#twitter dying in front of our eyes

[bizarrelittlemew]

tumblr now is your chance to allow porn back on the site

[deliwrites]

𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 // Dream

// DATE // 13th of October 2022 // PAIRING // Dreamwastaken x Reader // WARNING // masterbation, phone sex, pet names // WORDS // 2,8k // SUMMARY // Dream was going around face timing friends for the first time. He let me know I would be one of them. // SERIES // Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 //

// MASTERLIST // ANONLIST //

I sat in front of my set-up. I was a Minecraft YouTuber just like Dream. This is how we met in the first place. I wasn’t faceless like him tho. He was the reason I made manhunt videos as well. I, of course, gave him credit every single time. I didn’t want him to think I was taking his video and claiming it as mine. In his videos, it was men hunting him and in mine, it was females hunting me.

I don’t know how, when or where, but Dream found my channel. Just as it was taking off. Maybe he found me because I had started to become more popular. I will have to ask him sometime.

He got in contact with me over Twitter. It wasn’t anything significant. More a message like; ‘Hey, I noticed you make similar video’s as me. They’re awesome! Thanks for the credit btw’. It felt like an automated message but I still responded.

I let him know how he is an inspiration to me and that I hoped he was fine with me - basically - copying him. To my surprise, he responded. He was super cool about it. He even came up with the idea to mix the groups. So about a year ago, we posted a video on his channel; “Minecraft Manhunt Two Speedrunners VS Ten Hunters”. It got a lot of attention and we’ve basically been friends ever since. It got so much attention. We ended up making 4 more. Just so it had an ending like the rest of them. We were going 2 vs 2 with the wins. So either party had to win the last match and they would win in total.

Who would have guessed, Dream and I ended up winning the last one. Which happened 3 months ago. We only won because of me I might add. Dream ended up dying just before we killed the dragon. Three more hits after I pulled out of a fight. Pearling into the ring. I finished off the dragon. Dream and I cheered while the others screamed in disbelief.

I was expecting contact to fade when we were done with all the videos. Though, to my surprise that wasn’t the case. We still texted and even called. We talked almost every day. I really liked our friendship. But I hated to admit it.

I was falling for him. Hard. I would like for us to be more if I was honest. Sure, I had no idea what he looked like - tho I was going to find out soon - but he was such a sweetheart. I’ve definitely been flirting with him. No shame there. I think he’s been flirting back, but I’m not sure. We’ve had many flirty jokes and suggestive conversations. I have no clue how much male friends talk to each other about kinks. But I was sure I knew more about that side of him than George or Sapnap.

Turning on my camera, I wait patiently for him to call me.

Dreamy Poo 💚

A squeak escapes me as I quickly press record on the camera.

“Look, guys, he’s calling!” I tell the camera. Shamelessly showing off what Clay is called on my phone. Picking up the phone when I turn it back to me, I cover my eyes. Nervous - as fuck - about seeing him

“Hey, Y/n,” His comforting voice rings through the phone quietly.

“Wait, shit, I didn’t put you on speaker!” I groan in frustration to myself.

“Then put me on speaker,” I can hear him laugh at my idiocy.

“I don’t want to see you yet, I’m nervous!” I tell him. Hanging my head, pouting slightly. A soft chuckle comes from him.

“Alright, I’ll cover the camera,” he starts. “You put me on speaker, and let me know when I can uncover the camera. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Alright, it’s covered,” peeking through my fingers slightly. The screen is black beside the buttons. I quickly put him on speaker. Giving my camera a look for my stupidity. Squeezing my eyes shut I shake my head softly.

“Okay, I’m ready,” I tell Clay.

“Really, you’re still keeping your eyes closed?” he asks chuckling in disbelief.

“Dream! Don’t judge me!” I whine getting another laugh from him.

“Alright, I’ll just stay here, waiting,” I hear a thunk like he put his phone down on something. Out of curiosity, I open one eye just enough to check my phone. A slight pout on his face catches my eye. An audible gasp leaves my lips. I open both eyes and just stare at him. Mouth agape. He was looking away slightly. After hearing my gasp he looks back at the screen. His pout fading into a smile.

“No,” is the first coherent word that comes out. Clay shakes his head, chuckling softly as I stare at him. Frozen in my spot.

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

“You’re fucking gorgeous!” I say before my thoughts could catch up. A blush almost instantly flushed my cheeks. His cheeks seem to tint a little pink as well at my outburst. “I mean! No! You can’t be this beautiful!” I try to recover and find confidence in what I’m saying. A bright smile takes place on Clay’s face. He is sitting more relaxed in his gaming chair. It was then that I notice he had set his phone up on his desk. Either sitting on something or leaning against something. Angling it just right where I could see from the top of his head, all the way to his jean-covered knees.

Letting out little confused noises, I lean forward in my gaming chair. Left elbow on my knee, head resting on my left hand. My right hand holding my phone. I wasn’t sure if I was still in frame of my camera but I couldn’t care less at this point.

I was just staring at him in amazement. His eyes were so gorgeous, his smile is gorgeous, god I could stare at him all day and not get bored. Though I wasn’t distracted enough to not notice him glancing down at me. I decide then to tease him with that later. First I needed a video for Twitter.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” I tell him, getting another laugh from him.

“Yep, I’m definitely real. You can ask Sapnap if you don’t believe me,” he chuckles.

“I believe you.”

“Good,” he grins.

“Who else have you called?” I decide to ask.

“You are actually the first I called today, others were a little busy at this time.”

“Woah, I wasn’t even your first pick, I’m offended!” I tell him loudly, tho there is obvious sarcasm in my voice. “Bye!” I fake hanging up. Noting that that’s where I should cut the video before posting it on Twitter.

“No!” Clay sounds a little desperate making me chuckle.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to actually hang up,” I tell him in a whisper. “There is something I wanna talk to you about,” I smirk, sitting back in my chair, I hover my phone slightly above me. “I noticed your eyes wandered a bit,” I start smugly. His eyes widen and I can tell he’s about to deny it. “Don’t bother denying it,” I chuckle. “I don’t mind either way.”

“Wait, what?” he seems a little confused at my comment. “You don’t mind that I was checking you out?”

“Aha, so you admit it,” I giggle, grinning. I poke my tongue out in a teasing manner. He groans and rolls his eyes, a smile still gracing his face.

“Okay, yes, I did,” he says reluctantly, though there is a smirk playing at the corner of his lip. “You’re absolutely stunning, how could I not.”

“Why thank you, Clay,” doing something that I was possibly going to regret later. I swiftly pull at the short crop top I was wearing. Showing off the black lace bra I was wearing underneath. “You like the look of these?” I ask him. Unsure where this confidence was coming from. Looking down at his lean body I notice him shuffling in his seat. Which gave me even more confidence.

“Damn it, yes,” he breathes out like he was trying to not let this escalate. But I could tell he was already too into this.

“I can tell,” I smirk. “I can see a little bludge forming,” I lick my top lip in anticipation. Tho, to my surprise a smirk starts to form on his lips now as well.

“Does it excite you, that you have this effect on me?” my eyes widen slightly at his words. Only then becoming painfully aware of the wetness and pressure between my legs. A blush spread on my cheeks. “I take that as a ‘yes’,” his voice is deep as he chuckles.

I counter his confidence by taking off the crop top. I swear I saw the tent in his jeans twitch just slightly. Positioning my phone on my desk, similarly to how he has his phone. Standing up, I shimmy out of the short pleated skirt I was wearing. Leaving me in nothing but my matching lace lingerie and white thigh-high socks.

“God, you’re a tease,” he groans softly. His shirt is quick to disappear as well. Followed by his jeans being lowered. A relieved sigh left his lips. Having taken a little bit of the pressure off his hard dick.

“You already knew that, Clay,” I stick out my tongue at him. This wasn’t the first time I teased him. Before I would just send him a spicy pic. The smirk never left my lips. I loved that I was able to do this to him. Turning away from the phone, my ass in full view. I can feel it jiggle as I take the few steps back to my chair. Having pushed it a bit away when I set up my phone and took off the skirt. I swear I heard a ‘fuck’ leave his lips. Sitting back down my tits jiggle with the bounce. Looking at my phone. He’s starting gently stroking his member over his boxers.

“God you’re gorgeous,” he tells me, making me swoon just a little. “Will you play with your tits for me?” his voice is filled with slight authority, making his question more of a demand. Not that I would decline. I would answer to his every wish if I could. I don’t answer verbally. Instead deciding to reach behind me. Unclipping my bra. I don’t let it fall just yet. Leaving it to hang loosely on my shoulder. Both of my hands slide from my ribs to cup my breasts. Pushing them together making them seem bigger. That does the trick of making the bra slide down. Smirking I cover my boobs with one hand, throwing the bra somewhere in the room.

Looking at my phone, I see he’s decided to stop torturing himself. Having freed his dick from his constricting boxers. His right hand was slowly stroking himself up and down, thumb pressing down on the glistening tip. I lick my lips at the sight. We had done something similar to this once, though I obviously wasn’t able to see him then.

Cupping my breasts once, I pinch my nipples, soft moans leaving my lips at that. I was kinda sad that I was wearing black lace. Was it any other colour, I could have shown him just how wet this made me. The slight breeze in my room let me know just how soaked I was.

“Clay,” I start softly. Sliding my hands down, I wait for his eyes to connect with mine. “I want you to watch me.”

“I am,” he tells me a little breathless. Smirking I slide my thumbs under the hem of my panties, sliding them down my legs. Kicking them off. I pull my knees up, spreading my legs. I sink down in my chair a little. Legs hanging in the air. Putting my wet cunt on full display for him. “Look at you. Putting yourself on full display for me,” a blush graces my cheeks at the praises he was giving me. “Out here pleasing me like a good kitten,” the pet name leaving his lips has my lips flutter. “You like that, don’t you,” he smirks, voice dark. “You like being a good girl for me,” the dark tone in his voice does things to me. I’m getting drunk just of his voice.

Reaching between my legs with slim fingers. I spread my folds, slick already running down in expectancy. Fuck, I was so wet. Dipping a finger in I imagine it being his finger. Quickly adding another. Curling my fingers as I thrust them in and out. Playing with my clit with my thumb. Watching Clay pick up the pace with his hand. Matching my pace. ‘God, I wish I was with you.’

“Me too,” he smirks. Looking directly at my pussy. Glistening in the studio light. Moans and gasps left my lips as I abused my clit with frantic strokes. The thrusts becoming quicker by the second. Not even registering that I had said my thought out loud. “I can just imagine sitting on my knees in front of you. Eating you out, leaving you a moaning mess as you are now.”

“Oh, please, do that!” I moan out. Closing my eyes I picture him doing just that. The thought of his mouth of me. Sucking at my clit, tongue thrusting inside me. Adding his fingers to make it feel just that much better.

“Are you gonna cum for me, kitten?” I’m not sure if he actually said that, or if I was imagining it, but I begged for it.

“Please,” I beg like I was deprived of an orgasm for days. I, so desperately wanted to show him, how good this made me feel. How fucking hot it was for me to hold onto this confidence. Watching him jerk off to me was so hot. I loved that I had this effect on him. I loved that I was enough.

His dark chuckle rings through my ears. “Alright, baby. Cum with me and next time I’ll fill you up, alright?” I couldn’t answer him. Him just saying that had me falling off the edge. My eyes closed tightly as my orgasm ripped through me. I was breathing heavily, stroking out my orgasm. After having calmed down I open my eyes slowly. Chest still heaving up and down rapidly. Looking at my phone, Dream is in the same state as me. Cum glistened on his stomach. “Good girl, squirting for me like that,” he breathes out when he sees I have my eyes open again.

My eyes widen at his comment. “Wait! I squirted!?” I gasp, all of my energy suddenly back. Looking between my legs I suddenly became aware of a lot more wetness than I’m used to, pooling around my cheeks. Along with obvious dark spots on my white carpet. Dream chuckles softly. ‘Cute,’ he thought.

We calmed down a little more, both of us leaving our chairs for a little. I went to grab a towel and a wet cloth. I was still amazed that I squirted, I didn’t know I could do that. Cleaning up the pool on my gaming chair as well as between my shaky legs. I wiped myself down with the wet cloth. Cooling my skin before slipping into clean underwear, deciding on snuggling into a pair of sweatpants and a Dream hoodie. Taking a seat once more, a blush slowly flushed my cheeks. All the confidence I had left me slowly now that the act was over.

Scooting the chair closer to the desk, I look at Clay suddenly feeling shy. Pulling up my knees, I set my feet down on the chair, wrapping my arms around my knees. He still seemed to be confident in this whole situation. He was wearing the same clothes as before, his shirt a little more wrinkled now. He seemed to be just admiring me but I couldn’t stand the silence right now.

“So… that was something,” I end up mumbling. A gentle smile played on Clay’s lips. Seeming to catch on to my change of demeanour.

“It was,” he spoke gently. “I wasn’t expecting it. Though, I loved every second of it,” a soft smile formed on my lips from that. “I meant what I said tho,” I sent him a look of slight confusion, tilting my head sideways. “Next time, I’ll come fill you up,” his smirk is back. My blush darkens as I hide my face in my knees. A chuckle came from him.

Soon after, we end the call. After making a quick cut of the video that had also recorded our spicy episode. I posted the ‘safe for work’ part to Twitter. Deciding to send the ‘not safe for work’ part to Clay.

// MASTERLIST // ANONLIST //

// SERIES // Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 //

[guiltycorp]

jjk 236 manga spoilers !!! -

Extremely funny how the high school reunion party followed by Gojo's body reveal was framed in that way for the sole reason that this shocking resolution would have been boring as fuck if done straightforwardly hahaha... Honestly i still believe in the potential of Gojo turning into a cursed spirit (because that obvious aspect of the world-building hasn't been delivered on WHATSOEVER yet) or the next 6 eyes somehow being immediately ready to throw down, but i no longer believe that any of it will be written well.

A thing that has been bothering me for a while due to spending too much time on twitter is how shonen bros are very keen on praising the technical aspect of the magic system in jjk, how the fights are so good they balance out the lack of emotional weight. ...but was any of the fighting actually good on that technical shonen level? There are a lot of implications about how various Heian era sorcerers came up with techniques and items that are used today but none of it has any real elegance since every new technique and artifact just conveniently came up whenever characters needed to use them. Did Toji's possession of Inverted Spear make sense? Suuure, and maybe it has some ties to Angel whose technique maybe helped to make it. Doesn't change the fact that it was introduced purely to have a way to deal with Gojo's infinity and Geto's curses. And even the attempt to bring back Yuta-Rika bond in terms of Toji-Worm made no real sense since Rika was created by and bound to Yuta intrinsically while Toji just... tamed and trained the Worm off-screen somehow? Why would Geto's technique not work on it then, how is it different from some cursed spirits being loyal to themselves or the places they are guarding. His use of cursed spirits is clearly different from a regular 'taming' situation. And similar problems happen with techniques like Simple Domain or Falling Blossom, they were just ~invented~ in the past somehow so now people can use that. How do they actually work and why can't people come up with their own bullshit techniques then? Well don't worry about it, it might come up again or probably won't because there is no need for that pesky logic in our magic worldbuilding systems. You could even say that the absence of sense and balance is on purpose since the story on the whole is about how everything is Unfair, but it's not like that's communicated well either so? At this point it feels like anything can happen and not in a good way. Gojo got sealed in a poignant emotional way that im looking forward to in the anime but then... he got released by some convenient technique from a new character? Then didn't give much of a reaction to his plans falling apart in front of him, didn't acknowledge Megumi's situation beyond what it meant for the fight (nothing acknowledging how he both lost one of his strongest potential assets and how he participated in robbing both Megumi and Tsumiki of their youth - this at least might come up in a flashback alongside Nobara's situation, if Nobara is 100% dead then the writing is even shittier for not bringing her up properly), went to have a fun fight, had fun and died rip. Even his dying hallucinations were a generic pat-on-the-back 'u did well haha it's great that u had fun' rather than anything meaningful. You could say Gege is salty towards Gojo specifically but it's not like other main characters are faring any better so far... Yuji vs Sukuna is set up in a way where it's just too simple of a straightforward revenge battle with the side of getting Megumi back or killing him, the only thing we can look forward to really. And i can't be excited about Kenjaku vs anyone bc it's not like Yuji ever showed any interest in his parentage (and no mommy issues agh) or got to know Gojo's backstory or anything that would have given him a personal interest in going against Kenjaku at all and none of the other characters have personal beef with Kenjaku either... Like, Yuta a little, but much less so now that Kenjaku is just another big villain for everyone to defeat rather than 'need to kill him myself so that gojo doesn't have to'. Sukuna vs Kenjaku could also be fun if we learned about their past but a Heian flashback would probably just make the story even less engaging at this point. Plus any fight will still do a bunch of that 'actually i had THIS technique/item/skill all this time or i just came up with it even!!' Probably that's what's going to happen with unrevealed Sukuna techniques and Yuki's research. Yeahhh anyway...

