#they speak humanly move humanly act humanly think humanly

[theguardianace]

do you know what would be absolutely terrifying

glitch in the sekai

[hqbaby]

three — have to be

mess it up — gojo x reader & sukuna x reader

⁀➴ when i told you i’m fine, you were lied to. when the love of your life falls for someone else, you decide to move on—by pretending to date your best friend, the campus fuckboy.

previous — masterlist — next

word count. 2.5k content. profanity, college kids being stupid, some angsty feels

Contrary to popular belief, college isn’t that different from high school. No one magically matures overnight and goes from being a snot-nosed brat to a sophisticated adult. Try as you might, it just isn’t the way things go.

College is essentially just high school on steroids. The cliques are more exclusive, padded with unwritten rules and covert acts of initiation. Bullies are more subtle, if not more vicious. And the gossip? Well, the gossip is just as venomous, and news spreads just as fast.

Today’s item of interest is one for the books: The big breakup between the campus crush and the golden boy who bagged her. How they ended things rather abruptly. And how they’re both already dating different people only three weeks later.

“Apparently, you cheated on him,” Nobara tells you, pulling out the lollipop she has in her mouth. “Or you cheated on him. It depends on who you ask.”

“I heard that you were sleeping with a professor,” Maki says.

You frown at her, adjusting your bag on your shoulders. “Yaga?”

“No.” She grins. “Gakuganji.”

You gag at the thought. Which sicko came up with that? Probably Kento, you think. The prick.

The three of you are on your way to a meeting for a pre-law society you joined back in your first year. You’re not quite sure you want to be a lawyer and Maki’s made it clear that she’s just in it for the parties, but as Nobara says, it’s for the connections.

A lot of college has felt like a complete scam to you, if you’re being honest. The classes are fine enough and you occasionally meet interesting people, but for the most part, you’re well-aware that everyone here’s either just coasting or trying to one-up one another. You can’t complain though. In the end, you’re a part of it all.

“I heard something interesting though,” Nobara says, and there’s a dangerous tone in her voice that has you crawling out of your skin. “More than a few people are saying that you’re dating someone new.”

Maki nods, looking at you with a raised brow. “I heard that too.”

“Someone from the business department apparently,” Nobara adds. “Someone you’re incredibly close with.”

You swallow as your two friends turn to you for an answer to their accusations. You and Sukuna made your sham relationship “official” just a few days ago and you haven’t had the time to tell either of them about it. If you’re being honest, you’ve been avoiding the topic for as long as humanly possible because you already know what they’re going to say about the whole thing.

It’s one thing for you to be friends with him despite their clear dislike of him, it’s an entirely different thing to be dating him. To the public’s knowledge at least.

“I was going to tell you guys about that,” you say quietly.

Nobara gapes, dropping her lollipop on the ground. “You’re fucking with us.”

“Before you say anything—”

“Holy shit!” Maki exclaims. She stops in her tracks and grabs your shoulders, shaking you as if to shock some sense into your system. “No. You’re not doing this.”

“I know Satoru fucked you up, but this is not the way to deal,” Nobara tells you. Her arms are flailing around as she tries to get her point across. She probably thinks you’re in too deep, madly in love with the asshole she’s done nothing but warn you about. “Where’s your phone? You’re breaking up with him right now.”

You can’t help but laugh at your friends’ hysterics. Much to their horror.

Maki’s grip on your tightens. “This is serious, babe. It’s not happening.”

“Will you just let me speak?” you say, the laughter shaking your voice. “I’m not dating Sukuna.”

They both let out a sigh of relief.

“But I am pretending to.”

“What kind of fucked up game are you playing?” Maki demands. She’s let go of you now at least. That’s something. “Explain, bitch.”

You roll your eyes and continue walking straight ahead, forcing the two of them to hurry along after you. “It’s just a thing we’re doing,” you say. “It’s basically a joke.”

Nobara groans. “Well, it’s not funny,” she says. “Why are you doing this?”

“I dunno,” you tell her. “I’m petty, I guess.”

They’re clearly displeased with your non-answer. You realize that it was more than ridiculous trying to hide it from them in the first place. There’s really nothing to hide.

“We went to a party over the weekend,” you say. “And Satoru was there… with Kimi.”

Maki purses her lips, but you can tell that she understands. She understands you more than she wants to. She was there with you before the breakup, she saw how much the whole thing had been weighing on you, and she was there immediately after it happened. She saw just how badly the whole thing wrecked you. She knows that you’re being stupid, but she also knows you.

It’s Nobara who scowls and shakes her head. It’ll take more than that to convince her.

“So?” she says. “Then date one of the many guys who throw themselves at your feet. Or get a girl! You’re due for a girl. Pick literally anyone else but him.”

You chuckle at her insistence, draping your arm over her shoulder and squeezing her against you. “I don’t want anything real right now,” you tell her. “All those people want a real relationship that I’m just not ready for, and they don’t deserve to be led on. Besides, Sukuna’s the only one I trust to do something this stupid with.”

“See, that’s how I know you’re fucked in the head,” she says. “You cannot trust a guy like Sukuna. He’s an ass.”

“He’s also my best friend.”

Nobara hangs her head at that. “You know, I wish I’d met you sooner,” she tells you. “Then, I would’ve gotten you away from that asshole before he got his fangs in.”

“I know him,” you say, leaning your head against her. “You gotta trust me on this.”

She wraps her arm around your waist and holds you tight for a moment, then sighs. “If he tries anything stupid though, I will kill him.”

“I’ll help,” Maki says. She goes in front of you, walking backwards so she can keep her eyes on yours. “You’re sure about this?”

You nod, reaching your hand out to grab hers. “I’m sure,” you say. “And it’s only for a month. I’ll probably be ready to move onto something real by then.”

The meeting has been going on for hours. They’re not usually this bad when all you have to talk about is a fundraiser or a seminar or a statement against the school administration or something menial like that. But the agenda today is loaded.

The trip.

The big trip that everyone in the society always gets worked up over. It’s the big event of the year, a weekend where the whole group goes somewhere new and gets completely wasted. 

It isn’t enough that you do charity work or contribute to the campus life like any other club would. It isn’t enough that you all see each other on a weekly basis to party at someone’s house or head to a bar together. To truly make the “connections” that Nobara speaks of, you have to relocate everyone to a beach or camp in the mountains or get locked together in a cabin in the woods.

It’s for bonding, they say. But with how everyone’s arguing right now, you’re almost worried that the whole group is just going to end up hating each other. Just another part of the college experience as they say.

“We are not going to an active volcano for our trip,” Utahime says. “It’s stupid and, honestly, not fun at all.”

Mahito huffs at that. “What’s more fun than knowing that we could die at any moment?” he asks like it’s a completely normal thing to say. “You guys just want to go to the beach again and that’s boring.”

“Where would we even sleep?” Aoi points out.

Utahime nods and looks at Mahito with venom in her eyes. “Exactly.”

“As if anyone sleeps on these trips anyway.”

You raise your hand. “I vote against the volcano.”

“So where would you have us go?” Mahito asks. “Kento’s house?”

The man in question scoffs. “As if I would ever let you in my house.”

“I think the beach is fine,” Nobara says. “We always have fun there anyway.”

“We went there last year though,” you say against your better judgment. When Nobara looks at you like, How are you not siding with me on this? You mouth a quick “sorry.” Then, “Camping’s fun.”

“Bugs,” Mahito.

“Oh, and you think there isn’t anything gross on a volcano?” Utahime.

“What about Aoi’s cabin?” Kento.

“My dad just sold it.” Aoi.

“I vote beach.” Maki.

“Thank you!” Nobara.

The conversation goes round and round. Everyone has an opinion, everyone has something to say, everyone has something they don’t like or don’t want to do. It seems like the whole thing will never end.

“Ski trip,” you say suddenly. The room goes silent. “We’ve never been before, and it’s doable. The budget’s pretty good this year. I think we could swing it.”

Everyone looks at Kento, the keeper of the books, as he turns to his laptop to crunch the numbers. After a moment of typing, he looks up and nods.

“It’ll have to be after the children’s rights fundraiser though,” he says. “We have to make sure we can make the downpayment on the hall for the kids, but after that…”

Everyone looks at Utahime now, the club president who has the final word on everything. “Fine,” she says eventually. “Ski trip it is.”

There’s a round of “finally”s and “fuck yeah”s and patting each other on the back for a job well-done.

“Now, about the children’s rights fundraiser,” Utahime says. “We should really start planning that.”

Everyone groans and there’s eventually a call for a five-minute break.

“We should really kick Mahito out at this point,” Nobara whispers to you as she rests her head on the table. “He doesn’t even do his job half of the time.”

You pat her head and laugh. “He’s harmless,” you tell her, getting up from your seat. “I’m gonna go pee.”

“I’ll come,” Maki says, following you out the door.

The two of you link your hands together and swing them wildly as you make your way to the restroom, a habit you two formed in freshman year when you refused to be suffocated by the crowds of people going from classroom to classroom. Despite seeming like two completely different kinds of people on the surface, the two of you are just menaces at heart. It’s why you’re such good friends.

As you approach the restroom, you can hear a group of girls talking loudly inside.

“Locker room talk,” Maki says, wiggling her eyebrows at you with a smirk on her lips.

You snort, the voices becoming clearer now.

“You’re so lucky.”

“Is he good in bed?”

“He’s lucky to have you.”

“You guys are so embarrassing.”

You stop in your tracks. The last voice is so familiar, terrifyingly so. It’s a voice you’ve heard from a few feet away. In front of you in a line. In the back of a classroom. On the court, counting out the timing for the next steps of the cheerdance.

“He’s really sweet though,” the voice says. “Just this morning, he showed up at my dorm with a bunch of flowers. He said he got them ‘just because.’”

Maki is watching you with concern, confused by why you’ve suddenly stopped moving, why your breath has seemed to hitch in your throat.

Just because.

A bouquet of now-wilted flowers on your kitchen counter. A teddy bear from a carnival tucked beneath your bed. A tennis racket you made him swear not to buy that showed up in your locker one morning before practice. Just because.

The restroom door swings open and four girls walk out. One of them—

“Kimi.”

The name slips from your mouth before you even realize it. You want the earth to swallow you whole at this moment. For the current to drag you under. For the heavens to crack open.

The girl looks at you with wide eyes. Guilt, you can tell. Pity.

She says your name this time. “Hi,” she says a little nervously. “How are you?”

Just like Maki, her friends watch the situation unfold from a careful distance. Will one of you lunge at the other? Will you pretend to be the best of friends? Should they come closer? Should they stay back?

“I’m doing well,” you tell her. The voice that comes out of you doesn’t feel like your own. You only realize now that you’re smiling. There’s a hint of smugness to it, a hint of callousness, cruelty. “I take it you and Satoru are going strong.”

She seems to catch your tone. Unintentional of course, but she doesn’t know that. All trepidation seems to leave her body, replaced by a similar coldness. “Yeah, we are,” she says. “I hear you and Sukuna are an item now.”

You try not to cringe at the implication. You’ve traded Satoru, the golden boy, for Sukuna, the bad idea. No point regretting it now.

“Yeah,” you say. End this now, you think. “Well, Maki and I have a meeting to get back to.”

“Oh, sure,” she says sweetly, stepping out of your way. Her friends follow suit. “See you around.”

You take Maki’s hand and wave at the girl as she passes by. “See you.”

The two of you walk into the restroom and let the door close behind you. You’re looking at each other now, breathing deeply as you hear the girls outside walk away.

“That was fucking insane,” Maki finally says.

“Tell me about it.”

You both burst out laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation. It’s not a big deal, if you’re thinking logically, seeing your ex’s new girlfriend in a restroom. You all go to the same school, it’s not like you can avoid each other. Still, the whole thing brings out a viciousness in you that you can’t quite control, one that’s always ridiculous in hindsight.

You go into the bathroom stalls, still laughing.

“You were so cold,” Maki tells you from the stall beside you. “I was so proud, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I was mean!” you exclaim. You groan as you reach for the toilet paper. “She’s so telling him about that.”

“No way. It’d be embarrassing.”

You pull your pants up and head out to wash your hands in the sink, waiting for Maki to finish. “She knows about Sukuna.”

“Yeah,” she says. “How do you feel about that?”

“Humiliated.”

She steps out of the stall and washes her hands in the sink beside yours. “You still think the whole pretend-dating thing is worth it?”

You shrug, crossing your arms over your chest. “What’s done is done,” you tell her. “Sunk cost, baby.”

Maki dries her hand and looks at you seriously now. “Are you okay?”

Just because.

The words echo in your head. Words that have only ever been spoken to you now tainted by her voice.

“No,” you tell her. When she looks at you with furrowed brows, all you can do is shrug. “But I’ll have to be.”

notes. a little insight into reader's student life and bit of her bitchy side 👀 these chapters are getting longer than i'm used to lmao i fear the plot is getting away from me and just dragging me along for the ride at this point

[earthtooz]

clingy!gojo x gn!reader, fluff, use of pet names, a little bullying from reader but that's okay- it's gojo /j, he's annoying and probs ooc.

gojo satoru is as codependent as he is powerful and you came to realise that the hard way during the timeline of your relationship. what began as a peaceful saturday morning lying together in bed has now become a total wrestling match, one that you were drastically losing in in comparison to gojo's unmatched strength.

"get off me, 'toru, i need to go buy groceries before the shops begin getting busy!" you huff, your hand on his shoulder doing nothing to make him budge no matter how hard you tried.

he whines, loud and pathetic in your ear. "don't leave! i'll be all cold and miserable!"

"oh boohoo. move," as an afterthought, you add: "please?"

he shakes his head, white strands tickling your chin as the sorcerer shoves himself further into your warmth, holding you with a kind of fervour that spiders have to their webs.

you don't know how you can get out of this one.

"please, love?" gojo loves it when you bring out pet names for him; something you monopolise in hopes of lowering his defence. "i'll be quick too. just a trip to the grocery store and then i'll be back, is that such a demanding request?"

"yes. i don't know what could happen to you out there, what if a special grade curse appears? i'd never forgive myself."

"then come with me."

"too cold for that. i'm staying here."

you roll your eyes. chivalry is dead. "glad to know that you've got my back. whatever. i can handle myself, 'toru, you know that."

"okay, but i can't- that's why you need to stay!"

"you have more cursed energy in one finger than i do my whole body."

he hmphs.

"you can destroy buildings for miles."

he hmphs again.

"your birth literally shook the jujutsu world."

the white-haired hmphs one final time, his cutesy act only doing so much when the grip he has around you contradicts it. gojo's strength is not something to be messed with but you just hope that he stops squeezing you soon because it was getting harder and harder to breathe. paired with his weight on top of yours, you don't think you two can get any humanly closer.

"'satoru," you groan, utterly exasperated at his stubbornness. "you're acting very sweet and all but i'm serious. we don't have enough food. we ran out of milk for your daily mocha-"

the sorcerer places delicate kisses along your collarbone, cutting you off as you shiver from the sensation, especially when his lips brushes over a sensitive part of your skin.

"-don't care."

"gojo," you murmur in a warning tone, any hint of affection draining out of your voice.

bad idea. you knew what using his family name would result in and in your sleepy, yet frustrated haze, you hadn't considered the consequences. not until gojo's clinginess intensifies, his head rising from your chest whilst one of his hands pause midway through the heart he was tracing on your skin. he's looking at you with eyes that glisten with love, worry and fear. you now feel guilt washing over you, unable to muster the words to apologise before he speaks up.

"please don't be mad, i mean well," your lover whispers, the sunlight that snuck through your blinds illuminating him beautifully, deliciously sculpting the planes of his back. "i love you so much, don't you know? i thought you loved me too."

you sigh, flopping your head back into your pillow.

gojo continues littering kisses here and there, a new sense of desperation lingering with his actions. "at select times," you quip.

"babe, that's mean!"

"just as mean as you trapping me here. i'm hungry, gojo, and i have things i need to do."

