#my motivation has been poor lately

[doppel-drop-distance]

The Dubiously Needed, Unnecessarily Extensive Magia Record Stat Sheet Guide: Spirit Enhancement

Now we get into the stuff that really questions my ability to know what I'm talking about! Please correct me if I'm wrong. Please.

Spirit Enhancement is a form of upgrading your units introduced in the Japanese server. By using upgrade materials, a unit can gain further buffs beyond what is provided in their kit, such as increased stats, passives, and actives. 

There are two types of Spirit Enhancement buffs: passives and actives. They work exactly as they do with Memoria: passives are always in play, while actives must be triggered manually. A character’s Spirit Enhancement tree will have a handful of passives and one unique active. 

A character’s Spirit Enhancement tree will have around 12 passive nodes. 4 of these nodes will usually (but not always) be reserved for two Doppel Adept nodes (Doppel Damage Up and Magia Damage Up) and two MP Boost nodes (MP Gain Up When Over 100 MP). That gives you eight passive nodes to add whatever additional buffs that you think support your character’s playstyle. 

I’ll use a recent release, Amaryllis, as an example. 

Amaryllis is a Support type character with four Accele discs. Her Connect, Magia, and Doppel are all focused on inflicting and dealing damage via status ailments. 

Her Spirit Enhancement passives play off of this kit. Many of her nodes support her MP gain with effects like this:

Fast Mana Up: MP Gauge Increased On Battle Start (40% full)

Endor Adept [VIII]: MP Up When Damaged [VIII] (8 MP)

Mana Spring Aura [VIII]: Regenerate MP [VIII] (Self / 13.5 MP / 5 turns from battle start)

By generating Magia quickly, Amaryllis can apply more ailments and deal more damage. She also has some nodes that support her ailment infliction:

Addict Killer [III]: Damage Up Versus Enemies Inflicted With Status Ailments [III] (25%)

Poison Edge [III]: Chance to Poison on Attack [III] (20% / 3 turns)

Addict Killer helps Amaryllis deal more damage with the ailments she inflicts. Likewise, Poison gives her access to a multi-turn ailment, doing more damage over time and giving her more turns to take advantage of the benefits she receives. 

Spirit Enhancement provides the means for your character to have a more specific playstyle, outside of what they can do with their discs, Connect, and Magia. For example, a tank may not have the best MP generation. Their Connect and Magia won’t really be able to help that out. But their Spirit Enhancement may give them effects like MP Up When Damaged and Mp Up When Attacked By Weak Element. This creates a playstyle that encourages tanking hits to retaliate with the Magia. Or, maybe your unit deals the most damage with their Magia when their HP is low. Their Spirit Enhancement could have an effect like Crisis Bloom, which increases Attack and Defense at low HP. These are just ideas, of course. With Spirit Enhancement passives, you have access to nearly the entire skill list. Whatever playstyle you have in mind, there’s usually an effect or two that can define it. 

As with the Connect, there are usually consistent effect percentages for SE passives. Here are the patterns I could find:

Attack Up: 10%

Attack Up At Max Health: 20%

Attack Up At Critical Health: 10-15%

Defense Up: 22.5%

Defense Up At Max Health: 40%

Defense Up At Critical Health: 30%

Damage Up: 10%

Magia Damage Up: 5%

Doppel Damage Up: 5%

Status Ailment Resistance Up: 25%

Accele MP Gain Up: 12.5%

Blast Damage Up: 16.5%

Charged Attack Damage Up: 25%

Charge Disc Damage Up: 10%

MP Gain Up: 7.5-10%

- Attribute Attack Up: 7.5%

Status Ailment On Attack Chance: 15%

Damage Increase: 10%

Damage Up Versus Witches: 15%

Defense Pierce Chance: 15%

Damage Cut: 10%

Accele Damage Cut: 10%

Blast Damage Cut: 15%

- Attribute Damage Cut: 15%

Magia Damage Cut: 20%

Critical Hit Chance: 15%

Evade Chance: 15%

Counter Chance: 20%

Follow Up Attack Chance: 20%

Damage Up Versus Enemies With Status Ailments: 20%

Provoke Chance: 15%

Regenerate HP: 4%

Regenerate MP: 9 MP

Skill Quicken Chance: 15%

Guard Chance: 15%

MP Up When Damaged: 4 MP

MP Up When Attacked By Weak Element: 11 MP

MP Gauge Increased on Battle Start: 15% full

Ignore Damage Cut: 45%

Blast MP Gain Up: 3 MP

If you’re thinking “hey, some of those percentages are kind of small”...Well, yes, they are. But like the EX skill described in the last post, Spirit Enhancement passives give small bonuses, with some exceptions. There are definitely some larger bonuses in there, but as they aren’t the majority, they don’t end up in the list. As always, I would recommend checking the wiki for percentages that fit your character. 

An effect percentage may also look small because a character has more than one of that node. For example, the Doppel Adept node I mentioned earlier. This list describes an average of 5% for Magia Damage Up. But since most characters have at least two nodes with Magia Damage Up, the average is closer to 10%. This is also something you should keep in mind while planning your unit’s SE. Not every passive node has to be unique!

One more thing to consider is that there are occasionally “aura” effects. In Spirit Enhancement, an “aura” is an effect that lasts a certain amount of turns after the start of the battle, usually to an increased effect. Think of it kind of like an EX skill, but with a turn limit. Shizuka Tokime has an example of this with her SE node, Bloom Aura:

Bloom Aura [V]: Attack Up [V] (25%) & Defense Up [VI] (45%) (Allies / 5 turns from battle start)

Do you have a headache yet? Good! Let’s keep going. Don’t worry, there’s only a little bit left. 

Every character gets one Spirit Enhancement active. It’s the equivalent of a third active memoria slot. The effects you have to choose from are the exact same as the passives, with the addition of turn duration, targeting, and different percentages. As always, you can decide the active based on your character’s playstyle. 

Since we already talked about Amaryllis’ SE, let's look at her active.

Quell Bloom [I]: Defense Down [I] (5%) & Defense Down Further [I] (5%) & Attack Down [III] (20%) (All Enemies / 3 turns)

Amaryllis is a character who supports the team by crippling the enemy. This is mainly through ailments, but there’s a bit of debuffs in there as well. Her Magia and Doppel also inflict Defense Down. An debuff active gives Amaryllis more options to restrict the enemy and support her team. 

There are no consistent percentages for actives. As with Magia, the differing targets and turn duration make things too variable. You can use other characters’ SE actives as reference, but memoria are also a good source to sample from. Many SE actives have effects that are similar to memoria. 

…Oh right, you also get stats from Spirit Enhancement, don’t you. This is another thing that’s a bit too variable for me to jump into the Math Witch’s Labyrinth again. I usually determine Spirit Enhancement stats at the same time that I determine base stats. Just like with Growth Type, you can pick one or two characters with the same Type and Growth Type and average out the amount of stats they gain from Spirit Enhancement. From there you can determine how many stats your character might get. 

There’s no real need to split the stats up into individual nodes unless you really want to torture yourself. I just total it all into a single number like I do with base stats. But it’s up to you how you want to approach it!

[angelstrawbabie420]

i legitimately do not know how i have persisted under all this grief and i fear i won’t be able to for much longer

[orcelito]

listen. romance in the culinary. akechi cannot cook bc he never got the chance to learn. i think he tried experimenting when he first started living on his own, but it went Disastrously bc there's so much backround knowledge you need for even the simplest of things. if you have no one to teach you, it's very difficult to effectively cook.

so goro gives up. he accepts he's a bad cook. he doesnt have time for it anyways.

but akira. akira loves to cook. cooking is a love language, especially for him. he wants the people he loves to be nourished. he wants them to eat well. he wants goro to eat well. so he cooks for him, of course he does.

but romance in the culinary. he realizes the origin of goro's inability to cook. and he decides to try to help fix that. goro didnt have anyone to teach him before, but he does now. akira will teach him how to chop vegetables, how to make soups and noodles and eggs, how to brown meat and fry shrimp. hell, he could teach him how to make sushi too, since goro loves it so much.

with akira's help, he gives goro the chance to have this bit of independence he never had before. as much as akira loves cooking for him, he wants goro to be able to cook for himself. akira will make it happen.

[little-diable]

Cocky Tornado Wrangler – Tyler Owens (smut)

Finally watching Twisters tonight. My poor aunt who has to listen to me gush about our husband. Thank you so much for the love on my other Tyler fic, I hope y'all will love this just as much. Please like and reblog if you enjoyed reading this, your comments keep us writers motivated! Enjoy my loves. xxx

Summary: There are many things (y/n) would prefer to having to share a room with the man she hates. But does she really hate him? Or will the bed they share be enough to push them closer together?

Warnings: 18+, smut, oral (f), piv, enemies to lovers, lots of teasing

Pairing: Tyler Owens x fem!reader (3.8k words)

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Her voice dripped with exhaustion, eyes tired and ready to flutter shut any moment now. But fuck, she couldn’t give in just yet, had to fight yet another battle with the self proclaimed tornado wrangler who was staring down at her with his signature smirk glued to his lips.

The smirk he wore in every video of his. Videos she watched whenever they were uploaded to his channel. Not that she’d ever tell Tyler that. And god forbid he’d ever stumble upon the saved favourites she watched in moments where she needed distraction from everything but him. 

“Well, seems like your prayers were answered, pretty. An EF4 and now we get to share a room, certainly feels like we’re even closer to heaven now, doesn’t it?” Tyler’s hand found her waist to give it a soft squeeze before he gently pushed her further into the motel room. It had been an exhausting day, filled with adrenaline highs as they chased tornadoes until the late evening. Even though they had been mesmerised by the beautiful disaster, they were now forced to stay in one of the close towns, cut off from the highway heading home. 

“I can take the couch.” She had her eyes set on the rather worn out couch which had been pushed against one of the walls that were painted in a faded out pink colour. The whole room made her feel like she was back at her grandparents home, letting an almost melancholic feeling settle in the pit of her stomach. 

“You sure you don’t wanna share? The bed’s big enough, or I could take the couch.” Tyler hung up his still wet hat before placing his bag down on the bed. (Y/n) watched him take in the room, giving her a few seconds to curse him for wearing a white shirt that now clung to his muscular upper body. His back muscles were shining through the wet fabric, letting her get lost in the thoughts of how it must feel to brush her nails along his soft skin. Thoughts that shot heat straight down to her core, knowing that she’d have to take care of that cursed longing in the shower. 

“In your dreams, Owens, and we both know you won’t fit on that couch.” His raspy laugh left her grinning, unable to stop her tired face from reacting to the man (y/n) claimed she hated and yet needed to feel close at any given chance. 

“Trust me, baby, my dreams are all about sharing a bed with you and so much more.” With a wink thrown her way, Tyler plopped down on the bed. He studied her for a moment, taking in her wet frame while his tongue kissed his teeth and his muscular arms were locked behind his head. She needed to get out of here, needed to find shelter in the warm shower before her body would do something she couldn’t stop it from doing. 

“I’ll grab a quick shower.” (Y/n) didn’t wait for his reply, darting for the bathroom that was just big enough for her to let go of a deep breath. 

She hated that she had dreamt of moments like these, wondering how it may play out with Tyler by her side, having to share a bed while the world outside was ending. And all they’d have eyes for would be one another, no matter how many tornadoes called for them. 

Within seconds, (y/n) had shuffled out of her wet clothes only to step into the small shower. She couldn’t stop her soft moan from leaving her as the warm water cascaded down her back as if it were hugging her. The silence she was now offered forced her thoughts back to the longing she couldn’t shake, the need to take care of the pulsing between her thighs that grew stronger with every passing moment. 

Her fingers moved quickly, knowing that she didn’t have much time before Tyler would disturb her peace, desperate for a shower himself. With her teeth buried in her lower lip, (y/n) let her fingers circle her pulsing bundle, imaging Tyler’s fingers instead of her own. 

Would he touch her with the same kind of urgency? Would he draw the same moans from her she oh so desperately wanted to give in to? No, he wouldn’t. He’d make her feel things she had never felt before, clashing through her like a tornado stronger than she had ever been fortunate enough to study. Tyler Owens was her own personal disaster and she was close to letting him rip her off her feet, close to allowing him to have his way with her without being able to protest. 

“Fuck,” the word rolled off her tongue all too quickly, knowing that she was already close to giving in to her high. (Y/n) didn’t pay the ache in her forearm any mind, didn’t worry about the way her fingers begged her to move slower, all she was focused on were her thoughts that painted a picture of Tyler and the way he’d touch her.

And with her head rolled back and her lips tightly pressed together, she came. (Y/n) let her orgasm wash through her, rubbing her pulsing bundle a few more times before her tired body found its way out of the shower.

It took her a second to realise that she hadn’t taken any clean clothes with her, drawing yet another exhausted groan from her. Carefully, she opened the door, hiding behind her towel while her eyes found Tyler’s frame. No longer was he wearing his shirt, exposing his muscular upper body to her eyes which tried to burn every inch of his naked skin into her mind. 

“Tyler,” her soft voice drew his eyes from his phone. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow?”

She expected a snarky comment, anything to tease her and rile her up some more, but Tyler stayed quiet, eyes focused on the parts of her body that weren’t covered by the door or her towel. (Y/n) could have sworn that he had swallowed heavily first before rising to his feet to reach for his bag. His eyes stayed glued to her while he reached a shirt out for her to take, letting his fingers brush against hers for a moment. 

It was cheesy almost, the buzz of lighting striking her at the small contact. A touch so small and yet so significant, her mind would probably think of it for days and nights to come.

With a small “thank you” rolling off her tongue, (y/n) stepped back into the bathroom to put on the shirt, grateful that it was long enough to cover her panties. Trembling legs carried her back into the room, not daring to look at Tyler, whose eyes she felt on her frame. No words were spoken between them as he pushed past her into the bathroom, allowing (y/n) to deeply exhale the second she was left alone once again. 

……

The moments after Tyler had returned from the shower, wearing nothing but boxers that clung to his body just as tightly as his wet shirt had, had been filled with a tight atmosphere. Barely any words had been shared between them, not as she had made herself comfortable on the couch, not as he had turned off the light while stretching out on the bed.

She had turned her back to him to stop her eyes from wandering, knowing that no matter how tired she was, her mind wouldn’t let her rest. Not when he was so close to her. Not when she heard his uneven breaths that told her he was still awake. Not when she could easily move closer to feel him pressed against her. 

What was he thinking of? Was he still riled up by today’s chase? Or was he also thinking of those moments where he had passed his shirt to her? 

Even though she begged her body to stay calm, to not move back towards him, she lost the fight within seconds. Her front was turned towards him, letting her eyes rest on the parts of his body that weren’t hidden by the blanket, making her awfully aware of how close he was to her. 

This was unusual for them, quiet moments where neither spoke, where no teasing or bickering could be heard. Nothing but the breaths both let go of while he kept his eyes focused on the ceiling and she wasn't strong enough to look away from him just yet.

“I can feel you staring, pretty.” Tyler rolled his head towards her, eyes meeting (y/n)’s like lightning striking a tree, buzzing straight through it to set it ablaze. “What’s going on in that confusing mind of yours?”

“Just because you’re not smart enough to understand my thoughts it doesn’t mean my mind’s confusing.” The words had left her all too quickly, drawing a gritty laugh from Tyler. A sound she loved hearing, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. A sound that left her smiling the second her ears were fortunate enough to hear it. 

“You wound me. I’d say we’re a pretty good team when it comes to understanding your plans.” Heat spread through every part of her body, a heat she was all too used to by now but still didn’t know how to work with. She rolled her eyes at Tyler before refocusing on his handsome features, taking in every part of the face she knew like the back of her hand. 

Her breath hitched in her chest as he lifted the blanket, patting the spot next to him, “Come up here, I don’t need you complaining about back pain tomorrow.”

(Y/n)’s body moved without holding back, crawling to the spot next to him as if she had done this numerous times before. It felt awfully right to lay next to him, to feel Tyler’s arm slowly wrap around her middle to cage her against his chest. 

“Do you remember the first time we chased together?” She tried to stop her hand from moving as he spoke, she really did. But yet (y/n) miserably failed, unable to keep away from his soft skin any longer, needing to feel it beneath her wandering fingers as she traced slow patterns on the skin of his warm chest. 

“I wanted to break your nose that day, god, you were even cockier back then. Do you still think people instantly recognise you when you meet them?” He shook his head with a smirk playing on his lips, tightening his grip on (y/n) as she shuffled even closer. That day was replaying in her mind every now and then, remembering how he had misjudged her for a fangirl, expecting her to almost faint when shaking his hand. And yet she hadn’t known much about him, had never watched any of his videos before that day. Something Tyler hadn’t taken as lightly as he should have, turning into the cocky asshole she had cursed for the past months.

“I no longer care about that, only worry about impressing you, pretty.” He pressed a kiss to her hairline before he let his eyes flicker back to the ceiling. His sharp jawline was exposed to her wandering eyes, making (y/n) awfully aware of how easily she could kiss him right now. It took everything in her not to move, to hold still as her heart picked up its beat. Whatever it was that had urged her on to fight against him these past months, it was now gone, leaving her unable to fight back and in need of something more. 

“We both know that’s a lie, Owens. All you worry about is tornadoes and busty women who ask you to sign their cleavages.” Her laugh was mixed with his as he let his gaze find hers again while squeezing her side. She fought against his grip, hating that he had found her most ticklish spot that made her toss and turn against him. Tyler seemed to enjoy the sight, letting his fingers find the spot again while shifting her around to hover over (y/n). With one hand pressed to the pillow and his knees caging in her right thigh, he left her no room to move away from him. 

“Do I hear jealousy?” His eyes wandered over her face, focusing on her lips as she fought against the need to look away. “You know there’s no need to be jealous, pretty. All you gotta do is give in and stop fighting our bond.” 

A sharp reply was burning on her tongue, and yet her body managed to win the fight, letting her fingers find the back of Tyler’s neck to pull him in for a soft kiss. He instantly replied to the touch, adding more pressure to the kiss with his body shuffling closer. It felt as if they were burning, tied together like two matches setting a petrol station ablaze, ready to alight the darkening night. 

With every swipe of his tongue, with every moan rumbling through them, it set in further that this was finally happening, that they were finally crossing that last bridge. No longer was she set on fighting it, purely focused on Tyler’s touch and the need to feel him as close as humanly possible. 

“Talk to me, baby, what do you want?” Her mind was torn between the kisses they kept sharing and the feeling of him growing against her thigh, telling (y/n) that he needed and wanted this as much as she did. Her fingers combed through his hair, letting her nails scratch his skin with just enough pressure to leave him tingling in excitement. 

“Everything, I want all of you, Tyler.” Hours ago she would have cursed herself for giving in so easily, for admitting that insatiable hunger she had felt for months now. But she no longer found it in herself to care, could no longer shy away from having whatever Tyler was about to offer her. Her words drew a groan from the tall tornado wrangler who kissed his way down her throat while shifting his weight onto his knees. They held eye contact as his hands disappeared beneath the shirt of his she was wearing, finding their way straight to her chest. 

“Fuck, feels like you were made for me, every part of you.” His praises sank in like a ship hitting the ocean ground, sinking lower with every passing second, forever resting on the ground like the praises he spoke to her. Forever etched into her mind. Forever remembering the way they made her feel lightheaded and giddy. 

Urgently he pulled the shirt over her head, set on exposing her body to his hungry eyes. Tyler let go of another groan as he looked down at her, making a silent promise that he’d have to take a picture of her in that position one of these days. He dipped his head down to  suck on her nipples, making her moan for him while she spread her thighs for him. His core met hers, leaving both breathless as his clothed cock rubbed against her clothed heat – a feeling so intense, it only urged Tyler on to move further down her body. 

“Will you let me taste you, pretty?” Only a breathless “Please” left (y/n), drawing a smirk to his lips. She watched his eyes light up as he pushed her panties down her legs, looking like he was marvelling at art – art so mesmerising he couldn’t stop staring. 

“Let me make you feel good, baby.” Those were the last words Tyler spoke before his tongue brushed her folds, drawing a moan from the both of them. His arms wove their way around her thighs, keeping her pressed to him as he ate her out like a starving man, high on her taste and the sounds she made for him. 

Nothing but moans managed to leave (y/n), getting lost in the feeling of Tyler sucking on her pulsing bundle, while he pushed two fingers into her – doing just what she had imagined him doing in the shower a while ago. He instantly managed to find that spot that made her see stars as he pressed down on it with his fingers, forcing (y/n) to choke on her sounds.

“Oh god, Tyler,” he chuckled against her skin, letting the sound vibrate through every part of her. From the corner of his eyes he could see her fist the covers with her free hand, the one that wasn’t buried in his hair, telling him that she was already close. And yet Tyler knew that he’d pull away soon, wanting to feel her cum around his cock like he had imagined her doing the past months. 

Tyler had worked hard for her attention, knowing that he had fucked it up the first time they had met. She had instantly managed to push him off his high horse, bruising his ego with her sharp words he could still recite today. And yet it had only made him desperate for more, set on pulling her closer like no other woman before her. 

“I could die a happy death between your thighs, pretty, but I need to fuck you now.” The dazy look she shot him made him feel proud, knowing that she had been about to cum on his tongue. She didn’t reply, at least not with words, with nothing but a whine did she pull him towards her for another kiss. He shuffled out of his boxers, freeing his twitching cock with a few movements. 

“Let me grab a condom.” He left her side for a moment, allowing (y/n) to sort through her thoughts which were all over the place. And yet she couldn’t carry about anything but the need to feel him buried inside of her, knowing that once she knew what it feels like to have him so close, she’d never be able to let him go again. A thought that left her torn between excitement and anxiety, unsure what was awaiting them. 

“Do you still want this? We don’t have to do this if you’re unsure, (y/n).” Tyler’s whispers ripped her out of her spiralling thoughts. She shook her head at him before pulling back in, focused on his handsome face, mustering every spot she could blindly find. 

