#specifically dick saying that line ^ and following it up with him saying he can't be a boy wonder to anyone anymore

[hood-ex]

Went in looking to commiserate with Dick's need for independence. Came out feeling all warm and fuzzy over Dick saying, "I love you, Bruce, for everything you've done for me my entire life. And you need to know I always will."

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Playlist Love | Jungkook | Slow Down | Chase Atlantic

Play it again...and again and again and again.

Summary: Jungkook's party isn't exactly how he had envisioned spending his birthday so sneaking out with you was the only way he wanted to end his night. Based off of Chase Atlantic's discography. Specifically 'Slow Down', 'OHMAMI', 'HEAVEN AND BACK', 'Meddle About', 'Friends', 'Now' and I think that's it 😅 Pairing: Sunshine f!reader x Grumpy Jungkook established relationship (Written in Jungkook's pov) Word Count: 4k~ Warnings: Smut smut and more smut and explicit language ofc cuz it's Chase Atlantic. Jungkook is low-key a dick and hates everyone but has a very soft spot for the reader.

The music that seemed deafening on arrival has become nothing but a hum in the back of my mind, vision focused only on her. Watching the way she speaks, the way she smiles and specifically how tempting she looks in that dress.

"Aye birthday boy, you wanna beer?" one of the many guys who suddenly thinks they're my best friend tonight asks yet again. "Nah man I'm good" I say, scooting over when he goes to sit on the couch next to me, now stuck between him and the couple who have been sucking face for the past ten minutes.

This party although for me hasn't entertained me in the slightest. It's harsh to say but when my best friend is the one who decides to throw it it's more or less just another one of his usual ragers that have become less and less my style since I left college.

"That your girl?" the guy who's name I haven't bothered to learn asks, following my line of sight to her, dancing in a circle of girls that are just as intoxicated as she is, if not more.

"Yeah, she's mine" I mumble, loving the way those words taste on my tongue. "Nice" he drags out, clearly overcompensating for guy talk. He's drunk though so I guess I can't expect an original or coherent thought to come out of him.

As I tune out whatever else he's saying I opt to listen to the lyrics of a familiar song I've heard her play ad nauseam when we're together and I realize I had never fully digested what they're saying.

I don't know if you already know how But girl, I got the feeling that you know now You're buried in the pillow, yeah, you're so loud But I'm about to show you, baby, slow down

Visions of her with her face buried in a pillow entertain me. Back arched and ass up, the pleasure too much yet not enough, begging me to go faster but all I do is slow down. Pressing down between her shoulder blades to muffle her cries of protest since she's being way too fucking loud. Nothing stoping me from keeping a slow stroke going, denying her her release again and again until she's broken.

"Aye Jungkook" the guy calls out, knocking me out of my fantasy and bringing me back to reality.

"What?" I answer curtly, already sexually frustrated from those thoughts alone, leaving me ticked off. "That guy is trying to make a move on your girl" he say. My eyes although hadn't left her, fogged over with the illusion my twisted mind had created leaving me blind to the pitiful interaction in front of me.

I get up from the couch wordlessly and stalk towards the dance floor, weaving through the crowd haphazardly just to get to her and once I do I grab her wrist and pull on it a bit, making her stumble, her back now pressed up against my chest.

"Who's this?" I whisper in her ear, showing a sense of intimacy enough to make the man who had clear plans with her in mind uncomfortable.

She giggles at the ticklish feeling and leans into me once she's realize who it is. "Oh um, I dunno" her speech cutely slurred making me laugh at how much she actually didn't care to learn anything about him.

"Oh! Um what's your name?" she asks, no doubt feeling a little embarrassed and asking just to clumsily remedy the situation. "Jake" he replies dryly, sizing me up now instead of paying attention to her, knowing that he's lost the battle and the war.

"Well Jake, I suggest you find another girl" I say, turning her around so her focus is on me but in true drunk y/n fashion she never wants anyone to be left on a bad note. "It was nice meeting you" she says over her shoulder, his eyes going between her and I, my eyes in response wordlessly telling him to walk away and he does, eyeing the crowd to find another girl who might bother giving him the time of day.

"Hi Koo" she say happily, running her hands up my biceps and shoulders before locking her fingers behind my neck, trapping me in her hold. "Hi baby" I say softly, caressing her face for a second and noticing how warm she's gotten.

"You wanna come sit?" I nod my head towards the area I just came from, the couple from before gone, no doubt getting that room they should've gotten half an hour ago. "No, dance with me" she slurs, dragging out the first word, pulling me closer to make a point. My hands now placed on her hips while she gets lost in the music again.

Girl, just scream it out Tell me what you're thinking No, I wanna see you undress now I wanna hear you confess now

"You having fun" I ask, amused at how adorable she's acting, a dazed giggly mess. "Mhm so much fun. Are you?" she asks, not wanting to be the only one of us enjoying ourselves since technically it is still my party. "I am but I'd rather get outta here" I confess, having had fun at the beginning but this past hour or two has been excruciating, nursing my water to make sure I'm good to drive us home while watching her tease me without even knowing it.

"But my friends just got here" she says, gesturing to some people who had been here for long enough. "All of your friends have been here for so long. Which means we've been here for way too long " I argue and she shakes her head before realizing how bad of an idea that is, clearly having made herself dizzy from the way she stumbled, resigning to a pout instead.

"Don't look at me like that" I chuckle, kissing her pouty lips which she responds to right away, her clumsy kisses tasting like the many drinks she's had tonight. "What are my friends gonna think if we leave so early? It's your birthday" she asks, not realizing it's well past two am.

"I'm sorry to say this babe but I don't give a fuck about your friends right now" I whisper in her ear, my words making her shiver. "I'm sure what I've got to offer you tonight is a lot better than what they can give" I say, kissing her neck to prove my point leaving her humming in contentment.

"Lemme finish up my bottle then we'll g-go" she says and I chuckle while pulling back to look at her. "Do you even know where it is?" I cock a brow and when she opens her mouth to respond her brows soon furrow in confusion. "That's what I thought" I say and when she goes to protest I cut her off.

"You're not drinking what's in that fucking bottle y/n even if you did find it" and she closes her mouth, her pupils dilating just the slightest bit telling me that she's fully ready to listen now.

"Go get your stuff" I say patting her ass twice before spinning her around and encouraging her to lead the way. She refused to give me her things at the beginning of the night, claiming she needed her lipstick or whatever so she better know where it is or we're leaving without it.

I don't have time to fuck around right now when I notice how high her dress had ridden up her thighs, leaving me following very close behind.

She finds her purse and double checks for her phone that's luckily in there too and before she can start saying goodbye to anyone I'm dragging her out of the house. "You guys sneaking out of your own party?" one of the guys who's smoking a cigarette by the front door asks.

"Yeah can you tell everyone we left? If they even bother to notice" I ask, helping her clumsily walk down the front porch steps. "I'll tell em, Happy Birthday dude" he says and at that we're walking to my car with y/n slurring out a goodbye for the both of us.

"Why do you wanna go home early?" she pouts, dragging out the last syllable while I help her down into the passenger seat. "I don't like partying like that anymore. Plus it's already two am so I'm pretty sure we've stayed long enough" I inform her but she's still not one hundred percent convinced.

"But it's your birthday! I thought we were gonna take an Uber home?" she asks, now confused and a little concerned. "I stopped drinking a couple hours ago so I'm fine. I'd never put my girl in danger like that" I assure her, caressing her cheek for a second when she leans into my touch, retracting it and putting her seatbelt on a moment later.

"You okay?" I ask, checking her out...for safety reasons of course, but those bare thighs are making it so much harder to keep my thoughts to myself. "I should've let you have fun" she sighs, regretting not offering to be the DD this time.

