#oh also i don't have any tattoos but i can only assume if someone showed up with zero ideas the artist would be like gtfo

[imreallyloveleee]

“Jughead?”

At the sound of his name, Jughead shoves his phone into his back pocket, looks up, and freezes. 

The woman standing in the doorway — with a bouncy blonde ponytail, collared sweater, and the greenest eyes he’s ever seen — is not what he’d envisioned when he scheduled a consultation with a tattoo cover-up specialist. 

“Jughead Jones?” she repeats, sounding slightly unsure this time. 

“Yeah, no, that’s me.” He clears his throat as he rises to his feet, and she smiles.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Betty.” With a wave of her hand, she leads him into a small room at the back of the shop, gesturing towards the black tattoo chair in the corner for him to take a seat. “And you’re looking to cover up a back tattoo, is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Great.” Betty blinks at him for a moment, then asks, “So can I see it?”

“Right. Yeah, of course.” With a slight shake of his head, Jughead pulls his t-shirt over his head, taking care to ensure his gray beanie doesn’t come off with it. 

He twists around so she can see the tattoo in question, a name spelled out in black script across his left shoulder: Jessica.

“Okay,” Betty says after a brief pause. “So this is either going to be fairly easy or really hard, depending on what you want.”

Jughead cranes his head over his shoulder to see her, and immediately regrets it. From a distance, she was distractingly pretty; up close, she’s dazzling. 

Turning back towards the wall, he says, “Easy, please.”

“Oh — so you don’t have a design in mind?”

He glances at her again. “Not really. Was I supposed to?” 

“Well, usually, but — we can work together on something. That actually might make it easier. Some people come in with, like, a big black Celtic knot on their chest and think I can magically turn it into a field of yellow daisies.” 

Betty smiles again, and Jughead feels his insides turn to goo. 

Goddammit.

He’s here to erase the final vestiges of his latest romantic entanglement — not knot himself up in a new one. Especially not with the woman doing the erasing, for that matter. 

“Of course, you could also go the laser removal route, if there’s nothing you’re excited to replace it with,” she continues, oblivious to the fact that she’s utterly charming him with nothing more than what is probably her standard spiel for new clients. “But since it’s black, you’re probably looking at at least ten to twelve sessions, and there still might be kind of a smudge left there at the end.”

Jughead had in fact looked into laser removal, and come to the similar conclusion that driving over an hour back and forth to the dermatology clinic in Greendale a dozen times was an exorbitantly long amount of time to spend undoing a decision that he’d made in roughly ten seconds. Besides, spending more time around Betty hardly seems like a chore.

“I’m sure we’ll come up with something I’m excited about.” 

Betty leaves the room, returning with an armful of books and binders filled with design ideas. “See if anything in these inspires you, and I’ll tell you if it’s doable,” she explains.

To his surprise, rather than leaving Jughead alone to peruse the artwork, she settles back into the chair opposite him and begins to flip idly through one of the books herself. “Feel free to tell me if I’m being too nosy,” she says lightly, “but sometimes it’s helpful with creating a new design if I know the story behind the old one.” 

Jughead cringes — he’d figured this was coming. “There’s not much of a story,” he admits. “My now-ex-girlfriend and I did shrooms on a weekend trip to the city and she somehow convinced me to get her name tattooed across my back while I was tripping balls.”

Betty clucks her tongue in disapproval. “A decent artist wouldn’t tattoo a guy who shows up tripping balls.”

“A decent artist wouldn’t get the phone number of the girlfriend whose name a guy was getting tattooed across his back,” he replies. “And a decent girlfriend wouldn’t text him for a booty call literally the next day. But that’s why she’s an ex-girlfriend, not a decent girlfriend.”

Betty snorts, immediately followed by a soft gasp as she claps her hand across her mouth. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny.”

Jughead grins as he flips to the next page in his book. “No, it is. And it was months ago, I’m over it. You’re welcome to viciously mock me for my poor decision-making skills. Everyone else in my life already has.” Chief among them being his sister, JB, but even his best friend Archie — who himself harbored a laundry list of embarrassing romantic mishaps — had got in a few good digs. 

“I have one rule: I don’t make fun of my clients,” Betty insists, though the slant of her mouth suggests otherwise. “But maybe it’ll make you feel better to know that you’re not alone.” 

“Honestly, it makes me feel like a cliche.” 

“Well, everyone deserves a second chance.” 

Something about the way she says it draws his gaze back to her face, but her own eyes are trained down on the pages in her lap. Jughead feels a sudden, desperate urge to know more about her. 

“Feel free to tell me if I’m being too nosy,” he begins slowly. “But most tattoo artists I’ve met are pretty much covered in tattoos themselves.” 

A faint pink flush rises on Betty’s cheeks as she meets his questioning gaze. “How do you know I’m not?”

It’s a fair point. The only bare skin she has on display is that of her hands, her neck, and her face. 

But the mere suggestion of more — the thought of peeling away her clothes to find the warm, smooth, inked up skin beneath — is too much for him to handle right now.

With a sly twist to her lips, Betty holds one arm out towards him, pushing back the sleeve of her sweater to reveal the underside of her wrist. What looks like the curled end of a dragon’s tail peeks out from the edge. 

“My parents strongly disapprove, so I don’t get inked anywhere that I can’t cover up with my clothes. It’s silly, but makes visits home a lot easier to bear.” She shrugs. “And it’s cold out today.” 

Jughead swallows. “That’s a shame. Just that little bit of it looks pretty cool.”

“Maybe I’ll let you see the whole thing when you come back for your next appointment.” 

Betty holds his gaze for a beat. Then — to his horror — she bursts into laughter.

She presses her palms to her cheeks, which have grown bright red. “I’m so sorry. I’m not normally this…I didn’t mean for that to sound like…god, you must think I’m so unprofessional.”

“No, no. It’s okay.” Jughead laughs, too, certain his own red-hot face matches hers. “I — well, I’d like that.” He closes the book in his lap, leaning slightly forward. “Maybe we could keep working on a design over drinks tonight?”

Betty presses her lips together, her nose scrunching up adorably. “I actually have two rules. I also don’t date my clients.” 

Jughead shoots her a crooked smile. “Then I guess I’ll have to go with the laser removal, after all.” 

[captain-mj]

So, Captain, since you wont tell us why so many people keep leaving your place with bones, how about you tell us about how the 141 spied on Price and Graves on their first date because they dont trust Graves 🧐🕵

Listen, i've told ya once, i've told ya twice, i ain't telling ya again. I don't know about the bones

Soap heard about the date and knew what must be done.

"We have to spy on them." He announced.

Gaz nodded. "Oh, absolutely. What if Graves tries to do something to Price? I don't even get why he agreed to go on the stupid date.”

Ghost, who knew a little more than he was letting on, nodded. "I'm always up for spying."

Soap planned it out, treating it like any other mission. “Operation: Heartbreakers. Our objective: Protect Price from Graves if he tries anything. Secondary objective: Gather information.”

Ghost hummed. "Is all of this really necessary?

"Yes. Ghost, you'll be doing what you do best and blending in. Hiding in the shadows. Gaz has already hacked their phones, brilliantly done by the way, and got their plans. Simple date. Restaurant first and then a movie. Nothing too big. Ghost will be watching in the restaurant and ill be in the movie theater.”

“And why do i have to be in the restaurant?”

“Easy. It’s more difficult to go stealth there. Price chose a rather dim one so it’ll be easy for you to blend in.”

"Dim?" Ghost asked.

"Apparently its mostly candlelit." Gaz shuddered. "Its rather romantic."

"Stupidly romantic for a traitor." Soap nodded. "Gaz, you'll be on the headset. Unfortunately, I was not able to scrounge up cameras but I assumed we could relay the information to each other. If Graves is planning to do anything, we can rendezvous quickly." He nodded and straightened up. "Everyone understand your assignments?"

Gaz nodded. "Mission accepted, Soap."

"Mission accepted." Ghost echoed. What the hell. It would be fun.

Ghost put his headset in and relaxed at the restaurant. He sat opposite of them and far enough away he wouldn't be visible. Instead of his skull mask, he wore a simple back medical one, something common in the area. His hood stayed over his head.

"What are they doing?" Gaz asked, currently at base where they would be coming back to.

"Talking."

"About what?" Soap asked, already in position in the theater.

"I don't know. I'm not close enough."

"Can you get closer?"

"No, Sergeants, I cannot. Now can both of you shut up." Ghost watched them. "Graves just touched his hand."

"Whore."

Ghost laughed softly. "Uh... I think he's tracing the lines in his palm? Oh, Price has a couple of scars on his hand, I think he's touching those."

"Price has scars on his hand?"

"Yeah. Someone stabbed a knife through it once. Left hand so it didn't affect his aim."

"Huh. Never noticed."

"You two should pay more attention then." Ghost watched them talk for a while, only making comments when something interesting happened like Price laughed or when Graves pulled up his sleeve to show the tattoos up and down his arm. Ghost couldn't quite make out what they were from here.

"They seem to be having a good time."

Soap hummed. "Stay on guard. Just in case."

Ghost shook his head and they started to leave. "They are on the move." Price paid for their food.

"Prepare yourself gentleman." Gaz spoke up. "Ghost, make sure to make a quick escape."

Ghost didn't try very hard honestly. They weren't on guard so neither noticed him trailing after him. He watched them buy tickets, noting that Graves paid for them and also got them drinks.

"They seem to be going dutch on the bills." Ghost noted. "Is it better or worse?"

Soap responded quickly. "Slightly better. Price isn't being bribed or taken advantage of it seems."

Ghost hummed. "What movie are they watching?"

"Some pretentious horror movie."

"Which one?"

"I don't know."

Gaz thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I'm coming in. I refuse to sit out here for two hours bored."

Ghost bought two tickets and handed one of them to Gaz when he got there, walking in with him. They sat on either side of Soap who looked a bit upset his plan was being interrupted. The three of them were four rows behind Price and Graves.

Price put his arms around Graves and Graves leaned into him. They were talking quietly during the commercials.

"They're... kinda cute." Gaz said softly.

Soap frowned. "A little."

Ghost hummed. "Maybe Price will be good for Graves. And vice versa."

"How could Graves possibly good for Price?"

"Makes him happy. He hasn't dated in a while."

Gaz shushed them. "Movie is starting."

They all mostly watched the movie, sparing glances at the two lovebirds. Price leaned in and said something against Graves's ears, hand on the back of his neck. Graves leaned into him, putting his head on Price's shoulder. They were snuggled up closer to each other and Soap hummed.

"You think Price is copping a feel?"

"Shut your dirty fucking mouth." Gaz hissed at him.

"Just saying." Soap muttered.

The movie eventually ended and they quickly left so Price and Graves wouldn't notice them. They waited outside and watched them start to walk.

Price and Graves held hands, their joined hands swinging between them. They were both laughed, bumping into each other. Graves had a small limp due to the tank explosion so he ended up bumbling into Price a few times, looking embarrassed. Price ended up putting his arm around him instead, hand on his hip. Graves blushed brightly and they all heard him.

"What a gentleman, Captain." His southern accent was definitely being played up, he also sounded so flustered.

"Only for you, Commander." Price purred.

Gaz and Soap made a face. Ghost also pulled a face but no one could see it.

"So he hasn't done anything yet." Soap relented. "But I was just worried! Graves is still a bad guy."

They ended up looking around a corner as Price and Graves walked to their hallway.

"Should I walk you to your room or do you think you can find it?" Price smiled at him, the two of them standing right outside his door.

Graves smiled and flirted back. "I think I could find it, though your room definitely seems better right now."

Gaz and Soap gasped. Silently, but still.

Graves leaned up and gave Price a goodnight kiss. "So, a second date?" He sounded ridiculously hopeful, batting his eyelashes.

Ghost went to talk but Price interrupted by kissing Graves, pulling him closer by his belt loops. Price put his hand on his lower back and pulled him flush to his chest. "Stay the night?"

Graves quickly went in Price's room. Price turned directly to them and gave them a thumbs down before following him.

"That somehow hurt worse than if he yelled at us." Soap grumbled.

Gaz looked up at Ghost. "Lieutenant... Is Price a whore?"

"I didn't want to have to tell you guys the truth about him... But yeah. A little." Ghost put his hand on Gaz's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

[partywithoutsmiling]

So wait if Branch is actually Barb's cousin... do the two ever find out about each other being related? How would they each react? Barb, I bet, would be absolutely pissed but also kinda, secretly also glad to have another member of the family since she is very family oriented herself if the frankly adorable dynamic she has with her dad is to believed. Then raging mad when she learns about how Branch came to be alone because, bro, family don't do that shit.

Thorn I can imagine being extremely conflicted since, on one hand, he now has confirmation that Thorn is dead and has been for over 20 years, but also he finally gets to meet one of his nephews for the first time. And while the kid is somewhat soft for Rock Troll tastes, he isn't a total wimp either and has actually made quite a good life for himself.

Branch, I think, would be mainly confused? Like at some point in his travels, he probably figured out he was mixed genre, and he picks up a bunch of other little quirks from every genre he travels through as well. He's complicated and doesn't just fit into one genre anymore, a simple wamderer who just travels around seeing the world and learning what is there to be learned. Then suddenly, he's royalty.

Oh boy pff, okay, from the top:

Do they ever find out they are related? In Moonlit AU (as that one follows canon basically) and in Rock Beast AU, yes- they do find out they are related. In my headcanon, Barb had always knew that her uncle Thorn had a family somewhere and even children (as Thrash alluded that much to her), but it never occured to her that her Aunt and cousins would be Pop. She always just assumed he found someone from the far reaches of the territory, not that he found someone outside their Kingdom altogether. The reason why she realizes they are related is because of the skull tattoo that appears on Branch's chest after he got hit with the Power Chord, as I headcanon that tattoo appears only to those of royal Rock blood. In Moonlit AU, since the events are basically almost exact like in the movies, she approaches Branch after everything is done and over and things calm down to talk about it (as in this case, the skull tattoo would stay even after he returns to normal), and they have a serious talk about family. At this point, she is trying not to let her biases impact her opinions- but also, she is respecting the law of her people, in that the oldest always have greater right to the throne, and Branch is clearly the oldest. (He kinda blows her mind when he blurts out he is not the oldest) In Rock Beast AU, she finds out about their relation in much the same way, by the skull tattoo, but since it is right after the disastrous concert and Branch had just in his bestial rage injured at least ten trolls, she is not exactly in the mood to entertain their relation at all, because the idea of Branch being her cousin and her accidentally harming him/imprisoning him doesn't sit well with her. So better she just pretends otherwise.

(I dabbled a bit into this topic in my oneshot Cut Rattler on AO3, if you are curious enough to read it)

In Wanderer AU, it's trickier. Since Branch is sporting the Strings in his hair, the Power Chord has no effect on him, so his 'mark' never awakens. Barb haven't actually seen her uncle at all except in bad photos, so any family connection of their hinges on whatever Branch's brothers remember; JD and perhaps Floyd are the only ones who, thanks to their own traveling, starts to suspect there might have been more to their Father than him just being a flighty Rock Troll.