[smallgodseries]

[image description: A brown teddy bear with no mouth stands atop a grassy knoll in front of a field of gravestones. A falling star arcs diagonally across the twilit sky (or is it mourning?) behind him. The scythe he’s holding has bisected his adorable head. Top banderole reads “Dying is easy, Comedy is hard”. Lower text reads, “Teddy Burial, The Grin Reaper & Small God of Comedic Death. #124”]

• • • • •

Humans are such short-lived creatures.  Did you hear about Gerald?  Oh, yes, I did, his poor wife, she must be heartbroken.  They’re born and they die, all in the blinking of an eye, and for the divine, there’s no difference in the death of an infant and the death of a venerated elder.  Time has no meaning on the other side of the hourglass.

Oh, did you get the news about Carol?  Such a tragedy, she was so young, really, and that bulldozer wasn’t even supposed to be in her neighborhood.

Every human death is an inevitable tragedy, and someone will be heartbroken, always.  Even the grimmest of misers leaves someone lost to mourning.  And for all of that, some deaths are…different.  Some deaths fall under a different umbrella, one patterned in polka dots and smiley faces.

Some deaths are, to be blunt about it, absolutely hilarious.

Consider Gerald, devoured by hyenas.  It might not have been funny had he been a zookeeper or a zoologist, but as he was an accountant who had decided to become a tightrope walker in his middle age, and begun his new career by walking the thin rail of the hyena enclosure at the zoo, well…

Even his grieving widow had to see the humor, after she finished crying off her supposedly waterproof mascara, anyway.

Or consider Carol, bulldozed to death in her own apartment parking lot, an ending straight out of a children’s cartoon, flattened like a pancake.  Or Kathy, who fell through the floor of a medieval bathroom while on her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Scotland, only to discover that the castle employees had been using it for its original purpose.  She drowned in effluvia before she could be saved.

Or Charles, pecked to death by ducks, or Margery, or Michael, or…

Wherever a life ends with a giggle instead of a groan, he is there, scythe in hand, ready to close the book on their stories, however ridiculous or rugged they had been.

Because death is funny.  Not always, but often enough to be made manifest. Sometimes, anyway.

• • • • •

Join Lee Moyer (Icon) and Seanan McGuire (Story) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a guide to the many small deities who manage our modern world:

Tumblr: https://smallgodseries.tumblr.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/smallgodseries

Instagram: https://instagram.com/smallgodseries/

Homepage: http://smallgodseries.com

[oopsallfictives]

I don't wanna explain this over and over to people, so I'm posting it here. I already did this on twitter so like. Whatever

Hey I'm Mars (he/him). I'm a gay trans man, vaguely young adult, and our system's front anchor. We recently discovered that Mercury (AKA Merc) was a subsystem, and I'm one of the members of that subsystem. I'm the only one who can't leave the front and I'm super bitter about it :D

I look like this

[Image description: Picrew showing a man from the chest up, smiling and looking off to the side. He has pale skin with freckles, blue eyes, and dyed red hair that's shaved on the sides and long on top, falling over his face on one side. He has round glasses, a septum ring, and multiple piercings in each ear, all of which are gold. He's wearing a red plaid flannel over a black tank top that says "owo" in white on it. The background is the ocean gay pride flag. The watermark on the top left corner reads "DJARN". End ID]

[000png]

this is all heard from word of mouth, but after elon musk implemented really strict work hours/ethic, all the twitter employees walked out the building and now everybody thinks twitter is "dying" but it's most likely just gonna be broken for an indefinite amount of time

yeah all the news articles are basically saying twitter closed its offices (supposedly until next week but it kinda sounds like indefinitely at the same time) due to literally hundreds of employees resigning en masse. we're literally watching a social media platform fall apart in front of our very eyes, amazing

[nailamoonsi]

My own art of Layla, Alia, Antonio and Alejandro from left to right. They’re OCs within Blue Horizon, which has an ongoing comic (on both Webtoons and here), a character blog (originally on Tumblr and transcripted on Neocities), AND an epic science fantasy novel (and side adventure light novel) I’ve finished and am doing edits for. It was formerly code-named “Another Sky verse” due to initially attempting a tradpub path, but it is now a solo and indie project! (03/12/24 edit.)

07.03.23 edit: Another Sky WIP is complete at 214k words! It involves many POC and LGBT characters who are pretty invested in “ancient Earthian culture” (i.e., somewhere around our era) within a planet across the galaxy, tens of thousands of years after Earthians began exploring it.

Here’s a short summary:

Thousands of years after a distant planet becomes disconnected from galactic societies, its humans are back on their feet again. The world reaches for the future, and the Protector will lead the way. Ranvir and Armando, two boys from the Protector's class, begin to discover eerie happenings upon the planet as their friend group begins to merge. Including the sudden arrival of children who seem to be from that future.  

A lot of my previous information about the project is on Twitter. Including more detailed info, synopses, and snippets. However, I’ll slowly be shifting my focus here [as well]. Posts related to WIPs are largely tagged Blue Horizon (formerly #AnotherSkyVerse, which is now retired), but are also found at #mywrites and #myart and #my ocs drawing. I now also have a website for info on the OCs, including art.

P.S. This was the first time I drew digital art of human protags! Drawn with Clip Studio Paint. The flower is a brush by   ▷流河!

ALT under the cut:

Art 1: Layla has a red eye, eyepatch, and an odd smile going, is dark brown with wavy white-silver anime hair. She wears a light green suit with green shadow, and a red shirt. Alia is also dark brown, has falling anime ocean blue curls, with a noticeable aqua highlight. She's smiling to herself and wears a blue-violet coat. 

Art 2: Antonio has red eyes, a grin, is brown, has lighter ocean blue hair that falls like ocean waves, and has grabbed onto Alejandro, who looks a little shy, is sienna brown, has long violet hair, fuschia eyes (a power-up of red eyes), dark pink dyed locks in front of him, and he's wearing a pink shirt, as is looking back at Antonio. They both have slight blushes. 

Art 3: Full art of OCs with repeating alt text. Layla has a red eye, eyepatch, and an odd smile going, is dark brown with wavy white-silver anime hair. She wears a light green suit with green shadow, and a red shirt. Alia is also dark brown, has falling anime ocean blue curls, with a noticeable aqua highlight. She's smiling to herself and wears a blue-violet coat. Antonio has red eyes, a grin, is brown, has lighter ocean blue hair that falls like ocean waves, and has grabbed onto Alejandro, who looks a little shy, is sienna brown, has long violet hair, fuschia eyes (a power-up of red eyes), dark pink dyed locks in front of him, and he's wearing a pink shirt, as is looking back at Antonio. They both have slight blushes.

[minachan95-written-works-on-ao3]

Title:Hot Cocoa at Dark Night

Fandom: King of Fighters

Characters: Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami

Pairing: Iori x Kyo

Summary:

After not so calm evening for himself, Yagami once again proven that Kyo can't handle his drinks that well and now good luck for him, cos this brunette's behavior is unpredictable and that he has to handle it…

[This story was written for Kyo's birthday on December 12th and inspired by one artist's works on Twitter]

AO3 Link

It was a calm winter’s evening. Singly snowflakes were dancing in the air by surrounded light of street lanterns. There was already sensible holiday spirit - either in the air of the city, either inside people’s hearts. So, who were rushing for getting gifts in earlier, who just hang out with those whom they call dearest, and lastly, those who don’t really concerned about anything right now and just want to enjoy the moment…

However, despise that in one local restaurant one certain redhead just wanted to call it a day and have a nice evening for himself, it seems that it wasn’t quiet exactly his day. ‘‘…like I was saying... Oi, are you listening, idiot?’’ this brunette started to point with his finger Iori’s cheek while with other hand holding a good glass of cold beer. Certainly, from that face of Kyo alone, you could tell, that it wasn’t his first or second glass and these cheeks dyed in light red could confirm it. This redhead sighed and replied in irritated tone ‘‘At least put this down before you spill it.’’. He continued to rest his chin on his hand while in another one holds a glass of whiskey.

Kyo listened to this request, however, now he placed elbow on table and gave smug smile. When he leaned forward this redhead, he replied in mocking tone ‘‘Eh~ Just look who is talking? Empty yo glass, you coward, then talk~’’. The ice cubes clacked inside this transparent glass as Iori moved his hand and silently observe his partner. One thing for sure, Kyo took this as challenge and refused to give up, so, he continued in same manner but this time in deeper tone ‘‘ It’s okay and I understand...You already know that you can't win against me. But you don't have to put such a scene, you know~’’. This brunette hoped that this certainly would provoke Yagami, however, it seems that it was useless. Like he remained indifferent, then and remained as so.

This Kusanagi heir didn’t liked this at all and frowned, so, he tried another tactic. Now with one sudden movement he tried to grab the glass from Iori’s hand. However, it seems that redhead’s reflexes were faster and he simply lifted his hand and smiled. As for this brunette, he ended up slamming his face on table and now this redhead asked ‘‘Whoah, don’t you think you had enough? Know your limits. Besides, all people laughing at you.’’.

While still resting his face on table, Kyo murmured something and after slowly sitting back angrily replied ‘‘…If you gonna waste this, then give it to me. *hic*’’, this brunette starred at Iori so demanding yet he slightly swings into opposite directions. As Yagami stands up, he says in serious tone ‘‘Fiiine, you already had enough. Let’s go.’’. This brunette looked so naturally surprised and wasn't so pleased with this decision, however, after Iori paid the bill, both were ready to leave restaurant.

Once Yagami was in front of exit door, he noticed that he was missing something. That's right, it seems that Kyo has disappeared from his sight, but once he looked at the direction of their reserved spot, he widened his eyes and now rushed towards that direction - that idiot was about to grab half empty glass from poor waiter's tray like it was his hardly won trophy, why does he have to act like this, though this redhead and now he has stop this brunette from causing any further problems.

Fortunately, Yagami managed to grab the back of Kyo's collar and dragged him towards him. For the first time in this evening Iori has used strict voice "Behave yourself. Just because it's your birthday, it does not mean that you can harass people." Now he looked at this waiter who was still at awe and said in slight calmer tone "I'm terribly sorry for this behavior, so, this for your patience", Yagami released the collar of this brunette and now before taking their leave gave an extra tip. Surely, it seems that this kind of dramatic leave got the attention of the people, but as soon as it began, it ended after this couple left the restaurant.

After both got outside the door, Iori fixed his long black coat and putted gloves, he notices that Kyo maybe didn’t managed to handle such a simple task so well. This brunette has putted his white jacket, however, it seems that too loose scarf caught the attention of this redhead. Right now Yagami approached Kyo closer and after placing his hands on it, removes it. Of course, this unexpected gesture made this brunette blush harder as he slightly opens his mouth and widens his eyes but he kept his gaze on this redhead. After swallowing saliva, he asked in shaking tone ‘‘What do think you’re doing, you dork?…and in the middle of the street!’’.

Yagami only sighed and while fixing this hopeless fool’s scarf, replied in stricter tone ‘‘You gonna catch a cold or get fever, if you leave your neck open like this-’’, however, this brunette now frowned and objected ‘‘Oi, like heck, I’m gonna! It’s not so cold, ya know…’’. Meanwhile this redhead was nearly finished and replied ‘‘And then after a breeze, someone ends up coughing and with running nose. Just not on my watch, got it?’’. Just when this Kusanagi heir wanted to oppose, Iori just tied scarf tighter. Kyo just silently observed this redhead but soon he objected ‘‘Pff, big deal~ Just when I asked to be baby-sitted by you? I’m fine.’’. It was pointless to further argue with this brunette when he is in this state. So, it was wiser for this redhead to remain patient take this stubborn idiot home.

However, this evening wasn’t for this redhead and, definitely, it is not as calm as he wanted. After good stroll in rowdy city streets, this couple reached the riverbank, Kyo started to fasten his steps and now stopped. Surely, it got the attention of this redhead and he gave questionable look yet he could already tell that this Kusanagi boy think-off something bad. That suggestive look on this brunette’s face...Now he told in playful tone ‘‘Just watch me going~’’ and now after placing his hand on scarf, removed it with one sudden move. When he was done with jacket, he just tossed it on cold ground. Now he gave rather a challenging look for this redhead when he was done with shoes. Right now, Kyo was facing the river. Couple steps backward and after sprinting forward, gracefully as an otter, this brunette jumped into the river. Fortunately, it was deep enough and he didn’t broke anything. Yet Yagami could only face-palm and shake his head at such a reckless behaviour as water has been splashing around.

However, this was only the beginning. Yagami still remained face-palmed as this diver was waving at him cheerfully with both his arms ‘‘Oi, what’s the matter with you? Come on~ the water is just perfect.’’. This redhead slowly began to loose his patience and just wanted to go home, but despise that, Kyo had best of his time by swimming around, it didn’t even mattered that it was freezing cold. Backstroke, breaststroke, on sides, twisting - this brunette was showing off what he could. Yagami took this brunette’s clothes with him just in case if anything would happen.

Once he looked at this redhead, he noticed that may be left back, because Iori began to fasten his step and walk away. It was better to pretend that he doesn’t know this brunette, because it seems that now this redhead getting more attention - more and more people began to gather and it was helluva embarrassing too! This Kusanagi was so honestly surprised and began to call for his partner ‘‘Hey! Don’t leave me alone here! Are you listening? Hey, Yagami!’’. No reaction from this redhead as he continued walk aside riverside. It seems that now Kyo looked upset and and just began to stroke faster to catch up Yagami.

Stroke after stroke, the sound of splashing water become more louder and frequent. This brunette started to feel cold and more tired, he even started to rougher breath, unfortunately, a bit of water and it accidentally got inside his throat. Kyo began to cough and now stopped to call once again, but while coughing and covering sore throat with one hand ‘‘ Fiine! You wo- *cough* oon…So, help me out, idiot. I’m cold!’’. Iori finally has stopped walking and sighed. It can’t be helped then, and no matter how he may complain later on, but this drunken idiot might get a cramp and drown, though this redhead.

This brunette starred at this redhead with rising anger and ready to kick his ass after he gets to foreshore, however, once Iori turned to his side, Kyo’s face brighten up and now he was slowly approaching this redhead. It wasn’t easy task, because he was already exhausted and the water only made it worse and now he began to whine ‘‘Damn it all!’’ yet he didn’t wanted to give up and continued to walk. After couple more steps he tripped over yet half swimming, half walking but he managed to get to the foreshore, where Iori was waiting for him with his dry clothes.

