#what ARE you gonna do when he appears. when he premieres…

[starscelly]

bitch, the end of your lives are near

or, miro serving.

[phyrestartr]

PR Stunt (Only, Right?) | Sukuna/M!Reader

W/C: 6.9K (oh god lol) #NSFW, fingering, implied fucking, bottom!reader, top!sukuna, angst, fluff, smut, happy ending, Sukuna owns a body shop, reader is an actor, kinda meet cute, ABO dynamics, mpreg, yes there are always babies involved because i love dad sukuna, surprise baby, sukuna is a dickhead (what else is new), Gojo is an actor, Getou is a manager/agent, Toji is a stunt coordinator, Jin is a teacher tags: @kamote-kuneho @better-imagination-9 @flowersatwork @watyousayin 

“Did you sleep with (L. Name) (F. Name)?” 

The question caught Sukuna off guard; normally, Uraume didn't inquire into his personal life in regards to who he had and hadn't slept with. They were a friend, yes, but moreover they were the bookkeeper and helped with securing clients and arranging meetings–celebrities and their managers were fucks that Sukuna didn't like negotiating with. Best to leave the yapping to someone with a cooler head.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Sukuna asked as he rolled out from under the newest commissioned vehicle. 

Uraume walked to him, iPad in hand, and turned it to him, stone cold. 

Sukuna sat up straighter and squinted at the screen, annoyed. You’d probably just made up some salacious rumour and spread it throughout your friend circles; or worse, you wanted revenge on him for something he probably definitely did. In that case, Sukuna could somewhat understand. But still–

(Name) putting on weight? What’s happening to the former bombshell babe of Japan?!

Pregnant with a baby boy?! The secret's out!

(Name) returns to the stage after giving birth to a baby boy–but who is the father?

(Name) driving a Ryoumen Sukuna rescue vehicle?! Could he be the deadbeat dad we've been looking for?

Sukuna sucked his teeth after skimming over the article titles presented to him. 

“...No proof.” 

“Ah. Then please explain this,” Uraume requested, still polite as ever, as they flicked to an additional few images the scumbag paparazzi had caught of you. 

One was the car mentioned. Sukuna remembered it like it was yesterday–the joy of restoring a Porsche 911 back into its former glory was unmatched. You happily paid for all the parts and too often swung by to see the progress being made on the old thing. Obviously, Sukuna was more than happy to oblige. 

The next was of you holding a little nugget of a baby against your chest as you walked down a street in Shibuya. Nothing too damning, nothing too inspirational. 

But the last one–

“The fuck?” Sukuna mumbled as he snatched the iPad from Uraume’s hands and zoomed in on the now-toddler sitting with you in that damn Porsche, grinning brightly beside his mum while you ruffled his hair. His very, very pink hair. 

Sukuna took a breath while he thought. He didn't have to think too hard, though, not when he still dreamed about you and the short-lived fling between the two of you. 

“A Porsche 911, huh?” Sukuna grinned as he looked over the rusted beater of a car. He could still see scraps of its former glory, of the beautiful thing she used to be. Heaven knows she would've become an irreparable hunk of junk if you hadn't bought it from a scrapyard. 

“Yep.” You beamed. “So you think you can make her pretty again?” 

“You kidding? I'd pay you to let me fix this thing, baby.” Sukuna caught sight of your security stepping forward, but you waved them off without a second thought. 

Sukuna smirked. “But it’s not gonna be cheap.” 

You nodded. “Well, do what you have to. I'll pay whatever you need, handsome.” 

“Yeah?” Sukuna asked, looking your neatly-manicured appearance up and down; you were dressed like you were meeting someone of great importance (and you were, obviously), with your hair groomed perfectly, outfit fit for a premiere, skin flawless. 

“Mhm. And I tip well.” you looked him up and down in kind, grinning as you bit at the nub of your sunglasses.

“Done.” 

Every time you came to check on his progress, genuine excitement flooding in your motormouthed words, you'd go home with him and fuck him silly. 

And now, you were the momma to his baby. Allegedly. 

“I–so what the fuck does this have to do with anything?” Sukuna ran a frustrated hand through his hair after Uraume took the tablet back. “Bitch isn't asking for anything, he's not asking me to be his public fucking baby daddy, not asking me to pay for nothing?” 

“No,” Uraume conceded, “But he and his PR managers have reached out concerning this.” 

The man groaned and stood. “Fucking hell. Can't stand fucking PR teams. The fuck did they want?” 

“They want to make a statement about Touma's father.” 

Sukuna froze.

“Touma's a good name for a boy, right?” 

You asked the question so suddenly, so out of nowhere in the quiet of the afterglow. The city lights sparkled and winked at you both through the towering windows keeping you safe from the outside world. In hindsight, Sukuna would wonder if the city was excited for him. For you. 

“What, for a mutt?” Sukuna drawled, puffing on a blunt while he played with your hair and drowned in the tingles left in the wake of fingers drawing circles on his bare chest. 

“For a kid,” you chastised with a laugh. “I like Touma. Or Touka for a girl. Ayato's nice, too. Maybe Kazue.” 

“You better not be pregnant.”

“I'm not, I'm not. I'm just getting baby fever, I guess.” You hummed and left a sweet kiss against his tan skin. “I guess being around a big, bad boy like you's got me feeling domestic.” 

Sukuna laughed, dazed and happy. “You wanna ruin this pretty lil’ body for a fucking kid? Be my guest. Just don't come looking for a booty call after you've ruined yourself like that.” 

“Oh, don't worry,” you cooed. “I won't.” 

Man. Man. 

“A statement.” 

“In other words–”

“I'm not the fucking father.” 

“This might be a good way to get Yorozu off your case,” Uraume suggested, and Sukuna perked up. 

“Right. She fuckin’ hates kids.” 

“So, if you were to have a son, and it's revealed you've been quietly trying to make things work behind the scenes with (Name), then hypothetically–”

“I'll take the runt.”

Truth is out–Ryoumen Sukuna is the father, (Name) tells fans on social media!

Sukuna hated seeing that shit. The circus celebrities had to dance through used to be funny until he somehow got swept up into it. Until he suddenly had a baby boy that looked so much like him and so much like you. 

He spent too much time on your socials, scrolling through promotion posts and photos of you at red carpet events and premieres–and then he remembered you had a private account. One that you said he could follow. One that he never followed.

Sukuna rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling as he sulked in bed. Was he really about to sacrifice his pride for this? Was he seriously gonna request to follow your personal account just moments after articles dropped and tweets were sent about him being the baby daddy? Could his pride take it? 

Fuck me. This shit is highschool. 

He requested to follow, and not even a minute later, you approved it. 

That had him interested. Did you want him to follow? Did you want him to be part of his little guy's life? Were you feeling a rush of anxiety and excitement like he was right now? 

“Get over it, you fucking idiot,” he mumbled to himself before scrolling through your photos. 

There was so much more here. So many photos of you pregnant, of Touma when he was so ridiculously itty bitty, of when you were recovering in the hospital, looking worn out and exhausted, but still beaming as you held your little boy. 

There were photos of his first birthday and the cute…rustic cake you'd apparently made yourself. Your agent, Getou, was there, as was one of your fellow agency mates, Gojo, along with some other folks Sukuna did and didn't recognize. 

Of course, his boy–your boy lit up the centre, eyes glittering with the reflection of sparklers and the warmth of a good, safe home. He was happy. The boy–his boy–your boy was happy. 

Then he called you. He couldn't help it, not anymore.

Sukuna paced around his penthouse, sipping on his spiked coffee and trying to desperately control his…nerves? Alpha instincts? Excitement? Fuck, he didn't know. But he was full of whatever it was, and it drove him nuts.

“Hi!” You answered as you picked up, so full of life as usual. “Been a while. How're you? What's up?” 

Sukuna felt so, so old suddenly. Why were you so awake in the morning? 

“Think you can spare some of that pep in your step for me?” Sukuna asked. He smiled when he heard you laugh on the other line. “Dunno how the hell you're so awake in the morning.”

“Well, I don't party or work on cars until the crack of dawn,” you purred back, so sweet and teasing. Sukuna almost got hard. Ugh. Ugh. What the fuck was wrong with him? 

“Hah? What, you sayin’ I'm irresponsible ‘n make shitty choices, babe?” 

“Absolutely.” 

“Tch. Omegas.” 

You snickered again before cutting to the chase: “So, you're calling about my Touma?”

Sukuna swallowed. “Yeah. Gotta say I'm pretty fucking confused.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He heard you shift in bed, triggering a rumble of grumpy noises from your little one. You hushed him gently and apologized before the small, crackly purring resumed faintly in the background. The thought made Sukuna's heart ache.

“What do you wanna know?” 

Sukuna inhaled deeply. “Why'd you keep it?” 

“I wanted him,” you said. “Next question.”

“...When did you know?” 

“Mmh…I guess about a week or two after we stopped hooking up.”

“And you didn't say shit?” 

You went silent for a moment, and Sukuna felt his nerves tingle and prick. He wasn't anxious. He wasn't feeling betrayed. It wasn't any of that. Absolutely not. 

“I guess I got cold feet,” you admitted. “I don't--I know how many baby daddy accusations you get, y'know? I didn't want you to think I was just trying to get you to pay me out or something.” 

Oh. Okay. That made sense, actually. 

Too many omegas and women Sukuna fucked around with pointed the finger at him if they caught some sort of STI or fell pregnant; even if it was months after fucking, Sukuna would be suspected of fathering the pregnancy of a newly-pregnant, ex-partner he hadn't seen in eternities, and the media would run to the ends of the earth with it. He was the infamous bad boy the media circuit loved to prey on. And Sukuna didn't really care for it–not until now. Not until those fucks ruined his opportunity to be a dad. 

“Fucking–” Sukuna sighed and put his mug down to rub his face. “Shit. Shit. Fucking media bastards. Fuck.”

“I need to get my car tuned,” you said.

Sukuna deadpanned. “Read the fucking room, babe, we're not–”

“Do you want me to bring Touma?” You finished, undeterred by the alpha's grouchiness. “So you can meet him? I think he'd like that.”

Oh. Oh. Ouch. His heart–was Sukuna about to die? Why'd his chest hurt so much? What the fuck? 

Sukuna cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair. “I–yeah? Yeah. Alright.” 

“Okay, cool. When's your next–” 

“Tomorrow.” He cleared his throat again and scratched at the back of his neck. “Any time.” 

You stifled a laugh poorly. “Don’t be nervous, Sukuna.” 

“M'not. Fuck you.” 

“I can do tomorrow. Let's saaay…1pm?” 

“Yeah, sure. 1pm.”

You rolled up at 12:59pm. 

Sukuna had the garage open, everything tidy and ready to go like he actually gave a fuck about tuning your car when his literal fucking son was about to be in his presence. But he was so not nervous. Definitely not fucking nervous. Nope. Nuh-uh. Never. 

You stepped out of the car and Sukuna felt his heart jump; you looked the same as you did last time he saw you. You were dressed more casually, though, done up in joggers and runners with a university hoodie to top it all off. Clearly, you didn't care to impress today. 

You threw Sukuna an easy smile before pulling open the back door and taking care in plucking your chubby bunny from his car seat. All the while, Sukuna wandered closer and closer, but maintained a respectful distance just in case your momma bear came out to bite. He knew you had an impressive temper when your easy-going self got pushed too far, and he would rather not bring that out right now. 

“Pa!” Your son yipped as soon as he got up into your arms. “Puh Pa!” 

You melted immediately, punching Sukuna in the gut with your happy scent of maple syrup and cardamom as the little one nuzzled up to you, repeating variants of “pa!” as he rubbed his chubby cheeks and snotty nose against your neck and face to get that perfect scent onto him. 

“You're so sweet, bunny,” you cooed and adjusted him in your arms as you met Sukuna the rest of the way. “Hey, hey! So, did you want to meet him first, or–?” 

Sukuna didn't know what the fuck to do, honestly. 

“I, uh. Car shit first. What needs tuning?” He drawled, watching the pup clinging to you with rapt attention. 

Admittedly, Sukuna didn't really pay attention to what you were saying and what you were gesturing to; he was too captivated by the faint wisps of scent he caught from your little one. He smelled of smoke and syrup–a perfect combination of his parents’ scents. 

And he just looked so much like the both of you. Touma's skin tone tilted more your direction, but the glowy, bronzey quality that Sukuna brought to the table still shone through in its own weird way. His eyes were almond-shaped like his own, but bore the same, welcoming colour of yours. And, fuck, his hair was just a perfect match to Sukuna's. If the little shit got Maori tattoos too, he'd be a tiny carbon copy. 

Damn. Speaking of–would his mom wanna meet the little shit? Her grandson? Would she ever bother leaving Hawaii to–

“You get all that?” You asked. 

Sukuna stared at you. “Get what?” 

You pursed your lips like you so often did and turned to the big, bad alpha. 

“Maybe we should do the meet ‘n greet first, huh?” You swayed a little and kissed Touma awake. “Baby, you wanna meet a friend?” 

“Buh!” Touma exclaimed. You gently guided his little face to look at Sukuna, and the boy looked star struck staring up at the absolute unit that was Ryoumen Sukuna. 

“Touma, this is Sukuna.” You closed the gap between the two of you a little more, and Sukuna leaned down to look at the little one. His little one. 

Sukuna twitched a smile as he looked over the little thing. “You sure this thing’s mine? Looks a little small.” 

You laughed. “If you were born as big as you are, I’m so, so sorry for your mother.” You nuzzled Touma’s little cheek and bounced him a little. 

“Wuh!” Touma’s little arms flew up towards Sukuna, and the towering man looked a little more than nervous, looking at the tiny pudgy hands like they were deadly weapons. 

“Come on, don’t look at him like that.” You took Sukuna’s hand and delivered it to Touma. “He’s curious. He hasn’t met anyone as big and tall as you, y’know?” 

Sukuna huffed, but let the little one grab at his fingers and hold his hand. “What, you don’t have another alpha looking after you? Hard to believe that. You're the neediest little bitch I know.” 

“Stop. I'm not Yorozu,” you huffed, and Sukuna cringed at the name. “He has alphas around, sure. But not big ones like you–security excluded. It's not like other men want to play nice with another alpha's pup.” 

Sukuna caught the hint of a frown on your face, and his hackles started to rise. 

“Some dumbfuck giving you grief?” Sukuna asked, voice rolling with thunderous promise. He'd kill whatever moron fucked with you and his pup. You just had to drop the name.

You sighed, light-hearted. “You know what the rich and famous are like--we're the worst.” 

Sukuna growled, and Touma mimicked the noise as best as he could with his pathetically teeny tiny crackled voice. Fuckin’ cute as shit. 

“Tch. Don't sell yourself short.” 

“I'm just trying to say I don't need that around my boy, and I sure as hell don't want it around me, either.” You nodded and stepped closer as Touma reached up for Sukuna again. Apparently just holding his hand wasn't doing it for the boy anymore. 

“Good. Don't need those pathetic fucks around the runt–oi, wait, what the fuck're you–” 

“Wup, wup!” Your son shrieked as you helped bully Sukuna into holding him.

“He wants uppies.” 

“Uppies,” Sukuna balked.

“He wants you to–okay, you're bad at this–don't hold him like that! Here, do it like–” you cut off as you helped Sukuna get a comfortable hold on Touma while the littlest one squirmed and squeaked in delight, trying to climb up onto Sukuna's shoulder but failing miserably. 

Sukuna twitched a smile as you sighed, exasperated by the ball of energy trying to scale the mountainous man. But he got a hold of him, tucking his arm under his butt and holding his back to make sure the little shit didn't go plummeting to the floor. 

“You give your ma hell, huh? I can get behind that,” Sukuna hummed. His son's little hands papped at his face, grabbing at his nose and jaw–specifically over the dark tattoos streaking along the curves and cut of his features. 

And you smiled the entire time. You pursed your lips tightly to hide it, but you did it so poorly. You always did. Maybe it was on purpose. 

“So, can I tell you about my car problems now?” 

Sukuna held onto his runt while you explained what flaws, either cosmetically or mechanically, were bothering you. It mostly consisted of slight dents from other assholes not knowing how to park, paint scratches, and more of that sort. As a fellow car guy, Sukuna could understand the anguish of having a favourite baby get all dinged up. 

“Not hard to fix,” Sukuna decided. He held the hood up with one hand and looked over the motor–everything looked clean and well-maintained. He was almost impressed. “But, well, it'll cost ya. Uraume can send the details.” 

You nodded. “Sure, sure, sounds good. I'm never taking this thing on the road again after it's fixed. Too many fucking idiots out there with piss poor driving skills.” 

The mechanic smirked. “Ho? So beating up your car is what makes you start cussin’, huh? Noted.” He let the hood fall closed and adjusted his hold on the now-sleeping tot. “Couldn't even get you to do that in bed.” 

“Psht, don't say that in front of the baby, Sukuna, jeeze,” you sighed and rubbed your face. “Babies remember more than you'd like to know.” 

“Huh. You think he'll remember when he got–” 

“No, he won't remember his inception.” You laughed and shook your head, but paused when you saw smears of concealer on your fingers and tutted. 

“How long's the car gonna take? Should I get a rental?” You asked before the man could comment.

“Probably, if you want me to detail this thing right,” Sukuna mumbled. He reached out and turned your chin back to him, looking at the spots concealer missing, hinting at dark circles under your eyes. 

Your face grew hot, but you nodded and cleared your throat. “Yeah, okay. I'll, uh. I'll call someone to pick us up–” 

“I'll take you home.” 

You brightened the slightest bit. “Yeah? I–okay.” You pulled his hand from your face and smiled. “I'll grab the car seat.” 

Sukuna liked your house. It was a nice mix of traditional and modern with large stretches of woodgrain and bamboo. A neat outdoor garden and pond decorated the front, but a bigger, more lush collection of tropical plants greeted guests. It was beautiful, if one was desperate to be in nature. 

“I'm just gonna get him to bed, be one second.” 

Sukuna nodded and pocketed his hands as he pretended to not watch you trot upstairs with the sleepy cub melting in your arms. You still had a nice ass even after popping that little melon out. Huh. 

He looked around your space more, wandering with slow, lumbering steps. The house wasn't huge by any means, but it was cozy and warm, quiet and hidden away from the city's gaze. That was probably why you chose it–here, you could be honest with yourself. You could shield your babe from the brutality of your career and keep him safe from leering eyes. Honestly, one of the leaves on your giant monstera could hide him from the whole universe. 

Guy's too obsessed with growing shit. It ticked him off, but he didn't know why. 