Would Barb be pissed or glad? Definitelly both pff, as mentioned above. Her anger would have many sources; the fact she was never supposed to be Queen- and she had been aware of it- yet was forced to take up the mantle, because the real Heir never showed up. So part of her sees it as her cousin's shirking his duties to the Rock Troll Tribe, but another is irritated that he never knew he was doing so. (And she is assuming Branch is the only Heir, while we know otherwise) She is definitelly glad to have more family. I haven't mentioned this headcanon anywhere, but Thorn's commited relationship to Mulberry has been bit of an oddity in the Rock Troll culture, where the norm is to be more polyamorous; like, Thorn and Thrash are brothers only through their father, at the time King Belabor, but had different mothers. There is no concept of a Royal Spouse or Consort, and once they were old enough, Belabor took over in raising them, so they could be proper Rock Royals.

It was actually rarity by itself there were more than one Heir, as the Rock Royals weren't in habit of having more than just one child; both Thorn and Thrash were hatched just few months apart though, as they have been conceived roughly around the same time, so for a while it has been unsure which one would be the Heir. (The goal was to limit bloodline ties to as little as possible, so the Heir would be focused on making close relationships with other trolls) Thrash followed that tradition, and once Barb was hatched, that was it really (She has only vague memories of her mother, as any relationship Thrash had with her was mostly friends with benefits and the Troll didn't want to be saddled with a child to begin with)

Barb definitelly feels lonely in her role, especially with the silent judgment from her subjects around her, and because her Dad is no longer all there. Growing up, she sort of daydreamed her Uncle coming back one day and their family growing up in numbers, because she did envy some of her friends' families, where they had multitude of siblings each.

She would be very pissed that Branch got abandoned as a baby, yes- and especially when she realizes that Floyd lived most of his life in her Kingdom without her being aware of him all. Honestly, for a long time, Branch would be the only one not on her shitlist.

And what about Thrash? Well, he wouldn't be as conflicted as you would imagine, not about the fact that Branch is half Pop. In the moments of lucidity, he would be grieving; yes, he suspected his brother was dead, but it was a different matter altogether to have it confirmed. He'd also grieve for the way the Pop Trolls ended up- it hardly takes a genius to realize what had happened when they talk about deadly giants (and unknown to Barb's generation, there had been some stragglers who were banished from Bergen town that had wandered into their territory and had to be dealt with) He had suspected that Thorn found a mate in a Pop Troll, but over the years said nothing to Barb, even if she asked about it. He wonders if things would have gone differently, if he told her about it from the beginning- if she wouldn't have grow up as prejudiced. Being able to interact with Branch, he actually sees lots of Thorn in him, and that fills him with longing. He is glad to have meet him- though as I said, his moments of lucidity are few and far between, so there is not really that many moments where they can bond.

And then there is Branch. In both Rock Beast AU and Moonlit AU, I dont think he really wants to entertain the possibility of being a mixed genre troll; he always believed that his physical differences are from him growing up grey and roughing it in the wild, outside the comforts of the Pop Village. It takes a lot of effort for Barb to convince him that he is not just Pop- especially as the Branch from these AUs would be afraid to be different. After all, he had already spent chunk of his life being ostracized for his differences, he doesn't want to feel like an outsider again. In Wanderer AU, he would be far more open to the idea. Following his departure, he would be definitelly more curious, especially when he had been mistaken for a Rock Troll far easily than for Pop, and getting closer and closer to the Rock Territory and meeting anyone with even sliver of a resemblance- and most importanly given time to think about it- he can admit that that it is most likely the truth. It makes him wonder if that's why JD had been so obsessed with Perfection, their looks and roles; it makes him wonder about lot of things he had never been privy to, in accord to him being either a baby or not born yet. He remembers his first year of greyness, where he had been treated like a lepper- remembers the intolerance that ran rampart through the Troll Tree, and yet know it was mild at best. How intolerant the Pop Trolls must have been back in the day, before the Bergens, before they could afford to be exclusive? So in Wanderer AU, he is more accepting of him being half rock, but as I said it would take a while for him to learn he was actually royalty.

[bteezxyewriter12]

Just the Way You Are/ 1

Pairing- Seonghwa x Named Reader

Word count- 3.6k

Includes- Seonghwa is amazing at oral, pussy eating, cum swallowing, dirty talk, squirting, multiple orgasm

Tag List- @mingtina @jaxxmine @yeosayang @delightfulmoonbanana @tannie13 @y00nzin0 @marsstarxhwa @yeosxxx @seokwoosmole @jjongsbebe @wisejudgedragonhairdo @meowmeowminnie @woo-stars @borntowalkaway @usagionthered @san-realblkwife @seonghwasstar @jejeyeppeo @aichanvlog @vemarkciraptor @soulseobi05

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J POV

"Joong what do I do?", I whine

"Get laid", he answers

I scoff, "No shit. I need someone to lay me though"

"Not me"

"No shit not you!"

He has a girlfriend

And as my ex I wouldn't do it anyway

I don't need that mess

We have a great friendship after we decided we were better off friends than a couple

His girlfriend Hyeon is nice and a good fit for him

She knows we hang out a lot

He made sure that she accepted me before they started dating her

I do the same for him

He's the closest that I have to a best friend and I'm not messing up the good thing we have going on

"So ask Seonghwa to eat you out", he shrugs

I sit up and stare at him

"Seonghwa? As in your roommate?"

He rolls his eyes, "Do you know another Seonghwa?"

I glare at him, "Shut up"

He sighs dramatically, "Yes my roommate Seonghwa"

"But he's a total dork!"

Park, Seonghwa is a lit professor at my college

Don't ask me how he got the job as a professor at 25 bevause I don't know

Joong and I are 25 too

Joong has a good gig going with his heavy metal band

They're popular and constantly have shows

Me on the other hand, I'm still in school and I still have no idea what I want to do

So Seonghwa is the only one out of us three that has his life out together

But he is so nerdy and dorky

He constantly wears button downs, slacks, fancy shoes, sometimes ties, sometimes sweater vests

His black hair always parted at the side

No variation

And he always wears glasses

Some pairs are dorky, some are nice but the whole outfit screams dork, nerd, geek... loser

He can be attractive but he's so.... boring

The complete opposite of Hongjoong who has two lip rings, an eyebrow ring and a nose ring as well as tattoos galore

How these two met and became best friends is beyond me

They can't get anymore different

Hongjoong is more my type although I don't dress like him either

I'm all about comfort

Sweatpants, leggings, t shirts, sneakers are my daily go to

I do have some tattoos but not like Hongjoong

Hongjoong is a ladies man

But Seonghwa......

There's no way he gets that many girls

"A dork who knows how to eat cunt apparently"

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"Well when every girl he brings home screams, "Seonghwa fuck you're tongue is amazing", I'm assuming he's really good at it"

There's no way

"Wait...girls?"

I just realized Hongjoong said girls, plural

Not only does Seonghwa not seem the type to get loads of girls, he also doesn't seem the type to do one night stands or fuck around

"Yes girls", Hongjoong rolls his eyes, "Contrary to what you think, lots of girls throw themselves at him. Especially his students"

My mouth drops in shock

I've known Seonghwa for years, as an acquaintance of course, but I never thought to throw myself at him

"Oh my god"

"Yeah. He gets lots of pussy. But he never stays with them. One and done, maybe twice if they're lucky. And he's very selective"

"Why?"

This is so interesting

I've never thought about Seonghwa any other way except Hongjoong's nerdy shy roommate

Hongjoong shrugs, "He just says he hasn't found the right girl yet that makes him want to commit to her"

Well seeing as he gets a lot of ass, I doubt he's inclined to look for a girlfriend when he can have girl after girl

"These girls...they don't scream about his dick?"

"Sometimes. But a lot of the time he doesn't fuck them. The girl has to be really special for him to fuck"

That is so weird

How can he eat out a girl and not get anything back?

Is it like a power trip for him?

Does he like knowing that he's the reason someone is coming?

"So should I call him here so you can ask him?", Hongjoong asks, taking me out of my thoughts

Then what he said resisters

"Are you fucking insane? I'm not asking him to do that"

"But if he offered would you?"

I bite my lip thinking

Before I'd say no but now that I know his reputation then fuck yes

"I'll take that silence as a yes"

I just glare at him while he smirks

"Seonghwa!", he yells

"Joong, you jerk!", I gape

"Hey, I'm getting you laid remember....well sort of", he says then continues to scream for Seonghwa

"He's in the shower you idiot"

He was when I got here

"No he's not. He's out. Water's not running"

"C'mon Seonghwa! Come here!"

"What?", a voice that sounds nothing like Seonghwa growls

Raising my eyes to the hallway, Seonghwa steps into the living room, glaring at Hongjoong

And holy fuck

He's smoking hot

It's just the wet hair slicked back off his forehead, the black Tshirt, the black sweatpants...these clothes I've never seen him in before...hot damn

His eyes find mine and his whole demeanor changes to the dorky shy man I know

"Oh hi Jo. I didn't know you were here"

"Uh yeah", I say, not able to tear my gaze from him

"So Jo had a problem", Hongjoong starts

That gets my attention

"Shut the fuck up Joong", I warn, lowly

"Uh ok", Seonghwa says

"That you can help"

"I will fucking murder you", I threaten

"How?", Seonghwa asks

"By eating her out"

"Hongjoong!", I shriek

"I uh don't understand", Seonghwa says, his face red

"Easy. She's horny. Hasn't been laid in like two months"

I smack his arm, ready to gauge his eyes out

He scoffs at me then returns his attention to Seonghwa

"You are good at eating cunt. She needs to cum. Therefore you eating her out will help her"

"Oh my fucking god", I moan, mortified

I swear I wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole

I'd gladly jump in

"Ok", Seonghwa says, my mouth dropping to the floor

"You'll do it?", Hongjoong clarifies

"Yeah"

Hongjoong turns to me, "You're welcome"

"You are so fucking dead", I growl

"Uh huh sure. Just get up and go to his room with him"

Seonghwa stands there waiting for me

I give Hongjoong one more glare then I stand up and walk to Seonghwa

He avoids my gaze, turning around and I follow him

He opens his door and I walk in

I've never been in his room before

And it's immaculate

Shelves full of books on one of the walls, his desk and chair by the window with a laptop and notebooks probably full of his lectures

A dresser on one side, the closet next to it

One nightstand next to his big bed

The only thing a little messy is his bed

It's not made which to me isn't a big deal

I never understood the concept of making the bed when you're just gonna sleep in it again

He sits on the bed, apologizing that is not made

"Please Seonghwa, it's completely fine", I answer, sitting cautiously next to him

We don't look at each other, my eyes on the floor and awkward silence filling the room

"We don't have to if you are uncomfortable", he says

He's giving me an out and I should take it

"Do you really want to do this?", I ask instead, "Or are you just doing it because Joong asked you too?"

"I decided to say yes. I don't just do whatever Joong asks me to do. If I didn't want to I would have said no"

Ok well at least that's cleared up

"The question is do you want to? It seems like Joong decided upon himself to ask me on your behalf. And I know he asked in front of you which was a shitty move. It kinda gave you no way to back out when I said yes"

Thank god he saw the situation Hongjoong put us in

"If you don't want to it's fine. I'm not going to be mad or anything like that. It's your choice. I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't want to"

At least he's honest and his asking me to be honest is nice

I do have a few questions though

"Hongjoong told me about your reputation. That uh your tongue is....uh"

"Hongjoong is an idiot", he says under his breath, "But yeah, I'm good at it"

"Do you always do it to a girl you're hooking up with?"

"Most of the time", he answers

"And you have sex after?"

"Not always"

That is still so weird especially now that he confirmed it

Normally if a guy goes down on a girl, they want sex or a blowie in return

"But why not?"

He shrugs, "It's not something I do to just get sex. I like doing it. I don't care if I get anything in return"

Ok he is fucking strange

"Why do you like it so much?"

He shrugs, "I like the way it feels on my tongue. I like how messy it is. The taste, the scent, the moans. Depending on the girl of course. I also like knowing I'm the reason why someone feels good, why they get off"

Huh

I was right about the power trip thing but I didn't think that he may just like it

Lots of guys do it to get something so it never entered my mind that he has no reason other than he enjoys it

To each their own right?

"But....you're not scared to catch something?", I ask, thinking about STDs now

Shit I don't even know if he has any

I got tested after the last guy I fucked and I'm negative

But I would be worried if I blew as many guys as girls he apparently eats out

He sighs, "Did Hongjoong make me out to be a man whore or something?"

"He said you get a lot of girls"

Seonghwa snorts, "Yes I get a lot thrown at me. I don't eat or fuck them all. I'm not with girls everyday. Not every week. It's more like one every four to five months. I always get tested after. I'm clean if you want to know. I tested two months ago and haven't been with anyone since"

"I uh...I'm clean too. For months because like Hongjoong implied I can't get laid"

"Look Jo, I don't believe that. Like I said before, Hongjoong is an idiot. As I'm sure you know"

I laugh, nodding

I do know

Hongjoong's so oblivious sometimes then so observative the next

"So I guess it's up to you what you want to do", he says

I look over at him and at his pretty lips

And my mind immediately goes to those lips sucking on my clit, his tongue pleasuring me until I cum

And that seals it

"I want to"

He nods, "Ok"

I sit there frozen for a minute until he asks, "Can you lay down"

Shit, right

"Uh yeah"

As I lay down on his bed, he reaches to his face and takes off his glasses

And mother of God, is there no end to the surprises today?

First I find out Seonghwa can eat pussy like a god, then I see him in a casual outfit and now without glasses

He is fucking stunning

Those cheekbones, those deep brown eyes

Fuck

"You don't need your glasses?", I say like an idiot

He shakes his head, "I can see up close. It's seeing far that gives me a problem"

"Oh", I say

I watch him kneel down on the floor and my heart beats into overdrive

I never thought I'd ever see Seonghwa of all people in this position

He places his hands on my clothed thighs, making me jump

"Relax ok? It won't feel good if you don't relax"

I nod, "Ok"

I try to relax my body as his hands slowly move up my legs, squeezing gently

It does feel good

Almost like he's massaging me

His fingers slip into the waistband of my sweatpants, slowly pulling them down

I lift myself slightly so he can get them down

He pulls my sneakers off, getting the pants completely off

I stare at the ceiling feeling so exposed

"I didn't know you had this", he says, his fingers running along my thigh tattoo

I mean yeah there isn't a reason why he should know about it

He hasn't seen my body

"It's pretty", he says, tracing the lines, making my skin shiver

I'm shocked when his lips press kisses to my tattoo, kissing along it and further down

He opens my legs and I feel his lips press against my pussy, kissing me through the fabric of my panties

"You're so wet already", he says softly, making me close my eyes in embarrassment and arousal

Giving me another kiss, he continues, "You smell so fucking good"

"Fuck", I whimper, shivers running up and down my spine

I feel the band of my panties sliding down, the air cool on my pussy when he finally pulls them off

He widens my legs more and I can't help but look at him look at my cunt

"So pretty", he says, kissing me without a barrier now and it sends shockwaves up my body, "So small. So pink"

He gives me kiss after kiss all over, my pussy lips, between them, my clit

And it feels so good

I can't believe this is Seonghwa doing this

Suddenly I feel the flat of his tongue on me, licking up slowly, making sure I feel all of it

"Oh my god", I cry, pleasure coming so fast it's surprising

He moves his tongue at a steady pace, up and down and it feels so goddamn good

I feel his fingers spread and hold me open, his tongue licking right at my slit then dragging all the way up my pussy finishing by flicking my clit

Over and over

"Fuck!", I moan, feeling myself getting wetter and wetter with every swipe of his tongue

Goddamn Hongjoong was right

Seonghwa is amazing with his tongue

He knows how to use all of his tongue- the flat of it, the tip, all making sure I feel all of his tongue

And it's fucking amazing

And I'm so horny I'm ready to cum embarrassingly fast

"Ssss... Seonghwa....", I call, "I'm..I'm..gonna..."