“I want this, want you.” That’s all he needed to hear before aligning himself with her heat and slowly pushing into her. With his forehead pressed against hers, both needed a moment to adjust, not expecting to feel this, unable to put the sensation into any words that would make sense to their minds. It felt like they had been made for one another, made solemnly for this moment that felt as if the world had spinning, thrown off its path. 

“Move, please, Ty’.” He instantly gave in, pulling out of her only to push in with more strength. Their bodies met with every ferocious thrust, sending bolts of electricity down her spine. She arched her back off the mattress, needing to be even closer to him while he kept burying himself inside of her. 

Blood rushed in her ears, drowning everything out but the sounds Tyler made, sounds so raspy and deep she feared it was another tornado growing in the distance, guttural sounds which left her walls fluttering around his cock. Her fingernails scratched at his shoulder, set on leaving red marks that wouldn’t fade for days, claiming him in the most primal way she could come up with at that moment. 

“God, I can’t wait to fuck you like that for the rest of my life.” The words roll off his tongue just like that. There was no way he could stop them from leaving him. And for the first time in minutes she finds herself ripped out of her state, staring up at him with wide eyes. But Tyler doesn’t say another word, all he does is study her while fucking her closer to the edge. 

“Do you mean that?” She struggled to speak, needing to ground herself before choking on her words. Their eyes kept holding contact, even as he nodded his head while watching a smile grow on her slightly swollen lips. “Good, I don’t want you to let me go again, Owens.”

He took the words as a challenge, adding even more pressure to his thrusts to throw (y/n) back into her dazed state. With his fingers circling her pulsing bundle, he knew that it was only a matter of moments before she’d cum around his cock, allowing him to take in the most beautiful sight he’d ever be fortunate enough to see. 

His name left (y/n) one last time before falling off the edge. His hips kept meeting hers, fucking her through her high while feeling his own crawling closer. She clung to him, murmuring his name like her own personal mantra as he followed her, letting go with a groan she’d forever remember.

It took both a moment to move again, for him to pull out of her and to get rid of the condom and for her to slightly shift around on the mattress, watching his every move with her weight balanced on her forearms. Tyler found his way back to her within seconds, hovering over her to press another kiss to the lips he’d never get tired of kissing. 

“Are you okay?” His whispers left (y/n) grinning, nodding against his lips while another wave of euphoria swapped through her. 

“More than.” Unspoken feelings were hanging heavily in the air, knowing that both would have to address them rather soon, but all they did was look at one another, marvelling at the person they never wanted to let go of again. “Thank you for this.”

“Nothing to thank me for, pretty. And hell, I’m not even close to being finished with you tonight.”

[yok00k]

telepatía

pairing: idol!jk x model!oc

genre: fluff!

“a kilómetros estamos conectando”

—synopsis: when you’re getting ready for a party and jungkook, who’s thousands kilometers away from you, wants to video call.

word count: 1,082

warning: ldr, they’re disguisingly so cute, the word “baby” was said for about 1 million times it’s sickening, different timezones, oc dress in front of jk, mention of insomnia, anxiety, stress, mention of an uncomfy situation of oc where other men were being men, protective jk (this jk is not a manipulator, trust), 1st person pov(im so sorry)

author’s note: my second drabble/fluff!!! this was shorter than I wanted it to be but there will be few (idk how many, it depends to the future me) series of idol!jk x model!oc. <the meaning of ‘mahal ko’ means ‘my love’ in filipino>

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Taking a cold shower after having an intense leg day plus cardio at the gym hits so different. I feel like a brand new person after getting out of my bathroom. I then settle down in front of my vanity table and begin doing my skin care + makeup. As I finished a smooth base of foundation, my phone vibrated.

2 messages received from

mahal ko🐰🤍

|| hey baby

|| can we facetime plz? wanna see u

[10:33 pm]

his text was unanticipated at this hour since it’s 5 am in Korea.

me

|| sure bb

[10:34 pm]

mahal ko wants to facetime

drop everything i have with my hands, i swiftly hit the green button, eagerly to see and hear his voice. we’re mostly texting these days because of having different time zones and working schedules to follow. Oftentimes when he’s free and wants to facetime me, I would be either at work or sleeping and vice versa.

“hi pretty!!” he cheerfully greeted me as my phone screen revealed his cute sleepy face. As usual, he’s wearing one of the eight Supreme beanies i got for him when I was in Tokyo. [side story: i was just strolling in the streets of Harajuku when i found this one clothing store that has a lot of stuffs i know jungkook would like and that’s when i bought those comfy beanies along with other nice things]^_^

“helloo, my ggukie can't sleep?” i asked while finding something i can lean my phone on so that i can continue doing my makeup

“응.. i'm trying to sleep but can’t.“ he simply explained as he placed his phone on the side of his bed, moving his naked body to a more comfortable lying position. His arm filled with cool, artistic tattoos is out and on sight, while his other arm were covered with the thick white comforter, so as his entire body.

“What's been going on in your mind?” I know that something is bothering him at times like this. i get that having the job and lifestyle he has, isn’t merely easy. the pressure, the media, the fans, everything. But although he deals with all these things, I never once heard him complain about them because he knows that that’s what he signed up for the day he chose to pursue being an idol.

“Just been stressed lately with rehearsals and I'm still jet lagged, maybe I have insomnia? ‘m not sure but it’s driving me crazy. now i get what u mean when u say ur body is tired and ready to sleep but ur mind isn’t.” he further describes how he feels. The worry and anxiety is written in his facial expression.

“my poor kookie you could’ve call me earlier and i would help you to fall asleep”

“but you were at the gym. i know you like blasting reggaeton music while working out.” he pouty responds. well, in his defense he’s right. I love that he remembers small details about me but nothing can top my love for him.

“i do that but I prefer listening to my boyfriend’s angelic voice while working out so that i’ll have motivation to do more reps.” replied to him right off the bat. realistically i meant what i said. I usually don’t like talking to people when doing workouts but he is an exception.

I received no words but a soft laugh. He must have thought I was kidding. I took a glance at him before I put lipgloss on[his favorite shade].

i can see him covering the blush he has all over his face. i'm very glad to see him having relief.

‘’Where is my pretty girl up to? hmm?” he curiously asks as i put highlights as my last step to finish up the look

“just going to the club for Sakura’s birthday party, i'm running out of social energy almost every day because of work and parties but I can't miss this event” I explained as I headed over to my walk-in closet.

“hmm ‘kay tell her i said happy birthday. what are you gonna wear?”

“well i'm debating on wearing a black leather mini skirt with this asymmetrical black top and for shoes i have this black knee high boots or i just go with this simple black mini backless dress with these red bottoms high heels” i say as i show him all the clothes. he and I almost have the same taste in fashion. if we were to combine all of our clothes, they are pretty much all black. whenever it’s shoes, jackets, tops, pants, etc. this is why buying clothes for one another isn’t difficult for us.

“What did I tell you about mini skirts bb?” oh. i forgot that he allows me to wear mini skirts unless i’m with him since an incident happened when i was in the club and random guys were making me so uncomfortable by giving disguising lust looks and nastily commenting on my skirts. Although he and I know that no matter what a girl wears, guys in the clubs will act like animals regardless. He told me to not wear it because he’s controlling me but rather because he won’t be there to protect me if something happens.

“ok then the second choice it is” i confirmed, putting the first outfit choice back to where they belong.

“how about you wear that mini skirt when we go on a date? how’s that sound?” he suggests.

“ok then ggukie”

“dress in front of me?” he boyishly asks, using his deep alluring voice. He definitely knows what he’s doing. How can I say no to him?

After dressing, I proceeded to put on the Cartier necklace with his initials in it that he gifted to me when he first came to visit my penthouse in Chicago.

“still have my oversized leather jacket with you?” he inquire before he yawned

“yupp, why?” I curiously asked

“bring it with you please. i don’t want you getting cold in there” he softly requested. him and his simple gestures make me fall in love with him deeper.

“i will baby thank you”

“i love you ___, don’t look at other men” jk murmur jokingly. Well, I hope he said that in a humorous way for the reason that I assure him with my sincere words almost every hour.

“ I love you more gguk i’ll update you ok?” he just hums, waving his hands leisurely to say goodbye.

[astrobydalia]

more observations (lost count)✨

Hello guys! Life's been crazy lately and I barely have time to make any of the master posts I wanted to, so you'll be getting lost of observation posts that I've been collecting in my drafts for the past months. As always, enjoy!

❗️long post

work by astrobydalia

✨ Sagittarius and Aquarius are so fucking similar. Both of them are chaotic af, love their freedom and think they're smarter than everyone else. People who have both of these in their big 6 have the most unhinged

✨ Libra is WAY more obsessed with perfection than Virgo

✨ Whenever I had Libra or Taurus ASC on my Solar return chart I was lazy AS FUCK. I had no motivation to work whatsoever during those years, all I wanted to do was vibe and enjoy life. I also felt very relaxed and stress-free, when difficulties came I just went with the flow

✨ What is up with Gemini risings and always feeling intellectually insecure all the time? Literally their #1 insecurity is feeling like they are dumb or like they’re not good enough for highly abstract and intellectual tasks/professions. They come across as someone immature who lacks wisdom or has a superficial/simplistic view of things. I feel like this is because they attract people who are a bit of know-it-alls (Sagittarius DSC) and they have a reputation for being scattered-brained (Pisces 10th house) so people tent to infantilize them a lot.

^^^But let me tell you this not true at all, Gemini risings are some of the most brilliant people I’ve met with so much potential. Their problem is that they allow overthinking to get the best of them and end up doubting themselves 24/7. These are the type of people who have amazing ideas but they never pursue any them. They really struggle making decisions for themselves, they always need to ask for opinions first which is not a bad thing but this makes them come across as incapable or as someone who lacks self-sufficiency

✨ Mercurial signs (Virgo and Gemini) like to focus on concrete things and immediate reality, they process life by connecting one thing at a time and taking info as it comes, they focus on what's going on around them cause Mercury is all about multiplicity and details. With Jupiter signs on the other hand (Sag and Pisces) one thing about them is they don't care about details as long as things make sense as a whole, they see life from a more broad and general perspective, they prefer having a birds eye view of things because Jupiter is all about expansion and therefore it likes to encompass many things at once. This is why Virgo and Gemini rule mundane life themes and immediate reality while Sag and Pisces are more about general life lessons and higher knowledge

✨ Scorpio moons/8th house moons are the definition of an energy vampire fr. They just have a really poor understanding of healthy emotional boundaries, they expect you to give your all but aren't willing to reciprocate and always turn everything into a manipulation or mind game somehow which makes it pretty exhausting to be around them in the long run. Don't get me wrong, most of the ones I’ve met were very and good people but they always end up taking my energy away and make me feel emotionally burnt out

✨ Mercury-Mars aspects have this "it is what it is" mentality and really dislike over complicating things by reading too deep into them. They tend to think things exactly as they seem. This does not mean they're simplistic, on the contrary this makes them surprisingly insightful fast thinkers and are not the type to be easily fooled

✨ I've seen people saying that hard aspects between Mercury-Pluto makes people misunderstand your words. This is not true, this happens with Neptune cause Neptune rules delusion, but Pluto is a very blunt and straightforward planet cause it's all about revealing the dark truths. Mercury-Pluto aspects makes someone very deliberate with their words and they know exactly what to say to make their message stick. You will understand their words exactly how they want you to understand them. What happens with hard aspects is that the native tends to have a more provocative approach in the things they say, they don't care if you're offended by what they say as long as what they say makes an impact. People can misunderstand their intentions because of this, but not their words

✨ The ironic thing about Aquarius placements is that they are very good when it comes to connecting with the masses, the public usually feels very drawn to them because they're very good at appealing to collective values which makes them come across as relatable to many people as a result. However, when you actually try to relate to them or connect one-on-one, you will find yourself with someone that is surprisingly elusive, distant and more distrustful than Scorpio placements which is a huge contrast from the welcoming vibe they give off to the public. I've found that the only way you will get close to an Aquarius placements is on THEIR terms lmao, if they've decided they like you, it'll be them who will approach you and/or make the effort to engage with you

✨ A reocurring thing I've seen with Virgo placements is that they really dislike big changes and prefer to stay in control. I think this is not mentioned often cause it's kinda weird to say that about a mutable sign, but Virgos being mercury+earth ruled they feel comfortable relying on facts, data, observations, etc and they use all this tangible info to navigate reality, that's why they rule daily life and routines because they invest a lot of their energy on factually understanding and categorizing their reality (earth signs in general are very attached to the tangible). Their mutable nature shows in that they easily use their knowledge to adapt, find solutions and fix what’s wrong but when they are in situations where these "categories" prove to be useless (aka Pisces themes), they get very triggered cause that means they no longer have control of their reality

✨ That being said another reoccurring thing I’ve noticed with Virgo placements is that they love to predict things. But not in a mystical sense it’s more like they enjoy understanding things in such way that they’re able to easily put a label on them and easily predict what’s going on or how something works

✨ I have not seen a single Taurus placement who didn’t have the most insanely sexy and pleasant voice ever. Doesn’t matter if they sing of not, just hearing their voice is so delightful

✨ Aquarius Mercury really believe their opinions are the most ultimate and correct opinions out there. They are certain that their judgment is always 100% objective (aka always true) so in their mind if you slightly disagree with them that means you’re mediocre, dumb or narrow-minded.

✨ There's always a duality in all mutable signs. Sagittarius can be very humorous and optimistic but also very dark and profound. Gemini can be curious and chaotic but also very analytical and logical. Virgo can be picky and perfectionistic but also very permissive and conformist. Pisces can be very compassionate and wise but also very detached and clueless

✨ Neptune does not do well in air houses/signs at all simply because air energy rules (different types of) information and connections, while Neptune is all delusion and confusion. Also air energy is purely cerebral and rational while Neptune appeals to the unconscious

✨ I have not fact-checked this but I feel like it's safe to say that Mars rules testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone associated to violence or impulsive behavior, sex drive, red blood cells (blood), masculinity, etc That's literally all mars

✨ People always talk about how Capricorn moons have had a rough life but I've noticed this is also very true for Sagittarius Moons?? Responsibilities are not imposed on them like Capricorn, in their case they have to build up wisdom about life through pure and raw experience without anyone giving them a heads up or any pointers first, that's why they grow up feeling like they're fully on their own. Things work out for them at the end but they always have most MESSY life experience it's really crazy

✨ Both domicile and afflicted Mars are ambitious and determined but the main difference is that Libra/Taurus/Cancer Mars need to find some type of enjoyment or fulfillment in their goals in order to get motivated while Capricorn/Aries/Scorpio Mars find motivation in the challenge and endure through stuff they don't find pleasant

✨ From what I've seen males with Scorpio placements are very superficial and will gaslight as a lifestyle. They are the type of people who look the other way or brush things off or never takes anything seriously and I've noticed they do this so they never have to take accountability.

✨ Neptune/Pisces energy either gives “glamorous and ethereal” vibes or “weird in an extremely cringe way” vibes, there’s no in-between

✨ A reoccurring thing I've noticed with those who have Chiron in Taurus/2nd house or Chiron-Venus is that they often have dubious morality or double standards because they don't have a solid values

✨ Every single Libra Moon/rising female I’ve met embodied the material girl stereotype. They really have this “instagram girl” vibes to them if that makes sense

✨ Those with Sagittarius in the 5th house can actually find a lot of joy and happiness in becoming parents or they have a lot of fun with children

✨ Scorpio Mars can't stand not knowing what's going on around them and at first I thought this was bc they were suspicious/paranoid but then I realized it’s because they’re just controlling as shit. They come across as very chill and care fee but they’re actually SUPER controlling dude. Even when they know for sure that they can trust you and you’re doing nothing wrong they still want to keep taps on you and won’t leave you alone. They won't bluntly violate your privacy but will still find ways to always know what you're up to

✨ The resentful and spiteful stereotype associated to Scorpio actually belongs to Leo placements imo. They can be very reactive and childish when you insult their ego and will make it very known that they won't let it go

✨ Cancer North Node people always have some sort of issue or inner conflict with of having kids. They feel drawn to the idea of becoming a parent but deep down they low-key don't? I've also seen many women with this placement who had fertility issues

I have the theory that these natives are conflicted in this topic because they see family as an achievement or a societal expectation (Capricorn south node) so in this life time they have to know what it's like to desire a family for the right reasons and not because they feel like they 'should'

✨ Capricorn risings really are hyper-aware of their public image and how others perceive them. That's why they always end up becoming very popular and respected, cause they know very well where they "stand" publicly so they know how to successfully curate their own reputation. It's not surprising to see this placement a lot in celebrities

✨ Pluto in the 12th house are genuinely unsure of who they can trust which leads to a lot of paranoia and projection. The type to ignore the most obvious red flags but then automatically doubt your loyalty cus you spoke in a suspicious tone

✨ Pisces/12th house placements 🤝 disappearing. Y’all shit on Gemini for ghosting but have you ever met a pisces/12th houser?

✨ Saturn in 5th house people had parents (namely father) who were overly critical of them and their self-expression. Doesn’t necessarily mean they were unsupportive of the native but they were quite hard on the native’s creativity

✨ I've seen a lot of bullies/mean girls have Aquarius placements. Honorable mentions: virgo, Leo, libra

✨ Neptune-ASC people are really good at making themselves invisible when they want and/or making parts of themselves go completely unnoticed even if they're bluntly obvious. I've noticed they actually get away with a lot cause they have this tendency to not be accurately seen by others if that makes sense

✨ Neurodivergent individuals usually have Mercury harshly aspecting (conjunction, square, opposition and inconjuction) Uranus and Saturn. Said Mercury is more often than not in a water house/sign/degree or in Aries. Of course not everyone with these aspects will be neurodivergent, but it's just a pattern I've seen

✨ Pluto-ASC people most of the times fail to have a lighthearted view towards life. They always want to look beyond the surface of things which doesn't really allow them to enjoy life as it is. They often get a reputation for looking too deep into everything and in turn the Pluto-asc native often sees others as superficial

✨ Virgo risings are huge conformist and won’t go after anything that’s outside their immediate boundaries. They only make an effort towards things that are accessible and will quickly lose interest in anything that has difficult availability or requires them to go way out of their comfort zone. They're overall pretty self-serving.

✨ I know several people diagnosed with OCD. All of them have Virgo AND 6th house placements, 22º in their big 3, Scorpio Mercury/Moon and Mercury dominance

work by astrobydalia

[noyasmashing]

Can I have more Yan Tamaki hcs? 🫠

Me and my husband were sticking together

• warnings: sub!yan! Tamaki x gn!reader, scent kink, soft yandere behavior, slight stalking, etc.

• authors note: HAII MILLY o(^ . ^)o I’m sorry for being so inactive!! Ive been traveling a lot more than I thought I would and I haven’t had much time to write :(( anyways yes yes here ya go!

Alright I’m just gunna say it. He has a scent kink. Especially the scent of your worn, sweat-drenched workout shorts, he can't help but be drawn to it. Painting an image of you sweaty, tired and yet oh so pretty in his mind. He's become so obsessed with the aroma that he's started to steal your clothes, to the point that you’ve begun to notice something is off.

Despite his shame and guilt over his actions, he's unable to resist the allure of your smell, which has become an intoxicating trigger for him. As a hero, he knows he should be above such base desires, but how can he help himself when he’s never experienced such intense emotions before? It’s not his fault your so attractive!!

Tamaki's arousal is amplified by the prospect of being caught in the act, whether it's pleasuring himself while smelling your clothes or being caught red-handed while stealing them. Despite his deep-seated shame and embarrassment over these desires, he's unable to suppress them, and they often find their way into his dreams.

In fact, the fantasy of being punished for his actions has become a recurring theme in his sleep. He loves the idea of being helpless under your control, with vibrators placed anywhere on him you pleased. His cock, prostate, nipples, he doesn’t care as long as your happy.

His deepest desire is to relinquish control and surrender to your will, allowing him to abandon all responsibility and simply obey without hesitation.

Despite being so pathetic, he has a strong desire to impress you. Being shy, he's not one for grand gestures, but he makes an effort to showcase his small accomplishments in the hopes you'll take notice. If you show more interest in Mirio than him, he'll become sulky and withdrawn. When you're near Mirio, he'll feel anxious and insecure. However, his demeanor changes instantly if you direct even a simple question or comment towards him - it's as if a weight lifts off his shoulders, and he's revitalized by your attention.

Tamaki has a tendency to become dramatically upset in your presence, often feigning hurt or distress in the hopes of gaining sympathy and affection from you. Solely to get a reaction from you, one that he can store away to fuel his late-night fantasies.

Despite his ardent desire to catch your attention, he finds himself tongue-tied and unable to articulate his feelings. When he tries to speak to you, his lower lip begins to tremble and his ears turn a bright red with embarrassment. His words get jumbled and tangled on his tongue, rendering him speechless. As a result, he usually resorts to simply nodding his head or muttering a few faint words.

Tamaki's naturally introverted nature often leads him to adopt a listening role, and he finds himself eavesdropping on your conversations out of a misplaced sense of duty. He rationalizes this behavior as a desire to "protect" and "keep you safe," but it's clear that his true motivation is to uncover more about you.

But that's not all - Tamaki is quite the photographer. He likely has an entire album dedicated to pictures of you on his phone, filled with videos and audio recordings of your laughter, conversations with him, and hell even just you talking to a friend. The poor boy would not be able to contain himself if you made a suggestive joke in his presence. Scurrying off to the nearest bathroom with a raging boner. That’s how bad his fascination with your voice is, and he can't help but replay it in his head, imagining all the intimate things you might say to him. He can get rather sloppy with trying to capture you, oblivious as ever. Let’s just hope you don’t catch him recording you, even with his clumsiness. Tamaki's enthusiasm can sometimes get the better of him, causing him to be reckless in his pursuit of capturing your perfection. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get caught by you, even with his clumsiness.

[nebuliias]

Your probably busy with your own life but is it alright if I could request reader being the younger sibling of Sunday and Robin

Do you know the scene where Robin gets 'killed'? what if instead of Robin it was the reader? how would Sunday and Robin react to the news of their younger sibling getting 'killed'?

Thank you for your time and have a great day/noon/night!!