After finally being able to stand on his feet, he still was bended down and kept his hands on his knees while still hardly panting. Right now this Kusanagi heir looked like small animal soaked to the last straw, who was chattering his teeth and who’s skin looked so paled. There is no way this redhead would let him freeze any longer, so, now he used Kyo’s scarf to wrap it around his head and neck. He may looked like over-grown child, but it can’t be helped if one is acting like a child. After Kyo stands up, even if his mouth was covered in this red woolen material, it was visible that this brunette wasn’t so delighted being under the care of Iori, he so naturally frowned. However, this redhead ignored this and now redhead removes his own coat and placed on this brunette’s shoulders. Temporally, but it should protect this ‘swimming enthusiast’ from getting hypothermia until they get to Yagami’s home.

But before that, this redhead began to scold ‘‘What were you thinking? Jumping like out of nowhere…’’, it seems that this brunette now gave a look of scolded child and averted his gaze. Once he looked straight to Iori’s eyes, he simply replied ‘‘You told me to do it. Of course, I wouldn’t give up to you and had to accept your challenge.’’. Yagami only rolled his eyes and in annoyed tone replied ‘‘What a hell you’re talking about? I didn’t even said a word, you fool…That’s it, not a single drop until next year.’’. Surely, this brunette indignantly starred at this redhead and when he was about to open his mouth, he felt how he was prompted to move forward when Yagami placed his arm around Kyo from behind. And, of course, whenever it was the effect of alcohol or not, but this brunette’s cheeks dyed in bright red and he turned his gaze murmuring ‘‘Stupid bastard…’’.

Once they reached this redhead’s apartment and entered, Yagami hanged their both coats to dry on corridors hangers. However, it seems that Kyo’s clothes were still soaking wet and he didn’t looked that well. Even on his way, his sneezing made Yagami jump from the same spot. But right now, he looked too sleepy and his face was dyed in bright red. No, it wasn’t from usual over-dose, but just in case Iori wanted to test one thing. After he approached this brunette, he placed his palm on Kyo’s forehead, but he immediately with-draws like it was burned and now stating "Just as I though. You're hot."

Surely, this Kusanagi boy gave the smugest look he could for this redhead and through coughting managed to reply in half-singing tone "Yeah, I know that~ So what?". Yagami only sighed and while tried to remain calm, demanded "Go to bedroom and make sure that you get rid-off of these clothes. Right now.", it seems that took this as another so-called challenge, however, this time he gave a suggestive look with little sparkles in his eyes and counter-attacking in seductive tone "Hoo~ Impatient as I see..." after mockingly hair swoosh, he continued ‘‘Like heck, I would! You better be glad since I’m good mood, oth-, otherw- ah-’’ now this brunette began to deeply yet shortly taking deep breath and half closed his eyes. After a second he loudly sneezed.

When Kyo covered his nose with one of the sleeves, Yagami said ‘‘You’re still all wet. Go and after you dry yourself, change into dry clothes.’’. That exhausted and serious look on this redhead’s eyes letted to understand that there was no further point to oppose him. Whenever this brunette liked or not, but now he had to do as his partner says.

After changing into navy silk pyjama, Kyo was now sitting and waiting for the arrival of this redhead in the bed. While he was wondering, Iori has already shown up with thermometer in his hands and now when he sat down on the edge of his bed, he asked ‘‘Just gonna check your temperature before giving any medicine.’’. It seems that now this brunette cracked a smile and now replied ‘‘What’s with this thing? You can afford going to all fancy places and stuff, but you still using this outdated relic? Do you know what happens if you break it?’’.

Apparently, thermometer filled with quicksilver didn't rised any trust to Kyo and he starred at this redhead with not so satisfied look on his face. Iori tried to calmly explain ‘‘The electric ones maybe more convenient and beep when they done measuring, but they are not as accurate as quicksilver thermometers. Therefore, just put this and hold it for couple of minutes. ’’ once again this brunette tried tease ‘‘Why should I? And where do think I’ll keep this?~’’. This redhead surely made this Kusanagi heir open his jaws by such a reply in indifferent tone ‘‘It’s up to you. You can hold in armpits, inside ear, mouth, per rectum-’’

Without letting to finish, he took away the thermometer away from Iori and now after lifting the blanket and then slightly pyjama shirt. Once he slides his hand with thermometer and places inside armpit, he keeps close his upper arm close to the sides of ribcage. Iori just can’t help and crack rather a soft smile and sighed while shaking his head. Just now he teases this brunette ‘‘Should I check whenever you properly holding it?’’ it seems that look on this brunette’s face like saying ‘Just you dare and I’ll smack you well’ surely just made this redhead want to tease him for a bit longer, but before leaving, he added ‘‘Make sure you don’t fake out, got it? I’ll check you in couple of minutes.’’ with that brunette was left alone to wonder.

One thing sure, Yagami is taking his time, or so though Kyo when he fed-off of waiting, but he returned not empty-handed. In one hand he kept a large cup filled hot content, which had such a nice scent. Definitely, it’s not some tea, even these with special scent sort doesn’t have such a sweet yet familiar scent. However, the content of other hand didn’t looked so appealing - it was a box of pills. After placing cup on night table, Yagami still hold the medicine, but this, he asked to show the thermometer.

Despise that his cheeks were dyed in red and he hardly breaths, Kyo gave an impatient look. Once Iori studied closer where was the silver line, he declared ‘‘Thirty eight and point five. So, you like it or not, but you’ll stay here. Finally, did you dived enough?…Just take couple of paracetamols now and tomorrow lying mode. In other words, you can’t get up unless there is a need. If you do as it is told, you’ll get better soon.’’, however, this brunette opposed ‘‘Oi, why should I listen to you? You can’t tell me what to do. I’m fine.’’ it seems that after feeling a tickling inside his throat, Kyo began cough.

Yagami only sighed and replied ‘‘Fine. You’re leaving me no other choice. Open your mouth.’’. Right now this redhead places thermometer safely on the night table and after taking couple of pills from the package. After leaning closer to his partner, in one hand he kept pills in pinch, while he placed other palm under the jaw and with thumb on Kyo’s lower lip, he slowly opens his mouth.

On other hand, this brunette was confused but couldn’t keep his eyes off Iori. Even if it was a simple giving of pills, this redhead looked so concentrated on current task yet he looked so calm, maybe even possibly enjoying of taking care of his long-time rival. How much time has passed? No, it didn’t mattered anymore…Yet one thing for sure, it eventually become like natural habit. Plus, despise that this Kusanagi can be such a trouble maker and maybe too much carefree, but his presence alone could brighten up even the darkest night for this redhead.

Whenever he liked or not, but this redhead slowly admitted and accepted that this Kusangi boy is the only one who can ever understand him. Heck, not the first time he was stopped by being swallowed and overtaken by the darkness and the curse of Orochi blood.

Not the first time either he was spell-broken and awaken by the voice of this Kusanagi heir.

Not first time during riot of blood he was embrassed until he returned to his senses and seeing wounded yet gently smiling Kyo.

At darkest times…it always had to be him to lighten up and give the hope.Why? It seemed like he was the one who could understand him, his pain, sorrow, the heavy burden he has to carry on alone…

However, at this moment, this redhead was returned back to earth by annoyed Kyo’s voice ‘‘Oi, just snap it out. Earth to dorkgami, oi! Are you listening?’’. Apparently, this brunette looked annoyed yet embarrassed at same time from Yagami who was dozing out. But he only sighed and now after removing the same hand, which gently holds this brunette’s chin, he placed it behind his head and gently brushing his hair. Just after getting closer Iori brushed hair from the front with other hand and kisses the forehead of this patient.

After with-drawing, Iori replies ‘‘Nothing. Did you took the medicine? Or you want me to check it by myself?’’, Kyo just objected ‘‘Don’t forget that I’m sick. Unless, like people say - idiots don’t get cold~ And yes, it were bitter ones.’’. Yagami removes his hands from this brunette and now reaches for cup with still hot content and passes to this brunette, who is now holding it with both of his hands.

Surely, it was very least expected and while Kyo studies the content of this cup of hot cocoa, he gave a questioning look, however, now Yagami replies rather in calm and self-confident tone ‘‘Drink it and rest tonight. However, don’t forget - after you finished, make sure you’re tucked in well and there is no gaps. You need to sweat it and rest as much as you can.’’. While observing the cocoa, Kyo though that maybe it is not that bad to be sick even if it is his very special day.

When this brunette finished with this sweet drink, Yagami was about to stand up and said ‘‘Fine, if you need anything, just let me know-’’, however, now he felt how his sleeve was grabbed. It seems Kyo now gave a demanding look and asked ‘‘Can you stay here at least until I fell asleep?’’. Surely, even if it was a selfish request, but this redhead sits back and lets hold his hand by this brunette, who after awhile slowly began to close his eyes. After patiently waiting about good half hour, this brunette slowly relaxed his hands and now carefully without waking up this brunette from his sweet sleep, Iori still observes how this brunette peacefully sleeping.

[lucascecil]

Something I read - Genocide

I finished reading Genocide some days ago and again these as my thoughts as I was commenting, on Twitter, while reading.

The alien figure on the low bed was little more than a skeleton. The skin was shadowed, pinched – the eyes seemed weldedshut. The tan-coloured fur on the alien's head was dull, listless. Its clothes hung loosely: velvet, satin, and a coarser artificialfibre. Mauvril watched the dying figure for a long time, shivering in the cold air of the cell. Finally she spoke.

'I know that you can't forgive me. I don't expect it. I know that you had a special relationship with humans, and to seethem wiped out after all your efforts, and all your love – that must be a tragedy for you.

'And I know, too, that you're right not to forgive me. I haven't cleaned my soul, only made it dirtier. I don't evenknow whether I've succeeded in saving my people from slavery and extinction. If what you have told me is true, then I have failed.

'But I want you to understand me.

'We're both going to die here, so it really doesn't make any difference now, what we've done, whether we can forgiveeach other. I just want to know the truth: if you had been me – if  you had been in my situation, on my world, and the humans had done to your people what they did to mine – would you have destroyed them?

Would you have been without mercy, would you have destroyed all humans, for all time? 'Please tell me. I need to know. I need to know if it was possible to have acted in a different way.

'Doctor? Can you understand me?

'Are you still alive?'

So we started like this - if this turns out to be a bad book...

Prologue

I’m interested in the plot so far - this chapter had many criative visuals, so let’s see where this is going... As there is a division by books I’m going to use them as reference instead of the chapters (since they are much shorter than The Bodysnatcher’s).

Take me, spirit, he thought. Take me within your body, carry me on your great wings, and we will fly in the spirit world together.

As his vision dimmed, Walking Man saw the wings of the spirit-Eagle spread open, huge and dark as the night, ready to carry the burden of his soul into the everlasting sky. 

BOOK ONE

'Stone Age people wiped out mammoths,' said Jacob. 'They also wiped out Irish elk, giant baboons, megatherium, cave bears, sabre-toothed tigers, mastodons... probably a hundred other species. We even wiped out our own nearest relatives –  the australopithecines. We were committing genocide a million years ago.' Jacob paused, swallowed. He felt the heat of blood in his face, the prickle of sweat in his armpits. This was what he should have said to them at the start, he realised. This was the language they understood, the language of emotion. Rationality had been a mistake. 'A disease came out of Africa, a cancer of the earth – and that cancer is us. Humanity. You have to face it, people are a bad idea, period. We replicate out of control. We consume resources needed by other parts of the ecosystem. Eventually we'll destroy it. We shouldn't exist! We should never have existed!'

I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was surprised by ecofacism.

The Doctor turned around and grabbed her arm. 'Something's wrong, Sam.'

Sam just looked at him, raised her eyebrows. Something was usually wrong. It was really a matter of scale. Sam had started to rate them in scores out of ten: for instance, (1) the Doctor had misdirected the TARDIS, (5) he'd landed them in the middle of a war zone, or (10) he'd accidentally destroyed the universe.

Yes, I am cheap and already in love with Sam Jones. Judge me.

Sam swallowed. The alien was big. At least as big as a shire horse, perhaps bigger. The exposed hair on his legs and lower body was short and well groomed, silver-grey and white mixed in large, neat dapples. His legs ended in split hooves, part-shod with what looked like black leather.

He knelt down in front of her, so that their heads were almost level. His clothes shifted on his back with a scrunching sound, like someone turning over in bed.

This book does not have exactly the most creative alien species ever but anthropomorphized animals are kinda rare in Doctor Who, so it’s good to see some here and there.

In the beginning of the book Sam thinks she is starting to get the Doctor better and understanding more of how his head works, and there are quite some examples. It’s nice, it shows that their relationship is evolving.

He glanced sidelong at Sam, and his eyes flashed for a moment. She knew the look: do what I say, wait for the explanations when I've worked out what they are myself.

We'll see, she thought. You aren't so infallible.

If this plot is going the way I think it is, there is a lot of potential - specially because it can turn out to be a cruel moral dilemma to Sam.

'He isn't giving me any ideas. I want a talking one.'

Living fossils are actually a concept that I find facisnating,

She smiled, pleased with her discovery. Marks and indentations on skulls were often important. They gave clues to the lifestyle of the hominid, and often clues to the manner of its death. There might be tooth marks from predators, or perhaps scavengers; cracks and fissures caused by accidental damage; more rarely, blows from stone tools had been found, indicating that humans had practised murder, or at least some kind of killing, for more than a million years. This one was a simple tooth mark, probably a dog or a hyena to judge from the size and shape.

The Land Rover jolted and jumped along the bed of the dry river, each lurch of the chassis sending waves of pain up Rowenna's spine. She clenched her fists against the rollbar bolted to the roof, trying to ignore the pain and the resentment that it brought back, the anger because I could have done this on my own before I was shot. Dammit I could have walkeddown here –

It’s uncommon to see chronic pain and disabled characters explored in Doctor Who, so I’m happy to see this talked about in Genocide. I’m also always ready to simpatize with archaeologists.

Aliens.

And this is Earth. These are daffodils, and I'm an alien.

'Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam,' he said, speaking in a low voice. 'Do please be careful what you say. Yes, we are in an "alternative universe", but the trouble is, it's inherently unstable for a reason I haven't yet understood. And if it collapses, it won't just disappear, it's far too big for that – it will create a rift in the vortex so huge that the whole fabric of reality will collapse.'

Sam opened her mouth to object, but the Doctor wasn't stopping.

'And before you ask, no, we can't just go away and pretend it isn't happening. I have to fix this, and the only way of doing that is if I can somehow find out when things changed, and how, and change them back – but given how far back that's likely to be, and how much is likely to have changed, there may well be nothing I can do, and even if we do try anything, our kind hosts will probably try to defend their own existence, which means stopping us from doing it, perhaps by killing us. So it really would be a good idea if you didn't tell them about it in advance. Because if I can't fix it then neither you nor I will ever meet another living human being again, and we, and the Tractites, and everything else, will probably cease to exist by about next Tuesday. Now do you understand how serious this situation is?'

Alternative universe plots usually is a common place that is not very successful in Doctor Who but, given the moral conflict that is going to happen through this story, I’m interested.

Sam stepped towards it, saw the Doctor's face reflected in the dark water. It seemed disembodied, timeless – no, not timeless. Old. Sam remembered his jokes about the centuries, his nine-hundred-year diary, and realised that it wasn't all a joke, not always. Inside the youthful energy, the brilliance, was someone who had seen perhaps too many things.

'We all have to be Daleks sometimes,' he muttered, looking down at his mud-caked shoes. 'It's just a matter of knowing when you really don't have any choice.'