"Go ahead", he tells me, his tongue going right back on me, licking and swirling

"Oh fuck!", I yell, massive pleasure taking over me, my fingers gripping his sheets so fucking hard

I can't...it's so much pleasure and so good

His tongue doesn't stop, licking me through my orgasm

My god he goes all in

No wonder all the girls scream and rave about his tongue

"You taste so fucking good, it's fucking ridiculous", he moans softly

"Fuck are you serious?", I pant

"Dead serious. Your cum is the best I ever tasted. You're pussy is the best I've ever eaten"

"Oh my fucking god", I moan, his words shocking the fuck out of me

There's no way he's serious

I can't be the best

Right?

All thoughts leave my mind when his tongue rolls over my clit

"Seonghwa, oh shit", I moan, more pleasure hitting me hard

His tongue moves over my clit so fast, my body shaking from the bliss

Without thinking, I plunge my hand in his black hair, tugging hard on it as he keeps going

His hands squeeze my thighs, keeping my legs open for him

His mouth wraps around my throbbing clit and the second he sucks, my body is thrown into pleasure I have never felt before

Seriously, never felt this before and fuck I don't want it to stop

He increases his speed with each suck until he's going hard and fast

"Seonghwa fuck", I moan, the bliss so intensely crashing over me

"Fuck you're clit is throbbing so hard", he murmurs between sucks, "Begging me to suck it"

"Oh god"

Fuck I never knew I'd like to hear a guy talk while I was being pleasured

But Seonghwa and his voice is turning me on even more

"Feels so good against my lips, so good in my mouth", he says, "Best clit I ever sucked on"

"Seonghwa", I whine

"Mmm baby, yell my name", he moans, continuing to suck hard

Jesus Christ he's so hot

How did I not know he's so hot?

My back arches off the bed as I get closer and closer, my hand pulling the strands of his hair hard

He doesn't stop and I feel myself snap

"Seonghwa! Oh my fucking god Seonghwa!", I shout, coming hard, my mind blanking

He sucks me through it until I finish then his tongue moves to my hole, licking and moaning, "So fucking good"

His amazing tongue circles my slit over and over, as I lay in his bed, my thighs shaking

Suddenly his tongue plunges inside me and I scream from the pleasure

His tongue moves fast, fucking in and out of me, my pussy throbbing and clenching his tongue hard

"Fuck baby, keep throbbing on my tongue", he urges, his tongue plunging in as far as he can get it, wiggling around

Stars burst in my vision as I continually yell his name

"Fuck you're tongue Seonghwa! You're tongue is amazing", I yell, waves of pleasure crashing into my body over and over

How is he not tired?

How is his jaw not tired?

I don't know but fuck I'm glad he can still keep going

I'm so close again, whining his name over and over

"Yes, good girl. Fuck, cum on my tongue baby", he groans and it seems like that I needed because his tongue slides in and I explode

"Seonghwa!", I shout, holding his head against my cunt as I throb and cum all over his tongue

I hear him moaning as his tongue stays buried inside me

When it's over, I let go of him, hearing him swallow over and over

He pulls his tongue out, then asks, "One more"

I lift my head, looking at him and getting so turned on to see his face so wet with juice and my cum on it

His dark brown eyes look into mine, "Please. Just one more"

I can't say no to him and the thing is I don't want to

I should be completely overstimulated but I'm not

I want more

Running my fingers in his hair, he closes his eyes, biting his bottom lip

Fuck he's stunning

Completely stunning

"Ok"

He opens his eyes, lust blazing in them as he nods

His mouth wraps around my clit again, sucking over and over and Jesus Christ he looks so pretty in between my legs

As he goes at my clit hard, I feel his fingers slide inside my cunt

"Fuck", I shiver

His fingers move around, pressing everywhere until he presses on the right spot and I scream, getting wetter

He looks at me, letting go of my clit and smirks, "Got it"

I'm still getting over how completely sexy he looks when he smirks when his mouth goes back around my clit, sucking hard

And at the same time his fingers massage my spot, every so often pressing into it

"Oh god oh god", I repeat, my back arching, my hand pulling his hair, the other hand clenching his sheets so hard it's hurting my hand

The pleasure is taking over completely

I can't think, I can't feel anything but his mouth and fingers

His fingers press on my spot just as he sucks and I'm blinded by sheer ecstasy

"Seonghwa! Seonghwa!", I cry, tears falling down my face as unbelievable bliss hits me hard

"Fuck so pretty baby", he moans, pulling his fingers out, putting them on my clit and rubbing, "Keep squirting baby"

I feel his tongue against me again, by my hole and I'm barely registering that I'm squirting and if his mouth is by my pussy that means he's swallowing my squirt too

And that makes my brain implode

As the intense pleasure ebbs away, he slowly stops rubbing my clit, slowly pulling his mouth away

My body feels heavy and I feel like I can't breath but my head is blissfully empty

I feel fingers running through my hair, a voice softly calling my name

I open my eyes, Seonghwa's face in my vision

"Are you ok Jo?", he asks

I'm so much more than ok

But I don't think I can talk right now

I nod

"Was it too much?", he asks worriedly

I shake my head, "No. It was amazing. Perfect"

He smiles shyly and god it's stunning

"Do you need anything? Water? Food?"

I shake my head

"Ok. You can lay down as long as you want ok? There's no rush"

I nod, grateful that he's letting the feeling in my body come back before I have to leave

"I'm gonna go to the living room ok?"

"Wait", I ask

"Yeah?"

"Don't you want-"

He shakes his head, "No Jo. I didn't do it to get anything back. I did it because I wanted to, ok?"

I nod, still finding that completely strange

"You can take a nap if you want to", he says, "Just don't rush ok? If you need something, let me or Hongjoong know, ok?"

"Yeah. Thanks"

He moves to the foot of the bed, putting his blanket on me

He smiles softly again, then he leaves

And I'm amazed that he's letting me stay in his bed, instead of kicking me out like most guys

As I lay there, I hear footsteps pass by

I look to the door, seeing Hongjoong pass by

He doubles back, sticking his head in the room, smirking, "I told you"

"Oh fuck off", I say tiredly

He laughs and continues to wherever he's going

I close my eyes, planning on resting for a few minutes then I'm gonna get up and go

Hongjoong is going to see his girlfriend and I was going to go home and chill out

Just a few more minutes in this comfortable bed and I'm leaving

[nelyoslegalteam]

hello i'm here again! i saw your tags on the get to know your characters post and i'd love to hear you talk about murdoc!! (also gondolin campaign 😮 tell me more :DDD )

HIHIHIHIHI IM SO HAPPY YOU'RE IN MY INBOX THANK YOU FOR LOVING MY BOY YOU ARE A GIFT OF A PERSON ;w; i assume you don't mind if i answer these for murdoc then :0

What is the character’s go-to drink order? here's the thing: i think if murdoc is ordering, it's ale. just ale. murdoc is an alcohol snob, largely on account of being a hobbit AND specifically on account of his aunt being a brewer (and so therefore clearly HIS family's ale is the best), so it's an opportunity for him to be just a little bit showily snobbish and judgy and more knowledgeable about his choice of drink than the average patron, but it's not quite so personal to him as, say, tea would be. (murdoc never orders tea. from anywhere. he only drinks his own, or radagast's, or that of a few other trusted friends. tea is his craft. it's personal to him. he picks and dries and blends the herbs for his own brews. it's personal long before he even gets to brewing a cup, and there's meaning in just that act in and of itself already.) so, murdoc gets to be an alcohol snob in public, but it's a matter of showing off for fun. he'll scoff at ale from anywhere but his own inn, but he'll still order it and drink it. and enjoy it more than he puts on a show about.

What is their grooming routine? murdoc likes a long bath. murdoc likes to put a lot of effort into wrangling his hair in particular, when he has the time and effort in him for it. alone, at the inn, where he can rest and take breaks and manage things, shaving the back of his neck is very important to him (sensory comfort, and tied in a way to his sense of self). he doesn't like scents or anything of the sort, he just wants to feel... clean. put-together. both in the privacy and comfort of their respective homes, and while out on the road, letting ríros braid his hair for him becomes a very important part of murdoc's grooming routine. on a good day, it's a visible tie to someone he cares deeply for. on a bad day, it's accepting help with his sensory needs and energy levels, and allowing himself to be taken care of by someone he trusts.

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? oh, murdoc's cloak was ABSOLUTELY the most expensive singular thing he's ever purchased. it may not be real dragon scale, sure but. it's a fine fabric, and the faux scales are well crafted and gorgeous. it's luxurious and sturdy and him in every way. an item with presence. which, to the point, i do think murdoc is generally the sort of person who spends his disposable income on fine things to wear. having fun with and taking pride in his appearance is important to him, and he's financially comfortable enough for that bit of luxury.

Do they have any scars or tattoos? aside from the missing hand (extremely notable), and whatever assorted and unspecified scars he's picked up from adventuring? (which. he has. he's come close to dying before. he's got a few marks.) murdoc has a scar across his nose from some absolutely stupid shit he got up to as an utter hellion of a child. i think he probably fell and bashed his face open running to escape getting caught pulling a prank on farmer maggot or something like that. nothing angsty about it, just complete and utter childhood stupidity and rambunctiousness. something visible left on him from a time before he was overly concerned with responsibility, or duty of care, and entertaining his drive for adventure in much less consequential ways. (he’s also very freckled. i think it’s very adorable how much he freckles.)

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? the last time i know for certain that murdoc cried, was after facing irmo. maybe not immediately. maybe much later, on the road home, having spilled the story to his companions and having thoroughly exhausted himself from hanging onto it all. but i'm sure he did cry. from anger at what was done to him, to his dreams, by a power larger than him, without any say of his own in it all. from all his internalization of himself as a weapon finally breaking over, from hearing that perception of himself lovingly rebuffed by the people who care about him. from fully and completely admitting that he's afraid of the person he's made himself in the face of the horrors, but that he would've hated the person he would have been for ignoring them. from exhaustion. from having to question his sense of self yet again. from a lot of things, really. you don't get personally chosen by a god and come away from it quite the same.

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? oh murdoc is an eldest sibling and it shows. maybe not by actual sibling birth order, but he was adopted by his uncles and aunt as a baby and very much raised as their eldest child. he's got two rascals of younger cousins, raised alongside him, to look out for. they're practically younger siblings from an actual family dynamics standpoint. and besides, he's got all the Eldest Child of being the brandybuck family heir apparent put on him. where else would the responsibility complex and the duty of care complex and the possessiveness over what's his and, most importantly, go-to instinct of sassing the literal servants of sauron have come from? This Man Is An Eldest Child And He Can Do This All Day <3

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. none. Those Feet Are Bare. and hairy. he DOES meticulously wash and brush his foot hair though. but listen. he's a hobbit. he's not FROM a culture that does shoes, and the one (1) time in his life ever that he had to wear them, his only takeaway from the experience is that they are a sensory nightmare that he will not be subjecting himself to under ANY circumstances.

Describe the place where they sleep. ooohhhh i think both at home in the inn and also to the greatest extent on the road possible, murdoc does cozy. i think his (+ his partner's) room at the inn is covered in like. throw pillows. nice big comfy sleeping pillows. lots of soft blankets. it's all very warm and inviting and kinda maximalist in a plush sort of way. i do think he cares about aesthetics and all his pillows and blankets look nice together, but everything is selected with comfort in mind. it's homey. it's warm. he's a hobbit. it's probably not particularly neat, but it's sort of charming in the way where it looks like a space that's meant to be curled up in. he probably accidentally leaves a few stray tea mugs about and this is his worst living space habit, but it adds to the charm as long as he remembers to actually keep up on putting them away (which. he does. he's just on top of it enough to make sure he has clean mugs to actually use for tea, but this may be the only reason he remembers). i think even on the road he'll bring as many blankets as is reasonable to carry and do his utmost not only to make his sleeping space, but the whole camp's, as cozy and welcoming as possible with whatever he has.

What is their favorite holiday? ohh see i don't know if i do know enough about specific hobbitish holidays offhand for this, but in general i do think murdoc is a holidays kind of person. anything sort of extrovert-oriented, where he can feast and dance and get drunk and just be around people, is very much his sort of thing. when he was growing up in the shire, any occasion where gandalf showed up with fireworks was an immediate favorite. for least favorite... i don't know how he feels about new year's (yule, in the hobbitish calendar). i don't think he hates it but. i think he's someone who lives with a bit of a sense of loss over who he was, or might have been, before his dreams and irmo and everything, and i think nostalgia-oriented celebrations grate just slightly up against that.

What objects do they always carry around with them? tea. lots of it. kept in his pockets. (he smells like it. it’s nice.) usually a particular brew (the flavor profile of which i imagine to be something like london fog) that he made for himself, which is very personal to him. a locket with his partner's portrait in it. an ornately carved matchbox, always full of matches, ready to light an arrow or for whatever else he may use his fire for. additionally, on the road: a jar in which he cultivates a toxic fungus, used for coating his weapons in tough battles. a set of his favorite cooking knives. a flask or two of his family’s ale, primarily used in his cooking, as ornate and pretty as all else he owns. (i will also give him that he most always is wearing jewelry, particularly his ruby necklace and earring set. the necklace in particular is important - usually maedhros resides in ríros’ sword, but the necklace is an ideal secondary vessel on the occasions that maedhros does have to remain where murdoc is, and murdoc has selected these pieces in maedhros’ colors for a reason).

as this has gotten LONG i will not try to do them for my new beloved tyelperëkko antar JUST yet. BUT @jaz-the-bard is planning to run a campaign set in gondolin in the first age and i am VERY excited for the character i have made. i’ve given them the oathsworn background. they’re going to be a loyal follower of maeglin, once he exists, but for NOW they’re a devotee of turgon. this is going to go great for them and cause no problems at all (lying).

[slashingdisneypasta]

Ok I promise this is the last ask before I leave your inbox alone xD

I'm re-watching Cars, and I noticed the abundant amount of stickers that Chick Hicks has. I mean, not just on his body, but covering nearly every inch of... Everywhere! Bumbers, doors, even his windows!

So I'm not sure how it works in Nascar (I'm assuming they're in a Nascar race. Or a sport like it), but I think cars will have all those stickers from the companies that sponsor them. If that's the case, dayum. A lot of people want Chick to sponsor their brand XD (maybe that's how he got so popular despite being a jerk? Simply a matter of his face being on way too many brands to the point where you would know him even if you don't follow yhe sport?)

Also, for the living cars in Cars, I'm not entirely sure if stickers could represent tattoos, though maybe they do? Like more removable tattoos I mean. So maybe Chick Hicks is just car tattooed? (He totally did it for the attention if that's the case.)

