first. 

As usual, Anthony is seated at his desk however without his normal crowd of men in black. Thor and Loki are reclining on the couches, guns completely on display due to their relaxed posture. A younger man, who he assumes is the new recruit Peter Parker is standing off to the side of Anthony. 

“You brought a kid?” Bucky tries to hide the disgust in their voice when he sits in the same chair he had during that meeting. 

“He’s not a kid and you didn’t bother to dress for the occasion,” Anthony, however, doesn’t even bother to cover his disapproval at Bucky’s outfit. 

Leveling a blank stare at the other man, he speaks again “We’re not here to do business.”

Anthony rolls his eyes dramatically, making a show of it as he gestures to Scott to come over. He says something about the ETA of John to which Scott tells him he’s at the gates before leaving the room. 

“What’s the status of your team?” He turns to his son-in-law. 

“Waiting for my cue.”

“Good good. How about my daughter?”

“Safe.”

“Wow, I forgot how quiet you are,”  he widens his eyes in annoyance, “Anyways when John gets here, I don’t want you to speak. Let me handle it and if I need you to step in, I’ll let you know.”

“Fine by me,” a hardened expression takes on his face as he rests his hands together in between his spread legs. 

John’s voice echoes up the marble staircase as Bucky’s phone rings. 

“Buck we have a problem.”

Nat had promised Doll that his meeting would only last a couple of hours and that it was just a business meeting. 

“I swear it’s just a meeting that’s all.”

“He took his gun,” Doll is trying not to panic, however with his injury and their developing closeness, it’s getting harder and harder to stop it. 

“He takes it everywhere.”

“But this is different, I can feel it. He didn’t tell me where he was going and he always tells me.”

Nat takes her by the shoulders and stops her pacing, “Do you really want to know?”

She pushes the other woman’s hands off of her, “Obviously.”

“If I tell you, will you promise to stay here until he gets back?” she demands as she sits down on the living room couch. 

Doll takes a seat as well while nodding her head. 

“He set up a meeting with John at your dad’s house to get him to cut his bullshit and to get your mom. Steve and Sam are headed in to get her as we speak.”

“Natasha what the fuck?” she jumps off the couch, yelling at Nat, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew this is how you were going to react. Now sit your ass back down. They’re going to be back in like an hour.”

Doll’s phone goes off, the ringtone specifically set for Morgan and she answers it in confusion, “Hey Mo Mo, what’s up?”

“Sissy help! He’s hurting everyone,” Morgan’s small voice is full of terror as she whispers into the phone. 

“Mo Mo what’s going on?”

“John, he's hurting everyone. Sissy, please help!”

She looks at Nat with frightened eyes, “Where are you? Are you hiding?”

“I’m hiding in Daddy’s closet,” she cries into the phone. 

She gestures to Nat to stand up as she holds the phone between her head and shoulder, “Okay Mo Mo, stay there and don’t make a sound okay? Do not open the door unless it’s Daddy, Mommy, or Scott. I’m coming.” 

Hastily shoving her feet into her torn vans, she throws a pair of keys to Nat and points to the door, “Start the car and call Bucky. Shit is going down.”

“Buck we have a problem.”

“Do I even want to know?”

“She’s not here.”

“What do you mean she’s not there?” 

Sam shutters from the other line, “The woman we saw isn’t her. She says she’s a housekeeper and that Walker forced her to dress up as Marianne and stay in her room until he came and got her.”

“Fuck, get out and get over here,” Bucky hangs up the phone as John bursts into the room dragging the woman in question beside him. Blood is dripping from her eyebrow and her lip no doubt from where he hit her. Bruises are starting to form on her face and arms as she drops to the floor when John lets go of her arm. Thor and Loki jump to their feet, guns drawn and pointed at the man. 

“Gentlemen! What a lovely fucking surprise,” he exclaims, holding Marianne by the hair, “Imagine my surprise when Scott here told me that I was being set up and I found your two buddies lurking around my house.”

Anthony stands but the sudden movement is not welcomed by the furious man and he pulls his own gun on the woman beside him.  

“Sit down or I’ll shoot sweet Marianne,” the threat causes her to start crying and begging for her life as she claws at the hand holding her hair, “Shut the fuck up.”

Anthony does as he’s told and sits down. Bucky’s chest rises and falls at a steady pace, the soldier and mercenary in him remaining calm even when the room is up in arms. He rubs his eyebrow in mild annoyance that the meeting went south so quickly. He expected that this would happen, just not so quickly. Scott, on the other hand, is frozen by the door after being caught double-crossing his boss. 

“Thor and Loki sit,” John demands of the two brothers. 

Thor glances back to Anthony who gives him a nod and a dismissive wave. A shot rings out and is followed by a thud. Bucky glances over his shoulder to see that Scott is the one hit. Footsteps and shuffling are heard from behind him as the two brothers collect the body and take it out of the room. Looking forward again, he can see the disgusted and sickened face of Peter who hasn’t moved an inch since this whole thing started. 

“Peter, go find my wife and daughter,” Anthony directs the young man. 

He doesn’t move at first but Anthony saying his name sharply snaps him back to reality as he rushes out of the room to find the two other Stark family members. Marianne cries out again as John rips her up to her feet and forces her to sit in the chair next to Bucky. 

“Care to explain what the real reason for this meeting was?” John sneers at the two men, eyes rapidly shifting between them. 

Taking a deep breath and shifting his feet slightly so they’re more solid on the ground, Bucky speaks, “It was to ask you to leave my wife and her mom alone however objectives have changed.”

“Enough with the cryptic nonsense, start talking,” he shoves the gun into the woman’s hair, releasing another cry for help. 

“Let her go and we can.”

“No.”

“I’m not going to ask again,” Bucky rolls his shoulders and shifts to the edge of his chair. 

“Then don’t,” he moves his attention to Anthony, “And you. I can’t believe you would help him with all of this. I had to go through Scott to find all of this out.”

Anthony licks his lips, “He is married to my daughter so I felt obligated to help.”

John lets out a downright evil laugh, “Obligated? You felt obligated? That’s fucking hilarious. I think you wanted to cut me out of the deal and saw your opportunity.”

“So what?” the older man shrugs his shoulders at the accusation. 

“If you felt so obligated to help your family then you would try and stop me if I shot Marianne?”

“No, she’s not my family.”

“You’re not going to shoot her. You are going to let her go though,” Bucky clears his throat and aims his stare at John. 

The constant demands are starting to wear down his resolve and his finger grows restless on the trigger. Taking out all three of them right now would solve all of his problems. Taking out all three would bring back his sweetheart and he could have her all to himself. The decision is made for him when three shots crack out and three loud thuds hit the floor. 

“Fuck, get out and get over here.”

Sam curses under his breath as he pockets his phone and waves Steve over from his search of the bedroom. 

“Buck said to head to the Stark estate. John took her with him.”

“Shit,” Steve curses before turning to the housekeeper, “Go home, pack your stuff, and get out of here.”

She nods quickly while crying and takes off out of the room. The two men reupholster their guns and leave the room. They swiftly exit the house and climb into their SUV, speeding off to the Stark Estate. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sam tells the man to his side as he races through the city streets. 

“Me too. Did he say anything else?”

“Not just that we needed to get over there. Do we have a first aid kit?”

Steve reaches behind the driver’s seat and pulls a backpack to the front. Opening it, he digs through it until he finds the kit.

“I hope you’re wrong,” he says, shoving the kit back in and putting it at his feet. He pulls his gun out and checks his clip before checking the rest of the clips attached to his tactile vest. 

“Me too, man, me too.”

Nat refused to let Doll drive, insisting that she could get them there faster and in one piece. Morgan had hung up the phone before they left in fear that John would hear her voice and find her. She promised to answer when her sister got there and called her to get her out. The phone rings over the car’s speakers and she smashes the answer button when she sees that it’s Sam calling. 

“Nat get her out of New York. We’re here and shit isn’t looking good.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” Doll says with an eerily calm voice. 

“Shit, where is Nat?”

“Here.” “Please tell me you’re not on your way here,” the stress of the situation is draining his energy. 

“Morgan called me crying that John was hurting people. She’s hiding in our parent’s closet. Do you know where their room is?” 

“Do not go in until we can meet you. Nat, make sure she stays put until we have eyes on you and Bucky,” Steve’s voice is harsh and authoritative as he takes over the call, “Doll I need you to answer me.” 

“Yes I won’t go in until I see you or Sam,” she begrudgingly answers, slouching into the car seat. 

“Good see you guys in a few,” he hangs up the phone. 

“Do you have an extra gun?” She asks, opening the glove compartment and riffling through it. 

“No close that,” Nat slams it shut, “you’re not going in.”

[lustbile]

Perhaps can we get a mark or Jaemin mutual masturbation?

I went with jaemin because I like him a lot right now and I cant help that so I hope you like it

Warning: mutual masturbation, jaemin being weird, and ambiguous ending

——

——

“What do you mean you haven’t seen it!” Jaemin gasps dramatically as he roughly slaps your thigh, his eyes wide as if he’s not asking you something incredibly stupid. 

“Well I am so sorry that I haven’t seen this one random porn, Jaemin,” you retort, moving to pinch roughly at the back of his hand as it still rests on your leg, “I’ll try a lot harder next time.”

“It just seems like something that would be right up your alley,” he shrugs, reminding you how weird your relationship with him. Being so comfortable with your best friend that you didn’t just know each other kinks, but you knew them enough that he was comfortable giving you porn recommendations, “I thought you might have found it on your own, you know since I’m sure you’re masturbating on the daily you fucking pervert.”

You slap him harshly on the arm this time, feeling only slightly satisfied from the way he flinched and curved away as he also let out a deep laugh. You don’t move from your spot though, leaning into his side as your legs are draped over his, but instead you just pull his arm closer to your chest as you mumble under your breath with a pout. 

“Here, I’ll just show you,” he starts as if what he suggests is normal as he leans over to grab his laptop. He lays the device next to his legs and flips it open, logging in and opening his browser before he turns the screen to face you both. 

“Alright this is a bit far,” you rush to say, “like, even for us this is too much. I know we’re weird but we can’t be this weird.”

You try to shut his computer with your foot, starting a small fight with him as he slaps at your ankle and you land a few kicks to his forearm, but with a particularly stinging slap to the top of your foot, you pull away with a hiss. 

“What’s weird about it?” he asks so genuinely that it makes you reel back in confusion, “I’ve watched porn with Jeno before.”

“That’s not normal either Jaemin,” you roll your eyes as you see him open the link he had bookmarked, “you and Jeno are both fucking weirdos.”

