#one of my cats usually smells like straight up sunshine

[piknim]

Why do cats smell so good

[graythegreyt]

hi hi gray!!! this feels like poking a bear but, favorite headcanons for miraculous characters? any of them

CHAOS!!!!!! <3333

YOU HAVE NOT ONLY POKED A BEAR BUT UM. UH. SHOOT. UHHHH I NEED A WITTY PHRASE UH. TURNED THE FAN TO MAXIMUM AND WATCHED IT SHAKE THE WHOLE HOUSE DOWN YES THAT'S IT

I will gladly take this opportunity to ramble my little heart out. Talk your ear off. Preach to the crowds. Shoot the breeze. The following under the cut is just one HUGE slightly DISCOMBOBULATED RANT so be warned hehe.

OKAY OKAY to begin with I LOVE the thought that the magic of the Miraculous bears consequences to those especially in-tune with their kwami OR who use the powers frequently. In this I mean the ideas that if the kwami are especially bonded to their chosen their magic takes consequence in the form of their animal-avatar's tendencies. Cat Adrien and Bug Marinette and Fox Alya and Turtle Nino and probably?? Moth Gabriel. I think Adrien would be more prone to napping and wanting physical contact, but due to his. Unchecked massive depression and abandonment issues. Those aren't more apparent than usual. I think he would also purr and chase moving things and love napping in sunlight also and his friends would be DELIGHTED at these (even if they don't know why they're happening). I like the thought of Marinette's ability to sit quietly and stare without moving a muscle increasing 400%, that she likes eating aphids and leaves, that she wants to cuddle in winter and CANNOT deal with extreme temperatures. Also that her sense of smell becomes really good (Antennae!!!) and if she enters a room that smells like citrus she just straight-up leaves without comment. Also Gabriel Agreste eating his own fashion designs I will not be accepting criticism at this time

OUTSIDE OF THAT THOUGH. A BIT OF THE USUAL but I'd like to think that Alya and Marinette and Nino have ADHD but Marinette also has an anxiety disorder of some sort (and also. PTSD. Like so many of the kids in this show at this point probably. At least Adrien also) and that Adrien has depression (maybe bipolar?) and autism. And is a sunshine friend. They all form a support group and help one another because there are SO FEW ADULTS THAT COME THROUGH FOR THESE KIDS IN THE SHOW MAN!!! I don't know maybe Nathalie and Sabine would help them though.

I think by far the funniest interpretation of the show is that most of the kid characters are in just a massive complicated polycule. Just. So many people dating so many other people. Schedules are drawn up and secretaries are appointed.

Unrelated to mostly any of this but I love Alya. She's so SWEET and a FORCE OF NATURE and she has THREE PARTNERS AND IS UNSTOPPABLE. I think that Nino and Marinette and Adrien would turn to her first if they have any questions about society. Which is funny because Alya is as much a massive dork as the rest of them but her overwhelming confidence causes people to see her as Awesome and Cool as she does her weird little hobbies on main.

I LOVE the Rose runaway headcanons that I've seen and she and Juleka are 10000% dating. I think that as twins Juleka has seen Luka's hidden Unhinged side and gets EXTREMELY AMUSED whenever anyone calls him lacking in pettiness. In terms of friendships I like the thought that Max and Kim and Alix are in a friendgroup together, and Max and Alix bond over being uninterested in romantic relationships.

Kind-of a different thought entirely but. Psychological effects of the Miraculous roles. I think that Marinette would become more withdrawn because of the CRUSHING BURDEN of needing to pull through for Paris at any cost. Even if all her friends are struck down she has to keep standing, keep going, and win. I think that her friends would recognize the importance of her role in repairing the damage and do whatever it takes to keep Ladybug standing and I think that really GETS to her. I think she'd struggle also with convincing Chat that he's not expendable, that she wants and needs and loves him and that he's FANTASTIC at his job, just as she does in canon. I think that Chat as Chat Noir really struggles with the feeling of being left in the dark- which he largely IS- but has mostly regained his sense of importance due to his and Ladybug's reawakened partnership post-Strikeback. I think he'd still have feelings of being betrayed or condescended at still though, based on his and Ladybug's struggles with communication and trust in the past (though they've worked hard to reearn that trust and have come a long way!!) and because Ladybug's stress response is to become as INDEPENDENT AS POSSIBLE and completely close herself off and leave everyone in the dark (re: Gang of Secrets, Chat Blanc, the finale). He'd be a little bitter about it (rightfully so) but would try to move forward and address it with the people he feels are leaving him in dark.

Speaking of season five I LOVE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR'S NEW DYNAMIC!! They're just so silly. So stupid.

Also speaking of season five and especially the finale I think that Juleka and Rose and Adrien are particularly haunted by their nightmares for the weeks succeeding old Monarch's defeat due to suffering the nightmares for a while before Ladybug could cast her cure.

ALSO SPEAKING OF THE FINALE: BUG NOIRE. I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ON BUG NOIRE MY GOODNESS.

These include in no particular order:

> Combining the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous as a simple Miraculous combination probably has not happened in CENTURIES. I think the dedication that our present Ladybug and Chat Noir have for respecting the Miraculous is a bit novel and unique, and I think Chat Noir would also be able to use a regular unification of Tikki and Plagg's powers just as Marinette did.

> Combining the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous, while not nearly as catastrophic as using the Wish, is till a tremendous amount of power and teeters on the edge of the dance of Creation, Destruction, and Reality. I think that the surge in power boosted Bug Noire's confidence and I like to headcanon that it probably made her feel giddy/powerful in the detached sort of way one with the abilty to have a personal look on objective Reality would have. I think there are consequences for this unification too: I like to headcanon that the sort of power and freedom and knowledge one gets in combining creation and destruction really messes with the head, and that Ladybug/Marinette finds herself losing touch with reality following the weeks after Monarch's defeat. I think it would get worse before it got better, with her beginning with losing her sense of the world for only a few minutes at a time to maybe an hour or more before it recedes again. I think the terrifying sense of conceptualism held by the kwami and channeled through the Miraculous would stick with her forever though.

> Bug Noire, if not fighting to the death as she was in canon, would probably be OVERJOYED and THRILLED to Exist and to be lingering on the edge of reality as she was, and would probably need help being convinced to detransform afterwards.

The KWAMI I LOVE THE KWAMI I LOVE READING PEOPLE WRITE ABOUT THEM. I like the idea that the kwami enjoy lingering around humanity for the ability to experience the universe at a mortal level and actively participate in it, a la @iapislazuli 's interpretations of canon. I think that they really do begin to care a lot for their chosen, a soft spot and a sense of guardianship towards their wards/their friends.

Ooh and the kwami referring to their chosen as little versions of their avatars (bug, kit/kitten, etc.) love that one as well. It's so sweet!!!

Marichat gamer friends silly goofy friends. That's it that's the headcanon. I'd like to see Ladrien silly goofy friends as well if I'm being honest.

REALLY LIKE THE HEADCANONS OF LADYNOIR GOOFING AROUND ON PATROL. Daring one another to do stupid-complicated stunts and playing games and finding the grossest parts of the city to have heartfelt moments in. Love them being PALS being PARTNERS

Oh I also like the thought of Adrien and Marinette seemingly-randomly just being EXTREMELY BUFF. And no one can figure out how they've found the time to develop that much muscle and they're both giggling to eachother about it.

Okay that's all for now luckily for you all. Thank you for reading and thank you CHAOS FOR ENABLING ME!! LOVE YOU!! Hope these are all okay let me know of I've accidentally said anything offensive!

[monstersmutpeddler]

Resisting Maxu: The Clecanian Series Book 6

By: Victoria Aveline

Monster Scale

Level 01: Basically Human

More sensitive senses (hearing/smell) and can purr. 

My Overall Rating For The Book

“I Bought The Ebook or Will Read On Kindle Unlimited”

This was a fun read! If you wanted to see more of Clecania and their many cultures/values: You are going to absolutely LOVE this books. You get to see so much of the world, it’s awesome!

As a heads up, the love plot for the two leads is resolved, but the overarching plot is left on a cliffhanger. You’re left wondering: Oh shit, what’s gonna happen next! Can’t wait for the next couple! ;w;

The main couple is fine, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Maxu. He felt like diet Theo. If that makes sense? He does have some interesting traits that make him different from his brother, but I was meh about him and his relationship with our leading lady. 

Overly Simplified Summary

Meg is having a great time going on a tour across Clecania with a couple other human women so the world can see/interact with humans. Until her fated mate smells her and goes on a manhunt trying to track her down. 

Keep reading for ‘This Book Has Everything’ and possible Trigger Warnings.

This Book Series Has Everything

[x] Touch them and I’ll kill you vibes

[x] Love interest that you want to smack across the face at some point

[x] Main character that you want to smack for making some DUMBASS decisions

[x] Big buff love interest

[x] Soul mates or fated mates

[x] Miscommunication happens between leads at some point

Not too extreme, mostly minor things that just feel irritating. 

[x] Plot first smut second

[x] Straight

[x] One’s a sunshine and the other is a grump

[x] We’re escaping from the bad guys' prison/lab/etc.

[x] Love interest has to fight hard to win the love interests heart

[x] Main character and love interest talk about their problems or tragic pasts and heal together

[x] There is something wrong with the current female population, hence humans

[x] The side character steals the show and makes you want their own book

[x] Society where men have drank respect women juice

[x] Kinky af sex

Bondage and BDSM.

[x] Happy Ending Guaranteed

At least for the main couple. 

[x] They purr like a FUCKING CAT

[x] Super scary/dangerous but very gentle and sweet with the one they love

[x] Book ends on a cliffhanger

Here’s a link/buy the book!

Trigger Warnings

[x] Main character had a really bad relationship with an ex at one point

[x] Really shitty childhood, usually abuse involved

[dreamcatcherrs]

what catches their eyes/attracts them?; mcyt x reader

+ this is in no way factual information, only my very weird and specific opinions :)

dream:

free-spirited people

someone who isn't afraid to speak their mind

confidence, to a certain extent

someone he can be loud with

someone who will wake up in the middle of the night with him to go on a car drive to nowhere

the colour blue (dnf👀)

clean and fresh-looking clothes

satin fabric

big height difference

the smell of citrus fruits

large smiles

silver jewellery

small hands

smart people who aren't afraid to show it

george:

calm, laid back people

someone quiet, but still able to have a laugh

very friendly vibes - even when first meeting them

the colour blue (literally the only interesting colour he's able to see lol)

bright eyes

lip gloss

flower print

slightly shy people who are actually easy to interact with once you start a conversation with them

pastel-coloured nails, not too long

pink-tinted lips

ponytails

the smell of vanilla

puppy eyes

sapnap:

energetic people

someone who can hype up their friends no matter the situation

the colour red

like, a bloody red

soft skin

full lips

loose shirts over skin-tight tops

when shoelaces have a different colour on each shoe

corsets

a very subtle scent of perfume

thigh highs

someone who just wants to enjoy life with the people they're surrounded by

badboyhalo:

large, bright smiles that spread up to your eyes

freckles

button noses

rose-gold jewellery

french manicures

bangs

slightly shy people

genuinely sweet people

not the fake type that talks shit about people behind their backs and then will compliment them a few seconds after

someone who when they enter a room feels like a breath of fresh air to everyone else

someone completely selfless

the smell of lavender

shiny hair

technoblade:

people who aren't afraid to take the lead

glasses

intellectual people

like, for example people who know a lot of random stuff from a bunch of different things that they're interested in

or also just book smart people

slightly clumsy people (finds it cute)

gold jewellery

someone with some mystery to them

refreshing scents, like clean laundry or shampoo

cat eyes (eyeliner)

wilbur soot:

long legs

chokers

shy people

someone who gets flustered easily

glasses + thin bangs

the colours brown and beige together

baggy, comfy clothes

the smell of newly baked cookies

beanies

the kind of person that makes him feel like he can always talk to them - someone he can feel safe with

birth marks

accents

jschlatt:

smart people

the way they speak is just so clean without even noticing

fox eyes

people who aren't afraid to wear sweatpants in public

generally just someone who isn't afraid to do, say and wear whatever they want

someone who stands for what they think and have the balls to say it when needed

nose rings

simple yet flattering pieces of jewellery

long nails

someone who he can stay up all night with and never get tired of them

high heels

hip dips

corpse husband:

fishnets, of course

someone who give 0 fucks about what everyone else thinks of them

unique people

wether that be physical features or straight up the personality, it draws him in

chokers

chunky, black sneakers or boots

someone who can make him happy without even trying

a positive aura for the most part

as in he doesn't want to be surrounded by someone who’s negative or dragging everyone else down with them

the colour yellow

rings - lots of them

karl jacobs:

a walking ray of sunshine, basically

tbh, karl has a couple of things in common with what corpse is attracted to;

positive energy, uniqueness and rings

a palette filled with bright colours

like, almost rave style colours

that could be clothes, makeup, hair, nails, accessories

chunky, white shoes

selfless people

someone who as each day goes by becomes more charming to him

he likes the smell of candles from bath and body works, as we all know

the colour purple

skeppy:

big eyes

someone who’s able to make him laugh without even trying

tooth gaps

someone who has very playful, innocent vibes to them

and someone who can take jokes and pranks

people who walk confidently

the smell of strawberries

long eyelashes

someone who collects things others usually wouldn’t

someone who is very respectful to others

a mix between really comfy clothes and really feminine clothes

fundy:

someone who comes across as “different” than others

and don't you dare think of ✨I’m not like other girls✨ (I know you did -_-)

he just thinks people who think and act very different than others are very interesting

beauty marks

nicely shaped eyebrows

someone who finds mystical things interesting

fox eyeliner (yes, I put this in here because: furry)

someone who has unusual, yet surprisingly good taste in music

people who are constantly warm

red lips

the colour light brown, almost beige-like

quackity:

someone who gets his humour

someone like him, but more quiet and slightly shy

especially when on screen in front of an audience

sliver necklaces

the smell of flowers

dark, extreme eyeliner

loose clothes

freckles

piercings

someone who teases others and who can handle to be teased by others

the colour dark blue

punz:

the colour grey

a fresh fashion sense

yet still very comfortable fits

messy buns

someone who he just knows will be a cool person before he even talks to them

someone who just has that kinda vibe, y’know?

glossy lips

independent people

someone responsible and caring to others

tattoos

navel piercings

awesamdude:

cropped jackets

the colour neon green

hair put up in a bun

someone with a free nature

someone who is a complete wild card

like, someone who will jump over a fence just to get closer to a bunny they think they saw on the other side of it

loose strands of hair

clear nail polish

cargo pants

the smell of chocolate

slimecicle:

people who have comfort items

someone who knows random facts that no one else usually knows

people who have a unique way of thinking

passionate people

and when they talk about what they’re passionate about, they talk for hours

shorter hair

sweet and nutty scents

natural beauty

fluffy hair

honest people

but not brutally honest

the smell of coconut

eret:

eye glitter/shimmer

silky clothes that shine in the moonlight

platform boots/heels

long, flowy dresses

someone who does whatever they want

and who doesn't like being told what to do by others

the colours pink and dark purple

the smell of the ocean

someone who already knows how to live their life

stretch marks

foolish:

low-cut jeans

someone very silly who knows how to have a good laugh

someone very supportive of their friends

curtain bangs

long-sleeved sweatshirts

someone who loves food

puppy eyes

straight, white teeth

someone who is willing to help others in need

someone who doesn't talk badly about others behind their back

someone who knows what they want

jack manifold:

confidence

white, wide-legged pants

the colour light blue or just pure white

people who are very easy-going and fun to be around

someone who can fit into and understand anyones humour

an open-minded person who likes to hear from other people’s point of views when they have a different opinion than them

butterfly patterns

crop tops

oversized t-shirts

hair beads

tommy:

people who are just as loud as him

and at the same time knows when to be serious

the colours yellow and grey

people who are kind to everyone

creative eyeliner

fluffy hair

people who can get so lost in their own world, they almost forget about their surroundings

colourful accessories

someone who isn't afraid to be who they are

someone who has many passions and loves to talk about them

oversized hoodies

tubbo:

hoodies layered over skirts or dresses

frilly socks

people who are very adventurous, and wants to make their life as interesting as possible!

someone who can help him overcome some of his fears

charm bracelets

cute habits

the colours yellow and orange

dimples

the smell of almond milk and honey

people who twirl their hair unknowingly when bored or unfocused

ranboo:

someone who looks intimidating at first (he thinks people like that are cool as fuck)

but then is, like, the sweetest person he’s ever met

loves someone who can speak fluent sarcasm, just like him

he likes sass

glassy skin

fingerless gloves

people who act cocky for the fun of it

but actually don’t care about winning or losing or proving anything

simplistic earring placements

people who have hidden talents, and the more you get to know them, the more talents are revealed

people who don't gossip

____________________________________

tag list✰

@zayenz @terribletoothbat @0t0n1n @0125cm @yukiuheh @shinee-is-5-forever @regularnoceur @b01nk-b0w@christhebish@nutritious-emo-crackkk@bookishreid@giavanna-707 @reddiesmcdonalds@cosmins@vixxzial@autumnpleaves@paradigmax@meaganjm@shiningsunrises@moralofwalls@username1212131@gxldentaestuff@innitdream @televisionpresent38 @bubblyanis@zurami @highoffhockey @popinjaytaylor@196os@livsbaby@doubts-of-gold@bunlina@retrav @mcyt-is-my-life@aleaisntcreative @my-shitpost-of-writing @my-shitpost-of-writing @clownsdrowning @pissbabywastaken@shiningsunrises @tie-dyed-dumbass @death-by-rats@simpfordraco @bippity-boppity-boopa@neongreendaydreams  @vibin-by-myself@littlepotatos0w0@christhebish @pipp-poppz@btsiguess-kpop@prettysmallfries@hiyoko-kos@kenmxskitten@fudrudy@weepingartanimespy@rhino-zucchini@goldenstarofthunderclan@melonmarz@ubeicecreamisthebest@polaroidinurroom @ady-yoo@isimpforeveryone@edenhollandd@ineedtogetoutofhere@glitter-night @hamilsandersfam@mothheart-witch @wrong-exit@trashcanfullofdork  @hellfirepheonixx @marshmallow-babe@isimpforeveryone @ky50621 @randomcloud@wormie4k@dinonuggies50  @p4rty-t4ttoos@aspenthegremlin@book-of-anarchy @jeyacore @thetattooink@gogywasfound@millavalntyne@junob1ade@ubeicecreamisthebest@karida @i-have-paws-love@drvgonraja@eatasslikegrass@creamofweep@venusomega@lunarfedora@rowe-n @wreny24 @vincent-stargogh @floatingplanets​ @vernon-dursley​ @childhoodgrunge​ @fivxss @hexagonclash​ @crazyjuls12​ @littlebabysandboxburritos @shifted-dreams@lenamarie666 @reinyrei @sozvuchiy @weaslvy-mxlfoy​ @aiofheavenandhell​ @honeyglaazed @carisle-mikealson��� @ineedtogetoutofhere​ @twist3dtinkerbell@cracraforfandoms@angel-dazey @leia-starly @smiithys​ @squiddyyyy​ @c0wc0ww​ @animeweeb019284​ @m00-bl00m-k0le @stqrs-thoughts @jenlouvre @uhhhguiltypleasures​ @trappedchest​ @punzrights​ @trashgremlin36​ @cyberrsoot​ @elebeleb​ @k3nn3dis-crap​ @karlshoodies​ @rascal-in-banishment​ @heartbroken-writer​ @bartok-the-magnificent​ @ihavenoideashelp​ @goldiefox1​ @bethybop​ @helluhru​ @venuzblr​ @pha5ed5tar50 @cscooop​  @bethybop @lunareclipse-13 @http-strawberryy​ @mahitophobic​ @ahmya-4​ @dracoscumwh0re @darkdaria1 @jiminifiess​ @orchardangel​ @shyorchider​ @cupcake54492​ @natsueyama​ @honeyconnie​ @notacardigan​ @maybeshroom​

[thelampisaflashlight]

Because I finally changed my icon after, uhhhh... two years? I’m gonna make some more ghoul headcanons. Yes, this is an excuse. Below the cut.

-When Dew was first summoned, he wasn’t really as feral as he is now, in fact he was pretty subdued, because he didn’t want to get kicked back to the depths. After the ministry decided to hold onto him like a weird cat they found behind a 7/11 and befriended with convenience store ham, he became a lot more wild as he got more comfortable in his new surroundings. 

-Ghouls closer to the surface tend to be a lot less aggressive towards humanity, no one is really sure why, but they seem a lot more well behaved and more inclined to mimicking human behaviors. There are, as always, exceptions to this rule though. 

-Some ghouls are born, others are created, but at the end of the day, nobody can really tell unless they just straight up ask them. Even other ghouls have a hard time telling who came from where, but ghouls from the depths usually know more about the various layers of the depths and ghoul culture.

-Changing elements isn’t unheard of in ghoul society, sometimes it just happens, and, well, what can you do? Sometimes the change is necessary to maintain control/keep groups together, and other times a ghoul might decide to shift elements out of curiosity. Multi ghouls are a lot more common down below than topside because of this, but they do exist; Swiss and Sunshine for example. However, once a group has settled on their dynamic, it’s harder for ghouls to move around as much element wise.

-Aether tends to be one of the gentler ghouls, but he had a nasty habit of biting people when he was first summoned, not because he wanted to hurt anyone really, he’d just get curious if someone waved a hand or a tail too close to his face. He did it in depths, too. He still manages to get a good chomp in here and there from time to time, and it startles the hell out of whoever was unlucky enough to be on the receiving end.