It’s so, so tough to put the Doctor to say something like this. I think it’s a interesting answer to the past - mainly Seven - but it make me chill knowning what comes in the future (the Time War).

I forgot completely that Jo is in this book and LET’S GO BITCHES.

BOOK TWO

'I'm not pretending that everything before the invasion was perfect, that ours was an ideal word. You know as well as I dothat there isn't such a thing. For instance, in the place where I lived, children were regarded as property. You were owned by your parents, and if they died before you came of age, you were put up on the open market just like their house, theirland and their clothing. It wasn't a nice custom.

'When my parents died, my elder brother Pakip bought me to work on his farm. It nearly bankrupted him, but he was thesort of person who thought of it as a family duty. The good sort, you know. He didn't treat me badly, but of course he had tomake me work, to justify his investment. I hated it. I was only a kid – soft-skinned, my hooves only half formed – and I stillhad the silly romanticism of childhood: I yearned for the city, Tafalis, or better still our distant capital, Noctutis. I had theidea that my life would have been better if an offworlder had bought me, instead of sensible old Pakip. I imagined dancingfor some two-eyed, pink skinned alien, imagined waiting on her table, imagined being given plastic and gold and glitteringelectronics. I imagined being taken into space, seeing the world from above, travelling between the stars.

'I think I knew better, really. I knew in my heart that my brother had done the best thing, buying me before the offworlders could do it. I was just old enough to know that if my dreams came true, they might turn out to be nightmares indisguise, and then there would be no going back.

Jesus, the start of book two is so intense, so well-written. One of the best approaches to alien invasion plots as horror fuel I’ve ever  seen.

Matthew looked up, grinned at her. 'So you keep telling me, Mum.' A pause. 'How many invaders did you stop, really?'

Jo smiled. 'Don't start that again! Half of it's classified –'

'– and the other half I wouldn't believe. I know, I know.' Matthew stood up. 'You know, sometimes I wish I had a normal mum.'

He was still smiling, but Jo could sense the serious undertone in his words. A normal mum wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night with her heart beating double time because she'd been dreaming of a time-travelling alien who needed her help. A normal mum wouldn't think that the best part of her life, the only important part of her life, had happened more than twenty years ago, and that everything that had happened since was a sort of afterthought. First she'd saved the universe with the Doctor; then she'd saved the world with Cliff; now she was raising her son on her own in a two-bedroom house in Hackney with two jobs and a bedroom that needed decorating and a roof that needed retiling and hadn't life been supposed to get better?

I liked a lot this interpretation of Jo’s future - is not a perfect one, but it’s not horrible either. It’s a mundane life what I find a tragic ending to Jo more than anyone else - she was so hopeful, so happy with life.

Destroy this universe.

Sam suddenly felt cold in the warm, humid air. Her interest in the alien library and its books had made her forget all about the fact that the Doctor was going to destroy this entire world if he got the chance.

It's like knowing you're going to die, she thought. You don't think about it most of the time, then suddenly you remember, and your heart starts thumping, and you feel sick. Except that death is something that happens to everyone, and I can't do anything about it, so I can just tell myself not to think about it. But this is only happening to me, and I have to think about it.

We're going to kill the Tractites. All of them.

By the way, I’m interested in these books that are read by taste and you can live what is written as if it’s real.

It had been the wink that had finally done it. Sam had been fairly sure that the Doctor was acting, before that, despite the alarming symptoms. But that wink, when she'd leaned over him in the garden. So playful, so let's-fool-the-baddies, as if they were still fighting Zygons. She'd almost said it then, she'd actually started to say it: 'He's just pretending. He's got a reasonfor going back to the ship that he's not telling you about.'  But she hadn't quite dared. It would feel too much like betrayal.

Everybody a time or another wants to punch him, Sam.

BOOK THREE

The start of these books are the best part of the (whole) book, they are so good.

Kitig snorted softly. 'That may explain it. Imagine, then, how your parents would feel, if they were in your position and were asked to betray you to save another species.'

Sam thought about it.

Her mother. Her father. Would they think the Tractites were better than humans?

Yes. Almost certainly.

Would they abandon her in order to save the Tractites?

Well, they'd abandoned her to save the whale. They'd gone on marches, weekend protests, left her with Gran or with friends. Or made her march with them – back when she hadn't wanted to, hadn't really understood what it was all about.

But would they leave her to die?

She thought of her mother's earnest face, her father's grey beard and old blue rollneck sweater.

No. They'd marched as an investment in the future. Her future. For her. And they were trying to save, not destroy things.

'No one can own the only road to virtue, or hold the only key to truth,' said Kitig, more to himself than to the alien.

'Bessarinil, from the Vargukonon,' commented the Doctor. He was breathing more easily now. "Because there is more than one road, and more than one key". But that just isn't true this time. We're not talking about comparative philosophy: this is temporal physics, and you can't –'

When Rowenna was introduced, so many pages ago, I didn’t imagine that the poor girl would have such a bad ending. I got chills with the things left unsaid - she dug out her own skeleton.

'I was here.' The pain was still in the Doctor's voice, and he was looking away from her, hiding his face. Jo wondered if he was actually crying. He had never used to do that. 'I promised them.'

The book turned out to be a though read in the third part - it’s a sucession of tragedies and it hit me so hard. The Kitig part where he is talking to the Doctor that I liked a lot and is such a good conflict fo the character. Sam’s plot... she was kind dumb huh?

Also, that man - I forgot his name, but it’s that man - is so one-dimensional. I didn’t buy him.

BOOK FOUR

'Doctor, I want to believe that you will accept that what we have done – what we have achieved – is the best future forthe universe. I want you to believe that. I want you to forgive me before you die. 'Please, Doctor.' 

This is still the best part of the book

Feel what the humans had felt.

Terror. Anger. Madness.

He took the nearest, sharpest, spike of bone in his hand, closed his three fingers over it until the pain stopped him.

He watched the blood flowing for a while.

I will never go home, he decided. Home is built on these bones. These deaths. These burnings. It should never have existed, and neither should I.

Letters. Words.  Each one must be six feet high.

SAM – THETA

The rest was hidden.

No. Not hidden. Lost.  Cut off by a dark spur of rock. A basaltic intrusion: millennia-old magma, breaking open the fossil.

Fossil.Fossilised words.

I must have hit my head when I fell, thought Jo. I simply have to be seeing things.

Wondering if Theta is what I think it is.

But he didn't need to be told. It was as if he had made a journey inside himself, had travelled beyond fear, beyond wonder.

I finished the book and I have mixed feelings. I do like the plot, there are some beautiful parts and very creative ideas. But I don’t think it uses its ideas to the fullest. The moral conflict is very interesting but I missed that scene that takes your breath away and leave you in shock - which was necessary to a plot like this one.

Sam starts well and ends well, but there is a bit in the middle - when she is with Jacob she is dumb. Jacob, also, is too ridiculous to the read to take seriously as a villain.

And Jo is underused. There is two main problems with her: first, she should have had more scenes with Eight. Second, the only bad, BAD scene in the whole book it when she does * that * at the end. It is out of character and goes against everything Jo is as a character.. 

But was it a good read? Yes. But it deserves only three stars, as I have so many problems.

I have a lot to do in college right now so it may take some time until I read the next book.

[treadmilltreats]

How the world has changed

I love Facebook's remember when because it reminds me of events that I may have forgotten or didn't realize happened so recently or so long ago.

This morning as I was going through I saw so many of my posts about what the world was like a few years ago. We were on lockdown, covid was spreading like wildfire, people were dying and on top of that there were riots all around the world about black lives matter. In all my years on earth I had never seen anything like what was going on during this time.

It felt like the world was imploding on itself. People had so much anger and hatred and most people were just scared of what was going to happen in the fKaren?

I even remember my girls asking me if the world was coming to an end and I honestly couldn't answer them. None of us knew what was going to happen.

I can't imagine what people who had depression issues or anxiety attacks were going through during this time. I look back and think, did we learn anything? Has the world changed because of this? Unfortunately, It doesn't seem like it.

The left is still against the right. Our freedoms are being taken away little by little every day. There are still mass shootings and definitely no different gun controls. Black men are still being shot senselessly without any justification or reprocussings.

If you follow me you know that I try to look for all the lessons in whatever life throws at me. In the good and the bad but others don't see the world like I do. Many people don't want to take responsibility for their actions, or admit to failure or wrongdoing. As if that would make them look bad or less than in others eyes. But we all must stand up and take responsibility for the state the world is in right now.

We allowed politicians to lie to us, to do things that don't benefit the whole instead of just the upper 10%. We haven't spoken up enough for the rights of others when we could have and now our own beliefs and rights are slowly being chipped away at.

People are going without food and shelters in the United States of America!

We are leading into a third world country right in front of our eyes and yet there is no change.

So today my friends, like I always say at the end of every blog, be the change you want to see. I believe that wholeheartedly, we can all change at any time, if we choose to do so. It takes one person to stand up and say enough is enough. One Rosa Parks to say I will no longer stand for this to make a difference. We all need to take responsibility and be that change we want to see.

@TreadmillTreats

"Be the change you want to see"

@Treadmilltreats

"And just when the caterpillar thought his life over...he turned into a beautiful butterfly"

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The Blessing in Disguise.... revealed

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[popopretty]

The Day I Picked Up Dazai - Side A (Final)

Read Previous Parts Here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Final

This is the translation for the last 15 pages of Side A of the Dazai novel which was given out as free bonus for those who come to the cinema to watch the BEAST live action movie in Japan.

Please carefully read the notes below before progressing.

- This post contains spoilers. If you plan to read the novel later yourself and think this would ruin your expectation, please stop here.

· I tried to keep the translation as accurate as possible, but as I don’t speak English or Japanese as my native language, I may make some mistakes or use weird words etc. This translation might not be final. I may come back and fix it later if I find any mistakes.

· This is a moviegoers-only benefit, so please be extra careful when discussing it about on Twitter. Use a #spoilers tag on your tweets or your fanarts. You can share the links to this post but don’t take many screenshots.

· Don’t retranslate it. [UPDATE MAY 9, 2023] You can retranslate it but please keep in mind that my translation is not perfect and some meanings will be lost through re-translation. If you are not sure about the meaning at any part, please let me know! Don’t repost this translation anywhere else out of Tumblr.

· DON’T GO TO THE AUTHORS’ OR OFFICIAL TWITTERS TO COMMENT ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF IT.

I’m sorry if that’s too much but honestly all I want is for everyone to have a good experience, for those who wants to read the novels to be able to read the novels, and for those who don’t want to be spoiled, to be safe from it as much as possible.

If you have read and are okay with all the above, please continue to move forward and enjoy the novel. Have a good day!

SPOILERS AHEAD

No king can reign at the top of the world forever.

When we get outside, it is already the evening, when the sun that stands at the top of our world is setting and losing its glow. The sky is dyed in a color that looks like a spill of purple broth and the warm orange color is receding into the distance. The early stars color the sky with their silver twinkles, while the moon is hovering low in the sky like a scratch mark.

We walk through the town. A warm and worn-out atmosphere is slowly flowing through the gaps between the buildings. All the elegant people cautiously turn their heads to check on us as they pass us. After all, we are covered in wounds and mud from the basement, and on top of it we look worn-out like a straw. For those who just had a long day like us, we don’t have time to worry about the eyes of the passers-by.

“How tired.” I say.

“Yeah, so tired.” Dazai replies. “Where are we going now?”

I do not say anything. I take out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket. I haven’t smoked for a while, but too much has happened today.

As I am about to light the cigarette, I suddenly remember that Dazai is here. He is underage.

I change my mind and put the match back in.

“Don’t worry about it. Just smoke.” Dazai says.

I hold the cigarette between my lips and give it a little thought. My thoughts waver as the cigarette wavers. But in the end, I decide to do just as Dazai said.

I light the cigarette, inhale the smoke and blow it out. The smoke rising from the tip of the cigarette swings as it is caught in the twilight.

I get off the main street and step into a narrow alley. Dazai follows me.

That is a place where the setting sun cannot reach, and the sign of the night is crouching in a little earlier. A white light cuts through the alley. It is a store sign. I stop there and open the door in front of me.

“Here?”

Dazai asks. I silently urge him to go on.

It is quiet inside the store. As I am going down the narrow and steep staircases that remind me of those secret passages, I first hear music. A rusty jazz number. A very old song about the sorrow of parting with family. Thanks to the song, I feel like going back in time with each step down. Or perhaps, compared to world out there, this store actually exists a little bit in the past.

There is no guest inside, probably because it has just opened. Illuminated under a dim light, everything in the store seems to be submerged in the yellowish-brown color at the bottom of the sea. The bartender who is wiping the glass behind the counter looks and nods at me with his eyes.

“Is this, by any chance, the place you should go before you die”? Dazai asks, his voice sounds disappointed. “Isn’t it just a normal bar? I thought it would be a nicer place...”

“Right. There is nothing special here. Just a bar.” I honestly admit. “There is no secret. You have been tricked.”

Dazai stands still with a blank expression on his face, as if his heart has flown somewhere else. A long moment passes by before Dazai finally opens his mouth and let out a dumb voice.

“What?”

“Just think about it. How can a little guy like me know something that even the high and mighty Port Mafia does not know of? And didn’t you say you were thirsty? Master, I will have the usual.”

I sit down on a bar stool. The bartender quietly puts a glass of distilled liquor in front of me.

The liquid inside the glass reflects the light and glitters smoothly. The ices clink like some kind of signal.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

I say, looking at Dazai.

Dazai still stands inside the bar with a discontent face. But after looking at the seat, the bartender then me, he slowly sits down.

Dazai orders something, his drink is brought in front of him.

No-one says anything for a while.

“How should I put it, so in other words…” Dazai says, his eyes fixing on his glass. “Did you lie to stop the… suicidal me… from dying?”

“No. I am not that kind of an admirable person.” I take a sip and return the glass to the table. “There is someone who is younger than me yet he seems to know everything about life, so I teased him a little bit. Just that.”

Those words of mine sound true and deceptive at the same time. I am just as clueless about my heart as I am with other people’s.

Dazai spends some time looking at me, trying to see through the meaning of my words, before he eventually gives up and shakes his head. “I can’t really believe you but let’s leave it that way for now.”

“There is no need to be upset. There is still something in this world that you can believe for sure. And there are two.” I take out the deck of trump from my pocket. “One, you haven’t beaten me at poker yet. And two, a dead person will forever lose the chance to play poker with the living.”

Dazai stares at me for a moment, but eventually his face loosens up and he laughs, “I will get rid of that leeway soon enough.”

And then we start drinking and talking about trivial things as we play poker. Our current jobs. Our favorite stores. Our hobbies. The recently published books. There are the clinkings of the glasses and the bodies that lean over to tell secret stories. There is no end to the content of our conversation. For example, like this.

“By the way, why is someone as good as you doing such a safe and boring job like a postman?”

“Because there is not really anything else that I can do. It has been four years since I started doing this job. It is indeed boring, but since the other guys usually retire or die on duty after a month or two, I cannot quit because we are always short of staff.”

“Wha..?” Dazai rolls his eyes. “Did you just say die on duty?”

“Last week, our warehouse was bombed.” I say as I take a sip of my drink. “There was a bomb that targeted our company in one of the packages. I threw it outside just before it exploded. If I were one second late, all the packages would have been blown up, together with all the staff.

“Eh? What the hell is that?” Dazai’s voice is a mixture of shock and confusion. “Do postmen these days work in battlefields or what?”