“Listen,” he starts once the website loads, the thumbnail image of a woman with her head tilted over the edge of a bed with a man fucking her with his hand around her throat burning into your eyes, “it’s not weird if it’s with your bros.” 

“Bro code doesn’t work here, idiot,” you huff, crossing your arms as your nerves eat at you when he hovers the cursor over the play button, “I don’t know what goes on in your head.”

“Same thing that goes on in yours,” he smiles brightly, “that’s why I know you’ll like this video; we’re into almost the exact same things. So do you want to see it or not?”

You want to say no. You want to tell him to close his laptop and stop being a freak, but him reminding you about your similar kinks shuts you up. Of course you’ve thought about how your incredibly attractive best friend was very sexually compatible with you, and it had made you consider more than just a few times what it would be like to hook up with him. But him putting those thoughts back into your mind now, when he has a porn video pulled up and ready to play, made you twitch and squirm. 

“Play it before I change my mind,” you spit out, your curiosity pushing out any rational thinking you should have. 

He bounces in excitement at your words, his hand stumbling and making him miss the play button the first few times he tries to hit it. But finally he does, and without any mental preparation, your ears are hit with the sounds of pleasured moans and the slapping of skin. 

The woman’s face is flushed red as she’s being fucked, the man’s hand squeezing tightly around her throat. He fucks into her so deeply with his other hand circling so quickly over her clit, you do have to admit it does light a fire in your body. 

There’s an immediate tension in the room as Jaemin leans away from the laptop, his hand that doesn’t already rest on your thigh moving to wrap around your shin. The skin under his hands feels like it’s on fire, the usually familiar feeling of his palms against you feeling so much more present as he brushes his thumbs softly against you. Part of you wants to pull away from him, to get the burning heat of him off of your already burning body, but instead you stay frozen, watching the video with wide eyes. 

The groan Jaemin lets out when the man in the video moves the hand he has around the woman’s neck to slap her makes you jump, the sudden noise breaking the silence that you’ve both fallen into bringing you back to the reality of the situation as you quickly glance towards him. Unfortunately, Jaemin was right and the video is something you’d watch in your own time, and you were having to push down the arousal that was taking over your brain, but it gets even more overwhelming once you get a glimpse of the way his face shows his own arousal so blatantly. 

You try to discreetly shift as your thighs tense together as you glance back at the screen, your hands that you now notice are wrapped around his arm holding him tighter. But when your legs tilt closer to his chest, you can’t ignore his bulge that now brushes harder against your calf. 

You try to pretend you don’t notice, you even lie to yourself that you were imagining things. But ultimately you should have expected something like this to happen the second he picked up the laptop. 

You shift again once you feel the way your underwear sticks to your body, trying to make yourself more comfortable while also trying to avoid brushing against his crotch again, but he shifts his own hips at the exact moment you move, accidentally pressing himself directly against you. 

You jump again when he swears from the friction of your leg pressing the fabric of his sweatpants against his length, his hands tightening around your leg as he tries not to push you away or bring you any closer. You two freeze in place, his eyes wide as they slowly trail up to lock onto your’s, as if he’s within his right to be shocked by the outcome of the situation. 

You just stare at one another, frozen, holding each other as the obscene noises continue in the background. You notice the bright blush that spreads across his cheeks and over his ears, and for a split second, endearment wraps around your chest and drowns out the arousal and anxiety that fight in your belly. The feelings come back though when he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, and you notice his eyes darting quickly across your face and you feel his hips twitching again. 

“Are you…” he starts, his voice cracking slightly before he clears his throat, “do you like… the video?”

You both cringe slightly at his awkward question, nervous laughs bubbling from both of your chests. 

“Uhh yeah, sure,” you nod, your muscles tensing as you try to not lean closer to him, “great recommendation on your part, Jaem.”

“Cool,” he nods, his eyes opening and closing slowly as he thinks, “would you say… that you’re turned on right now?”

“I mean-“

“Because,” he starts again, cutting you off as he nervously spills his words out quickly, “obviously I am,” he nods down to where his legs press over his hips, “I was just wondering how you were… you know… what’s going on in your world?”

“You were right in thinking I’d like it,” you start hesitantly, nodding and holding eye contact with him, even though everything in your body and mind was screaming at you to look away, “maybe I’ll um, you know watch it later… when I have the time.”

“I mean, you’re watching it right now,” he says as if you need to be reminded of the woman’s loud moaning spilling from his laptop’s speakers, “and we don’t really have anything that we have to do today,” he shrugs as if what he’s hinting at is normal, but considering where you sit now, you guess Jaemin’s definition of normal is worlds different than yours. 

“What are you getting at Jaemin?” You ask, knowing exactly what he’s getting at. 

“I‘ll say exactly what I’m getting at if you promise you won’t think I’m weird.”

“We’re already way past that Jaemin,” you scoff, rolling your eyes as he playfully frowns in defeat, “I’ve thought you were weird the day I met you, so just spit it out already.”

“Okay, okay, damn,” he shifts again, digging his blunt nails into your skin, “if I’m turned on,” he explains slowly, glancing down towards his crotch again as he speaks, “and you’re turned on… then maybe we can don’t have to just sit here all turned on.”

“So do you want to stand up and be turned on?” You tease him, your straight expression breaking into a grin when he groans and throws his head back in irritation before looking at you again. 

“No, you idiot,” he spits the name you used on him earlier back at you, “I’m saying, if you think you’d be okay with it, that we could maybe just take care of our own business. You know, get ourselves off right here, right now, and go about our day.”

“Is that also something that you’ve done with Jeno?” You teasingly ask, hoping sarcasm will cover the nervous shake to your voice.

“No,” he answers quickly, “but I’d do it with you.”

You notice he gets so caught up in his defenses, that he says more than he meant to, and him specifying that he wants to do this with you makes your chest burn as your heartbeat picks up. The suggestion is a lot more tempting than you’d like to admit, and even though the anxious voice in the back of your mind screams about how it may ruin your friendship, you can’t ignore the way your palms itch to sneak under the fabric of your shorts. 

“Wouldn’t it make things kind of weird?” You ask quietly, watching the way he perks up when it’s clear that you’re at least considering it. 

“Not if we don’t let it,” he encourages, trying to stay calm as he shrugs his shoulders casually, “one time thing, right? Two hot best friends getting off together, what’s the harm in that?” 

There’s a lot of harm in that, you think, your brain spinning around about a million different horrible outcomes as you watch the way he leans back. He takes his hand off your calf, leaving the other to squeeze at your thigh, and you swallow harshly when you watch him place his palm gently on his stomach. 

“I,” you start before you let out a deep sigh through your nose, your thighs tensing as you realize how much more aroused you’ve become at the suggestion, “I guess once won’t hurt anything.”

“Alright, cool,” he says with clear excitement in his voice, but he doesn’t move an inch. 

You both stay still for a moment, waiting for the other to make a move, until finally you release his arm to lean back towards his bedroom wall and shift until you rest against it comfortably. You don’t move your legs completely off of his, you just shift them down slightly so he has room to do what he pleases, because you tell yourself you don’t want to pull away in the chance that he takes it as a sign of hesitation. In reality, you don’t move, because you don’t think you’ll have the confidence if not for some small form of contact with him. 

You try to move your eyes back to the screen when he slowly moves his hand down to grope at his crotch, the small noises coming from his nose and mouth at the contact making your body heat up again. Luckily, the video Jaemin picked was something you really liked, so for a moment as you spread your legs apart and run your hands up your thighs, you are fully distracted by the couple on the screen. 

You hesitantly start running your fingers against the seat of your shorts, the small amount of friction against your sensitive skin making you let out a small sigh. You assume Jaemin is in a similar position, but you refuse to look at him out of fear that you won’t be able to look away. 

You hear a shifting of the fabric of his sweatpants, followed by a quiet hiss as you assume he finally touches himself without the barrier of his clothing. The sound makes your jaw clench, and as your eyes go glassy as you stare mindlessly at the screen, you wiggle your hand down your shorts as you listen to the minute sounds your best friend makes beside you. 

All he lets out are small puffs of air, enough to make you clench around nothing as you use your fingers to spread yourself open. The amount of arousal that’s built against your skin was apparent just from how your underwear stuck to your skin, but regardless, when you feel how easily your fingers slip against your body, you let out a rattling gasp. The noise feels so loud even with the blaring video in front of you, and with it, you’re reminded that one of Jaemin’s hands remains on your thigh when he grabs you tightly. 

You try to ignore it as you try to focus on your fingers dipping shallowly into your entrance before you circle them against your clit, but the feeling of his rough palm is frustrating as all you can think about is his fingers doing the work instead. 

You let out a small puff of air as your shoulders and thighs shift from the slowly building pleasure you feel between your legs, and as if setting off a chain reaction, Jaemin also lets out a gruff noise that makes your ears jump. You surprisingly stop yourself from looking over when he lets out the noise, but when you feel his fist bump against your leg as he lets out a much louder swear, you can’t stop your curious eyes from darting over to him. 

You do good, only looking at his face, but when you see that he was seemingly intently staring at you already, you move your eyes down to avoid his glare. It’s then you see that he’s pulled himself from his pants, and you get the shocking look at his length gripped tightly in his moving fist. 

You had already known Jaemin was at least slightly bigger than average, the few times you had accidentally seen him naked being burnt into your mind for a while now. The times he’s forgotten you were there after he got out of the shower, the handful of times Jeno pantsed him without knowing he was not wearing underwear, and then the time he pantsed himself when he forgot he, again, was not wearing underwear. These events haunted you on the daily, but they gave you as much information that you assumed you’d ever get to work off of. But it’s now it dawns on you, that those were when he was just flaccid, and now as you see him fully hard, you realize you didn’t give him as much credit as he clearly deserved. 

You try not to drool as you watch him as he leans back casually and moves his hand slowly. He twists his wrists every once in a while, and every time he does he follows it with a soft groan and twitching hips. The sight makes even more wetness spill from your body, and even though you look back to his face a lot sooner than it had felt like, you can’t get the image out of your mind. 

You want to apologize as you look up towards his flushed face again, but you’re lost for words when you see he no longer lets his eyes linger on your face. Instead his jaw hangs slightly open, his eyes squinting as if he’s concentrating, as he stares shamelessly at the way your hand continues to move beneath your shorts. 

He notices the way your fingers speed up, and you watch as his eyebrows furrow at the small squeak of surprise you let out. You watch nervously as his eyes slowly move up the length of your body, and when you make eye contact again, you feel like you both must look insane as you just stare with slightly hanging jaws. 