"It's okay baby, let's just get home yeah?" I say and she nods, her lips still very much pouted in remorse for her choices. "Better suck that lip back into your mouth or I'll make you suck something else" I warn and she listens right away, knowing I'll make good on my promise and I smile when I see her rubbing her thighs together. "Good girl" I rasp and close her door before rounding the car to my side.

~~~~~

"Did you have a good birthday?" she asks after we've been driving on the highway for a while, taking sips from the water I bought her. "It's not over yet" I smile, looking over and seeing she's starting to sober up...barely. "But it's past midnight" she says and I shake my head. "It's not over yet since I still haven't gotten to unwrap my gift yet" I say scanning her body but she tilts her head at me.

"But I already gave you your present" she says, brows furrowed and completely oblivious to what I'm thinking. "Yes you did baby and it was a very nice gift but I'm not talking about that" I say, thinking she'll understand this time but with her still coming out of her drunken state she's not the sharpest tool in the shed just yet.

"What do yo-" she starts but cuts herself off when she feels my hand that's been on her thigh slide just the slightest bit higher and she flutters her lashes, sobering up just a bit more at the implications of my action.

"Is that okay with you" I ask, rubbing circles on her inner thigh to reassure her that it's her decision. We're both comfortable having drunk sex together but she knows she can always say no.

She stares down at my hand for a while, no doubt lost in a similar daze I had been in at the party not too long ago. "It's okay you don't have to answer now. Drink some more water and you can decide when we get home" I say, sliding my hand to rest just above her knee so she don't feel too much pressure.

After a couple of minutes of her contemplative silence I glance over and see that she's smiling to herself, a clear sign that we're both getting what we want tonight but I decide to take my hand off of her leg, opting to grab my phone and put on her playlist, the one that I've realized leaves nothing to the imagination.

Once we hit the first chorus I realized that this is the perfect one to get her to realize what I've been thinking about since we got in the car. From the way she changes her posture and glances over at me I know it's only a matter of time and when the second verse hits she's rubbing her thighs together again.

Bend it over slow 'cause daddy I know how you like it Backseat of the 'Rari pullin' over just to ride it

"You okay?" I ask her, noticing how she's bouncing one of her legs up and down, a usual nervous habit of hers but in this case it's to give herself some stimulation and we both know that. She nods and clears her throat to get rid of any nervous tone that no doubt would've come out of her and opts to nod.

"Okay" I smirk, going back to driving but I place my hand on her thigh again, stopping her ministrations and making her just as impatient as I've felt since that fucking song at the party...literally.

Hit one-fifty on the dash, I bent the corner Then she bent it for me sideways, uh I might have to fuck her on the highway, yeah

"Pull over" she mumbles and I smirk, thanking the artists on this song but making her say it again. "What was that? I couldn't hear you baby" I taunt, sliding my hand further up her thigh and squeezing it to reassure her since I know she's embarrassed.

"I said pull over" she commands which takes me by surprise but I do as she says, opting to take the next exit instead of the very reckless suggestion from the lyrics.

Once I get off the highway I find a secluded parking space in an otherwise completely vacant lot and turn off the car.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about?" I tease, turning my whole body to face her and the next second she's unbuckling her seatbelt and yanking on my collar to smash her lips against mine. Lips, teeth and tongue clashing, kissing each other breathless until she has to pull away, chest heaving and her bottom lip already starting to swell.

"We can wait until we get ho-" "No!" she interrupts me, her eyes opening with a glazed over look from arousal and her slightly intoxicated state. "No I wanna do this. Here. Now" she says, pulling me in for another kiss and I reciprocate it, my hands feeling for my own seatbelt to get it off of me.

I hold her face in place with one hand while the other is grabbing onto her forearm, pulling her over to to sit in my lap and when she gets the message I start pushing my seat back to make room for her but she still ends up landing her ass on the horn, making her bite my lip in surprise.

"Shhh" I chuckle, guiding her hips to sit on my lap instead, "You sure you're okay?" I tease, sliding my hands up her bare thighs, my fingers just barely slipping under the hem of her dress in case she says no.

She wanna fuck me, okay? She wanna know how it tastes

"Yes" she groans, clearly frustrated with me asking her again, shutting up any questions of doubt when she starts to unbuckle my belt.

"Someone's extremely impatient huh?" I say while she unbuttons my jeans, leaning back in my seat and lifting my hips for her so she can slide my jeans and boxers down, spitting on her hand afterwards and wrapping her hand around my dick, stroking it up and down at a lazy pace and taking control.

I hum and lay back, my eye half lidded and watching her as she takes special care to pay attention to what she's doing. "Feel so good" I encourage her, wanting to get her attention so she'll look at me, her lashes fluttering before she does, her bottom lip between her teeth from concentrating too hard.

"Come here" I say, caressing her face and tugging her lip free before kissing her, this time at a slower more sensual pace that matches the way her hand is stroking my length up and down, up and down.

"Fuck you're so good to me" I curse when her thumb runs along my tip, pulling away from her lips and kissing down her jaw to pepper kisses along the column of her neck, sucking marks into her skin when her hand tightens on my length and starts picking up the pace.

I groan against her skin and bite down to muffle the sound of any others coming after that but once I get too close I tell her to stop. "S-shit wait, wait" I say and she does, taking her hand off and looking at me, concern written on her face but I clear my throat and answer the question that's clearly written all over her face.

"Wanna fuck you" I say and slide my hand all the way up her dress, going to press against her clit and realizing there's no barrier. "You're not wearing anything under this?" I ask, raising my brow and getting the answer myself when I'm able to put a finger inside her. 

I pump it in and out until she starts to ride my fingers, adding another one but making her do the work. She shakes her head, resting both of her hands on my shoulders to keep her balance.

"T-took them off when you got me the w-water" she stutters, admitting to what she did when I went inside of the gas station. "You little minx" I chuckle, adding another finger and making her clench around them, a yelp coming out of her when she sinks back down, not expecting the stretch just yet.

"Thought it would be easier for when we got h-home" she explains, the innocence in her tone contradicting the way she's using my fingers to get off. "You we're trying to make it easier for me to fuck this pussy as soon as we got home. Didn't know you were as eager to get fucked as I was to fuck you" I hum, loving the way I've trained my girl.

I take my fingers out of her and she whimpers in protest. "Patience Princess" I scold, grabbing her hips so she'll hover over my length, taking one hand off to help line up with her entrance. She looks at me and my eyes flicker down to where she's hovering and when she starts to lower herself down she rests her forehead against mine, squeezing her eyes shut while her nails dig into my shoulders.

She lets out a whine and I can tell that the stretch is starting to burn from the way her walls are sucking me in. I hiss when she clenches around me, sensitive from denying myself of an orgasm in favor of prepping her to fuck sooner.

"It's okay baby, s-slow down" I stutter, nudging my nose against hers and grabbing her hips to stabilize her, gripping them so hard that my fingers will have left bruises for her to see in the morning. Her breathing is shaky when she takes in more, her pussy wrapped around my dick like it was made for me. 

"Just like that, doing so good for me" I say, brows pinched together when she clenches around me again, praise always having this effect on her. "Gonna be good and ride me on your own or you want me to help you?" I ask, tilting her chin up since her eyes have been focused on where we're connected, me being balls deep inside of her while she controls her breathing until she's comfortable. 

"Wanna be g-good" she stutter, her hands bracing herself on my shoulders before lifting her hips a bit, sinking back down on me before repeating the motion, her movements getting more bold as she finds her rhythm. 

Her tits bounce in front of me, adding another layer to this erotic scene but I need to get this dress off of her so I can see them, the top part basically slipping off already because of the strapless nature and the rumbled state it's in from not having more space to move around.

I slide it down and immediately place my mouth on one of her tits, grabbing the other one and toying with her nipple making her yelp in surprise, her mind focused on keeping a steady rhythm and forgetting that I'm able to explore her body while she does so. 

"It's okay baby keep going. Doing such a good job riding me" I coach her, placing a kiss on her open mouth, her face looking so fucked out already. "Fuck you're gorgeous" I groan, pulling her back into a deeper kiss, her gasping against my lips when I buck my hips into her.

"J-jungkook" she stutters, my name sounding so forbidden on her lips, little sounds of pleasure following, soon replaced with sounds of frustration. "Does baby want some help now?" I ask, running my thumb along her bottom lip, her lip gloss replaced with the swollen color sucked into it. 

She nods her head and shyly admits her need for me to take over, the sight endearing if she didn't have my cock buried deep inside her.

Gripping her hips again and urging her to move I lend my strength to keep the momentum going leaving both of us unable to hold back sounds of ecstasy. The squelching sound from the way her dripping wall suck me in making it hard for me to keep going. 

The thoughts of my cum dripping out of her and making an even bigger mess as she rides me being too close...too attainable to hold back for much longer. 

"Just like that, you're doing so well. Riding me and giving me such a pretty view. The only gift I fucking care about" I curse, the sight of her with her mascara running and her lashes damp from the pleasure being too much for her, mouth letting out unrestrained moans as she gets closer being just enough for me to hit that climax. 

"Baby you c-close? Fuck" I groan feeling her clench again, the sensation almost being my undoing. She nods her head and smashes her lips against mine, bringing me into a sloppy uncoordinated kiss, making me swallow her moans as the both of us finally come undone. Pleasure washing over us in waves as her walls flutter around me, the feeling of my cum dripping out of her being so disgustingly forbidden it's making me want more of her again. 

"Did so good for me" I soothe while rubbing her back as she lays against my chest, her mind no doubt still up on cloud nine from the way I felt her body reacting to me. "Made me feel so good" I whisper, kissing her temple and waiting for her to come back down to earth. 

"Baby?" I ask while feeling her relax into me, nuzzling her face into my neck. She hums in response before sitting up, making me hiss from the sensation, still sensitive from how well she rode me, my dick still very much buried inside of her. 

"You ready to go home?" I ask, wiping off some of the black tears that have almost slowed to a stop off her cheeks. She hum again and starts to fix her dress, getting off my lap and making herself whine from the loss of feeling full.

I tuck myself back into my jeans and then reach into the backseat and grab the hoodie I had back there and place it on her lap. She smiles sheepishly and slips it over her head, her body now enveloped in my scent with hers still very much all over me.

"Drink some more water" I say, picking up the bottle I got her so she can hydrate some more after the number she did on me. I put her seatbelt on her while she does as I ask, making sure she's fully secure before I fix my seat and put mine on as well. 

"How do you feel about your birthday now?" she rasps once we've gotten back on the highway, a lazy smile on her face while she admires me. "Like I said...it's not over yet"

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[fandomfluffandfuck]

Bucky choking Steve is my kink

Yeahhhh 😮‍💨

We all get it. We understand.

How could you not be into it?

For real, though, even though I've definitely thought a lot about choking kink and stucky before, this ask set off a bomb in my head 😏

Bucky. Choking. Steve.

Specifically, though, this hit me over the head with a hammer imagining that Bucky has a thing for Steve's neck. It's to the point where, if pressed, Steve might say that Bucky has almost a goddamn fetish for his throat. It's definitely a kink, if not a full-blown fetish.

Bucky can't help the way he's drawn to that part of Steve's body. It's instinctual. Immediately, unconsciously, when he's looking at Steve in lust, that's where his eyes are drawn. Appreciating the vision that he is, his eyes end up stuck right there under his square jaw but above his broad shoulders and chest. It's just so pretty. His throat. It drives him insane, he swears.

When Bucky has the fortune of having Steve in his lap, Bucky kneeling on their bed, Steve on top of him, his pretty, pert ass pressed back and stretched tightly around his cock, making Steve bounce on it--he'll have his hands on Steve's hips, gripping his tight little waist, pulling him down, spearing him on his cock as he faces him, but his eyes will be on his throat. He's watching him, completely enamored by the slow, heated creep of his blush, spilling down from his cheeks toward his collarbone, eventually reaching the tight peaks of his cute, pink nipples. Painting his neck red. Heated.

Steve starts in his lap--bouncing, bouncing, bouncing--Bucky fucks him so good, though, jolting whimpers and whines out of his huge chest, that he doesn't stay like that for long. Thighs flexing, hole clenching and twitching around his thick cock, chest heaving hugely, tits jiggling. It's too pretty. Soon, Steve can't keep himself upright. All those sculpted, curvy muscles turned useless once he's gotten some good dick in him. Brain melted. In molten arousal, Steve starts trembling, unable to keep the pleasure inside him, but it gets worse. It gets better. And right then, his back arches.

Oh, fuck, that gets Bucky every time--

Every damn time.

When he arches his back, trembling in pleasure, unable to hold himself together as he moans with his whole body, not just his voice, he throws his head back, and his neck is elongated--arched. Showing off. It does Bucky in. He can't take it. Steve's entire body follows his head, arching, thrown back until he ends up on his back; his whole torso bowed, nearly broken in half, as he's filled to the brim with dick. And somehow, the best part is his arched neck.

That pale, pretty column. Kissable and so grabable.

His neck. His heart is beating so fast that Bucky can see the pulse of his thick, hot blood in the viens that wrap around his throat just under the thin, delicate skin like ivy across a brick wall. Steve moans high and pretty, the sounds fucked right out of him, ah, ah, ah, his noises never getting stuck in his throat. His Adam's apple moves entrancingly when he swallows, when he chokes, when he presses his head back into the pillows so overwhelmed.

God.

Bucky wants to eat him alive.

He wants to bite that neck. It's mouth watering. It's gorgeous. The sharp, square shape of his jaw, the smooth, unblemished, blushing skin stretched over his jawbone, flowing down his throat, his collarbone, and the tendons and muscles in his neck. It's all so unbearably alluring. Bucky swears he could write fucking sonnets about the heady attraction he feels for Steve's neck. He wants to lick and mouth at those gorgeous lines of bone, tendon, and muscles until they're glistening with sweat and spit. Glowing. Like they should be. He wants to trace those lines with his fingertips and dig his nails into them, just to hear Steve gasp. He wants to bite marks into the thick muscle between his neck and shoulders until he's bruised like a peach. He wants Steve to never wear anything again; he wants Steve to only wear tight, low neck t-shirts, and he wants everyone to see where he's had his. Where he's bitten and gabbed Steve because he wants him so badly.

He wants him. Viciously. Vivaciously. He can never get enough of him. He's a drug that Bucky is begging to overdose on. Take him out.

Bucky wants to collar that fucking throat, to own it like he knows he owns Steve but... he almost can't stand not being able to see all of it.

All of his neck.

Shit, Bucky has it bad. Even when he has his hand around his throat, he's thinking about what Steve's throat looks like naked. He's thinking about Steve turning his head to the side to crack his neck, exposing himself, he's thinking about Steve shaving in the morning, baring his throat to draw that sharp, gleaming blade down it, he's thinking about Steve tipping his head back to down a beer, throat contracting beautifully, he's thinking about the way Steve looks head hanging off the side of the bed as Bucky fucks his throat, bulging his neck with his cock, stuffing it down, he's thinking about Steve falling asleep on the sofa with his head tipped back, innocent and sweet but so perverse, he's thinking about Steve when he used to get colds, small and sharp, his tendons and collarbones sticking out so pretty, able to cut glass, and he's thinking about how when his cold left his voice hoarse, his hands would always come up to rub his throat like that would fix the ache from the outside. Yeah. He's thinking about Steve's neck. It's hypnotic. How could he not?

Bucky loses it over Steve's neck.

Bucky goes feral over his neck.

Up there with fucking his throat so deep that it bulges and Steve sputters, his eyes all glassy and hazy, Bucky's favorite is painting Steve with a pearl necklace. He can go from soft to achingly hard in an embarrassingly short amount of time with the motivation of Steve sliding to his knees, his lashes sweeping as he glances demurely up at him, sticking his chest and throat out, begging for his cum with those plush lips. Light-headed, dumbfounded by the way Steve goes from shy kitten to slutty minx at the snap of fingers. Because that's the thing--

Steve might claim he's clumsy and he can't dance, saying he's got two left feet without any rhythm, but the moment Bucky gets him out of his head, fuck dumb, submerged in boiling lust, he turns into a swan.

All pale skin, all grace, long, powerful limbs surrendering to Bucky's will with nothing more than an involuntary tremble of bliss--feathers ruffled. All Bucky has to do is touch him right, and he yields to him. Arching and stretching, swooning into the touch. He coos soft and breathy, "oh, oh, ohhh," with his hip jerking up, thighs shaking, and his back arching, his throat slim and long and gorgeous, flushed pink. Baring, curving, exposing his neck like an offering.

An offering Bucky can't resist. There's just something about Steve's neck that turns him into an animal.

How did this choking kink ask turn into an answer with hardly an actual hand-on-the-throat action?? 💀💀

[gffa]

I AM GOING SO FERAL OVER THE CHARACTER ARCS IN URBAN LEGENDS BECAUSE I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. There are two stories that are written by different authors and complement each other in ways that hit for me JUST RIGHT because it ends up showing such an interesting portrayal of how complicated relationships aren't a single straightforward line in how they act towards each other. In "A Carol of Bats", Bruce is being grim and sullen, so Tim tries to get Dick to deal with him, but Dick says he can't, he's done that over and over, it never lasts, and ultimately he started sacrificing his own future to keep Bruce from being consumed by his past, that Tim needs to be careful with this, too. But then we see Dick went ahead and called Bruce anyway, he stepped back in when he was needed, and we see Bruce stepping back from the ledge, hugging a scared, hungry man from the mob, organizing a dinner for those who are starving--but more than that he also tells Tim (who gets him a present to try to make him happy), that he's already happen, that Tim being his son makes him happy, period. Then a different arc starts up and it's such an emotional follow-up, where "The Murder Club" has Thomas and Martha Wayne coming forward in time, disapproving of what's become of their son, and Dick stomping all over the sacred ground of Bruce's feelings about his parents, to say that they'll come around, once they understand what Bruce has done for all of them, what he's done for Dick specifically. And Bruce agrees! Even having just been emotionally sucker punched by his parents, he's come far enough that a three-minute speech by Dick Grayson where he refuses to not be important to Bruce, that's enough to have him step back from the ledge. It's almost easy in comparison to previous times! Because Bruce has been working on it! The whole arc is about Bruce having a chance to literally return to the past, to live a life with his parents, to be able to choose his parents over everything he's built--and he chooses the present. He chooses his sons and father figure, he chooses Alfred, Dick, and Damian.

