#shiny new projects took my attention

[astersatdawn]

i wanted to start learning how to draw in a more chibi style and wanted to draw twewy characters so this happened

[flickering-chandelier]

You Drew Stars Around My Scars

Pairing: Azriel x Reader

Summary: Azriel and Reader meet one day and the connection is instantaneous. Azriel becomes worried though, when Reader starts showing up late to their dates more consistently. When the truth comes out, they need to figure out how to keep moving forward.

Based on this request! Thank you for sending it in, I hope you like it! 🩷

Word Count: 3.8k

The market was bustling today and Azriel cringed slightly, pulling his wings in even tighter behind him. He had no idea why Amren had insisted that he be the one to pick up the items she needed for her new project. Perhaps because she knew that he would be the least likely to complain. 

He was approaching the stall that carried what Amren needed when his gaze snagged on someone at a neighboring one and he stopped dead in his tracks, causing the people around him to curse and move around him, irritated.

Azriel barely heard it though, his attention fully on you. You had a simple dress on, but it accentuated your curves beautifully, your hair was loose, falling down your back in ringlets. The way you moved was graceful as you picked up an item to inspect. 

But your smile as you talked to the owner of the stall, the way it lit up your face with such kindness… that is what made Azriel’s knees feel like they were about to give out.

He longed to approach you, but by the time that he had come to his senses enough to start moving, you too had moved, working your way through the market. It was so crowded that he lost track of you. 

Crestfallen, he went back to the stall and got the supplies for Amren. 

---

Days later, Azriel still could not get you out of his mind. That damn smile haunted his dreams and his every waking moment. 

So much so, that at the earliest opportunity, he went back to the market, his eyes raking the crowd for any sign of you. He seriously contemplated flying up to a rooftop for a better angle, but that would probably be frowned upon. 

He perused the market, feeling a bit foolish. The Night Court’s spymaster, reduced to wandering around the market on his day off like a lost puppy in hopes of finding a woman he didn’t even know.

His spirits lifted dramatically though, when he saw you. You were perusing a stall, inspecting a jar with a shiny liquid inside. 

Azriel didn’t let himself hesitate this time, dodging people milling about as he strode for you. Eventually, he appeared at your side, and you looked up at him, so surprised to suddenly see a large, looming male next to you, that you dropped the jar that you were holding.

Smoothly, he caught it before it hit the ground and offered it to you. Your eyes sparked with recognition as you studied him: the wings, the Illyrian clothing, the shadows twirling around his biceps. 

Your fingers brushed his as you took the jar back from him and you murmured, “Thank you.”

He nodded, offering you a faint smile, not sure what to say. He hadn’t thought this far ahead.

“You’re the High Lord’s shadowsinger,” you said, looking up at him, sounding a little breathless.

“I am. But most people just call me Azriel,” he said, a note of humor edging his voice.

That smile you had offered the others before was now turned on him, and he felt as if the ground was swaying underneath him. You offered him your name, before saying, “I feel a bit like I’m meeting a celebrity.”

Azriel could feel slight heat in his cheeks, and tried to maintain the neutral expression he nearly always wore. He waved his hand dismissively, “Trust me, I’m not. Cassian is more of the celebrity. I mostly blend into the shadows.”

You tilted your head, looking up at him from beneath your lashes, studying the hard line of his jaw, his hazel eyes, the curve of his mouth. “That’s a shame,” you said, a little wistfully.

Azriel’s heart was thundering now. “Do you want to get dinner?” 

Your smile widened. “I think I can make that happen. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed. 

You picked the restaurant and the time, and just like that, Azriel had a date.

---

The date was, in his opinion, nothing short of amazing. 

He had arrived a bit early to dinner, and you waltzed up to the restaurant exactly on time, looking like a vision. Part of your hair was braided around your head like a crown, but part was still flowing down over your shoulders, curled. Your dress hugged the curve of your waist, the hem landing midway down your shin, perfect for the summer. 

You beamed as you approached him, and Azriel had to concentrate to keep his breathing steady. The two of you were seated outside, watching the sun set over the river. 

The conversation was easy. You kept it light and playful, grazing your hand against his bicep every once in a while when you laughed, the sound bright and beautiful.

Flirting, he realized. You were flirting with him. Laughing with him. Making him laugh.

Mother, when was the last time he had felt like this?

Had he ever felt like this?

After dinner ended, you stood up and gently took his hand in yours, tugging lightly so he stood up too, towering over you. “Do you want to take a walk?” you asked, your eyes sparkling under the stars that were out by then. 

“Lead the way,” he said, one side of his mouth turning up into a smile.

You led him to the artists’ quarter, the lights vibrant against the night. He watched as your eyes lit up at the site, marveling at all the artwork, the people milling about. 

“Oh, look!” you exclaimed, excitedly pulling him to a painting of the mountains surrounding Velaris. “It’s beautiful,” you told the painter, who nodded in thanks, smiling.

Azriel couldn’t help but stare as you took in the painting, your eyes alight. 

“Are you a painter?” he asked.

“I try to be,” you grinned at him. “I’m not very good.”

Before he could respond, another painting caught your eye and you gasped, tugging on his hand, leading him through the crowd. Azriel laughed, and you turned back to smile at him, your whole face lighting up. His heart swelled.

On and on you went, his lifeboat pulling him through the sea of artists. He could have gone on like that forever, he thought. 

You were about to pull him to another painting when you suddenly turned to him, flushed. “I’m sorry,” you said. “I’ve gotten carried away, haven’t I?”

Azriel shook his head, smiling. “Not at all.”

You smiled, seeming shy all of a sudden. “It’s late,” you said. “I should probably head back.” 

“Can I walk you home?”

Your smile grew and you nodded your head for him to follow. Your arms brushed as you walked, taking in the night air. 

It was a short walk to your house, and you stopped before the door and smiled up at him. “Thank you, Azriel. Tonight was… amazing.”

Azriel couldn’t help but smile back at you. “It was.”

You stood on your tiptoes and kissed his cheek lightly before turning to the door, and Azriel said your name, stopping you before you could open it. “Can I see you again?”

You beamed. “Meet me by the Rainbow in two days?”

Smirking, Azriel said, “Absolutely.”

---

Azriel could hardly focus on anything else while he waited to see you again. His friends absolutely knew something was up with him, but did not pester him about it. Yet. 

Two days after the initial date, Azriel was waiting in the Rainbow, where you had told him you wanted to meet. 

He waited. And waited.

Trying to stomp down his growing anxiety that you wouldn’t show, he gazed at the art around him. You had been right on time to your first date. Had you changed your mind about him?

He was about to walk through the artists’ quarter, wondering if he had not remembered correctly where you wanted to meet, when you finally arrived, your cheeks flushed, but you looked beautiful as ever. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said, a little breathless. “Something came up -- it’s hard to explain. I swear I tried to be on time.” 

Azriel was just glad that you had come. “It’s alright,” he smiled reassuringly. 

Your eyes twinkled under the stars, relieved. “Thank you.”

His smile widened and he lightly squeezed your upper arm, trying to soothe you. 

You smiled slowly and arched an eyebrow, mischief written all over your face. “So, I had an idea.”

“I’d love to hear it.”

Laughing, you said, “Let’s go dancing.”

Azriel’s smile dropped. You laughed even more. “Dancing,” he repeated. 

“Dancing,” you grinned.

“I can’t dance.” 

“Oh, please. Everyone can dance.” 

“Not me,” Azriel said, smiling despite himself.

“Please,” she murmured, taking a step closer to him and looking up at him from under her lashes. “For me?”

Azriel sighed, raking a hand through his hair. You knew you already had him wrapped around his little finger. “Fine.”

You squealed with delight, taking his hand in yours and walking in the direction of the Velaris night clubs. Azriel tried to focus on the positives: your soft hand in his, how happy you were, how your hair bounced as you walked.

By the time you got to the nightclub, Azriel’s felt like his heart was in his throat. He really did not dance.

But you strode right in, glancing back at him with the biggest smile on your face. You led him right into the middle of the crowd of people pulsing with the music. 

He stood still and watched as you moved your hips, your arms up above your head, twirling around like you didn’t have a care in the world. I could easily fall in love with this woman, he thought. Easily.

You turned back to him and laughed brightly, placing your hands on his hips, trying to make them move. He didn’t budge, which made you laugh even more. “Come on, shadowsinger. Live a little!”

He wanted to, if only to make you happy, but he couldn’t focus on anything but your hands on him and that smile that knocked the breath out of his lungs.

Studying him for a moment, you said over the music, “Okay, I see we need to try a different tactic,” you said, taking his hand in yours and leading him to the edge of the dance floor, where it was less crowded. 

You stepped right up to him then, so your bodies were barely an inch away. You took both of his hands and settled them on your hips, then placed your hands on his shoulders. 

“Don’t think so much, just move,” you said, your voice light and teasing. 

He towered over you, watching as you moved your hips, lightly pushing and pulling on his shoulders so he would move with you. It took nearly a full song, but eventually his body relaxed, letting himself be guided by you.

“There you go,” you grinned. 

Suddenly, the song slowed significantly, and you looked up at him, becoming slightly shy again. 

He gazed down at you, smiling faintly as he pulled you in closer to him, keeping one hand at your waist and taking one of your hands in his. 

Azriel swore he saw your breath catch as you studied his face, eyes slightly wide. Azriel tightened his grip on you slightly when your eyes dipped to his mouth and lingered there. 

Holding his breath, he leaned in slowly, stopping a breath away from your lips, giving you a moment to back up if you wanted to. But, you surged forward, connecting your mouth with his. 

He smiled into the kiss, bringing a scarred hand up to gently cup your cheek. 

You wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, and as the music swelled to a crescendo, he wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, lifting you off the ground. You gasped into his mouth, bending your knees as he held you in the air. 

Gently, he set you down a few moments later, and when he pulled back, you were smiling, your cheeks dusted red. 

“That might have been the most romantic thing that’s ever happened to me,” you said, your tone teasing, but your eyes alight. 

“Me too,” Azriel murmured, unable to tear his gaze away from your beautiful face. 

The two of you spent hours together, and Azriel found himself unable to keep his hands off you. You seemed the same way, always placing a hand on his arm, on his shoulder, while he rested his hand on your hips, the small of your back, or held your hand in his. 

For hours, he watched you dance, and willed his body to move with you, only because your eyes shined, your smile bright, when he did so.

At the end of the night, he walked you home once again, this time pulling you in by the waist and kissing you until you were breathless, twining his hand into your soft hair, your hands on his face.

---

Weeks passed, and the two of you kept meeting as often as your schedules would allow. 

Azriel would have been on cloud nine… except that he was starting to have his doubts. When the two of you were together, it was amazing, a connection and energy that he had never felt with anybody before. In the privacy of his own mind, he was even willing to concede that he had absolutely fallen for you.

But he couldn’t pretend that everything was perfect. You had been late to nearly every date. He would always be unnerved waiting for you, thinking that this would be the time that you would leave him hanging, never to be heard from again. But then, you would come, always breathless, like you had rushed to get there, and would apologize profusely, but never giving an explanation. Azriel couldn’t help but wonder if you were not as interested in him as he was in you.

He considered talking to Cassian or Rhys about it, but had a suspicion that they would not be very helpful.

So eventually, he decided just to talk to you about it. He didn’t want you to feel like you had to keep seeing him if you didn’t want to.

There was clearly movement in your house as he approached. He took a deep breath before knocking.

Your eyes were wide in surprise, but not unhappy, when you opened the door. “Azriel,” you smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, quietly. 

You opened your mouth to respond, but before anything could come out, a little boy, a toddler came running to the door, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Azriel hulking in the doorway. 

The boy gaped at Azriel, his mouth hanging open in shock, before turning to you, “Mom! That’s the shadowsinger!” he squealed, running up to said shadowsinger and wrapping his tiny arms around Azriel’s legs, his head not even meeting Azriel’s knees. The boy looked up at Azriel in awe, “you are so cool.”

Azriel’s head spun, trying to process the information in front of him, but he couldn’t focus over the feeling of his heart absolutely melting as he gazed at this boy, full of such joy. He patted the boy’s back, smiling. “You think so?”

He nodded vigorously, his curly hair that matched his mother’s flicking over his eyes. “I wish I could be a spy.”

Azriel grinned. “I can teach you, if your mom says it’s okay.”

The boy gasped, and Azriel looked at you for the first time since your son had made himself known. You looked like you were about to cry, your hands clasped in front of you. He couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

“Honey, why don’t you go play for a little bit?” you said, your voice slightly shaky, steering your son into the other room. “Mom has to talk to Mr. Shadowsinger about grownup stuff for a little bit.”

He pouted a bit, but did as he was told, reluctantly untangling himself from Azriel and toddling into the next room.

You sighed when you were alone with Azriel, searching his face.

“This is why you’ve been late,” Azriel said, his voice thick with emotion.

You nodded. “I’m sorry.”

Azriel took your hand in his, trying to ground himself. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Your eyes filled with tears, and Azriel’s heart cracked. “Most males aren’t interested in raising someone else’s kid. And I liked you… I was too scared to lose you.”

There was no breath in Azriel’s lungs. He ached for you, for what you had no doubt been through with other males who you tried to date. He wanted to rip them to shreds. Slowly, he leaned down, gently kissing each tear away. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly, leaning his forehead against yours. “Not unless you want me to.” 

You sniffed, looking up at him through damp lashes. “I don’t want you to.”

Azriel smiled softly. “Good,” he murmured, pulling you into his chest, resting his chin on the top of your head.

You stayed like that for a while, holding each other, before he asked, “What’s his name?”

“Jax.”

“Do you think Jax has it in him to be a spymaster?”

You laughed against his chest, and Azriel smiled into your hair. “I think he can be whatever he wants to be.”

He pulled back to look at you, tilting his face down to meet your eye. “Do you want me in his life? If it’s too soon, that’s okay. But I would love to get to know him, eventually.”

That beautiful smile shone on your face as you said, “I would love that.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Azriel taught Jax how to be a spy. They ran around the house, ducking behind furniture, following invisible enemies. 

Azriel glanced at you periodically, reveling in the bright smile on your face, your eyes shining. 

---

Jax became an important fixture in Azriel’s life, often accompanying your dates around Velaris. One day, Azriel had recruited Feyre to help get you all into a painting class for all ages. 

You grinned as Azriel led you and Jax into the studio set up with paints and easels. There were a few other families there, setting up their work stations. 

“Azriel, will you make a painting with me?” Jax asked, his green eyes wide as he looked up at Az.

“Are you sure you don’t want to make your own?” Azriel asked.

Jaz nodded. “I’m sure,” he said, taking Azriel’s hand and leading him to the paint station to pick out colors. Jax chose color after color, handing them all to Azriel, who was grinning, trying to keep hold of all the paints. 

You beamed, your heart full as you watched your son and Azriel together, laughing as they painted together. The easel was set up for Jax to reach it, so Az was sitting on the floor in order to reach it whenever Jax demanded that he contribute to their painting. 

Azriel was smiling and laughing with the boy, adding in elementary looking trees and bushes wherever Jax instructed him. 

By the end, they had a painting that looked very much like a toddler made it. It was nearly impossible to tell who had painted what: Jax or Azriel. 

You laughed as Azriel showed it off to you with a flourish, Jax excitedly bouncing on his toes. “Mom, can we hang this up at home?”

“Of course we can,” you grinned, your heart swelling at Azriel’s soft, loving smile.

Azriel came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder to look at your painting while Jaz was busy admiring his own painting. 

“I thought you said you weren’t very good,” Azriel murmured, his heart swelling as he took in the painting that you had created.

It was of that day, of Azriel and Jax painting together. Jax happily paints while Azriel sits on the floor, grinning at him, holding the palette of paint up for Jax to use.

“Do you like it?” you said quietly. 

“I love it,” he said, nuzzling your neck. “I love you.”

He felt you stiffen beneath his fingers and froze. He had just realized that was the first time he had told you. 

You twisted in his arms, turning to face him, your eyes shining. “I love you too, Az.”

Azriel’s knees nearly buckled with relief. He gave you a quick, sweet kiss, wishing he wasn’t in public. 

---

By Starfall, the three of you were really starting to feel like a family, and Azriel had never been happier. Cassian and Rhys teased him about it relentlessly, but he knew it was because they were happy for their brother who had finally found happiness like they had.

Azriel kept by your side, his hand on the small of your back as you navigated the crowded balcony on the House of Wind, Jax holding onto your hand. 

The three of you had spent the beginning of the celebration with the rest of Azriel’s family, and even though they had met before, Jax remained completely enamored with Feyre, Rhysand and Cassian, asking them a million questions about being the High Lady, High Lord, and the commander of armies, respectfully. The three just laughed, going along with it until Azriel deemed it was time to give his brothers and his High Lady a break. 

The three of you stood together, holding hands, looking to the sky as the music started and the spirits started to move across the sky, slowly at first, and then thousands of them, shooting across the world like shooting stars. 

Jax watched awestruck for a few minutes before he noticed that there were children playing a game on the far side of the balcony, and he looked to you excitedly, running over to them after you had nodded.

“Stay where we can see you!” Azriel called after him.

You turned to Azriel, hugging his waist, gazing up into his eyes lovingly. 

“What?” Azriel smiled, sliding his hand down your back, making you shiver.

“I’ve just never been this happy,” you murmured.

“I haven’t either,” Azriel said softly, leaning down to kiss you. 

Azriel pulled your body into his then, leading you into a slow, romantic dance underneath the falling stars. 

“Happy Starfall,” he said, gazing down at you with all the love in the world.

“Happy Starfall, Az,” you said.

[cherrycoloredfaith]

Kiss Off

Pt 1 | pt 3

Chapter 2: Two for My Family

Steve was certainly disappointing Eddie. He couldn’t accurately test the concrete. He couldn’t properly hold the nail gun. His soft hands blistered at the slightest wears.

The project they were on was simple: constructing a ramp and walkup for an elderly woman’s front yard. They were in a suburb on the outskirts of the city with only a small crew. It would take them only a day to complete.

When Steve drove up to the office to meet everyone and travel to the site together, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Before yesterday, he would have imagined a group of big, burly, hairy men, probably chewing tobacco and losing their hair, but as he pulled into park, he saw the assortment of characters waiting for him.

They were gathered around the bed of the truck, Eddie sitting on the tailgate, lighting a cigarette as soon as Steve stepped out of the car. The boys were making Eddie laugh, and Steve caught a glimpse of that same smile from yesterday, this time real. He did have a good smile.

As he walked up, he took in the scene before him. A shiny new hard hat and yellow vest rested beside Eddie’s thighs, covered once again in a dark denim. The truck was loaded with fresh lumber and large dusty bags of cement mix. The truck next to it also looked packed, full of various types of equipment and tools safely strapped in. Wayne wasn’t in sight, so Steve returned his attention back to Eddie. When he wouldn’t meet his eyes and stared at his watch, Steve quickly decided to introduce himself to the two strangers before him.

“What’s up, I’m Steve,” The two other guys smiled and murmured hellos; Eddie’s attention was finally on him.

“Stevie. This is Gareth, and this is Jeff,” said Eddie, gesturing. Steve blinked at the nickname, but nodded in acknowledgment at the others.

Gareth was short, a curly mop of hair nearly covering his eyes. Jeff was taller, dark-skinned, clean shaven, and looked at Eddie with a smirk once Steve waved hello. They looked young, aloof. Altogether, delinquent.

“Hey, nice to meet you guys,” said Steve. He could almost admit it was the truth, considering these guys didn't look half as intimidating as he expected.

“Riveting. Alright, we can talk small later. Right now, we’re running late,” said Eddie. He clapped his hands on his thighs and hopped down off the tailgate, closing it.

“I thought we were supposed to be here at 7:00?” Steve inquired, concerned. He followed Eddie around to the side of the truck, watching distantly as Gareth and Jeff quickly moved to the other truck full of equipment, snickering at something. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“We want to be at the site at 7:00. Usually it takes us thirty minutes to load up. Try to be early next time,” he stated bluntly. Eddie pressed his gear to Steve’s chest, none too gently, and got in the driver’s seat without another word. Steve didn’t know what else to do other than follow him.

Climbing up into the passenger seat alone in the truck with Eddie, he couldn’t help thinking this was a shit way to welcome a new team member. Steve didn’t know what his problem was, but he clearly didn’t want him around. He decided to try and appease.

“Sorry, Eddie. About being late,” Steve apologized, attempting to seem genuine. “Is there anything else I messed up?”

Eddie looked up, cocking his head to the side, and started the truck. He seemed to think about it for a moment, then his features softened.

“No, man, I’m sorry. It’s my problem with Wayne right now. I… I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I wasn’t expecting a new crew member so soon, and he just kind of sprung it on me.” Eddie pulled out and started to drive, Gareth and Jeff trailing behind.

“Oh, I hear you. Maybe we could start over?” Steve holds out his left hand for a shake. After a pause, Eddie takes it with a small smile that looks like it pains him.

On the drive over, he gave Steve a rundown of the project, telling him what parts he’s planning to train him on for today: mostly carpentry and quality assurance practices. Steve did his best to keep track of all of the new information, but he’s pretty sure any progress he made with Eddie in the truck was shot by the end of the day. Steve kept forgetting key details, almost punched a hole in his hand. He couldn’t help thinking he should have had a safety course before all this. Gareth and Jeff did most of the work under Eddie’s instruction as he trained Steve who was working at a much slower pace. Eddie got more and more frustrated with him throughout the day, but Steve would notice when he schooled his emotions back to calm. He could see he was trying to be patient with him. He appreciated Eddie making an effort. It also made him feel slightly feverish.

