#maybe I’ll upload some pages????

[sheepinthebigcity]

$40 spent ig lol

[boggedbones]

I have to illustrate like 8 pages of a comic + the front and back covers in the next four days everyone please send me your strength

[catslvrr]

hiding in plain sight

kim minji x fem!reader | one shot

Synopsis: Being stuck in an elevator is bad. Being stuck in an elevator with Minji, however, is very good.

Contains: mentions of drinking, cursing

Song: Glue Song — Beabadoobee, Clairo

You should’ve known that your laziness would come back to bite you in the ass one day.

“Alright,” Hanni huffs, readjusting her tote bag strap. “This is where we part ways.”

You shift weight onto your right foot to bump shoulders with her. “Are you sure? The offer still stands.”

“Very sure,” she laughs as she glances at the daunting stairs on the right. “Need these bad boys muscled up.”

Hanni attempts a bodybuilder pose to flaunt her calf muscles, but barely anything shows. It’s a sad display. Maybe she really does need it.

“Shame,” you sigh dejectedly. “I’ll convince you one day.”

Every day for two months. That’s how long Hanni has devoted herself to taking the stairs rather than the elevator. You’ve tried almost everything to convince her, from horror stories to bribery to threats.

“Hanni, just get in the fucking elevator,” you hiss, violently slamming on the ‘open doors’ button. It’s ten in the evening, both of you just got back from a grueling study session in the library, and you’re about to drop dead.

It’s just your luck that she’s your roommate. You forgot your keys to the apartment, and there is no way in hell that you’re waiting fifteen minutes for her to climb however many flights of stairs it takes to get to the room.

“Nuh-uh,” she sing-songs, performing a pirouette for absolutely no reason other than to rub salt in the wound. “It’s fun seeing you mad.”

You grit your teeth. “I will tell everyone that you were the one who killed Lucy.”

A gasp. “You wouldn’t!”

(It was a tragedy. Lucy was a dearly loved succulent who sat on a window sill at the end of the hallway. Every resident would visit Lucy from time to time, and there was even a Facebook page to upload pictures of Lucy and its growth.

On the fateful day, you and Hanni had just returned from a rowdy night out, and of course, both of you were a tad bit too drunk. You dared her to do a cartwheel and Lucy was unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

Somebody had posted a picture of Lucy, sprawled out on the carpet, pieces of the broken pot surrounding it. Word spread throughout the apartment and there was a solemn funeral held for Lucy. Justice was demanded but the true culprit was never found… because you were her alibi.)

“But I would,” you say with a smirk. At this point, you’re surprised the button isn’t broken yet. You’re also sorry for anyone else who’s waiting for the elevator on other floors.

“It was your fault in the first place!”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ve got video evidence.”

Hanni sags her shoulders in defeat. After a few seconds of thinking, she seems to perk up again.

“Tell them,” she declares defiantly. “It’s been months anyway. People deserve closure.”

She then marches toward the stairs. You hear the echoes of her stomping.

You see your confounded face in the reflection as the elevator doors close.

“Aren’t you the basketball player?” Hanni muses. “You should be jumping at the chance to get some cardio in.”

“I already went to the gym today,” you flex your bicep smugly and attempt a smoulder. “And I got practice later.”

“You look like a jackass,” she scoffs. “Don’t talk to me.”

She curtly turns and speedwalks to the stairs, the telltale sounds of heavy steps following soon after.

You reach for your headphones around your neck and belatedly realize that they’re missing. “Fuck!”

The steps stop. Hanni’s voice is booming down the stairwell. “What?”

“I think I left my headphones in class.”

Hanni spares you no sympathy and cackles as she continues up the stairs. “Loser!”

You groan and decide you’ll go and find it before practice later. You tap your foot impatiently as you wait for the elevator to arrive. It’s taking a bit longer than usual today. You take a few minutes to scroll on your phone for a bit before you hear a familiar ding.

The elevator doors open and you walk in, but as you turn around to press the button to your floor, you see a face you weren’t expecting to see.

“Minji?” You tilt your head as she steps inside.

Minji offers a small smile and an awkward wave.

If you remember correctly, she’s friends with Haerin, who’s your team’s mascot. It’s such a shame she didn’t try out for the team because her height is ideal for the sport. You already have Hyein as a center, but she could probably pass as a power forward if she trained for it.

You notice that Minji is wearing the bottom half of the bear mascot. “Is Haerin okay?”

“Yeah,” she scratches her cheek. “She’s feeling a bit under the weather so I’m taking over for tomorrow’s game. Figured I’d get some practice before then.”

You’re about to ask about how the practice went, but the way she slumps in exhaustion against the railing tells you everything. You take note of the glistening sweat on her neck and the strands of hair sticking to her skin. Her cheeks are flushed from the heat, but it gives her a faint glow that gets you bothered.

“Aren’t you hot?” You raise an eyebrow. “I tried that on once and I almost passed out after doing a backflip.”

Minji looks down at the bear costume and shakes her head hurriedly. “I’m almost home.”

“You’re fifth floor, right?”

A nod. You take her nonverbal response as a sign of discomfort, and so you stop your attempts at conversation.

There’s a few minutes of tense silence before a metallic screech pierces your ears. You both stumble as the elevator comes to an unexpected halt.

“What the fuck,” you say, squinting at the buttons and displays. You poke around for a bit before realizing that the elevator isn’t moving.

You turn around to check on Minji, but it doesn’t seem like she’s faring well. Her face is pale white and she’s tightly gripping onto the rails.

“Hey,” you take a small step toward her. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she snaps her eyes shut and takes a deep breath. “Fine. Just a bit claustrophobic.”

You hesitantly place a hand on her shoulder and squeeze gently. “Just take your time and breathe, okay? I’ll contact emergency services.”

Minji nods again and sits down in the corner. You watch her worriedly before checking your phone. Of course, there’s no service. 

“Fuck,” you mutter under your breath. You click on the bright red emergency services button, expecting static or a voice to sound out, but there’s nothing. You press again. And again. You push and hold it for five seconds.

“Don’t panic,” you flash Minji with an awkward grin. “But it’s not working.”

“Oh God,” she blanches, and understandably begins to panic. “We’re gonna die.”

She stands up, still in the mascot costume, and paces around the elevator. “We’re going to run out of oxygen. We’ll suffocate to death. We’ll run out of food and die of starvation. No, we’ll die of dehydration before that. What if I need to pee?”

The costume makes the passionate rant all the more comical. Her rambling continues as she wrings her hands together. “I think I need to pee. The anxiety’s getting to me.”

You grimace. “Please don’t talk about pissing. It’ll make me wanna piss too.”

Minji’s still aggressively muttering to herself in blind terror, so you stop her by grabbing her arm. “Hey, relax.”

That only seems to worsen her agitation as she yanks her body away from you, her face burning red as she almost elbows you in the face. She squeaks, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to–”

“It’s okay,” you wave it off with a laugh and squeeze her hand. It’s soft. “You’re lucky you didn’t damage this pretty face.”

In this brief flustered state, Minji temporarily forgets about the panic and slides down to the floor like Jello. You squat down to meet her eye level. 

“Seriously though, it’ll be fine. The elevator has air vents so we’ll get enough circulation in here. And we’ll only be in here half an hour max. And about the pissing…” you trail off and take a quick peek at your duffle bag. “I have a bottle?”

Minji doesn’t reply, head in her hands. You make yourself comfortable and sit cross-legged opposite her.

“Will anyone notice you’re missing?”

“No,” she mumbles dejectedly.

Well, shit. Hanni probably thinks you’ve gone to find your headphones. “We might be here for more than an hour then.”

You clear your throat to break the awkward silence that ensues after. “How come I’ve never seen you around? We’re in the same year, right?”

“Our courses are in different buildings,” Minji says weakly. “My psych classes are far from the engineering buildings.”

“You already know what course I do?” You grin cheekily. “You must be a big fan.”

Minji hastily lifts her face, showcasing a burning blush. “No! I just… heard it from Haerin, that’s all.”

Your grin only widens. Like Haerin would ever talk about the team. She’s only there for the free post-game feeds. You choose to feign ignorance for her sake.

“You should take that off,” you suggest, noticing how Minji is uncomfortably squirming in the costume. “I’ll help with the zipper.”

“Okay,” Minji stammers, scrambling to get up on her feet.

You brush away some of her hair that’s covering the zipper and move it over her shoulder. Your fingers briefly brush over her neck, and all you can feel is how she’s burning hot. Minji almost imperceptibly shivers and jolts forward, choking on air. You pull the zipper down and watch with mirth as she clumsily wrestles out of the costume.

Minji stuffs it in her backpack and flops back down, hugging her backpack in her lap. You follow suit and sit a few inches away from her.

“Much better?”

She nods, still avoiding your gaze. You bite your cheek as you stare at her, trying to figure out a way to make conversation. You decide to fish your phone out of your pocket and pull up a recording of your last game, flashing her your screen as you pat the empty space next to you. “You wanna watch?”

Minji hesitates for a few seconds before shuffling closer. Her voice is small as she admits, “I was watching this game on the sidelines.”

You’re filled with a sense of pride at the news. But you also make a mental note to ponder on why you haven’t noticed her around before. “Really?”

“It’s not because of you or anything,” she adamantly denies, rubbing her nape, though you feel like her red cheeks contradict that.

“Anyone catch your eye?”

Her denial is half-hearted.

You pout teasingly. “Shame. I’ll play better next game.”

You save Minji from further embarrassment and press play. “You know how basketball works, right?”

“Each team has five players on the court… and the ball goes in the hoop?” Minji frowns.

“And?”

“And… you can’t run with the ball.”

“Basically,” you chuckle. “But there’s more to it.”

You rewind the video back to the beginning. “I hope you don’t mind me commentating.”

She shakes her head, and so you continue. “So this is one of the simplest plays in basketball: a pick and roll…”

You eventually finish the video and end up versing each other on the table hockey app on your phone. She’s surprisingly competitive and it’s endearing. You then somehow end up talking about card games, and you introduce her to the world of Inscryption through a gameplay video.

Halfway through the video, you feel a sudden weight on your shoulder. You crane your neck slightly and see Minji’s sleeping face. You smile and continue watching until you slowly drift off to sleep as well.

You’re both awoken with a sudden thud. Minji practically springs off of you and profusely apologizes, much to your amusement. You look up to see a firefighter opening the emergency escape hatch.

“You ladies alright?”

“Yes sir,” you drawl, checking your phone. “It’s just been two hours, no biggie.”

A ladder is dropped from the hatch and you both climb up, stretching your limbs as you stand on top of the elevator.

“This is so sick,” you pose as you take selfies. “I feel like I’m in some action movie.”

You tilt your phone to include Minji in the photos, and you laugh because she looks like she’s being held hostage.

The two of you are harnessed on some rope and pulled up by firefighters to safety. You’re shocked to see Haerin and Hanni there waiting. Hanni practically storms toward you and latches herself onto you like a koala, crying dramatically about your disappearance. You thank the firefighters as they pack up their equipment and begin to disperse.

“Hey Haerin,” you greet her with a strained voice, trying to peel Hanni off you. “You feeling better?”

“No,” she replies nasally. There’s a tissue stuffed in her right nostril. “But I’ll be there next game.”

You gift her with a slap on the back which earns you one in return, and you curse under your breath because she definitely hit you harder than you hit her. You ignore the stinging pain and swivel to meet Minji’s gaze that is already on you.

“Keep an eye on me next game?” You ask nonchalantly, but you must admit there’s a small part of you that twinges with hope. “I’ll play super duper good for you.”

Minji’s eyes widen in surprise before timidly answering with a stutter, “I will.”

“I’ll see you then!” You leave her with a side hug (where she awkwardly pats your back) before approaching Hanni. She gives you an eyebrow wiggle that you roll your eyes to in response. She is a hundred percent going to interrogate you at home. Both of you start the long climb to the apartment.

“Karma’s a bitch,” Hanni says obnoxiously. “That’s what you get for not taking the stairs.”

“Shut up JoJo Siwa,” you glower at her, but a lame grin graces your face when you remember your time spent with Minji. “I’d say it was a good thing.”

“Ew,” she gags. “Wipe that dopey smile off your face.”

You abruptly stop and grab Hanni’s arm. She turns around in confusion and sees your aghast expression. “What?”

“I missed practice. Yujin is gonna kill me.”

Tomorrow comes quicker than you expected, and you’re buzzing with nerves as you warm up on the sidelines. It’s not an important game, but your hands tremble a bit more today. You scan the court for a certain someone.

Danielle throws you a Gatorade. “Who are you looking for?”

“No one,” you blurt out a bit too quickly. You take a swig from the bottle to wash away your anxiety as you seat yourself on a bench.

“You sure?” Danielle quips with a knowing smile. “You’re shaking.”

You slam the bottle on the bench to shut down her jest. 

“Shouldn’t you be with Hyein?” You scowl as you shoo her away. “Go be a supportive friend and give her some encouraging words or something.”

Any lingering embarrassment flies out the window when you spot a big bear entering the building. You wave her over and laugh as she trips over someone’s stranded bag.

“Hi,” you smile.

You can barely hear Minji’s muffled voice through the head. “Hi.”

Your smile twitches as Hyein and Danielle appear behind Minji and start pulling childish faces. Your glare and subtle middle finger sends them away. “Wish me luck?”

The referee whistles as a signal for players to get on the court. Minji gives an awkward thumbs up, so you accept the fact that you have to initiate contact. You lean forward and kiss the stupid bear head. It’s a bit weird, but it’s worth it because you hear Minji’s breath hitch. 

She runs away promptly after. The game starts and you’ve never felt so motivated in your life.

The other team is irritatingly good at three-pointers, but your team’s size provides you with a solid advantage; you’re able to fight back through rebounding and shots inside the paint.

Your teammates are a bit puzzled at first when you keep hogging the ball and taking contested shots, but they’re not mad because you’re making them. The bewilderment quickly turns to disbelief when they realize you keep looking at the mascot after every shot.

“You’re so annoying,” Yujin grumbles during the half-time break. “This is not High School Musical.”

“Stop complaining, grandma.” You can feel your muscles ache from the overexertion, but the goal of impressing Minji takes priority. “We’re up by 20.”