Your legs squirm across his lap from how much closer you feel just at the way he stares at you, and when he pulls your thigh until it presses against his shoulder you grumble in frustration. He has you spread wider now, your hips moving rapidly as he goes from looking into your eyes to staring at your hand as it moves against you, and every time he glances down against your hand fumbles slightly as you try desperately to get closer to the edge. 

The video that still plays goes completely ignored by the both of you as you both bring yourself to your finish, the sound getting drowned out by the huffs and sighs you both let out. It’s at the first whisper you let out of his name though, that makes Jaemin’s eyes focus in again before he nods to let you know that you have his attention. 

“Are you close?” He asks in a rough voice, breaking first when all you offer him is a soft pout. You nod rapidly when he presses his mouth against your knee with a chaste kiss, and at the movement, Jaemin’s face is filled with a pleased grin. 

Your hips start thrusting gently into your hand as you glance back down at the way he plays with himself, his fingers now moving to tease over his tip before he takes advantage of your change of attention to push him hand against the underside of his shaft until he presses against the side of your calf. The slick feeling of his skin against yours makes you gasp, and the idea of him being able to use such a meaningless part of your body to get off as he starts to thrust between your flesh and his palm, makes you feel like your head may spin off. 

He looks amazing, you decide. Just the way he leans back so casually, his hair falling into his face as he fucks himself against your leg as he stares between your thighs. He has always been able to find a way to drive you wild since the day he decided you two were friends, but this was a completely different level, that you never thought in a million years that you’d get to.  

“Wanna see you come,” he tells you, his eyes locking onto your briefly, “can you come for me?”

“Yeah,” you say quietly as you get closer and closer. You do want to come for him, even if the idea scares you more than the suggestion of watching the porn ever did, and when he swears as more of his pre-come starts sticking to the skin of your leg, you feel like you’re only seconds away from following through with your promise. 

You abuse your clit roughly as your back arches away from the wall, and you think your legs would have slammed shut if it wasn’t for the way he holds onto one so tightly. Your eyes move manically over his entire form, going from his fluttering eyes to his moving hips over and over, but when you feel an intense tingling start up your spine, you lock your eyes onto the way his face screws up in pleasure. 

You take in a sharp breath of air, and Jaemin takes this as his warning as he moves to lock his eyes onto yours for the last time. And it’s when he nods in encouragement, and scratches his blunt nails against your skin, that the knot that was tightening in your belly finally snaps, and you come with shaking legs. 

He follows quickly behind, his own orgasm hitting as he watches your face and body twist in pleasure. His hips stutter quickly as he continues to press against your leg, and as he bites roughly into his bottom lip and swears through his teeth, his come shoots out and up the side of your leg. 

He clings his fingers tighter against you as you both come, your hand mirroring his as it grasps for something to hold until it lands on the bend of his knee. You both just shake slightly, your breathing becoming labored as you try to get your bearings, and the feeling of his come sticking to your skin making you feel dizzy. 

You switch between avoiding his gaze and burning holes into the side of his skull with your eyes when you feel yourself finally start to calm down, both your breathing still heavy as you both just cling to one another in such an awkward way. The video comes to a finish as you sit there collecting your thoughts, and when you sit in silence, you try to sit and stay as stationary as you can possibly manage. 

Jaemin’s tongue clicking is what breaks you from your daze, and when you look at him again with gentler eyes, you see an awkward but happy smile pulling at his lips. You want to deny the calm that washes over your body at such a simple sight, maybe even pretend that your entire world is shattered and completely different, but when he looks up at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes, you can’t help but to match the soft laughter he breaks into. 

[cutegirlmayra]

Sonamy songfic prompt: Amy is trying to learn the piano and learn the parts to a song she likes Rewrite the Stars. Thing is it's a duet. Sonic sees Amy struggling and teaches her the basics. Over the course of the sing he starts to come to terms with his growing feelings for her. You can either keep the boy and girl parts the same or change it so the part matches the characters personality.

Forgive me, thou art grand, but tis noble to perhaps suggest I have a different--more dramatic--idea..?

Prompt:

Green data bits begin to fly up from a black canvas, before that canvas tilts to reveal the dimensions of a blank room as white glows and rises up as famous Sonamy Comments ranging from many different sources of Social Media that glaze up and fly out to then have their whites cover the three-walled space. The Zeros and ones suddenly fly back into view like a literal chain, shifting between being zeros and ones, forming the color purple that begins to shake… then tear each other apart to be blue and pink ones and zeros.

From these two, now distinct chains, they swirl and the white forms a figure inbetween the vortex… “You know I want you…” Sonic The Hedgehog forms with the blue chains now swirling down his arm as he looks over his shoulder, seeing Amy Rose get formed.

“It’s not a secret I try, to hide.” He looks as though he’s trying to defend himself slightly, his hand forming a fist, his eyes slightly narrowed, before turning away to look at the back wall of positive comments and famous Sonamy moments. “I know you want me…” He holds and sprawls out a hand to Episode 52, of Amy’s crying face on the back screen, which is clearly showing they are within a computer.

“So don’t keep saying our hands, are tied.” He turns back to her and holds his wrists out as though they are chained together as data strips of code snake around them quickly before he breaks the links by parting his hands and walking past her, looking serious in his declarations.

Amy holds a hand of cards to her chest, looking down as though contemplating his words, but then worriedly turns to continue to watch him.

“You claim it’s not in the cards!” He turns back and swipes a hand out, disarming Amy as the wind from his gesture scatters the Tarot cards she was holding–Looking like the official deck SEGA had released–past her as the wind makes her pull her bundled fists up to her face to block it out, her hair flying back from the action. “Fate is pulling you miles away-” She blinks her eyes open to see Sonic reaching for her but the wind was too strong, and it carries her up into the air as she flails, “And out of reach from me..!” He jumps up to catch her hand, and when he does, the background now reveals a bright white book opening up and the wind turning the pages, “But you’re here in my heart-” He pulls her into him as the book is sucking in all the strings of blue and pink code, Sonamy scenes, positive Sonamy comments, and seems to even be drawing Sonic and Amy closer to itself as well. “So who can stop me if I decide that you’re my destiny..?”

He embraces her as the Book looks as though it would slam it’s covers on them… but then, just before touching them, it twitches, flinches, wobbles, “What if we-” The two look as though their scrunching their bodies up, pulling their legs in, cuddled close together before the Book spontaneously shoots open again when Sonic pushes an arm out as though he had repelled the closing of their story, and thousands and thousands of purple stars flare out into the space around them.

“Rewrite the stars~” Sonic looks around as Amy gazes in awe as the stars encircle and spread out into patterns of shapes and fun patterns, some that symbolize the Sonic universe like checkerboards, rings, chao heads/fruits, loop-de-loops, and emeralds.

“Say you were made-” He gently brings her wandering chin back to him with the tips of his pointer and middle finger, as a Purple star flies by to show an image of the earliest known drawing of Rosy the Rascal. “To be mine?” then more Purple stars fly by with images of her transformation throughout the years with Sonic.

He pulls away to spread out, showing they are slightly falling back down but gently enough that they touch the ground together, “Nothing could keep us apart.” The Book now flaps its pages like multiple layers of wings, creating the wind that was keeping them up in the air before letting them glide or hover down.

“You’d be the one, I was meant, to find.” He’d hold her still and spin her around for a moment, then hold her hand with both his own before dramatically turning back to the book as it shows added scenes of their adventures together, through every Game ever made, even scenes that aren’t shown in the original stories but still show they were apart of those adventures together.

“It’s up to you, and it’s up to me. No one can say what we get to be,” He turns back to Amy, gesturing to himself and then to her, then gesturing to the stars as they sparkle and twinkle in the space above… However, they form into silhouettes of generic people, almost like Sonic is referencing those that control the game’s narrative and the characters.

“So why don’t we-” From those silhouettes of purple sprays out Black as night Game Wires with AV cables with their tips being yellow, red, and white. “Rewrite the stars~” They droop as Sonic catches one and gets pulled up a bit into the air, stretching a hand out to Amy. “Maybe the world~”

The Cables circle and corral the Purple stars into forming the Sonic Earth.

“Can be ours~” He smiles gently to Amy, as though to trust him, he now seems pretty confident.

Amy’s eyes look so endeared to him, wanting to reach… her hand starts to raise up… behind the rising hand is the Purple Earth picture… but one star goes black with a hateful comment reading a typical Anti-Sonamy message like a tweet or Tumblr post–This is very subtle but it’s what causes her hand to waver, the first sign of hesitancy of belief.

However, Sonic’s hand doesn’t wait any longer, grabbing hers by reaching down and making up the distance. “Tonight!”

Amy is lifted up off the ground, and it shows upon her face that it was sudden and she’s still somewhat unsure, but suddenly starts having fun as Sonic swings from Cable to Cable, their spinning at times as it sways them along, and Sonic looking tenderly and kindly to Amy in his arms as she watches the Stars break from the World image behind them and start swaying on the ‘vines’ of Cable cords as well…

But one attacks a Purple Star, plugging into it as another Black star is created, showing a glitching montage of different Sonic ships that oppose Amy and Sonic together.

It only happens for a moment… Amy notices it and her joy slowly begins to fade, Sonic is looking ahead, but she pushes away from him and jumps onto a cord as Sonic has to tug the cord and get swung back to where she’s hanging on, wondering what’s going on.

“You think it’s easy?” She looks up as though sadly having to glare at him, gripping the Cords tightly, looking somewhat afraid, “You think I don’t want to run, to you?” She beautifully slides down the Cable, spinning delicately and landing with grace as her arm flares out to show some elegance to her while Sonic reaches down to her–looking worried.

“But there are mountains…” Closing her eyes, as though she wished it wasn’t there, she turns to reveal a pile of hateful comments, images, and statements of rules made by SEGA prohibiting such things as Sonic was trying to promote…

In a way, she’s showing Sonic that they're not just fighting against SEGA… But the Audience of their community and fandom as well.

The weight and magnitude of the ‘mountain’ of comments expands as Sonic is still far back up on a cable, and realizes what she means, but grits his teeth and starts swinging down, trying to reach her again.

“And there are doors-” She walks towards what looks like a Book page folding open to create a black door, and inside, a purple silhouette of someone on the other side… “That we can’t-” He reaches out to grab the opened page from within the base of the mountains of Anti-material. “Walk through…” She reaches a hand out, to stop the man, but it slams the door shut and she immediately turns herself around to look pretty certain towards Sonic who is ready to fight this negative streak behind her, but she stands firmly where she is and holds out her hands to mimic her action of saving Gamma.

“I know you’re wondering why,” She’s defending the fans, but it pains her to do so… she doesn’t want this, and shakes her head to the side, as though ashamed to admit it but… maybe they’re right? “Because we’re able to be-” She puts her arms down to gently fold one back to her heart and use the other to try and reach out to Sonic, in hopes of calming him down as he seems bent on destroying the mountain… but she’s standing against him? In his way? Why?