-Ghouls sometimes link their tails together if they’re traveling in groups in the depths because it’s easy to get lost. It’s mostly something ghouls with small... kits(?) will do in order to keep their offspring from wander off. Kind of like how elephants make a chain with their tails and trunks.

-Some ghouls have a very “eggy” smell about them that doesn’t really go away, and gets worse when they’re wet. A ghoul getting caught out in the rain is a one way trip to sulfur town.

-Ghouls are fairly good at taking care of children, even if kids tend to be a bit startled by their appearance, that usually goes away after they realize they’re safe and in good hands. Some ghouls don’t enjoy having to deal with kids or kits, but they would never intentionally hurt one just because they would prefer not having them around. Woe unto anyone who’s mean to a child in their presence, because the ghouls can and will destroy them... or, ya know, kick them out. Whichever gets the job done honestly.

And, finally...

-Copia isn’t sure why, but sometimes the ghouls go absolutely feral and won’t stop screeching and clawing at things. He blames the moon cycle, because it always seems like on the night of the new moon that the ghouls will go from, “How do you do, sir?” to yowling at the sky and scampering around in the dark. In reality, it’s because the darkness makes them feel like they’re back in hell, and some ghouls don’t like that feeling.

[os-hyoideum]

the wh*res are fighting 19 (one-shot)

Part 19: THE DATE

Previous - here - Next

masterlist

(this, perhaps, can be read seperately, so if you you wanna check it out, but nit the SMAU, then go on 😉)

a/n: Ok, it took me a long time, but I had a lot of uni work and it's also almost 5k words 🙃 Like, I can pull the standard SMAU texts out of my ass in an hour sometimes, but this? Nah-ah, I like writing, but I'm mostly slow. (but I will write out the ending too) Since the format is different, I'm putting content warnings on this (outside of the ones on the matserlist). Again, it's an AU so I will write Touya as bitchy or soft as I please, and I take no criticism for it 💅 (now watch me destroy them after some nice time - if you see this no you don't)

THE SHOT IS UNDER THE CAT

WORDCOUNT: 4878

CONTENT: hero!AU (Dabi/Touya is a hero), OOC, Y/N is awkward at feelings (cringe), lack of safety equipment (sledgehammers), romantic arson (just a bit), cursing, tatted up/pierced Touya, Touya rides motorcycle

I really hope you gonna enjoy it, cause I enjoyed writing it and I think it's alright!

You looked up from your phone to see the place where you were to meet Touya. As a first part of his date plan, he invited you to a small café that looked almost like a bookshop from outside. On the windows hung colorful fairy lights (although turned off, due to it being bright outside) and some handmade paper decorations. It truly was a nice place, but quite an unusual choice, considering it was Touya who chose it; a bit too wholesome perhaps, but who were you to judge.

After making sure that the address you arrived at was the correct one, you stopped under a tree to get some shade from the warm sun rays. You started to look around, seeing people, some of them in a rush, some enjoying the nice weather, while leisurely walking to their mysterious destinations. Unfortunately, one face was oddly familiar. Standing on the opposite side of the road was an ordinary looking man in dark clothing. Looking straight into your eyes, he moved towards the crosswalk and, in a very relaxed manner, directed his steps towards you. 

You tensed up, ready for anything. It wasn't a good omen to see him right there, right now. He was sent there as a warning and it was apparent in his intense gaze and every little calculated move. Also, because you knew how the gods' machine works. 

After barely a few seconds, the unnamed man stopped right in front of you, leaving precisely one and a half meter of space between your bodies. Perfectly straight back, relaxed face features, hands in sight. It didn't seem as though he was there to attack or cause trouble (any bigger than his presence alone already was), but you knew better than to let your guard down. Staring him down, you waited patiently for his words.

“Hello, number Four,” he said with a slight underline of contempt in his voice.

“What do you want?” You looked around to check if any unwanted attention was on you two. It wasn’t really necessary considering both of you looked like ordinary civilians, but, at the end of the day, it’s better to be aware of one’s surroundings.

The man shifted his weight slightly, taking half a step closer.

“You know your little paradise won’t last long.” He exclaimed and smiled cynically. “Or have you, perhaps, forgotten?”

“Fuck off.” With a cold voice and a cold gaze, you ended the short exchange. The man did not move, however. He stood, still with an annoyingly straight back, in front of you and looked both harmless and ready to leap at you, had he deemed it necessary.

The stare off was short lived. A few seconds later you felt a presence coming from behind you and the man was pushed away by Touya, who came just in time to hear the end of your conversation. He looked a bit concerned, but stared at the mysterious person with a hard gaze and little bit of blue flame coming from the corners of his mouth.

“She told you to fuck off, so go and scurry away.”

Unbothered, the man didn’t pay any attention to this sudden event. He seemed even amused by it to some extent.

“I see you got yourself-” he glanced quickly towards Touya, who stood right next to you “a dog.”

Already annoyed before by the sheer presence of this man, now you felt your blood boil. WIthout thinking much, you leapt towards him and harshly grabbed the collar of his shirt. You heard someone close-by whisper with a scared voice, but you paid no mind to it.

“Fuck. Off.” You started, accentuating the words and putting as much venom into them, as you could muster. “Go and crawl at their feet like the pathetic nobody that you are.”

You saw a change in his eyes. No longer emotionless, he seemed irritated, which filled you with a bit of sadistic pride. He forcefully pulled your hands away and shoved you back. Then brushed his shirt like nothing happened and, just before turning around and going away said:

“You are the same. Everyone who touches the Olymp is.”

Finally alone with your still-just-a-friend, you turned around to face him. Having brushed off the encounter, you smiled at Touya, first a little fake, but seeing him made you happy enough to be genuine after just barely a second. On the other hand though, he still seemed rather concerned with the strange turn of events. 

“Who was that?”

“He’s a colleague... from work.” Your answer didn’t lessen Touya’s worry. His brows furrowed, while he decided to press a bit more.

“From work? He’s… a hero?”

You stood right in front of him and lifted your arm, putting the thumb between his brows, watching him relax slightly, as you caressed the crease in his skin.

“From before.” It was a diplomatic answer, both a lie and a truth. You knew Touya wasn’t stupid and would get to the truth sooner or later, but for now he seemed to let it go, so you changed the topic. “So, I must ask. Why… a cafe? I would be more inclined to think you’d take me to a boxing ring or something.”

Touya smiled at your teasing tone, but did not answer. He just turned around and started walking towards the entrance of the place. He stopped and held the door for you, still standing next to the tree, a few meters away. 

“You coming?”

You looked at him unamused by his lack of answer, but went inside. It was pretty and cozy, which didn’t match with his more edgy vibe, but you just brushed it off and sat down on a plush armchair in the corner. You put your elbows on the table and propped your head on your palms, looking as Touya took his jacket off and threw it on the back of his chair. You started to closely admire the tattoos adorning both of his arms, from the hands to his shoulders (and even further, as you already knew).

“Both your tattoo and hand kink are showing, baby.” 

He sat down and looked at you with a teasing glint in his beautiful eyes. You leaned back, crossed one of your legs over the other and put your arms up, in a gesture of surrender, but then looked at him accusingly. 

“That’s not my fault that you’re a harlot. You’re basically putting yourself on display for me, so really, it’s on you. You whore.” 

“You got me, but it’s only for you.”

Touya laughed then and stood up to buy you both a coffee. You sat still, waiting and looking around. When your eyes landed on the discarded jacked, you stood up to take it. A simple black jean jacket, quite thin to be suitable for the warm weather. Holding it by the collar, you brought it closer to your face and inhaled the smell of the perfume lingering on the fabric. You couldn’t quite tell what it was, but it wasn’t too strong and you had to admit it was one of the best smells you knew, especially with the mix of natural scent of Touya’s body.

The owner of the jacket came back with the drinks a few minutes later and saw you with the piece of clothing.

“A little thief today, are we?”

You took one last whiff of the jacket and put it down.

“It smells nice. Maybe I should buy this perfume for myself.”

Touya looked up from his coffee.

“You want my perfume?”

“As I said - it’s nice.” You shrugged and saw him smirk.

“I can give you mine if you want to smell like me so badly.”

“Hmm…” You hummed and leaned forward a bit, “Well, I wouldn’t mind smelling like you.”

You took your cup and started to slowly drink, while looking into Touya’s eyes. Something in them made you feel strange, perhaps it was the softness with which he took you in. 

When sunshine fell on him from between the window decorations, he reminded you of some kind of angel, eyes almost glowing, silver piercings glistening; the sun accentuated every little shadow on his face, but, at the same time, made him look really delicate.

Touya’s gaze went down and your thought moved to the back of your mind. He adjusted his position on the chair before speaking.

“I guess I can tell you why the cafe, which you found, oh so surprising, I don’t know why.” He paused for a second to narrow his eyes at you. “I’ve heard you wanted a “normal” date, whatever the hell that means.”

“Wha-,” your eyes widened with mock surprise, “Did Shiggy snitch on me?”

“Please, he didn’t have to. It’s not like you asked all your friends for advice. So I decided to take you somewhere… classic, if you will.”

You crossed your arms on your chest and rolled your arms, then pointed an accusatory finger at your companion.

“Now you’re just mocking me.”

“Me? Never.” Obvious sarcasm on his part. “But I have one more place that I want to take you later. Perhaps more to your standards.”

Now you felt a bit guilty that he might have thought you didn’t like it. He didn’t seem so, but you preferred to explain either way.

“I don’t want you to think that I don’t appreciate it… it’s just…” You shrugged. “I didn’t expect something so… usual? Common? Normal, heh.”

“I know you’re just awkward, but let’s relax and enjoy ourselves.”

And so you did, talking about many different things for a few hours.

***

You put your index finger on your lips, pondering on something for a moment.

“Isn’t it going to be, you know… the anniversary soon? Of your mom’s divorce, I mean.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Touya nodded.

“Damn, happy birthday then.” You brought your cup to your lips like you didn’t just say… that. But Touya lifted his eyebrows and stared at you unsure.

“What?” You just shrugged and he sighed, “Nevermind then. Happy birthday to mom.”

A few seconds of a comfortable silence fell over the two of you. The hushed voices of the people around filled your ears; they mixed together, providing a nice background noise. 

“So… how’s you dad?” You quirked an eyebrow at Touya’s surprised expression.

“You want to talk about my… dad? Of all things?”

“Well… I’m just asking! And you know… since he “sucks ass” does he also eat it?” You smiled stupidly, but he just stared with a deadpan. “Okay, stupid, I admit.”

“We have family therapy, so it’s not that bad. Though, the old mad does deserve the bullying.”

You agreed and made a toast with your drink to Touya’s words.

***

“Excuse me!?” Touya exclaimed loudly, “You did what!?”

You put an index finger to your lips trying to shush him, while a few other people looked in your direction, some with curiosity, others with disapproval.

“It wasn’t that bad…” You looked apologetically at some of the patrons. “It’s not like I died.”

Touya stared at you in shock for a good few seconds, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. He was almost at a loss of words.

“What- not like she died! Fuckin-” He groaned and dramatically clutched his shirt on his chest. “You’re killing me! You’re killing your father!”

You snorted at his statement. Well, a flair for the dramatics was in his repertoire, after all.

“Don’t you mean ‘Daddy’?” You said with an amused smile and added with a tinge of irony: “Or do you prefer ‘father’ now?”

Touya did not find it funny (or at least, he didn’t let it show on the outside, if he did). He cupped his mouth with one hand, looking to the side, as to ponder on something.

“You know what?” He directed his gaze at you. “I might have to rethink the idea that dating you would be so nice. Like, you… fucking dumbass.”

Ah, concerned Touya, pretty sweet, you had to admit, but there really wasn’t a reason for him to worry.

“Keigo was with me then.” You stated matter of factly.

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, “I am going to talk with that bastard too… no heroing with Keigo for you!”

You seriously didn’t think that he would be so concerned about the whole ordeal. After all, it was in the past, nothing really happened and if it would have happened, then well… you wouldn’t be here to discuss it.

You smiled softly.

“I don’t think you have any say in this.”

You chuckled, when Touya very aggressively took a sip.

“Jumping off the building… Who fucking does that!?” Oh no, the stare of disapproval.

“Keigo.”

“Because he has WINGS!”

“Yeah, and he caught me because of them!” You paused for a moment and thought for a moment about it. “Though I actually wasn’t sure he would, I mean… you know. He IS quite strong though.”

Touya actually looked like he was ready to end it all right then and there.

“You… didn’t know if he would catch you?” He articulated very slowly, slightly squinting his eyes at you. “And you still jumped?”

“Yup! You know, the adrenaline, fight or flight… I chose flight obviously.” You immediately saw that your cheerful carelessness and (an amazing) joke were nor appreciated, as he looked at you with a blank face, complete deadpan.

“I think, sooner or later, I’m gonna have a heart attack because of you.”

To that, you just cackled and reassured him that you would try not to die in a near future.

***

“Sooo… My sweet Touya, my favorite Todoroki.” He braced himself for whatever you wanted to throw at him, while you shot him a suggestive look. “When are you going to do a new tattoo?”

Oh, he already knew where this was going.

“I don’t know. Why are you asking?” 

“You know…” You acted as if mulling on your idea and tilted your head to the side. “If you need some company…”

Touya sighed and just decided to get to the point.

“Do you wanna go with me?”

“Oh my god, can I?” You grinned and flicked your wrist. “You don’t have to!”

“Ok, then I’ll go alone.” He checked his phone, feigning disinterest, and took a quick look at you to see the hand still in the air and a very surprised expression on your face, that turned almost offended a second later.

“You can’t take it away from me! I’ll have you know, I have my rights.”

“I’m not taking anything away, since I never before said that you could go with me. You just always do.”

“Oh.” You looked down at your knees and did a fake sniff, knowing fully well he didn’t mind your presence… anywhere, really. “You don’t want me there?”

“Well, that-” he smirked slightly, “I never said.”

“So you’re just making a fool out of me then, I see how it is.” You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at him. He just laughed

“You already do it yourself pretty well.”

You gasped loudly with a hand on your chest.

“The audacity! You… how dare you! If you’re gonna be bitchy, I’ll fuck your sister, I will. Don’t try me.”

Touya rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Will you though?” He seemed unconvinced, you wondered why. “Honestly, I thought you did it already. You were going out with her for what? Two months? That’s long… for your standard.”

“Nooo, I didn’t… really, I did not.” Then a different thought popped up in your head. “Won’t it be weird that IF we… become a couple, potentially, and I would, hypothetically, meet your family somewhere, you know, by chance and all. That I am Fuyumi’s ex, I mean.”

He furrowed his brows to digest your question. 

“You think about that?” He smiled, seeing your awkward expression. “That’s cute of you.”

“BABY STEPS, PLEASE.” You loudly exclaimed, avoiding Touya’s eyes, to which he chuckled.

“Okay, just teasing you, baby.” His gaze softened. “But do you really care about that? What others think?”

“Uh…” you sighed, “I don’t know. Not really? But kind of.”

“It’s okay, baby steps, like you said.”

He leaned forward over the table, took your hand into his and soothingly caressed it with his thumb. Your heartbeat quickened a bit and, surprised at that, you just stared at Touya’s slowly moving finger. Feeling were never easy nor were they particularly good, but it felt so nice.

***

Suddenly you saw a flicker of colorful lights next to you, seeing that the decorations on the window were turned on. Looking out the window, you noticed how dark it became. The street neon lights were illuminated everywhere, people moving in all directions to unwind after hard days of work during the week. You were almost shocked at how fast the time went by.

“It’s pretty late, isn’t it?”

Touya hummed in agreement and, without saying anything, stood up to pay the bill. Earlier, you almost fought him to split it, but you came to an agreement that another time (“Oh, you already want to go out with me again?”, he teased) you would be the one paying. A moment later he came back, put his jacket on and you both exited the lovely cafe.

“So… where are we going?” You asked after following him in a completely opposite direction, to which you came from earlier that day.

“You’ll see.” 

Ah, so much for getting information out of Mr Todoroki.

With a sigh, you just decided to follow him in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, like it usually tends to be, for which you were grateful. He wasn’t pushy, let you do things at your own pace, so you felt… comfortable.

A moment later you felt him grab your hand and let him intertwine your fingers together. Again, the annoying feeling in your chest reappeared. You would need to get a grip on yourself, if this was to continue. The evening was getting quite chilly so Touya used his quirk to make his palm warmer, but you almost took your hand away. You knew that it was bad for him, especially without his support items, even though he was able to control it, almost to perfection. Before you were able to get away, his skin quickly went back to its natural cooler state with a light squeeze to your hand.

Going through the busy street, you were able to observe people differently than usual. On patrols, you were mostly checking out dark alleyways, some abandoned or suspicious buildings, sometimes sites on the outskirts of the city; being able to, sometimes, take in the lively energy of the crowd was enjoyable.

Touya stopped after turning into some calmer sideroad. He took his hand from yours to grab a helmet and then helped you put it on. 

“We taking your baby for a spin?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm, nice.”

After putting on his own helmet he sat down on the motorcycle, waiting for you to do the same. You noticed a new paint job on the matte black surface of the machine. On the sides were done shining blue flames, very on brand for him. You liked it. 

You sat down behind Touya taking a hold of his waist, when he revved the engine and slowly drove away from the busy part of the city. Expertly maneuvering the streets, soon enough you were driving on the outskirts, where barely anyone was out. You looked at the changing scenery over his shoulder, noting the road you were taking seemed familiar. The trees surrounding you from both sides made the night look a bit unnerving, but it wasn’t anything you weren’t used to. The city was far behind already.

You squeezed him just a tiny bit stronger and put your head on his shoulder, careful not to knock the helmets on each other. Loud howling of the wind and the noise of the engine were a surprisingly calming combination, which you have discovered long ago, the first time Touya took you for a drive.

Finally, the motorcycle slowed down. You passed the old busted metal gate and entered a site surrounded by a tall chain link fence, made from wire much thicker than usual to make it more sturdy. The place was situated on a flat field, a bit away from the trees. You could barely see the outline of the big city from where you were.

The space where he parked was relatively empty, save for an occasional piece of metal or glass laying here and there. The only building was a huge square block, bare walls outside “decorated” only by identical windows with perfectly measured spaces in between them. The inside should be relatively empty. What ought to be there are only some vacated rooms and stairs leading from the ground, through three stories, to the roof.

You got off the motorcycle and took the helmet off, hanging it on the handlebar. Taking a closer look around, you notice a pair of sledgehammers and a can of gasoline next to the gate of the building.

“An abandoned Commission site, huh?” You asked rhetorically, but Touya looked surprised at that.

“How do you know what this place is?” 

You decided to ignore him and just pointed to the items you noticed.

“You planning to kill me here or something?” You said with a smile, looking at him. He quirked an eyebrow and moved to pick up the sledgehammers and offered you one.

“Birdbrain said we can trash this place.” You took the tool weighing it in your hand with ease.

“Of course he did.” You glanced at the gasoline. “Did he also say we can play with fire?”

Touya smirked, lifted his hand towards his face and lighted his pinky finger with blue fire. He then moved the hand more towards you, letting you blow it out.

“With me, it’s always playing with fire.”

“I knew you were an arsonist at heart, Touya.” You chuckled lightly, but your voice quickly died down when you looked at him.

He looked at you with an intensity that instantly hypnotized you to focus only on his eyes, which seemed to glow slightly. The only source of light was the moon and the stars in the sky so you were surrounded by harsh shadows and an occasional speck of moonlight.

The gaze with which he stared at you almost made you uncomfortable, because it seemed like he was able to read every little dirty secret you held deep within. A quick thought, that maybe he actually could read you like that, crossed your mind. 

He moved a step towards you and brought his hand to grip your chin. Not hard enough to hurt you, but enough to feel that he could, if he wanted to. Exciting.

He pulled your face a little, so that his lips were right next to your ear. You felt his hot breath on your skin, when he asked:

“Aren’t you?” 

You felt him move his mouth across your skin, from your ear right to your lips. The grip on your chin lessened as he moved his hand to hold the back of your neck instead. It wasn’t anything new to kiss him, but it felt a lot more intimate this time. No force behind it, no rush, nothing inherently sexual; just softness, an interesting contrast to his intense eyes and touches.

He moved away, just enough to speak up, your noses still touching.

“Come on.” He let go completely and moved to grab the gasoline, before entering the building.

You stood in place a moment longer, rendered speechless and motionless by the emotions you felt. The loud hammering in your chest was almost deafening. Not good, get a fucking grip. Without a word, you followed Touya inside.

After a few moments (when the blood pump finally decided to calm down), you glanced around. As you thought, a big empty space, at least on the ground floor. Since the electricity had been shut off a long time ago, the only light was coming from the moon and your phone flashlight. You went after him towards the stairs to the first floor, where a space was filled a little bit more by the rooms dividing the place.

Touya stopped next to a wall to one of the former offices and put his things down, before taking your phone to light your blank canvas, ready for destruction.

“Swing.” And so you did.

You braced yourself against the floor for stabilization and took a wide swing, from behind your back. The hammer made an impact with the wall and with ease penetrated it to the other side. Forcefully, you teared it out, making the hole two times wider.

Oh, it was so liberating. The destruction and chaos of this place would bring you much pleasure.

With a laugh, you took a next swing, and then another, and another. Both of you went on a rampage, destroying what you could in this deserted place. All of the windows broken (some of them with your fist covered in a rug found somewhere on the ground), the inside walls full of holes, doors ripped out of its hinges. The place filled only with dust, debris, and the laughter and screams of both of you.