And he acknowledges the burden that his trauma and poor mental health have put on them, Dick especially (though, Tim and Damian are part of this as well, and Jason had his whole arc earlier in the series):

AND I'M JUST??? LOSING MY MIND OVER THIS CHARACTER ARC?? I have no idea how intentional it was or if it was just two writers who actually get the characters, but that it's not a smooth path to navigate dealing with a man like Bruce, that there's always forward steps and backward steps, that there'll be progress and there'll be backsliding (because THAT'S HOW SHITTY MENTAL HEALTH WORKS, that's how emotionally complicated relationships work!), but they all get up and keep trying to do better for each other and themselves. That these two stories show an arc of Bruce slowly learning to handle his breakdowns better. That he lets them in faster, he reaches out himself faster, he holds onto them faster. It's not about turning their backs on Bruce, it's about saying that they can't make him be happy at the expense of their own lives, but then we see him literally turn away from the past for them, of course they're right there, they love him, they want to be here, they show up when he's willing to meet them halfway--and Bruce does. Because that's who the character is at heart, someone who is traumatized to hell and back, that trauma is often violent and ugly, but he keeps getting up and trying again for those he loves, for those he needs to be better for. That means sometimes he missteps. He'll misstep again in the future. People will have to take a step back from him in the future. But they'll all dust themselves off and try again because he genuine makes an effort for them, not just to save their lives, but to be emotionally available even when it's hard fucking work and he can't punch his way out of it. Bruce Wayne is a character that is at his most resonant for me when sometimes he's a shitty dad who then has to work to be better, that if he never mistepped, his character wouldn't have nearly the depth he does. This Bruce Wayne means the world to me because it's so hard to do this kind of work, so much harder than punching things, and yet he keeps doing it, even when it hurts, because his family deserves him to really try for them. And he does! He'll be an asshole again in the future, but when I say "Bruce Wayne is a good dad", it's because of this, because even in the middle of that 530 different flavors of fucked up trauma brain he has, he still says his kids' emotional boundaries and overall wellbeing and happiness matters.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

X♡X♡ [SEVEN DAYS] Day 2 (Teaser)

You can see how much he enjoys this. He's talking to you like the snake talked to Eva in the garden of Eden- and you're willing to bite the forbidden fruit just like she did, if it means that he'll look at you for just a little bit longer.

Tags/Warnings: Porn with a lot of plot basically, inexperienced!reader, Dom!Jungkook, BDSM themes and elements, sensual dominance, bondage/restriction of movement, use of color system (explained in story), oral (male receiving), light gagging, praise kink (reader), big dick!JK but what's new, corruption kink (JK), light orgasm control, Subspace, aftercare

Length: ???

A/N: don't think I'm not working on this haha

-> Masterlist

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His hand on your chin, thumb almost gently running over your bottom lip, before he dares to make you open your mouth, his finger on your tongue. Throughout it all, your eyes stay on him, just like he told you they should, and you can feel something happening to you you didn't know was possible.

You feel like you're reaching your peak just from this alone- the sight of him, your hands bound behind your back, the knowledge that he's entirely bare in front of you. You want to see him.

But you wait. He's in charge, after all.

"So pretty.." he chuckles with eyes dark, licking his own bottom lip until the tip of his tongue plays with his piercing a little, while he watches you struggle to stay calm. His hand leaves your face, before he seems to think-

Just for a second though. He won't go there yet- slow steps, steady progress, no rush, he reminds himself.

"Look at you, so patient." He praises, and your breathing picks up at the sound of his words, eyes sparkling. You're so cute, he thinks to himself. Dangerous, most of all. "Tell me what you want." He commands, and you swallow, before you speak.

".. you." You answer. He chuckles.

"I'm right here." He snickers, amused.

"No, like.. I want-" you say, looking down his chest, his stomach, muscle defined as you reach his belly button, before the prominent V-Line greets your vision, soon followed by his hard length fully erect. It twitches once, and you can't look away.

"Eyes up, darling." He demands, and your gaze snaps back up, earning a pleased smile. "Good Girl." He grins. "Now, I'll ask again. What do you want?" He asks, and you have to physically force the words out of you.

"I want you inside my mouth.." you tell him, and he tilts his head to the side, faking innocence.

"You'll have to be more specific, darling." He purrs down at you, hand around your neck angling your face upwards to straighten your back, fixing your posture for you. It helps- though the simple touch around your throat makes you clench around nothing, oddly enough. It's clear that he's slowly increasing the intensity of the powerplay- no longer as easy to convince.

You've probably already leaked onto the sheets underneath you. And you couldn't care less.

Maybe it's the way he's gotten you to straighten your back in an almost confident position. Maybe it's the praise getting to your head. Or maybe you're just being consumed by your own lust. But suddenly, your words aren't so hard to say out loud any longer as you speak.

"I want to please you." You say, and it catches him off guard a little. "Please let me have it.." you plead, and in this moment, he doesn't care that you're technically still not speaking out what you want specifically. He really couldn't care less.

How could he, with a goddess aphrodite on her knees right in front of him, asking to pleasure him?

"Go ahead, darling." He says, finally offering his permission. "Let's see what you have to offer, hm?" He teases with a low purr in his tone, and at that, you realize you've received the green light from him.

And quite honestly, suddenly you don't care anymore if you've ever given head- because after all, Jungkook will guide you. Jungkook will use you in any way he deems right.

And you don't mind one bit.

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[marley-manson]

re-watched The Sniper the other night instead of going on to In Love and War, and man, early Mash is just too fucking good I can't deal with it. the vibes are just right for me. Hawkeye is peak Hawkeye. the constant sardonicism towards war and the army is everything I want.

specific to the Sniper you have so much great stuff.

-- Great Hawkeye + Frank scene featuring Frank calling Hawkeye "Hawk," and Hawkeye being nice and reassuring because Frank is a scared idiot. It's genuinely kinda sweet.

-- Frank also says he flunked out of med school twice here because at his most sympathetic he will still never not be the butt of the joke and I love that too

-- I chose it to watch because of the overt Freudian stuff and that was definitely a delight despite the running gag about Margaret's rape kink

-- Honestly idek if that's a despite, since it fits the military satire so well. It's crass, and misogynist in adding the sexual element, but while she's the military representative who tells Frank to prove he's a man by going out with his gun and killing the sniper, it's functionally the same theme as Flagg's sadomasochism. ie mocking the glorification of specifically military violence, whether that's perpetuating or suffering it, as freudian in origin.

Like this is an episode you have to take satirically, you can't reimagine it as a genuinely harrowing brush with death these characters are experiencing, and that's the level it works on, and that's the level I care about. So like while Margaret's fears in eg Bug Out were meant to be taken seriously as an aspect of her character, here it's another freudian joke about the military. It's not great, but to me jokes in that context are less upsetting than the jokes in Bug Out's context, yk?

-- Hawkeye and Frank as foils was particularly pronounced here. I mean you have Frank showing his gun off to Margaret who gets hot and bothered over it while Hawkeye just has a picnic basket and a mild cunnilingus line with a nurse about twenty feet away from them. You have Frank as the violence representative and Hawkeye as the pacifism representative as discussed in dialogue and shown in attempted action, while Hawkeye is a more natural leader than Frank could ever hope to be (holding a hand up for quiet after Frank tries over and over to get everyone to shut up and listen to him).

And of course the violence is directly associated with masculinity - Margaret's "If we had a real man in this outfit he'd be out there in the night with his gun," saying it loud and clear. Followed by Frank as a coward who wants to prove he's a man but can't, and Hawkeye as a coward who couldn't care less about demonstrating his masculinity but tries to subdue the sniper when he gets a chance anyway, without a gun. Hawkeye's pointed lack of a gun twice as well, when he tries to surrender and when he goes to treat the sniper after the military shoots him. All opening ofc with Hawkeye's joke about pistol envy lol.

-- The north korean sniper as a hero (someone who's tired and hungry and doesn't give a damn), which is a connection I've seen drawn elsewhere and very deliberate.

-- Hawkeye has a few angry words about the young kids in the OR, which is echoed in his description of the sniper as 16 or 17, another excellent connection the show draws deliberately.

-- Hawk and Trap running back into the main office after getting fired on by the sniper, Trap trails behind a bit and almost gets shut out by Radar lol, but then as they're sitting shoulder to shoulder he's the first to ask if Hawk's all right <3

-- Hawkeye is such a dick to Radar in this ep and I love it lol, he's like a mean older sibling sometimes

[revvethasmythh]

I’m I the only one who doesn’t like how Imogen has been treating fcg lately? It feels like she’s trying to tell them not to worship the changebringer and if I’m remembering correctly she said something along those lines last night. I don’t know. I feel like fcg has found some kind of guidance-ish/path and wants to follow but Imogen and some of the hells are telling him not to. And just being unfair to him and not really understanding or trying to understand where their coming from.

I don't think you're wrong, necessarily, anon, but I do think it's complicated. On a personal level, did I say out loud "Imogen stop being a dick to his god" at least once last night watching? Yeah, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have personal reasons for feeling negatively toward the Changebringer specifically, in addition to what seems to be her overall thought that the gods have never done anything for her, so why should she like or support them anyway? (Incidentally, I do get frustrated at this sort of attitude because, like. they're gods. generally speaking, the traditional transaction here is that you have faith in them and then they help you. So maybe try faith before you write them off completely? But that's a whole other conversation). But I suspect her dislike of the Changebringer stems from the same place Fearne's apparent (but less openly combative) opinions come from--Laudna's death. It was the Changebringer's coin that chose Orym to live and Laudna to die. I would not at all be surprised if there was a personal grudge there in addition to Imogen's aforementioned attitude re: the gods kicking up dust.

Also, Imogen is kind of just like this when people in the group do things or believe in things that she personally doesn't understand or agree with. She's a grudge holder (how many times has she gotten on Chetney's ass for keeping the money that one time? Didn't she even do it again this episode and Chetney was like "girl stop, I have paid my way plenty since then"?) and she really gets frustrated when people do things she doesn't agree with. Others have said it somewhat recently, but it may be connected to Imogen's difficulty empathizing with others. Which is an interesting character flaw, but I will agree it can be frustrating specifically in this scenario, where FCG is clearly kind of flailing about trying to figure out what being a person is and what being religious looks like and what role worship is going to have in their life. It's a little like watching a baby penguin take a few tottering steps only to get knocked on its ass by an adult. Because imo the only way FCG is going to figure this out is by letting him do his thing, no matter how nonsensical or stupid his methods might look to Imogen or the rest of the group. He's got growing to do with what religion will look like in his life and he has to find his own way through that, which I think frustrates Imogen because it's imperfect and clumsy and it's the gods and it's the Changebringer specifically and can't everyone just be rational for once? The gods aren't rational. Faith isn't rational. It's her flaws bumping up against FCG's, causing friction. And yeah, it's frustrating at times, but it's also a pretty interesting insight into both of their characters.

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

❤️ , 💥, 🎁 , 🎨

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

I answered this one here, but this just means I get to give another favorite line! (Edit: It helps if I actually put another favorite line in here. Norns.)

Okay, this one's a little dirty, and it's from Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright (Bucky/Tony one-shot):

“Handsome, I had your dick in my mouth at least four times last night.  I’m pretty sure morning breath’s not a deal breaker,” Tony retorted, giving Bucky that cheeky, one-sided smile. 

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

I answered this one, but I think if I could change other canon things, one thing I'd want to change is the whole Civil War Tony-Steve-Bucky bullshit. Steve would've trusted Tony enough to tell him ahead of time that he suspected that Bucky killed Tony's parents but that Bucky was under conditioning and torture and control while doing it. Tony would've had that moment to be angry about it, and then Tony would've proven that he's got the biggest heart in the universe by telling Steve that they'd find Bucky together and help him. This is what I would change, and it's not going against Tony's character to believe that he'd do just that if Steve had just been a fucking grown-up about it and been honest.

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

From my Scott/Logan Halloween adoptable "The House in the Mist." I can't wait to finish this one. The adoptable prompt is "Lovecraftian horror."

While they approached the turn off from the main road in, Scott stretched his arms over his head and yawned.  He shook his head to clear away the last of the cobwebs from his nap and started to feel the aches and restlessness from the long drive in which he’d remained the passenger, no matter how many times he’d offered to drive before he’d finally passed out.  As he brought his arms down again, his left hand brushed through the back of Logan’s hair and down to rest against the back of his neck, his thumb absently stroking along the side where he felt a momentary quickening of his boyfriend’s pulse.  Scott looked out the window in front and to the side, taking in Black Rock’s residents going to or from work, biking, walking, heading into shops or restaurants along the way, catching the way they watched them and thinking they weren’t obvious about it. 

Scott had been stared at a good chunk of his life, though, especially when he had to start wearing permanent ruby-lensed glasses, which made him a little more noticeable.  Not as much as Kurt or Hank were, but nonetheless, he stood out. 

“So, why were we sent in to investigate this place?” Logan asked just as he took the Greystone turn. 

“Because Em said she picked up –“

Logan shook his head and interjected, “No no, I get it.  She picked up an intelligence she thinks might be mutant.  I mean, why us specifically?  She could’ve come in herself with Steve if they still wanted to play the couple angle.  Tony and Loki could’ve come in.  Barnes and Barton...Nat and Banner.”  He paused, thought about it, and laughed.  “Yeah, maybe Banner wouldn’t’ve been ideal.  But there were other couple choices.”

Brushing his fingers along Logan’s neck a few seconds longer before dropping his hand to once more rest against Logan’s thigh, Scott turned his attention to this new street, studying what shops and eateries lined it. 

“We aren’t as well-known.  Or recognizable, to be more precise.  Everyone knows Steve on first sight.  Same with Tony, and it’s not as if Loki hasn’t picked up his own fame along the way, especially once he and Tony started dating.  Though he can shapeshift if he needs to look like someone else, but still.  Tony’s on the cover of so many magazines that he couldn’t do unrecognizable unless his boyfriend spelled him to...or unless either he had tech to change his appearance or he trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. to tart him up a bit,” Scott answered. 

Letting out a yawn as he followed the curving road around the edge of town, Logan cast a quick side-eye at Scott before huffing out a chuckle. 

“Don’t say ‘tart him up’, darlin’.  Sounds weird comin’ out of your mouth,” he teased and laughed louder when Scott swatted his denim-clad arm. 

“Be nice.  Don’t make me have to ruin our cover by requesting a different room for our anniversary,” Scott fussed playfully, eyeing Logan across the front seat.  He stroked his knuckles along Logan’s jaw, his heart beating a little faster when his man tilted his head to nuzzle into his touch. 

Logan made a noise reminiscent of a frustrated Rottweiler, but he turned his head just enough to nip at Scott’s fingers before brushing his lips to the tips of them. 

“I’ll be nice, but you’ve gotta admit that when we met, that wasn’t the way ya used to talk,” he conceded, giving his boyfriend the side-eye. 

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I also answered this one here, and I don't think I'd add a lot to the other list of what I'd want to see fanart of, though suffice it to say that I'd really be honored and squeal a lot if people felt inspired enough by my writing to do fanart of any of it.

Fanfic Writer Asks Game.

[ex0rin]

@5ummit encouraged me to make an end of the year post, so here we go:

Fandom: Andor (May/June, September/October) Fic Count: 2 Word Count: 2,139

Fandom: The Witcher (January) Fic Count: 6 Word Count: 28,917 

Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick (July-September) Fic Count: 7 Word Count: 38,342

Fandom: Other Marvel (April/May) Fic Count: 7 Word Count: 11,043

Fandom: HydraTrashParty 🥳 (January-May, October-December) Fic Count: 52 Word Count: 150,286

Total Word Count:  228,061

Find me on AO3 here

and also, find my own personal fave fics of the year under the cut:

should go without saying that you should heed the AO3 tags if you click through on any of these:

Top Three:  1. Crawlin’ back to you / Baby we both know (HTP, winterbones)

Pt1: An old "friend" of Bucky's is one of Selby's guards. Zemo and Sam have no idea but Bucky absolutely does, what a shame that he has a role to play.

Pt2: Rumlow has been biding his time, working for Selby in exchange for information about the soldier's whereabouts - conveniently the winter soldier is about to show up on their doorstep with a new handler.

OR: an extended rehash of That One Scene in tfatws s01e03: Power Broker from two different perspectives.

2. We'll be a fine line. (TGM, roosmav)

Bradley really notices Maverick for the first time when he's thirteen. Every year after that is a struggle.

OR: 4.5 times Maverick had no idea what was happening and 1.5 times he said “wow, what a terrible idea but I guess we're doing this”

3. Something Broken (HTP, winterbones)

Bucky and Rumlow really fucked each other up over decades of brutal conditioning, maybe (definitely) more on one side than the other.

It turns out that Bucky can't get over the wiring in his brain that makes him really susceptible to following orders and dropping to his knees anytime his old handler shows up PLUS he hasn't had a chance to test it a ton, but he can't come unless he's told? Oh and he also went back for Rumlow's very specifically modified sidearm back during the collapse - I'm sure there's a totally normal and not weird reason for that.