“I think it’s cute!” Hyein interjects with an encouraging pinch of your cheek. “I can’t see Minji’s face but I bet she’s in love.”

Everyone turns as they hear a loud smack that resonates throughout the building. Minji’s sprawled on the floor after a failed backflip.

“She’s so cute,” you giggle, disregarding your teammate’s exasperated groans and mock punches.

The rest of the game is a breeze, but there are a few frustrating turnovers here and there that shorten the lead to nine when the final whistle blows.

You slither away from the team huddle and plop yourself down next to Minji. She’s gulping down water at a scarily excessive pace. You wait for her as she squeezes every last drop from the bottle and lets out a big wheeze afterwards.

“Tired?”

Minji nods and gratefully accepts the towel. You admire her as she wipes sweat off her neck and face.

“So,” you chirp. “How was the game?”

“You did really well,” she admits meekly.

Your chest puffs up at the praise. “So you’ll be watching from the front row for all my games from now on? I wanna see you.”

Minji’s taken aback by your forwardness, but nods shyly.

You’re still bouncing with adrenaline. “Did you see that and-one layup I made? And the no-look pass? And the—”

You stop rambling as you realize Minji’s not responding and spacing out. More specifically, spacing out and staring at your lips.

“Kiss me,” you say.

Minji literally jumps on the spot and almost screams, “What?”

“Kiss me,” you say again simply. “You want to and I want to. What’s stopping you?”

She audibly gulps and averts her gaze to hide her dilated pupils. “No, I was just distracted by something else, really…”

You roll your eyes and tug on the collar of the mascot costume to pull her in for a kiss. You feel her whole body stiffen and she makes a strangled noise, but then she melts and kisses you back for a few seconds before you pull away.

“Your lips are soft,” you smile casually, but you can feel the hammering of your heart.

“Thanks,” Minji’s voice wavers. “You too.”

“I like you,” you continue. “We should go on a date.”

“Really?” She stumbles over her words, still slightly dazed. “Are you sure?”

You hum in affirmation.

“Okay,” she squeaks.

“Okay,” you repeat with a smile. You stand up and take her hand to pull her up as well. “Let’s go eat. The team is probably waiting for us outside.”

“Wait!” She yanks you back. “Let me get out of this costume first…”

“Do you need help with the zipper again?”

“…Yes please.”

Dedicated to user rosiehrs... hope this minji was 'loser' enough for you

[lovelookspretty]

not so bad

college!rafe cameron x reader au

— in which rafe and y/n absolutely despise each other in public but crush in secret. rafe is failing his humanities class & is assigned y/n as his tutor . . . maybe all it took for this relationship to form was just a bit of forced proximity and some time.

warning(s): party time, cute little moments between rafe n y/n, y/n jealous for a split sec !

authors note: sorry for the late update, ive adapted to writing only like once a day and yesterday i uploaded a rafe smut !! check it out if ud like

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

you turn the page to your book quietly, your fist pushed up against the side of your face. you’re sitting in the quiet sanctuary of the school library, your fingers tracing the page of the book you’re reading. aria is off somewhere grabbing another book for her class.

suddenly, a voice interrupts the silence, causing you to jump in your seat. you look up to find rafe and lorenzo standing beside on the opposite end of the table, a mischievous glint in rafe’s eyes while lorenzo flashes you a playful grin.

“what are you reading?” rafe asks, as he sits down in the seat across from you. lorenzo rounds the table and takes the chair beside you.

you blink in surprise, just a little taken aback by their sudden appearance. you have to quickly compose yourself, and you offer them a polite smile as you glance down at your book.

“just revisiting an old favorite,” you answer, and you close the book to show them its cover.

lorenzo snaps his fingers when he recognizes it. “ohh, ‘to kill a mockingbird’! i know this one—a classic,” he says, a hint of amusement in his tone. “isn’t this the one with the courtroom drama and the scout kid?”

you chuckle, nodding in confirmation. “yeah, that one,” you tell him, and you feel excited to talk about the book with someone who understands that you sit up in your chair, “you know, it’s about so much more than just the trial though. it’s about growing up, facing prejudice, and standing up for what’s right.”

lorenzo raises an eyebrow, his interest piqued. “sounds heavy,” he comments with a nod, “but speaking of heavy, have you ever read ‘moby-dick’?”

“alright that’s enough,” rafe says as he waves his hands to grab yours and lorenzo’s attention. “we have to get to class. it starts in a few. lorenzo, come on.”

lorenzo looks to you and smiles like he’s sorry you guys can’t discuss further, but you shake your head like you’re telling him that it’s okay.

you watch as rafe rises from his seat and he pulls up his sleeves. you send him a small smile, a bit regretful for not saying hello to him when they first sat down. he only pulls on a smile back at you.

lorenzo joins his friend across the table but before they leave, rafe grips the back of the chair he was sitting in and he leans forward. “i’ll see you on friday, yeah? the party?” he asks, and for a moment you search your mind about this ‘party’ but you can’t remember. “you saw my messages right? from this morning?”

you didn’t. you haven’t. this whole morning you’ve been sitting in the library to study for your upcoming exams.

but it’s october. just less than two weeks away from halloween. it must be for that.

you nod, so rafe and lorenzo begin to leave the area when they know you’re going.

“bring your friend too,” he adds as he’s walking backward, and you raise your eyebrows with a smile and a nod, trying to pick up the appearance that you know what exactly he’s talking about and that you’ll do exactly that. rafe turns back around and leaves to go through the library doors.

your mind is just reeling with conflicting emotions. before you know it, your phone lights up from inside your bag that you kept beside you. it’s stacked with your belongings (on top is your jacket) so that it’s easier for you to see when you get a notification.

you pick up your phone, reading the message in your head from aria.

‘ you guys are so cute!! ’

you drop your phone and look up to the second floor of the library. aria is leaning over the railing and staring right back at you with a grin from ear to ear. you sigh and text back:

‘ yea okay stop laughing because ur going w me to the party this friday apparently ’

you look up and watch aria. she checks her phone, her smile fading as soon as she reads your message. she peers over her phone and over to you with a pleading look.

pursing your lips, you shake your head to say ‘no’. there’s no way you’re going to a party without her.

you almost didn’t have costumes to wear until elara brought you both to go shopping away from the guys.

as lorenzo’s car pulls up to the frat house, you notice that the thumping bass of the music can be heard from down the block. you glanced over at aria, who’s sitting nervously in the backseat with you and rafe, her hands folded tightly in her lap. you decided to sit in the middle so it isn’t awkward for her.

you can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for your friend, knowing how out of her element aria must be feeling. you shoot her a reassuring smile and squeeze her hand before turning your attention to rafe.

he looks at you when he noticed you’ve turned back to him, and he smiles. you send him a quick wink.

once lorenzo’s parked the car, he announces, “we’re here.” he turns off the engine and unbuckles his seatbelt, facing the group in the backseat of his car with a mischievous look. “are you ready to have some fun?”

after you’ve climbed out of the car and make your way toward the frat house, you notice the energy pulsing through the air. there’s excitement, there’s buzz. the front lawn is packed with students laughing and talking, all in different costumes, while the sound of music blares from inside.

upon entering, you find yourself swept up in the chaos of the party. you stick close to rafe and aria specifically, feeling grateful for their reassuring presence amidst all of the unfamiliar faces. as you make your way through the crowd, you marvel at the sights and sounds around you.

“you doing alright?” rafe shouts over the music, his voice barely audible above the din.

you grin, nodding. “yeah, so far,” you reply, but you’re half-joking. your heart is pounding, and what makes it worse is rafe sending a small smirk toward you as he nods back.

meanwhile, aria hovers nervously at your side, her eyes wide with apprehension. she’s taking in the scene around her and she clings to you like a lifeline.

as rafe leads you and aria into the kitchen, the energy of the party seemed to amplify. the smell of alcohol and sweat mingled with the beat of the music. it was all so overwhelming. aria swears she can throw up right now without having to consume any alcohol.

you glance around the room, your eyes immediately drawn to lorenzo and elara who are bound together near the kitchen island. lorenzo is already at the center of attention, holding court as he pours shots with a grin. elara stands beside him, her laughter ringing out above the noise of the party.

as you and the two approach, you feel a knot form in your stomach. you tighten your grip on aria’s hand, silently urging your friend to stay close.

“i don’t wanna stay too late,” rafe tells lorenzo, who nods.

“me either. i have a class early in the morning and i’ve barely been able to get eight hours lately,” he agrees.

“do you like vista heights?” elara’s in the middle of asking aria when you turn your attention to them. you can tell aria’s a little nervous, but even elara helps her calm down.

“you two drink?” lorenzo asks you and aria. he’s holding two cups in front of him that he’s offering, and you look to aria briefly before shrugging.

“i’ll try whatever.”

as the night unfolds, the group shifts from the kitchen to the living room. you’re dancing between elara and rafe, but face the boy whose cowboy hat is nearly falling.

from all the alcohol, you’re buzzing. you take rafe’s hat off his head and place it on yours, earning a laugh from him.

“i’m surprised you’re not a lightweight,” he says.

you tilt your head at him like you’re surprised that he thinks that. “i’m surprised you are?” you return to him, and he nudges your body with his. “i feel like i spend no time with you anymore. we need to hangout more often!”

“i’m free any afternoon!” he tells you. “just text me. i’ve been meaning to ask you if you wanted to go fishing with me. remember? like home.”

you smile up at him as you nod, “that would be fun.” you remember all the days you’ve been out fishing with your family, but never rafe. you wonder what it would be like to do that.

“you’re something else, you know that?” he says out of the blue, his tone laced with amusement. “that since we had that debate the other day.”

you squint your eyes at him in question.

“since the first day of third grade.”

you blink in surprise, unsure of how to respond. you’re pulling our of your thoughts—literally—when aria and elara grab you to dance with them. you glance back at rafe in worry but he’s occupied with lorenzo now, who’s chatting up a storm.

his eyes are on you as far as you can see and it’s actually nice. but your focus is on the girls.

“i’m so glad you guys came,” elara says, holding aria’s hand and spinning her in a circle. “this party would be so lame without you guys!”

“i’m never coming to one of these ever again!” aria’s filled with energy and a beaming smile despite her words, and you can’t help but laugh. you have to respect it; parties are just not her thing.

“you look so good though!” elara compliments as aria twirls on her own to show off her ruffled dress, and elara woos her.

“hey, hey, hey!” lorenzo sings as he dances over to you three, and he settles next to elara who wraps her arms around his neck and dances with him.

you look up to check up on both boys, wondering if they’re coming over to dance together. but rafe is nowhere to be found. it’s just lorenzo.

“where’s rafe?” your thoughts seem to come out of your mouth as you lean forward, and you grab lorenzo’s attention.

“i don’t know. upstairs,” he answers before continuing to dance with elara.

your gaze darts over to the stairs that are behind the couple, and you spot him in his stupid costume walking up the steps. you’re relieved to know that he’s okay, that maybe he’s just searching for the bathroom.

but the thing that surprises you is that he’s holding some girls hand as he walks. some girl in a dress.

who in the fuck?

@svnsetcrve @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @lalalalala33 @darkcolorexpert @babyflockaaaa @lifeofleasaasa @ilyrafe @mkiverd @wxn-drlst @maybankslover @wearemadeofstardust0 @thepopcultureaddict @mounthings @mfcouture @ijustwanttoreadlols

[nicodrawings]

Ok so I’m incredibly nervous about this but uh…

In the new year I’ll be starting the first part of my DC comic story called The Daily Life of Damian Wayne.

Just a synopsis, this is a story I had planned out a few years ago about damian being in high school. After another near death experience, Bruce would really like for Damian to have some normalcy in his life, especially since Bruce himself has to do the same due to him having to be home more to take care of Alfred who’s age is catching up with him. But Damian believes he’s above school and the trivial drama of high school life and much rather be doing more important things, like solving an ongoing missing persons case that has been puzzling the Batfamily over the past couple of months. But who knows, maybe High School isn’t so bad, especially when you have some old friends to help you out.

This will definitely be more of a character driven story, exploring Damian’s relationship with his family and friends and knowing more of Damian as a person and not so much as Robin. So if that sounds interesting to you I hope you’ll enjoy it as I work on it.

The first part (issue 1) will be about 20 pages. They’ll probably be uploaded to Tumblr as I usually put my comics on here.

[lincolndjarin]

Best Kept Secret

chapter seven : just friends (RE-UPLOAD)

ao3 link ✿ series masterlist ✩ main masterlist ✧

pairing : bodyguard!Din Djarin x afab!princess!reader

rating : 18+ mdni

word count : 3.1k

summary : you set some ground rules

warnings, etc. : language, smut, oral sex m!receiving

A/N : i had to change accounts so this is a re-upload of my ongoing fic bks!!

Maker it feels like it’s been an hour and you’re both just laying here. He was just inside of you; it shouldn't be so hard to find something to talk about at this point. Yet you can’t think of a single thing to say. So you sit up on your elbows and sigh, hoping he’ll take the hint and speak up but all he does is mimic your movements. 

For a guy who was being pretty dominant a little while ago he sure is bad at taking control of the situation.

“Could you, um… maybe grab me a towel from the vanity?” Your voice is still a little hoarse as you gesture to his cum on your stomach. He nods as he stands, tucking himself back into his pants as he grabs you a rag before quickly returning and crouching next to the bed, gently wiping your stomach clean. He carefully reaches up and lays you back down before dragging the rag between your legs eliciting a groan from you as you wince slightly. 

“Sorry, I should have gone a little slower…” He throws the rag down before he starts rummaging through his pile of things. That makes you sit up straight, watching him as he pulls out a small canteen, passing it to you. “Drink mesh’la.” 

Your heart flutters.

That’s not good. 

“Okay. We need to set some ground rules.” You open the canteen and drink down a few sips of water before clearing your throat, handing it back to him. He closes it as he starts reattaching all of his equipment. Making you a little self conscious about your nudity as you wrap the blanket around yourself.

“Rules?” He pulls his cowl back over his helmet as he stands, walking back over to the bed to sit next to you. 

You need to put some distance between the two of you. Or at least as much distance is possible while still allowing him to have his way with you. 

“ This. ” You gesture at him. “You, calling me those things. You can’t do that, if this is gonna be a thing you cannot do that.”

“I’m not sure what you mean?” He lets out a small chuckle. 