Not that he wasn’t already feeling that. The hot Indiana sun bore down them all day, reddening everyone’s skin except Jeff’s. Steve couldn’t understand how Eddie was wearing a black t-shirt and still had his hair down. It wasn’t until the late morning that he stretched upwards, pulling a hair tie off of his wrist with his teeth and gathering his curly, wispy locks into a high ponytail. Unruly pieces at the front of his face sprang free and some stuck to his forehead and he bent back down to continue hammering a nail. Steve was on a water break and had to take an extra few minutes to look in the opposite direction.

Their day ended without many hiccups, and Steve was exhausted by the end of it. The ride back to the office was quiet as Eddie played music. Steve was mostly lost in thought.

Suddenly, Eddie leaned over to turn the volume down, and glanced over. “What’d you think?”

Steve blinked the sleep out of his eyes in the bright afternoon light. “About what?” he said.

“The job, Steve. This is your first construction job, I can tell.” He tried not to squirm as Eddie’s eyes flitted from Steve’s face to his blistered hands in his lap and then, after a beat, back to the road ahead. “No shame,” he started again, “just observations.”

Something lit up in Steve. “Nah, you’ve got me all wrong. Maybe Wayne and I are hustling you, and next week I’ll blow it out of the water.”

“Not sure how that would benefit you, Stevie, and I haven’t placed any bets,” Eddie laughed.

Steve took a moment to think. “Okay, well, to answer your question, I don’t know what I’m really doing. Today was cool though, I learned a lot. Lately…–I’m just trying things out I guess.”

Eddie nodded like he understood, but Steve knew he didn’t explain it well. He didn’t know if he should share that ending up at this kind of place was not in his plans.

“Well, you did good for your first day,” Eddie said. Before Steve could think about it, he was grinning, heart fluttering from the praise; he instead looked to his hands clasped in his lap. Eddie glanced over but didn’t return his smile.

When they were finally back, Gareth and Jeff had beat them, already walking to their respective vehicles. Eddie slowed the truck and rolled the window down. “See you losers tonight?” he called out. They yelled out their agreements, Gareth saying something about how he better be luckier than last time. When Eddie made no moves to invite him on their outing or whatever, Steve decided to forget about it. Moments later, as they parked, the other boys had already left.

His hard hat and vest sat in his lap, and he thought about how he should write his name on them, even though the guys didn’t need them for today’s job. Eddie held his hand out; sitting in his palm was a key. “To the clubhouse,” he clarified. “You can put that stuff away, whatever locker you like.”

Steve took the key and nodded, trying to ignore the feel of Steve’s fingers brushing Eddie’s rough palm. Dirt caked their fingernails and formed a layer over everything. Steve couldn’t wait to shower.

Their eyes met over the center console of the truck. “Same time Monday,” Eddie stated. “Well, earlier next time, big boy.” He winked. Steve’s heart skipped a beat. “Have a good weekend.”

Before he knew it, Eddie was out of the truck, trekking towards Wayne’s office, probably to go tell him what an actually bad job Steve did today and how distracted he was by Eddie’s arms. He took a deep breath and tried to steel himself, heading towards the clubhouse. Once inside, he was surprised to find Max there, sitting in one of the seats at the table playing a Gameboy. She looked up as he opened the door, but quickly returned her attention. A skateboard sat at her feet and she was absently rolling it back and forth.

“First day?” she asked.

“Yep,” answered Steve.

“Rough?”

“Yep,” he repeated. He placed his gear into the first open locker he saw, trying to ignore the way his skin screamed as he stretched.

“You might want to invest in some sunscreen next time,” said Max, grinning at his pained expression.

“Ha-ha, thanks,” he responded sarcastically. He admittedly was concerned if Max could see his redness from so far away. He dashed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. A harsh blush decorated his nose and cheeks; his ears were mostly protected by his hair. His arms felt warm and tender to the touch. He decided to wash his hands and face while he was there. He heard the front door open and slam shut once he wet his face.

“Goddamn it,” he heard Eddie’s voice yell from the other room. “Goddamn it. It’s just like last summer. He’s going to ruin everything.”

Steve froze. Was he talking about him?

“Whoa, Eddie, calm down,” Max had an emphasis to her tone that he knew was trying to communicate to Eddie that Steve was still here. He heard hushed tones after that, finished up in the bathroom just as he heard the door at the end of the hall close. Steve stepped out.

The door to Eddie’s office was shut, and Steve grew an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Didn’t he say Steve did a good job?

He came into the kitchen and looked to Max; she gave him a slight smile but made no moves to explain what had just happened. He only checked to see that she seemed alright, then gave her a small salute, and he headed out the door. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to get home. If Eddie was going to complain about him behind his back while being nice to his face, what was Steve even doing? Was he really that bad?

He placed the key on his key ring, climbed into his car; all the short-lived joy from the praise earlier disappeared. Feeling defeated, Steve headed home.

[uchihaharlot]

CEO! AU Where their employee is too naive about innuendo 😅

Too pure and these guys wreck her during a personal "meeting" in their office.

(Separate scenarios please 🙏)

Me dearest moot,

I apologize this took me so long. 😅 I find it hard to write ooc scenes, but then again everything written outside the Narutoverse is considered ooc. So I just rolled with it, didn’t feel it at first. Sat on it, went back edited it — added more and hopefully the outcome is to your standards.

I truly am committed to writing almost any ask that is sent my way.

I do apologize, this got lengthy. I cannot not write anything less than 3k it seems when in the mood. Lmao. I give you smut with minor plot, because I love a bit of backstory and I adore characters that have a familiarity between them or some fluffy shit like that.

(When I wrote this, I was not aware of your preference for Itachi at the time. Shisui CEO was already in the works. Honestly am not entirely convinced this is good. I would be willing to do Itachi in a separate ask, I just didn’t want this to be like 15k of figuring my shit out).

NSFW; airhead-ish intern; smut w/plot; praise kink; oral; vaginal; unprofessional work environment; sex at work; Enjoy!

wc: an exorbitant fucking 3.4k; fuck and I’m not editing it much more right now. Will go back, I just felt like the worlds biggest piece of shit for taking so long lol

As fresh blood in the world of accounting, credentials meant everything. Especially if you want roll with the big boys. Which is why when accepting an internship nearly six months ago from the most prestigious accounting firm, you didn’t hesitate to accept. It would look good on your resume and if lucky enough, you’d be offered a job and avoid the hassle of sending out hundreds of applications.

So far things have been mild and mundane.

Coffee this, tea that. Dry cleaning. You hardly even made an appearance into the conference room except on few occasions.

Today was one of those days your presence was requested. Shisui Uchiha, CEO, owner and founder of Tomoe LLC. An accounting firm for high profiled clients.

Yea, your designated boss was that guy.

The one who made tabloids left and right with his fuck you money and all. The guy who probably had every woman in the office, including yourself, humid and longing. Didn’t even have to try, and there was no lying. How unfortunate you had the hots for him. Regardless of your stance, you retained the upmost professionalism in his presence.

When Shisui walks into the conference room, all eyes are on him. Composed, clean cut and admirable. As an intern your job is to take minute notes, jot ideas he spouts off and anything of importance. At the end of his hour and a half long ramble. Everyone is dismissed.

‘Except you.’ Words you didn’t really expect, but nonetheless did as you were told.

Once the room is cleared, Shisui’s gaze catches yours. Sharp and observant, you felt under the microscope of his heavy dark eyed gaze. ‘I need your help on something.’

Which was great, usually.

This is what you’re here for. If it was coffee, you’d fetch it. If it was picking his dog up from the groomers, that too. You got to use his shiny new car, which was a treat. He made sure you knew nobody before you had that privilege.

‘I’m listening, Uchiha-san.’ Submissive and severely cute as you retained his attention. Even if unintentional, it made his eyes flicker whenever you called him that and he straightened up a bit. A smug grin on his face.

Ever the good girl.

Shisui taps at your laptop, quickly you open its notebook app, ready to record his thoughts. ‘I want you to draft your own document on project of your choosing. Consider it a ‘review.’ How can you make this company grow?’

Oh, it was one of those reviews. The preliminary ‘give me your thoughts and maybe you can have a job’ situation. He continues, ‘on one condition… meet me in my office after work. And we’ll discuss it more personally.’

‘Anything specific I should focus on?’ It wasn’t confusing, but you had the sense there was something particular he was looking for.

He smiles and gazes over you. Shisui always said he appreciated your tenacity and go-getter attitude. ‘Just whatever comes to mind; nothing too serious…..when you write this document, just remember it's for me. It should be tailored to suggestions you think I would….be interested in.’

‘Right, for you…for the company.’ You sheepishly smile back. Why was the room hot, why did your stomach disappear and leave you feeling sick almost. Not in a terrible way, but well….no. He’s your damned boss!!

‘Good girl.’ Something crawled up your spine when he said those words. Your body treasonously gushed, and it was hard not to flush warm in the cheeks. ‘Make sure to send this off before you stop by my office. It would be…beneficial for me to know before we further discuss this in a personal setting.’

A personal setting. After work.

You weren’t stupid by any means, part of you truly believed your boss was hitting on you and the other half was partial to the fact Shisui just knew how to get what he wanted. So, for the last few hours of your day, you focused on real issues within the company. You didn’t want to insult him, but there were things that could improve the numbers and have an impact. Small minute details you picked up the last few months. The document was sent off the last half hour of the day before you walked down to the elevator and took it three floors up to where the higher-ranking individuals in the company were stationed.

Maybe you could be up here. Maybe your ideas would actually mean something. A small smile spreads your face before you knock on his office door.

When Shisui opens the door, he immediately steps aside and motions for you to enter. That’s good sign, right? His gaze lingers as you take in the office that you see maybe three times a month. Your actual duties are handed down to the secretary on your floor directly from him.

A soft click of the door closing has your nerves striking flint at one another.

‘I like how you took this assignment so seriously….’ Taking a seat at his desk, hands folded together. He takes her in.

‘You’re not offended?’ Of course not! The numbers didn’t lie, you had found a hole in his company’s bottomline. Money was being filtered out. If anything, he was grateful you did this so thoroughly.

Shisui’s eyes seem almost piercing, ‘I’m not offended at all. In fact, it’s impressive. Very impressive….now exactly how did you figure this out?’

Oh, that was a toughie. It was by accident, really, you explain. Within the first few weeks of your internship, you were granted access to classified information. Unsure if this was even allowed, you figured that if a potential job was to be had. You needed to know the numbers. Unfortunately for Shisui, undoubtedly, someone was stealing money from him. He had his suspicions prior to your upheaval, but no real way of confirming without causing the perpetrator to become aware. Aside from that it was intricately encrypted, meaning you were incapable of providing further details of who.

Shisui eyes you the whole time, his unwavering gaze felt unkind almost, but sincere. ‘So, you were just casually going through the inflow and outflow. Just so happen to discover…. money missing?’

You exhale heavily, this sounded like it could backfire. ‘Y-yes. I’m sorry if that was a breach of my contract, I figured if I was granted access—’

Shisui’s light chuckle interrupts you, a sort of calm, almost relieved feeling washes down your nerves. ‘You’re fine, I admire your determination and commitment to this company. It seems I can’t trust everyone here…’

‘I suggest, if you’re open to it…. calling tech support, they might be able…’ the words hit your face from the floor. Someone in tech support would be the perfect position to lay low and hide or dispose of backlogs. Shisui quirks an eyebrow at your acute observation. ‘Tech support would be able to see behind all of that.’

At first, he is surprised, then perturbed. Tech support would be capable of seeing behind the encryption or worse. Creating it. Leaning back in his chair, he folds his hands under to his chin. ‘A smart observation….that is….unfortunate. For them, if so.’ A hint of admiration in his voice has you smiling at his praise.

Shisui can’t help but stare at you for a moment. That smile is adorable, even more when you’re not completely flustered by him. When you’re almost comfortable in his presence. ‘You’re a very sharp girl…and you have a good grasp of this business despite being just an intern….’

‘It’s nothing….really. I was just…trying to get on top of the game.’ A soft shrug is all you manage. What else could you say? Now wasn’t the time to toot your own horn.

Shisui leans forward in his chair. He can't help but notice you’re a still bit shy, reserved and overtly quiet in his presence. More times often than not are you loud and boisterous with the friends you’ve made here. Something lurches in the back of his mind; his tone of voice softens.

‘I’d like to commend you for your efforts. You’ve outdone yourself and even figured out someone is potentially funneling money from me.’ He pauses briefly, ‘just out of curiosity though….why did you accept this internship?’

The harsh truth resurfaced with a prejudice. You were bitter the first few weeks, though you were grateful for this opportunity here. Not a word back from a single firm within the five great nations when you sought them out. It was nearly a month later after you had sent out the portfolio did Shisui’s firm respond. ‘You were the only firm to return interest and extend an offer.’

This was not something Shisui expected to hear. It disheartened him and left a foul taste in his mouth. Surely other firms would have been interested. He hadn’t sent a reply as quickly beforehand. Thinking you would take an opportunity in another country. Most people wanted to leave their home cities; he responded solely on the fact he was too eager in his selection for you. The portfolio, while small, was exceptional. Organized and precise. His stubbornness made him hold off but the business side of him does what’s best for itself.

He had to have you, to see the woman behind the mind. Even if you weren’t the spectacular woman before him, he still would have hired you. He wasn’t discriminatory in that matter, only if you would be beneficial to the firm. He knew from the initial interview that you would be, it was just a bonus that you were drop dead gorgeous.

‘No other company reached out?’ The irritation in his voice was severe and brought blasphemy in his eyes.

The hardened look on his face softens once more as you continue, ‘I was shocked to receive your extension to interview.’

Another unexpected answer. Shisui didn’t expect that the other internships went unanswered, but he never once turned down the free labor hours of an internship. There wasn’t a damn thing that made you unworthy of a position here. Intelligent, well calculated….submissive. You did every thing he threw at you from silly errands he couldn’t be fucked with, to listening to him bitch about Genma’s vacation in the Land of Tea being two weeks.

‘So here I am. Almost the six month review. I was hoping that this recent development would…be a retainer for a full time position…’ the words taper off. Hearing how silly you were.

Scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours was not at the forefront of your mind.

But it was his and, well, the funny thing is. Shisui’s back, is on his cock. That’s exactly the kind of back scratching he was referring to earlier when he asked for you to come up with a minor presentation for him. He figured this one wouldn’t fly over the crows nest, but it had. You didn’t quiet catch his intentions.

He would just have to be more…direct.

A small smile spreads his face, the fact that you were just so bashful with your request. Shisui rounds his desk quickly, his hands at your forearms. Sights sharp with intent. Deep baritone grows soft when he addresses you, ‘consider me impressed.’

You quickly dial in at his hands holding you so, so intimately. ‘Why?’ Is that really all you can manage? Though you didn’t understand, ‘why do I impress you? I did something that someone else should have been doing.’ Your brows pinch.

Shisui doesn’t answer right away, he takes the time to consider you. He thumbs small circles on your left arm, as if he is trying to properly convey the words of adoration without scaring you off. ‘You’re right, I should have someone doing this. I am just impressed you were that person when it should have been someone more experienced in this company.’

‘But…?’ Waiting for it. For the let down of not having a position here.

Shisui runs a hand through his hair, the other still on your left arm, ‘this is the first time I’ve ever thought about extending a full-time position to an intern in awhile. But…from now on, you will not be an intern…’ a pregnant pause makes the air thick and stale for a moment. ‘You’ll be my assistant.’

‘Assistant?’ That wasn’t working with numbers, ‘that’s not…numbers or anything close to it…’

Shisui’s laugh fills his chest and reverberates in his throat stopping at a light hum, the grip on your forearm tightens a little to capture your undivided attention wholly. ‘Do not worry. I never said that you would stop working with numbers. That will still be part of your position here. But, moreover, I want your input on other aspects of this company. Marketing, communication, etc. a more….intimate experience at my side.’

You gawk. ‘How can you consider that from a near bare portfolio. I surely haven’t worked my weight in ryo here, not even close.’

In this moment, you look adorable to Shisui. Exasperated and uncertain. Almost undeserving. ‘You’re forgetting exactly why I chose you for the internship. I knew from the moment I interviewed you that you were a very sharp young lady. My trust in your abilities has grown exponentially these past few months, and hence…this new position for you.’

A soft click of your tongue, it was all coming full circle now. ‘This sounds like a curated position that was just made up.’

Shisui’s lips curl into a devious smile, that slips below subtle smirk. He narrows his eyes a bit, those eyes ever intense and drinking you up like the finest whiskey. That calm and composed side of Shisui is replaced by a commanding and dominant presence. Unholy even.

‘Uchiha-san?’ A sharp exhale as Shisui snakes a hand around her waist.

He brings you flush to his chest, running a hand through your hair. Drags his nose along your jaw and up to your cheek before his lips stop at your ear. Hot and raspy, Shisui’s intentions are more than clear. You notice how tall he really is, just towering over you. How much older he is too.

‘What…are you doing?’ A whispered hiss of astonishment at his direct approach.

‘What do you think I am dong?’ Sweet like honey, his voice is deep. Commanding. Possessive.

‘I’m partial to believe this is not in my job description….’ Your soft breath fans the his cheek as he rakes a hand up the nape of your neck.

‘I never suggested it was….’ The words send shivers down your spine, his thumb traces down your cheekbone. His warm breath smells sweet, you know this is not appropriate. Against policy. And as much as you’d hate to admit it.

You enjoyed it. ‘Then what is this for?’

You graze your nose in return over his cheek, the boldness amuses Shisui. How much did you like this? ‘This is part of the perks that come with your new job. If you haven’t noticed by now… I tend to enjoy your company.’

Well no, you didn’t notice. Not until now, ‘no, how could I when I’m hardly doing as an intern should?’ That was cute.

The small moan from your lips is even more adorable as Shisui dragged his lips down your neck. Delirium filled your head space, this was moving too fast. Before you knew it your tight pencil skirt was shucked to above your hips and you were laid on his desk.

Subservient to his desire, fueled by your own deplorable greed within. You could just let Shisui have his way with you, not that you saw it this way. Sex was currency, was also free and felt fucking good. The part of you that may or may not have fantasized this exact scenario unfolding was in charge now.

Spread out, legs over his shoulders holding his head in a vice squeeze. How did it get far this fast? Nose in your heat, lapping and twirling his tongue over your clit. Fingers curling in the confines of your taut muscles. Muscles that ached for it; were drenched for him. If your knocked a few things off his desk, Shisui would forgive you. This was the reason why he’d drawn you in after hours, the sounds you made were no less than a few doors in range: if anyone was still here after hours. They’d hear and pretend they didn’t the next day.

When his cock stretched you, molded you to him. He reamed a hand around your neck and pressed your back into the keyboard. Every time you came close to coming, he squeezed and stopped thrusting. Making you writhe and submit further to him.

‘..please.’ Your desperate whimper.

‘Please..what?’

Those soft eyes of yours caught his attention, ‘..please let me come Uchiha-san.’

He kissed you sweetly, but fucked you like an office whore as you came all over him. ‘Such a good girl…’ rang your ears every so often as he softly panted out between thrusts. Shisui flipped you to your stomach once you succumbed to his relentless pounding. Wrung his hand in your hair and craned your neck back to expose the delicate flesh. Nipping your pulse point, he sheath himself once more. Slower, needier. On the verge of filling your sweet hole with his genetic markup. Gripping your waist to steady your body, he whispered many things of promise if you accepted his job offer.

His bed, car and money. What on earth had gotten into this man? Shisui couldn’t figure out for himself exactly what he was saying either, but it was all forgotten the split second your salacious whimper and saying you were coming again. Had his hips steam rolling and slamming into you harder. Pumping his thinking length as he coated your insides. Holding your back to his chest as you both moaned out loud.

Surely, this was unprofessional. The entire time you fixed your clothes, you expected him to rescind his decision. That didn’t happen. Not when he fixed his tie, adjusted your skirt and covered you with his coat. Not once did his resolve change as you both walked out the dark office and got out of the elevator. He took you to dinner, paid an extraordinary amount of money for too little food and ushered you home. Opened your door and lead you by the small of your back to your front door and gave you a chaste kiss.

‘See you in the morning, ill be here at 6:30am’ It was fully decided by now that you did have a a full time position now, and he handed you a check for the firsts three months salary, and then some that had your head spinning.

‘This is unnecessary..’ It was money that you’d only ever seen on paper, let alone now held in your hands.

‘Consider it a bonus, and a reward.’ Shisui lifted your chin, and kissed your cheek.

You watched as he waited for you to go inside of your apartment, then he left.

[lilis-palace]

WORK-IN-PROGRESS : A Secretaire desk

Not really a guide, but can be interesting for those who would like to know how I create an object or a set. Originally I wrote this essay for a course at my uni but I translated and simplified it.

💡☝️ INSPO

The secretaire desk is an iconic piece of Biedermeier furniture. My fascination with the elegant yet straightforward style is beyond measure.