“It might be pretty close to that. We are a courier that specializes in transporting dangerous packages in the dangerous areas of Yokohama. Yokohama concession, the water infested by pirates, special security zones for military research facilities. We deliver packages on time, to places that other ordinary mailing companies cannot access for various reasons. There were times we had to deliver some development parts while avoiding the attack of industrial spies, or delivered a real gun to a billionaire who has been abducted. My boss is really good at what he does, so together we are able to deliver almost anything. But we do not earn that much despite all the danger. I have not received my salary for four months now.”

“Hey, wait a minute! Why didn’t you tell me these stories when I was injured and bored and sleeping all the time?”

Dazai’s expression changes. That is the face of an angry kid.

“Sorry.”

“I don’t need your apology! Master, another!” Dazai slams the glass on to the table. “Now that it has come to this, I will have you tell me everything. About what you have delivered so far in that job. Everything! Because I am not leaving this bar until you tell me. We will start with the story of that billionaire who you brought a real gun to!”

“It can’t be helped then.”

I finish off my drink, moisten my throat with it and begin to talk. That is the signal for the night.

The music flows. The time flows. Down our throats, the drink from the glasses flows. Our words too, quietly come out, and flow away into nowhere.

“Ahhhhhahahhaha! There were two billionaires that were abducted? How could it be? Which one was the real one?”

The music flows. The time flows. It is getting deeper into the night, and the guests come and go like silver waves.

“Dazai, is that for real? That guy who went against the Port Mafia turned into a monster? He shot destructive rays of light from his mouth and tried to destroy Yokohama? Which part of this story is a lie?”

There is no end to the things we want to say. They keep coming out of our mouths, as if they have been stored somewhere at the back of our throats, waiting for their turns all this time. We talk to each other, listen to each other, and share with each other. The poker cards are dealt and so many games have been decided, but neither of us seems to pay much attention to poker game.

I recall the first time I met him, when Dazai was lying in front of my house, covered in blood. Everything happened just a few days ago. I recall a few days ago when we were so far apart. If I had left Dazai there and closed my door, what would have become of us?

“Okay, I have decided. You are Odasaku.” At one point, Dazai leans overs as if he has made up his mind. “You are too strange for a short name like Oda. And Oda Sakunosuke is just too long to call. You are Odasaku. From now on, whenever someone asks for your name, you have to say so.”

“Odasaku? That is a strange name. Sounds like a farmer. Do I have the right to change my name?”

“No.”

“No…?”

I take a sip then say, “It’s no help then.”

Dazai orders a can of crab. I ask for a Gimlet. I haven’t ordered one in a while, but for some reasons, I suddenly want to drink it.

And then we continue with our endless conversation.

About that time when I found a baby with a rattle after opening a “no shaking” box.

That time when I had to bet my life in a duel of “Acchi Muite Hoi” with a Middle East billionaire to get access to a smuggled jewelry distribution network. (TN: Acchi Muite Hoi is a children game in Japan. Two people are needed to play the game. After saying “Achchi Muite Hoi”, one person will look to one of the directions (up, down, right, left) randomly, and the other person will also point their finger randomly to one of the directions. If the 2nd person can point to the same direction that the first person turns their face to, they will win the game)

The time I ran from a troop of five hundred soldiers of an armed religious organization, to protect a glass of milk that I had to deliver.

The story of how he met his partner boy who is a gravity user.

Our words eventually lose their connection and become a bunch of disjointed words drifting between the two of us. Just like the way music sometimes has meaning in every single note, rather than a series of notes, every single one of our words seems to take on a meaning of its own… If I am to put it in a poetic way, we have turned into instruments, instruments that play words.

“Wow, it has been a long time since I last talked this much.” Dazai says as he is relaxing after speaking for a long while, as if he is tired.

“Good to know.” I say as I deal the card, for what time I don’t remember. “But we have been here a little too long. It’s almost closing time. You are going home after this, right?”

Dazai’s wounds have already crossed the most critical time. Just leave them like that and they will heal on their owns. My role here is over. So is our relationship.

Dazai nods and takes the cards from me. Then in a casual tone, he says those words.

“When are we meeting next?”

I stop what I am doing and look at Dazai.

Dazai must have known that it is not a normal thing to ask. That should be some sort of a magic word, more special than any line I have ever heard. But Dazai is just waiting for my answer with his light and innocent smile. As if it is just like inhaling and exhaling for him.

“I wonder.” I let my gaze wander while I search for the right words to say. “I don’t know. You seem to be very busy. But if you want to…”

“Hahaha, interesting. It is surprising to see you make that kind of face. Okay! Showdown!”

He says so, then turns all the cards over.

“Four Kings. I won.”

I look at the cards in my hand and in Dazai’s hand. It is indeed his win.

“All the games up till this point have been to figure out how your skill works.” Dazai smiles happily. “Generally, the future you can see is only within five to six seconds, so if I wait for seven seconds or more after the last bet to open and switch my cards at the same time, you will not be able to see that future.”

Dazai holds up the King of Clubs in his hand and shows it to me. With a flip of his hand, he turns the card and the moment he turns it back, it has become an Eight of Hearts. He flips his hand again and the card turns back to the King of Clubs. I can’t tell where the cards are coming from even when looking at it up close.

“Of course, you would be wary of the switch. So, I had to distract you by conversation.”

“So, the games and the flow of conversation till now, were both according to your plan, you mean?”

“Hehe. Saying important things as a camouflage to get what you want. That is the basis of the negotiation technique.”

I ask as I organize the cards, “Which is camouflage of which?”

Dazai expression turns blank for a second, as if he has been caught off guard. But it is only for a moment. He turns his head to the side to hide his expression and smiles. If I am not wrong, there is an embarrassed expression on his face. It is under the dark lighting of the bar, so I might have mistaken though.

““It is foolish to die without coming here”… you really told me some nice thing.” Dazai says, keeping his expression hidden.

I sort out the card one by one and say, “Sometimes, I say the right thing, too.”

It is time for the bar to close and the guests are starting to rush out. It is time to leave. The night has fallen outside. Silence is absorbing everything.

I look at the deck of cards.

Poker is my forte, but it doesn’t mean I will never lose. There is nothing absolute in this world. It is inherently impossible to control anything in this world. All we can do is to accept it and at the very least, enjoy it as we resist it.

In a corner of a bar, somewhere in the past, in a whirlpool of future uncertainty.

“Even if you flip a card a thousand times, and a thousand times it come out as you expected, there is no guarantee that it will come out right the 1001th time.” I say.

“Yeah. I’ve learned that this time too.” (TN: Dazai switches his pronoun from “boku” to “watashi” for the first time here. “Boku” is usually used by younger boys while “watashi” is more formal and neutral. It can be considered a sign of growth.)

“Watashi?”

“Does it sound strange?”

Dazai smiles, a smile that seems somewhat more mature from what it was just a moment ago.

I shake my head. So many things happened today.

“As to your question,” I say as I am standing up. “I can’t be sure if I can meet up next time. I am a pretty moody guy, you know it too. And I still have my own problems to deal with.”

Dazai nods, “You mean those ex-cops?”

“Those guys won’t give up. Even if they do, I don’t think they are gonna be the last. We should assume that the information about the “painting” has been leaked to others also. Even if I flee to the other side of the world, the information will eventually catch up to me.”

People in the underworld always have horizontal connections somewhere. I don’t know how the guys of “48” found out about my past, but they probably bought the information from another criminal organization. Even if they didn’t, there is still a chance that “48” will sell my information to another criminal organization. If that is the case, then I will have more than just them to take care of. There might come a day when it becomes too much for me to handle.

“Come on. You are still worried about that?” Dazai folds his arm. “Isn’t there already a simple solution for that?”

“There is?”

“If the other side of the world doesn’t work, you can run to a deeper place.” Dazai speaks in a light tone and shrugs. “A place so deep that no criminal organizations can reach. And it is not that far away from here. The place is right here in Yokohama.”

After saying so, he smiles, “If you die without going there, you are a fool.”

I ponder for a while and come up with one place.

It is true that if I go there, no criminal organization will be able to meddle with me anymore.

That is the darkest place of Yokohama. Covered in a black storm of violence, a shrine of the night. The people in there are tied by an iron rule. If one of their members is attacked by an outsider, they will turn into a row of fangs and bite the enemies.

“No-one can run away from his past.” Dazai smiles as he says. “But if you go there, it is a different story.”

“Are you saying that I should join it?”

“It is up to you.” Dazai smiles. “But I promise you. If you join, you will no longer be bothered by anything from your past. Because no past can touch that place.”

“Where is the place?”

Dazai smiles with pride. Then he opens his arms invitingly.

And he says them, those words that will change the future and decide its fate.

“The name? That organization is called…”

The Day I Picked up Dazai – Side A – THE END.

[p-antomime]

What if...

— minors don’t interact. | wc: 4,5K.

content + warnings: 18+, including: sadist!fushiguro toji, manhandle, unprotected sex, rough sex, fingering, non-con, almost cervix fucking, breeding kink, gun play, heavy degradation, creampie, forced submission, size kink, dark content, public sex, spitting, dumbification, implied dacryphilia.

pairings: serial killer!toji fushiguro x reader.

— inspired by: somebody's watching me.

my kinktober list.

note: all the characters quoted in this work are over 21 years of age.

tw. this work may contain triggers about chase, violence, non consensual sex, forced submission and coercion, so please be careful reading.

— Have you got everything? — Maki asked as she finished helping Itadori put the bags into the trunks of the two different cars that would take you to the campground about an hour or so away from the capital.

— I think so. — Y/N replied trying to mentally go over everything she would need during those three days they would spend away from civilization. — Ah, calm down! My cell phone charger, I'll be right back. — And then she ran to the house, went to Maki's room and looked for the charger in the girl's messy bedroom with her eyes, finding it lying beside the bed and, after picking it up, returning to where everyone was waiting. — Now, yes, I got everything.

— Alright, who's going to drive anyway? — Maki looked at Itadori.

— Don't look at me...

— Tsk. — Maki rolled her eyes and nodded to Yuuta who was already getting into the other car. — Who will drive the car that me, Nobara, Y/N and Toge are going?

— Mai I think, or Fushiguro?

— I'm the one who's going. — Megumi answered, unlocking the doors and in a matter of seconds you were sitting in the passenger seat next to Fushiguro while in the back seat were your three other colleagues, with Toge almost immediately putting on headphones and Nobara opening her cell phone to check Twitter.

— Will there be internet there? — Nobara asked, and you glanced her over your shoulder as Megumi drove off, following the path taken by Yuuta in front.

— We're going to the middle of nowhere, y'know...

— Yes, but even in the "middle of nowhere" you can have internet by 2021. — Nobara answered with a shrug.

— The idea was that we would disconnect a lil' from the internet for a few days. — Maki commented. — Then maybe we could just enjoy our camping trip.

— I wanted to go to a Halloween party, to be honest. — You commented, suddenly regretting a little that you had accepted Itadori and Yuuta's idea about the camp.

— I think everyone this month is a little afraid to go out on the streets, let alone have a party. — Maki replied. — Y'know... the serial killer... — Megumi looked at her through the mirror on top of the front window of the car.

— And you believe this?

— Don't you?

— Most of the news I read about is pretty biased... and apparently the modus operandi from one crime to another differs in some ways and... — Nobara interrupted him.

— For heaven's sake... we are going to this camp to relax, not to talk about every morbid case of Tokyo's crime. Can y'all change the subject?

— Wanna put on some music? — Y/N asked, not letting Megumi retort nor Maki open her mouth to rebut his comments.

— Yeah, put this playlist on, please. — Nobara handed you her cell phone for a few seconds to connect to the bluetooth system of the car rented by Fushiguro.

"Great, peace for at least an hour", Y/N thought sighing heavily and trying to relax as the car was driven through the streets of Tokyo.

There was one day left until Halloween, it was the 30th.

And, stopping to reflect now, something inside your core began to bother with Yuuta and Yuuji wanting so badly to go away from the capital just one day before Halloween.

How many movies even had the same plot as this day you were experiencing, of a group of people at a camp who end up dying? Several.

The Burning, Cheerleader Camp, Madman, Sleepway Camp... and of course Friday the 13th.

Suddenly, as you ran through these movies in your head a shiver ran down your spine and you were a little startled when you felt something on your leg and swallowed hard realizing it was only Megumi's fingertips trying to get your attention.

— Are you all right? — He asked, and you raised one eyebrow. — You look uncomfortable, if you wanna trade places with Inumaki in the car, I can park.

— Oh, no... no, thank you, Megumi. — You forced yourself to open the kindest, most affectionate smile you could. — Thank you for thinking of me, but you don't have to do that, I'm completely OK.

— Okay, but if you need anything during the trip... — His eyes went from your face to the road visible in front of him through the car window. — You can ask me.

You nodded positively and responded with a "mhm" before glancing over to the back corner to see that Maki, now asleep, had laid her head on Nobara's shoulder, who was now distracted by the view out the window, and Toge had fallen asleep with his headphones on and head resting against the other window.

Nobody seemed worried about anything. Except for you, who clenched your fingers nervously, still feeling uncomfortable.

It wasn't even Megumi's fault, he wasn't doing anything but driving and occasionally glancing at you and the back seat to make sure everyone was okay. In fact, he was not feeling watched as you were.

You felt that something, someone was watching you through the window glass next to you, even after closing it and sunk your back into the car seat.

And so about two hours passed and soon the two cars were parked at the entrance of Hikawa Campground and everybody was dragging their backpacks and small suitcases with their belongings to the spot in the middle of the trees where the multi-room facility was that you had all agreed to rent. But halfway there, you swore to God that you heard the sound of stones being thrown, or rather: stepped on, in a field not far from where you and your friends were, but the sound came from a more closed forest area and, well?

You would rather have curiosity eating away at you than have an unwelcome surprise, so, as you turned to see where your friends were and saw them moving further and further away from the point where you stopped walking, your feet ran to where Toge, Choso and Yuuta, who were furthest from the group formed by Maki, Mai and Nobara and, further ahead, Megumi, Miwa and Itadori, were.

— We're gonna have a bonfire today, right? — Nobara asked, watching the group slowly disintegrate as each went to their respective rooms.

— Yes, the idea is to make a fire tonight, sleep in the tents and in the morning come back here so we can hike and walk along the river. — Choso replied.

— And what time d'you want to have the bonfire? — Mai asked.

— Hmm... — Choso looked at where Itadori and Yuuta were.

— Seven o'clock at night, 'cause when we get hungry it will already be burning brightly! — Yuuta said.

And after that, definitely, everyone went to their bedown room and you took a deep breath, leaning over the slightly uncomfortable bed. At least you wouldn't have to share a room with anyone.

The cell phone in your pocket vibrated and you picked it up, reading the notification from its digital bar. It was a typical Google notification, the ones that usually expose breaking news push, and it was talking about the fact that they had managed to reconstruct a sketch of who apparently was the serial killer Maki had mentioned earlier.

Again, you felt a shiver run down your spine, the feeling of being watched increasing more than when you were in the car next to Megumi and instinctively your eyes fell on the wide-open bedroom window.

What if someone wanted to enter your room during the night? What if that camping facility wasn't as safe as it looked? What if...

But then, the only thing you did, besides clicking on the Google news push out of sheer curiosity, was to close that window.

Your fingers immediately scrolled down the Google tab screen until they stopped over the scanned serial killer drawing and you rolled eyes in frustration. The drawing was terrible, to say the least. It literally looked like any dark-haired guy you see on the street and you probably put your skirt down a little for fear of him swiping at you, but then the notes below the drawing caught your attention. "Scar on right corner of lip, green eyes".