You stand up, clutching the sheet around you before going to the dresser to find new pajamas. Turning back around to point at him once you grabbed something. 

“If this is going to be a recurring thing then we need to have rules. Now turn around so I can change.” He scoffs but he turns to face the wall as you drop the sheet, pulling the night gown over your head before going to sit back down next to him. 

“So this is going to be a recurring thing?” The way he says it with such mock seduction has you rolling your eyes as you reach over to the nightstand for The Smitten Paladin and a pen. 

“Not if you keep acting like that.” You open to the back cover and click the pen. “So I propose we come up with some rules.” He nods slowly. 

“Okay… what kind of rules?” He sounds a little skeptical as he watches you scrawl on the page. 

No Romance. 

“Nothing romantic.” You stab the pen down to put a period at the end of it. “This is purely sex so no lovey-dovey stuff.” You hold your hand up in front of the helmet. Your wedding ring shimmering in the lamp light. 

“Like the nicknames?” He asks, visor trained on the ring as you lower your hand back down. 

“Like the nicknames. We aren’t romantically involved so I don’t want to hear you calling me things like sarad’ika or mesh’whatever. None of that. I’ll allow it during sex but otherwise don’t bother.” 

“You’ll allow it? It seemed to me like you really liked it when I called you those things.” He snakes his arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

You bring the pen down to the page again. 

This is Purely Stress Relief. 

“Stress relief?” You can practically hear his eyebrows raising.

“Clearly, we’re both a little stressed. You’re busy watching me all day and I’m busy not being sexually satisfied by my husband. Therefore, this little arrangement will provide us both with stress relief. Keep us from being at each other's throats.” 

“So what… I’m supposed to just… satisfy your needs every time you get a little cranky?” His hands are taking the book and pen from you now. “You’re making me sound like some kind of prostitute.” 

“Do you have a problem with that?” You cock an eyebrow at him and he hesitates. 

“No I guess not.” He looks down at the page as he starts writing something, you have to scooch closer to him to see. 

the helmet stays on 

He turns to look at you almost for approval, watching as you frown slightly.

“What if I close my eyes?” You say hopefully, nudging his shoulder.

“It doesn’t work like that princess.” His raspy chuckle falling from the filter. “If you accidentally opened them I would never be able to forgive myself for taking it off in the first place.”

“Hmm… What if you cover my eyes with something? Or if it’s really dark?” You give him your best pleading eyes in an attempt to sway him and he sighs as he starts writing again. 

the helmet might come off at MANDO’S DISCRETION 

Good enough.

“Put down no kissing.” You point to the page.

“No kissing?” Maker, you wish he sounded less disappointed. 

“No kissing. It’s too intimate.”

“I was inside you.” He tilts the helmet down to glare at you through the steel. You point at the second rule. 

“That was for stress relief. No kissing, we aren’t a couple. We’re just…”

Shit what are you? He had said you weren’t friends but also you had been arguing… obviously you weren’t together, you were married. And you weren’t attracted to him like that. He’s an asshole, he just so happens to be really good at sex and always around. A convenience. 

“We’re just friends.” He says slowly as if sensing your distress. 

“Exactly. Friends with benefits.” 

“Okay.” He looks back down as he writes. 

no kissing 

if you say stop, i stop 

He hands you the book back to look it over, you nod, taking the pen from him as well. 

“Obviously the same goes for you.” You say, pointing at number six. 

“I won’t ever tell you too.” 

Your face is getting hot. 

“Well if you do I’ll stop.” You have to think for a moment before writing the next rule. 

Don’t Finish Inside Me. 

“Obviously.” He laughs as he looks from the page up to you. 

“Not worth the risk. Especially since this is a casual thing.” You add before writing again. 

No Sleeping Over. 

You raise your eyebrows at him, waiting for a reaction. 

“Are you trying to kick me out?” You can hear his grin. 

“No. Just a little warning though that you won’t be spending the night. It probably wouldn’t be a good look if Elaine and Lysa walk in in the morning and you’re lying next to me.” 

“Smart.” 

“Which leads me to my next point.” You point down to the book with the pen before writing. 

Nobody Knows. 

“Everything I said is true. If we were to get caught the consequences would be catastrophic.” You change your tone to that of a much more serious one as you tap the page carefully. 

“Of course. It’s our little secret.” 

“Exactly.” You close the book. “I think that’s everything.” He takes the book back from you and scrawls one last thing. 

don’t fall in love with me 

You have a hard time holding back a laugh. 

“You’re certainly confident in yourself.” 

“I’m irresistible, princess. It’s bound to happen eventually.” His grip on your waist tightens.

“Trust me. We don’t have to worry about that.” You roll your eyes.

“I’m just saying it’s a possibility. It could happen, and when it does I’ll have to leave for good.” 

“You’re hilarious.” 

What does he mean by that? That he’ll have to leave? You want to ask but he’s already speaking again.

“Just friends.” He holds his hand out for a handshake and you grab it, giving him one firm shake.

“Just friends.” 

This might actually work. You open the book one last time as the two of you look over the list. 

No Romance.

This is Purely Stress Relief. 

the helmet stays on

the helmet might come off at MANDO’S DISCRETION 

no kissing 

if you say stop, i stop 

Don’t Finish Inside Me. 

No Sleeping Over.

Nobody Knows.

don’t fall in love with me

This is easy, you can do this. You can have your cake and eat it too. You get to stay friends with him, stay married, and have your needs met. It’s the perfect plan. 

His fingers are playing with the hem of your nightie.

“So… should I leave now? Or is there anything else you want to do?” 

Should he leave? Yes. Do you want him to leave? No. Now that you know what you’ve been missing out on it’s harder than you thought it’d be to not want more. It looks like he’s already starting to get hard again and it makes your mouth water. 

“Well, you seem like you’re still a little stressed. And according to the rules I should probably fix that.” You’re playing with the belt that goes across his chest as you say it. 

“That is true, we wouldn’t want to break the rules so soon.” His hand starts sliding up your thigh but you gently push it away as you move to kneel in front of the bed between his legs. For once he doesn’t have something snarky to say as the helmet follows you. If you’d known it would be this simple to shut him up you’d have gotten on your knees ages ago. Your fingers play with the zipper of his pants as you rest your elbows on the Beskar covering his thighs. He’s still silent as you smile as innocently as possible. 

You want to tease him. Show him that you can be in charge just as much as he can. Also you want to know what he tastes like but that’s besides the point. 

“You know tomorrow is the first day of the week. Which means you have to take me somewhere… why don’t you tell me about that?” You run a finger over the straining fabric of his flight suit drawing a small breath from him. 

“Etyc girl.” He murmurs as he brushes your hair back a bit, away from your face. You should really start trying to remember everything he says so you can ask him about it later. “I thought I’d let you choose.” He keeps his hand on your face, rubbing circles against your cheek with his thumb. 

“Mhmm. What are my options?” You hum softly as you tug ever so gently at his zipper, watching with wide eyes as his cock springs free and slaps against his stomach. It’s even bigger and more intimidating when you’re this close to it. You reach your hand towards it but stop a few inches shy, looking up at him, waiting for him to continue. 

“Well… there’s a market in the city, that’s very well known, I thought you might like to shop for yourse-” He sucks in a sharp inhale as you lightly scrape your fingernails across the underside of his shaft, watching intently at how the Beskar tilts upwards slightly. You can’t bite back the smirk on your face as you wrap your fingers around the base of him. Maker your hand doesn’t even fully close around his girth. 

“That sounds nice, what’s my other choice?” You don’t stroke him, you just trace a vein with your thumb, that has him leaning back on his elbows as he gasps. 

“Maker- there’s a library in the- in the city.” He stutters out as you sit up on your knees so you can let a trail of spit fall onto the weeping head of his cock, watching as it mixes with his pre-cum as you swipe your thumb over his slit, lazily stroking him. You hum again in approval. 

“How about we go to the market this week and the library next week? Would that be okay Mando?” He’s managed to prop himself up more as he pants, watching you. 

“Sure thing princess.” He mumbles.

Stars he’s a sight. Leaned back like this, breathless. His thighs are tense under your hands as you bring them down slightly before leaning down to place a chaste kiss on the prominent vein on the underside of his length drawing a breathy groan from him. 

You’ve barely even started and he’s like this. It’s exhilarating to know you have the same effect on him that he has on you. 

“Why don’t you tell me all about the markets while I do this?” You look up at him with big doe eyes, unable to hold back the smug grin.

“You’re an evil woman.” He says under his breath.

“Oh come on, this can’t be any worse than what you did to me.”

“Be careful princess or I’ll bend you over right there on the floor and show you just how bad it can b- fuck…” Halfway through his sentence you started leisurely dragging your tongue up his length, effectively shutting him up. You pull back slightly. 

“Tell me about the markets Mando.”

“If you wanna play this game just know I’m gonna repay the favor at some point.” His voice is low and stern, you simply nod, scraping your fingernails delicately up his shaft again. 

“I look forward to it. Now start talking or you’re gonna be playing this game by yourself back at your cabin.” You pepper a few kisses at his base as you wait for him to respond. 

“Okay sarad’ika… They’re big, they take up nearly three whole streets.” His voice is low and one of his hands is caressing your face again. You take the opportunity to bite the fingertips of his glove so you can tear it off. He chuckles as he tangles his fingers in your hair as you start working your way up, starting at his base with kisses and small licks as you take your time. Hearing his breath quicken. “They um… they’re one of the largest markets in this system, they say you can’t walk the whole thing in a day.” 

“What else?” You know he can feel your breath against the head of his cock as you speak because he shivers ever so slightly.

“They have everything you might be l-looking for… most of the stands change at night, we’ll have to go a different day after sunset so you- so you can see it all.” He barely seems to be getting through it all as you finally take him in your mouth, swirling your tongue across his tip. Your jaw is already starting to ache so you start to work your way down, hoping to finish him off relatively quickly. Based on the way his grip tightens in your hair you doubt it will take long. You hollow your cheeks ever so slightly.

Maker the groan he lets out. None of your books could write a groan like that. 

You continue to work him into your mouth, gagging quietly every once in a while as you listen to the gasps and moans that slip out of the modulator, after he goes a minute or so without speaking you pull off of him, letting your teeth drag against him briefly. He hisses loudly and his grip in your hair tightens. 

“Gedet’ye mesh’la…” His voice is hoarse as he sits up. You tut quietly.

“I don’t know what that means.” You say mockingly as you bring one of your hands up to cup his balls.

“Fuck… don’t chayaikir .” He growls.

“Ask nicely.” You’re practically whispering it against his shaft as you press another kiss against his cock. 

“Don’t test me princess.” You can feel the burn against your scalp as he tugs you closer. It doesn’t faze you all that much as you continue staring up into the visor.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to learn manners.” You can practically hear his teeth grinding as you gently squeeze him at the base, just hard enough to make him grunt. 

“Fine princess, you win. Please...” It’s barely a whisper but it’s all you wanted to hear so you happily take him back in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down, unable to take him entirely without choking so you use your hand to jerk off the rest of him. It doesn’t take much longer before he’s thrusting his hips up into your mouth. “Right there sarad, fuck, I’m close ad’ika, doing bid pirusti… dirty girl.” After a few minutes of messy thrusts he finishes and you feel the warmth spreading down your throat. You keep sucking, until he pulls you off, a line of drool going from his length to your swollen bottom lip. He’s laying back, chest heaving as you wipe the drool from your chin and swallow anything remaining in your mouth. He tastes like salt, metal, and something sweet you can’t place. You stand up and sit next to him, rubbing soothing patterns against the break in his armor at the side of his abdomen. 

“You deserved that.” You mumble with a grin. The helmet turns to face you. 

“Remember that you said that next time you’re whining underneath me.” He’s still a bit breathless as he sits up.

“Sure thing.” You beam at him. 

It’s quiet, almost peaceful as he zips his pants back up and the two of you just sit with each other. You want to lean your head on his shoulder but you’re pretty sure that would be breaking the rules so you resist. 

“You should probably go.” You whisper. You manage to keep your tone neutral. 

There’s a beat of silence. 

“Okay.” He stands and just like that he’s walking to the door. 

“Good night Mando.” You sigh as you turn to say goodbye. 

“Dress light tomorrow. It’s gonna be hot out in the city.” His tone is gentle as he opens the door and leaves. 

You stand and walk yourself to the closet, collapsing in an exhausted heap onto the blankets.

As you struggle to get comfortable there’s a dull ache in your chest that reminds you of how you felt the first few days on Naboo when you were longing for the company of your family. 

You ignore it. 

It’s normal for people to miss their friends. 

I am no longer doing taglists so follow @lincolndjarinnotifs and turn on notifications to be notified when new chapters are posted !!

[jaime-brienne-fic-exchange]

The Handy Dandy Posting Guide

Posting Guide

As hard as it is to believe, we are here: the opening of the Jaime x Brienne 2024 Fic Exchange collection! I know, I know, it feels like prompts went out yesterday. But it's okay if you aren't quite done yet--the posting window is two weeks, so there's still time!

However, if you do know you cannot complete a fic please reach out to me as soon as possible so a knight writer can be arranged. Life happens and there’s no shame in needing a little help.

Now with the collection opening soon, here’s some FAQ on posting!

How does posting work?

There are two options: (1) Go to the collection here, and in the top right there will be a ‘Post to Collection’ button (2) Upload your fic to ao3 as usual, and make sure you enter JaimeBrienneFicExchange2024 in the collection field. From here, the process is the same. Fill in the relevant details and ensure you put your recipient’s AO3 name in the ‘Gift this work to’ field. Double check your original prompt to ensure you have the correct name. A few people have different tumblr/AO3 names and we don’t want any fics to go astray. If you’ve already made an AO3 draft before the today, make sure you add it to the collection and put in your recipient’s username in the fields mentioned above, and make sure you change the date when posting (or your fic will be buried). Be aware it can cause some shenanigans where the fic may not appear at the top of the page.  After that, it’s as simple as clicking post! Your fic will be submitted to the exchange and automatically be made anonymous. 

I can see my name, something went wrong!

Deep breath. As the author, when you open your own fic (posted or in a draft), it will say ‘Anonymous [YourUsername]’, but to other users it will simply say ‘Anonymous’. If that is not how it appears, double check that it is added to the correct collection and reach out if you still have a problem. Author’s names will not be revealed until October 7th, when I click the button to reveal them. Feel free to reply to comments during that week. As long as you are logged into the account that posted the fic, all of your comments will also be anonymised. 