I wonder if human Chick Hicks would get tattoed 🤔

Aghhhhhhhh I love Cars, I hope you enjoyed it! XD

I actually think Chick's sponsorship stickers are a very important design choice!! I may be wrong though, I don't follow racing 😅 So just take this theory with a grain of salt.

Cuz like, the way that sponsorships work is you get a famous, 'desirable' person who the people wanna emulate- show that they like/use your product, so that everyone else will wanna try it so they can be like them! This works because of a certain measure of loyalty I think. The more loyal a sponsee is to one *main* brand (Strip Weathers- Dinoco. Lightning McQueen- Rusteze), the more they're worth as a sponsee. If they have a whole buncha sponsors, it becomes clear that they're just wanting the cash... as in they don't actually care about the company or the product... like Chick; Who is less interested in actual racing and more the riches and fame that come with it.

I mean- there's a reason why Tex only wants good people he can trust sponsoring his brand, why Chick beat Lightning to the tracks and had Dinoco 'all to himself', but was still passed over for Lightning. Tex wants someone who will give his brand a good name, which involves being a good person the people feel comfortable with and want to be like, and being LOYAL.

Chick, is a disloyal, greedy, narcissistic moron who takes a whole buncha sponsorships, to the point that you don't really remember any of them. Which is very telling about his personality XD

He probably has a manager/lawyer who's schmoozing these deals and going 'Oh yeah oh yeah! We'll have ya featured prominently! Dont you worry'- then putting in the fine print some loop hole so they can just shove a lil bumper sticker on Chick's ass, get the money and call it a day.

As for your tattoo idea!!! I love that XDD Fully tattooed Human Chick is a really interesting idea! XD Yeah- he probably did it for the attention like you said XD

Thank you so much for sending in this ask! I love talking about Cars ^^

[gaymerasmus]

Ayo, i've arrived for a tf2 matchup bc im assuming ur requests r open? If not we'll pretend this never happened💀 My pronouns are she/he, i'm 5'4, my MBTI is INTJ and my sun sign is gemini. I'm VERY into metal/goth culture and 80s pop/industrial and i wear alot of makeup and dress for shock value p much. I have 10 piercings and a single finger tattoo but i def want more of both soon. I can play bass but not professionally.

I do not seem approachable at all partly due to my fashion choices but also bc of my resting bitch face and mean spirited sarcasm. I harbor severe anger issues that i luckily control most of the time. I keep people at arm's length, even purposefuly "unsettling" them to test them if they are willing to hang out around me since i am p intense as you can tell. Once comfortable around someone i DO NOT stop talking. I love debates/mental stimulation so anyone who's willing to "handle me" and engage into the convo would be ideal.

On another hand, i have a bad habit of bottling up any emotion that isn't anger so i'm def not the best at showing any feelings. I am hyper aware so i can def tell if someone likes me it's just that i myself suck at expressing lmao. The least i do is drop hints and "annoy" others by making up excuses to hang around them.

As for interests, i'm big on sociology, psychology (very fond of analyzing ppl), philosophy as well as being intrigued by anatomy. I love horror and true crime media and am fond of binging movies and videos of said nature.

That would be all, tysm if u so decide to do it💜

Sorry for the wait I hope you like it :))) you've been paired with

Mr. Mundee Motherf*cking Snoipah!

It took one look at you to activate this man's Simp neuron and it has not turned off since.

Maybe a little "opposites attract" but something about the difference in your style really gets him going.

Adding on to that point, it seems like that difference also plays into your dynamic personality-wise. Unless he's been drinking (or hanging around you) he really doesn't speak much, but loves to listen to you ramble.

The only exception to this would be when he feels like going back and forth on things you both find interesting. Anyone outside of this might say it looks like bickering more than a debate, but he really does love talking with you. He can't help but smile when your face lights up as you think up another point to make.

Another difference would be how you act when you realize the other has caught feelings. You may not show it much, but that doesn't stop Sniper from straight up asking if you've developed feelings at the first hint. He would also be extremely blunt about how he feels in return, but he definitely won't say anything if you don't question it.

However it really isn't that difficult to tell with him. He finds you distracting, to say the least. It's very easy to catch him staring at your newest outfit or makeup, or just you altogether. Blushes like crazy when you call him out on it though.

Sometimes on a slow day he might try to find you on his scope, nestled away in his tower where he can (spy) admire you in peace.

He'll definitely say like "hate to see you leave, love to watch you go" or something corny like that to flirt.

He'll never admit it but he enjoys the company you offer. He spends a lot of time alone and, despite it being "just work", sometimes he can't help but feel isolated.

So, even though you do sometimes really annoy him, he loves having you around. He wouldn't mind the occasional visit to his nest while he's working, he might even give you a shot at sniping people.

Oh and good luck trying to ruffle his feathers. Dude's literally died (by his coworker's own hand) seen heaven and came back (also by his coworker's hand). Not to mention before that he tied up his boss and other coworker and threatened to mutilate them for answers about his parents. Man is the master of being unsettled, but he doesn't mind you trying.

Part of why you get along so well may also be because Sniper is an Aries! (I did a little sleuthing and found NOTHING so I drug myself though as many birthday headcanons as I could find and came out with January 23rd.) Gemini and Aries are often paired together because of their shared habit of connecting on an intellectual level.

All of this points toward a match that would be stimulating as well as understanding. Wether it be work or personal reservations, Sniper isn't one to let people get too close too often. So when he feels a connection with you he can't stop himself from wanting to be spoiled by your company. He just thinks you're really cool <3

[jaehyunzzmilk]

dinasty (part 2)

pairing: prince jaehyun x concubine reader

word count: 3.4 k

genre: Historical Mafia AU, smut, light angst

summary: after the perfect escape, you have to find a way to fit in your new life, leaving the past behind may seem easy when you're working for 4 princes and one of them is interested in you, right?

notes: hello again, part 2 is up and we have a new love triangle, thank you for liking the first part so much, and prepare for even more surprises

this doesn't have any relation to real facts and history, it's just pure fiction for entertainment purposes

warnings: violence, blood, cheating, unprotected sex, oral (female receiving)

main characters: jaehyun (prince), yuta (samurai, villain), ten (thai mafia, villain), kun (China's emperor warrior)

Reality - Part 2

Part 1 here

"- Nice tattoo!" the man says.

It was dark and his face was only visible through the moonlight.

You freeze, the man stays still looking at you like you were his prey.

You try to cover your body but your only reaction is to grab your stuff and run, praying he wasn't gonna come after you.

Arriving at your room, breathing heavily you try to think about what just happened. A guy like that had to be a prince or someone really important. Ms. Lee told you to be lowkey and on the first day you let a man see you naked in the bath area. "Whatever" You were just too tired to think, you didn't do anything wrong anyway, so you were gonna pretend that it didn't happen. The Korean Palace was gonna punish you for going to the wrong bath?

Suddenly you realize Kun's necklace isn't with you. "Fuck, I must have dropped there" but now it's too risky to come back and look for it so you decide to do that tomorrow. You lay down on your mattress and try to fall asleep.

-

Next morning Ms. Lee showed you the rest of the Palace, the kitchen and assigned your tasks. It was a lot of work and details, each of their meals had to be perfectly planned. They had someone even to taste the food before them so they know it's not poisoned.

"- I'm gonna be responsible for the King's meal and you're gonna be responsible for the four prince's meals."

-Four?

"- Yes, Taeil, Doyoung, Johnny and Jaehyun. Now you should prepare their tea, they always drink green tea in the morning."

While preparing the tea you wonder which one you saw at the bathing area and if you should tell Ms. Lee what happened yesterday.

You're walking with the trays to the dining place when you try to talk to her.

-Ms. Lee!

-"Yes"

-So yesterday...

You realize you still don't know much about Ms. Lee and even if Kun trusts her, you don't. Also you can't help but think that serving tea was much better than your life at the concubine's house, so you try quickly to think of something else to say.

-Well, yesterday… Before I met you… this man helped me at the harbor, he was wearing black clothes and had a samurai sword.

-"Stay away from him!" She turns at you. "They are dangerous, they will kill everything and everyone on their way, people you don't want to mess up with."

By Yuta's facial expression when you mentioned Ms. Lee's name you weren't surprised she said those words, you wonder why but she wasn't gonna be the one to give you the answers. Otherwise, you still weren't afraid of him, he was gonna be the last of your problems here.

-"Now let's get in there, first you bow and then you serve them the way I showed you, don't look at them in the eye and don't say anything." She says.

In silence, you enter the dining room along with the other servants behind you bringing the food plates and you stop in front of the tables on the floor where all the princes are. There are two on each side, the two oldest and the youngest, all of them are sitting on cushions, they all have long hair and are wearing beautiful hanboks.

-"Your highness, may I introduce you to your new servant 'y/n', she is my niece and she is gonna work with me in the kitchen from now on." Ms. Lee said while you bowed, you were still too nervous to look up and look at them. "Now, may we start with the tea." Ms. Lee turns to you and signs that you can go and serve them.

Holding the teapot you go to the first prince, the oldest, Taeil, he is very handsome, with his light brown hair, face delicate and mature at the same time. Slowly you pour the tea into the cup by his left, he doesn't do anything, just stays still looking down and you wonder if you did something wrong. On his right it's Doyoung, after you pour the tea he gives you a small nod which makes you feel calmer. He is also very handsome, shiny black long hair, perfect posture, he sure looks like a prince. On the other side, Johnny, you can feel he is looking at you, the first to say "thank you" after you pour the tea. His face is gorgeous, even if he is sitting down you can feel how tall and strong he is. And then, Jaehyun, the man from the bath. You freeze when he looks directly at your eyes, you try to stay calm and pour the tea but can't help but shake a little bit. He is the definition of perfection, he had perfect skin, perfect face, everything about him.

Jaehyun keeps staring at you even when you stand up and comes back to Ms. Lee side.

-"Seems like someone likes our new servant!" Johnny says laughing. The other boys look at him but Jaehyun remains silent and serious, still looking at you.

They give the first sip to their tea. Taeil stops and smells the cup.

-"Did someone… put ginger on the tea?" He asks.

Ms. Lee turns at you with her eyes wide open.

-"Did you put ginger when you were making the tea?" She says in a low voice. - Yes, that's how we usually drink it in China, I'm so sorry.

-"Don't..." Taeil says taking another sip "- From now on keep in that way". You see Jaehyun smirking with the corner of your eyes.

Your whole body relaxed, you felt like you were going to faint. Ms. Lee bows and tells them to excuse both of you. As soon as you enter the kitchen's door she grabs your arm.

-"You have no idea how lucky you were this time young lady, Taeil is the most picky to all the food we make, when he started speaking I thought I was gonna have a heart attack"

-Me too! But I'm so sorry, I swear I'm not doing anything again without asking you first.

-"Good! Now get back to work"

-

Later after you finish your schedule you come back to the bath area to look for Kun's necklace. You look everywhere but it's nowhere to be found.

-"Looking for this?" Jaehyun stops behind you holding your necklace.

You turn around and he comes closer to you.

-"I asked if you're looking for this?" Now he is inches from you.

-Ye- yes!

Jaehyun walks behind you and gently moves your hair to the side, putting the necklace on you.

-"Does that belong to your boyfriend?" He is so close it's almost he's whispering in your ears. You get goosebumps.

-Excuse me?

He smirks and comes back to look you in the eyes.

-"I fought in the war 2 years ago, I remember those from the chinese soldiers." He tilts his head to the side and looks at you from head to toe. "Or you did?"

-A prince fighting at the war?

-"And a very bloody one but yes... it would be a shame being a prince and let your people alone bring victory to your country"

-It does… belong to my boyfriend.

You hold your necklace in your chest.

-"And where is your precious boyfriend when a pretty face like you is talking to the enemy in another country?"

-It's complicated!

-"I have time!"

-Why? Do you want the full story to snitch on me?

-"Sweetie if I wanted to snitch you out I would have already!"

He was right.

-You wouldn't believe if I told you anyway!

-"Try me, I've seen it all"

You both sit on a stone beside the water.

-Well, when I was 9 my family was struggling, we didn't have food, money, anything… so my father sold me and my sister to a concubine's house. She went to a different house than mine so I never saw her again actually. But anyway after years of being a slave in all forms to that house I fell in love, to someone from the thai mafia, of course things got out of control, I was so dumb. When I tried to run away he found out and did this tattoo on me, I was in so much pain because I fell off the roof trying to run away that I didn't even felt the pain of the needle, I just stayed there, still. Then I met Kun, I fell in love again, he helped me to escape, and it worked.

-"And I assume that story of being Ms. Lee's niece is all lies."

-Yes! She helped to raise Kun and met his mother so it's the only reason she's doing this until he arrives.

-"Oh so he's coming."

-He works for the Emperor and he said they would kill both of us if he ran away, so he is gonna wait a little bit and ask to retire, he wants to do it the right way, then he'll join me.

-"If you allow me to say this but… I would never have let you to come alone, sometimes you don't have to do it the right way" He gets up and walks to the exit of the bath. "But I'm glad he did and we could meet"

You give a small smile with the corner of your lips.

-"Oh and by the way..." He turns at you. "The staff's bath area is on that way." He points to his left.

-I know now. Thanks.

He smiles and leaves.

-

Weeks passed and you were getting used to your new life. You were doing your job right, even making some different dishes from your hometown to the princes. Meanwhile you unexpectedly started spending time with Jaehyun. Since your conversation at the bath, you both got closer in a natural way. On every free time you had you spent time together, you mostly liked to walk on the garden because it was more private, he told you about his childhood, how he had to give up on so many things to be who the kings expected him to be, how he felt like he was on a prison his whole life and how he found joy on learning how to fight because it was the only way he had to express himself and not follow the rules. You were surprised at how wholesome he was, he made questions about your life in a way that you know he wasn't being just pity, he was interested in how other realities exist outside the Palace.

One afternoon Ms. Lee asked you to go to the flea market to buy fruit for the dinner's banquet. You went alone since now you were familiar with that.

Because of the summer there were a lot of different kinds of fruits on sale. You bought peaches because you knew Jaehyun likes it. After buying everything you needed you see some crowd gathering between the market, you approached them and notice some weird men you've never seen before. They were thieves. They were on their horses, destroying the sellers' stands, pushing everyone in their way, they even tried to put a food stand on fire. You saw a little kid who got lost from their parents and was crying right in the middle of the path where the thieves were. You run in his direction and catch him, putting him safely to the side of the road, when one of the men slaps your face "Get out of the way slut!"

The slap was hard so you fell on the ground when suddenly you see another group of men coming that way, they all had black clothes and katanas. The samurais. They were so fast, they fought the thieves in a blink of an eye. There are people running and dust everywhere, you feel a hand on you. "Let's get you out of here" you recognize the voice, Yuta holds you and takes you to a safe place.

-"Why every time I see you, you're in trouble? Didn't I tell you to not walk around alone?"

-I was just buying stuff at the market when they came out of nowhere.

-"You're bleeding, let me see your lips" Yuta takes the fabric that was covering his mouth and carefully wipes the blood on your lips.

-"You're gonna need ice if you don't want to get bruises..."

-Don't worry, I've had worse wounds! - You laugh.

-"You didn't tell me where you came from"

-You didn't either, and why are you doing this? Helping me when you told me to stay away?

-"Well you should!"

-I'm not afraid of you.

Yuta looks at you, his mysterious gaze turns into vulnerability.