After you had enough, you ended up lying on the roof. Touya’s head right next to yours, although upside down, as he laid in the opposite direction.

You stared at the clear night sky, admiring millions of stars visible that night. It was always an otherworldly experience to be able to see them. It made everything seem so insignificant in the comparison to the vastness and beauty of space.

Touya, however, was not looking at the sky. His eyes were focused solely on you. He liked the peace and calm visible on your face. You felt his gaze on the side of your face and turned your head to the side, to also look at him.

You moved your hand to push his hair back. It was always really soft to the touch.

“Your roots are showing.” You said quietly, looking at the white part of his hair. He just hummed with eyes closed, marveling at the soft touch on his head.

Before he could fall asleep here, you took your hand and sat up cross-legged. You turned around to look at him, still lying down and still looking at you.

“Didn’t you want to commit arson?”

He perked up at that and got up, but stopped you, when you moved to do the same.

“Wait a second and don’t move.”

You stayed seated and just observed as Touya took the can and started to pour the gasoline on the roof, away from the stairs, in some kind of pattern. When he finished, he motioned you with his hand to come to him.

Ah, so the gasoline heart then. You weren’t really surprised by it, but still laughed, although more at the weirdly proud expression Touya had on his face.

“It’s really cheesy,” you paused for dramatic effect, “I love it.” 

You kissed him lightly on the cheek, to which he froze for a second. Oh, could it be that this time you were the one to render him speechless? After the initial shock, he beamed at you with his stupidly wide grin that sometimes appeared on his face. Though, after a moment it faltered and he grabbed your upper arm. You could pull away, if you wanted, but you just let him hold you.

“Who was that man today?” This again. He seemed worried, more than anything, which you didn’t like that much, cause he could drill it out of you, if he truly wanted. So you decided to avoid his eye, looking in the other direction.

“I told you already… it’s a colleague from work.”

“You know I don’t buy it.”

“I know, but… it’s the truth.” You looked him straight in the eyes, so he would know that it was not a lie.

“I hope you know you can tell me anything.” You wished you could.

“Give me the matches.” He knew that for that moment that would be it, so he let go of your arm with a sigh and took out a small box out of his pocket.

You took it and moved to the other side of the gasoline heart.

You wiped your teeth with your hand, to which Touya raised his eyebrows, but when you took one match out of the box and lit it directly on your teeth, he did look impressed by your trick.

Touya lit his blue flame and both of you set ablaze the gasoline. The fire traveled from both sides, to meet in the middle and create more green-like color. From behind the flames, you were able to see just his silhouette. A beautiful, although terrifying (to some) imagery. 

When the fire started spreading, you quickly moved to leave this place behind. 

Again on the motorcycle, tightly embracing Touya’s torso, you looked back to stare at the rising flames. Colors mixed with each other, creating a picture any painter would be proud of.

Playing with fire was always thrilling, you just hoped none of you would get burned.

TAGLIST

@the-fandoms-georgie, @fanworrior, @gingerunicorn13, @theunicornnamedearl, @dabi-sunflower, @anniebromberg, @bakugouswh0r3, @ddsweetie

[sarahjkl82-blog]

Ok, yoga thots...instead of finding him a class, Nush offers to show him the basics. At her or his apartment. My yoga instructor was very...hands on. He wasn’t shy about coming up behind you and yanking your hips into the proper alignment or moving you into the correct pose. I can imagine Nush being the same. Telling Marcus to relax into it, pushing and pulling him into down dog or warrior, etc. and neither of them are unaffected by the seemingly careless but inherently intimate touches.

Once their relationship is more established, I can him turning the tables on her; teasing her with light touches to “correct” her form. Pulling her hips firmly back into him when she’s in down dog because “she really needs to extend into and out of the pose”. Yeah...yoga thots 🥵

For you @silverwolf319 Enjoy the fluff to sexiness ❤️❤️❤️

Marcus Pike is a good man. He does not spend the hours you practise yoga having impure thoughts about what he knows is enclosed in your brightly tie-dyed sports bra and how those tightly fitting leggings leave nothing to his imagination. He wouldn’t dream of the possible different positions he could comfortably take you in, on that yoga mat that is almost permanently unrolled on his balcony. He does not think about the strength, curve and definition of muscle in your thighs when you pedal your legs in downward dog. Or how, those thighs look wrapped around his head or how they could easily snap his neck with their goddamn strength.

What a way to go!

Today, you have those shiny silver shorts on - the ones that when you bought them, you loved them so much that you did what you thought were comical shimmies all around the apartment in them and although all Marcus could do initially was laugh, they soon were strewn upon the floor.

They keep catching the morning sun, making your ass sparkle like a sexy disco ball. In stark contrast, your black vest top is like a second skin absorbing some of the shock factor of your lower half. Instead of Marcus’ usual position of sitting at his dining table in the chair opposite the door, he has decided to join you, out on the balcony.

“What do you want? Have you come to disrupt my path to Nirvana?” You cheekily question the purity of his intentions, whilst settling yourself on your mat, cross-legged with your weight evenly across your sit bones, about to begin mindful breathing.

Marcus reaches out to encircle his arms around you in a hug, kissing the side of your forehead, “Teach an old man some new tricks. Your brother was fit to be tied when he found out I only do running and weights. He said that as the yoga queen, you are the deity I need to bow to.”

“That’s not what he said.”

“Okay, so I’m paraphrasing... slightly.”

Marcus grins at the small huff you exhale as he knows full well that means he’s got his own way, “Fine, but just remember that yoga goes way beyond the physical asanas. Sometimes just thanking your body for breathing is all you need to achieve from your practice.”

“My breathing is okay - but my IT bands and my hamstrings are not,” he concedes.

“Alright clever clogs, you’ve just been for a run haven’t you?” Marcus nods at you by way of confirmation, “Thought so, stinky boy.”

Teasingly waggling his sweaty pits towards you - that by no stretch of the imagination actually smelled - he loves watching your pretence of disgust whilst trying to swallow a giggle, “Right, we’re going to start by stretching your spine six ways.”

“Is that even possible?” He asks, eyes widening and skin looking a little ashy.

“This is just your warm up, idiot,” you swat at his shoulder playfully, “Sit however you feel comfortable, put your left hand on the outside of your right knee and now as you breathe out, I want you to twist to the right. With every exhale, try to twist a bit more.”

Crunch-

Marcus’ face contorts in horror at the sounds coming from his body, “Should my spine have made that noise?”

“Yep. Now you’re going to do the twist the opposite way- right hand on left knee and then twist to the left.”

Clunk-

“That already feels pretty good - can I go eat pancakes now?”

He loves how you narrow your eyes, shaking your head at his level of commitment to the exercise, “Now, we’ll do a lateral stretch- right hand beside your hip and arc the left arm over your head,” you place your hands on Marcus’s back and chest to stop him from collapsing forwards, opening his heart up, “‘K, now you need to do the other side.”

“Now, I want you to come to all fours, with your back like a tabletop. You’re going to do a Cat and Cow here and then your back should be warm.”

After arching and curving his back until you are satisfied, he allows you to help him up into his first ever downward dog - he enjoys you guiding his hips back and telling him to bend his knees a little until his back is perfectly straight.

“Try holding this for ten breaths. This is a brilliant pose for runners as it strengthens your hamstrings, calves and foot arches.”

Marcus listens more carefully than you give him credit for, enjoying your no nonsense attitude. The little adjustments you do to him, make him more comfortable than he ever thought he’d be upside down with his ass in the air. And you’re right - of course you are - but being outside, breathing deeply and listening to the bird song is just making him feel so relaxed.

“Ok Bubs, I want you to bring your knee towards your hands and plant your right foot between your hands,” you gently instruct him, “Do it slowly, there’s no race. Now drop your left leg to the floor and sweep your arms up to the sky to balance. This is a low lunge - quite often called runners lunge- as it’s great for your IT bands and hamstrings.”

Marcus enjoys the all too brief feeling of your hands on his bottom to help him tuck his coccyx under before helping him back into a downward dog to work his left side. He watches you walk over to the edge of the balcony, the slight movement in your shorts throwing sunlight back at him.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

“Is it time for that lying down and sleeping pose yet?” Marcus questions pleadingly.

He loves the small laugh you give him, as you turn back towards him - eyes sparkling with mischief.

“No savasana yet, I thought we could have some fun with some couple poses,” oh that cock of your eyebrow has all the blood in Marcus’ body rushing to one area.

“Ok the first one is you holding me up in a plank position - your feet holding my lower tummy and your hands holding mine.”

Marcus places his socked feet gently against your hip bones, threading his much thicker fingers between yours, “Ready?”

He feels you take a small bounce up and catches your weight on his feet, straightening his legs, hoisting you up into the air.

“EAGLEEEEEE!” you squeal, eliciting a hearty chuckle from Marcus - the vibration making you almost lose your balance and wobble precariously, “ARGH!”

“Trust me, sweetheart. I’m not gonna let you fall - I promise,” Marcus promises wholeheartedly.

“I know you won’t,” he hears the little catch in your voice as you quietly answer, “Are you ready to let go of my hands? Keep your feet where they are - I’ll use my tummy muscles to keep myself up.”

Gradually unthreading his fingers from yours, Marcus lets go as you lift your chest into the pose. Seeing the shape you’re now in, he starts to hum the Superman theme, “I’m not sure I like these poses - you’re too far away from me and I’m touching even less of you than before,” his bottom lip sticks out in a juicy sulk.

“Oh, you want to be closer?”

“Uh yeah?”

“Ok, put me down,” you request as Marcus sets you mostly gently back onto your feet, “I’m going to help you into a bound angle pose - it’s not tricky and it feels really good as it opens up your pelvis, allowing good blood flow to the area.”

“Hah, certainly don’t have any problem in that area with you around,” Marcus winks at you.

Marcus relaxes his legs in front of him as you bend his knees outwards, placing the soles of his feet together, slowly bringing his heels in towards his groin. He shuffles his bum so that he sits directly on his sit bones, remembering what you’ve nagged him about before.

“You wanted to be close, right?” you check again, “I’m going to put myself between your legs and wrap my feet around your back now.”

“Mmm, this is better,” Marcus shuts his eyes as you settle against him, enjoying the sensation of you weaving your arms around the broad expanse of his back and resting your head against his shoulder. Looping his arms around you, he settles his head into your neck, inhaling the soft floral scent of your perfume. His eyelashes flutter butterfly kisses as his whole body relaxes into you.

Your buttery soft skin begs to be kissed and licked, nuzzled and nibbled. The closeness of your bodies has Marcus feeling giddy and drunk, despite the grounding of the floor beneath him. Focusing on the softness of your breasts pressing into him, he tries to mimic your deep inhalations and exhalations - desperately trying to suck in the air that you’ve just breathed out so that the same air can circulate through his body.

Feeling your hands move, snaking into the dark curls of his hair, Marcus pulls back slightly to gaze into your eyes before he kisses you. Soft, full lips meet yours - kissing you is always a revelation to him, astonishing him and caressing his very soul. Your gentle touches teach him the depths of your love, your intelligence and how you utterly rule him with the tenderness of your tongue.

Clutching you closer to him - as if he could try absorbing your body into his - Marcus holds you tightly, allowing your absolute adoration of him to become the glue that mends the shards of his shattered heart. Slowly bridging the gaps and reconnecting parts that have been trampled by decades of painful love - non reciprocal and undeserving- glueing it, fixing it, rewinding it back to that moment where the only love you are concerned with is that of the unconditional one of your family.

The spinning headiness from the cocktail of safety and vulnerability in the sweetness of your kisses, never fails to sweep Marcus away. Blinking the wetness that has gathered in the corners of his eyes, he draws back, attempting to swallow back the lump that has formed in his throat.

“Hey,” he feels you searching his face for the reason for his tears, enjoying how your thumbs stroke his cheeks, “Are you ok?”

“Sweetheart, ‘m’ok,” he quietly murmurs, leaning forward to brush the dampness of his face into the dark silk of your hair, “I know you’ve said that sometimes yoga makes you open your heart but I didn’t realise how literal that was.”

He loves how much you treasure his openness - never any mocking or roll of the eyes for that. For so many it was always too much - far too intense and seen as needy. Nuzzling into the scent of lazy summer evenings in Provence, he presses sweet kisses into your hair, scratching lightly at your scalp enjoying the small moans of pleasure.

With your foreheads resting lightly -sitting so close that a piece of paper cannot pass between the pair of you - your breathing and heartbeats meet in synchronicity. A slight tilt of your head with the offer of your lips and Marcus is sinking back into you. Lost in taste that is so entirely you -your breakfast of black coffee and bitter marmalade- tantalising his senses.

His hands untangle from the tendrils of your hair to seek out the even softer parts of you, stopping momentarily to stroke the sides of your chest - hitting the underwire of your bra, searching for the softness encased above. Marcus scoops the rounded flesh of your breasts in his bear-like paws as his thumbs search for the sensitive, responsive nubs. He loves how your body keens into his touch - how you naturally deepen the kisses, ladening them with such an intense sensuality that it never ceases to steal the very breath from his lungs.

With a growl into your mouth as you scratch your nails into his back, he feels you arch into his touch making him squeeze your nipples tighter between his gun-calloused thumb and forefinger - a gradually softening memory of his time back in the States.

Entirely confident that you can feel the pleasure that you are bringing him, Marcus grinds his hips further into you - the warmth of your core pressing teasingly against his hardness, making him feral in his need to claim you. A small mirror of his movement from you makes him drop his hands from your breasts and grab the succulent muscle of your bum - the sudden movement making him pull you on top of him, rocking your hips forward, as he lies back between your knees.

Looping his fingers into the glittering elastic of your shorts, he goes to pull them down but is stopped by your gentle grip around his wrists and a small shake of your head, “I want to make you feel good, baby. Let me take care of you.”

Marcus’ eyes roll back as you lean forward, pinning his hands above his head. Every small kiss you press into his skin leaves an imprint on his heart as you place them all the way down the velvety creased forehead, the aquiline arch of his nose and the patchy beard on his chin before licking down his throat. He enjoys the soft path that your breasts trail ahead of the warmth from your mouth, the sensation from the weight of them causing his cock to twitch.

A small flush runs through him as you lift the soft cotton of his t-shirt, a hint of embarrassment at the softness of his tummy. His hands unconsciously move to cover himself up, which in one smooth movement you have back above his head as you lick down his chest, sucking and nibbling each nipple as you edge ever lower to his treasure trail.

Feeling your fingers slide beneath the waistband of his running shorts as your mouth peppers kitten licks and kisses across his Adonis belt, he lifts his hips slightly to allow his shorts and boxers to be lowered. As his cock, which curves slightly to the left, springs free, it hits just beside his tummy button leaving a small bead of pre-cum. Marcus swallows hard, watching as you lap it up without a second thought, your hand wrapping the base of his length guiding the proud tip into the valley between your breasts.

The sensation of his cock being massaged there, encased by the soft pliable flesh, almost makes him explode right then, decorating your skin with a precious pearl necklace. The flicks of your tongue over the tip and gentle tugs of his balls, make Marcus’ mind empty of all thoughts as the surges of pleasure become more and more intense.

Marcus can’t help the guttural groans that escape his lips as you wrap the warm wetness of your mouth around his cock and suck. He holds your hair back from your face so he can watch his inches disappear between your lips. As your mouth, hands and tongue work in harmony together, he knows he won’t last long. The pressure builds and his hips arch up, chasinghis high. He cannot help but fill the morning air with his cries of ecstasy as he fills your mouth with a flood of cum. Pulse after pulse of semen bursts forth as you keep up the deliciously deep pressure around the base of his shaft.

He loves how you still keep his rapidly softening cock in your mouth - an absolute reassurance that there was no rush to come down from his heights of pleasure. Eventually, using the hands Marcus has wrapped around your head, he urges you to slide back up along his body. As you reach eye level with him, he surges forward crashing his lips into yours, unable to say thank you in any other way.

He loves how he can taste himself on your tongue. He loves how your normally relatively organised hair has been ruffled into standing out at mad-scientist angles. He loves the softness in your eyes and how your chest is still rising and falling quickly.

He loves.

He loves you.

Tag list : @yespolkadotkitty @astroboots @green-socks @bison-writes @mouthymandalorian @tardisfangurl @mrsparknuts @danniburgh @absurdthirst @sirowsky @leonieb @disgruntledspacedad @the-ginger-hedge-witch @lunaserenade @agirllovespancakes @zukoyonce @pedropascalito-deactivated20210 @theravenreads @lv7867 @songsformonkeys

With massive thanks as ever to the beauteous @yespolkadotkitty for her betas of my soft core porn ❤️

[redqueen-hypothesis]

quarantime together ➳ mlqc

➳ WORD COUNT: 3064

➳ GENRE: fluff

➳ SYNOPSIS: what are the two of you up to during the quarantine together?

LUCIEN // has a shady history with viruses and flus

lucien has insider info on the virus as one of the most acclaimed researchers (although he’s a neuroscientist but at this point what is lucien), so he’s long prepared for the lockdown before loveland even gets a wind of it happening

he’s part of the team that’s doing research on the virus too, just... remote

did you think that just because he’s staying at home, there’s no more work to be done? no, the man works just as intensely as ever, researching, inputting algorithms, double checking the data on his research reports. you need to remind him to take a break every few hours

you’ve asked him to set an alarm on his phone but all he does is smile and wrap his arms around you tighter, saying that you’re much more pleasant and persuasive to listen to

knows you’re stressed about the virus and shares with you tidbits of information about it, explaining to you how the two of you should be fine just as long as you stay inside your apartment. together.

you get to see him in his glasses more often, which you find far too attractive when paired with that silently intense gaze he wears while buried deep in work. he looks up on occasion to catch you staring with far too wide eyes. caught red handed (or red faced)

what you don’t realise is that he’s watching you too, he’s just faster at looking away before you realise he’s looking at you with an impossibly tender gaze

when you whine a little about wanting to take this opportunity to spend more time with him, lucien doesn’t show it on his face, but his heart feels like it’s warming- oh, it’s melting in his chest

starts cooking dinner with you

much to your surprise, lucien can’t do everything (no, there’s something he actually can’t do) and cooking is one of them. he’s not fantastic at it, or maybe he’s just doing this on purpose so that you have to guide his hands with your own as he helps to chop the vegetables

leans down for you to tie the apron around his neck, and sneaks a gentle kiss or two when you’re most unprepared for it, much to your surprise (and happiness)

pulls you to him out of the blue and squeezes you around the waist before he releases you, saying the temperature is cold and he needs something to warm him up

in the evenings, the two of you snuggle of the couch together to watch old classic films that you’ve either rented out or dug out on netflix, sharing a blanket between the two of you

lucien engages you in discussion about the shows, from what you love about them to what you think of the characters, and sometimes if you’re lucky, lucien will let you pry just a little bit more about the enigma that he is - you feel like he’s unlocked a door to his heart only when he’s around you

occasional anime marathons, you didn’t think that he’d like them, but he seems to have quite an interest in attack of titan season three and death note

prepare for a psychological analysis of the man that is eren yeager

the two of you talk late into the night, until your discussions become more sleep drunk ramblings than any coherent thoughts, and lucien loves it because you’re so much more open and free about letting him know your opinion so much that he doesn’t realise he’s doing the same

lowkey wondering if he should prolong the virus somehow just so the two of you can remain in this little love nest for a little longer

coaxes you into the bedroom when you fall asleep on his shoulder, tucks you up in the blanket before he resumes his research (honestly, does this man ever sleep?)

if you wake up in the middle of the night to see him still typing away on his laptop, your sleepy voice gently scolding him for not taking care of his own health and the hand tugging at his shoulder is more than enough for him to set down his work for the night and join you in bed

he spends just a little longer watching your sleeping face before he joins you in your dreams

VICTOR // monopoly king

daily panique about the stock market (but he does it elegantly, so it’s panique instead of panic, he’s not emotional like other foolish mortals)

wakes up at the brink of dawn, this man is the head of the loveland financial group, a mere virus isn’t going to bring his company down and he knows that he’ll need to work extra to ensure his workers still have jobs to do

cooks breakfast for you while you’re still asleep while listening to the news on the television, gives you updates when you wake up

if you wake up early to the absence of warmth in your shared bed, however, you might catch the rare sight of the one and only li zeyan humming a tune as he beats eggs in what he thinks is an empty kitchen, or stumble upon him having a staring match with the oven

tries to sneakily slip food and drinks that he knows are good for relaxing the body and mind because you’ve been on edge with each news report of the virus that comes in, you notice the new trend in chamomile tea and dark chocolate, but silently eat it up with a smile and thank him for it - let this awkward man show his love in his ways

extremely busy from morning to afternoon with video conferences and phone calls, you press gentle kisses between his furrowed brow between meetings and watch as his expression relaxes before the phone starts ringing again

make a cup of tea or coffee for him, he appreciates it

there’s one time you kissed him on the mouth thinking he was on break but he wasn’t, and it wasn’t until you realised victor had frozen stiff as a board that it clicked - the entire board of the LFG had been watching through the video camera

you’re never stepping foot into that building ever again

even though he’s ridiculously busy with work, victor makes an effort to spend some time with you throughout his busy day. these usually happen in the fifteen minute to hour long breaks between his meetings

he needs something simple and easy to do with you in those small pockets of time

so, card/board games!

the only game he can play decently at the beginning is poker, but is absolutely terrible at uno and monopoly - he’s never actually played them before

calls these games silly at first, but by the third day he’s actually stopping time before his next meeting starts just so that he can count the reverse uno cards he’s put down and ensure his victory

becomes an absolute beast at monopoly and crushes you completely, you sort of regret teaching him this game because he starts educating you on economic theories