Maybe it was all the photos of you and Touma. Maybe it was because he wasn't in them and too many other men were in his place, lining your walls in the protection of cheap IKEA frames–but Sukuna didn't want you. No, no, Ryoumen Sukuna did not want anyone. He didn't want you. He didn't need to settle down and–

“You want a glass of wine?” You asked when you came back down the stairs. “It's plum wine. Don't really have any scotch or anything, but I–” 

Sukuna scoffed before a mocking laugh slipped out of him. You paused, looking at him with bleak attention as he shook his head and pocketed his hands. Your request for him to stay pissed him off; clearly, you expected something more from him.

“Whaddaya think is gonna happen here, huh? You think we're gonna fall in love, pick up where we left off, have a happy little fuckin’ family to tell the tabloids about?” 

“What?” You asked. “I never–”

“Didn't have to. Gotta admit, you did a better job than the rest of the whores that tried wrangling me in to–”

“All I asked,” you cut him off, voice quiet but firm, “Is if you wanted wine. I’m not proposing, Sukuna.” 

Sukuna didn’t like that. The whole…not-being-into-him and not wanting him to stick around after he just shut you down. He sucked his teeth and took a breath, about to say something, but you spoke first. 

“I know this is a PR thing. I know how the whole media circus works–you want your ex to stop bothering you, and I want people to stop asking questions about who the fucking father of my son is.” You paused, staring Sukuna dead in his eyes, a quiet, simmering rage boiling just beneath the surface of placid control. 

“Call my manager when the car’s done,” you decided, sounding beaten down and exhausted. “I’ll send someone for it. Thanks for the ride home.”

Next thing the man knew, he was ushered toward the door and stood in the doorway, stuck on the idea of being kicked out of his omega’s–no, no, out of an omega’s house like he was trash. 

“Fucking–wait, just–” 

“What?” You snapped.

“I could–glass of wine doesn’t sound too bad–”

You shoved the bottle into his hands and slammed the door. 

Sukuna tried to sleep it off–as in, he slept around to forget about the crushing weight of rejection collapsing down on him, shattering his chest, spearing his heart with shattered bone. 

You still kept being so fucking nice to him, too. You never slandered him, never spoke ill whenever he was asked about in interviews–you spared his reputation with a kind smile every time you had to talk about him or to him. 

And he was grateful for it, even if he didn't return the favor. It's not like he was on a smear campaign, no, but anytime a hook up would ask about you, he wouldn't give a glowing review, per se. But it wouldn't be scalding either. Just sheer indifference tainted with drops of bitterness stemming from unripe guilt.

It went on like that for months–until you did your parental duties, and set aside your feelings about Sukuna for the sake of your son.

“Uraume, get that,” Sukuna called as his phone rang. He was too busy fucking around under the hood of his latest project to wipe his hands free of grease and pick up himself, obviously.

But Uraume was there for a reason. They picked up the phone with a polite hello before their sharp frigidity melted into rounded edges. 

“(Name)-san,” they hummed. “It's good to hear from you. Do you need to talk to Sukuna-san?” 

Sukuna started wiping his hands off so unbelievably fast. 

“He's working on a car right now. You know how he can be when he's focused.”

“Fucking–piece of shit–what the fuck–” somehow, he got even more grease and oil on his hands thanks to that stupid fucking rag. God, what a nightmare.

“Sure, I can take a message.” 

“Fuckin’ shit fuck, fuck.” He wiped his hands on his designer jeans before running to Uraume and gesturing for the phone.

Uraume's brows raised, and they actually smiled. 

“Ah, hold on, Sukuna-san's here.” 

Sukuna snatched up the phone, ignoring the knowing look glimmering in Uraume’s eyes. Ugh. Ugh. Betas.

“Hey,” Sukuna said after clearing his throat. 

“Hey! Ume said you were working on a car? You didn't have to stop to talk.” 

“Yeah, well.” Sukuna shrugged to himself and kicked a scrapped car part, sending it skittering across the ground and clanking into other parts. Jesus, when did his shop get so messy? “Needed a break anyway.” 

“Ah. You work too hard, you need to take breaks more often,” you laughed sweetly. “So, listen, Touma's birthday's coming up–”

“Shit, seriously?” Sukuna grinned and kicked another chopped part. “Fuck. How old's the little shit turning?” 

“Two! He's growing up so fast, I wish I could slow down time and–” you paused and laughed, suddenly sounding unsure and a bit nervous. “Sorry, sorry, was about to go on a tangent. Anyway, there is a little get-together, but you don't have to come. Satoru and Toji'll be there. But your brother and his son'll be there, too, so it won't suck completely.

“Otherwise, if you want to come see him earlier or something, that's fine, and–and you're not cutting me off and I didn't think I'd get this far so I'm losing the plot.” 

Sukuna huffed. “What, you don't want me to fuckin’ listen, huh?” 

“I know you will since I have such a pretty voice, but I'm surprised you're being a good boy for once.” 

The mechanic rolled his eyes and rubbed his face. Who knows if it was to wipe away embarrassment or fatigue. 

“You’re exhausting.” 

“And you’re a dick.” There was a special brand of teasing bitterness behind those words, but the vibes were balanced perfectly; seemed you were still cranky about what he said, but you were willing to let it slide.

Sukuna chuckled, relaxing the slightest bit. “Alright. I don't know what the fuck kids like at that age, but I'll figure somethin’ out. I can at least show up Jin.” 

“Wow.” 

“Text me time and place. I'll be there.” After a moment, he added, “I’ll bring some plum wine. Fancy shit.”

The hidden rumble of a purr snuck its way out from your side, and Sukuna did everything he could to suppress his alpha's reciprocation.

“Sounds good. See you then, Sukuna.”

Toji answered the door. 

“Hah. Why the hell are you here?” The fuckhead ex-Zenin asked with a stupid, shitty smirk on his dumbass face. 

Sukuna strained not to throw the first punch. He really shouldn't murder someone at his--your son's birthday party. Murder is bad. Murder is bad. 

“Fuck you.” Hey, at least it wasn't murder. “‘M here for my fucking kid.” 

Toji crossed his arms and suddenly looked beyond bored as he leaned against the doorframe. 

“Your kid? You mean (Name)’s kid?” He wondered, putting on a show of thinking. “Weird.”

“You're one to talk. You forgetting what you did to your own brat? You fuckin’--”

“Sukuna!” Your sweet voice called, instantly changing the atmosphere. “Glad you came. Do you–oi, Toji, move, stop bodyguarding. You're not a bouncer.”

“Eh?” Toji stayed in his spot as you smacked at his arm and tried to push him away. “I'm just standing here. Not bodyguarding. Minding my business.” 

“You’re so full of shit.” You wheezed and squeaked as the man suddenly gave way, nearly making you crash into him and plummet to the floor. But you caught yourself and hissed at the dark-haired menace until he whistled innocently and waltzed away. 

“Fucking--why’s he here again?” Sukuna grumbled as you let him in. He leaned down to nose at your cheek with a grumpy, quiet grunt--typical greeting procedures for an interested individual or bonded pair. But the way you choked on whatever you were about to say meant he must've caught you off guard. 

“He's uh–we work together. We've worked together? He was the stunt coordinator for some movies I've been in.” You cleared your throat and took the present bag from Sukuna to place with the others. “And I babysit Gumi sometimes.” 

“Gumi? What the fuck is a Gumi?” 

“Megumi? His son?” Oh. Oh. “I babysit Yuuji too, so. Thick as thieves, y'know?” 

Sukuna nodded a little, thinking hard on the lore. He liked that Yuuji was taken care of by you, but surely that wretched Gumi could go somewhere else. Toji was probably just leeching off of you. 

“Oi, Momma, get in here,” Toji crowed from wherever all the baby giggles and excitement bubbled from in the house. “Your boys need some maternal guidance–” 

“Toji, don't make it weird!” Jin whisper-yelled before going on a long-winded rant about this and that, about proper behaviour and attitudes in front of children (not that the kids were paying attention to anything Toji did). 

You gave Sukuna a tired smile. “Come on. It won’t be that bad, I promise.”

Sukuna sighed, but let you drag him to his demise, bottle of wine in-hand.

But it wasn’t that bad. Not really. 

Your other boys, Gojo Satoru and Getou Suguru, showed up and showered tiny Touma with way too much praise and far too many gifts, but the little shit looked so pleased that Sukuna couldn’t get too annoyed. Shoko and Uraume came by, too, much to Sukuna’s surprise. Uraume brought with them a whole fucking confectionary cake they’d crafted themselves at home. Gojo obsessed over it and Getou tried to reign him in to no avail. 

And the night went on. No one talked shit, not unless it was in good fun, no one got fucking hammered, no one talked about work–it was all about the kids. Nothing else. No one else. 

Sukuna could never guess just how far that truth went.

When everyone left for the night, the alpha could start to see the edges of your smile fraying. But you held on, thanking everyone for the gifts and for showing up for Touma, and especially thanking Jin for offering to let all the little ones spend the night at his place (you and Toji would forever be in his debt). 

Then, when the door closed and all fell silent, he heard you cry. 

Sukuna didn't know what to do about people crying. He never had. Even when he was a kid, he had a hard time trying to comfort people with hugs and words of reassurance–he just couldn't do it. 

“It's okay,” he heard you whisper. “It's okay. It's okay. You're okay. It's okay. I'm okay.” 

Sukuna got up and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. “Sure about that?”

You jumped and clasped a hand over your mouth to stifle your scream. Sukuna barked out an ugly, reedy laugh while he defended himself from your petty smacks and pinches. 

“You scared the fuck out of me–why're you still even here? Go home! Shoo!” You wiped your eyes once you were done harassing him and turned away, busying yourself with cleaning up dishes and wrapping paper left in the aftermath. 

Sukuna followed you idly, a shit-eating grin still plastered on his face. What could he say? He loved seeing you get all petty and riled up. But he didn't love seeing you cry. He didn't love seeing you try to stealthily wipe tears away, to try and steady your shaky breathing. 

“What’s going on with you, babe?” Sukuna asked as he settled beside you at the sink. 

“It's nothing,” you said with a snuffle. “It's seriously nothing. Sorry, I--you don't need to stay. Or anything.” You sighed and rubbed at your eyes with your sleeve. “You've done your fatherly duties. You're free to leave.” 

“Yeah? ‘N what about my baby daddy duties?” He wondered, voice so horribly low and comforting, like the buzzing crackle of a campfire. 

You laughed, watery and shaky. “You already did everything you needed to, Sukuna.” 

“Come on, don't cockblock me like that.” He gently tilted your Chin his way to catch your eyes just like he had back at the shop all those months ago. “Look at me.” 

You did. Your eyes were red and irritated, whatever pretty boy make up you wore was wiped off and smudged, and those heavy, dark bags met the light in front of someone else for the first time in a long time. 

You still had the gall to laugh it off and pull Sukuna's hand from your face with a small, “I'm fine,” though. 

“Then why the hell are you crying?” He asked. 

You squeezed his hand with both of yours. “Things are just…hard. Overwhelming.”

Sukuna nodded a bit. “That why Jin took the runts tonight?” 

“Yeah. Needed some time, I guess.” You snuffled and wiped your face with both hands before finishing up with cleaning. “Makes me sound like a shit parent, I know.” 

Sukuna couldn’t disagree more. “Least you're not flipping out on the kid. That'd be way shittier, yeah?” 

“I don't know. I guess, but–yeah. I don't know.” 

Sukuna sighed and scooped you up like a new bride. “You're driving me fucking mental.”

“Sukuna–!”

“Quiet.” Your omega indeed piped down at the grouchy command, and you shyly let the man carry you up the steps to find your bedroom. “You're getting some damn rest. You look like shit.” 

You grumbled something Sukuna elected to ignore in favour of tossing you onto a bed the way one might lob a stone into a pond. You landed with a warbled squawk and looked at Sukuna with horribly accusatory, baffled eyes. 

Sukuna quirked a brow as he looked down on you, gladly using his broad build and tall stature to secure your submission. And it worked; the aggravated spark in your eyes curled up and fell silent after a few long seconds. Your head lowered just the slightest bit, too, but your passive gaze remained stuck on him, waiting for his next move. 

“Fine,” you grumbled. 

Sukuna raised his brows and eased onto the bed, caging you underneath him with his solid frame. Your scent flickered with shy playfulness, and Sukuna relished in it. 

“How do I know you're gonna obey, omega?” 

“I guess you don't. Not for certain,” you admitted begrudgingly. 

“Tch. Someone's gotta keep you accountable then, huh?” He nosed at your neck, nearly letting his lips touch your neck but refusing to do so in the same instance. “Make sure you're doing the right thing, make sure you're behaving.” 

One of his hands squeezed at your soft thigh before inching up little by little. Your hands found themselves in his hair as he teased at your joggers’ waistband, pulling the elastic taut before letting it go. 

“Sukuna,” you laughed, sounding a little breathless. “I, uh–I thought you said–”

“Changed my mind.”

“But–”

“Forget what I said and let me make you cum on my fingers, brat.” 

Oh. Well, hard to argue against that. 

You swallowed but gave a meek nod. He ripped your bottoms off and felt up your blazing skin with rough, calloused hands, groping and grabbing in the same spots he liked back when you were hooking up: your thighs, your hip bones, the squish of your stomach. As much as the man harped on about not wanting “damaged goods,” he sure worshiped your body like it was brand new, untouched. 

Sukuna brought his fingers to your mouth, and you took them with utmost compliance. Your tongue worked against his digits thoughtfully and thoroughly for your own sake–a lack of starter lube wouldn't end well, after all. And Sukuna was not the most patient man in the sack.

“See?” Sukuna crowed into your ear as his hand traveled south and a finger sunk into you. “It's not so bad to just behave, now is it?” 

You already felt like you were about to explode, and Sukuna savoured It. He liked being the one to do this to you–the only one for a while, considering how tight and sensitive you were. Any little push or prod inside you brought sweet sighs and soft moans to the surface–and a second and third finger had your hips bucking and your nails digging into his shoulder and back as he finger-fucked you to oblivion while still caging you in. 

“Good omega,” he cooed. “Gonna cum already, huh? Tch, you shoulda said no one’s been taking care of you; I would’ve taken my parental responsibilities more seriously.” His lips and teeth landed on your neck, as you curled up into him, body tensing, heels digging into the mattress, panting and gasping getting louder and faster. The sound made his pants strain even more. 

“Fuck, you smell fucking good. Better than when I fucked you the first time.” 

“I-I forgot you talked so much in bed,” you managed out. “Could you just–shut up?”

Sukuna growled, and you whined. “You want me to shut up, huh? You wanna listen to your slick fucking hole getting spread open, plowed into? You miss me that much, omega?”

“No.” You hissed and clung to his upper arm as he somehow managed to take it up a notch, slipping his fourth finger in and spreading you obscenely wide. 

“I think you did. Think you were hopin’ I’d come around, plow you into the bed again, stuff you full like no one else can.” 

“Sukuna–”

“I’ll fill this hole up all you want, baby–I’ll even stuff another pup in you. Twins. You want that, huh? You gonna be my omega from now on? Creaming on my cock ‘n fingers the way you shoulda been the day you walked your perfect, little ass into my life?” 

“Shut up, shut up, shut up–” you choked on a gasp and bit into his shoulder, soaking his shirt with drool and shuddered mewls while your body tightened and ecstasy hit like the weight of Sukuna’s words–brutal, fast, honest. 

Sukuna moaned in sympathy, ignoring the way his hand and arm cramped and ached to keep pistoning into you and draw out your high. He couldn't help it–something about you drove him mad in that moment. It could have been how you made his ego swell, it might've been the way his greed needed your slick staining his and only his skin, perhaps it could have been a quiet yearning coming from his lonely, hollow alpha. He didn't know. But he didn't question it. 

Your body started to relax with the death grip you had on his shoulder as you came down from the sudden, electric high. Your hips still jolted with every slow, lazy push into your soft hole, though a haze of purring and cooing filled the spot where gasps and moans once did. Eventually, you melted off of him and collapsed onto your back, looking as content as a cat lounging in the sun. 

“Oi, oi, you're not done yet, sweetheart.” But if you said you were done, he might've listened. Just that once. 

You hummed something as you looked up at him, eyes doey and so egregiously lovey-dovey. 

“That's a nice face. Make sure you save it just for me,” Sukuna gently commanded, and you laughed. 

“Demanding. I thought you didn't like used goods.” 

Sukuna scowled. “Shut up.” His free hand traced the stripes of stretched skin left in the wake of bearing his baby boy. “I like ‘em when they're used by me.”

“Does that really make them ‘used goods,’ then?” You murmured as if speaking logic too loud would break Sukuna's entranced obsession of you. 

But maybe, maybe, you had a point. 

“Guess I'll have to think on that.” His fingers slipped out of you and he gave you a wet slap on the ass to wake you up. Your subsequent squeak sure as hell woke Sukuna up. 

“Ow. Gross.” 

“I'm not finished with you, brat. Don't get too fuckin’ content, yeah?” He smirked when you glanced at his crotch expectantly. “You want me to fuck you?”

“Please.”

Sukuna sighed and settled between your legs as he futzed with his belt and button. “Could put up a bit of a fight.” 

“Too tired.” You yawned and stretched with a pleased sigh. “No will to argue.” 

The alpha leaned down to bite at your knee, and you pulled your legs together to avoid his chunky, rude fangs. You knew he'd delight in making you bleed or leaving dark bruises. He was the worst. 

“Still got a little fight left in ya,” Sukuna said with a grin. “Let's see how much more we can find, hm?”

[mangocustard16]

📁....Seventeen's reaction to having an actor/actress s/o₊˚🎬📼🎥✩｡

genre: fluff warnings: pet names, cursing lmk if i missed something w.c: 970 a/n: thank you! anon and I'm sorry i won't be covering another req that asked me to write about ghostface/scream cuz i already saw someone write about it<3 sorry anon!

#Seungcheol 

He is very supportive of your career and is proud of your accomplishments. He's clearing out his schedules to attend premieres, to silently cheer you on, and is not afraid to publicly express his admiration for your talent. Would casually appear during your shootings with your favorite flowers and snacks for everyone. "Babe! Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the country?" "No, I'm supposed to be wherever you are."

#Jeonghan 

Oh boy! he's taking tips, no jokes. He's got his notepad out and is ready to jot down directions and suggestions. He is ready to polish his acting skills which will come in helpful when bluffing others during the mafia game.  Bonus: he shares the prizes he wins from "Going Seventeen Mafia Games" with you. "Hannie that's the third Dyson air wrap you've won this year!"