What about Lil’ Oathkeepers?

I’m glad you asked, imaginary exchange participant that’s totally not me talking to myself! A Lil’ Oathkeeper is a gift that can be any size and shape. It can be art! A video edit! A moodboard! A fic shorter than 1000 words! Or… a fic longer than a 1000 words, but you probably know that. Anyone (you don’t even have to be signed up to the exchange) can make and gift a Lil’ Oathkeeper. I’ll be releasing the prompt spreadsheet and posting instructions once all gifts are posted.

Can I thank my beta in the notes of my story?

Absolutely you can! The betas of the fandom work HARD, they definitely deserve recognition. Just be mindful of including anything in your notes that might reveal who you are. You could choose to name your beta, or just thank them generally and add their name after authors have been revealed.

What if I don’t receive a story?

Everyone gets a story. Authors have until September 30th to post a complete fic, so chances are they just haven’t posted yet. It also might be because your fic needed a knight writer to write it. If this is the case, know that your knight is probably working very diligently to complete it, but might not be able to complete it within the posting window. If it looks like your fic will be significantly delayed (like until after authors are revealed) we will contact you directly to let you know what’s up.

What’s the etiquette around thanking my author? 

It can be hard to know what to say when you get a gift fic. Maybe it takes the prompts somewhere you hadn't imagined, or maybe you love it so much high-pitched pterodactyl noises are all you can manage. Maybe it's both. But it is good manners to leave a kudos and a comment. It doesn't have to be a long comment, and length does not equal love, but your author worked hard and deserves to have that effort recognised. And if you don't quite have time to read your gift right now? Please pop in and say so if you can!

Can I promote my story?

Please don’t do this until authors have been revealed through the collection. Once they have, go wild!

Can I rec my gift story?

Absolutely! Share the love! You can choose to rec it while it’s still anonymous, or wait until the authors are revealed. It’s up to you.

Have another question that hasn’t been answered in the FAQs? Just reach out! I can be reached via Tumblr, Discord, or jbficexchange@gmail.com and will get back to you ASAP!

I'm sure the panic is kicking in, but I promise you have time to create and share something wonderful. Keep calm and have fun, I can't wait to see what you have written!

[noonaishere]

Online/Offline [C.S] - seventy-eight | sharing screens and secrets

“Hello?” Quack asked as you clicked the ‘Answer’ button on the screen.

“Can you hear me?”

“I can.”

You didn’t talk to Quack much via voice, but every time you did you thought she sounded so youthful. You were pretty sure you were around the same age, considering when she started modding for you, but she always sounded so much more cute than her business-like demeanor in texts would have you think.

“Okay, so I’ll share my screen now.”

You clicked over to what she was showing you.

“So, my friend did a bunch of digging, a little hacking, a little asking favors, and this is what she found. Well, the stuff we can legally use in court, anyway.”

“Yeah, I guess we can’t use hacked content as evidence, since hacking is illegal.”

“Mhm.” Quack pulled up a Twitch vod channel that seemed devoted to you.

“What the fuck?”

“This guy is… forget head over heels, he might just be spinning ass over tea kettle down a rabbit hole of love for you.”

There were videos with titles like ‘JGG is the best!’ ‘I’d lick JGGs boots clean if I could AND say thank you!’ ‘JGG loves me?’. 

You noticed the dates of the videos. “--Wait, is this the bottom of the page?”

“Yeah, this is all his old shit. If we scroll up, you can see here…” Quack scrolled up and stopped, her mouse hovering over the upload date of a video. “This is the day you had Morn guest the first time.”

The title was ‘JGG CHEATING ON ME???’ 

Quack clicked on it and clicked to about the halfway point of the video. The background of the video was the stream where you and Morn played together for the first time and he made you play Minecraft with him after everyone left, accompanied by a voice over by the channel owner.

“I just don’t understand-- I’ve been supporting her all this time and then she has this guy on to stream?” His voice broke as he sobbed. “I have spent so much money in her chat, she owes it to me to not invite another man on! I was lenient with Keeho, because they knew each other since they were in high school, but who the fuck is this-- this-- MorningStar? She could invite me-- or anyone else in the chat to play and she invites this man she just met! Whoring herself out for him while he simps after her like a beta cuck with no balls! She’s a--”

Quack stopped it. “I already listened to it once and it doesn’t get better.”

Your hand had been over your mouth in shock as you listened to his rant. You pulled it away. “No, uh… yeah-- I…” You trailed off.

“Are you okay?”

“...What the fuck?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And he’s the one who’s been leaving all the comments?”

“Yeah, he’s been using a bot farm to do it. My friend shut it down.”

“Tell her I said thank you.”

“I will.”

You were quiet for a few moments as the words you just heard rang in your head like the tinnitus from hearing loss. “Wait… he said he’s been supporting me all this time...”

“If you’re about to ask if I know who he is, I do. Are you ready to see?”

“No, but, yeah.”

Quack clicked a link in the description of his About Me which led to some kind of affiliate link farm page you didn’t understand, then a link on that page, and another, and another, until she opened two in new tabs.

“Okay… I think I need you to take a deep breath before I show you this.”

“Is it that bad? It’s not Morn, is it?”

Quack chuckled. “No, it’s not Morn. But you’ve met the guy before.”

“What?” You whispered.

“Please take a breath.”

You did as she asked, exaggerating it so the microphone would pick it up and she could hear.

“Okay… this is who he is online.” She opened the first tab.

‘TheNicestGuy’ was the channel username that stared you in the face.

“What?” You whispered again. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah.”

“But… he’s been in my chat for forever and never said anything shitty before… has he?”

“Mmm…”

“Has he done something and you didn’t tell me?”

“Normally he engages about as much as most people. Maybe not excited as other chatters like Yuta or Tree, but now I’m thinking that he might have been doing that to mask how he really felt.”

“Wearing sheep’s clothing.”

“Basically. Ever since Morn showed up he’s been doing a lot of ‘dot dot dot’-ing, and I thought it was weird but I don’t talk to him so I wasn’t sure what it meant.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

You thought for a few moments. He never seemed weird or out of sorts at all to you. He seemed about as normal as any of your other chat members, like Namhae. 

“Are you ready for the next one?”

“Now I really am scared.”

“It’s…” Quack trailed off.

You sat in silence for a few moments.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s going to be scary.”

“Great...” you said, voice shaking.

“But I have to show you.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Are you ready?”

“Just do it.”

“This is who he is offline.” She clicked the second link. It was a LinkedIn page. His profile was him smiling brightly in front of a mottled light blue background, the kind of picture a professional takes so they can use it on their social media.

You knew the face.

You knew you knew it.

It was the face of the man who had been showing up to the café for the past few months, and who chased you and San through the downtown area.

Of course you knew his face.

The stalker.

Tears pricked at your eyes as your brain spat out every time he had shown up in the café like a search engine finding every instance of a search term across the internet, and a torrent of anxiety and dread followed behind it all like a dam breaking old concrete and drowning everything in the valley below it. 

“I’m going to throw up.”

“Are you okay?”

“No… is that it?”

“No. This is his old account.”

She opened another tab and navigated to it: it was the page of the guy who took the picture outside of the café you used to work at.

“...Oh my god.”

“I know.”

“Oh my god!”

“I know.”

“How are you so calm right now?! That’s my stalker! He followed me to Seoul!”

“Because when my friend sent me the CCTV footage I got a good look at him, and when she sent me this last night, I recognized him immediately. …I spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to tell you.”

You stood up from your chair and went to pace, but your head was yanked back by the headset wire. 

“Are you okay?”

“I-- I-- I just--”

“I know.”

Tears rolled hot over your cheeks. “What the fuck, Quack? What the fuck?”

“I know.”

“I just… I… I’m sorry for crying.” You fell back into your chair, your legs weak from how the information shook you. You sobbed loudly and inhaled. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for crying.”

“Don’t apologize. Please don't apologize.”

“I just… I can’t believe a person who’s been following me for forever in my chat has been following me in real life! I--”

“Please, Cat, breathe.”

“I-- I can’t! I’m freaking out!”

“Can you call someone? Morn, maybe?”

“No, I can’t…”

“Why not…”

“I just can’t!”

Quack was silent as you cried.

You shoved your headset off and screamed until your lungs exhausted, and you slumped over your desk. Pulling your arms over your head, you laid like that, cheekbone pressed into the desk's hard surface and held yourself, knees pulled up as high as they could go under you. Even if Quack said something to you, you wouldn’t be able to hear it.

This was the worst possible thing that could be happening: he was the weird donor, the cafe picture, the influx of comments calling you a whore, the watching you in person, the chasing you in the dark-- he was all of it. He thought you were his, was that it? He thought he could own you - should own you - just because he donated sometimes? Streaming was a tip-based job; that's like saying that the waiter owes you sex because you tipped 30%. The dates on his page showed that he'd been fixated on you for a long time, but why the sudden ramping up? Was it because you refused his donation months ago? You could never take that much money from someone, it was the kind of amount that made you owe people... was that what he wanted? Did he want  you to owe him so... so what? So he could try to convince you to do something for him? Or...to him? You felt sick all over again.

You cried until the panic subsided and you could finally breathe normally, and when the feelings of terror and horror had finally finished washing over you, it was replaced with something else.

You sat up and grabbed the tissue box nearby and blew your nose. You grabbed another one and dried your eyes. You inhaled deeply and put your headset back on.

“You still there?” You asked.

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

“No.” Your voice was level now. You looked at his face on your screen. “I’m so mad.”

“Mad?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were freaking out.”

“I’m done freaking out… I’m mad now.” 

You looked at the picture for a few moments, Quack not saying anything. You weren’t sure what this feeling was, anger? Vengeance? Something in you congealed into a feeling that burned through your tired bones until they were ash, and what grew back in their place was so much more disconnected to the situation and the feelings of sorrow and hurt.

You knew what it was now.

Rage.

“This guy has been disrupting my life for what? Months now? At both of my jobs?” You asked.

“Mhm.”

“He followed me through a move and chased me and my friend around downtown.”

“Yeah.”

“I just feel so mad. I’m so angry, dude.”

“Yeah… that makes sense.”

“I’m just so fucking angry.”

“...What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know… I want him to suffer, because he’s been making me suffer this whole time.”

“Understandable.”

“And like… I want to know why, you know?”

“Yeah.”

You sat in silence.

“You’ve known me for a long time, right Quack?”

“I feel like this is going somewhere... yes.”

You chuckled. “You know I’m not a bitch, right?”

“You’re one of the nicest people I know. Definitely the best boss I’ve had so far.”

“Well thank you: You’re my best employee.”

“I’m your only employee.”

“There’s other mods now.”

“Yeah, but I’m basically their manager and you’re my boss.”

“Have they been working out well?”

“They’re great.”

“Have you heard from Namhae at all?”

“No. I should probably ping him and see what’s up.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

“Yeah, same.”

You nodded, looping your fingers in your headphone cord. “But like… this guy ‘NicestGuy’-- fucking ironic name; why do men who act like shit think they’re god’s gift to the world?”

“A-men.”

“But this guy… he makes me want to be a bitch, you know? All that unhinged, surprising rage that men act like women have but really it’s only surprising to them because they weren’t listening to us the first forty times we told them to leave us alone.”

“Relatable.”

“I… I want to talk to him.”

A beat of silence as she processed what you said. “Cat, are you sure about that?”

You thought, your eyes boring into the pixels that made up his picture on your screen. He looked like a perfectly normal guy, the kind of shmo you’d walk past down the street and never have a second thought about. And yet, all that surface-level normalcy was hiding something so terrible.

“Yeah. I need to ask why. And I want a confession out of him that he did it. I want something the police can’t ignore.”

“You want him to confess?”

“Yeah. I want him to fucking say he did all this and I want to record him and I want him to go to prison.”

She was silent for a moment. 

“Quack?”

“Yeah-- sorry. I was wondering if it would even be possible.”

“Do you think it is?”

“Yeah, I think it might be.”

You nodded, not that she could see.

“I'll tell you what: I’ll talk to my White Hat friend about it, and I’ll see if she has any advice, like, legally.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Oh and, don’t tell Morn about this at all.”

“Why not?”

“He might freak out.”

“Shouldn’t he? The guy was stalking you. What if he wants to help?”

“I have some other friends that can help.”

She sighed. “If you say so.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll let you know what she says.”

“Thanks. And Quack?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really glad we met all those years ago. You’re not just an invaluable employee, you're a really great friend as well.”

Quack chuckled. “You better stop that or I’ll ask for a raise.”

You laughed. “You’re actually overdue for a raise, I think.”

She laughed again. “We can talk about it when all this is over.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

She ended the call.

You stared at the picture of your stalker. ‘Seo Byungchul,’ his page said. You looked at the smile on his face and wondered when he took the picture. Was it before he was stalking you? It had to be after he started watching your stream, by the age he appeared to be and how long you could remember him being in your chat. You wondered what he was thinking about when he took the picture. You wondered if he thought he was a good person. You wondered if he went to work every day, safe in the knowledge that none of his coworkers knew he was stalking a streamer both on the internet and in real life. You wondered if he stalked anyone else.

Hey Nero,

(I’m not sure if I should call you Nero or not anymore lol)

I’m just letting you know that I’ll be sort of unavailable outside of streaming for a bit. I have some irl shit I need to take care of and it might get a little rocky for everything outside of streaming. 

I’ll definitely let you know when I’m available to edit again though.

See ya round,

Cat

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

Send an ask or leave a comment if you want to be added to the tag list! 🧋

@rachs-words • @stayatinykatsy • @dinossaurz​​ • @conwunder​ • @tinyelfperson​ • 

[locallixie]

it’s a sign! — jongho

> summary . an unexpected romance was still able to blossom despite the silence between you and him.

> genre . fluff, high-school au, mutual pining, deaf!reader, reader and wooyoung are siblings, gn!reader.

> warnings . none

(wc) > 3.6k

(sunny’s note) ☆ description of hand movements (signing) will be in korean sign language (ksl), i’ll try my best to be as general yet accurate as possible to not offend anyone. i felt exhausted these last few weeks, so i apologize for slow uploads.