“you must buy as many properties as possible at the beginning, there is no reward without risk... this is the game of monopoly... become the monopoly!”

you just shake your head with a sigh. ah, the menace of capitalism.

he fares worse at monopoly deal, looks absolutely stunned at the idea of a ‘deal breaker’ and ‘just say no’

works out in his apartment gym and occasionally pulls you along, saying that you need to exercise and stay healthy or you’ll become a couch potato

you reluctantly go along with him but you’re rewarded with the sight of him working out, i assure you, it’s very worth it

sometimes you shower together which leads to more... if you get what i mean wink wonk

you help him with dinner prep, which is mainly you watching as he whips up a michelin worthy meal for the two of you

you claim you’re helping with the taste testing

that also leads to more. victor enjoys eating off the kitchen island - and more importantly, he enjoys eating you out on it

opens a bottle of wine or whiskey for sometimes no reason at all at night, just to enjoy it with you

the two of you sit at the balcony overlooking the entirety of loveland city from his penthouse, sipping at your wine and talking about everything and anything

dumb arguments like “you stole the entire pile of fifties when i wasn’t looking earlier???” victor is kind of a sore loser

you take some time out to teach him how to play on the piano, what’s the use of that ridiculously expensive grand piano in his penthouse otherwise?

it takes him two nights to learn simple pieces like “ode to joy” and three for “you are my sunshine”, he hasn’t touched the piano for a few years

the eager, almost child-like determination he wears on his face makes your heart warm as he fumbles to place his fingers on the right keys, and you play simple duets together

bedtime snuggles, victor cancels all his late night meetings or postpones them to earlier schedules so that he can hold you close in bed at night

realises what he’s been missing out the entire time and can’t believe that it needed the quarantine to let him know how much he loves falling asleep with you in his arms

resolves to do this more often after the lockdown is over

GAVIN // keep the fire station on speed dial

the entire of loveland city is under lockdown but unfortunately crimes are still happening - the criminals must not have gotten their stay at home notices

even though crime rates have dipped, there are still strange occurrences happening in the city here and there

the police force is still an essential service, and gavin is called out of the blue at the most awkward hours (when you’re eating, when you’re sleeping, when you’re having sex-) to handle high profile cases

you fuss about him while he’s rushing to change into his uniform, securing a mask on his face with a quick kiss to the lips before you put it on to hide his blushing cheeks

never uses the door, just straight up jumps out of your window like a cat burglar running off with your heart

you’re always worried, but gavin reassures you he’ll take care of himself and stay away from people on the ground - he can’t risk getting infected and passing it on to you

buys takeaway snacks and boba for you because he knows you’ve missed them

crashes on the couch if he comes back at odd hours because he’s too tired to get to the bed, wakes up to a blanket draped over him and the smell of frying eggs wafting over from the kitchen

at first he’s a little at a loss for what to do with so much free time, but you encourage him to pick up old hobbies he’s long forgotten about by asking him to share them with you

wii games!! nintendo switch!! xbox!! you’ve never seen gavin’s face light up so fast when he delivers a critical hit to your character in super smash bros... and immediately starts spluttering apologies to you like he’s committed a cardinal sin

kiss him to shut him up, and he sinks into it with a muffled sigh. poor birdcop needs a break

he misses his boxing gym, and the closest thing you two get to that are pillow fights, although he’s careful not to use too much strength as he gently bats you with a cushion

you always end up winning since he’s too soft to hit you with very much effort

tries to pick up ‘home cooking 101′ and searches youtube for asmr cooking videos

watches them so intensely you’re a little bit intimidated by the sharpness of his gaze (it’s a cooking video on how to make lemonade, for god’s sake)

peaceful cuisine and nino’s home are his go to channels

more often than not his solo attempts in the kitchen end up in disaster and you wonder whether it would be safer to have a fire extinguisher in the house. gavin wholeheartedly agrees as he rushes to slam the lid over the frying pan of flaming oil

he’s more at ease carrying out critically dangerous missions than turning on the stove, and flinches whenever the spark igniter sets the gas alight - this is why he sticks with instant noodles and cup rice

you offer to teach him, however, and he’s hard pressed to turn you down when you look at him light that

he’s good at kneading dough! it’s one of his only talents in the kitchen, but he’s very good at it. it also gives you a chance to salivate over those forearms, i mean, that tasty, tasty dough!

can make a mean soy sauce egg fried rice, but that’s about the only thing he can make

takes this time to fix up his motorcycle and make some improvements on it, but is kind of sad because he can’t go for a spin. he misses being on his bike

the plus side of this quarantine though, is that he can reach for you any time he has the urge to embrace you or feel you, and that is many, many times in a day

at first he was a little shy and awkward about it, but when you told him that you appreciate him being forward about what he wants, he’s become a lot more comfortable with initiating contact

pulls you into his lap for random cuddles, brushes your hair back to give the shell of your ear a light kiss, squeezes your hands when you’ve spent a long time drafting up plans for shows to make once the quarantine is over

has some uh... pent up energy that he needs to release without the adrenaline rush of the missions he’s used to

translates well to gavin being more dominant and vocal in the bedroom, something you’re very appreciative of. you hope gavin knows that as much as your neighbors surely do by now

braids your hair just for fun when the two of you are lying in bed with nothing to do

wraps his arms around you tight

KIRO // screaming into the unknown at the skyscrapers in the distance

is going crazy with cabin fever

he wants to go to the park!! he wants to feel the sun on his face!! his favourite food festival is cancelled!! he was really looking forward to seeing it with you :(

pouts for days, but is magically alright if you kiss him

“maybe that’s your power, ms chips! give me another kiss to make sure!”

wakes you in the morning (unintentionally) with his vocal exercises. you blink open your eyes to see him standing at the balcony with his hands on his hips and singing chromatic scales or practice songs to the other apartment blocks

sometimes someone shouts back if he starts too early in the morning and he retreats inside sheepishly

they’re getting a free kiro concert

it’s like having your own personal rooster/alarm clock, but his voice is so angelic you can’t be blamed for falling back asleep

brought his cat, cello, back to your shared apartment to take care of since he can’t just leave cello in the studio with the quarantine going on

you spend lazy afternoons as cat parents, putting gacha outfits on the cat and filming stories for kiro to put up on tik tok and instagram

#celloathome trends on twitter

weekly check ins with savin to say ‘yes, kiro isn’t only eating junk food’, ‘yes, kiro is doing vocal practices every day’, ‘you’re sure you’re not snacking on everything in the apartment?’

he is eating snacks that you’ve stocked up on but reminds himself not to eat too much since he’s not exercising as much anymore

teaches you the choreography to his favourite songs!

you’re lagging far far behind him in terms of skill and coordination but he praises you and cheers you on anyway

on the slow ballad tracks on his albums, he’ll pull you close and just sway with you along to the beat, pressing his lips to your hair

this little ball of sunshine wants the sun!! he needs to recharge on that good ol’ vitamin d, so he hangs out at a sunny spot on the balcony - more often than not you’ll find him napping on there, legs propped up on the balustrade and arm shielding his eyes from the sun

plays a lot of online multiplayer games such as DOTA, World of Warcraft and LOL, roping you along to play on his team. it doesn’t matter how bad you are at them, he wants you with him. he enjoys playing as the damage dealer with stealth abilities, and does ridiculously low baritones or high pitched simpers to hide his identity online.

plays the guitar to serenade you, but the difference is that he’s on the balcony begging forgiveness because you locked him out for making a mess of the kitchen in his snack raid

scrolls through social media constantly to update his fans about how he’s doing at home, and is very up to date with the trends on twitter like dance challenges

participates in every single one of them and makes you film them for him, but he’s so funny your hands shake with every take and the two of you have to try over and over again

livestreams!! concerts from home!!

let’s you dye his hair when you’re bored. pink mohawk? he rocks it. black curls? he looks stunning. silver dye?

“ahh, no, no i don’t want to look like an old man,” kiro laughs as he pulls the tube of hair colouring away from you as you pout. you find it in the trash a few days later.

kiro gets frisky when he’s bored, hands wandering over your hips and up your shirt when you’re unaware. sometimes you smack them away, sometimes you don’t

the two of you sleep at the strangest times, ranging from ten at night when you’re bored with nothing to do or four in the morning when the two of you binge movie series

this can’t be healthy but kiro’s smile makes it all worth it as he munches on microwaved popcorn next to you. it tastes like salted styrofoam but kiro takes what he can get - beggars can’t be choosers

he can’t wait to get back to work and seeing his beloved fans once again, but part of him doesn’t want to give up the peaceful lull of this simple, domestic lifestyle in which the world revolves only around the two of you

[goodheartedfool]

On the bedside table on Nat's side of the bed, on Valentine's Day morning, he'll wake up with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers he can ever dream of receiving as a gift. All of his favorites are there, arranged and placed on a pretty vase. Under it there's a simple ivory card with golden and clearly handdrawn flowers and birds.

My dearest Nat,

I know I don't express this with words, not as often as I should, it's hard for someone like me to say such words out loud when all my life I was taught to keep things to myself. And yet, I hope you know you're the sunshine of my days, brilliant, warm, caring, nurturing, welcoming, you're much more than I can describe in mere words or even try to express with actions.

I have no means to make it clear how much you mean in my life, from that day at the bar when Jay introduced us and you were tense and wanting to run away at every second, to that night when you exceeded your limits and I came home to you throwing up in our toilete. I can only apologize for scaring you the way I did in the beginning and be grateful for how amazingly kind and generous you are to me and everyone else. You inspire me to try more, to be better, day by day, you show me how to do it. To be a better person.

I'm blessed for having you in my life and wish for many more years to come with you in it, if you so wish to have me too.

Ti amerò per sempre, Dionisus.

And once Nat finally come out of the bedroom, he'll be greeted with a kitchen and living room smelling of orange cake with chocolate layer and over it, buttery croissants and all of his favorite breakfast foods. All to celebrate this special day.

valentines ask || @goldentemplariumcrow

Nat was not a morning person, quite the opposite, and usually slept like a log. Dead to the world. Even if Dio hadn't been a quiet one, he wouldn't have noticed anyone doing anything in the bedroom. What eventually woke him up wasn't an alarm, but a mix of the bed growing cold without his personal heater, aka Dio, and the smell of delicious food. The man spoiled him rotten with his cooking and baking, he would never be able to go back to the crap he'd been eating before they met.

Stretching like a cat, Nat then turned around, blinking groggily at something colourful by his bedside. His brain wasn't very quick when newly awake, at least not when he felt safe. Once he realised what he was looking at, he smiled brightly. Sunflowers, orange roses and eucalyptus leaves. How had Dio found sunflowers in February? It didn't matter, Nat loved it.

Seeing the envelop, he sat up and gently took it out from under the vase. Slowly he began to read and it didn't take long before there was tears in his eyes and a wide smile on his lips. What had he done to deserve this man? This man who had accepted him and loved him despite his behaviour towards Dio at the beginning. Carefully putting the card back on his bedside table, Nat wasted no time getting dressed, instead he ran out from the bedroom, getting met by all the lovely food that had woken him up, before running straight up to Dio and throwing his arms around him.

"Dio Mio..." he whispered, hugging him hard. "I'm the one who is blessed," Nat added and looked up at the man he loved so much, the love clearly visible in his gaze, and kissed him softly.

[mysticaltigersorceress]

Insubstantial

This is a piece I did for @nakunakunomi 's Trope Writing Challenge. Somehow, the prompt generator just smelled the angst on me, I nearly died laughing when I got the prompt xD.

The trope was: Confessing your love to someone unconscious/in a coma, only for them to wake up.

Random Word I had to include: arrangement.

Hope you enjoy, and #sorrynotsorry. I at least decided to end happily.

Length: 1.9k

Warnings: reader gets injured (not described in detail, but blood mentioned), angst

Summary:

Ao3: over here uwu

Usopp would be the first to (quietly) admit that he was a scaredy-cat. Did it ever hurt to err on the side of caution when living such a dangerous life? (He would argue that no, no it did not.)

But when it came to you, there were so, so many things that scared him. Not that you were scary, you were just– Oh gosh, everything you did set free kaleidoscopes of butterflies in his stomach; a simple smile meant just for him was enough to stop and restart his heart faster than any battle or foe ever had.

He wanted to tell you so badly that he lo– lov– liked you, very much. Usopp had rehearsed hundreds of scenarios in his head where he told you how he felt. Of course, he had also envisioned what your response may be. Some days, he imagined telling you poetry he wrote for you and you would swoon over his words, showering him in adoration and begging him not to stop. Other days, he imagined you laughing at his silly serenades but accepting them anyway, perhaps even making up a ditty of your own for him.

Oh, who was he kidding? At the end of the day, you didn’t reciprocate his feelings, not in that way. He didn’t want you to hate him for trying to force something that wasn’t meant to be. Your relationship was fine as it was right now, wasn’t it?

Usopp would crack jokes he just knew would make you laugh (and nearly got strangled several times by the crew for some of his pranks), and you would tease him and make references to inside jokes with him. He would save your favorite snacks for when you would help him tend to his pop-green garden, and you would steal his hat while you worked in the sun. Usopp even strayed further into battlefields than he normally would like, just to make sure you always had backup. And even then, you would always watch out for him to make sure no one got too close to him, saying “a sniper always worked best with distance, right?” The unspoken arrangement he had worked out in regards to how your relationship worked was something Usopp decided he could live with. Perhaps it was not perfectly ideal, but good friends would just have to be good enough.

Until it suddenly wasn’t good enough.

Until suddenly, you were crumpled on Sunny’s deck, life slowly seeping out of you, hit by an unexpected attack.

An attack you had shoved Usopp out of the way of.

It wasn’t enough as he scrambled across the deck to you, whilst the Strawhat Pirates rained justice upon those who dared harm their nakama.

It wasn’t anywhere near enough as he screamed for Chopper, clutching you desperately in his arms, trying to get some form of consciousness to register in your expression. Pressing his hand then shirt to the wound, anything to try to staunch the bleeding.

Everything he previously thought was enough for him felt wimpy and hollow as you lay limp in the infirmary, breathing ever so shallowly. Chopper had to eventually kick Usopp out for repeatedly panicking, thinking your breathing had stopped.

The words and feeling that he normally tucked away in the back of his mind now screamed relentlessly at him as he collapsed outside the infirmary with the rest of the crew, waiting for word of your condition. He nearly totally cried when Chopper said you were stable for now.

Day after day was spent by your side, coming up with a million reasons to stay with you whenever possible, a million excuses more as to why he always had to be there. All of the reasons were technically true, however, he never said his biggest reason of all.

That he lo-

lov-

Of– of course he was worried about his nakama, you had saved his life! He wanted to be there when you woke up, to thank you (and perhaps to smack you upside the head for doing something so foolish). To ask you why you would let yourself get hurt for him, when you had so many strong nakama around you. If you, perhaps– no. You were his nakama after all. That's all it was. Concern for a fellow crewmate. Nothing more.

He'd tinker by your bedside, quietly narrating his actions (and occasionally making up your responses as well.) He could almost picture exactly how the exchange would go when you woke up. You would open your eyes, groggy but feeling considerably better. You'd see him there and ask him if you had your favorite snack in his bag (which he totally did) and cheekily ask if he’d been worrying this whole time about you (which he totally had been). Usopp didn't like to think he was that predictable, but maybe you two just knew each other that well.

So when he walked into the galley to hear the words, “They may or may not wake up”, he was filled with a fear and a fury he had not felt so strongly since he was told they had to continue on their journey without Merry.

“What do you mean they may not wake up?” Usopp growled, clenching his fists in a feeble attempt to keep his hands from shaking. Chopper jumped guiltily at Usopp's question, and he could feel the eyes of the crew turn to him.

“They’re in a coma, Usopp. They could wake up in a few days. Or it could be weeks, months, years.” Chopper spoke reluctantly. “We have to be ready in case they never–”

“DON’T SAY IT!”

Choppers face creased worryingly. “We don’t want it to happen, but–”

“BUT WHAT? You’re just going to give up on your nakama!?” Tears were forming in the little deer’s eyes as Usopp yelled.

“Usopp.” Usopp froze as his friend and captain called his name. No other words had to be spoken. Usopp opened his mouth, but his throat was tight. None of the words felt right. There were too many of them. They were too harsh. Too painful. Too little for everything he needed to express. So he ran out.

He walked into his little tinkering space only to walk straight back out again. He was quite sure attempting to work on any project would simply leave him more frustrated than he already was. He tried to water his Pop-Greens, but the garden was so empty without you there. Before he knew it, his feet had carried him back to the infirmary. He sighed as he let himself in, head hung low; you would probably be upset at him for yelling at Chopper like that. It wasn’t Chopper’s fault you were in a coma. He needed to go apologize to Chopper, to everyone.

“Usopp.” Usopp startled at Franky’s voice, not having noticed the cyborg when he entered. The heavy weight of Franky’s hand settled on Usopp's head before he could try to escape or squeak out an apology. “They’ll wake up when they’re ready. And we’ll be right here waiting for them.” He then ruffled his hair and walked out, shutting the door softly behind him.

Usopp dug his nails into his palms until they stung, furiously straining to hold back the emotion slipping through every crack. His cheeks were soon soaked and he tasted blood from biting his lip in his attempt to stay quiet. A soft sound caught his attention and his head whipped in your direction.

You were still laying exactly as you were before, quietly breathing. Something about seeing you calmed him, despite all the bandages and IV’s. He was able to let all the racing thoughts drift to the back of his mind, and sunk exhaustedly into the chair beside your bed.

A single hand rested atop your sheets, and he found himself taking your hand into his. Your hand was so limp. It was so easy to imagine you were– no! You would wake up, and when you did, oh no, what if you lost your memory, or what if you couldn’t make a full recovery? Or–

“No! Damn it!” Usopp cursed. He wasn’t going to imagine the worst. For once in his god-damned life he was going to be positive! He was positive you would recover! He was positive you would smile again! You would remember him, you would remember the crew! You would get back to perfect health, and you would live out your dreams! You would... be happy to see him.

Usopp rubbed his thumbs against the back of your hand. There was still a little scar there from when one of his plants nipped you, back when he first planted his Pop-Greens, when the crew reunited in Sabaody after two years apart. The quiet moment you both had in the Sunny’s garden was something he held onto dearly and thought about frequently. You had listened so closely as he told you about his new plants and time in the Boin Archipelago. A certain flower caught your eye, and before he could warn you, it bit your hand. Of course, it had to be one of the poisonous ones, and just as Heracles’n had taught him, he sucked the poison out of the wound and spat it to the deck then wrapped it with bandage. For a fraction of a second, there was something he couldn’t quite identify in your eyes, but then he told you that you should have Chopper look at it just in case. As you walked away, something in him screamed to tell you how he felt, but just as usual, he let you walk away. He let himself act cowardly, despite all his declarations otherwise.

And now, more than ever, he regretted the words he frequently swallowed. And, maybe, just once, since you were asleep, he could say them. It would be good practice, to see if they fit right in his mouth. If they fit right, being said to you.

“Y/n… Please, wake up. We miss you… We need you.. I– I need you,” He gazed softly at your face, before lowering his head and holding your hand to his forehead. “I know I’m a damn coward, but please wake up so I can tell you at least once to your face, whatever you may think. I– I–”

Usopp cursed himself for stumbling over these words. Why was this so difficult?

“You’re– you're everything to me. You’re my friend. You’re my sunshine. You’re confusing and addicting and I always want to be with you, and I want to make you as happy as you make me. I just– I– I love you.” Usopp finally whispered. “And it’s a stupid dream, but I hope you love me too.” Tears flowed freely down his cheeks again, and he squeezed your hand tightly.

And something flicked his nose.

Usopp jerked up in shock to see you wearily smiling at him.

“Aww, you missed me?” You croaked. Usopp began openly sobbing and yelling incoherently. Softly chuckling, you weakly tugged him closer and moved the hand he held to his cheek and brushed it lightly. “I’m sorry I made you worry.” You then pulled him toward you and hugged him as best you could, and (after getting over his shock,) he wrapped his arms around you as well, holding as tightly as he could without causing you pain.

You found your eyes welling up from the emotion in his declaration, and tightened your hold on him. “I suppose I'm a coward for not telling you before, but I love you too, Usopp.”

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter Nine: Group Therapy

Characters: Captain Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Summary: A familiar drink brings back steamy memories for Shane (by popular demand), a ghost from the past picks a fight with the present, and the future hangs in the balance for our heroes.

Behind on the drama? It’s cool. I gotchu.

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings:  Language, mature themes, violence, smut, alcohol consumption, more feels than you can shake a stick at.

Author’s Note: Guys. Listen guys. I know this chapter is a tad late…not that I have deadlines, I just know y’all want more sooner than I can always get it to you. It’s also, though, a bit longer than most of the previous installments have been. I hope you guys enjoy it. I think it’s my favorite chapter so far…I definitely cried the most writing it…you’ll see why…I’m not sorry. Initially, for some reason, it was hard to stay focused. (I blame my own emotions and feelings clouding my ambitions. Can’t let that happen anymore. Even though the same factors apply. I’ve gotta keep my head in it!) I’m actually pretty sad that there won’t be very much more of this story…they’ve been such good friends to me. I may just have to find a way to keep them going in follow-up drabbles. I don’t know. But I’m open to suggestions.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

It wasn’t top on Shane’s list of things she wanted to do tonight, but it had been ages since she’d gone out with her friends. It wasn’t totally because she’d been seeing Sy. But more recently, he had become the most prevalent reason she ended up bowing out. Because she had plans with him, or she needed to do things that she hadn’t gotten or wouldn’t get done because of plans with him unless she skipped out. They were bad excuses, but those of an introvert weren’t usually top-shelf, anyway.