SYNOPSIS. . . With the Charmony Festival nearing by the day, the revered Halovian siblings start getting anxious when their kin hasn’t been heard of for days.

CHARACTERS FEATURED. . . sunday and robin

CW: hurt/no comfort (I tried), gn and sibling! reader, they’re your biological older siblings, potential spoilers, platonic, like one mention of Gopher Wood, reader is aged 16 and a Nameless

— A/N’s note: HIIII EVERYONE. wow i actually posted something since who knows how long LMAO. so sorry for lack of updates, motivation has been very low and dry lately. anyways NEW FORMAT everyone

The air in Dewlight Pavilion was thick with worry and tension as the Charmony Festival’s date approached. The legendary siblings, Sunday and Robin, were together in the study room, their faces betraying their concern.

Their precious youngest sibling—basically, you—had promised yesterday to pay a visit in Moment of Morning Dew since you haven’t seen them for so long, considering your occupation as a Nameless.

Normally, Sunday, your protective older brother, would let your delays slide—if only it wasn’t for the fact that you were three hours late.

As for Robin, she nervously combed her fingers through her hair while adjusting her dainty neck pieces. “Brother, perhaps you should sit down for awhile? You’ve been pacing back and forth for awhile. Maybe they’re just visiting some shop or strolling—”

“Robin, it’s been three long hours,” he abruptly stated. “I’m pretty sure they’re not strolling around at some random park in the Dreamscape. They’re always punctual, you know that!” The man sighed, eventually sitting down beside his younger sister.

Poor Sunday, he was visibly anxious and worried. He plucked at several loose hair strands and feathers from the wings by his ears. Ever the neat perfectionist, it was ironic to see him in such a distressed state. But Robin couldn’t blame him.

It had been a pretty long time after all…

Just when she was about to excuse herself to use to the restroom, a Bloodhound guard came bursting through the grand wooden doors, a manilla folder in his sweaty hand.

“Ah, Mr. Sunday..! Oh, and hello, Miss Robin,” he panted. “My deepest apologies for interrupting whatever was happening, but I have urgent news to report.”

Sunday rapidly approached the man. “What happened? Hold on, is this about..?”

“Yes,” the Bloodhound confirmed. “Another person has fallen victim to ‘Death.’ We’ve gathered enough information, but I’m afraid you’ll be displeased who said person was.”

There was a moment of silence as Sunday split the folder open, revealing three sheets of paper. His hand trembled ever so slightly as he picked up a sheet, already thinking the worst.

Please, don’t let it be who I think it is.

Robin, who was peering over his shoulder, audibly gasped, stumbling back with a gloved hand at her mouth, muffling the incoming sobs. “No.. No, it can’t be!”

The Bloodhound bowed deeply, his face contorted in distress. “My condolences, Mr. Sunday and Miss Robin, but Y/N.. was killed by the Memory Zone Meme.”

The siblings stared blankly at the papers spread out on the desk.

•••

Name: Y/N L/N

Family: Gopher Wood, Dreammaster and adoptive father | Sunday, Oak Family Head and older brother | Robin, cosmic superstar and older sister.

Age: 16

Affliation: Nameless

Cause of death: Memory Zone Meme, “Death”—stab wound through the heart.

•••

There were several photographs taken of the scene, and Robin felt overwhelming nausea at the mere sight of it. Her body went rigidly stiff, her chest rose and fell slowly, and the world around her blurred. One hand shielded her lips and the other was put over her heart.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s strong-willed heart shattered. He felt so many things at once: shock, fury, sadness, despair—basically every negative emotion wrote in the dictionary. Yet at the same time, he didn’t know what to feel.

After awhile, the Halovian idol stood up, her legs now jittery from the sudden revelation. She took in a shaky deep breath before exhaling, not daring to break down in front of her brother. “…I’m going to use the restroom.” With that, she slowly walked out of the study, leaving the revered leader alone with his turmoil.

None of them couldn’t think straight, but who could blame them? Their sibling was dead. Their youngest sibling was dead. Their kin was dead. Their determined Nameless. Their sibling was dead.

Sunday, now isolated, suddenly felt hot beneath his clothing. His mind was disturbed, and his blue-gray wings twitched madly. He didn’t know how to act, but in the end, he let out a cry and ripped the papers apart along with the photographs before throwing the folder in a nearby trash can.

Oh, how he felt like diving into it himself. He felt like trash itself now—unwanted, crumbled, and torn apart.

Back with Robin, she ran past several Oak Family servants and dashed into the restroom, madly locking the door to ensure no one would run into her. She fell against the toilet and heaved into it, her nausea reaching its brink.

After the ordeal, she wiped her mouth before staring at herself in the mirror, unable to hold back her sadness anymore. Transparent tears poured down her flawless face, carving dry rivers in their run. Sorrowful sobs sounded from her throat, her once melodious voice now gone harsh.

Poor you. Poor, poor, poor, you. You didn’t deserve this. You didn’t deserve any of this. You didn’t deserve to have your life crushed like a ladybug.

Just.. why..?

all rights reserved © nebuliias. do not copy, re-upload, or plagiarize my fics. if you see anyone doing this to my work, LET ME KNOW.

[citruswriter]

Making Headcanons about the Rise Turtles as Somebody Who's Never Seen The Show

Listen With Me! ↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

A/N: I've been reading a bit of fanfiction so I'm not completely clueless about their quirks and personalities but I thought I'd make this for fun til I get motivation to actually write again yk?

Raphael 🧡

First of all. This man is a cutie patootie. Like, come here. Lemme kiss yo forehead. Sweetie pie, baby, pookie. Mwah.

Now that I've gotten that outta the way, I feel like this dude has a lot of squishmellows. Especially the big ones. They're just so soft and, well, squishy.

Favorite season is summer. He likes all it gives and would kill to be able to go strawberry picking or go pick flowers in a flower field with other people without fear of being called a freak.

Speaking of which, this mans will 100% take you on picnic dates in a flower field. Fresh foods and flowers. Expect a flower crown at some point and to look at clouds.

Apparently he's a bit of a crybaby? Which like, please don't hurt him. :(( Poor sweet baby just needs love.

Please give him flowers back. He'll love you for life.

His love language is touch but he's also afraid of hurting you sometimes so instead he really enjoys quality time.

On a more obscure level, his love language is biting. Just soft little noms on your shoulders and arms. Although he will bite in other places if you give him consent.

PLEASE KISS ALL OVER HIS FACE! Just grab his face and kiss his face all over. He'll just melt, maybe gently grab your hips or wrap his arms around your waist.

Will gladly pepper you with kisses as well. Especially those feather light kisses. Face, neck, shoulders, hands, wrists. He's such a sweetie.

Loves hands on dates. So cooking, flower picking, pottery, those kinds of things. And yes he'll keep that funky looking, poor excuse of a vase you made in his room and it will proudly hold the latest flowers you've gotten for him.

Will knit you things. Complaining about needing a new sweater? Bam. Sweater made. Whine that you need more socks because you keep loosing yours? Boom. Socksies.

Knit him something back and he'll sob and thank you a million times. He loves it. Even if you're not good at knitting. It's a prized possession.

Always kissing your hands or nuzzling into your neck. He's such a touchy fellow.

Yes he's the type of guy to have you sling your legs over his lap and just massage your knees or mindlessly draw patterns on your thighs while he reads.

PARALLEL PLAY! Can and will put on some soft jazz or lofi beats and just relax in your presence while the two of you do your own things. The occasional kiss or soft talk occasionally happening.

If you sleep over, good luck getting him off of you if you wake up first.

I see him as a late morning riser. So 10AM kind of thing. Will nuzzle into you and take his time waking up as he just gently rubs your side and breaths in your scent, peppering you with good morning kisses and soft laughter.

Cooks you breakfast and prepares your morning drink. He just loves you so much and the small small smile accompanied with a sleepy kiss and "thank you, my love" makes it all worth it.

Calls you things like my sweetheart, strawberry, and flower.

"Whatever would I do without my flower?

NSFW - Obviously aged up, don't be weird 💛

Terrified to be intimate with you for a good few solid months.

He'll prolly want to have a solid conversation about what you're both into, hard limits, soft limits, stoplight system vs safe words and what to use, and the likes.

Will need some time to warm up to the idea of sex. Expect months of heated make out sessions.

Eventually things will escalate. Steamy moments now accompanied with thigh riding, praises being muttered out to you.

Eventually the two of you will get to oral moments. Please be gentle with him. He's kind of sensitive.

He'll prolly also be very gentle with you when giving head. Tell him what to do, he's so lost. Praise him when he does something you like. He'll pick up on what makes your body sing for him and keep it stuffed in his mind for later.

In the early stages of having sex, he'll be pretty gentle as the two of you explore. Lots of "am I doing this right?" and "you feel so good".

Once he becomes more confident though? Oh shits over for you. 💀 R.I.P (y/n). Sorrows and prayers. You're gonna need em baby.

He's still somewhat gentle but since he knows your limits now, he's more willing to be rough and to bully you.

Ramming into you from behind as you babble out curses, Raph just grinning down at you. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Can't talk? Cockdumb already, are we?"

Remember how I said biting was his love language? Pray because he will bring it into the bedroom.

His love bites are more little nibbles or gentle noms. But give him permission and he'll bruise you while he fucks you.

Will refuse to do it beyond gentle noms in the beginning of the relationship but once he's confident, you're getting bitten.

Bites on your neck while he growls possessively and makes you wail. Bites to your sides as he grips your soft flesh. Bites to your thighs that bruise while he bullies your insides with his cock. He loves seeing you giggle at his soft nibbles, and he also loves hearing you cry out from his bite marks.

King of aftercare, especially after rough sessions. Grabbing a towel to wipe you down, helps you to the bathroom if needed, grabs you some water with some electrolytes added to it. Soft kisses as he praises how well you did and how much he loves you and how he's so lucky to have you.

Loves flustering the shit outta you. You could be talking and he'll just gently but firmly grab your jaw, making you look up to make eye contact and go "yeah love?" or "is that so, strawberry?"

The way your brain immediately stops working as you stutter and your facial expression becomes flustered. He can't help it.

He'll pair it with a soft rumbling chuckle he knows drives you up the wall, lean in and ghost his lips over your skin, maybe lightly kiss your jaw or neck, before backing up and letting you go.

"You were saying, sweetheart?"

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Leonardo 🧡

Little shit.

That's it. That's the post.

Jk. But from what I've gathered, he's absolutely a little shit.

Pray to whatever god you believe in because this man makes it his mission to annoy the ever living fuck out of you.

He will take note of the things that genuinely trigger or piss you off though. As much as he loves teasing you, he doesn't want you snapping at him or giving him the cold shoulder.

Favorite season is spring. He enjoys seeing all the critters and plant life slowly come to life.

Oddly enough, I headcanon him as an early morning person.

As energetic as he is, he loves quiet mornings. Watching the sunrise and taking his time to maybe shower and wake up slowly.

If you wake up early with him, he might make some drinks for the two of you and take you up top to watch the sunrise with him while the two of you whisper plans for the day together.

If you wake up later in the day, he'll wake you up softly and force you to turn his direction and cuddle up to him while he peppers your head with kisses and rubs circles into your muscles as you doze back off.

Once you do wake up, he'll stop what he's doing if he's able and prepare some food for you before making his way to his bedroom in time to see you do your morning stretch.

"Morning, sleepy head. Finally decided to rise from the dead?" He'll tease, smiling when you playfully glare at him. "Awwww, mi vida. Don't pout at me. I'm only teasing. Come. I made you food".

Once you step out of the room however, his tenderness gives way to his annoying ass ego self. But you love it all the same and he knows it.

Will expect praise for the food he made you. He's such an awesome chef, obviously he deserves it.

Loves pulling pranks on you and surprising you with tickles. Have your defenses up because his innocent hug will turn into him pinning you down and tickling you.

Pouty McPoutster. Heaven forbid you have a job or your own place. The audacity you have to spend time away from him is astounding. 🙄 /silly

Loves stealing your shit and then faking innocence when you demand it back.

Spams you with a million memes a day.

His love language is touch as well, but he indulges in it much more than Raph seeing as though he's not as heavy or strong as him.

On a more obscure level, his love language is deep pressure. Loves being your weighted blanket or giving you super tight hugs. Do it back to him please, he also loves it. But be prepared to smack him because he will make an inappropriate joke.

Will fling himself at you. He doesn't care if he knocks you down to the ground and knocks the wind out of you.

Aside from the normal Spanish nicknames, he loves calling you things like his number one, sweet thing, and doll.

Wraps his arms around you and just goes "how's my number one?" or cuddles up into you and goes "wanna watch a movie, doll?"

Our loveable, adorable, asshole.

NSFW 💛

Please have a sit down conversation with him about boundaries and safe words because this man will not think about bringing it up. He just wants to jump your bones.

In the beginning of the relationship, he'll act all cocky but when it comes down to it, he'll prolly get all flustered. He'll smile through the pain though. Bless him.

Please praise this man. He'll always love praise but he especially needs it in the early stages of ya'll's sex life. He just needs to know he's doing well.

Once he's confident though, it's a whole different story.

The nervous air and anxious jitters are gone and he's so much more cocky.

Praise him and tell him how good he feels in you and he'll just pop off with something like, "bet I'm the only one that can fuck you this good, huh?"

Licking. For the love of the gods. Licking.

Up your neck, up your thighs, on your chest, on your hips. The way you shudder under him just gets him going.

He will make you beg. He's an egotistical bastard and will make you embarrass yourself by having you tell him exactly what you want from him.

Might even grab your jaw and stick his thumb into your mouth and just taunt you. "Come on, mi amor. You can do better than that. Tell Daddy what you want."

Oh yeah, that's another thing. Daddy kink. Sir kink too. Call him Daddy or say "yes sir" to him and he'll go feral. If he's not already fucking you, count the minutes because he will be soon.

Pet 👏 play. 👏 Collars, leashes, ears, tails if you let him. Let him fuck you from behind while he jerks on the leash tight enough to mildly choke you. He loves hearing you whine and struggle to breath properly.

But on the rougher side. He wants to break you. Wants to see you cry as he pumps into you and pushes you over the edge again and again and again.

Will overstimulate you if you let him. "Please Leo I can't take it anymore!" "You can and you will. You wanted me to fuck you and now we stop when I'm done, not when you are. Understand?"

Degrading and brat taming. Loves calling you his cock sleeve, his whore. Just brat and you're guaranteed to have a firm hand to your hip or neck.

"Drop the attitude before I fuck it out of you, slut".

Please wear thigh highs and a short skirt around him. He'll go crazy and bend you over the closest surface.

"Such a whore. Wearing that around me. You know how much that turns me on. I'm sure you were betting on that though, huh? Fuck your such a cumslut for Daddy".

Bad at aftercare at first. But teach him how to do it and he'll quickly master it. Soft touches as he nuzzles into your neck, kissing any bruises or spots that will inevitably bruise. The two of you help clean each other up. You'll offer to get water while he offers to start a shower for you two.

Also loves flustering you. But with nicknames. He has a few nicknames that he has that he only pulls out with the intent to fluster you.

Sparring and you have him pinned down? "Good job, pet". Your brain will short circuit and oh will you look at that? You just lost the sparring match.

Ghosts his lips over your skin until your breath heavy and clutching onto him only for him to pull back and innocently rub your waist.

"You ok, mi vida? You're breathing awfully heavy."

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Donatello (My beloved) 🧡

Tsundere to the max. Omfg. 💀

You think he hates you until one day you need help with a bug on your phone and he fixes it, no questions asked.

"Wow. I honestly thought you wouldn't help." "Why wouldn't I?" "Ion know. I thought you hated me?" "Why would I hate you? Dislike maybe, but not hate. It would be illogical to hate somebody who's done nothing to deserve it".

Ever since that day, you become more comfortable around him and he definitely notices it too.

It doesn't take you long to pick up on all the ways he says he loves you. He doesn't say it often, he shows it. To you, to his brothers, to his dad, to April.

When the two of you first started dating, his affections became more common but albeit private.

Soft head bonks, rubbing your wrist while the two of you read, a soft kiss brushed to your cheek as you get him another cup of coffee.

Before you know it, he becomes much more comfortable expressing his affections to you.

Cuddling into you as the two of you drift off to sleep, sitting in his lap as he works, slinking his arms around your waist and kissing the junction of your neck when your in the kitchen doing something.

His brothers know better than to tease. They don't gotta worry about Donnie, no they gotta worry about your ass. The death glares you send. 🤭 If looks could kill, they'd be dead. Mostly just Leo though.

He's absolutely nocturnal. This man wakes up at about 3-5PM and goes to bed at like 3 in the goddamn fucking morning.

Pray if you're a morning person. Because he does not fucking care if it's time for you to get up. You're cuddling him dammit.

It takes several minutes of gentle kisses and tender words before he finally let's you go with a whine to let you get up.

If you're nocturnal like him though, he loves it. Waking up together and having your sweet moments together.

He'll practically purr into you as you hold him close and have a soft conversation with him. He'll pepper you with kisses and gently knead your plush skin, usually your thighs or sides.

His love language is quality time mixed with parallel play. He loves doing things with you and around you.

On a more obscure level, he loves support swapping. Loves it when you pull him away from his work after he's been staring at his computer for too long (will never admit it though).

Loves pulling you from your own work to force you to stretch or get a snack with him, taking time to sort of just exist in each other's presence as the two of you force the other not to overwork and maybe exchange a soft kiss or two.

Favorite season is winter. Doesn't exactly love the season more so as he loves the things that accompany it.

Warm sweaters, hot coco, cozy nights in with blankets, Christmas. But challenge him to a snowball fight and that man is gearing up to whoop your fucking ass. Prepare to die.

He usually just calls you by your name or simple things like love, hun, or dear. But occasionally, especially in private or when he's feeling extra lovey, he'll call you things like beloved, darling, or dove. (All Donnie's call their partner dove. Fight me).

"Come on, beloved. Break time. Let's get some food, yeah?" No that was not a suggestion.

NSFW 💛

He's probably gonna be the most confident, and I mean genuinely confident, once the two of you start getting intimate.

Bitch probably has a fucking bullet point list in his head of all the things he suspects you like based off of past reactions to things he's done.

Like Raph, he'll sit you down and have a serious discussion with you on do's and don't's, safe words or light system, what aftercare should look like, etc. He doesn't want either of you to accidentally cross any boundaries.

You don't initiate. You understand that this is something that he will need to initiate.

Like Raph, it'll probably get slowly steamier the longer ya'll date. Kissing will turn into make out sessions as he desperately grips your waist. Eventually he'll be the one grabbing your hips and having you grind into him, making you whine into his mouth. Which he eats up with a smirk because let's face it, he's just as egotistical as Leo. He just hides it better.

Once he finally gains the confidence to go all out on you then, with your consent, he absolutely will.

Please expect to be broken. This man can and will push you above and beyond your limits. He loves it.

The way you cry and wail as he brings you to another orgasm that you swore up and down that you wouldn't be able to handle while he chokes you or yanks your hair.

PLEASE wear cheap mascara around him. He loves to see you cry. Loves to see the mascara become ruined on your face as it streaks down with your tears.

Will bully you. Look at me when I tell you this. I hope you enjoy being degraded

"Fuck your so wet and I've barely even touched. You're an absolute slut for me, aren't you? How pathetic. Getting so horny just from a few simple touches, hoping that I'll stuff you full and fuck you so hard that your mind breaks. Turn you into a stupid slut".

Bondage. Need I say more? This man loves tying you up with different colored ropes and making you all pretty. Loves seeing the marks they leave afterwards.

Will strap you to a fucking machine and have it fuck you agonizing slow while he masturbates until your crying and begging him to fuck you.

Be on your fucking guard because that man will punish you for anything.

You catch an attitude? He's raising his eyebrows at you before giving you a dangerous smirk. "Go ahead, darling. Keep talking shit. It'll only end badly for you".

He'll bend you over his knee and seat your ass till it's red and welted.

Donnie is a man of science. That include biology, which in turn, extends to your biology. He loves finding out just what makes your body sing for him.

He can't get enough of it. He'll do things on purpose just to see your body respond to him. Anywhere from a hitch to your breath as he grips your hips and jerks you closer to him to the way your body arches and your eyes roll back as he moves those same hips so he can fuck you at a different angle.

Get on your knees and beg. It'll give him such an ego boost. Just prattle on about how much you need him and eventually he'll lean over and grip your jaw, prolly shove his thumb in your mouth if you're lucky, and just go "well since you asked so nicely".

Such a sweetie during aftercare. This man can fuck you like he hates you and then turn right around and gently kiss your sore and bruises body. Cleaning your body off and getting you some water. Will probably do his damnedest to convince you to take a post sex shower with him.

When it comes to flustering you, he enjoys man handling you. Sure man handling you during sex is also fun, but seeing the way you get all flustered as he easily maneuvers you however way he wishes in such a simple way just makes him want to laugh.

He'll also grip you in that way that makes your head spin. Grabbing your hips? Sure. It's sweet. Grabbing your hips in a vice grip and subtly jerking your lowering body to his? Your head is spinning and you're three seconds away from begging Donnie to fuck you on the nearest surface.

He'll feign innocence though. Because, of course he will. He's a bastard. 🙄 It doesn't help that he'll subtly grind up against you and drop his tone down to growl in your ear so only you can hear.

"Whatever are you talking about, dove? I'm not doing anything. Maybe get your head out of the gutter, hm?"

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Michaelangelo 🧡

MY SWEET HUNNY SUGAR BABY PIE! I LOVE HIMS!

Anyways-

Utter sweetheart. Very affectionate, even if you two are just friends.

Will sprawl himself out on your lap. Don't you dare move him or he'll hunker down into his shell to make you feel bad at the thought of moving him.

Heaven forbid ya'll are dating though. He's 10xs more affectionate. R.I.P to you. Get ready to drown.

He loves peppering you with those feather light kisses, just like Raph. Especially your neck and shoulders.

Loves holding your hand and will randomly kiss your knuckles or pull you towards him for a kiss on the lips.

Absolute baby. Please smother him back. He'll start chirping and nuzzling into you for more.