Quiet, it has always been so quiet. Never heard the sounds of calm waves, or the voice of your loved ones. You didn't even know how your name was pronounced. However, you liked how quiet it was. Your ears naturally already tuned out everything, easier to sleep peacefully that way, easier to focus since there wasn't any loud sounds bothering you. It was a blessing in a curse, being deaf for you.

Your family predominantly used sign language to communicate, but speaking was still a big part between your parents and your older brother, they didn't want you to feel left out. Cochlear implants were put in consideration before, however, they were quite expensive and your parents were unsure if you were ready for it yet. So for now, you would stick with the pre-existing silence.

Of course, going to school was a struggle when you have a disability. You couldn't rely much on your peers, the pacing of each subject was different but all were equally difficult to keep up when you weren't able to listen in with the lecture. It was scary going into middle school as a deaf kid, yet, it was another kind of terror to go into high school.

"You okay?" Wooyoung asked verbally while signing at the same time. Though this was your third year already, the sound of your heart felt like it was the first day of school. Riddled with anxiety, you hesitated to leave your brother. But you nodded nonetheless, half not wanting to further bother him, half just wanting to get everything over with.

"Text me if you need anything." Your brother signed to you before bidding goodbye. There was a new homeroom teacher this year, and some of your classmates from last year were also changed around. Which meant you were back in the position of having to familiarize yourself with everyone, and having to inform people that you were deaf all over again.

Your friend changed homeroom this year, you wouldn't be able to see him too often then. You barely know anyone here, either because some of them were newcomers or you just haven't met them before. The new people looked oddly intimidating, maybe it was the anxiety talking? But there was something about them that made them seem unwelcoming.

Laying on your desk, tired from the night before since you didn't get a good night sleep. Too anxious to go to school, worried that you might overslept, or ruin your uniforms. All the worst case scenarios kept popping into your head, not letting you rest until you worn yourself out and fall asleep.

A subtle vibration sent across the surface of your desk, gently notifying you of something, a presence. You weren't expecting anyone to approach you, since everybody were occupied with their own businesses, you minded your own too. You saw his lips moving, but you could not make out anything he was saying. Terrible at reading lips, and the other person wasn't aware that you were deaf.

He was confused as well by how you were not responding, if you were intentionally ignoring him while maintaining eye-contact. You placed a single notebook on your desk, 'communicating book'—it said on the cover, written in black marker ink. This one was your fifth or seventh one, you have lost count after going through several during middle school up until recently.

'Hi, my name is Jung [Y/N], and I'm deaf so I apologize in advance if I don't response to you immediately. We can talk through this notebook!'—Holding up the notebook to him, the first page was written beforehand. You slid a pen over to him, implying that it was his turn to 'speak'. That was how most of your conversation usually begin, on very rare occasions, you might be lucky enough to meet someone who could speak sign language. But for the majority, you spoke through the pages in your notebook.

The other wrote down something on the next blank page, he then showed it to you, 'Sorry, I didn't know. I'm Choi Jongho by the way, I don't think we have met before.'

Jongho was a new student, he spent the last couple minutes at the assembly to meet the other classmates, he must have missed you back there. Though you did leave with Wooyoung right after the opening ceremony this morning, so you two wouldn't meet either way. You couldn't understand what they were saying, why would you stay there any longer?

You two seem to clicked well, he even invited you to join him for lunch already. It was a bother having to write out everything you wanted to say to him, there were just way too many topics you wanted to share. Yet, he sat there, writing down every single sentence, every thought he had on his mind to keep the conversation going until the bell would eventually break you apart.

"Mom made you lunch, be sure to eat it. Do you want to sit with me and my friends?" Wooyoung spoke along with his hands. Your brother could be quite protective at times, it made sense since you were a deaf kid running around school without one warning sign. If something were to happen to you, he might blow up.

You replied, "No need, I'm sitting with a friend." Taking out the lunch box from your bag, wrapped up delicately in a light blue plaid cloth. You could already smell the pleasant aroma of the grilled chicken your mother prepared.

"You made a friend? That's good. I'll see you later!" He pat you on the shoulder, before leaving your classroom. Jongho was sat at a table, waiting for you by the time you got down to the cafeteria. You spotted him easily by the warm brownish colour of his hair—which stood out from a majority of natural black. You sat down across from him, placing your items on the table. The lunch today didn't look all too bad. Normally you would eat the lunch provided at school, but home-cooked lunch box was a thing your mother did every first day of school, a good luck ritual of some sort.

'You brought your own lunch, what are you eating?' The words displayed on Jongho's phone screen. You shrugged, not knowing for sure. You smelt chicken, and eggs, and stir fried vegetables, that was all you could guess.

Gosh, she went all out with the presentation, you felt bad eating it now that the bear head was made out of brown rice. The vegetables were cut out like stars and hearts, decorative picks were included on top of fruits. You appreciated the effort, but a bit of embarrassment stuck in your stomach. Would the other kids make fun of you for still having your mother make you adorable lunch boxes? You wouldn't know, but you wouldn't enjoy the teasing nonetheless.

Jongho smiled, he even giggled at the sight of your lunch box. "Don't laugh!" Signing towards him, a bashful expression stood on your face.

'It's just so cute~!' He typed out on his phone, chuckling at your pouty face at his comment. At least he didn't make fun of your lunch, its childish appearance simply asking for talks. You got out your utensils that was wrapped with napkins, finally began to ease your empty stomach.

Mid-conversation, Wooyoung came by to disrupt your peace. His intentions were clearer than day, you knew him far too well to be suspicious. He came to check out your new friend, having to meet his approval to continued hanging out with you. As a compromise, he bought you the soda you liked. Though, Wooyoung could freely be as skeptical and disapproving of Jongho all he wanted. Because you, yourself, felt Jongho was genuine.

You let out a dragging sigh, 'Don't mind my brother, he acts up every time I befriend someone new.'—Explaining to the other person after you were sure your brother was a far enough distance from the table you two were sitting.

'You two seems close.'—To which you just nodded and returned to eating. Wether or not these were intrusive thoughts, unwilling to admit the fact that he found you cute when you are frustrated. All pouty and grumpy, your cheeks protruding as they were stuffed with meat, rice, and vegetables. An angry chipmunk was the only suitable comparison.

Though you established many good relationships with your peers, you mostly spent your time hanging out with Jongho. After Jongho's multiple requests of being seated next to you, your homeroom teacher finally agreed to arrange you two together. Would it be better anyways? He could assist you with academic matters when he is closer to you, win-win situation!

‘You’re learning fast!’ You excitedly complimented. Recently, he has been picking up sign language to less burden you with always having to write as your only source of communication. You were glad to help him since he was learning on his own. Again, you slowly signed each character of his name with your hand, getting him familiar with the alphabet.

“Like this?” He asked as he started moving his fingers to sign.

‘Did you just sign my name?’ Jongho only smiled after reading your text, admiring the stunned look on your face. He knew more than you had originally thought, at this pace, he would be fluent in no time!

Feeling a strong vibration ran through your forearm, his phone lit up in a split moment. It was Wednesday afternoon, which meant you had clubs to attend. Jongho held his fist under his mouth as if he was holding a microphone, he was off to practice his singing for the upcoming school festival that his band will be playing at. Before he went, he turned around to look at you one last time as good luck. You just gave him a gentle smile, while moving your opened hand in a circular motion above your fist.

You were contented with the never-ending silence you had been born into, even so, there were definitely times you wished you could hear. After you met Jongho, you have never stressed over your disability more than you were now. Every-time you passed by one of his rehearsals, seeing all the girls and guys cheering him on with so much amazement in their eyes, you couldn't help yourself from feeling left out from the crowd. You have never heard your best friend's voice, and you desperately wanted to.

"[Y/N]!" He couldn't hide his excitement when he spotted you at your desk, calling out your name as he began running towards you. Taken back by how your immediately turned your head to him, like you heard every syllable that he had just now produced.

Jongho leaned on your desk, "Did you hear what I said?" Actually, not quite. Sounds were all over the place, you have never heard your name be spoken up until recently. You took a good week to recover for your cochlear implants, during it, you had gotten a little more used with your family members' voices and the way words were pronounced. However, you would need a lot more time to learn how to talk, and learn to live with all the noises of life.

You have never knew how loud life could become, like how the sound of rain was strangely calming, but the summer of cicadas were annoying. The most pleasant sound to your ears was Jongho's voice, soft and mellow, and full of fondness. That was one of your many exceptions.

"I'm not used to this quite yet." You continued to speak with your hands. You wanted to take your hearing devices off but your mother insisted you keep it on during school, she didn't realize how much that overwhelmed you with all the new noises everyday.

Jongho brought his hand out towards you, opened and asking you for something. A bit stuck, hesitating in seconds before you took off both of your hearing devices and placed them on his palm. Instantly, every and all sounds cut off, washed out and silenced.

Solely his gentle aura remained, smiling at you with the same look as the first time you met. Though you were able to hear now, there was just this special type of noiselessness around Jongho, a comfortable silence where you didn't have to speak to keep things moving. You liked that, you liked that quiet atmosphere when you were with him. Not entirely quiet, your heart kept beating violently, making your whole chest vibrated in an inexplicable excitement. It was calling out his name, and you couldn't even talk.

You were fine with being deaf, but you adored his voice way too much to remain living like that. You would happily trade any and all other noises to only hear his in your ears. As it echoed in the depth of your heart, you wanted to push yourself more with your hearing devices just to listen to him talk and sing to you.

"Better?" He asked in signs.

"So so." Replying, fiddling with the two devices in your hands. There were so much you wanted to say to him, but you couldn't quite express them neither verbally or through signing, they were all too complicated to be accurately translated.

The day of the school festival finally came, and you were most looking forward to Jongho's performance with his band. You came with your brother at first, but then he dipped to go with his friends—which left you wandering alone around school grounds. There were many vendors in the courtyard, selling handmade goods and delicious food items—most of them were operated by clubs, and some were from sponsors that the school invited.

Seeing some of your seniors selling sandwiches, you decided to came by as support. Yeosang was one of your brother's friends who was on the working shift that hour, he immediately greeted you upon seeing your arrival at his food stand. "[Y/N], how are you?"

"I'm good. What kind of sandwich is this?" Yeosang understood sign language quite well, you didn't know how he did, but he did. He was the some of only seniors that you were friends with—though many knew you due to your connections with Wooyoung.

"Just a grilled ham sandwich with cheese and strawberry jam, do you want one? I'll make you a new one." Yeosang put on a pair of disposable plastic gloves. What an odd combo, but it could be one of those rare gems for all you know.

As you were digging into your wallet for money, Yeosang stopped you. "It's okay, it's my treat. Just don't tell anyone." Though you tried paying, Yeosang kept refusing to take any money from you.

Despite the weird mix of ingredients, it was surprisingly tasty. You might ask Yeosang for the recipe to make some at home, or some for Jongho since you couldn't leave him out from experiencing good food. And speaking about Jongho, you haven't seen him at all. You figured that he was caught up with practicing and final rehearsals since his band was the only other performers besides from the indie singer that was invited for a gig.

A song suddenly erupted from your pocket, pulling your phone out as you saw Wooyoung's name above his number, he was asking to face-time you. You placed the phone on a bench before answering, since you couldn't quite speak well and would definitely have to rely on your hands to communicate.

"[Y/N]! Where are you? I'm with Jongho if you want to talk to him!" Wooyoung's face was very close to the camera, almost shoving his nose to screen.

Hearing noises from phones like calls was still a difficulty, and sometimes those darn glitches occurred and messed up everything. You had to tell him to move the camera farther away because you couldn't quite listen in with his voice blasting in the mic, and he all-together looked stupid. "I'm sitting in the courtyard, you left me, asshole!"

"Sorry, sorry, but Seonghwa came to visit so I had to see him." Wooyoung pouted, signing an apology through the screen.

"I want to see Jongho, put him on." You told.

The camera shook violently as your brother ran to Jongho, putting the phone in front of the boy for you to see. There he was, sitting with his lyrics in hand and warming up his vocals. His chestnut hair was styled nicely, he was dressed equally more stylish than he usually was, was that really your best friend? "Jongho, say 'hi' to [Y/N]!"

"[Y/N], I'm glad you came! Are you going to see my performance later?" Enthusiasm obvious through the glints in his sweet doe eyes, under that bad boy exterior which he had on today, your Jongho still shone through.

"I'll be cheering you on in the crowd!" You assured him of your presence during his stage performance soon later. "Good luck!" Before ending the call, you moved your hand in a circular motion above your fist as something extra that you wanted to tell him. Then the call ended, as they could only see your contact flashed on the screen for a split second and fading away afterward.

Jongho turned to his senior, "What did [Y/N] sign at the end? I haven't learn that one."

Wooyoung let out a giggle, patting the younger's shoulders before dropping a bomb. "They said they love you." He gathered with his friends, "Anyways, good luck on your performance, I'll see you!"

Oh...Oh! Jongho was shaking, in a good way. The pressure wasn't about pleasing the crowd, it was about impressing you now—which was so much harder, he really wanted you to have the best of everything. Each step he took leading to the stage, you were the only thing on his mind. This performance have to be perfect, because the one he love was going to be there cheering for him. Though he couldn't spot you between the sea of people, and he was running out of time to do so. Yet, he knew you were there, somewhere. Wherever you were, please know that he felt the same.

"Everyone, let's show some support for our performers!" The crowd began sending applauses throughout the gymnasium, band members pouring out onto the grand stage with their instruments. Taking a few short minutes to get plugged in and in tuned, sound checking the microphone and amps on stage. For the first time in your life, you got to experience your first concert.

It was an original song, God, the lyrics was so him. Jongho did have quite a stage presence there, and oh did his voice sounded amazing. You hated to admit, that hearing him sing was worth all the waiting you did before you got your implants. The sound made your heart vibrated, and everything as well. Speaking metaphorically, it was love, tugging on your heartstrings as some might put it.

After the performance ended, the stage entertainment was on hold for the next ten to twenty minutes to get the other set ready. You used that free time to go find Jongho. When you found him backstage, he was already helping his other bandmates with packing their instruments and bringing amps and cables back to the music room. Not wanting to distract him since those things were heavy, you waited outside for him to finish up with post-performance stuff.