It was Heather, the other secretary Marsha and her husband Alec, some of her fellow PTs Cory and Juan, and both OTs, Olivia and Miranda there at Cade’s that night. And Shane and Sy, of course. They were sitting at two tables close together, and after dinner, the guys got up to play darts while the ladies ordered a round of shots.

Heather both requested and paid for the tray of tiny glasses full of dark liquor. Shane knew the aroma all too well. Those were full of Jack Daniels. And she got tingly just thinking about the spirit, especially now.

“Let’s drink the first round to Shane.” She passed them around and held one up. “For landing captain sexy pants over there, and for being happier than I’ve seen her in actual years.” Heather clinked to the middled with the other girls as they completed the toast with cheery responses of “to Shane!” With intermittent whoops and cat-calls. She felt funny saluting herself, so she said nothing, silently dedicating her own drink to the guy she wasn’t expecting, wasn’t even asking for, but who’d been gifted to her, by God Himself, it seemed. Whoever or whatever or why ever, she was grateful for him.

She downed the full measure of whiskey, feeling the familiar pleasant burn down her throat and reminisced about the last time she’d had the drink.

~~~~~~

“No you’re cheating!” She slurred at Sy’s kitchen table.

“Not how I see it!” He smirked, that crooked grin mixing with the alcohol in her already impaired system making a heady and dangerous concoction.

“You’re delib’rately using my PT career against me!” They we’re playing “Never Have I Ever.” And he’d just used “never have I ever measured somebody up with a big protractor.”

“Hey, you’ve been trying to get me with ‘never have I army this, and never have I army that.’ And you just can’t and now you’re mad about it.”

“Ugh, I’m not mad, I just…don’t like cheating okay. Fair play. I’m a Hufflepuff, through and through!”

“As a Gryffindor, I resent your implication against my honor! And I say, drink twice.” They’d run out of mixer, and were down to the straight liquor. She was fine with it. She loved the sweet, oaky burn of Number 7 as she held small swallows on her tongue. Relished the burn of it on the tender skin of her lips like a rough kiss. She took two shots at his insistence.

“Never have I ever…fired a gun!” And they both drank because she had chosen a “never” that she “had ever” on purpose. She liked feeling this way with Sy. She liked being able to abandon her control and feel safe in so doing. Knowing that he wouldn’t let anything hurt her. Including herself.

His eyes began to glimmer in a way that she could always tell meant he was thinking something particularly salacious. Which typically meant something good was about to happen.

“Never have I ever…fooled around in a kitchen.” He waited a beat, then slowly stood, taking a long stride to stand directly in front of Shane, towering over her as she sat limp from drinking and more than ready for whatever he was planning. The kiss he gave her was almost instantly hungry, devouring, consuming. A wild fire that would spread throughout the forest of her. He pulled a stool out from under the table near her, barely having to break the contact and sat down in front of her on it. She leaned into him now, the boneless feeling now overtaken by her craving for him. She tugged at his casual blue tank top that stunned her because of the way it matched his eyes so well. She needed him closer. His hands rested on her thighs, mostly bare in the shorts she'd chosen for tonight, simply for their comfort, and not because they provided any sort of easy access. Not on a conscious level, anyway, she told herself.

His grip was tightening but the pain of the pressure didn't matter. His thumbs and fingers were rupturing tiny blood vessels and she registered the pain and the fact that she would have bruises in the shape of his claiming grip but all that really mattered was that he was there. Near. Present. And touching her.  

His hands moved, sliding up her legs, their trajectory shifting inward, their aim to open her up to him.

She was nothing short of willing.

He reached down to the seat between her legs and pulled her closer to him. Yes, she thought. He's too far away. Even though she could smell the whiskey on his breath even as she tasted it, still sweet on her own tongue. He laid a gentle hand on her left cheek, an almost chaste gesture, that snaked into something entirely different as it descended, brushing her neck, between her breasts, and over her abdomen, tumultuous from his touch and the drink.

He made it finally to her apex, easily brushing aside the fabric of her shorts, and teasing her there over her underwear with a soft, measured touch. She threw her arms around his neck, a wordless plea for him to go on. But her body was at odds with her mind.

“Sy, I wanna go slow.” She meant she didn’t want to end up in his bed tonight. Well, not that she didn't want to…

"Don't worry, sunshine. I'll take it real slow." he assured her, pretending to misunderstand her meaning as he teased her over her panties. She couldn't have spoken to correct him even if his lips hadn't taken an urgent hold on hers. His firm but frustrating touch was leaving her speechless and breathless.

Finally, he moved her undergarment aside to touch her, skin to skin. To pull a sweet, euphoric moan from her with just his fingers. He had been right about taking his time. It took him ages to find that space inside her that brought her to her pinnacle, but he made the wait enjoyable, all the same. She had a feeling he could have gone right to it, if he’d wanted to, but since she’d asked for it…

He grinned and chuckled into her mouth a bit as he toyed with her. He finally spoke,

“Hot damn, girl, you should have told me you needed me this bad.” He added a second finger to his game of search and destroy.

She could only grasp at his bare shoulders and the fabric of his shirt in an attempt to ground herself. He quickened, then slowed in sweet torture until her cries of his name became over loud for his neighborhood. The last build up, he added his thumb , brushing it against her aching center.

It hit her in waves of bliss as every muscle in her body responded to his localized, expert touch. Her vision blurred and for a second she could see the electricity flowing through air and matter and into her. Since when did THAT happen to her when she came?

“Sy!” She whimpered, a plea for him to stop but also to never stop.

“I know, darlin’, it’s alright. I’ve gotcha. Go on and let it out.” And she barely realized another climax had been building in her before she was falling headlong into it again, just as intense as the first one. He slowed, gently soothing her body after its small death, rubbing her neck and shoulder on the right side with his free hand.

He took his right hand away from her heat, brought it up to his mouth, and tasted her on his fingers. He poured them both another shot of whiskey, they threw them back, and once she had caught her breath from it all, she said,

“I don’t know the score, but I think you’ve won.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the present, she felt too sober to handle the bombardment of questions coming from her coworkers, no matter how pure their intentions.

“So are you guys a couple, like officially?”

“Have you met each other’s folks?”

“Do you think he’s the one?”

“What is he like in bed!?”

“I bet he’s an absolute fiend!”

“Nah, guys ya think that about are always so vanilla.”

“How big is he!?”

All of these questions seemed to come at one time, or at least before she could answer the previous ones, and it made her head spin.

“Listen, girls. I’m gonna go get myself a strong drink, and when I come back, I’ll answer one question at a time, so figure out the order in which you’ll be asking, and a punishment system for interrupting. Fair?” The hens all nodded their beaks in agreement as she stood to go to the bar. She reminded herself to add a disclaimer when she got back to the table about having veto power over questions she felt weren’t appropriate.

As she stood at the bar waiting for her turn with the bartender, she tensed as she heard an all too familiar voice say her name.

“Shane Benton.” He said in a charming tenor that she now found obnoxiously boyish.

“Elliott Thomas. What misdeed did I do in a past life to end up back in the same room with you?” He ignored her jibe.

“You look well.” He said, surveying her as if he intended to make a purchase.

“Okay.” She would not give credence to half assed, insincere compliments.

“Who’s the guy you’re with tonight?”

“That couldn’t be any less your business.”

“You’ll always be my business, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Funny, you didn’t seem to give a shit when we were together.”

“Come on, tell me where ya met this meat head.”

“Back off, Elliott.”

“Come on. He’s in a plaid shirt. He looks like he’s trying to cosplay the Brawny man. How quick does he pick you up?” He raised his eyebrows, driving home his attempt at double entendre.

The rage came suddenly, without warning, and manifested in a firm slap from her right hand to his left cheek. It landed solidly enough for him to have to stretch his jaw and feel it, as if making sure it was still there.

"Well, still got some spunk. Good to know. Not so fast--" he grabbed her wrist as she stepped away from the bar, but she was saved the trouble of getting out of it with her favorite self-defense maneuver, by the solid wall of red plaid and denim topped with his favorite black Chiefs hat. Sy had apparently noticed her altercation at the bar and elected to step in.

"What's goin' on here?" he asked, not brusquely, but so coolly that it was almost friendly. Elliott let go of Shane's wrist immediately and threw his hands up.

"No trouble here, man. Just a little friendly conversation between two former lovers." he said, oozing pure, stinking hubris.

"Oh, you're Elliott. Nice to meet you, man." Sy reached out to shake the man's hand. "I've actually been wanting to thank you."

Elliott looked confused. So was Shane. This guy had broken her heart. What was Sy intent on thanking him for?

"I wanted to thank you for fucking up so bad with this kind, beautiful woman, this graceful and forgiving saint, that she couldn't stand the sight of you any longer. Who knows. If you hadn't been such a dick, she may not have been free to be with me today." all of this, Sy said with Elliott's hand still in his. Shaking it. Apparently not too firmly. Until Sy leaned in very closely and whispered something to Elliott that made him go several shades of puce, and grimace, pulling his hand away, which Sy eventually relinquished.

After Elliott had tucked his tail and ran away, Shane found herself in a far less merry temperament than she'd come in with. She and Sy decided to leave. They said their goodbyes, Shane promising more answers as soon as she could. And they left, her arm around his waist, and his around her shoulder.

About halfway to Sy's truck, Shane heard a solid ping near her ear and the shattering of glass on the pavement nearby, followed by a low growl from deep in Sy's chest. They halted in their stride, Shane turning quickly around, Sy turning more slowly and intentionally in the direction of his would be attacker.

Elliot stood beside the brick exterior of the bar with three other men, none of them within 50 pounds of Sy, and hardly a match for him…individually…but together, she was concerned. She would absolutely try to help fight these guys, but she couldn't take out more than one with the potential weapons she had on her person that she could inventory off hand. Plus, if she had to fight Elliott…he'd get into her head…she knew it. Thank God she didn't know the other guys. She'd hope to get one of them.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Sy said, back to his polite self, not worried about potentially getting into a street fight in which they were outnumbered two to one.

"Just thought you'd like to tell my buddies here what you said to me in there. I mean, I gave them the gist, but I think they'd like to hear it from you." Elliott puffed.

"Ah, somebody can't keep a secret." Sy sigh scolded him, wagging his finger at him as if he was a misbehaved child. "I was gonna let it all go as long as you left us alone. Did you mention that to them before you got them into a whole mess o' trouble?"

"Tell them, you fuckin' coward."

"Big talk from a guy who had to make it four to one before he confronted me." Sy accused.

"Four to two." Shane squared her shoulders, standing next to Sy, and attempting to make herself look more formidable, which was next to impossible given the fact that the man beside her was a massive army captain and she was just…herself. But she'd be damned if she stood by and let Sy take all of this on when it was all because of her. Plus, she didn't want him to reinjure himself.

"How about you jump in if I need ya, sunshine." He whispered to her. She didn't move or reply. "But ya know, since ya asked so nicely, I will oblige. I told this piss-ant friend of yours after he physically accosted this lovely lady here, in no uncertain terms that if he EVER touched MY GIRLFRIEND again, he'd be begging for death for hours before I had mercy on him and put him out of his misery and that his body would never be found." He eyed each of the men before him, his fiery gaze a physical force upon them, letting his promise to Elliott sink in. "Now if y'all wanna defend a man who would put hands on a woman, and then proceed to physically assault a United States Army veteran like myself, I can come up with similar guarantees for all of ya. And carry them out here tonight. But y'all look like ya've got a lot o' shit ya still wanna get done in this life with limbs and dicks intact. So I would encourage all of you fine gentlemen to walk away from this situation."

Two of the men, surrendered, claiming Elliott hadn't mentioned that he'd hurt Shane or that Sy was a vet. One of the men asked to shake his hand and thanked him for his service. The smallest member of Elliott's group, however, remained with him. Shane thought she recognized him after getting a better look. He'd been at a few events she'd been to with Elliott's friend group. She thought his name was Kyle. Clearly he was one of Elliott's oldest and most loyal friends. He still looked skeptical. Unsure that the two of them alone could take Sy. Shane thought he was right to be worried.

"Come on, Kyle!" Elliott summoned his friend to the fight.

"I dunno, man. He's a soldier and I mean…look at him. Look at us!"

"You pussy." Elliott walked up to Sy.

"You don't want to do this, friend." Sy warned.

"I'm not your friend, asshole. You stole my girlfriend." he swung wildly at the larger man, but missed. He was unsteady, Shane could see now, from excessive drink. She hadn't noticed inside.

Sy remained still for one punch that landed weakly on his jaw, barely displacing it. "Are you done, there, Mayweather? We even? Now that you got to hit me?"

"We are not done. Not until one of us is on the ground." Elliott insisted.

"Fair enough." Sy socked him with a jab straight to the nose, knocking him dizzily to the hard asphalt of the parking lot. Kyle came up to him to drag Elliott to a nearby car as his head lolled forward like a rag doll.

"I'll get him to the ER. Explain to them what happened. You guys get home safe. And thanks for not killing him. Or me." Kyle said as he opened his passenger door. Sy helped heave Elliott's comatose form into the seat and shook Kyle's hand.

Shane's eyes were still wide at the entire chain of events. Her adrenaline supercharged from her readiness to fight alongside her man. Which, she was both relieved and disappointed that she didn't have to do. But there was another thing on her mind. She had been mentally replaying what Sy had said to Elliott played over and over for more reasons than his chivalrous and heroic conduct.

When they were in the car and headed to her house, Shane asked him about it.

"So…you called me your girlfriend tonight." she looked at him.

"Shit, Shane, I'm sorry. I've been wanting to ask ya for days to make things official, and I just haven't found the right time. I was gonna ask you over drinks tonight in front of all your friends, but then that asshole fucked it all up. I even have a gift for you." he fished around in his pocket for a small, flat box, and handed it to her. She flipped up the spring loaded lid of the black velvet box, and inside, on a tiny pillow of black satin was a silver necklace with a silver charm. An "S" in an elaborate script with a small emerald set in the lower hook of the letter. "And if you don't want to make it official, you can still keep the necklace, because the 'S' can be for 'Shane,' and the stone can just be an emerald, and ya don't have to think about it like it's my birthstone, and I--"

"Sy, hush. Of course I want to be your girlfriend, officially. I've been dying to say it myself. And I love the necklace. It's perfect."

"Really? You mean it? All of it?" she'd never seen him so desperate. She had no idea why he thought she might not be serious. But she did have an idea of how to prove it.

"Stay with me tonight, Sy."

"It's still early yet, babe. I'll have plenty of time--"

"No, I mean, I want you. Tonight." How could she be more clear than that?

"Oh, you mean…but I thought you wanted to wait until my treatments were over?" He asked, as if he didn't want to get his hopes up just yet.

"When you were on the phone with my boss that day, you said something that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Something that's gnawed at my will and resolve ever since. You said that life was too short, and you didn't want to wait to be happy when you could be happy now." she was verging on tears. "Well, I'm tired of waiting too, Sy. You make me happier than I've ever been, and I don't see the point in ignoring what we really want anymore. Because the fact is, Sy…the fact has been for a while now," she laughed at her own foolishness for stifling and ignoring it all this time, "I love you. And I think I have from the moment you first called me ma'am." She was fully crying now, and the tears had broken through down his cheeks, as well.

He pulled into her driveway and jumped out of his truck, still running, headlights blazing into her yard. He jogged around the front, but Shane, being uninjured had caught up to him without the benefit of a head start. He caught her up in his arms as if she'd stay there forever. They sobbed tears of joy and relief as they kissed each other with abandon, silhouettes against the footlights and exhaust courtesy of the Ford Motor Company, the PowerStroke engine roaring a soundtrack for this moment as it idled.

"I love you, Shane. From the moment you found me dreading therapy all alone that first day and cheered me up instantly. I knew." he brush the tears and hairs away from her face and held it, scrutinizing her features in the high-beams as if he intended to draw her from memory.

"I didn't know you were dreading it." she laughed, lightening the mood a bit.

"I was. A lot. Never had a lot of luck, especially recently, with PT. Until you."

She smiled, and looked at the truck, a third party to their romantic moment now more obvious to her.

"You're wasting gas."

"Hang the gas. I'm wasting time with you. You wanna go inside?" he asked. She nodded.

"You go get your purse. I'll be right around."

Sy shut off the truck and took his keys out, locking the vehicle from the fob after his arm was back around Shane and they were walking up her front porch steps.

Up Next: Chapter 10- Myofascial Release

[jingabitch]

Armed to the Fangs ch.8

SUMMARY: you grew up in the hunter’s guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. while making the rounds one night, you encounter taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.

PAIRING: eventual ot7 x reader

WARNINGS: some description of violence, angst, pining, maybe eventual smut but not for a looooong time, slow burn (really the slowest of burns), injeolmi being adorable, argument between some of the boys, hobi is sad :<

RATING: T

WORD COUNT: 3.5k

A/N: hello it’s back!! I’m alr halfway through ch9 so i hope you guys like this and are excited for more~

thanks as always to my lovely betas @jminacious and @pasteljeon for looking over this!

series index

Over the next few weeks, you were able to put your strange encounter with the man from the painting out of your mind. You asked Jimin about it once, but he just shrugged and told you that his brother didn’t really like people, before going back to playing with Injeolmi. He really was whipped for your cat, and you had to supervise him strictly to make sure that he didn’t just let Injeolmi eat a whole bag of treats at once.

Gradually, as you eased up and realized that they truly had no intention of harming you, you had the chance to interact more with the six vampires you saw on a regular basis. Meals together became a nightly occurrence, and you found things to do with each member. It was fun to watch Jin cook for you, since you’d never had a chance to cook for yourself at the Guild. Yoongi volunteered to teach you how to play the piano, Namjoon took you gardening, and the maknaes seemed to be a package deal, all of them hanging out with you (and your cat) together. You’d even managed to strike up a lukewarm relationship with Taehyung, despite him trying to eat you the first night you’d met.

Eventually, you had to admit that maybe this ambassadorship wasn’t that bad after all. Even though you missed the Guild and being with all your fellow hunters (especially Jennie), being here let you see a whole different side of vampires. You didn’t know why they were so different from the mindless, bloodthirsty creatures that roamed the streets at night, but this gave you hope that maybe there was a better future. One that didn’t involve so much death and fear for everyone involved.

Plus, being here gave you so much more freedom. You’d grown up in the Guild, unlike most of the other hunters, and your entire life had always been strictly regimented, training and more training to be a hunter. Sad as it may seem, the Head was the closest thing you had to a father figure. In comparison to the spartan life you’d led at the Guild, being able to explore your interests in music, literature and food was like opening your eyes to a whole new world.

You couldn’t remain completely insulated from what was going on in the world, however. You continued to keep in touch with the hunters at the Guild, especially those who had been your friends, and what you were hearing was concerning, to say the least. There had been a rise in the number of vampire attacks on the public, and the vampires were getting increasingly vicious. The number of deaths and injuries among the hunters’ ranks was spiking, and no one at the Guild knew what had changed among the vampires.

This put you in a bit of a dilemma. Was it your job as ambassador to talk to the vampires about this and try to find a solution? The Head hadn’t told you to investigate, or even updated you on what was going on with the hunters, but you couldn’t help but feel some responsibility for what was happening. You were supposed to help improve the relationship between humans and vampires, right?

It hadn’t occurred to you till now that you actually knew very little about the role you were supposed to be filling. You’d been too engrossed in enjoying yourself at the manor with the vampires who seemed intent on catering to your every whim to think about it, especially since you were stuck here and not out on the streets. Out of sight, out of mind, the saying went.

Maybe you should take your ambassador duties more seriously, you thought. As soon as you figured out what they were. Talking to Seokjin seemed like a good place to start.

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

Hoseok was so thirsty. Every breath he took felt like sandpaper rasping along his throat, and yet he was unable to quench his thirst. Blood from the bags they stocked up on smelled awful to him, and when he did force himself to drink it, it came right back up every time.

Born vampires usually didn’t need to feed that often. He’d gone longer than this without blood before and been fine, and he wished he didn’t know why this was happening now. Even if he was willing to take a mate, the last thing he needed in his life was a hunter. The irony of it all was not lost on him – it was the hunters who had murdered Minhee, and now the fates were trying to force him into this?

He’d rather starve to death, and as the weeks passed and his condition deteriorated, the possibility of it happening loomed large.

Still, he didn’t want to let his brothers know what was going on, not wanting to worry them any more than he already did. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what they said about him behind his back, although he chose to let them believe that he remained oblivious. He wished, more than anyone, that he could be the cheerful, jovial man he’d been in his past, if not for himself, then for them, but every day weighed heavily in his heart and his soul. He should have died with Minhee four hundred years ago, and he still didn’t know how he’d survived.

Curled up in bed in the dark room, he struggled to keep his breathing even. In, out, in, out, he repeated to himself. The windows were drawn shut to keep all sunshine out, since in his weakened state, there was no way he would survive exposure. In contrast to his weak, trembling muscles, his senses were heightened, and it felt like he could hear everything in the manor, from the footsteps of his brothers to the heartbeat of the human who was responsible for his condition.