-So, I will tell you my story if you tell me yours! - You say.

-"Years ago the king had a deal with Osaka’s emperor, since he traveled there and they proposed to do an alliance and protect each nation together, but when the war happened and the emperor asked for the samurais to fight on their side here in Korea. We came and it was all a trap, a lot of us died, the emperor stole our ships and made all his people be afraid of us spreading lies, that we were dangerous. Since we couldn’t come back home we settled ourselves here, but the funny thing is every time the small villages are in danger, like what you saw today, it’s us who come first to help them. You asked me why I saved you, where I came from, we take care of everyone, no matter what."

-I'm sorry!

-"Now your turn, what’s your dark pass?"

-Apparently like you I was also a victim of the war in my country, but other than having a sword and fighting I was just a concubine trapped in a house for so many years, let’s say I just involved myself with the wrong people and ran away.

-"It’s called a katana… the sword. And maybe I can teach you how to fight." He smiles.

-Me?

He gives you the sword.

-It's much lighter than I thought.

-"Careful, it's lighter but the blade is gonna be the sharpest of all swords. Here... You must hold like this!" He took your hands and taught you how to hold the sword, carefully he showed you some self defense moves.

-"Now if someone ever tries to slap your face again, you do this..." Yuta grabs your wrists and pins you agains't a tree, you can't move obviously, he is so close to you and you feel the sexual tension building.

-"Get away from her!" You hear a familiar voice screaming. It's Jaehyun.

Jaehyun gets off his horse, he was mad, you never saw him like that. You jump in front of Yuta.

-No wait! He saved my life! - You scream.

-"What? Y/n do you know who he is? He is a murderer." Jaehyun looks at you.

-"If you arrived 10 minutes earlier you could have joined us but the little prince was busy at his Palace right?" Yuta provokes him.

-"That's enough!" Jaehyun comes closer but Yuta doesn't even flinch.

-Please Jaehyun, let's go!

You grab his arm and take him away from Yuta.

- "This doesn't end here bastard!" - Jaehyun spits at Yuta's direction.

-

You come back to the Palace with Jaehyun and he takes you to the bath area.

He is sweating, you could see his veins popping because of how mad he was.

- Jaehyun please, everything is alright, you need to calm down!

- "No it's not, look at you, you're hurt" he grabs your face and touches your lip with his thumb.

- It's ok now, I was at the market when some thieves arrived, I was protecting a little kid who was gonna get hit by their horses, they got mad because I was in the way but I swear it was nothing and Yuta helped me and everyone in there!

- "What? How do you know his name?"

- When I arrived from China he saw me at the harbor, I was so weak from the trip he helped me and even took me to Ms. Lee! I don't care about your old family issues, he helped me and that's all.

- "I'm sorry I'm just… the Palace guards heard the thieves were at the market and when I knew you were there I got my horse and went after you, I just couldn't let anything bad happen to you y/n!"

He grabs your face with both of his hands and kisses you. You try to push him but still can't open your eyes and break the kiss completely "Jaehyun we shouldn't..."

- "If you don't want it then tell me to stop" your heart is beating so fast, you swallow hard and look up at Jaehyun, "I know I'm not the only one feeling this" He says kissing you hard again.

He is right. "Touch me" you say, grabbing his hands and placing them on your breasts. When he is caressing his hands on your breast he removes your necklace, dropping it on the ground. He unties your dress and slides the fabric until your lower body, he is on his knees in front of you and he passes his hands on the back of your thighs until your butt and kisses your thighs slowly. He keeps eye contact with you and licks your clit, you moan and grabs his hair in response to his tongue going faster.

In your head it felt so wrong because you were in love with Kun, but Jaehyun made you feel so needy, mind and body.

Jaehyun gives a hard lick on your clit and makes his way up to your stomach leaving a tray of kisses until your breasts, he sucks one nipple while his other hand and flicks the other one. He gets up and kisses you, the kiss was so wet, for a moment you forget that anything else exists while he kisses you hard, licking and sucking your bottom lip. He takes off his clothes, his hard dick slaps on his toned abs, pre cum leaking over his tip. Jaehyun lifts you up "Let's go inside" taking you to one of the hot tubs.

When you felt the heat of the water on your body, the feeling of pleasure and lust took over you, Jaehyun pulled you down onto his lap and gave you another kiss, you wrapped your arms around his neck when you feel his tip on your core. "Oh my god" you scream while his hands holding your waist puts you down until his whole length was inside of you. The feeling was so different, you got a harder friction because of the water and you start moving up and down to get used to his size. Jaehyun's shoulders and biceps tense while his cock is stretching you out. You bounce on him screaming in pleasure, body trembling as he helps you to move faster.

He was pushing all the way into you, hitting your g-spot. You arch your back and moan his name, clenching every time he enters you. You're almost out of breath when he sucks your neck and presses his thumb against your clit. "Jae, I'm gonna..." you can see he is close as well as he sucks your neck even harder and moves his finger faster. You scream when you feel your orgasm, your arching pussy made his cock tighter while he couldn't hold it anymore and released into you as well.

You both stay in the water for a bit recovering from the climax, he pulls you to his chest and you close your eyes.

-Am I dreaming?

-"I think the reality right now is better than your dreams."

"Reality" you thought, back at your own senses you couldn't help but be disappointed at yourself. Because of you Kun was risking his own life to help you to run away and now you're with the prince of the place he arranged you to work for. Maybe you were just a filthy concubine, maybe you deserved everything they did to you, even your tattoo. You roll your body and rest your head at the border of the hot tub, a tear coming out of your eye.

-

Part 3 coming soon

[strangebiology]

Oh hey, have you seen this situation with this tiktok bone seller person? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAIy4pUzK7A

Yes! I also have a (kinda popular, animal-focused) bone account on TikTok called RollBones, and I write a lot about human remains. (My Nat Geo article)

The video you linked seems well-researched and it gives a deep look into what’s going on! There also are some just-your-opinion moments and factual mistakes (ie no, you cannot sell your own body, only other peoples’)

For those of you who want to watch the original video that is causing the new controversy, it's here.

TLDR: Someone has been buying/selling a very large collection of human bones, and people are commenting on the fact that he said they're legal.

My thoughts:

1. Jon has been trading human bones doing this for years, very publicly, and shows his collection in a lot of videos. Nothing new has happened except people reacting.

2. The last round of human bone discourse was pretty insufferable. Conversations literally went like this:

"Owning human bones is legal in most US states."

"NO IT’S NOT! Trust me, my baseless assumptions are more important than facts! How dare you correct me, my ego is so fragile that learning new information is an assault on my pride! A bone haver got in legal trouble and I never read the article as to what the charge was, so I'll assume it was for having bones. Now I shall move the goalpost: Saying that it's legal is the same thing as defending the practice on ethical grounds! Also my personal ick factor should be the defining factor of whether having bones is disrespectful or not!"

3. But this round of discourse seems much better?? Is the internet growing up? Because this time people are not trying to correct someone who has been working in this field for years and knows the laws way better than you. This time people are arguing on ethical and contextual grounds using facts and expert opinion and history. For instance, the fact that no human has consented to allow the med facility to sell/give away the bones once they're done. Or the historical exploitation of the poor (Read: Inside India's Underground Trade in Human Remains.) Or the fact that modern body brokers have basically no regulation and yes, you could donate your body today and have it on a tattoo shop shelf in a few months. (Read: The Body Trade: Cashing in on The Donated Dead.) Or the Indonesian Dayak skulls that are still carved and imported *specifically* for westerners to buy.

Also because there is no regulatory agency requiring paperwork, it's difficult to prove provenance of human remains. They're probably not murder victims but you could encounter something grave-robbed occasionally. There are still a lot of wrong or overly-opinionated arguments out there ("he's so white" naw he's Asian) but like, I'm still proud of people doing a lot better this time.

4. I am not saying the human bone trade is good or bad or right or wrong. I am only saying that there are good ways to criticize the bone trade (with real facts!) and bad ways (being angry that people know about it.) You can also defend the trade using logic: where else would the human bones go? Incinerator? Locked in a closet? How is that better? Is there no value in being loved and helping people learn osteology, including medical professionals and the general public? The people who provided the skeletons didn't consent to getting destroyed or any of our cultural norms like burial either.

I should note that most, but not all, professional opinions I’ve seen on the matter are against the public human bones market. However, there is little benefit to publicly sharing your opinion if it goes against the majority, so I wonder what kind of publicity bias is there.

5. I often wonder if the human bone trade remains unregulated because of those who insist that everyone must assume they're illegal. Lawmakers don't want to waste their time looking into a trade that's """already illegal""" right?

Anyway, if you hate the human bone trade, please say a big "thank you" to people who are talking about it, so you can do something about it. Just remember that this is not new. There are many human bone traders out there. Part of the reason you’re seeing Jon is because his collection is quite significant! And another part is the fact that he’s open and transparent about having them. Some others are just more secretive.

[rosafione]

"Come Closer."

title; How Far Will I Fall, 'Till You Catch Me In your Arms

pairing; xiao x reader

desc; you never really lacked the guts for these kinds of things, but before everything else, you valued his feelings, and most of all, his consent. in the end, it still takes two to tango.

a/n; xiao drabble xiao drabble xiao drabbleee now, he might be ooc, im not sure, but this is mostly just an hc if you guys are close— to an extent muahahahahaha

Time was at a standstill for a certain young adeptus.

For someone who's lived a millennia, you'd think two months would only feel like a second. Before, Xiao would not deny the frequency of those moments— of loneliness, and melancholy; Of time spent watching the Guyun Stone Forest and awaiting his time to strike.

Every day that passed was one spent with his guard high, back then.

And yet now, those moments seemed as if they existed in a far different time. A time before the Traveler plunged Osial into the ocean, stripping them of their adeptal duties and eliminating a cause for Liyue to seek their guidance.

Though possibly the greatest disparity from that time could be that.. It was a time before you— before he had you by his side.

You were a mortal, one he considers to be above average, yet a mortal, nonetheless. You still had times where your humanity catches up to you, and you are left vulnerable in the hands of the evil that lurks among the lands of Tevyat.

Xiao met you at your weakest; But he watched you grow into your shell.

It wasn't as if he regarded you with any special fondness. At first. You were no different from any other mortal that walked Liyue— a fragile creature he was tasked to protect, and a being he needed to steer clear off, lest he harm you with his adeptal energy. (Death from the sheer force of it was no stranger to him. He does not want to carry another human's death on his shoulders.)

Xiao had a complicated relationship with the mortal realm. It was not disdain he harbored for humans, only vigilance and curiosity.

Their realm and the adepti's were two worlds apart.

What differed you from the mortals is that you crossed that distance. And somehow, you stood before him, right in the in between.

He wonders how you do it; You've always been unyielding in his presence. He knows you are aware of his prowess, but every time he looks at you, there is nothing but fondness and adoration he sees in your ancient gaze.

You offered him Almond Tofu almost every day. It makes him anticipate your troubles, yet you do no else other than indulge him in small chats, and silly escort commissions into the mountains or the forest. At times, you'd just watch him feed on your offerings.

He knew it was a bribe, the Almond Tofu. You did it almost everyday— Until you didn't have to.

At some point, Xiao stopped denying your presence. He's warned you enough— He respected you enough to know that you were an adult, and you could think for yourself. And though the moments you'd offer him were memories worthy to look back on, he dares not seek you out.

But he didn't have to. You always came to him first.

His relationship with you only grew from there. It was no earth-shattering occurrence, that's for sure. It was a parasite that he didn't know had been rooting itself into his being so deeply that he cannot bring himself to part with it.

Though if not a shocking event, it was still a crushing revelation.

"Good day, Xiao."

The lady-in-charge, Verr, seemed to be searching for something before her gaze flitted back to his. "No Y/N today?"

"Y/N is off to the harbour for a few days," he'd answered instinctively as he walked to the usual table prepared for him near the kitchen.

"And you didn't come with?"

His slit brows raise in confusion. "Why would I?"

"Oh dear, my apologies. I just figured—" a bashful chuckle leaves her— "Since I see you guys together all the time."

He frowns at the memory. It was a realization that started his resolve to put some distance, yet it was also the beginning of your.. lengthy travels.

When your few days became a few weeks, his resolve easily yielded to his eagerness in meeting you once more.

-

Time used to pass by swiftly, but nowadays, a year spent with you feels as if he had already spent half of his life.

He sighs, shaking his head at himself. "Reduced to just standing around. How absurd."

"If you think standing around was such an absurd concept then why do you still reject the idea of travelling with me?"

The familiar voice wills him to rip his gaze away from the scenery.

He knows it is yours— your steps, your scent, your weight, your presence. Xiao feels you the moment you stepped into the inn. Yet he does not move, run, nor show any sign of the buzz that vibrates from inside his chest.

Yet when he sees you, you are beautiful, safe. Ephemeral.

He forgets every aching minute he's spent in the eight weeks you were not in his vicinity.

Time runs again.

Still, everything about you is slow; The way you walk carefully to his side, the way you drag your fond gaze from his, to the scenery before you.. The way your hair flows and dances with the evening breeze.

He knows. The wind has always favored you.

"Ever since meeting the Traveler, all you've talked about is travelling," he chose to say.

"With you."

"What?" he frowns.

"I mean that yes, all I've talked about is travelling—" you chuckle bashfully, averting your eyes away from his— "That is, travelling.. But with you."

His eyes widen, then hardening with a purse of his lips, before he turns to glare into the distance. "My answer will not change. I cannot leave Liyue."

"And my reply is the same," you sigh. "The place does not matter. As long as we'd be together."

It is a sensitive topic, and an inevitable taboo.

There was a line neither of you should ever cross— a line he's put there himself, and one he disdains all the same.

Silence ensues. It is a frequent occurrence, ever since you first brought up the prospect of adventuring. Stubborn and troublesome. Xiao finds himself needing to track back in conversations just to figure you out.

Mortals were such complex creatures.

And yet it was so easy for you to read him like an open book. Or so he assumes. You always knew how you'd deal with him. Even Xiao knows that it is no easy feat.

"You're always like this," he grumbles.

You do not answer, and he settles for the tranquility, all the tension leaving his body; And for once, after two months, he felt as if he could actually breathe.

He wonders how much longer he'd be stuck in this area of torment and bliss. Wonders how much longer he'll continue to drag you into it.

Wonders when you'll snap and just leave him all together.

He frowns grumpily at the thought.

-

"Can I?" you ask.

Xiao looks into your eyes— swirling hues that didn't return his gaze, far focused on a lower part of his face. His lips, he realizes. Your gaze had been focused on his lips.

The epiphany wills a streak of crimson to rise to the tips of his ears, and his own focus is stolen away by the pink appendage that wets your lips.

"Your question is incomplete," he says instead, feigning ignorance.

Shaking his head, Xiao crosses his arms and forces himself to concentrate on your eyes. Only on your eyes.

Maybe then, he wouldn't get so distracted.

"Regardless of how your question would go, I don't understand why you need my opinion," he huffs, grumbling. "It's your body. You would know it best."

You press your lips together. A gentle, bashful smile spreading on your face as a fond look emerges in your eyes. "My apologies," you chuckle. "It was the wrong question to ask."

He faces you to narrow his eyes at your suspicious behavior, but he's far too distracted by the way your hand lifts, trailing from the side of his neck to gently cup his cheek, and his breath hitches, eyes widening.