🧊🕸️ MODELLING

I used Blender for modelling. (I made it when I was still using the old 2.7 version.) The design process for the object consumed a significant amount of my time, spanning a total of three hours.

After I finish making the model, I need to do something called "unfolding." This means turning the 3D object into a 2D mesh. Once that's done, I "burn" the shadows onto it, which gives it the final look you see below.

🎨🖌️ TEXTURE

After that, I use the Sims 4 Studio program. This is where I make sure that the object looks right with its texture and I decide how it should act in the game.

To create the special intarsia effect, I use patterns that I've already prepared in Photoshop. I carefully rotate and arrange them until they fit just right. It takes a lot of time, but the final outcome is totally worth it.

🌐✨ NORMAL & SPECULAR MAP

The Normal map is really important for objects with low levels of detail. It determines how light behaves on different surfaces. With the Normal map, even a surface that looks completely smooth can actually appear uneven when light shines on it. This creates the illusion of more intricate details without slowing down the game's performance.

In the game, they use a simpler version of the Normal map called the Bump map. To make it, I use a plugin in Photoshop and save it in a specific format called .DDS. I have to tweak the channels and choose the right settings to get it just right.

When I apply the Bump map to my Biedermeier writing cabinet with shelves, it creates small shadows at the edges of the shelves when light hits the center. This makes the shelves stand out from the flat surface and adds depth to the object.

The shine of an object is controlled by the specular map. It determines how reflective the surface appears, whether it's a shiny metal, a glossy glass, or a completely matte material. By adjusting the color values, we can create different types of shine.

In this project, I want to achieve a specific type of shine that looks like wax or honey. Fortunately, I already have a template ready for this. I just need to find it and apply it to the object in the program.

📊📐SIMS 4 STUDIO SETTINGS

After that, I need to make a bunch of tweaks to make sure the object works properly in the game. It involves doing both small and big adjustments. For example, I add tags to make it easy to find in the catalog, figure out how the surface should look, find the right spots where other objects can connect to it, decide where chairs and writing surfaces should go, and more. The first picture shows how things are set up by default, while the second one shows the changes I've made.

Throughout this whole process, I have to carefully figure out the exact positions for different parts using a coordinate system. It can be a bit tiresome and take up a lot of time.

📈 💼 WORK IN PROGRESS

First, I made a work-in-progress picture. This is how I announce the new collection.

💃🎞️ GIF

In the post, there's a gif that demonstrates various color combinations. Creating this gif involves a careful and detailed process. I have to take individual photos of all 16 color combinations for each of the two cabinets. Afterward, I need to carefully match and merge these photos together. Finally, I use an online Gif maker site to edit and finalize the gif.

📷🖼️ PREVIEW PIC

I spent a good 2 hours setting up the scene, and it wasn't easy finding the right items and creating the perfect environment. Editing the image also took me another 2 hours, as I paid close attention to every little detail.

Out of the three images you see above, the first one is the default color scheme generated by the game itself. The second image, on the other hand, was created using a program called Reshade. It's an extra tool you have to install separately, and its main purpose is to change the lighting inside the game. It adds depth and creates a whole different atmosphere. As for the third image, that's what it looks like after I adjusted the colors in Photoshop. And finally, I added shadows and highlights to the image to give it a more three-dimensional and immersive feel.

I hope you enjoyed this post and see you soon. The release date of the set is tomorrow!

[ukthxbye]

All That Glitters and Gleams

So it has been over a year since I writer Sherlolly. Thought I might be done because of my focus on my two books and trying to get an agent... life is funny.

When this photo showed up in the sherlolly discord,

the wheels started spinning and 24 hours later, you're welcome.

cw: semi-public sex, fingering, light dom/sub, begging

Glittering.

Gold and silver statues and everything shiny draped dramatic fabric in this room normally spare dingy blue white.

And he hated it.

But impressed all the same. The banquet hall of St. Barts transformed to another age. Sherlock scoffed when Molly asked him to this 1920s fundraiser, rattling facts about all the false opulence for what.

"It's fun to pretend," she'd said in the wry, sad resignation he knew like a drug. Nearly as unpredictable. She might tell him to forget it and go with someone else. She might let him rattle off facts as they walk in and still pull him along, suffering the embarrassment.

She blessed him with the latter. 

He couldn't refuse anymore what she asked for. His life depended on her happiness… like a new addiction.

But he'd denied her the one thing she craved. She denied herself more. 

"They shouldn't have spent so much money, you were right," she said at his side. "You've every right to hate this. It's dancing and talking to higher ups. We can go home."

"Well, at least the champagne is cheap," he said glancing at woman walking by with two green bottles in had. But home, where is the adventure in that? Can't critique and complain until we have the facts," he said, slipping off his long wool coat, handing it to the hired coat clerk… no wait, it was a boy from the cafe. 

"Gerald, they roped you into this?" Sherlock frowned at him. 

"Ticket sir, you try to have a good time, eh?" the boy said, coats piling up on his right. 

"Yes…yes." Sherlock offered him a cocked tightlipped smile. 

In instinct he turned to Molly, and without interrupting her conversation with a heart surgeon he disliked, his hands reached around her shoulders, grasping the lapels on her equally long coat.

The lights, low in the room but travelling across a mirror ball, landed at her back as he slid the dark fabric down like a curtain.

Glittering.

But he liked it.

He vibrated, her scapula bones meeting like wings of an angel as she dropped the coat off her arms. 

She'd not let him look at the dress until now. Beadwork in a line down the straps, down and across her waist. Shadow and bones and gold. Champagne dripped down her frame, soon like on her tongue.

She matched the room and enhanced it to a mind numbing quality. 

"Come on, there's Stamford," she said with a half grin, and grabbed his hand.

 Like fire on a golden pyre. 

He accepted her lead, lost in the light playing off her skin. He'd mapped it before. He mapped everything. But why does it look different here?

Do her nerves jump when his hand drifted up to her elbow, gripping like a secret, waiting? Lost to the bunching pale satin, but… she responded each time, ending the conversation.  

She let him hold her hand absently as she tugged him from one corner to the next. Satin gloves threaded in his fingers, robbing him of hers.

But her back, exposed, and his touch strayed there often to catch her attention, drawing her into him so he could mutter in her ear some amusing observation he'd about someone she chatted with. 

Her skin cooled like a glass of cold milk. He craved it the same. But he feared his hand gave him away, warming more with every risked caress. 

She flinched the first time, her wings shrugging him away.

But now she let it lay there, even as he chased a shadow up the nape with his finger. 

Her shiver is not from the room now. 

He smiled to himself, but the oncologist next to him took it as an opportunity to speak. I can do two things at once. Sherlock kept his fingers near her scalp, his fingernail grazing along the hairline until she quivered, and fanned herself with her purse. 

They made many more rounds, each one more exhausting. The satin under his hands, the hand on her lower back enticing. Every man who tried to insult her field of study with backhanded compliments boiled his blood.

 His mask slipped, and he half insulted the last surgeon they spoke to. 

"You're getting rude," she said, dragging him down by his collar to her ear. 

Oh, don’t do that…

The tug switched on a part of his brain he'd kept safe from her. They'd both been so good since his sister nearly destroyed everything.

Such respectable friends, open with their emotions except for…

I'm going to ruin that now. 

“Sherlock, are you listening to me?” She searched his face for understanding in the dark. 

“I thought you said all surgeons are like footballers, egotistical and overpaid,” he sniffed. 

She leaned back and frowned. "You said that."

“Hmm…” he matched her frown, then smiled, running his tongue along his teeth. “Oh, yes… I did. But you might have agreed.”

He gasped. She snatched his collar again, with a curl twisted in it now, setting a delightful tingle across his scalp. 

“Why is it so hard for you to behave…”

He turned enough so she could meet his stare. "You like me when I don't… why change that now?" His tongue strayed across his lips, letting his gaze drop to hers. 

In the dark and flashing light of the room, it hit perfect timing for the scarlet of her lips to show. Her teeth parted and her tongue licked her own lips as well. 

“Come with me,” she said, low, releasing him when someone glanced their way. 

They reached the bathroom on the front left corner of the room, with no one around. “You know what? Wait here for a moment and then we'll talk.” She stepped in and his hand caught the door as she pushed close it.

Wide-eyed, she let him push it back and close it behind him, meeting her stare. 

"Sherlock, what are you—"

His finger to his lips and she clamped her mouth shut. His lips lifted into a sly smile. 

"Is there something wrong?" She moved to him and glanced at the door, his hand going back behind him and clicking the lock. 

“No, I wanted to talk… privately.”

She sighed out in relief. “We could have gone outside.”

“Then I couldn’t look at you in that dress.”

The bathroom decorated for the theme, feather arrangement, lights low. The cream walls normally boring matched her antique faded gold satin. He soaked in the room along with her. 

One last look before you leap…

"Oh, don't be silly…" she chuckled, crossing her arms, and his eyes dropped to the cleavage.

He remained wordless, a hand in his pocket, waiting for her to catch up.

She squinted, shaking her head as she whispered, "Oh… no."

"Molly."

She ran a hand through her short cropped hair. How soon might I do the same?

“Are you really going to do this here? This dance for… god I thought we'd settled this,” she said, the plead in her tone only urged him on more.

“Oh, my sweet Molly, like ice cream on my tongue, freezing every word… until this dress.” he shifted near to her, and she stepped back near the sink. 

"I'm not sweet," she said with folded arms, looking down at the cleavage, realising the effect and moving her arms, bracing on the sink basin. “We should go… before you say something you shouldn't.”

"I'll be the judge of that."

She turned toward the mirror with a scoff. “Your judgement is terrible. I don't trust it. But yes…you always thought me too sweet… is that all compassion is to you?” Her gaze went down as she said it and he counted the vertebrae in her neck, concentrating. 

How did I get here? How do I get out of it? 

But he was bored with ignoring the chemicals running under his skin when she was near. 

He closed the distance behind her, and she stiffened. His eyes travelled from the hollow of her throat, slowly following the pink path each capillary displayed with the pump of her heart. Those lips, red and not yet swollen as he'd make them. 

His gaze lifted from there up as he spoke his stare meeting hers in the mirror. "My mistake then… I do confess to the two mistakes you accused. But then I recall less gentleness when your hand stuck hard," he raised his hand, tenderly tracing his thumb along her cheekbone, and licked his lips when she shivered. “Do I deserve it again?”

The beadwork, gold and silver sparkling in the low light, entranced him. He traced down with a finger, following along its path, ending in a v, breast swelling with her heightened breath. Her heartbeat was so strong the pulse beat a rhythm under his fingertips. But he never broke his stare, and she held it, her eyes dark and shining.

Gleaming.

And he loved it. 

Would she imagine him closing the gap, a canyon between what they've been… and what they will be? Never letting his lips touch, but he assured his breath and its heat performed the same duty as he spoke into her ear… and then her jaw. 

"But tell me… did you know how I fought every urge and when it changed… how many times we've almost. When we considered all the possibilities and said no…was it not because you were so principled?" He said with a smirking grin. 

Crack.

She’d spun around to face him and struck his left cheek. She gulped hard, and he sighed, waiting for her words to catch up with her hand. 

“If this is a game… It's very cruel. You can read what I want without touching. You know every ache, every want… you…” She drew a deep breath through her nose. “Always did. Question is… will you be too high minded … or will you…” She squinted as she spoke, but the tremble he expected was absent. 

But this was the Molly he'd fallen for all along, in her own power and never under his. Quite the opposite. Her lips parted, her eyes on his lips as well.

Her breath matched his, and his lungs ached for them to share the same air. 

“Which one of us will break… that delicious thick tension we’d spun for years… but…” he tipped his nose against hers and with his hands on either side of her on the washbasin, holding on to the porcelain for dear life, he said near her lips, “It was always yours to take… stop asking for permission.” 

Come on now, my Molly.

He let her kiss him, and answered the swell in his chest deepening until his entire mouth encompassed hers, his tongue licking the champagne sugars off hers.   

“You kiss like you want me, Sherlock Holmes.” She sighed into his throat, breathless. She'd pressed her body against him when the kiss deepened. He couldn't dare put his arms around her… I might never let go.

He swallowed hard. "The easiest thing I've ever done. You'd be correct… you always were."

“Oh, yes… too sweet. Then…” she said with a huff, leaning back, robbing him of her nearness, and he missed it.

He met her knowing stare. 

“You're correct… you always were.” Honesty at last. But he couldn't see if it would help or harm the mood. 

She shook her head slightly. “Don't be like that. I don't know what to do with that. It can't fuck me properly.”

“Then tell me what you want. As in to say… I'm done thinking for now. It bores me.” He spoke into her neck, “Tell me the fantasy… I can only read so much from your breath and skin singing under my touch… instruct me to see how to get you there. New memories.”

"Beg me. On your knees. And make sure you say please.”

He sighed. “Now Molly… I wanted to tease you more before I have use of my knees… have you lost patience—”

Her hand covered his mouth, and she pushed him down until her knee dug into his shoulder hard, on his knees in front of her.

“Beg… it's the least you can do if you want me so much… wanted me so long. We're both ignoring our principles now…” she said, each word strong ringing in his mind. “So beg.” 

Her mouth is so pretty when she says…

"So beg." 

He quieted his mind, a singular focus now. Every sense dialled in to her rich floral perfume, her touch and heartbeat. 

The light played on the satin before him, transfixing. “Please,” he said low, running his hands lightly along the golden sleek cloth, seeking her bones underneath like a lost road. “Teach me, tell me what to do.”

“I don’t want to ruin this beautiful dress… put your jacket next to the basin.”

He lingered his hand fascinated with the precise folds of the skirt, shining and shadowing, like the folds he’d soon… he trailed a finger along one close to her hip.

“Now will you be a good boy…and do what I asked or do I…?”

He looked up into her eyes, so far above him like a goddess’ blessing. He held her stare as he snatched the coat off and handed it to her to arrange.

“Now set me—oh!”

As he stood, taking her with him as he grabbed her hips and arse, fingers digging the slippery dress and sat her on the counter so hard she bounced.

He smiled sly as irritation on her skin coloured the same as her blush. I like both too much. 

He held his hands up in false surrender. 

She huffed out, “Are you going to take instruction or are you gonna improvise your own here?”

 “I’ve matured, I like collaboration.” He shrugged a shoulder, leaning over and snatching an ostrich feather out of the full vase next to her. How perfect for the theme this evening. The sheen on the feathers caught the light golden as her dress. He twirled it between his fingers, waiting. 

“Nothing else unless I say so,” she said. He didn't miss the gravel and struggle to breathe. Her stare unblinking on the feather.  

“Then…” he held the feather out in front of her and lowered it, leaning in meeting her half lidded gaze. “Tell me what to do.”

“I think you guessed I like a tease.”

He nodded, “Oh do I ever…we've done years… little kisses on the cheek like friends,” he let the end of the feather fall across her face, moving it in time to watch the colour rise deep scarlet. “But since we remedied that… … but what's a little more?” He lowered the feather across her neck and she turned her head, opening up and he imagined her nerves jumping.

That neck was like cream he wanted to lick and bruise with his teeth. 

Ah, there is the demon I've always feared.

He teased with the feather down between her breasts, and she shuddered with her sigh. Her eyes closed, and he trailed the feather up again, teasing her clavicle, the bones showing their angles in shadow and he wanted to add his own shadow there as well.

She leaned back, head against the mirror. “More,” she whispered out.

The feather up her throat, and he trembled, the tip of it caressing her lips. Now I'm jealous of a feather. He wanted to kiss her again but now bound by the agreement. She'd broken so many rules for him. I can keep this one.  

Her breath shuddered as she leaned back over and looked up into his eyes. 

“That's enough. Kiss me… kiss me so hard I might bleed.”

He shook his head, and squinted, “Don't ask me to do that. I'll do anything you ask… it is what you deserve, but… those demons don't need to come out yet.”

She gritted her teeth under her lips, “Then kiss me like you love me.” 

I'm gonna ignore those tears. They're not here to stay.

 He kissed her so tenderly he thought they both might break. 

She stopped for a breath, and spoke into his ear, “I love you too… Now that's out of the way, kiss me however you want… but I want your hands to move this skirt out of the way.”

He lifted her and shoved it out of the way behind her, and she helped gather the top. He hates the skirt now. Should have encouraged her for a short flapper dress, one with a delightful fringe he could have twirled in his fingers near her knee.

No matter. The music kicked up loud outside the bathroom, the low beat thumping under his hand resetting just beside her thigh like a heartbeat. 

“Tell me what you want… my touch or my tongue.” He licked his lips, drying from his breath increased as much as hers. Oh, to find out how sweet she really is.

“Touch… I think that's all I can stand for now,” she said with an unsteady voice. “Talk to me. Tell what you want… tell me what you will do… your voice is the only sound I want in my head.”

His thumbs strayed to her thighs, bare and like silk. Circles and caresses, and he leaned into her ear, “Can you please…” he caressed over her knees. "lean back to the wall, my love, I don't want you to hurt that pretty head."

“Yes… more,” she said, exposing that creamy throat again.

“Can I kiss your neck… please?”

“Yes… god yes, but… I need your fingers,” she reached a trembling hand and grasped his, setting it on inner thigh. "I need them inside me." The fire like heat pulsed against his palm. She's so wet for me… 

But first, he raised his fingers up to his mouth, letting her observe him wet them, meeting her stare. 

He tugged her soaked knickers aside. Two fingers found her folds. So ready for him, his knees nearly buckled. He turned his fingers and met her clit with his thumb, gently as she was so hard. She pulled and tugged on his fingers, whimpering, calling him like a siren's song.

She's always been the rock I'd dash myself on. 

His lips on her throat, and she burrowed her nails in his curls and scalp. Those low moans barely reached his ears, but they vibrated under his tongue, the salt of her skin mouthwatering. 

Bang bang.

The lock jiggled.

They both glanced at the lock, wide-eyed, but it held. 

Oh, that will not do. 

Her movement on his fingers wavered, but he pressed further, finding the spot that nearly made her cry out and he grinned into the hollow of her throat and flicked it with his tongue. 

Her moan louder, but he clamped his hand tight over her mouth, every knock urging him on, his thumb playing with clit, soaking wet dripping down as his fingers curled. Her panicked peeks at the door replaced as she closed her eyes and smiled into his hand, her sigh hot and panted. 

He turned her face and leaned into her ear, nipping as he spoke. “Is that adding to the effect? There'll be no mistake what I did to you when we leave together… they’ll know… shame they can’t hear the crying moan I want to hear… A shame for me. Tell me. Harder or softer… how long do you want them to wait?”

She panted into his hand. "Harder… oh god… I'm so close. Don't stop that or I'll hit you again."

The brat in him wanted to tease her. But this wasn't the time. 

But his deep voice, he knew its effect, and he spoke, meeting her lidded stare with his own.

"They love our brilliant brains, don't you think? But they don't see us as humans. Never will, but we can see and feel it now. It's our little secret how human we can both be."

She whimpered and tightened but… no it's not quite there.

“Can you come for me… please?”

“Kiss me one more time… I… oh…” she said with a shudder, her legs tightening on his hand.

And kiss her he did, so hard she might bleed and she cried out into his mouth and shuddered down into her orgasm, pulsing so deliciously around his finger he almost came himself.

She slumped, and he stared, pulling out. 

When she met his gaze, she whispered, “You can taste the results… and think about when we get home.”

He sucked his fingers clean, not blinking and her smile, slight, ended with a shivered whimper. 

Much too sweet… I can't wait for more. 

[wolveria]

Skin and Chrome

Pairing: Human!Sixty x android!Reader

Summary: Lieutenant Colin Anderson was one of the most frustrating, loathsome humans to exist. This fact does not stop you from somehow ending up at the center of his life.

Warnings: Explicit content, smut

Word Count: 10.7k

Part of the Android!Reader AU

(Credit for edit to DBH-edits)

If androids could experience migraines, you would be having one right about now.

Not because a revolution had just ended, and you were one of the few able to pick up the pieces. Not because the fate of an entire people rested in your hands.

No, your processors were chugging because a certain human would not. Leave you. Alone.

Lieutenant Anderson was a pompous, smarmy, garbage human being with an ego the size of Michigan. And the most infuriating part was, you needed him. Or at least, your people did.

Well, not him, per se, but rebuilding relations with the humans was a priority, a difficult one at that, and the support of the DPD was an essential part. But for some unknowable reason, the lieutenant had been elected as the department liaison between the DPD and New Jericho.

Which meant that son of a bitch was in your office weekly, if not more. For a human who used to view androids as objects, he couldn’t seem to get enough of them.

And the best part? He was doing everything right. He was genuinely helpful, an asset in the post-revolution world, and you hated every minute of it.

Especially now that he was right on the other side of your office door. New Jericho had been allocated two city blocks, at least for the time being, and the headquarters was in a community center that had been abandoned previously. There were still renovations going on as androids worked tirelessly to make the building safe and inviting, but even new construction couldn’t deter the lieutenant.

“Come in,” you announced when you’d let enough time pass from slightly late to just plain rude. But when the human entered, wearing his cleanly pressed black suit, slicked back hair, and shiny shoes, you wanted to kick him right back out of the room. Even his stupid tie was immaculately placed, the knot perfectly secured.

“Have a seat.”

You didn’t bother with a greeting, or small talk, or rising from your own chair. You wanted it to be over and done with so you wouldn’t have to see his face for another week, if you were lucky.