His love language is a mixture of quality time and touch. Please snuggle with him while you watch a movie. Let him crawl up into your lap while you're on your phone.

On the more obscure side, Mikey penguin pebbles a lot. Finding small rocks or trinkets he thinks you'd like and giving them to you. If you have your own place and you display them in plain sight, he feels very proud and accomplished.

Another biter. Just goes O: 3: on your damn arms and legs. Really anywhere he can reach.

It's soft don't worry, sometimes he'll nip a bit harder if he feels like you're not paying proper attention to him but not so hard that it hurts. Just enough that it jerks your attention to him.

His favorite season is autumn. Everything is yellow and orange! Why wouldn't he love it?

Loves sneaking up top with you to play in leaves with you. Making massive piles or just throwing leaves at each other. He adores it.

He'll pick spare leaves out of your hair before cradling your face and giving you a sweet kiss.

And then, obviously, shoving more leaves in your face. >:D

Please go to a pumpkin patch with him and get an absurd amount of pumpkins to place all around the lair.

Afternoon waker. Gets up at ready at about 11AM-1PM. If you're up before him, he'll prolly text you to let you know that he's awake and demand for cuddles.

Just lay down and let him straddle you, laying on your chest as he churrs while you kiss his face and ask him how he slept. He loves it.

If you wake up around his time, he'll prolly still pull himself up on top of you. Churring and nuzzling into you until your cracking your eyes open and smiling down at him. To which he'll respond with some sleepy morning kisses.

He loves getting ready with you. Brushing teeth together and maybe even picking out your outfit, if you'll let him.

Will make slightly inappropriate jokes. 😂

"You wanna wear pants today? I think these would make your ass look great."

Throw something soft at him and he'll just raise his hands up in surrender and go "heyyyyyy" and pretend to be offended with a giggle.

He loves cooking. So be a dear and brew some fresh coffee while he cooks you both a delicious breakfast yeah?

Always minding his P's and Q's. He's such a gentleman and always so eager to help. Opening doors for you, pulling out chairs for you, getting you flowers, the works.

Get him gifts back and he'll prolly cry from pure joy. Poor baby is almost always bursting with so much emotion. He's a bigger crybaby than Raph.

Other than normal couples nicknames, he uses other nicknames like angel, sunflower, and pumpkin.

"I saw this and thought of you! I love you, pumpkin".

NSFW 💛

When the two of you first start to get intimate, he's kinda 50/50. Like, he's chill with the idea and genuinely wants to explore your body and make you feel good, like bless his heart he's so honored you trust him with your body in such a way.

But like, he's also super nervous because he doesn't want to hurt you or mess up and then you loose trust in him and never wanna touch him again and then you leave and then-

Yeah he overthinks it just a tad.

Another one where you'll need to have the boundaries talk with him because he'll just never think to bring it up.

You'll need to initiate the first few times.

Get into a steamy make out session with him and place his unsure hands somewhere on your body like your chest, your neck, your thighs, etc.

He'll start to knead the flesh and once you start responding to him he'll have a sort of "oh shit, I kinda like that, I wanna make them do it again" sort of moment.

After that he'll slowly build up more confidence. Shyly exploring your body in moderation and finding your sweet spots and finding out what makes you tick.

Heaven forbid he's taller than you. Dear Lord, prepare to get caged. He enjoys just towering over you and caging you in, watching the way your breath hitches and your chest raises in a more dramatic way.

Once he's gained more confidence, Mikey has two modes. You begging and him begging.

If it's "you begging" mode, this man will tease you all fucking day long but never give you what you want.

Finally when you break he just goes "mmmm no. :D" before telling you that if your so desperate to fuck then you can ride his cock but he's not helping you at all.

He'll smirk up at you with an egotistical grin as he watches you fuck yourself on him. And right when you're about to cum, he'll grip your hips and forcibly hold you down and ruin your orgasm.

And he does it over and over and over again. Just continuously denying you until you're just utterly broken and sobbing for release. To which he'll finally let you.

And once you've finally came. You'll do so again and again and again. What? You wanted to cum so badly. You can do it a few more times right?

Will overstimulate you. He loves seeing your eyes roll back as you try to tell him it's too much.

He'll pepper you with kisses the whole time too. Nuzzling into your hair and breathing your scent in as he rubs your clit in order to drive you over the edge again.

If he's in "him begging" mode. Say your prayers. You're gonna need them.

He's arguably worse in this state. This usually happens when he's just super horny.

He'll just start advancing on you, and if you guys are in the eyesight of others, you'll need to move him before he gets too lost in your scent.

He'll start peeling your clothes off, whining and biting at you. If he could devour you, he would.

If you go to push him off or say no, he'll ignore you (unless you say the safe word, of course).

"No, no, no. Please don't make me stop. Please? Please I need you so bad. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please I need this. I'm so sorry. Please just let me use you. I'm so sorry, sunflower. Fuck please".

He's a menace and it's now your problem ✨thank you.✨

Of course you could never deny him. 🤭💅

He'll sling your legs over his shoulders and grip anywhere that he can, biting at the flesh on your thighs in hopes of leaving a mark.

He'll breed you over and over again while babbling about how good you feel.

Praise him and he'll go feral.

Call him a good boy, tell him how good he fucks you, tell him how full you feel, how nobody could ever make you feel as good as he does.

Boy oh boy.

Say good bye to your legs.

He'll overstimulate you in this mode, but he's much less mean.

"Please angel? Please? Just one more? For me? Please, please, please. Please, I'm so sorry. I need it. Just one more time, I promise. Need to feel you cum on my cock again. Please sunshine?"

Oral 👏 giving 👏 king. 👏 Be ready to have to push him off after spazzing out on his tongue for the 8th time. You just taste so fucking good. He can't help himself.

Afterwards, for whatever mood he's in, he'll take such good care of you. He'll clean you up and you'll shower him with affection, causing him to practically purr into your embrace as you draw him in for post sex cuddles.

As for everyday shenanigans. He's not as bad as some of the others but oh trust me, this bitch has his ways.

Usually involves obscure touches or biting. Like slipping his fingers up your skirt just little too high, kneading the flesh of your thighs or ass as you do your best to remain neutral, desperately clinging onto control as he nuzzles into your neck and groans lowly.

Or he'll bite you slowly but a bit more harshly than his simple love bites, looking at you to see your reaction and then giggling darkly when your body inevitably reacts to him in that way that he loves oh so much.

He gets a kick out of knowing that he can do such simple things to you and almost immediately make your body react to him. He loves knowing he has that much control over you. That your body just knows him and responds in kind.

Come on. Can you blame him? You're just so pathetic for him! It's soooooo cute how quickly you give into him. His pathetic, needy baby.

Catch this man gripping you at the junction of your jaw and neck, squeezing ever so slightly so your eyelids flutter before he leans down to gently kiss you, hand sliding down to squeeze your ass.

"Keep it together, lovely".

When I tell you that I genuinely didn't mean to make it this long. 😭😭😭 But anyways! Tell me what ya'll think plsssssss. Even if it doesn't match up to the boys real well, I'm still pretty proud of it. >:3

[earthtooz]

. . . LOVE ME HARDER !

in which: it's been two weeks. you have a resignation letter in hand and a grumpy itoshi sae who is not at all pleased at your decision.

˗ˏˋ masterlist series: first part | next part ´ˎ˗

collab series ft. sixosix earthtooz aanobrain . . . !

warnings: gn!manager!reader, pining, reader and sae r in their 20s, tension, so much pining, unedited towards the end but that's bc i have no time AHH.

"are you sure?"

you stare sadly at the two weeks resignation letters in your boss’ hand, blinking once, then twice as a heavy feeling of regret sinks in your chest, further powered by the jumbled thoughts in your brain, screaming at you to say both ‘yes’ and ‘no’. with an exhale, you listen to your heart and nod your head decisively.

“i’m sure,” you affirm. sae’s face flashes briefly in your mind and you cringe internally at the look of betrayal you can see so clearly. still, you grit your teeth and don’t back out.

“we can give you a raise or extra company benefits if that’s more motivation to stay?” instinctively, a materialistic part of you is ready to give in to the offers, but the rational part of you begs otherwise. “we haven’t had a worker like you who has been able to cooperate with sae this well.”

“thank you for the opportunity, sir, but i think it’s time to move on.”

your boss gives you a pointed look before putting down your papers with a sigh. “if that’s the case then i can’t stop you. you were a good asset, y/n, good luck with your future endeavours.”

with a thank you, you make your way out of the office, a heavy dread settling in your chest as you think about how sae would take this news. how would you tell him? you’re not that heartless that you’d just leave without letting him know but what would you say? ‘hey these are my last two weeks as your manager, lol’.

“you’re late,” a voice interrupts your thoughts and you snap back into reality, greeted with the face of itoshi sae, his usual apathy masking the subtle displeasure you can hear in his tone. you ignore the way your heart jumps simply at the sight of him. 

maybe putting in those resignation forms was for the best.

“sorry. had to speak to management,” you mutter out. 

the magenta-haired athlete narrows his eyes in suspicion but before he could ask you another question, you sit down in front of him and open up your diary with the schedule for the day. “okay. let’s see what needs to get done today.”

you ignore the way sae stares at you like he has something to say and you hope he’s not observant enough to see that you’re avoiding looking him in the eye as much as possible because you’d know your heart would give out from the pressure. 

two weeks. two more weeks and you’ll escape itoshi sae forever, no matter how much you don’t want to.

***

you’re on the sidelines where sae is practising, furiously typing out an email on your laptop when your name gets called out, the voice coming from the entranceway of the field. it’s your boss but there’s a man of average height right behind him, dressed smartly with glasses and equipment fit for an office worker. 

he must be sae’s new manager after you’re gone. bless him.

straightening up, you close the lid of your laptop before setting it aside, getting up to greet him with a small hop in your step. you ignore the way sae has stopped practising at the entrance of someone new. feeling of his inquisitive gaze burning into your every move lingers as you approach the visitors. 

“y/n, this is girolan dabadie, he’ll be sae’s manager after you leave,” your boss states, gesturing to the man behind who gives you a humble wave, paired with a friendly smile. oh poor soul. you can tell he does not have the guts to work with sae.

then again, not a lot of people do. you included, which is why you’re resigning.

“hi, i’m y/n, pleasure to meet you.”

“pleasure to meet you too,” he says.

“we just thought it’d be nice for girolan here to get prepared with the ropes of his role before being thrown in the deep end next week.”

“of course, i’ll be more than happy to get you started, it is a tough job after all,” you say lightheartedly despite the last part being a sugarcoating of how truly draining it is to be sae’s manager.

and, speaking of the devil, you don’t like the way your gut churns, turbulent waves settling in your stomach in a way that makes you feel funny when you look sae in the eye. he’s staring at you so very intensely that if you hadn’t looked away immediately after, you suspect you would have combusted on the spot. there are questions that he wants answer to and judging by the glimpse of betrayal in his eyes, you can tell that it is not going to be a conversation you’ll like having. 

for now, you grit your teeth and put on a professional front. this is why you were leaving, because sae looks at you too casually, too much, and you, similarly, know him too much, too casually. 

leaving the training field, you can’t help but feel like you’re also leaving something meaningful behind.

“everyday you need to have the player’s schedules. most of them have promotions which you need to manage, so for example, sae has a shoot for adidas abibas next week. all you have to do is go to the shoot with him and foresee everything, the set managers there have that all under control, the only thing you need to control is itoshi sae himself,” you tell girolan halfway into the tour, now in your office space where you had schedules hung up everywhere. “these cabinet files are full of contracts, tax files, cash flows, all of the stuff that i have no doubt you’re familiar with.” 

“all of these just for itoshi sae?” girolan asks, looking at the stacks of paper on your desk. 

you sigh, slumping. “that’s what happens when you manage one of the most in-demand soccer players. don’t tell anyone but, it’s easier to manage the whole team than sae himself.”

eventually, the tour continues and you lead him through the rest of the spaces that he should know by heart. when you think you’re done with the introduction, it’s around 4:30, and you see girolan out to the main entrance. 

“any questions? you can have my contact so that if you have any queries or concerns, you can reach out to me over the week,” you say, handing the new manager your card.

“i appreciate the crash course today, but admittedly i’m still a little nervous,” girolan confesses, “i mean, i saw first hand just how busy you are… any personal advice for the job?”

“just… good luck. it’s a handful but it’s a good experience nevertheless. at the end of the day, i’m more grateful for this role than i am not.” 

“if that’s the case, why are you leaving?”

you widen your eyes, unprepared for that question. girolan catches on to your shock and immediately begins to apologise, afraid that he’s overstepped. “no, no, it’s okay, it’s a valid question. i’m leaving for personal reasons, ones that i can’t really go into.”

“i see.” 

after that, you briefly say goodbye to one another, exchanging pleasantries before he leaves the building. you sigh in relief, looking down at your watch to see that you only had 20 minutes now to catch up on the outstanding work you left behind, an incredibly unrealistic time limit. you can already tell you’re going to work overtime tonight.

before you can dwell too much on that fact, a voice pops up from behind you.

“personal reasons?”

you turn around to see sae leaning against a wall behind you, completely unimpressed and disappointed. you hate it when he looks at you like that.

“yes, sae, for personal reasons,” you mutter, hardening your defences before walking past him. that doesn’t shake him off though, nothing ever does.

“and what personal reasons could that be?” he asks, not batting an eye to being waved off by you like that.

you walk a little faster. “they are personal reasons, sae, meaning that they’re none i should ever tell you.”

pushing open the door to your office with more force required, you don’t see the way sae flinches slightly at your outburst, furrowing his brows at how uncharacteristic you were acting. he doesn’t shy away though, following you into your office. you continue sorting through papers like he’s not there and that irks him even more.

“but how could you not tell me? i thought you resigning would be an important topic to bring up sooner rather than later.”

“i didn’t think you’d care.”

“so?” he spits. “i would rather you tell me than me finding out myself by seeing some random who is apparently my new manager.”

you cringe at his words. “okay well, i’m resigning as your manager. happy? be nice to girolan.”

sae groans. “were you just going to let me find out by myself in a week if today hadn’t happened? were you ever going to tell me?”

you shrug, punching some holes through some papers before adding them to an (already filled) binder. “maybe.” 

sae grabs your wrist and you jump from the contact, as if his touch was lava and burns. the magenta-haired doesn’t miss your reaction, in fact, he narrows his eyes at you when he notices. you make the mistake of looking him in the eye and the churn in your stomach is back, heart skipping a beat as your hand goes limp in his.

this must be what they call a ‘moment’ in the movies, because you’re definitely having one right now, and it’s getting harder to keep your resolve up. 

“sae, please leave. i’m trying to finish up these tasks before the day ends and you’re really disturbing me,” you grumble, trying not to let your voice waver. glancing away from sae, you slip your wrist out of his grasp and step away, creating some distance.

“is it something i did?” he asks. “if you’re not leaving because of the job itself then it must be the person, right? did i do something to upset you?”

“why do you care?”

“i have every right to, you’re my manager.” 

“i won’t be in a week.”

“that’s a week away, you are still my manager right now and i want to know why it is you’re leaving.”

“can you not take the hint, sae? i don’t want to tell you!” you exclaim, shutting the filing drawer with a little more force than necessary.

“i won’t leave until you tell me.”

“you will actually hate me if i tell you.”

“i will hate you if you don’t tell me.”

“well then it doesn’t matter.”

“yes it does. if you’re just gonna leave me behind then i can’t see why you can’t tell m-”

“-if i tell you will you leave?” you snap. the silence is deafening, with sae widening his eyes in shock at your outburst. he nods firmly. “i like you. in more than a professional way. that’s why.”

turning around to the filing cabinet again, you reach out to pull the drawer with shaky hands, a racing heart, and a swirling stomach. 

“now that i’ve told you, could you please leave?” you omit to tell him that you can’t look him in the eye. not anymore now that you’ve effectively ruined whatever-was-going-on between you and the star athlete.

footsteps echo behind you, drawing near with each click of sae’s shoes. you stiffen when they stop right behind you and there’s a moment of quiet, allowing you to hear sae shuffle behind you, a hesitant hand reaches out to cover yours, gently pulling it away from the cabinet to turn you around instead.

you don’t look him in the eye, glancing at every inch of the walls in your office just to avoid him. sae frowns at your evasion.

“can you look me in the eye so i don’t sound stupid saying what i’m about to say?” he asks, a little gentler than his usual, demanding tone, but still cold enough that your gaze cuts to meet his.

“you always sound stupid,” you mutter without thinking. 

sae scrunches his face in judgement. “seriously? i was gonna say something you’d like to hear to. way to go for ruining it.” 

“what, no! tell me!”

“i don’t think you deserve to know anymore, stupid.”

“hey! if i had to tell you then it’s only fair if-”

“-i like you too.”

that zips you up and a glimpse of mirth shines in sae’s eyes, paired with an almost-unnoticeable quirk of his lips upward. 

“you do?” you stammer in disbelief. 

“yeah.” 

“oh.”

“yeah.”

there’s a pregnant silence between you two. no one ever really tells you what to do in scenarios like this, and the one time you’d like to use your brain and not embarrass yourself in front of sae, your mind decides to see itself out. “that’s… cool.”

“that’s all you have to say?”

“what, do you have more to add?”

“not really apart from inviting you to dinner with me.” 

“when?”

“tonight.”

“tonight?” you parrot. “i can’t, i have so many tasks left to finish!”

“just leave them behind.”

“i can’t! i should get them done before i leave.”

“you leave in a week, then none of these tasks are your problem anymore.”

“that’s really not the best way to think about this, sae.”

“so thank goodness you’re my manager and not someone else.”

you narrow your eyes at him, immediately knowing what he was implying. “don’t think that this is a reason for me to stay being your manager. in fact, i’d argue that i now have more reasons to quit.” 

with a ‘tch’, the soccer player rolls his eyes. “okay whatever, we’re grabbing dinner and that’s final.” he threads your hands together. “c’mon, sweets, let’s go.”

[badaseyebags]

private lessons ⋆｡°✩ chapter 4 ⟢

warnings: poor writing as i had a lot going on and low-key forgot i was even working on anything, new character makes an appearance, tiny bit of angst

word count: around 1,8k

authors note: y’all i’m not dead yet unfortunately, anyways here’s to all the baddies that are still reading 🫶🏻 you have a special spot in my heart (right next to bada’s eyebags) - 🍞

little shoutout to @luvleyk for motivating me to write again 🫶🏻

your feet swung around as you slowly sipped on your iced coffee, lips lightly wrapped around a glass straw. you thanked bada for the sweet treat, while bada thanked herself for deciding to take you here. what she deemed as a “nice gesture” was a way of preventing herself from straight up pouncing on you. you weren’t the only one who’s had sleepless nights after your “private lessons” with her. she’s reminded of it every time she walks past her dining table, sits down to eat or drinks her coffee. she keeps reminding herself to not let this go too far, not to fall in too deep, before it’s too late. she has a reputation to keep. she knows she can’t go all in, just yet. and being in a public setting saved her from doing so.

if she wasn’t your teacher could this be considered a date? you thought to yourself looking up at her, stealing glances at her and seeing her give you a soft smile in exchange. you look down immediately, shaking off the thought as it made you realise the situation. why do you always forget the actual reason she meets up with you? freaking tutoring. she’s your goddamn teacher, get a grip you crazy woman.

“oh my, is the coffee that good?” she chuckles, catching you off guard with her hand resting on her chin as she admires you, making you snap back to reality and realise you’ve been sucking on air for a while as you’ve already finished your coffee without noticing. you mentally face palm, closing your eyes in embarrassment, letting the straw go in a swift motion. “umm yeah! it was! i think they maybe might be putting… something illegal in it-“ you tried covering up your act of distraction once again.

“aww, even better than the one i made for you? that’s such a pity. i made it with love.” she fake pouts, pretending to act hurt by your words. “no! what? definitely not! doesn’t even stand a chance! yours was soooo much better, i just didn’t get the chance to fully drink it because i-“ here you go mumbling again, being too honest because you’re nervous. thankfully you stopped yourself before you could embarrass yourself even further, but fate of course made other plans for you.

“poor thing, couldn’t finish her coffee because her lips were too busy tasting mine. is that it?” she chuckles enjoying the way your eyes widen slightly, back to sipping on the straw with nonexistent coffee, the ice making your overheated brain freeze. oh how she loved teasing you, the way your body and face respond to her without you having to say a single word. she wouldn’t admit how weak she was for it, for you. “i’m just messing with you sweetie, we both know that was my fault.” she assures you, hand smoothing over yours gently. as she enjoyed your company, she almost didn’t notice the strange figure standing across the table, looking at the both of you from a sight distance. what the hell is he doing here? she shoots him a warning glare, not going unnoticed by your admiring eyes, filling them with worry.

“huh?” you turn your head in curiosity, trying to follow her gaze, but she grabbed a hold of your chin before you could do so. you could only look up at her, confusion painting your features. “shh.. don’t you worry about that, sweetie. it’s someone not important. you don’t have to wrap your mind around it.” your eyebrow furrowed in more confusion, causing her to coo at you. “i don’t want you to stress your poor little brain. it’s just someone from the past. but you’re my present, okay? that’s what matters.” she leans in closer, whispering to you reassuringly. oh.. is it her ex? you were so curious what she looks like, why they broke up, and why she doesn’t want you to see her in the first place. is it because you’re her student? is it because she’s just playing around with you? you’d surely hope not..

many questions flood your mind as you hear footsteps approaching you, seeing her face twist in pure irritation. “stay still for me, princess.” she mumbles under her breath as her thumbs make their way against your lip, the rest of her hand cupping your face as she presses her lips against them, the barrier between your lips both electrifying and slightly confusing. oh how you wish to feel her lips against yours, to have them stained bright red instead of her thumbs that shielded them..

she strokes your lip gently as you obey, closing your eyes monumentally. you hear a rough voice scoffing mumbling out a few curse words. huh..? a man? it’s a man? her ex is a man?!! your eyes open, searching for hers in approval as she nods at you, her lip stroking your bottom lip as she slowly pulls away. “good girl, did so well for me without asking..” she offers you a relieved smile as the figure walks from her sight, a soft sigh leaving her lips. “mrs. lee who was-“ you try asking her what this was all about, but she shushes you with a simple word. “nono, you don’t get to ask any questions right now. as i said.. don’t wrap your pretty head about it, hm? such a pretty girl shouldn’t worry about things like these.” you chew on your bottom lip, nodding at her despite feeling slightly hurt by her actions. why didn’t she just kiss you for real then.. is it because you’re in public? did she not want to? or did she just use you to make her ex jealous? so many questions flooded your mind but she was quick to calm you down, grabbing your hand and gently guiding you up, taking you back to her car. you sigh thinking you ruined the mood and she’s going to take you home. she opens the door for you, and sits down next to you, not putting on a seatbelt on either of you, puzzling your mind.