Warmth radiated from your touch. Xiao knows better than to reject such touches any longer when with you. So he leans into it, presses his head closer to your palm, closing his eyes and exhaling in surrender.

"What i meant to ask was," he opens his eyes to look at you.

Your gazes clash. They meld and melt into each other as you slowly raise yourself closer and closer — or perhaps it was him who'd been leaning down.

The hand that traces the tattoo on his right arm, as well as the other that caresses his face with an aching gentleness, reels him in. enthralls him. It lures him into succumbing to your presence, and his body goes through that familiar feeling of softening under your touch.

"May I?" you whisper.

Suddenly, you are leaning in more eagerly— more determined, as if with a clear intent in mind. He thinks he understands your words enough now, swirling in his mind, goes through consideration, and the one practical response he could muster with his focus in a jumble is to deny you permission.

He gulps soundly; He can't bring himself to.

Xiao thinks this is it, watching you move in as he struggles to keep his eyes from fluttering shut. He thinks it would be this moment— this moment in which he dooms the unspoken rule between mortals and adepti. Dooms the contract he's worked so hard to fulfill in service of Lord Morax, now Zhong Li. He'd doom your friendship, or whatever it is you've offered him up to this point.

Yet even then.. Even then, he doesn't say no.

He stays quiet; Waiting. Wanting.

It's funny— the mortal language, how one could switch out a letter, and a word would seem that much different.

It was true, nonetheless.

Xiao waits. Xiao wants.

He wants the closeness, the intimacy— the affection you provide. He wants your lips to meet his just to know if it is as soft as the rest of you is. He wants to see if a kiss— curious, like a child— truly lives up to the countless tales told by the experienced. He wants to know.. If you will give him those answers.

His amber eyes meet yours. He does not breathe, as if doing so would scare you away. As if doing anything would give you a response he does not want to give.

It is enough. Your noses bump for a second, his eyes fluttering closed; Your scent wafts from beneath his nose, crisp burning incense, molded into the fresh smell of the forest that is brought about by the wind.

He curves into you, a single thought shaking him to the core, making him tremble - so utterly pathetic.

'Please..'

Your lips do not meet.

And suddenly, there is too much air between you and him.

Xiao opens his eyes to see you trailing back, fidgety— you looked like a walking contradiction, twitching fingers trying to cross the distance, gaze darting between looking away or staring regretfully at his lips.

There was a crimson hue staining your cheeks, he noticed.

"Why.." he whispers, then catches himself.

The inside of his chest strains from all the emotions he has to keep hidden— all the emotions he has to keep denying.

Disappointment. Loneliness. Exhaustion. Desperation.

Xiao wants.

-

You couldn't believe you almost kissed him.

It was a heavy violation of contract— not that you two had ever agreed to one, but it was an unspoken compromise. It was a truth you both knew, yet continued to ignore.

So that this— whatever this was, could survive.

Archons, you almost laid it all to waste!

(Either way, any decision would still leave you with regrets, had you continued or pulled away.)

"Ah, would you look at that!" you laughed out loud in a panic, perhaps to cover up the tense atmosphere. "I did it again! I asked a question without completing it, yeah? Guess it's a really bad habit on mine!"

Xiao does not answer. You spare him a look. And you wish you hadn't.

He looks dejected, disappointment and frustration showing through his slit eyebrows and wide eyes.

As if your choice was a surprise to him.

As if he wanted you to continue.

As if.

You couldn't deny you wanted it, too. Whatever he could give you. And, more.

You mentally scold yourself, knowing you're already stretching Xiao's patience with your friendship as it is.

You have to remind yourself that Xiao is immortal, and no matter how humane he may seem, you cannot trouble him with matters such as the turmoil in your heart.

It's really hard to say anything, when all the thoughts that circle in your head is how wonderful he is. How amazing he makes you feel. How he is all you've ever wanted for the whole year since you've realized you'd developed a certain affection for him.

"Sorry, Xiao," you say, throat tightening with bubbles of emotions threatening to spill. "I should.. Go away, for some time."

( And the first thing Xiao thinks is to dejectedly reply 'Again.?' )

"No," he says all too quickly, detaching from the banister.

"No?" you echo, confused. "N-no what?"

"Stay," he says, but it is not a command. Not from the adeptus. It is a soft request; A wavering plea that reaches to you soul.

"Where?" you ask. 'How far?'

"Here," he whispers now. "With me."

You push your luck, craving just a bit more patience from Xiao.

"Close?"

You could see Xiao consider. His eyes showing his heart, but his silence showing his mind.

He gives in.

"Close."

That day was the nearest you've peered, held and embraced Xiao's soul, moving closer, and softly leaning your forehead on his, clenching onto the white fabric of his shirt as he loosely wraps an arm around your waist— under the watchful eyes of the night sky.

There is still a distance that Xiao dares not cross.

And for now, maybe it's enough.

[9h4mn]

oppa, oppa | victon

➞ victon as your older brothers

➞ fluff, comedy, siblings shenanigan

➞ brothers, they either leave you alone or won't stop annoying you. how are the seven guys of victon as your older brother?

seungwoo:

the prepared type

first of all if you are another han sibling then your visuals are out of this world anyway...

this type of brother has experience in dealing with sisters and he knows what to do to make you feel better

a pro with dealing things that are related to your period or maybe just you being you

best at helping you through hard times

his overall presence is just calm and warm

can and will tease you though

one of it includes intentionally placing things too high and out of reach

he is still your brother so 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

might be the only brother who has no problem introducing you to the other members

still kinda iffy with the idea of you dating one of them. he knows he can trust his members but overprotective brother tendencies can't be stopped

if ever you are somehow mentioned on tv, a lot have noticed how he suddenly brightens up

there are even jokes that he has favoritism and prefers you over sunhwa and your other sister

"is my younger sister dating someone? well i hope not."

the other mother type

seungsik:

aka a border of lucky and unlucky

this type of brother is almost like your mother. they nag at you to do a lot of things but they also basically just do all the chores

yes, i can see seungsik taking over your chores when he thinks you're busy to do so

and maybe he is more of the chill mom

your mother is still there after all, she can take the strict role while seungsik is still a reliable brother

all those difficult chores he does on victon's dorms? same applies back in your home

always the first one to text you asking if you have eaten already and many more questions regarding how you are

the members, as always, teases him and that also includes you

"wah seungsik your sister is a better dancer than you are" "if she becomes an idol, you are doomed"

will just laugh it off. to some degree he does view you as someone talented

your biggest hypeman

"go [name]! you can do it!"

the best friend type

chan:

how does it feel like to have two brothers that are idols?

this type of brother can be treated as your best friend and would even help you with your cover up stories

basically an mvp brother

want to sneak out of the house? he already has plans to save you in case you get caught, that is assuming he'd let you get caught

going through heart break? he's right there for you

period problems or class struggles? well he tries to help but might rely on heojun (sometimes your older brother needs help from the oldest brother)

seriously though he cares so much for you

he might not share his problems to you, as a brother he just wants you to be as stress-free as possible

i think to a certain extent, chan would make you his dance student

like especially when the both of you were much younger, he'd like to teach you how to dance

speaking of dance... he doesn't necessarily stops you from meeting the other members but like he also doesn't make an effort to do so

as much as possible he wants to "protect" you from them

also as he loves shoes i can see him gifting you one way too much

"whats your shoe size again?"

the annoying type

sejun:

sejun stans forgive me but he really gives off this vibe

this type of brother just makes your blood boil. teases you, repeats your words, and basically just act annoying

if ever he finds out who your crush is, may your soul be at peace

if you already think that he is annoying... it just gets worse

he will tease you so much and go through a lot of times where you thought he would expose your crush

sejun wouldn't go that far though — you can do the same afterall

there are moments where he really seem like your older brother

like one time someone creepy was following you, when you called sejun he quickly arrived and scared of that creep

most of the time he just shows his love for you by being annoying — sejun means no harm and would never intentionally cross the line

"oh? that container you left in the freezer? yeah, i'm the one who ate whats inside."

the "you worry for him" type

hanse:

i am sorry for this slander hanse and hanse stans

this type of brother might seem scary and intimidating at first but looks are deceiving. he is scared of everything

you might be even the one taking out bugs that somehow found its way inside your home

just imagine watching horror movies and he is the one screaming 😭😭😭

however, despite being this type of brother he is quite protective of you

will not — in any circumstances — allow the victon members to date you. he has discovered many things in his time with them

might bring the guys as back up if someone ever breaks your heart

also the type to have matching tattoos with you

just picture hanse in a live and then he suddenly brings out his new tattoo and the story behind it

"oh, this? my sister and i got matching tattoos! she did the design. it looks so pretty right?"

the everyone's crush type

byungchan:

you absolutely can not stand the sight of someone flirting with him

this type of brother is the one your friends (and many others) simps for. that means he always receives things from his admirers and at times people would even ask you to give it to them

don't worry though he will share the chocolates with you

totally see him getting away with a lot of things and when the injustice starts hitting you, he will do everything to make you laugh and forget about it

he is caring like that

also he tries to scare off your admirers. you are still his little sister and its hard for him to see you grow up (will be very accepting if you start dating though)

can also see him dancing girl group songs with you and would even teach you if you want him to

"what are you doing? thats not how you dance rollin', let oppa teach you."

the sort of indifferent type

subin:

basically my older brother tbh

this type of brother is someone you don't necessarily spend time with but if you need help or just someone to talk to they will drop everything to do so

as he has 3 sisters before him, i think he'd be similar to seungwoo in the aspect where he knows how to take care of you

texts with him might be cold and detached but he has already shown how much he cares for you (maybe he even has a lot more care for you than you thought of)

unless there's an event where you might meet victon, subin will never introduce you to them

the most they can get of you is through a picture or hearing one of the rare phone calls between the both of you

#chairman subin protects

also i think if he is endorsing a brand or something, he would send it to you

"you know i'm modeling for a cosmetics brand right? if you receive a box its from me."

©9h4mn | all contents belong to me. do not modify or repost.

[tellmegoodbye]

I was inspired to do this after seeing @spoonfulstar and @build-yourself-a-myth do it, so here we go!

fandom & random questions

when did you start watching shameless?

I started in december of 2020, my dad had been trying to get me to watch for years and I finally caved. Binged the first ten seasons in two weeks.

how did you start getting involved in the fandom?

I followed a couple blogs while s11 was airing and continued to ghost around the fandom after the show ended. I assumed a tv show fandom would be too chaotic and stressful for me but people turned out to be really nice and when I joined the discord people were super welcoming and were supportive of me when I got back into writing fic after a year of not doing so, so thank you guys. ♡

favourite shameless characters

Ian and Mickey ofc, also Fiona, Veronica, Lip, and Carl

what plotline from the show irked you the most

oh where do I START 🙄 yes this is my favourite show but it really tested my patience every now and then. I think this is a popular opinion but gay jesus is definitely the one plotline I could not get through without cringing. Also the way they wrote Mickey off made absolutely no sense to me. Yes, it broke my heart (fuck you shameless) but I still didn't get why they would not just let Mickey leave by will instead of sending him to prison.

Also s11. It had less to do with the plotlines and more with the way they were executed. And the fact that I couldn't really take any of the emotional scenes seriously (deleted scene, 11x06 scenes, ect) because of the camo. Like can they please wear normal clothes so I can focus on the plot? Lastly, why did they have to include covid? Don't y'all know we're using you for escapism? It restricted so much and I would've rather waited for the season than have it be covid themed and in the same three locations. It's also really hard to fully appreciate someone's acting (and understand what they're saying) when you can only see half their face.

That being said, I enjoyed the majority of the plotlines in this show and it still owns my ass despite my frustrations.

favourite line from the show

literally anything frank or jimmy/steve said, I guess it would be a crime if I didn't include "tell me goodbye" "what you and I have makes me free" and every other iconic thing Mickey has said. Also (this addition is brought to you by my gf) when fiona said "get in there, beef!" when trying to shove the meat in the oven.

fanfics you can't stop thinking about

Since We're Alone - this officially made me an enemies to lovers bitch and finally inspired me to start watching hockey.

Cooperative Gameplay - wasn't sure about it at first, but I ended up enjoying it a lot and I constantly find my mind wandering towards Ian and Mickey in this universe.

You'll Never See Us Again - this fic had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish and I will never get this version of the boys out of my head either.

the best concerts you've been to

98rockfest, I saw bands like shinedown, seether, three days grace, disturbed, chevelle, and more

jinjer, holy fuck seeing them live may have actually changed my life.

trans siberian orchestra, everything from the lights to the music and to how much variety they fit into the amount of tike they have blows my mind.

o.a.r, their concerts are just a lot of fun and I always enjoy the end when they play crazy game of poker and people start throwing playing cards everywhere.

piercings/tattoos

I just have ear piercings. I would like to get a second set of earlobe piercings, but that's about as far as I'd go. In terms of tattoos, I'd get something small and meaningful, and nothing with colour.

most rewatched tv show

ncis and golden girls

pet peeves

people who find me losing my shit easily funny, people who tell me to calm down as if it's simple, people who are passive/aggressive with me, and we can't forget about the sjws (the annoying ones, I know they aren't all like that lol)

random fact about yourself

I can't stand most fabric sounds, like if you're sitting next to me and you start scratching the couch or a pillow I will have the sudden urge to strangle you.

I tag: @messedwithmandy @grumpymickmilk @buffymilkovich @arrowflier @howlinchickhowl @gallawitchxx @sickness-health-all-that-shit @gardenerian @y0itsbri and anyone else who wants to do this!

[mantra4ia]

Debris 1x13 "Celestial Body": rewatch Reaction'd, questions and comments

So if all those people are experiencing emotional convergence, who are they converging from? Who's sending the emotional signal that the debris is channeling, or is it the debris manifesting it's "consciousness" in a way that we can understand it by way of human conduits?

Maddox is clearly trading debris pieces with Irina (perhaps the piece that he took out of storage off the books), and Irina is on the phone with presumably her handler/ boss to negotiate this trade. She gives him lateral (which I assume means latitudinal) readings and then he asks for longitudinal readings which we don't get to hear. They are: Lateral 105, 112, 115, 120, 113, 110, 109

What's the significance of these measures? Latitude goes from 0° to 90° from the equator, so that doesn't track unless the scene is cut wrong and they're meant to be longitudinal (E/W) readings, which go to 180° relative to the prime meridian. That would make more sense, because after Irina is done with the first set of readings, the unknown caller on the phone says "drop to level two for vertical" and latitudes are North/South.

If we're talking Western longitudes, notable landmarks include: Denver, Salt Lake City UT / Phoenix AZ / nearly Sedona AZ - aka where the telesphere went, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe/ Nevada border, Great Salt Lake, Alberta-Saskatchewan border, and the Utah-Arizona border.

Or perhaps they're not part of terrestrial measurement at all. The act of "lateral reading" could just mean verifying your sources/accuracy as you go, where as vertical reading is reading for content first to see if something is worth evaluating for sources.

However, if they are part of coordinates, then is the fragment that Maddox is trading with Irina a legitimate "mapmaker" piece like George previously said Influx was seeking? Ya know, when he lied to his daughter. Can a mapmaker piece track moving/animate debris akin to the telesphere? Are those black dust cloud beings George is running from made up of animate debris?