And Rumlow? Well it turns out that having a building dropped on him and then almost being burnt alive by his own fucking bomb (which frustratingly did not kill Captain America) has rendered his dick pretty much out of service which could be a good thing - the bomb not killing Cap A - since Steve went and abandoned a traumatized Bucky Barnes and left him totally open to having his handler waltz back into his life.

Also the dick thing is probably fixable with the right encouragement.

+1. Take my head and kick it in. (Rumlow/Reader)

Because I reached a thirst-related breaking point and just really really needed a fic of Rumlow throwing me the reader down some stairs 😅

Should have written all my thank yous here and not in the tags so here we go, I'm gonna tag some people:

@5ummit @sparklingbinjuice @the-ravening @unlikelymilliner @pohjanneito @crushcandles , the entirety of the Trash Fam and many many more - thank you for all of your encouragement and love in this past year, I don't know what I did to deserve it but I'm glad to know you all❤️

[tristansarchive]

NSFW-ISH FLASHFIC! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Summary: Jeremiah's a workaholic and it doesn't get any better when it comes to a life of crime. His twin's always coming up with new ways to handle it — some got better results than others.

❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖❖|❖

Taking a slow, deep breath in order to calm himself for what felt like the fifth time that very same day, Jeremiah found himself itching to massage his temples but stubbornly refrained from it — wouldn't do to show how utterly done he was. - "Recapitulating, as you've seemed to pay little attention."

He meets the eye of every one of the idiots his twin swears by to be the most reliable of his cult, ones that showed the least problems following orders; they evaluate his figure with thinly veiled distrust — can't quite trust him farther than they can throw him but it's not as if he really cares, couldn't ever feel threatened by the same people that polished Jerome's white leather boots with their tongues. Ecco's just a few steps behind him too, playing with one of the throwing knives he had given her — a birthday gift, she had requested new weapons after all — while resting against one of the walls, stepping over the ancient, crumbling wallpaper. 

Not able to resist it, he tilts his head and throws the most condescending grin he can muster at them, a test to his usual passive-aggressiveness but they were not helping their cases by keeping him in this place for longer. 

In front of him, the map of the city stays spread and stuck to the wooden table by rainbow-colored pins he had organized across the districts, threads of orange and purple linking each. He points at the one currently stabbing the smiley face drawn by the docks, visualizing the warehouse he had in mind. - "Keeping a low profile is of utmost importance for the time being, and so I've arranged routes for two separate groups to leave as soon as Jerome—"

A cell phone goes off right then, interrupting him, and he's just about this close to reaching for his holstered pistol and shooting whoever had the audacity, when he recognizes the familiar, awful tune — with which he was tortured often — that had been programmed into his own device for one very specific menace in his life. Talking about the devil.

I save dick by giving it CPR

I save dick by giving it CPR

Put my mouth on it like CPR

Let's make porn and watch it on VCR 🎶

Shamelessly, he raises a finger at the dead-silent crowd and feels for the pocket in his striped coat's lining, wrapping his fingers around the ringing phone and pulling it out and open to his face, unlocking the screen with a quick press of the password — only to shake his head in exasperation at the contact name that had also been changed. 

He debates whether he should or not answer the call, knowing how long they could end up taking by experience — a bafflingly cliché trait of theirs, that equally inconvenienced and soothed — but as much as he wouldn't particularly mind hearing Jerome's latest opinion on whatever cartoon he was watching that morning, he still had much to do; it wouldn't take long for the GCPD, even as half witted as they were, to figure why their followers had stopped acting like headless chickens and if there's something Jeremiah refused to let happen, was to be predicted. 

So he presses mouth thin in slight discontentment and sets the notifications to vibrate, aware of the consequences of this action. There was no reasoning with his twin, he knew very well, but it was for the benefit of them both — perhaps Jerome wouldn't see it that way, but that was just fine by him; some bridges he'll have to cross instead of bombing, he supposes. 

Clapping his gloved hands together loudly enough to bring his nosy guests — none of them doing a good job of appearing uninterested — back to their current predicament, he stifled a smirk at the yelp coming from behind him. Such a gossiper, that woman. - "As I was saying, the signal agreed upon at the last meeting will serve as the cue to each group retrieving the..."

❖|❖

You have 10 unread messages on voicemail.

Jeremiah could only stare in disbelief, not having been quite prepared for what he was seeing. 

Of course, he wasn't new to Jerome's incessant complaining and naive he was not — a few strong worded messages were fully expected from his twin, specially since he found catharsis on poking at Jeremiah's guilt over their years apart. But he had fed the belief that even the ginger's predisposition to ranting had its limits, those which he had clearly underestimated.

It makes his grip on the device a little tighter, fills him with a sort of anticipation. In a way, it's a treat — he had left their bed while Gotham's sky had still been a dark indigo, no stars to be seen; dropping extra ammunition in the current hideouts and installing a couple fail-safes were precautions that they had discussed during dinner and he wouldn't have felt secure in their progress otherwise, not when he remembered about his twin's last failure and where it lead them. Which had the unfortunate effect of rendering him sleepless — and then unable to wait for a 'good morning' kiss, a look at Jerome's endearingly drooly face had been all he got. 

It's embarrassing, that he can almost hear Jerome's irritated comment on his disappearance act just by looking at the number but still miss his voice, all of the baggage that came with the hoarse quality to it — but he had learned to enjoy what it did to him. 

Seated in one of the chairs Ecco had promptly fetched for him, he takes off his hat with a sigh and holds it to his lap as he presses the device against his ear, glancing at the cultists still assessing the map alongside his proxy — not quite comfortable enough to put his twin's probable tantrums on speakers. Those were for his ears only(specially if it's targeted at him).

The first of them goes just as he imagined.

"Miah, ya fuckin' asshole... couldn'tcha wait 'til I was done with ya? Leaving at who the fuck knows when in the night- I'm tackling yer ass when ya show up, smartypants."

It takes a surprising amount of restraint to not snort loudly at him because he had clearly just woken up when it was sent and if possible, his speech poured thicker than usual; he hums in what he figures is the agreement he would've replied with to appease him and lets his eyes fall shut, savoring the background noise of the TV and something being cooked while his twin cusses him away. 

He realizes, midst the transition from the first to the next message, that he hadn't eaten anything since waking up. Aside from coffee, of course.

"Ya should know my helpful followers always tell me when yer calling up for meetings. I could go in there~"

Hmmm, in hindsight he genuinely wishes his twin had. Truth be told, Jeremiah couldn't have explained in simpler terms what the escaping-abducting cycle route implied for the upcoming scheme and yet, still at the very ending, he received the odd blank stare here and there. With Jerome, he was sure they would've wrecked their minds to try and understand whatever their messiah threw at them instead of expecting him to do all of their jobs for them — but he digresses. 

The third message, though. Took him a minute.

"Been watching one of those old movies with the rich fellas dressed all snobby, reminded me of ya." - there's a clacking sound that becomes clearer when he pauses, then comes a dramatic sigh. - "Yer so annoying about this kinda stuff but I'm not gonna lie- it's got charm. It's like some vintage clown chiq with all the over the top suits in crazy colors and makeup, I wanna see ya on a stage."

It brings Jeremiah back to a conversation they had, back in the Wilde State — and right after he had told his twin of what he had planned for Gotham. He remembers the words he had used in that recording he had left for detective Gordon: "Jerome's dead. Long live me." 

He had recited it — like a chant, a reminder — and it had been bitter, angry, liberating, wonderful. He wanted to have as much power as Jerome achieved, be the star of a show that had relegated him to the bleachers but it also hurt something awful that he'd to do it alone. 

But as things turned out to be, every now and then it clicks in his overworking mind that after so long — he'll be two again, have Jerome with him and when the curtains fall at the climax of their spectacle to reveal who's been behind the newest surge of vindicating chaos, the smoking gun will be on his hand, his dear twin right by his side; laughing at a terrified audience, observing with curious eyes as he does it all in his name. And if this city survives them, they'll exchange roles, repeat their steps for as long as they fancy— again and so forth. 

It's enough to have him feeling like there's no space within his ribcage for the expanding of his lungs, his heart taking over every inch. Love for him had always been like this — and not so coincidentally, towards the same person — but while he recognized the aching and overwhelming euphoria, he never quite got used to it for better or worse. It took over his senses every time, turned him into an entire new creature or maybe unlocked another side of him.

Shaken, he decided he needed to listen more and Jerome didn't disappoint in the next.

"Aren't ya getting bored? I mean nothing against my own people but... none of them like ya. But I do, Miah~" 

His lips twitched, a smile taking over without his permission as he rolled his eyes. He had a point, after all.

"Well, I'm! so! bored! I'll forgive ya for leaving me if ya show up right now and kiss me. It's my favorite pastime, ya know? Smooching yer sugar plum lips." 

Jeremiah doesn't make it a habit of physically showing his true feelings. Ask Ecco, and she'll tell that in all of the years they've known each other — an impressive amount, by the way — he very rarely expressed too strong of an emotion in front of her, going so far as to project a lack thereof and ever since he went through his... change, he had been able to perfect it into an art and signature of sorts. He's not the emotional type, so to say. 

"Ah, I bet these aren't helping ya concentrate... Oops! My bad, dolly." 

But whenever Jerome brings out that cheeky, flirtatious attitude accompanied by his endless repertoire of sappy and quite insulting petnames — Jeremiah can sense his face getting warmer and he fights the indignity of averting his eyes to the ground, refusing to be bashful of all things. He knows exactly what his twin's doing, what this is meant to evoke and what's worse: he can't shut him up.

"But ya know me, I just can't resist ya. That's why I came back for ya, ain't that right? 'Cause I love yer kisses so bad, Miah."

Whispering lovingly to him through the phone, he sounds needy, tempting. It's unfair, that a few words from him can make his mind spin, blurry by the edges. 'Love' sounds so right in Jerome's tongue, as if he owns it by the very letters — he could never get tired of hearing him say it. 

He loves him. It's intoxicating and biological. Every cell in his body does so, intrinsically. Sometimes it feels like it could consume him. If it hasn't already.

"Are ya blushing? I'd love to see it. Yer such a cutie, only sometimes though. When yer not a fucking pain in my ass." - Jeremiah can almost pinpoint the second the implications register before his twin gasps in delight at the opportunity to mortify him. - "Not that I mind, can make my ass sore all ya want, baby broski. And when yer trying so hard to not blurt out some creepy, loving shit while at it? I wanna squeeze ya by the prick, so damn adorable-" 

"Boss?" 

The higher pitched voice's close enough to gain his attention, causing him to almost jump in his seat and reflexively try to muffle the maniacal giggling coming out of his phone, firmly pressed to his chest while staring wide-eyed at who had called him— oh, Ecco. 

Exhaling in relief, he allows his posture to relax and shoulders to fall minutely before immediately narrowing his eyes at her, irritation clear in every line etched to his frowning brow. - "Can't you see I'm busy?" - he tried to go for an unamused tone but it sounded a lot more murderous than he wished for. 

If he focused on the noises coming from the device in his hand, he could almost hear the recurring whining resembling the various terms Jerome called him by. Ecco's gaze momentarily fell to his chest and he knew it wasn't just him. 

Ecco giggles nervously. - "We're all finished, bossie! Tough nutjobs to crack, those! But you can always count on my skills, got'em on the palm of this hand!" - she swishes her right hand, wiggling her fingers with an excited smile. Jeremiah huffs, looking around and noticing that she had indeed done an impressive job of finishing their little rendezvous — there wasn't a single slacker in sight, presumably because they were already taking care of relaying instructions to the rest of their members. 

Pleased, he nods in approval and rewards her the smallest of grins. She practically beams. - "Then I came to tell that we could get goin' and you were redder than my daddy when we told him we were outta beer— and squirming too! You getting sick? Got your pills in the car, if you need them!"

To his utter horror, he found himself unable to recompose from such a violent attack to his ego fast enough to reply with anything better than a rushed 'Thank you.' while standing up straight from his rickety chair and marching out the small apartment's door, (elegantly)making a run for the decaying bulding's ornamented elevator and taking its cabin for himself before Ecco could join him.

Had any of those imbeciles witnessed it as well, by chance? It's not for the matters of caring about their opinions, pfff— as Jerome had said, they reported everything to him, annoyingly so. And that would definitely set a precedent for many more voicemails to come, at the most inopportune times. 

He turns at the flash of green and white he captures in his peripheral vision and finds a dirty, rusting mirror on the wall; even ruined as it currently is, the picture being painted is unmistakable. He can't unsee how the pale — porcelain-esque, Jerome had teased — skin gives away to a faint red, it clashes with the aubergine over the lips and bright blue of his eyes, though it does match his scarlet tie. It's just when he brings his hands closer — NOT to hide his complexion in them — that he's reminded of what he's holding in both of them: his white fedora and phone. The very source of his troubles, still playing his messages.

Hesitantly, he presses it against his ear once more.

"—gotcha all syrupy sweet on me, sunshine this and dearest that! And all I could think about was 'if I had known sucking yer cock in the morning like my life depended on it made ya less bitchy all those years ago I would've been saving a ton in mints'. But, Miah, waking ya up stealing yer breath's... fuck, it's delicious— I love to feel ya struggling against me~"

Jeremiah leaves the inconspicuous place, fashionable hat covering his ardent cheeks and coat luckily hiding any other… issues, he might be suffering from on his way to the goddamn car, fully intending to break a few traffic laws.

Beginning with texting while driving. 

'Coming.'  

A reply comes seconds later.

'Oh, you will be.'

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

(Well, this got longer that i anticipated, sorry about the wall of text, anxiety made me do it)

Hey, the person that both recommended in asks and submitted Yuurivoice characters, i just saw a tiktok that kinda upset me and it made me kinda paranoid about the possible consequences of my actions so i just wanted to say:

If any of you following this blog ever want to get into the yuurivoice stuff, specifically bittersweet, please, i'm begging you, be respectful of the fact that he has his reasons to probably never make it 100% explicitly canon in the main storyline, don't be a dick/annoying about it and maybe also don't ask about it's canonicity in stream chat, it's been asked and he has answered many times before just watch the old youtube streams.

(And for the love of god, don't be all passive aggressive about him apperantly "profiting" of the idea of the poly by making an non-canon 18+ audio of the three of them for his patreon [which the patreon and by extension the exlusive content on there is basically his main income afaik and he's only made one or two of the poly out of all the monthly content that makes him money] but still "refusing" to make them canon, like that tiktok person did.

Making it sound all like intentionally manipulative, i guess? Like some sort of eqivalent to like a big studio queerbaiting or something?! What the fuck is wrong with some people?! Especially on that godforsaken app?!)

I usually stay away from both most fandoms (especially asmr/audio roleplay type youtuber fandoms) and tiktok (and especially said fandoms on tiktok) but curiosity got the better of me and i checked the yuurivoice tiktok tag and since i don't have a tiktok account i counldn't check the comments on that video to see how other people responded and i've seen some other people complaining about it not being fully canon on tiktok as well but again since i don't usually interact with the fandom it's hard for me to tell if the bad attitude about the ambiguity is a majority or minority kind of thing in the fandom as a whole.

And while i generally trust that most people following you're lovely blog are gonna be respectful, i couldn't help but be anxious about possibly adding even one other person being so negative about this to the fandom through my recommendation.

And like if you read my rambling on my submission, i personally can't relate to how some people seem so hung up on this needing to be so black and white anyway.

It is canon (and explicitly so) that these three people love each other (in whatever way), are family, are gonna stay together and wanna go home together. If i remember correctly he has said before that it seems like some people like to ignore the found family aspect of the story and how being loved unconditionally now is a huge thing for the one of the three that isn't officially dating the other two (the other two being a couple since the start of the story) because of his backstory.

Idk, since he has metioned that this is essentially a piece of emotionally personal vent art in a way, it just seems kinda disrespectful to me how some people go about this, yk?

And personally i find his reasoning in regards to it needing to be an inherently kinda ambigious situation because of the self-insert aspect understandable.

At one point to being asked about if they're canon he said something along the lines of:

"The best answer to that question is actually "You tell me. Are they? ""

(Again sorry for the wall of text, and the negativity, i guess, i just needed to get this off my chest/make sure.)

some people just love being hateful, sorry they're going through that rn...

to anyone that mightve picked up the recommendatio from past asks, please be respectful to the creator i havent listened to yuurivoice myself, but i dont think theres anything wrong w keeping smth ambiguous as long as ur open about that, which from your asks he seems to have been for a while now?? its not queerbaiting if you literally say "ill leave it up to interpretation" especially considering the self insert element of the listener being included, and the creator trying to be respectful

theres also smth to be said here about the expectation of every polyam relationship being a triangle idk. i also dont see the relevance of an 18+ audio w all 3, i dont see how that would be baiting at all. Sorry the creator is having to deal w bullshit for that.

[useless-bi-otch]

Cookies'n Cream - Chapter 6

Last chapter / MasterList / art by @aneenasevla

Chapter 6 - Rice Balls and Coincidences

"Alright then, what are the most essential items on the list?

"Soy sauce, snacks, a load of beer, condoms-"

"I'm talking about the list of essential ingredients for the rice balls!

"Welp, no matter how you look at it, my list at least is manly."