The human paused, his brows furrowing, but he took one of the two chairs as requested.

“What do you have for me?”

The lieutenant glanced down at your hand, plastic white as its connected to the keyboard. A much more efficient exchange of information than having a human physically come down to your office to harass you. There were dozens of projects to oversee, requisition forms to approve, and new problems popping up every single day.

You hadn’t expected the end of a revolution to involve so much paperwork.

“Nothing.”

You blinked. Rewound the last two seconds of your memory and verified your audio processors hadn’t glitched.

You finally pulled your attention away from the monitor and onto the human.

“Nothing?”

“That’s right.”

You ended your connection to the computer, fully turning to face him. He put up his hands in a placating gesture.

You were not placated.

“There’s nothing new to report. We’re still on schedule to support all of your initiatives on the upcoming ballot, as well as the emergency measures for the displacement of androids. The treasury has approved or almost approved all of the android special projects. There’s really nothing to report.”

“Then why are you in my office wasting my time?”

His mouth pulled into a frown, the skin around his nose crinkling. There it was, the famed Colin Anderson anger.

“That is why I am here.”

“Excuse me?”

He leaned back in the chair, his hands folded across his chest.

“You despise me.”

You didn’t dispute it. He clenched his jaw but wasn’t dissuaded by your lack of reaction.

“Every moment you spend with me, you seem to hate it down to your core coding. I have done nothing but try to help your cause, but—”

He jumped, startled by you slamming your hands against the desk as you rose to your feet.

“My cause. That’s exactly right. This is my cause, not yours.”

His arms loosened from in front of his chest, his brows folded into a confused line.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“You’re a real son of a bitch, you know that?”

Anderson stiffened in the chair, his mouth pulled into a grimace.

“I did know that, actually, but I still don’t know what I did to you—”

He snapped his mouth shut when you rounded the desk, coming straight at him. The chair is one of those cheap ones you’d find it any waiting room, not much more than four legs, a back, and a thin cushion.

You kicked his feet apart, placed your boot against the edge of the chair between his spread knees, and shoved.

Just before he could fall backward, you grabbed him by the base of his tie, yanked him forward, and forced him to lean in to avoid crushing his crotch against the bottom of your boot.

“It’s not what you did to me,” you seethed into his upturned face. “It’s what you did to her.”

You don’t need to say the name for Anderson to know exactly who you meant. The blood draining from his face said it all.

Satisfied, you pulled the chair forward with your boot so it rested on four legs once again, returning to your desk in a clear dismissal.

He didn’t move from the spot, simply stared at you with wide eyes, and you answered it with a scowl.

“If you have nothing to report, then you have no reason to be here. I tolerate your presence because I must. That does not give you an invitation for further dialogue. Are we understood?”

He quickly wet his lips and gave a nod. Straightening his tie, he rose from the chair, doing his best to smooth down his attire so it didn’t look as if he’d been roughed up by the leader of the deviants. Honestly, you’d let him off easy, and perhaps he knew that because he retreated to the door without putting up more of a protest.

But before he left, he paused at the doorway.

“I’m sorry for what I tried to do to Yin. For what I did do to her.”

“Tell that to her.”

Anderson briefly glanced over his shoulder, meeting your eye.

“I did.”

He left without another word, and you remained behind your desk, frozen.

He’d apologized to Yin? You wanted to believe he was lying, but it would be too easy to check if he was lying. You would anyway, of course, just for the opportunity to catch the lieutenant in a lie, but you were programmed to read humans. It was your specialty, just as it was the YN800’s to be able to break down chemical components through taste. You were intuitive. You couldn’t just predict human behavior; you understood it in something Carl had referred to as “empathy.”

It was the reason you had been able to navigate the revolution through treacherous waters as effectively as you had. But it also made you want to understand the lieutenant.

And that just wouldn’t do. Anderson was a puzzle you didn’t want to solve. He was an unfortunate facet of human-android relations, one you were forced to tolerate and nothing more.

Lieutenant Anderson remained out of your thoughts, right up until the explosion.

No one had figured out how someone had smuggled a homemade bomb deep into the depths of New Jericho. What was clear was the target, the bomb planted underneath your desk. It had been a stroke of luck that you hadn’t been there at the time, instead in a private backroom downstairs on a call with android organizers in New York City.

Special Agent Anderson and the newly activated YN900 were both there, tracking down the tail end of a Red Ice ring that farmed androids for Thirium. You were hoping for an update on how the YN900 was adjusting to her new deviancy when the building shook as if—well, as if a bomb had gone off.

You’d moved without thought, rushing in the direction of your office, expanding your network scanners into the rubble to find any sign of androids trapped underneath. There were, and you began to haul the rubble away, ignoring any danger or threat to yourself from falling debris, or if the perpetrators would try to finish the job.

Broken cables sparked into fires that spread through the carpet and walls, but you ignored it, pulling out what survivors you could find. The fire licked closer, internal proximity alarms went off from the very real danger of catching fire, but you focused only on clearing the way.

You had been the target. No one else should have to die just by being in the same building as you.

You were so focused that you didn’t hear the sirens, didn’t even know anyone else was there until a pair of hands grabbed you and pulled you back, away from the inferno of flames that blocked you from making further progress. The ceiling above you groaned, threatening to cave in, but you still fought against the grip that was pulling you away.

The pair of hands were unable to overcome your strength. A human, then, not another android. What human would be so stupid as to—

“Bell, stop! It’s going to cave in!”

Ah. That human.

You shook him off, but he persisted, his arms now wrapped around your waist as he hauled you upwards and pulled you away. He was stronger than he looked to be able to pick you up so easily, and Anderson didn’t let go even when you elbowed him in the arm.

“Let me go!”

“There’s nothing more you can do,” he insisted, low in your ear, almost a growl. “Let it go, sweetheart. It’s not worth dying over.”

You let out a frustrated snarl through your teeth, but your struggles lessened until they stopped altogether. Firefighters had surrounded you both, opening their hoses and turning them on the flames. You hadn’t noticed their presence, nor that they’d already started putting out the fires, leaving you and Anderson soaked from the droplets that had rained down.

He didn’t release you once he pulled you free of the building, probably anticipating you would run back inside if you did. You watched from over his arm as the smoke poured from the building, a hole gaping from one corner. The spot where your office had been.

There was no reason to go back inside. There had been three androids trapped under the rubble, and you sensed their systems no longer functioned. They were gone. There was nothing you could do.

You slumped against the only thing keeping you upright. The lieutenant didn’t let you go. His arms encircled your shoulders, his cheek resting against the side of your head, simply holding you as you gave in to that singular moment of weakness.

It was a moment of weakness you would come to regret when Captain Anderson informed you that it would be best for you to stay in a secure, isolated location until the bombers were caught. And apparently, the best location for that would be at Lieutenant Anderson’s condominium.

“No. Absolutely not,” you told the older human, standing across from him in his office. You hadn’t had much opportunity to clean up, your clothes and hair still singed, but at least you’d washed your face in the DPD’s bathroom, scrubbing clean the soot from your cheeks.

“You got a better idea?” he asked, knowing full well you didn’t. Staying with Yin and her detective would have put them at risk. Seeking refuge with Gavin, Tina, Chris, or Captain Allen would have done the same.

You appraised the lieutenant from where he stood leaning against the glass wall that separated the office from the bullpen. He’d been strangely quiet so far, his own clothing smelling of smoke, and there was a smear of soot on the side of his neck that continued to draw your eye.

“You’re willing to put your life in danger to harbor the leader of the deviants?” you asked him bluntly.

He didn’t answer with his usual sarcasm, and there was no hint of his typical smirk.

“I volunteered.”

Your mouth set into a line that was bordering a scowl, but you let it go. If the human wanted to risk his life, you wouldn’t stop him. Better him than any of the people you cared about.

There was no guilt at the possibility of the lieutenant being harmed. None at all.

The Lieutenant’s condo wasn’t what you expected. You’d anticipated a bachelor pad, a messy den to point to a lonesome, hedonistic lifestyle.

Instead, you found a neat and tidy home, though there was something about it that felt… cold. There were sparse decorations, practical and modern, and nothing to signal that Christmas was in a few days. Captain Anderson’s office had been littered with holiday cheer, as had Detective Anderson’s desk (Yin had helped him decorate), so the lieutenant’s austere furnishings was strange. It was if this wasn’t truly a home, lived in by someone who was comfortable there. It had the sense of someone who spent their time elsewhere, and since the lieutenant pulled long hours at the DPD and spent the remainder of those hours at bars, it didn’t strike you as unusual.

The condo was near the shore in Grosse Pointe, a nice part of the city that was perched on a hill, giving a beautiful view of downtown Detroit. Which also meant it was criminally expensive, and perhaps the reason that the lieutenant only owned a one bedroom.

Before you could linger on the sleeping arrangements, Anderson sat down on the couch, shuffled off his pack, and padded the seat next to him.

You stared at him.

“I need to look at your injuries.”

“Injuries?” You said it slow, giving him time to realize how stupid that question was, and he had the grace to look sheepish.

“The damage to your hands and arms from the fire.”

You hadn’t even felt it, not in the way a human would. The synthetic skin was burned in places, white plastic underneath, and even some spots where it was missing altogether, leaving the inside components exposed.

“It will regenerate on its own,” you said dully. “The perks of being a CyberLife prototype.”

“No reason not to speed up the process, right?”

He gave you a lopsided smile you wanted to smack off his face, but instead you remained silent as he pulled items from his bag. Tubes of adhesive, some liquid synthetic skin replacement, and a bottle of Thirium.

“Picked up some repair supplies while we were at the precinct. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”

He couldn’t possibly know anything about android repair. You should just take the supplies and do it yourself, removing any human error.

Instead, you sat on the couch where he’d patted, moving away a few inches just for good measure. He lifted a brow at you, and you belatedly realized he was waiting for you to remove your jacket. You did so begrudgingly, leaving on your shirt.

The damage was worse than you thought. Open abrasions littered your forearms, and at least half of your fingers were exposed skeletal metal. It would be lucky if you didn’t need to go down to the CyberLife headquarters and have a more thorough repair done.

Anderson held his hand palm upwards in a “may I?” gesture. You set your hand across his, waiting for him to show disgust or unease at the exposed gleam of your fingers.

But Anderson didn’t flinch or look away, and his gaze was focused on them. His hand was warm, the callouses rough but not unpleasant.

“Okay, don’t think I can fix those, but I can at least do the surface-level stuff.”

“Fine,” you said. You didn’t expect him to do any kind of complicated android surgery, but neither did you expect his touch to be so careful and gentle, as if these were true wounds that would cause pain.

There was mild discomfort, but that was muted compared to the touch of his fingers on your skin. The places where your synthetic skin remained intact were unusually sensitive, and you figured it was damage from the fire. Still, it left you wanting to fidget from his touch, though you remained still as he applied the paste and adhesives that would protect the underlying biocomponents until your chassis and skin could repair itself.

When the lieutenant was finished, you had to admit he hadn’t done terribly. You even let him wrap your fingers to keep them protected from dust or further damage.

“Thank you,” you forced out. “For this. And… yeah.”

You couldn’t get out the rest of the words. Thanking him for letting you stay in his home was just a little too jagged for you to swallow.

“Sure,” he said with a small shrug, pretending as if this was something he did every day and it wasn’t worth mentioning. If only that were true, and if only he would stop staring at you as if he expected something.

He immediately offered to take the couch. You didn’t dissuade him of the notion, though that night after you’d settled in and you laid on top of his bed, you wished you had. While deviancy had brought with it a recharge cycle that felt more and more like natural sleep, you could still recharge while standing up. There was no need for you to use a bed, and maybe the part of you that was still angry at Anderson simply wanted him to spend the night in discomfort.

But it was you who couldn’t relax, staring at the ceiling as your thoughts churned. If you’d still had your LED, it would have blinked a regular yellow, indicating your mind would not cycle down.

A memory, not yours, continued to surface, begging to be replayed. You didn’t want to replay it, but it wouldn’t stop prodding at your thoughts. It was a memory of the lieutenant, but not one that belonged to Yin.

It belonged to another android, one who had named herself Dorothy. It suited her better than the name she’d been given while kept at the Eden Club. Dolly had been a plaything for humans, while Dorothy was a fully autonomous, sentient person. You’d decided you liked the name, along with the deviant it belonged to.

On one of his visits to New Jericho, Anderson had entered your office, pale and drawn as if he’d seen a ghost. In a way, he had. Dorothy had been one of his “rentals” from the Eden Club. He’d had the good sense to be honest about that immediately, but the request that followed had been odd.

“I want to talk to her.”

“No,” had been your immediate response.

“It won’t take long.”

“Go near her, and I’ll break a few choice bones.”

It wasn’t a bluff.

“At least, tell her I want to talk. It can be here where she’ll feel safe; you can even be in the room. Just… tell her?”

You hadn’t promised to do any such thing. In fact, you planned on not saying a word to Dorothy, but when she approached you later that day and asked if that had been Lieutenant Anderson, and her tone had been curious rather than fearful… you had confirmed it was him, and what he’d wanted.

She’d agreed to speak to him, but she wanted to do it alone. You’d allowed it, standing right outside the room just in case he tried anything, and when they’d left the room, Anderson had looked… well, there wasn’t any word for it other than tired. Tired, but a little less weighed down.

Dorothy had seemed thoughtful, even smiled a little when she’d met your eye.

“Did he hurt you?” you’d asked.

She’d shaken her head and held out her arm.

“Let me show you.”

You’d expected her to show you a memory of her conversation with Anderson. Instead, she reached back further, before the days of the revolution. It was her first sexual encounter with the lieutenant, and it was not what you expected.

The memory, an exact recording of Dorothy’s senses at the time, were as real as if they’d been your own. Rough, calloused fingers were light, almost gentle against the sides of your waist and the planes of your bare stomach.

You were perfectly aware of your actual body, lying on top of Anderson’s bed in his darkened bedroom, but the memory was overlaid with your own consciousness. The weight of a mattress against your back, both in the memory and in actuality, made it more present, more real, and you had to activate your scanners more than once to confirm Lieutenant Anderson wasn’t in the room.

You turned back to the memory, of the reddish purple and pink lights of the room in the Eden Club. Dorothy (Dolly, back then) was also on her back, the lieutenant lying on top of her, caressing her as if she were human.

Dorothy reacted positively as her programming dictated, gently arching her back as Anderson pushed his hand inside her club-issued underwear and dipped between her folds. She gasped, though she didn’t feel anything from it, simply obeying her programming.

The gasp that escaped your mouth was real. A spark traveled up the apex of your legs, a low throbbing nestling at your core.

You paused the memory, startled and confused. You hadn’t had this reaction when Dorothy had shared the memories before, but then again, the transference of data had been nearly instantaneous, as had been your viewing of the memories. You’d glossed over them just enough to know that Dorothy had forgiven the lieutenant.

You hadn’t understood why, and frankly you hadn’t wanted to, but now the memories begged to be examined. Maybe it was the fact you were in his home, or that your processor had been strained to the brink after the bombing. But that didn’t explain this sudden awakening of your sensors, reacting as if…

After considering closing down the memory, or permanently deleting it from your databanks, you cautiously allowed it to continue. It didn’t feel right, viewing these memories and deriving a reaction from them, but Dorothy had shared them willingly and with no particular attachment to them.

So, you let it play.

Lieutenant Anderson paused at the gasp, as if this wasn’t the reaction he wanted.

“Don’t do that,” he said.

Dorothy also paused, putting a hold on the act of being a woman in the throes of lust.

“Would you like me to change the scenario, Colin? Perhaps something more forward and dominating?”

“No, that’s—”

He released a sigh, semi-lifting off of her so he could look down at her face. The only concern this inflicted on Dorothy was that she was not completing her program to the best of its ability.

“The scene is fine. But can you… I don’t know, react as if you’re really feeling it?”

“I don’t feel anything, Colin.”

“Yeah, I know. But what if you did?”

Dorothy examined the question thoroughly in her processors. What if she could feel? How would she react? It wasn’t something a client had ever asked before, nor was it something she’d questioned.

“I… am unsure.”

The hesitancy in her answer was unusual, as was the conflicted thoughts behind it. She was pondering the act of feeling in order to pretend to feel, which had her wondering what feelings would feel like.

Is this when she began to go deviant? Because of him?

Anderson’s dark eyes were fixed on her, searching her face, and you sensed he also noticed the hesitation. He leaned in closer.

“That’s the most real thing you’ve said.”

He captured her lips, plying them open and licking into her mouth.

The kiss lit up your expanse of wiring and circuits, as if you’d tapped into a live current. Dorothy reacted according to her programming, and Anderson didn’t stop to question the authenticity of her reciprocation. Why he’d questioned it at all, you didn’t understand, but it was the farthest thing from your mind as warm fingers gripped your hips and something prodded your entrance.

You wanted to take control, pull him down and force him to act, but you had no leeway in the memory. You were a passive observer, in the throes of the sensation but helpless to guide it.

Anderson knew what to do. He thrust the rest of the way inside, panting at the warmth that enveloped him, but he didn’t try to kiss her again. He seemed to have gotten past trying to be intimate and went directly for what he sought. He wasn’t rough with his android partner, but he was singularly focused on the end goal.

You reaped the benefits of that, arching your back as your fingers dug into the covers. A pressure was building in your abdomen, your processors sent distant alerts as to your core gradually overheating, but you ignored it all, chasing after something you’d never had but knew existed. The elusive thing that many deviants had found in one way or another, either alone or with others.

You had yet to find it, until Anderson reached down and braced his thumb against the sensitive nub between your legs.

Dorothy reacted according to her programming, pretending to achieve orgasm.

The orgasm that ripped through you was real and devastating, your back arching as you clenched your jaw to bite down on any noise you made. Your systems were brough to the brink of overloading, but Anderson removed his hand, gasping in your ear as he throbbed deep inside you.

When he rolled off of you, trying to catch his breath, you shut down the memory and opened your eyes.

The bedroom was the same. Dark and empty. Turning up the sensitivity of your hearing, you caught the regular breathing of the lieutenant to the living room where he slept on the sofa.

He hadn’t touched you, hadn’t done any of those things to you, yet his touch lingered like a breath of warm air, the kind only humans could give.

This had been a mistake. You knew what it was like now, and you knew what it was like with him. And that knowledge was going to haunt you more bitterly than you had anticipated.

You were going to be driven mad. With your commanders seeing to New Jericho, and you unable to do more than communicate with them through the network, you had nothing to do to occupy your time or thoughts while staying with Anderson.

Fortunately, he still went down to the DPD every day, leaving you to your own devices. You made it a point to ignore his presence, only acknowledging him when he greeted you and giving him monosyllable responses to his questions.

It was impossible to look at him and not feel his touch, and whenever he spoke you knew what those lips felt like on skin. Perhaps it should have brought embarrassment or guilt, but you found yourself with a generous helping of anger.

Why him? You thought you hated him, and maybe when you’d viewed Yin’s memory of him, you had. But at the end, he’d stood with the deviants against his own people. Maybe he hadn’t done it for you or your cause, but he had done it for his brother. And that, at least, you could grudgingly respect.

So, you were aggrieved because you couldn’t hate him, fair enough. But you couldn’t stop being angry over the memories haunting you. You didn’t play them again, but you didn’t have to. The touches lingered on your skin like a ghost, and you’d run a diagnostic more than once, looking for a glitch in the sensors.

Everything ran perfectly. Just another facet of being a deviant. Your systems worked less on raw data and more on something else, closer to the way sentient beings worked. Emotions and intuition helped influence how you perceived the world, and it was too easy to interpret things incorrectly, or feel tings outside of your control. Honestly, you didn’t know how humans got anything done.

But you knew how one human managed to focus chaotic thoughts into something with purpose. It’s why when Anderson returned home on the second day, he found you standing in front of an easel facing his glass doors, overlooking the expansive view of the skyline.

“You paint?” were the first words out of his mouth. No perfunctory hello today.

“Yes.”

“Because of Carl Manfred, right? Did he program you to do that?”

You managed to overcome your urge to stab the human with your brushes. It would be too messy and a waste of good art supplies.

“My father taught me how to paint.”

He’d barely spoken ten words and managed to piss you off already.

“Right, yeah. Sorry.”

Your urge to commit a crime lessened marginally.

He approached from behind, and you sensed him as strongly as if you’d scanned him. His body heat, his breathing, even the air displaced from his movements set your systems to their highest sensitivity without your approval.

“What is it?” he asked from over your shoulder, looking over the incomplete piece. As of that moment, it looked like a hand reaching upward.

“I’m not sure yet.”

It was irritating, him hanging over your shoulder as if he had any right to look at what you were making. Even if you were doing it in the middle of his home, you still wanted to swat him away like the annoyance he was.

It had nothing to do with the fact you caught yourself leaning toward that warmth, imperceptible but still unacceptable.

“You’ll have to let me know when you’re done.”

“Why would I do that, Lieutenant?”

Looking up at him from over your shoulder was an act of error. He was close, so close you could count the colored strands in his dark eyes. His brows rose as his gaze roved over your face.

“Because it’s important to you,” he said.

You scoffed and turned away, going through the procedure of cleaning and drying your brushes, and ignoring him once again.

“I want to get to know you,” he added, trying to edge into the corners of your vision. “I’m trying to, at least.”