Bryan: After becoming a parent you're in a heightened emotional state, emotionally raw.

George: Higher highs, lower lows, the joy of having a child, the postpartum depression, and the fear of getting it wrong.

Me: Are we in a pensive, self-reflective mood, George? Are you practicing your pub trivia Bryan, delivering exposition, or are you speaking from personal character experience? Seriously, how would you know?!

John Noble as Otto, man why does he always make such a good villain?

What is with the cryptic vagueness when Maddox tells Irina, "You know I can't let you leave with that case right? I mean you know that. There's another door for you Irina, one that only you can go through." They seemed almost on good terms in a previous episode, like friends or something more in a past life "nice car, i almost left / no you didn't", he wouldn't kill her, would he? Or is it more like a code between them, a sort of "I'm being watched, take the back exit"?

Hey, so why is it that sometimes George's eye seems opaque and damaged from the debris implant, but then when he's talking to Finola after he distracts Bryan while being Debris whisperer, his eye seems fine? PS: I googled Tyrone Benskin just to see what he looks like when he's not playing George Jones and I didn't know he's a former member of Canadian Parliament. Don't trust the government, eh?

George: "You're such a compassionate person, you always have been. So much of your mother in you." That's the second time that Finola's mother has been mentioned in the series, back from the pilot. Is it a coincidence that the first piece of debris that chose to interact with Finola resonated her mom? More than just Finola's desire being reflected by the debris, but the debris emoting it's first impression of her as someone compassionate that it can trust?

It also raises my heckles that George repeats, almost word for word, something that Finola said in episode 3. "If we can't help people, we do not deserve this debris / if we don't use this debris on these people, we are not worthy to have it." Are father and daughter that ideologically similar, or has he been spying on her progress this whole time, or both?

George: "I took my life to allow myself a rebirth, I paid the price. I want you to know that not one day goes by that I don't think of you and your sister. I want you to know this." This coincides with my initial impression that George staged his death to get away from Orbital after he assessed how his research was being used/abused.

George: "You never wanted to go into the pool, I had to throw you in, and you kicked and screamed, but you always did better that way." Immabout to throw you George, just keep talking!!!! I'm sorry, this charicature of absentee father reminiscing about the good old days really ticks me off from personal experience.

Also, as a person with a disability, I am not particularly pleased with the use of Dario as a plot device instead of a thoughtful character with a backstory at this point in the show for 13 whole episodes now. Pretty pissed off actually, so they better do something phenomenal and pivotal with Christian Rose (Dario) in season 2 [maybe have his character interact with debris in a similar way to Caroline]. But that's another rant about ableism in screenwriting for another angry day....

George: "A telesphere was born yesterday. It came from a pocket dimension inside Orbital. I think it's birth may have triggered the debris." This is perhaps the one-ish episode that I find George remotely interesting and also infuriating, particularly because of the way he speaks, like he's finally taken off the guise of the old, well-meaning eccentric and turned into a sharp, cunning, and at times calculatingly ruthless individual. I find it peculiar that he says a telesphere is born. Makes me think that the debris is not just part of a spacecraft, but a hybrid of the beings piloting that craft.

I get tremendous satisfaction from Finola head-butting people. This should continue.

I'm not familiar with all of the work of JH Wyman to know if this is a running theme or an ongoing joke. But does he keep his writing staff in a constant state of starvation? Is that why pieces of debris are called "Nachos", and why Influx has "Beans" to shield them from debris side effects, and why Bryan is always eating junk food? Should I be worried about the writer's room and start sending them healthy snacks?!? Just give me an SOS in the credit roll.

Speaking of: is the "Bean" that Finola ingested a piece of debris? Similar to the pieces of debris that fused with Anson Ash? Will it impart some physical benefits to her moving forward?

"I won't lose you again...you belong with me." What are you talking about George Jones, you made the conscious decision to leave your family. You didn't lose Finola, she lost you. In this version of reality at least. Or (unscripted backstory) did Jones and his wife separate prior to her death / was Finola brought up mostly by her mother? That doesn't seem the case if she was buying her father birthday presents and took it upon herself to settle his affairs after his death.

Why do the Influx Operatives Otto and Anson have tattoos on their hands, but not Loeb? Is he like the low end of the totem pole FNG who hasn't earned his stripes, hence why Otto gives him s***: aka "Careful you cretin. All the finesse of a butcher."

What is the hierarchy of Influx anyway? Despite being an anti-government "for the people/ elevate the human consciousness" organization they do still seem to have a governing hierarchy and Otto and George seem to be on the same level, pretty high in rank / they talk with confidence to each other like they go back a while.

What is that weird thing that Otto does with his hands to Bryan's head? What are all the weird things Otto does, including his massacre at the petrol station? Ick.

Why is it that Leob and George are freaked out by the black smoke (debris particle?) man, but Anson and Otto aren't? They seem to see them(?), but don't overtly react.

Bryan: "It seems like we're entering some kind of new phase." Gee where have I heard that one before? Oh yeah, the story of "Blackwater grandfather" and the black wind that they're still teasing endlessly while refusing to tether it into some kind of world building lore. Agggghh!

Lololol, Bryan and Finola's dynamic even in the midst of a very serious episode makes me laugh. "Devon Reese / two e's? / Two e's!" "This one smells like baby diapers. Almost as bad as the tech section of the plane/ You mean your section of the plane. / Almost." That zinger 👍

Paraphrasing Bryan: "[recapping, recap, and did I mention recap]...something about George doesn't feel right." Personal pet peeve: I HATE IT when episodes have intentional explanatory lines like this to point out the fact that we as audience are privy to information that the main characters aren't. Not only does it make the main characters seem less intelligent, it breaks the fourth wall a little bit and gives the impression that the audience, which is ahead of the plot, is not as intelligent and needs a reminder that we're ahead. Lackadaisical writing drives me nuts!!! I can't outright say that it's "bad" dialogue, but it's not a choice I would make if I wanted uninterrupted viewer immersion.

Finola: "My instincts are good" Me: You are an emotionally intelligent decision maker with gaping personal blind spots.

George: You belong with me, your father.

Finola: My father died six months ago, and you are not him.

Me: Chef's kiss 👏👏👏

Otto: "It would never have worked out with that girl [Finola], not in any iteration." Definitely makes me lean towards the fan theory that the alt!Finola in (presumably) suspensia in Sedona Arizona got plucked from another reality.

Surprisingly, the ending credit roll has no voiceover as all the previous episodes of the season have. Disappointed that there's no potential teaser to a season 2 if the show gets renewed. But I find it curious that the extras who were demonstrating emotional convergence were credited as: chess board persons. Not sure if that's relevant, but I definitely feel like this show is playing games with me and my emotions.

[thorne93]

The Stars Made Us (Part 2)

Prompt: In this world, you’re one of the “lucky” ones who got a soulmate, but what if the universe gives you more than you bargained for?

(Prompt challenge – You live in a world where your soulmate can write on their skin and you will get the writing on your own and vice versa. Where they can wash away the ink on their own skin, however, the writing is forever scarred onto your skin until you meet face to face)

Word Count: 1436

Warnings: angst and language throughout

Notes: This was supposed to be for @sorryimacrapwriter​​ and their challenge like a year ago, I think? I still loved the prompt though and have been working on this story for quite some time. This aesthetic was made by @dontshootmespence​​, thank you so much! Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes​​, couldn’t have done it without you, as well as @carryonmyswansong​​ and @arrow-guy​​ and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​