#Joshua 

Your supportive lil' boy. He helps you practice your lines and gives valuable advice. Everything flows smoothly until you reach a scene involving a kiss. joshua.exe has stopped functioning. He's momentarily frozen, and you can't help but wonder if he's even breathing. He had anticipated a kiss scene cuz you were the main lead, but it still bothered him a little to see you kiss someone else who is not him. But he's definitely not insecure or anything, just a peculiar sensation. And for the cure, just kiss the living daylights out of him so hard that he forgets the world except for you.

#Junhui 

Well....he's an actor himself, so it's quite obvious that he's exceptionally proud of you. He's shamelessly promoting your movie/drama every chance he gets. Dedicates an entire Weibo live suggesting your movies and dramas to carats while explaining the plot in great detail. "You know The Dreamcatcher's plot twist caught me so hard that I almost fell off my seat"

#Hoshi

He wants to accompany you everywhere – to set, to your trailer as you practice your lines, to premieres and other events. He adores the world you live in and wishes to learn more about it. He tried out acting(a period drama) and continued talking in that manner for days. "What an interesting food this is, 'twixt two buns lies a delicacy that-" "It's just a burger calm down."

#Wonwoo 

He would be so proud of you. He'll be your silent cheerleader. When the two of you are alone, he will lavishly compliment your acting and take you out to a lovely meal to celebrate the premiere. So, while it may not appear to others that he makes a big deal out of it, you'll know how proud he is.

#Woozi

Please DO NOT bring him to events – Woozi almost blends in with the numerous cameramen and women, his own phone in hand as he photographs picture after picture of you as you go into the premiere of your new film — he's a very proud boyfriend, after all. "Look here! babe. Damn you look so good"

#Seokmin

He is gonna hype you up so much omg. He like, Jun, won’t hesitate to promote your movie every chance he gets. His darling is building a name for themselves, and he'll be damned if he doesn't do everything he can to help them. He's always bugging Carats to go see the latest movie. Whenever you watch the movie alone, he will be more sincere and serious in his compliments. "No problem, carats! If you've already seen the film, you should go watch it two more times."

#Mingyu

He'd be captivated by your performance and would shove his face very close to the screen every time you appeared. And, while he may not shamelessly promote you as some of the other members do, he will certainly speak highly of you and your acting abilities to everyone he knows. That's all he talks about when he's out with his '97 liner buddies. Literally. "Y/n had to act like they had not found the killer while sitting right beside them. They are so cool!"

#Minghao 

Minghao is buying the CD regardless of whether he could simply ask you for a copy of the movie you're in or even if he's seen it hundreds of times. He is one of your biggest fans; he owns all of your movies, has seen all of your shows, and knows all of your interviews by heart.  "Are you watching y/n’s movies again? Aren’t you tired?" "Fuck off"

#Seungkwan

He actually got to know you during an event promoting your latest drama. He's your biggest fanboy, watching every drama/movie you've ever starred in, and bombarding you with compliments. Winces slightly whenever he sees you kiss a fellow actor on screen. "So your type is Song Jung" "Come on!! Stop sulking, we filmed that 6 years ago" 

#Vernon

Leaves 15-line reviews on your movies complimenting your acting skills. He is always pulling out your movies during movie night and doesn't understand why wouldn't wanna watch your own movie for the nth time again. "Babe, we have watched Wandering Dreams more than 20 times" "So, do you wanna watch 'Written in Sand'?" *dies* Bonus: All the movies you've starred in receive an obvious 5-star rating.

#Chan

He'd be so freaking excited! It wouldn't be strange to spend endless nights practicing your lines with him. Coffee would be essential for those nights, as the caffeine would keep you up as you practiced. And whenever someone pointed out how much the critics praised you, he'd say, "Yeah, of course, my love did amazing." It's as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

BONUS:: Sends coffee trucks to the set during shooting: Minghao, Seungkwan, Jeonghan, Joshua ♡

[obessedwithfictionalmen]

Co-Stars pt.4

Summary: Y/n post something interesting...

Warning: Sexism/ use of Y/n/ Swearing/

A/n: > Means Y/n's replies

Word count: 890 words

@Official_Y/n

@Official_Y/n: Guess who?

Liked by 78 345

Comments:

@User5710: Mother posting!!!!

@Y/n_fan214: Soft lauch?!

@TimotheChalamet: Ew, there's children on this app. > Okay🙂

@Austin_Butler: 🫣 > Sush Elvis

@User9261: Did she just shushed Austin Butler? > She did 💅

@Dua_Lipa: That back tho! 🫨 > 🏋‍♀️💪💅

-

After her post, the Internet was like the volcano that flooded Pompei with lava: Smoking hot. Everyone was talking about the guy in the picture and how intimate they looked. Of course, everyone thought about Callum, and they were right, but they didn’t know it. So, when Y/n, Austin, Anthony and Callum went on the Graham Norton show, they were expecting questions about it.

-

‘’So, Y/n obviously you got a lot of attention this week, because of this’’ Her post appears on the screen. Anthony starts to chuckle. ‘’I know, my back looks great’’ she says, avoiding the question. ‘’You look amazing, but the real question is: Who is the gentleman in the two pictures?’’ Two red arrows pointing at the men in the pictures appears on the screen. ‘’I can’t see him, maybe point it to me’’ she says, sarcastically of course. The publics starts to laugh. ‘’I mean there’s a gentleman in my life, I won’t say who, but yeah. Thought I’d tease the internet a little’’ she says, crossing her legs. ‘’Boys do you know who he is?’’ Graham asked the 3 men. ‘’Yeah, I met him, he’s really nice’’ Anthony says. ‘’He’s amazing, he takes care of my best friend, and that’s all that counts’’ Callum says. Y/n has to bite the inside of her cheek to prevent her from laughing. Hearing Callum talk about himself at the 3rd person almost makes her laugh and blow away the surprise. ‘’Like they said, he’s a really nice guy. Really fun too, we had some great conversations with him. Awesome guy’’ Austin adds. ‘’But what about Callum?’’ Graham asks. ‘’What about him?’’ Y/n asks. ‘’W-w-well you guys. T-t-the internet ships you together!’’ he stutters. Y/n direct answer took him by surprise. ‘’We also have a video of Callum and a mystery lady, let’s take a look’’ What video? Shit?! It showed a video of Callum making out with Y/n, but we couldn’t see her face, it was badly filmed because the only action we could see was between the crack of the door. Y/n tried not to react, and she was hoping that Callum would improvise something. ‘’Graham, I’m sorry, but we’re here to promote our show, Master of the Air, not trying to get to the bottom of the rumors of who’s Y/n dating and Callum’s privacy being invaded’’ Austin said, as calmly as possible. ‘’Austin’s right, plus we have great things to talk about other than Y/n’s dating life.’’ Anthony added the woman smiled to the blonde, who just saved their life. ‘’You’re right, I’m sorry, so Anthony…’’ Graham didn’t talk about relationships that night. When the interview was over and they got backstage, Y/n hugged Austin. ‘’Thank you so freaking much’’ she said. ‘’Thank you, Austin, I really appreciate it’’ Callum said. ‘’Don’t worry we got you’’ Anthony said.

-

After Austin and Anthony’s intervention, the people calmed down on the question, but the internet could still see their chemistry. Callum and Y/n still liked to tease the internet, but they calmed down too. Until the premier in the U.S.A, they kissed at the final premiere, in London. The one in the United-States was the before last premiere they all did. Y/n came on the carpet with a very reviling designer piece that the fans started to speculate.

-

She didn’t want to come on the carpet dressed like this, but the designer put a lot of effort into the piece, so she wore it. But she already had a team ready inside the movie theater to change her outfit. When she stepped out the car, she felt very vulnerable, she arrived alone this time, she was already gonna get attention for her outfit, she didn’t more publicity. She walked on the red carpet, until she reached her co-stars. ‘’Y/n here! Show us your tits!’’ a male fan yelled, making her very uncomfortable. Callum, who had seen the scene, felt really bad for his girlfriend. He wanted to help her, but if he gave her his jacket, the rumors would just be unbearable, they like to tease the internet, but not like that. ‘’Austin, can you go give your jacket to Y/n, she’s really uncomfortable’’ he whispered. He nodded than went forward, to give Y/n his jacket. ‘’With your boyfriends’ compliments’’ he said, not wanting to be suspicious. She put the jacket on and continued her way on the carpet. They finally did a group photo, after they could go inside, and Y/n could change. ‘’Come on Y/n, you’re not afraid to be shirtless on Instagram! We want to see the tits!’’ another male fan yelled. The guys were all in shook of what they just heard. But Y/n took all the confidence she had left and stepped forward. ‘’Maybe ask politely’’ she gave the men a fake smile before showing him her middle finger. The flash of the camera doubled; she was certainly going to get attention now. But what she didn’t realise was that the hole cast was flipping the guy off. Callum was the first to follow is girlfriend in giving the middle finger, the rest just followed.

-

Surprisingly, it wasn’t her outfit that made the front page, it was the picture of the cast giving the finger to the sexist fan. They didn’t talk about the fact that it was disrespectful, they talked about the fact that men were supporting woman and how it should always be like this. The cast of Master of the Air were now icons in the feminist movement. All thanks to Callum…

[thewritingofamadwoman]

The Text

Roy Kent has my heart (and so does Brett Goldstein). This is my first time writing for him so be gentle 😂

Pairing: Roy Kent x Fem!Reader (established relationship)

Warnings: Fluff, Roy’s potty mouth, allusions to sexy times (because I can’t write smut to save my life) and a cheesy joke brought to you by none other than Ted Lasso himself.

Enjoy!

“Okay boys, just remember that the photoshoot will be held during training on the pitch. Just act natural and don’t let the camera’s distract you,” I said, smiling at the team. Keeley clapped her hands, unable to keep her excitement at bay.

“You’re all going to look so fucking cool!” She squealed and the team beamed back; some smiling while others blushed at her praise. AFC Richmond was selected to be the featured football team in a new magazine spread honoring the Premier League. Keeley pulled some strings with her connections from her firm KJPR while I worked hard to call in a few favors from my years as the team’s social media strategist to get The Greyhounds considered for the shoot. And after months of phone calls and meetings, it finally paid off when the magazine’s PR group reached out to us earlier this week.

As luck would have it, today was the perfect day for a photoshoot; the sun was out, and the guys were pumped.

Coach Lasso clapped his hands and spoke up. “Alright fellas, you heard the ladies. Let’s go out there and show these snowmen what we’re made of!”

Everyone in the room went quiet, silently confused by Ted’s attempt at a joke.

“You know, because the magazines’ called “The Blizzard”. Like blizzard…? Snowmen…? Oh alright whatever, let’s just go out there and look good!” Ted waved, the team’s earlier exuberance returning as they headed out the door to the pitch.

I heard a voice call my name and turned to find Nate giving me a shy smile.

“Uhh, are the, um, are we as coaches going to be photographed as well?” He asked, pointing to himself, and then to the side where Ted, Beard and Roy stood. I nodded and Keeley spoke up.

“Oh of course! Can’t have a team photoshoot without its four fearless leaders!”

“You go out there as you would and just let the boys have at it. Just promise me you won’t punch any of the photographers if they annoy you,” I said the last part while looking directly at one particular coach. Roy crossed his arms and shook his head, speaking up immediately.

“I make no such promise.”

His gruff voice had me biting back a smile as I rolled my eyes in response.

“Don’t you dare be rude them, Roy Kent. Keeley and I have been working towards this moment for months. You get in trouble, you’re dealing with me, got it?” I said, trying my best to remain stern as I looked at him. Roy’s eyebrow twitched and I could see the amusement in his eyes before he nodded reluctantly, a growl accompanying the movement.

“Wonderful! Now let’s go!” Keeley practically floated out of the room in excitement while the rest of us filed out. My phone buzzed in my pocket by the time Keeley and I sat down in the stands, and I pulled it out to find a very much expected text message.

Roy-O

You are VERY sexy when you try to be stern ;)

I laughed to myself before shooting back a response.

Oh you liked that, did you?

But I’m serious, please don’t punch anyone

I didn’t even get the chance to put my phone away before another text came in

Roy-O

Why, gonna punish me if I do? ;)

I bit my lip as my eyes immediately looked over to where Roy stood. His phone was in his hand as he yelled at Jamie Tartt from across the field to stop being “a fucking weasel and kick the fucking ball already.” I took in his appearance, the way he stood tall with his arms crossed, phone gripped tightly in one hand. The way his biceps were accented perfectly by his black t-shirt. Roy Kent looked delectable in every way. I smiled to myself and decided to play along.

Maybe I will.

You fuck this photoshoot up for me and you won’t be getting ANY of this tonight…

<insert picture>

I put my phone on my lap and looked down at the pitch, waiting for Roy to get the text. He seemed preoccupied with training so I picked my phone back up to respond to a few emails while I waited for him to continue our little game. Suddenly, a far away cry of “watch it, Coach!!” sounded from across the pitch, and before I could even register what was happening, Roy was smacked right in the face by a rouge football. The resounding smack of the ball was so loud that everyone cringed unanimously.

“Oh fuck!” Keeley exclaimed at the same time I gasped, both of us standing up and watching on as Ted and the team rushed to Roy, who let out the loudest FUCK I think I have ever heard him exclaim.

“Tartt you FUCKING CUNT!” Roy yelled, grabbing his nose and bending forward. Jamie, whose panic manifested in nervous giggles, tried his best to apologize.

“I’m SO sorry Coach, but I did try to warn you, twice!”

Roy groaned again and glared at the player before pulling his hand back and looking down. Even from my spot on the stands I could see the distinctly recognizable color of blood on Roy’s hand.

Roy seethed at the sight and growled at Jamie.

“I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Jamie backed up in panic and both Ted and Beard jumped in to pull Roy back by his arms to stop him from advancing towards the striker. After a few moments, Roy pulled out of their grasps and turned, making his way back inside Nelson Road, probably to get the resident to check out his nose.

“That looks like it fucking hurt,” Keeley said, sitting back down.

“He’s not going to let Jamie off the hook for this one. He’s gonna make him do double drills at 4am for weeks,” I sighed.

“You gonna go check on lover boy?” She teased, and I smiled, already making my way down the steps.

“You know it. I’ll catch you later babes,” I responded back, blowing her a kiss.

By the time I made it inside, I found Roy seated on the physio bench, clutching an ice pack to his nose. The medic had just finished up and smiled at me on his way out, giving me a thumbs up. I walked up to Roy and cooed at him now that we were alone.

“Awww, are you okay love?” I soothed, placing a hand on the wrist holding the ice pack. Roy glared at me and grunted in reply.

“What’s that look for, what did I do?” I said, brows knit in confusion.

“Oh don’t you “what did I do” me. You’re the farthest thing from innocent, sending me that fucking picture.” Roy’s voice lowered and a mischievous smile settled on his face. I’m sure my eyes widened comically as I remembered what I had sent. Roy nodded, pulling the ice pack away.

“Yeah, that’s right. I opened your text and fucking hell, your fucking breasts on display like that in that strip of cloth you call a bra is the reason I got clobbered in the fucking face. How was I supposed to hear Tartt calling out when my only thought was sucking on those fucking perfect tits?”

I cupped my mouth and let out a gasp followed by a small laugh, feeling so bad for having been the reason he was so distracted.

“Oh my god baby, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think…“

Roy cut me off.

“Oh no, you knew exactly what you were doing you minx. C’mere,”

Roy placed the ice pack down onto the side of the physio bed and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. I placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his chin, inspecting his nose and face for myself.

“Fuck, Roy I feel horrible. I shouldn’t have sent that photo,” I smiled sheepishly at him. Roy shook his head, schooling his expression to stay stoic but I could see the amusement in his eyes again.

“Don’t you fucking dare apologize for sending that photo. But if you insist, I can think of a few ways you can earn my forgiveness….” He trailed off, his eyebrow raising and a smirk forming on his lips. I smiled back, happy he was okay.

“Well in that case, what if I told you I was wearing that bra you saw in the picture…right now…” I whispered as I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Roy’s chin, cheek, and gently on his nose.

“Fucking hell,” Roy breathed out, pulling me in tighter. I decided to push one more button, just to tease him a tiny bit more.

“Mmhm, and guess what? That bra has matching panties….”

Roy’s eyes closed and he released a deep and long “fuuuuuuuuck” before closing any gaps between us with a searing kiss. When he pulled back, I was sure my lips were as red and swollen as his. I rested my forehead on his before he hopped off the table and we walked back to work before heading back home for all that was promised.

———————-

A few days later, I was seated in my office organizing the next away game details for the team when I received an email from one of my contacts at The Blizzard. Attached were the photos from the training shoot. I was scrolling through the action shots until I stopped at four back to back pictures that had me giggling to myself.

In front of me were four shots of Roy: in the first photo he’s looking down at his phone with a neutral expression. In the second, his eye brows were raised and eyes blown wide. In the third photo, he was smirking at his phone. And finally, in the last photo of the bunch, Roy’s face was obscured by the football that has smacked him dead on. I scrolled back and forth between those four pictures, creating a little boomerang and watching Roy’s face the whole time and laughing hysterically.

I saved the photos to my phone and set the one where he was smirking as my lockscreen, savoring the memory of what ensued that night after that photo was taken.

[pauking5]

Addicting Taste Chapter 5

Pairing: Enishi Yukishiro x reader oc

Genre: strangers to lovers, sunshine and sunshine protector, comedic relief, slow burn, a lot of fluff, smut (in premiere)

Word count: 8.9k+

A/N: This chapter was a ride. Parts of it were sitting in my drafts for the past few weeks and I'm happy that it's finally out. Breaking Up With Jesus by Reve is to blame for the way I wrote the smut. Hope the spice is to your liking since it's my first time writing it ;) Enjoy lovelies, Paula.

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Dumplings. Oh, how delicious and soft they all look. Dozens upon dozens laid out ahead, waiting for you to dig in. You reached out for one and another one, and kept going until all you could feel on your tongue was their sweet taste. This was heaven.

As you were sitting on the ground chewing away multiple dumplings at once something caught your eyes. On the right, sitting on top of a pillar, sat a dumpling bigger than the palm of your hand. It looked so plump and you bet your last coin that it tasted delicious. Getting up from the ground you went over to try and grab it but each time you jumped after it the pillar rose higher.

“I’m gonna have you and you will taste amazing," you say struggling to reach for the dumpling.

Putting more force into it you jumped and you got the dumpling off the pillar, floating back down to the ground. This was it. The moment you’ve been waiting for. You lifted the delicacy to your mouth and placed your lips on it to taste it when…

The sound of what appeared to be a pot and a pan hit together woke you up from your dream. You rolled in bed trying to cover your ears with the duvet to stop any more of the noise coming in.