The bassist, a senior that you only have seen in school and have yet to talk to, she spotted you outside. "Are you waiting for Jongho?"

You nodded simply, a bit shy to communicate with new people today. Even though you two have never spoke to each other before, she knew that you were Jongho's friends, because of how often he brought you up in conversation during practices and rehearsal. About how he desperately wanted you to hear his songs, how he wanted to know what your voice sounded like and if you would be a good singer, and how in love he was with you.

"Jongho, hurry up, your lover is waiting for you outside!" No warning, none at all, she yelled out. Filled to the brim with embarrassment, praying that he didn't hear the last part, or wishing that your device was malfunctioning back then so you wouldn't be caught in this situation.

After a few minutes, your heart pacing in your chest, trying your best to remain calm and not lose your mind. Finally, Jongho walked out. You were on the floor, contemplating wether or not you should take off your hearing device after what happened earlier. How could someone caught you lacking like that?

"Hey, sorry for making you wait." Jongho spoke up, scaring you with the sudden emerge of sound after it was quiet for a long while.

"No! Not at all! Should we go check out the vendors together?" You awkwardly asked.

He looked a bit on edge, as if there was something he was concealing away. The smoothies didn't help out with easing him much, and you were unsure of how to bring it up to him. Did the performance not go as planned or something? The silence between the two of you was never uncomfortable like it was now.

"So...um...I love you too." He spilt out. Quietly, lacing his fingers with yours as both your hands hugged each other.

You wanted to sign in reply, but he wouldn't let go so you had to sign with an extra weight. "Who told you?!"

His pointer finger slightly curving against his middle finger which stood up straight, the others curled in. "Wooyoung?! How could he?!"

Jongho technically saved your brother from getting killed, pulling you into his embrace before you could burst and go beat up Wooyoung. He felt nice, like a cuddling bear—at least if you could ignore the studded leather jacket he was wearing. You were hinting him all this time, confessing all of your feelings through sign language. Was it obvious? Definitely. Did he know that it was a sign that you liked him romantically? Eh.

"I love you." He signed back to you.

[luckbealincoln]

Best Kept Secret

chapter seven : just friends

THIS SERIES HAS BEEN MOVED AND RE-UPLOADED TO ANOTHER ACCOUNT. WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE. THIS POST STILL EXISTS AS AN ARCHIVE BUT THIS ACCOUNT IS NO LONGER ACTIVE!!

pairing : bodyguard!Din Djarin x afab!princess!reader

rating : 18+ mdni

word count : 3.1k

summary : you set some ground rules

warnings, etc. : language, smut, oral sex m!receiving

Maker it feels like it’s been an hour and you’re both just laying here. He was just inside of you; it shouldn't be so hard to find something to talk about at this point. Yet you can’t think of a single thing to say. So you sit up on your elbows and sigh, hoping he’ll take the hint and speak up but all he does is mimic your movements. 

For a guy who was being pretty dominant a little while ago he sure is bad at taking control of the situation.

“Could you, um… maybe grab me a towel from the vanity?” Your voice is still a little hoarse as you gesture to his cum on your stomach. He nods as he stands, tucking himself back into his pants as he grabs you a rag before quickly returning and crouching next to the bed, gently wiping your stomach clean. He carefully reaches up and lays you back down before dragging the rag between your legs eliciting a groan from you as you wince slightly. 

“Sorry, I should have gone a little slower…” He throws the rag down before he starts rummaging through his pile of things. That makes you sit up straight, watching him as he pulls out a small canteen, passing it to you. “Drink mesh’la.” 

Your heart flutters.

That’s not good. 

“Okay. We need to set some ground rules.” You open the canteen and drink down a few sips of water before clearing your throat, handing it back to him. He closes it as he starts reattaching all of his equipment. Making you a little self conscious about your nudity as you wrap the blanket around yourself.

“Rules?” He pulls his cowl back over his helmet as he stands, walking back over to the bed to sit next to you. 

You need to put some distance between the two of you. Or at least as much distance is possible while still allowing him to have his way with you. 

“ This. ” You gesture at him. “You, calling me those things. You can’t do that, if this is gonna be a thing you cannot do that.”

“I’m not sure what you mean?” He lets out a small chuckle. 

You stand up, clutching the sheet around you before going to the dresser to find new pajamas. Turning back around to point at him once you grabbed something. 

“If this is going to be a recurring thing then we need to have rules. Now turn around so I can change.” He scoffs but he turns to face the wall as you drop the sheet, pulling the night gown over your head before going to sit back down next to him. 

“So this is going to be a recurring thing?” The way he says it with such mock seduction has you rolling your eyes as you reach over to the nightstand for The Smitten Paladin and a pen. 

“Not if you keep acting like that.” You open to the back cover and click the pen. “So I propose we come up with some rules.” He nods slowly. 

“Okay… what kind of rules?” He sounds a little skeptical as he watches you scrawl on the page. 

No Romance. 

“Nothing romantic.” You stab the pen down to put a period at the end of it. “This is purely sex so no lovey-dovey stuff.” You hold your hand up in front of the helmet. Your wedding ring shimmering in the lamp light. 

“Like the nicknames?” He asks, visor trained on the ring as you lower your hand back down. 

“Like the nicknames. We aren’t romantically involved so I don’t want to hear you calling me things like sarad’ika or mesh’whatever. None of that. I’ll allow it during sex but otherwise don’t bother.” 

“You’ll allow it? It seemed to me like you really liked it when I called you those things.” He snakes his arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

You bring the pen down to the page again. 

This is Purely Stress Relief. 

“Stress relief?” You can practically hear his eyebrows raising.

“Clearly, we’re both a little stressed. You’re busy watching me all day and I’m busy not being sexually satisfied by my husband. Therefore, this little arrangement will provide us both with stress relief. Keep us from being at each other's throats.” 

“So what… I’m supposed to just… satisfy your needs every time you get a little cranky?” His hands are taking the book and pen from you now. “You’re making me sound like some kind of prostitute.” 

“Do you have a problem with that?” You cock an eyebrow at him and he hesitates. 

“No I guess not.” He looks down at the page as he starts writing something, you have to scooch closer to him to see. 

the helmet stays on 

He turns to look at you almost for approval, watching as you frown slightly.

“What if I close my eyes?” You say hopefully, nudging his shoulder.

“It doesn’t work like that princess.” His raspy chuckle falling from the filter. “If you accidentally opened them I would never be able to forgive myself for taking it off in the first place.”

“Hmm… What if you cover my eyes with something? Or if it’s really dark?” You give him your best pleading eyes in an attempt to sway him and he sighs as he starts writing again. 

the helmet might come off at MANDO’S DISCRETION 

Good enough.

“Put down no kissing.” You point to the page.

“No kissing?” Maker, you wish he sounded less disappointed. 

“No kissing. It’s too intimate.”

“I was inside you.” He tilts the helmet down to glare at you through the steel. You point at the second rule. 

“That was for stress relief. No kissing, we aren’t a couple. We’re just…”

Shit what are you? He had said you weren’t friends but also you had been arguing… obviously you weren’t together, you were married. And you weren’t attracted to him like that. He’s an asshole, he just so happens to be really good at sex and always around. A convenience. 

“We’re just friends.” He says slowly as if sensing your distress. 

“Exactly. Friends with benefits.” 

“Okay.” He looks back down as he writes. 

no kissing 

if you say stop, i stop 

He hands you the book back to look it over, you nod, taking the pen from him as well. 

“Obviously the same goes for you.” You say, pointing at number six. 

“I won’t ever tell you too.” 

Your face is getting hot. 

“Well if you do I’ll stop.” You have to think for a moment before writing the next rule. 

Don’t Finish Inside Me. 

“Obviously.” He laughs as he looks from the page up to you. 

“Not worth the risk. Especially since this is a casual thing.” You add before writing again. 

No Sleeping Over. 

You raise your eyebrows at him, waiting for a reaction. 

“Are you trying to kick me out?” You can hear his grin. 

“No. Just a little warning though that you won’t be spending the night. It probably wouldn’t be a good look if Elaine and Lysa walk in in the morning and you’re lying next to me.” 

“Smart.” 

“Which leads me to my next point.” You point down to the book with the pen before writing. 

Nobody Knows. 

“Everything I said is true. If we were to get caught the consequences would be catastrophic.” You change your tone to that of a much more serious one as you tap the page carefully. 

“Of course. It’s our little secret.” 

“Exactly.” You close the book. “I think that’s everything.” He takes the book back from you and scrawls one last thing. 

don’t fall in love with me 

You have a hard time holding back a laugh. 

“You’re certainly confident in yourself.” 

“I’m irresistible, princess. It’s bound to happen eventually.” His grip on your waist tightens.

“Trust me. We don’t have to worry about that.” You roll your eyes.

“I’m just saying it’s a possibility. It could happen, and when it does I’ll have to leave for good.” 

“You’re hilarious.” 

What does he mean by that? That he’ll have to leave? You want to ask but he’s already speaking again.

“Just friends.” He holds his hand out for a handshake and you grab it, giving him one firm shake.

“Just friends.” 

This might actually work. You open the book one last time as the two of you look over the list. 

No Romance.

This is Purely Stress Relief. 

the helmet stays on

the helmet might come off at MANDO’S DISCRETION 

no kissing 

if you say stop, i stop 

Don’t Finish Inside Me. 

No Sleeping Over.

Nobody Knows.

don’t fall in love with me

This is easy, you can do this. You can have your cake and eat it too. You get to stay friends with him, stay married, and have your needs met. It’s the perfect plan. 

His fingers are playing with the hem of your nightie.

“So… should I leave now? Or is there anything else you want to do?” 

Should he leave? Yes. Do you want him to leave? No. Now that you know what you’ve been missing out on it’s harder than you thought it’d be to not want more. It looks like he’s already starting to get hard again and it makes your mouth water. 

“Well, you seem like you’re still a little stressed. And according to the rules I should probably fix that.” You’re playing with the belt that goes across his chest as you say it. 

“That is true, we wouldn’t want to break the rules so soon.” His hand starts sliding up your thigh but you gently push it away as you move to kneel in front of the bed between his legs. For once he doesn’t have something snarky to say as the helmet follows you. If you’d known it would be this simple to shut him up you’d have gotten on your knees ages ago. Your fingers play with the zipper of his pants as you rest your elbows on the Beskar covering his thighs. He’s still silent as you smile as innocently as possible. 

You want to tease him. Show him that you can be in charge just as much as he can. Also you want to know what he tastes like but that’s besides the point. 

“You know tomorrow is the first day of the week. Which means you have to take me somewhere… why don’t you tell me about that?” You run a finger over the straining fabric of his flight suit drawing a small breath from him. 

“Etyc girl.” He murmurs as he brushes your hair back a bit, away from your face. You should really start trying to remember everything he says so you can ask him about it later. “I thought I’d let you choose.” He keeps his hand on your face, rubbing circles against your cheek with his thumb. 

“Mhmm. What are my options?” You hum softly as you tug ever so gently at his zipper, watching with wide eyes as his cock springs free and slaps against his stomach. It’s even bigger and more intimidating when you’re this close to it. You reach your hand towards it but stop a few inches shy, looking up at him, waiting for him to continue. 

“Well… there’s a market in the city, that’s very well known, I thought you might like to shop for yourse-” He sucks in a sharp inhale as you lightly scrape your fingernails across the underside of his shaft, watching intently at how the Beskar tilts upwards slightly. You can’t bite back the smirk on your face as you wrap your fingers around the base of him. Maker your hand doesn’t even fully close around his girth. 

“That sounds nice, what’s my other choice?” You don’t stroke him, you just trace a vein with your thumb, that has him leaning back on his elbows as he gasps. 

“Maker- there’s a library in the- in the city.” He stutters out as you sit up on your knees so you can let a trail of spit fall onto the weeping head of his cock, watching as it mixes with his pre-cum as you swipe your thumb over his slit, lazily stroking him. You hum again in approval. 

“How about we go to the market this week and the library next week? Would that be okay Mando?” He’s managed to prop himself up more as he pants, watching you. 

“Sure thing princess.” He mumbles.

Stars he’s a sight. Leaned back like this, breathless. His thighs are tense under your hands as you bring them down slightly before leaning down to place a chaste kiss on the prominent vein on the underside of his length drawing a breathy groan from him. 

You’ve barely even started and he’s like this. It’s exhilarating to know you have the same effect on him that he has on you. 

“Why don’t you tell me all about the markets while I do this?” You look up at him with big doe eyes, unable to hold back the smug grin.

“You’re an evil woman.” He says under his breath.

“Oh come on, this can’t be any worse than what you did to me.”

“Be careful princess or I’ll bend you over right there on the floor and show you just how bad it can b- fuck…” Halfway through his sentence you started leisurely dragging your tongue up his length, effectively shutting him up. You pull back slightly. 

“Tell me about the markets Mando.”

“If you wanna play this game just know I’m gonna repay the favor at some point.” His voice is low and stern, you simply nod, scraping your fingernails delicately up his shaft again. 

“I look forward to it. Now start talking or you’re gonna be playing this game by yourself back at your cabin.” You pepper a few kisses at his base as you wait for him to respond. 

“Okay sarad’ika… They’re big, they take up nearly three whole streets.” His voice is low and one of his hands is caressing your face again. You take the opportunity to bite the fingertips of his glove so you can tear it off. He chuckles as he tangles his fingers in your hair as you start working your way up, starting at his base with kisses and small licks as you take your time. Hearing his breath quicken. “They um… they’re one of the largest markets in this system, they say you can’t walk the whole thing in a day.” 

“What else?” You know he can feel your breath against the head of his cock as you speak because he shivers ever so slightly.

“They have everything you might be l-looking for… most of the stands change at night, we’ll have to go a different day after sunset so you- so you can see it all.” He barely seems to be getting through it all as you finally take him in your mouth, swirling your tongue across his tip. Your jaw is already starting to ache so you start to work your way down, hoping to finish him off relatively quickly. Based on the way his grip tightens in your hair you doubt it will take long. You hollow your cheeks ever so slightly.

Maker the groan he lets out. None of your books could write a groan like that. 

You continue to work him into your mouth, gagging quietly every once in a while as you listen to the gasps and moans that slip out of the modulator, after he goes a minute or so without speaking you pull off of him, letting your teeth drag against him briefly. He hisses loudly and his grip in your hair tightens. 