"stop calling me that," he whines, pushing himself up only to crawl up higher, his head now fitting into your neck from where it rested against your sternum earlier.

great. now you can feel even more of his weight as he flops atop you.

tapping his shoulder in surrender, the best you can mutter is a breathy 'you're heavy' before he expertly manoeuvres the two of you, all pressure disappearing immediately as you now lie on your side.

gojo looks down at you with so much love and adoration, that it sends you reeling, regretting looking at him. your resolve cracks even more with the gentle kiss he presses against your forehead, lingering there for a moment before pulling away.

he seems to be even happier in this position, arms wrapping tight around your torso in a bone-crushing embrace, keeping you right against his exposed chest.

right against his heart.

this is a battle you've lost, you decide, surrendering by wrapping your arm around the white-haired's torso.

gojo doesn't miss the action, no, he revels in it and you don't even have to see him to know that he's smirking. smugness dripping in his tone when he asks, "oh? finally gave in to my charms, babe?"

"you're so annoying," you grunt, unwrapping yourself and shuffling around in gojo's hold to face away from your boyfriend.

once again, you don't even need to see him to see the astonished look he gives you, eyebrows furrowed and jaw dropped in disbelief. imagining it provides you with a little feeling of satisfaction.

"unbelievable!" gawks the sorcerer. "i am merely trying to show you my love and you do-"

"-'toru," you declare, the affectionate nickname only you use immediately silencing him. "go to sleep. or i'll leave your ass for everything you've put me through this morning."

detecting the airiness in your tone, he knows your threat cannot be farther from a lie. but still, he complies but not without murmuring a small 'unfair' before tucking himself into you, completely overwhelming you with his limbs.

"i love you," you confess, the words hovering into air, dissipating before long but gojo hears it. he always does. he's engraved the way you say those three words in his mind.

it sounds sweeter every time though, causing butterflies to erupt in his chest as gojo kisses your cheek. "i love you more," parting with a little bite, you swat him away as he sinks back into his position, laughing in amusement.

you end up going to the supermarket together that afternoon.

[dira333]

kenma!!! for your plot bunny game hehe

You're being a lil meanie for requesting him *pouty face* I don't know what this is. He deserves so much better than I'm being able to write.

🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.🐈.

It's impossible.

You cannot sit next to Kenma without wanting to touch him.

But also cannot touch him, because that would be weird, wouldn't it?

The back of the cab feels tiny and enormous at the same time.

Kenma's thigh is pressed against yours and his elbow digs into your arm everytime he moves, which is often, because he keeps playing a game on his phone to pass the time.

If Kuroo on your right is saying something, you don't hear it. You're too busy thinking about the fact that Kenma is touching you and you are touching Kenma and that his hair is really pretty in the flickering light of the streetlamps and how it would feel like if you touched it and-

Someone shoves his hand unceremoniously between the two of you and opens your seatbelt. You flinch and look up, face Kuroo's knowing, teasing grin. Oh no.

-

The only free seat left is next to Kenma. Of course.

You're not sure how you're going to survive a whole movie pressed against him, because you will be, because Bokuto always takes up more space than necessary, usually ending up with his head in your lap and his feet crossed over Akaashi's.

Maybe that will give you something to do, to distract yourself and you're right. It's a little bit easier to deal with Kenma being so close yet so far away when you're playing absentmindedly with Bokuto's hair. And it gives you the added bonus of him falling asleep, offering you half a movie without his incessant commentary.

Not that that matters, because close to the end Kenma's head sinks to the side, pressing heavily against your shoulder blade. You stop breathing for a whole minute, all your blood flooding to the scene of the crime. Maybe, if you'll never move again, you could stay like this?

-

You like the timbre of his voice, the honesty of his comments, the fact that his eyes never seem to miss a thing.

He's generous and helpful, never once complaining when everyone uses his house to crash or celebrate in.

If you dared to think about it, maybe you'd dare to tell him how you feel.

"What are you even scared of?" Kuroo asks over lunch one day, slipping out of his role as your supervisor like it's just another one of his suits.

"Being myself," you answer because the past has taught you to be wary.

-

"Are you okay?"

Kenma's face is pale, his eyes are moving left and right at a speed that's dizzying, even to you.

The mall is packed and the air is thick with perfume from a nearby vendor. For a moment you're not sure if he's going to faint or run off and before you can stop yourself, your hand takes his.

His skin is cold and slick with sweat, but his fingertips dig into your hand, squeezing so tight it should probably hurt.

You pull him in, acting on instinct and addiction more than anything else, needing him to be closer, closer, closer. And safe.

His face settles in the crook of your neck, your free hand rubbing over his back.

"Wanna get out?" You ask. He nods, his chin knocking into your chest.

His hand doesn't leave yours. When you urge him into the passenger seat he pulls you in with him until you're both crammed into the small space, you on his lap, his face pressed into your side.

You sit like that for a while, not speaking.

In all honesty, you're impressed you're acting this normal about it, when all you've been dreaming about lately is to slip into his skin, to be closer to him than humanly possible.

Eventually though, Kenma's breath evens out.

You drag a hand through his hair, guilt sitting heavy in your stomach. Should you really touch him like this when he just went through something like that?

"Hungry?" You ask. "I have a fruit snack in my purse."

He nods slowly, though he doesn't move otherwise.

"Sorry I just touched you like that," you mutter.

"I like it," he says, voice a little muffled.

The realization hits you a little sooner than him and you gasp, only to feel him dig his hands into your sides.

"Kuroo said you've got a crush on me too," he rushes to add, not yet showing his face, "if that's a lie, just say so and we'll forget this ever happened, okay?"

"It's not a lie."

-

Kenma's sitting in your lap. He's heavy and warm and his head is snuggled right against your collarbone in a way that must be torture for his back but neither of you is complaining.

"You're so gross!" Kuroo points out from the other side of the Couch. "Some people are single around here."

"Hey," Bokuto exclaims loudly, "I said not to make fun of it."

You ignore both of them, your left hand creeping up Kenma's back under his hoodie. He snorts lightly, shivering against the touch. He's ticklish.

Maybe, if you were alone together, you'd put your whole head under the hoodie, slip into it and share it with him.

But that can wait until later.

[ihatealimore]

I Hope I Can Keep You Warm Part 2

(This is full-on smut. Enjoy!)

word count: 1,823

You can't even decipher how much time has passed you by as you stay wrapped in Kurapika's warm embrace. The two of you haven't spoken a word to each other as you enjoy each other's presence and warmth. His hand still runs over the back of your head soothingly, being as gentle as humanly possible, which you can't help but find pleasantly endearing.

You nestle deeper into his shoulder, still not ready to pull away from him and allow him to see your flustered face. You've never been so vulnerable around someone else before, however, you can't help but feel content that you're sharing this moment with Kurapika.

"(Y/N)," His voice is hushed as he calls out to you, "Are you awake?"

You nod, your voice coming out muffled, "Yes, I'm awake."

"Tell me what you're thinking."

An involuntary chuckle escapes your lips as you recall how you coerced him into telling you exactly what he was thinking just hours earlier with the same phrase.

You release a content sigh, "I'm thinking about how comfortable I am."

It's his turn to chuckle, "While I'm glad to hear that, that's not exactly what I meant."

"I'm happy," You explain to him, "I'm happy that you've decided to open up to me. I know I'm kind of pushy but it's only because you're so stubborn."

"There's no need for you to offer me any type of apology when you're completely right," He starts, "Besides, I don't happen to mind when you're pushy towards me."

A wave of surprise washes over you before a devious smirk etches itself onto your face, "Is that so?"

His statement has given you the encouragement you needed to pull your face out of the crook of his shoulder and face him. His cheeks are colored a crimson hue, either from the cold or the embarrassment of the situation. His eyes are half-glazed over as he can't seem to turn his gaze away from the effervescent person in front of him.

You shift slightly in his lap, prompting him to bite his lip in an effort to keep himself from letting out a moan. While he put himself in this situation to keep you warm, he can't deny that his thoughts right now are revolving around anything but that. His gaze falters as his eyes drift languidly down to your lips.

You're having the same thoughts as him and you're certain of that by the way he's acting. Reading Kurapika is like a skill to you, although right now he's more open than ever before. You lean in closer to him, your warm breath easily felt on his cheeks.

"(Y/N), I..." His sentence falls off as his breath hitches at your abrupt movement.

"I think I know what you're thinking."

You lean in to kiss him, softly, yet passionately, hoping to convey to him exactly how you're feeling with just the sensations of your lips moving against one another. When you remove your lips from his to take in a breath, he entangles his hands in your hair and pulls you back in, your lips mashing together once again, more fervently this time.

Your feverish kisses don't stop at that. Both of you seemingly can't part from one another, your lips and tongues dancing an endless tango together. Your arms are wrapped around his neck while your legs are tightly encircling his waist. He's trying his best to keep his growing erection from prodding you and failing miserably.

When you finally part, a line of spit that was connecting your mouths breaks and drips down Kurapika's chin. You let out a fiendish giggle as you swipe away the drool from his face. Your makeshift shelter is quiet for several moments as you look into each other's lust-filled eyes.

With panting breaths and lustful trembling, Kurapika speaks, "(Y/N), please allow me to give my whole self over to you."

A smirk plays on your lips upon hearing those words fall from his lips once more, "With pleasure."

He watches you like a deer in the headlights of a car, seemingly as nervous as he is excited. If not for his gray contacts, his eyes would be radiating a deep scarlet hue. His mind is racing, heart beating erratically as you reach for his hand and gingerly move it to your breast. He gulps, looking at you with wide eyes as if wondering if this is okay.

As a form of silent encouragement, you take his other hand and place it over your other breast. The blonde-haired man lets out a quiet sigh of relief as his slender hands begin exploring your chest. You let out a content breath when his thumb brushes over one of your nipples.

Perceptive as always, Kurapika takes note of this, delicately rolling a nipple in between his index finger and thumb. This prompts a hushed moan from you, causing Kurapika's confidence to rise slightly. Emotions are high and he's doing his best to not rush and cherish this intimate moment with you. He pinches your nipple a bit harder before he continues relishing in the way your hot skin feels against his.

His hands begin to wander slowly, as he explores the temple that is your body. As his fingers roam down your sides, the blanket that was wrapped around you both finally falls to the ground, fully revealing both of your nude bodies to the glacial outside air. Your eyes haven't yet left his and as if entranced by you, he can't seem to look away.

The kurta's hands finally land on your hips, before roaming further down to your thighs. He begins gently massaging your outer thighs, taking in how receptive you are to his touch. His massaging motions soon extend to your inner thighs. You bite your lip as your half-lidded eyes finally move from his to glance down at his wandering hands.

Kurapika's hand brushes over your slit as if testing the waters. When he only receives a positive reaction in response from you, he decides to move a step further. He circles your entrance with his fingers in an effort to tease you before finally slowly entering a finger. You breathe out an involuntary moan, prompting the blonde-haired man to freeze for a moment to watch you.

He steadily moves his finger in and out of you for several moments before picking up the pace. Your hips gradually move along with his movements as faint moans escape your lips. He abruptly inserts another finger inside you, moving them in and out of you more rapidly now.

After a few minutes, he slows down and removes his dripping fingers from your aching slit, and brings them to his lips. He swirls his tongue around his fluid-covered fingers before fully wrapping his lips around them, clearly savoring your taste. Your cheeks are burning up as you watch him. In fact, the skin all over your body is on fire at the moment, the cold you were feeling just hours ago completely forgotten.

"Would you like a taste?" He asks you seductively.

You're left speechless, deciding to nod in response. His lips mash against yours passionately, his tongue pushing its way past your lips and into your mouth. His tongue entangles itself with yours while he allows to receive a prolonged taste of your own juices. Kurapika finally pulls himself away from your lips, panting for breath as he does.

"I apologize if I've been too forward," He mutters an apology to you, "I just cannot seem to help myself."

"The feeling is mutual," You flash him a sly grin.

His eyes drink in your body while he looks you up and down. He pauses, hesitant to allow these next words to fall from his lips, "I would like to take this further, however, I'm concerned that I'm acting too impulsive and moving far too quickly."

Shaking your head, you reply, "I don't think we're moving too fast at all. In fact, I'd say this has been long overdue," A smirk graces your features, "Besides, you said you wanted to give your whole self over to me and I'd like to return the favor."

You reach below yourself and wrap your hand around his erection, earning a lustful shudder from your lover. You help him line his cock up with your entrance. He lets out a deep breath as you gradually begin to lower yourself down onto him. Simultaneous moans fill the empty cave as he slowly fills you. Once he's fully inside of you, Kurapika stays still for a lingering moment as his fiery eyes bore holes into yours.

You're the one to make the first move as you ever-so-slowly begin riding him. Kurapika holds you by the hips as he thrusts in motion with your movements. It's taking everything in him not to go ballistic and ravish you, however, he doesn't seem to mind you taking the lead. You kiss him heatedly as you pick up the pace, releasing breathy moans into his mouth. The kiss only ends when both of you need to part ways to breathe.

You hold onto his shoulders in an effort to steady yourself as you bounce up and down on him. Your lover uses this opportunity to press his lips against your neck, sucking lightly before gently nibbling on you, evoking a sound of pleasure from you. You're riding him at a quicker and rougher pace now, before abruptly stopping and bottoming out on him. Kurapika fails to hold back a loud moan as you stay in place for several seconds.

Moans of pleasure echo against the cavern walls as you return to bouncing on his slick cock. His fingernails have begun to dig into your hips as his breathing becomes more labored and unsteady, his heart beating out of his chest.

"(Y/N)," He breathes out your name, "I'm close."

Little does he know, so are you. Your thighs tighten around his waist as you ride him to your oncoming climax. A series of loud moans ring out through the air as you finally climax, your walls tightening around him while your juices flow down his swollen cock. It's impossible for your lover to hold himself back and he cums with a whimper, accompanied by hushed moans of pleasure.

The cave is silent aside from your uneven breaths and the blistering wind from outside. Kurapika and you share a look, both of you unwilling to move from the position you're in, his cock twitching inside of you. You let out a content sigh and collapse onto him, leaning against his chest. Instinctively, the kurta holds you, wrapping one arm around your back and placing a loving hand on the back of your head.

He presses his hot lips against the top of your head, "Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you," You argue back to him, "You certainly kept me warm."

A chuckle reverberates throughout his chest, "I suppose I can't argue with you there."

You pull away from his chest, mashing your feverish lips against his once more before parting from him, "But the night is long."

[wolfiemcwolferson]

trick or treat

but i’m afraid

Uh. I’m in a mood.

The first time Charles swings his sword at Pierre’s neck, Pierre is genuinely so happy to see that he’s alive, he barely manages to block it.

“CHARLES!” He roars over the sound of swords clashing all around them - praying to the gods that he is actually seeing him and it’s not a trick of the lamplight flickering in the town-square.

Charles’ seems to falter, something falling away from his face when he recognizes Pierre and he shouts, red-faced, but not loud enough to be heard by mortal ears.

Everyone drops their swords anyway.

“Pierre?” He pants, “What are you doing in this land?”

Pierre ignores him, throwing his sword to the mud. If he kills me, Pierre thinks, I’ll die a happy man.

Charles doesn’t kill him.

He hugs him and then takes Pierre and his men back to the village and feeds them and puts them up in actual beds in the inn and then he leads Pierre back to the kitchen where there’s a small room full of Charles’ things laid about.

Charles tosses him a filthy rag and some oil for his sword as he says, “you’re not meant to be here.”

Pierre smiles at him, proud and overwhelmed.

He had watched him be drug away from their own village at 13, destined for greatness and gifted. Pierre thought he’d never see him again, but then their village had been infected and Pierre and his men had run.

“At least act like you’re happy to see me, Calamar.” Pierre teases him, unstrapping his pack, letting it fall to the floor. “I’ve traveled across the continent in search of you.”