“WHO THE FUCK-“

“It’s time for training,” said a rather enthusiastic Enishi, putting the pots away moving to stand in front of your bed. You opened your eyes to look at him, staring daggers at him violently. No one had the privilege to wake you from your precious dreams. Not even the heavens above.

“Get. the. fuck. out. of. my. room.”

“Someone’s cranky," he said, signature smirk sitting proudly on his face.

Well of course you were cranky. You couldn't sleep after the whole encounter in his office. You made a pact with the devil without thinking it through and it came to bite you in the ass. When you got back to your room you sat on your bed trying to think of a plan of attack and you came up with nothing. You practiced a few basic moves you normally used to get them under control, staying up until the early hours of dawn. So it was no surprise that you were currently annoyed at him for waking you up so early in an idiotic way at that.

“Enishi, I swear to god—“

You didn’t get to finish because he leaned down and took your pillow from under your head in one swift move. The movement made your head fuzzy, letting it fall flat on the bed. He got up just as quickly and ran out of the room with your pillow under his arm.

“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU,” you said as you got up and ran out after him.

You ran around the mansion hallways, closing in on the kitchen area. Stopping on opposite sides of the kitchen island you tried to block off his escape routes. Taking one quick left to fool you into reaching for him only to switch to the right, he successfully avoided your arms. Puffing out your chest in annoyance you took off after him again, following him to his office this time. He stopped in the middle of the room with nowhere to run, shifting to hold your pillow high so you wouldn't be able to reach it. You looked like a cat as you tried your hardest to jump after it.

Focusing too hard on getting back your precious pillow you jumped too high and lost your balance as you came back down. Before you could fall to the floor, strong arms wrapped around you, keeping you steady. Looking up, you saw Enishi’s face mere inches away from yours.

“You’ve got no space awareness at all do you?” he asked, a grin taking over his face. You really weren't in the mood for his antics today.

“Go fuck yourself," you say as you pushed him away. You made your way to the door and stopped when he called your name.

“You forgot your pillow—“ you cut him off whacking him over the head with it, storming back to your room. You had to get ready for the fight of your life.

—————————————————————————

This was it. The moment you would find out if the past weeks of training paid off or not. Nerves were taking over with every step you took. It wasn't too late to turn back and lock yourself in the comfort of your room. But you needed this. You needed to see if there was a chance for you to become the best without bringing her back.

Pushing open the doors to the terrace you stopped on the doorstep. Enishi was already there, stretching his arms, blue kimono resting on the back of a chair. Your hands got stuck on the doors as you thought it through again. You weren't ready, getting cold feet in the worst way possible.

Ah fuck. I can't do this.

Before you could turn around in defeat, a pair of eyes fixed on you. He picked up on your nerves from a mile away and flashed you a soft smile in hopes it would help. He knew this was a lot in such a short time, but he believed in you. He wanted you to get better and if you didn't do well today it wasn't that much of a big deal. You could always try again tomorrow.

His smile felt encouraging, giving you some hope that you could do something productive today. Taking a few deep breaths to slow down your accelerating heartbeat, you stepped away from the threshold of the cooking area, making your way to the middle of the garden. Reaching a few feet away from him you stretched your limbs, mind darting over the moves you practiced. Once you were done you straightened your back and took your place.

I didn't train so hard for nothing. I can do this. Let's beat his ass.

Enishi sensed an energy shift around you. You were ready to go, hands standing on the defensive, body angled for attack. He thought you changed so much in the last few weeks. When he met you that night at the precinct, you looked determined to skewer anyone who crossed you in the slightest. But there was this part of you that was afraid. Getting to know about your past made him understand why. You needed to get out of your head which is why he trained you this way. It only took a small push from his part to make you come out of your shell and he felt proud of what you accomplished so far.

He was proud of you.

Getting into a fighting stance of his own he watched as you started circling him. Your eyes narrowed in on him, preparing to read his moves. Just like he taught you.

"I won't go easy on you."

"I don't expect you to," you said and with that you launched yourself at him.

Lean muscles seared with force as your fist collided with his palm, slightly throwing him off balance. So your strength did get better. Latching his palm on your wrist he pulled you to him, pushing you down to the floor with his other hand. You landed on your hands and quickly hauled yourself back up.

"Your aim improved, but it's still not the best," he said as he charged at you. You ducked just in time, sneaking behind him to land a kick to his side. He reacted fast and turned, catching your leg just before it could hit him. He yanked on it getting you closer to him. You gripped his sturdy shoulders to balance yourself on your other leg.

"Hitting from the back is low, even for you," he said, fingers stroking your leg trying to throw you off balance. Little fucker.

"I wasn't planning on being civil today."

Pulling yourself up using his shoulders, you pushed off the ground and threw your other leg around his torso hanging to him like a koala. Twisting your body around his middle, you used all your force and tugged on your legs to pull him down as your hands reached for the ground. Your move caught him off guard and he almost hit the ground beside you if it wasn't for his annoying amount of balance. He turned his fall into a spin in the air landing in kneeling position, smirking at you. You threw your head back in frustration.

He's reading me too well. I have to change the strategy.

This time you let him come at you. His punches rained from all sides, moving relentlessly to land a blow on you, but you were just too fast for him. You noticed that he put a lot of strength into minimal movement and you used that to your advantage. Your small form proved to be a huge help as you darted around his robust body. He was getting frustrated with your tactic and you were enjoying every bit of it.

"Stop defending and attack!"

"Someone's getting impatient," you smirked. He was getting tired of swinging and that was exactly what you wanted.

He was going a little easy on you but his patience wore thin. He gave you the benefit of the doubt as he thought you were unprepared to take on him but you proved him wrong, pushing his buttons in the process.

Fast punches came your way and you caught every single one of them. The adrenaline that coursed through your body gave you inhuman strength as you pushed him backwards, making him stumble. You matched his pace and turned his own moves on him.

While your ego was filling up, his was slowly cracking. He came at you again, arms tightly clamping down on yours, throwing you off balance. You tried your hardest to get out of his hold but his grip wouldn't budge in the slightest. Locking them even tighter, he swung your arms and sent you flying to the other side of the garden. You landed on your shoulder, pain shooting down your arm. You got too cocky and it backfired on you.

Groaning to yourself, you got back up and rolled your shoulder backwards, wincing at the discomfort. You weren't going to back down, not when when you got this far.

Your marched back to him, slow steps turning into a full sprint. Jumping high enough, you brought your leg down into a kick, which he ducked. You dipped every time he tried to lay his hands on you, delivering a few quick punches to his abdomen that he failed to avoid.

You caught him by surprise as you ducked and swiped your leg behind his to throw him off his feet. Finally, he landed on his back accepting defeat, but not without latching a hand on your arm, tugging you down with him. Your body fell on top of his, arms securely wrapping around you. The feeling of his chest pressed flush to yours made your stomach flutter. You tried to steady your breathing that only picked up the more you gazed into his eyes.

"You did it," he exhaled. A smile took over his features as he looked at you.

"I did it," you said with a giggle as you laid your hand came to rest on top of his chest. His hand that was resting on your lower back trailed up to lightly grip your shoulder, causing you to wince. You suddenly remembered you were in pain. Worry flashed in his eyes as he checked you over, sitting you up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you tried to convince him but the frown on your face told him otherwise.

"Let me have a look."

"I said I'm fine- OUCH!" you cried as he touched your shoulder again and you flinched away in pain.

"Stop being so stubborn." He leaned over and took your arm in his, turning it around slowly to avoid causing you more pain. "It looks dislocated."

"What do you mean dislocated?" The adrenaline in your body started to wear off and the throbbing in your shoulder intensified, making you unable to hide it anymore.

"I can put it back, but it's going to hurt. Ready?" Your eyes snapped at him.

"You mean now? Hell no-" he pushed your shoulder back into place using your rambling as a distraction. You cried in pain holding onto it, forehead falling to rest on his shoulder.

"I hate you," you groaned, mumbling into his chest.

"I know you do," he chuckled, rubbing away at your shoulder to try and help with the pain.

"Is this a good moment to tell you we're going on your first mission?" You lifted your head, face beaming with excitement.

"You're joking."

"I'm dead serious. I think you're ready," he said as he got up and gave you a helping hand, gently pulling you to your feet. "I know you probably have a lot of questions, but I think it's best you go get some rest first."

“Okay. I'll swing by later," you said walking towards the kitchen.

"Put some ice on it," he shouted from behind you and you shot him a thumbs up with your good arm.

—————————————————————————

You tried to take a quick nap. Keyword: tried. No matter how hard you tried to sleep you couldn’t contain your excitement. It felt surreal that you were back in business so soon. My first mission here.

Deciding that it was no use to spend more time in bed, you got up and walked to the vanity table. You pulled out your pistols from the top drawer and ran your fingers on the golden rose crests that decorated the frame. They needed a little dusting off and tinkering, but they looked ready for some action. It’s been a while since I put these bad boys to good use.

The golden light filtering in through the window told you the sun was setting. You figured now was as good of a time to go over the plan with Enishi. You made your way to his office, stretching your shoulders to get rid of the previous strain from your combat session.

You thought back to the fight. As much as you improved, you felt like he did manage you a little, at least in some parts. Even if he did, he wouldn't admit it out loud if he wanted to keep his balls in the same place they are now. Anyhow, you were glad you got the opportunity to kick him off his high horse a tiny bit. He could be all "I am the god of martial arts" sometimes, but he knew when to tone it down.

You remembered the proud look on his face as he pulled you to the ground with him was enough to add ten years to your lifespan. There was something about it that made you feel confident in yourself and maybe that was what he wanted to accomplish. He seemed to have this empowering complex, always talking you out of your head when you needed it the most. It was like he knew what made you lock up and what made you open in such a short time and it kind of terrified you. He met the broken version of you all those years ago and now he knows the real you to a certain degree.

But you met him too. The present, real him. The Enishi that doesn't stray away from his goals, who does everything in his power to help people. You didn't want to admit it but he grew on you, latching onto you like a string of hearts. They are plants that need moderate care, often wallowing in sadness when they don't get enough sunlight or water. But looking at them makes you feel hope and warmth. As cold as the veins in their leaves appear to be, the green surrounding them embraces it in the shape of a heart. As weak as its stems look, they try their hardest to hold the hearts up so people can admire them and feel at peace. Enishi is like that too. You connected like the strings of the plant and you didn't want to untangle yourself from him just yet.

Your train of thought was cut short as you came to a halt in front of his office. Knocking on the door he beckoned you in. He was sat at his desk looking over maps and plans. The sleeves of his kimono were rolled up to his elbows, allowing you to see his arms, veins popping and twisting the more he moved his hand around. He looked deep in thought as his eyes were casted down on on the papers in his hands.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked without looking up from his work.

"Better. Thank you." You moved to stand next to him. "So... what's the plan for the mission?"

"There's a mafia playing at a casino in the city tomorrow night. They're called the Dao," he said as he pointed to a few wanted posters laying on the desk. "They're carrying the shipment we... failed to steal a few weeks ago," he continued.

Wait. The shipment I saw them loading off the docks that night?

"The plan is to go in and keep them distracted while the others load the goods onto our carriages. Once they're done we can leave quietly like we weren't even there in the first place." You nodded at all the information you were receiving, but you were failing to see what your role was supposed to be in this plan.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"You'll be inside with me. We're going to buy our way in to the usual poker game they host privately and play them a little."

"That's great actually."

"And why is that?" he prodded, eyebrow lifting in confusion at your sudden excitement.

"I'm great at poker," you confidently stated. He nearly laughed at you if it wasn't for the way you narrowed your eyes at him in a death stare.

"I guess we'll have to see if you are tomorrow."

—————————————————————————

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough, finding you in a bit of a situation. You had no idea what to wear. The duffel bag you carried was basically your only wardrobe and your outfit choices were limited. Another issue was that you were going to a casino, which called for a little class and finesse.

After wafting through every outfit combination that was sprawled on your bed, you set on a shirt with a corset on top and a skirt matching your red corset. There was just a problem though. You needed help lacing up your corset. In the process of rethinking your outfit for the hundredth time, a soft knock echoed on the door.

“Come in.”

“I came to see if you’re ready,” he said, eyes going wide when he saw you. Your hair was made in an updo, long strands of hair cascading down your shoulders. The cotton shirt showed off your collar bones, while the velvet corset pushed your chest upwards, showing the tiniest sliver of cleavage but not too over-the top. It matched the ruby skirt that fell just a few inches above your knees. He thought you looked breathtaking.

“You have perfect timing. Could you help me lace up this thing?”

“I.. Yeah, sure," he breathed out.

He walked to your spot in front of the mirror and stopped behind you. Fixing your gaze through the mirror, you watched as he picked up the corset strings wrapping them around his slender fingers. He pulled on them until the corset looked tight enough on you but you motioned him to pull it tighter. He laced the rest of the strings up in a bow and smoothed a hand on the crisscross pattern, icy hand coming in contact with your warm back as you dragged in a shaky breath.

“You’re going like this?”

“I don’t really have anything else to wear.”

“Make sure you put a coat on.”

“But it’s a casino. I’m supposed to show off these goodies," you gestured to your chest as he tried his hardest to avert his eyes to somewhere else.

“Coat on or you’re staying here," he said and walked away, leaving you dumbfounded. What has gotten into him now?

The truth was that he thought you were showing a little too much. Once he was out of your room, he leaned on the wall besides the door and released a breath. You looked absolutely beautiful. But that was a sight he wanted to reserve for himself. You weren’t his. But he was damned if he would let anyone else see you like this tonight.

—————————————————————————

The carriage halted and Enishi stepped out first, holding a hand to you. He wore a white shirt under a blue qipao, intricate patterns reflecting in the dim light of the night. You took his hand and he helped you down from the carriage, fingers lingering on yours for a few moments before he let go.

"Is everyone in their places?" he asked Wu, who was driving your carriage. He nodded and left, hiding the carriage in the woods nearby.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

The casino was on the outskirts of Shanghai, which made escaping a possible mafia war easier. The outside of the building looked like a normal warehouse, but the inside was far from it. Carpeted floors in red and gold greeted you as you walked in, paving the way to the main area filled with sitting booths. A reception bar sat at the far end of the entrance, buzzing with customers. To the right was a corridor that was guarded by armed men. That must be the way to the poker rooms.

You made your way to the bar ordering a drink for you and Enishi, scouting the premises. How are we supposed to get in there without getting broken in half like a toothpick?

Your question was answered as a woman approached Enishi and beckoned him to follow her to the corner. Her blonde hair fell behind her back as she leaned her hand up on the wall, putting all her goodies on sight for him. He replicated her flirty gazes as he trailed a hand up her exposed arm.

Her black corset was laced tightly around her body, pushing her bulky breasts together. You looked down at your own, a little disappointed that you lacked in that area. The high slit on her purple skirt showed off her legs. She wore the tallest heels you've ever seen.

She looked so much more feminine than you and it made your confidence falter slightly. You didn't really care about looks before so why did it affect you so much right now?

You felt really self-conscious ever since you met Enishi. The loose clothes you used to lounge around in changed to tighter fitting clothes. They were better for training, that's what you told yourself. You fixed the bird's nest in your hair more frequently, braiding or putting it up in sophisticated styles. It made training easier, you told yourself again and again.

"Any chance you could get us in there?" you heard him ask the woman as she twirled her hair around her fingers.

"Depends on what you're willing to do for it," she said leaning further on the wall, flaunting her cleavage at him. Can she choke or something?

It wasn't strange that she found him attractive. Enishi was eye candy, holding himself like the gods sculpted him. Who wouldn't want to get a chance to explore the defined physique under his clothes?

He pulled out a handful of money bonded together and handed it to her discreetly. She took the money with a disappointed huff and went on her way to the men on guard. She whispered something to one of them and motioned you to follow her. Leading you down the long corridor she stopped showing you a door with the number 7 crested in golden. Well that was so hard.

After she left, Enishi turned to you seeing you look rather displeased.

"What?"

"Nothing." You leaned a hand on the wall and copied blondie's earlier position, hand on your hip as you batted your eyelashes at him. "Depends on what you're willing to do for it," you say mimicking her annoying voice. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Why are you laughing?"

"It looks like someone is jealous."

"Who? ME?! No. Not me. She can have you for all I care."

"Is that so?"

You nodded determined to show him you weren't affected in any way by the flirty exchange that took place earlier. Sparing you one more look he turned towards the door.

"Let's get this show rolling."

——————————————

The smell of opium hit you like a train, smoke hanging briskly in the confined air of the room. In the middle at a round table sat three men playing poker. You recognised them from the posters on Enishi's desk. The one in the middle was the boss of the Daos, the other two were his henchmen. Armed men sat behind them and around the room, busying themselves with their drinks.

There were no cards on the table yet which meant they just started the game. The dealer was a woman dressed just like the one you encountered at the bar. She looked scared as she mixed the cards, probably because she was here against her will. All heads turned to you as you walked in and sat down in the empty seat at the table.

"This is a private game," said a gruff voice from your right, belonging to the boss.

"This seat is empty, isn't it?" you asked, taking your coat off.

"What does a girl like you know about poker?" the one on your left asked after looking at you, licking his lips of the narcotics he smoked.

"You'd be surprised. Deal me in," you said confidently, hand held out for Enishi to hand you some money. He hesitated at first, but after seeing the determination on your face he sighed and dropped five thick stacks in your hand.

You shot the woman dealing the cards a look. She looked at the boss for approval and he nodded. A curious glint in his eyes told you he was curious about you and how far you could go. He had nothing to lose, especially with the amount of money sitting by your hands.

You quickly figured that the boss was the strongest player. His only flaw was that he bet everything knowing that his men would never go against him. He deemed you a weak player in the first dealings, but that was only because you were holding back on raising your bets on purpose, playing the weak damsel act to buy you some time.

Once you got your fourth card, you dealt all your money in, raising the bet double the amount. You smirked looking at the four cards in your hand, red hearts smiling back at you. A ten of hearts, a jack, a king and an ace. All you needed was a queen and you could play your hand in a royal flush, the highest card combination in the game.

"What's got you so happy, sweetheart?" asked the boss, confused at the smile pulling at your mouth.

"You'll see," you mumbled to yourself as you got your fifth card, completing your hand.

The dealer called the hands and the man on your right went first, placing his cards on the table. He had a lucky three of a kind as he turned to smirk at you. The other man in front of you showed his, grinning as he got a better hand than the other one, a strong full house thrown on the table. These guys were strong players despite having to yield in to their boss.