“Gedet’ye mesh’la…” His voice is hoarse as he sits up. You tut quietly.

“I don’t know what that means.” You say mockingly as you bring one of your hands up to cup his balls.

“Fuck… don’t chayaikir .” He growls.

“Ask nicely.” You’re practically whispering it against his shaft as you press another kiss against his cock. 

“Don’t test me princess.” You can feel the burn against your scalp as he tugs you closer. It doesn’t faze you all that much as you continue staring up into the visor.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to learn manners.” You can practically hear his teeth grinding as you gently squeeze him at the base, just hard enough to make him grunt. 

“Fine princess, you win. Please...” It’s barely a whisper but it’s all you wanted to hear so you happily take him back in your mouth, bobbing your head up and down, unable to take him entirely without choking so you use your hand to jerk off the rest of him. It doesn’t take much longer before he’s thrusting his hips up into your mouth. “Right there sarad, fuck, I’m close ad’ika, doing bid pirusti… dirty girl.” After a few minutes of messy thrusts he finishes and you feel the warmth spreading down your throat. You keep sucking, until he pulls you off, a line of drool going from his length to your swollen bottom lip. He’s laying back, chest heaving as you wipe the drool from your chin and swallow anything remaining in your mouth. He tastes like salt, metal, and something sweet you can’t place. You stand up and sit next to him, rubbing soothing patterns against the break in his armor at the side of his abdomen. 

“You deserved that.” You mumble with a grin. The helmet turns to face you. 

“Remember that you said that next time you’re whining underneath me.” He’s still a bit breathless as he sits up.

“Sure thing.” You beam at him. 

It’s quiet, almost peaceful as he zips his pants back up and the two of you just sit with each other. You want to lean your head on his shoulder but you’re pretty sure that would be breaking the rules so you resist. 

“You should probably go.” You whisper. You manage to keep your tone neutral. 

There’s a beat of silence. 

“Okay.” He stands and just like that he’s walking to the door. 

“Good night Mando.” You sigh as you turn to say goodbye. 

“Dress light tomorrow. It’s gonna be hot out in the city.” His tone is gentle as he opens the door and leaves. 

You stand and walk yourself to the closet, collapsing in an exhausted heap onto the blankets.

As you struggle to get comfortable there’s a dull ache in your chest that reminds you of how you felt the first few days on Naboo when you were longing for the company of your family. 

You ignore it. 

It’s normal for people to miss their friends. 

[damienns]

Sadie McCarthy supercut + bonus: some ready to GIF video frames / HQ screenshots

Here’s the link where you can access and download the supercut of episode 3, some of the screenshots are still uploading.

===

Hello everyone! I’ve had a little free time recently and I’m having a lot of fun watching Melissa play Sadie in The Girls on the Bus—you should all check it out it’s been fun so far!

So I just want to share these resources for video editors out there (supercuts) and to my fellow GIF makers (1080p quality screenshots, ready to be uploaded as video frames in Photoshop).

That said, I’m sharing again my Ko-fi link here and PayPal if you guys want to buy me coffee or help my sister who’s a student trying to save up for her Graduate visa. She’s in her last term of school, finishing her Certificate IV in Commercial Cookery and Diploma in Kitchen Management while also working part time to pay up her tuition. 

She’s studying as an international student and she needs the Temporary Graduate visa after she finishes her studies and it costs a lot 🫠 I’m trying to find other means of work (got a full time job and some freelance work every now and then) to save up and help her but we will also gladly and gratefully take any amount you guys can spare and donate :)

Thank you so much for the support to all those who like what I do when I find a rare free time, especially to my fellow supercorps! I’ll do my best to be more active on posting here and at supercorp_gifs twitter page.

Below is a list of what I’m currently working on and upcoming free resources to upload and share:

The Girls on the Bus episodes 1 and 2 of Sadie supercuts and HQ screenshots

GIF Making Tutorial post, including resources and reference links that have helped me establish my workflow and process in creating GIFs

Supergirl Kara Danvers supercuts. I’ve started a rewatch of the golden and best season—season 1—last month and I’m on the Red Kryptonite episode I think so I’ll maybe start preparing the clips from that episode.

-Jill

[michelle-0tter005]

Hi ! 👋🏻Welcome to my blog 🥰

i'm Michelle!! ) i'm a 30 year old trans girl that lives in georgia. i'm a little bit of a loner LOL « alongside a huge book worm, lego collector, gaming addict (your typical nerd hahahah) * so i hope my spicy content brings you that personal connection you're looking for!! i love building my forever growing community!! & everything is included, my full length uploads are every Tuesday & Friday alongside multiple DAILY explicit pics!! 🥰 i'm super fetish friendly & take allot of enjoyment out of authentic content with real orgasms!! 💦 a little scroll through my feed may also include reviews!!

I have some rules for my blog please don’t ask me for free pics, you’re welcome to buy content and I can do custom content where I do whatever you wanna see 🥰. Don’t report or label my page , if you don’t like what I do PLEASE BLOCK ME. And lastly don’t start a conversation by sending a picture of your dick😒 I’ll block you immediately.

Message me privately for my spicy content 🥰😊 serious minded people only. If you’re cheap or looking for freebies I just won’t take you serious.

Anyway i hope we can connect soon! If not through content then maybe through friendship🥰

[dreadnotau]

Happy three years everybody! As always, there’s a lot to say on the occasion, so pop in at the end of the post for the tl;dr if you don’t have time for my detailed diatribes, haha

Boy, time flies, huh? Feels like the second anniversary was just yesterday, but maybe that’s just the several long hiatuses getting to me. I’ve been scarce on uploading anything anywhere for a while now, even though I promised I’d actually pick up the slack this time around. What gives? Well…

For one, college hell, and for two, a lot of unfounded anxiety about putting my art out there. Allow me some theatrics for a moment and I’ll actually get back to the comic at hand… I’ve never had an exceptionally supportive environment for making art. It wasn’t suppressive, not in the slightest, but it also wasn’t… encouraging. It was always treated as a hobby or a distraction rather than something I was allowed to be fully proud of, especially because a lot of my art focused on more cartoon-y and fantasy ideas, rather than still life studies and painting (which people generally outside of the art sphere tend to value more, arbitrarily). Couple that with a childhood full of being bullied over minute shit you hadn’t even considered could be an issue before, and you get a teenager hellbent on never sharing his interests or ideas with anyone, mostly due to the fear of rejection.

I’ve grown, thankfully, but that paranoia and fear doesn’t go away overnight. As I’m sure you all know, Meowchela was the one who originally encouraged me to post this comic, and the only reason she succeeded was because she was the first person in a long time who listened and engaged with my interests and my art in a meaningful way. It’s kind of obvious her friendship had a profound impact on me, and I’d cite her as one of the reasons I was even hopeful enough to apply to an art college in the first place! This comic, and that bond with another person, proved that maybe these things I’m so passionate about weren’t duds, and weren’t something I had to keep to myself.

So, fast forward a few years. About three years, in fact.

During one of my classes, right before this hellish two weeks of exams started, one of the class assistants talked me into showing my comic pages to one of my professors. He’s generally a pretty open guy when it comes to new mediums, but I’m always… apprehensive about showing my less “traditional art”-y things to professors, but, he ended up being genuinely proud of it. Specifically, I showed him pages 85-87 (because they’re my favourites) and, he didn’t read the text, just the visuals were enough for him to say “good job, keep it up” (which is HIGH praise from that guy). When I mentioned I’ve been meaning to simplify the visuals because I didn’t have time to work on the comic very often because of college and classes, he dismissed it on principle. I was honestly caught off guard. Heavily paraphrasing, he suggested that worsening the visuals for an arbitrary deadline was counterproductive to making something that’s Good™.

That’s kinda stuck with me. For a good few years now I was more focused on optimisation rather than visual improvement for the comic, and though it HAS contributed to better visuals in some ways (cutting corners sometimes makes for a less pointy and jagged end result), it’s kind of weird I’m treating an art project that way, isn’t it? I set a lot of… arbitrary deadlines and standards for myself, in the form of expectations and what I “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing at certain stages in my life. I’ve thought of Dread Not as a passion project second and a stepping stone first, if I’m being honest. As if it was too… fandom-y and derivative to be treated with more gravity than that, like it’s an immature project because I was still a child when I came up with it. As if it was something I’m making to Build Up to Something Else, something Bigger and Cooler and More Important, and… the more I think about the future of Dread Not, and even my future career options, the more I realised that’s, ironically, a really immature way to think about it.

If there’s one thing going to this art college has taught me, is that there’s no “right” way to make art, and there’s no “right” way to success as an artist. There’s no clear-cut paths, just more commonly treaded roads, but even those are heavily overgrown. Why should I try to box myself into thinking I have to make things from complete scratch to be taken seriously? What’s so bad about Dread Not as a story and as a comic that’s caused me to vaguely keep it under wraps when conversing with people in my day-to-day life? Why wouldn’t I put all these skills I’ve acquired to improve and expand this project that’s Right There, WAITING for me to finally get off my ass and get pages out there again?

I wish I could say I’ve used all this time away in a particularly clever way, but I really haven’t - at least, it feels like I haven’t. My art has undoubtedly improved over time (though admittedly the art for this post was Very rushed, fuckin exams), and while I’ve been working on projects in the background, chipping away at them in a VERY disorganised way, I haven’t been posting that progress anywhere, and I haven’t made any good progress on my biggest project, Dread Not, because of the other ones. And, honestly? Admitting that kinda stings. This comic means a lot to me, and I wish I actually gave it the time and attention it deserves instead of letting it sit out hiatus after hiatus because I keep failing at structuring my time.

So, my new plan is a little more abstract: find a way to work Dread Not into my school schedule, and slowly build a habit of working on it more often. No clue how long that’ll take, but I think it’ll be worth it to consider it as an option, and hopefully finally end these long, drawn out hiatuses with short bursts of uploads in-between. HOPEFULLY. Building habits was never my strong suit, so please bear with me while I figure this out in what will probably be the most hectic upload schedule in this comics history, which is: no schedule at all.

From now on (until the end of Act 1), I’ll upload pages when they’re ready, and depending on how the weeks go and how complex the page is, they could be weeks or days apart from one another. Hell, some might even take a month to finish if school stuff gets REALLY hectic (god knows Hellish Exam Week number 1 and number 2 won’t be giving me much time to work on the comic), but I’m determined to do this. I want to be able to put my all into this project again!!

(And hopefully finish Act 1 by the end of this semester…)

TL;DR: College is giving me life lessons I didn’t expect, and because of them I’ve decided to give myself a non-existent upload schedule for Dread Not: Pages will be posted when they’re ready, and the spacing between pages could wildly vary depending on circumstances and the actual complexity of the page itself.

As always, thank you for being here, thank you for reading, and thank you for being patient!

If all goes well, there will be new content very, very soon.

[foxintheferns]

WILD HEART - Chapter One Release!

a Twilight-Paul Lahote Fanfiction

***Short summary for my antsy gals: this bitch with childhood trauma, no real family and a passion for animals goes to live in the woods outside of La Push beach for her job, and guess who’s not happy she’s there because now they have to worry about this human who’s put herself smack in the middle of bloodsucker city, where they have an instinctual obligation to protect her. And guess who’s even more angry that he suddenly feels an undying and relentless, fiery need to be with her all the time? Angst, tension, passion, anger, love, jealousy, perhaps even some betrayal? This story’s got it all babes (yes, even the smut) - it’s just one of those slow burn, then-suddenly-everything-is-fuckin-crazy-and-the-angst-is-unreal fics, you know? stay tuned ;)

A/N: Finally starting my long-form Paul Lahote fic. Truly I am so JAZZED. I would love suggestions and comments as the story builds. Please enjoy the very first chapter! It’s a lot of character and setting development that’s much heavier than it will be in following chapters, so just bear with me 😫 I’ll be uploading pretty damn regularly, 2nd chapter will be up tonight!

CHAPTER ONE:

“All by yourself?”The grey haired, pinch-faced man tipped his face down to look at me incredulously from above his wire framed glasses, which drooped to the tip of his nose in response to the movement. His gravelly voice was muffled by the cloudy glass that separated his cubicle from the rest of the Forks Department of Motor Vehicles waiting room. The question was getting all too familiar to me, and it took more of my energy than it should to not roll my eyes at his curiosity, which was clearly laced with disapproval. I decided a soft smile, one that only I would know was almost painfully forced, seemed manageable.

“All by myself!” I responded curtly and with feigned enthusiasm. My eyes squinted as my cheeks were pushed up towards them by the effort of my smile. How many times did I have to have this conversation? Was it really that unheard of for a woman to live in the woods by herself? On second thought, maybe it was. But this was Washington! I expected my job title to be a bit more of the norm here. The man blinked at me, pursed his lips into a thin line, and shifted his sharp eyes back down to the work forms I had provided for him. He cleared his throat, tilting his head back again and holding the pages further from his face to peer down through the square lenses of his glasses at the top sheet. He brought his hand to his mouth and licked his middle fingertip, bringing it back down to the papers and flicking to the next page. I sighed and shifted my weight onto my other hip, trying to not tap my fingers against the linoleum countertop in my impatience. Maybe I was taking his words personally, but I felt his distaste for my plans radiating out from his cubicle, washing over me in judgmental waves. It made me itch to get the hell out of there. I didn’t need any more resistance, having already gone through hell to leave my life in Maine behind for the next year and a half. He hummed a low grumble and proceeded to put the papers down on his desk, bringing his hands over his keyboard and beginning to type. He paused, then, peering up at me again. “Sullivan, Harley? Date of birth October nine-, no, erm,” He squinted down at the computer screen, “eighteenth, that is… of 1999?” His voice was more practiced and formal now, establishing that he had clearly decided to give up on the interrogation and go through the motions of providing me my updated license, one that would state my new residence in Washington. I nodded with an affirming smile, and he went back to typing. After a minute or two of clicking, tapping and sighing, the older man, whose name tag pinned to his blue button down read ‘Tom’, proceeded to stand up with a small groan from his chair. He slowly paced over to the large printer in the corner of the small carpeted room, clicking several buttons on the side of the massive contraption. Moments later, he pulled a shiny rectangular card from the tray of the machine, lifted it up to the light to eye it carefully, then lumbered back to the window where I waited.