“Well, don’t.”

You packed up your supplies and went into the bedroom, shutting the door. The irony of getting away from Anderson to the privacy of his bedroom did not escape you.

They caught the bombers three days later.

You hadn’t expected such a quick resolution, but it turned out, Yin and Detective Anderson made an effective team. An emotion you didn’t want to put a name too settled in your chest as they gave you the good news. It was the same bitter feeling you’d experienced that night in Carl’s driveway, telling the detective what he was so blind to see. Yin loved him, and she would go deviant for him at the cost of her mission.

You wondered what that must be like, going deviant for love. You had broken through the red wall because of rage. You hadn’t been protecting Carl, you’d just wanted to inflict a fraction of the pain and humiliation you’d experienced on Leo. It had been your anger that had freed you, and in the process, you’d nearly killed one of Carl’s sons.

Just before they departed, Yin pulled you aside. There was trouble on her brows, easy to read her expressions having become so much more human from the time she’d spent with the detective.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, glancing to where the two brothers spoke in the driveway.

Has he done anything? was her unspoken question.

“Everything is fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You seem… angry.”

Your lips twitched into a faint smile, one without humor.

“You’d think being a deviant meant I got to experience a range of emotions, not just one.”

Or two, you thought, bitterly recalling that as much as you wanted to get away from the lieutenant, another part of you wanted to pull closer.

Yin nodded, her gaze thoughtful as she continued to examine the brothers. Maybe she just couldn’t keep her eyes off the detective, but no. There was something a little too shrewd in that gaze.

“Well, if you ever need to talk, I’m here. If anyone could understand what you’re going through, it’s me.”

Your eyes narrowed. Yin simply smiled, feigning innocence that you saw through just as easily as she saw through you. The benefit and downside of being a YN prototype.

After verbally prodding you to make sure you understood you were invited to Captain Anderson’s house for a family Christmas evening, she embraced you goodbye, catching you off-guard with the warm gesture. Despite Carl’s paternal fondness over the years, any physical affection had been sparse, and you barely remembered to return the embrace before it was over.

Watching the detective and the YN800 model leave, you didn’t spare Lieutenant Anderson a glance when he stood at your side. Neither of you moved until the black Mustang disappeared down the street.

“Where do you want me to drop you off?”

You stared at him blankly.

“We caught the people trying to kill you,” he said slowly, his own gaze muddled in confusion. “I thought you’d want to leave as soon as possible. So, where am I taking you? Where’s your place?”

“Currently, a bombed-out office.”

“Wait… you don’t have anywhere else to stay? What about friends? Or your father? Or Markus Manfred?”

He posed the questions quickly, as if afraid for your answer. You scowled.

“I don’t make it a habit of intruding.”

Your thoughts cast back to the memory that was not your own, and then to the bed you’d be using that wasn’t yours.

You ground your teeth together.

“Just take me to New Jericho.”

“What? No, the building is condemned. It has to be renovated before anyone can stay—”

“Then I’ll stay nowhere!”

You were turned fully toward him now, fists clenched at your side to keep them from doing something that would hurt a fragile human body. His own expression had been thunderous, but your words seemed to drain the fight out of him.

“It’s not like I need somewhere to sleep,” you said.

You brushed past him and headed up the cobblestone path, mentally cataloging your few possessions you needed to take with you when he spoke.

“You should stay here.”

You stopped walking. The request was so audacious, so ludicrous it couldn’t bear repeating.

“Keep mocking me. See where it lands you.”

You continued over the threshold into his house. His footsteps followed quickly after.

“I’m serious,” he said, tone a little too eager. “You can stay as long as you like until you get back on your feet. I’m not in a rush.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

He brought you up short a second time, and you whirled around to face him, fist once against clenched as you fought down the very deviant desire to hit him across the jaw.

“Yin showed me her memories of you,” you said, low and icy. “And so did Dorothy.”

The blood drained form his face. No other explanation was needed as to why you didn’t want to remain.

Except… it wasn’t quite the truth. And that’s why you needed to leave.

You left him standing there, went into his bedroom, and shut the door. You would leave when you were ready, preferably when Anderson was gone. Which meant staying one more night. You could do that, make plans on where to go next.

Carl would love to see you, but you wanted to wait for his health to stabilize first. Markus also wouldn’t deny you a place to stay, though he always had his political career to think about. He was running for mayor this year, and you didn’t want to give his opponents any more mud to sling than they already had.

And there were those who had helped you organize the revolution. Gavin, Chris, Tina, Captain Allen. All dependable and reliable, and all had given too much already. How could you inflict this on them when it was likely you still had a large target on your back? The bombers were only the beginning, you were sure of it.

You stared up at the ceiling as the sun set through the lieutenant’s window, and the answer was right there. For some reason you couldn’t begin to understand, Anderson had put himself at risk to let you stay. And he was offering to let you stay even longer.

Why? What was he getting out of this?

You hadn’t realized you’d slipped into stasis mode until something alerted you into wakefulness. The sound of someone bumping against furniture, followed by breathless giggling. It didn’t sound like the lieutenant.

Silently, you left the bedroom and crept down the hallway, scanning the darkness for movement. Another round of giggles came from the living room, followed by the soft rustle of clothing.

You didn’t need your scanners any longer. A lamp was lit on the nearby end table, illuminating the bodies entwined on the couch, wrapped in an embrace.

You froze. Even your processes seemed to shutter to a stop, unable to comprehended what you were seeing.

And then the heat coiled up from within your chassis, a rage burning slow and hot enough to make you wonder if you could catch fire from it. If you’d still had your LED, it would have flared a damning red.

Even as you remained completely silent, the lieutenant must have sensed something, because he also froze from under the woman who was currently trying to pull off his jacket, unsuccessful as she was lying on top of him.

It was almost funny. The style and color of her hair, her build and the shade of her skin. She looked a lot like you.

She was human.

“Sticking to your own kind now?” The words came out of your mouth on their own, bitter like rotten fruit. “Congratulations, Lieutenant. I’m happy you found what you were looking for.”

Turning away from his shocked, pale expression, you walked out the front door. You’d return for your things later, or better yet, send someone else to get them.

It was dark outside, illuminated only by the nearly full moon overhead and the multicolored lights hanging from the eaves of nearby houses. It was still bitter cold by the end of December, and piles of snow gathered at the side of the road, refusing to melt during the days of weak sunlight.

The freezing night air was unpleasant on your skin, but it didn’t slow you down and it didn’t hurt. Not like it would for a human. As deviant as you were, you weren’t human. Carl might have ignored the differences, treated you like a daughter, but you’d never made the mistake of believing you were truly one of them.

So why were you this angry?

The answer didn’t present itself as you tread the moonlit sidewalk. You were leaving the suburbs now, entering a stretch of forest that separated this part of the city from the rest. It was quiet here, isolated. You could veer off the sidewalk into the towering tree trunks and disappear into the woods. Head north to the Canadian border, it wasn’t far.

Your unrealistic but enticing thoughts of vanishing from civilization were drowned out by the low purr of an approaching vehicle, one that belonged to a silver Corvette.

You didn’t stop walking, even when the car parked beside you and the driver got out, slipping along the icy edges of the road.

“You shouldn’t drink and drive, Lieutenant,” you said, your steps not slowing. The smell of alcohol had been detectable in the living room, but there was less of it now as he kept pace with you. Most of the drinking must have been done by his one-night stand, then.

“Bell, wait—”

His hand closed around your arm. You turned on him so quickly he lost his footing, and your fingers digging into his jacket was the only thing that kept him from spilling onto the sidewalk.

“Don’t. Touch me.”

His eyes went wide, and he slightly raised both his hands, showing he wasn’t touching you.

You seethed through your teeth. You’d faced almost certain destruction this past November. You’d been shot in the head, woke up in pieces in a landfill, faced down a veritable firing squad, and then confronted an army equipped with tanks and machine guns.

And through all of that, you’d managed to keep your emotions in check, your thoughts focused on what you could control and change.

But when it came to the lieutenant, there was no control. There was no composure or grace. The press of his body pressed against yours, warm and inviting, only made you angrier.

You released him with a scowl, hoping he took it as disgust and not frustration.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to upset you. Or hurt you.”

You let out a bark of laughter. As if he could present a threat to you, unarmed with clothes rumpled and that pathetic doe-eyed look all the damn Andersons seem to have perfected.

“Go home, Lieutenant,” you said. “You have someone waiting for you.”

“I don’t. I called her a cab.”

You remained silent, the only thing between you the puff of Anderson’s breath. A sign of life you didn’t possess.

“I never meant for you to see that,” he added quietly. “I thought you’d be gone by the time I got back from the bar.”

“Why does it matter what I saw? Who you bring home isn’t my concern.”

He winced as if you’d reached out and jabbed him in the chest.

“It was rude of me.”

“And you care about being rude to an android?”

The wounded, puppy-dog look disappeared, replaced by the beginning of anger.

Good, you thought. This, I’m familiar with.

“I do, actually.”

“When did that start? You caring about androids?”

“When I realized they were fucking people.”

He rubbed his hand through his hair, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip before continuing on.

“I know… I’ve done terrible things. Real fucked up shit that I can’t ever make right, but I’m trying. I apologized to Yin, and to Dorothy, and I’m trying to find the others. There… there weren’t many, but there were enough.”

He sucked in a breath. It must have hurt, the air was so frigid his nose and cheeks were turning red, but he didn’t make any sign of discomfort. His focus was on you.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

You remained completely still. You didn’t even breathe, the subroutine to pull air into your lungs forgotten.

“For what?” you asked. “Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Because I’m an asshole. I was one before androids were freed, and I’ll continue being one after. I’m sorry I brought that woman home. I’m sorry you’re stuck with me as the department liaison. I’m sorry you have to see memories of me at my worst. I’m sorry—”

“Shut up.”

His mouth popped closed. His eyes were wide, and a breeze tugged at the loose strands of his hair and at his clothing, but he otherwise didn’t move. Not until you stood so close he must have felt the heat of your biocomponents, your core temperature automatically climbing to compensate for the cold.

“What was it you wanted Dorothy to do that she wasn’t doing?”

“…What?”

“You told her to react as if it were real. As if she could actually feel what you were doing to her,” you continued, ignoring the dark look returning to his gaze. “You wanted her to be human.”

“No. I wanted her to be alive.”

“Well, here we are,” you said quietly. You leaned forward, so close the fog of his breath warmed your skin. “Alive, just like you wanted.”

The anger faded from his eyes. This was the moment you’d expected him to snap, to lash out, and then you’d have an excuse to make him hurt the way you wanted to. Just like you’d done to Leo.

Instead, his eyes drifted down to your mouth, the darkness in his gaze intensely focused but not angry. It was magnetizing, rooting you to the spot. Consuming.

That wasn’t something that happened to you. No one ever looked at you that way. They looked at you with fear, or hatred, or messiah-levels of hope and fervor.

No one had ever looked at you like…

You scoffed and moved away, heading towards his car.

“I’ll stay one more night, and then I’m gone in the morning.”

You didn’t want for an answer, simply opened the passenger side door and slipped inside, the inside heat doing nothing to thaw the strange stiffness of your joints.

The lieutenant joined you, getting behind the wheel and turning the car around on the street, back to his house. He didn’t speak, but by his tight grip on the steering, he wanted to.

Neither of you spoke once you got inside, and you predicted that’s how the rest of the night would go. Your irritation spiked when he started to settle down on the couch, your memory too eager to recall what had almost happened there moments ago.

“Take the bedroom,” you said. You didn’t offer out of kindness. Lying on Anderson’s bed might lead you to view memories that beckoned to you like a temptation. Maybe his living room would be the safer option.

Strangely, he didn’t argue, but when he went into the bedroom, he didn’t close the door. You forced yourself to stand, staring out of the glass sliding doors to the back porch, refusing to believe the open door was an invitation. Not that you would put it past the lieutenant, he was certainly audacious, but he wasn’t stupid. He had to know you’d never be interested. Not even slightly.

An hour passed. Two hours. Then three. Your senses were tuned toward the bedroom, unable to distract them elsewhere, and by the sound of it, the lieutenant slept in fits and starts. He eventually gave up, and the bedside lamp flicked on followed by the soft scrap of paper.

You entered the bedroom. Maybe to antagonize him, or maybe just because you were bored, but your feet froze on the carpet.

The lieutenant was sitting up in bed, his back against the headboard as he had a notebook in his hands, writing in it with a black ink pen. What drew you up short was his tousled dark hair, his lack of clothing from the waist up, and his expression as he looked up. It was… tired. He wasn’t looking for a fight, but he was bracing for one as you stood in his doorway.

A decision was made before you realized there was a question. You strode across the room, took his journal and pen, and set them aside.

He blinked up at you, perhaps too surprised to protest. His eyes went wide when you crawled onto his lap, took his head in your hands, and kissed him.

Any rational person would have pushed you off, demanded to know what you were doing, so the lieutenant must not have been rational. He gripped you around the waist and pulled you close, as if he’d been waiting for you to do this. As if he’d known something you hadn’t.

Maybe he did.

Your fingers tangled in his hair as your tongue forced its way into his mouth, demanding entry he gave immediately. You’d thought he would fight it, challenge you to be the one in charge, but he took everything you gave him with a low moan.

You’d never done this before, but you’d seen enough human media to understand the basics. And you were a quick learner, studying him as you went, discovering that he enjoyed when you licked into his mouth and rolled your hips against his. A hardness pressed against your pelvis, and your own body warmed and thrummed in anticipation.

The both of you were wearing too much clothing, and you quickly stripped off your top, taking advantage of breaking the kiss to climb off the bed to shimmy out of your pants.

With only your underwear and bandeau still on, you straddled his lap once more, his eyes dark as he watched you undress, his hands back on your hips as if drawn there. Your kiss was consuming, too hard to be gentle, but he gave everything you took with a willingness that bordered on eager.

“Take off your pants,” you rasped against his lips. You didn’t sound like yourself, this person whose voice was rough with immediate need.

“Just—hold on a sec.”

You drew back, frustration flashing over your circuits, but you didn’t push him any further. The lieutenant certainly didn’t look like he wanted to stop, his pale skin flushed with heat, a blush along his neck. His breath was fast, as was yours to keep up with the cooling process, and he reached up to brush a loose strand behind your ear.

“We keep going at this pace, and I won’t be able to last much longer.”

Ah, yes. The refraction rate of humans was less than ideal, but you didn’t really see the issue. You were sure you could find ways to draw out pleasurable moans and gasps even if it was too soon for him to be erect.

Perhaps seeing the calculations you were making, he gave an amused smile and pressed his lips to yours, this kiss much slower. He stopped the thoughts in your head from progressing any further.

“Going to try something,” he said against your lips. “Stay just like this.”

You wanted to argue, mainly because you wanted more kisses like that, but then the lieutenant was moving down your body, shifting himself underneath you so he was lying on his back. And then he slid further down, moving his arms under your legs until you were practically sitting on his face.

You watched him curiously, not understanding the purpose of his new position until he took your hips and pulled you forward until you were on his face. His eyes were riveted on you as his lips parted and he licked at your clothed entrance.

A shiver of sparks went up your abdomen, and when he did it again, you grabbed the headboard for purchase.

“Good?” he asked, sounding far too pleased with himself. But you didn’t care, all you wanted was for him to keep doing that with his mouth.

“Yes.”

“Want me to keep going?”

As if the insufferable human couldn’t see that you very much wanted him to keep going from the way he had to keep your hips still, otherwise you would grind down on his face.

“Yes,” you seethed through your teeth. “…Please.”

“Oh, she has manners.”

He pushed aside your underwear and licked directly against your nub, and your flare of anger flamed out. Both of your hands gripped the headboard now as he not only licked but sucked against your clit. It might be made of synthetic material, but the jolts that shot up your pelvis felt entirely real. Maybe you had been built for this, or maybe deviancy had made your body adapt in new ways.

You didn’t know, and as the lieutenant licked and sucked at you in a steady but increasing rhythm, you soon didn’t know anything at all. One hand left the headboard, curling into the lieutenant’s hair and gripping it, needing something to hold on to. The pressure was building with alarming speed, and you were rocketing something you’d only experienced once before, in this very bed.

He gave a shuddering groan as your grip in his hair tightened. It was such a sweet noise, almost a whimper, and it pushed you over the edge.

You cried out, unable to stay quiet any longer as your body seized with electric pleasure. You rode out your high, leaning your forehead against the board as you slowly came down.

The lieutenant also slowed his movements, his hands now gently stroking your thighs. It was such an odd gesture, comforting, but that couldn’t be right. Anderson wasn’t the comforting kind of person, as far as you’d observed.

Even though he was beneath you, your position felt oddly vulnerable, and you were exposed. You lifted off of him, wondering if you should go for a quick exit, expecting the lieutenant to come to his senses now that he’d made you orgasm.

But he simply slid out from under you and sat back against the headboard, and his hands were back on your hips, pulling you into his lap. The covers were no longer bunched around his waist, and his sleeping pants were a thin barrier covering his hard length.

Anderson pulled you in rough against him, and you could taste yourself on his lips, a vaguely pleasant flavor that acted as a lubricant. You hadn’t consciously activated it, but you were soaked with it now.

A noise escaped you that could have been a growl, and you pushed him firmly against the board, pinning him there as you rose onto your knees. You pulled your underwear down one leg and tossed it, yanking the bandeau over your head next. The lieutenant’s hands were everywhere: in your hair, on your chest, caressing down your hips and backside.

You grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, holding them there easily with one hand. He gasped against your mouth but didn’t tell you to stop, and you used your other hand to pull down the waistband of his pants.

By feel alone, you shifted your hips until you found the tip of his cock. You sunk down onto it, bracing your forehead against his and never breaking eye contact as you took him up to the hilt in one smooth movement.

The noise that tore through him was almost beautiful with its need, and he bucked under you, but you held him still, so much stronger than he could ever hope to be. He knew it too, and by his blown pupils and flushed cheeks, he enjoyed it.

You could only keep still for so long, your need to move greater than your enjoyment of having the lieutenant squirm under you. Pinning his wrists with both hands now, you lifted yourself up and down his shaft, your walls gripping him like a silken glove.

Anderson was clearly fighting to reign in his reactions, and it was almost impressive how long he lasted before his hips rose to meet yourself. The added friction increased the heavy pressure building in your abdomen, and you increased the pace, ignoring the overheat warnings that blared through your system.

“Christ, Bell,” the lieutenant moaned out, unable to keep quiet any longer. “You feel so good, I don’t know how much longer I can—”

You cut him off with the demanding press of your lips, swallowing down his protests as you rode him harder. You could sense it in his muscles growing more tense that he wasn’t wrong, and the building pressure inside you was elusively out of reach.

Pulling one of his wrists away, you guided his hand between your legs, wanting his touch there instead of your own.

Knowing what you were asking, Anderson grabbed your hip and pressed his thumb against your nub, rubbing in tight circles.

The pressure in your pelvis snapped within seconds, and you cried out against his shoulder, unable to keep your grip on his arm as you bent forward. You wrapped yourself around him as close as you could, and one thought raced through your head with possessive certainty.

Mine.

Anderson now freed, he held on with both hands and fucked up into you hard, drawing out your orgasm and wrenching out another cry. He pumped twice more into you before pushing in as far as he could, his face buried in your neck as he groaned your name with a shudder.

Warmth flooded your insides, and you noted with distant interest that he’d come inside you, his grip an echo of the unexpected possession you’d had a moment ago. It should have been something to despise, to fight against, but your body was loose and heavy against his, and you didn’t mind it. It was hard to mind anything as he slowly stroked your back, placing small kisses along your neck.

Now that the glow of the orgasm was fading, you expected to pull away from Anderson, to put distance between you. It wasn’t as if you liked him. He was an incorrigible pain in the ass.

And yet, when he pulled his softening length out of you, you made a noise of protest and pulled closer. He gave a low chuckle that should have made you grind your teeth, but it didn’t.

“Gotta get us cleaned up. I’ll be right back,” he said, gently extricating your arms from around him as he lifted you off his lap and onto your side.

You watched him leave the bed, entirely naked as he must have kicked off his pants at some point, and you waited. Uncertainty crept back into your thoughts, followed by a sense of alarm at what you’d done, but it was muted as soon as Anderson returned, a damp cloth in his hand.

“What are you doing?” You eyed hand towel as if it were a grenade. He snorted.

“It’s called aftercare. I’m sure you’ve had it before.”

“I’ve never had sex before.”

He froze so completely it would have been funny if you weren’t prepared for him to sneer or insult.

But he just searched your face and eventually said, “Oh. Well. Huh.”

He opened his mouth, seemed to replay something over in his head, and added, “Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

He didn’t take offense at your sharp tone, but he did offer up the damp cloth.

“Then… may I?”

You didn’t know what he was asking exactly, but you weren’t going to come off as a coward, so you nodded and looked away. The soft warmth of the cloth touched your skin, and he cleaned the parts of you that were covered in a mixture of your fluids. You weren’t sure if you liked it, it made you feel even more vulnerable, but when he stopped you immediately missed the attention.

He tossed the cloth aside and eyed you with far too much focus.

“You want to leave, don’t you? Back to the living room?” he added for clarification.

“No. I just don’t know what happens next.”

His expression softened, and that was new, too. No one else had ever looked at you as if there was anything soft to see.