Charles’ squeezes his eyes shut. “You shouldn’t have come.”

For the first time, Pierre wonders if he’s made a mistake, if he’s miscalculated. There have been many years since.

“It’s dangerous for you,” Charles breathes. “You aren’t one of us and you all should flee.”

But he moves closer to Pierre and he squeezes his hand between his and he looks so sad and Pierre remembers the promise he made to Pascale - before she became too sick to speak.

“I could be though,” Pierre whispers back, even though that’s nonsensical. “It could be like when we were children.”

Charles’ breath hitches. “You do not know what you are asking.”

“I do not.” Pierre agrees with him. “I only know that I have known you were alive for all of one hour and I am unwilling to part with you again in life or death.”

“If you so wish,” Charles whispers.

Faster than humanly possible, he yanks Pierre’s wrist to his mouth and bites.

Pierre blacks out.

.

The second time Charles swings his sword at Pierre’s neck, it merely pings off his unblemished skin.

Charles smiles at him. Fang on display.

[bamgyw]

i’m so sorry for this rant in advance😭. for a little backstory i’m 20 and i’ve been with my boyfriend since i was 15. he is pretty much perfect. he is supportive of my passions, he is understanding, he is sweet, and we have sooo much in common. lately ive been feeling extra lost and down due to (most likely) going off of anti depressants that i have also been on for 5 years. i feel very confused about who i am and also have been disassociating which is something ive never experienced before. ugh im so sorry this is getting so deep😭. i really do love him but im just so confused on if i’m IN love with him anymore. i mean we try to be intimate but the past few years due to body changes and stuff it’s really hard for me to find pleasure in it. when i read fictional things i definitely enjoy that (thanks father rey🫡) but it’s so hard when it’s actually real life. in the past i’ve also become like infatuated or had “crushes” on other people during our relationship but obviously of course never acted EVER on these feelings. when i would look things up people would say these things are normal so i would try not to dwell on it. but right now there is nobody that i have feelings for (at least that’s real or someone i know) yet i still feel distant from my boyfriend. our lives are so intertwined in literally every aspect and we have so many memories together. i can’t possibly imagine my life without him and it scares me thinking of a future where he isn’t the one that i’m with. life would be so different than what it has been and he is my best friend as well. the thought of us not being together devastates me. even with all of these things i can’t help but imagine my life sometimes if i were to be with other people or just be single and move some where across the world and live all of these unrealistic dreams that i have. sometimes i feel like i’m settling. not because he isn’t good enough but because it’s the exact opposite. he is too good and deserves all the love in the world. i want to be in love with him so badly. i just don’t know if i am anymore. like are these fleeting feelings that will go away or is this just my mental illness speaking?? i don’t know anything anymore. all that i know if that I actually just don’t know anything at all anymore. everything hurts so much. being an infp on top of this makes it so much worse😩. i’m not even expecting you to know an answer to this of course but i haven’t even told anyone in my life the way i’ve been feeling. i’m scared that if i say it out loud things will change. i just hurt so much every single day and this has been going on for over a month now. somehow it feels like an eternity though. thank you for taking the time to even read or respond to this😭❤️

well first off, breathe and take this virtual kiss on your forehead. mwah. this is painfully complex, which makes it very human, too. and that is good. it means we're alive and functioning. i promise that all this hurt won't last forever. it never does. we got this !!

i'm sorry for taking so long to reply to you :(, i wanted my thoughts to be somewhat meditated so i could make sense and be as helpful as humanly possible.

also, please don't apologise. you all keep apologising when you think you're bothering me or annoying me or sending asks too long WHICH IS NEVER TRUE so yeah, there's none of that in reyville. we're all really cool no matter what.

and if only the act of sharing this has been useful in the slightest, even just for the relief value of venting, then it was more than worth it and i'm really glad you did !!

first thing is the going off meds. antidepressants are bitch. i don't know which ones you were taking specifically, but usually what they do is numb you out instead of taking away your pain, right? they don't make you feel less shitty, just limit your ability to feel at all. which is fucked up, because the day you stop taking them all the pain comes to you at once. and you don't know what to do with yourself and you feel miserable and you don't even know why.

so. i'm no one and i know nothing. still. i am your friend from the internet, which is a sacred bestie bond, so i'm gonna try to be as honest as i possibly can.

but ultimately you're the person who knows yourself the best (you're literally you), so the wisest and most valuable opinion is always your own, which is fucking scary because freedom is a prison. but you're cool and i trust you, so.

so (and again, i'm not a psychiatrist i'm a rando on the internet), i think you're right when you say that going off the meds might be a reason why you're in so much pain. you need to be patient and allow your brain some time to balance the chemicals and get used to working on its own.

but beyond that, you're feeling shitty and lost, which absolutely fucking sucks. your pain is here and widespread and tangible and so we need to cope with that now !!

when you talk about that inability to feel pleasure, again, mental illness is literally crippling. so you shouldn't press yourself about not being able to enjoy getting intimate with your boyfriend. just take your time and get comfortable with yourself first.

and don't get the concepts of love and attraction confused !! you struggling a little to get turned on does absolutely not mean that you love him any less. asexual people exist, and they date and get married !!

love comes in so many different ways, even within one person. so don't be scared because things aren't as they used to. even if you were feeling great emotionally, things like this happen all the time and it's alright !! your libido might not always be on the high, and so what? and with all that's going on inside your head, it's understandable that you can't enjoy getting intimate.

i feel like i can't advise you to tell your boyfriend about this because i don't really know him and i don't know how he would react. but you do know him !! so if you trust him and you think it's safe, in time and whenever you're comfortable, talk to him. your mental health is your right and duty, but this involves him as well, so maybe he deserves to know. (and he definitely will be able to help you. more than me, at least).

the precise point of it being not real is that there is no risk, nothing to lose. you're allowed to be at your most open and comfortable. that's why fic writing is often brought up in conversations about feminist sexual liberation, because in real life there are little to none safe spaces for girls. so they, we (assuming that you share this experience) wouldn't get a chance to explore our sexuality were it not for fiction. (i rambled i'm sorry).

still, i don't think your libido is entirely broken? you mentioned only getting turned on by fiction, but that's literally so common. if it weren't, the idol industry would totally crumble.

it's pretty simple, in fiction there's no danger to the relationship, no actual commitment and no threat of failure. it's not real, it has no effect in your life. so all those worries that clog up your brain in real life and that paralyse you—do i still love him, do i love him like he deserves, what would i do without him— those ugly but very necessary parts of a relationship are just gone.

that's the beauty of literature of any genre, it's a chance to try and fail without real consequences. an exploration.

but it can also be a great source of dissatisfaction, when real life feels dull and not enough. there's a beauty to that dullness too, though sometimes it is a little harder to see. that's where the deep bond with your boyfriend comes to play.

there's the line (this is stupid, sorry, it just reminded me of it) in the intro to the new ariana grande album. "how can i tell if i'm in the right relationship? aren't you really supposed to know that shit? feel it in your bones and own that shit?"

you mentioned he's your best friend, and i think that's so cherishable. personally, i value having someone to share life with so much, (i'm terrified of being alone, and now i'm supposed to insert some lame joke to make it goofy) but i also understand that great fear of not being satisfied in that kind of traditional, unbreakable concept of relationship.

i think fear of commitment is so much deeper than people usually make it out to be. he's perfect, but is he perfect for me? no one is ever gonna make me feel this safe and loved, but also, why does it feel like it's not enough? it fucking sucks.

but there's so many external things that can be triggering all those thoughts. things neither you nor your boyfriend can control.

there's the antidepressants. there's the fact that you've been with your boyfriend since you were fifteen?? that's so fucking young, you were babies !! you don't know how to live a life without your boyfriend because you practically never have. there's the combination of everything that just results in that anxiety storm which might also be causing you to wanna run away and live a completely different life !!

whatever you do, just remember that there's no such thing as a bad choice. you have a right to be curious and want to explore other ways of life, and you also have a right to look for stability with your boyfriend. they're both scary, and there's a lot of pondering to do. but i believe in you !!

your boyfriend is so important, and he deserves all the best. but the best is almost never pretending that everything's going fine so that he doesn't get upset. loving him like he deserves might mean talking to him earnestly about everything you're feeling, or even a sincere break up.

and please don't take this as me encouraging you to break up with him. only you know if that's the right choice. i just want you to walk without guilt into whatever path you think it's the right one.

as you think about all this, love yourself a lot. that'll make everything easier. (cliché but true) you need integrity and a lot of self-respect to make the best possible decisions, for you and for everyone you love.

please try to not get anxious. to keep your head a little cold and your heart calm. if not, your fears will turn into these irrational bloodthirsty monsters and every decision will feel like it's life or death. it's not, it's gonna be okay.

talk to yourself as you would talk to dear friend, be supportive of yourself. sometimes it even helps to put yourself in a third person pov and think about your problems as if they were happening to a character !! (again, the holy power of story).

and don't hesitate to send in as many asks as you need and talk to me about anything !!

i hope i didn't make too many stupid points during this long ass speech, and i hope i didn't tell you too many things you already knew. i really want you to feel better, and i trust that you will.

be strong !! a hundred thousand kisses.

[fangirleaconmigo]

I Can't Believe It's Not Fanon

Otherwise known as...

Witcher facts that sound like Geraskier fic writers made them up, but that are, in fact, book canon.

I have gotten two asks now about Jaskier and Ciri’s relationship. So let's goooo. For this installment of Canon or Fanon, I am answering the question:

Jaskier and Ciri's Friendship, Canon or Fanon?

In Geraskier fanfics, Jaskier is (obviously) Geralt’s romantic partner. So, whenever the fic also includes Ciri, Jaskier and Ciri often have a sweet found family vibe of their own. They almost always get along famously!

But in TWN S2 when they finally meet, Ciri isn’t interested in speaking to him, and brushes him off. (Not saying they can’t or won't become friends in TWN, but we haven’t seen it yet)

So, I’ve been asked whether their good relationship is pure fanon? Or is it book canon as well?

Well.

In the books, Jaskier and Ciri have a very sweet relationship. He seems to 'get' her and they get up to a bit of mischief together. 

Ciri also teases him, suggesting a comfortable, affectionate relationship. 

Most impressively, Yen and Geralt ask him to babysit Ciri when they have other things to do, which demonstrates that they place the highest trust humanly possibly in him. 

Dandelion is inarguably part of Ciri’s found family and a big part of his motivation in the final three books are his feelings of responsibility for her.

In fact, Dandelion’s concern for Ciri and his feelings of responsibility for her actually lead to one of the most emotional, touching scenes between Geralt and Dandelion. It is a rare scene where Dandelion is incredibly vulnerable, and when I read it I want to chew glass.

I feel like because it is a bit more subtle, not everyone pics up on it. But as usual, you don't have to take my word for it. I have pulled book quotes to support each of these claims. So, read on!

(Obviously, there are book spoilers. I try to vague up everything plot related and leave out major spoilers, but there are still mild and moderate spoilers. In fact, I think this may be my most spoilery one by necessity. But I try really really hard but I cannot guarantee anything.)

When Dandelion and Ciri meet, he instantly ‘gets’ her. 

The first time Dandelion and Ciri meet, it is in Time of Contempt. Geralt and Dandelion are staying at a friend’s house together, and Ciri is supposed to be on her way to Aretuza with Yen. However, Ciri and Yennefer show up there instead.

Geralt and Yen are broken up, so the reunion scene feels very much like divorced exes co-parenting. It is awkward. Ciri is standing physically between Geralt and Yen, feeling pressure about which one to walk towards. Dandelion watches the scene carefully.

“Who will the girl choose?” wondered Dandelion.

So, he sees right away that Ciri is in a very delicate position, and no matter what she does, it will show favoritism to one of her parents. Ciri comes up with an inventive, if theatrical solution.

Ciri did not walk to either of them. She was unable to decide. Instead of moving, she fainted.

Time of Contempt p101

So, Dandelion understands that she is in a difficult position. He also recognizes a performance when he sees one.

The next day, Geralt and Yen are outside in an orchard having a conversation. Ciri wakes up and goes outside to eavesdrop on them. She is caught in the act.

Ciri had imagined that Dandelion, the famous poet whose work she had read countless times, was asleep. She was wrong. The poet Dandelion wasn’t asleep. And he caught her in the act.

Lol. Imagine you have spent hours and hours over the course of your short life reading this famous man’s poetry, and he catches you being nosy.

“Hey,” he said, coming up unexpectedly and chuckling. “Is it polite to eavesdrop and spy on people? More discretion, little one. Let them be together for a while.”

Ciri blushed, but then immediately narrowed her lips.

Dandelion chuckles, because, well, we know that Dandelion LOVES eavesdropping and spying on people. Where else would he get all his gossip? So it is an affectionate, gentle statement. Then, Dandelion lets her know that he recognized that the faint was fake, even though Geralt didn’t realize it.

That was very cunning what you did yesterday, but you didn’t fool me. You pretended to faint, didn’t you?”

Yes I did,” she muttered, turning her face away.

And then, since as I said, spying is actually very much Dandelion’s thing, he joins her. They sit under an apple tree and eavesdrop on Geralt and Yen together. Ciri describes Yen and Geralt’s body language to Dandelion, then, in his expert capacity as a poet, he ‘translates’ it for her.

It is such an adorable scene. It also very much fits the popular “Dandelion and Ciri do mischief together” fanon. 

I’m going to screenshot the whole thing because it is too long to type out, but here it is in case anyone wants to read it here. And if you can’t read it on here, it takes place on pages 101-103 in Time of Contempt. I found it in pdf form online and I’ll put the link in the replies.

So, after this sweet beginning, they develop a relationship that is comfortable and affectionate. And perhaps most significantly, Geralt and Yen leave Ciri in his care. There is truly no higher trust, and it very much indicates that he is part of the family.

First, Geralt, Yennefer, Dandelion, and Ciri tride together to Aretuza/Thanned. The journey is not ‘on the page’ but we know they make that trip together as a group of four. Those kinds of missing scenes are ripe for fics. We want to see them spending time together being just relaxed. But we don’t see it here.

But we do read that before they get to Thanned, they stop in Loxia where: 

Geralt whiled away the day talking to Ciri. Dandelion ran around collecting and spreading gossip, and the enchantress measured and chose clothes.

p108

Then the evening comes and Geralt and Yen go to a banquet on Thanned, leaving Ciri with Dandelion. 

Dandelion Babysits Ciri 

The babysitting scenes don’t show them interacting, but it is still lovely. It ‘fast forwards’ to night time, and Ciri is having her usual dreams. As she wakes up and drifts back to sleep, the sounds of Dandelion singing, comforts her back to sleep.

The first time, the sounds are more celebratory:

“Now, vainly trying to recall the dream, she could only hear the soft sounds of lute and flute, the jingling of tambourine, singing, and laughter. Dandelion and the group of minstrels he had chanced upon continued to have the time of their lives in the chamber at the end of the corridor.

Time of Contempt p153 

The second time is more soothing:

“Dandelion’s soft mournful singing and the music he raised from the lute’s strings murmuring like a stream flowing over pebbles, drifted to her from the chamber at the end of the corridor...Ciri listened carefully to the words. 

p154

Then, there are noises in her room. Something is afoot. Ciri tries to reach for her sword. But Yen has given it to Dandelion for safekeeping.

She didn’t have a sword any more; Yennefer had taken it from her, giving it to Dandelion for safekeeping. The poet must have gone to sleep, and it was silent in Loxia. Ciri was already wondering whether to go and wake him...

Time of Contempt p 159

Unlike in TWN so far, Yen already sees herself as Ciri’s mother. She is intensely protective, on high alert, and VERY VERY determined to keep Ciri safe. So, she has taken Ciri’s sword, and given it to Dandelion for safekeeping. This is more indication of her trust in Dandelion which is high praise. There is nothing more important to her than Ciri, nothing. 