"Our goal was to come here to buy ingredients to start a more balanced diet, but you guys are already wanting to go astray like this…" Himuro rolls his eyes while the automatic doors open for their passage with a characteristic musical sound "Looks like every day is garbage day now."

"Come on, guys, don’t go astray!" Okubo says imperiously, taking the lead of the group as if he were the leader of an expeditionary team, and the great Kinokuniya market, the lost temple that they should explore "Let's take this seriously and go grocery shopping like the group of mature and responsible adults that we are!"

“Look, I don't know what group you're talking about, man, but it's definitely not this one."

"And who the hell made you the head of the operation, huh?" Lihito pushes him aside, looking unimpressed. Okubo shakes the shopping list in his face in response.

"I'm the one who wrote the list!"

"At whose behest? Oooh..." He seems to understand something, opening a very naughty smile "Would you look at that! Already following orders from your lady boss, eh? Look, guys, what a gifted housewife we have among us!"

"Go suck a bag of dicks", Okubo grunts low, turning his eyes to the list in an attempt to hide a slight blush "She simply recommended the best brands for ingredients, and with her being a professional cook, I'll trust her word. That's it."

"Well, my friend, that is the big difference between you and me. I never let a woman tell me what to do" Rihito declares, raising his chin "And it doesn't matter how professional she is. A man has to know how to impose himself and express his authority clearly. For example, I don't need a girl to tell me this parsley here isn't all that fresh from the looks of the leaves.” He picks up a random tray from the vegetable and legume shelves, showing it off haughtily.

“Yeah, Rihito, but you'd probably need a girl to tell you that that's cilantro, not parsley,” Himuro comments calmly, and Okubo and Kaneda laugh heartily when Rihito's face reddens. He returns the tray to the shelf with an irritated huff.

"They look too similar! Leave me alone!"

"Similar or not, there can be no confusion," Kaneda decrees while heading to a discreet corner, where shopping carts were lined up, available to customers. He chooses one and goes back to his friends, happy as he comments: 

"Wow, I think this is the first time we're all going shopping together, isn't it? This will be fun!"

"Bro, let go of that shopping cart, for fuck's sake. Only old hags and moms with their snot-nosed brats use these things," Lihito moans, and Himuro arches an eyebrow at him.

"That wasn't what you seemed to think at that time, when you and Okubo got drunk and decided to bet who could go downhill the fastest in carts like this one..."

"Yeah, they only forgot that the carts are small and didn't think they would get their butts stuck like that-"

"Oookay, that's enough reminiscence for now!" Okubo quickly interrupts Kaneda "The cart will help a lot, so let's not get all prissy because of it, okay? Let's just buy what we need and go back to my apartment soon, because I can't wait to eat these umeboshi-filled rice balls" He takes his phone out of his pocket, opening a specific contact with a happy smile "Miss Uta said we can pair them great with turnip and green tea-"

"Green Tea? Who's getting prissy now?! I want beer!"

"Beer defeats the whole purpose of this pre-workout snack, dumbass! Now no more complaining, 'let's look for these ingredients before it gets too late for us to cook."

“Roger that, Commander Buzz Lightyear of the Star Command. Come on, I want everyone doing a conga line behind Okubo!" Lihito raises a right fist in the air while holding his friend's shoulder with his left.

"Stop dicking around, man. And fuck off with that Buzz Lightyear shit!"

“Train-Train, rushing forward! Train-train, and it never stooooops!”

"I swear if anyone asks, I'll pretend I don't know you" Himuro mutters, while Kaneda just laughs, the four of them following together through the various aisles of the supermarket.

But in fact, now that Okubo stopped to think about it, this was the first time since they had known each other that all four of them went shopping together. They had argued hours before in the apartment over who would be in charge of buying the ingredients, even trying to escape the task through drawing straws. 

The binge they'd had on takoyaki, cheesecake, booze and his precious cookies the night before (these motherfuckers got him drunk to convince him to share everything in the box with them, there wasn't a crumb left to tell the tale) had left him a little lazy, and he hadn't been in the mood to wander around a cold, noisy supermarket... until he woke up to some texts from Tomori, when the sun was already starting to go down in the sky.

Uta_Tomori:

good afternoon mt okubo

Today is grocery shopping day, right?

I hope your friends and you can find everything I suggested

tip: avoid these industrialized ready-to-eat foods

your stomachs will thank you, trust me haha

Do you want me to give you the names of the brands I usually buy?

I'll love to see the photos later

He had jumped up from the sofa, disoriented and very guilty, and the only reason he didn't immediately run out of the apartment was because Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda had stopped him.

"Calm down, man, going out on a rampage won't make you get those ingredients any faster" Himuro tried to calm him down "You're even risking buying low-quality stuff, because you're not paying enough attention."

"And anyway, we don't need to make these rice balls today" Lihito had shrugged "She doesn't even need to know that we didn't cook them."

"But I promised to send her pictures! And she pointed me to a lot of quality ingredients, wanting to help me and you guys..." He had lamented "I don't want to give the impression that I'm uninterested in the things that excite her."

The other three had stared at him, Lihito and Himuro exchanging confused looks afterwards. They understood wanting to get in a pretty girl's good side, but wasn't Okubo overreacting a bit?

Kaneda, on the other hand, had just smiled and said: 

"Then let's all go grocery shopping together!"

"Huh? All of us together?"

"Yeah, why not? That way shopping will be much faster, and we'll also ensure that Okubo follows Miss Uta's tips to the letter. I know better than anyone how bad you guys are at following instructions, so it'll be a guarantee" He gave a friendly pat on Okubo-s arm, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, guys..."

And the sincere thanks were enough to convince Rihito and Himuro as well. Holy shit, the things they'd put themselves through to help a friend increase their chances of scoring with a girl…

And now there were the four of them, an extremely unlikely group to see walking through a supermarket, searching the aisles and shelves for the best ingredients to cook rice balls with umeboshi filling. Kaneda was the most knowledgeable about cooking, so Okubo ends up leaving the shopping list with him, focusing on reviewing the tips Tomori had sent him by text.

"No, seriously, do we really need to spend so much buying ingredients when we can very well buy ready-made rice balls?" Lihito asks, picking up a tray on another shelf "It's way cheaper and tastes just as good."

"It’s not that cheap if you consider that, if we buy ready-made rice balls for every pre-workout, we’ll spend more than we would if we bought a good amount of ingredients at once and made rice balls with them over the weeks," Himuro replies while checking the lower shelves. Kaneda nods.

"Yep. Not to mention that Miss Uta could very well notice that the rice balls in the photos that Okubo will send were bought off the shelf, rather than freshly made. Right?" He smiles at Okubo "She must have the sharp eyes of a professional cook, after all."

"Exactly! Come on, guys, no buying ready-to-eat food. I don't want her to think I'm a cheater" He shudders just from considering that possibility "And it's good that we learn something new too."

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Holy shit, all this production just to get laid... Will you guys make a movie out of it or something?"

"Shut up, Rihito," Okubo mutters, but Rihito's words caused him some embarrassment, as well as raising pertinent questions. He was right, in a way. Why was he going to all that extravagant effort just to impress a girl? A nice, funny, beautiful girl, that was for sure, but he'd had several crushes on other women before he met her, and none of them resulted in a trip to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon that could have been better spent playing video games, gambling and drinking their asses off…

He opens her contact in his messages, mouth twisting a little in discomfort. The truth is, he already knew the answer. The memory of that crappy poster and her confession of her unwavering devotion to fighters other than himself was still very fresh in his mind. And ever since the texts she'd sent him earlier that afternoon, he'd been gripped by an almost visceral need to show her how much better, more caring and more devoted he was than any other idol she could have. Mostly he wanted to show that he was better than that kid on the poster, who had such a pretty, punchable face.

It was ridiculous. It was pathetic. And he just couldn't help feeling that way. If those three had known, he would probably never have a peaceful day in his life again. So it was better to keep quiet and let them think what they wanted.

"Yeah, shut up, Rihito. What are the ingredients on the list, Kaneda?" Himuro asks, looking over the shoulder of the shorter one.

"The basics for making rice balls. Rice, seaweed, vinegar, granulated sugar, kosher salt... and of course, umeboshi. And to think that there are even specific brands to make the best possible rice balls... only they aren't very cheap," He makes a face as he checks the list more closely.

"No shit. They seem to be professional brands. Hell, I don't have that much money to spend, even if we share the costs..."

"No worries, she recommended some more affordable brands. Let's start with them first" Okubo suggests, and Kaneda redirects the cart, the four of them heading to another wing of the supermarket "Then we tell her how the experience went."

"Dude, you're really counting on her to have the last word in this whole affair, aren't you? What, are you going to bring some rice balls for her to eat at lunch break?" Lihito asks, smirking, but then he widens his eyes when Okubo frowns, thinking.

"I don't know, sounds kinda invasive. But it would also be retribution for the cookies and her fan affection, wouldn't it? If they turn out good enough I might even consider..."

"Holy fuck, man, it was a joke! Guys, we are witnessing an unprecedented transformation here!" He says in a dramatic tone, albeit low, indicating Okubo with a wide gesture of his arms, to which he cringes "Okubo Naoya has become the female protagonist of a soap opera! Stay tuned for the next episode, where our hero with too much muscle and too little brain will try to win the affection of a muscle-lover cook with rice balls stuffed with salted plum!"

"Shut up, you idiot, people will hear you…!"

"You will see all this and much more on this same channel, at this same time, in the thrilling drama The Misadventures of the Pussy Pleas-"

"Shut the fuck up already!" Okubo hisses, furious and mortified, while Himuro, Kaneda and he put their hands ove Lihito's mouth, who had tears of laughter in his eyes “What's your problem, dude? I swear, there's something wrong with you!"

"And I'm serious, I'll pretend I've never seen you before if security comes to throw you out of the market," Himuro hisses too, and Lihito just laughs harder.

"I'm kidding, guys, jezz!" He gasps after brushing their hands away "How was I supposed to react after hearing something like that? You're talking about taking a lunchbox to this girl's work, bro. Exactly like the gifted housewife I said you're becoming."

"It's not like that! I already told you that I'd be only returning her kindness!"

"Yeah, and I also think that Miss Uta would like to try these onigiris," Kaneda comments "Even if it's just to evaluate your first attempt. We can take some to her as a treat from all of us, how about that?"

"Yeah, not a bad idea. It'd be a way to thank her for the tips given. Nothing more than that, right?" Himuro arches an eyebrow at Okubo, who looks to the side, fearing that his friend saw something in his eyes that betrayed his thoughts.

"Yeah, that 's all."

"Alright, alright, you can let go of me now, I only want girls squeezing me like this," Rihito grumbles, and they take a step back, composing themselves "But yeah, when you put it that way... she will be very grateful for your ‘kindness’," He makes quotation marks with his fingers "That might even be the cue you need!"

"Cue?"

"Yeah! A treat like that would leave any woman swooning! Asking her on a date after that would be a piece of cake. And then..." He lowers and raises his eyebrows "Well, you would see how my ‘manly shopping list’ was a good idea."

"Aaand apparently, what I said last Saturday fell on deaf ears..." Kaneda sighs, to which Okubo shakes his head quickly.

"Not for me, I've still been thinking about what you said! It's just that- oh boy, she's texting me! Hang on..." He immediately turns all attention to the phone, moving a little away from his friends to have some privacy. He could still hear them though.

"There goes that traitor, ignoring the pals in favor of a pair of tits..."

"You are the one ignoring someone here. I can't believe you didn't absorb any of the things I said last Saturday."

"Chill out, Kaneda, I remember every word you said. And Okubo is following each of the steps you've suggested and taking things easy... too easy, actually."

"But you were already suggesting that he should use the rice balls as a pretext!"

"It's not a pretext, it is an obvious and inevitable consequence! Since cave times men have taken food to women as proof of their virility and efficiency as providers. It's in their instinct to get hooked on these things."

"Welp, now we know what you majored in when you attended Teito University. Fuckboy Anthropology."

“Fuck off, Himuro!”

The three continued to bicker further back, but Okubo tried not to listen to them, all his attention turning to the texts Tomori was sending him.

Tomori_Uta:

hi again!

how was grocery day?

mine is in full swing lol

He smiles, already typing his reply. With or without the disturbing poster to gnaw at his subconscious, chatting with her via text was still a pleasure.

Okubo_Naoya:

haha I'm happy for ya

I wish we were this lucky

we don't know much about picking ingredients and stuff

Uta_Tomori:

I can help if you want!

you're struggling with what exactly?

Okubo_Naoya:

... everything

sorry lol

Uta_Tomori:

men

lmao jk

that's why I'm here

you can count on your self-proclaimed nutritionist!

“Damn, she's so cute!” he squeals in thought, the fit of cuteness making him want to punch something in a burst of gleeful violence.

Okubo_Naoya:

hell yeah i'm saved!

LMAO

so, we were going to start with the rice brands

Tomori_Uta:

oh that’s the easiest part!

wait, I’m getting a call

brb

Okubo_Naoya:

sure!

He closes the phone, smiling to himself, finally feeling that the grocery day would pay off…

Until he started to hear the distinct sound of a phone ringing, moving closer and closer to the hallway where he and his friends were, until it stopped a second later.

He frowns, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as if in warning. What bizarre feeling was that? As if something inside him was warning him, some primal instinct... that's what made him stick his head out from behind one of the shelves in the hall, peering, searching…

"Hi Mom! No, I'm not busy, we can talk."

And the squeaky sound of desperation that came out of his mouth was something that probably never came from anyone else's.

"IZZATH!!!" He screeches, almost at a frequency that only dogs could hear, running past Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda, who stared at him in astonishment.

"Dude, what the fuck was that noise?!"

"What's wrong, Okubo? You look like you saw a ghost or-"

"It's her!," He hisses, his back flat against a shelf, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallows "Miss Uta's here at the market!"

" Say what?!," The other three shriek a little too and immediately stick their heads out from behind the shelf, peering down the hall and widening their eyes.

"Holy shit, it's really her! What is she doing here?," Lihito whispers.

"Saturday shopping, perhaps? She was also out grocery shopping last Saturday when Okubo called her, right?," Himuro ponders, to which Kaneda smiles.

"Wow, what a coincidence! Let's go say hi-"

"No!," Okubo gives Kaneda an armbar to bring him to him, to which the shorter one lets out a squeaky little scream "She can't see us here!"

"Wha- why not?!"

"Because she might get the completely wrong idea! Don't you hear those stories on television about women being stalked by crazy freaks?," He asks in a low growl, his eyes bugging out "Crazy, obsessed men who follow them absolutely anywhere?"

"What are you getting at?"

"She might think I'm doing the same!"

The other three looked at each other, unimpressed, Kaneda still clutching his friend's arm pressed against his neck.

"Or maybe. Like, just maybe...," Himuro speaks slowly, as if he was explaining arithmetic problems to someone particularly slow "She might think it’s just a coincidence. Y'know? Like a normal, sane person."

"That's the problem, it's too much of a coincidence! We were talking about trips to the supermarket just yesterday, and now we bump into each other here, just like that?! No, I'd rather not risk it," He also peeks from behind the shelf, still holding Kaneda, almost lifting him off the ground "I don't want her to think I'm a stalker."

"She- she won't think that if she sees you with us," Kaneda gasps, still trying to push his friend's arm away "Stalkers don't walk in groups."

"She might think they started to, precisely because of that preconceived concept! She might think we're... I dunno, super stalkers or something."

"Super stalkers? Sounds like an indie band name..."

"Seriously, Okubo, I think you took so long to drink your booze yesterday that it actually fermented. You're not making any sense..."

"Shut up, she might hear you!," Okubo finally lets go of Kaneda, who takes a deep breath, almost losing his balance. He pushes Rihito and Himuro aside, peeking with his hands gripping one of the shelves "Please, Miss Uta, go to another aisle, please...!"

Tomori, as expected, didn't hear him. She was laughing into her phone, looking very relaxed as she pushed her already full shopping cart forward. He wore simple, casual clothes: a pink shirt with short, puffy sleeves and blue jeans. It was the first time he saw her without an apron and with her hair loose, which went down in waves over her shoulders.

"Oh, Mom, I don't even know why you still insist on that," She was saying in affectionate exasperation "You know Dad, he's stubborn like all hell. If he won't even listen to you, why’d he listen to the doctor? ... Yes, I can help by talking to him, but I'll do that on my next visit. It's better to talk about these things in person than over the phone. I haven’t even had time for this, actually..."

"We better take advantage of her being distracted  and just shag ass," Okubo whispers to the others "Let's leave while there's still time."

"Damn, dude, you sound like someone running away from an ex they cheated on," Lihito grumbles, sounding bored "You were all over this girl's sweetness a few minutes ago, and now you don't even want to risk bumping into her in a supermarket aisle? What, you're getting more bipolar than Agito or something?"

"Screw you, man, it's not like that! I just don't want her to think I'm spying on her, 'cause that's definitely not what I'm doing here and- wooow, would you look at that!," He whistles suddenly, widening his eyes when Tomori leans over to support an arm on the bar of the shopping cart, the movement making the fabric of her clothes adhere more to hetr body. And from that angle, he could see everything: the curves of her waist and hips, the cleavage that exposed part of her breasts, her legs and... holy shit, that ass…

“Wha- oooh, boy, that's what I'm talkin' about!,” Rihito leans over to be able to peek too, almost salivating with the view "Seeing her away from a counter, without that apron, is something else, isn't it?"

"Hell yeah! Man, I never noticed how she's all soft and curvy... I want to squeeze her sides so bad...!"

"I'm so fucking envious of you! That's some quality meat there."

"I know, right! She's gorgeous, holy shit..."

"Aaand now you're behaving like stalkers," Kaneda grumbles disapprovingly, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"Yep. Get a grip, man, even if you only want something casual, you should respect her a little more," Himuro warns, to which Okubo makes a dismissive gesture over his shoulder, without even turning his head.

"I respect her a lot, dude! But what's wrong with looking at, appreciating and complimenting a pretty thang?"

"Exactly! Especially considering he's going to bed her later. That's quality assurance for ya," Rihito raises a thumb.

“I swear, you guys can be really gross when you want to."