To be honest, after mentally visualizing him, you thought he looked like Megumi and it was best to keep that realization to yourself, since no one in their right mind would enjoy having any resemblance to a wanted by the police. Then you went to take a shower thinking that it would help you forget your worries, but they were only reinforced when you locked the bathroom door real tight and were afraid that someone was waiting for you outside the shower stall; it took you long minutes to actually finish taking that shower, put on some more comfortable clothes with a pair of short tapestry that didn't totally stick to your body and a blue tank top.

As you left the room, you found Itadori, Megumi and Yuuta getting ready to go fishing while Mai and Maki were busy talking among themselves and looking at the cell phone of one of them.

It seemed that only you had nothing planned for that afternoon away from the city, and you snorted trying to think of something you could do to pass the time.

Walking was probably the best option, right?

With that in mind, you sent a message to both Megumi and Maki that you were going for a walk alone and that if you didn't come back half an hour before the bonfire time, they were to come after you because something bad had happened.

A bad feeling was eating away at you, but at the same time you didn't want to end up having to be on your friends' heels because of a perhaps passing bad feeling.

So you went for a walk. And, truth be told, it was great to breathe fresh air. Great until your memory reminded you that maybe you had gone too far, and even the sound of the river from the big campground seemed distant now.

The trees around you seemed to multiply more and more, the silence morbid around you.

Only the sound of your breathing, slowly quickening with nervousness, filled yours ears. The feeling of being watched increased almost to the point where you felt that someone was watching you from a few meters away.

You turned around, swallowing hard and longing to go back to where your friends were, and, without looking back, started walking again.

Four steps, heartbeat increasing.

Five steps, your ears picked up the sound of something breaking, probably a twig, at some point behind you.

"Fuck, fuck", your mind repeated over and over again as your feet started to run as far as you could.

You felt something try to grab the back of your blue top and then try to run even faster, but you barely managed to cross more 10 feet.

Something had been thrown against your heel and your body went to the ground, face hitting the grass and dirt, clothes getting dirty and eventually a weight greater than yours being placed on your smaller body.

You were flipped forward and as you looked up with vision blurred from the fall, your face was met by a man with dark hair, thin lips, emerald eyes and a smile of amusement decorating his lips that had a scar in the right corner.

Before you could scream, his hand pushed against your mouth and you didn't even have time to raise your arms to try to fight him off, his other palm had already grabbed your wrists and pulled them over your head; then your eyes watered and legs tried to kick him, which wasn't very effective.

— Oh, darling. What made you think you could ever get away? So naive and tiny. — His husky voice reverberated in yours ears. — Why are you crying already? I haven't even done anything yet, and your cute lil' face is too pretty to be stained by tears. — His tongue flicked across his lips as his eyes traveled down your body in rapt scrutiny. — I wondered how long it would be before you ran out and I had to do this to you.

And though he had said that your face was too beautiful to be stained by tears, they were already wetting your cheeks and your arms were still trying to free themselves from his firm grip.

— Let's make a deal, hm? — He raised his eyebrows suggestively and you tried to focus on what he was saying, tried to calm down. — I'm gonna take my hand out of your mouth and you're not going to scream 'cause you're a good girl and know how to behave, understand? And if you scream or try to do anything I don't like, I'll break your teeth and then make you swallow 'em and go after your friends and then, who knows, do worse things to you. You don't want that, d'you? — Your head shook in a desperate negative way and his amused smile reappeared on his lips. — Okay, lil’ girl.

And you kept your mouth shut, in fact.

Mouth closed and eyes still watering, watching the man above you reach into the waistband of the jeans he was wearing and pull out a pistol. Opening the barrel, he let you see that the gun was loaded with about three bullets and you swallowed hard, still with the mouth closed.

— So, little girl, what d'you think I should do with you? — He asked, raising one eyebrow and positioning the cold barrel of the gun against your lips. — Should I fuck you out here? Where anyone can see you struggling to take my cock? Or are you the type who prefers to do the dirty work in a more private place, hm?

— P-Please... — You began to speak, growing more and more frightened with every brush of your lips against the barrel of his gun. — I j-just wanna go back to where they are, please, I... — He pressed the pistol more firmly against yours lips and your voice fell silent.

— You're dumber than you look and on top of that, you're behaving very badly, you haven't answered my question. — Your eyes watered again. — Oh, stop crying, sweetheart, you'll almost make me feel guilty for what I'm about to do to you.

— Please, please, lemme go, and.. I-I won't say anything about you to anyone, I swear! — He stared at you for a few seconds.

— You really are dumb, aren't you? — He asked. — Maybe I should just fuck you here and leave your body full of my cum to be found by someone else, what d'you think about it? — You swallowed hard and took a deep breath, your eyes starting to sting from crying.

For survival reasons, you had to restrain yourself in order to have more docile reactions, you didn't want to have a gun bullet buried in your skull.

— Don't take me a-any further away from here, p-please? — You tried to speak without letting your voice get any deeper.

— Oh, so you'd rather I rail you out here? What a lewd little girl. — He whispered, releasing your hands from his grip on his palm and pulling you up by the base of your neck.

Your legs curled a little to support your body, but soon you found yourself standing in front of this man who was extremely stronger than you and broad-shouldered.

His eyes suggestively looked at the garments still covering your body and you understood that he wanted you naked, so soon those clothes were on the floor around your body.

Toji turned away from you momentarily and circled the area in the same way a predator would do if he was admiring his next victim.

— Look at this body... — He remarked with a satisfied smile. — All mine to break and destroy, all mine to use 'til I tire.

Toji stopped behind you, placing the barrel of his gun against the side of your neck and resting his chest against your back while his other hand slid down the sides of your body giving your hips a firm squeeze before slipping it between your legs only to rub his fingertips against your folds that were slowly starting to get wet.

— And you're still a dirty slut who gets wet being chased through the trees, I knew from the start when I first laid eyes on you that you were the type to only pretend to be innocent. — His fingers withdrew from between your legs to rise up to your eye level and you felt terrible looking them wet and feeling the arousal drip from your entrance to inner thighs. — Look at you already getting wet like this, now, why don't you get down on your knees like a good girl for me, hm?

— I-I might know your name at least... — You spoke in a whisper, inevitably shrugging shoulders at his watchful gaze and doing as he commanded, feeling your knees quickly begin to chafe from direct exposure to the uneven soil of the place.

— Call me Toji, and be sure to remember my name well when I'm deep inside you. — He answered, still crouching behind you and putting one leg between yours.

His right hand spread over your back and forced your body forward and back, soon the side of your face was pressed against the same floor your knees were on and you were fully on all fours with your back to Toji, who felt his cock getting harder and harder under his underpants and pants.

He loved forcibly subduing stupid little girls like you and you were not even the third girl in a week that he took advantage of without any remorse. It was precisely this feeling of being forced to submission by an aggressive and violent stranger that was managing to make your exposed pussy leak against the fabric of his jeans.

Toji leaned over your body, brushing his lips against your ear and whispering:

— I know you are thirsty for me to use you now, to fuck you raw. — Toji slid the pistol's free hand down your torso until it reached your pelvis and cunt, where it began to circle and press on your clit, occasioning more of your arousal fluid to escape. — Your pussy won't let you lie, it's almost begging me to bury my cock in it and fill it with my cum, I'm sure you can feel your own pussy clenching around nothing as I speak, can't you? I know you can. — He applied more pressure against your clit and smiled wickedly noticing your hips trying to force themselves upward in search of more of his fingers. — See, you stupid slut? You could scream that you don't want this, try to convince yourself that you don't, but your body says otherwise, love.

And then Toji began to work his hand against your pussy, sometimes concentrating on stimulating your clit and other times penetrating your wet insides with his long fingers, making your walls expand and squeeze them hard.

Every time the tip of them bent and hit that spongy spot that made you roll your eyes in pleasure and need to bite your mouth to not let any moans escape, your orgasm got closer and closer.

The knot in the pit of your tummy was driving you almost crazy, you wanted to cum so bad and you wanted more of Toji's rough touch, treating you like a ragdoll.

Your eyes closed tightly as your body was so close to cumming. Just a few more stimulations from his fingers. But Toji pulled his hand away from you with a mischievous laugh escaping his lips, you looked over one shoulder at him with your face completely contorted with frowns and mouth hanging open from the pleasure.

— Oh, sweetheart, did you really think I'd let you cum so easily like that? — Toji brought his fingers to his lips, licking them slowly before going to unbutton and unzip his pants and, after that, pulling his underwear down with them.

As soon as your eyes fell on his dick leaking pre-cum, you were absolutely certain that it would hurt more than you could bear without screaming when he entered you

Long, big, that's Toji Fushiguro.

His hand eventually left the pistol on the floor away from your body to put both hands on your waist, lifting you to stand with your cunt in front of the tip of his cock and start rubbing it against your wet folds. And you moaned because of the sensitivity, fully aware that you needed just the right stimulation to make you cum; your orgasm was still so close it hurt.

And the right stimulation came in the form of a strong thrust that Toji used to push himself into you.

Your whole body broke down and there was no time for the synapses in your brain to register the mind-blowing pain of having your walls stretched almost to the limit, with the tip of his cock kissing your cervix.

You had orgasmed. With a simple thrust of him into you.

You would have fallen forward if that man's firm hands hadn't been gripping your hips tightly and holding you still, legs trembling unable to support your weight, vision almost going white.

— Fuck, did you just cum for having me invading you? Such a needy whore. — Propelling your body upward and making your back count his firm chest, Toji ran one hand up your tits, squeezing them in the process, clamped it to your chin and pulled your face down so that you could see where his cock was entering you, the length of it wet now from both his own pre-cum and your newly released arousal. — Look how you try to take it all in your greedy pussy. — He pulled his entire cock out of you only to thrust fully into you again.

Your back arched as you felt him slam against your cervix again and the moans coming from your mouth were shamelessly too loud for someone who shouldn't be enjoying the situation. Your desperate mouth opened wide for air and Toji took the opportunity to turn your head to the side and let a trickle of his saliva fall into your mouth, and you swallowed like the good girl he wanted you to be.

His hips began to thrust against yours with force, in a rhythm that gradually turned to be a more bestial, more violent one.

Your body rising and falling along with his, ass and hips gradually becoming redder from the impact of flesh on flesh, walls squeezing his cock tighter and tighter, eyes beginning to water again, but this time because of the overstimulation, and your whole body trembling with hands desperately gripping the sides of Toji's larger-than-life body partly to get more balance as far as possible, partly to make sure he wouldn't pull away again without letting you reach orgasm.

Your mouth desperately drooling and letting little "Please" and "Toji" escape in the form of moans, he had totally corrupted you, turned you into a slut in need of his cock in a matter of a few minutes, just under an hour.

— You bouncing around on my cock like a good girl, what a sigh. — Toji whispered in your ear, his low voice sending several shivers down your back. — What d'you want, hm? Want me to shoot my cock deep inside you and let you carry my babies? Want me to breed you and make you carry my seed back to camp like a good obedient whore?

And contradicting everything your own common sense had been whispering in your ear all along, your head desperately nodded and a slurred "Y-Yes, ple... please" escaped yours lips.

So Toji kept sinking inside you. And again, the same knot as before in the bottom of your belly indicated that your second orgasm was coming and you wanted so badly to know what it felt like to have your womb filled to the brim with cum, even if it was from that obnoxious man.

In an erratic thrust, his dick ended up painting your walls white, those hot spurts inside your pussy making you moan even more and end up coming just a short time later as Toji continued to move his hips back and forth, this time slowing down little by little, just to make sure you got his cum as deep as possible, even though your cunt was too small to hold qll his load and it would eventually leak a little.

He pulled his cock out of you, spread your legs a little wider so that you could see your pussy spurting some of the liquid and grunted softly at the scene.

You were such a good and useful fucktoy for him, taking his dick without complaint.

— You're so cockdrunk now, doll, so pretty and all just for me. — Toji pulled your face up to take your lips in a kiss that meant nothing but willingness to keep using your body until he was done ruining you. — What d'you think about me keeping you as my favorite fucktoy, uh? — From the cocky smile on his lips decorated with that scar, you couldn't tell if he was serious or if you wanted him to be.

But then, without Toji's objection, you just stood back slightly and began to silently manage to gather your clothes with legs still wobbly and trembling, plus your hips could barely move properly and brain didn't know how to begin to formulate an excuse to give your friends when you got back to the camping place.

Before you could finish buttoning those shorts, feeling Toji's cum leak out through the slit in your pussy and wet the bottom of your panties, he grabbed your wrist and squeezed lightly.

— I'm coming for you in Tokyo, so I hope you're ready to be chased again, this time through the city streets. — Toji opened a cynical smile and you felt your cheeks heat violently, obviously that everything was a game to him.

And you wanted to ask him how he knew you, for what reason he "chose" you. He didn't seem like the kind of criminal who picked his victims randomly, but shame flooded through you violently as you realized that you really had fucked a guy who is wanted by the police, who kills people all over town like it was nothing. Not fear, just shame.

— Oh, why are you so gloomy now? — Toji began to button his pants after pulling up his underwear. — You must be wondering how I know ya and how I knew you would be here today, right? Well... you know my son.

[raibebe]

My first and last

Genre: smut, fluff and a little bit of crack Words: 2.582 Prompt: boyfriend Mark x female reader

Warnings: alcohol & drinking games between the Dreamies, oral (m & f receiving), semi-public blowjob, fingering, grinding, slight cumplay, non-penetrative sex, unsafe sex(?)

A/N: Happy birthday Mark! It’s a little late but it’s still his birthday where I am, so I am counting that as a win since this was written in like two days.  Yes, I blame this one solely on nsfw twitter. No, I will not elaborate.

Mark liked drinking with his friends every now and then. So when Jeno had invited him and the others over to celebrate his birthday, he had quickly accepted, missing his younger friends. 

But right now, he wasn’t so sure anymore. And of course, like always, Lee Donghyuck was the one to blame. “Let’s play never have I ever,” the tan boy had grinned, multiple bottles of soju in his hands. Mark should have known this would end badly. He was a private person. Especially when it came to his relationships. Unlike some of his other friends, he never boasted about what happened behind closed doors, so it was only natural that his best friend was dying from curiosity and the alcohol they had already drunk only spurred him on. 

So after a couple of rounds that were relatively tame, it was Donghyuck’s turn again, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Never have I ever gotten my dick sucked.” “Hyuuuck,” Jeno already groaned, taking a swing along with everyone else except their youngest who furiously blushed as Jaemin ruffled his hair. “We have to spice it up,” Donghyuck only wiggled his eyebrows. Not one to lose to his Hyung, Chenle matched the order’s grin. “Never have I ever gotten my dick sucked in a public place.” “This is a personal attack,” Jaemin snarled before taking a swing of his drink, “Should have never told you about that.” But sadly for Mark, it didn’t go unnoticed that he also timidly took a swing, a blush sitting high on his cheeks when he remembered the incident: 

You had begged him to accompany you shopping and he had eventually given in, he needed a couple of new items as well. And in the dressing room of a store he’d never set foot in ever again, you had smoothly dropped to your knees in front of him after seeing your boyfriend in the tightest pair of skinny jeans you had ever seen him wear, the sight making your mouth water. It surprisingly hadn’t taken much more coaxing than stretching out your tongue wide and gripping onto his strong thighs for him to unzip his pants with a curse, freeing his dick for you to eagerly lap at the heated flesh until it hardened beneath your tongue so you could swallow him down. You had eagerly bobbed your head along his length, letting the fat head hit the back of your throat to have Mark bite the inside of his cheek to hold back his moans. 

“I want your cum, Mark. Please,” you had whispered, stroking his spit slicked length quickly while letting the head rest on your tongue. “Yeah,” he rasped, choking on a moan when you dipped one of your hands down to fondle his balls, always sensitive to the touch. “Fuck, baby, I’m gonna-“ You hadn’t let him finish, sucking the head of his cock into your mouth harshly to have him spill into your mouth, the salty taste making you groan as you sucked him dry, not wasting a single drop of his cum. 