The noise in Ciri’s room turns out to actually be Yen, taking her from her room via magical portal. But shit has hit the fan back at Aretuza and she understandably does not stop to wake Dandelion and tell him that she is taking Ciri, or why.

So, since Dandelion is staying down the hall, he doesn’t hear anything. It is only when he awakens some time later that he finds Ciri gone. He doesn’t know who took her and he doesn’t know why. So, he sprints to Aretuza to tell Geralt. 

Dandelion arrived on the steps out of breath, saw what was happening and went white as a ghost.

“Geralt!” he yelled a moment later. “Ciri’s disappeared! She isn’t here!”

“I expected as much,” answered the witcher...”but you really make a body wait, Dandelion. I told you yesterday to leg it to Aretuza if anything happened!...”

Time of Contempt p172

So, it is important to explain here that Geralt doesn’t trust Yen with Ciri yet. Yen is completely trustworthy because she loves Ciri, but he doesn’t ‘get’ that yet. That whole chapter we are in his head, so we know that he is asking himself whether Yen is lying to him, he is saying to himself that Yen is hiding something, and he is questioning whether Yen is loyal to Ciri.

So Geralt is anguished now. He assumes it was Yen who took her, but he doesn’t know whether it was to protect her or to throw her to the wolves. And saying to Dandelion ‘what took you so long’ plays into the next part of Dandelion’s motivations in the story.

So fast forward to a few weeks later. During the whole thing on Thanned, Geralt and Dandelion are separated. Geralt is injured. And then he is taken to Brokilon for healing. Dandelion then makes the terrifying journey into Brokilon to check on his friend. And of course, Geralt is in complete anguish. He is injured. He doesn’t know where Yen is, where Ciri is, and whether Yen is helping Ciri or harming her.

In these scenes in Brokilon is where we fully see the extent of Dandelion’s guilt about Ciri. 

He feels so guilty about  that he dreams/hallucinates a dryad telling him Geralt’s misfortune is all his fault. 

“...It’s obvious you had a hand in it. It’s obvious you are his friend. And if someone has friends, and he loses everything in spite of that, it’s obvious the friends are to blame for what they did, or for what they didn’t do.”

“What could I have done?” he whispered. “What could I have done?”

“I don’t know,” answered the dryad. 

“I didn’t tell him everything...” 

“I know.”

“I’m not guilty of anything.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No! I’m not--”

So, since this is a dream, the dryad is the part of Dandelion who blames himself. And he believes he is at fault because friends don’t let friends lose everyone they love.

This is the inherent tragedy of fantasy stories where non-powered humans are friends with super powered mutants and mages. They worship the ground their super powered friends walk on. They want everything to turn out ok. But they can’t actually do anything to save them. They can only love them. Geralt actually desperately needs that more than anything else, and it is why he values Dandelion, but Dandelion can’t see the value in what he offers him. He just feels useless.

So while he is yelling in his dream, he is actually yelling this out loud and he wakes himself up.

He jumped to his feet, making the branches of his makeshift bed creak. Geralt sat beside him, rubbing his face. He smelled of soap.

“Aren’t you?” he asked coolly. “I wonder what else you dreamed about. That you’re a frog? Calm down. You aren’t. Did you dream that you’re a chump? Well that dream might be prophetic.”

Time of Contempt p238

That is the witcher saga. Combining humor (Geralt’s sarcasm here) and friendship (teasing someone like this is a sign of comfort and affection with them) with extreme pain (Geralt’s grief and Dandelion’s guilt and shame).

It is really heartbreaking! Because how could Dandelion have known, and what could he have done if he did know? He isn’t Ciri’s babysitter because he has any magical powers or combat abilities. He is Ciri’s babysitter because Geralt knows that he loves Ciri and would never turn her over to any of these people pursuing her. He is Ciri’s babysitter because he is Geralt’s one port in the storm. He is the one person Geralt knows that he can trust outside of Kaer Morhen, to not give a fuck about political power or using Ciri as a pawn. (Geralt can trust Yen too, but he doesn’t know that yet. And he eventually trusts other people, but we are talking at this point in the story).

And actually to give credit where credit is due, TWN did include this dynamic by having Geralt ask Jaskier to escort Ciri to Kaer Morhenin S2. That was the most significant show of Geralt’s trust in Jaskier that TWN has shown, and it is very true to the characters and Jaskier’s role in the story. 

But anyway, back to Brokilon. In Dandelion’s dream when he says he didn’t tell Geralt everything, that is in reference to some distressing gossip about Ciri’s whereabouts. Geralt has asked for all the gossip about the war. And as much as he grouses about Dandelion’s loose lips, he often depends on his gossip. However, Dandelion has hesitated in telling him that gossip about Ciri. He is trying to protect Geralt from bad news, and I think he feels so guilty that it’s hard for him to say out loud the kind of danger Ciri might be in.

But he decides to tell Geralt, and he decides to accompany him wherever he may go to look for Ciri. Geralt finds this out when he goes to say goodbye. What Dandelion says to him, and how Geralt reponds just squeezes my heart to bits.

“Farewell, Dandelion.”

“Geralt...Listen to me--”

“Listen to what?” shouted the witcher before his voice suddenly faltered. “I can’t just leave---I can’t just leave her to her fate. She’s completely alone....she cannot be alone, Dandelion.You’ll never understand that. No one will ever understand that, but I know. If she remains alone, the same thing will happen to her as once happened to me...You’ll never understand that...”

Oh god that rips my heart out. Geralt’s voice is faltering. His love for Ciri. The way he identifies with her. The way he wants to save her from the pain he has gone through in life. How passionately and emotionally he speaks about her. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. That is it for me. That’s the good shit.

But Dandelion tells him that he does understand, and that Geralt isn’t going to do this alone. He replies:

“I do understand. Which is why I’m coming with you.”

Dandelion doesn’t understand what Geralt or Ciri are going through. But he does understand how important Ciri is and that she cannot be alone. Geralt questions the wisdom of this decision.

“You’re insane, do you know where I’m headed?”

And Dandelion’s answer might be the most vulnerable and emotional we see him at any point in the books. (one of them at least) Dandelion always uses humor to deflect. He always uses his arrogance to defend himself against vulnerability. It is so rare that he stammers. It is so rare that he reveals his doubts and weaknesses. But that is exactly what he does here.

“Yes I do. Geralt, I--I haven’t told you everything. I’m...I feel guilty; I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know what to do. But now I do. I want to be by your side.”

Dear god, that gets me. When you get the character who is always funny and conceited and charming just breaking down like that, it gets me. To have the character who is allergic to responsibility and commitment making one here. Holding himself responsible for another person. And to have him just outright say “I want to be by your side.” Gahh;aksd THE FEELINGS IN THIS SCENE. The Gerlion of it. The found family of it.

And all of this is because Dandelion feels responsible for Ciri. He feels guilty that he couldn’t protect her. He understands her importance to Geralt’s mushy heart.

And here is how Geralt responds.

The witcher stood thinking for a long time, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

“Get on your horse,” he finally said, voice sounding different. “You can tell me on the way.”

Time of Contempt p237-241

So, Geralt doesn’t actually argue at all. He just accepts Dandelion’s help. It speaks to how vulnerable and grief stricken he is at this moment. He is so touched. He is so grateful to not be doing this all by himself. (And that is a theme as we go along in the next book. He knows that helping him is dangerous. He doesn’t want anyone he loves to get hurt. Also, he doesn’t think he deserves help. But when people insist on helping him, it means the world to him.)

Now, since the topic at hand is Jaskier and Ciri’s relationship, to connect that dot, I am going to fast forward to the scene in the final book where Dandelion and Ciri are reunited. So far we have seen that Dandelion feels responsible for her, that he understands how important she is, and that he joins Geralt on his quest to help her. 

When Dandelion and Ciri are reunited, we see their affection for each other, and we get a bit more of their time just spent together. We see her tease him about his name, and about his approach to dating. I love that and I’d like it injected directly into my veins pls.

But first, we see that Dandelion loves her. When he and Geralt had split up earlier, Dandelion made Geralt promise to bring Ciri back to Touissant to see him. 

“And I want to hug Ciri. Do you promise, Geralt?”

“I promise.”

Lady of the Lake

P145

Ugh love that.

So in the reunion scene, Geralt is dutifully returning Ciri to Dandelion for that hug. However, when they get there to Toussaint where Dandelion is staying (he is with the Duchess so he is living there), they come upon a scene where Dandelion is seemingly about to be hanged on the gallows. It is a hilarious scene in one sense, because Dandelion is being hilarious and making a scene, and of course he would be charged with harlotry. 

In another sense, it is a sad scene because Geralt doesn’t know this is just something they do, (whenever Dandelion cheats on the Duchess, she sends him to the gallows, then pardons him). Geralt has suffered so much loss and his grief and his exhaustion and pain is palpable. Ciri is also really upset and begs him to do something to help Dandelion. He doesn’t know what to do.

Then Dandelion is spared and Geralt shouts at him to jump onto Roach. So, like many times before, Dandelion jumps onto Roach behind him, and Geralt carries him away to safety. Once they are away from the scene, Ciri greets Dandelion with tears in her eyes. 

Ciri reigned back Kelpie and waited for them. When they caught up she looked at Dandelion, and wiped away a tear. 

“Oh you...”she said. “You Pancratts.”

The joke with the misspelled last name is that Ciri has just found out his real name when the executioner called it out. 

“...it is known, that Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, alias Dandelion--”

“Pancratts what?” Ciri whispered a question.

p470

So just like the witcher saga, there is heartbreak and hilarity all in the same scene. And having Ciri find out Dandelion’s true name in such a funny way makes her just like her father. It is a running joke.

Then we see Ciri and Geralt joining forces to pick on Dandelion. 

As they leave the gallows behind, Dandelion is rambling on about how his lover will surely forgive him his indiscretion, seeing as monogamy is totally unnatural, and the Duchess is so sweet and understanding that she will see this.

Geralt and Ciri are just listening to him shaking their heads.

“You’re hopelessly stupid,” stated Geralt, and Ciri confirmed she thought the same with an energetic nod of her head.”

Lady of the Lake p 476

That is so cute to me. Geralt and Ciri picking on Dandelion together.

Then the three of them (Geralt, Ciri, and Dandelion) ride together as a little squad to Rivia. They ride together for about a month, but it isn’t ‘on the page’. You just know that they do because the book tells you how much time has passed. 

Their rides together (the four of them earlier and the three of them now) are the kinds of ‘missing scenes’ you get in fics, which are more concerned with relationships and characters than plot. But in the books, you don’t really get that post Kaer Morhen. Everyone is just on the run on the time. Hell, that’s even true for the co-parents. You can count the number of passages where Geralt, Yen, and Ciri are together in the same scene on one hand. Ciri spends much of the latter books on the run by herself, so unfortunately, we don’t get much of it.

And that is even more true of Dandelion and Ciri, given that Dandelion is a secondary character. However, what we do get is very touching and sweet.

Dandelion is inarguably part of Ciri’s found family. He loves her and feels responsible for her. And their dynamic is very playful and mischievous. They pick on each other and care about each other. 

That is the best thing about the witcher saga. The found family. The ragtag group of assembled outcasts loving each other come what may. And though their relationship doesn’t have much ‘on the page’ time, it is extremely sweet.

[z-iridest]

okokok consider first date hcs w the yugioh boys 👁👁 (like where would they take the reader, how’d they ask them out, how’d they act during the date, etc <3)

(I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME TO DO THIS, I HOPE U'LL FORGIVE ME! Also, I hope you don't mind, but I'll save the others for a different time)

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Asking You Out and First Date

Yami Yugi/Pharaoh Atem

Rather than start off Yugi for these head cannons, we're going with Yami

Now, most of the fandom pegs him as a smooth talking flirt, but let's be real. This boy knows nothing about how to talk to a girl, let alone one he has feelings for.

He's an adorkable, awkward, sweet baby boy

It's not hard to notice when the guy has a crush on you, honestly.

The way his eyes always move to you during a duel, the way he blushes around you if Yugi forces him to stay out

While it's not amusing to him for Yugi to "torture" him this way, it certainly is hilarious seeing him

You will probably end up having to make the first move, ngl

That or he'd be the type to trip flat on his face for no reason, look up at you sheepishly and go, "I guess you've caught me falling for you." It totally wasn't Joey's idea for him to do that sksjsjsjsjsj

Either which way, when you hold his hand for the first time, he's gonna end up as beet red as Yugi when he gets on girls' radar. Poor boy might actually pass out if you kiss his cheek

On the day of your first date, poor Yami's so nervous, he can barely focus on anything else

Yugi helped him get ready and attempted to calm him down

Once Yami saw you though... It was Game Over.

His eyes were like saucers when he saw you in that outfit, blushing like an idiot and mouth agape in awe.

"You look absolutely stunning." He'd manage to stutter out after a minute of attempting to talk

Your first date might be either roaming Domino City and checking different things out or heading back to Yugi's to duel (Yami teaching you the ropes if you didn't know how)

I think that by the end of the night, he wouldn't want you to go and get more adorkable than before, shuffling a bit before bashfully asking for your permission to kiss you

If you rejected it, he'd be respectful, but if you accepted, I think that first kiss would be tender and sweet... But also awkward because he has no idea how to kiss anyone.

Definitely gonna be sitting in the Millennium Puzzle with a dark red face for like hours after the date

Awwwwwww

Yugi Moto

Speaking of Yugi....

This boy is not any better

The picture? Yeah, that's Yugi anytime you're around.

He is the definition of a shy cinnamon roll, and somehow, he's more shy around you

So, you're probably wondering how he asked you out, right?

Well, at his grandpa's advice, he gave you a puzzle. When you solved it, it read, "Will you go out with me, Y/N?"

Needless to say, you kissed Yugi's cheek and told him you'd love to. Baby boy just about passed out

He had a hard time deciding what to wear when the day for your date finally came

When he saw you, his blush went even darker. "Y-Y-You look stunning." He managed to get out before you complimented him back, making his blush darker if it was even humanly possible. Please spare him sksksksk

At the end of the date, you had gone to kiss his cheek again at the same time he turned his head to vocally tell you how he felt. Your lips met and both of you turned red before pulling away.

Though it was an accident, that first kiss had been sweet. Yugi blushed dark red. "Do you think... I mean... Can I kiss you again?" Yugi asked, a bit surprised to see you turn dark red as you nodded.

When he pulled you in for a proper kiss, it was gentle, sweet... And addicting.

After the date, Yugi was a blushing mess as he laid in bed, one thought on his mind

I can't wait for the next date.

Joey Wheeler

GOLDEN RETRIEVER BOI TIME! The one ik u were waiting for, Riri lol

When I say this boy was smitten with you when he first saw you, let me tell you, that boy was smitten

Anytime you needed somebody, there he was with your favorite snacks and drink or ready to beat up the jerk that made you upset.

When you fell asleep in his arms, he held you. "I wish I could be the one holding your heart, Y/N... I'd keep it safe for ya... What am I saying, ya don't need dis from me right now. I'll just be here for ya until ya ready. I never forced ya to do anything before and I ain't startin' now."

Especially when you got your heart broken by some idiot, he wanted to beat the person to a pulp...

But, he knew you needed him more, so that's why he showed up at your door with your favorite food, favorite drink and favorite dessert in his arms

At least, he thought you were asleep...

He got scared shitless when you rolled over to face him. "What if I want you to?"

"GAAAH! Y/N, I thought ya were asleep!"

That was how you found out how he felt about you, how much pain he'd been in seeing you with someone else, but swallowing it because you looked happy

It wasn't too long after that he asked you out

Your first date is honestly gonna be super chill, playing video games or helping him train to be a better duelist (while sharpening your skills in the process)

The end of the date comes a little too soon for Joey's liking, but he gives the back of your hand a kiss

Just because he's not some rich dirt-bag *cough* Kaiba *cough cough* doesn't mean he can't be a gentleman and treat you like the royalty you are.