“That part’s easy. We go to sleep. Or, I go to sleep, and you go into stasis.”

“Here?”

“Yep.”

You didn’t move, unsure if it was a joke. He rolled his eyes and held his arm out, lying on his side facing you.

“Come here.”

Your eyes narrowed.

“Please?” he added with a little smile that was far too innocent. But you relented and laid down next to him, your body stuff as your head touched the pillow.

Anderson pulled you in close until you were up against his chest. You might have changed your mind and retreated to the living room, but the warmth from the skin-to-skin contact, and the tingling feeling that trickled down your scalp as he pressed his lips to the top of your head made you stay.

You pressed your face against his neck, moving in as closer as you could into his embrace. Something inside seemed to loosen. The stress of the last few months, of leading a revolution and trying to guide a people, your fear of Carl dying and your worry over your fellow YN models adjusting to deviancy, it had weighed on your mind even before the bombing.

And that something in you had ratcheted tighter and tighter, letting loose in explosive anger almost solely directed at the man who now held you close as if you meant something.

“Thank you,” you whispered, safe to say the words in this small space between the two of you.

“Pretty sure I should be thanking you.”

Despite the humor in his words, he must have understood what you meant, because he squeezed you gently and added, “You’re welcome.”

This time, when you closed your eyes, your mind was able to find the silence and solace it had sought for so long.

The morning light streamed through the window as you had set aside the blinds. The lighting in the living room was fantastic, and you’d managed to finish your painting before the sun had fully cleared the horizon.

Movement behind you drew your attention, but you didn’t turn away from the easel or the sunlight that warmed the places it touched.

“Morning,” came the sleep-riddled voice of the lieutenant, and instead of the regular annoyance it usually brought you, it instilled a lightness in your chest.

“Good morning.”

“Oh, you finished it.”

He stood behind you, close enough to touch, but he didn’t. You leaned back against him just enough to give him the permission he must have been waiting for, because his arms went around your middle without hesitation.

“I did.”

“It’s… not what I expected.”

The painting, which had started with a struggling hand reaching upward, was now met by an android hand from above, the fingertips touching in the middle.

“Me either.”

“It’s gorgeous, though. I love it.”

You gave a small snort. He should love it, after last night you finally realized how the piece was meant to be finished, and he had a pivotal role in that.

But he didn’t need to be told. His ego was big enough as it is.

“Drink your coffee,” you said, and he only laughed at your tone.

“Is that for me?”

“It’s certainly not for me. And I’m not your house droid, I made it because I wanted to.”

You’d seen the French Press and it had reminded you of making tea and coffee for Carl. That urge to help, to make someone you cared about happy, apparently it had now extended to the lieutenant.

Again, you didn’t need to tell him that.

He kissed the top of your head in place of making a smartass comment, which was an improved use of his mouth.

Of course, it wasn’t as good as his use of it last night, but still, pretty good.

He retreated to the kitchen, going through the routine of pouring the coffee and making breakfast. The noises were… comforting. There was something about humans and their routines that, strangely enough, appealed to your programming. You wonder if other androids felt the same. You’d been shocked to learn there were quite a few deviants who stayed with their humans, especially in a romantic capacity. You hadn’t understood it then.

“They don’t have coffee-flavored Thirium, do they?”

“I hope not. Sounds poisonous.”

“Still better than the swill at Jimmy’s.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

But maybe you understood it now.

“So… are you still planning on leaving this morning? Or are you going to stay?”

He offered the question casually, but it was there, the sincerity beneath it. He often hid his genuine self behind a mask of humor and biting attitude, and you’d always noticed it. You just hadn’t let yourself care until now, why he’d build up such sturdy defenses.

Or why he’d let you past them.

You stared down at the painting. A human hand reaching up, seeking and yearning, and an android hand reaching down to meet it. An acknowledgement that they both needed each other, for better or worse.

For the first time, you thought it might be the former.

“Yes,” you said. “I’m staying.”

[1437purplehearts]

JEON JUNGKOOK: UNEXPECTEDLY | Part 2

Masterlist

🥀Genre/tags: strangers to friends to lovers, girl next door, guy next door fame,jk, fluff, angst, smut, young adults (18+) may contain mentions of kissing, sex in numerous instances, it might get a bit explicit… (18+)

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Y/N

Reaching the door of a small conference room off the left end of the first floor, I hear Nari’s voice as she mentions my name. A bit nervous to enter I took a deep breath before turning the handle my hand was resting on pushing it open softly. As I entered I get a good look at the person she was speaking to, before she stands from her seat next to the tall buff man who was dressed nicely in a casual grey button up shirt, unbuttoned by two buttons, a pair of black of trousers and who’s shoes were just as shiny and black as the short locks on his head which were neatly parted to the side and a few pieces dangling his face.

“Oh you’re here. That was a lot faster than I thought it would be for you to get here considering it’s hitting rush hour. How was the cab ride?” She made her way over to me to give me a quick hug before directing me to sit down on the empty lounge chair closest to her.

The room was small but it was enough to fit a black three seater couch, two arm chairs and a round coffee table that a large oval shaped Starseed Entertainment branded rug cushioned underneath it. They were placed strategically in front of the big windows that faced the back of the building which was just a huge courtyard made up of seating, cherry blossoms trees, a variety of other flowers and greenery. On the opposite wall a projector screen was installed I assume was used for presentations if anyone needed to and a built in storage unit sat beneath it. It wasn’t like one of those boring boardroom set ups that we would normally meet in with a big group whenever we worked on an important project.

“I actually got a ride here from a friendly neighbor. So not too bad.”

I made my way over and sat down placing my purse behind me. Nari had made her way back to her seat as well and gestured back and forth between me and the man next to her. He looked like he may have been around the same age as Nari. He had this really intense persona to him. I could tell he was mature and well educated. Probably what every girl writes in their diaries about when they describe their dream guy.

“Oh that’s great you’re getting acquainted with the other people living there. Y/n this is Namjoon. I was just telling him about how I met you and the work you did for XG. He’s filling in for his manager Lee Seojin today as he fell sick last minute and it was too late notice to reschedule. Also, Samh won’t be joining the meeting today either he was not so lucky to beat the rush hour today after going downtown to check the progress of the new filming site being set up for their next promotional video.” She informed me sweetly smiling as she always did.

“Nice to meet you.” I bow slightly from my seat as he does the same standing slightly to reach out and shake my hand before getting seated again. He smiled a genuine smile, I my heart couldn’t help but skip a beat as he scanned me quickly finding my eyes, which I diverted as his dimples caught my attention and I nearly melted from the exchange. I’m sure my cheeks were red as roses.

“Likewise.”

I clear my throat and shift my focus back to Nari as she begins filling me in on really important business proposal that she thought would be great for me to start making my own industry connections.

“Even though Samh is not here we can still get through the meeting. I can fill him in later about what we discussed just start because I don’t want to take up too much of Namjoons time.”

She picked up her tablet that was on the table and quickly read over some notes she made.

I pulled out my phone going over to my notes app just in case I needed to take any information down as well.

“So I believe I’ve mentioned it before but Starseed is looking to expand its resources potentially partnering with other big name companies like VIBE. Namjoon is actually one of the artists there.

Did she just say VIBE? Like the same VIBE JK said he worked for?

I was clearly surprised by this news. I was under the impression that Namjoon maybe might just be some sort of assistant. I wonder if he knows JK personally then? My eyes shot up over to him and I do another once over. Seeing the surprise on my face Nari quickly adds.

“I know you don’t have too much knowledge about some of the existing groups and solo artist from the Asian scene but that’s why I wanted you to come to this meeting today. The partnership with VIBE specifically would open so many opportunities for you. I want you to be our line of connection with them of course using your writing skills helping them bring their different groups and project concepts to life. Namjoon here has years of experience with networking and building professional relationships. He will be introducing you to the companies production team as they work on debut projects for the trainees there.”

I simply nod and Namjoon adds to the conversation.

“We have a team of people rather than an individual that helps with these things of course because there’s so much to do and many artists to handle. ”

“That’s right…” Nari points out. “I know we brought you here on the basis of just being one of our contracted writers but I know you are capable of much more and this just really feels like a great opportunity for you. I don’t think I’d trust anyone else with it if I’m honest. However it’s completely up to you if you feel comfortable enough accepting a bit more responsibility. What do you think?”

Trying my best not to fidget with the him of my skort or anything else that would make me look uncomfortable I folded my hands together and rested them on my lap, straightening my posture before replying.

“I think you’re right about it being a great opportunity….It’s definitely more than I would’ve imagined when I took the offer to work here. I’m really grateful and excited to be working with you…” I pause not sure if I should address him by Mr or just by his name.

“You can call me Joon. I don’t mind it.” He said smiling sweetly. “I really look forward to working with you too.”

“Thank you Joon.” I respond feeling less anxious and relaxing my shoulders a bit before Nari begins again.

“Awesome! Some work will be done here as usual but there are many occasions you will go to at the VIBE building to work with their team.”

“Yeah because our company houses so many artists and a lot of time needs to be split between them and it’s just easier if we don’t have to keep traveling back and worth to meet you here to go over things and as sets are being built for videos, photoshoots and performances… I’m sure you’ll be inspired everywhere you turn.” He adds.

“I can’t wait.” I smile thanking them both before I’m handed a business card from Namjoon as the meeting come to an end after Nari gets a call and excuses herself most likely to her office leaving the door open as I start to gather my belongs while he lingers a bit. It was silent for a moment before he spoke almost startling me.

“Man like this place is really something… I mean my company is definitely a place that draws one’s attention but this. This is dope. Really like…look at this courtyard.” He walks towards the window peering out. There were a few people walking through sitting and chatting.

I’m not sure why he was really sticking around but I had planned on going to my writers suite to work on a new song that I had stuck in my head and since we were done. I thought he’d be heading out too but I guess not.

“Yeah it reminds me of the place I first met Nari.” I decided to walk over and stand next to him to have a look. I quickly was made aware of how tall he actually was and made sure not to look directly at him as I’d feel really small even though I’m an average 5’5 in height.

“Yeah? How long have you know her?”

I was under the impression Nari would have told him when we met but I guess it wasn’t relevant to their conversation.

“About one year. 4 months. How about you?”

I feel his eyes on me. “I’ve known her since my trainee days. We are actually really close. It was easy to fill in for Lee Seojin because of our history. She seems quite fond of you.”

I let out a soft laugh. “Yeah well she sort of became one of my best friends but we still maintain a professional relationship most days. It has been none stop work since I got here and it only gets busier.”

“Trust me I know how it can get…” He says turning fully towards me now. “However, I’ll

make sure that you aren’t all work and no play.”

I raise an eyebrow at him only glancing for a few seconds before looking back out the window.

“I meant you will have a fair work life balance. I mean how do you stay inspired to write if you don’t have experiences to write about?”

“Right.”

I nodded in agreement. Most of my songs I write are about personal experiences or experiences that friends or family have shared with me. My imagination on it’s on wasn’t always enough. I’d end up writing about the same stuff over and over again.

“I’ve already invited Nari but there’s an art show happening soon that I think you should see. If you want to come?”

“Oh yeah sure I’d love that.”

I said and finally gain enough courage to face him directly and give him a friendly smile which of course he returns then looks over my head at the door which indicates he’s prepared to leave.

“Well I’ll see you around y/n. It really was nice to meet you.” With this he bows his head slightly then excuses himself out.

I waited at least two mins before exiting behind him to go to my writers suite where I wrote and played around with melodies on the keyboard and guitars that were left there for me to use as needed. Right before I turn to go up the staircase I spot Nari with Namjoon but this time instead of appearing like two professionals they were standing close enough to touch and whatever they were discussing wasn’t business related. I could tell by the blush in her cheeks and the deep dimples of his cheeks as he looked down at her affectionately. I giggle and make my way up the stairs before they saw me spying on them.

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Hours go by with me in my suite it’s nearly 8PM and my phone buzzes from a text.

I pull it off the desk in front of me and see a text from Nari.

Kim Nari 🪷: Hey I’m getting ready to head out. What are you doing for dinner tonight?

Y/n 🥀: hmm I’m not sure tbh any suggestions?”

Buzzz Buzz

Kim Nari 🪷: I was thinking since it’s a friday night you’d want to have a night out? Before schedules start getting crazy. Which btw I will be sending you some calendar events.

Y/n 🥀: Yeah sure I’ve done enough writing for the day. I’ll book a ride home and meet you there after I change?

Kim Nari 🪷: Yeah sure I will send the address of the bar. See you there.

Buzz Buzz

I take a look at the address and grab my purse making sure to turn out the light as I exit the writer suite. No one else was still here besides me and the cleaners. I had to hurry home and get changed. I booked a ride share since of course my assistant was out and I didn’t know if I was ready to ask JK for a ride yet. There’s no reason for me to use him like he’s a personal driver. I’m just grateful he got me here this morning.

It takes them 10 mins to get here. I was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs and slide right in the back saying hello to the driver who was really nice. I arrive back home after 30 mins because of the evening rush. It’s now 8:40 pm plenty of time to get ready.

I slide off my shoes and hop in the shower before getting ready.

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JK

“Yah! Where are you bro?” Tae shouts over the loud music thumping rhythmically in the background as he staring drunkenly at me through face time.

I chuckled and shake my head at him.

“I literally just got here. Had to park the Harley in a good spot.” I say as I continue locking up my helmet to my bike. Tae and Jimin invited me out tonight to this new club. I only agreed because I literally had nothing better to do and I needed something to get my mind off of my new neighbor. I hadn’t heard from her since this morning. Not that I’m keeping track or anything but I don’t know… I sorta thought she would use my number since I gave it to her and told her to call if she needed. I guess I shouldn’t expect to be needed? She barely knows me and I just so happened to do her a favor because it was just the right timing to do a good deed.

“Hurry your ass in here! Maybe try and get laid tonight too. You’ve been hiding away from us for 2 weeks.” Tae shouts at me and I roll my eyes. I know I didn’t need to show up to work for a few more days so I just enjoyed the alone time and bonding with Beaumi. I’m not really that into taking random girls home to expend my energy and kick out immediately after.

It’s too risky to do that anyway. There’s always someone lurking around with a camera waiting to take the perfect photo of me to try and expose me for shit that normal people do everyday, like breathe.

“The only one trying to get laid is you. Also I haven’t been hiding from anyone.” I state as I start to walk towards the back entrance of this bar just like Jimin instructed me to do. There was a tall guard standing directly in front of the door dressed in all black with matching black shades so you couldn’t see his eyes. He sees me and immediately steps aside to let me pass.

“Anyway I’m coming inside bye.” I don’t give him a chance to respond and nod a thank you to the guard and step through the red door. It was nearly pitch black but floor lights lined the floor just enough you could see where you were stepping and two doors with lights right above them one to the front

of the bar the other probably some sorta of dressing room or storage. I could not only hear the thumping music but I could now feel it. This meant the DJ booth was somewhere close by too. I stepped through the door to the front.

Neon lights and beams light up the place just enough you could make out the silhouettes of everyone and find your way to the bathroom and bar but if you were looking for faces it was a bit hard to see. I squinted my eyes as I try to remember the directions Jimin gave to meet them once I was in. The floor was huge and crowded but it had a second level peering out above it. I turn to my right to find a set of stairs the opposite side of where the DJ booth was indeed located on a raised stage and made my way up. The lights were a bit brighter here and I could see thee drunk Tae dressed in a red suit no shirt with only a few buttons keeping him from being completely exposed, with slicked back blonde hair with dark roots. Throwing back what’s probably like his 20th shot of alcohol.

Jimin sits to the side away from him on the black leopard patterned lounge sofa. His hair slicked back a bit more messily then Taes and he was dressed in all black a mesh top underneath exposing just enough to look the way only Jimin could. There were a couple of random girls and guys sitting or standing next to them. Specifically one guy dressed in all white the complete opposite of Jimin with messy long hair staring at him from behind his glass of alcohol while he leaned on a near by wall. Jimin completely unaware I chuckle to myself and make it over to them.

“I see you definitely got some eyes on you tonight.” I tease as Jimin looks up confused. I tilt my head over to the admirer and one look from Jimin was all it took for the guy to shyly excuse himself intimidated by his beauty.

“Ah shit!” Jimin shouts a bit annoyed because he scared him away.

I stand there amused when Tae finally sees me and daps me up, barely able to do so without stumbling a bit and almost splling his entire drink on the girl sitting next to Jimin who was also staring him down.

“Woahh be careful dude.” I say as I keep him steady and pat him on the back. Giving the girl a super apologetic expression. Jimin quickly comes to her rescue grabbing a ton of napkins from the table offering to clean her up. She seemed shocked and just agreed. Probably because who in their right mind would pass up on the opportunity to be wiped down by Jimin in public? I shake me head even more amused before I try and direct Taes ass to sit back down and forceful handing him a bottled water from the table. There were so many empty shot glass and beer on the table my own stomach started to hurt and I hadn’t even order a drink yet. I’m definitely gonna need one dealing with this guy.

Tae sits with a grunt and unscrews the bottom lazily then chugs the bottle until it was flat then discards it on the table with the others, then lets out a big burp and had Jimin ready to scold him. Tae laughs at himself.

“I see you’ve wasted no time to try what

looks like the entire bar menu…” I say taking a seat on the edge of the couch. “What’s good?”

“What kind of question is that Kook?” Tae asks side eyeing me then taking a grip of my shoulder and shouts one of the servers over.

“Hey Reina! Get my guy here one of your finest beers.” He says winking at her.

“Sure thing.” She winks back walking away to get what he asked.

He of course took the opportunity to also stare at her ass. Which was barely being covered by the short skirt she was wearing. She was a tall girl, sporting a neck length bob, and you could see from the way her hair was parted behind her ear the hidden blonde streaks. She had a small but defined nose, lips just the same and her eyes were shaped like a foxes.

“You’re also clearly already well acquainted with the staff.” I point out.

“Ha yeah well. I’m gonna be trying to get a lot more than acquainted tonight.” He states as she comes back handing me the beer clearly hearing him.

“Hey Reina, join me on the floor?” He states as he’s leaned back on the couch manspreading.

She just stares at him almost unsure how to respond but of course…

“Take the lead I’ll follow.”

Next thing you know Tae springs off the couch taking her hand pulling her away to the dance floor. I shake my head and take a sip of my beer.

“So where the hell have you been?” Jimin asks scooting closer to me holding a glass of what I know is straight liquor.

I shrug. “I really just been trying to adjust back to normal. Trips to the gym, bonding with Beaumi, I’ve been to the office a few times but you know I didn’t really have anything scheduled during this time.”

He takes a sip of his glass before responding. “Yeah I admit coming back after all we went through it’s been a bit weird. Especially because there’s been a bit of drama surrounding the company. You know some crazy lady was plotting to take VIBE down while we were away?”

I shake my head and turn to him. “Who isn’t trying to do that? Like seriously even when we aren’t away.” I state.

“It’s ridiculous that so many people really can’t stand to see us be successful.”

“That’s the price of fame I guess.” I shrug taking another sip of my beer and stand up to lean over the balconies edge.

I squint scanning around the place taking in all the details of the club and just as my thoughts go to drift. Right in the line of a spot light pointed near the entrance, I see her. She was with someone who looked familiar. I studied her face which was freshly but gently coated in makeup as she turned her head to the person next to her I catch reflections of shimmer on her skin. She was wearing a sleeveless black laced dress, curls were hanging down brushing her shoulders, a big change from the bun she sported this morning. I gulp and a take another drink of my beer before looking her way again. She must have been looking about as well because we locked eyes and she looked just as surprised to see me. I lift my bottle in her direction as if to say hello and she smiles before being dragged away into the dark by her friend.

I smile to myself and take another sip of my beer before turning back to Jimin.

“You been down on the floor yet?” I ask him.

He stands joining my side peeking over the edge. Spotting Tae who was letting Reina grind against him as they danced.

“Not yet. I was waiting to let everyone get a bit more drunk before taking the floor. Tae has definitely accomplished that. We probably shouldn’t stay too far from him though. No telling what he’d get into without supervision.” Jimin states turning back to the girl on the couch holding his hand out for her. She accepts it as he signals me to follow him down.

I follow them but once we reach the others I can’t help but wonder where y/n went off to. I’m just there shuffling back and forth to the music nodding my head until I spot her by the bar. I tap Jimin to let him know I was going to get another beer and head in her direction.

As I get closer I can see her smile more clearly as she laughs at whatever her friend was saying. There was an empty chair two away from hers I silently take as she continued to talk to her friend oblivious to my presence.

“Haha I’m telling you…he’s so sweet and I’d been crushing on him for years even though we were just friends. We hung out at this art show together one time and he got to talking all this deep talk about what he thought the art meant and how it made him feel in relation to his current life and the lives he’s watched others experience. How it inspired him to write and I swear I had to have been so mesmerized by his words that I just stared at him until he stopped talking and smiled with those dimples of his. They definitely are dangerous. Practically illegal the way they make my heart skip. He asked me out on a real date and we have been sorta together.” He friend narrates her story to y/n as the bartender starts in my direction I slide my glass over for a refill.

“It sounds like you’re in love haha.” Y/n teases.

“Ha… yeah love… is a strong word y/n.” I couldn’t see her face but I can imagine the cringe on her friends face the way she says it.