“Well, Harley, you’re all set,” he announced, placing my new license along with my work forms down on the counter through the small window under the glass, “I wish you luck, on your… well, whatever it is you’re doing. Stay safe out there, kid.”

I nodded, shooting him a final grin.

“Thanks.” I grabbed the license and papers out from under the glass divider panel and turned on my heel, heading out through the small gathering of chairs lining the waiting room, and opened the glass door. The frigid air hit the skin of my face in a less than gentle breeze, causing my eyes and nose to scrunch against the sensation. My hair whipped behind me and I gritted my teeth. Welcome to Washington, I supposed. I walked swiftly over to my car, noting how dirty the side was. Scoffing to myself, I wondered if I’d ever again have a clean car in this rainy, muddy state, and then questioned myself as to why I cared so much. My white 1987 Ford Bronco wasn’t exactly the flashiest car around, and to my surprise it fit right in the with the extensive collection of old classic vehicles that called Forks, Washington home. I opened the squeaky door and quickly threw myself onto the driver’s seat, slamming the door closed behind me. I exhaled loudly once I finally sat down, leaning my head back against the headrest. My trip to the Forks DMV didn’t take nearly as long as I’d thought it would, and I knew that was probably due to the ridiculously low population that the town had to its name. However, it wasn’t the last thing on my to-do list for the day. I opened my wallet, placing my new license into the clear display window pocket, and tossed it across the seat next to me. I put the car into first gear and pulled out of the parking lot, eager to get myself situated in my new home. Groceries, gas, firewood, I repeated to myself out loud, knowing that if I didn’t make a list - even a mental one, my obligations would be doomed. Despite my repetition of my to-dos, I almost drove right past the tiny gas station that was settled in next to an old diner. After filling the Bronco up with gas and then buying firewood in the tiny convenience store, I looked up the nearest grocery store on my GPS, and found that Forks Outfitters wasn’t more than five minutes down the road. There was something very satisfying about being in such a small town. I proceeded to spend far too much time and money in the grocery store, not sure if I was over or underestimating the amount of food I would need, and having no idea what I would want to cook for myself for the next few weeks. My new house was quite a bit off the beaten path, and I knew I wouldn’t want to be making the trip to the grocery store in Forks too frequently once I was settled in. With a trunk full of grocery bags and firewood, I slammed the Bronco’s back door with a tired sigh, and walked over to the driver door, opening it with a loud creak. Gonna have to grease those hinges again, I thought to myself with a loud sigh.

“Miss?” I heard a deep voice from behind me. I spun around, one hand still holding my door open, and my eyes met a kind and gentle face. A middle aged man, who sat in a wheelchair and had long black hair that flowed from under a cowboy hat, met my gaze across the small parking lot, a slight smile on his lips. His chair was stopped in front of the automatic doors, off to the left of the entrance, and his eyes were on me. I smiled back timidly and then noticed his right arm was outstretched, his fingers pointing down at the ground leading to my car. I followed his finger and saw the sparkling blue of my debit card on the ground that I must have dropped on my way out to the parking lot.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks, and I glanced back up at the man.

“Oh, thank you!” I stammered and walked swiftly over to my card, laughing awkwardly and bending down to scoop it up. He nodded once, his smile reaching his eyes now, which then flickered to my car. He lifted his hand again, this time gesturing towards the Bronco. “Visiting from Maine?” He questioned, his voice curious and friendly. I glanced over to the rear of my car, which still had a Maine license plate bolted on. Tom from the DMV had let me know during my visit to come back in a week to pick up my new Washington plates.

“Oh, uh. No, actually…moving here!” I said as I looked back over to the man.

“Wow! Don’t see that often,” He grinned, then hesitated, his eyes narrowing slightly, “Why exactly? Not that we’re not happy to have ya, there’s just not much here, hey?”

His demeanor was one of genuine interest, and his questions did not provoke me to feel alarmed, as they likely would have from any other strange man in a grocery store parking lot. I didn’t think it was just because of the wheelchair, although I kicked myself internally for making the mental note that he wouldn’t be able to catch me if I had to run away from him. Oh, the joys of being a woman traveling solo. I shrugged, still maintaining the smile on my face. “Have a job out here, actually. Wildlife biologist.” I saw his eyebrows raise slightly in response to my words. For whatever reason, telling this stranger of my plans didn’t feel as tedious as it had throughout the lengthy process of my settling into Washington, when the many questions of ‘why?’ and ‘but won’t you get scared, or lonely?’ had come up too many times to count.

“Impressive…lots of wildlife here, that’s for sure.” He seemed slightly fascinated, which was one of the two reactions I tended to receive. I wondered how he would react to the whole ‘living in a cabin the middle of the woods alone’ part of my plan. I decided it was probably smart to avoid letting the stranger know I’d be dwelling in the forest all by myself. I nodded, my smile unwavering.

“Yea, erm, I’ll be doing a good amount of data collection down at La Push, some of the species I’m focusing on are beach-goers,” I said with a slightly awkward laugh. His expression wavered infinitesimally, his eyes flickering with some expression entirely unreadable to me.

“Ah..,” He mumbled, glancing down to the ground briefly before looking back up to my face, “Well, let me know if you ever need some direction or help. I live down on the Quileute Reservation, La Push is on our land.” He paused again, then continued, “You can come by the main shop on the beach and ask for me, I’m nearby. Billy Black.” I took in the expression on his features once more, giving up at attempting to understand the man’s genuine kindness. It wasn’t often that strangers didn’t have some ulterior motive, but the man’s calm nature brought me a sense of safety and sureness. It almost felt fatherly, as if he knew I’d be out there by myself, despite my not mentioning it. “Thanks, Billy,” I responded, flashing a grin and holding my debit card up briefly as my expression of gratitude, “I’m Harley…it was nice to meet you! Glad I know somebody around here now.”

He nodded again, this time adding in a slight bow of his head that acted as a polite goodbye. I waved and walked back over to my car, starting the engine and getting my debit card situated back in my wallet. I put the car in reverse, and backed out of the parking spot, finally ready to make the drive to what would be my home for the next 18 months as I completed the work mission assigned to me by Washington state’s Wildlife Conservation Department. As I was preparing to pull out of the store’s lot, a glance in my rearview mirror showed a very tall, muscled, and longhaired young man exiting the store, hanging two grocery bags on the handles of Billy’s wheelchair and pushing it towards an old tan pickup truck in the lot. The boy looked around my age, and his features strongly resembled Billy’s. I quickly put together that they were likely father and son. I saw him glance towards my car as I waited at the stop light that swayed slightly in the wind above the small intersection, and quickly tore my eyes away from the mirror when his dark eyes seemed to find mine. I was grateful when the light turned green, and I took a deep breath as I pulled out of the parking lot, starting down the road towards my future.

_________________________________________________

After the 20 minute drive from the town of Forks to La Push, I pulled out the map that my new boss had emailed to me before my trip, pointing out the minimally marked trailhead towards my new home. I would be staying in the observational shelter that was provided by the state of Washington for whatever brave soul decided that conservation work was more important than their social life. I chuckled lightly to myself as I scanned the tree-line along the road, trying to match the trailhead on the map to any visual marker around me. The sun was just starting to come down, and I worried that I wouldn’t make it to the house in time. Then, I saw the small wooden sign, next to a long chain that was strewn between two short posts, that read ‘National Park - Protected Land, Do Not Cross. Washington State Dept of Fish & Wildlife appointed entrance ONLY’

Well, I thought, there’s my new driveway I suppose. My boss had provided me with the key for the chained entrance when I had arrived two days ago in Port Angeles and checked in for the start of my 18 month shift with the National Park center. I put the car in park and got out, key in hand, feeling giddy as I used the key to unlock the heavy rusted padlock. With effort, the heavy chain fell and I pulled it to the side. I got back in the Bronco and pulled it through the entrance, getting out again after I was through to re-lock the chain. I drove for about 5 minutes, my car struggling in only a few places that had an excess of mud, down the dirt path. The path eventually came to an end, where it widened out to a space about the size of three cars. I had been told that this is what it would look like, and felt pride in myself for not screwing any of the directions up yet. I parked the car at the end of the makeshift road, turning off the engine. I peered around me at the massive forest, ferns and moss lining the floor, and massive trees reaching up towards the sky. My eyes found the smaller, narrower footpath that I had been told would lead to my house. Another duplicate chain and sign hung between two trees at the front of this smaller trail, and I took out my next key. Next was the fun part. I pulled my massive hiking pack out from my backseat, unsure if grabbing the groceries as well was a good idea on my first initial hike to the house. I decided against it after feeling the forty pound pack on my shoulders. I began my trek down the path, taking in the greenery around me. I breathed in the cold air, smelling salty sea air mixed in with a fresh and endless scent of dirt and spruce trees. The hike was relatively easy, my excitement and interest in seeing my home for the first time pulling my body along. After a ten minute trek, I saw the outline of a structure begin to take shape in my vision, and almost squealed with anticipation. A few more yards in, and I could see the brown wooden house, an A frame cabin with a chimney that poked from its slanting roof. It had a small porch that wrapped around its perimeter, and a large sign next to it that once again clarified its State-regulated use. I was thankful for the minimal steps up to the porch as I approached the front door, and threw my heavy pack down onto the wooden platform of the porch. I dug into the pocket of my sweats and pulled out my car keys, which had the red key to the house dangling from the round keychain. I gripped the key in my hand, breathing intentionally to calm myself down, and stuffed the key into the lock, turning it until the door allowed me to push it inward. The door creaked just like the Bronco’s, and I smiled as it slowly revealed the interior of the structure. Well, that’s pretty much exactly what you expected, I reminded myself as I took in the small home. The front door opened to a tiny living room on the left that flowed directly into the minimal kitchen on the other side. Between the two sides, a small hallway flowed to the other end of the house, which was only about another 20 feet. I wandered down the hallway slowly, rubbing my hands back and forth on my arms as the icy air that filled the cabin chilled me to my bones. My boss had advised me that they’d left the faucets dripping to prevent the pipes from freezing over completely, and I breathed a sigh of relief to see the kitchen sink leaking ever so slightly. The next room to the right, behind the kitchen, was a small bathroom, and on the left behind the living room was a tiny bedroom with a queen bed. The room had a dresser leaning against one wall and a window that looked out to the forest. I noticed the stack of blankets on the floor that leaned against the bedside table, and knew I’d probably be grateful for those later.

I spent the next hour bringing my groceries, firewood, and supplies from the car to the house. I was told I was allowed to chop felled wood for the wood burning stove in the house, but had known that I wouldn’t have the energy after the long day of traveling and settling in. I was grateful I’d made the decision to buy the firewood, and got the fire started quickly after emptying my car. The small size of the house helped greatly in filling it rapidly with the heat from the stove. I was quick to close the blinds of all the windows, already feeling the reality of my solo isolation settling into my psyche. I locked the door, ensuring to lock in the deadbolt as well, and grabbed my bear spray from my pack, hanging it from one of the coat hooks along the wall by the door. I sighed and got started on dinner, playing music from my phone and swaying around the kitchen as I cooked.

Within a few hours, darkness had fallen on the house, and I was full of Mac and cheese, watching downloaded Netflix episodes on my laptop, strewn across the couch next to the fire. I felt gentle sleep begin to take hold of me, its warm arms wrapping around my body and urging me to close my eyes. I thought I could recall a rustling noise outside the house as sleep pulled me, but it wasn’t enough above the tapping and creaking wind for my brain to register the sound. And with that, I slipped under the immensely heavy blanket of rest, the odd image of a large grey wolf standing among tall pines, and then of Billy Black’s inquisitive expression as he stared at me in the parking lot of Forks grocery store being the last images my brain displayed on the backs of my lids before I was pulled under completely.

…………………………………………………………………………………

A/N: okay, so Harley is literally in the middle of nowhere, yikes, is it crazy to say this is my dream job? Well, maybe if I had a Paul Lahote who was out in those woods somewhere… cough. If you made it to the end of this chapter, you are a warrior. Development for such a niche plot like this is kinda exhausting but really fun! If you’re a romance girlie, I PROMISE this fic is for you. I swear on my LIFE. Just hold on and have faith 😭

➡️NEXT CHAPTER

[devilishmango]

The Story of Sin [UPDATE 12/26/2023]

Play the demo here. Read the main post here.

Hey guys!

Happy holidays! Chapter 3 of SoS is here. In this chapter you…

Finally have a talk with Murmur!

Remember something about your past! Or maybe not...?

Have a nightmare. :(

Get yourself into some trouble!

The romance stats are set up now, but there isn’t really any reason why you can’t flirt with everyone still… Yet. 👀 Also, I promise, starting next chapter, every other RO will have as much action as Will has been getting! I know that it seems like he gets all the flirt options, and the reason is because I had to set up the other plot points, and Will just so happens to be the RO who interacts with Sin the most at the beginning... BUT! After this chapter, the other ROs will have way more interaction with Sin, so their romances are on the way! 😂  

Just some other little things… I have now separated the options better, so it’s easier to tell when one option ends and the other begins. [It was especially hard to tell on mobile, which I only just looked at rather recently LOL] Also! I added another ‘stat’ page. You have your main RO relationship page, a secondary character relationship page, and the ‘remember’ page that holds all of your Sin’s stats, like appearance and whatnot.  

One more thing… some coding WILL break and be very obvious once you reach the part in the 3rd chapter if you don’t reread from the beginning. This will probably happen a lot until I’m done uploading public updates, but I’ll let you all know whenever it’s required you reread from the beginning. 

Also, just as a little personal side note; I will be starting school in January. My time will be split up between home life, work, and school. I’d like to say that updates will remain how they are, once a month, but that might have to change in the future. I’m not entirely sure how I’ll be doing with all the change and added stress to my life- especially health-wise, since I’m already not the most healthy person. But I will definitely let you guys know if there will be any changes to the scheduling of updates. ☺️  

See you guys next month!

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 15,262 22,628 [+7,366]

[dasiychains]

Hey! So I just finished dumping all of our soul forged pages so far… I guess we have a tumblr page now! I’ll be uploading the pages as they come, and maybe some extras sometimes. If you have any questions or comments about the comic, leave it in the notes or message me and I’ll be happy to answer! So yeh- hope you enjoy!