Seto Kaiba

Speaking of Kaiba, if you managed to grab this giraffe boy's attention, congrats, you've accomplished an uneasy feat.

Seto is not only a man of few words, but if he wants something, he's determined to get it. I mean, the way he's obsessively challenging Yugi is proof enough of that fact

He actually doesn't realize what these feelings for you are until Mokuba catches him blushing after an encounter with you. The kid can't help but smirk and tease his big brother, which earns him a glare or two

Shortly after that, you notice little things. Like a white rose on your desk if you work at Kaiba Corp, or a bouquet of red roses being brought to your work if you don't

But nothing compares to the day he showed up to see you in his business suit, a white rose in hand and... Was that a blush on his face?

He gave it to you, turning redder when your fingers brushed his.

"I... Have a proposition for you... Go out with me."

A few days later, he was getting ready for your first date and wondering how in the hell he'd managed to pull off getting a date with you. He managed to sum it up to him just being Seto Kaiba before leaving to pick you up

And by God, did you look amazing

He smirked, though, complimenting you before offering his arm to you

To be honest, you'd have to talk him down from a fancy restaurant

Your pick was a small café

It was out of the way, barely any customers coming in and out

The perfect date destination for the two of you

The owner of the Cafe Leblanc that you frequented was more than happy to see you, but was also surprised to see Seto Kaiba walking through his door.

Your usual order of the famous coffee and curry got Seto wanting to try it

Needless to say, he loved the combination

Rather than ask for a first kiss at the end of the night, he stole it from you

It was as passionate as a first kiss could be, and somehow, it felt like he'd had experience when in reality, he hadn't

Don't be fooled though, he was blushing like an idiot after dropping you off

Seems like you've got the Blue Eyed Bastard smitten

More like he's a softie for you, but don't bring it up to him loooool

[imagineimpact]

Could i request Diluc angst oneshot where reader and him get into a big disagreement or argument where Diluc makes them cry and feel really bad about themself so they go and end up hanging out with Kaeya a bit much cause he offered to cheer reader up and Diluc won't apologize. until he see's his s/o hanging out with Kaeya

I actually wrote 2 different versions of the ending for this, but this is the one I decided to go with! If you want the more angsty version do let me know.

Anyway,

Harsh Words

Diluc x Reader

Screaming. Yelling that could be heard throughout the Dawn Winery residence late into the night, heard only by the maids, the night security, and perhaps a late worker or two.

And of course, by the two individuals who held the voices.

It was rather unusual for the two of you to be at odds; and, on the occasion in which you were, it wasn’t nearly to this degree.

But the two of you were outright screaming at each other. It wasn’t even about one thing anymore - it was everything. Whatever you had been arguing about had reached the point of irrelevance; It never should have reached this point and you knew that, but you were under fire and you couldn’t stop.

All you knew was that this was Diluc’s fault, and that you couldn’t take this kind of argument.

“If you just thought about your actions for once-”

You cut him off, “Oh don’t try me with that, you’re the one treating me like I’m an idiot and trying to control my-”

“If you had just listened for once and been less of a selfish bitch then I wouldn’t have to!”

His words had cut far deeper than either of you had expected, and you physically recoiled at the words, a sudden wave washing over you which forced tears from your eyes. The truth in his words was irrelevant - It felt true, even if it wasn’t.

You turn away from him. In spite of your state, he makes no move toward you. None, not even to give you the slightest feel of any comfort. You knew - he wanted the words to cut through you.

You go to the door and slip on your shoes, leaving the room as fast as you humanly could.

You can’t take this anymore.

But you don’t make it past the front door. As if by telepathy, Diluc has two of his night security waiting by the door in a stance showing you that they’re ready to make sure you don’t leave. They block your path, silent in their menace. When you turn around, only then do you notice Adelinde and Hille quietly staring at you. Diluc’s footsteps down the stairs are a slow horror, an even pace which served to only emphasize that feeling of dread; Very easily, this felt like the perfect time to be murdered.

The drawl of footsteps approach, yet cease a few meters away - he’s far too distant to do anything himself. His eyes lock on yours, quietly assessing you.

“Diluc, let me leave.” You hiss through streaming tears. You nearly choke on the tension in the air.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. His eyes don’t show any expression, show any remorse or guilt, or even happiness. Truly, there is nothing in his eyes.

“Let me make myself clear: You are not leaving this premises in the middle of the night. Do you understand me?”

“Not even slightly.”

Silence. His eyes flicker, the way they do when he sees an abyss mage, or when Kaeya makes a comment that goes a little too far - pure anger.

“Adelinde, fix up the guest room.”

“No need. I’ll be leaving now.” You scoff.

Diluc tilts his head, peering over you and towards his security as if to say ‘don’t you fucking dare let them through’.

Then another look, and you feel yourself being pushed into the house again, the slam of the doors behind you.

A wave of anger washes over you, and you can’t help the excess of tears that fall, harder now than they had been before.

Diluc holds his ground, staring at you silently. You shake your head and look away, not sure what to do with yourself. Their staring puts you in pure disarray.

“Adelinde.”

“Yes, sorry.” She mutters, bowing and taking her leave in the direction of the guest bedroom in order to prepare it for you.

When she’s gone, you shake your head. “I’m not going to be sleeping.”

“Then stay in your room. I don’t care.” He huffs, turning away and wandering back up the stairs, his footsteps seeming less menacing now.

The argument was done.

Your eyes catch a light outside the window, seeming to exist a far distance away. Maybe it was the fire of a hilichurl camp.

What time was it? Surely the sun would be up soon anyway.

Fine. You would leave then, no matter what.

When you got to your room, you actually did manage to sleep. Not nearly enough; An hour was nothing in the long run, but it was still just slightly enough to not feel entirely exhausted.

Still, the sun was up when you arose, and you lay in the bed, uncertain as to what would happen when you left the room.

If Diluc wasn’t going to apologise, you wanted nothing to do with him.

So, after a little while of resting, it was a surprise to hear a knock at the door. You were summoned to breakfast. Nearly the entire time, you and Diluc sat across from each other - an oddity indeed considering he would always insist that he wanted you seated beside him - this time, however, you were as far from his as possible within the confines of the seated table. The usually empty seat felt hard beneath you, not softened by an everyday presence. Your usual seat to his right - where your plate had been placed before you had taken it to where you were now - was empty.

Neither of you could look into each other’s eyes. The silence, broken only by the light clinks of cutlery, felt burdenous.

You expected him to say something, anything really. You could barely eat the food on your breakfast plate, and without any words, you didn’t feel all too comfortable anyway. You let out a quiet sigh and stood up, tucking in your chair and lifting your plate to take it back to the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Diluc’s voice was quiet but the harshness in it was unmistakable.

“I’m not hungry.” You looked down at the plate in your hands. “I’m going to Mondstadt.”

Diluc stood up suddenly, pushing back his chair and stepping close to you. The sudden movement caused you to shutter slightly, and he pulled back a bit. Still, he tore the plate from your hands and placed it on the table. “When you return, be ready to have a serious conversation.”

Oh.

You opened your mouth to speak, but then huffed and turned away. “Right. I’ll look forward to getting yelled at again.”

Diluc scoffed, “Stop acting like a petulant child.”

“I’m not doing this right now, Diluc.” Your feet are moving before you can even think about it. This time, as you approached the door, no one was there to stop you. You left with no present company to watch over you, and you knew that today was going to be a long, long day.

——

Mondstadt thrives with life, as per usual. Because of how bright and pleasant the place is, any spec of gloom is extremely obvious on a day like this.

You took to the adventurers guild to take some commissions. Maybe killing some hilichurls or slimes would take your mind off of it all, or maybe just delivering some needed materials to someone.

The entire time you had been speaking to Katheryn, you felt eyes watching you, but you didn’t want to make it obvious you knew. Alas, it was only moments later that you startled at the feeling of a hand on your shoulder.

“No need to be so surprised.” The familiar voice chuckles beside you.

“Good morning, Kaeya.” You let out a soft sigh, the exhaustion of the day before wearing into you. You thanked Katheryn and turned your attention to Kaeya. His eyebrows twitched and his expression shifted as he studied you.

“What happened?” He asks rather blatantly, eyes clouding over. “Was it Diluc?”

You took a deep breath. “Wanna join me for commissions?”

Kaeya scans your eyes. “As long as you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Come on.” You nod, wandering out of Mondstadt with him.

The slowly falling night brought you back to Mondstadt. You agreed to go to the tavern with Kaeya, a subtle kind of thank you for spending time with you today. It wasn’t like you were doing anything else anyway.

The tavern was already busy before you got there, people crowding around for a nights drink. You subconsciously step towards Kaeya as if shading yourself away from the crowded atmosphere and he is wary of your proximity. He draws you to his side, a friendly notion, and steps inside before you.

Charles waves at you both from behind the counter. Kaeya quickly orders a round of drinks and takes you to a table away from the bar.

“Hey, look who’s been dragged in.” Rosaria wanders over, quietly making soft chatter with you. It wasn’t unusual for the two of you to spend some time together.

Kaeya eventually wanders away, grabbing your drinks and bringing them back over.

Time seemed to dwindle away, the mindless chatter with your friends giving you more than ample distraction from anything else that might have been happening.

“Master Diluc! Didn’t expect to see you here today.” Charles’ voice rings out.

Of course, that wasn’t going to last long.

You lift your head slightly, tensing up. Diluc is scanning the room, twisting his wrist lightly as he speaks quietly to Charles; The words miss you. You freeze as your eyes lock. For just a moment you’re caught in that discerning gaze before he nods at you and turns back to talk to Charles. Kaeya draws your attention back away, and you slip back into your conversation, not wanting to deal with anything else.

“I’ll get another round.” Rosaria gets up and makes her way through the tavern, leaning over the bar and making another order for the table.

“How many are we on?” You ask, already flushed from the… how many glasses had you even had?

“Five.” Kaeya laughs, leaning on your shoulder. “But now that the killjoy’s here, he’ll stop us from having our well-earned fun.”

“I heard that.” Diluc scoffed, passing by you.

“Good.” Kaeya wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you closer to him, more out of a delicate affection than anything else. Diluc’s eyes narrow at his brother, who just laughs in response.

“Get your hands off of-“

“Oh don’t worry, brother. I would never keep them somewhere they don’t want to be.” Kaeya mocks. “You, on the other hand, can’t say the same.” Even with his words, he loosens his hold on you and leans back a bit.

Rosaria returns with your round, greeting Diluc casually as she slips back into her seat. Your pissed off boyfriend wanders away back to his work.

It clicks in your hazy mind that the only reason he’s here is likely because you are. You laugh at the thought, then clink your tankard to the group and drink.

—

As the evening wears down, many people in the bar until it’s pretty much only your group and a few others left there. Diluc lets out a soft sigh as he watches you, trying to soften that jealous pounding of his heart. He takes a sip of his own drink - apple cider, of course. He could never slam back drinks the way that your group currently were. Where had the hours gone?

Oh, no. How many drinks had you had? Whatever was next, he swore to himself that he would make sure that it was watered down. At this rate, you were pretty much welcoming alcohol poisoning with open arms.

Kaeya, wobbly as ever, decides to be the one to approach the bar this time (mostly because Rosaria was leaning against the table, head folded into her arms as she groaned). Diluc shook his head. “No, no. The three of you will drink this whole tavern dry if I don’t stop you.”

“Oh, I’m not here to get any more.” He leans on the countertop. “I just want to know what the hell you did.” Kaeya motions over to you. You’re just giggling at Rosaria’s complaining, leaning over and patting her on the head.

“I’m not talking to you about this.” Diluc leans back, crossing his arms stubbornly.

“Suit yourself.” He straights up. “I should probably get her out of here before you say something stupid.”

“I’m not going to be saying anything stupid.” Diluc shakes his head, looking over the list of all the drinks you’ve had this evening. “You’re all wasted.”

“And yet, you haven’t said last call.”

Seemingly to spite him, DIluc immediately does. He signals over to Charles to round up the remaining people. He knew to leave you last.

Kaeya’s laugh is enough to haunt him. “You make this right, Diluc.” He runs his finger over the counter. “Otherwise I will.”

“Get out of my sight.”

The cavalry captain laughs again, then wanders over to your table. He practically drags Rosaria back up, but she pushes away from him and made her own way to the counter - always a good spirit, she paid for her own portion of drinks and left. Being a nun, she probably didn’t need to use the money elsewhere.

Kaeya was two steps away from just carrying you out the door, but through his drunk mind he finds the clarity to understand just how absolutely inappropriate that would be to do, especially in front of Diluc. Alas, you lean on his shoulder as he assists your steps.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Diluc’s voice calls out, as if to stop you both.

“Usual billing.” Kaeya calls back.

“No, no.” You both look back at him. He shifts on his feet, eyes locking with yours. “I’ll be damned if you go home with him.”

“Then damned you are.” You roll your eyes, turning away.

He calls your name softly. “Step away from him. Come here.”

You take a deep breath. “I am so glad I don’t have to remember any of this.”

Diluc places a glass of water in front of you. “Drink this. You wreak of alcohol.”

“And you wreak of your hatred.” You sit down in front of him, knowing that it wasn’t about to get better.

Diluc’s eyes flicker up to Kaeya. “Get out.”

“Not happening.”

“Kaeya, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Their safety is more than enough concern.”

“It’s alright, Kaeya, just wait outside.” You pipe in, not wanting even more stress.

Kaeya agrees, quietly slipping out the door. Charles is told to escort him away, an act which may have varying success.

Either way, you sat in front of Diluc, not sure what exactly to say to him.

“I’m tired, Diluc. I’m tired of this. I can’t put up with-“

“I’m sorry.” He blurts out, interrupting you. “Please, hear me out.”

“I’m not going to remember-“

“Then I’ll tell you again when you will.” He leans over the counter, not wanting to be apart from you. He calls your name again, as if to hold your attention, “Can we talk about this?”

“I think we talked about this already.” You groan. “Yesterday, plenty of yelling. The Maids and guards can confirm.”

Diluc takes a long breath out. You lift the glass of water and take an even longer sip.

Maybe the barrier of the counter between you made you feel better. But, as tears sprung to your eyes, you felt so, so much worse.

“Do you hate me?” You ask, your voice squeaking. “Do you want to break up with me.”

“No, Y/N.” He reaches for your hands, but you had pushed your stool too far away from him beforehand that he couldn’t. He circles around the bar and gently grabs both of your hands, soft enough in his hold for you to be able to pull away. “Don’t ever say that. I love you.”

“Then, why?” You sob, turning your face away from him, hands still in his. “Why did you yell at me? Why wouldn’t you talk to me this morning?”

“I…“ Diluc stops himself, taking a deep breath. “I was angry. We were both angry.” He shifts, pulling out a stool and sitting in front of you. “I wasn’t acting rationally.”

“When you said you wanted to talk this morning, what were you going to say?”

Diluc hesitates, gripping your hands just a little bit harder. “I was going to ask… I was going to ask if you were happy.” He admitted, quietly. “But I can’t do that. I can’t put you through that.”

You tug him toward you, pulling his hands close to your face. “Why would you say that? I love you.” You sob into his soft skin.

He takes his hands away from your gently, slipping them around your waist and pulling you close to him, into his lap. He tightens his grip. “I’m sorry.” He repeats. “I’m so sorry. I never want you to cry.” He feels his heartbeat heavily in his chest, a distraught washing over him. “Don’t ever destroy yourself like this again.” He runs a hand over your back.

You don’t say anything. You’re way too drunk for many more coherent thoughts to pass your lips. You lift your head and plant a soft kiss on his cheek, and he softly kisses your forehead, pulling you back to his chest so that you don’t try to kiss him anymore - He wasn’t about to let that happen, you were far too drunk.

Diluc was ashamed of his thoughts. His guilt, rising only when he saw you in the present company of his brother, showing affection and finding comfort anywhere except for him. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, nor to you, but as you cried into his shoulder, he couldn’t help the wave of disappointment in himself that washed over. Why could he never be there for the people who needed him most?