Okubo clicks his tongue impatiently. They weren't gross just for taking a harmless peek! Pretty things should really be appreciated. And Uta Tomori was more than pretty. She was beautiful. Hot, even. He couldn't believe what a lucky son of a bitch he was, goddamn it-

"Yeah, I've been busy lately. Remember how I told you I was helping a friend with nutrition issues?," She says suddenly, turning around so that her face is more visible. She was smiling, cheeks rosy, brown eyes twinkling "I was doing ecxactly that a few minutes before you called! I almost got distracted and forgot to answer you…,” She is silent for a few more seconds, listening. And then she laughs "Ahaha, stop it, Mom! It's a friendship that came at just the right time, simply. But yeah, he's so cute! He makes me laugh, treats me with respect, compliments my cooking... guys like that are hard to find these days, you know? I think I got lucky..."

...

Okubo had never hated himself as much as he did at that moment.

He goes back to hiding behind the shelf, his expression devastated, while Himuro and Kaneda stare at him with embarrassment. Even Rihito stopped peeking, grimacing in discomfort.

"Uuh… can we just forget we had this conversation?"

"Damn it…" Okubo moans, running his hands over his scalp "She's right there, speaking highly of me to her mother, and I'm here just… just… fuck, I'm such a piece of shit!"

"Yes, you are," Himuro and Kaneda say at the same time.

"You don't have to agree so quickly!"

"Just accept your shitty status and move on, man, it's the best thing you can do."

"You were peeping at her too, you asshole!"

“If you keep yelling like that, she'll hear you,” Himuro warns, to which Okubo shuts up at once, his shoulders shrugging. 

He lets out a slightly shaky breath before turning back to peeking out from behind the shelf. Tomori kept talking on the phone calmly, having no idea that she had just been the object of scrutiny by two good-for-nothing perverts, one of them being her precious idol.

He feels remorse churning in his stomach again. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he behave like a functioning, grown man around a beautiful woman, let alone one who seemed to have a mutual interest in him? The memories of those humiliating minutes in that bistro came flooding back, the college girls' expressions of embarrassed discomfort vivid in his mind.

“That's exactly why you're thirty-six and still single.”

He lowers his eyes in sadness. Yeah, she definitely wouldn't like the real Okubo Naoya if she met him…

"Hey, man…" He hears Rihito call suddenly, sounding worried "Come on, don't get all bummed… there's time to fix this mess, just stop peeping on her."

"I'm not peeping anymore. Just…," He doesn't quite know how to continue, gesturing uncertainly with one hand "Just thinking about what to do now. Is it okay to go talk to her?"

"Of course it is. We told you, she'll just see it as a coincidence," Kaneda assures him.

"And she'll certainly be happy, if we consider all your interactions so far," Himuro comments "Just have some decency and try not to stare at her cleavage or anything like that."

"Yeah, that's very wrong!"

"If you're going to peek, don't be too obvious. Discretion is key."

"Himuro! Uugh, sometimes I forget that you're also a hopeless womanizer..."

“I'm a saint compared to these two."

"That's funny coming from the biggest man-whore this side of Tokyo!"

Okubo leaves the three bickering, still watching Tomori. She looked very happy, making small talk with her mother, her expression placid... it made him want to smile too. And to be the cause of more of those smiles coming from her. He takes a deep breath.

"Okay, I... I think we can go over to her, just to say hi-"

"Yes, I can go see you guys tomorrow, I'll have Sunday off," Tomori says suddenly, redirecting the shopping cart "Now I have to hang up, mom, I already bought almost everything, and I need to talk to my friend too. No, I'm not ditching you for a man, don't be dramatic..."

And Okubo jumps back in sudden panic when he realizes that she was coming straight into the aisle where they were standing.

"AAIEEEE!" 

He bumps into Rihito when he practically throws himself behind the shelf, which in return bumps into Himuro, who, as in a perfect domino effect, also bumps into Kaneda, the four of them ending up on the floor in a mess of arms, legs and wheels of a shopping cart being wheeled along with them, along with several packages from the shelves.

"ARGH! Fucking hell, Okubo!"

"Get off of me, dammit!"

"Rihito! Get your knee off my belly!"

"And you get your foot off my balls, that shit hurts!"

"She's coming this way!" He screeches in terror as the four of them try to straighten up, the other two people besides them in the aisle staring at them "​​We have to get the hell outta here!"

"What? Weren't you saying just now that we could say hi?!"

"No! I changed my mind! She definitely heard us and she'll think we're stalking her!"

"Argh, go get your head examined, you paranoid fuck!," Rihito yells impatiently while an extremely red Kaneda collected the dropped packages. Himuro patts his hands on his pants to clean them, grinding his teeth.

"Stop acting like a moron, no sane person comes to such a conclusion like that! She'll probably just- what the hell are you doing?" He asks stunned when Okubo runs behind him, grabbing his shoulders.

"I don't know, trying to hide! Hold still!"

"Behind me? You're almost seven feet tall, dumbass! How am I supposed to hide you behind me?!"

"Stop yelling, everyone is watching us," Kaneda asks scandalized, turning quickly to the other people in the corridor, still astonished "Sorry about that, guys! We- We just tripped a little, it's nothing serious...!"

"No it is serious! Come on, lift that cart, we have to go!," Okubo hurries them, grabbing the shopping cart and putting it on its feet, which made Rihito squeal:

"You already did that yourself!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Okubo," Kaneda, still holding some of the packages that fell, walks past his friends in decided strides "We've already been embarrassed enough for one weekend. Let's get this over with, shall we? I'm going to go talk to her right now."

"No, Kaneda, don't do that!"

"Miss Uta!" He calls, waving "Hellooo- AIEEEEEE!" and then he screeched when Okubo grabbed him and put him inside the shopping cart "Okubo! What are you doing?!"

"Oh- I don't know, I'm not thinking straight and- shit, shit, she's coming!," Okubo grabs the bar of the shopping cart and Kaneda screams in fright, having to grab the sides of the cart to not fall, when he redirects it in a 180 degree turn and shoots out of the aisle with it. Rihito and Himuro follow quickly, without much choice, mortified to see all the astonished stares from the other supermarket customers following them.

"Dude, are you crazy?!"

"Are we going to take Kaneda to the self-checkout or the normal checkout?

"Rihito, you're not helping! Okubo, stop, I'm going to fall off the cart!"

"Hold on, let me just get a good distance!"

"I swear, that was the first and last time I go grocery shopping with you!," He yells again as the cart makes another sharp turn, almost tipping over to the side and knocking him off. They enter another aisle, panting hard from their rush, Kaneda shivering a little in the cart.

"Okay… Okay… I think we're safe now…," Okubo looks over his shoulder "Coast is clear, guys."

"Don't give me that 'coast is clear' nonsense! Let me get off the cart!"

"Sorry, man, but desperate situations call for desperate measures..."

'There was nothing desperate about this, you lunatic! Ugh, security must've seen us on the cameras by now," Himuro grunts, putting a hand on his sweaty face "We'll never be able to enter this place again..."

“Eh, it's not like this is the first market I've been kicked out of.” Rihito shrugs, and Kaneda stares at him in amazement.

"Oh my god, I'm afraid to even ask..."

"Anyway! I'm really sorry, guys...," Okubo seemed to have calmed down enough to realize what he had done, and now his face was furiously red "I- I guess those rice balls will have to wait another day..."

"And we still don't know why! What's gotten into you, man? Are you twelve again, running away from your crush like you're still a virgin?!"

"It's not that! Dammit, you don't understand my situation..."

"The only thing we could understand is that you're a fucking pansy!," Lihito grunts, pointing to his friend's nose.

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! The biggest pansy I've seen in my whole life! One that acts all manly during his matches, but then turns around and shits his pants when it's time to talk to a girl!"

"Fuck you, I explained my reasons! The situation isn’t favorable-"

"For who? What could be more favorable than a casual and relaxed encounter in a public place?," Himuro gestures, now more perplexed than actually angry "Seriously, man, what's going on with you? You've never acted like that over a girl before! It's like you're traumatized or something, I don't know."

They see how Okubo tenses every muscle, teeth clenching, eyes straying from theirs for a second, but that was enough to make them conclude that, perhaps, Himuro had hit the nail on the head. They were about to inquire further, but are interrupted by a song that was very familiar to them.

“Dame da neeee! Dame yo, Dame na no yoooo…”

They start a little, Okubo already taking his phone out of his pocket. He lets out a hiss through his teeth, his eyes widening when he sees that it was Tomori. He looks at the other three, whereupon Himuro and Kaneda make sharp, irritated gestures, and Lihito hisses an “answer that shit!” between his teeth. He does just that, stomach doing somersaults.

"Uuh... Miss Uta?"

"I knew I heard a familiar voice just now!"

The voice that answered him did not come from the phone. It came from behind him. They turned, startled, and found Tomori coming towards them, coming out from behind the shelves of a aisle and pushing her cart with her left hand, her right hand holding her phone. She smiled with the power of a ray of sunlight.

"Mr. Okubo! I can't believe we ended up going shopping at the same market! And you're with your friends too... uuh... did I come at a bad time?," she asks suddenly, hesitant as she analyzes the situation ahead. And then they remembered that Kaneda was still inside the shopping cart when it toppled to the side with a crash, driven by his frustrated attempts to get out of it.

"Ouch! Oow, my leg...!"

"Kaneda! You okay there?" Rihito and Himuro recover faster from their astonishment, immediately going to help their friend. Okubo remains with his feet locked in place, torn between the instinct to run to Kaneda's aid and the mixture of extreme embarrassment and elation at seeing Tomori in front of him. Holy shit, he had nowhere else to run now! What was he going to do, what was he going to-

"Hey, are you okay?," And she runs past him, Okubo catching a glimpse of her worried expression. He turned, blinking, and watched as she reached down along with a very surprised Rihito and Himuro to help Kaneda to his feet.

"Oh... I-I'm fine, Miss, don't bother..."

"No, it's fine. You might have landed on your leg," She quickly looks for something inside her purse "I stopped by the pharmacy before I went shopping and bought some ointment. Want me to help you with that?"

"What- no, you don't have to! I'm fine, I swear," Kaneda assures, now a little flushed while shaking a hand "I'm tougher than I look, haha."

"That's right, Miss Uta. Kaneda's size is a bit deceiving," Himuro hastens to say, squeezing his friend's shoulder, and Rihito nods, pointing to the smaller one with a wide smile.

"Yeah, we've seen him take down guys twice his size, like the little ninja he is!"

"Come on now, Rihito...," Kaneda blushes even more, but ends up smiling when Tomori laughs.

"If you say so, hahaha. But... why are you inside a shopping cart, if I may ask?"

"Uh... it's- it's because..."

"It's because we made a bet!," Rihito hurried to say, at the same time pointing to Okubo, who was still paralyzed like a deer caught in the headlights "Okubo and I, that is. He bet Kaneda couldn't fit in the shopping cart, and I bet he did. Do you see, man? Don't underestimate the flexibility of a Kujyn Style master at an impressive five feet seven inches tall.”

"You could've claimed victory without throwing my short stature in my face like that..." Kaneda sighs, and Tomori laughs again.

"Hahaha, why am I not surprised? Apparently this happens often when you hang out together, right?," She turns to Okubo, smiling amused "I'm glad we met like this, by chance. Because I think these purchases would take longer if it were otherwise, hehe."

Okubo blinks, expression almost looking blank. And then he breaks into a huge smile and scratches the back of his head happily as he says, “Yeah! You fell from heaven for us, Miss Uta, hahaha!"

“Idiot changed his tune in the blink of an eye...”, The three of them thought together, as if they shared a telepathic link. Tomori, on the other hand, was flushed with happiness, squeezing her face between her hands, that adorable smile that made Okubo's heart skip a beat breaking out on her face.

"Oh, stop it, you..."

"It's the truth! I said in the texts, we were lost in this search for ingredients. You couldn't have arrived at a better time. Isn't it, guys,?" He smiles at his friends; that same sharp smile that hid a murderous intent that they knew too well.

"Say anything about what happened and I'll beat the shit outta you all!"

The urge to rat him out to Uta Tomori was almost irresistible, but for the sake of that thankless friendship, they decided in silent agreement that they would go with the flow. After all, you can't walk in the rain without getting wet, right?

"Yep! We had a lot of doubts about brands, prices...," Himuro sighs, and Rihito nods.

"There's just so much to choose from, so many possibilities to consider! Brands of rice, salt, vinegar... too many little details for our manly, combat-focused minds, you know?"

Tomori laughs again, while Okubo huffs, "Stop it, dude, or she'll think we're nothing but a bunch of musclebrains..."

"Oh no, I promise I won't. It can be complicated for those who don't work in the industry or simply aren't in the habit of comparing brands and prices."

"That's the problem, Miss Uta, Rihito here is, sometimes. He owns a fridge."

"Really? That's nice!," Tomori smiles at Rihito, who gives a surprisingly shy smile while scratching the back of his head "Who knows, maybe you're one of our suppliers. What's the name of your company?"

"SF Cold Storage. Who knows, maybe we'll find some of the products I stock here!," He points to himself with his thumb, smiling confidently. Tomori nods excitedly, but then seems to realize something. The four of them frown as she flinches a little, suddenly shy.

"I… I won't be bothering you if I walk with you, will I?"

"What? Why would you think something like that?," Okubo asks, confused, and she blushes more, rubbing her right arm.

"It's just that you're together here, having fun as a group while shopping, basically a men's day… I don't want you to feel obliged to accept the presence of a girl, you know…"

"Obliged? Missa Uta, one of the things that piss me off the most about this group here is how it's only made up of sausages of all different sizes! A woman is a welcomed adition!" Lihito exclaims, to which Himuro puts his hand on his face with an exasperated grunt, Kaneda blushes again and Okubo growls: 

"Have some respect, man, you're talking to a lady!"

Tomori, on the other hand, seemed to take the comment in stride. She laughs, visibly more relaxed.

"No, it's okay, really. I'm glad to know I won't bother."

"Sure you won't! Especially because you made our pal here very happy, appearing out of the blue like that," Rihito, with a devilish smile, slaps Okubo on the shoulder, making him lose his balance for a second "He didn't let go of that phone the whole trip!"

"Dude, shut up!"

"But it's true. He even left me in charge of the shopping list, just so he could continue texting you," Kaneda takes part in the psychological torture, apparently wanting revenge for the shopping cart incident. Okubo glared at him with a look that was somewhere between furious and desperate.

"Damn, even you, you little-"

"And he didn't stop commenting on your tips regarding ingredients" Himuro completes, his light eyes showing a shine that was cruel "You've found a very devoted student, miss, haha."

"Ugh, I hate you guys...," Okubo moans, hiding his furiously red face in one hand. Tomori was blushing too, but the happiness in her eyes was so blatant that is was embarrassing. He even felt a little suffocated when he looked at her.

"I'm so happy to hear that! Many people stop listening to what I say after a while. They say that I chatter too much when I get excited, that I never shut up..."

"Wha- whoever said that is one hell of an idiot!" He says on impulse, suddenly indignant "The way you talk passionately about your interests is one of the best parts of talking to you."

She stares at him, looking too stunned to speak, and only then does he realize what he's just said. Holy shit, why didn't one of those three start knocking him out with a coup de grace every time he opened his mouth, at least until he learned not to let his tongue walk two steps in front of his head?!

But Tomori didn't seem to share his thoughts, if the goofy smirk that took over her face was any indication.

"Please, stop, Mr. Okubo...! You- You're going to make me faint in the middle of the market...!"

"Oh- ahaha, but it's the truth! Okay, okay, sorry...," He laughs, deeply relieved. His ears pick up the unmistakable sound of snickering, and he immediately casts a scowl at his friends. Kaneda hid his mouth behind his right hand, while Himuro laughed more openly. Rihito simply gives him a thumbs-up, whispering so only he can hear: 

“You're fucking welcome, asshole."

Okubo would've flipped him the bird if Tomori hadn't been right in his field of vision. She takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself, and lifts her head, running her hands through her wavy, shiny hair (damn, he'd love to run his fingers through those locks when he had the chance) before decreeing: 

"Very well... you need my help, right? So that's what you'll get. You're the one with the shopping list... Kaneda, isn't it?"

"Precisely. Kaneda Suekichi, at your service," He does a small bow, to which Tomori nods with an adorable little smile.

"Nice to meet you. Oh, now I want to see if I remember all your names! Himuro, right?" She points to Himuro, who nods politely.

"Himuro Ryo. It's a pleasure too."

"Likewise, Himuro! And... Rihito?," She turns to Rihito, turning her head a little to the side "Is that a nickname?"

"Oh, it's much more than a simple nickname, lady," He points to his own chest with his thumb, smiling haughtily "It's an identity! Like the identities that comic book superheroes forge for themselves, you know? Renowned public figures who maintain that air of mystery, never revealing who they really are behind the mask and awakening fascination in all the-”

"His name is Nakata Ichiro, but he prefers the nickname."

"Come on, Okubo, don't ruin the magic! And I already said that it's not just a nickname! Come on, stop laughing!," He complains loudly, being summarily ignored. Okubo already felt quite satisfied with that little private revenge. Especially since he managed to make Tomori laugh.

"Ahahaha! Oh, god... anyway, thanks for having me, Kaneda, Himuro, Nakata-"

“Rihito! Call me Rihito, please!”

"Okay, okay. I know that for you I am, first and foremost, a fan of Mr. Okubo. But I hope I can get along with you too!," She does a small bow, eyes closed, so she doesn't see the way Okubo looked at her, his face flushed and his eyes sparkling with fierce affection.

And she also doesn't see how Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda tensed, caught by surprise. Hell... that chick really was cute, wasn't she? The monumental crush that Okubo had developed for her in such a short time no longer seemed so absurd to them.

"Uh… don't worry, Miss Uta. After we eat your sugar cookies for the first time, getting along with you became one of our life goals," Himuro jokes, and Tomori laughs heartily.

"Show up whenever you want at the Heavy Bakery and they will always be available! Now, the shopping list. Where is it?"

“Uuh… I think I dropped it back there. When I was in the cart..." Kaneda casts an accusing look at Okubo, who has to try very hard not to show his discomfort and keep smiling. They look to the ground, searching, until Rihito exclaims:

"Hey, I found our spare list! It was in my pocket, I ended up forgetting..."

"That's great! Excuse me...", She picks up the list he held out to her "Let's see... oh...," She suddenly frowns, confused and a little embarrassed "Uuh... soy sauce, snacks, a load of beer, condoms-"

"Whoa! Wrong list! Ahaha, sorry about that!," Okubo immediately snatches the piece of paper from her hands, crumpling it into a ball and immediately giving it back to Rihito, who almost drops it in his embarrassed haste "Rihito always brings his own list for group shopping, but always ends up forgetting about it. Would you believe that, Miss Uta? He would forget his head if it weren't glued to his neck, wouldn't he?", He brings his friend close with an arm around his shoulders, flashing him the most furious smile either of them had ever seen someone flash. Himuro and Kaneda could even see beads of sweat forming on Rihito's forehead as he smiled nervously.