“Just you, and me.” Pleading, she gestures to him and to her, mimicking what he did earlier in the song. “Within these walls,” She spreads out her arms in an arc towards the sky as the stars all fall from the space above, and the Book is revealed to still have its pages flapping like multiple wings… as though Fanfiction… are they truly to only exist in stories? “But when we go outside-!” She gestures passionately beyond the ‘walls of the book’s covers’ to the fourth wall that fizzles out like a TV screen… the Cables now slither and curl up like snake heads, as though about to attack Sonic and Amy within…

The screen turns into fuzzy grey and black… as though disconnected… “You’re gonna wake up and see~ That it was hopeless after all…”

The TV is then bombarded by hearts, as though every fans’ love is powering up the TV again, “No one can-” and the image zaps back to life as hearts zoom back to Sonic and Amy now entangled, trapped, and completely covered in wires trying to restrain them. “Rewrite the Stars~”

She reaches for him, pulling with her other hand a enstrangling Cable out from her mouth to speak, looking as though putting great effort into trying to escape. “How can you say-” Sonic is also trying to reach out through being tied back with Cables, both suspended in the air before his one, visible eye from the mass of tangled Cables widens and Amy is yanked away and up to be pinned into the Mountain of hate, the comments now black with white wording, and images now black and white, or grayscale shaded, as well. “You’ll be mine.”

The Cables, like sowing threads, pierce through the comments like paper and begin to literally embed her into the media by leaping over her body multiple times and piercing through paper like jumping lines of dolphins in the water. “Everything-” She has her arms out to her sides, as though crucified by the Fandom, and although her eyes long for Sonic, she hangs her head down as though defeated. “Keeps-” Above the mountain, Silhouettes of SEGA represented heads now look down at the trapped Amy. “Us-” She raises her head, looking helpless and miserable.

“Apart~” Sonic’s eyes twitches into a sharp angle, his pupils dilate on Amy’s image, and then he struggles for a moment but curls and spins himself into a ball to break the Cables containing him.

“And I’m not the one-” He then charges up blue light around him, before bursts into a Homing Attack towards the Mountain of Hating comments and images from Social Media, “You were meant-” Amy’s eyes widen at his blue streak suddenly taking over the white and black of the mountain and space. “To find~” She turns her head, bracing as Sonic makes impact.

The mountainous tower of comments breaks apart, falling like a tower of cards, as Amy begins to fall from the loosened Cables that had sown her to it as well. “It’s not up to you-” She is falling slowly through the empty space of where the ‘cards’ of comments once stood, blinking her eyes open. “It’s not up to me.” As she slow-motion falls, she looks up to see the silhouettes of the supposed SEGA Officials, watching her fall, “When everyone tells us what we can be.” Their heads enlargen and seem to almost follow her descent,...

“How can we-” She turns herself in the floating air, to turn her back to what makes her so sad and unhappy, and spreads herself out like a star towards the ground. “Rewrite the Stars?” The mountain becomes black and glitching stars of hate again… she’s falling through them… she can’t take much more of this… her eyes close and she brings her arms to her body’s sides and legs together gently as though accepting the abyssal beyond… “Say that the world-”

She softly turns to fall into her fate… “Can be ours…”

“Tonight.” She opens her eyes as she lands on something, startled, and looks to see that it’s in Sonic’s arms… Her hero’s arms… but not just that-

“All I want is to-” Sonic is flying! The Book has torn its pages, falling backwards, and Sonic now has the large multi-page wings to his body. “Flllllyyy~” Sonic looks behind him, the Cables are shooting out like harpooned missiles, but he takes off. “With you!”

Sonic weaves and dodges the Cables, as he passes by, Stars are shooting forward to race the wind and clash with the Cables, turning into Purple stars of familiar words and scenes again. “All I want is to fall with you.” Sonic spins downwards as the cables all intertwine to follow him, “So just give me-” spinning into one massive Cable Head! “All~ Of you!”

Sonic stops his plummet to look up, seeing the massive plug coming towards them, as Amy takes his head with one of her hands and pushes her face up against his forehead to speak directly into his eyes. “It feels impossible..!” Sonic shakes his head, “It’s not impossible,” He looks back up as the cable jerks it’s head back a second, a cobra to strike, “Is it impossible..?” but Sonic and Amy reach out their hands as one towards it.

“Say that it’s possible..!!!”

All the restored Purple Stars and Hearts from before shoot down and then curve to fly at lightning speeds from beneath Sonic and Amy and pummel into the Cable Plug Head, “How do we Rewrite the Stars..!!!” getting jammed into it as the colors fly up the cable and burst into the open space above as Green Codes of Zeroes and Ones… “Say you were made to be mine!”

But… What of Sonic and Amy below?

The Code is just lines that wave and spiral down… “Nothing can-” The Cable being torn in half… softly and gently destroyed as it turns into data… “Keep us apart!”

“Cause you are the One,”

Sonic and Amy are still alright, holding one another, suspended in hovering space within the air as the Book pages begin to fly off Sonic one layer at a time, falling backwards as Amy and Sonic slowly lower their hands from being stretched out towards the Cable… representing the world and its ‘rules and opinions’...

“I was meant, to find.”

Amy looks to Sonic first, gripping him with her hand in joy and waiting for him to realize, before he slowly tears his eyes away from the scene above, and looks to Amy with a grateful and relieved smile.

He winks to her, his signature cocky attitude.

“It’s up to you.”

She pulls him closer with all her strength,

“And it’s up to me.”

They both shake their heads as their nose nuzzle in sheer delight at their victory.

“No one can say what we get to be.”

Together, strong, and joined hand in hand, “And why don’t we-” They spread their legs as though trying to burst up, and the Data lines of code secure a footing arched web for them and they are brought back up.

“Rewrite the Stars!”

The images of the silhouetted men look as though their giant forms are falling, their massive heads dragging them down as Sonic and Amy are lifted past them. “Changing the world-!”

They turn to each other and hold both their hands now. “To be ours…” Their faces look so happy… to be in love.

Sonic’s head tilts first… then Amy just happily lets his hands go, flings her arms up, and dives into a kiss with him.

But…

When they reach the top, and are lowered back to the level of the three walls…

They walk off together… and the Tarot cards that were first scattered… shiver and shake… before forming black coded zeroes and ones…

They fly over to Amy…

She reaches a hand up to his face, “You know I want you…”

They circle her wrist, just like what the green code did to Sonic in the beginning… but these are deadly, and pull her hand down from his face.

Sonic looks shaken at them, as Amy steps back, also realizing…

She sees it circling her bracelets… and looks at her other wrist.

“It’s not a secret I try-”

She looks hopelessly up to Sonic… free… but what about her?

He looks at his own hands, nothing… the Green Codes are nowhere near him anymore.

He looks back up at her, heartbroken. “To hide.” Her eyes bend back as Game Console Controllers and their Black Wires slowly and softly start to constrict Amy… yet again…

 She can’t escape it, “But I can’t have you.” She speaks through them encircling and covering her body over…

The prejudice, the scorn, the canon-limitations…

“We’re bound to break-” Sonic rushes towards her.

He punches them and they turn to Green Code again…

But Amy looks down at her wrists…

“And my hands…”

She steps back daintly, and holds up her chained hands by one simple Line of Script.

“Are tied.”

The Chains of letters in black read out: [PROPERTY OF SEGA].

[bluedalahorse]

Scenes are such an interesting element of writing because like… you can have a writing teacher who tells you that scenes are the basic units that make up a story, and that writing teacher can also give you tips on what makes a good scene and different ways to start and end scenes and so on. I’ve had helpful teachers over the years who teach me these things! And I’ve taken the time to read other books closely, and watched TV shows with a solid grasp of plot. I’ve taken notes and marked up books with sticky notes even built elaborate spreadsheets to teach myself how works are structured.

But even armed with so much theoretical knowledge, I still find writing my own scenes, as well as balancing them with summary, quite challenging. I’ve had to write and revise and write and revise, and sometimes I’ve had to change course in the middle of a fanfic chapter when I realize a particular part of the story needs three scenes instead of one. Or sometimes I’m summarizing something that needs to be dramatized in a scene (or at times dramatizing something that can be summarized.) There’s a part of scene-crafting that’s intuitive and emotional but another part that’s all about the logic and structure and you have to get those two parts of your brain to cooperate, but they are two different cats with two very different temperaments. It’s difficult!

“Show, don’t tell” is conventional writing advice to the point of being cliché and not always helpful. However, I find I vibe with it so much more when I think about it in the context of scene crafting rather than about it being something that happens on the level of individual sentences or paragraphs. Like, scenes are a chance to show what is internally going on with the character through their interaction with an external world. I could write you an essay about how much my protagonist hates PE class and summarize her reasons for hating it, or I could write you a scene where PE class is starting and she’s desperately trying to hide under the bleachers and play hooky, and the teacher’s calling her name in the attendance, and everything smells enough like sweaty gym socks enough that it makes her want to puke a bit.

But that’s me getting into writing theory again. What I’m trying to say here is that I didn’t get better at scenes without constantly practicing them in my own writing. Writing novels in verse seriously helped me, because I had to tell everything in poems. Poems as units of a story have to be very purposeful, and usually there’s an image or set of images tied to that purpose. So I think writing in verse helped me to think more purposefully about scenes, even when I got back to prose. I know some authors who draft entirely in verse and only come back to prose later. That’s not quite me but I do use poetry a lot to open up my brain and get it working.

The wild thing is… something else may work for you! Poems work for me but they don’t work for everyone! I swear, you hit a certain part in your journey as a writer, and you’re like, is this the part where it gets easy? And no, what you’re really learning is, some things will always be difficult, you’re just more realistic about what the difficult parts are and you’ve built up more capacity to be stubborn about doing them anyway, and you have ten thousand more strategies for tricking yourself into getting words on the page.

Anyway. Scenes are neat but challenging. How does everyone else handle scene crafting in their work?

[the-nysh]

(eisenartworks) hello, resident Garou expert. I in desperate need of ur help. I saw u offer ur take on Garou's sequence, and I did get a few good ones on reddit, but I'm afraid I can't pick. What are your thoughts? :0

Thank you so much 😊

*gasp* 👀👀!!!! YES, @eisenartworks I am here to help! (or provide the content to brainstorm more ideas) 8'D

Ok, so if you wanted to match his character’s progression with the same 5-step sequence as the others, it'll depend on how much ‘completeness’ of his story you want to show (aka from his childhood all the way to the end of his arc - with his eyes opening under the waterfall), or focusing only on certain parts of his story to emphasize, like on the tragedy or a hopeful message for ex. So choosing which moments to include or eliminate depends on that - on what overall theme you want to show.