Also, I’ve never really liked the whole soulmate AU thing idea, but this felt so right and it was amazing to write. I hope y’all love it too!!

~~~~~~~~~~~

When you woke up in the early afternoon, your parents greeted you with a bit of a chuckle.

“Stay up too late with Jenny?” your mom asked with a teasing smirk. It was a habit of yours and Jenny to probably stay up way past your bedtime, but so long as it wasn’t a school night, your parents never cared.

“Actually… I.. uh, have some news,” you announced as you grabbed some bacon for a BLT that they’d made for lunch.

“Oh?” your dad asked, his eyes still on his laptop. “What’s that?”

“So… Jenny was kind of joking around last night and said that I should try to write on my arm, you know… to see if I had a soulmate…” you began explaining, twisting your fingers around nervously as you sat at the table.

Your parents just looked at you curiously.

“Well, so I did. I wrote something on my arm, and I waited to see if someone would write back… and they did,” you said, showing them your arm. They saw the ‘Happy Birthday’, and the ‘Hi there’, with a smiling face.

“A soulmate?” your dad echoed, looking at your arm inquisitively.

“We’ve never had soulmates in the family, have we, dear?” your mom wondered as she looked over her cup at her husband.

“Not that I know of. Well what do you know about that?” he mused. “I don't see any more marks on your arms, did your mate not write back much last night?”

“No, we actually emailed. We thought it would be best if we reserve our skin.. You know, we don’t want a bunch of… tattoos of each other unless they’re meaningful.”

“Sounds sensible,” your mom noted with a smile. “So what do you know about them?”

“He’s a grad student. He’s 21. He graduated from Harvard at 16, and get this, he’s into psych. He studies it.”

“Graduated at 16?” your dad asked. “Are you sure this guy isn’t pulling your leg? What if he’s some bum?”

“If he is some bum, he’s got a great education. We stayed up all night emailing, and he’s quite well-read.”

“That sounds fantastic, honey. And, did you get his name?” she asked, a bit nervous.

You shook your head. “No, we agreed it wasn’t safe.”

“Good girl,” your mom commended.

“He’s 21, hmm?” your dad hummed. “Isn’t that a little old?”

“Oh, Anthony, don’t pretend like that’s some big gap. You and I have five years between us,” your mom reminded as she got up to pick up the kitchen.

“Yeah well we didn’t meet in high school either. We were adults.”

“I’d hardly call us adults. We were 23 and 28.”

Your dad just shook his head. “You just be careful, kiddo. Soulmate or not, there are weirdos out there.”

“Of course, Dad,” you said.

Well, that was out of the way. Your parents didn’t seem to be too upset, which was good.

You went upstairs to your room and sent an email to X.

“My parents know about us now,” you wrote.

“Do they approve?”

“They’re worried you’re a liar and a weirdo, lol,” you confessed with a smiley face.

“They might be right ; )”

“I reminded them that we won’t ever swap information until one of our names shows up.”

“Of course. As tempted as I am to meet you like a normal person, I don’t want to tamper with fate.”

“I feel the same. And your parents? Have you told them?”

“My parents have died. Happened a few years ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s awful.”

“It’s sad, yes, but don’t let that bring down your mood, please. I miss them terribly. I bet they would’ve loved to meet you.”

“I would’ve loved to meet them.”

“Speaking of, we need to get registered.”

Registered? For what? A marriage license?

Then it hit you.

“Oh, you mean the soulmate registry?”

“That’s the one. Do you have access to it?”

“Yeah, I can just drive to it. It’s at the clerk’s office, right?”

“Yes, it is. Oh, I need to go, Y/F/I. I’ll talk to you later. Feel free to send me emails throughout the day.”

“Will do, X. I’ll go to the registry on Monday, after school.”

“Looking forward to it.”

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

The following afternoon, you went to the county clerk to file for a soulmate. You arrived at the building, stood in line, and finally, it was your turn. You were greeted by an older woman with a permanent scowl on her face.

“Can I help you?” she asked evenly.

“I, uh, I need to get registered for a soulmate?” you said tentatively. You had no idea how this part of the process went.

She eyed you up and down. “Very well, come with me.” She turned around and started to walk away from the counter and you looked around to see if you were supposed to follow. Since no one seemed to be stopping you as you inched towards the small opening in the counter, you went ahead and followed her.

“Do you have a driver’s license?” she asked once she reached a little podium against a wall.

You didn’t answer, instead you quickly searched your purse and wallet to retrieve the ID. She took it from you but before she did anything she asked you to show you the markings.

“I got these, on my arm,” you informed as you pushed your arm forward, your arms exposed.

“I’m just checking to make sure they aren’t tattoos,” she mused as she eyed them and scanned them with a small device that emitted purple light, you assumed it was a UV light or some form of it. “Alright, that all looks good.” With that, she turned to a computer and pulled up a file, scanning your driver’s license that filled out a bunch of forms and blanks - your name, age, social security, birthday, address. “Now, I need to document your markings. Put your arm right here,” she instructed, pointing to what looked like a small x-ray machine. It had a flat platform, a light, crosshairs, and an overhead lens. “Hold still,” she ordered.

You did your best to keep still as she pressed a button and the image was snapped.

“Did you write anything to them?” she asked, her voice stern.

“Yes, I wrote a few things,” you said, explaining everything you wrote and where.

“When did the markings appear? I need the date and time,” she informed.

“Alright, you’re officially in the system. Do you know their name?”

“No, we’ve only emailed and I refer to him as X?” you said, unsure.

“Good. I’m not sure if you know this or not, but we tell everyone who gets a mate: it’s never good to meet them before your time.”

“I’ve heard,” you noted quietly.

“It usually ends in an untimely death, and you don’t get another mate. No one has ever had more than one mate, even if their first one dies.”

You nodded. It made sense. The universe designed one person to fit your soul exactly, they couldn’t do that with two people, it would be crazy.

“No, yeah we agreed not to give any personal information away,” you confirmed.

“Good. Now, whenever your mate comes in to get registered, neither of you will be notified.”

You frowned for a moment. “So what’s the point in doing this?” you wondered.

“In case anything happens before you two meet, you can be notified. If you need a donor, your mate is notified. It’s mainly for record keeping, but just in case, they’re basically added to every In Case of Emergency list you have.”

“Really? Okay,” you said, a little more interested.

“Well you’re all set. Here’s some information for you,” she informed as she handed you a pamphlet. It said: So now you’ve got a soulmate, what this means for you.

Inside were several Do’s and Don'ts.

Do tell people you have a mate, so they don’t think you’re covered in tattoos of random words.

Don’t get the name of your soulmate before it appears on your skin. Their name and current location will appear when you are needed most by them.

Do be sure to include that you have a mate on any legal forms.

Don’t request a new mate.

… on and on it went. It made you smile and laugh at how… old it seemed to be.

Before you knew it, you were back in front of your computer screen, sending an update to X. He said he was busy today and would have to go to the clerk tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Forever Tag:

@essie1876​​

@magpiegirl80​​

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@iamwarrenspeace

@marvel-imagines-yes-please​​

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[writerfae]

Okay I'm talking about modern AU Taiden non-stop and I could for all eternity but also let me share some canonverse Taiden hcs with you this time:

assuming that they end up together sometime after the events of The Knights of the Alder

whenever Aiden visits the Willow Court Talon is assigned as his personal guard

Henry insists on a guard because he wants to make sure his brother is save and he thinks Aiden would feel more comfortable when it would be someone he knew

you know the two weren't really fond of each other when they first met but they became friends over time so though Talon is annoyed about having to "babysit" Aiden at first both get used to it with time and got even closer that way

Talon becomes quite protective of Aiden, not that he would ever admit it, but he's very determined to keep his friend save

I think at some point both start crushing on each other but never act on it (mutual pining at its finest)

okay but I actually have a headcanon about their first kiss

they're on a feast, right, and Talon has to look after Aiden, but he somehow manages to lose Aiden in the crowd, he's already starting to get a bit worried (both about Aiden and losing his job) when he finally finds him

he's with some other random fae who's shamelessly flirting with Aiden and Aiden is kinda getting along with it cause he's pretty much drunk because the fae gave him a sip of their fae wine and that's nothing you should give a mortal ever because it makes them kinda high (but since in this case it was just a sip it's not that bad, don't worry)

that of course rings Talon's alarm and after yelling and cursing at the fae he pulls Aiden away from them and takes him outside the ballroom for him to come to senses again and also for Talon himself to calm down because he's furious

Aiden complains of course and they bicker and at one point Aiden says something along the lines of "just because you don't want (to kiss?) me, doesn't mean that no one does" and makes some witty comments and Talon just wants him to stop talking so he kisses him. twice.

after that incident things are a bit distant between them because Talon doesn't think Aiden remembers (even though he does), also he has a bad conscience because he feels like he took advantage of Aiden being drunk and Aiden on the other hand doesn't bring it up cause he thinks Talon doesn't talk about the kiss because it didn't matter to him and oh well you can see where this is going

eventually they talk about it tho and sort things out and finally end up together

"I'm sorry that I kissed you back then." "I am not."

Aiden doesn't live in faerie all the time but he often visits and he visits even more when he starts dating Talon

Talon on the other hand would sometimes visit Aiden in the human world and Aiden teaches him a lot about humans

I imagine they would like to travel together a lot, showing each other their worlds and exploring new things

for example, I could imagine that they visit some wild fae clans. both are curious about those and Aiden, being part of the Wild Hunt, has already made some wild fae acquaintances that invited him, also it would be good for diplomatic purposes (to strengthen the bond of the wild fae to the fae of the Willow court and understand each other better)

during their stay at one of the fae clan villages they get tattoos together (yes wild fae do tattoos - or something pretty similar to that)

Aiden gifts Talon his necklace with the crow pendant at some point, with Talon giving him a brooch with his family crest in return, so that they have something of the other when they are separated

they write each other letters (love letters, yay)

I don't know yet if Aiden would eventually move to the faerie realm completely, but at least till the death of his father he'll totally stay in the human world (apart from his visits I mean)

speaking of fathers, Talon's father wasn't all too pleased with his son's choice, but Talon wasn't having any of it

I'm not gonna talk about problems they may have to face and I'm totally not gonna talk about Aiden's mortality because I want to cheer myself up with this not make it worse. positive content only.

the two still practice swordfigting together, sword fight sessions often turn into make-out sessions tho xD

Talon is very attentive, always making sure that Aiden is comfortable and content

I have this hc that when Aiden grows older Talon makes himself look a bit older too (with glamour), so Aiden doesn't feel odd

they like to go stargazing together

Talon always kept his hair short and straight, but Aiden likes how it gets the tiniest bit curly around the edges when it's just a bit longer, so Talon let's his hair grow out a bit more then usual

he is also kinda insecure about how tall and lanky he is? but Aiden makes him feel better about it

Aiden's brown eyes are plain compared to the fae's gem stone eyes, but for Talon that's what makes them especially beautiful. they're so dark and deep and some days he feels like he could drown in them

Talon often kisses Aiden's hand(s) and forehead and Aiden always giggles when he does it and it's adorable

when they share a bed, Aiden always hugs Talon close and Talon likes it because it makes him feel save, also he likes to listen to Aiden's heartbeat

no one would've expected the two to work out and last so long, but they did, till the very end

they've never been as lovey-dovey and open about it as Callan and Henry, but they really love each other

there's still banter and teasing in their relationship and sometimes they quarrel but they always made up somehow

even in canon Talon is always the one who's feeling cold and Aiden is the one to keep him warm

Aiden loves it when Talon plays the violin so he often asks Talon to play for him. and he does.

I could go on but this is too long already ahaha, I'll stop now. Anyway, I love these two. They may not be canon in the main story, but they still have a great future ahead of them 😌

wip intro / masterlist

tag list: @shattered-starrs @soupopoireau @a-ray-of-moonshine @quill-of-doom @heyabella @vibinwiththehomies @elisabethrosewrites @charleeyy @iced-ginger-tea @hell-yeah-fantasy @violetcancerian @that-one-potato-blep @annoyingwritingtrash @stardustspiral @shipdest @writingqueensworld @imintheunderworld @thewalkingnerdx @abalonetea @andifthestarsweretodie @fictional-semantics @cordaks @kpmccolgan @deekshablogs @myhusbandsasemni @magsiswritingnow @a-box-without-hinges @meiyanaalexia @contes-de-rheio @rhikasa @phantasticdomains @thegirlwithnonickname @marewriteblr @kimblewrites @daisylincs @treesandwords @writingbyjillian @write-for-your-life2 @deadlycupid @yejidoesthings @nora-theteawriter @ladywithalamp @the-writing-avocado (if you want to be added or removed from the tag list let me know!)

also tagging @writing-is-a-martial-art because you seemed interested in this too 🙈

[snapdragon-mina]

Sunflowers and Snakes

Pairing: Dabi x Reader x Hawks

A/n: Written for the Bnha spring time event. Hi @amaamajiki , I'm your anon! I really hope you like this lmao.

Word Count: 2.25k

Warnings: Sorta spoilers for bnha, swearing, blood mention, Suggestive themes(Very very minor)

For the first time in about a month, You could go home on time. The restaurant you worked in constantly asked for you to work overtime. The only reason you continuously agreed was for that sweet sweet paycheck. Fortunately, everyone else was at work and did their jobs, so you were free to go home and cuddle the shit out of your dog. 

When you got home, all you could hear was the sound of paws on wood before your life flashed before your eyes. Seems your dog missed you a little too much because he pounced, knocking you off balance, and eagerly started licking your face. 

"Okay! Okay! Hey let's make a deal. If you get off of me, I'll give you a surprise?" You held your dog away from your face with one arm, while wiping off the sheer amount of dog slobber that was on your face with the other. The dog paused as if he were thinking before moving off of you and sitting down with a sharp bark. 

"That's a good boy." You smiled at him before turning on the TV for background noise. You walked into the kitchen to fix your dog's food. After pouring the food into the bowl, you stuck a lil treat in there. Boom! Recipe for a happy Schnauzer. The moment you sat the bowl down, he shot forwards and barely gave you back out of the way. 

Shaking your head, you walked back into your living room and sat on the couch. Moments of complete peace were hard to come by. After the fall of All Might, nobody was really safe. I mean, Endeavor doesn't give a shit about his fans, so why should you trust him to protect you? 

From what you gathered, the number two hero, Hawks has actually started searching for his soulmate. When asked to show off his tattoo, he refused. Something about "The thrill of the hunt". 

Tattoos are typically two of a kind. Only two people would have the same tattoo. Speaking of soulmate tattoos, Yours was a Snake winding around a single sunflower. It was actually huge, since it covered your entire left arm. It was a really cool design when you think about it.

A small whine managed to shake you out of your thoughts. You got up, grabbed the yellow leash, and hooked it to the matching yellow collar your dog wore. "Come on pretty pup, it's been awhile since I've had time to go on a walk, huh?"

He barked in response as his stubby little tail wagged rapidly. You opened the door and locked it behind you before letting yourself be led by your dog. Around five minutes into the walk, you felt your arm grow warm. Apparently your soulmate was close. It was like a game of hot and cold until you bumped into a guy with a black trenchcoat. Your arm felt extremely hot, so you looked at him. 

"You gonna apologize? You were the one that bumped into me." He had a relatively bored tone of voice. He was eerily calm for someone to be in this scenario. It felt like his eyes were staring deeply into your soul.

"Yeah uh, sorry… But-" You couldn't even finish your sentence, because he walked off with a dismissive wave. You wanted to follow after him, but your dear dog had decided he wanted to shit right then and there. You were forced to wait on him to finish. 

After cleaning up and disposing of the waste, you just decided to go back home to get some much deserved rest.

•••

Two weeks later, you had a day off and it was really nice outside, so why not go for a walk through the forest? You went through your typical morning routine and got dressed. You fed your dog and took him out for a bit. "Alright pup, I'll be back soon, okay?" You blew a lil air kiss and left the house. 

After roughly 15 minutes, you reached a clearing in the forest. It was peaceful and nothing seemed to be out of place. There was a river a few steps away from you, and all sorts of flowers blooming. The trees actually provided very nice shade. You wouldn't mind living out here or at least somewhere just as peaceful as it was out here.

You took a deep breath and sat on a nearby stump, just taking in nature. You didn't get to enjoy the peace for long, due to the sudden burn on your left arm. Your soulmate was quickly approaching your location. You glanced around, but didn't see anyone. Yet your arm was getting warmer and warmer. 

Suddenly, a voice spoke out. "You're the person from that night, right?"

You recognized that voice. You focused on where the sound came from and fixated on where he was standing. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. "Yeah, I am. Hey can I-"

"I'm not your soulmate." He interjected. You shot him a confused look. There was no way you were wrong about this. "Don't believe me? I don't even have a tattoo." He held up both of his scarred arms. 

This only served to confuse you more. "Yeah no, I'm right. There's no fucking way I'm wrong." You shot back. He raised an eyebrow at you. 

"Are you sure about that? People are born without soulmates, y'know." He said.

"Let's say you aren't my soulmate. Why the hell did you follow me here?" You sighed, already annoyed that he ruined your perfectly peaceful moment. 

"Because I know who is." 

"Why would you help me? You don't seem like the type to help someone just out of the kindness of your heart." You narrowed your eyes and he laughed. He laughed at you. 

"Oh trust me, I'll be getting a pretty little payment for this," His eyes shone with amusement. "Follow me."

He walked off. Bold of him to assume you were gonna follow him. You stayed put for a moment before ultimately realizing it was useless. You had to speed walk to catch up to him. He walked out of the forest and towards a building that was pretty much hidden from view. 

Your arm was still extremely warm, due to you being close to the strange man. Hold on. You don't even know his name and yet you followed him to some secluded building where he's probably gonna-

"Dabi." 

The statement broke you out of your train of thought. That was… weirdly coincidental. He suddenly announced his name just as your mind began to wander. "Yeah… I'm Y/l/n Y/n…" 

He just hummed in response, as he continued to lead you through the strange building. Eventually the two of you came to a stop. The both of you stood in front of a door that had been painted red. He didn't even bother knocking and simply opened the door, revealing none other than the number two hero. 

Hawks' head perked up at the sound of the door opening and grinned lazily. "Hey, thanks again for bringing her." He had a glint in his eyes. Like he knew something you didn't. 

"Mhm. I'm expecting my… you piece of shit." Dabi trailed off before there was suddenly emotion in his voice. It definitely wasn't a good one. Had something happened between the two of them? Should you leave? Yeah… you definitely should. Dabi seemed extremely hostile and you were getting bad vibes. You went to take a step back but paused when you felt a hand tightly grip your wrist. 

"Huh?"

"You aren't going anywhere" His eyes were still focused on Hawks. Nobody moved for a moment before suddenly, the hostility drained from the air. Dabi let go of your wrist and walked out of the room. 

"Hawks-"

"Call me Keigo."

"Okay, Keigo… can you explain to me why I'm here?" The past like 5 minutes was a trip from start to finish and you really wanted answers. Keigo patted the spot next to him, so you took a seat and waited for him to start. 

"Your arm still feels really warm despite Dabi no longer being in the room, right?" His feathers ruffled slightly as a breeze drifted through the window. You nodded, unsure of what to think before it hit you. His grin got wider and he removed his jacket. "Well, Y/n, we're soulmates." He held out his left arm for you to see. Low and behold, The exact same tattoo was covering it. 

You felt extremely happy that you'd found your soulmate, but still extremely confused. How did your tattoo still burn in Dabi's presence if Hawks was your soulmate? It didn't make sense. 

"I should probably explain Dabi since he won't do it himself, and you're probably hella confused. Dabi is also our soulmate." 

That… that actually makes sense. You nod as Hawks explains everything and suddenly he gets to a topic that you'd been curious about for a while now.

"Because of his scarring, he no longer has the tattoo. But nature had him covered because he developed a telepathic connection to both of us. Aka, he can very easily read our minds."

That made even more sense. But that doesn't explain why he refused you as a soulmate. You shook off that thought and decided to get to know Hawks a little better. Eventually the two of you came to an agreement. Since you liked to cook, and he liked eating, sometime this month, you'd bake or fry chicken for him. 

It was starting to get dark and your dog probably missed you, so you decided to try to find Dabi. 

Dabi did not want to be found. It took you 30 minutes to finally get to him, and when you did he ignored any small talk you tried to initiate. Eventually he grew tired of your shit. "Look, I'm not your soulmate. Leave me alone."

"Yeah? Bullshit. Hawks explained everything to me. Why are you brushing me off?" 

"I don't fucking need a soulmate. Certainly not someone like you or Hawks." He snarled, turning on his heels to walk away. 

"I don't care about what you think you need. You need us, you can't deny that!" You argued back. You were really starting to get sick of this.

"I can and I will." 

And with that, he walked away. You balled your hands into fists tightly. You would've stayed, but your dog needed someone to take care of him.

•••

Almost a month had gone by since that argument, between you and Dabi and you hadn't heard from him since. Hawks moved in and actively bothered the hell out of your dog. He would complain about him biting his feathers, but you would often catch him sleeping with y/d/n curled up at his side. 

You were in the middle of baking cookies when a crash could be heard from within the house. You grabbed a kitchen knife and went to investigate the sound. It couldn't have been the dog, he was asleep when the crash was heard. Silently walking into the room the sound was heard from, you were kinda shocked to see him. 

He had numerous cuts in various sizes on his body. All of them were bleeding. "I just need somewhere to lay low for a bit, I'll be gone by morning." 

"Dabi…" Your heart ached at the sight of him, but you refused to be someone he could walk all over. "Get out."

It seemed like he was too preoccupied to listen to your thoughts, because your words shocked him. "...Out? Y/n, it's me." 

"I know. But you said you didn't need us, yet here you are." You stood your ground and he stared up at you for a moment. He was analyzing you, seeming like he was studying you for a weakness he could exploit. 

He let out a sigh and spoke under his breath. You raised an eyebrow at this and he cleared his throat before speaking up. "...I'm sorry. I just… don't want the two of you dragged down with me."

"Elaborate." You demanded and he nodded. 

"I'm a villain, you're a civilian, and Hawks is the number two hero. Being associated with me is like killing your chances to actually do something with your life." He hissed out. Seemed like the pain from his wounds was getting to him. 

You helped him up and led him into the bathroom. There, you cleaned up and bandaged his wounds. He studied your face carefully and you worked. "No hard feelings?" 

"No hard feelings. But Keigo should be getting home soon, so you're gonna have to relay your little speech again." You snorted as you finished up. He stood up and walked out of the bathroom with you trailing behind him. 

The two of you walked into the kitchen. You pulled the cookies out of the oven and offered one up as a peace treaty. He rolled his eyes and pecked you on your lips as a peace treaty. 

A minute or so later, Hawks walked in. He noticed Dabi sitting on the counter with a chamomile flower crown on his head. How you managed to get him to wear that is unknown to humanity. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna live here from now on. And no, you won't be topping."

Hawks rolled his eyes as you laughed. "At least you're not being a pussy about soulmates anymore."

"Fuck you too."