“Come on, finish your water, let’s get you home.” He insists, though he holds you tightly still until you stir.

You take the water, sipping it with a slight indignance. He would have to apologize to you again in the morning, but he would do anything to get you to trust him again.

(Part 2 here)

[dilfdoctordoom]

On Tom Taylor, the Current Nightwing Run & Ableism

I did mention I was gonna do a post about it, so here we are. There are some things I want to make clear before we begin: the issue exploded on Twitter on the very first day of disabled Pride month; disabled people have been discussing the ableism in Taylor’s Nightwing run since it began; nobody has blamed Taylor for what happened to Barbara in 2011. We are, however, blaming him for the way she is written in his series during 2021. 

I am also going to be discussing the ableism in the fandom in this post. The reactions I have seen, from here to Twitter to TikTok, are showing not only a great misunderstanding of the situation, but a purposeful misunderstanding. The very real reasons disabled people are angry right now have been twisted to make us seem ridiculous and overly sensitive and I cannot help but feel that is very intentional.

Another quick addition: disabled people are not a monolith. Barbara Gordon spent over 20 years as a paralyzed wheelchair user. Stating (and I would like to note, never truly showing) that she is a part time cane user now is still erasing her disability. These things are not interchangeable.

So, with that out of the way, let’s begin.

Tom Taylor’s run is ableist. That is a fact of this situation. He made the active choice to include a version of Barbara Gordon that is ableist caricature. Story wise, the role that Barbara plays could have easily been filled by anyone else. There is no real season, within the narrative and outside of it, for Taylor to include this version of Barbara Gordon, who has received a decade of criticism from disabled people. It’s very well known that this iteration is problematic, to put it kindly, and Taylor is aware of that. 

He made the active decision to include her, anyway, showing, at the very least, that he is passively, if not actively, ableist. Passive ableism is still ableism and disabled people are allowed to take issue with that.

That alone is reason enough for disabled people to be angry. But that’s not why things exploded on Twitter.

On July 1st, the very first day of disabled pride month, the new design for Barbara was dropped. After months of teasing Barbara’s return to a wheelchair using Oracle (see: Last Days of The DC Universe, Batgirl (2016), etc), they debuted... a new Batgirl costume that the artist has openly said draws inspiration from the Burnside suit.

There’s a lot of issues to unpack here, so let’s start small: the issue with consciously calling back to Burnside. The Burnside era of Batgirl stories was... beyond awful. The villain of the series’ first arc, was an AI based on Barbara’s brain patterns when she was disabled. It was evil because of all the rage and pain Barbara felt. The actual Barbara, on the other hand, was good -- because she was able bodied. Because her PTSD had been tossed aside. It was a horrifically ableist era that drove the idea that Barbara’s life was terrible when she was disabled; that it was some horrible, twisted secret.

Comics have kept that narrative going. Barbara is seen hiding books on chronic pain; she reacts aggressively to the mere idea that she could be in a wheelchair again, acting like it would be weakness. Whereas Barbara had once been Oracle not because of, but in spite of, her disability, who was fantastic representation for the disabled community, she now acts like it is the most shameful thing in her life.

To call back to Burnside is to call back to that ableism and make no critique of it. If anything, it’s to embrace the ideas of that era.

There is also the design itself to consider. Many people have pointed out the inclusion of a back brace, as if that saves it from ableism -- it does not. Any person who has ever worn a back brace can take one look at this design and know that they did not consult a disabled person. Hell, by how impractical that thing is, I doubt they even Googled a picture of a back brace.

It’s a superficial acknowledgement that Barbara is supposed to be disabled. Something that was apparently thrown in to appease the numerous complaints of Barbara being able bodied; something that no one working on it put any effort into.

When it comes to aids, this is not a new thing for Barbara in Infinite Frontier. She’s said to be using a cane occasionally, that we got a better look at in Batman: Urban Legends, and as any cane user can tell you... that is not a cane that could feasibly be used. It’s another pathetic attempt to acknowledge that Barbara is supposed to be disabled, without actually doing anything of importance.

[IMAGE ID:  A segmented cane with a tri-pointed handle with a wrist strap. There is a stripe across the sections to connection them, labelled “solar battery charger buttons”. The text reads: “telescoping antenna doubles as cane or weapon if needed”. END ID]

Dropping this design (which we have now established to be problematic) on the very first day of disabled pride month is a sickening move. The very first day, and DC has doubled down on their disability erasure, thrown in superficial things like a back brace to act like it’s fine.

Tom Taylor is definitely involved in this, whether you like it not. No, he is not in anyway responsible for the events of the New 52 and what they did to Barbara Gordon, but that does not absolve him of blame for what is currently being done to her in his run.

When the design dropped, it started trending due to disabled fans reactions. To be clear: we were directly calling out the ableism in this design. This was Tom Taylor’s response:

[IMAGE ID: A tweet from TomTaylorMade that says: “Hey, @Bruna_Redono_F I think our new Batgirl suit is getting some attention.” He then adds a winky face emoji and tags @jesswchen and @drinkpinkkink. Attached are a screenshot showing that Batgirl is trending in the United States and a picture of the design itself. END ID]

This is him, bragging about how the disabled community reacted. Perhaps before this tweet, you could’ve made an argument that he was not ableist, but after he flaunted the fact that disabled people were rightly furious over this, like it was something to be proud of? No. If you are defending him, you are a part of the problem.

Taylor has included ableist writing in his Nightwing run, beyond the inherent ableism that comes with the current iteration of Barbara Gordon (whose inclusion, yet again, is his decision).

[IMAGE ID: A panel from Nightwing #79. Barbara and Dick are standing in his apartment. Barbara is saying: “I have some pretty new technology holding my spine together. I’m happy to do most things -- eat pizza in the park, take down low-level thugs -- but leaping from rooftops seems... unwise.” END ID]

What Barbara says in the panel above has bothered a lot of disabled people. The implication that she couldn’t “eat pizza in the park’ and “take down low-level thugs” without a spinal implant that conveniently erases her disability is... fucked up, to put it mildly. Those are both things that Barbara has done in a wheelchair. The first one is something wheelchair users can do and the implication that it’s not is beyond offensive.

But, let’s leave Barbara behind for a moment. I have previously mentioned that disabled people have been discussing the ableism present in this run long before July -- and that ableism is not only centred on Barbara. Dick is also a player in all this.

Dick Grayson was shot in the head. I don’t believe I need to retread the story, but just in case: Dick was shot in the head by KGBeast, developed amnesia from the event, and went by Ric Grayson for a long enough period in comics. If you have been active within the DC fandom for the past year or so, you know all about this controversial storyline and its fallout.

The Ric Grayson arc concluded itself the issue before Taylor became the writer for the series and ever since his tenure has begun, Taylor has completely ignored the reality of Dick being a disabled man. We understand this is comics, that things do not function the way they do in our world, but still -- it is clear that this gunshot wound to the head has affected Dick massively. We had an entire arc dedicated to how he struggled to find himself in the aftermath.

Taylor is choosing to write Dick as an able-bodied man, despite his canonical injuries and how they would impact his life.

This man is choosing to give empty gestures towards Barbara being a disabled woman (as discussed above, the completely dysfunctional back brace, etc) whilst writing her as able-bodied as possible. He writes both Dick and Barbara as able bodied as humanly possible. That is ableist. He is ableist. This is the same man that said he made a dog disabled ‘in honour of Barbara’. I do not think I need to elaborate on why that is bad.

The least he could’ve done, was get a sensitivity reader. We know that Taylor is not beyond getting people from marginalized communities to consult on his work (see: Suicide Squad), so why, when writing two characters that should be disabled, one that the disabled community have been criticising for a decade, does he not reach out to a single disabled person? A mere Google search could’ve improved the situation massively. In both the new design and the current writing, it is beyond clear that this is not just an able-bodied person writing it -- it’s an ableist person.

He could have listened to the numerous disabled fans that spoke out. Instead, he chose not only to refuse to do that, but to describe justifiable anger as ‘raging’. He treated us like we were crazy for daring to speak out about blatant ableism being parading around of us in our pride month.

Tom Taylor has failed to do the bare minimum and in doing so, he is, at very, very least, guilty of complicity. Again: passive ableism is still ableism.

The argument at hand is not just about Barbara Gordon and the continuing ableism that shines out from her current writing. The argument is about the treatment of disabled characters in his run. It has also become about the way he treats physically disabled people.

We also can’t have this conversation without acknowledging the fandom’s role in it all. I waited a day to write this up, to allow all the reactions to flood in... and I am sickened.

We have everything across the board. Able-bodied people that have actually listened to disabled people, who have supported us (which is deeply appreciated). Able-bodied people who may have had good intentions, but a skewed sense of the situation and perpetuating some of the more insidious lies being spread around (IE. that this is only about the new costume).

There are, obviously, the ableist reactions, though, that we will be discussing here. People deeming the current issues as ‘crazy’, calling disabled people ‘overly sensitive’ and ‘delusional’. Many people have completely glossed over the examples given for why Taylor, specifically, is ableist, and instead have resorted to telling disabled people that we are wrong and should be mad at DC instead.

It’s important to note that Tom Taylor is an adult man. He doesn’t need a fandom to attack disabled people for daring to call him out. He is not the victim in this situation; he has, for quite a few disabled people, been the aggressor.

I have seen claims that Infinite Frontier is a ‘slow burn’, implying that disabled people need to patient... as if we have not waited a decade for less ableist writing. There is a complete refusal from able-bodied fans to actually listen to what disabled people are saying. They would much rather rush to the defence of the (honestly rather mediocre) current Nightwing run. 

Disabled fans know that comic book spaces are ableist. We know that both DC and Marvel and many of their writers are ableist. We are still allowed to be pissed as hell about it and acting like the current reaction being had right now is disabled people being ‘overdramatic’ is yet another example of how the able-bodied side of the fandom both refuses to listen to and undermine disabled people when we call out ableism.

We know it when we see it. We always do and we always will and we will always be able to recognize it far faster than an able-bodied person. If this many disabled fans are coming out and talking about an issue, calling it ableism, then it’s time for you shut up and listen.

Stop being a part of the problem and start supporting disabled fans for once.

[vickyvicarious]

Sterling: "Let me get this straight, cause I'm having a hard time believing this. You're telling me you think he acted alone." [Eliot drinks some coffee]

Eliot: "That's not what I said, is it! I said I don't think that there was only one bullet! Where did you get this coffee, man, it's horrible."

Sterling: [looks at the coffee cup, then away] "Coffee's fine! If there was a second bullet, that means there was a second. shooter. Otherwise he fired a Carcano Bolt-Action twice in less than two seconds, which simply cannot be done! You do realize that, on a topic where nobody agrees on anything, you picked the one thing, the only thing, which is NOT UP FOR DEBATE! Simply! Humanly! Impossible!"

Eliot: "...I did it." [Sterling does a double-take; Eliot chuckles and takes another gulp of his coffee.]

Sterling: "Bollocks."

Eliot: "You'd be surprised what people can do when they're properly motivated - seriously, did you put something in this?" [looks at the coffee cup, then sniffs the lid]

Sterling: "Your file says that you crawled three miles through a sewer to kill the head of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, but the coffee is a problem."

Eliot: "Hey. Incoming call." [looks at the man they're surveilling through his binoculars] "We're gonna need the parabolic."

Sterling: "No, I got it." [grabs the binos from Eliot]

Eliot: "You - unless you can read lips, we're gonna need the parabolic, alright?" [snatches the binos back] "They're speaking Arabic."

Sterling: "You'd be surprised what people can do when they're properly motivated." [snatches binos back again] "He said the government won't wait. No matter the risk, gonna make the exchange today."

Eliot: "Alright, we gotta stall. Get Parker enough time to get in the vault."

Sterling: "Gonna bring the money in through the service tunnels under the sky spire, and move upstairs after the tournament to meet Livingston."

Eliot: "Alright, we'll intercept them at the tunnels." [starts to open the car door; Sterling stops him]

Sterling: "No. Let's head them off at the basement under the building. That way they'll be focused on the tournament." [He gets out of the car]

Eliot: "I just said that." [takes another drink of his coffee]

.

Sterling plays this so well. I'm not saying he isn't genuinely irritated by what Eliot's saying, but he is also absolutely overdoing his reactions to keep Eliot from noticing the drugged coffee. Before this scene, he tried to plan with the team and they weren't having it, he tried to coordinate a cover with Eliot and he hijacked it, he tried to discuss that and Eliot laughed at the very idea of trusting him. So Sterling goes with the drugged coffee. To ensure it succeeds, he takes advantage of Eliot's clear dislike of him, starts a conversation that will distract him.

He argues, he gets worked up, lets Eliot get the chance to put him down and get the last word and feel smug about it. Look at these screencaps - the first three are when Eliot first takes a drink and then says the coffee tastes horrible. Sterling looks at it, confused, then at Eliot, then back to the cup quickly.

He did not expect Eliot to be able to tell at just a taste like that. So he needs to up his distraction, needs to get really furious because Eliot likes pissing him off. This is when he goes off on his huge rant about there being a second shooter being impossible, and by the time he is done, look at Eliot. He gets to deliver that 'I did' line and you can just see, he's completely forgotten about the coffee. Sterling has succeeded in distracting him, to the point that Eliot takes a sip of his coffee in a victorious sort of way. And Sterling, far from being fully occupied with his disbelief over what Eliot's telling him, is actually taking this moment to watch him drink to check in on how much he's had and if he might be noticing something off again... which he then does.

So what does Sterling do? He immediately launches back into the argument. Not the same one - ignoring Eliot's coffee complaints would be out of character. But he does marginalize it, pits it against more information from Eliot's file. Eliot has enjoyed talking about - or at least alluding to - his work to Sterling, mainly when he can correct him about something. So I wouldn't be surprised if this was meant as bait to have Eliot correct him that it was "five miles, actually, and -" or whatever.

Of course, then Eliot gets distracted by the guys they're watching, and Sterling uses the back and forth of stealing the binos to distract him. He also quotes Eliot's own line about motivation back to him, clearly annoyed with Eliot's noncooperation making this necessary and also a subtle brag that yes, he is successfully drugging someone as wary as Eliot Spencer because his motivation is his daughter. Sure, he's underestimated Eliot before - but Eliot is underestimating him right now, not only with his ability to lipread Arabic but also with his ability to trick him.

And once again, he distracts Eliot enough, talks over him and plans over him enough that Eliot takes another drink of the coffee. He should be suspicious of it - he is, in fact. It's not just the joke 'Eliot says this coffee tastes drugged but keeps drinking it anyway, smooth move Eliot' - it's Sterling deliberately manufacturing circumstances where Eliot is annoyed and distracted and wants to do something to punctuate the conversation or let his frustration out. And he's holding a drink, so the natural thing to do is to drink some of it.

It's really clever on Sterling's part.

[wonderfilworld]

Sunlight - J.P.

James Potter x reader’s morning routine. it’s really just soft morning sex, lol. 

a/n: this is my first time writing smut!

word count: 1.9k

warnings/contains: NSFW!! smut, unprotected sex, cursing. like I said it’s my first time writing smut so if I missed anything please let me know!