“No way our Markie did something in public,” Donghyuck ripped him from his thoughts to which he just sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, not keen on spilling any more details. “Believe it or not, Donghyuck.” “Come on Maaark. Give us something for once,” the other whined. “Not without her consent, Hyuckie.” “You’re boring. I bet it was in the studio,” his friend pouted. Well… He wasn’t completely wrong.

Mark had this tendency of locking himself in the studio every now and again to write lyrics for the album whenever he was asked to, forgetting the time when he was too focused on getting his flow just right. So when he hadn’t answered your texts or calls for several hours, you had taken it upon yourself to distract your boyfriend, knocking onto the door of the room to find him with wide eyes and disheveled hair. 

“I’ve done it again, huh?” He just asked, welcoming you into his arms. “I came to distract you, take your mind off of things,” you whispered, closing the heavy door behind you, “And because I missed you. I haven’t seen you in forever.” “Missed you too,” Mark sighed, his lips finding yours in a lazy kiss, “Let me make it up to you. Let me make you feel good.” And who were you to deny your eager boyfriend when his hands found your hips to steer you towards the small sofa, quickly ridding you of your pants and underwear. “Relax,” he had breathed against your core before diving in to lick a wet stripe from your entrance to your clit, swirling his tongue around the sensitive bundle of nerves to have your legs shaking. With swipe after swipe of his tongue, you fell apart, your thighs shaking and clamping shut around his head when your orgasm came crashing down on you, Mark’s name on your lips. “Good thing this room is soundproof,” he grinned when he emerged, rubbing soothing circles into the muscle of your thighs, his face shiny with your essence.

“It wasn’t. I’m not going to say anything more,” Mark smiled, a blush that wasn’t only a result of the alcohol in his veins, creeping onto his cheeks. “I have this feeling that you’re a hidden freak, Mark Lee,” Donghyuck squinted at his friend, earning himself a chuckle from Renjun. “You’re not getting any information out of me, Hyuck,” Mark shot back, “Never have I ever had to buy pregnancy tests for my girlfriend.” “You’re on thin fucking ice, Mark Lee,” his best friend hissed, taking a big swing, “Those are repressed memories.” 

“Wrap it before you tap it, Hyuck,” Jeno grinned. “You are not having this discussion with me, Jeno. Never have I ever done pet play.” “It’s not even your turn,” the black haired blushed furiously when he was the only one to drink. “It is now, you’re all too boring,” Donghyuck laughed. “Let the baby play, Hyuck,” Jaemin pouted, poking Jisung’s cheek. “Never... Never have I ever had sex,” Jisung stuttered, feeling proud when his Hyungs almost collectively groaned, Chenle giving him a high five. 

“Drink up, Markie, I have my eyes on you,” Donghyuck scolded his friend after he had emptied his own bottle. “But I haven’t.” “Bullshit. You’ve been dating your girlfriend for forever. There’s no way you haven’t tapped that.” “It’s not that I couldn’t. I just don’t,” Mark tried to explain himself. “For real?” Chenle’s eyes seemed to almost be bugging out of his head. “For real, Chenle,” the older rolled his eyes, “We agreed that we would wait.” “Wait for what?” 

“Marriage maybe? We never specified.” “That’s... That’s actually really romantic,” Renjun sighed, sinking deeper into his seat. “But no offense. Your girlfriend is so hot,” Donghyuck threw in, “How do you not do anything?” “Sex is not limited to penetration, Huyckie,” Mark groaned, rolling his eyes before emptying his bottle, he was too sober for this, “And no. I will not elaborate what we do.” “So you’re cheating.” “We’re not trying to be celibate. There are no rules to it.” “Just that you can’t put your dick actually inside her,” Jaemin stated bluntly, laughing when Jeno choked on his spit. “Wait. But she’s been with other people before you, right?” “Yeah, but how does that concern me?” “That dick is good enough to make her stay even without him destroying her pussy.” “Oh my god Jaemin, can you shut up for once in your life?” Renjun and Jeno both hit their friend on the back of his head who was laughing loudly at his own joke. 

“That’s it, I’m calling her,” Donghyuck scowled, pulling out his phone. “Hyuck, it’s almost midnight. Let her be,” Mark sighed. “Donghyuck?” Your voice suddenly came through the speakers of his phone, “Is something the matter with Mark?” “Your boyfriend is fine,” Donghyuck grinned, “But we have some information we need you to confirm.” “Don’t listen to him, babe,” Mark called but Donghyuck just shoved him back. “He said that you two despite being together for over three years and you sucking him off in a public place, you haven’t actually fucked.” Mark didn’t even try to conceal his annoyed groan, hiding his face in his palms. Where could he get new friends?

“And what about it?” You simply said. “It’s true?” “Why would Mark lie to you?” “No way,” Donghyuck gasped. “You don’t need to have penetrative sex to have fun, Donghyuck. Maybe he can teach you a thing or two,” you giggled, “Ask him if he’s coming home later.” “I will. Love you,” Mark quickly answered, snatching Donghyuck’s phone from him to end the call to save both of you from further embarrassing questions.

“What was that call about?” You asked sleepily when Mark finally crawled into your shared bed, much later at night. “Hyuckie is just noisy, nothing new,” he sighed, scooping you up in his arms to pull you against his chest. “You told them about the blowjob in that store?” You giggled, turning around in his hold to press a quick kiss to his lips. “We played never have I ever and it went down from there,” your boyfriend explained, finding your lips again to gently part them with his tongue, slowly licking into your mouth. “Watermelon soju?” You chuckled against his lips before kissing his pout away. “It’s good, shut up,” Mark grumbled, playfully biting your lower lip, quickly swallowing your gasp again, his hands around your body tightening as he let you lick the artificial watermelon flavor from his tongue. 

“Someone’s riled up,” you chuckled once your boyfriend had sneaked one of his hands down to squeeze your ass while pressing you flush against his growing erection. “Can you blame me?” He laughed hoarsely as you felt him up, slowly rubbing him through the cotton of his sleeping shorts. “Because of some boys talk?” “They can get really graphic,” Mark panted, “Touch me.” “If you ask so nicely,” you mumbled, freeing his cock from his shorts to pump his length. “Feels so good,” he sighed against your lips, capturing them again to muffle his sounds when you rubbed your palm over his sensitive head, spreading the precum around. “I wanna feel you, Mark.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded eagerly, sitting up to rip his shirt over his head before quickly undressing you as well all while you shared quiet laughs when your shirt momentarily got stuck. But before you could hook your fingers into your panties to pull them off, Mark stopped you, his cheeks dusted a rosy color. “Leave them on?” “Of course,” you smiled, lacing your fingers into his dark hair to pull him on top of you, already craving his kisses again. “Fuuuck,” Mark groaned as he ground his hips against your clothed core. 

“What else did you tell them?” You breathed against Mark’s skin, gently sucking on his pulse. “Not... Not much,” he panted, the remaining alcohol paired with the arousal coursing through his veins going straight to his head. “Didn’t tell them about how good you always make me feel?” “Told them about the secret folder on my phone,” Mark grinned, “About how you like to send me dirty little videos for when I’m away.” “Naughty,” you snickered, another response getting stuck in your throat when your boyfriend harshly sucked one of your nipples between his lips, teasing the sensitive bud to hardness. 

“I want to feel you,” he panted once he released you again, leaving you breathless. “Please, Mark.” Sitting up on his haunches, he carefully pulled your soaked panties to the side to reveal your glistening core to him. The sight was way too tempting for him to not feel your wetness, messily rubbing your arousal with his palm before he smoothly fucked two fingers inside you, the squelch sounding loud in the quiet of the room, only joined by your choked off moan. “You’re so sexy, fuck,” he cursed, pressing the pad of this thumb to your clit to hear more of your sweet moans as you helplessly bucked your hips into his touch. “I need to feel you,” you begged, the desperation in your voice going straight to his cock that he gripped the base tightly to starve off his orgasm before he used the grip to slap the head of his cock against your clit, the sparks of pain so pleasurable you writhed against the bedsheets. Slowly Mark started to grind his cock through your wet folds, the reddened head continuously rubbing against your clit. 

“Faster, Mark, please,” you panted, digging your fingers into the muscle of his thighs. “Shit,” he cursed, nodding before he hooked his cock behind your panties so it wouldn’t slip away as he bucked his hips faster, his cock now thoroughly coated in your essence making the slide easy and pleasurable, he threw his head back with a loud moan. “Fuck, I’m not going to last,” he moaned, pressing his thumb to your clit again to rub it quickly. Mewling, you worked your hips in tandem with your boyfriend, wanting him to reach his peak just as much you finally wanted to tip over the edge. Moaning each other’s names, you felt Mark still his hips moments before he groaned from deep in his chest, painting your folds white with his cum, the thought so lewd, it threw you over the edge as well, his name on your parted lips so loud you were sure your neighbors must have heard it as well “Fuck,” Mark giggled in post-orgasm haze, rubbing his cock through the mess he had made to ride out his high. “Kiss me,” you demanded breathlessly, reaching out to tug Mark down. The kiss was more teeth and panting into each other’s mouths than anything else and you couldn’t help but giggle when your boyfriend hid his flushed face in your neck, kissing your fluttering pulse. 

“You ruined another pair,” you groaned when Mark had found the strength in his limbs again to help you pull your panties from your legs and cleaned you up with a spare towel. “I’ll buy you a new pair,” he promised, pressing a tender kiss to your navel before he dressed you in one of his bigger shirts and scooped you up in his arms again to nuzzle into your neck. 

“I love you,” he mumbled quietly. “And I love you,” you smiled, ready to slip into unconsciousness. “Baby?” “Hm?” “The boys asked what we were waiting for. What we were saving it for.” “I’m waiting for you to put a ring on me,” you grinned, twisting in his hold to wrap your arms around Mark’s neck, “You make me happy, Mark. Regardless of if we actually fuck or not. Or if you want to do it tomorrow or wait until we’re married or wait another three years.” “You’d marry me?” “Of course, you dumbass,” you giggled, feeling nothing less but absolutely at home in his arms. “What if I told you I actually have a ring,” he mumbled, gently stroking your face as if you were made of glass. “Give it to me whenever you think we’re ready.” “Every day the urge to just give it to you gets stronger.” “I’m looking forward to seeing your resolve break,” you smiled widely, firmly pressing your lips to his until you felt him smile. “I’ll try to be a good husband,” he promised, his voice low. “You’ll be everything I could ever ask for.” 

[coffeetraces]

[SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven't watched the ending, save yourself from the pain jk and from reading the spoilers below.]

I was about to comment on the lack of closure on most of the side stories and even on Young-ro's background (and relationship with her grandmother), but then some people say that probably the reason why a lot has been tweaked (even the possibility of a happy ending for Young-ro and Soo-ho, following the speculations that they had a wedding scene) is because of the string of controversies the show had over the year. They said the rice cake shop sponsor pulled out (thus not showing Young-ro's life with her grandmother) and even the other sponsors, and they might also be under fire again for glorifying spies by making Soo-ho end up with Young-ro.

I do feel that a lot has been left wide open on the side characters, like of the closure and/or apologies from Young-ro's dormmates, Miss Oh, Sulhui & Hyeryeong's back stories, possibility of a Room 207 reunion, and Young-ro's mother's death, among others. This would have been all cleared, probably, if this was in 20 episodes or if each episode is 2 hours. But I guess we can only imagine these other parts now (or unless the Bluray wants us to know more... please 👀).

But despite all the atrocities or controversies mentioned above, I still think that no matter how painful the process (scenes) was, it was really a realistic ending for Soo-ho & Young-ro. They were really not meant to stay together, given their differences of countries, and it was even ironic that their own governments are conspiring together to kill them. Multiple guns were aimed at both of them--by their enemies and even by their own friends. My heart still aches recalling that scene, but Soo-ho was really meant to die. Actually, him returning to the dorm knowing Young-ro was in danger was like a suicide mission. When both his comrades died even before escaping, I feel like Soo-ho felt there was no reason to live anymore than to save the only person he is left to save (since he gave Chungya the task to save his sister). I would often compare the Snowdrop possible ending to that of Crash Landing On You, that despite of what they went through as NK-SK couple, they got a happy ending; but the political atmosphere of Snowdrop is totally different from CLOY, obviously.

Episode 16 has been the heaviest ending I have ever watched, from Soo-ho being conflicted to leave, losing his comrades, returning to the dorm, running back to their little safe haven on the rooftop, dying to save Young-ro, until that fricking tape recording... Until now, I feel physical pain remembering those scenes. I will never dare to rewatch that, that even clips from Twitter and Tiktok makes me cry. But it was so heartwarming that while I was long been waiting for the snowdrop flower element to show up, it was actually Young-ro all along. She was his snowdrop; the early warmth in his coldness. The tape recording was the perfect culmination because we finally got to see and hear quiet Soo-ho's thoughts. Hae-in & Jisoo showed their love well through their eyes, no denying of that, but hearing him finally saying "I love you" to her on the lAST SCENE OF THE WHOLE SERIES even though it was already evident with their actions... I have no words than *chef's kiss*.

And other than our major heartbreak over Soo-ho being gone, what made this ending heartbreaking beyond comprehension is Young-ro, our heroine, young and innocent, willing to sacrifice every thing for the people she admire most, losing everything and everyone she holds dear. Her father got jailed, brother dead, friends gone, and the love of her life, who swore to protect and love her after every one turned their backs on her, dead and gone in front of her. She deserves so much more than what she received at the end. It was not her fault she fell in love with him, she even tried to be distant from him even after all that he did. She carried everything on her back and became guilty over a lot of things. She fought, became brave, stood up against the enemies, risked her life multiple times, and even comforted the man who pointed a gun on her head. She even prayed for him to have a better life. She understood Soo-ho's destiny and actions were not entirely his choice. She was giving so much without asking anything in return, and so even the gods did not give anything to her than misfortunes. She's one strong woman, that deserves unlimited hugs and probably therapy after going through so much.

It's also really crazy how similar in some ways Young-ro & Soo-ho are. They are both daredevils and unpredictable. I would expect that with an agent like Soo-ho, but Young-ro's moments are remarkable. It's just too bad because we can only compress their romantic moments in less than 5 episodes probably, but it is understandable given it would be out-of-place to be lovey-dovey in a hostage situation where those who were meant to save you wanted you dead. But still, it's a missed opportunity given that Hae-in & Jisoo unexpectedly has a very strong chemistry. I do hope they can reunite on a light or mellow romantic-comedy drama or film. At least as compensation for this emotionally damaging series. The only relief we have was the behind-the-scenes. And it's funny because the kissing scene really became our own Young-ro memory erasing coffee, because we suddenly (or momentarily) forgot the traumas Soo-ho caused Young-ro.

Now that I have processed (90% maybe) the two final episodes, I would still recommend Snowdrop. The show has been unpredictable throughout, and they exceeded expectations. Most especially actress Kim Jisoo, who I feel was not even a rookie actress I mean girlie picked a tragedy drama as her debut sseries as the lead actress? Where she had to cry every single episode and endure all the hardships of Young-ro's character? Goddamn. Her eyes and the way she cries has been marked in my mind rent free. With Jung Hae-in, I would admit that I have mostly seen his works through clips (such as of Prison Playbook, Something in the Rain, One Spring Night, A Piece of Your Mind and While You Were Sleeping), except for Tune in for Love and his cameo on Goblin, yet these already prove he is one romantic master. But with Snowdrop, a mesh of action, suspense, drama and romance, the show proves the versatility of this great actor. Not to mention he did D.P., an equally challenging role and narrative, before becoming the complex character Im Soo-ho. I have nothing but respect and consensual hugs and kisses (lol) for this excellent actor and I am now a Hollie all the way.