“now tell me what’s on your mind honey, what’s making you sad?” she turns her body to you, giving you all her attention. oh, she took you here for your comfort and privacy, what a woman. you chew on your bottom lip, looking at her red painted lips and back at her eyes. “why.. did you pretend to kiss me?” you stutter out, trying not to sound weak. your question caught her off guard, her eyebrows raising in panic. “i’m sorry sweetie, i didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, i should have warned you.”

you shake your head fast, tears threatening to fall any second. “that’s not that i mean..” you look down, trying to keep yours emotions in check. why were you getting so hurt over such a thing? it’s not like you’re a couple or anything. “what did you mean, sweetie? come on, use your words.” she lifts your head with her finger on your chin, eyes meeting yours. how can she fluster you in such a situation?

“why didn’t you kiss me for real? were you ashamed.. or something?” you manage to get out as tears cloud your vision, feeling pathetic for having such feelings. she gasps not expecting your reason to be this, she was afraid you didn’t like the fact she tried to kiss you, yet the truth was far from that. “oh you silly little thing.. you thought i didn’t want to kiss you? the only reason i took you there was to restrain myself from kissing you again” she frowns seeing yours tears. “baby.. i would never want to make you cry..” she speaks out gently, her thumb stroking your cheek, rubbing at the tears staining them. “at least not in this way…” you look up at her with teary eyes, lost and about to question her words, but she crashes her lips against yours, making you gasp. more tears slide down your cheeks as you finally feel her lips on yours after what felt like ages of agony and torture of not tasting them. the faint aftertaste of bitterness from the coffee coating your palate becoming sweetly addicting to you. she strokes your cheek, hand gripping your jaw as she deepens the kiss, leaving you gasping for air as she swallows it all up. the windows of her car becoming foggy with every passing second of her lips devouring you. she pulls away, her eyes slightly watery at the sight of your tears drying up on your cheeks as she pulls you into her lap, her uneven breathing matching yours like a melody.

“never… say that again…“ she breathes out, the grip on your jaw becoming stronger as she pulls your head in closer against her lips again, coating them in tender kisses. “how could i not want to kiss you? do you even know how hard is it for me not to push you up against my table and kiss you ever time you walk into the classroom? claim you as mine? let everyone know you only belong to me?” you gasp looking up at her, her red lipstick smeared across both of your lips as you shake your head at her question.

“exactly sweetheart, you have no idea about so many things.. and they aren’t for little girls like you to worry about. be a good girl and leave them to mommy.” she breathes against your lips, hand gripping your waist making you feel like putty in her hands, being able to only nod at her command. you swear you feel yourself getting dizzy, the earlier feelings of sadness long gone and replaced by extreme waves of warmth spreading through out your whole body. she gives you one last passionate kiss, this one more gentle than the previous ones as she pulls away, resting her head on top of your head, twirling at your hair as you try to calm your breathing.

“you fit so nicely in my lap, you know that?” you blush at her remark, hands wrapped around her neck as you look up at her with glossy eyes, fingers reaching out to rub at the corners of her smudged lips, wiping away at the messed up lipstick the same way she did when you first kissed. “then don’t let me leave it..” you whisper, feeling one of her hands grip your waist harder as she looks at you in awe. as if she was in a trance. whatever spell you put on her was working, you’ve officially broken her and made her melt. all hopes and plans she had beforehand were no longer a choice, thrown out the window along with any rational thinking as she crashed her lips against yours once more, hand cradling your head, unable to hold back her desire anymore.

[jaynovz]

I'm watching 1.7 and the break in Flint's voice when Gates is questioning him in the stable and he's like "I'm trying to answer the question" is devastating. The facial acting that Toby is doing here is like, he does great body language here and the trembling voice and nervous swallowing and darting eyes, you can see him trying to stave off some kind of extreme anxiety attack. Because. Like. God the flashbacks he must be having to London and Hennessey and Alfred Hamilton. Anyway, what he is saying just gets more and more desperate throughout the exchange, but legit he is trying to level with Gates the only way that he can in this moment. There is no version of Flint right now who could tell the whole truth, bc of his background, bc of the trauma, bc of what happened last time he trusted someone like that. So when we see what appears to be a mental BREAK, and he tells Gates his vision of sequestering a portion of the Urca gold for the future of Nassau and their men, that's him trying to explain his motivation the best way he can.

And the worst part is, he just sounds crazy and meglomaniacal and Machiavellian and DERANGED. It's exactly the wrong thing to say to Gates at that moment, they have already broken apart, it's too little too late, it's ten years too late!! Gates is hearing a lying maniac being conniving and cold and awful about Billy. But tbh, when I hear Flint say "He fell. Why? What do you think happened?" I just hear someone that WE KNOW doesn't know in his heart of hearts WHAT HE DID, WHAT HAPPENED, and he just... it would be easier if someone just told him.

I know we joke about Flint being full of SHIT, and he is in MUCH of the show, he does SO MUCH LYING. But this entire exchange doesn't feel like that. It feels like he's cracking and reaching and grasping and trying. And he has no earthly idea what path he would even take to get Gates back on side.

Gates says, "This is what we do. You orate and you dissemble and I look the other way..."

And the saddest fucking part, the most tragic of the tragedy is that HE'S NOT WRONG. That is what they do!! and it's. It's over! It's too much!

But poor fucking Captain, he just... He doesn't know how else to be.

And with regard to SilverFlint, and their arc... I've been thinking this go round about why it's different from Flint's relationship with Miranda or with Gates or with anyone...

And, well... It really is just a case of finding deep understanding from a person you never expected, isn't it?

At first it is extremely begrudging, because he doesn't have another choice, unwilling allies due to strife. But eventually it does becomes voluntary.

At its core, I think the reason that relationship is different, is because that becomes clear to Flint over time, and then he is able to offer up all the sides of himself to be further collated and understood.

And then faster than the speed of fucking light we get to 3.10 and 4.9: "You asked me where I began, and I felt that you were entitled to an answer. To the truth." and "I cannot do it without you." Silver says, "We might be friends by then" and by fuckin god they ARE. "As my partner as my friend" and "You know of me all I can bear to be known. All that is relevant to be known. That is to say, you know my genuine friendship and loyalty." So, what I've been circling is... sitting down in the woods and just telling Silver everything that happened in London is exactly what he can't do with Gates in 1.7 :////

[dearharriet]

hi lovely ! it's milunalupin :)

could i please request remus + "i waited for you" ? 🫶🏼✨

hello my friend, ty for the request!! im working on my big boy fic for james rn but i wanted a little bit of remus as a break <3 (wc: 691)

“You smell good.”

Remus looks at the man taking a seat across from him, appalled by such a comment. Sirius looks equally stunned saying it, wrinkled nose a mirror of Remus’.

“Thank you?”

Sirius shakes his head like this is the wrong response.

“Why do you smell good?”

Remus rolls his eyes, keeping his posture aloof. “Took my annual bath last night.”

Sirius scoffs. “‘Bout time. Your stench was getting harsh on my delicate canine senses.”

That pulls a laugh from Remus, however small.

By the door, he sees you squeezing into the packed pub, side-stepping between rowdy groups of people and looking around. You’re wearing a mid-length skirt, and when you spot the two boys in their booth it swishes around each hasty step.

“Hi,” you breathe, “I’m sorry. They made me start inventory and then I just had to shower and—” Remus stands to offer you some seclusion via the walled side of the bench seat. You wave your rambling apologies away, winded from running around all day. “Nevermind. I need a drink, Remus. Come with?”

“Sit,” he demands softly, “I’ll fetch it.”

You do as you’re told, hanging onto Remus’ words like a takeout fortune, foolishly hopeful that they mean something. If Sirius didn’t demand so much attention, you’d probably turn them over in your head a lot longer, but he really, really does.

“Think you can show us lads up, eh missy?”

Smothering a smile, you stare Sirius down with false bluntness.

“Yep. You’re lucky I even came at all, honestly.”

Sirius laughs, spinning his glass, half empty and through sweating. You realize his drink is the only one on the table.

“I’m surprised you did. You’re so popular, but you stay humble for us.”

“I have to,” you agree, “I could’ve been with people a lot cooler than you guys, but I just felt so bad. You and Remus don’t have anyone else to hang out with now that James is married.”

“Moony, we’re being bullied,” says Sirius, raising his voice a touch to reach the boy in question. Remus places two new drinks on the maple tabletop, sliding in close to you.

“I’m sure we deserve it,” he says, passing one of the fresh glasses off to you. “We’re turning into losers.”

You bring the cool glass to your lips, relaxing further into the familiar booth cushion and eyeing Remus’ new drink.

“Is that your second?”

Remus shakes his head. “My first.”

He tracks your brows as they pull together. They’d been here almost a half hour already.

“I waited for you,” he explains, smiling gently. Your stomach leaps.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

Sirius jumps in, stepping on Remus’ toes.

“That’s what I told him,” he says, “I said you’re too sweet to mind.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Remus says, following up Sirius’ heel. His voice is still wearing the crooning silk he tends to direct towards you. “It’s the polite thing to do. Sirius just has poor manners.”

Across the way, the man in question sputters objections while you try not to laugh.

“I—I’m impolite? I’m impolite! Please. She’s the only one at this table who was late to a hangout one block away from her apartment. I had every right to drink my sorrows away.”

Remus ducks his head and shoots you a cat-like grin, but Sirius isn’t done.

“And it’s not being polite if you’re motivated by a massive crush, Moony, by the way. D’you know he’s wearing cologne?”

You stare at Sirius, because the alternative of looking at Remus (who is flushed beyond measure) is akin to a death sentence.

“Yes,” you admit. You’d smelled it on him when he stood up earlier, a fresh earthy scent that was too sharp to be soap. Sirius points at your face like he’s caught you.

“See? The only people who notice a guy wearing cologne are his miserable best mates, and girls who want to be waited on.” Remus shoots him a glare and he throws his hands up as if to say, sue me. “I’m just helping.”

Remus curses through an exhale and drops his head into his hands.

+

thank you for reading! xx

masterlist

join the celebration! 🩷

[falmerbrook]

That animation recommendation post was such a mood booster that it zapped the animation motivation back into me. So a wee little wip I worked on today for something silly (since my poor youtube account has been neglected as of late)

[mechaknight-98]

Undaunted (NSFW) ft Sejeong

Author’s note: when I started this piece it was meant to be a fun romp but because Mr. Riordan has tied so much of being a half-blood to being neuro divergent a lot of old wounds invariably brought up and I had a lot to say… more so than usual. So bear with me on this one it’s a long one. 13 k words or so.

I always thought that isolation suited me more than unity or coalitions, believing I could handle anything alone. I've never been more glad to be proven wrong.

Sejeong and I were recent acquaintances. I had been working as a videographer for her entertainment company for four weeks now, spending hours on photo shoots, behind-the-scenes videos, and assisting with music videos and audition tapes. She was bubbly and energetic, a bit much for my taste, but she didn't push me too hard, so I continued working with her. I respected her dedication to her craft—whether acting, modeling, brand ambassadorship or singing—as she always strived to embody each role with utmost dedication. It was inspiring.

At the end of an early day's shoot, she approached me for the first time with genuine interest. Aware that my stern demeanor often kept others at bay, Sejeong boldly asked, "You're Val, right?" I nodded slowly, skepticism palpable. Sejeong smiled warmly and said, "Great, you're coming for coffee with me after this."

Her determined look made it clear that refusal wasn't an option. Before agreeing, I needed to understand her motives.

"Sure, but on one condition," I replied. "You tell me why."

Sejeong tilted her head, maintaining her innocent smile. "Because, silly, we've been working together for months, and I don't even know your name," she said matter-of-factly.

I narrowed my eyes; Sejeong mirrored me, realizing her oversight.

"I barely know yours either," she retorted. "Plus, what if there's an emergency and you need to be found? I think they'll need more information than tall stocky African American man,” Sejeong expanded

Her response eased my skepticism. I followed her to a nearby coffee shop where she remained bubbly and smiling throughout—concerning traits in my experience. People like that were either hiding immense pain or were super evil. As we ordered, she insisted on paying.

"I'm sorry, I just have bad luck when I don't pay for meals," she explained.

I shrugged, "It's no big deal. Plus, this isn't a meal. I got a hot chocolate, and you got coffee."

Sejeong relaxed at my logic. As we sat down, she steepled her hands and asked, "So, tell me about yourself."

This was the first time I took a good look at her, and she was stunning. Despite being a couple of years older, she exuded an aura of ease that made me feel oddly comfortable like I could drop my guard. So, I acquiesced to her prodding.

"Just a normal guy from Cali, I guess. Mom, Dad, and two sisters."

"Oh, are you the oldest, youngest, or middle child?" she inquired.

"I'm in the middle," I responded.

"Cool. I'm the youngest," Sejeong shared. I nodded, surprising her.

"Wait, you know?" she asked, puzzled.

"I did my research before joining the company. Plus, I'm a casual K-pop fan, and you're considered royalty," I explained. Sejeong smiled.

"So, are you a fan of mine too?" she teased.

I shrugged, "I like your acting, but your music isn't my thing."

Realizing too late that I should have been more tactful, I tried to clarify, "Not that it's bad objectively; it's just not my taste."

This only seemed to make it worse, and Sejeong began to pout. "So, you hate my music?" she asked, hurt.

As the situation escalated, I searched for a way to salvage it. Thankfully, a blonde angel came to my rescue.

"Unnie, leave this poor guy alone. Can't you see he's flustered?" Somi intervened as she approached our table. Beside her was a young man in our age range named Ivan. Sejeong turned to Somi, smiling.

"Ah, Somi, can't I have a little fun?" she teased, hugging her friend. Ivan and Somi joined us, and the atmosphere shifted from a business introduction to a casual hangout among friends. Feeling out of place, I listened as Ivan, Somi, and Sejeong chatted and bantered like old friends.

As they talked, a server brought over a plate of food "on the house." While they were engrossed in their conversation, I managed to sneak a few bites, hoping to leave some for them. After ten minutes of rapid Korean dialogue, I excused myself to the restroom. Inside, I splashed water on my face, trying to clear my head.

"When you go back out there, you're going to tell them, 'Hey, something came up, and I have to head home,'" I rehearsed aloud. I failed to notice other occupants in the restroom, but I did hear the telltale rattling of a hydra's tail. Turning back, I found a Lernaean Hydra staring at me.

We locked eyes, and I tried to defuse the situation. "Hey, let's not fight. We can casually cross paths and not kill each other," I proposed, but the hydra lunged at me anyway. I dodged its attack and summoned the "Pyretic Claws of the Storm Beast," slashing at the hydra’s heads until I managed to defeat it. The hydra attempted to regenerate from burning stumps until it finally exploded with a loud "pop," leaving me covered in its guts and slime.

Behind where the hydra stood, Sejeong, Ivan, and Somi stared at me with intrigue.

"You're a demigod, like us," Sejeong declared.

Over the next few days, Sejeong insisted on introducing me to her other demigod friends. These meet-ups usually came with a free meal, so I reluctantly accepted. The friends included two more couples: Levi and Heejin, and Gahyeon and Preston. Levi and Preston were friends of Ivan. I tried to keep my distance both emotionally and physically, but Sejeong always pushed me back into the center. Her reasoning was always along the lines that demigods shouldn’t be alone. Rationally, it made sense; I just didn’t like it. My dad had intentionally raised me away from all of this when my mother left, so I was conflicted. After meeting everyone, we started doing group hangs, the first of which was today.

When we reached the outside of Somi and Ivan’s apartment, I stood frozen. Sejeong noticed and smiled at me.

“Everything alright, Vally?” she asked. I remained silent, prompting her to furrow her brows.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t like this, but I can’t place why. Everything about crossing this threshold makes my skin crawl and makes me want to smash something,” I responded.

Sejeong listened and then asked, “Weren’t you raised around demigods?”

I shook my head. I had met others before but never more than a handful of times. Sejeong’s eyes widened as she listened, prompting her to ask, “Wait, so you’ve survived all this time with no training and no support? Do you even know your godly parent?”

I resisted the urge to scoff. My situation was unique, despite being normal for me, so scoffing at her served no purpose.

“Yes, Seji. My mother claimed me before I went to college and gave me the ‘Claws of the Storm Beast.’ She told me, ‘You’re on your own. I can’t protect you anymore,’” I explained.

Sejeong looked befuddled before asking, “Who the hell is your mom? That sounds terrible.”

I thought about lying but realized it would serve no purpose, so I told the complicated and strange truth. “My mom is Zeus. Long story short, Hera thought a good punishment for his sins would be to live as a woman for a few years. During one of those years, Zeus met my dad, who was separated from his wife, the lady I refer to as my mom, and they had me. She dropped me off with my dad and came back occasionally to chat with him until he reconciled with his wife.”

I watched as Sejeong’s brain broke hearing that. I didn’t blame her; the same thing happened to me when I first heard it.

When she recovered, she asked, “How have you been surviving all this time without being trained? And what is the ‘Fangs of the Storm Dragon’ you mentioned?”

Her response seemed odd to me, but I humored her. “I learned to fight from TV, specifically wrestling and action hero shows. The ‘fangs of the Storm Dragon’ is my weapon, given to me by my mom. It was designed and crafted by my mom with elements from each major betrayer god.”

Sejeong nodded and said, “We are getting you trained as soon as possible.”

I raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Sejeong didn’t respond further, which frustrated me. I had told her all this stuff about me, yet I still didn’t have much information about her. Before she could open the door, I asked about her godly parent and how she survived. She was so taken aback by my story that she was super open about hers.

“My dad is Loki. He claimed me when I was young, but I was already training with other demigods at that point,” she answered.

I nodded at the foreign concepts and feigned understanding of what that was like, yet I remained frozen still.

Sejeong smiled then said, “Tell you what Vally if you come with me right now I'll let you be alone all next week.” I know her words were meant to comfort but they brought a sense of unease within me as I found myself saying,

“No! I like spending time with you…I have grown accustomed to you being around.” I said the rational part of my mind says she still has the potential to be a highly dangerous individual but my emotions presented an intense dichotomy.

Sejeong smiled at me and then said, “If you wanted to date me you could have asked.” she smiled as she watched me short-circuit for a few seconds before opening the door and leading me inside my hand in hers.

The atmosphere in the room is jovial, with friends hanging out and goofing off. It is oddly charming. Sejeong leads me to a spot next to her as we huddle around a hot pot. I take out the Kobe beef and other various meats I brought, along with some veggies and a couple of sushi rolls for palate diversity.

Ivan, Somi’s boyfriend and son of Bacchus, says merrily, “You brought all this for us? Dude, you are the best.”

A smile creeps onto my face. “Well, yeah. Someone has to make sure you don’t poison us with alcohol.”

Sejeong turns to me and cracks a smile. “Oh, was that a joke I heard? I thought Mr. Serious didn’t understand jokes.”

I look at her and reply, “Well, maybe you just aren’t funny?”

Somi, daughter of Aphrodite, laughs, putting me further at ease. Heejin, the daughter of Tsukuyomi laughs too, and stares at me. Not in a particularly menacing or emotionally charged way, but in a very observant way, as if she is trying to figure me out.

Eventually, she asks the question I think she’s been wanting to. “So, Val, who is your godly parent?” The room grows silent. Feeding on the excitement and atmosphere, I reply, “Take a guess.”

Sejeong laughs before telling them that they would never guess it, even with a million hints. I agree but give them the first one.

“She is not who you think it would be.”

Sejeong compliments my hint, saying how good it was as the group begins to guess.

“Morrigan. You kinda radiate her energy as a scary powerhouse,” Levi, son of Tyr says.

I shake my head.

Gahyeon, daughter of Daji, says, “Hmm, well then, my guess is Izanami.”

I shake my head again, surprising everyone. I see Preston, son of Minerva, eyeing me intently.

“It’s your mom, correct?” he asks.

I nod.

“What pantheon?”

“Greek,” I respond.

Preston eyes me, then says, “Huh, you seem way too powerful to be just the son of a Greek goddess. We thought you were stronger than that. Based on how you carry yourself and the static always around you, I’d say Zeus, but that can’t be right.”

At this point, Sejeong loses it. She begins laughing uncontrollably and smiling, making everyone present look at her. Then it clicks.

“Your mom is Zeus,” Somi says. She pauses, then adds, “Yes, we love a girl boss.”

I turn to Sejeong, confused, but she is all smiles.

“How?” Heejin asks, baffled.

“Well, I—” I begin to answer, but time seems to slow down until the air stops. I look around to see everything frozen.

“So, you finally found a home?” an older, feminine voice rang out, instantly recognizable. My fists clenched and my jaw tightened, mirroring the way she used to stand when preparing for a confrontation.

I turned to face my mother. She looked older than the last time I saw her, but still undeniably her: dark skin like mine, long dark brown hair streaked with white, and those piercing gray eyes. Her stance was identical to mine, a stance of readiness and defiance. Everything I hated about myself reflected in me.

“How have you been, DuVal?” she asked, her tone calm yet fierce. It was a voice I had often used to mask my vulnerabilities. I stared in silence, feeling a storm of emotions rise within me. Her gaze held a mix of emotions—bottled rage, the same rage I saw in myself, always simmering just beneath the surface.

“I see you’ve found a home.” Her words were careful, layered with meaning. I kept my guard up, watching her eyes flick from me to Somi, then Heejin, and finally to Sejeong. When her gaze returned to me, it was with a knowing look.