His fists clenched, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms as he struggled to keep his fangs from descending. In, out, in, out. Was he burning up from the inside? The instinct to run straight to you threatened to overwhelm him, and he clutched the tiny portrait of Minhee like a talisman.

No, he told himself. It was only in his mind. He could get through this. He’d done it before, even though it was still a mystery how he’d gotten through it then.

The safety of everyone in this house depended on it. You were not for him.

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

“Hey, has anyone seen Hoseok-hyung recently?” Taehyung wondered. You had yet to arrive at the table for dinner, so he took the opportunity to sate his curiosity about his aloof older brother, who’d been on his mind ever since you’d asked about it.

Namjoon and Seokjin exchanged glances. “Why?” Seokjin asked cautiously. They tried not to talk to the younger vampires too often about Hoseok, since it was something of a sore spot for them. They basically thought he was just a jerk, which to be fair, the older vampires could see, but after he’d already been through so much in his life, he deserved some slack.

Taehyung shrugged. “Y/n-ie asked Jiminie about him the other day. I was just curious. I didn’t know they’d met.”

Namjoon hummed noncommittally. “Did she say anything about him?” Would he need to run interference between you and Hoseok? There was something big going on here, it seemed, and he needed to do some research.

“Just that he seemed kind of irritable,” Jimin piped up. “She’s not wrong.”

Yoongi, usually quiet and impassive, made a noise of disapproval. “Don’t be so rude about your hyung.”

“Well, he is,” Taehyung said defensively. Jungkook kept quiet. He knew his hyung could be grumpy and unsociable, but he was nice sometimes. Over the past four centuries that they’d been living together, he’d run into Hoseok a few times since his room was the closest to the other vampire. When Hoseok was in a chatty mood, they often spent hours together just talking about stuff, and Hoseok was actually happy enough to share details about what it had been like in the past – provided, of course, that Jungkook didn’t ask too many questions about his mate.

Hearing you come down the stairs, Seokjin was quick to shut the discussion down. “Stop it,” he said firmly. “You know Hoseok is struggling, and you should be more understanding,” he rebuked.

“He’s been struggling for four hundred years,” Taehyung muttered under his breath, though everyone heard it. “You’d think he’d get over whatever it is he’s moping about by now.”

Only your arrival stopped Yoongi from leaping clear across the dining table at Taehyung.

“Good evening, everyone,” you chirped, not noticing the tense atmosphere. When they merely turned to you, still wearing somber frowns, you stopped short. “Is everything okay?” you asked tentatively, standing by the entryway of the dining room.

Your question seemed to break the oppressive air. “Of course everything’s fine,” Seokjin told you, smiling warmly. The others made varying noises of assent, and the mood shifted back to normal, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something from you.

It seemed it wasn’t only the Guild that had its secrets it wanted to keep. The sense that you were out of your depth grew.

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

“Hoseok-hyung?” Jungkook stood outside Hoseok’s door, a bundle of blood bags in his hands. He hadn’t seen Hoseok leave his room in ages, and figured that his stash had to be running low by now. He didn’t bother knocking or raising his voice, knowing that his brother would hear him just fine.

Hoseok had actually heard him coming down the hall but was steadfastly ignoring him. Still in bed, huddled under the covers, he stayed as quiet as possible so that Jungkook would give up and leave. He’d heard every word of the conversation earlier, of course, and didn’t much feel like talking about you or your cat. Maybe he’d been a little rude to you, but it was for your own good (and his). He didn’t need to be scolded like a recalcitrant child.

“Hyung?” Jungkook was nothing if not tenacious, and Hoseok knew he was going to leave easily.

“Go away,” Hoseok growled.

“Come on, hyung, I brought some food for you,” Jungkook tried to cajole the older vampire.

Starvation must be weakening his willpower, because Hoseok capitulated easily enough even though he didn’t need the blood. His fridge was still full; he hadn’t even tried drinking for about two weeks. “Fine, come in.”

Jungkook opened the door slowly, peering in. It was pitch black, but that didn’t bother him – vampires had excellent night vision, after all. Still, it took him a moment to locate Hoseok, buried under a mountain of blankets and pillows.

“You doing okay there, hyung?” Jungkook asked cautiously, padding across the room.

“Yeah,” Hoseok grunted, although it was clearly a lie. Even though Hoseok was mostly covered up, Jungkook could see the way his cheekbones had hollowed slightly and hear the slight tremor in his voice, as if speaking was too much effort for him.

“Jesus, hyung, what’s going on with you?” Concerned now, Jungkook picked up his pace and was at Hoseok’s bedside in a matter of seconds.

“Nothing, just go away,” Hoseok groaned, pulling the covers over his head. The last thing he needed was for Jungkook to realise what was going on and blab to everyone in the house. It wasn’t like there were many things that could cause vampires to become sickly like this, and the deterioration was happening so quickly that there really was only one explanation. Even if Jungkook didn’t know, the older vampires would, and he wasn’t ready for that.

“Come on, you look awful,” Jungkook begged. “Are you okay?”

“What are you going to do, find a doctor for me?” Hoseok snapped, though it lacked its usual heat because he didn’t have the energy.

“I can get Namjoon-hyung,” Jungkook responded. Actually, maybe he should get him anyway. He’d know what to do.

“No!” Hoseok exclaimed, poking his head out from the covers. “No, don’t,” he repeated in a more measured tone.

“Hyung, you look awful,” Jungkook said, peering closer now. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“I know what the problem is, and you can’t do anything about it.” Well, more like Hoseok was too stubborn to do anything about it, but it was the same difference in his mind.

“Really? What is it?” Far from being deterred by Hoseok’s words, Jungkook perked up curiously.

Hoseok groaned. “None of your business. Just go away.”

“Hyuuuung—” Jungkook, as the youngest, had learned that whining got him his way more often than not, and employed it now to try and coax the truth from his older brother.

This time, however, it didn’t work. Hoseok was determined to keep his secret, even if it cost him his life. Death would probably be better than the purgatory he was currently living in, anyway. Ducking back into his blanket burrito, he ignored Jungkook’s further entreaties, until finally the younger vampire had no choice but to leave, dejected and more worried than ever.

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

After your meal, everyone went their own separate directions, as usual. You, on the other hand, requested to speak to Seokjin privately after the meal. He accepted your request, and you made your way to the study together.

On your way there, Seokjin, ever the polite gentleman, inquired after your wellbeing at the manor, and asked whether there was anything he could do to make your stay more comfortable. You demurred, of course. Even though you were thoroughly enjoying your time at the manor, you were still confused about why they treated you so well, since you were technically here on work and not a guest. Although in all fairness, you had to acknowledge, it wasn’t like you’d been doing much work around here.

Well, that was going to change tonight, you told yourself. You’d decided to ask Seokjin what he knew about the recent spike in vampire attacks, and whether there was anything he could do. At the very least, you’d find out more about the dynamics of the vampire world. Killing every vampire that you chanced upon, while necessary for the safety of the public, wasn’t exactly the best way to understand the supernatural.

Seokjin settled into his seat behind the desk and you sank into the now-familiar chair in front of him. “Now,” he said, his fingers steepled together. “What did you want to ask me?”

You cleared your throat, wishing you’d had some diplomatic training or something before being thrust into this situation. “Well,” you started, trying to project more confidence than you were actually feeling. “It’s come to my attention that the vampire attacks on the public have increased in number and severity.”

He hummed thoughtfully. “Is that so?”

“That’s what my contacts at the Guild have told me,” you confirmed. “I just wanted to bring this to your attention, if you didn’t already know.”

Truth be told, he was very aware of what was going on outside the walls of the manor. The vampires living here (minus Hoseok, of course) took turns going out to stock up on supplies and observing. Taehyung and Namjoon had been on one such trip the night they’d found you.

However, “We aren’t typically in the habit of interfering in the events that occur outside the manor,” he informed you smoothly.

You frowned, confused. “You’re not?” That was new.

“No,” he confirmed. “There’s a reason why we retreated here.” His expression tightened as he said it, like he’d tasted something sour, and you knew that whatever it was, it was a traumatic memory for him.

That led to more questions in your mind, though. If they didn’t have anything to do with what was happening outside the manor walls, then why were you here? Obviously, the Guild Head had wanted you out of the way, but he could have just had you dishonourably discharged or something if he was that upset. And why had they wanted you here in the first place? You were once again questioning everything after having complacently accepted things for so long.

Seokjin could probably tell from your expression that you were about to implode as your mind went into overdrive. “I can find out what’s happening if you insist, though,” he said hastily. The last thing he needed was for you to start asking questions and getting all belligerent again.

Your brow furrowed. That was a very rapid 180-turn. “Really?” you asked suspiciously, wondering if he was just trying to placate you.

He was, but now that he was committed, he had every intention of following through. It wouldn’t be as difficult as you thought – he was pretty sure he knew what was going on anyway. The only thing he didn’t know was why.

“Yes, you have my word,” he promised.

“All right,” you accepted. “Thank you.”

He nodded, and you could tell from the subtle way his gaze drifted away from you that he was busy thinking about something else and you were being dismissed. “I won’t take up any more of your time, then,” you excused yourself to return to your own quarters.

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

Injeolmi was never pleased about being shut in your quarters alone for too long, and you didn’t know why, since your rooms here were much more spacious and luxurious than the tiny room you’d lived in at the Guild. He’d never even left your room then, so your only conclusion was that you were spoiling him way too much.

When you opened the door, he ran to you, meowing excitedly, and you rolled your eyes. “You’re such a drama queen,” you reprimanded him playfully, though you were happy enough to pick him up for a cuddle. Still carrying him, you walked over to the coffee table, where you’d left your phone.

Your chat history with Jennie was filled with mostly mindless chatter as you updated her on what you’d been up to at the manor. Gardening with Namjoon, learning how to cook from Seokjin, music lessons with Yoongi… you were excited to tell her about it all.

The last message was you telling her that you had to leave to have dinner with the boys. She’d left you on read after that, but you didn’t mind, excited to tell her your news.

Y/N: Talked to Seokjin, he says he’ll look into it!

Jennie: Did he explain anything?

Y/N: No, but he said he’d look into it.

Jennie: That doesn’t sound like much of a commitment. People are dying.

Y/N: I trust him, unnie.

Jennie: Enough to bet the lives of the hunters?

You paused. That was a strange and extreme way to look at it, you thought. Weren’t you all fighting on the same side here?

Y/N: What’s that supposed to mean?

You saw the dots that indicated Jennie was typing appear, then disappear, then appear again. This happened a few more times, and you were sure she was going to leave you on read again, when a message popped up.

Jennie: You remember that they’re vamps, right?

Y/N: I know, but they’ve been really nice. Maybe vamps aren’t that bad.

You hesitated before sending that last message. It might not be what Jennie wanted to hear, but you thought she needed to know. Being here had really changed your perspective on vampires, and you hoped she would trust you enough to understand where you were coming from. After all, hunters lived a life of discipline, filled with sacrifice and death. All of you accepted that this was necessary, but… what if it wasn’t? What if you could set all the hunters free from their burdens?

Jennie didn’t reply after that. You sighed, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. She’d probably need some time to process things, which you fully understood. After all, it had taken a while for you to accept that there was more to vampires than you knew before, and you were living here among them, able to see with your own eyes that the things you’d been taught at the Guild weren’t necessarily true.

You’d try to talk to her again tomorrow, you decided, putting down your phone. Injeolmi meowed, pawing at your hand to ask for pets, and you turned your attention to him.

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

Jennie ran through the corridors of the Guild, tears streaming down her face. In her panic, it felt like her mind had fizzled out – she couldn’t think about anything but the last sentence you’d texted her. For weeks, she’d been defending you against the Head’s accusations that you’d defected and become a vampire sympathizer despite her personal doubts.

This was too much, though. How could she possibly ignore this?

She burst through the door of the Head’s office without knocking. It was an egregious violation of etiquette, but she couldn’t think about that right now.

Master Bang emerged from his bedroom door, off to the side of his office. He looked flustered, like he’d been caught doing something wrong, but Jennie was too worked up to think about what that meant right now.

“What is the meaning of this, Jennie-yah?” he reprimanded, frowning.

She ignored his scolding. “Sir,” she gasped, folding herself into a deep bow. “I’m sorry. I think Y/n has defected.”

[lolas-writings]

I wrote a college TodoDeku meet-cute because I felt like it and I had an idea. Enjoy!! 

You can also find it on AO3 here if you want to leave a kudos and/or comment on it <3 

---

Midoriya sighs as he exits the building, feeling the warm breeze on his clammy skin. The sun is warm on his face, a welcome presence after being cooped up in a freezing room with nothing more to warm him than his own nerves. At least he’s free now; free of the cold classroom as well as his exams. 

He takes a deep breath to steady his racing heart, still anxious from his exam, and smells a mixture of fresh-baked bagels and chicken sandwiches lingering in the air. Now that he’s finished with the last of his exams he should get something to eat before heading home. Four and a half hours straight of testing has certainly been draining. His stomach immediately growls at the thought, agreeing with his decision, and he can’t help but laugh. Right, food then home for some well-deserved rest. 

After one last deep breath, Midoriya begins ascending the stairs that will lead him from the basement’s outside landing to the normal ground above. Halfway up the stairs he hears his phone vibrate with a barrage of texts — probably from Ochako asking how he thinks his exam went — so he shrugs off the right strap of his backpack and uses his left shoulder to swing his bag in front of him. He rummages through the top pocket as he makes it up the last of the steps, stopping on the top of the stairs as he searches for his phone. It vibrates one last time before he finds it, grabbing it with his right hand before closing the zipper and rearranging his backpack to rest properly on his shoulders. 

Phone in hand and bag situated, Midoriya begins walking again, on his way to the campus food court as he unlocks his phone and reads his friend’s messages. 

Raka [3:24 pm]: Dekuuuuuu 

Raka [3:24 pm]: how did it go?? 

Raka [3:25 pm]: your class is over now right 

Raka [3:25 pm]: please tell me the test was easy because I’m terrified 

Raka [3:25 pm]: Tenya’s no help 

Raka [3:26 pm]: he just keeps saying “oh stop worrying you’ll be fine I believe in you” blah blah blah 

Raka [3:26 pm]: which is sweet and all and I love him for it but 

Raka [3:26 pm]: telling me to not worry doesn’t stop me from worrying!! 

Raka [3:26 pm]: so Deku 

Raka [3:27 pm]: please 

Raka [3:27 pm]: tell me the test isn’t baddd :( 

A quiet laugh escapes his lips as he reads over the texts, his thumbs flying across his keyboard to soothe Ochako’s nerves. 

Me [3:29 pm]: we studied all the right material 

Me [3:30 pm]: and the professor has a bonus question 

Me [3:30 pm]: a whole five extra points and I know you’ll know what the answer is 

Me [3:31 pm]: you’ll do fine :3 

A bubble with three dots appears at the bottom of their text thread, indicating that Ochako is typing her response, but before it comes in Midoriya feels a hand on his shoulder and he barely manages to suppress a startled shriek. He still jumps in his skin, however, and quickly turns around to face whoever it is. 

“I apologize.” Another student — at least, he assumes it’s another student — says, voice carefully monotone and soft spoken. “I tried calling out to you but you didn’t respond.” 

Even now, Midoriya can’t find himself to respond. Not only is he trying to steady his racing heart, pounding violently in his chest from being startled, but he can’t help looking the other student over. With mismatched eyes and split-dyed hair, he certainly has a unique look. Not the strangest he’s seen on campus, for sure, but definitely the most handsome. Even with the subtle scar that surrounds his left eye. 

Midoriya lets out an awkward cough at the thought, minutely shaking his head to dispel that specific train of thought before it develops further. 

“I’m sorry.” Midoriya says as he offers a smile, pocketing his phone so he can turn and fully face the other student. “Did you need something?” He tries his best to sound polite, but the question comes out sounding more confused than he anticipates. Granted, he’s never seen this mismatched student before so his confusion is rightfully earned. 

“Actually, I wanted to return this.” Midoriya’s eyes are drawn to the stranger’s hand as he reaches out and offers something… familiar? As he looks over the enamel pin in the stranger’s hand he realizes it’s the same exact design as the one Ochako gave him two years ago: A simple, traditional tri-colored dango treat, except with pink, yellow, and blue coloring as opposed to the normal pink, white, and green. Her and Iida both have their own to match, Ochako with a pink, purple, and blue pin and Iida with another pink, yellow, and blue pin. 

Perplexed, Midoriya looks over his shoulder at his backpack, realizing the spot where his pin is usually displayed is now empty. He removes his backpack in a rush and sets it on the ground to inspect it and, sure enough, his prized pride pin has gone missing. 

The stranger softly clears his throat, presumably to get Midoriya’s attention, and speaks again once he has it. 

“I watched it fall off your bag a moment ago. Well, more like fly off, if I’m being honest.” The stranger presses his lips together and looks down at the pin for a brief second before he turns his gaze back to Midoriya. “You practically launched it down the stairs when you put your bag on. It almost hit me in the face, in fact.” 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Midoriya sputters as he quickly stands up and takes a step closer to the stranger. “I didn’t accidentally hit you with it, did I? I’m so sorry, I didn’t even realize it came off. I was just distracted and-” 

The sound of quiet laughter interrupts his spiel, and Midoriya falls quiet as he watches the stranger’s shoulders shake minutely with the action. His two-toned hair falls in front of his face as he tilts his head down, as if he’s trying to obstruct the display of his amusement. 

Once the laughter quiets down the stranger lifts his head back up, tilting it to the side just so, allowing the hair to fall from his face and make his scar more visible. It looks a bit worse now that Midoriya has a better view of it. 

“I don’t think a small pin could do much damage, considering.” Considering the scar, remains unspoken, but Midoriya gets the hint. A small cut or bruise compared to that seems obsolete, and he feels slightly embarrassed, but that doesn’t erase the fact that Midoriya would have felt bad for causing injury regardless. 

“Thank you,” Midoriya says instead, letting their conversation progress past injuries. With gentle fingers, he takes his pin from the stranger’s hand gingerly, offering one of his signature Sunshine Smiles, as Ochako likes to call them. “This pin means a lot to me, so thank you for returning it.” 

“Of course.” The stranger returns the smile, albeit more reserved and formally polite, like it’s been carefully crafted for occasions as such. Once his hands are empty he takes to adopting a more relaxed posture, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat and readjusting his feet. “It’s a lovely pin, it’d be a shame to lose it.” 

“My friend would kill me if I lost it.” Midoriya chuckles nervously at the thought, his fingers curling around the pin protectively. Ochako may be tiny, but she’s terrifying when she gets mad, and Midoriya has seen her wrath pointed at others enough times to know he never wants to be on the receiving end. 

“It was a gift, then? From a friend?” The stranger tilts his head inquisitively, his eyes trained on Midoriya for his response. 

“Oh, yeah! She gave it to me two years ago, it was a—” pride month gift, he wants to say, but the words die on his tongue when he remembers a few less than pleasant interactions he’s had regarding this topic. Better play it safe, then. “—an early birthday gift.” He secretly amends, which isn’t too far from the truth, anyhow. The pin was technically a dual present, but he doesn’t have to clarify that if he doesn’t want to. “Why?” The question slips from his mouth without warning, but he can’t be bothered to care. It’s an innocent question, no harm done… right? 

“I was debating on asking where you acquired it from.” The stranger shrugs, adding an extra layer of casual curiosity that makes Midoriya start to relax again. “I know someone who would enjoy such a design.” 

“I’m sorry, she never told me.” 

“That’s all right, I was just curious.” The stranger clears his throat and straightens his stance, moving his shoulders to readjust the straps of his own backpack. “Anyway, I’m happy to have returned that to you. Wouldn’t want to lose such a precious token, now would we?” 

A laugh rumbles from Midoriya’s chest, hearty and good-natured. “No, definitely not. Thank you again, seriously. It really means a lot.” 

“Of course.” With one last polite smile and a parting nod of his head, the stranger turns around to make his departure. He only makes it a few steps before Midoriya’s eyes zero in on something shiny pinned to his backpack. 

There, by the uppermost pocket’s zipper, is an enamel pin of a black cat playing with a rainbow-colored ball of yarn. It’s simple. Subtle, even. Just one look may not be enough for most to understand, but Midoriya catches on right away. Even if he hadn’t seen that same pin on an Etsy shop before during his search for more collectables, the colors alone are enough. If you know, then you know. 

“Wait!” Midoriya calls out before he realizes what he’s doing, and he doesn’t even get a chance to evaluate the consequences of his actions before he’s back to staring at the stranger’s mismatched eyes, beautiful and glittering in the afternoon sun. 

“Yes?” The simple response breaks Midoriya out of his stupor, and he can’t help but bite his lip anxiously as he tries to think of what to say. 

“I-I’m sorry, I just… Can I get your name?” His heart is racing again, pounding so hard and fast in his chest that it almost distracts him from catching the other student’s name. Almost, but not quite. 

“Todoroki Shouto.” Midoriya may have almost missed his name, but he certainly doesn’t miss the hint of a smirk that grows on Todoroki’s lips. “You?” 

“Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku.” 

“Midoriya.” Todoroki says quietly, testing the name on his lips. It shouldn’t be enticing, it’s nothing more than someone learning his name, but the way his name sounds in Todoroki’s soothing voice sends shivers down his spine. The smile that comes after makes Midoriya’s heart melt. This is completely unfair. “It’s nice to meet you, Midoriya.” 