Because there’s already a symbolic progression of his eyes shown ‘monsterizing’ over time in canon (teetering on a fine line of balance & duality between his human/hero and ‘monster’ sides), so including when one half turns red, to the ‘human’ side waking when he’s on the surface after saving Bang, to the ‘monster’ side opening as human again under the waterfall at the end - that could be a consistent theme to focus on for ex.

Also because he goes thru countless external transformations, so if you want to fit everything into 5 images (unless you compromise room up to 6) we’d have to creatively combine or condense down different parts of his story together, to focus on his most important internal (emotional) turning points of growth/change instead. That means we can confidently exclude all the moments where he’s deliberately unconscious or passively not in full control/awareness of his own actions, because they do not reflect his innermost feelings (or actively progress his heart’s true values/goals). So the part where he’s sleep-fighting vs Darkshine, the part where he’s ‘feral’ unconscious arriving at the surface (vs Bang), and faceless Cosmic Garou (under the influence of ‘god’) can all be eliminated as ‘not actually him’ - we can’t even see his real eyes there anyway. BUT the ‘cosmic’ Garou who’s come to his senses after Tareo’s death - now THAT moment is far more important to his journey’s self-realization. :’D

And I’ve previously compiled a bunch of photosets documenting his expressions that can be used as references, but also confession: I have a wip file of his eyes I haven’t finished. Because I’ve observed how he’s the character with the most panels focused on dramatic close-up crops of his eyes (yes especially even in the webcomic!) and I just wanted to collect them all, but they happen to align with the type of story progression you’re after, so among those panels I can help narrow down which (manga) moments are most important! 8′D

Childhood - if you wanted to begin his story with his childhood (to consistently match Genos & Saitama’s who started with theirs), then it’s the panel where he’s crying angry, bitter tears in frustration at his teacher dismissing and talking down to him after he’s suffered from injustice. The moment he learned this is what he hates about how the world works. Where he’s either surrounded by the mob of ‘Tacchans’ representative of his worst (repressed) childhood trauma/humiliation, or lit by the anime’s dramatic spotlight while he sits powerless and frustrated (at being ‘alone’ and weak, with no one to support or understand him) on the chair. 

Lone Wolf Hero Hunting - so he begins his hero hunt on the night of a full moon, (if you want to document his shifting phases of the moon, cause his arc ends with a gibbous one) complete with the aesthetic of a grinning/hungry wolf (nocturnal hunter). At this part of the story, his dark eyeliner is most prominent (cause it will fade later on). The panels that best represent this stage of his story (imo) are these, especially his ‘my eyes have adjusted (to the dark)’ panel.

Red Garou, Monster Hunter - (condensing more moments now) but here’s where he has the red eye, red hair, and fresh scar. All at once. The turning point (aka a reality/naivety check) where the monsters literally backstab him to kidnap Tareo, and he declares war (alone) on the Monster Association. (Gaining the tattered ‘scarf’ thru facing Rover and getting charred by Orochi’s flames.) Significant because this is the first time he switches targets (from fighting heroes) to unleash true lethal intent vs monsters. The angriest, bloodiest, most intense, and disgusted at real monsters we ever see him (in seething feral fury in response to save/protect Tareo.)

Transformed Monster ‘Hero’ Garou - (so eliminating Spiral Garou pains me, because it was so short-lived) but this part is when his body monsterizes with the external shell of a ‘costume’ - but ONLY after he awakens to himself from saving Bang, with the realization + focus to ‘follow his heart.’ The symbolic, cracked open ‘window’ to his human eye here is so important! ;o; Cause this was the point he took action at his peak (antihero) ‘moral best’ - appearing like a monster, but saving everyone (including other heroes & Tareo) on the surface and destroying the baddest monster cadres with his own power. The moments where he took action because of, or in response to Bang (’awakened’ with the crack over his eye crumbling off his face, or the ‘blessing’ moment with the waves crashing from defeating the Centipede - in contrast to Red Garou’s fire/rage) are probably the strongest representations of his feelings here.   

‘Cosmic’ Garou’s emotional epiphany & resolve - so if the above was him at his peak, this becomes his lowest (emotionally). After ‘god’ interferes to fuck everything up, forcing Garou to learn what True Absolute Evil actually entails (not what Garou ever actually wanted) and experience the traumatic devastation & despair and self-loathing of having unknowingly killed Tareo himself. D: So horrific. (Note: actual Garou fans do not celebrate the faceless corrupted Cosmic ‘God’ entity, because it does not represent his true feelings, his own awareness/agency, or the person Garou actually is at all; he was cruelly used to destroy the humanity he’d previously staked his life to protect.) So it’s only after he finally comes to his senses, with his full face -both eyes- notably showing again, that matters most here. The strongest (most cathartic) moments being when he shares that beat of empathy with Saitama over their mutual loss of their most important person (still with residual ‘stardust’ tears grieving for Tareo - esp if you want to compare/contrast with Garou’s angry tears as a child), and then resolves to fix everything he never intended (choosing to sacrifice himself as a hero to help save the world.) Especially with the aesthetic of him still wearing his cosmic space ‘shell,’ the irradiated night sky with a watchful gibbous moon, or even parts of him turning to salt already.

Bonus: Waterfall Garou - cause whether you include or eliminate this moment (or exclude the first childhood one to include this one for a total 5, instead of 6) I like it because his story ideally shouldn’t end with his ‘death’ it finally shows him being ‘cleansed,’ with that one eye - that had symbolically been half ‘monsterized’ red before, opening up (as human) to new future possibilities.

So if you begin with crying kid Garou and end with him grieving over Tareo, that’s one approach (showing two different kinds of tears, keeping a bookend theme coming back full-circle in a way, and consistent with Genos & Saitama’s by including Garou’s childhood too.) But if you start with his hero hunting and end with the waterfall panel, it shows a more ‘complete’ progression of his active (present-day) journey instead, leaving off on a more hopeful, open-ended note (rather than ending at the implied, doomed tragedy of both his & Tareo’s death.) And because his arc is ‘complete’ anyway, it feels only fair to show most of the whole thing, imo. :’3

[mysticaldeanvoidhorse]

A Supernatural Love

Chapter Eighteen: A New Life

Summary:  Y/N, a nurse working towards medical school living with her roommate and best friend Genevieve Cortese, meets Jensen Ackles while visiting the set of Supernatural one day.  Is this chance encounter a coincidence or fate?  And if it is fate, do they have what it takes to make it through separations and hardships?

Slow(ish) burn, some angst, alluding to sexy times, fluff

Pairings: Jensen x Reader

Warnings: Bad writing, maybe angst?

Word Count: 1502, a little shorter this time, sorry loves

No hate to any of the real people in this story, it is purely fiction and for enjoyment! No images are mine

First fic I wrote, please be kind but open to feedback, both positive and negative!

Tag List:  @streets-in-paradise​  @leigh70​ @sexyvixen7​​  @deandreamernp​  @universallyraylangivens​  @siospins2​ @let-me-luve-you​ @lyarr24​ @nancymcl​  @hobby27​

Tag list open

Masterlist here

     Thank God for James.  You had made it two months on your own in Dallas and you had kept your head above water.  Barely.  You were still friends with him but long before you decided to move to Dallas he had been telling you about wanting a change in his life.  You started to become closer since your break up with Jensen and you realized you had truly missed his friendship.  You didn’t talk much about your break up with him but that was mostly because you didn’t talk about it at all.  You tried to grieve and process but that wasn’t working and quite honestly, you didn’t have the time.  You liked having the outlet of overwhelming schoolwork and normal job work because it made you keep your mind off your world crumbling.  Dramatic, but reality.  You tried to be as healthy about it as possible but shoving it down and moving on were the best you could muster.  At least you weren’t drowning your sorrows in alcohol but as Dean WInchester would say, “You shove it deep down and let it out in random spurts of violence and alcoholism”  Dean….NO.  You weren’t thinking about that.  You had stuff to get done before James would arrive.  James was moving to Dallas to work at Dallas Memorial with you.  It was his alma mater and quite honestly, his recommendation was what put you over the edge.  You were glad to have your friend be near you if you couldn’t have anyone else close by.  Gen was still working hard finishing up her season contract and looking for work God knows where.  You barely talked to Jared but he was kind and never mentioned Jensen.  You liked that you could have a friendship with him outside Gen or Jensen.  Unfortunately those days were becoming few and far between and you knew that your friendship with him would always be there even if you never talked again.  

      You picked James up from the airport and brought him to your apartment complex, where he leased an apartment as well.  You helped him unpack a few boxes then went out to eat and catch up.  It was nice having him around and you had always felt comfortable with him.

     It was now spring and you had felt like you had your footing under you and Dallas felt like home mostly.  You had made some friends and James had introduced you to all the right people to impress.  You liked your job and classes but were glad to be able to work at the hospital full time over the summer.  You would still be taking summer classes as you had not wanted to let up because you knew that if you weren’t busy you would probably end up being numb.  Or sad.  Or both.  Summer was just around the corner and you were thankful for the fresh spring air.  You were walking to a farmer’s market when your phone rang.

“Oh my gosh Gen!  I haven’t heard from you in forever!  How are you?  Have you finished filming?”

“Hey Y/N!  It has been forever since we have been swamped with finishing filming.  You are gonna love the plot twist for the season finale.”

“I am sure I would be but I am not watching the show, I just don’t have time”  It wasn’t a lie but since Christmas you couldn’t bear to even look at his face.  And watching a show that had become so close to you wouldn’t help the moving on process.

“Well maybe we can watch a few episodes when I come to see you”

“Wait what?  You are coming here?? When??”

“Two weeks!  Filming will be over then and I will stop by before I go see my parents.  I need to see my best friend. I miss you like crazy!! It’s just not the same without you here.”

“I feel the same way!  I like having James around but he just doesn’t compare.  I miss my roommate”

“Hey, I gotta go but I will text you my flight info.  We have a lot of catching up to do!”

“Okay Gen. Bye”  You hung up and felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.  Today was going to be a good day.

     Two weeks went quickly and before you knew it Gen was there.  You finished finals the week before and were in much need of some stress free friend time.  You picked her up from the airport and after many squeals, giggles, and hugs you took her to a diner.

“Where are we going?”  She asked.

“A burger place I found.  It’s not as good as Vancouver but it’s the best I have found.”

“I am definitely going to miss those burgers.  Worst thing about leaving.”

“Oh yeah?  That’s the worst?  I would have thought it was not being able to work with Jared everyday and be as cheesy as ever”  She nudged you.