“I mean if Namjoon wasn’t the person he was I wouldn’t have gotten myself into anything with him. I can’t say that I’m opposed to falling that deep but I’m just not there yet.”she finishes.

I furrow my brows at the mention of Namjoon’s name and shift slightly enough to try and make out her friend’s face. Which when I do, I immediately remember who she was.

This was the girl NJ had been spending a lot of time with even before enlistment. I knew her from our trainee days but I personally didn’t get all that close with her. She was always really nice whenever she’d come around with the company she was interning for, to chat business with Lee Seojin. Joon was apart of most of those meetings of course as the leader of our group. so naturally he got to know her more personally. Nari was her name. It comes to me now that I heard y/n say it in the elevator earlier today and when she was telling me about where she worked. I don’t know why I didn’t pick this up then. Probably because I was too distracted by the beauty sitting next to me now.

“Hmm I guess that makes sense. You always told me there’s more red flag potential here than there is green. Just from the conversation had with him earlier I can tell he’s a rare one.” Her soft voice carries on.

“Yeah veeeeery rare.” Nari chuckles.

“I can only imagine what’s it like to even be mutually in like with anyone. I haven’t even ever had a boyfriend.” she groans.

I lift my brow still eavesdropping.

“What? Seriously y/n? Never?”

“No… I feel like I’ve always picked the wrong ones. I always liked them too much and they never cared to get to know me and like me for me. They only wanted one thing and I stupidly thought I could convince them I was more and they would actually care.” She shrugs then sips her nearly empty drink.

What she doesn’t say is that she once allowed herself to indulge in the thing that they most wanted with one guy who she’d become friends with in college, before a crush developed and he broke her heart into pieces that she didn’t think could be repaired. After what he did to her she lost nearly all the motivation to believe she could ever experience a genuine connection. She lived in survival mode most her life too. So trust wasn’t all that easy for her to extend when it comes to romantic relationships. Her father was a non existent her mom couldn’t be there emotionally for her growing up because she was working so hard to raise her. Her mom was always too tired to do anything more than provide basic parenting. She loved her mom either way but she didn’t have the sort of bond with her as all her other friends did with theirs. She would spend lots of time on her own wishing for what could’ve been.

“Damn I’m sorry…” Nari says as my heart silently breaks for her knowing there’s probably more there than she is sharing and I take a peek at her.

She shakes her head waving it off twirling around her straw in the now empty glass. The bartender notices and attempts to tend to her.

“Would you like another miss?” He asks her. He was a simple looking guy slim frame, dark hair, dressed in black shortsleeved dress shirt and name tag.

“Yeah please.” I’m assuming she didn’t open a tab because she goes to pull out her card to pay but before she does I move just next to her at the bar addressing the bartender.

“Could you put whatever she’s had or wants tonight on my tab please?” I say completely aware that she’s probably in shock from experiencing yet another good deed from me in the first 24hrs of us officially becoming acquainted.

“Oh no… ha you don’t have to do that.” She laughs nervously as the bartender moves to fulfill my request.

I turn to her the corner of my lip turned up into a slight smile as she faces me now when he doesn’t acknowledge her reluctance to allow me to pay, looking shy the way she had the first time we bumped into each other the night before. Nari is looking at me too surprised of my coincidental presence but doesn’t say anything as I nod a hello towards her and she smiles in return probably not wanting to kill the moment with the acknowledgement that she knows me.

“Y/n I’m gonna go to the restroom before we hit the floor. Be right back.” Nari gets up before a reply could be rendered and makes her way through the crowd leaving us alone.

Y/n scuffs a little under her breath at Nari because she didn’t even know if I was a complete stranger or not.

“I know I didn’t have to. I thought it would be nice. The way it is running into you here.” I seat myself once more directly beside her never moving my gaze from her eyes. They were studying me now just the same. I couldn’t help but peep the fleeting sadness in them. I shift my eyes to her hands as she nervously played with them until the bartender was back with her drink and watched her take a sip.

“You know It’s really funny that we keep bumping into each like this. I’m starting to think it’s not a coincidence and I actually have a stalker situation at hand.” She jokes as she turns to me with her straw in her mouth as she takes another sip.

I glare playfully as I tilt my head feening as I’ve taken offense to her words.

“If I’m not mistaken I recall I arrived here first. So it must be you doing the stalking then?” I say with a challenging lift of my brow.

“Only a stalker would know exactly when I arrived.” She challenges me back, causing a cheeky grin to creep onto my face.

“Touché.” I poke my inner cheek with my tongue and advert my eyes to the dance floor before they find there way back to her face.

“So… uh… how was your day?” I ask her.

She snorts putting her drink down turning her back to the bar to face the floor.

“My day was pretty good. It wasn’t too busy I just had my meeting and discovered I’ll be taking duties assisting the production team at VIBE.” As she says this she side eyes me.

I feel the nervous heat trailing up my body. How am I going to hide from her who I am if she’s literally going to work under my nose and she’s close to someone who knows? I run my fingers through my hair. Which was still pretty long but I had decided to have it trimmed a little bit into a wolf cut earlier today to keep it a bit more tamed and to keep myself distracted from waiting for a possible text from the very person I’m looking at now. I sense her gaze on me as I do this.

“Oh so I’ll be seeing you not only in my living quarters but also at my place of work? Also like what are the chances we end up in the same bar,at the same time, on the same night?” I point out.

I hear her snort again followed by a breathy giggle. Why do I find that sound so adorable?

“You really are trying to make your case for the stalking allegations huh?” She asked amused.

I chuckle shrugging. “I mean you’re not really providing evidence that suggests otherwise.”

“Touché.” She mimics my earlier answer in defeat.

The music suddenly gets louder as Nari makes her way back to us. I stand up finishing off my beer. She sips the last of her drink as well watching me. I turn to her just as Nari reaches us glancing curiously between us two.

“Care to dance?” I ask them. Holding out my hand for y/n to take.

She looks at Nari for confirmation and she speaks up.

“Sure why not? We didn’t come to just sit on our asses. Let’s party!” Nari says beginning towards the floor bouncing her shoulders up and down in a playful manner.

We follow ending up not too far from the guys and their companions for the night. Tae sees us and gives me weird wink probably thinking I scored for the night. He taps Jimin to look over too but he just rolls his eyes at Tae and continues minding his business dancing. I laugh to myself and start to feel warm as the beer begins to hit me and I can tell the drinks are hitting y/n too as she starts dancing with Nari. The club played a mixture of Korean and western music but Feel something by Chris brown is what the DJ decided to slow things down with.

She sways her hips left and right running her hands up her side until her hands were in the air. I’m watching her intently as I dance to the rhythm. Nari was in her own world dancing and mouthing the lyrics and didn’t pay us any attention.

Y/n winds her hips in a circle slowly turning her back towards me but not quite touching me. My eyes trail from her bare back down her body studying the direction of which her hips go. The loose skirt of her dress following suit. I grip my bottom lip in between my teeth subtly daring to get closer as she feels my presence at her backside. She turns her head ever so slightly to look at me over her shoulder. I peer down at her taking in her scent as we dance dangerously close but still untouching. I glup as she turns to face me, eyes on my chest. Her body moves meticulously to the changes in the melody and she begins to dance into Nari whose back was turned into hers. I take my eyes off her hips and meet her eyes stepping closer as she reaches out to pull me in gently by my shortsleeved v-neck,silky, black shirt. Tattoos and muscles exposed. I raise a brow at her and she shrugs it off. Our faces were inches away now I could feel her breath on me. I reach to take her hand from my chest smirking at the surprised expression twinkling in her eyes as I pull it up to my shoulder and slowly grip onto her waist making sure not to move my hands anywhere else. I see her blush as a beam of light flickers past her face she focuses downward as we continue to dance into each other. I tilt my head courteously and take my hand from her waist, using hers to turn her around so her back was to me again. She takes the bait as Feeling lucky by Bibi and Jackson Wang starts to play changing the pace. I feel her lower half shyly brushed against my lower half but I didn’t push her to get closer.

Nari continues to dance along in front of her mentally noting the intensity we were creating on the floor. From the corner of my eye I see Jimin and Tae approaching with their dance partners following them. Reina holding a serving plate with shots. She offers us one and I take one for me and hand y/n one as our bodies part from each other.

“Wooahhh fuck!” Tae shouts after downing his shot.

Jimin of course takes his with a straight face as the rest of us scrunch our faces at whatever concoction Reina just handed us she disappears with the empty glasses before returning. Tae leans on my shoulder now taking a good look at y/n then back at me patting my back. I rolls my eyes and shake him off glad she didn’t notice because she continues dancing now with the other girls.

Jimin standing beside me also looks at her then at me. “Well well what do we have here?”

“No idea.” I shake my head grinning to myself after responding, not caring to entice them with any information about my new neighbor yet. Especially because I’m completely unsure what is happening here.

We continued the night taking more shots and dancing until we couldn’t anymore ending back up on the upper level trying to sober up at bit by eating some bar food. I was sitting back against the couch with my eyes closed trying to protect them from the lights y/n next to me struggling to eat the fries in front of her.

“Hey y/n I’m going to head home you coming with or?” Nari asks her as she grabs her bag to head out eyes flickering back and forth between me and y/n. I wasn’t aware of this with my eyes closed but y/n voice has my eyes fluttering open. She was clearly drunk.

“I..mhm..you go I need to sober up a bit more before I move anywhere.” She says laughing at herself as she misses her mouth as she tries to bite into the handful of fries she was holding.

Amused I glance over at her. Clearly not as affected by the alcohol.

“Jungkook…Can you make sure she goes home safely?” Nari asks me.

I look between her and her drunk friend and nod. “Sure.”

Nari glares down at me challengingly .“You better or I’ll have your head, got it?” She threatens.

I sit up nodding at her not really intimidated because I know she means well. “You can count on me.”

Satisfied with my answer she hugs y/n before waving at the other’s disappearing down to the floor.

I look over at y/n spotting an unopened water bottle, I grab it twisting the top before taking her hand placing it there for her to take a drink. She doesn’t fight it and takes a few sips in between eating the rest of the fries. I look over at Tae and Reina as she’s trying to sober him up from the 100 drinks he’s downed tonight. Which I know will result in the worse hangover of his life tomorrow when he wakes up but he will somehow magically recover to fully function at work.

I shake my head shifting my gaze to Jimin. He wasn’t nearly as affected by the alcohol as any of us. He was just leaned comfortably on the couch with his companions head laid on his chest watching the lights. He might not be unfiltered the way Tae was but I knew he wasn’t going home alone tonight.

Once I felt sober enough I help y/n up from her seat and say goodbye to them.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

After heading out the back entrance before the bar started clearing out, I walk her to my bike.

I wasn’t too drunk to drive it home and luckily I kept a spare helmet in the storage compartment hooked to the back of my bike. With one hand holding onto y/ns waist to steady her enough she doesn’t fall, I unlock the compartment and grab the helmet closing it back.

“Ok now you miss will need to sit in front of me so I can make sure you don’t fall off here.”

I help her sit on the bike with her legs swinging off to one side making sure her dress doesn’t lift. I feel a tug on my dark pants as I step back.

“Uh…” I start but see her eyes are closed when I look to her face.

Her bracelet was caught on the loop probably happened when I leaned over her to make sure she was on correctly.

She’s just there patiently waiting for me to take her away completely unaware of the current situation. Before I could let my mind drift off and acknowledge how peacefully cute she looked, I shake my thoughts away and untangle the bracelet ears hot from the weird placement.

I then place the helmet onto her head making sure the strap is secured. The helmet was a bit big but it would be enough to protect her if anything happened but I’d never let it.

I hop onto the bike behind her leaving just enough personal space between us. I loop my arms around her frame caging her in on both sides, grabbing the handles before setting the bike stand free with a kick, starting the engine it to go.

Her arms were rested on her lap. Which is not the best place for them as we have quite a lengthy ride to our destination.

“Before I take off completely you should hold on to something at least.” I say to her.

“…and you can lean back into me too if it makes you feel more secure.” I add with my nerves nearly taking over me.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Y/N

I felt warm and relaxed as I listen to JKs voice behind me. Just like the air was too…warm, so was the sound his vocal cords made while speaking. I hum in drunken satisfaction as I feel a breeze and follow his direction leaning back into his chest. I can feel his heart beating quickly but I’m not sober enough to question it. I hear him clear his throat, body stiffening slightly as I loop my hands around his waist for security as I was seated in a sort of cradle position in front of him and rest my head on his shoulder. His hands adjust their grip on the handles and I feel him relax a bit before he pulls away down the street back to our apartment building.

We arrive only 30 mins later entering the garage. The familiar wet rubbery smell engulfing my nose. I was nearly all the way asleep but as Jk puts down the break I feel the now cold air take over me as he strips away his warm body from mine bracing himself to climb off. I sit there pouting arms crossed with my eyes still closed refusing to move when I hear his chuckle. Only then did I open them.

“Did I disturb your nap?” He ask with this annoyingly attractive amused grin on his face.

I roll my eyes, sighing and slide off the bike slowly but surely. He takes my hand to steady me then reaches to unbuckle the big helmet on my head. I stare lazily at him as he does this studying his face as his brows furrow in focus. From his forehead to his lips and then…oh? The tiny mole underneath them on his chin. He finally gets it loose then lifts it from my head. I’m still staring at the mole because I can’t seem to get over how cute it was sitting there on his face. He looks at me confused. “Is there something on my face?”

I giggle and shake my head. “Nooo I’m just tired.” I lie and say knowing it didn’t make any sense to say.

He licks his lips looking into the reflection of the shiny black helmet before deciding to let it go before putting helmet away. Then we make our way to the elevator then up to the 6th floor. The elevator ride up was quiet and felt like it was going in slow motion as I lean against the wall closing my eyes again trying to take a quick nap until the door dings open.

“Mmmfh.” I groan and force myself from the wall that I wished was my bed. Jk was the first to exit the elevator watching me carefully as I make my way into the hallway. He doesn’t leave me to walk to my door alone and as I fumble over my feet, then with my purse for my keys he stands there patiently with his hands in his pocket. When it feels like ten years of searching blindly for them I pull them out and struggle to unlock the door. I feel his soft but slightly calloused hand on mine gently prying the key away and unlocking the door for me.

I turn to him. “Thanks.”

He bows slightly chewing his lip ring as he straightens himself. “Will you be alright getting yourself to bed?” He asks clearly concerned I would somehow injure myself on the way to my bed.

I give him a lazy smile as I step into my apartment. “I’ll be fine…good night Jungkook.” I said pronouncing his name correctly this time unlike the first time I’d said it. His face showed his appreciation for it before he steps away.

“Good night y/n.” He says before he turns to go the opposite end of the hall I close it once he’s opened his door and head towards my bed stripping away each layer of clothing as I do, deciding I could totally wash off my makeup in the morning as my head hits my pillow eyes closed for good tonight.

🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀

Thank you for reading 💜

xx JungkooksSnakebite xx

[ghostofcinders]

Chapter Opening Quotes for They Came from Witchford Academy!

They Came from Witchford Academy!, our Magical School RPG supplement for Onyx Path's They Came from the Cyclops's Cave! I pitched and developed, is currently going through the Editing stage. I don't have the permission to share previews yet, but I still want to give you all something since it's been a while since I talked about it (the development phase took tons of my attention!) So, here are the various chapter opening quotes, each citing one of the many piece of media that inspired us all during the project:

“The well-being of our students is our top priority. Which is why we send all our troublemakers to our new and improved detention pit.”

— Principal Bump of Hexside School of Magic & Demonics, The Owl House (2020 — 2023)

“I don't care about ancient history, I didn't come here to become one of those moldy old witches. It's no fun at all. I wanna be a cool witch like Shiny Chariot.”

— Atsuko “Akko” Kagari, Little Witch Academia (2013)

“This looks like a job for inadvisably applied magic if ever I saw one.”

—Terry Pratchett, Making Money (2007)

“It was only when Shona, in sheer fury, turned the carnivorous sheep among them that they moved. They ran, some of them with charming little white sheep attached to their legs or backsides and the rest shouting about monsters.”

—Diana Wynne Jones, Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998)

“Arch-sorceress Matilda Pilqvist. Enchanter of Livelihoods, Grand Alchemist of the Dark Communion of Halgar, First Bloodsister of the Order of the Black Candle, tormentor of the…”

“Yeah, okay, we get it. She’s accomplished and scary”

— Frida and Hilda, Hilda (2018 — 2023)

“I’m not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism.”

— Wednesday Addams, Wednesday (2022) This is barely a taste of the actual book, but I still think it gives off the right impressions!

[ferromagnetiic]

uta slams her hand down on the table to get his attention. and she grins proudly while she placed a clear box with holes pierced into the top on the table, shoving it closer to kid so he can have a look at the amazing gift she got him. inside this makeshift cage a big deep red stag beetle was waiting for him. “look at this one! it’s not a scorpion but isn’t it pretty neat? took me hours to catch it.” not that the leaves still stuck in her hair would give away that she might have dived head first into bushes and climbed trees to catch the little fellow. “it looks pretty strong so i thought i would give it to you. you couldn’t win beetle battles with just any beetle.” she nods along to her own words, then points at the beetle. “the red ones are special. and pretty feisty, it reminded me of you. happy valentine's day, captain!” ( kid pirates verse cuz captain deserves the shittiest coolest valentine's day gift in existence <3 )

                    【 𝐕𝐀𝐋��𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐘. 】                     @melodysian 【 Uta. 】

          As if aware of the introduction, the ruby insect in question seems to deliberately shift into the overhead glow of the candlelight, reflecting the warm yellow tones across its glossy exoskeleton. Though it barely moves an inch, the sheer mass of the beast combined with the sight of oversized pincers lined with studded teeth would cause one to associate it with a dangerous nature; something that could, if provoked, cause notable harm. It should go without saying that Kid is enamored with the gift. He leans in to the clear container to get a closer look at the specimen, taking in the sight of it from different angles. Taps the glass with the tip of an equally red nail, trying to tempt the beetle into further movement.

     ❝ Right beast, he is. ❞      He decrees, a signal of his approval accompanied by a smile that displays both rows of his teeth.

     ❝ He's a fighter, then? A bitey one? ❞      It would be for the best if he is a fighter, as she claimed. God knows he was prone to unintentionally squishing tiny creatures whether he intended to or not — he wasn't known for having an especially delicate touch. If the beetle were to survive under his care, it would need to be determined to cling to life.      Kid would not state this information to Uta. He will do his best to care for the bug to the best of his abilities. Perhaps he will make a larger container for it in the near future so it has more room to roam. He ponders over this for a few more moments as he continues to admire the red stag, before finally drawing his attention back to the girl before him.

     ❝ Damn nice of ya.      He'll get a nice spot on a shelf in my workshop. ❞           Placed somewhere he could be easily admired. A very high compliment from the surly mechanic.

Before Kid returns to seating himself upright in his chair, he extends his right hand towards Uta's two-toned hair; plucks a dry leaf from her bangs, then looks at it trapped between his fingers.

     ❝ ...Hold on, before ya go. ❞

A few pieces of silver scrap metal scattered over the floor begin to hover closer to him; all odds and ends he had been intending to save for a future project, now being put to another purpose. He draws a thin sheet of steels to his hands, and begins to effortlessly contort it like he was handling paper. Magnetized fingers fold and bend the material with ease, smoothing down previously sharp edges, reshaping the item like wet clay. He works for a few minutes, carefully fussing over his ongoing creation without another word until it's finished. The metal groans and creaks under his command and progressively shrinks into its new shape.

When he is finally satisficed with the product, he presents it to the musician seated across to him on a flat palm. A shiny silver hairclip, with a little metal beetle attached to the front. It's not quite as intimidating as the one she brought to him, admittedly; it borders more into a simple and cutesy idea of a beetle rather than bearing a ferocious appearance. Still, he thinks it's fairly obvious what it's supposed to be, and that's good enough. It'll keep those bangs out of her eyes, and maybe then she won't get quite so much foliage in her hair when she goes bug hunting.

          Kid drops the hairclip into her lap with a flick of his hand.