The boss took a long drag of smoke and smiled creepily at you. He placed down his cards, a straight flush of spades sitting idly on the table. He started reaching for the money in the middle before you cut him off with a look.

Enishi sat behind you, mouth slightly agape, until he took a look at your cards. "You're joking," you heard him mumble before you placed down your cards, a sheer of gasps erupting around the room.

"A ROYAL FLUSH?!" yelled the boss, the men sitting around the table just as surprised. You chuckled and turned to Enishi, a proud smirk taking over his features. You went all in and won against one of the most ruthless mafias in the country. He felt a little embarrassed for second guessing you without seeing you play.

You were about to reach for the earnings on the table as a man stumbled in the room.

"The shipment! It's gone," he said as he approached the boss. The earlier shock on his face was replaced by anger as he stood up to strangle the man, lifting him off the ground.

Enishi tapped on your shoulder, eyes motioning you towards the door. You had to get out of here now, whilst all the attention was on the man being choked. You made quick work of putting your coat on and got up quietly, reaching for the money in the middle of the table, before Enishi stopped you shaking his head. But I won them fair and square, you said with a look. We have to get out of here now, he pressed.

"How did this happen?" yelled the boss shaking the life out of the man. He pointed a trembling finger at you just as you were about to walk out of the door.

"Hold it right there," said the boss cocking his gun at you.

"This was an amazing game," you said with a hand on the door handle. "By the way, YOU SUCK," you yelled as Enishi pulled you down the corridor.

"Did you really have to?"

"The look on his face was priceless," you giggled. You came to a halt in the main area as everyone turned to look at you. The shouts of the boss were heard down the hall as the whole gang closed in on you.

"Don't let them get away."

There were about twenty armed men circling around you and there was only two of you, the only one actually armed being you. You reached for the pistols in the garter under your skirt, sitting back to back with Enishi.

We are so royally fucked.

—————————————

Guns were fired your way and you dodged them, shooting your pistols relentlessly. You managed to reduce the gang members to a half, while Enishi took to breaking limbs left and right.

You were shooting your gun at a taller guy when the clicks on your pistols locked and you realised you were out of ammo. He went to tackle you but you ducked before he could lay hands on you, going for a sweep, knocking his feet from under him. Another one got hold of your coat and you spun around taking it off your shoulders, using your arms to twist it in the man's hold. You pulled on it making him fall forward and you kicked him, projecting him into the bar island. Your coat ripped down the middle from the force. My only coat, gone. You served me well.

The guy got up from the floor and started throwing the glasses sitting on top of the bar at you. You barely dodged a cocktail glass aimed at your head, catching it mid-air. You sniffed the clear liquid recognising it to be vodka and you downed it in one go, throwing the glass behind you.

"That would've been a waste of good liquor." He sneered as he charged at you and you ran behind the bar taking hold of a beer bottle. When he got close you smashed it on his head rendering him unconscious.

Fire was opened again, this time towards you and you sunk to the floor taking cover behind the bar. Enishi joined you from the other side, reeling in next to you.

"What now?"

"We wait until they run out of bullets."

As if on cue the gunfire halted and you got up from your spots taking on the remaining members. Enishi slid over the bar landing a kick to someone's face mid-air. You took hold of a broom and used it like the bo staff you trained with.

Swaying the wooden stick around you cleared the path for him. Two goons jumped at you, trying to take your weapon. You were busy holding one of them off trying to shake his hands off the broom and failed to notice the chair heading straight to you.

"Miyu, watch out!" You turned just before it smashed into your back and dodged out of the way, letting the chair fall straight into the guy you were fighting off, both of them knocking into each other.

Enishi was fighting another pair. One of them pulled out a knife and tried to stab him. You intercepted the sneaky attack and caught his hand, kicking the knife away before yanking him towards your fist. He punched the other one and they both fell to the floor in sync.

You looked around at the mess you caused, trying to get your breath under control. The boss was nowhere to be found and you assumed he scurried off somewhere with the tail between his legs.

Spotting it among the pile of bodies, you went and picked up the shreds of your coat from the floor, smoothing a hand over it. Enishi took off his qipao and put it on your shoulders heading to the exit, without saying anything.

—————————————————————————

He didn’t speak a word on the way back. The only gestures he made were to direct Wu to take you back to the mansion. He didn't even look at you when you asked him about the mission. All he did was sit in complete silence, eyes closed in meditation, jaw clenched in irritation.

You went over everything that happened back at the casino. The blonde flirting with him, the poker game, the fight. Nothing stood out enough to be a problem and you certainly didn't do anything wrong, besides taunting and stealing off a mafia boss. Regardless, his silence was driving you crazy to say the least.

Why do I even care? I went and did my job and we finally got the weapons. What could possibly make him this mad?

You were snapped out of your thoughts as the carriage came to a halt in front of the mansion. Enishi quickly got off without sparing you a look, leaving the door open for you to get out yourself.

Wow. Fucking diva.

You stepped down from the carriage with the help of Wu and took off after him. You were determined to find out what made him this mad. His steps were fast like he wanted to get away from you but you weren't going to give him the satisfaction. You weren’t going to let him push you away again. He opened the door to his room and before he could close it shut you sneaked in.

He stopped in the middle of the dimly lit room, shoulders rolled in annoyance. You took in his room from your place by the door. His room seemed to be a mirror of yours, the only difference being that his was as dark as room décor could get. The cool light of the night washed the room in an even darker shade, currently reflecting its owners mood.

“Why are you here?”

“I want to know why you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

“Cut the bullshit, Enishi. You haven’t said one word on the way back. Did I do something wrong?”

With a sigh he turned around to face you. His eyes were visible to you even in the heavy darkness. They seemed to drink you in with greed, debating on whether he should say something or keep the thoughts raging in his head quiet. He settled on the former, the adrenaline of the fight still pumping through his veins. If he didn't say anything now he knew he would regret it forever.

“You didn’t respect the plan,” he said taking a step towards you. “We were supposed to go in and get out,” another step, “not provoke a fight,” he stopped in front of you.

“Fuck the plan! We had them right in the palm of our hand. We got what we wanted, right? What else matters?”

“You! You matter,” he growled as he closed the distance between you, pinning you to the door. “You… drive me up the fucking wall,” he said as he settled both of his arms on either side of you.

“What?” you mumbled under your breath.

“I can’t take it anymore,” he exhaled and the next thing he did caught you by surprise. Warm lips landed on yours, moving with burning desire against your clueless ones. Your eyes widened in surprise and you froze, leaning a hand on the wall behind to keep you steady.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” he said as he pulled apart just enough for you to get a breath in, before he leaned in again, this time with much more hunger.

It was like your body caught on fire. You didn’t know what you were supposed to do so for the time being you settled on kissing him back. His hands moved from beside you to card through your hair, the other moving to sit at the base of your neck, pushing your face impossibly closer to his. His breaths were running wild across your skin as he moved down to your neck. Every kiss leaving his mouth was tightly sawn into your skin making your breaths heavier.

You craved and were afraid of his touch at the same time. Enishi could be both gentle and rough and you had no idea which one was sitting before you right now. Your mind was in constant tug of war between restraint and giving in to him. He didn’t let you wallow in your thoughts too much as a butterfly kiss to your collar bone brought you back to earth. He stopped and looked at you to make sure this was something you wanted too. Tracing your eyes to his, you saw the previous hunger in his eyes turned into sincere want. That was the only confirmation you needed to know as to which Enishi was with you right now, wasting no time in capturing his lips, a little rougher than he did.

Your mouths fought for dominance, none of you wanting to give in and submit to the other. The way his fingers worked to undo the corset he tied up for you just a few hours ago turned you on and you couldn’t wait anymore.

“Rip it off,” you whined.

“After I struggled so hard to tie it up—“

“Enishi, I don’t give two flying fucks. Rip it to fucking shreds.”

“Someone’s getting impatient,” he chuckled. Seeing you so worked up amused him. He didn’t want to make you wait any longer so he untangled his fingers from the strings and in one brisk move he pulled apart your corset, breaking it in two together with the white shirt underneath. The poor pieces of fabric fell to the floor, revealing your chest.

He revelled at the sight before him. You were exactly what he imagined in lewd fantasies at night, when his head was webbed with only thoughts of you. What set him on fire the most was that he knew you thought of him in that way too. Your eyes gave you away way too many times for him to not take notice of it. He just hid his a lot deeper so you wouldn't notice it. He failed to keep the thoughts away each time his hand found yours, or your waist, or your face.

You consumed him and you didn't even know it.

Tracing his hand down your arm made tingles dance all over your body. You couldn’t take his teasing anymore, not when you were this bare in front of him. If he's not going to move, I’ll do it myself.

With maddening frustration, you launched at his lips, capturing them wildly like they were the very essence of life. He responded to your attack with pleasure rolling off his vocal chords grunting into your mouth. Taking the opportunity, you pressed your hands on his clothed chest and ripped away at his shirt too, soft cotton turning into a mere rag as you pulled at it. Enishi was taken aback by your rawness and broke the kiss just enough to take another breath to be able to fight your mouth for his share of dominance.

He pulled you closer to get the skirt off of you just as you worked on his pants. You didn’t even notice you were already leaned back on his bed, spread wide for him to see all of you. Thoughts of every fantasy he had of you were spinning around in his head and he struggled to pick just one.

“Draw a picture it will last longer,” you say sitting up on your elbows.

“I’m gonna fuck this attitude out of you.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

The whole thing turned into another competition you both couldn’t get enough of. He wasn’t going to back down and neither were you. Most girls got shy whenever they saw this hunk of a man stand above them, ready to turn them to whimpering wrecks. But you weren’t most girls and you planned on showing him that.

He was spending too much time observing you and you were growing desperate. Deciding to take the reins, you sat up to mirror his kneeling position on the bed and laid your hands on his chest, pushing him backwards until he fell on his back. Straddling his lap, you leaned down to take in his gasps of surprise in a chaste kiss. A kiss so slow that it made his insides burn with lust.

“Miyu, stop fucking around,” he groaned between kisses.

“That’s what you were doing a minute ago,” you say smirking through the kiss. He responded by raking his hand through your scalp and gently pulling at it, drawing a moan from you.

“I love seeing you this needy for me," he said, biting down on your lip. "I haven’t even done anything to you yet and here you are, ready to pounce on me if I don’t give it to you.”

You were begging. All for someone who’s never touched you to do just that. Because you knew he would do it exactly the way you wanted.

Enishi was chaos. He was like a drug to you, a damn good one at that. Once you got a tang of it you kept wanting more. The more time you spent with him the wilder your delusions got and you realised you were addicted to his taste.

You continued the makeout session, rolling around in the bed, tongues fighting for power. You sat on his lap, skillfully pushing into him without a breath. Every time you came up for air he pulled your head back down to him. He was just as addicted to you.

“My turn,” he smirked taking your lips in his. His hands trailed down your shoulders to your chest and he held your breasts, softly squeezing them. It turned you on beyond repair and you couldn’t help the whines escaping your throat.

“What do you want me to do?” he whispered, lips stopping a few inches away, teasingly grazing yours.

“Anything,” you replied, moving your head up to catch them, failing as he moved away from you. You dropped your head on his pillows, feeling lightheaded from the anticipation. He could do whatever he wanted to you as long as he did something.

“I need words, Miyu.” The way he spoke your name made goosebumps raise on your arms. His voice alone managed to undo you.

“I want you to ruin me. Take me to God or to Satan for all I care.”

He didn’t waste any more time and took to trailing the most teasing kisses down your body, from the dip in your neck down to your navel. He savored every part of you like a priest chastising the Sunday mass. He preached your body like a prayer, prepared to sink you in the depths of his hell. He only knew sin and he was going to taint you in his darkness tonight.

His kisses got slower the closer he got to your throbbing core, the part that was aching for him the most. You couldn’t believe he was performing your wildest dreams. You made the mistake of rubbing your legs together to create some friction, wanting him to touch you already, only to have him pull your knees apart spreading you back out. He caressed your thighs, fingers running from the base of your knees all the way to your hips, missing your core by just a few inches. The waiting was driving you mad, turning you into a whining mess.

“Enishi, stop messing around.”

“I haven’t even started darling.”

Securing a hand around your torso, he dipped down to kiss your thighs the same way his hands caressed your legs. His kisses stopped just before your opening and he blew on it, making you shudder under his hold. With one more look at your face, he dove into you. He worked his skilled tongue inside your walls as you wrote your moans in his pillows, gripping the sheets tightly. The hand on your torso rubbed circles on your stomach adding to the ecstasy you were feeling. You surrendered your body to him, letting him worship you the only way he knew.

His strokes turned haste as you neared your release. You came fast and he devoured your juices like it was the nectar of the gods, leaving no drop go to waste. You were seeing stars, sweat sticking to your skin as the heat became too unbearable. The only light in the room came from the moon and as dim as it was it was blinding you, senses overwhelmed by the man at your feet. He came up to capture your lips, letting you taste yourself the way he tasted you. He wanted you to know how good you were and how much he wanted to savour you.

“Enishi…," you gripped his head and kissed him arduously. "Fuck me," you begged and that was enough to finally get him going.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” With a swift kiss he slid inside you, length stretching you out sore.

He pounded into you at the speed of light. You closed your eyes to get rid of the stars you were seeing, but he made you to look at him. He wanted watch as he broke you apart and put you back together.

“Be a good girl. You can take it.”

His praises made your body quiver as he annihilated your insides. He was a god in bed, toned body shining in the moonlight as he took you to heaven. But he was also a devil, his thrusts branding his name inside of you like a mark. The more he delved in the better the pleasure he gave you. He knew exactly how to make you feel just right and you felt a surge of energy taking over as you flipped your bodies.

"My turn," you said, wanting to make him beg for you like you begged for him. Calloused hands worked their way up your sides as you took his lips once more, sitting on top of his lap. Your hands were messing around in his hair, grabbing at it every time he bit your lip.

You chased the dips in his neck with sloppy kisses, hands digging into your sides. Your hands massaged and pulled at his hair, moans rolling off his tongues like music. Your touch felt divine, awakening his cold body like the first sunlight of spring. He wanted you to be the queen of his hell, to fall in and out of grace together.

"I need you," he grunted. He got so turned on by this savage part of you and he didn't want to admit it, but it made him so weak. He craved all of you, even if he had to swim in your ocean endlessly just to find every piece of you.

"Your wish is my command," you said, sinking down on him with a grunt, feeling him stretch you out again. Once you felt comfortable you started rolling your hips, a string of curses leaving his mouth.

You were taking your sweet time and he felt you going agonizingly slow. His hands gripped your hips to move you faster and faster until your rhythm grew frantic, leaning to support yourself by his shoulders. Your head was spinning as you felt yourself come close to your release for the second time tonight.

"Enishi," you whispered breathlessly.

"What do you need?" he asked, fingers grazing your ear softly.

"You," you say seizing his lips. Your pace picked up as your moans combined in each other's mouth. He was twitching inside you, sign he was close too.

He would do anything if he could have you on top like this all the time. He would let his pride go to shit if he could feel you like this again. To see your hair stick to your face, locks tangled over your shoulders. To have your hands grip him like he was your lifeline. To see your eyes lost in the abyss that is him as you come undone together, bodies intertwined drunk on a high, on top of his bed.

—————————————————————————

Warmth. That's what you were feeling right now. Muscular arms held you securely, gaze focused solely on you. One of his hands was stroked your hair in a gentle rhythm, head laid on his shoulder as you stared at the ceiling. A piece of your hair fell over your face and his hand moved to place it behind your ear, his husky voice breaking the comfortable silence.

"Why are your ears so small?" he asked poking fun at you, only to get kicked in the shins by your leg. "Okay, I deserved that."

You turned around and his eyes caught a glimpse of something behind your ear. A tattoo. His fingers smoothed over the skin, making out the word yume. And there he thought you couldn't surprise him more than you already did tonight. He reached for your hair to move it out of the way to get a better view at the inkwork. His eyes turned curious as he ran his hand over the mark.

"Yume," he whispers, just enough for you to sense the question on his tongue.

"It means dream. I got it done before I left Japan," you sighed.

"Why yume?"

"I didn't have any dreams for myself. I still don't. All I wanted was to find my parents and that felt like a good enough dream at the time," you said, eyes slightly tearing up at the memory of your parents.

"But as I got older it became something that drove me. I suddenly wanted to find a dream for myself just so I can give this life meaning."

Silence hung in the air again as he mulled over the information. He wanted to know more about what happened to your parents but this definitely wasn't the time to ask. You were too vulnerable right now and he didn't want to pry into your head more than you did it to yourself.

You got up from the bed, his shirt sitting snugly around you. Stretching your sore body, you headed towards his bathroom. You noticed that blue was a recurring aesthetic in the place. The finish on the sink was just like yours, the only difference being that it was dressed in dark motives. He bathroom had a shower in the corner, surrounded by black granite tiles and a glass wall.

"Any other tattoos I should know about?" You turned around to him. He had his arms behind his head, biceps flexing the more he leaned back. The duvet covered his lower part, chest fully exposed to you. You bit your lip as you looked at him.

"If you join me for a shower I might just tell you," you giggled, leaning against the frame of the bathroom door.

"You can say that again," he said as he got up from his bed and ran to you, picking you up in his arms.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU'RE SWEATY!"

"SO ARE YOU BUT YOU DONT HEAR ME YELLING ABOUT IT."

"You're so annoying," you said, linking your arms around his neck so you wouldn't fall.

"That's not what you were moaning a few hours ago, babe," he said walking towards the shower with you in his arms.

"Eww, don't call me babe."

"Sure... babe," he smirked.

"Oh, dear lord."

—————————————————————————

Next

Thank you for reading! As always, comments, notes and reblogs are welcome :)

[stressedemoblackbratz]

pretend

pairing: shuri x singer!black reader

warnings: swearing and fading relationship between reader and her boyfriend

a/n: as you can tell, i was definitely inspired by Zay’s own writing (the title has magically excused itself from my brain (i’m thinking lemonade, but i don’t wanna fuck up) my apologies, but i’m gonna blame that on finals). i loved the chapters and it inspired me to write something after a year. those euphoria requests wore me out lol. also, i don’t mention the death of anyone in this story. it didn’t happen…okay? okay! i might do a backstory to this? I’m not really sure, but we’ll see. i hope you enjoy babes!

words: 1.4k + not proofread

let's pretend we never met. a good excuse to play forget. let's pretend you never lied, so i can give it up all night, swallow my pride, and learn to forgive. when i'm looking for love i pretend it's you. a love that never ends.

the bed was cold, your lace band was on snug, and the food you cooked for your boyfriend of 2 years was cold.

and after all that damn cooking?

he could throw away the food and clean the dish he didn’t get to eat.