Masterlist 

you woke due to sunlight streaming through your bedroom window. the room was silent, save for the snores of the sleeping body next to you. it was pleasantly warm, the newly arrived spring season prompting you to leave your window cracked open. you could hear birds in the distance and the wind that rustled the leaves outside. you lay for a while on your right side, arm under your head as you listened to the world around you with your eyes closed. you planned out your day, what you and your love would do on your day off. 

feeling a hand spread across your back, you smile and roll over on your left side. you get as close to your boyfriend as humanly possible, one leg thrown over his hip and resting your right hand on his chest. james’ right arm goes under you, left arm on top as he hugs you. you bury your head in the crook of his neck as you take a deep breath. he smells like sweat and his faint woody cologne and a smell that is just so him and you smile as you speak, “good morning.”

his arms grip you even tighter, his left hand coming to stroke the hair out of your face. “morning, baby,” he says quietly, placing a kiss on your forehead. he keeps his lips there, pressed loosely against your head as he mimics your deep breath from earlier. his left hand travels down your right arm to your elbow, then back up to cup your cheek. you know what he wants - you always do - and you pick your head up to place your lips on his. 

he sighs into the kiss, and you tilt your head to deepen it. james always gets like this in the mornings: clingy and loving, never wanting to take his hands off you, and you love every minute of it. his hand is now on your waist, squeezing tightly and you listen to his silent command, climbing to lay fully on top of him. you’re both bare, so you can feel how hard he is, pressing against your lower stomach as you lean up to set him directly under your core, already slick just from kissing. sometimes it’s embarrassing how fast he can make you needy, your core throbbing as you await his touch. you roll your hips as his tongue makes its way into your mouth to meet yours. you both moan lightly into each others mouth as your hips roll deeper, harder, into his. 

it’s always slow in the mornings between the two of you; neither of you are morning people so you take it slow. your usual screams and loud moans are just soft ones and whimpers at this hour, sleep still lingering in your systems. your hips quicken ever so slightly as his hand travel from your hips to your thighs, then back up to rest on your ass, kneading the flesh there, urging you to go faster, go harder, against him. his head rolls back on the pillow as he lets out a low groan and you drag your lips along his jaw, then down his neck, getting to the spot right behind his right ear and sucking there. his left hand comes to hold the back of your head, threading his fingers through your hair as you kiss the sensitive parts of his neck, letting your teeth graze there lightly. you know he loves to see the marks you leave on him, and you would be lying if you said you didn’t love leaving them. he sucks in a sharp breath as you bring your lips back to his.

“baby,” he stresses. your hips haven’t stopped moving against his, and you know that if you wanted you could finish you both off like this. but you want more - need more, so you bring your lips down harder against his as his right hand travels between the two of you. his fingers make contact with your pussy that’s already made such a pretty mess on his cock and it has him twitching in anticipation as he runs his fingers through your folds, dipping into you ever-so-slightly to gather the wetness there and bring it up to your clit. you jump slightly, always so sensitive for him - something he never lets you forget. you whimper and he shushes you. “you like that?” he asks. he knows the answer but loves to make you talk, loves to hear how your voice gets higher due to how good he makes you feel. 

“gonna let me fuck you?” he whispers against your lips, breath tickling your face.

“yes,” you whine, hips oscillating in tiny circles, loving the way his fingertips against your clit create a trail of fire that travels up the base of your spine. you couldn’t keep your eyes open, and you know he hates when you shy away from him, but the pleasure was overwhelming, and it was getting difficult to hold yourself up. mewls leave your throat in time with the tight circles james is drawing against your bundle of nerves. 

“I got you, baby, gonna make you feel so good,” he pants, his free hand reaching down to give himself a couple of quick strokes so he can line himself up to your entrance. you take initiative, leaning back and lifting yourself even more so you can sink back down on his cock. you have to go slow, resting both of your hands on his chest while his stroke your sides. he’s patient and you love him for it. 

you whimper as he fills you, you feel so full and it makes you warm and makes your toes curl. you clench around him as you get used to him and he moans quietly. he never wants to start until you tell him you’re ready but his hips thrust up involuntarily, and it knocks the breath out of your lungs. you collapse against his chest and bring your hands to his hair as you attack his lips again. he says something but it’s mumbled against your lips. it sounds like an apology, but you don’t reply, instead opting to tentatively roll your hips, feeling the way his cock nudges the deepest parts of you. it’s insane when you think about it sometimes, how it feels like he’s in your tummy. you groan loudly as your clit rubs against his body. the burning sensation in your spine is back now, you’re fully adjusted to his size, so you pick up the pace, grinding against him. he knows this feels best for you, knows you need the extra stimulation so he aids you, grabbing your hips and pulling and pushing you against him, watching your face as you lean up to once again place your hands on his chest. 

“that’s it, baby, just like that, fuck,” he’s breathing heavily and the low, raspy tone of his voice causes your stomach to flip and your walls to tighten around his cock. “use me, baby,” he groans. 

you let out a loud moan at that, head dropping back on your shoulders as you feel him touch a particularly deep spot inside of you. “feels so good,” you sob. it amazes you that you can even form words, there’s a distracting pull in your lower tummy and you know it won’t be much longer until it snaps. but you know james needs a little more, that extra push to get him there too, so you brace your body on your hands and push yourself up, lifting halfway off his cock before coming back down, relishing in the loud fuck! he lets out. the power you have over him in this moment is intoxicating, and so you do it again and again, until you have a pretty rhythm bouncing on top of him. you know you can’t keep this pace for long and so does he, but he appreciates your commitment to making him feel good. both of his hands come to grab your tits, squeezing the mounds of flesh and running his thumbs over your nipples. the act brings a line of fire straight to your core, where the burning flame has gotten much stronger. you can feel it in your toes, they’re hot and cold at the same time and they curl on their own accord. 

“james,” you whine. he knows what you’re asking for so he abandons your tits as his hands return to your hips, holding you up so he can take over thrusting into you. you fall forward with a loud cry, burying you face in his neck as your moans get louder. “please, please, please,” you beg, mind foggy as you can feel the fire licking against your spine. you know you’re close; you just need that one extra push. 

“close, baby?” james grunts. he can barely formulate a full sentence either and he’s so close to his release he can taste it. “gonna cum all over my cock, huh?” 

you sob even louder as his thrusts go harder, deeper, faster into you. you know he won’t give you what you want until you use your words, so you pick your head up to slot your mouth over his. you only manage a few seconds of sloppy kisses until you’re just panting into each others mouths. “yes,” you answer him, gasping as one of his hands leave your hips to rub tight circles against your clit once again. “yes, yes, yes,” you cry. “i’m gonna cum.”

“shit - baby.” james chokes, his hips stutter and his fingers go incredibly faster against your sensitive bud. he can feel you clenching around him, so tight, and he won’t last much longer. “come on, baby, let me feel you,” he whispers against your lips. 

your moans die out into small gasps as the pull in your tummy snaps and the fire explodes. your mind goes blank and you moan loudly against james’ lips. “fuck,” you’re crying now, tears slipping past your waterline and dripping onto james’ face, your orgasm so intense that you barely recognize james’ plea’s. “can i cum inside you, baby? i’m so fucking close - shit.” of course it’s okay, it’s always okay with you but you appreciate that he always asks, makes you feel important and valued. 

“please cum inside me, want it so bad,” you whimper, your head resuming it’s position in the crook of his neck, your own orgasm still racking through your body. 

james lets out a load groan as his hips stutter once more before dragging your body down against his, keeping you there as he fills you up. his cum is hot inside you and you can feel it begin to slowly leak out as james gives a few weak thrusts in and out of your tired body. 

you’re both breathing heavy, sweat is covering your bodies, and you feel so content. his hands are stroking your back now; you’re still shaking slightly and he knows you like to keep him inside as long as possible. he gives you a couple kisses to your temple before you bring your head up to kiss him properly. you lift yourself off of him, wincing as his cock falls from you. 

“bath?” he asks. you collapse beside him, smiling up at him as he sits up on the bed and looks at you. 

“bath,” you agree, watching as he gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. you hear him turn on the water and you close your eyes once more. 

“get your pretty ass in here!” he yells, and you softly giggle before getting up and joining your lover. 

[absolutelyfizzing]

I like you because (peter parker x reader)

Peter parker x reader

description - You have a panic attack at school and peter helps you through it. Then he lets you know all of the reasons he loves you 

word count -  about 2000

warnings - anxiety! panic attack tw! negative self talk, don't read if that is triggering for you. Also tooth-rotting fluff that makes me wanna cry. also self harm warning!! hand scratching!

A/N - I just wanted to say that anxiety manifests itself in different ways in different people. This is based off of a personal experience i had with a panic attack at school and how one of my friends helped me though it. I know this may not be how everyone experiences anxiety and everyone's version of this experience is completely valid. by no means am i trying to offend or cause any harm.

MASTERLIST

Your feet hit the pavement quickly as you rushed to school. You could feel people looking at you but you tried to get to your locker as soon as humanly possible. Your heart rate was picking up and you knew you were acting strange to the people around you. You looked exhausted. Your eyes had bags under them and your clothes were a mess. You couldn't walk straight because of the lack of sleep. When you finally made it to your locker you were so out of it that it took multiple tries to get the code right. Finally getting it open, you sighed, trying desperately to hide behind the locker door and to calm your breathing. 

You didn't know why but the last 2 days had been hell. It had been the weekend so it was okay but you hadn't slept right or had the motivation to do anything. Your anxiety was worse and it seemed that everything was too bright and too loud. There was just too much going on. You just wanted to sit in your room and stare at the wall for the rest of the day but you had to come to school, both for your academic performance and to see your boyfriend, Peter. He would get worried if you didn't show up and you didn't want him to have to cancel something later in the day to check on you. Now that you were here and you could feel people looking at you, you wondered if him seeing you would make him any less worried. You felt him come up behind you and when you turned to look at him there was a grin on his face. It quickly turned into worry as he looked at you. You felt the guilt creeping in. 

"Hey Y/N, you doing okay?" he questioned lightly. You subtly braced yourself and smiled widely, purposefully making it reach your eyes. 

"Yeah I'm fine! Just in a little bit of a mood is all." You smiled, grinning so wide your cheeks hurt. You had to convince him not to worry. You couldn't have him distracted during the day because he was thinking about something so silly as you being extra anxious. You hoped the thumping of your heart and the nervous ticks you felt in your fingers would dissipate during the day. Peter looked at you a little funnily but didn't question you. You knew he could probably tell your heart rate was pounding extra fast but neither of you said anything as you closed your locker and you both began walking to your first class, which you had together. 

The day went on but the anxiety did not leave. You could feel yourself growing irritable and the lights burned your eyes. Your leg was bouncing nervously and one hand scratched at the other. You only scratched your hand like that when you really were anxious, normally right before a panic attack. You did everything in your power not to do it normally because it left your hand hurt and sometimes bleeding. Peter knew this tic of yours and so you kept your hand covered by your sleeve whenever you could and you avoided being right next to him in any classes you had together. He noticed your change in behavior but again didn't say anything as the day went on, not wanting to upset you further and figuring you would come to him when you were ready. 

By the time lunch came around, you were exhausted. You had been worrying about everything and nothing for hours and your hand was scratched raw. You could feel Peter looking at you and you could also feel the panic rise in your throat at the large amount of people in the cafeteria. You were suddenly hyper aware of the people around you and their breathing and chewing. The lights felt sterile and the feeling of exposure sent a chill up your spine. You needed to get out. You set your stuff on the cafeteria table next to peter and mumbled something quickly about needing to use the restroom. You headed for the locker room. At this time of day you knew nobody would be in there. You went between the isles to find a small corner. Once you had backed yourself in you slid to the ground, the tears starting as you breathing became harder to control. You were scratching your hand and tapping your foot, trying desperately to get rid of the excess energy you could feel in your body. Your thoughts were so consumed in how stupid you were being, how selfish, that you didn't notice the sound of the door opening and closing. 

You were mumbling something about going crazy and how you were being ridiculously self centered when you heard someone slide down the wall a couple feet in front of you. You knew it was probably Peter or MJ coming to check on you. You forced a sob to stay in your throat and you immediately tried everything in your power to calm down. You couldn't but you felt the person move closer. 

"Can I help?" You heard Peter ask, still not looking up at him. You shook your head silently. You wanted to scream and cry but you were finding it harder and harder to breathe. "Can I stay here?" he asked again. You thought for a moment, your heart pounding loudly at the lack of air it was getting. You nodded. 

You mumbled “I’m sorry” over and over, hoping he understood that you didn't mean for him to get wrapped up in this. That he shouldn't have to deal with you. The tears were coming harder and suddenly it was like you couldn't get air into your lungs at all. You started gasping but it didn't work. Nothing was working, you couldn't breathe. You weren't able to talk but you felt a hand on yours. You shook in shame at the thought of him seeing you like this. 

Suddenly his body was wrapped around yours. He was hugging you to his chest, you still curled up into a ball. He began breathing deeply and you unconsciously started to match his pace. It took at least 10 minutes but eventually your breathing matched his, slow and controlled. You were still crying though. 

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry." It seemed like it was all you could say. You refused to make eye contact with him even when he pulled back to look at you. Your hand was scratching away at the other desperately trying to get out of your skin when you felt him grab your hands. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Please look at me." He whispered. You took a deep breath before looking at him. Your watery eyes met his and you could see he was holding back tears. 

"Can you tell me what’s going on?" he asked quietly. You nodded but waited before speaking. You were trying to gather your thoughts and he made no move to rush you, holding your hands and looking at you lovingly. 

"I don't know whats wrong" you got out first. You took another deep breath. "A couple days ago I started to feel shitty again like I sometimes do but I didn't want to worry you so I just didn't mention it. Then I got to school today and -" you paused and took a deep breath, shutting your eyes as tightly closed as you could. "everything is so loud here. I felt like everyone was looking at me and I was worried I would snap at someone if they talked to me and I just don't want to be here or be me and I hate that I'm like this and I'm sorry you have to deal with it." You rushed out quickly. Another sob wracked your body. "I hate me" you whispered under your breath, without the intention of him hearing but he heard it because he was 1) very close to you, and 2) had enhanced senses. You slowly looked at him and he had a sad look on his face. There were tears in his eyes and the guilt wracked over you. "I’m sorry" you whispered.

"I love you." he whispered back. You were taken aback a bit. You had been together for 2 years, your junior and now your senior, and you hadn't really said that to each other like that. Not in this serious of a context. You sniffed. "I love you on any day, even when you don't love yourself. I know you are the greatest person on the planet and I believe it enough for the both of us. At least until you feel like you can work on getting to being okay with yourself."

You felt another sob wrack your body and you leaned into his chest. "And you never have to be sorry for feeling this way. It's not your fault. I am here voluntarily because I care about you. No amount of tears or snot or anxiety will change how much I care about you." he then took a deep breath and kissed your hair. You slowly stopped shaking in his arms and he kept holding you. 

"I don't know why you like me." you whispered out. The tears were no longer pouring out of you and you had fully caught your breath. You weren't fishing for compliments either, you were just expressing your genuine surprise that he wanted you around. 

"I like you because you are kind. You always ask if everyone is okay, even MJ when she is being snappy with you. I like you because you think of others first in every situation, even if it is frustrating for the people who love you. I like you because you always know what to say to people when they are feeling sad and I’m sorry I'm not as good at it as you. I like you because you always say bless you when anyone sneezes and you put the grocery cart away at the store every time. You always tell people they can talk to you if they need anything, even if you don't know then very well. You always crack your window for me so I can come in if I need you after patrols. You are the kindest person I have ever met. I like you because I will love you until the end of me. And everyone around you loves you too." By the time he was done you were holding back tears again. You looked at him and he smiled at you before saying, "Of course they don't love you as much as I do, I think thats impossible." while he smirked, trying to get you to crack a smile. It worked. You took a deep breath before straddling his legs and wrapping yourself around him in the biggest hug you could give. 

"I love you too" you said into his neck where your head was buried. He rubbed your back as you breathed him in. 

"Are you ready to go back out there or do you want to stay in here?" he asked genuinely and you knew he would be content with either choice. 

"We can go back out there but I think I’m going to head home." You muttered out, knowing you were going to crash soon if you stayed here. 

"Can I come with you?" he questioned. You looked at him and sighed. 

"Pete, I don’t want you to miss out on the rest of the day because you're with me." you said but you smiled at him. 

"Can I please? I wanna take care of my girl." He whispered the last part and you knew your resolve wouldn't last. 

"Yes of course you can come with me." you muttered, secretly glad he was coming with you. You didnt really want to be all alone as your parents were off at work. 