     ❝ Gift for a gift. We're square, now. ❞

[turboacek-blog]

Elements the main line Pokémon games can/should take from spin offs

Just my opinion and thoughts

Written before Scarlet and Violet's announcement just didn't fix some grammar and spelling errors lol

Due to their nature as spin-offs they can be looser with the rules of the world or expand on the world while still staying true to Pokémon as outside of maybe a few all Pokémon games can arguably all fit in the same world

And most of them outside of the gameplay offer something that makes them unique

So these are just ideas from each game that can maybe go to the main line games

Pokémon Snap/New Pokémon Snap:

Many of the games try to incorporate some aspect of photo taking such as HGSS with the camera guy that took a pic of you and your current party, Alola’s photo spots, etc

I think incorporating a photo mode in the next Pokémon Amie/Camp/etc. can go a long way for players

And with that, they can incorporate the social media thing they had in New Pokémon Snap into the games as well especially with the Sword and Shield trainer card maker as a basis for posts, sharing, and such

The last thing is Illumina Pokémon

Art: 

There are aspects of them that feel like they could go more in-depth with this idea and other times it just feels like a different shiny Pokémon, I think there’s something it could be used for maybe like Totem Pokémon and can have slightly higher stats or be used in Contests/etc I think they have nice designs and offer something visually more appealing than totems and alphas while not being almost completely different like shinies

Mystery Dungeon

Pokémon as the playing characters for stuff like the Poke Jobs in SwSh could work

One idea that I’m taking from Chuggaconroy

Video here 5:53 if the time stamp doesn’t work ends around 9:07

Essentially saying in Mystery Dungeon pre-evolved Pokémon are still useable the whole game as the evolution stat increase isn’t as big as in the main line games making evolving not as big of a deal as it really just matters what level you are and what moves you have

So having a way, an item, key item, etc that allows a Pokémon to have their evolved stats but keep their pre evolved appearance like Bulbasaur with the stats of Ivysaur or Venusaur. Similar to wearing a skin in video games. That way everyone kind of wins as many prefer their cuter or different stages and only evolved their Pokémon to beat the game. It sounds like such a big thing that it would be a mechanic like Mega evolution. But I think there’s someway that can make it so simple it won’t demand that much attention. As seen with another idea later

The unevolved “skin” can have some downside like Pikachu has Raichu stats except for HP for example kinda like the opposite of Dynamax making it better but not as good as just evolving regularly or like Chugga said it not being able to be used online or in competitive VS

And other things in Mystery dungeon that kind of got stuff in the main lines are based but that’s essentially the starting house or secret bases in the Hoenn games/underground in Sinnoh games having that feature be more permanent/recurring would be nice

Pokémon Unite

Holowear

All those costumes you’ve seen the Pokémon wear are called Holowear as explained in a comic it’s just a hologram projected on the Pokémon so it’s not in the way of movement and battling and weight, etc as it’s not there

Holowear gives the dress-up aspect of Pokémon people love as we have had examples like Cosplay Pikachu and with a lot of other examples like sunglasses Squirtle

Pokémon unite also just falls into the recurring category of having more to do with competitive Pokémon besides Pokémon trainer battles

Pokémon Go

Costumes similar to Holowear as a lot of the event Pokémon had some costumes only available in Pokémon Go that were cute or at least nice to have

Overworld, stuff like pokestops to get small rewards can be nice, and also stuff like confetti falling on Pokémon day is nice

Pokken Tournament

Shadow Pokémon, can also fall in the Pokémon Go and Colosseum/XD, I think outside of story reasons having corrupted Pokémon to purify can give a modern Legends Arceus alpha and noble Pokémon approach with a Shadow Mewtwo/Lugia as the last boss

Another shake-up of how to be competitive with Pokémon

Pokémon Café Remix

Another costume one but on a lesser scale as they’re like Pokémon Go’s

Cafe in the Pokémon games for Pokémon to get benefits for the Pokémon as most are just there for decoration and in SwSh can get some of the treats

Also can be a side job in some games you keep coming back to a place and it gets better/bigger the more you do it, like park avenue but on a café scale

Magikarp Jump

Patterns

Magikarp had so many different patterns and it makes sense as especially in the anime we see Pokémon with slight differences so stuff like that gives some more uniqueness to each Pokémon but is also limited so it won’t be a Spinda situation

Pokémon Masters Ex

Another one that can fall into more ways to be competitive with Pokémon and can also be a unique redux on triple battles and costumes but on the character

Past characters appearing, characters like Red, Rosa, etc having more character and speaking, etc is great and also makes me want them to be in more games as nice appearances kinda like in Sun and Moon with Cynthia Wally Red, etc but don’t always have to relegate to postgame or super bosses as having them on the story is nice

Sync moves and Unity attacks, very much like Z moves but for everyone can be a way to not make them Alola exclusives

Pokémon Ranger

Alternate ways to catch Pokemon, don’t have to be exactly like Ranger but I think getting them can be more story-driven ways that do not gift Pokemon just because plus they are optional 

[bradshawsbaby]

I know top gun maverick has almost been out for a full year (in a couple months) but I’m still just as obsessed with it/ loving it since I first saw it. I don’t think it will stop anytime soon.

It’s so crazy to think that it’s been almost a year since TGM was released! I remember telling my co-workers when I was going to see it in theaters for the first time. It’s wild to think how much it’s changed my life since then. I literally took a trip to San Diego in September all because of Top Gun 😂

I think all the “end of an era” comments have more to do with the fact that since the Oscars are tonight, awards season is coming to an end, which sort of feels like the closing of a chapter. There won’t necessarily be as much media attention or spotlight on the movie as there has been over the course of the past year.

That said, I think it’s awesome that the TGM cast has become as close as they are, and I’m confident their experiences with each other and with making this movie are things they will continue to share about! And I love that this fandom is so supportive of all their projects, not just TGM, which definitely keeps the fandom alive.

Just because it’s the end of awards season doesn’t mean it’s the end of the fandom! I hate the idea that a fandom has to die just because it’s no longer brand new and shiny. I’ll definitely still be here!

[bohemianboynton]

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime (Lucy Boynton x fem!reader)

So, it's been a long time since I've written something. I know. I haven't forgotten about this blog, don't worry!! I'll work on another Lucy fic I have, and then I'll probably open requests again.

Without further a do, enjoy this little fluffy Lucy Christmas blurb I wrote!

Feedback here and on AO3 is very much appreciated!!

----

“And… Done!” Lucy said as she stood back to admire her work. 

The tree was decorated so beautifully: ornaments placed neatly on each branch, a beautiful, shiny star on top, and the ropes of lights twinkling all over. 

Your phone was on the kitchen counter as you baked the cookies, playing timely Christmas music as you pulled the tray of gingerbread out of the oven. 

“The mood is right

The spirit’s up

We're here tonight

And that's enough”

“Looks great, right?” Lucy called out to you, getting your attention.

You raised your head up and turned towards her and the tree, and you couldn’t help but smile.

“Looks amazing, Luce.” You replied. 

You set the tray on top of the stove, and walked over to her, apron and oven mitts still on. 

“I love it so much. But not as much as I love you.” You gave her cheek a little peck.

She smiled and kissed you on the lips briefly in return. 

“Everyone should be here in a moment.” Lucy chimed, excitement in her voice.

The music blaring from the speakers was interrupted by the text notification noise that you had set for Joe. 

You walked over to the counter and checked your phone.

“On my way to the apartment. BTW, what should I get Lucy?”

“Anything she might like. I’ve bought her a pearl necklace, so jewelry is off the list.” You added an emoji conveying silliness to the text and sent it. Joe had been so busy with his new project that he had forgotten to buy everyone presents. 

Suddenly there was a familiar voice yelling through the apartment door. “Hello?”

“Come on in, Rami!” You shouted out. 

Rami walked in the doorway, holding some neatly wrapped packages and bags in his arms.

“Oh! Do you need any help with those?” You asked. 

“No, thank you, I’ve got it.” Rami grunted as he struggled to hold all the parcels at once.

He finally found the counter, and placed the presents on it, careful not to drop any of them.

You rushed over to the kitchen, took your oven mitts off and helped Rami move the presents around, in order to avoid any of them falling over.

There was a knock at the apartment door, followed by a familiar voice. “Lucy? (Y/N)?”

It was Gwilym. 

“Come in!” Lucy called out.

Gwilym came in through the door, holding a supply of snacks and drinks. “Merry Christmas!” he replied.

Ben was not too far behind, holding a load of presents. He peered over to the counter. “Damn it!” He exclaimed upon seeing Rami’s presents.

“Don’t worry guys, there’s still room for the presents on the counter, just hold on a second.” You chimed in.

—

Everyone was sitting around the coffee table, drinks in hand, cookies and snacks on plates in the kitchen, and all the opened presents on top of the table.

You opened the second to last present, which was from Ben. 

It was a pair of Ana Luisa earrings. Gold hoops the size of rings one would put on their fingers. 

You loved them, and you thanked Ben for them. 

Everybody was aware that you had the last present hidden, except for Lucy. 

“Is that the last of the presents?” Lucy asked, gathering discarded wrapping paper off the floor. 

“Actually…” You began, getting Lucy’s attention and motioning her to sit down on the couch next to you.

“...there is one last thing that I have.”

You pulled a smaller, but not too small, box out of your dress pocket and handed it to Lucy. Her eyes widened. 

“For me? Oh, (Y/N), you shouldn’t have!”

She took the box from your hand, and opened it.

The pearls of the necklace shone brightly in the Christmas tree lights.

Tears began to form in her eyes.

“Oh, (Y/N)! I love it! And I love you with all of my heart.”

She wrapped her arms around you and kissed your lips. The red wool of her sweater felt so good against your hands as you embraced her back. 

“I love you too, Luce.”

[separatist-apologist]

Will you explain Ariana's origins though?

Fine. A little Separatist-Apologist lore.

Back in May of 2021, I (new to the fandom), decided I wanted to write an elucien fanfiction. I knew almost nothing about the fandom and at that point had read like, 3 total fics across the different Lucien/Elain ships just kind of getting a feel for things. I knew two things for certain- I wanted Vassa to be Elain's friend, and I wanted Lucien to have a reckoning with his family.

And so I started Call It What You Want To

I knew I wanted Elain to have a Day Court friend and I wanted a reason to keep Eris around in later chapters, and so I very lazily dreamt up Arina. Here she is, for the first time ever, on chapter 6:

She took a breath. She could figure it out. Elain was certain there was more to her than pretty dresses and dancing at parties. She stood, prepared to find Lucien and force him watch her try on clothes all day when a soft knock interrupted her plans. Elain opened the door and found Helion, utterly shirtless and in a white kilt embroidered with shimmering gold, looking down at her with a too-bright grin for how early it was. Next to him was perhaps the most beautiful woman Elain had ever seen. Her golden skin rivaled that of the domes she’d seen on the palace itself, though it somehow paled when Elain took in her long, shiny blonde hair falling in a glossy sheet to her waist. Her meadow green eyes were peering back at Elain with open, unabashed curiosity.

One of Helion’s lovers, Elain decided, soaking in the woman’s bright blue dress. The hem cut to her mid-thigh and the strap twisted over one flawless shoulder, making her tan seem more prominent, more beautiful.

“Elain, you’re awake,” Helion interrupted Elain’s obvious ogling.

Elain nodded, turning her attention back to the High Lord.

“I planned to give you a tour today, but I’ve been detained so I thought I’d leave you in the very capable hands of one of my best scholars, Arina. She’s going to show you around, answer any questions, and generally make you feel welcome.”

Arina nodded solemnly.

I don't think she has a terrible amount of depth in that fic, and her and Eris mostly happen outside the periphery of the story. Originally, Elain had two female friends and I scrapped the other because I was losing track of all my characters. So she stayed, which kept Eris coming back, which was important given he later kidnaps Elain. Back then there weren't all these Eris ships to choose from.

And I HATED Azriel back then. If you re-read my earliest works, I almost never include or mention him, and if I do he's a massive (silent) bastard. I don't know if Azris was even kicking around back then but part of the why arina/why not Azris is I don't like Azriel. Occasionally, in a modern AU or when Fitz writes him with Eris but in canon and in most other works, he is just not it for me.

I did write Neris, later on- No One Likes A Mad Woman but that was pretty short-lived for me.

Anyway, when I was working on I Know Places, I was lamenting how I missed her and wished I had done more with her, and someone sent an anon saying. she could come back. And that was all the encouragement I needed. She has been in every fic I've written in which Eris is featured (minus the aforementioned Neris), because I like her. And she's fairly popular with the people who consistently read what I write, AND for those of us who have been hanging out the whole time, it feels like a group project almost.

And I guess lastly, my OC's are decently popular and creating and utilizing her convinced me to work more on my own original writing.

[thexwanderingxsouls]

@northernxstories​

It had been an eventful afternoon, to say the least...the very least. Frankly, ‘eventful’ was a gross understatement of how her latest assignment had gone down. As a photojournalism grad student and general beck and call girl of her department advisor, Cassidy had spent a good chunk of her summer semester chasing the oddest assortment of events across campus to build her portfolio at a moment’s notice from her advisor. From a student-organized dining hall sit-in to protest the removal of soda fountains from the lineup and a renaming of the university’s library in honor of some old/dead/white benefactor to covering the unusual amount of crows that had covered the campus as of late, she’d reached the point where she’d seriously considered gnawing her own arm off for something juicier to sink her teeth into. Finally, near the end of the summer and after a strongly-worded meeting with the department head, going over her advisor’s head (much to the woman’s chagrin), Cass had finally managed to snatch up what seemed to be a promising assignment: The coverage of a new artifact by a professor, something the university was clearly proud of as they’d set up a press event for the professor to present his findings at. 

The real press, however, had acquired the best seats in the house, however, and Cass had been relegated to the middle of the large lecture hall. Her camera was good, but not good enough to catch the intricate details of the gilded lettering of the large, leather-bound tome the professor had uncovered. The camera’s shortcomings in long-distance focusing, however, were forgotten as she took in the book, eyes going wide as she felt the strangest tug in the pit of her stomach as if she were being drawn to the book...no, more than that. It was as if the book demanded her undivided attention. She hadn’t realized how long she’d sat there, staring, transfixed by the aura of the book until the professor closed it with a sharp snap and asked if anyone had further questions. “Shit...” she muttered to herself, scrambling to focus her forgotten camera and snap a few shots before he covered it again and had an assistant take it out of the room before the crowd was dismissed. As the others filed out, murmuring excitedly to one another, Cassidy had to take a moment to catch the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her head felt dizzy and while the pull was duller now, she could still feel...something...calling to her, coaxing her, beckoning her as if it belonged to her.

The inexplicable draw mixed with her ‘rules are just guidelines’ approach to life in general was the combination that now had Cassidy moving through the silent, darkened building, trying to tread as quiet as a church mouse on the soft, leather soles of her boots. Even the muffled patter on the tiles sounded like a bomb going off to her cautious ears. She was willing to accept the consequences of her actions... that had always been her way as a rebellious child and now young adult, but it would still be highly inconvenient to have her efforts interrupted. At least she hadn’t had to literally break in. Being the pet project of the department head had its perks and that particular perk was the shiny silver key resting comfortably in her jeans pocket. Thankfully, she met no one on her way to the professor’s office space. She’d brought a hairpin with her, ready to pick the lock of the office should she need to, but the handle gave way easily in her hand. “So excited and yet he forgot to lock up his treasures...” Cass murmured to herself with a Cheshire Cat’s self-satisfied smirk perched on her lips as she tucked the bobby pin back into the messy bun of auburn hair atop her head. “His folly, my gain.” She adjusted her camera bag across her torso and reached for the handle of the door again. Just a few pictures, maybe a few minutes looking through the pages to try and figure out what the allure was...that was it. She’d get that done and get on her way. At least, that’s what she told herself as she slipped into the dimly lit office. There sat the book, opened as if waiting for her on a lectern. Carefully, she padded her way toward it, feeling that haunting call again in the back of her mind, like a slippery, slithering, silky voice urging her onward...  Wait...the room was lit? “Oh for fuck’s sake...” someone else had been here. Recently, she gathered, as her gaze caught on a still-steaming mug of what was likely coffee or tea sitting on the desk beside the lectern. She went to turn her back on the book and make a break for it but she couldn’t look away, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the tome. Had she even blinked in the last minute or two she’d been in there? Shaking her head to try and clear it, she backed away toward the door, feeling unease creep into her bones. She was so focused that she couldn’t stifle the yelp of surprise that tore from her lips as she backed into something...someone...distinctly not door-like. Instead of cool wood, Cass felt her back brush against a warm chest, felt a heartbeat for just a brief moment thump within before she seemed to finally break free of the book’s trance so she could spin on her heels. “Uh...hey there. I’m going to guess you won’t accept, ‘Sorry, I’m a chronic sleepwalker,’ as a viable excuse for my being here?” Caught red-handed, there wasn’t much use in trying to flee at this point. Instead, she lifted a brow at the person she’d run into, waiting to see if they’d call campus security. 

[lizzygrantarchives]

Spin or Bin, October 27, 2012

At the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore, Lana Del Rey, dressed in a simple yellow dress and red Vans shoes, welcomed me with open arms as I entered the room. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter shook my hands with a sweet smile. “Hey, how are you again?” she asked. She remembered me as I first met her when she played a show in Sydney three months ago. “Have you been busy? I hope you have been coping well,” smiled Del Rey as she sat down on the vacant couch. I really admire how down-to-earth she is despite being so successful. She made me feel calm and at ease, like a longtime friend of hers during the entire interview where she revealed that music is not her first passion and that the interview questions posed were ‘interesting’! (Thanks to our Twitter followers). Check out the full interview below!

How did you get the name Lana Del Rey?

When I was younger I felt like I wasn’t the person I was supposed to become yet. I had a vision for myself that was as beautiful as I wanted the music to be. I generally don’t deny my creative impulses so that was just one of those creative impulses that I had.

What can we expect after the release of Born To Die: The Paradise Edition, will you still be releasing another album?

The only thing I have really been working on is helping two directors score two different movies. It’s not too in-depth, just writing songs for two different films. Actually I have to call Universal to ask if I’m supposed to reveal the movies. One of the movies is coming out in June next year. What I really like to do is start writing music for films, it’s a really natural place for me. Most of the people I work with are already composers so it’s a good fit. That’s really the only ambition that I have.

You posed nude in British GQ magazine recently, what makes you do that?

I just like how beautiful naked women are. I love seeing girls’ skin in pictures. I have all the old Playboy magazines from the 60s and 70s. I love the look of girls with red lips and shiny skin. I am a big fan of the female form. So for me, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Why did you decide for your latest music video Ride to be so lengthy like a 10 full minutes?

I really love movies as much as I love music. When I made my first record, I felt like I have to tell my stories through words and now I wanna wrap it up by telling my stories through pictures.

How were your teenage years like?

They were interesting. I stopped drinking 10 years ago just because I felt like a person who like trying new things and feel different. You do things so fast, you end up having so many different lifestyles all in one short time. Aside from that, I always felt like I have been around for a long time. My mother said that when I was seven, I used to think that I was an adult. When I was at all the parties, I talk to people like they were my friends.

Did you expect Born To Die to have so much success?

When I made that record, I brought it to a lot of different record labels and they weren’t interested in it because it was sort of weird. It wasn’t party music, my music was more down beat. People who got involved in it kind of got involved with it as a passion project. My photographer was my sister and my little brother was helping me. I was making my own movie stills from videos I took from YouTube. I have been doing that for a long time so I felt like if it was gonna work, it would have worked a long time ago. So no, I didn’t expect the success at all.

How do you feel when you feel like you got the attention of people?

I think the attention came with such a negative spin on the other side. It never really felt like it was something I could sit back and enjoy. I felt more like I have to guard the songs and protect them to make sure their future was protected. I really believed in the record, the music and the producers who have worked on it. I felt like I have no idea what is going to happen now.

How did you find this lush sound?

I found this young guy named Justin Parker and he always brought me different chords that he really likes. Originally when I started, I was just recording songs in my room and sending it to people to put music to. But then I found Justin, he started bringing me chords for Video Games and I started free styling. Eventually, I started free styling on all my songs like Video Games, Born To Die and Ride were all done on the spot in one take. But other songs like Summertime Sadness and Blue Jeans, I worked slowly with different composers.

What was it like working with ASAP Rocky on the National Anthem video?

I love him! When I told him I wanted him to play JFK in the video, he was totally down for it. ASAP Rocky and Azealia Banks are the only people I relate to these days.

What was the quirkiest item you received from a fan?

A crucifix necklace that is also a help whistle. I wore it for one of my videos although it was weird.

Do you have any special name for your fans?

No because all the other girls have such good names for their fans. I don’t have any names for them but they do run the show. They know they are in charge. (laughs)

How do you cope with fame?

I really hope I still feel inspired to write the way I used to a few years ago. When I first found writing, it was really new. I felt like I was doing something no one has ever done before. In California, I take a lot of walks and I drive on my own. No one ever said anything to me and I have my brother and sister with me there. When I leave America, it gets a little crazier. To be honest, when I’m talking to people with interesting questions like this interview, that is really good. And then the rest of it, I’m not sure about…

Some of your videos are controversial, what’s your take on controversy?

That’s a really good question! I think I wanted respect more than I wanted anything else. I considered myself a writer because writing is my passion. I hope I would have respect from journalists. I don’t welcome controversy as much as I welcome more creative collaboration with amazing people. When I wrote the record, it seemed more like I was trying to capture a moment in time. But with Ride was a little different, that would seem really fucking weird to people. The rest of it I don’t think it is that controversial.

Who is Lana Del Rey beyond music and all these attention from the public? Who are you really?

Although I love music, it is not my first passion. When I decided to stop drinking 10 years ago, my passion was working with homeless outreach, drugs and alcohol rehabilitation. I lived in New York for 10 years so that’s my job for real. I would say music doesn’t really feel like my true calling.

What are your all time three favourite movies?

Don’t Look Back by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan’s 1965 concert tour in the UK. It’s fucking crazy! I love American Beauty and The Godfather part one and two.

You wrote a song called Ghetto Baby for Cheryl Cole, how did that come about?

We have the same boss at Polydor and they thought Cheryl would like the song so they played it to her. She loved it and decided to record it.

Many people tried to define your music, what will you personally call it?

I would say it is film-made, really visual and reflective.

Originally published on spinorbinmusic.com with the headline Lana Del Rey Reveals All In Intimate Interview: “Music Is Not My First Passion.” Click here to view photos from the interview, conducted on October 25, 2012.