2 years and this was life. you used to bask in each others presence, go on dates, write poems together, make appearances, but now?

now you barely saw him because he was rehearsing lines with his new costar and you were trying to finish your album.

he didn’t look at you the same anymore, the house was cold, and those i love you’s we’re definitely empty.

you were perfect and just like that it was gone.

pretending like you were fine was the only thing you two had in common.

you remember one morning darius got a call stating he nailed his audition and filming would start soon. that night you two attended a movie premiere then at the after party you met t’challa and he introduced you to his sister, shuri.

now it was forced smiles on the red carpets, powdering your face after cry sessions, lying for him, and him avoiding questions about you slyly.

real enough.

now shuri, your producer for your upcoming 3rd studio album, she knew better.

she watched you write the songs, cry mid recording, consoled you when you came in with puffy eyes and swollen lips, fed you when you realized it had been some time between your last meal due to the fast paced life…she picked up the pieces.

and she hated it because she’s in love with you.

“okay! okay! but sza? ctrl literally raised me…sos is gonna eat.” you proclaimed to shuri one night after recording one song and touching up two others. it was crunch time and your label and fans wanted the album soon.

laughing at your seriousness she put the pho she had ordered down. the light you got in your eyes while speaking on the popular album was so cute to her.

you loved this shit as much as she did.

you were raw. letting each emotion out in each song and showcasing your life to shuri before showing it to those who supported you and your craft. you didn’t put on a facade in front of her even after you had been pretending for awhile.

“for me uh…” shuri paused to think after her giggles died down. she licked her bottom lip before flicking her eyes to yours. “definitely ego death by the internet. they raised me and i hope that their next album isn’t their last. i’d scream out to bast.” she started giggling again with you joining in.

two beautiful women discussing a mutual love.

“hey y/n. listen baby, i’m gonna be late, but i promise i didn’t forget.” you could hear aeva, darius’s costar, giggling in the back. “see you soon, love you.” he quickly said before the recording clicked in an ending.

according to him he wasn’t with her intimately, but you knew him. he was drawing away for awhile, way before this role. you wanted the peace of not caring or wondering what he was doing. wondering if what he once felt for you was what he felt for her just times ten.

in that moment, with tears in your bottom lash line and legs criss crossed sitting in the large black satin bed, you knew him coming home in a few hours, waking you up with sex and sorry’s you’ve learned not to believe wouldn’t cut it this time.

it hurt so bad to know that you were done.

it hurt more to know you gave up, not that the love died. you had already grieved on that. you tried so hard, but it takes two.

but you were so happy because you’d be able to address those growing feelings you had for a certain wakandan producer.

those feelings you suppressed to honor what was left of your expiring relationship.

all of that was over. you decided it.

climbing out of the king sized bed, you made your way to the bathroom. after cleaning up your face and sighing at the water clumped lash extensions, you decided you needed to shower to sooth the ache you felt simmer in your heart.

while rinsing the soap off of you, you realized your bedroom would make you feel suffocated. you needed to leave.

the only place close by though? shuri’s studio.

quickly drying off, moisturizing, putting on deodorant, and changing into a light pink crochet top, panties, black shorts, and the most beat up pair of crocs you owned, it was almost time to go.

a purse and jacket on one arm with your phone and keys in the other hand led you downtown.

shuri was up playing with beats. you needed one more song on the album before your label would review it and decide on the next steps.

she didn’t want the hard work you had done to not be cleared. this final beat would put you and her in the spotlight. this album was your baby and in a way, hers too.

she hadn’t heard griot announce your presence as she nodded her head to the beat, but she acknowledged your existence when she smelt your signature scent overwhelm her nostrils.

you definitely noticed her. she smelt so good and looked even better. her curls hung in front of her face, different vibranium rings across all 10 fingers, wearing low hanging sweats, and a tight beater that helped show off her lean, but muscular frame.

“y/n?” she called turning around. by the look of your eyes her heart dropped, but she could notice a different kind of look on your face compared to what she usually saw associated with that feature.

“what’s wrong, entle? kukho into ayenzileyo?” she asked stopping the beat, queuing a different track, and grasping your hands.

you smiled at her urgency. she was always so sweet to you.

“shuri you know i’m still learning. i only caught you calling me beautiful.” you teased with a smile. her heart didn’t feel as heavy anymore with that look. it wasn’t forced, just playful.

“kukho into ayenzileyo, i asked did he do something?” shuri said with a light smile and knowing eyes. yours darkened a bit before you looked away and contemplated on the best way to tell her.

“he promised he wouldn’t miss dinner again, he did and it’s because he wants to be with her.” shuri frowned at his actions.

“i can’t take this anymore so i’ve decided when he comes home i’ll let him know we’re done. i’m going to make sure he gets a good mover for his items and i find a good locksmith so he can’t come back.” you revealed. saying it out loud made you feel lighter.

“i’m giving it all up. i choose me and my happiness.” you whispered as she brought you into her chest. the slight jolt she endured as a result of you slamming into her made her bump the play button and start the last song you recorded together.

let’s pretend that we bout to break up…to catch the feelings so we can make up…

“i’m…i’m proud of you! this whole album was you baring it all and finding yourself…this might be the end of a chapter. you’re stepping into a new book.” shuri spoke to you. she was tired of picking up the pieces he broke. she was tired of seeing you try to fix them.

let’s pretend i ain’t your friend so we can get it on again.

“ndiyakuthandana.” she whispered her love to you.

so we can get it on again. let’s pretend we never met, a good excuse to play forget.

“nam ndiyakuthanda” you whispered right back.

i pretend it’s you…that i’m in love with…

a tattooed hand gripped the side of your face before shuri questioned you.

“you mean that shit?” she lowly whispered.

you looked into her dark eyes and thought about everything. the first session, your recent session, the parties, the conversations, the outings, the meals you ate together, the secrets you told, the feelings you shared, everything you’ve experienced with her or because of her you wouldn’t trade.

you did mean it.

a thousand times you’d say yes.

with a nod from you shuri lifted your head from her chest and kissed you.

she’s been waiting for it.

that kiss was one of many that night. clothes left on the soundboard, seven mixed calls and a few texts left from darius ignored, the sun started to come up, and a new life was brewing on the horizon.

pretending led you to what you really wanted.

shuri.

[zeep-xanflorp]

ok i'm just gonna ramble ab unmortricken bc i have exactly ZERO COHERENT THOUGHTS AB IT

evil morty backstory - i rlly like that they just made him some random morty who rose above everything after getting sick of rick's abuse. it makes what he did feel even more earned and weighty. i think his motivation is a bit extreme still but i can't rlly blame him.

it's cool seeing infinity beyond the central finite curve. the jetsons inspired bit was v amusing bc i forgot about them lmao. but otherwise it seems absolutely wild west beyond the curve and i LIVE for that.

i also didnt imagine that we'd be seeing him again. i thought the way he left the show was perfect and if they brought him back it would just feel cheap but it DOESNT in this episode i love his appearance.

i rlly like seeing our morty be supportive of rick. he's literally trying everything to cheer him up and it's very important to me.

the prime decoys confuse me. like do they all share a consciousness? is prime just very very good at fucking with ppl that he's made all the decoys communicate w each other?

evil morty outsmarting rick is a great recurring theme in the episode. "filter for probability stasis" YEAH U TELL HIM LITTLE DUDE. we've never seen a morty like that EXCEPT for him and i think it's wonderful.

the exchange between rick and evil morty. "you're such a narcissist" / "literal glass house" / "you think you're better than me?" / "jesus i HOPE SO" SHITTING

i didnt initially like the decoy trap thing being full of loads of other ricks. it made me feel like our rick wasn't very important to this dude and rick just made an enemy of a guy who didn't know he existed. BUT i don't stand by that anymore. the rest of the episode made me change my mind very quickly with.

the omega device. holy fuck this is the worst reveal to come out of this episode. she wasn't just killed, she was ERASED by prime in every reality. like she is GONE gone. that's why we've never seen her, save in flashbacks and memories. she's gone.

and i'm pretty sure it's our rick's fault that he did that. we see his beth and his diane be killed by a bomb, not wiped from reality like slo mobius is later in the episode. so his family was killed BEFORE all the shit with the omega device. ik correlation ≠ causation, but it rlly explains why our rick in particular is so hungry for revenge. if he was the one that made prime kill diane everywhere then he had to be the one to make prime pay for it.

i like how the multiple monitors seems to be prime's signature move. it happens here and in the s6 premiere.

and oh fuck the parallels. "when i invent something it works, it's called being talented" in story train vs "when i make a weapon in works."

oh man the diane head weapon thing. it's interesting that it was programmed to mock rick sexually, but even on our rick who knows it's a trap, it still affects him seeing her face again. "god i missed that face." and then the blank stare when she asks for a kiss. pretty sweet and fucked up.

rick and evil morty having to work together to get their portals working. the contrast between our morty freaking out and evil morty blank staring.

the bit with the portal closing too soon. i know it happened earlier this season and i think it's so funny lmao.

I CANNOT STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH THAT I WAS SO MADE WHEN I WORKED OUT THAT INSTEAD OF YELLING WHILE GOING THROUGH THE CURVE THING IN THE MIDFLE OF THE EP HE WAS SCREAMING "PRIME" THOSE DIABOLICAL LITTLE BASTARDS AT ADULT SWIM.

prime calling rick the Wife Guy. hilarious. raises questions. makes me gnaw on my cell bars.

AND THEN the second incredible reveal of the episode: "Honestly, Wife Guy, I do miss when it was just us. The only two Ricks who actually invented portal travel." WHAT bestie prime bby girl u need to say that again. you guys were the ONLY ones who invented interdimensional travel, every rick's claim to fame. but no they just got the technology from prime who started a boys club of ricks who wanted to leave their lives behind that our rick refused.

but the reference to a time when they were closer, when it was only them - HELLO?? maybe i'm grasping at straws bc i want them to bang but holy shit.

the confirmation of the fan theory that rick based his AI voice on his wife. 10/10.

and then the fight scene. oh gods the fight scene. rick just screaming that he'll kill prime. prime regenerating constantly, looking unscathed as our rick becomes more and more dishevelled. it's too perfect i CANT. but otherwise they both seem pretty evenly matched w all the implants and stuff so without the regeneration i think rick would've had him. oh well.

rick like literally died during the fight.

the cool grandson/shitty grandpa exchange gives me breath. i LOVE how it's a morty that outsmarts prime. it's what he deserves.

prime still trying to be a smartass to evil morty, growing more and more panicked as it goes on bc he doesn't know what to do with the situation and control for once is not in his hands.

"what are u gonna 'aw geez' me to death?"

evil morty not even explaining his plan, just silently dragging in our rick and reviving him. saying "knock yourself out" with the intended double meaning. prime's almost scared expression as rick gets dragged in.

and then our rick has a choice. he can stop evil morty from keeping the weapon plans or he can kill prime. but that's a choice he made already. it's not even a decision. so his other enemy gets away.

the brutal brutal scene at the end when rick is just hitting prime. no tech, no implants, no gadgets. just fists. and rick beats him literally to a pulp as prime screams and laughs at him and taunts him further. it's meant to be sickening. it's meant to be personal. and it accomplishes that perfectly.

they don't even show prime's body in great detail. it's RIGHT in the background but we heard the sounds of the punches, we saw his nose break and his bloody teeth and haemorrhaging eyes and his brains coming out the side of it head and all we can make out is his fucked up swollen and broken face in the background as he sits still attached to the chair, a river of his blood pouring from the room.

but its not triumphant. they made rick's revenge hollow and bittersweet. its over but it destroyed rick in the process. who is he now that he isn't hunting prime? fucking no one.

then "look on down from the bridge" starts playing. we heard this in season 1 in rick potion #9 after morty had to bury a version of himself. he was struggling with the purpose of his life after switching universes. but he deals with it and overcomes it.

i think that scene is rick, for the first time in the entire show, struggling with his nihilistic philosophy. bc yes, he's shown to be an existentialist in the show (the difference being existentialists are "nothing matters but this matters to me" instead of "nothing matters so i don't have to do anything"). he had a drive. he had ppl he cared about. but now he's reached his goal he just feels empty and hollow. everything's meaningless and he's NOT okay with that. he never has been, but he has to grapple with that finally now he doesn't have a distraction. i don't think he can just bounce back and move past what happened.

ppl are saying this episode felt overstuffed and maybe it was but i'm very pleased with it and want to know where it's going.

i feel we still don't know the full story with prime. i'm predicting a flash back episode in the future explaining what the nature of their relationship was like before the bomb incident.

we also know that evil morty has this weapon that could destroy all ricks. so that is just a ticking bomb.

anyway i can't wait for angsty rick.

i actually watched unforgiven for this episode bc i'm a big fan of westerns anyway. the only real parallels i can see is they both have a group of three (two are already partners and the other one is the call to adventure) and an unsatisfying ending. bc that's the nature of westerns. they should NEVER end happily, and if u think so then ur wrong (/nsrs enjoy media how u want).

some things i haven't mentioned but enjoyed nonetheless

the schematics for the omega device is titled <SCHEMATICS BOOGER-AIDS-V2>

the arm/leg swap best in the fight

the comparison between the song at the end playing here and in season one shows with just visuals how the dynamic of beth and jerry's (and beth's) marriage has evolved since then.

everyone freaking out when indiana jones rick shoots and it ricochets off the wall and evil morty just stands expressionless until it hits his forcefield.

morty going to hug rick covered in blood, realising, hesitating, and then doing it later anyway to try and make rick feel better.

evil morty making a point to say that he doesn't want vengeful summers coming after him for omega devicing rick. not vengeful mortys, vengeful SUMMERS.

just evil morty in this whole episode was an absolute delight i need to see him more.

THE TEAR MARKS AFTER RICK EMERGES FROM BEATING PRIME TO DEATH

slo mobius' wife almost going down the same path our rick did only to find someone she loves and focus on that, saving her. makes me wonder if they're gonna try putting rick in a relationship.

this ended up being way longer than it should have. anyway. very pleased. this season is hitting all the marks for me overall.

also don't be too hard on me i didnt edit this 😭

[catbountry]

It's been a year since the premiere of Trigun: Stampede. The series, despite the fears of the fans of the '98 anime, actually turned out really good; Yasuhiro Nightow is a big superhero comics nerd, and wanted to have this new anime adaption be an adaption similar to the adaptions of the MCU, back when those movies were consistently enjoyable, and I daresay a bunch of the people watched Trigun probably were either already anime fans, or they were nomad fans who may have been really into the MCU at one point.

I have a lot of thoughts on an American perspective on Vash the Stampede as a character, with a lot of comparisons to American comic book superheroes. And while Trigun wasn't my first anime, I was hooked on it, as someone who grew up around Batman and Spawn's 90's popularity. During my first Otakon in 2001, I must have seen a dozen Vash's and Wolfwoods. I remember the year there was a Wolfwood cosplayer whose Punisher gun was shaped like the Star of David instead of a cross, making him a rabbi. That shit was amazing. The larger point is that I've loved this character for more than half of my entire time being alive, and I haven't seen a lot of discussion of Trigun viewed from a more political lens, and why it resonates so much with Americans (or at least me, who is an American) in particular

Buckle up, kids, this is gonna be long and rambly.

There was a period of time where I watched nearly every single new MCU movie in the theater. It was exciting seeing adaptions of comic books that would have probably never gotten a movie before the success of The Avengers. And I don't think it's a mistake that the most comic book-y of the movies are usually the best; Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel remain as probably my favorite MCU movies. Nightow was working directly with the studio making a new Trigun anime and reportedly got the crew to watch a bunch of Marvel movies to set the tone for the anime as an adaption; it's why Vash got a completely new redesign that freaked all us old fans the fuck out. Though it appears that once again, Trigun tried and failed to get that massive Japanese audience that most successful anime have. But boy, oh boy, do us westerners fucking love Trigun, especially us Americans. Nightow's love of superhero comics bled into Trigun, and it just so happened that he was incredibly influenced by Spawn, Hellboy and Batman as much as he was influenced by Akira Toriyama and mechanical art. McFarlane Toys released a Vash figure that is McFarlane'd the fuck up. Nightow loves all superhero comics but especially the Blade trilogy.

Just look at this and imagine being 13 years old and seeing this on a screen for the first time with the instrumental hard rock opening.

Also, I wouldn't actually get around to reading Spawn until I was an adult, but you know what? It's pretty good. The writing is definitely weaker than the art, but holy shit, that art goes hard and I still think that shit's cool as fuck.

As stated before, around the early 2000's Trigun was considered peak anime, though it's been more overlooked in recent years in favor of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that has aged gracefully by comparison. But while Bebop has that sort of timeless cool and level of quality that drew the attention of filmmakers like the Wachoski sisters, Trigun has that very specific kind of adolescent sense of coolness that comic book fans get, especially back in the 90's before this sort of thing would be smothered to death by MCU's Joss Whedoning of superheroes. Spawn, Hellboy and Batman are still cool. And Trigun also has a shitton of guns, obviously, given that Vash being an incredibly OP gunslinger in a world where everybody has guns.

And America loves guns.

I think the contrast of Vash's pacifism while still wielding a gun is extremely interesting because it's not something you see very much (I bet if I watched more westerns, I'd have a better idea if this is a trope in them at all). Batman does not use guns and doesn't kill people, which is why there's still discourse around Tim Burton's Batman films to this day still; I don't think Kevin Smith has budged on this. Other more morally grey superheroes will use guns (by this definition I'm counting The Punisher even if he doesn't have any superpowers, unless you count severe PTSD as a superpower). And a lot of them had huge surges in popularity in the 90's around the time Nightow was making Trigun. Vash posed like Batman or Spider-Man looking brooding (like the gif above) happens a lot in the earlier issues even though that's not really his character.

Several years ago, there was an attempt by a conservative thinktank to discredit a bunch of Hollywood actors saying that gun violence in America is a serious issue and contrasted their statements scenes of them shooting guns in movies, but if we're being real here, gunplay in movies can be really fucking cool. Again I invoke The Matrix, or movies by Robert Rodriguez and John Woo. Look at video games, and compare the decline in violent crime that's been happening here since the 70's and 80's, as culture warriors bemoan movies and video games for becoming more violent. Remember when Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the NRA, brought up fucking Splatterhouse as a reason why Sandy Hook happened? Do you know what Splatterhouse looks like?

It looks like this.