“Haha, yeah, I sure would! My bad…”

"Oh… it's alright, don't worry," Tomori ends up relaxing "I'm shopping with men, I should've expected that, haha. But it's not like I really need a list. I have all the ingredients memorized. So?," She smiles excitedly at them "Are we going to brave this concrete jungle while we complain about inflation?"

And with an invitation like that, they saw no reason to refuse to accompany her.

The five of them follow through the aisles of the supermarket, now with two carts in hand. And this time, Rihito couldn't complain too much about the fact that it was a woman who was leading the group, guiding them through that labyrinth of jars and packages with the assurance of someone who did this often. But they soon concluded that Tomori was the right person for the job, because she was teaching them like, a real teacher, how to choose the best ingredients for rice balls.

"Alright, let's start with the rice. See the differences between these two brands here?," She shows them the two packages, whereupon the four men huddle together to watch, curious. She offers them, and Himuro takes one, while Kaneda takes another.

"Hnnn… the weight is almost the same. It must be standardized...," Himuro commented, to which Kaneda, raising his head after observing the package closely, said:

"Oh, I think I understand. The grains on this one are longer than those on the package Himuro is holding, right?"

"Yes! It may seem like a silly detail, but noticing it makes all the difference, because short-grain rice has more starch," She nods smiling "Thanks to that, it sticks together after cooking. Which means…” She urges them on, making an encouraging gesture with one hand. She laughs when Kaneda raises his hand, as if they were in a classroom.

“Yes, Kaneda?”

"It means that short-grain rice is the best for making rice balls, because the grains will stick together, which is ideal for keeping the rice balls in the right shape."

"Very good!," She claps her hands, to which Kaneda responds with a playful little bow. Lihito snorts:

"Not fair! This smartass here already knows how to make rice balls! He's the best cook of all of us!"

"That's right! Let us get some praise for a change, Kaneda!," Okubo nudges the smaller one's shoulder, who pushes his hand away, saying:

"The fact that I can cook doesn't mean I don't like to hear a few compliments from time to time too."

"It's no fun when you already have mastered the art. Let the teacher pay attention to those who really need to learn."

Tomori looks thrilled to be called a ‘teacher’, to which Himuro comments with a sharp smile:

"Do you want to monopolize the teacher's attention now, Okubo? We really went back to middle school and I didn't even notice..."

"Leave me alone, Himuro! Anyway...," He clears his throat, a little flushed "For the rice to keep its shape after being cooked, we're going to need those little molds, right? The ones for rice balls."

"Well, I recommend it, especially for those of you who have never made rice balls before. But for those who have experience, it's easy to do it with their hands. I can show you if you want!"

"Nah, Kaneda can teach us, no problem-"

Lihito is immediately silenced by Himuro and Kaneda, who again place their hands over his mouth, making low hisses. And the three of them see the exact moment when Okubo seems to finally get some courage, sticking out his chest a little, straightening his shoulders and saying in a loud and clear voice while holding out his hands:

"Please show me!"

"Okay, you'll be the first to learn then!," She exclaims, happy as a clam, as she reaches out and holds his hands. Her hands were very tiny compared to his, delicate and soft, her fingers barely able to close around his wrists. He imagined intertwining his fingers with hers, imagined those hands caressing the line of his jaw. And he imagined them clinging to his shoulders, nails digging between his shoulder blades, scratching hard as they-

“Alright, that's enough! Pay attention to what she's saying, you good-for-nothing pervert!"

"The secret is to place your hands like this, as if it were in an L shape, and then press down on the rice very lightly, turning it clockwise with your right hand... that's right!," She approves when he correctly imitates the movement she described "You're good with your hands, Mr. Okubo."

"Thanks! And I have to be, haha. Just like you, I knead a lot. But not exactly bread dough," he teases, and is elated when she laughs heartily.

"I know! I've been following your career as a kneader for over a decade!"

"And so you managed to realize that I still have things to learn! You're doing better than any manager I've ever had, you know? Hehe!"

They laugh together, seeming half-forgotten that they weren't alone.

"Holy shit, I feel like I'm in one of those really bad chick-flicks…", Himuro comments with an air of laughter as they watch those unusual interactions "Only that it's missing the mellow soundtrack in the background."

“And them being on the banks of Shingashi River, with cherry blossom petals floating around them,” Kaneda jokes, and Rihito snickers.

"For my pal's sake, I hope it's a bad chick-flick with a sex scene at the end."

Okubo and Tomori weren't even aware of the spectacle they were providing. He particularly felt perfectly happy staying that way, just learning from her how to be a minimally decent cook, without dwelling too much on things like perverted incidents and his past traumas involving the opposite sex. It was all too easy to forget those details when he was with her.

"You got the hang of it quite fast! Do you still want to buy a mold or do you prefer to try your luck?," she asks suddenly, to which he looks over his shoulder.

"I wouldn't mind trying, but Rihito and Himuro might mess it up a little. They don't have such dexterity with their fingers, haha."

"Dexterity? I'm on a level way above that and you know it! Did Okubo tell you what I can do, Miss Uta?", Rihito asks, going up to the two of them and showing them a coin. Tomori blinks, a little confused.

"Uh... it's some kind of magic trick?"

"Much better than that! Mainly because it's real," He winks before pressing down on the coin with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, making a quick incisive motion. And Tomori gasps, clapping her hands over her mouth, as the coin snaps in half right before his eyes.

"Wow! H-How did you...!"

"Pretty cool, right? That's exactly why I created another identity. I'm the real-life Superman,” He sticks out his chin, smiling smugly, at which Okubo shakes his head in amused exasperation.

"Never missing a chance to show off, huh."

"Oh no, I can't believe it! I want to see it again with another coin!," She sticks her hand inside her purse, searching, at the same time that she turns to Kaneda and Himuro, half amazed "Do you all know how to do something absurd like that too?"

"Not the way Lihito does, but they say my drinks are absurd too," Himuro jokes, and Kaneda completes: 

"The truth is that we are all martial artists, just like Okubo! So yes, Miss Uta, we can do some pretty amazing things, each in our own unique ways."

"Ah, that's so cool! But what promotion are you from?," She asks curiously "A martial arts  promotion, I mean. I know many fighters, but it always happens that I miss some names..."

Okubo tenses, eyeing the other three with concern, to which Rihito, Himuro, and Kaneda exchange quick, almost imperceptibly nervous glances before Himuro finally responds, “We're not exactly professional fighters, you know. Not like Okubo, at least."

"Yes. We're kind of in a 'backstage' league, so to speak.” Kaneda nods.

"Yes! That's how I met them, wanting to fight in a slightly more private setting," Okubo nods quickly "They prefer to leave the professional  spotlights to me, 'cause they know I'm by far the most photogenic, haha."

"Yup. Photogenic like my big toe, which has chilblains."

"Too many details, Rihito! Tone it waaay down."

Tomori laughs, shaking her head.

"That's okay, fighting without the intention of being known for it is valid too. The important thing is to keep the fighting spirit alive!," She raises a fist in the air "And I already know how incredible Mr. Okubo is, so I say that I would love to see you three in action one of these days, in that 'backstage' league."

They had to work hard to keep their smiles from turning too nervous. But the girl's innate cuteness was a tremendous help. And honestly, it had been worth risking revealing more about the entire world of underground fights they were part of just to see Okubo almost float off the ground like the world's heaviest air balloon, inflated with joy by Tomori's praise. They couldn't wait to be alone, only the four of them again. That bald fuck had one coming, that was for sure.

They continued on their search for ingredients, with Tomori giving detailed explanations of the best brands of vinegar, salt and seaweed, showing how to compare prices and also how to make the products yield more. Overall, their little shopping spree turned out to be a more fun event than either of them could've anticipated. It wasn't exactly the kind of date Okubo imagined having with her (they were always alone in their fantasies, without a third, a forth and a fift whells following them around), but he found himself unable to complain. Seeing her getting along with his three best friends gave him that same funny, tachycardia-like feeling after all.

The afternoon went on like this, until all of them were finally satisfied with their little trip to the market.

“… and then Rihito and Okubo thought it would be an excellent idea to bet who could eat shrimp with wasabi without needing milk afterwards. It was the first time that Kaneda and I stayed overnight in an emergency room because these two needed a stomach pump, not a drip, haha.”

"Yeah, salt my game some more until it's completely inedible, you jerk!," Okubo yells at Himuro amid loud laughter, while the five finished passing their purchases at the ATMs, putting them in bags afterwards. Tomori shakes her head, a little red with laughter.

"N-No... seriously, it's okay, Mr. Okubo! I have so much fun hearing about these adventures of yours. I swear I'll tell you more about mine too, one of these days."

"Eh, and what could a cute and well-behaved girl have lived through that would be more interesting than frequent trips to the emergency room, caused by an excess of testosterone?," Rihito asks with a cheeky smile. Okubo was about to open his mouth to warn him, but Tomori is faster than him. She smiles back in kind, her eyelids drooping over her brown eyes, her long lashes casting shadows on her cheekbones.

"You wouldn't believe it, trust me."

"Oooh, really? If you say so...," He laughs, not seeming to take her remark seriously. But something in her expression aroused a strong curiosity in Okubo. He wasn't exactly the world champion at reading facial expressions and interpreting insinuations, but something told him Tomori wasn't just rambling. What could such an adorable girl be up to that would surprise even a freak like Rihito?

"Hey, don't leave us wondering, Miss Uta..."

"Ahaha, my bad. I would love to be able to remedy this, but it's getting late. I need to go home and make dinner," She smiles a little sadly when the five of them finally leave the market, going out to the parking lot, the sky starting to darken "It's a shame. I was really enjoying myself."

"Oh... yes, it's a shame," Okubo nods, trying to appear nonchalant and almost failing. Jeez, their shopping spree seemed to have flown by since she'd joined them! Why did they always find themselves in situations where they couldn't be in each other's company for more than a measly hour? That was so unfair... "But anyway, Miss Uta, it was a really nice surprise to find you here."

"Likewise! I really enjoyed spending this last hour with you guys. So much so that... can I... can I ask for something?," She's suddenly shy, looking to the side and pouting. Damn, how could he say no to her when she made that face?!

"Sure, go ahead!"

“I… I'd like to take a photo. You know? With... with you. And all of you too!," She hastens to add, a little flushed "As a souvenir, you know? I won't post it on social media if you don't want exposure or anything. I just wish to have something to keep with me... besides an autograph."

She swallows hard, biting her bottom lip, waiting with some anticipation.

He would probably never know how he was able to keep an expression of neutral satisfaction, instead of rushing towards her and kissing her passionately, as he wanted to do.

“Danm, she’s so cute!”

"Of course!"

“Oh- really?” She widens her eyes, hopeful, and he nods, smiling.

"Yeah, why not? Who are we to deny our teacher a souvenir of this day?," He turns to his friends "It'll be our way of saying thanks. Right, guys?"

"Yes! Then you can send the photo to Okubo, because we'll want to have it too," Kaneda nods, and Himuro agrees with an expression of someone who was holding laughter back.

"Yup! This isn't a day to be forgotten, haha..."

"Enough talking then! ‘Let’s strike a pose, guys," Rihito puts his arms around Okubo and Himuro's shoulders, opening a crooked smile "You have our permission to post this photo wherever you want, Miss Uta. Make your friends jealous of you being surrounded by all these hunks. And tell them we're all single and available!"

"You really want her loosing a ton of followers in all her social media, don't you, Rihito?"

"Screw you, Himuro!"

Tomori laughs again as she takes her phone out of his purse, turning on the camera and placing it horizontally.

"Can you take the picture, Mr. Okubo? You're the tallest, so...," She hands the phone to Okubo, approaching from the side in short steps, smiling shyly. He understands at once, and suppressing the urge to laugh, reaches out a hand to touch her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. She gasps softly, her breath catching momentarily in her chest, and he would have found that absolutely adorable if he hadn't also been desperately trying to maintain his composure and not blush like a teenager who's sat too close to his crush.

Taking selfies with fans was something he was more or less used to. But this was different. It felt more intimate, even...

"C'mooon, dude, we want to take this pic today!"

And as expected, Lihito insisted on reminding him of his presence by shouting in his ear, almost making him drop Tomori's phone. He pushes him away with a grunt, eliciting general laughter.

"Give it a rest, dumbass! Okay, everyone...," He puts a hand on Tomori's shoulder, again hearing her make a cute little sound of happiness "Say 'rice balls'!"

"Rice balls!," The five of them exclaim together, raising two fingers in a V, the sound of the phone indicating that the photo was taken. They relax their poses and contemplate the results.

"Oh, it came out great- hey, Rihito, you made horns on the back of my head!," Kaneda complains, and Rihito defends himself by replying:

"It's not horns, it's a V for Victory! It's not my fault you're so short that the gesture gives that impression.”

"I made a weird face. Look, I'm almost blinking…," Himuro frowns, to which Tomori, still laughing at the discussion between Rihito and Kaneda, guarantees:

"Don't say that, Himuro, you looked great! If I post this photo on my networks, some of my friends will definitely ask if they can slide into your DMs, haha."

"Oh, then in that case, post it wherever you want!"

"Another one who doesn't beat around the bush...," Okubo snorts, the twinge of jealousy in his chest making him feel angry with himself. It was so unfair that not even Tomori was immune to that conceited bastard's charm…

"But yeah, the photo turned out great! Thank you so much, Kaneda, Himuro, Nakata-"

"Rihito! Seriously, it's not that hard of a name to remember!"

"Okay, okay, sorry, haha. But seriously, thank you. And you, Mr. Okubo!"

He almost knocks some of the bags to the floor when she hugs his arm, her face lit up with a happiness so intense it almost made his eyes hurt.

"Not only do I have your autograph, I now also have a photo of you! This has been one of the happiest months of my entire life, and it's not even halfway through! I don't even know how to thank you..."

"Thank me by going on a date with me and letting me please you in every way I can think of, in and out of a bed!,” he almost pleads, which would have been the most desperate and pathetic invitation to a date in human history, and something which Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda would not let him forget for all the days he had left. He tries to compose himself, straightening his shoulders and saying with a half smile: 

"You can thank me by sending this photo to me, 'cause it's something I'd like to have as a souvenir too. And of course, I will reciprocate. Later today, when the rice balls are ready."

She clasps her hands to her chest, delighted.

"Of course! And I'll look forward to the pictures of the rice balls! It's a pity I won't be able to try them..."

"Oh, but we can arrange that. What do you guys think?," Okubo arches an eyebrow at the other three. They look surprised for a split second, but recover relatively quickly.

"We're going to have a busy week, but we can try to show up at the bakery on the next garbage day. In the meantime, let's take the opportunity to make rice balls whenever we can as a pre-workout snack," Himuro looks sideways at Kaneda, who adds:

"What would you think of us taking advantage of this day to bring some of the rice balls we’ll make? You know, as a thank you for the free home economics class and the cookies, haha."

"Then you can eat them during your lunch break! And if we got it wrong, at least the bathroom at your workplace will be a short run away," Lihito jokes, prompting grunts from his friends and more laughter from Tomori.

"I'll trust that things don't get to that point, if Kaneda is a good cook like you guys said. And yes, I will love it!," She claps her hands in excitement "Kanny, Hiro, Tomoyo and Paikon will love to try it too. Anyway...," She bows politely "Thank you so much for your company! I really hope I didn't bother you."

“You wouldn't bother us even if you wanted to, Miss Uta. We're the ones who should thank you for your help," He smiles, and then scratches the back of his head "Uh… Do you need help with your bags? We can take them to your car."

"Thanks, but no need. I came by train."

"You sure? It's a long walk, even more so carrying weight.

“Oh no, not so much. And I'm tougher than I look, believe me," She flexes her biceps with a playful smile, and while the other three try to stifle a colective laugh, Okubo tries to stifle a burst of cuteness "I have to exercise, anyway. Weight gain is pretty common in my work field, haha."

"With a body like that, you can tell the extra weight goes to all the right places!”, he allows himself to think, like the closeted pervert he was. 

“Okay, if you say so. See you next garbage day?"

"I'll look forward to it! Good night, Kaneda, Himuro, Nakata- I mean, Rihito."

"Attagirl!," Lihito raises a fist in celebration "Good night to you too, Miss Uta."

"Have a safe trip!"

"And let Okubo know if you arrived safely, so he doesn't get too worried."

"Himuro...," Okubo grunts, embarrassed, to which Tomori lets out a happy laugh.

"I will, I promise. Good night, Mr. Okubo," She again makes that gesture of tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, smiling sweetly, and he allows himself a few seconds of self-indulgent daydreaming, imagining himself doing that for her.

"Good night, Miss Uta."

She waves to the four of them before picking up her bags and turning her back on them, walking out of the parking lot. They follow her with their eyes until her silhouette disappears on the sidewalk in the distance, in the middle of the late afternoon shadows that were getting bigger. It is then that Rihito, Himuro and Kaneda allow themselves to let out huge collective sighs.

"Maaaan, that’s what I call a hard time…," Rihito grunts, scratching his scalp "All that hullabaloo and in the end, the girl still ran into us anyway…"

"But everything worked out in the end, despite all the embarrassment... and I still haven't forgotten, Okubo!," Kaneda points to him, huffing "That nonsense with the shopping cart will not go unpunished!”

Okubo didn't even seem to have heard him. He was still staring fixedly at the spot where Tomori had disappeared, his eyes distant. They stared at him, somewhat exasperated, until Himuro walked up to him and snapped his fingers right in front of his face, making him jump.

"Argh! Don't scare me like that, damn it!"

"It's time to de-orbit, Buzz Lightyear. Despite your efforts to make the opposite happen, the afternoon turned out better than expected," He crosses his arms “But enough of that. If you act like a virgin brat again, we’re gonna beat the shit out of you. And not even you can deal with the three of us at the same time. You've been warned."

"Ugh, okay, okay! Sorry for my freak out earlier," Okubo grunts, rubbing his eyes "I just didn't want her to get the wrong impression of me…"