“Oh please, I don’t do that”

“Oh yeah, whatever you say little miss I-draw-our-names-together-in-my-diary”

“I don’t do that!” 

“You would if you kept a diary.  How is he doing anyway?”

“He’s good, sad I am leaving and said to say hi he misses you.”

“I miss him too.  Have you talked about what you wanted to do now that you are leaving?”  She hesitated.

“We decided to try the long distance thing.  I don’t know where I will end up but I don’t want to go too far if I don’t have to.  I want to be with him”

“Good.  You belong together. And listen.  Just because Jensen and I weren’t meant to end up together doesn’t mean you and Jared are destined for the same ‘Happy ending’.  You are the real deal”

“Funny, I used to say the same about you and Jensen.”

“Well you haven’t always been the smartest”  You teased.

“Hey now!  I will let that slide only because you are still working through that whole thing.  You seem a lot better though”  She said seriously.

“I am. At least I think so.  I don’t really think about it.  I am so busy trying to create a new life here and I don’t need or want any baggage to follow.  I have been given an opportunity to do something here and as hard as it is to think that me and Jensen aren’t together doesn’t mean I don’t have something good here.  I just need to find out what it is.”

“That is very adult of you.”

“Well, believe it or not, I am one”

“Are you dating?”  She switched the subject, sort of.

“Are you kidding?  I don’t have time for that nor do I want it.  I just want to focus on school and become a doctor and not worry about anything else.”

“I am sure James would love to change that if he could”

“Stop, we haven’t talked like that in a year and he hasn’t made any moves.  I am sure he is long over it.”

“Do you want to be?”

“What kind of question is that?  I have never been interested in him like that”  You defended.

“No, but you talk about him a lot and it’s not in the same ‘we are just friends’ kind of way.”

“I turned him down, remember?”

“A year ago as you pointed out.  But that doesn’t mean that your feelings have changed.  You said that he said as long as Jensen was around he didn’t stand a chance.  Well Jensen is gone and now you can see him for who he is and not through the eyes of a taken woman.  You are hot, young, and single.  You are allowed to look at other guys.”

“Everything you say is right but that doesn’t mean I want to.  Not even six months ago I thought I was with the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Clearly my judgment isn’t the best.”

“Honestly you might have married Jensen.  You were perfect together.  But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be happy with someone else.”  You didn’t say anything because you didn’t know what to say. It all made sense.  You would always love Jensen but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t find someone else to love.  You deserved a good man and though you wanted Jensen to be it, he wasn’t.  James is here and he is a good man.  He was worth a chance, right?  You shook your head to clear away those thoughts.  You would be lucky to end up with James but he was just a friend and that was all….at least for now.

   Gen stayed a week and it was the best week of your life.  You missed her and you needed some girl time.  You showed her all around town and found so many fun activities to do around Dallas.  You were sad when she left but just like always James was there to comfort you when you needed him most.

[rainbows-fanfics]

Help Unwanted (Chapter 12)

Summary: After losing the Pirate, Deacon is unwillingly paired with a partner to help with his job. The only problem is - they can't stand each other, and time is dwindling until he can re-capture all his lost prisoners.

Human AU of the Armada from Pirate101.

Pairings: Deacon/Queen!Deacon, Deacon/OC

--

It was a few days into Dea’s recovery and she was doing well. Her bandages were changed on a regular basis and her wound was beginning to heal. She still didn’t have much of an appetite – eating was one of the last things she wanted to do, really – but she finally got around to nibbling off the food they gave her. 

She was told not to do any strenuous thinking, to not fret over her missing memories - but it was driving her mad. What had exactly happened for her to get shot? Deacon said they were on an undercover mission and she’d been in a disguise…but she couldn’t recall where they went or who they chased after. She was able to recall a man in black, but she couldn’t put a name to his character. It was aggravating.

So, she distracted herself. Which was hard to do when one was stuck in a hospital room. Her nurse offered a selection of books to read - and Dea had initially declined, not seeing anything particularly interesting. She wasn’t that big of a bookworm and she wasn’t desperate to become one right now. But then she spotted one of the novels she’d seen Deacon reading back on their ship, and requested for it. 

…It was a detective slash romance novel. 

Oh, she was going to tease him about this for sure!

It was held in her hands and opened to the second chapter. She just started reading and her only gripe was that it was a little cliché. Not like she had read many of these, but it wasn’t hard to tell where the story was heading. She briefly wondered if these were the type of things Deacon read - did he like thriller novels? That would make sense, what with his line of work. Did he enjoy romance stories? She almost laughed at that thought. She couldn’t picture him holding a book with the cover of a woman dangling dramatically from a shirtless man’s arms. It just didn’t seem like him. 

She was in the middle of flipping the page when the door opened. Her nurse peeked in and smiled.

“You have a visitor, miss. Is it alright if I let them in?” 

Dea folded the corner of the page to mark her spot. “...Who is it?” 

She hadn’t contacted her family since she got promoted in the Armada. She made sure they didn’t know of her whereabouts. She wasn’t ready to see them. She still needed to prove herself. It would be terrible if they came and saw her like this. She could already see the disappointment in her father’s eyes, and hear judgemental tsks from her mother’s lips… 

“A special visitor,” The nurse replied happily. This confused her - but she didn’t want to get her head throbbing again, so she nodded and sent him off. 

It was tense as she waited for whoever it was to arrive. She didn’t have to idle long before the door opened again, and a mask peered in from the small crack. Dea jumped in immediate recognition -  instinctively moving to rise to her feet and salute respectively to her guest.

“Q-Queen!” 

“At ease,” Her voice gently commanded.

She rested against the mattress and watched as the tall woman closed the door. She moved across the room smoothly. She had an elegant way of walking, able to conceal the movement of her feet underneath her dress. Sometimes it looked like she floated across the floor. It was the result of extensive practice, to show how attentive she was with her image. Dea watched in awe as she pulled up a chair and sat at her bedside in one fluid motion. 

“I wanted to see you as soon as I could,” She began the conversation, turning her head and the mask followed it naturally. “How have you been?” 

Dea tried not to fidget under her attention. She was nervous to be in her private company - who wouldn’t? Any soldier who came across the Armada’s Queen was either in trouble or getting interrogated. She was kept as a rare sight for a reason. Dea remembered how anxious she’d been the first time she met her, and tried to swallow down her worry. 

“I’ve been fine. Why have you come to see me..?” 

“I heard about what happened to you. You should understand my concern.” 

Her gloved hand unconsciously came up to feel the crack in her mask. She often repeated this action when she felt fidgety. It was hard *not* to, when she knew there was an imperfection on her second face. It was upsetting, but it was also the only clue as to what had happened. It was…another irritating thing she wondered about. 

Queen’s eyes followed her hand and Dea tensed. She struggled for an explanation. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to break it.” 

Masks were a touchy subject. They were the most valued part of an Armada uniform. Leaving them dirty violated the dress code, so they were promptly cleaned after every battle. To actually break one was generally frowned upon. It was encouraged to immediately replace and fix any tampered masks - and Dea hadn't had the opportunity to do that yet. The sight had earned her sympathetic looks from doctors and nurses. 

“Non ti preoccupare. I will have my husband make you a new one.” She leaned out of her seat and splayed her fingertips across Dea’s mask. She pressed the material slightly, to test the last of its durability. “I apologize you had to wear that delicate thing. You shouldn’t have been given such a flimsy mask, dear.” 

She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until Queen moved away. A relieved sigh left her lips. So she was getting a new mask…It was even being made by the highest hand of the Armada. She thanked the Gods that she hadn’t upset her superior. If her posture was anything to go by, she seemed to be in a relatively good mood, all things considered. Dea began fiddling with the blanket as she prepared herself to have the conversation she dreaded. She needed to, while she had this chance. 

“I am sorry for my failure.” Her eyes fell to the floor in shame. “If you decide to demote or even discharge me, I understand."

“Oh, bella. This sort of thing happens all the time. You’re just fortunate nothing worse happened to you.” 

“But I still… disappointed you. You were the one to promote me. You had such high hopes in myself, and…I failed to meet those expectations.” 

A hand landed on her shoulder. Queen looked at her compassionately. “You could never disappoint me.” 

She clenched her jaw, withholding emotions that wanted to escape her. “Why?”

“Us sorellas need to stick together. You were a victim, Reyna. But that does not define you - you are strong. No matter what happens, I have every confidence in you.” 

She looked away and breathed heavily to calm herself. This happened the last time she was approached by Queen. She said such inspiring words and showed an immense belief in her…support that her own mother had never offered to her. It was the first time Dea had not been disparaged in her career, and it was then she knew the Armada was the right place for her. 

“...It’s, um, ‘Dea’, now.”

“Dea?” The Elite repeated, holding a hand in front of her mask and giggling. “My, that’s…cute.” 

She grew embarrassed and regretted her bold choice of alias. Queen was clearly amused, but did not press the topic any further. She readjusted her hold on her mask and shifted in her seat. She perked up when she spotted an item sitting on her bedside table. 

“Oh! Have you borrowed one of Deacon’s books?” She asked, reaching for it. Dea extended a hand to stop her, but she already had it in her possession.

“No, that is the hospital’s-”

“I gave this to him last Christmas,” She continued, ignoring her unnerved state. “I didn’t think he ever got to it.” 

“He, ah, reads all the time on our voyages. I think he finished that one recently..” 

She flipped it around in her hands, reading the text and observing the cover wordlessly. She finally asked the question that had been lingering between them. “How are things with Deacon? Are the two of you still not getting along?” 

She crossed her arms and groaned. Her green eyes lifted to the ceiling in regret. She didn’t know how Queen had learned about this. She must have her ways. “...I think I messed up.”

It felt like the room had dropped a few degrees. She rubbed her arms and unconsciously leaned into the trench coat laid underneath her. Queen’s attention momentarily flitted to the item, but she moved her gaze back when Dea let out an exasperated breath. 

“I know what you said about him, but…I didn’t know what to make of Deacon really, and I…may have been a little harsh. He wasn’t all that friendly with me, either, but..I think I made him hate me.”  

“Don’t say that–” 

“-Es cierto. We’ve had a few arguments; I said things I shouldn’t have. I once made him so upset he hadn’t bothered working with me for half the day.” 

“Dear, he’s just frustrated. He’s had a lot going on. You’d be irritable, too, if the same things happened to you.” 

She frowned underneath her mask. “..What should I do?” 

Queen crossed one of her legs over the other. “Show him a little more patience. He’s an independent man. He’s never had to rely on anybody else."