And the chemistry of Hae-in & Jisoo? Top tier. Even I was surprised. I never thought it would be this strong, and I am happy it was. When their pairing was announced, they were obviously a visual couple, but given I only knew of Hae-in's acting works (we only have Jisoo smiling on Song Joong-ki on Arthdal, and some great acting on Blackpink's music videos, now that I think about it lol), we could not imagine yet how well they go together. But for real, I screamed involuntarily when that Harper Bazaar video came out, then more promotional ones that made us feel this was a romance drama. But it was not, that's why a lot of people are very disappointed with the flow of the story, at least on the romance part. Even with this ending, I still gush at times remembering how great they are in expressing their repressed love through their eyes, and of course, the beauty of love at first sight and how Young-ro really took care of him when he was hiding on the fourth floor. And the open house!!! That dance scene was beautiful, and too bad was just a fantasy for Young-ro. Jisoo and Hae-in really portrayed their characters well: a young woman who is full of love, affection, and longing for her family, experiencing romantic love for the first time who eventually and unexpectedly became her captor, and a man who was forced to grow up early for his sister and trained to give his life to his country, conflicted with giving and receiving pure love to a woman he fell for at first sight, whom he had to helplessly hold hostage and protect at the same time. Again, I am GUSHING how their conflicted thoughts are shown THROUGH THEIR EYES!!! :'(

Maybe just a recommendation for upcoming viewers: maybe don't expect too much romance from the two? 😂 Unless you would just like and prefer Haesoo more, do yourselves a favor and just watch the behind-the-scenes. And I think it helps to watch the show twice a week, the way the ongoing broadcast did, so you would have time to process things. Especially the endings of each episodes.

Overall, I would just like to say that Snowdrop is now my top K-drama, despite the emotional damage it caused me for the whole day after watching it. I am eternally grateful for this masterpiece, most especially Jung Hae-in and Kim Jisoo, whose chemistry and individual performances wrecked me. I can't wait for what's next for them, individually and probably as a couple pair. The director is also crazy amazing for his dedication and attention to details, and they way he allows his actors to direct their scenes according to how they see their characters moving. He's a rare breed.

This isn't the last of me as a Snow because I will have months--MONTHS--of withdrawal. 😭

[mcmansionhell]

Underground, Part 1

[Author’s Note: A year ago, when waiting for the DC Metro, I came up with an idea for a short story involving two realtors and the infamous Las Vegas Underground House, typed up an outline, and shoved it away in my documents where it sat neglected until this month. The house recently resurfaced on Twitter, and combined with almost a year of quarantine, the story quickly materialized. Though I rarely write fiction, I decided I’d give it a shot as a kind of novelty McMansion Hell post. I’ve peppered the story with photos from the house to break up the walls of text. Hopefully you find it entertaining. I look forward to returning next month with the second installment of this as well as our regularly scheduled McMansion content. Happy New Year!

Warning: there’s lots of swearing in this.]

Underground

Back in 1997, Mathieu Rino, the son of two Finnish mechanical engineers who may or may not have worked intimately with the US State Department, changed his name to Jay Renault in order to sell more houses. It worked wonders.

He gets out of the car, shuts the door harder than he should. Renault wrinkles his nose. It’s a miserable Las Vegas afternoon - a sizzling, dry heat pools in ripples above the asphalt. The desert is a place that is full of interesting and diverse forms of life, but Jay’s the kind of American who sees it all as empty square-footage. He frowns at the dirt dusting up his alligator-skin loafers but then remembers that every lot, after all, has potential. Renault wipes the sweat from his leathery face, slicks back his stringy blond hair and adjusts the aviators on the bridge of his nose. The Breitling diving watch crowding his wrist looks especially big in the afternoon glare. He glances at it.

“Shit,” he says. The door on the other side of the car closes, as though in response. 

If Jay Renault is the consummate rich, out-of-touch Gen-Xer trying to sell houses to other rich, out-of-touch Gen-Xers, then Robert Little is his millennial counterpart. Both are very good at their jobs. Robert adjusts his tie in the reflection of the Porsche window, purses his lips. He’s Vegas-showman attractive, with dark hair, a decent tan, and a too-bright smile - the kind of attractive that ruins marriages but makes for an excellent divorcee. Mildly sleazy.

“Help me with these platters, will you?” Renault gestures, popping the trunk. Robert does not want to sweat too much before an open house, but he obliges anyway. They’re both wearing suits. The heat is unbearable. A spread of charcuterie in one hand, Jay double-checks his pockets for the house keys, presses the button that locks his car. 

Both men sigh, and their eyes slowly trail up to the little stucco house sitting smack dab in the center of an enormous lot, a sea of gravel punctuated by a few sickly palms. The house has the distinct appearance of being made of cardboard, ticky-tacky, a show prop. Burnt orange awnings don its narrow windows, which somehow makes it look even more fake. 

“Here we go again,” Jay mutters, fishing the keys out of his pocket. He jiggles them until the splintered plywood door opens with a croak, revealing a dark and drab interior – dusty, even though the cleaners were here yesterday. Robert kicks the door shut with his foot behind him.

 “Christ,” he swears, eyes trailing over the terrible ecru sponge paint adorning the walls. “This shit is so bleak.”

The surface-level house is mostly empty. There’s nothing for them to see or attend to there, and so the men step through a narrow hallway at the end of which is an elevator. They could take the stairs, but don’t want to risk it with the platters. After all, they were quite expensive. Renault elbows the button and the doors part. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” he says as they step inside. The fluorescent lights above them buzz something awful. A cheery metal sign welcomes them to “Tex’s Hideaway.” Beneath it is an eldritch image of a cave, foreboding. Robert’s stomach’s in knots. Ever since the company assigned him to this property, he’s been terrified of it. He tells himself that the house is, in fact, creepy, that it is completely normal for him to be ill at ease. The elevator’s ding is harsh and mechanical. They step out. Jay flips a switch and the basement is flooded with eerie light. 

It’s famous, this house - The Las Vegas Underground House. The two realtors refer to it simply as “the bunker.” Built by an eccentric millionaire at the height of Cold War hysteria, it’s six-thousand square feet of paranoid, aspirational fantasy. The first thing anyone notices is the carpet – too-green, meant to resemble grass, sprawling out lawn-like, bookmarked by fake trees, each a front for a steel beam. Nothing can grow here. It imitates life, unable to sustain it. The leaves of the ficuses seem particularly plastic.

Bistro sets scatter the ‘yard’ (if one can call it that), and there’s plenty of outdoor activities – a parquet dance floor complete with pole and disco ball, a putt putt course, an outdoor grill made to look like it’s nestled in a rock, but in reality better resembles a baked potato. The pool and hot tub, both sculpted in concrete and fiberglass mimicking a natural rock formation, are less Playboy grotto and more Fred Flintstone. It’s a very seventies idea of fun.

Then, of course, there’s the house. That fucking house. 

A house built underground in 1978 was always meant to be a mansard – the mansard roof was a historical inevitability. The only other option was International Style modernism, but the millionaire and his wife were red-blooded anti-Communists. Hence, the mansard. Robert thinks the house looks like a fast-food restaurant. Jay thinks it looks like a lawn and tennis club he once attended as a child where he took badminton lessons from a swarthy Czech man named Jan. It’s drab and squat, made more open by big floor-to-ceiling windows nestled under fresh-looking cedar shingles. There’s no weather down here to shrivel them up.

“Shall we?” Jay drawls. The two make their way into the kitchen and set the platters down on the white tile countertop. Robert leans up against the island, careful of the oversized hood looming over the electric stovetop. He eyes the white cabinets, accented with Barbie pink trim. The matching linoleum floor squeaks under his Italian loafers. 

“I don’t understand why we bother doing this,” Robert complains. “Nobody’s seriously going to buy this shit, and the company’s out a hundred bucks for party platters.”

“It’s the same every time,” Renault agrees. “The only people who show up are Instagram kids and the crazies - you know, the same kind of freaks who’d pay money to see Chernobyl.” 

“Dark tourism, they call it.”

Jay checks his watch again. Being in here makes him nervous.

“Still an hour until open house,” he mutters. “I wish we could get drunk.”

Robert exhales deeply. He also wishes he could get drunk, but still, a job’s a job.

“I guess we should check to see if everything’s good to go.”

The men head into the living room. The beamed, slanted ceiling gives it a mid-century vibe, but the staging muddles the aura. Jay remembers making the call to the staging company. “Give us your spares,” he told them, “Whatever it is you’re not gonna miss. Nobody’ll ever buy this house anyway.” 

The result is eclectic – a mix of office furniture, neo-Tuscan McMansion garb, and stuffy waiting-room lamps, all scattered atop popcorn-butter shag carpeting. Hideous, Robert thinks. Then there’s the ‘entertaining’ room, which is a particular pain in the ass to them, because the carpet was so disgusting, they had to replace it with that fake wood floor just to be able to stand being in there for more than five minutes. There’s a heady stone fireplace on one wall, the kind they don’t make anymore, a hearth. Next to it, equally hedonistic, a full bar. Through some doors, a red-painted room with a pool table and paintings of girls in fedoras on the wall. It’s all so cheap, really. Jay pulls out a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket along with a pen. He ticks some boxes and moves on.

The dining room’s the worst to Robert. Somehow the ugly floral pattern on the curtains stretches up in bloomer-like into a frilly cornice, carried through to the wallpaper and the ceiling, inescapable, suffocating. It smells like mothballs and old fabric. The whole house smells like that. 

The master bedroom’s the most normal – if anything in this house could be called normal. Mismatched art and staging furniture crowd blank walls. When someone comes into a house, Jay told Robert all those years ago, they should be able to picture themselves living in it. That’s the goal of staging. 

There’s two more bedrooms. The men go through them quickly. The first isn’t so bad – claustrophobic, but acceptable – but the saccharine pink tuille wallpaper of the second gives Renault a sympathetic toothache. The pair return to the kitchen to wait.

Both men are itching to check their phones, but there’s no point – there’s no signal in here, none whatsoever. Renault, cynical to the core, thinks about marketing the house to the anti-5G people. It’s unsettlingly quiet. The two men have no choice but to entertain themselves the old-fashioned way, through small talk.

“It’s really fucked up, when you think about it,” Renault muses.

“What is?”

“The house, Bob.”

Robert hates being called Bob. He’s told Jay that hundreds of times, and yet…

“Yeah,” Robert mutters, annoyed.

“No, really. Like, imagine. You’re rich, you founded a major multinational company marketing hairbrushes to stay-at-home moms, and what do you decide to do with your money? Move to Vegas and build a fucking bunker. Like, imagine thinking the end of the world is just around the corner, forcing your poor wife to live there for ten, fifteen years, and then dying, a paranoid old man.” Renault finds the whole thing rather poetic. 

“The Russkies really got to poor ol’ Henderson, didn’t they?” Robert snickers.

“The wife’s more tragic if you ask me,” Renault drawls. “The second that batshit old coot died, she called a guy to build a front house on top of this one, since she already owned the lot. Poor woman probably hadn’t seen sunlight in God knows how long.”

“Surely they had to get groceries.”

Jay frowns. Robert has no sense of drama, he thinks. Bad trait for a realtor.

“Still,” he murmurs. “It’s sad.”

“I would have gotten a divorce, if I were her,” the younger man says, as though it were obvious. It’s Jay’s turn to laugh.

“I’ve had three of those, and trust me, it’s not as easy as you think.”

“You’re seeing some new girl now, aren’t you?” Robert doesn’t really care, he just knows Jay likes to talk about himself, and talking fills the time.  

“Yeah. Casino girl. Twenty-six.”

“And how old are you again?”

“None of your business.”

“Did you see the renderings I emailed to you?” Robert asks briskly, not wanting to discuss Jay’s sex life any further.

“What renderings?”

“Of this house, what it could look like.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Jay has not seen the renderings.

“If it were rezoned,” Robert continues, feeling very smart, “It could be a tourist attraction - put a nice visitor’s center on the lot, make it sleek and modern. Sell trinkets. It’s a nice parcel, close to the Strip - some clever investor could make it into a Museum of Ice Cream-type thing, you know?”

“Museum of Ice Cream?”

“In New York. It’s, not, like, educational or anything. Really, it’s just a bunch of colorful rooms where kids come to take pictures of themselves.”

“Instagram,” Jay mutters. “You know, I just sold a penthouse the other week to an Instagram influencer. Takes pictures of herself on the beach to sell face cream or some shit. Eight-point-two million dollars.”

“Jesus,” Robert whistles. “Fat commission.”

“You’re telling me. My oldest daughter turns sixteen this year. She’s getting a Mazda for Christmas.”

“You ever see that show, My Super Sweet Sixteen? On MTV? Where rich kids got, like, rappers to perform at their birthday parties? Every time at the end, some guy would pull up in, like, an Escalade with a big pink bow on it and all the kids would scream.”

“Sounds stupid,” Jay says.

“It was stupid.”

It’s Robert’s turn to check his watch, a dainty gold Rolex.

“Fuck, still thirty minutes.”

“Time really does stand still in here, doesn’t it?” Jay remarks.

“We should have left the office a little later,” Robert complains. “The charcuterie is going to get –“

A deafening sound roars through the house and a violent, explosive tremor throws both men on the ground, shakes the walls and everything between them. The power’s out for a few seconds before there’s a flicker, and light fills the room again. Two backup generators, reads Jay’s description in the listing - an appeal to the prepper demographic, which trends higher in income than non-preppers. For a moment, the only things either are conscious of are the harsh flourescent lighting and the ringing in their ears. Time slows, everything seems muted and too bright. Robert rubs the side of his face, pulls back his hand and sees blood.

“Christ,” he chokes out. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” Jay breathes, looking at his hands, trying to determine if he’s got a concussion. The results are inconclusive – everything’s slow and fuzzy, but after a moment, he thinks it might just be shock.

“It sounded like a fucking 747 just nosedived on top of us.” 

“Yeah, Jesus.” Jay’s still staring at his fingers in a daze. “You okay?”

“I think so,” Robert grumbles. Jay gives him a cursory examination.

“Nothing that needs stitches,” he reports bluntly. Robert’s relieved. His face sells a lot of houses to a lot of lonely women and a few lonely men. There’s a muffled whine, which the two men soon recognize as a throng of sirens. Both of them try to calm the panic rising in their chests, to no avail.

“Whatever the fuck happened,” Jay says, trying to make light of the situation, “At least we’re in here. The bunker.”

Fear forms in the whites of Robert’s eyes.

“What if we’re stuck in here,” he whispers, afraid to speak such a thing into the world. The fear spreads to his companion.

“Try the elevator,” Jay urges, and Robert gets up, wobbles a little as his head sorts itself out, and leaves. A moment later, Jay hears him swear a blue streak, and from the kitchen window, sees him standing before the closed metal doors, staring at his feet. His pulse racing, Renault jogs out to see for himself.

“It’s dead,” Robert murmurs. 

“Whatever happened,” Jay says cautiously, rubbing the back of his still-sore neck, “It must have been pretty bad. Like, I don’t think we should go up yet. Besides, surely the office knows we’re still down here.”

“Right, right,” the younger man breathes, trying to reassure himself.

“Let’s just wait it out. I’m sure everything’s fine.” The way Jay says it does not make Robert feel any better. 

“Okay,” the younger man grumbles. “I’m getting a fucking drink, though.”

“Yeah, Jesus. That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.” Renault shoves his hands in his suit pocket to keep them from trembling.  

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