“You too, Todoroki-san.” This should be it, their final farewell, their parting goodbyes. Except it’s not. Neither of them take another step. Instead, they allow their eyes to linger. Midoriya’s hand twitches around his pin, nervous yet giddy as he makes a decision. “Todoroki-san, are you busy?” 

“Right now?” Todoroki asks, tilting his head again as he watches Midoriya enthusiastically nod in confirmation. “Not at the moment, no. My last class of the day doesn’t start for another two hours.” 

“Would you want to get some food, then? Together, I mean. A-As a thank you for finding my pin.” Midoriya stumbles over his words, silently chastising himself for getting flustered, but he also gives himself a mental pat on the back for taking a chance. He’s never been all that outgoing, especially in this regard. 

There’s a moment of silence that befalls them, no reply from Todoroki to fill the void. There’s a few birds that fly overhead and one of the many water fountains on campus is close enough to hear the gentle sound of the waterfall, but the longer Todoroki takes to reply the more Midoriya’s heart beats anxiously, slamming against his ribcage in anticipation. 

Mismatched eyes break their gaze and shift down, falling on Midoriya’s enclosed hand still wrapped protectively around his pin, and suddenly all the pieces fall into place. 

Their eyes lock again, green entrapped by enchanting blue and grey. The wind blows the hair from Todoroki’s face, revealing his scar once again as well as his sharp jawline, his faint freckles, and, finally, the uptick in his lips. He’s smiling now, less manufactured and more real, more natural. More genuine. The smile is mirrored on Midoriya’s own lips, and it only grows when Todoroki finally responds. 

“I’d love to.” 

[copias-thrall]

Pretty Thing

[Should I be working on any of my other things? Yes! Did I write this instead? Also yes!]

Mary Goore is a troll. 

Yes—a shit stirrer for sure, but mostly he’s a fiend who lives somewhere dank and far from people. Some say he squats in a mausoleum, but others will laugh and tell you he sublets a garden-level apartment. He’s always just around—the scene’s unofficial mascot who flits around, always there with everyone and no one, and damn … you just missed him! But on weekends you can find him working the doors at bars and venues collecting tolls for entry.

On cloudy days, you can find him hanging out in The Pit with all the other gutter punks, passing around a needle to pierce each other and the guitar to play out some tunes. At night, though, he always seems to be hanging off the arm of someone way too clean, looking like the cat who ate the canary. Wherever he lives, he seems to spend more time in someone else’s bed.

It’s a bright, sunny day when you encounter him alone—without the camaraderie of your tribe. Mary Goore is stomping down the sidewalk holding a black-lace parasol aloft. It’s a hot day, so beneath his studded and patched denim vest is just the pale , paleness of his dewy skin—so bright and reflective in the sunshine that you think that maybe he was the inspiration for that vampire. His black jeans are so ripped, you wonder if he wore them special—for the aeration. The carefully-constructed mat of his hair is making a valiant effort to stand up, despite how tufts of it stick to the sweat on his skin.

Some of it’s the shock of seeing Mary Goore out in the sunlight , and some of it is just how blindingly white he is—like sun refracting off a snowdrift—but you can’t help gaping at him even when you know he’s close enough to watch you do it.

Now, you don’t know Mary Goore, but you spend enough time in divey bars and underground venues that you’re sure he at least recognizes you, so you expect maybe a wink as he passes by. Instead he walks straight up to you and stops.

“You’ll catch flies that way,” he says, and you shut your mouth with a click. He leans against the building with his free arm and gives you a once over. “Like what you see, gelfling?”

Reflexively, you look him up and down. What you thought were freckles is actually a collection of moles that dot his skin. It’s cute.

“I thought you were a mirage.”

He snorts and leans into your space. “Cuz I’m a cool drink of water?”

You look down again at the flat planes of his pale chest. 

“Because you’re, um … glowing.”

Mary licks his lips and hoods his eyes. Your heart pounds.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He leans in, and your eyes flutter closed. You wonder if he’ll taste as rank as he usually looks, or if he’ll taste like mint gum or something. Instead, you feel his lips at the conch of your ear.

“See ya ‘round, gelfling.”

Eyes snapping open, you whip around just in time to him striding away, the parasol still raised to shield him from the sun.

You don’t make it a point to seek Mary out—in fact, you’ve been trying to avoid him, sure he’d only make fun of you. So, it’s a surprise when—while waiting for your drink order—Mary suddenly appears. You start, but he just leans his elbow on the bar. 

“Hey,” he says as he catches the straw from his—mostly-finished, bright-yellow drink with a pink paper umbrella—and wraps his plush lips around it. He sucks, and soon you can hear the rattle and slurp as his glass empties. He maintains eye contact with you as he keeps going, the death knell of the drink now gurgling in a prolonged throe as Mary makes use of his surprisingly robust lung capacity.

Before you can say anything, the bartender is placing your pint of beer in front of you.

“That’ll be $6.50, doll.”

Mary waves his arm. “Hey, Ned—put it on my tab.”

Ned raises his eyebrow at him. “You mean ‘Stephanie’s’ tab?” His chin indicates a girl across the room with bright pink and purple hair.

Mary grins, then slams his glass down on the counter. “And make me a tequila sunset.”

“That was a sunrise.”

“I know, man. I like variety.” 

When he says ‘variety,’ Mary turns his head to you and winks.

Ned rolls his eyes and buses the glass—but not before Mary plucks out the paper umbrella. Mary crooks his finger at you, but when you hesitate, he leans forward instead.

“I expect you to treasure this forever,” he says as he sticks the umbrella in your hair just above your ear.

You sniff at him. “I’ll treasure it as long as you do your conquests.” You go for a dramatic exit, but almost spill your beer all over you when you practically collide with the guy behind you, and it sloshes a little bit over the lip of the pint glass. Straight backed, you walk stiffly away as Mary guffaws behind you.

The rest of the night, you make a point of not even glancing in Mary’s direction—you don’t want to see if there’s also an umbrella in Stephanie’s hair.

It’s late, and you’re drunk. The lot of you had parted ways after trivia with multiple $5 pitchers. Despite having downed your own weight in French fries, all you want is some fake cheese of the Cheetos variety. 

The convenience store is on your way home and it’s still open. After the dark of the night outside, you almost have to shield your eyes from the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights. The bored teen at the counter watches as you stumble around to first the household aisle, then to the candy aisle, and back to the household aisle.

“Motherfucking cum whore,” you say out loud as you squint up at the signs again.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

You jump out of your skin, and almost careen into the greeting card rack—but Mary grabs your arm at the last minute. He’s in his worn leather jacket and some really tight-ass jeans. After leering at his thighs for a moment you say,

“Oh. It’s you.”

Mary squints at you and then grins. “You’re sloshed.”

You make a pffft noise at him.

“What drunk logic has brought you here?”

“I can’t find the Cheetos,” you whine.

He laughs at you. “All right. Hold on.”

You let Mary prop you up against the wall by the magazine rack, and you read all the celebrity gossip headlines while you wait. By the time he finally comes back, your eyes are beginning to droop with sleep. 

“Hey,” he snaps his fingers in front of your face. “No sleeping yet.”

“Cheetos,” is all you can manage before pointing into your mouth with an ah noise.

There’s a bag placed into your hands, already open. You shove a handful into your mouth before you remember you have to buy it. So you start rooting around in your pockets.

“Jesus you’re a mess.You’re getting cheese dust everywhere. The fuck are you doing, anyway?”

“Gotta pay,” you mumble around the masticated food in your mouth.

“I took care of it. C’mon.” He puts his arm around your shoulders and guides you out of the store. You notice he’s got a coffee cup in his other hand when he brings it up to his mouth.

Once you’re outside, you see a woman in her best goth blacks and contoured Elvira face. She looks up at the two of you.

“Mare?”

“Aww, shit. Sorry, baby. I gotta walk a friend home. Some other time?”

The woman looks at you; even with Mary’s arm you’re weaving, and you haven’t stopped shoving the snack food into your mouth.

“Yeah, whatever.”

She walks into the street and immediately a cab pulls over.

“All right, you,” Mary says, drawing your attention back to him. “Let’s get you home.”

The two of you walk in silence except for the crunch of the Cheetos and the slurp of the coffee.

When you reach your apartment building, you say, “This is me.”

Mary shoves his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, uh—do you mind if I crash on your couch?” He gives you a sheepish smile. “I kinda thought I’d be sleeping … elsewhere.”

“Me casa su casa,” you slur.

“Cool, thanks.”

You can’t wait to see the looks on your roommates’ faces when they wake up to Mary Fucking Goore in their apartment. 

But when you all get up, he’s already gone.

You’re eating meat off a stick to soak up the scorpion bowl you and some coworkers shared after a long fucking week. They’re upstairs getting the dance party started, but you’re not allowed up until you finish, so you’re content to watch the shot girls weave expertly in and out the crowd with their wares.

Suddenly a yellow and orange drink slides in front of you.

“But I didn’t …” you start, and that’s when Mary appears and clinks his bright red drink into yours.

“Fancy seeing you here. Oh—is that chicken?” 

Before you can answer, Mary is sliding off a chunk of meat from the skewer and popping it in his mouth.

“Hey!” You sputter at him, but he just pushes the drink at you.

“Drink your sunrise.”

You glare at him, but he just takes a big gulp of his own, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. He removes his cherry and holds it out, and you notice that his nails are painted black with a red glitter topcoat.

“C’mon, don’t leave me hanging.”

Sighing, you remove your cherry and hold it out. As Mary touches his to yours he says “Clink”, and then pops it into his mouth. You do the same, squishing it between your back molars before taking a sip from the plastic stirrer in your sunrise. When you look up again, you see that Mary’s mouth is moving, his eyes unfocused. You’re about to ask him what’s wrong when he suddenly makes a noise of triumph. He spits something into his palm, which he immediately presents to you proudly.

He’s tied the cherry stem into a knot.

You just gape at him.

Mary deposits the stem into your hand, closing your fingers around it before leaning in. “In case you forget what I can do with my tongue.” Then he gently closes your mouth with a hand to the bottom of your chin. “You know, you keep doing that, and one day someone’s gonna stick something in there.”

Before you have a chance to respond, someone across the bar yells Mary’s name.

“Oop! Gotta bounce! Smell ya later, gelfie.”

And then he’s downing the rest of his drink and heading over to a gaggle of hipsters in flannel and leather. As you finish the last hunk of meat, you watch the group leave as they shout and whoop.

The last thing you expect to see on stage is Mary Goore on guitar when he’s not even in the fucking band. True, he’s been known to mix and match and do the occasional substitution—but there wasn’t even an announcement about it. 

He’s in his stage shirt—the one almost covered in myriad blood trails—and a pair of jeans that are only torn at the knees. There’s a line of drinks next to him from admirers that he’s doing his best to slam back in between songs. The venue doesn’t make those kind of mixed drinks, so you’d sent Mary a shot of tequila with a cherry impaled on a plastic sword in it. “Inside joke,” you’d explained to the confused bartender.

When Mary gets to it, you watch the confusion on his face as he examines the contents. Then his head shoots up, scanning the crowd until his eyes land on you. You wave your own cherried sword at him before sucking the cherry into your mouth. He grins, takes out the sword, and runs it along his tongue before popping the cherry in. There are a few hoots from the audience, and then Mary is shooting the tequila before starting into the chords of the next song.

After the set ends, you convince your friends to stay for another round, vibrating with the certainty that Mary will come out to sass you. You can’t wait to see the look on your friends’ faces when he does.

It’s completely by accident that you even see him leave at all. 

You’re waiting in line for the only bathroom in the entire place, when you see the band erupt from the back room. You raise your hand to wave, but Mary isn’t even looking in your direction. Instead, he’s got his arm draped around the bassist—the one everybody considers the “pretty” one—and is close talking in his ear. From the way the bassist’s hand is moving in Mary’s back pocket, you have a good idea who he’s leaving with tonight even before you watch them slip out the back door.

After that night, you go back to avoiding any place you think Mary might be. So it’s with irritated exasperation that you see him collecting cover for Thursday 80′s Night. He’s sitting on a stool, legs splayed wide open—with absolutely no shame that there’s a giant hole on the inside of his one thigh—his signature leer on full display.

You’re this close to suggesting to your friends that you just ditch theme night and go sing karaoke at the Chinese restaurant that turns into a club after 10pm, but then Mary sees you. He grins and waves you forward. You try to shake your head, but your friends see, and the group breaks free of the line. 

A few people still waiting whine, but Mary just shrugs and taps his pen on the clipboard. “They’re on the list, guys.”

With exclamations of “Cool, dude” and “Thanks, man”, your friends fork over the $20 to Mary. When you try to hand yours over too, Mary just shakes his head.

“Gelflings don’t pay.”

“Stop calling me that,” you snap.

Mary looks a bit taken aback, but nods. “Yeah, ok.”

Again, you hold your money out, but he shakes his head again.

“Nah, you’re all set.

You narrow your eyes at him. “But I want to pay.” 

“Buy your friends a round or something.” He gives you a wolfish smile. “Buy me a round.”

You slam the bill down on the stool between his legs, and he only flinches a little. He looks up and squints at you.

"Uh … have I done something to you?”

Inching closer, you get right up in his face. His eyes drop down to your lips before flicking back up.

“You’ve done nothing to me, Mary Goore. Nothing at all.”

For once he has no witty rejoinder, and you don’t bump into anything as you make your way inside.

Life gets a little busy, and before you know it, you realize it’s been two weeks since you’ve been out and about for real anywhere. You send out a text to the group chat, and soon there are plans to see some up-in-coming band at the bowling alley venue.

When you get there, you’re resigned to your fate when you see Mary holding court in the corner. His jeans are more holy than ripped, but you can definitely see his boxers peeking through. He’s in a modified sleeveless tee and his vest. The table next to his group is littered with empty pint glasses and beer bottles.

You look away before he has a chance to catch your gaze. It’s not like you can hide your presence, but you certainly don’t have to encourage him.

The group of you manage to snag a table close enough to the stage that’s being constructed over the lanes, and you put in an order for a round of beers. You sense him even before your friends do a double take at who’s behind you. Sighing, you twist around in your seat.

“What.”

Something you can’t pinpoint flickers across his face. He shrugs.

“Haven’t seen you ‘round.”

“Well, I’m not a grifter. I got shit to do.”

His face falls.

Your friends are watching this exchange like it’s a tennis match.

“I have something for you.”

Before you can even say anything, he’s walking back to his corner and rummaging through his leather jacket. He comes back over and starts searching your face—or at least that’s what you assume he’s doing. Satisfied with what he sees, he nods, then unfurls his palm. In it is a jeweled stud that’s eerily close to the color of your eyes.

“I noticed you were pieced,” he says as he offers forth the earring.

Game. Set. Match.

“I—”

When you make no movement to take it, Mary gently places the stud on the table in front of you.

“Ok,” he says and walks away. You only watch him for a moment before turning back to your table and picking up the stud.

One of your friends gapes at you.

“Did Mary Goore just penguin you?”

You look up sharply. “What? No. Shut up.”

It doesn’t stop there.

When Mary sees the stud in one of your holes—after you sanitized the fuck out of it—he starts giving you tokens. A bejeweled pin for your coat lapel. A subtle bracelet chain. A scuffed silver ring with a onyx inlay. A mother-of-pearl button to replace one you lost on your jacket.

A new one every time he sees you wearing the last one.

You have no idea where he’s getting them. They obviously aren’t new, and you doubt he’s trolling the pawn shops. Each time, he merely comes over, presents his offering, then leaves. 

Some part of you realizes you’ve accepted his pitched woo when you get him a band pin from the local secondhand record shop. You know he usually works the door at the Irish pub on Friday nights, so you make it one of your stops. If he sees you in line, he certainly doesn’t try to wave you in again—but when your turn comes up again, you can see a smile start to break out on his face before he schools it.

“ID, please. Cover is $10 before 9 o’clock. No exceptions.” He smirks.

You mock gasp at him. “Highway robbery. I don’t even expect to pay that much on drinks.”

“Like you need to pay for your own drinks, beautiful.” His eyes take all of you in.

“Is that flattery, Goore?” you say leaning into his space.

His shrug says “maybe,” but his hooded eyes say “absolutely.”

Eyes still trained on his, you fish out two crisp fives while stealthily palming the pin. He cups his free hand out, and you place the bills in it, then rest the pin on top. Mary’s eyes zero in on the thing that’s not like the other, and you take the opportunity to skedaddle into the pub—two can play at the gift and run game.

It’s Saturday afternoon, and you’re bumming around in your apartment in a ratty tee and shorts when the buzzer makes its god awful noise. You’re a little wary because your other roommates are out, and you’re not expecting company.

You press the intercom. “Yes …?”

Feedback and a garbled male voice come through.

“Uh. This is Mary Goore. I’m here for …” he trails off, and you wonder if at any point you told Mary your name.

“Hey, dude,” you say.

“Oh. Is that you, um …”

You smile.

“Your gelfling? Yeah.”

“Cool. Cool cool cool. Can I … come up?”

You look down at yourself, and then at the detritus in the living room from 5 people.

“Or you could come down …?” he crackles.

“Gimmie 10,” you say.

Twenty minutes later you’re out the door, and you find Mary leaning against your building, thumbs hooked in his jeans. It’s a dreary day, so his parasol is nowhere in sight.

“Hey,” you say, and Mary opens his eyes. You’re in a comic book t-shirt and your denim shorts, and his eyes travel over you.

“Can I show you something?”

“Sure—” you start, then add, “—within reason.”

He nods. “Yeah. C’mon.”

The two of you start walking, you letting Mary take the lead.

After a block in silence, he says, “Thanks for the pin.”

You look over at him. ��Thanks, uh … for the everything.”

He grins. “They look great on you.”

You walk a few more blocks, Mary taking you to a part of town that’s still close to the grid, but far enough that the houses are spaced apart. When he leads you to the back of a 3-story Victorian, you hesitate as he slides through the gate.

“What?”

“Is this the part of my life where I end up in pieces in a ditch?”

Mary rolls his eyes. He points to what looks like a back door.

“My door is here.”

Still wary, you follow after him as he unlocks the door and heads down a set of concrete stairs. You peer down at him.

“Are you sure this isn’t your murder basement?”

He turns to look up at you, his face scrunched in annoyance.

“Not all of us can afford nice, sunny apartments in high rises. Don’t be an asshole.”

“Sorry,” you say, even if you’re not 100% convinced.

You make your way down the steps and into the apartment. It’s actually not the lair you thought it would be. There are support beams throughout, but the paint is cheery and the furniture looks like your grandma got loose. Black clothes are draped everywhere, and there’s an old pizza box on the coffee table—but otherwise Mary’s place isn’t the shitshow you thought it would be.

“The lady’s mom died down here,” he says as he drops his keys on the kitchen counter. “I got it at a steal. As long as I pay rent and don’t blast music past 10pm, she could really give a fuck.”

“Is this what you …?”

He smiles at you, almost shyly. “No. C’mere.” He opens a door, and your interest propels your forward.

It’s Mary’s bedroom. Black cotton sheets are hung all around the room, and what look like back silk sheets—ripped at the corners—are stretched over a queen mattress laid on the floor.

“I’m not allowed to paint,” he says when he sees your line of sight. “And she got rid of the bed for obvious reasons.”

Your gaze comes down to the mahogany dressers. They’re covered in … costume jewelry? You approach one and are fascinated by all the baubles on it. There’s also a stack of polaroids. You pick them up to shuffle through. Most of them are portraits of what you assume are Mary’s conquests—though there are few … less than tasteful nudes. 

You squint up at him. “I don’t understand, Mary. What am I supposed to be seeing? Some dead woman’s costume jewelry and bedroom set? Your porn collection?”

“Sorry,” he rubs the back of his neck. “I forgot about those.”

He comes over to take them from you. “I usually keep them here …” He opens the top drawer of the dresser, and you see that it’s full of lingerie.

You back away. “What the fuck is this? Am I here to pose for you or some shit?”

“What? Wait, no! That’s not—” Marys rubs his face in his hands. “Wait, lemme start over.”

Even though you’re dubious, you let Mary take your hands in his.

“Yeah, this place has strong grandma energy … but everything else is me. I brought you here because …” He sighs. “I like to look at the jewelry and I like to wear the lingerie. People, too. I like pretty things, ok? I like to collect them.”

You look back over at the hoard on his dresser.

“So you like … go to estate sales or something?” 

You try to imagine Mary in his studs and ripped clothes—fake blood dripping down his face—at some fancy yard sale. 

He grins at you.

“You have no idea what my day job is, do you?”

“It’s not making breakfast for your conquests?”

Mary laughs.

“Jesus, no. They want me to stick around as much as I want to stick around. No. I’m a grave digger. Well, I’m kinda a grave digger. Blah blah blah … long, boring story: because of union rules I can’t officially be a grave digger—so I’m paid under the table.”

You slap your hands to your mouth. “OH MY GOD. You’re a grave robber. OH MY GOD YOU’RE A GRAVE ROBBER. Did you?” Your hand flies to the stud in your ear. “ IS THIS?! ”

Mary chuckles at you, then shrugs.

“Yeah, ok. Maybe. But it’s not like they can take it with them—and it turns out that under the table doesn’t come with benefits.”

“Oh my god—is this where the mausoleum rumor came from?”

Mary again takes your hands and draws you closer to him.

“That’s actually not far from the truth. It’s a nice, quiet place. The stone’s a little cold, but no one bothers you there. We should go sometime.”

You look around his room again.

“But … I guess I thought you lived …. This is nice, Mary. Why wouldn’t you want to take people here? Why did you sleep on my couch that one time?”

He shrugs. “It’s just a place to sleep, isn’t it? A cheap, furnished basement.”

You stare at him.

“Why me? Why show me?”

He sighs, air punching forcefully out his nose.

“I dunno. Just a feeling. You ever just. Vibe with someone?” He ghosts a finger down the side of your cheek. “And I like pretty things.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I’d like to.”

You stare at him. Hard. “I don’t like to share.”

He grins at you with too many teeth.

“If I collect you, I want you to be mine.” He crowds into you. “Will you be my Pretty Thing?”

You smile back at him before you’re leaning forward to press your lips into his.

[h0neyyn]

hello. hi. i was sad so i wrote a drabble. uhhhhh i hope you like it? 💓

warnings: tw depression?, reader is sad (lol), soft, no smut but kinda ?????? idk not nsfw but it gets intimate 🥺

jimin/yn / 1700 words

please enjoy n thank u if u read it 💘