Her heart twisted in guilt. She really had imposed herself. She’d heard of Deacon’s mistake when getting promoted and cruelly taunted it in his face several times. She enjoyed having the upper-hand over someone for once, rather than the other way around. But it was unprovoked. He must have been going through his own personal Hell, and she merely added to it. That’s why he wanted nothing to do with her. She only had herself to blame. 

If she’d lost an entire ship, her prisoners, and members of a crew she was responsible for…she’d be constantly kicking herself for it. She could only imagine what had been running through his mind for these past couple of months. That last thought reminded her of something and she sucked in a harsh breath. 

“Queen? Am I…still involved in this operation?” 

She hesitated. “There was talk about it. Your medical leave puts a slight strain on your mission, so…you and Deacon have been granted some more time.” 

“..Is that even necessary, if he’s still working while I’m gone?” 

“Hmm. I don’t know what he told you, but we haven’t received an update since your admittance. If he is, I don’t think he’ll be working very hard in your absence, bella.” 

Her lips pursed in thought. She thought he’d have already been close to capturing another fugitive by now. He worked diligently when she wasn’t involved – she learned that the hard way.  Was he waiting for her return? Or was he going to work more efficiently with her out of the picture, like she presumed? She didn’t know what to expect and the uncertainty made her restless. 

Queen stood and glanced down at her. “I should leave now. I’ll return with your new mask…It’s a promise, Dea.” 

She went to make her exit, but stopped in front of the door. She appeared to remember something, spinning on her heel to face her again. “-Oh, and after all of this is over with, I would like to have a special day together. Just you and me.” 

“-A ‘special’ day?” She repeated, tilting her head in confusion. 

“You deserve something nice. It will be fun.” Her tone was slightly mischievous as she reached for the handle and let herself out. “Rest easy, sorella.” 

----

“Hell yeah!” 

Rooke’s laughter filled the room as he hit the bullseye on the dartboard. There were only a couple of nearby patrons watching the pair across the room. They’d come at a relatively empty part of the week. Normally, when Deacon and Rooke visited their favorite bar together, it was to celebrate their time off and drink the night away in the company of their Armada troops. Right now, it was only the two of them playing darts with a couple of beers in the middle of the day. 

When it was Deacon’s turn, he carefully aimed his missile and threw it to his best attempt. He’d only gotten a single score. On his next try, he didn’t fare any better. It was pathetic when they tallied the end scores. Rooke had royally kicked his ass, which was mortifying - as darts was Deacon’s game. 

“What’s the matter? You’ve never let me win before.” His brother prodded when they sat back down. The spymaster chose to deflect the question.

“I’m obviously not drunk yet.” 

This failed to make the other laugh. “Hey,” His voice lowered and Deacon knew he was in for it. “I found out what happened. Are you doing alright?” 

“Of course I am.” He snapped. The General glared at him.

“It’s bothering you, isn’t it?” 

. . . 

. . .

Deacon was at his wit's end.

He’d meant to carry on with his mission days ago - but after Dea’s admittance, waking up and finding her bed empty gave him the strangest sense of loneliness. Deacon found himself changing behind his privacy sheet before realizing there was no need to. Their journey that day had been unusually silent. There was no sound of feminine singing as they sailed, so no one had any reason to make noise.

It was ironic. He would have begged for this exact situation two months ago, but now he didn't care for it. 

He made the disturbing mistake later that day, when he spoke aloud at the captain's wheel, intending to ask Dea what she thought of the weather. He quickly made the shameful realization that he was talking to himself. His final straw was when he had accidentally made two orders for his dinner that night instead of one. That next morning, he insisted that his crew take the next few days off, as he was afraid of what would happen if he kept up with this strange behavior. He used the excuse that they were working hard lately, and deserved to have a little fun.

He was trying to convince himself that he was simply used to the routine, not *Dea*. Habits were easy to form, but harder to break, as he knew. Change was clearly the issue here. Wasn’t it? 

He had the intention of taking it easy today, asking Rooke if he was free to hang out, but when they actually made it to the bar, Deacon felt depressed. He wondered how long he could’ve hid it from him - he probably would’ve done a fine job, had they not picked up a game of darts. 

“I don’t know,” He confessed. And it was the truth. He genuinely did not understand what was going on with him right now. 

“You’re really going through it, aren’t you?” His tone was remorseful. “Losing the Erebus, your prisoners, then nearly your partner… ? I’m surprised you haven’t lost it yourself.”

‘I am losing it!’ Deacon wanted to scream. Why was he so fussed over this woman? He wanted to throw his head into a wall. 

“You don’t understand. It was my gun that shot her. My own bullet.”

“Don’t blame yourself. It was an accident.”

“But I pulled the trigger-” 

Rooke shoved the beer towards him. He gave him a stern tilt of the head before his brother reluctantly took a drink. He crumbled in his seat, covering his face underneath his mask and shaking from the guilt.

He was finally surrendering to his emotions.

He was better than this. 

“I’m no stranger to casualties. Accidents happen all the time on the battlefield. Sometimes you can’t predict what your enemy is going to do. Chi Non Fa, Non Falla.” 

‘He who does nothing, makes no mistakes.’

The Emissary faltered. Of course Rooke had seen worse. He’d probably witnessed his soldiers blowing up and dying before his eyes. His line of work was as equally disturbing as Deacon’s, just in different ways. It was sometimes therapeutic to discuss these things with him. Whenever he thought he couldn’t relate, he always surprised him. 

“You should go visit her in the hospital,” He suggested all too nonchalantly. “Buy her flowers, maybe.” 

He didn’t respond. The larger man waited expectantly at his silence. He caved in with a wince. “She thinks I hate her.” 

“Deacon.” 

“I don’t. I just - damnit! She’s been a thorn in my side for so long, but…” He struggled to explain how he felt. Even he wasn’t sure. His emotions felt like a jumbled mess. “She doesn’t deserve her pain, and she shouldn’t think I despise her.” 

“Here’s how I see it-” Rooke leaned back in his chair, gesturing with his hands. “You’ve gotten used to her company. You two have been practically roommates.” 

He scrunched up his nose and looked away. “-But it doesn’t feel like that.” 

“-Then what DOES it feel like?” 

He dropped his frustration. Now he felt conflicted. Over how he’s handled these two months, even after Rooke advised him to open up to her. And he had …He played the piano in front of Dea, tied her corset for her, and discussed the things he liked. He thought that would be enough to start something, a friendship of some sorts, maybe, but…it still didn’t feel like they were close enough. It was unbalanced. He had learned more about his co-captain, even a clue as to what she looked like, while he remained an enigma in comparison.  

“I don’t know.”

This conversation felt futile. He’d gotten nothing out of it, beyond venting to Rooke about his guilt. His brother looked tired. He motioned for them to finish their beers. Deacon obliged – shifting his gaze and somehow feeling even worse. Had he wasted both of their time? Maybe being with him right now hadn’t been the best idea. He should’ve known to wait until he was more mentally stable. 

Rooke noticed his dispirited demeanor and patted him on the back. It was his usual gesture of comfort. “You should still go see her while you can. Try to talk some things out.” 

“..You think she’ll want to see me?” 

“Why not?” He shrugged. 

…

Why not, indeed. 

----

Two visitors in one day felt like too much for Dea. 

She was tempted to have the nurse send them off, but she really had nothing else to do here. Her conversation with Queen had sent her mind running. What did she mean by a ‘special day together’? She was cryptic with her words, sometimes, and it scared her. She’d been in a frenzy about it, wondering if she should feel relieved or nervous. So she was sort of thankful for the distraction when she was told that someone else wanted to see her.

The last thing she expected, however, was to find Deacon shuffling his way into the room. 

He was finally in his blue ensemble again - his familiar jackets and cape giving Dea a great relief. Just seeing him like this made things feel normal again. She wanted to be back on the ship doing the usual things like chatting with their crew while Deacon simultaneously juggled steering the wheel and reading a book.  

“Ciao.” He greeted her in kind.

“…What are you doing here?” 

“--Checking on you. Would you rather me *not* do that?” He asked seriously. She shook her head. 

“I’m just wondering why you’re not out at sea right now..?” 

“Took the day off,” He mumbled, helping himself into the seat. Unlike Queen, he didn’t pull it up to her bedside and instead settled on watching her from afar. “How are things?” 

“Not so bad. The pain is getting better, but my head is still…” She waved her hand as she thought how to word it. “-Weird? A lot is coming back to me, though.” 

He looked at her curiously. She paused, wondering if she should bring certain things up. She had a few questions, but something in particular had been bothering her. Was it better to wait? Get her answers later?  She decided to bide her time and reached over to grab the book from the table. She held it with a wryly smile - somewhat disappointed that he couldn’t see her expression right now. His eyes moved to look at what she was holding.

“I didn’t think you knew how to read,” He commented dryly. She shrugged and opened it, flipping through the pages casually. 

“I usually don’t, but I saw you had this one, and wanted to check it out.” She pinched her lips together, stifling a giggle. “-You really enjoy this stuff?” 

“I didn’t pick it out,” He defended. “And for the record, there *are* some good detective novels out there.” 

“I’m sure,” She replied humorously, returning the book to its place. Her tone grew curious. “I never asked you, but what do you like to read, Espía?” 

He looked surprised. It took him a minute or two to think about his answer. “Mystery, thrillers, adventure…” 

“What’s your favorite book?” 

“Moby-Dick.”

“No way!” 

He shrugged, entwining his gloved fingers together. “It was one of the first serious stories I'd ever read.” 

Her laugh was like music to his ears. He didn’t expect Dea to ever ask something like this - but he was delighted. He’d just been thinking of how little she knew about him, and he was glad to change that. He owed it to her, after all. His eyes wandered while she calmed down and noticed the article of clothing shoved behind her person. It took a few seconds for him to recognize what it was and realize he had completely forgotten about his trench coat. 

“Comfortable?” He asked, much-too-knowing not to be suspicious. Dea looked at him strangely before realizing where he was looking. Her face grew hot under her mask.

“I - ah,” She stammered, moving to hide the coat from his view. “If I remember correctly, YOU were the one who gave this to me..!” 

He gave a casual hum, sitting back in the chair. From what *he* remembered, she didn’t even want it. She grew annoyed at his reaction and waved him off. This did not dissuade him from continuing the conversation. 

“Who is your favorite singer?” He prompted. She blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“The person who inspired you,” He clarified. She wondered why he inquired about this, but figured it was fair, since she had asked him about his books. She clicked her tongue. 

“My aunt loved to sing. She would teach me all sorts of songs and play instruments for me. She was a big inspiration in my life.” A particular word rang heavy in the room, so she elaborated. “She passed away a long time ago. I’ve wanted to sing in her memory, if that makes sense. She always wanted to share her voice with the world, but never got to. I…guess I haven’t, either…”

“...I see.” He responded. He sounded happy to know, but sympathetic to hear at the same time. She offered the question back to him. 