“This one, she’s the one you like,” my mother said confidently.

My fists tightened, my eyes never leaving hers. “Why are you here, Zeus? To remind me of all the times you weren’t?”

She sighed, a mixture of sadness and frustration in her expression. “I know I haven’t been the mother you needed. My actions—or lack of them—have caused you pain. But I’ve always watched over you, DuVal. Always.”

“Watching from a distance isn’t the same as being there,” I retorted, my voice rising. “You left me to fend for myself, to figure out who I am and what I’m supposed to do. And now you just show up, expecting what? Gratitude?”

Her eyes softened. “What was I to do? Beg your father not to break you despite being adamant about making you like everyone else? I don't beg. I told him the ramifications of pursuing ‘rearing for your special needs,’ but he didn't listen. No matter how many teachers and mentors I sent your way, dropping hints about embracing your heritage, he ignored me. Only your mother listened.”

I tensed. “I didn’t agree with my dad on a lot of things, but I believe he did his best.”

“He didn’t know what I was or what it would cost,” I added.

“You believe that? Then why would he root you so deeply in his faith despite having met me and our chats? Why only mention me when he kicked you out? Has he ever apologized for that? If this is about abandonment, he’s as guilty as I am. No, this goes deeper. You hate me because I remind you of all your failed attempts to be normal, despite knowing you’re not. Well, let me be the bigger person and say, ‘I’m sorry I burdened you with such gifts.’”

“Do you expect me to be grateful for this condescending apology?”

“I don’t expect gratitude. I know I don’t deserve it. But you need to understand the weight of your heritage. There are threats on the horizon, and your power is needed.”

I shook my head, the storm inside me brewing. “I’m nothing like you. I don’t want to be.”

“You don’t believe that. I see it in your heart and your eyes. Your appetites are like mine. We share the drive to lead, and to have power. You just refuse yourself. Why not let yourself run wild and let experience temper you? It will be the only way you will learn control.”

Her words brought a splitting headache as my rage and emotions threatened to spill out. Zeus looked to Sejeong and said, “Have you even kissed her yet? Or are you fighting your attraction to her as well?”

Her words were scathing. I thought of a clever comeback, but she was always quicker. “I mean, she is your type—cute face, bubbly personality, sizable assets, and older than you. Why haven’t you made a move?” she prodded.

“Shut up,” I said.

“If you just let yourself be free, you wouldn’t stumble over your words like that.” She bemoaned, “Stop holding back,” she demanded.

She stepped closer, her presence both comforting and overwhelming. “You are more like me than you realize. The strength, the rage, the desire to protect those you care about. It’s all there, DuVal. Embrace it.”

I shook my head defiantly. “Oh really? So you expect me to believe your heart doesn’t ache that she’s not yours. Maybe I should take her.” I broke for a moment, I admit she was pressing all my buttons.

“Touch her and I’ll rip your throat out. She’s mine!” I growled, and my mother was all smiles.

“See how good that felt? I could feel the conviction, the passion, the courage in your words there. Surely it felt good to tell me off, to stake your claim, didn’t it?”

I stood straight and readjusted my posture, and my mother groaned.

The room seemed to pulse with her words, the static in the air intensifying. I glanced at Sejeong, her frozen smile a stark reminder of what was at stake. Could I turn my back on this part of myself?

“I don’t need your help,” I said, though the conviction in my voice wavered.

“Perhaps not,” she replied softly. “But you need to know the truth. The path you’re on is fraught with danger, and you can’t face it alone. Think about it, DuVal. Think about who you want to be.”

I clenched my fists, feeling the energy crackle around me. “I want to be someone different. Someone better.”

“You can be better, DuVal. Better than me. But not by denying who you are. Our power, our drive, it’s a part of us. Channel it, control it, and it will make you stronger. You’ve always had the potential to surpass me, but you have to stop fighting yourself.”

She reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder. The touch was electric, a jolt that sent shivers down my spine. “Embrace the storm within you. Use it to protect those you love. Don’t let fear hold you back.”

I looked into her eyes, seeing a reflection of my struggle. The same determination, the same intensity. “I don’t want to be like you, but I can’t deny what I am.”

“Then don’t deny it. Use it. Be the leader you’re meant to be, not the one you think you should be. Lead with your heart and your passion. It’s not a weakness, it’s your greatest strength.”

I took a deep breath, the storm inside me calming slightly. “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask,” she said, her voice softening. “Just remember, you’re not alone in this. You have people who care about you, and who will stand by you. Don’t push them away.”

As she stepped back, I felt a strange sense of relief and a flicker of hope. Maybe I could find a way to balance the storm within me, to use my power for something good. But it would take time, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to fully embrace that part of myself.

“Think about it, DuVal. Think about who you want to be,” she repeated, her eyes locking with mine one last time before she turned and walked away.

I stood there, the static in the air slowly dissipating, and looked at Sejeong. She gave me a reassuring smile,

With that, time resumed. The room filled with laughter and conversation once more, but my mind was a whirlwind of confusion and unresolved emotions. Noticing my change in temperament, Sejeong squeezed my hand, grounding me in the moment. I had a lot to consider, and even more to decide. So I did the thing I knew best.

“I have to go. I just remembered I had something to do,” I said to everyone. Sejeong stood up in front of me as I tried to leave.

“DuVal, what happened? You were cracking jokes and having fun, and now you have to leave. What gives?” The rest of the group surrounded me. Their faces showed concern, but I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. I tried to get around Sejeong, not realizing at the time that the children of Loki could shapeshift. One moment I was trying to politely get around her, the next I was facing a polar bear. At that moment, I would have rather dealt with Sejeong.

I began to suppress my surging fight response but was failing, as evidenced by the manifestation of "Abyssal Claws of the Storm Beast" in my hands. Realizing her tactics weren’t working, Sejeong did the smartest thing: she shifted back to her normal form and brought me down to her level, hugging me. My heart stilled as the storm inside me began to fade. She tilted my face up from her chest and, with a wicked smile, said, “Feeling better? Or do you need more time cuddling with Samantha and Rachel?” All the tension and emotional turmoil I was processing disappeared at that moment. I stood up and smiled at her. She smiled back before guiding me back to the party.

A few days later, we wrapped filming for a major project, and Sejeong took me back to her place. She booted up her PS5 and started playing FF7 Rebirth. I watched her play but didn’t try to backseat game her. I smiled as she triumphed over a particularly grueling boss in the middle of the game. She looked over to me with a smile, but the fatigue was getting to both of us. I felt my eyes droop and my head fall. The last thing I remembered was her saying, “Omomo.”

I dreamed I was overlooking a vast expanse of sky, the scene cautiously calming. I turned to see my mom. She was smiling, but her presence stirred the emotions I had been burying deep inside. My eye twitched involuntarily.

“Why do you hate yourself so much?” Zeus asked, her voice gentle yet piercing.

“What?” I responded, taken aback.

“You wallow in self-loathing. It’s concerning, yet you hide it well. Why?”

“I don’t understand,” I said, feeling a lump form in my throat.

“Every time we talk, I can see into you, just as you can see into me. I see your hatred of yourself for not being like others, for feeling destined for destruction rather than creation. You wish you could tear yourself apart every day, but you can’t because your body won’t let you. You repress the ferocious, fervent, royal side of you because you’re ashamed of it. Shame others taught you. You are a king. Why do you let them diminish you?”

“That’s a very out-of-touch way to view people,” I retorted, but Zeus wasn’t swayed.

“You and I both know these people don’t want to lead themselves. They want a wise and tested leader to guide them, to make the hard choices so they can live freely and safely. So what are they if not peasants?”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. I wasn’t ready for this confrontation.

“Oh, you weren’t expecting your mother to challenge you like this, were you? Well, buckle up. This is just the beginning. You endure these miserable and intolerable creatures who engage with you as if they’re your equals and bear their injustices, yet wonder why they don’t accept you. No matter how much you defang and claw yourself, the truth remains: you aren’t like them. They know it and will continue to remind you of that fact. So why bother with them?”

“Because a true leader…” I began, but Zeus cut me off.

“A true leader leads ahead of the pack, where it is the loneliest. Stop acting like one of them. You’re better than them. You and that girl are better than this. You should be running the world together. That much is certain.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, frustration boiling over.

“Because you crave validation from sources that can’t give you the praise you seek. These people are not your peers, no matter how much you want them to be. So stand proud and ferocious. Let your rage and power out. Stop holding back because others can’t see your intentions. Let your desires guide you, not your mind. Your mind will only blind you, telling you who you need to be to survive, not who you are meant to be to thrive.”

I sat there, feeling competing desires rise within me, a storm of emotions I’d been trying to suppress.

“Don’t shame yourself for what you want. Want it, Chase it, but don't meander with the sheep it will only weaken you.”

I stared at my mother, her words slicing through the barriers I had meticulously built around my heart. The storm within me raged, conflicting desires crashing like thunder and lightning. I felt the familiar pull of shame, but also a strange, burgeoning sense of clarity.

“Mom, it’s not that simple,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “I can’t just embrace this…this side of me. It’s dangerous. It’s destructive.”

Zeus’ expression softened, but her eyes remained fierce. “Dangerous? Destructive? DuVal, you are my son. You carry the tempest within you, but you also hold the power to control it. You are not just a force of destruction; you are a beacon of potential, of leadership, of hope.”

I shook my head, the weight of her expectations pressing down on me. “You don’t understand. I don’t want to be a monster. I don’t want to hurt people.”

“And you won’t,” she replied firmly. “You have the heart of a protector. But denying your true nature only weakens you, and makes you vulnerable. You need to find balance, to harness your power without letting it consume you.”

I took a deep breath, feeling the air crackle with the tension of my emotions. “How? How do I do that?”

Zeus stepped closer, her presence overwhelming yet comforting. “By accepting who you are, all of who you are. You are both human and divine. Embrace your heritage, not as a burden, but as a gift. Let those you care about see the real you, not the mask you wear to hide your fears.”

I felt a tear slip down my cheek, mingling with the faint sparks of static. “But what if they reject me? What if they can’t handle it?”

She gently wiped the tear away, her touch warm and grounding. “True friends, true allies, will stand by you, no matter what. And those who don’t? They were never meant to be part of your journey.”

I closed my eyes, letting her words sink in. The storm within me began to calm, not because it was gone, but because I was starting to accept it as a part of me. “I’ll try, Mom. I’ll try to be who I’m meant to be.”

Zeus smiled a rare, genuine smile that filled me with a sense of hope. “That’s all I ask. Remember, you are not alone in this. We are connected, you and I. And there is strength in that connection.”

As her image began to fade, I felt a renewed sense of purpose. The dream dissolved, and I woke up in Sejeong’s apartment. The early morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow over the room.

Sejeong was still asleep, her face serene. I watched her for a moment, feeling a surge of affection and gratitude. She had seen a glimpse of my true self and hadn’t turned away. Maybe, just maybe, I could learn to embrace all parts of myself and find the balance I so desperately needed.

Carefully, I slipped out of bed and made my way to the window. (unsure how I got there from the couch) The sky was clear, a soft blue expanse stretching out before me. For the first time in a long while, I felt a spark of hope, a flicker of possibility. I didn’t have all the answers, but I had a direction, and a path to follow.

The decision to be honest with those who mattered most felt like a heavy weight lifting from my shoulders. I returned to Sejeong, lying peacefully in her sleep. Despite her serene appearance, she began to shuffle uncomfortably, her hand reaching out as if searching for something. On instinct, I took her hand, and the frown that had creased her face melted back into her typical smile.

I stayed with her like that for a while, watching her breathe and feeling the warmth of her hand in mine. When she finally woke, her eyes met mine with a clarity that took my breath away.

“Sejeong,” I said softly, my heart pounding.

“Yeah, Val?” she responded, her voice still thick with sleep.

“I like you,” I confessed, the words tumbling out with a mix of anxiety and relief.

Sejeong’s lips curved into a playful smile. “Well, are you going to do something about it?”

Without hesitating, I cupped her cheeks in my hands and kissed her. Her lips tasted faintly of the spicy ramen we’d shared earlier, a perfect mix of heat and comfort. As our kiss deepened, my mind began to blank out, and all I could focus on was the insatiable desire coursing through me.

Her hands moved to my shoulders, pulling me closer. The intensity of the moment seemed to charge the air around us. Static electricity crackled, making the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end. Sejeong’s touch was grounding, pulling me back even as my emotions threatened to overwhelm me.

When we finally pulled apart, her eyes were bright, a mix of amusement and something deeper. “That’s more like it,” she teased, her fingers tracing the lines of my jaw.

I smiled, feeling lighter than I had in days. “There’s so much I need to tell you, Sejeong. About my mother, about what’s coming. But right now, I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

She nodded, her expression turning serious. “We’ll face whatever comes together, Val. But you don’t have to carry everything on your own. I’m here with you, every step of the way.”

Her words settled something inside me, a reassurance that I wasn’t alone. We stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, as the world outside continued to turn. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Sejeong smiles, but right now I think I need a bit more of your affection.

Sejeong’s eyes narrow as she brings me in for another kiss.

“Don’t think,” she said and my brain cleared of all thoughts the only thing that remained was lust and affection for her in the moment. She gave me a sexy and sultry look that made me want to see how far I could bury my dick into any of her holes. She goes in for another kiss then says, “Come on Val bare your fangs . Hunt! Let it all just this once,” she said instead of fighting my instincts and urges I run with them I tear into Sejeong’s hoodie and eventually we stand naked in front of each other.

I marvel at her bush. Which causes her to be uncharacteristically shy. When she tries to hide though I spread her legs open and plunge my dick inside of her pussy. Sejeong moans as I spear her, her eyes look up to mine and she smiles, “take me,” she implores me. I begin to thrust gently in and out of her. Hoping to find a tempo she likes. I emphasized slow and deep strokes as she seemed to like when I touched her womb. Her pussy envelops me with the most pleasant feeling of tightness that I can’t help but continue pleasing her. I watch as she comes undone from the pressure and she reaches her peak.

She moans and then looks up at me with a wild look in her eyes before pushing me to be under her. She begins to bounce on my rod with the fury of ten suns.

“Yes, Yes, fuck yes,” she moans as I feel her walls tighten to milk me for all I’m worth. The longer I last the more ferocious she becomes and eventually I lose to her and she has me cum all over her tits. She smiles before taking a long lurid lick and saying, “Delicious,”

The next day, I woke up in a muddled haze that cleared slightly when I saw Sejeong sleeping comfortably beside me. She looked serene, and I smiled, realizing just how much I loved her. That intense feeling was one of the many things my father had said we shared: the capacity to feel deeply.

As if sensing my thoughts, Sejeong turned to me with a bright smile. "Morning, handsome," she said. Her bright eyes looked into mine, and she leaned in to kiss me. I followed her lead, savoring the moment. "Okay, time to get up," she said.

"Okay," I responded. We got ready, and I made her coffee just the way she liked it. We watched the sunrise from a bench near Sejeong's apartment, and as the dawn broke, I felt a familiar presence.

I turned to see my mother approaching slowly but with intent. When she came into view, she appraised Sejeong and me. Sejeong looked at Zeus, then at me, and said, "I see the resemblance. That steely gaze, the commanding aura. You must be Zeus, although last time we met, you looked a little different."

Zeus looked at Sejeong, confused. "Daughter of Loki? How so?"

Sejeong laughed. "Oh, so that way of speaking is genetic. Well, Queen of the Skies, you had less of this," she pointed to her chest, "and you had something between your legs."

My mom looked up, and Sejeong laughed again. "Wow, Val got a lot from you," Sejeong chuckled. I turned to her, and she explained, "When you recollect Zeus, you look away as your mind goes over the memory."

I laughed. "Are you enjoying this?"

"Oh yes. I love seeing my boyfriend puzzled. He just has the cutest focused face."

"Boyfriend?"

"You're surprised? You've been at my beck and call for the past few weeks, and we've gone on three dates. We are boyfriend and girlfriend," Sejeong asserted. I gave a worried look.

"Am I that readable?"

"Not at first glance, but after seeing your heart and all your quirks, I've thumbed through your book a few times."

I groaned, making Sejeong laugh. "Come on, Vally, just accept it."

When she said that, Zeus chuckled. "You remind me of Val's father with that."

I turned to her, on guard. Sejeong noticed and squeezed my hand to calm me down.

"What do you mean?" Sejeong asked for me.

"Well, the playful teasing and compassion, for starters. But this makes me realize, Val," Zeus chuckled, her eyes twinkling with amusement and pride. "You know, our taste in partners is remarkably similar. I see so much of what I admire in Sejeong. She's strong, yet kind. Fiercely independent but deeply loyal. Just like your father."

I clenched my fist, my mom's praise for my father hitting a nerve. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't hold back. "If he was so great, then why did you leave him and me?" The sky darkened lightly at my comment. Zeus's intense glare bore into my eyes, but I didn't back down.

Zeus sighed, sitting down next to us. "It's complicated, Val. Your father and I... we had different paths, different destinies."

Sejeong, sensing the importance of the conversation, moved closer, her hand finding mine for support. Zeus noticed the gesture and smiled faintly.

"Your father was a good man, Val. Strong, principled, but also... mortal. Our worlds were too different. As a god, I have responsibilities and burdens he could never fully understand or share. And I could never be the partner he needed because of those obligations."

I frowned, trying to piece together the fragments of my childhood memories. "But you loved him, right? Why wasn't that enough?"

Zeus nodded, her eyes softening with a hint of sadness. "Love is powerful, but it's not always enough to bridge such vast differences. Our relationship put him in danger and exposed him to things no mortal should endure. And as much as I loved him, I couldn't let my presence continue to put him at risk. It wasn't fair to him, or you."

My jaw tightened, but I didn't interrupt. Sejeong squeezed my hand gently, offering silent support.

"I had to make a choice," Zeus continued, her voice heavy with the weight of her words. "I chose to protect him by leaving, hoping it would allow him to live a safer, more stable life. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but I believed it was the right one."

"Much like you with that Ishtar priestess. Speaking of, how did the curse turn out?" Zeus asked.

"It's been removed, thanks," I responded coldly. Zeus laughed.

"Good," she said with a smile. Sejeong, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "It's clear that your father loved you both, Val. But sometimes, love means making sacrifices for the greater good, even if it hurts."

I turned to Sejeong, her words resonating deeply. Then I looked back at Zeus, a sense of resolution beginning to form. "I understand now. It doesn't make it any less painful, but I get why you did what you did."

Zeus reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Val. And remember, even though I had to leave, I never stopped caring about you. I never stopped watching over you."

“So, this is the famous Sejeong,” Zeus said, her voice carrying that familiar mix of calm and intensity. Sejeong looked up, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of Zeus. I could see her assessing my mother, taking in the same dark skin, the long brown hair streaked with white, and those piercing gray eyes that seemed to see right through you.

“Yes, and you must be Zeus,” Sejeong replied, her voice steady but her eyes flickering with curiosity and something akin to recognition.

Zeus smiled, a small, knowing smile that sent a chill down my spine. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman who’s managed to capture my son’s heart.”

Sejeong glanced at me, then back at Zeus. “The pleasure is mine. I’ve heard… a lot about you.”

“I’m sure you have,” Zeus said, her gaze shifting to me. “DuVal has always been quite the storyteller.”

I could see Sejeong studying us both, her eyes darting between Zeus and me. She had a keen eye for detail, and I knew she was picking up on the similarities—the way we both stood with a certain tension, the way our eyes could pierce through someone’s defenses, the way our voices carried a similar weight.

“You two move the same way,” Sejeong observed, her tone curious. “It’s like watching a reflection.”

Zeus chuckled softly. “Well, he is my son. Some things are bound to be inherited.”

Sejeong nodded, but her eyes narrowed slightly as she continued to watch us. “But there are differences too. Val is… softer, I think. More willing to show his vulnerabilities.”

Zeus’s smile faded slightly. “Is that so? I always thought strength came from hiding one’s weaknesses.”

Sejeong shook her head. “No, I believe true strength comes from embracing them. From being honest about who you are.”

Zeus looked at Sejeong with a new level of respect. “You’re wise beyond your years, Sejeong. Perhaps you’re the influence DuVal needs.”

Sejeong smiled a warm and genuine smile that seemed to light up the porch. “Maybe we’re what each other needs.”

I felt a swell of pride at Sejeong’s words, but also a pang of something else—fear, perhaps, that she would see too much of Zeus in me.

Zeus stepped closer, her eyes fixed on Sejeong. “Tell me, Sejeong, what do you see when you look at DuVal?”

Sejeong didn’t hesitate. “I see someone who’s struggled, who’s faced immense challenges, but who’s still kind and caring. Someone who’s trying to find his place in the world.”

Zeus nodded slowly. “And do you see the same in me?”

Sejeong paused, her eyes thoughtful. “I see someone who’s powerful, but who’s perhaps forgotten what it’s like to be vulnerable. Someone who’s built walls to protect themselves.”

Zeus’s gaze softened for a moment, a rare display of vulnerability. “You’re very perceptive, Sejeong. DuVal is lucky to have you.”

Sejeong smiled again. “And he’s lucky to have you, too. Even if he doesn’t always see it that way.”

I looked at Zeus, seeing a flicker of something in her eyes—pride, maybe, or a hint of the love she rarely showed. It was a fleeting moment, but it was enough to give me hope.

Zeus smiled faintly, her gaze lingering on Sejeong. “You have your father’s eyes, but your mother’s spirit.”

Sejeong tilted her head slightly, a question in her eyes. “You knew my father?”

“Oh yes,” Zeus chuckled softly, “I’ve known Loki for eons. He’s quite the trickster, your father. Always up to some mischief or another.”

Sejeong raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement playing on her lips. “And how do I compare?”

Zeus studied Sejeong for a moment, her gaze thoughtful. “You are different from Loki in many ways. He revels in chaos and thrives on unpredictability. You, on the other hand, bring a sense of stability and clarity.”

Sejeong nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose I inherited my mother’s influence. She valued honesty and integrity above all else.”