You always end up here. Sad. Self deprecating. Crying. For what reason? It slips your mind every time.

You’re so tired of it. Of the sadness. The loneliness. You just want a break from your mind.

you’re not pretty enough. you’re not good enough. you’re too fat. too squishy. your smile isn’t bright enough. their skin is clearer than yours. you’re annoying. you bother everyone.

Please stop. You’re crying out to no one.

You’ve shut everyone out, like you always do when you get like this.

You’ve turned your phone off, not that anyone cares.

He’s texted you 10 times. You usually answer by at least the third time, if not the first.

He calls you.

Straight to voicemail…?

That’s not like you. Unless you’re in one of your fits of depression.

He knows you handle it the best you can, but sometimes it just gets too much.

He really doesn’t like leaving you alone with your thoughts, so he does the most logical thing he can do.

He goes to find you.

He’s your best friend. (and unknowingly the love of your life. but that’s another discussion for another time.)

So he has a key to your apartment because there’s no one you trust more than him.

It’s quiet and dark when he arrives.

Nothing is on when you usually at least have some sort of background noise on. You always hated being alone in your apartment.

“Y/N?” He softly whispers out to the room.

He doesn’t want to startle you, but he wants you to know he’s here.

He hears some shuffling and follows the noise to your bedroom door. It’s slightly ajar, and he takes a peek inside.

It’s as dark as the rest of your home, but he can’t seem to make you out. Then he takes a look at your bed.

Right in the middle of it there’s a lump of blanket and sniffling.

You haven’t noticed him yet, and he slowly treks his way inside.

“Y/N…”

You freeze. And then you try to wipe your tears away so he won’t see them. Why is he here? Why does he always come when you’re at your ugliest?

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

He’s talking so softly your chest aches even more.

You just want him to go away. You want to be alone. (but do you really, though?)

He sighs softly, knowing he won’t get a peep out of you.

He starts to take off his shoes and his jacket.

He digs through your drawers knowing he has some sweats in there. He’s always here and sleeps over all the time so he just leaves his things here for times like this.

“Scoot over, angel.”

A fresh wave of tears falls out of your eyes.

It hurts so much when he calls you cute pet names. He doesn’t know that they actually mean something to you. (and you don’t know that he actually means them.)

You unwillingly move over so he can lay down next to you.

He pulls the blankets up so he can wrap his arms around you and you get a whiff of his clean scent.

He smells like sunshine and home and it makes your eyes clench.

“C’mere, angel.”

You hide your face in his arm so he won’t look at you.

He plays with your hair in that soothing way he knows you adore.

He’s humming and you feel yourself slowly relax until you finally rest your head on his chest.

“Do you wanna talk about it, lovebug?”

You take a deep breath before shaking your head, “Not yet, Chim. Keep petting me please.”

He lets out a chuckle and kisses your forehead. You try to stop the tears but they’ve already fallen.

He whispers so softly you almost didn’t hear it.

“Anything for you, baby. Anything at all.”

You wake up a few hours later, disoriented.

You didn’t even know you fell asleep.

Jimin has his arms wrapped around you protectively, he lips ghosting against your skin.

It gives you goosebumps and makes your heart throb in your chest.

He looks so beautiful and so content when he sleeps.

You’d give anything just to peck his soft lips.

You squash it down, no point in thinking about something that’s never going to happen.

You slip away wanting to cleanse yourself from the pain and tears.

You start a bath and fill it with your favorite smelling bubbles and oil.

You’ve just slipped into the water when you hear the door open.

“J-jimin?! What are you doing???”

“You left me. I was lonely, so I wanted to see what you were up to…”

Then he realized what he walked into.

You have your hair up in a loose bun, you put so many bubbles they cover up your private bits and it burns him inside.

He’s so close yet so far…

You’re steadily turning pinker and pinker and getting more embarrassed by the second.

Why is he just staring at you?!

His eyes are glinting and he starts to strip.

“Jimin! What are you doing?!”

You clench your eyes shut as tight as they can go.

He smiles sweetly at your flusteredness, but you can’t see him.

He laughs, “Scoot forward, sweetheart. I’m coming in.”

You’re so shocked you don’t even realize what’s happening until it’s too late.

You’re naked. In your tub. With your best friend. And lifetime crush. Who is also naked. In your tub.

You stop functioning.

His thick, strong thighs are surrounding you and you keep your limbs as close to you as possible.

You’re trying to control your breathing, because there is absolutely no way this is actually happening.

He’s staring at your back watching droplets race down.

He bites his lip and grabs you so you lean back on him.

You squeak so softly, he thought he imagined it.

He slowly wraps his arms around your belly and rests his head on your shoulder.

He peeks down, but all he can see are bubbles.

Is he disappointed? Yes.

Do you need to know that? Probably not.

He’s humming and you’re still frozen.

“Babe, relax. It’s just me, isn’t it? We’re friends, aren't we?”

Which is arguably the wrong thing to say because you choke back a sob.

“Friends? Jimin, what kind of friends bathe together?”

He laughs at that.

“Yeah… What kind indeed…”

You’re so confused by his answer you don’t realize where his lips are before it’s too late.

And then he’s softly kissing your neck and you short circuit.

You let out the softest little moan and he grins like the cheshire cat.

“Oh? What was that, angel?”

You’re so embarrassed you try to ignore him.

“I just wanted to take a bath with my favorite girl. Is that so wrong?”

Yes. You think.

“I guess not…” you say instead.

You doze off in his arms surrounded by your favorite scent and your favorite person.

He’s so happy to be this close to you, this vulnerable with you, if only for a little bit.

He wakes you up and wraps you in your towel.

He admires how beautiful you are naked and wants nothing but to worship you like the goddess you are, but you look so happy and warm he doesn’t push it.

You’re in such a daze you don’t even realize he just saw your body naked.

If you did, you’d be running for the hills.

But you’re so happy and warm, and being surrounded by Jimin makes you feel fuzzy all over.

You bask in it for as long as you can.

You both end up in your bed again while some show plays on the tv.

You’re not really paying attention, what matters is the way Jimin is playing with your fingers.

He slips his fingers in and out of yours, caressing your hand, bringing it to his lips every now and then to place soft kisses.

You don’t understand why he’s kissing your hand but you’re not about to question it.

It makes your heart beat a little faster every time he does.

Then he’s turning towards you smiling that beautiful smile you adore.

“I love you, Y/N.”

Your eyes go wide and then you close them.

“I love you, Chim.”

Your eyes are closed so you don’t see the exasperation on his face.

“No. No, sweetheart. Open your eyes. Look at me.”

You reluctantly open them and gasp and how intense his gaze is.

“I love you. I think I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. You mean so much to me, angel. All I want to do is soothe your worries and show you I’m here. And I will always be here.”

Before you can murmur a word his lips are on yours.

He kisses you hesitantly and softly, and you’re at such a shock you don’t react immediately.

As he starts to back away, your brain kicks into gear.

You bring his lips back and it’s everything you’ve dreamed of.

He’s so soft and sweet and kisses you like he never wants to to end.

He nibbles on your bottom lip and you gasp out.

He takes advantage of this and slips his tongue inside.

You taste like heaven. He swirls his tongue along with yours and he could do this forever, if you only asked.

He makes his way down to your neck and leaves a trail of wet kisses.

Then he’s nibbling and biting, and oh the things he wants to do to you.

He makes his way back to your mouth and ends it with a sweet kiss and you look so blissed out he wonders why he didn’t kiss you sooner.

He pulls you close to him and you press your lips against his neck.

“I love you. I love you, I love you. I love you so much, Jimin. You have no idea.”

He chuckles and places a sweet kiss to your forehead.

You melt inside.

“Oh I think I do, angel. I think I do.”

You fall asleep to the rise of his chest and his fingers tracing the skin of your back.

You can’t wait to see what life has in store for you next.

[purplesurveys]

1059

surveys by lets-make-surveys

1 - When you wake up, do you get up straight away or do you lie around in bed for a while? Lie in bed, even on work days. I work from home, so there’s nothing to prepare or look nice for, anyway. I can stay in bed and just roll out of it and head to my desk at 9 AM to start the day.

2 - Who was the last person you video-called with? Have you done this more often since COVID hit? Video calls make me anxious, so I’ve always turned them down even when it was someone I’m close with who was trying to call, like Angela. The only person I’ve felt comfortable having video calls with was Gab but that obviously hasn’t happened in a while. I think the last people I saw on video was my dad’s family, though I was still shy and asked my mom not to put me in the shot for too long.

3 - How many times a week do you go out for food or drink? Back then I’d do it 2-3 times a week. Then Covid happened and I had to stop; but now that I’m starting to try to put in more effort to take care of myself, I try to bring myself to a coffee shop for me time at least once during weekends.

4 - Do you prefer getting takeaway or actually sitting in a restaurant and eating your meal there? Dine-in. For me ambience is a big part of eating food, and even if I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance of getting to eat the absolute best meal in the whole world, if I’m eating it alone at home I would still feel like shit.

5 - Where’s your favourite place to get takeaway coffee (or whatever your drink of choice is)? Starbucks. We have five joints in the highway I live on alone, so it’s both a personal preference and a I-don’t-really-have-a-choice type of situation haha.

6 - Do you tend to keep your phone on silent, vibrate or loud? It’s on vibrate during work days; then I’ve formed a habit of putting it on Do Not Disturb during weekends or holidays.

7 - If you have pets, when was the last time one of them annoyed you? What happened? Cooper thought my hand was a toy earlier so he was biting on it, and not in a very playful way.

8 - When was the last time you went into a bookshop? Around a week ago when I was buying presents; I needed to get my cousin the mechanical pencils and eraser she wanted for Christmas. I also came across the bookshop that Gab and I would make a habit to visit, but I didn’t go inside as I didn’t know if I was prepared for the memories that would inevitably flood back. I looked through the stuff they had on their windows, though.

9 - What was the last thing you ordered off Amazon? I don’t know if Amazon operates here. But the last thing I got from a local e-commerce app - don’t judge me HAHA - is a phone socket featuring the face of my newest K-drama crush. I placed my order literally 10 minutes ago.

10 - When was the last time you took a dog out for a walk? Is this your own dog or did you borrow someone else’s? Yesterday. Both were my family’s dogs.

11 - What jewellery do you have on at the moment? Not wearing any, haven’t worn any in a while.

12 - Do you have any products in your hair right now? What are they? Just shampoo and conditioner. I never put anything else on it; I don’t really deem hair products other than those two a necessity.

13 - Have you ever used a VPN to access foreign content online? Hahaha no. I’ve wanted to try it out, but I’ve always been paranoid that the NBI would come knocking at my door the moment I install one of those.

14 - Who was the last artist you listened to? Is this someone you’re a fan of? She’s a Korean singer named Cheeze, though she’s honestly unfamiliar to me. The song she contributed for the OST of Start-Up is my absolute favorite in the entire tracklist, and that’s how I knew of her.

15 - What was the last thing you had to drink? I’m at a cafe joint right now and they didn’t have my usual order of caramel macchiato, so I opted for a Spanish latté because it sounded new to me.

16 - When was the last time you cooked something for the first time? Did it work out the way it was supposed to? I made a Monte Cristo sandwich, if that counts as ~cooking; this was about a little more than a monthh ago. It worked out significantly better than I was expecting, given how rubbish I am in the kitchen. I lacked a couple of ingredients, like mustard for the sauce and the right kind of cheese, but I still ended up liking it.

17 - Black cats are considered to be bad luck - is this a superstition that you’ve ever believed in? Not me personally, but I know this is still widely believed in my country. It’s sad, so I approach black cats whenever I can and play with them for a bit.

18 - Would you ever eat blue cheese or do you find the idea of eating mould to be pretty repulsive? It is definitely not my favorite; I’d say 5 times out of 10 I would consume it, and the other 5 I would set it aside. I enjoy it the most in pizzas and as a sauce for chicken wings.

19 - Do you visit the dentist every six months like you should? Is that the standard schedule? Lmao. I only go when I have to.

20 - How old were you when you first used the internet? Was it dial-up or did you have access to proper broadband? I was first exposed to the internet at around the ages of 3 and 4, when my mom would use the dial-up internet to email my dad (he had just started to work abroad). For many years I thought Yahoo Mail was the only website that existed, since that’s all I saw my mom use. Eventually my dad got broadband for the family by the time I was 10, and the first website I ever looked up was YouTube.

21 - Are you old enough to remember using floppy discs? I remember those; I just never had to use them myself.

22 - When was the last time you purchased an actual DVD or CD? Andi gave me a Petals For Armor CD for Christmas, if it counts. Because they’re the most awesome fucking friend. The last DVD I bought myself was probably a Beyoncé's Life Is But A Dream, which was...holy crap, 7 whole years ago.

23 - Do you shave? Which body parts and how often? I do. I shave my underarms every few days, and my legs monthly.

24 - What’s your favourite season, and what are some of your favourite things about that season? We don’t have the usual four seasons we hear about in other countries; we only have wet and dry. Between those two, I definitely like wet more because I love the rain, and I like how cold it can get.

25 - When was the last time you burned yourself? I took a big bite of a lumpiang togue yesterday when it was still piping hot, so it felt like I almost burned my tongue and the roof of my mouth. But since I was a guest at my dad’s family’s house, I couldn’t spit it out.

26 - Have you ever been the victim of a theft or robbery? What was stolen? Did the police ever catch the person who did it? Someone stole my wallet in high school, and I never got it back. It was a small petty thing that the police didn’t need to be involved in, lol. I know my mom’s family got robbed when she was a teenager, though; the worst thing that got stolen was their grand piano :(

27 - What was the last TV show you discovered that you really liked? What was it that got you to watch it in the first place? START UP. I first heard of it from my co-workers who would mention the show here and there; and because I was new to the team and wanted to have something in common with them so that I can break the ice, I figured I should start on the show myself. Ended up getting obsessed with the show and gaining a new Korean crush altogether.

28 - Have you seen any of the live-action Disney remakes? Which one is your favourite? What about your least favourite? No, those have never looked even remotely appealing to me. I never saw the point of recycling movies that already exist and already feel magical by themselves.

29 - Do you have any exciting plans for tomorrow? If not, how are you planning to spend your day? It doesn’t sound exciting on its own, but I’m very much looking forward to be a homebody tomorrow haha. We’ve been with extended family for five days straight and I’m at a café right now for some me time, so tomorrow I can’t wait to just be at home and lounge around.

30 - Would you ever keep a working dog as a pet? Do you think it’s fair to keep dogs like huskies in flats when it’s so different to their natural environments? If the dog is already trained or certified to be a certain kind of working dog, I don’t see the point in keeping them for myself when they could be beneficial for other purposes. The only time I see myself adopting a working dog is if they’re already at the point of retirement and would need a loving home to live out their remaining years.

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1 - Are you a fan of garlic bread? Do you eat it on its own or as part of a bigger meal? Love garlic bread; I regularly have it with my pasta and occasionally, pizza.

2 - When was the last time your area was under some kind of weather warning? Did it end up being as bad as predicted? Last month, during Typhoon Rolly. Other cities had worse experiences, but it also wasn’t sunshine and rainbows on our end. We had a blackout for around two days and I had to file for an emergency leave four days into my new job, which was super embarrassing. It didn’t flood in our street but the water was high in other areas in our village, so we couldn’t go out for a while.

3 - Do you ever buy things from charity/thrift shops? What was the last thing you bought from there? I don’t recall ever buying anything from either.

4 - The last time you got fast food, did you eat in, takeaway or go through the drive-thru? My last fast food wasssssss Jollibee, and my parents got it for takeout so that we could eat as a family at home.

5 - If you have multiple pets, do they get along with each other? Hahaha no they don’t. It’s been six months since we got Cooper but the two still don’t get along, unless it’s Kimi trying to hump him. It’s understandable; Cooper is a vibrant pup that’s super excited and play bites all the time, and on the other side is a nearly 13 year old, nearly blind, can’t-smell-as-well-as-he-used-to senior dog; and I get that Kimi’s more sensitive to sudden movements now.

6 - Do you ever buy things off eBay? If you do, do you participate in auctions or do you just use the “buy it now” option? I never go on eBay. And since I’ve never checked it out, I never understood the gimmick of the website.

7 - When you go out, do you worry that you’ve forgotten to lock the door or turn something off? Yeah, this is especially the case with locking the front door.

8 - What fruits and vegetables have you eaten so far today? Do you tend to get your “five a day”? I didn’t know five a day is a thing of some sort; but it’s only 8:47 AM and I haven’t eaten anything at all yet today.

9 - When was the last time you were in pain? What caused it and did you manage to get it sorted in the end? Last night when my back was giving me hell. As for the cause...idk, years of bad posture maybe? I was able to deal with it for a bit with the new massage pillow that my dad got for Christmas.

10 - Do you live in an area that gets lots of snow? Do you like it? If not, would you like to live somewhere that gets that cold? I would love to move somewhere that’s generally more cold. Humidity gets exhausting to deal with.

11 - What was the reason for your last doctor/hospital visit? My fever had already been lasting for a week and wasn’t showing signs of going away. No Covid symptoms, just pure hellish fever.

12 - If someone had told you that 2020 would see a global pandemic, countries going into lockdown, compulsory face masks and millions of deaths, would you have ever believed that you’d live through something like that? My personal biggest surprise for 2020 wasn’t even the pandemic. I would have had a more violent reaction if I was told I would no longer be in a relationship and be barely talking to my then-girlfriend of six years by the end of 2020.

13 - Do you prefer having the blinds/curtains open or closed when you’re at home? Does it depend on the weather or the time of day? Always closed. I don’t ever voluntarily open the curtains or windows to let the sunshine in.

14 - Do you use an ad-blocker on your computer or phone? Why/why not? I use one on my laptop because the ones on YouTube can be extremely annoying. I didn’t know it was possible to put on ad blockers on phones (is it?).

15 - Do you still use a paper diary/planner to organise your appointments and schedules? No, but I’m thinking of getting a planner again for 2021. I used to get a Starbucks planner every year just because I wanted to get into their Christmas promo hype, but I never completed any of them. Now that I’m working and am busier all around, I see the bigger need for a planner. These days, I use a Google extension called Momentum to list down my to-do tasks. My parents also got me a corkboard for Christmas on which I stick notepads with things I have to do for the day.

16 - When was the last time you charged one of your electronic items? Do you have to charge that specific item often? I’m charging my laptop now. At this point it’s always plugged in because I want to keep the cycle count low, though I’m not sure if it’s the healthiest thing to do.

17 - Have you ever thrown or broken something in a temper? Yes, definitely. I’m not normally aggressive when angry, but sometimes it happens.

18 - What does your outfit look like today? Did you pick it out for a special reason? I have on a black sundress that I didn’t change out of. I wore it yesterday when I went to a coffee shop to spend some time on my own.

19 - Do you follow any vlogs or podcasts? What is it about them that interests you? I do follow certain channels who do vlogs, but I never tune into them since most of them have gotten a little uninteresting. I’m also subscribed to several podcasts like Andi’s and Renee Young’s, but I’m not always in a podcast mood; I subscribe because I want to support them.

20 - Aside from Tumblr, what websites do you spend the most time on? Do you go through phases of visiting certain websites? I visit Twitter and YouTube the most often. I will binge Reddit every now and then, and I will get into a Wikipedia black hole at least once a week.

21 - Do you have a good relationship with your siblings? If you don’t have siblings, what about your cousins or extended family? I do not maintain a relationship with my brother after he physically assaulted me last year. My sister and I are on good terms, but we’re not close in that I can cry to her or that we know each other’s secrets. We have a very good casual relationship, and we never argue.

22 - When was the last time you were up early enough to see the sunrise? I hate the sun so I don’t really do that lol.

23 - What movie series did you last watch from start to finish? Was it one you’d seen before? I only ever do this with Twilight. I have my annual Twilight Saga marathon where I watch all five films in one afternoon hahaha.

24 - Do you still enjoy watching children’s TV programmes? What was the last one you watched? Yeah, but only the ones I watched as a kid. My cousins and I watched the Wet Painters episode of Spongebob last Christmas Eve right after we finished Midsommar.

25 - Who was the last person to tag you in something on social media? How do you know that person? I have no idea. I’ve been going in and out of deactivation, so at this point I’m sure people no longer have any clue if I’m on a certain social media website or not.

26 - What was the last thing you took a photograph of? It was a screenshot of something I wanted to show Angela.

27 - Are you a fan of giving animals human names? Sure. I certainly find it funny when pets are given incredibly ordinary human names, like Bob or Mark.

28 - When was the last time you weighed yourself? Were you happy with what the scale said? Christmas Eve eve, when I saw a weighing scale in my cousin’s room. I mean it’s what I’ve weighed for the last 5 years or so, so I have no complaints.

29 - How often do you buy yourself new clothes? What was the last clothing item you bought for yourself? Used to be a few times every month, but I have not bought anything new since before the pandemic. The last items I got were still the tops with puffed sleeves that I bought in March.

30 - What is the reason behind your mood today? Is this something you could have done something about? I’m mostly at ease; a little anxious because work continues for a certain headache of a client even though we told them our office would be on shutdown; and a little melancholic for no reason. I’m trying to combat the latter by doing my embroidery and it’s kind of helping, but the sads are still lingering.