“You’re really good at the piano. I bet you’re talented with the violin. Who inspired you to play?” 

“No one, really. It was just beneficial to learn.”

“Then how come you didn’t pursue it? As a career?”

“Not what I really wanted to do,” He confessed. “I liked to be on boats, go sailing. I did well in school, so my father thought I was educated enough to become an Emissary.” 

She continued to pry. “Do you like your job?” 

This was when he fell silent. Of course he loved his job. He was miserable whenever he was put on-hold. But he couldn’t admit that aloud. It didn’t feel right. Being an Emissary and a spymaster came with all sorts of responsibilities, and he was held to such high standards that it was often stressful for him. When he made mistakes, he faced brutal consequences. Being an Elite was a privilege, and not one he wanted to lose. So he overworked himself and never had any time for anything else.  

Maybe if he had become a professional musician, he’d be a little happier. He wouldn’t be held to such standards, and wouldn't have to work under Kane. He would never have to deal with his disappointment because he was conditioned not to make any mistakes on strings. He was slippery with his job now, things constantly happened out of his control…he suddenly wondered if he had made the right choice with his life.

Seeing his struggle, Dea spared him from answering. “I bet it’s hard.” 

“Unbelievably so.” 

He wanted to change the subject. He had to, before things escalated and they were digging into territory he did not want to discuss. Before he could say anything, a troubled sigh escaped the woman. She clasped her hands together and looked away. 

“Deacon…I remembered what I was trying to ask you, back at that church. You said we would talk about it later. Is now a good time?” 

He held his breath. No time was good for this, period, but he’d rather talk about it like this. Alone, and when the air between them was still light. He gave her a solemn nod and she took a second before having the courage to ask again. 

“What happens to these prisoners, when we are done capturing them?” 

“As I told you,” He began calmly. “They will be taken back to Valencia to be questioned.” 

This conversation was going exactly the same as it did last time. Maybe that was for the best. “-And they’ll be questioned about *what*...?” 

“I have studied the rise of piracy within this past year, and suspect these pirates will grow numerous in the long-term and pose a threat to the Armada and our plans. The criminals and undesirables we are arresting have valuable intel about a pirate haven located somewhere in Skull Island.” 

Her eyes grew in shock. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together. Her stomach felt like it was in a knot. She had to gather her strength to ask the next question that popped up in her mind. 

“And if these prisoners don’t tell you what you want..?” 

He bowed his head, his tone ominous. “They will be tortured until they do." He looked her in the eye before finishing, "-By me.”

[metrobusinessadvisors]

Your Business Shouldn’t be a Fixer Upper

By Dave Driscoll

Most of us have gotten pulled into (at least) one of the home improvement/DIY-type reality shows in which a house is transformed from an outdated eyesore into a stunning, welcoming home that meets the family’s needs. As soon as you begin watching the episode, you become invested and can’t walk away until you see the finished product. It doesn’t hurt that some dramatic problem is usually discovered that must be solved creatively. Maybe these shows are popular because deep down, we like to believe that old things can be renewed, rejuvenated and given new life. Many of us also like the challenge of solving a problem effectively and efficiently.

Based on these shows and the widespread trend of flipping houses, a business owner might start to believe that it’s no big deal if weeds and little trees are sprouting from the parking lot pavement or the building shows signs of wear and neglect.

BUT, do not fall into the trap of thinking a prospective buyer will see your business as a fixer upper with “great bones.”

Buyers are looking for profit, not a project!

If walking into your office is like going back to 1960, with metal desks, old filing cabinets, and a tile floor with junk everywhere, a prospective buyer will want to run screaming “back to the future!”

Buyers are savvy enough to know that physical appearance is related to the overall health of the business. Dimly lit spaces, outdated equipment (whether still being used or broken down), or disorganized inventory and work-in-process are red flags of deeper problems. In these conditions, updated financial controls and records are highly unlikely. Things are probably done the way we’ve always done them instead of embracing technology and efficiency. And employees have likely learned to be apathetic and just put in their time with minimal effort.

Quite simply, if you don’t demonstrate care for your facility, employees, and customers on a daily basis, your business value suffers.  

A potential buyer’s first impression is hard to change. Would a stranger walking into your business think "this place has big problems?” Maybe a buyer would consider a couple affordable updates, but health and safety issues, high employee turnover, sub-standard productivity, and increased costs for insurance, overtime, and materials are damaging to profitability and will not be overlooked.  

Like your house, your business immediately projects an image to potential buyers. The “curb appeal” can attract a buyer to your business—or cause them to walk (or run) away without further investigation.

Take some time to work on your business rather than just working in your business.

These three steps will improve your curb appeal and business value: 1. Fix your “leaky faucets”

Buyers expect a productive environment that focuses on employee safety and moral. Owners who are focused on working "in" their business may not see how the plant, equipment, and policies have disintegrated over the years. Think like a buyer and address both the physical and intangible aspects that lower confidence in the business’ ability to thrive.

Clean up the exterior of the facility.

Clean up and clean out old or unused equipment and inventory.

Improve lighting; open up floor space; provide space for collaboration.

Look for telltale signs of bigger problems – for example, if doors won’t close, is there a problem with the foundation?

 Maximize product, labor, and information flow.

Maintain clear, accurate financial records, including seller’s discretionary income.

Educate your employees regarding expectations and maintaining a clean, safe environment.

Hold everyone accountable for maintaining the system.

2. Assemble a company manual

Assemble written HR Policies and the Employee Handbook.

Document step-by-step procedures, from taking an order or first encounter to final delivery of the product or service.

When you buy a house, you feel more confident if the owner provides instruction manuals and servicing reports for appliances and systems. Similarly, a potential buyer considering your company wants to know that your business information is in order. 

Documentation promotes consistency, repeatability and accountability, reassuring the buyer that they can maintain customer satisfaction, as well as profitability. Clearly communicated rules and expectations enhance employee relations.

This type of corporate hygiene can lead to a higher price for your company, while also lowering the chance of the deal falling apart during due diligence. 

3. Document your intangibles If you were buying a house, you would consider intangibles such as being in a good school district or proximity to your office. Likewise, be sure that a potential buyer is aware of the intangible assets that make your business desirable, such as:

The reason for your success - the company’s unique value proposition

Proprietary operating systems

Intellectual property

Patents, secret recipes

Client agreements or contracts

Pay attention to the details!

Although some improvements may seem merely cosmetic, perception is reality for prospective buyers. Don’t give buyers a reason to question if larger structural problems – physical or systemic - are lurking due to years of neglect. Your business should always be “move-in ready” because transitioning a business to a new owner is a significant project. Expecting a buyer to be willing to DIY for up-to-date business functionality is not realistic.

Don’t wait until you’re ready to sell your business to improve your business’ curb appeal. Not only will you avoid a huge to-do list later, you may be surprised at the increased moral and productivity that result in the meantime.

Dave Driscoll is president of Metro Business Advisors, a mergers & acquisitions, valuation and exit/succession planning firm helping owners of companies with revenue up to $20 million sell their most valuable asset. Reach Dave at DDriscoll@MetroBusinessAdvisors.com or (314) 303-5600.  www.MetroBusinessAdvisors.com

As seen in Dave's St. Louis Small Business Monthly column

[90363462]

Christopher Pedraza/Getty Images

From Classical To Heart: All The Different Styles A Vagina Can Be

Like snowflakes, they all may be similar, but no two vaginas are exactly alike.

Ashley Cobb

Aug. 17, 2022 08:03AM EST

When was the last time you held a mirror and took a good look at your pussy? I mean a real hard look at it. What does she look like? Is your vagina normal? Several years ago, I received a DM from a young lady asking me this very question. She wanted to know if her vagina looked “normal.” She went on to explain that her pussy wasn’t as "pretty" as the ones she’d seen in porn and how insecure that made her feel. I can totally relate to her insecurities. I couldn’t begin to tell you how many jokes I’ve heard over the years from men about women and their vaginas. I would be lying if I said I’ve never pondered the same. 

At one time or another, I think all vagina owners have been self-conscious about how things looked down there. Ultimately, no matter the gender of the person we’re engaging with sexually, we want them to look at our pussies and be in love. I want every lover of mine to see my pussy and be in awe of its beauty. My pussy is beautiful and you should love it because it’s mine! Vaginas are like snowflakes: They all may be anatomically similar but no two pussies are exactly the same. Also, I would soon learn that even though my pussy is unique to me, it had a few doppelgangers out there, too.

Two years ago during the pandemic lockdown, I participated in a "Virtual Pussy Show & Tell" workshop where I plastered my pussy on a Zoom camera for all to see. The intent of the workshop was for women to get an up-close-and-personal view of other people’s pussies. Up until that moment, I'd never intensely looked at someone else's before. There’s been the occasional changing of clothes in front of friends and shower room situations, but I'd never had pussy all up in my face until that workshop.

One by one, women of all races and backgrounds showed their pussies on a Zoom call to complete strangers. From this experience, I got to see all the beautifully different styles and shapes the vagina had to offer. I also noticed that even though everyone’s pussy was uniquely different, a lot of them looked very similar to one another.

Betty Dodson, sex education pioneer and the originator of the "Genital Show & Tell," started identifying the different styles of pussy back in the '70s. She categorized pussy into one of six styles: Classical, Gothic, Modern, Renaissance, Baroque, and Heart.

The Classical vulva has symmetrical inner and outer labia and a moderately sized clitoris. 

The Gothic vulva has an elongated clitoral hood and the dramatic draping of the inner labia. 

The Modern has a large clitoris, sleek lines of the labia, and vaginal opening. 

The Renaissance vulva has ruffled inner labia that drape down from the clitoral hood like beautiful fabric. 

The Baroque vulva has a labia with several scallops and turns and the unique hood folds over the clitoris. 

The Heart vulva makes a heart shape when the labia is pulled to the sides.

Seeing all these similar yet uniquely different pussies taught me there is no such thing as a so-called "normal" vagina. All pussies look like pussies and no matter the shape or "style," there is someone else with a similar-looking one. So, the next time someone asks me whether their vagina is normal, I am going to say, 'Yep, it's normal for you!'

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Ashley Cobb

Ashley Cobb is an Atlanta-based sexpert, blogger, and HIV Activist known for her fun, down-to-earth and practical commentary. Her work has also been in Essence, Madamenoire, and other publications on the internet. Follow her on all platforms @sexwithashley.https://www.xonecole.com/is-my-pussy-normal/particle-3