"But that's not what happened. She looked like she couldn't wait to get busy with you in the near future. You're fucking welcome," Rihito does a mocking bow "I even forced myself to play the part of the nice, 'friend to all women' guy so as not to rain on your parade..."

"Come on, Rihito, don't pretend that you didn't like that we had a girl in our group, even if only for an hour."

"One hour is my limit! I came into this world to love women, not to be their friend. And don't go thinking that, after you do her, I'm going to accept her presence in our night outs or something!," He warns, pointing to Okubo "Unless, of course, she brings some girlfriends along. In that case, we can negotiate."

"You're gonna die single, man, I swear…," Himuro sighs, while Okubo, shaking his head, picks up some of the bags on the parking lot floor. He smiles tiredly at his friends.

"I'll try to remember that. Now let's go back to the apartment, for the love of god. I... I think I can feel my blood pressure drop... the adrenaline peak is going down...," He groans, getting a little pale, to which Lihito went to help him with a laugh, passing his right arm over his shoulders.

"Fuckin' drama queen... c’mon, guys, we have a bloodstream in need of some salt."

They walk across the parking lot towards Okubo's car, finally getting hit with late afternoon fatigue. And to think they still had a batch of rice balls to cook...

"Hey, Himuro."

Himuro turns around, a little surprised, when Kaneda calls out to him in a low tone, his face slightly pink.

"What is it?"

"I need to confess to someone… but I don't think I would complain about taking another ride in a shopping cart like that. You know? Nyooonh…"

And neither Okubo nor Rihito understood why Himuro had a fit of laughter that lasted all the way back to the apartment. And neither way he kept repeating that bizarre noise.

What the fuck did 'nyooonh' even mean anyway?

NEXT CHAPTER

[mystiika]

@cxldblxxded asked: ❛ How badly do you want me? ❜ ( normal k questions ) meme: subtle smut

just putting the whole thing under a read more at this point lol

adrian found himself seeking solace in some washroom too far from the commotion of the set for him to be found. he was exhausted. the shoot kept being delayed by his unfortunate co-star — a woman named michelle who chases as persistently after him as she is terrible at remembering her lines. she can act well enough if she even gets that far, but between that & her following after him like a lost puppy, it was no wonder adrian needed a break from it all. besides, its not like they'd need him back for another hour at this rate. but already he was half past 10 & he'd already missed his dinner with k. ❝ thanks for chatting with me. i called because i missed your voice but somehow i think this made it worse, ❞ he finally says, eyes closed as he leans his temple on the cool wall beside him. surely its silly how difficult he finds it to be away from k ( but he can't be bothered to care ). ❝ buuut, ❞ his eyes open again as a small smirk upticks the corners of his mouth, ❝ i can think of a way you can help me miss you a little less.... hey, baby, what are you wearing right now? ❞ even though he knows k won't clue in yet. ❛ clothes. ❜ comes k's simple answer. ❝ can you be more specific? ❞ adrian's tone inches towards sultry. ❛ oh, um— the red & yellow striped shirt with the buttons that you got, some blue jeans. fuzzy socks. ❜ ❝ i see. that's too bad. i was hoping you were wearing a little less, i want to listen to you touching yourself. is that okay? ❞ of course he knows it is, but he wants to hear k say it for himself. ❛ if i can listen to you as well, of course. ❜ ❝ well, that can be arranged. ❞ already he'd been using bluetooth, freeing up both his hands the moment he places his phone aside. his fingers deftly unbuckling his pants & adrian lets out a shuttered breath as he feels his cock hardening where he presses against it with his palm. ❝ come on, kandirarak, ❞ adrian draws out, slipping in a few toned sighs of his own sprinkled in. ❝ i want to hear every. little. noise. you make. ❞

adrian tugs his cock free from his boxers, leisurely stroking it to its full height, littering the almost silence with shaky breaths & moans. then among the sounds adrian heard coming from k's end, ❛ how badly do you want me? ❜ the words alone make his cock twitch with newly added pressure. ❝ terribly, ❞ he breathes. ❝ i want you so bad i can barely stand it... ❞ adrian's almost whimpering, playing up his desperation ( but only barely ), ❝ i want your lips on mine... your teeth on my neck... your weight pressing me against whatever surface you want. ❞ just talking about it was already turning him on. ❝ don't you want to make me feel good, baby? ❞ he eggs himself on. ❝ because i want you to, ❞ adrian adds, almost like he's begging. ❝ i wish you were here... kissing me senseless, & touching me. god i want you to touch me right now... i'd move your hand onto my dick, & put my hand one yours so we could jerk each other off, maybe while you suck on my chest... ❞ his own hand sliding under his shirt to grope his peck, rubbing & pinching his nipple while he pictures k doing it with his teeth & tongue. ❝ just hearing your voice, your breathing, your moans... fuck... you sound so hot... ❞ as if adrian wasn't 10x as noisy. ❝ i want to make you feel good too though, i can't have all the fun... so... if i was there... i'd get on my knees in front of you, keep your cock still with one hand while i lick every inch. you could probably feel a hum while i moan too. i bet its hot knowing i could get myself off just from touching myself a bit while i suck your cock, hm? i'd take it into my mouth... ❞ hand abandoning his chest in favour of sticking a couple fingers into his past his lips, playing with his tongue & sucking on them, the sound just clear enough for k to catch. ❝ & i keep going until i can feel you hitting the back of my throat, pulling back only to drop back down until your cock was right back where it belongs, with your hand in my hair to keep me in place until you're satisfied with me. ❞ he didn't think hearing himself talk would turn him on so much but here he was, on the verge of coming just from thinking about k. ❝ fuck... ❞ its airy, almost inaudible, but k knows better than anyone what that kind of whine that was. ❝ k, i think i'm gonna come... ❞ he could only hope that the sounds k was making was a warning off his own, but either way, k's moans send him over the edge, adrian's voice a mix of moans of his own, breathing jagged as he rides out his high, milking every last second as he listens to k on the other edge. then after a few long seconds of just breathing, adrian breaks the silence. ❝ i was right, that did make me feel better. ❞ smile, evident by his tone. then, almost a whisper as if someone would somehow hear him, ❝ ...is it bad i want to just slip out of here & come home? i dont know how much longer i can take michelle ruining another take because she doesn't know her lines. ❞ he almost groans, but would rather avoid getting worked up again. ❝ you know what... let me see if i can track down my manager, see if he can get me out of it somehow... i'll talk to you in a bit, love you, bye !! ❞ then about 4 minutes later, in a text : mission success. i'll be home in 30 🥰🥰🥰

[bidokja]

you know, i didn't realize/appreciate this the first time i read overgeared, but chapter one already gives you a really good look at the multiple facets of Greed's character and complexes.

if you're just barely starting the series, you may think his personality is anjoying, and that greed praising himself for having patience and tenacity is an empty brag or a joke. but it really isn't. those traits are genuinely his best virtues, proven time and time again. even just in chapter one, we learn he's not exactly a high leveled player. he's an average nobody who sucks at most parts of the game. he had the insane luck to land an s-ranked quest that was FAR beyond his capabilities, and instead of running from it he gave it all he had. unlike most other munchkin series...this does not miraculously end well. it is disastrous from beginning to end. he dies a ton of times (and dying comes with penalties in this game), he breaks a lot of gear, and wastes a lot of money, and spirals further and further into his identity as an "embarrassment" and "failure". he still doesn't give up through all of that. most people would have. and thus, literally through sheer persistence, he actually does it. the madlad finds the objective of the quest. so he has every right to call himself patient and tenacious. it's these exact qualities that got him this far.

but in the end, this comes to ruin due to another of greed's personality traits. his vices rather than his virtues: his lack of self worth, his feelings of inferiority, and his greed for any means to change his situation. in the end he can't even complete the quest (despite technically achieving the objective) because the earl notices greed coveting the book, and decides to kill him (aside: I'm with greed on this one. it was a dick move on the earl's part, but that's a rant for another post).

still, even amidst him shouting about what is clearly his insecurities, notice how his first concern isn't how people view him specifically. it's how his failures have impacted his loved ones. it's not just that he wants bragging rights. greed is aware of how his previous failures have impacted his family - both financially and emotionally - and he wants to set things right For Their Sakes. he doesn't want to burden his family, and be a cause for embarrassment to them. this aspect is what he first thinks of, and can be seen as his priority rathrr than soothing his own feelings of infrriority. that isnt to say his inferiority complex doesnt come into play. in the very same paragraph we see him wanting to rise above others and show off any success he has. really stick it to em. but even this isn't pronounced in a malicious sense. he doesn't want to bring others down, he wants to raise his own standing.

and finally, the part I think is just as important if not most important: his reputation with the NPCs

we only really learn this in subsequent chapters, but the NPCs in the game are extremely advanced. functionally, they act no differently than real people. you don't max out reputation with an entire entire city through luck or coincidence. there's no preset dialogue options, there's no plus and minus popups, and there's no way to simply butter up to everyone in the same way. to get close and be trusted by an NPC in this game, you must go about it like you would for a real person. you have to talk with them, learn how best to help each person, and follow through with it. essentially, through this one line, we get a peek at a Major aspect of greeds personality: unlike most players, he treats NPCs like people. and he treats them well. he's a genuine guy who - at his core - likes people and doesn't want others to suffer. real life hardships and mistakes have simply not given him the circumstances to do so freely, but in-game this is different. we first see the good in greed's character thanks to his actions in game. and it's also through the game that greed himself grows and realizes his not some horrible perpetual fuckup that can't do anything right. it's through the game that he realizes his potential to help and support others, and grows to become responsible and capable enough to follow it all through, and carry that on into real life.

[aerodaltonimperial]

Apparently I am doing this now because UGH LIFE IS SO OVERWHELMING AND UPSETTING listen i can't explain this except We Best Love season 2 knew that everything is hotter in business wear and I agree

A beginning scene from a Chrono Cross enemies to lovers corporate AU!!! (Apparently I will be writing this here so lol if you for some bizarre reason want to be on a tag list whenever I become upset and write more let me know)

Acacia LTD's office building was specifically designed to be confusing, which is why Norris is so frustrated when he loses twenty minutes trying to find the right elevator to take him to the right lobby in order to get out to his car again. He's tired, and the reception on his first day was, predictably, not met with friendly smiles, and he's already missed the hotel bar's happy hour. If he punches the ground floor button on the elevator harder than necessary, well, at least there's no one around to see it.

At least until the doors open up on floor 21, and Glenn steps in. Norris swallows a long-suffering sigh, for Glenn, as a son of the late co-owner Garai, was part of the marathon four-hour meeting at the beginning of the day when tensions were already high and there wasn't nearly enough coffee to keep people from snapping at him--not that caffeine would have stopped any of them, given the circumstances.

Glenn is quiet until the elevator starts moving down again. "Luccia says you used to be on the R&D team with Porre."

"What did you do, a full background check?" Norris asks, and then huffs. "Trying to find something to use against me?"

"Know thy enemy, right?" Glenn counters. His eyes flash. "Why did you move up into management?"

Norris levels him with a hard stare. "Leadership qualities."

"So you're a kiss ass."

"Said by the nepotism hire."

Glenn’s expression darkens, his mouth curling. "I'm good at my job."

"So am I," Norris returns.

The elevator dings, doors opening on the ground floor, just as Glenn offers a threatening little, "We'll see about that."

Norris steps forward to slam his hand on the button to close the doors again, because it's been the longest day in existence and he's already out of sorts, and the last thing he needs is some privileged upstart giving him sass. "You can't stop this merger by making me look bad."

"Can't we?" Glenn says, eyebrows rising. "What happens when you go back in two weeks without anything to show for it but a headache and a mile-long room service tab?"

"You're lucky this is even being proposed as a merger instead of a buy-out!" Norris exclaims. "Acacia is in the red--"

"And we'll figure out how to fix it on our own. "

Norris stares at him. "It's not my fault that your CEO made a bad investment and tanked the company stock, you know; should these talks prove positive, Porre is planning on keeping everyone here in their positions."

"Are you threatening my job?" Glenn demands.

"I'm not, but my boss might."

Glenn laughs, mirthless. He tries to roll up his sleeves as though they aren't already folded just below his elbows, the crisp lines of the buttons disappearing into the deep V of his pinstripe vest. "You're a real piece of shit, you know that?"

"I'm trying to help," Norris says.

"No, you're angling for a promotion, and you're using our company's downfall to do it."

"At least you finally admit it's a downfall."

Glenn glares at him, thunderous. "You're a dick."

"Doesn't seem to matter much," Norris replies, even though it stings.

Glenn surges forward, and Norrs steps aside out of instinct; the elevator doors open up with another mechanical hiss. "Don't expect to find any friends here."

"I wasn't, but thanks for the heads up."

The other man pushes past him with a breeze of aftershave, the barest hint of the cologne remaining after the day. "Go to hell."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Norris calls to Glenn's retreating back, and then, fuming, he follows the other into the lobby with full intentions of having the hotel front desk send up an entire bottle of Scotch once he returns. At this point, it's worth putting it on his own credit card.

Not for the first time, he wishes Porre would have sent someone else to see the initial merger discussions through, because he's encountered nothing but hostility amongst Acacia's employees.

[hazbincalifornia]

Hazbin Liveblog Episode 8

And the finale!

Oh yeah, I bet you'd like to see Alastor get fucked. /shot For real though, the animation here is so good.

Lilith mentioned again. Hmmmmmmmm.

Angel getting off the pole by flipping around like it's an actual pole is a nice touch.

I like Angel's little hat.

6/10 for going 'but if we don't win' during a pep talk, even if it's followed by something sweet. Cherri's unimpressed look is great though.

Oh, Niffty. I love not dying too, Vaggie. My favorite thing to do.

The animation on Alastor's little head-waggle is fantastic.

Alastor and Niffty moment, eeeee! Mimzy's right, he really is sweet if he actually likes you. He let her put a crown of roaches on his head and just laughed a little.

Oh, Angel is in love in love.

MISS BOMB...

THE CAPTIONS STRAIGHT UP CALL IT 'ROMANTIC MUSIC'

He's doing his best!!!!

Two dicks semi-canon, huh.....

Aaaaaand I'm tearing up at the soft ballad love reprise of More than Anything... love always matters, whether familial, romantic, platonic, or something in between.

And the kiss is lovely, not too quick but moving in at the same time and confident the other reciprocates. That's so sweet.

I never really noticed before, but why do all the exterminators have different horns? You think they'd all match either Adam (as the leader) or Lute (as the general that isn't Adam but is one of 'them'.)

The more intense Lute is, the more I like her.

So all exterminators are women? Wonder how that happened, if Adam decided he just wanted to lead an all-girl army or they were all made off one specific base.

Oh hey, cool outfits from Charlie and Vaggie! I like the Apple symbol on her mask/helmet thing.

Cherri looking butch and me looking Gay, mayhaps... I also love how Angel tore the middle off his suit and, although I can't quite tell from the style, hotpants. He's going down with his midriff exposed, by god.

Oh hey, Velvette isn't straightening her hair! Probably not worth it if they're laying low where nobody's watching. I love her dress too.

"Let the slaughter begin" I am going to rewatch that a few times. Just for me.

Niffty is definitely helping by stabbing the corpses. I love her.

I just noticed Charlie's in a cute little crown! It looks good on her, subtle but tasteful.

Ponytail Vaggie Fucks. And she WILL be fucking Charlie by the end of the week, I'm s. That's a look meant for eating pussy.

Adam coughing after taking down the shield... he's probably not used to putting in any real effort, just taking down helpless sinners like fish in a barrel.

"First man, next to die" is a banger of a line.

And the Alastor Swear tally is up to three!

"Jazz is for pussies" is nothing next to the first man line. Up your game, man, you're talking to a real wordsmith. Alastor's whole Thing is obnoxiously talking you to death.

I am like 90% sure whoever put in the 'edge-lord' line was snickering to themselves while writing it. He is, but we love him. (Viv's comic joking about how he's an edgy deviantart oc was just going around again the other day.)

I actually wheezed out loud at 'too much fucking red'.

Alastor absolutely pinned it- Adam's coasted for far too long and doesn't have any real, dangerous bite behind his bark. Alastor's probably fucked over dozens of overconfident pricks just like him.

See, 'radio is fucking dead' is a better line! Don't know how much sense it makes for Adam to know to say that since Alastor didn't really introduce himself as the Radio Demon, but still.

Oh. Oh he fucked up.

Alastor swear count is up to four, and the first one that's not carefully calculated.

On one hand: This is Bad. On the other, as a Favorites Getting Fucked Up Enjoyer: This is great.

I love how Velvette and Val seem to be watching Vox freak out over the actual screen.

And a thousand fic-writers cried out in anguish at Vagatha being decanonized. Was that ever canon or just a fanon thing?

You know, it makes perfect sense the fireworks thing from the pilot could be used in combat.

Yeah, you did walk right into that one.

Aaaaa big brother Angel is so good. Poor little eggy.

WAIT, ARE WE.... WAIT IS THE DEATH ACTUALLY GONNA BE PENT OR IS THIS GONNA BE A FAKEOUT? At least he got his kiss.

NOOOOOO

Oh fuck Charlie looks badass, and of course it would be like a magical girl thing.

I love how brutal Lute is- slamming her head violently against the table especially. There's no attempt to make the girl on girl fight 'sexy'.

Oh wait, she has a tail???? I didn't see it at first, but it's a good look on her.

Called Vaggie was going to pull a 'you only get to live because I let you'. Brutal that she lost her arm though, but deserved.

Okay, I actually shrieked out loud with laughter at 'I'm going to fuck you' and it went dead silent and cut to everybody's expressions and Angel has the fucking best smug grin. I sense as soon as I return to twitter at least five people I follow will have that as an icon.

"Wait, what did I say" and it goes right back to fighting. Comedy gold.

Niffty killing him is pitch-fucking-perfect. I never would have seen it coming but I also adore it. Niffty the king-slayer.

The switch between drama and jokes in this episode are really on-point. I do think Adam obliterating Pentious in half a second was... a bit much, though.

Charlie... they were never going to listen.

A reprise of 'happy day in hell' with a theme of 'the show must go on'... that's brilliant. I love Jeremy's voice, it's perfect.

Alastor looks completely fucking unhinged and I'm Looking Intently.

WHAT? WHAT????? Is he like..... replacement Adam now???? Or just proof redemption works?

So.... Lilith masterminding Alastor's deal not proven or disproven, but she did make a deal with Lute somehow to kill Adam. Iiiiiinteresting.