“That balance serves you well,” Zeus noted, a hint of approval in her voice. “Loki may be a master of illusions, but you see through them. That’s a rare gift.”

Sejeong smiled warmly, a genuine expression that softened the tension between them. “Thank you. I try to use it wisely.”

Zeus nodded, her gaze shifting to me. “And DuVal? How does Sejeong influence you?”

I glanced at Sejeong, feeling a swell of pride and admiration. “She… grounds me. She sees through my walls and challenges me to be better.”

Zeus’s eyes softened, a hint of maternal pride flickering across her features. “You’ve chosen well, DuVal.”

Sejeong looked between us, sensing the unspoken history and emotions. “There’s a lot you two share,” she remarked softly. “But there are also differences.”

“Yes,” Zeus agreed, her gaze returning to Sejeong. “You are a blend of both worlds, Sejeong. Your father’s mischief tempered by your mother’s wisdom. It’s a potent combination.”

Sejeong smiled gratefully, acknowledging the complexity of her heritage. “I’ve learned to embrace both sides. It’s what makes me who I am.”

Zeus nodded and got up. she turned to us and asked, "So what's next for you two love birds?"

"I am taking my feral boyfriend to Camp Half-blood to hopefully make him less feral,"

"Good luck He's worse than Heracles in that regard."

"it will be fine."

True to her word, four days later I was flying back to the States with Sejeong to help with counseling at the camp. The camp had grown tenfold, now housing a myriad of pantheons and incorporating their various practices and traditions. We arrived a few days early, along with the rest of our half-blood friends.

On the taxi ride from the airport to camp, Levi leaned over and warned me, “So, um, we might have spilled the beans about you coming with us, and, uh... well, the Huntresses are coming because Thalia wants to meet her ‘little brother.’ I know you aren’t comfortable with the spotlight, so I figured you should know.”

Sejeong groaned. “I told you all not to tell anyone. I wanted only Chiron to know to avoid the circus.”

“To be fair, we told everyone he was coming before you told us not to,” Somi pointed out.

“I told you all not to do it in the same call,” Sejeong said, exasperated.

“Yes, but it was 5 minutes, 54 seconds, and 32 microseconds later. I had already told my entire cabin by that point,” Heejin replied.

Sejeong rolled her eyes, annoyed at her friends' lack of restraint.

When we got to camp, I noticed an immediate change in my attitude, posture, and temperament. I felt an overwhelming hostility. Sejeong picked up on this and squeezed my hand, hoping to calm me. Instead, it only intensified the rising desire I had for her. I managed to squeak out, “Seji I don’t like this place it gives me weird vibes.,” Sejeong nodded and then said

“It will be okay Vally we’ll get through this one day at a time.” As we enter the camp there is a huge crowd waiting for us. I can feel the gazes and hushed whispers as we pass through. The first to approach us was a dark-haired green-eyed young man a little older than me, and a blonde-haired girl with piercing gray eyes who walked with him.

“Hi, I’m Percy Jackson,” the dark-haired man said, “this is Annabeth Chase.” Sejeong walks over to Percy and Annabeth to give them a big hug. Percy and Annabeth happily received the hug before saying to Sejeong, “Long time no see,” Sejeong nodded before mentioning how she had become quite famous. Percy and Annabeth seemed proud and pleased by this. They looked behind Sejeong where I stood,

“You must be Duval,” Annabeth said. I nod and she laughs

“You don’t look much like Zeus,” Percy says bluntly. I chuckled before responding

“Well can’t control that,” I responded Percy and Annabeth laughed before leading me to the Councilor’s cabin. When we get inside they lead me to the room and bed I’ll be in for the next few weeks.

After I set my stuff down I headed outside to hang out with Sejeong. I noticed quite a few of the crowd were still following, which made me more uncomfortable, but Sejeong shooed them away. As we approached the Loki cabin, its unique design became more pronounced. Twisting vines intertwined with intricate carvings of mythical creatures adorned the wooden structure, giving it an air of mystery and whimsy. Sejeong knocked on the door, and we waited for a response. The sounds of laughter and chatter could be heard from within.

The door creaked open, and Asumi stood there with a bright smile. "Sejeong! It's so good to see you!"

Sejeong stepped forward, embracing her half-sister warmly. "Asumi! I've missed you. How have you been?"

Asumi stepped back, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "Come in, come in! We have so much to catch up on."

I followed them into the cabin, feeling slightly out of place but curious. The interior was just as eclectic as the exterior, with colorful tapestries, mismatched furniture, and an assortment of trinkets and oddities scattered about. It was a lively space, reflecting the playful nature of its inhabitants.

Sejeong and Asumi settled onto a worn but comfortable-looking couch, and I hovered nearby, unsure of where to sit. I decided to perch on the edge of a nearby armchair, trying not to intrude too much.

"So, what's the latest gossip?" Sejeong asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Asumi leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Well, you won't believe what happened last week. Marcus from the Hermes cabin pulled the most epic prank on the Ares campers. He switched all their weapons with rubber replicas. The look on their faces when they tried to practice was priceless!"

Sejeong laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Classic Marcus. What else?"

Asumi glanced at me briefly, then continued, "And then there’s been talk about the new arrivals. Everyone’s buzzing about a certain son of Zeus who's causing quite a stir."

I felt my cheeks heat up, and I looked down at my hands, pretending to be fascinated by a loose thread on my shirt. Sejeong reached over and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, that's DuVal," Sejeong said, glancing at me with a smile. "He's been handling the attention pretty well, all things considered."

Asumi's gaze softened as she looked at me again. "Well, it's not every day we get someone like you here. It's a lot to take in, I bet."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Just trying to find my way, you know?"

Sejeong and Asumi continued their conversation, discussing various camp activities and the latest drama among the campers. I listened attentively, occasionally chiming in when they mentioned someone I had met or an event I had attended. Despite feeling like a bit of an outsider, I found myself enjoying the lively banter and the sense of camaraderie between the sisters.

As the afternoon wore on, more campers filtered in and out of the cabin, each one stopping to say hello and share a laugh. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and I started to relax, feeling more like part of the group.

At one point, Asumi excused herself to grab some snacks from the kitchen, leaving Sejeong and me alone for a moment. Sejeong leaned closer, her voice low. "Are you okay? I know this is a lot."

I nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm good. It’s nice to see you with your family. You seem so happy."

Sejeong's eyes softened. "I am. And I want you to feel welcome here too."

Before I could respond, Asumi returned with a tray of cookies and drinks. "Here we go! Help yourselves."

We spent the next hour chatting, munching on cookies, and sipping on lemonade. The initial awkwardness I had felt began to fade, replaced by a growing sense of belonging. Asumi was genuinely kind and welcoming, and I appreciated how she made an effort to include me in their conversation.

Eventually, it was time to head back. As we stood to leave, Asumi gave me a warm hug. "It was great to meet you, DuVal. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

I returned the hug, feeling a bit more at ease. "Thanks, Asumi. I'll be back."

Sejeong and I got ready to leave the cabin, as we were walking back towards the door. She looked up at me, a satisfied smile on her face. "See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?"

I shook my head, smiling. "No, it was nice. Your sister’s great. Thanks for bringing me along."

Sejeong slipped her arm through mine, and as we were about to leave, I heard a familiar voice screech out, "DuVal?"

My face landed directly into my palm as I hoped that the voice wasn't who I thought it was. I turned around to see Cassandra—my ex-girlfriend, daughter of Loki, and Exalted of Ishtar. She looked at me with disdain, but with Sejeong here, she tried to mediate.

"Oh, you know Val?" Sejeong asked Cassandra, surprised.

"Know him? I used to date this motherfucker," Cassandra said lividly.

I shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant, though I could feel the tension in the air.

"Don't you shrug at me like you didn't do anything! We were together for two years, and you left me when it got hard."

I chose my next words extremely carefully so I didn't set her off. "Cassie, we were emotionally abusive to each other, by your admission. You kept pushing me away. I got tired of it and lashed out. I felt bad, I apologized, and do you remember what you said?"

"Don't you dare bring that up! It's not my fault you didn't remember correctly."

"See, you say that, but...you know what? Forget it. I don't care anymore. Let's go back to ignoring each other," I replied.

Cassandra slapped me, and I held my tongue. Fighting the urge to retaliate, I turned to leave the cabin.

"That's it, run away like you always do," was the last thing I heard.

I tried to be the bigger person. Please believe me when I say that.

"I can't believe I cared so deeply for something so pitiful," I muttered, looking at her with a mix of disdain and apathy. It all hit me at once—the hurt, the anger, the realization of how toxic our relationship had been. Sure, we had some good times, but as we got closer, she pushed me further away.

I walked out of the cabin into the afternoon, where it was sprinkling. The gentle rain was oddly soothing as I tried to put as much distance as possible between Cassandra and me. I could hear Sejeong yell something from the cabin, then slam the door before chasing after me. She was visibly shaken by whatever had happened. When she caught up to me, she said, "Tell me what happened. All of it."

So I did. I told her how we met in college, bonded over shared trauma, and how we fell apart after I transferred. I explained how our relationship began to deteriorate, how Cassandra's indecision and emotional turmoil led to every relationship of hers degrading over time, and how every boy she got entangled with ended up hating her. I didn't, though. I felt bad until I just didn't feel anything anymore. The only thing that hurt was the good memories we had, but even those had faded.

I made sure not to paint myself as just the good guy. I was honest about how I was a significant part of the reason it fell apart. I had my faults and failings.

Sejeong looked at me intensely, seeing me for the flawed person I was. She hesitated, then said, "I am going to need some time to process this. Can I talk to you later?"

I nodded, and she gave me a small smile before walking away.

I watched her retreating figure, feeling a mixture of relief and anxiety. The rain had picked up slightly, each drop feeling like a small pinprick against my skin. I walked aimlessly, trying to clear my head.

Eventually, I found myself at the edge of a small grove, the canopy of trees offering some shelter from the rain. I sat on a fallen log, replaying the confrontation with Cassandra over and over in my mind. The bitterness in her voice, the sting of her slap—it all felt too fresh, too raw.

As I sat there, I couldn't help but reflect on the cycles of pain and anger that seemed to define my past relationships. Cassandra was a stark reminder of a time when I was lost, unsure of myself, and reactive. But now, with Sejeong, I wanted something different. I wanted to be better. I skipped Lunch and Dinner as I sat there trying to get back to my calm but I just couldn't do it. while I go over my time with Cassandra I remember Zeus and my dad both saying before I got entangled with her that she was bad news.

Hunger got the best of me, so I headed to the mess hall for dinner. On the way back, I grabbed my cap to hide my face, not wanting to draw any more attention. Once inside, I found a quiet corner away from prying eyes and sat down. Following the rituals of all the other campers, I began to eat, enjoying the rare moment of silence.

That was until someone approached me. I looked up to see a stunning Native American young woman with the coolest green eyes I had ever seen.

"You're a new face," she said politely.

I chuckled and replied, "I guess that's correct. DuVal, but my friends call me Val, and we are friends now."

The young lady smiled. "Val... I like it. The name's Piper." Piper reached out her hand. I took it and shook it. She smiled again before sitting next to me.

"You know, you don't look like a child of Zeus," she observed.

I chuckled. "Well, Zeus was very different when she was my mom."

"Oh, Zeus is your mom. That's wild, but I kind of see it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, I used to date Jason Grace before he died a few years back," Piper said, her face growing somber.

I gulped uneasily until Piper smiled. "Ah, don't worry about it. It's not your fault. You didn't know," she said reassuringly.

I shrugged, and Piper laughed before asking, "Not a big talker, eh?"

I nodded. "Fair enough," she said, looking down at my hands and then back at my face. "Are you okay? Your hands are trembling."

I looked down and noticed she was right. "A little nervous is all," I replied, my voice shaking as I heard the whispers around me.

"It's him. The Orphan. The Child of Zeus. Where's Sejeong? Why is he all alone? Why is he so quiet?" The whispers were quickly silenced when I stood up to leave. As I did, I accidentally bumped into Thalia. The remains of my food spilled all over her, and she looked up at me. When our eyes met, we both recognized each other.

"Oh, you," she said. I held my tongue.

"So, you're the big shot everyone is talking about."

"I am so sorry. I'll get something to clean that right up," I stammered.

Thalia looked at me with a focused expression. "No, it's fine," she said, though it didn't seem like it. "Come on, sit with me and the Huntresses. I want to meet my new 'little brother.'"

My mind raced as I found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Reluctantly, I sat down with Thalia. The Huntresses eyed me curiously as I put my hands down by my legs to stop them from shaking.

"So, tell me about yourself. I've only heard bits and pieces," Thalia said.

"Um, I do photography and videography," I replied.

"Oh, okay. And how long have you known you were a half-blood or that there were others like us?"

"Uh... I knew since I graduated high school a few years ago, but I didn't know about this community until deep into the pandemic when I was constantly hounded by monsters," I explained.

Thalia furrowed her brow. "Is everything okay, brother? You seem uncomfortable."

"I... I don't know. I don't belong here," I said, standing up to leave.

"Sit. We aren't done," Thalia said firmly. Her Huntress friends surrounded me, so I sat back down.

"What's wrong? What's got you so shaken?" Thalia asked, her tone softening. Despite her warning, I attempted to excuse myself again. This time, lightning struck in front of me, and the rest of the camp faded away. I turned back to see my mother, Zeus, staring back at me.

“Why are you running?” she asked pointedly.

“My children don’t run away,” she accused.

“Yes, we do. Jason ran from Piper, Thalia ran away from you, and you ran from every responsibility you didn’t want,” I retorted.

Zeus's eyes glared at me, but I wasn’t going to cower.

“I hide and run from everyone because deep down I know no one will truly like me or understand me. That’s the burden of power and knowledge. When you truly have agency and the strength to make wise choices, people resent you. The cowardly judge you and I’m sick of hiding behind a handicap. I’m sick of reducing myself so others can feel at peace.”

Zeus looked at me, surprised. “I never knew you felt that way.”

“Please, I’m your son. I want everything I can grasp and things I can’t, but my father taught me restraint and control. Do you know what it’s like to have the fathomless desire to take anything you want but need the wisdom to know why you can’t? The part of you that’s inside me wants everything under the sky as mine but the human part of me holds me back and I’m sick of fighting myself, but I can’t because the world is too small..”

Zeus looked at me with wide eyes, “so what are you going to do about it?”

“Let the part of you that’s inside of me out and take what I want,” I said.

Zeus' eyes narrowed as she stared into mine and she asked, “What do you want now,”

“To not be bothered,” I said, and as I finished talking the camp faded back into the light and I realized that everyone was staring at me. I figured they must have seen that whole exchange based on their expressions. I roll my eyes and then go to leave when Thalia stops me this time by throwing her javelin. I sigh and then she says,

“Please stay. I just want to talk,” the punk-like edge she had in her voice was gone and was replaced by a genuine feeling of concern. I sigh and say,

“Can we do it elsewhere without so many eyes?” Thalia looks to the rest of her huntresses and they nod so she nods back to me. I nod back and we agree to meet at one of the hills privately after dinner.

I go to our designated meeting area after leaving the mess hall, and wonder why I had that vision with Zeus earlier. She had to have known why I was like this right? I think to myself. A few moments later. Thalia comes from the bushes and smiles at me. I give her a thumbs up and she sits next to me.

“Crazy right?” She says breaking the silence. I nod and say

“Look I’m sorry for my outburst earlier I've just been in a bad headspace since I got here,”

“No, I get it. the scrutiny everyone has with watching you hoping you mess up I completely understand. Jason, Percy, me, and now you all feel it,” Thalia said contemplating.

“I just wish I could create some space where I could be me and not stand out ya know?” I responded somberly. Thalia nodded and eventually responded

“You remind me a lot of Jason. You are more reserved like he was but also I sense a hesitance in your presence that he never walked with. It's interesting,” she said. I smiled as we sat looking up at the stars silently just enjoying the time. Eventually, we go our separate ways and I turn in for the night.

After lunch, I found myself alone. The crowds that had been trailing me since my arrival had finally dispersed, and my friends were all busy catching up with their own family and friends. Thalia wouldn’t be arriving until tonight, so I couldn't meet her just yet. With time on my hands, I decided to explore the camp to get a better feel for it.

My wandering eventually led me to a secluded waterfall area. The serene sound of rushing water was a welcome contrast to the bustling camp. The air was cool and misty, and the sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground. I could sense the presence of others nearby, but no one approached me. I was content with the solitude until a feminine voice broke through the tranquil sound of the waterfall.

“You know it’s dangerous to be this far out alone. Anyone could do bad things to you.” The voice was calm yet carried an underlying authority.

I turned to see an older woman standing a few feet away. Her gaze was strikingly similar to Zeus's but carried a more "maternal" quality. Her presence was commanding yet oddly comforting.

“I like to think that I don’t invite that type of challenge,” I replied, meeting her gaze. “I try to put good in the world and hope to get good back.”

Her expression softened at my words. “I’ve never known a child of Zeus to be so introspective.”

“Well, not all of us can be reckless heroes like Jason, Perseus, Heracles, or the legendary Thalia,” I said with a hint of a smile, feeling a bit more at ease.

The woman’s gaze focused on me, her eyes searching. “Something tells me that’s not your style.”

I nodded. “Nope. I’d much rather enact a strategy that guarantees victory with minimal collateral damage. Huge battles usually mean no one truly wins.”

She smiled, a genuine warmth radiating from her. “May I see?” she asked, pointing to the camera hanging around my neck.

I shrugged and handed it to her. She carefully examined the photos, her eyes lighting up with appreciation. “You have quite the eye for capturing life in motion.”

I couldn’t help but grin with pride. “Thank you, Hera.”

Hera looked up at me, pleasantly surprised. “Hm, you’re smarter than you look,” she admitted, the atmosphere around her shifting from intense to gentle.

“I try my best,” I replied modestly.

“You’ve surprised me, DuVal. I thought you’d be like the rest of my husband’s children, but you’re not. Stay that way; it will serve you well.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely touched by her words. “I intend to.”

Hera handed back my camera and sat beside me on the rock, the sound of the waterfall creating a soothing backdrop. “Tell me, DuVal, what drives you? What makes you different?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, the roar of the waterfall filling the silence. “I think it’s the understanding that power isn’t just about strength. It’s about knowing when to use it and when to hold back. It’s about empathy and restraint.”

Hera nodded, a thoughtful look in her eyes. “A child of Zeus practicing restraint? You are truly an anomaly, DuVal. You remind me of the best parts of Zeus. His intelligence, his strategic mind... but you also have something more. A kindness, perhaps. Why is it that you share these qualities and the others don’t?”

I looked at her, trying to read the emotions behind her words. “I don’t know. For me, I’ve always been like this. Blame Ultraman, I guess. I appreciate the kind words, though. It’s been an interesting time these last few weeks reconciling with my mom.”

“Oh, that’s right. Zeus had you when he was a woman,” Hera recollected. “That was a peculiar time. I thought it a grand punishment and that he would learn respect for me. To some degree he did, but all it did was drive a wedge further between us. I suppose that’s what led to him or her, at the time, meeting your father.”

She smiled, a mix of pride, sorrow, and nostalgia in her expression. “I believe you are on the right path. And remember, DuVal, it’s not just about what you inherit but what you choose to become.”

As we sat there, I felt a strange sense of connection with Hera. Despite her initial antagonism, there was a bond forming—a mutual understanding and respect. The weight of her words settled over me, heavy yet reassuring.

“Sadly, that’s already been decided. I became a monster,” I said sadly, the reality of my past actions pressing down on me.

Hera’s head tilted, confused. “Why do you think that? Because you don’t have a place with them?” She gestured to the camp. “Just because you weren’t raised like they were doesn’t make you a monster. You move with a gentleness and wisdom that I don’t see others move with. Just earlier today, with the other daughter of Loki, you chose the softer path when you easily could have returned all the venom she sent you.”

“Ah, Cassandra isn’t bad, and besides, that would be begging for more bad to come my way,” I replied.

Hera smiled. “You’ve surprised me, DuVal. I thought you’d be like the rest of my husband’s children, but you’re not. Stay that way; it will serve you well.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely touched by her words. “I intend to.”

Hera’s eyes twinkled with a rare warmth. “You’ve earned it. Now, go and make the most of it.”

With that, she stood and began to walk away, leaving me with a renewed sense of purpose. As I watched her go, I knew that this moment had changed something fundamental in me. I wasn’t just the son of Zeus; I was my person, ready to forge my path.

Suddenly, Hera paused and turned back towards me, a contemplative look on her face. “DuVal, one more thing.”

“Yes?” I replied, curious about what else she had to say.

“Your perspective on avoiding unnecessary battles, on protecting others... that’s something I’ve seen too little of among the gods. It’s a quality that will make you a better leader and, perhaps, in time, a better god.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. The idea of becoming a god had always been an abstract concept, something far off and intangible. But hearing it from Hera made it feel more real, more possible, and honestly, the idea repulsed me.

“I’ll do my best to live up to that,” I said, my voice steady.

Hera nodded, satisfied. “I have no doubt you will.” With that, she turned and disappeared into the trees, leaving me alone with my thoughts. A little while later I walked back to the councilor’s cabin where a new camera and a note waited for me.

“A hero is more than the weapon they wield. A leader is more than those they control. If you are truly a monster then maybe a monster is needed to guide us out of the night and into the dawn.” I chuckled as I read the note before I heard Sejeong behind me.

“Ooh, what’s that ?” She asked noticing the camera

“A gift I think,” I responded

Sejeong smiled as she closed the distance between us “Ooh a gift from who?”

“Hera I think.” Sejeong laughs as she looks at the camera before handing it to me to add it to my bag.

“You love that camera bag huh,” Sejeong noted

“Why do you say that?”

“I never see you without it.”

“Well I have approximately 5 grand stored in here,” Sejeong eyes popped as she heard the number

“I understand then,” she said with a smile before removing said bag to pounce on me and bombard me with kisses. I happily accepted her advances and let her conduct her “affection train” on me. Her kisses began to shift from chaste to hungry.