You know how these guys constantly say the only way to counter a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun? Usually, the inference is that if the "good guy" with a gun shoots, he's shooting to kill. Deadpool and the Punisher would shoot to kill. But Vash is constantly trying to avoid it. And I remember as a teenager finding that really cool? And the manga and anime don't shy away from how impractical Vash's pacifism is. It's a bit more realistic than Steven Universe's ending, but also Steven Universe was made for children.

I know Avatar: The Last Airbender is often invoked when criticizing Steven Universe's philosophy, but I haven't really seen Vash's similar philosophy criticized in the same way, and I think a lot of that has to do with the presence of Wolfwood, who is the "I think we're gonna have to kill this guy" guy. I'm honestly surprised I haven't seen art of this yet. I may have to get on that. I already drew Vash horrified at the Trolley Problem.

Vash is a character designed with maximum coolness in mind, but also an overpowered being who is capable of killing millions, and in the anime, he somehow destroys July City without killing anyone directly, but the destruction of the city led to a bunch of people dying. He's so deeply committed to not wanting to kill anyone that he's probably killed more people than he would have if he just shot Knives. The best Batman stories acknowledge that Batman's refusal to kill Joker has similarly results in the deaths of people Batman could have prevented if he killed one guy, and this could also apply to Vash's relationship with his brother Knives, who was kind of destined to be a mass murderer with a name like that, let's be real.

Online, we tend to joke about bringing out the guillotines, or justify not feeling an sympathy for billionaires who die in a sub trying to view the Titanic. But if you were given a gun and a real human person begging for their life, what would you actually do? Do you honestly think that you would be the ethical Death Note user?

Vash has guns but he chooses not to kill people; he prefers to not even use them unless he has to, instead opting to run away and look cool doing it somehow.

He really, really doesn't want to kill people. He doesn't become numb to people dying. It hurts him every single time he watches someone get killed. In reality, most of us that aren't sociopaths would be distressed at the thought of killing someone. The only reason armies in real life work is that they become inoculated to the idea of violence and dehumanize the enemy. Vash is no soldier. He is idealistic, he is empathetic, and he sees every human being as a person worthy of life. Batman refuses to use guns, as that's how his parents were killed in front of him. Vash has to use guns in order to protect people from getting killed. He has the ethics of Superman but the tools of a comic book antihero. He's the logical conclusion of an shonen anime protagonist in a world that chews up anyone with that kind of optimism and hope and spits them out. And yet... he still keeps going. He remains committed. He's still cheery, goofy, lovable Vash.

Batman used to kill people, in the earliest comics. With the Comics Code Authority, no superheroes could kill people. In the 80's, comics were getting darker and edgier, taken more seriously. While Alan Moore's Watchmen delved into the moral complexities in a world with superheroes that was similar to ours, Frank Miller was keeping Batman consistent, even as Gotham got darker and uglier.

Batman is a vigilante. The police can be helpful or they can fuck up everything, depending on what's needed for the story. In Batman Year One, there's a scene where Batman crashes a party attended by the elites of Gotham, politicians and mobsters mingling.

Seeing this during the Bush presidency blew my mind. I don't want to get into just how perfectly the members of his administration seemed to resemble a rogue's gallery of sorts with the shared goals of making a lot of money and bombing the shit out of Iraq and Afghanistan. I was extremely anti-war even before the 2000 election as a very opinionated 14 year-old watching, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and feeling relieved that a grown-up was able to see through all the bullshit; it helps when the guy who's against the war and killing people is funny. I remember writing in my diary at 12 years old after Columbine happened that I wanted to take all of the guns and melt them down in a pot, similarly to that scene in Superman IV where he throws the entire world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But also that same year I would fall in love with The Matrix... and not long after that, Trigun.

Again, we come back to the idea of someone using a gun, a weapon designed to kill people, and using it in pursuit of the exact opposite. That resonated with me. I myself was very idealistic, and the political climate of my teenage years seemed to do almost everything to stamp that out of me. Things feel just as fraught two decades later, but in slightly different ways. Pacifism is looked down upon, as indicated by the backlash to the ending of Steven Universe, and how one crazy lady called Rebecca Sugar, a Jewish person, a Nazi for writing it that way. But for Steven, things worked out. For Vash? Well, he still has hope somehow, despite everything. I think the fact that he strives to protect human life, even when someone is a complete monster, is admirable in that it cuts to the very basic desire to not see people hurt. But we're also selfish, and scared, and sometimes it's hard to conceive of a solution to a problem that doesn't involve violence. Seeing dead bodies on TV or the internet upsets us, but we're often paralyzed by feeling like we can't do anything, and even if we tried, we'd likely perish in the attempt. We desire revenge, punishment for those who transgress by inflicting violence, and we can rationalize using it against the right targets. Vash the Stampede would have a fucking breakdown dealing with the state-backed violence that's been a part of geopolitics pretty much as long as there have been states and geopolitics. Vash would try and solve the bombings of Gaza with an impassioned plea for both sides to stop fighting before he would somehow wind up making things worse and it would eat away at him inside, no matter how brave a face he puts on as he tries to find some kind of hope in a hopeless situation. And... you know what? I kind of wish more people would be like that. Maybe if there were enough people like that, these sorts of things wouldn't happen in the first place. I wish more people could look at human suffering and feel compelled to try and stop it, not discriminating against one side or the other, trying to understand why people are doing what they do. Seeing anti-war protestors in Tel Aviv brings back memories of protests against the start of the War on Terror, and how hated America was internationally during those years, even when most Americans approved of the war. Michael Moore was booed at the Oscars for condemning George W. Bush and the War on Terror. It's terrifying that those in power want us killing each other and have conditioned us to support it. I want so badly for human beings to come together to just stop the violence, but it feels impossible, like we're destined for failure, like we might somehow make things worse or become worse versions of ourselves full of hatred and ugliness. But we should want to try, even if it's hard or unprofitable or we have no idea how to even do it. Somebody actually dedicating themselves to trying to fight our violent impulses out of love is appealing, and if they're more powerful than use, and can do more... well, I want the biblically accurate angel with every mental illness willing to martyr himself over and over again. But it is more fun when he's Bugs Bunny about it.

[symphonybracket]

YouTube links: Tchaikovsky 6, Dvořák 9

Comments:

Dvořák 9

I know it's gonna get nominated a hundred times, but I have listened to it four times in a row in the past week so I gotta mention it. Exquisite bliss from first to last note.

it slays <3

When I heard the first movement for the first time, I was GRINNING LIKE AN IDIOT because of how much I loved it. LIKE THIS IS SO YUMMY (link opens to the timestamp)

it's got everything. the interplay between minor and major. themes from the early movements that come back in the finale. the most iconic english horn solo in all of classical music. dvorak wrote it while traveling across the US and was directly inspired not only by his native czech/bohemian soundscapes but the musical languages he heard from black and native americans. there's a tuba part but it only plays for like five measures. fantastic orchestrations, making full use of all the different colors of the orchestra. the start of the finale sounds kinda like jaws. it is physically impossible for me to feel upset while i'm listening to it it's the first symphony i ever played in orchestra and i'm so normal about it that i want to get that EH solo tattooed on my art and also i wrote a paper about it for a university music history class and i got an A on it so it should definitely win the bracket or i'll cry

Tchaikovsky 6

Everyone bangs on about the 4th movement but it's the 3rd movement that really hits

tchaik 6 is what i would listen to if i had an hour to live

the 5/4 movement of the tchaik lives rent free in my mind and i think about it every day

It’s beyond gorgeous. The melodies soar, the orchestra swells, and you just need to lie down for a while after listening to it. It’s Romanticism at its zenith. You want to weep and sigh, and it’s impossible to listen to it without literally feeling something.

Symphony No. 6, titled “Pathétique”, was Tchaikovsky’s final symphony. It is an intensely emotional piece, and to many scholars demonstrates the emotional turmoil that characterized much of Tchaikovsky’s life. He died about a week after its premiere, a fact which leads many scholars to debate about whether the content of the piece itself reflects the possibility that he may have committed suicide. The title itself is often translated to mean “impassioned suffering”, although this was most likely a later addition by Modest and not actually part of Tchaikovsky’s vision. Given these facts, many scholars interpret this piece to be about death and suffering. However, this piece can also be seen to represent life and all its contrasting moments. This interpretation is more holistic and inclusive of all of the moments captured in this piece, and also serves to break down the common narrative of Tchaikovsky as a tragic figure.

More comments about Tchaikovsky 6 below the cut (length warning):

Scholarship surrounding Tchaikovsky’s music tends to focus heavily on the ways his confliction over his homoerotic desires appears in his writing. However, his personal letters reveal a much more balanced understanding of himself that goes beyond the common narrative. In one letter written to Modest describing a new relationship with another man, he writes: “I awoke today with a feeling of unknown happiness and with a complete absence of that emotional sobriety that used to make me repent in the morning for having gone too far the day before.” Many of the letters he wrote regarding his relationships demonstrate no shame and no anguish beyond what can be expected of a man living in a homophobic society. It is important to take this information into account when listening to a piece such as this one that has been discussed so frequently, and to understand it beyond the turmoil and strife that it is seen to represent. Like many of Tchaikovsky’s works, this symphony displays a range of human emotions. It is not only representative of tragedy and “impassioned suffering”; it is a depiction of what it is like to live. It is also interesting to note that this piece is used as a signifier of queer desire in the novel "Maurice" by E.M. Forster, a novel also notable for its radical portrayal of a queer man who gets a happy ending. Much to think about there.

The first movement begins with a lone bassoon soloist playing a plaintive minor melody, which later comes back in the strings. As the movement progresses, it grows in intensity and texture. More instruments are added, and the music becomes more frantic, building and building towards the dramatic trumpet fanfare. Throughout this piece, Tchaikovsky continues to make significant use of contrasting dynamics and melodies, reflecting the emotions he hopes to convey through the music. Dramatic, tumultuous sections are interspersed with pastoral woodwind melodies, and the angry brass fanfares give way to a quiet ending.

The second movement is reminiscent of a waltz, and uses the strings and woodwinds more than the brass to achieve its floating melodies. The dynamics ebb and flow to build tension, but this movement never reaches the same levels of anguish that the previous movement does. Tchaikovsky makes use of pizzicato in the strings to convey a lighter, more cheerful mood, and features the upper woodwinds prominently. He also repeats themes frequently, giving the audience something familiar to listen out for as the movement progresses.

The third movement begins with frantic energy in the strings and woodwinds. As more instruments join the rush of music, the underlying eight note accompaniment does not let up, continuing the vivacious beginning through the whole movement. Instruments pass the melodies between each other and engage in conversations across the orchestra. Like the first movement, the brass play a prominent role in creating dramatic climaxes in the music, as well as supporting the march-like conclusion. Conductor Myung-Whun Chung describes the deceptively dramatic ending as, “one of the greatest, most thrilling, but most empty of victories in musical history,” observing that this movement has the energetic finality of a final movement. The reversal of having the true finale be a slower movement represents a shift away from the “Beethovian model of light over darkness” common in most other symphonies of this time period.

As mentioned before, ending on a movement with a slow tempo was a significant shift away from the standard of the time. This innovation inspired many other future composers to use the same technique, most notably Mahler in his Ninth Symphony. The quiet beginning builds up towards a chaotic rush of fast runs throughout the orchestra, only to stop abruptly and continue in halting, cautious bursts of melody. The movement continues with this cycle of rushing up to a climax and backing away as the movement progresses. Tchaikovsky highlights the horns in this movement, giving them both angry, blaring notes which cut through the string melodies and the flowing, lyrical lines that are passed throughout the orchestra. As the piece ends, the instruments fall away until all that is left are steady repeated notes in the basses, bringing this lament of a movement to an understated close.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday! First off Hallelujah the actors strike is over. Now it’s just semantics and such before we get our ship back on our screens. Just saw the SAG board approved the deal with 86% percent in favor on Friday. All that is left is getting it ratified and an episode order. We’re on the right track I can not wait. Been too damn long since we’ve been excited about some new content.

Till then I shall continue my rewatch. Hoping to line it up ending it whenever a premiere date appears. So fingers crossed on that. Once we do have that might amp it up to 3 reviews a week instead of 2. This one is not a huge content heavy one for them. It's shorter than normal, but it is Lucy’s first ep as his aide. They’re riding back together. I love it so much. Absence makes the heart grow fonder they say. Some good moments peppered in this one. Sassy married moments we all love. Off we go.

4x04 Red Hot

We start off with our lovely duo at the end of roll call. Tim coming in hot and sassy. Calling her Gofer right off the bat. Asking if she’s ready to go? He had to know he was gonna get a sassy reply calling her that first thing. Man knows what he’s doing. Tim loves their little dance and banter. So he lights the fire and waits for the results. (Also good Tall/Smol shots here my fav.)

Lucy matching said sass with some of her own. A little flirting mixed in cause they can't help it. Not showing an ounce of fear with his 'authority' haha Tim picking up on that right away. Flirting right back saying he’s sensing a lack of fear in his authority.

Oh Timothy you lost that long ago my love. You have her utmost respect but the fear? Yeah that went bye bye some time ago heh Some pre-shift foreplay going on here. We know they’re both just excited to be riding together again. It’s all over their body language and this flirty exchange.

Her ‘Yes, sir.’ So cute basically saying for her 'You don’t scare me.' LOL Lucy's body language is everything with that flirty smile. She has no problem roasting him. Tim loves it despite the words coming out of his mouth. Sunshine x Grumpy ride again. I'm so happy for it. Missed it since 3x09 that’s a long time apart for them. We’ve had lovely moments in between but nothing better than them riding together. Plus they needed time to miss one another.

They’re so obvious together. Grey hears their exchange and is holding back a chuckle as he comes up to Tim. Wade knew long before they did...That is a fact. They continuously forget everyone can hear them. It’s so funny. Carrying on like a married couple in front of their colleagues.

Lucy and Tim end up joining Nolan on his missing wife call. (So happy they’re riding together. Making my heart happy) His call has gotten more complicated because well it’s John’s call….Nolan tells them she was drugged and the people claiming to know her we're speaking Russian. So they all go back to the house where the call originated.

No one is there when they arrive. They notice the house seems off... Like it’s staged and no one actually lives there. John noting it feels a lot smaller on the inside. Tim saying it’s like a reverse Tardis...Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. Props to Melissa for the facial expression here. I’m dying. Tim already sensing her judgement cuts it off. She doesn’t even have to say what she’s thinking. He just knows and defends himself.

S4 is the fruit of all that rapport building. We get to see the end result constantly. Watch how close they are. That silent communication coming through, the comfortability and playfulness. Not even trying to hide it anymore. The amount of sass in Tim's reply. My god she has rubbed off on this man. I love it sfm I can’t stand it. Such flirty dorks in front of Nolan it’s the absolute best. So nice to have them together on cases again. I missed it.

They get a report the car was torched but no sign of the woman over the radio. Nolan opens the cabinet and sees an impressive setup. A panel with cyrilic buttons they can't read. Goes into contractor mode saying they have 500 MCM wires. Running 400 amp service out of this place. Lucy not knowing what that means but wanting to save face says her line above. Also knows Tim may not either so she throws him under the bus LOL

It’s so cute and cheeky. The theme of this episode for them is sass. 100%. The way Tim looks at her plus his little leg stamp. LMAO His reaction saying 'Seriously Lucy?' He’s not even mad about it so much as in awe of her being so damn fresh at this point. Doesn’t even fight her giving him shit anymore. Just accepts it. Smitten man right here. Front and center.

Nolan goes on to say a normal household doesn’t tend to go past 200. Whatever they’re powering is big because just the minimum can power a house and a/c under that. Nolan starts messing around with the panel like an idiot and trips something. Because well it's Nolan. Like an unattended child. It locks down the entire house and they pull their guns in case.

Tim’s reply is the best. ‘I don’t know what it says so I push it?’ LMAO Roasting John like a marshmallow. Sassy Tim has come out to play and I’m dying. A tv turns on showing surveillance of the entire neighborhood. John asks if human traffickers normally are this sophisticated? Tim replies no…It’s a safe house.

Lucy’s interest is piqued of course. Asking if it’s for spies? Tim gives her a small peak into his past. Which you know she will eat up like crazy. Always craving to know about it. Hell me too. Any morsel we can get from Tim’s past I’m all about. Lucy in wifey mode tries to get it out of him. The when and where? You can see the absolute curiosity all over her face. He just drops a bomb like that and expects her not to try and dig a little deeper?

Tim is classic in his reply. Saying it’s classified and that is that for his answer. I'm sure he was wanting to impress her with that reply. When really she's just annoyed at him haha Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. She is offended he won’t just share his classified past with her in front of Nolan LOL That wifey look in the second gif. Ha. Look at them just flirting away no problem in front of John. That’s not an issue but asking about his past is. These two... Also when they talk in this scene it’s like Nolan isn’t even there. I love this about them. They only pay attention to one another when they get like this. I just love their banter. It’s fantastic.

Nolan discovers a panel after hitting another button. It leads to a whole other hidden part of the house. It’s clearly where they were torturing her. They dig a little deeper and find more surveillance camera's set up. Looks like they tried destroying everything before they took off. There is still some paper work and such lying around. Looks like they didn't get everything. Tim wants them to take pictures of everything before the feds show up. Because they’ll ice them out ASAP. I love when he’s a sexy leader directing everyone. yum. gimme.

This next section when the feds finally show up is primo. Mike Weston introduces himself and Tim knows right away he’s CIA. The feds are with him though. Reason being Weston has to work with them since he isn't allowed to work domestically. Tim has some serious smug husband energy going on in this scene. Watching his girl square off and win with this guy. Lying on his behalf it’s amazing. Lucy handles herself like the bad ass he knows her to be. Coming up with this on the fly. That UC training kicking in right here.

The immense amount of pride on his face is everything. He didn’t even have to tell her to lie she just did for him. Their silent communication once again is out of this world. He just stands there proud af. Like yeah that’s my girl. Doesn’t have to say a damn word. Knows she’s got this covered. Smugly smiling at this guy trying to get them to do their job. Knowing they secured the scene and got all the photos they needed. Part of that smugness is from knowing they’re not sharing. Lucy shutting them down completely and he just stands there happy as a clam while she handles the situation.

Lucy is bummed they’re taking over. Nolan reminds them she touched his hood. Tim says they can get a true ID. Try and solve this thing before the feds and CIA know what hit them. I love this. They get a hit in the database. She’s a Russian citizen here on a NGO visa. Tim saying it’s perfect cover for a Russian agent.