You didn't regret your decision. You headed outside while he grabbed your stuff from the cafeteria so you didn't have to let your peers see you with tear stains. He carried your bag all the way home and had his arm around your shoulders as he walked. When you got back you laid down on the couch and he tucked you in before going to the kitchen to make you some hot cocoa. By the time he came back into the room with cocoa in hand, you were fast asleep. Peter couldn't believe how much he cared about you as you laid there and he decided in that moment that he would spend the rest of his life proving your worth to you every single day.

[xeulousluv]

Almost

AN: Hello everyone, I am fairly new to posting on this app, so therefore I am still learning how to use it. Hehe :) Anyways, I hope you are having a great day!

Warning: Nothing really, maybe a little bit of angst? 

Zayn and Y/n broke up and all he’s left with are the videos she took during their senior year of high school.

September 1st, 2010: 

The camera was set up in her hand as she was slightly fixing her hair, a huge smile plastered on her makeup covered face. He always thought she looked better without makeup, but sometimes you couldn’t beat the insecurities. 

“Here we are, the first day of senior year! How are we feeling, Zayn?” 

Next to her stood himself, a much younger version of himself. Two years to be exact. He was almost unrecognizabel, with his usual high school attire adoring his body. A white tee-shirt, black skinny jeans, and not to mention his varsity football jacket hanging off of his shoulders. She looked lovingly at her boyfriend, her eyelashes beating against the softness of her rounded cheeks. 

“I’m ready to get out of here, the last three years were the upmost worst years of my life.” Zayn spoke truthfully, he hadn’t expected to make it past the ninth grade, but with the help of Y/n, he managed to make it all the way to his graduating year. Y/n gave him an offended look before responding, “Hey! If it weren’t for these last three years, you would’ve never met me, let alone had the courage to talk to me. Am I really that bad?” 

She laughed out while speaking, all so he knows that she is joking and would never accuse him of thinking such things. Though, he was already two steps ahead of her and was laughing along at her sad attempt of looking offended. “Of course not, baby. You are what kept me going.” With that, Zayn kissed her temple and she let out a small giggle before stopping the camera. 

September 5th, 2010:

Random small talk was heard on the computer sitting in front of Zayn, before her face showed with a bright glow. She was so beautiful it almost hurt. She was laughing at something her friend Emery said, though it was completely inaudible, he just let the smile take over his face hearing her laugh again. 

“I don’t exactly know why I turned this on, but hello! We successfully made it through the first week of school, and let me just say, it was not fun. The teachers still hate me.” Again, Y/n laughed towards the camera. 

“I remember this one time last year when Mr. Lambert threw me out of class because I wouldn’t stop laughing. In my defence, he was talking about the safety of condoms and Zayn kept mocking him. That was a detention worth going to.” Zayn remembered that day clearly. He sat to the left of Y/n, Mr. Lambert’s first mistake, and would whisper in her ear how he would show her the proper way to wear a condom when they got to her house that night. To say he did end up showing her was an understatement. 

The camera then turned to her friend before she continued on with what she was saying, “Anyways, Emery here, has informed me about this back to school party for seniors at Anthony Stilettos house. So, we are heading to the mall so we can get a nice looking outfit for tonight. I’ll see you guys later!”  And with that the camera switched off.

He thought that was the end of the video, but when she popped back on his screen, he was pleasantly surprised. She wore a black dress that just reached her knees, the end of it rippled and flew each time she took a step. Her hair and makeup was done, and her shoes matched her dress, she really was the most beautiful person he has ever met. 

Without saying anything, Y/n moved the camera to where the view was now on Emery. She wore a simple tight red dress that fit her like a glove, she was placing bobby pins in her hair before realising a camera was watching her every move. Emery turned away from the mirror Y/n had in her room, and started making random poses into the camera. The video finally ended with Y/n facing the camera back to herself while laughing at it. 

October 7th, 2010: 

It was homecoming. Their final homecoming, and of course, Zayn asked her to be his date. He didn’t go all out like the previous years, this particular year was asked right after they finished giving each other their all. They were bunched up together, all sweaty and breathless, and that is when Zayn asked her to go to homecoming with him. He thought it was gross because of their previous activities, but Y/n thought it was sweet, endearing even. It was personal and intimate, she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Plus, she was tired of all the attention that comes with getting asked to homecoming. 

Her dress was a beautiful shade of baby yellow, Zayn wore his usual black suit but with a yellow tie and a yellow rose pinned to his coat pocket. The night couldn’t have been anymore magical. 

“Z, are you ready to go? Emmy and Dallas are waiting in the car.” Her soft voice echoed through the speakers, she was worried about being late. But more so, excited about what the night had planned for the couple. Zayn was fixing his hair, like he does any other day, however today, he wanted to look his absolute best. “Just one more second, love. Gotta look perfect before leaving these four secured walls.” 

Y/n rolled her eyes into the camera before another smile took over her face. It only got wider as he finally announced that he was ready. 

“Baby, you look handsome! You don’t need all that hair gel, make one wrong move and we’re calling you Uncle Jesse.” Zayn scoffed, his hands finding their place on her hips, him being pressed up against her back. His chin resting on her shoulder, they looked so in love. They were so in love. 

October 31st, 2010: 

Fall was Y/n’s favorite season, meaning Halloween was by far her favorite holiday. She squealed into the camera when Zayn walked out in his Peter Pan costume. “Baby, you look so fucking adorable!” She cooed, though Zayn was having none of it. “Do we have to go to this party? Can’t we just stay in and watch scary movies, I promise I will protect you if you get too scared!”

He knew it was no use, Y/n had been going on and on about Anthony’s costume party for the past week, so when she started laughing, Zayn internally groaned. “Brave of you to assume I will get scared during a horror movie. How about we go for just an hour, then you and I can come back here and watch whatever movie you want?” 

At that, his ears perked, he could go for an hour. That gives him all the more time alone with his love. “Hocus Pocus? That’s my favorite.” 

“Yes baby, we can watch Hocus Pocus, do this for me, and I’m all yours for the rest of the night.” A grin was stretched across his face as she leaned up and gave a peck to his lips. Adoration shining brightly in her eyes as she looked up at him. “You are so lucky I love you, Y/n.” 

“I love you, Zayn. More than you will ever know.” 

December 31st, 2010:

“Hola, my favorite people! Happy New Years Eve, I hope you guys are having a good day. My family is having a little party to bring in the new year, even though you won’t be watching this until later when I decide to post it, I hope you guys have an amazing holiday. Be safe now. Bye!”

Christmas and New Year’s was hard for Y/n. She had major separation anxiety for everyone she grows close to, so not being able to see the people she loves for a whole two weeks was taking a toll on her. Not to mention, Zayn went back to Bradford for the holidays, so he wasn’t there to keep her calm. All she had was the emails and messages he would send her.  

However, that night was different. She didn’t know what it was, but the air felt more intoxicating. There was something she was missing and the young girl couldn’t put her finger on it. 

Emery got ahold of Y/n’s camera without her noticing, pressing the ‘record’ button and smiling.

“Hi, as many of you may know, my name is Emery White. Before questions start racing through your head about where Y/n is, she is currently in the kitchen talking to one of her neighbors, and she knows nothing about this so, shhh!” Emery held her index finger up to her mouth, even though she is talking to a camera. 

“So, the time is now 11:58, meaning it is almost New Year’s and I got a message from a good friend of mine to get her camera and start recording. Oh wait, she’s coming over! Act normal!” 

“Emmy? Why do you have my camera, wait no, when did you get my camera?” Emery turned her neck to look at Y/n, and smiled while looking at her friends confused face. “It’s almost midnight, I figured we could record the big moment for your journal thing.” 

Y/n looked at her watch and sure enough, it was 12:59, and the people around her were counting down. By the time Y/n looked back at her friend, Emery had switched her position to behind the camera, her smile now stretching to her eyes. She gave a confused smile towards the camera before shaking her head. 

10..

9..

8..

A tap was felt on Y/n’s shoulder making her turn around, not believing her eyes, she had to do a double take. There he was in all of his glory. Zayn stood in front of her with a bouquet of random flowers, her eyes widening in complete shock. 

3..

2..

1!

Before she could fully process his presence, Zayn had planted his lips against hers in what he would call, one of their best kisses. His arms went around her waist while hers were around his neck, keeping him as close as humanly possible. She was the first to pull away from the kiss, tears forming at the bottom of her eyes but never fell. Zayn pulled her back, this time her face went into his neck as he whispered out a small, “Happy New Years, baby.” 

May 22nd, 2011: 

Senior prom, a day Y/n has waited her entire life for. Getting all dolled up for one night of perfection sounded glorious. Unlike most people, her dress doesn’t reach the floor but goes a little ways past her knees. It was a light shade of green, she wasn’t usually one for the cliche pink and blue, and her stomach was laced over showing her belly button peircing. She felt on top of the world, the most gorgeous she has ever felt in her entire life. 

Zayn was in a nude tuxedo, a lightish green tie tucked into the blazer. “It’s prom day, baby, how do you feel?” The now well-known camera placed in front of his face, though he paid no attention to it, but really the girl behind it. “Like I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world. How did I get so lucky, hm?” 

The blush was evident on her face, he could see it perfectly now even with the camera facing him and not herself. He could still see the light in her eyes. Looking back on it, he couldn’t imagine living his life without her, how could he let her go? 

It wasn’t like they got in a fight or anything, Zayn and Y/n were going to different colleges and he didn’t want to do the whole long distance thing. He felt she deserved better than that. So even though the breakup was absolutely not a mutual agreement, Y/n somewhat understood and let him walk away. 

“You’re such the charmer, Zayn. Always got me blushing for no good reason.” 

“I would be a bad boyfriend if I didn’t.” 

Now turning the camera to face both of them, Zayn placed a kiss on her lips before turning off the camera and letting their night go on as best as it could, for it would be one of the last good memories they have. Except at the time, neither of them knew the last time would actually be the last time. 

June 4th, 2011: 

“Hey everyone, I just want to start off by saying congratulations, we made it. Graduating today was the most amazing feelings, and I’m sure you all can agree with me. The past four years have really taught me a lot, I know I sound like the Mallory Barnes, our valedictorian that gave the speech today, but I’m serious, you all have been amazing. Teachers included.” 

Y/n wasn’t in her usual attire. She was in a comfortable baggy hoodie, and that’s all you could see as her camera was propped on the desk in the corner of the room. Her hair was in a messy bun, no makeup, and her glasses were sat perfectly on her nose. What no one could notice was the slight puffiness to her eyes, the way they were red and tired. But Zayn noticed, however. When Y/n first uploaded this to her instagram, Zayn couldn’t bare to watch it, so seeing it now definitely brought back a feeling he tried too hard to push away. 

“In the past four years I have learned about friendships, I learned about love, and I learned about heartbreak. I have got to say, high school brought me some really great friendships that I will cherish forever. I am finding it very difficult to say goodbye, but we are bound to go off and do bigger and better things. The future awaits for us.” 

“I just want to thank you guys for the amazing memories, and I hope you guys make your dreams come true.” Y/n sighed into the camera, she was really bad at saying goodbye, though you would think it would be easier considering no one likes high school. However, Y/n loved every single second of it, maybe not the learning but the memories made.

“Now, I am going to get really sappy for a minute and say a massive thank you to the man who has loved me for the past four years. Zayn, I know we haven’t talked in a few weeks, and you’re probably not even watching this, but just know that I am so proud of you.  I don’t know how I could not be. I really hope you make something wonderful of yourself. You were by far my favorite part of this journey. Thank you for sticking with me and for loving me. And even though we aren’t together anymore, I love you.”

“We almost had it all, didn’t we?” 

AN: Yeah, I don't think I like this babahahah. Love the concept but someone out there could definitely write it better. 

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

"Please don’t talk about yourself like that" for Aro & The Ghost of Peter?

It's been a while since I'd kicked down ghost Peter, hasn't it?

Warning: Peter has a very negative view of himself in this

On with the fic!

--

Aro felt the room start to feel a bit colder than it should and it didn't take him more than a second to realize that Peter was here now. "Did you need something?" He asked, not even turning around.

"My phone." Peter replied, suddenly at his side. "Gimme."

The vampire rolled his eyes. "A simple please would be nice. Do they not teach manners anymore."

"They do, I just don't care. Gimme." Peter said, making a grabby motion with his hand. "Please." He tacked on with the tone of a bossy child.

"No, last time you had it, you got yourself upset over things you were looking at. It would be wise if you did not have it for a few days." Aro frowned. "Or ever."

This did not seem to make Peter happy and he tried to reach for Aro's chest, knowing the phone was in the inner pocket of his suit jacket, but the vampire stepped back. "Peter, stop it."

"God, you're such an ass, just let me have it!"

"Stop being a child about things, you do not need to upset yourself over things again."

"But what if I want to!" Peter snarled, the feeling of cold was rather heavy now as the ghost tried once more to reach for Aro, who suddenly moved across the room in the blink of an eye.

Aro narrowed his eyes. "And why would you want that? I do believe it is not healthy for humans to be emotionally stressed over things they read online."

Peter huffed, looking away. "So? Everyone does it, it's normal. Perfectly, fuckingly, humanly normal."

Ah?

"And what do you mean by that?" Aro asked, curious.

Peter complained often about his new life, unlife?, but seemed to just take it in stride, adjusting when he found something new to be interested in about his situation. But when he did speak about human things, it was mainly to complain or say what he didn't miss about it.

However, there were those moments, like now, where he'd slip, his act of 'whatever I can deal with this' breaking just a bit, showing that he was not dealing with this.

"Like you'd understand." Peter snipped. "You're a vampire, you don't get how it is to be a human. It's all... ya know, stress and bitchin', and wantin' other people to be angry like you are over stupid things."

He was floating off the ground, arms crossed, Aro could see the dark, red spot on his neck where he had left his killing mark become a bit larger. A sign that Peter was slipping, showing more of the damage, looking a bit more like his corpse had looked upon death.

"A perfectly normal human thing to be some dumb fuck that wants to be angry and upset over some petty bullshit cause someone said you looked ugly in a selfie you posted. Or that your opinion on something was a load of crap, or that... I dunno, that you're just some useless waste of space with no purpose anymore."

Aro was surprised that Peter's last bit there made his dead heart clench, did Peter feel... normal, human, when he spoke so poorly of himself like that?

What a miserable way of thinking, thought the vampire as he approached the ghost. "Please don’t talk about yourself like that." He found himself saying, his voice calm, oddly sympathetic.

If the others heard him speak like this...

Peter looked at him, frowning, confused. "What do you care? You don't really think all that highly of humans anyway."

"True, but you speak of yourself as if you are worthless."

"Wasn't... wasn't talkin' about myself, just bein', ya know, general about stuff."

That was a lie and they both knew it. "Peter, you know you are not the way you speak of yourself. You are not a waste of space, actually, you don't take up any space at all like this."

This made the ghost laugh, oddly enough, but Aro pressed on. "And you have a purpose. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in this realm still, yes? I am to assume that, based on what you've told me and of what humans consider normal for restless spirits, that if you don't have a purpose, you have no ties to the mortal world?"

Peter looked at him, biting his lip. "What's my purpose then?"

"From what I can tell, it's to be a pain for all vampires, especially for me."

Again, this got a laugh out of Peter, the blood spot shrinking, he looked a little less dead. "I guess that's a good reason to still be hanging around."

"For you it is." Aro sighed and reached into his jacket, holding out the phone.

Peter looked at it, almost taking it, but then shook his head. "Probably... not a great idea right now. Maybe I'll have a better time messin' with your creepy twin bodyguards."

"If that's how you get your entertainment around here..."

A grin came to Peter's face, the room felt a little less cold. "Well, my entertainment mainly comes from making your life a living hell, considering that appears to be my purpose now."

Aro rolled his eyes at this.

--

Annoying vampires for the rest of time seems like a good reason for a ghost to stick around, right?