Sejeong lifted her shirt revealing her breasts. They were remarkable as always I palm both and began to kiss her more but something was off. I could tell something was eating at her. Like she was forcing herself to do this. As if trying to find her footing, but she couldn’t,

“What’s wrong,” I asked

“It’s nothing. it’s just,” Sejeong started

“Cassandra?” I finished. Sejeong nodded

After she had enough, she cuddled next to me and asked a peculiar question, her voice barely above a whisper, “DuVal, am I a bad person?”

I looked into Sejeong's eyes, seeing the vulnerability and self-doubt reflected there. I understood what she meant by this, the weight of her lineage and the expectations placed upon her. I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully.

“Sejeong, due to the position you are in, absolutely not. You’ve been trying your best under difficult circumstances, and that’s all anyone can ask for. I understand,” I said softly, my voice steady with conviction.

Tears welled in her eyes, and she leaned into me, seeking comfort. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly. “You are not a bad person, Sejeong. You have a kind heart, and you care deeply. That’s what matters.”

She sniffled, burying her face in my chest. “Thank you, Val. I needed to hear that.”

As we sat there, the room growing quieter, I felt a sense of finality settling over us. The weight of unspoken words and unresolved feelings hung in the air. This was the end of our romantic relationship, but not the end of our connection.

I gently lifted her chin, making her look into my eyes. “Sejeong, you’ll always have a special place in my heart. We may not be together in the same way, but I’ll always be here for you. As a friend, as someone who understands.”

She nodded, a small, sad smile forming on her lips. “I feel the same way, Val. Thank you for being here, for understanding.”

We sat in silence for a while, just holding each other. The unspoken promise of continued support and friendship lingered between us, a comforting presence amid our parting.

Eventually, she pulled away slightly, wiping her tears. “I should go,” she said softly. “But this isn’t goodbye.”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll still see each other, still be there for each other.”

With one last hug, she got up and left the room. I watched her go, feeling a mixture of sadness and relief. This was the right decision, for both of us. As I sat alone, I took a deep breath, letting the emotions wash over me. This was the end of one chapter, but the beginning of another.

End of Part I

[willalove75]

Alcina's New Maid Pt. 7 Lady Dimitrescu x Reader

Summary: Lady Dimitrescu brings you in as one of her maids, at least, that's what you thought she brought you to the castle for.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, depression themes

Tags: flirty, fluff, slow burn, smut, angst.

Notes: Part 7!! Yet another angsty chapter! Poor reader is heart broken

Click here for the rest of the series

The sound of the breakfast bell wakes you up in the morning, your head is pounding and your eyes feel swollen. That's what you get for crying yourself to sleep. To your surprise, you're not sad or broken hearted when you wake up. In all honesty, you feel nothing. A feeling of numbness resides in your chest. The breakfast bell rings again and you stay unmoving in your bed. All motivation to get up is nowhere to be found, you pull the duvet back over your head and fall back asleep.

Alcina enters the dining room as the girls appear from their swarms. She immediately notices that your chair is empty, thinking to herself, and secretly hoping, you're just running behind this morning. When the second bell rings and you're nowhere to be found, Alcina redirects her guilt into frustration.

"Where's y/n?" Cassandra asks.

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since dinner last night." Daniela says.

"I walked her down to the kitchen last night," Bela says. Alcina freezes and tries to keep her composure as she listens to her daughter speak. "She seemed weird, like something was bothering her."

"Did she say anything when you got to her room?" Daniela asks.

"No, well, I didn't walk her all the way to her room." Bela says quietly, looking over at her mother, expecting to be reprimanded for letting you go by yourself. Alcina releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding, relieved her daughter didn't witness the maiden leaving her chambers and turns her attention back to her breakfast. "But I walked her to the top of the stairs! I mean her room is only like 50 feet away and no one else was around!" She says preemptively defending herself.

"Mom you're not gonna yell at her for letting y/n go back to her room by herself?!" Cassandra says.

"Really! I got in so much trouble for walking away from her for two seconds and Bela gets away with totally abandoning her?!" Daniella argues.

"She was fine! If anything would have happened I would have heard it!" Bela argues back.

"And it would have been too late if that crazy maid jumped out and stabbed her!" Daniela yells.

Images of Stefana standing above you with the knife in her hand flashes before Alcina's eyes as she tightens her grip on her wine glass.

"Mom I can't believe you're not doing anything about this! It's SO unfair!"

More images flash before Alcina's eyes, this time of Mother Miranda dragging you into the lab and experimenting on you. Having to watch on helplessly as you cry out for her as you suffer. She can picture the sinister smile Mother Miranda would have across her face, watching Alcina slowly break as she watches you die.

The girls continue to argue, quickly wearing down Alcina's already limited patience as they get louder and louder.

"ENOUGH." Alcina roars. "This conversation is finished, I don't want to hear another word about it."

"But mom!" Daniela and Cassandra say in unison.

"I said enough." She hisses.

The girls fall silent and quietly eat their breakfast.

Alcina picks at her plate, her appetite is suddenly lost but she tries to keep up appearances so the girls don't question her any more than they already have.

"Good morning my Lady." Zina says as she walks into the dining room.

"Good morning Zina."

"Has y/n not joined you for breakfast this morning?" She asks, mildly concerned.

"I suppose she hasn't." Alcina says.

"Would you like me to prepare a tray and bring it to her chambers?"

"Oh! I can bring it! I want her to keep reading to me!" Daniela says.

"Absolutely not." Alcina says to her daughter, once again turning her fears and guilt into frustration and anger. "If she doesn't want to join us for meals that's her decision. I will not be giving anyone special privilege's or making more work for my staff to accommodate laziness."

The girls exchange looks, surprised at their mother's response.

"As you wish my Lady. Is there anything else you need?" Zina says.

"That's all."

The remainder of the meal is oddly quiet as the girls exchange looks while Alcina's mind drifts off.

After breakfast the girls congregate in the library.

"What was that?" Cassandra asks.

"Wow mom really wasn't in a good mood this morning." Daniela replies.

"They're both been super weird. I asked y/n about it last night and she just made up some 'it's been an off week' response, but I could hear her heartrate increase so she was definitely lying."

"You think they got into a fight?" Daniela asks.

"I doubt it, I mean they weren't even really together. What's there to fight about?" Cassandra says.

The door to the library opens and they hear Alcina humming to herself, the girls burst into swarms and scatter.

You wake up a few hours later, glancing over at the clock you realize it's almost lunch time. The thought of eating makes you nauseous, the numbness in your chest still lingers, solidifying its place in your body. Every ounce of you wants to stay in bed but your bladder is begging you to move. Reluctantly you get out of bed and walk into the bathroom to pee. You splash some water on your face after you wash your hands and look in the mirror.

"Wow I look like shit." You say to yourself.

Your eyes are still a little puffy and the dark circles under your eyes are more prominent than ever. Flashes of memories from last night appear, the young maidens face, her shaking legs, the look of surprise, then shame on Alcina's face. A pain shoots through your chest that steals your breath for a moment. The pain disappears as quickly as it appeared, the numbing feeling returning to its place. You make your way back into the bedroom, pulling the thick curtains closed before crawling back into bed. The lunch bell rings as you drift back off to sleep.

The maids serve the women of the castle lunch, Alcina catches herself staring at your empty chair, snapping out of it when her meal is placed in front of her. She lights a cigarette and takes a long drag from it, blowing the smoke out of the corner of her mouth. Aside from the clicking of silverware and the faint crackling of Alcina's cigarette, lunch is unusually quiet.

After lunch Alcina makes her way into her study, the last thing she wants to do right now is more work but she has a business to run and she can't fall behind. It takes her twice as long to do her paperwork because she keeps getting distracted. Every time she hears a small noise she pauses to listen closely to see if it's you. Once she rules out that you were the source of the noise she strains her ears to listen for your heartbeat. When she's finally able to find it, she listens to it for a minute. It hasn't changed in the last few hours so she assumes you're asleep. Alcina continues this pattern for the majority of the afternoon, she tries her best to focus and put a dent into the paperwork she has to do but its no use. Abandoning her work for the time being she makes her way back to her chambers.

She sheds her hat and gloves and paces back and fourth, running her fingers through her hair, struggling with the war waging inside of her.

In your bed you wake up again, grateful to realize most of the day has passed. You hear the familiar sound of heels clacking against the floor, the sound of Alcina's bedroom door opening and closing. Hearing her pacing back and fourth in her chambers you find the rhythm oddly soothing and you close your eyes once more.

Alcina immediately notices a change in your heartbeat, she pauses for a moment to listen and continues to pace. Your heartbeat slows once more, it dawns on her that you can probably hear her pacing in her chambers as your breath begins to match her steps. A small smile crosses her face for a moment knowing she was able to bring you some peace. The smile quickly fades and is replaced with a scowl when she realizes the thought that just crossed her mind.

A low growl rumbles in her chest as she grows frustrated with herself. She grabs the bottle of wine off of her vanity and makes her way into the bathroom to draw herself a bath.

"To hell with the glass." She thinks as she drinks straight from the bottle.

After shedding her clothes, jewelry and hair pins, she lowers herself in the tub and closes her eyes, the warm water soothing her. The relaxing sensation only lasts for a few minutes when she hears your heartrate pick up once more. Her ears focused on you, she hears you walk across your room, probably into your bathroom. As hard as she tries she can't seem to stop herself from listening to your heartbeat. Aggravated, she slides down into the tub submerging herself completely under water. Grateful that the water filling her ears was able to mute the sound of your heartbeat, she finds herself momentarily envious of her brother Moreau, living under water must be nice since he probably doesn't hear a damned thing. Although she does shake her head at the ridiculousness of being envious, of Moreau. Out of the four lords Alcina finds him the most pathetic, a simpleton, his only redeeming quality in her eyes is the fact that he's an excellent physician.

Alcina breaks through the surface of the water and runs her hands through her hair, combing it away from her face.

"Mother?"

Alcina turns to see Bela standing at the door of her bathroom.

"Come in."

Bela takes a few steps into the bathroom, Alcina watches her as Bela notices the bottle of wine sitting on the floor next to her. Alcina closes her eyes and rests her head against the tub, acting as if the wine bottle was never there to begin with.

"Do you need something draga?" She asks.

"We wanted to know if you were going to join us for dinner?"

Alcina opens her eyes and looks at her daughter, confused.

"The dinner bell rang a few minutes ago." Bela says.

"My apologies draga, I must have not heard it." Alcina wonders how long she was under water for, it must have been for longer than she thought if she missed the dinner bells. "Yes, I will be joining you."

Bela looks at her mother with concern.

"What is it sweetling?"

"I don't want to pry," Bela says, looking down at her feet. "But, are you okay? You haven't been yourself lately and Dani and Cass and I are worried about you."

"Fetița mea dulce." Alcina says, reaching her hand out towards Bela's. (My sweet girl) Bela steps forward and takes her mothers hand into hers. "I am sorry that I worried you and your sisters." She says, stroking the back of Belas hand. "Rest assured I am fine. The stress from work has taken its toll this week, is all."

Alcina doesn't know why she even bothers trying to lie to the girls, especially Bela, who's basically a walking lie detector test. She sees the look in Bela's eyes when she knows her mother isn't telling the whole truth but Bela decides to not push the issue. Alcina rationalizes her half-truth with the fact that her daughters don't need to know the details of her love life.

"I will be down in a few minutes draga." Alcina says giving Bela's hand a small squeeze before letting go.

Bela heads downstairs and Alcina dunks herself under the water once more before getting out of the tub. After drying off she slides a nightgown over her body and wraps one of her luxurious floor-length robes around her, tying it tightly around her waist. She fixes her makeup, even though most of it washed off in the tub, she refuses to go downstairs bare faced, it's bad enough she's showing up to dinner in her robe. It's something she very rarely does and usually only happens after a particularly bad or stressful day. Alcina pins her damp curls and wraps a silk scarf around her head, giving herself a once over in the mirror before deeming her appearance just barely acceptable for dinner and goes downstairs.

"Good evening girls, I apologize for my tardiness." Alcina says as she takes her seat at the head of the table.

"Its okay mother." Bela says.

"We waited for you!" Daniela says.

"Well, some of us did." Cassandra says, eyeing the large bite missing from Daniela's dinner.

"Shut it Cass!" Daniela yells at her. "I bit into if before we decided to wait!"

"It doesn't matter!" Cass yells back.

"That is enough." Alcina says sternly as the girls fall silent. "I appreciate you waiting for me. Please, eat. I'm sure you girls are hungry."

As the girls go to dig into their meals Daniela interrupts.

"Wait, should we wait for y/n? She hasn't eaten all day, she must be hungry."

"What makes you think she's showing up now? She hasn't left her room all day, idiot." Cassandra snaps.

"I don't think she's coming Dani." Bela says, sympathetically.

Daniela looks over to Alcina.

"Eat." Alcina says to her.

Just like the two other meals of the day, dinner was unusually quiet for the Dimitrescu family.

The night carries on as you continue to lie in bed, you hear a faint buzzing noise in the distance and realize it's getting louder until it sounds like it's in your room.

Daniela emerges from the swarm standing next to your bed, for a moment you're grateful that you're facing the other direction.

"Y/n, can you keep reading me the book we started last night?" She asks softly.

"Not tonight kiddo."

You feel guilty, but all you want is to be alone.

"Aw, but-"

"Dani," you say as your voice lightly shakes. "Please." The last word leaving your lips as a whisper, trying your best to keep your voice steady and tears at bay.

All you wanted all day was for the nighttime to arrive, but now that it's here the numbness in your chest fades back to the familiar feeling of heartbreak and sadness.

Daniela disappears into a swarm of flies and leaves your room. You hold tightly onto your pillow as tears soak into the pillowcase.

After dinner Alcina locks herself in her chambers for the night and writes in her diary.

How could she miss every meal today? How incredibly selfish.

She writes, trying her hardest to cling to anger and frustration, desperately trying to keep it from forming into guilt and sadness.

Is this how she repays me? After I brought her into my home, I clothed her, fed her, put a roof over her head, after I gave her work, gave her a purpose that wasn't raising those children. After I rescued her from that awful house and that pathetic manthing she called her uncle, after I protected her, from both that wretched maid and Mother Miranda. After I cared for her, nursed her back to health, after I lov-

Alcina's breath hitches when she realizes what she's writing.

After I loved her, after I-

Tears begin to roll down her cheeks and onto the page.

After I broke her heart, after I hurt her so deeply.

"Oh goddamnit Alcina." She says quietly as she becomes frustrated with herself, her tears falling faster.

What have I done? Could I ever forgive someone if they did to me what I've done to her? I don't think I could. How could I know that I could ever trust them again?

I wish so deeply that Mother Miranda never set eyes on her. Never suggested to use her in her experiments. Even if it was just to give me enough time to figure out how to keep her safe from Mother. If I just spoke to her, told her how both I love and fear Mother Miranda, how I could never repay her for giving me my girls, how I yearn for her approval, how deeply I want her to be proud of me yet how I hate her for turning me into what I am.

If I only told her my true feelings for her. Told her how I feared for her, how I only wanted to keep her safe. I fear it's too late and the damage is too great for her to ever speak to me again. Never have I regretted something to deeply in my life.

Closing her diary, Alcina covers her face with her hands.

The following morning you wake up to the smell of breakfast. Confused, you roll over and see a tray on the nightstand beside your bed, assuming you slept through the breakfast bells. You know you have to eat, but truthfully the thought of food makes you want to puke a little. Reluctantly, you grab a piece of toast and take a few bites and toss it back onto the plate. The numbness in your chest is back and you're almost grateful for it, since the alternative seems to be crippling heartbreak and sadness. After crying yourself to sleep for the second night in a row, you've grown tired of the feeling.

Walking into the bathroom you stare at the shower. You feel a little grimey from laying in bed all day yesterday and you know you should jump in but the amount of effort it's taking just to convince yourself to get in is exhausting. Fighting the numbness and urge to climb back into bed, you shut the bathroom lights off to bring you some comfort and get into the shower. The hot water sooths you as it runs over your body. A fleeting moment of relaxation is stolen when the numbness breaks, flooding you with heartbreak once more. Grateful the running water seems to drown out your sobs, you slide down the shower wall and sit on the floor as the water pours over you, letting out the sadness you've been keeping in. After some time you feel like you've run out of tears to cry. You take a deep breath and stand up and make your way out of the shower. Once you're dried off you put on a clean pair of pajamas and once again climb back into bed.

The next few days go the same way, you wake up with the breakfast tray next to you, you eat a few bites of the most simple item on the tray and roll back over. You're either asleep, or pretend to be, when the maids come in and switch out each barely touched tray of food with the next meal. Like the meals prior, you take a few small bites and give up. The numbness in your chest only grows, making its way down to your stomach where it steals most of the little appetite you have left. You feel it spread through your limbs, making it almost impossible to pull yourself out of bed for the most simple tasks. Each night the numbness falls away allowing the desperation and heartbreak to eat away at you. You're grateful you're not crying yourself to sleep anymore, but you've cried so much the last few days you're probably too dehydrated to produce any more tears.

Your absence doesn't go unnoticed by the girls or Alcina when you continue to not show up for each meal. After the first day Alcina made sure each meal was brought up to you to at least try and get you to eat. Every time a tray was taken away she noted how little you've eaten and her concern for you only grew.

The girls keep coming into your room and trying to talk to you, it breaks your heart to act so cold towards them but there isn't a ounce of you that wants to talk to anyone. After another visit you pull yourself out of bed and lock the door hoping it will keep them out and you crawl back into bed.

Some time goes by and you hear the door handle jiggle, you hold your breath for a moment and release it when it stops and you hear footsteps retreating. Glancing over at the clock you realize it's just passed dinner time and it was probably a maid bringing you your meal.

Alcina makes her way towards her study after dinner, she's barely gotten any work done the last week, too distracted and distraught. She was hoping to talk to you when you came out of your room but she's concerned you may never leave. Deep in thought she passes Zina with your dinner tray, heading back towards the kitchen.

"Zina why was that not brought to y/n's chambers?"

"Good evening my Lady. Her door was locked, I was just on my way to retrieve my spare key."

"Why do you not carry it on you?"

"Will all due respect my Lady, if I carried every spare key you've given me on my person it would take me twice as long to complete my tasks I'd be so weighed down." She says with a smile.

Alcina lightly chuckles.

"I suppose that's fair. I'll take the tray to her, I have a set of spare keys in my chambers. No need for you to make your way all the way down to the kitchen and back up."

"It's no trouble my Lady-"

"I insist."

"Of course."

Zina hands the tray to Alcina, what Zina needed two hands to hold Alcina can easily carry it with one of hers.

"Have a good evening my Lady." Zina says with a small bow.

"Good night Zina."

Alcina goes to her chambers and gets her set of spare keys and makes her way to your door. She takes a deep breath before placing the key into the keyhole and unlocking the door. After another breath she opens the door and steps through the threshold.

As you lay in bed you can hear someone fiddling with the doorknob and you her a small "click" as the door unlocks. A moment later the door opens and you're enveloped by the scent of Alcina's perfume. You never thought a scent could invoke such strong emotions but as soon as you smell her perfume your heart feels like its breaking all over again. You miss the scent, you miss how the scent was at its strongest when your head was curled into her neck, how safe you felt in her arms, the way her fingers ran through your hair, how her soft, cool lips gave you so much warmth when you felt them on your skin. Truthfully, you miss her, but your heart is still too broken, too hurt to do anything about it. You hoped that she just happened to be passing by when the maid opened the door but you hear her heels on the floor, slowly stepping towards you and you see her shadow cast across the bed. If your back wasn't turned you don't think you would be able to stop yourself from staring at her.

Alcina walks into your room and can immediately hear your heartbeat increase, it brings her some comfort to know you knew it was her entering your room right away. She takes a few steps forward and stands there for a moment, hoping you'll turn towards her.

The tears begin to build in your eyes and you try your hardest to hold onto them until she leaves. Part of you so desperately wants her to scoop you up into her arms and hold you and the other part of you wishes she'll walk away and leave you alone forever.

Alcina hears your heartbeat increase. She picks up the lunch tray and realizes you didn't even touch it. Replacing it with the dinner tray she looks over at you again. She reaches out to touch you and goes to speak but stops herself, slowly dropping her hand. Releasing a shaky exhale she turns to leave.

You hear Alcina pick up the lunch tray and replace it with the dinner tray. She sounds like she's about to speak as you hear her shift but she stops herself. The lump in your throat grows so large it's nearly choking you when you hear her release the shaking breath she was holding back. The sound of her footsteps get further away as she heads back towards the door; you hear her open the door and the sound of a slight shift, knowing she turned around to look at you once more. Holding onto your sobs for dear life one manages to escape a second before the door clicks shut. Once you hear the click the floodgates open and you cry, you cry harder than you have the last couple of days. Angry, hurt, heartbroken, you want to hate her. There might be a part of you that does, but you also miss her. Part of you wants to hear her side, let her explain why she did what she did, another part of you doesn't want to hear it.

Right before she ducks out of the room Alcina turns to look at you again, she can hear your heart pounding. She ducks out of the door and right before it clicks shut she hears a sob escape from you, the sound crushes her. After she closes the door she hears you begin to cry again, harder than you have in a few days. With a pain in her chest Alcina leans against the wall and slowly slides down until she's sitting on the floor, placing the tray next to her. She brings her knees to her chest and tears fill her eyes. As she wipes away a tear that fell she hears a noise and looks down the hall, a maid had just come out of one of the rooms. Realizing the noise was a small gasp, the maid was not expecting to see Alcina, no less sitting on the floor in this state. Freezing for a moment, the maid doesn't know what to do.

"Go on." Alcina says, nodding in the direction the maid was heading.

The maid quickly makes her way past Alcina.

"Take this to the kitchen please." Alcina says, picking up the tray and handing it to the maid.

"Of course my Lady." The maid quietly says.

Alcina turns so her hat is covering most of her face but she's able to catch a glimpse of the maids face. Along with the slight look of fear, the maid gives Alcina an empathetic look as she takes the tray and walks away.

Once the maid is out of view Alcina leans her head back against the wall and looks up, trying to blink away her tears.

"How do I fix this?" She says quietly to herself.