Lucy with her social media skills found her Instagram page. Linking her to an Air Force major named Lyle Marks. Who she was apparently dating. Nolan says she was probably dating him just to get to secret information. Lucy calls him a cynic heh I love it. Then says yeah that’s probably the most likely scenario…

That he works for drone command and hasn’t shown up for work today. Tim says no need to loop in Weston. If they’re onto something good he will find them. They show up to Mark's house and find him tortured and killed. Weston of course shows up right after they find his body. Just like Tim said. He’s so smart. Beauty and Brains.

The fact that a soldier was killed this can’t be contained any longer. Weston realizes he’s going to need their help. Especially since this is on US soil. He brings them back to his fancy spy van. So they can have a private conversation protected. Tim gets right down to business. Asking what they know about Katerina? Mike tells them they believe her to be a FSB case officer. Just like Tim said earlier. Sexy how smart he is. Intelligence is attractive af.

Apparently she went rogue during her mission. She was supposed to be recruiting intelligence assets for Russia. It’s why those two guys came into the country after her. Rather her die than be in the hands of the CIA after she escaped. Tim asks if they knew about the relationship with officer Marks? Weston replies no or they would’ve stepped in weeks ago.

Also let’s note the lack of space with them in this scene. The Grand Canyon between John and Tim. The smallest sliver between Tim and Lucy. Another theme of this season. Personal Space? Never heard of her…

This next part is more of that proud/smug hubby energy from Tim. The way she dismantles Mike is glorious. Trying to say she’s naive and espionage isn’t a romance novel. She crushes him with some solid ass logic. Lucy owns this guy not once but twice in the same day. Lucy came to play and it's so fun to watch her confidence. The way she handles herself now. So self-assured it's just as glorious to watch as Tim's growth.

I love the look on Tim’s face. (also him licking his lips I see that tongue sir. Mmm.) His reaction is 'Wifey is right and you are dead to rights sir.' He couldn’t be prouder of her confidence with this man. Held her own from the jump. The growth here is amazing. Lucy just confidently owning her moments. Tim backing her without a second of hesitation. True partners. Nolan gives a 'Told you so' look too but it’s not as important as Tim’s LOL Weston concedes and says she has a fair point…

That being said Mike said he’s read her file. That isn’t the type of person she is. They ask why she was dating Marks then? Weston says he ran the entire west coast drone command. That he had the keys to the entire program. Tim then poses if she wasn’t stealing secrets or planning to defect then what’s her play? Mike says doesn’t know..and that scares the hell out of him

That’s their last scene together for the ep sadly. We find out with just John and Bailey she killed Marks. He issued a drone strike that killed her brother. The flash drive Nolan finds in his shop is what she wants. She wants to kill everyone else on the list of the mission. Sadly Lucy’s love theory is kaput after that haha That's all she wrote for this one. Short but sweet one for them.

Side notes-non chenford

I love Lucy reaching out to Aaron to be his support through training. He fights her at first then gives in and calls her when he has bad experience with an old friend. Aaron does stick his foot in his mouth about Jackson. Poor Lucy still hurts her talk about him.

Then they bond over it. He talks about Patrick and says it still gets him too. How it sneaks up on you. You could be having normal day and something triggers it. Aaron tells her it’s nice to have someone to talk to. Love this friendship being built.

Thanks as always to those who read these reviews and show your support through likes, comments and reblogs. It’s my fuel haha so thank you. Shall see you all in 4x05

[phyrestartr]

PR Stunt (Only, Right?) | Sukuna/M!Reader | Teaser!

#NSFW in full, bottom!reader, top!sukuna, Sukuna owns a body shop, reader is a performer, kinda meet cute, ABO dynamics, mpreg, yes there are always babies involved because i love dad sukuna, surprise baby, sukuna is a dickhead (what else is new), teaser not edited lmao

Note: This is just going to be a one-shot since it's already pretty much completed, just need to finish off the tail end and then go back and edit. Wanted a break from writing the other stories for a bit, so I hope you'll enjoy the full story when it's out

tags: @better-imagination-9 @better-imagination-9

“Did you sleep with (L. Name) (F. Name)?” 

The question caught Sukuna off guard; normally, Uraume didn't inquire into his personal life in regards to who he had and hadn't slept with. They were a friend, yes, but moreover they were the bookkeeper and helped with securing clients and arranging meetings–celebrities and their managers were fucks that Sukuna didn't like negotiating with. Best to leave the yapping to someone with a cooler head.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Sukuna asked as he rolled out from under the newest commissioned vehicle. 

Uraume walked to him, iPad in hand, and turned it to him, stone cold. 

Sukuna sat up straighter and squinted at the screen, annoyed. You’d probably just made up some salacious rumour and spread it throughout your friend circles; or worse, you wanted revenge on him for something he probably definitely did. In that case, Sukuna could somewhat understand. But still–

(Name) putting on weight? What’s happening to the former bombshell babe of Japan?!

Pregnant with a baby boy?! The secret's out!

(Name) returns to the stage after giving birth to a baby boy–but who is the father?

(Name) driving a Ryoumen Sukuna rescue vehicle?! Could he be the deadbeat dad we've been looking for?

Sukuna sucked his teeth after skimming over the article titles presented to him. 

“...No proof.” 

“Ah. Then please explain this,” Uraume requested, still polite as ever, as they flicked to an additional few images the scumbag paparazzi had caught of you. 

One was the car mentioned. Sukuna remembered it like it was yesterday–the joy of restoring a Porsche 911 back into its former glory was unmatched. You happily paid for all the parts and too often swung by to see the progress being made on the old thing. Obviously, Sukuna was more than happy to oblige. 

The next was of you holding a little nugget of a baby against your chest as you walked down a street in Shibuya. Nothing too damning, nothing too inspirational. 

But the last one–

“The fuck?” Sukuna mumbled as he snatched the iPad from Uraume’s hands and zoomed in on the now-toddler sitting with you in that damn Porsche, grinning brightly beside his mum while you ruffled his hair. His very, very pink hair. 

Sukuna took a breath while he thought. He didn't have to think too hard, though, not when he still dreamed about you and the short-lived fling between the two of you. 

“A Porsche 911, huh?” Sukuna grinned as he looked over the beat up, rusted beater of a car. He could still see scraps of its former glory, of the beautiful thing she used to be. Heaven knows she would've become an irreparable hunk of junk if you hadn't bought it from a scrapyard. 

“Yep.” You beamed. “So you think you can make her pretty again?” 

“You kidding? I'd pay you to let me fix this thing, baby.” Sukuna caught sight of your security stepping forward, but you waved them off without a second thought. 

Sukuna smirked. “But it’s not gonna be cheap.” 

You nodded. “Well, do what you have to. I'll pay whatever you need, handsome.” 

“Yeah?” Sukuna asked, looking your neatly-manicured appearance up and down; you were dressed like you were meeting someone of great importance (and  you were, obviously), with your hair groomed perfectly, outfit fit for a premiere, skin flawless. 

“Mhm. And I tip well.” you looked him up and down in kind, grinning as you bit at the nub of your sunglasses.

“Done.” 

Every time you came to check on his progress, genuine excitement flooding in your motormouthed Words, you'd go home with him and fuck him silly. 

And now, you were the momma to his baby. Allegedly. 

“I–so what the fuck does this have to do with anything?” Sukuna ran a frustrated hand through his hair after Uraume took the tablet back. “Bitch isn't asking for anything, he's not asking me to be his public fucking baby daddy, not asking me to pay for nothing?” 

“No,” Uraume conceded, “But he and his PR managers have reached out concerning this.” 

The man groaned and stood. “Fucking hell. Can't stand fucking PR teams. Thw fuck did they want?” 

“They want to make a statement about Touma's father.” 

Sukuna froze.

“Touma's a good name for a boy, right?” 

You asked the question so suddenly, so out of nowhere in the quiet of the afterglow. The city lights sparkled and winked at you both through the towering windows keeping you safe from the outside world. In hindsight, Sukuna would wonder if the city was excited for him. For you. 

“What, for a mutt?” Sukuna drawled, puffing on a blunt while he played with your hair and drowned in the tingles left in the wake of fingers drawing circles on his bare chest. 

“For a kid,” you chastised With a laugh. “I like Touma. Or Touka for a girl. Ayato's nice, too. Maybe Kazue.” 

“You better not be pregnant.”

“I'm not, I'm not. I'm just getting baby fever, I guess.” You hummed and left a sweet kiss against his tan skin. “I guess being around a big, bad boy like you's got me feeling domestic.” 

Sukuna laughed, dazed and happy. “You wanna ruin this pretty lil’ body for a fucking kid? Be my guest. Just don't come looking for a booty call after you've ruined yourself like that.” 

“Oh, don't worry,” you cooed. “I won't.” 

Man. Man. 

“A statement.” 

“In other words–”

“I'm not the fucking father.” 

“This might be a good way to get Yorozu off your case,” Uraume suggested, and Sukuna perked up. 

“Right. She fuckin’ hates kids.” 

“So, if you were to have a son, and it's revealed you've been quietly trying to make things work behind the scenes with (Name), then hypothetically–”

“I'll take the runt.”

[dearweirdme]

what are your top five taekook moments where you thought they could be real/appeared to be suspicious?

it's for science (trust me y'all I'm cooking)

Hi anon!

Aaargh... I'm probably going to be super inconsist here.. because I've done a top ten a few times before, and I'm very likely to ghave a different top five now 😂 (I do badly with these things because I mostly just put down whatever comes up first).

The vminkook live. Anyone who tells you that staring at someone for 6 seconds is no big deal should really try that on their friends to know what that feels like.

2. Tae and Jk at Harry Styles.

3. Tae kissing Jk's neck.

4. The consecutive lives Tae did when he was first listening to the song Jk always sings him. Then Jk could be heard in his live almost as soon as he arrived back in SK. Only to later that night hearing someone next to Tae when he was in bed.

5. I'm kinda struggling to choose between Dream premiere (because... Why why why... the shy JK?), Tae posting a pic of him and Jk before Paris (again.. in context.. it is... something to me)... and them at that Hotel after Jk returned from Dubai (again.. straight to see each other after having been apart, which is a couple thing to me). So I'm not gonna choose and leave all of them here.

[nightswithkookmin]

You are mad because I theorized Jungkook was shy at the premier because of his unconventional hair do and appearance? Gonna have to hit you with a side eye

BUT DID I LIE THOUGH? DID I LIE?!

HE WALKED OVER THERE ONLY TO REALIZE HE WAS THE ONLY ONE SERVING CUNT.

I too would be well damn EMBARRASSED AS FUCK

It's the audacity he had strutting onto the red carpet knowing damn well what he'd just done for me😭😭

Be mad all you want, but I still insist he was shy because he knew he was conscious of the way he was dressed

I say things the way I see it. And my sense of humor may not be everyone's cup of tea but I gulp it down real smooth 😎

You've been screeching like a pterodactyl for months in my comments trying to rally up a gang to drag me to hell under the false pretense that I hate Jungkook.

But you only telling on yourself.

Here.

I hope someone saying the same thing about themself helps you understand I meant no shade to Jk and that it's entirely possible for humans to feel shy and embarrassed when they stand out at events.

But since you are a geckco lizard 🦎 you won't get it🙂

No offense to the Geckos

[mrs-monaghan]

No one is changing fucking narratives. Think about it you dumb idiots. You're in the closet, in a homophobic country, trying to live your best queer life in a glass closet. You leave enough hints about your sexuality & the person you love. Hickeys, GCF Tokyo with a queer love song. People either believe it or don't. And one day you're enjoying a significant COUPLE HOLIDAY in korea, with said partner you did all the above things with & the next thing you know its spread all over the internet.

Now I understand why Jikook are doing what they are nowadays. They were caught together on a couple holiday without members, by locals & since then, Jikook's public outings have stopped. The way JM even tried to downplay White day, which might have worked had he not posted JK on White Day before they were caught out, but still, the fact that he even felt he needed to play down the holiday & even stopped going to that place, should throw up major flags. They've always been able to leave room for deniability, but it's hard to explain a couple day outing. Seems it scared them into becoming more private. That & we have JM's mail stolen & privacy breached around the same time. Jikook obviously felt they could go out & didn't worry cause for the most part their privacy is respected. And now that they were, they been cautious since. This wasn't some premiere outing with two friends & cameras on a random day. We are talking 2 people who have spelled it out they are queer, who are rumored to be dating, who were caught out on their private time together, on a COUPLE HOLIDAY with no other members of BTS & it spread all over the internet. The only duo of BTS rumored to be dating and they are the only two caught out together on a real couple holiday. Yeah, its a big damn deal.

I just know Hybe and The members said something to them day. If they police Jikook during random photoshoots like we've seen or interject, when they are just having fun together, oh you know they came down on Jikook that day & they probably got blamed for it, even tho its not their fault someone took a pic and posted it. The timing of WD & Jikook's public outings coming to stop, is too perfectly timed for it to be a coincidence.

If I had a shilling for everytime someone said coincidence in regards to Jikook I would be a millionaire 😂😂😂😂 when are we gonna give this word up and accept there ain't no such thing as coincidence with these 2??

You wanna know what a coincidence is? This.

JK splashes Jimin 13 times. Their favourite number. Now that, is a coincidence. Because JK would have kept going had Jimin not asked him to stop. That is how u use the word coincidence.

JK using There for you a "gay" song for GCFT is NOT a coincidence.

Jimin appearing at the exact same lyrics during GCF Saipan is NOT a coincidence.

Both Jikook being from Busan, is a coincidence.

This, was NOT a coincidence.

Them wearing plasters on their fore fingers during a fan meet for no reason was NOT a coincidence

The J on JK's hand been directly ontop of the M is NOT a coincidence.

Jimin having a moon tattoo and JK having a sun tattoo is NOT a coincidence.

Jikook recounted once how they saw ghosts when they still lived at the dorm in their early years. JK said while showering he thought he saw a ghost but it turned out to be RM. Jimin said one time when showering he thought he saw a ghost but it turned out to be Suga. Everyone on twitter was like "aww what a coincidence! You are me i am you" Meanwhile I'm just over here like; Guys, 👏🏾they👏🏾were👏🏾showering👏🏾to👏🏾ge👏🏾ther. Their stories were too similar, that's literally the only explanation. HELLOOOO!!! Y'all give young Jikook too much credit 😂

Jikook posting at the same hour, same minute, exact same second is NOT a coincidence

JK coming live on white day and Jimin showing up in the comment section was NOT a coincidence.

Jikook having moles in the same spots of their bodies, that's a coincidence.

This. Is NOT a coincidence

They👏🏾sleep👏🏾to👏🏾ge👏🏾ther!!👏🏾

JK allowing an account kookminaredating into his game was NOT a coincidence.

Y'all catch my drift.

Sorry anon, I saw the word coincidence and went on a tangent but u are correct. With Jikook, coincidence should be used very lightly. And yes to the rest of your ask. 💜💜💜💜💜

[zeep-xanflorp]

so at this point everyone is accepting that rick and diane never had a healthy marriage right??

like i think what everyone assumed (including me) is that they retconned all the things about rick not believing in love in the first two seasons when they revealed rick's revenge quest in season 6. like i thought that because rick was doing all of that for diane and beth, that it was indicative of a healthy relationship. but i don't think that's the case anymore after looking into some old episodes. i truly believe it was the intentions of the writers to make him have a bad relationship w diane since the beginning.

so here's what i've been thinking right.

"listen morty, what people call love is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. it hits hard, morty, and then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. i did it. your parents are gonna do it. break the cycle, morty. rise above. focus on science." (rick potion #9, ep 106)

the situation he describes is so specific. he describes "failing marriages" and compared his marriage to that of beth and jerry's which is infamously codependent and toxic.

"i couldn't make [marriage] work and i can turn a black hole into a sun, so..." (the wedding squanchers, ep 210)

he talks about how little he trusts in marriage. because despite his intelligence, he couldn't be happy in his own.

so these are the two hints we get about rick's marriage before diane even actually shows onscreen. both of these quotes demonstrate rather clearly that their relationship was dysfunctional in some capacity. that it was "failing".

so if we're call caught up let's move onto the season 3 premiere.

"why don't i go grab beth and we can go out for ice cream?" (the rickshank redemption, 301)

that's all she has to say after rick says he's giving up on science - his passion. which is rather odd because it was clearly something he was working on for some time and he just says he's giving it all up immediately. which is odd, right? this well seeming remark could be far more insidious than it seems.

i'm not the only one to point this out but that's it. she dismisses his feelings. she invites him out to a place with their daughter (where, with her present, they would be incapable of having an adult conversation which would put more distance between them) and in this regard, beth acts as a physical barrier between them both.

i'm not saying that diane is in the wrong here. i'm not saying rick is perfect. but that's one instance of their relationship where something pretty major had just happened. and it's immediately brushed off.

(abcs of beth, 309)

there are plenty of hints that rick was indeed an absentee father, even when he was still living with his daughter. take the abcs of beth, where rick talks about all the toys that child beth had to play with. beth insists that she asked him to make those because she wanted to spend time with him. let me repeat, beth explains that she wanted to spend time with her father so bad that she asked him to make lethal weapons for her to play with. plus the whole froopyland thing - an environment designed to be safe so he wouldn't have to keep an eye on her. it's obvious she channeled her neglect in a destructive way - aka in a way that she got from her father. but i digress.

the point is, rick has always been absent from his family in some capacity. whether it was emotionally as we see with diane or physically as we see with beth.

there are also some hints at infidelity on rick's end. take mr nimbus, who is confirmed to have known diane.

then when diane and beth die, he absolutely crumbled. and this scene does break my heart watching it bc we know it's not just a part of a fake memory now. it was all real. the pain he experienced in that moment - the hope he had of living a normal life and making everything up to his family - just got ripped away from him.

so even though on the surface, rick appears to have a healthy relationship w diane when she shows up in the show, that doesn't mean that's all there is. it's very unlikely based on all of the information presented in the earlier seasons that these two were stable together and i think that the presentation of diane as a perfect loving caring wife is intentional. it either represents how rick remembers her - as someone kind - or is only a small part of the equation.

oh and let's not forget the ghost ai that rick made for his dead wife. he designed her to berate him, to wear him down. to never let him move on from what happened. like that's something super messed up wow. maybe

in conclusion, rick has never had a stable family or home life. that thing didn't appeal or satisfy him. it caused him to neglect his daughter and continues to impact the relationship he has with his adult family members. by no means is this an excuse and that's hardly my point. i feel it's important that we know the reality of ricks marriage to understand how that impacts him in the show we're watching.

ofc this is just my take on what little we have seen from the two of them. i rlly want to see more so i can maybe make a better assessment. but yeah. whatever went on there? not healthy. no way in hell.